Transition to # 3

How's it been you ask? Not too bad and at other times I'm terrified to be left alone. When Cherie was here it was great and I felt like three wasn't too bad until I realized that she was providing my children with all the attention they needed. When she left that evening Spencer was tired and cranky. I was trying to feed Miles and he wanted me to hold him. He tried to sit on Miles and push him away. Then he tried hitting him to which Chris caught his hand before it made contact and then he tried biting Miles to which luckily he only got blanket. AHHHHHH! So far that has been the worst of Spencer. Since then he's been a little rough but no hitting or biting the baby but he has bitten me and Jared a few times (almost drawing blood on Jared's back!)

The roughest transition has been for Jared which surprised me. Ever since Miles was born Jared's been acting out and not being quite himself. He's been more violent (kicking, hitting, and throwing objects), made more messes, and done things right after we tell him not to do it. He's intentionally done things that he's known is wrong and then lied about it. He gets in trouble quite often and I hate getting after him so much. I've made several goals to be more positive with him but then he does something I can't let slip by. I can't wait for this phase to end.

Here's one of the worst things he's done: I put him in time out for something (he has to sit on the toilet until the timer goes off) I heard the water running in the bathroom so I told him he now had to go downstairs to timeout and sit on his bed (the next level is the downstairs toilet after his bed).

Well after time out he came upstairs and I didn't notice for a long time but his rear end was completely soaked along with the bottom of his shirt. Too wet to be pee. I asked him what happened. He said he dumped water on the bathroom floor and sat in it. I asked him what he used to transport the water. He said a pink cup. I knew did not have access to a pink cup and told him so to which he replied a blue cup. More believeable since it was in the tub. But when I went to the bathroom it was in the corner where I left it that morning and there was no water anywhere, hmmm....

I had him come show me where he dumped it and he picked a spot. I told him I knew he didn't dump water there and he'd better tell me the truth. To which he said his Mario blanket. GREAT! That means the bed. We went downstairs and he'd dumped grandma's water bottle all over his bed when he was in time out. He knew what he did was wrong and so he lied to try and avoid the consequences. He was in time out for five minutes for this crime! He cried pretty hard too because he knew I was not happy.

Another obstacle we're trying to tackle is bed time. Spencer has learned how to get out of his locked room. All he has to do is shake it long and hard enough and out he comes. I'm terrified to be left by myself at night times. Luckily the only night Chris has had to work late the boys were so tired they didn't complain or fight going to bed and Miles was sleeping while I laid them down. Chris has made mention how he needs to start working more again so I guess I need to figure out a new lock situation to confine Spencer to his room. Poor Jared is so tired at night since he doesn't take a nap but is kept awake by Spencer either jabbering or escaping.

So the above portion was written last week or earlier so here's another update. We're still in transition but things are smoother. Jared isn't acting out as much and being more of my helper. Sometimes he gets sick of it and tells me he's not a good boy as his excuse to not do something. Also with school this week he did a lot better. He still doesn't want me to leave but I can leave easier and sooner than I was able to last week. In fact on Thursday when I told him I was leaving he started to say, "Can you stay for a bit..." and then stopped and said, "No I'm okay you can go. Will you come back?" "You bet!" was my response and I left quickly.

Spencer is doing better as well but still trys biting at times. In fact there's a couple times I see Spencer go in for a chomp at Jared and I yell to Jared to run away from him before he gets him. Bed time is still a challenge but we'll get through it.Both boys still love Miles. I thought the novelty would wear off but they are still very much in to him. Whenever I lay Miles on the floor Jared goes and lays by him and touches his lips. Spencer also loves to lay by him but Jared will lay by him for several mins and even fall asleep by him. Jared and Spencer both love to hold Miles (but not if he's poopy) and love to help me burp him. Spencer goes to town burping him and does a decent job.

It is getting better but it's still hard at times but I LOVE my boys and I'm so grateful Miles is part of our family. I may paint a negative picture for a lot of people that ask how it is. But just because there are hard moments doesn't mean I don't enjoy my life and situation. There are soooo many pay days, just today Jared came up to me and said, "I'm proud of you mom, you're a good mom." Melt my heart! I love you Jared, Spencer, and Miles!!!

And for the record, Miles is still Kevin to Jared.

Miles

It's been a month already! Yesterday was the 25th and so was his one month check up. He's perfect and healthy. Here are his stats:

Height: 21 in 25%
Weight: 9 lbs 14 oz 50%
Head: 35 %

It's so weird to have a baby be below 50% in some areas. He's going to be my little runt (I know he's not that small just smaller than my other two) but we'll keep cheering he grows fast through the years. We're hoping all boys will surpass Chris' 5'8'' height :)
Below is Miles hours after he was born. Love this little man!

First Bath at home:

(Keep in mind when reading this I started this post I think last week.)

When Miles was first born I couldn't decide who he looked like. Although you can tell definitely tell he belongs to our family I have to say he already has a different look than my other boys. In fact I see more Bingham in him than I ever did of my other boys (mind you it's small but I see a little bit.) With the other two it was all Meservy and I didn't see any Bingham at all (besides the ear lobes). I think it's in the eyes where I notice the most difference. Both of my other boys had very similar eyes but Miles' are just a little different. There are times I swear I see a little bit of my brother (mind you I think he still looks Meservy I just little glimpses where I see some bits of Bingham in him.) One Bingham trait he may have is curly hair. It's too soon to say but his hair is waving up when wet just like Spencer's did at this age. It'd be fun if he gets curly hair that has volume and texture like Spencer (there's lots of volume and curl found on my side that's for sure!)

Miles has been a pretty good baby. He's very patient with his brothers and sleeps fairly well most nights. My biggest complaint is he poops a lot and is a noisy sleeper so even though he may be sleeping he keeps me up a bit with his grunting and groaning :). He loves his baths. The first bath I gave him at home that wasn't a sponge bath he was in heaven. He pooped two or maybe three times each time right after I cleaned out his tub, and then when he was done he was in a daze. He looked so comfortable. He immediately went to the fetal position and just sat there and didn't move. I didn't want to take him out cause he looked so content and was even falling asleep. I bet it felt like home; that's what he'd known for nine months.

Miles will be one month next Friday. Crazy! I'll be interested to see his stats. At one week he was 7 lbs 5 oz (He left the hospital at 6 lbs 8 oz so he's a good eater) and 20 inches long. That put him in 50% for height and 25% for weight. I don't remember his head measurement but it was around the 30th percentile (I love small heads!) I just love this little guy and I'm enjoying his newness and wondering what kind of personality he'll add to our mix.

In Case You Were Wondering...

Monday's drop off went great. Jared walked right in and got busy coloring and Spencer had no problem leaving. In fact Spencer wanted to leave to go play on the playground.

Yesterday however, was not so swell. Jared did NOT want me to leave and constantly kept an eye on me. I tried many tactics even bribing him with m&ms but nothing worked. Finally he got distracted and I tip toed out with Miles and Spencer. I got around the corner and heard him screaming. I waited for a few seconds and then Jared bolted out the door. The teaching assistant tried to get him but he was too fast. I thought he was going to win and go home with me.

We made our way outside and I let Jared and Spencer play on the toys (I knew his class would be out soon). In less than five mins the class came. Jared ran around playing super heroes with some boys but every time I mentioned leaving he did not want me to leave. Finally I convinced him I needed to move the van before it was towed and he let me go. Now I had to pry Spencer away. He came kicking and screaming so I left with Miles in the car seat on one hip and a kicking and screaming Spencer on the other hip. I had to take several breaks before getting to the car so I could regain my holdings but we made it. Also I remembered half way through that I had the m&ms in my pocket and bribed Spencer with those. I hope I don't have too many more mornings like this one. I was there well over a half hour before leaving. I'll be sure to remember my forms of bribery because they at least worked for Spencer. As for Jared I have yet to come up with a solution so we'll take it one day at a time.

Today however, he did fine. I was there for under ten minutes and used the excuse that I had to go home and get ready for our picnic we would have after school. Am I going to have to come up with something fun to look forward to everyday after school? Time will tell...

I Miss You Already!

I seriously have the best mother-in-law. This time round I wasn't able to have my mom come help me out after Miles was born seeing she is serving a church mission. There's nothing quite like having your mom take care of you. You don't have to tell her what to do she does everything plus more and she already knows all my faults and weaknesses and loves me in spite of it all. I missed not having her.But... lucky me Cherie is my second mother and loves me in spite of me as well. I can be a difficult person to live with, just ask my husband, but Cherie never complained or commented on my bad days. She let me rest and nap when I needed it and carried Spencer whenever I needed it. Seriously by the end of the day I know she was worn out but she never complained. The only time she'd say anything is if we asked her if she was tired. She cooked, cleaned, changed dirty diapers (Spencer's are horrible!), made Spencer's AweSomE halloween costume (stay tuned) and loved my boys. We are all missing her, especially Spencer who spent most early mornings sleeping with her. I am so appreciative to this wonderful lady who gave me two exhausting weeks of her life to devote to our family. How did I luck into marrying into such a good family? I cried as I dropped her off at the airport on Saturday. She truly is a blessing to me and my family. We love you!!!

Roses are Beautiful... Thorns are NOT!

Our poor little Spencer learned this the hard way. While at a park this evening him and Jared were trying to pick a rose that was surrounded by a fence. The fence was about two feet high and while leaning Spencer leaned a little too far and flipped over. His face got the brunt of the punishment. His arms are also scrapped up but his face looks the worst. He really looks like he got in a fight with a cat. I hope these don't get infected or scar.

He's a pretty tough kid and cried under 30 seconds. Jared cried more when we told him we needed to go home and take care of Spencer's owies. We put medicine over the cuts when we got home and I did again when putting him to bed. Here is a before shot taken this morning before church. Boys...

First Day of Pre-K

My oldest is old enough to go to school! CrAzY! He's been so excited for this day for a Looooooong time. Last Monday we went shopping for a backpack. I don't know what got him in a transformers kick but he loves them and that's the kind of backpack we got.

For school supplies it was mainly things for the classroom (paper, paper towels, wet wipes, kleenex, ect.) His whole backpack was full. For the first day we had to park a couple blocks away. While walking, leaning forward to support his bag, he told me his bag was really heavy. I asked him if he wanted me to carry it and he told me, "No, it's too heavy." What a gentleman.

He wasn't too sure if he wanted me to leave but when the teachers asked the parents to leave he did just fine. The first day was only for an hour and afterwards I asked him how he liked it and he said he did but he didn't learn anything. A regular day is 2 1/2 hours M-Th and Fridays for the first half of the year.

The second day I took his friend Anna to school with him. When they got out of the car they held hands the whole way and skipped (Anna) and hopped (Jared) to their class room. He didn't even mind me leaving. The two days were a little harder for him. He asked me to stay for a little bit and on Friday he said he wanted to go home. He's a confusing little boy. All morning he's asking to go to school and once we're there he's hesitant. I'm sure it's that I have to leave that's the hard part for him. But when I come and get him he's always really happy and ready to go the next day.

Also worth noting, Cherie (Chris' mom) was with us so I was able to leave Spencer and Miles with her for the first few days and I brought Spencer with me a couple times to try and ease us all into this new experience. I don't know how I'm going to do it all by myself tomorrow with Miles and Spencer. I hope Jared will be willing to go and let me leave and that Spencer will be able to leave Jared at school without kicking and screaming because there is no way I'm going to be able to carry him and a carseat at the same time. Wish us luck tomorrow!