Goodbye Nukies, Night 3

Success!! I think Gabby has forgotten about her nuks! There has not been one mention of them since Saturday! YEAH! Last night she went to bed without asking for one. She again, didn't want to go to bed....she wanted to stay downstairs and read a book with Daddy. She didn't even want any milk, cuz she knew that meant it was getting time for night night. "I no want milk." she said! I think she is not wanting to go to sleep cuz she knows she doesn't have it, but never asks for it....just tries to put it off.

She went down for her nap this afternoon fine without it too. Again, no asking for it. She did lay up there and talk for a bit, and then cried a little. But was soon off to sleep!!

You did a great job my Princess Angel!! So proud of you!!!! Such big girl behavior!!

GOOD BYE NUKIES!!!

Goodbye Nukies, Night 2

As I write this, it has now been about 30 hours since Gabby had her nuk. :)

Saturday night went pretty well. Bed time went excellent! We went about our regular routine with no mention of the nukie. It wasn't until I stood up out of the rocking chair to lay her down that she asked for it. I told her she was fine, and laid her down. Gave her the nightly hug and kiss and left the room. She didn't even cry!! (WOW!)..... When I got back downstairs Bryan asked if I had given her one, cuz she was so quiet. "Nope!" I said!! (So proud of my baby girl!!!)

Gabby did wake in the middle of the night, about the same time Nolan got up to nurse. I let her cry while I fed him and figured she would go back to sleep. Well, she didn't. By the time he was done she was pretty upset, so I went in to rock her a bit. She wanted a drink, and then we rocked and cuddled. No mention of the nuk!!! (YES!) And she went back to bed.

Sunday morning, she woke up and as of this moment (9:53 pm) she has not asked once for her nuk. Not even this afternoon when she got hurt. Normally when she gets hurt, she thinks she needs her nukie...but she didn't even ask!! Nap time didn't go well today, but it was not due to the nuk, it was just because she didn't want to go to sleep! "I no wanna take nap!" she told me. She did end up falling asleep with me in the rocker. But there was no asking for the nuk then either.

I have to say, I am quiet amazed it has gone this well. I was prepared for a much bigger battle. I'm very glad, proud, and happy that she is doing this well! I think I'm almost comfortable enough to throw them all away! :)

Goodbye Nukies, Night 1

Well, Its time. We are getting rid of Gabby's beloved Nukies. Gabby's 2nd birthday is fast approaching, and I have a few dys off work this week, so I decided to go for it. Friday night was Night 1.

* Gabby had her nuk in the car on the way home from Great-grandmas. Once we got home, they seemed to disapear. She didn't mention it all night. Then when we went up for bed, she went to her nukie bowl (we keep a handful in her room) and it was gone. "Where nuk?" she asked us. Neither Bryan or I answered, we just ignored the question and changed the subject.

We went about our regular routine: milk, brush teeth, read a book....no mention of the nuk. Once it was time for lights out and rocking, she got mad! "Where nuk!!??" she asked me. Again I ignored the question and laid her in the crib as usual with her moo and her blanket. She cried, whined, and yelled for me. "I'm not giving in!!" I told myself. She can do this. (and so can I)

It took her 28 minutes. Then she was out. Whew! We made it. Here's hoping to a good rest of the night.

As it turns out...it went well. Gabby slept all night, and on Saturday morning. She didn't mention the nukie one time. :) We went almost the entire day with no mention!! It happened about 2:30 pm. We were out running errands, doing some shopping and Gabby was past naptime. She asked for it. With 6 people in the car, one of whom was a sleeping baby...we gave in. Maybe she will fall asleep. (she didn't)...she sucked on it until we got to the next store, and then gave it back to me. "I not want this." she says :) (yeah!)

She did end up using it again on the way home from the store, and fell right asleep. As soon as she was sleeping though, the nuk fell out. It went right back into mommys purse and was not mentioned again the rest of the day!!

Great job Gabby! You did really well!!! Hope Night 2 goes just as well!!

Here are a few "nukie" pictures for your viewing pleasure.


Me and my nuk, crusing in the pontoon!


4th of July picnic, with my color festive nuk!


Sleeping with my favorite pink nuk


Me and nuk acting like a chicken!


Nuk and I, getting into a mess!

My little Puddin' Face

One of Gabbys favorite treats is Chocolate Pudding. She loves it so much she even had to take one with us in the car! (You're thinking I'm crazy right?!)-- Well, we were on our way out the door, and had to go, so I gave in and let her bring it with us. I was prepared for disaster, and stocked up on wipes, bibs and paper towels....but amazingly, she didn't spill one drop!

Snack time on this day, wasn't so neat...I couldn't resist taking pictures! This girl is truly the messiest child I have had (so far!) She always manages to make messes of everything...and nothing! Just shows how full of life she really is!

Taking my baby for a walk

Gabby asked me to put Nolan in her baby stroller so she could take him for a walk. So....I tried him in it, and he fit pretty good! A little big, put it works. So they went for a walk around the house! Hang on Nolan! Sissy likes to run!! There were a few crashes, but no one got hurt! :)

To Daddy....

Whenever I see my husband playing with our children, laughing, giggling, and having a good time I think of a saying I've seen hundreds of times hanging on the wall in my moms home: Anyone can be a Father, but it takes someone special to be a Daddy.

Isn't that the truth. So, in honor of Fathers Day, I wanted to make a special blog just for Bryan from the kids. I have asked them each to tell me what they love best about Dad and what they enjoy doing the most with Dad. Here goes:

Kody and Jakob: (they answered together)
*When he brings home the mowers and lets us mow and weedwhip.
*When he takes us hunting.
*When he wrestles on the floor.
*When he takes us to Gander Mountain.
*When he comes down to the camper to fish with us.
*When he plays video games with us (PS 2 or Wii)

Gabriella: Ok, when I asked Gabby what she loves most about Daddy she said..."DADDYA!"....I think she just loves Daddy period. I think I can probably answer this for her. Gabby loves:
*When Daddya takes her for 4-wheeler rides;
*When Daddya takes her outside to swing;
*Wrestling on the floor (this usually involves Bryan laying on the floor and Gabby climbing over and laying on top of him).
Gabby also loves when Bryan picks her (and Nolan) up from daycare, or when he gets home from work (Daddya home!)
All in all, Gabby just loves Daddy!

Nolan: When I asked Nolan, he just smiled :)
I'll answer for him too. Nolan loves when:
*Daddy gets down on the floor and plays with him;
*When Daddy tosses him up in the air;
*When Daddy takes him outside for a walk;
*When Daddy takes him for a "walk" (this is usually at bedtime when Nolan is waiting for mommy to get done with Gabby and he won't sit in the rocker with Bryan, he has to "walk" around the house)

Thanks for being such a great Daddy! We know you never expected to have 4 of us kiddos running around, but we are so glad you did! Thank you for all you have provided for us, done for us and helped us with! We love you Daddy!







And to my daddy too:
Yellow roses grow in Heaven, Lord pick a bunch for me. Place them in my Father's arms and tell him they're from me. Tell him that I love him and miss him everyday, the memories I have of him will never go away. I love you Daddy.

Strawberries and Bees

Well, we have had an interesting morning, to say the least. I guess last night is partially included as well. I could begin there.

Last night, I was sitting on the floor playing with Nolan, as I do every night after Gabby goes to bed. And he started coughing a little, which I was not to alarmed with (he has a cold)..but then he proceded to throw up. All. Over. Yuck. It was on him, me and the rug. "Oh my poor buddy! Are you ok?! I asked..."(smiles!)" says Nolan. Ok....so a change of clothes are in order, for him and for me. 10 mintues later, this happens again. Again, followed by a smile. :) It always amazes me how babies can be sick, and then continue to be happy and playful right after. If only us adults could bounce back so quickly. So, we changed clothes again. This continues to happen another time. By now, he is getting a little fussy. Finally, he drifts off to sleep in my arms. "Poor buddy!" I say! "Do you have a belly ache?" (well duh momma! of course he does!)----- So my guesses are, that this "belly ache" came from his dinner. Which was cereal and peaches. His first attempt at peaches. Bad mommy, should not have started that fruit so soon! ...or, perhaps he is just allergic to them. In any case...we will not be having peaches any time soon. The rest of the night went good. He ate this morning with no problems and I brought him to great grandmas with Gabby as usual.

Then, the boys and I headed to the strawberry patch to pick some berries before heading back home to work. As we were there, my phone rings. Its Bryan. Not unusual. "what's up?" I say......"Um. I just got stung by a bee."...... (Side note, Bryan is allergic. He has in the past become ill, gotten light headed and swells up pretty good.) Bryan is also at work alone this morning because his sister is out of town. He thinks he is ok. Will sit down for a bit and call me back.

He calls back. Not feeling well. Chest and arms feel tight, just not feeling right. So he drives himself to his parents house to rest. 30 min later....still not feeling well. (My poor guy!!) So the boys and I leave the strawberry patch and go to check up on him. Still not feeling weel. We ended up going to the ER. No shot, as he was not having difficulty breathing, but they did give him a mild steroid and monitored him for a bit. After about 1 1/2 hours we got to go home. He was given an RX for the steriod and an RX for an Epipen in case he gets stung again and has a more severve reaction. He was also told to not work for the remainder of the day.

So.....here we are. Back at home. Bryan is stiff, sore and tired. Is laying on the couch snoozing as I write, and I am trying to get some work done. Whew.

Not how I anticipated beginning my weekend. But all is now well! Happy Friday all!

Pea Pickers

Usually when we want to hang out with the Likes' we have to go down to the "Compound", but this time, they came to visit us!! And...to do a little Pea Picking! Almost the entire gang showed up! We all went out to the field and did a little picking, and a little eating too!! (Don't worry! We asked Farmer Kevin and he said it was OK) Thanks for visiting Likes! (told you I would blog about it! hehe)



Gabby and Lyla swinging



Olivia, Lyla and Gabby (and Missy too)



Chad and Missy



Mason



Max



Jake



Gabby and Diane


The gang, picking peas


Cory and Bryan

Peas Please!

One of the perks of living in the country.....Pea Fields!
One of Gabbys favorite daily activities right now is walking over to the Pea Field next to our house, picking some fresh pea pods, and eating them right there on the spot! We think this is the best way to eat them, right from the pod!! Daddy and the boys like them too, however they were not with us on this trip. :)




Peas Please!!




Yum! I like to bite right in!





Look at all these peas!!!




Nolan would probably like some too! Sorry buddy, next year!

Big Boy and a little treat

Nolan is now weighing in at 18 lbs 2 oz and is 26 3/4 inches long! Getting to be a big boy!

For comparison here are the kids stats at 6 months:
Kody- 16 lbs 9 oz & 27.5 inches
Jakob- 18 lbs 6 oz & 29 inches
Gabriella- 19 lbs 6 oz & 27 1/3 inches

Apparently Nolan is the shortest of the kids, which is interesting. And I guess I'm a little surprised that Gabby was the heaviest at this age. Hmmmm..... Always interesting to compare. In any case, he is healthy, happy and growing right on track! My poor little man had to have 3 shots and wanted to held all night :( Maybe he just wanted to sleep in our bed, and was using the shots as an excuse?!



Still a little grumpy from the shots





In other news: Thanks for the idea Amber and Will! Gabby loves Mighty Minis too!
They are the perfect size for her and now she can eat popsicles with Jakey! Yum!
Maybe Will can come over this weekend and we can have one together! :)

Happy 6 Month Birthday Nolan!

I can't believe it has been 6 months since you were born buddy! You have gotten so big so fast and are learning so many new things!
Your accomplishments this past month:
*Rolling like a pro now. You are now all over the room!
*Getting up on your knees!! You are practicing this so much everyday! Won't be long til you are crawling now!
*Eating your first bites of "solid" foods. You were not so sure at first, and clammed up after the first few bites. But after the 3rd day you are opening up like a little birdie waiting for that spoonful!
*Talking more.... you are making some "mama" sounds!! Love it!!
*Chewing on EVERYTHING!
*Reaching for and grabbing toys. You are figuring out how to get to a toy from across the room and then you reeeach for it.

Happy 6 Month Birthday Baby Boy! Mommy loves you!


Me at 6 months :)



See how puppy and I have grown?!





Up on my knees!



I'm so good at this!



My first taste. So serious.



My very first bowl of cereal.

Fun at the Cabin

For the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, we went up north with some good friends, the Bauers and the McGuires. We had a great time boating, fishing, playing and sunning! The big boys took out the paddle boat and cruised around the lake a bit. They also really enjoyed the fishing. Dad went fishing with them. Gabby spent most of her time playing with her friends Will and Collin. Nolan enjoyed sitting around outside in the stroller and watching everyone. Mom was happy to be away from home and housework for a few days and happy to finally get some sun! Yeah!!!! (got a little burnt, but thats OK) We had a fun trip, enjoyed hanging out with some friends...and stayed up too late! Might take us a few days to get back on schedule, but it was well worth it! Can't wait to go again! Thanks for inviting us!!





















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