Fourth of July Celebrations

The 4th of July is always a busy day for me. I feel the need to do lots of fun things because it is a national holiday, yet I am almost always doing them alone because it seems Brandon works every 4th. This year was no different. Brandon worked until 11 am because he had a late call, came home went to bed and had to be back to work by 5:30 pm. Poor guy worked a ton that day! The kids I am didn't sit around being sad about it thought. We packed up and headed to Elks park and splash park. Uncle Jordan came with us which was good because after 2 seconds in the splash park, Samuel wanted to go back to the regular park. The kids had a blast and we were the only people there which always makes it so much more relaxing.

After the park we came home, showered and ate lunch and I made EVERYONE nap since I promised to take them all downtown for the fireworks. After naps we headed to my parents for some yummy grilling and serious play time out side and in the basement. We had to cut the trip short since the sky was starting to turn green and storms were on the horizons. We made it home just in time for the torrential down poor of rain. Thankfully Brandon was downtown and he was able to give up updates as to if the firework show would still be a go, it was. Now the hardest part left to do was kill time until we headed downtown, a full hour + past usual bedtimes. 

I am not sure if its a good or bad thing but it gets dark really late here so the fireworks weren't scheduled to start until 10 or so. We met Brandon downtown, staked out our watching spot then walked around and got ice cream, at 9:30 pm. We chatted with people we ran into and of course all the cops we knew. A little after ten we sprawled out on the blanket and not so patiently waited for the fireworks to start.

Benjamin once again enjoyed them the most with constant "WOW, LOOK AT THAT, oh, I like that one" comments. The rest of the kids enjoyed it too, each one of them having a different favorite type of firework. 

We made a quick escape and all kids were asleep by the time we got home. I had Uncle Jordan help me bring them in, take them pee and put them to bed. They all fell back asleep instantly. 

It was a very fun but long hot and exhausting day!

Awesome Authors

So this post is obviously a few months old. from June to be specific. Not sure why I never uploaded it but better late than never. I seem to be saying that alot lately!
While Annie was busy doing SPA, Elias choose to do a summer school class called Awesome Authors. I was pretty excited when he chose this class since his handwriting is rough and he struggles with coming up with paragraphs to tell a complete concept. I thought this would be the perfect help and he picked it and didn't even know he needed improvement in this. Win win! From day one he loved the class. He talked about the kids he met, the fun games they played and loved both of the field trips they took, one to the herald and one to the ND museum of art. They did several projects which they uploaded to the class blog. He also wrote a couple of stories. On the last day, we got to go to his class and he showed us all the fun stuff he had been doing. Out of all the projects he did, his animated story was hands down my favorite. They had to come up with an ad, they they narrated it and chose the animation. The finish product is below, hopefully it plays!

Nicholas 9 months

Nicholas, 9 months old!

Weight: Nicholas has been a pretty healthy kid( just colds and itchy ears so far) so I'm not sure his weight. Maybe 19 lbs?

Hair color- After the haircut, all traces of red are gone. It appears I have another blonde hair blued eye boy.

Eye Color- blue

Sleep-  We are back to do OK in this area. He has had several nights of sleeping from 8-5am. He also has his fair share of waking up around 2 then again at 6. Either way, it is better than it was so we are rolling with it. Nicholas is down to 2 naps which I think is helping his sleeping situation. We also hit up the hippie chiropractor which helped!

Eating- I have to say we are pretty fly by the seat of our pants in this category. He has a bottle at 8am sometime around 11, 3 and bedtime. He eats food in between and occasionally another bottle somewhere in there if he is chanting ba ba ba ba ba ba.  It occurred to me that in a couple of months I have going to have 5 mouths to take care of during B,L,D and snacks. Uffda!

Daily routine-  Up for the day around 7. I do have to admit, he spends the last few hours of his sleep in bed with me. A mom can only get up so many times before I throw in the towel. He falls asleep instantly and doesn't wake up until the kids come screaming in. He loves sleeping next to me! Naps around 9 or 10 then again around 2 or 3. He almost had rid himself completely of the last evening nap but occasionally can't make it and passes out for a quick snooze. He eats solids a few times a day, bottles the rest of the time and to bed by 8:30 at the latest.

Firsts: First time standing unassisted, climbing the stairs( scary ahh!). Nicholas is also perfecting the art of cruising along furniture or behind his car. His bottom two teeth came all the way through as well. No top yet. FIrst hair cut.

What we are looking forward to:Those first steps, you are pretty cautious like your brother Samuel but I think they might happen this month or next! I can't wait to hear MAMA!!!!

Nicholas, I like you more this month. I tried out a new chiropractor, the hippie chiropractor as I affectionately call them and they seem to be helping! We put you on a probiotic as well as give you hippie ear drops. We think the change to formula might have been messing with your little belly because you sure seem  happy now! Now we have to break all those wonderfully bad sleep habits you formed the last couple months and we will be good to go. I already see a vast improvement! You seem happier too, I know it wasn't easy on you either being up all night. You still love being outside, your sister( and most of the time your brothers) Your daddy( more than me) and being held. You pull yourself up on absolutely everything and enjoying cruising from one thing to the next. 

Nicholas 8 Months

8 Month Update - So Nicholas is 9 1/2 months but better late than never!

Weight: At 8 months Nicholas was 18lbs 6 oz.

Hair color- This keeps us guessing. Some days I think red, others it looks like blonder/light brown is growing in. Either way, his hair is getting so long

 Eye Color- Breathtaking blue like his big brother

Sleep-  Eh, do we really have to talk about this? You are up ALL.NIGHT.LONG you are CONSTANTLY itching your ears. I have taken you to the Dr. and chiropractor so many times to try to solve this mystery. So far, no luck. You take ok naps. If you are riding in the car or in a carrier,  you will take fabulous naps.

Eating-
You love love solids. You want to be in your high chair eating with the big kids every meal. You still nurse a bit but we seem to be on the way out with it. You have real food a few times a day, nurse a bit during the day/night and have a bottle here and there if you seem hungry, or sleepy.

Daily routine-  Nicholas doesn't have a routine. His poor sleep is so messed up that its a total crap shoot what each day brings. (Spoiler, this gets fixed next month, YA!) Up for the day any time between 6 and 7 morning nap around 9 another nap around 1 and you take a late afternoon/early evening nap around 5, which I would really like to get rid of! You fall asleep for the night around ten and that is just way too late for my liking. You spend your day playing, crawling and eating.

Firsts: So many firsts this month! He began really pulling himself up onto everything in sight! He walks behind things that slowly move( like pushing a rocking chair across the floor or the activity table). He can also go from crawling to sitting, takes baths sitting, pulls up to standing in his crib, walks holding hands and eats a wide variety of solid foods! He can crawl up the step into the kitchen and has been very interested in the stairs downstairs. He crawls FAST now.

What we are looking forward to: Hearing MAMA!!

Nicholas, please sleep! You are still a super happy baby, as long as I am holding you and don't dare to imagine putting you down. You love to crawl and explore and if you find something you like, I can leave you playing with it for quite awhile. Duplos, markers with lids on, Tupperware containers, curtains, clean folded organized laundry seem to be your favorites. You love your daddy now and will crawl over to him while chanting da da da da. Gee, thanks! Your ears itch constantly and you love having me scratch them, its very odd but hey, whatever works! You love your siblings and being outside!