9 & 10

I've failed as mother to put my littlest one in his onesie with the monthly stickers.  But, I'll still talk about the big little guy. 

He had his 9 month check-up last month in which Jason took him since I didn't have any leave.  He's doing well and is 24lbs 5oz (the EXACT same weight as Cooper was at this age) and is 29 inches (2.25 inches shorter than Cooper at this age).  So, he's still a little chubby, but nothing to be concerned about.  I think he was 98th percentile for weight and in the 70th percentile for height. 

He turned 10 months old yesterday.  This is going even faster than it did with Cooper.  Having two children is so much fun, but things just go by way faster.  Tucker started taking steps at 9 months and takes way more now.  He walks pretty good if you're holding his hand, but he doesn't have the confidence yet to really take off.  I think part of that is because his older brother likes to pick on him sometimes.  :)

Cooper is the typical 2 year old.  Sweet, wild, kind, crazy, you get it.  He will do anything to go outside and play.  His new obsession is owls.  He thinks one sits outside his window each night....I have no idea where he got that from.  But, we have to remind him every night before bed that there is no owl waiting out there for him.  We're taking him to Disney Junior Live tonight and he's super pumped to see Mickey Mouse.  To tell you the truth, I'm super excited to go too.  :)  It will just be Cooper, Jason and I and he really needs some Mommy/Daddy time.

In other news, the shutdown is over.  Thank the Lord.  However, the budget crisis is still in effect and who knows what will happen in the future.  I'm just taking it day by day and hoping for the best.  That's all I can do.

My sister, Jenna, had her 20 week ultrasound a few weeks back.  The baby is healthy, which is most important, but they found out she had a complete placenta previa.  She was told to not lift more than 5 lbs (which meant not lifting Maggie at all), she would deliver early by c-section which meant she wouldn't make it full term, and she would probably go on bed rest around 32 weeks and receive steroid treatments.  Well, she went back in just yesterday to have another ultrasound and her placenta has moved and she is basically 100% all good to go!  Her doctors say that it is less than 1% or something in which this happens and my sister is very lucky.  We are all so very thankful.  And also yesterday, they bought a house!  They close Dec. 6th, so just in time for the baby to get here.  :)

4 years

Our 4th wedding anniversary was this past Thursday, September 26th.  We agreed to not get each other much since house renovations are high on our list and that's where we'd like to spend our money.  :)  Jason did end up getting me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a nice card.  We celebrated Saturday night with a dinner out to a new restaurant in Muscatine, 101 West.  It's in the old ballroom of the Hotel Muscatine and it's been completely renovated.  Our table was right by the window, overlooking the Mississippi River.  They are still in their opening stage, so they're working out the kinks.  Our food was very good and so was the wine.  :)  We didn't do much after that since there isn't much to do in Muscatine.  We did go to Applebee's for dessert and then headed over to Menards to look at a few things before going home.  We felt so old since we got home around 9:30!  It had been a whirlwind of a day, so it was nice to just get home, put our pj's on, and relax. 

It's been a great 4 years and I'm looking forward to what the future brings!  Love you, babe!

-Julie

Sad Monday :(

The day didn't start off well.  I woke up with the same headache I had yesterday, Jason's ear is still swollen shut, and Cooper had a meltdown.  Tucker was the only normal person in the group.  :)

Jason has swimmer's ear.  He went to the doctor Thurs and Fri night....Thurs was to diagnosis it, Friday was to have a wick put in since his canal was completely swollen shut and the drops weren't able to get down in there.  He is finally feeling better pain wise, but he still can't hear since it's still swollen shut.  My neck is out, which hopefully will be corrected this afternoon at the chiro. 

And then there's Cooper.  My heart is just aching for him.  I didn't think he understood that his best friend, Morgan, moved away, but I'm starting to think I was wrong.  He asked Jason this morning on the way down to the sitter's where his friend, Morgan, went.  Jason told him they should ask Mary (our sitter).  When they got there, Cooper asked her, and Mary told him she went to Wisconsin.  He immediately started bawling.  When Jason told me, I started bawling.  I honestly didn't think he'd get it.  He knows she's not there and I know he misses her.  I was thinking Skyping would help, but now I'm worried it will make it worse.  And I can only hope that Morgan isn't feeling the same way today.  Such a sad way to start the week.  :(

Labor Day Weekend

Our Labor Day weekend was eventful, to say the least.  Our original plans were to head up to Longville, MN on Friday and come home Tuesday.  We left Thursday after work, drove to Maple Grove and on our way there, my Mom called to say she was at the ER in Brainerd.  She didn't know what was wrong exactly and didn't know how long she'd be in the hospital.  She told us to call in the morning and see if they knew anymore then. 

We woke up Friday morning, got ready, and then called about 8:30.  She said she wasn't doing any better and they were going to keep her again.  My parents told us it probably wasn't a good idea to go up so we decided we'd figure something out.  We didn't have any hotel reservations and debated about hanging out in Minneapolis.  While I was in the shower, I had the brilliant idea of driving over to Mercer, WI to visit his Dad and Mary.  We called and they so graciously let us stay with them for the weekend.  We had a nice visit and took Cooper to a lake one day where they had slides and a private swimming area.  He was in heaven.  :)  That little guy loves the lake.  I felt so bad when we couldn't go up to my parents since Cooper has been asking to go to Minnesota and play with his shovel and boat.  :)  We'll make it up there again, I'm sure.

My Mom finally got to come home on Sunday and she doesn't have the biopsy results back yet, but they told her they'd have them by Friday.  She doesn't have her doctor's appt until this coming Tuesday, which she'll find out then.  It turned out to be a nice weekend and we had a great time with Jason's parents.  We'll be seeing them again soon!

In Tucker news, he's pulling himself up.  He started doing it about a week ago and he's creeping a little around the furniture.  He looks so big.  :(  He's got a little bug and usually has one big messy diaper a day and has to have a wardrobe change.  I'm hoping it has something to do with teething and nothing else.  It's been going on since Saturday, so we hope he feels better soon.

Here are a few pictures from this past weekend.  We stopped in St. Croix Falls, WI on the way over to Mercer and it was absolutely gorgeous.  We'd didn't have time to do the river boat cruise, but we'd like to if we get up that way again.

Furlough Days

Furlough is officially over....for now.  :)  They say they aren't going to do it in FY14, they'll just decrease the budget somehow which means layoffs, I'm sure.  I'm waiting it out and sticking in there.  I can't say I haven't enjoyed every Friday off for the past 4 weeks.  I was able to plan a vacation around it, get painting done around the house, clean my house, among many other things that I wasn't able to accomplish on a daily basis.  This coming Friday I think I'm going to take some time to do some me things as well as clean the house again and mow.  And go swimming in our pool.  :)  Among all these great things I've been able to get done, when the paycheck came, that was another story.  Not fun at all.  However, we knew it was coming and originally prepared for 22 Friday's withough pay.  11 sounded so much better and now 6, I can do that.  Still not the best news as I'd like my pay back, but I tried to make the best of it and I did!  Next Friday I'm going to relax and later in the day, travel to Peoria to a Women in Faith conference with my good friend, Alicia.  I'm pretty excited about it and also to be able to spend some time with her.  We haven't done that in forever!

Last weekend, Jason's Dad and Mary came down to visit and they brought down Jason's birthday present!  A pontoon boat!  We are so thankful and are so excited to make many memories with the boys.  I know they'll love it growing up on the water!  We visited and spent some time in the pool.  It was a nice visit and we're looking forward to seeing them again soon!

This weekend Jason's Mom and Don are coming down to visit and I'm thinking we might take a trip to the Niabi Zoo.  Something fun to do on Saturday and I know Cooper would love it.  He loved it earlier this year and I'm thinking he might get more out of it being a few months older.

Here's some pics of the boys.  There aren't many of Cooper since he doesn't want his picture taken lately....he'd rather be the one taking all the pictures!  Tucker lets us do anything and he's still our smiley guy!  Enjoy!

 

Terrible Aunt I Am...

And I forgot to post this.....





Jenna and Dustin are expecting Baby Kiddoo #2 in Feb!!! 





We are so excited and hope for a healthy pregnancy for my sister.  Winter babies are the best!  ;)

Crawling and Giggles

In my last post I mentioned how Tucker was trying to crawl and he's got it down!  He's moving everywhere and he's getting quicker every day.  His giggles are hilarious, so I got some of those on video and it makes me smile every time I watch it.  Enjoy!