Busy, Busy, Busy

The last week or so has been so hectic! Our daycare provider was out of town for over a week so we had to rely on the grandmas to help out. We were so grateful they could come to Minnesota to help us. During this time I had conferences for 3 nights and Kyle was working some nights. Needless to say, Macalan had a more difficult time with the disruption in his schedule. He is really showing the signs of being almost 2. He lets us know when he is not happy!
Here are just a few of the funny things he has been doing lately:
When asked to say I love you he says "love me."
He tattles on mom and dad. A trait he received from his dad! When Kyle was little he used to tell his daycare lady that his mom locked him under the sink and then he'd go home and tell his mom that the daycare lady was locking him under the sink. Macalan likes to say "Daddy, Mommy hit me in the head" or "Mommy, Daddy hit me in the head." How awful is that! I hope we don't get reported because of this!
He still loves to sing and dance. I really need to get a video of this posted.
He can count to about 15, but makes a few mistakes here and there.
He repeats just about anything he hears, so we have to be very, very careful!
Sutton, on the other hand, continues to be such an amazingly easy baby! I can't believe he will be 5 months old on Friday! He is talking so much and I think he might be cutting more teeth. He has tried to get on his side, but I think his chub is getting in the way. We are still working on sitting up, but his smile is in full force!
With the crazy schedules we have had lately I am looking forward to the next few days that I have off. After I finish up a clinical for one of my grad classes tomorrow I will have until Monday off! I can't wait to clean my house and spend some quality time with the boys dying Easter eggs and playing outside in this beautiful weather.

St. Patrick's Day

I tried to get some good pictures of the boys in their St. Patty's Day shirts from Grandma Rueter, but they wouldn't cooperate at the same time! Macalan was mad that Sutton was in the bumbo chair. He said "No, my chair!" Then I couldn't get Sutton to look at the camera. Next we tried having Macalan hold Sutton in his lap. Well, Sutton threw up and kept sliding out of Mac's arms. Oh well! Here are a few of the pictures we did get.
On a different note....we got an offer on our house today. Unfortunately, they offered $30,000 off of our asking price. I couldn't believe it when I heard that. Apparently the parent's of this couple said it was a buyer's market and they should go really low. We'll see if they come back with a better number.

Sticker Fun

Here are just a few funny pictures of Macalan playing with stickers. I think more ended up on his face than on the paper!

Half Way There!

On Saturday I took my Reading Specialist test at MSU. I thought my classes and studying had adequately prepared me for this test , but now I'm not so sure! It was much harder than I thought it was going to be. I just pray that I pass it the first time so I don't have to pay another $120 to take it again. To look on the bright side I am officially half way done with my master's program. I will be one happy lady next year at this time :)
Kyle has been working on getting his realtor's license for the last month and half or so. All he needs to do is pass the state portion and finish up one more class and he will be a realtor! If you need someone to sell your house and you're in the Mankato area give him a call! It will be so much better for our family life once all of our classes are done. We are both very excited to come home at night and not have to study or do homework.
Speaking of selling houses, we might be close to selling ours! A couple came through our house today and loved it. They just want to look at a few more in another town to compare. Our realtor has seen all of the houses they will be looking at and I guess they don't hold a candle to our house. As bittersweet as it will be to sell this house, I think we are very ready to move on to something different. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!

Easier Bedtime!

Finally, after months of having to stay with Macalan in his room until he was asleep, he is putting himself to sleep without mommy or daddy! I feel like I finally have more time at night to get things done around the house and ready for the next day, not to mention a little more time to relax. I enjoy snuggling with him, but there were some nights when we spent almost an hour with him until he was asleep.
We got him a big boy bed this summer in preparation for Sutton's arrival. Since then he needed all of this help falling asleep. That was hard for Kyle and I because he had been able to put himself to sleep for the longest time. I hate to say that in order to get him to do it I've been telling him a white lie. Every night this week I have tucked him in and told him, "Mommy's going to put Sutton in his crib." "I'll be right back to check on you." He then says, "okay mama." Usually he cries for a couple of minutes, but I can't believe how much faster he falls asleep now that he's not distracted by us being in his room. I hope continues to cooperate! I certainly love having added time to my evenings!

On a different note, I really wish my phone could upload videos! I have a hilarious video taken tonight of him dancing to the Cars soundtrack. This weekend he was dancing like Pee Wee Herman and tonight he looked like he was playing the air harmonica! Maybe he'll be on American Idol someday! :)

Brotherly Love

Last night Sutton was enjoying some tummy time and Macalan thought he would join him on the floor. They are so sweet together. I love watching them interact. The best is when Sutton smiles and laughs at his big brother.
They are both so different. Macalan is our dramatic, funny kid and Sutton is our more serious, mello child. Macalan has been doing head stands lately. I was glad I caught a picture of him doing it. He loves having everyone's attention! Sutton is happy to just lay back, relax and take it all in. Kyle and I commented last night on what understanding and sweet eyes Sutton has. Everyday I thank God for giving me such a wonderful family.

Changes for Sutton

Sutton has been waking up this past week in the middle of the night. He hasn't settled down unless I feed him so I decided to try cereal tonight hoping it will help him make it through the night again. I have been spoiled because he has been sleeping through the night since he was about six weeks old.
Well we gave it a try, but he only got a few bites. He had a hard time swallowing and keeping it in his mouth. I can't blame him though, it is so different from drinking from a bottle! We'll keep trying and I'm sure it will get better soon. It is hard not to compare him to Macalan with everything he does. I remember the first time Macalan had cereal he was a little messy, but he ate the entire bowl and kept most of it in his mouth.
It seems we have had a lot of changes lately with Sutton, besides just trying cereal. I discovered last weekend that he was cutting both of his bottom teeth! After checking tonight it looks like the one on the right has broken through and the left tooth is almost through. Now that he has teeth I suppose it is a good thing that he has been nursing less and less. I'm feeling a little guilty and depressed about this. I really wanted to nurse him until he was at least six or seven months, but I am just not producing enough for him. I gave up pumping a few weeks after returning to work. It was a hard choice, but I wasn't being productive during my prep and after school time, which was making me have to stay later and later. My time with my boys is precious and I hated picking them up late from daycare and having no time to play or spend quality time together. It's bad enough I have to miss one whole night with them each week because of my grad class. I guess being a mother means making hard choices and just doing the best you can for your kids. I just keep having to tell myself I am doing the best I can and everything I do, I do for them. It's too bad you can't get paid and get health care benefits to stay home and raise your kids!

First blog posting!

I have really enjoyed reading the blog postings of other people so I thought I would create one for our family. Since the birth of Sutton I have had a really hard time staying on top of sending out emails with updates and pictures. Hopefully this will hold me more accountable so our friends and family who don't live near us have a chance to see what is going on in our lives and watch our amazing little boys grow and change!