Foto Friday

Comfy

It's an adjustment giving up our relaxing mornings to get ready for school.

Milkshake

It was a bribe to run a BUNCH of errands.

~success~

First Day of School

It's 8:15am (we need to leave 8:30ish) and there are officially three people crying.

Mason is not wanting to wear shoes or his backpack.

Olivia is screaming that she doesn't want to go to school and that she just wants to play with me.

And I'm having a Mommy Moment ~ seriously debating canceling our enrollment this year. 

But we rallied and had a very successful first day!!

Time with My Kids

WOW...first day of school...for soooo many people.

Not us, that's tomorrow.  We are a Tuesday/Thursday preschool family.

And I have mixed emotions.  Part of me feels like I shouldn't even be sending my kids to "school" yet.  They are so young.  Babies (well kind-of).  It's my "job" to be home with them.  The other part of me is excited.  Excited for the kids, excited for the time without kids.  I have already started a Tuesday/Thursday list of things that I hope to accomplish during those 3 hours I have without them.

So what I'm thankful for, is all the mommies out there that share their own personal experiences with me.  At the beginning of summer I had mommies who worked and had older children and were soooo excited for summer to start.  Time without so many time constraints, lazy mornings, bonding time, free time, play time...etc.   For me, summer meant not having any "breaks" from the kids...but after hearing what these mommies said, I thought about things differently....and I have to admit, we had a GREAT summer together.  It went waaaaay to fast, and I didn't miss my breaks like I thought I was going too.

Then there are the mommies who just a couple of weeks ago were mentioning how they were kind of dreading the beginning of the school year and the craaaazy schedules that are about to begin.  And now the mommies on this first day of school that are just trying to stop time.  Begging to walk their tween/teen to the corner....to see them on the bus.  Kissing their heads and wanting to just play legos or dolls with them.  And it puts some things in perspective for me.  It reminds me to truly treasure this time that I have with my little children and remind me that it's all going to go by too quickly and I will soon be one of these mommies.

So today, while so many other families were sending off to school....we celebrated spending time together.  We watched cartoons, and ate a nice long breakfast.  We went to bouncing bears and jumped and ran around.  We came home for lunch and laughed A LOT.  We read books before naps and we played barbies and trains after naps.  We took walks and went exploring.

And I know that not everyday is incredible and fun.  And that some days it's really hard to be home with the kids and that it's exhausting and can be emotionally draining....  But I do know that it's fleeting.

♥grateful♥

Train - Pool Style

workout!

a little mid-day p90x?!?!

Foto Friday

sleepy

{{Happy}}

watching her girls do some gymnastics :)

Two Babies

look mommy, i drawed two babies

My Little Man & I

He is 2...

...but he's still my baby :)

Sunday Swim

Celebration

Today we celebrated Mason's birthday. 

Grana and Grampa made the trip up to visit with us this weekend. 

First everyone helped to make the cake. Olivia even did some of the writing on the icing :)

Then we opened presents.

And finally got to enjoy some cake!

Love you.

Foto Friday

How Mason plays with the "doll" house

Happy 2nd Birthday Mason!

Happy 2nd Birthday Mason!

**trying to capture a birthday picture...being TWO means you don't stop for a picture**

Tidbits

*still wears size 5 diapers - however is expressing interest in the pottty

*shoe size 7.5

*wears 2T, a few 3T

*will suck his thumb or use a sassy (pacifier)

*sleeps about 11 hours at night 8pm-7am

*takes one 2-3 hour nap daily

*loves to take his cars to nap with him

*looooove trains.  all things trains. calls it "choo-choo".  he plays trains all.the.time.

*if for some reason he is not playing trains, then he is playing cars...and is probably driving it down your leg or up your arm

*has a sweet little "groove" when dancing

*still perfecting the art of jumping

*a snug bug.  if we are watching a show, you want to sit in someone's lap

*you like to play with other people and will ask them to "home" (come) and to "it" (sit) while patting the furniture

*likes to brush teeth

*loves to throw dirt/sand/mulch...etc.

*has the best expression if something is scary

*issues with eating - especially at dinner.  And will NOT eat anything that is slightly warm (hot)

*loves to drink milk 

*tells me if it's hot or cold or dark

*although he had more words than Olivia earlier, he has definitely leveled off some...or maybe I've slacked on working with him (yikes)

*can throw a pretty good fit if something doesn't go "his" way

*loves to eat yogurt, pancakes, apples, spaghetti with sauce, pb&j

*has all this teeth, except 2 year molars

*a fish in the water and will spend hours in the bath

*loves to listen to books

13-24 Months

Dinnertime

WOW - so dinnertime and this guy do NOT go well together.  He refuses to eat.  Most days he doesn't even cry...he just sits there.  This has been a process that we've been working on for months!  I've limited all snacks, there are no drinks at dinner, etc etc etc.   If we are serving pb&j or pizza or pasta, he eats like a champ.  Everything else...he just sits there.  Generally speaking, he eats a good breakfast and lunch - but they are more starchy filled.  Dinner - he almost never eats.  So he goes from lunch time till breakfast the following morning without eating...that's almost 20 hours! I haven't been giving an afternoon snack to encourage being hungry and eating and we definitely don't give desserts if you haven't eaten dinner.  I've also cut out milk after lunch because he would use that to fill up on....

Until just recently - we're forcing the issue with this guy a little more.  I've literally had him sit at the table for 90 minutes with his plate of food.  We've talked about it and said if he eats just four bites, he can play trains and have a treat.  And after the first 80 minutes of looking like this

I finally get through to him and he eats his food - even more than I ask - and he starts laughing and asking for trains!  

Since then, we have our moments...but we don't let him get up from the table without taking a couple of bites.  I figure we can increase the amount of food as time goes on and he realizes that at the dinner table we eat food.  

Any thoughts on this subject or similar situations?

*M*O*M*

The "teacher" in me is loving Olivia's current stage.  She is curious about print and sounds and letters.  She wants to make the "correct" letters and wants to know beginning sounds.  I show her something, and generally speaking, she retains the information.

The other day she was coloring with markers and I asked if she could write my name on it.  I was making beds and told her she needs to write the letters "M-O-M".  

Two minutes later, she came in with a piece of paper.

forever one of my favorites!

Building Immunity

Whatever you do, do not surprise visit the Houston Hertels at our house.

We are sick!!

I'm rocking antibiotics and steroids for a 2+ month cough.  annoying.

Mason developed a fever Saturday morning. Sunday early morning he was up puking. He also has a cough (but has had that for about two weeks now). Sunday it was no food and diarrhea.   Monday he still had 103 fever, I took him into the dr and tested negative for everything...so concluded that it was just a nasty viral bug.

Tim woke up Sunday...after helping take care of Mason Saturday night with a fever :( 102...which is high considering he normally runs 97ish. He has been eating normally and says his tummy is fine. He does have a cough? some body aches and headache....  After going to the dr Monday morning, he tested positive for the flu.  ugh.  Guess there is very little flu in the United States, but with out of country travel, all bets are off.

Olivia was up Sunday night puking :( But she has no fever.

Seriously?

Mermaid-Mermaid

She calls it her "mermaid-mermaid".  Aunt Erin bought it for her in CT.  

Since we've been home, it's all she wears.  All the time.  Everyday.  She takes it off for all meals, so it doesn't get dirty and requests her hands to be cleaned before putting it back on.  She surprises us in the middle of the night, when she has changed out of her jammers and is sleeping in it.   

Bored at Home Depot

Foto Friday

"Double" Stroller

Sleepover

While we were traveling for a week, Jerry spent his time with our neighbor across the street....Cooper's family. 

Since we've been back, this is how Jerry looks....all the time :(

Poor pup wants nothing to do with us and is basically begging to go back over to his friend's house.

Glastic

Mom, is this cup glastic?

haha...yes, I would probably call that "glastic".  It looks like glass, but it is plastic.
Enter that into the 2013 Webster Dictionary.

The Flight Home

Traveling with small children is not always easy.  It involves planning, preparedness, patience, energy, etc....   And for some families who have children that fall asleep upon impact of a jet-way, it's a cakewalk.

For us, we've definitely gone through our share of struggles.  But, with this last flight involving a child on lap (Mason will soon be two and have to have his own seat), I can honestly say I am no longer afraid or worried about traveling with my kids.  I've done it alone and succeeded.  Olivia and Mason are only getting older, which means traveling and reasoning with them becomes easier.  Food is always available...along with technology like the ipad and iphones.  I didn't even have to break into our "special airplane treats" bag this trip!

The kids were by no means, "angels" on these last flights, but we survived and I didn't cry and in the end...we made it back home.

Thank you again to Chris for picking us back up at the airport!  

The Faces of Our Week