Go Big Red

Here are some pictures of the kids in their Husker garb on Saturday. They have been very excited to wear these Husker t-shirts EVERY Saturday lately. We have watched all the games on TV, and this last Saturday, they watched the game with Grandma Ellen and Grandpa Dale, while Brian and I were at the game. Will very much wants to go to a game. Every Saturday he talks about going downtown to the "Go Big Red game." The poor kids never had a chance to grow up and not be Husker fans!

We have been keeping busy lately. Last Friday, we were supposed to go on a Hayrack ride at Pioneers Park, but it got canceled in anticipation of thunderstorms that never came! Bummer! So, we instead went to dinner at Backyard Burgers, then to my mom's to visit baby Sebastian and Kara who were there for dinner. Saturday was a good day. We went to the zoo in the morning, it was great weather and not crowded. That will probably be our last visit to the zoo before it closes in a couple of weeks. The kids really enjoy looking at the interesting animals. We spent a long time watching the seals do tricks and watching the armadillo run around. (Xander checked out a book about armadillos at the library, they're very interested in them now. Too bad we don't have them around here!) After lunch, the kids went with the Niebuhrs for the afternoon, as Brian and I went to the game (as I mentioned before). We picked up the kids after church on Sunday, had a quick lunch, a long nap, then played outside and have movie night.

Brian had Monday off, so we were able to get lots of housework done and I took Will to see the asthma doctor for a check-up. It was a pretty routine visit, we're keeping his medicine the same for now, and hoping his colds aren't too bad this winter to warrant increasing his inhaled steroids. When I was doing some cleaning up on Monday morning, Grace came up to me and said "Mommy, what can I do to help clean up?" After I got over my shock, I sent her on several errands to put things away. The boys also got into the cleaning up, a little bit. This is a behavior I am definitely doing to have to foster. I know it won't last long, though. The house is picked up and relatively clean, so that is a good thing.

The whining and complaining hit an all time high in this house last week. Brian and I were about at our wits' end with all the whining that was happening around here. We instituted a zero-tolerance policy for it now. The second they start whining they are sent to time-out or their rooms. We are also going heavy on the positive reinforcement when they ask for something nicely the first time. Miss Gina has been big on table manners, so we have been hitting that hard, too. We had a rash of milk-spilling last week (3 times at one meal last week). So, we've been really getting on them for using good table manners and even asking "May I be excused please?" which is something Gina really emphasizes. So far, so good. No milk spills this week and their manners are marginally better. We'll keep working on it. Hope everyone has a great week and enjoys the cool fall weather. That's all for now!

Latest news

First off let me apologize that I don't have any new pictures to share. Mostly that is because there hasn't been anything picture worthy in the last week. We've all been sick AGAIN, and mostly just trying to make it through the week. The kids actually stayed home from daycare on Friday with Brian (who stayed home from work). Mostly the boys just have runny noses and of course, Will is coughing. I'm also STILL sick from the last time and have a Dr. appt tomorrow, which I hope will bring me some relief. Everyone seems a little better after a low-key weekend and we can get back to normal activities this week.

Also, a quick update on Sebastian. He was back in the hospital on Wednesday and Thursday last week for the jaundice. He came home, only to go back onto a light at home. But, glad to say, now his billirubin levels are down and he is eating well, so all is good. Kara is hoping to get out of the house this week and bring him in town. I'll try to get a few pictures of him with the kids, as soon as the triplets are not going to infect him with some nasty germs!

The kids went to Sunday school for the first time today. We think they liked it, but we couldn't get much information out of them about it. All we heard is they watched a Veggie Tales video and didn't play with toys. Who knows. Preschool is still a big hit. They all talk at the same time all the way home when we pick them up. They love it. They've learned a lot about God and Jesus, because we get snippets of bible stories told back to us. Grace was asking those hard to answer questions today like "Daddy, where's God?" and "Where's heaven?" Also in true 3-going-on-16 fashion she told me her "leggings were plenty long, just like her pants" and "the living room is completely picked up, Mommy". What a goof, always trying to act grown up. She is also being very stubborn lately. She has been doing things like refusing to go potty before bed. So, we told her if she didn't go potty she wouldn't get a bedtime story. She was so set on not going potty that she missed her story and didn't really seem to mind.

We're trying to get the boys to "use their words" rather than just scream about things. I actually hate that phrase (it's kind of cliched), but it's most appropriate for what we want them to do. When someone wrongs them, all they do is sit there and scream. I would really like them to start saying "that's mind, please don't take it" or "stop, that hurts". So far, no progress, we'll keep you posted. Other than the occasional fight over a toy, they have been playing for huge stretches of time with each other NICELY! Saturday morning, they played for several hours while I cleaned almost the entire house and Brian did yard work. Love it!

Well, I think that's all for today. We are doing some fun fall-ish things this weekend, so I'll have great pictures to share with you next week. Have a great week and enjoy the wonderful fall weather!

Welcome to Sebastian Eric Baxter

Adorable little Sebastian joined the world on Thursday, September 10th at 2:53 p.m. 6 lbs 5 oz, 19" long. He is healthy and great, Mom is also doing well. Her blood pressure is getting back to normal. They will probably be released on Sunday.

More pictures less text

This post is dedicated to Chad who told me "More pictures, less talking" in reference to my blog postings. (I'll make it up to you "more pictures and lots of talking" people next week.)

Pictures are from Tiny Town village, where we went on Sunday with Grandma and Grandpa Niebuhr, Lisa and Chad and the boys. Fun place, a little hot. Good dinner at Cracker Barrel afterwards. The bottom picture is Brian vacuuming and Will helping. Precious! (both Brian vacuuming and Will thinking he's helping!)

To sum up last week in one sentence, football game party at my parents house (also doubled as Kara's birthday party in case she went into the hospital), trip to Gretna on Sunday (see above), the boys and I sick over the weekend, visiting Kara in the hospital, lots of housework done, Brian off on Tuesday, more housework done while kids at preschool, playing at the park, daycare/preschool/grandma's house, visiting the new baby in the hospital on Thursday (more on that later), daycare, an evening with Aunt Lisa, Uncle Chad and the boys. Phew! How's that Chad?!?!?!

Orange Day

The kids had orange day last Thursday at preschool. They all wore orange shirts and brought orange show and tell things. I couldn't resist taking a picture of them in matching shirts. I threw in one shot of Will flopping on the couch for good measure. Most of my pictures ended up like this, he's been having several rough days in a row. As we all know, a sick Will is an unhappy Will.

A quick update on Kara

Some of you may not have heard, but Kara is currently in the hospital on bedrest awaiting the arrival of baby Baxter. She has pregnancy-induced hypertension, also know as pre-eclampsia. They have her on tons of medicine, trying to get her blood pressure down. They did an amnocentesis this morning, and they've decided the baby's lungs aren't developed enough yet to deliver him. So, she's in a holding pattern until they think he'll be OK to come out, or her health deteriorates too much to wait any longer. Could be tomorrow, could be next week. They really don't know. She would appreciate an email or quick phone call. She's at Bryan East.

Settling in...

Here are some previously un-posted pictures. I don't really have any more recent pictures, we've been so busy with our school schedule that I haven't taken any new pictures. We are doing some fun family things this weekend, which should allow me some photo ops.

The kids are LOVING preschool! They had their first show and tell on Thursday. They enjoyed showing everyone what they took. Grace took her javelina, Will took a race car that goes on its own, and Xander took his favorite blue teddy bear. They were excited that everyone got to touch their animal, and Will demonstrated his car. We only got snippets of information about what everyone else brought, but we gathered there was a yo-yo and something that glowed in the dark. I also get snippets of information about preschool throughout the day. I have gathered that there is a girl line and a boy line and Grace got to lead the girl line and the boys haven't been leaders yet. I also gather that a lot of kids must cry during preschool, because they were telling me how they don't need to cry if they miss their mommy. I asked if they missed their mommy while they were at school and they said no. Oh well. Their teacher, Mrs. Thimijan, has told us several times how good they are and they listen very well. So that is good.

We have been getting mixed reports from Gina about their behavior. Apparently they have been getting a little wound up at Gina's and have been getting into trouble. She even made Xander sit in time out. Will was running on the sidewalk at her house and did a nose dive, got a really scraped up knee and a huge goose-egg bruise on his forehead. He limped around on Friday, nursing his wound. They have learned some interesting things from the kids at daycare. Their language has expanded now to include the words "dumb", "stupid" and "shut up". All of which I'm thrilled they say. I've actually only heard "shut up" once, from Xander to Grace. We had a talk about that and I haven't heard it again. The only things Grace calls stupid are balls that don't go where she wants them to go. The soccer ball had a mind of its own last week and didn't go into the goal, so she hit it and said "stupid ball" over and over. I bet that ball will think twice next time about not going into the goal.

Other than school and daycare, we have had a pretty tame week and weekend. We spent lots of time outside enjoying the gorgeous weather. We're looking forward to Husker football this weekend and some family time. That's all for now. Have a great Labor Day weekend, everyone!