I smell cookies.....

Sometimes after the boys go to bed, Ben and I eat snacks that we wouldn't normally eat around the kids. I had some chocolate chips cookies (the ones you break apart and bake) in the fridge.  There is nothing better than warm cookies :) The kids were in bed and we were assuming they were sleeping. Ben and I were on the couch pigging out on warm cookies. Evan came out so Ben hid the plate of cookies. Evan said "I smell something."  I told him it was just a candle that I was burning. Evan said "no, it smells like cookies."  Ben and I just busted out laughing...and then we had to share our cookies with him! Maybe you had to be there....

Little Piggy

I can't keep Eli fed. He is eating us out of house and home...he is finally eating and eating a lot! This afternoon after his nap, he at a cereal bar, banana, puffs, and puff popcorn. Then at supper he had two helpings of the hamburger/potato casserole we had and two helpings of peaches. What a change from the last week...last week, he was flat out refusing to eat. He would throw his food, refuse to open his mouth and wipe it off his tray as soon as I would put it on there. What a relief! 

Fat Tuesday

I guess Eli got the memo that it was FAT TUESDAY....

He ate a lot of supper last night! We'll see how today goes.

Walking

Eli is finally walking a lot more than crawling. Here he is concentrating on getting across the kitchen. Actually he was leaving the pantry that he was sitting in and going to unload the cookie sheet cupboard. I think he looks so big here....

Well, not big. Very scrawny actually. The kid DOES NOT eat anything. He used to eat mandarin oranges and bananas and yogurt. Now he is down to eating close to nothing. I am not joking. Everything I give him, he gags and spits it out. All the foods he used to like, he is now on strike. Hopefully he will turn around soon and start eating. I have tried the Carnation Instant Breakfast for extra calories, but he spits it out. Really he only likes milk, animal crackers, Teddy Grahams and Oreos. Not real nutritious...It is getting pretty frustrating and worrisome. We have never had this issue with the other boys....they were such good eaters.

Exhausted

Here is my night...actually a span of about 10 minutes while I was trying to make supper. I am exhausted just trying to keep Eli safe.

Just Cute

Monkey See...Monkey Do

As you can see from these pictures, Eli is walking pretty well....finally. He walks around the house about 50-60% of the time now. He is getting more and more confident everyday. Now the boys are realizing how much he wants to be like them. We could not keep him off the wii fit board....so we gave him the box....which has a picture of the board on there! He is happy as can be.

His teeth are still giving him quite the trouble. It looks like one molar is all the way through and one more almost through. I can see the tip. The other side is really swollen. His front teeth are getting big too...there is something about his smile now that just cracks us up...those teeth are too cute! We got so used to seeing him without them that it is taking a bit to get used to.

Nose

This afternoon at the wrestling meet, Isaac asked for a kleenex. He has had a stuffy nose lately so I didn't think anything of it. The next thing I knew, people around us were laughing. I looked at Isaac and he had shoved half a kleenex up his nose...just like the wrestlers do when they have a bloody nose. I pulled it out of his nose and was amazed at the amount of kleenex that fit in his tiny nose! I guess he pays attention to more at the meets than I give him credit for.

A six year old's hero

We have gone to a lot of wrestling meets this year with Ben coaching. Evan is really starting to pay attention to what is going on. He has also, through these meets, found a hero. The 189 pounder is his hero. He watches his every move, on and off the mat. When he sees a team picture, he points him out. This wrestler was in the Waterloo Courier this past week and Evan cut out his picture. A couple of times this week I have gone into Evan's room and found him looking at the write up and picture of him. It is so cute to see!

Today at District wrestling, this wrestler lost one of his matches. I looked over at Evan and there were tears in his eyes. He didn't realize that he had one more chance to make it to state. When I asked him what was wrong he said "now when I go on vacation (state wrestling next week) I can't watch Collin" My heart just broke for him. His hero ended up winning his wrestle back and is one of the 9 boys headed to state.

I remember being little and watching the high school athletes and being so amazed at them. Then, when you are in high school, you don't realize how many little eyes are watching. It is so cool to be reminded of this through the eyes of a 6 year old.

Third Place

Bruiser

stay tuned...

Isaac chewed on my camera cord and now I can't put pictures on the computer. I have to order a new one! I have been waiting to post until I could put some pictures on here....

Stay tuned for:

Evan's first wrestling meet and his 3rd place medal

and

Eli's black, swollen eye :( He was climbing at Vickie's and fell into the corner of the wall

Army Isaac

 

This is seriously as big as he is....

Snow

The boys have finally been able to spend a lot of time outside. Poor Eli has to stay inside and watch, which really he is pretty content doing. He loves it when the big boys come to the window and give him high fives!

Boys

Eli learned how to give hugs. He loves to hug everyone. At the wrestling meet on Saturday, he was hugging everyone within reaching distance. He spent more time on "strangers" laps because he wanted to give hugs. Once he hugs one person, he reaches for the next. It is beyond cute!

Little Husky

Evan is enjoying wrestling. He is going to wrestle in his first tournament this Sunday. He loves going to practices every Tuesday and Thursday. It is fun to watch Ben get to be his "coach".

Teeth

Eli has seemed to have more trouble teething than I remember the older two boys having. He has three of his top teeth, but was missing one of his front teeth. Our days of calling him "hill-billy" are soon over as it looks like his second top tooth has popped through. It is hard to describe so I will try to get a picture. When he laughs, he really does like a hill-billy! Yesterday, he was laughing and I saw that he has one molar that has come through. 

This may explain why he has been a bit fussier lately and really hasn't been sleeping great at night. In fact, there are some nights where he is up two or three times and just ends up sleeping with us. It gets pretty frustrating for us, he isn't sick, but something is bothering him. We were at the doctor last week just to rule out ear infection or anything like that. He is healthy, just fussy! 

Another factor contributing to the fussiness it the fact that he is not a good eater. He goes meals without eating at all...he just tosses his food everywhere and acts like you are feeding him poison.  He has a very limited diet.... cereal bars, mandarin oranges, yogurt, and crackers. It is terrible, we try everything and he just isn't interested. There are some days (meals) that he does eat better than others. Last night he ate well, and he slept all night! That was also the night that I found that his molar was through, so it is hard to pinpoint what is causing all of this....I am thinking it is all related. 

This parent thing is hard work. Still wish they would come with an owners manual! 

Radio Star

Isaac is a radio star! The boys and I were at the home basketball game in Nashua tonight. We were sitting on the stage bleachers like we always do and the kids were sitting with their friends down on the floor eating popcorn. The radio announcer motioned for Isaac to come over and have an interview. I have no idea if Isaac talked or not, but I did see him nodding his head. All I had was my phone so the picture isn't the best. It was so cute! The announcer put the ear phones on and they slid right off his head.

Eli talks!

Eli has been working hard on his tricks lately. He is so proud of himself and always has a cheering section with two proud big brothers.

Eli does somersaults

Eli still refuses to walk regularly. We are not worried yet, as he can climb on everything and do somersaults. He has mistaken "stand up" for "do a somersault" When we tell him to stand up, he puts his head down and gets in somersault position.