Fall is here

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are the pictures from the week.

Beautiful Weather, a Birthday, and a Festival

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

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

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

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

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

Here are the pictures from the week.

The Flu Week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are the rest of the pictures from the week.

The Homestretch

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

We survived the swine flu

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

Pictures from 2 weeks ago

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are the pictures from the week.

15 Months

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

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

Height - 30.5 in (25%)

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

Developmentally doing great!

Frame of reference - Jacob's stats were:

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

Height - 31"

Head - 48.5cm

Swine Flu and a Milestone

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

**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.