Abby had to get her adenoids out the first week of January. It was hard to see her in pain, knowing that she didn't understand anything that was going on but we were hoping it would help her constant sinus infections.
We tried ice skating for the first time with the kids. Surprisingly they really enjoyed it even though they had quite a few falls.
The end of January our baby turned 2 and no longer wanted to be called a baby. She has always wanted to keep up with her brothers and that is still true. She wants to do everything that the big kids do.
We were hoping that Abby's adenoid surgery would be the answer to ending her constant string of illnesses but that turned out to not be the case. After her adenoids were removed she started getting chronic ear infections that we weren't able to treat with oral antibiotics and the poor girl ended up having to get a lot of shots. Finally the decision was made that she needed ear tubes put in. So the first week of February she went into surgery for the 2nd time to get tubes. Luckily this recovery went smoothly.
Like I said earlier, 2011 started out kinda rough for our family. Bryce had also been having a lot of sinus infections and ear infections so at the end of January the decision was made that he needed his adenoids out and ear tubes in. He was pretty nervous but handled it like a trooper. So we finished out the 2011 with a couple less adenoids than we started with.
February we had the experience of taking the boys to their first hockey game. They really enjoyed it and they got to ride the zamboni. They looked terrified but they said they had fun. We also had friends from Oregon visit and got a taste of what it would have been like to have 4 kids. A little crazy but fun.
This was also the month that we decided that we couldn't keep doing the same crazy sleep routine we had been doing with Abby. Now that she was completely better it was time for everyone in our house to start getting some sleep! So we did sleeping boot camp. It was horrible for everyone but I am happy to say that we now have a child that falls asleep on her own and sleeps by herself Most nights. Its not perfect but we had to take what we could get.
The end of February and beginning of March brought the much anticipated vacation without the kids. We went skiing with friends in Colorado and had some much needed time together.
March brought a couple mishaps. This month Abby and Caleb both managed to crash while running on the trails at Pioneer Park. Abby managed to cut up her nose and lip pretty bad. Caleb skinned up his nose and it wasn't his first ouch of the year. A couple weeks earlier he had to have his head glued. Bryce and him were chasing around the house and he ran behind the tv. The cable box came crashing down on him and suddenly blood everywhere. The ER staff laughed at him when he very seriously asked them if they were going to sew or glue his head. It definitely was not his first or last ER trip.
April poor Caleb ended up with bronchitis. I guess it was his turn eventually. He was pretty healthy most of the year.
In May we attended Super Hero Day at the Children's Museum. The kids always have a blast at this event and how could we not take our Super Hero crazed Bryce.
We celebrated Easter with our families. We had beautiful egg hunting weather!
The middle of May brought the end of Pre K for the year. We had decided to not send the boys to Kindergarten in the fall. Since they have a summer birthday, they would have been pretty young for their class. I am convinced that we made the right decision for us but it was still sad seeing them say goodbye to friends that they wouldn't be moving up with.
June is always a busy and fun month for us. The kids and I spent some time in Norfolk while Robb went to Calamus to work on his fish hatchery project. We went fishing with Grandpa Steve and Bryce caught is first fish in the first 5 minutes. After a fun morning of fishing we went to see grandma and grandpa Mattern. They were back from Arizona and we hadn't seen them in awhile. Little did we know that it would be the last time we would get to talk to grandpa Larry. Sadly he passed away in January 2012 from complications of cancer. I have always know that I was really lucky to have all my grandparents but I never knew how hard it would be to lose one. I have great memories of my Grandpa Larry and I am glad that he got to meet my kids and they got to meet him.
On a happier note, our boys turned 5 in June. They loved every minute of their birthday. We let them have a water fight friend party and a family party. It is hard to believe how big they are getting!
This year we took the kids to the Madison County Fair. I have great memories of the fair but it never worked out for us to go and this year it finally did. We watched a horse show, walked through the 4-H exhibits, went to the rodeo and rode carnival rides. We had a great time!
We had a great time at the annual Yankton vacation This may have been the hottest year at the lake yet. We spent most of our time in the water. This was a sad year for Robb, his boat was broke and he didn't have a boat for the trip. To make it worse in August he sold the broken boat. His plan is to get a new one next summer. We will see how that plays out.
You can't keep our kids out of the water. If they weren't swimming in the backyard, we were at the spray ground, water park, running through sprinklers, having water fights or slip n sliding. We are so glad that our kids all are little waterbugs.
This 4th of July the kids experienced their first parade. Bryce was catching candy like it was his job, Caleb just wanted to see the tractors and 4 wheelers, and Abby caught 1 piece at a time and ate it right when she caught it. Abby still hated the noise from the fireworks this year but the boys loved the fireworks. Their dad even let them light smoke bombs so that was a big step in being big.
In August we had a mini reunion with a group of friends from high school. We don't live very far from each other but it seems like life gets in the way when it comes to getting together. It was wonderful to catch up with each other and get to know all the kids. If you would have asked us in high school, we never would have thought that between us we would have this many Kids!
In September Bryce and Caleb started Pre K at Pioneer Park again. They have went to this preschool for 2 years now, so this year they were veterans. When all the kids were crying and clinging to their parents the boys were looking at them like "what is wrong with those kids". It was Abby who I had to carry out screaming and crying because she wanted to stay. Soon enough Abby.
We went camping at Calamus in the middle of September. Robb had been working on a big project out there all summer and he had to go pull back the big camper that they had been staying in while they worked. So, we decided it would be a good idea to camp. After this trip I have decided I am not a camper! It was ok I just can't stay in a camper with 3 kids. There just is not enough space.
This October was busy with school costume parties,pumpkin painting, pumpkin patch visits, Boo at the Zoo, and trick or treating. We also hit a couple really important milestones this month. Abby is finally potty trained which is SO SO exciting! That means we are diaper free for the first time in 5 years. Bryce and Caleb also hit a growing up milestone of taking the training wheels off of their bikes and we bunked their beds. Caleb is the only one that will sleep on top. Luckily he is fine with that.
We got to spend Thanksgiving with all of our families this year. We truly do have a lot to be thankful for.
Bryce has shifted his interest from super heroes to a new kind of hero. All of a sudden he is really into cops, K-9 dogs, firefighters and EMTs. Lucky for him his aunt Steph works at a police station. She gave him a tour and he got to meet a real cop and sit in his car.
Robb has turned all the kids into Husker fans. He took the boys to a game during their Christmas break.
We had a wonderful December. The kids are all at a fun age. They loved getting a tree, helping decorate it, buying gifts, wrapping gifts and getting ready for Santa to come.
We had a great 2011 and I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us.
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