Harper is SEVEN!

Today my hilarious, mischievous, super chill, absolute best-brother, kind, caring, stylish, music-loving, ALWAYS thinking of others-second born is SEVEN. So hard to believe. I see Harper as a perpetual four year old in my mind but the truth is, he is growing up. And I can't freeze time...I've tried, ha! 

Happy Birthday Harp!!! We LOVE you so much!

Harper is SIX!

It is downright shocking to type these words...but my little rockstar is SIX today. Call me crazy, but I still think of Harp as a 3-4 year old...sadly, those days are gone. He has grown and matured SO much this past year. He is rocking kindergarten! He is such an awesome reader, flying through books and writing stories nonstop...that has been his favorite thing to do lately! He either types them on the computer or makes his own "book" filled with stories from the unconquerable Power Rangers. :) Speaking of which, he is CRAZY about some Power Rangers lately...another certain child of mine will seriously have a new "thing" every week..(you name it...Avengers, Star Wars, Angry Birds, Zombies, etc.), but Harper stays faithful to his Rangers (and Spidey!) of course. :) He has always been so simple and easy to please, and I LOVE that about him. Harper is still a budding rockstar, spending his afternoons "playing" his guitar and perfecting his cool moves. He loves to pretend play, and is always seen around the house with some kind of costume on.............or nothing at all. :) It's either one extreme or another...and even if I have to tell him to go put some pants on 54654x a day, I wouldn't have it any other way! 

6 years of Harp: 

(top row: NB, 4mon, 1y. 2nd row: all 2-3ys, 3rd row: 4y, 5y, 6y)

We love you SO much Harper (or "Ar-pah" as Grant calls you :) You bring so much joy to our lives! 

Happy 6th Birthday to the coolest kid I know!!

Halloween and Football!!

Another month has come and gone, and I have NO idea how it happened!! October is always a busy month for us, but esp this year...Halloween festivities, field trips, therapy, and football have consumed our lives over the past few weeks. 

A few Saturday's ago we went over to our old church's Fall Festival and had so much fun! It was so great to see everyone! It has been several months since we've been there, but even so, it still feels somewhat like "home." The boys all went as Star Wars characters: Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and Yoda :]

I bought all three costumes last year on clearance at Target for a total of like $7...I plan on doing the same thing this week when everything gets marked down to 90% off...can't beat a good deal!

This past Wednesday, we took the boys to new church's Awana Trunk-or-Treat and festival. We had a last minute football practice right before the festival, so we got there a little late and didn't stay long because by the time we went through the parking lot and played a few games inside, Grant was DONE! Which is why he looks so..ahem...excited in the picture, haha!

On Halloween morning, the elementary school always hosts a breakfast for Dads and Grandfathers to come to. They eat doughnuts and carve pumpkins...the boys were SOO excited because both Kane and my dad went, and they let Carson hang out in Harp's class for the morning so they could all be together! Afterwards, they had a Book Character Parade (They dress as a character from a book, and march around the school holding their books). Carson really wanted to wear his doctor costume (also a Target clearance snag from last year!), so he picked a random book that happened to have a doctor in it, and Harp was Superman from his favorite easy reader book! Grant wore his firefighter costume to the school to cheer his brothers on!

It was such a fun (and busy) week!! 

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Our Football season is officially over! The boys had such a great time, and the boys' team ended up runner-up overall...which is SOO awesome! 

This picture was taken a few weeks ago at scrimmage game against a team from another county...it was FREEZING at this game! And they aren't allowed to wear toboggans during play :/

I took this pic last weekend after they won the semifinal game 30-28...who would have ever thought Flag Football could get so intense?! haha! By the way-their game that morning was at 8:30 am, it was 30something degrees, and the field was iced. Grant was miserable during this game because he couldn't move from all the layers, haha!

This was from yesterday at the Championship game..we lost by only 1 touchdown!

All for now...I know I'm not very regular on my blog anymore, and I'm rarely on FB either, but you can follow along on my Instagram account!

The Next Manning Brothers?!

Will the Trochelman brothers be the next football stars? 

ehhh.....probably not! haha!!

but they sure are cute, aren't they?!

They are having a really great time and have learned so much this season! We are already 4 games in and only have 1 game left of the regular season before the playoffs. And...we are undefeated! Next Saturday, we are playing a really tough team (also undefeated), and it is going to be hard to beat them...even so, I'm excited for them and for how far they have come!

Carson really has a lot of heart-even if he doesn't pull the flag everytime, he tries, which is all that want from him. And Harp-really has come a LONG way, haha! Bless his heart-the first game he ever played, he probably didn't even the know the name of his team, much less what to do! At one point during that game, he was in the OTHER teams huddle! lol!! 

Here's a super short (grainy) video from practice the other night of Harp (in the red)...he's come a long way!! They both have!

It's been a fun season...Carson already has his sights on playing tackle next year, but I'm not sure we'll let him...I think he's going to need another year of flag...I really wish will we had a full flag division for kids of all ages! 

Anyways, all for now!!

Tooth(less!)

Harper lost his very first tooth on Friday!!! (9/6/13)

This same tooth has been loose for a while now...before he turned 5 in April actually! He never messed with it, and wouldn't let anyone touch it, but we knew it was ready Friday when he could lay it down both ways with his tongue! Kane barely had to tug to get it out! :-)

The one right next to it is super loose, too...It will definitely be out in the next few weeks.

Want to know something crazy? I cried. Like really cried. I didn't even tear up when he started Kindergarten, but I lost it over a dang tooth, haha! 

Sigh...here's to growing up!

Kindergarten and 1st Grade!!!

Whew. 

That pretty much sums up life right now, haha! I just realized today that I haven't sat down to blog about the boys first day (err....week..) of school! 

Last Monday, I sent my oldest babies off to Kindergarten and 1st Grade! They had a pretty good week, overall! Harp is having the time of his life! Preschool (and now Kindergarten) has really allowed him to blossom and branch off from big brother's shadow. He is such a friendly, easy-going kid, and has already made several "best friends," and is apparently in love with a girl in his class named Sophia (I'm only half joking...). Carson has had an overall good week, but he has had one hiccup with his first grade teacher substitute...His real teacher is on maternity leave until the end of the month, so hopefully things will go more smoothly when she gets back. 

We've also been busy with football practice every Tuesday & Thursday nights, and church on Wednesdays.

Here are a few first day of school pics!  

Father's Day and this past week

Harp's had a rough recovery from surgery. The first few days weren't so bad, but so far, days 5-7 have been the worst. He was up most of last night crying in pain (he was maxed out on pain meds).

 Anyways, here are just a couple Father's Day pictures! 

until next time!

Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy

Tuesday morning, we took Harp to get his tonsils and adenoids out. Although this is his 4th surgery, this is his first surgery where he is older and knew what was going on. Poor buddy was SO nervous...he kept whispering to me that he didn't want to have his tonsils out and asked several times if we could go home. Lump in my throat.

 

He was so brave and did so well. Waking up was really bad for him-he screamed and cried and lashed out...(all which is normal post-surgery)...but that passed pretty quickly and he cuddled in my arms for several hours and watched tv while we waited to be discharged.

The surgery itself went well. He was getting his tonsils (and adenoids) removed because they were too big and he was having major sleep issues. But after surgery, his doctor told me they were in bad shape-he said the tissue was falling apart and looked like they had been infected a lot...that really surprised me because he hasn't had (diagnosed) strep much...maybe once? Obviously he hasn't showed symptoms of strep or I would have taken him in, but then I remembered when he was younger (2/3?) his ear drum ruptured from a bad ear infection that he didn't show signs of either...hmm..

Anyways, Harp was pretty good the rest of Tuesday and had a decent day Wednesday, but today hasn't been so good. He woke up this morning at 5:30 crying out, and it took forever for me to get him to calm down to take medicine. He really needs it around 2, 3 A.M., but you can't just wake Harp up. Seriously. I could calmly touch Carson and Grant and they would wake up pretty easily, but Harper? Nothing on God's green earth will wake him up when he's sleeping (well, without him throwing a major tantrum first-and even then there is no guarantee he'll actually take the medicine). Sigh. I don't want him to hurt, but I also can't wake the kid up for nothing. It's a stinky situation, but we DO find peace knowing this is temporary. 

All for now!

Harp's Spidey Bash

We had Harp's 5th Birthday Party this past weekend, and it was so much fun! We always have to work around Easter (Easter always falls either the weekend before or the weekend after his birthday), but it worked out because nobody was sick and the weather was gorgeous! 

We had his party at the picnic shelter at "old church"...we were really fortunate to be able to use the facility because I kind of forgot to book the park's picnic shelter the week before when Carson was sick. 

I forgot to take out my camera until the end (and most of his friends had left by then), but here are a few pictures!

I'm so glad Harp had a good time! And now...we rest! We have all three boys birthdays from Jan 14-April 3 (not to mention Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day, and Easter thrown in there for good measure!) So until next year...

Harper is FIVE!

I'm not sure how it is possible, but my Harper is the big FIVE today. 

I could go on forever about Harper-he is SO full of personality, but I'll try and keep it short. 

I love him with everything I am.

He is so wonderfully loving and mischievous and makes all of our lives brighter.

He loves his brothers with such intensity (Grant can attest to that! :) and cares for them both so much.

He also knows exactly what to do and say to annoy and tease his brothers incessantly  He is the best middle child I know! :)

He is my most difficult child-he defies every.single. discipline technique I have ever tried. Nothing fazes him. 

Even so, Kane and I stay up at night laughing at all of the things he did/said that landed him in trouble.

He is incredibly independent. He entertains himself and enjoys quiet play. Carson and Grant both have very demanding personalities, while I have to practically beg Harp to "play" with me.

In the same breath I can say whole-heartedy that he is still such a baby. He is in no hurry to grow up, and that makes me SO happy. I always say that he may not be the youngest in the family, but he is definitely the baby of the family.

He is hilarious-he cracks us all up without even trying. 

He sings at the top of his lungs in the shower every night.

He can work "poop" "booty" "fart" and "butt" into any conversation. 

I LOVE that he isn't afraid to be himself-he is often seen (in public) with fake glasses or backwards newsboy caps on (MUCH to the embarrassment of Carson).

In any given store, Harp is known to break out into a dance to the overhead music. And even more often, without music.

He finds his way to our bed every single night...

And then wakes at the crack of dawn and blares music. 

He always gets a big smile on his face when he sees a pretty girl. Lord help me when I have three teenage boys.

He is usually either naked or overdressed. He walks around in his underwear or dress shirt and tie. No in-between. 

His favorite things include pretend play, music, and reading.

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I really can't believe his is 5-Happy Birthday to my sweet baby Harper!

Harp's Appointment Update

Quick Update:

Harp had a ultrasound & consult with his surgeon today concerning the vascular malformation in his thigh.

Long story short, it has NOT grown & we will not be seeking treatment at this time! We are praising God for answering a huge prayer of ours!

We will not have to back for about 8-12 months, so as far as Harp goes, we can rest peacefully.

Update more later!

these two

Four nights in a row of "camping"...

Tent. 

Giggles.

Flashlights.

Dirty socks.

A few shoves here and there.

Belly laughs.

and finally...cozy sleep.

Carson's Party & this week.

This year we decided to have a really low-key birthday party for Carson.  Last year's party was a lot of fun (and work!), but I kind of just ran out of time this year. So we decided to have a super small party for just immediate family & then take him out to do whatever he wanted to do that weekend. I also took cupcakes & juice to his class on his birthday (Monday).  

 Carson chose to do Glow in the Dark Mini Golf. It was really fun watching Kane & the boys play! Grant and I watched from the side :) Harp lost interest halfway through, so I took him to go ride a few rides. They also had a laser room that Carson did and I hate that I missed it! After golf, we went out to eat.

Carson had an Angry Birds Party. He really wanted a Power Ranger party but I waited too long to order online. It was fun & simple to put together! Here are a few pictures from the party:

Kane & me :)

The birthday boy!

Some of the presents:

The boys being silly

Food: 

Cake:

Presents

These two had their own dance party!

Family:

 Blowing out the candles!

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I am SO thankful that I have always been able to be a stay-at-home Mom-God has always provided for us in every season. All of the material things that we don't have is such a small sacrifice for us to make for me to be able to stay home. And even though Carson & Harper are at school now during the day, I have been able to be active/semi-active (hey, now-I still have another little at home :) in the boys' classrooms. I love being able to get in their classrooms, interact with their friends & teachers, and get a glimpse into their school life. 

Last Friday, I went with Harper's class to the skating rink! They have been learning about Winter, and went to the skating rink to go practice "ice-skating" :) My mom graciously watched Grant (which she normally does while I do class things with the boys-another HUGE blessing to me). I had so much fun with Harp-he did a little bit better then Carson did last year :) That, or maybe he seemed to have done better since I was 35 weeks pregnant last time I went. After a bit of skating, he got on a scooter and had SO much fun on it. We ended up leaving early because "he didn't feel good," and needed me to carry him. I did. That baby has grown up too fast and if my almost 5 year old wants me to carry him, then I will happily oblige...those moments are quickly fleeting. 

My phone is SO messed up and has a mind of it's own-my camera will not work most of the time and if does happen to work, it will self-delete all new pictures. Anyways, if I do not immediately text/email/instagram them, they are lost forever. Unfortunately, I only saved one picture from Carson's class party :( oh well. 

They were singing to him here:

Tuesday, Harp's class had a snack-time parent activity. I kind of forgot about it until the last minute, so Grant and I ran up there quickly after breakfast. Grant was such a little terror there. He screamed & fussed. He yelled and arched his back get down out of my arms. He tried and screamed in anger when he couldn't grab Harp's snack. And he threw things and hit me. So basically, I had a toddler for the day. I REALLY hope that wasn't a glimpse into our near future :/ 

Anyways, when I wasn't wrangling Grant, I watched Harp build a snowman out of snack foods. All of the other kids laid their snowmen out in 2D fashion, but Harper [being the rockstar that he is] made his 3D ;)

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The boys have a 4 day weekend this weekend & Kane has a 3 day weekend (yay!), so we'll be enjoying a restful weekend of family fun!

All for now!