It's a Zoo Out There

The Fearsome Foursome. These cuties look innocent now. But, I have a feeling that in 15 years, they're going to cause a lot of trouble together.

Um ... yeah ... I'm going to need to eat whatever you're holding in your hand. And, I'll take a drink of that sippy cup, too.

  

We took the kids to the San Antonio Zoo, and suffice it to say that they loved it! Madeline mostly just loved being strolled around outside, and Luke really liked seeing all of the animals that we've been reading so much about. Especially the monkeys, snakes and elephants. However, I'll need to make a note ... next time we're looking at the hippo, I shouldn't say, "Look Luke! Here he comes! He's coming over here!" Because that was pretty terrifying for a 2-year-old:

Cross Country

In February, I went out of town twice -- once to Chicago for work, which was my first trip away from the kids and Adam's first time alone with them, and then to North Carolina for Katie's Senior Day ballgame, and the kids came, too.

The trips were scheduled back-to-back. I left on a Wednesday for Chicago, got back Friday at 6:00p and left Saturday at 6:00a for North Carolina. I was so unbelievably stressed out and worried that week. But, someone very wise and much smarter than me once said, "My life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened." I don't give Adam enough credit. He didn't seem to have any sort of trouble! And, the dishwasher was even running when I got home. That's when I knew things were A-OK. He sent me pictures to reassure me the kids were still alive. And, really, I think the trip was good for both of us. I got two full nights sleep in more than a year, and by the looks of this video, he got to spend some quality time with the kids: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeWmXdaxGo0
Adam wasn't able to go to North Carolina, but Mom flew with me and the kids. I'm pretty positive she'll never volunteer to do that again. Between the two suitcases, pack-n-play, two carseats, stroller and diaper bag that I took, it was almost as hard to keep up with all my stuff as it was to keep up with Luke and Madeline. The trip there started great -- we made it on the plane, Luke watched a movie on the iPad, Madeline fell asleep. Easy! But, then ... we started to descend. And, Luke went berserk. He started screaming and crying for me (I was sitting across from him, and since we were about to land, I couldn't move). And, then he started coughing uncontrollably. Between the snot-coughing and heaving sobs, the lady in front of him started huffing and puffing, which really stressed me out. She was even plugging her ears. But, the way back was totally different -- not a tear the entire time. Have babies ... will travel.

Climbing on Papa is fun.

Aunt Suzy and Uncle Michael were even in North Carolina!

Maddie crawls to Aunt Katie.

There she is! Our favorite Charlotte 49er! Gooooo Katie!

Katie's last game as a Charlotte 49er. Kate is great!

Little traveler.

  

Daddy O! Mommy O! Baby O!

When I picked the kids up yesterday, Luke's teachers said they figured out a great mystery. The Mystery of the O. As Luke's learning his ABCs, he's especially hooked on O and likes me to write it anytime he sees a pen, pencil or crayon in my hand. He'll say:

"Daddy O!" = Draw a big circle, Momma.
"Mommy O!" = Draw a smaller circle, Momma.
"Baby O!" = Draw several little bitty circles, Momma.

For several days, when I'd sign them in and out, I absentmindedly drew Os all over the kids' signout sheets, per Luke's request (actually, it's more like a command). These mysterious orbs had the teachers all sorts of confused but the mystery was solved when they saw me draw one. Caught red handed!

Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy

Right after his surgery ... still a little groggy from the anesthesia.

Sweet little thing. He spent 10 days eating soft foods like yogurt (lots of yogurt), jello, pudding, and pancakes. Ice cream? Didn't want anything to do with it! So weird.

As much as I love February, it was a helluva month for us this year. Early in the month, Luke had his tonsils and adenoids taken out. I'm not sure that we would've considered it if it weren't for his teachers. They asked me one day if I'd ever noticed his snoring. I just thought he was a loud snorer. But, he was so loud, I could hear him from our room. Like an old man! The ENT suggested we didn't even wait a month. So, before we knew it, we had it done. The procedure took about 20 minutes, and it turns out his tonsils were so big that they pushed his adenoids into his nose. It was hard seeing him wheeled off, and I cried just a teeny bit.

Recovery took about 10 days, and the hardest part about it was giving Luke his medicine. It was almost a two-man job -- he hated it so much. It probably burned the sores in his throat, poor thing. But, now, you'd never know anything happened. He's back to normal, and what's the craziest part about it is that he doesn't snore at all. In fact, I sometimes check to see if he's breathing.

8 Months and 9 Months!

9 months -- she's crawling, cruising and standing for a few seconds!

8 months -- she's crawling and pulling up!

Three-quarters of a year old! It's going by so quickly! Sigh.

She's adorable as ever and changes every day. She's waving bye-bye (sometimes, not all the time) and is cruising along the furniture. This girl is going to be walking in a month -- I got money on it. Adam took her to her 9-month appointment, and Dr. Horton says everything looks on schedule. She weighs 18 pounds, 12 ounces (50th percentile) and had her first ear infection this last month.  

Curious and a bunch of trouble! She loves getting in these side tables and beelines it for cords and plugs.

We officially gave up baby food this month. She is so uninterested in jar food, it's not even funny. For almost four months, I feel like we've beaten our heads against a wall. I had some luck with it for a couple of weeks after Grandmother suggested warming it up (duh!). She seemed to love it, but then, that affair ended, and she was back to pursing her lips, spitting it out or turning her head. So, now she eats finger foods, and you'd think she's starving! She just eats and eats. Just tonight, she had peas, carrots, mangoes, chicken, and two teething biscuits. And, she had a full breakfast, lunch and snack. I'm proud to still be breastfeeding at this point and love our moments together, but I can tell she's getting ready to wean as she's drinking less and is easily distracted or feeds intermittently. She's busy and surely missing out on something! And, I tell you what, I won't be sorry to see that pump go. I started supplementing with one bottle of formula a day during the week, and she's taking it just fine.

She and Luke are so cute, I just love it. When they're in the car, Luke will say, "I want to touch her." When we stop, he gives her a quick hug, just enough to keep him going. It's adorable. But, some of his hugs are more like headlocks and they really piss Madeline off. And, wowee, is she dramatic! If she falls and bumps anything, she'll wail and wail. Then, I'll pick her up, all better!