Culvers-aholic

The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, so here it goes....

My name is Bekah and I am a Culvers-aholic.

It all started back when I was pregnant with Miles.  I told my friend Becky I was craving a

cheeseburger and she directed me to Culvers.  It sounded easy and delicious, so I took the

boys and we went.  Keep in mind, this Culvers has been here the entire 5 years we've lived

in Oak Park, but I could count on one hand the number of times we ate there in that time.

My how things have changed.  The boys and I currently visit on a weekly basis, sometimes

twice a week if Ryan wants to go on the weekend.  The employees recognize us and some

of them even know our order by heart.  Oh yeah, it's that bad.  

It's hard to resist though because it's the perfect set up.  Not only is the food delicious, but

they have a nice big TV that they will happily put on kids movies for us.  We actually

watched the entire Trolls movie for the first time during one of our lunches because

they had it on the Culvers TV before it was even out on video.

We sit at our regular table, the boys eat and watch a movie, I get to relax and eat something

other than the typical deli meat sandwich I have for lunch every day, and we finish it off with

a scoop of custard.  It's a win-win for everyone involved.

 

I may have a slight addiction, but it's an addiction I'm not quite ready to kick quite yet. ;)

8 Months

Miles is already 8 months old!!  Slow down time!!

Growth Stats

Weight - 16 lbs 14 oz (14th Percentile)

Height - 27.5 in (33rd Percentile)

Miles is such a little character.  So happy and smiley!!  And his smile has gotten even cuter,
if that's possible, because he has two cute little teeth poking through on the bottom now.  

I have a feeling more will be following soon because he still loves chewing on everything!!

He was getting more comfortable with eating solids, but we've had a minor setback.  He's
been sick for the past two weeks with bronchiolitis and now Swimmers Ear, so he has
absolutely no interest in food. I'm lucky if I can get him to nurse.

And being sick has messed up any type of sleep routine we had.  He's back to being up a
few times a night.  The last few nights have been the worst because he's not hungry when
he wakes up.  He's just miserable.  I can't feed him and go right back to sleep.  He wants
someone to snuggle and make him feel better.  

I may be a tired mess, but I'm trying to remember that I won't always have babies in the
house to snuggle.  I should take advantage of these moments while I can.  Plus, I was sick
the past two weeks too and I know how terrible I felt.  I can only imagine what it feels like for
him.  Hopefully it works its way out of his system and he's back to feeling like himself soon.

Even though he may be regressing in some areas, he's getting so much stronger
physically.  He rolls all over the floor searching out various toys and treasures.  And when
he's on his belly he pushes himself up so tall.  It won't be long before he's trying to crawl. 

 He is fairly sturdy when he sits too.  He still needs a little extra support when he leans too
far in one direction, but I can tell his core is becoming stronger and he's closer to sitting on
his own.  He also likes standing, with some help of course.  He looks so cute and little
standing there, yet at the same time I realize it won't be long until he's actually doing it all on
his own.  It's fun, yet a little scary, to think of having all three boys mobile.  For now I'm
happy helping Miles fine tune his sitting skills.

We love this little guy more than words could ever describe and we'll take the sleepless
nights that come along with smiles like these.  Miles, we love watching you learn new things
and get stronger every day.  You're going to be chasing after your big brothers in no time!

Potty Rewards

Potty training with Joe has had it's ups and down.  Teaching him to pee on the potty was a

breeze.  But for some reason he has no interest in pooping on the potty.  I'm not sure if he's

scared, if it hurts, or what other thing might be the culprit, but something is preventing him

from wanting to go on the potty. 

I decided to try out a new incentive plan.  I have a chart hanging on the door with 5 spaces.

Each time he poops on the potty he gets to put a sticker on the chart.  Once he fills up all 5

spaces he gets to pick a special thing for us to do.  Today he got his 5th sticker so it was

time for his first outing....Chuck E. Cheese!!

The boys decided to try out the roller coaster simulator first.

They were terrified!  I couldn't see the screen, but I know it was scary enough that

Joe decided to jump ship mid ride.  He preferred the calmer games.

And Owen had his fair share of fun too.  I bet he didn't think he would ever be so happy

for his brother going poop on the potty.  It's a great deal for him because he gets

to cash in on the reward too.

 

 The favorite game of the day was Jurassic Park.  You basically shoot dinosaurs that are

running towards you.  I would be lying if I said it was the most preschool appropriate game,

but they had a good time with it and that's what extra special rewards are about.

 Thank you for the fun day Joe.  Next up on his list of fun things to do...

The Choo Choo Restaurant.

First Love

It's official...Joe has his very first crush.  Introducing Miss Cate Borders.

Cate is my friend Katy's daughter.  Last fall we started getting together a lot to run, and now

we've been doing play dates almost every week.  Joe loves going to Cate's house and quite

frequently requests it.  Just to show how serious he is, we are currently working on getting

him to go poop in the potty.  I started a reward system where after he poops five times on

the potty he gets to pick somewhere special to go.  After the first five, his request was

Chuck E. Cheese.  Now I just asked him where he wants to go after the next five, and he

told me Cate's house.  He chose Cate's over Chuck E. Cheese...now that's love! 

Getting Out

With the weather being so beautiful these last few days, we've been getting outside A LOT!!

Spring, we are so ready for you and are loving this little tease you are giving us!!

Zoo Fail

Today was one of those days where my intentions were good, but the day didn't turn out

quite as planned.  For the last week we've had a nasty cold/flu going through our house.

Headache, cough, exhaustion, sore throat....in other words, tons of fun!  There has

been lots of sleeping, snuggling, and runny noses going on.  

Let's just put it this way, when Joe falls asleep during lunch at Rainforest Cafe (one of their

favorite places to go) with a plate full of mac n cheese (his favorite meal) in front of him,

you know we're in trouble.

 

So anyway, fast forward to today.  We were all finally starting to feel a little better and it was

beautiful outside.  I wanted to do something fun, so I suggested to Ryan that we take the

kids to the zoo.  In my head, it was a great plan.  Walk around outside, get lots of fresh air,

and do something fun together.  Little did I know it was a free day at the zoo.  There are

random days every month where the zoo is free to the public, otherwise known as days you
DO NOT want to go if you are a pass holder because it is a zoo!...pun intended.  

We pulled up and cars were lined up 10 deep in the lanes leading into the main parking lot,

which by the way, was packed!  We drove around to the South parking lot where we not

only had to pay to park, but there were still lines to get in.  It was crazy!  

Once we finally got inside Joe decided he didn't want to walk so Ryan had to carry him 80%

of the time.  My shoe started rubbing my foot weird and I got a huge blister so I was walking

around on my tip toe so it wouldn't rub anymore.  And to top it off, the boys decided they

would rather be at the park than at the zoo anyway.

At least one positive thing came from it.  We got a couple of cute pictures.  ;)

It was a short lived trip, we saw maybe 6 animals, but lesson learned.  Check the schedule before planning to visit the zoo.  And if it's one of the first nice days of the year, chances are everyone has the exact same idea as you.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Though Ryan always does a great job spoiling me on Valentine's Day,

I have to admit my favorite Valentine was one Owen made Ryan and I at school.

He painted the outside using string, cut out the heart and wrote all of the words inside.

He was so proud when he walked out of his class and gave it to me, and I was equally impressed.  We love you too buddy!!  Happy Valentine's Day!!

Yogurt Smiles

The many (yogurt-covered) faces of Miles

The Force

Owen is convinced he can use "the force" to move Jenga pieces.

It was so cute watching him, I just had to play along.

Shhhhh!!  Don't tell him.

Fancy Shirts

This morning when the boys woke up, I was already downstairs with Miles.  I heard them

rustling around up in their room, but had no clue what they were up to.  After a few minutes

they came downstairs, both anxiously yelling, "Mommy, Look at me!"

They were very proud to show me the "fancy" shirts they climbed up into their closet and

picked out to wear today.  Some day I'll let them know that the fanciness factor of the shirts

goes down a little bit when you pair them with soccer shorts, but today is not that day.

Today it was simply really cute seeing how proud of themselves they were.

In their minds, they were looking good!!

Daddy Tickles

Big Boy Stroller

Owen and Joe were with Ruby and Max for the afternoon, so I decided to take Miles on a

little walk. Normally when he's in the stroller he always rides in his car seat, but today I felt

like giving him a different view.  I figured he was finally big enough to test out the big boy

seat.  He looked so cute I couldn't resist the opportunity to snap some photos of him.

 I'd say he's pretty happy with his new view.

Sky Zone

Ryan wanted to do something fun with the boys for his birthday, so he suggested we try out
Sky Zone.  Little did he know I LOVE trampolines, so as soon as he said it I was on the
computer getting us tickets. The boys had so much fun!!

And they're not the only ones who enjoyed themselves. ;)

We had a great time and left with two very tired little boys.

Happy Birthday Ryan!!