Back to school

Logan is back to school...already. It seemed like he was the first one on the planet to start back to school. I am sad he is back - and he is too - I like having him home full time.

Brody started back yesterday too. He is studying Arctic animals in school and is loving that - Penguins are his absolute favorite! Even Colter has school now, he started in Moms Morning Out yesterday. For a couple of hours once weekly, he plays in our church nursery and I get to do some running around sans kids. It is a beautiful thing!

We had a great time in Memphis! The drive went really well with all 3 kids. We left at 4:30am, and all 3 kids went back to sleep until 7:30 or so. After we made it there, we had tons of fun!

Wednesday - we went swimming, then to dinner

Thursday - we spent 6 hours at the Memphis zoo, then the big boys went to see a movie

Friday - we hung out, then went to the Childrens museum

After the kids went to bed, we got to spend some quality time with my best girlfriend and her husband. It was a fantastic trip!

Easter

We partied in true Gruninger style for Archie's conversion into the Catholic Church. Archie (and Auntie Al) have been working and studying all year for the big Easter Vigil mass. Prior to the mass we had a shin dig to celebrate. It was loads of fun and I was especially thankful all of the boys were at home in bed at a decent hour. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics from that evening...probably because I was too busy eating and drinking at the party :)

What is quiet, scurrying around at 4:45am on Easter, and moves quickly? No, this isn't the Easter bunny - it was my two oldest boys. They were so stinking excited that morning that they hopped (literally) out of bed to see the candy trail the Easter Bunny had left for them to their Easter Baskets. Bear was able to go back to sleep (thankfully!), Logan - not so much. Needless to say, we all had a big ole family nap that day after Mimi, Grandpa, and Auntie Em came over to see the Egg Hunt and have brunch. Mimi also got the boys Under Armour shirts of their own. In the pictures below, they are flexing their muscles in the shirts.

That afternoon we headed to Aunt Stacy's for more Easter fun. I think in total the boys participated in 4 whopping egg hunts and they have quite the stash to prove it. Click on the link below to see pictures from Easter season.

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Worst. Blogger. Ever

Alright, alright, alright, I admit it. I am the worst. blogger. ever. I own it and I am not afraid to admit it. It isn't that I mean to be the worst blogger, it just happened almost overnight it seemed. My days were turning into nights and I didn't have a good gauge on what day it was anyways. You other parents out there get it and there is no need to explain the haze that encompasses your first few weeks of having a newborn.

Baby C has been a great baby thus far. For the most part he fusses when he is hungry or sleepy - oh, and also around 8:30 at night, his fussy time. He has fit right into our little family and we have been so blessed to have him join us. The big boys have done very well adjusting. Logan is still being the best big brother...just with 2 younger brothers under him. Brody is also liking the role of big brother when it is convenient for him.

We had a wonderful Christmas season this year. It was much slower than normal because we have a newborn, which we all enjoyed to the fullest. Our family had the privilege of playing the part of the Holy Family on Christmas Eve mass. Corey was Joseph, Baby C was Jesus, I was Mary, and the big boys were shepherds. Everyone was able to come and be a part of the mass - it was lovely as Mimi would say.

I am also planning on including a slide show of other happenings around the Trent Casa. We have had quite a bit of soccer take over our lives. Logan has become quite the player since last year, and we aren't sure how it happened. He has been averaging 3 goals per game and eating lots of ice cream. (If the boys get a goal during a game we go out for ice cream, thanks to Grandpa.) Bear has also taken up soccer, he is more concerned about the Fan Fare in the stands. He runs behind the ball and makes sure to wave and give a "thumbs up" to his fans.

A couple of weeks ago my bestie Joy came in town for a visit. I hope she relaxed a bit during her stay since my normal Mama drama continued while she was here. Corey was a true rockstar and took Colter while Joy and I went to Ft. Worth. We almost visited the rodeo while we were there! (But didn't want to pay the $10 ticket price!)

Here is an album of pictures, I hope to be better about posting in the upcoming future. Continue to bear with me though...

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Colter Jackson Trent finally arrived to complete our family. He has already taught me lots of lessons in patience. I fully expected him to arrive at least one week early, if not 2 weeks - he arrived 2 short days prior to his due date. I felt like I was 3 weeks overdue! Additionally, I thought my labor would last 6-8 hours (as this is how long my labor with Bear was), and clearly, Colter has a timeframe all his own. I went into labor on November 20th at around 6am and was in labor until I had him at 9:31pm that night.

Thus far this little sugar has been such a good baby. We were able to make it to both family's Thanksgiving dinners. The food was wonderfully prepared by Auntie Al, Uncle Archie, and Grammy and Pa. We all ate a little too much and hopefully Colter followed suit. After all, his main job right now is eating and growing. We go in for a follow up appointment on Tuesday to see how much he has grown.

Mimi and Grandpa were SO nice to take the boys out to the ranch both weekends. It was nice for the boys to get to go out and run for the weekend. It was also nice for Corey and I, to have both weekends "off" and be able to focus on our new addition. Both boys have responded well to their baby brother thus far, although I am sure there is quite a bit more adjusting to come. Thanks to everyone for the prayers and well wishes!

Halloween and Bear's Birthday

We are all still recovering after a very successful Halloween Trick or Treating extravaganza. Both boys did very well in the candy department and both were still happy with their costumes weeks after making the decision of what they were going to be. Below are both boys showing off their stash:

LT initially wanted to be a glow in the dark skeleton (after an attempt at getting me to buy into a skeleton with blood all over his face - clearly which wouldn't fly...yet), but then ultimately decided on a ninja, with the most important sword accessory. I too love accessories, so I can relate :)

Bear was a bit more difficult. These days he is obsessed with fire hydrants. While driving we take note of all types of hydrants: red ones, tall ones, short ones, ones that have a different color "hat" - you name it, we are admiring it. Of course, a spewing hydrant is an especially fabulous find. Anyways, when asked what he wanted to be for Halloween, you guessed it, he wanted to be a fire hydrant. Thanks to Mimi, we were able to whip one up for my little guy. It was a homemade costume, and a little abstract on the theme, so we were often telling people what he was vs. people assuming he was a fire hydrant - he was quite okay with it.

In addition, we celebrated Bear's birthday a bit early with a trip to the fire station then back to our house for pizza and cupcakes. Bear was in high heaven since the day was all about him. I love that! I also love that the party took place before baby brother's arrival. I want to make sure that his big day isn't overlooked since he will be sharing his birthday month with Mimi, Daddy, and Baby Brother.

Bedtime -

So bedtime at the Trent house should include the following: Bath, Book, Bed (+ Prayers too). Bedtime with 2 boys has continued to evolve into more and more of a process. Getting both boys into bed earlier with the school year has also added complications.

Typically, our evening ensures a number of ups and downs prior to the boys being asleep. Each night is a new adventure, although many times it is comical. For instance, tonight included the following:

Bath - both boys took a bath, and needed a bath badly! Bear had dried snot on his face with dirt mixed in - yick! There was also paint under fingernails, and more dirt there too...

Breathing Treatment - Bear is once again struggling with his breathing, so twice daily, the boys get a break in the action for Bear to inhale a smoky concoction through a nebulizer treatment.

Brush teeth - Hmmm, which brush to use? Can I use your toothpaste? I want to do it first! Whoops, don't mind the toothpaste all over the counter...not to mention the cap of the toothpaste tube.

Hydration - both boys get to have 4 drops of water prior to bed (approximately, I am joking kind of, but not really), not to much so that we don't have an accident, but this is also an integral part of the routine.

Kleenex - Bear feels it necessary to clean out his nostrils prior to hitting the hay...God forbid us forget!

Bathroom - Everyone needs to take a potty break, no matter how small the attempt. Bear has this down to a science and often goes to the bathroom 3 times within an hour time frame prior to being asleep. Yes, he really is going - he knows this is the only thing he can get out of bed for, and he works it!

Hostage negotiation - this was a new step this evening. LT asked if he could sleep with one of Bear's stuffed animals. Bear is a REALLY good sharer with his brother, so of course he said yes. LT then offered to let Bear borrow one of his "guys." Bear picked out one and that is when all heck broke loose. Poor hubs walked into this mess right in the middle and ended up doing the negotiation. We knew things weren't going to go well RIGHT at bedtime - not the best idea in general. LT ended up crying himself to sleep with the stuffed animal on the floor. Bear, of course, went to bed happy with a new "guy" in his bed.

Infirmary - Bear often takes his time going to sleep. It seems to just take him longer to settle down. LT is asleep in 3 minutes, literally. Bear came out 30 minutes after getting in bed with a bloody lip. When asked what he was doing, he gave me a visual of a somersault into his headboard. Not really settling down in my opinion...Seriously???

Can you believe that they get any sleep at all with this drama???

Had a rough week...

So no baby yet, that isn't what made last week a doozie. We had quite an illness that was hanging over our house for the week. (God willing, I will not get infected!) All 3 of my boys almost died last week from some unknown virus. (Not really, but it seemed that way.) Corey brought it home from work and the rest was history. The week went something like this:

Tuesday night: I woke up around 3:45am and couldn't get back to sleep. I figured, this is good practice for when baby arrives, so I just rocked out my day accordingly - and did a pretty dang good job if I do say so myself :)

Wednesday night: I nestled myself snuggly into my bed for a long night sleep which was quickly interrupted by Bear around midnight. He took a number of trips to the bathroom throughout the night and needed my help. When he was in bed, he slept like a hot potato hopping all over the place. His belly did NOT feel good.

Thursday night: Again, nestling myself into my bed for a long night sleep, which was quickly interrupted by LT. He comes down to our room and I was nice enough to let him climb in with us. BAD CHOICE. His entry into our bed means absolutely NO sleep for this Mama. He too might as well have been doing the Macarena in bed because he was ALL over the place. I was still in good spirits feeling sorry for my guy, so again I rocked out the next day under 4ish hours of sleep.

Friday night: After keeping LT home from school, I felt for sure that the end was drawing near, the other two had finished up within 24 hours, so I was banking on a good night's sleep. Not so lucky. LT had another bad night on Friday and was still puny Saturday.

After being sequestered to the house all week and going on just a few hours of sleep for the week, I was starting to get into real bad place. Luckily the cloud lifted on Saturday and all beings under this roof were better.

Around this time during pregnancy I am prepared to do a sort of "boot camp" in the sleep department. This is somewhat like God's prep course for baby's arrival. I am up a number of times during the night going to the bathroom or just up being uncomfortable...but last week takes the cake! Like Mimi said, thank heavens this happened now instead of after baby's arrival...