Halloween 2014

The kiddos and I started Halloween day off with some spooky shows and breakfast.  Then it was time to start crafting…I had a list of things I wanted to make, but always forget how long one thing takes.  So we got a couple crafts done and then changed for our lion walk before lunch.  After lunch it was naptime and W and I snuck away for a few errands.  When we got home Halloween was in full swing.  We attempted William in the pumpkin like we had in years prior with Thomas and Elin…he hated every single miserable second.  In fact I am certain that he thought it was the worst thing that has ever happened to him.  After we gave up on that, Thomas and Elin Mike and I carved pumpkins.Then it was time for a quick dinner and TRICK OR TREATING!  The kiddos were so excited to go this year.  We had been reading books, watching shows, talking about trick or treating and maybe just maybe they both remembered a bit from last year.  Thomas for sure did, Elin might have?  We took our family photo out front again and again had a lot to piece through to get a good one…This year Thomas was originally going to be Bumblebee the Transformer from Rescue Bots, but then he decided he wanted to be a farmer.  Elin, along with many other little girls out there was Elsa or “Frozen Girl.”  William started the day off in what Elin called his Pumpkin Patch outfit and ended up being a cross between a farmer and a scarecrow. We met up with a group of neighbors and the kiddos ran door to door as we made our way to the neighborhoods block party.  Once we arrived at the block party it was mass chaos. There were bounce houses, a scary Halloween movie playing, a haunted house and trunk trick or treating to be had.  After trying to survive there for a bit we ended up over at the pumpkin painting and then called it a night.  We trick or treated back home and then the kiddos got to check out their candy haul.  After they got to fill their belly with some of their sugary treats we all headed to bed.  At some point when we were sleeping the switch witch came to our house.  We didn’t get a note or anything but she left a couple of Lego toys and a few candy treats, but the rest she took with her.  The kiddos were pleasantly surprised with how “nice the witch was” to leave them some candy and a toy.   What a great and safe Halloween night! 

William is 3 Months Old

William turned 3 months old while the kiddos and I were in Minnesota on vacation.  William continues to be a pretty chill lil guy who loves smile and hang out.  He thinks his big brother and little sister are pretty great to be around and when they are in the room they are typically trying to play with him, do belly time, hold him, or are kissing on him.  It can get overwhelming for Mike and I as we try to keep the little guy safe from all the love!

He has really started to become more of a wiggler this month.  He loves to lay and kick his feet and wiggle around.  He is rocking his tummy time and can hold his head up with his chest off the ground for longer and longer periods of time.  He has had a few tummy to back roll overs, but is not yet a total roller.  He also inch worms his way around when he is on his belly with his strong legs, it won’t be long before he’s going places. 

He loves to smile and is quite the flirt.  I am not going to lie, when he is awake it is hard to get much else done other than to hang out with him and smile and “talk.”  He is cooing back and forth with us more and more.  His sweet coos and ahhs are music to my ears.  He also has several distinct cries for different things and my favorite are his hungry cry which has a bit of a “maahhhh” to it or his sad cry which he gets a huge pouty lip.  The first usually means he’s hungry and the second is if he is totally offended.  At this point he still thinks I am pretty great and when I smile he will flash me the biggest gummy smile he can.  They are so stinking cute!  I will be honest I don’t remember T and E being this smiley, but I am sure they could have!

He is still doing a great job eating and seems to be getting both longer and heavier. He eats between every 2 to 3 hours and then cluster feeds many nights eating every 15-45 minutes a few times.  He then goes to bed and sometimes wakes 1-2 times sometimes 3 or 4 to eat, just depends I guess.  There have been a few nights when he even has slept 7 ish hours…I am not going to complain about that one!  He eats and goes back to sleep so at this point I am pretty happy with that.  He does have reflux and is taking medication for it which seems to be helping his tummy discomfort.  After a little trial and error and cutting out milk and creams, I am now completely dairy free and that has made a huge change in his spitting up, gas and overall comfort. 

He is starting to have a somewhat predictable schedule waking in the morning between 7 and 8.  He then sleeps about 45 minutes to an hour and fifteen minutes after awake time.  If our schedule allows he will then take a long couple hour nap, if it doesn’t he will take a couple shorter naps and then will generally sleep in a wrap while we are out and about.  If we are at home he is taking either a long morning or afternoon nap and a few shorter ones in the day.  So really when I write it out he isn’t in a pattern pattern yet, but I can somewhat predict what his schedule will look like based on his/our day.

We don’t have a doctor appointment this month.  So no official height or weight although he is quickly outgrowing his size 1 diapers and his 0-3 month clothes.   

Storybrook Ranch, Fire Safety Town and a birthday Celebration…a very busy Tuesday!

We started out the day with our adventure at Storybrook Ranch.  We did this last year just after moving to Texas and wanted to check it out again.  The kiddos again had a blast playing in the bounce houses and running through the hay maze. Elin loved spending time with the ponies.  She wasn’t afraid of them at all and she was eager to ride on one.  Trying to teach her to be careful around them was a huge task and thankfully these ponies were very well mannered.  She’s such a fearless little thing!  After the kids got their fill of the ponies and animals we hopped on a wagon ride and headed back to the 1800s.  The ranch’s historic “dry bones town” has buildings from all over that they hand picked and had delivered to the town to preserve them.  In our quick tour we stopped into the jail house, the doctors office, the barber shop, the black smiths shed and the fire station.  There was so much more to see and explore  but time ran out!   We found a live praying mantis on the blacksmiths workbench.  It was so cool and very neat to see in the “wild.”  I hope to someday have one of these critters in my garden!After we were at the town we stopped back at the pumpkin patch for a few pictures and then headed out.  We got a decent picture of the kiddos and I still can’t believe I have 3 kiddos when I look at the picture of myself with them, crazy and amazing all at the same time!

After a quick hour at home and a recharge and refill of our waters we were headed up to Fire Safety Town for Grahm’s birthday.  The little boys were pretty excited and I was very proud of how well Thomas listened and answered the questions.  He was so eager to learn and tell the fire fighter what he knew about fire safety.  Elin did a pretty good job for not having a nap and paid attention as well as an over tired 2 year old could!  She loved driving the big fire truck at the end of the tour.    After we finished the tour we headed over to a park for cupcakes and some playtime to finish off Grahm’s birthday celebration.

It was a busy and extremely fun day!  On our way home I risked a complete melt down and took the 3 kids out to dinner.  Elin wasn’t going to make it home in the car awake and we were just about to the time when if she goes to sleep she could sleep til the next morning…so we stopped in and grabbed a quick bite successfully before heading home.  As expected Elin fell asleep at 6 in the car and slept til the next morning at 7:30, it was a busy day!! 

Grandpa Jeff is in Town

Grandpa Jeff had a few meetings in Dallas so he came down a day early to spend some time with us and meet William.  He got in on Sunday afternoon about lunch time and after some lunch and a little football he and Mike took the big kids to the sports store.Then it was time to come home and head to the park for some JLBBA (Jeff Laschen Baseball Academy).  Thomas had a blast and just as he was getting tired, Elin got attacked by fire ants.  They had crawled into the wagon and as she sat to get a drink of water they started to bite her.  We got the ants off her as quickly as possible and and a few bites later, she was ant free and we were headed home.  Fire ants are a new bad thing around here….their bites feel like a quick needle poke and then they get blisters and really itchy.  We have been luck to avoid them for the most part and hope to continue this trend.

When we got home we had 2 very tired kiddos on our hands.  We got them in and out of the shower and then Grandpa read them a few books before Elin went to bed.  Then Thomas got to go in the backyard again and play with Grandpa and have dinner with us before he went to bed.  It was a fast few hours but we got lots of things jammed in with Grandpa. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Tuesday night Elin was already asleep by the time Grandpa got home from his work dinner.  Thomas was exhausted too so he and Grandpa did a few animal calls on his iPad and then a couple books and then it was bedtime.  It was a quick trip for Grandpa, but we will see him in a few more days when we head to Minnesota.

Botanic Gardens

Our friends, Grandma Debbie and her daughter Shelby, met us at the Arboretum to check out the Children’s Garden and the fall Pumpkin/Gourd area.  We spent the morning exploring the Children’s Garden.  The kids had a great time playing in all the water features as it was in the low 90s.  Then we grabbed a bite to eat and checked out the pumpkins before heading home.  It was a fun morning with Deb and Shelby. 

Thomas is 4 and a HALF

Although it feels as tthought it couldn’t be Thomas is already 4.5 and he is quickly turning into a “real boy.”  What I mean by a “real boy” is Mike and I are constantly saying things to one another about what Thomas did or said and then we follow it up with “he’s getting so big, just like a real big boy!”

Physically he is getting taller and heavier by what feels like the minute.  Things he couldn’t do before-like reach the bathroom sink-he can now do without stools or help.  He is also getting harder to lift and carry around and I am dreading the day when he is officially “too big” to be swooped up in Mike or I’s arms when he is upset, hurt, or just needing a little more TLC.  His facial features are also changing and he’s starting to look older to us.  He is getting a few more freckles across the bridge of his nose. 

Thomas is now in his own room sleeping from the beginning to the end of the night. When he needs Mike or I he comes into our bedroom or calls for us.  He isn’t looking back thought and if you ask him if he wants to sleep in our room he will tell you nope.  He’s dressing himself and picking out all his clothes.  Sometimes he still needs our help with a pesky button or a zipper here and there, but for the most part he is totally independent which helps out a ton in the morning or for bedtime.  Sometimes his selection of matching outfits is a bit wonky to us, but it works for him and that is all that matters.  Along with other self help skills he is really mostly independent with all of them, we often do a check cleaning or brushing but more and more he is doing it all on his own and very well.  He is really taking pride in how he is dressing, brushing his hair, and maintaining his body to keep it healthy.  Next step learning how to tie his shoes!

He still loves all things boy!  He is a strong worker and likes to help with all jobs, well most, around the house.   Although playing alone isn’t his strongest skill he is working on it and we can see this skill improving by the week.   For the most part if he is directing play it is with his fire/rescue toys or dress up clothes, in his sandbox with his trucks/toys or lately with his rescue bots rescue heroes.  Helping and rescuing is a big theme with him at the moment.   When he is with his friends they also mostly play games like that, but they are also starting to play sports games together of baseball, catch and chase.   When he and Elin are playing together she mostly plays what Thomas wants to direct….they play a lot of chase and or watch me do this and then you do it on the trampoline, outside, ect.  They are quickly becoming better friends and learning from one another.  Like any siblings they will often get on one another's nerves so we have been working a lot on kind play and not hurting one another.  They have their moments where they are great and moments where I feel like I have been a referee ALL DAY LONG!   He continues to be very active and needs a good deal of daily exercise.  Biking is one of his absolute favorites at the moment and he continues to challenge himself to be and get better. 

We have started to add a few more responsibilities and chores to his world.  He’s learning how to keep his room clean and being more responsible for helping around the house.   He never complains about helping with yard work or big jobs, but he sometimes gets bored with cleaning his room alone.  Since we have started the chores he is getting much better about cleaning up one thing before moving to another.  He is also very proud of his room and when he has it looking all nice all on his own.  In my dream world he would also be independent with putting away his washed clothes…we are working on it…but it still takes some direction and maintaining focus!

Thomas is a really genuine little boy with a huge heart.  He is a great big brother to both his little sister and brother.  He loves to sit and hang out with William and if he is near him you will see him holding his hand and kissing him all over.  He is also very protective of Elin and as long as the two of them are together I know he is looking out for her.  Sometimes he needs to be reminded to not use his hands to express his frustration, more so with his sister than other friends.  He is the first one to help or entertain the little kiddos that are around in different play situations.   Along with this comes Thomas’ sensitive side.  He can have his feelings hurt by things and he feels them pretty intensely.  There are a lot of conversations at our house about big feelings and how we can work through them. He has a love of animals and seems to posses a special touch with them.  Mike and I continue to be impressed by his genuine sincerity and kind heart.  We hope that these are two characteristics that he continues to possess as he matures.

He had days where he is a huge eater and then days where he doesn’t eat so much.  He is still a pretty great eater with a wide variety of favorite foods.  He loves seafood (crab/shrimp/scallops), salmon, steak.  Carrots and Apples have been a big hit at our house too.  He really loves his salad, salad of all kinds actually.  It seems like he is just all of a sudden growing and changing quickly.  He has dropped his naps for the most part, unless it is a crazy busy day or we will have a late night then we can usually get him to take a quick hour power nap.  Along with the dropping of the nap has come the more consistent really tired nighttime Thomas.  He will now ask to go to bed if we haven’t already suggested it and he is tired.  Otherwise he is going to bed about 7/7:30 with Daddy still reading him books and laying with him until he falls asleep. 

He is also learning a lot and we have been starting to get him ready for school in the spring or next fall.  We thought that if we could build him up it would help him with his school confidence.  So I started doing more preschool themed activities where he is learning to write his name, number sense with counting to 10, learning about his letters and the sounds they make and practicing writing and cutting.  It has been fun to see what he is learning and picking up and to see him get excited about school again.  

Well that is Thomas in a really quick nutshell!  Can’t wait to see what the next 6 months bring in his growth and development!

Mountain Biking and a Trail Hike/Run

Thomas really wanted to go mountain biking again and Elin, William and I tried to weasel our way into the trip.  Thankfully the boys let us tag along and we got a good hike/run in as well.  It was fun to watch Thomas concentrate so hard to go over the bumps and down the hills.

Elin loved the trail running and did a great job keeping up with the boys when we went the same direction.  For a bit of their ride we headed the other direction, went to swing and then ran up and down a bridge…a lot.  It was a fun “fall” morning!