Monday, March 29, 2010

One Year!

It is so hard to believe a year has passed since my little boy was born.

Gus is eating anything and everything.  It is nice to make only one meal and have it work for all four of us.  The only thing that has been hard to keep from Gus is peanut butter.  John lives off of peanut butter and Gus has already had his fair share (not because I gave it to him).  Because of Gus grabbing and eating everything I was very happy to hear from the doctor that Gus has no eating restrictions.  YAY! We also switched to whole milk last month and subsequently ditched the bottles.  This transition was pretty easy.  I fear the pacifier disappearance will not be as easy.

My parents were here last week, so we celebrated Gus' birthday then.  John helped me make cupcakes and we frosted them with orange, yellow and green frosting.  Gus thoroughly enjoyed his cupcake.



Gus wanted to touch the candle so bad.


He got really mad when Hans wouldn't let him touch the flame.
Time for a bath!

He also got lots of fun presents.  Thank you to all of the Aunts, Uncles, Grandmas, Grandpas, Great Grandmas and Great Grandpas that sent cool presents and thoughtful cards.  Gus has thoroughly enjoyed opening, closing and then eating all of the cards.  And, John has enjoyed playing with all of Gus' new toys.
John couldn't wait to open up presents.  Gus could care less.
He may not have cared to unwrap it, but he sure loved playing with it.

Gus loves to roll the big red ball he got from John through the tunnel he got from Aunt Diane, Uncle Tim, Jimmy and Ericka.
He also loves to push the tunnel all over the room.

Thursday, we went to the doctor for Gus' one year check-up.  Our appointment was actually scheduled for Wednesday, but with all the wet, slushy snow that fell Tuesday night and Wednesday morning it just wasn't meant to be.  So, the next day, I took both boys in for the check-up.  August is doing well.  He is in the 80th percentile for weight at 25 pounds and the 60th percentile for height at 30 inches.  He is happy, healthy and growing.  He didn't leave the doctors office happy as he had to get 5 shots that day.  I'm not sure if it was more traumatic for Gus, whose scream nearly burst my eardrums, John, who was yelling at the nurses to stop hurting his brother, or the other patients, who had no choice but to listen to the eardrum bursting screams as the sound traveled through the whole office.  Gus has already proven to be a bit of a drama king, as he was back to his normal happy and mischievous self in a matter of minutes.






Monday, March 22, 2010

TOT

While we were in Texas a friend of mine invited John to take part in a preschool program she does called TOT. This is a great program that teaches children so much more than ball handling.  I was amazed at how well John watched and listened...and then tried to take charge.
Following directions.
Dribbling.  He needs a little help with this.

Team spirit!  GO TOTS!!!

I wish I could have made this picture a bit clearer.  This was the free dance portion of the afternoon.
They had so many seconds to dance and then the music stopped so they could freeze.  This is how John decided to freeze.

John's friend, Eli, just noticed that John's shirt had Thomas, James and Percy on it.  He wanted the shirt.  He looked at it like this for a LONG time.  Boys and their trains.




Friday, March 19, 2010

The Tales of John

I was asking John if he need to go to the bathroom because he seemed to be doing the potty dance.  He didn't answer me so I asked again a little louder.  He then told me, "Whoa, whoa, easy, easy, I already went potty.  I just need my pants snapped."  Keep in mind the hand was out and pointed to me as if he was telling me to stop.

Lately John's been saying "Don't worry..." and then completing the rest of the sentence.  Like, the other day when he said, "Don't worry Mommy, I won't hurt myself when I jump from this high step."  And, until he had told me not to worry, I hadn't even known he was trying to jump from the high step.

Whenever we tell John no, or whenever he has done something he shouldn't, he has been saying, "I'm sorry, but..."  So, the other day he took an object and scratched some lines into my dad's leather recliner....yep, that is my son.  I just about had a heart attack and he said, "I'm sorry, but I just want to draw a whale."  It is as if he thinks that if he explains why he should, needs or wants to do something, it suddenly becomes acceptable.  Thankfully, his whale drawing has rubbed out, and my mom didn't even get upset.  I'm pretty sure Mark or I would have gone into Kindergarten with bruised butts if we had done this.  I'm amazed how much crap a grandkid can get away with.

We've had to get onto John for saying "stupid."  The only time he ever said this word was when he went through his phase when he would ask us if we were stupid.  This phase was months ago, but our talks of not saying the word stupid must have paid off, because if he hears you say stupid now, he will tell you we don't say that word.  He will, however, tell you that Bulgy, a character on Thomas and Friends, says, "stupid nonsense."  I've never heard the word stupid used on the Thomas show, but it must have been.  Since John knows he isn't supposed to say the word he won't actually say Bulgy's line out loud, but will go to each person one by one and whisper what Bulgy said in your ear.



Monday, March 8, 2010

Texas Travels

So, about a week ago I drove the boys to Texas for a week.  Aside from a few crying fits, the boys actually did quite well in the car.  I find this reassuring since there is NO WAY we will ever be able to afford to buy plane tickets for everyone.  There is also NO WAY I will subject myself to airport time and plane time with these two boys by myself.

For the first half of our trip my grandparents were in town so the boys got to spend a lot of time with them.  John loved playing his Great Grandpa and had no shame in favoring one grandpa over the other.
 Great Grandpa spent a lot of time on the floor.
Rescuing Gus from the big mud puddle.  Gus didn't think he needed to be rescued.
A much needed nap.
Gus got to open his birthday gift from the Great Grandparents early.  He decided the best way to unwrap was with his teeth.
He loved his cars.
Out of the 300 pictures taken this was the best one.  We'll try again this summer.

The boys also had a great time playing with Uncle Mark.  John would run to the end of the hall, knock on Mark's door then run away.  This was a big game for most of the week, and Mark was able to scare John a few times, which John thought was hilarious.
 
 
 John smoked Uncle Mark in a game of Memory.  And John was trash talking the whole time.  Where did he learn that?

While we were in town we hit some of my favorite restaurants like Fresco's and Babe's.  I also indulged in a little Whataburger and Taco Bueno, two places I never thought about until I moved to a place they were no longer available.  

I also got to visit with a few friends, but find I never have enough time to see everyone.  For those of you I didn't get to this time...I'll be back.  Other than that, we pretty much stuck close to home, played and relaxed.  We had a wonderful time and can't wait to visit again this summer.
John's pants got slightly wet because he stepped in a mud puddle.  He can't wear wet pants and had to take them off...right there.
Playing soccer with Great Grandpa.
 
  
The Baconhead Club...very exclusive.

Hey Grandmas!!!  We need more pictures with you next time!!!