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
