missing: pacifier.

after 22 weeks of tad using the only pacifier he got from the hospital, i just had to go and lose it.

last night, i thought about spending this morning backtracking the places i went yesterday..

but it was snowing when we woke up.

of course.

more. snow.

so the hope of finding that pacifier is gone. until spring.

and spring is like 8 years away.

soo.. wish us luck trying to convince him to like a different pacifier.

so far, he's not buying it!

**update**
i drove to the hospital last night to beg the NICU for a new pacifier.
it was strange to do the whole routine again - drive, park, elevators, hand washing station, ring the bell, wait to get let into the unit, check in with the nurses.
although it all felt so familiar, i don't miss it one bit!
my heart ached a bit for the babies and parents who are taking their turn in there.
i also couldn't get over how tiny all the babies were, even though tad was just that little a couple months ago.
i sneaked a peek at the baby who is currently in 'tad's bed' and he too cute. 

anywho.. i got the pacifier. yes!
and, as soon as i popped it in his mouth, tad was content. it was magical!
i swear, he refused to take any other pacifier over the past 2 days and, as a result, ended up crying himself to sleep rather then happily dozing off.
it was frustrating for everyone. especially him, i'm sure.
i have been very adamant on taking away pacifiers by a certain age with our other 2 but, for now, i am happy that tad has something he finds so comforting.

here is tad wearing the most ridiculous combination of clothes.

i think he looks like he is ready to do a little jig.

handsome boys.

the last bit of christmas.

we have spent oodles and oodles of time with matt's family this christmas season.

it has been so fun for our kids and so nice for us.

that is my favorite part of christmas - the family time.

i am sad we didn't get to see my side of the family over the holidays, but they were partying down in texas this year and we just couldn't make that trip.

i can't remember all the specific things we did on each specific day in the second half of our christmas break, but some of our favorite parts were:

- visiting with family is, hands down, number one on the list.

- playing 'name that tune' at the annual leavitt adult christmas party.

- all the adorable christmas art work plastered on our fridge.

- ping pong tournaments.

- the talent show on christmas eve.

- lots of tasty appetizers and treats.

- watching our boys on christmas morning.

- sledding.

- the way our boys think christmas lights are so magical!

- the fireworks on new years eve.

christmas 2015 was a success!


christmas eve:

this is the only picture i got of the nativity reenactment this year. luckily, it has 2 of our children in it!

tad was the perfect 'baby jesus' (he never made a peep). and chet played the role of 'star' very well.

holden chose to be an audience member this year.

chet and holden performed a lovely rendition of 'feliz navidad' for the christmas eve talent show.
it didn't pan out quite how it did in rehearsal, but it was still pretty cute. i will post a video eventually.

christmas morning:

i pride myself on keeping christmas very simple at this point in our lives.
(i realize it will get harder to do that as our boys grow, and the cost of their wish lists grow too!)
this year, from us, the big boys got a couple fun things in their stockings (including a teeny toy helicopter they asked santa for), some star wars gear (to wear when they go see the new movie they are all pumped for), and a new sled.
they also each got a fun gift from both sets of grandparents and both sides of cousins.
they were thrilled!
tad? well... he got screwed this year.
matt and i saw no point in purchasing him gifts just for the sake of purchasing gifts. we knew he would get a couple nice things from my parents and my sister, and figured that would be plenty. (sorry buddy!)
but it gets worse.. it wasn't until christmas eve that we realized we had completely forgotten to buy him anything for in his stocking (which wouldn't matter.. if he didn't have older brothers who'd notice!). oops.
so he got some diapers, formula, and a $1 flashlight we had kicking around!
i promised tad we wouldn't forget about him next year, and he forgave me :)

(holden is holding up the flashlight tad got from santa! haha)

tad: 4 month update.

tad turned 4 months on december 23.

he is at such a fun stage these days.

he smiles, and coos, and has even laughed a couple times.

he had his 4 month immunizations a couple days ago, and weighed 11 lbs 4 oz at that appointment.

on a scale adjusted to his due date, rather then his birth date, he sits between the 25-50 percentile for all measurements.

we tried to put him in his crib in the boys' room the other night for the first time, but he was a bit too noisy. so he still sleeps in our room for now.

chet and holden love entertaining him when they are all squished in a row in the back of our car.

he wore jeans for the first time yesterday (much later then our other 2!)

he has been to 3 movies.

sledding.

we have gone sledding a lot so far this winter.
(proabably more then the rest of our marriage combined!)

chet and holden just love it this year!

click here to see some sledding videos!

(see chet and holden are in the background?)

chet's broken foot.

i have never broken a bone.

maybe that's thanks to all the milk i drank in my younger years?

or, perhaps, it is because i am too chicken to do anything that might cause injury to me?!

either way, i am a broken bone virgin.

matt has only broken 1 bone - his leg, when he was 4. 

none of his siblings will really fess up who did it, but one of them double-bounced him on their trampoline and that landed him in a cast.

matt has fond memories of his broken leg days.

he remembers liking the extra attention, and getting around by scooting on a skateboard.

despite our quite good track record, when it comes to breaking things, our family already got its first broken bone on monday night.

matt was wrestling with the boys, to burn up some of their energy before bed, when his big ol' butt sat on chetty's foot and squished it.

chet screamed. and, when asked to walk on it, he buckled over in pain.

buuuuttt... since chet tends to be a bit dramatic when it comes to injuries, we assumed it wasn't as bad as he thought it was.

we gave him some tylenol, tied a make-shift bandage around his foot to put him at ease, and piggy-backed him up the stairs to bed.

he fell asleep instantly so we assumed he would be all better when he woke him up the next morning.

unfortunately, he wasn't.
come morning, he still couldn't walk. dang it!

long story short, we took chet to the urgent care center, waited a couple hours, spoke with a few nurses, then spoke to a doctor (who also thought nothing was wrong!), got an x-ray, and... were shocked when we were told he had broken 2 little bones in his right foot.

[talk about feeling like a crappy parent!]

once it was determined that chet had, indeed, broken something, we were moved to the casting room.

i quickly looked up a video on youtube to show chet what a cast is/how you put it on, because he had no idea what was going on.

he wasn't happy about the idea of getting a cast, but he was very brave and cooperative.

he picked a blue cast.

our whole family was at the urgent care center to start (because tad actually had an appointment in the same building, at the same time, and i had asked matt to come give me a hand.) but, by the end, it was just chet and i.

like i said, he was a trooper throughout the whole process.

and, i must say, i handled the whole situation very well too!.. until the last 10 minutes.

everyone we met at the clinic had been so kind to chet, expect for the nurse putting on his cast - she was short with us.

and that didn't go over well with me.

at that point, two things worried me:

1. chet's comfort level and happiness.

2. (as selfish as it may seem) my sanity!

chet is my oldest. and he is my most reliable/constant helper, no matter how preoccupied/tired/moody he may be - how would i manage if he is now one of my needier children?!

i get easily (and pathetically) overwhelmed by being a mother of 3 so i couldn't handle the thought of adding a complication in the mix of it all.

and, as silly it sounds, winter is truly a challenge for me.

at the start of this winter, i had made a resolution to be more positive with this one and to get outside often with my kids.

and i was doing (what a thought was) a good job so far!

but this broken limb is going to make it super tricky to keep up with my goals.

soo.. when the busy nurse was less compassionate then i needed her to be, i had a wee emotional meltdown.

right in front of my oh-so-brave 5 year old.

ugh pam, come on!

luckily, i don't even think chet was phased by it - it happens often!

although, i still wish i could have held it together for him the whole time.

once the nurse saw that i wasn't someone she couldn't easily brush off, she sat next to me, slowly reviewed our instructions, and gave me a hug goodbye!

then i plopped chet on my back and piggy-backed him out to the car.

to this day, he has been such a good sport. i have been so impressed.

he scoots/hops/crawls his way around the house without any complaining.
and he is working on learning how to use crutches.

holden has been so kind too. he loves to be chet's helper when he needs something.

man, i love those boys!

turns out i really didn't need to worry so much.

i am grateful for matt's side of the family who has been so sweet to chet, and so helpful to me.

and i am grateful for my parents who, despite being 2000 miles away right now, have made chet feel so special.

what would we do without our family?!