Bath Time and Hair Cuts!

So I must confess.  Griffin turned two weeks old on Tuesday and we still hadn't given him a bath.  Almost every night I would say, "we really need to give him a bath."  and Dan would say, "he's a baby...he isn't dirty."  Really all he did for the past 2 weeks was eat, sleep, and poop.  I took matters into my own hands and decided it was time.  I knew his skin would start to peel and crack after his first bath so I was putting it off as long as I could.  (I did wash his face and neck everyday with a wash cloth by the way!)

He didn't seem to mind the bath at all.  No crying, just enjoying the warm water!  

 After bath time, we all headed over to Domani Salon to get the four oldest girls hair cut.  Abbie's hair was getting long, too long.  She had been wanting to get it cut for a while.  Her hair was long enough to donate and she was so excited.  She couldn't stop giggling!

 2 ponytails and  a few snips later...Abbie lost about 8-9 inches!

 Of course we had to keep the hair in a bag so she could take it to school the next day.  She was just so happy!

 Here she is with her new shoulder length hair cut!  She looks just like Kenadie from the back now.  It looks so nice and so healthy now!  I am glad she wanted to do this.  The Rapunzel hair stage was getting a little too long for my liking!

And then there is Chubs.  She was all over the place at the salon.  Walking around waving to all the stylist, taking bottle off the shelves, just being crazy!  Notice the "boo boo" on her nose?  She fell down on the driveway the other morning while I was getting Griffin out of the Party bus.  Seriously I was in the van for not even 15 seconds and she had managed to walk around the entire bus and fall flat on her face.  She is fast!  

 I wanted to get pictures of the kids in their Christmas Pj's so I had them wear them to Domani.  Dan thought I was nuts.  They ladies all know us there and were so happy to see all the kids.  Here is Lanie with her finger in her mouth...those darn teeth are STILL bothering her.  If her fingers aren't jammed into the back of her mouth, her nuk is.  I really hope her molars come in soon!

 Gavin started out happy to have his picture taken....

 Then Dan told him he needed to take a couple more and he wasn't too happy about it.  I believe we captured the typical " Gavin Look!'

 Molly got a much needed hair cut too.  Her hair was out of control!  Way too long in the front and just funky looking all around.  It looks so much better now!

 Kens got a very little trim.  She really didn't want her hair cut, but I made her.  She was so happy when the stylist put 2 braids in her hair and gave her a sucker!

 Sadie didn't want her hair cut either.  She donated a good 10 inches back in May and her hair is finally starting to get a bit longer.  I just had the lady try and even it out a bit more since she had a bob cut and it was all uneven now.  She wants her hair to be long now...so we will grow it out!

 And my attempt at a picture of all of them.  If you click on the picture it will come up bigger.  I think Dan took over 50 pictures of them trying to get one good shot.  This was the best.  Notice Gavin and Lanie?  TROUBLE if I do say so!  I really wanted a picture in front of the tree with there pj's on.  A certain someone who I will not name...and is not one of my kids....gave me a really hard time and so we didn't get one :(

I cannot wait until next week!  Our photographer is going to be in town and hopefully he will be able to capture some candid and not so "posed"  shots of the kids.  We are kind of a walking hot mess sometimes!  I cannot wait to get the kids all in the Christmas outfits and try some more pictures....I know Dan can't wait either :)  Right, Dan?

If I don't post before Christmas...Have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!  We always start our Christmas morning by reading a book about the birth of Christ.  Before the presents, before the craziness....focus on what Christmas is really about and what it really means!

Rewind to a month or so ago! ( Mullens, Thanksgiving, Bayshore, and more!)

So, our kids go to school with the family that owns Mullen's here in Watertown.  I guess I have made one too many references on how expensive I think it is to eat there!  (Sorry Troy and Shannon!)  Anyways, did you know that for the winter months, Mullen's is letting kids eat FREE?  Yes, you read that right!  No rules...no restrictions.  We took all of our kids there (before Griffin came) and they all ate for free!  How awesome is that?  Pretty awesome I would say!  Now, we don't want to abuse the kids eat free...so we have only gone twice so far !  (and the second time I only had 3 of the 7 kids!)  The nice thing about it was that we were then able to buy the kids ice cream since we didn't have to pay for their meals!  Thanks Mullen's for offering this to us this winter!  

It's not the best picture of them eating at Mullen's, I took it with my phone!  If your lucky, the owner might even stop by your table and say "hi!"  

 Lanie loved eating at Mullen's!  She even made her way into the kitchen a few times!  Watch out....future Mullen's Employee maybe?!?!

Lanie's hair is long enough to put into pigtails now.  This is what happens when you take the pigtails out!  It stayed like this all day long!

This year we chose to celebrate Thanksgiving at home by ourselves.  It was SO nice!  We didn't have to rush to be anywhere and we were able to just focus on our family and making memories.  The kids let us sleep in for a bit while they were busy working on a Thanksgiving play and making scenery and costumes.  I do not lie...they come up with this stuff all on their own.  They each had their own lines to say.  Some were pilgrims and some were indians.  They decorated and everything.  Note the sun above the TV and the tree to the right of the TV?  Somehow they even convinced Lanie to be a part of it!  We recorded it, but it is too long to put on the blog.

 I can't tell you enough how proud I am of my kids.  They worked together and kept in mind what Thanksgiving was really about!  I am so glad we chose to stay home and celebrate together!

 We watched the Thanksgiving day parade and the Packer game.  The kids colored a table cloth and helped decorate the table as well.  We even pulled out our fancy wine glasses.  We have been married for 10 1/2 years and this was the second time we used them!  We don't have anything fancy, except the 9 wine glasses we got for our wedding.  We are just not fancy people I guess!

 I made my first turkey ever.   I won't lie...it was nasty.  I don't know what I did wrong, but no one ate it.  Actually, no one really ate anything.  The big hit of the dinner was the canned corn!  I made them try the stuffing, cranberry, mashed potatoes, and turkey.  I am pretty sure they all left the table starving!  Next year we are having chicken!  I even poured sparking grape juice in the fancy glasses....that got dumped and milk was poured instead!  Oh well....we tried!

 After we ate we just relaxed.  I think we may have a new tradition here.  My favorite part was listening to the kids each say what they were thankful for.  They had each made a list earlier in the day of all the things they were thankful for.  I LOVE Lanie in this picture!  Not sure what she was doing, but I am pretty sure she wasn't in the picture taking mood!

Every year we try to get to Bayshore Mall during the Christmas season.  We didn't go last year.  I wanted to make sure we went before the baby came so we headed out to Bayshore the day after Thanksgiving.  It was beautiful out!  I think it was in the 50's!  If you have never been there...I would highly recommend it!  We started off by going on a horse drawn carriage ride.  They charge $5 per adult and kids under 12 are free!  Yes, free I say!  $10 for a carriage ride....what a deal!

 You hop in and the carriage takes you around the "square".  Christmas music is playing and they have it decorated so nice!

 In the middle of the square is this HUGE tree.  It was supposed to play music and do a little light show, but it wasn't working.  The kids still had a blast running around it and looking at it.  I think we might try to go back sometime this week!

 A quick Bayshore story....While we were at Bayshore we went to visit with Santa.  Now, Santa doesn't come to our house.  He knows that Dan and I work way too hard and long to let him get away with being the "giver of gifts" at this house.  There is no way we are letting someone else get away with getting the credit of doing all the work for our kids here.  So, Santa doesn't stop here.  Anyways, I did want to get a picture of the kids with him while we were at Bayshore.  Well, we stood in line and then found out that you can't take your own picture.  The cheapest picture was $30.  UmmKenadie was crying...Gavin was making a crazy face...so not worth $30!  So, Thank you , Santa Man for your generosity!

This isn't the picture with the Bayshore Santa....this is a different one!  So our kids know the truth about Santa, but they still like to say "hi" and visit with him.  The Friday before Griffin was born, we went to a live Nativity here in Watertown.  Then we stopped by the Senior Center to visit with some of the mentally disabled friends we have made.  The Watertown carolers were there and so was Santa.  (who the kids figured out was a man they knew from their school!)  Too bad Griffin wasn't here yet...we might just have to try another one still!

Now, I know everyone has their own feelings on Santa.  Please don't judge us for not doing the Santa thing....we don't judge you if you do the Santa thing!  Our kids know enough to not spoil it for everyone else so don't panic!

That's it for now!  Must go play CandyLand with Gavin before we have to pick up Kenadie from school!  Griffin is 2 weeks old today!  What?  Where did the last 2 weeks go?  I will post an update on him later!  He is getting cuter by the day I must say!

Twas the Weekend before Christmas at the Wilke house!

First of all, let me say "thank you!"  If any of you have offered up a prayer for our family or for me or for Griffin or for Lanie in the past week.....Prayers have been answered!  Lanie has slept through the night 2 nights in a row (with the help of our friends Tylenol and Ibuprofen) and Griffin only got up 1 time last night to eat!  Now, I am sure tonight will be a different story....but I got 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep last night! Can I get a Whoop Whoop?  

On to other news....

It snowed here on Saturday morning.  The kids were so excited!  They couldn't wait to get outside and shovel and play!  Yes, seriously, they all wanted to shovel.  So much so that we had to go to Walmart and buy 2 more shovels before we could let them go out!  

They all actually did an awesome job.  They even shoveled the next door driveway and side walk too!  

 Dan and I stayed inside while they all shoveled outside.  It's the truth....and we didn't even feel bad about it!  They all worked so well together to get the job done and they were having a blast!

 Molly built a snowman with some of the shoveled snow.  I asked Dan to take a picture of it.   Sorry....I have no picture for you of the snowman :)  Next time I will do it!  It was just a tiny little guy maybe only 1 1/2 feet tall....but she was so proud.  She completed it with a baby carrot nose and a pack of raisins as the mouth and buttons!  (Man, I wish I had a picture to show you!)

 Then we headed inside for craft time!  The kids made ornaments using Styrofoam balls, flowers, and push pins.  I must say, they turned out very cute!  I only had to run to Walmart 3 times to get more pins.  So, if you want to make theses....the Walmart in Watertown is out of pins!

 Chubs was in an unusually good mood in the afternoon.  I cannot tell you enough how much she LOVES her sisters.  (except when they get too rough and make her fall!)  Sadie was reading books to Chubs and she was loving every minute of it!

 It isn't the best shot...or the greatest picture...or the best lighting....but here they all are!  Don't you just LOVE their shirts!  I made them!  So easy...well kinda...and I used my cricut to cut out the stockings.  It took me an afternoon one day and I couldn't wait for Griffin to come so they could all wear them!  I wanted to put their names on the stockings...but I ran out of time and energy!

 Lanie loves to "honk" noses.  She isn't very gentle when she does it and sometimes it down right hurts.  Well, during one of her Griffin holding sessions she was in the "honking" mood.  One honk for Lanie....

 And one honk for Griffin.  He didn't seem to mind all that much.  (Don't worry....they are both under careful watch...Dan is taking the pictures and I am right next to the couch at an arms length away!)

 Here Chubs is being "gentle" with Griffin.  He was now done....he can only handle so much Chubs time and then he needs his mommy back!

 Saturday night, Dan's sister Lisa and her boyfriend came over to meet Griffin.  Little did they know that it was craft time again.  The kids wanted to do these foam houses so we thought "hey what a better time?"  Yeah, I am not sure Matt and Lisa will be coming over any time soon again!  The houses were a lot of work and they left without even finishing them!  That's okay though....we finished them on Sunday and now we have some great gifts to give :)

 Here is a picture of the flower ornaments from earlier in the day.  After my 3rd trip to Walmart, they were actually able to complete them!

 Molly and her friend worked on this house together.  Molly is very crafty and she didn't need any help at all!  Hmmm...I wonder where she gets that from!?

 Sunday morning came all too quick.  The kids had their Christmas program at our church.  It was on Celebrating Christmas all around the world.  Molly, Sadie, and Abbie sang a Chinese song about Christmas.

 Kenadie and Gavin did great as well!  I was so proud of Gavin...he stood up there the whole time and was so well behaved!  He knew all the words and sang nice and loud! ( okay so I am proud of all of the kids...but you just never know with Gavin!)

We also finished all our shopping and wrapping this weekend.  The kids exchange names together so they are all very excited about that.  We made some Christmas cookies as well to give to the teachers at their school.  One thing Dan and I are trying to focus on with the kids is the importance of giving.  We made treat bags for each kid in their classes as well.  We may not be giving the best treat bags or the biggest treat bags, but we do want to kids to know that Christmas isn't about getting in our house...it is about giving.  We may not want to fill 26 treat bags or make 200 dipped oreo cookies...but taking the time to make something for someone else and being able to give it to them is a great feeling!

I am not sure where the day went today?  Perhaps sitting and holding G-Dog Jr. (aka Griffin) for 2 hours wasn't as productive as I could have been....but I did it and didn't feel a single bit bad about doing it!  It is just so hard to put him down and not cuddle with him.  Am I spoiling him?  Yup....and loving every minute of it!  I did manage to do some online shopping and I also made Thank you cards on the Cricut today as well.  See?  I haven't been all that unproductive!

Reality Check.

I had made the mistake a number of times before.  I opted out of my 2 night stay at the hospital with some of the kids when they were born and came home after staying for 24 hours.  This time around I was smart.  To be honest...and you can ask anyone that knows me...I was actually looking forward to going into labor so I would get a full 2 night stay in the hospital.  Seriously...there was only one kid to care for, I could order 3 meals a day and they delivered it to me, someone came in and cleaned my room once a day, and I could shower whenever I wanted to!  Because Griffin was born so early in the morning I felt like I had and "extended stay!"  It was so nice.  

Dan picked the kids up from school on Thursday and they all came to pick me and Griffin up from the hospital.  It was total chaos.  Kids everywhere, me getting 2 shots before I left,  Kenadie and Gavin fighting over a toy car, Lanie crying...total chaos.  I asked if I could have one more night...they said "no."  I drove the van home and Dan followed in his work truck.  (that is what I drove when I went to the hospital and we had to get it back home somehow!)  

Here Griffin is just hanging out with Mommy before they all arrived. 

 The hospital gives these stockings and Christmas hat to each baby that is born in December.  As soon as I saw the stocking, I couldn't wait to get him in it and take his picture!

 Griffin was hungry...he didn't want to leave the hospital.  He wasn't very happy.  He did fall asleep on the way home and we had a very uneventful car ride home.

                                     Here they all are...all 7 of them at home together at last.  (don't mind the mess in the background....remember I wasn't home for almost 3 days.....)

 Reality has now set in at the Wilke house.  It has been quite a week...I won't lie.  I got a horrible head cold the day after we came home.  I could feel it coming on the last day in the hospital.  I wore a mask for the first week around Griffin and sanitized my hands non-stop.  We have never had a good "first" night at home with our babies.  They are up all night.  Griffin was no exception.  However, we didn't anticipate that Lanie would also be joining our very long nights awake with us as well.  She was actually worse than Griffin was.  She has only slept through the night 1 night in the past 8 days.  And when she is up at night, she won't go back to sleep.  So, our nights consist of Dan holding Lanie while I nurse Griffin.  Then he takes Griffin and I hold Lanie.  Back and forth.  Last night Dan just held her the whole night.  It has been rough.  She has at least 3 molars coming in and two more teeth in the front coming in.  She also now has the same cold Dan and I have been battling with.  It will get better.....it has to....it can't get much worse than what it is now at night!

Poor Griffin has to wear socks on his hands to keep him from scratching himself.  I didn't buy any newborn onsies with the hand covers because I thought he would be too big to wear them.  Guess I was wrong.  Socks will have to do for now!

Here is a picture of Griffin.....................                                 Here is a picture of Gavin.....Yikes!

Griffin was sleeping so soundly on night so I asked Dan to try and do a mini photo shot with him.  This is one of 3 pictures that he took.  Wipes, vas aline, and a laundry basket in the background....nice.  Next time I will try I guess.  And who only takes 3 pictures?

 In case you were all wondering....and I know you were all dying to know.....this is what we are driving now.  We call it the party bus.  This is one of those "big changes" that we had to make in our lives. No more minivan.  We didn't fit anymore.  It was a hard decision.  It took us a long time to make the decision.  We had very few options.  I was in denial at first.  However, I have now fully embraced the party bus.  The kids have lots of room and it really drives nicely.  It doesn't fit in our garage to I may have done a bit a complaining today as it was pouring rain out.  I am sure it will be even more fun when it is full of snow and the driveway is full of ice and we have kids falling everywhere :)  And yes, I put the "people" stickers on the back of our cars!  I LOVE them!  I got them in color this time and I think they look really nice!  

Dan went back to work on Tuesday morning.  5 days....that is what he took.  He told me he was going to take off two weeks.  I was looking forward to 2 weeks.....I got 5 days.  Life must go on I guess.  We are getting back into the swing of things.  Reality has set back in.  Even though we may be up all night, we still have 6 other children to take care of during the day.  Lunches need to be packed, tests need to be studied for, laundry has to be done, grocery shopping has to be done....the list goes on.  I am trying to sit and just snuggle with Griffin as much as I can this week.  I will start up with my work probably tomorrow again as financial reality has also set in.  I see another part time job for either Dan or I in the near future.  If only TLC would do a reality show on us so we could make $75,000 a episode!

I am NOT complaining....just sharing our reality with you all!  I would not give up anything to have anything more or less.  I am happy, I am content, I am blessed, I am overwhelmed, I am praying a lot more than I was, I am leaning on God more than I was.  A friend of mine from Grade school sent me a message on Facebook the other day.  She told me that she thinks sometimes God gives us more than we can handle so we learn to rely on Him more.  I had never looked at it that way, but I think she might just be right.  (thanks Michelle!)  We are taking it one day at a time....sometimes 1 hour at a time in the middle of the night!  I am so proud to be a Mom of 7 and I am so blessed by each and everyone of them!