Merriest Christmas of All!

Who had the Merriest Christmas at my house? It was MATTHEW! He got to ride in his "new" carseat for the first time today! Nicholas asked Santa for a new carseat for his brother - and I guess his wish came true! Matthew deserves a good Christmas as his mother may or may not know when he was born - out of the three personalized calendars I made, only ONE had his correct birthday! Oooops! I was one day off, writing his b-day as my anniversary & little friend J.D.'s birthday instead (is it not so bad since there are ACTUAL events that occur the day before???). Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Make a Smilebox greeting

ENT, take two

On Monday I received a phone call from the ENT clinic, asking if we'd mind coming at 2:50pm Monday rather than wait for Tuesday. Hard to believe - they rescheduled Nicholas' appointment without telling us, then wanted to reschedule again?!?! Actually it was for a good reason this time - the weather prediction for Tuesday afternoon was not good, so Monday afternoon sounded just fine to us! I loaded the kiddos in the car - no nap for Nicholas, praying Matthew would nap the entire trip + appointment! The waiting room was a ZOO - I was sure we'd be there forever. We were not. The entire time at CMH lasted 40 minutes!!! Dr. Wei was, as always, an excellent Dr. - she proclaimed Nicholas' tubes perfect, his health likewise! For an added bonus, she checked Matthew's ears (as he had fluid a week ago at his 6 mo. check-up). She said "your pediatrician is awesome - yes, there's fluid, but no need for antibiotics at this point. keep watch for a fever or crankiness". Like I said - so great for her to check HIS ears too!

6 months old!

Matthew is officially 6 months old! His doctor's visit went pretty well... we're going to take him off Prevacid & see if there is a change or not. He's still spitting up fountains many times a day (ruining outfits & bibs!). He is in the 50%ile for both height & weight (26 1/2 inches long, 17 pounds, 14.5 ounces). His head is huge, but so it goes in my family! Dr. Mc did note that Matthew has a yucky cold with possible ear infection starting. We'll keep an eye on him & take him back if he acts funny or starts up with a fever. He's also teething, but who knows when that first tooth might appear!

Enjoy the pics - one of Nicholas playing outside on our "snow day", two of Matthew eating (his favorite pasttime - loving peas as you can see!), and one of the adorable Savage brothers.

Baby, it's cold outside!

So my original plan for today was to stop by Costco & pick up pictures on our way to Nicholas' ENT appointment at Children's Mercy. I had a strange premonition that something was up regarding his appointment as we had not received the obligitory reminder call. When I called this morning, I found out his appointment was rescheduled! No one even told us! So glad I called in this morning rather than find out the hard way! It's too cold to have my little ones outside if we don't have to! So we stayed in!
Nicholas continues to impress me everyday & is quickly becoming a big boy. Last week he made his bed all by himself (I couldn't believe it!). Today, he separated clean laundry: Jason's, Mine, Matthew's, Nicholas' AND he put away his laundry & Matthew's in the CORRECT PLACES - I didn't even ASK him to do that! Isn't he amazing?! A funny story - last night Jason asked Nicholas to do a push-up. He obliged and fell to the ground to show his skills. I said, "Do a sit-up!". Nicholas sat up ("criss-cross apple-sauce") and grinned! Maybe you had to be there?!?! Another funny from today: after an episode of Word World, Nicholas was upset. The show told him that the meaning of Christmas is GIVING (instead of receiving). He was so upset because he knows the true meaning of Christmas is Jesus! This led to a discussion much beyond his years about how Jesus is the ultimate gift - not sure he understood any of this!
Mr. Matthew continues to grow each day. Today we tried peaches for the 1st time, but, like many other Gerber foods, he was uninterested. He seems to prefer moms homemade baby food over any packaged junk! Guess it's a compliment to me? He is 6 months old tomorrow, although I have a hard time believing that! We head to the doctor later this week, so I'll post more soon!

Sleepless in KC

So Jason was out of town Sunday through Wednesday this week, leaving me alone with the boys. This is generally not a big deal as he works during the day anyway! On Sunday Matthew & Nicholas boycotted napping, but the day ended pretty well. Monday night was horrendous as Matthew was up most of the night. He is either getting his first cold, or his first tooth. It's unclear at this point! I felt so bad for him - unable to sleep with a stuffy nose! Tuesday night was better... Matthew slept pretty well (thanks to the humidifier??). Unfortunately, I was up nearly every hour, worrying about him! Isn't that the way it is? Poor little guy has the yuckiest runny nose!
I think we all missed Jason & were glad when he returned on Wednesday!

Christmas in the Park

Last night we took the kids to see the Christmas in the Park at Longview Park. We've been twice before, but it always looks amazing! This year was the first Nicholas really got into it - we asked him how he liked it pretty early on and he said "good". A few minutes later he was exclaiming "WOW" over & over in the backseat of the car! He LOVED the lights and was super-impressed. Matthew - not so much. He was sleeping as we were enjoying the lights.
Both yesterday & today Matthew took FANTASTIC naps - almost all were 2 hours long! We are THRILLED to have a good napping baby at our house! Matthew has been so much happier with the extra sleep! Let's hope it continues!

Boys, Boys, Boys

Here are some updated pics of the boys. I almost wrote that they are both getting so big, but that's not exactly true! Nicholas has actually lost a pound since his 3rd birthday! Guess he's getting older & smarter ever day! Matthew is definitely getting bigger - our estimates (is a home scale accurate?) is that he weighs 17 1/2 pounds. We can't believe our little monkey is almost 6 months old! He SITS! I mean, he's been sitting for a while, but he's just a little better every day! Enjoy the pics - Matthew & Nicholas in matching outfits (picked by Nicholas), Nicholas giving Daddy some love, and the boys taking a bath together for the 1st time!

Coupon extravaganza!

So I was reading a KC Parents magazine that had information about the grocery game. I've never heard of it before, but parents were saying it saved them tons of money on groceries - cut their bill in half! I was intrigued. The economy stinks & money certainly doesn't grow on trees! I'm always looking for ways to save money at the grocery store! I am a faithful coupon cutter, but I could always be a little better! I was hoping this was the answer. I (again) read reviews of people who LOVED the program and others who say it's actually a waste of money & caused them to buy only processed foods instead of a healthy balance. The "game" basically searches a local grocery store for deals in conjunction with your coupons in the Sunday paper - they tell you what to buy, when. Apparently sales are cyclical - every 6 weeks or so it repeats. For me, I can't see PAYING money for something when I'm trying to SAVE money! I did find the Coupon Mom - a free website with links to coupons and other fun money saving tips. I also got my Betty Crocker newsletter today with a link to coupons - always a good deal. My biggest money waster of the month is the AVOCADO. Jason & I have purchased approximately 5 avocadoes in the past month at $1.49 each. Unfortunately, only TWO have been edible. Bummer. What a waste! We are terrible at picking them out!
Anyone else have coupon/money saving advice for the grocery store?