All Things Tate!

GET READY... I am about to bombard y'all with a whole bunch of pictures. GET SET... a picture really does say it all... GO!

First I must let you in on a little known fact that some of you might already know about him. But for those of you who don't... When I was pregnant with him, we knew he was a boy and were trying to decide if we would stick with the "T" names or go with something completely different. The very first name that came to my mind was Tate. I was REALLY trying to expand my options so we tried out several other names but none seemed to be right. We ended up coming back to Tate because we liked the meaning of the name. Tate means "cheerful". His middle name is Leo after his paternal grandpa. Leo means "lion". Now that you know that little fact, here are a few others:

The boy LOVES to eat!
Some of his very favorites include:
APPLES (right down to the very core- I had to pry this one out)
BEANS- Black, Red, White... he's not predjudice.
STRAWBERRIES- or "berry berry" as he calls them.
And HE has decided that he MUST sit at the bar. No more high chair for him!
Especially when his brothers are doing it- or if there are any "ma-num-ma-nums" (any kind of treat-derived from M&M's) available.
He also has quite the "little" temper. The "Lion" part.
This would be Tate chewing me out....
...because he does NOT want the Cheerios I tried to give him before church.
I am working on trying to capture a little video clip of one of his tantrums. Anyone that has experienced one of these knows just how special they really are.

When he is on the "Cheerful" side of his personality, I find him being quite silly...
Alone...

...or with his crazy brothers.

Sometime he just needs a place to hide from the "crazy's". Just he and the BBs' (blankie and binkie)
We sure do love our little CHEERFUL LION!

And in case you wonder if I have forgotten about the "other crazys"...

Introducing... Hot Sun Man and Ultra Lord! Yes Tracen is STILL "inventing" with the construction paper.

*Sorry it's so blurry. This was actually the best one I got. CURSED CAMERA! Getting a better one soon!*

Oh and keep reading to see Tate's other little issue...

Tate's Turn

Unfortunately, my boys are not new to the whole ECZEMA thing. Tracen had it pretty bad. He had one patch of it on his check that bugged him so badly he itched it till it was an open wound. Tyler had many random patches appear all over his little body. I was amazed at all the different forms eczema can appear in. But both boys have seemed to out grow it and now only get the seasonal dry skin.
Now it looks to be Tate's turn with the nasty stuff. Poor little guy. It doesn't seem to bug him too much but it sure looks bad.




Oh.. you might wonder about the bluish "bruise-like" spot on his chest. We don't beat him, PROMISE, it is called a MANGIOMA. He has had it since birth.

WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT IT? Here is what we have done:
Your doctor can prescribe special creams that can keep it from itching and help it go away, however, you pay $15-$30 for a tiny little tube of cream and are somehow supposed to put that all over your babes body (at least for my boys). So.. we have found it helpful to bathe them, at the most, every other day, slather them up with Eucerin Cream everyday, and just wait it out. Most kids, like my boys, out grow it or it takes on a different form.

I think I'm addicted...

Just another Hooter-Hider for my neighbor.

SURPRISE! I can sew!

So a while back I was trying to decide what I would give to my sister and my sis-in-law for their B-day's in April. The thought came to me that they would absolutely LOVE to get a cute apron to wear in their new kitchens. (they have both recently moved into new homes) So I looked online to see what I could find. I did find several options out there. They were all absolutely darling, the only problem I had was that they were all selling for around $30!!! A bit more than I was willing to spend on an apron. So... I thought, "Hmm.. I wonder if I could just make them myself." My friends Bethany and Amy both had great patterns for cute aprons. One of the Biggest problems with that was, it would be ME sewing them. I also had a few other issues:

#1: I did not have a sewing machine of my own.

#2: I DO NOT SEW!

#3: The aprons HAD to turn out! They would be gifts!

**But of course there are usually pros with every group of cons.**

#1: I could always BORROW my moms machine.

#2: I actually did take a series of sewing lessons once (much to my dismay at the time).

#3: I really wanted to give aprons. I was not going to pay $30 each. And... I only had 2 weeks to get this going so I had better just start so I would have enough time to find them something else when I completely botched these!


The SURPRISING results??!!

#1: It costs less than half the $$$ for all the material.

#2: Amy had an easy enough pattern that did not CONFUSE THE HECK out of me.

#3: I SURVIVED! And I actually ENJOYED making them so much that I have decided to buy my very own sewing machine! Shocking, I know.

I think they turned out pretty darn cute and my sisters seemed to like them.
*They are reversible. So here are some pictures of both sides of each apron.

... and because I actualy had FUN sewing, I decided to make my other sis-in-law a much belated baby shower gift.

A HOOTER-HIDER!

Any suggestions for a great kind of sewing machine? I don't need anything too fancy. These aprons are probably as complex as I am going to get.

Oh and THANKS MOM for pushing the sewing lessons on me. I'm glad I could finally make you proud!

Hooray for Chuck E Cheese!!!

Per Tracen's request we headed to Chuck E Cheese for a little party on the eve of his birthday. This was our first time there and I do believe it was a BIG hit. The kids (and dads) had such a FANTASTIC time.

I think the proof of that is the sheer joy on their faces.

There was of course plenty of pizza and the oh so wanted...
IRON MAN CAKE!

For Dan and I, the very best part of the evening was the look on Tracen's face when he opened these two gifts ...

From: Mom and Dad:
The He-Man Masters of the Universe (season one) DVD.... you know you watched every episode and LOVED it.
From: Tyler and Tate...
Iron Man Action Figure (he seriously almost cried tears of joy over this one)

What a cool aunt to spend part of her own b-day evening at Chuck E Cheese.
She must love him sooooo much.
Thanks so much to all the family and friends that came. I know it meant a lot to Tracen to have you all there. What a lucky little man to have so many that LOVE him so much!

Here are a few fun little videos of the evening. (remember to pause our playlist)

Tracen Daniel Jacobs... the BIG 6!

I cannot believe that six years have gone by since you joined our family. Yesterday morning I was thinking about how at that very moment, 6 years earlier,

( *totally HOT- I know*)
I was in labor with you. I had started at about 3 am on Sunday morning the 13th, only for you to hold out to be born 29 hours later on your Aunt Melanie's birthday. I swear you two must have made a deal in heaven.

You were 7 lbs 10 oz and 21 inches long. Perfect. Except for that large noggin of yours which caused you to get stuck and end our long laboring journey in a C-section. But... at that moment I did not care how you came out as long as you were safe, healthy and in my arms.

I loved you so much at that moment and am amazed at how much more I love you now.

You not only amaze daddy and me, but all who meet you. You are incredibly smart, creative, and so very kind and loving to others, especially your brothers. I love how protective you are of them and of me. There have been many times you have stood up for all of us. You have a great imagination that can keep you and all around you entertained for hours. I love it when you get silly (ok maybe not always when you are teasing Tyler) and you start "chuckling". I can't help but laugh myself.
I hope your big day is everything you hoped for. We love you so much and are so lucky to have you in our family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRACEN!

Melanie Stratford Wangsgard

Here is another B-day shout out!! This time to my amazing sister Melanie. I can't say "little sister" because she is a good 4 or so inches taller than me. (which I am incredibly jealous of)
I am so blessed to have her as my sister. She is my friend, my confidant, and one of the few who loves to do all the things I love to do and more.
I am so proud of you. You are GEORGEOUS, talented, and follow your dreams. I find myself bragging about you often.
I feel so inspired by you May. How cool is it that my first born babe got to be born on the special day of one of my very favorite and dearest persons. YOU!
I am finding that my words are not even touching how I feel about you (and I am starting to cry) so I will just say.... I LOVE YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Birthday Bash and the Easter Bunny

This was going to be the year that I thought would be great to start having friend parties. I thought we could start them at 6 years and then have them every even year birthday. BUT.... not once did he mention having a friend party with all the fixings and so... I did not mention it either. (I'm LAZY)

So in asking him what he wanted to do for his 6 year birthday what do you think he wished for? I'll let you cast your vote.

** Have a sleep over at Aunt Melanie's new house because it is her birthday too.

**Play games and watch a movie.

** Eat Beer Rocks for dinner because "I don't like real pizza"

**Have German Pancakes and Strawberries for breakfast.

**Go to Chuck E Cheese for dinner on my real birthday.

Ok that was a bit lame. They are all correct. Not that what he asked for was bad or weird or anything, it is more what he did NOT ask for that I find odd.

Needless to say... his Birthday Wishes were granted and all of the above happened.

Now because he is lucky enough to have been born on his Aunt Melanie's 20th birthday (6 years ago) and they were born at Easter time... we usually celebrate Easter and the b-days together with my side of the family. Now that Kenzie is in the fam and her B-day is April 1st, she gets to be special that day too.

So we slept over at May' s house Friday night, did the Easter bunny and egg hunt Saturday morning at her house and the neighborhood hunt.

We then had a yummy Easter lunch with the family and ending in Birthday cake, presents, and much singing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELANIE, TRACEN and KENZIE!

Easter Sunday was quite nice and quite peaceful. Which is exactly how I love it to be. With the Easter Bunny already come and gone it makes it so nice to focus on our Savior and the beautiful gift he has given us.
We attended church (all 3 meetings- it's been a while), came home, RELAXED, had a great little Easter FHE with the boys, and then headed up to Bruce and Christy's for yet another scrumptious Easter dinner.

Tyler, Tate and Tracen in their Easter best.