20 questions with Leyton

So I joined Pinterest last night. Maybe it was a bad idea, maybe it was a good idea. Bad idea because I don't want to get sucked in for hours and hours like I've heard from other people. Good idea because I've already found some great things that I want to do with my kids, recipes that sound delicious, and great ideas for Leyton and Jada's birthday parties this year! That being said, I found this idea on Pinterest and since it's pretty close to Leyton's 5th birthday, I thought I'd go ahead and start. The idea is to ask these same questions every year on [or close to] your child's birthday and see how they change over the years. Cute, huh?! Well, here goes!!

1. What is your favorite color? "Uh, blue and green...are you giving me a test??"

2. What is your favorite toy? "Racecars and bouncy balls!"

3. What is your favorite fruit? "Oranges and apples."

4. What is your favorite tv show? "Power Rangers Dino Thunder and The Fairly Odd Parents"

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? "Let's see, enchiladas...no, no, not enchiladas! Cut that out, cut that out!! It's Little Caesar's pizza and breadsticks and the Tomato Place's [Fazoli's for those who might be wondering] white sauce spaghetti."

6. What is your favorite outfit? "My batman pants and shirt."

7. What is your favorite game? "Mario baseball for the Wii and the Cars game."

8. What is your favorite snack? "I'm not gonna tell ya, ya have to guess! Fine, it's animal crackers and jelly beans."

9. What is your favorite animal? "Elephants!"

10. What is your favorite song? "The Power Rangers song at the beginning of the show." [He then attempted to hum the song to me because I have no idea what that song is. :)]

11. What is your favorite book? "Any kind of book, I guess."

12. Who is your best friend? "Micah B. and Micah M. and Cameron"

13. What is your favorite cereal? "Cinnamon toast crunch."

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? "Play baseball. And play soccer. Do all kinds of sports... baseball, soccer, football...all of 'em!""

15. What is your favorite drink? "Juice and milk and water." [This kid is indecisive like his mother!!]

16. What is your favorite holiday? "All of them are my favorite. How can I choose one?! They're all the best!"

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? "Buddy [his teddy bear we made at Build a Bear for his 2nd birthday] and snakey."

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? "Let's see, let's see. Cinnamon toast crunch."

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? "Cake and ice cream. That's it."

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? "A firefighter or a superhero."

I must say, this was quite fun. I hope I remember to ask these questions again next year!!

Easter

We had a great Easter weekend! We started the day off with a great church service, then headed to Greensburg to celebrate with my family. The majority of my family hadn't met Lyvia yet, so it was nice for them to finally get to see her. We had a yummy lunch then headed out to Gpa's for the annual Easter egg hunt.

We attempted to get a cute picture of the kids, but the sun was just too bright for their little eyes. This is the best we could do. I'll take it. :)

Leyton and Jada had a blast running around Gpa's yard "looking" for eggs. The didn't have to look far. The yard was covered in eggs. They could barely take a step without stepping on one. All the kids ended up with overflowing buckets! My sister and I were reminiscing about the eggs we used to hunt as kids. I'm pretty sure they weren't stuff with candy and there might have been a total of three dozen for the ten of us grandkids.

At the end of the day Leyton's comment was, "Mom, I will never forget what Easter is all about...the day Jesus arosed!"

A little mud never hurt anyone...

Baseball season is in full swing. We have spent many of our days cheering on the Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats thanks to the great spring weather that has arrived so early. Usually it's far too cold to enjoy the games, especially with small children. This year, though? The weather has been perfect! Last week, a little rain came through and created the perfect mess for two little two year olds to enjoy at the baseball field. Jada and Nicholas had so much fun playing in the mud. I had fun watching the game pretending to ignore the fact that my daughter was covered in mud from head to toe. :)

Even covered in mud she is adorable!

.:One Month:.

Big brother love!

Two cuties!

I know, Lyvia...I can't believe you're a month old already either!

Isn't she a beauty?

At one month old Lyvia...

::eats about every 3-4 hours.

::sleeps great in between feedings and is beginning to have more and more content, alert time.

::doesn't cry unless she's hungry.

::goes to bed around 11pm and doesn't wake up until sometime between 4-5am to eat. I can't ask for much more than that! :)

::doesn't seem to mind tummy time. She has been known to lay her head down and fall asleep when she gets tired of holding it up. She doesn't really even fuss to be flipped over.

::has rolled over twice from her belly to her back during tummy time. The first time was at two weeks old.

::doesn't love her pacifier like her big brother and sister did. It helps keep her content while waiting on a bottle, but if she's not hungry she doesn't really care to have it.

::sleeps in the bassinet in mommy and daddy's room, and probably will until I go back to work.

::loves to swing.

::has definitely gained weight, but I'm not sure how much. We go to the doctor next Monday.

::is well loved by Leyton and Jada. I think Leyton proves that in the above pictures. They both love to hold her every chance they get.

Happy one month birthday Lyvia Jane! We love you!

Prayer

I love the things that Leyton says. He says some of the funniest things and I wish I would have been better at writing them down. [Note to self: do better with Jada and Lyvia!] Tonight as I was putting Leyton and Jada to bed, I asked them if they had prayed yet. They hadn't so Leyton said he knew a good prayer. This is how it went:

Leyton: "Tick, tick, tick tock. Now it's time to pray. Thank you Lord for this great day. Please help me to find my DS pens. Please help me to not have any bad dreams. Amen."

Me: "That was a great prayer, Leyton!"

L: "Well, I forgot something. I forgot to pray for everyone we know!"

M: "You can pray again."

L: "Tick, tock, tick tock. Now it's time to pray. Thank you Lord for this special day. Please help me to find my DS pens. Please help me to not have bad dreams. Please help my Grandma and Poppa to get home to Michigan safely. Help my great grandpa..." He looks at me and says, "How many great grandpa's do I have?

M: "Three. Poppa's dad in Michigan, Pa's dad in Greensburg, and Mamaw's dad, Gpa."

L: "Right, three. Please help my great grandpa in Michigan....what's his name, Mom? Who is he again?"
M: "Ray. He's Poppa's dad."

L: "Right, Ray. He's Grandma's dad too!"

M: "No, just Poppa's dad."

L: "Well, how come every time we go there Grandma says 'Hi, Dad!'"

M: "She calls him dad but he's just Poppa's dad."
L: "Oh...Please help my great grandpa in Michigan and my other great grandpa, but not Gpa, to be healthy and strong. Please help my great grandma, that's GG, to walk better because she doesn't walk very good, ya know. Amen."

M: "Great job. Why didn't you pray for Gpa to be healthy and strong?"
L: "Because he's not sick."

Love it.

Lyvia Jane

Meet Lyvia Jane!

Born Friday, March 2nd at 1239pm.

9lbs 3oz 21.5 inches

I went in to the hospital at 6am Friday morning to begin the induction process. By 7am, my IV was in, pitocin started and the dr broke my water. It wasn't long after that that the contractions started getting stronger. By 1030, I was given an epidural and not much more than 2 hours later, Lyvia was born! It was quite a fast process! The delivery wasn't as difficult as Leyton's, but definitely not as easy as Jada's. My epidural seemed to work really well on the left side of my body, but didn't really work much at all on the right side. It was better than nothing, but still rather painful during pushing and delivery. Luckily, Lyvia wasn't too stubborn and was delivered after 2 1/2 pushes in a total of 7 minutes! Record time for me!! :)

It's hard to believe that she'll be 4 weeks old tomorrow! She's a pretty laid back little girl so far. She reminds me a lot of how Leyton was as a newborn. As long as her tummy is full, she's pretty content. If her tummy isn't full, she's not afraid to let me know. Although she seems to have the demeanor of her big brother, she looks a lot like her big sister. I've caught myself calling her Jada more than once...oops!

Leyton and Jada have adjusted well up to this point. I was a little scared of how Jada was going to respond to not being the baby anymore, but she has done great. She is perfectly fine with not being the baby...in fact, she's the first person to tell me that she's not a baby! Like most little girls her age, she is a little mother. She loves to help with Lyvia, whether it's putting the pacifier in her mouth or trying to calm her when she's crying. The other day, I was getting ready for the day and Lyvia was starting to get fussy on the living room floor. I overheard Jada trying to calm her by saying, "it o-tay Wyvia...momma comin!" It's so cute to hear her being a little mother hen.

Leyton is a great big brother as well. He tries his hardest to keep Lyvia happy too. He came to me the other day and said that he kept trying to give Lyvia her pacifier but she kept spitting it out and crying. He said, "I keep rubbing her face but that's not working either!" How cute.

Lyvia is a great sleeper! As much as I love cuddling and snuggling her every chance I get, I also love the fact that I can put her in her bed awake after a middle of the night feeding and she'll fall asleep without having to be rocked or held. I remember having to rock Leyton to sleep and wait a good 30 minutes before I could put him in his bed. Then, I'd have to put him down as gently and quietly as possible, trying not to make a sound walking away or he'd wake up extremely unhappy and we'd have to start the process all over. I was rather sleep deprived for quite a long time after he was born, but I've felt pretty good this time around. What a blessing! I need my sleep to function with three little ones around now!!

Lyvia is a great addition to our family and we are very blessed.

My new favorite cookie!

I'm pretty certain I have just discovered my new favorite cookie. Prior to today, I probably would have said that my mom's peanut butter temptations were my favorite [peanut butter cookie with a reese cup in the middle..yum], but I think I might have a different answer if ever asked what my favorite is. Now, the chocolate turtle cookie has taken over the top spot in my book! [Don't worry, the peanut butter temptations are a very, very close second. I don't like ties or I might say it's a tie.] Here's a play by play of how to make them, with my cute little helpers, of course!

Chocolate Turtle Cookies

5 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1/4 cup butter [1/2 stick]

1 [14oz] can sweetened condensed milk

2 [7.4oz] packages chocolate chip muffin mix

2/3 cup pecans

48 chocolate covered caramel candies [I used caramel hershey kisses.]

STEP ONE: Place chocolate and butter in microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes or until butter is completely melted.

STEP TWO: Mix chocolate and butter until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth.

STEP THREE: Add can of sweetened condensed milk and stir until well blended.

STEP FOUR: Add both packages of chocolate chip muffin mix.

STEP FIVE: Stir until well blended.

STEP SIX: Put pecans in blender and finely chop.

[Somehow, I lost my picture of this step. I'm sure you can imagine what it looks like. :)]

STEP SEVEN: Spoon about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into balls. [Leyton wanted me to prove I knew my letters. :)]

STEP EIGHT: Dip the bottom of each ball into the pecans.

STEP NINE: Place pecan side up on greased cookie sheet [or wax paper if you choose to dip them all at once.]

STEP TEN: Bake in 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until centers are gooey and cookies are crackly looking.

STEP ELEVEN: While still warm, place caramel kiss in center of cookie. [After trial and error, I learned it's better to allow the cookies to cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet before placing them on a cooling rack. Otherwise, you'll have pieces of cookie rather than a whole cookie.]

STEP TWELVE: Eat and be merry! [Be prepared for a yummy mess if you eat them warm. ]

You'll love them, I promise. I plan to share mine with my co-workers in a cookie exchange. I'm tempted to make a second batch all to myself. This whole being 29 weeks pregnant thing would go great with an entire batch of these cookies!! I'll refrain.