Happy Halloween!

Jemma went trick-or-treating with Amy & Claire and Merin & Mya. Amy brought Jemma home pretty quick because Jemma was scared of the masks. James and I sat outside and gave out candy for a little while... it was such a nice evening!

Here are the kids in costume:

Here are Jemma, Mya and Claire on Mya's front steps:

Wendy came over with her boys trick or treating. She made Donovan's polar express costume... I wish I was that creative!

James ready to go to bed in his ghost pj's:

Tuesday, 10/30

We had such fun at Hunt Club Farm yesterday. We met Vicki, Kara & Trevor & Rae & Ryder. We petted goats and llamas, played on the swings and slides, went on the hayride, and Jemma rode a pony!

Rae had fun feeding and petting the goats, too! Jemma thought that this was just wonderful!

Vicki put James on the pony and he loved the saddle.

Trevor put James on the pony with Jemma, too!

It is Fall!

Here is Jemma before school this morning. It was her first day of wearing her pretty tights. It was a chilly Fall day, so she wore tights and a sweater.
This afternoon Jemma came and told me, "Mommy, I had an accident. My panties are wet. I went pee-pee on the rug and all over the floor... it is everywhere... it went squish and it is all wet." I couldn't get angry over an accident and her description was just so endearing and cute. She was correct... there was pee all over the bathroom... I wonder at how her bladder holds so much! She had already taken the rug from the bathroom and put it in the laundry room. Thank goodness accidents are relatively infrequent!

Merin & Mya and Jody & Elena & Luc came over for dinner. I cooked a chicken and rolls and mac-n-cheese, Merin brought sweet potato fries and Jody brought a salad... I love sharing dinner and letting the kids play. It helps the time pass quicker! We all miss our husbands when they are away...

Sunday

Jemma woke my parents bright and early. She was so excited to see Granny and Papa! She had such fun playing horses and with her doll house with Papa before breakfast. Papa was surprised that James was crawling so fast and pulling up already. The kids had fun and so did Papa and Granny! James loved Papa's hat... he just giggled and tried to take it off!

I took Jemma to our neighborhood Halloween party Sunday afternoon. It was windy and chilly, but the kids had fun! Here is Jemma in a contest to see who could be the best Mummy.

Well!

The kids are well! No more runny noses and waking all hours of the night! Yippie!!! Jemma still has a little lingering cough, but it is much, much better. Here is Jim reading a bedtime story to Jemma last night. We read her 2 books every night, and we never know what she is going to choose to read!

Jim left for training in Key West this morning. Jemma had a few moments of acting out. She put her hands in her cereal and bit me on the shoulder (which she was in major trouble for), but now she is back to her "normal" little self. Jemma took this picture of her Daddy:James was crawling around while I made lunch today, which is not unusual. I looked over and he had opened the stove drawer... Jemma never opened that drawer. Oh, how different kids can be! And he has a fascination with electrical outlets... thank goodness for outlet covers!

We went to a Halloween party this afternoon and Jemma had a pretzel stick dipped in chocolate and covered with sparkly sprinkles. She sat and enjoyed every sprinkly chocolate bit... then gave me the pretzel portion that had no chocolate. Is she my daughter, or what?!? Upon arrival home, she shouted "It's Mya" and ran to greet our neighbor... it was like they had not seen each other in years! They played outside for over 3 hours until I made Jemma come inside for dinner, bath, and bed. I made Jemma dinner (an entire plate of spaghetti, grapes, strawberries, and cheese) before I went to put James in bed. When I came back downstairs, Jemma said "Mommy I want more, please." "More what?" I asked. She wanted more of everything... her plate was completely empty. I checked the trash just to be sure, but she had indeed ate everything. So I refilled it, and she ate everything again. Now they are both sleeping.

My parents arrived and I am sure they will have fun with the kids in the morning.

Wednesday

My wonderful husband sent me for a massage. It was so relaxing! Then, I returned home briefly to shower and change and go to a spouses' meeting. He fed the kids, they played, and he put them to bed. It was an afternoon and evening off for me! Ken arrived late for the brothers' trip to VT for the BC game.

Thursday

Jim and Ken went to VT for the football game. Here is Uncle Ken with the kids in the morning. He tried to explain to Jemma what "re-racking" meant, but she was not interested in going back to bed... she wakes going 100 mph and expects everyone else to keep up! James has learned to clap. It is so funny to watch him respond to your clapping or to clap when you say "Yeah James!" He is generally such a happy, happy little guy! It rained and Jemma was extremely happy to play in the puddles! Can you tell that she dressed herself? Jemma's friend, Derek, came to play on Thursday. James wanted to play with them both so, so much!

It was a sad night for the Hokies. Our football team did so well until the final moments. Hopefully, next year...

Friday

The Fall Festival party at Jemma's school was partially cancelled due to rain. They still had a small party in the classroom, but the costume parade and hayride were cancelled. Jemma still had a great time. Here she is singing "Gray squirrel, swish your bushy tail..."Daddy returned home from Blacksburg and we had a wonderful night with the kids. Here is James pushing up and exploring...We shared the video from the school party with Daddy. Then Jemma and Daddy danced and played as only a daddy and daughter can... "swing me again daddy, upside down, higher"... I've learned to just stand back and let them have fun! I love the laughter and squeals of delight!! :)

Up and Moving!

James pulled up on the couch today and took 2 steps! Just cruising along the couch steps, but actual feet movement. Then he plopped himself down and gave me the biggest grin and giggle! He was so happy with himself.

The kids are still not 100% well. They are both in good spirits, which is wonderful! We did visit the doctor again today. Jemma no longer has the croupy cough, but she has a deep wet cough instead. The doctor said it is a sinus infection, so she is on an antibiotic. Where do kids get all these germs?!? And James has mild croup. I agreed with the doctor to wait on medication and see if it gets better with time. She believes that he is getting good anitbodies through breastmilk... I'm hoping that they keep him well!! :)

I pulled out the finger paints for Jemma today. She wanted to use a brush instead of her hands, so she finger painted with a brush! Later she used some little Halloween stamps AND her fingers! James was waiting for his dinner... he has some little internal clock that says "5:00 is food time" and he doesn't want to wait much longer to eat!

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Fridays are no uniform days for Jemma. She chose to wear her dress on Friday and it was in the 80's, so I agreed that it was a good choice! Friday night was very relaxing. We had dinner, then took a walk around the neighborhood. It was a perfect evening with great weather... wonderful family time.






Here is our little man happily crawling.

Saturday: We took the kids to the Harvest Festival at the Farmer's Market. I love the Farmer's Market. We got acorn squash, green beans and tomatoes. For the Festival, they had several bouncy houses, a little hay maze, tractor displays, hay rides (we skipped that since we had just done one on Thursday), and food (we ate lunch at home so we skipped eating, but it smelled like a fair). Jemma loves bouncy houses, so she was just thrilled to jump! And Jemma rode a pony, Batman. It was a cute little pony and Jemma was so happy to do it "All by myself!" James loved looking at the 2 geese in the pen. He just looked at them and giggled and bounced up and down in the stroller like he wanted to get down and pet one! What a fun little afternoon.

Sunday: We went for a morning walk, then went to the park. It was so nice! Jemma and her daddy sat on the tennis court and watched 4 men play for a while. Apparently, one of the men thought she was "cute" so he gave her a tennis ball. She has been carrying around the tennis ball for days because she thinks it is special! We went out for dinner to Red Robin. It was the first time that we have been there and I was pleasantly surprised. The kids both did really well... there was so much to look at (TVs, balloons, bright colors, toy horses, etc.) and the food came out quickly. Our waitress was very polite and we all really enjoyed it! I took Jemma potty while we were at the restaurant and while I was away, Jim gave James a french fry! I could not believe it... we haven't even introduced white potatoes to him yet... nevermind that Jim was completely against giving Jemma a french fry ever... I was the one to finally let Jemma have a FF when she was over a year old, and Jim gives James one at 7 months! James loved it... he cried when I took it away, so Jim gave him another. After our little adventure out, we had time to go for a quick walk before dark. It was a great day!! :)

Now, it is 10 and bedtime! James only woke once last night, but Jemma was up before 6:30 this morning... and we have been moving and going all day! I even washed the minivan while Jemma napped this afternoon. Today is our last 80+ degree day forecasted... I think Fall weather may be coming...

Sleep... where did it go?!?

I feel like we have a newborn again!! James decided that he should be awake from midnight until 2:30 last night. He just would not got back to sleep... and since they have both been sick, we all are lacking sleep these past few days! The great news is that both kids are fever free and starting to eat well again. James started eating yogurt yesterday. He seems to really like it. So far, his favorites are acorn squash, sweet potatoes, pears and oatmeal. He doesn't really like peaches, bananas and green beans, but he will eat them. There has not been anything yet that he refuses to eat! :) Isn't he cute in the Bob the Builder hat?!? Here is Jemma in the pants she calls her "doctor pants" which I don't know why. She loves building with blocks.

I took Jemma to the doctor on Tuesday because her cough was worrisome. I love our doctor. She is so patient and explains everything so wonderfully and she always sees us the same day that we call. I called Tuesday morning at 8:45 and we were in her office at 10. It was our third trip to visit her in less than 3 weeks. First it was the red splotches, then it was croup and now it is a cough. She gave us a presciption for some cough syrup and the cough is still there but getting better. Jemma is up to 28 lbs... James is just over 21 lbs... my shoulders and back are sore from carrying them around so much lately! Here they are playing together.

We went to Hunt Club Farm today. We went on a hayride, Jemma played on the hay stack and petted the goats and a chicken, then we got pumpkins for Jemma and James. The kids had fun!! :) For anyone looking for a baby bathtub, I highly recommend the Eurobath by Primo. It is a great shower gift! James can sit up by himself or lean back and splash. Tonight, he was sitting up in the tub while I gave Jemma a shower. He was just so happy to play with his bathtoys and giggle at his sister! I didn't worry about him because he could lean back and the sides didn't allow him to roll over and he was secure. It is so nice to be able to have both kids in the bath together! Jim is still at work and the kids are in bed... I'm going to finish watching Grey's Anatomy and then I'm off to bed too.

On the mend...

James is finally starting to be his "normal" little self again. He has been fussy with a low grade fever and runny nose since Wednesday. I don't know whether it is teething or a little cold. Either way, I'm ready for my happy baby boy to return to sleeping through the night and playing happily. He has had periods of happiness during these past few days, which have been just wonderful. He crawled from the living room into the kitchen for the first time on Thursday. Before, he would just crawl around the living room... now he is adventursome! And I have to be extra careful because EVERYTHING goes into his mouth... goldfish or grapes that Jemma dropped, lint or a dryer sheet from the laundry, strings or straps or anything else that he can get his fast little hands on! Jemma was so good... she hardly ever put anything in her mouth and he is quite the opposite. Here are some pictures from Wednesday night... James was so happy that Daddy left his backpack on the ground... look a strap!!


Enough of that strap... he's off to explore something else...


Jemma went to school today. She still has a runny nose and cough, but the fever seems to be gone and her energy is returning. The teacher said she did great today. It was so strange for us to stay home Thursday, Friday and Saturday... we didn't venture out anywhere. I did take the kids outside for a stroll on Friday and Saturday because it was just beautiful weather, but they both stayed in the stroller and both were extremely quiet... you could definitely tell that both were not feeling well!


I threw a little babyshower for Merin (my neighbor) on Sunday. We had it at a little restaurant called The Painted Lady. It was so, so nice! The food was fabulous, the service excellent, and the room was elegant and perfect. We all had such a great time and Merin seemed to really enjoy herself! I love babyshowers!! :) Jim kept both kids... James took a 3 1/2 hour nap (he never does that for me) and Jemma took a 1 1/2 hour nap on the living room floor. Apparently she decided that she was tired, so she took out her nap mat, laid on the floor, and went to sleep. I usually have to coax/battle to get her to take a nap! The kids always seem to do so nicely for their Daddy. When I returned, he had them both at the park and they were just as happy as ever.

Now it is 8 pm on Monday night and both kids are in bed, Jim is reviewing information for his 5 AM brief and I am going to try to get myself organized for the upcoming weeks! Plus I need to get to bed soon... if James' pattern continues, he will be up at least 3 times tonight...