Fall Soccer

Soccer finished up for the boys this past weekend. Jake's team was in the playoffs, but lost their first game so they were done. Brenden's age group didn't have playoffs, just a final game which they won despite Brenden scoring a goal for the other team.....Oops :)

The season was a success for both boys. Jake got to learn a lot about being part of a team. In the past, Jake's teams have had a lot of success and this season was quite different. There were several kids that hadn't played soccer before or simply weren't very good so the teamed struggled at the beginning which was very frustrating for Jake. However, he continued to practice and learn how to not only make himself a better player, but also how to help others be better and how he can change his play to help others. Despite their final loss, it was evident that the team had grown and made a lot of improvement over the season. And I personally was happy to see how Jake dealt with what he saw as a difficult situation.

Brenden's season was a success as well. The coaches were amazed by his weekly improvement and how well he mastered the skills they worked on. Also, Brenden is definitely a defense-minded player, but learned how to play offense and became quite the scorer by the end of the season - he scored 8 goals in one game (remember, they don't use goalies). It was also fun to be able to watch him be part of a team and really enjoy what he was doing and making friends while doing it. In the past, Brenden would get mad and/or frustrated and really looked to me or Chris for help or comfort. I didn't see that at all this time. I saw him continue to try, listen, practice, and trust what his coaches had him do and really ENJOY being at practice and games :)

The league also gives out end of the season Trophies and Awards. Brenden's team met for a pizza party where he got his Trophy and was given the Sweeper Award - The award for remarkable soccer skills at any position on the soccer field. Jake's team was supposed to go to a park after their final game to get their trophies and awards, but it seems that didn't happen so we are waiting to see if we'll do something soon or just pick them up from the coach. I was told by the coach that Jake was the team's MVP. Needless to say, I am quite the proud Mamma of my boys accomplishments!

The boys are very much looking forward to playing again in the spring! Here's some pictures from through out the season.

Shaw Farms

It's Halloween time again! When we lived in Michigan we knew of plenty of places to get pumpkins, but down here in Cincinnati I needed to do a little research to find somewhere fun for the kids. So after very little research - after all, I am nearly 7 months pregnant and wasn't planning to spend a whole lot of time on this - I came across Shaw Farms in Milford. It is relatively close to us (20 minute drive) and is open 7 days a week. It is also free, apparently a lot of places around here charge an entrance fee or parking fee, weird. Anyway, it has been GREAT weather the past few days so we decided to finally head out yesterday afternoon to check it out and get us some pumpkins :)

The place was great. Very easy to find and super kid friendly. They had lots of cut outs for kids to pose around for pictures and several could be climbed on or posed on/in as well, as you'll be able to see from all of the pictures I took. The kids had a blast running around playing and were very good about me taking pictures. There was also a maze that they must have run through at least 5 times, including Rylan. They all picked out their own pumpkins and picked up some cider as well - the kids have missed cider and were VERY happy to get some :)

So all in all it was a very good experience and I imagine we will return again next year and maybe we'll have time to try the hayrides too!

Toilet Training for the Ry Girl

 Warning: Lots of pee and poop talk, this is a post about toilet training after all...

This probably isn't the most exciting post for most, but for me its one of the best things I could possibly think of at the moment :) We did 2 in diapers when Brenden was born for a year until Jake finally was toilet trained just after he turned 3. So if we can get Rylan trained before Miles arrives I will be THRILLED!

We've been very loosely trying to get Rylan to use the toilet since this summer. She used it once back in July or August (can't remember exactly when). And that was it, but she was willing to sit on the toilet at various times. So that's what we've been doing, asking her if she wants to sit on the toilet and if she does great and if no not a problem. And sometimes she would sit there for half an hour not doing anything, but we figured as long as she was happy/comfortable we'd stick with it.

Then a few weeks ago Rylan started telling me every time she peed or pooped. She'd stand up or sit down and announce what was about to occur in her diaper so I figured I would give her a little more push to try the toilet. One day I got her to sit just fine, but again nothing happened. So I left her diaper off thinking she'd rather sit on the toilet once she couldn't hold it anymore, but I was wrong. She got VERY distraught and REFUSED to sit on the toilet and eventually peed on the floor which made her even more hysterical.

With such an awful experience I thought for sure I had set her back. However, after thinking about it some and talking with my neighbor, I wondered if maybe she just wasn't a little nervous about the "BIG" toilet. So I borrowed a kiddy/toddler toilet from the neighbors to see if that might help. And sure enough as soon as we got it home she peed in it - literally took about 5 minutes from getting it into our house and she was peeing away! I hoped this would be the break through we needed, but another week or two passed with no more results other than just sitting on the toilet....And then came Sunday night.

Sunday night before bed, I very casually asked if she wanted to sit on the toilet and she said yes. This time she didn't want the little one, she insisted on the big one. She got the stool and her seat, but still nothing. So I told her she could have a chocolate coin if she peed in the toilet. We had told her before she could have a treat if she peed or pooped in the toilet, but it never seemed to help...until this time! She was all about that chocolate coin! She peed like a champ, and was just has happy and proud as could be. Even though it was bedtime I got her a chocolate coin ASAP and gave her lots of hugs and high fives for her accomplishment.

We obviously had no idea if this would be a one time thing again or the start of more real toilet training. And it looks like its the latter. She proceeded to use the toilet at bedtime for the next two days, of course asking for her chocolate coin each time :) And yesterday she asked to pee in the middle of the day and ended up pooping instead. And then proceeded to poop two more times. She was having trouble and was uncomfortable so it was small poops before a giant one gave way in her diaper later, but she just kept trying in the toilet and managed to get some each time. She also peed again before bed. And today she peed when she got up, when I picked her up from KidsFit at work, and before nap time. So I would say we're on our way to possibly having her toilet trained before Miles arrives.

I'm trying my best not to get ahead of myself or her progress. She is not interested in wearing underwear at the moment and that's fine. So for now I'll let her take the lead and just keep asking her to use the toilet a little more each day as she wants. I'm hoping that if we can keep this going for about another week then I'll try next Wednesday and Thursday to take the next step with underwear ( I don't work during the day those days so I can give her all my attention). And if she's not ready next week then we'll back off and try again the following week and so on. I just don't want to push her because she has made it clear with just about everything that it will be done on her terms - I wonder where she got that from? That doesn't sound like me at all ;)

Since starting this we have run out of chocolate coins, but M & Ms seem to be working just as good. And as long as she keeps this up she can have M & Ms every time she uses the toilet until the end of time :) So fingers crossed this keeps up and hopefully we'll only have one in diapers once Miles is here!

3rd Trimester

Sunday marked 27 weeks and officially entering the 3rd Trimester - YAY! Reflecting back on all that has happened this past year it has been a lot. Not to say I have gone through more than others, but the emotional toll of back to back miscarriages and nearly a year of being pregnant its hard to believe sometimes that I made it to this point. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel which seemed impossible back in January. 3 months or less and I'll have my last baby in my arms. And I do mean last, this pregnancy has been a gift, but it has definitely taken a lot out of me and I think 4 is a perfect place to stop :)

I had my 27 week appointment this morning. I also had my gestational diabetes test - you never get used to that drink. Everything was good - normal blood pressure, normal weight gain (3 lbs), and Miles sounded great (150 bpm). I let the doctor know that I still was having a lot of trouble sleeping so he prescribed some more ambien to take 1-2 times per week and recommended trying different sleeping positions, but I'm pretty sure I've tried them all.

Overall things have been good as far as pregnancies go. That being said, I'm completely miserable. My back and hips hurt all the time, I don't sleep, and my hormones have been going nuts which all adds up to lots of emotional break downs. Chris has also been traveling a lot so taking care of the kids has been a bit more taxing as well. I have had some help, my Aunt, Brother, and Mother in Law all came for visits and I got a chance to go back to Michigan for a quick visit and break from everything. I can't imagine how wrecked I would be if I hadn't had any help to this point, my hat is off to all the single moms/dads out there!

I go back to the doctor in 2 weeks, and every 2 weeks after that for a bit. I also registered for a hospital tour on December 3rd since this will be yet another hospital us - 4 kids and 3 different hospitals, I feel like I should be considered an expert on the Labor & Delivery of hospitals by now :) I'm still thinking this will be another early delivery for me, but only time will tell how early and it might only be wishful thinking. Don't forget, you can make a guess if I'll be early, late, or right on time up on the right hand side of the blog :)

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for.....My lovely belly pics :)

27w, 3d

100 days to go!

I'm officially at 100 days until my due date! And if history repeats itself for the 4th time I have even less to go :)

25w, 5d

The belly is DEFINITELY getting bigger! I'm feeling about the same - sore and tired with little relief. I did have a massage today (Thanks to Ginger) that at the very least gave me some peace and quiet for a short time. I'm still quite sore from it now so we'll have to see tomorrow just how much it helped - hopefully lots!

Braces for the J Man and Scar update for the B Man

Today was the day, Jake got Braces! And I officially feel old ;) And doesn't he look so old now????? Where did my baby go?

Anyway, we had an appointment bright and early at 8am and Jake was all set with 4 brackets on his top front teeth 45 minutes later. He did great and has been very good all day about watching what he eats and making sure he keeps his teeth and brackets clean.

 Before and After:

Close up of the Cross Bite that we're trying to fix

So he'll wear these for 4-9 months and then he'll get a retainer for a few years to try to keep the teeth together. This won't guarantee that once he has all of his permanent teeth he won't need braces again, but hopefully it will decrease the chances or at least keep him from needing them on the top again. And most importantly, it will fix the cross bite so that the permanent tooth doesn't suffer any permanent damage.

We also have an update on Brenden. A couple of weeks ago was his appointment with a plastic surgeon about the scar on his cheek from this summer. The doctor was very pleased with how the scar was doing, especially after the abscess that had formed after the stitches were out. She recommended that we apply Aquaphor (or a generic version) and massage it every day twice a day and come back in a year. We were THRILLED to hear this. By applying the Aquaphor AND massaging it daily it should help to break up the scar tissue and decrease the appearance of the scar. If it continues to progress well then we won't have to do anything in the future, which is obviously what we're hoping for. Brenden was very good for the appointment and has been on top of having us put the Aquaphor on twice a day.

The appointment was at Shriners Hospital for Children so lots of fun while waiting to see the Dr!