Easton::4 Months

4 months! Time is flyin' by!
It's hard now to imagine what life was like before Easton was born. It's like he's always been here.

Okay. Like I always say, Easton is HUGE. Seriously. My back is killing me! He is really heavy. Now I have the numbers to prove it. He's tall and big. 27.5 inches to be exact, and 23 pounds 8 ounces. Holy Moly. That's over 100th percentile for weight and 100th percentile for height. Did I mention my back is killing me? I seriously started doing sit ups the other day because I just don't have the core strength to pack him around, not to mention hauling him in and out of the car and in and out of the grocery store in his car seat. Can't wait until he can sit up on his own so we don't need the car seat anymore. I've started using the ergo carrier a lot more in lieu of the car seat, but it's hot here and he gets uncomfortable sooo, there's issues. But we love him. He is healthy and growing and learning and I think he's perfect just the way he is!

He is love, love, loving the door-way bouncer. He just bounces and bounces and bounces. He still loves baths and his brothers and going for car rides. (good thing because we have a long one coming up!)
He's starting to "play" with toys and he still refuses any kind of fake nipple. Won't take any kind of binki, won't drink out of any kind of bottle or sippy cup! We're gonna maybe try a spoon with food on it soon!!! We'll see. I have a feeling he'll reject the rice cereal, but we're gonna try it soon.
Easton laughs and smiles all the time especially when Daddy and brothers play with him.

Here's our big boy at 4 months!

Tissue Paper Window

We finished our big project. I should rephrase that. I finished the big project. The boys helped at first but weren't real thrilled with gluing pieces of tissue paper all over the window. That's okay.
This window is in our dining room turned school/craft room. I really like it, but have no idea how difficult it will be to remove. I'll have to blog about that eventually. For now, it's staying right there!

Kid Quotes::Vol. 23

Brendan crawled up on my lap for some hugs...


Me: Oh, you're getting so big. That's it. I don't want you to get any bigger!

Brendan: I'm sorry, Mom, but I have to. It's the only way I'm going to be able to have any kids. I can't marry an adult when I'm this little. I'd be to little to dance.

Kid Quotes::Vol. 22

...
Setting: Teeth brushed, jammies on, books collected, getting tucked into bed....


Wyatt: I'm super duper hungry.

pause, pause, pause......... (I do a lot of that)

Wyatt: What do you think you can do for me?

I just laugh all the time.

Mario's First Blood

I apologize for the title. Wyatt himself named it and he often goes by the name "Mario" these days. We had an adventure last night! Let me start from the beginning....

I spent the majority of the day trying to get the kitchen cleaned up. It took me all. day. By the time it was cleaned up, it was time for making dinner. Of course, I had a really messy dinner planned. Carne Asada Tacos with all the toppings. So I made a huge, huge mess. :) It was delicious. Often times, since having Easton and Rand working more, the dishes wait until the kids have gone to bed. After dinner Rand plays with the big boys, and I'm on fussy Easton duty. Last night, the big boys decided to play a little Pictionary Jr. before jumping in the pool. Swimming is almost always included with the evening activities. I called my mom while I bounced around the house with E-boy. After a while I see the boys all getting out of the pool and Wyatt was crying. Not a huge surprise. If anyone is going to be crying it is Wyatt. He's just more sensitive and cries the most easily. I figured he was just mad about something. Rand pokes his head in and asks me to get off the phone because Wyatt got hurt and he needs help. I grab some paper napkins and go check it out. His chin was all bloody. I wrapped him up and brought him in to lay down on the couch so I could look at it better. Yep. It was split right open. I was sure it needed a stitch or two to get it back together to heal right. Apparently Wyatt jumped into the pool, from the edge, feet first, but he jumped towards the ramp that is at the shallow end of the pool. Smacked his chin right on the ramp. Ouch!
So Rand gets on the computer to figure out which closest hospital is also insurance compatible while I get Wyatt dressed and as much food off the table and in the fridge as I can before we rush out.....all while holding fussy Easton. Have I mentioned he's gotta be 20 lbs? My back is killing me.
As luck would have it, I managed to shatter a bottle of apple cider vinegar all over the floor while I'm doing all this. Fantastic! So I put Brendan on Fussy Easton duty while I tried cleaning it up really fast. Grabbed the mop and got the glass, and out the door we went. I smelled awesome I might add.
So we got there. It was fast and easy. The nurses looked at it, put a bandage on with numbing medicine for about 30 mins. Doctor came in and looked at it. Decided he could just glue it back together and no stitches were needed. Wyatt was really brave and really happy to not have to get "strings". No getting his face wet for 5 days though! You'd think the story was over, but no. Instead we came home at 9:30pm to a house reeking of vinegar, a really sticky kitchen floor and massive amounts of dishes to do. I got Easton to bed and then got to work. Went to bed at 11.
I'm hoping for a better day today.
OH! I have pictures! No, I didn't think to take my camera, but my phone worked just fine!

Color

News Flash: It's hot here. We are smack dab in the middle of summer. It's hot. 112 today. The humidity is up. I know 40% doesn't sound like much humidity to my Kansas and Pennsylvania friends, but when you're used to 4 or 6% humidity you can really tell a difference. I do NOT want to go outside. I don't even want to go out to the garage. It's just no fun when it's this hot. I try to think of it like winter in the NW. It's no fun going out and about in the rain....it's just the opposite time of year (I personally think I can tolerate rain better than heat). So we stay in more and get out the art supplies. Gotta get creative because we can only draw so many Star Wars pictures. So I found some ideas on The Crafty Crow and we got to work.

First we made some "color cakes". I've got to think of another name for them because the name implies that they are food, and they are not. Color discs or something. We have lots of broken, used up crayons and this was a fun thing to do with them. I got an old muffin tin at GoodWill to use for this purpose.

Wyatt thinks they're really cool

Good for little hands and good for rubbings!

Then, we did some marble paintings...except as it turns out I don't have a single marble. So we improvised and painted with little plastic balls instead. I want to try this project on a much bigger scale...outside...when the weather is better.

Next up: A tissue paper window collage!

Fun with the Simmons

Here's some pictures of us hanging out with our friends, The Simmons. We were there babysitting actually so their Dad could be with mom and baby at the hospital. Their baby, Caleb was born 4 weeks before Easton and has been having lots of trouble eating and gaining weight, among other things. They've been in the hospital for the better part of the last month. If you think of it, say a prayer for Caleb and the Simmons.

Brendan and Noah racing.

Julianne posing with her bike!

Noah doin' tricks

The gang, minus the babies

Wyatt's first date with Isabelle. He drove.

We thought Wyatt and Isabelle were so cute. Rand and I were imagining him a teenager taking a girl out to a movie or something. But when Isabelle got out she said, "Bye Dad." And Wyatt said, "Have a good day at school sweetie." Alright. Let's skip dating and go straight to parenthood! :)

Brendan and Wyatt going off-road.

There's my boy Easton. He just chilled in the stroller.

The What-If Game

We made up a game several years ago.  It's a car game. If you know us, we've spent a good chunk of time riding in the car with our little ones. As soon as Brendan started with the endless questions (maybe around 3 years old) this game was born. We still play it. It's fun to play even without the kids. Ya know...like when life is hard and you're tired of talking about it and stressing about it....insert the What-If game.
It's really simple. We go around the car, taking turns coming up with the most ridiculous "what-if" scenarios you can imagine.

For example, one from last night that I loved was from Brendan. "What if.....bunches of worms fell from the sky and when they hit the ground.... they started dancing!"
..And then we all oooo and awwww about how awesome that would be.

Next person.

Wyatt: "What if the whole world was jell-o?"

oooooo, that would be so cool!

-What if the ocean was a giant bowl of cheerios and the beach was a huge doughnut!?

-What if when we got home our house was full of water and we had to swim to our room and sleep on our floating beds!?

-What if the moon was the eyeball of a giant robot!?

-What if that mountain was a giant firework!?

-What if the sun came on like a light switch!?

-What if we could run as fast as our car!?

Go ahead. Try it! It's fun. :)

Kid Quotes::Vol. 21

This one had to get written down before I forgot it!

We were driving home tonight and the boys were thirsty.

Brendan: I wish a waterfall would come through my window and wash me out of this desert all the way to Washington. And then when I get there I would hug Nana to pieces.

Wyatt: (in total agreement) Yeah. I'm going to rip her to shreds!


I laughed all the way home about that one!

Mario Super Brothers!

(they keep calling it that, and now I'm starting to forget what they are really called!)

They can't help themselves. They are constantly in pretend mode. Unfortunately, I can't brag that they are acting out scenes from books or plays they have recently read. Nope. It's video games and movies. How many crazes have they gone through?? I'm glad I've been documenting them because I just about forgot about the whole Kung-fu phase they went through. Then there was dinosaurs, Spider-man and Hulk, Secret agents and Star Wars. We have officially moved on to the world of Super Mario Brothers. They got 2 new games in the mail and now they are non-stop in character. They have taken to wearing blue jeans and long sleeved shirts (green or red depending on who is Mario and who is Luigi) and even hats, Oh! and rubber gloves. And not just in our air-conditioned house either. Nope. Out in the car and out around the pool. When we went to the library yesterday I wouldn't let them wear the get-ups because I'm sure I could get my kids taken away from me if someone saw them in these outfits in the 115 degree weather! Oh my it is endlessly entertaining. Today I made them mustaches and they use very good Italian accents. I can't believe I'm posting this....

Poor Little Lizard

My kitchen has a huge window that overlooks the back patio and pool. So while I do dishes and get dinner ready I am often lifeguarding the big boys at the same time. Yesterday they were running around the pool (not swimming) pretending to be Mario and Luigi (their latest obsession thanks to a new Nintendo game someone special sent them in the mail). They were wearing crazy get-ups including rubber gloves. I was watching, making sure no one fell and bonked their heads on their way into the pool while they were running...I mean dashing... from one mushroom to another. Well I looked up and Brendan was standing in front of the window, dripping wet, holding this:

Good thing he already had on some rubber gloves! This little guy was at the bottom of the pool. He's actually the second one we've found. I figure a bird probably dropped him in the wrong spot! Luigi to the rescue!...except he was already dead. Poor little lizard!

Kid Quotes::Vol. 20

Rand called Brendan to apologize for being grumpy in the morning before work....

Brendan: (On the phone with Rand) Did you know you have the greatest kid? Because he ALWAYS forgives his mother and dad.


He's just the greatest kid! :)

Kid Quotes::Vol. 19

This is a good one!

note: we are driving to Washington for a summer vacation in a few weeks. we've been talking a lot about it!

Brendan: Mom, I want to ride in the U-haul first when we go to Washington.

Me: Bud, we aren't taking a U-haul.

Brendan: Oh yeah. Right. We aren't moving!

Me: Nope. Not this time.

Brendan: Well, I wish we were moving, you know why? So that I could play Mario Super Brothers all. day. long.

Brendan: Author and Artist

Brendan and Wyatt still draw pictures like there is no tomorrow. I have stacks. Every once in a while I have to go through the stacks and throw away recycle most of it. Well I ran across this book that Brendan wrote several months ago. I love this book! I plan on keeping it forever.

I'll let the pictures do the talking (my scanner isn't working, so I had to take pictures of the pictures).

The Shooting Plant
by Brendan M. Wagner

One time there was a shooting plant. A boy came.

Then the boy came to the plant. He was going to touch the plant.

 

But before he could touch it, it shot him.

Then the cops came to help. They picked off the pokes one by one.

Illustration close up! Cop (notice the "C" on his cap) running with twizzers to the rescue!

Cop picking off all the pokes one by one!

Now the boy felt much better. The boy learned a lesson.

Post-Baby Sewing!

**for Wagner Family Update scroll down**

Well, I think I just used my sewing machine for the first time yesterday since Easton was born. I got it out because we just don't have enough soft flannel baby wipes. I'm always out! So I ripped out something flannel that we aren't using and got to work on more wipes. While I was sewing away, I was thinking about my friend who is in the hospital with a very sick baby. I was thinking about the little guy fighting to gain weight and praying and wishing I could help or at least send flowers or something. And then I thought, 'Why don't I make some flowers?' So I put my boring wipes to the side and started making some flowers. I had a pretty good idea in my mind what I wanted to create, but a lot of times those are the worst to make happen. Better to come across a good idea and re-create it than try and make what is in my mind come to life. (At least for me it is) But, I think these turned out pretty good. Good enough to give, if you know what I mean. I used scrap fabric, buttons, wooden skewers, an apple juice jar and lid (I just knew these would come in handy someday...I have a hard time throwing away those cute glass jars!), and some sand that I had collected who knows when, from who knows where. **I have to apologize to Rand right here for making him pack that bag of sand around for the last 3 years. My craft box was much lighter after I took it out! I found some really cute rocks that I'm still hanging on to also, they're pretty heavy. Sorry Rand!!! :)