lately

I love being a teacher and having an entire week off for thanksgiving! It’s a much needed break at a perfect time of the year.  I wish I could say I used that week to get a ton of christmas shopping done or that I finished up a ton of projects around the house….but I didn’t!!  I did spend lots of quality time with my crew!  We had several doctors appointments, had family pictures taken (more on that later!), and I might have hidden inside walmart Thursday night (with a jeep in my cart) for 3 1/2 hours waiting on the midnight sale….thanks again mom!!!  All in all a great week!  One of our appointments was with an ENT.  Little Karsyn has been having some issues with ear infections, and will be getting tubes this Friday.  Definitely not the worst surgery we’ve been through, but any time they take your baby away from you (no matter how long it takes) is always hard….so say a little prayer for her on Friday morning!

Sweet baby girl with her hands clasped!  Could she be any sweeter?  Poor thing….I look at her and always think of that song “I get knocked down but I get up again”  if that doesn’t epitomize Karsyn I don’t know what does. The curve balls keep coming and she just takes them all in stride.   Such a little fighter!

and then there’s the  boys!!!

My big boy….this is what you find at any given moment with Brady!  If it’s not a costume it’s glasses!

Happy Kaden!! He graduated to the big boy seat in the stroller.  This curious little fellow LOVES being able to see where he’s going!

We’ve started having movie nights with Brady!  This has been a long time coming!  Brady has never been a big movie or TV watcher.  Getting him to sit still for that long was just unheard of! But he’s finally showing some interest!  We’ve watched Toy Story 1 and 2 and Cars!  Fun times with our biggest boy!!

pillow – check, froggy – check, soccer blankie – check, popcorn- check!

ready to watch!

and this is usually how movie night ends!   

got cash

This is what I walked into our bedroom to find our 3 year old doing the other day.  Just to set the scene a little….there is a little organizer on the edge of our dresser where Jeff puts all his spare change.  I guess Brady thinks he needs a raise in his allowance!!  Gotta love the resourcefulness of 3 year olds!!!

little miss chatterbox

Karsyn has become quite the talker!  And while I’m not very happy with her choice of words it’s fun to watch her chatter away!  She seriously “jabbers” constantly and even changes her voice inflections like she’s really telling us something important….and she gets quite agitated when we don’t pay attention!  Here’s a short video of her “talking”….we’ll take a longer video whenever she chooses a more appropriate word to say over and over….you know maybe a that starts with mom!

take my picture mommy

Saturday when I was having a mini photo session with the K’s, Brady was in no way interested in posing with them.  However, he did want me to take his picture as he posed and made various faces!!  Pretty cute if you ask me! He would announce what his poses/faces were right before he did them…I guess just to make sure I didn’t get confused!

mean face

 

another mean face (we had several of these!)

mean face gone wrong!

Happy face!

grumpy face

excited face…look at those tonsils!!! 

sad face

mad face…not to be confused with mean face

scary monster face

 

oh how I love this little boy and the imagination he has!!!  He loves to pretend and I love listening to and watching as those little wheels just turn inside that head of his….that hard head of his!!! 

because they’re cute

The K’s both had on cute little outfits Saturday and were in a cooperative mood so of course mommy had a mini photo session!!!

My little cutie!

  

My handsome little man!

I love this picture…they’re making the same face and look so much alike to me right here!

sweet kisses!

(or she’s using her brother as a teething ring…one of the two!)

Jef'f’s mini me with his little half grin!     

sweet K’s!!

table for 2

or high chairs for 2 I guess!!!  Kaden has been eating baby food for a while now.  When he started eating, Karsyn just wasn’t ready yet.  And then when I thought she was getting ready, I started working with her a little bit and we had some gagging issues!  Unfortunately, she seems to have inherited her mother and grandanny’s amazing gag reflex!  She would gag any time I put anything in her mouth.  I was actually starting to get a little worried and had begun talking to the occupational therapist about what we needed to do for her.  However, yesterday I was feeding Kaden his oatmeal and peaches and thought what the heck I’ll give it a try…and she LOVED it!!! No gagging whatsoever!  My guess is she had a texture issue with the rice cereal or something.  She’s now had 3 meals and is still doing well!!  She’s by no means eating as much as Tubby is but she’s not gagging so I’m a happy mommy!!!

breakfast for 2!!

spoon in mouth and no immediate gagging….SUCCESS!

I know she doesn’t look thrilled but I promise she liked it!

I also decided this weekend that I would buy some puffs for Kaden to start working on picking things up and bringing them to his mouth.  He picked right up on it!! He had a hard time actually getting them in his mouth, but he eventually got a few up there!!  AND I would just like for everyone (mainly my bible study girls) to notice the puffs on Kaden’s tray…..they’re whole!!!  For those of you who are not hysterically laughing at me at right now, you’re missing the fact that with Brady I was a little – okay a lot – neurotic.  I had (and still have) this amazing fear of choking and because I was crazy, I cut the puffs in fourths….yes puffs the ones that melt in their mouths….I know I’m crazy!!  But look I’m getting better!!!  Less neurotic? No, I’ve just transferred my neurosis to a different area!!!

I know there’s food in my hand somwhere!

found it!

mmmmmmm!

never underestimate

the heart of a princess!  I’d been wondering for a while how Karsyn would do in the bouncer toy.  Her head control has gotten SO much better, however I didn’t to push it.  But the other day I decided why not? And the little diva LOVED it!!!  She did so great, never lost her head control and even began to play with the toys in front of her!  May not sound like a big deal  but Karysn has been working so hard and is gaining so much strength every day…it’s a huge accomplishment in our little world!!

wasn’t so sure at first

 

hmmm this isn’t so bad….

look toys!

look what I found

little man found his toes!!!!

a few weeks ago…but better late than never right?

he was quite proud of himself and is enjoying his new found toy!!!

You might be a preemie mom if….

November is national preemie awareness month.  As I was reading about it a bit I stumbled onto a you might be a preemie mom if…..list!  Needless to say I laughed at all of these and can TOTALLY relate!! Just thought I’d share it…especially for the other preemie/NICU moms out there reading!!!

1.You use strange initials (C-PAP, CCs, NICU, NG) when discussing your child.
2.You actually remember how many CCs make up an ounce.
3.You count his/her weight in grams.
4. The skin on your hands is peeling from washing so often!
5.You hesitate when someone asks his/her age, but you know exactly how much he/she weighs!
6. The answer to “How old is your baby?” is a story 30 minutes long!
7. When someone asks his birthday, you reply, “Which one?”
8. You start to understand some of the things they say on ER!
9. You turn into Kung-Fu Mom when someone tries to touch your baby.
10. You attempt to measure just how much spit-up he/she just had before you clean it up!
11. You know how much he weighs before putting him on the scale at the doctor’s office
12. You cry at Maternity Ward and get mad at Baby Story.
13. You see a 7lb newborn and say “Wow! She’s so BIG!”
14. Your baby is months old before he can even go to the mall.
15. When someone says how tiny your baby is, you argue that he is huge — and to demonstrate, you whip out pictures of him in NICU.
16. You do a health check on people when they come to your house to visit .
17. You want to scream when someone says that she just wants to have this baby now – at week 28, 32, or 34.
18. You are so amazed when someone actually tells you your baby is big for his age!
19. You tried to find a place to buy newborn size diapers in bulk.
20. You called half your relatives when the baby grew out of their first pair of pajamas!
21. You never take your child for granted.
22. You worry about RSV season and it is still weeks away . . .
23. You know what “RSV” stands for.
24. You donate his/her tiny clothes to the NICU and marvel that they seem so small – when they were too darn large!
25. Your son gets a simple cold and her doc sees her within the hour!
26. It has taken them 5 months to grow INTO newborn clothes!
27. You pick up 2 pounds of ground beef and think that your baby was born at the same weight
28. You buy “Purell” in bulk
29. You can stare at your baby for hours when he sleeps
30. In the course of a day you have wanted to slap and bear hug the same NICU nurse.
32. You could drive the route from your house to the hospital in your sleep… and maybe you have.
33. The sound of your baby crying is beautiful, not annoying.
34. You not only know what “bilirubin” is, you have had several extensive conversations about it.
35. You need to have another baby so you can wear all the maternity clothes you have in your closet with the tags still on them.
36. You’ve aquired a taste for hospital food.
37. You always change your baby by putting the new diaper under the old before you take it off.
38. You are very uncomfortable when you take your baby home and don’t know her heart rate, respirtation rate or o2 levels.
39. You pray for, and celebrate, poopy diapers.
40. The following 6 months, or longer, after your baby gets home, they are in the same room with you during every daily activity. Shower, bathroom, dishes laundry… dosen’t matter, cause if you can’t see them, it’s “not worth doing”.

 

Our world has definitely changed because of our sweet preemies…and though I laugh and cry at some of these it’s who we are now and we’re grateful!!!

just mail me my trophy

my trophy for mom of the year that is!  Let me just start by saying I’m not sure why I’m sharing this story.  Maybe because I want to remember it….maybe not.  Maybe because I know that every mom has those days where they feel they are the worst mom EVER.  Well ladies, next time you’re having  one of those days and you think you’re the worst mom on earth…please think back to the post you read about the day I locked my son in the car and the police had to come get him out.  Yep that’s right….

I was dropping off a gift at Stacy’s house.  Stacy (Trenton’s mom) just had sweet baby Trace.  I just needed to drop something off quickly so I left Brady in the car and ran to the door.  NOW, I could see him the whole time…never out of my sight.  Trenton answered the door and of course wanted to see Brady….so I took Trenton outside, opened the van door and put him in the car…unbuckled Brady and the boys played in the car while Stacy and I talked (and while I snuggled with Trace!).  They had a blast…acting like total boys…flipping over the seat pretending to drive…everything!!  So the time came to go home.  I got Trenton out, buckled Brady in, shut the door and went to get in on the drivers seat.  That of course is when I realized the boys must have hit the lock button while they were playing…yep locked in.  Luckily the car was on so he had air and there was even a light on so he could see us and we could see him.  Trenton’s daddy jumped into action, called a friend who’s a cop and had him send someone over to help us.  In the meantime Brady is screaming “I WANT TO GO HOME”  which quickly turns into “I HAVE TO GO TT”….of course you do!

Needless to say the cops showed up, freed my sweet little boy who doesn’t seem to be too scarred, and didn’t report me to CPS.   A good day I think!!

Halloween

Brady had a great time trick or treating this year!! We’ve made some new friends on our street so the boys all went trick or treating together!  The twins obviously didn’t go out this year and I was a bad mother and didn’t even buy them a costume!! I figured that was at least $50 I could use elsewhere…like diapers!!!  But they did wear their scary pj’s for pictures!  Sorry K’s…next year I promise!

The Brewer Babies Halloween 2010!

My little pirate more than a little annoyed that I’m making him pose while he’d rather be trick or treating!

Off to get Will and Phil!

Fearsome looking group isn’t it?

off to the races!

Brady had a blast, but was somewhat…okay a lot concerned with the “monsters” he saw.  There were a lot of adults dressed up in some pretty scary costumes…Brady was definitely not a fan and we had to have quite a few conversations about how they were wearing costumes and were just pretend!  So far no nightmares…keep your fingers crossed!!!

8 months

I know their actual 8 month birthday isn’t until tomorrow….deal with it!  Like every month, I can’t believe they’re 8 months old.  This has been a good month for the K’s.  They’re both really starting to progress and are definitely interacting more with us and are fun to watch!

Little Mr. Kaden is developing so well!!!  He’s very verbal and loves to yell talk to everyone!  He has the best open mouth smile I’ve ever seen and as long as he’s being held he’s a very laid back kid!!!!  He is eating like a champ!!  (Remember I make their baby food and freeze it in ice cube trays…so I talk in portions of ice cubes!!)  He eats 2 veggie cubes, 2 fruit cubes, and once rice cereal cube every afternoon in addition to his 5 6 oz bottles!  This month we’re planning to add breakfast to the menu!!!  He weighed in this month at 17lbs 13 oz and was 25 1/4 inches long.  He’s in the 16th percentile for weight and is getting closer to the chart for height!

Miss Karsyn is just cruising right along!  She amazes me every day!!  She has started smiling and giggling a ton for us!  She has the most precious little smile that definitely melts mommy and daddy’s heart a bit!  She is starting to “jabber” a bit more and is definitely one of the best babies I’ve ever seen!!!  She is so content playing by herself and definitely doesn’t require as much one on one attention as another little boy whose name starts with a K!  We started feeding Karsyn a little bit everyday.  She has a pretty big gag reflux (courtesy of mommy and grandanny) and has a hard time with most foods…but we’re practicing and she’s getting better everyday.  Dr. Isenhower isn’t worried because she’s growing perfectly without it right now!  We took Karsyn to see Dr. Dauser the other day (neurosurgeon) and she was looking so good he doesn’t want to see her for 3 months!!  WOW – my calendar just opened up a TON!  She continues to progress with her therapy once a week and her head control is SO much better!!!  She weighed in this month at 13lbs 6 oz and was 24 3/4 inches long….still not on the charts for an 8 month old…but she’s growing!!

Dr. Isenhower said they’re both looking great!  We’re so pleased with how well they’re both doing!  They’re both receiving their synagis shots to help protect them against RSV but even still their exposure to the outside world will be very limited until April.  We definitely don’t want to take any chances!!  So to all our friends we’re still here, we’re still alive and hopefully we’ll see you in April!!!!

Few pictures of the K’s just hanging out!

great season SHARKS

The sharks played their last game on Saturday!  It’s been a great season and I enjoyed watching Brady react and interact with the other kids.  As I sat there Saturday for his last game I was a little disturbed.  Let me start by saying that I consider myself a fairly competitive person.  And, as a former coach, I will definitely have high expectations for Brady as he gets older and more serious in the sport(s) he chooses.  BUT right now….he’s 3!  On a good day..with something he’s WAAY interested in…his attention span is about 20-30 minutes.  With that said, I do not expect his attention span to automatically increase during the hour he’s playing soccer.  Yes there is going to be some grass picking, some flying around with your arms out like an airplane, some running off the field for impromptu water breaks…..and in between all this a little watching the soccer ball as it rolls past you!  This is all okay with me……but evidently NOT okay with a lot of the shark parents!  There was a lot of yelling, lot’s of disgusted remarks, and lots of threats (yelled across the field mind you) of punishment if they didn’t start paying attention.  As I sat there biting a hole through my tongue I was reminded of what a precious gift this little boy is, and how much I want him to enjoy being a child.  I want him to run around like an airplane, I him to be carefree and enjoy this time when someone takes care of everything for him.  Because these precious carefree moments are fleeting and soon enough he’ll meet the real world!  I love watching his personality develop and I love teaching him how to be a responsible, God fearing person…but I also love watching him be him!  My desire…especially after this weekend….is to be a realistic parent.  To never pressure him to be or enjoy something he doesn’t.  To always remember that he is a precious gift from God no matter how good or bad he is at soccer….I had my turn…now it’s his!!  Again…as he get’s older I will have high expectations for him.  I will expect him to finish what he starts, to do his best and give everything 100%….but, not until he understands what 100% is!!

Not sure where this rant came from…but listening to others around me on Saturday made me want to hug my little man a little tighter…no matter what our different opinions might be… a reminder to love on our little ones is always worth it right?!

wish I could say this was a pregame stretch…but I think this was in the middle of the game!!!

my little stud!

see there was some soccer playing too!! 

little water break with Grandpa!

it was the last game which means trophy’s!!!

little guys waiting patiently for his turn

Brady and his new pal Hunter with their trophies!

GO SHARKS

And because he played so hard (or because everyone gets one during the season!) Brady got a MVP medal on Saturday!!!

he was so proud and is planning to take his medal and his trophy for show and tell tomorrow!