Germs

Well, this has been a trying week. T and Zack went to the doctor for their colds, cough, sore throat, and fevers. Finally they are getting better. Sammy and I have been trying to boost our immune systems to fight off the germs. However, last night Sammy started a "barking" cough. I took him to the doc today and he has croup. Poor thing is so hoarse and "barkey". The doc suggested a humidifier, keep his nose clear, and sleep as the best medicine. So far we have been able to accomplish all three. Thankfully his nasal passages are pretty much clear and he took a nice 2 hr nap today.
It's so sad when your little one is sick and they are miserable. I wish there was some way to make him better.
He weighed 15 lbs 8 oz.

Dah Dah

Sammy has officially started saying Dah dah. Tim is thrilled!

bah, bah, bah

That's what Sammy is saying these days. He loves to say it over and over. He has started to branch out and Tim says that he said dah dah a time or two. Just what we need another kiddo talking, I have to say I prefer that over crying!

Trolley Ride

Did you know you can ride the trolley in Montgomery for 25 cents per person and ride it as long as you want? Zack loved the ride, his favorite part was not seeing the capitol building, the home of the confederacy, the church where Dr. Martin Luther King preached, and other historical sites, but the tractor that was driving down the road behind us! He was so upset to get off--but as soon as we did a train came by and he was happy again to wave bye-bye to the train. I think we can manage to fit it in our budget to go back on the "bus ride."
We came home for a quick lunch and nap so we can go meet Aunt Mallory and Uncle Austin this afternoon!

Sunday

We are planning on going back to AL after church Sunday. It should be an interesting morning! The highlights for the week are the scheduled activities of a tour of Mont. and a discovery park among other things.

More Construction

We have some guys adding an addition to the back. So that's the real reason for the trip back home. It is going to be really nice, however it is just huge! They were initially going to enclose the hot tub room (back deck) until they found a good bit of rotting wood on the back of the house. We knew about some of the wood and had a good idea there was more. It seems those windows in the back weren't sealed right and water was rotting out some of the wood, so instead of replacing those boards, they came up with the idea of tearing out the windows and wall and join it to the deck. It makes more sense and we are thinking of some possiblities of what we could do with the huge amount of space it will create.. Maybe and indoor, life- size chess board like we saw in Austria! Not really, I'm thinking master suite! (Don't tell Tim:-)

Home sweet home

Ok, we still dub it the Money Pit, but it's so nice to sleep in our own rooms/beds. The house seems so big.... ok we've been living in a small motel room, so anything would seem big!
I chickened out on the toilet training, I just don't have any energy after all the traveling, unpacking and repacking.... Plus I really don't know where to start! I think we might start with Pull ups. I don't have this figured out yet!

It's Friday

We will be headed home. It will be nice to put the boys in their own beds/rooms!
Zack has been showing interest in potty training, so I bought some big boy underware and when we showed them to Tim he decided he wanted to wear them. of course we weren't prepared for this request. We put them over his diaper and he is very excited about wearing them. I figure we can try them with out the diaper this weekend at home and see what happens. I'm pretty sure I can figure out what is going to happen at least initially! But he is showing interest! I think I'm going to need a few more packs of big boy underware, I don't think 3 will last long!
Sammy is pulling up on all the drawers in the room, he has pinched his fingers more than a few times. His news is that he ate some banana chunks--not mashed today and chewed them.

Sleep

Last night Zack slept through Sammy's midnight snacking and coos. Sammy is such a funny boy, in the middle of the night he will start cooing and then he is back asleep... Zack slept in the sleeping tent and did great. It looks like we will be getting up early in the am while we are here. Too much activity for the boys in such a close space.
I have a get together for the spouses tonight and T will keep the boys, so I'm off to get dinner for them and a few other necessities. I'm planning on taking Zack to the static displays of the airplanes, I know he will love it. Oh, Zack has started getting a kick out of "potty" language... I guess it's inevitable, he is a male!

Small, small,small

We are settling ino our new abode. It's nice, the maids come and clean and the boys are easy to keep track of, but did I mention it's pretty small. We are enjoying a kitchenette complete with burners, full fridge, microwave and sink (no oven) and one living/sleeping room! Sammy is occupying the very narrow closet, I hope the pack n play will come out. There may be indentations in the walls if/when it does come out! I also found a tent for Zack. We call it his sleeping tent. We went to the BX last night and the only thing we found was a sunshade/tent. It worked, but it was about 5 ft tall!!! You can only imagine what it looked like in here. Today, I was able to find a walmart and they had only one child's tent, it was a Star Wars one, on clearance! Zack is seeming to enjoy his new sleeping arrangements... It might work out after all, if we can get Zack to sleep through Sammy's midnight cries!

Uprooted

Just wanted to let you all know that we will be heading to AL tomorrow. Drudle is enjoying her friends in L'ville. Zack misses her... "Mommy, I want Drew" We will see how the boys adjust to the new living quarters. Pray for our sanity!

Some Zackisms

Here are some cute things Zack has been saying:

That's hurtin I need a bandaid.

Daddy, are you going to shave your moles off?
T: No, Zack I'm going to shave my wiskers off.

I want to hold you, Daddy/Mommy.
interpretation: I want you to hold me.

Sing Doxology a couple times.

Sing Flag song. interp: Sing Star Spangled Banner

I really don't want do that, Mommy.

I have a whole mouth.
Interpretation: My mouth is full. This is usually in response to "What do you say, Zack." after giving him a cookie or other snack. After he swallows, he chimes in Thank you mama/dada.

Momma's Boy

He is positively a momma's boy. He fussed in the nursery all last Sunday. I walked in and picked him up and he smiled and was happy... Same story when I left him with the ladies to take Zack to nursery for Bible Study. Or that's what they say, I don't know that I believe them, he seems so happy when I show up!

Designated nail collector

perfect job for Zack... A big magnet on wheels he can push around the yard and pick up nails!

The Money Pit Cont..

Day two: no more waves in the roof-it has a smooth surface for shingles!

The Money Pit

Day One

monkeys

Work, work,work

T took some leave and we have been trying to tackle some projects. T pressure washed and weatherproofed the deck at the loft, I stained the interior doors that we have been meaning to do for quite a while. T has been clearing some brush and working on killing the extremly healthy wisteria in the back. Most of the jobs seemed to get bogged down by having extra problems you have to fix creep up or just having to stop because you run out and need to go buy more. One of my projects was to get Sammy interested in T. Today, I went out to do a refill trip to Lowes and T put both boys down for their nap. It was so nice to come home to a quiet house... T might have it in him to be a nice Haus Frau! OK maybe not! And Sammy has taken quite nicely to T! Mission accomplished!
He goes back to work tomorrow, it's early week so he'll be up at 4:30am. I guess I need to go to bed it's been a long day.

Off for his 6 month appt

At Sammy's 6 month appt he weighed 13lbs 6 oz.... He did gain 3 inches in length! He better get busy putting on some weight or his girl cousins will catch him soon! To put this in perspective,at Zack's 6 month he was 16 lbs and he was on the scrawny side!
Even with his weight or lack of it, the doctor seemed satisfied that all was well. He is crawling and sitting on his own, very alert and attentive, interested in toys and engaged to others, he is eating solids and is sleeping very well. All around a very pleasant baby.
His immunizations were a little bit drawn out b/c the tech wanted to take his temp before the shots since he seemed a little warm (he had been crying since it had been two hours since he woke & not in the mood for all these other people). As she was finishing the temp, he kicked the shots that were closed up onto the floor, she redrew the shots and as she went to give him the second shot she acidentally closed the safety cover and had to redrawl the DTAP a third time!! She couldn't believe how much a fighter Sammy was! He was completly happy as soon as I held him. My sweet Sammy boy!

Tim made the observation today that we tend to hold Sammy a lot. I guess he hasn’t gotten too heavy yet! He is such a cuddler and loves to be held, he doesn’t squirm to be set free to explore. I know that will change all too soon so I'm enjoying the extra cuddle time!(most of the time)

Boy Toys

Here are the boys... Zack, Sammy & Logan