Too Two

Big Brother turns two on Monday, and I can hardly believe it. We're having a firetruck birthday party. I am going to attempt to construct a firetruck cake tomorrow. Now, anyone who knows me knows that baking is itself a skill I am less than proficient in...but BUILDING a cake? Phew, I hope we don't burn the house down in the process! (Yes, I'll admit I also hope that we finish with something that at least resembles a firetruck.) Is this what people mean when they say our kids will challenge us? Probably not...it's just a bonus.

Now, as a follow up from our previous post about our Picky Paul eater....Big Brother still doesn't eat most things, but I don't care quite as much. He's trying things here and there, and his doc says if he'll eat green beans pureed, then he's doing better than not eating them at all. (Which, at his peanut size of 25 pounds, isn't really a good idea!) He doesn't seem to mind that little James eats all kinds of things that he won't even consider, and he still has no interest in dipping anything in any kind of condiment. He often wants to be fed (like baby James), and only likes to eat if I'm eating at the same time. I just hope I'm not packing Stage 3 baby food in his kindergarten lunchbox!

Speaking of school, Big Brother also had his first day of preschool this week. He LOVES his teacher, and he didn't even notice that I wasn't there. I thought I'd cry, but you know, I LOVE it too. If he's going to have that great of a time, and get to learn some new things, hooray for him, and hooray for 2 free hours for Mommy!

Baby James continues to heal, and continues to return to something more like the little guy I had before surgery. He's laughing a lot, and cries less when he falls or is left alone in his crib. He's sleeping better now....only waking once or twice a week in the night (to the point where we need to go in). We have an appointment with the ENT a week from Monday, and I'm dreading hearing that he still needs another (albeit minor) surgery--adenoids and tubes in his ears. James got a cold about 2 weeks ago, and while the rest of us got better in about 3 days, he is still completely congested. It's like last winter all over again. Once he gets congested, he can't get rid of it.

Pumpkins

Our sweet pumpkins went pumpkin picking today, and in typical little guy fashion, Big Brother wanted a "big punky." Seriously, the thing weighs more than both boys together! I'll post some pics soon of these guys.

We went on our first family vacation last week, off to Gatlinburg, TN and the great Smokey Mountains. James was such a trooper, napping in the car each morning, hiking along in a pack with his daddy, and sleeping fairly well, despite a nasty cold that we all shared. Big Brother is hilarious, trying to crack his baby bro up at every turn. I swear, those two share some kind of secret language. Our camera pooped out before we even took one picture of the beautiful condo, scenery, or fun times. But, we're borrowing one, so here's a pic of James in his carseat today.

We're still battling a lot of night-time waking, which was probably not helped by sleeping in a pack and play for a week at a strange place, where Mom and Dad would come running at every whimper. But, who would believe this little guy had surgery just 5 weeks ago? His stitches are all falling out, and the scar is less and less noticeable. (Often less noticeable than the jar of carrots that Daddy fed him for lunch and are still stuck to his face below!)

We still appreciate all of the messages and prayers. You have been our constant encouragement.