Me and my boys...

Sam loves you

2012-01-02T10:33:00.001-08:00

benny dorloen you r a ceute and so we love you .

Sammy loves to type in this program to practice writing. Above is his work from this morning…

Translation: Sam loves you Benny darling. You are a cutie and so we love you.

A Name and a Blessing for Benjamin

2012-01-02T08:10:00.001-08:00

It was a special day for Benny boy yesterday, we had him blessed. Usually it is done at church on fast Sunday but since we had family in town and my mom was recovering from surgery we had it at my parent’s house. It was a special day! Thanks for the family that were able to come and support us! Oh, and he was also six weeks old (time flies eh?!)

Great Grandma Marcroft

Grandpa Driggs

The Whole Marcroft Clan so we got a picture together…

Here are some more pictures if you’d like to see the rest!

Ben's Blessing Day

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

That famous Marcroft smile…

2011-12-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

I remember a while ago (think 1999ish?) when one of my sisters said, “It’s a good thing that you didn’t marry Thad, can you imagine how big your kids’ mouths would be?” (Or something to that extent?) I guess when your mom and dad both have big mouths you’re kind of destined, or doomed, to have the same feature…I figure that they’ll be okay as long as they use those big mouths for SMILING!

So, as not to be outdone by his brothers, Benjamin has been smiling for a few weeks but I hadn’t caught him on camera until now. Now I can share. He’s even got a cute little dimple! And his bright blue eyes are pretty fun too.

And this one is cute too…

But he’s so soft and snuggly too…

Christmas: Robot Pillowcases with pockets

2011-12-18T23:22:00.001-08:00

So recently I gave in and tried Pinterest…it’s pretty cool I admit! And then I had this robot fabric that I bought last year at JoAnn’s and didn’t use last Christmas for PJ bottoms (ran out of time). There isn’t enough of it now for my giant monsters so I was trying to figure out what to do with it. I thought that pillowcases might be fun since they get used a lot more than PJs (since their favorite PJs are usually the footed PJs—year round!)

So I Googled pillowcase patterns and found this tutorial for a cute pillow, loved it and guess what… I made them! Hooray for me. And, I even finished them this past week (way before Christmas). I think that the boys are going to love them!

Here are their pillows. No telling them…shhhh! It’s a secret! I had to share with someone…someone will read this, right? Maybe Grace, or Cathy or Jen? :) Then you can cheer with me!

They each have a pocket on the front and then a letter with their name! The pocket could be for PJs..or a special toy…or whatever!

And I couldn’t forget to make one for our newest little guy…right?

And just in case you haven’t seen ol’ blue eyes lately…here you go! Can you believe he’s already four weeks old? :)

Health Update: New Dosages for Children’s Tylenol (Moms/Dads should read!)

2011-12-15T10:43:00.001-08:00

Moms/Dads -- Just read this and if you ever use Children's Tylenol/Acetaminophen read this to see the new dosages! Important information for parents (taken from Kaiser's website kp.org):

Acetaminophen (Tylenol) dosage change:

The recommended dosages of over-the-counter acetaminophen* (Tylenol) for infants are changing. Please review the safety tips below before giving this medication to your children.

Manufacturers of the pain and fever reducing medication are phasing out infant drops and replacing them with a lower concentration formula. The new formula is 3 times less concentrated than the old formula, so dosing directions are different.

While the older formula is being phased out, existing supplies will still be sold in drugstores. As a result, both the old and new concentrations of acetaminophen may be available for a period of time. Families may also have the older product in their medicine cabinets and can continue to use it. To avoid over- or under-dosing, it is extremely important to read labels, know which concentration you are using, and make sure you give your child the correct dosage.

Safety tips

    Know how much your child weighs. The correct dose is based on your child's weight, not age.
    Double check which concentration of medication you have: the older infant drops (80 mg/0.8mL) or the new infant liquid formula (160 mg/5mL).
    The older infant drops are still safe to use as long as you use the correct dose for your child's weight.
    Use only the measuring device (dropper, syringe, or cup) that came with the medication. Do not use a kitchen spoon.
    Always measure medication in a well lit area.

Do not give your child more than 5 doses in 24 hours.

Recommended dosages for infants' acetaminophen

Concentrated drops (old concentration)
weight (lbs)    age (months)    dose (mL)
6-11     0-3     0.4 mL
12-17     4-11     0.8 mL
18-23     12-23     1.2 mL
24-35     24-36     1.6 mL

Oral suspension (new concentration)
weight (lbs)    age (months)    dose (mL)
6-11    0-3    1.25 mL
12-17    4-11    2.5 mL
18-23    12-23    3.75 mL
24-35    24-36    5.0 mL

How to use an infant dropper
    Open the medication bottle and remove the enclosed infant dropper.
    Squeeze the bulb and place the infant dropper into the medication. Release the bulb, drawing the medication into the dropper.
    Remove the dropper and check how much medication is in the dropper. Squeeze the bulb to release any excess until the proper dosage is showing on the dropper.
    Administer the dose. Place the infant dropper into the inside of the baby's cheek and squeeze the bulb slowly so the infant will swallow the medicine.
    Rinse the dropper under hot water, squeezing the bulb to bring water into and out of the dropper to clean the inside.
    Dry the infant dropper before replacing into the bottle. This prevents the medication from becoming diluted with water.

*Acetaminophen is sold under several brand names including Tylenol, Triaminic, Good Sense, Panadol, PediaCare, Little Remedies, and Tempera. © Kaiser Permanente, 2011

Welcome Benjamin Joseph! :)

2011-11-22T15:15:00.001-08:00

During this past week I kept saying that it wasn’t a convenient time for him to arrive and finally on Sunday the stars aligned after Sammy’s talk at church and a few meetings and we went to the hospital. When my mom and sister Cathy arrived they broke my water and he arrived about 10-15 minutes later after a few pushes at 7:14 pm.

He wasn’t the biggest baby that we saw during our stay at the hospital (a 10 lbs. 14 oz. boy arrived this morning before we left) but he is our biggest so far having weighed in at 9 lbs. 9.4 oz. and 21.45” long. He reminds me a lot of his brothers at this age and is definitely ours!

The name was the hardest part. I was pretty sure that his name was supposed to be Benjamin after this experience but wasn’t sure what the middle name should be. we finally decided on Joseph after 3 great grandpas and an uncle!

The boys are sooo excited and their eyes light up when they see him! Welcome to our family Benjamin…we love you already!

Daddy holding his newest boy!

My mom and older sister Cathy were there for the delivery!

Big brother Sammy!

Nathan checking out his “cute, soft little ears”

Danny kissing the baby. He was pretty excited—I think that he thinks that the baby is his.

Our first family picture with everyone!

Even some cousins came to visit!

Getting ready to leave the hospital…

So sweet…

For even more pictures…click below! :)

Benjamin Joseph

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

Sammy: Character Award Respect

2011-11-19T16:14:00.001-08:00

Sammy got a character award this week for Respect! Hooray for him! He is a super star at school even though at home we’re working through some listening and brother torturing issues ;) Thanks Mrs. Lim!

We’re so proud of our Sammy boy!

What’s in a due date?

2011-11-14T23:17:00.001-08:00

So I was officially due today. What does that mean anyway? I think that my kids at school thought that I would either a) be in the hospital, b) give birth in class or c) already have had the baby. I on the other hand am not too surprised with the fact that I am sitting here comfortably typing up a little blog post since Sammy was over a week late, Nathan arrived comfortably on his due date and Danny was five days late. (P.S. This picture was taken by Sammy boy but it is the most current one I have…I was busy inputting my quarter grades on the laptop while watching the boys play on the lawn!)

It has been interesting to hear the comments this pregnancy. Last pregnancy I had lots of negative comments from people about how many kids I was having (weird I thought since I was only on number 3) but this time I have had less negative comments about the number and actually less people apologize for me having my fourth boy and more people saying things like, “oh, my boys were so much easier” or “I know someone with all boys too!” It is also always very interesting to hear when walking across campus or down the hall at church one person say, “oh you look like you’re going to burst” and then 30 seconds later hear, “oh you look like you still have 1-2 months to go”. I think that it depends on what I’m wearing too…some outfits definitely make me look more pregnant! Either way I am grateful to be tall because it has got to be easier for me than for someone a foot shorter than me, I mean, really, where on earth do they stick the baby?? I feel bad just looking at some of them! I’m also very grateful for a strong, healthy body! Besides the normal heartburn, nausea, and exhaustion at times I think that I’ve got this pregnancy thing down!

With all that said he should be here sometime soon. My parents are in Cabo (remember last time they were in China) and are hoping that boy #4 is late like his brothers since they’ll be back on Saturday. Luckily I’m surrounded by lots of family and good friends!

Anyway…I really should get back to getting ready in case this baby decides to come before this Saturday. I have things “packed” but not really…maybe I’m getting too lazy…or too comfy…but I am getting excited to see this new little guy and welcome him into our family. What will he look like? What will his name be? What will the boys think? Will I know I’m in labor and make it to the hospital?

Stay tuned for more news later this week and enjoy the pictures!

Boy #1 – My skinny one Sammy who weighed in at 7 lbs 8 oz (since the others were 9 lbs 4 oz and 9 lbs 5 oz)

Boy #2 – Cute and cuddly Nate Nate

Boy # 3 – Little brother Danny-- I like this one because I can see how little Nate was back then.

And just for kicks…an old family picture!

Nateism: Nutrients

2011-11-04T00:54:00.001-07:00

Here is what happened at Taco Bell today when Daddy didn’t order a cheese roll up for Nathan (his favorite).

Nate: Why didn’t you buy me a cheese roll up?

Daddy: Well you need to get something that has more nutrients in it since you’re growing bigger and you need more than just cheese.

Nate: Oh, so cheese roll ups just have oldtrients right? And tacos have newtrients?

Daddy: (Trying not to laugh) Yes Nate…you’re exactly right.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-03T23:24:00.001-07:00

Halloween is so much more fun with kiddos. Everyone was so excited about it all month and they could hardly contain themselves when it finally arrived. We went to two church parties and then got to trick or treat on Halloween! Here are some of our pictures! :)

We had a Spiderman…

a Jack Sparrow…

a monkey named Curious George

who would have been cute but not as cute without his friend the Man with the Yellow Hat…

and Mommy and the soon to be baby dressed up too…He was Mike Wazowski!

On Halloween we visited and trick or treated a little with Grandma Driggs’, ate chili at Great Grandma Marcroft’s house with her, Grandma and Grandpa Marcroft and the Badalamenti cousins and then trick or treated with Sarah and her boys. I was pooped and very sore by the end of the night but the boys were happy and had fun. Even Danny knew what was going on and was ready with his phrase “Treat! Thank you. Welcome!”

A Photo with the cousins…

and one of just my boys after the church trunk-or-treat…

okay…and just one more because I like this picture. ;)

Happy Halloween!

Halloween 2011

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

A mother of (almost) four boys…

2011-10-16T07:44:00.001-07:00

So many people have asked me this pregnancy if I wanted a girl. Maybe? No? What do you say? I just explain that I’m happy having my fourth boy :) but I just want a baby. A healthy one hopefully but I’ll love him no matter what. But boys. That is all I know, and yesterday I had an experience at Jacob’s baptism that was very, well, important to me. I have always felt a great responsibility since beginning to have boys to begin preparing them to be good men, great priesthood holders and good husbands but that urge and responsibility is becoming even more clear.

While Vili and his boys were singing this song I was brought to tears and just thinking about all of these wonderful men from the scriptures and it reminded me of what I want my boys to be. They are each named after someone in the scriptures and have a family name as a middle name to remind them of someone great and what they can become. Their potential as sons of God is so great.

As they were singing though I kept thinking about my boys. Boys. Boys. Boys. I had a strong feeling that I probably won’t have a girl because he needs me to raise boys. I might be wrong, but, I know either way that he has a special job for these boys. The world around us is deteriorating and we need to raise our sons so that they can be like Nephi, like Samuel, like the Army of Helaman (and so many more people!)

Thanks for singing that song Vili, it touched many people yesterday, but especially brought a new light and understanding to my role as a mother.

How Can I Be, written by Nela Otuafi

Performed by Adam Ashby, Ben Mataele and Uaisele Fa

My Birthday Boys Nathan (4) and Sammy (6)

2011-10-15T22:07:00.001-07:00

Sammy turned six today and I know that Nathan officially turned four ten days ago but you know what I didn’t get it posted…so I figured we’d do them both today!

Nathan is so excited to be four. He has run around telling everyone that he is now four and loving life. On his birthday we were really busy but we ate at L&L together before Daddy ran to CSULB for class and then used a BOGO free coupon at Dairy Queen and got two blizzards to share. YUM! Things that he enjoys at this stage of his life:

Chocolate anything
Shredded Mini Wheats
His Webkinz Koala
Pretending to be a koala, lion or kitty cat
Geotrax
Playing with Danny while Sam’s at school
Train chasing (with Daddy)
Grapes
Jello
Helping Mommy in the kitchen
Primary
“Praise to the Man”
Playing outside in the dirt, riding his bike, or anything else outside.

Sammy, or Sam or Samuel as he sometimes writes on his papers, is excited to be six but doesn’t like time outs being so long. ;) He is loving kindergarten with Mrs. Lim and is happy to be able to say hi to Mrs. MacInnis daily too. For his birthday today we took him to get orange chicken (one of his favorite things) and then used a BOGO free coupon for ice cream at Cold Stone. YUM! He wore his birthday hat/crown from school most of the day and was so excited that it was finally his birthday after celebrating Danny’s in August and Nate’s on the 5th. Things that Sammy enjoys at this point in life:

Chocolate anything
“Strawberry cereal” (Special K with strawberries)
Mac and Cheese or French Toast Sticks from the school cafeteria
Long sleeve shirts (whether it is 40 degrees or 100 degrees)
Combing his hair so that he looks “handsome”
Dancing and singing to two or three lines of Justin Bieber that he learned from the girls down the street (sigh)
Combo pizza or hot dogs with onions, mustard, ketchup and relish on them from Costco
Building rockets, planes and space ships out of Legos
Playing computer games (Webkinz.com, lego.com, Starfall.com)

Happy Birthday big boys. We love you!

Sammy: Kindergarten Picture

2011-10-10T23:50:00.001-07:00

Sammy got his pictures today from school. He was more excited about his first homework packet that he got returned today because it had an A+ on it (I’m not sure how he knew that that was a good grade but he did!) but I was excited to see his pictures..

I think that the picture is cute…and I like that you can see how his hair color since he loves his hair and is proud of it. I also love all of his freckles on his sun-kissed nose and his million dollar smile. Just thought I’d share…

Sammy and the Power Snakes!

2011-09-18T07:08:00.001-07:00

Sammy started his second year of soccer and I think that he is enjoying it a lot more than last year. They actually have teams this year of five little guys and they play three-on-three. He is playing with two kids from year, Henry and Elias, and Elias’ dad Chris is the coach. Sammy seems to really like Coach Chris and I think the smaller group is helping Sam have a little more individualized attention since he’s still trying to learn the basics.

They had their first game yesterday and they “won” even though I think that there was no official score taken. They each scored (even Sammy, thank goodness) and it was fun to watch their mini 7.5 minute quarters. Here is to a great season Power Snakes! :)

Sammy’s 1st Day of Kindergarten

2011-09-10T20:40:00.001-07:00

He was so ready to start school this year he was counting down the days and when Thursday, September 8th arrived and I went in his room he woke up with the cutest (and hugest) smile ever. He was so ecstatic. He even got dressed quickly (a miracle if you know Sammy) got his backpack ready and shoes and socks on.

He has Miss Lim this year who was Maddy’s teacher last year and he is so excited. I think that it will be a fun year for all! He’ll miss Mrs. MacInnis a bit but Nathan will have her next year in Preppie-K! :)

I did ask him about his day when I got home from my first day and he said, “It was awesome!” Enough said. I’m glad that he loves it!

P.S. I am laughing about his crazy hair in the picture…Thad took the camera on the first day but I had forgotten to charge the battery so he wasn’t able to take a picture. This is from the second day of school. Sammy was still asleep when I left for CHS so he must have just woken up and gone! I guess that this hairdo is kind of in though?

Happy 2nd Birthday Danny Boy!

2011-08-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our baby boy turned two! Doesn’t time fly by? Doesn’t it seem like yesterday that we were bringing our third boy home from the hospital? Now in 11 or 12 weeks we’ll have another baby to love and take care of as well! But before then we’ll celebrate the Marcroft way, a simple chocolate cake, some vanilla ice cream and two candles, but lots of love!
We love you Danny boy! Happy Birthday!
Here are some of Danny’s favorite things at this point in his life:

Balloons
Trains, train tracks, trucks and anything else that moves
Chocolate, candy, ice cream
Shoes/Socks or as he says it “shoesock on!”
Balls of any kind…he’s even learned how to say the different types recently!
Scooters, bikes, skateboards and yes, he tries to ride them all and does really well on the scooters!
Getting dirty
Washing his hands (he’ll stand at the sink for 20 minutes if I let him!)
Screaming “Mommmmmy!”
H “ugs”
Snuggling after he wakes up
Nate-Nate (he calls both of his brothers Nate-Nate!)
His blue Clifford Doggie, Mac
(Any) night-night blanket (and he’ll often just lay down where ever he is when he finds one and pretend to be asleep!)
Milk! This boy loves milk.
Books…and he just started saying again, which he loves saying after reading a book.
Saying nooooooooooooooo! (but always with a smile!)
Saying yes and then nodding… :)
Swings (and slides but he calls them both swings!)
Sammy's snow boots
H "ats"
Monkeys

Family pictures with Kellie Larsen Photography

2011-08-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

I take tons of pictures of the boys. Way too many. But professional photography is one of those things that I almost never have done (besides a gift from my sister Cathy who paid for the boys to have some pics taken!) I didn’t have pictures of each boy taken at 0, 3 mos, 6 mos, etc…and the last time we did something like this with the whole family was before Nathan’s big surgery when I wanted to make sure if something went horribly wrong that we had some nice pictures to remember him by and my brother-in-law Danny took those with his DSLR!

Anyway…this was a great experience and might I add, was (especially by professional photography standards) affordable. Kellie wants to make sure that people, normal people like us, can afford to take pictures! So enjoy the pictures and definitely look her up when you need family pictures. She is a great gal that the boys immediately were comfortable with and we will definitely be using her services again!!! :)

Enjoy the pics that we picked out and if you’re interested in seeing the rest check them out at Smugmug…

Here are a few of my favorites :)

Me and my boys...

Sam loves you

benny dorloen you r a ceute and so we love you .

A Name and a Blessing for Benjamin

That famous Marcroft smile…

Christmas: Robot Pillowcases with pockets

Health Update: New Dosages for Children’s Tylenol (Moms/Dads should read!)

Welcome Benjamin Joseph! :)

Sammy: Character Award Respect

What’s in a due date?

Nateism: Nutrients

Halloween 2011

A mother of (almost) four boys…

My Birthday Boys Nathan (4) and Sammy (6)

Sammy: Kindergarten Picture

Sammy and the Power Snakes!

Sammy’s 1st Day of Kindergarten

Happy 2nd Birthday Danny Boy!

Family pictures with Kellie Larsen Photography

A few pictures from Oceanside…

Camping at San Gorgonio

Orange Empire Railway Museum (OERM) Members Night

CA Science Center

Fire Station #30 with the Scouts

Santa Ana Zoo

My 2010 "scrapbook" on Shutterfly!

Frontier Summer Baseball League

Swim Lessons

One of our favorite summer activities: Splash

Carnival Fun with the boys

Samism: My future mother (my future wife)

Samism: Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

Preparation Instructions

To Our Daddy–Happy Father’s Day

Family fun at Bolsa Chica State Beach

And it’s a…

“Puppy” K–Fieldtrips

OC Zoo Fieldtrip

Newport Harbor Fieldtrip

Now you see it….now you don’t!

Easter 2011

Camping at Monte Cristo

Boys. Boys. Boys.

Family Fun–Kites

Sammy’s 1st Day of T-ball

Danny–17 months

Bethany’s Baby Blessing

Halloween in November?

Character Award: Caring - Sammy

Happy 5th Birthday Sammy!

Happy Birthday to Nate Nate!

Kid updates…

Space Ship Sammy

Saving mementos!

Sammy Starts School

John Williams at the Hollywood Bowl

Soccer Time!

Happy 1st Birthday Danny boy!

Summer sun and summer fun!

Samism: Love

Nateism – The Shark

Samism: Prayer and the Moon

Happy Friday the 13th!

Planes, Trains and a lot of fun…

Samism: Money 101

Fun with Grandma & Grandpa at the Welk

Happy Birthday America!

Samism: Yogurt

Summer has arrived, woo hooooo! :)

It’s Almost Summer!

Samism – Mommy’s Birthday Party

My Silly Nathan!

Samism – Knee-highs

Sammy’s Swim Lessons

Easy (and delicious) Chicken Noodle Soup

Father and Son’s Campout

Ready or Not Here He Comes...

See my new teeth?

A Fun Day at the Beach