happy birthday, miss madison!!

three years ago yesterday, our little princess made her wide-eyed entrance into the world. (she was literally born with her eyes open!) normally for birthday posts, i like to share photos of birth, 1st birthday, 2nd birthday, etc. but hers are at home in the safe. whups.

so this one will have to do...

miss madison has been our little princess since she came into our lives. we've watched her grow from a tiny red squalling newborn to an active little girl... she's smart, keeping up with her big brother when it comes to learning letters and numbers. she looks up to cole, is sensitive to the needs and wants of remington, loves with a heart that is bigger than big and keeps us laughing with her humor. she's surrounded by boys: two brothers and three boy cousins... she keeps up with them just fine yet has started to show her girly side too. she's a tiny tiger at the ata with a whopper of a front kick! she's our baby girl, the princess of the house, and we couldn't have dreamed of having a sweeter little daughter. madi, you've brought incredible joy to our hearts! we're so proud of how smart, sweet and kind you are... thank you for being our little girl!

(*and we promise that we'll have cake and presents this weekend... we feel so badly that we had to put it all on hold!*)

white belt babies: it's official!

today cole and madison earned their white belts (officially)!! they also did quite well in class... someday, i HAVE to get video because these little kiddos (and the other one(s) in class) try SO hard to follow master jorgenson. they do a good job but let's face it: 3- and 4-year-olds are just not quite as coordinated as most adults. i can't help but giggle sometimes!

cole's demonstrating his high block and madi's just mad because she still has her shoes on.

cole and his white belt

grouchy squish and HER white belt... :)

i was able to chat with one of the employees (she's not an instructor, she sets up schedules, takes payments, that sort of thing) and she told me a little more about the class and whatnot. since it's world-wide (ataonline.com), we can find schools pretty much where ever life takes us... that includes one back home in appleton! she also said that because students are expected to conduct themselves the same way at home as in class, they are rewarded with patches and stars for their uniforms for jobs well-done outside of class, and when a problem arises, the instructors will sit down and discuss it with the kid(s). good to know...! i'm very pleased that we've decided to enroll the kids because the values and lessons they learn there truly do apply to the rest of their lives. and they're good values, ones that support our personal beliefs and the way we want to raise our kids. it's good to learn self-defense arts, but while they're still very young, they learn the core values and responsibility before focusing on the actual moves. and once remington's old enough (err, big enough?), i'm sure we'll put him in a tiny tigers class too!

that's all for now... not too much else is happening in our new neck of the woods. it's been cold and rainy since sunday night so the kids are developing a slight case of cabin fever. we'll go out tomorrow, even if it's only to little rock children's for remington's appointment. a change of pace usually is a good distraction!

white belt babies

cole and madison tried something new today: martial arts class!!

they didn't really understand what it was (although cole had some sort of idea...) but were excited to go learn "commercial arts" (according to cole) and "martial arks" (madi's version).

i found a place that's literally three miles from our apartment that offers "tiny tigers" classes- it's for kids who are between 3 and 6, and since madison is less than two weeks away from her 3rd birthday, she was able to join too. they have a special going on that includes three classes and the uniform for super cheap, so we decided that both kids might enjoy it.

remington looks like he's a tiny tiger too... :)

they learned to kick- madi's pretty flexible, i noticed!

they also learned to punch. there were some other things they were taught as well, but the most important things they'll be learning are discipline (self- and in general), self control, respect (manners!), following instructions and taking turns. i wasn't sure what to expect, since they're both usually pretty outgoing and when they're excited, don't focus at ALL... but by the end of their class, they were saying "yes, sir!" and returning to their designated spots on the mats. i was really impressed with how well they did, and they're so cute in their little uniforms! cole didn't want to leave, but after reassuring him that he will be coming back in a few days, he settled down very quickly. again, i was impressed- normally, his disappointment leads to a semi-meltdown (or at the very least, some very tearful shouting) but having just come out of his class, he was still in his self-control mode. THAT was awesome... and even just now, when i reminded them to use their manners please, cole said, "yes, ma'am" and madi echoed with "yes, sir". i think that this class will be very good for both the kids- they can burn off energy, learn basic self-defense and best of all, learn some very important life skills while enjoying themselves. i'm excited... we're eager to see how this plays out over the next few months!!

remington's big news!!

alrighty... this is the last part of my catching up! we'll start with january 2nd: that would be the day we left home. again. we headed south and a little west again, this time to little rock. we didn't get there in one day... with the kids, we decided it would be best to take two days. we made it to miner, missouri, where we stopped for the night. our three wonderful miniature travelers were happy to get out, stretch their legs and sleep in nice beds.

not sure what's going on here... must be a guy thing?

princess madison :)


somebody had the giggles

we got to our new place in north little rock/maumelle on tuesday around noon-ish. we signed the papers to get into our new place and then got the kids some lunch. the rest of the afternoon was spent unpacking, settling in, grocery shopping and making supper.

this is our new living room... i'm not a big fan of carpet (for sanitary reasons), but i LOVE the area rug! whoever decorated the corporate units did an awesome job. i'm head-over-heels with the red furniture.

our little dining room... carpeted too, which means vacuuming every day after supper, but that's not a big deal. granite table, leather chairs- classy!

one side of the kitchen

the other side of the kitchen. there's the dishwasher! it's more spacious than it looks, and i actually have more cupboard space than i need. such a nice change from home!

the rest of the apartment is just as nice- good solid furniture, two bathrooms, a balcony and storage space off of it, a washer and dryer inside a utility closet... it's nice. i love it. :)

this is what i caught rem doing this morning: resting on his elbows, sticking his rump up in the air. it was particularily exciting because of his motor delays AND he showed absolutely no signs of doing this yesterday. i was so happy... and then he did this:

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my friends, we have lift-off!!!! i cried. i literally cried, i was SO excited and happy! one of the things we'd discussed during his assessment the other week was a 6-month goal. what did we want to see rem doing by the time he was 15 months? crawling was the big one- crawling well, crawling far, crawling where-ever he wanted to go. until today, i was a little concerned about whether or not he'd reach that goal. what if it was unrealistic for him? was i setting us up for disappointment if he didn't reach that goal? considering most babies are crawling pretty well by 9 months, i figured that it would give him any extra time he needed to reach it... and i've been pleasantly surprised! mind you, he's not actually going anywhere yet, but he's never been up on all fours before, so this is BIG for him. and i know that he won't be crawling all over tomorrow- he may wait a few days or even a few weeks before attempting it again, but he's done it once and that gives us SO much hope that he'll catch up to where he should be in time. oh, my heart just is SO full of love right now... and, i sheepishly admit, pride. i'm so proud of our littlest man!

so there you have it... we're caught up. three posts already, and it's only january 5th. i'm off to a good start, hahaha! tomorrow will bring something new for madi and cole too- they're starting martial arts classes down the road! it'll be a trial run (they have a special on try-it classes... three classes plus the uniform for incredibly cheap! if the kids like it and the classes are affordable, we'll enroll them), and i'm excited about it. i think it'll be good for cole in particular: learning martial arts is not only beneficial for physical fitness, it also encourages self-discipline, following instructions, respecting others and self, all things that are good life-skills. i'll for sure post about it, hopefully tomorrow night. i'm going to be one of *those* moms, toting the camera to martial arts class. our poor kids... ;)

holidays, cousins and hospitals

one of the first things we did after getting back to wisconsin was to go to the farm. the kids were seriously missing grandma (and grandpa, too!) so the first saturday after we got back, we spent the day there.

mom had gotten a cute little snowglobe as a gift and the kids were all enthralled by it. remington kept a close eye on it- we could see the gears turning in his head... he was just itching to get his tiny fingers on it.
so as soon as he had the chance, he did!
one of the things that had been on my list for some time was to bake bread. i didn't get to make any while we were in tulsa so it was one of the first things on my "to-do" list after getting home.

one guess as to who's little fingers couldn't resist sneaking a little taste here and there! (it's becoming an undesireable little habit. sigh.)

a few days before christmas, elissa, logan and the boys came from montana!! it was the first time we were able to meet kase, so it was extra exciting.

kase (3 months) and remington (9 months). rem LOVES his little cousin! in fact, we thought that kase should just stay with us, because remington really reached for him. that's one of the things that he's fallen behind on for motor skills- reaching. but he didn't have any hesitations with kase.

baby chat. :)

baby hissy.

baby cheeks.

baby bum!!

babysitter??

hey, grandpa...

all the grandkids, minus bentley (he was napping). of course, i didn't get one shot where all 5 were looking (or even facing!) the same direction. but who cares- grandpa's in his glory, and we can see THAT!

mischief x 2...

naomi came for dinner saturday night too and got to indulge in some serious snuggling. :)

the day after christmas was remington's 9-month checkup. it was scheduled for just before noon, so i thought it would give us enough time to get up to green bay for a holiday dinner with kelvin's family. he took cole and madi in the truck and went a little early, and rem and i came later. he didn't get any vaccinations this time, but because he was still very underweight, dr h ordered a blood draw and a u-bag to collect a urine sample. he mentioned that in his conversations with the pediatrician remington had seen back in september, the subject of hospitalizing him came up but he didn't find it necessary to do so immediately. after everything was done, rem and i were on our way to green bay. i was lamenting that i'd forgotten my camera as we turned onto kandace and duey's street, and then my phone rang. it was dr h's nurse, calling to say that rem needed to be admitted to children's hospital at theda clark in neenah. after some discussion, tears, phone calls and quick greetings, rem and i headed back out the door to go home and pack a few things before going to children's. mom came after supper and stayed with rem and i at the hospital for a little bit. not long after being admitted, one of the nurses on the floor walked in and i thought she looked familiar... as it turned out, it was the nurse who'd been with us at new london when cole was born!! she was amazing... and it was great to see her again. :)

sleepy baby in his hospital crib.

bitty toes...

kelvin took cole and madi to mom and dad's the next day. they played with cousins while kelvin spent some time with rem and i (and i went back home for an eye exam). the poor kids were a little unsure about what was happening... i felt so torn between staying with remington and being with cole and madi.

smiles for daddy!

checking out daddy's phone. remington's sitting skills have improved greatly! before his checkup, he had an in-home assessment with a therapist through the birth-to-three program. his sitting skills were estimated to be at a 7-month level while the rest of his motor skills were collectively at a 3-month level. the therapist suggested a few things to encourage motor skill development and we've been trying to keep up on it as much as possible. but in a matter of just a few days, he was sitting with his hands down on his little legs or at his sides instead of his arms being straight out to the sides at shoulder-height. we see little improvements here and there, so that's promising. his intellectual capabilities didn't show any delay, which was great news.

poor remington- surrounded by toys but bored to the max. he literally didn't know what to do- he's so used to being on the floor for tummy-time, watching the older kids, squealing, smiling and finally kicking for a good part of the morning. kicking... that's another thing that has recently developed too- it was during our last week in tulsa that he first started bending his knees and kicking. at first it was when he was peeved, but that was fine with us, because it meant his legs weren't straight, stiff and crossed at the ankles. we'll take what we can get here!

fortunately, he got a little entertainment when auntie elissa and auntie sarah came to visit! kase came along too, but because of the visitors policy during cold and flu season, poor kase had to wait in the lobby area. elissa and sarah took turns sitting with kase while the other spent a little time with remington.

as he'll soon find out, auntie sa-sa's always good for a laugh! :)

(photo credit to elissa... credit on the "baby bum" photo goes to her, too. any photo i'm in, chances are the credit is elissa's. thank you!!)

eskimo kisses with auntie sarah :)

remington was released late-afternoon on wednesday... all that really happened was that he was monitored (his intake and output), the dietician met with us, they attempted to get him to take every kind of formula they had on hand there (he refused all of it... the only kind he'll accept is an organic one that i found in tulsa) and then was discharged after gaining about 6 ounces. once he got home, i attempted to continue to feed him more than he usually has, but by thursday morning, he showed a little less interest in food. he happily ate a few bites, but he was so full from laying around, sleeping and eating that he just didn't care much about food! not to say we didn't try our hardest, though- if he opened his mouth, we at least attempted to put something in it :)

happy to be out of the hospital... rem had a follow-up appointment with dr h on thursday afternoon. we didn't get to spend as much time with elissa and sarah as i'd have liked because of remington being in the hospital, so he and i went over to the farm to spend a few hours with them before they left. kelvin stayed home with the kids, who really needed a day in their own environment...

kissin' cousins... :)

we wish we could have had more time with everyone... but we have some great photos and wonderful memories from our time together to tide us over till next time. love you all!

tulsa!

we went to tulsa. we didn't blog (well, i did... just one post. no photos. shame on me.). we came back. and now i'm scurrying to catch up. i don't do resolutions, but if i did, one just might be to blog more often. ;)

anyway, our stay in tulsa was nice- we didn't get out much but we were all together and that's what matters! the first weekend in december, i did a photo shoot for a local family. it wasn't anyone i knew personally, it was an ad on craigslist i'd found and replied to. you can see a few images from this sweet little family's session here. we met at woodward park in tulsa and while i was busy doing my thing with the camera, kelvin and the kids hung out. we got there a little early so i caught a few photos of the kids too.

madison meets shakespeare!

the gardens there weren't in bloom (obviously), but we could tell that during late spring and early summer, they'd be magnificent!

remington got a short swing ride with daddy.

hello, bright eyes!

playing on blocks, chewing on blocks... potato, po-tah-to. either way, he's enhancing his motor skills!

this isn't what i had in mind when i asked cole and madi to put the trains away...

bathtime... never dull!

on the way back to wisconsin, we stopped at bass pro shop in springfield. kelvin has been there before and said we HAD to see it. so we did.

the kids LOVED the streams!

big baby kitty, little baby boy.

two kiddos in a tree!

so... we got to tulsa safely and got home safely. i'd intended to get a photo of cole in the elevator at the hotel we stayed at while we were there, but never got around to it. we stayed on the top (3rd) floor of this place and there was one elevator... it was glass so we could see out, and cole was convinced that we were living in a tower. i love his imagination! he'll have these magical memories of an ordinary place :)