Alcorn Update

50 FREE CARDS!

2010-11-18T20:02:00.008-06:00

Hey friends! I know it's been awhile but...I was blog hopping the other day and saw this opportunity to score 50 free Christmas cards from Shutterfly...and we all know that fun personalized photo cards aren't the cheapest!

I was thinking back to last year and of the dozens and dozens of Christmas cards we got, I think I could count on one hand the number of cards that were NOT photo cards. I mean, who does that? You just CAN'T send out Christmas cards without some sort of picture in or on the card. And Shutterfly has some super cute ones to choose from. You can see them for yourself here http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards

I really like the ones that have photos not only on the front of the card but INSIDE the card too. But ya'll already know I'm obsessed with pictures of my kids so I'm sure you're not surprised. They also offer fun gifts like calenders http://www.shutterfly.com/calenders, coffee mugs, mouse pads, playing cards, ornaments (super cute gift idea if you ask me) and the list goes on and on.

Another cool thing I saw on their site was photo birthday invites http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/birthday-cards-stationery . Wish I had checked out their site a few months ago!

Anyhow, I drug my family out to the park this past weekend to take some potential Christmas card pics. It was a beautiful morning and despite the fact that Brian had full-blown bronchitis and the other 3 of us were starting to cough as well, we got some good pics. Here's a sneak peak.

If you're a blogger and you want to take advantage of this opportunity to get 50 free cards yourself, go to http://bit.ly/sfly2010 .

gymnast/big girl

2010-07-02T13:32:00.011-05:00

I have no idea why I can't move the pics into place...but I wrote this last week and don't have the patience to fix it so just pretend the pics are in the right place, ok? silly boy dressed himself

crazy hair!

Jacob and Ephrem at gym

big girl

getting his medal at gym

There's no point in me trying to catch up on blogging so I'll just hit the highlights. Sometime in May, between the ages of 20-21 months Jenna decided to grow up. She started speaking in sentences, using the potty, sassing her mama, eating cereal in a bowl with milk and a spoon, not wanting to nap, etc.

She is such little jewel! Her hair is getting curlier and blonder. Some of the girls at work were looking at our pictures from vacation and one of them said "who's that little girl and where's Hannah's daughter!" She has changed SO MUCH since she was born it's hard to believe it's the same person!

Jacob finished up his first year of preschool. We are really looking forward to having Ms. Lettie as his teacher next year. I have known her for years and have heard so many great things about her class.

Jacob had gymnastics show off day at the end of May. It was fun and we got to take pictures. Jacob loves going to gymnastics. His teacher Coach Karen is really great. She's the coach for the team girls and she's very down to business but really awesome with the kids too. I feel like he is really learning some gymnastic skills and I'm not just paying for 45min of play (it's the former gymnast in me, I can't help it!).

My Uncle Mike lost his 4 1/2 year battle with cancer (melanoma) on June 4. It was a very hard time for my family. My "baby" cousin Jonathan graduated from high school 5 days prior to his father's death. I have never in my life, including in my years as a nurse, seen ANYONE fight harder than my Uncle Mike fought. He is missed.

Three days after returning from my uncle's funeral in Houston, we left for vacation in the Carolinas. I'll do a separate post on that eventually. I've been working lots of extra shifts since half our nursing staff is off during the summer...the extra cash is nice but I'd rather be home with my babes!

Brian started nights last weekend. I was very leery about this but so far it's been fine. He gets up around the same time he used to get home from work so it's really no different. I've got our room all darkened and have a big, loud box fan for noise. He's back to working with his buddies and I think he's alot happier, which makes me happy too ; )

We're off to play in the rain. Vacation post to come....

Mother's Day etc

2010-05-14T20:58:00.007-05:00

Mother's Day dinner with my parents, mother-in-law, and my Grandma

Just the boys

Grandma and her 2 great-grandchildren

Jacob's preschool had "Muffins with Mom" for Mother's Day. He made me this sweet necklace which he would not let me wear : )

They sang the moms a song to the tune of the Oscar Meyer bologna song.

Jacob with Mrs. Linda and Mrs. Barbara

Me and my first born

just a random cute picture

We found a toad in our backyard the other day. Jacob wasn't scared of it a bit. That's MY boy!

/another random cute pic. I think Jenna the common theme here!

We went to a co-worker's daughter's bday party at a farm. The kids had a blast!

Jacob and the bday girl!

Fishing with dad. Jacob was only interested in fishing when there was actually a FISH involved!

Where to Begin?

2010-04-24T13:29:00.007-05:00

Life has been so busy lately. Between church (*our NEW church which we are SO BLESSED to have found*), preschool, gymnastics, work, and these two angels, we've been....well...busy!Evening story time with Daddy

Brian does this to Jenna's hair every night. It cracks me up!

We recently went on an adventure with our neighbor friends. Me and Erica were both husband- less one Saturday and decided to go on a spur of the moment trip downtown (Dallas, that is).

So we rode the DART rail to City Place

Then hopped on the *free* McKinney Ave trolley. Here's Jacob with his buddies Clayton and Oliver.Jenna loved the trolley. Here's Elliott or Ellie as Jenna calls him. He's so cute! I think at 10 months he outweighs Jenna!

We got off the trolley and walked to the Chase Bank building. Our plan was to go up to the Sky Lobby and look out over downtown. Well, it's only open M-F so we were out of luck! But they had this great amphitheatre. The boys loved running and playing and jumping...until the mean security guard kicked us out. Whatever.
Then we were off to Pacuigo's for some gelato. YUM! We had a great time - I'm glad Erica is so adventurous. I'd be chicken to do such an outing by myself if it weren't for her.

As for my lack of time to blog...this picture says it all. This is what I found as I was eating my lunch today (after the kids ate theirs, of course). I thought I could actually get my lunch in uninterrupted while the kids played outside. Wrong!

Easter

2010-04-10T20:52:00.007-05:00

HOA Easter Egg Hunt

Easter Morning

After church

Evening with the family
The kids had a blast being super silly for their grandparents....
Jacob got a guitar from the Easter bunny.

Jenna is screaming and laughing in this picture.

Easter was a lovely day. I love everything about Easter and and more thankful every year that I serve a Risen Savior.

Animals!

2010-04-10T20:33:00.006-05:00

Jacob had a petty zoo come to his school last month. I didn't get to go because I had to work so I sent Brian and Jenna to take pictures for me.

Jacob spent most of the time with the turtle. He loved it. I think he's so use to chasing the turtles at our neighborhood pond...they always jump in the water and escape. He actually "caught" this one!

Above is Jacob and one of his teachers Ms. Barbara.

Jacob and the giant rabbit.

Jenna played for a minute...until a baby goat jumped up on her. That was the end of that!

Then right before Easter we took a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo. When we first arrived, we took the train to the back of the zoo...a great trick to get away from the crowds!

Jenna made sure Aunt Beckey was holding her hand at all times on the train ride.The Alcorns

Jenna dancing with the kangaroo
Jacob on the gator
Jacob's favorite as always...the parakeet house

My little monkeys on the baby elephant

3.5

2010-03-15T12:29:00.003-05:00

My little man is 3 1/2! I am so proud of the boy he is becoming. He is such a gem. A gentle soul with a kind spirit. Can keep himself entertained and can entertain others. He counts to 20, loves Casting Crowns newest song "Until the Whole World Hears" which he refers to as "Woa Woa Woa", loves hot dogs, apples, oranges, smoothies, and popsicles. He weighs 30lbs and is in 3T tops and 2T bottoms. He's totally potty trained except at night, never naps, loves markers and play dough, has 2 current favorite books we read every night, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" and "Carlos and the Second Dose." He hates being punished and is very reward driven. He still loves the outdoors (especially riding his tricycle), the Wii, and his newest favorite is playing games on the computer, especially the PBS kids website. He loves our neighbors and still prays for them every night. His favorite number is 8 and he's starting to recognize his letters. He's a great helper, an awesome big brother, and a wonderful son. I love you SONshine!

18

2010-02-25T20:16:00.006-06:00

At 18 months, Jenna:

still sucks her (left) thumb

is super silly

is still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen

does EVERYTHING her brother does

eats a TON

loves to talk on the phone "halll-lllo"

just started wearing some 12-18mo clothes

loves the outdoors (unless there's snow!)

is still a snuggle-bug

doesn't stay still...no more posed pictures for now!

loves to read books (favorites are the Baby Signs books, Goodnight Moon, What Does Baby See?)
tells us when she's wet or stinky

had to start her first antibiotic and breathing treatments

talks and sings a lot

is a bit of a drama queen

likes to bug her brother

is a great helper...she helps unload the dishwasher, put the clothes in the dryer, clean up, and her favorite is to throw things in the trash/recycle

I LOVE YOU JENNA BOO!

White Stuff

2010-02-13T07:26:00.008-06:00

What is all this white stuff that fell from the sky? It's not the usual N. TX snow. Nope. This is mounds and mounds of white fluffy stuff. We had a record-breaking 12.5" of snow this week! It snowed from 5am until after midnight. Crazy. Big. Huge snowflakes. It was so pretty!

I took Jacob to school on Thursday morning. It was snowing, but the roads were all fine so all the schools stayed open. When I got home, me and Jenna got all layered up and took off for a walk. It was pouring giant flakes and Jenna did NOT like being pelted in the face with snow. So we made it to the end of the street, took a picture of my crying child, and headed back home.

When we got home, I thought she might like playing out back instead. Not so much.

When Jacob got home from school, he sort of wanted to go play in the snow but I distracted him because his asthma doesn't get along well with the cold. Brian and I had a date night so we headed to Papa's house which was a good distraction. Brian and I had an AWESOME dinner at Outback, then headed back to get the kids since the streets were started to get icy.

The next morning, we woke up to this. LOTS of snow. I couldn't keep my boy in any longer. So I bundled him up and Brian and Jacob were off to play.

I threw a hat and coat on Jenna so I could take some pics. She just stood near the front door and watched the festivities.

Dentist

2010-02-12T20:24:00.003-06:00

Dr. Mel

Mrs. Jackie

Jacob had his first dentist appointment. He did wonderful! It was a bit challenging trying to get him to open wide and keep his mouth open but he did very well. His dentist is a church friend Dr. Melody Stampe. It was nice to have someone we know so well and feel comfortable with. The hygentist Mrs. Jackie was super sweet and explained everything so well.

Jacob was very happy when we were all done! I got him a SpiderMan ball for a reward for doing so great.

Joy

2010-02-09T12:56:00.000-06:00

Silly boy! Full of joy!

My little beauty. Aint she a cutie!

Girl Crazy

2010-01-28T11:29:00.007-06:00

The more time passes, the girlier Jenna gets. And the girlier Jenna gets, the more girl crazy I get. I recently made her a TUTU and some new hair bows.
She hates the tutu. Won't even wear it for a second (the above picture was the one out of 100 that she wasn't crying). She shakes her head and says no no no no over and over while tugging it down. I was hoping to take her 18month pics in it next month but it looks like I need to go to plan B.Jacob likes it though.

The bows turned out really cute but I don't care for the clips they had a HobLob so I'm going to switch them out as soon as I get around to going to Sally's.

Jacob started gymnastics class this week. He loved it! He did so well. It made his mamma who just so happens to be a former gymnast so proud ; ) He is doing great in school too. I am so glad the 2's are over! He is turning into such a sweet boy.

He is finally starting to pedal his tricycle. For the longest time he would just scoot his feet. I think our slightly older and super cool neighbor boys are inspiring him.

Brian took these last 2 pics last night. When I was scrolling through them I had to stare a minute to figure out which were Jacob and which were Jenna.

No Mas Leche

2010-01-17T14:05:00.004-06:00

Well folks, after almost 17months, Jenna is no longer nursing. It's a long story but basically I started an antibiotic for a sinus infection and didn't even think to look and see if it was safe to take while nursing until the second day I was on it. Of all the families of antibiotics, I was on the one that is least safe (quinolones). So I decided to try and skip our nightly nursing ritual and Jenna didn't seem to mind much. The second night I had quit taking the antibiotic because it made me nauseous but I made the decision that we were done. And that was that. She only asked for "mamas" a few times and I just told her it was all gone. She didn't argue. It's bitter sweet. It was the only "alone" time me and Jenna got all day and I really enjoyed the bond. But it's nice to be milk-free too. I love you Jenna and I'm proud of us for lasting as long as we did!

On a random note, I keep forgetting to blog Jenna's obsession with candles. She LOVES them. I have no idea where it started. Actually, I do. It started with a candle at my parent's house that had a lid. It was in a wooden acorn container and she loved to take the lid off and on. Last month she discovered my candle stash in the armoire and it's been non-stop from there. I do worry a little about the fact that they are mostly glass jars but so far so good.

Jacob is going to start gymnastics with his buddy Ephrem. He would start this week but I have to work so he'll start next week. He still loves playdough and markers. He likes making circles and ovals and sometimes triangles. He is so happy to be back in school and I am so happy about that too!

This and That

2010-01-07T17:06:00.005-06:00

This is a random entry of things I keep forgetting to blog.

Jenna loves to sing. Her new favorite song is "Jingle Bells."

She still wakes up every morning requesting "a bow" and often has 2 or 3 or 4 bows in her hair.

She is SUCH an imitator. I remember this phase with Jacob, however with Jenna it's different because she imitates him! Some of my favorites are she slurps just like him when he is drinking down his medicine, she takes big breaths like him while he is doing his inhaler, she even said 'ahhhh' like him while Dr. M was looking in his throat!

She also insists on WALKING down the stairs now. She never would go down backwards. She would scoot down on her butt. However, now she holds on to the wall or stair spindles.

Jacob is still in his independent phase. It's really annoying but I try to go with the flow.

He has to be tucked in every night by Brian. If Brian isn't home, he lets me do it but it's just not the same.

He is OBSESSED with Super Mario Brothers. We got it for the Wii and him and Brian have already beaten the game. He asked me a million times to play "Mario Brudders" when he was sick. It's all I could do to keep him still. When he would get up to play the cough would get worse. He sings all the Mario tunes and speaks the lingo well. Randomly throughout the day he will say "We need to get some stuff so we can go to the castle" or "I have 40 more lives" or "Daddy jumped on that monster good!" or "I got some coins!" and I could go on and on.

I LOVE my babes and can't even remember what life was like before them!

Happy Birthday To Me....RSV

2010-01-02T18:58:00.002-06:00

While most of you spent New Year's Eve ringing in the new year, I was celebrating my 30th birthday. How, you ask? By taking care of my sick family. Jenna got RSV and was a sick puppy! She managed to share it with her brother (no big surprise) and he was a sick puppy too. And to top it all off, now Brian is sick.

Jenna still has a junky cough and runny nose but it's nothing compared to the horrible cough and gobs and gobs of snot she was drowning in a few days ago.

Jacob's cough started 2 nights ago and has been pretty constant since then. So much so that after trying EVERYTHING in my bag of tricks (and being a pedi pulmonary nurse, I have lots of tricks!) I ended up taking him to an urgent care clinic for a chest x-ray. Thankfully, it was fine and they told me to keep doing what I'm doing. Great, thanks for that advise!

I've talked to one of the docs I work for several times in during the past 24 hrs. Today, we tried giving Jacob some cough syrup with codeine but that didn't even seem to help. Poor guy! He is better today than he was yesterday so I know tomorrow will be even better.

Brian went to the doc this morning and was told he has an upper respiratory infection. Got him some drugs so hopefully in a few days he'll be feeling better. I'm crossing my fingers and praying that God protects me. I seem to be pretty immune to the kid cooties but we'll see!

As for the big 3-0, I'm fine with it. It doesn't seem to phase me, actually. It sounds a little weird but that's it. My parents came over and bought me my favorite Chinese food (since the kids weren't up for going out) and Brian came home from work early and brought a yummy ice cream cake.

My daddy bought me a LAPTOP for my birthday! It is so awesome I still can hardly believe it. He kept saying he was going to buy me one but my parents don't usually spend THAT much money on gifts so I didn't really think he was going to do it. I had a feeling he was going to only because he kept bringing up my "birthday present" over the last month.

He's a stinker though and tried to trick me. He brought in a big gift bag. When I opened it, there was a wrapped box inside. Inside that box was another gift bag with another box......when I finally got down to gift it was a wireless mouse. Then, he told me to go look behind the recliner where he had hidden the laptop!

Jacob picked out a talking Batman birthday card for me and Brian got me a new hair dryer (I've been whining about needing a new one for a while) in addition to our Rockette's outing. The Rockette's Christmas show was awesome and a having a date night with my hubby is priceless!

Happy New Year to All. May 2010 be full of wonderful memories!

WHITE Christmas?!?

2009-12-29T19:56:00.004-06:00

That's right! We had a WHITE CHRISTMAS. As one of my patients at work's mom pointed out, it was a "once in a lifetime" event. The last white Christmas in Dallas was in 1926!

Jacob had fun pushing his truck around in the snow. Jenna liked it ok. She mainly was confused I think. It didn't take her long to slip and fall on a stepping stone. She didn't like it after that.

Christmas at a Glance

2009-12-29T19:46:00.004-06:00

Mimi, Jenna, Hannah, Brian, Jacob, Grandma and Papa

Jenna and her jewels

fun toys!

*super cool new scooter*

HOHOHO

playing with one of brother's tools

more jewelry

stocking goodies

letter from Santa. He also left some batteries for Jacob's Smart Cycle

Christmas Eve Eve and Eve

2009-12-28T14:45:00.006-06:00

We decided to let the kids open a few presents when I got home from work on 12/23 since it would be the last time it was just our family of 4 together until after Christmas.

Jenna got a turtle tambourine and some nesting barrels and Jacob got a garbage truck and a recycle truck. I found the recycle truck in one of my parenting magazines. It's made by a company called Green Toys. Their toys are made from recycled milk jugs. The recycle truck came with cardboard pieces that had printed on them newspapers, cans, and bottles. There is a slot for each on the side of the truck. Super cute!On Christmas Eve while Jenna was napping, Jacob and I decorated a pre-assembled gingerbread house. It was way fun. A few of my friends had bought the kit but said they had a hard time keeping the roof from caving in so my friend Sharon suggested the pre-assembled version. It was so great I think I'll stick with it until one of the children insists otherwise!Brian's family came over Christmas Eve. Brian worked both Christmas Eve and Christmas day but he was home by 3 so it wasn't too bad. Here we are eating...crab legs are a hit with this group!

Jacob and Jenna got about a million toys. This is Jacob checking out his Spiderman shaving kit.

Jacob with his new tool belt.

Jenna saying CHEESE!

Pre-Christmas

2009-12-27T10:02:00.005-06:00

at the Carrollton police kid's party

Jenna loves hats!

Jacob standing on one foot like the snowman behind him. This was at Santa's Village. There were around a dozen little gingerbread houses set up you could walk through. There was everything from a petting zoo to Santa. The lines were VERY long so we only went through 2 houses but the lights and decorations were fun to see.

at Santa's Village

My trio in the yard after daddy finished the decorations. He did great (you can't see most of it in this picture).

my sweet boy before church

my little beauty

at the Richardson police and fire kid's party

That's Jacob in the green striped shirt RUNNING to LEAP into Santa's arms when he arrived on the fire truck.

Austin

2009-12-26T13:46:00.005-06:00

We finally made the trek to Austin to visit Brian's sister and her hubby. They have a new house just south of Austin. We spent the first evening walking around downtown Austin. We wanted to see the bats but didn't do our research....they migrate to Mexico for the winter.

Brian and Jenna on the Congress St bridge

The second day we went a visited one of my best friend's from college. She and her hubby live in the heart of Austin in the cutest little old house. I love it! Then, we went back to Heathers for lunch and a nap before heading to San Antonio for the evening. The river walk was beautiful. It was all lit up with Christmas lights. There were even boats of carolers!
Eating on the River Walk

on the boat
at a candy shop

The next day we had a few things planned but it a cold front came through and ruined our outdoor fun. So we went to lunch and played the Wii for a while before heading home. It was lots of fun. Heather and Doug were great hosts and we are already planning a return trip in the spring.

Jacob loved playing with Sharky. In the 2nd picture he is jumping off the couch, over Sharky and onto the giant ottoman. I'm sure Heather and Doug can't wait to have kids! Ha!

Thanksgivings & KCS

2009-12-26T13:08:00.005-06:00

We had a seafood Thanksgiving. Crab legs, sea bass, etc. Jan, Heather and Doug joined us to feast.

Then, a few days later the Kansas City Southern Railroad's Christmas train was in town. We went and saw Santa on the train, along with tons of cool miniature trains inside 4-5 cars. The wait was LONG (1.5hr) and COLD but Jacob loved it.

Communication

2009-11-16T13:16:00.004-06:00

As of yesterday, our "little punky" is 15 months. What fun! I thought I'd better give an update since she is growing and changing so fast.

Our lil J is an excellent communicator. I couldn't begin to tell you how many words she knows. Dozens. This past month she also started saying short phrases like 'thank you', 'bye-bye', 'nite-nite' etc. As of the past few weeks, she has added short sentences like 'where'd it go?' and 'there it is!' and 'see-you!' (later) and 'i got it'...I could go on and on. She also knows parts of several songs including "Happy Birthday" "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Old McDonald Had a Farm."

Language development is totally fascinating to me. It's amazing. I downloaded these (really poor quality) videos the other day. Jenna repeated everything she heard on the video (that she wouldn't say while I was recording). Stinker!

I really love how she knows what she wants and what she doesn't want...and she'll let you know! Jacob was 18 months when this happened. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was so exciting not to have to guess what he wanted to do or eat...

She still does EVERYTHING her big brother does. I'm not sure that will ever change. She's a feisty little thing. Like her Bubba, she never slows down. Ha! And I thought it was just a boy thing!

That's all for now. I'll leave you with a few pictures. Yo wekkom (you're welcome in lil J language).Jenna and DaddyMom, stop taking my picture all the time!Cheeeeeese!For Aunt Heather and Nana: look who's not afraid of his truck anymore!!!

And last but not least, my favorite picture of them all. Look at that little curl on the side of her head. It is the most precious little thing in the whole wide world!

Trick or Treats

2009-11-06T19:24:00.005-06:00

our bee and unicorn

Our bumble bee with his bumble bee. This was an emergency costume since the duck costume we bought a month ago was now too small! Guess our little guy is growing!

Jenna's costume was a bit small...notice how short it is. I think it was uncomfortable to have the hat part on so it stayed down most of the night.

"Trick or Treat Please In My Bag!" was Jacob's phrase of the night Halloween. We trekked around the block, our bumble bee running ahead and our little unicorn in the wagon. Speaking of the wagon, I blinged it up a bit with glow-sticks. Safety first! Jacob enjoys getting a "trick or treat" after eating all his dinner or for being an extra good boy. Jenna enjoys sharing them.

Mulletless

2009-10-29T10:53:00.008-05:00

Brian carved a pumpkin last night. Turned out well.

Jacob painted a pumpkin while Daddy carved one. He was very into it!

Random pictures from a day at the park a few weeks ago...

I'm behind on blogging. Again. But here's my best effort to let you know what we've been up to. Brian and I celebrated our 7th anniversary on the 12th. Lucky 7! I am SO LUCKY to have him. Brian celebrated his 35th birthday on Monday. Would have been a great day if Jenna hadn't have spent the evening vomiting. Thankfully Outback has to-go. She's fine now, by the way.

Speaking of Jenna, she is a very busy girl. She has successfully learned how to climb in and out of the sandbox. I also taught her how to go up the ladder on the swing set so she can go down the slide. It seemed like a good idea at the time....

My precious angel lost her mullet on Tuesday, October 27th. While I absolutely adore her long, single curl in the back center of her head, I just couldn't take it anymore. It was a mullet/rat tail looking thing and it was just gross. So we took her up the street and had it chopped off. I thought it looked horrible at first because her hair grows in sort of a swirl in the back so it still looked like she had a mini rat tail even after we cut it because the hair bunches up there. Once we washed it (and I chopped it a little more) it looks lots better.

Before

During
After

Our church's Fall Festival was last weekend. Jacob jumped in all the different bounce houses and snuggled on all the animals in the petting zoo. I guess he thought they would make a good pillow. Jenna went on her first pony ride (Jacob didn't want to) and a good time was had.

Yesterday one of my girlfriends threw a Halloween party for all of our kids. We had a blast decorating pumpkins, icing cookies, and playing.

Howdy Folks!

2009-10-16T19:29:00.004-05:00

We made our annual trek to the Great State Fair of TEXAS this week! It was a bit wet, but we still had loads of fun. Some of the things we ate were Fletcher's corney dog (duh!), Little Bob's BBQ sandwich (I get EVERY year. This was Jenna's favorite hands down!), fried honey bun (pretty good), Texas nachos, corn on the cob, cheeseburger, fried pecan pie (YUM!), and two "lemon shake-ups" (freshly shook lemonade). I think that might be all. Oh wait, and dippin' dots ice cream.

The kids had a blast! I had a list of stuff I wanted to do and we only made it half way through the list. We let Jacob go to school in the morning so we didn't arrive until 1:45. We stayed for the parade at 7:30 which Jacob loved!

We did visit the Railroad Museum. Jacob loved being in a real train. Plus, it was a safe place for the kids to run...priceless!

Here's Brian and Jacob watching the Pirates. It was a diving show with a pirate theme. When it was over, Jacob kept asking if we could go back and see the pirates! I took a picture of him with the pirates but it was blurry. I had to take our crummy old camera since it was raining. Oh well.

The petting zoo...Jenna BAAAAAed at more goats than I can count. She also baaaed at the cow, ostrich, zebra, etc. I told you she can baaa really well. And of course, she wasn't scared a bit of the animals.

Our one and only family picture from the day.

Jacob and Brian on a ride. They were standing in the back of a fire truck and the were 'shooting' the water out of the hose to the burning building. It was his favorite ride. He also rode the race cars but it was a bit jerky. We were going to do the fun house but it was flooded from all the rain. Jacob also played basketball (which he ROCKED) and did the dart-throw balloon pop game. He won 2 goldfish and a blue puppy.

This is an 'annual' picture. I can't wait to see how big J will be next year!

Ketchup

2009-10-04T19:46:00.009-05:00

I survive scrap-weekend! Actually it was a blast. I missed my kids and my man lots (ok, mainly just the first night) but I knew they were having tons of fun so I didn't worry a bit. Seriously. I made a good dent in Jenna's book too. I'm about half way done with her book, not bad!

The kids had their annual physical (wink!) and here's the stats:

Jacob: 29.5lb, 37"

Jenna: 19lb 2oz; 29.75"

We also had our annual family pictures taken. I am having such a hard time deciding which ones to order. Here's the link to check them out. http://gallery.me.com/sreeves3275#100778

Jenna is lovin' dancing and she sure can boogie! She is also learning some animal sounds. She barks very well.

Jacob loves listening to 'his' music. He know lots of songs with hand motions and is learning so much in preschool.

They are both healthy, happy kids. Who could ask for anything more?

This past weekend our BF's the Reeds came for a visit. It was tons of fun as always, well, until Brian forgot their car was parked in the driveway and scraped the side while backing out. Oops! That's what insurance is for. No big deal!

Jacob and Jolene playing with his new dinosaur puzzle (a present from Jolene) Jacob and Jessica. She's sporting her new hip brace.

Jolene brought Jacob a birthday cake since she missed his party. So sweet!

The kids have been spending hours outside playing with acorns. We collect them in buckets and dump trucks, line them up, spell stuff with them, etc. I had no idea acorns could be so entertaining.

Jacob FINALLY saw a rainbow. A big storm blew through last week just before bedtime. After we read books, I had a gut (aka God) feeling that there would be a rainbow. We hopped out of bed and ran downstairs. As we stepped out the front door I looked left. No rainbow. Then I looked right. No rainbow. WHAT? I just KNEW there was going to be one. I was so disappointed. We had to go back into the kitchen to get bumble bee so I decided to look out the back door just in case. Guess what we saw? Yep! A giant rainbow!

Baby G

2009-09-21T11:33:00.006-05:00

cousin lovin'

Last week we blessed to have a very brief but fun visit from Brian's brother Chris, his wife Val, and my darling nephew Gavin. Brian's sister Heather gave them her frequent flyer miles so they could come visit. Thank you Aunt Heather! They spent several days with Heather in Austin, then they all (including Heather) came up and stayed with us for 2 days until they had to fly home to Arizona.

Aunt Heather, Jacob, Brian, Jenna, Uncle Chris, baby Gavin

They arrived on Jacob's birthday. We went to Peter Piper Pizza for dinner and play, then it was home for cake. The world's ugliest cake, that is. Jacob wanted blue and yellow icing...then I did writing in green. It turned out so ugly! But it tasted really good.

The birthday boy snuck into the ice cream when we weren't looking.

Baby G is 3 months old. What a chunk! He is the juiciest little (big) thing! I'm so glad we were able to see him. Chris graduated in May and just accepted a job last week. Unfortunately, the job is in Arizona. They were hoping to come back to Texas but at least he has a job! PTL!

The weather here has been very, very, very rainy. The past 2 days it has finally stopped but there's more to come tonight. I love the rain but it's hard on the kids, especially Jacob. So, we have gone puddle jumping a few times. We have been searching for a rainbow but it's been too cloudy. We'll have to keep looking.

Work has been crazy. Hello flu season. I leave Thursday for a scrapbook retreat with my Murphy Road girls. I'm very excited and very ready to escape MommyLand for a few days. It will be my first time away from Jenna and the longest time I've been away from Jacob. I'm not sure how well I'll do but I have a feeling the time will fly by. I'll let you know!

J & J B-day Bash

2009-09-10T11:04:00.006-05:00

The kid's birthday party was a blast! Seriously, it was the first year that it was actually fun. I guess because Jacob was old enough to actually play with his pals, plus we kept things as simple as possible. We grilled hamburgers, had chips and baked beans.

Right when the burgers were about done, the "surprise" visit from a Wylie firetruck came. We all headed outside to meet the firefighters and climb around on the truck. Wylie FD is the best! The kids loved it and Jacob was truly in heaven. He ran right up to the truck and climbed right in. It was funny because some of the older kids were a bit overwhelmed. Not my boy.

Then we ate, had cake and ice cream (a Diego cake from Target...it was so yummy!) and headed outside for some playtime. We had a pinata which was great fun, then we (we being me) opened the presents. The second present Jacob opened was his "real" weed eater and once he started playing with it, he was totally uninterested in any more presents.

God blessed us with a beautiful day for a party! Who'd have thought that we'd have such a nice day in early September? The kids played on the swing set, drove around Jacob's power-wheel truck, collected acorns, had lawn mower races, played football....

Jenna ran around like the princess she is, chasing everyone and trying to get in on the action. She didn't like the firetruck too much so she hung out inside and talked to her great grandma. She got some cute new clothes (my dad even picked out a dress for her!) and some fun toys too.

My dad was the secondary photographer and I don't have any of his pics yet so there's no cake pictures or family pic yet but I'll post those later.

Shepard's Kid's

2009-09-03T11:48:00.005-05:00

Jacob started Shepard's Kid's (Parent's Day Out) this week. Day 1 went pretty well. He wouldn't take a nap so that was the only "rough" time. They have rest time for well over an hour so it's a loooong time for him to sit quietly on his mat. He cried a little during nap time and told his teachers "Mama and Dada will be here soon."

Check out that backpack! He picked it out himself over Spiderman and Hulk. My kid's got class! "Go Cowboys!" as Jacob would say!

I'm going to give him a month or so to see if he will nap (being that he naps for Mimi and I know he could use the rest). If the peer pressure doesn't work, I may see about picking him up before nap time every day. After nap time they have books/puzzle time then it's pick-up time so he wouldn't really miss anything. We'll see how it goes.

Today, he was a little teary when I dropped him off. He was trying hard to be brave but I could see the sadness in his eyes. It broke my heart a bit but I know once they get started he'll have tons of fun.

Jenna spent Monday night vomiting. And vomiting. And vomiting. It was the most pitiful thing I have ever seen. She woke up at 10pm, right as I was going to sleep. I ignored her for a few minutes thinking she'd go back to bed. She kept fussing so I finally got up. I knew as soon as I walked into her room that she had thrown up. The smell....

As I was cleaning her up she vomited more. After about the 4th onesie change I realized this was going to be a long night and just left her in her diaper. I would drape her with a towel or blanket so I had something to "catch" the vomit with. The poor thing just couldn't stop. She would throw up, fall asleep in my lap, wake up 10second-10 minutes later fussing which was immediately followed by more vomiting. This went on until around 4am. The last several hours were mainly dry heaving since there was nothing left, not even stomach acid.

Thankfully she was better by Tuesday morning. Weak and tired, but no vomiting. We spent the day resting and rehydrating while Bubba was at school. I hope to never ever ever experience that again!

What's New?

2009-08-28T13:53:00.005-05:00

Jacob starts preschool next week. I can't believe he's old enough for "preschool." It's really Parent's Day Out (PDO) at our church and we are all so excited. We got to meet his teachers last night and they are both super sweet. Many of his classmates are also in his Sunday School class at church so I don't see the adjustment being too difficult.

Jacob has mastered the computer. He can now open Internet Explorer, go to the Favorites tab, scroll down to Jacob, and move the mouse over to select his Batman video. He can open and close windows, adjust the volume, etc.

Jacob naked in the easel. It reminds me of those Anne Geddes pictures!

He has also been playing the Wii a bit. He LOVES to "play Wii games" mainly baseball. I even created him his own Mii. He's too cute!

Jenna has been enjoying all her birthday presents. Her and Jacob scoot around the downstairs on their cars constantly. She has learned how to stand on her car (thanks Jacob) and shares her car well with her brother. She also loves her baby and baby stroller.

She loves to do the log roll and spin around in circles. She thinks shaking her head NO is the funniest thing on earth. She has also mastered petting the dogs. She loves carrying around a book and pretending to read it.

Many people have recently commented on her BIG personality. While it is super cute right now, it makes me wonder what the future might hold.

She still eats more than her brother. Actually, Jacob has been a super finicky eater lately. All of his staple foods (macaroni, hot dogs, turkey sandwiches, cereal bars) he no longer likes at least for the moment. He lives on fruit and scrambled eggs and junk.

Jenna has been using her morning banana as mousse.

The week after Jenna's birthday, I quit feeding her during the night hours. Around 9 months when she cut a bunch of teeth at once, she started feeding earlier during the night. Sometimes 11 or 12. Then, she'd want to eat again around 4 or 5. Twice a night!

Everyone that knows me knows I CANNOT stand to listen to my babies cry. So I'd feed her. I didn't want her keeping Brian up or me for that matter. Well after a full year of not getting a single full night's rest, I said enough is enough. It only took a few days for her to adjust. I know I should have done it 9 months ago but we weren't ready. Brian was such a big help. For 2 or 3 nights in a row he'd get up and rock her back to sleep. He didn't complain about it once!

We are looking forward to the kid's birthday party and Jacob starting school and some other stuff.

Thank you God for blessing me with such a wonderful family.

Birthday Princess

2009-08-19T10:37:00.004-05:00

Our little princess turned one this past weekend. One YEAR. She's ONE YEAR OLD. I'm still having a hard time processing it.
Posing by her "Happy 1 Jenna" written in sidewalk chalk.

We started the morning with a trip to the donut shop. Jenna had a heart-shaped donut with pink icing and sprinkles. Then it was off to Lowes to drive the race-car cart. Ok, that was more for us but she still loved it. Then home for a nap, then lunch. After lunch we did some shopping. Bought birthday party invitations, Nana's birthday present, then we went to a consignment sale. Bought clothes for the winter, then it was off to Mimi and Papa's house. After some fun play-time with her new pink scooter, it was off to dinner. We had a chocolate-banana cake (from Cafe Brazil) for dessert. Yummo! It was a great day.

At one year:

You are very independent. You like to comb your own hair and brush your own teeth. You also love gabbing on the phone (of any sort-cell, regular, toy, etc).

on the phone (elmo phone)brushing teeth

You run FAST and climb very well.

You love your family. You always know where Bubba is and don't let him get too far from you. You squeal with delight when Dada or Mamma get home from work.

You hold my cheeks and give big open mouth kisses when YOU want a kiss. If Dada or I want a kiss, you turn your head away and grunt. Stinker!

You are beautiful! Strangers stop us often to tell us how beautiful you are, as if we didn't know! You bring joy to strangers often with your big smile.

You eat. And eat. And eat. You don't stop eating. You eat your food, then Bubba's, then ours. How is it you're still so tiny? 18+ lbs at last weight.

We love you so much JenJen Jenna Boo!

Million Dollar

2009-08-11T14:25:00.004-05:00

Million Dollar FOUNTAIN, that is! We visited this so called fountain in Richardson this week. It's sort of like the one at the Billagio in that it shoots up (and across) water in sync to music. It's pretty neat.
Jenna was the first one in (no big surprise there). Sometimes there's just one stream of water going, other times it's all of them at once. She got one face-full of water but handled it pretty well.

Jacob thought it was too funny. He ran laps round and round the fountain. He ran in and out a few times but mostly he just watched.

He's so cute! He was very excited here!

The fountain is near the Eisman Center (75 and Galatan) if you're wondering. The Renaissance Hotel is behind it and there are a few restaurants across the street. You can park right along the curb by the fountain. There are benches and I think picnic tables too. We will definitely be going back to this free fun summer spot!

New Pics

2009-08-08T12:47:00.003-05:00

With 2 kids to chase, I seem to be too tired to blog these days. Here's a quick recap of our past 2 weeks.

Brian went to a week long school to learn how to be a police bicycle officer. It was pretty intense but he did great. God was so good to bring a cool front that week. By the end of the week he could ride slowly, bend down and pick up a quarter off the ground while still riding. Crazy! Oh, and he can shoot you from his bike too. Just in case you were wondering.

Jenna got an early birthday present. I got it off Craig's List and it's too big to hide...it's a Jump and Spin Zebra and she loves it! Oh, and so does Jacob. Thank goodness he's skinny and is well below the weight limit.

Jenna also got her first pair of big girl walking shoes. Size 4.5 Stride Rites - white with light pink soles and stitching (flowers and swirls).

The past week my cousin Karen and her two boys stayed with us. Her oldest, Blake, was in Mav's camp at UTD. It was fun having some company. Jacob called Reece (5) "Josh" all week. He has a friend that's the same age with blond hair named Josh. By the end of the week he was just doing it to be annoying. And he called Karen "MOM" like Reece does. I finally convinced him that she was REECE's mom and I was HIS mom. Then he called her Kierrrrren. He must have said her name a million times. It was really cute. He LOVED her.

We also spent a day with our BF's the Reeds but for some reason it won't let me upload a picture. Jacob and Jolene had a blast. Jenna ran around and sweet baby Jessica loved watching all the madness! That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Tata for now!

Mama

2009-07-23T19:56:00.004-05:00

My darling girl is FINALLY saying Mama. Well, not really. It's more like MAAAAAma! She only says it, actually YELLS it, when she's mad or upset. She will storm around downstairs looking for me while yelling for me. She did say mom a few times tonight while nursing. It was sweet.

She is such a climber. I never thought my girl would be more of a monkey than Jacob. Yesterday, she climbed the slide in the backyard all the way up to the top. She was about one foot from the top but couldn't quite get over that first hump. Crazy girl! She has just "discovered" the backyard this past week or so. She used to hang out on the patio but now she roams the yard. She had her first dog poop encounter today too.

Jacob has a super cool new train set. He loves it! Thank goodness for grandparents! It's really cool. You can put it together all different ways and it has 4 engines and each one has it's one remote control!

Potty training is going well too. He wears undies all day and diapers at night (he takes off pull-ups for some reason). He is usually a tiny bit wet in the mornings so I haven't tried undies at night. This pic was last Sunday after church-he wore his undies to church and did great! We are still struggling with poop. He can go in the potty and usually does when we bribe him to but he won't go on his own. Any and all suggestions welcome! Going "out" in undies totally freaks me out. I guess we'll have to take that as it comes.

My beautiful princess. She is really developing a personality! Sh'es such a doll-baby!

Book Worm

2009-07-11T10:47:00.002-05:00

Jacob has always loved books. When he was little, I was never sure if he REALLY knew his colors, shapes, etc or if he just had the pages memorizes.

Nearly every time we see my mom, she has a few new books for Jacob. He has 2 bookshelves, both with 2 shelves FULL of books. I have no idea how many he has but it's a lot AND he has every one of them memorized. This is him reciting a book that mom brought over Monday. He had it memorized by Tuesday! I think we have read it at least 50 times this week!

JUMP!

2009-07-09T17:02:00.004-05:00

Jenna does EVERYTHING her brother does. She can climb up the slide, jump on the trampoline, "read" books, stick her finger up her nose, you name it. She is now a speed walker. Seriously. Like the Olympic sport. And a climber. And all that practice on the trampoline has taught her how to jump. Like, as in on the ground. She'll squat down and jump up with both feet!

JenJen loves to give zerberts still. Jacob prefers Eskimo kisses. They are quite a pair. I'm amazed at how well they play together and how much they love each other. You should see Jenna kiss Jacob before bed every night. It's great!

My little man is becoming such a big boy! His potty training is going well! I can't believe I just said that! I never thought it would happen!

The first few days went well, then we had a few days that weren't so good, but this week has been great. Just a few small accidents here and there. He's still learning that "feeling." He loves to wear undies, especially the Spidey ones Mimi sent.

Me and Jacob had fun playing in the rain today while Jenna napped. When the rain slowed down, we got out the water hose! Then it started raining again. Our yard was very, very well watered.

Beautiful Morning

2009-06-30T09:53:00.005-05:00

It was a rare cool, cloudy, beautiful morning yesterday. We took advantage of it until the rain rolled in.

Jacob using his stick to be a "blower man." I think he's going to be a landscape architect when he grows up.

Jenna kept finding stubs of sidewalk chalk. To keep her from trying to eat it, I would show her how to use it. Because it was so short, she had a hard time holding onto it to color. Then I remembered I still had half a box of big chalk! She had lots of fun scribbling!

Jenna figured out how to use the bubble gum machine toy. Here she is putting the gum ball in, the she pushes the lever and catches the ball as it comes out. Smart girl!

Her other new trick is pointing. She will point at something and blab, blab, blab. I think she is going to be a talker!

Jenna also got 3 new teeth this week. Yes, 3. That brings her total to 8. I am hoping she will stop waking up so much now that they are in.

Jacob starting using the potty again yesterday. He had been very anti-potty for the past month or two. He is sick (Jenna gave him a cold) right now so I'm not pushing him but he is doing pretty well. I'm just glad he'll sit on the toilet again! We even made a cake to celebrate!

We're Walking, We're Walking...

2009-06-25T09:22:00.004-05:00

Yep, that's right. Jenna is officially a walker! This girl has been trying to keep up with her brother for months now! She is now one "step" closer!

I really can't believe how quickly she started walking. I remember the progression from cruising to standing to walking taking MUCH longer with Jacob. Jenna just started pushing her walker around about a week and a half ago!

Monday (June 22) when I got home from work I saw her take 4 steps. My mom had told me, "Hannah, I hate to bust your bubble but she took a couple steps SEVERAL times today." I was still in my "it's just a fluke" mind set. Right after she left, I saw Jenna walk and my denial came to a halt. Today, she has been working on her steering. You know, turning while you walk.

Other random tidbits: Jenna thinks every diaper change is a wrestling match. I have a little copper bell I keep handy to distract her. She is nuts. She will flip around as soon as you lay her down. And flipping OFF the couch doesn't phase her a bit. Great, another fearless kid! Are they all that way?

She is loving "real" food. She'll still take baby food but not as much as she used to. She knows the real stuff follows the mush so she has come to expect it! Last night she had diced peaches. Yum!

Jacob is my precious pumpkin. He loves playing with the water hose and he mows and weed eats every day. He's such a perfectionist!

When Jenna is bugging him he yells "NO Jenna! Go thata way!" He's usually very good and patient with her but he has his moments. I think he secretly likes having a playmate. He show Jenna how the toys work and will hand her stuff to play with.

I am STILL waiting for him to be "ready" for potty training. I think I should have ignored every one last year who told me he was too young. He was much more interested in the potty then than he is now. Oh well. Live and learn!

Smiles

2009-06-12T11:18:00.006-05:00

SIDE NOTE: I actually wrote this a week ago but am just now posting...have been waiting for my camera to cooperate so I could post pics with it. Thought I had it fixed but obviously not so I'll post pics when I can.

My kids are so fun, and funny! I thought I'd share some of the funny stuff they have been up to.

Jacob has been doing this for a while but I guess I thought it was just one of those things 2 yr olds do. But because so many people have pointed it out, I guess it's just a Jacob thing. You see, he puts the person's name that he is speaking to at the end of EVERY sentence. He must say "Yes Mama" 2000 times a day. Not kidding.

For example, he will say "Look Mama" then "this alligator is hungry Mama." When I ask what he thinks the alligator needs he replies, "I think he needs some tylenol Mama." I ask if the alligator is sick and get "No Mama. He just needs some medicine Mama." Anyways you get the point. If it's not Mama it's Dada or Nana or Mimi or whoever. It's so cute and makes me smile : )

A few nights ago we were playing in Jacob's room getting ready for bed. Both kids were wallering on us (Brian and I were laying on the floor). Jacob then stood up and started pressing on Brian's hip (he was laying on his side). Brian immediately noticed that Jacob was being the chiropractor. Brian has been taking the kids with him to his chiropractor appointment on Wednesdays. Guess Jacob was paying attention.

Jenna has started doing this cheesy grin. It totally cracks me up. She started doing it randomly so I started doing it back to her. Now when I do, she'll do it back. She scrunches up her nose, squints her eyes and smiles where you can see all her teeth!

Every time I turn around she standing up in the middle of the room. She has even taken a couple of steps! At first I thought it might just be a fluke (or so I told myself) but she keeps doing it (darn it!). She loves to push around the old-school walker. She went from having no interest in it to loving it. That is, when she can get it away from her brother. She can walk across the room while holding onto only one of your fingers. Yikes!

She loves to imitate sounds as well as motions. If you nod your head, she nods. If you sway back and forth, she sways etc. Her and Jacob imitate each other so well sometimes I don't know who is who!

That's all for now. Will add pictures asap!

Florida

2009-06-05T10:25:00.002-05:00

We're back! We had a wonderful time in the Clearwater region of Florida. It was beautiful. The prettiest beaches in the continental US if you ask me. Jenna and Dada building a sandcastle

Jacob and Brian playing putt-putt.

We were able to spend some time with just me, Brian and Jacob. It was nice to be able to give Jacob 100% of our attention. We spent one day at Disney World's Magic Kingdom. Jacob did so much better than I thought he would. It started off a little rough but once he realized WHY we were waiting in line, things got better. The lines weren't bad. 10-20 minutes mostly. I think Jacob liked the train the best. He also really enjoyed the Dumbo ride, It's A Small World, and the Country Bear Jamboree.

We also played putt-putt one day. That was fun. Jacob helped us get lots of hole-in-ones! But mainly he ran around and chased lizards.
Jenna absolutely loved the beach. That's my girl! I can almost HEAR her squealing in this picture! As soon as we arrived at the beach she would start kicking her legs and squealing. She ate lots of sand (ok, not lots but a good amount) and got plenty of sodium intake by gnawing on shells. She wasn't too sure about he water but would let me hold her and walk out into the water.

Jacob didn't go into the water until the very last day at the beach, go figure! But he still loved digging in the sand, throwing seashells "back to the ocean", chasing the seagulls, and yelling at all of us to "GET OUT THE WATER! GET OUT THE BEACH!" He didn't like for anyone to be in the water. It was funny.

This is me and Jenna standing on a sandbar out in the ocean. She was such a trooper! Lots of missed naps and staying up late. Plus, she got one new tooth the day before we left and another the day after we got there.

Me and Brian on the Pier at St. Petersburg.

The whole gang. Notice Jacob's stick. It went everywhere with us. As soon as we arrived at the condo, he found himself a big stick. That stick traveled to around 5 different beaches and numerous other places. He's such a funny guy!

LOOK MA! and FIRE!

2009-05-20T10:17:00.002-05:00

NO HANDS!!! Jenna has been balancing more and more lately. She did stand up from a squat successfully on Sunday too.

She likes to try and stand up in the bath tub. I have to continually tell her "Jenna, you CANNOT stand up in the bath" to which she replies with a smile, "BAAA!" We repeat this over and over until the bath is finished.

Jacob has a new favorite toy. His sticks have kept him entertained for hours the past few weeks. He goes around "weed-eating" with them. Well, a friend of my mom got him this bubble gun. It doesn't work well for bubbles but it makes a cool sound (like a weed eater says Jacob) so he goes around "zapping" things like weeds, leafs, bugs, etc.

Jacob and one of his sticks.

Sunday was a big day for Jacob. He was playing in the backyard and Jenna was inside so I was going back and forth when I kept hearing this loud humming noise. I would hear it when I was outside and inside. Eventually I wondered to the front of the house and the noise was even louder. Finally, I opened the front door and parked right in front of our house was a fire truck!

I ran to the back yard and told Jacob, who of course immediately came running (now I know how to get him to come inside for dinner). We all went outside to check it out. Our neighbors informed us that our neighbor across the street had a close call with her refrigerator. The motor shorted out and started smoking. She ran outside and got our neighbor who grabbed their fire extinguisher and put out the "fire" before real flames erupted.

While we were talking, one of the fire fighters saw us admiring the truck and invited Jacob to come check it out. He was in HEAVEN! He must have spent 15 minutes or more in that truck. Eventually, the rest of the fire fighters came out of Ms. Patti's house. Jacob got to meet all of them. He wore their helmet, put on their earphones, shined their super bright flashlight, sat in their seat...Eventually several other neighbor kids came down to check it out, but they were in and out. Not my boy. I kept telling them they were going to have to kick him out or he'd stay all day!

Of course my camera was inside. If I had known that he would sit there that long I would have ran inside to get it but I didn't want to just dump my child on the fire fighters and take off! Oh well. He did get a full set of the Wylie Fire Rescue trading cards. The guys (and one girl) were so sweet to let my little Jacob's dreams come true!

9 Months

2009-05-16T19:19:00.004-05:00

It's been a busy week! Jenna turned 9 months yesterday. I cannot believe 9 months have passed since I first saw her precious juicy face. I am so incredibly blessed and I love her more than I ever thought possible.

Jenna FINALLY learned how to clap. I worked with her on clapping a few months ago and she was NOT interested. But for some reason this week, she decided it was time and started clapping.

She has also been playing a new "arms up" game. The way it works is she will pull herself up on something, usually the door or the ottoman, then lift her arms above her head and see how long she can balance. Sometimes it's only a second, other times it's 5-10 seconds.

She is also starting to try to stand up from the squatting position.

Jacob enjoys playing leap frog over his sister. He loves to throw food on the floor for her. I have to be very careful with giving him snacks because he purposefully either gives Jenna his food or leaves it for her to find. This morning he got a lollipop for going potty. Jenna really enjoyed it. There was a puddle of drool on the floor and sticky drool all over her arm from sucking on it.

My sweet boy can tell you what street he lives on and both his parent's names. I guess address and phone number are next. He cracks me up non-stop...I need to start writing down the crazy stuff he says. He is VERY strong willed and VERY sensitive which is making the "2's" challenging. But from what I hear if it's not the terrible 2's it's the terrible 3's or 4's so I'm happy to get it out of the way.

Although we have enjoying playing in the rain, we are looking forward to a dry week. We have lots of errand running to do before vacation!

Jacob and Jenna at 9 months

Climber

2009-05-14T13:43:00.002-05:00

Not only does Jenna know HOW to climb the stairs, she also knows where the stairs are. Her brother likes to sit on the landing and encourage her to climb up. Oh, kids! What am I going to do with you?

Oh! Happy (Mother's) Day!

2009-05-11T09:20:00.002-05:00

What a great Mother's Day I had! It began Saturday night when Brian brought me dark chocolate covered almonds. YUM! Then, Sunday morning I got to sleep in. Life is good. When I woke up, I was greeted at the bottom of the stairs with this sign.

Then I was adorned with many gifts including 5 shirts, a digital frame keychain, and a "mommy" charm for my bracelet.

We had a fabulous brunch at church. It was a great time of fellowship and the food was great. The kids were our waiters and they did such a great job! After church, we headed over to my parent's house for ribs, baked potatoes, veggies, and more. Brian's mom and my Grandma came over too so we had my dad's mom, my mom, Brian's mom, and Jacob/Jenna's mom. Oh, that's me. Still seems weird that I'm a mom.

Just the girls: my mom, me and Jenna

Me and the kids

The whole family.

It was a great day! I feel so blessed and loved and appreciated. Can we have Mother's Day every month?

Tooth, Dada, etc

2009-05-07T08:54:00.005-05:00

Our internet was down for a few days and I was already behind...here comes a catch-up blog!

Jenna's 3rd tooth broke through the gums (top right) last week. She also started saying Dada about a week ago. Whatever. It's so funny to watch her do all the things Jacob did at her age. Like playing with the spring door stops. Or watch her reflection in the oven door. You can't go anywhere without her on your heels. She helped Brian do the laundry yesterday.

Jacob has become quite the helper with his sister. He enjoys keeping an eye on her and gently correcting her when she is doing something wrong, like eating a piece of grass or whatever. His favorite phrase is "thanks, mom" and he says it so sweetly! He also says "swing with me mama" about a hundred times a day. He likes to swing in the big boy swing and have us push him.

He is very excited about going to see Mickey Mouse in a few weeks! That's right, we are taking him to Disney World, but only for one day. We have been so BLESSED to be given a place to stay for FREE in Clearwater, Florida. My dad found some super cheap flights so we will be soaking up the Florida rays at the end of the month for a week. I am STOKED!

Jacob and Jenna in a tunnel race.

Jacob found a real basketball in the closet the other day. He immediately wanted to go upstairs and play basketball with it. I explained that it would be too big for his basketball goal. WRONG. Now he loves to play b-ball with it.

Dada gets high tech

2009-04-30T21:54:00.002-05:00

This is Brian and I figured out how to use this thing !! I love the updates my beautiful wife always leaves and I especially love the two wonderful children God has blessed us with. Have a super day.....

Name that Poop

2009-04-28T13:35:00.003-05:00

Jacob is so funny these days. One of the things he does is "names" his poops. Well, he doesn't really name them, he just says what animal they look like. For example, he will look in between his legs into the toilet and say, "ooh! a dragon poop!" Or "a turtle poop" etc. We've even had a parrot poop. I think that it's because his Mimi recently got him a book called Everyone Poops. It was a big hit!

He likes to wrestle his sister. He wraps his legs around her and they for real wrestle. That girl is tough! She has pulled him down to the floor when he was standing next to her on more than one occasion. They also have crawl races. Now that is funny!

Sharing his toys with Jenna has actually been going well. He knows what Jenna is and is not allowed to have and if she has something she isn't supposed to (like one of his paper books) he will say "NO JENNA!" and take it away. But if she has his toy and he wants it, he is pretty good about waiting for her to put the toy down before he grabs it.

Everything is "beautiful." He will say "look mom...that stick is beautiful!" It started with flowers being beautiful and now everything is beautiful.

He likes to bring me sticks and rocks from outside. He is already trying to climb the trees in the backyard.

Jacob is a sugar monster. Anytime he does something good he announces "now I get a cookie!". However, when he gets in trouble as soon as I catch him in the act he hides his face with his hands. It's so funny and takes everything I have not to laugh. He will also try the suck up method and run over and say "I love you" and give you a hug if he's being bad.

Walks have turned into dandelion searches. I'm sure that's great for his allergies (not!).

Now for a quick update on his health. He's had nasty sinus infections for the past year or more. He frequently grows pseudomonas which is why the docs wanted to test him for cystic fibrosis. We got the blood work results back yesterday and they were NEGATIVE. Yea!

So now we have to figure out where to go from here. He is about to finish 3 weeks on cipro and as of last week he was still growing pseudomonas. His nose is a little better this week...but if the infections continue I think we're going to have to have a CT of his sinuses and possible IV antibiotics for a few weeks to zap the sinus infections. So please join me in praying that this round of cipro is effective in killing the pseudomonas for good!

"Love you guys!"

A Few Pics

2009-04-27T20:47:00.002-05:00

my handsome boy
curling up, reading a good book. actually, he's looking at the "scary monster"...his favorite page of this book.

chillin' in the 'fort' in the bushes

using brother's sippy cup (but she won't use her sippy!)

Jacob "taking my temperature" with the water hose

Have you ever seen anything so cute in all your life?

Jacob and his Papa doing some art work on the chalkboard

Jacob being naughty splashing in a puddle on TOP of the hot tub

up up up

2009-04-22T19:46:00.002-05:00

Jenna is

pulling herself

up on

everything!

Development

2009-04-16T19:29:00.005-05:00

I wanted to make a post about what the kids are up to...you know....what they're like right now.

I'll start with Big J. Let me give you one word to describe him...INDEPENDENT! Don't you dare even try to help him with something that he can or thinks he can do. He got so mad at me the other day for trying to help him open a Starburst candy. He tried to "hide" the candy and his head in the trash can to get away from me! And in the end, I had to help him open it.

He's our social butterfly. He talks to everyone. He yells hi to the furthest stranger across a store. He will continue to yell hi until they respond. Then, once they say hi, he will tell them hi some more.

I found out on Sunday that he has a "girlfriend." His teacher Ms. Keri told me that he follows a little girl named Madison around and that he even told her "I like you." Her daddy is a Dallas police officer. Funny huh!

Jacob is VERY BUSY. People often comment on his "business." He is constantly moving. He will sit still to read books or watch Dora but it takes a LOT of effort to keep him occupied. His favorite books at the moment are The Quilt Story which he calls "Ab-o-gail", Curious George (the original, not CG goes to hospital or CG does this or that...), and I Love Mommy which he calls "Mom Says I Can."

He is a climber. Today, he almost hurled himself up onto the counter top. He sometimes drags a chair over to help him up, like the other day when he was standing on the counter to reach the candy that I had put on top of the refrigerator.

I can't leave anything out. I use to leave his lotion etc on top of his dresser but he's figured out how to use things in his room to reach the top and has made some fun messes.

He speaks like a kindergartner. He can now convert things I say like "Jacob, you're such a good helper!" to "I'm a good helper!". He's got the whole I/we/me/you thing figured out. Today he told me "Mama, I make you so happy!" (I often tell him, "Jacob, you make me so happy!")

He likes bringing his sister toys and share his food with her which he knows he is NOT allowed to do. He also likes to help feed her and if I stop feeding her for some reason like to answer the phone, he will no doubt fill in for me while I'm gone.

He is hard to discipline. He doesn't care much if I spank him or put him in time out. I've tried to take away tv time and that didn't matter much to him either. I'm sure we will eventually figure something out. He is usually really good but on the days he's bad, he's bad ALL DAY LONG.

Baby J (Jenna) is a crawling monster. I thought it might take her a few weeks to really become proficient but I was wrong! She is a great crawler and is now pulling herself up on everything. She is trying so hard to stand. She'll spread her feet way apart, then let go of whatever she is holding on to.

Sometimes she'll just be sitting in the middle of the floor and try to stand up. I don't think it will be very long. Today she was holding onto my finger and I let go and she stood for about 3 seconds.

She is still a very happy, easy going baby. She cries when she is tired or if she needs some attention. She follows her brother around everywhere. She likes to watch tv with him too.

She loves any toy that makes noise. Her favorite toys to chew on are wooden toys. She still likes her exersaucer and jumpy horse but the swing is rarely used.

Bubba is her first word. She says it over and over. Sometimes it sounds more like baba than bubba. I don't think she is actually saying anything but we do refer to Jacob as her bubba so who knows.

Jenna is a charmer too. The church nursery workers love her because she never cries and just smiles and plays while she's in there. She'll let anyone hold her and love on her. I can hardly believe she is already 2/3 of a year!

And her hair continues to capture the attention of all who meet her.

I feel so blessed to have such beautiful, loving children. There are some days that are really hard and I know that I have failed as a mother, but I continue to learn and ask God for his guidance raising my flock.

"Hoppy" Easter!

2009-04-13T13:10:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. We started off the day the way everyone in their right mind should on Easter...going to church to worship the Risen King!

Brian's sister and her hubby drove up from Austin to spend the afternoon with us. His mom came over too and we had a "traditional" Texas Easter meal of fajitas! They were so yummy!

Aunt Heather is so great with the kids. Here is Jacob being super silly with her. Jenna loved all the attention. Aunt Heather held her and fed her and played with her and even got to see her crawl!

Thanks Aunt Heather for photographing our egg dying adventures! It was so fun. Jacob did really well. He wanted to dunk every egg in every color. I couldn't believe how well they turned out. And no major messes!

Pretty eggs huh. Brian's is the rainbow one. I think he had the most fun ; )

Jenna's official Easter picture. Her dress was ridiculously cute. It's hard to see in the pictures but it had little textured polka dots and eyelet trim. Oh, and the sweetheart neckline. Precious!

Happy Easter from the Alcorns!

Crawling & Suprises

2009-04-11T12:39:00.005-05:00

Jenna is crawling! Forward! Her first real dart across the room was on 4/8/09 while I was at work. Brian was so excited that she crawled first for HIM! Whatever. And what was she crawling after? A dirty diaper Brian had put in a bag and tossed across the room!

You might notice in the picture she is practicing the bear crawl. She likes to walk her hands back until it forces her to sit on her bum. She is a hoot!

Jenna eating puffs!

Jacob has been sick all week with asthma and sinus crud. So it's been breathing treatment, robitussin, allergy med, repeat, etc. He's not acting sick of course so that's good.

Last week was a "week of surprises" for me from Brian. It started with him bringing home ice cream cones from McDonalds when he got off work. Then, we went on a fun "off campus" walk at a park in Richardson. A few days later we went for a walk in another great Richardson park.

Then, Brian had the carpets cleaned while I was a work. We had been talking about having it done and boy do they look great!

And finally, my sweet darling husband called in sick ("family" sick to be exact...they get 2 weeks of family sick on top of their regular sick time!) yesterday so I could sleep in since I have been getting up during the night to give Jacob breathing treatments. I love my man!

This is at our HOA egg hunt.

BLUEBONNETS

2009-04-09T12:56:00.003-05:00

This first picture was taking in a bluebonnet field that we stumbled upon due to a wrong turn. It's right off PGB and Renner and it's HUGE! The flowers aren't as big or bright as our "normal" spot but it was beautiful none the less.

These pictures were taken at our "normal" spot...a rest stop off Hwy 78 in Lavon. You can tell the bluebonnets have been there forever because they are huge. Some places they are as high as your knees! If we had waited another week I think there would have been more flowers.

Jenna did her thing...sat and smiled the whole time. Jacob on the other hand ran like a wild man the whole time. In fact, he ran so much that he ran out of his shoes! Ever tried to find a size 7.5 toddler shoe that is silver and royal blue in a giant field of bluebonnets?

Well let me tell you, it's a complete MIRACLE that we found them! I found the first one pretty quickly but that second shoe...let's just say 30 minutes later it showed up! If they hadn't have been brand new Stride Rites I probably wouldn't have cared!

Can you find Jenna?

And our blue eyed boy, handsome as ever with a new haircut!

Beauty Queen

2009-04-03T12:54:00.003-05:00

One of Jenna's nicknames is "beauty queen." Not because she is gorgeous, although that is a good reason. The real reason is...When I was about 38 weeks pregnant, we decided officially on Jenna's name. It had been Jenna for a while but we were having a hard time with the middle name. I wanted Elizabeth but Brian didn't like it. However, he couldn't come up with something better so it stuck...for a while. Then one day he came with the brilliant idea to name her Jenna Erin. I had wanted to use the name Erin if we ever had a girl (after my brother) but it didn't work with any of the first names we had first come up with and somehow we forgot about it. Anyways, when I told my grandmother that her name was going to be Jenna Erin instead of Jenna Elizabeth she said "Well, it's not like she's going to be Miss America or anything." Oh Grandma! I think she was trying to say it wasn't as formal of a name but she really did like it.

This was a rainy day so Jenna's hair was bouncy. So sweet! I just love those little curls.

Here she is stuck up against her exersaucer. She backs herself into corners then flips over to try and roll out.

This is her tee-pee. She now goes from this to the runners lunge position. She will move one foot up but the other foot well, it doesn't cooperate yet. I wonder if she is going to bear crawl before she crawls.

A piggy day.

Jacob blowing the duck call...so funny!

Donuts

2009-04-02T16:36:00.003-05:00

Sarah, This is for you...and all the other mommies that want to spoil their little ones.
To make donuts from a can of biscuits...heat up some oil on medium or a little higher. You'll need enough to cover half the donut so the amount depends on your pan size. I would guess anywhere from 1/2-1 cup. Get your biscuits, punch a hole in the middle. I used the medella bottle that I use with my breast pump. TMI, sorry- but it was the perfect size! Flatten out the biscuit a little, just press on it a few times with your palm.

Once your oil is nice and hot, plop your donuts and the holes in. Once they are golden brown, flip. It takes 2 or 3 minutes or so. The holes cook faster so watch out! Cook the other side the same. The let them cool off on some paper towels. Then, top them how you like. Our favorite is to put them in a baggy with powdered sugar and shake. Or you can sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Or some chocolate syrup. Whatever works! Then enjoy!

Handsome Boy

2009-04-02T13:16:00.002-05:00

Despite all the drama with Jenna last week, we still managed some fun times. Jacob asked for donuts about ten times one morning. Finally, I caved and we made home made donuts using canned biscuits. So yummy. He loved them and ate more than I am willing to share!

Nana brought over some really fun new toys. This is his rocket launcher. You stomp the foot thing and the nerf rocket flies into the air. So cool!

It's making me crazy...Jacob losing his "toddler" look and turning into a boy. I just think he's the most handsome little thing ever. I know all moms think that about their boys but just look at him!

Jacob got a Spider Man kite. Here is it's first flight. It wasn't really windy enough to get going but he got to hold it for a little while while it was flying.

So innocent. NOT.

Loving him some ketsup. He dumped Whataburger ketsup (it IS the best ketsup after all) onto his hamburger. On a side note, anytime we go through a drive-thru anywhere Jacob starts yelling "I'LL HAVE A HAMBURGER PLEASE!"

Looking chill in daddy's Oakleys.

And finally our church egg hunt. I had to chase around Jacob while holding Jenna (in the sling but still not easy). That explains my lack of pictures. Jacob wanted to open every egg and eat the candy. I finally got him to put a few in his basket, then we were DONE and headed home! That was a challege that I hope to never have to do again! This weekend is our neighborhood egg hunt but Brian should get home in time to go.

I'll post Jenna pics and bluebonnet pics when I get a chance!

Jenna is PERFECT

2009-04-01T19:37:00.003-05:00

Hi friends, I just wanted to leave a quick update. Jenna had her pedi neuro appointment this morning and it went GREAT! He didn't have a "cause" or diagnosis for her little twitches (they are much littler now) but he wasn't too concerned. He did NOT think it was seizure activity. Thought it was "just one of those things" that hopefully she will grow out of. I was THRILLED! He didn't even want to do an EEG or CT, at least not yet. He said if it continued for a long time or got worse or she started losing milestones that we would have to do testing, but for now we are just to watch her and KEEP PRAYING cause it's working! So THANK you for you calls and emails and encouraging words but most of all THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS.

I have said all along I have felt a peace about this whole situation (although satan works his way into my brain on occasion) and I know that peace is solely God's grace. He cares about me and Jenna and you and he listens to us! I know that's not a novel concept but it's so cool!

I plan to continue her chiropractic care for a few weeks and hopefully we will be done with this whole ordeal! Yeah! So to my baby girl, I love you so much and I knew you were perfect all along! Jesus loves you Jenna Erin!

The Post I've Been Avoiding

2009-03-30T09:03:00.003-05:00

Ok, here it goes. I have been avoiding blogging because I feel like if I don't put it "in writing", it isn't real. But I know it's real and we need your prayers.

Last Thursday Jenna was sitting up playing with some toys. I was gathering shoes and hats for our daily walk when I noticed her head jerk. It was a quick jerk off to the side which she did 2 or 3 times, then went on playing. I thought to myself, Hmm, that was weird. I thought maybe she was just losing her balance or something. But then she did it again. This time I grabbed the camcorder that just happened to be on the counter in the kitchen. I recorded her for about 2 minutes. She did her "jerk" several more times. She was awake, alert, responsive to her name, etc the whole time. I wasn't sure what to make of it. I'm not a fretful person. I was a little panicky, but she seemed totally fine so I went on with our day.

On our walk, I replayed her "episodes" over and over in my brain. Could it be seizures? Was it muscular? When we got home I watched the video again and while I was watching it, she started doing it again. I had already talked to Brian about it and he had me all calmed down, but when she did it again, I went straight to the phone and called the pedi.

At first they made me an appointment for first thing Friday morning. Then, the receptionist called right back and said she had spoken with the nurse and she thought I should go to the ER. Grrr. I was NOT down with this plan. But I understood where they were coming from. After talking to the receptionist a little bit more about how she was acting, I told her I would call the doctors I work for and if they agreed I would go to the ER. I just wanted a second opinion because she was acting totally normal and I knew what would happen if we went to the ER (it would be test after test after stick after stick etc). As soon as I hung up the phone, they called right back and offered to let me bring her into the office. I agreed and started gathering diaper bags (one for her, one for Jacob). I called a friend (THANKS Marla!) to keep Jacob and off we went.

Jenna was still having episodes, although not as often. The nurse at my pedi's office saw a few. I don't know if my pedi actually saw one or not, but I showed her the video and she was puzzled. She said we needed to see a neurologist within the next week. She thought it could be ticks or it could be seizures or it could be neither but we would need an EEG to find out. By the time I got Jacob and got home it was 5 so I had to wait until the morning to call the neuro offices.

I left messages first thing in the morning for two different pedi neurology groups. By noon, I still hadn't heard back from either. I work for a pedi specialist and I hear all the time how hard it is to get in with these docs. Anyways, I decided I could not sit around all weekend without seeing someone, so I found a pedi certified chiropractor. He was able to get her in that day (Friday).

I showed him the video and he felt her neck and spine. He said he had never treated a child for this before but he would try. Jenna had some tight joints (vertebrae) at the top of her neck that he adjusted. He said we would be "cautiously optimistic" and that he still thought she should see a neurologist but he would continue to treat her and see what happens.

Saturday she was much better. She still had a few episodes but they were much less obvious and much less often. Same for yesterday (Sunday). I don't' know if it's related to the chiropractor or if it's just time/prayers that are helping.

As far as the neurologist goes, on my way home from the chiropractor on Friday, I decided I had waited long enough and it was time to take matters into my own hands. I called our Plano office (where I work)and told my friend who is the "office person" out there what was going on. She agreed to tell Dr. M what was going on and try to get me in to the pedi neuro group that is in the same office building. She called me back a few minutes later and said that she had spoken to their schedule person and the first new patient appointment was in early MAY! She told her that would NOT work and the lady told her to fax them a note with our info and state that how soon we need to be seen. So she faxed in our info and wrote that we needed to be seen within a week.

I still have not heard back from them (this all happened late Friday afternoon) but Friday night while I was bathing the kids, the other neuro group finally called. I talked with the nurse for a while. Initially she told me they had a new patient appointment the week of April 20. After telling her what was going on and that my pedi wanted me seen within a week, she said all her computers were shut down (it was after 6pm) but that she would talk to the doc about it Monday (today) and get back with me. She gave me her direct extension which was encouraging.

So that's where we stand right now. I'm waiting to hear back from both neuro groups. Who ever can get us in the soonest is probably where we will wind up. I hope to get Jenna in this week. She is still having little episode but they are smaller and less frequent than last week.

I am trying not to let my brain wonder. I know it could be something horrible and it could be nothing at all. I have felt a peace about the situation all along. I can't explain it. I just really feel God's presence and know He is in control. So, with that said please keep Jenna in your prayers. I am praying that we wind up with the right doctor and that we are able to get a treatable diagnosis soon. I also pray that whatever testing has to be done is easy on her.

Thank you for your prayers.

Beautiful Week

2009-03-23T09:14:00.004-05:00

It has been so beautiful this past week. We have spent tons of time outside. Jenna loves watching her brother run about. Jacob has turned into stripper boy again. I so thought we were past this stage. Well, we were past it but it's back! Anyways, I quit fighting him on it. I just put sunscreen on his white hiney and let him run!

Jenna is now cutting her second tooth. If you look closely you can see tooth #1 in this picture. Tooth #2 seems to be causing her a lot more discomfort. I wish I could grab it and pull it through her gums. She has been working on this one for over a week! It's right under the gums. When she smiles it looks like she has 2 teeth because the gums are so white where the second tooth is coming in.

This is Jacob watching himself pee. Classic! He was sick with a stomach bug all last week. He kept wanting to take off his diaper but obviously that would NOT be a good idea. Now that he is finally better, I occasionally let him be naked. If we're inside and he's bottomless, he will use the toilet almost all the time. But as soon as he has a diaper or pullup on, he pees in it. So I guess I'll let him be naked until he learns how the whole potty training thing works.

And here is Jacob eating a push-up. He would eat a bit, then give Jackson a few licks off his face, then repeat. Boys! Gotta love em!
When daddy got home he decided Jacob had been too naughty and handcuffed him. Jacob thought is was great!

And a pic of me and my girl. We have busted the sling back out. Since teething she has decided she likes to be held again.

Jenna and her daddy....the girl lights up as soon as he walks into the room. It's precious! She smiles and laughs at him until he picks her up. She follows his voice and does not lose focus on him as long as he is around. There is definitely something special there!

Two and a Half

2009-03-15T08:55:00.006-05:00

As of today, Jacob is 2 1/2! That means that as of yesterday, Jenna is 7 months! But back to my precious baby boy...I can still remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. I remember seeing his tiny little 6lb body for the first time. His LONG sandy hair and bright blue eyes. The way he calmed immediately as soon as he was in his daddy's arms. It's hard to believe that was 30 months ago!

Here are some funny things he has said recently. Yesterday, after biting into a plum he announced "Sour Cream!" Apparently the plum was a bit tart. The other day we were out running errands and we passed an old pickup truck that was about 20,000 miles past due for an oil change and Jacob said "Pew-ew truck, what'd you eat?!" This is also what he says about himself when he is stinky! He has started saying "I'm sorry. I forgive you." sort of the same way he used to say "Thank you. You're welcome." He frequently says "I didn't like that..." What is it about being 2 and not liking ANYTHING!?

He is not really digging Jenna's mobility. He frequently says "No Jenna. That my toy." We are working on sharing. I usually just ask him to give Jenna another toy if he wants the one she has. She doesn't seem to care YET as long as she has something to play with. He has perfected Jenna's "growl." You see, Jenna rarely cries but when she is tired or hungry, she will start to growl. It starts out as a quiet throaty growl and progresses to a loud, deep, mean, throaty growl. Anyways, Jacob will growl back at her which typically makes her laugh, at least for a second. This is him sporting Jenna's bow.

Jacob loves Dora and Calliou. He still loves Wonder Pets and Jack's Big Music Show. He will watch just about anything on Noggin and is going for longer stretches now. If he likes a show, he will usually watch for 15-20 minute stretches. It's helpful for when I'm feeding Jenna or need to clean up.

Jacob is very innovative. He know what he wants and likes and what he "no like." Yesterday he got the giant package of toilet paper, scooted it over to the counter, and climbed up it to reach the cookies. He has also climbed on top of the love seat, over the bar, and onto the counter to get some fruit. We're still working on the asking...Mr. Independent! Fish Face

He's still my outside boy. I don't think that will ever change. Well, at least until he discovers video games. He still loves his lawn mower and sand box. A new favorite of his is to fill up a bucket with sand, dump it on the bottom of his slide, then slide down into the sand. Needless to say, we will be re-filling the sandbox soon. He loves our walks. He likes to tell me everything he sees..."look ma, a blue truck. another blue truck! pretty flower. oooh! it windy!...." He often talks or sings or mutters non-stop during our walks.

Trucks, especially dump trucks and diggers are his favorite toys. We still read lots of books before bed. Some days he likes to read them during the day, it goes in spurts. He loves his chalkboard and his fishing magnet games.

He loves cookies. He probably uses the word cookie an average of 20 times a day. He also loves macaroni and hot dogs and turkey with tortilla. He is a fruit monster, he passes on the veggies unless it's salad with ranch. The best way to get him to eat is to let him eat off my plate. My food still tastes better for some reason.

My darling baby boy. I love him so much. And yes, he is definitely a mama's boy. And always will be, as far as I'm concerned!

Tooth, Dirt, Crawl, etc

2009-03-09T20:54:00.004-05:00

We have been taking full advantage of the beautiful weather. Jacob has been outside for hours and hours every day. This is what he looks like after a day of outside play. Dirt, sand, mud, etc. Isn't he handsome?

Jenna broke her first tooth today. We celebrated by giving her her first bitter biscuit. She enjoyed it very much. I have to say teething seems much easier for her. She had a low grade temp here and there and her naps were a bit abbreviated for a few days but that's about it. In fact, last night we were outside visiting with a neighbor who is pregnant. She was asking Jenna to teach her baby in-utero to be as happy as she is!

This is our crawl tease. Jenna will lean way over and put her hands on the ground, then start shaking her booty. I think she is thinking about crawling. She wants to go after toys but isn't sure how.

Jacob's boo-boo. He hit his head on the brick planter which is his sand box. I know it's not the best idea but it seemed like it at the time. Thank goodness he barely hit - it could have easily been an ER visit.

Gorgeous!

Jacob wanted to push his sister in the swing. It was too funny. He would push her, then take a few steps forward so he would be closer to her so he could push her again. But then he'd get knocked over by her. I kept telling him to just stay put but he was too excited. It was cute.

Our Day

2009-03-06T13:06:00.002-06:00

Having a girl is too fun! This was before our walk yesterday.

The wind kept blowing Jenna's blanket up! We finally used some of Jacob's wood blocks to hold it down.

We were just hanging out outside on a blanket. It was rather windy which Jenna use to hate but now she doesn't mind. When a big gust would blow, she would stick out her tongue and try to catch it!

As soon as her blanket blew up, then fell back down in her lap she saw...the grass. She was fascinated. She immediately bent over and started feeling it. She would pick at it, then pull a few pieces out of the ground. She tried to eat it, of course. I had hoped that after a quick taste, she would lose interest but not so much.

After outside play, we came in a put Jenna down for her nap which means it's Jacob & Mommy time! I decided to pull out the poster paints I had bought several weeks ago but have been too chicken to use. We were going to take the easel outside but the wind....I decided it wasn't such a good idea. Jacob did a great job, he pained 2 pictures. Both were "dinosaurs." I was putting away the paints and letting him use up the paint on his brushes when I turned around a found him painting his hair!

After a quick bath, we were looking handsome again. No punk rockers in this house. At least not yet!

Quick Update

2009-03-04T19:49:00.003-06:00

Hi friends! Sorry I've been going so long in between posts. It's so hard to find time to get on the computer, especially since it's in our room. One day I'll have a laptop. Dreams, dreams, dreams.

Anyway, the kids are wonderful. I keep forgetting to tell you that Jacob's terrible 2's spell is over, at least for now. It lasted around a month, from mid-January through mid-February. I think it was related to lack of sleep. Now he goes down much earlier (books at 7, bed at 7:15) because he still won't take a nap for me (but of course he still naps for my mom). Today is the 3rd day he went to sleep without us in the room with him. We have been working hard on that for the past few weeks (I have been reading a book...that's where I got the early bedtime idea).

Jenna is loving toys that make noise. She clangs the piano, pushes buttons on anything that will produce a sound, etc. She rolls and wiggles to get what she wants. I'm sure crawling is just around the corner.

Brian was bathing her the other day and was cracking up at this "game" she was playing. She was sitting up in the tub, leaning over and splashing the water with her hands. As she would splash, she would try to catch the water in her mouth! What a nut!

We have been so blessed to have had such a healthy last half of the winter. I know the yucky season isn't over yet, but I'm grateful to have had a healthy 6 or 8 weeks!

J & J

2009-02-28T13:11:00.001-06:00

When I was pregnant with Jenna, I polled my friends and even families at the office to see what it's like to have 2 kids. The vast majority of the time, I would hear how their 2 (or more)kids are like night and day...opposite personalities...etc. This is what I fully expected with Jacob and Jenna.

Wrong. They are so much alike it's scary. Same personality, same smile, same fuss, same favorite toys, same everything! They even poop at the same time almost every day. And no, it's not at the same time every day. In fact, yesterday neither of them pooped. Weird.

When Jenna made her debut at church, I heard over and over "she looks just like Jacob!" and "it's Jacob's little twin!" I didn't get it then but I see it more and more every day. I am so lucky to have 2 beautiful, happy, healthy, fun kids. It makes the thought of another very scary. You can't strike gold 3 times can you?

Nature Walk

2009-02-23T16:05:00.001-06:00

Yesterday when Brian got home from work, we went on a walk like we do almost every day. This particular walk, though, was busting full of God's wonderful creatures! As I said before, we walk daily, almost always this same route and we occasionally see a critter but nothing like yesterday. It all started with a pair of red birds. They were flirting, I think. Then, out of the corner of my eye I spotted a splash of bright blue...it was a blue bird! I LOVE blue birds (NOT blue jays) and hardly ever see them. They are small, a little bigger than finches and their bellies are tan but their wings, head and back are bright cobalt blue. Gorgeous! The picture below is him in the tree. You can't see his blue-ness 'cause he's not flying but trust me, he was awesome!

Then, down the trail we saw a bunny. He darted off into the brush but as we approached the area he had been, there was another bunny standing there.

Finally, the last creature we saw was a squirl. I kept looking for a snake but thankfully never saw one!

This is a giant old tree on the walking trail I just love. Brian wanted to let Jacob climb on it. I took a ton of pictures of course (see dropshots). Jacob is already trying to climb the wimpy trees in our backyard.

Me and my sweet baby girl. She is growing way too fast. I love her to pieces!

Jenna's Valentines

2009-02-19T19:59:00.002-06:00

This was on the day after Valentines. Jenna had the CUTEST dress (she wore to church). This doesn't show it well but trust me, it was ALMOST as cute as her!

Jenna's new trick for Valentine's Day. When I was feeding her breakfast, she kept sucking her thumb in between bites like she always does. However, for Valentine's Day she decided to stick her finger up her nose while she was sucking her thumb. It cracked me up! I know one day I'll have to answer "Mom, why did you take a picture of THAT?" and I have already prepared my answer: "Sweetie, I took pictures of EVERYTHING!"

Jenna sporting 2 bows. I need to get some that match!

This was after breakfast. Jacob was playing peek-a-boo with Jenna. It was so cute. He would duck down and she would lean over her high chair to try and see him. Then he would pop up and they would both giggle hysterically!

Jacob's Valentines

2009-02-19T19:53:00.001-06:00

This was on Valentine's Day - Jacob learned a new trick. THUMBS UP! I had been trying to get him to do it for a while when we read "Hand Hand Fingers Thumb" but he could never get it. Then, all of the sudden, he got it! He was very proud to show off his new trick to daddy!

Here is Jacob eating his chocolate froggie valentine from me. It had a gummy bug inside (see his left hand)!

We made pink lip shaped cookies for daddy. Jacob helped with the sprinkles. He loved to sneak a cookie when I wasn't looking too.

Here's my 2 angels together on Valentine's. They are such cuties!

Non-Valentine

2009-02-19T14:36:00.005-06:00

It's been a while since I've blogged so I had to divide everything (mainly pics) into Valentine and non-Valentine.

Here's Jenna chillin'. She turned 6months on Sunday. She was 16lb+and 25"+. Both were around the 50%. She is doing great. Sitting up, rolling, scooting, eating, grabbing, etc.

This is Jenna and Ava. Ava is the daughter of a friend of mine from JUNIOR HIGH! Our parents still see each other sometimes and my mom gave her mom my email...Guess what? Jenna and Ava were born on the SAME DAY about 1/2 hour apart! We had a play date last week. They were so cute - they make the exact same noises. Same screech, same coo, same silly noises!

And here's Jenna after eating. I started using a head band to keep her hair a little cleaner when she eats.

Other random stuff: There is a Burger King in Wylie! Brian over heard some women talking about it a month or so ago at the kid's play area at Firewheel. He thought she said it was next to "Papa's Chicken." There is no Papa's Chicken in Wylie so I blew it off. Brian was SURE she said it (BK) was in Wylie. I even looked online to prove to him he misheard. It wasn't on their website. Well, we were driving home from Taco Delight after Josh's party the other day and guess what we passed? Burger King! And it was next to Popeye's Chicken! This might not be a big deal to you but BK is my favorite and there isn't one anywhere near here so I'm super excited! Brian, on the other hand is super excited about the Whataburger that's going in up the street (by Lowes and 24hr fitness).

I have decided that we are going to start having an annual Alcorn's Kids Labor Day Party. Labor Day falls right in between Jenna and Jacob's birthday so I thought we could have a big party for both of them on Labor Day. Isn't it so appropriate that it's LABOR day? So mark your calenders!

Jenna N Emma

2009-02-09T16:45:00.007-06:00

Jenna and Emma, the cutest girls in the world. I finally got some pictures of Jenna and Emma together. Emma is our great friends the Watson's daughter. She is 6wks younger than Jenna. I was SO excited when I found out Robert and Marla were going to have another baby. When I got pregnant, I must have asked Marla every week if she was pregnant yet. FINALLY, the answer was yes. Then, when I found out that she also was having a girl, I was thrilled! I had no idea our girls would be twinkies!

Robert and Brian get confused for each other all the time at church, now add our two girls to mix and well, let's just say the Alcorns and Watsons are a big blurr!

Jenna loves the swing. Jacob hasn't wanted to get in the baby swing for a LONG time, that is until his sister was in it. Go figure.

Our Little Miracle

2009-02-05T12:07:00.003-06:00

God performed a miracle in our house last night. Jacob came in our room about 10:30pm. I was dead asleep and it took me a minute to figure out what time it was and what was going on. By then, Jacob was vomiting in my bed. Yeah!

So off we went to clean him up and change our sheets as well as his. As I was taking off his pj's, I realized he was running quite a fever. I tried to take his temp but he threw a fit and I was afraid he was going to wake up Jenna so I gave up but I'm guessing it was in the 101-102 range. So we gave him some Tylenol and put him back to bed. He went right back to sleep which was a miracle in itself.

I figured we would be up again within an hour or two with him but when Jenna woke me up to eat around 4, I was shocked! Jacob was still sound asleep and didn't feel like he was running a fever anymore.

Today he has been fine. Eating and keeping everything down, no fever, etc. PRAISE GOD! I just knew we were dealing with the flu. I don't know what was up last night but I rejoice that God chose us to heal last night.

2009-02-01T14:04:00.000-06:00

Here are few of my favorite pictures from the past few days. I did not include ANY of the pictures from our little outdoor photo shoot yesterday. There were just too many to chose from. You will have to check out dropshots to see those.

Tub Invader

2009-01-31T10:14:00.004-06:00

This past 2 weeks Jacob has decided that he is 2 after all. When his birthday came and went, I thought "this terrible 2 thing isn't so bad!" Sure he would have his moments, sometimes even his days of terribleness but now it's official.

Yesterday when I went to lay Jenna down for her morning nap, I came back downstairs (we're talking like 1 minute later) he had poured an entire bottle of syrup on the floor. Fun. So, I spent the morning mopping the kitchen which needed to be done anyways but that's not the point.

Then, when I took a load of laundry upstairs a little later, my little darling had come inside (he was happily playing outside when I took the laundry up) with his tricycle, mud covering the tires and his shoes. He left lovely mud tracks across my clean kitchen floor.

A little later when I was feeding Jenna he took off his pants and started pulling off his diaper. I jumped up just in time to contain what was in his diaper.

He has gotten into the fridge and freezer I don't know how many times in the past few days. It's time for an appliance latch!

So, next time you see me and I'm bald you will know why! Seriously, I keep telling Brian that we (meaning me and Jacob) are not going to survive this 2 thing. He told me "it's almost done. We only have 8 more months." He was serious! How convient that he's at work all day while I'm going nuts!

Jacob has also been sick all week. And he hasn't had a nap since Monday when my MIL rocked him to sleep. He's decided he doesn't need naps again. Didn't we just go through this?

About him being sick...this little bout of bronchitis (that's my diagnosis) has been much less severe than his norm. I don't know if it's because I've gone somewhat holistic or if it's just coincidence, but we get this same bronchitis over and over during the winter and I can see a BIG difference this time.

He has been on echinacea and elderberry (immune boosting herbs) since the beginning of the month, and I have added vit C with echinacea plus a multi vitamin that he will actually eat since being sick. I'm not doing any of his normal antihistamine/decongestants. Just using essential oils rubbed on his feet, chest, and diffused in his room. So there you have it.

We still do breathing treatments several times a day but those never seem to make a huge difference for him. I mostly do them so I can do CPT after and knock all the mucous loose. Oh, and I've taken him off wheat and milk as much as possible. He loves his wheat free chips and cookies but not the bread. And he really loves his toffuti (tofu based) ice cream sandwiches!

One more quick tidbit. Last night before bed we couldn't find the paci. Jacob spent over an hour in his room playing when he was supposed to be sleeping and I have no idea where he put it. So, too bad. Paci is gone. It took him a little longer to go to sleep but he did it! I have no plans of resurrecting it either. Now I just have to find it before he does!

Oh, I almost forgot! My tub invader story. Duh! So, I put Jenna down for a nap this morning while my bath was running. I was about to go into the bathroom with Jacob when I noticed a funk. Jacob's diaper, that is. So off we went to change him. I changed his diaper and put pants on but he ran off before I could get his shirt on. So I grabbed the stinky diaper and went and got a bag from Jenna's room to put it in, then went to the bathroom to find Jacob and finish getting him dressed. Well he had taken off his pants and diaper and was standing in MY bath. Little stinker. So we had a nice bath together this morning.

My family

2009-01-28T10:05:00.000-06:00

I love you guys!

Tri Pony

2009-01-28T10:04:00.000-06:00

My grandma and Jenna. Grandma is moving to an assisted living facility on Saturday. She is very excited. Her and Jenna were making silly faces at each other.

This is how Brian feeds Jenna. She kept grabbing at the bowl so he just let her! Needless to say, she really likes cereal. I got video last night of her grabbing the spoon and feeding herself. I am baffled by it. Jacob never liked cereal so I guess I didn't expect her to. Oh, and I'm mixing the cereal with formula 'cause I don't have enough breast milk frozen to mix it with. So, this is her first time getting formula (it's only 1 oz!).

I call this picture "toddler tantrum." Jacob didn't want to take a nap so he threw both his blankets, both pillows, both loveys, and his paci down the stairs. Shall we say he is strong willed?

How many pony's does it take to contain Jennas's hair? 3 plus a clip.

A week in Pictures

2009-01-24T13:38:00.000-06:00

My little flower child

Jacob thought this was SO funny. He has always loved to put baskets on HIS head. I guess he was teaching Jenna how to do it.

Jacob with his Capri Sun that he got out of the fridge by himself, poked the straw through the hole, and gulped down half before I ever knew he had it. The little turkey!

Jenna's first cereal experience. She actually did pretty well. Jacob enjoyed helping too. After a while, she decided it was more fun to blow raspberries right after I put the cereal in her mouth. That of course sent a cereal spray everywhere. I guess that was her way of saying all done!

One quick Jacob story: We were ready "Happy Birthday Jesse Bear" last night. In the beginning of the book, Jesse and his parents write out invitations to his party. Jacob picked up that page and started licking where the picture of the envelope was! So funny!

Projects

2009-01-24T10:12:00.004-06:00

Jacob has a new hero...BATMAN! The song is much easier and he's a pro at it.

Jenna woke up from her nap yesterday with a fever : ( She has a little bit of clear boogies. I'm praying (HARD) that its' NOT RSV. Today she's doing good. Still a little fever but not as high as yesterday. I'm actually thinking it's teething, 'cause this is exactly what Jacob did when he was teething. We shall see.

I put her new high chair together (thanks Marla! I love it!) so we can start rice cereal soon. She has shown no interest in food so I've been waiting. She still isn't interested in food but she is grabbing at cups so I figured that counts!

I have so many projects going on it's not even funny. Here are a few:

I'm taking tutorials on line to learn how to use my fancy pants camera
I slurped my blog entries from 2008 and am making a "book"
Still working on that darn quilt I started years ago
Download songs onto my new ipod
Trying to clean up the guest room/scrap room so I can get back to scrappin
Am really wanting to paint the now playroom (formally the formal living room). Also really wanting to paint our bedroom which has never been painted (it's boring white).

Guess I'd better go get to work!

2009-01-21T19:32:00.002-06:00

Well folks, it's official. Jacob and Jenna are in the same size diapers! Jenna (who turned 5 months last week) is moving up to size 3 diapers and size 6-9 month clothes.

The kids are doing great. Everyone is happy and healthy. Jacob has started mimicking the sounds Jenna makes. It's hilarious! Jenna loves her jumper. Check out the video at the bottom of this posting.

Jacob is so silly. He talks A LOT and is a little sponge when it comes to learning new things.

Brian is good too. We are looking forward to a "date night" on Saturday, if my mom (who has the bug our family had a few weeks ago) is better.

Jacob made ants on a log with his cereal bar and raisins.

Our beautiful girl.

piggy tails!

Tasty Toes & Spiderman

2009-01-16T14:22:00.003-06:00

First, I must tell you all that Brian is LOVING day shift! It's going to take some getting used to, the waking up at 5:30am, but other than that he really likes it.

As for Jenna, she is really trying hard to eat her toes. Poor thing is just a little too THICK to accomplish anything! It's fun to watch her try. I'm sure she will figure out a way soon.

Jacob is obsessed with Spidey. My parents have a toy (it belonged to my brother) that is Spiderman. He rides on a motorcycle and does tricks. Jacob has loved that toy forever. When we were at my doctor's office a while back for Jacob's well check, they gave him a million stickers, one of which was Spider-man. I let him play with a few then stuck the rest up on my dresser.

Well, Jacob found the Spider-man sticker and was SO excited. I started singing the Spider-man song but could only remember the first 2 lines so of course I googled it to get the rest of the words. That led me to a YouTube clip of the original Spider-man cartoon intro. I had NO IDEA I would end up watching the stupid clip 5000 times a day! Seriously, Jacob must ask me 50 times a day to "go see Spider-man." He's getting pretty good at the song too. So, despite having never actually seen the Spider-man cartoon, he loves Spidey!

We have a busy week coming up. I have stuff every day except Friday, which I guess will be rest day. I get to go to Scrap Night tonight at church for the first time in about 2 years! Brian is being held over at work so I'll be late but as long as I go and actually get Jenna's book STARTED, I'll be happy!

A Long Week

2009-01-10T20:35:00.003-06:00

This is an eye comparison. Jacob's are a light, aqua blue and Jenna's are a deep, royal blue.

This week has been one of sickness in our (and many of your) house. Jacob started Monday night. I won't go into details...let's just say it was really gross over and over and over. GI bug, ya know. He tossed his cookies I think 5 times during the night and the next day it was all coming out the other end. It only lasted 24hrs thankfully, but it took him a few days to get re-hydrated and get his appetite back.

Jacob getting his energy back

Jenna and Brian had some of the symptoms (south end only) for a few days but they are both better now too. I have NO IDEA how I escaped symptom free unless it's because I work around cootie kids. Watch me get sick tonight!

Jenna getting ready for a walk

Jenna has been lots fussier than usual. I think it's her tummy plus some teething=tired fussy baby. As soon as she sees Jacob she's happy though. That's what they do with her in the church nursery when she gets fussy. They take her across the hall to see Jacob. Isn't that cute?

Grandma has found an assisted living place. She will be moving probably in a few weeks. My dad had "the talk" with her last Friday. She totally agreed and was ready to go. God had to have been working on her for it to be that easy. They went last Sunday to look at a place my parents had already checked out. She loved it and put a deposit down. Now they are just waiting on insurance stuff to go through.

My dad told her to just figure out what she wants to take and he'll take care of the rest. I think they will have an estate sale and take a BIG load to the dump. You know how old people accumulate junk. Well, she's a pro at that. So anyways, I'm sure I'll have to go to her house soon and see if there is anything I want other than the obvious (her china, silver, etc). I don't think anyone else wants that stuff but we'll see. I think they are going to try to rent her town home. It's only a few blocks from my parents house and with the economy how it is, renting seems to be a better option.

Tonight is Brian's last night on evenings, at least for the next 6 months. I am so, so, so excited about him going to days. He'll be home every evening. It's going to be so weird. And him and his best buddy Alex are together (on the same shift AND same side of town) due to a twist of fate so he's super duper excited.

As for me, I'm just tired. Monday night wore me out and I still haven't recovered! Guess I should go to be then, huh!

Mama Ah-Corn

2009-01-05T15:25:00.004-06:00

Not too much new going on here. I've been working with Jacob the past few weeks on every one's name. He's known his name (first and last) for a while so I thought he should know me and Brian's first names. While this was a confusing concept at first (Duh! Our names are Mama and Dada!) he finally gets it. Now, when you ask him what Mama's name is, he doesn't say Mama Ah-Corn like he used to. He says Henn-nuH Ah-Corn. And Dada's name is BrI-yen Ah-Corn.

Jenna cries if I walk out of the room. I think it's too cute. She loves her bouncer and is fascinated by any and all toys. She also loves the cold teethers (the kind you put in the fridge). She got blinds and curtains with her Christmas money so her room is totally done, well except for a rug. I did NOT enjoy loading $250 in groceries into my car in the POURING FREEZING rain today. But, we finally have food. Jacob had been out of his normal juice and milk for 3 days. Poor baby. We've just been busy but I promise he has not starved.

My birthday was great, even though Brian had to work. We had a fabulous lunch at Red Lobster thanks to my awesome sis-in-law. So yummy! I baked myself a cake which Jacob LOVED (more cake! more cake!) and Brian got home right at 11 so we got to watch all the NY ball dropping stuff.

New Year's Day we spent with our friends the Reeds in Sulpher Springs. We got to meet baby Jessica and Jacob and Jolene had so much fun playing together. They were so sweet, hugging and playing and talking.

I bought a new hard drive for my computer. Apparently 3100 pictures takes up a lot of memory! LOL! But the good news is I don't have to slow down on the picture-taking 'cause now I have plenty of room!

Favorties

2008-12-31T21:38:00.006-06:00

I thought it was only appropriate to end the year with some of my "favorites" so here it goes:

Favorite things Jacob says aka "Jakeyisms"

ice ca-leem (ice cream)
lawn mow-ner (lawn mower)
no paw-bla-lem (no problem)
mama fix it
super cool
totally rad
awe-some-a
sa-lam dunk!
you kiddin me? i tough! (Brian taught these to him at the same time so he always says them together!)
it's aw-kay (usually to his sister)
sings "Jenna Boo" to the tune of Jingle Bells
sings along to all of the songs on his favorite Baby Praise CD, especially "Joyful ful ful"

Favorite things Jacob does/did

"squeeze tight" when hugging
"more, more, more" for 3 more kisses
kissed my belly all the time when I was pregnant, then after I had Jenna he never kissed it again even though it was still really fat!
reached up to hold my hand when he wasn't sure about something (like walking up/down stairs or when in an unfamiliar place)
fake laugh at Jenna to make her laugh when then makes him laugh (a real laugh)
checks on Jenna when she's sleeping and sometimes brings her a blanket
brings anyone willing a book then plops down in their lap
laughs hysterically at the dogs; also sits on them if they sit still long enough
spins around on his back like a break dancer in the bathtub

Favorite toys

lawn mower, sand box, swing set
police cars/fire trucks/diggers
crayons
anything that makes noise
trampoline
basket ball hoop
books, books, books, and more books (thank goodness for Mimi!)

Favorite Moments from 2008

seeing Jenna for the first time...boy was I shocked to see such a big baby!
watching Jacob run, run, and run some more at the beach
watching Brian change before my eyes when he became the daddy of a GIRL
watching Jacob grow up...I think he has changed more this year than ever before

Favorite present

the charm bracelet Brian got me for Christmas with a little girl and little boy charm. Then for my birthday he added an "I love You" charm! Unless you count the gift of a beautiful baby girl that is.

I was going to post a few of my favorite pictures but seriously people, how can I narrow it down? I tried, but failed so if you want to see my favorite pictures you'll have to check dropshots yourself because there are WAY too many. In fact, my computer told me just today that I am just about out of free space. I am going to have to spend my birthday money on an external hard drive to put all the pictures on!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! May this year be the best one yet!

p.s. The new background is for my sweet Jacob. He still sleeps with his "bumble bee lovey" and paci but they paci's seem to be disappearing. Hummm.

Christmas Part 2

2008-12-28T16:47:00.001-06:00

Here's Jacob blowing out Jesus' birthday cake.

The Alcorn gang: Hannah, Brian, Jan (Brian's mom) holding Jenna, Heather (Brian's sis) holding Jacob, and her hubby Doug.

So my dad got really creative this year when it came to a gift for my mom. He has been painting for the past several years (and has gotten really good). He takes lessons on Saturday afternoons. He had taken this picture of my mom holding Jenna to class and told his teacher he was going to paint it for my mom for Christmas. His teacher responded with "Paul, you stink at portraits! Let me paint it." So he did. He paid her a nominal fee and she painted it for him. He has had it hidden in the house all month. Everyone had seen it but her. While she was working in the kitchen, he snuck it up on the wall but didn't tell her. She came out of the kitchen once and didn't notice but the second time she came out, her jaw dropped. I wished I had my camera ready, it was great! This is her admiring it.

The Wilford clan: Frankie (my mom) holding Jenna, me holding Tito, Grandma (my dad's mom), Brian with Jacob, and Paul (my dad).

We had Christmas at my parent's house Saturday. We had a big lunch and discovered that Jacob LOVES pumpkin pie. That was my favorite dessert as a kid. I would ask for it for my birthday and my Aunt Cheryl would make me a bunch of tiny little pies. Speaking of my birthday, it's only 2 days away!

Christmas

2008-12-28T16:46:00.002-06:00

We had such a fun Christmas this year. Last year I was miserable (pregnant but didn't know it yet!) and the year before that we were really poor after having Jacob so this year was really nice. Jacob had so much fun opening presents and playing with all his new stuff.

Brian's sister and her hubby stayed for a few days. Jacob loves playing his aunt and uncle and Jenna got tons of attention of course. We even got to got out to dinner with them one night without the kids!

I am attempting to start some Christmas traditions so here's what I've got so far:

Christmas morning is for us only. You know, just me, Brian, and the kids. It keeps things a little calmer and we're able to focus on each other and not be distracted by company etc.
Home made cinnamon rolls! I am going to look for an easier recipe though. 3 hrs is a long time to wait for breakfast!
A birthday cake for Jesus. Our friends Sara and Robert (from church) came over for dinner on Christmas and Sara brought a little cake and sprinkles for Jacob to decorate. It was a birthday cake for Jesus. She even brought a candle and we sang "Happy Birthday." I thought it was such a good idea and a fun, easy way to keep Him the focus!
Jacob gets a snow globe every year and Jenna gets an angel.

I hope to come up with more next year. Let me know if you have any good ideas!

Jenna was fascinated by her new toy

A happy girl on Christmas day!

Here's a funny story from Christmas morning. Jacob had been playing with the tin my watch came in. Brian soon realized that the watch was missing so we started looking for it and asking Jacob where it was. We looked and looked. I went through the trash, looked in all the bags and boxes and still no watch. We finally gave up and figured it would show up eventually when Brian exclaimed "NO WAY!" I ran over and immediately saw my watch hanging on a bottle branch of the Christmas tree. Sweet Jacob thought it was an ornament and hung it back on the tree! He's so innocent. Gotta love that.

4 months & big boy

2008-12-22T20:44:00.004-06:00

Jacob must hold Jenna's cheeks to make sure he kisses her right on the lips!

Jenna had her 4 month check last week. She was 14lb 7oz, 25" (both were 75th %). She is doing great and brings a smile to everyone that crosses her path!

spit bubbles in action!

Jacob is loving the "kiss-mus yites." We went driving around last week and he continuously notified us of "more kissmus yites!" I think he loves our lights the most. He will walk around and kiss everything we have in the yard (reindeer, snowman, penguin).

He loves to plug in the Christmas tree lights and to play with the Humpty Dumpty ornament. He also likes the M&M ornament Brian picked out for him this year. They are significant to his potty training which had been going pretty well until it got cold.

He can put his shoes (and everyone else's!) on well now and tries hard to dress himself. He loves to roll Jenna over, although she can do that herself now too! They still think each other are hysterical. I wonder how long that will last?

Brian had 6 days off, but he went back today. He will be off the 25-27th. His sister and hubby are coming for a couple days. So, things should be busy for a while. I am going to get back to my Christmas present projects now!

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK! GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

Spit Bubbles

2008-12-18T20:32:00.002-06:00

Jenna has learned to blow spit bubbles this week. I especially love the sound of it. It's a mixture of singing and a farting noise. It's too cute.

Jacob has learned how to catch a football. He WILL NOT, I repeat NOT be a football player. Baseball maybe, or soccer but NOT football. I love watching football, don't get me wrong. But I will not EVER enjoy watching my precious J get squished and smacked and crashed into on a football field.

We had our first ice-ish weather this week. It wasn't pretty or fun or exciting. Just froze over the bridges and stuff. I had planned on going into work late that day anyways so it worked out.

I'm getting excited about Christmas. I'm FINALLY mailing cards out tomorrow (hopefully). We have a bit more shopping. One of Brian's presents came today. I love surprises. So fun. Guess I'd better go get ready for tomorrow. Happy Friday!

Santa

2008-12-14T22:09:00.000-06:00

Jenna wasn't so sure about this guy.

Jacob's first real Santa pictures!

Brian took the kids to the RPD/RFD kid's Christmas party on Saturday while I went shopping with my mom. Jacob got to play all sorts of games and see Santa. He still doesn't really get Santa but he can sure recognize him! He also got to climb all in a real fire engine.

Jacob started antibiotic #3 Friday. His culture was growing a funky bug as always. Now that we are on the right drug he's doing a ton better.

He's doing very well with his big boy bed too, naps and all! The past 2 months his vocabulary has grown exponentially. He amazes me everyday.

My cuties

2008-12-14T22:02:00.000-06:00

Jacob is so sweet to his sister. He loves to lay on the floor next to her and just talk to her. He usually says "baby girl!" and "Jenna Boo!" in his best baby talk voice. He also loves to sing "Jenna Boo" to the tune of "Jingle Bells."

My crazy boy was playing on the chair and the static was giving him a new hair-do. It was pretty funny!

Little Pink Jenna Hood

Jenna's new quilt Ms. Doris made her.

Things I Keep Forgetting to Blog

2008-12-09T14:57:00.005-06:00

Jenna has been sleeping in her room for the past several nights. Here's how it went when Brian came home and noticed she wasn't in her pack-and-play:
Brian "Where's Jenna?"
Hannah "In her room."
Brian "WHAT? She's too little for that! You can't do that!"
Hannah "Well I already did and she loves it."
To that he darted off to make sure she was ok. He found her sound asleep in her big crib, snug as a bug!

Jacob learned the song "Brother John" yesterday. I was singing it to him during a breathing treatment and to my surprise, he started singing it back! He sings it like this:
Are you seeping, Are you seeping
Brudder John, Brudder John
Ringing, ringing
Ding Dang Dong
Ding Dang Dong

He has also replace Sesame Street with Jack's Big Music Show during the 8:00 hour. He doesn't watch anything for more than 5-10 minutes but he sure loves it when they sing one of those really silly songs. He dances and spins around. He calls it "Jack Muenicks Show."

One more thing. I just found out my Grandmother's demenia is really bad. She had an appt with her neurologist today and couldn't remember any of the 5 objections they told her after 5 minutes. They don't want her driving (she only drives to church and the senior center) and I think they're going to start looking for a new place for her to live. My dad is taking it really hard.

Road to Recovery

2008-12-09T13:44:00.003-06:00

Jacob is on the road to recovery, I hope! We went and saw Dr. Mandujano (one of the docs I work for) yesterday. We switched antibiotics and re-cultured his boogers. Hopefully we're on the right drug for whatever he ends up growing.

He is doing a little better. Less snot and only a rare cough. He is currently taking a nap in his bed for the second time for me! It took an hour but I won!

Jenna is laying on the floor trying to roll over. I thought she did it last night but then I realized that Jacob gave her that little extra push she needed to get all the way over. She has rolled from her stomach to her back, and I think she'll get the reverse very soon. She doesn't get to try as much as Jacob since the floors downstairs are all wood. I put a blanket down and lay her on it but it's still slippery and hard for her to do her thing.

I decided this morning that all stay-at-home moms should get a stipend from the government for a monthly house cleaning. I think it's only fair. We have seen what happens when parents aren't around to raise their kids. We should reward those who make the SACRIFICE to stay home (yes, I know it is also a HUGE privilege but it is also a huge sacrifice) by providing a good deep cleaning of their home. Ok, so I just don't want to scrub my baseboards, and they need it bad! Sorry for the randomness there; can you tell I'm tired????

Jenna's Hair & Jacob's Cough

2008-12-06T14:28:00.002-06:00

This is Jenna's "fro" as we call it! Her hair is really curly when it's wet. So cute! When it dries, it is straight but very poofy. I'm not sure what that means for her future hair-do's.

Jenna is doing great. She took a nap in her crib today for the first time. I'm not sure that I'm ready for her to sleep in her room at night. I'm such a wimp. I'll be ready soon. It'll be sooner that the 8 months Jacob stayed in our room.

Jacob is sick again. Or should I say still? I think it's the same stuff he had 2 weeks ago that never really got bad. Well, now it's bad. Cough non-stop, tons of snot. I started him on an antibiotic Thursday. I still had the rx from 2 weeks ago...By the time his culture results came back he was symptom free so we never started it.

Last night marked 1 week of him sleeping in his toddler bed! This is HUGE. I lay with him at night until he falls asleep. Hopefully I can stop doing this soon. Nap time is a big struggle. In fact, he has only really taken one nap in the past week because he won't stay in his bed. And that nap was on a day Mimi was here while I was at work. Why do they cooperate for grandparents so well? He did fall asleep on his own today in his bed but after 40 minutes, he coughed so much it woke him up : (

He had been doing really well with potty training too, but since getting sick he hasn't wanted to go in the potty so much. No big deal. I'm sure he'll tell me once again when he is ready.

Brian got some of the Christmas decorations down from the attic before he left for work. Yea! I love Christmas SO MUCH. It makes up for my dislike of Thanksgiving! Jacob had so much fun at my parents house playing with their Christmas stuff. We went over to celebrate my dad's birthday. I made him a carrot cake and put a "55" in sprinkles on the top. I cut out a stencil and everything and guess what my dad did...he defaced my cake! He turned the first 5 into a 3!

I'm really starting to miss church. I doubt we'll be able to go tomorrow unless Jacob is healed over night. My poor guy. It brings me to tears to see him sick. I'm so glad I'm a pedi nurse. I feel like I at least can do everything possible to get him better. And he is lots better, but still not well. He's gotten to know lots of new cartoons while doing breathing treatments. He loves Barney, Dora, Diego, and Wonder Pets in addition to his favorite Lazy Town. Too much TV time! He'd better not get too used to it!

Stripper

2008-11-30T20:36:00.004-06:00

I guess I should give a quick update...my uncle had a cardiac cath last Monday. They put in 2 stints, then sent him home the next day. He is doing well but this has disqualified him from using the experimental treatment for his cancer. There MIGHT be one last option. They will find out this week if there is one last protocol to try at MD Anderson (cancer hospital).

Thanksgiving wasn't all that bad. Ok, so it wasn't great either. We had steaks etc. I made the most yummiest cake that night. It was a pumpkin pound cake with a white chocolate cream cheese filling and a maple glaze. It sounds gross but is was so good! I was just happy to be with my hubby and precious kids. They make me so happy ; )

The potty training saga continues. I won't bore you with 1 million stories from this week. If I told you all the times Jacob stripped down and peed in my house you might never step foot through my front door again! Actually, he mainly only pees in the crib and outside. I have banned him from the crib. This is his second night to be in his big boy bed.

I tried his crib for nap time today and he stripped and peed in it AGAIN for the 10 millionth time this week. He pottied 3 times before laying down. We tried to lay down in his bed first but he wouldn't stay (at night I lay with him until he falls asleep) and Jenna was awake so that's why I put him in the crib. Never again. If he won't stay in his bed then he doesn't get a nap. Oh well. That just means he'll fall asleep faster at night. I'm not sure if it's a reward or punishment for him to miss his nap.

One quick funny story...on Friday night we had put Jacob to bed in his crib then gone downstairs to watch TV. We heard him talking and giggling but nothing major, and it was quiet within 20 minutes or so so we figured he was asleep. A little while later, we went upstairs to get ready for bed. I went in to check on Jacob and ran out of the room hysterical...laughing. I seriously almost peed my pants. Jacob was asleep in the crib as I suspected, laying on his stomach as usual with his lovey over his head, only he was NAKED! His diaper and zip-up footed jammies were laying there beside him! He hardly even stirred when we picked him up to dress him! Oh ya, did I mention he strips even when I put a belt on his pants as tight as I can. Oh, and he can get his diaper off even if he has on a onesie too. He's such a mess!

Jenna and I continue to fight this cold thing Jacob gave us. Brian has had a touch of it too. I have been so tired! I have napped every day for the past 3 days! Once Brian gets up I run up to bed. I have GOT to go to the store tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have a little more energy.

Homeless for Thanksgiving

2008-11-23T21:09:00.002-06:00

You know everything I just wrote a few hours ago about being so excited about Thanksgiving...not having to cook or clean etc? Well, scratch that. We are now homeless for Thanksgiving.
It's a long story so I'll try to be brief. It all started 3 yrs ago when my uncle Mike was diagnosed with melanoma. It of course spread (as melanoma always does-which is why it's so deadly) to his liver and lungs. They did a cocktail of chemo of which he only tolerated for about half the length of time he was supposed to get it. The side effects were too much, he had to quit. He was in "remission" for a little over a year. With his type of cancer, the doctors consider remission when the tumors aren't actively growing, even though they were still there.
A week or so ago we got the bad news we knew would come eventually. The tumors are growing again. They had doubled in size in 2 months. The doctors told him at this rate his life expectancy is very short. The problems was trying to figure out what to use to treat him, as he had already tried all of the options in round 1 of chemo. They finally found an experimental drug that they were going to start the first of December. Because it is experimental (he would only be the 2nd in the nation to receive it) insurance does not cover it. So now they had to come up with $25,000. His church immediately put together a fundraiser which took place last Friday night. It raised $21,000. What a miracle!
Well, this morning my uncle woke up and told my aunt he felt funny, and that his chest and arm hurt. He told her he thought he might be having a heart attack. They immediately went to the ER where it was confirmed. I think it was minor but we'll know more tomorrow after his cath.
All that said....they were going to come down (from Houston) for Thanksgiving. Now, my parents are going there. Which means we are stuck at home again. I feel really guilty for being so bummed. Hello! My uncle who has inoperable, incurable cancer just had a heart attack. I am worried about him, don't get me wrong. I just know he's in really good hands. If everyone could please keep him, my Aunt Rita and my cousin Jonathan (who will turn 16 next month) in your prayers.
I bought supplies for making queso and cake so I guess that's what we'll be having on turkey day! Brian is really bummed too. We were so looking forward to a nice, relaxing day. There's just something about my parent's house that is so relaxing! Anyways, now the plan is either burgers or steaks. Oh well, maybe next year!

Update

2008-11-23T14:22:00.004-06:00

Both kids are suffering from a cold so we stayed home from church today. Brian stayed home with the kids while I did a massive WalMart run. That place was nuts! I was thinking most people would be in church or getting ready for the Cowboy game. Not.

Jacob has been very in to "go potty" this past week. It's not something I initiated. We all know I do not have the patients for that! He's done well. He usually goes a little in his diaper which reminds him that he needs to "go potty." Then we go in the toilet and the cycle continues. I think we went through a 2 week supply of diapers this past week because I can't stand putting on a non-dry diaper after he goes in the toilet. Even if it's only a little wet (which is usually the case) I put on a clean diaper. I need to get over that!

Jenna has been trying hard to roll over the past few days. I bought her some bows today at WalMart that said for ages 3 and up. Who knew bows had an age ranking? Needless to say, she has plenty of hair to hold them!

We are looking forward to NOT having Thanksgiving at our house for the first time EVER! No cooking, no cleaning, no entertaining. It's going to be great (at my parent's house). I am baking of course. I can't let an opportunity to bake slip by!

Ponytail

2008-11-19T21:15:00.002-06:00

Jenna got her first ponytail last night. I couldn't resist. Everyone always says "her hair is so long you could put it in a ponytail!" Well, I did to prove they are right!

We love the tiny barrettes Ami got for us. They tame the mane.
Jacob had a busy day streaking. I would post a picture but I don't know how to cover the "zone" so no pervies can see. First he stripped in his crib, then the backyard. Good thing it was warm today. Both times it was because he needed to "potty." He peed in his crib (the diaper was totally dry) and on the back doorstep.
He's doing well potty training. I'm not doing anything. Just waiting for him to tell me when he needs to go. I'm not patient enough. I figure eventually he'll want to go in the potty which seems to be true now! He loves the m&m reward system too.
We have a very busy day of errand running tomorrow, then Papa is coming on Friday to play. Jacob is very excited about that. He hasn't seen Papa in a while. He kept asking about him last week but he was out of town in San Antonio. All week he would say "papa, onie-onie-o." Now he says "Papa, onie-onie-o, home." That means he was in San Antonio but now he's home. I love that kid!

Dress Up

2008-11-17T15:54:00.002-06:00

One of the differences between girls and boys: when Jenna has a blow-out and needs an outfit change I see it as an opportunity to play dress-up! She got this little dress as a hand-me-down from one of my mom's clients. I thought it was SO CUTE and have been patiently waiting for a warm day so she could wear it!

We haven't been up to too much around here. Friday night our friends the Watsons came over with BBQ and the Wii. I rocked it at golf! Well, sort of. Baby Emma is so precious. I could have held her all night! I think she's 6 weeks old and still 2 lbs less than Jenna was at birth!

The ladies breakfast (church ladies that is) was fun Saturday morning. IHOP was so yummy and it was nice to finally get to go...usually ladies night out is on Monday nights; Brian is at work so I never get to go. Now we're going to do a Saturday morning once per quarter. It was obviously popular. I think we had 20 people show up!

After breakfast I got to go shopping. My mother in law gave me $$$ to go buy the kids some clothes. It was SO FUN! She had a 20% off coupon for Carters (my FAVORITE store). I went nuts. They were having a big sale. I got a ton of stuff! Plus, I got another 20% off coupon and when checking out they told me the ENTIRE store will be 50% off the week after Thanksgiving AND you can use the 20% off. Sounds dangerous!

We've been going on lots of walks. I'm trying to shed some pounds. I don't seem to be getting anywhere but the walks are nice. Jacob loves to go feed the ducks. I think I'm going to start looking on Craigs List for a double jogging stroller. Our double stroller is ok but I walk pretty fast and it's a bit hard to maneuver.

Jenna is a giggle box - only giggles at Brian of course. She's very chatty these days too. Jacob is loving the cooler weather. Here is him playing with his new tricycle (another hand-me-down). He likes riding down the tiny slope at the side of the house into the fence. I guess crashing is fun when you're 2.

Work is starting to pick up. We are so much slower than this time of year a few years ago. I think it's because we dropped so many insurances but that's a different story. I'm going to go play with my baby girl now until Jacob wakes up from his nap.

POOP!

2008-11-12T21:34:00.003-06:00

Jacob teaches Jenna how to "ride the bull"

Jacob doing patty-cake with Jenna

Today was crappy. Literally. It started off with a frantic call from Brian. He forgot his vest. Yes, his bullet-proof vest that goes under his uniform. You see, he plays racket ball with the guys Wednesday mornings, then showers and goes to his part time at the jewelry store, then from there to work. It's his "long day"...he packed up his stuff last night but somehow forgot the vest. So I grabbed the kids and off we went to Richardson to take daddy his vest and some lunch.

Once we got home and ate lunch, it was nap time. I have been working on trying to get Jacob to sleep in his "big boy bed" and get out of the crib. We will be needing the crib soon, plus he jumps in it and I'm afraid he's going to break it. Anyways, after battling with him for about 30 minutes I give up and put him in the crib, then go to check email. When I go to check on him, I find him in his crib, pants off, holding his diaper saying "poop." The diaper is a little wet, but no poop...I look down and see the poop. Nice. So I clean him up, change the sheets, get him back in bed (he fell asleep fast after all the excitement) and go to lay down and Jenna had woken up. By this time she had already gotten a good 1hr nap or more. I was desperate for a nap since I worked yesterday so I play with her for a few minutes, nurse her, then lay her down. She did eventually go to sleep and so did I. Yeah!

The second poop episode happened in the early evening. I pick up the dog poop every day with a shovel so Jacob won't step in it while running around the yard. Well,he has a big shovel and I guess he had gotten a fresh pile of you know what on his shovel and was bringing it in the house to show me. Apparently it fell off the shovel right at the entry to the back door and he must have stepped in it. So I got to wash his shoes for the second time today. Mimi babysat yesterday and she let him play in the wet backyard so his shoes were all muddy.

So now for the final (I hope) poop. I had bathed Jenna and Jacob was still in the tub. He likes to sit in her bath chair when she gets out. So I was drying her off, dressing her etc when I look over and see Jacob straining. I say YOU HAD BETTER NOT!!!! I thought I caught him in time but he had squeezed out one tiny little terd. So I got him out, got the terd, then sprayed down the tub, chair, and toys with bleach water.

Geesh! What a day. On a funner note, Jacob is talking A LOT. It's amazing how fast it's happening. He sings all of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and all of his ABC's except for HIJKLMNOP but I think he's said LMNOP before. Brian has always sang his ABCs like this: ABCDEFGHI JACOB QRSTUVWXYZ so I blame him for the missing letters.

He also knows the names of all his books. He pooped in the toilet twice yesterday too, though I'm still not really pushing the whole potty training thing. He pees in the potty several times a day, usually when I take off his diaper to change it. He hasn't grasped to concept that he has to tell me when he needs to go.

Jenna is awesome. Love her, love her, love her. Enough said, right? We finally got our pictures back so I'll post some for you. Yikes, I need to go call Grandma, it's her b-day. Do you think she'll still be up? I'd better go try!

Brag

2008-11-05T13:06:00.003-06:00

I'm not usually one to brag, I leave that to Brian (sorry honey but you know it's true!) but I feel that it's ok to brag in my blog, and I have lots to brag about.

First off, I have cooked three meals this week. Whoop-tee-do you say? I just don't cook real meals that much. And when I do cook it's always the same old spaghetti or chicken enchiladas or whatever. I am so tired of turkey sandwiches and chicken nuggets. So, this week I cooked taco soup, a cheese ravioli bake, and ranchero pork in the crock pot. And I have a special meal I'm going to prepare for my darling husband on Friday. Oh, and Brian liked the first two meals a lot, but he hasn't tried the pork yet. I'm so proud of myself!

Next up: Jacob. He amazes me everyday. I am constantly asking him "where did you learn that?" The past month or so he's begun to really speak in sentence. It's so cute. He brings me books and says "mama read" or "go outside" or "what is it?". He says longer things too I just can't think of anything right now. Last night I was eating a brownie and gave him a tiny pinch of a bite. He ate it then said "Jacob big" ....he wanted the big brownie! That's my boy! He's very into identifying everything he sees. He'll tell you what it is, what color it is, where it came from, etc. It's fun to just walk around the house with him and listen to everything he says. Oh and one more funny story. Yesterday I was putting his hot dog in the microwave to cook and he said "zap it!" Isn't that cute? I swear they store everything they have EVER heard in their brains and it just sits there until they start talking!

Now for my sweet baby girl. Jenna has been sleeping 8-9 hours at night. I know this is somewhat normal for many babies but being that Jacob was at least 9 months before that happened, I consider it a miracle! God does listen even to our selfish pleas! Jacob really enjoys showing her all his old baby toys. She has been enjoying his old play mat. It has a ball that hangs down that you kick. She's quite a kicker already. And once in a while she will bat at the little hanging fish too.

I don't have anything specific to brag about for Brian. He's been doing a great job being my "trainer" getting me back in shape. He also does a great job with the kids on daddy day (every Thursday or Friday when I'm at work).

Now for some random thoughts. First off, what's up with Lupe Valdez's (Dallas Co Sheriff) eyebrows? It looks like she drew them on with a black sharpie. Weird. Next, I want to give two thumbs up for both of the Presidential candidate's speeches last night. I thought they were both great. I know that God will use Obama to do great things for our country, even if his values aren't the same as mine.

The Monkey and The Ladybug

2008-11-01T15:13:00.002-05:00

TRICK or TREAT! Our first time trick or treating was a great success! Jacob had so much fun. He had no clue what was going on but he sure enjoyed it. Jenna did great too. I think the both got hot after 10min or so. Halloween is usually cold and nasty, but not this year. Go figure, both of their costumes were for 50 degree Halloweens, not 70 degree!

This is Jacob's gorilla aka "monkey" costume. The face doesn't show up well but it's really funny. It's very gorilla-ish. He LOVED it. When I showed it to him yesterday morning, he exclaimed "LOVE" and huged it, then took it to the rocking chair to snuggle!

This was a cool pumpkin at our neighbor's house. Jacob was fascinated by it.

And of course our little darling Jenna sporting the cute bib her Aunt Heather bought her.

Last Week

2008-10-29T14:13:00.005-05:00

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been a while-life gets so busy sometimes! I'll try to catch you up on what's been going on.

First of all, I'm going to be an aunt! I can't tell you how excited I am. I have been waiting and waiting for this. Brian's brother's wife is pregnant, due in late June. They live in Arizona now but Chris will graduate in May and they will be moving back to Dallas. It's so awesome that Jacob and Jenna will have cousins! I know Chris and Val will be AWESOME parents!

Now an update on us. I'll start with the bottom and work my way up. Jenna is doing great. She has become a pro at sucking her thumb. I have mixed emotions about this. It's nice that she can soothe herself but it's not like a paci that can be taken away at the appropriate time and age. She is also smiling and cooing tons, loves to sit in her bumbo chair, loves taking baths with her brother, and has gone 7hrs at night several times recently. She gets more and more beautiful every day!

Jacob is doing much better. He was sick for about 9 days. I was talking to one of our docs at work yesterday, telling him about Jacob and he said as long as he is symptom free after 10 days, it's most likely a virus and I did the right thing (according to the American Academy of Pediatrics) by waiting and not starting antibiotics. That's right folks, they recommend waiting 10 days before antibiotics. We barely made it but he really was better on day 10! I hate giving my kids drugs and wait as long as I can before medicating with Rx drugs. I know, I'm so old fashioned!

I am doing well. My allergies are driving me CRAZY but other than that I'm good. I broke down and took a Children's Claritin yesterday at work. That probably explains why I only pumped 8 ounces of milk; I usually get closer to 12oz. So I am now drug free, and seem better today.

Brian's birthday was Sunday. We had a Cowboy's game party. It was fun, mostly because they won. Several people couldn't make it 'cause they were sick, but I appreciate them not contaminating my house! Brian is now 1 away from 5 away from 40. He came up with that, not me! I got him a Romo jersey, and his mom gave him lots of money which he is going to use to buy a new off-duty gun that's a lot smaller than his duty gun.

We did make it to the Fort Worth zoo last Friday. I LOVE the Fort Worth zoo. I could go every week if we lived closer. Jacob had a great time. We took Brian's mom too because she had NEVER been before. I'm not sure how you can raise 3 kids here and never go to that zoo! Jacob's favorites were the parakeet pavilion, the penguins, and the monkeys. My favorite were the lion cubs (I think there were 3 or 4) that were wrestling and playing under mom's watchful eye.

Then, Saturday night we had a real date night! Brian and I went to dinner at SilverFox Steakhouse...yum! I always feel weird about spending that much money on food but it was SO GOOD. We had a good time and the kids had an even better time at MiMi and PaPa's. I think Jacob would rather be there than anywhere else. Brian is the same way. When we were done, he just wanted to go hang out at my parents for a while with the kids. It was a nice, relaxing evening.

Brian is in class all week so he will actually be home for dinner this week! That's all the excitement for now.

2008-10-19T21:09:00.003-05:00

Jenna is now 2 months, 12lb and I can't remember how many inches!
Jacob playing with his new Elmo LIVE Nana bought him.

Let's see, my last post was about how mad I was that Jacob was sick...guess what? He's STILL sick. That's the crappy part about having a kid that doesn't go to daycare or somewhere that there are lots of germs. When he does get sick it lasts forever! Now he has respiratory and GI issues. It's not fun.

We even had to miss church-not just miss church but miss a BIG important day at church. A new pastor preached in view of a call, then was vote in! He sounds great from what I hear. I'm very excited to meet him and his family.

Jenna is doing great. She was really fussy and gassy this morning but seems better now. I heard a few coughs today which made me nervous but I continue to pray protection (from brother's germs) over her.

Brian's awards banquet was Saturday night. I think it was our first "date" since Jenna was born. It wasn't much of date though. He was the MC and had to be there early and stay late, plus he was up on the stage most of the night so I just sat there. The food was good. I wanted to stay and dance but mother nature called (had to go home and pump!).

Brian has a few extra days off this week...he took off for his birthday so we have a real date night planned and some other fun family stuff. We are so glad my parents are such good sports and keep our kiddos so we can enjoy a night out here and there. They even offered an overnight date but I'd have to get up and pump...think we'll wait a bit on that one!

This is Jacob being a toad...see the toad in front of him. And I thought he was a monkey!Me and my sweet Jenna. She is such a precious girl!