My Boys...Two Peas in a Pod

My husband and my little man watching the evening news. Priceless.

Trimming the Tree

Traditionally Mike and I have always put up our Christmas Tree the weekend of Thanksgiving. This year, we had so much going on from Thursday to Sunday we just didn't get to it. So we decided to wait until the following weekend. Well, as the days went on we realized we have another fully packed weekend, so we decided to pull it out today! Oh, it is so much fun putting up the tree. Our girls are at ages where they enjoy helping to decorate and can follow directions well enough where I can handle allowing them to help :) 

The finished product: 

This definitely means I need to start wrapping!!!! And finish shopping!! Ahhhh...where does time go?

Lowry Park Zoo

Instead of hitting the stores, we decided to spend our day after Thanksgiving walking off our turkey at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. I have been wanting to take the girls there since July (hugely pregnant) and I was so excited to finally go!!!

The girls were very excited!

Both of my girls are getting braver!! They reached right into the sting ray tank and touched them without hesitation. Savannah kept referring to the sting rays as steering wheels :)

As we attempted to feed the fish, we were ambushed by a bunch of birds. They were very smart. One even stuck his beak into the food dispenser to eat the remaining crumbs!!

Owen did wonderfully for being in a stroller/car seat most of the day. He spent what little time I held him checking out the surroundings and spitting up all over my shirt. He and I were wet for the majority of the day.

We also stopped in the Aviary and fed the lorikeets.

Savannah as always felt right at home with the farm animals!

About 2:30 it started to rain so we decided to head home. But not without stopping in the gift shop so the girls could spend the money Uncle Mark and Aunt Liz so graciously gave them yesterday.

Savannah, my impulsive one (and the one who has a significant sweet tooth),  opted for the huge lolipop while Kate, my practical one, chose a toy she could play with for a long time!!! I love my girls!

Owen's First Cold... :(

So after returning from our trip to South Carolina, Owen got his first cold. It started as a little cough but by yesterday afternoon it developed into a loud barking cough and a little nasal congestion. I took him into the dr just to make sure it hadn't gotten into his lungs which thankfully it hadn't. So we are all over him with nasal spray, the humidifier, and vicks!!! I hate seeing him sick! His is whiny and miserable and isn't eating or sleeping great.

This morning Daddy gave him a Vapor Bath. They both enjoyed it immensely. I think he is starting to sound better, but he is still pretty tired.

We are all hoping for a quick recovery for our little man - and that the entire house doesn't end up with it!!

Visit to South Carolina

Recently my sister moved to South Carolina and bought a house. She also has a 6 month old little boy that I have only seen twice. So this seemed like the perfect time to go visit. I brought Owen with me and left the girls here with Mike. My mom and I flew down Friday morning and stayed until Monday afternoon to "help" Carrie paint and do curtains. Unfortunately, I didn't help much. I attempted to tape off the living room so Carrie could paint but probably spent more time wrangling the boys. Mom and Carrie were productive but I seriously think we were more hindrance than help!!! However the boys did get to spend some time getting to know each other. Owen and Chase seemed to pass each other during naps but I did get a couple good shots of them together.

Chase is at a very fun age right now. He is smiling and laughing and trying to get moving!!! He is playing with toys and played well by himself. It makes me excited to think that in a few short months Owen will be more active...well a little excited and a little nervous!!!

Owen discovered not all bouncy chairs are created equal. The one we have a home, I plop him in and go, no buckle and he stays put. I did the same with Carrie's bouncy seat and this was the result.

Opps!!! When will Mommy learn?

Owen's First Solid Food

Over the past two weeks, Owen has been eating more and more and waking up earlier throughout the night wanting to eat. There is nothing like a tired Mommy to motivate the starting of solid food. So last night, I decided to give him some rice cereal from a spoon hoping it would help him stay full all night.

He loved it!!! He ate quite a bit for his first go round!! And I remembered very quickly why I hated rice...it's gets everywhere and dries crusty on everything!!! Yuck!

As for my night of sleep, not so great. I made Savannah nap yesterday because she was so foul so she was wide awake until after 10 pm. At 2 am, I wanted to check and make sure Owen was breathing. So I went to put my hand on his back but accidentally touched his head which scared him and woke him up. So from 2 am to 3 am he grunted and fussed and tried to get comfortable. Finally at 3 am I brought him in the bed with me. At 4 am he really starting fussing so I went to make him a bottle. I laid him right in my spot propped up a little on my pillow. When I returned, he was fast asleep- in my spot!!!! So I moved to the recliner and slept until 5 am when he woke up again hungry. After feeding him I got into bed at 5:30 only to be awakened by a bright eyed Savannah at 6:30!!! She normally sleeps until 7:30 at least! Moral of the story - don't nap a child who normally doesn't and just trust that your baby is breathing!!! Hoping for a better night of sleep tonight!

Completed Savannah Project!!!

It's finished!!! Yay!!! I even hung it up in her room too! 

Medieval Times

In an attempt to get more teachers to book field trips, Medieval Times offered teachers and one guest a free dinner ticket. This is where it is really nice that Mike and I are both educators. We were able to get us and both girls in for free! Although it was a late night and everyone was exhausted by the time we got home the show was a lot of fun.

First we checked in and got our crowns. We sat in the yellow section of the castle.

Next we checked out the medieval village. There were rooms set up like in a real village. The girls and I enjoyed the cloth making room where they had hundreds of years old looms and sample clothes. Mike enjoyed the THREE rooms solely dedicated to torture devices.

Then it was off to dinner. Although I am not a fan of eating without utensils, the meal was pretty good. Kaitlyn ate both her and Savannah's tomato soup, her chicken and potato, and both her and Savannah's apple pastry. Savannah ate nothing .

And during the show, our yellow knight threw Kaitlyn a flower!

Mommy's Project

Both Owen and Kaitlyn were fortunate enough to receive wall decorations featuring their names. As I was changing Owen the other day and he was laughing out loud while looking at his letters I thought about Savannah. So I decided to undertake the project of making her a name decoration for her wall. I am not at all crafty so I used Kate and Owen's as inspiration.

While I am not completely finished yet, I must say that I am proud that I have done this much and not ruined it yet!!!

I really hope Savannah (and all my children) appreciate the time and effort it took to make such a precious gift!

I will post the completed project as soon as I hang it in her room!!!

Starting A Little Early

Today, as we do on many days, we went outside to play in the backyard. Mike was home due to Veteran's Day and of course he always likes to "try" new things. Ignoring my protests that he's too little, he put Owen in Savannah's old baby swing. At first he was a little freaked out, but after he got used to it he really enjoyed it.

Baptism

Today our three beautiful children were baptized. It was a nice service and we had lots of family there to support us. Both Owen and Savannah did well during the service and behaved during the baptism portion (we rarely worry about Kate). We then went out to lunch and enjoyed time with our immediate and extended family. Although I did not manage to get any pictures before, during, or directly after the event (they did however look completely precious in their outfits), this is what the kiddos looked like shortly after returning home :) It doesn't take long to go back to reality!!!

  

Camp Out!

On Friday night, Mike decided to take the girls "camping" in the backyard. They were so excited. The helped pitch the tent and gather all the sleeping bags. I bought marshmallows for them to roast. Unfortunately it was really cold that night so we had to pull out the winter sleeping clothes and their new winter jacket.

Owen and I bundled up and joined the marshmallow roasting but as soon as it was time for bed, we headed for warmer conditions. I seriously did not think that they would make it all night out there. It was in the 40's!

They did great! Aside from the 1:30 am bathroom break for Savannah, they stayed out all night! They had a blast and are so excited to go again in a few weeks :)