Nuk Fairy

Tyler and Brody went to their first dental appointment a few weeks ago.  They did great and got a good report from our new dentist (whose office is within walking distance from our house.  The kids actually rode their bikes there while I pushed Greyson in the stroller).  I took them the week before to watch Hunter get his teeth cleaned so they knew what to expect.  Then when it was their turn Tyler went first and was a champ the whole time.  He wasn't afraid and did what the hygenist asked him to do.  When it was Brody's turn he was a bit more hesitant and wanted me to sit with him for the initial part of the exam.  After about five minutes he got the courage to sit by himself.  At the end of the appointment the dentist asked me if they sucked their thumb and I had to admit that they still took a Nuk at bedtime and naptime.  He said it was evident and that it was time to take them away.  He showed me their bite (especially Brody's) and how the Nuk is affecting it.  Immediately when we got home I snipped the tips of the Nuks (a suggestion made by the dentist) and braced myself for what was to come.  At naptime Brody (of course) noticed it right away.  He showed it to me and I acted super happy and told him how exciting it was that the Nuk Fairy had come and done that because she believed that he is a big boy now and doesn't need that Nuk.  I also told him that he was free to sleep with it as it was and when he was ready to give it up then the Nuk Fairy would return and bring him a present!  Tyler completely blew my mind and walked over to the dresser, set it on top and said, "I'm ready!"  Brody on the other hand started crying.  He kept saying, "That Nuk is broken.  I want a new one!"  I told him that the Nuk Fairy had done that to all the Nuks.  More crying.  He chose not to sleep with it and cried for at least a half an hour until he finally fell asleep.  When they awoke Tyler asked where his present was.  I had to explain that the Nuk Fairy only comes at nighttime and that if they were truly ready to give up their Nuks then there would be a present for them in the morning.  Sure enough, both boys went without their Nuks again at bedtime and that evening the Nuk Fairy came back and they got their gifts.  They were delighted but for a few days after this episode Brody continued to talk to me about his Nuk at naptime and bedtime usually saying, "Where's my Nuk?"  So I would have to remind him.  He looked sad but didn't cry after that first day.  A few days later one of them found a Nuk hiding in the couch in the toy room and it was still in tact.  They brought it to me right away and I told them that the Nuk Fairy must have forgotten that one.  I said, "Do you think we should draw the Nuk Fairy a picture with a note on it so that she could take that one too?" and they agreed.  This picture is of them drawing their picture to the Nuk Fairy.

Greyson's new shoes

Greyson is so close to walking and since the weather is changing we decided it was time for his first pair of shoes.  They say that it's best to learn barefoot but I disagree if it's cold outside!  Besides, he has been getting lots of practice this summer without any shoes.  He walks holding onto only one finger of one hand but once I let go he free-stands for up to 30 seconds and then gives up, lets himself down and crawls to wherever he wants to be.  Robeez shoes are so great for this stage and I loved the Oscar ones.  He looks adorable with them on.  Don't you just love the fuzzy eyebrows?

Family visit

At the end of July/beginning of August my family came to visit for 10 days and we all had sooooo much fun together! Of course it wouldn't be a "Stenen" vacation without it being jam-packed full of activities. So, to start we all spent some time swimming and rock climbing at the Y. Hunter tied his personal best so he was happy with that.  Even Tyler and Brody got in on the action and did some "bouldering."  Cousins Anthony and Bella went up as well.  Even Uncle Mark gave it a go!  Next up, Hunter went to the EAA Air Show with his cousin Anthony, Auntie Jen and Uncle Darrin. A very hot summer day but fun nonetheless.  Anthony is big into planes so he was in heaven!  Then we all spent the next three days in the Dells. The highlight (of the entire summer in Hunter's opinion) was Noah's Ark. He had an absolute blast riding all the waterslides he could. He only backed down on one, "The Point of No Return," which as rumor has it is so steep that you don't even touch the slide for part of the ride. It's like a free-falling body slide. NO THANK YOU! I was kind of happy he chose not to go down it. Pretty scary. We all really liked the new slide called "Quadzilla."  You get to race up to three other people, which was super fun.  The day we were there it started out a little cold, rained for a little while around lunchtime but then cleared up and ended up being a beautiful day.  All that led up to a relatively empty park so short lines so we were happy!  We also went mid-week so that helps.  While in the Dells we also did The Army Ducks (a Wisconsin Dells must), mini golf and Go Karts. It was a very fun time had by all. Once we returned home we spent the next few days bonding with my Dad. We all went out on the boat and hung out on the beach the first day. That was followed up by a trip to a really fun park in the area and finally a Brewer Game where Hunter was able to march with the Scouts around the warning track. Hunter spent some quality time fishing with his Grandpa which he thoroughly enjoyed.  Especially the part where Grandpa took him shopping for some new lures.  He was loving that!!!  Even Grandma Ruthie joined us later on in the week. So so much fun!!!

Sweet moment

This morning, like most mornings, I had a hard time getting out of bed.  When I heard the twins  jumping in their cribs I dragged myself over to their room, let them out so they could go use the bathroom and stumbled back to my bed for a few more minutes while they did their business.  A while later I heard Greyson's mobile playing music.  Mind you, my understanding was that Greyson was still sleeping after having woken up at 5 a.m. to nurse and my tucking him back in afterwards.  So when I heard the music coming from his room I immediately got out of bed to see what was going on.  What I saw was Tyler hanging from outside of Greyson's crib reaching up to wind up his mobile for him.  I said, "Aw, are you playing music for your little brother Ty?"  And pointing to it he said, "Yeah, I twinkled that on."

Whew! What a summer!

You can tell how fast this summer has gone.  I haven't blogged since June!  This is hands-down the fastest summer ever.  Hunter started out with a week of a summer school "class" called "Mad Science" followed up with two weeks of "Incredible Edibles" (where he learned how to cook simple recipes) and "Spy Kids."  Then he had two more weeks of "Survivor" and "Chess."  These classes took up our mornings for all of June and half of July (8 a.m. until noon).  Then my family came to visit from Arizona and Florida for two weeks and we did all sorts of fun things with them (more on that later).  Hunter has been taking golf once a week all summer long and was in baseball during June and July (twice a week).  I've decided that next summer we are going to do minimal activities.  I might be hearing, "Mom, I'm bored!" a lot but I'll take the trade off.  Too much running around!  And that's for ONE kid!  I can't imagine what it will be like when all four of them are in sports and activities.  Ay ay ay!  He's been having fun though, no doubt!  With school around the corner I am caught between feeling happy to headed toward a more predictable routine and schedule and sad about sending Hunter away for most of the day five days a week.  I like having him around and am going to miss him.

Vase

Hunter: "Brody, don't touch that vase!"
Brody:  "But I want to!"
Hunter:  "It's very very breakable.  Don't touch it!"
Brody:  "Why?  It's pretty!"
Hunter:  "Well, don't!  Mom probably got it on a whole nother continent or something."

Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse

To celebrate Tyler and Brody turning three we went with a Mickey Mouse birthday party.  I really enjoyed planning this one.  There were plenty of ideas out there to help me execute a fun event!  Three cheers for Pinterest!
Let's start with the goody bags!  These were so simple to make and yet soooo cute!  They each contained a small bouncy ball with stars, a Mickey Mouse Cake Pop (not simple to make) and a BPA-free plastic Mickey cup (thanks Laura!).  They also all got to take home the Mickey Mouse ears I made for them.  I even made a Minnie Mouse one for Callie!
 I made them these adorable (if I do say so myself) Mickey shirts to wear.  Our friend Sara asked at the party if I ordered them off of Etsy so I guess they looked pretty professional!  They were relatively easy to make.  However, I left them until the last minute so I was up sewing them together at midnight the night before.  It was worth it because they loved wearing them! 

For food we had Donald's Cheese and Quakers, Oreo Mickey's, Hot Diggety Dogs (and brats), more Cake Pops, Pineapple Pretzel Salad, Cucumber Hummus, Veggie Pizza (thanks Laura!) and a fruit tart that I forgot to put out and ended up eating myself the few days following the party.  AGH!

The cake was so cute!  They loved that too, especially eating it!

We sang Happy Birthday to each of them separately (like we always do) but when we first sang to Brody (he was born first) Tyler helped him blow out the candle.

To go with cake we had ice cream (also a hit)!

We didn't have any organized games and that was good because organized games = stressed out mommy as we learned from the Ninjago party.  It was a hot summer day so we just filled the kid pool, put out some squirt guns, had the wiggly sprinkler going, put up the bounce house and the kids all had a crazy good time. 

We opened presents while listening to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse CD.  After lots of assembling (thanks Dad!) they played with their new big wheels in the driveway while all the other kids fought over all the other riding toys.

The birthday boys were so happy with their party!