My Little Alarm Clocks.

I have been wanting to post something about my children and their strange but true schedules. Before I continue I must admit that for the most part they have set their schedule themselves. So, if it sounds like they are little robots, please someone come and tell me how to reset their programs. I would love for them to sleep in especially on the weekends.

Here we go.
6:00-6:30 All the boys wake-up. No matter what day it is.
6:30-7:00 Breakfast
9:00 Snack
11:30 Lunch
12:30 They little boys are ready for nap except on Thursday then they have a sudden burst of energy and will realize they are tired at 1ish
2:45 Snack
5:00 Dinner.
7:00 to bed

A lot of these times are flexible. But, I think it is so funny that if I am running late with the meals all three are totally upset. I am thankful that they keep me on a schedule. However, I would love for them to sleep in every once in a while. Like on Saturday or Holidays. Oh well, I guess if we want that we would have to keep them up later and that would be a wreck around here. Three very tired children staying awake so we could get some extra sleep.

Bowling

During Christmas vacation we took the three boys bowling. It was a lot fun. So here are some pictures of our bowling experience.

Jason kinda threw the ball down
Like father like son

this is a cheesy picture but at least I made it
in the photo album

My hats

For christmas I purchased a loom to make hats. I am not a super crafty person. I am teaching myself how to knit. I made the little boys each a hat first. Since they are smaller I thought it would be easier and faster. I am still working on Jason's hat. The little boys and I went out shopping at our favorite store Target of course. It was kinda windy and cold that day so I decided this would be a good time for the boys to wear their new hats. Well, thank goodness for cameras. On our way to the car Gavin took off his hat and was swinging it around, before I knew it Matthew told me, "good bye Gavin's hat." Before I could do anything about it his hat was blowing away in the wind. Gavin was so happy he cannot stand wearing hats. So here is a picture of Gavin and Matthew with their blue hats.

Gavin's silly faces

During dinner time Gavin likes to make these weird faces. I have no idea why he just does. So here they are.
Brian was encouraging him here for a
Kodak moment

It must be the cookie

He is our family clown

Our Three Year old

Today I, Matthew Grimwood, turned three years old. Time flies when you are having so much fun. My mom says I have grown up so much this year. Here are a few things that I have done or learned over the last twelve months:

• I am 97% potty trained. I can go on my own and usually hold my pee in for the whole night, unless my mom gives me BIG drink of water before bed. Then, my older brother is very thankful that I wear nighttime pull-ups to bed. It took me a couple of days and a couple of accidents before I figured it all out. But with practice I am almost there. (My mom says I have a bladder of a camel)
• I love to play legos with my brothers. Sometimes Gavin messes up my creations, but he is learning that I get mad when he does that. (my mom dressed us up all in the same colors she is so silly)
• I know how to spell my own name. I also almost know how to spell Jason and Gavin. So far I know that my name has different letters then my brothers. Like I have a "h", and Jason has an "o". I also know that Gavin has an "i" and I have a "e". Pretty good for a three year old. (I knew this stuff before I was three)
• I have gained five pounds in six months. High fives for me! Thanks Dr. Fridge for helping me get better. (for over a year I was unable to gain weight)
• Taking naps has become hard for me when my big brother Jason is home. However, I am learning that naps are good even if Jason is home.
  
• With help from my Mom, Dad, and Jason I have learned how to say prayers. If I had it my way I would always say the prayer, however I am learning that sharing is also nice.
• In September my Mom read me the book, "Paci's are not forever". At first I did not like this book and I threw it across the room. But, after taking a time-out and realizing that throwing a book was not good. My Mom finished reading me the book and I realized that pacifiers are for babies.
• With some help I can get dresses all by myself. Sometimes I need help because some shirts do not have tags on them and that confesses me.
• I love to color and draw. I can draw wonderful pictures of guys. Sometimes, I have to explain to my parents more than twice what I have drawn. After a few minutes they always tell me "oh that is wonderful." I guess that means they know what I have drawn.

Surprise Snow not Rain

Well, today we were told it was going to rain. Well, I think Mother Nature had a different idea. Since is late this is just going to be mainly a picture post.











This was the best picture I could get of Gavin.
He was so excited to play outside to sit still for a picture


The boys working on a snowman.



Jason is learning that snow/rain with
glasses don't work too well.




Matthew was too tired to play
No nap.


Catching snowflakes

All done snow. He was cold
especially when he took off the gloves.

Cyclical vomiting syndrome

In my last post I wrote that Matthew has been diagnosed with a condition called Cyclical vomiting syndrome. I am going to call it CVS it is so much shorter. I thought I would share with everyone what CVS is. Now, I am not a doctor so all the information I have is either what I have read or experienced.
CVS is when a child vomits in cycles. Matthew and many other children that have this illness usually vomit at night time. He starts around 2am and it usually goes for 2-3 hours vomiting every 10-15 minutes. Because it comes in cycles he is not vomiting every night usually a cycle starts every four to five weeks and last from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.
CVS is linked to migraines in teen and adults. So, Matthew is not having migraines yet(they usually come during the teenage years), just the vomiting that goes along with them. It has taken us over a year and half for the doctors to figure out what he has. I feel lucky because most cases take 2 years or more to be correctly diagnosed. There are no test that doctors can do so it goes misdiagnosed all the time. During the time we were looking for answers, I spent many visits to our doctor. He ordered all sorts of tests. We also took him to the ER once and no one knew what was wrong with him. Each time they seemed to try to tell me it was either a viral, bacteria, or some other thing. It was not until the last time I went in that I told the doctor I knew there was something seriously wrong with our little boy. After a visit to the Pedo GI she suspected he had CVS. It kinda stinks because she really does not know a whole a lot about it except the symptoms. There are no specialist here in Oregon or Washington in fact the closest one is in Wisconsin.
Just like migraines there are no cures for his illness. Either he will out grown them or they will get worse as his hormones get more crazy. As symptoms arise then the doctor will prescribe medicine to help calm them down. We are also trying to find out what triggers his cycles. I have no clue. Right know he is on some medicine to help with the nausea which seems to be helping out some.