Visit to Mt. Pleasant

Monday we made a trip to Mt. Pleasant to take Larry and Reba their dinning table back and spend some time with them. The boys got to enjoy playing outside, riding on the tractor and playing in a play pool.

One, Two, Three, Four Steps!!!

Can you believe it, Austin took four consecutive steps yesterday. His first official step was Tuesday while we were in Mt. Pleasant. He hasn't taken more than one step since but it is a very exciting start to him beginning to walk! Give him a week and he will be off and running. He can also stand up on his own now without holding on to anything!! He loves to stand and clap his hands.

Swim Lessons

Parker did 2 weeks of swim lessons that started back on June 18th. There are no pictures to show all the drama that we encountered but take my work when I say 'drama'!! The lessons were private and you dropped your child off at their lesson time and did not linger. You were allowed back for the last 5 minutes to observe what they learned. The lessons were only 30 min long. Day one included 30 minutes of screaming "mommy". Although he loves that water and is very comfortable around it, he is not comfortable in new places with new people. Day two he only cried for 15 min and day three 5 min. Each day we rewarded with candy for doing good and I also sent him with a mouth full a couple times to keep him from crying! After day three, he only fussed for a second but then they said he did great. He would frequently say and still says 'no swimming' because he doesn't want to go back but I think it was a good experience overall. We will definitely be going back again. He learned how to hold his breathe under water and swim to the side to pull him self up, lay on his back and do 'monkey, airplane, soldier'. This is a survival skill in case he were ever in the middle of the pool and cant get to the side. Although we still need to continue to practice these skills, I am very comfortable with him in the water without floaties as long as an adult is also there in the water supervising. He has come a long way since we began swimming this summer. Maybe next summer we will get pictures at swim lessons and have a lot less screaming and crying!!

Parker's Prayer

I love the pure innocents that children have. Last week Parker wanted to pray at bedtime after I got done. His prayer went like this..."Dear God, Thank you for daddy and cookies. Amen." Then he looked at me with a big smile. That boy can melt my heart sometimes. Love him!

Todd's Staycation

We got 9 whole days with Todd home and it was wonderful!! We enjoyed every minute and got very spoiled with him being here. S what did we do with all this free time?!? Well to begin the staycation, Larry and Reba came in town to help keep the boys and visit while Todd got his 3rd and final shot in his back for the back pain. You would think 3rd times a charm but nope, that's not the case. He is now testing the healing powers of a chiropractor and it seems to be helping. While the boys Nana and Gaga were here they enjoyed playing with them and watching cartoons with them!

 

 The next day, Todd and I got a much needed date night! My parents came to my house and we went and stayed there. We also enjoyed a yummy dinner at Wild Mushroom. The following day we were able to relax a bit before the hoodlums arrival! We spent the rest of the day and the next day swimming.

We swam a lot during his time off. One day at Megan's and then another at Nicole and Melvins. We enjoyed cooking out burgers and hanging with good friends.

Here's Cammie and Parker chowing down before we swam!

Taking a break from the sun...well Kinda! We went to the museum for some indoor fun with Madeleine, Meadow and Megan which turned into some more water fun!

Our one day during the whole 9 days spent at home included painting, shredding and family fun relaxing!!

Finally, we ended the staycation with a trip to Pirate's Cove water park in Burleson. Parke was super excited and did very well. He loved going down the big slides and splashing in the water. Austin also enjoyed the water and even caught a cat nap while we were there.

We were all very sad when Todd returned to work. I know Austin became very attached to him during the time he was home and when he got home from work, Austin couldn't wait to get in his arms!!

9 Months

Last Friday, Austin paid a visit to Ms. Nancy for his 9 month check up. He wasn't due for any shots but did get his big toe pricked to check his hemoglobin levels which came back normal. He has slowed down on his growth. His stats were as follows:

Heigh: 29 1/4 in ---> 60%

Weight: 21 lbs 3 oz ---> 60%

Head: 45 1/2 cm ---> 50%

He is developing normal. I spoke to Nancy about him not sleeping through the night. I know he can do it but after all the ear infections in May, he regressed and wakes up one, sometimes two times a night. This is leaving me very exhausted. We had tried once letting him cry it out but after an hour, I went ahead and fed him and hadn't tried to do it again till last night. she said to not go up there to his room and let him cry for as long as 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Last night was night one. He woke up about 12:45pm and cryed for about 2 hrs. I fell back asleep but Todd was awake for most of it. Although the monitor is turned off, you can hear him all the way down stairs with his door shut! After going back to sleep, he didn't wake up till 8am. Tonight i hope that if he wakes up he won't cry or won't cry long. I know he can do it.

Some other things Austin's been up to are clapping his hands, cuising along more easily, loves splashing in the pool, eating just about anything (we have started some table food: rice, guac, potatos, bread, cheese) and drinking about 30 oz of milk a day which is every 2 1/2 hrs.

Father's Day

What fun we got to have this weekend to celebrate Father's Day with the most loving, caring husband and father! Saturday we started out at Megan and Josh's enjoying a relaxing day in the pool. Parker loves playing with Madeleine and Meadow and loves that he can keep up with them in the pool now! Not only did he conquer the diving board with floaties but without floaties too! What a wonderful day it was to spend with not just Megan and the girls but Todd too!! Parker stayed the night at Megan's that night. He didn't sleep well and moved from nap mat to Madeleine's bed to Megan's bed. What a long night for everyone!! Sunday was a very lazy day. Church first then lunch and lots of rain. We all enjoyed sitting on the front porch with our coffee, enjoying each others company while we watched the rain. So relaxing!!

I hope Todd enjoyed his Father's Day with the boys. I am thankful they have such a loving, caring father that enjoys every minute he gets with them.