Three years ago today!

You were born. I remember the day so perfectly...but, I won't go into details (that'll be our story). I can't believe how the time flies. It seems like yesterday that we brought you home from the hospital and we waited for your cues to tell us what we should do next.

You have brought so much joy into our lives since the day you were born. We've taught you how to walk and talk, and to be polite and make friends, yet, you've taught us how to love another being, you've taught us patience (although you test it) and compassion, and you've also taught us how to be big kids. The world is a big and scary place, take our hands and let us help you learn, appreciate and discover what is yet to come.

We love you Max with all our hearts! We want you to remember that forever. All the things yet to come, the experiences and choices you make, no matter what you do, We will always love you.

Happy Birthday Master Max!!!

Love Mom & Dad.

Life savers!

Last night we had Max's third birthday party (details in a later post). As the families were leaving the party, Tami came back in and said "it smells very strongly of natural gas out here". All I could think was, "this has happened before". Daryl said he would call the gas company and have them come out and take a look. When he made the call, the guy suggested we evaculate safely. We stayed inside where it was safe and warm.

This has happened before!

Two years ago we had a similar situation of smelling natural gas. We called the gas company, they came out, stuck the tester in the air and said there was no problem. Well, last night proved a different story. There is a leak, a very small leak on a fitting that needs to be replaced. So, the gas company comes out this afternoon to remedy the problem. Thank god for good friends and pointing out the obnoxious odor. We wouldn't have noticed the odor since we hardly use the front door, we always come in from the garage.

To cute for words

We've been busy little bees these days. One of my new years resolutions is to blog more. I usually don't follow through with many, but this one should be easy.

keep your promises

I promised you an update about the kids. Here it is:
They are sick, growing like weeds and cute as buttons.

Ok, just kidding.

Isaac
**From all the Doctors office visits and Hospital stay, he's roughly 11.12 pounds (it's different everytime)
**He's 23" long
**He is smiling like nothing else and beginning to coo at us.
**He sleeps no more than 4 hours at a stretch through the night, but will easily sleep 3-4 hours during the day in his swing or car seat...go figure! He makes me smile even when he's fighting sleep or crying for whatever reason.
**Unlike Max, he drools and loves to suck on his hands. He'll be the one we have to constantly watch, because he'll be the rock and dirt taste tester.
**Going to sleep is a fight, but he loves to have his butt patted and shushed, all while trying to hold the pacifier in his mouth...which he spits out within minutes. I don't think we'll have any pacifier battles with this one.
He's cute as a button and has the big blue eyes just like Max.

Max
**Is almost three (only 11 more days until his birthday)
**He was weighed at the Dr.'s office and wasn't quite 30 lbs yet. All I know about his height right now is that he's over 36".
**He is diving into big boy toys: hot wheels and legos. He got some great hot wheels toys for his birthday from Auntie Kelly, which he absolutely loves.
**He loves trains, books, coloring and singing. He also loves making crafts; glue is his latest fascination.
**what else can I say, he's a typical three year old; bossy and loveable all at the same time.

I promise the next post will be pictures. Can't put those on while at work.

Admitted

Well, Isaac tested positive for RSV. The Dr. was shocked he was positive because his lungs were clear and no fever. Friday afternoon he was admitted to Fairview Ridges for observation. It's now Saturday morning, 11am and we are HOME! He's doing very well, just a very raspy cough and stuffy nose. Seeing your children sick is by far the hardest part about being a parent, there just isnt anything you can do but hold them and tell them that you love them.

The best part about our visit is that the Dr. that checked on Isaac this morning was great and I decided she will be our new Pediatrician....YIPPEE!!! I've been searching for someone who will take the time to listen to our concerns and not rush us out the door and she fits the bill. I may have to make appointments far in advance to make sure we can get in, but it'll be worth it.

Tis the Season

for runny noses, fevers and coughing. Max has had all of the above in the last few days. He has a squeaky voice and and ear infection.

Isaac is coughing as well so he'll be checked out later today. It's not severe yet, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. We don't need RSV to take over his little body.

Thankfully, both Daryl and I haven't gotten this round yet.


Tis the season for decorating and singing Christmas carols. We finally started decorating last night. We decided to hold off on putting up the tree until after Max's Birthday, so it at least looks like a birthday and not Christmas.


Upcoming blog: Pictures and updates of the kids. I've sort of neglected this area.

Thanksgiving

Mmmm! The turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberries, green bean casserole and most importantly the stuffing. I can't wait! It's only days away until we stuff our faces with food and go into coma's for the afternoon because we ate way to much.

We'll be celebrating Thanksgiving this year with Daryl's family in IL this year. D's brother had their third baby, a girl, just 8 days before Isaac was born, so we'll get to meet her, and Daryl's parents are flying in from FL to celebrate with us. Grandma Noreen will be in baby heavan, two new babies to love.

What are you thankful for this year?

I'm thankful for:
My family and friends
My home
My job
I'm also thankful for low gas prices as we're driving the 6 hours to IL. Wish us luck!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Go to sleep...part 2

Are there any baby sleep whisperers in the crowd? If so, please contact me...I REALLY need your help.

Isaac is fighting sleep, for what reason I don't know. It's the evenings that are horrible, all he does is cry. The last two nights, he hasn't gone to sleep until midnight and than he's up every 2.5 hours...grr! Daryl and I think he misses Max after he goes to bed. Is that possible? I find it quite tranquil when Max goes to bed. The constant chit chat from a three year old all day long, drives this mama a little nutty by the days end. I love you Max!

I don't know what to do for Isaac. We rock him, walk around the house and he swings, which is clearly the only thing that settles him down. We better break the habit soon, otherwise he'll be off to college with it. I can see it now, I'm waving him off to college and the last thing I see is the adult sized battery operated swing strapped down to the back of his pick up truck. LOL!

This no sleep thing is NOT OK with me, nor with Daryl for that matter. Not only am I working during the day part time, but I am also working part time nights and weekends for the season. the combination of working and no sleep equals one tired and crabby mama!

I know, I know...this to shall pass!

Going green...

and cutting costs. The economy isn't getting any better so in an effort to save money in our household, i've decided I will try my hand at making a few Christmas gifts. Im starting this year by making kid friendly stuff (because they can't and won't criticize my work). We are celebrating a small Christmas with Daryl's family in IL over Thanksgiving weekend, so I need to have a few of these gifts ready by than. I just hope I can get them done in time. wondering what they are? Well, you'll just have to wait! It wouldn't be much of a surprise for the families receiving these gifts since they read the blog.


Amongst other ways of saving money, here's the short list.

• Cloth diapering: I work Wed-Fri so i'm only doing it part time, and only on Isaac. The sitter will use disposables unless I convince her otherwise. It's going well and I can see the benefits and my babies bum looks pretty darn cute.


• Breastfeeding/pumping


• Plastic on the leaky windows (which really shouldn't be leaking, but we opted for the cheaper windows). And turning down the thermostat.


• Setting a very small monthly budget for groceries and sticking to it. I better go tally up my receipts, it's not looking good this month. You should know that I love clipping coupons, sales and making my dollar stretch as far as it'll go.
  
• Menu planning: Which I need to start up again


• Haircuts at home for Max. The first one went OK (hopefully, he'll let me do it again, I did accidentally clip his ear...oops!)


• Re-using anything and everything possible. Check out http://www.realsimple.com/ to learn creative ways to reuse everyday household items.
• Washing the laundry in cold water and setting the load size correclty. Do me a favor, next time you wash a load of laundry, do as you would, let the washer fill up with water, than look and see how much water you actually need....you'd be amazed at how much water those suckers use and what is actually needed for a load. Turning the load size down just a bit saves a ton of water. My dial goes from small, medium and super...what happen to large?

Im sure there's more, but I thought i'd share just a few.

What's that I hear?!

Adults talking and phones ringing. I must be at work! That's right, yesterday was my first day back and I am happy to report that we all survived. The morning went as smoothly as it could, the boys got to the sitters, I to work (and on time) and I even remembered my lunch. Couldn't get any better.

Halloween!

I should have posted this already, but I don't get much time to blog right now. I think I'll start devoting the time when Sir Isaac is bright eyed and bushy tailed at 11pm.

Halloween proved to be fun this year. Max was so excited for it. We started the week out by going to the local community center where they held a Halloween Hodgepodge for the kids. They had games, trick or treating, coloring and a haunted house. I slipped Max in his costume (he couldn't contain his excitement) and we buzzed over for a bit. It was just the two of us, I think Max really liked the one on one attention.

On Wednesday we attended a Halloween playdate. Max had fun with the pumpkin bowling and playing outside with the boys. On Friday we attended another Halloween playdate with the moms group and again, Max enjoyed playing with all the toys and playing outside. The weather was beautiful all week so we enjoyed every minute of it.

Halloween night we trick or treat in our neighborhood for about an hour and than we head over to my moms Salon in Mendota Heights where they have a mall trick or treat, wagon rides with horses and the BIGGEST bon fire you ever saw. This has been our tradition and as long as the mall is still standing and my moms salon doesn't move, we'll continue it. It's not an extravagant Halloween by any means, but it's the memories we are making for the kids.

Did I forget to mention that Max dressed up as Spiderman. He had the biggest muscles of them all. Isaac wore a little halloween themed sleeper that my mom picked up for him.

Go to sleep!

I'll be the first to admit (with my husband right behind me) that Isaac is not a good sleeper yet. Max was a dream, of course we had our moments, but even to this day, he likes to sleep and does it very well, never argues with us and he stays put in his bed until we go in and get him (an hour can go by before we get him and he's still laying in bed, talking or singing). Isaac does pretty well during the day, but when night time rolls around, thats when all hell breaks loose. All he wants to do is eat and is often heard crying. We rock him, offer him a pacifier, bathe him, sing to him, walk around the house, shed a teer or two ourselves and feed him. Sometimes all our efforts just don't work and he cries, falls asleep and wakes up crying again.

Thank goodness for my moms group...I borrowed a swing from one of the fellow moms and it's been our saving grace. We put him in the swing and voila! he's happy and content (ok, not all the time). I feel bad always putting him in the swing, but how do you get anything done or spend time with the other loved ones in your family when you've got an infant that won't stop crying.

All I can say is that it's 10:23pm, Isaac is swinging peacefully (and wide awake) and I can barely keep my eyes open.

Who wouldn't love this, it's got music, lights, motion and fishy friends that spin around.

Brotherly Love!

Max is so in love with Isaac and its cute! I feel like I talk about it a lot, but I truly am amazed at how well he's taking to Isaac. He isn't jealous of him, instead he wants to know when he'll be bigger so he can play. Im sure when Isaac starts becoming mobile is when the trouble will start, you know the toy snactching or , "mom, Isaac took my toy" or mom, Isaac won't leave me alone", and so on.

For now, I'll just enjoy these moments.

Can you feel the love?

October!

Let me tell you how much I love October:

I love the changing leaves and colors, the cool weather, the smells of fall, the crunchy leaves, apple and pumpkin picking, wearing sweaters but no jacket, playing in the leaves, Halloween. Oh yeah, and my birthday is the 14th, and Daryl's is the 22nd.

There, now you know that FALL is my favorite time of the year. I wish it could be fall all year long. I don't love that winter comes next but I have no control over that unless I learn to migrate like the birds.

Now, to my blog about our wonderful weekend at my dads.

For the last few years, my family has had an October fest of birthdays (there's at least four) and celebrating fall. We go up to my dads, have yummy food, hang out with family and play in the leaves. Max just loves going up there and doesnt want to leave. I don't blame him, the air up at the Lake is different, sometimes the rules are thrown out the window and he gets extra attention from all his uncles and of course from grandma and grandpa.

This year, Isaac got a taste of it...he pretty much slept the entire time, but he got to meet his uncles and aunt, and Great Grandma.

Here's the highlights of our weekend. CAUTION: Picture obese!

Uncle Chaz and Isaac

Great Grandma Gen

Aunt Michelle & Uncle Jeremy

Uncle Jake

My dad and step mom have adopted a new son...Scott, he's great and Max can't get enough of him. He talks about him all the time. Scott plays with Max, makes him laugh, and most of all pushes him in the swing for hours. That's Scott pushing Max in the swing (dad and Scott hung the swing from the garage...what a great idea!)

I couldn't think of a better way to spend a brisk fall day. My grandma and I sat out on the deck for almost two hours. We gabbed and slept and soaked up the warm sun. Just what a new mom needed.

Max having a ball in the leaves and playing outside with Cocoa.




To top off the weekend we stopped by my brothers new house! They live about 20 minutes from Dads. They have over 3 acres of lush green grass and plenty of trees that shed millions of leaves everywhere. They have a really cool weeping Birch tree that I would have loved to lay down and take a nap under. My nephew Taylor was rolling down the hill and sure enough Max gave it a try. He didn't make it far though because he wouldn't relax his body.

Happy Fall Y'all!

There's a first time for everything!

Im pretty sure that Max is going through a growth spurt right now. He's been eating really well lately and trying new foods or asking for things he wouldn't normally eat. On Saturday I was eating a fruit bar and he wanted one. I hesitated of course because I thought he'd just look at it and not even try it. To my surprise he did try it, liked it and kept on eating. Now, he's asking for more popsicle. Little does he know that these are not the typical sugar loaded popsicles, but real fruit. It'll be my little secret.

Mom, I really do like it!

P.S., I am quite certain this was his first popsicle....

unless of course a grandparent slipped him one.

A special visit!

Last Sunday (I know it's, a week a later), my dad and Step-mom came down for a visit. They'd been meaning to come the week before but my dad wasn't feeling well. Of course they came bearing gifts for both boys. Max got a Hot Wheels fire station with some new cars and Isaac got some really cute clothes. We ate lunch and hung out for the afternoon. I was sad they had to leave. Grandpa's are so cuddly!

Grandpa wants a Boppy Pillow for Christmas

One more week, and we'll be going up to visit them. Can't wait!

Slacker mom

I know i've been slacking on the blogs lately. Please forgive me! A short and sweet update. Sleepless in Eagan needs to get to bed.

Isaac is doing well, he's breastfeeding very well, but spits up a lot. We have our 2 week check up on Friday so we'll be discussing the issue to find out what we can do to relieve the problem. He's gaining weight and is awake for longer periods of time. Can't wait until he starts smiling at us (he has the cutest sleep smiles).

Max is doing well too. He has his moments, but is doing very well with Isaac. He loves him and is very helpful, he even helps wipe his little butt.

Daryl went back to work on Tuesday, Max really misses him. While D was home for the last two weeks, Daryl and Max spent a lot of time together, doing little projects around the house, running errands. They even made a train table for the basement. It's quite impressive (pics to come). Daryl was even brave enough to let Max help pain the table. They painted the entire table white, while Max was sleeping Daryl put the finishing touches to it and painted the top green. Max saw the table the next day and said "mom, the table turned green." So cute!

I'm off to bed...until next time!

My view from the floor!

It's been a long time since I actually laid down on the floor. I sit on the floor with Max while playing trains and trucks, but today, was tummy time with Isaac...here's a glimpse of what I saw.

Gross! Dust bunnies, hair, maybe a few crumbs...Lord only knows what else. Guess I better get out the broom and dust pan.

Tummy time!

Little giant!

Since Isaac has been home, Max looks like a giant. Everything about him just looks bigger (of course im comparing him to a 7 pound baby), but when I change Max or hold him he seems like an 8 year old.

The little giant is doing really well with "baby brother". He doesnt call him by his name yet, but thats ok. Max and Grammy Jan picked out a stuffed cow for Isaac after he was born and Max insists that the cow is always near baby brother. It's really cute. Max also likes to hold Isaac and is always asking where he is if he isnt in the room.

Daryl is home all next week, so the weeks after when it's just the boys and me will be interesting. I don't want to jinx myself, but I think that is when the jealousy will come out...when im taking care of Isaac and Max wants or needs me.

My moms group does a "question of the week". One week the question was, "would you rather have one leg or three arms"? I'll take that third arm now...please!

Welcome to the world!

ISAAC RAYMOND S. FLODEN

Date of birth: 9-23-08
Time: 11:15 am
7lbs 15 oz, 21" long

For now (because my mind is in a fog and Max will be getting up from his nap), you get the basics and a few photos. I'll tell you this, what they say about acid reflux/heartburn and babies having a lot of hair proved true for me. Isaac has a full head of long blonde hair!

OMG! I really did get big toward the end. Beautiful hospital gown and all.

My baby brother!

A little Floden number game:

Daryl was born on 10/22

Max was born on 12/22

If you add up all the numbers (9/23/08) it equals 22!!! Daryl really wanted the baby to be born on 9/22, but I say, "you can't get much closer."