Thanksgiving 2010

Because we just returned from Virginia and because we're going to spend Christmas with my family, we decided to stay home this Thanksgiving. We had a lovely afternoon with friends at the Gulbrandsen's with a delicious feast and football galore. Dinner really was a feast; we enjoyed a perfectly cooked turkey, a green bean casserole, a broccoli and cheese casserole, sweet potatoes, cornbread stuffing, mash potatoes, mac and cheese, fruit, rolls, apple pie, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin bread! Yummy!! Owen had a blast playing with the kids and Tucker did great considering we had to contain him to the high chair or in our arms throughout the evening. A few days ago, he came down with a funky virus known as "hand, foot, and mouth" which is a mild bug, or at least it was for him and most of his pals, with fever and rash symptoms. We have our fingers crossed that we did in fact contain the germs and that none of the other kids, or adults for that matter, end up with it. We are grateful that the bug is so minor and that really we have such healthy children.

We have so much to be thankful and grateful for in our lives. We feel so blessed to have supportive and loving families and wonderful friends. This is our first thanksgiving with both Owen and Tucker, and we couldn't feel luckier or happier.

Virgina 2010 Vacation

We timed our trip to Virginia perfectly this year. We went back to meet our new niece Olivia and new nephew Peyton and to give Kris' extended family a chance to meet Tucker. Luckily for us, the babies made it home from the hospital about one week before we arrived so we were able to hug and dote on them all week long.

Highlights from our trip:

• Crisp sunny fall days with beautiful fall foilage surrounding us everywhere we went
• Giant piles of leaves for the boys to play in for hours at a time
• a big family party at Great Grandma's which included a full afternoon of trampoline jumping with cousins, petting goats, looking at the beautiful horses, a ride in the back of a pick up truck, almost petting a buffalo and a cow, and yummy food and great company.
• Owen and Tucker playing with Jenkins and Onyx
• a trip to Build a Bear with Auntie Kyndal
• a trip to the toy store with Nana
• a visit with Robert & Jenny and their sweet baby Abby
• a delicious Thanksgiving feast with Robert and his pals at his Smith Mountain Lake cabin
• first park trip with Auntie Kyndal and her beautiful babies
• a family photo shoot
• lots of relaxing and watching movies in the evenings
• yummy meals at home with the family
• Aunt Jackie's AWESOME sugar cookies

can you believe this color on the maple tree?

could they be any sweeter?

A visit with friends

A few weekends ago, our good friends, the Okzresiks, came out to visit from Ohio. They used to live in Folsom, but moved to the Midwest to be closer to family a few years ago. We miss them terribly and were so happy to see them and meet their son Colin for the first time.

We had a really nice time hanging out with them and a bunch of other friends at the Berry's house for a relaxing Saturday afternoon BBQ. When we first started to hang out with everybody, we had just graduated from college. Now, most of us have little ones. What a difference a few years makes.

Welcome to the world Oliva & Peyton!

On September 10, my sister in law Kyndal went into early labor and delivered her two twin babies, Olivia and Peyton two months before their due date. The babies were very tiny, both less than four pounds, but they were oh so cute. They spent the first seven weeks in the NICU, growing stronger and bigger, developing at impressive rates. Kyndal and her husband Tracy, were finally able to bring the babies home a week before our scheduled vacation to meet the twins and visit with family and friends.

During our Virginia trip a few weeks ago, they had a check up on November 10 which can in some ways be considered their Day 1 for milestone tracking. Peyton weighed almost the same as Tucker did at birth (1 oz heavier) and Olivia weighed almost the same as Owen at birth (2 oz lighter). It was especially sweet for me to hug and kiss my new niece and nephew and to also be reminded of how itty bitty my babies were such a short time ago. The size difference between Tucker and the twins is remarkable.

Owen treated the babies so carefully and lovingly, it was adorable. Here is a picture of the four grandkids. Kris' parents went from one grandchild to four in 1 year!!

Playmates

Owen and Tucker have a new favorite game. We love watching them play together.

Potty Training

This post is long overdue. It feels like we have been potty training for months, and well, that's because we have. There are so many stories on the internet, from friends, and in books that describe potty training as something simple if the timing and tactics are right. I have no doubt that's true for many folks, but we have not been so lucky.

We officially started our first potty training session back in May, but with our influx of family visitors over the summer, potty training got complicated and never stuck. I'm sure a number of things we did impacted our mission. I personally hesitated to train him earlier in the year because it is a hard thing to do with a newborn in tow, especially in public. Even at home it was difficult; if the need for Owen hit while I was feeding Tucker, it was extremely difficult to rush Owen to the bathroom and help. So, we waited until early summer and when that failed, we waited a few more weeks and then started again and then again. We tried different tactics like bribes, prizes, charts, candy, loud supportive cheering, and anything else under the sun we could imagine. Finally, shortly after Owen's third birthday, something clicked and he decided he was ready to go to Ms. Kim's 3s class and that was that. We had a bag full of prizes and made a huge deal of every success and every attempt and pretty much over night, he was potty trained. It wasn't perfect, but after a few days and a long, messy week in his twos class, the next Monday, he was enrolled in the 3s class and very aware that he was potty trained. We couldn't have been happier. We were anxious for this milestone because we really wanted Owen to move up to the preschool class and he couldn't move up until he met this prerequisite.

Now, we've reached November and overall Owen is potty trained. We have just experienced one long week where he started to have a few accidents again. We realize we need to stay on top of the prize bag and bribing and mainly we need to continue to emphasize the new routines and habits.

For the record, we do bribe with TV shows. It works and it can't last forever. It just can't.

Happy 10th Month Birthday Tucker!

Happy 10th month birthday, Tucker!

This past month has been a big one for you, Tucker! Your first two teeth came in last week, just a couple of days apart. You have started to eat more and more finger foods and so far you really like bread, eggs, and sausage. You often make loud sounds when you want cheerios, puffs, or teething biscuits and you have started to sign for "more". You have become a cruising fool and love, love, love to stand up on your own. You walk around with whatever push toy you can find and often crawl to areas you really don't need to be in, like the bathroom. Two of your new favorite games are crawling upstairs and sitting in big boy chairs. Every time music is on, you start to dance and bounce, you are so cute!! We love to watch you play peek a boo - where you hide behind the blanket and then move it quickly and laugh when you see our faces. And our neighbors and your teachers really get a kick out of your newly developed waving skill. You are growing so fast, Tucker! We love watching you become a little boy.