February

Jacob made it past the year mark....what a feat. He has learned "mama" the past couple of months...and he is the process of wearing it out. He's still dramatic- hates being told "no", being left alone in his room with the baby gate up, and hates it when he's being sit down to eat...but nothing is there for him to actually eat. He is starting to clench his fists as he whines...YES....he actually does that. 

He can hold his own with his older brothers...especially Ethan, who thinks he can boss him around. They play fine...Jacob is actually pretty mellow, but once the situation turns into someone trying to tell him what to do...he lets it be known....either he walks away or he yells at you. He actually likes stepping over people...or crawling over people. He doesn't care...you're in the way...but he manages.  I am in SO much trouble. How can someone so little behave this way? Should I be worried?

Most of the time he's sweet, smiles often, and is super easy going. The ladies at the gym day care love him....because he's quiet, smiles a lot....but some days....and he has his bad days....he can be a bit dramatic....

He's the only one that enjoys the car seat, mainly because he knows we're moving and we're going somewhere. I really do wish he would walk though...geez...He's so heavy. My back hurts.....and I usually run errands after the gym, so my arms are already tired...and then to wobble with a 28 lb kid....geez. I usually alternate arms but sometimes....I just can't. I do quick errands...otherwise, to the shopping cart he goes. He's steps really good....he can do a good 4 ft stepping...but once he flops on the floor...he just crawls. He has no desire to get back up again and keep trying....so this is going to take a while. 

He's so long

 Some days....Mom just takes too long on errand day

We got a Sams Club membership....only because they gave you the $45 back you paid on your next shopping trip...essentially making it free. And yes, that is  the only time I have gone haha...so far. I really wish I knew how to get cheap stuff at Sams....I like couponing too much. I gotta look at their monthly catalogs and see what works for me. The only time we went, we got a free slice of pizza, and decided to treat Jacob since he's so good at being the shopping buddy....and he LOVED it. He finished the entire slice and hardly shared....he's no longer a good buddy haha.

 first time eating pizza

Ethan has been getting really good at monkey bars....like crazy good...and he loves basketball and hoops. He likes to take the loft sofa apart and make challenging courses...tires himself out...and then crashes. I was super lucky and happened to go to Target and found an arcade basketball game for super cheap and decided to get it for him. I was hoping to hide it until Christmas, but then something came up. I'll come back to that...

 He was actually sleeping there. 

Ethan at school

February was also the month we had another fancy date night. Spencer's work had a charity event and silent auction and he decided to make it a Valentine's Day thing out of it. We had fun, it was good food, and once again, I got to see his coworkers. We actually bid on several baskets and we were doing good....until the very end, when we were outbid on every single one. We really wanted that texas roadhouse gift card, and the trampoline park guest passes.

Date night

For February, we decided to do Dom's and Ethan's Closets...Technically Dom was in January....but we were missing pieces, so we had to wait until it was fully finished and this put us into February. I became more aware of what needed to be ordered when it came to Ethan's closet. It was easier to order and more challenging to put together. Since Spencer worked a lot, I had to find time when kids napped to put things together....and if it required hammering....that meant I had to drag pieces outside (and walk up and down stairs) in order to NOT bother them. Dom's was ordered online, so it was nice for it to just show up at my door. The box was simple and easy to put together.
With Ethan and Jacob's closet....it would have to be a corner unit in order to use up the space wisely. So, I decided to order from Home Depot since theirs was the cheapest option....but it would cost a fortune to ship. This was odd to me...so many companies have free shipping, but Home Depot wanted to charge me shipping by weight...it was outrageous. So, I decided to have them deliver it to my local store (which is about 20 min away) and just pick it up there. But let me tell you what a nightmare that was. First of all, nobody really wanted to help me....I walked in with two kids (no cart) and seriously waited 15 minutes before ANYBODY in customer service decided to even approach me. Once they found my stuff, they told me to go to PRO services...because that's where you pick up multiple big itmes (apparently)....so I had to take the kids back into the car and move my car into the carport in the PRO area....and of course...there were pickups everywhere....in my way. So, since I was already  aggravated...I decided to just go around them..found a spot where I could park...and I left the car running....left the kids inside the car....(I could see people staring...but I was livid at this point)....walked in...asked to see someone (because apparently everyone was too busy here too). Once the gentleman came over...he had no idea what I was talking about. SO, knowing that I had kids waiting for me, I was not waiting on this man...I decided to just look through everyone's pallets in the area, until I found mine. I, luckily, had a small flat cart....and the man looked at me like I should be the one pulling it out to my car...NO WAY. I just turned to him and said "ok well I found my stuff, I'm the blue van with screaming children...thank you". He clearly was not happy, but he took my stuff out there....and he plopped it on top of my stroller....how rude. I had made room for the box, but clearly he did not care. So yeah....that home depot is NOT my favorite store. And I won't be using them again...I'll go to the next town over, if I order Jacob's through them again....
Now that the rant is over...this is what their closest look like now.

Dom's closet (the easiest)- SO I forgot to take a before...this was right after
we took the white wire shelf on the top.  We had to plug so many holes
from the wire shelf supports. Once that got done, it was
easy to pain and do the closet system

waiting to paint

Sort of done. We are missing three shelves that will go
above each of the rods. 

Ethan's closet- it's an walkin corner closet. The system was a bit heavier
and a bit more complicated to put together. But it was still manageable. I put
the bookshelf together in one nap time. 

Dad was having too much fun with the paint

This is how it looks now. It's so much more organized. I love going
in there and knowing where everything is. 

For March, we will be doing ours...I found the whole system on Wayfair for way cheaper than anywhere else. And their customer service is amazing....Not to mention they have an extra 10% off coupons delivered by mail quite frequently. I'm also afraid if I wait too long, then the system will no longer be in stock, and then I'll have to find other alternatives...and have to start from scratch.

Dominic had his last class party, I am so happy for that. I like being homeroom mom, but having to tug Jacob around just became tiring. I had to provide child care for Ethan (they did not want siblings there)...so it became really hard to find, at the last party, for someone to take him. The first two parties, I got really lucky, Spencer happened to be home that day. But on the third party, this Valentines Day, I had to find someone to take care of him for an hour, then pull Jacob on the stroller,  while hauling all the supplies and foods for the party. I had to rely on a collapsible cooler to hang around my chest and neck so I could have free hands and push Jacob around....I wasn't making multiple trips....

For the crafts, I decided to go simple and do heart baskets and the kids could decorate with stickers. Most kids had no idea what they were....I was surprised because Spencer did these all the time growing up. Then we did the candy/card exchanges.....and then finally snacks.  Dominic helped me make little robots out of juice boxes and jello. We put googly eyes on them and funky limbs so they looked silly.

chapter 6 Craft time

chapter 7 He loved it

He was so tired

I love it when babies sleep like this...it's so womb-like,
even a year after coming out. 

So, here's our big February event...actually we had two- Jacob's first birthday AND Ethan's surgery....and they happened on the same day. To say it was stressful is an understatement. But help came in an unexpected way....my parents showed up and surprised us (to be here with Jacob on his birthday). Ethan was so nervous for this, so it was nice to have his Guelita there to give extra comfort.
So, basically at the beginning of the month, we went to the eye doctor and he told us his eye tubes had to come out. He had eye tubes because his tears ducts were not draining properly and causing eye infections. He got it done the first time when he was barely one years old, then they took them out a few months later....and it didn't work. I was so mad. He has to go under anesthesia every time...that's surgery to me....anything having to do with anesthesia makes me mad....I should know...I've had three surgeries...I'm a bag of nerves. There's always a chance you may not react right or may never wake up....I feel like it's Russian roulette....so I hate it. 

So we did it a second time when he was about three years old. They tried to remove them before we moved....but they just tried to pull them out...in the office. Ethan would have none of it. The awful scream he let out...I will never forget. It's the ONLY time...I actually yelled at the doctor....that's how mad I was. I said "please stop. it sounds like you're hurting him...obviously he needs to be put under" He didn't like that and said he would try again later....and even if they did not come out ever...it was fine. I didn't like his answer. Then, we moved. As soon as we moved, Ethan kept having back to back eye infections....if these tube things stayed in his eyes all his life....they definitely were not going to help.

This new  Saint Louis doctor (we had more options in a bigger city) actually listened to my story. He could tell Ethan was nervous. He hates it when people come near his eyes...just getting eyes checked for glasses is a hassle....that's how traumatized he is. I'm so mad at myself for letting it get that far. So, anyways, the eye doctor could tell he was nervous, and with my other story about the doctor...and after reviewing his past chart, decided he would put him under and just removed them. He said the infections kept coming because the ducts were plugging his tubes...that's not helping. The point was to get them removed so his tear ducts could actually do their job and remove all the dirt that constantly gets in his eyes....in everyone's eyes. So, we had about three weeks to prepare for this.

On surgery day, Ethan asked to bring Guelita along....so it's Jacob, Guelita, Ethan and I. It's an outpatient clinic and his eye dr is in the 3rd floor and surgery is on the first floor...it's actually quite convenient. It's also a child's clinic...so everything is geared toward the comfort of the little patients...something we did not have in our last place. The nurses were so nice and were so sweet to him to try to make him feel as calm as possible. He got his own room and he got his own blanket. We had to meet like 8 team members. They all had to introduce themselves if they wanted to get paid...so that took the longest. I felt pretty confident they knew what they were doing. One of them gave me his card...how awesome is that? What kind of surgeon gives business cards away?!

 waiting for surgery to begin

getting nervous

This time, instead of putting him to sleep with a mask....he was old enough for an IV. So they had two nurses get the IV ready, while a third person was keeping him entertained with an ipad....while they put the needle in his hand. He didn't even flinch. It wasn't until a few minutes in, he mentioned it hurt. I told him we matched...and I showed him my three little scars that I have from all three IVs I've been given over my life (all three births). I don't think he liked that haha.

Ready to go in.

The clinic had an app where you could track the surgery...how cool was that? So once they took him in, I had to go out in the front waiting room with my  mom and Jacob. But Jacob was being a butt, so we decided to walk around...Surgery probably lasted like 15 minutes...and the app beeped for me to come back in , because he was in the room and in the process of waking up. Some kids thrash and are super grumpy when they wake up. Ethan was super grumpy the first time they put them under and he woke up....so I was expecting the worst now that he was older....

It was crazy to see him all strapped up and so out of it. 

He had a hard time waking up

He was not happy, but he was contained. There was a child nearby (I did not see him) that was screaming SO loud....and so badly...I really thought they were hurting him  bad. I could hear him all the way from the waiting room....I was secretly praying it was not Ethan. I really did feel so sorry for that poor kid.
While they were taking him off the system and taking the IV out, they gave him some sunglasses to make him feel good. And since he hadn't eaten anything for 18 hours (I decided to fast with him to make it easier on him, and he could see that I was willing to help him too), he got a big glass of apple juice and he chugged it in like a minute. He also got a $5 toy from the treasure chest and a bloody nose. It happens....when they mess with the tear ducts, they have to go through the nose....so Ethan's always gets a bloody nose for a whole day.

cool dude

almost up

He asked if I could carry him out to the car, but Guelita ended up having the honors. He kind of slept on the ride home. I packed some snacks for him, because I thought he would be hungry. I even thought about taking him to McDonald's....but it was so early, lunch was not being served yet. I just wanted to get good food in his belly. But overall, I'm so proud of him. He did so well. It amazes me how mature he can act sometimes. The nurses loved him. They kept complimenting how well he had done. "Oh I wish all my patients woke up like this"...."I hope this is how my day is going to go today". He was a rock star that day

Ride home

And once he got home, I wanted him to nap, but he didn't. So since he was so brave, I just went ahead and gave him the basketball arcade game...and he loved it! He played all day...but then he got cranky because he couldn't reach past the 20 pts mark....so he was super cranky for the rest of the day and refused to nap. And my day was so hectic after that....

We also celebrated Jacob that same day, but I made a special post just for this event, so I wont repost pictures...you can just scroll back.

Our March is full of other house projects as well....so stay tuned.