Alexa 2008

Gavin 2009

Tysen 2011

03/26/2011

03/11/2011

I apologize that it's been almost a week since I last updated the blog. I'm not sure what happened, but it seems as though there is never enough time in the day! Maybe those of you who have 3 children will understand.

Alexa and Gavin love to color with crayons. They always want me to color with them, too!

Tysen has really discovered his hands. He's been staring at his own fists a lot lately!

Gavin got some new trucks for his birthday from his friend, Emme.

Tysen is giving me his pouty lip because he's hungry.

Tysen- 12 weeks old

03/06/2011 Arnold 5K

I ran the Arnold 5K with my friend Kara today. It was only 25 degrees outside and icy.

Matthew had the hardest job of caring for all the kids while I was running. We bundled them all up and they all stayed toasty warm.

The race started just outside of the Ohio Expo Center. We stayed inside to keep warm right up until the race started.

Kara was nice enough to run the whole way with me even though she could have ran it much faster. It was nice to have someone to talk to and she motivated me to keep running when I wanted to walk. My goal was to run the whole 3.1 miles and I did.

It was nice to have my family waiting at the finish line cheering for me. In the picture above I am showing Alexa and Gavin my finisher's medal.

The medal has Arnold on it. I was a little disappointed that we didn't see him in person, but maybe next year!

03/05/2011

This short video is proof of how hard it is to get a good picture of 3 kids!

03/04/2011

We had Mickey Mouse pancakes for supper tonight!

03/04/2011

Tonight is going to be Tysen's first time sleeping in his own crib. For the past 10 weeks, he's been sleeping in a cradle in our bedroom. I love having him so close, but I think that he's ready for the transition. He's starting to outgrow the cradle! Gavin and Tysen now share a bedroom. I put all three kids in Gavin's toddler bed tonight just for a few pictures. Alexa and Gavin are hugging and kissing their baby brother goodnight.

He fussed for a little bit...

...and then soon fell fast asleep. Sweet dreams, Tysen!

03/04/2011

Today was Prince and Princess Day for Alexa's preschool class. They made crowns with glitter, painted a fairy tale dragon, and had a dance in the gym.

Gavin loves Baby Tysen so much!

I love Tysen's expression! He's not sure what to think about Gavin holding him.

I took these pictures this morning before I dropped them off at daycare because I thought that they all looked so cute. I love dressing the boys alike. I should do it now because they'll hate it in a few years.

Tysen- 10 weeks old

The boys were so happy this morning. Alexa was a little crabby.

Gavin had his speech evaluation last week at Children's Hospital. I was so proud of him because he was so well-behaved, cooperative, and focused even though the appointment lasted over 2 hours. The speech therapist's name was Jessica and we sat on the floor of her office and played with toys. Gavin thought it was great fun. She would ask him to say certain words. If he repeated the word, even if it wasn't perfect, she praised him and rewarded him by handing him a different toy. Gavin completed a standardized test that assessed his comprehension and expressive communication skills. Gavin's score was 83, which is below average. It is the age equivalency of a child aged 1 year and 10 months. I was surprised to hear that because I assumed that he would score much lower. That's only a 3 month delay according to that test. I asked Jessica if she noticed anything about Gavin's behavior or abilities that was concerning. She assured me that this speech delay is something that he will definitely overcome. She's almost positive that he's just on the verge of having a huge "word explosion" and thinks that he's going to start speaking in sentences in the near future. Due to Gavin's history of ear infections and tubes, Jessica recommended having his hearing tested. Luckily, the audiology department was right next door and we were able to get a walk-in appointment with only a 15 minute wait. Gavin passed the hearing test, however he did have trouble hearing the lower tones. When his ears were visually inspected with a small camera, it was noted that the tube in his right ear was not able to be seen due to ear wax blockage. They recommended that I follow up with the ENT (ear, nose, and throat) doctor that did his ear surgery. A few days later, I took Gavin to see Dr. G and sure enough, the tube was completely blocked and he had an ear infection. Because the tube was blocked, the fluid behind his ear drum was unable to drain, thus causing him pain and affecting his hearing. Dr. G prescribed an antibiotic and instructed me to instill hydrogen peroxide drops in his ear to dissolve the wax that is blocking the tube. We go back to see Dr. G in about a week to ensure that the tube is no longer blocked and that the ear infection has cleared up. Matthew and I have decided that due to Gavin's frequent frustration from being unable to communicate, we will proceed with speech/language therapy on a weekly basis. We are currently on a waiting list. Because we both work full-time, it is very difficult to get an opening. I will keep you posted on Gavin's progress.

02/27/2011

We went swimming today!

Baby Tysen's first time at the pool!

I didn't have a swim diaper small enough for Tysen, so he couldn't get in the water. I sat on the edge of the pool with him so we could watch Alexa and Gavin playing with Daddy. He did get his feet wet and he didn't mind it at all. He seemed to enjoy all the noise and activity in there.

Tysen loves watching and listening to Alexa. Alexa was making his duckie towel "quack" and he thought she was so funny.

2/23/2011

Looking adorable in his hat from Grandma Karla

Our whole family came down with a GI bug this weekend that the kids brought home from daycare. Poor Tysen was the first to catch it and then he shared it with the rest of us! In the picture above, Gavin just fell asleep while sitting next to Daddy in the chair after lunch. The kids must have been exhausted because after I carried Gavin up to his bed and came back downstairs, Alexa was asleep on the other chair. She didn't even look comfortable! Her legs were dangling off the seat! Luckily, we were all feeling better by Monday.

Tysen is starting to reach out and grab at toys. He loves the balls because they rattle when he bats at them.

Tysen had his 2 month wellness check-up today. He just loves staring at himself in the mirror. He has also discovered his hands. He doesn't suck his thumb, but he'll suck his whole fist, especially when he's hungry.

Our big guy weighed in at 13 lbs even and measured 23.5 in long! That's the 75th-90th%. Not bad considering he's been sick recently with vomiting and diarrhea.

He received 5 immunizations today! He was a champ- only fussed for a little bit. When the nurse was done with the shots, I nursed him for a bit just to calm him down. Next thing I know, I look down at him and he's got the biggest smile on his face! He's such a happy baby.

Tysen- 9 weeks old