Halloween and our Visitor's Arrive

I'm a slacker - here are pictures and a quick update from over 2 weeks ago. Mia and Papa arrived for a 2 week visit on the 30th so I haven't taken much time to sort and share pictures. After the excitement of the arrival of Mia and Papa, a Halloween party, birthday party, and trick-or-treating were the highlight of the week for the boys.

Jacob decided he wanted to be a tiger this year . He's always loved animals, but I think he wanted to "match" Luke and his animal themed costume (a lion) Thankfully, it was cool on Halloween night so the boys could wear their costumes and not melt.

Jacob definitely understood the concept of trick-or-treating and was very excited to go house to house. Luke wasn't sure what was happening at first, but very willingly followed Jacob up to every house and watched carefully as the people put candy in his pumpkin. He clutched that pumpkin and wouldn't let go for anything. The last couple of houses were really funny as Luke held out his hand to get the candy and then put it in his pumpkin himself. He definitely understood then.

As far as everyday happenings, naps are the big challenge around here. Jacob still needs a nap everyday, but fights them some days and generally doesn't take one on school days, unless he falls asleep watching tv during quiet time or in the car.

Luke has been waking super early for the last 6 weeks so his napping schedule is a mess too. We moved to 1 nap for a week or two (which helped immensely with the crying for long stretches before naps and bedtime), but lately we are back to taking 2 naps a day because he's so tired by 9:30-10am. If I do get him to take just one nap, it is generally a 3 hour one, so there is hope.

Here are the pictures from the week of Oct.26-Nov.1

Nursing Days are Done

Yesterday afternoon (Oct. 25) marked the last day of nursing for Luke. It was a bittersweet ending to over 15 1/2 months of the ultimate in special bonding time for us. Amazingly enough, the timing seems to be perfect for both mother and son.

Dewberry Farm

As I mentioned in the weekly post, the boys and I joined our playgroup for a trip to Dewberry Farm last Friday. The day started off a bit cool, but with all of the activity to take part in, everyone warmed up quickly. The activities were a bit too old for Luke, for the most part, but Jacob loved every minute.

walking through the corn maze
showing off his corn findLuke looking for the perfect pumpkin

Luke wasn't interested in posing for pictures

This is the best shot of the two of them that I could get

Wandering through the pumpkin patch

Pumping water for the rubber duck races

Ready to roll

Bouncing high

Ready to ride

Not so sure about the cold weather Couldn't wait for the hay ride

Taking a ride on a pig

Checking out the baby chicks This was the biggest smile I got out of Luke all day....he loved the train ride

Fall is here

Fall is here and with it has come some beautiful weather. The boys and I made a trip to the zoo on Monday.

Then on Friday, we made a trip to a local farm with our playgroup. Jacob really enjoyed taking a hayride, walking through the corn maze, riding in the corn train, seeing some animals, checking out the pumpkins, and playing on a giant jumping pillow with his friends. I'll have another post with more pictures from the visit.

We finished off the week with a family outing at Dave & Busters for Daddy's work. We all enjoyed some good food and good fun.

The boys had some good days this week, unfortuantely, not everyday is good. We are still having problems with Jacob keeping his hands to himself and hitting his friends at school and while playing soccer. We'll have to come up with some creative parenting to solve this one.

Not everything is perfect with Luke these days either. He continues to wake up WAY too early....like 5AM! This can make for some tired days for all. We need to get that adjusted before Mia and Papa stay with the boys next week!

Thankfully he doesn't cry as much before going to bed for naps or bedtime or when being dropped off somewhere. He is also getting more vocal everyday. The newest words in the past couple of weeks are trash, hot, up, and mine....all used in the correct context, of course. Especially mine, there are A LOT of things that all of a sudden belong to Luke.

Here are the pictures from the week.

Beautiful Weather, a Birthday, and a Festival

Thankfully, everyone started feeling better last week so we got back out into the world. The weather has been a bit crazy the past few weeks with a lot of rain and humid weather with patches of nice weather mixed in. Last week started off nasty, but ended up with some gorgeous days. The boys were happy to get back outside and enjoy the weather.

Aunt Mindy had a birthday last week so the family all got together to celebrate. We haven't spent much time with the family lately, so it was great to visit. The cousins have so much fun together.

Our neighborhood had their annual fall festival on Sunday so the boys got to dress up in their costumes for the first time. I can't even count how many "awww...so cute" comments we got for both boys. I think they looked pretty darn adorable myself. More on the festival (and more pictures) in another post.

I did a little baking during the week, and Luke was lucky enough to wake up from his nap just in time to lick the beater.

Because of his past egg allergy, Jacob only recently has had the oppotunity to do this, and like Luke, he thinks it is fabulous.

Here are the pictures from the week.

The Flu Week

**Pictures and update from 2 weeks ago, Oct.5-Oct.11

I know that 99% of y'all have no need for these update posts with the picture link, but since this blog is partially for my own "record" keeping and memories, I feel the need to put these posts here, if only for myself. These pictures are from 2 weeks ago...the dreadful flu week in our house. The pictures from the week aren't too exciting or plentiful since we stayed home the whole week trying to get better. Jacob came down with symptoms on Sunday and was diagnosed positive for flu on Monday. His fever broke Tuesday morning and he was almost back to normal by Tuesday night. That was when my symptoms started. Thankfully Luke was spared.

My friend Shana was gracious enough to bring by some craft kits for Jacob to do while we were stuck in the house (literally since it was raining off and on all week and when it wasn't raining, it was nasty, sticky, and muddy outside...until the weekend anyways.) He had a good time doing them. We may need to make more of a concerted effort to do things like this more often.

Luke figured out that we get water from our fridge and now tries to reach cups up there to fill them. So cute.

We also had our first cold front come through, so out came the pants for a couple of days.

The climbing with Luke continues. I honestly have to keep an eye on him all the time so that he won't hurt himself. Makes our days exhausting, sometimes. (I know the picture isn't very good.)

We had a sticker chart for Jacob's staying dry at night and he filled it up so he finally got the "checkout," as he calls it as a reward. He isn't dry everynight, but he is getting more consistent.

Here are the rest of the pictures from the week.

The Homestretch

Today marks the 'homestretch' in the long, drawn out process of weaning Luke before our no-kids trip next month. After a couple of weeks of a single feeding a day (usually an hour or so after he woke up), today was the first day he was not nursed at all. Surprisingly, his behavior today showed no signs that something was amiss. He did make a visit or two to the glider where he always eats and stood there patting the seat and looking at me hopefully, but since I haven't given in to that ploy for a couple of months now, he wasn't phased that I didn't give in this time either. I didn't actually wake up this morning knowing today was going to be the day, it just worked out that way. I plan to nurse him every other day for the next week or two and then have our final feeding before the end of the month.

We survived the swine flu

A few people have asked for an update on Jacob's health after coming down with the swine flu. Thankfully, the Tamiflu did its job amazingly, and within 24 hours of taking the first dose, you would have never known he was sick. Except for some sporadic coughs, he was back to his old self with endless energy, a full appetite, and 3 year old charm. Unfortunately, right about the time he was bouncing back, I began to feel the symptoms coming on. A positive flu test for me kept us homebound for another several days. Luke woke up Sunday morning with a low grade fever and we thought we were bound for a few more days of quarantine, but thankfully, he tested negative for flu and within 24 hours the fever was gone and he has been just fine.

Pictures from 2 weeks ago

**Picture and update from Sept. 28- Oct. 4

After having a sick household this past week, I can't seem to remember much about what happened 2 weeks ago. I'm doing good to remember what went on during the week when we are all well. We pretty much just went about our business as usual to start the week, school, the gym, bible study, etc, but finished the week with the beginnings of our 11 day home confinement.

Thursday afternoon after I picked up Jacob from school, he began running a high fever. A visit to the dr. the next day said he had bronchitis and maybe the flu (no test was done.) We stayed close to home all weekend but Jacob seemed to be doing great, no fever or any signs of being sick. Sunday night, the high fever returned and Monday morning he tested positive for flu. Fun times.

Luke continues to be a crazy climbing kid. It keeps me on my toes. He is also very independent, especially when it comes to eating and playing with toys. He also loves to run, no more toddling for this little guy. He is also starting to actually play/interact with others, especially Jacob. My little baby is quickly turning into a little boy.

Jacob is having fun with soccer, but we are still having trouble getting him to play nicely and keep his hands to himself. We think he understands us when we tell him not to push, pull, or tackle the other kids, but his lack of impulse control, especially in the 'heat' of the game, still wins out. We (and his coach) are working hard to get him to use all his energy to kick the ball instead. When he really focuses on doing that, he's pretty good.

The weather has been hot and rainy in Houston as of late, which unfortunately has been keeping us inside a lot. When the sun isn't shining too hot to go out and play, the mosquitos and muddy ground aren't too inviting.

Here are the pictures from the week.

15 Months

Luke had his 15 month checkup this morning. Though a tad smaller than Jacob at the same age, he is following his own growth curve exactly:

Weight - 22 lbs 9.6 oz (20-25%)

Height - 30.5 in (25%)

Head - 47.8 cm (75%) - (either this measurement or the one done at his 12 month appt is wrong because it is 3/4 inch smaller than it was at 12 months; guess that is what happens when different people take the measurement)

Developmentally doing great!

Frame of reference - Jacob's stats were:

Weight - 23.0 lbs (though he was sick at the time; he was 23lbs 7oz two weeks before and on recheck 2 weeks later weighed in at 24 lbs 12oz)

Height - 31"

Head - 48.5cm