New Babies!!!!

Congrats to our friends who have new babies! Michael was born on Thursday, November 20th (pictured here) and Mackenzie Patricia was born November 27th!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the Savage house! My parents were in town for several days, and Jason's parents & brother came over on Thanksgiving. It was interesting preparing a turkey essentially on our own - not nearly as complicated as I'd been led to believe! Jason did as much work as I did as he helped with the turkey, peeled potatoes, made the green bean casserole, and monitored all the food while cooking! My amazing hubby also made a coffee cake BY HIMSELF the day before! He did an awesome job, especially since (in his words) "he's never watched me do it". Nicholas loved his "feast", but was pretty picky with his choices. He tried a black olive (yuck), ate some turkey (okay), ate a clementine (he loves these), ate carrots (yummy), and chowed down on many rolls. Did anyone keep track? I think he had 4 or 5 rolls that day, many of them "double rolls". He also ate pumpkin pie (immediately after he finished his pie he wanted another roll). I'm including a picture of Nicholas' THANKS turkey that he made with assistance from Grandma & Mom. It's pretty cute!

Backing up... on Tuesday we took Nicholas to the Opthamology clinic at Children's Mercy. I felt a little guilty as they mentioned to us it had been two years since his last appointment. :( The exam was relatively painless - he hates the dilation drops, but did just fine. The doctor concluded that his current prescription was way off. I won't mention everything said at the office, but suffice to say we are glad for the new information. His power is a little less strong, but his new prescription accounts for his strong astigmatism. We ordered a new pair of glasses that should arrive in the next two weeks.

Nicholas is officially halfway through his "learning to read" book & is doing awesome! We are so proud of him - he works so hard & is pretty excited about being a reader! Matthew may be teething. I think his gums are swollen but can't yet see white gums or teeth poking through or anything like that. Poor guy - teething stinks! On the happy side, he is definitely sitting up all by himself! He prefers that position to any other & still hates laying on his tummy!

Hooter Hider

My friend Meredith has been kind enough to loan me her Hooter Hider for the past 4 months. It has been invaluable to me when nursing in public!!!! My friend Andrea decided she could make a Hooter Hider herself & did a fantastic job! Here is a picture of the finished product! I bought one for my friend Kelli, who is about to have a baby girl & one for myself! The best part? She's charging only $20!!! If you know anyone who is having a baby & might be interested, here's Andrea's e-mail address (apickens317@hotmail.com). A Hooter Hider would make a FANTASTIC baby shower gift too!

Let's Say Thanks

Check out this site:
www.LetsSayThanks.com

Pick out a card & Xerox will print it and send it to a soldier serving in Iraq! It only takes a second...

Love my boys!

Here are a few adorable pics of my boys playing OUTSIDE on Wednesday! I LOVE the short bursts of mild weather in the middle of November! Matthew loved watching his brother be goofy! Nicholas rode his bike up & down the street before playing a game of soccer with his baseball bases & a broom. Jason prefers to think it was hockey, but I know it was a crazy, made-up game that Nicholas created! We had such a great time - too bad it's already cold again!

Nicholas the smarty pants!

This morning Nicholas was trying to make words with his letter tiles (from a game). He said to me as I was feeding Matthew his cereal, "Mom, does Zipr spell zipper? Or is there an 'e' in there?" SMART! Then, he spelled zebra - but spelled it zebru (he did not like the 'a' at the end of zebra!!!) What a little sponge - soaking in all new information these days!!!!

5 months old!

I love my 5 month old! Here's why:
1. PERSONALITY!!! He is just oozing with personality! You can tell he'll be an easy-going guy, easy to please.
2. Smiles/Laughter - this goes with #1. He's just so quick to give you a smile - he'll lean forward to look at you & give you the cutest gummy grin! He giggles often - Jason & I both can really get him going! He gets incredibly giggly when he's sleepy - that's just the best.
3. FOOD! Like his brother, he LOVES TO EAT! He has enjoyed every pureed creation I've put in front of him! He still does his crazy thumb-sucking thing while eating, but we're working on that!
4. Grabbing/rubbing you - today he had the BEST TIME pulling on my hair! He was all smiles as he yanked it in every direction. We've also noticed him patting us or rubbing us (he rubbed Jason's hand during breakfast this morning - he just loves to touch!)
5. HE SITS UP! Yes, he's advanced! We wrote down that Nicholas could sit for 5 SECONDS at 5 1/2 months old! Matthew was doing that at 4 months old, and can now sit alone for several minutes at a time, until he gets bored!
6. Have you SEEN MY KID EAT A TOY??? It's so funny - every toy becomes a chew toy: burp cloths, bibs, high chair toys, his bear thing he loves. It's adorable.
7. He's a great night-sleeper. We're working on the napping, but he loves to sleep at night!
I could go on and on... but this list might never end! My boys are so precious to me, and today I celebrate Matthew turning 5 months old!

Not what I had planned!

My big plan for yesterday was to clean my entire kitchen, top to bottom. Obviously someone else had other ideas! I awoke to the sounds of Nicholas crying quite loudly, so I assumed Jason had asked him to do something & he said no. I was wrong. Nicholas woke up extremely ill, vomiting all over the place. He felt terrible, but kept trying to convince me he was fine to go to preschool (he just LOVES school!). After multiple sessions in the bathroom, hugging the toliet, I told him NO PRESCHOOL. My energetic, active kiddo spent the entire morning laying in his bed. Not playing with toys, Dopey, or books, but just laying there. I felt so bad for him... I turned on music & kept changing out the CD every 40 minutes or so. He napped a little, threw up a little more, and insisted he was hungry. I finally let him have applesauce & crackers at 1:45pm, when he had been vomit-free for 2 hours. He perked up after that and by 4pm was his usual self! Not sure what went wrong... probably just a passing virus.
I finally did get some things done in the kitchen late yesterday afternoon. It's hard to have a clean house when I am mommy to two kiddos. Dirty house = happy kiddos, right? I should clarify, my house is not dirty, but it's not as clean as I would like. And how about laundry? I did three loads yesterday and will do two more today. Yes, some of that is due to yesterday's circumstances, but not all of it!
Last night, Nicholas felt ALL BETTER - ate a great dinner & completed a reading lesson with Jason. He is reading more & more words "the fast way" and we are so proud! It's hard to believe how quickly he is picking up on this! Watching him sponge up the sounds & concepts is amazing - this is the best part about being a mommy/teacher!
Little Matthew is nearly 5 months old. He is so happy & playful - this is such a fun age! Jason & I can't believe how well he is sitting up! Last night I gave him a bath & sat him up to clean his back. He sat in his little bathtub all by himself for the longest time! Obviously I was right there if he needed me, but it was incredible! It's so funny how baby's milestones leave us awed! Of course he will learn to sit up, but it's so fun to watch him learn!

New Kids on the Block Concert

What a great concert! I know at least Becky & Kara (probably Meredith too) were jealous that we got to see the New Kids! Julie & I started our evening out with dinner (and many phone calls from the husbands home on baby duty). The Olive Garden was delicious & our wait wasn't too long at all - I was shocked! It was great to have adult conversation over dinner and not worry about feeding mouths or rushing to eat our food! Plus, you can't beat the company!

We arrived at the Sprint Center about 45 minutes before the concert and rode the scary, scary escalator up to the way-up-high seats only to find out we needed to go back down - they were closing the "upper deck" as the concert didn't sell out. Essentially everyone moved to the lower level so it looked full (curtains blocked the upper area). We loved our $1 Quik-Trip slushies! The opening opening act was Lady Gaga. It was the craziest girl I have ever seen - we didn't exactly enjoy the performance, nor are we running out to buy her CD. The second opening act was Natasha Bedingfield. I loved her music and thoroughly enjoyed her set. Before her last song, she announced that she would be signing autographs at section 120 - we decided we HAD to go! Julie & I both bought CDs & waited in line for our autograph. She was very nice - saying hi to each and every person in the line. We are now proud owners of her new CD, autographed!

The crowd basically went wild during the entire New Kids concert. Even though the place was not even CLOSE to being sold out, it was louder than any other concert I've seen at Sprint Center (really not saying much - I saw Garth Brooks & Elton John).
Here is the setlist: 1. Single 2. My Favorite Girl 3. You Got It (The Right Stuff) 4. Medley:Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)Valentine Girl 5. Please Don't Go Girl 6. Grown Man 7. Games 8. If You Go Away 9. 2 In The Morning 10. Dirty Dancing 11. Tonight 12. Twisted 13. Baby I Believe In You 14. Give It To You (Jordan Solo) 15. Stay The Same (Joey Solo) 16. Cover Girl 17. I'll Be Loving You (Forever) 18. Click Click Click 19. Summertime 20. Encore:Step By Step (contains excerpts from Push It) Hangin' Tough (contains excerpts from We Will Rock You)
The middle of the concert (especially the solo stuff) seemed to drag. Their new music isn't the greatest (although I secretly love Summertime, Single, and Grown Man) - it mostly sounds cookie-cutter. There were many crotch moves - apparently all the girls love those moves. It was odd to me. It was a great concert - I'm so glad we went! Julie & I always have fun together and this concert was no exception! We were both "Jordan" girls growing up... she now has a preference for Jon (quiet, just does what he's supposed to without lots of hoopla) and my loyalties may sway to Joey (he is an amazing singer - hopefully he continues to pursue that career). During the concert, Jordan seemed a bit full of himself... that's just me, though! There was one song (baby I believe in you???) where he was up high on this stage with his white shirt open, revealing his chest & a wind machine on him. I think Julie & I both thought, "Oh please!" to that one! Nevertheless, if they come through these parts again, I will be standing in line to see the all grown up New Kids!

Making some baby food!

So I finally got my act together and started making baby food. I am a little bit of a perfectionist at times, so starting something new is pretty hard for me. Sunday I made Matthew sweet potatoes (who knew two potatoes could yield so many ice cubes of food???). That was okay, except I burnt the pan when the water dried up. Stinky! Luckily the potatoes were spared! Yesterday I was feeling ambitious and made both applesauce & pears (or pearsauce according to Nicholas). Nicholas helped & Matthew mostly screamed. Not sure what his deal was yesterday afternoon, but he was unhappy! Both purees turned out great and I can't wait until he can try them! I'm still introducing new foods slowly, so he's had peas, squash, and sweet potatoes so far! He seems indifferent to pretty much everything - he loves to eat but doesn't seem to notice/care about the different tastes! I'm wondering if I have another super-hungry boy on my hands. He cries when the food is all gone, leaving me to wonder if he wants more! Guess we'll have to try it and see! Last night, Matthew slept from 7:30pm until 7:20am! Can you believe it???? He's been a great through-the-night sleeper for a while now, but I think this morning I finally realized it!
Nicholas is doing wonderfully as always. He had a great time with our playgroup at Chuck E. Cheese yesterday! Strangely his favorite part was having Chuck E. "draw" our picture. He put one picture on Jason's bedside table and one on mine - so we can see our Nicholas! He is doing AWESOME with his reading lessons - the program is incredible and seems to be a great fit for him! The 20-minute lessons are about all he can handle! We're ready for lesson 31 (out of 100) so he's getting closer every day!
Jason is SO EXCITED that his favorite author, Jeffrey Deaver, will be on the Sprint campus tthis week signing autographs! He is going to buy the newest book & meet Jeffrey Deaver!
Nicholas & I are both nearly out of our sickness. It stayed at our house FOREVER & we're ready to be done!
Less than 9 hours until the BEST CONCERT EVER - that's right - I'm going to see the New Kids on the Block in concert tonight! I know, everyone is SO JEALOUS! I think it will be awesome to hear the old songs (Popsicle?) coming out of the mouths of old men! Anyway, I'll end this post as if I'm 10 again: I LOVE JORDAN!!!!!

First Peas

Today Matthew tried peas for the first time! He is increasingly frustrated after each cereal feeding - he's still hungry! So we decided to start baby food today. My original plan was to make all (most) of his baby food. However, many books I read cautioned against making certain foods before baby is ___ months old (peas - 7 months, carrots - 8 months). So I bought a little and am making what I can (pears, apples, avocadoes, bananas) and using some store-bought as well.
He LOVED peas - strange to say but he did! He ate it up quickly and cried for more! What an exciting time!!!!

Unnecessary

Tonight in the car I was singing Meatloaf's "2 out of 3 ain't bad" - LOUDLY. Jason joined in the singing (not sure why - he really hates Meatloaf). Nicholas said from the backseat, "That's unnecessary noise!" Haha! The really amusing part is that I have nearly no voice and I sounded horrible singing - but I still wasn't the bad one!! We cracked up the entire rest of the way home!

Difference of Opinion

So usually Jason & I agree on various parenting issues. Occasionally we have to stop & discuss when an issue comes up, but usually we agree. This weekend, I had a revelation. Why on EARTH did I take Nicholas to see an optometrist when Dr. Mc screened him & said we needed to get his eyes checked? It's not that optometrists aren't capable of diagnosing issues, but I WORKED for opthamologists for several years and KNOW the quality of care they are able to provide. Nicholas has been to the Opthamology Clinic at Children's Mercy numerous times (3? 4?) and I'm sure he is due for a check-up. Unfortunately that is the one CMH clinic that I just don't keep up with - why not I'm not sure. Can I blame it on the pregnancy/new baby? I should have immediately scheduled an appointment through CMH since they have records of his history and, I'm guessing, better equipment to examine him. Here's where the disagreement occurred: Jason didn't think I was insane when I told him we MUST call CMH Monday morning to schedule an appointment. However, Jason thinks that Nicholas doesn't need his glasses. The boys read together every night, and Nicholas reads fine without the glasses. I, however, have no clue. I don't know what the kiddo needs, but I want to make sure he gets whatever that is. I called this morning, assuming it would be months before we were able to get an appointment. Crazy thing: they have an opening for November 25th! I am thrilled. I can't wait to take him there! Now how will I explain the glasses??? We really did love our optometrist. If CMH comes to the same conclusion, I'll be thrilled. However, if they say something different, I'll be glad we had another opinion. We know that Nicholas does not have Retinopathy of prematurity. Our optometrist believes Nicholas' time on oxygen led to his farsightedness... our next appointment will hopefully give us more answers.
Another note: Nicholas & I are both battling yucky colds... as of now I am afraid Matthew is joining the germ-fest. He is sneezing & coughing a bit. Pray for health to return to my family soon!!!