Picture wild

So I am going a little crazy with posting pictures of the boys today, but I took some really cute ones and I just felt like posting them all.

Joseph got his second tooth on Saturday. He has the two bottom middle teeth. I can't believe that he is getting big enough to have teeth! We have been trying out lots of different foods. He is definitely a picky eater. Samuel ate everything we put in front of him except for bananas. Two days ago I made cauliflower for him to try. He hated it so much that he literally made himself gag and puked it up. He refused to open his mouth and wouldn't eat more then a few mouthfuls. Since he was refusing to eat and he still needed to eat some dinner, I mixed him up some rice cereal and added prunes. He ate it all up with no complaints. He is loving yogurt, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, prunes and bananas.

Last night was Mexican night. It always amazes me when I make Mexican food for dinner because Samuel can eat so much of it. We decided that we need to make Mexican night a weekly dinner option. It is so easy to put together and it is nice when Samuel cleans his plate!

In other exciting news, we closed today on our lot. We are actually going to build a home. Hopefully we will break ground by October 1st. There are so many decisions to be made. I am a little stressed because I don't feel like I have time to do all the research I want to do regarding all the products going in our home, but I can only do what I am able. If only the boys would take longer naps and at the same time life would be easier.

Here are pictures of the boys:

Joseph seriously LOVES Samuel:

Today they both wanted to cuddle on the couch.

Serious look:


Already looking up to his older brother. So cute:

Heavy Heart

My beautiful Bube.

I finally have some downtime and I am writing this post with a very heavy heart.

On Monday, August 23rd at 11:35 am my grandmother, or as I called her Bube, passed away. She fought a very hard battle. Her brain was always sharp, but her body just couldn't make it any longer. I wanted to be there when she passed away, but I know it was better that I came later. We got to view her body on Tuesday. In the Jewish tradition the funeral is normally not more then 24 hours after the death because the bodies are not embalmed. We got to see her before she was put in her coffin. This is a strange thing to say, but I don't think I have seen her look more beautiful. She wasn't wearing any makeup and her skin was clear, a beautiful shade and she had no wrinkles. I didn't really know what I expected, but I am so happy that I saw her for the last time looking as beautiful as she did and so peaceful.

We buried her yesterday at almost 2:30 pm. I think the saddest part was seeing my Zayde having to deal with the death of his wife. My grandparents had a wonderful and amazing love story. They met when my grandmother was 15 almost 16 years old. They were separated for 4 years during the Holocaust but continued to stay in contact. My grandfather escaped from a labor camp to meet up with my grandmother's family at another camp, where he knew she would be. 9 days after they reunited they were married. They were together for almost 70 years. My mom told me that at the end when Bube was strapped to a heart monitor and she wasn't really breathing, when my grandfather walked in the room her heart rate went up. I just think that is the most beautiful story of all. After all those years, he still made her heart beat faster. If that isn't true love, I don't know what is.

I wish I could write down all my memories, but then this post would last forever. She did coin some phrases that I will never forget, like "grandchildren are like the interest on the principle (children)." She loved her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren so much.

This has been quite a year for our family. I started off the year with three living grandparents and now I only have one left. Not only that, but my sister in law lost her mother as well. It has been very sad, but I have to try to remember that things happen for a reason.

I feel very lucky that I had and still have a close relationship with all my grandparents. I will always hold my special bond with them close to my heart. That is why it is so important to me for my kids to have a close relationship with their grandparents. I wouldn't want them to miss out on the experience that I had that will stay with me forever.

Rest in peace, Bube. I love you and miss you.

Birthday weekend

We had a very busy birthday weekend. On Friday we left to meet my parents and Jonathan and Laura at Still Waters Resort at Table Rock Lake (about 30 minutes outside of Springfield, MO). I would say that normally the drive wouldn't be so bad, but it was absolutely terrible there and back. Joseph did not cooperate at all. He screamed pretty much the entire way there and back. Although the drive was not the greatest, we had a very nice time. It is hard to say a trip or a vacation at this point is relaxing because the boys require so much attention. Samuel had everybody's attention and kept everyone busy with his extremely busy self. It takes almost 4 to 6 people to keep an eye on him. We went to the pool, paddle boated (my mom and I did and it was quite a workout), fished, Samuel fed the ducks with my parents, Laura, my mom and I went to the outlet mall and I ate sooooo much food. I actually gained a pound. There was so much good food and of course my mom made me my favorite marble cake with chocolate frosting that I ate for every single meal and I yes I mean breakfast too.

The condo was super nice. It was three bedrooms and three bathrooms. There was one master suite that Dave and I stole from my parents because it had a king size bed and it was my birthday! Plus the other rooms had two queen size beds, so I figured that we would give ourselves and break and let Samuel sleep in one of the queen size beds in my parents room and they could deal with him all night and get up with him in the morning. I really didn't think that they would have to deal with him at night because he doesn't wake up usually. However he was so excited about all the things that he was doing with them that he woke up in the middle of the night and my mom said he wouldn't stop talking. He was talking about feeding the ducks, going to the lake, going swimming, thinking it was raining outside. It sounds funny, but I know from experience that when you are exhausted the last thing you want to deal with is a little kid that won't go back to sleep.

Samuel has been awesome with peeing and pooping in the potty. He only had one accident all weekend. I think I am going to bite the bullet and try not to put him in diapers at all except at nap and bed time. He is actually great and is even preferring to pee standing up now. It is actually really cute. I think we are over him pooping in his diaper now. He is actually telling us when he needs to poop and is making it to the bathroom. My goal was to get him completely potty trained before his school started in September and I think we may make it.

Joseph tried banana this weekend. He loved it. So far the boys are completely opposite when it comes to food. Joseph hated sweet potato and loved banana and it was just the opposite with Samuel. I am pretty sure that I see two teeth on the bottom coming in. It is super white and I am pretty sure I can make out two teeth. I really hope they cut through this week because that would give Joseph relief and hopefully get him to sleep better.

Dave and I are going on about 3 weeks of no sleep. Since Samuel and Joseph had their little colds neither one has slept completely through the night. Joseph is still so stuffed up that he wakes up coughing and can't go back to sleep unless we lift him up and calm him down. Lack of sleep makes us very unhappy people.

I have decided on my birthday that I am making a new year resolution. I have decided that I am going to change my attitude about the lack of time I have for myself and the fact that I am absolutely exhausted and that the boys require 97% of my time. Although I get frustrated and annoyed with the fact that the boys are so needy, I really really really should enjoy the fact that they do need me. I know that soon Samuel will not need me to put him to bed at night, that Joseph won't need me to feed him constantly. I know that soon Joseph won't need me to bounce him to sleep and will not require as much cuddle time. I have decided for the sanity of our family that I need to remember that everything is short term and I will be wishing I had this time back when they are older. I really do need to live in the moment. I need to tell myself that everyday.

This birthday has really made me feel old. I remember meeting Dave when I was 20 years old and now I am 32. I can't believe that 12 years have flown by. I know the next 12 years are going to fly by as well and that scares me and that is why my goal is to enjoy every moment as best I can. I know I will still get frustrated and irritated and I will still be a bitch, but at least I will enjoy having those feelings.

Got to go. Joseph is screaming. I will try to post pictures later.

6 months old

Joseph turned 6 months old this past Saturday. Here are some pictures of him on his half-birthday. He has really gotten chubby and his ears are really starting to stick out too. I still think he is a cute little baby!

For some reason I didn't post Samuel's 6 month statistics on my blog, so I am going to do that now because I like to see the difference in their growth development.

Samuel at 6 months: Joseph at 6 months:

Height: 26.75 in (64%) 26.5 in (55%)

Weight: 18 lbs 15 oz (76%) 18 lbs (61%)

Head cir.: 43.25 cm (36%) 45 cm (83%)

Although the percentages make it seems like they are drastically different in size, the actual numbers aren't too far off.

It is time for me to start making baby food again. We gave Joseph a little taste of sweet potato last night and he hated it. He gagged and made faces and acted like we were trying to shove huge pieces of food down his throat. We will try it every night for the next week and see if he starts to like it. The doctor said we could try a new food every three days and to start giving him some food in the morning and in the evening. I can't imagine what his weight gain is going to be in the next few months. I still can't believe that 6 months have already gone by.

Since the boys have been sick and we haven't gotten much sleep in the last few weeks, both Dave and I have not exercised. We both feel terrible and are desperately missing spinning class. I am hoping I can go tomorrow. Even though I haven't been exercising I have good news. I am at the weight I was when I got pregnant with Joseph, which is still 7 pounds over where I was when I got pregnant with Samuel and at least 5 more pounds then where I really want to be. I am really hoping that the extra weight will keep coming off. I still can't fit into clothes I could wear before I got pregnant with Joseph. The weight has redistributed to other places. My body is no where near where it was, but I am working on that. I don't ever expect that my body will go back to where it was pre-baby, that would be ridiculous for me to think that way, but if I can just tighten up and lose some extra fat rolls, I will be happy.

I am off to relax and try to get Joseph to sleep.

A little breather

I am starting to feel better and so are the boys. Joseph is only waking up a few times a night and his snotty nose is getting better, so he is able to breathe and sleep better. Samuel is still doing great in his big boy bed. I think he loves it. He is so excited to take naps and go to bed at night. We feel very lucky that it was such an easy transition.

Joseph is sitting up better and better on his own. I can't believe how much he is changing and how quickly. It seems like the months are flying by. In two days he will be 6 months old. I take him to the doctor next Wednesday. I am so curious to see how big he is and how he compares to where Samuel was at 6 months. I think he might be bigger and longer. We will see.

I am looking forward to the weekend. Hopefully I will be able to sleep in one day and catch up on all the sleep I missed out on this week.

Today the temperature isn't supposed to be too hot, only in the high 80s, so we might venture outside for some fresh air.

Joseph is screaming for some attention, so I am off.

Here are some pictures of the boys:

Running on Fumes

The weekend and week has not been ideal. We have been living a life with no sleep for the past 4 days. I think from Saturday night to last night I have gotten approximately 15 hours of sleep total. I prefer to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night, but our kids have other plans.

So Friday night Samuel decided he was going to develop a cough and runny nose. He was up all night long having trouble sleeping. He still had a cough and runny nose all weekend, but luckily he went back to sleeping through the night with no problems on Saturday. Yesterday we were driving around in the car during the day and Samuel just started screaming that his ear hurt. He started grabbing his right ear and kept telling me to call the doctor. His exact words "Ear hurt lots, call doctor, doctor look." I love that he is able to talk now and tell me when things are bothering him. It is such a relief to not have to guess. Although this was actually the first time he really told me something was hurting him. I called the doctor and we got in late yesterday afternoon and Samuel in fact had an ear infection. Because his ear hurt so badly he didn't take a nap yesterday, which made for a very long day.

Then to Joseph. Saturday night he started coughing and had a running nose too. Since he can't blow his nose, I was trying to suck out all the snot with those bulb things. Anyway, nothing helped. He was up from 11 pm until 2 am, fell asleep and then woke up at 5, then wouldn't go back to sleep. Dave went out on Saturday night to a baseball game and then stayed out until midnight. That left me dealing with Joseph all night long. So that night I only got 3 hours of sleep. Sunday night it was the same with no sleeping, but at least Dave took over a few times of getting up with Joseph. Last night was a tiny bit better, he slept from 11:45 until 3:30 and then again from 4 to 7. As you can see, we haven't been getting much sleep around here, which makes me a huge BITCH. I don't function well on little sleep.

This is going to be a rough week because not only am I getting no sleep, but when the boys are sick I can't go to the gym. I have found the release of exercise does wonders for my attitude and well being. Oh well, one week off won't kill me. It just might kill the kids!

On a positive note, Samuel loves his big boy bed and has had no problems sleeping in it at night. He has actually been sleeping in the past few days until at least 7:30. Yesterday morning when he woke up, he told me "Mommy, I love my new bed." Makes me so happy.

Well, Samuel is now up and Joseph is now screaming, so I am off to start my very long day.

Made the Leap

Picture of the boys and one of Joseph:

Today we took a huge step and put Samuel in his big boy bed. We did it before his afternoon nap because we wanted him to try to sleep one time before this evening. We had been talking to him about a big boy bed for a while, but really talked it up the last week. He was pretty excited when Dave got everything out to put the bed together; he was running around like crazy and wanted to help so badly. Here are a few pictures of the boys putting the bed together.

We bought a mattress and box spring for the bed, but once we put it together, having both on the bed frame made the bed WAY too high. There would have been no way Samuel would have been able to get on and off the bed. So we took the box spring off and made the bed. (If anyone would like a brand new full size box spring let us know, we will sell it to you. It has never been used and is brand spanking new). Samuel could barely contain himself. He wanted to climb in bed immediately.

The best part of the whole big bed process was when Samuel kept saying to Dave and I, "Thank you Mommy, Thank you Daddy." We could tell he felt so lucky to have a big bed to himself.

The other really cute part was that Samuel ran to his bathroom and gabbed his step stool and put it right by the side of the bed so he could easily get in and out.

Here he is right after we put the bed together:

We put him down for his nap around 1:30 pm and he was really excited. He got right under his covers, but he had to have his Thomas blanket and other soft blanket. He has been sleeping with those two blankets for well over a year now, so I think they make him feel comfortable. He normally likes to listen to music as he is going to sleep, but we couldn't figure out where to put his music box, so we just left it on his dresser. After we left the room he was quite for a little bit and then we could hear him moving around. He got his music box off the dresser and turned it on. He played in his room for a long time and we only had to go in twice to check on him. He finally fell asleep around 3 pm. I got him up around 4 because we don't like him to sleep too late.

I took the camera with me when I woke him up and this is what I found:

You can barely see his little head sticking out from this view.

I was worried that he would be difficult to get to bed tonight, but we rocked for a few minutes and then he wanted to get right in bed. So far he has been in bed for about 40 minutes and we have heard no noises. I am pretty sure he is sound asleep. I can't wait to check on him and see what he looks like in his big bed.

I can't believe that my little boy is in a big bed. He is growing up way too fast!