3 Year Dentist Appointment

Today was the boys' three year dentist appointment. This visit, they got a full cleaning. They did great! They sat back in the chair and watched the movie on the ceiling. A great life!

Joshua- Nearly fell asleep in the chair. His arms were hanging limply off the chair, it was pretty cute. Joshua has a cross-bite. Sorry kiddo, you got your teeth from mommy. He had some stains on his teeth, so we'll be doing a better job brushing. As for the cross-bite, he gets to follow in mommy's footsteps. Sorry bud. In middle school, they'll give him a retainer and every week we'll expand it in an effort to expand his jaw. Josh got everything from Dan, but got my teeth and height. Poor kid.

Thomas- Teeth are perfect.Welcome to daddy's world. They line up perfectly and had no stains.

Overall, the dentist was happy. We go back in 6 months for a cleaning and some x-rays. Unfortunately our new insurance is a tiered plan. This year, we are covered 70%, next year 80% and so on. So we'll be paying about $150 per visit next time and then hopefully 10% less every year. Ugh. Good thing we'll be at 100% by the time they actually need work done! :)

Getting Caught Up

Because it was so crazy around their birthday, I neglected to do the regular birthday appointments. The 3-year check-up, 3-year pictures, and a dentist appointment.

On Tuesday (because Dan was off) we went and got their pictures taken. They turned out alright. Joshua, generally very photogenic, decided to be squirmy and was difficult to get a good picture. Thomas, generally camera-shy, decided to follow directions and flash his pearly whites. I guess I'll never totally figure out my kids.

This morning, we had the boys 3-year check-up. Thomas weighs 33 pounds (55%) and is 40 1/4" tall (above 95%). Joshua is 31 pounds (50%) and 38 3/4" tall (75%). Thomas is slowly creeping away from Joshua, but based solely on eating habits, I'd say Josh might be about to go through a little growth spurt. The boys did great during the appointment. Thomas never shut up. That kid just talked and talked the poor doctor's ear off. It happened to be their favorite doctor, so Thomas took the whole appointment to tell him everything he ever needed to know. The doctor at one point asked me if Joshua even talked because Thomas wouldn't let him get a word in edgewise. It was pretty cute. We will make an appointment shortly for Joshua to get checked for color-blindness. My dad is 100% colorblind and sees only grays. Joshua responds to some colors the same way as dad, so I figure it's better to know before he goes to school and gets in trouble for not knowing his colors.

Both boys got the flu shot. This was a big discussion in our house this year. Dan got the flu shot when he was just under 2 and became very very sick (as in paralyzed from the neck down). They can't say whether it was that strain of the flu shot or not, but he was, at the time, the youngest person to survive Guillain Barre syndrome. We decided that the flu shot has evolved and that because I'm pregnant and they are so young, we all need the flu shot this year. The boys did great. Thomas went first and cried and cried. Then walked out in the hall with the nurse to get a sticker while Joshua got his. Joshua looked at me, "Mommy, someone poked me." I nearly burst out laughing. The nurse could not find the injection site because Joshua had stayed so still and calm through the whole shot. He never cried, just was ticked that someone had poked him without first getting his consent. Both boys got stickers and a goody bag and were perfectly happy.

Next week we go to the dentist. Last time they really liked it. We'll see if it's the same this year.

A Day at Endicott School

What a great day! We got a late start, but overall, we had a great time. We drove down to Endicott (for those of you who don't know, that's where I use to teach) and started by visiting with some friends. Hannah is 4 and Issac is 2, the boys had a blast playing with them and almost opted to stay there instead of going to school with me! For lunch we had sloppy joes, one of my favorite school lunches. The boys enjoyed the apples and cookies a bit more. They then got to go to recess with all the "big kids." Then I got to visit alone with some of my good friends! HOORAY! After lunch we went back to Katie's room for some buddy reading. The boys were trying so hard to be a part of the class and generally followed directions. After that the 1st & 2nd graders did a book share. Thomas watched about 3 and then grabbed a math book from someone's desk and decided he wanted to do a book share too. :) He showed the cover (like the big kids) and explained the picture on the front. When asked his favorite part, he opened to a page with dominos and showed the class. It was REALLY cute! I had a hard time convincing them that they weren't old enough to join the K-2 music class and that it was time to head home. They were sure it was time for them to continue schooling! :) It makes me think that they might do ok in preschool if I decide to put them in in January. Thanks for visiting with us!!!!

Happy Halloween!

It's been a crazy week of Halloween playdates and busy activities. Both kids are under the weather, and I've just joined them. Hopefully we spend the weekend at home recuperating.

The boys had a great Halloween (I think). :) We started this morning with a doctor appointment for Thomas. Thomas has whatever Josh had last week. We went directly to Grandma Patti's office and made the rounds in costume. Joshua is the cutest skunk ever. Thomas could be cute if he kept his costume on for more than 30 seconds at a time! We then went to Ba's office (Aunt Kim) and got MORE candy! Thomas was feeling pretty crummy at this point. We ran to daddy's office and had lunch with him. During lunch, daddy and Thomas ran to Walgreens and got some Motrin...THEN Thomas felt better! After lunch, the boys and mommy had a pleasant (and by that I mean irritating) unscheduled stop for a blood draw for mommy. This was the longest hour wait EVER! Luckily the boys did alright, but at the end, we were all losing it. This meant we could go home for a nice long rest time...right? WRONG! No nap! The boys refused to even sit still. So I gave up and we just played. Then at 4:00 (20 minutes before going to pick up daddy) both boys passed out. I managed to dress them both and get them in the car while still sleeping. They both took a nice long nap on the way to pick up daddy. We visited greatma during her dinner, great-grandma and great-grandpa (during their dinner) and then went to the mall for some quick indoor trick or treating. We ended with a short jaunt around our neighborhood to the people we knew would want to see the boys. We are now home and exhausted. It's time for Halloween to be over!

A Busy Weekend...Do I Always Say That???

I took Josh into the doctor on Friday. His fever took place from Tuesday to Thursday. The rash started on Wednesday. When I called early in the week about the rash, they said it was probably heat rash from the fever. After it spread across his face, I began to worry more. Turns out, he wasn't contagious and it was just part of the virus he had. We figure Thomas and Joshua (and cousins) all had it and just reacted differently. Josh is doing better, the rash is long gone. Now he's moved on to a cough and runny nose. Neat.

Another busy weekend has passed us by. Unfortunately, this is just the beginning of the holiday season, so the busy weekends are just beginning. On Saturday, I was exhausted after getting up at 5:30 AM with cranky boys. I let Dan sleep in, so in repayment, he took the boys to Manito where they gathered chestnuts and ran out all that energy. A short nap later, we went to cousin Macey's 3rd birthday party. Macey was born 6 days after the boys, so it's been really fun to watch them grow together. The highlight of the party for the boys was getting a motorcylcle ride with Uncle Adam. This was a reward we had promised for pooping on the potty. My thought was that they would ride in FRONT of Adam. You can imagine our shock when he placed the boys (one at a time) behind him and took off. Dan finally said, "I am super freaked out, and I can tell by looking at you that you are more freaked out than I am!" Hehehehe. I have to say that we are pretty loose parents when it comes to letting our kids explore new things, but this one had us both on edge. Both boys did great and said they really enjoyed the ride.

Today was yet another busy day. We started off with the usual rush to get to church. We tried to get the boys to vary from routine and go to the pancake feed afterwards, but they insisted we get our usual doughnuts and juice. We gave in and the boys were further encouraged when we pulled into Albertsons (with the best doughnuts on the South Hill) and a fire truck pulled in next to us. The boys ran right over to the fire fighters, shook their hands and promptly got put on to the firetruck. They were in heaven. After doughnuts, the boys and daddy went outside to rake leaves. Joshua was obviously feeling crummy, so we all took naps...I napped with Joshua for 2 hours, Dan napped with Joshua for two hours. Joshua took a 4 hour nap!!! Thomas decided he didn't need a nap today and played all afternoon. After naptime, we went to the Shefflers for dinner and cards. The boys always love playing with their twins (Ethan and Eva- age 5) and Spencer (age 1). They even pet Buddy the dog!!! A first, since they normally scream and cry at the sight of this little weiner dog. :) Halfway through the second game of pinochle (a game in which we girls were kicking some booty!), Joshua's breathing took a turn for the worse and we packed up and headed home. After a breathing treatment, Joshua is doing fine. This always happens when he gets a cold. We just need to carry the nebulizer a little better.

This week shall prove to be busy with Halloween parties and lots of fun activities! It's fun (yet exhausting) having three year olds!

Sick Kids= Tired Mommy

Well, the past few days have just been a blur. Tuesday evening the boys woke up from naps all weird and funky. Thomas was really lethargic and wouldn't wake up. When I took his temperature (about 100 times) it showed 93.4 degrees. I quickly warmed him up and gave him Motrin and his temp went straight to 101 degrees. This prompted me to check Joshua who was at 101 degrees also. Ugh. Joshua has since woken up every 2 hours crying from dreams or just from being sweaty from the fever. This has made for a very tired mommy. I think/hope the fevers finally broke today. The boys are both still crabby and unhappy, but hopefully we are on the road to recovery. I, on the other hand, needed a nice break and received one this evening. I left around 7:00 and went to dessert with my good friend, Jenn. We then walked around the mall (a rare treat for me) and enjoyed chatting and shopping. Woo-hoo! I just walked in the door, the kids are asleep and my shows are taped. I'm off to catch up on Survivor and Grey's Anatomy (both of which Dan watched without me which means he is officially HOOKED!). :)

6 Kids...1 Living Room

Tonight was our scheduled night to hang with the nieces (Abby-5, Macey-3, Natlalie- 6 months) while her parents played some Volleyball. Our friend, Jenn, also called needing someone for Harry (3) as well. Everyone arrived at the same time, and wow, 6 kids in one living room. The good thing is that we still had all the birthday toys out, so the kids were all thoroughly entertained with the new toys. However, Dan and I have decided that 4 is enough. We are exhausted. And the idea of that constant activity and noise is just a little too overwhelming. :) Here's the best picture I could get of all 6 kids tonight.