Jacob's preschool had a Halloween parade yesterday for all of the kiddos to show their costumes. Here are a few pictures of Jacob and his class 'parading.' Afterwards, they all sat down for a class photo with the pumpkins, but honestly, the pictures aren't great. I guess getting 16 - 2year olds to sit still and smile is not the easiest task.
So, not as exciting as the wheels of a new car, but still exciting for me. I've been meaning to buy a double jogging stroller since before Luke was born, but just couldn't bring myself to spend the money. Well, I found this one in excellent condition on craigslist for a steal, so I got it. Since getting to the gym is not always possible, I'm glad that I now have an alternative way to get in my exercise for the day. And with the weather being so beautiful lately, I'm glad I have one more reason to get outisde. Another plus - both boys actually seem to like it too!
This week, the weather in Houston was fabulous. Unfortunately, with the wonderful, cooler temperatures, comes cold and flu season. Both Jacob and I had to deal with a cold last week. Thankfully, mine was minor, since it is hard to care for the boys when I'm sick. Jacob seemed to get over his cold without too much downtime too, but something settled into his chest and 
sinuses. After a visit to the doctor today,he was put antibiotics for a sinus infection and bronchitis and a puffer for wheezing. With the recent struggles with falling asleep, the all night coughing was really making it hard for him to get rested. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon and he'll kick the cough. Kids amaze me with their energy levels even when they are sick. Jacob didn't have a fever and didn't slow down one bit to show me he was sick. If it wasn't for the cough, I would never have known he was sick. 
Luke also has a little bit of the sniffles, so hopefully that is as far as it goes. He seems to be handling it ok, except for at night. I can hear the poor guy struggling to breathe through his nose. He has also regressed in his sleeping at night the last few nights. I hope it is related to the sniffles so that he will return to normal when they are gone. Luke has also switched to short nap mode this past week. Instead of taking several 1 hour+ naps each day, we are down to 3 or 4 30-40 min naps. I remember this stage with Jacob, and it was no fun. Especially when it seems he catches those snoozes in the car or when I'm fighting to get Jacob to sleep. It takes away from what little kid-free time I have during the day.
And one of Luke smiling on his own:
am I complaining? Well, he hasn't really "improved" in the past 8 weeks. I mean, sure, we get the occasional 9 hr+ stretch of sleep, but he isn't there consistently. I guess I just expected some improvement from 7-15 weeks. I'm sure he'll get there, but who knows when. With Jacob, when he woke up during the night, a pacifier worked to get him back to sleep instead of feeding him. Since Luke won't take a pacifier, that trick won't work. I've tried just rocking him back to sleep, but he doesn't want any of that - he's ready to eat when he wakes up. The past week or so he's also taken a bit more time to get back to sleep after he eats during the night. He's wide awake and ready to play. I, on the other hand, am not ready to play in the wee hours of the morning. Good thing he is so stinkin cute. :)
n't upset when we put him down for a nap or bed, he doesn't go down easily. Instead, he is out of his bed the moment we walk out of the room and starts playing and making all sorts of noise. We let some quiet play slide by, but once he gets riled up, we have to put a stop to it. Thankfully, after an hour, he is normally asleep. Bedtime is still ~7:30pm, though it is often times 8:30pm before he's finally asleep. Now, if that was the end of the sleep trouble, I wouldn't complain. I figure that is fairly typical of a 2 year old. The bigger issue is the waking up in the middle of the night. He wakes up crying, sometimes a 1-3 times a night. We go in there and the tears are usually fake - he knows it will get us in there. He happily says "Hi Mommy, when I walk in." Most of the time, he is looking for his pappy (I know, it should be gone by now!) or his doggy. Sometimes he just wants to know we are there. Last night, he somehow fell out of his bed and onto the floor. Quite a feat with bedrails on the bed. Couple all that with a 6am wakeup and none of us are getting the best sleep. At least he can't open doors yet, so we don't have an overnight visitor in our bed. Things could be worse, so I won't complain...at least not too much.
Can you believe it, Luke is now 3 1/2 months old! I was talking to someone the other day about him, and stumbled over my words when asked how old he was. It was then I realized how fast the time had gone. The next several months will be a whirlwind too as he learns all sorts of new things and experiences many things for the first time. It is wonderful to think about what the future holds, but at the same time is a bit sad...he's not much of a little baby anymore. He continues to be a happy kid, though he has shown us how loud he can be when he wants our attention.
Jacob continues to talk up a storm. It seems he has a new phrase or word everyday. When talking to a mom of one of his classmates, she mentioned that her daughter doesn't talk much yet, and only has a few dozen words. I was amazed - Jacob is never quiet! He never ceases to amaze me with his vocabulary. He can be quite the comic relief too.
Daddy was out of town last week, so it was just me and the boys. We had a playdate with a new friend, school, bible study, Luke's 3 month pictures , tile/grout cleaning, and lots of errands to run, so we stayed busy. On Saturday, with Daddy home, we went to a local free festival where Jacob got to see and climb on a firetruck, do a Halloween craft, play games (which he wasn't too interested in), and eat. It was a nice day and a nice outing. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed that Jacob didn't seem interested in the games or activities being offered at the festival. He is usually not one to shy away or stick like glue to David or me when we are out and about, so I was surprised to see him act this way for the second weekend in a row while at a game-oriented activity. (Dave and Busters last weekend) I'm not sure if it is a phase or he was just tired.
Luke appears to be in the early stages of teething as he is drooling and chewing on his fingers a lot. With Jacob, this stage took awhile (~2mo) before teeth appeared. He continues to be irregular (not going), but so far, no pain, so no problem yet. He's 'talking' more and kicking his feet all the time. He's not grabbing for things or reaching for his toes yet, but I expect that to come soon.
Jacob is over his cold and bounding with energy again. With a few exceptions, naptime and bedtime are struggles. He just doesn't want to sleep, but he really really needs it. When he ends up not napping (instead spending a couple of hours playing in his room), he is quite grumpy by ~5pm. He has been waking up at about 6-6:15am most mornings too. He is just not into sleep these days. We are also struggling with listening and following directions. He behaves for others (or so I am told), so that is good, but our patience is being tested for sure. We haven't figured out what punishment seems to help get the point across, so we are just spinning our wheels at this point. Once again, I know it is a typical 2 year old phase, but that doesn't make it easier. I just try to remind myself everyday how special and precious these times are and how fast the time will go and tell myself to just let it go, but it is hard. I still need to teach him the right way to act so he'll grow up to be a "fine, upstanding young man," so I can't completely let it go....but, you get the idea. Like every mom, I'll figure it out as I go along.
Go here for the rest of this week's pictures.
Isn't it just adorable? I was taking pictures of Luke yesterday while Jacob napped, and he was in a silly mood, sticking out his tongue in many of the pictures. I adore this one.
