Santa?

Dave took the boys to his office kid's holiday party last weekend. Connor seemed to enjoy it a bit more than Evan!

More Bonnie

Found this picture on my sister's blog....Bonnie's first try at the Bumbo! It won't last long, so I'm glad she's using it early! Connor was out of it by 3 months when I had to peel it off his chunky thighs!

My favorite part of this picture (other than the cute baby) is the little dog in the background! It looks like she's sticking out her tongue! Guess we know what she thinks of the new baby in the house!

Busy!!!!

We got a new little schnauzer last week. Her name is Scarlett and she is 10 months old. She was very calm at first but is starting to show her puppyhood...obviously!

We actually got dressed up and went downtown to Dave's holiday party last weekend. They had a great 80's/90's cover band! It was a lot of fun!

The boys love to take Daddy-back rides!

We have been really busy lately! My SimplyFun business is skyrocketing! I'm busy most weekends these days since it's that time of year when people want to buy games for their families! I was the top seller in the nation for the month of Nov and I'm top right now for Dec too! Let's see if I can do it two months in a row! My biggest issue with it is that I need to find one more person to sign up to be a consultant and then I get a promotion...even though I'm the top seller...you have to get consultants to sign up to move up! So I'm working on that! They are giving points for each dollar earned so I'm working towards a trip to AZ in Jan and a trip to Disney World in Sept! But, again, I need people to sign up to earn those trips! Darn! Check out my website...http://sarahkostusiak.simplyfun.com/

Bonnie!

My sister had her baby last Friday night. Baby Bonnie Joy was born on 11-11-11 at 11:52pm weighing...wait for it...11 pounds! The only thing more amazing would have been if she'd been born at 11:11pm. She is soooo cute and so fat! I just can't wait to kiss those fat little cheeks! I've already been shopping numerous times and sent a large box of baby girl clothes. It's so much fun to shop for little girl clothes! And trust me, that box was only 1/3 of the cute clothes I wanted to buy!

Been Busy!

We've been trying to work with Connor on potty training...again! This pic is from the first day where he peed his pants as soon as we got to the park...although I had asked him 15 times if he had to go. So he chose to run around the park sans pants (he DID have underwear on though) instead of going home. Didn't bother either of us, but I think a few of the other kids were traumatized! But since then, he's been doing really well. He gets a sticker each time he goes and has earned lots of new toys. He's starting to be interested in knights and dragons...although animals are still top of the list for him...but he's been earning some new toys and hasn't had an accident in 3 days!


I decided to start my own business 2 weeks ago...hence the title of this post...Been Busy! It's a home based business through a new company called Simply Fun. They make games for children from 3-103! The games are really good quality, fun, easy to learn and most importantly...educational. The boys are really enjoying playing all the games...esp the one with 63 dog figurines! I hope that I can get this business off the ground and share these amazing games with people.

This past weekend I went to an adoption conference. We are not sure if adoption is the way to go for us right now, but it's definitely an option that needs to be investigated. We have plenty of love and room for another child and could really make the difference in the life of a child...and they could make a difference in our lives.

Evan is doing really well. He loves following his brother around doing whatever Connor is doing...and then stealing those toys and making Connor scream. We have days that are filled with screaming and days where they get along very well.

Dave is still enjoying his new job and got his car back last week after the wreck...it took 3 weeks!

The dogs are still massively lazy! Sophie has a bark collar these days which seems to really be working. My goal for November is to walk Bodie daily to hopefully get him to stop digging holes in our back yard...he seems to be looking for something out there. There are at least 10 holes! Unfortunately, Bodie's best dog friend in the neighborhood will be moving in a few weeks...we'll all be very sad to see them go!

ADK 2011

We had a great trip to the Adirondacks this year. We added a day on the front and end of our trip so it was very relaxing not to have to rush to get to the airport or feel like we were missing something. The weather was perfect...mostly 70s during the day. The first morning there though it was 27 and when we stepped out of our hotel room we saw the lake with steam coming off it. It was beautiful.

We decided to take Sam, Nathan and Marley's ashes to Bub Lake this first day and quietly spread their ashes.

Connor and Evan got to spend lots of time with their cousins this trip. They esp loved playing with Braeden and Landon.

We got to take some extra excursions this time since the weather was so nice. We took a scenic ride on the local train. It wasn't too exciting but it definitely gave the boys an experience they wouldn't have gotten otherwise. We also got to go out on the lake on a pontoon boat. We saw an eagle flying over us while we were out there. Connor LOVED that!

This was taken from the train. The leaves were beautiful and so was the weather. The boys played on the beach and even in the water.

Paul and Carol bought everyone reunion sweatshirts and we went and had our pictures taken by the lake (it was too hot for sweatshirts though). It was great to see everyone and take some time away!

2 Year Pics

This was the best picture out of 45 minutes worth of picture taking! Evan was not down with this whole process...not a big surprise! We took some with Connor too, but they didn't come out very well either. I think maybe we'll just make our own number block from now on and take them at home!

Evan is 2!!!

Evan turned 2 last Saturday. We invited a few friends to come play and have dinner with us at Chick-Fil-A. Everyone showed up and we had a good time. We had to wake Evan up from his nap to go to his party so he's still a bit dazed in this picture.

One of the favorite toys he got was a Mickey Mouse camper. Both boys absolutely loved it and insisted on immediately leaving the party after Evan opened it. He got a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and a Mickey toon plane. It looks like Mickey exploded all over our house!

Evan is big enough to take away the baby swing and put up the 2nd big boy swing. Everyone was happy it was only in the 90s and went outside to play! (So far this year we've 90 days over 100 degrees and 131 days over 90 degrees making it the hottest summer ever in Austin.)


Then on Tues. (at 2 yrs 3 days...ironically the same age Connor had his surgery) Evan was diagnosed with childhood intermittent exotropia which is a kind of strabismus or misalignment of the left eye. So for now he has to wear a patch on his good eye for an hour a day to try and help build up the muscles in the weaker eye. We will go back to the dr in two months to reevaluate and see if he needs to move further along the steps of treatment.

I thought getting him to wear the patch would be a nightmare. He's done pretty well though. The 1st day he screamed and clawed for the first 15 minutes, but then I let him eat M&Ms and he calmed down. The 2nd day he screamed while I tried to get it on, but then got the M&Ms and calmed down within 5 minutes and even eventually went on to play. Both days he's gone the full hour with it on, so maybe this can work.

He also went for his 2 yr check up this week. He was 28.4 lbs (50%) and 34 1/2" (50%) which made him a 1/2" and 4 ounces bigger than Connor was at this age...so basically the same! Aren't genetics interesting? His speech is very clear and understandable to many people. He loves to play with Mickey Mouse and little animals and LOVES his blankie!

Baby Nathan

Two weeks ago we went in for a routine visit with the specialist. I was 20 weeks and had no reason to expect anything troublesome. The ultrasound tech did her stuff first, as usual, and said she thought she saw some problems with the heart that the dr would talk to us about. Little did we know our world was about to be turned upside down. The dr came in and said that there were some things to talk about. First off, they saw a penis so we immediately knew that the CVS testing that we'd had at 12 weeks had been inaccurate. They saw an underdeveloped heart that also had a hole in it. They also thought that the hands appeared to be clenched. All of this information lead her to believe that the initial suspicion of Trisomy 18 had been correct and she recommended we do an amnio immediately. I was reluctant because we'd already had a major test tell us something completely wrong, so why should we trust them again. But if the baby only had a heart condition then we needed to deal with that asap so I agreed to the amnio on the spot. They called two days later to confirm that the baby was indeed a boy who had Trisomy 18...which is incompatible with life. We decided to name him Nathan.

The next Monday we went back to discuss what our options were. The dr recommended that we either proceed with the pregnancy or induce delivery now. We didn't feel that either of these were real options for our family. We finally agreed that we would terminate the pregnancy even though I was 21 weeks and there could be damage to my uterus. Because the state considers this an abortion, I had to sign some paperwork and wait the mandatory 24 hr waiting period. We called Dave's sister, Carol, to come help because she had offered to come and help us out during this ordeal.

Carol got in on Wed. around 11am and I had to be at the hospital at 3pm. When we got there we found out that the procedure was not scheduled until noon the next day so I would be spending the night. We are so grateful that Carol was able to come and help with the boys. They loved playing with her and are still talking about her a week later.

Nora and Dave stayed with me in the hospital. The nurses had some trouble getting a vein for an IV so there were some pretty painful points (Nora almost passed out just before the procedure because they we having such a hard time.) The dr came by around 5:30pm to discuss the procedure and put in the laminaria (seaweed sticks that caused dilation). After this procedure I started having a really hard time. I could not pee. It sounds funny now, but it was excruciating. Finally around 11pm I asked for someone to intervene so I could make it through the night. I only slept about 3 hrs (even with a ton of Benedryl) and continued to have problems through the night (almost throwing up at one point).

The next morning they got me ready for the procedure, gave me a spinal and some "forgetful" meds and unfortunately I had to do something I never thought I'd do in my life....terminate a baby's life. The procedure took a bit longer than predicted, but I came out of things ok. It took some time for the spinal to wear off and they wouldn't let me go home until I could pee...which had been an effort the whole stay. But around 6pm I finally got things going again and we headed home. The boys were glad to see us and we were very glad to see them.

I had some troubles with nausea that evening and the next day (Fri) but luckily Carol was staying until Sun so I had time to recover a bit. Physically it was a little more intense than last time but I did recover quickly. Emotionally I'm still not over the first time so another loss (so close together plus losing Marley) has been a bit overwhelming. Connor has really been asking a lot of questions about what's in my belly now and where did he go. He's also still having trouble with losing Marley...he didn't want to take Sophie to the vet this week since Marley never came home. It's an awful lot for an adult to understand let alone a 3 yr old. He's mad that no one is coming to live with us. I can't really blame him, I am too.

Galveston

We went to Galveston over Labor Day weekend. Of course a tropical storm threatened to go there too, but in the end just the winds and a little rain showed up. We took the boys to Moody Gardens aquarium. They really liked the penguins.

The water level of the penguin exhibit was right about Evan's eye line. The penguins were looking him straight in the eye. Connor was really only looking to see whales...which are a bit too big for an aquarium. His whole reason for going to the beach was to find a whale tooth. We ended up convincing him that a shark tooth was a whale tooth...hope he doesn't read this for a few years!

We also went to the Houston Zoo. It was really big and really nice. We were worn out long before we got to see everything. We loved the baby elephants. They were wrestling and running around. It was very cute!

Connor really wanted to see an eagle. This eagle, Liberty, was there and had a sad story of being shot at the age of two and having a broken wing. So after this exhibit, each animal we saw Connor would ask "Did this one get shot too?" Great! He was convinced the giraffes had been shot because 2 of them were laying down.

We got to spend about 20 min at the beach just before sundown. It was really windy and the blowing sand was painful. Connor had fun playing in the waves, but Evan was concerned that his shoes were getting sandy.

The rain was just rolling in and we got to see both ends of the rainbow while on the beach.

Connor had some trouble with his pants once they got wet.

Which way to the flamingos?

Big Boy Bed

We did a bit of moving things around in the house last weekend. Connor got the full sized bed from the guest bedroom and Evan got Connor's bunk beds. They are both very happy with the arrangement. Hopefully we can find a king sized bed that matches our set before we have any guest come to stay and then move our queen to the guest room.

Connor and Evan love the "big" bed in Connor's room. Evan is constantly in there standing on the bed saying "Let's bounce!" They also LOVE to lock Sophie in the room and chase her. You can tell this is happening by the giggles that come through the monitor. Then when you go up there and open the door, Sophie comes shooting out...serves her right for scavenging their rooms looking for food!

Evan calls his bed the "little" bed. He doesn't want to go back in the crib...which we left up just in case...so I guess we'll take it down. Until yesterday he didn't even get out of the bed until I got him out....or Connor came running in for him. He's getting his upper eye teeth and he's been a bit fussy with nap time and even waking in the middle of the night. Hopefully these come in quickly and we can all get back to our sleeping routine...since one of us usually has to lay on Evan's floor for him to go to sleep!

We seem to be the black hole for pets this week. First Marley, then we lost our pregnant platy (fish). Then yesterday I heard a loud sound that sounded like a bird hitting the window and when I looked I saw a dead bird in the yard. I put a plastic container over it, but that did not deter the big black lab! He did leave it when I told him to but only after he dragged it across the yard. So I had to pick it up myself! Then today we lost a neon (another fish) and the other platy has been laying on it's side for a few days! We've got some bad animal karma going on here!

It did actually rain twice this week. The first time Bodie ran around outside in the rain at 10pm like a crazy dog! The second time we all stood there and watched. It was only for about 5 min each time, but it was enough to make the crepe myrtles bloom!

Delaney Grace

Delaney "Laney" was not happy that we had such a long appointment today looking at all her parts to make sure they were in the right place...so she showed us what she thought about that!

She showed 2 weeks worth of growth in 2 weeks! YAY! She's still a little behind but over all she measured 16 weeks 5 days and I'm 17 weeks 2 days so that's well within the range..and the exact same number of days off that she was 2 weeks ago which tells us she's growing at the same rate. Her legs are still short (measuring 16 weeks) so we know she's not going to be on the basketball or volleyball teams, but who cares! Her head actually measured 2 days ahead...so she's getting the big head her brothers have already!

We are so relieved and can actually start to make plans. The dr also said that she saw no reason right now that we could not go on the family trip to the Adirondacks in October....but no traveling in the 3rd trimester. My blood pressure is back in the normal range! We are so thankful and can't wait to complete our family!

Marley's Gone

Poor Marley finally reached the point yesterday where we couldn't let her continue in pain. She had been having ups and downs for quite a while. She had a spot on her mouth that looked like food had gotten stuck in her fur. I'd been watching it for a while to see if it was food or her lip was having trouble. It finally reached the point where the smell got so bad that I took her to the groomer on Wed. She gave the groomer some trouble, but she was able to get most of it off.

When I picked her up, the groomer showed me the place. We noticed a tooth sticking straight out to the side, what looked like an infection and the smell was still there. I called the vet and got her in the next morning. The vet called to say she had an abscessed tooth and the infection had eaten through her bone and skin and was oozing out her face. He said we'd reached the point where we either treat it VERY aggressively or put her to sleep. We decided that there were no guarantees that she would survive the treatment, or be out of pain, so we decided to put her sleep.

It was really very hard to finally come to the decision that we've known has been coming for years. She was a good dog, but really had no quality of life in recent months. I think she really only continued to eat to make sure that Sophie didn't get her food. Sophie has been very upset and watching the door and moping around...although her sadness didn't stop her from stealing Connor's breakfast this morning!

We will miss you Marley! You were a good dog and a great friend over the years! Take care of Sam for us!

Funny Boys!

The boys each grabbed an iPhone and headed to their chairs to play games. Unfortunately for Evan, he got my old one which is pretty much a goner (no sound). I wish I knew where that iTouch disappeared to!

I don't remember what he was upset about because I was so amused by the upside down Mr. Potato Head glasses.

Over the last month I've noticed that Evan is having some trouble with one of his eyes. The left eye doesn't seem to always track with the other one...which can be a really big deal. The brain will shut off the wayward eye because it cannot deal with competing information. So we went to the pediatrician to find out where we should go to have this looked at. The first pediatric ophthalmologist (at Dell Children's Center) I called couldn't get him in until January! So I tried another one and we can get in at the end of September, which is better but still sucks. I want to have this looked at and taken care of as soon as possible so it doesn't cause any long term damage. But I guess I have to be patient!

Great News!

We had another scan today and it showed that our baby girl grew a week and half in just one week! Her head is right on target, but her abdomen is a little small and her femur is a little smaller (short from my side). But over all she is measuring 14 weeks 5 days and I'm 15 weeks 2 days so that's within the window of accuracy for ultrasounds and is a BIG relief! I decided not to go back next week because I just can't handle the emotional strain of it anymore. My blood pressure is creeping up (125/85) so I need some time to recover from the last 3 extremely stressful weeks. So it looks like the acupuncture and high protein diet are working. I may try to add some walks back in to help with the blood pressure (and weight gain +2 this week)!

Just keep saying Grow Baby Grow!

Cute Kids

I took this picture because I thought the toys Evan had chosen were a funny assortment...stethoscope, watering can and cat piano on 3 couch cushions.

Being silly...you can see Evan is still saying "cheese." Connor has been playing with desert animals this week and watching Magic School Bus "All Dried Up" over and over. He has a tortoise in one hand and a baby coyote in the other. He also renamed the goose a road runner(which is actually a swan so already renamed). Maybe it's the record heat that has him so interested in the desert these days!

These two can destroy a house quicker than a Tasmanian devil!

Evan has been asking "going?" as we drive places...he continues to ask repeatedly even though you tell him where we're going...it's getting a bit tiresome! He is also classifying things as "fun." Dave asked him a question yesterday and got a "fun Mommy" and I asked him a question today and got a "fun Daddy." They also got their haircut today (not pictured). Evan kept saying "fun haircut" but I think Connor would disagree!

Good News!!!

The dr's office called last night...7:45pm..they knew I was anxious. They said that the testing showed everything was normal...and it's a GIRL!!! We are not out of the woods yet, but this is definitely good news. Those initial testing numbers that caused all this stress are still there...I will ask about retesting though. They may mean that there is some kind of placental insufficiency or there will be a bigger problem in the 3rd trimester (pre-eclampsia, etc) so monitoring is still crucial. We have another ultrasound this Friday.

I am still taking all my meds and vitamins plus I've started a high protein diet to try and make sure I am getting enough to make up for any insufficiencies. Today will be my 3rd visit to the acupuncturist. We are also spending a lot of time inside and not doing much to make sure all calories go to the baby. Friday has GOT to bring good news.

Evan's phrase this week is "Who dat?" is he thinks someone is at the door. Pretty funny!

Back to the Dr

I had another visit to the dr this week. They still (really?) don't have the test results...it's been 2 weeks...but say they should be in next week sometime. We still do not see any physical issues with the baby from the ultrasound. The baby is continuing to measure a week behind, but looks healthy and happy so the dr is saying not to worry yet (yeah, right). I go back again next Fri for another check on things..I'll be 15 weeks next Wed.

I am still going to acupuncture once a week and have tried to increase the amount of protein in my diet to see if any of that can help the baby grow. I'm not really a protein junkie so it's a little hard, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Yesterday was Dave's last day at SMSC. They made sure to help him feel he'd done the right thing by making him write them a check for 1/3 of his initial signing bonus because he did not stay the entire 3 years...only 2 yrs 8 months. The ironic thing is that they will have to pay out his vacation time and it looks like that will be almost exactly the same as the 1/3 of the bonus. So I guess it evened out. Anyway, we celebrated by having Tino's Greek food for dinner...one of our favorite lunch meeting spots by his office, since it will not be as convenient anymore. Evan thought the "bacon" (lamb) was good....guess I don't need to bring anything for him to eat there any more. He is def a meat eater...while Connor could eat raw carrots all day. Oh well, between the two of them they'll eat an entire meal.

First Sentence

Evan has been talking, and repeating, a lot. This morning someone had turned over the dog bed and I asked "Who did that?" Evan replied, "Connor did it!" which I feel is extremely appropriate for a second child's first sentence! After a few more minutes he branched out to "I did it." and "Daddy did it." and even an "Evan did it." but Mommy never got in on the game. He pretty consistently uses 3 word utterances...and has even picked up on a nonsense word that Connor likes to use when referring to his blankie, "noot down" which means "knock down" because Connor's blankie is his mean alter ego and likes to do bad things. (I think the blankie took over the bad things when Froggie retired.)

Rough Week

It's been a pretty rough week.

Last Mon we had our 12 week scan and everything looked good, but on Wed the dr's office called to say that the blood work came back low giving us a 1 in less than 5 chance that the baby has Trisomy 13 or 18....which are both incompatible with life. So on Thursday we went in and they did a test called a CVS where they take a piece of placenta and send it in to count the chromosomes and see if there are the right amount. They called the next day to say that the sample wasn't big enough and that it would take 10-14 days to get the results...we're on day 8 and haven't heard anything. It's really cruel.

We have had a number of ultrasounds and we do not really see any signs that the baby has a severe defect. But if it does not, then the testing means that something is wrong with the placenta...again. The baby is already starting to measure behind. It is very difficult to maintain a positive attitude when all of the signs we are given are pointing down the same road we went down with Sam. It's truly heart-breaking.

I am taking, and have been since week 4, all the medication that they would recommend. I have exhausted Western medicine and can only continue to go in for weekly scans and hope that the baby is strong enough to overcome these extreme conditions. (The dr actually used the word "rare" yesterday when talking about how low my numbers are and successful outcomes.) So this week I started going to an acupuncturist who specializes in reproductive Chinese medicine. I know she helped bring my blood pressure down, but I just hope that she can help with the growth of the baby.

Connor has almost completely un-potty trained himself. He still, mostly, uses the potty for pooping but very rarely pees in the potty any more. This week he managed to get poop on the floor of the bathroom TWICE. He just kept saying to me, "There's poopies on the floor, but that's ok!" He may be the one kid that actually goes to college in a diaper!

Evan is using mostly 3 word sentences. He can say Connor and Evan, but really likes to categorize things as good/bad or nice/mean....luckily most things are good/nice but occasionally Connor gets a mean classification!

Ultrasound

We went for the Down's Syndrome screening today. The fluid on the neck was measuring 1-1.25 mm which is in the normal range. They will call with adjusted odds at the end of the week...as it stands, with my age alone, my odds of having a baby with Down's is 1 in 139.

We were not able to tell the gender of this one yet though. If you can see the bright line at the booty end of the baby...if it's horizontal then it's a girl, if it has a 30 degree angle then it's a boy. But because of positioning you really can't tell. I have another appt next Thurs (and then the one after that), so hopefully we'll be able to get more info then!

The only issue that she mentioned is that the baby's intestine's are still pushed up into the umbilical cord. This is a normal part of the development process but they should be going back in sometime soon. That will be something to watch in coming ultrasounds.

The boys are doing really well. Connor learns something new every day! We are working on our "school" and some days are easier than others but over the course of the day we usually get everything accomplished. He has unlearned something...he is refusing to use the potty now after 3 months. I have no idea what to do! I have tried bribes, rewards, punishments and pleading! He still is no longer consistent with peeing in the potty. I'm pretty sure he's just decided it's way easier to go in your pants. I've even taken off his pants...he doesn't care! He may be going to college in a diaper!

Evan is really talking a lot these days. He uses mostly 2 word phrases (usually noun and verb) so he's getting his point across....and if he doesn't he just pushes Connor until he gets it! I think his favorite word is still no though! Every time his brother asks for something he has, the answer is always a definite no! He knows most of his letters, numbers and colors. He loves to follow Connor around and do what he's doing (or take what he's playing with).

Trying New Things???

We went to Lake Pflugerville the other day to meet some friends. Both boys refused to even put on their swim suits before we left, so I didn't have high hopes for the day. But we just let Connor do his own thing and before we knew it, he was in the water!

He had fun running up and down the water line and chasing the ducks. We may have to try this place again. Evan refused to even go near the water though. This day helped me decide that it was time for swim lessons. We start tomorrow! Connor will be in a class on his own and Evan and I will be doing Mommy and Me swim. Hopefully it works out!

We also tried going to the movie theater to see CARS 2. That didn't work out so well. Evan got bored fast and Connor only lasted a bit longer. We ended up leaving an hour into it...which was probably really 30 min into it. On the way out, Connor said it was too scary. Then when we got home they both had some stomach issues. I think the excitement plus Hawaiin punch and popcorn was just too much for them both! It's been a year since we tried the movies...guess we'll wait another year!

Funny story...tonight I was trying to review some -ap words with Connor. I only gave him 7 letters to try and control what words he spelled. He grabbed the letters and spelled crap! Which obviously wasn't in my plan and not a word I had taught him before! Dave claims he didn't either!

Preschool

Connor, Mommy and Daddy finished our first erector set project together this evening. Connor did pretty well. Evan just wanted to hold the screw driver and got mad any time Connor needed it. We may need to go find another one.

Connor's first body picture.

So I've been going back and forth with what to do for Connor's schooling. Right now he is registered at a Montessori preschool down the street. My concern is that he will have to go through all of the activities even though he's beyond some of them and I'd rather that he use his time to learn new things. So this week we started doing some homeschooling just to see how receptive he would be to the idea of staying home and doing school with Mommy. Within 10 min the first morning he said, "Mommy, are you my teacher?" He seems to like the idea. We've been doing calendar time, some practice cutting and some playing with shape blocks. Both boys seem to be liking it and we're getting through a lot of stuff in an hour a day. They keep running upstairs to "play" with the shape blocks and do puzzles. Evan wants to spend the whole time gluing things together.

So we're pretty sure that we're going to keep him home this next year and I will teach them. I've already got the ideas I want to do pretty much picked out...building, puzzles, cooking, along with some of the basic stuff. He is reading basic books with easily decodable words and sight words...it's not fluent yet, but he's still working hard. He likes to spell still and is starting to write letters. He won't let me teach him the correct way to form the letters, but hopefully he will before he gets the wrong ways set.

So for now, I think the best thing is to save the money for preschool and "play" school at home!

21 Months!

Evan is a whopping 21 months old today! He is getting so big! In this picture he had to barricade himself away from the beagle just to eat a cracker for breakfast! That beagle is getting fatter and fatter from her thievery!

Evan says a lot of words. He surprises me everyday with a new one...yesterday it was hamster. His favorites are still heavy, push, kick, beat and no! He can identify red, blue and green consistently...and probably a few others but his brother beats him to it. His brother has taught him some letter names though. Evan knows 24 of 26 letter names. He will argue about M because he says it's a W. He loves to color, read books and make his brother scream! He said his first 2 word phrase last week "Let go!" while they were arguing over something. He takes no prisoners and will fight to the end for what he wants and if his brother has it, he'll just try to take it from him. You gotta be tough to be the little brother!

He has a great sense of humor and is tons of fun..if not a little pushy! I can't wait to watch him grow!

HI!!

So potty training has it's good days and bad days. Some days Connor is right on top of it and goes to the potty every time...other days, not so much. But when we're out in public, he's usually got to go so we visit many public restrooms these days. This is quite a challenge because we have a wild little brother that has to go with us. He likes to open the doors (that's usually only when I'm going). But his favorite activity in public restrooms is to look under the stalls and scream "HI!!" I must admit it's pretty funny, which is probably why he keeps doing it. Luckily he hasn't managed to "catch" anyone yet, but I'm sure that's not far away. We still have a ways to go on bathroom etiquette!

Baby Update...

We went to the Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist this morning. They always do ultrasounds so I was glad to have this appt after the one last week was so bad.

This ultrasound tech took time and listened to me...it also helped that the baby had moved and was on the other side of the yolk sac and not between the yolk sac and the wall. The baby measured right on target and the heartbeat was 151 which is good and high! No problems. So we scheduled the next appt/ultrsound for 4 weeks which is when they'll do the testing for Down's Syndrome and other genetic mutations. When I was pregnant with Sam, it was at the 12 week ultrasound where we convinced the tech to try to see if we could tell the gender...and we could! So maybe in 4 weeks we'll know with this on too...although, we all know it's a boy too!

We are very relieved and now I will start working on reducing the stress and my blood pressure level (which wasn't high (120/76 which is normal), but actually kind of high for me esp when I'm pregnant).

Baby?

We had another ultrasound today for the new baby. Last week at 6 weeks, the ultrasound didn't show a heartbeat...which was a hard blow, but probably just too early....so we went back today at 7 weeks. The scan showed a heart rate of 114. The ultrasound tech and the dr both had trouble getting an accurate reading on this one though because of the placement so close to the uterine wall. The dr said that it was measuring a week behind, but I refused to accept that since they both had trouble actually seeing where the baby was. I go to the specialist on Monday and they typically do ultrasounds, so maybe in 5 days it'll be a bit bigger and can show more.

I'm having all kinds symptoms and things seem to be progressing, so we're just going to stick with the positive and hope it all stays there!

Knock It Up

The boys were fighting yesterday in the car over what they wanted to watch...rough life I know! Anyway, I kept hearing Connor say "Knock it up Evan!" And since I was trying to stay out of it and listen to my own book...I just ignored them until it escalated. Finally I asked Connor what he was saying and the he was trying to get Evan to stop saying "Elmo" over and over. Knock it up meant knock it off! Then I went from annoyed to amused really quickly and decided this was definitely a blog worthy event!

The boys have been interacting a lot more...not all negatively. Connor is working on teaching Evan his letters. Connor is reading more and more each day. We really need to work on counting though..he keeps getting stuck in the teens. Evan has an opinion about a lot of stuff these days and there's lots of tears, screaming and pushing when he doesn't get his way!

Connor Reading

Connor has turned his interest in letters into sounding out words. So last week I started introducing 3 new words a day and he loves it! He's started reading some of those beginner BOB books! He's really doing well! Now we need to work on math and writing too!

Not sure if this video has the whole thing or not, but in the middle Evan decided he wanted to try some too. If you listen closely you can hear him saying "Baby" which means Evan and that he wants to do it too! Last week he started calling Connor "Boo-Boo" which is what I call Connor. It was too cute!

Final Cake

Last night was my final cake class...after 3 months this is what I can now do! Now I just need to work on my photography so I can make my creations look better! It was lots of fun!

Competition

We decided to go back to Kiddie Acres last week. Evan rode some rides, but not this one...right after I took the picture he wanted out. Connor rode on everything twice!

Evan being silly!

The boys have started this new "game" aka brotherly competition. They want to be the one to open the door from the garage into the house. So Connor screams to be let out of his seat first. Evan starts saying "dohr" about a block away from the house even though he's not really skilled/strong enough to open the door himself. But they fight over the door handle daily...and I'm sure this is just the first of many "games" we'll have over the years.