Charlie Brown

Here is Baylen's "other" Halloween costume. haha

Happy Halloween from the Tortoise and the Hare

Warning: lots of pics!

We went trick-or-treating down at K-Station this afternoon after work. Brynna and Baylen had their daycare party yesterday (Thurs.) and had a great time and came home with LOADS of candy. TOO MUCH! haha We also have pics of them in their costumes both individual and together. They turned out really cute.

First Tooth!

Baylen's first tooth finally popped through today. He slept through the night last night...first time that has happened in FOREVER. Perhaps it was b/c he finally wasn't feeling so much pain.

These two

are so silly!

Pumpkin Carving

The kids, Dj and I all carved our pumpkin tonight. It was definitely not as easy carving it with two little ones this year. We contained Baylen for awhile in his little high chair...but he didn't last long in there. Brynn did NOT like pulling out the seeds but was okay with mom pulling out the guts and putting them in her hands. Then she would put the guts on the newspaper. All in all, Bee really enjoyed watching dad carving the "punkin" tonight. Our pumpkin has a very "tech savvy" face, by the way...guess who picked out that design?!

Moving my writing pieces

I'm moving my writing/poetry over to a separate blog, called Fitz's Ink Spot.

I love

this little Mister. :)

Flip Flop Season is Sadly over

LEt's cross our fingers that Brynnie can wear these next summer....cuz they are WAY cute and she couldn't fit into them this summer.

Do you Think We're related?!

My brother, sister-in-law, Mary and I all thought Baylen and Parker looked REALLY similar in these two pics!

This is why

having kids is so awesome...moments like these:

7 months old...a little late

As usual, I am behind. But, I couldn't forget to post my little mister's 7th month birthday. I messed w/ the color on one of the pics and the other one, I'm not sold on yet, so I might try a re-shoot later--we'll see.

He is such a sweet little guy but full of personality. Man can he SCREAM! haha

He is a mover...crawling and pulling himself up onto furniture.

Lately he's been grabbing skin. and pinching. It hurts and bruises.

He loves trying to get into the cat food, tipping over garbage cans and eating magazines.

He is fighting bedtime...just lately. I think it's because I'm trying to wean him and he's not having ANY of it. He doesn't want to give it up yet.

He's been fussy lately @ night--I think and hope it's his teeth and not an ear infection.

He loves his food. 21 pounds 15 oz. Going through ANOTHER growth spurt this week. Again. Need I say more?

He babbles and talks quite often--can say dada, mama, and can sign for "milk"

He loves his big sissy and always wants to be with her and loves trying to take her toys or get into her things. Constantly. He instantly lights up whenever she talks to him or even when she walks into the room.

He's been sleeping HORRIBLY again lately. Maybe we need another chiro. visit. Or maybe it's the teeth. The bottom 2 are SO close...seriously, like any minute. But really, he's been up every two hours or so. *sigh* I can't wait for the multiple nights he decides to sleep through the night. For Real.

He wears sizes: 6-9 months (shirts only), 12 months, 12-18, and 18.

He's my boy. Yep...he's a momma's boy.

Success?

Okay so I hope I'm not counting my chickens before they're hatched, but Friday and today, Brynna did NOT bite, hit or push anyone. Dare I say success? I am definitely counting it as 2 days in a row without incident=success. Let's just hope we have many more good days to come. And one more thing to celebrate? She went potty on the potty chair today at school...x1!!!
She earned 2 stickers and a whole lot of praise when she got home--esp for the being nice to everyone bit b/c that's what we're really pushing right now. She loves getting the stickers! :)

Poem of the week/month?

Well, I don't think I can safely say that I can post a poem per week, but I'll try. I love writing poetry. I used to write it often before my kids were born. Sometimes I feel like I really have some mad poetry writing skills, and other days, not so much. But, I want to get back into that mode again. Perhaps motherhood will inspire some new poems? I sure hope so! I definitely have a lot to write about.

ANyway, here's a poem I wrote a couple summers ago when I took a college writing class for my Pro-Cert at UW. I think those of you who are related to me will definitely know who inspired this narrative piece. :)

It’s time to go to the field

so we strap in,
grab our weapon of choice.
“Look for button, milk, or pig weed!”
you calmly beller.
“Do pig weeds look like pigs?” I asked.
I squirt what I think are weeds
but
being a virgin in the bean riding world,
I hit mostly beans which bring in money
we’ll never see.
I try to shrug it off like
I know what I’m doing.
Then I miss one and think
“too bad”
until you stop and
put the John Deere in reverse
and squirt it yourself.
You throw ‘the look’ my way
my cheeks flush,
and I begin
to wonder if bean riding
will ever get any easier.

This little girl

and I had a ton of fun together this morning...just the 2 of us. :) We went to a craft show for just a couple of hours, but we really enjoyed hanging out together and bonding. I took her out to lunch and then we met back up with daddy and Baylen, who had a "Guys Fry's" day today. Then, later this afternoon, all 4 of us headed to B-town for the Halloween festival. Brynn didn't nap much today and crashed at 7 p.m. Therefore, we didn't get any pics of her in her bunny costume, but no worries, she'll be wearing it a couple of times this week.

Sneak Peak

Of what's to come...more Halloween pics later this week! Here's one of Baylen in his turtle costume. He LOVED it!

Another First

This was Brynna's first experience eating a candy apple after dinner the other night. She finally has enough teeth to eat it. She really enjoyed it even though she only took a couple of bites, but it was cute to see it all go down. Her teacher Miss K. made it for her on Monday when she missed school b/c she was home sick w/ her dad due to a high fever on Sunday. How kind of her! We'll have to thank her on Monday...maybe bring in a picture for Miss K. to show her how much she enjoyed it.

Still Busy

But Thought I'd post a few pics. Baylen has been crawling all over the place, and now is trying to pull himself up onto furniture. A big negatory ghostrider on the tooth I thought had popped through. I thought I felt it a couple days ago when I posted, but, I was mistaken. It's coming soon though. Like any minute. I will post more when I put up pics of his 7th month. That is still to come prob. tomorrow or Sunday.



Brynna is still biting at daycare. What I do know is that it's happening in the later afternoon and that it's over sharing toys. I still have more info. to find out, because I want to talk to the other teacher next door. Sometimes she moves over to the next room (the two classrooms are connected by the potty, so you can walk through to the other side) and I think that the transition into the other room maybe be hard on her? Or, maybe routines are different on the other side? I'm still investigating this and trying to get all the info. She did NOT bite today, though, so that was good. She got stickers and lots of praise when we walked in the door. :)

Thanks Great Grandma Ruth!

For THIS cute outfit! :)

Thanks Auntie Mary!

For my cute shirt. It finally fits me! :)

Busy...

I have made a to-do list and it's over 42 items long. Some are school/work-related things I need to finish and others are home items, such as getting Brynna's costume ready for our Halloween festivities over the next two weekends. I wonder how long it will take me to get all of the items on my list accomplished...

I must say, though, I have never felt so far behind at school as I do this year. The new schedule is killing me w/ loads of paperwork, as well as the fact that the district eliminated the TA positions at all middle and high schools. It's KILLING so many of us! Our TA's save our lives every day by helping us keep above water. Ugh..I heard a rumor that we are getting them back 2nd semester. I sure hope so.

Kids: I still need to take Baylen's 7 moth photo in the next couple of days or so. His first tooth has broken through! Finally--this was making him really cranky. His issue with the "runs" cleared up on Monday. Thank goodness.

Brynna is still pushing and hitting in daycare but now she's only doing it b/c she is defending herself. She's not intentionally going up and doing it just to start something. I'm glad she's sticking up for herself, but we don't like that she's doing it by hitting and pushing. I know it's a 2-year-old thing, so we'll just keep trying to reiterate the importance of being nice and not pushing, hitting or biting others.

This weekend I'm excited for a couple of reasons: craft show on Sat. a.m. and a Halloween festival in a nearby city that we're going to take the kids to, just so they can wear their costumes one more time.

Recent pics from Remlinger Farms

I know--no pics w/ Baylen n Brynn together by pumpkins....so I'm trying to find a time to take them down the road here to the patch by our house and get a few.

Rough Week

We have had a bit of a rough week here. On Sat., the kids had their check-ups and Baylen had 5 vaccines. One of them was the Flu shot and another was the roto-virus (oral) vaccine. Anyway, while we were at the check-up, Dr. D. said that Baylen had some fluid behind his ears and it might turn into a possible ear infection. Dr. D. wrote us a prescription for amoxicillin to fill if we needed it. On Sunday, he seemed to be pretty fussy and pulling at his ears a bit, so we decided to fill the prescription and begin the meds.

On Wednesday, daycare called and said that he was vomiting. I knew that the side effects of this medicine included vomiting and diarrhea b/c the pharmacist told me this when I picked up the meds. She mentioned to give it to him w/ food and that I might want to get some Pedialyte to have on hand just in case that happened to make sure he didn't get dehydrated. Anyway, so Wednesday, Dj went and picked him up and then dropped him off w/ me around noon b/c we had early release and Bay could hang with me the rest of the day. I had to go to the Dr. to go get a note that stated he was vomiting due to the antibiotics he was taking. I also found out from the nurse to try and give him the meds an hour LATER rather than right b/f he eats. After talking to my mom and she suggested to end the dosages, at that point, I decided no more medicine. If it was making him throw up, we agreed that it was not worth it. So I stopped giving it to him.

Now, this entire time all of this is going on, he's never had a fever, never been fussy, or acted lethargic. He was his happy-go-lucky self. He's still eating fine, both food and bottles.

Then yesterday, Baylen started having the runny bunnies. Allll day. He went through several outfits. Daycare called and I had to explain that his meds were causing this yet again. He didn't have issues all night until 6 this a.m. Then today again, 4 more times, and tonight, 2 times already. By tonight, he's been off meds for 24 hours. I gave him Pedialyte after talking w/ Kati J. (thanks Kati) about it and he did get about 3 oz. of that from a bottle.

So, the question remains: is this case of the runs from: the meds? teething? (I can see 4 teeth on his bottom gums but none have pushed through yet), the vaccinations?
if it's from the meds...how long will it have to run it's course through his little system?

poor guy!

Brynn has still had a tough time this week at daycare as well, but with hitting, biting and pushing. She has never really exhibited this behavior at daycare before. Apparently she's targeting the two "quiet" kids in the class and just making their lives miserable. She's been put into timeout several times and even sent to the office for a time out, which she did NOT like. Everyday, I ask her once we get to school, "what are we going to do today?" and she answers: "Be nice to Hudson. Be nice to Madigan. No biting. No hitting." and then I say, "that's right--we need to be nice to our friends." Well, on the first day I asked her this, which would have been yesterday morning, I asked, "What are we going to do today?" and she looked at me and said, "Ummm hit Hudson in the face!" Although this was not the answer I was looking for, I had to hold back laughter, because, seriously, that is a funny statement even though it's definitely NOT okay. More on Brynn's behavior in another post later.

Seven Things that will make me go crazy if I hear it one more time:

1. If John McCain says "My Friends" one more time when addressing Americans during debates

2. If Sarah Palin calls John McCain a "Maverick" one more time...that is seriously cheesy.

3. "You're a great teacher--you can handle him."

4. "Brynna bit someone again today."

5. "Mrs. Fitz, I forgot my uniform."

6. "Mrs. Fitz, can I go get my planner? I left it in my locker."

7. "What? I didn't say anything to him. He said it to me first!"

Best Bumper Stick EVER

While driving home yesterday, I saw the best bumper sticker ever:

How's My Driving?
Call 1-800-EAT-SHIT


Love.it. haha

We've got a Biter...

Today Brynn got caught biting another child at daycare. She was caught biting an older girl on the arm. I don't know the whole story, but I intend to find out more tomorrow. When I asked her who she bit, she told me she bit Hudson b/c he took a toy from her. But when the director of the daycare was talking to her, she mentioned another girl who B. had bitten named McKenna. Now I am trying to figure out why her and McKenna would be near each other, since M. is 2 years older than her. That is why I am going to investigate more tomorrow.

Dj and I both did some role-playing tonight to try and teach her other methods besides biting to tell someone to stop doing something she doesn't like. This summer, she bit Parker 3-4 times for various reasons--he took her toys a couple of times and the other two times, he was pulling on her arm or doing something to her she didn't like. We kept giving her timeouts and also telling her that teeth were not for biting. Mom brought home a book from work with that title and we read it several times. She seemed to get it and did stop the biting. She has been doing really well at home when Baylen grabs something of hers..she just says "Nooo Baylen, that's mine. Stop, Baylen!" Until tonight when we got home and he was trying to grab a puzzle piece from her, he grabbed it and she started screeching and then aimed her little teeth and mouth for his hand and bit him. I saw her do it and she was put in a time out immediately. We had another talk about why we do NOT bite, and that it hurts kids--it gives them owies. Later, Baylen tried to take away her sippy cup and she was freaking out crying, but wasn't moving...just saying..'nooo stop!" But, of course, he continued to grab it from her. Finally, we showed her ways to use her words instead of her teeth to tell someone to knock it off. She also repeated everything we said. Hopefully it will work and we won't have any more biting.

The girl, Meagan, who fills in for B's teacher at the end of the day told me that the kids have been taking a lot of toys away from Brynna lately...which is probably one reason why she is retaliating--it's the only way she can keep her stuff. It's tough being the smallest kid in class! Regardless, I am still going to find out more info. tomorrow about what actually happened.

Check-Up Recap

This weekend is full of recaps. Brynna and Baylen had their 2-year and 6 month appointments yesterday morning. Brynna weighs 23 pounds, 12 ounces. She is 32 1/4 inches tall. Her weight and height place her in the 10th percentile. Baylen is 21 pounds, 12 ounces and 27 1/4 inches tall. He is in the 90th percentile for both weight and height. I can't believe Bay has only 2 lbs before he catches up with Brynn. It will be interesting to see when he'll catch up and surpass her! I am sure he'll be 30 by a year, if not more.

Our Ped. was impressed that Baylen was crawling already.

Baylen has moved into size 12-18 months and Brynn is in sizes 12-18, 18-24 in pants and 18-24/24 months and 2T in tops. A couple of nights ago, Baylen's pj's were either too small or all in the wash, so we put on a pair of Brynn's on him (they are unisex in colors and content...no worries) and they totally fit him. He also wears bigger sized diapers than her, now wearing a size 4. Brynn is still in a size 3. We had to move him to the next size b/c his thighs were too chunky for the 3's and they were cutting off his circulation! :)

Besides growing like a weed, Baylen is also quickly outgrowing his bucket/baby carseat. Next weekend we're going to buy a bigger carseat. We'll move Brynna to the bigger one we're buying next weekend and then Baylen will move into the big boy, smaller Britax seat. I think he'll enjoy the move. He seems pretty uncomfortable in the bucket.

Remlinger Farms Recap

Yesterday we visited Remilnger Farms. This is the second consecutive year we've driven over and once again, we had a great time. :0 We met our friends and their kids up there after B & B's Dr. Appointments. Brynna enjoyed her first pony ride and also loved bouncing in the bouncy house. She also went down a big, inflatable slide and rode on the train. She went in two different mazes: a hay one and a corn. Finally, we visited the pumpkin patch. Here are a few pics and I posted a video of Bee riding a pony on my gallery site (Sarah's gallery..see link below).

Hopefully next year we can get up there a little earlier and ride some more rides and visit the petting zoo.

I love 2 Year Olds

for this very reason:

Theta Pics up

new pics up in my Gallery. Click on "Sarah's Gallery" on my blog to see pics. If you can't get it to work, let me know and I'll email you the link from my email address. (sfitz@mac.com)

also i made sure to click the downloading option so if you want any of the Theta pics, you can download to your desktop and print off photos. I also posted a few from the rest of our weekend at my parent's house.

Mister Mister and his lists of firsts...and seconds

First: Mister Baylen is crawling! He took his official first crawls on Sat. night at my parent's house. There were many witnesses. On Sunday, he would crawl just far enough to get a toy he wanted or whatever he thought he needed and then stop to mess with it or play with it. He is getting stronger and braver each day. I can't believe he's doing this already.

Second: he's saying "mama" again! :) We heard him saying this a couple of different times at the farm.

First: He went to his first tailgate AND ISU football game and had a great time! He slept through part of it and enjoyed watching the 2nd half.

Second: he's sick with another cold. :( BOO

First: He went on his first four-wheeler ride w/ Papa on Sunday. (they rode very slowly and he loved it)

Second: he went on his second plane ride and did pretty well. the second half of the LONNNNG ass flight from Dalls was tough...he wasn't too cranky, he just got really restless..he wanted to crawl around. Finally, I tore out parts of one of the magazines and he chewed on those for awhile, which is thoroughly enjoyed.

Video to come later this week hopefully of Baylen crawling. (I did get it on tape)

Off...

to my old stomping grounds and I couldn't be more excited! :) sooo looking forward to seeing my fam. and can't wait to see you theta girlies! :)