Haebs Family

Blue Bell and Bluebonnets

2011-04-04T15:37:00.020-05:00

Today we attempted a trip to Brenham to take our annual picture in the bluebonnets. Heading out on our trip, we thought the weather was going to be the issue, but as it turns out, the lack of bluebonnets was the problem. We visited a couple of spots we have taken pictures at in the past, but found only a handful of flowers at each spot. Since we had driven all the way out there, we decided to visit the Blue Bell Creameries tour with our friends. Who wouldn't like a tour that ends in a scoop of your choice of the best ice cream in the country? After our tour, the tour guide mentioned a town about 15 miles further down the road that had bluebonnets. So, we decided to give it a shot. We found a field that had a decent amount of flowers, so we took a few pictures. Unfortunately, Luke had fallen asleep in the car at some point, so he wasn't in the best of moods for pictures. I wasn't able to get too many good shots of the boys together, but I did get a couple of solo shots of each boy that I really like. We will probably make a return trip in a couple of weeks and hopefully get some pictures with more bluebonnets in them, but for now, these will do.

Wienermobile

2011-04-03T17:18:00.000-05:00

The Oscar Meyer Wienermobile was at our local Kroger today, so we took the boys to see it.

They got to take a look around inside,

and write Wienermobile postcards to show others their experience.

Of course, they had to bring their Hot Wheels Wienermobile cars too. The girls at the Wienermobile were very impressed with the boys' little cars. Hard core fans!

Last Soccer Game

2011-04-03T15:06:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was Jacob's final soccer game for the Spring season. He had a great team this year with several very talented players.

Jacob enjoyed the season, but I think he is glad it is over. The best thing about YMCA soccer...they keep the seasons short, which is great for most young children who get bored easily!

The end of season party was at Joe's Crab Shack. The kids had a blast playing on the playground with all the other kids. Another fabulous trophy to add to his collection.

Next up...swim team!

Fish Fry Tailgate

2011-04-03T14:56:00.003-05:00

Friday night, the moms group at our church decided to have a Fish Fry Tailgate in the church parking lot by the playground. The church sells fried fish dinners on Fridays during Lent, so we filled up the coolers, popped up some tables and chairs, brought some food, and enjoyed the evening. The kids had a great time running around and playing with friends, while the adults had a chance to visit and eat. We had a great turnout for the event and are looking forward to the next one.

To the Zoo

2011-04-02T14:39:00.005-05:00

Another nice Houston day called for a zoo trip. The boys were excited since it had been over a month since our last visit.

Meercats always provide entertainment

The Chimpanzees in the African Forest is my favorite exhibit.We even got to see the lions get fed. Lots of raw hamburger meat, onions, eggs, squash, and a few other veggies were being offered.

Our zoo visit wouldn't be complete without a ride on the wild animal carousel.

A quick run through the children's zoo playground, finished out our zoo visit (judging by Luke's acrobatics here, it is no wonder the recommended height requirement is 48 inches)

And of course, after our picnic lunch, we had to ride the Herman Park Train. So fun!

Jacob's Pretend Birthday

2011-04-01T14:34:00.001-05:00

Jacob celebrated his "pretend" birthday at school this week. That is what his teacher and friends called it since it wasn't his "real" birthday. Since his birthday is over the summer, he doesn't get to celebrate on the actual day, so he chose March 31st as his "pretend" birthday.

He requested a cookie cake with red icing, so I happily obliged. He put on the birthday hat, had a card signed by all his friends, and had the birthday song sung to him. He thinks it is pretty special that he gets two birthdays.

Underwater Camera

2011-02-01T12:00:00.004-06:00

For my birthday, I got a new pocket camera (mine broke last spring.) Since I LOVE my DSLR and use it for almost every picture taking occasion, we wanted the new camera to have its own identity and specific use. We decided on a waterproof one. Though the "everyday" pictures it takes aren't spectacular, they do the job of capturing the moment if I don't have my big camera with me. I was quite happy with how the underwater ones turned out though.

In Honduras:

Haircuts

2011-01-04T14:54:00.002-06:00

Today was haircut day for the boys.

Jacob: Luke (aka wild man):

As the stylist was putting gel in his hair and running his fingers through it, it was all sticking straight up at one point. Luke grinned and said "hair all done" and tried to get down from the chair. We asked him if he wanted it to be spidy like that and he said yes. She then put it into a faux-hawk. He loved it. (But he looks older than his 2 1/2 yrs, so it won't be staying....I like my little guy looking 2!)

Bowling

2011-01-04T14:31:00.011-06:00

Yesterday I took the boys bowling. David and I took them once before a few months ago, so Jacob was very excited when I told him we were going. It is amazing what a difference 4-5 months can make.

Jacob attempted to bowl with his fingers in the proper holes,

though he still did a painful drop of the ball rather than roll it.

He even got a strike on one throw. He was excited he knocked them all down, but not excited that meant the end of his turn.

Luke, as is typical these days, insisted on doing it "all myself."

I was a bit nervous in the beginning that he would drop the 7lb ball on his foot (or someone else's) but he did great.

The ball didn't roll very fast, but except for one throw in the 8th frame, the ball made it to the pins every time.

Here's Luke:

And Jacob:

And one more of Jacob (with 'help' from Luke):

Christmas Week

2010-12-26T15:09:00.024-06:00

Though I have a lot of updates to go back and edit and post, I thought I would start from some of the more recent posts to keep everyone up to date. This one is actually about activities that went on last week, Dec.20-26

Because all of our regularly scheduled activities were not in session this week for the Christmas holiday, we had a lot of free play time and "do what you want" time. With such a busy fall schedule, we didn't have too many of those days, and we missed having them from time to time. Daddy had to work for the first 3 days of the week, so we tried to keep on our normal eat/nap routine and just find other fun things to keep us busy.

One day we went to a pizza parlor with a kids play area:

We made another zoo trip this week, this time with a couple of friends. No matter how many times we visit the zoo, the boys never tire of it.

As is an Armstrong family tradition at Christmas time, we all went out for a nice dinner at Taste of Texas. One of my favorite restaurants, and so festive at Christmastime. Between waiting for a table and eating, it was a 3 1/2 hour affair. The boys did fabulous. David and I were so proud of their behavior.

Friday was a day of making Christmas cookies,

then Christmas Eve mass and dinner with the family.

Of course, Saturday was Christmas Day. Santa made a visit and brought everyone in the house a lot of goodies. I plan to write a "Christmas Morning" post soon.

After opening gifts, we headed out to Aunt Catherine's house for a wonderful Christmas brunch.

The rest of the week was filled with good old playtime with lots of new toys.

**I take a lot of pictures in general (an average week is about 80 pictures), but because of Christmas morning festivities, there were more than twice as many pictures taken. I try to cut down the number of pictures I upload and share to a more "reasonable" number, but this week couldn't get it down below 100, so be aware if you plan on looking through the link.

Here are the pictures from the week.

Pictures by Monica

2010-12-25T21:15:00.001-06:00

For the past couple of years, my friend, Monica, has taken pictures of the boys and our family. I always intend to upload some of the best pictures to share here, but never get around to it. I don't know if I'll ever get the other ones posted, but here are some of my favorites she took the weekend after Thanksgiving, including our Christmas card photo for the year:
Some great shots of the boys:

and some beautiful family pictures as well:

Here are the rest of the pictures she took during the session.

Excited

2010-12-24T22:13:00.010-06:00

Jacob is beyond excited about Christmas morning. There is so much running around inside that little body of his he could hard stand still tonight. I wish I could just bottle up the innocence and wonder he is experiencing right now. It is just adorable and so so sweet. I also wish I had my video camera on when I went in to kiss him goodnight so I could capture the bubbling over of excitement and glee on his face and coming from his mouth (I did try to go back in with my camera, but like most times he sees the camera, he clammed up). What an amazing time!

Here are the little guys in their new pajamas with the cookies and milk for Santa (I can just see the excitement in Jacob)

My two handsome little men ready for Christmas Eve mass:

Applepus and Brebra

2010-12-21T21:12:00.003-06:00

OK, so a very different post than normal, but one I just had to write to remember this cuteness. Right now, Luke talks A LOT and knows so many words, it really is amazing. Not all of his words are correct though. For example, my new favorite - Octopus is Applepus. Adorable! And Zebra is Brebra. I hope to get this on video soon to add to the post.

To the zoo...yes again

2010-12-21T17:11:00.009-06:00

Another warm winter day in Houston, brought the boys and me back to the zoo today.

This time we went with our friends Katie and Gideon. Gideon is in Luke's class at school, but the admiration and affection Gideon has for Jacob is what really keeps Gideon wanting to hang out with us! My efforts to get a picture of all 3 rambunctious boys was futile.

In fact, at this spot, Gideon wanted to play duck duck goose instead of taking a silly picture.I got these two to sit for 5 seconds...

This time, as promised, the boys got to ride the Herman Park train. The ticket prices have gone up since the last time we rode, so our rides may not be as frequent as they once were.

My boys have always been stroller kids. They would rather be pushed around than walk (or run) on their own. As much as I like this (it sure makes it easier to take them out on my own when they aren't running in two different directions) sometimes I wish they would get out and walk a bit. Pushing nearly 80lbs of stroller and kid gets heavy!

Not sure what his problem was in the stroller picture, he really was having fun....

In front of the chimpanzee window today, one feisty chimp scared both my boys in two separate instances. The boys were standing on the wall by the window, and this one chimp went right up to the glass and hit it right by their faces. Both were very quick to back away and almost fall off the wall. Good thing Mommy was there to catch them. It really stuck with Luke. Later, at the orangutans he wouldn't go within 3 feet of the glass enclosure!

Though I am sure this has been going on for some time now, and I just haven't registered it, I realized today that Jacob has started asking "what is ?" when an unfamiliar word is used in conversation. Before, he would just glaze right over what was said and go on, even if he didn't understand. He is once again showing his love for knowledge with these new questions. The word that made me pay attention...passengers. Big thanks to Katie for tolerating his neverending silliness and helping to answer his numerous questions.

Christmas #1

2010-12-20T14:26:00.014-06:00

Because my sister and BIL are headed out of town for Christmas, we celebrated Christmas with my immediate family yesterday. After some great visiting/playing time,

we had a wonderful meal (including THREE fabulous, homemade desserts) then lots of presents.

The boys had a wonderful time with their cousins and came home with a lot of great stuff too.

Jacob has figured out the concept of presents and gifts and was quick to move from one present to the next.

Luke, on the other hand was very happy to open a gift and play with it for a little while before being bothered to open another one.

Skills

2010-12-20T13:55:00.011-06:00

Ran out of time to post last night, so here is post 1 of 2 (at least) for today:

A couple of weeks ago, Jacob's teacher sent home a few worksheets with a some evaluations she had done on the children to see where they were at in a few areas. 4 of the sheets were for identifying upper and lower case letters, numbers up to 20, and colors. Of course, Jacob aced all 4, as he actually learned them all at a very young age.

It got me thinking though about Luke and evaluating him as well. I knew he could identify all of his upper case letters (he got that down a few months ago) but I wasn't sure where we stood with lowercase letters, numbers, or colors. I was completely amazed at what he was able to do.

He knew about 6 of the 8 colors on the first pass, but missed a couple different ones in the second pass (getting the ones right he previously missed), and got them all right on the 3rd pass. Definitely needs a bit more work on the colors. Overall, I am impressed with it.

He needs work on numbers. I would say only about 5-7 were right and he didn't sound so sure of himself on those. I'm glad to know what we can focus on for now.

He only knew just over half of the lowercase letters, but that doesn't surprise me as we rarely, if ever, talk about those. The ones that look like their uppercase letters are gimmes, but he did know a few others as well.

Where I was completely amazed was when we did the uppercase letters (which we did first.) Not only did he quickly and easily identify each letter correctly, but he followed each letter name with the sound it makes! Only getting 2 of the sounds wrong! This kid is ready for phonics! I was really proud of him and told him, and he was just beaming from ear to ear. Guess kids really do pick up stuff when you just tell them things and don't sit down and try to teach.

African Forest

2010-12-17T20:21:00.010-06:00

The boys and I get our money's worth out of our zoo membership, making the trip into town 2-3 times a month to visit the animals. The beauty of a membership means the 1 1/2 - 2 hour visit (usually the max amount of time spent there) doesn't feel like a waste of money.
With our fall activities and school finishing up for the year, we found ourselves with a free day (which rarely happens!) and decided to visit the zoo and check out the new exhibit(s) in the African Forest. We were not disappointed. They did a really good job on the whole area. We plan on going back next week to visit again.
Here are a few pictures with my new pocket (waterproof!) camera I got for my birthday last week. The pictures aren't as sharp as those taken with my DSLR, but you can't beat the ease of a pocket camera.And of course, no trip to the zoo is complete without a ride on the carouselAnd a climb in the prairie dog tunnel

There is a train that runs through the park adjacent to the zoo that the boys LOVE to ride, but I bargained with the boys to skip it this time...which means I am on the hook for next week!

Gotta Start Somewhere - Santa Pictures

2010-12-17T07:53:00.007-06:00

So, now that it has been nearly 6 months since I last posted, I thought I should get back into the game. (For the record, I do have about 60 posts started, but no pictures inserted yet, so they haven't been posted....they'll come....eventually) Anyways, thought I would start my comeback with Santa pictures with the boys.

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

Little Gymnast

2010-11-14T20:32:00.000-06:00

Continuing to update from the month of November, here are some pictures and an update from the week of Nov.8-14

Luke has been in a gymnastics class at the Y for a couple of months now, and I finally brought my camera to catch him in action.

He is actually one of the most coordinated kids in the class (all those early days of climbing helped) and definitely is the best listener (of course, Mommy requires him to pay attention!)

One of Jacob's good friends had his birthday party at a local jumping place this week. These places are right up the boys' alley...so of course, they had a blast.

Luke had a big first on the potty this week, so potty training full force is coming over Thanksgiving break!

After a long time of taking the boys to restaurants being a chore, we are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. By no means are they perfect, but we have occasional outings that are easy and pleasant. Practice makes perfect, right?

Here are the rest of the pictures from the week.

November in Houston

2010-11-07T22:03:00.000-06:00

Catch up continues. Here is a post with pictures and a short update on what was going on around here from Nov.1-7

November in Houston weather is here. Shorts and t-shirts are still part of the wardrobe, but cold fronts push through occasionally to shake things up. On a particular warm day, we met with some new friends at a local park. We found another family that goes to the Y every morning like we do, and their twin boys and my boys have so much fun together. It is great making new friends!

The boys were thrilled when it was cold enough to wear long sleeved pjs.

Jacob loves getting "new things" so pulling out the fall/winter clothes as the weather gets colder makes him happy.
The boys are playing together more and more. They still do better overall if they play side by side or nearby than actually together, but I am seeing glimpses of a best friendship forming.

Luke learned a new skill this week-opening doors. He was much later than many of his peers in learning how, but I wasn't in any hurry for him to learn. Now I will have to put forth a lot more effort to keep him out of things!

Luke is also showing a LOT of interest in the potty. Potty training soon!
Here are the rest of the pictures from the week.

Halloween

2010-11-01T22:04:00.000-05:00

So, I know it is completely out of order and random to post on December 17, but I am just going to have to get over my OCD a little if I am ever going to get this blog back up and running.

This year, the boys were Thing 1 and Thing 2 for Halloween. One day in September, Jacob tells me he is going to be Thing 2 and Luke is going to be Thing 1 this year. (A new show on PBS - "The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That" had a lot to do with his choice this year!) I thought it was a great idea and jumped right in to finding the perfect costumes.

Thankfully, the site, Etsy, exists. I was able to go on there and request the costumes, and someone made them just for the boys. To say I LOVED them, was an understatement.

They got so many compliments and "oh how cute" or "how clever"

Looking at their costumes this year, got me thinking to costumes of years past:

2009

20082007

2006

Skills to work on

2010-10-17T21:11:00.000-05:00

In keeping with my goal to get at least one blog entry posted each day until I get caught up, here is one from the week of Oct. 11-17

I have recently had people make comments to me on how well Luke speaks for a 2 year old. I haven't really paid much attention, but since both kids talk ALL the time, it makes sense how great Luke's speaking skills have become and what a great vocabulary Jacob has.

I helped in Jacob's class this week and he never stopped talking. It was during center time and he was just talking talking talking. I've been told it is a sign of intelligence...

Luke's soft spot still hasn't closed, but a check with a neurologist has us unworried about it for now.

This week was preschool open house which gave me a chance to see the boys' work in school and find out what we needed to work on. Jacob needs to work on printing and cutting right now.

We had a birthday dinner for Mindy at our house with the whole family-FUN!

Luke loves to copy Jacob and sometimes the reverse happens.

They also love things to be the same so we are in the "two of everything' phase here.
Here are the pictures from the week.

Reading Class and ABCs

2010-10-03T21:40:00.002-05:00

Totally out of order in my catch-up posts, but here is one from the week of Sept 27-Oct 3;

School is in full swing. This week was picture day at school. Still waiting on how they turned out. Once we get them, I will scan them and post.The weather is still warm enough for shorts/tshirts and park visits in the evening. The boys love to get outside and climb. And of course, little brother has to follow in big brother's footsteps!

I signed Jacob up for a highly recommended reading class this Fall and he had the first class this week. He had a great time and learned 3 sight words on day 1! I can't believe he's taking strides to start reading.

Since we went out of town Saturday to Saturday, Jacob missed his first 2 soccer games. He jumped right back into the swing of things though for his first soccer game and did great. Even got to play goalie for a quarter!

Jacob is doing better playing with friends lately, not getting so riled up or physical as often, remaining calm. I'm so glad to see this change. He still loves active play with friends, but fewer tears is nice.

Luke is still in the stage of playing alongside other kids most of the time, though he does actually play with Jacob (when he lets him!)

Luke now tries to sing his ABCs. He has the tune and some of the letters down, but not all. Like Jacob, his learning is backwards from most. He has been able to identify all the letters by sight for a few months now and knows about half of the letter sounds too, but can't sing the song.

Not potty training yet, but Luke shows interest in going diaperless and using the potty. It is mama who just isn't quite ready to work on the training yet!
Here are the pictures from the week.

What are we doing tomorrow?

2010-08-26T15:06:00.013-05:00

Going back a few months to upload a post I started about the week of Aug.9-15;

I can hardly believe we are halfway through August, the summer has gone by quickly. I'm not even sure I could tell you all the things we did but I know it was a lot. On days we didn't have as much going on, we did fun things at home like a picnic lunch (inside on a towel/blanket to stay cool!)

Perhaps it is genetics or perhaps it is just what they know, but my boys are like me in that we can't just sit idle for very long. Every night before Jacob goes to sleep he asks what we are doing the next day. He is never satisfied with "I don't know" or "nothing"

This week the heat really started spiking, 100 at our house everyday. The gym is our first stop of the day, a win-win for all since the boys enjoy it there and I get a good workout in.

This week besides gymnastics (plus a make up class) we hit up an indoor bounce place,

Chuck E Cheese,

and a splashpad with friends. Add in a visit to our local pool and we kept busy and cool. We also tried out a new local play place a couple of weeks ago and had fun but I was disappointed in the number of "big" kids causing trouble. I am ready for public school to start!

Luke's fingers have been stuck in his mouth constantly the last few weeks. I am wondering if he is getting some new molars, but so far, we haven't seen anything yet.

Here are the pictures from the week.

2 Year Stats

2010-07-09T15:01:00.008-05:00

Luke had his 2 year well-check today and he is doing great. He's met all the milestones for a 2 year old, and even the ones for a 2 1/2 year old. Here are his stats:
Weight - 28 lbs - 50%
Height - 33 3/8 in- 20-25%

Just as a comparison, these were Jacob's stats at the same age: Weight - 30.5 lbs - 80%
Height - 34 in - 35%

Happy 2nd Birthday Luke!

2010-07-09T14:37:00.006-05:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet boy!

Luke at 7:51am on July 7, 2008

Luke at 7:51am on July 7, 2009

Luke at 7:51am on July 7, 2010

Sleeping Boys

2010-07-09T14:33:00.003-05:00

While uploading pictures today, I saw this picture of Luke sleeping: I didn't realize it at the time I was taking the picture, but I have one very similar of Jacob at about the same age:

Same (June 7-13)

2010-06-13T22:05:00.010-05:00

Pics & update from June7-13

With the threat of bad weather several days this week, our schedule was pretty low key. We did manage to hit the gym everyday, Jacob went to his first gymnastics class, and we made a trip to the zoo.

Saturday was Jacob's last T-ball game for the year.

We also had lots of fun at home together. Jacob has been "into" his TAG reader system for the last couple of months and enjoys "reading" by himself. He and Luke have also found a common interest - cars, and love to "play cars" if not together, then alongside each other. No surface in the house is immune to becoming a parking lot or road for cars. Jacob also loves getting to play games with me like Candyland, Memory, Chutes & Ladders, etc. Definitely will add to his collection for his birthday.

We have hit the "same" factor in the house. What one boy has or does, the other has to have or do. I've had to catch myself before doing or giving something to one of the other knowing the other boy will be expecting the same. Fun times. This trend has also included eating arrangements. Luke has been fighting his highchair for a few weeks now, but we've kept him in it. I finally decided to give in this week and he now sits in a booster at the table like Jacob.

Just like convincing Jacob that he really didn't need Pull-Ups at night took some time, we finally convinced him this weekend that he didn't need his bed rails anymore. He had been fighting us taking them away, so we didn't push it. But after having to change his bed twice this week from accidents, I was tired of reaching over the bed rails, so we took them away. He has done great and really hasn't argued. The day we took them down though, he was a little upset and said "I don't want to be 4, I just want to be 3." I guess I have been using the "you don't need this or you shouldn't do that, or you can do this all by yourself you are almost 4" a bit too much...

With Father's Day is just a week away, I had to throw in a couple pictures of the boys with their Daddy.

Here are the rest of the pictures for the week.

Summer is here! (May 31-June 6)

2010-06-13T22:02:00.012-05:00

Pics and Update from May 31-June6

Summer has begun and with it all sorts of fun things for the boys. Another bday party for cousin David, this time with aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

We also hit up a new splashpad this week,

Jacob had a birthday party at the bounce house place,

and the boys and I took a trip to Brenham with some friends to take a tour of the Blue Bell plant and play at the Blue Bell pool. The whole day was fun and tiring. We all took great, long naps that day!

In some ways, I'm happy for summer, and in a few ways, I'm not. I like not having a set schedule most days, enjoying new experiences with the boys, and having lots of pool time, but I don't like the crowds at the gym, stores, and everywhere it seems. It has also gotten hot very fast - mid 90s most days, so lots of water play around here.

Jacob is still swimming great and loving it.

I actually attempted to work with Luke on identifying his letters a bit this week (well, as much as he would tolerate) and I realized he no longer knows the 8-10 letters he knew just a few weeks ago (thankfully he still knows about 5 consistently.) I have been slacking with practicing with him - my fault! Jacob knew all his upper case letters by this age, and some of the lowercase ones too...so I can't help but feel guilty for not giving Luke the same opportunities.

Here are the pictures from the week.

Lasts and Firsts (May 24-30)

2010-06-13T21:47:00.014-05:00

Pics and update from May24-30

This was a week of lasts and firsts. Jacob's 2nd and final week of swim lessons was this week. After really figuring out the concept of breathing and swimming on his own last week, he didn't learn a whole lot new this week, just added confidence.

He also had his last day of preschool for the year. Though he had a rough start to the year with his class, he had a great final few months and was really doing great. He learned a lot and has really grown up a lot.

An ice cream party ended the year, so that helped make it less sad.

This week was also Jacob and Luke's first time fishing. Daddy took them to a friend's property with his boys to fish. They had so much fun. Too bad they didn't have a camera (here are a couple of pictures taken with the friend's camera.)

Mixed in the weekend were 2 birthday parties and a Memorial Day party. Busy boys.

We also finally convinced Jacob to give up the Pull Ups at night. He's been dry for months but he was not ready to give them up until now.

Here are the pictures from the week.

Go-Go-Go (May 17-23)

2010-05-27T21:11:00.016-05:00

Pics and update from May 17-23

Last week had some very busy days mixed in with some lazy, stay at home ones. Jacob had his first week of swim lessons,

t-ball practice,

his school program,

t-ball pictures

and game,

cousin David's birthday party,

plus his last soccer practice/game and some fun play time at the neighborhood pool.

Lucky Luke, got to tag along for all the fun. He is definitely getting harder and harder to control and keep happy just sitting on the sidelines.

He did have a birthday party to attend without big brother, so that was a fun time for him.

We did make sure to slow down and take some time for a movie and popcorn though!

I can also now report that Jacob can swim! He has been able to jump in and swim/kick to David or me for a year now, but never would do it for anyone else, and hadn't figured out the breathing or treading water part. Thankfully, he has figured out both and LOVES to 'swim' on his own. He's not 100% water safe, but he's getting there quickly.

Luke finally has started calling Jacob "Ja-dup or Ja-jup" instead of just "Dup" Kind of a sad change as he loses a little bit more of his baby talk, but also sweet to hear him call his big brother's name.

Here are the rest of the pictures for the week.

Finally! Playing Independently (May 10-16)

2010-05-27T20:36:00.012-05:00

Pics and update from May 10-16

After a fun, busy trip, we spent this week getting back on schedule, playing at home, and resting.

This marked a really big week for me, in that Luke has finally started playing independently AND with Jacob from time to time. I still have to referee fights over cars and trains and who had what first but it has been a great step...one I've been waiting for.

And what does Luke play with when he's on his own - cars and trains. He's now into lining them up, just like big brother. Both boys go through phases of playing with trains for days on end, but then will put them up for a week or 2, but the cars are always around and being played with.

We went to the first of many summer birthday parties this week and the boys had fun riding the train they had.

And checking out the crawfish.

Several of our friends had summer babies, so we'll be partying a lot.

Luke has grown over 1.5 inches in the last month. He's up to 33.5 inches. Both boys have stayed relatively well lately, hopefully it will continue.

Here are the rest of the pictures from the week.

Last Day of School and a Look Back

2010-05-27T12:11:00.003-05:00

Today was Jacob's last day of preschool for the 2009-2010 school year. Though it is hard to spell out the 'academic' skills he learned over the year, I can definitely see a change in him. Not only physically, but emotionally, spiritually, and academically. His language and comprehension skills have improved as has his general "common sense." He has also matured - as much as a little boy 2 months shy of his 4th birthday can. :)

First day of school: he was 3 years, 1.5 months, 34 lbs and 38.5" tall

Last day of school he is 3 years, 10 months, 37.5 lbs and 40.5"
Before Jacob left for his first day, Luke gave Jacob a hug.
So, of course, he had to do the same thing on the last day:

Next year, I'll have 2 of them going to preschool together. A "practice" picture for next year:
In September:

In May:

T-ball

2010-04-15T13:26:00.002-05:00

Who knows what sport will end up being Jacob's favorite, but for now, he's pretty happy with t-ball.

Talking Nonstop

2010-03-31T21:56:00.011-05:00

Pics and update from Mar. 22-28
Last week was a busy one for us, but mostly of our own doing, trying to fit in some fun activities and plenty of outside play time.

Houston weather will be hot before we know it, so we are spending as much time as possible at the park, on walks, at the zoo, etc. while the weather has been so fabulous. If we aren't out and about enjoying the weather, I love that I can just open the backdoor and the kids can play in or out as they please. The air is perfect and the pesky mosquitos haven't started eating us yet.

We started the week with a visit to the pedi where Jacob got an all clear on his ears. Unfortunately, I suspect a problem has developed again.

Jacob has made quite the turnaround in his behavior over the past few weeks. A new discipline method and a little more maturity has made him quite the pleasant kid lately. We still have our struggles and tough moments, but the good times far outweigh the rough ones, which is wonderful. He and Luke are at such wonderful ages right now - I just want to freeze time!

Luke has really turned into quite the talker - non stop. He's always liked to talk, but now everything is done at full volume, and all the time, whether you respond or not. He has so many words, it really is amazing...I can definitely tell he is listening to us all.

It is adorable to hear how he says so many words. The "d" sound starts many words (incorrectly) but we know what he is saying. In addition to the letters A, B, C, and D (which he correctly identifies about half of the time) he knows L (for Luke) and J (for Jacob). Growing up!

Here are the pictures from the week.

Dandelions

2010-03-26T19:07:00.003-05:00

How does a 1 hour walk turn into nearly 2 hours? Discovering the fun of dandelions.

First we learn to blow on them:

Then, what the heck, let's give them a taste.

Yuck!

It was a gorgeous day here today - hopefully those of you around Houston were able to get out and enjoy the day.

We're Still Here

2010-03-22T22:15:00.003-05:00

Just saying hello. We are still here, just keeping busy and as always, way behind on the blog.

Only 17 pictures...

2010-03-22T22:12:00.005-05:00

The pictures and updates are from March 8-14

With a trip to the pedi (and then pharmacy) for Jacob, school, Bible Study, and my Girls Weekend trip, the number of pictures from this week is really low. I can't remember the last week where I had less than 20 pictures to share. Maybe never! But, we didn't do much, so I didn't pull out the camera very often.

For about a week, Jacob was saying "What?" A LOT when we talked to him. Even though he showed no other signs of illness, we took him to the dr, and sure enough, ears full of puss. Amazing that he had no visible signs of illness. Hopefully this round of antibiotics will kick it for good.

Luke continues to be a ham when I do pull out the camera, and now he's gotten very interested in seeing every picture after it is taken.

Other favorite things that drive us crazy right now...wanting to push buttons on EVERYTHING, and will yell 'BUNT' to push it. Also, turning light switches on and off. Pick him up, and he'll be yelling "OOONNNN"

A favorite thing for both boys - Oreos and milk.

Here are the pictures from the week.

Terrible 2s, Soccer, and Letters

2010-03-16T21:26:00.012-05:00

Here are the pictures and updates from Feb. 22-28.

This week Jacob began a little season of soccer. Instead of playing with the YMCA this winter, we are playing with a youth soccer organization in Tomball. The group is really an experiment for the youth organization since the kids (all ages 3-4) are younger than the youngest teams they have. It is a bit less structured and organized than Y soccer was, but the coaches are fantastic. Jacob just loves to run around anyways, so it is a good fit for him.

Luke has hit the "terrible 2s." He's very insistent on what he wants and throws crying tantrums when he doesn't get it.

Thankfully, he's still super sweet most of the time.

He is more independent and still very daring. Between his stunts and the refereeing the boys fights, I struggle getting much done during the day.

Both boys nap most days (J doesn't nap on school days) but lately the naps have gone back to back, which gives me great 1-on-1 time with each boy, but doesn't give me much of a break either.

I like quiet time to do dinner prep, and lately, dinner has been running late and is getting prepped and made with 2 boys underfoot...not the ideal situation.

Luke has finally shown a little interest in learning his letters, so like with Jacob, we have started working on the letters in the bathtub. Amazingly enough, he has started identifying letters occasionally. This week, he correctly handed me letters A, B, C, and D when asked. Fluke? Maybe. But I was proud.

Here are the pictures from that week.

Christmas Programs and Traditions

2010-02-15T16:50:00.014-06:00

Pics and updates from Dec 7-13.
It was our last week of Bible Study for awhile so the children put on a program singing songs and Bible Verses they had learned. Jacob dutifully went to the stage

but refused to sing or do any of the hand motions, and in fact, covered his ears for half of the show saying it was "too loud."

Oh well :)

Thankfully, at his Sunday School program on Friday night, he dressed as a shepherd (with some coaxing)

and stood with his classmates and sang several songs. We were so proud of him.

Luke also got his first "full head" haircut this week. As hard as it was for me to do, it really was time.

Daddy and Jacob continued another tradition of building a gingerbread house together.

This year, they had Luke looking on (and helping to eat some of the treats.)

Luke has started copying actions/motions he sees others (especially Jacob) doing. My favorite is trying to push the handle release button on his vacuum with his foot. Adorable.

His climbing hasn't stopped, but now he's loving jumping/flailing himself to his belly on the couch and bed. Boys...

Here are the rest of the pictures from that week.

Back in routine

2010-02-15T15:30:00.009-06:00

Pics from Jan 4-10
Last week we finally got back into our normal routine. Mia and Papa left, school and Bible Study were back in full swing, and our playdates and birthday party schedules started again.

The weather was still cold, which really was getting to all of us. Thankfully this week warmed up a bit (even if it did rain).

The boys were invited to a birthday party at a gymnastics place and both boys had a blast. I think I've found the spot for the double birthday party we'll be having for the boys this summer.

Our church Moms group also had a Holy Family party and the boys had a lot of fun there too.

Aunt Rachel's wedding is in just 3 weeks, so we tried on the boys tuxes. They look ADORABLE!

Luke talks all the time now and even has a name for Jacob - "Dup". He also learned the infamous touchdown sign (arms straight up) and says "Down"..love it.

He tells us "I want ____" now and of course, 'No' is his favorite word. He knows the ropes around here and is becoming self-sufficient.

Here are the pictures from the week.

Luke's Growing Up

2010-02-15T15:15:00.006-06:00

Pictures and update from Jan. 11-17

This week marked a change and a first for Luke. We finally turned his carseat around so he's facing forward. He didn't seem all that interested in the change, just took it in stride.

He also attended his first birthday party without Jacob.

He loved running all around the gym and not having his big brother to get in his way.

The cupcakes were the best part though.

We have hit a bit of a whiny patch with Luke as he has realized that his communication skills will get him what he wants...a lot of the time, but he is not a fan of being told no.

Unfortunately, he has also learned some bad habits from his brother, including hitting and throwing toys at people. Definitely not something I had hoped he would pick up.

On a good note, he is taking great 3 hour naps and has been a breeze to put to bed. Too bad his internal clock says 5:15am is the time to wakeup.

Jacob has been getting a little better about holding back instead of retaliating lately, which is great. He hasn't quite gotten to the point where he wants to share everything with Luke, but at least he is spending a little less time in time-out for beating on his brother.

Here are the pictures from the week.

Finally some good weather

2010-02-15T15:12:00.000-06:00

Pictures and update from Jan. 18-24
After a shortened zoo trip a few weeks ago because of the bitter cold, we decided to go back on MLK day. It was a "free" day at the zoo, so we arrived early and saw what we wanted before the crowds arrived. The weather was beautiful this week, so we were happy to get out and enjoy it. More on the zoo visit here. The boys also had an opportunity to make their own pizzas at a playdate and they had a blast, especially Luke. More on that fun here.

The petting zoo came to Jacob's school this week, so Luke and I went up to the school to see the animals as well. Both boys are a bit afraid of the animals, but still liked looking at them. More pictures from the petting zoo here.

Jacob loves picnic lunches, so, since we had a couple of Top 10 days this week, we took our lunch outside for a picnic, once while Daddy was at work, and then of course, we had to do it again when Daddy was off for the weekend.

Luke was just happy to be outside and was too distracted to eat.

We've hit a patch where both boys are not eating much. Jacob has been picking at his food (no matter what it is) and has been very picky in general for about a year now. So far, Luke just goes through phases. Right now, he's rather not be bothered with eating, he'd rather make a mess! (as he exhibits here throwing food on the floor!)
Here are the pictures from the week.

Petting Zoo

2010-02-15T15:11:00.000-06:00

January 21, the petting zoo came to Jacob's school. Parents and siblings were invited to attend when the students attended, so Luke and I decided to go. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for spending a little time outside with the animals and on a train ride.

Both boys were tentative about touching/petting the animals, but they did do it a couple of times.

When we hit the petting zoo at the regular zoo, Jacob loves to take a hairbrush and proceeds to give one quick brush to each animal. Without a brush here, he was happier just looking on, most of the time.

Cousin Caroline goes to the same school, so the boys were happy to play with her too. She's a lot less tentative with the animals.

Make your own pizza night

2010-02-15T15:10:00.002-06:00

A local pizza joint has "kids night" on Tuesdays where your child can make their own pizza. Jacob had so much fun doing it for a birthday party a couple of months back, we decided to join a few members of our playgroup and do it. The restaurant had a little play area and video games which the boys were happy to play on while we waited for the "chef" to bring out the ingredients for our pizza making.

Even though the boys didn't get to wear the chef's apron and hat like they did at the birthday party, they were very happy to pound out their dough

and then worked diligently to put on the sauce and cheese and toppings.

OK, so Jacob worked diligently. I had to work hard to control Luke's excitement about the whole situation and keep him from eating all the ingredients raw.

It was a fun night!

Sick

2010-02-15T14:45:00.002-06:00

Pics and update from Jan 25-31

Unfortunately, illness contined in our house this week. When it rains, it pours. Last Friday, I was woken up early to a mess in Luke's crib. The stomach bug had been going around and it appeared our house finally fell victim to it. Thankfully, not only did he get sick only one more time that day, but no one else in the house caught it. Praise the Lord! We still layed low for the weekend just in case. The following Monday (this week), Jacob started coughing and feeling sick, so we stayed home from activities and the gym. I took him to the doctor on Thursday and, turns out, it was ear infection. His first in over 6 months. We got him on some antibiotics and he started getting better very quickly.

Of course, Luke started coughing and getting sick just as Jacob started on his meds. We layed low for the weekend to see if he could shake it. No such luck, so on Monday, back to the doctor we went. An ear infection for Luke as well plus some major wheezing. Meds and steroids for him too.

Whew...we are finally on the mend, thank goodness. Just in time for Aunt Rachel's wedding this coming weekend. The weather has been pretty crummy for the last week, so staying home and trying to get well hasn't been the only thing keeping us from much outside play.

Sleeping has been rough once again with Luke. His naps went from glorious 3 hour naps, to much shorter, 1 - 1 1/2 hour short naps. He is also fighting going down for naps and bedtime. Add that to not feeling well, and he's been a little rough lately.

Daddy bought Mommy a new set of Wii games for Christmas, and although Mommy hasn't played them yet, Daddy and Jacob have had a great time.

Even Luke was ready to get in on the action.

Here are the pictures from the week.

We survived "free day" at the zoo

2010-02-15T14:45:00.001-06:00

Post started Jan. 19

After our last visit to the zoo was shortened by the cold, Jacob has been asking to go back almost everyday. I finally decided that Monday, the 18th was going to be good weather and we didn't have anything else going on that day, so I told the boys we would go. Of course, Mommy didn't check to see if MLK day was one of the zoo's 6 free days of the year. Thankfully, someone mentioned it to me before we set out, so I was prepared. We left a little earlier so we could secure a parking spot by the zoo, and just wait for it to open. We wandered around neighboring Hermann Park and the boys loved it.

Thankfully, the zoo wasn't the madhouse I was expecting, and the boys got to see everything they wanted without any trouble (except the children's zoo...I decided to avoid that area).

We then took the Hermann Park train ride and had a picnic lunch. Overall, it was a great visit.

I'm so glad we went early though. We left at 11:30am and the parking and surrounding streets was a MADHOUSE! Note to self (and anyone else planning on going on a free zoo day) get there when it opens or before. I don't know when the traffic got so bad, but it was a mess at 11:30.

The Wedding and Trains

2010-02-15T14:30:00.002-06:00

Pics and update from Feb. 1-7

The big event for the week was my sister, Rachel's, wedding. Jacob had been told about the event and asked often when it was, thinking we had missed it. The boys were both ring bearers (in addition to my nephew, David) and they all did a fabulous job. I can't wait to see the video of their procession and see pictures taken by the photographer of the event. The reception was a blast as well and the boys did great. We loved seeing family too. It was a wonderful weekend and especially gorgeous event. I'm working on another post with lots more pictures.

Luke got a haircut in preparation for the wedding. The kid LOVES haircuts. He just smiles and giggles and has the best time. Go figure.

Much to Jacob's frustration, Luke now likes to play trains. Jacob wasn't too happy to share at the hair salon,

and certainly hasn't become accustomed to sharing his own trains and tracks at home. We might have to break down and buy some more tracks to help keep the peace around here.

Unfortunately, Luke has picked up on some of Jacob's hitting and throwing toys when he doesn't get his way. Definitely something we need to nip in the bud now!

Here are the pictures from the wedding week.

We have a swimmer...

2010-02-15T14:30:00.001-06:00

I found this post that I never published (I was probably waiting to get a video or picture uploaded) - so I thought I would post it now. This was from late June 2009.

Well....sorta. Jacob has been showing more and more confidence in the pool over the last few weeks. This really showed while on our trip. He would play on the steps without his float, go in and out of his float on his own, and just kick around the pool. He also wanted to jump to Mommy or Daddy over and over and over. Finally, on the last day, he decided to push from the steps and 'swim' to Daddy. He actually stayed near the surface of the water and kicked his little feet to make it to Daddy standing several feet away. He even had his little arms helping a bit. He was so proud of his new skill, he wanted to do it over and over again as well. If not for an impending thunderstorm, he would have stayed for hours. We still have to work on breathing, but it is a start!

He also showed some skills on the Bocce Ball 'court' too. Holding his own as Daddy's partner in a game against Mommy and Papa....even scoring some points. We may have a little athlete among us.

Taking it Easy

2010-02-15T14:15:00.002-06:00

Pics and update from Feb. 8-14
We had some ups and downs in our house last week. We took it easy early in the week after a LONG weekend with family in town, the wedding, and a superbowl party at our house. The boys (and I) needed to catch up on some lost sleep and down time. Thankfully the weather was no good, which made it easier to stay home and relax. We did make a trip to a local gymnastics place for open play time, which the boys really enjoyed.

Later in the week, the stomach bug hit our house again, but again, thankfully, only 1 child was affected, this time it was Jacob. He was over it in 12 hours, but his eating still hasn't gotten back on track since.

Except for the 'sick' night, the boys have been sleeping well and actually sleeping in until 6am or a little after most mornings. We're still using the swing on occasion with Luke to "extend" his naps. He loves it and would prefer to take his whole nap there.

Luke has started saying "my bum" and holding his bum when he has to do his business, and actually ran to the bathroom for a few days. I humored him and put in on the toilet once and he actually went. He hasn't done it again, and honestly, I haven't let him try more than a couple times. Too much trouble for a task I know we're not ready quite ready for.

We made a trip to the pond on Sunday when the weather was gorgeous and I had fun 'playing' with my camera (as you can see in my numerous pictures linked below.)

Here are the pictures from the week (there are a lot)

'Nuff said

2010-02-15T14:00:00.001-06:00

Cozy Coupe

2010-01-26T13:15:00.000-06:00

Post from December 31

Mia and Papa got Luke a Cozy Coupe for Christmas.

Though I knew Luke would like it, I was pretty convinced Jacob would love it even more. Boy, was that an understatement. Given his love of cars, I should have gotten one for him long ago.

We finally turned Luke's car seat around

2010-01-26T13:03:00.000-06:00

Posting from Jan. 10
After Luke's 18mo checkup, we finally decided to turn Luke's carseat to forward facing. The AAP says "toddlers should remain rear-facing in a convertible car seat until they have reached the maximum height and weight recommended for the model, or at least the age of 2." We haven't reached this point yet, but Luke's legs were starting to get cramped facing backwards, and my pedi actually said if he was locking his knees out and kicking the seat, it was probably better to turn him around. So we did.

I thought he would be excited to be facing the same way as Jacob, but he didn't seem to care one way or the other (the seat in David's car hasn't been turned around yet, and the few times he's ridden in it since, he has not seemed to care.)

I have noticed since we turned him around that there has been a lot more whining with the sun hitting his face, but since he continually pulls the sunshade off the window, I can't do much else to help him...

CHEESE!

2010-01-26T12:55:00.000-06:00

Finally completing and posting this update from Dec. 6

Luke started doing a "cheese" face a few weeks ago. I love the super wide grin and squinty eyes. He'll pull this out whenever you pull out a camera...it is adorable.

But, if for some reason he doesn't notice the camera or just isn't in the mood to "cheese" and you ask him to smile and say "cheese"...then this is what you get. Serious face and all.

Excuse the mess

2010-01-17T15:41:00.000-06:00

Please excuse the mess I am making of the blog and all the new "old" updates the last couple of days. I am finally taking some time to complete and publish about 20 posts from the last 2 months!

18 Months

2010-01-07T11:44:00.010-06:00

Today marks Luke's 18 month "birthday." He is still my little baby, though his budding vocabulary and 'big boy' actions are trying to tell me otherwise. I swear Jacob seemed 'older' at 18 months than Luke does, but maybe that is my own mind trying to keep Luke my baby. He had his 18 month well-check today and everything is looking great. He's met all the milestones for an 18 month old, and even most of the ones for a 24 month old. I'd say he's doing suberb.

Here are his stats:

Weight - 24.6 lbs (9.6oz) - 30%

Height - 31.5in - 20-25%

Head - 49.3cm (19.4in) - 85%

Just as a comparison, these were Jacob's stats at the same age:

Weight - 26lbs 6oz - 55-60%

Height - 32.5in - 50%

Head - 49.4cm (19.4in) - 85%

Dry Ice

2010-01-06T14:30:00.000-06:00

A few times we have ended up with dry ice for some reason or another, and it always gives the boys (and David) a fun time. This weekend, we had some dry ice for our tailgate, and after we were done with it, David added it to a pot of hot water. The most precious giggles by Luke and Jacob ensued.

I was also able to capture a few great pictures.

Houston Snow

2010-01-06T13:58:00.000-06:00

From December 4...

Today, Houston was hit with a rare snowfall. Unlike the few flakes we got in early 2009, this was an all day affair. It wasn't cold enough for the snow to stick and play in, but we all went out in it to play, nonetheless.

We had mentioned to Jacob that it might snow on Friday, so when Friday came around he asked incessently if it was time for the snow. It was an exciting time when it finally did.
Luke squealed and 'danced' in the snow when he saw it. Of course, he loves being outside so that probably added to his happiness.

Think he needs a haircut?

2010-01-06T13:52:00.000-06:00

From Dec. 4...

Maybe it is time for this little guy to get a haircut....

Snow, Christmas Trees, and Santa (Nov. 30-Dec. 6)

2010-01-06T13:50:00.002-06:00

From Dec. 7...
Houston was surprised with snow on Friday. Unfortunately, it didn't stick, but the boys had fun running around in it and trying to 'catch' the snowflakes. More pictures and a video from the snow is coming in a later post.

Jacob fell at the gym this week and cut his face which he proudly covered with a bandaid for an entire week. After removing the bandaid each night before his bath, I would ask if we were done with bandaids and he would say "No Mommy, it is still an ouchie." So, a new bandaid was put on.

Luke started his "cheese" face this week. The boys always have a camera in their face, it seems, so it was no surprise when he started hamming it up when he saw the camera. We don't even prompt him to say cheese anymore, he just says it and grins like this...

We took our annual trip to the Christmas Tree Farm to cut down our Christmas tree this weekend as well. It was the day after the snow and a hard overnight freeze so there was still ice on the ground when we arrived. There will be more pictures on a later post for this, too.

We all had a great time...until it was time for Santa pictures. Luke was not happy and showed his displeasure. Definitely one for the scrapbook. (More pictures on another post) The boys were being particularly cooperative and photogenic one day/night when I was taking their picture...here are a few of my favorites.

Here are the rest of the pictures from Nov.30-Dec.6

Santa Pictures

2010-01-05T15:09:00.014-06:00

Even though I knew Luke was at the age where he would be terrified of Santa, I didn't want to go a year without taking pictures with Santa. So, when we went to the Old Time Christmas Tree Farm to cut down our Christmas tree this year, we decided to go ahead and have the boys pictures taken with Santa. I knew I wasn't going to pay the big bucks at the mall to have their picture taken, so this might be our only opportunity. Thankfully, we got some great (and funny) shots.

Jacob:

Luke:

Both Boys:

He thought about not crying... ...but he did

Just for grins, here are the Santa pictures from years past.

2008

2007
2006

Thanksgiving Week

2010-01-05T15:05:00.000-06:00

From Nov. 29...

This week was a good one for our family. There was no school or Bible Study, so we stayed close to home early in the week to rest up and pack for our trip to the hill country for Thanksgiving.

Jacob's friend Cooper (who plays almost as rough and wild as Jacob) came to play for a few hours on Tuesday. His presence actually made my day easier as he kept the boys entertained. Thanksgiving at Granddaddy and Gigi's house was fabulous as always. The boys had tons of room to run and play with their cousins and I got to spend some time with family I don't get to see very often.

Jacob even got to help my uncle put deer feed in several deer feeders on Granddaddy's property. He loved it.

Jacob didn't seem to mind the ride this time around since he had a DVD with some favorite shows to watch.

He was also spoiled with his first taste of hot chocolate (from Starbucks no less!) on the ride home, which was a big treat for him.

Luke is really talking a ton more these days-sometimes in 3-4 word sentences. He is not always super clear, but you know what he is saying. He also knows what sugar is now-and loves it! You should see him bouncing up and down, waving his arms around, saying "Mo, Mo, Mo" when he thinks you have something sweet that he wants.

Here are the pics from the week of Nov.23-29

Birthday Parties

2010-01-05T14:45:00.000-06:00

From Nov. 23:

The weather was a little cooler last week so I broke out the footy pajamas for Luke. Both boys are fairly warm bodied, so we don't do the super warm pjs often. I do love how cute they look in them though.

The third of Luke's molar's finally cut through this week (a small corner anyways). The other two came through 2 and 3 weeks ago, respectively. Having teh teeth finally cut through helped a lot in his grumpy mood and sleep issues. He was doing some major fussing and crying before every nap and bedtime.

I finally started getting some long 3 hour naps out of him too. Not everyday, but a few days this week. He is still wavering between one nap some days and two naps most days. It is much easier to have just one long nap (preferably at the same time that Jacob naps) but I just don't think his body is quite ready for it. Jacob took 2 naps until he was 18 months old. Luke will be there before I know it.

Jacob had his Thanksgiving celebration at school on Thursday (now he is off for the week)

and we had 3 birthday celebrations during the week (one for Grandpa's birthday and 2 parties with our friends.)

Behavior issues with Jacob at school are escalating and I finally talked with the school's director to see what else we can do to work on the situation. It really hurts my heart to see my child struggling so much with his behavior at school. He is such a smart child with so much potential, I hate to see his days at school spent in the director's office or in time-out. The teacher has a new gameplan with him, so hopefully it helps. If not, I might have to look into changing schools. I know it isn't the school or the teacher's fault, but for some reason the situation he is in just doesn't seem to be working for him, and making sure he is in environment that works for him is my first priority. I'm going to give this "new gameplan" a little time to play out and we'll see.

Here are the pictures from Nov. 16-22

Packing Peanuts

2010-01-01T12:24:00.011-06:00

Two weeks ago, I received a 'fragile' shipment in the mail that was packaged in those styrofoam packing peanuts. Luke woke up from his nap shortly after I opened the package and was immediately enthralled with the peanuts.

He was happily playing in the box, so I let him. A short time later, Jacob woke up from his nap (probably from the hysterical giggles from Luke) and of course, he just had to join Luke in the fun.

They seemed happy (and getting along) so I left them to play for 2 minutes (literally) while I finished up some dinner preparations. The giggling and squealing started getting a bit out of hand, so I decided to investigate. This is what I saw.

Needless to say, the cleanup was not easy, but the boys had a blast, so I can't say I'm sorry I let them have their fun.

New Table

2010-01-01T12:15:00.006-06:00

Jacob's love of cars has reached its 2 year mark. I can't believe it. He received his first Matchbox cars during Christmas 2007 and has yet to "move on" to another love. Which is ok by me. We are well stocked in cars at this point (and this isn't even all of them!)

He has shown some interest in trains over the past 6 months and has slowly grown his collection of tracks and trains as well. All of the tables in our house have been home to many traffic jams, car line-ups, and train tracks, so it was high time he had a true train/car table of his own. Thanks to my fabulous father in law, Jacob received one built from love. It is a great table that will be used for cars, trains, coloring, legos, and just plain climbing. Thank goodness he knows how to build sturdy tables!

No-Kids Trip

2009-12-31T13:42:00.002-06:00

Even though I haven't been blog posting, I still have been taking oodles of pictures and sending the weekly picture link out to family. I generally include a little blurb about our week, not only to let those seeing the pictures know what we have been up to, but also as a mini journal of events for me. I am trying to go back through those little paragraphs and expand a little for the blog, but since I am almost 2 months behind, we'll see how much I remember!

From Nov.2-8...

There aren't very many pictures this week because David and I weren't home with the boys to take many pictures (Mia and Papa may have some pictures to share with me from the week.) Mia and Papa arrived just before Halloween to visit and get used to the 'daily routine' before David and I left for our 'no-kids' trip. Papa had talked about taking Jacob fishing for the first time at the neighborhood pond, but after seeing the lures and being warned about the danger of little boys playing with fishing hooks, Jacob decided he wasn't quite ready for fishing.

It was my first time to leave Luke overnight (actually for any amount of time more than 6-7 hours, the length of a Texans game outing) only the 3rd time Jacob had been left overnight, and the first time in over 2 years to leave him.

We had a great trip and the boys had a lot of fun with Mia and Papa. I expected that Luke would have a harder time with us being gone, but as it turned out, Jacob was the one who was asking for us to come home. The boys are very comfortable with Mia and Papa so they behaved (or didn't) the same as they would have for me. Mia and Papa got to know the boys better and really saw the busy-ness of our lives. I really missed the boys while we were gone, but that doesn't mean I won't be ready to go on another trip again soon!

Luke continues to wake extremely early....by 5am most days. I know it is another phase, but boy is it tough on all of us. Thankfully, he wakes up happy most of the time.

Here are the pictures from the week of Nov. 2-8

Pizza boy and the stepping stone

2009-12-31T13:40:00.000-06:00

From Nov 9-15...

We were so fortunate to have Mia and Papa stay with us for over 2 weeks. David and I got spoiled with having extra sets of hands and eyes on the boys all the time and the boys were spoiled with all the extra love in the house for them. I know I loved having some restful time and kid-free errand running time.

Papa and the boys worked on a special project for David and me during their visit. It was a stepping stone with the boys' handprints, names, and decorative hearts. Jacob had fun making it and was very excited to show us what they made.

We didn't do much with our friends while they were here so we could spend a lot of time with them, but Jacob did go to a birthday party where he got to make, bake, and eat his own pizza. It was so cute.

The weather was fabulous for the first 2 weeks in November so we spent a lot of time outside. Luke LOVES playing outdoors, especially in the dirt. Jacob happily joins him there too.

Naps started getting strange again this week. Luke had moved from one nap to 2 the last 3 weeks, but since he continued to wake up at 5am (earlier on time change day) he was ready for a morning nap at 9:30 or so. Makes planning our day harder. Jacob still naps on non-school days, and often times falls asleep after school too. I'm not ready to transition him away from naps completely (he's not physically ready for it either.)

Here are the pictures from Nov 9-15

Fall Festival

2009-12-31T11:55:00.000-06:00

From October 18...

Our neighborhood has a few activites through the year to celebrate a particular season and get the community together. One of these is the annual Fall Festival. Though we don't always make the activities, we were able to take the boys to this one. The weather was gorgeous (almost a little warm, if you are wearing a costume) and Jacob was excited since he was going to wear his tiger costume for the first time.

It took place at one of the neighborhood parks, so of course, the boys had to play on the equipment.

The festival also had snacks, music, a few jumping houses and slides, a rock climbing wall, and pony rides.

We didn't try the rock wall or jumping houses (there were too many big kids) but the boys enjoyed riding the ponies.

Overall, it was a great day.

3 week hiatus

2009-12-30T22:32:00.003-06:00

Of course, I didn't mean to be off the blog for over 3 weeks (and before that, only posted twice in a 6 week span) but life has kept me busy and tired and I haven't taken the time to complete the numerous posts I have either started or planned out in my head. So, hopefully in the next few days while my in-laws are here and David is not working, I can make myself sit down and finish a lot of posts. Here is one picture of the extended Armstrong family that I just had to share though.

Luke's First Full Head Haircut

2009-12-08T15:17:00.006-06:00

About 8 weeks ago, David trimmed up Luke's bangs for his first "official" haircut, but today was Luke's first "full" head haircut. I took him to Cool Cuts for Kids and I have to say I was very impressed. We used to take Jacob there until he no longer needed to be watching a video and sitting in a taxicab to sit still for a haircut (about 2 1/2 years old). Like many places, some people did better than others. I made an appointment with the one girl who always gave Jacob good haircuts.

I was fully expecting Luke to throw and fit and cry, but he did awesome. No tears at all, and only towards the end did he even show any resistance by pushing away the girl's hand as she took hold of his bangs to trim up.

He even smiled some of the time.

So, we went from this

to this.

Most of the curl is gone in the back, but she didn't get it all that short (by mommy's request) so hopefully they'll return in a more tamed fashion.

Halloween and our Visitor's Arrive

2009-11-14T14:13:00.009-06:00

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

2009-10-27T12:54:00.004-05:00

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

2009-10-27T12:50:00.000-05:00

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

2009-10-27T11:55:00.010-05:00

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

2009-10-22T10:35:00.007-05:00

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

2009-10-22T09:34:00.005-05:00

**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

2009-10-13T21:37:00.004-05:00

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

2009-10-13T21:29:00.003-05:00

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

2009-10-13T21:00:00.000-05:00

**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

2009-10-08T09:45:00.005-05:00

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

Swine Flu and a Milestone

2009-10-05T20:07:00.003-05:00

With all the talk of the swine flu outbreak in Houston, I figured it was only a matter of time before it hit our house. Jacob tested positive for flu today and since it isn't the 'typical' flu season just yet, the pedi figures it is likely H1N1 (aka swine flu.) We've got him on Tamiflu to hopefully shorten the duration and ibuprofen to help with the aches and pains. He is also battling bronchitis (diagnosed last Friday) so he's on antibiotics for that too. Poor kid could use some prayers for a speedy recovery.

Pray also that this one doesn't get it either, though it may be futile to even try to keep him well...

As for the milestone, it isn't a big deal to y'all, but my 4Runner hit 100000 miles on Sunday. This is the car I used 22 years of life savings to buy when I graduated from college. It has been a fabulous car and I was excited to see it roll over.

Week of Firsts

2009-10-04T21:00:00.011-05:00

**Picture and update from Sept 21-27

Another fun week with a few 'firsts.' Jacob had his first soccer game and Sunday school class and Luke had his first haircut. Daddy took some scissors to Luke's bangs on Saturday. He looks much better (and he still has the curls.) See the full post below. Though most of the kids didn't understand soccer completely, they all played hard and had fun. Jacob played every minute of the game, and ran for most of those, except for the time he played goalie. I can see improvement already. Another full post is coming on this.

He also had his first day of preschool religious ed class on Sunday. He had a lot of fun and looks forward to going again.

School, Bible Study, trips to the gym, soccer practice, LOTS of rain, a family dinner with extended family, and a day spent with Grandma on Sunday rounded out the week.

In 'growth' news, I finished up the last of the size 3 diapers we had so Luke moved up to size 4 this week. They are a bit big on him now, but every time I turn around he is getting bigger, so he'll be filling the new ones out very soon I'm sure.

I am planning to move him to 1 nursing a day (in the morning) on Oct. 1. I'm not sure how he'll take it when we drop the night feeding, but it is a step we have to take.

Jacob continues to amaze us with his memory and quickness in which he learns. I can hardly believe he is only 3 years old when I hear him talk or 'think' outloud.

Here are some pictures from the week.

Feeding the Turtles and Fish

2009-10-04T20:35:00.001-05:00

When the weather was nice a couple of weeks ago, the boys and I took a walk to the neighborhood pond to feed the turtles and fish. Jacob had been asking for a few weeks to go, so we finally made it happen. We were very impressed with the boldness of the turtles, some climbing all the way onto the shore to get a piece of bread. The next day, the boys wanted to go back, so we went as a family on Saturday.

Luke's First "Haircut"

2009-10-04T20:15:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday David decided Luke's hair really needed a trim. So....he took the scissors to his bangs to get them out of his bangs.

Before...

the cape

the wetdown

mohawk

not happy

can't wait to be done

finished product

Pudding Anyone?

2009-09-28T14:16:00.000-05:00

What we've been doing....

2009-09-28T13:36:00.009-05:00

Honestly, it doesn't feel like much, but somehow we sure are keeping busy. Since this is my 'journal' on the boys and things going on, I like to make blogging somewhat of a priority, but I haven't been lately. Thankfully, I still take a lot of pictures so I can look through those to remember what went on during the week (like the 2 double birthday parties the boys attended.)

The update and pictures here are from 2 weeks ago (Sept 14-20). Jacob had his first soccer practice on Tuesday. Besides kicking the ball occasionally, he really didn't know anything about soccer going into it, so I was impressed with what he was able to pick up after only one practice. He is playing through the YMCA on an all 3-year-old team. They are quite adorable.

That week was also Jacob's first full week of school (all 2 days of it....) plus Bible Study on Wednesday. It was a tiring week for him, especially since he doesn't get a nap at school on Tues/Thurs. Thankfully, when he gets home on those days, he's happy to watch a movie or do something quiet and restful so that he isn't completely spent by dinnertime. In fact, he's fallen asleep a couple of times.

Luke continues to eat like a champ, is getting more and more strong-willed when he wants something (or doesn't want something), is talking a bit more, and is showing how much he understands when we tell him something. He follows directions pretty well (when he wants to, mind you) which is pretty amazing to me. He also has learned ways to let us know what he wants even without the proper words. I love this age! Now if only we could get past the crying before naps and bedtime issue we've been dealing with for way too long, things would be less stressful around here.

Here are the pictures from 2 weeks ago.

Baby hair

2009-09-17T10:20:00.000-05:00

When it was time for Jacob to get his first haircut, I was all for it. He had hair in his eyes and it was a wild mess all the time, so cutting it just made sense. I wasn't emotional about it or anything. He did look older after getting it cut for the first time (he was 11 months old), but it was ok by me.

For some reason, with Luke, I'm having a much harder time with pulling the trigger to have his hair cut. I guess the fact that this is probably the last little baby hair we'll be seeing in this house has kept me from taking the scissors to it (or rather having the barber take scissors to it.) Plus, I think his hair may be coming in lighter than it is now...and I've become very fond of his red-orange hair.

I may have to break down and have his bangs trimmed up a bit because they are getting pretty ridiculous, but I just don't think I'm ready to cut the little curls in the back and sides.

see those bangs in his eyes....

Soccer

2009-09-16T15:06:00.013-05:00

Yesterday marked the beginning of a new phase in our house - the start of youth sports. Jacob is doing YMCA soccer this Fall and he had his first practice last night. Of course, we waited until the last minute to get his gear, so after a trip to Academy for shin guards and cleats, he was ready.

Jacob has loved kicking the soccer ball since he could walk, so I knew this was a fitting sport to start with.

Although I played soccer for many years as a child, I haven't really taught him anything regarding the sport, so it was quite amusing last night to see him try things like dribbling and passing the ball to a teammate for the first time.

Once he decides to quit picking up the ball to 'place' it where he wants it before kicking it, I think he's going to be great.

He loves it and is ready to go back and play today. First game is a week from Saturday. You can bet I'll have pictures from that event as well.

School has started and other things...

2009-09-16T15:06:00.012-05:00

The thing called life with two adorable little boys has kept me from being as punctual with my weekly picture and update posts. Although I enjoy going through my pictures, writing about our week, and blogging, sometimes it all gets put on the back burner while the daily stuff takes precedence. Finally, I have a few moments to work on the blog and post some of last week's pictures.

We visited Galveston on Labor Day and had a nice family outing (see earlier post.) Tuesday was meet the teacher for Jacob, and school started on Thursday He is the youngest in his class by quite a bit, but I think it is going to be very good for him. (more about school here)

He is still our little 'wild' child with endless energy (which we love), but it is also nice that lately we have seen moments of calm behavior and obedience.

Luke seemed to enjoy the house to himself while J was in school. He went from room to room playing with whatever he wanted and didn't have to worry about someone tackling him, pushing him out of the way, or taking a toy from him. He was happy.

As for the separation anxiety, unfortunately, he still cries when I leave him somewhere, but it is usually short lived crying, so progress!

Here are a bunch of pictures from last week.

Galveston

2009-09-16T14:37:00.008-05:00

Since our plan for a trip to the South Texas coast for Labor Day didn't end up happening, David suggested we take a day trip to Galveston to let the boys play at the beach.
I hadn't been to the beach in Galveston in a long long time...in fact, I can't even remember the last time. It has always been such a joke at how gross the water is and how dirty the beach is (compared to just about every other beach you can think of) so I have never really had a desire to go back. I have to say though, that I was pleasantly surprised. We went to the "family friendly" Stewart Beach. We arrived at 9am before there was a crowd and found a great spot to setup.

Jacob picked up right where he left off from our beach trip in June, wanting to jump the waves and play in the water.

Luke was a little apprhensive at first, but after an hour or so, was happy to play in the sand and water too.

We are already talking about plans to visit the beach again.

First Day of School

2009-09-15T22:00:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday Jacob finally had his first day of preschool (I think his school took the award for latest start date....) Over the summer, everytime we would drive by the church/school he would say "church is open, but school is closed" in such a sad tone. You can imagine the excitement he had when it was time to go back.

We met his new teacher last Tuesday and saw his classroom. Last year, the 2 year olds did almost everything in their room, without venturing out much. This year, he will move between rooms for music & movement, science & discovery, and Bible classes as well as go to the community center to eat his lunch, school cafeteria style. Not only will be he learning fundamental school 'stuff',' but he'll learn some basics about transitioning between classes. His class this year does not take a nap at school, so that will take some getting used to as Jacob still takes a nap most days and rests for a couple of hours on the days he doesn't sleep.

meet the teacher day

Here are a couple of the obligatory "First Day of School" pictures:

Breakfast

Without the backpack

With the backpack

And here is one of Jacob hugging Luke as he gets ready to leave him for the day.

Just a few pictures and updates

2009-09-10T21:45:00.008-05:00

**2 weeks ago- pictures and update (8/31-9/6)

Last week was one of those weeks where we didn't have a whole lot going on, and my lack of pictures for the week shows it. Sometimes, those are the weeks I end up with a bunch of pictures because I hang out with the boys and "play" with my camera. Not this time. We don't have too many pictures because we just didn't do much besides play around the house. Plus, Jacob won't look at or smile at the camera for me much anymore, so I have to try really hard to get any of him where you can see his face.

We visited the zoo with Lisa and her kids on Monday and actually enjoyed some decent weather that day. We are waiting for some more cool, unhumid mornings like that one.

We also had our first day of Bible Study on Wednesday last week. I love Bible Study for the fellowship and learning I get from it, but even more so, I love the Children's Program they have. Jacob loves it and is learning at the same time.

Luke spent a few days "acting" like he was ready to move to 1 nap, but then just as quickly was needing a pretty early morning nap again. Not sure about that. He's also been EXTREMELY clingy lately, crying endlessly when I leave him. I'm so not used to this because Jacob has always gone to others easily.

Jacob has started using the words "my favorite" a lot lately. I always think it is so neat to see personality growth continuing. He and Luke now like to look at books together. Of course, that means all of the books have to end up on the floor.

Luke continues to show he is learning too-when he sees ABCs he says "Duh" imitating the sound of the letter D. I even think I heard him 'singing' along to the ABC tune in the car the other day. And he doesn't want to be fed anymore...he is all about feeding himself. He does pretty good with the spoon and fork, though he always makes a big mess.

Here are the few pictures from the week.

Summer is Coming to a Close

2009-09-05T22:12:00.000-05:00

**I'm slowly trying to get caught up on my weekly picture posts. These pictures and the weekly wrap-up is from last week (8/24-8/30)

Since public school started last week and some preschools did as well, our routine changed a bit this week. The pool is not open during the week anymore so we visited a friend's splashpad to escape the heat instead.

The boys also swam in our little backyard blowup pool too.

We did visit our 'other' neighborhood pool on Saturday (a first) and captured some pictures and video of Jacob diving for rings in the shallow end (posted earlier). We were proud of him for doing it. He also swam to us several times and is getting better every time.

Luke is saying more 'real' words these days - ball, mama, shoes, juice, ouch, book, and poop(yeah, I know) are quite obvious and occasionally I think I hear others. He's learning to 'play' a bit on his own and also some with Jacob instead of just being a pest in Jacob's eyes. He's also finally started to like books. Jacob loved being read to from an early early age and would sit for quite awhile just flipping through books even before he could crawl. Luke has been quite the opposite so far, flat refusing to sit and listen to a book and showing no interest in looking at them himself. I'm so glad he's starting to come around.

In the weaning process, I dropped Luke's midday feeding this week, so we are down to just 2, morning and night. I am trying to move the bedtime one earlier so it isn't right before he goes to bed and I'm also trying to put off feeding him immediately when he wakes up (the latter doesn't happen most days.) He's handling the whole process much better than I was expecting, considering how attached he has been to nursing his whole 14 months.

Jacob has once again been fighting his nap and bedtime. Some days, I think he might be ready to just have a rest time instead of a nap, but by the evening when he is falling apart because he is so tired, I change my mind. As of now, I do get him to sleep for a little bit most days, but I'm not sure how much longer that will happen, especially since he will no longer nap at school. We'll see what happens. (Here is what happened during books at bedtime with no nap.)

Here are the rest of the pictures from the week.

Busy busy busy

2009-09-05T21:31:00.000-05:00

**Once again, the pictures and 'week in review' are late. They are from 3 weeks ago (8/17-8/23).

After a slower, low-key week, we got back into the swing of being busy this week. We visited the zoo (even though it was HOT), went swimming at our pool and the YMCA pool, had a playdate and lunch with friends, and had some friends over to play as well. The boys took some excellent naps last week!

Jacob and Daddy went to the Texans game on Saturday night and had a lot of fun. Daddy loves to tailgate and Jacob loves to eat treats and drink juice boxes, so both were happy with their effort.

Daddy had some dry ice from a cooler of meat he received in the mail which provided some entertainment for the boys (and David too!)

We also went to the gym almost everyday which is where Jacob got his first true shiner. Friday night was cousin Caroline's 4th birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese.

We continue to struggle with disobedience and defiance with Jacob and are looking for other ways to get through to him. I know it is a 3-year-old thing, but it is really getting old.

Luke is really standing up for himself with Jacob lately, which has caught Jacob by surprise. Of course, Luke still cries when Jacob touches him or does anything he doesn't like, but I'm starting to let them work things out if I know Luke isn't hurt by Jacob's actions.

The other pictures from the week are here.

Ring Diving in the Pool

2009-09-01T11:54:00.000-05:00

Just a short video of Jacob diving for the rings at the pool. He was so proud of himself when he did it...and so were we.

Shape Sorter

2009-09-01T07:17:00.008-05:00

We have a shape sorter that both boys have enjoyed. I actually have video of each one playing with it and showing pride in their accomplishments:

Luke - age 13 months

Jacob - age 12 months

One Step Closer

2009-08-27T21:40:00.003-05:00

I took one step closer to weaning Luke today. We have now dropped the midday feeding and have just two left, morning and night. This morning was a big 'milestone' too in that regard. Luke didn't wake until 6am, and he woke up pleasantly...not screaming and crying. So, I got him out of bed and brought him to the family room to play with Jacob and me. He didn't nurse for over an hour after he woke up. That is huge.... I have 2 months to completely wean him before our no-kids trip. As much as I'm looking forward to the trip, I'm also sad to think that I'll be done nursing my baby very soon.

Low-Key Week

2009-08-24T16:15:00.005-05:00

I finally sent out the pictures from two weeks ago, which is why I am just now updating the blog from our activities of 2 weeks ago. Someday I'll have more time for this, right? :)

After a busy week of a few days at home and a few days in Cincinnati with several late nights, I decided that we would spend a week staying close to home, resting, and getting back on schedule. So, except for trips to the gym everyday and a playdate and birthday party on Friday, we had an extremely low-key week (as far as outside activities were concerned).

I did learn something from this little "low-key" experiment. My boys do not do well with doing "nothing." Of course, we didn't really do "nothing" as we did play at the house, but it seemed they wanted more structure and activity, which is our norm. Unfortunately, with it being so hot (over 102 everyday!) we didn't play outside much so that added to the cabin fever. The boys were wild and naughty much of the week, so I don't think we'll be trying a low-key week again for awhile. But with school and bible study starting soon, that shouldn't be a problem.

Luke is really changing and growing right now. It is such a neat age to see the wheels turning. He started repeating words and actions we do in addition to babbling and 'talking' all the time. He loves my cell phone and will whine and reach for it everytime I am using it. I found one of my old cell phones for him to play with and he loves it. One day, he turned it on (I didn't know it had any juice left) and he was thrilled. You should have heard him cry though when the battery died and it was off once again. So funny how much kids want to play with our stuff instead of toys.

A few weeks ago I also noticed Luke would give kisses and would make the "muwah" sound while doing it. He then will give you a great big grin.

Here are the rest of the pictures from 2 weeks ago.

Shiner

2009-08-24T15:07:00.003-05:00

Jacob got his first true shiner on Friday. I picked him up from the childcare at the YMCA looking like this:

I asked him what happened, and he said "I'm ok, Mommy. I'm ok." Ok.... After a couple of days, this is what it looks like.

(turns out, he fell and hit his face on the slide)

Shoes

2009-08-18T14:09:00.007-05:00

In the past few weeks Luke has finally started saying some words with purpose. He's babbled for awhile and even says some real words while babbling, but most of the time it isn't with purpose (sadly, even mama and dada are still just babble, not directed at David or me).

One of the first ones I heard from him a couple of months ago was "fe" while doing the sign for fan. Ok, got that one. Since then, we've been waiting, but haven't heard much. He went through a "wassat" (what's that) and "wassis" (what's this) phase while pointing at everything a month ago too (here he is pointing at the bus and calling it bus)

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, we heard "shus" (shoes). He LOVES his shoes. He'll pick them up, hand them to you, say "shus" and sit down ready for us to put on his shoes. I think he equates wearing shoes to going outside, which is one of his very favorite things to do.

And in the last few days, I've heard "trut" (truck) A LOT and even "ca" (car) and bus, which in this house is absolutely no surprise considering how many there are and how often those words are spoken.

Haebs Family

Blue Bell and Bluebonnets

Wienermobile

Last Soccer Game

Fish Fry Tailgate

To the Zoo

Jacob's Pretend Birthday

Underwater Camera

Haircuts

Bowling

Christmas Week

Pictures by Monica

Excited

Applepus and Brebra

To the zoo...yes again

Christmas #1

Skills

African Forest

Gotta Start Somewhere - Santa Pictures

Little Gymnast

November in Houston

Halloween

Skills to work on

Reading Class and ABCs

What are we doing tomorrow?

2 Year Stats

Happy 2nd Birthday Luke!

Sleeping Boys

Same (June 7-13)

Summer is here! (May 31-June 6)

Lasts and Firsts (May 24-30)

Go-Go-Go (May 17-23)

Finally! Playing Independently (May 10-16)

Last Day of School and a Look Back

T-ball

Talking Nonstop

Dandelions

We're Still Here

*Only* 17 pictures...

Terrible 2s, Soccer, and Letters

Christmas Programs and Traditions

Back in routine

Luke's Growing Up

Finally some good weather

Petting Zoo

Make your own pizza night

Sick

We survived "free day" at the zoo

The Wedding and Trains

We have a swimmer...

Taking it Easy

'Nuff said

Cozy Coupe

We finally turned Luke's car seat around

CHEESE!

Excuse the mess

18 Months

Dry Ice

Houston Snow

Think he needs a haircut?

Snow, Christmas Trees, and Santa (Nov. 30-Dec. 6)

Santa Pictures

Thanksgiving Week

Birthday Parties

Packing Peanuts

New Table

No-Kids Trip

Pizza boy and the stepping stone

Fall Festival

3 week hiatus

Luke's First Full Head Haircut

Halloween and our Visitor's Arrive

Nursing Days are Done

Dewberry Farm

Fall is here

Beautiful Weather, a Birthday, and a Festival

The Flu Week

The Homestretch

We survived the swine flu

Pictures from 2 weeks ago

Only 17 pictures...