Getting Ready for the Holidays

Despite the unusually warm December, we got in the holiday spirit picking out and cutting down our own Christmas tree at a local tree farm.  Brady had a lot of fun running through the trees and trying to get Mom and Dad to chase him.  Parker was more cautious of the tractor that dropped us off and picked us up and preferred Mom to hold him.  Every year the tree farm cuts down only 1000 trees, and replants them all.  One of Daddy's co-workers works and lives at the tree farm and made sure we got the best tree.

The boys did a great job decorating the tree.  Brady took the ornaments from Mom and put them on the tree so it was well decorated, to preschool height anyway.  Parker had fun watching Brady and attempting to pull the ornaments off the tree.  This year we added a few new special ornaments to the tree including the boys school picture, Parker's handprint in clay, Parker wearing antlers made at daycare, and a Seminara family ornament. This year was special too as Mommy got to pick her favorite ornaments from her childhood. Brady was a big helper with keeping the tree watered.  The tree survived cats drinking the tree water, a fall during watering (oops), a preschooler running around and into it, and a toddler trying to pull off the ornaments.

No Christmas is complete without seeing Santa.  The boys got a couple opportunities to see him this year.  Early December every year Chelmsford has their holiday tree lighting in the town center.  We took the boys in to see all the action where they got to have free cocoa, take a horse drawn hayride around the town common, and meet Santa himself.  The town did a great job with the tree lighting and Santa's workshop.  Brady enjoyed watching the other kids play and was fairly content to ride in his stroller.  Parker was full of energy and didn't want to be in the stroller, rather he preferred to be out exploring the common.  Both boys got to sit on Santa's lap.  Despite Brady practicing what he would ask for from Santa (a shooter, a drum, and a watch), once he got a turn with the big man he froze and just said toys.  Parker at 19 months old is now at that age where he is fearful of Santa.  His brief visit was mostly spent crying, screaming for Mom and Dad, and trying everything he could to get away from Santa as quickly as possible.  

The boys got a second visit with Santa at Daddy's work where LM hosted a family Christmas party complete with trains, cookie making, and a visit with the big man.  The facility may be small, but it is very family oriented and threw a really nice holiday party.  The boys enjoyed watching the model trains race around the track and Brady enjoyed eating the cookie frosting.  When it came time to visit the big man, Brady did great posing for his picture with Santa.  Parker would have nothing to do with it latching himself onto Mom with no hopes of prying him off.  Instead we opted for a nice family photo.  Brady has Grandma Reggie's problem, he smiles but is always distracted by what's going on around the camera.  Silly boy.  Santa gave the boys each a goodie bag and a present which the boys were excited to open when they got home.

This year the boys were old enough to ride the Polar Express!  We took them to the railroad in Lincoln NH in the white mountains for the special ride.  On the train they got hot cocoa and sang songs.  Once we arrived at the North Pole we were greeted by elves who took us past Santa's workshop to the big tent to see Santa.  An elderly man read the kids the night before Christmas, the elves sang Christmas carols, and Santa appeared and walked through all the aisles to meet and take pictures with the kids.  Brady was proud of himself for going up to Santa to say hi and thank you.  Parker...well you can guess.  Next year we'll have to try the train in North Conway, we hear they have reindeer.

At 3.5 yrs old, Brady is at a great age to enjoy Christmas.  He and Mom had a lot of fun shopping together and he even picked out his own presents for Parker (car carrier with cars) and Dad (RC car).  He was so good about telling Mom when he wanted a toy, and not begging to buy it, but that he would put it on his Christmas list.  He's so sweet!  Parker had fun shopping too enjoying riding in the cart and trying out all the toys.  He's pretty easy to shop for at this age and has just as much fun with wrapping paper and boxes as any toy.

Christmas is in the air at daycare too with all the kids making their parents gifts or decorating classrooms.  This year Parker make the ornament and a nice framed picture for Mom and Dad.  And Brady was a gingerbread man in his classroom window.

It's hard for Brady to be good ALL the time, otherwise what fun would there be?  When we give him a gentle reminder that Santa's watching his response is "Where?  I don't see him."  Not sure he quite grasps the always watching concept just yet, or that it slows him down any.  But it's hard for a preschooler to contain all his Christmas excitement.

Around all the holiday preparations we did have a few medical scares.  Earlier in the month Mommy had what we thought was a stomach bug and had to cancel one of her business trips.  After some prompting from Daddy, she went to the hospital and had an emergency appendectomy.  That was one heck of a stomach bug!  She was in and out of the hospital in 12 hrs and other than looking pregnant again for a few weeks she recovered fine.  Then it was Parker's turn getting a really bad case of RSV and having to stay home for a week.  RSV is the dreaded 3-letter word in our house.  It results in breathing treatments every 6 hours (which you can imagine a 19 month old doesn't enjoy), turns with Advil and Tylenol to curb the fever and allow him some rest, and fluids to keep him hydrated.  Being a virus we couldn't give him antibiotics, only try to make him more comfortable, and hope it doesn't cause anything worse.  We are still giving him breathing treatments and monitoring him for ear infections.  In all this the poor guy broke 2 molars and we're waiting on the last one to finally break (lower right).  

We are ending the month with our health, our family, and our friends and are excited for the holiday break.  Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Years!!!

Parker's 18 month Checkup & Eating Specialist

Parker had his 18 month checkup a couple weeks ago - his height was 30 inches (1%), weight 19.6 lbs (3%), and weight/length ratio 14%.  Yes, he's still a little peanut.  By this age Brady was in the 25th percentile so looks like Parker will be a little smaller unless he hits a major growth spurt.  Regardless of height and weight, he has moved up into his 12-18 or 18 month clothes with his 12 month clothes fitting too small or giving him the flood pants look.  At this visit the doctor recommended we see an eating specialist to verify nothing was wrong with Parker's system.  Developmentally he seems to be doing well with his expanding vocabulary and love for cause/effect playing (stack blocks, knock them down, repeat).  He also got his flu shot and a second shot for Hep A.  His words continue to get more clear and he can say Mommy, Daddy, Brady, doggie, up, please, yes/no (with head shake), mine, big ball, milk, wow (with big surprise face), baseball, and football.  The cutest is his name Parker (like Pa-Ka), pizza (pee-ta), and his teachers names Icky (Vicky) and Isa (Lisa).  In addition to words he does great animals sounds roaring like a bear, meowing like a cat, or panting like a dog.  If he's not talking or making animal sounds, he's making airplane sounds (chewwwww) or honking like a big truck.  He loves to repeat words you say as he continues to practice his talking.

Daddy and Parker went down to Boston to visit the eating specialist, which actually turned out to be several specialists.  Parker and Daddy walked into a room with 7 people. Each person had a different role to observe and ask questions about Parker's eating habits. Daddy brought some crackers, milk, juice and squeezey packs for Parker to eat and drink during the visit. After the doctors witnessed how Parker was doing, they felt he had the eating thing down and made a few suggestions for his diet. They suggested to try and limit milk to 24 oz a day and not offer juice because it provides empty calories. They felt his weight was good for his height but there was some concern about his height. If there is still a concern about his height as he gets older they suggested we visit them again. All in all it was a pleasant experience, the doctors were really nice and Parker really soaked up the attention.

Parker Kisses

Tonight during a bath Parker stopped playing, leaned toward Mommy, and gave her a kiss.  A real little boy kiss, not a wide eyed mouth open baby kiss.  What a wonderful surprise!!!  Love this kid!

Fall 2015

Following an Indian Summer, Fall finally arrived in the northeast in full colorful splendor.  70s and 80s have turned to 40s and 50s, with the hardwoods showing their full range of red, yellow, and orange.  It only took about 2 weeks for the first real colors to show before they faded and the leaves fell from the trees.  The kids keep us busy, and Mommy still has to travel a lot, but we take full advantage of the beautiful scenery on the weekends.

Parker is a little boy now - he does so well with his signs and he's talking more and more each day.  His first word was "bubble" as he loves his baths, but not long after was followed by mama and dada.  He also says Brady but it kind of sounds like baby.  Each day his words get clearer.  Other big boy things he does are climb the stairs all by himself, follow directions ("pickup blankie" or "bring this to Mommy" or "put blankie in your school cubby"), help get himself dressed, and eats with a fork or spoon by himself although it's very messy.  While he can't really talk yet, he does understand what you're saying like "let's go to bed" and he heads to the stairs, or "let's eat" and he goes to his highchair.  He likes to eat all the time, just not much at one time and is still in the 5th percentile.  Like big brother, he has taken to yogurt and fruit which is always a good backup when he rejects the menu.  At night when Mom or Dad are cooking you can find him in the kitchen trying to put his on pan on the stove, our future culinary chef.  His other favorite thing to do is play outside, he could stay out there for hours.  Now at 17 months old, it was time for his first haircut.  It was also Mommy's first haircut, and he did a great job holding still watching the iPhone.  Overally he's still such a happy kid, always giving big smiles and big hugs.

Brady is full of imagination and energy - he has a range of emotions not unlike many 3 yr olds and you can usually tell how he's feeling just by looking at him whether he's happy, sad, angry, or playful.  He is a great negotiator especially when it comes to cartoons or candy, the trick is getting him distracted.  An epic story teller when on the potty, the craziest stories always come out of his mouth.  Who knew big poop comes out of your left leg and small poop comes out of your right.  He is rough and tumble with his climbing, jumping, running, kicking, dancing, or singing, all signs of a happy healthy little boy.  It only multiplies with Parker joining in on the fun.  One of their favorite things to do together is eat snacks in the hallway closest together which is very messy but keeps them occupied for some time.  Some cool stuff Brady has learned in preschool is to spot the first letter of his name "B".  He can also spell his first name.  When he gets to school he makes his own breakfast pouring his cereal and milk. He hangs up his jacket on his hook with his name, and puts his blankie in his own cubby.  When he does finally get tired, he is quite the snuggler telling Mom or Dad to cuddle him, he also likes to hold Mommy's hand.  Our sweet loving little boy.

Fall family photo op 

Playing together 

Enjoying the Trails at Great Brook Farm State Park 

Parker (and Mommy's) first haircut

New School Year & Brady Starts Preschool (End of Summer)

It's been a great first summer here in the northeast.  The boys have had quite the opportunity to see family and friends and spend lots of time exploring our new area.  It's been fun to watch another summer pass and see the boys bond for one another grow.  Even though it's been uncharacteristically warm for this area (upper 80s...if we were still in Texas people would think it was a cold front), the trees seem to know fall is coming and the first touches of orange, yellow, and red have reached the tips of the leaves.

Marking the official end of summer is the boys transitions to their next classrooms - Brady to preschool and Parker to the toddler room.  For Brady this has been the easiest drop off yet, he is meeting new friends and enjoying new toys so never has a hard time letting go of Mom's hand.  Parker has some of his old classmates and some from his buddy room so about the only new for him are his teachers.  He does cry for Mom at drop off but they gave us a poem, tissue, and chocolate to make it all better.

Brady is doing all kinds of big kid things in his new classroom - learning to recognize his name, learning how to meet people and introduce himself by shaking hands, and new books new games and new toys all focused on learning through play.  We are so proud of him!

 1st day of preschool - someone is ready!

1st day of the toddler room - Mr Smiles 

 Parker's 1st Toddler sheet - no more sign in sheets!

Brady's 1st Preschool sheet 

(one of the cats spilled water that took out the pink notes at the bottom)

Parker's 15 month checkup

Parker had his 15 month checkup today - he weighed in at 18lbs 7oz (3%) and 28.5" tall (1%).  At his 12 month checkup he was 16lbs 8oz and 27.5" tall (both below the charts), so he's made a good upturn in his stats.  Developmentally he is doing well, getting better with his verbal communication.  He can say mama, dada, doggie, bird, and boat both verbally and with his signs.  He also signs milk and more quite frequently.  His walking is going very well, and he has learned to walk backwards (which makes him giggle) and stand up on his own without holding onto something.  And he responds to commands listening when we say "No" not to go up the stairs (unlike his brother) or "Ready to eat?" making a direct route to his highchair.  The pediatrician was a little concerned that he's on the low end of the growth curve, but given his mom is small and his brother was around 5% for some time, and developmentally he is right on track, we will continue to monitor his growth.  Unfortunately Mommy had to wake him from a nap at school to take him to the doctor's visit, so he was a little less happy than usual and didn't enjoy having his vitals taken (heart rate and temp), nor his attempted eye exam, or his 3 vaccinations (Dtap, MMR, Chickenpox - 1st MMR and Chickenpox).  And since Daddy had the diaper bag in his truck, Mommy was poorly prepared with snacks or a dry diaper but Parker was a trooper not complaining once. We're so happy he's healthy and doing well, we just love having Parker light up our world.  We love you Parker! 

Content to wait on the scale

Summer Fun!

Children are absolutely amazing.  Brady continues to surprise us in the most amazing ways - this week he learned to go potty all by himself.  Without going into too much detail, let's just say he can stand to pee and sit to poop all by himself.  What a major accomplishment for our little man!  And he's started learning not only how to take his own clothes off, but put them on too.  Like all things it takes a little practice, so we're not worried when he comes home with his shoes on the opposite feet or shirts inside out and backwards.  He'll get the hang of it.  Can't believe in just over a month our little man will be in pre-school!  Think he's already gotten a head start with all this independence.  He's also really taken to his gymnastics class.  The first class he wanted Mommy nearby.  The next class the parents had to stay by the door and let the kids join when ready (Brady took about 10-15 min before he couldn't resist the fun).  By the third class it was only a minute or two before he forgot Mommy and was in the circle with the other kids.  He is fearless and willing to try anything.  All this gymnastics has come home too, he now does handstands on the wall, jumps between or off furniture, practices his forward rolls, and started backbends.  Our little monkey.  Someone once told us 3s were harder than 2s - while we love all stages of our boys lives, we have to say 3s are so much FUN!

Gymnastics class at The Little Gym

Parker is doing amazing too - he is now 4 weeks into walking and he's only getting faster.  He still keeps his hands up as he goes which is a good idea with an older brother or dog constantly zooming by him.  Always smiling, he doesn't get upset at much, he's a very chill baby.  And he is just enamored by his older brother wanting to grow up to be just like him.  Parker has switched from baby bottles to the same bottles as Brady and will drink 3/4 of hot milk when he first wakes up and again at bedtime.  He seems to really like water too going for Mom or Dad's ice water or drinking tub water (silly boy).  He eats just about everything we offer him only having the occasionally food aversion.  When all else fails bananas are a favorite.  Not sure where he puts it all, his 6 little teeth are busy, this boy can eat!  We are expecting a big uptick in weight at his 15 mo checkup next month.  As for sleeping he is still sleeping through the night, but appears to be a morning person and is regularly awake and smiling by 6:30am (Brady is sound asleep until we wake him at 7am).  He's getting really good at his signs especially "more", "done", "dog", "please", and "up".  And he will say "Mama" and "Dada" and "Dog", of course it's not perfect diction so you have to be listening but he is doing so great!  It's amazing that while he can't talk much, how much he can understand.  If you ask him "where's Brady?" he will turn and look until he finds Brady and smiles.  He does that with everything (where's the fan? where's Indy? etc).  This also works well when you tell him "No, don't climb the stairs" or "Give Brady a kiss on the cheek goodnight" - he does it!

Mr Smiley "Watch Me Run All Over The Beach with my Chip!"

How Parker signs "more"

We've had a busy summer exploring our new area and getting to enjoy the outdoors (couldn't do this in Texas in the summer, that's when we used to hibernate!).  We've been to camp with the Muzzey family to celebrate July 4th, been strawberry and blueberry picking, we've spent the day at the beach in Ogunquit Maine, we've had the Seminara grandparents visit, we've gone to a local farm to feed the animals and get some fresh ice cream, and rode in a town bike ride.  We're so lucky we can offer our kids all these experiences.  We wonder if we'll be able to keep our boys grounded - that's when Brady stands up and shares a favorite toy with a classmate.  We think so :)  

"Mommy, I can do it!" 

Brother time at the beach

 Making cookies with Grandma

Playing cars with Grandpa