Weekend Wrap Up

So this encompasses a little more than just this weekend...but it is mostly about this weekend!

This is Wyatt's new favorite thing to do. He pulls all of the pillows off of the couch, grabs "Daddy's boo" (Brian's blanket), and then lays down on the floor. Sometimes he watches TV, but when the TV is off he still grabs his toys and plays with them under the blankets!
Wyatt likes to read "Fish Kisses" to Reese. He just tells her how all the animals give kisses. She loves the book so much that I've incorporated it into her bedtime routine. If she's fussy before I read her story, I ask her how she wants to say goodnight and we go through all the different kisses. She thinks it's funny and calms down, and then she goes to bed wonderfully!
A little baby mohawk action

On Saturday our realtor was having a company barbecue (catered by Beach Bully - yum), and we decided to go. Wyatt had a lot of fun playing and checking out all of the cool things for him to play with.

This is them in the car "being friends." Whenever they hold hands Wyatt shouts "look Mommy, we're friends! Me and Reesie are friends!"

Wyatt LOVED checking out the ambulance.

There was also an exhibition by the Chesapeake K9 officers showing is some of the cool things the dogs can do. Both kids really loved that! Reese has been taking more and more to dogs lately and she loves to watch them.

Brian and Wyatt got to go down a huge bouncy slide.

Wyatt went through this maze all by himself (with Daddy's help of course)!

Wyatt did a great job trying to climb up the steps, but he wasn't quite able to make it! He still had a blast!

And best of all, there was popcorn and caramel apples! Wyatt loves to snack on some popcorn.

In other news, our house sold and is set to close on November 16, three weeks from today! I am frantically (but methodically and with organization), packing up our stuff. It's stressful, especially since we don't know where we're moving yet! We've narrowed down our choices and I think we're getting closer to our decision, but there would still be a lapse in time between closings! I know it will all work out, and we're really excited about finding a place with a big backyard (and more space!).

We still need to get a few things for Wyatt's Halloween costume, but Reese is set. We're excited to take them Trick or Treating in my parents' neighborhood again this year. I know they (but especially Wyatt) will have a great time! Last year he had fun, but he "gets it" more this year, which should be great

Between Halloween and a few other gatherings, we have a lot of things jammed into the next two weekends, which should make for some interesting times. I'm still borrowing my sister's computer, so I might get to update, but we were told to expect our computer back sometime on the next week. We'll have to see about that....

A General Update

So, since I have the computer, I figured I would update because I can. And because I don't want to have to remember all of this stuff when I finally get the computer back.

We've been anxiously watching the American League Championship Series! The Yankees are doing a great job for the most part, but we do think Joe Girardi is doing a terrible job managing the bullpen. That's a post for a different day though...

The weather this weekend was pretty terrible, but we were able to get out of the house a bit. On Friday Brian went to the KISS concert while the kids and I stayed home. Saturday we ran a lot of errands and also went to the cemetery to visit Noelle on her Sweet Sixteen birthday! We blew up balloons and sent them up to her in Heaven, and Wyatt was really excited to go to her "special place." We miss our precious puppy every day, but we still get so happy when Wyatt talks about her and says that he has a dog names "Noelley." We can't believe that it's been almost a year without her, but he still has crystal clear memories of her.

Sunday was a pajama day! We stayed inside and watched Toy Story, Everyone's Hero and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Wyatt is really loving Buzz Lightyear right now, so he was super excited to watch Toy Story for the first time. We also finally decided on Wyatt's Halloween costume. He is going to Yankee Irving from Everyone's Hero!

We figure no one will no who he is except us, but it's the only thing that he really seems to want to be, and the costume is pretty easy. It's so hard to find something that fits that we like too! He loved the Diego costume that we tried on, but we didn't like it. We loved the little Hans Solo costume, but he wasn't a fan. Yankee Irving is a good compromise, and so cute! We just have to make Darlin' (the bat), and Screwy (the ball).

Reese's costume was decided months ago...she is going to be little Strawberry Shortcake. And old fashioned one, not the little risque costumes. What are people thinking with some of these costumes nowadays? Some of them are ridiculous. I think Reese is going to make a great Strawberry Shortcake though. I'm really excited for Halloween!

Technical Difficulties....

Our computer is currently being tended to by the wonderful Geeks at Best Buy. Fortunately we got a three year service warranty when we bought the computer 2 years ago, so we don't have to pay for it :)! We could tell that a quick downward spiral was on the horizon, so we bought an external hard drive and backed up all of our pictures a few weeks ago (talk about major meltdown). We weren't able to back up the last few weeks of pictures or all of our music, but everything else from the last 5 years was saved!

Anywho, tonight I am able to use the computer because my sister let me borrow her laptop out of the goodness of her heart so we could look at new houses online. I don't know when I'll be able to update again (okay, I'll probably do another one before she takes it back tomorrow), but I just wanted to let my few readers know I haven't disappeared or been kidnapped. I've just lost my lifeline until the Geeks give it back in 7-20 business days or something like that!

Baseball Lessons

My mom bought Reese a pink bat last week, and Wyatt has been trying to teach her how to play. He gets pretty impatient, so the lessons don't always work out too well. Brian and I have heard him say things like, "Okay Reesie, now you have to swing the bat." They were playing in the playroom last week and Brian told Wyatt he should go play baseball with Reese. Wyatt said "Okay, Daddy," then grabbed Reese's hand and as he started walking to the Family Room he said "Come on Reesie, I'll take you to the baseball field." Yes, apparently my Family Room is the family baseball field. I'm waiting for Brian to hear "If you build it, he will come." I'm pretty sure we'll have our own field one day...

Pumpkin Patch!

Yesterday we took the kids to Hunt Club Farm to get pumpkins and participate in general fall festiveness. I've pretty much gone there for as long as I can remember, but usually for the Haunted Hayride!

It's so different when you have little ones! Last year we went to a different pumpkin patch with the whole family, and we'll probably go to that one again over the next few weeks, but after the stomach bug last weekend and nothing but rain on Saturday, we were ready to get out of the house. In fact, we drove all the way to the Virginia Children's Fall Festival on Saturday, only to have it rain as soon as we got there!

The kids had a blast. It started off great for Wyatt because we brought the wagon for them to sit in. He told me he was going to sit in it and follow "parking lot rules" (that's what we call out in parking lots so he knows he has to be holding a hand of Mommy or Daddy at all times. I got that rule and a lot of other really great ideas from this book.), but then he was going to use the wagon to pull Reesie and his pumpkins.

Reese was not sure what to make of the pumpkin patch, but she still had a lot of fun! Her only little meltdown occurred because Wyatt had a juice cup and she did not, but that was corrected when she saw hers. She is obsessed with juice. If I have a cup in my hand, she will follow me around the house with her hand reached out saying "Duice, ease!" (juice please). When I make her a cup she looks up at me and says "Eeeeeease!" She's learning so much from us trying to teach Wyatt his manners!

There was so much to do there. We picked out pumpkins and then went to look at some animals, which resulted in Wyatt holding a snake. Yes, an actual snake that he asked to hold. There is also a petting zoo and a bunch of rides, but we skipped them. The petting zoo was packed (and $12!), and the rides are out of the question. With Brian working in the amusement industry, he just knows too much about carny rides to let the kids on them. And I know my Mom never let me ride them. Plus all I think about when I see them is that scene from The Sandlot where the kids puke all over the place. No thank you!

I didn't intentionally dress Reese to look like a pumpkin, I just wanted her to look "fallish." I should've thought that one out....

Watching Wyatt and Daddy

Looking at the ponies.

Loading up the wagon

A family shot!

Wyatt was laughing hysterically at the fact that Reese fell down. Not in a mean way, but just because it was funny, and she was fine! It was the cutest laugh ever, and he kept saying "Do it again, Reesie!"

Yup. She totally blends in!

Reese and Mommy! Allow this picture to be my segway to my weekly weight watchers update. I gained two pounds; however I was fully expecting it. I lost 5 pounds when I was sick with the bug and I knew it wasn't all going to stay off. I think the fact that I didn't gain all 5 back means that this just might work for me!

The Park!

I love fall weather. At least, early fall weather. Once it gets cold I'm done! On Thursday afternoon the kids and I took advantage of gorgeous sun and great temperatures and took a wagon trip to the park. They both LOVE to ride in the wagon, and they both love the park!

Wyatt's favorite part of the trip to the park was watching the garbage trucks pick up the trash cans on the trip there. Once we got to the park though, he loved showing off his little independent streak. He loves to do everything on his own...except the swings. He hasn't mastered those yet!

Reese also had a really great time. I let her walk along the play structure for the first time (holding my hand of course), but I also let her go down the slide (the really, really short one that allows me to reach the top while I stand at the bottom). She loved it!

Loving the swings
He likes the fact that he gets to go higher because he's bigger. In fact, he has been doing a fabulous job "big brothering" lately. He really likes teaching her to do things, and telling her what not to do. He's also all about doing things himself. I see so much of Brian and I in his behavior. Classic older sibling!

"So I get to push myself down the slide? Really? Just make sure you catch me!"

The Playoffs!

We are obviously pretty hardcore Yankees fans around here. For 162 games a year baseball is a constant in this house. Brian has subscribed to the Extra Innings package for 3 seasons now so that we don't miss a game. If we're out of the house, we're listening to the game on his iPhone (thank goodness he got the MP3 connection in my Rav4).

The Playoffs are HUGE for us this year, especially since they didn't even make it last year (don't get Brian started). We rooted like crazy for the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night against the Tigers (for our hometown boy Michael Cuddyer), but on Wednesday night we were ready to destroy them!

I still had some baseball plates leftover from our Opening Day Party, so I decided we would celebrate the Playoffs with a little baseball themed dinner as well. We all put on our Yankees shirts, ate some hot dogs and watched the game (until bed time)!

I busted out my Joba Rules shirt that I got when we went to Yankee Stadium last year. Reese is wearing Wyatt's old Jeter shirt!
Wyatt showing off his Jeter shirt while he hangs out in the "Penalty Box." Lately I've been telling him he has three minutes on the clock, and I want to hear no whining, crying or talking, and he needs to keep his face in the corner. He waits patiently for the oven timer to go off and comes out to apologize. No more asking when it's time to get out, and no more trying to escape! SO much easier!
Our dinner! Mine dinner is on the left, Brian's is on the right. For the record, Bud Light Lime is only 2 points!

Showing her support for the Yankee Captain!

Wyatt and Mommy

Reesie and Daddy!

She loves to play with Daddy's sunglasses!

Wyatt trying to mimic Sabathia!

And on the Potty Training Front...

Potty training has been going so well! Wyatt has an issue with telling us when he needs to go, but we ask enough that he doesn't really have any accidents! At least, not any of the pee variety. We still diaper him at night and at nap time, but he wakes up dry most of the time. The one place that we're having a problem is when he needs to poop. And without getting into the gory details, he's pretty regular and it always happens in a diaper!

We keep one potty in the family room because it's a lot easier to get him to go when he doesn't need to be interrupted. This way he doesn't have to stop watching his show or drop his toys and come to the bathroom.


Like I said, he's doing a really great job, except telling us when it's time to go. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't. He loves public bathrooms, and he loves peeing outside, so he definitely makes sure to tell us (and everyone else) when we're at Target and he has to go. Or when we're driving in the car. Brian's so good about pulling over and letting him just go in the grass....it must be a boy thing.

We were looking for an inexpensive way to reward him for telling us when he has go that would also be something that he would really like. Brian had the excellent idea of giving him baseball cards every time he tell us. Here's his collection.

He loves to get his card and to tell us what the players are doing. Hopefully he starts telling us more often so he can collect more!

Disinfection 101

So this is the first true bout of illness we've undergone with the kids, so getting this place cleaned was a necessity. Here's a few things that I've had to to disinfect this place and keep us all from getting sick (again).

1. I have now officially done about 1 bazillion loads of laundry. I washed new sheets after every nap and night of sleep, couch pillows, clothes, towels and washcloths, high chair covers, the blankets downstairs, and of course, Monkey. I am so over laundry that I probably won't do a load of laundry ever again until nap time is over.

2. Clorox Wipes are my new BFF(s?). Yeah, I've tried the Target brand, and they're nice, but they don't come out of the container easily. I have no time or patience for that. They've been used to wipe down crib rails, remote controls, the laptop, hand rails, high chairs, baby gates, handles, the kids books and a few toys. And doorknobs. Must remember door knobs.

3. Lysol is amazing. To spray down car seats, the couch, the door knobs again, mattresses, pillows again. Love everything about it. Except, you know, how it smells.

4. Bleach water. Pour a small amount of bleach into some hot water in the sink and then dump toys in it. Rinse them off and let them dry (my Shamwow's were amazing for this), and then return to the children. Little People take longer to dry because of the hole in the bottom, Mega Blocks are great, and every thing else worked fine as well.

I'm really hoping that all of this worked to keep my home disinfected. I noticed a couple snotty noses earlier, so I'm hoping I don't have to do this all over again....

Reese's Baby!

Reese is currently obsessed with babies. "Baby" is her new favorite word. She likes to sit on the couch so that she can look at the pictures of her and her brother on the wall so that she can tell us that they're babies. Today at Target (we didn't need much, but we desperately needed to get out of this house) she pointed at every single baby she saw, baby dolls and real babies alike.

Last year for Christmas we got her a Cabbage Patch doll, but didn't give it to her. I think our intention was to take it back because we got her a different one that went with her stroller and horsie. Since we never took it back, and it was still wrapped in Christmas paper, we decided to give it to her today. She LOVES this baby. She was excited as soon as she saw it, and she loved holding it and giving it the bottle. I have a feeling we will have a few more baby dolls around this house soon...

Waiting for me to take it out of the package
I'm pretty sure we both have the exact same look on our faces here. Excuse the wings of hair on the side on my head. Since I got pregnant with Reese only 8.5 months after I was pregnant with Wyatt, my hair never completely grew back out after I lost some when he was born. I'm growing through a re-growth period now. Has that happened to anyone else? I've got these little wisps all over the place now, and they're driving me crazy! I can't wait for them to grow out.

Reesie giving her baby a bottle

She's very protective of that baby now....

On another bright note, Brian and I both stepped on the scale this morning and discovered the "bright side" of the stomach bug. He's lost 7 pounds in the last 2 days, and I've lost 5. Since I've been sick and limited to crackers and Gatorade I haven't been following the points system, but I'm jumping back on tomorrow!

The Stomach Bug

Don't read this if sickness grosses you out....

The kids and I had a good day on Thursday. We went to get Wyatt's hair cut, we came home and played, and then we had spaghetti and chicken parmesan for dinner. Wyatt didn't really eat anything, but Reese loved it and ate every bite!

Really, she ate every single bite. After dinner we went on a walk around the neighborhood. When we got to the very farthest point from our house Wyatt looked at us and said, "My tummy hurts, Daddy." We asked him if he was hungry, and he said no. Then he told us two more times. And in the back of our heads we both knew he was probably going to throw up. And then he did. And then he cried, I picked Reese up, Brian picked him up, and we all speed walked home. As soon as we got home I bathed Reese and put her to bed while Brian took care of Wyatt. I went to the store to stock up on essentials and came home. About a half an hour later we heard Reese coughing. And see all that nice spaghetti she had for dinner? She was covered in it.

She started shaking while I was cleaning her off, so I took her to the ER. She was a perfect baby for the entire 3 hour experience. Mostly she laid on me or rested her head on my shoulder. The doctor said she just had a bug or an infection and gave her an anti-nauseau medicine. It worked like a charm! She was drinking within the hour and sent home. We went to fill the prescription at 12:30 am, and then I brought her home and put her to bed. The boys were still awake. We gave Wyatt a dose so that we could all get some sleep.

She recovered by Friday morning, but he was still fighting it on Saturday. As long as he took the medicine, he's as happy as a clam. He read, watched TV, and even ran around.

Here's what they look like when they're not sick...

And here's what he looked like by the end of the day on Friday...

And then Saturday, our worst fears came true. Brian and I both got it about an hour apart. I've got to tell you, I don't know how my babies dealt with it. I can not remember ever feeling that awful in my entire life! I'll spare you the details, but we were not only sick and had chills, but we were also exhausted. I'm pretty sure that there was about an hour last night where both kids basically had the run of the downstairs because Brian and I both passed out on the couch. I faintly remember Wyatt asking me to put a new show on, mustering up the strength to walk upstairs and tuck Reese in, and then coming back downstairs and crashing. I'm still not sure how Brian was able to carry Wyatt up to bed.

I was able to slowly sip on Gatorade and ice chips and felt okay within a few hours. Brian on the other hand, is still suffering. Wyatt also had another "incident" tonight. He calls throwing up "coughing," and he's pretty much learned that if he says he has to cough he will get immediate attention, so I thought he might be faking at first. I'm hoping he just ate too much too soon and he's not actually sick, but I guess we'll have to see. I plan on spending tomorrow doing some heavy cleaning and disinfecting. We can not go through this again!

Wyatt's Half Birthday!

Wyatt's half birthday was on Wednesday. We have a little ritual of celebrating half birthdays around here, so of course we celebrated it this year. I can't believe my little baby boy is two and a half years old, and in six months he'll be three.

I made the same half birthday cake as last year (look at the pictures), but I'm honestly too embarrassed to show off this year's cake because it was a hot mess. Somewhere in the midst of finding out that someone was coming to look at our house on Thursday and having to go pick my groceries up from Harris Teeter (such a good deal with kids. You can just order online and go pick up your groceries at the store. They bring them to your car and everything. I just didn't realize that it would take a few hours and they'd be ready in the middle of dinner), I just kind of let the cake get out of control. It was still half a cake, even if it was in pieces.....

Wyatt is super excited to get his cake. Yes, he is totally wearing a Dora the Explorer hat, but that's because there weren't any Diego hats, and he loves her almost as much!
And here's where the string on the hat snapped behind his ear and he lost it. I swear he's not crying because he caught a glimpse of his cake.