Christmas 2011

We have had a GREAT Christmas break! It all started with a "surprise" visit (well, for everyone but me!) from Conor's best friend, his sister, and his niece starting Thursday night! His best bud Stephie drove all the way from Tennessee and showed up at around midnight. We decided we should wake Conor up by tapping him lightly on the shoulder. I should've know better, because he's done it to me before, but he awoke in a defensive stance about to karate chop/punch us in the face. He must've been dreaming about jui-jit-su.  They got to hang out Friday while Jack and I went to one more day of school! As soon as I could, I left school and headed straight to the airport to get Kerry and Stephanie, Conor's sister and niece. Jack still didn't know, because he was reading his book the whole time. He didn't even know until we were about 5 minutes away from the airport. He asked why we were driving around Houston. I just kept saying that I just wanted to drive around. Then we went pulled into the airport, he was really curious. I went into this speech about how it's the holidays and we should be in the giving spirit and help people in need. So I said we should look for people who might need a ride somewhere. Maybe I went too far, but I hadn't really planned anything to say so this is what I came up with. As soon as we pulled in, he said, "Those old people look like they might need help." I had to keep making up excuses, like, "They probably already called someone," or "That guy is on the phone calling for a ride right now." Kerry was at the very end. When I stopped, I said, "Those people might need help." It was pretty funny. Stephanie is one year younger than Trevor. Jack kept her entertained the whole way home. We had a good time hanging out, eventhough Trevor wasn't a fan of sharing with her.
Saturday was Conor's graduation from UHCL. Two out of the three children would NOT sit still, so it was interesting. But we managed to get back to the seats in time to see him walk and then again as he exited! We are all super proud of him for getting his Masters degree!
Wednesday, Jack and I went to Space Center Houston! They had a super cool mind bender exhibit. (Thanks Jess for the free tickets) Jack figured out how to cheat the system and only did half the puzzles to get on the wall of fame. Some of those puzzles were really tough!
Friday, we left for Tampa to see Conor's grandpa. Trevor had a good time playing with everyone, even his great grandpa, who he called "papa." When he says Nanny, it sounds more like Ninny. He did "okay" on the plane. His temper is getting a little out of hand. Otherwise, when he's happy, we have tons of fun! Jack loved climbing the tree in Grandpa's backyard. He said he wasn't going to come down at one point. He said, "The grass is my bathroom, this stick is my pillow, and I don't need a blanket because it's too hot out here!" It was unseasonably warm (almost 80 degrees I think) up until we went to Universal Studios. We were seriously considering buying swimsuits for the hotel pool. A cold front came through the day after Christmas though. It was really chilly when we were in Orlando. We left Tampa at 6:30 (which was 5:30 our time!) to get there when they opened at 8. It's a good thing we did, because it was so packed, that when I left Conor and Jack in line at the Harry Potter ride to go to Seuss Landing, I couldn't get back in without a ticket (which wasn't for a few hours later)!! But Trevor and I had fun on the Dr. Seuss rides for a few times before the lines got too long. Afterwards, we went to the Orlando mall, which was also packed, for a bit of shopping. We got to go in the M&M store, which was really cool!
We have had such a good time! It's going to stink to go back to school next week. I would have to say Jack is a bit spoiled at times....he still gets to go shopping with his Uncle Jeremy, while I still have lesson plans to do. : (
Pictures below:
The boys having a serious discussion.
Jack  the Chef cooking dinner, with a little help from Nanny.
Trevor giving Spiderman lots of hugs.
Trevor loving the Butterbeer so much, he would NOT give it up.
Riding on the carousel
Trevor cooking in his new kitchen
and the rest are pretty self-explanatory.

I love my boys, even...

when Trevor climbs into the laundry basket and demands his sippy cup be delivered to him.

when Trevor climbs into his shopping cart for a front row seat to Barney.

when Conor posts a picture of Barney on his facebook account (don't ask why) causing Trevor to remember how much he apparently loves Barney.

when we watch the same four episodes of Barney non-stop since then.

when Trevor and Spunky try to hide in the kitchen cabinets.

when they turn the plastic video rocker chairs upside down to turn them into slides!

when Trevor locks the door to the garage while I'm doing laundry (note to self - don't do this again if Jack or Conor aren't there to let me back in).

when Spunky annoyingly cries at 3 in the morning to come inside, but then curls up on the bed with us.

when Jack lies to me repeatedly about stuff like how he submitted a drawing and now it's the new character on the cartoon show. Yeah right, Jack!

when both the boys sing along to Journey from the backseat, but tell me to be quiet when I sing it in the store.

when both the boys drink CapriSun and leave their empty containers all over the house so I never know who to blame.

when they spin each other around in the desk chair and cry when they get hurt.

when Trevor screams bloody murder all the way down the hallway after we drop Jack off at Sunday school.


but most of all,

when Trevor runs down the hall singing, "Where is Mommy, Where is Mommy, I don't know?" (to the best of his ability)

when Jack asks Trevor for a kiss, then a hug.

when they ride in the PowerWheels together laughing/screaming or just chillin down the road.

when Trevor yells, "MOMMY!" when he sees me at daycare.

when I put Trevor in Jack's old clothes and think of how cute they both are/were in it!

when they sing their ABCs together!

when I tell Trevor to get his shoes so we can leave and he says, "Jack?" because he wants him to come too.

I wouldn't change a thing! : )

Trevor can sing his ABCs! He started doing it one day back at the end of September, but by now, it's recognizable! Last week, I was quizzing Jack over his spelling words. As he spelled them outloud, Trevor looked at him kind of funny and then started singing his ABCs. It was as if he was saying, "That's not right at all, Jack. It's like this!"

Trevor is still hitting Jack and me when he gets angry.  I walked out of the room one time, and I could hear Jack talking to Trevor about how he should be nice to Mommy. Then he tells him he needs to go apologize to me, walks him down the hall holding his hand, and said, "What do you have to say to Mommy, Trevor?"  I make Trevor apologize to Jack all the time, so Jack's heard that countless times. I'm glad he's actually using manners!

At a neighborhood garage sale where I was supposed to be making money, of course I spent plenty.  I couldn't help but notice the race car bed like Jack used to have out in someone's yard as I drove in to set up. I felt it was fate that it was still there when I finally made it down there. So now Trevor has a blue race car bed too! He was super excited about it. I can't say he sleeps better in it, but it's pretty darn cool!

A few weeks ago, we went for Trevor's final evaluation with the Ages and Stages Clinic at Texas Childrens. I haven't received the actual results yet, so based on what I remember, he is behind on his gross motor skills. He wouldn't talk for them at all, even though he warmed up to them pretty quickly. His problem solving skills were above what they should be. That doesn't surprise me at all. He is just very determined. From now on, we'll meet with a doctor once a year that follows them as they get older just to check their progress. Once we were done there, even though it was obvious he was ready for his nap, we walked over to the NICU to see if his nurses from two years ago were there. One doesn't work there anymore, but the other main nurse, Angie, was there. She even remembered Jack and asked about him!

And then there was Halloween!  Jack had planned to be a Lego man well over a month before Halloween. I had even purchased some of the materials to do it, well all of them because I didn't buy much, but of course waited until the week before to start it.  I got the red Lego man for Jack and the Lego pieces for Trevor and I done the Friday and Saturday before so that we could go to the day care carnival. Then Sunday, I decided to make Conor a Lego costume as well.  It was so awesome, I knew Jack would no longer think his red shirt was cool enough, so I made him a new "box" shirt that matched Conor's. The heads took the longest, so making another shirt was pretty quick and fun. As we trick or treated with my cousin and his family, a couple people asked to take our picture! I was impressed that Trevor kept it on all night. I was so worried that I'd spend the time to make it and he wouldn't want it on. Once it was on, he was good. We had a slight struggle at first. When I was taking their pictures, I caught myself saying, "Jack look at me. Smile." Then realized it was the whole head that needed turning. (oh, Dad didn't get the memo about wearing a long sleeve black shirt and black pants)

And finally, a crazy Jack story that made me laugh....
We were coming home last week and we were discussing his grades. His math grade was not good at all, and I was hoping it would come up before report cards. He mentioned that his handwriting grade wasn't going to be that good and he needed to work on it. I agreed. Then, as always, came his excuse. "Remember when I was in first grade and I almost broke my finger?"  "Yes, Jack," I say as he grabs his LEFT fingers (I don't really remember which hand it was, but knew where he was going with this). He continues, "Well, it left them kind of bent."  "Jack, what hand is that....what hand do you write with?" He says after thinking about it, left, and left. So I give him a pencil and tell him to act like he's going to write his name. We happened to be at a stop light now, so I look back and watch him place it in his left hand, with the help of his right hand, and position it somewhat correctly. He looks up at me like, "See?" So I give him a scrap of paper and tell him to write his name now. At this point, he thinks I'm not looking. He goes to do it, realizes he can't, and without raising his head, looks up to see if I'm looking as he switches the pencil into his right hand. I laughed and said, "HAH! I caught you!" He laughed too and continued to try and make up excuses about his handwriting! He is something else, but in an entirely different way than Trevor is. Even his old daycare teacher that we see at the dollar store agrees. She told her cashier friend they look alike, but are night and day!

Pumpkin Patch!!

From Mickey to Cars. and Journey too!

Trevor's obsession with Mickey Mouse has transferred over to Cars. He still loves Mickey and says "Mouse" whenever he sees him, but constantly asks for Cars. He watches that movie more than I could imagine. He even woke up in the middle of the night last night, and clear as day, said, "Cars! Mommy! Cars! Daddy! Cars!" But he went back to sleep eventually. Then at 5:30, he heard the train and said, "Choo-choo."  Thankfully, he slept til about 7 today, even though I forgot to turn off my alarm!
Jack started CCE classes. The first week, Trevor threw a fit when we dropped off Jack. We couldn't even stay for church. I tried again the next week, but it was the same. It was pretty embarassing!  At least he loves his brother!
He's getting pretty good at climbing too! He climbed into the jogging stroller all by himself several times. Next, he'll be strapping himself in!
The book fair is coming to school next week and Jack made a list with about $50 or more worth of books he wants. He asked if he could do chores for a few dollars. I told him if he cleaned his room really well, I'd buy him a book. I've NEVER seen that room more spotless besides the times I did it! Maybe I'll get him to mop and vacuum for another book too. He also kept it pretty clean when I was giving him a quarter for each day he kept it clean. Spunky gets in there and finds the little things and plays with them around the house. Trevor does the same too, I guess.
He doesn't pull Spunky's tail quite as much as he used to. And Spunky has ventured into the front yard many times now. I think he was out all night last night. He bit me pretty good when I wouldn't let him out earlier.
His other favorite phrase is, "Not nice!" He screams it at the top of his lungs sometimes, even when Jack is trying to share with him. The daycare said he was pushing kids one day, but then quickly said that the other kids do it, and he probably just picked it up from them. He swats his hand at us constantly. If you have any suggestions on how to stop that, PLEASE let me know. We put him in "timeout" because he seemed to know what that was from daycare, but it's not working.  I guess that's better than standing and dancing on the kiddie table like the other two kids at daycare were doing.
Jack and I went to two concerts together last weekend! He came with me to BestFest, which was an outdoor concert downtown featuring CAKE. After we had to move because we thought our friend was being arrested after an incident of him using his super nice camera to get some really awesome pictures, we went to the back of the area. It was there I think I embarrassed Jack the most. My friend Mary pointed out that it wasn't as embarrassing as it was for the girl in front of us whose mom was dancing around like crazy.
Then we rushed off to the Woodlands for Journey! We caught the last song of Foreigner. Then when Journey came on, everyone stood up. He didn't want me to hold him up. I guess that was too embarrassing too! Then I made a deal with him...if he let me hold him up, we'd look at the shirts. He was okay with that. But when we went, they didn't have any kids' shirts and he was devasted!! We went back to our spot that our cool older couple neighbors saved for us and he fell asleep, granted it was really getting late by then. By the time we got to the car, we probably left 15 minutes before they would've stopped. I knew he should've taken a nap earlier in the day.

I don't even know where to begin...Trevor has grown so much over the past month. A few weeks ago, he actually held Jack's hand at the store. He has been playing with him more and even gives him hugs and kisses! We fill out surveys for the Ages and Stages Program. They keep up with the development of preemies. Every few months we get a survey. When we get it there always seems to be something we are worried about. Then a few days after we mail it, he starts doing whatever we were worried about. So this month after we mailed it, he started talking so much more. He loves to climb on the couch to reach the light switch, then turn it on and off.  He has also learned how to open the refrigerator. I think doorknobs might be next! YIKES! I'll post pictures soon!

This past week, Trevor started saying Nana, Nanny, love you, and thank you (just today). He copies alot of what we say. He still loves Wheel of Fortune and yells "LOOK" when they spin the wheel. He said A, E, and H after the people on the show did yesterday. Last week, we were at Space Center Houston (Trevor's first trip) and he was squirming to get down and said, "I walk." I thought it was just a coincidence, but he's done it several times since. He'll pick up things and say either Mama, Daddy, or Dack (Jack) if he thinks it's ours, but its' more of a question (like he'll pick up Conor's shirt and say "Daddy's?") It's super cute. He even went to give it to Conor one time.  Today, he picked up a big pack of paper towels that I had set down outside the car and he carried them in for me!! I made it a point to show Jack that he did it without me asking! : ) Jack complains ALOT and had just complained about carrying them at the store.  The past two days have been the first in a LONG time that they've played together and had fun. Yesterday it was with the shopping cart Trevor got for his birthday. Jack never had one, so I think that's the reason behind it. Then today, they were sword fighting with foam poles and Trevor was yelling "Bang, Bang!"

Spunky is still Spunky. He has random attacks on us. Jack is getting a little upset with him because Spunky likes to go in his room and jump on everything, therefore knocking all the little things down, or forts. I think he needs to be an outside cat, but I can't leave him out there now when it's been over 100 degrees. So maybe in the fall he will go find new friends outside to keep him company.
We started school this week. After the first day, Jack said all they were doing this week was listening. He sounded incredibly bored about it. I explained that you had to learn all the teacher's rules so that was understandable. The second day, he said the same thing. The third day, without asking him, he said "We actually did something today. I was shocked."  It was very hard not to laugh at that. I wasn't sure what to say.

It hasn't been as hard as I thought it'd be starting this year without Suzy. It's only because I've been so busy. At school, I'm usually not ready enough, so every spare moment I have I'm trying to think about what I should be doing. I have an interesting class this year. I know alot of the kids' parents, so it's kind of weird. Today we were practicing how to "waft" (smell something by waving the smell to your nose with your hand instead of just sniffing it) So I had different things in Dixie cups for them to smell. It made it more interesting because I made them close their eyes so they wouldn't see what it was. One of the kids reminded me of Ratatouille.  It was so hard not to laugh. So I did it anyways - we all were.  We had lots of fun. We had 8 different things to smell. On the eighth one, the principal and the superintendent of the district walked in the room. I had saved the best for last - apple cider vinegar. Of course I was laughing when he walked in b/c the last student had just smelt it and was holding his nose afterwards and complaining. So then Dr. York walks to the front and says he has to try it. I made him close his eyes first and then he didn't know what wafting was!!  We had to help him out and he said he learned a new word. I didn't ask if he knew what the scent was. But after some clues, one of the kids blurted it out! It was a good way to end the day.  It's been a great first week. I knew all their names by the end of day 1 - all 17 boys and 7 girls. I get to keep them all day this year, so this'll be interesting!! : )

Trevor's come a long way in the past few weeks. He's finally saying Momma on a regular basis now, and even Daddy too!  He says outside, mine, look, and the cutest is please.  He gets very excited about seeing 18-wheelers on the road. He still did not like the beach, but Jack sure does.

The second picture is of Trevor and Spunky taking a nap. I was stuck in the middle of them!  Then we have Brooklyn (I believe) with Dumo (Jack's buddy). She didn't know what to think of that.  Then one of Trevor is Spunky's new play area, that they enjoyed more at first than the cat (see video...they also liked the mouse toy almost more than Spunky). Then Jack digging for gems, Trevor at the beach, celebrating 2009 (...WHAT?), Trevor in Dad's flipflops, and Jack feeding one of the girls (I knew which one then, but now I'm not sure!).

Trevor and Jack are both in daycare full time now since Conor started his new job last week! Jack likes it alot. He was getting pretty bored at home. Friday I picked up Trevor, told him to say bye and he went back in the room and gave one of his friends a high five and walked right back out. It was so cute. Then he picked up his blanket and pillow and carried them outside. We went to the beach again this weekend and I got him to play in the sand for a little bit. We even sat in the water after a little bit of fussing. Jack and Jeremy had a blast on the float and few waves there were.  Trevor is now saying "please" and "yes" sometimes, although yes to him is "uh-uh" which really sounds like no. I had him putting his hands together like he was begging a few times. Instead of "open" he says something like "gunk."

Spunky ~ The Kitten

Yes we got a kitten on Thursday. The look on Jack's face when we asked him if he wanted one was priceless! He even agreed to clean the litter box, although that hasn't happened yet. Jack said he already had a name for him - Spunky. Not sure where that came from AT ALL, but after meeting him, it definitely fits. He has already scratched up Trevor's face, but what do you expect when Trevor gets up in his face.  We need to trim his claws....soon.
 After putting the flea medicine on him today, we couldn't touch him after being at the beach all day. Jack was in there talking to him saying, "I can't pet you Spunky. But I would if I could."
Speaking of the beach, Trevor absolutely hated it, while Jack wouldn't come out of the water according to Jessica, who went to the beach while Dusty and I watched the girls. Little did I know he took the calm one outside and I was left with the fussy baby and the other fussy baby, Trevor. After Trevor stopped his ear piercing screams, Brylee (I think) fell asleep on me while Trevor pulled at my pant's leg.

Then to dinner for Jeremy's birthday. It went much better than I thought it would with three small children. Trevor was happy and walking around giving my mom hugs and rolling the crayons across the table. We came home to an extremely hyper kitten and a pop up tent in the living room. The video shows what happened next.

Jack's birthday party yesterday was a success! It was a scientist party so we did several experiments. Some didn't turn out as well as planned, but the kids still loved it. Based on my past experience with making cakes at the last minute, I was a bit nervous about this one. But it turned out just as planned, except I was so rushed that I forgot to put the markings on the beaker. Jessica brought the girls, so the grandmas got to entertain them!