Getting ready for Halloween

We love cookie pops! Arden had her first one tonight! I got them Halloween ones as a treat, Stratton picked the pumpkin and Arden got a mummy. She licked the icing off hers and then gave it back to me!

I think she liked it . . . just a little.

They also got a Halloween goody bag, and Stratton also got a new costume. I gave in and bought him the ugly Power Ranger costume he wanted. I figured it only cost me $20, and there won't be many more years where I can be a hero with something that cost $20. . . I hear way too many stories from the people I work with about all their kids want are gadgets that cost $500! I was right, he said it was the best costume ever, and it was the best day ever. . . I can't wait to see how he feels about actual Halloween day!

Bitter Sweet

This week I packed the bottles away. It's the offical end to Arden being a "baby". It's been a rough couple of weeks for me realizing how fast my kids are growing.

We had Stratton's Parent Teacher Conference last week, and the teacher told us great things. I'm amazed at how much he is learning! I feel like he talks "big" now, too. He's always had a pretty extensive vocabulary, but I have really noticed a difference in words he uses to describe things and his imagination has kicked up some of the eleborate stories he tells. They also told us that he is right where he needs to be in all the areas that they test them in. And she said his art skills are really good. He even made a pattern with shapes and colors and most of the kids didn't get that! Most of all I was proud to hear that he is well behaved, and other than some issues with sharing and controlling his emotions when he gets really upset (typical for a four year old) she said she rarely has any problems with him!

Arden has pretty much digressed in the talking department. I feel like Stratton was more vocal than she is at 13 months. But she seems think about things more, she does things with intent and is much better at things that take dexerity and concentration. It amazes me how she works at puzzles and blocks, Stratton has never been interested in puzzles or things like that. She is already good at holding a crayon and she seems to really enjoy coloring and drawing.

I am so thankful that my kids are growing and learning and are healthy and happy! But it sure is hard sometimes when those little milestones come and go. I'm trying so hard to be present and enjoy those moments, I know they aren't going to slow down anytime soon!

Family day @ Pebbles farm

A great defeat. (For me at least)

This was the day I have been dreading since he was born.

Look at this picture. Notice anything?? (Other than he is  excited about some stickers) Do you see the pride in this kid’s eyes? He had just won a great battle.

Honestly, I wasn’t “in it- to win it” on this particular morning, and he knew it- and when the underdog senses weakness (or tiredness in my case) that is when they make their move! You probably didn’t even noticed that Stratton’s clothes don’t match- but they don’t.

And it Just. Drives. Me. Crazy!

This is how it went down. I laid his clothes out on the ottoman in the living room like I do every morning. (Stratton is now really good about dressing himself if I lay the clothes out.) I am in the bathroom getting ready when he storms in and throws his blue jeans at me and says “I want to wear Pants, not jeans!”- (Apparently we need to re-visit what “pants” are) then he tells me he wants to wear shorts with his new wolf shirt, to which I tell him it’s too cool to wear shorts. He’s alright with that but he’s not giving in to wearing jeans, he would rather wear “comfy pants”. Then he rushes to his room and pulls out a pair of navy and bright blue and white track pants (mainly because I hadn’t folded and put away laundry and there wasn’t much else in the drawer. . . ) and tells me he wants to wear them. His shirt is dark grey, with some white and neon green. Not going to happen. So, I tell him that the wolf shirt and navy pants didn’t match and he would either need to pick another shirt, or just wear the jeans. His answer: “But Momma, why do I HAVE to match??”

Touché.

I weighed my options at this point. I thought about how I would explain to a 4 year old (male, at that) about the rules of matching and the importance of an outfit coordinating and how we should look our best, but let’s get real. That would have been a waste of breath and time, and it was about 5 minutes till we needed to walk out the door. Then I thought about just lying. I could tell him that it’s in the bible (You know over in the first chapter of Paul) that usually works. So, I had to pick; A.) Let him win (and wear clashing clothes) B.) Make him wear what I wanted, which would take time picking something new out, and probably result in a meltdown and would make us late for school, and that would make me late for work or C.) Tell him a blatant lie that I’m sure I would be forced to deal with at a later time when some smart kid tells him there is no book of Paul (not to mention, the obvious: lying is never a good strategy).

So, I LET him win.. . . Sometimes the underdog wins.

A sick free week and relaxing weekend

Things are looking up. We didn’t go to the doctor last week with either kid! I bet they miss us : ) It was a pretty low key week! (I almost hate to say something like that in fear of jinxing things!) I’ve had a cold and the crud but I went to the doctor yesterday morning and got a Decadron shot and meds and feel much better today! Jarrod either pulled a muscle (or maybe has a kidney stone??) and he was moving slow this weekend, but he seems to be getting better everyday.

Stratton got to go to his first book fair at school. He thought that was really cool. Arden continues to bite kids at school and I’m researching possible baby boot camps. Miss attitude is actually had a better week. I think the teething must be getting a little better. Stratton went grocery shopping with me and for the first time didn’t ask for a toy or throw a fit when he didn’t get something he wanted. Gotta celebrate the small victories!

Friday night we tried to do a family movie night, Stratton and Jarrod rented the Disney movie Brave. Stratton like the movie ok, I mean the parts he actually watched. . .he was devastated when we told him we rented it (Redbox) and had to take it back! Haha! Jarrod and I have seen one adult movie in the past year probably, and guess which movie he rented for us to watch that night after the kids were in bed?? Yep. (I thought it was funny- Jarrod not so much) We didn’t feel like staying up late to watch it again. So movie night was pretty much a flop. I  guess we will have to revisit it again when we have another free Friday night in the future. . .whenever that will be!!

We spent most of the weekend in Searcy, we had Margie’s birthday Saturday night. Stratton and Archer got to play Saturday and almost all day Sunday. They are so funny. I just love watching them interact, it’s so cute to listen to them talk to each other.

Stratton decorated Nan’s envelope- No help! I think he got the holidays covered!

Arden liked the cake!

I found the cutest Red Wolves treats at Full Sun when I was birthday shopping. . .

Yummy!

We don’t have too much going on this week- for once. The Red Wolves game is tonight, but me and the kids are staying home since it’s a school night and it doesn’t start till 7pm. {Happy Anniversary to us!} We have our first “Parent Teacher Conference” Thursday night! And then Stratton is out of school on Friday and Jarrod is supposed to be off too, so I think I will play hooky as well! The weather is getting cooler and it finally feels like fall! We are looking forward to some family fun this weekend. Maybe a trip to the pumpkin patch!

Stratton’s Pre-K School Picture

I’m so proud of this picture! He’s smiling!!

The school photographer, Mr. Terry Smith, is an elder at our church and our good friend Tara’s dad. He does an awesome job! I was SHOCKED when I pulled his pictures out of his bag Friday night! I was not expecting them to be very good, since Stratton NEVER smiles. I almost didn’t order pictures (you have to order before hand) but I’m glad I did!! I can’t believe he is old enough to start school pictures! He looks so big in it!

And. . . .She’s off!

Arden is walking with no help! She’s been taking steps and will walk for a good 6 or 7 steps regularly, for almost a month, but hasn’t just really taken off yet. . . until now!  I guess we noticed Friday night she was getting braver and braver and something must have just “clicked”. She is a pro now!

Not the greatest picture, but she’s rarely still : )

Getting in her favorite drawer.

Of course she is still crawling some. It’s faster, so depending on how fast she needs to get somewhere will determine her method of transportation!

So proud of our “toddler”!

Strep and Mono?!

Stratton missed a whole week of school last week!! He ran fever off and on all week and then about Wednesday got a bad cough that seemed to be getting worse. He stayed at Gigi and Pop’s house Wednesday and Thursday and he was coughing so bad he threw up a couple of times. So, I called and talked to a nurse on Thursday and they said to give the antibiotics another day and called us in some cough medicine to give him at night to help him sleep. Friday morning he was still running fever and still coughing, so I made an appointment and him back to the Dr. on Friday afternoon. We saw Dr. Bailey and she said his throat still looked bad. They retested him for strep and did some blood work (that was a nightmare) we even had him tested for mono. He tested negative for both strep and mono on the quick test they do in the clinic, but they wanted to send it off for another mono test. They put him on steroids for his cough, told us to keep on the antibiotics and check back on Monday.

Sshhh!! He’s concentrating!

Over the weekend Stratton has gradually gotten better. He’s been crazy from the steroids, but no fever and the cough is getting better. Saturday we went to the ASU game, it was homecoming and other than being restless he did great. Sunday we opted out of class since Stratton was still hacking- and I didn’t want him coughing all over the other kids. Plus, even though he isn’t supposed to be contagious with mono, I’d hate to tell that to another mom in the class. Believe it or not, most parents aren’t as knowledgeable as me when it comes to sickness and illness : )

Sunday night after church we had some families over to eat and he played like he wasn’t sick at all. I felt like the mono test would come back negative. . .

. . .and it did, well sort of.

Turns out they can tell from his blood that he has had mono BEFORE! It’s not active in his system right now, but he tested positive for it in his blood! Apparently, he has had mono before and we didn’t know about it. They told me it could have been anytime when he ran a fever for a few days and we probably just thought it was a virus (So, yeah that narrows it down to about 100 times he’s been sick!). I feel like a bad mom for not knowing, but we know now! She said that him having had mono before doesn’t make him more prone to getting it again- but I have done some research, and it looks like there is conflicting information and studies on that, so I guess we will just have to watch him closer now when he gets run down and has a fever.

Never a dull moment, I tell ya!

He went back to school today, and I hope he’s had a good day! They had PE today, so I was nervous about another collision- or him getting too worked up and having a coughing spell, but I didn’t get a call so I assume he’s fine! I hope we can kick this sickness thing for a while! We have a lot coming up in the next few weeks!

Arden’s first pumpkin

1 Year and 1 month.

Arden is now 13 months old, but there isn’t a lot that has changed in the last month. We are happy that she is staying healthy, though the sickness Stratton has had in the last week! I think her teeth are bothering her some, but it hasn’t been too bad.

As you will note in the pictures- Sister has an attitude!! I am at a loss as to what to do with her!! She is something else!! I am scared to think of what it will be like in another year if we don’t get her dramatic temper-tantrums under control! Whew! Poor Stratton just wants to love on her and she is constantly scratching or biting him! She has her sweet moments, too- they are just far less these days! Stratton told me the other day that he “Loves Arden when she’s sweet but not when she’s mean”. . . well, try explaining to a 4 year old that we love her all the time, even when she isn’t very nice. . .not a concept easily grasped!

She loves to play outside!

“The Look”

I am happy to report that Arden seems to really like to draw and color! She holds a writing utensil really well, too I think. I think part of this is watching Stratton, but so far I am impressed with her skills!

She is still crawling for the most part. Well, unless she has someone around to help her walk- she much prefers that! She has taken several steps at time, but doesn’t do it consistently. Last night was the first time we got her to walk back and forth from me to Jarrod multiple times. She would take about 5 steps at a time. She’s learning how to crouch down and stand up and I know it must be hard to balance with all that junk in the truck she’s got! It won’t be long before she’s walking everywhere.

We have moved completely into the 12-18 month sizes. And are fixing to move up to size 4 diapers. She is eating table food all the time now, and is doing great on the soymilk! She has stopped taking bottles (break my heart) and she doesn’t necessarily like it all the time. Especially first thing in the mornings. She whines and pouts the whole time- just ask Jarrod. Pitiful.

She is getting a little more vocal. She isn’t saying many new recognizable words. She has started “singing” in church recently and will try to make animal noises. She’s said “Gigi” a few times and “Ta-Da!” when she does something.

Since her diaper rash was so bad, we’ve been letting her “air out” after her bath! She loves it, and it’s a fight all-out battle most nights to get her diaper and pj’s on!

Things never seem to go as planned!

We had a decent rest of the week last week. It was really rainy and humid, but Stratton’s nose started to look completely normal and Arden’s diaper rash starting getting better. The soy milk must be agreeing with her! Thank goodness! I guess we will try milk again in a couple of months.

Jarrod’s parents came and got the kids Friday night. We had dinner with them at Cracker Barrel before they went back to Searcy.

The progression of the hair bow:

On:

Off:

Trying to give it away:

Saturday I slept late (ahhhhh. . .it felt so good!) while Jarrod ran some errands. Then he worked on trimming the shrubs and bushes and I cleaned up the garage. We also defrosted the deep freezer. Whew! It was still too warm for me to be working outside! I hate sweating! Our garage is still full of clutter, but at least it’s organized clutter and a little cleaner now!

Saturday evening we went to Searcy to pick up the kids. We had homemade pizza and then made our way to Hickory Ridge to spend the night (Gigi got home from her trip Saturday night) and then we were going to get up and go to church with them- it was Homecoming Sunday- But typical for us lately, that didn’t happen.

Saturday night around 3am Stratton woke up with a tummy ache. He threw up once. I gave him zofran, I figured he had a bug. He laid on the couch and watched TV and moaned and groaned till about 6am, when I convinced him to go back to his bed and I laid down with him. Then about 7ish Arden woke up and we got up again. He acted a little better, but was running fever and still just wanted to lay around. We decided that Jarrod would take Arden to church and potluck and I would stay at my mom and dad’s with Stratton. We were eating breakfast when Jarrod’s phone rang. He had to go to work! Since I didn’t know if I could handle a sick kid (especially one that is throwing up) and a baby alone, we opted to stay in HR while Jarrod went back to go to work. My dad said he’d take us home later. Stratton felt awful. He just laid on the couch all day. I couldn’t get him to eat anything. But he never threw up again. He said something about his ear hurting, but other than that he couldn’t pinpoint where he hurt. We just laid on the couch and watched tv all day, he’d cat nap but never really took a good nap.

Eating a popsicle with Gigi’s new hat on. Real men wear Pink!

Stratton learned how to take pictures on my phone. . .

I bet he took 20 of himself!

Arden went to church and potluck with Gigi and Pops and must have had a big time, because when they got home she was asleep and my dad laid her down in her pack and play and she slept for 3 hours!!

After she woke up dad took us home. Stratton ran a fever all night, so Jarrod decided since he was off he would take him to the doctor first thing Monday.

I went ahead and went to work, and Jarrod took Stratton to sick call. Turns out he has strep! I know it’s going around! It’s weird though because Stratton never once complained about his throat! Even when the doctor asked him about it he said it didn’t hurt. Who knows! He’s still running a fever, so Gigi will probably come stay with him tomorrow (thank goodness she is back!). I did hear from Stratton’s teacher after I emailed her about him having strep and she said her daughter has it and they have 5 kids out today and she had just sent one home with fever and a sore throat! Yikes!

I am doing my best to stay away from everyone today- that stuff is so contagious! I just hope Arden doesn’t get it, but I am a little worried. She has been SO cranky the last few days (maybe a week?) I chalked it up to teeth and the new soy milk and taking her off the bottle and the diaper rash. . . I mean she’s got A LOT going on. So hopefully she won’t get strep on top of it all!