A new word

We've been so busy at the Brouwer house that I haven't posted anything lately...sorry!  Life has just been a little crazy getting ready for and enjoying  Christmas.  We had a great time celebrating Christmas with the boys and spending time with our families.  They really didn't get into the unwrapping part as much as we thought they would.  They REALLY enjoyed the new toys part.  :)  They've been playing non-stop.  Reese cries every time we make him put toys down to eat or take a nap.  Poor guy just wanted some new things to play with.  It's fun to watch them play with "big boy" toys.  It's amazing how much they pretend already.  Reese cooks in their new kitchen and says, "hot!" 

They are all starting to really expand their vocabulary as well.  They say things like "hot", "ball", "block" (which sounds a lot like ball to me) and Noah is really into telling people, "No!".  We've also been teaching them a new word.  We've been teaching them to say, "baby".  We've been teaching them to say this because that's the gift we are getting as a family this year.  A new baby!  Baby Brouwer #4 is due to arrive in June. We are so excited to welcome this baby into our family.  Yes, baby, as in a single baby.  We have loved the incredible experience of multiples, but we are also really excited for the experience of a single baby.  I'm sure the boys will be all over (literally, all over) the new baby.  We talk about the baby to them and show them the ultrasound and they smile at it, but obviously they have no idea what is about to happen in our house.  I'll post the ultrasound picture below.  We feel so very blessed to experience yet another miracle. 

On the mend

It seems as though we are starting to see some improvement in the boys.  I ended up taking Noah to the pediatrician on Monday after seeing the Dr. at immediate care on Sunday.  She asked what was going on and I filled her in.  She's not crazy about immediate care and didn't really like what they did.  She didn't like that they gave him Tamiflu after seeing him so briefly and she was not happy that they didn't give him a breathing treatment.  She walked up to him and could immediately hear him wheezing.  She asked me about anyone in our families having asthma.  I told her that yes, it does run in my family and our nephew on Nate's side had it.  She said that he probably has it too.  She said at this age their really isn't a good test to say for sure that he has it, but listening to him she could tell.  So, I held him down while he kicked and screamed during a breathing treatment.  He sounded immediately better after the treatment.  So, we came home with a nebulizer.  I was dreading giving him his next treatment, but after the first time he was fine with it.  Now he sits for pretty much the whole thing.  Go figure!  Either way, it really helps him a lot.  He coughs so hard when he plays to hard or lays in bed.  Poor guy.  :(  She is hoping that since he has it this young he'll grow out of it by preschool or so.  We hope so too!  The other 2 have been coughing and had the runny nose too, but it seems to be going away now.

On top of that I thought Aiden might have pink eye.  The Dr. said it was a good possibility and that pink eye can refer to so many eye infections.  She said most of them will go away on their own with time.  I just happened to have the medicine at home from when Reese had a clogged tear duct.  When they all started passing it around I started putting the medicine in all of their eyes.  Shhh.  Don't tell.  I know you aren't supposed to do that, but you try taking care of 3 boys with pink eye and some other respiratory virus.  Sometimes you do what you have to in order to maintain sanity! 

Other than that we had a great Thanksgiving.  No surprise Aiden didn't even make it through dinner.  It was nap time and that is one boy that does not appreciate missing his nap.  He loves his bed more than any child I have ever seen.  We had a great time spending the day with Nate's family.  The boys loved climbing up and down (and sometimes falling down) their stairs.  Now on we go to Christmas...the Brouwer house will be "treeless" this year.  Can you imagine a tree with these 3 around?? :)

Poor boys

The boys have yet again come down with something.  I almost can't believe it.  Noah woke up with what seemed like a cold on Saturday.  He cried during the night and was up early crying yesterday.  At about 6:30 I put him in our bed.  As soon as I put him in bed with us I realized he was having a hard time breathing and was wheezing.  He was pulling in really hard to breathe and was breathing fast.  Our Dr. has said before that faster and more shallow breathing is normal to a point when they have a cold.  The wheezing was what really bothered me.  So, my mom came over and off we went to immediate care.  They diagnosed him with viral bronchiolitis.  They gave him Tamiflu and a steroid to help with the wheezing.  I asked the Dr. if he thought Noah could have asthma.  He said because it's the first time bringing him in for it he wouldn't say so yet, but it could be.  It does run in my family, so I wouldn't be surprised.  So off we went to buy some more crazy expensive medicine (thankfully we get reimbursed for most of it by Nate's union).  The pharmacist knows us as soon as she sees us now.  We went from the boys being so healthy to getting so many things.  The other 2 have some sort of cold or something too.  Aiden's eyes are also quite red and puffy and gross so I'm bringing him in to make sure he doesn't have pink eye.  I'm hoping the Dr. can get us in right away.  The last thing we need is to spread pink eye around the house!

Despite another round of illness I am determined to stay thankful.  These are all minor things that will pass.  We still have an incredible amount to be thankful for and I will acknowledge those things instead of dwelling on the frustration of another illness.  If I don't get a chance to blog again I want to wish everyone a "Happy Thanksgiving!".   Count your blessings and be thankful for all you have!

It's been too long...

I know.  It's been too long since I last updated this.  We've had a lot of little things keeping us busy lately.  Dr. appointments, phone calls with insurance and Dr. offices (this is constant!), etc.  So, here's a little bit of what has been going on.

The boys had their 15 month check-up about a week and a half ago.  I still can't believe they are that old already.  Anyways, they are continuing to grow like weeds.  Reese is still the peanut.  He's 1 1/2 inches shorter than Noah.  :)  The Dr. was impressed with how much they are talking and their development in general.  Her comment was, "Wow.  They are really busy."  If only she know what it's like at home.  All in all they had a great visit.

Aiden had a check-up with the GI Dr. about his reflux.  He has been doing so well that she said we can take him off of his medicine and we don't need to return unless there is a problem.  Such great news!  She was the second to last Dr. we see at the University of Chicago.  Reese has a check-up with a surgeon in the spring and that's the last one.  It is sort of sad though.  We have such a strong connection to that hospital.  It's a weird feeling to be so attached to a hospital, but they've done so much for us. 

We also had the boys on an antibiotic for 3 days.  The parasite that they had just wasn't going away, so the Dr. put them on an antibiotic.  Thankfully things have been great since then.  I even had to do a phone interview with the county health department about what they were exposed to right before they got sick. 

The boys have been quite busy doing things to make my life even busier.  I will include a couple of pictures of those activities at the end.  If you wonder what I do all day just imagine the things a little boy can come up with and then multiply it by 3. 

Finally, Aiden started walking!  I was really starting to worry.  One day he just let go of the couch and walked.  He's still crawling  more than walking, but he's well on his way. 

Now the pictures....

They took every single kleenex out of the box and shredded them.  I found bits of kleenex for many days all over the house.

 Noah is tall enough to reach things on the table, even when we push them far in.  He took down the bag of newspaper and they worked together to shred that as well.

 They like to push each other on ride-on toys.  Sometimes it gets too wild and the guy riding gets tipped off the toy.  :)

 Reese LOVES to build.  He spends a lot of time building with these blocks and with big legos.

 Of course the laundry basket is always a fun place to play.  It's especially fun when there is laundry in it that can be spread all around the house. 

No longer babies

Life has been quite busy, so I'm sorry for the lack of updates.  My brother got married on the 13th.  It was a great day!  I've never seen a bride and groom smile and have as much fun as my brother and his wife did.  We had a great time celebrating with them.  We also gained a nephew that day. My now sister-in-law has a son who is 9.  He is such a sweet boy and we're happy to have him as our nephew!  It was so awesome watching them come together as a new family. 

We've also been trying to get answers and finally get over the boys having intestinal issues (to put it nicely).  Noah still isn't able to have too much dairy, so he's drinking soy or lactose free milk.  Ugh.  It's so much more expensive than milk.  However, it means he doesn't have an upset stomach, so it's worth it.  Nate and I took in stool samples for Aiden and Reese yesterday to show that they have the same thing (c diff) that Noah does.  We're sure they do, so now we wait for the official word.  They will probably all be on antibiotics to get rid of it once and for all.  I can't wait to be rid of this!  On a side note Nate and I laughed so hard while attempting to fill the specimin containters with poop.  As Nate said, "The things we do for our kids.  Unbelievable."  Yes, it was unbelievable and it was also hilarious.

I also have come to the realization that our boys really aren't babies any longer.  Noah is walking all over the house (as of last week) and Reese is starting to.  Aiden talks like crazy.  He can now say Noah, which he says Oah; Moo, which is Ooo; and Reese, which is Eee.  Reese is also saying hot.  Just this morning I asked Aiden if he loved Reese and he went and gave him a hug and kiss.  I almost cried.  There is nothing sweeter than when they love on each other.  For as much as they fight over things, especially toys, it's so fun they love on each other. 

I guess I'm both happy and sad at the realization that they are doing more.  It is so great that I get to be here all the time watching them learn new things.  They are so much fun now.  As much as I miss them being little babies I really don't miss things like not sleeping and constant bottle feeding.  Someone asked me the other day if it gets easier.  I said, "No, it just gets different".  I know, poor grammar.  It's true though.  There are still 3 little boys who need me constantly.  None of them can put on their own shoes, walk to the car, put on a coat, go to the bathroom.  They still need their food cut up, to be put into their beds, etc.  It does get easier in the sense that they can play and entertain themselves.  It just constantly changes.  Who knows what will change by the next time I update this!

Boys are gross

Boys are gross.  Yep, it's true.  They do such gross things that I almost can't believe it sometimes.  Just yesterday I walked into the boys' room to get them out of bed and there was a stray piece of poop sitting in Reese's bed.  He took his diaper part way off and a little turd rolled out of the diaper, down his pants leg and into the bed.  I checked his hands and mouth because it would not be at all unusual for them to eat a piece of poop.  I wish I could say I was lying, but Noah has picked up poop before.  This is probably how to contract illnesses like parasites.

Speaking of Reese removing clothing he is now into taking off his socks.  No matter what socks I put on him he takes them off and then chews on them.  Gross.  I find his soggy little socks all over the house.  He throws them out of bed most days.  Last night I put him in one piece pajamas so he couldn't take them off.  I hate the thought of his feet getting wet.  He still enjoys taking one arm out of a long sleeve shirt.  I found him with one arm out of his shirt after naptime last week.  Don't be surprised if you pass our house and see him running outside naked in a year or so.  It will probably happen.

They are learning so much lately.  It's very clear that kids know more than we think.  They have 1 show that they watch and are in love with.  It's called, "The Wheels on the Bus".  A dragon drives the bus and they go all around the town.  When the boys want to watch it they start doing the round and round motion that the kids on the show do.  It is so darn cute!  Aiden continues to find ways to climb onto the couch and other places he shouldn't be.  Reese is so skinny he can twist and turn until he's standing in his highchair.  Noah scowls at everyone and everything and even rolls his eyes on occasion.  When I tell them to say cheese Aiden says, "eee!" and smiles as wide as he can.  So funny.  Aiden is also saying, "Oah" for Noah.  If you drag out the syllables and say it to slow he says, "No, no, no" like someone is in trouble.  He is also starting to say "Moo" when I ask what a cow says.  He yells Lue (more like Woo) when our dog barks and puts his hand to his ear and says, "Hewo" like he's talking on a phone.  He is our verbal child.  Noah is good at things that require gross motor skills.  Reese is the best at things that require fine motor skills.  He watches every move we make and repeats it, no matter how much attention to fine detail it requires.

The final funny thing they do is this...When we say, "Time for bed" and open the baby gate they all crawl up the stairs.  It has made life so much easier.  Instead of carrying each one upstairs they can get up there on their own!

Life

We were excited to finally be getting over all of the illnesses that have plagued our house since July.  No one was having intestinal issues, although Noah is still not drinking milk.  He is drinking lactose free milk because he can't digest regular milk at this point.  Well, we know better than to think it's over.  Now all 3 have a cold.  Oh boys.  It's nothing bad or serious, just an inconvenience.  That means that can't be in the nursery or anything again.  It seems like it's been forever since we've been to church as a family.  I'm trying to be positive and be glad that they all have it at once and aren't passing it around one at a time.

It's been fun to watch the boys learning and growing so much lately.  Noah and Reese are starting to become more confident and letting go of things to take some steps.  Aiden is still not really interested.  He takes one little step and then starts crawling.  They are all good crawlers so it's much faster than trying to walk somewhere.  Aiden has learned how to get onto the couch.  We were keeping the remotes on the back of the couch so they couldn't reach them.  I walked into the living room after being in the kitchen and saw him sitting on the couch holding both remotes.  He also gets the batteries out. Needless to say the remotes have a new home.  Reese has been teaching Aiden how to open the baby gates.  Every day they seem to learn something new, for better or worse.

Today marks the end of Nate working out of town.  He has been working in Wisconsin for 4 weeks.  He has been leaving on Sunday night and coming home on Thursday night.  I have had my mom and cousin stay overnight, just so that I'm not alone.  Today is his last day.  It's not ideal to have him out of town, but it's work.

The next few weeks are very busy for us.  We have a couple of weddings coming up, including my brother!  We're very excited!  I'm also going to be a sub at Highland Christian 2 weeks from today.  Gulp!  This is my first time as a sub.  It's a resource room which is what my job was before.  I'm sure it will be fun to get back into my old job for a day.  I realized how difficult it would be to work though.  Lining up people to watch the boys and thinking about all that I'll have to have ready is exhausting! :)  Anyways, if you don't see much from me in the next few weeks that's why!  We'll be a little crazy around here.  Isn't it always?