Jack's 3rd Birthday

I cannot believe that my little boy is already 3!!! I am a little late at posting this, because he actually turned 3 on September 24th.  This year we decided to go with a St. Louis Cardinals themed birthday party.  It is safe to say that Nick has successfully brainwashed our son to be a Cardinals fan.  

Since Jack has more than enough toys, we thought that we would ask our guests to make a donation to Lily Rosploch rather than buying a present for Jack.  We attached a little note to all of the invitations.  We were very happy that we were able to raise and donate $400 to Lily and her family.  And don't worry about Jack, all of our guests still brought him presents, guess you can say he is a little spoiled.  

Jack definitely had fun celebrating his birthday.  There were plenty of little ones to play with.  At one time I counted and I figured that we had about 10 kiddos under the age of 5 running around the house, definitely an action packed birthday party.  

 

On Jack's actual birthday, Monday September 24th, Jack seemed a little tired and sluggish, but I thought it might just be from all of the fun and excitement that we had over the weekend.  But before we left the house, he told me his ear hurt, so I pretty much figured that he was coming down with something.  I checked in with Linda throughout the day, and Linda said he was a little sluggish and his appetite was a bit off.  I was hoping that he would stay healthy for his birthday celebration with the grandparents and Aunt Kathy that night at our house.  We thought it would be a great way to get rid of the leftovers from the party by having everyone over.  Before everyone got to our house, I found Jack fast asleep inside his coloring house.  We left him sleeping on the couch while everyone came over and ate, and he never even moved or woke up once.  He ran a fever that night, and by the next morning it was 101.6, YIKES!!! Thank goodness we were able to get in to see Dr. Leifheit that day, poor Jack had an ear infection.  

I was pretty nervous because the fever was really high, and I had to alternate giving him motrin and tylenol to keep it under control.  Then he ran a low grade fever off and on for two days after that.  Finally after a couple of days, Jack was back to 100%.  

Happy 3rd Birthday to the most wonderful, delightful, happy and smiley little boy that anyone could ever ask for.  We Love You Jack and we can't wait to see what adventures and fun the next year has in store for you.  

Niabi Zoo

A few weeks before I went back to work, Nick and I decided to take the kids to Niabi Zoo for a fun filled family day trip.  I can't really say that Nick was overly excited for this outing I had planned, but he went along with it without one complaint coming out of his mouth.  The weather was absolutely perfect for a trip to the zoo because the temperature was in the upper 70s, so we would not be sweating our tails off.  

Jack enjoyed walking around the zoo and seeing all of the animals.  He did a really good job of staying by one of us and not darting off and doing anything crazy.   Jack was most excited to see the elephants and the monkeys.  He liked the petting zoo, but he was not a fan of letting the animals eat from his hand.  I can't really say I blame him.  

Our Monkey with the monkeys

 Of course his favorite part of the zoo was going for a ride on the train.  And unlike our last trip to the zoo last summer, Jack did not cry and make a big scene when it was time to get off of the train, thank goodness.  His other favorite thing about the zoo was eating popcorn.  Whenever we talk about our trip to the zoo that is the first thing that he says.  He has had popcorn many other times, but obviously he is a big fan of the popcorn at the zoo.  What can I say, he is easy to please.  

Jack and Nick enjoying a snack

Teagan enjoyed the zoo as much as she possibly could from the comfort of her carseat in the stroller.  She was awake for the entire time we were at the zoo and she seemed to be looking around and taking in everything.  

Teagan looks scared in this picture

 The zoo really wore out both of the kids because they were both sleeping before we left the parking lot.  We were planning on catching a late lunch/early dinner, but since both kids were sleeping, we decided that would not be a good idea.  We also had to cancel our stop at the new Turigliatti home in Geneseo.  I didn't think they would really enjoy our visit with two tired kiddos on our hands.  

6 Months Old

I cannot believe it has already been 6 months since Teagan was born.  Even though it seems as though time is flying by, I can't really remember what it was like to just have 1 kid to take care of, it almost seems as though we have always been a family of 4.

 Teagan continues to be a relaxed, easy going, calm, happy and sweet little girl.  Family and friends always comment on how laid back Teagan is.  I am savoring every moment of this calm and sweetness, because I am sure that this to will change with time.  

Teagan's eyes are still a beautiful blue color and her two dimples are as prominent as ever.  Her hair is coming in more and more each day, and so far it looks like she is going to be a blonde.  Teagan definitely has a "healthy" build.  At her 6 month check up she weighed 17 lbs. 9 ozs and she was 26 inches long, placing her between the 75th and 80th percentiles for both.  Obviously Teagan is a big fan of baby food.  She has learned to love all of the fruits and vegetables, and she is a rather agressive eater, she definitely means business when it comes to eating her food.  Teagan is currently wearing size 3 in diapers and even though she can still squeeze into 6 months outfits, it is safe to say that she is wearing 9 month outfits.  

 Teagan is rolling over a ton.  I actually sometimes feel like she is secretly crawling when I am out of the room because I will put her down on a blanket, leave the room for a couple of minutes, and when I return she is completely off of the blanket and facing a totally different direction.  I feel that we might have a crawler on our hands in the near future.  We have been practicing sitting up, but she is still a little wobbly.  Teagan's main source of entertainment is watching and interacting with Jack.  He is able to get some of the biggest belly laughs out of her.  Teagan still enjoys sitting in her swing, playing on her playmat and she is learning to like her jumper.  I think she will enjoy it a lot more when her entire foot can actually touch the ground rather than just her tippy toes.  

 As far as sleeping goes, Teagan still likes to keep me guessing.  I have figured out that if I hold off on feeding her dinner until 8:00, follow it up with a bath, and give her the bottle after that, she will usually sleep through the night.  But every now and then she will throw in a 3:00 am crying session, that usually results in me feeding her.  Her sleeping has been a little off this past week, but it is pretty apparent that it is due to her tooth that is coming in.  She will wake up crying, tugging on her ear and practically trying to eat her hands.  And along with teething comes all of that fun drooling.  

Teagan still enjoys to bury her face in her blankets

Teagan has done a fantastic job of adjusting to going to daycare everyday.  I on the other hand am definitely missing seeing that adorable little sweetheart throughout the day.  But I just love the smiles that I get from both of my kids when I show up at Linda's door to pick them up.  

 It is still hard to believe that Teagan is 6 months old, but we have definitely enjoyed every single minute of the last 6 months and I cannot wait to see what surprises and changes we will get to experience in the months to come.  

Happy 6 Months Teagan......We Love You

Progress With Speech Therapy

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, Jack is getting speech therapy.  He works with Chris Garretson at IVCH one day a week and after just 3 sessions we are seeing some definite growth.  When I take him to his therapy, I make sure that I have someone to watch Teagan so I am able to participate in the activities that Chris is having him do and I am able to focus all of my attention on him.  He is always excited and happy to go play with Chris, she makes it very entertaining and fun for him.  I REALLY like her.  

Jack's expressive skills have really taken off.  I am not sure if it is a coincidence or timing, but Jack has really come out of his shell.  He is always telling us what he wants and is commenting and talking more in the car about anything that might catch his attention.  He is also more outgoing and social with random people that we see when we are out and about.  The other day when we were leaving Target he made it his mission to talk to every single employee that he saw while we were checking out and leaving the store.  He definitely would not have done that a month ago.

Jack has also made gains with his receptive skills, but that is definitely his area of weakness.  He is doing better at following two step directions and understanding what exactly we mean when we tell him something is on, under, in, out, etc..... But it is rather apparent when Jack isn't quite sure what you want him to do.  He will try to avoid the task by doing a couple of things.  He will either start laughing, running around and making silly noises, or just try to walk away and start playing with something else.  So he isn't exactly thrilled when we make him do the task.  Between his weekly therapy sessions and our continued work at home, I definitely think we will see more improvements with this also.  But so far I am very pleased with how quickly Jack is picking up on everything, he is definitely a little sponge. 

When Jack turns 3 at the end of September, he will no longer be able to receive speech therapy through early intervention.  At that point the school district is responsible for providing the service.  So that means he will have to get assessed once again.  I am waiting to hear from Ladd School to see when this assessment is going to take place.  Ladd is going to have preschool this year, so if I decide to send Jack to preschool he will be able to attend either at Ladd or at Oglesby because I work there.  Ladd also mentioned that if we didn't feel that Jack needed a full blown preschool program that he could just go to the school for his therapy and not be enrolled in the preschool program.  I mentioned this to my superintendent and he said that maybe they would be able to figure something out like that at Oglesby, even though that is not something that they have offered prior to this.  And he could also continue his therapy at IVCH, but unfortunately our insurance does not cover it and let's just say that it is VERY expensive.  

The more people I talk to, I really do not feel like Jack needs a full blown preschool program at this time.  If he started after his birthday, he would have 3 full years of preschool, and that really isn't necessary.  So we are leaning towards him receiving just the speech therapy through one of the schools.  But no matter what we decide, I will have to rely on our family to get him to and from his sessions.  This is when it really stinks to be a working mom.  I absolutely hate having to rely on other people to run my kids to and from different things.  Thank goodness we both have very supportive families that are always willing to help out.   

For now I am enjoying the growth that I am seeing with Jack and I am anxious to see the growth that is yet to come. 

6 Month Check Up & A Little Under The Weather

Last weekend both kids had runny noses, watery eyes and they were sneezing like crazy.  We went through a lot of kleenex.  I wasn't sure if they were coming down with something or if it was just from allergies.  Teagan's symptoms started first, so I though it was from teething, but then when Jack started with the same symptoms I knew his wasn't from teething.  

Monday morning both kids woke up with all of the same symptoms, but Teagan had a slight fever and she had a terrible sounding cough.  I knew that I should probably all the doctor's office when I was trying to feed her and whenever she would cough it would take her breath away, and she really didn't seem to eager to eat.  So once again I would be taking one of the kids to Dr. Leifheit's office for the second time in 5 days......the joys of parenthood.  I was happy to hear that it wasn't anything too serious, but it was definitely more than just teething.  He said she had some congestion and post nasal drip which was causing the coughing attacks and that I should keep an eye on it and if it worsens I should call him and he will treat her.  But since we were already there and since I am returning to work next week, he said he would do her 6 month check up so I didn't have to come back.  

Teagan weighed in at a womping 17 lbs. 9 ozs. and she is 26 inches long, she fell between the 75th and 80th percentile for both.  We definitely have a healthy growing little girl on our hands.  Dr. Leifheit said that she is right on track as far as her development goes.  He also said that she is ready for her jumper/exerciser thing.  So I will have to bring that up from the basement, I just dread having that big thing in our living room.  We currently have a doll house, a farm set, a swing, playmat, a bouncy seat and random other little toys and books that Jack brings out of the toy room in our living room right now.  Oh and don't forget about the couch, over sized chair and coffee table.  And I am not sure what exactly I could remove from the living room because my kids use all of those items on a daily basis.  I guess clutter is just a necessary evil of having more than 1 kid.  

So I am happy to report that we have a healthy and happy little Teagan and both kids seem to be on the mend as far as those nasty colds are concerned.  So hopefully we will get to squeeze in a pool day today, keeping my fingers crossed. 

3 Year Check Up

Since Jack will be going to the Just for 2's program at the YMCA this year, he needed to get a physical.  So we were able to do his 3 year check up and his school physical all in one visit.  Jack is not a fan of doctors at all.  And I don't understand where this comes from because he really hasn't had a bad experience with any doctor, and our family doctor, Dr. Leifheit, hasn't even given Jack a shot,  he instead has us get them at the Hygienic Institute. 

Jack was in a good mood the day that I took him to see Dr. Leifheit.  We had talked about Dr. Joel earlier in the day and he seemed as though he was excited to go see Dr. Joel.  I soon realized that was not the case.  As soon as we pulled into the parking garage he started pouting and wanting me to hold him.  In the waiting room he was a little better because there were some toys to distract him. Once we were in the room he seemed to be rather entertained with checking everything out and he was relaxed and started talking about Dr. Joel.  When Dr. Leifheit entered the room Jack said hello to him and had a short conversation with him, but as soon as he realized that the doctor wanted to look into his ears and check him out, he started crying and climbing all over me. Thank goodness that Dr. Leifheit is a family friend, otherwise I would probably have been embarassed.  As soon as the check up was over, Jack was back to being calm and was asking to go to the park.  When I told my mom and my mother in law about our wonderful experience at the doctor's office, they both laughed and stated that I was probably getting pay back from when Nick and I were younger.  Obviously we both acted this way when we had to go to the doctor's office when we were younger.  

But as far as Dr. Leifheit could tell, Jack is in good shape.  He weighed in at 37 lbs. and he is 39 inches tall.  He is at the 80th percentile for both his weight and height.  So now all of the paper work is done, the school supplies have been purchased, and Jack is all set and ready to go to the Just for 2's Program.  

Playing with his toys after his appointment

5 Months Old

While we were in Las Vegas, our sweet little Teagan turned 5 months old.  I was determined to get this post done before we left, but of course that didn't happen. 

 At 5 months old, Teagan is as smiley and lovable as ever.  So far she seems to have a personality that is fun, loving, laid back, observant, outgoing and social.  And we are definitely seeing that she is the type of girl that wants what she wants when she wants it, just like every girl right?

Teagan has been a very busy little girl this month.  Her days have been jam packed with going for walks, hanging out at the pool with our friends, traveling to St. Louis and Lake of the Ozarks, and spending some quality time with her grandparents while her parents ventured off to Las Vegas.  Both grandmas kept telling me how calm and easy she is to take care of.  So we were happy to hear that they enjoyed taking care of her.  I tried to make it to the pool by Teagan's nap time because then she can get her rest and Jack and I can play and enjoy a couple of hours with just him and I.  We are so lucky that Nick's aunt is nice enough to not only let us use her pool, but also to let Teagan sleep inside in  the comfortable air conditioning while we swim.  Teagan has taken a few dips in the pool, and it seems that she really enjoyed it, so I am hoping that she is a little fish just like her brother.

Teagan is still taking a morning nap and an afternoon nap, and sometimes she will take an evening nap.  As far as sleeping at night, Teagan is still keeping us guessing, but she is sleeping through the night more consistently.  It seems that she likes to sleep in the pack and play in our bedroom more than she likes her crib.  In the pack and play she sleeps through the night, in her crib she usually wakes up.  If we are home I have her take her naps in her crib, and then at night she usually sleeps in the pack and play.  But my goal is to have her sleeping in her crib all of the time before I go back to work.  Teagan has been a belly sleeper since she was 2 months old, but lately she is rolling from her belly to her back while she is sleeping and it seems to wake her up.  So then I usually flip her over, rub her back for a little bit, and then she goes back to sleep. 

Fell asleep while playing on the floor

 As I said, Teagan is rolling over from her belly to her back like crazy, and I can tell that she will be rolling from her back to her belly in no time.  Teagan loves to play on the floor, and still enjoys spending time on her playmat and the swing.  Teagan also still enjoys to suck on her hands, and anything else that she can find. 

Watching Jack's every move

But the thing she likes to do the most is watch her brother.  If he is in the room, her eyes are glued to him.  And he loves to make her laugh and smile, it just melts my heart to see them interact with one another.  One of our favorite games to play right now is "Teagan's Going to Get You".  I hold Teagan facing outward and we chase Jack around the living room and kitchen.  Usually they both start laughing hysterically, which is the best sound in the world.
 

Showing off those chubby legs in her leg warmers

Teagan is just in love with her Daddy.  As soon as she lays her eyes on him she starts kicking her legs, bouncing around and making some silly noises.

Teagan has been introduced to the world of baby food.  She caught on to eating rather quickly.  As of now, she enjoys bananas, apples, pears and prunes, but is not a fan of peaches.  With the vegetables, Teagan likes the squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and peas, but absolutely hates green beans, she makes the funniest face when we try to give them to her.  I usually give her a fruit around 10:00 am and she gets a vegetables and maybe 1/2 a container of a fruit at 

6:00 pm.

It is rather obvious that Teagan is in the process of teething.  She is constantly drooling and sucking on her fingers, tongue and bottom lip.  I'm anxious to see when her first tooth will actually make its debut.

 
So that pretty much sums up what Teagan has been up to this past month. Happy 5 Months Teagan. We Love You Very Much