Two Teeth & Balls in the Grocery Store

So Ben wakes up from his nap yesterday mad again and surprise there's a second tooth in 3 days breaking the gums. I feel so sorry for him. He just drools and drools.

Ben and I went to HEB this morning after we dropped Lexi off at preschool. When we went in he started saying, "ball, ball" over and over. Once I finally looked where I realized he was pointing, he was pointing at a cantaloupe! Then a little watermelon, oranges, apples, and onions. He was so excited to see all the "balls" in the grocery store. He loves balls!

Still working on why I can't unload pictures. Hope to be able to soon!

Moving on...and fast!

Last week at preschool Lexi's afternoon teacher, Miss Ellie, told me that she had moved on. Her "boyfriend" Jacob had only been gone from school for two weeks and she already had another one. His name is Conway and he is actually in her class. Miss Ellie said that Conway asked to hold her hand while they were walking to the playground. Normally the kids walk in a line. It's very funny to me, because she's barely four years old. I am surprised that she talked about Jacob constantly for a year and then seems to have dropped the subject so fast.

Teething Woes

Ben has only had 5 teeth in the front for a few months now and there is one more just below the gum line that I've been able to see for quite a while. Although, his lack of teeth does not slow him down in the eating department at all. Sunday afternoon he wakes up from his four hour nap screaming in pain and drooling a lot. He finally lets me see in his mouth and he had all four points of his first molar breaking through his gums. It must've been a very productive nap, because I hadn't noticed anything in there before. Maybe he'll get the rest of his front teeth soon. He has a little friend that is 2 months younger than him and she already has 14 teeth!

He goes on Friday for his 15 month well visit (yes, he's almost 17 months) that had to be rescheduled, because he was sick. He should've had this visit in December, but his pediatrician's office doesn't do well visits for an extended period around the holidays. Very annoying!

Getting Well

The kids are both finally getting better. Yes, Lexi came down with the same cold as Ben. No real surprise there. They eat and drink after each other all the time. I guess I should be happy they like to share with one another. Well, at least food, not so much toys. Ben's asthma is acting up again. This time of year is tough on little lungs, especially if you have to breathe the air around all these chemical plants and refineries. Last year between January and April Ben went to the pediatrician nine times and the ER once. I feel like this year we have things under control a little better. I hope! He gets a breathing treatment when he wakes up and one before bed that are an asthma controller and then Albuterol during the day if he needs it. He hasn't slowed down at all though. This morning I found him sitting the on granite hearth (which is pretty cold) playing with a ball and standing in a rocking chair. Ben is far more daring than Lexi ever was!

Lexi was happy to be well enough to go the preschool today. It was her turn to be the "snack helper" and take a snack for all her friends. We made rice crispy bars last night and she was so excited to carry them to class this morning. She has dance tonight and was very concerned that she wouldn't be able to go if she were still sick. She would go to preschool and dance everyday if she could.

I hope to post some new pictures soon, but I'm having problems with the software right now.

Lexi's 1st Broken Heart

Lexi's very first day of preschool in Beaumont last spring she met a little boy, Jacob. She talked about him all the time and eventually started referring to him as her "boyfriend." They weren't in the same class, but they played together in the gym and on the playground. Although, I highly suspect he did not think of Lexi as his girlfriend. This continued throughout the summer program and again in the fall. They still were not in the same preschool class, but they were in the same class during the after school program. There was one day a couple of months ago when she decided to kiss him goodbye, but he was doing a good job of trying to get away when their substitute teacher separated them. It was kind of funny now looking back, but it definitely wasn't at the time. I was shocked! We had a long talk that car ride home. Thankfully, she listened and never tried that again. By the time the holidays rolled around he was telling his mother that Lexi was his "pretty girlfriend." Now that school has started back, Jacob is gone. He wasn't there the first week and now this week his name is off all of the class rolls. I told her yesterday that he wouldn't be there anymore, but she just says he's just really sick like Ben and that he'll be back. I wonder how long she will talk and ask about him? Or will their be a new "boyfriend" soon?

Sick (as usual!)

This one will be short......

Poor Ben! He's starting the year off with a cold. Last year he was sick for the first 4 months of the year with asthma symptoms and I was hoping things would be better this year. So far he isn't wheezing though. He just has a cough and runny nose. He goes to the pediatrician on Thursday for a well visit. I think we can blame the wonderful Texas weather for this one. It was in the mid-70's all last week and then suddenly we were down in the 30's again pretty much overnight.

Lexi has been begging to go outside all day. She loves the outdoors and would spend all day outside if she could. I don't what she enjoys more, riding her bicycle or playing soccer. She's learned to stand up while riding her bike. I'm almost certain there will be a crash at some point.

Back to School & Dance

Lexi was so happy to be going back to school yesterday. She missed her friends a lot during the holidays. She would love to go everyday. Ben missed her while she was gone. He always looks for her around the house when shes gone, but he seems to know that when I wake him up from his nap early that we are going to get her. She had homework last night, because they are studying the letter "L" this week. She had to find pictures of things that started with the letter and glue them on a cut out "L" that her teacher sent home. She wanted to watch cartoons first, but I told her that she always has to do her homework before watching television. Once she got into it she ended up working on it for almost two hours. She was enjoying cutting things out of magazines and them on paper. By them it was time to get ready for dance. She was extra excited, because they started working on their routines for the recital in May. She was doing pirouettes all over the house last night.

I almost forgot! Ben finally (after 4 months of dance) warmed up enough to a lady to want to sit in her lap. She happens to be from Alabama too. When Lexi's class was over the lady's daughter and another little girl were talking to and playing with Ben. I don't think Lexi liked it very much, because as soon as she put her street shoes on she went over the grabbed him under the arms and was trying to carrying him out. We all decided that she wanted to make sure her brother was coming home with her.

70's in January

It was a very nice day here yesterday, mid 70’s and sunny. The kid’s went out and played with the other kids on our street in the afternoon and Ben went straight for the mud. There was only one spot of mud in the whole cul-de-sac and he found it pretty quick. He sat in it and rubbed his hands around. He got up and rolled a soccer ball around, but he kept gravitating back towards the mud. Lexi enjoyed riding her bicycle and playing soccer with the girls from the end of the street. Our newest neighbors are expatriates from France. They have 3 or 4 kids and the oldest are girls about Lexi’s age. Unfortunately, they don’t speak English except for “hi” and “bye.” She tried to ask one of them to let her ride their scooter and the poor little girl thought she was going to take it. All the other kids tried to invite them to play, but I guess they’re just not ready yet.

Ben tried to teach himself to drink from an open cup last night. He grabbed Lexi’s water off the table and dumped it in his face. The look on his face was classic!

Ben's 2nd Haircut

Happy New Year! My New Year’s resolution is to try to update our blog a few times a week. We’ll see how that goes with two little ones getting into everything.

Our 2009 started the same as any other day. We hung out around the house and watched football. I took the kids for a haircut this morning. Lexi just got her bangs trimmed, but Ben’s mop was in need of some serious help. He screamed the entire time! Keep in mind he did not cry at all, but instead laughed through his first haircut. He kept trying to see what Lexi was doing and she wouldn’t stay still. The cartoon on television didn’t help either. By the time we left there we were both covered in hair. He does look very cute even without his flyaway curls!

Here he is pre-haircut. I'm sure riding his brand new basketball goal like it was a rocket was Lexi's idea. I told her if she broke it that I'd take money out of her piggy bank to buy him a new one. Needless to say, it was upright again very quickly.















Post haircut