TaHaZouka Park (weird name, I know!)

Two Saturdays ago we went to the TaHaZouka Park on the south side of town for a little family picnic. Now, if you are thinking "wow, she she has two kids under 2, and managed to get the whole family to the park and even packed a picnic basket with cold cuts and fruit and cookies and everything???" you are very mistaken!! No way baby, Applebees Carside to Go!! Best picnic dinner ever!!

The littlest guy was so sleepy he actually fell asleep in his carseat--something he never does! (somehow my kids missed the memo that babies are supposed to sleep peacefully in their carseats)

French fries and ketchup, does life get any better than this?

This park is really quite pretty with several small "lakes" and fountains and lots of fishing. It has a lot more trees and playground equipment than Skyview Park, and is much less windy since it's not up on a hill, so I think we will be going to this one more often!

Sammy & I were soaking up the sunshine!

Not really sure what this face is all about!!

Alex really liked this wavy slide!

I could go down the slide a million times if mommy and daddy would just stay here all day and watch me!

Long-lost Photos from Nana's Visit

The cheeseball in his Broncos hat getting ready for church.

Ryan's stepmom came to visit the 2nd week of March and was a big help to us as we were settling in to our new life here in the wild west! She cooked and cleaned and freed me up to do the organizing that needed to be done from all the stuff my mom and I had unpacked. She even took her turns with Sam as that week was one of his worst colic-wise. And somehow in all the craziness of life with two kids under two I forgot to post pics from Nana's visit. So, here they finally are--we were so busy that we really didn't take many, but we all had a good time together nonetheless!

Alex loves the pianos at church (we can thank Grandma Kay for that!), but is only allowed to touch this one in the fellowship hall. Here he and Daddy are playing a musical masterpiece for Nana!

Since Sam was not quite ready for his first haircut, he got to hang out with Nana while I cut Ryan and Alex's hair.

That Was Yesterday

Yesterday the weather was great! We had all the windows open and even when outside to play with sidewalk chalk. Well, I was the only one who colored. Alex just carried the chalk around as he talked to the birds, the trees, and even the newspaper boy on his bike!!
I didn't get a good pic of Sam because he was having a "hold me, mommy" afternoon! But I do love little baby tootsies, and here is a pic of his big little feet!
There is a great row of tulips right along the front of our house and they are all out and vibrant right now. Here is a picture of one of my tulips yesterday, soaking up the sun...
Here is the poor flower today, hiding from the snow! Yes, snow!! It was coming down so fast and furious for about 1/2 an hour that I could hardly see the house across the street, but shortly after that it slowed up and since then we have just been getting flurries off and on. Thankfully it's not cold enough for much of the snow to stick, which is relieving--I was getting really used to the summery weather and walking to the park, and the budding flowers! So yesterday it was summer, today it is winter...what will tomorrow be?

Baby Talk

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo BooksSam has turned into quite a talker, especially right after his bottle. It's like he's telling us how tasty his meal was! This isn't even the best video we have of him yapping it up, but in the others you can hear his big brother in the background trying to steal the show. So maybe I should say that Sam is trying to make himself heard in what is often a very noisy world!

If You Give a Boy Some Ketchup...

He'll lick his plate clean...












And get the beloved red stuff all over his face...
















So he'll need a bath to get clean...














Then a few minutes later he'll spill his milk down his front and get messy all over again!

Captain Destructo Strikes Again!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo BooksAunt Jen sent Alex these cute foam puppets she made and I really thought he would enjoy playing with them cuz he's really into animals right now. Well, apparently he's really into popsicle sticks even more...the video tells all. Let me take this opportunity to say..."we're sorry Aunt Jen! But you know toddlers..."





A little side note about Sammy: his last bottle of the night is usually around 10:30pm, and he actually sleeps through it, I just feed it to him to tank him up for the night--did that with Alex, too (it's an idea from the Baby Whisperer, I'm a big fan) and it works great to get baby to last longer through the night. Anyway, he's been sleeping till around 4am for about 2 weeks now, but the night before last night he slept until 5:30am!!! Ahhh, the glory of 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep! Last night it was 4am again, but hopefully that will continue to stretch!

Our Little Sammy-Sam

Ah, the dazed look of a baby in formula heaven...
Ryan gave Sam his bottle for me last night while I gave Alex a bath (pics of why the nerdy kid needed a bath will come later!). Of course Sam spent most of his time smiling & talking to Daddy & little time eating! I would prefer for him to eat rather than to play at his bedtime bottle, but I'm so happy that he can smile through bottles now as opposed to crying through them as he used to, that I can't complain. On that note, here is a little update on Sammy-Sam. Praise the Lord for directing us to a pediatrician who could pinpoint Sam's problem the first time he saw him. Dr. J (which is what they call him because he is Indian and his name is so difficult to pronounce!) diagnosed Sam with Acid Reflux and put him on a baby form of Zantac. He said Sam should only have to take it for a few months; generally little ones grow out of this as the muscles they need to keep the acid down develop and they begin to eat solids. Within a few days of starting him on the medicine we saw definite improvement, and now 2 weeks later he is a different boy! He is happy and smiley, he can eat a whole bottle without screaming, he doesn't cry all evening (the colic was obviously related to the acid reflux), and he sleeps better than before--at night he sleeps beautifully, only waking once around 3:30 or 4am to eat. He is still a bit of a sensitive baby and is much more high maintenance, but he is definitely doing better. Thanks for your prayers, and we can still use them. My big challenge with the little guy now is getting him to sleep on his own. He has been coddled for so long because of his other issues, that now he seems to think that mommy is his crib for naps during the day. Any tips out there for teaching a baby to sleep on his own for naps? Anyway, I am trying to get a video of the boy talking, he has lots to say, though we probably wouldn't want to hear what he is really saying--I'm sure it's all about his mean mommy and how she makes him sleep in his bed and gives him this gross medicine and makes all these weird faces at him just to see him smile and his loud-mouth brother who won't be quiet and let him sleep and his crazy daddy who blows raspberries on his belly...

Big Man on Campus

"Watch out. I have a noodle and I know how to use it!"
Who's really the referee here? Alex or Ryan?
Saturday night we had a youth activity night. This was the first one that I was able to take the boys to and we had a great time. I think that Alex has declared himself a member of the youth group. He tried to play all the games with the kids. They play this game called Hocker that is a mix of basketball, hockey, and Soccer, and Alex ran up and down the gym as the kids did. Generally he would stay on the side, but once in a while he would get fearless and run out into the middle...and Daddy would swiftly run and him up in order to avoid getting squished by teenage gym shoes! The funniest thing was the balloon stomp game they played. The kids had to tie a balloon around their ankle and then try to pop other people's balloons while keeping theirs from being popped. Well, Alex wanted those balloons, wanted them badly! And he kept chasing the s in circles trying to get their balloons. They thought it was hilarious! In the end we blew up a few extra balloons for the boy so he could play and not sabatoge the game! I made the food--pizza pockets and cupcakes, and Sam slept through the whole thing!!

A Fond Farewell

Ode to the Paci

Oh, my sweet paci,
you've been my best friend.
I thought we'd be together
until the bitter end!
I had dreamt of high school
with you by my side,
College, a wedding,
I'd bring you with pride!
But yesterday, my mean mommy
she took you away.
Now I sit here with Blankie,
So sad, and I pray,
That somehow I'll make it
through the next few days and years.
For who will comfort my sorrows
and dry all my tears?
Then I hold my Blankie close
and say "Never, no Never,
will I let anyone take away
My Dear Blankie forever!!"

Yep, the paci disappeared yesterday for good! The pediatrician had told me it should be gone by the time he turned 2, for the sake of his teeth. I've been ready to get rid of it for a while now, but I just didn't have the stamina while I was dealing with Sam and all his issues. But, now that Sam is doing better I have more time to focus on Alex, and am ready to help him tackle some big boy things! I didn't see any good way to slowly wean him off it, so we just went cold turkey at nap time. I put him in the crib with his blankie. He "talked" to himself for about 30 min. and then fussed for about 10min. and then he was out!! Success!! Bedtime was not quite so smooth...he cried for about 30min. I went in and rocked him for about 3min. and told him it was just him and Blankie now and it was time to sleep, and about 10 min. of fussing later he was out! Not bad. Then at 6:45am he woke up, and with no paci to lull him back to sleep he was up for the day--how exciting!! Naptime today was better, no fussing at all. I think the tricky part of this transition for him is going to be putting himself back to sleep without the paci when he wakes up early. But Alex has always been one to take changes in stride, so I am praying this one will continue to go smoothly as well! So good-bye paci!



Sammy still gets to keep his paci for a while! Whew, I think he was scared there for a second!

A True Gourmet

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo BooksHere on display are my son's most elegant and refined table manners. He proceeds to slurp his soup, dip his whole hand in his bowl along with his grilled cheese, and talk with his mouthful. Totally gross, and totally toddler fun! Lately soup has been a hit with Alex, especially tomato soup. I use this little custard cup as his soup bowl because it is heavy and easier for him to scoop out of, and when he sees that bowl coming he gets all excited. Today he even ate white chili for lunch!! Anyway, when he eats tomato soup he usually says "Mmmm" after each spoonful! Letting a toddler feed himself soup is excessively messy; it's not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. I would guess that he only gets about 1/2 of the soup from his bowl into his tummy. The rest gets on his face, in his hair, down his arm, all over his bib and shirt and lap, smeared on every surface of the high chair, and spattered on anything within about 2 feet of where he is sitting! So, why feed a toddler soup? 3 reasons. It's a great lesson in both self-feeding and independence that I am willing to clean up after, it develops his gourmet tastes (ha!), and it is stinkin' hilarious to watch!

Skyview Park

We took Sam on his first trip to the park on Saturday. It was actually a first for the whole fam since it was a new park for us in our new town. We had heard that it is a nice one with a good walking trail and playground, a small lake, and lots of benches and picnic areas. We really enjoyed ourselves and even got our exercise on the 1.8 mile walking trail, especially Ryan since he was pushing a double stroller!



















































This was Alex's response when it was time to leave the playground.







We're a family who knows how to have fun!

Friday Fun!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo BooksJust a funny clip of the big guy eating one of his favorites: tomato soup, grilled cheese, and applesauce. I wish he hadn't been wearing a red bib so you could have seen the large amount of soup and applesauce on the front of him!

Here's a few fun "Alexisms:"
1. He's decided sneezes are funny again and puts his fist up to his mouth and makes this sound to fake sneeze and then laughs at himself!
2. He's taken to putting his finger up his nose and just holding it there.
3. He tries to tickle you, but it's really more like pinching.
4. He finally got Sam's bottle when I wasn't looking the other day and took a swig...I don't think it was as tasty as he was thinking it would be because he held it out to me and made some pretty weird faces.
5. When he's sad and you're holdng him and patting his back, he pats your back, too!

Here's a pic of Sam for our Colorado family! Our little Broncos fan already!

Two Months Old!

Sam actually turned 2 months old yesterday, but I didn't have time to post, we had a very busy day: Sam had his 1st dr. appt with our new pediatrician here and I took the 2 boys out by myself for the 1st time. Praise the Lord Alex is good about holding my hand, or it would have been a fiasco, but it went really well! Anyway, Sam is now 24.5 inches long and 12lbs, 12oz. That sounds big for a 2mo. old, but he was just in the 75th percentile for weight and the 90th percentile for height, which is actually smaller than Alex was at the same age!! We got some helpful insight from the doctor on his congestion and colic issues. He thinks it all might stem from an acid reflux problem and we are trying him on a round if antacid meds to see if that helps him. The doc said this is a common problem with kids and usually after a few months on meds the reflux goes away. Please pray with us that this would be the solution--it would be so good for this mommy's heart to see Sam be able to eat & sleep comfortably and not have reason to cry so much. On all other accounts he is a healthy baby, growing and developing well. He "talks" all the time. He is very strong, he can push himself up on his hands like he's doing a push-up, and he's rolled on his side twice now! He's developing a personality all his own, and I am so thankful God has given this little boy to us!!

Oh, So, Suspicioso...

As if I needed any more proof that my kid is all toddler...apparently he has decided that all food is suspicious, and must not be eaten until investigated by the proper authorities. He does have a secret list of foods which are safe for eating, however the list changes sometimes daily, I would guess for the purpose of keeping that information from getting into the wrong hands! This can make mealtime very tricky. I don't force my kids to eat every food that is set before them--I don't care for every flavor known to man, why should kids be different?--but I do expect them to at least try some of what they are served. I have found that with Alex, if I can just get a bite of something he has refused into his mouth, then that food is often switched from the dangerous-for-eating list to the safe-foods list! Case in point: today Ryan gave him a small part of his piece of cake. CAKE, my kid refused CAKE. Weird, But I wanted him to try it cuz I knew he would like it...after many acrobatics and much fussing we finally got a bite in...the eyes got big, the smlle came out, and the kid started clapping!! Cake has now been moved to the safe list...at least for today!!