The Kings: October 2013

with both kids old enough to really get dressed up this year, i struggled with ideas for costumes. neither kid is really old enough to tell me what they might want to be, and i didn't want to spend a ton of money on a costume they probably wouldn't wear for more than an hour or two. eventually i settled on the idea that we should have our own Sheriff Woody and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story -- a family favorite around here. i was able to get everything for the costumes from resale shops and the craft store and i was actually pretty pleased with the result.

the best part of noah's costume was the he walked around saying "howdy, howdy, howdy!!!" he said this repeatedly until i reminded him of some other phrases, so by the time halloween got here he was saying, "there's a snake in my boot!" and "somebody poisoned the water hole!" :D

here are some pictures of our sheriff

and our not-so-thrilled-to-be-in-costume lady buzz

a few pictures of the dynamic duo

the first time we tried out the costumes was actually for the childers children's birthday bash, which is always held during the halloween season with a big party, festive foods, and costumes. it's usually on a saturday, which means we can't go, but this year it was on a sunday so we were able to join in the fun!

some pics from the party: the (temporary) tattoo table

the karaoke room

birthday cake x 3!

enjoying a fire (in the new fire pit!)

ready for some trick-or-treating on halloween:

another month and so much changing around here! first, i should mention that we had our first real round of sickly kids. it literally brought most things to a halt around here. early in the month noah started running fever (a thursday), by the next morning at 11am he had developed a barky cough. the ER nurse in me knew it was croup, and that it was *bad* croup if he was already coughing during the day. he was also burning up with fever and we were having to alternate tylenol and motrin. i eventually gave in and had to take him to an urgent care clinic (the one i used to work at) to get him a dose of steroids because i had exhausted anything i could do at home to help keep him calm and comfortable. the next day we continued to battle fever, struggle through breathing treatments, and the poor kid would only nap while sleeping on my chest. i went to work late on saturday to keep an eye on him for a while longer (and because i hadn't slept in roughly two days). by the next day he was improving, but sammy seemed like she might feel warm. sure enough, by the next day she had developed croup, too. so while noah was regaining strength and returning to his normal chatty, playful self, sammy just wanted to be held and snuggled. we battled fever again, and fortunately did not have to make a trip to the clinic.

the faces of croup:

some movie and snuggle time with daddy:

by the time both kids were on the mend, i caught some adult form or croup/laryngitis or something and lost all my energy and my voice. it was bad enough that even though i didn't miss work (i never had a fever), matt made me stay home from church on sunday. i am happy to report that 1) matt never seemed to catch whatever the adult crud was and 2) everyone is healthy now! we also made a trip to the arboretum, i'll post some pics in a separate post. but we got the chance to explore the new children's garden and see the pumpkins and it was great!

onto the kiddos: noah has started asserting more independence, he loves to ride his bigwheels (even though his feet don't really reach the pedals) and tell us that he's "lightning mcqueen." he also insists every morning that he is the one to feed lexi, and cries if he finds out she has already been fed. he has also transitioned to telling us when he needs to go to the bathroom, which is easier for everyone. it's wonderful to not have to take him every hour or so, and he's been staying dry during the day without much issue. he also insists on picking out his undies every morning -- don't try to pick for him unless you are willing to listen to a very upset child tell you that he wanted buzz lightyear instead of superman....

our little floor sleeper:

noah also sprouted 4 new teeth this past week. yes, FOUR! he has been a little slow to get his teeth, i've mentioned before, and he was still missing his canines, well, no more! he now has 4 pointy little teeth sticking up in all the previously empty spaces. it didn't seem to cause him any trouble at all, i just happened to notice one day while he was laughing and i verified that night while brushing his teeth. i also feel i should mention that noah continues to love reading books and will now sit on the floor and read picture books to sam. so sweet :) i also notice him reading with the same inflection that i read or that matt read's with, which is cute to hear. he also enjoys a game i added to the kindle fire called "monkey preschool lunchbox" that has numbers, letters, shapes, and puzzle games. when i first added it he couldn't maneuver through all the games -- there's one that is a memory/matching game that he would get really frustrated with -- but now he can do them all without help and will even ask to play every morning while i'm getting dressed and/or while we are preparing breakfast. he will even bring the kindle and say "mommy, can i play monkee pre-shool lunchbox now?" we have also recently been serenaded by our two-year old. among favorite songs to sing are "the wheels on the bus," "itsy bitsy spider," and "it's raining, it's pouring." he does surprisingly well with the lyrics and will even sing to sam when she gets upset. such a great brother.

even great brothers lock their baby sisters behind the dog gate...

sam shows off her first set of pigtails (but it certainly won't be the last, i'm certain!)

speaking of sweet samantha, she is seeming to mirror her older brother's actions more and more (fortunately it's mostly the good ones for now!). when noah rides his bigwheels, sammy wants to ride the tricycle. unfortunately her legs are just a bit too short to reach the pedals, also, so this consists of her sitting on the tricycle and matt or myself pushing her around. she *loves* it though, so we are usually willing to do this for much longer than our back care to support. she also enjoys playing on the kindle, but plays the game that i originally loaded for noah around the time sam was born -- a barn game that just allows you to tap each animal and hear the sound. she now can immitate a cow "mmmmmmmmm" and a dog, which she readily does anytime she sees lexi or hears lex bark to come inside "wff, wffff." also like noah, sam sprouted two new teeth this month, both of her top front incisors. her little toothy grin is filling in :D and, one of her new favorite games to play is right before bedtime: she and noah each grab their loveys then crawl/run around in sam's bedroom and throw themselves on the floor. i'm not sure why, but to them, it's absolutely hilarious, which makes it incredibly fun to watch.

using a fork for the 1st time!

we figured out how to climb: steps, the fireplace, everything!

developmentally, sam has started signing for "all done" (in addition to "more" and "please") and now says "this" to pretty much everything. she has also begun standing without assistance for 30 seconds or more, and even took one single, unassisted step right in front of me! of course, she still doesn't seem to really care to trade in her crawling for walking, i think she doesn't see any reason to change what's working for her. the best part about her standing and ability to balance so well, though, can be witnessed when she wants to dance to the radio. she now will stand and swing her arms wide and clap, she looks like she's at a concert and i love it. she's pleased as punch to stand there and clap for a while, until she really wants to shake around at which point she'll drop to the floor and start bouncing on her knees or her bottom. the girl really loves to dance. check my other posts for pics from the trip to the arboretum and of the kids halloween costumes!

a boy and his dog:

teasing her with rawhide bones