Monday, August 31, 2015

One Last Hurrah

So...school started on the 24th of August, and I have been MIA from the blog. The transition from stay-at-home Mom to work all day Mom is always a bumpy one. Alright, enough apologies for the delay in posting- onto the feature.

Two weeks ago our sweet little boy underwent his first procedure and had to go under anesthesia to have an endoscopy. The doctor was concerned because he's still having reflux problems that he should've outgrown long ago. So, on a Monday morning we took our little man the hospital and held his hand as we walked into the procedure room, and we watched as they placed a mask over his face and knocked him out. Jack was so good- he didn't cry or scream or try and fight (the anesthesiologist was amazed). It broke my heart to see his eyes roll back and know he was out, but he only stayed under for a little while.


Our doctor had Jack out of the procedure room and into recovery in less than 30 min. He was very unhappy coming out of the anesthesia, but didn't get sick. He cried quite a bit and was inconsolable, but came around when got a popsicle. :) The endoscopy came back "normal" and everything looks great, so we'll just keep on with some medication and wait for him outgrow this. This was the "big moment" of the week, thankfully, the weekend was much more fun.


The weekend before school started Tony, the kids, and I packed up and headed out to Aunt Becky and Uncle Rex's house to play and to see Uncle Tanner and his new girlfriend he brought home for the weekend, Nicolette. It was wonderful to be able to see them and spend some time with them while they were in Texas!

Jack and Harper took a nap in the car and were so excited to wake up at the lake. They did great playing in the pool- both kids practiced their kicks, played on the steps, and splashed Uncle Tanner! I was impressed that both Harper and Jack played the whole time without their life jackets and even put their faces in the water without much complaining- they are getting a little more brave around the water. I think we're going to need to continue swim lessons this winter.

My dad and I took off to round up dinner, and Uncle Rex took the gang out on the boat. Jack had fun riding at the front of the boat and letting the wind hit his face. He was so excited about the boat that he didn't want to come back to the house.


Harper rode in the back with Nana, and my mom said Harper talked the whole time, chattering about who knows what.

After the boat ride, Aunt Becky pulled out the hose and the kids played in the sprinklers; it looked so much fun that Becky joined in too. Harper would run over and put her face over the water and giggle and giggle. It was the perfect way to end the day at the lake.



While we were there, we also got to celebrate Pop's birthday and the kids got to help Pop open presents, and they got to eat cake and ice cream.


When we got back from the lake it was a quick trip to bed and then lots of rest and soaking up as much time with Daddy as Harper and Jack could get. Tony left on Monday to go out of town for a week for work, so Harper  and Jack spent the whole day with him on Sunday. I don't think Tony minded being a human jungle gym too much.




I am happy to report that the kids and I survived Tony's week away from home, and he is very happy to be back home tonight and sleeping under the same roof as those two sweet kiddos.

One last note: Harper and Jack are officially 32 months old! That is hard to believe. It's going to be sprint to their 3rd birthday. I can't believe how much two little miracles have changed our lives in just 32 short months.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Sweet Summer Time

Tomorrow is my first full week back at work (I had to report Thursday and Friday of this week). So I thought that this post would be a great way to close out our summer time fun.

The past couple of weeks have flown by and I've tried to savor the moments of giggling, hugs, and early morning snuggles.

One of the highlights of the last two weeks of summer was a trip to Nana and Pop's house where we got to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa (Nana's parents) who were visiting from Oklahoma. The kids and I went to my parents house on Friday and got to spend all day Friday and most of the day Saturday with my grandparents. Harper and Jack had a great time reading books, coloring, helping Nana in the kitchen, and playing with a train Aunt Kiki sent them.




On Saturday evening Harper, Jack and I got to see Great Granny for dinner. We went to a diner by Granny's house, and Jack saw some rolls and was so excited that he ordered some rolls all by himself.  When the rolls came, Jack and Harper were enjoying their food and suddenly Jack grabbed a roll, hoisted it over his head and announced "I the Statue of Liberty!"  Where does he get these things?

The kids ate really well and Harper surprised me by trying Granny's catfish and fried okra (that girl will do anything her Granny asks her to).  After dinner we went back to Granny's to play and Granny found some American flags (Jack is big into American flags right now too) and Harper, Jack, and Granny put on a parade. They also found some old tub toys and Granny filled the sink so the kids could play.


After playing, Granny offered up some dessert- Harper insisted they have cookies. It was so cute to see Harper and Jack sitting at my Granny's table eating Oreos and milk. Granny and I decided to have ice cream and Granny put her bowl on the table and turned around for a split second and when she turned back, Jack was eating her ice cream! So, Jack got two desserts- what happens at Granny's stays at Granny's.

After our trip to Nana and Pop's, we settled in for one last week at home before school started. We got to go to the park, the library,  Costco, and Kroger; we also got to play in the water table, play with play doh, and color all sorts of pictures and read all sorts of books. I am going to miss them so much when school starts. We even got to take Abby to the park with us- something she's learning to like too.



Oh, and Harper and Jack had their first trip to the dentist! No cleaning this time, just meeting the dentist, looking at their teeth, and getting them acclimated with the thought of sitting in a chair. Their first cleaning will be in 6 months. The kids did a great job, but I wouldn't have been able to make the appointment work without Durinda volunteering to go with me- she helped so much and the kids were so excited to see her. Durinda said that she could tell the kids had grown in the month since she'd see them, especially Harper.

Harper has been particularly affectionate giving both Tony and I lots of hugs, patting us on the back, and telling us how much she loves us or misses us. Harper told me last week that I was her "favorite mommy". This girl has always been a daddy's girl, but I find her hanging out with me a little more here and there. She's fiery and has some great temper tantrums- hello Miss Independent- but she also has the sweetest heart and she's always trying to help and giving her brother hugs and high fives and pats on the back. I love this girl, even when she's trying my patience. Here are some of my favorite shots of this girl who is growing up so fast.



Jack-man is not a little Jack-man anymore and is big into superheroes, sports, and all things that "go". That boy hardly sits still (unless he's watching TV), and has now started "sword fighting" and wrestling with his dad. I can see him turning into a boy everyday and I try to savor those little moments when he wants to sit on my lap or snuggle with me because I know they are fleeting. Here are some shots of Jack in action.



I'm going to end the post tonight with two of my favorite instances of the last couple of weeks. The first is a rare moment when Jack and Harper started dancing together. They were holding hands and dancing when they got the giggles and couldn't stop laughing. Tony and I were laughing with them- it was a great moment and I'm thankful we snapped a picture of it.


The second instance is a picture of these two sweet little ones snuggled up on the same bed during nap time. They started off in separate beds, but when I went to check on the monitor, this is what I found. I hope Harper and Jack will stay best friends as they grow older- oh my heart, I love them.