Amanda's Happenings

What's happening...

2009-07-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

Let me catch up here. It's been a while since I have posted. Since my last post, my mother in law has visited, my parents have visited and we have gone to Mt. Rushmore on a family vacation. Here are the highlights...

Grandma Brenda got a coconut for Ronnie. He had been asking for me to get him a coconut for months now. One bat of those long eyelashes and Grandma caved and got one for him. He drank the juice and decided he would never drink coconut juice again. We went to Garden of the Gods here in Colorado Springs.
I took a sideways video of the kids making loud noises.

My parents came to town. Took the kids out shopping for their birthday presents. Ronnie got a skate board and helmet. Tori got a doll and a Webkinz, and Franklin got a vacuum and a dionosaur puppet. Franklin learned how to climb the jungle gym...

Tori can fit into Franklin's size 18 months shorts. That aughta cut down cost of clothing...

Ronnie learns how to skateboard...

Peter Laughs for the first time at Grandma.

Family goes to Mt. Rushmore and Custer state park South Dakota for 4th of July

Tori and Ronnie go down a crazy water slide at the campground we stayed at and got a little banged up. But they loved it and had a blast anyhow...

Time flies...but not at the speed of light.

2009-06-03T22:28:00.000-07:00

I'm such a flake. I've started working graveyard shift at work two nights a week and I think I'm losing it even more so than before. Today I was using my fingers and toes to figure out how old Peter is. When it was just Tori, I knew how many hours old she was at any given moment, but by the fourth, their age is just one more thing to keep track of and you forget. You just know that they aren't one yet. So, back to my horrible math skills. I was sitting on the couch trying to figure out how old Peter was and I "realized" he would be 6 months on the 11th of June! OH NO! I need to call his pediatritian and schedule his six month appointment. So, I call and make the appointment. Then I think how I should probably start feeding him some baby food soon, but he really doesn't seem interested in food at all. And wait, he's not even crawling. All my babies have scooted around or crawled around six months, and I just don't see him scooting yet. And then there's ME! It's six months post partum and I still need to get rid of this baby weight. I wanted to lose some weight by six months. Where has the time gone?

Nowhere. He will be FIVE months on the 11th. It only took me about a day to figure that out. Whew!

And the award for Best Actor goes to....

2009-05-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

Ronnie! Well, Ronnie's school play was last week and he did a good job. Grandma and Papa even sent him some goodies to celebrate his role.

Sorry it's fuzzy, I was trying to adjust the focus and I was unsuccessful.

The Greatest Pet Show. Starring Ronnie!

Ronnie: "The award for most personality goes to Fred the cat."

A picture with the awards Grandma and Papa sent...

And some pictures of the other kids, just for fun.

Happy Birthday Franklin...

2009-05-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Franklin. We were in Ca. for his real birthday. So we had a little celebration there with Grandma, Papa and great Papa. Then when we came home, the family celebrated again by going to the Zoo. Franklin LOVES giraffes. The first time he went to the zoo he was 14 months old, and could not get enough of the giraffes and he hasn't loved another animal more since. He loved waving to the "bunkeys" (monkeys, orangotan etc.), feeding the "raffies" (giraffes), and visiting the "Roars" (lions, tigers, bob cats etc.). Videos footage at the end of this blog. I think we may have started a new birthday tradition. I wont argue with that!

The kids with the Orangutan

Franklin pointing at the "Raffies".

After the zoo, we came home, made lasagna, sang happy birthday, ate some cake, opened presents and called it a day!

Franklin got a Cozy Coupe for his birthday with some gift cards that he got for Target (Thanks to Papa Rattlebattle and Grandma Princess!) I FINALLY got done putting it together. It took two sessions of sweat and tears, but I finished it, and Franklin LOVES it. Tori and Ronnie love pushing him around in it too!

a> Big Accomplishment now that Franklin is two: NO MORE "Baba" (bottle). I thought it was going to be a dramatic process, taking away his bottle. Hence the reason I waited until he was two years old. Ronnie was about 14 months when I took the bottle from him. Franklin was so attatched to it. But he accepted the sippy cup on the first try. Why did I stress so much over it? Maybe the guy is ready for potty training soon?

Hard to believe the kid is two years old now! HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANKLIN!

2009-05-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

It's been a VERY busy season. Went to work Tuesday. My grandma passed away Wednesday. So, Thursday, I Booked a flight to Ca. for her Funeral. Had to finish up assignments due for my psych. class on Friday. Worked again on Saturday, and then headed out to California with Franklin and Peter all by myself on Sunday. Franklin's birthday on Monday. Grandma's Funeral on Tuesday. Grandma's funeral part II on Wed. then fly back home with two kids (did I mention I did this all by myself?) on Thursday. Kids had testing at the school and I had to study for my math final Friday. Celebrated Franklin's birthday by going to the Zoo on Sat after I studied for my math final. Mother's Day was Sunday, did I mention anything about studying for my math final? Math final on Monday. Work again on Tuesday. Good news, it was fun going back "home" and seeing family. Celebrated my grandma's life and what a great woman she was. Managed to get an "A" in my Psych. class. Don't know about my Math class yet. I'm still crossing my fingers on that one. So that is what I've been up to these past few days.

The Third Month...

2009-04-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

Better to be late than never. Now that Pete is half way to four months, I'm posting his pics from his third month. Which is really him from 2 months old until 3 months old. I think I just confused myself.

10 weeks

11 weeks

13 weeks/ 3 months and 1 day

(I guess I skipped 12 weeks)

I think I'll just do monthly shots now. He sure is getting cuter and cuter everyday. He's getting more vocal as well. He is the best baby ever.

Dreaming of a white Easter

2009-04-22T23:06:00.000-07:00

Ron's sister and brother in law came for a visit. Tori and Ronnie were so excited to see their cousins Ally and McKenzie. They arrived Easter afternoon, made quite the trek in the middle of a snow storm. We got to take them to Garden of the Gods, and they got to play in some Easter snow. The kids had so much fun. So did Ron and I. We always welcome visitors!

Better late than never...

2009-04-22T22:55:00.000-07:00

It has been a couple weeks since my last post. I've been meaning to come on here and share some pictures from our hike at Bear Creek that we took on my birthday. Ron and I also went out on a date...alone...without kids. Yep, we got a babysitter. It was so fun. We just went out and ate...and worried about the kids the entire time. Here are the pictures of us before our date and our hike.

He's got High Hopes

2009-04-07T10:10:00.000-07:00

Tori, Ronnie and Ron were on a walk the other day and Tori and Ron were talking about how Tori can persue her dreams of being a veterinarian. He was telling her that she can start out being a vetrinarian's assistant first while she goes to college etc.etc. Tori, turned to Ronnie and said, "Ronnie, if you could choose one thing to be when you grow up, what would it be? Just one thing."

HISTORY:In the past Ronnie has not been able to descide what he wants to be when he grows up. That seems to be normal for children. At one time he wanted to pursue a career as shoe shiner, a double decker bus driver, a McDonalds worker and a "police cobb" (that's what he used to call police men). As of rescent he has wanted to persue a career as a scientist, an artist (making comic books), and an actor. Well, here was his reply to Tori's question a few days ago...

"I want to be a clown when I grow up. I just want to know what it's like to wear make up and get pies thrown in my face."

I wonder if dressing him up as a clown (make up and all) and throwing some pies in his face NOW will satisfy this longing to become a clown when he grows up...

You know you have lost your mind when...

2009-04-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

you frantically look around for your two year old, only to be reminded by your two older children that the two year old is in your arms.

Yes, I think I'm losing my mind. Today I took the kids to the local craft shop to get some supplies for a Science fair project that Tori is doing at school. Well, Franklin a.k.a. Mr. Independant hates sitting in the shopping cart. So he walks along side the older two kids. For some odd reason while we were in line waiting to get rung up, Frank wanted me to hold him. So,I picked him up. He usually hates being held out in public. About two minutes went by and I looked around and noticed a child was missing and I said, "Where's Frank?" And Tori replied, "He's in your arms!!" We all had a good laugh of it though. Tori comforted me by telling me she has done that with her "shirt blanket" before. She looked on the couch for her blankey only to find she was holding it. So cute. Anyways, needless to say for too many reasons to list right now, my mind is fried and I can't wait for this semester to be over!

New haircuts...

2009-03-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

Ronnie and Franklin were in need of haircuts very badly. Ronnie has been wanting his hair long for some reason, so I let him have his shaggy hair. But I had finally convinced him to let me shave his head. And Franklin was just getting anything and everything in his hair. So I cut his hair while the kids were at school and Ron was at work. They came home and were surprised. The conclusion is that they both look very handsome. Here are before and after pictures.

And here is a picture of Tori of course. Her bangs are almost back to "normal" after she gave herself a haircut a while back when mommy didn't have time to do it. I think she learned a little about patience now.

Another month older...

2009-03-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

Here are the weekly pictures from Peter's second month.

Feb. 22, 6 weeks

March 1, 7 weeks.

March 8, 8 weeks.

March 15, 9 weeks.

My Thespian in the Making/Too Sick Too Young

2009-03-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

From a young age I knew Ronnie was meant for the world of drama. He spouts off the names of actors I am not even aware of. I thought hourly costume changes at the age of two was normal, but I think I realized he had something special when he started showing more of an interest in watching the "behind the scenes" features on disc two instead of the movies themselves. So low and behold he had his first audition at school. He was one of many (5 firstgrade classes) but only 20 speaking roles. With a little coaching from his acting coach/mom...he landed a role in THE BEST PET SHOW EVER.

There's his name. He's pretty proud. I hope this is a good experience for him.

My poor little winter baby got RSV and an Ear Infection. It was so sad. He's doing good, and still smiling none the less. I felt so bad for him, he had to have been miserable, but he kept his chin up the whole time.

Cheese!

2009-02-23T22:56:00.000-08:00

Peter started smiling about two weeks ago. He just waits for you to make eye contact with him and then he just gives you a big smile. I could just stare at him forever. Sometimes, I do. Ron and I will be watching TV and I will totally miss what's going on because I'm constantly trying to make him smile.

Today was Peter's 6 week appointment. Six weeks, 23 inches, 10 lbs. 8 oz.

Here's Franklin. He HATES having his picture taken. This is what kind of picture I get when he is in arms reach of the camera.

The Other Mother

2009-02-23T21:46:00.001-08:00

Tori with Peter Feb. 22, 2009

Tori with Franklin June 15, 2007

Tori feeding Ronnie April, 2003

As much as she hates to admit it, Tori is the other mother. When she was hardly two years old she would crawl into Ronnie's crib first thing when he would wake up. She still remembers doing this. I wish I had pictures on my computer to share. But the one of her feeding him ice cream at McDonalds is equally cute. It's so cute to see her make her baby brothers more comfortable in her arms than even Ron can sometimes. Peter just falls asleep in her arms like she is an old pro.

The First Month

2009-02-17T14:32:00.000-08:00

Peter James: Jan.11, 2009

Peter: 1 week old, Jan. 18, 2009

2 Weeks old, Jan 25, 2009

Peter: 4 weeks, Feb. 8, 2009

Peter: 5 weeks, Feb. 15, 2009

Well, Peter has been here for a month now. Here is his weekly growth (minus week 3, I accidentally deleted that picture). I hope to do this every month.

Introducing...Ronnie Astaire

2009-02-15T22:16:00.000-08:00

This video hardly needs an introduction. You've heard of lip syncing? Well This is Tap Syncing. This is Ronnie "tap dancing". He won little plastic clapper hands at a carnival, but he wants you to believe the sound of the clapper hands are his tap dancing feet. This guy...

Sorry the video is sideways, I'm still learning how to do all this stuff.

A little bit Country...a little bit Rock and Roll.

2009-02-02T11:16:00.001-08:00

I have never been a big fan of Country Music. But, my little 20 month old Franklin LOVES country music. It started at about a year old for him. Ron looked up a country song on you tube, and when Franklin heard it in the other room, he ran over to the computer to see what it was. We knew that he liked music. He had been watching music videos on you tube for a few months at this point. He would actually fall asleep in our arms watching videos. But, he had always favored the Rock videos. I think he really likes the sound of the guitar. So, I don't know where he got his Country obsession from. But he watches the Country top 20 every weekend now. Well, we put it on for him. He takes it very seriously. He has a few dances that he does while he watches, depending on what song is playing. He has the "foot stomp". He has "The Sway" and "the Circle". Here is a video of Franklin watching a Brooks and Dunn video performing "The Circle" with his blankie, bottle and toy giraffe in tote.

Here he is just mezmorized by the music. This is how I make my 20 month old stay still. His feet don't even move for the 60 seconds of the video. I think he may have a future in Country music. (Take note of his most favorate toy giraffe in tote again).

It's a boy!!

2009-01-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

Well a lot of people have requested that I blog about my birth. So I figured this would be the way to do it.

Let's go back to Saturday January 10th. It was 3 days past my due date and I was nervous about having another meconium baby. You could say I was desperate to get this baby out. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so I sent Ron out to buy some Castor oil. I took some Castor oil in the morning and in the afternoon and nothing much was going on. I thought I might have fallen for an old wives tail. But then, later that night they came. CONTRACTIONS! Three minutes apart. They weren't very long or painful. So I decided to get some sleep. I woke up at about 5:45 a.m. with some stronger contractions. I timed them and they were 5 minutes apart. I timed them like that for 2 hours and called my midwife at 7:45. She told me to keep timing them and call her back in an hour. I went to sleep and they were still every five minutes. I called my midwife back and she told me to keep timing them for one more hour and then if they were still consistent she would come on over.

10:45 a.m my midwife came over. About 30 minutes later her assistant showed up. Ron had already blown up the birthing pool and had filled it up half way with hot water. The midwife and the assistant started getting everything ready and I just kicked back with the family and timed my contractions. Ate a little snack, walked around etc. I was dilated to about 4-5 cm.

At about 12:15 p.m. the midwife and the assistant left to go get some lunch. I felt like I wasn't having really hard contractions so I felt safe with them leaving for an hour. At about 1:00 p.m. they came back. It was just in time. My contractions started to get worse. The assistant is also a trained Doula so she helped out a lot with breathing through the contractions. She was a God send! Ron had started filling the pool up the rest of the way and getting the temperature just right. Franklin went down for a nap.

At about 2:00 p.m. I had gotten up and walked around and it felt like the contractions were right on top of each other. Like every minute. I walked into the room to see if the water temp was okay and it felt fine so I practically jumped in right in the middle of a hard contraction. I was so relieved when I sat in the warm water. It was almost as if the contraction just went away. In fact my contractions started slowing down. They went back to every five minutes instead of every minute and a half. And they were so much more bearable. I was dilated to 8 cm. I couldn't believe it. I was laughing and making jokes between contractions. With past labors I had been screaming and pleading for an epidural at 8 cm. This time was so different and I give all credit to the water.

At 2:55 p.m. I asked my midwife what time it was. I told her that I would probably have a couple more "normal" contractions and then I would probably have to start pushing. So, what do you know? I had a couple more contractions, and then I started pushing.

Peter James was Born at 3:05 p.m., January 11th, at home. 8lbs. 9 oz, 21 inches long.

At about 4:00 p.m. Franklin woke up from his nap only to meet his brand new baby brother.