Super Sports Saturday

Today was a very busy day for us toady. We started the day at 9:00 this morning with Maddux testing for his blue stripe belt. It is amazing to watch him in class and see how much better he has gotten. While he is the youngest one in his level is has actually picked things up a lot quicker and is progressing through the ranks a little quicker then the other kids. Today he rocked his testing and now has a blue stripe belt and gets to move up in rank. He still has a way to catch up to his cousin, Michael, but is well on his way. I think his karate has really helped build his self-confidence while teaching him some self defense. I still remember the first time he tested for advancement and wouldn't go on the floor. He just sat right next to me and cried the whole time. The teacher finally got him out there but he wouldn't do anything unless she was by his side. Now he just runs out there and doesn't care who is watching. Next month he has a tournament where he will perform a series of steps and moves and be judged by his teachers. The last time he did this he scored the highest in his class and did a great job. He is practicing for that day and very excited.
Here is a picture of him in his uniform with his new belt. Notice the "Iceman" Chuck Liddell mohawk that he is sporting. It is funny because he actually doesn't have it very often but it seems that in every karate picture that I have of him, he has a mohawk.
While Maddux was doing his karate Brooklyn had her third soccer game. She seems to be getting better every week and has become the "defensive stopper" of her team. This is partly because that is the position that the coach plays her at every time. It bugs Jennie that he won't switch things up. She has played some goalie and a lot of defense. Even though her teams stinks and hasn't won a game she is getting very good at tracking the others girls down and taking the ball from them. She likes it and seems to be having fun so I guess that is all that matters. I still don't think he team has scored a goal yet this year. That should be a pretty good indication that maybe he needs to switch things up. Funny story from her game today. She lost one of her top front teeth a week or so ago and her other tooth has been ready to fall out any day now. She keeps playing with it and I have even offered to take it out for her but she would have none of that. Well she gets home from her game today and I notice that it is gone. I ask her where her tooth is and she has no idea. Turns out that she must have lost it running up and down the field today and didn't even notice. She is hoping that the Tooth Fairy will take a note in place of the tooth. I think she will work something out. She is now down 4 teeth and may have to be a jack-o-lantern for Halloween.
Next was Maddux's game. It is amazing how fast the day goes by when you are running from one thing to the next. Maddux is on a really good team and they haven't lost yet this year. They don't technically keep score but they score way more goals than the other team. Maddux told us that he was going to score 5 today. He only got 2 but I think he was tired from waking up early and going to karate. He seemed to spend a lot of time on the ground.
He was however up to his usual defensive plays and taking the ball away from the other kids. There were three instances where the other team had a break away and Maddux came in at the last minute and took the ball away from them. In this picture he is getting ready to take the ball away from these two girls. It was actually the second time he got this girl and on this time he actually kicked the ball away but got some of her leg and took her down as well. I felt kind of bad, and I think Maddux did as well, because she ran off the field crying. On another play he made a little boy cry because the kid was getting ready to score and Maddux took the ball from him as well. He didn't knock this boy down but I think the boy was frustrated that Maddux kept taking the ball from him and he couldn't take it anymore.
This last picture is what Brooklyn and Nolan did during Maddux's game. They found a little hill that they could roll down. Nothing big but good enough to keep them occupied. We finished the day by going to one of Brooklyn's friends house (Meghan) for a birthday party and some kickball. There were probably 20 kids there so it was good for them to play and get worn out...I don't think that was too hard for our kids. They should all sleep very good tonight.

One last update on the swimming lessons. What a difference a couple of days and a sister make. Even though they are not in the same class Maddux had no problem jumping right in. I knew if Brooklyn was there he wouldn't have any issues. He learned how to do some strokes and even swam a little on his own. Watch out Michael Phelps.

Michael Phelps in training.

This isn't a recent picture but is one of my favorite and goes with the theme for this entry so I hope you also enjoy it.
We didn't think we were busy enough so we decided to enroll the kids in some swimming lessons at the rec. Today was the first day of swimming lessons for Brooklyn and Maddux.....well sort of. Brooklyn came home from school and wasn't feeling very well. She fell asleep on the couch and didn't feel like swimming. So it was Maddux by himself. He loves the water and is always asking to go swimming so I didn't think there would be any problems. Boy was I wrong. I put them in the same class, 5 to 6 year old, thinking they wouldn't be as afraid if they were together. Well Maddux wouldn't even get into the water. The area was 3 feet deep which means he could touch if he had to. He thought it was too deep and that they wouldn't hold on to him so he wouldn't get in at all. He just sat on the side and cried for probably 15 minutes. Finally one of the directors suggest maybe we try the next class down, Advance Preschool, so he could be around kids his own age. Nolan and I finally got Maddux calmed down and he said he would try this class. Well the Advance Preschool class was in the 4 foot end which was deeper than his original class but with younger kids. So we walk up he sits down at the edge of the pool and before you know it he is crying again and will not get in the water. This is a kid who loves the water and has been know to jump in anywhere no matter who is watching or not watching. He has been over at friend's houses swimming and jumped into the deep end, 8 foot and deeper, without any floaties or anyone looking. Yet he won't get in and swim with someone holding on to him. One of the girls teaching the class was very patient and did a real good job with him and after about 15 minutes she finally got him to come in while she carried him around. I knew that was all it was going to take. As soon as he got in he would be fine and he sure was. He eventually was swimming all over the place, going under the water and floating on his back. I am sure that if Brooklyn had been there, there would not have been an issue and he would have jumped right in. So now they are in different classes but hopefully they will both learn a little something about swimming. It is amazing at how busy kids can get at such a young age. They have soccer practice on Monday, swimming on Tuesday, swimming on Thursday, karate on Friday and soccer games on Saturday. That makes for a lot of running around. I don't know what we are going to do when the other two get older and want to be like their brother and sister.

Night O Fun

Last night the kids got to have their cousins over while Greg and Tacie went to a wedding. Brooklyn, Maddux and Nolan love it when they get to play with there cousins. Although there are some times where they don't see eye to eye, they love to play with each other. Here is a picture of them watching the feature film of the night, Alvin and the Chipmunks.
It didn't take Maddux and Cannon long to fire up Kung Fu Panda on the Wii. I know that Maddux had been talking about it for a couple days before Cannon got here. Maddux is still a little young to know exactly what is going on and the object of the game but he loves it when Cannon comes over and passes the different levels. The goal for the night was to beat Tai Lung, the nemesis of Po. It took quite awhile but I think they finally did get past him and were able to move on. If you look at Maddux in the picture you will see that even though he didn't have any controllers he was right there playing with Cannon. It was funny to watch him jump and punch just like he was playing the game. After 2 hours Cannon was sweating from head to toe from all the action. It is amazing how much exercise you can get while playing the Wii. There are some games where I am exhausted after playing them.
While the boys were playing Wii the girls were busy building a house. This is Brooklyn sleeping in the house while the others decorate and bring in more furniture. It was kind of funny because it took them a couple of hours to build up and Nolan and Kenzie had it torn down in 3 minutes.
Here is Nolan doing his best to look like his Uncle Spencer.....decked out in the camo. Jennie bought Nolan this outfit the other day for him to wear during the winter. Despite the fact that is was 80 degrees in our house that night Nolan kept that sweatsuit on for most of the night.
Here are Kenzie and Brynnley who look like they are up to no good. It was Brynnley's birthday the day before so the kids got her a purse and wallet with some goodies inside. I think she was more into all the candy inside but what else would you expect. She was pretty good about sharing with the other kids. She even let Nolan wear one of her new bracelets.
Here are Nolan and Kenzie dancing to the Little Tykes fridge magnets. You can line up the matching magnets and different songs or noises will play. They kept running over to the fridge and make it play and then run to the middle of the floor and dance. It is funny that one minute they can be on each others last nerve and the next they are dancing around together.
They also like to climb on the window ledge and look out at the neighbors. Our neighbors were throwing a huge party for the OSU vs USC game last night and had things decked out (the game was a whole different story as OSU was dominated the whole game). They had a huge inflatable OSU mascot, Brutus, in the front yard and the kids loved it. The kept running over to the window to look at it. They eventually got out into the front yard and ran all over like crazy yelling at the top of their lungs. It was kind of funny to watch. I don't know what it is about our front window but the first 3 kids have gone through the phase of climbing up it and I am sure that Payton will also figure it out when she gets old enough.
Speaking of Payton, here she is chilling in her swing. One of Jennie's friends is letting us borrow this for Payton and she loves it. She spent most of the night and a good deal of today just relaxing in it. It swings her back and forth and plays all different types of sounds to soothe the baby.
The trampoline is always a hit. The got to jump on it last night in the dark which apparently is a very cool thing to do. That is all that Brooklyn could talk about this morning. Maddux is getting very good at doing flips and landing on his feet. He just went out there one day, after watching it on TV, and started doing flips. It took him a little while to get the landing thing down but he finally has it. It seems like there is always one person who gets hurt on the trampoline every time they are on it and last night it was Maddux. He got on his back and then of course everyone tries to jump and see how high they can bounce that person. Well Maddux caught one of Brooklyn's feet to his mouth and was down for the count. It is amazing at how resounding they are as 5 minutes later he was back on and to his usual self.
The last one is glow-in-the-dark bocce, courtesy of Rachel. They don't get to play it as much as they would like to but the night was perfect and everybody was up to it. I don't think they actually play the game but instead like to throw the balls around the yard, in the dark, and watch them roll all over with their lights. All in all it was a very busy night and I know that it wore out my kids. I think they were asleep before they hit the pillow and can't wait to do it all over again.

Another One Bites the Dust.

Well Brooklyn has lost another tooth and now is missing three of her front teeth. Her other front tooth is also lose and on its way out. She is starting to look like a jack-o-lantern. She has figured out how to blow out her mouth and make noise because of the missing teeth. Here is a funny story....she actually lost the tooth yesterday right after getting home from school and put it in a plastic bag to put under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy that night. Well she put it under her pillow that night and went to bed. Well the Tooth Fairy forgot all about it. She woke up the next morning and came running to Jennie and told her she had to come and see what the Tooth Fairy left under her pillow. Jennie went into the room and Brooklyn picked up her pillow and said, "look, she left me my tooth." Jennie then had to explain that maybe the Tooth Fairy was so busy that she didn't have enough time to get all the teeth and would come the next night to get it. Needless to say the tooth is back under the pillow and we are positive that the Tooth Fairy will not forget tonight. With all these teeth Brooklyn is losing the Tooth Fairy is going to go broke.

The next picture is of Maddux doing what he does during the day when Brooklyn is at school. We were taking some pictures of Payton and Nolan and Maddux didn't want to be left out. It is amazing how many websites there are for kids to go on and play games. What is even more amazing is that a 4 year old, Maddux, remembers and knows how to get to all of them. He is very proficient on the computer and somehow puts things on and takes things off that I have no idea how to fix. We had to take the computer to a guy and have it cleaned a couple of months ago because it had some type of virus on it.

Here is Payton with her bandages off. She went in on Monday for her follow up appointment and the surgeon said that everything looks fine. The scar is a little red but will go away and not be noticeable at all. It is truly amazing to see the difference. He did an amazing job. She will go back in 5 weeks just to make sure that everything is ok.

Here are Brooklyn, Nolan and Payton just hanging out before bed. The kids just love their little sister. They are always wanting to hold her and give her kisses on the head.

Week 2.........................

Well today was week 2 of soccer for the kids. It was also the first week we have to deal with both Brooklyn and Maddux playing at the same time but at different fields. Brooklyn played at 10:00 and Maddux at 11:30. We took Brooklyn to her game and were able to watch the first 10 minutes then Maddux, Nolan and I headed to Maddux's game. Brooklyn is getting better but still doesn't understand how to play the game or the objective of it. She will run around the field and if the ball gets close to her she might kick it if she feels like it. She really isn't sure what to do unless you tell her. I am bad because I am always telling the kids to go get the ball. Maddux is a lot better at taking the ball from the other kids and going in and getting it. Brooklyn is not on a very good team so that doesn't make it any easier. They have played two games and have not scored a goal yet. They lost today 2 - 0.

Maddux on the other hand is all about getting out there and taking the ball away from anyone. Sometimes he has to be reminded to not take it from his own players. He scored 2 more goals today and his team won again. They are 2 - 0 this season even though they don't keep score. It is funny because Maddux will keep score during the game and keeps his coach up to date on who is winning. He had one goal where he got the ball at the other end of the field, gave the ball a great big kick and then smoked everyone to the other end of the field and scored without anyone being close to him. He also had 2 times where the other team had a wide open field and right before they got to the goal Maddux came in the stole the ball from the other team. It is amazing to see how much faster he is than the other kids on the field. He is going to be our athlete. He had 3 other chances to score goals today but kicked the ball too hard right in front of the net and missed the goal.
He did have a little situation toady involving one of the kids from the other team. This team had a boy who was 5 who liked to grab the other teams jersey and hold on to it. He did it to one of the boys on Maddux's team and eventually let go after about 10 seconds of pulling the kid around. Then the next time down the field he tried to do the same thing to Maddux. To Maddux's credit he did give the boy a chance to let go but he wouldn't. Maddux then swung his arms and body around the body slammed the kid to the ground. He then just walked away and left the kid on the grass. The funny thing was that the kids parents came and pulled him off the field and he didn't play too much during the rest of the game. It was nothing vicious but just letting him know that Maddux wasn't going to put up with that.

This last picture is of three helicopters that flew over the field during the game and were quite low. It was kind of funny because there were probably 10 - 12 different games going on at the time and I think all the kids playing all stopped while they went over and nobody knew what to do. They were trying to tell the kids to keep playing but I don't think they could hear the coaches or refs over the noise. The kids seem to be loving soccer and they only have 2 more games that are at the same time so hopefully I will get to see them both play every weekend. I am still trying to figure out how to put the video I have on here but haven't had any luck. If anyone knows how I transfer it from the video camera to the blog please let me know.

Payton Update..........

Jennie and Payton were finally let go from the hospital and are home and doing well. For those of you who didn't know, Payton was both with a minor cleft lip and needed some minor surgery. This first picture shows her before the surgery. It was a very small cleft and did not involve the pallet so there wasn't much to the surgery. They also did fix her nose as her nostrils were not the same size due to the lip. The doctors told us this was one of the smallest clefts they had seen and if a baby was going to have a cleft this is what they would want it to look like. If it would have involved the pallet, there would have been more surgeries to follow. With this surgery they actually just cut the lip where to indents are so the scar should not be noticeable. They then tweaked her nostrils to make them the same size and fix the muscle in her upper lip to make everything look normal. It is amazing what they can do with surgery. She looks absolutely great and as she gets older you won't be able to tell she even had anything done. The surgeon was really great and took great care with her.

Yesterday, however, was a very long day. Her surgery was scheduled for 7:30 in the morning as they like to get the babies done right away. We had to be there at 6:00 and I was surprised at how many people were there that early. We are thankful to Connie who spent the night at our house Tuesday and got Brooklyn off to school and watched the boys. We got to the hospital around 6:10 and waited until about 7:10 to be taken back. They then got Payton ready for the surgery and the doctors all came in and explained what exactly they were going to do and what to expect. At about 7:30 they asked Jennie to give up Payton as it was time. For a parent, that has to be one of the hardest things to do knowing you have no control over what is going on and just have to wait. They told us the surgery would be about 2 hours and we just had to wait in the waiting room until they were done. They called us at about 8:10 to let us know that they had just started. An hour and a half later they called us again and told us she was done and everything went well. We then had to wait about another 15 minutes while she woke up from the anesthesia and they got her ready. The good thing with a baby is that they pretty much let you go back right away instead of waiting for them to waken all the way up. We then got to go back and see her new lip and nose for the first time and the surgeon did an amazing job. The nose looks perfect and her lip looks normal as can be. It took her a couple of hours to get out of the groggy stage but she did latch right on and started nursing right away. That was a huge relief as that is the one thing they want to make sure of before they would discharge her. She struggled the first couple of minutes but I think that was more because she was numb. We stayed in the recovery room for about 1/2 hour and then they transferred us up to the Pediatric ICU to monitor her and make sure everything was OK. We thought for sure they would let us go the same day since she was eating fine, didn't seem to be in pain very much, and everything looked fine. Later that evening the surgeon came in and gave Jennie the bad news....she would have to stay overnight for monitoring. That meant that Jennie was going to have to sleep on a chair for the night with no change of clothes. Everything has turned out fine and the surgeon cleared her to leave at 6:30 this morning and we are now home. Thank you for all your support and prayers. We are so blessed to have so many people thinking of us and it has helped us tremendously in this endeavor. The last picture is an after picture of her lip and nose. There was not to much swelling but hopefully in a couple weeks or so we should see what it looks like without the swelling.

What a PARTY!!!!

Today we had a big party to celebrate Nolan's birthday as well as Labor Day. We had tons of food, family and fun all day. I think we are paying the price right now as Nolan is not in a good mood and in serious need of a night-night. The kids played on the bouncer and trampoline all day long as well as many other things. I think Cannon and Maddux would have played Kung Fu Panda on the Wii all day if they could have. It was funny because Maddux kept coming and asking Jennie and Tacie if he could watch Cannon play. I think that was Cannon's way of trying to play since Tacie told him he couldn't. The girls did makeup and played dress up with all the princess stuff. Kenzie and Nolan were just trailing behind trying to be a part.

We did have a surprise guest show up......Spiderman. He made an appearance half way through the party and even managed to do a couple of flips on the trampoline. It just isn't a party without a guest appearance from Spiderman. The nice thing was that we didn't even have to pay for him to come.

We were also grateful to have Jennie's Grandma and Granny, her Aunt and Uncle (Suzie and Chuck), and her brother (Greg) and his family be able to come over and celebrate with us, along with her parents. I don't know how many times I say this but it is so nice to have family so close to be able to do these types of things on a regular basis. I think that everyone had a fun time and really enjoyed themselves. The day was absolutely perfect with weather in the low to mid 80's and not a cloud in the sky.

There were also a few games of cornhole played because there can't be a party without cornhole. Then Connie was kind enough to fix the straps on the enclosure for the trampoline as the kids had broke them all off by jumping into the net. We are all glad that they are fixed and now we don't have to worry about the kids jumping or falling off. Maddux has discovered how to do flips and can now land on his feet, although sometimes he rotates a little too much and falls forward so it will be nice not having to worry about him falling off.

We ended the day with a little ice cream cake from Dairy Queen and then called Kamaile and had everyone sing happy birthday to her as she turned 3 today. Then it was time to clean everything up which surprisingly didn't take all that long. I guess if helps to use paper plates and cups. Grandma Elaine was kind enough to do the silverware so there really wasn't much to it. The whole day went off without a hitch and the only real casualty was Brooklyn losing a tooth. It is the second tooth she has lost in the last couple of weeks and still has a third that is ready to come out.