Our News

We have yet to share some exciting news with all our blog readers... we are expecting a baby this summer!

I was fortunate enough to have an early ultrasound at 9 weeks and see our little miracle's heartbeat. It is so amazing to see such a small heart beating so early in the development. I am posting the photos from that very early ultrasound but the baby wasn't even the size of peanut at that point! So far, everything is on target for delivery in July with a July 21 due date. We are thrilled and so looking forward to this upcoming addition.

All is looking good as I am now in my second trimester and 16th week of pregnancy. I've had some moments of ickiness but overall the pregnancy is going pretty smoothly so far. My tummy is not bulging yet but I'm starting to slowly loose my middle although I haven't had to resort to the oh so lovely maternity clothes yet.

Benjamin is excited and tells Samuel that he will have a "new little buddy." Samuel is actually fascinated with babies and is really excited when we encounter them whenever we're out and about. Hopefully, this is an early indication that he too is going to make a great big brother!

Benjamin has decided that "Bamuel" will be the perfect name for this new baby. Yes, you read that correctly, "Bamuel." It appears to be a combination of both of our boys' names. He is quite creative but we're still looking at alternatives.

Dad's Night

Wednesday evening, Don had the honor of joining Benjamin at his preschool for their annual Dad's Night. Of course, Don had to miss this big event last year so both Benjamin and Don were thrilled to share this special time together.

Their class had been preparing for this night for weeks and had lots of exciting things to share with their Dad's. One highlight was Benjamin's book "All About My Dad..." in which he had to fill in some blanks about his Dad. The teacher read the books aloud to the class and their Dad's and they had to figure out which one their child wrote. Don claims he knew right away that Benjamin was describing him!

Here is how the books goes...

"All About My Dad..."

By Benjamin

My Dad's Name is DADDY-O.

My Dad is ABOUT 20 years old.

My Dad is 4 FEET tall.

My Dad weights 50 pounds.

My Dad's favorite food is CHEESEBURGERS.

My Dad's favorite drink is MILK.

My Dad's favorite color is BLUE.

My Dad's favorite thing to say is "I LOVE YOU."

My Dad's favorite thing to do is "PLAY VIDEO GAMES WITH ME."

My Dad's favorite animal is "A LION OR TIGER."

My Dad's favorite thing to watch on television is "STAR WARS."

My Dad's job is "TO GO INTO HIS OFFICE AND WORK UNTIL NIGHT TIME."

My Dad and I like to "PLAY VIDEO GAMES."

I LOVE YOU DAD!

Love,

Benjamin

Happy February

Happy February! Finally, life seems to be getting back to normal. Everyone is healthy again and we have been enjoying life!

The boys have both been on antibiotics and along with that comes the much dreaded diaper rash for Samuel. We have taken to several methods of combating this situation and trying to make him comfortable. Including putting him in big boy underwear from time to time. I snapped this photo of him during his first trial run in the underwear. He was thrilled and excited to be in big boy underwear and actually went potty on the big boy potty twice! I couldn't believe it. I'm hoping this is a sign that potty training him may be somewhat less challenging than it was for Benjamin. Time will tell. We are not ready to really work on it yet.

Last week we finally had some snow! It was nice but it didn't stick around long enough for us to make it out sledding. Although Benjamin did manage to get out and play in it a time or two. It wasn't long before it turned to ice.

This past weekend brought warmer weather and we enjoyed some time outside! Saturday after a visit to the grocery store we stopped off at a playground and the boys truly enjoyed running around and burning off some energy. On Sunday temperatures neared 60 degrees and we all enjoyed what we have coined a "family walk" which includes everyone and the dogs. And, although it is still icy in patches it was so nice to just be outside again.

Sunday evening, we went over to a some friend's house from church for their annual SuperBowl party. The boys had a great time playing and were well behaved. It was nice to finally get out of the house!

Finally, on the Mend?

Dare I say that we are on the mend in this house? Well, we almost had a normal weekend. After a trip to the doctor's office on Friday which proved that Samuel had an ear infection and Benjamin had a double ear infection, they started a new round of antibiotics and things are looking up.

Saturday morning the boys were doing good and after much thought and consideration we decided to have Don take Benjamin to "Monster Jam" at the Verizon Center in D.C. Benjamin is a huge monster truck enthusiast these days and follows "Monster Jam" on t.v. almost daily. It is one of his favorites and he has his favorite monster trucks... of course, "Blue Thunder" tops the list (go figure). So, Don and Benjamin took the Metro which is something Benjamin hadn't done in ages. He was thrilled and upon his return I wasn't for sure if he was more excited to report back to me about the "fast train and tunnel" or the actual "Monster Jam" show. Needless to say, he had an absolutely thrill of a lifetime. He was beaming from ear to ear. Unfortunately, "Blue Thunder" did not make an appearance at this show but Benjamin seemed to enjoy all the other "blue" monster trucks... including "Superman" which is one of his other favs.

While they were away, Samuel and I enjoyed some much needed downtime and I finally managed to squeeze a nap in while he was napping. Phew. I really needed that! When Benjamin and Daddy-O returned, I was off to pick up the babysitter and then we were off to my company's holiday party (which is always held in January). We had a great time which was much needed after all the time we have spent in this house this month!

Sunday we all made it to church this week and then came home and manage to squeeze in another much needed nap which I have now started to call "family nap days" which usually occur on Sundays! I love it (although nothing gets done around the house).

Benjamin went to school this afternoon and Samuel and I stayed for a show the preschool puts on once a month which is open to the preschoolers family. It includes a puppet show and Samuel sat quietly and attentively through the entire thing. I was amazed. I thought for sure I'd be chasing him down the aisles. Phew. Then Samuel and I ventured out to Target. We picked up a few necessities but it was still not time to pick Benjamin up. I wasn't sure what to do with that extra 20 minutes we had to burn so I decided Samuel and I would make a stop at the library. I had never taken just Samuel to the library. And now I know why. Yikees! I decided to leave the stroller in the car and maybe that was my first mistake. The boy is not as interested in books as Benjamin ever was but he has recently started to sit still for stories and actually enjoy books at bedtime. But apparently I was pushing him to his limits today! Samuel challenged me every second we were there. He pushed books off of a table, ran up and down the aisles of books (giggling all the while), and started to knock books off the shelves. That was it. We were out of there without reading through a single book and without checking out a single book. But somehow we both survived. He may be 14 years old before he ever sees the inside of the library outside of a stroller (kidding, I hope).

Overall, I think both boys are feeling a ton better and we are all ready to get out and just be a normal active family again. We are due for a little bit of snow this week and Benjamin is already hoping for a lot of snow! I too am hoping it snows this season. With our upcoming move to San Antonio, I think the boys will really miss out on the snow that I so enjoyed playing in during those snow-filled Illinois winters!

The Saga Continues...

Since the boys have been sick, we have been spending a lot of time in the house. We have come up with a lot of different things to keep us busy and entertained... playing in the sink, playing in the laundry basket, building snowmen and whales out of play foam, playing any and all kinds of games with balls in the house that we can think of (Samuel loves balls!), and enjoying long baths. A lot of days spend in pajamas!

Somewhere in there Benjamin was actually feeling pretty well for a day or two. The two of us went to church and Don and Samuel stayed home and rested. We got out of the house and I was actually thrilled to just go to Target. It felt like such a big outing after being housebound for what seemed like eternity!

Then we made a trip to urgent care this past Monday. First I took Samuel for his cough, fever, irritability, restlessness, etc. then Don met me there with Benjamin after realizing his temperature was almost 102. They have been on antibiotics all week; however, the boys are still miserable. Samuel is whiny as can be and Benjamin is feverish and has fallen asleep by 7:00 p.m. for three nights in a row. They are both still coughing. It looks like we will be making another trip to the doctor's tomorrow. I just want them both to feel better and life to get back to normal around here. It's been a lil draining and some nights bedtime cannot come fast enough!

Hopefully, they will be on the mend soon. They have to get better soon, right? That's what I keep telling myself. In the mean time, we are all going to bed earlier than normal and trying to rest up as much as possible.

Our Sicky Icky Saga

Again... a huge delay between blog posts. What is up with that? Well, I had good intentions to keep at least posting pictures frequently but it seems as if we have been battling some sort of illness since the start of the year. ugh.

We have had other things going on; however, besides a few days at work and trips to the doctors, I don't really remember leaving the house much. So, the photos I'm posting are all of the boys being sick!

Our first week back we got motivated to move Samuel into his toddler bed pretty quick since he was making the process of climbing out of his crib into an artform and discovering new crib dismount techniques daily. There were a few restless nights but after a couple of nights he adjusted pretty well. Although, he occasionally likes to hop out of bed at nap time (or even in the middle of the night) and explore his room, books, toys, piggy bank, hats, etc. But overall, I think we have made the adjustment. There is no turning back now!

On Wednesday the 7th, I took Don to Walter Reed Medical Center for his Lasik PRK eye surgery. He had been waiting to have this for years and was pretty pumped about getting it done. The surgery went well and after about five days of limiting himself to mostly dark rooms, he reappeared without glasses or contacts and feeling pretty well. He's almost done with the eye drops he's been on since and his vision is great.

On Thursday the 8th, the boys went to their sitters, while I went back to work and Don recovered from surgery. When we got home that night Benjamin was not himself. He ended up having a stomach bug that lasted about 24 hours and kept me doing laundry well into the night that night. Thankfully, he was pretty much back to himself on Friday although he did spend the day at home with Daddy as to not expose his friends.

We survived that weekend... and Sunday, Benjamin and I went to see "The Tale of Desperaux" with good friends, Aunt Nelly and Brooke. When we came home, Benjamin was not himself again and ended up going to bed pretty early. I noticed Samuel had a lil bit of gunk in his eye that night and wiped it clean (hoping it was nothing more).

Come Monday morning, Benjamin was feeling fine but Samuel was definitely not himself. After his morning nap it became apparent that he most likely had pink eye. I made a doctor's appointment for Tuesday morning and took Benjamin to school hoping that he did NOT have pink eye too.

When I picked Benjamin up from school a few hours later he too looked as if he was getting pink eye. So, Tuesday morning the boys and I were all off to the doctors. They were both completely miserable and looked awful... flushed cheeks on pale skin, red teary eyes... ick! The doctor confirmed that they both had pink eye and we fled the clinic to head for their prescriptions. This was our first encounter with pink eye and I pray it is our last. I have no idea where they contracted it because I feel like we have barely been out of the house this year! But we are almost done with the antibiotic ointment that treats them and every dose seems to become more of a struggle. We are all anxious for this to be out of our home and be done with it. We are thankful that Don nor I have come down with any pink eye symptoms. (Although Don is already on the antibiotic ointment for his eyes due to his recent surgery so chances of him contracting it are slim).

Oh... I'm not done yet! Wednesday night as Don and I went to bed he said he wasn't feeling right. He went into work on Thursday but came home early and has been in bed with some sort of stomach bug since. He is miserable and we're hoping we can make it though the weekend without a visit to the ER. Today he seems to be feeling a touch better but has been in bed hoping to fend it off most of the day.

And Samuel is coughing and seems to have yet another cold! Will this ever end?

I am just ready for everyone to start feeling better! The boys were so sweet to each other during their sickness. I guess it proves that misery does truly love company because they snuggled up with each other, held hands and would just hug each other on several occasions.

Hopefully, this post about our ongoing saga of illness has not put you all to sleep by now! I plan on having a more uplifting post in the near future!!!

Back before Christmas...

Well, here we go... finally ready to catch up on my blog a bit. Sorry for neglecting the blog during the month of December. With our trip to Illinois, Benjamin's Christmas programs, my girls weekend in Colorado, Christmas shopping and all the other events during the month of December, somehow the blog entries fell to the lower end of my priorities!

On that note, I am not quite ready to start posting the tons of photos from or awesome trip and visit with family and friends in Illinois. Instead, I am posting a few photos from the days that led up to our trip...

The night before we left we attended Don's Holiday Ball in Maryland. We had a pretty nice time although we didn't eat dinner there until 9 p.m. and the thought of leaving the ball early so we could get an early start on our voyage to Illinois the following morning quickly fled. I'm including a couple of photos of us from that evening.

The boys truly got into the holiday spirit this year... although Samuel did not take an immediate fondness to Santa. They enjoyed the decorations, holiday treats, Christmas songs and, of course, loved the gifts! Samuel really didn't care what was in a wrapped present or who the gift was intended for, he just truly enjoyed the unwrapping! Although, he has been enjoying the many gifts he did receive (especially the new Nerf football from the O'Neill family!).

A few years back my good friend, Lea Ann, had given me a set of wooden snowmen that nest within each other and Samuel has been completely fascinated by them this year. He has occupied much of his busy time stacking and re-stacking them. It's been a joy to watch him discover and rediscover them, almost daily.

Benjamin participated in two Christmas programs this year. As a four year old, it was his first chance to participate in our church's Christmas program. They sang "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" and he did a great job. He is the youngest one in the small group of kids that got up to sing it and I was so proud of how nicely he stood up there and belted out the words.

He also participated in his preschools Christmas program for the first time (he missed it last year due to the fact that we traveled to Illinois earlier than this year). They sang a few songs and his class was right in the front row (unfortunately, my camera battery was not charged so I didn't get any photos!). He did a great job and has been singing the songs a whole bunch since (and before the program as well). He loves to sing and we love to hear his singing. He has a knack for making up songs and I love to hear the stuff that he comes up with! But it has really been delightful to hear him sing his beloved Christmas carols.

Overall, we had a good month of December, albeit busy, somehow we made it to Illinois just in time for one of their lovely snowstorms and spells of below freezing temperatures. We were just thankful to arrive safely; however, it has made us appreciate living in Northern Virginia, enjoying our relatively mild winters. And, of course, we all loved spending the holidays together again as a family. There are so many little exciting things that can be taken for granted during the holidays but I'd like to think that this year we took the time to appreciate those things.

More on our wonderful trip to Illinois to come soon!

Happy New Year!