Little Miss Maeci

My precious little daughter is going to give me gray hair sooner that I would like! She is going through the terrible two's early...or I guess I think that's what it is! I also think she is going through a seperation from mommy stage. Gosh I am sooooo glad I never really had this with Camden!! It's funny too because she really only acts like this when I am home or around. She does wonderful when Brad is home with her and is very good at daycare! The minute I get home from work/pick her up from daycare she is attached to my leg and crabby!! I walk in the door at home and she gives me an awful look and hits the closest thing to her. I was talking to my friend about this and her son did this when she picked him up from daycare. She told me it means it's a sign that she missed me. When I switched jobs and went back to work full time she actually adjusted very well. So now I am not really understanding why she is doing this. I know it's just a stage but it drives me crazy! I thought maybe she wasn't feeling good or she was in pain. She doesn't have a cold, her ears were just checked last week (which they look great and the tubes are actually still in..which I thought they were coming out) so I would say she is just being a little stinker! The ENT did say that her tonsils are huge and she will def need those out eventually. She doesn't wake at night but she is sure a restless sleeper. That is probably being caused from her mouth breathing which can be caused by large tonsils. He said if we have to put tubes in again he would take the tonsils out. Normally he don't do it til they are 3 or older but he said she is a big girl and she would do just fine! I am hoping we can hold off at least til she is over 2 years old. When Camden had his tonsils and adenoids out at 3 it helped ALOT!! I swear it's always something with my kids. I think they pick up every bug that goes around the daycare or at school!! Oh well it will get better and I know I am not the only one that has sick kiddos all the time! I look back to when I was a younger and would get sick. They didn't do half the procedures they do now with kids.
Maeci is also going through a stage of hitting. She gets mad she hits. She doesn't hit at daycare but at home she does. She even has tried to bite her brother twice! Oh gosh I really hope she doesn't start doing that all the time. I remember working in daycares and dealing with kids that would bite. Some kids just go through the biting stage but I am really hoping it doesn't get worse! I just have to keep telling myself this will all pass and it's just a stage they go through!!

Graduating.....

Yep my baby girl is graduating to the big room at daycare next week. This weekend she turns 18 months old and I can't believe it! Before I know it she will be graduating from preschool, high school, etc. Time goes way to fast! She transitions in the big room a few days a week now and she is so little with all the bigger kids! Daycare said she will do fine because she can hold her own when it comes to bigger kids. There are right because she usually doesn't back down when it comes to getting a toy taken away, getting hit, etc!
So here is what my monkey has been up too....

*She is a momma's girl lately. The past couple days she has started a stage again of mommy has to hold her all the time and I can't walk out of her sight! Frustrating for me at times but oh well it will pass! I think her ears have been been bothering her the last few days so that could be the reason behind her being so attached to me. We have an appointment on Monday with the ENT and I have a feeling a new set of tubes is what he is going to say. Her last set are in the processing of coming out!

*Adjusting really well to me going back to work full-time. When Brad is on dayshift and she is at daycare all day can make her a little overtired but not to bad.

*Starting to adjust better to the time change. Before the time change she slept from 7:30-7:00/7:30. Since the time change she started off sleeping from 7:30-5:00/5:30. With her getting up so early her whole daytime schedule was messed up. She used to take one nap in the afternoon but with her getting up so early she wants a nap by 10:00 and maybe another one late in the afternoon. Now that she is adjusting she is sleeping from 7:30-6:00/7:00. Most mornings when she gets up and we don't have to be anywhere she will lay on the couch and go back to sleep for another hour or so.

*Starting to say alot of words. Here are just a few....Mommy, Dada, Hi, Bye, Night, Melmo(Elmo), Papa, Tanku(thank you),baby, bottle(for her baby),wa-er(water),ball. Everytime she drops something she will say, uh oh. The other night she got a hold of the tv remote and took off running with it. Brad went to get it from her and she kept running and saying uh-uhhh! It was pretty funny! Seems like everyday she is learning new things to say. She doesn't say words all day long and if you want her to say something to show someone else she will NOT do it! Although she did say "papa" so my dad could hear it. Most of the time it's still alot of babbling that comes out of her mouth that I have no idea what she is saying. She tries to carry on a conversation with you and pretty much all it is a bunch of "baby talk" But it's funny because it's like she is trying really hard to tell you something. Soon she will be talking like crazy!

*She can point to all her body parts.

*She can tell you how old she is.

*Loves to sing songs!

*Books!! Wow the kid could read books all day long! I love it! I just put in my order for Usborne books and got her a lot of books for xmas!

*Has a mind of her own! If she doesn't like something she will let you know. Her new thing is giving you a dirty look. Such a little stinker.

*Tough little girl when it comes to her brother picking on her. She doesn't really back down to often and fights back!

*Hitting....if she's mad she hits! Grrr!

*OBSESSED with Elmo! She loves Sesame Street! Next to Elmo she loves Cookie Monster.

*About a month or so ago she got her last eye(I call it eye tooth but I think it's canine) tooth in. She now only has her 2 year molars left to get.

*Loves going to WWW(wild worship wednesday) on Wednesday nights with me. She loves being with all the kids and her favorite part is the singing and dancing at the end of the night.

Well that's about all with Maec. There is something new with her everyday. She is so much fun to be around and I love the age she is at! It's just so hard when they grow up so fast. Just got to thinking that soon Camden will be 6! Oh my!!

I don't get some people.......

I am sure most of you have heard about the Algona convenient store shooting last night. A guy robbed the store, shot and killed the clerk. He then headed to Humboldt where he shot and killed another clerk at a convenient store. What was going through this person's head? Why didn't he just take the money, food, beer, or whatever he wanted? Instead he took a women's life. I am very frustrated and scared with all of this happening so close to home. Everyone says it doesn't happen in small towns. Well yes it sure does! I recently found out the victim was from Bancroft and kids go to NSK. I know of this family and one was in my brothers class. My heart and prayers go out to this family during this difficult time.

Everyone just say a prayer for these families that were involved in this tragedy!

Parent-teacher conferences

Well our first parent-teacher conferences for Camden went great! Mrs.Menke said he is doing well in school and loves to learn. He really is into the sounding out and learning to read more words. They do this phonics thing (not sure the exact word) with there hand movements while trying to learn letters/words. Camden is doing it all day long at home and is thrilled when he sees/hears a new word and he can sound it out. When he goes to bed at night we hear him reading his book and sounding out words! I just love seeing him do this! Makes me feel good that he is enjoying learning these things!
Mrs.Menke also told us about these 2 assements they do for reading(I believe it's for Title 1 reading) and one other thing I think is dibels?? They do different assesments in each grade depending on the age and what grade they are in. The average for his age/grade on each assesment is to score equal to or greater than 8. On Camden's first one he scored 25 points over the average (which is 8)...the best out of both kindergarten classes. The second one he score 12 points over the average. He will be assesed again in January and next May at a different level. In January assesment the average number he should get should go up to I think equal to or higher than 25. He has already passed that in his first assesment! That was great news to hear!!
Of course he has a few things to work on...like not talking so much! She said every student in her class needs to work on that! Overall he is doing great and we are very proud of him! His report card was good so he gets a reward of going to the book fair tonight to get some books:)

Football

The NSK Eagles took a loss last night in the state playoffs to Remsen Union. Congrats to Brett and the Eagles on a great season! It was sad seeing my brother finish up another high school sports season. I am not sure what I am going to do once Brett is done with sports. It will feel really weird next year not going to high school sporting events to watch him play. I am sure I will stay busy with Camden's sports schedule. :)
I still have a hard time this year with Oz graduating. It is so wierd that the "Beadle" boys are not out there playing together! Now that Oz is gone and I go back to games to watch Brett, people still call them the Beadle boys. During homecoming week someone came up to me and said that it's different not having the Beadle boys out there and they miss seeing them play together! I do too! The time goes way to fast and it's hard to believe this is Brett's senior year! I am very proud of him and all of his accomplishments this year!
................Bring on the baseball season!!!!

Camden- "Mom does your perfume smell like dog?"

Me- "What?!? No, why?"

Camden "Well the bottle has a dog on it so it must smell like dog!"

HAHA!!! He was in the bathroom while I was getting ready and happened to see my perfume bottle sitting on the counter. It is from the Victoria's Secret pink collection. He still didn't understand why there was a "dog" on the bottle! LOL!

In church yesterday morning I was looking through the bulletin and saw we were going to sing 2 verses of "Amazing Grace". Yes I love this song but I usually never can hold it together when singing it. It makes me think of all the special people I have lost in my life. Just last week was 6 years since my Gma Esta passed away. She was one special Gma to me and I miss her so much! The days of playing there after school, the mini pizza's, the dixie cups, twiddling her thumbs, and her love for her grandkids were just a few of the things I miss about her! Everytime I would walk in the door she would say "Well hi brooke!" I miss those words! I miss her!
Also I have been thinking alot lately about my Gma Beadle who passed away this past January. I miss her terribly! It still hasn't fully sunk in that she has gone to heaven and is not with us anymore. Everytime I would go visit she would always greet me "well hello Brookie!" I miss hearing that everytime I walk in her house now. She was so special to me and I felt very close to her. I miss her love for her family, great cooking, and family get-togethers with her. Oh yes I definately miss that look she would give whoever was giving her a hard time while she was cookingor in the kitchen....it was the look of "you smart ass!" I can picture that look right now and I love it! :) I could go on and on about her and the things I love! I just heard the only day from the boys that farming season reminds them alot of Gma. They said they miss the little red car pulling up with dinner! Of course Gma would always bring the best meals to the field too!
These two hold a special place in my heart and all of the other loved ones I have lost!
So back to church yesterday......
We start singing "Amazing Grace" and I got about 5 seconds into it and starting crying! Pretty sure the lady next to me thought I was crazy!

The season for colds is here..............

I swear the minute fall/winter begins the sickness begins around here! About 6 weeks or so ago Camden woke up with high fever and a cough that sounded like a seal. I figured it was croup so I took him in and sure enough it was croup. Meds helped and he was better.(doc said alot of kids had been in to be seen for croup) About a week after that Maeci had a hoarse voice and had a cough but not as bad as Cam did. I gave it a couple days and it got worse so off to the doctor she went. They said she had a cold and possibly the start of croup. Put her on meds and couple days later she was better. I ended up getting a hoarse voice and cough just at night but didn't think I needed to go to the doctor. I never get sick so I figured I would just get over it. It didn't get worse but after about a week and a half I was sick of coughing at night so I went to doctor and they ended up putting me on medicine. The same day I went to the doctor Camden was home sick with Brad with yet another fever. I thought I would give it some time and see if he would get over it...sometimes it's just allergies with him! I don't always like to take them to the doctor right away because sometimes it can be just viral/allergies and they have to let it run its course. I usually can tell if it's just the snotty nose or if it's something more than that. While I was at the doc I told him about Camden running a fever and not feeling well. He said strep was now going around like wildfire.(which I knew about 5 people that week that had strep and it's been posted on the school website saying numerous cases of strep) He told me to see how Cam was over night and he would call in a on hold antibiotic if we needed it for him(this was a Friday) I got home after my appointment, looked in Camden's throat, found a very red throat and a few white patches. His symptoms were a sore throat and fever....strep! So back on another med! So he got much better once he started his medcine and seems to be ok now. Yesterday I was at work and Brad stopped in while he was working and said he felt like hell and had a horrible sore throat. This morning he woke up, could hardley talk and had a fever. Since our doctor pretty much knows it's going around our family he didn't make him come in and ended up give him a antibiotic for strep. He figured it was strep since Camden had just had it. He was in bed at 6:30 tonight! The doctor said the first strain we caught was just the cold/croup crap and now the strep. So hopefully Maeci and I don't get strep. Maeci is just dealing with cutting her last 3 eye teeth and one of her 2 year molars...she's a little grouchy!! At least she still sleeps great at night even though she is teething! I feel like all we have done around here is go to the doctor and take medicine! Thank god for great insurance! Hmmm wonder what my pharmacy bill is going to be with all this medicine we have been on!
It's so crazy for Camden to get sick twice in a couple months. Now that he is getting older and his immune system is built up he maybe has 1-2 colds a year. Maeci was always sick during her first year of life but that seems to be getting better. So hopefully we get better and get rid of these germs around here for awhile! Oh yeah I forgot to mention that kids are out of school now for the flu......oh the joys!!!

Camden

Every night we go through Camden's folder, go over his papers and talk about what he learned that day. After getting his homework and reading done we get everything back in his folder/bag for the next day. Every night before he goes to bed we tell him where and who will be dropping/picking him up from school the next day. We have to write a note to Mrs.Menke telling her that Cam will be riding the daycare bus after school. Brad was dropping off Cam this morning at school but he would have to go to daycare this afternoon. I was gone this morning before everyone got up and it totally slipped my mind to write the note for Camden today.(usually I do that at night) I called Brad to see how the morning went and he told me that Camden asked him if mom remembered to write the note for him to ride the daycare bus after school. Oops I totally forgot all about it. It's crazy though that he remembered a little thing like that and Brad and him were not even talking about it.... those little things to me are big things to him! It's not like he would be left alone at school because daycare knows the monthly schedule. I am sure Camden will let me know that I forgot this moring to write the note! Thank goodness Brad was home to take care of it! Oh well it happens! It's just crazy that he remembered that!

Updates

Well it's the start of the 3rd week of my new job and things are going great! We are still trying to get a routine down but for the most part it's going well. I will admit it's a huge change and I am exhausted by the time I get home after work. I am sure that will get easier as the weeks go on. The kids have adjusted well to it and don't seem to have any major problems. The only thing I notice with Maec when I pick her up from daycare is she is really tired! Probably because she don't like to take long naps at daycare. She will get used to that too and really it's not that bad! Thank goodness she is only there 2 or 3 days a week! Daycare said she is so good and such a happy little girl at.(That makes me feel good) Camden does fine and he actually loves going to daycare after school when Brad is working. He gets pretty tired too. At night both kids are in bed and sleeping by 7:30-7:45. Some mornings when I leave for work at 7:25 I don't see them because they are still sleeping. It's hard for me when I am used to being home most of the day with the kids. Overall it will just take some time for me to get adjusted to. Brad is pretty much Mr.mom when he is home on his days off during the week. He always has helped with housework and doing things with the kids, but now he does alot more. I am so thankful for him!:)

Here are a few other updates on the kiddos....

Maeci-
*16 months old
*She is my little devil!!! Oh boy she is naughty somedays!
*Likes to pick on her brother and get into all of his stuff just to make him mad. She will grab something of his and take off running!
*Starting to say more words. The things she does impresses me somedays.
*Loves to play/watch football. We will start yelling "go pack go" She starts clapping her hands, runs to get the football, runs to the tv and points at it. It's so cute.
*Loves to rock-a-bye her babies
*LOVES books especially if they have elmo in them. Yep she is definately an Elmo fan.
*Likes to dance
*A little chunk....I think she is going to be built like me.
*Starting to be a picky eater. She used to eat anything you put in front of her but that sure has changed!


Camden-
*5 1/2 years old
*Loves school..Brad took him to the movies a couple weeks ago and they ran into one of his teachers in his room. She told Brad that Camden is very well behaved and does well in school....good to hear!!!
*Doing great on all of his papers he has been bringing home.
*Can be mouthy at times...especially at night when he is tired!
*Picks on his sister.Somedays he loves to do things with her and somedays he doesn't want her near him!
*Loves being outside
*Enjoys church...couple weeks ago www (wild worship wednesday) started. He loves going and enjoys telling me the bible story when he gets home. I am helping teach so most nights I already know the bible story.

Well that's about it for us.
Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather! Happy Fall to everyone!!!!:)

Life Change.....

Yep my life is about to change in just over a week! I have accepted a position with the O'brien County Conservation as a full time secretary. I am excited, nervous, and scared! This is going to be a GREAT job for me and I am ready for this challenge but it's going to change not only my life but the rest of my family too. When I first got pregnant Brad and I had decided I would only work part time so I could be home with the kids. I am thankful for Brad's job that I have been able to be home alot the past 6 years. I worked in daycare for about 3 years and only worked an average of 28 hours a week. The past 3 years that I have been at the hospital I really cut down on hours (which was awesome once I had Maeci) and only worked about 12 hours a week. Once Camden was in school and Maeci was a little older I said I always wanted to go back to work full time. I do love my job at the hospital because of the work I do, the hours, my co-workers,and it's very flexible! There isn't any chance of me being able to have more hours, or a full time position. My job there has been assisting in surgies, computer work, ordering for hospital/clinics, invoicing, etc. There is an opening for a surgery assistant now at the hospital. It would include maybe a few more hours a week and 24 hour on call time 3-4 days a week/weekends. I thought about it but with Brad's schedule it would not work out for us. He works different shifts and it would be hard being on call when he is working. With Brad working his shift of overnights and two small kids not sure what I would do with them if I got called in for emergency surgery in the middle of the night. I am really going to miss working at the hospital and miss seeing my co-workers everyday! It has been a great learning experience and Baum Harmon Mercy hospital has been great to work for!
So this new job just happened to come open and I thought I may as well apply for it. I love doing clerical work as that has always been an interest to me. When they called me to offer me the job I was very excited but had some anxiety of how my kids would handle the change. I will be working Monday-Friday 8-4:30. It will be different for me because I am used to being home by noon and doing what I want all afternoon! Maeci will have the biggest change because she is used to being home with mommy in the afternoons. Now she will either be at daycare or home with Brad. Camden won't have that big of adjustments because he will be in school most of the day. He will have to go to the after school daycare program through our daycare but he loves it so I don't see much of a problem with that! Brad has a 2 week rotation on his schedule so one week he will be off and home with her 3 days, and the next week he will be home with her 2 days. Some days that Brad has to work she will only be there half days. The biggest will be when he is on his dayshifts she will have to be there the whole day! She loves daycare so I am sure she will get used to it! Brad said her being a mommy's girl is about to change into a daddy's girl! Whatever!!!:)
I am going to have to figure out a whole new morning rountine which will be interesting until we get used to it! Oh yeah and I will have to get out of bed a little earlier! LOL!!! Oh well I am sure I can handle that!! So once again I am very excited but scared at the same time. I think the biggest adjustment for me is having to be away from my kiddos most of the day:( I am sure it will all be fine once we get used to it, but it's a little scary making this life change!

A mouthy 5 year old

Yes from the title of this post I am sure you can tell that I now have a very mouthy 5 year old. I have never really went through the terrible two's with Camden but I would have to say these mouthy five's are the worst I have ever seen! Don't get me wrong he has been naughty and a little mouthy during the last couple years, but the last couple months have been the worst!!! He is acting out so bad I am not quite sure what to do with him! He talks back, mimicks everything you say(especially when we are discipling him) and screams at you! He never acts like this when mom and dad are not around though. Daycare has said he is one of the best kids there and usually listens to them if he has to be told not to do something. Really the only time he acts out is if mom and dad are with him at home or wherever we may be! I am sure this is just a phase and it will get a little better.(it's not going to get completely better because numerous people tell me if only gets worse..joy!)
A couple nights ago we were at our friends house for supper and he was not listening at all! I was so frustrated! Our friends said they had all been through it and some are still going through it! I guess I am not the only one that has a mouthy kid! I look back working at daycare's and being around other people's kids and I pretty sure I have seen kids that are alot worse than Camden is right now! So we are continuing our discipline to see what works and doesn't work.
Maeci is starting early with her attitude...way to early!!! I think she is picking up bits and pieces from watching Camden. Her newest thing is starting to hit! I know she see's that at daycare too. The other day I went to pick her up and a little boy went up to her, hit her, and took her toy she had. So what did she do? Hit him back! Oh the joys! Hoping this gets better and we can figure something out!
On a better note....
Camden starts Kindergarten tomorrow! I am sad because he seems so little to be going to school! He is so excited and has been asking non-stop for the past 2 weeks when he is going to school. I am hoping his attitude we are having at home does not start at school! Like I said before he never had any problem with daycare or preschool so I hope he doesn't start acting naughty in kindergarten. (I will be checking with his teacher to see how he is doing after a couple weeks).
Anyways in the next couple days I will post some first day of school pictures!

Summer

Wow summer is flying by and it's going to be over before we know it! This summer has been crazy busy for us. I was just looking at the calender and we do not have a free weekend until the end of August! Oh my! So here's what's been going on with the kiddos......
Camden~
*Loves being outside during the summer riding his bike, swimming, playing with friends, etc.
*Played t-ball in June and loved it! He was so tiny compared to the other kids but he did great!
*Last week he enjoyed going to bible school, making crafts, singing songs, learning bible stories, and playing games.
*Next week he has swimming lessons. He hopefully will start learning more how to swim in the next couple years with lessons. He loves the water and can do the basic kicking your legs and moving your arms. He has been getting better with going under water as last year he didn't do it to much because I think something scared him!
*Very excited to start school in August. He asks daily when school is going to start. It's going to be a change for him but he will do great and I know he will love it! He is growing up way to fast and he is going to have one sad mommy the day I take him to his first day of school!

Maeci~
*This girl is on the go non-stop and never sits still!
*Cutting 4 molars right now so she has been on the crabby side.
*Learning so much at this age. It's amazing how kids at this age catch on to stuff so fast. If I tell her to pick up toys she runs to pick up a toy and put it in the toy box. Yes it's usually just one toy she picks up but at least she knows. When we are ready to leave the house and go somewhere and I tell her lets go bye-bye. She will go get her shoes, bring them to me, and sit down for me to put them on her. Usually she tries herself to put them on but can't figure that out yet! If I ask her to get a diaper she will go get me one or sometimes she brings me 5..lol!!
*Words she is saying- Mom/mama, dada, hi, dat (that). You ask her what a fish says and she does it with her mouth..it's so cute:)
*She can point to her eyes, mouth,and nose when we ask her where they are.
*LOVES the motorcycle. When Brad starts it in the garage she runs and starts pounding on the door and yelling "dada"
*She still is a chunky monkey and loves her food.
*Loves to throw food on the floor from her highchair when she is done eating..drives me crazy!
*She has an attitude...wow! Camden never was like this at this Maeci's age. She will let you know when she is mad. Throws herself on the floor yelling and then usually will try and hit you.
*She loves to play outside and to go swimming. Somedays I have to drag her in throwing a fit because she doesn't want to come in!

Brad and I are keeping busy with work, running the kids here and there, going to the boys bb games,etc! We are on the go constantly! Well gotta go...Maeci is officially done eating breakfast because she is throwing it on the floor...grrrr!!!

Weekend

This past weekend we headed back to Swea to celebrate Maeci's birthday. We had a great weekend with our family! Friday late morning we got to my dad's and spent the afternoon there playing outside. Camden got a chance to get his BB gun out and learn a few pointers from Papa. My dad being a hunter just loved watching Cam shoot his gun:) Maeci just played around and enjoyed watching Brad mow my dad's yard. I think it was a bad idea that Brad mowed because now he wants a mower like they had...lol! I am thinking that huge thing would mow our small yard in about 10 minutes or less...don't think it's necessary for our yard! Late afternoon we left dad's and went out to eat with Buzz, Tab, and Cass. After supper we headed back to Buzz and Tab's and relaxed while the kids played.
Saturday we woke up to pouring down rain. I was bummed because Maeci's party was at the park. By the time the party that afternoon the rain had stopped and it was pretty wet but the party still turned out great and the kids had fun playing! After cupcakes, ice cream, and opening presents we went back to Buzz and Tab's to relax. We were all pretty lazy and decided we didn't want to cook so we went out to eat uptown that night. Brad's parents ended up being there along with Stac and Mike so we sat around uptown and visited with them and then Buzz brought up the idea of a bonfire! Oh boy the kids were so excited. I put Maeci down to bed once we got home and we all sat outside and enjoyed the fire for awhile. The kids did some sparklers and roasted marshmellows. Buzz also had some left over fire works from last year that he lit off and entertained the kids for awhile!
Sunday we packed everything up and made a stop at Brad's parents and then headed home. It was nice to get home but we had a great weekend back home too!

Maeci

Wow my baby girl turned 1 this past Saturday! Time goes way to fast! Her birthday started off with daddy making two of her favorites for breakfast, pancakes and sausage! After breakfast we packed up and headed to Spencer to watch my brothers play baseball. After a great day of watching baseball and seeing some family we headed back home and had cupcakes and opened the rest of her presents! Her big party is this coming Saturday back in Swea at the park! I am so excited for it!
I had her in to the doc yesterday for her one year checkup and things seem to be going good! He was suprised to see how active she is and how well she gets around!(yes she has been walking all over the place) She seems to be really fussy the last 2 weeks and we think it may be her molars coming in as they look pretty swollen but who knows. She has been having some tummy problems the past 2 weeks since she has been on whole milk along with lots of gas. We are going to continue the next 2-3 weeks on whole milk and see if it gets any better. If it doesn't we may be switching back to a lactose free whole milk( her formula was lactose free) and see how that goes. Doc thought if she was lactose intorlerant she would be spitting up and having constant diarrhea( which she doesn't have) I am thinking it's just going to take awhile to get used to the new milk and she has a sensitive tummy to begin with. I am ready for her to stop being so darn fussy though!! Thank goodness the constant fever, runny nose, stuffy nose, etc has slowed down for her though. I know she is going to get it here and there but the past 2-3 months she has not had it as often as she did when she was little!
At her checkup she weighed in at 25lbs and was 32" She is just a little chunk (she eats anything you put in front of her) but doc said she started off big and there was absolutley nothing to worry about. I looked at Camden's stats when he was 12 months and he weighed 23 1/2 lbs and I think was the same in height as Maeci. He would of weighed the same as Maec does if he wouldn't of lost 2lbs at 11 months due to a 6 day flu that made him dehydrated! It's interesting to compare the stats with them as they grow each year!
Well that's about all for Maeci...we are headed to get her one year shots today...not fun! She never has had a problem after with being fussy(although already today she is kindof a bear) after shots so hopefully that continues!

Camden is such a goofball somedays! The other day Brad was laying in the chair after getting up early from a midnight shift and he was tired(as Camden calls it "crabby") So out of the blue Camden starts singing his own version- "What day is today? It's daddy crabby day!" OMG I died laughing!! Brad couldn't help it either but laugh. :)

Here's the latest in the Stevens household.......
Chicago-
We took a long weekend (5 days) and headed to Chicago to attend my sister's college graduation. We had a great time with Brandi, Jeff, and Stac. We did alot of sight seeing and shopping! The kids did wonderful except when they were overtired they got a little crabby! It was also nice to be there to celebrate my sister's graduation. Sounds like now there is more schooling in her future! Overall it was a great vacation and we can't wait to go again! Next time Brad and I are thinking of going for a long weekend without kids and flying out. Instead of 8 hours to get there driving it would be only 1 1/2 flying.

Oz graduation-
Last weekend was Oz's graduation from high school. I left to go home on the Thursday before to start decorating and get everything ready. It was alot of work but I am glad everything turned out great! It took a couple of long months to get everything ready and organized. Now he will be attending BV in Storm Lake and will also be playing football and baseball. So excited that I will be just under an hour away from there so hopefully we will be able to go to some of his games!

Camden-
He has officially graduated from preschool and now he is ready for Kindergarten! Makes me sad that he is growing up way to fast and will be starting school in the fall. Now that school is over he is a busy little boy with baseball practice for the month of May and then games start in June. When I was in T-ball we never traveled to play anywhere we just played against each other. (once we got a little older we traveled but not this young) Camden's team actually travels to play games! He is also excited that the weather seems to be getting nicer so most of the time when we are home he is outside playing!

Maeci-
Holy cow she is almost 1. I can't believe it!! Seems like just yesterday we were driving to Sioux City to have her. Where does the time go? She is a busy little girl and into everything. She has a mind of her own! She has developed a little attitude already which is interesting somedays. If she don't get her way she gets ticked off! She is doing great though and is still my little chunky monkey!!:) Oh yeah and she is going through this stage that I HATE....separation from mommy! She is a mommy's girl and somedays I can't walk two steps from her or she will start crying! Hope this passes soon. Right now we are transistioning from formula to milk and so far so good. She has had such terrible tummy problems and still has some reflux so I am hoping once we get her fully on milk she will be able to tolerate it. Then come June will be a test when we take her off her reflux medicine. I am hoping she will outgrow this and she will be able to handle being off the med.
Well that's about it for us, hope everyone has a great week!

Busy, Busy

I feel like I have been running around non-stop lately! We are getting ready to leave on our vacation tomorrow and we are very excited!! Packing is not so much fun for me! I am the type that usually over packs on clothes but you just never know! So today after work I have to finish all the packing and load up to leave after Cam gets out of school tomorrow. We can't wait to see Aunt Brandi and Jeff. Camden can't wait to play GI Joes with Jeff! :) We have alot of fun things planned and I really hope the weather cooperates. As of right now it looks like it's going to be chilly, and a couple days of rain! Hope that changes! Sunday Brandi graduates from college so it will be nice to be there with her to celebrate!
We will be coming back on Monday and then we will be home for two days, then I am off to Swea on Thursday to get ready for Oz's graduation party! The kids are staying with Brad because Cam has ball practice and he doesn't want to miss that. So they will be coming home on Friday morning. I can't believe my "little" brother is graduating already! Seems like just yesterday he was a little shit! I am very proud of him and all of his accomplishments and hope he has a happy graduation!!!

Camden

Me-Camden what is purple on your shirt?
Camden-I got purple paint on it at preschool. Sorry mom! Oh no it's my brand new motorcycle shirt.
Me- It's no big deal Cam, it will come out when I wash it!
Camden-Do we have some Chlorox clean-up to wash it?
Me-Where did you learn that you use that?
Camden-They said to use that on t.v to get stains out.

Oh my I think my kid watches to much tv!!!!

It's been forever it seems that I have posted on here! Anyways here's a few things that have been going on with the Stevens'
Maeci-
*10 months old and a little stinker
*Has an attitude already especially when it comes to her brother bothering her.
*In to everything! She will drag out whatever she can get her hands on.
*Walks along the couch, it won't be long and she will be walking..YIKES!!!
*Hate's the grass! Took her outside a few days ago and she screamed bloody murder!!
*Love's to eat! Eating alot more table food now.
*Doesn't like to take naps
*As soon as she hears music she starts "dancing"..it's so cute!
*Loves to do patty-cake
*Waves bye-bye

Camden-
*Turned 5 the end of March
*Like's to bother Maeci
*Excited that it's Spring and he can be outside on the nice days.
*Kindergarten round-up a few weeks ago and had a blast. He has his assesment and he is above where he needs to be. We have a t-k(transitional kindergarten)program here if the kids are not quite ready for kindergarten yet. The teacher that assesed him said he is definetly ready for kindergarten and we got the official letter last week! It's going to be wierd having him gone all day come August.
*Excited to go to Chicago to see Auntie Brandi and Jeffy(that's what he calls him) for Brandi's college graduation the beginning of May! We will be there for 5 days so he is excited about all the fun stuff we will be doing!
*Starting soccer tomorrow and it will go every Saturday for the next 6 weeks.
*Starting T-ball in May and then games in June.

Me-
*Busy, busy trying to get together all the stuff for Oz's graduation. Trying to finish his scrapbooks before graduation but it's not looking good. All I have done is his Freshman year...HA! I put it off and now with only 4 weeks to go I am pretty sure I will not get them done with everything else I am trying to figure out! This graduation stresses me out just a little! I am more of a detailed person when planning and Oz just wants it plain and simple. It's his graduation so we will be doing plain and simple, but it will be a nice party!
*I got roped in to being a soccer coach for the next 6 Saturdays. I will be there anyways watching Cam so I might as well help out!
*Loving that it's Spring so I can get outside with the kids more often. Excited to go for more walks everyday!!

Brad-
*Staying busy with work.
*Busy with city-council
*Doing great with his p90x routine. He is not doing it to try and lose weight but to tone up more and I can definetly see a difference since he started it 7 weeks ago. I thought I would be able to do it more often than I do but with the kiddos it's hard to find time everyday!
*On a kick right now wanting a Harley. He did this last year around this time so he is looking like crazy to find one.

Well that's about it with us........

Maeci

My little Maecer is having surgery on Friday. I am FREAKING out!! She is going to have tubes in her ears and also have an adenoidectomy done(removal of adenoids). I am not freaking out about the tubes because I have been through them with Camden when he was 9 months old but it's the removing of adenoids.(Camden didn't have his tonsils and adenoids removed until he was just over 3 yrs old) Typically ENT doctors do not like to do adenoids this young unless they are causing chronic problems in children. Well I took her to the ENT doc yesterday and he just looked at her and said she is not breathing right and she is breathing heavy/ mouth breather. He is 99 % sure all this crap going on with her is being caused from her adenoids. He is going in to do the tubes and then while doing that he will evaluate the adenoids and if they look fine he will leave them in and not remove them. If they are not the cause of the problem he will be able to look around a little in her mouth/throat to see if there is something else going on. I really hope this is the problem and it's nothing else. Hopefully she will actually be able to have the surgery on Friday. She is battling a cough and sometimes docs will not release them to have surgery until they get over the cold. We go for an H &P tomorrow to the doc so we will see what she says. I am hoping we can do it on Friday because our ENT doc will be leaving next Friday and will be gone for a couple weeks and I just want to get this over with!!

YAY!!

ON TO STATE!! Congrats to the NSK girls basketball team on a great win tonight! We wish we could of been there to see it! Sounded like a pretty great game. From all the text messages I was receiving and the scores throughout the game it sounded like at one point we were down by 16 points! It just proves to never give up and fight hard 'til the end!!! The final score ended up being 62-56! We are very excited for Paul,Klocke, Dr.Tigges and the girls and can't wait to watch them at state next week! GO NSK!!

It has been awhile....

We have been so busy I have not had time to post much on here. I am not sure how we were so busy because when we had plenty of snowstorms in January that made us stay home! I think too I was getting kind of bored with blogging too. Anyways here is what has been up with the Stevens'..........

Maeci-
Last week my baby girl turned 8 months old. I do not know where the past 8 months went.
She is crawling all over the place and getting into everything! It's only going to get worse when she starts walking. She is always full of smiles and loves to babble! She cut her first 2 teeth about 6 weeks ago and now I see the top 2 and possibly 2 more on the bottom coming through. That would explain her runny nose, rosey cheeks, and being a little cranky.
The beginning of January we had her follow up appointment with the GI specialist. We had her off her prevacid for about a month and she started refluxing again. The doc decided to put her back on it and things have been going pretty well again. If she has not grown out of this by 12-13 months then they will scope her in August. We already have the appointment set up for the scope but I am hoping she grows out of it and we can cancel!
We have had her into our family doc a few times because her nose continues to be stuffed up and she has trouble breathing(snoring) while sleeping. He said her tonsils are swollen and that could be causing her snoring. He also thought maybe her adenoids were enlarged too but they are harder to see. So we are going to be taking her to our pediatrician and see what is up with that and possibly have to been seen by the ENT doc. Gosh I am sick of doctors and sickness!! Hopefully it's no big deal and she gets better!

Camden-
My "baby" boy is going to be turning 5 next month. He is so excited for his birthday and being 5 is a big deal to him because then he will get to go kindergarten! He goes back and forth about what we are going to be doing for his birthday. First it's Chuck E Cheese and a John Deere birthday then he is having friends over to our house and having a power rangers birthday, etc!!
So I guess we will have to wait and see what he decides on!
He is doing great in Preschool. He does very well in his school work and I can see that from his papers he brings home. His newest thing at home is adding numbers. He does pretty well at it! We are also starting to work on reading(the small words) and writing more words. He can write all of his alphabet capital and small letters so now he is more interested in writing more words other than his name.
He is getting very, very sick of the winter weather. Everyday we leave for daycare/preschool he tells me he is ready for Spring and Summer. This morning he told me he used to like snow but we have to much of it..HA! Boy is he right though!!
One last thing on Camden...He started wrestling a couple weeks ago and loves it! When he brought the papers home for wrestling Brad and I cringed because we are not fans of wrestling at all. He really wanted to do it and Brad and I are not going to pressure him into not doing something/or doing something. He wanted to try it out and we were fine with that. Some parents that won't let there kids do certain things or pressure them into something they don't want to do drives me crazy. Don't get me wrong we encourage the sports, but are not going to pressure him into it! I don't think I will have a problem because Camden LOVES sports!! ;)
Anyways he is doing great in wrestling and learning the basics. He has practice on Tuesday and Thursday nights and meets on the weekends. We have not attended a meet yet and I am not sure if we will do meets this year or start those next year if he is still interested in it!
Anyways I need to get going so I will continue this post later..........

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Camden thought he needed to wear his new John Deere hat under his new years hat.
Our New Year's consisted of staying home with the kids watching movies and relaxing. Brad had to work the next morning at 6 so going out to celebrate wasn't going to happen. I would rather be home with my kids celebrating the new year! We didn't actually stay up until midnight though but we celebrated early:) Next year I think we will eliminate the noise makers Brad bought. Camden is still blowing them and driving me nuts!! Hope you all have a Happy and Healthy 2010!!!