-On Friday, I took the boys for a walk after dinner because I had to get out of the house. While we were out walking around, it started to drizzle a very cold, windy drizzzle. Since my boys have been sick for 2 1/2 weeks, I decided it was probably not in our best interest to continue being outside. I turned us around and started for home. Since it was so cold, I started jogging while pushing the stroller. For the last three blocks, A shouted, "Go, mommy, go! You can do it! Go, mommy!" I ended up stopping the jog because I was laughing so hard. What an encouraging little kid.

-We always pray before we eat, but in the middle of dinner last night, A folds his hands and says really solemnly, "Let's pray." I stop eating, fold my hands, too, and he begins: "Dear Jesus, I love you. Amen." It was so precious.

-Baby C is finally starting to feel better. I sure did miss this happy baby. He was so grumpy for the past two weeks (rightly so), and I wondered if this was his new permanent state. But, man it's nice to see him smile again. He really is the sweetest little baby. I guess not little baby anymore. He looks more and more like a little kid these days. He's got sneakers that we borrowed from his big cousin, and seeing him cruising around with sneakers on makes me realize that he's more toddler than baby these days.

-We went to the museum center yesterday with Uncle K, Aunt L and Granddad. It was a lot of fun. A always loves the museum, but it was so fun to see C getting to play, too. He crawled around, played with toys, went down slides. It was pretty cute. Afterwards we went to Skyline for lunch. My picky little 2 year old, who won't eat anything, practically inhaled a chili-cheese sandwich, then asked for more. I guess he really is a Cincinnati boy.

Sickness Update

A's fever finally broke. He's still coughing and a little congested, but obviously feeling much better. Poor C ended up in the doc's office yet again this morning. I was worried that his antibiotic wasn't working, but it turns out that it is. His two ear infections are looking better. Still a little fluid, but the doc is convinced that the antibiotic will take care of that by the time we are finished with it (5 more days). BUT on top of the two ear infections, he also has the Croupe. Poor kiddo. He is just a mess. He got a one-time steroid medicine at the doc's office that should hopefully kick in soon. I'm really, really hoping he feels better soon. He must be wondering why he ever left the comfort of the womb to come to this crazy world. Between the colic, reflux, five ear infections and the croupe, it's been a rough start for him. Maybe he's just getting it all out the way now and it'll be smooth sailing from here. I can only hope.

Funny stories

• You can learn a lot about yourself from a 2 year old. For example, we were driving in the car today and there was a lot of traffic. A yells from the back seat, "What are you doing on the road, cars?!" in this annoyed voice. Hmmm.... frustrated in traffic? Wonder where he learned that!

• Sometimes we sing a thank you song before bed as a prayer. This is a classic that we used to do when I was kid. We go in a circle and say what we are thankful for and then sing about it. Today when I asked A what he was thankful for, his answer... The Pizza Party Game. I tried to generalize it to make it fit in the song, but nope... he insisted on singing, "Thank you Lord for giving us the Pizza Party Game." What a funny kid!

• A finally ate brocolli without putting up a fight. This is the first time, maybe ever in his two and half years of life. The trick... We called them "dinosaur trees" and pretended to be dinosaurs. Who knew it would be that easy?! Anyone have any other creative names for veggies or fruit that we could try? Aunt K already suggested calling sliced peppers "Fireman Hoses". I'm up for any suggestions!!

Where are you guys?

Just a short story to share:

The other day Baby C and I were up early (gotta love my early risers!). When A woke up, he didn't cry, he didn't call for mommy, he didn't just get up and come find us. Nope. I hear a call from the next room saying, "Where are you guys? Guys? Where are you guys?" I laughed out loud. It sounded more like a teenager looking for his football buddies than a 2 year old trying to find his momma.

Sick AGAIN!!!

Man, I used to pride myself on the fact that my family was pretty healthy. But these days I feel like we are ALWAYS sick. Last week, C had a low grade fever for a couple of days. He was acting alright, but a little fussy. With a little tylenol, the fever went away and he seemed more back to normal. I wrote it off as teething, since he got two new teeth this past week and has 6 more teeth swollen and ready to pop through.

But, last night A came down with a fever. I checked C just to see how he was doing, and the little bugger had a fever too. Low grade, but high enough to not be normal. When they woke up this morning, they both had fevers of over 101! I ended up taking C to the doctor and turns out he has an ear infection in both ears. The Doc thinks C had a virus last week that ended up causing him ear infections, and that most likely he gave that virus to A. So, we spent the day today trapped inside resting. I think A LOVED being sick as he got to drink OJ all day (which is a super treat) and he watched Dora, Diego and Little Einsteins all day while laying in mommy and daddy's bed. He NEVER gets to watch that much tv in one month, let alone one day. I'm hoping all the rest will help him feel better tomorrow. I can't handle another entire day trapped inside.

Sorry, no pictures to post. Maybe when everyone is back to normal we'll get some cute fall pics. We are going to try to go apple picking this weekend and maybe to a fire station open house. I'm really hoping the kids are feeling better so we can do these fun trips this weekend.

Cardboard boxes are always great toys!

He loves to "feed" himself. What a mess!

Sporting his "Tackle" shirt that Grandma got for him. It's perfect since that is his favorite thing to do. He'll play tackle football anytime, anywhere with anyone (whether or not they want to play, too!)

Pile on!

Brother love... or tackle football. I am not sure which.

Playing trains.

Climbing the stairs is his FAVORITE thing to do in the whole world.

Getting ready for a family walk.

We're still here. I feel like each day is so long but at the same time I have so little time to get the things done that I want and need to do. We've been fighting some fevers here. Mostly baby C, but his big bro had a fever yesterday, too. The doc thinks C's is due to teething and I agree. He just had two teeth finally pop through last night and two more are almost in. He's also extremely congested, so he's not sleeping well (as if he needed any more reasons not to sleep!). So, my days are spent holding a very needy, whiney, sick kid while still trying to entertain his hyperactive brother. We had a good night tonight, though, so maybe that means we'll actually get some sleep tonight? Or is that asking too much?

BUT... I absolutely love my kids and think they are pretty much the cutest kids in the world. I have some new pics to post to prove it. :) Enjoy!