I Can Read

I am happy to observe that my son Nathan is enjoying my favorite hobby: reading!  Each night, we read at least 1 story together, and he is really listening intently now to most of the stories.  Thanks to my former days as an elementary school teacher and to his grandmother, he has a multitude of books to choose from to read whenever he so desires.

I recently discovered that our church library offers children's books for checkout.  Since I am going to the church about 4 days each week now for worship and to use the fitness room, I am able to offer Nathan a new book to read each day.  This week I brought home a bunch of books, so many that the church librarian gave me a bag with which to carry all of the books. 

Yesterday, Nathan decided to read one of the books on his own.  He wanted to read to his brother, Ben.  I was able to snap some photos during this fun time!

A Visit From The UK

We welcomed Grandma and Grandad to our home for a 2 week visit in August.  They came over from England in order to meet little Benjamin and to spend time with Nathan. 

Nathan really enjoyed their time here.  Other than when he was sleeping, he had a constant playmate, and I had some help with Benjamin which allowed me to get some chores done and get some well-needed sleep in the mornings.

We mostly stayed at home, but did manage to get involved in some outings and activities.  We made a trip out to Brenham to visit Bluebell.  We also drove down to the Galleria and ate at the Rainforest Cafe.  Nathan got to show his grandparents Chuck E Cheese and also Bouncing Bears.  We even took Rob and Judi to a birthday party and also a church social event.

It was a nice 2 weeks.  Chris and I only wish that his parents lived closer or at least on the same continent so that we could drive to see them whenever we wanted!

Bluebell Creamery: Touring the Ice Cream Factory!!!

On Friday, Chris took the day off so that we could go to the Bluebell Creamery in Brenham, Texas.  We had wanted to go there for a while now, but had not yet been because it is only open during the weekdays.  So, now that Chris' parents are here visiting, we felt like it was a good time to go.

We headed to Brenham with the Tahoe fully occupied.  Grandad and Nathan sat way in the back row, while Grandma and Benjamin sat in the middle.  Chris and I sat up front of course!

On our first attempt to take the tour, Benjamin woke up.  So, we exited quickly and took him outside to feed him a bottle of expressed milk.  Then, we had to wait for the next tour to began. 

Once underway, Nathan enjoyed seeing how the Bluebell ice cream is made.  I think that us adults enjoyed seeing it too!  Benjamin sat happily in his stroller using his pacifier and gazing around.

In the end, we each sampled a different flavor of ice cream.  Chris went with the Dutch Chocolate, and I tried something new to me, Birthday Cake.  The birthday cake flavor was a keeper for me and for Nathan too.  Halfway through Nathan's ice cream, he decided that he wanted Mommy's instead, and he finished mine off for me!

Dinner With Chuck E Cheese

Nathan is quickly approaching 3 years!  We would like for him to be fully potty trained.  He was doing so well in June.  Every time he and I went out on a daily outing, he always was wearing underwear instead of pull-ups.  Nathan was excited about using the potty - no matter where we went.  His pee pee accidents were few and far between, and he was only wearing training pants at night. 

Until July 15th came along!  Then mommy became a little busier with baby Ben.  Daddy and the grandparents let Nathan get away with wearing pull-ups quite a bit.  The potty training was going in reverse! 

Then, Daddy went back to work.  I began where we started before, with Nathan waling around the house bare-bottomed or with loose-fitting shorts on.  He has had many more accidents than he ever did before Ben came along, but the important thing is that he is back on track!  Hopefully, the start of Mothers Day Out in September will help to encourage Nathan even more.

Last week, I put into place a sticker chart reward system.  I explained to Nathan how he would earn a sticker each time he made pee pee in the potty and that with ten stickers he would get to go to Chuck E Cheese's.  I am still not convinced though that a 2 1/2 year old can understand this concept, but we did it anyway. 

Nathan needed a night out with his parents without baby brother.  He earned his ten stickers, and we headed to Chuck E Cheese's on Thursday.  We ate pizza, drank wepsi (pepsi), and rode the little rides, and played the games!  Meanwhile, Benjamin spent a lovely evening with Gigi and Papaw.

A Morning of Fun For Nathan

On Tuesday, Chris was able to stay home with us from work.  To take advantage of this, I suggested that we take Nathan somewhere really fun.  Chris was working from home, so we could not be away for too long. 

We decided to go to Bouncin Bears, which was only 5 minutes away from the house.  Bouncin Bears is a big room filled with inflatables.  It costs about $5.00 per child.  So, it was a close, inexpensive, and fun thing to do for an hour or so. 

Nathan absolutely had a blast there!  Unlike the last couple of times we have been to these sort of places in the past 2 years, he was not at all afraid of the noise.  He jumped on the jumpy parts and slid down all of the slides! 

To top it all off, we took Nathan to Chick Fil A afterwards so he could have some fries and chocolate milk.  I'd say this was the perfect time for Nathan!  It felt great to see Nathan have a good time!

The Family Sickhouse

Towards the end of last week, I noticed a tickle in my throat.  "Uh oh!" I said to myself, as I suspected that Nathan had come down with a cold a couple of days before.  I knew at this point that I too had picked up the nasty virus.  Thoughts ran through my head like, "Ben is going to get his first cold!"  and  "How are we going to get through a newborn AND a sick household?" 

I was totally frightened Thursday when I woke up with a scratchy throat and a headache.  I asked Chris to stay home on Friday to help me out, thinking that I would be sicker that day.  Luckily though, I still just had a scratchy throat and a headache.  I thought to myself, "This thing is so mild. . .no problema!" 

Saturday and Sunday were mild days for me too.  Nathan seemed to be coughing more and much to his delight, we began giving him medicine (Nathan loves medicine and thinks it tastes like candy)!  By Sunday, Ben started showing signs of having contracted this bug.  He was sneezing little, tiny baby sneezes and had a runny nose.  Chris began suctioning his nose and taking him into the steam room.

Today, we checked for fever early in the morning to see if Ben needed to go to the pediatrician again.  So far, he has been quite fever-free.  Truth be told, Ben has been very high-maintenance today.  He is wanting to nurse every 2 hours or so.  He seems to be having trouble calming down to go to sleep without nursing.  So, I am doing my best to appease his needs.

I am sicker than ever before today.  I have had to take cough medicine and tylenol to soothe my cough and headache.  Maybe that's why Ben cannot get to sleep well in my arms alone.  I hope and pray that we will all be better sooner than later.  I also pray that Ben will remain fever and infection-free this week and that this will truly be a mild cold for Benjamin's first!

Two Weeks Makes A Family of Four

Today marks 2 weeks following the birth of our second child, Benjamin.  Although we somewhat forget about all that it takes to care for a newborn, we are starting to get back into the swing of things.  Truth be told, there have been more than a few sleepless nights so far and a lot of tears on my behalf. 

We can blame those tears on tiredness, hormones, frustration, and isolation.  I am one who truly loves to sleep, and it becomes hard for me when I go without it for too long.  I am also breastfeeding, which keeps my hormones up high, making me a little weepy at times.  The frustration comes from nursing a baby who did not know how to nurse.  Benjamin has had latch-on difficulties that he and I are almost through correcting. 

Then, there is the isolation.  Chris was home with me for a week before he had to return to work.  Each day we say goodbye to Daddy so he can go to work while we stay nestled in our home.  We cannot really go anywhere because I am not ready to drive, and I cannot lift heavy objects such as a baby car seat or a toddler.  Nathan has truly been a good sport about our current situation.  He has really begun to learn to play with his toys on his own and self-entertain. 

We have experienced the trial of having a newborn with jaundice, along with a grandmother who worries a lot and a mother who worries too.  We took Benjamin to the pediatrician 5 times in 1 week!  Thankfully, he is fine.  His bilirubin levels continue to decline.  He is gaining weight and growing.  Other than a small herniated navel, we may just have a healthy baby on our hands!!!  Yeah!

So if we are not going anywhere these days, what do we do all day long?  We rest, rest, rest!  We watch some TV - mostly Nick Jr.  We play with toys.  We do laundry or light cleaning/straightening up when baby allows.  That's about it right now.

Today we gave Benjamin his first bath in the baby bathtub.  Nathan helped me to gather the bath materials, and he watched me bathe Benjamin also.  Similar to Nathan, Benjamin cried the entire bath!  I am confident that he will learn to love baths as much as Nathan does, but for now we will have to make do with crying during the bath time.

My parents have been very helpful and for this I am very thankful!  My father has driven us to all but 1 pediatrician appointments.  My mother has come over nearly each day, which helped me not to feel so lonely.  I have already asked them to come back next week too.  Anything helps, and I welcome visitors always!!!

Last but not least, we will welcome Chris' parents for a visit in approximately 2.5 weeks.  After Nathan invited them over and over on Skype to come to his house, they decided to move up their travel plans to come in August.  Chris and I look forward to their visit.  Not only will they be able to help us out, but they will be a great source of entertainment and attention for Nathan.  I know he truly enjoyed playing with his grandad back in November!

It's been a crazy 2 weeks. . .crazy in a good way!