The Sunday Rush.

There's something about 8 a.m. church that seems to put us all in a frenzy in the morning rushing out the door. Could be the fact that our children don't normally wake up until 8, or the fact that inevitably no matter how hard we try, we never seem to get to sleep until after midnight. So when the alarm goes off between 6 and 6:30, neither one of us jump out of bed ready to embark on the chore to get everyone dressed and out the door on time. We also live 20 minutes from the building, so ideally we should be leaving at 7:30. With this all being said, we were late today. I blame it on a sick baby and a sick mommy. But we did make it to church with both boys dressed in matching polo's and gel in the hair.

My mom is still in town so she took a few pictures. I love family pictures and just can't seem to get enough of our growing family. Carter however, was not such a big fan of the pictures today. I believe getting up early and playing hard for two hours in nursery wore him out and he was ready for a nap.
The medical update (because it seems like the past three months every post has included one) is that right now Carter is on day 11 of being sick and I am on day 6. I believe Owen is now getting it, but Mike has manged to avoid the cold virus that has knocked the rest of us on our bums. Carter was put on antibiotics that helped his cough and when we took him into the ENT they discovered his left ear tube was blocked again, it was also blocked two weeks ago. So they cleared it out, not a fun process to hold Carter down while he screams. It breaks my heart every time. Because it was blocked he hasn't had his hearing test yet since surgery. I get to put drops in his ears for a few more days and then we go back in two weeks. I'm not sure what the plan will be if it is blocked again. Poor Carter.

I'm pretty sure Owen is working on a tooth because he is constantly chewing on his thumb and anything else that is near his mouth. He's made real progress this week and is starting to get up on his knees when he is on his tummy. I see mobility in the future and am starting to plan the things I'm going to have to do to make the house "crawl" friendly again. Owen is also laughing more and loves to be tickled and is getting better and reaching and grabbing things. We've also started solids and slowly but surely I think he's starting to actually get some pears in his mouth. Feels like I feed him the same spoon full about four times. Carter is his favorite thing to watch and loves it when Carter talks with him. The best part of my day has been watching both of them giggle back and forth to each other. I am really loving having two little men in my life.

Plans for this week? My mom will be here until Wednesday. I'm hoping to be healthy enough to get back to the gym after more than a week of "sick leave." I want to get some sewing projects done, eat at Chick-fil-a and clean. Oh, and get our dryer fixed because it broke Friday night. We turned it on and it smelled like the house was going to burn down, since then we can't get it to start. Awful, no dyer with two babies. I am in desperate need to wash and dry a load of baby clothes. The repair guy comes tomorrow so cross your fingers for me that he'll be able to fix it right then. If not, I may be calling you to borrow your dryer. :)

27 on the 27th.

So I turned 27 this past Friday! Wohoo! I was told it was my golden birthday, turning 27 on the 27th. Hey I'll take it, golden birthday and all. I was still sick and was without a voice for about three days. My mom came into town and we have a pretty relaxed day at the house with the boys, who were also still sick. Our house has been more like a hospital ward the past two weeks, with one person sick at all times. Mike got me a new polar watch with heart rate moniter. I'm in love with it and can't wait to use it at the gym... once I figure out how to use the new F11 model.

Here's Carter opening my presents. He's never wanted to open presents before, but on this day he went to town before I could even sit down next to him. For my birthday my mom watched the boys and Mike and I went out to dinner at the Japanese Steakhouse in town. I love that place but we never go unless it's a special occasion. Last Friday was certainly a special occasion so we threw our budget out the window and splurged on dinner. The best part was we were alone at the table, no big crowd to share the fried rice portion with, just me, my man and our little chef. The food was delicious but the company was better! After dinner Mike took me to Target where he bought me Twilight and we played in the toy isles picking out cars for Carter and enjoyed our time shopping without the kiddos. Then we ended the night with angel food cake my mom made for me and cuddling on the coach in our PJ's watching the new movie. I was pretty excited as you'll tell in the photos below. Thanks for a great birthday babe.

Thanks everyone that called, facebooked or emailed on my birthday! I felt pretty special and grateful to have such a wonderful support system of friends and family.

A Signing Fool.

Today I took Carter back into see the pediatrician. We're on day 6 of him being sick and turns out it wasn't a wasted trip... you know you get to the office and all of a sudden your child acts like nothing is wrong... turns out his "just a cold" has turned into bronchitis.

So we headed to the pharmacy for what feels like the 100th trip in the past three months to pick up his baby z-pack of antibiotics. I'm hoping he'll start to feel better soon and for this mommy's sake that we'll be able to get back to the gym soon. Eating nachos and coke and not going to the gym is doing nothing to help these birthing hips of mine.

While at the office this morning Carter was a signing fool, which in the long run was very fortunate for me and kept him from screaming at me, which if I felt as bad as he does I might have. As we were sitting in the room waiting for Dr. Clark to come in... we waited for over an hour today thanks to this virus hitting the entire suburb community... Carter ransacked the room and took every book out of the basket and stacked them on the chairs. Fine. We read two. Then I picked up a magazine, there is only so much I can handle of the happy puppy and the speckled frogs with suspenders, as I turn the page in the magazine Carter grabs the magazine from me, signs "all done" and puts it away. He then gets another book, Dr. Seuss something and climbs on my lap and signs "more." It's good that my toddler knows what he wants and can express his thoughts to me... too bad for me in this circumstance because I was really interested in what I was reading.

When Daddy's Away...

When daddy is out of town all weekend...

1. The kids decide to get sick on me and stop sleeping at night and taking naps.
2. We skip church because the kids are sick and spend an entire day in our PJ's.
3. All I eat is nachos and drink coke to survive. No point in cooking for one, especially because Carter won't eat at all.
4. We don't take any pictures to document our "wonderful" weekend because he has the camera.
5. In the need for adult interaction after chatting with a toddler all day, I scour face book looking for friends and check on people I grew up with and their new grown up lives.
6. My inner "slob" decides to make an appearance... I haven't made the bed all weekend and the sink is full of dirty dishes and the dishwasher full of clean ones. (the list could go on and on)
7. We all mope around and miss him.

Welcome home honey!

Just a cold.

So we've had a few rough days with the boys. Starting on Thursday, Carter started coming down with a cold, coughing and just not feeling well. My guess, the influx on children at the gym for spring break brought on a whole new spectrum of kid germs that he caught. Great.

Add to that Owen and his three day streak of waking up every hour and crying. Great. So Saturday morning, after three days of no sleep, I called the pediatrician, there has to be something wrong with this child and I was at my breaking point of no sleep. After making an appointment I walk into our bedroom to see Carter in bed with Mike. So I then called the doc back and made an appointment for Carter. Great.

The verdict, it's just a cold for Carter. And well, Owen, not sure about him, maybe just the same cold bug, or teeth, or growth spurt. He said Carter should start feeling better soon, only today after staying home from church and being quarantined at the house he's gotten worse. He won't eat, coughing worse and now running a fever. My guess, the mutant day care virus is progressing. Great.

On a lighter note, Owen slept last night and is now asleep. At least one of us is sleeping.

After a bath he's always thirsty. It's a battle to keep him from drinking the bath water or sucking water of the shelf in the shower.

Owens getting stronger each day he rolls from one side of the room to the other and is starting to swim on his tummy.
Fascinated with his toes. Here's his baby "hurkey." Is that how you spell the cheerleading jump?

Date Nights.

We've been pretty fortunate the past two weeks to have been able to go out on a few dates with just us... no kids. It's been great to reconnect and just spend some time together. Almost feels like we are back in college, especially when we go out with the Ramages.

Last night we went to the Houston Rodeo with Scott and Lindsay to see Taylor Swift. It was one of two sold out nights at the rodeo, 73k people sold out to be more specific. It was crazy and we were pretty far up in the stadium but we still had a good time. I'm a big Taylor fan so I was pretty pumped to hear my favorite songs and sing along with the rest of the sceaming teenage girls...when did I get old? Mike was a sport and put up with me singing in his ear and actually managed to have a smile on his face in the process. We spent a fortune on food, is it really ethical to charge $5.50 for a coke? The rodeo, concert and company were great. Even the babysitter turned out ok. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty terrific date night.

Last week my mom came into town and watched the boys for us so we could get out for awhile. We ventured out on a budget and saw a late movie at the $1.50 cinema. Not the best theatre but we still had fun being out and were pretty proud of ourselves for not spending very much money. Here's a picture taken on Mike's blackberry.

Sometimes.

Sometimes I wonder what they are thinking and if their jabber back and forth really goes something like this...

Carter, "Hey there."

Owen, "How's it going?"

Carter, "Just Chillin Bro."

Carter is now adament that if I take a picture of Owen that he come sit by him and be included. This time he even brought the blanket over to snuggle up to Owen with.

Sometimes I wonder if Owen will look more like me, Mike or Carter. So I dressed Owen in his church clothes, same outfit that Carter wore when he was the same age (Thanks to Lynette) and thought we could compare the two. Hands down Owen wins the more hair award.

Owen 5 months.Carter 5 months. Owen 5 months.Carter almost 6 months, sitting up by himself.
Sometimes I wonder how I am going to entertain these two...And then I receive a package on the front door step from my dear high school bff, Tara and her hubby Jon. Do you see that amazing blanket she made for Owen... beautiful!

Entertainment provided in a small package. A fabulous train set! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Like Father Like Son.

Can you figure out where Mike spends most of his time while at home?

That's right, during this time of year, most of Mike's time is spent at his desk. Mouse in one hand, computer open and the ten key in the other hand. Carter has also noticed how hard Mike works, but Carter translated Mike working into Mike having fun. So this week while Mike was at work, he climbed into the chair next to me and got out all of daddies "toys" and one of his own. This mimic toddler stage is just way too much fun for all of those involved.
Like Father Like Son.

More of the Same.

It still amazes me how each day can be the same, yet so very different. Predictable in that we have somewhat of a routine, wake, eat, gym, lunch, naps, play, dinner, baths, bed. But each day one of the boys does or learns something new and therefor adds an entirely new dynamic to our mundane routines.

Owen is constantly rolling and scooting his way around, while figuring out the world with such excitement and joy. He discovered his toes today and is still enjoying his thumb over a pacifier any day. He loves to be tickled under his chin and loves to have your undivided attention. He loves it when we put lotion on him and shows us with big smiles and giggles. Owen is sleeping mostly through the night in the other room (hurray!) and takes his naps in the crib in my room during the day.

Carter is now 21 months and loves to wrestle and snuggle. He loves to curl up on the coach with a blanket and you can also find him sitting in the corner at times quietly looking through books. This week his fascination is sitting on the kitchen table and talking on the phone to whoever will listen, mostly his grandmas who love him. He loves his toy cars and insists on carrying four with him at all times. He still loves tomatoes and anything with ranch on it. I enjoy Carters new found jabbering and find it refreshing to turn around in the car and see him there. I'm never alone and it's getting more and more fun hanging out with him.

This is the "Ohhh" face after bumping his head.

Snuggling with daddy on a lazy Sunday afternoon.Carter is learning how to share and brought Owen a handful of valued treasures. Talking on the phone with Grandma. He pretty much climbs all over and under things and drags the phone with him jabbering the entire time. I put Owen down for some tummy time and he was out cold. I think he looks like a little frog all sprawled out. We've been spending a lot of time lately building towers for Carter to knock down and build again. Entertaining Owen and dancing to the mobile music.

Skinny.

This is the conversation I had with Mike tonight at about 10:30.

Me: "It seems like everyone else is commenting about how skinny other people are looking. I've been working really hard and no one tells me that I'm looking good after having a baby."

Background: The oven preheat timer goes off, "Beep - Beep - Beep"

Mike: "Did you turn the oven on?"

Me: "Yeah, I'm going to make chocolate chip cookies."

Mike: Laughter.

Me: "Well shoot, no wonder."

(Sidenote- Yes, I know this is a bit self indulgent and I'm not searching for compliments, but don't we all have moments like this, when we seek a little reassurance. )

Another Day.

Just another day at the Dille house. Yet today seemed different. I don't know if it was just me, or the boys, or just the day... but things went smoothly today. For once I was able to take a deep breath and feel like I could do this. Both boys are tucked into bed and the house isn't disheveled, but somewhat tidy and well kept. I had one on one time with both boys and spent some time enjoying just Owen and his new found giggles. It was a good day. Owens big baby blues. My niece Emma isn't the only animal slayer out there. Owen taught this frog a lesson or two. Today I heard Carter say, "upstairs" and "toes." He's also saying "Tayson," "go," "shoes," "mommy and daddy," "hat," "moo," "ball," and "dog."

Each time I hear a new word come from his mouth I get so excited! Our pediatrician said after tubes lots of toddlers will have a word explosion. He didn't promise me this, but I am hoping for it. At this rate, we are well on our way. Go Carter go!