The List

It's all set! Paint color, carpet colors, ottoman fabric. I don't have the couch fabric sample but I'm confident in this set up. Can't wait! Kyle and I had a "meeting" this morning despite Nora's best efforts to convince us we weren't having a meeting, nor did we need one. We made what is now a giant list of all of our projects that we have going, we want to do, when we want to have it done and all that jazz. The rest of the day we set to work accomplishing tasks and Kyle played a lot of baseball. I feel like we're going into the week on a good foot...here's hoping we stay that way!!

Here Fishy Fishy!

We were excited and surprised when Kyle called late this morning and said he was on his way back from his fishing trip and would be back early this afternoon. When he got home it was DADDYs from Lincoln and Nora and a lot of UH UH UH from Otto. Kyle pretty quickly went to work finding a recipe to cook all the fish that they caught and he brought home with him. Once we decided what to cook, he ran to the grocery store for a few things. We made the filets 2 different ways, had some broccoli and rice and it was delicious! Even better was that we got to spend the day hanging out...it makes tomorrow feel like a bonus day!

Ice Cream Hunting

Yesterday the kids "helped" me mix up some blue Jello with some frogs, stones and other various watery things in it and this afternoon after much anticipation I put it out on the patio for them to play with. Otto had his own little set up in the little pool and Nora and Lincoln had a big pan in the bin. They all enjoyed the combination of squishing and eating and once Otto abandoned his little pool and made a break for the big pan, he had the most fun of anyone smooshing and splashing. This again resulted in an outdoor rinse off which Nora of course managed to parlay into hose playing, whatever, it's Friday! We rounded out the evening with a dinner surprise

of rainbow spaghetti with peas and chicken. After we ate it was out for a walk which quickly turned into a looong hunt for the ice cream truck, captured on video. After about 15 minutes of following the chimey chimes Nora was thrilled to track down the truck and get herself a vanilla ice cream cone...and Lincoln, well Lincoln got cheated because somewhere during our walk I lost the money I'd brought with me...Nora luckily had her wallet. Lincoln took it all in stride and keeps talking about how we'll find the ice cream truck tomorrow or next week. Thankfully Nora was nice enough to share some of her cone, but I still feel soooo bad that he didn't get anything! Hopefully the truck makes it's rounds next weekend too! OH! And another development on this busy day...Otto took some steps this evening. We're getting closer to having another walker!

Thurthday

Kyle went to work for a bit this morning then headed south for a work related fishing trip. So, now he's on a boat. While he was preparing to kick back, relax and do some hunting and gathering we were playing hard around here! Nora was fervently requesting an activity for this afternoon...something that kind of drives me nuts even though when I manage to put together a winner it buys me a lot of time with occupied kids who aren't fighting. So, today, knowing there were no backups coming to the rescue tonight or tomorrow night I figured I'd do my best to tire them all out! I mixed up some chalk paint for them to use out on the patio. At least I made the silly assumption it would be used on the patio. I kept Otto busy while the bigs painted the wall, the porch, the garden, the sandbox...pretty much most things other than the patio...BUT it kept them busy and they weren't fighting. Lincoln was of course sans pants! While I was doing something else AKA not paying attention, Otto made it clear that he will no longer tolerate being excluded from fun activities...

luckily the "paint" is just cornstarch, water and food coloring so his consumption was nothing I was concerned about. In fact, once he had all the bowls dumped out the table was covered in Oobleck and they all had a blast picking it up and playing with the solid/liquid combo. Score one for a double activity! It actually turned into a triple activity because in order to clean everyone off I filled up the little pool and they all had fun running around and getting cleaned off. Also while they were playing I noticed something Nora didn't!

Her tooth that has been loose for a few weeks now fell out and she didn't even realize it! When I pointed it out to her she said "That's awesome!!" We have no idea where it is, and I have a hunch she may have swallowed it. I was braced for her to be upset when she realized she lost her lost tooth, but she's taking it all in stride and has no interest in the tooth fairy and actually requested that the it not come tonight. With losing this first tooth comes a pre-set big big issie related change that could make life miserable for a bit while she adjusts - so excited it starts tonight, while I have no backup! Oye!

Do it All!!!

Another afternoon, another 4:00 fight. Only today it took about 10 rounds of the ABC's to calm him down and knock him out. I thought for sure he was going to pee on me! We had a REALLY busy day today! This morning we skipped our originally planned trip to Target and I came home dressed and we made it to story time at Lincoln's request. We made a quick pop-in at home to pack up for swim and then we picked Nora up from school, gobbled some car lunches and headed straight to swimming lessons. Nora was happy as a clam to go to the kids area and Lincoln was excited to see Kyle sitting and watching him when he popped up after a swim to the wall. He's come to love floating and is getting better at flipping and getting to the wall from his back. After swim we stopped at home for a bit, I tried to encourage rests but we all know how that's been going lately! At 3:15 we were scheduled to meet Nora's friend at Jeremiah's for a treat and then go to the playground. (Yes, she planned this outing with her friend's mom and I was informed of it after everything was set!) Of course we were 15 minutes late thanks to a battle to get out the door (I wanted to throw in the towel so badly!). Ice cream was ordered and then spilled...3x while Otto snoozed in his carseat. (I feel like such a hot mess when I'm with this specific crew of mom's that have older kids or their youngest are Nora's age) Then we all went to the playground where Otto, true to form, was all smiles, crawled and cruised around and ate all keys and then all the nature things much to the displeasure of the other moms there...oh well! Anyway, the kids played and played - Lincoln climbed a lot more than usual and I think he enjoyed just being able to explore without anyone hovering around. He wanted to be a big kid but he's also not quite quick enough to keep up so he's somewhere in between. By the time we wrapped up at the park he was sooooo tired! That brings us to the crash. He zonked out hard and I thought for sure I was going to get peed on. Eventually I got him up to pee, which typically is all it takes to get him conscious and back on the go but he climbed right back onto the couch and was out cold again. I'm not really complaining about the extra sweet snuggles part. When he finally did wake up he was very well rested! So much so that tonight Kyle got to spend some extra time snuggling with him while watching the basketball game!! Haha! So much for relaxing nights at home! I'll tell you, the last couple of weeks have been draining...there are a lot of big feelings around here and a lot of "needs" that aren't needs. If it keeps up I'm going to actually NEED a vacation!

1 Month Left!

With the other kiddos 1 didn't feel so heavy...with Nora it was a fun milestone that I was excited about, with Lincoln, it was kind of a blur but we had fun with it and were excited for him to become a big kid! This time around, 11 months has a lot of weight. Otto is almost 1...like not a baby anymore!! I mean it's pretty obvious he isn't a baby anymore, he's constantly in motion, into EVERYTHING. He's VERY different than his siblings in that he could care less how many time we close, remove him from and tell him not to open cupboards and doors and whatever else he manages to get into. His favorites are the refrigerator (that's Cort's favorite thing for him to get into too!), the kitchen and bathroom cupboards. We've been spoiled in not having to really childproof for Lincoln and Nora when they were little, but this guy is forcing our hand! Oh, and the dog bowl!!!! Otto LOVES water and lucky for him there is a readily available tiny pool located conveniently in the bathroom for him to splash in and dump whenever he sneaks away and gets a chance! The tiny wagon is his favorite mode of mobility allowing him to walk all over the house. He steers it with ease and I'm pretty sure he's the only one who hasn't figured out he can completely walk without it! He seems content to crawl as needed though, except for over the bristley rug on the back porch...he can't stand it! There's also the climbing...he's a climber! As far as communicating...he understands pretty much everything we say but isn't one to sign or speak back...he prefers to speak in grunts, groans, facial expressions and the cutest little bounces and rocks when he's excited or dancing. He's his own kiddo despite the fact that he looks so much like Nora did when she was a baby - and he has a lot of her mannerisms too. He's learning from his brother and sister and LOVES to climb on, tug on and "love on" Cortland. Cort is sooo patient with him...for now anyway. In addition to being on the go all the time, Otto is starting to love to "read" on his own, still enjoys snacking on leaves, twigs, dirt, sand and any other outdoor delicacies that he can find and consume...he is getting better about handing over whatever he's storing in his cheeks though! I'm excited to see what all he starts to do this month, I have a feeling he's going to make some big leaps...but we shall see! He likes to do things his way on his own time.

Take a Nap!

Here's the thing...Lincoln hates to nap lately, and frankly, after about the 6th time laying him back down and him popping back up, usually sans pants or pull-up, I'm done fighting with him. Then 4:00 rolls around. Everyday at 4:00 a fight breaks out. It's usually over something ridiculous that Nora does just to irk Lincoln and tired Lincoln is a MESS. He can hardly talk when he's tired, he gets silly and mean and just crazy...so today, rather than try timeouts or whatever else I planted him firmly in the stroller and off we went. I walked that boy into submission. Cons to this are that a late day stroller nap (or really any nap at all) usually amounts to a looooong bedtime battle in which he pleasantly reemerges like 25 times just to say hi, or "nuggle". Long days!!! Also, may I quickly point out that the day when people think these two are twins is fast approaching!