Clones

A friend of mine said today, "Zachary you really look just like Mikie. It must be like raising Mikie all over again."

Which got me thinking about how similar, but very different they are and I thought this would be a fun photo show..... so enjoy this one and post your guess as a comment or send me an email for the right answer.

Mikie & Zach Side by Side Photoshow

Although they look incredibly identical, their personalities are slightly different: Zachary seems to be more demanding, more difficult, and has a stronger will. They both love their blankies, but Mikie would self-soothe by thumb sucking while Zachary has to cry himself to sleep. Zachary seems to be even more independent than Mikie was by insisting to feed himself and wanting the same foods we are eating. They are both very vocal, each in his own way. By now, Mikie could say a half dozen words...Zachary can say one ("out") and prefers to screech and scream. Zachary can sign more, all done, and finally just tonight he signed "PLEASE" much to my amazement and joy!

Mikie Watch Me Grow PhotoShow

Zachary Watch Me Grow Photoshow

It's great fun having two boys and they are quickly becoming best friends (now that Zachary actually plays with the trains instead of destroying every inch of the track).

Ocean City, MD

I have a new appreciation for the rocky beaches in WA!

True: the sand of the East coast is softer to lie in, the water is warmer (only slightly), the sun shines more often...BUT...THE SAND GETS EVERYWHERE!!! As a newly married couple without kids, I loved the sandy beaches of Pensacola and the pristine coasts of Hawaii. But now that I have 2 boys, I much prefer watching them throw rocks in the water and just brushing them off before going home for a quick rinse in the sink verses taking an entire beach back to the hotel room in every crevis of their body. Besides feeling gritting and gross the entire time at the beach, we did have a wonderful weekend.

The boys and I left Friday at 10:00 and drove to Aunt June & Uncle Wardie's house near Annapolis, MD. It was so nice to break up the trip halfway through and let the boys stretch their legs, have lunch, and a nice visit. Michael met us there at 2:00 and we "loaded up and headed out". It was a very quiet 2 1/2 hour drive while both boys slept (and I think I even napped a bit). As soon as we checked into the Carousel hotel, Mikie started asking to go to the beach. Of course, it didn't help that we got the oceanfront view room :) After much persuading, we convinced him that we'd go to dinner and then we had a fun surprise.

Dinner, although it tasted good, was a nightmare! We should have turned around and walked out at the first sign of "upscale" knowing that we had an irritable 3 1/2 year old and a 1 year old who has recently taken up the fine art of shrieking which would make any dog within ear shot turn tail and run! Needless to say, the waiter was very quick to bring us our food and even quicker with the bill! And the people sitting next to us were very understanding, even after their child was hit by a flying object flung from my oldest son in a fit of rage.

Alas, once their bellies were full their moods greatly improved and we set off for that "surprise" which turns out to be Mikie's new found favorite past time: MINI-GOLF! Now, I'm sure that bowling is still his favorite, but mini-golf is so much more fun...especially when he gets to use a pink ball (of course what other color would he choose?) and make up his own score (since pushing the ball around with the end of the club doesn't really count as a 'stroke'). We played 3 different courses over the weekend: Dinosaurs, Jungle, and Sea Life. Both boys were so cute and got so excited at each new hole. Zachary loved walking around with his golf ball and plopping it into the hole for a perfect hole in one every time! Great score, Zachary!

The next day was by far the best day we've had as a family in a really long time! Everyone's overall mood was upbeat (with a few low points, but no major meltdowns) and the weather was perfect. We started out with a breakfast buffet and then headed to the beach. Zachary loved scooping the sand into a pail and crawling on his knees while pushing the sand around with his hands. Mikie had a great time letting the waves get up to his knees and building sandcastles and digging holes with Daddy. There was one really scary moment when a wave knocked Mikie down and he went tumbling back out being rolled under the wave until Michael grabbed him amidst my yelling "GET HIM, HE'S IN THE WAVE!" After that, Mikie stayed a little closer to shore. Zachary even fell asleep and took a little catnap on the beach. After 3 hours of being slathered in sand, we were all ready to go swim in the pool. Then, it was so wonderful to just sit in our bathing suits at the beach bar/grill and have lunch with 2 exhausted (and amazingly quiet instead of fussy) little boys. It felt like we were at a resort...which I vow someday we will do with our children (much older children!) After lunch, back to the hotel for showers and naps.....well....the first was accomplished with no problems, but the later just wasn't happening in a one room hotel...so we strapped them into their car seats and drove along the coast while they dozed in the back. We stopped for supper at the Dough Roller pizza place where Mikie got to sit in a pink booster seat and the boys both got the coolest bendable straws I've ever seen; hence, saving us from a repeat of the previous evening. And since the pizza place was right next to the Jolly Rogers Amusement park and Mini-golf we just HAD to play another round...this time jungle golf....and ride a few rides. One ride we all got to ride on was the double carousel. At the end of the night, the boys split an ice cream bar and we went back to the hotel a happy and tired family.

We should have just called it good and went home the next morning, but of course we had to walk along the famous "boardwalk"...but not before stopping off at the Dough Roller again for breakfast and 2 more really cool straws! By the time we got to the boardwalk, it was HOT and Mikie was tired, fussy, cranky, crabby, grumpy, (insert every negative adjective here) and we weren't hungry because we just ate so there wasn't anything to do except start walking the 27 blocks to the end and keep pushing them in the stroller with Mikie screaming most of the way. We did stop off for a lollipop which then started Zachary screaming because he wanted the one Mikie had even though we had bought him his own. I can't tell whether Mikie shared with his brother to be nice, or just to get him to stop screeching in his ear......either way......it was cute watching them share a pink whale lollipop. At the end of the 27 blocks we hopped on the train/tram and rode back to the beginning where we quickly grabbed something to eat and let the kids ride a few rides and play a couple of games to win a souvenir of our trip...which was about to end perfectly in direct correlation with nap time...which meant 2 hours back to Aunt June's in complete peace (after 2 extra pit stops for Mikie since he drank an entire bottle of fruit punch, some of my iced tea, and 1/2 a bottle of water). The boys woke up when we stopped to get Michael's truck at Aunt June's but they were out of town so we couldn't go in...instead we went to Olive Garden and wasted an hour and a half there before driving the rest (2 hours) of the way home. We arrived home at 10:00 and thus ended our "summer family vacation".

There was no way for me to choose just a few pictures so here's the link to our beach trip photo show. Enjoy!

Zachary's 1st Birthday Party

I can't believe my little baby is now 1 year old! We celebrated with a barnyard birthday party (as all my children's first parties will be) and decided on a sub theme of chickens because Zachary's favorite food is chicken!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE planning parties with themes! I've been planning this one since Mikie's party got over in January. So, imagine how disappointed I was when my Backyard BBQ was rained out (it had stopped raining by his party, but the backyard was flooded) and we ended up with an inside/outside (garage) party. We still had a great turn out, even though our family members ended up getting stuck on I-95 in parking lot conditions for over 3 hours, but it felt more chaotic and crowded. It just didn't flow that smoothly.

Zachary cooperated and took his regular morning nap, waking up right as the party started at 11:00. He loved all the balloons and kept pointing & making cute noises. He wasn't feeling all that well, with a reoccurring ear infection probably flaring up again. Poor little guy!


Here we are with the backdrop in the garage. Notice Mikie is missing...he wouldn't let us take his picture.
His cute little outfit is one of a kind. I purchased the romper and then had it embroidered with "Old MacDonald Graphics". It turned out SO cute! My mom made shirts for the rest of us with cute barn scenes on them. She of course flew in to help with the party and turned into SUPER BOAGIE once again saving the day with her brilliant ideas, exuberant energy, and amazing multitasking. THANKS MOM!

Zachary's favorite part of his party has to be the ball pit. He loves to throw the balls out (much to Michael's angst) and crawls around in them like he's swimming. He's too cute!

The Food:

Bovine Burgers & Piggy Hot Dogs (buns decorated accordingly), Chicken fry hay (Zach's favorite food), corn on the cob, vegetable garden pizza, hay stacks, shoe string potato hay, deviled eggs, berry baskets, cheese ball in a mooing cow bowl, duck pond punch, farm animal shaped cheese cut outs & chicken biscuit crackers, and melon in an actual chicken feeder trough.

Activities:
When the kids arrived they needed to pick and name a stick horse and then place them on the hitching post. Later we used them for horse races. They loved it!
The chicks flew out of the chicken coop: The kids had to get all the chicks (feathers and beaks on yellow balloons) back into the hen house. Here's Mikie putting one in through the roof instead of the ramp and door.

Hay Hunt: They had to search for candy and toys hidden in a pile of hay. Zachary wouldn't do it, but all the other kids enjoyed it.

Zach's favorite game was the duck pond. The kids were suppose to pick the lucky duck out of the pond to win a prize. They just had more fun splashing!
Other games (picts not included): Horse shoes, bean bag barn toss, horse race.

Here's his cute chick cake with a little white egg. This one was really easy to make and it turned out very cute. This was his individual cake...everyone else got cupcakes. When we told the kids to come in for cake, Michael's 7 year old nephew saw this one and said, "That's the smallest cake I've ever seen." I think he was worried that there wasn't going to be enough to go around.
Zachary didn't mind getting messy (just as I suspected) and I wish now I would have taken a picture a little later on when he was messier.

Here are the cute chicken cupcakes sitting in a nest of butterscotch chowmein noodles. Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture of the ice cream in the shape of eggs that was sitting next to each one (courtesy of Boagie of course)

Overall, the party was a big hit and the kids left with a lot of prizes. I owe a huge thank you to my mom for all her hard work (and my dad for letting her come!). There is no way I would have been able to get it all together without her! I'm glad my boys' birthdays are 6 months apart. Now I just need to find out what theme Mikie wants next year so I can start planning that one! (LOL)

It was hard to choose just a few pictures to put on here, so I'm adding a link to Zachary's PhotoShow. (click the word photoshow...thanks for the tip, Amber!)

sick, Sick, SICK!!!!!!!!

Alright, I know you're all waiting on a post from Zach's birthday. I promise it'll be here within the next few days! But for right now, allow me to tell you about the fiasco in this household.

On May 19th, (the day before we flew off on our 3 week "vacation") I had Mikie in to the Pediatrician because he had just gotten over a bad cold which he was put on a nebulizer for 4 days. While there, I asked the Dr. to look in Zachary's ears because he'd had a runny nose for more than a week. Yep, you guessed it...DOUBLE ear infection. So that meant antibiotic #1.

We flew to Iowa and then on to Washington where he finished the 10 day meds and seemed to be doing better. Then, Las Vegas....towards the end of that trip he obviously wasn't feeling well again. I got back to VA on 6/11 and took him to the Dr. on the 14th. One look in his ears and we were on to antibiotic #2!

Over the next 10 days he didn't seem to be making much improvement and life at our house was getting very "whiny" (including some whining from Mommy). On Monday, June 23rd we saw the pediatrician again and switched to anitbiotic #3. By now the Target pharmacy knew me on a first name basis. This 3rd medicine seemed to be the worst...he was finally poking at his ears and would not play at all. By Friday evening (6pm), I'd had enough and went to the E.R. where we sat, got examined, Zachary got his blood drawn, and probably picked up a few more germs while crawling on the disgusting floor and playing with his favorite toy (a soft baseball) that one of the nurses gave to him (I don't even want to know where it came from!) Six hours later (yep...midnight) we headed home with no new remedies or meds, just a P.A. telling us to continue the antibiotic and see our Dr. on Monday. That weekend was bad!

Monday finally rolled around (June 30th) and the pediatrician said there was still no sign of improvement and recommended the 3 day shot series of Rossefin (sp?) which turned out to be 6 shots (it's too thick to put into one shot so they break it up into 2) over the course of 3 days (the second day was his 1st birthday :( how horrible!) This drug seemed to be the magic one because he was a totally different little boy for those 3 days. He was HAPPY again! But, as you may have guessed....it was short lived. By Saturday (the day of his party) he was back to his irritable little self and I was glad he had his well (Ha Ha Ha) baby check up on Monday (7/7).

I was surprised to learn that the infection appeared to be gone but there was still fluid in his ears and a trip to the ENT was going to be necessary. Since he was due for them, he got his vaccinations adding another 3 shots to the total for the week. While he was screaming his head off, I noticed he was getting a top molar! Could that be the reason for all of this? I hope not....he still has so many teeth to go! On Thursday 7/10 he was crabby and not eating/sleeping well, so I called the doc. She had just seen us 4 days ago so she went ahead and phoned in antibiotic #5 (remember 4 was the shots). So, back to Target I went!

Which leads us to today....his ENT appointment. Apparently this ear infection is now officially "cleared up" and there doesn't appear to be any fluid in his ears. Great news...for now! But if he gets another one, we might be looking at tubes.

So that takes care of the sick, and Sick part of my post. Now do you want to know why I wrote SICK!!!!! For that, we have to go back to Saturday at midnight when Mikie wakes up with a fever of 105.8! The next day, I discover blisters on Zachary's mouth, hands, and feet. Today, Mikie has them. So now, BOTH boys have HAND, FOOT, and MOUTH disease! We're sequestered to our house for at least the next 3 days and I think I may just end up on this sick list as well.......MENTALLY SICK!!!!!!!!!!

4th of July

We ventured out to downtown Fredericksburg for about 2 hours. It was WAY TOO HOT and not at all interesting for the kids. Here they are splashing in a little duck pond game.

What a great way to cool down...with a snowcone! Notice we started out feeding them with spoons. And then....

They just decided to dig right in.

After 2 hours in the heat, we went home and let the boys take their naps before heading out to the fireworks with the Websters. I really thought Zachary would be asleep until the fireworks began, so I put him in his P.J's. Now I wish I wouldn't have. He was wide awake and loving every minute of the sparklers and fountains being set off around us. He would point, clap, and squeal whenever they set them off.


My mom captured this picture of Zachary watching the fireworks.

Mark, Rebecca, and Leah.

They are just too cute together!

Spotsylvania Fireworks 6/30

We let the kids nap Sunday afternoon and then headed to the Spotsylvania Courthouse firework celebration when they woke up. In hindsight, we should have went sooner! By the time we got there, got our food, and ate, the bouncy houses were being shut down for night. Mikie and Leah were so excited to go in them...that's all they could talk about while we were walking around...and then to have them closed was so dissapointing. Mikie did get to go through an inflatable tunnel/slide twice but Leah wouldn't go with him. We ended up at the slides & swings at the top of the hill and they had a blast running around the open field. There were a lot of people and I was so afraid we would end up losing one of them. Mikie climbed to the top of a VERY tall slide, but chickened out in the end and wound up climbing back down the steps between other kids' legs. I thought he was going to knock someone else off the way he was rushing to get down. From where we sat to watch the fireworks it felt as if they were raining down on top of us. It was spectacular! We'll definitely be going back again next year!

We told the kids to climb in the stroller and this is what we saw: I know: "AWWWWWWW" SO CUTE!

I've already arranged Zachary's marriage to Ayden so I can have Amber as an in-law...and now....Mikie will be marrying Leah so I can have Rebecca as in-law as well. My plan is working out perfectly! Now for my future daughter?????...so many great boys to choose from!

Zachary was easily entertained with this soft baseball he got from the Emergency Room the night before. He loves throwing and I'm sure will be our little sports nut. Yes, the E.R....poor little guy has had an ear infection since May 19th. He's been on 3 different liquid medicines and had 3 days worth of shots (2 per day for a total of 6 pokes!) He's still not any better and goes to the ENT on 7/14. I have a feeling he'll be getting tubes.

Here he is with his little blankie. It was way past his bedtime and he just wanted to lay down and cuddle by himself. This is how he sleeps...with his little bum up in the air. It's so cute! He never fell asleep and the noise of the fireworks didn't bother him either. This was the first day in 2 weeks that he was feeling a little bit better and actually had fun playing.

Don't you just love the look on Mikie's face? That pretty much sums up the "attitude" he has had lately. I don't want to do it and you aren't going to make me. I'll take the punishment as long as I don't have to do what you want me to! It's so exhausting and irritating. I pray everyday for Mikie to have a change of heart attitude and know that one day God will use the Holy Spirit to work wonders in the life of His son.
Our pastor quoted an author that I can't remember right now, but I remember the quote and pray that it helps other people as much as it has helped me:

"Parenting should be measured by what the parent does, not by what the child does."

Water Play

Here is what we like to do on a hot VA afternoon.

Mikie and Leah are jumping like frogs in the Discovery Toys Hoppity Pop sprinkler. Leah found an injured cricket and was pretending to be it's nurse. She even used a napkin and covered it like a blanket.
3, 2, 1...blast off! Another great Discovery Toy for summertime fun!
Zachary wanted to play in the water, but every time he got close to the sprinkler he would just stand frozen in one spot and cry. He finally learned to turn around and walk away.
He much prefers to play with balls. This one is just as big as him but he still picks it up and throws it.

At his 1 year check up he was only 16 lbs 1 oz. That's less than the 3%. Such a little guy with a BIG personality. I guess it will be quite awhile before he gets to have his car seat turned around.

Getting started.....

See I already messed up! I typed before I put the picts in and now I can't get my text up here without typing it all over again. You'll just have to read from the bottom up because...it's late and I'm going to bed. This is addictive! Mikie named this cat Peppermint the last time we were in Iowa and now she is pregnant. He just loves this little kitty and I wish we could take it home with us, but I'm sure our huge 20 pound cat wouldn't appreciate that!
This is such a cute picture of Zachary and a daisy sitting in my parents' yard in Iowa.
Isn't this funny? Zach was trying to stand up and needed a little leverage to help pull himself up. Of course, Mikie didn't appreciate it too much!

Ok. This is my very first blog. I have my 3 friends in WA to thank for this! I just love reading about their lives and looking at their pictures, it makes me feel as if I am right there with them (which is where I want to be more than anything right now!) I miss you girls (and the weather! I'm roasting out here!)

So, hopefully I'll get the hang of this really quickly and be able to post some pictures of our 4th of July and of course....Zachary's 1st birthday party! Until then, I was pretty proud of my not so creative title which will work until I eventually (hopefully sooner than later) have a little girl! The picture is just a cute moment I snapped while at my parents' farm in Iowa. I wish I would have gotten one from the front as well. They were both wearing John Deere tractor shirts (not matching...just coordinating :)

I've realized from this post that I use parenthesis a lot. (Oh well) ha ha