What a helpful son we have raised...

First story...I was shelling pecans today with Jesse helping me. His version of helping me was to hand me a pecan, and then while I was busy shelling it he sat and ate two or three from the container of shelled ones. Anyway, he dumped the pecans on the floor (possibly to get my attention because I was talking on the phone at the time). But, he did help me clean them up (singing our clean up song). And after we had picked up all the larger pieces, he went to get the dustbuster to vacuum up the smaller crumbs. See...helpful, right?

Second story...tonight we were at a WCC information dinner with the kids. Rebecca ate something she didn't like and at the very end of the meeting she threw up all over me. So, I mopped it all up and figured that was it. Nope. A few minutes later, while I was visiting with some older ladies, Rebecca threw up again, twice. This time Jesse noticed and was pointing out the mess. I think he was saying, "Dirty." He saw that we were using the napkins to clean up the mess on the floor, so being the helpful son he is (at times), he grabbed my jacket and tried using it to clean up the mess. Oh well. At least it's a weatherproof jacket, and he was using the outside.

Happy New Year

I can't believe it's 2008 already. Christmas is past, and Mike's holidays are half over. We had a wonderful Christmas break in San Antonio with my parents and Mike's parents (yes, both sets of parents at one time...in one house for a week!) I love the fact that our families get along well enough that we can spend a holiday together like that. It was such a precious time, filled with lots of good memories. We toured the Riverwalk, went to the Alamo and the other four missions in the area. We also went shopping a few times, went to listen to Max Lucado preach, got lost a time or two in San Antonio, hung out in the hot tub, ate at Johnny Carino's, Mi Tierra, and Whataburger, and we even had a turkey dinner! The week went by too fast, but it was so much fun and I am glad they made the effort to travel all this way to see us.

So we actually celebrated Christmas day here in Abilene, just our little family of four. We got some small presents for the kids, and some stocking stuffers, so when they woke up Tuesday morning we all opened presents together. Jesse ate a candy cane from his stocking, and Rebecca ate a cracker from hers. It was fun. At dinner time we ate a roast chicken with all the yummy side dishes. Then Jesse and Rebecca napped, and Mike and I just hung out. It is so nice to have him around...I think I will find it difficult when he has to go back to school.

Jesse has started this annoying habit of taking his diaper off. He will strip off his pants and the undo his diaper. If we redress him, he will have it off again in a matter of minutes. This wouldn't be a big deal if he was potty trained, but he will just pee wherever he feels like. And since most of our house is carpet, it can be a pain to clean up. We have tried several tactics to keep pants on him including putting him in jeans (with a button and zipper), which he finds more difficult but not impossible to get off. We have also put the diaper on him backwards, which helps overnight. And we also continue to try potty training him, but he just doesn't seem to get the concept of peeing in the potty. I will put him on there (because I know he needs to go), and he won't do anything while he's sitting there, but a minute after I let him down he will have gone somewhere else in the house. It's frustrating. Rebecca can be frustrating too. Not because we are trying to potty train her, but because we are trying to get her to eat solid foods. She ate fine several weeks ago. Then she got the stomach flu, had a few periods of throwing up, and since then she does not want to eat from a spoon. She will eat crackers, and cheerios by the handful, but will not open her mouth to eat from the spoon. So, I have to be sneaky. When she opens her mouth to eat a cheerio, I will shove a spoonful of fruit, veggies, or cereal into her mouth. She seems to liked cooked sweet potato or carrots diced up better than the pureed variety. And I can tell she's hungry because she is wanting to eat every few hours which is really annoying during the night. But, I think she is getting better. It's just too bad that we have to deal with both children being frustrating at the same time!

We had a fairly uneventful New Years Eve. I guess that happens when you have babies. We didn't even bother going anywhere because we knew Jesse would be going to bed around 8. I woke up at 11:45 to feed Rebecca. We heard some fireworks that people were setting off around the apartment complex. And then I went back to bed. That's about as exciting as it gets!

Dan is coming to visit, and I can't wait. It will be so much fun to have him here and show him around Abilene and have him meet our friends down here. Hopefully we have some nice warm weather for him to enjoy.

Morning Surprise

I had a surprise waiting for me when I went in to get Jesse up this morning. It makes me laugh just thinking about what I am going to write! So, I went in to get Jesse, and noticed he was pantless right away. I got a little closer and saw a wet spot on the floor. And then I looked in Jesse's crib...low and behold, there was his diaper sitting on the mattress. I'm not sure why he took his pants, and his diaper off, but it reminded me of Angie's story of Eoin and his diaper just a few days ago!

We had our last MOPS meeting today, until the new year that is. It was fun, as always. I got to pick up my plate that I made a month ago, plus I won a door-prize which is always cool.

Rebecca and Jesse are both sick right now. For the most part, they don't seem to be too uncomfortable...just runny noses and a cough. Rebecca actually has lost her voice. It's kinda nice, because she can't really cry...but at the same time she makes these cute, pitiful, squeaky noises that made you feel bad for her. Hopefully they are both better by the weekend (because the grandparents are coming!!!), and hopefully Mike and I won't get sick at all!

I saw the coolest spider at the park the other day. I know you are probably thinking, "But Trina, you don't like spiders." Yes, it's true, I don't really like them. But, when they are outside and I have enough distance between me and them, they're okay. So, the cool spider...he was a little guy. He was walking down the slide that I happened to be sitting on. He ran over to this little rock that was the same color as him, he curled up in a ball and looked just like the rock. I thought, "Strange, I've never seen a spider do that before...I wonder if he would do it again?" So, I blew on him just enough to disturb him, and he ran over to another rock about his size and color. Again, he tucked his legs in and sat very still. I left him for about 5 minutes, and he just sat there, looking like a rock. Then I blew on him again, and he ran away to find another rock. It was so cool. I kind of wish I had a video of it...

One more thing...

Yesterday, amidst all the talk about bugs, I forgot to mention one thing about Rebecca which is actually a pretty big milestone in her development. She can sit herself up. The other day she was playing on the floor by herself, and I looked down and she was sitting up. I asked Mike if he had sat her up, but he hadn't so I figured she must have done it herself. Then, last Wednesday at church I watched her go from her tummy to sitting up. When I was at the doctor yesterday and she was asking all the questions, "Can your baby...roll over? (yes, for about 3 months now) Can your baby...pass object from one hand to the other? (yes, and she can even pick things up with her thumb and index finger) Can your baby...sit up supported? (yes, in fact she can even sit herself up)" Needless to say, the doctor was amazed at Rebecca's developement. It doesn't really surprise me though, since Jesse and Rebecca seem to be on about the same schedule as far as when they accomplished their "firsts". The doctor did think that it was funny that Rebecca had no hair...I figure our kids just decide to let the hair (and teeth - Jesse was 8 months old before he got a tooth, and Rebecca has none yet either) wait until they accomplish all these other things!

Rebecca's growing up...

I can't believe Rebecca is 6 1/2 months old already...she's getting so big. I just took her to the doctor today. She is 16 lbs 8 oz and 26 inches tall (at 6 months Jesse weighed 18 lbs 12 oz and was 27 inches tall). We are still working on getting her to eat solid food. She was doing great for the first week (we even have a video to prove it!) Then our whole house got the stomach flu and ever since she has not been interested in eating. But, we keep trying and someday she will be hungry enough to eat!

It's almost time for Christmas holidays. I have a hard time remembering it's December since our weather has been pretty nice. We had a few cold days with some snow, but now it back into the 20's and we gladly go outside without our coats. It's kind of nice not to worry about piling blankets onto Rebecca, or making sure Jesse is wearing his toque. Plus I'm sure Mike appreciates not having to ride his bike to school in the snow!

But as a trade off for the nice weather, we do have lots of bugs still. The roach problem may be under control now. We changed our sticky tape on the weekend, and haven't caught any in it yet, so that's a good sign. But we have had some nasty spiders. Not nasty as in dangerous, but nasty as in gross and disgusting. It's kind of funny actually. About a week ago, we were getting ready to leave the house and Jesse was at the door with his 'Mater truck (which he likes to take everywhere). I was sitting behind him putting his shoes on. He was peering into the trunk of the truck saying, "bug." It was a spider, and a pretty good sized one at that. I thought to myself...that's the biggest spider I have seen in our house. Mike killed it. Then, a couple of days later I was coming out to turn the computer off before bed and noticed an even larger spider hanging out in the crack by our door. Our weatherstripping is so bad that I have watched bugs as big as 2 inches come in our closed door. I'm sure that's how this guy got in, and why he was hanging around the door. Anyway, he was probably around 1-1.5 inches in body size (plus legs). So Mike killed him too. Again, I thought to myself, "that's the biggest spider I have ever seen in a house." So, a day or two later I entered the living room and saw this big black spot on my window. I got closer and realized it was on the inside. It was another spider, and I thought, "THAT is the biggest spider I have ever seen in my house!" I tried to kill it with a shoe, but it was on the window behind the blinds and I couldn't get it. I am afraid of spiders, like really afraid. Especially when they are big, and black. I was shaking from trying to get close enough to kill it. Mike got rid of that one too. He decided to use the vacuum. As soon as he turned it on, the spider ran away but I was sure it wasn't gone. So he took the blind down (we have those mini-blinds), and the spider was sitting in its little burrow it had built inside the hollow part of the top of our blinds. We had a spider living in our blinds - a big spider, close to the stool where Jesse loves to play. I'm sure it would hurt if that sucker bit you. So, Mike vacuumed him. It made a *clunk* as it got sucked up. Then he ran the vacuum for a few minutes, dumped the container out, and the spider tried to make a run for it, so Mike beat it with a shoe (until it was black and blue as he puts it). Isn't that gross? I still find myself looking at the corner of the window out of paranoia. I don't care how clean you keep your house, how would you ever find a web that a spider has built inside your blinds? It kind of scares me to think what we would find it we moved the boxes around in our closet...

Well, Mike is almost finished the semester. All he has left now is finals. He has one take home and one on Tuesday next week. I think we are all looking forward to the semester break. He has been working so hard this year, this is a well earned break. Plus, this year will be our first Christmas (day) at home. And by home, I mean it's the first time that we haven't been with one set of parents or the other. I'm kind of excited about that.

That's about it for now. Christmas cards will soon be in the mail...

Almost 3 months later...

We still have bugs. I can't believe it. These suckers are hard to get rid of! On the bright side, my dishes have to get done every night. But, not only do we have roaches...we also have some fire ants again. They are back, in the same spot, in Rebecca's room by the window (which her crib sits next to). We put plastic up over the windows in the kids rooms a few weeks ago (trying to cut down on electricity costs). So, most of the ants were contained. But, since we couldn't get a perfect seal on the window, some ants escaped. We found a big spider web under Rebecca's crib that was full of ants. And for some reason, I am always finding spiders. I thought we would have gotten rid of them by now. Unlike roaches, where one female can lay 30 eggs a month and they hide in all the cracks and crevices; spiders you usually just have to suck up and they're gone. I have no idea where they keep coming from. We find them in closets, wall corners, sometimes walking on the wall above our bed (which is really creepy). They just keep showing up. Sometimes I kill them. Most of the time I make Mike kill them. So there you go - we have roaches, fire ants, and spiders. People tell me that when it freezes, it should slow down the bug population. We'll see. I certainly hope so. Right about now, I am seriously missing my old apartment in Regina. It would be one thing if it was just me I had to worry about, but we have 2 small children...who get into everything. Rebecca crawls everywhere these days. I just don't like the idea of her finding a spiderweb in a corner, or her having fire ants crawling on her while she sleeps. Jesse's funny. He takes shoes and squishes pieces of dirt on the floor like us squishing bugs. We have this two sided tape in our kitchen to catch bugs, and in the morning he always "helps" me kill the ones we caught overnight. He will point them out and say, "bug...dirty!" Our kitchen cabinets have been packed into plastic tubs for a month now, and it's really annoying to try and remember what is in each tub...but it's nice to know our dishes are safe there. It's also nice to know that there are less places for the roaches to hide amongst our stuff, when the cupboards are empty. Jesse enjoys playing in the empty cupboards. Every one in a while he emerge with a bug, which he deposits in the garbage can. What a helpful little boy! I am so glad that he isn't freaked out by bugs yet (and hopefully never is). We are trying to get moved into an upper level apartment in hopes of getting less bugs, but it could be over a month before they have one open and even if they do they just told us we could "investigate the possibility"...so please pray our bugs will go away and/or we will get moved to a better location soon!

Ahhh...and other than bugs, what's been happening. Well, like I said, Rebecca is pretty much getting all over the place. She still does the army crawl, on her arms, but she is quick. The other day I took Jesse to the potty, Rebecca was in the living room, and when we came out she was halfway down the hall towards us. I remember the first day Jesse followed me into the kitchen when he was just learning to crawl. She just started eating rice cereal, and seems to like it okay. I put a video on the dropshots site of her eating it. Other than that, not much is new with her. I must say though, she sure looks petite compared to a lot of other babies that I see. It seems like most of the other ones I see are way chubbier...oh well, I like my non-rolly-polly girl. She actually fits the right size of clothes for her age!

Jesse...Jesse just turned two. Everyone seemed to be busy on his birthday, so we didn't do much. Our little family of four went to Sonic. Jesse ate a corndog and part of a sundae, but he mostly had fun playing on the slides and such. I bought some sparkling candles for the occasion, but they weren't like the sparklers I remember...these ones were a candle that occasionally sparkled. Since it was windy outside, they didn't work so well. Jesse got a bike for his birthday (from his grandma & grandpa Wieb), a stick horse, some bath foam and bath fizzies (from us), a chunky construction puzzle (from the Lee's), a book (from Mike's Aunty Val & Uncle Bill), and some money (from great-gpa Jack and Beryl). He also got some special birthday cards in the mail (he likes the sparkles on the one from great-gma & gpa Severson). Two years old...wow!

Mike is hard at work with school still. He just turned in a major assignment earlier this week, and I'm sure is feeling some relief! He is also participating in "Nazarite November". Some of the guys in the grad program have taken a vow not to shave for the month...should be interesting to see the progress Mike has made in a months time!

I've been battling a bout of tonsillitis this past week. It was so bad for several days that I could barely swallow liquids, but it seems that I am on the mend now after taking antibiotics for 4 days. Today is actually the first day that I could probably eat without needing any painkillers. There were a couple of days I was convinced I needed to have my tonsils removed, and was ready to pay any amount of money to do so...so, I am glad I am starting to feel better cause I'm sure it's not cheap to have tonsils removed down here!

And one last cute story...Mike took the kids out for a walk last night so I could have some down time to myself. I was vaccuming when they got home, and Jesse came in, grabbed his broom and started copying me. When I went to another room, he followed me and continued to "vacuum." It was cute. It didn't last too long, but it was neat to see him watch me intently, then look at his hand a broom to make sure he was doing it the same as me. Now if only getting him to use the potty was that easy...