Preschool Halloween

Nicholas' preschool had a Halloween Parade & party yesterday. Like last Saturday, Nicholas removed much of his costume before the parade! It was cute to see all the kids & they posed for a class picture so parents could take some good shots! Nicholas' bff, Ryan, was The Hulk - so cute! A great, fun, sweets-filled day was had by all - we'll be eating only fruits and veggies for the rest of the week! Thank goodness Nicholas is okay with very limited amounts of candy - NO MORE SWEETS!!!

Halloween Fun... Part 1

Today we took the boys to Boo Springs & WCUMC's Trunk or Treat. Despite living close to downtown Blue Springs, we've never been to the Boo Springs event. After this morning, I'm not sure we'll go back. It's a great idea, but standing in long lines with two small children is just not fun! It was inconvenient to take a stroller inside the businesses, so Jason kept Matthew outside most of the time. We walked down one side of Main Street collecting goodies, but decided not to walk down the other side - the lines were too long! Nicholas really enjoyed the maze and didn't mind at all when we left after just a short time.

Yesterday evening, our church had its annual Trunk or Treat. This is our third year taking Nicholas so we knew it would be great. It's nice that we don't have to go door-to-door or be out in the cold. We know the families of the church that distribute candy, so it is a safe & fun environment. Everyone loved Matthew the giraffe. Nicholas had a tough time - abandoning many parts of his costume right away & refusing to talk to his friends while trick-or-treating. He ended up enjoying the event but was excited to come back home for dinner!

My Prince Charmings

Today was picture day at preschool. I'm sure the professional photographers take GREAT pictures of the kids, it just makes me nervous that I don't get to see the proof before buying! I took several pics of Nicholas this morning before school just so I had a cute pic of him! Nicholas is on lesson 10 of his learning to read book (there are 100 lessons). He's doing a great job & rarely gets frustrated (but often squirmy!).

Matthew was all smiles in his borrowed Prince Charming onesie (Thanks, Jack!). He is sleeping a little bit better... Matthew talks/coos more every day! He is such a happy guy!

Ouch!

Nicholas got his flu shot today! Matthew is too young for a shot, I didn't get mine yet, but Jason already got his from work. Yesterday I told Nicholas he was getting the shot today & explained the purpose. He was immediately upset, worrying about the pain. We talked it through and he decided it would be okay. Plus, Daddy got HIS flu shot! He willingly went into the Dr. office & even the exam room. He let me put him up on the table and didn't start to get nervous until he saw the needle. I held both his hands and we talked about going to tunnel voyage after the Dr. office. He screamed and carried on for about two minutes and then was absolutely fine! It was "no big deal", according to Nicholas! He picked out a sticker for his bravery (High School Musical - who knows why!) & off we went to play at Tunnel Voyage with Bryce & Jack.

Matthew is still struggling with sleeping/napping. Our favorite nurse at Dr. Mc's office (Nurse Kelly) suggested it might be teething or an ear infection (ruled out as he just visited the Dr. last Thursday and problems existed before then). I don't think he's teething - maybe pre-teething if that exists??? Anyway, he had a rough morning (20 minute nap) and rough afternoon (40 minute nap). He might be making up for it now as his current nap has lasted 1 1/2 hours!!! Poor guy WANTS to be happy, but he's so tired! He has been night-waking for the past 3 nights... always at 4am. Let's hope our little guy gets some sleep soon! You can see the sleepiness in the pics above... the adorable outfit was Nicholas', given to us by my friend Loralei - she has such great taste in clothes! His outfit received compliments all day & everyone LOVED the matching hat! I also put a picture of Nicholas in the same cute outfit... although he was two months younger than Matthew in this pic!

Far-Away Friends

Last week we got to spend some time with friends from St. Charles. On Wednesday, Jenny & J.D. (also 3 like Nicholas!) came over for a playdate! The boys took a little time warming up to each other, but had a good time playing together! It was so good to chat with Jenny while the boys were playing! On Thursday, we met Jenny, J.D., & Matt at Ted's Montana Grill for dinner. My chicken was yummy & we had a great time. Nicholas & J.D. both loved the Wikki Sticks (something like that) to play with instead of the usual crayons & coloring sheet! Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate on Friday. Jenny, J.D., Nicholas, Matthew, & I planned a trip to Deanna Rose - Pumpkin Hollow, but the rain made it less than optimal for a 4-month-old baby! We decided to spend the day at Paradise Park instead. The boys had a great time building, dressing up, playing in water, cooking, eating, face painting, and playing "store". It's always a fun time! Friday night we met up with the whole family & our friends Theresa & John. Dinner at Chipotle & then back to John & Theresa's.

4 months old!

It's hard to believe but Matthew is FOUR MONTHS OLD today! Unfortunately for him, he is not celebrating today! We went to see Dr. Mc for our 4-month well-baby visit. Matthew is a happy, healthy, growing baby boy! He weighs 15 pounds and is 25.5 inches long. Today we talked to Dr. Mc about his reflux issues. Matthew has surpassed his brother in this department and it is becoming unbearable. He spits up all day, every day. The spit up can be a variety of consistencies (I won't describe, you don't want to know!) and is often times painful for Matthew. Many of his symptoms have reach an unbearable stage. Today we are going to elevate his crib mattress (this didn't do much for Nicholas) & try a new medicine. Cross your fingers.

Sweetest Thing

Nicholas today told me, "Momma, you are my best girl in the whole world!". He got very concerned about me when I started crying... but I promised him they were happy tears!

Jason's hair comment

So last night Jason, Nicholas, & I were discussing Nicholas' hair - will we let it grow? cut it? what is our next step? Nicholas said, "My hair is growing!". Jason replied, "You can feel your hair grow. I feel it all the time - it tingles." WHAT?!?! Honestly he feels his hair grow?? Is that possible?

'Tis the Season Part 2

So I'm comforting my crying baby when I hear loud, annoying music erupting from the street. No, not noisy neighbors. It was the ICE CREAM TRUCK! Are you serious?!?! They've hardly been around all summer & they pick TODAY to drive around hunting for business? It didn't even reach 60 degrees in KC today! Do you think it's because gas prices are suddenly much cheaper? It's now worth it to drive around? Any thoughts?

'Tis the season!

So our lovely neighbors to the west really go "all out" with festive decorations. Whether it be Christmas (obvious), Halloween (still pretty common), or the less common Valentine's Day, Easter, & I'm SURE I'm missing something else - they always have TONS of seasonal decorations outside (& inside) their house. You may think this is great, you may hate it. All I know is that we have NO PROBLEM directing people to our house during a "seasonal" time. We affectionately refer to the husband as "Darth Vader" after reading an article about him & his special Star Wars room in his basement in the KC Star. Anyway, you NEED TO SEE their Halloween decorations. They have a graveyard, an arm sticking out of their front window, ghosts, goblins, signs, etc. all over the front, special "Halloween lights" decorating their house, and the scariest blow-up thing I've ever seen. It's a black horse pulling a black carriage-type thing. A headless horseman is driving the carriage. Inside the carriage (yes, there is a window) is a black casket with a corpse popping out of the casket periodically. Nicholas didn't like it one bit last year, and is very curious this year. What, exactly, do you tell your 3-year-old? It's pretty scary! Boo!

God???

So Nicholas has been on a kick lately (who am I kidding - it's been MONTHS) where he wants to know WHAT GOD MADE! He'll pick something, anything and ask if God made it. Our job is to take whatever it is, and tie it back to God. Sometimes it's obvious - "Did God make the trees?" YES! The game continues FOREVER, but we really don't mind. After all, according to Nicholas, "God lives in our hearts & in my soul, where I've got JOY!" Gotta love it! Anyway, last Saturday he asked "Did GOD make GOD?" What?!?! Where did he come up with that. We, of course replied "YES" and moved on! Of course, now I know my son is a deep philosophical thinker and welcome his ever-present questioning!

Let it Snow!

No, it's not actually snowing in KC. The weather happens to be GORGEOUS!! However, my little monkey is growing so fast that his "Let it Snow" outfit probably won't fit during the appropriate season! We took a picture of Matthew in his "snowy" outfit & Nicholas couldn't resist the photo-op! Then he wanted to take a pic of the 3 of us (Nicholas did take that, believe it or not!). Enjoy!
Matthew is a sleeping fool today, taking two FANTASTIC naps! Must have been the dirty diaper this morning? Who knows! We've had a fun day playing it pretty close to home... Nicholas has re-found his Diego Walkie-Talkies so we're having a blast with that! Off to make yummy dinner!

16 weeks!

Our little dude is 16 weeks old and he's already 14 pounds, 12.4 ounces!!! Big boy!

Go, Cubs! (and we don't mean GO HOME)

Nicholas & Jason were the great family photographers today - enjoy the pics! Regardless of the Cubs' chances for victory, we are a hopeful family tonight!

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

Today we went to Faulkner's Pumpkin Patch and had a great time! We got there right at 10am, opening time, so it wasn't busy at all! Perfect! Nicholas had a great time riding a pony, completing an obstacle course, picking a pumpkin, and other fun activities too! Matthew peacefully slept through the whole day! Nicholas picked a GIANT pumpkin. I'll try and get a picture of both boys & the pumpkin later this week!
Although Matthew's oatmeal feedings have been great, he's been in a bit of a funk the past two nights, sleeping minimally. We're wondering if the extra iron in the cereal is messing with his tummy... He also had a tough time napping this afternoon.

Feeding Take Two!

The Family Update

Jason: Jason is currently bummed about the Cubs loss. The bigger bummer is that we didn't get to watch much of the game as our receiver is broken! A co-worker of his had a baby three weeks ago and is on maternity leave until Christmastime. This is making his work load slightly heavier than normal. We are excited when we get to eat dinner with him.

Nicholas: He just LOVES preschool... and his friend Ryan! This week he's had plenty of both! His preschool teacher wrote a note saying such nice things about Nicholas. I know he can get a little rowdy, but it sounds like he's doing great in school. Yesterday he got to play with Ryan ALL DAY!!! I made a rookie mistake and let the boys nap in the same room. Not a good idea - especially with boys who barely need a nap anymore! They had a fun day playing together!

Matthew: He is still adorable as ever! I've officially had 5 people (6 if you count Nicholas) tell me in the past week that Matthew looks like me! Must be true! He's such a smiley little guy - yesterday Ryan & Nicholas were getting the BEST smiles out of my little man! He is currently fighting his nap... lucky for us he sleeps so well at night!

Bummer!

So we had a phone/internet outage in August that lasted 3 days. There was no bad weather or any reason behind the outage, so I called At&t to receive a partial refund. The credit was worth $4.65 (not a big deal, but still money). We've received two bills with no credit to be found. So today I called again (third time) and they "Promise" it will be on the next bill!!! I sure hope so, for their sake!
My other utility beef today is with Direct TV. We've only had their service since July and have had no issues. However, one of the tuners on our receiver stopped working yesterday. Jason was on the phone FOREVER with tech support and apparently they must send someone out to fix it... NEXT THURSDAY! So I didn't realize that with Direct TV you actually OWN the receiver... and must PAY for the service calls ($79.95). Fortunately we are still under our 90 day warranty (until Saturday). I can't believe they charge so much - I hope this is our only issue!!!!!!