October is here!

I can't believe October is here already. Time is just flying by.

The last couple of weeks were a bit of a mess.

Evan, Claire, and I were all brought down by the flu. After that, I managed to pick up a case of bronchitis as well. Claire and Ladd now seem to have a cold.

Not all has been bad though.

Evan is just moving along in Kindergarten. He actually told me that he LOVES school the other day. I think some of that may have to do with his cute young teacher. He is growing like a weed, and is playing flag football right now. He loves football, and he gets as excited about it as if he were playing Friday nights. He is also very excited about planning for Halloween.

Claire is growing fast. She loves her preschool. She is singing a lot. Her favorite song involves singing someone's name and then "Jump up and down." She also loves the ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, and Where is Thumbkin. She is very excited about anything related to Halloween as well.

This month will also bring a visit to the fair, more football, fall festivals, and Halloween. Hopefully I will be better about updating in the weeks to come.

Its Been a While

I didn't do a very good job of keeping up with this blog over the summer. I am hoping to return to posting.

We had a good summer. Evan, Claire, and I spent a lot of time doing things like Hawaiian Falls Water Park, the Library, the park, and naps. We also went to visit Great Grandma and Grandpa Seymour in Louisiana, and spent a few days in a beach house in Galveston. Overall it was a good summer--lots of fun lazy days, but no major events.

We are now back in school. Evan is completing his first week of 1st grade. He seems so big now. He seems happy with his teacher so far this year, and he seems committed to having a good year. He has a good time teasing me by telling me he has gotten in trouble when he hasn't.

Claire is also getting so big. She is back and daycare and very happy in the tots room. I am very glad that she is very happy to be there in the morning, but she is also happy to be picked up in the afternoon. She is very attached when we get home, so we end up spending a lot of time watching Spongebob and reading once we get home. Sometimes she lets me escape for a few minutes when Daddy gets home. I love that she loves me and needs me, but do find it stressful that I cannot just hold her all the time.

All in all live is just moving along. Hope to post more soon.

First Week of Summer

Well, we are already down our first week of summer. The kids have been loving it of course, as have I!

The week started off on a bum note with both Evan and I having a stomach virus, but fortunately that passed quickly and we were able to go on. For the rest of the week Evan went to baseball camp at a local high school from 9-12 every day. He enjoyed it and we wished it would last another week.

We also went to Hawaiian Falls, a nearby water park that we have season passes for, twice. The kids really enjoy it! Thursday, was a very rainy and wet day, so we took advantage of it by going to Amazing Jakes. Amazing Jakes is kind of like Chuck-E cheese on steroids. Evan got a pass to play unlimited laser tag, which he loved! Claire rode the merry-go-round, train, and flying jets. She also tried to play lots of games. Evan can't wait to go back.

Over the weekend, Ladd was largely out of commission from the stomach bug. Evan had a baseball game, and was tickled that our neighbor across the street could come watch him. Sunday, we had church, and then after rest, we went to the local pool with our neighbors. After an hour of swimming, we came back and had some more fun (AND FOOD) in the backyard. The kids went to bed happy, but exhausted--and the grown-ups enjoyed their time as well.

Hopefully, this week will bring lots of new adventures!

Busy Busy Busy

I am happy to announce that all the hard work with the Robotics team paid off.  We brought home 1st place.  Evan was just as happy and proud if he had won it himself.  I am glad about that since he had to attend every practice and stay late after school all year.

We are winding down the school year, but there is still lots of excitement going on.  Evan has all sorts of fun next week.  Claire will be very glad to get to stay home as well. 

We are making lots of plans for the summer that include the nearby water park, baseball camp, possible vacation, and Mommy tutoring.  

10 More Days

We are down to our last 10 days of school.  I can't believe that Evan is almost finished with Kindergarten!  We are very busy with year-end activities.  

I have been very busy with the school Robotics team that I sponsor.  We are participating in a competition this weekend, and the team has been working hard.  Ladd and the kids have been very supportive of all of the time it has taken.  Evan has been hanging out with the team every day.  He will probably be sick of it by the time he is old enough to actually join the team.  

Claire is a sweet child with the TERRIBLE TWO's.  Frequently, she grins at us like she is saying, "I know I'm cute, you can't help but give in to me."  When she is sweet, she is oh so sweet.  I am looking forward to being able to have her at home with me most of the summer.

Claire turned 2!

Well, it is hard to beleive it, but our baby girl turned 2 yesterday.  We had a small cake at home, and we gave her a Little Mermaid tricycle.  Claire loved it because it plays music and blows bubbles.  She and Evan also had fun playing on the new slip-n-slide.  Whatever Evan does, Claire has to trys to do too.  She is a cutie, and Daddy says she is a princess, but we might be a little partial.  

Two more firsts

Well, last night Mommy went to get her nails done as a belated Mother's Day present.  While gone, Claire decided that it was time to peepee in the potty for Daddy!  I think that it is all about her deciding that she wants to.

On the way to school this morning, Evan was reading a book to himself.  He was actually able to tell me about it when he was done!  He reads to us all the time, but this is the first time I really observed him voluntarily actually reading a whole book himself!

We went to the school talent show tonight.  Evan is already planning his tryout for next year, but right now I think he has a plan to include almost every type of act that we saw.  We will see what happens next year.

Evan's Birthday and Mother's Day

Sunday was a great day!  Evan was in a fantastic mood all day.  He listened and followed directions pretty much all day without a problem.  

In the morning we got up and went to church.  Evan got a LSU hat from his Aunt Jenny, and we informed him that we would take him shopping for a pair of Heelys for his birthday.  For those that don't know, Heelys are shoes with removable wheel that fits into the heel.  He has been asking for these since he was about 3 1/2.  

We surprised Evan with a trip to the Rainforest Cafe as a combination Mother's Day/Birthday lunch.  At the end, he was surprised with a chocolate Volcano cake that had a sparkler in the top, and he stood on his chair while they sang Happy Birthday to him (the alternative one of course).  

After lunch we went shopping for the Heelys.  Mom and Dad lucked out as we found a pair on sale for half price.  It was a good thing that we didn't try to buy them ahead of time as we ended up with a pair two sizes bigger than what he has been wearing in a shoe.  Evan loved them, and wore them out of the mall.  

We had a video conference call with The Haluskas in New Jersey (Grandma, Grandpa, Great-Grandma, and Isaac),  and got to share all of the weekends events, as well as wish Grandma Amanda a Happy Mother's Day.

Evan went to bed with his Heelys--holding the wheels in his hands, and Mom and Dad were glad he had a happy day, but a bit melancholy about him growing up.  

Saturday game and party

Saturday was a big day for us.  First of all, Aunt Jenny arrived around midnight on Saturday, which was very exciting.  Evan had a baseball game on Saturday.  He got two good hits, and he got somebody out at 3rd base.  There were several other plays where he scrambled and made good calls as well.  He was so excited to have Aunt Jenny there to watch.  We think he was also pumped from the pre-game donut he had.  

That afternoon we had a joint birthday party for Evan and Claire.  Evan had about 9 of his friends from school, and we had a few good friends from the neighborhood.  We had it in our backyard.  The kids had a great time bouncing in our bounce house (its a small one--last year's birthday present to the kids), painting each other's faces, playing on the swingset, and some other games that I came up with.  They also got to do a pinata and have pizza.  I think all the kids were worn out at the end of the party, and Evan was one happy kid.  Claire was pretty pleased with the whole thing as well, and kept going strong all afternoon.  She held her own with those bigger kids.  

It was a great party, and I am glad we did it at home, but I am also glad that I only had to do one of these this year.  

Rough Riders Game

We had a great time at the Rough Riders game on Friday night.  The Rough Riders is the farm team for the Rangers, and are located in Frisco.  They were having Teacher Appreciation night, so I was able to get great tickets that included bullpen seats, a hat, and food, for a great price!  Evan had a blast.  He had his glove at the ready all night waiting for a foul ball to come his way.  Unfortunately, none made it out to us.  He had a sparkle in his eyes and was glued to the game pretty much all night.  He got the foam finger he desperately wanted for earning 14 green days (for behavior) in a row at school.  

Claire had a pretty good time as well.  She completely charmed the grandmotherly ladies that were sitting behind us.  Before the end of the game she was sitting in their laps and reading the program with them.  There were some rough moments when she threw an absolute fit because I wouldn't let her take off all of her clothes in the stands.  I finally figured out that she wanted a dry diaper, and wasn't just trying to strip.  

A good time was had by all, and we look forward to going to another game in the future.

Not Swine Flu

Well, its not swine flue, but the rest of us have had the blech!  Fortunately, Ladd and I didn't seem to have it as bad as Evan.  Regardless, it zapped Ladd and I bad.  We both spent the majority of a day sleeping, and then sitting around being sluggish.  Hopefully, we are all back to normal now.

We are on final countdown to the kids birthday party on Saturday, and we are having a busy week. Besides the party we are having baseball practice, a baseball game, going to watch the Rough Riders play (minor league team from Frisco), and Aunt Jenny is coming to visit!  Fortunately, despite the sickness, I managed to clean the carpet and get a lot of laundry done this weekend.  So, those are two things off my list.  

I have also been very busy with my robotics team.  We are heading to competition on the 23rd, so we are working like crazy to get ready!

The Swine Flu

Right now everything is still business as usual.  However, we are up to 1 school closed, and two others with suspected cases of Swine flu.  As many probably know, Ft. Worth closed the entire district until the 11th.  This is making many here antsy.  It is all people can talk about right now.  

We discovered last night that Claire seems to be cutting her 2nd set of molars, which we believe was adding to her irritability and clinginess.  Once we gave her some motrin, she definitely had an improvement in her disposition.  

Evan is doing Ok.  He still seems to be suffering from some fatigue due to his stomach bout earlier this week.  We think that this may be due to some minor dehydration, so we are pushing the fluids.  Other than that...life goes on as usual.

Evan and Claire

Well, last Saturday had his first baseball game of the year.  He did great.  He got two outs while playing 2nd base, and almost got a 3rd one.  He was even more pumped about baseball after that and said that he wished he had a game every day.  Unfortunately, he was struck with a very violent episode of either a stomach virus or food poisoning on Sunday night.  I felt so sorry for him, and it was a very rough night.  We were up pretty much straight from 10:30 to 5:30 with both vomiting and diarrhea.   I didn't know a little boy's body had so much fluid!  I stayed home with him Monday, and he was better.  His appetite and energy level still seem to be down though, so hopefully he will be back to normal soon.  

Claire seems to be suffering from quite a bit of separation anxiety.  She gets upset with me when I start loading the car, and will not calm down until I put her in it.  Last night, I was getting ready to walk the dog, and when I did not put her in the backpack right away, she laid it on its side and tried to crawl into it backward--crying the whole time.  It was pretty pitiful.  When she is in the backpack she hugs my neck and loves on me nonstop.  She is also having issues with sleeping in her bed at night.  She will wake up every 45 minutes or so and wimper--unless she is in bed with us, and then she will only does it every few hours.  Hopefully, this too shall pass.  I am sure that one day I will miss the days when she couldn't stand to be parted from me.  

Terrible Twos

Claire is such a little booger sometimes.  She is sweet and loving, and boy can she make you laugh.  She is also prone to little temper tantrums.  Most mornings she is just fine going to day care, but then others she will throw herself on the floor, and cry, and be angry when I drop her off.  Evan will give her almost anything she wants (his ice cream) if it keeps her from getting upset.  I swear she has everybody wrapped around her finger, and heaven help anyone that doesn't do what she wants!  The terrible twos are here!

Undie Underwear

This morning, Evan once again proved himself to be all boy.  He told me that he learned a new Alpha Friend (they learn a new one with each letter sound).  He said that the new one was the letter U, and was Undie Underpants....boys and the bathroom humor!

Where we are today

OK--to date.  

Ladd is working at Texas Instruments doing IT (storage).  Kate is the Technology Coordinator and teaches technology at a Magnet school.  

 Evan is our little boy, who will be 6 in May.  He likes to play football, baseball, frisbee, computer games, and video games.  He is a very physical little boy and frequently can be found climbing or jumping on something.  He is very sweet and loving, (especially with his mom, dad, and sister) and has a great deal of empathy for others.  He is currently finishing out his Kindergarten year and is learning more every day.  He is very excited about learning how to read, and his reading skills are improving with leaps and bounds.  He is playing baseball this spring.  

Claire is our baby girl, who iwll be 2 in May.  She is Daddy's little princess, but is such a Momma's girl.  She loves playing with her dolls and playing in her kitchen.  She also enjoys using markers, but frequently ends up with them all over her.  She is finally learning to keep a hair bow in her hair (and finally has enough hair to hold one), which Mommy does like.  She is also a swinging maniac.  The kid can sit in her swing outside on the swingset for an hour at a time if you keep pushing her.  She says all sorts of things, but we only understand about 1/2 of it.  She always fights going to bed at night, but we can tell when she is exhausted.  

Our dog Nox, is an 10-month-old female American Bulldog.  Right now her body is definitely too big for her brain!  She will chew on anything you leave around, and jumps and licks way too much, but we love her!

Now that you are all caught up on the players, stay tuned for more updates on all the goings on in their lives!

My first Post

I decided to start this blog for two reasons.  I have lots of stories and anecdotes about my children and family life that I never get to share with my family and friends because I don't get to see them regularly, so I am starting this blog in order to do just that.  I also am starting this blog in order to save some fo this stuff for future memory purposes.  So, it is kind of an online baby book.