Cuckoo Clock

Well, William's birthday (and mine) has come and gone. It was a fun weekend of celebrating even though Billy was gone in Washington fighting fires. We spent Friday down in Redondo Beach with my friend Camie and her family. It was so nice to see them and I'm so excited that Camie lives so much closer now! We even happened to see the space shuttle being flown in on a jet into LAX (I think). It was an awesome sight. On our birthday day, we had a mellow day at home, opening gifts and hanging out. In the evening our next door neighbors threw us a party, complete with a train pinata for the kids and amazing crab legs for dinner. It was soooo nice of them to do that because I wasn't about to plan and throw a party with 3 small ones by myself. We had settled on the fact that there would be no party this year. It was wonderful to celebrate with all the neighbors.
So, as I said before, William had been asking for a cuckoo clock for his birthday for a while now. On the Thursday before his special day I took him to the clock shop in Solvang to look at the clocks there. He found one (with my help) and we bought it! We finally hung it up the other day, when Billy got home, and it is a lot of fun to have in the house. It makes the boys smile every time it cuckoos. It gives a single cuckoo on every half hour and then of course a cuckoo for every hour :) It will hopefully become a Wrenn family heirloom.

He also got a lightning mcqueen bike accessory kit for his birthday equipped with a bike pouch, the other request he had made.

Happy Birthday William (and me)haha

8 Hours

I have to write down that Jameson slept from 830pm to 7am last night! Which means I got a solid 8 hours of sleep!! He was only stirring at 7 but I needed him to eat in a bad way.... so I got him up. He was still kinda sleepy and fell back asleep until 830 so I had to pull out the pump. It was so nice, for both of us. He needed it, he was really feeling a lot better today. I know I needed it too! Billy has been gone for 16 days now and my patience is worn thin and I am very exhausted. Hooray for a little recovery night! Thanks Jameson! What a good baby you are.

Teeth!?!

I can't believe this, but Jameson is teething already! His two bottom teeth have poked through his poor little gums. No wonder he has been extra fussy, super drooly and not sleeping quite as well. I was in shock when I felt them in his mouth.  Man, this boy is throwing me a curve ball. Not only is he pounds bigger than his brothers at this age but he is teething 5 months earlier than them as well.

He is also still sick. He got all congested when we went out to Utah for a visit and it's been a month now and he is still not better! At his doctor appointment today, I was told to cut the dairy out of my diet completely and to take two extra supplements each day. An immune booster and a herbal syrup that supports lung and bronchial passageway health called Ivy Calm. I love that Jameson's pediatrician doesn't jump right to antibiotics and instead tries natural remedies first. So, no more ice cream for me until Jameson is 100% healthy again! This is going to be hard... this is a true test of love :)  Jameson weighed in at 14 pounds today. I was guessing no more than 15, phew.

Our 3 boys

Just had to post this BEAUTIFUL picture that my talented sister Tracy took of the boys while we were visiting in Utah! Love it! Thanks Tracy.

10 more days

Just 10 more days until William's (and mine) birthday! I have ordered what I hope will be the perfect solution to William's request for a basket for his bike. However, I am still desperately searching for the coo coo clock he has been asking for months now. Still not sure what to do about that one. I thought that I would get Billy's help in selecting something, but he left yesterday for Oregon on yet another fire assignment. This means he won't even be around when our birthdays come and go. Oh well, this is just what happens in fire season.
Hopefully I will find something that will make William happy and excited in the clock department.

Utah trip

I only blogged one time in August! I will blame that on Billy being gone for all but 6 days of the month and only 2 days off of the 6... and our 2 week trip to Utah.

What a wonderful and fun two weeks! William and Grant had a blast together, Zachary was in heaven to sit on Grandpa's lap every night and Jameson got all the attention in the world from his big girl cousins Reanne and Sierra. I got to see my sister Kristy's brand new house and even help move a couple things over. There were train rides, tractor rides, splash parks and play grounds, bike riding, trampoline jumping, drum rocking, lunch dates with Grandma Great and a photo session with Aunt Tracy! Jameson rolled over for the first time while we were there and is really good at finding his thumb now. Zachary was as easy going as they come, just always happy to be doing whatever with whoever. William got Grant back on his two wheeler and they rode just about every day. They roamed in and out of the house as they pleased, took turns using the potty (or a tree) together, they were pretty much inseparable the entire two weeks. It was so cute to watch William get out of bed every morning, open his suit case and get dressed, and then make his way up stairs for breakfast and to find Grant.

We also got to visit with some of the Anderson cousins who were having a family reunion up Provo canyon while we were there. We went up to their cabin one evening for a BBQ and some fun times at the creek up there. We also got to visit the Speeds in Sandy. Their family was throwing an annual end of the summer block party and we got invited. The kids had a fun time dancing in the street to the music and eating yummy snacks. So fun to see them again.
The time sure did fly by while we were there. It didn't seem that long of a trip on that end. Coming home it did seem like we had been gone a while though. Especially with Billy still being gone, I have been slow to re group and get everything back to normal. It was so great that my Mom made the drive home with me... not sure how I would have survived the journey on my own. Leaving at 4am helps a lot though to get a good part of the drive done while the kids sleep. Both my parents were so great to drop everything just to help me get to and from Utah safe and sane.
What a wonderful and memorable trip!

Count down chain

Ever since Zachary's birthday passed, William has been thinking and asking about his birthday quite a bit. He has asked me several times to show him on the calendar how many days until his birthday. Then he smiles and jumps and gets really excited and tells me what he wants; a cookoo clock and a basket for his bike so he can put stuff in it. Anyway, I told him we would make a count down chain to help him see how many days until his birthday. Yesterday we did it, 50 days til the big 4! (and the big 34 for me!) This is our first count down chain that we have made, pretty exciting :)

I also have to write about my day out yesterday running errands with the kids. We were right in the middle of everything, more toward the beginning actually. I had driven to the GWD to drop a bill, by the 4 plex to pick up rent and by the drive up ATM to deposit all the checks... the boys were all sleeping through these errands. I parked the car in the shade outside Bed Bath & Beyond and was going to wait for the boys to all wake up (which happened as soon as I turned off the car) and then go look for a magic mesh screen for our back door. Loaded the big boys in a cart and Jameson in the front pack and headed into the store. Found the screen right away, but of course I needed to see what else I "needed" while I was there. After a couple liquid soap refills, two new bath towels and a new quilt for the boys bed... I headed for the check out line. I was standing there talking to the cashier (who was Grant Betz) I started to smell Jameson poop. I quickly pulled him away from my body to check for a blow out up the back (this has been happening a lot lately) which would be on my shirt. Nope, safe. Then I keep smelling it but Jameson isn't making any noises or fussing or anything... hmm. I grabbed his ankle and then I found it! Oh no, I'm wearing WHITE PANTS! I look down, NOT on my pants! However, a BIG puddle of poop is on the floor right under me! I could not believe it! I asked Grant for a towel and he cleaned it up for me as I held Jameson, still in the front pack, away from my body. I then maneuvered the cart with one hand to the bathroom and into the handicap stall where the changing table was so I could get Jameson cleaned up. I walked out of the store with two boys and stuff in the cart and one naked baby over my shoulder :) Good times. At least I didn't have to go into CVS, Trader Joes and meeting the new tenants at the apartment with poop all over me. Gotta love motherhood.

This was a needed activity once we made it home!

Also, I need to write down that Jameson has been sleeping GREAT at night. Almost through the night already :) Hooray.