Nate's birthday week...the fun stuff!

Happy birthday to my sweet Nater Tater! I say this all of the time, but where does the time go? Just yesterday I was rocking him in the living room of our old house and playing peek a boo with him with the towel after a bath! Now, he's a 59 inch, 62 pound, 9 year old that recently asked me if he was too old to kiss him mom! What? As I tried to hold back the tears, I answered, "NO WAY! You're never too old to kiss your mom!" I hope he bought it!

Also, a sign that he's growing up way too fast, he requested a plain cake this year...no decorations. And of course, he wanted an orange cake with orange icing...and ice cream! Dreamsicle cake with citrus cream cheese filling served with creamy (very fattening) vanilla ice cream....you got it!

Nate requested, "No birthday party this year, Mom." And as heartbroken as I was at the time, I actually enjoyed spending 2 days with Nate and his two buddies, Cade and Eli, instead of planning a big party. We tackled the Marion Water Park and the 5 hours we were there went by in the blink of an eye. My eye balls did hurt at the end of the day from watching them because those fellas are FULL of energy! I'm so glad that Nate has these friendships and of course, I loved spending the time with them, too! We love you, boys!

Nate is my most challenging child...this could be because he's our first and everything we experience with him is a first time for us, as parents. Or, it could be because he is by far, the most dramatic and passionate of all 3 of our kids...or of all children that I've ever met, for that matter! The drama that he creates is sometimes overwhelming, but I am so thankful that he has a passion for his life. It's not uncommon for him to sit for hours, working on some mega Lego castle or fort or whatever he comes up with at the moment. He doesn't give up, either, until his ideas have come to reality. But, what I love most about him is his inquisitiveness. He's a question asker, just like his Daddy. According to my great-grandma, who noticed this quality in Matt almost immediately after meeting him, that creates wisdom. But, don't try to ask him questions because you'll get yes or no answers and NO DETAIL....also just like his Dad!

The most difficult realization that I had this week was sparked by a conversation I was having with my friend, Erin. He's halfway to 18! What? Not possible! How is it that my time with him in our house is half over? Where is that pause button?

I love you, Nater! I'm so glad God gave you to us!

Nate's birthday week...the not so fun stuff!

On Monday, we were told that Gabe and Adri were most likely sensitive or allergic to yeast, which is why they've had so many troubles with their ears lately. The doc said that with food allergies, you don't develop a tolerance to it, but instead, it begins to attack your body and your symptoms get worse. This must be why up until a few years ago, we seemed to have things under control. The last 6 months have been overwhelming between Adri's ears and tummy stuff as well as Gabe's ear surgeries, infections and hearing troubles.

So, in an effort to avoid painful allergy testing, we opted to try cutting out sugar and yeast from their diet until October to see if their ears improved. Yeast grows from sugar, so we're cutting that out too. Know what that means? NO BREAD! URRRRGGG!

So, after our birthday celebrations for Nate, we dove in, head first, and the kids have spent every meal (and almost every other chance they get) whining about how badly they want yogurt, bread, ice cream...or whatever else they can't eat. I can report, however, that as of day 3 (today) things are getting better! Nate ate melon, strawberries and part of an apple for lunch...without complaining! He's eating what the other two eat even though his ears are healthy and he doesn't seem to have the same food sensitivies. Why? Two reasons...because having those foods in the house for just Nate will lead to a battle with the other two that I don't want to fight and also because...well...because I'm the Mom and that's how it's going to be :) He did ask, "Do I have to eat this?" at lunch. My response was, "If you're hungry." Not another word left his mouth! Not suprisingly, Gabe and Adri don't seem to mind about the changes. They're even asking, before I give them any food, "Does this have sugar in it because we can't have sugar." Now, if I could just get my husband on board...he put up the biggest fight and refused to let me throw out the Cinnimon Toast Crunch! He offered to make it easier on me, though, and hide the cereal in his closet so that kids wouldn't see it!

Happy eating for the Martin's!