WORDS AND TEARS

Once again it has been awhile since my last post.  With the older boys I was good at writing down and keeping track of everything they were doing - words they were saying, how they were sleeping, eating...all that jazz.  I haven't been doing so well with Madden.  Typical thing with the youngest right.

Well Madden is almost 2 1/2 and he is still a boy of few words.  He has some cute things that he says that almost sound like the real word that I wanted to make sure to write down so we wouldn't forget.  Here are some of them:
I you = I love you
Yorry = sorry
All dum = all done
chew = cereal
nose = kleenex
Bibi = Binki
Nigh nights = blankies
Poopoo's = diapers
T T = Talan
Deeg Deeg's = Deegan
I P = icecream
Yoyo = yogurt
Papa = Grandpa
Baba = milk = whether in his sippie or on his cereal he asks for baba.
As you can see he likes to repeat syllables.
He likes to try to say abra cadabra; it comes out kinda like a ba tada and he waves his arms.
There are probably more but those are the ones that are sticking out in my head right now.  He also walks around and says "huh" alot with a surprised look on his face, like how did that happen or how did that get there.
Often the only people that know what he is saying are Jeromy and I.

He says some other words clearly but still lots of mumbo jumbo.  He loves trucks, trains and tractors, like the rest or our boys.  He also still loves to dance too.   He is very animated and it is very funny when he tries to tell you about something that happened, especially when his older brothers have been rough with him.  He will come up and say TT or Deeg Deegs "mashed" me and he will hit himself really hard where they hit him with a very serious look on his face.  It is pretty comical.  

His favorite show is Chuggington.  It use to be Oso and now he wants nothing to do with that.  All he cares about (as far as tv) is Chuggington. 

Now onto the tears portion.   This is regarding Deegan and preschool.  Almost every single time I drop him off at preschool he cries.  The teacher says it is short lived but he does it.  Usually right before we leave home he tells me he has a tummy ache.  Then the tears come right when we pull in the parking lot.  He doesn't really have an explanation but our feeling is that he feels bad b/c the learning part of preschool Talan has an easier time with.  Talan is so fast with his school work (I try to tell him it isn't a race) and I think that stressed Deegan out b/c it doesn't come as easily to him.  That breaks my heart.  Our desire has always been that one twin does not overly excel over the other; meaning we are hoping that one will not be way better in sports or way better in school.  Just breaks my heart to think one of the boys would have hurt feelings if they weren't as good at something as the other.  Part of life I know, but harder when you are a twin.  It will be time for kindergarten next year and I hope Deegan doesn't struggle with crying when I bring him there too.  I took them in for their kindergarten shots today and holy cow you would have thought they were getting tortured in there.  It would not have been possible for them to scream any louder.  Deeg's went first and he was screaming that he didn't want to go first, actually hurt my ears it was so loud.  Baker was with and I had to lay him on the chair/bed thing right next to me and hold each boys arms down during their shot and they each screamed so hard that is scared Baker and he was screaming and Talan was clinging to the scale and wouldn't let go when it was his turn b/c he was petrified too.  I felt like a horrible mom b/c I couldn't help but laugh a little during the process b/c I was so shocked out how they were acting.   They were just terrified.   I swear they could have heard them from the waiting room which we were very far away from.

We signed Talan and Deegan up for soccer so they will start that in the middle of April and we are looking fwd to that.  It is always cute to see them playing sports.  I love it.  Hope they have fun.  Sometimes with sports Talan can be frustrated with himself and get mad if he is not good so hopefully that won't be the case.  Hopefully they can just enjoy it.

We had our first broken window today.  Not all the way through but the boys were throwing things around upstairs (I didn't see it happen so not sure what they were throwing and of course they can't remember) and Talan threw a toy that hit the window and it is now broken.  Bummer, had to happen sooner or later I guess with 4 crazy boys :)

Baker is doing great, he had a really sick spell with pneumonia, RSV and an ear infection and he really struggled for a week but he is doing well and back to smiles, giggles and wiggles.  He even says a word now.  He says "Hi" and he is so proud of it.  He will say it when he see's a phone or when someone comes home. At the Dr today he was saying it over and over to the Dr.  It is music to our ears.  My parents are still out of town and they get to hear him say hi on the phone, in fact it is hard to sit near him when I am trying to talk b/c he just wants to keep saying it very loudly.  So cute!

A change with me is that  a couple days ago I resigned my position as aerobics coordinator at Homestead.  I will still be an instructor and personal trainer there as well as at my own studio but I decided to step down from my coordinating position.  It was a hard decision but I have to tell you as of right now I feel nothing but relief!  There was so much stress involved in that job and it just took too much of my time even with me mentally being consumed with something there and not focusing on my family like I should.   So I am happy with my decision.

Well that is all for now.  The next thing we have to look forward to is in 2 weeks a little trip down south to Chuck E Cheese, Red Robin and Embassy Suites in Lynnwood for the night.  Lots of fun!

EVERETT CHILDRENS MUSEUM

Last week Jeromy had some time off so one day we took the boys (minus Madden) to the Everett Children's Museum b/c my friend Kym G. had told me how much her and her boys love it.  I think it might have been a little overstimulating for Baker but he did really like the train.  Talan and Deegan seemed to like the water game and the construction zone the best although if you ask them they say they like it all the best.   In the construction zone they loved building towers and Jeromy built a tall one around each boy and they thought that was cool.  There are a couple floors to the museum, the roof was closed b/c it was all iced over but when it was time to go to the basement we had our own special elevator ride that the workers had to come take us on b/c of Baker being in the wheelchair and of course not being able to use the stairs.
Baker had a little bit of a rough go on the drive but thankfully Jeromy was driving so I could hop back there and comfort him although the boys were very concerned the "the policeman was going to catch me" when I got out of my seatbelt.    Don't think they were worried I would get hurt, just that the policeman would get me :) 
It was nice to spend some time together with the 3 big boys.  The museum was SOOOO crowded it would have been stressful to have to worry about Madden there!
Here are some pictures of our day there

Baker loving the train

milking a cow...Baker was a bit scared of any of the large animals that made noise, so we stayed back

making bubbles

splash zone

karate chopping the tower

that's a big tower!

time to make alians in the craft room

time to head home

 

IT'S BEEN AWHILE

It has been quite awhile since I have written a post.  I had to look back through my camera to remember what we have all been up to.  A couple months ago Talan "lost" his first tooth.  Quite awhile ago he got hit by a swing in the mouth and his tooth died (turned kind of grayish) but it wasn't bothering him.   The Dentist said it would be fine until it started hurting, so when it did I took him in and they said root canal or pull it, well it is his baby tooth, so pull the sucker right.  Who could have thought it would cost $330 to lose his fist tooth.  He looks so cute.

End of November/Beg of December had the sick bug in our house.  Poor Talan was sick pretty sick for about a month.  Between a bad cough, cold, flu, cough, flu again, ear infection, the poor thing was sick so long.  Luckily he was healthy during his 2 Christmas programs, we were hoping he wouldn't have to miss those.

I am sure you all remember our white Thanksgiving.  We all had so much fun playing in the snow.  Here are a few pics of our adventures.

The boys love getting pulled on their sleds behind the 4-wheeler.  What a fun day with tall the snow.  Can't believe it was all gone the next day!

Then it is time to make our annual Gingerbread house.  It always turns out so beautiful...he he.  That frosting is like glue, it is so hard to spread around and I think it pretty much tastes like glue too but some how the boys think it tastes yummy.  Actually right now, since Christmas is over we are in the process of taking it down and the boys can eat it.  Can't believe they like that thing, it is not so tasty.

Time for our Church Christmas program.  This was one of a few days Talan was not sick and then he got sick again right after.  The boys love to sing and dance at home and we do it at some point every day and so I am always excited for Christmas program time.  They were a bit shy up there but it was cute.

We did our Christmas party a week early with my family b/c my parents were going to be heading out of town until spring with their motorhome.  Here is the whole Korthuis clan at my parents house.

Above is Talan and Deegans Preschool Christmas program; so stinkin adorable.  They sang a bunch of cute songs.  Below is a picture with Mrs Brann and Thompson their 2 teachers.

Now it is time to make Christmas cookies.  Talan and Deegan love cutting them out and decorating them.  This is always a fun project.  Oh and of course we love eating them too....yummy :)

Here is a family shot before we were off to one of the Christmas parties.

The boys got Paper Jamz guitars from Auntie Dar and boy do they love them!  Madden loves to play around with them too.

Speaking of Madden.  What a cutie.  Here he is with his "baby" it is a little bear holding a basketball that he loves for us to swaddle up in his blankie and he will carry him around, shoosh him and give him kisses.  It is pretty adorable.  Oh Madden, he sure can be a little sweetie, but boy, oh boy, he is definitely 2, dare I say, in his terrible two's.  He can be quite difficult, but this too shall pass and of course doesn't make us love him any less.   We tried the potty training thing but it isn't working out yet.

 

Also above, is Madden and his classic "cheese" face every time I pull out the camera.  He usually shuts his eyes when he says cheese, so at least his eyes are open on this one.   Below are a few more fun Christmas pictures.

Baker with his stocking

See, here is Madden's typical face for pictures.

Managed to keep his glasses on for a bit





We had a wonderful Christmas together as a family and look forward to the start of 2011 and hopefully another wonderful year together!

FUN STUFF

We got the boys dressed up in their Halloween costumes on Sunday night and took them out to see my parents and my sister and then we headed over to church for the fun party there.  Talan and Deegan were dressed up as Transformers and Baker and Madden were Lions (T and D wore those costumes a few years ago).  They all looked so cute of course.  They had fun at church and played a bunch of games but Talan and Deegan were pretty much wanting to go on the bouncy houses over and over and the place was getting a bit crowded so we took off but we spent enough time there and they had fun and got more then enough candy.  Here are some pictures of them in their costumes.

Madden is trying to check out Baker here

Now Baker is checking out the boys

Here are a few pics from the party at church:

Talan playing a shooting game

Wasn't sure if Lion Baker would fit in his wheelchair with his big puffy belly...but we squeezed him in there :)

Also, had to put a cut picture of Madden trying to reach his bday candles at his party:

Also, a couple months back when Madden was supposedly taking his nap I went in his room to find a white mess.  I remember Talan and Deegan getting a hold of their powder when they were little too but this was even worse.   I wish I would have taken a picture of his room.   I mean a whole brand new bottle, emptied, the air was thick, everything was white, I was coughing, his pour lungs had to be coated.  Took lots of time scrubbing and rescrubbing and I still find white in places here and there. I got these funny pics of him after he had made the mess though:

These were even after the initial rub down pre-scrub of course.  Doesn't he look like he has no idea he did something wrong....little stinker :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADDEN

Madden, you are the sweetest blessing we never knew we wanted :)  Can't believe our baby is 2!   This takes me back to the memory of the day you were born when you made your dramatic entrance into this world with the chord wrapped around your neck.  You wanted to keep us on our toes from the moment you entered this world...actually from long before you entered this world when you put mommy on bedrest :)
You are an energetic, silly, kind hearted little boy.  You may be a bit naughty and quite a handful at times (but what 2 year old isn't) but you make mommy forget all those things when you open your arms widely and lean in for a hug and give me a sweet little kiss.   You know just the right time to plant them on me Madden.  Your favorite people to give hugs and kisses to are your brothers and your dog, Roxy.   Oh poor Roxy, you love her so much, maybe a little too much at times.  You love to lay on her and play with her and good ol' Roxy just lays there and takes it.
You have amazed us with how much you keep up with Talan and Deegan, you may be a bit slow with your talking but physically, wow, you are ahead of the pack and we are amazed by what you can do!
You know how to be gentle with Baker and you call him "baby" and give him sweet kisses on his head throughout the day.
You love to have books read to you and you think almost every animal says moo.  You are obsessed with shoes, whether they are yours our anyone else's that walks through the door.  You want their shoes off of their feet and onto yours and you will walk around in them so proudly.
We all appreciate how you never let us forget to pray. When we sit down to eat you always say "pray" and reach your arms out to hold our hands. Then after we are done you clap and say cheerfully "I pray".
I think my favorite thing about you is how excited you get to see people, of course I especially love it when that person is me and you run yelling "maammaa" with your arms wide open and a big smile on your face.   I also love how animated you are.  You have so many adorable facial expressions, most often wide eyed with your eye brows raised and mouth like a little "O" shape.  So cute.   You often say you are "happy" too, love it.   You also LOVE to dance, any time any music at all comes on you are shaking your groove thing....adorable :)
Another favorite thing I have about you Madden is how if I am having a bad day and might shed a tear you will come over without me saying anything and give me a kiss.  Just makes me feel so much better.   It is very evident that you have a giant heart and that is something I treasure about you.
I sometimes worry that I don't give you enough of our own special one on one time.  Life here (like many houses) can get a little crazy and I don't want you to ever feel like you aren't getting enough attention or time.  You have twins for brothers and a special needs brother so I hope we don't ever let anything overshadow you and how special you are.
Our lives would not be complete without our 4th sweet boy and we cherish and love you with all our hearts, you will always be our baby.

His famous "oh wow" face

Had to throw one in of Baker having a great time celebrating with Madden