So it has been one month since I last posted!

Where has the time gone? I always say I need to blog and time just gets away from me. Maybe if I put it in my cool new Ipod Touch calendar I'll remember.
So life has been busy!
I now have 2 jobs, I am still at the hospital as well as my new job as a high school nurse. I love my school nurse job, I have always wanted a school job, never thoughtI would want to do high school, but I think it is the perfect fit for me. It feels like it is where I am supposed to be. The school is great, the staff and students have been very welcoming and I think I could see myself there for possibly the rest of my career. (just have to pray for no budget cuts, since I am low man on the totem pole!)
The last month has also been a month of sickness in our house. All 3 kiddos have been going back and forth with colds, fevers, runny noses and stomach bugs. Livy is now the latest sicky kid, the poor thing is miserable. She is so congested and no matter how many boogies we suck out of her nose, there is a waterfall more of them to come. So we have done alot of cuddling, naps and Tylenol. We think she may also be finally teething which makes her even more miserable. Hopefully everyone is well soon since the good weather is right around the corner...although the next weeks forecast looks like snow everyday!

Tanner told me today that he loves Nana more than me " because when she is washing the floor and I ask for a snack she gets it right away and I don't have to wait" Gotta love the kid..but nana's are supposed to be more fun right?

Livy needs to be on a leash. Yesterday she was in the playroom and Scott and I were going to get lunch ready, so we closed the door to the back stairs so she couldn't climb them when we weren't watching and left her to play for 5 minutes. Well when Scott went to get her he couldn't find her, but could hear her. And guess where he found her..at the top of the back stairs!!! She had crawled from the playroom, through the living room, to the front hall, up the front stairs, through her bedroom to the back stairs and was yelling from there for help! So after we had a heart attack, we realized she needs to live in a gated community without access to anything!

So I have been slacking

We have been a very busy family lately so my time on the computer hasn't been as easy to come by.
We started homeschooling Braden for preschool on January 8th. He absolutely loves it. We set up a small classroom area for him in the office with his own backpack hook and everything. He loves "going" to school. Right now we do 2 mornings a week while Tanner is at school and in the fall we plan to do 3 days per week. I have been doing a lot of research into the Montessori method of teaching since Tanner has been thriving in a Montessori preschool. So Scott and I have decided to base the majority of our homeschooling on the Montessori method, but not strictly. It is tough some mornings to keep Livy from plowing into Braden while she goes around the office in her walker while we are at "school", but I figure if he can focus with that distraction than he will do well in public school :) Apparently she thinks that we are playing bumper cars and laughs hysterically while she bangs into all of us.

Livy stood up by herself without holding onto anything for the first time last week, only lasted a second but she did it. She has been trying to do it more, but with our hardwood floors it makes it a bit tricky. She has also graduated from the combat crawl to up on all fours crawling.

We also got a new addition to our family! A lab/springer mix who is 8 weeks old named Cooper. He looks just like a black lab. He is super cute and pretty well behaved for a puppy. We now get woken up by a dog crying instead of a baby! The kids absolutely love him, Livy crawls after him to pet and play with him, but isn't too fond of him going towards her to play. Tanner and Braden love playing with him and helping to take care of him. We had to tell Tanner to stop carrying him around the house because we were afraid of him hurting the dog by accident.

More Snow Pics!

First Big Snowfall of the Season!

From late Saturday night through Sunday we had a great snowstorm. The only reason it was great though was because I didn't have to drive in it! Luckily it didn't start snowing until I was almost home from work on Saturday night and then by the time I had to go back in Sunday the roads were pretty clear.
We got probably close to 18 inches maybe and had 3 foot drifts. It was hard to tell the exact amount with all the drifts. Of course all the 3 foot drifts were where I told Scott I would shovel while he did the snowblowing. I agreed to this before I went outside so I had no clue what I was getting myself into! Luckily the snow was light and fluffy so it wasn't too bad.
The boys had a blast playing in the snow! Tanner even helped me shovel. Poor Braden kept getting stuck in the snow because it was so deep. After the boys played for a couple hours outside they came in and hung out by the wood stove and enjoyed some hot chocolate! Perfect winter day!

My summer boys in the winter

So for some absurd reason my boys feel it is necessary to wear shorts and short-sleeved in this frigid New England weather. Thankfully I can get them to wear appropriate clothes when it is necessary to go out in public but at home it is a different story.
Today they were dressed in their t-shirts and shorts (Braden wearing 3 shirts, but all short-sleeved) and I was cold in the house wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants!

So Scott was heading outside to ready the snowblower and shovels for the storm and the boys wanted to go out with him but they were adament about not changing their clothes or wearing jackets. So Scott made them sign a waiver stating " I will be cold!" which they both signed and out they went ( Braden did add a winter hat and mittens to his outfit) Within minutes I witnessed them both shivering but trying to be strong since they said they would be fine without jackets. After about 5 minutes they did come in and retrieve their jackets and even with those they only lasted another few minutes outside with Dad!

I think this adventure helped proved the need for proper winter attire! (Although I bet they will dress in shorts and t-shirts in the morning even with a foot of snow on the ground!)

Livy and her motor skills..giving Dad and I gray hairs!

So Livy has decided she has a need to keep up with her big brothers and is EVERYWHERE! She can now climb the stairs from the family room to the playroom, has climbed out of her play tent and also decided to climb on the first step, lay down and almost roll off ( but Dad saved her!) She also pulls herself up to stand on the side of the tub.

She went for her 9 month well child check up and passed with flying colors. The doctor said she is hitting all the milestones she should and is still in the
50th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height (no wonder all her pants are short!) So she is now 18lbs 7oz and 28 1/2 inches long. Plus no vaccines this appointment!

We have a climber!

Livy has learned to climb and boy does she go fast!

The other day the boys were making a fort and had a pile of pillows and blankets on the living room floor. She went right for the pile and climbed up it in about 5 seconds, onto the ottoman and onto the couch! Yesterday at a friends house she even went to try to climb up the stairs.
She has also learned to pull herself up on the side of the tub. That was the first time she ever pulled herself up! I think she is trying to get at all her bath stuff in the tub. (my guess is she'll be falling in the tub next as Tanner did that one time around her age fully-clothed while we were filling up the tub!)
I can't believe my baby is already 9 months. After the holidays I am going to have to start planning her first birthday party:)