MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas! Well we had a very good Christmas this year. Jack was very excited about Santa coming, unfortunately Ben was sick on Christmas eve. He started on Tuesday afternoon running a fever and by Christmas Eve it was up to 102.5. I ended up taking him to the doctor on Christmas Eve morning just to make sure it was not his ears. It was just a virus that had to run its course. Needless to say he was pretty puny on Christmas Eve at Gran's house. Jack was wired on the other hand. I don't think he ended up going to sleep until about 10:00.

Christmas morning Jack was up and ready to go at about 5:30 (normal time for him, I will never understand how he has so much energy). Santa got the boys a giant crab sandbox. The first thing Jack said was "Elmo!". We did not correct him, so as far as he knows we still have a giant Elmo sandbox in our backyard. Of course, it was raining Christmas Eve/morning so Santa very wisely delivered the sandbox inside and left the sand on the back porch.

Having fun in the giant "Elmo"

The other big item from Santa was the ball popper. If you have kids and do not have one of these may I suggest getting one. This by far has been the most popular toy of the Christmas stash. Later in the morning Gran, Doda, Kiki and Gigi came over for breakfast and we opened more presents with them. It was a great morning for the boys, and then they were ready for their nap.

This Santa guy is good mom, he brought me PUFFS!

Christmas night we went and had dinner with the Rose family. Of course, they were eating at 3:00, and we didn't leave our house until 3:00 and then we were 3 minutes from their house and remembered we forgot all of the presents. We had to go back to Lexington and didn't end up at their house until after 4. Punctuality has become sort of an issue with us lately. Luckily, they are laid back and didn't mind the fact that we were almost an hour and a half late. They helped us all get our plates and get the boys fed, which was great. The boys got to open more presents there and it was just almost too much. I think they were in present overload. Jack woke up on the morning of the 26th at 4:00 and asked Jon "Where presents?"

It was a great Christmas!

The Lights Before Christmas

We decided that we needed to take the boys to see Santa. I however refused to go to the mall and stand in the lines that I had seen while we were out shopping. We decided it would be a nice family outing to go and see the Lights Before Christmas at the zoo (even better we didn't have to pay since we have the family pass to the zoo!). We got to the zoo before most of the traffic started and the first thing we did was get in line to see Santa. Luckily we were only about 5 people back in line. Jack was very excited about Santa, until we but him on Santa's lap. He was a little unsure about what the heck was going on. Luckily neither one of them cried. We then walked around the zoo and saw all of the lights. It was a great night to go because it was so warm. I think the highlight of the night though was the fact that we got to see the "ELEPHANTS". There are not enough words to explain how much Jack loves elephants. He is always asking where the elephants are, where is the baby, etc, etc.

"Mom, you better not leave me on this guys lap, even if he is Santa."

We even got to see a pony. Jack was very excited to pet the pony, until the pony sneezed. All that he could say after that was "Pony sneezed, he sick." It was a very cute pony. I was glad that they had some of the animals out.

After the zoo we went with Gran, Doda and Kiki to Salsaritas for dinner. The boys were just about on their last leg, but it made for quite an entertaining meal as usual.

"I just cannot take anymore of this Christmas joy!"

Less than One Week

I cannot believe Christmas is less than a week away. I really need to be wrapping Christmas presents instead of blogging, but it will still be there to do tomorrow! I had to work a little bit late tonight so Jon and the boys came and picked me up and we went to Mellow Mushroom for dinner. Going out to dinner has become more of an adventure these days than a fun outing. Luckily tonight we got there early and they stashed us upstairs in the corner where we couldn't interrupt to many other people. At one point in the night Ben was screaming because we wouldn't let him eat crayons while Jack had climbed under the booth and was screaming "I'm stuck." Later Jack become one of "those kids" who likes to stand up in the booth and watch the people next door that are eating...great. I have become the parent of one of "those" kids. It was inevitable...
Ben met some "ladies" while we were out. He spent half the night turned around backwards in his highchair smiling and laughing with the 3 girls who were sitting beside us. It was very cute. He is still in his cute, sweet, quiet phase thank goodness. When they are both under the table, I am going to be in some deep trouble.

Tree Lighting

Every year the hospital has their tree lighting and the kids at the daycare get to come and sing songs. This Tuesday was the day for the tree-lighting. I took the afternoon off of work and headed over to the hospital. As I was walking up this is what I saw.

Yes, that is Ben riding in the front of the buggy (the one with no hair of course). The poor teachers had to push babies all the way from the daycare to the hospital (it is not that far, but try pushing 8 kids in a big buggy).

Since Jack is now one of the "big" kids, he got to ride on one of the buses to the hospital (all the way through the parking lot). We saw him as he was getting off the bus, and I think that was the highlight of his entire week. One of his teachers even told us the next day that she had never seen a kid so excited about a bus ride.

The kids were all there in the shirts that they had made at school. They all looked very cute. They sang three songs and helped countdown the lighting of the Chritmas tree. Lots of the hospital employees were on hand, as well as a few local news "celebrities". Gran, Gigi and even Sean came to see them perform. Jack did more performing than Ben. Ben ended up sitting with us. Overall it was very cute. I am sure it is just the first of many Christmas performances that we will be attending.

Jack - 2 years and Ben - 9 months

This is how we measure up after our check-ups on Tuesday:

Jack

Weight - 26lbs 8 oz - 31%

Height - 34 inches - 53%

Ben

Weight - 18lbs - 11%

Height - 28 inches - 35 %

Head - 45 cm - 41%

The doctor was a little worried about Ben's weight because he hasn't gained much, but the poor kid has been sick for the past two months with ear infections. He has just gotten better in the last two weeks (yeah, two weeks with no medicine!!). His appetite has definitely picked up.

Other than that, both boys were looking good. Jack had so much fun he even asked the doctor to examine him again...that kid is such a hypochondriac.

Jack's Birthday Party

We had Jack's birthday party on Sunday. We just invited family, not quite ready to have a bunch of little people over for a birthday party yet. It was fun. He got some neat toys and some John Deere boots to wear when he goes to feed the horses (aka: hehe's).

He did a great job of opening his presents, so I am sure Christmas will be really fun!

Happy Birthday Jack!

Well it has been two years since Jack Langston made his appearance on this planet. I cannot believe what a little man he has become. He is so smart, sweet and funny. It is a laugh a minute around our house. It is so hard to believe what he is capable of at just two. I am looking forward to what the next year will bring, but I miss my little baby boy!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey day has come and gone once again. Hard to believe that Christmas is only one month away. We had a very uneventful Thanksgiving. We went to Gran and Doda’s house for lunch on Thursday. Ben and Jon were both sick. Ben was running high temp, and Jon went to the doctor on Wednesday with a sinus infection and bronchitis. After lunch Jack and I went with everyone for a walk to Uncle Buck’s to see the horses. Jack had a wonderful time. He enjoyed tromping through the woods and seeing the “hehe’s”. While we went on our walk, Jon and Ben took about a 2 hour nap, they both needed it.

Once everyone was up and ready, we went to Mrs. Rubianne’s to get our Christmas tree. Jack was exhausted and fell asleep after about 2 minutes in the car. Ben was starting to head down hill fast so we kind of had to make it a quick trip. We did end up with a beautiful full and very FAT Christmas tree. By the time we got back to Gran’s house Ben was in a full fledged fever, however, it did not stop him from eating another big meal before we went home! By the time we got home his fever was at 102, and later during the night it was at 102.7. He was not feeling well at all.

Overall though we had a very good Thanksgiving. We are very thankful for many things including our family, friends, house, jobs, food on the table, clothes on our back and the laughs we have every day!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Well we had a very successful Halloween for Jack. Poor Ben on the other hand, not so much. Of course, last Saturday I had taken Ben to the doctor because he had been coughing for about two weeks and when he woke up, he looked like he had pink eye. The doctor won't see you for just a cough at his age, because there is not really anything that they can do...wonderful. Anyway, so we see the doctor and get some antibiotics for all the sinus junk that is going on (eyes draining, nose running and ears draining..GROSS!). We give him the meds and all seems to be doing better. Thursday morning we drop him off at school and he is fine. Gran was picking him up at 10:00 to take him with her to visit Aunt Laddice in Allendale. Before she even gets there Jon has a call that they think he has pink eye. My mom picks him up and they go for their visit. In the meantime that afternoon I call the doctor again to find out if we can give him the eye drops from the last round of pink eye. As I am driving from work to pick up Jon and the boys, Mom calls and says that she now thinks Ben is running a fever. We get everyone picked up and home we go. We get home at 6:00, and take Ben's temp...102.1...lovely. Still no call back from the doctor...Mommy not a happy camper. We give Ben medicine and go ahead with the eye drops because they look terrible. He goes to sleep at 6:15 and doesn't wake up until almost 2. Poor little guy felt terrible.

Friday comes along and we had the whole day planned...bad idea...had to change plans. Gigi kept Ben in the morning since it was the last day of the month and Jon and I both had to be at work. Jon and I both called the doctor on Friday morning first thing. Gran picked up Ben from Gigi's and took him to the doctor. He had complications from a sinus infection. Not good. Gran was nice enough to keep him for the rest of the afternoon. Poor little thing did not even want to be put down. It was very pitiful.

Anyway, I managed to get off work a little bit early so I picked up Jack from school and we went and bought a pumpkin. Gran was keeping Ben and he was asleep so we went outside and carved the pumpkin, better late than never. Jack loved it, he had pumpkin all over himself.

I got to break out the power tools for the Jack-O-Lantern. It was fun..

Later that night Gran, Doda and Gigi came over to have pizza and to see Jack go trick-or-treating since Ben was not up to the action. I think Ben was asleep by 7:00. Jack on the other hand was far from it. The first round of kids came by our house at about 6:30, I thought Jack was going to fly through the roof he was so excited. By the time I finally got him dressed we was raring to go. Personally I think he was a pretty cute skunk! We went around just to our most immediate neighbors, I don't think he was quite ready for the all out trick-or-treating. He was a big hit, and figured out the candy thing surprisingly fast.

The excitement was almost too much to control. Have you ever seen such joy?

Of course, once we made our rounds we had to check out our stash. He got very upset when we put the bag of candy on the kitchen counter, you would have thought the world was coming to an end. All weekend long he has been enjoying his "treats".

Ben finally started feeling better on Saturday afternoon. I could never find a time to get him in his costume for a "photo shoot" so we got a PJ picture tonight instead. He is doing better, but still not 100%.

Fall Fun

This month has been VERY busy. We have had lots of preparation for Halloween. Of course we had to take a family trip to the "pumpkin patch." We went to Harmon's here in Lexington and looked at the pumpkins, took pictures, took a turn on the swings and went to the "petting zoo." The petting zoo consists of lots of goats, chickens, rabbits and some other kind of bird that I could not tell you what on earth it was. My best guess would be a white peacock. Unfortunately the day that we went it was VERY windy, and Ben was starting with a cold so we did not stay very long. We were going to buy a pumpkin there but the line to pay for pumpkins was about 30 people long!! NO WAY! We still managed to get some cute pictures of the boys though, which is what I really wanted anyway.

Daycare had the Fall Festival on the 23rd. We took the boys because it is a BIG deal at school. Ben was still under the weather, but we bundled him up in his chicken suit and he managed through. Jack, the skunk, had a blast. They had games, a fire truck, ambulance, mounted police, hay ride, and a giant moon walk slide. The slide was the big hit of the night. We had to wait in line about 6 times for him to go down the slide. He was so small the teachers had to give him a boost and the teachers on top had to grab his hands and pull him up. It was kind of funny. I felt sorry for the teachers! Anyway, he thought it was the greatest thing, and that is all that matters. We had a wonderful time, and can't wait until next year when Ben can join the fun!

My Bunny is becoming a Bug :-(

Well, the time has come. We got a notice at daycare yesterday, Ben is moving up on October 27th. He will no longer be a Bunny, he is moving up to the creeper class...aka The Bugs. We will miss our teachers in the Bunnies, Miss Meghan, Miss Margaret and Miss Keonia. But Miss Kim in the Bugs is a Clemson fan! She will help him learn the important things!

Family Day at Erskine

Last weekend we visited Kiki at Erskine for family day. It was a very nice day. We got to hear Kiki's gospel choir sing...very interesting. We had a nice picnic outside on the grounds, watched a shag contest (sort of) and we got to hang out with Kiki.

"Who are you, and why are you taking my picture?" Nice nametag Jack. I think Gran was afraid she might forget your name...but wait, she still called you Ben!

Is it lunch time yet?

The highlight of the day was the "Hehe's"...translation horses. I have never seen Jack move so fast in all of my life. They had an equestrian demonstration after lunch. Jack was sitting on the porch playing and had I not been paying attention and caught him, he would have jumped the two feet off the porch and taken off. All he could do was run, point and say "Hehe, hehe". I have never seen him so excited. He got to pet them, and watched them demonstrate.

Discussing the "hehe's"

Ben was a little bit less than impressed with the gospel choir...sorry Kiki. He was doing fine until the girl standing next to us let out a great big yell. Then we lost it, after that it was a little bit touch and go. Jack on the other hand was interested as ususal.

Botswana Boys

Uncle Geoffrey sent the boys t-shirts from Botswana while he was out traveling the world. The boys love their shirts and want to tell Uncle Geoffrey...THANK YOU!!

Botswana...where's that mom?

More Pictures from Ben's Baptism

With having to go out of town right after Ben's baptism I did not get around to putting these pics up until now.

Rockin' the "lamp shade"...

A Little Behind...not like a Butt.

OK, so I am about a month behind or so on the posting. I finally have downloaded the pics from my camera from when we went with Robbie and Suzann to Biltmore. We had an awesome weekend.

As you can see from the picture of the boys the decided to go fly fishing. Please note all of the equipment. Let me just say, we never saw a fish. We did a lovely story of some lesbians skinny dipping in the river. I think Robbie and Jon got an eye full. I'm glad I was absent for that one.
The flowers at Biltmore were gorgeous, as usual. I took lots of random pictures of course, but here are just a few of my favorites. Maybe if I am nice to Kiki she will paint one for me...hmmm...

WHAT A WEEK!

The posts have not been coming as fast as I would like, but we have been crazy. On the afternoon of Friday the 19th at 3:30 I found out I had to go to Orlando for work on Sunday (the same day as Ben's baptism).
That Saturday mom and I drove to Hartsville for Caroline Benson's wedding shower. It was so nice. It was in a loft apartment in downtown Hartsville complete with rooftop deck. Who would think such a neat place would be in downtown Hartsville? The shower was great and Caroline seemed very happy. Only a few more days until she ties the knot!
Sunday morning was the baptism, and then everyone over for lunch. Immediately after lunch I had to pack and Jon drove me to pick up my rental car. I was on the road headed for not so sunny Orlando by 4:15...ugh. I made it to the hotel around 10:15. Luckily Sue and her husband were there so I was not totally by myself. Jon kept Ben while I was gone, and Jack went to stay with Gran and Doda.
I got home Wednesday afternoon/night around 6:30. Gran and Doda met me at the airport with Jack. We then went back home and saw Jon and Ben which was great. I was really missing my boys after being gone for 3 full days. I was in major need of a big Ben smile and sweet Jack hug (sometimes there is nothing better than a toddler hug).
Thursday and Friday it was off to work. Nothing like no time to recover! Friday was Ashlee's BIG 3-0. I managed to work it out with Jon so that we could celebrate after work. He was supposed to come and pick me up after he got the boys. It somehow ended up that he met us out once the boys went to bed at Gigi's house. We had a great time at the Flying Saucer, and then at 11:00 PM we turned into pumpkins...or parents. We went and picked up the boys at Gigi's. Jack was sleeping in Jon's old twin bed in his old room. His mom even still had the NFL sheets that Jon used to have. It was very cute!
Finally Saturday we had time for some rest. We took Jack for his first "big boy" haircut. It turned out really cute. Of course, I did not take the camera, but it was a success. Jon went to the Carolina game Saturday and I stayed home with the boys and we watched Barney and Pinnochio. Good times...
Sunday we just hung out around the house and basically did nothing. It was wonderful!! I wish we had more time to just be together and not have to worry about where we were going next, or what we had to do. That was last week in a nutshell. This week hasn't started out much better. Ben had to go to the doctor for pink eye, but hopefully by Thursday we will be back into our routine.

Ben's Baptism

Ben's baptism went beautifully. Both boys were on their very best behavior and Ben was looking extra precious in the "lampshade". We managed to make it to church the required 15 minutes in advance and had our very first family portrait made before the service.

There were two other babies being baptised at the same time. One little kid was NOT very happy. Luckily they were the first to go and the parents had enough sense to immediately take them out. I was getting very nervous that the screaming was going to become contagious. Jack even let me hold him while we were in front of the congregation and he did not get into any major mischief. After the baptisms were done, the boys even stayed in "big church" for the remainder of the service. Ben went to sleep and Jack did not make a sound. I could not believe it! After church we had most of the family over to our house for lunch. It was very nice except for the fact that as soon as we finished eating I had to pack and leave for Orlando. That is another story though. Overall we had a wonderful day together.

From Roly Poly to an Inchworm

Well Benjamin has decided that rolling is not the most efficient means of "transportation." He has now taken to "inching" or the "commando crawl." He is all over the place. I went to put something in Jack's room this afternoon and by the time I came back in the den he was practically under the couch. He is very cute (of course, I am his mom giving this assessment). Tomorrow is his baptism at church. We have been getting ready for days. Not for the baptism, but for everyone coming for lunch after. Hopefully everything will turn out ok. We are still in debate about having Jack with us for the actual baptism. Not sure how he will be able to handle himself during "big" church, at least for the first part until we take him to nursery after the baptism.
I am sure there will be pictures and stories to follow...STAY TUNED.

Ben's 6 Month Update

Benjamin went for his 6 month check-up this week. Here is how we measure up:

Weight: 16 lbs 12 oz - 32%

Height: 26.5 inches - 47%

Ben is so sweet. He is like a little angel most of the time. He has not started sitting up on his own quite yet, but he is very close. He has also discovered a form of locomotion....rolling. The kid can roll farther and faster than you could imagine. I walked from the den through the kitchen to put something in the sink and back to the den and he had rolled all the way across the room. He is FAST!

When we went to the doctor this week he still had fluid on his ears from the last ear infection. Unfortunately by Thursday he was not sleeping and had started throwing up (not good). We went back to the doctor and he had another infection (#5). The doctor gave us the Ok to take him to the ENT so that is where we are headed on Tuesday. Jack had a follow-up scheduled so luckily they were able to work Ben in too so I could take them both at the same time. Hopefully they will be able to do tubes on Tuesday while we are there and give my little buddy some relief. The doctor gave us drops for his ears this time, and whenever you give them to him he purrs like a little kitten. It is very sweet, but it breaks my heart knowing that he is in that much pain. The poor little guy has not slept through the night in almost 3 weeks (poor Mommy and Daddy,too!). Except for the past day or two you would not really even know that anything had been wrong with him. He is tough guy. Of course, with Jack as your brother you have to learn to hold your own pretty fast. Ben's defense is pulling hair, and boy is he good at it! Jack better watch out!

Vacation 2008

Well we had our first full fledged week long family vacation last week. HOOORRRAAAYYY!! We went to Garden City for the week with Gran, Doda, Kiki and Kaela (Kiki's roommate). Gran and Doda took the boys down with them on Saturday afternoon and then Jon and I followed Saturday night after Beth and Stokely's engagment party in St. Matthews. The party was awesome and it was nice to get away kid free for at least a little while. Beth and Stokely looked so happy and in love. I am so glad that Beth has found someone to make her as happy as she deserves to be!

We woke up at the beach Sunday morning and Gran fixed us an awesome breakfast and vacation was officially underway. We spent lots of time sitting out on the porch in the rocking chairs and in the swing. We were also across the street from a canal with lots of ducks. Jack thought that the ducks were the greatest things ever. Every morning the ducks got about half a loaf of bread to eat. Needless to say, by the end of the week we could not walk downstairs without a group of ducks coming up and thinking they were going to get a snack. It got a little creepy, especially when you practically had to kick ducks just to be able to get into the car.

The aforementioned "psycho" ducks...

Chillin' on the porch.

Jack loved the beach. Miles and miles of sand and lots of birds make Jack Langston a happy boy. He liked the ocean ok, but preferred playing in the sand. He got kind of nervous when the waves would wash sand out from under his feet. Jon and Doda took him out past the breakers some and he of course was his normal fish self once he got out there. We took the sun cabana for Ben, but I am afraid that he was not really enjoying it too much.

Poor Ben ended up with an ear infection while we were there and we was just not himself. Jon and I took him to Doctor's Care on Tuesday and we had a doctor that basically told us we were idiots for thinking our kid had an ear infection because nobody gets on ear infection without a fever. Then the quack doctor proceeded to tell us that any doctor that told us he had an ear infection without fever was just telling us that to satisfy us. Needless to say I was a little bit peeved when we left that doctor's office and immediately told Jon that I wanted a second opinion. Needless to say, we went to another doctor on Wednesday morning and sure enough he had an ear infection in both ears. But the nice doctor couldn't see into his ear until she was able to remove some wax buildup from inside of his ear. Anyway, that is my story about Doctor's Care in Myrtle Beach...don't go! On top of the crazy doctor there, Ben decided that it would be a great time to have a blow-out! He made a mess all over his clothes and in his carrier. Of course, I had packed everything EXCEPT an extra outfit. Jon had to make an emergency run out to Wings or one of those places to get a really cool tourist outfit for Ben complete with sun visor. The visor makes him look like he is going to play cards somewhere. Unfortunately no picture because the kid will not keep the visor on long enough to get one!

Having a cold one at the beach

The rest of the week we pretty much just played out on the beach and at the pool. It is hard work having two kids at the beach, especially one as young as Ben. There is no way we could have done it by ourselves so we have to send a great big THANKS! to Gran and Doda. We all had fun and cannot wait to go again next year!!

Thursday it got a little bit windy, well a lot windy at the beach so we decided to take a family outing. We took Jack and Ben to the Children's Museum in Myrtle Beach. It was quite interesting, Jack thoroughly enjoyed himself. He even got to ride on a real fire truck.

Jack - The Bubble Boy

Walking on the beach with Doda (who might now be Dado...only time will tell)

Jack and Dad hanging on the beach

The Bumbo is a great thing...

We all enjoyed the porch

I think we were really ready for a nap in this one...

Jon's aunt and uncle sent us very cute matching outfits with hats for the boys when Ben was born. I was saving them for the perfect time to take a picture and I thought to myself that the beach would be the perfect time. Unfortunatly I did not take into account the 30 mph winds that decided to blow in. We improvised and took a few in grass outside of our house since we were all dressed up. It was really very interesting...remember the ducks!

Sweet boys

They started going over and well, Ben did a face plant shortly after this picture was taken. All I can say is that boy is going to be tough!