Trouble Trouble

I'm thinking of changing his name... 

Makai is sooo much trouble ALL the time!

The thing I love the most about Makai is his personality.

The thing that drives me crazy about Makai is his personality.

He is so different than Ezra was. The other day I realized that Ezra tricked us into thinking we were great parents... then Makai showed us the truth: we don't know anything.
I feel helpless when it comes to discipling and teaching this child. He laughs at me when I'm upset, yells at me when I'm calm, slaps me when I'm trying to be patient and he gets into everything even if I'm standing right there watching him.

For example: In the past couple of weeks I have had orange juice spilled all over the floor, wall and couch (on different occasions), rocks thrown in the toilet, strawberries smooshed into the carpet, crackers thrown and crunched into the carpet, daddy's deodorant smeared all over his face, toothpaste eaten and hiden, lotion rubbed into my bed, baby's bed, the carpet and Makai, and everyday there is a new spill and mess ALL day long!

He loves to pour his water into his cereal and then spread it on the table. He thinks it's fun to climb counters to see what mommy might have forgotten to hide. He touches hot stoves after many warnings because he doesn't trust me that it really is hot. He thinks it's funny to fight me when I change his diaper. Water does not belong in the bathtub, but rather all over the bathroom floor and mommy. Deklan's binky's are fun to hide. He never sits to eat his meals. When I try reading him a book he steals it and reads it by himself. He fights nap time and usually falls asleep on the floor in his room. He refuses to hold my hand and runs away from me when we're in a parking lot. He pulls my hair when he's really mad at me (I have a seriously sensitive head, so that is the main thing you can do to make me mad). He likes to tell me to go outside and often points at me demanding that I cry. He finds other people's toothbrushes more interesting than his own. He fights me all day long about almost everything. He's the cutest little stinker, but I am at a complete loss as to how to handle him.

This is the face he'll flash at me if I catch him doing something he shouldn't; like hiding behind the chair in his room sucking on toothpaste that he climbed two shelves to get to.

I'm hoping it's a stage and maybe he's just reacting to Deklan being born, but right now I am going crazy and praying that we all survive another day. I take a deep breath before I go find him after he's been quite for awhile and I try my best to find the right words to help him understand and I try my best to understand him. He's trouble. It's a good thing he's cute, but I gotta say, the older he gets, the more trouble he gets and it's getting less and less cute everyday. 

I just hope our neighbors don't think we're beating our child. Though I'm sure they aren't super excited that we have moved in next to them. This does make me wonder if I should ever risk having another baby because what if it's ANOTHER boy?! And worse... What if he's just like Makai?! Let's just hope I stay out of the looney bin and don't go bald before Makai is 3.

Deklan's Birth Story

Birthdate: December 29^th, 2012 at 7:40am

Two weeks before my due date I was at the midwives and asked if they would check me to see how much I was dilated. I was only a 1 and he was still pretty high. The following week I was told I was at a 2. I was getting a little concerned since we were moving on the 22^nd and with Christmas coming up. And my insurance changed on December 31^st. That meant that if I didn’t have him by the end of 2012 that my birthing plan needed to change (meaning I’d have to go to the hospital and maybe have a different doctor) and I wouldn’t have nearly as good of coverage. So I was praying for this little guy to arrive ASAP.

I had a doctor’s appointment on Friday December 28^th (my due date) and was told then that I was only a 1. I guess they were wrong the week before. I started to cry. I was also sick and hadn’t been sleeping the past few days. My midwife wouldn’t strip my membranes because I guess they only do that if you are a 3 or a 4. But she gave me the option of going into the hospital to get a prostaglandin gel insert. I declined, went home and researched, cried a little more, and then called the midwives to see if it was too late for the gel. They told me to come right in. I went into the hospital after 3pm, left around 5pm and started having contractions on the drive home. They were off and on for the rest of the night. I was up most of the night, but by about 4:45am I woke James and told him that this was the real thing and we had better get moving. (That is when the midwife said we would record labor starting for real). James showered, then I took a bath and then showered. The boys woke up then too (sorry mom). We called the midwife at about 5:45am and she asked when I wanted to come in, I told her we better come right away because my last kid came fast.

We met her at the birthing center at 6:15am.  She checked me. James and I think she said I was at a 5. She then asked what I wanted to do and I asked if she would start filling the tub. (It is my preferred location to labor). I climbed in, moaned a lot, James cried a little, and things got moving. I snacked a little and drank lots of water, but mostly I just rolled my head from side to side and moaned. It was only the 3 of us in the entire birthing center, so it was really quiet (or peaceful as James put it. Somehow I don’t think we were having the same experience at that time.)

My midwife was fantastic. Her name was Shaina. She let me take charge of the entire experience and that was great. She let me tell her when it was time to push and tell her what I needed from her. She was ready to step in at any point, but I love that I was in control. It was a little too quiet, so I asked her to turn on the jets to muffle my own screams. (Yes, I was still in the tub. I did not necessarily intend to have a water birth, but I was not about to move, so a water birth was happening.) Then right after she turned on the jets I started pushing and broke my own water (never done that before). Then I had what felt like a 3 minute break in between contractions. It was weird, but appreciated. Then I screamed a lot more and baby boy was here. 7:40am.

The midwife who was acting as assistant got there right as he was being set on my chest. When it was time to get out of the tub to do all that lovely after-birth business, they handed the baby to James. He says that was cool because they usually take the baby away to do all that baby stuff and then we see him when he’s clean. We got lots of snuggles with a gooey baby. A little later they did weigh him and do all that baby stuff. He was 9lbs 3oz and 21 inches long. My biggest baby so far.

Then I nursed him and he nursed like a champ from the get-go. We were given a little time to snuggle him and relax and then they asked for his name. Umm……. We could not decide. Finally we were told we could leave and just call them on Monday to let them know. We stayed another hour trying to pick one and then gave up and decided to go see our boys. We left at 11am to go home.

My mom made a “Welcome Home” Sign that made it all seem so real that we had JUST had a baby and we were bringing him home. First thing Ezra said to me was, “Your belly is still big.” So sweet. Thanks Ez. Makai was very interested in the baby. Ezra didn’t really like him.

The next few days were spent full of tantrums and confusion. Ezra didn’t understand why I was always holding the baby and Makai only wanted daddy and nothing to do with mommy. Though Makai did love to hold the baby. It took a few days to get Ezra to even hold him. By Tuesday, January 1^st, we officially named him Deklan Steele Tressler. Deklan was just a name we both didn’t hate and many people recommended and Steele is a family name on James’ side.

All in all things went well. I didn’t have to deal with my insurance changing, we got all moved in before he came and I had my best birthing experience so far. The recovery has been good and the adjustment to 3 kids has been easier on me then adjusting to 2. Not to say it’s all fun and games. Last night I had all 3 kids screaming at the same time and I felt like I was going crazy, but emotionally I am doing okay.

Deklan is a sweet baby. If he’s not being held or sleeping, he’s crying, so it’s hard to get things done, but we’re surviving and he’s cute, so it’s okay.

Can’t believe we have 3 crazy boys now!

Welcome to our wild family Dek-O. We love you!

Meeting Deklan for the first time. (Don't mind my "dandruff" It was snowing :)

Our first family picture about 6 hours after he was born. I don't have the pic from the camera we were actually looking at lol.

Loved his curls right from the start :)

We're alive. The boys are crazy. Deklan is adorable. My arms are always full. Sleep is rare. We're good :)

Unfortunately that's all you get until I actually sit down to write the birth story and then venture out to find internet to post it. Some day. Soon. Maybe.

Deklan Smiling

He Smiles

He has curly hair.

His brothers love him and are always asking to hold him (though sometimes Makai just wants to hold his binky).

He has darker skin, dimples on each cheek, long fingers and toes, the most perfect round little head and the softest cheeks perfect for kissing :)

Basically we just love him to bits.

(I promise to give all the fun details of his birthday as soon as I can)

Deklan Steele Tressler

Deklan Steele Tressler was born December 29th at 7:40 am. He was 9lbs 3oz and 21 inches. 

He is a bundle of joy! He didn't have a name for the first 2 days of his life. It got to the point where we said, "Let's just name him ..." several different times out of desperation. We finally settled on a highly suggested name and we have since gotten used to it. His middle name is a family name from James' side. The boys are getting used to him. We have some extra tears and jealousy, but they love their new brother and are adjusting quickly. He was born in a birthing center, so we are busy scurrying around trying to get him all the routine things the hospital normally does. Our insurance is funny, so I really feel like I'm running in circles for all of it. 

We have been busy busy. We moved on the 22nd, had Christmas the 25th and he came the 29th. I will give all the fun details when I get a chance. Right now we are living without internet (and may continue to for awhile) so I am borrowing internet when we visit my in-laws. Life has been busy, but people let you slow down when you have a baby :) Overall we're doing well, my pelvis is mostly holding up and Deklan is a wonderfully easy baby thus far. More pics and updates to come!

Christmas

This Christmas we had the fun experience of having someone at our own house (Normally we are at someone else’s house). My mom came early to help us move into our new place and was able to be with us Christmas morning. I was so excited to share our traditions (or things we are trying to make traditions) to someone, but because we had just moved and I was severely pregnant, I forgot or completely abandoned most traditions. At least I got through the ‘elf on the shelf’ deal, but anything beyond that was just too much to ask. Next year. There’s always next year.

Ezra woke up Christmas Eve and came running down the stairs only to find my mom sleeping on the couch and zero presents under the tree. My mom said he got a confused/sad look on his face and said, “Santa didn’t bring me any presents?” Poor kid was just a day ahead of himself.

Ezra came running down Christmas morning and then ran right back upstairs to wake us up. We all came down and embraced the magic through our children’s eyes. We opened presents, yelled at my mom to stop taking pictures of our morning appearances, watched family videos my dad made for us of our trip to Disney World, and allowed James to make us a delicious breakfast.

Then we headed over to my in-laws for a fantastic Christmas dinner and to open a few more presents. We brought most of our presents to our place, but thought it would be fun to leave a couple there too.

They got a jeep. Oh boy were they excited. And so cute riding it too. James has since taken them outside many times to explore our new neighborhood and woodsy trails. They’re having a ball with it.

We let Makai drive it too, but he didn't quite grasp steering, so Ezra took over.

Disney World was our big present this year, so they mostly got small gifts, but that didn’t seem to matter to them. They played more with their simple stocking stuffers that morning than any of the other toys.

just opened our Disney photo album. He loved looking at himself on the rides :)

Oh and Ezra did get his dreamlite that he kept begging for. He was so excited he couldn’t wait to put batteries in and go test it out. Now Makai wants one. I thought they were silly, but now that I’ve seen it, I think they are pretty cool. Maybe I’ll get one for my room too. Maybe not.

right after opening his dreamlite

He got a monkey hat from Nana and looked so cute when he put it on backwards.

We had a great Christmas and enjoyed the special time to be with family, create magical childhood memories for our children, and remember the birth of our Savior.

Elf on the Shelf

On December 1st our boys got their first visit from The Elf of the Shelf. I wouldn't have ever known about this tradition without Pinterest. I went back and forth about whether or not I wanted to do it, but after seeing how excited the boys were when our elf showed up, I'm so glad I did it.

His name is Giddy and he is a good little elf. He is not mischievous. He usually just picks a new place to hang out, but every now and then he's clever about where he hides. We have found him taking a bath in marshmallows, hanging from the TV, sleeping in a diaper, hanging from our sun visor in the car, sitting in a cup holder eating a cookie in the car, climbing a tree (small decor item in our house), writing a nice note and a countdown to Christmas on our whiteboard, tucked into our "Jesus" stocking, rocking baby Jesus, hanging from our ceiling vent, sliding down the banister, fishing in the toilet, using the car ramp as a slide, playing Grandma's piano and other somewhat but not really clever places.

Ezra gets so excited to find him every morning and always seems to think wherever he is hiding is hilarious. Makai likes to be the one to find him and then tell us where he is. Usually we've already found him, but we don't let Makai know that :)

Airsoft with Daddy

Daddy has had his airsoft gun tucked away in the closet since we moved to Maryland, but he recently dusted it off and has rediscovered his obsession love for it. He just had to share that with the boys. He took them in the backyard and let them shoot it. They had a blast!

Decorating a "target" 

Makai would always say, "auto" meaning he wasn't satisfied shooting one bb at a time, it had to explode with bb's when he pulled that trigger. 

Daddy even made baby boy #3 shoot some the only way he can right now.

Checking out the damage.

They love time with daddy and doing things that daddy is interested in. He may act like a 12 year old boy sometimes, but let's face it... he is one awesome daddy :)

They recently went back out to destroy a pumpkin bb style. Oh boys...

Thanksgiving in New Hampshire

This year the 2 Tressler boys and I were able to make a trip to New Hampshire to visit my family for Thanksgiving. We stopped in New Jersey the way there and back to visit my Sister-in-law and her family and to break up the trip. It wasn't too bad. In fact, I don't know why I haven't done that since we moved out east.

The boys had a great time and it was hard to leave. Driving and not having a flight to catch is dangerous. I even changed a doc. appointment so I could stay a couple days longer.

Here's some of what we did:

My mom had a little baby shower for me and my dad took the older kids to a movie :)

Mom and I did lots of crafts, mostly for Christmas presents for my young women at church. We also had a day of baking Christmas cookies and candies and the kiddos helped. This is Lily and Ezra helping me make candies.

Grandpa put the grandkids to work cleaning the yard. He said it was fun for about a minute and then they started dumping out the wheelbarrow and got fired. 

Got to visit with my brother Jason and his wife Jamie and their kids Tyler and Lily.

The kids helped Nana decorate her tree. My mom always has a fun house at Christmas time, so I was really glad to be there to see it again this year.

I love how all the ornaments are clumped in one spot or dragging on the floor. Classic. They had so much fun and felt so proud. 

Makai played dress-up. We went to the store right after this pic. He let me take the dress off, but he insisted on wearing the dinosaur mask throughout the store. We got some great looks and comments. 

Nana wanted a pic of the grandkids, Ezra said "okay" as long as she gave them lollipops. 

Grandpa and the boys

Nana and the boys

We made Christmas trees using ice cream cones one evening. I like this way better than gingerbread houses for kids.

Ezra spent many days playing outside riding his cousin, Tyler's, bike. It really is a cool bike. Maybe that's what we'll get him for his birthday? And why isn't there a cult-de-sac right outside every house? I hope I live on one someday.

We also played at the mall and visited Santa, did lots of shopping and hit up a couple of yard sales. We had Thanksgiving at my aunts house in Massachusetts and it was a great day. I got to see my not-so-little little brother and a couple of friends. Got to go on a daddy-daughter date and run kid-free errands with my mom. It wasn't super eventful, but it was great.

Love you family! Thanks for taking me in and making me feel so welcome and wanted.

Ready for Christmas?

This is Ezra's wishlist:

It says, bracelet, dream-lite, pirate, avengers, and spider-man. I love his little list and cute letters.

The only thing he told me he wanted before trying to make a list was a dream-lite. I found a decent deal on one, ordered it the day after Thanksgiving and have been waiting ever since. Apparently is was put on back-order. All I have to say is that darn thing better get here in time for Christmas!

I am done Christmas shopping! I just need to get a couple more cards sent out and then I can relax (or maybe just move and/or have a baby). We're not doing Christmas cards this year :( Hope family members aren't offended by not getting one. I'm just a slacker and never got around to it and now I'd just rather not bother. Sorry!

Are you ready for Christmas?!