Thursday, October 21, 2010

Sonny Acres and other happenings

Sunday night we had our annual trip to Sonny Acres to pick out our pumpkins and have some fall fun. Joey and Andrew enjoyed running around, but were in heaven when they saw the train and cars that they could ride. Thank goodness we got there late enough where there was only 10 minutes left for rides! They took advantage of every second though. Jillian enjoyed playing with the pumpkins, but fell asleep shortly after getting home. Grandma, Auntie Christy, Uncle Chris, Andrew, and Emma left shortly after we got home, but Joey and Daddy stayed up to carve the big pumpkin. Of course Joey did a Mickey pumpkin! Joey helped Daddy carve the pumpkin, but when it came to pulling out the seeds, Joey took one look, actually gagged (ok, I guess no surprise there), and said "I don't like pumpkins!" and wanted no part of it!


Here is a potpourri of what else has been going on this month since the last update. We celebrated GG Joe's 88th birthdday at Grandma's house. GG Joe is the fittest 88 year old you'll ever find, always playing Mr. Fix It and always on the go. October 10 was my 9th marathon. It was my worst time overall, but my first marathon back since having 3 kids, so I was happy to have finished! Joey really seems to enjoy coming to watch me run. He will wake up early 4:30am with no problem and trek to the city with Grandma to cheer me on. Auntie Christy, Andrew, and even Emma also came down to see me at a few different spots along the course. Thanks for the cheers, it was so refreshing to see you all! I heard Emma was bopping along to Elvis singing in Lincoln Park and was having a great time at the race. Joey and Jillian came to Assumption to help me put the other "estate" back in order from fall clean up. I don't usually have my camera with me, but we were having some snacks out there and I had the camera in my diaper bag. They enjoyed being in the open, playing, blowing bubbles, and picnicking with their brother. I pointed to Josh's picture and asked Joey who it was and he said "My brother Josh." So sweet. The following weekend Auntie Trish came by to hang out with us for a while and go to lunch. It was a fun day, and Jillian loved all the attention from her Godmother! This past weekend we also had a visit from Uncle Mark, Auntie Miya, and Nathan. Watching Nathan, Joey, and Jillian playing was a lot of fun, but even better was watching Nathan pet and play with Java. He kept smiling and laughing...his laugh is so infectious, its adorable. I always seem to forget to take pictures, but we had a great time with them. Joey, Jillian, and Java really enjoyed Nathan's company (as did we!).


And finally, last but not least, Java has an update of her own. Java had a hematoma and had to have surgery on Monday. She came home with a big bandage on as well as a cone. She did not tolerate the hard cone at the vet, so they gave her a softer one, but she still seems mortified to be wearing it. She went to get her bandage off today, but they had to rebandage her because while her ear is healing nicely as soon as they took the bandage off she shook her ears and seemed interested in her new freedom. Poor Java will have to have the bandage on until Monday, and the cone is supposed to be on until November 8 when her stitches come out. I guess she'll have a costume of her own this year for Halloween! Outside of Joey telling us Java has a booboo, and Jillian attempting to free Java from the cone once in a while, they have been very gentle and patient with her while she's been recouperating.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

The Stats

So Jillian went in for her 9 month appointment today, here are her stats:
Weight: 19 pounds, 12 ounces 66%ile
Height: 28.75 inches at the 86%ile
She is very tall and starting to thin out a little bit.
Yesterday Jillian hit a big milestone and walked 5 steps on her own, repeatedly! She is doing amazing in terms of walking. I asked our doctor if there was any concern of her not crawling at all, but he said she was doing remarkably well. He enjoyed her babbling, she fought to get out of my arms and walk around, and the nurses laughed at the fact that she clapped for them after her shots. They each took a leg and gave her a shot at the same time, Jillian barely let out a whine, and then started clapping. It was really funny.

On the total flip side...Joey and I also were there for our flu shots. Joey had fallen asleep in the stroller while we were waiting to get in (which really wasn't all that long, it was just after lunch so he was a little sleepy). He stayed sound asleep for Jillian's appointment even with me leaving the room to get her weighed which worked out really well. The nurse even did his vitals for his shot with him sound asleep. The very unfortunate part was that he woke up just before they were going to do the shot on anyone and Joey was confused as to why I was giving Jillian her bottle in her diaper in a strange room. So he got very upset and very worked up. For those of you that know my boys, they have hyper gags, and if you upset them they will react with throwing up (at least until Josh got his nissen)! So Joey performed all too well and trashed his clothes, the blanket I brought with for Jillian, and hit his shoes and the stroller. I was lucky in the sense that I wasn't holding him, and he was in the stroller so he got it all. Luckily I had an extra set of clothes (what I call my dunce outfit for whichever one ruins theirs), and I just threw all of his clothes away. It was quite a scene! For the kid that didn't have the appointment he sure had the anxiety. So much for the pep talk on telling him to be the supportive big brother and tell his sister that it'll be okay!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Vacation pics, updates, and CS Fire Station Open House

So I have been purposefully negligent in updating the blog. I just loved Phil's post and all the videos of Josh and didn't want something else to be on the screen when I first look at the blog. Anyways we have been fairly busy. Mid September we went on our first family vacation to Door County for a long weekend. It was a fun time, although the weather was a little on the chilly side. Joey loved being by the water, Jillian enjoyed the outdoors, and we all thought the cabin was perfect for our first vacation. Joey slept in a big queen bed, and Jillian had other plans. She refused to sleep in the Pack and Play and insisted on sleeping with Mommy on the couch (Daddy did take one night too). We were worried that she would be spoiled and insist on the same treatment once we got home, but she must've known we were on vacation and went back to her regular sleeping patterns when we got home, as did Joey who did not nap at all when we were on vacation! We had a fire pit outside of our cabin so we could have fires and make S'mores. We went to the beach one day, although it was quite cold Joey took his shoes off and ran towards the water! We also spent some time in Sturgeon Bay at the Maritime museum and Joey went on a tugboat! Joey and Jillian enjoyed walking around the towns of Door County and were so well behaved when we were out and about and at restaurants. They definitely seemed to have a fun time. It was a perfect getaway for us, and at a good time for us as well.


Jillian turned 9 months Sept. 30! I can't believe how time is flying! She is doing so well and seems to be growing up so fast. Jillian refuses to be fed by anyone and will only eat table food. No more baby food for her! She definitely puts Joey to shame at the dinner table, but we knew that would be the case early on! Watch out Nathan and Juliette: Jillian has her 9 month appointment next Tuesday so we will see how her "healthy" stats compare! Jillian loves her walking stroller and will stroll her doll around the house by herself (stopping to clap for herself, pick something up, or adjust her baby doll). She likes holding your hand (usually just one) to walk around and has taken 2 steps all on her own! She will most likely skip crawling all together, as she throws a little fit when she is put on her tummy. She will roll over and find a way to squat and then pull herself up and walk. She definitely prefers being upright! Jillian has become quite vocal as well. She will say Mama, Dada, ni-ni (for night-night), no no, yeah, cat (because of a toy), dog, and has attempted ball. Of course she also does the Lala, Gaga stuff as well. She loves hearing songs and will clap at the end of a song, or if a song involves clapping she will join in with you. She lifts her arms over her head (like "so big") when we say "Amen!" and will wave hello and goodbye (especially at her reflection in the mirror!). She enjoys peek-a-boo and also ripping off her bib and teasing you with it, as well as smashing her sippy cup on Cheerios or flipping the plate on the floor. Which also leads to her joy of feeding Java!


Joey has been doing really well too. He enjoys giving his sister hugs and kisses, but is also not afraid of taking toys or claiming which are his. He cracks us up with his witty comments and we sometimes wonder where he even picks up some of his hysterical phrases. The other day I was changing out pictures in our frames and he pointed to one and said "that's Jillian, me, Andrew and Emma picking apples, waiting for the tractor." He pointed to the other one and said "me and Andrew with our firehats." The third one he asked who was in the picture. I told him it was him and his brother Josh. He responded with "Where is my brother? Where is Josh?" It put a smile on my face to have my first conversation with Joey about Joshua, and know there will be many challenging, heartbreaking, and also joyful times in explaining that Joey is a twin. I want to keep this post very light, but will probably revisit this at a later time. At any rate, it shows Joey's curiosity and Joey is always asking "why" these days. I respond with "because..." which is usually followed by another "why?". After a few of these back and forths Joey responds "Why because?". So I am now consciously trying to answer without saying "because..." I am really enjoying his energy, curiosity, and ways that he constantly amazes me!


Finally, today we went to the Carol Stream Fire Station for their open house. They had a lot of activities for the kids to do including a big bouncy slide (which neither Joey or Andrew cared for), a firefighter's obstacle course, mats to stop, drop, and roll on, all the gear to try on, firetrucks and ambulances to go in, we watched a helicopter land, balloons, and refreshements. Joey was a bit more shy than Andrew, and both seemed to like the popcorn the best! If you ask Joey what town he lives in he responds "Carol Stream Fire Station." In my attempt to teach him the town he lives in I always tell him as we are driving by the fire station that the Carol Stream Fire Station is his town's fire station, so I think he thinks he lives in the Carol Stream Fire Station! At least he has a bit of a clue!