rewind/catchup-snow fun!

It finally warmed up here!  We've been enjoying seventy degree weather the past week or so.  But, this winter/spring was a tough/long/cold/snowy one.  It really started to wear on us.  But, we did manage to have some fun in the snow.  These pictures are of one such day, back in February.

The boys asked me if it was okay to eat the snow.  (What little kids ask?)  I said yes.  Ky tried a bit...

And Kade just went for it--face first.

Krew stayed warm (and shirt-free) inside.  I call this collection, "How many faces can a little guy make in one minute?"  Go.

And we'll end with my favorite one.  Can you believe I get to look at those big, beautiful, blue eyes every day?  And you don't.  Poor things.

eighteen!

My baby Krew turned 18 months old on Sunday!  I cannot believe how fast that time has gone.  This age is one of my favorites!  He's still little enough to be my baby, and old enough to be learning new things every day, trying new things on his own, and really letting his personality shine!

He has been sleeping better since his surgery, but not perfect. In the past two weeks he's only had two nights where he yells for 2-3 hours.  That's a huge improvement over the past several months, so I'll take it!

He is such a smart little guy!  He can name and point out colors and gets them right about 75% of the time. He points out stars, ovals, X's and O's.  He still LOVES to count!  He knows how to spell his name!  He can't say K (in fact, he can't say it ever, so he is Doo, Kade is Day, and Ky is Dy), but if I say, "K" he will follow will "R-E-W!"   This last week he learned how/got tall enough to open all the doors in the house!  Which means he can help himself to a snack in the pantry, fall  scoot down the stairs, and go out into the garage!  In fact, this morning he went out into the garage 7 times in one hour!  Time for some safety locks!
He loves to push chairs around in the kitchen so that he can reach everything in the drawers and on the counters.  Yesterday it was dumping a cup of water from the counter onto himself, dumping a large container of paper clips from the drawer all over the floor, and finding my lipstick in the drawer and sicking his cute little finger all the way through it!  Nothing is safe anymore!!

He still loves Mickey Mouse more than any other character/toy/show/app.  And he still calls him, "Bow" (like what you do on stage after a great performance, not what you wear in your hair).

Since the snow finally melted a couple of weeks ago, he has discovered the joy of being outside, and that is where he wants to be 24/7.  He loves looking for birds, sticks, dirt, grass, and running around with his brothers!

He's either looking at something interesting outside, or planning some way to escape so that he can go out there and play!

We love you Krew and feel so lucky to have you in our family!

the little man has surgery

On Tuesday, Krew had surgery.  We've know since he was born that he was most likely going to have to have a hernia repaired, and the day finally came.  Of course, I hardly slept the night before, worried and anxious.I was glad that he didn't know what was coming, but also worried that I wasn't going to be able to help him understand why he was in pain.  Kade had an almost identical surgery when he was four months old, so I knew a little bit about what to expect.  I'm not sure if that made things easier or harder.

 I do think that Krew looks super cute in his little hospital gown!

 I held it together pretty well considering Bart wasn't there with us for the first hour or so, since he was getting the other boys ready and to a neighbors house, and Krew and I had to be at the hospital at 6:15am.  I was okay talking to the nurses, helping Krew change, talking to the anesthesiologist, and talking to more nurses.  I was super thankful that Krew did not ask to eat or drink anything, since I would have had to tell him no.  I was also thankful when Bart finally got there to be with us.  I felt like I was on the verge of crying all morning, (I'm a crier, if you didn't already know!), but after talking to the surgeon, I lost it.  It didn't help that he said as he was leaving, "It's harder on moms than it is on the kids.  I've never seen a mom that didn't cry when we take their little ones away."  That did it!  One of the hardest moments I've had since becoming a mom was handing my four-month old little Kade to the nurse and watching her take him away to surgery.  And just thinking about doing that again made the tears flow.
Luckily, the nurse anesthetist that was going to be in the surgery knew Bart and offered to let him go back with Krew to get him sedated.  So, instead of watching the nurse take Krew away, I got to see his strong daddy take him down the hall in his arms.  Bart got to stay with him just until he was asleep, but it was so much better knowing that Krew didn't have to go to that strange, scary room, with all those people fussing around him, alone.
The waiting while he was in surgery was exactly as difficult as I had expected it to be.  When the surgeon finally came to see us, he said that things had gone well, but that the hernia was much bigger than he had thought and it had taken quite a bit longer to take care of it.  But, Krew had done well and it was over!!
As soon we could, we went back to recovery to see him.  And as soon as I held him, the tears came again.  I was so relieved that it was over!!

 He was quite groggy for a long time, and when he did open his eyes, I could see the morphine and not my sweet baby.  But, he did drink some apple juice in his sleep, so they let us take him home!

 He spent most of the day sleeping in my arms.  He would wake up for about 20 minutes at a time and just sit with me, and then fall back asleep.  I loved spending the day snuggling.  It's funny because there are lots of days when Krew wakes up and I hold him and say, "Let's just spend the whole day snuggling." But of course we can't ever do that.  Well Tuesday we did!  He finally perked up around 6:00 and played and laughed and even though I could tell he was in pain, I was happy to see him be himself!
The last few days he's been almost back to his happy little self, and I'm sure it won't be long before he is back to the crazy, happy, silly, sweet, mischievous Krew we all love so much!

easter 2013

 I feel like it wasn't very long ago at all that I was posting egg-dying pictures here on the blog.  Can't believe that it has been an entire year!

 We had a great Easter, despite the fact that there were still several inches of snow outside, and the Easter Bunny had to hide all the eggs inside this year.

 The Easter Bunny brought Krew this cute bubble-blowing gator.

 Since Krew didn't get much practice at our playgroup egg hunt in the snow, it took him a little while to figure out what he was supposed to do when he found an egg.  But then he found the candy inside and became very interested in finding more eggs.

 I love this picture of him laying on his tummy, reaching around to grab the egg.  There was probably an easier way to get it!

 

 Ky and Kade were both excited about the fact that Easter is the one day out of the whole year that they get to eat candy BEFORE breakfast!

 The Easter Bunny brought Lego Minifigures for the twins again this year.

 I made the boys all matching ties again this year.   I cannot believe how much Krew has changed since last year's matching-Easter-ties-picture:

2012

2013

Our camera timer photo of the whole family was a fail! But, I had to include it anyway because we hardly ever get a picture of all of us together, especially one where we are all dressed nicely!  Happy Easter!

he's a climber!

 Krew is such a climber!  It amazes me the things he can climb up on and the places he can get to.  He has already learned that if he pushes a chair, box, etc. somewhere, he can climb up and get to what he wants.  Nothing is safe any more!

 Up here on the little table in the kitchen is one of his favorite places to play.  I tried putting away the chairs so he can't get on the table, but it didn't stop him.  He simply pulls himself up on the table and then plays at the counter.  

The other day, he was out of sight for less than 90 seconds.  I came in my room to find him up on my computer desk!  Notice that he's already pushed the mouse off (it's dangling behind the desk), and he was moments away from pushing the monitor off the back of the desk!  If he gets through toddlerhood without a broken bone or a concussion, I will be shocked!