"I guess I'm just not Caleb anymore."

Poor Caleb has had a rough day.  He was fine when he woke up.  I dropped him off at preschool and about an hour later I got a text telling me he wasn't acting like himself.  I called Travis to ask if he could go pick him up because I was still in Logan (18 month well check for B).  Travis said he'd go do it.  A few minutes later I got another text from preschool telling me Caleb was just laying on the table being miserable.  I told her Travis was on his way and should be there in a minute.  Not too long after that I got another text telling me, "Travis got here and then Caleb threw up.  I knew he didn't feel well!"  I felt so bad (for Caleb, Travis & Miss Shannon).  Luckily, he made it on the tile and it was pretty much just water.  Fortunately for Travis he's had worse.  And lucky for Miss Shannon Travis was there to clean it up!

Travis got Caleb home and he wasn't able to keep down even water.  The poor kid was just miserable as could be.  He just laid on the couch all day long.  Any time he tried to eat something it would come back up a few minutes later - even water.

Samantha and Nash had parts in the ward Christmas party program tonight.  I volunteered to stay home with Caleb and B (she was napping after getting ibuprofen for her owie legs).  Around 7 or so Caleb started to perk right back up like he'd been fine all along.  So weird.

My mom came up and helped me put one of the I Spy quilts on the quilt frames.  I realized the lady at Bernina screwed up cutting my batting.  You know, when you pay $45, they ought to do it right dang it!  Now I have to find my receipt (which I'm fairly certain is in the recycle bin outside) so I can take the one piece back and make them cut it correctly!

We finally got things organized (a little) around here and Travis went down to tuck the boys in bed.  A few minutes later Travis is standing at the bottom of the stairs to relay a message from Caleb.  "Mom.  I don't know where lamb is and I don't have my puppet cow.  I guess I'm just not Caleb anymore."  I busted up.  I know he was having a moment of self pity when he said this and so I shouldn't have laughed, but seriously, how could I not laugh?  I told Travis that cow was currently residing in the black hole in the big black garbage bag in my office but he could give it back to him (punishment for not cleaning up after themselves after mom asked a zillion times - I have 3 "black holes" right now).  Lamb however, is actually currently missing.  I know he had him last Sunday because he took him in the expedition to go to church.  He thought lamb would enjoy Sunbeams but I was a mean mom and wouldn't let him take him into the church.  I know I saw him again the other day but I don't remember where.

Let me just explain Caleb's lamb and cow obsession in case you are unfamiliar with it.  This lamb was attached to a small piece of soft silky fabric that was given to me as a baby gift when he was born.  Eventually, we cut the lamb out of the pocket that was on the soft silky fabric.  They were both a pale yellow when we got them.  They are both now an indeterminate color.  The soft silky fabric (currently MIA again - he was for awhile after we set Newton Dam on fire too.  Turns out he was in the bottom of Caleb's sleeping bag.) has stitches of (I think) two different colors.  He likes to bite it for some reason which then rips holes in it.  The little lamb isn't in too much better condition.  We've given him surgery to repair a slight tear here or there before.  And, I've had to reattach an eyeball.  At one point not too long ago he was wearing a band aid over said eye as an eye patch (Caleb was worried the eye ball was going to pop off).  Thus, lamb was a pirate lamb for a week or two.

The puppet cow I bought at Novemberfest the year he was born.  It isn't really a puppet.  It's a head with a fabric body that you can put your hand into but not up into the head.  Make sense?  This cow is in much better condition than the lamb but is just as much loved.  The only thing the cow has missing is his original bow that was around his neck (Caleb chewed it off).  Now, it isn't like Caleb doesn't have other cows. I've posted pictures of the kid with all the animals he keeps on his bed.  He even has a "newish" addition to the collection.  When we went to Grandpa/ma Butter's house earlier this year Grandma had a giant (about as big as Caleb) cow that someone gave her.  Caleb and Nash loved this cow while they were there so Grandma told them they could take it home.  It's big enough that Caleb actually sits on it, bounces, and pretends that he's riding bulls.  I think I have a future rodeo man on my hands.

I counted not too long ago and I think the kid has about three or four different cows.  One can be microwaved (thank you Grandma Kris).  One is just a small thing that my mom found for him.  He has the puppet cow and I think he has one more too.  He only has one lamb though.  I just thought his comment was funny because I know how stinkin many animals the kid has so for him to come up with that one just caught me off guard.  I guess he loves his animals individually!

And news about Brooke's well check:

She currently weighs 27.7 pounds (84%)
She is 33 inches tall (84%)  - have I mentioned she comes to Caleb's shoulders already?
She has a 19 inch head circumference

And, she started not feeling too great yesterday.  After the dr. listened to her lungs and looked her over he gave us a prescription because her lungs sound junkie and her sinuses are infected.  I was actually surprised they gave her her immunizations today.  On the bright side, she's now done with shots until she gets her Kindergarten shots!  Wahoo!  That means Sam will be getting her 12 yr boosters and Brooke will be getting Kindergarten shots the same year!  Fun times!

Little sister has entered the terrible two phase recently.  She's discovered how to pull chairs from the kitchen table to the center of the kitchen.  Once she's there she puts the chair right next to the oven and up she goes - right into the steak knives, the scissors, the spices, the coffee pot, the turn style AND the other day she went so far as to climb onto the counter and open up the cupboard!  AGH!  Fortunately, if I stack the chairs on the table she won't pull them off anymore (she did it once and that was enough for her).

She has taken a defensive stand with Caleb.  If the kid gets within three feet of her she starts screaming "MINE" and swinging for all she's worth.  What's odd is that she doesn't do it at nursery at church and she doesn't do it at daycare (yet).  She really only does it to Caleb.  I told Travis on the one hand, it's kind of nice that Caleb finally has someone that treats him the way he's treated Nash for the last four years!  Maybe he'll knock it off finally!  She however, may just turn out to be a big, fat stinker!

She says about a dozen words or so.  Some of her favorites are "Mom" (repeatedly...no matter what I say when I answer her), daddy, Char, dog, MINE, NO (she says no and understands what she's saying because if she wants something, she shakes her head yes - she just doesn't say yes), ball, baby, hi, and tank you (thank you).

She hasn't been eating much lately because she's been working on all four incisors and the last molar.  I believe the molar is completely through (she's only been working on it since APRIL), as well as all four incisors.

We haven't given her a hair cut yet.  I can't bear to cut the back.  Caleb's was curly like hers is and once we cut it, it lost the curl.  I haven't cut her bangs because I just pull them back into her pony tails.  They come clear to her nose so if I don't do her hair the poor girl can't see anything!

I really can't believe how fast she's growing up!  I know that all of them went this quickly.  I think it's just harder because I know she's the last one so I want it to go a little slower.  So much for that!  Sister is running to catch up to everyone and everything around her!

Whose kid is he anyway?

That Caleb of mine.  That kid comes up with some of the most off the wall comments!  He never ceases to amaze Travis, me, his babysitter (Laura)  or his preschool teacher (Miss Shannon) with what he comes up with.  For instance:

When I leave him at preschool he says "See you later buffalo in the cotton tree!" and then he just grins as I laugh, shake me head and say good bye.

On Saturday I had been bringing a bunch of stuff inside from the expedition.  Caleb had been find of following me around and found a box.  I had finished bringing things into the house and was washing dishes.  He comes up to me, puts the box down, turns his back to the box and looks at me to ask, "Mom?  Can I keep this box inside?"  As he's asking me this Brooke comes up behind him and starts pushing the box away.  I say "Yes Caleb."  At this point he turns around and sees Brookelyn taking off with his box.  Now, Brookelyn has turned into a bit of a beast lately.  She's somewhat on the defensive all the time, she smacks Caleb (and Nash and pretty much anyone who invades her six foot bubble), she screams "MINE!" regularly, etc.  When Brookelyn sees she's been spotted she yells out "MINE!" and goes to hit Caleb.  Caleb sets his teeth and says (without missing a beat) "Oh no you didn't!  It's ON!" and then proceeds to BODY SLAM the baby girl onto the kitchen floor.  I couldn't help myself and laughed quite a bit.  It's great that he has someone to keep him in check and treat him the way he has always treated Nash.  I have a feeling that even though they fight like cats and dogs they'll eventually learn to like one another.

Tonight Travis went down to tuck the boys into bed.  He comes upstairs a few minutes later laughing and shaking his head.  I look at him and say, "What did he say now?"  He tells me, "You know, it's funny you automatically jump to that."  To which I respond, "Well, he was being a stinker before you took him downstairs and you're laughing not mad, so what did he say?"  He proceeds to tell me that he gave Caleb a hug and a kiss and was waiting for the kiss on the nose that he always gives him (he does that to me too.  A kiss on the check or lips is not acceptable.  He MUST kiss you on the nose...every.single.time.).  I guess after a minute Caleb looks at him and says, "What's with the big creepy smile?"  Seriously!

Who's kid is he and where does he come up with these things?!  I can only imagine what he says when no adults are around to catch him.  I've talked to MIss Shannon about the things he says at home and she's told me a few of the things he's whipped out at preschool.  I'm not going to lie...I always get a little nervous when she says, "Did I tell you what Caleb said at school today?"  Here's to hoping that it doesn't stop being funny any time soon!

Where am I?

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the planet.  I've been mad at Blogger.  I went to do a post about this cute fabric doll house I did for Brooke and when I tried to upload pictures I was told that my Picassa web album was full.  What?  I didn't even know I had one of those.  Around the same time my internet became so ridiculously slow it has become maddening (I'm not talking an "I'm just impatient" kind of slow.  I'm talking "It takes five minutes to load one stinking page!" kind of slow!).  I had a phone call from Comcast asking if we wanted to upgrade to 5 mbps blah, blah, blah.  I told them no, I wanted to leave things alone.  About a few days later...BAM...slow internet.  Bah humbug!

So, without pictures, here's what we've been up to.

1-I've been sewing my brains out.  I did a fabric doll house for Brooke.  My sister found a link with a doll and a link with this fabric doll house she wanted to do for my niece, Sunny.  She was asking me for help, etc. so I decided to "whip" one up.  I was able to do one of the fabric doll houses in about 2 hours or so while Brooke took a nap.  Since I've done one, I've helped my sister do one for Sunny.  I like how Sunny's turned out a lot better.  Isn't that what always happens?  Make one and then make second and end up liking the second one better.  I've also been working on the I Spy quilts I'm trying to do for Christmas.  I've managed to get 3 2/3 of the 5 I Spy quilts done.  I'm a bit worried because I went to Bernina on Saturday to get batting.  Unfortunately, they were out of three different kinds of batting - specifically, the one I needed for the quilts!  They put me on a call list and now I wait.  I don't think the nephews will appreciate just a quilt top for Christmas so if they don't call by Friday I'm going to have to figure something else out that will likely cost a bit more money.

2-Our Thanksgiving was pretty low key, but fun.  Travis came home Thanksgiving morning and got to stay until Sunday afternoon.  That was a nice surprise for the kids.  We had dinner at my mom's house and then a bit later went out to Travis's mom and dad's place.  Both of Travis's sets of grandparents were able to come up for the holiday.  It was fun to see them since we haven't seen them since August (well, the boys did when they were hunting).  Thanksgiving night I was looking through all the ads.  Travis saw a BB gun on sale for about $30.  I had told Travis that I don't want Nash to have one until he's eight.  I've been pretty adamant about the idea too.  I decided to tell Travis that if he braved "Gray Thursday" with me he could get the BB gun for Nash for Christmas.  Suddenly he was game!  I was shocked!  Travis hates shopping and he hates people.  Never in a million years would I have anticipated him agreeing to this idea!  We ended up going with his sister, Jamie & her husband, Robbie.  We hit Walmart for the 8 pm sale and then went to Kmart.  I was surprised that Walmart was an easy in and out.  We picked up a few things for the kids, but nothing major.  They had lots of registers open and it was a quick in and out.  We found a few things we wanted to get at Kmart but the lines were ridiculous and we wanted to hit the 9 pm sale at Shopko to get the BB gun.  So, we left Kmart and headed to Shopko.  We had to stand outside for about 15 minutes and then they let us in.  We were able to find the BB gun and Travis found a generator for the trailer.  The generator was normally $220 and we got it for $99.  That was a happy moment!  After Shopko we headed back to Kmart but there wasn't much we wanted at that point and the lines were still ridiculous so we just headed home.  I was able to go out shopping on Black Friday with a few friends while Travis kept the kids.  That was a lot of fun and I was able to get a bit more shopping for the kids done.

3-Sam danced at Festival of Trees on Nov. 30th.  Since it was a Friday (short school day)  and she had to be down there at 11:30, I just took all four kids with me.  They really were pretty well behaved.  Sam did a great job dancing and I let the kids do several activities in the Kids Korner.  After we left the Festival of Trees we stopped at Aunt Jamie's house on our way home.  The kids got to play with their cousins and Jamie was nice enough to keep all the kids while I ran over to Smith & Edwards to try and get a few more things for Christmas.  The kids were really bummed when it was time to go - even though they'd been there for several hours.

4-Sam has a speaking part in the ward Christmas program on Friday night.  We're going to go to that and then we'll head to Manti for our Christmas parties down there.  We're also going to "Go Christmas Tree hunting".  We haven't done that as a family for several years (Travis isn't ever home when it's been time to go).  The kids are pretty excited - for Christmas Tree hunting, presents, and cousins!  I'm just glad I got all four pairs of pj pants done and all eight white elephant presents bought!  Now to finish wrapping!

So, you can see we've been busy even though I haven't been posting.  Next week we have 2 piano recitals and a dance recital coming up.  Sam is also going to be doing a USU half time show on Dec. 21.  We're trying to finish getting ready for Christmas and stay on top of homework and all our other activities.  If you don't hear from us until after Christmas, I promise we haven't fallen off the face of the planet!

Fun in the leaves

This week Travis has been home.  Brookelyn was suppose to get her two new tubes in each ear on Thursday.  Travis took her into the hospital & I had told him to call me when she was done.  He called about 45 minutes after he left.  Come to find out, Dr. Blotter didn't feel like her lungs sounded good enough to put her under anesthesia.  He was worried that if he put her under something might happen and she might not come out of it.  Better safe than sorry.  So, no new tubes yet.  I did call his office and reschedule the surgery for this coming Wednesday (so I won't have to miss work but it will be a long Thanksgiving break for little sister).  On the bright side, since she didn't have tubes, she was happy & feeling good enough to go outside and play in the leaves with her dad & brothers the other day.  This was the first time she's every played in the leaves.  Brookelyn loved every second of it too!

She never did actually jump into the pile herself.  Rather, her dad tossed her into the pile every time she went in!

She sure adores this brother.

What you could see of Nash after he did a head dive into the pile!

Travis showing Nash how to do a really good head dive into the pile!

Nash burying Brookelyn with more leaves!

And in other news, the resin on Nash's tooth has completely chipped off.  Friday morning he woke up and it had split in half down the center and one half chipped off.  By today (Sunday) there is only a tiny bump of the original resin left on his front tooth.  The good news however, is that when he bites down his top teeth sit on top of his bottom teeth now!  He has another dentist appointment tomorrow afternoon so we'll see how that goes.  I did call and make an appointment with an orthodontist on Friday (Dr. Guymon).  His appointment isn't until Dec. 6th, but I figure we may as well get it scheduled and get an opinion because the kid is going to need braces eventually!  And, he got me to pull a loose tooth out tonight.  He's been wiggling it for a few days.  I felt like it had quite a bit of root left on it still but he was determined that sucker was coming out today!  Once we got it out I looked at it and I was right, there was still quite a bit of root left on it!  I'm just glad he isn't a complete wuss like his sister!

Travis is headed back to work at about 4 am.  He did call and get some information about a new job prospect.  He would be driving a gas & diesel truck all over the Wasatch Front.  He would work five days on and have four days off.  He would have to start out on a night shift and stay there for who knows how long.  It pays about a dollar an hour less than what he makes now.  They do offer insurance and it's suppose to be a good package (no idea who it's through or how long he has to work until it would be effective though).  He's going to call again and see if he can interview next time he's home and then possibly start training (two weeks of training).  If he can break the training up he'd do some of it the next time he comes home then go back for one more shift with Halliburton to give them his two weeks and then come home and start that job.  I'm not excited about the idea of him working nights, but he would be home every day and there is the possibility of moving to days eventually.  I hope that this job works out because it would be really nice for our family to have him home more often.  I know he's ready for it and so are the kids.  To say it will be an adjustment for me is putting it mildly!

And, in other exciting news...we took the whole family to church today and Brookelyn got to go to nursery for the first time!  Yay!  I've been counting down for at least two months!  Relief Society was so quite today that it was a little weird!  They said she did great and that "She even knows how to share!"  I credit daycare for her knowing how to share!  I was really lucky with getting out of there too.  I took her in, found her the kitchen toys & got her playing so she was side tracked and slipped out.  They didn't have to come find me once!  After church was over I walked out into the foyer to find her running around by her dad and giving him high fives.  Apparently she liked nursery as much as mom liked her going!  

Nash's first attempt at straight teeth

Yesterday I took the kids to the dentist for their well check.  All went well - no cavities.  We did have to talk about Nash and his horrendous anterior cross bite.  Our dentist, Dr. Gehring, gave us several options.  #1-try pushing the front tooth out with a Popsicle stick (we tried this several months ago & from the picture below, you can see it didn't work...at all).  #2-Try a retainer (that can be removed...you can see where my thinking is headed, right?) or #3-Place two braces on both his front teeth, build his back molars up with resin, put braces on his back molars so that rubber bands can be placed, which will close the gap between his front teeth and pull the front tooth out in front of the bottom tooth.  According to Dr. Gehring, a retainer and the braces would cost roughly the same ($600-$700).  My thought was that if I'm spending that kind of money I don't want a retainer that comes out, can get lost or broken just to have to replace it.  My other thought was that since our orthodontic benefits are 50/50 up to $1,000 per life time, I don't really want to use it up on something that is considered a temporary fix until he gets a full set of braces.  So, I called my dentist, Dr. Lambert, who I've seen since I was a kid, my sister worked for him & he was the one who performed my sister's marriage ceremony (in short, a very trusted family friend).

Here is what Nash's bite looked like when he went in to see Dr. Lambert today.  You can see the bottom right tooth is in front of the top right tooth.  You can also see that killer gap between his two front teeth (also known as "Nash's favorite place to hold his sucker").

Dr. Lambert told me we had three choices.  #1-A retainer (a removable one again) #2-build up his front right tooth with resin to push it out in front of his bottom right tooth.  Or, #3-Popsicle stick (again, didn't work).  I told Dr. Lambert what Dr. Gehring had suggested.  Dr. Lambert told me that yes, we could do that, he'd just send us over to an orthodontist.  I'm not too keen on seeing an orthodontist right now because I think that an orthodontist is going to want to do something that's going to cost me an arm and a leg that will only be a temporary fix until he gets a full set of braces.  I asked Dr. Lambert if he felt like it would avoid a full set of braces if we did the two brace idea that Dr. Gehring suggested.  Dr. Lambert kind of chuckled and said, "No.  This kid is going to need a full set of braces."  Dr. Lambert told me that if Nash was his kid, he'd do the resin build up on his front right tooth.  I asked him what that would cost us.  He told me that it would run about $80.  (I'm thinking that sounds a LOT better than $480 right about now.)  Dr. Lambert told me if we wanted to wait a few minutes he could put the resin build up on his tooth in about 15-20 minutes.  I looked at Travis and told him I thought that was the best idea.  So, we stuck around and now Nash has a slightly different colored resin build up on his front right tooth.  Another bonus to this vs. the two brace idea is that the resin build up should only be on about 3 weeks vs the two braces would have been three months.  We will have to go in and see Dr. Lambert about every 4-6 days until his tooth has moved all the way.  Each time we go in to see Dr. Lambert he will shave a bit of the resin off so that Nash can bite down more.  Once his tooth has moved completely the resin will come all the way off and he shouldn't have the cross bite anymore!  

Here is what Nash's bite looks like now:

It's a little hard for Nash to eat because he can't bite down all the way.  We did spaghetti for dinner tonight so it was something that would be pretty easy for him to practice with.  Lucky for him it's only about 3 weeks.  Unfortunately, it's smack dab in the middle of Thanksgiving time!  Poor planning on mom's part.  Oh well, we'll survive. :)  My mom asked me if I had taken Nash to see an orthodontist at all and get an opinion from them.  I told her I hadn't yet but that I would call Dr. Belnap (who did my siblings' braces) in January and make an appointment for Sam (who's missing a permanent I tooth), Nash (for the impending full set of braces), Caleb (for his horrific under bite & impending ordeal there), & possibly Brookelyn (who's baby teeth are so crowded and crooked right now it's ridiculous)!  I was hoping that we'd outgrow our visits to the ENT before we had to start visits to the orthodontist.  Doesn't look like we quite made it!  Oh well, my kids will eventually have beautiful (and expensive) smiles!