Trying to survive!

It is just a cold.  And for that, I am so very thankful, but for the past week we have been working hard to survive on little sleep.  Drew and Anna Kate have been getting better but I have not been sleeping well and neither have they. I hear them every time they cough. I have been having to get up and give them medicine during the night to help with their coughing.  They have been good considering they are tired and I'm sure don't feel 100% but they definitely have their moments (poor Anna Kate is also getting her last two bottom molars which doesn't help the situation).  I think we are about to get there though. They both slept all night last night and I never heard either one of them cough!

The weather has been great and we are excited about fall!  They have gotten to spend a lot of time outside this week so they are happy! I didn't send them to school on Wednesday because I was afraid they would spread their germs.  Hopefully, we will be all better by next Wednesday so they can go.  I think they are really starting to enjoy it.  They talk about it often and really like to sing the songs that they sing while they are in chapel.

 

 This was Sunday after Anna Kate's sleepless night.  My children have never fallen asleep anywhere besides in their beds.  They dont' sit still long enough.  I turned on Barney for them to watch while I made them lunch. To my surprise, they both actually sat there and watched it (you can see Drew's head between the couch and ottoman). And even more to my surprise, after I got their lunch ready, I realized Anna Kate was sound asleep.  Poor baby!

They were up early yesterday morning because Drew was coughing.  They hung out in our room while I got ready for work before Mamaw & Papaw got there.  They saw me brushing my teeth and wanted to brush (or just eat the toothpaste) theirs too!

 

And those are the only two pictures I have taken this entire week! You know we must be out of sorts if I haven't even taken pictures!!

The joys of preschool!

Drew and Anna Kate got to experience their first cold this weekend. I knew they were going to catch everything once they started going to school and honestly, that was a hard thing for me to get over.  I have managed to protect them from all of the nasties the past two winters, but now that they have started "school" we are paying our dues. And let me tell you, after the wrestling matches over wiping noses, the sleeplessness, and grumpy toddlers, I feel that my OCD over germ prevention has been justified! I am worn out.  I think they are on the road to recovery... now if I can just catch up on some sleep!
I got to take the day off with them on Friday so we could attend DotDot's retirement lunch. They were very well behaved and excited to see DotDot, Aunt Ashley, Mimi Jo, and Nanny Norma when we arrived at the hospital.  They got quite upset when I went in the opposite direction from DotDot's house.  I told them we were going to see DotDot at work but I don't think they comprehended that we weren't going to her house.  I somehow forgot to take a single picture. Friday was the day they started getting sick and it was a bit of struggle getting us all dressed and out the door!
We went to DotDot and Grandaddy's house on Saturday to watch the football game and hang out with Aunt Ashley.  They were pretty junkie on Saturday but managed to have a good time anyway!

 Enjoying the awesome weather we had this weekend with Aunt Ash!

 "Helping" Grandaddy.  He snatched the drill out of the barn and went to "work".

 Watering the tomato plant.

 Drew wanted to take sissy for a ride!

 

Saturday night was a little rough.  Anna Kate woke up coughing at 4:45 and couldn't go back to sleep.  She finally laid down on the couch at about 8:00 and was about to fall asleep when Drew got up. She had been trying to get him up since 6:30 so she was really excited that he was awake.  She was tired and whiny for most of the day but they both took a FOUR hour nap and seemed to be a little better when they woke up! We went to Mamaw and Papaw's house for dinner.  Drew and Anna Kate really enjoyed playing with Aunt Teresa, Tami, and were excited to see Megan since we hadn't seen her in a while. 

Megan got Anna & Drew some gifts. Drew got a fish backpack and Anna Kate got a sparkly purse, a necklace, and some bracelets.  She LOVED her gift.  John Clay had to wrestle them away for her to take a bath.  I had him hide them while she was in the tub but she immediately started asking for them when she got out.  She thought she needed to sleep with them so we at least were able to talk her into putting the necklace in her purse.  After she went to sleep I stuck in and got them out of her bed.  She woke up this morning asking for them.  The girl has a good memory, that's for sure!

 

The good news is that she slept all night! They both did! And didn't cough. Yay! They seem to be better today so hopefully we are headed in the right direction!

Progress!!

I am happy to report that today, one month and two weeks after starting "school", there were no tears shed when I dropped Anna Kate and Drew off!!!  They marched right into that room, put down their bags, and went to coloring with the rest of their class (Anna Kate did first have to help a little boy who wasn't putting his toy away like the teacher told him to. She is such a good direction follower... and also such a little mother).  They didn't even acknowledge me when I kissed their heads and told them bye.  And I am perfectly okay with that! That is SOOO much better than having them pulled from my body literally kicking and screaming.  I have to admit that I have not been a fan of school either. I think it is because the only part of their school experience I saw was the traumatic drop off.  Hopefully, I will start to come around now too! :)

They wanted to carry their own backpacks in today. With their lunches in them, they are a bit heavy for them but they made it in. They are a little too big but it is oh so adorable to see!

Weekend again?!?

This week flew by and I can't believe the weekend is almost over.  There are never enough hours in the day and the week's seem to slip by before I realize what happened! Our week was low key with nothing major or exciting to report.  We definitely had some fun this weekend, though. Our fall weekends are already filling up with all kinds of exciting things Drew and Anna Kate don't realize it but they have a lot of fun to look forward to in the coming weeks!

 Sweet snugglers!

 Friday morning before they left to go to breakfast with Mamaw and Papaw. This week was the big Florida game so they had to sport their big orange.  Anna Kate is wearing a shirt that was mine when I was little. They were being quite uncooperative about having their picture made.

 We went to the high school football game Friday night because it was such a nice evening.  They wanted to be big kids and sit on the bleachers on their own.  They were both pretty good. Drew was more content to sit and watch all the action than Anna Kate but all in all I was proud of both of them. We stayed to watch the band's half time show, which they both seemed to really like, and then we headed home for baths and bed!

 They were up a little too early Saturday morning so I piled them in bed with me to see if they would lay still for a while.  It didn't really work out but they did love getting to lay in Mommy & Daddy's bed.

 Little thieves raided their diaper bag and found Dum-Dums. So, they got to have a little snack before nap Saturday afternoon.

 Saturday night they stayed with DotDot and Grandaddy while John Clay and I went to my 10 year high school reunion.  The original plan was for them to spend the night but they were a bit whiney so we came back to get them (If they hadn't slept, Grandaddy wouldn't have allowed them to come back for a slumber party until they were 12! Ha!). I somehow forgot to get any pictures of John Clay and me together but we did have a good time!

 Anna Kate was excited to see her Daddy when he got home this morning.  She sat on his lap like this and "talked" to him for at least 10 minutes.



 After breakfast we packed it up and headed to DotDot and Grandaddy's for our Sunday visit with Aunt Ash! Of course, there were golf cart rides.

 And Drew found the tractor.

 They wanted to go for a wagon ride.

 Today was a really nice day so we went back out after lunch.  They found this stick and Anna Kate lead Drew around the yard while they both held on to it.  It kind of reminded me of puppies!

 Sharing her drink with Drew.  Do you think she was happy about it? :)

As you can see, she really wasn't! Ha! She also really didn't want to have her picture taken.  With as many pictures as I take of them, you would think they would be pros at it by now!

Little super heroes with their dryer sheet capes! They are supposed to repel mosquitoes and we'll try just about anything to keep them from being eaten.  They kept trying to turn and look at them. It was like a dog chasing it's tail!

 

*Funny Drew story... He was "playing ball" with Aunt Ashley and his version of playing ball is getting really close to you and then launching it at you.  She kept telling him to "get back" and he kept turning his back around to her when she said it.  Haha! I think he was taking her a little too literally!

Weekend family time

We were able to get in lots of family time this weekend which always makes everyone happy!  John Clay didn't have to work much and his band didn't have to play.  It is always nice to have him home and Anna Kate and Drew love spending time with their Daddy.
After naps on Saturday, we packed up and went to Mamaw Katherine and Papaw Hubert's to watch the Tennessee football game. Drew and Anna Kate weren't super interested in watching the game but they had a good time playing with their toys and their Mamaw & Papaw.  Since the game was on pay-per-view, we got to see the band's half time show.  Personally, the band is my favorite part about the games. I figured they would enjoy it too.  Anna Kate did dance some but again, they weren't super interested.  I know if they saw it in person, they would love it. Maybe next year when they are older and can handle the big crowd better, we can take them to a game!
Sunday is our normal day to go to DotDot and Grandaddy's house to spend time with them and Aunt Ashley but DotDot was a little under the weather this week.  We decided to give her the day off to rest and prepare for Monday and Tuesday with Drew and Anna Kate so we stayed at our house and Aunt Ashley came over to play! They thought it was wonderful that Aunt Ashley came to their house.  After they finished up lunch we went outside and played in the bounce house and on the swing set.  The weather was perfect and it was nice to spend some time outside. Aunt Ashley stayed while they napped and helped feed them dinner and after dinner we did some coloring.  They were sad to see her leave.  I did not get a single picture from yesterday so you will just have to believe me that we had a fun time!

Anna Kate and Drew got to have their first "canned" soft drink on Saturday while they were at their Mamaw & Papaw's house (really it is the first soft drink they have really ever had besides a sip here and there).  They were quite interested in the Sprite their Papaw was drinking so we decided they could have some.  They both really like it but Anna Kate was really into it.  I think she just liked being able to have the can. Drew drank a few sips from his and then he was done. He sat it down and went back to playing with his trucks and didn't think about it again.  Anna Kate carried hers around for at least an hour.  We decided she didn't want to set it down for fear we would take it away from her. She ended up drinking about half of the can! We were finally able to distract her with crayons and slip it away.  Oh, the things they get to do when Mamaw & Papaw are around!



The boy is a genius!

Much to our surprise, Drew can identify many of the letters of the alphabet.  We have never really spent time working on it but we do name letters when we look through books or write.  I know I am biased but I think this is quite impressive for being barely 2!
As DotDot pointed out, Anna Kate is a good parrott!  She is also quite smart. She also knows several letters.  She can identify most animals and tell you the sounds they all make. I'll be sure to get a video of her also so she isn't slighted.  My little smarties! They must get it from their momma! ;)

*(9/11/12) I wanted to correct my statement that Drew knows *many* of the letters of the alphabet to say that he pretty much knows them all! He still gets a couple of them confused, like O & Q. He loves going through his letters and will ask to keep going when we try to stop.  You can tell he is very proud of himself and will clap for himself after a correct answer.  And sister is coming along nicely! She is learning from him and can identify many letters also.  She is also getting pretty good at singing her ABCs. 

Labor Day Weekend bust!

Our long Labor Day weekend started out okay.  We just hung out around the house Friday night and Saturday morning.  We made plans to go to DotDot and Grandaddy's house for dinner Saturday evening to spend time with them and Aunt Ashley.  The evening went well. We ate and played outside, we went for "go-go" rides and had Popsicles on the porch before coming in for baths.  But after baths, it went down hill.  Anna Kate told me her belly button hurt and that she needed medicine and then got sick.  DotDot and I tended to her while Aunt Ashley got Drew dressed and Grandaddy gave him a bottle.  Then Drew went down.  John Clay's band was playing so we called him to see if he could leave early and bring us some medicine.  We got everyone cleaned up and waited for him to come home.  Drew seemed to be fine after his "episode" but Anna Kate still seemed a bit puny.  We ended up spending the night at DotDot and Grandaddy's house because we weren't sure if the car would make them even more sick. Neither one of them slept well. Anna Kate fell asleep at about 10:30 on the living room floor. We moved her into the bedroom and she slept until about 12:30 and got up and was up until 3.  Luckily, she wasn't up because she was sick.  She just wanted to read books and play.  Drew tossed and turned a lot but did sleep all night.  They both woke up super early but fine on Sunday. We stuck to a bland diet Sunday and tried to keep it tame on Monday also.  They enjoyed getting to drink Gatorade and eating lots of crackers (or "cwackwees" as Drew calls them).  I guess they had a little bug. I am so thankful it only lasted a short time and both of them recovered so quickly!   We didn't get to do anything fun or exciting over the weekend so we'll have a lot to make up for this weekend!

 Just lounging around. Silly boy!

Diapering her babies. She's such a good mommy!

 Playing dress up at DotDot and Grandaddy's house. We were looking through old Halloween costumes that Aunt Ashley and I wore to see what they could be for Halloween this year. Drew was quite cooperative in playing along with our dress up! 

 Sick babies.  They were pitiful. Anna Kate was so tired she fell asleep in the floor. Sweet Drew just wanted to be close to his sissy so he went and laid beside her.

 Sunday after we got home.  There was a pile of clean clothes on the couch and Anna Kate decided that she needed to put on some of her clothes. The girl really loves clothes! She had on 3 complete outfits and we had to make her stop at 3.

 Tea party with their babies.  They have a tea party at least once a day. They usually pull their little chairs up to the coffee table. It's pretty precious.

Sitting outside on the porch Sunday evening.  Anna Kate will ask to go "sit down" no less than 10 times per day.

 

I sure am glad my little ones are feeling better and that their illness was brief! I am hoping that we have paid our dues that we all will be able to remain healthy throughout the fall and winter!