Colorful cupcakes (pancakes!)

Dear Bubbas,
You three are so grouchy today. Hunter has a bad case of strep throat, Connor is behind on sleep and possibly coming down with something, Kaylee woke up this morning with a head cold. You've been pretty bored because all three of you have just been laying around the house watching TV. When I turn the TV off to try to get you to play, you just lay there and stare at the black screen. Kaylee never lays around but when she doesn't feel good she gets mischievous. So, in order to keep my sanity and give you something fun to do I decided to let you make lunch. I pushed the table next to an outlet so we could plug in the grill and I laid everything we would need on the table. We put Kaylee in the high chair. Normally, she just plops up on the counter or in this case the table, but I didn't want her to touch the hot grill. Then we made colorful pancakes. Connor and Hunter still call the pancakes "cupcakes". They are starting to correct themselves but it's pretty cute so I'm letting it last as long as I can. All three of you did a great job. Kaylee ate most of her batter. Thank goodness it was just flour and water! You loved putting the food coloring in. I wish I could say that everything went perfect, but it didn't.There were tears when we were done with the food coloring, and some more tears about needing more wipes to clean the table, but it was fun and it provided all three of us a much needed activity. All three of you ate a huge lunch. You were pretty proud of your accomplishment. Grammy was right around the corner so she came over and you gave her some of the pancakes you made. After all of us had eaten I had to give you a bath. As I type this I'm still looking at the mess on the table that needs cleaned up, but you're napping now and there is no way I'm going to do anything that might make a noise.
I love you guys!!
Mommy

ABC Kaylee

A To Z on Kaylee

 Age- 14 months

Bed size- toddler bed w/crib mattress

Chore you dislike- None. She'll help with anything!

 Does daily- Makes me cute faces

Essential start to your day- A hug, followed by chocolate milk

Favorite color- To be determined but she's gravitating towards purples.

Game she loves- When Daddy picks her up and they run around the house chasing the boys.

Height: 28 inches

Is able to (that no one else can)- Eat a banana in less than a minute. Seriously! It's happened!

 Joke she loves the most- Tickle bug... he always gets her laughing

Kindness showed daily- slobbery, slobbery kisses! Lots of them. 

Loves- Her baby dolls and anything the boys make look fun at the moment.

Mom’s name-Mommy

Nicknames-Kaylee girl, sweetie pie

Overnight hospital stays- When she was 7 weeks old for 4 days with Pneumonia

 Pet peeves: Running out of food on her tray, not being able to keep up with the boys (it's happening less and less these days!)

Quote from a movie- loves Barney and dances to the songs

Restaurant- The one she's in at the moment. This girl loves food!

 Siblings- Hunter (3), Connor (3)

Time you wake up: 7:30 ish, give or take an hour!

Underwear- Size 5 Huggies

Vegetables you don’t like: What's a vegetable??? She'll eat anything and LOVES peas straight from the can!

What makes you run late: Not being able to find her shoes that she's carried all over the house and left in random places. 

X-rays you’ve had- Chest

Yummy food you make- Helps Mommy make cupcakes, and frost cookies. Sometimes helps Daddy make dinner. Helped make the boys birthday cupcakes!


Zoo animal favorites: Loves dogs, but needs to go back to the zoo now that she's old enough to enjoy it! 

 

ABC Connor

A To Z on Connor

 Age- 3

Bed size- Full

Chore you dislike- Picking up toys

 Does daily- Gives big hugs and says, "I missed you today." It's cute when he says it to Mommy who's been home all day, even cuter when he tells Daddy when Daddy gets home from work.

Essential start to your day- Snuggling in a blanket on the couch watching a movie

Favorite color-Orange

Game he loves- WRESTLE!

Height: 37.10 inches

Is able to (that no one else can)- make the funniest faces, gives random kisses that melt Mommy's heart

 Joke he loves the most-"Kick him in the butt" from the preview for the movie Bedtime Stories. He hasn't seen this movie, it's the preview before Bolt.

Kindness showed daily- Gives Kaylee whatever she wants, whenever she wants. Shares his toys, tells you he loves you.

Loves- drawing with markers or pens, reading, and building tall towers.

Mom’s name-Mommy

Nicknames-Bubba, Connor Bug

Overnight hospital stays- The first 8 days of his life, when he was nine months old he stayed overnight for RSV

 Pet peeves:Running out of juice, taking off his own shoes

Quote from a movie- again, "kick him in the butt!" sigh.

Restaurant- Red Monster otherwise known as Red Lobster. Loves to see the lobsters in the tank but is convinced they are called Monsters. 

 Siblings- Hunter (3), Kaylee (1)

Time you wake up: 7:30 ish, give or take an hour!

Underwear- Transformers and Toy Story- prefers Toy Story

Vegetables you don’t like: All

What makes you run late: Just being Connor, he walks SO SLOW.

X-rays you’ve had- Chest

Yummy food you make- Helps Mommy make cupcakes, and frost cookies. Sometimes helps Daddy make dinner.

Zoo animal favorites: Hippos, Monkeys, Giraffes...changes daily. 

 

ABC Hunter

Ok... it looks fun, I'm joining the bandwagon! =0)

A To Z on Hunter

 Age- 3

Bed size- Full

Chore you dislike- Picking up toys

 Does daily- Asks to be snuggled

Essential start to your day- Juice, preferably in a cup and waiting for him as he rolls out of bed

Favorite color-Pink

Game he loves- WRESTLE!

Height: 40.3 inches

Is able to (that no one else can)- Melt Mommy's heart with his belly laugh

 Joke he loves the most- He hides, and when you pretend to be scared he thinks he really got you. He laughs and laughs!

Kindness showed daily- Loves his "Baby Kaylee Girl"- will not let anyone even pretend to take her away from him. Shares toys, snuggles, gives Mommy all the hugs and kisses she can handle, has the best manners in the world!

Loves- Preschool, Sunday School, having friends over, and above all JUICE!

Mom’s name-Mommy

Nicknames-Bubba, Hunter Boy

Overnight hospital stays- The first 8 days of his life

 Pet peeves:Running out of juice, taking off his own shoes

Quote from a movie- loves anything from the movie Bolt these days


Restaurant- Ihop, loves sausage and mini pancakes. Orders them every time!


 Siblings- Connor (3), Kaylee (1)

Time you wake up: 7:30 ish, give or take an hour!

Underwear- Transformers and Toy Story

Vegetables you don’t like: All

What makes you run late: Not being able to find the specific toy he wants to take with him


X-rays you’ve had- Chest


Yummy food you make- Helps Mommy make cupcakes, and frost cookies. Sometimes helps Daddy make dinner.


Zoo animal favorites: Giraffes!

A Poke

Dear Connor and Hunter,
What a day! We had to go to the doctor today to have your 3 year well check. It was really good. You're both healthy as an ox. On our way to preschool, Connor was asking me what we were going to do for the day and I told him that we were going to the doctor. He immediately looked over at me and asked, "Am I getting a poke?" A poke in your definition is a shot. I was truthful and said I didn't know and that we'd have to ask the doctor. This was of high concern all day long. When we go to the doctor's office and the nurse called our name Connor asked her right away, " Am I getting a poke?" The nurse said she wasn't sure yet and that seemed to tide you over for the remainder of your appointment. At the very end we found out that you indeed needed a shot, two shots to be exact. You took the news very well and Hunter kept saying," I'm not going to cry. I'll just say ouch and it will be over!"
That's not exactly how it went down. Hunter went first and she asked you to lay down. You started panicking so I told you that you could sit up. I held your body and arms and the nurse held your legs down. She poked you with the first shot and you screamed at the top of your lungs. Loud enough that I'm pretty sure everyone in the office heard you. Then Connor got this petrified look on his face and began screaming at the top of his lungs. Both of you had tears streaming down your face. Hunter kicked his thigh up, even though we were holding him down tight and the needle came flying out. That's when I had to lay him down, and practically lay on him myself to hold him down while the nurse finished. When she gave Hunter the second poke I thought Connor might pass out in fear the way he was screaming. The nurse commented that Hunter was VERY strong- a comment we get a lot from a variety of professionals. After Hunter was done. I gave hugs to everyone and I tried to assure Connor that Hunter was just scared and that it didn't hurt so bad. No dice. Connor screamed before the shot, during the shot, and after the shot. Connor cried all the way down the hall, most of the way home, and all night long every time he remembered his poke.
We took you both to IHOP tonight in hopes of making amends for the trauma you endured. We had dinner with Josie, Jason, and Diane. You had a great time. When we got home Connor took off his clothes and when his pants came off, he looked down at his band-aid and started screaming in pain. I told him that it didn't hurt anymore and that he was just remembering the poke. He says, " I me-member my poke and I'm scared!" Hunter after hearing that refused to let me take his pants off. I took the jeans off anyways and he ran to the bedroom to get pajama bottoms to put on, like he EVER wears pajamas to bed.
Throughout the day we talked about the poke and I would tell you that the doctor gives you pokes to keep you healthy because Mommy loves you.
Fast Forward to bedtime.... We're laying in bed together. You insisted I snuggle you to sleep after your traumatic experience. Then the conversation began...
Hunter- " it's not nice for people to poke each other. It hurts."
Mommy- "the shot keeps you healthy and I love you so much that I want you to be healthy."
Hunter- " I don't like a poke."
Mommy-" let's say a prayer and go to bed. Do you want to say a prayer."
Hunter- "yes."

Connor- "Dear God, Thank you for the doctor, thank you God for pokes and being healthy, thank you God,   it hurt, Amen." 

I love you so much, but you two are pretty dramatic little guys! It's a good thing you're so cute!

I love you and love you, 

Mommy

Happy Birthday Hunter Boy

Dear Hunter
Three years old. I can't believe it. I think we've officially celebrated your birthday until it can be celebrated no more! Uncle Wade says we celebrate birthdays like Hanukkah. He's slightly right, but I can't help it. I get so excited. It started with your actual birthday party. You were very excited. This was the first year that you opened all your presents on your own. It was really fun to watch you. You got excited about all of them. Even the clothes! I thought it was particularly cute when you opened your letter book. You immediatly went to the recliner and snuggled in to read it. You flipped through several pages and studied them all very closely before I convinced you to get another present to open.
Your favorite gift was by far the power wheels that Uncle Wade bought you. You had so much fun driving those around. You look so cute in your helmet too!
Early in the month I had taken you to the Paper Factory to pick out party decorations. You and Connor were so excited that you picked out some of everything. We had Bolt, Spongebob, Monsters vs. Aliens, Thomas the Train, Elmo, and of course Toy Story. It was killing me that we didn't have a theme, but after I set it up I thought it was really cute how nothing matched. You could tell that you two picked out all your favorite things and that you were excited and that is all that mattered.
Daddy took you to the store on the day of your birthday while I was cleaning the house and he bought you giant helium balloons. You picked out a big horse. Connor picked a princess castle, and Kaylee picked Strawberry Shortcake. It just added to the mismatched pile of decorations!
Grammy made the cakes. She made Bolt and the kitty cat. You were thrilled. You really like that movie lately and you quote it all the time. I love the way you laugh at the funny parts.
You have such a belly laugh. It is absolutely adorable. You still snuggle so much! I love it. Sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night and come into my room and ask me, "Will you snuggle me?"
You've been going through a bit of a rebellious stage. It isn't too bad, but you do argue and talk back more these days. Each time you get in trouble and every day you do it less and less. It's hard not to laugh though because you say some of the funniest things for a two year old. The other night Daddy was talking to you about your behavior.
Daddy- "Mommy said you weren't very good today. She said you made mean faces and talked to her mean."
Hunter- "yeah."
Daddy- "Why did you act that way?"
Hunter- in a very confident voice, " I'm not scared of MOMMY."
Daddy then had a talk about respect with you and your behvior has gotten better ever since. You make me laugh because you can get so upset over juice, and then so snuggly all within the same five minutes. And yes, you still like juice. The best days are the ones I can get the juice on the table before you've wiped the sleep out of your eyes. The worst days are the days when we're out of juice. You're still my little juice thief. You use to take Connor's sippy cups when we weren't looking and now you've moved on to Mommy's drinks. I had a big glass of orange juice in the fridge. I went to take a shower, and came back to a missing glass of orange juice. I have no proof, but I know it was you.
I love you so much sweet boy. Thank you for all the snuggles and always making Mommy smile.
Mommy

I LOVE this face...

Happy Birthday Connor Bug

Dear Connor,
Three years old. I can't believe it. I think we've officially celebrated your birthday until it can be celebrated no more! Uncle Wade says we celebrate birthdays like Hanukkah. He's slightly right, but I can't help it. I get so excited. It started with your actual birthday party. You were very excited. This was the first year that you opened all your presents on your own. It was really fun to watch you. You got excited about all of them. Even the clothes! Grandma Karen bought you and Hunter an outfit. You accidentally opened the wrong bag, but immediately fell in love with the bright orange robot shirt that was in it. So now, I have to take back your shirt and get Hunter a new shirt that will fit him! You stripped right there and insisted we help you put on your new robot shirt. You then wore it for two days straight. I tried to get you to take it off and to put on a buzz lightyear shirt so I could wash the robot shirt, but you just put the buzz shirt over your new one. I finally had to make you take it off and you were not happy. You made me promise to wash it while you were sleeping so when you woke up it would be ready to wear again.
Your favorite gift was by far the power wheels that Uncle Wade bought you. You had so much fun driving those around. You look so cute in your helmet too!
Early in the month I had taken you to the Paper Factory to pick out party decorations. You and Hunter were so excited that you picked out some of everything. We had Bolt, Spongebob, Monsters vs. Aliens, Thomas the Train, Elmo, and of course Toy Story. It was killing me that we didn't have a theme, but after I set it up I thought it was really cute how nothing matched. You could tell that you two picked out all your favorite things and that you were excited and that is all that mattered.
Daddy took you to the store on the day of your birthday while I was cleaning the house and he bought you giant helium balloons. You picked out a princess castle balloon. Hunter picked out a big horse, and Kaylee picked Strawberry Shortcake. It just added to the mismatched pile of decorations!
Grammy made the cakes. She made Bolt and the kitty cat. You were thrilled. You really like that movie lately and you quote it all the time.
You quote a lot of things lately. You are always trying to make us laugh. "Mommy watch!" is a daily phrase that comes out of your mouth. You also get so excited about things that you start repeating. It sounds like, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy can I watch a dovie?" We're working on that because at the end of the day... well, it's a lot of "Mommy!"
I asked you and Hunter if you wanted more babies around the house and you said, " I choose a sister!" It makes sense because you love your Kaylee girl. You don't want anyone to take her. Nobody ever does but you always tell people as they are leaving our house to leave Kaylee with us. You hug and kiss on her all the time and she loves it.
You talk about God so much. You sing your prayer that you learned at preschool. The other day we had this conversation:
Connor- Remember when Jesus pounded (hits the ground with hammer several times)?
Mommy- No.
Connor- YES! He got pounded (hits his hands with the hammer) up high on the hill, and saved the WHOLE WORLD!" 

You are the sweetest boy in the world. You love us all so much and you show us all the time. You already love Jesus and you tell us all the time. You truly are such a gift from God!
I love you and love you!
Mommy