15 Months Old

Jack and Harper are 15 months old today!  It seems like just a short time ago they were learning to roll over and crawl, and now they're both walking all over and learning to talk and feed themselves- this is such a busy age for them (and for us).

To celebrate their 15 month achievement, Tony and took the kids to "A Day Out With Thomas"; Jack and Harper watch a tv show called Thomas and Friends every day that centers around a steam engine named Thomas. We heard a train painted like Thomas was coming to town and would be stopping by a vintage railway nearby, so we packed up the kids and headed over to check it out.

When we arrived, we realized that the grounds were set up like a carnival and there were vendors doing all sorts of things like face painting and making balloon animals. Thankfully, our kids were more interested in people watching, so the only lines we waited in were to get our picture taken with Thomas, and to get on the train. We lucked out and got in the first car with the padded seats, and we managed to get two seats that faced each other so the four of us could sit together.

Jack was excited when he saw the train and recognized it as Thomas, but he wasn't too super excited about waiting in line to get on the train. In fact by the time we got on the train, Jack was on the verge of a meltdown, so I pulled out his pacifier (to keep him from doing his shrill shrieking business) and he spent the first 5 minutes of the ride playing with my phone.

Harper, on the other hand, was in awe of the train ride experience. She really liked looking out the window, talking to the conductor, and seeing the landscape roll by. She was great the whole 25 minute ride, and eventually, Jack came around and started to perk up.  We followed our train ride with some lunch out and then we all came home for some much needed naps.

The trip to the train was a great way to end a busy weekend that also included a high school softball game on Friday night, and a gym cookout on Saturday.  The kids were excited to go to the softball game, and I got recognized for teacher appreciation night, so we got in for free (we are all about free entertainment).  Here are a few pictures of the kids of the kids at the game; I think they had more fun walking around than they did actually seeing the game...oh well!

Saturday night was also a big night for me as a mom. Tony was helping some friends who are moving, so I had both kids by myself (not unusual), but I decided to try my hand at taking them out to dinner...alone- gulp!  We went to a local Mexican food restaurant and the kids did a pretty good job. Eating was a feat for me because I was constantly moving things out of the reach of little hands, or giving them more bites, but we made it through dinner and baths and our night time routine. I was proud of myself for rising to the challenge.

This week the kids will have their 15 month doctor's appointment, so I will be sure to post stats on them when we get them. I know that they're both growing and doing well, so I'm hoping for good numbers- please say a prayer for us!  Here are a couple of shots of our now 15 month olds- enjoy!

Harper Update

I am pleased to say that Harper has been feeling much better today. She started the week off feeling awful; Monday night she woke up twice in the middle of the night and we were awake from 11-12 and 3-4 with a very fussy kiddo. She couldn't get comfortable and then when she did get comfortable, she would cough and wake herself up and cry. Harper also managed to wake Jack up and then they both cried- that was no fun.

Tony took Harper to the doctor on Tuesday afternoon and, thankfully, she just has a cold. We are also thankful that her cold is not in her chest, and it isn't as bad as Jack's cold was. She's on a very small dose of Mucinex and some Benadryl to be help her sleep at night. Last night Tony and I expected to be up and down all night, but she managed to sleep through the night- we pray this is a continued trend.

During the day, Harper seems to be back to her fiesty little self. She does not like to take her medicine, nor does she like when I have to suck her nose out with the Nose Frida, but aside from those necessary evils, she seems much better. I hope she continues to feel better tomorrow.

Jack is just cruising along. He's getting much better at his walking and no longer waddles, but now is starting to take strides. He spent a good amount of time today and yesterday playing with a big ball that he likes to throw down and then chase when it bounces away. He and Harper also made each other laugh this afternoon playing with a toy remote control. Harper looked at Jack and just got tickled and started belly laughing- it was adorable. Jack also gave Harper a toy today and as Harper took it from him, she gave him the biggest smile- it was so sweet. We are so lucky that they have each other to grow up with.

Here are some pictures of the duo in action yesterday being silly. I'm also including a picture I took this morning of Tony and the kids before he headed off to work; it's a rare thing for all of us to be up and together on a weekday morning, so I thought I would document the moment. It's the little things in life that end up being the most important.  Enjoy!

Whirlwind Weekend

We have had a whirl wind of weekend and, I'm afraid, we have a long week ahead of us. Harper spiked a fever this afternoon and has been coughing and sneezing up a storm. I thought, somehow, she had avoided getting the cold that Jack, Tony, and I all had- oh, my naivety- she hadn't escaped it, just caught the tail end of it. I went ahead and gave her a nebulizer treatment (I am not running any risk with wheezing and a girl who had lung disease) and some Motrin. I hope she's feeling better in the morning. Here's a picture of her snuggled up with her dad after her breathing treatment tonight- poor little, Punkin'.

Our weekend leading up today was very busy including both Tony and I doing some yard work. Tony weeded and mulched and trimmed up the front flower bed and I cut back our front rose bushes; he did twice the work I did and the front yard looks much better now. Friday night we got the house ready because Saturday we hosted a baby shower for our good friends who are having a baby boy in May. Our place was packed with adults and kids alike. I don't think Tony nor I sat down the entire party and Jack and Harper were on the move the whole time too. The party was great; we got to see some friends we hadn't seen in quite a while, and I think everyone had a good time. The kiddos were excited to have so much going on, but were wiped out when we finally put them to bed.

We spent today recovering, picking up, and running some errands. One of our stops was the grocery store, and despite the fact that Tony and I went our separate ways to retrieve different items on the list, Tony was quick to find me because our screeching child was like a homing beacon. Jack has decided, in the past few days, that the best way to express himself is to squeal/screech loudly- oh so loudly- over and over again. When we tell him "no", he laughs and then squeals again; when we ignore him, he continues to squeal...I think we are going to invest in some good ear plugs.

I was so busy playing hostess at the baby shower that I didn't get any pictures, but I did get a few shots of the kids on the way to the bath tub Saturday afternoon. They were laughing and chasing each other and having a great time. As is the case, most of the time, when one would look at the camera, the other would look away- go figure!  Please say a prayer for Harper tonight for a speedy recovery and lots of good rest.

Life As Usual

Spring Break is over and now we're back to reality in the Collett household. The kids are growing and moving and learning new things every day. They are alert and inquisitive and are getting an independent streak that makes me proud and scares the daylights out of me all at once. I enjoy them wanting to roam about the house, but then I find myself grimicing and cringing every time they "almost" crack their heads open or "just miss" getting their fingers slammed in a door. I think we come centimeters from catastrophe everyday and somehow, I"m not sure how, but somehow we walk away unscathed. This parenting stuff is not for the faint of heart.

St. Patrick's Day started off our week. Here's a picture of the cute onesies Durinda got for them- so sweet. Please note that they're a size bigger than what they're wearing now so they have room to grow into them, and they have cute little shamrocks on the rear. I'm also including a couple of pictures from last St. Patrick's Day so you can see how much they've grown.

Here are a few shots of our every day lives this week. This week Harper started cutting at least one new tooth, maybe two (bottom teeth this time); that bring her tooth count to 7 (8). Poor Jack is still working with just two teeth- he has apparently gotten the Simpson teeth genes. While Harper is sharpening her chompers, Jack is learning to talk. He's started using a few new words this week, most notably "ball" (which he learned a few weeks ago, but now uses quite a bit), "bye-bye", "all done", and last night he said "duck".  Here's a shot of this walking, talking guy in action. One of him meandering down the hall, and one of him opening his door after I walked around the corner to find he and Harper had closed the rest of us out of their room. It made me laugh that this little doorman ushered me in when I knocked- how can you not smile at that?

Harper still isn't saying much; she signs "more" when she wants anything and then points to it and grunts. She also squeals or screeches when you're not paying enough attention to her. Tony asked me if we should be worried by her lack of vocabulary and I don't think we should yet because her receptive language is so great. You can say "Harper, what happened to your sock?" She'll look down and see that she's missing a sock, give you the "I don't know" hands with a shrug, and then toddle off to go find it. I told Tony I think she'll talk when she feels like she needs to; this girl does everything on her own time.  Her are some shots of her making a silly face while she drinks her water, showing off her perfect squat stance, and reading the new Highlights magazine that came in the mail. There's also a picture of her giggling- she had somehow managed to sit on her bottom and put her foot in her mouth; when I tried to get a picture of it, she fell over and was angry, so I was putting her foot to her mouth for her and  she thought that was really funny.

So, that's what we've been doing this week- nothing exciting except watching two little ones learn to talk, cut teeth, and explore the world!

Shout out to Papa- Jack was sporting a UC shirt yesterday- Go Bearcats! 

Spring Break Fun

Sadly, my Spring Break has come to an end and tomorrow I head back to work. I'm going to miss seeing the kiddos so much. Spring Break last year was stressful because we were still adjusting to having Harper home; Spring Break this year was filled with fun things to do and a little day trip to Fort Worth, and lots and lots of play time with two cute (almost) 15 month olds. I can't imagine spending my week any other way.  Here are some highlights - enjoy!

This week we...

-Had lunch with Dad at a Mexican food restaurant. Harper's favorite activity was licking butter off of tortillas (I couldn't complain- the girl needs those extra calories)

-Went to Costco and went to the grocery store. One thing I miss during the school year is being able to shop in the middle of the week. The shopping was much less stressful without the weekend crowd, and the kids had a great time..

-Got to spend some time taking wagon rides. Check out Harper's shoes- it was 80 degrees and sunny; perfect walking weather!

-Took a day trip to see Great Granny, Aunt Becky, and Uncle Rex. Great Granny had a small buffet of food for lunch and snack time; the kids were especially fond of the vanilla wafers and green grapes- two things they tried for the first time. Harper and Jack had a great time walking all over Granny's house and exploring. Harper found a chair she liked and she was very fond of Granny's full length mirror. We can't wait to go back to Granny's for another visit! :)

-Played and played and played.  Here are a few shots of Jack and Harper doing random things around the house.  A few things to note: Harper's new "perch",  Jack's ability to walk and hold his toy airplane (he's getting much more sturdy on those feet), and a couple of shots of the kids and I playing "Where is Harper/Jack!?" with the door to their room- we did this for 10 minutes and they loved it.

-Took an Ewok to the grocery store (Jack's coat from cousin Beckett is too cute- also a sad reminder that we ended the week with cold temperatures again)

-Gave Harper her first "spa" treatment by blowdrying her hair before bed tonight. She looked so much like a little girl.

In closing, I just wanted to mention that we started our week with a sick little Jackman who didn't smile as much as normal and couldn't breathe because of all of his congestion- thankfully, we ended the week a Jackman who feels MUCH better!