Caleb is WALKING!

This news is worth it's own post. Caleb has been taking steps for weeks now, but just within this week, he has really started moving around on two feet instead of all fours. He's not always the most graceful thing... he wouldn't pass a sobriety test, but he's getting better. He smiles real big when he knows we are watching and if he's walking to one of us, as he gets close he puts his hands in the air and literally lunges into us. It's the cutest thing, but we have to make sure we are watching.

Busy weekend ahead

No pics today, again. I have been horable about taking pictures. It doesn't help that I now despise my older (2 yr) digital camera and long for one of those nifty speed shot Nikons. Maybe one day... Anyway, I know I will have plenty of pics to share after this weekend. Tomorrow Wes's cousin, the other Jamie Maurer, and Kyle Hafner are getting married and Austin and Avery are ring bearer and flower girl. I can't wait to see them all dolled up. We have a tux from when Austin was honorary ring bearer in my brother's wedding and I am banking on it fitting Caleb so we will all be dressed in our finest. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get a decent family picture.
We have all been trying to fight head colds and some light fever. It amazes me at how much snot one small child can produce. By the time I get to work in the mornings I have it on my clothes somewhere, usually from Caleb, so it's right on top of my shoulder.
I"ll post more after the wedding.

Normal chaos

Another week has come and gone. Not much new happening outside of the usual chaos that we call our life... Austin continues to refuse to get dressed in the mornings until I walk out the door and threaten to leave him. Cruel... I know, but it works. Avery on the other hand loves to get dressed in the morning and will usually put on what I pick out for her. My battle with her now is her hair. She wants to pick the clips to wear and wouldn't you know that she chooses the green ones when she wears pink and the red ones when she wears green. She prefers not to wear bows and I learned not to fight that battle months ago. We only wear them on the weekends and I have learned to live with that. I tried to curl her hair for the first time last weekend and she wasn't a fan. I'm hoping she lets me do it for the wedding she is in next weekend. Caleb is getting into everything. His favorite new activity: playing with the dishwasher. I will put the door down to load dishes and pull the bottom drawer out and he plays for a good 30 minutes with whatever is in there. I put all the knives in the back so he can't reach them. Is this the safest activity for him? No, but he's content and I can watch him and "cook" supper while he does it. I will try and post some recent pics soon. I guess I need to take some first though in order to get that accomplished!!!

The Animal Movie

I try to limit the amount of tv the kids watch. Austin would sit and watch all day if we let him. He's a fan of any cartoon.... (That Thomas, I just don't how kids get so into it... it's pretty boring if you ask me) Anyway... we do have a few movies that Wes or I will put on from time to time so that we can get things done or so that the kids will sit and take a break. If we ask the kids what they want to watch, 9 times out of 10 they will tell us the "Animal Movie." This is a short 20 minute DVD that came with a farm animal book I randomly got the kids one day. I bought it for the book and figured the DVD was a bonus. A bonus indeed! I think the actual title of the movie in "Petting Farm". Nothing too fancy about it, just talks about baby farm animals and a little about what they do. Avery and Austin will talk backto the screen when they ask the questions about what the animals names are. This is a pic of the kids sitting table watching the screen intently!

Caleb's 1st Hair Cut

3 kids, 3 hair cuts... no problem . We went to get everyone's cut on Tuesday and much to my surprise there were no tears shed and everyone left smiling. We let Caleb go first. He even sat in the big chair on the booster seat. Every once in a while his head would whip around when Karissa was cutting in the back . He wanted to see what was making the tickling feel on his neck. He smiled and gooed in the mirror.... good times.

I caught Caleb kissing the microwave.... not quite sure what that is all about.

Haircuts

We (except Wes) are all in need of haircuts. Tomorrow I am taking all 3 kids for cuts. This will be Caleb's 1st haircut and boy does he need it! Austin is still not a fan of getting his haircut. I have to bring a treat... something to bribe him with. Avery enjoys looking at herself in the mirror while getting her hair cut. I try to schedule something late in the day so not many people are around who would mind my kids running around and exploring the salon. I'll post some pics if I have a chance to take any.

Another Monday....

So we are back into some what of a routine. There is no "normal" around our house. We never know who is going to wake up in a good mood or who will come home determined to drive us crazy. After we got home from school/work today, we hit a small rough patch. At one point I think all three kids were crying and I was on the verge of tears or a bottle of wine! I didn't give into either, but instead tried to take a deep breath... "I think I can, I think I can..." Eventually the crying stopped.... Caleb got fed, Avery was picked up and Austin got his juice. Avery has been a bit challenging lately. She keeps climbing up on the counters after being told not to. She knows what she is not supposed to do, turns and makes sure that we are watching, and then does it. Ooohh... we are in trouble.


Here is Austin riding on the tractor with Wes. Wes is about done with the tank project. For those of you who have been to our place, you know there is a tank on the property. It hasn't been holding water and needed to be cleaned out. About 3 months ago, the tank was drained, lined with bentonite and now we are waiting for it to fill. Wes did a lot of tractor work and this picture is from today, the first day Austin would get on the tractor. When we asked Avery if she wanted to ride, she said "no, I wanna go inside and get some Chex Mix." She is such her mother's child!

10 Common Phrases Heard at our house...

in no particular order...

1) I no wanna get dressed, mama.
2) No, I wanna sit in the middle!
3) I wanna snack. I want some Chex Mix.
4) I need more juice, mama.
5) No, that's mine!
6) I want to behave. (This is usually when someone is in timeout)
7) I want to go to Toppe's house.
8) I no want to lay in my bed. I wanna lay in mama and daddy's bed.
9) I growin' up.
10) Mama, mama, watch me. Mama, mama, MAMA, watch me.....

Never to early to learn...

Austin's spring training is right around the corner. He's hoping to be drafted into the semi-pro Tball league. Lucky for him, I think he's going to bat batter then his mom, but then again, I guess that's not saying much.

Getting the right grip.

Keep your eye on the ball!

This one is going yard!

Home run.....

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

One night last week, we were hanging out on our bed - it's one of Caleb's favorite things to do - and Avery started jumping. I told her to stop... she was going to hurt herself, but as she kept doing it. I normally would have taken her arm and sat her down or made her get off the bed, but I remember being tired and let her be, that is until she jumped right into our head board. She hit the sharp corner right in the middle of her nose, right between her eyes. It puffed up a lot at first... looked like a unicorn. I knew to expect black eyes... they never got as bad as I expected, but now a week later, they are still a little blackish-blue.

Here's a pic of her a few days after....

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Potty Training

We haven't really pushed potty training on the kids. We made somewhat of an effort a few months ago and we had a little luck with Avery but nothing with Austin. They work on it quite a bit at school, but lately we have relied on diapers at home. I don't think we've been mentally ready to put forth the extra effort... it takes a lot of work and effort. Avery will tell us everyonce in a while that she has to go potty and she will usually go, but it's random times... not sure why.
Well Friday night Austin went tt in the potty for the 1st time ever at home. We made a big deal about it and Wes decided we should put both in just underwear and see how they would do. Over the 2 hour span we had 1 accident and I swear each one went tt on the potty at least 6 times. I guess they don't have the concept of "holding it". It was a big step for us to get Austin to go on the potty. Now we need to keep making steps forward to get them potty trained... I won't miss buying so many diapers!!!

Saturday at home

Nothing like a low key day at home after a being on the run over the holidays. We all needed some down time... The kids were able to play outside for a good while - is it really January?!? - and I finally de-Christmased the house, man it looks bare now.
Avery and Austin are at a point where we don't need to keep an constant eye on them. We just stay close and run when someone starts to cry... depending on the pitch of the cry. They get along most of the time. They are true best friends - hugging each other one minute and pushing each other the next. They love their bouncing house and I am wondering when the newness will rub off, hopefully no time soon. Caleb is growing everyday. He is standing on his own and taking a few steps at a time. We have to stay close because he takes a step or two and then lunges forward, arms out wanting us to catch him. He laughs hysterically when he does this... we can't help but laugh too.