Big Kids

I know that I harp on the fact that the kids are growing up so fast, but tonight I went through some old blog posts and I was blown away by how much different they looked even in May than they do now. Harper's hair is so long, and Jack looks like a little boy now- no baby left on that kiddo.

In fact, this week I managed to snap a few pictures of things that made me take a step back and realize just how big Harper and Jack have gotten and how much they've learned, even in the couple of months.

Harper has been into playing pretend a lot lately. She loves to play with her Little People- the doll house especially. Harper also likes to play with her doll (a new discovery in the last few weeks), so Tuesday night when Harper was finished with dinner, she decided to feed her baby. I put the baby in the high chair and handed Harper a spoon- she then asked for a bowl and here are the results:

I couldn't stop shaking my head and smiling; this girl is a sponge just soaking up everything we say and do.

Jack also blew me away this week, but not with something he figured out; rather, it was a way that Jack used his body that surprised me. Jack was sitting on the kitchen floor after dinner the other night looking through a cook book. I looked up to see that he was sitting "cross-legged" on the floor. I rushed for the camera to document the first time I saw Jack sit like a "big kid".  Then tonight at dinner, Jack built a tower out of his bowl and cup- maybe he'll be an architect.

It seems like they are growing and learning a little bit each day. I know I say that almost every post, but that's the beauty of his blog- I can look back and see just how far they've come, and they have come along way- our little miracle babies.

One Year Ago

Great Grandparents Galore

This weekend we had visitors from Oklahoma, Fort Worth, and Arlington. Tony went to Houston to be with his mom, and I stayed home to take care of the kiddos and my grandparents were in town, so Saturday we had the Great Grandparents out to see the kiddos.

Harper and Jack woke up Saturday morning to some boxes of clothes from Aunt J all the way in Chicago. I went through the boxes Friday night and the kids were excited when they saw the boots that came in the box. Here are some pictures of the kiddos modeling their new foot ware.

Before my family arrive,d we went on a run with Abby in tow. There is a big difference between running with the dog and running with the dog while pushing two kids in a stroller. Did you notice the footwear on these two?

When we got home, the kids took a bath and got ready for our guests- Jack even spent some time waiting by the window.

I think a good time was had by all. Jack has a great time going around the room naming everyone; we clapped each time he got a name right and then he got to where he'd just randomly shout out a name and then clap for himself. He did great with the name game and even knew that my grandparents from Oklahoma (that we only see a few times a year) were "Grandma" and "Grandpa".  Harper also had a good time with the great grandparents moving from lap to lap.

I was sad when I realized I didn't get a picture of Jack with Grandma and Grandpa or Great Granny, but then I saw this picture and realized he was busy when I was taking pictures.

Sunday morning the kids and I met our friends for breakfast and ventured out to the grocery store- we survived and made it home with all the groceries in one piece. The kids ate a good lunch, took a good nap, and then we decided to take Abby for a walk. I took this picture from my point of view so you can see that Jack took a spatula on our walk, and Harper decided to bring "baby" along with us.

We made it back from our walk in time to eat dinner and play for a little while before Tony got home. The kids were so happy to see Tony when he did get home tonight that Harper ran and leapt into his arms. Jack gave Tone a big bear hug and Harper brought her daddy all her Little People toys so they could play.

Overall, we had a fun weekend and I'm thankful Tony made it home safely. Please continue to pray for Debbie and our family- we greatly appreciate it. That's all for tonight- have a great week!

Mid Week Update

After all the happenings of Halloween, this week has been pretty low key in terms of the kids' activity. Harper was also still feeling under the weather at the beginning of the week, and the weather was cold and rainy, so the kids spent most of the week playing inside. 

In fact, one of the most "exciting" things that happened this week was Harper's trip to Urgent Care on Monday night. She was throwing a fit because she didn't want to eat the dinner I'd made (pork chops and green beans...remember the post about how much she liked green beans? I guess tastes change day to day here). Harper got so worked up that she started coughing and wouldn't stop whining and refused to eat (all the things she did before she landed in the ER with breathing trouble last spring). So, Tony loaded her up and they went to Urgent Care while I stayed home with Jack. The good news was she had no fever, her blood oxygen level was good, and she stopped her temper tantrum.  The bad news was that she needed some medicine for bronchiolitis. She's been on the medicine for 3 days and is back to her normal self.

Harper's big accomplishment this week was saying her first full sentence. Durinda said that Harper was playing with her straw cup at breakfast and was trying to open the top so the straw would appear- she struggled, but got it done and Durinda said "You did it!" to which Harper replied "I did it!"  I have no idea how Harper knew to change the pronoun from "you" to "I", but she did and she's used "I" in declarative statements a few times this week. 

One more funny Harper story. She was wearing a Minnie Mouse sweatshirt today and she burped very loudly. I made a shocked face and said "who burped?" to which Harper replied "Minnie". Geez- passing the blame already! Jack better watch out, that's for sure.

I did manage to snap a few pictures of the kids this week doing silly and random things. 

We had to remove our fireplace screen and replace it with a baby gate to keep two little ones from climbing inside the fireplace. Now, however, the gate is serving a dual purpose- where do they come up with these things? 

Here is Harper modeling her footie PJ's with the cows. When I pulled them out of the drawer, she yelled "Moo!" Her favorite part is that they zip up- she keeps saying "zip" "zip"

Jack is also sporting the footie jammies in this colder weather. He was on the move!

I took this picture of Jack watching TV tonight because he looks like such a little man with his hands folded behind his back. I've seen my dad stand in front of a few TVs watching Ranger games just like this. Tony thinks he looks like he's in charge when he does this, and Tony calls him "General Jack"

The kids did get out this afternoon and took a walk with Durinda and collected acorns (which Harper proudly showed me when I walked in this afternoon "Mama Nuts!"). Harper also told me at dinner when I asked that she saw "dirt" on the walk- yes, I'm sure she did- silly girl. 

Here's how I spent my evening- what a great way to end the day...

That's all for the kiddos this week. Tony and I would like you to please keep his mom, Debbie, in your prayers. She is not in good health, and she would benefit from your prayerful support. Jack and Harper thank you for keeping their Mimi in your thoughts and prayers.

Happy Halloween

Before I get into our Halloween, it's important to note that our weekend started with two sick little ones and a sick Mom and a sick Dad. I got a cold earlier this week and managed to bring it home to Harper who had a runny nose and a chesty cough, and come Trick or Treat time, Jack was also sneezing and Tony was complaining of a sore throat- not what we were hoping for. Here's a shot of me and Harper on Thursday- she did not feel good.

However, our little ones managed to rally and had a great time Trick-orTreating around the neighborhood. They didn't fight us putting on their costumes, and they were intrigued when we picked up their pumpkins and walked out the front door.

The moment we got outside, Harper and Jack were off. They went to our neighbor's house first and across the street before venturing to the next street over. The kids insisted that they walk the whole time, and they were more interested in running down and the sidewalk than getting candy. The kids were cautious about keeping their candy in the pumpkins, though, and would randomly check their loot. Harper and Jack were late getting into bed, but they were quick to fall asleep. I am so thankful we got to take these little ones out.

I also took some pictures of the kids in their cute Halloween shirts. Jack was interested in showing off his ghost and Harper lived up to the slogan on her shirt "Scary Cute!"

Saturday morning Jack decided that he didn't want Halloween to be over quite yet, and insisted that he wear his costume just a bit longer- here he is eating a Kit-Kat (this was their favorite candy this year).

The kids still felt under the weather on Saturday, so we stuck close to home and played in our pajamas and rested, but Sunday everyone was feeling better so we ventured out to lunch and Costco. We decided to grab a burger and ordered the kids a cheeseburger to split and some fries. Harper started out eating her burger like a champ while Jack demanded fries and wouldn't touch his sandwich- he wanted to watch the Cowboy game and eat french fries. By the end of lunch, however, Jack had become interested in his burger and, without taking his eyes of the football game, managed to eat almost his whole sandwich (he left one bite). Tony and I were impressed with his eating and enjoyed our lunch and outing with the kids.

One more thing before I sign off for the night: Harper has been into bows lately, though she will only wear them for a few minutes, so here are some pics of her in her bow- one of her practicing for Halloween.  Also, Harper really liked the green beans I made for dinner earlier this week, so much so that she  was eating the green beans cold out of the dish while I was putting the leftovers in the fridge. I wanted photographic documentation- silly girl!

So, that's it for this weekend- we've put up our pumpkins and costumes and are ready for turkeys and extra thankful and full hearts.