February Pictures

Here is the picture overload for the month! I am finally updating the pictures! We spent most of the month in our pjs around the house! So nothing fancy, just us in our everyday life!

We had a big box in the garage that has brought many hours of fun for the kids.
Here comes Ethan the Distructor to mess up what the other two are doing!
Dylan and Lauren love the bouncy house!
Ethan, not so much!
Ricky and I cleared the driveway of the ice/snow combo. I've never seen such thick ice all over the place. Good thing we had a regular shovel to break the ice into chunks!
Here is one of the many chunks!Despite being sick all month, Ethan was still a happy boy. I think he is teething, too, because he chews on EVERYTHING!Lauren is usually running around without pants on, with sunglasses on, and tons of silly bands bracelets. (This day she actually had her pants on!)
Dylan likes to sport his shades, too and show off his little toys of the day!
Ethan all smiles!Some afternoons were spent like this:While this one likes to sleep in our bed:And this one just doesn't like to sleep with all that fluid in his ears. Poor little guy :(
Ethan's newest toy: (or annoying hobby!) We have enjoyed this month together and are still all smiles!
Sorry for the overload, but I haven't been on here for a while with all my cute pictures!

February

Why does time seem to go by so quickly? I feel like I've been in a funk lately. I don't seem to get much done, but I feel like I'm busy all the time. Maybe it's the three kids, maybe it's just me. I am really liking this nice weather. I think it helps bring my spirits up. It has been in the 50's around here most of this week. I think most of the snow is gone now. We went outside to jump on the trampoline and play in the snow yesterday. We were only wearing sweatshirts, too! Kinda cool! I have a few projects I am trying to get done, but keep getting setbacks. I just want to get them done! Hopefully we can get a few things done around here tomorrow!

Yesterday, Ethan got tubes in his ears. We have been battling ear infections since early December. After 5 rounds of antibiotics, we decided that tubes would be best for him. He is doing great today and is sleeping much better. Fingers crossed, they are going to make him feel a ton better without taking more antibiotics. I'm ready to have my good little guy back. He is getting so big! He is still crawling all over the place, including up the stairs. And man is he fast! Ricky and I were eating breakfast this morning and I asked where Ethan was. Next thing I know I hear him crawling across the floor in the upstairs hallway! He is very determined and will go after whatever he wants to get to. Ricky nicknamed him Ethan the Destructor!

Dylan is learning so much at school. For his valentine's cards, he wrote his name on all of them! I didn't even know he knew how to write his name last week and now he is writing it all the time! (That's one of the reasons he is in preschool and not being taught by me!) He also knows his right and left. I love how he is learning so much! He is such a smart little guy! I think he is growing, because he eats ALL the time! This kid can eat more than I do! I'm not looking forward to him being a teenager and eating us out of house and home!

After a few minor setbacks(sickness and UTI), Lauren is totally potty trained! Yeah! She is doing so well, other than wanting "a piece of moneys" for a jellybean from the jelly bean machine every time she potties. She is talking all the time, and very clear at that. We are still working on the whining, so we started a "whiny chair" in the kitchen. They have to sit in it until they stop whining. Lauren doesn't like it very well, so she stops whining fast. A friend gave me the idea, and I love it!

We had a wonderful Valentine's day. We spent time together as a family. Dylan asked for pizza, so we ordered a pizza and spent the evening just hanging. We had family home evening, which my kids are loving, and just goofed off. It was so nice! I think that's about all that's been going on with us! I am still trying to get back into updating my blog for my personal records. Maybe someday!

Snow days

So, after being stuck in the house with sick kids for 2 weeks, we get a TON of snow and stuck in the house this week, too! I'm glad that my kids get along and don't get too stir crazy! It has actually been kinda nice spending so much time with my family. I have gotten some cleaning done, which always makes me feel better. Ricky is having a movie-marathon with Lord Of The Rings. Dylan thinks it's pretty neat, too. I'm not sure how much snow we got, but I know it's a lot! It was a pretty nasty storm that went through the area, but we didn't get it as bad as some. We got sleet and snow, with some strong winds. I think the drifting snow may have been the worst part. Luckily, we didn't loose power and have plenty of food and drinks to keep everyone happy. It's been a fun couple of snow days!
(By the way, we found out Friday that Lauren has a UTI. She is on antibiotics and doing much better. She had a fever of 101 for 4 days and we couldn't figure out why. We also found out that Ethan has a yeast infection on top of his ear infection and respiratory infection. Luckily, they are doing so much better this week. They have both even slept all night long for the past 3 nights! Yeah!)

Chicago and sickness

This month has just flown by. Not the fast kind, the very slow let's take turns being sick kind of month. Last week, Lauren got the flu for the first time. Of course it had to happen on the day that I had MOPS and I was really looking forward to going! That's just life for you! Ricky was the only other one to get the flu, but Ethan had a sore throat and only wanted me, too. He had just finished his 3rd antibiotic for ear infections, so I was more paranoid and took him in. As of yesterday, he has a double ear infection, again, and an upper respiratory infection. Poor little boy. No wonder he only wants to be held all the time! (Not the easiest thing to do with a 22 pound boy!) Saturday and Sunday were not the best days for him. He was fussy all day and didn't sleep well all night. Last night, after starting another round of antibiotics, he slept 12 hours! Yeah! I really hope we can get over this sickness thing around here soon.

This past weekend, my mom came up here and went to the mall with me. It was really nice to get to spend some time with her and return some of the unneeded things we got for Christmas. It was really nice to not have to wait in long lines. It was a little stressful with all 3 kids. I guess part of it was Ethan not feeling well. After the mall, my mom took Dylan and Lauren home with her for the weekend. It was nice and quiet around here other than Ethan fussing. If only I wasn't breastfeeding, mom would have taken Ethan, too! Ricky and I put Ethan to bed and watched "The Social Network." It was really good and interesting (the movie about facebook). Sunday, we went to my parent's house for dinner and to pick up the kids. It was nice to spend time with family and to enjoy the quiet house for a little while.

2 weeks ago, Ricky had a conference in Chicago, so we all went with him. We thought it would be good to test out the hotel room with 3 kids to see how well they would sleep. They actually did very well. Ethan ended up sleeping with us in the king bed (I really want to get one of these! There is so much room!) and the other 2 slept together. While Ricky was in his training, the kids and I went to visit with a friend, Bobette, and her kids. We had a wonderful time and the kids played so well together. Bobette and I even got to make some really cute hair bows! Before we left Chicago, we HAD to stop at Ikea. I love that store! We finally decided on an entertainment center and have started putting it together! Yeah! I love it and it's not even all up! I am really looking forward to getting it all put together. I think it makes the living room look homey.

Ethan and ClarrahGlad we don't have a banister! They kids enjoyed it though.Ethan loved their dog, Zeus. Ethan would chase him around and try to play with him.

New Year

Happy New Year! We had a wonderful New Year celebration with Ricky's family. We started out by going to Chuck 'E Cheese for some games and pizza. Then everyone came over to our house for some Kinect playing! We love our new Kinect! (Dylan can already get it set up by himself. He is really good at the games, too!) We danced all night long after Spencer's kids went home and most of the other kids went to bed. Here are all the Tate boy's kids.Goofy faces!Ethan and Keegan. Ethan is 3 months older than Keegan, but Keegan is bigger! They have the Tate trait for being big!
Ethan was so tired and this picture was too precious not to post!Dylan and Alex were watching a movie on the computer and I realized that Dylan was still awake at midnight. I had him come watch the ball drop and then we set off a few fireworks. It was low-key, but fun! New Year's day, we drove to my aunt's house in Illinois to celebrate Christmas with my extended family. It was great spending time with everyone again. I can't ever get too much family time! (Well, maybe with these crazy boys! j/k)It was fun trying to get everyone to smile! (Lauren wanted nothing to do with getting her picture taken!)Goofy faces was a lot easier!We spent this week getting back into the swing of things. Dylan started back at preschool on Wednesday. He was really excited to get back and I was ready for him to go. While he was at school, Ethan had his 9 month check up. Here are his stats:
Height: 28 3/4 inches (70th percentile)
Weight: 21 pounds 8 ounces (62nd percentile)
Head circumference: 47.3 cm. (92nd percentile)
He is such a big boy! He didn't have to get any booster shots, but while we were there I had him and Lauren get a flu shot. The doctor checked his ears, since he was finishing up on his antibiotics. He had a double ear infection this time. Poor little guy can't get rid of them! We started a different antibiotic, Omnicef, that is supposed to be gentler on his stomach (the Augmentin tore his stomach up). We are now trying to get rid of diaper rash on top of everything else. He is not sleeping well at all, which makes for a long week. Thanks to Ricky for helping out with the late night waking.
Lauren is going potty most of the time in the toilet. We are still working on not pooping in her princess underwear. I think I might have confused her with using pull-ups on the long drives. I don't want to have to wash the car-seat cover every time we went somewhere. She is in the do-it herself phase. She gets frustrated if she can't do it and screams. We are working on using words instead of crying or screaming. She also decided that she wants to walk up and down the stairs this week. She is still a little wobbly and can only use one leg without touching the ground, but it's a major improvement! She never ceases to amaze me!
We got the Christmas tree taken down today. I am happy to have my room back to normal. I loved having it up, but was sick of the mess it made in the house. I realized that I didn't have any pictures of the tree, so I snapped a few before we took it down.
Here are the stocking my mom made for the kids. I just love how the fireplace turned out!