Not that anyone really cares but.......

we just moved this past weekend so the last couple weeks have been filled with packing and now I am in the midst of unpacking. That is my excuse for sucking at blogging. I still haven't found my camera yet but when I do I'll post pics of the boys 5th or 6th day of school. That's right..I didn't take a single picture on their first day (gasp!). I packed my camera somewhere really clever so I would have easy access and now I can't remember where exactly that is....Sorry for sucking and hopefully I'll find my mind somewhere amid all these boxes......

8 YEARS

Today John and I celebrate our 8 year anniversary. I can't believe how quickly the time has flown but at the same time I can't really remember what my life was like before John was in it. It seems like we have been together for forever!

I wish I had pictures from our wedding on this computer but I don't so here we are 8 years later..

It's out!!

On Friday, an ear, nose, and throat doctor who is a friend of my dad's business partner, was kind enough to squeeze Tate in. We never had to wait and they started working on him right away. His nose was too swollen to see anything so they shoved these cotton things up his nose to numb it and take the swelling down. They had to be in his nose for 10 min before they could do anything. Tate loved it. He didn't even try and take them out (uh...scary). Then they began their search. All the way up his left nostril they found it. A chunk of my makeup sponge. He had ripped or bit part of it off and crammed it up his nose. Where it sat. For a week. Gross.
Then they took a small camera and put it up the other side of his nose to make sure there was nothing in that side. It was clear. And the stink is finally gone...

Tater and his stinky nose

Tate is at the age where everything he touches goes in his mouth... and his ears and nose. We have caught him trying to shove various objects up his nose and he has been known to walk around with q-tips or pencils sticking out of his ears (not good, I know). Anyways, this past weekend he started clawing at the right side of his nose. He scratched it all up till it was bleeding. Then he started sneezing a ton. Finally, on Sunday, it dawned on me that he probably had something up his nose we hadn't caught. I take him to 2 quick cares, both closed (yes, it was Sunday, I'm going to hell, I was headed there anyways). Monday I took him back to a quick care. I waited 3 hours and the dr. totally blew me off. He said if something were up there it would smell. He said the baby had a cold and sent me on my way. We still thought it was something more than a cold and yesterday his nose started to smell. Today it reeked. I took him back and while we were in the waiting room Tate shoved a piece of a pretzel stick up his nose. It took almost a half hour to get it out. Seriously? What is the deal with this kid.?! 17 (or 2) hours later we saw the dr. and he didn't have the tools to get it out or to even see it so now we have to go to a ear, nose, and throat dr. We are guessing it is a pencil eraser because John caught him with a pencil and the eraser was missing. So until we see another dr. and figure out what is up his nose, I am stuck with a stinky kid. Anyone want to babysit?

Tater

While I have 4 boys and it's true that we have had our share of stitches, staples, a broken femur, and a body cast, I have never had a true climber. I can not turn my back on this kid for 2 seconds without him climbing up something. It's getting to be a lot of work. A few days ago I was filling up the tub for Tyson and I walked in and found Tate, fully dressed and already bathed sitting in the tub. It's the tub in my room so the side is pretty tall. He now regularly climbs in when it is empty and tries to climb up the bathroom counter (which luckily he can't do...yet). Shopping carts can not keep him contained. I buckle him tight and he can wiggle his way out and stand up. His newest trick is climbing on the arm of the couch and jumping onto the cushions. He's not very steady and I'm waiting for the day he falls the wrong way and ends up on tile. Let's hope we don't end up back in the ER.



I will come into the kitchen and he will be walking around on the table. It takes him 2 seconds to get up there.

This is his scariest trick. We have now decided to ditch the high chair. It doesn't matter how tight he is buckled...he will get out.

His new trick...

He tries to climb up the counter from the dishwasher but hasn't been able to yet. We don't give him enough time to figure it out.

Cousins

While both my sisters were in town we went to get the annual cousins picture. While we were there we decided to have each family take their own pictures too. Here's what we got......



This cousin picture is actually the best we have ever taken. I wish I had the pictures from years past on my computer to show the improvement. Now that the kids are getting older, it's getting easier to get their picture (this picture was by no means easy, but compared to years past it was a breeze). There are 14 kids 7 and under and 10 of them are boys so the fact that the place was still standing when we left says a lot....

*click on the picture to make it bigger. It's funnier that way.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to RYAN!! He turns 6 today! For those of you just now realizing my two oldest boys are a year and 2 days apart, I'll wait while you change your underwear........ Blake was only three months old when I found out I was pregnant again. It was hard at first but now I love having them so close. Ryan is our peace maker. He is always willing to share and will do whatever he can to make sure everyone is happy. He loves to clean and man, you should see his vaccum lines!! Both of his kindergarten teachers have asked me if they can take him home to clean their house but due to child labor laws he is not currently available for rent. Happy Birthday Ry! We love you! Ryan at his kindergarten graduation

Ryan and his cousin Lane.