Sleepy Mickey Mouse

My Little Adult

Elijah has always been very mature for his age. I am so used to him being a little adult, that I think that I just expect him to act a certain way. But sometimes he still surprises me. This last weekend we went down to Illinois without Dustin. On Friday morning Dustin left for work, and I started doing the last minute scrambles to get all of the last minute stuff packed and loaded into the Tahoe. While I was in the shower Elijah came to the door and informed me that he was "taking the little ones downstairs and getting them bagels." When I came downstairs, I saw much to my surprise that he done just that. He had even toasted the bagels for them, and he had gotten them milk from the fridge! Since he had the younger two occupied I started bringing bags downstairs. Everytime I came down with a new load Elijah would talk to himself and then take the bags and sort them into piles of what he thought needed to go out first. By the time I had everything downstairs, he had everything sorted and piled at the front door. The whole scene was identical to what Dustin does, right down to the talking to himself. Elijah then informed me that he would get his coat on and help me take it all outside. About 20 minutes into the drive Elijah called to me from his perch in the back, and let me know since Dad wasn't here, he was going to help me with everything. While we were at my parents house he was a very good big brother, and he helped a lot with the little ones. Elijah helped me pack and sort everything again, when it was time to go home. He didn't want to let me take things out to the car, because I was a girl. He, Allen and Grandpa could do it for me. 

The whole weekend made me realize how much Elijah is like his Daddy. They both are always willing to step up and help. I am glad that Elijah has such a good example in his Daddy. Without even trying Dustin is teaching him how to be a good and thoughtful person. I love my boys! 

Missing Teeth!

Elijah lost his second tooth on Sunday night while brushing his teeth! This tooth also had the adult tooth broken through the gums, and ready to move into place. Elijah's teeth are over achievers! Luckily, even at last minute notice on a Sunday the tooth fairy was prepared and ready to give Elijah the shiny gold dollar for his tooth. Elijah was very excited to find it under his pillow Monday morning! He added it to his piggy bank and informed us he is saving up for an Octonauts toy.

Halloween in Lake Villa

The kids and I went down to Lake Villa and spent Halloween with the Tuggles and "that Allen." Allen was kind enough to take all of theses pictures for us. "That Allen" did a great job!

Great Grandma Charlesworth dressed up as a clown for the Trunk or Treat. She looked adorable, but my kids were too afraid to go near for about 20 minutes! lol 

All three of my kids were unsure about all of the people at the party. They spent the first part of the party cuddling on Grandma and Grandpa. But by the trick or treating they were doing better.

Emme enjoyed playing some of the games

Elijah was very excited about the trick or treating...

as was Gideon! He wouldn't even let me help him carry his bucket when it got to heavy for him. He just dragged/pushed it back to Grandpa's door.

Two Batmans and a Tangled Princess!

Gideon loved dumping his candy bucket all over his body, just like McScrooge and his money, and then putting back in the bucket and repeating over and over again! I think all three kids were overwhelmed by all of the candy. They don't get very many sweets usually, so they have been really good about not eating all of their buckets. I have to remind them that they have the candy! I think we will have this candy until Christmas again this year.

Gideon at 18 Months

I took Gideon to the doctor yesterday for his 18 month appointment. Gideon is now 36 in tall (36%) and he weighs 23lbs (37%). And big surprise he is following his brother lead, and he has a giant head! Lol We know his head has to be that big inorder to contain all of his smarts! The Giderman is doing a lot better after how crazy sick he was last week. His eyes are no longer infected and his fever is gone. He does still have a lot of fluid in his ears though. They aren't infected yet, but the doctor said to be prepared because they will probably become infected quickly. Which sucks because that also increases his risk of having another seizure from a fever spike. Hopefully the fluid will go away and we can have a few weeks of everyone healthy.

Nursery

Today was Gideon's first day in nursery!

He had a great time. He got to color, eat a snack, sing a song and play with other kids! 

Thankfully, Gideon did not come out of nursery looking like this! 

Gideon is 18 Months Old

Gideon is 18 months old today! Gideon is a silly little guy. He loves Mickey Mouse and he loves to do the Hot Dog Dance with his stuffed Mickey. Gideon is still a very happy little dude, but he does have a bit of a temper that comes out when he is tired or hungry. He loves to initiate wrestling matches with his brother and sister. He says a few words now, and he definitely has figured out how to make you understand his wants and demands. My favorite saying that he has is when he says "I so sad," when he is crying or fussing. It is hilarious! I am excited for Gideon to get to start nursery at church this coming Sunday.We love having Gideon in our family. Since the day he was born, he has been a joy and a blessing! We love our little Giderman. 

"That Allen!"

I had to post this for all of the Dexters and Tuggles who know Allen Dexter...

Allen is my cousin, and he recently moved to Illinois. A few weeks ago he came with my parents to visit us. The kids thought that he was hilarious! They all really hit it off. Ever since they left, Emme has been talking about Allen. Anytime something happens, and she doesn't know who did it, or why it was done, she blames "that Allen." Emme has blamed Allen for the following:

*Opening the infant Tylenol...because he had a headache

*Ripping a page in a book, and then taping it up!..because he likes to read

*Throwing a pair of tennis shoes over the electric wires on our street...because he is goofy

It is hilarious to hear Emme talk about "my cousin, that Allen." I look forward to finding out what other sneaky stuff Allen has been up to...

Embry and Gideon

I took Emme and Gideon to the doctor his morning because neither one of them was getting any better. Gideon has a double ear infection, eye infection and a serious case of diarrhea. He is now on an antibiotic, so hopefully he will be feeing better by the weekend. Embry has an eye infection and she is now on eye drops. Hopefully, with both little ones on medicine everyone will start feeling better. We all need a week or two of no one being sick!

The Giderman

Gideon gave us quite the scare this past Sunday. He has been sick with the flu since Thursday, but he never felt hot, or like he had a fever. Then on Sunday morning, mid Mickey Mouse Hot Dog dance, he had a seizure caused by a high spike in his temperature. Elijah immediately ran upstairs to get Dustin, while I sat next to Gideon and waited for him to stop seizing. The seizure only lasted 3 minutes, but I think they were the longest 3 minutes of Dustin and my lives. Dustin called the paramedics, and they came in just a few minutes. Gideon was done seizing when they came, and he had rolled onto his belly and was completely unconscious asleep. He didn't wake up the whole time the paramedic was examining him. Thankfully, his breathing was normal and besides the fever, he was fine. The paramedic sat with him for a few minutes to make sure he was going to be responsive and then they left. He told me to just leave Gideon on the floor and let him wake up on his own. As an emotional (3 month pregnant) mom, that was hard to do. I just wanted to hold my little Cheese Curd! So, Elijah and I sat next to him and waited. Every few minutes Elijah would reach out and rub Gideon's back very gently and ask when he was going to wake up. About 20 minutes later Gideon woke up, and he was not happy. He was in a very scary and very angry daze. His eyes were still glazed over, and he yelled at his Daddy quite nastily anytime Dustin talked to him, or looked at him. Dustin gave Gideon some medicine for his fever, and then Gideon curled up on my chest and fell asleep for 2 and a half hours. When Gideon finally woke up, he smiled at me, crawled off my lap and went upstairs to find Elijah and Emme. It is amazing how quickly kids recover! I wish Dustin and I could have recovered as quickly. Lol Thankfully, Gideon seems to be doing a lot better today. He still has some pretty gross and explosive diarrhea, but it is better than it was. His fever doesn't seem to have come back, and he felt cool through the night Sunday. We are very grateful that Gideon is fine and that he is getting back to his normal happy little Giderman self. This morning, he danced the full Mickey Mouse Hot Dog Dance without incident! Lol

Emme and Gideon

Emme has always loved Gideon. But, Gideon has never really had a use for Emme. The last few weeks  since Elijah has been in all day school have been good for the little two still at home. Gideon and Emme are playmates now! Yay! They cuddle, play together and they love to eat snacks together (Gideon usually gets his own snack plus half of Emme's!) Gideon even calls Emme by name now. He calls her "Me." Too cute! Gideon also likes to wrestle with Emme. He has figured out that there is only a lb difference and only a few inches of height between them. Yeah, he always wins the match! Thankfully, Emme is just happy that he wants her, so she goes along with everything. 

Cheesy Gideon

The last few months Gideon has not liked the camera. Whenever I tried to get a picture of him, he would bury his face or turn away from me. Not cool! Recently though, he has decided that he loves to get his picture taken. And I am more than happy to oblige him.