A Fun Weekend!

We had a really fun weekend this past weekend. The kids and I started it off on Friday by going to the Splash Park at the St. Augustine Beach Pier. All of our kids had a blast! I think MaKenzie spent the most time in the water while the big boys played mostly in the sand. Then, as boys will do, they both started to incorporate the sand and water play into on activity. It just tickles me to watch these little guys as they find ways to get the sand into the water. (Stealing other peoples tools and buckets, and the occasional dump truck is not beneath them! Of course, when you leave your stuff just laying around, it seems to become community property anyway!) But, as they say, boys will be boys! It was so much fun and made a great start to the weekend. We'll be doing this pretty frequently, so I'm sure you'll be seeing more pics of wet and sandy kids as the summer wears on! (Did I mention how great it is during these hot Florida days...and we haven't even hit the worst of it yet!) Saturday we had a very nice visit with my Mom and her high school friends, Lori and Margie. Mom brought the girls down to visit and meet her grandbabies. (I'll add a few pictures when I get the from Mom's camera.) They seemed to enjoy themselves at our house and had GREAT entertainment! Seth was in rare form and put on quite the show. All he kept doing was throwing himself onto the floor and screaming "OH NO! I fall Down!" It was so funny! We're not sure where the energy came from, but we didn't really care because it was so much fun! Then, after church and naps on Sunday we went over to the house of a family who used to go to church with us. To make a long story short, they have been taking their 4 year old son to Margo's story time at the library for over 2 1/2 years and only just recently made the connection between her and Henry! Well, we had a blast! Margo, my Mom and Dad were all there. We took the kids down to their Paddock to meet the horses. Seth was quite interested until the horse started making noises and getting a little close to him. Then, he wanted down! Hannah, on the other hand, was completely in love. She was not afraid at all! She had a grand time trying to rip the horses nose off. Thankfully, Romeo was sweet and just let her. Romeo also fell in love with my Mom. She was wearing her patchouli oil and I guess Romeo was way into it! He followed her and kept nuzzling her face and chest with his head. At one point he had his whole nostril on her cheek! It was hilarious and I must say I was very impressed with my Mom...I didn't think she was very fond of horses! I guess I was wrong! After Seth was "all done" with the horses, he got on Sean's "John Deer Tractor". I didn't think he would know how to make it go, but he quickly figured it out and spent the better part of 15 minutes just going in a circle. The smile on his face was priceless! He absolutely loved it! The only way we were able to pry him off of there was by telling him we were going swimming. Of course it worked! He loves swimming! Well, he had so much fun and swam...ok, played so hard that he was wiped out! (He slept until 11:00 the next morning!) Anyway, we had such a nice time catching up and swimming and having a yummy bar-b-q dinner! And, last but certainly not least, we had a nice visit with Aunt Melanie, Uncle Adam and Isaiah and Elijah. Melanie and Adam are our kids Godparents. They were in town visiting family (and us!) before Adam's Vicarage is up and before they go back to Indiana at the end of the Summer. It was our first time meeting our new god-son, Elijah. He is so precious! What a sweet baby her is...and big like his big brother was! Melanie and Adam came over for dinner and we spent the evening catching up, laughing at our kids antics and just having a really nice time together. I can only pray that when Adam is called to a church next year it is at least somewhat close to Florida, if not in Florida! (Sorry for stealing the pics, Mel! I realized a bit too late that I didn't get any pictures of the littlest man!)

A visit from Life Flight

Yes, you did read that right...you just read too far into it! We went up to Henry's school today to see our neighbor, Joe, a Life Flight Trauma Nurse, do a show and tell for the 8th graders. It was really neat! The helicopter pilot treated us all to a couple of fly by's and then a fancy landing. The kids seemed really impressed..ok, until they were all dusted, but that's ok! It was a very impressive landing and very interesting presentation from Joe. The kids actually behaved themselves (the 8th graders were good, too, and asked lots of interesting questions!) and to my surprise Hannah was not at all scared. Seth, on the other hand was a bit afraid. He really liked seeing it in the air, but when the helicopter was landing and blowing up all of the dust and grass he became frightened. He turned to me and started asking "Make helicopter go way, make go way Mommy, pease!" It was really so cute, the first 10 times. He then proceeded to repeat himself for the next 30 minutes. He would tell me all about how it flies and then he'd look at me in all seriousness and say, "Make go way, Mommy!" Finally, it was time for us to go. Seth was quietly insistent that if the helicopter was not going to go away, then we needed to go in the car. So, I finally gave in and took the kids to the car. We waited there...in the beautifully air conditioned shade...while the guys took off again and then we came home. All in all it was a great beginning to our day! Thank you Joe, Matt and Bernie for coming to the school and giving such a great presentation! Here's a couple of pics. Because Seth was a bit afraid we only got a couple. The other pictures are just from the last couple of days...just thought they were cute and wanted to share them as well!

Pictures, Pictures and more Pictures

End of April Slideshow

Gabe's Graduation

May Slideshow

Our "Scooter" and long awaited update

Well, you can tell that Hannah's appointments with the pediatrician are spreading out a little more because my updates are spreading out. Sorry about that! First, a Hannah update. She is now 6 months old! It is amazing how fast the time has gone by. She is such a good, sweet baby. She smiles all the time and watches her brother like a hawk...hence the new (however temporary) nickname of "Scooter". Yes, our Hannah is now on the move! She completely skipped the sitting on her own milestone and went straight to crawling, well, army crawling. The first time I noticed actual movement (aside from rolling around) was around the 13th of May or so. Since then, she has gotten so quick! All she wants to do is keep up with Seth. She follows him around like a little puppy. She gets into all of his toys and just generally wants to be a big girl already. She still loves her jump-a-roo and her bouncy seat and swing, but her new favorite past-time is to be on the floor where she can explore. Everything goes in her mouth, so I thank God every day that we do not have any tiny toys to worry about yet. She loves Seth's cars and really loves his tools. I have a feeling that she will be the prettiest tomboy you have ever seen as she grows up! Hannah has now been successfully weaned and is on formula full time now. It was a sad day when I realized we had nursed for our last time, but a happy one as well. I think our nursing relationship got started off extremely rough when she had to have a bottle so early. As a big supporter of having a good mother/baby breatfeeding relationship, I felt that ours just wasn't and was extremely happy to have given her 6 months! She is loving her bottles and is also eating solids now. I started her around 4 months and 3 weeks old and she has been eating like a champ ever since! She's now up to two feedings of solids a day and loving it. Along with weaning came a blessing...sleeping through the night! WHOOPEE!!!!! We could not be a happier pair of parents! Finally, Hannah had a well-baby check-up yesterday. She is now 26 1/2 inches long and 16 pounds 11 ounces. She is holding strong in the 75% for both height and weight. The doctor was pleased with her growth and not at all concerned that she has skipped the "Sitting Up" milestone. He said she is very strong and just like her brother, very busy! Seth is the coolest kid ever...of course, we are a bit biased! He is so much fun and keeps me on my toes all day long now. If he isn't climbing ("I kiming!") onto something, he's falling off of something ("I fall!"). If he isn't ignoring his sister, he is practically smothering her. If her isn't watching Handy Manny (his new favorite - "Han Mee") he's watching Cars ("Reece Car Pease!"). He is speaking in sentences now and is taking the term "tape recorder" way too seriously! He repeats EVERYTHING and if he doesn't repeat it right away, he is saying the words or using them in sentences later. He loves to run ("I runnin!") and he loves to watch his "Daddy go bye-bye keef car!" (keef car = police car) He has begun to have a hard time learning how to share and truthfully, I have a hard time explaining it. He is also a mischief maker. He likes to antagonize his friends every now and then, especially if he isn't getting his way. And, as all kids do, he only wants to play with his toys if his friends are playing with them. He also "needs" everything now. ("I need dat ty-tol!" or "I need dat attul box!" or "More attul box pease!" or "I need dat toys!" translation: dat = that, attul box = apple juice box) I really wish I could have a tape recorder recording 24/7 because he is so entertaining! He comes up with something new every hour! For instance, last night I was busy with Hannah and he got into my breatpump. He grabbed a bottle with the attachments on it and began to explain to me how to use it (I haven't used it in months)! It was hilarious! After he was done with his explanation, he began to use it as if it was a bull horn, mooing into it! I thought I was going to die and all I could was watch while Hannah fussed and drank her bottle in my lap! On a more personal level, Henry and I are great! He is working like a mad man. We are both anxiously awaiting his summer schedule because it will mean longer days, but more days off...if that makes sense. He just made the bomb team and is looking forward to their training and going to all the schools he can. (The only time they will touch "live bombs" is if it is strapped to a person, otherwise they use a robot. He won't do any of that until he has gone through all of the appropriate schools, either!) He is also busy busting his behind trying to get in shape and lose some weight. He's done a great job so far and looks fantastic! He began following Weight Watchers with me when I joined and has lost around 25 pounds or so, to date. I am doing very well. I have lost 16 pounds and am proud to say I exercise 5-6 days a week now. This is totally new for me and I have impressed myself with my abilit to stick with it. As for my goal of running a marathon, I think it was a bit lofty! I am still holding that as a goal, but it will be a long term one. Right now I am just working towards keeping up with Jennifer and Nicole. They have been a huge support to me as I work my way to meeting my goals. They definitely keep me going, especially when I feel like quitting! (Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Girls!) We had a very busy month this month so I will post a few slideshows in a separate post. Between Gabe's graduation from FSU Law School (We are so proud of you!), Mother's Day (We love you both so much!), Jen's graudation from Florida Coastal School of Law (Congratulations Jen!) and various other holidays and gatherings we have been very busy! I'll make the promise that I seem to have a hard time keeping, but one of these days I'll keep it...I will try my hardest to update more often! Our love to you all!

The Jacksonville Zoo - April 20, 2008

On Sunday, April 20 we decided we needed a family day and went to the zoo. We were treated to the zoo trip by Margo and Art who have a membership! So, on Sunday afternoon off we went, Henry, me, the kids and Margo. It was a beautiful day for a stroll around the zoo. Seth had so much fun. He got to see so many animals. Fortunately for him, Margo (a.k.a. Mama) was there to show him everything there was to see. She pointed everything out and told him a bit about each animal. It was really so sweet! My favorite moment was just a few minutes in to our walk. Seth noticed that all of the animals he was seeing (at first) were laying down. I guess this frustrated him because he then began shouting at all of them to "GET UP!!!" Of course he shouted even more if we laughed at him...which we did! He was so insistant that they all get up! A relativeley new attraction at the zoo is the "Stingray Bay" ("All barb have been trimmed, much like a dogs toenails, for your safety"...no joke, that was an actual disclaimer!). Basically, you pay a couple of dollars to go under this big tent with a very large, shallow pool and "pet", or attempt to pet, the stingrays, much like you would find at Seaworld. Of course this fascinated Seth. We, Margo and I, took our turns trying to pet the rays but to no avail! The rays stayed closer to the middle of the pool, so unleass you were Michael Jordan there was no way you could really pet them! It was fun trying! After Stingray bay we went and visited the Giraffes. At this site you can actually feed the Giraffes, if they are interested! At first we didn't think we would get the chance, but then a "teenage" giraffes walked over to us and let us feed him/her. Seth was not too sure about it at first and let me hold the branch of leaves. Just as the giraffe had almost finished eating, Seth grabbed the branch and the giraffe promptly stole it away from him! It was really cute and Seth was pretty thrilled with that. We then visited all of the other exhibits. Seth liked watching the monkeys (Bonobos) play. He also was fascinated with the snakes. The only thing that probably topped his list of fun sightings wasn't a sighting at all, it was the train! There is a train that circles the zoo. Seth had a blast riding on it with us!

A visit to "Mama Rose"

***A Note*** This post will be followed by a post from the zoo 2 weekends ago. The only reason the zoo isn't coming first is that I took TOO many pictures and haven't finished editing them yet!*** On Thursday we packed the kids and Uncle Gabe up in the car and drove down to see Grandma Rose...or as Seth calls her, "Mama Rose". The car was packed almost full. (I never realized how much stuff you need when traveling with two small children!) Fortunately, our first trip in our AWESOME new van went very smoothly. Well, it went smoothly as long as you don't consider the fact that Uncle Gabe nearly got his head kicked in by Seth! (Seriously! Gabe sat in front of Seth and tried to lean his chair back and take a nap and Seth kept kicking him in the head. Seth was kind enough for a "Sorry Uncle Gate!, though!) Once we got to Hallandale we checked in to our hotel and went over to Grandma Roses condo. She lives in a very nice complex on the beach! After saying hello and after Aunt Nancy arrived we decided to take Seth and Hannah down to the beach. This is a sad fact but, this was the first time Seth has actually walked on the beach. I know, I know! "You live in St. Augustine, ten minutes from the beach and his first time only came now?!?!?!" Yes, but it mas a wonderful first time. Not having our swim suits with us we thought we'd just walk along the shore. RIGHT! After letting the water splash over Seth's toes once or twice that was it! He laughed and was so enamored with it that he let go of my hand and just sat down! It was so funny! All we could do was laugh...oh, and the camera...yeah, it was up in the condo! So, sadly, I only have mental pictures of it, but they are the best...wish I could share them with you! Anyhow, we had a very nice and somewhat relaxing weekend visiting with Grandma Rose. (Relaxing with two kids under two is a bit of an oxymoron!) Seth loved visiting with Mama Rose, Uncle Gate and Mama Margo and Aunt Nancy. He and Hannah did their best at making Grandma and all of her friends fall in love with them. Unfortunately the weekend ended all too soon, but a good time was definitely had by all! A note about the pictures...Hannah was all ready for the beach/swimming pool and opted for a photo shoot with Mama Rose first. Seth was waiting for me and Henry to get our sunscreen on and decided to lounge in the lounge chair on the pool deck. On Sunday morning Seth decided to jump into the pack n play with Hannah. We told him to sit with her for a picture...he sat ON her! The last two are of Seth and Grandma Rose and one of Me, Henry, Seth and Grandma Rose...Hannah was sound asleep in her carseat!

Hannah and the rest of us!

Since I just posted the long post all about Seth, I thought I should also update you all on Hannah as well. Life with Hannah has certainly been an adventure. If you ask my Mom or Margo you'll find that I am always telling them how surprised I am that my children are SOOOOO different. Yes, they are 17 months apart so they are going to be different, but I am talking about comparing them at the same age. Seth was a very easy going baby, very low maintenance. Hannah...is not. Don't get me wrong, she is easy going but she is not low maintenance, at least not any more! She is showing us more and more that she is a girl, not a boy. She hates to have a wet or poopy diaper (who would love it?) and lets it be known how much she hates it. (Seth would whine a little but never got as upset as she does.) She is FINALLY eating applesauce! (Seth took a couple of days and loved cereal...Hannah hated it!) We tried to start her on cereal with fruit in it and she gagged every time I tried to give it to her. Finally, my Mom suggested we try plain baby applesauce. I wish I had tried it earlier! She LOVES it! Today she ate half a small jar in one sitting. She acted like she wanted more but I didn't want to over do it with her. Hannah is a very happy baby. We've decided that her most recent "Fussy Few Days" was probably due to a growth spurt. We thought it might be her teeth but she calmed down and no teeth came in...not to mention she looks very long all of a sudden. Hannah loves her Mommy, in a way that even Seth does not outwardly show. She is already showing signs of being very attached to me. She throws a fit if I leave her with anyone now. I'm not sure why this is starting early but, I cannot lie...I love it! Seth was not this way with me and is still the way with Henry so it is nice for me, in a way. Hannah is very active now. She has mastered rolling over from both sides. She now rolls her way around the floor to get where she wants to. She is also reaching and grasping at everything! If it has color and is near her, Hannah wants it and at almost 5 months old I must say she is pretty good at getting it! Hannah has found her feet now. She loves to lay on her back and play "Catch my Foot" with herself. She just grins and coos and laughs the whole time. Hannah has also already begun to push up on her feet when she is laying on her belly so that her butt is in the air and she perched on her elbows. I'll have to try to get a picture so you can really understand what I am talking about. It is really cute and has us convinced that she will be walking well before she is a year old. When she looks at Seth you can just see how much she wants to be able to play with him. Overall, Hannah is a really good girl. We are still working on getting her to sleep through the night and once she does that we'll work on moving her to her crib. For now, she is still in her co-sleeper next to my side of the bed, right where I like her. Since she does nurse once in the night it is nice to have her by my side. I will miss laying in bed listening to her breath and waking up to see her little face just smiling up at mine when we do move her. So, for now I will enjoy having her by my side. (Could that be why she is so attached to me?!?!?) A quick update on me and Henry. I recently joined Weight Watchers again. Henry is "following" plan with me as best he can. He really is doing a fantastic job, as am I if I do say so myself! In the past two weeks I have lost a total of 9 pounds! We're not sure of the number of pounds he has lost but we know Henry is losing because his duty belt is fitting very loosely now! So, yay for us! Otherwise, it is still same old, same old...just the way we like it!