Cuteness!

Hi Everyone,

  We have had a lot of cuteness going on! I have very active boys, but I am enjoying every moment of them. I know they won't be this age forever :)

Nicholas had his last working day on April 26th. He was so excited. I was sad that it was his last working day. In a few weeks, preschool will be over for the summer. We had a really great year. Nicholas did grow some physically and mentally. We still have our bumps in the road, but we are working on them. Nicholas' biggest problem is his listening skills. I also have 2nd graders that do not listen, so I know this is not uncommon :) From where we started from - a behavior chart at the beginning of school, I have seen much improvement with Nicholas' social skills, and that is why I enrolled him in this preschool. Anyway, working day was a lot of fun. I was the working parent. I was exhausted by the end of school, but Nicholas still wanted to go, go, go. I took the day off. We went to the library and then to Walmart. It was a very nice day.

Jacob is doing wonderful. I love when he stops in mid crawl, sits up and smiles at me. If he keeps this up, he may be my saving grace from his brother. Jacob is very laid back, goes with the  flow. I really hope he continues this trend. He has his second visit to the NICU this Thursday. I am sure he will do great.

Chris and I went to the Cavs game last Wednesday. Not going to lie - we did not have a good time. We probably should have stayed home. I won't be going to another Cavs game anytime soon. Give me an Indians' game anytime. The tickets were free, and I do appreciate the offer. The Cavs people came to my school on Monday because we won a contest. I had the CEO of the Cavs in my room!!! He did an art project with my kids. It was a busy, loud, hectic week at school! Hopefully, next week gets a little better.

Chris and I also had a surprise date night. We were going to go out with some friends, but plans changed. Chris told me to keep the babysitter and we will just go out. We went to Melt and it was wonderful. Just me and him :) It was an interesting place!!

Both boys had stuffy noses and Jacob was very blah Monday and Tuesday. I think I caught their cold and the students cold. I feel terrible! I don't do two colds in one year, and it needs to stop!

Have a good weekend! Hopefully, I survive this weekend - with two kids, all I want to do is sleep!!! Mandy

Amish Country

Hi Everyone,

During my break, we went to Amish Country. It was such a nice trip! The boys were not on their best behaviors, but we made it work. Nicholas wanted to go on so many adventures that day! We tried to honor his request. I really like how the pictures came out. I have more, but this blog was getting pretty picture heavy.

First week back at school has been a little rough. Every single night I came home, I was so sore. My feet and back hurt the most. Not fun getting old! I am not usually this sore, so I don't know what is going on. My heel spurs probably have something to do with it. My class was ok this week.    

Nicholas was able to go to Preschool on Friday, which was really nice! Then he had a play date after. I was a little nervous, because we don't do play dates due to Nicholas' social skills. He did good, just wouldn't eat lunch. I was happy that everything went well. He will be the working kid on the 26th. We are very excited! Nicholas brought home a really good coloring sheet - that will make the next blog :)

Jacob is doing good. He is eating more and more of my food. We also have our third tooth. One tooth every two weeks - Wow! Knock on wood - teething hasn't been that bad. He is on the move and such a happy baby!!

Everything is going well here! Have a good weekend!! Mandy

Brotherly Love

 "Who needs pants?!"





Hi Everyone,


       I think we might get a few more viewers. I just linked my blog onto Facebook. It took me over 2 years how to do it and it was a duh moment. Anyway, welcome to the blog!!

This week has flown by - of course! Had some drama at the last part of the week, but everything is settling down. This week will be interesting. We went to Amish Country and hung out at home. It turned out to be a very nice vacation with my little family.

Jacob is REALLY on the move! We think in a few weeks we will have a walker. I am not ready for that! Nicholas took forever to start walking. This baby needs to slow down!! I think we are working on a few more teeth.

Poor Nicholas! Now that Jacob is crawling - Nicholas is his main target. There are times when Jacob will play by himself which is adorable. Jacob is eating more and more of my food. Last night he tried "sketti" and had a great time. Jacob does not like when we move fast or go into another room.

I took a lot of pictures last week. This will probably be the last blog until next week. Have a good week!!! Mandy                                       

Egg Time!

On Friday, while Jacob was napping, Nicholas and I colored Easter Eggs. It gets better every year. Nicholas was so excited. He put the eggs in the pot, but the fire was NOT on. Nicholas wanted to color them right away, because he is VERY impatient - but I told him they needed to cool down. Once the eggs were ready, I let him do whatever he wanted with the eggs. He had fun. We will probably do another batch next week.

So far, vacation has been nice. Nicholas is giving me problems about going to bed. Not nice! He turned out to be the best sleeper, and now we are going a little backwards. It might have to do with Jacob going to bed  a little earlier.

Took some cute pictures! There should be some more blogs this week:)

Jacob on the move!

Hi Everyone,

Spring break is here!! There may be a few more blogs during Spring Break! :) I am very excited to be spending the break with my boys. Nothing major planned, but just relaxing (as much as a Mommy can) will be just as nice. I am really looking forward not getting up to 5:30am.

We have had a pretty good week! It went fast which made me happy :)

Jacob has been doing great! He is really on the move now. I have to move everything out of his way. The cat food and water are his main target. He also popped another tooth last week. Now, we are up to two. I did call Help Me Grow. I still wasn't sure if I should cancel the appointment. The lady told me to keep it, so I will. He will pass, but I am concerned with the delay of sitting up and will there be any future delays. It will get us prepared for the May 3rd NICU development appointment too. In January, I was really worried about that test. Not so much now:)

Nicholas is doing fine. His blood work came back normal. We don't have to go back for another 4 months. They will do a bone scan then, to see how delayed he is with growing. It has been running a year and a half. It should be interesting to see this time. He is also on Spring Break. He is very excited to go back to Preschool (already), because he is the working kid when he goes back. His behavior is pretty normal. He had tons of sugar yesterday and I took him outside to get rid of it. We really have to watch the sugar intake with this child :)

Have a good Weekend!! Mandy

Exciting!

Hi Everyone,

We have had a pretty good week. It was busy for sure!!! On Tuesday afternoon, Help Me Grow came to visit. The lady was very nice. Jacob might get evaluated on April 13th. Then after our meeting, we went out to dinner with my Mom and Dad for my Dad's birthday. The kids were great and it was nice to have beer and wings with my dad.

On Wednesday, Nicholas had his 3 month growth appointment. He is doing very well! The doctor is very impressed with his growth. He started really, really low on the charts and now he is on top. He did have to give blood for many reasons. The doctor hasn't called back, so I am assuming the levels are good! After his appointment, I headed to Urgent Care for an infection. It was fun times on Wednesday :)

On Thursday, we had our first Family pictures done, We think we spent too much money on them and we did, but they came out pretty good. Not too happy about the boys pictures together, but the single pictures of them did come out good. Chris and I even got our pictures taken, as a couple - no kids, Wow!! Nicholas was terrible and Jacob was tired. Not a fun experience, but it got done.

Some exciting news : Jacob can crawl and sit up by himself! We might not have Help Me Grow come back. I am not calling them right away, because I am not sure yet, with the delay of development. I am very proud of him!!! We are in big trouble :) Watch out Niko. By the end of the week - I was very proud of my boys overcoming their obstacles.
Next Week - Spring Break begins on Good Friday!!!!
Have a good Week!!! Mandy

Pasta Party

Niko and the Easter Bunny

Niko and Mrs. Pearl - Love this lady!!!
Niko not eating his Pasta :)



Hi Everyone,

On March 11th, Lollipop Co-op had their first Pasta Dinner. It was a lot of fun. Nicholas had a great time. He saw the Easter Bunny and had tattoos painted on his cheek and hand. Both Grandmas, and Chris came to the dinner. It was very nice that Chris could come, he usually works on Sunday, but my Dad came in and watched the office for a little bit. Nicholas loved the Easter Bunny, but I think seeing his teacher, Mrs. Pearl was way more exciting! We will miss her when the year is over. Jacob was not a fan of the Easter Bunny, but loved Ahmi's necklace :) They all left and I had to stay to work the next round. I won the 50 /50 raffle, not too bad :)


We all are doing good, and healthy. Nicholas is being Nicholas. We have been having the most unusual weather in March. Everyday we have been going to the playground. One time when we went, there was a dad and two boys. They let Niko play basketball with them. It was so kind of them - and Nicholas had a blast. Nicholas loves the tire swing. By the end of Summer, my arms will be in good shape! He is excited that we are having a PJ / Movie party tonight! :)

Jacob turned 10 months old this past Friday! I cannot believe we are heading to his 1st birthday soon. We did have his 9 month check up this past Monday. He is growing, which is good. He is at the bottom of the charts - but the doctor said as long as he stays on track and keeps going up and not falling behind, there is no need to worry. He is 16 pounds and 26 inches long. Nicholas weighed 15 pounds at his 12 month checkup, so baby brother has him beat there :) I was also explaining to the doctor about his crawling and sitting up. The doctor referred us to Help me Grow. It's a program that will come in and give Jacob therapy and see what it is going on with his development. If he had a normal birth, and there weren't so many complications with his birth - I would say OK, this is normal development, it will just take some time. I want to get this checked out though and see what is going on. He can't sit up by himself and crawling has been at a standstill for a couple of months. He's almost there, but it's like a switch needs to be turned on. He is almost to the point where he is sitting up by himself, but we have to put him on the floor in the sitting position. They are coming this Tuesday for paperwork for us to fill out and then they will come back and evaluate Jacob. We think he is a couple months behind in the development, but it's a free program and if there is nothing wrong, no harm or money wasted. Thank goodness my mom will take Nicholas on Tuesday. I cannot have Nicholas here when there are people here. I love the boy, but he tends to get in the way of things that need to be done :)

Have a wonderful week!!! Mandy