October Busy-ness

October is shaping up to be a fun and beautiful month. The weather has been AMAZING and we are enjoying every minute, whether it be at the park, swinging in the backyard, playing with the neighbors, or laying out a blanket in the front yard. This past weekend, we went to the DFW area to visit family and had a great time. And, in the coming weeks we have the Fall Fest at church, the air show, the hot air balloon festival, and of course, Halloween.


Here are some pics from the past few weeks.

Emily & Nanny at the park

The Grandkids

MawMaw & Emmy

Kason with his new obsession, SuperWhy

Look at me...I'm crawling!

Kason brushing the goats at the zoo

Just being pretty

Family shot at the zoo

3 Big Things around Here

1. Emily has begun to crawl...very slow and wobbly, but we fully expect her to be crawling all over the place in a few days. She can also go from belly to sitting and does it all.the.time! She also is beginning to pull up in her crib, which means we lowered the crib mattress.

2. Emily is sleeping through the night! Wahoo!

3. Kason starts preschool next Tuesday. Mommy is sad, but I know Kason will have a blast. He didn't cry this week when we dropped him off for Sunday School, and didn't want to leave when we went to pick him up. So, we know he'll do great.

And, now, a few pics....

Playing with the farm


Reading night-night books

Kason playing on the new addition to the playroom..the castle slide (thanks Sean & Tina)

Fall is Coming!

Pumpkins, scarecrows, Halloween, and cooler weather are in sight! Can you believe it? It is 76 degrees outside right now and it is almost 3:00pm. Amazing!

Fall has to be the best time of the year. You can enjoy almost every day outside, and we fully intend on taking advantage. Kason and I spent the morning outside today and we'll all head back out after naptime. In a couple of weeks, we will be going to the fall festival at church. I am in the process of getting Halloween outfits together for the family to wear.

As for Halloween costumes, Kyle and I will most likely not be dressing up, but Kason and Emily will be the cutest little kids you've ever seen. Kason will be Smitty and Emily will be Warehouse Mouse, from the Imagination Movers (check out go.disney.com if you don't know who they are). I am in the process of making their costumes myself. I think they'll turn out great. Pictures to follow in a couple of weeks.

I would tell myself...

that my kids don't need me to be super mom...they need me to be a happy mom.

Reflections of Motherhood

Sleepy Time

In the past few weeks, Kason's night and naptime habits have gotten out of hand. For whatever reason (we can't seem to figure it out), he does not want to go to sleep in his room. Most nights, we give in and let him get up for a while, but we have decided it has to stop. So tonight, we went Supernanny style with him (well, sorta). Supernanny says, tell them goodnight and you love them, then leave. Everytime after the first that they get up, you simply take them back to bed without talking. That's where we differed. We can't stand to put our crying little boy to bed without acknowledging him. So, each time, I picked him up, hugged, shushed, and kissed him, laid him in bed, kissed him again and said, "night night, I love you". And, each time I left he was once again calm and said, "night night, I love you" back. After about 5-7 times and 30-45 minutes, he was finally down and asleep. Pretty painless and very little crying. Here's hoping we can keep it up and get him back to bed.

We are fairly certain he has nightmares since he sometimes wakes up shrieking and punching/kicking. The shrieks are so shrill sometimes it makes my heart race and stomach churn, but, we go check on him and he is back to sleeping peacefully. At some point, though, it seems every night, he actually wakes from these dreams/nightmares and makes his way to our room. As of right now, we have no intentions of stopping this. I, myself, had nightmares often as a child and ended up on the couch or in my parents' bed, so I know what it's like. So, each night, we take the blanket off the foot of our bed and make him a little pallet next to the bed. When he shows up in our room in the wee hours, we get his pillow and blanket and he goes to sleep on the floor. He is happy just being in our room, so it works for all of us.

As for Emily's sleeping, after about a week and a half of tortuous sleep, she seemed to get a little relief and is doing pretty well now. Our little Emmy has had horribly swollen gums for several weeks now, which we believe was the culprit of the poor sleeping. And, today, her first tooth has finally broken through. We expect to see #2 in the next few days, and are hoping for even more relief for our baby girl. Yay!!!

Sweet Dreams!!

Labor Day

We were planning on going to the DFW area this weekend for a visit with family over the long weekend. That was thwarted, though, with Kyle's need to work overtime (for the next 3 or more weeks). Yucky for less time at home, but the extra $$ will be nice.

So, we had a great weekend staying at home. I got to take advantage of Labor Day sales and do a little fall/winter shopping for the kiddos, we went to the park, played with the neighbors, grilled, and today, sat in traffic forEVER to spend the rainy day at the Galleria. We were supposed to meet Lee there as well as Sean, Tina, and the kids. However, since our approx. 25 mile drive took us almost 2 hours, we got very little time with any of them. But, Kason had a blast at the Galleria's play area and we had a yummy dinner at Freebird's, so even though Emily was super tired on the way home, it was still a good day.

Hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend!

Birthday Par-tay & More!

For those of you who missed it, Kason had a fantastic time at his birthday party (even though it was a bazillion degrees outside). He got LOADS of Thomas the Train books, toys, and clothes and LOADS of Toy Story books, toys, and clothes and he loves it all!!!

Here are a few pics from the day and a few others from the days following when his cousins got to stay for the week (before we all got sick!).


Playing in the blow-up pool before our good neighbors, Dewey & Cher, brought over the water slide (thanks, guys!)



The homemade cupcake stand, cupcakes, and toppers.

Riding his new bike (a balance bike)

They adore each other....I hope they always will.

Just chillin'

Riding his trike through the sprinklers

Cracking Up! This is Emily 99% of every day. She is the happiest baby I have ever seen!


Cool Dude!

Tyler and Emily...I love this pic!

Modeling his Cars helmet

Happy Birthday, Kason!

My baby boy is 2 years old today! Can I still call him my baby? I probably always will.

Happy Birthday, little man! Mommy, Daddy, and Emmy love you more than you could ever know!

6 Month Appointment

I took Emily for her 6 month appointment today. She is 15lb5.5oz, 25.25in (yes, she lost a 1/4 inch...so much for accurate measuring), and 16.5 in head...25-30% all around. So, she is still just a tiny little thing, but she is gaining, so our pedi is not worried. We are attempting some solids, but so far, she is uninterested. Hopefully, she will pick it up soon.

We have upped her dose of Zantac and if we do not see some improvement in a week, we will be switching to Prevacid. She has recently begun spitting up clear liquid that really seems to bother her and her sleeping has been all over the place, so we are really hoping the new dosage will do the trick.

As for everything else, she got 3 shots and was not happy, but is now peacefully napping. Dr. T was also impressed with her motor skills. She is sitting really well, rolling all over the place, and getting up on all fours. She also recently began babbling "dada"...maybe mama will come soon.

Overall, a good appointment. Kason goes for his 2 year appointment in a few weeks.

The 3rd & Final Day

Two months ago, if you were to tell me that I would even be attempting to potty train my almost 2 year old right now, I would say you were crazy. Since everyone says boys are so hard, I thought I'd wait until he was closer to 3. But, I am so glad we didn't wait! Kason is doing great. He is peeing and pooping on the potty like he has been doing it for months. He is super proud of himself and we are super proud of him! We are still reading his potty cues and prompting him with, "Tell mommy or daddy when you have to go potty" quite often, so I won't go as far as to say that he is 100% potty trained, but we are so very close.

We were so skeptical to start, but I have nothing but good things to say about the program. Kason is even working on nighttime and nap training himself (he woke up dry this morning and after his nap), even though we are keeping him in Pull Ups at night and for nap for now.

Day 2

After a horrible night (Kason was up from 2 - 6am), we were sure potty training would go down in flames. Kason was a trooper, though. When he woke up, he refused to go potty, so I left him in a pullup for a while. Eventually, after several prompts to tell mommy or daddy if he had to go potty, Kason took off running to the bathroom. I was so proud, but he got stage fright and refused to go. I went ahead and switched him from pullup to underwear at this point. A little while later, all on his own, he ran off to the potty again. I followed behind to help with his underwear (he doesn't know how to pull them off and refuses to try). Success!

This was followed by several more successes, including a poo poo in the potty today. He did have one very small accident when he was very tired and waiting for daddy to take him upstairs for a nap. Aside from that, though, he was accident-free today. We even spent some time outside this evening and went for a short walk.

Fingers crossed for continued success tomorrow and in the coming days.

3 Day Potty Training: Day 1

After reading and hearing so many good things about the 3daypottytraining.com program, we decided to give it a go. We thought it best to start on the weekend, so I am only going it alone on the very last day. If you want to know more about the program, you can check out the website or Google it. I will be posting each day about the progress we are making. So, here goes...

Leading up to the Big Day: We have been working up to potty training for a couple of weeks by talking about the potty and being a big boy. Earlier in the week, I took Kason to pick out his big boy underwear. We bought a whopping 17 pairs. I did buy two sets in a bigger size, though, so he has a little wiggle room to grow. He chose Toy Story, Thomas, and Mickey. We purchased two potties, a step stool, and a piddle pad for the car. The house is ready, but are mommy and daddy?

Saturday Morning: We're off to the races! We began the morning by ditching all of our diapers. Well, we didn't actually ditch them...we do have another baby to put in these diapers someday...but, Kason thinks we did and that's what's important. Then, we put on our big boy underwear (and, mommy her big girl panties). Kason chose Buzz, of course. We explained how to keep Buzz dry and to tell mommy and daddy if he had to go potty. I think we repeated that statement every 10 seconds for the rest of the day.

He actually managed to keep Buzz dry for quite a while and then, the first accident happened. We scooped him up and raced him to the bathroom to sit him on the potty. He was having nothing to do with peeing on the potty, though. After a dry pair of undies, we again explained to keep them dry, blah blah blah. Accident #2 starts, we scoop him up and sit him on the potty. He is like a faucet, though, and can shut it off whenever he feels like it. So, he refuses to finish on the potty. Underwear#3...accident #3. Underwear#4...accident#4. Underwear#5...accident#5. At this point, we had the rest of his undies in the wash (we forgot to wash them beforehand), and ran out of undies. So, he spent some time naked. Naked time = accident #6 and #7. Back in undies = accident #8. Nap time = HALLELUJAH! What were thinking?!

We have decided to go against the book and use pull-ups for naps and night. We explain to him that these are nap and night time underwear and not diapers, but we feel night time training will come in its own time when he is physiologically ready. Thus, we're not pushing it.

Thankfully, after the nap, things began to change. After a few times of near accidents, Kason finally finishes on the potty. He loved the attention (and peanut butter M&Ms) and was so proud. He begins telling us when he has to pee and poop (remember, we are still reminding him to tell us every few minutes, though). He had 6-7 successes and only one semi-accident after nap time and we consider that a huge improvement. He did tell us several times he had to poop, and his stinky gas led us to believe he really did, but he got potty fright every time. So, no poop today. Hopefully, we will have a success in that area tomorrow.

All in all, today was a good day. Kason got all of his favorite food and drinks and absolutely loved us being at his side all day. We all had a blast playing together. Hopefully, he will become more potty independent in the next few days, telling us without prompting and maybe even go on his own. We'll see...

The potty training outfit: cowboy hat, t-shirt, and undies.


Emily cheering on her big brother!


Stay tuned for day#2 tomorrow....

Canceled Photo Shoot :(

We were supposed to have our photo session for Kason's 2 year and Emily's 6 month photos today (yes, a little early - our photographer is going out of town), but we thought the weather was going to put a damper on things so we rescheduled. And, once again, the weatherman in Texas is wrong...no rain. Oh well, we are going to reschedule for closer to their actual birthdays.

In the meantime, we will be spending a few days celebrating my birthday, family, and the 4th. Have a great weekend everyone!

3 in a Row

Can you believe it? A new blog post for the THIRD day in a row. That must be some kinda record.

This weekend was loads of fun, so it deserves a post.

Saturday, Kyle planned a surprise party for my 30th birthday. I was quite shocked! It was great to see some friends we haven't seen in a while.

On Sunday, we took Kason and Emily to the Children's Museum. Kason LOVED the 'Tot Spot' and they even have a section for little babies with Bumbos and everything. We bought a membership and I plan to take the kiddos at least once a week for the summer. It is a great way to beat the heat and have some fun.









Kason LOVED this car and the truck next to it. He even asked for them when we got home.


Play area for babies. There are mirrors for tummy time, toys, and even Bumbo chairs. In case you didn't know it, though, the thought of the germs freaked me out. Not to worry, though, nothing went in the mouth.





We ended the evening with fun with friends and neighbors down the street and Kason & Emmy's first bath together.

Kason thought he could fit at the same time.


First bath together. Emily didn't enjoy it too much. Kason kept splashing her and she was sooo sleepy, but after a long day, they both needed baths.



We will also be joining the local YMCA in the coming weeks to take advantage of their amazing pool and splash pad for the summer. If all goes as planned, I will also take full advantage of their babysitting services and get some much needed working out in.

In case you don't hear from us before then, Happy 4th of July!!

Blog Overhaul

Bored and feeling crafty, even though I had very little to do with the craftiness of this new layout thanks to blogcrowds.com, shabbyblogs.com, and scrapblog.com. I think I changed the layout about 500 times trying to find just what I wanted. I'm happy with it. What do you think?

My Babies are Growing Up

Emily is peacefully sleeping in her bed DESWADDLED for the 4th night. Aside from one rough patch in which I fed and rocked her for an hour and a half around 11:30 on night 1, she has done great.

And, while Emily is sleeping in her room, Kason is in his, sleeping peacefully on his mattress on the floor. For the past 2 days, he has decided he wanted to nap on the floor, so I thought why not give it a try. So, whadayaknow, he LOVES sleeping on the floor. Tonight it is mattress on the floor...tomorrow, toddler bed.

We are also going to start potty training Kason in about 2 weeks. We are going to try the 3-day potty training method (www.3daypottytraining.com). I have been working with him to get him used to the idea and I really think he's coming around. In just the past few days, he has been a dream to change, as opposed to running from all diaper changes. He actually wants his wet and poopy diapers off now and that is some serious progress! This morning, he was in his play room yelling, "Mommy, I wanna go potty" over and over. Really, all he wanted was for me to play in his play room with him, but hey, he got my attention.

Where did my newborn and my still itty-bitty toddler go? Kason will be 2 in a month and Emily will be 6 months in less than a month. Time sure is flying!

Cuteness Overload + 5 Months Old Today

Consider the title a warning. Back out of this post now if you can't handle all the cuteness that awaits you.

What is he doing, mommy?




Just chillin' in our diapers.


Fun with Play-Doh...he doesn't quite get the concept. He does squish it a little in his hands, though. For right now, he is mostly content just opening the lids, taking the play-doh out and putting it back in. It has been very helpful in finally mastering his colors, too!





And, a picture of Mommy & Emmy after church.


That pretty little girl you see above is 5 months old today. I cannot believe it has been 5 months already. She is growing so fast!

She can now roll in both directions and, but is often just content looking around checking things out. She does go crazy over Kason's cups, though. If there is one in sight, she will roll and even attempt to crawl to get it. She can also sit for 10-15 seconds...sometimes, more...on her own now.

Her new favorite thing is to play chase with Kason. She cracks up when she catches him (mommy & daddy hold her for this game) or sneaks up on him around a corner. They laugh and laugh and laugh at each other. We have the cutest videos, but of course, blogger is not cooperating. Soon, hopefully.

She is still a little thing, but gaining (around 14.5 pounds now)...and, without the use of cereal or formula. Yippee! The Zantac has seemed to help her settle and eat more. She is still spitting up, but it is much less frequent. We have gone several days in the past week only needing one outfit/day. That's major progress around here!

So Annoyed...

So, I have been working on this post for weeks...literally. We desperately need a faster internet connection so I keep getting a bad request error every time I post. So, here it is...the unfinished picture post.

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Some of the goings on around here from April/May/June.


Emily meeting her Uncle Sean for the first time. We are so excited for Sean, Tina, Cody, & Allison to move to the area this summer!


Kason hunting Easter eggs...


Earlier on during our Easter celebration, Kason had a meltdown b/c of a lack of sleep and this racecar. He absolutely refused to get out of it!


He was later comforted with his favorite purple dinosaur and friends (thanks Aunt Frankie & Uncle Larry).


Holding Emmy in what will someday be her carseat.


Trying on one of Daddy's shirts.


Emmy enjoying/eating her lovey.


...and her seahorse.


Big Brother/Little Sister


Kason swinging "higher higher". He also likes to push Emmy "higher higher" in her swing.


Kason sleeping (2 months old) Emmy sleeping (3 months old)


Checking out the turtle on our way to feed the ducks in S.A.

Feeding the ducks

Eating lunch after our attempt at going to church

Daddy's Little Princess

Mommy's Little Man

Silly Boy

Happy Girl

Did I mention she was a happy girl?

Tummy Time...she can now roll in both directions, but is a true master at back to tummy.

So Pretty

Cheese!

Talking to daddy on the phone

Surprise!

Cuddling with PaPa

Kason, Kolby, and Brooklyn at Blake & Jen's wedding

We have had a fun and busy couple of months, with more to come!

Inspired...

Inspired by a friend's blog (thanks, Tina)...I decided it was time to freshen up the blog for summer. Maximize your screen to see the entire background.

We plan to spend a lot of time on the beach this summer!

Finally have a moment to spare...

Both kids are napping and I am taking a break from cleaning to write a quick update.

Emily had her 4 month appointment last week. She is our little string bean, weighing in at 13lb 11.5 oz (39%) and 25.5 in (81%). She is a healthy little girl, but our weight concerns are back. We bought a baby scale about a month and a half ago and at first, it was great. She was doing really well and gaining appropriately. In the past few weeks, though, her spitting up has been out of control. In the week and a half surrounding her appointment she actually lost a few ounces, so we have some things that we are going to try to get her to eat more and keep it down.

1. Zantac - This will not help her spit up, but will make the burning stop if the acid is bothering her. Since she doesn't cry or arch her back when she spits up and she sleeps well, we're really not sure if this will help and have been really hesitant to try her on it. She eats so little, though, we are wondering if it is because of the burning caused by the reflux. So, we have decided to give it a go for a few weeks. If it helps, great. If not, we will stop.

2. Rice cereal - Again, not sure about this. I wanted to wait until she was 6 months, or at least, very close to 6 months, but if that is what she needs to keep her food down and gain weight, we will try it. She is a very gassy and constipated little girl, though, so we're hoping it doesn't make it worse.

3. Supplementing - This is what I wanted to do the very least, but I'm getting concerned that her lack of weight gain is my fault. Her not wanting to eat very much at a time or very often has caused my supply to take a nose-dive. I have tried everything I can think of to produce more and I'm not seeing a lot of results. Starting today, I am going to supplement her early afternoon feeding with a few ounces of hypoallergenic formula (Yikes! This stuff is EXPENSIVE!). She needs the hypoallergenic kind, though, since she is sensitive to cow's milk protein. I'm hoping the supplementing is short-lived and I can get my supply back up with extra pumping sessions.

So, that's the plan. Please pray that our little girl remains healthy and starts putting on some weight. I should add that she is such a happy girl. She smiles, laughs, and coos all.day.long. We often go days without hearing a cry from her.

Kason continues to love on his little Emmy everyday. He is so protective of her, not wanting strangers to hold, or even talk to her. He loves to share his toys with her and for her to "play trucks" with him. It is amazing to watch them light up when they see the other. Emmy beams at her big brother when he walks into a room and Kason lights up when his little sister flashes that grin in his direction. We are in awe of their capacity to love at such a young age. We hope they are always best buddies and can only imagine the kinds of trouble they will get into together as Emily becomes more mobile.

Aside from that, we are looking forward to a fun-filled summer, to be kicked off with a fun-filled Memorial Day weekend with my brother and his family. I will update again soon with pics and videos...hopefully, tonight, if I can catch a break.