Is it Really Winter?

To say this winter has been mild would be putting it lightly. Especially after the last couple winters we've had with sub-zero temps and mountains of snow. I think it's snowed maybe three times this year and it usually melted before we got a chance to play in it. I kept thinking, I just want one good snow so the boys and I can make snowmen and maybe go sledding. Now, don't get me wrong. I've really enjoyed these mild temps, especially with a baby in tow, and anyone who's ever driven with me in the winter knows my nerves and blood pressure have really appreciated the lack of wintry percipitation. I literally wanted just one good day of snow, even just a partial day, and that's what we got earlier this week. It snowed Sunday night and Monday morning I took Colin to school. I knew it was going to be sunny and starting to warm up in the afternoon, but I thought that would work to my advantage to make snowmen. You know, wet snow = good packing snow, right? Well, the boys were excited about my afternoon plans to build a snowman until it was afternoon and they started arguing over who the snowman should be. At first I thought I'd put a Star Wars twist on it and say we were building the Wampa. But that made Eli sad and scared so then I said we'd build Frosty. Well, that wasn't cool enough for Colin and they started arguing. Eventually Colin talked Eli into agreeing to build Anakin, Obi Wan, and Asohka Tano. All I could think of was, I'm not sure if we'll even get one snowman built, let alone three, but I didn't argue and we headed out. Of course, as soon as we got outside, the boys abandoned me in my snowman building project to go under-cover and secretly hunt me down with their "light sabers".

I guess it was good they weren't that interested in building snowmen because despite the wetness of the snow, it really wasn't snowman-building material. I barely was able to throw these two little guys together and if anything touched them, they instantly started to crumble. 

Of course the snowmen were dubbed bad guys so Colin asked to attack them.

Colin was proud of his light saber skills.

Eli was sad - maybe all my talk of love, peace, and harmony has been rubbing off.

Here he is, placated, after I put the head back on the snowman.

The boys were both all smiles when I offered to pull them around in a sled.

And who wouldn't pass up an opportunity to throw snowballs at their mama?

I'm glad we got in our one afternoon of playing in the snow. Maybe we'll have another chance yet this year to try our hand at snowman building. It wouldn't be that shocking if we even got some snow in April. But until then, I'm taking advantage of the 60 degree days, like the one that melted all this snow less than 24 hours later.

Florida 2012

We had a great time in Florida this year! The weather was gorgeous and despite my concerns about Logan not traveling well or sleeping well in a room with all 5 of us, he did awesome.

While we were down there, we celebrated Colin's 5th birthday. I can't believe he's almost 5!

We attended a character breakfast at the Beach Club. We saw Goofy, Minnie, and Donald. Eli was slightly terrified by the characters, but he tolerated them as long as he was being held.

After breakfast, we went to downtown Disney and the boys made light sabers.

Eli and I went swimming one evening at the resort. Thankfully we went early in the week because the poor guy got a stomach bug half-way through the trip.

The boys and I visited an orange grove one day and got to go on a tour and pick oranges. We also got to taste some of their fresh-squeezed juice sample some of their crop.

One day we went to Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. It was beautiful! We saw a birds of prey show, went on an African safari tour, and saw lots of other cool animals.

Of course, we had to hit a Disney park while we were down there. This year we went to Magic Kingdom. Here's Chris and Colin on the Buzz Lightyear ride.

Nana, Papa, & Logan on Buzz Lightyear.

Eli on Buzz Lightyear.

 Riding on the Jungle Cruise.

Colin and his cousin Josh got to drive the ship for a few minutes.

Logan took a nap on It's a Small World.

Colin and Eli on Peter Pan.

Chris and Eli on Winnie the Pooh.

Logan's first castle shot.

Eli at Mickey's Philharmagic.

Waiting in line for Pirates of the Caribbean.

Completely captivated while watching Captain Jack Sparrow.

Mickey Ears!

Tired and wet from a downpour at dinner time, but at least we got a family shot in front of the castle.

On Friday we headed back to Downtown Disney to walk around and enjoy the weather, Legos, and stores.

Colin finally got in the pool on our last day there. He chose not to swim with Eli and I earlier in the week because he thought it would be too cold. I'm glad he decided to go swimming at least once. The swim lessons are paying off - he swam like a fish with his arm floaties and was really comfortable in the water.

It was a fun week but it's always nice to return to home sweet home.

Logan is 4 Months Old

Logan at 4 months. What can I say, I just want to eat him up - he is so sweet! Well, except for when he chooses to use his ear-piercing, high-pitched scream instead of his inside voice. He is very talkative and loves interacting with everyone. His brothers can always get him to laugh and his newest trick is blowing raspberries which makes Colin and Eli crack up. He has found his feet and loves to take off his socks so he can play with his toes. He reaches for everything and is particularly fond of grabbing our faces. Even though we haven't introduced solid foods yet, he has starting sitting in his high chair and joining us at the table for meals. He's getting stronger on his tummy and pushes up onto his elbows. He consistently rolls from tummy to back but has only rolled from back to tummy a couple times.

 

At his 4 month well-child appointment, I asked his doc about a new rash that had popped up over the last week and he said it was eczema. It looked pretty severe and since he's had such persistent cradle cap, I asked if it could possibly be caused by a food sensitivity. He said it was definitely a possibility but it could also just be caused by the dry winter weather. He suggested I try going dairy-free for a couple weeks and see what happens. Well, it's been about 5 days and Logan's cradle cap is almost completely gone and so is his eczema. Granted, I have been treating his cradle cap very aggressively for weeks and it's supposed to get better between 4-6 months and I did just finish treating the eczema with a steroid cream, but it seems like a strong coincidence. I might not be enjoying Mr. Freeze this summer... at least it's for a good cause! I just hope if he does have a food sensitivity it's something he grows out of instead of turning into a full-blown allergy.

 

Some stats on Logan: he's 13 pounds, 2 ounces, 25 1/2 inches long, wearing size 3-6 month clothes, and  size 2 diapers.

Has it been a month?

I guess it has since Logan just turned 4 months. Ack - must blog about that too. Oh, how time flies! So, everyday I think to myself, geez, I should blog about what we've been up to and then once I get all 3 boys occupied or asleep, someone wakes up or wants to eat and the next thing I know it's 9:00 at night. And let's face it, by that time, all I want to do is sit on the couch, shovel food down *my* throat and stare at the TV until I feel motivated enough to walk back upstairs to go to bed. Yesterday I was lamenting to Chris about how this is the case and he encouraged me to bust out my computer and work alongside him while he does taxes and while we watch the Grammy's. So here I am. This is mostly going to be a photo dump since I keep getting distracted by neon-colored hair and Maroon 5 covering the Beach Boys, but I know one day I'll post an entertaining anecdote about my childrens' shenanigans.

Brother love. 

Getting out some energy and having Star Wars "pod" races on their bikes. 

Eli won!

Eli painting while Colin's at school. 

Logan caught a little cold.

 Thankfully he recovered quickly.

Star Wars!

I hope to post an update on Logan at 4 months soon!

Logan is 3 Months Old

At 3 months, Logan is one smiley little guy. He loves to interact with us and is cooing up a storm. He's finally starting to enjoy tummy time and has fun lying on his activity mat and batting at the toys hanging above him. He has found his hands and is starting to explore his world with them. He still doesn't like his carseat but he's tolerating it a little better. He's weighing in at 12.2 lbs and is wearing size 3-6 month clothes.