Tis the Season

The boys had an awesome time this holiday season. On Christmas Eve Craig took Payton and Brooks to "The Barn" Christmas Eve church service... Brooks thought it was absolutely hilarious as the cow kept on "mooing" through the entire service. Braxton and I attended the Danebod Church Service with my Mom and Dad. I couldn't tell you if I have EVER missed a Christmas Eve Church Service at Danebod - I have always really enjoyed them. After the church services we had an AWESOME supper at Doug and Bev's. The kids kept themselves entertained with balloons, the Wii Fit, wrestling, and of course the new gifts once they were opened. As you can see from Braxton's picture above he was crashed and ready for bed. He was an awesome baby that night considering all of the running here and there and the chaos from the older kids. We got home in time to put the boys to bed... who were super excited that Santa was coming and I think it took about 2 seconds for them to fall asleep. Braxton was the first to awake which in turn came Payton and then Brooks. They looked for their stockings right away... Santa was good to them and gave them pj's, under-roos, toothbrushes, slippers, a movie, and Payton's new 'blow-up ball' (that he asked Santa for). He always asks for the hardest things to find - last year was an orange whistle. When they were done with their Santa gifts they opened their presents from us which was the Wii. Payton loves playing that... and can beat his Dad in baseball and golf. Craig got me an apple ipod and a new pair of tennis shoes - both of which will come in very handy. I finally broke down and bought Craig the tools that he has been wanting... forever.

We then had to get things packed up for my Mom and Dads. Once again an awesome meal prepared by Gma Peggy and Gpa Brad. Of course us kids usually help out and bring a dish to share as well... but nothing ever seems to beat the main course (or the many Christmas goodies that she bakes). And for the last time this season was the gift opening... I don't think that anyone left without a car load. I thoroughly enjoy the time spent with the family especially those that we don't see very often. It always seems that Christmas sneaks up on us and that there is a ton of planning and all of a sudden it's over. I am very greatful for the 3 Wonderful Adorable Boys that I have along with 1 Awesome Husband. I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and I wish you all the best in 2009.

BAER Hearing Test

When Braxton was in the NICU at Sanford he was put on a gas (Nitric) which was forced into his lungs to help him with his breathing. When small children are on this it has the potential to cause some hearing loss. The doctors informed us that he wasn't on this for very long so he should be okay however they would like to run the test just to be sure. If I remember right he was only on the nitric gas for a couple of days. So this past Friday was the day for the test and we are happy to know that Braxton has no hearing impairments. Since he was "moderately" sedated he was not to have anything to eat or drink up to 6 hours before the procedure (except clear liquids up to 2 hours before). We went with pedialyte so he wasn't starving or crying all the way to Sioux Falls. Everything went smooth... we got there, got checked in, met with the nurse, the anesthesiologist came to visit us, the nurse came back and gave Braxton the sedation medicine (chloral hydrate), and Braxton was off to jammy land (taking what they call an "exaggerated nap"), the gal came to do the test and 1/2 hour later he was done and awake... and STARVING. I have posted a couple pics of Braxton hooked up to the machine that was testing his hearing. The BAER hearing test puts sound into his ears and the "pads" that were stuck to his head measures the amount of brain activity based on the sound put into his ears. It's a hearing test that the child does not have to cooperate with. We were pretty sure that Braxton had no hearing problems but felt that it would be nice to know now if there were any slight impairments. He was pretty sleepy the rest of the day which was really nice... so we could finish up our Christmas shopping. Once again another awesome experience with the doctors, nurses, and staff at Sanford.

Potty Training Complete...

Well I am so happy to say that Brooks is completely potty trained. He has been wearing underwear for 2 weeks now. He had a couple accidents the first week other than that the only other accidents that he has had are when he goes in to use the bathroom and he can't get his pants and undies down fast enough or if he "shoots" over the toilet seat and hits his undies. We are so very proud of him and new that he could do it. I am not sure what really made him become potty trained but I am definitely loving it. For being trained at 2 years 3 months he does an awesome job. I know some people say that boys are harder to train however I beg to differ. Both of my older boys were the exact same age. The accidents that he did have we would still have him clean up his undies which he was not too fond of so maybe that played a part in the training. I guess it doesn't really matter now as long as he continues to be a BIG BOY!!!

1st Grade Letters...

Payton was so proud that he was able to fill a "full" piece of paper with sentences. I have taken pictures of those sentences... see if you can read what he wrote. I remember looking back at my papers from grade school and laughing at our beginner level spelling. He really does an awesome job. At conferences we found out that he is reading at a 1st grade 8th month level. At the time of testing they were only at 1st grade 2nd month. We are VERY VERY pround of Payton and hope that he continues to succeed in his schooling.

I never thought I would but I couldn't resist...

No offense to those who put their children in the same outfits for pictures, holidays, etc... (I think it's cute when people dress their children the same). I just never thought I would do it - let alone with 3 boys. I have always bought the boys new sweaters to wear for Christmas and ended up finding the same sweater in 3 different sizes for the boys. I will probably never be able to do this again. I can't wait to put the sweaters on the boys and take their picture.

He's Rolling Rolling Rolling...

Braxton has started rolling over from his belly to his back. The first time he did this was Nov. 20th (2 1/2 months old) and is now doing it on a pretty regular basis. It's amazing how fast they really do grow and change. About every time I do laundry I find myself putting away more baby clothes as he is out growing them - it really makes me sad. Sad to know that "I" will never dress another one of my babies in these adorable baby boy clothes.

Family Buck Hunting Experience...

Saturday Nov. 15th the entire family went out just to look for deer. Instead of switching car seats over to the pick-up we took the Denali instead. Obviously by the looks of the pictures we should have taken the pick-up. As we came up over a hill Craig spotted a doe... I look in the binoculars and spot a buck. Craig decides that he is going to shoot it so climbs out of the vehicle. I am trying to keep the 2 older boys quiet so we don't spook the deer as we are waiting to hear the gun shot. Craig jumps down and tells me to get in the driver seat as he is going to walk around the back side and see if he can sneak up on them. I back down the road that we were coming down and he is sneaking around the other side. The doe stands up and walks away... the buck stands up and... BAM... he runs into the corn field. I am trying to keep watching the deer in the binoculars and come across Craig motioning me (like an airplane stewardess) to go this way and that and drive (my vehicle) into the field to come and get him. So across the fields we go... bouncing all the way. (ha ha ha) As we come up on Craig he asks Payton to jump out and help him track the deer as he saw blood on the corn stalks. I thought he had missed the deer and that he ran away. Payton was so excited as he kept telling Craig... "yep, here's some blood... here's some more... THERE HE IS... YES I FOUND THE BUCK!!!" It was so awesome. That is the first time in 29 years that I have ever seen a dead deer before being gutted as well as the first time ever to see anyone ever gut a deer. The 'buck deer' was a 6-pointer but had a good size body to him. Craig said that he was very hesitant on whether he wanted to shoot him beings he wasn't so big... but since he had his family as his audience he thought he better. It was an awesome experience and I am glad that the boys got to be a part of it.

Potty Training...

***Comment on Comments...***
Thank you Michelle for your suggestions - that's exactly what I was looking for. As far as the anonymous comment goes I think you are somewhat misunderstanding me. I do consider myself a good Mom, a VERY good Mom and I would do NOTHING to hurt either one of my boys. I LOVE THEM DEARLY and would do anything for them. I am not making him sit in a bath tub of FREEZING COLD water... He is standing in the tub rinsing his undies out... not sitting. The plug is not in so he is not standing in the cold water either. The cold water is just running on his hands. I guess I should have worded it a little different and I hope you understand my purpose for having him clean up his own mess. I chose the bath-tub as the place for the cleaning to be done instead of him making a mess on the counter. I chose to use "cold" so it was less pleasurable for him not to hurt him. If you comment on posts in the future please leave a name so I know who you are. Thanks

Any suggestions or techniques are welcome...
If we allow for Brooks to run around with no pants on he goes to the bathroom by himself - both potty and poop. However come December 1st he will no longer be allowed to run around that way as I return to work and have 11 other kids in and out of my house. As soon as you put pants on him, whether it's a diaper, pull-up, or underwear he feels the need to go to the bathroom right in his pants and as soon as he is done he tells us. We know that he knows exactly what he is doing - however we are just not sure how to get him to use the bathroom. I was told by a couple different people that when he goes potty or poop in his underwear make him clean it out and also clean up any mess he made on the floor. It sounded good to me... so this morning 7:00am he went to the bathroom and I put him in undies... by 7:45 he was wet. As furious as I was I set him in the bath tub and made him take his own undies off and wash them out. He was not impressed and cried the entire time. That was the reaction that I was hoping for... I put him back in undies and about 1/2 hour later he was wet again. Even more furious I did the same... had him clean up his messes - however this time he wasn't bothered by it. And for the 3rd time by 10:00am he wet his pants again. This time he told me he was going to get in the tub and wash his undies. Okay... plan not working too well. So this evening when it happened for the 4th or 5th time (I honestly lost count) I made him wash his undies out but in cold water. This time he cried the entire time. Maybe he will learn to use the potty tomorrow. He will be 2 years and 3 months next weeks so it's not that he is that old, however he knows exactly what he is doing as he uses the potty when he has no pants on. If you have any suggestions or techniques that you have heard works well please let me know. I was hoping to be done potty training him by the time I got kids back. I guess time will tell.

Oh what fun it is to ride...

So this is what you get when you leave Dad in charge of playing with the boys outside. Brooks was trying so hard to ride his little bike down the hill but was getting no where. Meanwhile Payton was enjoying his ride on his little 'kitty-cat' snowmobile. So Craig comes up with the idea to tie Brooks and his bike up to the snowmobile. It was pretty fun to watch. It was also fun to see Payton being an awesome big brother by making sure Brooks was not running into the pine trees or falling off of the bike. They both had such a blast.

2 Month Well Check...

I have been anxious to see how much Braxton has grown since his 3 week check-up. He has slept through the night a handful of times - first time being 6 weeks to the day. Man it sure is nice to wake up at 6am for the first time some nights. We are usually able to just give him his nuk when he does wake up - but sometimes that doesn't work and we feed him. He usually eats every 3 hours during the day and eats 5 ounces for each feeding. I am an anal person so he never eats sooner than 3 hours and never more than 5 ounces.

Reminder at birth Braxton weighed 8 lb 15 oz and was 20 3/4" long.

At 2 weeks (before leaving the NICU) he weighed 9 lb 1 oz ~ so only gained 2 ounces in 2 weeks.

At 3 weeks he weighed 9 lb 5 oz. and was 21 1/2" long and his head circ. was 14".

At 2 mon. he weighed 12 lb 3 oz. and was 24.2" long and his head was 15" long. He is in the 50% for his weight and length and in the 35% for his head. It sounds as though he has a "small" head but really it looks normal. He had 3 shots and one oral immunization (which he took like a trooper). Of course he cried but as soon as I had him dressed and in his car seat he was out like a light. He has been pretty sleepy since we got home - hope it continues through the night.

Everything else continues to check-out fine for him so I can only hope and pray that he continues.

Cheese...

Braxton

Chloe, Payton, & Rylie

Uncle Buck, Jim, Travis, Biev, Buff, Trent, Craig, Chloe, Rylie, Tatum, & Brooks
Braxton "Cheese"

Okay... so I uploaded a bunch of pictures from the last couple of weeks and couldn't resist sharing a bunch of them. I hope that everyone enjoyed trick-or-treating as well as the weather, it was beautiful. The kids sure seemed to enjoy their costumes as well as seeing all the other kids in theirs. The older guys had a great time goose, duck, and pheasant hunting this weekend as well. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it and then it will be Christmas. Enjoy the beautiful weather while it's here... I can't believe it's been in the 70's, in November, in Minnesota. Not a normal combination.

Trick-or-Treat

Payton, Braxton, Brooks, & Andrea
Payton & Brooks (Brooks is saying "Trick or Treeeeat")
Gma Bev, Tatum, Auntie Rita, Braxton, Rylie, Chloe, Payton, & Brooks

Braxton ("Mommy's Lil Monster)

Braxton ("Snack-O-Lantern")

*from Uncle Tristan, Auntie Danielle, & Jacob

Pumpkin Carving...

Tagged

Here are the rules...

1.Post the rules on your blog
2.Write 6 random things about yourself
3.Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you are tagged, just do it, and pass the tag along!

1. We raked leaves this morning and Payton and I filled 10 "big" bags full of leaves by our selves. It seems like it has been forever since him and I have done any kind of activity together - other than school work. It was really nice... I miss that.

2. 3 boys.... YIKES!!!!

3. I agree with Kitsie... I can't believe that Payton is 6 years old and is reading, writing, and doing arithmetic. You can't even spell out the "naughty" words and they know what you are spelling or what you are wanting to say. They are just too quick.

4. Officially 2 more months until Santa comes... I have no idea what to be getting for presents this year.

5. I am still on maternity leave and loving it... I am off until Dec. 1st. I will be excited to see the kids again... as I can't believe how big they have gotten in just the last 2 months.

6. When I went to college 11 years ago (man that seems so long) I started out in nursing. I changed 2nd semester as I didn't think I could do it. There was too much partying and socializing to be done. I now sometimes think that I would like to go back and I really think that I could do it. Sorry... Jenny and Kitsie - you guys gave some good "randoms" to think about.

I tag... Angie M., Nikki K (just write yours in my comment section), Erin O., any anonymous people who read my blog can certainly comment on here w/o having an account. Just sign in anonymously and make sure you type your name at the end of the message.

Baptism

Braxton has officially been welcomed into God's family through Holy Baptism (Sunday 10.12.08). We had an awesome brunch following church at our house with our families. My sister Nicole and her husband Dan were two of Braxton's sponsors as well as Craig's brother Jason and his wife Tambi. It worked out well as they were here visiting from California (with their sons Joey and Sawyer). It was an awesome autumn day with the leaves coming down in full force.

New Pics of Braxton...

Well... here I stand with the camera trying to get some decent pictures of Braxton for the birth announcement. I finally had to just settle or it would probably be another month before I would have gotten them ordered. He has started smiling and cooing - quite a bit. Craig just thought it was the cutest thing when he just sat and cooed and every now and them gave him a "quick" little smirk. It's hard to believe that he is one month old already - you would think I would know how fast time goes as well as how fast they grow now that this is the 3rd baby. But I have seem to have forgotten. Craig's brother Jason and his wife Tambi and nephews Joey and Sawyer are coming this Friday. We are having Baptism on Sunday as Jason and Tambi are two of his sponsors. Payton is super excited to see his cousins again... they seem to enjoy eachothers company.

Duck Opener 2008

It's hard to tell... but this ducks eye is popped out of it's head.

Duckies say "Quack quack"...

The boys' trying to line all of the ducks up for pictures.

Payton had been counting down the days all last week as to when he would be able to go duck hunting. The opener for duck hunting was this last weekend and he had a blast. Craig takes Payton along and they get their gear and decoys ready for when the ducks come in.
Craig's college friend Tony W. comes from Mankato along with his (Tony's) brothers, cousin, and nephew also join them.
Payton's main job is to sit quiet (if that's at all possible) and call the ducks in with his own duck calls. He too is decked out in camo - however by the time I had the camera ready he had changed into dry, clean clothes. Payton has never been a morning person - unless... there is something in it for him... like hunting. Saturday morning Craig went down to get him up and he popped his head up and said "are we going duck hunting... shhhh... don't wake Brooks up". He flew out of bed and was upstairs and downstairs and outside in no time.
They hunted all morning and when they came in - he couldn't stop telling stories about this duck and that duck or this goose and that goose, whose dog did what, who shot the most, who missed the most, how good he called the ducks, etc...
Brooks really enjoyed picking up the ducks and throwing them around too. Before we know it he will be out hunting too and Braxton will be the one throwing the ducks around.

Brotherly Love...

Well the boys have adjusted really well to having a baby in the house. Sometimes I feel like things are a little chaotic - but I think it's just me. For those who know me - I am pretty anal when it comes to a clean house and having things go "perfect" if there is such a thing. Here are some pictures of the boys with their brother and a couple of just Braxton. Have a Super Great Weekend... Tifanie

Yeah... I am going home!!! Dad wasn't too impressed with the yellow outfit.
Payton couldn't get off of the bus and in the house fast enough to see his brother.
Mom says I look a lot like my older brother Payton - time will tell.
Brooks was actually singing "twinkle twinkle" to Braxton last night.
It was homecoming this last week - Payton was pretty proud of his face paint and white hair.