New Zoo

Emme and I went to an Easter egg hunt at the New Zoo today. It was pretty cold and very windy, but we still managed to have a great time just us girls. 

Capture the Throne

Dustin always sits on the right side of the couch. Any time Dustin gets up all three kids scramble to take his seat. They always look so proud of themselves when they claim it. Until Dustin comes back and makes them move over. The older two always beat Gideon, and Elijah almost always wins over Emme. The other day Gideon climbed up on the couch all by himself and "claimed" the throne. He even got the remote! Watch out Dustin, the kids are trying to overthrow you! 

Short Sleeves

This morning I attempted to have the kids wear short sleeves for the first time this year. Emme and Gideon were all for it. Elijah insisted on wearing a long sleeved undershirt underneath his t-shirt. But hey, I think we may finally be one step closer to Spring. At least we can pretend it is Springtime in our house, as long as we keep the heat on.

Happy 11 Months Gideon

Gideon turned eleven months old on Saturday. He has always been and continues to be a happy little ray of sunshine. He loves his brother and his sister and always wants to be involved in what they are doing. He says "Mama, Elijah and Dada." He can stand for a few seconds by himself and he is a pro at walking around using furniture and his puppy walker for balance. We love our little Giddy Man and we are so grateful to have him as a part of our family. 

Families Can Be Together Forever

Gideon the Climber

Gideon's new favorite thing to do is to climb onto the puppy, then the chair and then crawl over to the couch. He is a fearless little booger, and he has not gotten detoured by falling off of the chair or the couch. Gideon is my first climber, and I have to say I am a little bit intimidated be him. He keeps me on my toes at all times.

Baby Beds

Emme and Gideon LOVE babies and Elijah LOVES his Tuggle Bear. Emme and Elijah decided to make their babies beds. Gideon was thrilled! He sang and talked/screamed at the babies.

 Gideon kept reaching into the box/bed and petting the Baby's hair and face

 He was very excited that Emme was letting him play with her and her Baby

And Emme was happy to let him play with her and Baby, until he decided that he needed to be the baby in the bed. Things turned a little ugly after that! lol

Capture the Gideon

Elijah and Gideon were playing with the laundry basket today, and the basket very quickly turned into a cage for Gideon.

 Gideon was very content in his "cage."

Elijah the Warden 

 After a little while Gideon did decide that he would rather be free than captive

"Oh, sweet freedom!"

Emme Emmers

A few months ago, Emme and I had an experience that made me realize that she sometimes gets the short end of the stick because she is the middle child. She isn't quite big enough to do the things that Elijah can, but now that I have Gideon demanding of my time I can't treat her like the tiny toddler she is. I realized that I expect a lot from her. Before you read this story, please remember that I am a decent mom...lol I am not mean to my kids intentionally.
For Elijah's birthday he took in 24 cupcakes to his class. The morning that he was going to take them in was especially cold and very icy. We got to the school and I got out of the car and put Gideon in his baby carrier on my chest and I zipped him into my coat. Then I got out Elijah and Emme. Elijah was good, he was alright walking on his own, but Emme took one look at the icy parking lot and she wanted nothing to do with it. As I was already carrying Gideon and a huge container of cupcakes I told Emme that she was going to have to not just walk but run because it was so cold. We made it halfway to the school when she wiped out hard core. She ended up face first on the black top and started screaming. So there I was with Gideon on my front so I couldn't bend over, holding the cupcakes. I told Emme she needed to get up and that I couldn't help her unless she stood up, then I could hug her. She refused and started screaming for Daddy. I had no other option but to start nudging her with the toe of my boot (mean I know.) I was like "Emme come on baby, up you go." No success. Finally one of the teacher's aides saw what was happening and she volunteered to take Elijah and his cupcakes to his class. With the cupcakes gone I could finally pick Emme up. I held her the best I could with Gideon, and told her I was sorry. She told me that it was okay I had been not nice, and that she was okay.
Emme has always been a very independent child. She has always been good at just telling me what she needs, and then accepting what I give her, even when it wasn't as much as she deserved.. This week Emme has been very sick. Sicker than she ever has been, and it has made me appreciate Emme in a different way than I had. She has been very snuggly with me and she has even wanted me instead of Dustin a few times (a very rare choice.) She  has even slept with me a few times this week which is the only time in her entire life that she has ever wanted to be in our bed. Despite being incredibly sick with both the throw-ups and the poops, she has had no accidents. I have realized this week that I most definately take for granted Emme's independence and her very mature personality. I am definately going to make more time for snuggles with my Emme.

Silly Gideon