It is Now Officially Christmas Season!

My boys visit with "Ho-Ho"

A Sweet Gift

A friend and colleague of mine, Angela Bearden, took some pics of the boys while our children played at Grist Mill last week. She did a phenomenal job on the photos! She was able to capture the essence of sweet baby Jace in photo and all of the pictures of Bear are very natural and candid. Love them! She is planning to open a business next year; I've no doubt she will do great. I wanted to share a few of my favorites...

Halloween 2009

Old MacDonald had a cow! E-I-E-I-O!

We went to the trunk or treat at our church and they had all sorts of activities: trunk or treat, a hay ride, a petting zoo (above, Bear's absolute favorite), fishing for prizes, blow up jumping things, a costume fashion show, and free food (hot dogs, popcorn, and cotton candy--it was the first time Bear had cotton candy and it was a hit. "more!").

Barrett and Phyllis the cow. He would have stayed with her all day!

A prize! (and probably what his teeth will look like after all this candy)

the stash

Got milk?

Round Trip

Just a quick bit of developmental news. Jace can now roll over both directions. Yea!!! That's all :)

4 month stats

Jace went to the doctor for his 4 month check-up on Thursday. He weighed in at 15#9.2oz. (50-75%) and was 25" long (50%). The doctor was pleased with his development and commented on how happy and strong he was. He rolls over from front to back, but hasn't conquered back to front yet. He is so close and he gets so frustrated, but hasn't quite figured it out yet. He also has learned how to scoot pretty good and can go clear across the bed and maneuver himself to toys he wants when he is playing. He had been sleeping through the night after 2 months (8-12 hours), but about 2 weeks ago he decided he would like to wake up every 2-4 and 1/2 hours again. Rough on momma! Thursday night after his shots he slept through the night and last night he went 7 hours so maybe we are getting back to sleeping again. I was feeling so fortunate before!

LOL

Jace is quite ticklish on his collarbone--makes him laugh out loud!

Tennessee Trek

We went up to Tennessee this weekend for several occasions...

1)My 10 yr. high school homecoming--I enjoyed seeing old friends, faculty, and parents and catching up on each other's lives. Barrett had never been to a football game before and he loved it. Go lions! Every time we see a football game on tv now he says "That's where my went." He mixes my and I up at times :)

I must admit I got a bit self-conscious before heading to my reunion/game as I look quite different from my high school days, but I have been so blessed.

Jace's face reminds me..."na na na boo boo. look who loves you!"

(He recently discovered his tongue)

2)A visit with the beloved "Granmudder", Ghee, and Granddaddy--Always a treat! We love you and can't wait to see you again!

Snapping beans with "Granmudder." Monkey see, monkey do.

Barrett helped cut the peonies and put them in the cart, but I think enjoyed riding in it the best.

Jace thought Grandmother was a comedian.

Who is holding who? Jace has a grip on his Grandaddy.

3)Adam, Bear, Grandaddy and I also visited Gentry's Farm. Such a great place! Planning on making this a tradition.

Barrett sitting in the truck bed looking at the pumpkins. He picked his own pumpkin at the end of our trip, but I failed to capture this on camera. We'll take a pic when we carve it!

Barrett leading the way through the corn maze.

This was Bear's favorite activity--scooping the wheat and dumping it into the windmill.

They had a hay maze in a barn for the kids. Bear crawling through the tunnel in the maze.

Riding the tractor.

Barrett amazed by how tall the bamboo was on the nature walk.

They also had a hayride, cabins, tee pees, animals, and other activities. Very neat!

Journey to Jackson

Pop teaching Bear to bear crawl.

Pop and Jace. "Hooray."

Nana found the tickle spot.

The boys and I went to Jackson to visit my parents last week. A very spur of the moment trip. We had a good time catching up, shopping, playing, etc... Thanks for letting us come :)

Roly Poly

Jace has added some new skills to his repertoire lately:

Most excitingly, he rolled over from front to back today! He was arching is back and I looked at Adam and said, "It won't be long. I bet he rolls over in the next week." Jace then promptly rolled over. I got really excited which made Jace smile. And then Barrett followed suit, getting really excited and jumping around saying,"Yea, Jace! He did it. He rolled over. Yea, Jace!" Too cute. One of those priceless moments where you need a hidden camera to truly catch the candid display.

Jace has also really begun noticing his hands. He puts them together and plays with his fingers and just looks at them with his eyebrows showing so much expression and thought. He also eats them. Very cute.

He has also started to playing with toys, swatting at dangling items, reaching for items out of reach, putting them in his mouth, and the cutest thing is when he coos at them. He has even figured out how to make one of his noise-maker toys work.

It is so fun to watch him learn and grow.

Monkey Brains, Bass, and Dog Tails

Barrett can be a finicky eater as are most 2 yr. old children, but Adam has an uncanny way of getting him to eat. On the menu tonight was baked tilapia, rice with veggies, and croissants. He ate almost all of his fish on his own accord, but had not touched the rice or bread. Barrett has never been much of a bread or rice eater, but I asked Adam to try and get him to eat some of it. Adam asked him if he wanted some "monkey brains" and Barrett thought that was funny, and apparently appetizing too, since he ate all of it. Then Adam got him to eat the rest of his fish by telling him it was bass. He then ate half his croissant when it became a "dog tail." I think little girls would be absolutely repulsed by monkey brains, bass, and dog tails for dinner, but my little boy thought it was great. Whatever works!

Barrett's 2 and 1/2 yr. check-up

Well, we went to the doc today for Bear's 2 and 1/2 yr. check-up. He did great. We had to get an unexpected shot today--there was a Hib shortage when his last one was due, so we got it today. I asked him if he remembered when he came to the doctor with Jace and he got his shots and it made him cry for a little while because it hurt. He said he remembered. I explained that you have to get shots to keep you from getting sick later and that it hurts, but only for a minute and then it goes away. He never changed his countenance and just said, "okay." The nurse came in and I told him that this is what we talked about. He said okay again and sat very still, let her give him the shot, and never cried. He just looked at me and said, "That hurt, Mommy. It hurts." He was so brave and shocked the tar out of me (and the nurse). I was so very proud of my big boy!

His official stats:
Weight: 27 pounds 8 ounces (a whole 6 oz. up from 2 yrs)
Height: 37 and 1/4 inches (up an inch and 3/4 from 2 yrs and the exact same height his daddy was at the same age.)
Not sure of the percentiles, but his graph looked fine. I think he is a featherweight, but 50th or better on height.

Barrett's 2 and 1/2 & Jace is 3 months!!!!

Barrett turned 2 and a half yesterday. Hard to believe. His little life is flying by. He is getting so grown--bittersweet. No huge milestones to report as we have had no further successes on the potty, so I will share a few funny Barrett-isms with you.

1) Aunt Andrea ("Yeh Yeh") and I hung out with the boys while Heath and Adam went hunting on Labor Day. Both boys were in the stroller and we strolled past a couple sitting on a park bench. Barrett had just said something neither of us understood and I asked him what he had said for clarification and he looks straight at the couple and says very loudly and clearly, "I got a booger in my nose!" So classic! We couldn't help but laugh and neither could the couple.

2) Probably too much information, but here you go anyway...Barrett deals with constipation from time to time and had been telling me his tummy hurt yesterday after having gone a few days without a #2. I was informing Adam of this when Barrett passes gas very loudly. Adam very calmly says,"Well, he just ripped one. So, maybe he'll go." Barrett then excitedly looks at me while I am giving Adam the look for using that expression and says just as excitedly,"I just ripped one!" Again, we couldn't help but laugh, all the while making a mental note to be more careful of the expressions we use!

We go for his 2 and 1/2 yr. check-up next week and I will post his stats then.

Jace will be 3 months old tomorrow! Wow! Again, life gets faster by the day and his first year is flying by. He doesn't go to the doctor again until 4 months so I don't have any exact stats, but he is somewhere between 13 and 14 lbs at present and appears to be getting longer as well seeing as he is popping the buttons on his sleepers. He is still sleeping through the night and his head and neck are getting stronger. His movements are becoming more purposeful and he is not as easily overstimulated anymore. He is beginning to enjoy swinging a little more and he loves his activity mat now. He is also beginning to get more predictable with his schedule during the day. Here are some recent pictures. I think he looks a lot like my baby pictures right now.

happy in his bouncy seat

entranced by the baby einstein star

tummy time

beautiful boy

smiling at the baby in the mirror

A bit of catch up...long over due...sorry!

At the beginning of August we travelled to TN to introduce Jace to Grandmother and my brothers' families as well as visit Ghee and Grandaddy and the Winchester crew. Here are some pictures from the trip.

Meeting Grandmother for the first time.

Grandaddy with his boys.

Ghee and Jace

Bear playing with "Great" and having a great time!

Jace and Great in the hammock

Bear and Maw playing

Barrett and Paw catching up on loves

Jace and Uncle Chris relaxing

Barrett playing with cousins Griffin (front), Kirsten, and Lucas

We had a great time visiting everyone, but each stop felt far too short. We love you all!

New Milestones

Houston, we have take off! Barrett poo'ed in the potty for the first time last night! Adam and I acted like crazy people and made a super big deal out of it. We scared poor Jace half to death with all the screaming and jumping and whatnot. We had promised he could pick a prize when he went potty the first time and he chose the Jungle Book movie as his prize...so, off we went to Wal-mart at 8:30 last night and picked it up. He even got to stay up late and watch it. We also picked up some M&M's and some cool monster truck pull-ups to hopefully encourage more potty-going. He is still yet to pee in the potty, but I am just so excited to have started the process :)

Jace has started sleeping through the night consistantly now. He sleeps anywhere from 8-10 and 1/2 hours right now. Couldn't be happier! Hoping to hang up the zombie status once and for all!

Jace @ 2 Months and Being a "Real Mom"

(Sorry this is so belated. I have some other things to post as well as pictures, but I've got two sick boys--impossible for a toddler not to pass on a cold to a baby--and a little bit of sleep deprivation...so, you'll have to be patient with me.)

I took Jace to his 2 month appointment last Thursday. He weighed in at 12# 2.2 oz. (50-75th%) and was 22 and 3/4 in.long (25-50th %). He is getting rolls on his thighs and wrists now. Very squeezable!

He got the dreaded 2 month vaccines. Ironically, it was much harder to withstand the second go- round. I always felt like I just stomached it and felt it was tough love with Bear, so it took me a bit off guard when I got teary with Jace. It didn't help that he was hard to console afterwards. He was crying too hard to suck on the pacifier. SO SAD. He was worn out after and essentially slept for 36 hours except to wake up and eat. No other side effects other than the fatigue and hurt feelings.

He checked out well. The only matter of concern is that he still goes cross-eyed when focusing sometimes. If this is not resolved by his next appt., we will go see a pediatric opthamologist. It is getting less frequent, so I am hopeful that it is just immaturity. He goes back at 4 months.

On another note, Bear has been sick. Just a cold, but unable to go to Mother's Day Out for a week. I try to schedule appointments during his school so that I only have a baby to tag-a-long; however, with him ill, I have toted a toddler and an infant to 3 appointments in the last week. I packed Barrett's backpack with toys, books, and coloring books and tried to give him the expectation and talk it up before we went to any of the appointments. And yes, I did succumb to bribery and promise a prize if he was good--anything to avoid public humiliation from misbehavior and to maintain sanity! I can thankfully say that it went pretty well. Barrett only required a few stern looks and reminders that he would not receive a prize if he did not obey Mommy. I was so proud of both of us! There are those moments in life where you just feel like you accomplished something and you feel like a real mom. This was one of them. Going from one to two children has definitely been an adjustment and I made it by myself through 3 waiting rooms/appointments with both of them. Other such moments include labor, surviving a stomach virus with an infant/toddler, not thinking twice when your kid spits chewed up food into your hand or you wipe the snot/booger from your kids nose with your hand because there is no tissue to be found ;)

Just some pictures...

Jace has found his smile and is such a smiley baby...just makes your day!

Jace just "chillaxing" with his Daddy

Bath time

Sweet Brother Bear gives Jace a kiss goodnight.

A Visit From Friends

Erin and Sherman Bucher came to visit last weekend on their way to the beach. We had a great time visiting and the boys loved them! We will have to plan a repeat soon!

Imagination

I believe I mentioned in my last post that Bear has a vivid imagination right now. He has invented 2 somewhat imaginary friends... a giant and a dinosaur. Neither have names other than"the giant" and "the dinosaur."

If any of you are familiar with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, there is a giant that appears on the show somewhat regularly. We were watching one day and apparently, when he climbed back up the beanstalk, he really climbed up the tree you visualize out our front door and promptly came down to reside in our home. He enjoys playing ball, climbing up and down the tree, and sleeping at present.

The dinosaur appeared after we got a dinosaur in a McDonald's Happy Meal. Not quite sure how it translated into living in our house, but his favorite activity is being "stuck" in various rooms and places that Barrett requires someone else's assistance to get him out.

Barrett also enjoys playing pretend baseball and pretend fishing (both are favorite real activities right now too!). These have kept him entertained while I feed Jace--very helpful.

He also likes to pretend to make you dinner and dessert or go shopping for you. Oh, to imagination!!!