Dentist

The boys went to the dentist for the first time last week.  It was just supposed to be Jack, but the hygienist said they recommend starting a 1 year old and she had time to do them both.  I’ve been prepping Jack for awhile…showing him the office when we drive by, talking about what would happen and reading books about the dentist.  The dentist book we’ve read the most was a Little Critter one.  On the way into the office he started talking about how the nurse was going to be a bunny.  He was pretty disappointed when not one member of the staff was any kind of animal!  The hygienist did offer to wear bunny ears though. 

Jack  did great and even let them attempt x-rays (the bite wings were still a bit big to get in his mouth without making him gag).  He climbed right up in the chair and let them examine and clean his teeth without me even needing to hold his hand!

I warned them Cole would probably not cooperate…it was naptime, he wasn’t feeling great, and he screams bloody murder when Matt and I brush his teeth.  They tried anyway…I think they might have touched a tooth or two with the flouride brush.  He took one look at the dentist and burst into tears (while on my lap).

We had a massive snowstorm a few weeks ago resulting in a giant mountain of snow next to the garage from the snowplow we have come clear the driveway. Matt took Jack out to build a fort, which Jack thought was wonderful. He’s been sad that the snow is melting because he wants “my snow fort to stay and stay.”

Jack turned 3 almost two weeks ago! He requested a monster cake. I’m can’t decide exactly what it looks like (tiger clown monster? striped boar? Matt suggested angler fish…) But Jack called it a “monster lion” and I think was happy with it. He loved getting to pick what we had for dinner (macaroni and cheese) and opening his presents and cards. (He’s randomly told me on several occasions days and weeks later that he “just really loves balloons and my birthday cards”) I really can’t believe he’s 3! Or that he’s only 3…hasn’t he been around forever?

Both boys have really been getting into the dress ups lately. Jack loves to put on the cowboy stuff and ride his horse, and fix all mama’s owies in the doctor’s white coat. He also like to just put on the cowboy hat and walk around saying “howdy partner”. Cole really likes all the hats. He likes the cowboy best too, but Jack is not great at sharing it all the time, so he’s content with the others.

That pretty much sums things up lately. I spend a lot of time at the doctor and the boys have been amazingly adaptable. So far things look good and I will most likely deliver sometime in April. I can’t believe how soon this baby is going to be here!

Caution, loooong post

Well I’m a little slow posting anything lately…it’s been an eventful couple months. We didn’t do much prep for Christmas around here because we were heading out to Utah. We did finally break out the decorations when Jack started singing “no little Christmas tree to light up the world” very sadly around the house. We even ended up making a special trip to the store for a star to go on top at his insistence. We made Christmas treats and the boys thought helping was lots of fun!

We made it to Utah and, once everyone stopped throwing up, we had a great time. Jack and Cole had both been sick in the days leading up to our going, but seemed fine. I was flying out with them and then Matt was joining us at the end of the week. Well, Jack started throwing up again as the plane was landing in Salt Lake. I was covered, he was covered, the diaper bag was covered and they had sent my stroller to baggage claim instead of to the gate. After a very kind flight attendant helped me off the plane and up the ramp, we stood, smelling up the place, while they figured out how to get us to baggage claim. (I had a carseat, two diaper bags, a sick two year old and a grumpy,tired 14 month old…we weren’t going anywhere under our own power.) We made it to my parents and the boys spent the next three days throwing up. Then my parents spent another 3 days sick….I’m sure they were super glad we came early! My poor mom had fallen and broken her hip a few weeks prior to our coming, which just added a whole new level of fun to being sick for her.

Christmas eve we were feeling pretty good and Matt flew in. We headed up to his aunt and uncle’s to see them and Matt cousins’ families and his Grandma.

Christmas morning the boys got more than their fair share of toys. Jack had asked for a batman costume and got lots of dress ups. We had to coax him to try them on at the time, but now he really likes them! (and it’s a good thing, because Santa’s elves put a lot of time into some of them…no I didn’t make them all). Cole would have been perfectly happy with just this ball toy, but has really liked all the new stuff.

Jack LOVES his new easel and literally spends hours on it. The first day we got it out he spent 2 1/2 HOURS painting. He’s not bad, either…some of what he creates is identifiable…he sure didn’t get that from me.

Cole is learning to ham it up for the camera. This boy seriously cracks me up. He is talking up a storm these days. He goes around singing “bow-wow, bow-wow, bow- wow-wow-wow” all day. (It’s a wiggles song), and likes to bring me things when he knows the name. ie shoe, sock, shirt, ball. He hands them to me, tells me what they are, then just giggles and runs away. It’s really cute. He’s also started climbing up on things…hopefully he doesn’t generalize that to climbing out of his crib any time soon.

In other news…we found out in January that Matt will be doing his Sports Medicine fellowship year in Kalamazoo starting in July. It’s about 2 1/2 hours southwest of here, which will definitely make for an easier move. It’s the one place we went with him when he was interviewing and we all liked it, so we are excited.

This baby of ours will be coming soon, and as some of you know is very small. She’s been below the third %ile the last few ultrasounds. She is considered IUGR (intra uterine growth restricted)), but we don’t know why. I’m being monitored very closely for possible problems (meaning I live at the doctor’s office) and probably won’t be able to carry her all the way to 40 weeks. We are hoping to make it to 37 without complications and then will probably induce as she will likely grow better outside me once her lungs are mature. We are so lucky to live somewhere that so many people are willing to help out and watch our boys while I go for 2-3 appointments a week (some of them looong). We are really, really grateful!

Wow, that turned out to be a much longer post than I intended…it was my first attempt with Live Writer (thanks for the tip Rebecca!!) The pics are sized a little funny, but I’ll figure it out eventually.

Catch up.

It's a girl!! (We're pretty sure...) She's on the small side, so we'll have another ultrasound in a few weeks, but everything looks good!Jack absolutely loved helping with the leaves with his very own rake. Too bad we still have most of this same pile of leaves out next to the driveway. Cast picture for grandma. :-)
Jack thought having daddy take his cast off was great. I was just glad to have it off him because it was so dirty. It's a good thing they don't leave them on too long at this age!
Our town has a Santa parade the weekend before Thanksgiving. It's definitely a tradition we will miss next year!

Jack really had the candy thing figured out this year. We ended up filling the case for his little camp chair almost all the way to the top.

Cole was happy to watch.
Somebody is walking!!! Our camera with the video is still missing the charger, but we got lots of stills. He has to remember everyday that he can walk and is just as excited every time.






















I had a friend watch the boys while I went to my last ultrasound appointment. Jack was so excited he drew a picture to take with him. I was pretty impressed. It's kind of hard to see, but there is a head with hair and a smile and legs with feet. He also drew a pink circle in the middle...his tummy. He had me write that this was a picture of "Jack having fun at Luke's house".
Just cause it's cute.We finally made it to see Santa at the "Santa house" here. It was so cute! The little house is full of decorations, trains, toys, dioramas, lights.... Jack actually told me he liked seeing the decorations more than Santa. Both boys did really well with Santa. Jack stuck to his original Santa letter, telling him he wanted a "princess toy, a batman costume, and some more crayons." Cole was his usual easygoing self and thought Santa was pretty ok. I think we may have one of the only Santa pictures I've ever seen with TWO happy toddlers.
Matt and the boys in Santa's sleigh.

Halloween

It's been a very busy few weeks for us, but we did manage to sneak in a bunch of Halloween activities. The kids got to wear their costumes four days in a row! Last year I swore that I wasn't ever making costumes again...well, I decided I couldn't do one for Jack and not for Cole. The turtle was a little easier than the elephant was, but still kind of a pain...we'll see if baby #3 gets one next year. (At least Jack got two years of wear out of the elephant...I don't think Cole will be able to wear his next year.)
We went on a Halloween hike with a Harry Potter theme in the local forest, the ward's trunk or treat, and the library for the costume parade and activities. I don't have pictures of everything, but I think I got some good one of the boys in their costumes.On Halloween we went trick or treating in Kalamazoo where Matt was interviewing with a sports medicine program. Jack had been insisting for several days that he wanted to go to exactly "five houses". Once we did our five though, he thought it would be okay to go to a few more.
Back at the hotel that night, Cole crib was comically small and Jack didn't have a bed at all...we improvised. Jack was very excited about going to the hotel and when we got there he said. "okay, now grandma's going to come!". Last week, we stayed at a hotel in Detroit while Matt interviewed in Montana. My mom surprised us by coming to join us at the last minute. We went to the zoo and out to eat....I even got to go to Costco! I have pictures, but of course they're on the camera that is dead with a missing charger. Sorry mom! I'll figure something out.
We got to go on a tour of Kalamazoo while Matt interviewed. The boys were really good and handled spending most of the day in the car like champs.

You may notice in some of the following posts (and there are several), that Jack has a tiny little cast on his arm. He broke his wrist last Tuesday falling off his potty step while washing his hands. He was the best little patient! He held still and said "cheese" for all his x-rays. He has to wear the cast for about 3 weeks. He's been telling me lately, "My bones are fixed, I can take my cast off." (Cell phone pic...best we've got.)