Needing a nap-- Part 2

It happened again, just like a few weeks ago...
One minute Mason was playing and chatting and then the next-- face down on the wood floor. We need a nap-- even at 5pm!

Haircuts

Rusty's the haircutter in our family. I'm usually glad he does it, but this last time has me wondering cuz....
Someone has been sportin' a mohawk recently that is usually spiked the highest on sunday of all days. Is that irreverent???


And a haircut for this one too...


This guy though barely has any hair to begin with. But I'm sure he'll catch up. The other two started out this same way-- cute, but mostly bald!

Happy B-Day, Daddy!

What to do...? Needing a nap- part 1

My 3 yr old Mason really needs a nap still, but most days refuses. And I hate trying to push the issue because he is very stubborn! So each day it is a wrestle-- force the nap or skip the nap. What to do? If he does finally settle down and give in to some quiet time, it is usually so late in the afternoon that a nap just has him up late at night. So, we usually have a few tough hours of needing a nap (conveniently around when I'm fixing dinner), but not always getting one. This was the case yesterday where I opted to skip the hassle of getting him to nap and just hoping bedtime would be a little earlier. So much for that idea because when I walked out of the room to tend to Hunter and returned a few minutes later, this is what I found:

Konked out on the wood floor. Seriously? He must have been so tired-- he didn't even make it to the couch or a rug a foot away, or anything even remotely soft! I opted not to move him (it was late afternoon and I didn't want him sleeping too long), but this nap lasted for a good hour or more-- long enough to make bedtime a struggle. Fun stuff.

Guess Who's Got Glasses....

We finally got to pick up Cole's glasses (last Sat. Jan 23rd), and so far-- he is loving them and we are too. I think he is super cute with them! We've been waiting on them for a little over a month (do you know how long that is for a 4 yr old who asks "when can we get my glasses?" constantly?). The day was long awaited! I didn't really have any clues that he might need them (no comments about struggling to see, no squinting eyes, etc. that I have often heard could be signs). But I did have a lingering thought about just needing to get his eyes checked, so I finally made an appointment early Dec. 09, if nothing else than to ease my mind about it. I am very grateful for those nagging thoughts because after a few appts and having his eyes dialated, it was determined that Cole actually struggles a lot-- he is far-sighted and has a prescription of +7.0. From what I understand, he sees better far away, but the issue is more that the muscle in his eye strains to compensate and works hard trying to bring things into focus. Having him in glasses will help his eyes get a break and not be so tired (especially toward the end of the day when he's tired or when he's working on homework or other close-up things that require focusing). I guess him needing glasses shouldn't be a huge surprise knowing that both Rusty and I wear contacts/glasses, so all of our kids are probably doomed to follow suit. We just feel grateful to have figured this out so early on and we're told that his eyes can do well to improve so his prescription can lessen as time goes on. Rusty worries that kids will make fun of Cole (Rusty had thick glasses as a child), but glasses are so common and even fashionable these days that I don't really have that concern. And for now, Cole loves them, so we're just hoping that continues and it's not just the novelty of something new.

Sunday after church 1/17/10

Dec 2009 Family Photos

Welcome 2010! We've been hard at work already:

Last week, Mason turned 3 yrs old (Jan. 8th):

And Hunter turned 9 months (Jan. 4th):

We celebrated with a combined check-up visit to the Dr.

And Cole is well-- still Cole and still 4 yrs old.

Every day, he asks to take pictures with the camera. This was today's:

Happy (late) New Years!

Wrapping up 2009

Fun things December held for us:

• Cole's preschool program-- the cutest thing I've ever seen watching about 20 4yr olds lined up along the stage singing Cmas songs as they performed for their audience.

• New C-mas jammies



• Lots of spoiling on Christmas morning:

• More table-scrap eating = more messes
  
  

Hoping 2010 is a great year for all!

Life Lately for the Rabans

This boy is crawling everywhere!!! (8 mo. old)

For the last month or so, Hunter has been worm-crawling and could basically get anywhere he wanted to go. I guess that seemed to be the secret-- he had to want to. Cuz up goes the Christmas tree with so many temptations and suddenly, he wants them all and is going for them and anything else he sees lying around. So for the last week or so, he really has been traveling the house and I'm still not sure how I feel about it yet! He is growing too fast, and finally has 1 tooth!

And these two are growing, too--

They've become really good friends and play mates lately and that has been nice to see. Cole looks out for Mason and in return, Mason is Cole's faithful follower-- in all things, good and bad! Just the other day, Cole told me that he thinks he should be Mason's boss, like I'm daddy's boss. I thought that was pretty funny (and probably more true than I care to admit!).

Cole's been going to a preschool this year and while many days it is still a struggle to get him up and going (he likes sleeping in like me), he does seem to enjoy it. And he is learning a lot. The other day, he just started reciting the Pledge of Allegiance-- I was shocked! Mason and I get to spend some one-on-one time together while Cole's away. Mason likes his independence and I fear that he gets overlooked because of that, and because he is currently the middle child. So I'm grateful for more time with him. I feel like that is a lot of the struggle of parenting for me lately-- making sure that each child gets their own alone time, as well as time with their siblings to learn how to get along. And then finding time for the husband, church, time for myself, the house, etc. Ahh, finding balance is tough!

All in all, life is good for us. Rusty and I feel very blessed this holiday season- grateful for our family, and grateful for the Gospel. Hope all of you have a happy holiday (in the event that I don't update this blog between now and then). Merry Christmas!

Feeling Like Winter!!

This last week as we've had FREEZING temperatures not only at night, but also for much of the day, my little family has spent a lot of time enjoying the warmth of our stove--

Ahh, a renewed gratitude for heat (and a talented husband who insisted on putting this in last year, despite my unexcitement for the "mess" of burning wood!).

Christmas Creche

Every year, we visit the creche in Maple Valley and participate in this way:
The boys love to dress up, despite the straight faces when it's photo time!!

O Christmas Tree

Our search for a tree proved successful...


But how many boys does it take to put the lights on 'er?


Oh well, at last-- here she is, decorated with a little love from these guys!

November 2009- Hunter Is Seven Months Old

Rough week for the Rabans

Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009

We've been having a rough week. Here are just a few of the things we've got going on in this crazy house of ours lately:

• A lot of whining, and screaming tantrums, too. Mason especially has been really frustrated with wanting to do things himself, but not being able to and not letting anyone help. Makes for quite the ordeal.
• Off and on fever for Cole (105 last night). So I make him drink lots of fluids, which leads to:
• Accidents in the middle of the night (sometimes several, which require stripping down of his clothes and bed/blankets, etc at 2am.) He gets sad that he "didn't make it" to the bathroom and cries a lot. Then lots of laundry the next day.
• So none of us are sleeping good (Mason was awake last night from about 12am-3am & in our bed, or else he would roam the house). No sleep=hard days. He's been binky-free for a few weeks and he's still struggling a bit when he needs something to help calm him down when it's time to sleep.
• I lost Cole at Costco on monday. I let him walk beside the cart and he wandered away. Long story, but my sister was with me and we both thought the other was watching him. I hadn't planned to go there that day, so I was wearing shoes that were not broken in. And then I was running everywhere looking for him, so I got blisters and sores. It took a long time to find Cole and when I finally claimed him from the store employees, all he told me is that he finally found the lady who makes the chocolate milk. Must have been a sample that day??
• Hunter fell off my bed backwards onto the wood floor last night. It's at least a 2 ft drop. Mason actually did the same thing when he was a baby, but went face first. I took him to the urgent care cuz he'd had a bump on his forehead, but Hunter didn't seem injured beyond the initial scare it gave him. Cole also had a similar experience at about this age-- climbing up a ladder and falling off. Is this always the outcome with boys?
• Rusty's been working late all week. 'Tis the season, but it sure makes for long days for the rest of us when the day's already been tough.
• Despite all that yucky stuff, we continue to be blessed-- we've had to laugh our way thru most days. We made our thankful tree and we've been adding lots of leaves of our blessings, so it's nice to remember those. We checked out some great books from the library so we've been reading for sanity and listening to lots of primary music. And we're all still alive and kickin'!

But I think we're done with this week and ready for a new one! And now as I type this, Cole just comes in and says "Mom, I think I'm starving". You think you are? I guess I better go feed my kids...