How'd you sleep?

I think it's funny that when I ask Tre how he slept he answers with, "Well." (Using "well" grammatically correct too!) When I ask William how he slept he answers with the literal, "Bed, Blankie, Bear!"

Merry Christmas everyone! Santa was good to us and the boys were happy, so we can't complain. Although, Santa did have a few mishaps. He couldn't find the Geotrax tower that Tre's been asking for and that was his first question. When I heard, "Where's my Geotrax tower?" in a sweet innocent voice, I nearly cried because I felt so bad. Ahh well, they can't get everything they ask for. To add to that, Santa was getting Tre's new Leapster ready and realized "he" bought the recharging system and not the actual Leapster. Santa sent Jack to the stores at 10pm to find one and of course they were all closed. Santa left Tre a note along with his Leapster games telling him to ask mom and dad to buy one. Needless to say, we are going to the store first thing in the morning. I cried last night because I felt so bad. Pathetic, I know, but I couldn't help it! Thankfully, he's fine and he loved everything he got!

Mimaw and Pop Pop, Jack's parents, are in from Arizona for Christmas. They haven't seen the kids in over a year so it's been fun watching them get to know them. Jack's birthday was on Monday and his sister sent him a singing card and William just got the biggest kick out of it.

Tonight is Christmas Eve and Tre is soooooooooooooo excited! It's the absolute sweetest thing ever. He asked to go to bed at 5:45pm and I usually have to coax him into bed at 7:30ish. He picked out the cookies he wanted to leave for Santa and then suggested that we leave him CHOCOLATE milk. How thoughtful!

I don't know who is more excited for the morning, him or me! I can't wait to see his eyes light up when he sees what Santa left him and his brother.

William is oblivious to it all, but I am sure he'll be excited in the morning too! :)

Daddy spell

Jack was gone for 7 weeks, and although I dreaded those 7 weeks, they really weren't THAT bad! The kids were amazingly well behaved and I could probably count on one...maybe two...hands how often they were in time out or were in trouble.

Since he's been home, William's behavior has remained the same. I guess he is so young, he doesn't really know the difference of Jack being home or away; that, or he just doesn't care.

Tre, on the other hand, did care. He constantly cried for him, asked about him, wanted to talk to him on the phone, etc., and now that Jack's back he's like a different child. I think that since Jack was gone for so long, he built Jack up in his head to be this wonderful man (which he is) that let's him do whatever he wants (which he doesn't).

It's hard not to get my feelings hurt (I know he's three and doesn't know how to handle all of these emotions), but after so many days and so many, I want my daddy's, it's soooo hard. Ever since Jack has been home, Tre has acted out and when I punish him he screams for his daddy (who is mostly at work), like Jack will save him! He is constantly telling me how much he loves Jack and if I want to help him do something he'll say, "NO! I only want daddy to help", which is sooo sweet, but it keeps me wondering if I am chopped liver! I know. I know. He's only 3 and Jack was gone for a long time. I have to keep reminding myself! It's just hard because I was the one watching him and taking care of him for those 7 weeks and now I feel like he's blaming me for Jack having to leave.

I have to give props to Jack because when he gets home from work he takes over the disciplining so I don't have to be "Mr. Bad Guy" all the time. Last night Tre was REALLY acting out and Jack was VERY appropriately tough on him! Tre actually said, "I want my mommy!", which secretly made me smile. I hoped that might have finally broke Tre from his "daddy spell," and it might have.

Tre has been SOOOOO much better today. We went to Barnes and Nobles to play with the train table and after only 20 minutes William had a major poop and I was unprepared with no diapers so we had to leave. Tre simply said, "Okay!" and that was that! I was very proud! No talking back. No tantrums.

William has stage fright.

So, William was SUPPOSED to be on stage, but the minute he saw me, he climbed into my lap. I wasn't surprised at all. When the kids started singing, though, I wanted to get some pictures of Tre and you can see what happened! My poor baby!

Christmas Program

This video cracks me up. Tre was the star and the angel knocked his star loose and left his ears curled the whole time. I know all mother say this, but is he not the most precious thing ever?

Biking and braking

Tre's REALLY LOVES his bike, and he's getting so good at it too! I'm almost tempted to see how he does without training wheels. He's recently learned how to brake really hard and skid a little.

Did you make me any money?

Every day Jack gets home from work, one of Tre's first questions is, "Daddy, did you make me any money?" We crack up every time, but putting money in their bank has become sort of a ritual. After Jack's 7 weeks trip to Fallon, he had saved up quite a bit of coins and the boys were thrilled!

Visit with Santa 2009

Jack and I took Tre and William to see Santa this afternoon. Surprisingly, I got a little emotional during the whole thing. I think it was because I missed them so much, but still. Tre was sooooo excited about see santa and when he actually got into his lap he was giddy happy. He told him that he had been a good boy and that he wanted Geotrax and a Transformer. William was scared to death. Poor thing. I have to admit, though, I almost wanted him to cry. Tre has the same picture when he was almost 2 and I have it framed. I wanted one just like it with William so that I could put them next to each other. Silly. I know. I love it though.

Then we went for the train ride that is right next to Santa. Tre was THRILLED and it was so sweet! Afterwards we went to eat lunch at the food court. Usually Tre only eats his fries and I have to coax him to eat the chicken (even though both are TOTALLY unhealthy). Today he picked up the fry and I told him that if he ate all of his chicken we'd go for another train ride (only $1...and totally worth it). He said, "OH! OKAY!" and enthusiastically put down the fry and chowed down on the nuggest! Needless to say, he went again!

Top Gun Graduation

Jack and I returned from Fallon/Reno, Nevada last night.

My lifelong friend/childhood neighbor, Ashley, babysat the kids for 3.5 days. It was the first time Jack and I had a "getaway" since both kids have been born and it was sooo nice! I showed up and Jack had made me a couple of CD's and a sweet letter to go with them! He also surprised me with some gloves and a hat because apparently I had no clue how cold it was going to be. When I arrived it was -19 degrees. When we left yesterday it was 34 degrees. That almost a 55 degree difference! Amazing! It was fun to see snow, though, so I was thrilled.

It was an experience to see "TOPGUN"! You couldn't bring your cameras or cell phones inside the building (but I did get to take some pictures during graduation). On day one, we toured the building and listened to a 3.5 hour talk from a Fighter Ace from Vietnam. In order to be an Ace pilot, you have to have 5 or more enemy kills. Even though it was VERY long, it was really interesting. That night, the Top Gun students, instructors, and any one else who had earned the Top Gun patch went into a private room to perform skits and receive their patch and drink...alot. This is also known as the patching. "Outsiders" aren't invited in because it's pretty politically incorrect and they don't want to offend anyone. I hung out with the wives at the bar. When they all came out, it was really exciting because they were all so happy to have their patches. It was a fun night.

The next morning was the graduation. It wasn't as "dressy" as I would have thought a Top Gun graduation to be, but it was nice. We left town after that and got a nice room in Reno. We did a little shopping, and then relaxed in the hotel room and got room service.

It was sooo nice to get some alone time with Jack. I felt like we were dating again and that felt good. I did miss the kids, but I would certainly go on another trip with my husband again!

CARS Dancing

It is so funny that my kids have seen CARS one million times and it doesn't get old. They dance every time. No one ever said they were good, but I think it's adorable!!!

Who doesn't believe in Santa Claus?!

Jack and I took the kids to Barnes and Noble this morning to let the kids play with the train table before we took Jack to the airport. Tre was asking for something and Jack told him to ask Santa. Right as he was saying this a little boy walked up (around 5th grade we assume) and let out a huffy laugh and saying, "Huh! Santa!" as if he knew he wasn't real. He was about to say something else, but Jack stopped him by asking if he intended to play with the trains. The boy said no, so Jack asked him to leave and go look for what he needed. I couldn't believe this kid. Did his mother not tell him to not ruin the fun for other kids!? He walked around a bit and then his mom came and he whispered something to her and she told him (loud enough for us to hear) that he should have stood up for himself. I wonder if he told her the truth. I started to worry that she was going to comfront us, but I think Jack was hoping she would! I vow that I will teach my children better than that!

Bye Baby!

I have to post these videos in three posts because it won't let me do more than one video in one post. Anyway, this is Jack leaving to go back to Top Gun!

Jack leaving today

This is Jack taking off today. Tre's been heart broken ever since! I feel nothing but pride, though, when I see him fly this jet. It will never get old!

I wanna see my daddy!

So this is what happened when Jack left. He cried and said (and is still saying as I type), "I wanna see my daddy," over and over again. I was fine because I know we'll see him on Thursday, but this just about broke my heart and choked me up. My poor little guy just doesn't understand!

Sorry that William is on the potty in this one, but he has pooped in the tub twice this week, so if he poots and I ask if him if he needs to go and he says yes, he's on the pot! In order to keep him interested in staying there, we sing. I thought it was too cute not to video! He did go pee once today, so that made me happy.

Tre's "Thanksgiving Experience"

Tre is saying his prayer before his Thanksgiving feast at school We say this prayer at home, so I know he knows the words, but I think he was overwhelmed today. It was precious though!

P.S. I forgot to add yesterday that I have decided to put Tre back in Pull-ups at night. He just won't wake up to go to the bathroom and I found myself changing the sheets daily or every other day. Last night was his first night back in pull-ups and when he woke up, it was empty. Go figure!

So today I thought numerous times that I needed to put that (whatever the kiddos were doing) on my blog, but now that I sit here, I can't think of anything.

1. Jack is coming home Saturday around 6 and leaving at noon on Sunday. Even though I am excited, I am also dreading the aftermath. Tre misses his daddy something terrible and I know it will just be a big tease and he is going to have a major backlash after he leaves. I want him to come, but I know it will be a hard few days afterwards. I went to a MOPS meeting today, where there are lots of military wives, and all of them totally understood. They all said they would just tell their hubbies just to wait until Thanksgiving. While, I am not going to do that because I want to see Jack, it was nice for someone to understand that even though I miss Jack something terrible too, sometimes I wonder if it would just be easier if he didn't come for this less than 24 hour stint! I am sure the weather will be bad on Saturday and he won't end up coming and I'll be sooooo disappointed. I know! I know! I'm hard to please :)

2. I have lost 5 pounds since he left. I've been working out hard and trying to watch what I eat. I am really happy with myself. I usually don't stay this dedicated.

3. Tre is now in a size 12 shoe (William is in a 7). I am not sure what a normal size for a 3 year old, but I think that is big. He is growing so fast :(. He was complaining that his tennis shoes hurt him, but I thought he was lying. His big cousin Grant just got new shoes and I thought he wanted new ones like him. We went to the store and he got measured as an 11.5 (his other shoes were a 10.5). I wanted them a little big so that he can grow into them.

4. William didn't cry yesterday when I dropped him off at school for the very first time. It only too 3 months! Poor guy!

I think that is all for now.

Sorry I've been so bad about posting. With Jack gone, bedtime comes and I check my email and facebook accounts and go straight to bed. I have pictures waiting to be downloaded onto the computer, but I can't find the energy to go get the cord and just download them. I know that sounds so lazy, but I just want to veg.

Good news. Jack MIGHT get to come home for a night this weekend. They need to swap jets, so he might get here Saturday afternoon and leave Sunday. Although I am excited, I am cautious. If your in the Navy, or any military, you know to take anything with a grain of salt. I am sure he'll get cancelled, or the jet will break or something and it just won't happen. I am also a little worried about Tre. He misses Jack so much. I fear that he will just be so heartbroken on Sunday when he leaves after just one night. I am predicted a melt down. I might need to schedule a trip to the ice cream shop immediatly after dropping him off. The good news, too, is that he has a commercial flight home on Wednesday. Those types of jets typically don't "break" so I am fairly confident he will make it back then.

I think Jack will see a change in Tre. He is learning to vocalize his frustrations a lot more. So instead of having a tantrum, he crosses his arms, looks down with a very angry face and says things like: "I am VERY angry!", "I don't like those OPTIONS!" (cracks me up that he says options, because I do tend to give him options!), "You are very bossy!" (yes...I know he shouldn't talk to his me that way and, trust me, I am working on it!), "I will NEVER share!" and on and on. I really need to get it on video. I am not used to him NOT having tantrums, so it is so hard not to giggle a little when he is acting like this. I almost think it's kinda cute!

Long Waits, but Happy Days

My twin sister, Becky, and John have dated since our freshman year in high school. Believe it or not, he was her first kiss. We all knew they would get married, and sure enough after almost 10 years of dating they did. Everything was perfect until they started trying to have a baby and nothing was happening. Thankfully, after 4 years, lots of tests, and three rounds of invetro fertilization they finally got some good news and were expecting. They decided to keep the sex of the baby a surprise since nothing else was! Anyway, ironically she was due on the day that her and John met, November 4, but that day came and went!

They decided to induce and she went in yesterday for some medicine to loosen her cervix. Her water ended up breaking on it's own and labor began. Unfortunately, there was maconium in her water, so they were hoping things would progress fast, but it didn't. She did have contractions and had an epidural, but when they checked her this morning she was still only 7 cm. On top of all that, the baby's heart beat was dropping drastically with every contraction, so they finally decided to do a c-section. The doctor said it wasn't an "emergency" but that since they had tried so hard for this baby and had finally gotten to this point they didn't want to take any chances.

His name is Grayson John, which was hard to come by too! They had settled on a girls name, but just couldn't settle on a boys name. I think it's adorable, though, and so is he. He has white blond hair and pale pink skin, just like my br0ther-in-law.

It's funny because Becky and I are identical twins and both of our husbands kind of look alike, blond and pale...both names are John too! :) I will be curious to see if our boys look alike since they share half the same DNA and their fathers have similar features too :)

Heartbreak and Busted Lips!

So, Tre had a wonderful day. We rode our bikes to the park and then came home for lunch. Allison, my sister, and I took the boys to get some ice cream and then to get a saints shirt. Then William came home for a nap and Tre went back out shopping with his Nana. She spoiled him with some new cars and some candy. Then he came home and his cousins came over and they played and we went on a golf cart ride. When we got back he ran into the "game room". I went to check on him to make sure he was okay and when I walked in his face was full of blood and he was screaming! It must have taken two seconds to happen. We had just gotten home! I think he tried to climb up on the pool table (which is totally against the rules!) and slipped and his teeth got jammed on the table but his lip is cut and swollen. We couldn't get him calm. He kept saying, "I want to see my daddy! I want to see my daddy!" It broke my heart and I just couldn't hold back the tears. He is such a sweetheart though because when I started crying, he stopped (for a second) and said, "mommy! please don't cry!" What a sweety.

We called Jack and that seemed to help but he kept saying he wanted to SEE him. My mom set up her skype and Jack downloaded it onto his computer and we got that up. He immediatly stopped crying and hugged the computer. Talk about break my heart!!!! He misses him so much. It cheered him up though and he was happy the rest of the night. His lip is swollen, but his teeth are still intact! Thank GOD!

Too make matters worse, William busted his lip too! He handled it a lot better, but now both boys have swollen lips. The funny thing is that neither of them have ever busted their lips and now we have two in one night. I have two blood stained shirts to prove it!

BUT MOMMA! I wanna go to Chucky Cheese

ME: Tre stop complaining!
Tre: But Momma! I want to go to Chucky Cheese!
ME: Then stop complaining and start behaving!!
Tre: BUT MOMMY! I want to go to CHUCKY CHEESE! I want to go to Chucky Cheese MOMMY!!!! MOMMY! I want to got to CHUCKKY CHEEEEEEEESE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just minutes later (or so it seems), the conversation was the same or almost the same. That has been for the last 3 days. You see, Jack told Tre on the phone that if he is a good boy for me when he gets home, Jack would take Tre to Chucky Cheese. The only problem is that is over 5 weeks away! If I hear, "BUT I want to go to Chucky Cheese!" one more time, I am going to blow!

yeah for no accidents!

SO, I know this sounds silly, but Tre actually got out of bed in the middle of the night and ran to the toilet! This is a FIRST! He usually has an accident or just holds it all night long; both equally as much! I am so happy that he finally realized he can get out of bed and go to the toilet! Maybe I am done changing his sheets every other day!

Train ride

This train ride in the mall made Tre's day. William refused to get on, but he had fun watching Tre. It was only a $1, so I was thrilled with being able to bribe him to behave while I shopped so that he could go ride in the train again ;0)

Tre's tracing...

This is a quick video of Tre working on his workbook. It's his new favorite thing. I mentioned coloring and he asked for the "line" book instead. I am happy with that because it's helping him with writing...even coloring. Now when he colors a picture he says, "I need try stay in lions (Tre's word for lines)." He doesn't, but he tries! :)

Tre's pencil holding

You may wonder why I think this picture is significant, but I got a little workbook out that I use with Tre and he picked up the crayon and actually held it correctly! I was really impressed. Usually he grabs it like a stick! This was the first time I've seen him do this! Now maybe I can work on his handwriting, but I must admit, it is really hard to teach a right hander to write since I am a left hander!

Too cute not to post...

Tre and William watching tv together. I don't know why, but I think it's sweet.

I had to document that Tre actually fell asleep at nap time today. It was in the car, but it was still a miracle. He slept almost from door step to door step...almost 3 hours!!!

Dad's surprise 60th birthday party

This weekend was my dad's 60th birthday party. It was a surprise and it was great. My sisters and I decided to surprise my dad AND mom with our costumes. We dressed as my mom and dad through the ages. It was HILARIOUS!

This is me as my mother right now. She LOVES exercise and does it daily, so this is her daily uniform. She also has big diamonds, so I had big bling. I added the reading glasses because it's very rare those aren't on her either. People were pretty freaked out about how much I looked like her.

Allison (my middle sister) was my mom when she is older. She had a name take that said "BEBE-2040's: If found call Dan Bloomer and return to XXX retirement home". She also had a walker with a bag of wine attached to her IV! It was quite funny. Marcy (my oldest sister) was my mom in high school. Becky (my twin sister) was my mom when she was pregnant (perfect since she is really 38 weeks pregnant). She carried a picture of my mom when she was pregnant with us and they were identical!

Scott (Marcy's hubby) was my dad as an eagle scout, and John was my dad in the 70's. You can't tell, but John has salt and pepper hair! I am carrying spray paint because my mother spray paints everything!

This is my dad right when he walked in (he was dressed as George Washington). He couldn't figure out who the man in the mask was, but it was his brother he flew in from Montana.

Allison stayed in character all night and it was pretty darn funny!!!

Legos

I don't know if you can see this really well. We went to get new shoes and they had a lego table. Tre had never played with legos of this much detail. By the time we were done at the store, he had built this all by himself. We were quite impressed! He may be an architect!

Why?

Why does the toilet break right when Jack leaves? Figures!

Ahhh well...such is the life of a Navy wife!

I DID IT!

Now that it's cooler we are able to play outside a little more and not be so miserable. We grilled hamburgers tonight and the boys played! William was so proud of himself for keeping up with his brother!

RIding bikes with William on the Back

I have been looking for a bike, but haven't found one that I love yet. I was staying at my sisters and her neighbors had one for me to use over the weekend. I think we went at least 5 miles total. Tre LOVED to have me ride next to him and WIlliam giggled the whole time! It was soooo much fun! I WANT A BIKE NOW! Thankfully, my friend Frankie has one that she doesn't use since she is prego, and she dropped it off tonight. We are going to get a seat for the back tomorrow. :) That makes me happy!

Wedding weekend...alone :(

So, I am in Lafayette for a very good friends wedding. Jack couldn't come because it's drill weekend. That makes me super sad, but at the same time, I am totally used to it and have learned to live with going to these things alone.

Except yesterday, I was at the bridesmaids luncheon and the sister of the bride (who went to high school with me) said that she had never actually met Jack and she was so excited to finally meet him. I couldn't believe the I've been married for 6 years, and come to Lafayette so many times (especially for all this wedding stuff) and she'd never actually met him! It was almost a realization at how much I come in town alone! She was joking with me asking if I only wear a ring for show and wondering if I was really married. We were totally joking and laughing, but after I thought about it, it just made me sad. O'well, there is nothing we can do about it!

On another note, another friend from high school came to babysit last night so that I could go to the rehearsal dinner because my regular sitters were unavailable. She teaches kindergarten, so she came all prepared with goodies for the kids. When I got home, she went on and on about how good my kids were. She doesn't have any of her own, but she told my pregnant sister, Becky, that she should pray for kids like mine because they were so well-behaved and easy to please. She couldn't get over how smart William was. She went on and on and you know I loved every minute! ;-)

Rolling

William and Tre showing off their rolling and then Tre gets overprotective of his brother. Enjoy

Chip?

This is William NOT wanting what I made him and asking for a chip. I guess he thought me saying no was funny! :)

Tre's favorite joke

Tre loves to tell this joke. As a matter of fact, it is his only joke and it's getting a little old. We were trying to remember another easy one, but didn't come up with much. Ideas? Anyway, William gets a kick out of him and has recently started saying, "FUNNY!" We think that is the funniest part!

Typical night...

Typical night with Aunt Frankie over after work and both our hubby's either working late or out of town. My house isn't normally this picked up, but it's after bath time and almost bed time, so the night was coming to a close.

Tre funnies!

Jack got home today and since the weather was bad they landed late. We ended up parking (he flew commercially) and waiting inside instead of circling around and around. When Jack finally arrived, Tre ran to him with his arms spread. It's the sweetest thing and Jack says it one of the things that brings him the most joy. I asked if it made him want another and he said, "NOOOooo!" HAHAHA!

Tre is so funny. Here are a few convos from the night:

Tre: Daddy, I got a scar on my face. (He got fell at the gym daycare and got a carpet burn)
Jack: That's okay! Chicks dig scars.
Tre: What happened to Chick Hicks car? (a character on CARS for all you non-CARS fans)
Jack: NO! Chicks dig scars!

Tre is obsessed with Jack making money. Everytime I say that he went to work, he asks if Jack is making money for him and the minute he gets home he asks, "Daddy did you make me some money?" He gets this because everytime Jack comes home he empties his pockets and gives all the coins to the boys to put in thier piggy bank. Tonight Jack gave Tre a quarter, a dime and a nickel. Tre took all three and then handed Jack the nickel and said, "we can use this for Groceries!" How unselfish of him! Jack thinks he might handle his money more like his mommy than his daddy...and that is a really good thing!

I don't see the moon.

Tre HATES to sleep. He certainly doesn't get this from me. Tonight when I put him to bed, he threw a tantrum and this is how the conversation went when I got him to calm down.

Tre: I don't want to take a nap.
ME: You're not taking a nap. This is bedtime. Everyone goes to bed at night.
Tre: BUT I don't want to take a nap.
ME: This isn't a nap!
Tre: What is it then?
ME: Bedtime.
Tre: Why?
ME: Because the moon is up and when the moon is up everyone in the world goes to sleep.
Tre: Does the moon come up for naptime too?
ME: No. The sun is up for naptime and the moon is up for bedtime. You don't always have to take a nap, but you do have to go to bed.
Tre: But I don't want to go to bed!
ME: Tre, when the sun is up, you don't have to sleep. When the moon is up you do have to go to sleep and the moon is up now, so good night.
Tre: But I don't see the moon, so I don't have to go to bed.
ME: The moon is up in the sky, but the curtains are closed so you can't see it. I'll show you tomorrow. Good night.
Tre: Okay. Good night.

Good try on his part. How can the kid never be tired?

Pull-ups or No Pull-ups?

That's my question.

Tre has been potty trained for over six months. He wears pull-ups at night and definitely goes in them, but I noticed that if I put a pull-up on 5 minutes before naptime, he'll go in them before I put him down. It's like he just goes in them because he knows he can.

I thought that was what he was doing at night too, and for the first 3 nights he proved that. The past three nights, though, he has had an accident around the same time. I have to admit that last night I did give him so water to drink in bed (he BEGS and sometimes I just don't have the energy to say no), so tonight he will get no water. I will see how that works. If he still has an accident around 11pm, I might debate waking him up and getting him to go. We shall see.

I REALLY REALLY don't want to buy pull-ups anymore. It gets so expensive, especially with William in diapers!

Back to Life. Back to Reality

So, I took the boys to the beach for two weeks. My parents rented a house for a month, and since Jack has been out of town (for what seems like ALWAYS), we decided to take advantage of it. It was a great trip. Tre got better and more confident at swimming, and William, well, he thinks he can swim. He jumps right in when no one is looking. Of course, we caught him everytime, but he didn't care one bit if he was under the water for longer than a few seconds. He'd always come up smiling! I think Tre is our runner (he runs EVERYWHERE) and possibly our biker, and William is our swimmer, and our dare devil.

Tre's been potty trained for about 6 months now, but I still put him in pull-ups for nap and bed time. I decided that last night was as good as any to try and rid him of that habit. He loves to drink water in the middle of the night and have been trying to rid him of that habit to prepare for the breaking of the pull-ups, but have struggled. I don't let him go to bed with it but if he asks for water in the middle of the night, I get it for him. That happened last night and then he called for me hours later. I was sure he had an accident, but he just wanted to tell me that he'd finished his water. I asked him to try and potty and he insisted that he didn't need to. Lo and behold, he woke up this morning (30 minutes later than usual...yay for sleeping in!) and his undies were slightly damp, but not big mess. I was happy and tried to make a big deal out of it.

Today they went back to school. This would make it their 3rd day since we've been gone for two weeks. Tre did great, but William's teacher said he had a rough day. Poor guy!

We're going to have a busy month. We have the Navy Ball this weekend (and I really love my dress), then two weeks from now I am a reader in my friend from high schools wedding (my ex-boyfriends brother, as odd as that sounds), then we have a party the following weekend, and then Jack leaves for Top Gun! I am anxious about that, but since he's been gone so much already, I almost feel prepared.

Bubbles and singing!

This is one of my favorite videos to date. We were experimenting with our new under water camera and William was being a hoot! He is FEARLESS in the water and fun to watch. He even shows off his singing, "Life is a highway, I want to ride it all night long!" Funny stuff!

Tre swimming with floaties!

Tre swam with floaties for the first time today. A couple of weeks ago (I think I posted a video) he finally let go of the side and swam with an inner tube, but today I finally convinced him to wear some floaties. I bribed with M&M's (the same thing I bribe him with for everything). He did sooo well and he seemed soo proud of himself. He only wanted to wear it for a few minutes a couple of different times today, but we'll be here for another week and a half so I have hope he'll get really good at it and realize he'd be free if wore them all of the time!

We're having fun on vacation. William is very clingy, but that is no surprise. Tre has been SOOOOOOO good and sharing with everyone. We've been here almost a week and he's only had to go in time out a handful of times. OH! And he's finally gotten to the point where he sits in his "timeout" chair quietly the whole time. YAY!

Tre's whistle

We are at the beach this week vacationing with my family. It's been fun, but Jack isn't here so I am sad! I do have to say that I can see a huge difference between ages 2 and 3. Tre is so much better behaved this year. He is sharing and playing happily. William is being good too, so I am actually getting to enjoy myself! :)

Last night my brother-in-law was whistling while Tre was trying to learn to play the Wii. Tre, unexpectedly, started imitating his whistle and we got a big kick out of it!

Kids first day of school

So it was the kids first day of school...Tre's second year, and Williams VERY first day!

I kind of feel bad because I wasn't nervous or emotional!? Is that bad? It seems like a lot of parents get that way, but I think they are gone for just 3 hours and it is good for them...AND ME! I've always said I am a better mother on school days!

Tre was REALLY excited about going. It wasn't until we got there that he really realized he was in a different classroom with a different teacher. He went straight to his old classroom and I had to steer him in another direction. I told him before that William was going to school too, so he was pulling on him to come in with him. I had to explain he was in a different classroom. He seemed disappointed and then shy with the other kids, but he quickly got busy playing and that was that.

William...my poor William! I brought him to his class handed him over and the teacher made it clear to just hug and kiss and leave quickly. He was screaming and reaching for me! I could see through the window that she was playing with him and he seemed to calm down quickly.

When I went to pick them up, Jack came too and the kids were very excited. Tre came running like every other school day and William was crying! I think he saw all the other parents coming to get their kids and was worried we weren't coming. Both teachers said they had good days.

It makes me laugh because so many people have asked what I was going to do with all my free time now! HA! I am so thankful for the time I am getting, don't get me wrong, but it's only 3 hours a day, 3 days a week. I plan to work out, which takes at least an hour, clean, grocery shop, and then that will probably be it before I have to pick them up. It takes 25 minutes for me to get there. Today I worked out, came home scoured the kitchen and living room (mopped and everything) and then RAN out the door because I was almost too late! I think I will have plenty of things to do with my time!

Tre and his bike

Tre impressed us today and rode his bike for 2 miles! I could hardly believe it! We are looking to get me a bike to ride along side, but haven't found one that I like enough. I think William will enjoy riding in back. He isn't a huge fan of the trike. He can't reach the pedals yet. We adjusted Tre's training wheels when we got home to make them higher. Hopefully, he will not even need them soon!

time outs

So time outs with Tre are VERY ineffective, so we are trying something new. I am using a chair that he has to sit in and he can't have a fit the whole time like he normally does. Now he has to sit in the chair for at least 3 minutes, but the last minute (or more) has to be quietly. NO more fits, no more crying. Today was our first try and it was a battle of wills. He sat there for over an hour. He cried and cried and cried and flailed and carried on. Jack wanted to get a video, so that Tre can look back and laugh at how ridiculous he was being. We won. He finally stopped crying and sat there for a minute quietly. Wish me luck as I am going to be VERY consistent about this!

Popsicles

William in the elevator

We finally got our camera cord and I'm finally uploading old video. This is from our vacation in Gulf Shores. We got a kick out of William in the elevator. I think because he is so small he could really feel the movement of going up or down and would say, "WHOOAAA!" every time. We tried to capture it in this video.

Tre Swimming...with a raft

This is a miracle...even with a raft. Tre has taken swimming lessons, but it didn't really help with his fear of the pool. He LOVES to go in it, but ALWAYS stays glued to the steps. That makes my life easier in the pool since William isn't scared at all and wants to swim and jump in every chance he gets...he'll even do it when I am not looking, so I have to be super alert with him. However, I do want Tre to get used to the water and increase his confidence. I've been trying to coax him to let go of the side and float in his raft but every time I would try, he'd scream in terror. This time, he actually did it on his own and then LOVED it. I was really, really proud of him!

William's haircut

I just can't get over how good William is for his haircuts. If you knew what we went through with Tre's haircuts, you would find it hard to believe too. Tre is almost 3.5 and he JUST NOW started sitting by himself and sitting still and not flailing and screaming his head off. William is only 18 months and he sits there peacefully and almost seems to enjoy it. I wonder if it's because he sees his brother enjoying it now!?! Whatever it is, I am thankful!

There isn't much to report lately and I still haven't found my camera cord, and blogs aren't that interesting with no pictures. We are going to buy a new cord this weekend.

Cute sayings and updates:

1. LSU football starts Saturday and we are SUPER excited. We're having people over to celebrate! They are playing Washington State! GEAUX TIGERS!

2. Becky and John (my twin and brother-in-law) are coming in this weekend. YAY!

3. We are going to a Sex Party on Monday! Get your mind out of the gutter PEOPLE! Frankie and Roger had the ultrasound tech but the sex of their baby in an envelope and they are having a party to open it up with everyone! We can't wait!

4. The kids and I are going to the beach for a couple of weeks a week from today. Jack will be out of town doing training for Top Gun.

5. William is officially off the pacie and it wasn't even painful. He never even cried. OH! He is so different from his brother.

6. Preschool starts for both boys on Wednesday. I think Tre is ready, but I don't think William will even know what to do with himself. He has attachment issues, which has been different and hard, because Tre never did!

5. Tre: Mommy, Where's daddy?

Me: Dad's at work.

Tre: Why does Daddy work?

Me: He needs to make money.

Tre: For my piggy bank?

ME: That AND for the groceries that we are about to buy!

It's hilarious that he already wants to steal his dad's money.

6. Daddy: What was your favorite part of the day, Tre?

Tre: Riding my bike.

Daddy: What was your favorite part of the day, William?

William: Mommy.

7. Daddy: What was your favorite part of the day, Tre? (as you can see this is our nightly routine)

Tre: When you got home.

Tre: What's geo trax favorite part?

Daddy: Playing with you!

Tre: What's Goggles/Bunson's favorite part? (William's favorite Geotrax train)

Daddy: I don't know.

Tre: Playing with William?!?

Okay, so maybe I had more to say than I thought! We all know I can talk!

VENTING!!!

Lately, it's been really hard bring both kiddos to the store. Tre has to walk because I don't have enough room in the cart for food if he is in there. He's pretty good about following. William sits in the front of the cart, but the older he gets, the more he hates it. He wants to run around like his brother, but he doesn't actually follow...or listen, for that matter. I told Jack this morning that I was going to wait for him to get home to go, so that I could keep my sanity.

However, the over achiever in me decided to brave it alone and go with the kids. It really wasn't bad. Tre followed and William didn't complain TOO TOO much! Then we came to the checkout. It drives me NUTS that Walmart has about 50 lanes and only opens about 3, two of those are 20 items are less. It doesn't leave much room for choices.

Luckily, or so I thought, I got in the only lane that I could choose from and was the second one in line. However, the lady in front of me had about 50 coupons and even more newspaper clippings of ads whose store had cheaper items. All was fine until they got to the darn green peppers and couldn't figure out how to override them! I literally, without exaggeration, waited in line for 45 minutes. By this time, William was screaming and squirming and Tre's behavior was nothing to brag about either. I couldn't blame them, I was ticked too!

They finally opened another lane, so I loaded my groceries back on the cart and went to that lane, only to run into more coupon confusion with the lady in front of me! I should have gotten my groceries for free after all that mess! My ice cream was melted!

Every day brings something new...

So every time Jack gets home from work I ask, "what happened today?" fully expecting something dramatic. Or when he calls I say, "OH NO! What now!?" and that's because for the last year and a half (what feels like forever) our Navy career has been on a pendulum. Sometimes it seems promising and other times it seems over. This week was an extreme case. Monday Jack received orders that we were being "honorably discharged" which was more than just a shock! Tuesday, he received a call saying it was a "computer error" and instead of having one year left, we have two...maybe even three. This still amazes me. It's like telling someone in the civilian world that they're fired and then the next day saying, "OOPS! We didn't mean that!" Crazy. Wednesday we found out that Jack might be going to Top Gun and by Friday we had cancellation orders to ensure that we aren't leaving in January and new ones to Top Gun!! Seriously?

I am thrilled for Jack though! This has been a goal of his for a while and even if we are out in 2 years, at least he's gotten everything out of it that he's ever dreamed of! It will be a challenge to my mommy hood. He is going to be gone for 6 weeks straight (which is the longest I've gone as a "single" mom) and will be gone most days leading up to that too!

Nothing much else to report. I am going to Lafayette tomorrow for one of my best friends wedding showers. Jack can't come because he has duty. Blah!!! I hate when he can't come to things. Sometimes I wonder if my Lafayette friends really believe I am married! It will be fun, though, so I can't complain. I am coming back early on Sunday to go to my best friend Frankie's house. She is pregnant and had an ultra sound on Tuesday. The Tech put the sex of the baby in an envelope and she is having a get together to open it for the first time. It will be exciting.

The kids have been good. I still need to find my camera cord to show cute videos and stuff. Ah well...it's been a stressful week. Maybe I can make it to Best Buy to buy another one next week.

flip flopping

So as most of you know stuff in the military changes like the time changes on the clock!

Jack got a call this morning from someone at Buppers and he told him that his orders were a mistake and that he now has at least 2 more years. He explained that he converted to full time reserves (FTS), but the paper work hadn't gone through so he was on the active duty board when his name went up for promotion. Therefore, now that we are now officially FTS those are null and void and we get two more looks, which means two more years. He even said that FTS sometimes even gives 3 looks so now we might even be in for 3 more years.

We are not sure how we feel about this. We are sick of being jerked around and we have no hope of being selected for LCDR, so we know getting out is only inevitable. However, I have to admit that my first reaction was relief. I feel better knowing that we aren't in such a hurry to move and sell this house! This will give time to get the market better. I told Jack that if we got called back for a job like yesterday so quickly, surely they will have something like that in a few more years too. I think he is a little disappointed, but I do think I saw some relief on his face too.

The guy on the phone said that FTS boards are different than active boards and tried to give us some hope that a promotion might happen. We are not going into the next few years with optimisim. We are just buying our time and enjoying a paycheck!

Getting out of the Navy

So, after a week's vacation, Jack walked into work to find separation orders on his desk. We knew we were getting out but were told (over and over again after checking and double checking) that our time to separate from the Navy was going to be January 2011. I guess the left hand hasn't talked to the right hand and it is was all a communication error. We are triple checking now to make sure this is accurate, but for now, we are on our own the first of the year.

The funny thing is that Jack got the paper, called Buppers to get the scoop, left a message and then hung up the phone, only to have it ring immediately. He's been applying for jobs in anticipation for this and it was a guy from General Dynamics who was VERY enthusiastic about his resume. This job would be perfect for Jack because it would be in DC working for the Navy staff determining training requirements for operational squadrons, so he'll still be involved with the Navy and still be involved with the aviation aspect, just not in the military. We might do the reserves though.

He doesn't have the job yet, but it seems promising. Even if we don't get it, it was just the perfect timing for the guy to call. It gave us hope that we might not be jobless in January.

Pray for our little family in a time of the unknown.

Family vacation and No Pacie Zones!

Well, I was going to download some video of William singing, "Life is a highway, I want to ride it all night long," from the movie cars, but I can't find my downloading chord! I am so ticked. I really don't think I left it because I remember specifically making sure I didn't forget it. I thought I put it in my purse, but I obviously didn't. O'well. It was a cute video.

I just got back from my week long vacation. I drove with the boys up to Gulf Shores to meet Jack after he finished with his bachelor party weekend. We had our first little family vacation (meaning just us, no one else) and we really enjoyed it. William was scared of the beach, but Tre loved it, and William loved the pool and Tre is a little scared of it! Go Figure. I really think that William might swim before Tre. He is such a dare devil and is already showing signs of wanting to learn. He would jump to us and kick and hold his breath until we scooped him up! Sometimes we even waited a few seconds just to see how he'd do. Tre, on the other hand, is VERY content to stay on the steps and just play there. If you ask him to jump he'll only do it if you grab his hands first. O'well. He'll learn.

After 4 days, Jack took the kids home and I met my sister and long time friend for my first girls trip. It was sooooooo awesome to sleep in in the morning, and just lay on the beach and read a book. We went shopping all day long one day and just ate in and drank wine the rest of the time. It was soo very relaxing. I almost felt a little guilty for truly enjoying myself and not wishing to be back home with my kids. Almost!

I was very excited about seeing all three of my guys today. They were excited to see me too! I think Jack was the most excited! This was his first 4 day stretch with having the kids alone. I think it was his first stretch of over 24 hours! He vowed not to complain at all or let on that he was tired or frustrated because he thought I deserved to just relax and enjoy myself. I didn't know if that was possible because, I must admit, I struggle with doing that when he is gone. Being a single parent is HARD! He surprised me though, and didn't give me one negative report! I am so proud of them all for surviving AND keeping the house clean!

I made a promise to myself that when we got back William was going to get rid of his pacie. To be honest, I made this promise to myself that at 12 months I would do it. I chickened out, though, and blamed teething for it. A long time ago, the dentist told me 18 months, so that was my new goal. William turned 18 months yesterday, so tonight's the night. When we took Tre's (at about 2.5 years) he cried for well over an hour, so we expected that again! To our surprise, William wined a bit and then started chatting and singing with Tre. After about 15 minutes, I looked at Jack and asked if he'd realized it was quiet. We didn't even have to go through the torture of the crying. I am AMAZED! I even had to go in there to see if he had one in his mouth because I couldn't believe it. I thought for sure Tre had found one on the floor or dresser and snuck it to him! Hopefully, tomorrow goes as well as tonight!

Is this daddy?

Tre cracked us up tonight. He was reading a book with Jack and he pointed to this character and said, "Is that you daddy?" We just couldn't help but laugh at the man he pointed to!

I guess it's funny because the man is bald and WHITE just like Jack!

Oh! Then I asked him to find me and he pointed to Jasmine from Alladin! Jack said, "of course, he picks a beauty," but I pointed out there wasn't one ugly girl in that disney book. So Jack found a page with a stout woman and asked where I was again, and I was Cinderalla. Jack asked where he was in that picture and he pointed to the stout woman (there was a man on the page to choose from too) and then said, "no, wait! there you are!" It was a donkey! HAHAHAHAHA!

Day 1 at the Beach

I went to Frankie and Roger's for dinner tonight since Jack is out of town. The kids played sooo well together and it was really enjoyable. Here is a video of them kissing each other. You can also get a glimpse of what they did for the last 30 minutes that we were there...run around the room over and over again. Hopefully, that tired them out really good and they sleep in tomorrow morning!

Success in Motherhood!

I did it! Well, kinda! The kids went to the dentist today and the dentist said they're teeth are very strong and very healthy. I don't know why, but I just felt so good as a mommy! I am taking good care of thier teeth.

I guess it made me feel so good because my first experience with bringing Tre to the dentist was terrible. The dentist said his teeth showed signs of "significant damage" and if I wasn't more careful they would all be rotten and black in no time. I left crying. I had brushed his teeth twice a day every day and only given him a little bit of juice (that was diluted with water). I felt like a failure. It didn't help that Tre nearly had a nervous breakdown at the place. I started asking around and then found out terrible things about this place and I switched.

We went to this new dentist about a 6 months ago and she was fabulous and Tre didn't shed a tear and William did well too. Today was no differnt. Both of the boys did well. Tre sat in the chair like a big boy and listened very well. William cried, but it wasn't terrible and he actually enjoyed the flouride. The dentist said to keep doing what we are doing because their teeth are in great condition! YAY!

We went to the Children's Museum after and now I am hoping they take a nap. Wish me luck!

Oh so ready!

I am OOOOHHH so ready for vacation, and I think Tre is too. Jack left for a weekend trip to the beach today for Cory's, one of my closest friends, bachelor party. I am super jealous that he has the weekend minus kids and fun in the sun with friends. Tre is too. When he was driving out of the driveway, Tre was yelling, "I WANT TO GO TO BEACH TOO!" over and over again. We are meeting him there Sunday to Tre's getting his wish. I'm getting mine too. My friend Ashley, my long time childhood friend, is coming up Thursday and I am going to stay with her and Jack is bringing the kiddos home with him. We are both getting beach weekends without the kids.

I can't wait! i have spent one whole night away from the kids since they've been born (minus the trip to Key West when Jack was on his death bed from an appendix that had been ruptured for a week before ever going to the hospital). Jack has had the kids overnight only one night. Lucky guy! This will be his first long weekend without my help and I can't say I am sad about that! I desperately need the break and some rejuvanation.

Tre hasn't been napping lately and I can't figure out why. We are always doing something in the morning and I keep them very busy. I would think he would be exhausted. I usually don't mind that much because he stays in his room and doesn't bother William, but that was not the case today. He kept William awake the whole time. ARG! The night was not fun and I put both kids to bed at 6:30. Thankfully, they both went straight to sleep.

I am bringing them both for a dentist appointment tomorrow and then the children's museum. Here's to hoping for a nap!

The One Millionth Reason We Should NOT Get a Dog!

So, Jack and I were working outside during nap time and after an hour of sweating our a**es off when we heard screaming crying! I ran upstairs to an open door to the kids room, so I thought William was crying because Tre came out to play and didn't close the door behind him. That happens a lot. Tre wakes up earlier than William, comes out, forgets to close the door again and William gets upset because he likes the door closed.

Anyway, that is NOT what happened. I go in the room to find William screaming, diaperless and covered in POOP! The stinker had taken his diaper off, pooped, and smeared it EVERYWHERE! It was on the floor, it was smeared on the slats of the crib, it was smeared all over the bumper pad and clumps were on his sheets. He even had it all over him. I quickly screamed for Jack's help. Jack started working on the room and I bathed William.

When I came back in to help Jack, I couldn't stand it! Does that make me a terrible mother. I kept gagging and just couldn't handle it! AND THAT, my friends, is yet another reason the Stewart family could never have a dog. I can't even pick up my own child's poop much less a dogs!

It's a MIRACLE!!!

I had to take a video to prove it! Tre has finally grown out of his haircut tantrums. He was actually excited about going this time, sat there like a big boy and listened! I was sooo happy. Then it was William's turn and I think he watched his brother because he sat on the booster too, and although he wasn't nearly as comfortable as Tre was and wanted me right there next to him, he still didn't cry and almost giggled at the clipper part. I am sooo happy to have moved on from the haircut tantrum stage. They look so cute with a fresh haircut and now I don't have to dread bringing them!

Tantrums and Greed!

I'm in Lafayette visiting my family since Jack is out of town. Sometimes it's seems easier to come here because I am in a house with other adults to interact with and have a little extra help, but sometimes not. My mom and dad's house is super nice so I constantly have to watch the kids to make sure they don't ruin things and they always seem to be a bigger handful...more fussy and less sleepy. It seems that Lafayette really doesn't have that many things to offer kids.

Yesterday, my sweet little Tre was not so sweet. We ran some errands and had to buy a birthday present at Toys R Us and I told him before we even entered the store that we were going for a birthday present and not a toy for him. He said he understood! He lied! :) He had a fit when we walked out. I still had one more errand to run and he cried leaving Toys R Us, in the car to Old Navy, IN Old Navy, all the way home and then some. What do you do when your kid has a tantrum in public like that? I choose to continue what I am doing, ignore him and then when we get to a place of isolation I let him know how I feel about his behavior...and not in a nice voice either. Sometimes, like yesterday, he even gets a spank (sorry for all you non-spanking believers). What do you do? Your way might work better than mine because it didn't stop there!

Naptime came and he refused to nap. We've been battling this off and on for a while and I really don't care if he doesn't nap if it doesn't affect his mood. Yesterday, this was not the case. When William woke up, we went with my mom to the store so she could get the boys some new PJ's. Tre, again, threw a fit when he saw the toy section and realized he wasn't going to get one. I don't know what his problem was yesterday. He normally is VERY good about going to stores and not expecting things. My mom picked out some pjs and he made some nasty remark about not wanting them. He again proceeded to have another fit so we checked out and left. Mom went to Target and I brought the kids home.

I let Tre know how disappointed I was and he really was sorry. He was saying over and over again how sorry he was. I even made him call Jack to tell him what he did and that made him really get upset. I was happy to know that he cared about how we felt. At least I know he has a conscience. It was funny, too, because as soon as Bebe got home from Target, Tre all the sudden LOVED his PJ's.

On a different note, my mom lost her cell phone today. She accidentally left it at the car wash. She went back to look and it was gone. She was sooo upset. I called her phone over and over again and no one would pick up. I texted it offering a reward and lo and behold we got a reply IMMEDIATLY! My mom went to meet her and got the phone, so all ended well. I am just amazed, however, that this woman was probably going to steal it since she never responded to our calls or texts until she knew a reward was coming. Mom said when she met her, she was all about the money. Go figure! I would have just dropped the phone off at the car wash office! I guess some people just aren't as nice as I am!

The end is near...

So we got news today that Jack's appeal was denied. This means that we are probably getting out of the Navy in January 2011. The thought scares me to death and gets me on the brink of tears every time the thought enters my head. Jack is so optimistic, which I admire sooo much, and says we will probably be in a better place when we get out, and he is probably right, but the fear of the unknown has gotten the best of me. The economy, the job market, the housing market....it all stresses me out! MAJORLY!

Okay, so I bet you're wondering why Jack even had to make an appeal. I'll try to make a long story short. In 2002 before he and I were even totally serious dating, Jack went on his first deployment and on his first port call got in trouble for a drinking incident. He went to admiral's mast and got found "not guilty" but did get the punishment of switching squadrons. In his punishment document it specifically said, "DO NOT REMOVE HIM FROM ANY PROMOTION LIST!" He was told if he worked hard and had good evaluations (i.e. fitreps) his career would not be over. So for the next 7 years, he's done amazing and gotten great FITREPS. He even got promoted to LT. Then promotion for LCDR came along. The board selected him, but the Secretary of the Navy removed his name from the list because of the incident 7 years ago. We were under the impression that since the admiral who punished him said that they couldn't remove his name, that he was unfairly removed. We talked to a couple JAGS and they said we had a very strong case, and recommended we appeal. We got the results today and it was denied.

To make a REALLY long story shorter, we have another look for LCDR in February of next year. We find out the results in July 2010. We will not get it since the Secretary of the Navy rejection letter is now in Jack's file. What board will go against the Secretary of the Navy? Not many!

Hey! At least we get an AMAZING severence. That should get us through about a year of living if, GOD FORBID, we don't find a job!

So...we are now in search of a new job. I'm stressed just thinking about it. Thank God Jack isn't.

Sundae Sunday

We had our first annual Sundae Sunday. We had ice cream sundaes for dinner. We thought it would be fun for the boys and something they would really look forward to as children, and really remember about our family life. Tre LOVED loading up his plate, but Jack and I learned something interesting. Tre didn't really eat his ice cream. He had two cookies but not much else. I wonder if he really only likes ice cream if it's a reward. We joked with him and said, "If you eat all of your ice cream, we'll make you a hot dog!" Since he hates hot dogs, we were interested in what he thought about that deal! Not surprisingly, he said, "NOOO! I no like hot dogs!!" HAHAHA! Then again, he's kinda had an upset stomach this weekend, so that could be why he wasn't eating it. It was still fun and he loved every bit of it!



William has never been a big fan of ice cream, but surprisingly enough he ate it all. I've never really given him candy or sweets before, but he loved the M&Ms and the cookie. He didn't really try the brownie. He just played with it! I felt guilty after all these sweets and made him some real food and he did eat a little of that too. Jack and I were looking forward to this too, but we were surprised that when it came down to it, we didn't really want the ice cream. We missed having real food. We did join in on the fun, though! It's interesting that it's actually kinda hard to have ice cream for dinner. Oh Well...we can handle once a year!

Joke Tellers

Tre loves for Jack to teach him jokes and then he usually loves to come to me and butcher them, but then it's even funnier. All of us seemed to catch a cold this week, so this is the joke Jack taught Tre. Of course, Tre thought it was the funniest thing EVER!!!

best friends

Tre's had a turn around and will actually eat with bribes. I hate to have ice cream in the house because I just eat it, but I think I am going to have to cave and just buy some or Tre will be going to the ice cream store more and more. Anyway, he ate his dinner (mixed veggies, half of a baked chicken breast, and half of a baked potato) AND he ate all of his lunch at school AND all of his breakfast this morning...so he got what he's always begging for, ICE CREAM! Jack took him to to get some ice cream and on the way home he said, "Dad, I need to go home." Jack asked why and Tre said, "because I need to play with William!" Jack told him that William was about to go to bed and Tre said, "NO! I want to play with William. He's my best friend!" AWWWWW! That just warms my heart.

William had a funny today too. Everyone laughs at me because I am always saying that William is teething, but HE IS! The boy has half a t-shirts worth of drool EVERYDAY! He's always chewing his fingers and he's always fussy! All signs of teething. Anyway, today we were eating dinner and, as usual, William scarfed down all his food quicker than the rest of us, so I let him go play. He immediately ran into our bedroom and the next thing I know he shows up at my chair with the infant tylenol saying, "PEEEEZ, PEEEEZ!" The boy knew to go in my room, go into our bathroom, he knew which drawer it was in (9 to choose from) and brought it out! That's smart!

I love our boys!

Summer Fun

William, Tre, and John Parker play in the baby pool. Great times, with even greater friends.

So Tre Thinks He Can Dance

This video is not very good quality, but you get the idea. We watched "So You Think You Can Dance," and he danced with the tv the whole show. It was hilarious!

Busy, Busy

I am so sorry it's been so long. Jack was in Key West last week, and my long time friend, Erin, invited me and the boys to join her and her family in Destin for the week. The house that we stayed in didn't have internet, so I didn't have a way to update this. Also, I didn't get many pictures because I am famous for ruining my camera with sand or water. Erin took a few and promised to send them to me. As soon as she does, I will post.

We had fun. Tre, of course, loved the beach. His favorite part was walking into the water and running from the waves. William wasn't a huge fan, but mainly because the water was cold. He wanted to like it but then the water touched him and he would yell! He was more into the snacks! Tre LOVED playing with Aiden and Elaina and was such a good sharer. I only had to put him in time out twice for the whole week. That is amazing considering the fact that last year we went to Gulf Shores and he was in time out every 2 minutes for not sharing with Grant. It gives me MUCH hope for our Gulf Shores trip this year. William has MAJOR separation anxiety and would even cry if I left him with Erin's family to bring Tre to the bathroom! I hope he gets over it before schools starts. It's going to be hard to drop him off, but I will :)

Jack is back, but is leaving again on Monday! BOO! He seems to be going out of town so much, but I guess it's better than a deployment so I can't complain! We just love to have him around.

We went to the children's museum today because Jack is off until Thursday. We had a good time and it was fun to see the difference between our kiddos. We've been members there since we moved here (almost two years, which is HARD to believe) and EVERY SINGLE TIME Tre runs straight to the train table and doesn't want to leave. William, however, really doesn't even go to the train table. He goes to EVERYTHING! He loves everything there and since it's pretty child proof, it's fun to just watch what he does and where he goes!

Tonight we had our first Mommy and Me swim lessons with William. My friend Frankie and John Parker are doing it with us too. William, of course, loved it! The boy thinks he can swim already (so different from Tre, who is very careful in the pool), so I think it will be good for me to learn how to handle him in the pool. It's nice to have some one on one time with him. He is so precious...and TAN, as Frankie won't let me live that down! I promise I am putting SPF 50 on him...he's just naturally tan!!!

Good weekend, going to be a Great week!

We went home to Lafayette this weekend for two reasons: Jack went to Key West for the week, and my twin sister was registering for her first baby! I certainly didn't want to miss the latter, especially since she has been trying for this much wanted baby for 4 LONG, LONG years.

The boys had fun. We went swimming in my parents pool and it was the first time I felt totally insecure in the pool with them with just me. Tre has finished swim lessons and while he used to be cautious and stay on the steps, this time he wanted me to work with him. That is totally reasonable, except for the fact that William thinks he can swim. He is such a dare devil and I need to have my hands on him at every moment and, therefore, kinda leaves Tre hanging and I feel bad and he isn't happy. NO MORE POOL with just me! My hands are too full!

We got back today and are leaving tomorrow for Destin. My high school friend, Erin, invited us to join her and her family at thier condo for the week. She has two kiddos and I think it will be fun to spend some time on the beach with her and her family...especialy since they are about to move to Korea and we won't see them for a long time! Tre is super excited! He keeps saying we are going to the "Florida House" tomorrow.

Not much else to report! I've been bad about pictures! SOOOORRRRY

I need throw up!!

Tre is soo funny! He woke up this morning asking to go back to that ice cream store. I told him that if he ate ALL of his breakfast, ALL of his lunch and ALL of his dinner, we would take him to the ice cream store. So, he ate ALL of his breakfast. Then he asked to go to the ice cream store about a million times after. I explained over and over again that he had to eat lunch and dinner too! I picked him up from school and, sure enough, the teacher said he didn't have ONE bite! On the way home, though, he begged for his sandwich, ate the whole thing and then ate his chex mix. I wasn't feeling hopeful for dinner since he finally ate lunch at 2pm! Anyway, dinner was served and we had left overs....grilled chicken, mac and cheese and vegetables. He ate all his mac and cheese (but VERY slowly), and then Jack asked him to eat his chicken. Tre's reaction, "I need throw up!" HAHAHAHAHAHA! Like he ate sooo much that he needed to puke! Yea RIGHT! So, I told him to go throw up and then get back to the table to finish his chicken and veggies. He went to the toilet, went potty (not throw up), and then finished his chicken and veggies. We're about to go get him some ice cream.

On a different note, I was gonna write today about how smart William is! I know, I know...I am the typical mother and a typical bragger! O'well! I don't care. Anyway, William is such a great listener. I tell him to lay down so I can change his diaper and he lays down. I tell him to turn off the tv and he does. I tell him to go get his shoes to go "bye bye" and he does. I tell him to go get in his chair to eat and he runs to his chair. I tell him to go upstairs to go to bed and he goes upstairs. I tell him to go to the bath tub for bath time and he does. I don't remember Tre doing that at this point, but, like I told Jack, I think I didn't really know what to expect with Tre and, therefore, didn't expect much. With William, I think I have higher expectations. Poor Tre, I hope he didn't get the short end of the stick as far as mothering is concerned! O'well I am not too worried. Tre is a VERY smart kid too! (If I do say so myself, anyway :)

Anyway, William is also saying so many words. He says hi, bye, uh-oh, ball, please, thank you, mom, dad, shoe, down, choo-choo, train, all done, beep beep, Nay (for a horse), help, car and so many more that I just can't think of right now.

He also knows where his belly, head, eyes, nose, lips, ears, tongue, and penis ;) are located. We are so proud! :)

Brotherly Love

Today the boys did so much better at the gym. I went early and sat with them for a bit to make sure they were okay. I told Tre before we left that William was scared and he needed to make sure he was okay while I was working out. When I was sitting with them before I left, William was snuggling with me and Tre was telling him, "It's okay William!" He's so sweet.

I told Jack tonight that I am just seeing us having our kiddos so close together starting to pay off. I've been noticing Tre being a lot sweeter to William lately. He is such a great big brother to him. He really LOVES to have William around and is always asking him to play with him or chase him or watch tv with him. He likes to try to help him get out of his car seat when we go places. We always say prayers at night, but we usually do it separatly but lately, Tre's wanted William to lay in bed with him so they can say prayers together! Tre is constantly helping William put the food on his fork and feeding him. Today, when we got home from running errands, William was walking slowly to the door, so Tre went and held his hand and said, "Come on, William. I will help you!" Jack was snuggling with William this afternoon (Will is our snuggler) and Tre came and hugged William and said, "I love him!" We've just been noticing these small gestures and are so appreciating the fact that our boys love each other!

Don't get me wrong, they both have thier moments, but they are fewer and farther between. I love our boys so much and they are so fun to watch grow together!!

getting back to the gym

So Jack was a member of the gym here, but never used the membership. He has to do PT with his squadron 3 days a week on base, so his motivation to go to the gym in the afternoon is nill. We decided to switch the membership to my name. I am really excited about getting into a workout routine. I'd like to firm up and lose about 5 pounds! Today was my first day. Tre was at school so I put William in the childcare at the gym. I had been running on the treadmill for about 10 minutes when they came to get me because William was crying uncontrollably and wouldn't stop! DARN! I wonder if it's because it was the first time I left him by himself and not with his brother. He went to children's church on Sunday and did fine, but Tre was with him. I am going to try again in the morning and bring Tre along so we'll see how that goes! I hope it gets better soon. William starts preschool MWF in the fall and Tre won't be in his class! Tre NEVER had separation and, although sometimes I wished he did just for my own ego boost, I was very thankful that he didn't. I totally know how William feels though. I never had to do anything alone as a kid because I always had Becky. I never realized how much I used her as a crutch until I married Jack, moved away, and had to make friends by myself. It's a scary thing. My poor William!

Busy, Busy

So we had such a busy weekend with our dinner party on Friday, two birthday celebrations on Saturday, and church and the circus on Sunday.

Tre had fun at his friend, Ray's, party. They had one of those huge blow up waterslides. Tre went down once, ran straight to us and begged to get dressed and never looked back. HAHA! He mostly wanted the cake and ice cream. He was the loudest "Happy Birthday" singer and it was hilarious! We went to Frankie's after to BBQ and celebrate her 29th birthday. By the end of the day, William crashed and slept until 9am the next morning! Tre slept till 8 and that is really late for him, so we were happy.

We went to church yesterday for the first time in a LONG LONG time. We are going to make it a priority now. It was hard with such young kiddos, but Tre is reaching the age that I really want him to learn about God. Going to church brings nothing but good things, so we are excited about it. I don't think we will go back to the church we went too. They only had babysitting for the kids and I really want Tre to go to a Children's church. It'll be fun to find all the beautiful churches in New Orleans and find our place.

The circus was really fun. Long, but fun! The kids lasted longer than I thought. We got there at 4 to meet and greet with the animals. Next time, I think we will skip that part. It was kind of a bust! The circus started at 5 and Tre was begging to leave at 6:45. I didn't think that was soo bad. I was kind of ready too becuase William was having trouble staying still on my lap. We left right after intermission so who knows how much longer it would have gone. It was really cool though. Tre was the most fascinated by the popcorn!

I NOT FRIENDLY!

Yesterday we went to the grocery store and Jack ran into get something while we waited in the car. We had the windows rolled down and a man passed and Tre yelled, "HI!!!" in his sweetest voice. I told him that he was so friendly and his response was, "NO! I'm Tre!" I told him that he WAS Tre but he was friendly too! His response was, "NO! I NOT FRIENDLY! I TRE!!!" His insistence made me laugh!

We had our supper club last night and it went really really well. I made Shephard's pie, someone brought wings for an appetizer, someone brought a salad and another brought homeade cheesecake. It made it much easier to only have to make one thing! We played Pictionary after and that was really fun. The boys won, but they cheated! HAHAHA!

Tonight we have a birthday party that Tre is really excited to go to and then we are going to Frankie's for dinner to celebrate her birthday. It should be a fun day. Tomorrow we are going to my and the kids first circus. I can't wait to see Tre's reactions!

Fun family times!

Today was good. Tre cracks me up! I picked him up from school today and he was so excited. For a while there he had kinda dreaded going, but lately, he's been all excited. The teacher said she has seen some major changes in him since he's been back in Summer school. She said that over the school year he kinda went with the flow and blended in. He hated art and only wanted to play. Since he's been back, though, she said he is LOVING art and now the leader of the class. She said he's really come out of his shell! :)

I love Tuesday and Thursdays myself! Those are the days Tre goes to school and I get some time with William. It makes me see why I had my kids so close together. When William plays at home by himself he is so quiet you hardly know he is there!! It makes me realize that the first time I really worked with William one on one with puzzles and shape sorters and all that jazz was about 3 weeks ago when summer school started. That makes me feel sad for him, but I guess it's just so much harder to do that when you have two.

For dinner tonight I made baked chicken and roasted vegetables. I knew Tre would NOT like that, but o'well. He doesn't like anything. Our deal is to get him to say grace and at least sit at the table and talk to us for a bit. We did that and he said he was done and didn't have a bite. Jack, WIlliam and I finished up and I cleaned up dinner. Tre came into the kitchen and broke down in tears when he realized dinner was gone. Usually it wouldn't bother me that much since he normally comes in begging for something else, but this time he was begging for the chicken and vegetables, so I felt so bad for him! Poor guy was hungry. We took the left overs out and and he had a bite of chicken and then asked for ice cream. We told him he could have one scoop if he ate all the chicken (he doesn't normally like baked chicken, so it would have been a big deal). He ate it ALL! We couldn't believe it! Then he asked to go to the ice cream store, but we said the only way we would do that is if he ate the zucchini. HE DID! We couldn't believe it! Then I held out the squash, totally not expecting him to eat it, especially cause he knew that eating the zuchinni already got him a ticket to the ice cream store, but HE ATE THE SQUASH!!! He gagged, but still finished it! We were soooooo proud!

We took him to get ice cream before swimming lessons and he was soo happy. The first thing he told his teacher at swimming lessons was, "I ate dinner and I got ice cream!" If only she knew what a big deal it was that he actually ate!!!!

He is doing so well at swimming lessons. He is holding his breath and listening to his teachers so well. It is a blast to watch him! He's so funny. After he does his little lap, he'll come to us and say, "I DID A GOOD JOB MOMMY! I DID A GOOD JOB DADDY!" It's good to know he's humble too!

Lovin' New Orleans

Today is just a regular day, nothing special going on, but I am having a day where I am overwhelmed by how happy I am to be living in New Orleans. I spent a lot of the morning running errands and getting a few things done and it makes me realize it's the small things that make me like this place.

I have found so many places that I love. I love that I have found a great and affordable lawn man. I love that I have found a talented tailor to shorten all of my pants. I love that I have found a great hair stylist. I love that I have found a great preschool that Tre loves. I love that we have found an awesome place for Tre to take swimming lessons. I love our family dentist. I love the kids doctor! I love that we have found all these things here.

I love that there are so many things for the kids to do. We have the park, the Aquarium, the Insectarium, the Zoo, and the Children's Museum. It's a big enough city that we have fun things come like the circus! It's nice to have these options.

I am so thankful for all the friends I have made. I put together a Supper Club and 3other couples are coming over here for dinner tomorrow. I am looking forward to it. I also have my college friends here and get to go out with them once a month!

I love that my family is only a couple hours away. It's been awesome being able to go see them when Jack is out of town or just to go in for nothing or for a freinds wedding. It's been such a luxury.

I really hated living in Kingsville, and I realize that more now than ever. There wasn't much to do. I never found my niche there. Having gone through that experience it really makes me appreciate this one. I won't mind moving next time, I just hope we can find what we have found here!

I want my hat!

Tre has been pretend playing a lot more and it is so funny to watch. In this video, he was pretending to be Woody, from Toy Story, and asking for his hat. He used to just come up and ask me to help him find his hat, but, I must admit, it's much easier for me to help him find Woody's hat when he is asking me in his best Woody voice.

GO LSU!

Our living room was full of excitment yesterday as we watched LSU win the first game of the National Championship Series after 11 innings. It was very exciting. Before I took this video, Tre was chanting for LSU without us coaxing him! I was so proud. Of course, after I turned on the camera, he got a little camera shy, but you get the point! We are very proud of our tigers! GO LSU!

Swimming Lessons

Tre's been going to swimming lessons for a week now. He really likes it and begs to go, so that is good. Jack took him last week since I was out of commission and he said he never cried once. I have taken him twice now and he has cried both times, but not for long. He hates when they make him swim on his stomach with his head under water. He really likes to float on his back and makes sure to tell me what a good job he did afterward!

Father's day

I wasn't sure we were going to be able to celebrate Father's day today since I've been kinda out of commission, but I woke up this morning and looked semi-human and decided that I could give Jack a little special treatment. I treated him to sleeping in and breakfast, and then when he woke up we decided to take a last minute trip to Lafayette. We played in the pool all day long, which Tre LOVED, and I think my poison ivy enjoyed the salt water! After Tre and William got to play and eat with their cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and grandparents, we went to get ice cream and came home. It was a fun day trip and, I think, worth the drive to spend the day with the whole fam.

Funny enough, my poison ivy is looking so much better...in my opinion anyway. We went to Baskin Robbins, though, and I got a milkshake. I ordered it and the three workers looked at me, looked at each other and kind of smirked like, "who's going to make this girl's shake!?" I thought it was weird but didn't think anything of it. I just thought they didn't want to make a shake. I told Jack and my Brother-in-law and they just busted out laughing and reminded me what I looked like. Since it isn't hard to open my eyes and the itching isn't that bad, I almost forgot for a minute that I look like an Ogre. The workers were still staring at me, so I told them I had a bad case of poison ivy and they were all like, "OOOOOHH!!!" So then I knew for sure they thought I looked funny! If only they would have seen me the last few days they would understand why I felt so confident in my newest "ogre" look. Jack says if we are going to compare me today from the last couple of days, I look like Ms. America!

Tomorrow I am finally going to be able to take Tre to swimming lessons. Jack had to bring him all last week and it made me sad! I am going to take the camera and get some video to post on here.

Not much going on with William. He started teething again yesterday. I guess his eye teeth are next? I am not sure, but he's a mad man for ice or for anything to chew on!

poison Ivy update

So... today marks one week since I touched that darn poison ivy. I can open my eyes, but I still look like an ogre. My noise, eyes, and lower cheeks have humungous red spots that are raised and have red moley looking things poking out of them. I have never felt so ugly in my life. Okay, maybe I felt more ugly yesterday. I do see signs of improvement, but not much. Here's to hoping for tomorrow. The other problem is that it isn't just on my face. It's pretty much everywhere. I could really care less about those spots right now, I am more concerned about my face.

It's been really hard not to get really down about this. Thankfully, Jack has been great and hasn't complained a bit. He's taken the kids out to get them out of my hair (or rash), he's drawn me SEVERAL baths and set up the computer so I can watch shows while I soak, he's done dinner and grocery shopping and swimming lessons and everything else. I semi-laugh because I've been telling Jack for a while now that I need a break. This really wasn't what I had in mind. I was thinking more about a shopping trip or something. Ah well...at least I am getting rest.

We were supposed to go to see Fleetwood mac tonight, but now can't go. We are both so disappointed. :( I wish we could have found someone to buy our tickets, but we didn't. Poop!