Wordless Wednesday

A Bit Of Mommy Documentation/Bragging

The children grow so quickly, changing weekly, that I thought I would dedicate this post to a bit of documentation on the happenings in our house. Or, a bit of bragging about the children and their accomplishments/milestones.

Noelle, naturally, is first in this post. I could list her recent learning accomplishments, but nothing sticks out as exceptional at the moment. She continues to work on reading and gets easily frustrated when she can't figure out a word and wants to be done with the lesson. The magna-doodle has become a daily tool used in spelling and holds her attention for long periods of time as she asks to me to spell words and she writes them. Noelle refuses to sound out words because she doesn't like to get them wrong, she has to have the right spelling. She has mastered the computer, including Google when she wants to look up something (as I closely supervise). She loves our phones and can easily find and download appropriate apps for herself. Many times I have found her on the computer at youtube.com typing in "tractors" for Max to watch. This generation is just good with technology! Some days she surprises us and picks up our quick "parent spelling" which frequently includes things we don't want her knowing about. Telling time is something she is doing very well with, which makes it impossible to trick her in to an early bedtime.

Swimming is going well. I am not overly pleased with this session and the young teacher that can't hold the attention of seven 3 and 4 year olds, but Noelle still enjoys it so we will continue. Last Thursday they were practicing picking up objects from the bottom and after swallowing a bit too much water Noelle ended up throwing up in the pool. It was a very traumatic experience for her. She was so upset, and so were the rest of the children because they had to close the pool down. A new bathing suit and goggles were used to bribe her to go back. She isn't swimming on her own, but has learned to float on her back unassisted and swims under the water fairly well.

Preschool is something I'm still up in the air about. She begs us not to take her and finding something that will work with our schedule of an upcoming baby and my inability to drive for a bit seems to be difficult. 8am seems so early to get four children loaded up for and then the afternoon session falls right is the midst of nap time for at least one, and probably two, and maybe even 3 children. Waking two or possibly three children a few times a week is something I'm not about to do! I think it would be good for her from the social aspect of things but I don't' feel as though she would be behind if she didn't go. Time will tell what we decide and work out.

Maximilain comes next in the order. His difficult nature baffles us on a daily basis. There are hours upon hours that I deal with nothing but screaming, crying, hitting, throwing, and cruel behavior. That being said, his sweet side is exceptionally sweet. He quickly is by any one's side that is injured and starts to belt out a lullaby to help ease the pain. When I'm down he looks at me with his big brown eyes and heavenly eye lashes and always says, "I will give you a kiss to make you happy!". He leans right in and plants a big juicy one on me. If I flat out ask for a kiss chances are I will not receive one. His speech is remarkable for his age and it impresses me daily. He grasps concepts well and seems more like a little boy opposed to a two year old.

Last week we used the concept of the Fuffa Fairy to rid him of his pacifier. It was been a good process for the most part. He still asks for it on occasion but we ignore the request and he's fine. I did overhear him telling Noelle the following day, "that damn fairy took all my fuffa's". He did get some cool presents from the fairy and that has aided in the transition. Max is picking up on things as I go over them with Noelle. He can spell his name, Max not Maximilian, and we are working on his address which he can get the road and city most of the time right. A lot of times he is not willing to share his knowledge and makes me work at getting him to repeat things, but that is just a typical side of him. He knows how to count up to 20 (it could be more because he is always counting with Noelle), but when I ask him to count he gets an evil grin on his face and mixes up the numbers to be difficult. I can usually get him to repeat things while something else is distracting him. His technology skills are not that good, as he uses his giant (they are quite a bit bigger than Noelle's) hands to pound things for the fun of it!

Potty training is going well most days. He seems to think it' funny to pee on things, including my bed sheets, because I get upset with him. His aim is horrible but I have become accustomed to wiping up urine after each time he goes. Again, he giggles when it goes outside of the toilet, anything he can do to make life a bit more challenging for me, he will. Going number 2 in the toilet has been a big challenge, he has done it a few times but lately refuses to. We will keep encouraging him and I'm sure it will eventually happen.

He seems to have inherited his Daddy's love for sports. We have noticed this awhile ago, and as the weather warms up his love of kicking, throwing and hitting balls continues to grow. Max also loves to whip balls inside the house and frequently hits his sisters or me! He is very coordinated, sometimes more so than Noelle, with kicking and batting of balls. We are thinking a trip to a baseball game this summer is in store for the family.

Violette Adelle, our smiling sweetheart comes next. She still isn't walking, but continues to grow closer. We still catch her favoring her broken leg, this seems to be less frequent. Although she is not walking her social skills are definitely flourishing. She uses a lot of baby sign, and does it well. She was a quick study, similar to Noelle and Max, a few times of repetition and she had it down. The same goes for body parts, we went over them for a few days and she had them down pat. We are now focusing on animal sounds and she has picked up a few to date.

Three days ago Violette hit a big milestone and stopped nursing. I had weaned her down to once a day, right before bed, but she has decided that she doesn't want it anymore! It is always hard on me, and I feel very emotional whenever one of my children stops nursing. Violette is drinking milk at every meal and eating whatever her siblings eat. Her favorite foods are french toast sticks, Marconi and cheese, and hot dogs! Every morsel of food that enters her mouth is followed but a little nod and an adorable "mmmmm". Her favorite time to eat is whenever she's not in her booster seat. As soon as you set her free she is by whomever has food to give her.

She is sweet as pie, but has a little devilish side to her. When manhandled by either of her siblings she screams out and I have witnessed her hit Max a few times after he ripped a toy from her little chubby hands. She will grow up learning that when the time comes she has to make herself known and not to take the bullying of her older siblings. Vi now has six teeth. Two on the bottom and four on the top, two that are just barely poking through. Her hair is growing, but is still very fine. We have noticed the back seems to be getting more curly as the months pass. I cross my fingers and hope for some bouncy curls throughout her head. Books are her big love right now. She enjoys reading and brings books to me all the time and signs book (which seems like clapping) and more. Only board books can be allowed in our laps because her little hands rip and tear the pages as she tries to help us turn them. The books with touch and feel seem to be her favorite.

Baby number four is growing well. He/she has reached the end of the first trimester. I have a placenta previa, which just means the placenta is in front of the birth canal. This makes for some unpleasant side effects, including me being told to take it easy. The doctor mentioned that taking the kids for a walk wasn't even a good idea. They fully expect the placenta to move as the baby grows, so it's just a matter of time. I am doing my best to relax and make sure this baby continues to grow on track.

We are still undecided about finding out the sex. Tom would like to, but I think a delivery surprise would be wonderful. An idea that did strike me was having the doctor write down the sex and we open it as a family. We fully expect this to be the final addition to our Roehrig family so either way we are trying to enjoy every moment and marvel in the wonders of having another baby.

That's a bit of an update on the children. They all are flourishing and keeping us busy on a daily basis!

Two Grandpa's In One Weekend

Due to the distance that are families live from one another and us they have only met once, at our wedding. For the children it was a rare weekend in which they, and us, got to see Grandpa Goodhue and Grandpa Roehrig.

Grandpa Goodhue and Uncle Alex came in on Friday night and stayed the weekend. They were gone Saturday, while we went in to Sturgis, and spent all of Sunday with us. Grandpa Goodhue played with the children tons, and even had Max and Noelle crying at the same time during an intense game of shark. The crying was brief and insanity resumed. Max loved to beat the fish with his sword, typical boy! Many other games were played including airplane with Uncle, and basketball and soccer with Grandpa. The children had a wonderful time and I'm pretty sure Grandpa Goodhue was exhausted by the time he left!
While Grandpa Goodhue and Alex were away for hockey on Saturday we spent the day in Sturgis. Of course, we had a great time and were able to get out in the sun and enjoy a leisurely walk back in the woods. Max absolutely loved getting a stick and whacking any and every thing in sight. Noelle was a bit more of a girl and complained about walking over trees and sticks. Violette was carried and seemed to enjoy looking around at the scenery. The woods are beautiful and it was great to see the fun the children had in them. We had a wonderful time and topped it off with a scrumptious dinner!
We were even able to stop by the Feyes' house for a short visit. Olivia and Noelle we were off playing in makeup before we could even get all of our shoes off. The girls just seem to click, which is great. Max wondered around checking out all the different toys. Violette and Mia had a little interaction and were just so adorable together! The visit was way too short, but we are glad we had some time with our good friends.
It was a fun filled, busy weekend! We love seeing our families and friends whenever possible. We hope another busy family weekend falls upon us soon!

Wordless Wednesday

Some Time With Uncle

Due to a hockey try-out about 45 mins from our house, Uncle Alex was able to spend some time with us. He arrived late Friday night and took off early Saturday morning but was back after dinner on Saturday. The kids were able to get in a few good hours of "Unkie" time. The weather was beautiful so we spent the time outside.

Even Zeus got in some good play time with Uncle Alex!After exhausting the children outside it was time to get ready for bed. All three enjoyed some stories read by Uncle and went to bed fairly well, sad to have their time ending with Uncle.After Noelle and Violette went down, Violette wouldn't go to sleep and Noelle was getting annoyed. She stomps out of her room, hands on her hips, eye crossed, and says loudly, "Vivi keeps turning on that damn bear and it is keeping me up!". We all laughed so hard. She has so much attitude in that string bean body of hers!

This morning, Sunday, Uncle Alex left again early to go play hockey. We had a wonderful time, although short, with him. Max said as Uncle was pulling out of the driveway, "Uncle Alex is my favorite". The rest of the day was a typical lazy Sunday, enjoying time outside and lots of games, including some much loved Candy Land.

Tuesday starts the second round of swimming lessons for Noelle. She is very excited and so am I to get her back in the water and on her way to becoming a little fish!

Wordless Wednesday

Early Easter Celebration

Grandma and Grandpa Goodhue came down on Friday. It has been a long time since they have visited and it was a wonderful time had by all. Noelle, Max, Violette, Grandpa, and I all were sick, but starting to be on the mend. Whatever illness we did have seemed to really knock us down.
Here is a little video of Noelle and Max digging into a cool whip container Saturday morning, a typical stunt normally they would not be allowed to do. The joy on their faces is priceless!


Aunt Ceecee and her boyfriend, Mike, also came to join the family fun on Saturday. Uncle Alex was missing due to a spring break trip he was on. We hid Easter eggs for the kids outside and they loved finding them. Noelle was a bit greedy and wanted all the eggs to herself, but Max can hold his own and was quick to grab his fair share.

We had a nice early ham dinner and spent the rest of the day enjoying each other's company. Noelle, Max, and Violette were very tuckered out and all took afternoon naps. Noelle fell asleep on the couch surround by everyone, she looked sweet as can be.

Everyone parted ways in the evening. It was sad to see them go, but we all had a wonderful time. It was great having the room to have all the family over, and three extra dogs!

Noelle and Max have been talking about the family visit all day. Recalling many wonderful memories, and that to me is the best part!