Dellin is a Sunbeam

Today was Dellin's first day in Primary. He is an official Sunbeam, and he couldn't be happier about it. He was a tiny bit nervous when we dropped him off. He really loved being in nursery with Gouverneur, but he was really looking forward to primary. He is in there with Sterling Henry. Dellin is such a sweet boy, I'm sure he teaches will always adore him. Just like we do.

 It's bittersweet watching my boys grow up!

FIRST E.R. TRIP (AND HOPEFULLY HIS LAST!)

Up until today, we had only ever been to the ER once with our boys, which is pretty good, considering that we have four, wild boys. We took Sterling Henry in over a year ago thinking that he had a broken arm. It took three hours, and luckily it was fine.

Today, we were playing outside and Gouverneur was crawling around on the grass. Somehow he chewed on a stick, choked, and threw up blood. It wasn't a ton of blood, but it was enough to make me nervous. After talking with our pediatrician, I decided that we needed to take him to the E.R. I called Sterling and told him to head home. Our cute neighbor Val came over and sat with the big boys so that I could take Israel to the E.R.

We got there, and he was happy and fine. I almost turned around and left, but decided that I better get him checked out just in case. They did x-rays and lots of check-ups and found nothing. We hung around there for a good three and hours. The whole process was long, but I'm so happy that he is alright. He was in good spirits the whole time.

He puts everything in his mouth and this was a good reminder to be more diligent in cleaning up and not leaving any small toys out. And not putting him down on the grass yet.

We sure love this boy and love that he is so happy and healthy. He is growing up way too fast!

ISRAEL AT 8 MONTHS

Israel has grown up so much in these last two months. It's fun to watch him grow up, but it always make me sad that he is growing up so fast. He is such a darling boy.

He now has 6 teeth. 4 of them have popped up in the last 6 weeks. It has been pretty rough on everybody. 

He can sort of wave, although I'm not sure if he know that he's waving. It's cute either way.

He is sitting up really well now and loves to sit and play with toys. He also sat up in the front of the shopping cart for the first time. Gouv loved having him next to him, despite the look on his face. 

His brothers love him so much. They all want to help feed him and give him small bites of whatever their eating. He gets millions of hugs and kisses. He is very loved.

He is eating like a champ these days. He is our chubby-bubby. He is my only baby that I've been able to nurse this long. He is also eating all sorts of table food and seems to love everything but avocados. The one time he did eat them, he threw up after.

He has not been sleeping very well. He has been waking up more times at night then he did as a newborn. We had him cry in out a bit for the last two night and he's back on track. We're all happy about it!

He is very alert. He loved to make eye contact and smile. I love walking into the room and seeing this sweet face looking up at me.

By this time I have already been pregnant after each baby I've had. Sort of crazy to thing about since he still seems so little to me. (I'm not making any announcements by the way.)

We sure love you, Israel. Thanks for bringing so much happiness and joy into our family!

THERE'S A NEW BIG BOY IN TOWN.

Dellin is officially potty trained and we are all happy about it. I tried to potty train him after his third birthday back in January, but he was not ready. Or maybe I wasn't ready, but either way, it didn't happen. Occasionally we'd ask him when he wanted to start wearing big boy underwear and he'd respond with, "maybe when I get baptized!" So I sort of pushed the whole thing out of my mind and figured we'd deal with it after summer.
Then on Monday morning, I looked at the week and we had NOTHING at all on the calender, except rain. So I asked Dellin if he wanted to put on big boy underwear and go potty and he said, "yes". He already had a stash of cute undies from back in January, so we pulled them out and started potty training.

He spent most of the week in his undies with a shirt on. He was rewarded with M&Ms and suckers for each time he successfully went. Sterling Henry and Gouverneur were rewarded too, so they were cheering him on just as much as I was. We didn't go outside too much since undies aren't exactly modest. But, wh did sneak out one morning with dad and I snapped this picture. Pretty cute.

We started filling up his Big Boy Chart on Tuesday morning and he did even better after that. He put on his last sticker last night, and we headed to Target this morning. He picked out a Jake and The Neverland spyglass set.

The whole week has gone much smoother than I'd anticipated. I love watching the confidence that comes with being potty trained. It's pretty darn cute.
My favorite line of the whole week was on Monday (Day 1) after he'd gone a few times. I told him that he was an official big boy now. He responded by saying, "now I can do all the thing that Sterling Henry can do, like summersaults...and..." I'm not sure what else came after that because I was laughing at how darling he is that he just wanted to be like his older brother and do summersaults. I love these boy so much! Way to go Dellin!

LAST DAY OF PRESCHOOL

Sterling had his preschool program while Josh and Laura were here. I took Israel with me and left Dellin and Gouverneur home to play with their cousins. Dad met us there. It was fun to sit and watch Sterling Henry. He has absolutely loved preschool! He will go back to the same one in the fall and Dellin will go with him.

They sang lots of cute songs and had a graduation at the end. I loved it.

Little Man with his teacher, Miss Lynn.

We are so proud of you, Sterling Henry, You are such a darling, smart boy. You love life and live it to the fullest. We know that this is just the beginning of all the great things that you will do!

Gouverneur 2nd Birthday Celebration.

I love prepping for my boy's birthdays. I always blow up balloons and hang them from the ceiling and I put up our birthday banner. I love the look on their faces when they come out and see everything. We started out Gouverneur's birthday right with German Pancakes with strawberries and cream and sausage. My boys all request the same thing, which is fine by me.

 We did presents after breakfast since we had plans that evening. His birthday fell on Memorial Day this year. Here are the boys giving Gouv his present from them.

His very own bat and ball. He was thrilled to get his own. 

 He also got his own shovel and wheelbarrow. The boys love nothing more than to work outside with dad. They love having their own tools too. Gouv has moved into a new big boy world and that means his own shovel. The boys were a bit jealous of his wheelbarrow. They put it to good use all day to help dad move wood.

My boys working hard. The birthday boy is right in the mix. 

Later that evening, we got together with some friends for a barbeque. I made cupcakes and we sang to Gouv there. He LOVED it. He cheered and clapped when the whole thing was over. Just look at that face!

This boy just melts my heart. 

Gouverneur is TWO!

It's hard to believe that our little Gouverneur is two years old. He has been such a sweet boy and a LOT of fun.

He has really grown in to his name, although we call him Baby Fufu most of the time. Sort of on the other side of the spectrum from Gouverneur, but it works for him. 

He can hang with older brothers and doesn't get pushed around. In fact, most of the time he is the one doing most of the pushing. He isn't talking a whole lot, but when he does, he has a deep voice. It cracks us up.

He is our power sleeper. He can sleep through anything and sleeps a solid 12 hours every night with a good 2-3 hour nap everyday. He still has his own room since baby Israel is still with us. He is going to love having a brother in his room. We hope.

He is such a little man. We took him hiking and he walked up the whole hill by himself. Such a tough guy. He likes to do most things by himself. He insists on saying every prayer. If someone else says it, he wants to say one after theirs.

He is a serious daddy's boy. More so than any other of our boys at this age. He wants to be with his dad all the time and usually is. It's pretty cute.

 2 Year Stats

Weight: 30 lbs. 6 oz. (80%)

Height: 36 1/2 inches (95%)

Head: 20 inches (95%)

We sure love you Gouverneur. And LOVE having you in our family! You make us all happy.

6 MONTHS OLD BABY ISRAEL

Someone is six months old. Not sure how that happened so fast. It seems like the more babies I have, the faster they all grow up. I wish I could just push pause and or at least slow motion. Being as I can't, I will just sit and soak up every second on their lives.

6 Month Stats

Weight: 18 lbs. 9 oz. (75%)

Height: 28 1/2 inches (Off the charts!)

Head: 17 1/2 inches (90%)

Israel started solids right before he turned six month and he loves them now. At first he wasn't so sure what to think. 

 As you can see here.

The boys love that he is eating food. They are always asking what I'm feeding him and Gouverneur likes to try a bite or two or whatever the baby is having. I love watching the boys with baby Israel. 

Israel is now sitting in a highchair some. This was on his actual six month birthday. (taken with my phone.)

Israel is at such a fun stage. He is laughing and giggling all the time. He loves the exersaucer. He make us all so happy. He loves watching his brothers. He has gone back to sleeping 8-12 hours at night. He loves to roll over on his stomach but can't get back onto his back. He grabs everything in site. He is such an angel baby and we just love him.

Someone got a haircut...

...And he looks so bigtime. It's hard to believe that Gouverneur really had those curls, but he did. He went from a baby to a big boy in just a few minutes. Breaks my heart, but it was time.

5 Months Already???

 Baby Israel is growing up way too fast. He is 5 months old today! He is such a darling baby boy. He is happy and sweet and so intrigued with life.

Israel cut his fist two teeth today. He has been a bit off and I could see that they were coming soon. I looked last night and they weren't through. Then first thing this morning, one was through and the other one followed a few hours later. He is the second earliest teether in our family. (Sterling Henry holds the record of getting his first two teeth at 4 months.)  Israel has been a pretty good teether so far.

He is still sleeping like a champ. He goes 10+ hours a night and take 3-4 good naps during the day.

He has had lots of visitors over the last month including 2 grandmas, 1 grandpa, 2 aunts, and a cousin. He's quite a popular guy. The held and kissed him like crazy.

He finally fits into his dads old outfit. Grandma Fillmore made this for dad when he was a baby, but never finished it. She sent it out to me after I had Dellin.  Here's Israel in it. 

I had to include this picture of Dellin in the same outfit. Dellin was 8 months in the picture. They both have red hair, so it's only fitting to have them both wear the cute red outfit.

He is so into watching his brothers play. I can tell he is just dying to be one of the rowdy boys. They adore him too and try to involve him in things. They are always sharing they snugglies with him. Gouverneur has shared his binky on many occasions. Sort of gross, but really thoughtful and sweet.

He did get in on his first dog pile the other night. Good thing I had a good grip on his ankle, because he almost flew right over the top.

We sure love you Israel. Thank for being such an easy-peasy baby!

ISRAEL TURNS 4 MONTHS

I cannot believe for even one second that this little tub of love is already 4 months old. He is an absolute dream baby.
He is happy and sweet and has started laughing.
He loves to look and and smile at me while he's nursing, and it melts my heart every time.
He is the sleeping champ. He sleeps 8-12 hours at night and take lots of naps still.
He is my best nurser.
He is still in a pack-n-play in our room. He's so quiet, that we just might keep him there forever.
He is wearing 6-9 month clothing. 

4 MONTH STATS

Weight: 15 lbs. 14 oz. (70%)

Height: 26 1/4 inches (95%)

Head: 16 1/2 inches (50%)

He is adored by his older brothers. They all love him and love on him often. They all love to hold him. Dellin asks the most, but they all love it.  He is one lucky little brother to have these three to look up to.

We sure love you Israel!

NO CAVITIES

The two big boys had a dentist appointment today. It was their first "real" dentist appointment, and it went a whole lot smoother than I'd imagined. I have been putting it off for months.
They were both a little nervous at the beginning. Little Man's expression below on the left says it all.












































Miss Bree (the hygienist) was great with the boys. She had lots of fun names for all the instruments and let the boys try everything. They loved getting a prize bag at the end with lots of free swag. (Who knew that a toothbrush and some flossers could make the boys so happy?)
The best part of the appointment was when she told me that their teeth look great. No cavities! Woot! Woot!

GUESS THE BABY!

Occasionally I do things that I'm really proud of as a mom. Getting a picture of all four of my boys in the same outfit and pretty much the same age, just might be my proudest moment. People tell me all the time that my boys look so much a like. I don't really think so, until I look at their baby pictures.

Can you tell who's who?

I'll post the answer in a few days. 

Two Months

Israel has been an absolute dream baby in every way. He is so happy and sweet. In the last 2 weeks he has started smiling, laughing and cooing. Best sounds ever. He is really starting to get chunky rolls all over. He is sleeping 6+ hours at night and taking good naps during the day. He is by far, my best nurser. He is adored by three older brothers who are always wanting to hold/kiss/hug him. These last two months have been heavenly.
It's hard for us to decide which one of the boys he looks the most like. What do you think?

My mother-in-law gave me this darling out that was Sterling's when he was a baby. I have been quite anxious to put him in it and document. Super cute.

2 Month Stats

Height: 24 inches (95%)

Weight: 13 lbs. 9 oz. (75%)

Head: 16 inches (90%)

We have a serious baby addiction over here and this boy is just feeding that addiction in a good way. We love you Israel. Thanks for bringing so much joy and happiness in to our family!

18 Months

 It's hard to believe that Gouverneur is already 18 months. He has been such a fun baby boy. The best way to describe him is "jolly". He is so happy. He is all about his brothers and rough housing. He loves to wrestle and do anything that his older brothers are doing. He LOVES to play catch and has a pretty good arm too.

He is obsessed with his "dadda". All my boys seem  to love their dad, but Gouverneur has taken it to an all new level. I love it. He started going to nursery a few weeks ago and loves it. He is in there with Dellin, which is good for both of them.

He is very independent. He decided weeks ago that he was done being fed. He wants a spoon or fork at every meal and likes to sit up right at the table. He looks so big this way.

18 Month Stats

Height: 34 1/4 inches (95%)

Weight: 28 lbs. (80%)

Head: 19 3/4 (90%)

He still has three bottles a day and loves his bottle. (I usually indulge my boys till they turn two.) We don't usually let him run around with it, but this was just too funny.

The boys love to push each other around on their trucks. The little brother always usually does the pushing. Gouverneur doesn't seem to mind much. He and Dellin play really well together.

As far as talking goes, he is saying the same few words that he has been saying for months which include: mom, dad, dog, baba, and lots of other sounds for particular things like his binky. Gouverneur has a deep voice, it cracks me up.

He really is a jolly boy. He is living up to his name in every way. We love you Gouverneur!