So he can't quite say his "th" sound yet, so he keeps saying, "I'm free". Cute. Okay, so I am way late on postings and finally getting a few minutes of evening time to catch up on things. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying every party, planning of party, and spending time with friends and family as we celebrate Christmas this month, but whew, it is nice to have a little breather.
All that to say...I am going to have to skip a Thanksgiving post, and know that we had an awesome time in Dallas with Grammy and Pappa and Aunt Libby and Uncle Ethan, riding a train to the Railway Museum (every 2 year old train lover's dream day), and fishing and riding tractors at Uncle Lynne's, and jumping in huge piles of leaves.
Last week we celebrated Tye's 3rd birthday! If you asked him what kind of party he wanted, he wanted a "Green Train Party" aka: Percy the Train Party. So a Green Train Party we had and boy was it fun. We had a good ol' family party and thanks to my Mom, Dad and Aunt Natalie, a cardboard box Percy attended the party. Tye and the kids loved every bit of it. They played in it for hours with their flashlights and train engineer hats. Thanks to Grammy and Pappa for coming down for the party, too.
Here are a few pictures! Oh yeah, and we had SNOW!! Tye was not a huge fan, he is cold in 70 degree weather, so he just wanted Pappa to make the snowballs so he could throw them from the garage. He is spoiled with the 90 degree weather. I say spoiled, bc I am a fan of the heat. Russ on the other hand is not a fan of the 90's. Either way, it snowed!
Whew, again I realize how long it has been since our last post, and if you still check this blog...thank you and sorry! I will try to do better for grandparents and friend's sake. We have had a busy few weeks, but most of that is the joy of fall with Mother's Day Out in full swing and Bible Study starting up after a summer hiatus. I am enjoying both of them very much and with Tye's friend who is a month older than him turning 3 tomorrow, I am realizing how quickly this fall is flying by and how I did not even realize that the holiday season and all of our winter birthdays are here already. It seems to happen so much earlier and quicker each year. Jax is 9 months now (and I should be back to my pre-pregnancy weight, right?...close, but no cigar. It is still on my to-do list) and Jax is a master army crawler and starting to try and pull up on things, much to his amazement and joy. He gets very giggly every time he is up on his feet (with help). He is all about Tye's toys right now and gets frustrated when Tye does not let him play with them and Tye gets frustrated with the fact that Jax won't stop trying to take them from him. Oh joy for a mom. I am already playing referee. Tye is doing awesome...he says the most hilarious things right now, but still can't quite get that "L" sound, so the other day, he fell at the park and if you ask him what he hurt, he said, "my wips" (my lips :), and at school he did not get to to be the "wine weader", which took me a while to figure out...lion reader...line with her...oh...line leader! He is still obviously "two" and I often wonder how long kids are actually "two" if you know what I mean. He tests every boundary and ounce of patience, but we are getting there. Here are a few pics from the past week or so...
We took a family outing with Russ's parents to Hockley to ride a kid size steam engine and it was a blast. Thanks Grammy and Pappa for the fun train engineer hats. Yes, Jax loved the DP as well (j/k).
So, then...we decided to dress up this year for Tye's Mothers Day Out, Reformation Day and Fall Festival. I thought...he loves pirates right now, so...of course he would love to dress up as a pirate...WRONG!! It took me 2 pirate outfits and a few fits, for me to realize how unimportant it was for Tye to dress up. I mean I don't enjoy being uncomfortable in my clothes, why should I make him? So I gave up/gave in, however you want to look at it, and was perfectly ok with him going in his typical jeans and tshirt. Then, out of nowhere, he decided he wanted to try it on (aka...being "two"), so I was able to snap a few pics of him in it in that 5 minutes that he wore it. Yep, that was the last time he put it on. So, if any of you want a 3T/4T pirate costume for next year...it's yours.
Jax getting in on a little of the pirate action...AAARRRGH, Walk the plank!
So...round 2. I decided since he loved his train engineer hat so much, he could dress up as a train engineer and that was a winner. All is well.
At the end of the day, we had a wonderful time at the KFBC Fall festival and he did not want to take that hat or bandana off.
Well, I will have you know that Jax's laugh as displayed in the video in the previous post has been a one time and one time only event. We have tried to duplicate but no luck. He is much happier to give you his spectacularly addicting ear-to-ear smile to those who he finds familiar. So...that is progress! He is getting his 3rd tooth, but it is the top tooth to the left of his front teeth, so that should make for some interesting toothy pictures until those front teeth come in. Is that normal? Anyway...Jax is a master roller and would prefer that than any form of creeping/crawling at the moment. I turn my head for a moment and he ends up under tables and stuck against walls, etc. Tye has started Mother's Day Out and loves it. He is becoming so independent and wanting to assert that in pretty much all situations. That is the tough part of the "Two's" I am assuming. He loves playing outside and helping me cook! They are growing up so fast, but I am loving every minute.
Jax finally figured out the jumperoo...thanks Chris for letting us borrow it!
Here are a few pictures from the last week. I have been working hard on "taking back my house". I have had a hard time keeping up the house, and keeping up with the kids lately. So, I have been on a quest, and it has been keeping me busy...hence the not so recent posts. It has been great, though. I have been using the www.flylady.net website, so for those of you who have not heard of it before...check it out. So we had a breakthrough today. We went to the grocery store this morning and Tye and Jax both sat in the car-cart! They did great and Tye was so excited to have a buddy beside him. Jax was even big enough to turn the steering while like big brother. So there might be hope that I can actually do a full shopping trip one day. Anyway, here is a video of Tye giving Jax zerberts, and Tye thinks he makes a surprise discovery at the end...so cute, and Tye and I thought it was much more funny than Jax, but he appeased us, and the picture is of Tye, taking after his father...sorry Russ.
This is as close as I will ever be able to get to matching outfits, but I have to admit, they were so cute! If you look closely, you will notice they aren't exactly matching, but very similar. Russ did not make too big of a deal, but he did notice. :)
This is Jax's everyday look, hence the nickname "stone cold"...
but when he does smile...boy does it melt your heart!
Jax was 6 months yesterday and where did that time go? He is sitting up, has his first tooth and learning to like food. It has not come natural to him, and as long as I warm it up, he tolerates it. He loves his big brother and when he is crying, all it takes is a smile from Tye and he is great. It is adorable. We call him "stone cold", because it takes a very silly mom to make him crack a smile, but he is an absolute joy, and we are so thankful God has blessed us with him in our lives.
Your son learns how to use the word "GRUMPY" (Thanks Backyardigans!). So it was 5:30pm and I was in the middle of dinner when Tye says,"Gotta pee", so I shoo-ed him to the bathroom. He has been doing so good going in the potty, I thought I would give him his privacy and let him go with no supervision...well, a few seconds later, I hear the music from the potty, so I smile like a proud mommy would and then I hear, "OH NO, MOMMY I NEED HELP!" I am thinking, what could go wrong? So I walk in and see Tye standing on top of the potty chair trying to pee like a dad would, and of course he is upset because he made a wet mess all over the floor. The majority made it in, but his aim was not the best. So I am like, "YUCK! You can't stand on the potty that way." So he gets his rag and proceeds to clean it up and then instead of standing to empty the potty, he is sitting on the floor when he tries to empty it and he spills it all over the floor. "YUCK!, YUCK! TYE!" I said, with a loud groan of frustration. I just wanted to finish dinner. So Tye looked up at me with his big eyes and said, "Mommy, are you grumpy?, Why are you grumpy?" I could not help but laugh, and we both laughed together and I asked him, "Where did you hear that?" and he replied, "the Grumpy Emperor on The Backyardigans." Then Russ walked through the door. Hope that brings a smile to your face today. :)
Okay, so I did not realize it has been this long since our last post, and I think I said that last time. Yes, it has been busy, but still...grandparents need pics of grandkids, right? So I wont go through all the events of the past month, but here are a few highlights. Jax still hates baby food and yes, it has been about a month now. He shivers and gags with everything except the "oatmeal with bananas" cereal. Any suggestions? I have tried a few of the veggies, because I heard you are to start with those first, but he can't even get more than one bite down without gagging and that is just over the taste of it. It can't be a texture or thickness thing. I simply dip the spoon in and dab it on his lips. Silly boy! I am open for any comments or suggestions on this matter. Should I just go ahead with the fruits and try those? Other than that, he is starting to sit up on his own, and then slowly, slowly leans to the side until he laying down, which is fine with him these days, because he can roll like a champ. He is also sleeping through the night! Yea!!! He is giving us the 12 hours now, and can't be more excited about that. But, you know with kids, it is always something changing.
As for Tye, we officially started potty-training last weekend, and Tye did fantastic. I recommend the book, "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" by Nathan Azrin and Richard M. Foxx. Starting at 9am, Saturday morning, diapers were gone, and we had a few accidents in the morning, but he held it through naptime and only one small accident that evening. I thought it did not work, but he made it all night, and we have not had another peeing accident since. Now going #2 was a different story. We realized he was not a huge fan of going in the potty. So I had to come up with a serious reward. We decided on riding the 4-wheeler at Grandad's house was big enough, and sure enough...we were over there today and congrats to Tye...he pooped and was so shocked with himself! He looked down usually impressed with his pee, but to his surprise, his eyes got huge and looked at me and yelled "I pooped! It is big!" Needless to say, there was much celebration and 4-wheeler riding. Anyway, it has gone well. That may be too much information for some of you, but I am a happy momma. It is stressful though...always thinking about where the potty is and when did he go last, etc.
Lastly, we celebrated the 4th of July in Fredericksburg, and it was so much fun. The whole family was there, and then some. Yes, that made 18 of us. We all managed to fit, and had a great time riding tractors, going to the parade, doing a little shopping, and good food. Here are a few pictures from the parade. Tye had so much fun, he came home and had a parade for himself.
Here are some videos...
If you were to take Shane Mikeska and Russ and put them side by side as 5 month olds, I am sure this is what you would have seen...this makes me crack up, because it is so their daddy's personalities. Shane is the super active, excited one, and Russ is the laid back, go with the flow kind of guy...perfectly displayed!
Here is Tye taking a go at the guitar.
I could not pass up my little munchkin' getting in on some of the action. He loves making sound. He is my little noisemaker. If something makes sound he is shaking it, rattling it, hitting it, whatever. I love it, at least for now. Not so sure when he is 15, though.
There was nothing too exciting this past week, but lots of fun and absolutely adorable pictures, so thought I would just share a few of those this week.
We started Jax on rice cereal this past week and the first few days, he hated it. I thought "oh no...this is going to be fun." But, 2 days later and trying the rice cereal with fruit and he is a champ and can't seem to get enough of it.
This is just Jax being cute in his big boy high chair. It swallows him, but he knows he gets to eat in it, so that brings a smile to his face.
For some reason, I have a hard time getting Tye to leave Grandad's houes. Wonder why?
We went to Discovery Green down by the Convention Center last week and once Tye got used to the volume of water squirting from the fountains, he loved it. You can tell by the smile on his face. It was great, but if you go, make sure to show up after the YMCA Day Camp finishes their field trip. The big kids are a bit intimidating to a little 3 foot tike.
Last, but not least, is my sewing project. After years of searching, I finally found fabric to make pillows for our couch (at a quilt store in Atlanta back in April), and thanks to my mom for her patience and her sewing expertise, I have one of four made.
I am not complaining, but whew...what a month. Well, I guess more like a half of May and half of June, but a good 4 weeks, nonetheless. We had a bout of sickness run through the family for a good few weeks, and that was exhausting. Everyone got sick except for Jax, thank goodness. Although, you never get sick at the same time, it is just one after another, so it lasts forever. Then, we went to Port Aransas, for our annual beach vacation (well, Russ would not call it a vacation, because we had our kids and he says that if you can't sleep in then it is not a vacation to him, so really I should just term it our beach trip. For me, it is a vacation if we are anywhere but our house, but oh well.) Gary and Cecile were supposed to join us, but Gary got bronchitis the day before, so they drove back to Dallas. My mom got sick while we were there, too, but with a dose of steroid and antibiotics, she was able to make the best of it. We had a great time and Tye loved the beach this time, and Jax loved to sleep at the beach. We missed you Grammy & Pappa. Here is the link to our beach pictures..I think you will have to copy and paste.
Then, we went to Guatemala a week and a half later. Thank you so much for all of your prayers. The team was fantastic and it was good to see all of our missionary friends. Our new doctor and wife, Sherwood and Areli were there and we got a chance to get to know them better, so that was great. Russ loved the fact that they have a motorcycle that they let us take for a ride while they watched our kids (Thanks, guys) The new addition is complete and beautiful, and Kathleen, Alma, and Linda came down to repaint the dorm rooms, YEA! Arnold and his family are doing great and the school is pretty much done and ready to open in January.
It was a great trip, although it is bittersweet for very routined children. Tye was into everything and Jax was a fuss-bucket. That is how I would describe them overall this past week. There are always adventures, though. Unfortunately, they were mostly at 3am, which is never good. My favorite night was when Tye fell off the bed onto the concrete floor at 1pm, which scares me silly and takes me about an hour to go back to sleep and then Tye wakes up at 3pm saying "Mommy, there is a mouse under my bed!" (which would not surprise me). I asked him how he knew and he responded with "it went pst, pst, pst". So how do you convince a 2 year old that there is not a mouse under his bed and that it was a dream, and to not wake up his 4 month old little brother who is sleeping right next to him. So about an hour later, he decided that his bed is okay again. Then, both kids are awake at 5:30am. What fun! We just have to laugh at it now, but me not getting my 7 hours of sleep makes for an impatient mommy. We did have a great time with the team and had a chance to go with them to Lake Atitlan on our way home, it is gorgeous. Anyway, here is a link to our pictures. ENjoy.
We are heading to Guatemala to host a mission team from the Houston area. We will be there for about 10 days so please be in prayer for patience and love as we are taking our entire family. We are looking forward to going and a little anxious about taking both boys. I think they will be fine but this is our first major trip without any family extended family help so we are praying for the Lord's provision. Thanks
I thank the Lord for giving me the incredible responsibility and privilege of being a mother to these 2 special boys.
I love being a mother because I get the most beautiful flowers on Mother's day, and a super cute Mother's Day Out card. Yes, that is my son's cheesy smile and a bent artificial daisy, but I love it.
Last but not least...to see my son take after me (just a little). He lines up his cars and little people just perfectly and feels the need to share his snacks with his cars and trucks.
Nothing profound, but just a few cute photos to share. Blessings, Bethany
Well, we have been sick around here and so the last week or so has been pretty slow. Slow enough in fact, that Russ got out-engineered on the front porch of our house. Not too long after we moved in to our house, we noticed that the top of one of our porch columns was a favored spot for local bird populations to nest. Shortly after this discovery, Russ engineered (not what he majored in at aTm) and installed an anti-nesting device on the top of the column (basically a few pieces of plywood screwed on top of the post to make a sharp incline so that the birds cannot perch on top of the post to build a nest). This device has yet to be painted so it is easily seen in the pictures below.
This device worked for a couple of years until a very determined bird couple decided to make an attempt at building a nest on top of the post. Seeing the progress of this couple as they began to bring mud and small sticks and plastering them directly on the anti-nesting device, Russ impeded their progress by tearing down what had been accomplished by the birds. He knocked it down a second time after the birds did not get the message the first time. Now, you are probably asking, "Why not just let the birds do their thing and enjoy the opportunity to observe nature at work?". We are happy to let nature run its course but as we observed "nature" on our front porch, "nature" started leaving presents on our concrete as they were building their nest. This is something that Russ did not like seeing on the porch as he walked out the door each day to go to work. Also, the birds made a habit of dive-bombing anyone, including Bethany and the boys, anytime that they walked out the front door of our house. We have two small boys who like to put things in their mouth and touch everything in sight, so Russ decided to take more drastic measures to deter the birds from continuing their nest building (somewhat to Bethany's disapproval). I will spare you the details of what exactly was done but lets just say that Russ sent a message to the bird couple that they cannot forget (well at least one of them, and the other member of the couple has not returned to rebuild the nest). We are happy for these birds to make nests anywhere else in our neighborhood except on our front porch. Here is a picture of the nest that was built before the final discouragement of the nest building. Feel free to voice your opinion about Russ's efforts.
Here are a few pictures from the past week or so. I think Tye has finally accepted Jax as part of the family. He is starting to carry on conversation with him and telling him about his cars and trucks. He is already teaching him his colors and the names of his little people...you know, the important stuff.
Here is our family photo for this year...I did not get a chance to take it before Tye jumped into the big mud puddle at my parent's house...so here it is. He loved it, so it makes for a great memory. Below are the last 3 years of Easter pics, and a few videos I have taken recently of the two kiddo's and my wonderful husband...enjoy!
Jax had his 2 month appointment this morning and wow...I can't believe it has been 2 months already. He is weighing in at 12 lbs, 14 oz. and 24 inches long. He is in the 95th percentile for both height and weight. That is my boy, and cute as anything! He is smiling and cooing now, and it is nice to have acknowlegement for all of those feedings, burpings and diaper changes.
Yep, here it is the blackmail photo for now...I am sure there will be another one in the future that will replace this one, but the fact that he matched his heels to his shirt is pretty impressive.
Tye helped Russ pull weeds last week, and as you can see from the truck bed...it was a success. The funny thing is that since Russ was using gloves, Tye decided that he needed his gloves, so he came in (by himself) and got my 'Ove Glove out of the cabinet and proceeded to help out.
Here are a few pictures of the kids at the rodeo last week. We will eventually make it into some of these pictures, I hope. Tye had a blast and Jax...well, he enjoyed a chance to catch a few more zzz's.
Okay, so it has been 3 weeks again, since our last post...sorry about that. I won't try to catch up on the last 3 weeks, I will just give a little update from the past week, and of course pictures.
We went to Fredericksburg last weekend, for my great-grandmothers 105th birthday party. The whole family was able to make it, and I was so excited to be going out of town for the first time in 4 months. It was going to be Jax's first road trip as well. We had a great trip up and had a chance to visit with our friends, Chris and Adrianne Collins and their 2 little boys. They had a great time playing. Got to F'burg and Tye played hard, rode the tractor and got extremely dirty...I was thinking this was what the rest of the weekend would be like...until about 2:00am when Tye woke up with a fever, vomiting and the big-d. We were hoping for only a 24 hour stomach bug, but unfortunately it lasted a grand 48 hours. Russ was a trooper and took care of Tye so I could keep Jax as far away as possible. I think the rest of us have made it through okay, and Tye is on the mend, but needless to say...what a weekend. I told my aunt that we were going to have to redo that trip, for sure.
Here are the boys on our ride home from F'burg. Tye sick and sleeping with Tigger by his side, and Jax, well...being Jax.
On a lighter note...here is my story for the day. We were getting ready for Tye's nap this afternoon and as we were finishing up reading our books, Russ called with a question, so as I am talking to him, Tye jumps into our bathtub. This was no big deal, he does it all the time when we are in there. So a minute or two later, when I got off the phone, I went in to check on him, bc I did not hear him get out. Where was he? I had no idea and I did not see him anywhere...checked our closets, checked the bathroom, checking our bedroom...went back into the bathroom, but no Tye. I started panicking a little, and so I called out for him "Tye, where are you?"...nothing! Yikes! So, I called again, "TYE!" Then, I heard a little giggle...whew, at least he was around somewhere and was breathing, but where? I had no idea, so I called again, and heard another giggle, but no movement, and finally I tracked the voice to under our sheets on our bed. He was hiding still as a mouse totally under our sheets. That was a first, and it made me nervous. He was so good at hiding and being quiet...what if he did that when we were out? Yikes!
Jax is doing great and is now cooing and smiling when you give him your undivided attention. He still needs a parent to protect him from big brother, but he is working on his boxing moves when I hold a toy above him, he swings at it like a champ. Life is flying by, and we are adjusting. Jax is now giving us about a 5-7 hour stint at night, so we are seeing light at the end of the sleep deprived tunnel. Hope you are all well...
