Merry Christmas!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas day! We had a great day - up in the morning for Santa presents at our house then off to Nana & Grandaddy's for the afternoon and evening. Both boys slept hard last night (Allen slept 10 hours!) and mommy and daddy did too! We'll post photos when we can find the camera...the house is in complete chaos!

He's Growing Up So Fast!

We hit a major milestone last night...Allen slept through the night (8 hours)...without waking at all...in his own bed! He has been napping in his crib for a while now, but I had still kept him in the bassinet in our room at night. This was primarily because I am selfish and if he woke up at 5:30 (which he seems to do a lot), I didn't have to get out of bed to soothe him...I just reached over the side of the bassinet, put his paci back in and patted him until he went back to sleep. But I decided yesterday that the time had come for him to move on. It was sad (and hard for me to do!) but I know it's for the best. Luckily, he slept very well and woke up this morning as happy as ever!

Impromptu Nativity

At preschool last week they had an impromptu nativity. Basically, the older classes (3-5 year olds) dress up as angels, shepherds, wise folk or animals and they come to the manger during their part of the story. There is no real script and it's very laid back - kids are just wandering everywhere. The younger kids, Drew included, come and watch.
This year they asked Allen to be baby Jesus. The catch was that I had to be Mary and Patrick, Joseph! We agreed and it was a pleasant experience. Allen was a great baby and just looked around the church for a long time - then off to sleep.
A real "moment" occurred with one of the wise men wanted to give me his gift he had brought for baby Jesus (a gold painted box filled with fake coins and Mardi Gras beads). He was adamant that I take the gift, so I did and opened it to show Allen what was inside. The little boy was then content and went off to another area of the stage. He was very into his part!


Note the Wise Man's gift at my feet!


Sure, baby Jesus had a paci!! Yep...we honestly had that conversation while we were sitting there...


This little shepherdess just stood in front of me and stared almost the whole time - she was enthralled!

We're Going on a Trip...

Our tickets came today - we are off to Tampa to support the Vols in the 2008 Outback Bowl!

Patrick and I decided to travel to Florida for the bowl game this year. We have only attended one UT away game in our 11+ years together and this game came at a good time for us. We could really use a short trip together (without the boys) and heading to Florida in January is always a good idea! Plus, we do not know ANY other people attending the game and I thought that was sad - so we're going!
We are technically going to Orlando - the flights were cheaper and we got a good hotel deal there. We're just driving to Tampa for the game day. I'm weaseling a day or two at Disney World out of the trip. I missed out on a few things when we were there in May, the whole being pregnant thing and all. We're working out the details for New Year's Eve (our first time to ever actually DO something for that night!) so it should be a fun time!
Hugs and kisses and lots of thanks to Nana and Grandaddy for taking on the boys for 4 days!

Painting Christmas Cookies

On Saturday evening, we had the annual family Christmas cookie painting party. It was a new experience this year with 2 2-year olds, but it turned out much better than I expected! Drew ate more than he decorated, but Amelia made up for his slow decorating skills. She was so into the activity and did a really good job, under the watchful eye of Celeste. Jay and Mike were being very detailed in their art and turned out some good cookies as well. Patrick and I had a harder time sitting down to get any done, but we managed a few. Allen just thought it was all too fun! Should you visit my mom's house this holiday, I'm sure you will be served a few of these culinary delights. You can be comforted in the knowledge that we made sure none of the cookies licked by any children made it to the drying rack for "human consumption"!

Allen's 2-Month Check Up

Allen and Maddie hanging out together...this is from the other night while we were trying to capture good photos for our Christmas card. This one didn't make the cut, but it was just too cute!

Today, Allen and Mommy went to the doctor for his 2-month check up. He was a perfect angel, until the 4 shots of course. He remains at 95% in weight (14 lbs!) and 75% in both height and head circumference (23.5 in and 40.5 cm respectively). So while he is a very big boy, he is staying on the same growth curve which is what we want!

Smoothie!

This photo is horrible resolution (it's from Patrick's phone) but I had to share it. Drew loves smoothies and tonight Patrick took him to get one as a treat (he has a bit of a fever so we're pushing liquids). He ordered the kid's size but asked them to add yogurt to it for some protein. They misunderstood in the drive-thru and Drew ended up with a full size smoothie! It's as big as him!

A Different Look!

Drew reading to his little brother...can't beat that for a good 2-year old!

I thought I'd mix things up a bit and change the look of the blog...maybe it will inspire me to post again!
We had Drew's allergist appointment today and after 3 hours and a few sticks, we came away knowing not much more than when we started. He is allergic to Elm trees. Great...that helps so much! Nothing else came back positive (Maddie can stay!) but there is a 30% false negative rate at this age. The doctor adjusted the dosage of some of his medications, but otherwise we go back in 4 months for a check up.
Christmas is quickly approaching and I'm not ready at all! We did manage to get the tree up and decorated and Patrick got the lights up outside. Otherwise, everything is just a mess and not too festive right now. I'm hoping to get there soon!
We have a busy weekend planned so I'll try to post again next week. Oh - Allen gets to be Baby Jesus at the preschool nativity next week! Won't he be so cute?!

Good News!

Drew's sweat test results came back normal so we can officially rule out CF. That is great news for us and we were very thankful to hear it today. Now we are on to the allergist on December 6 to see what they can tell us.

Happy Thanksgiving!

More Medical News

Today, Drew and Mommy visited Children's Hospital for a Chemical Sweat Test. Daddy is in Kansas City again so we embarked on the adventure alone (Nana kept Allen for me - a HUGE help!). The test itself is painless and non-invasive. They just put a piece of gauze on his arm and wrap it in a plastic wrap-type stuff and we sat and watched cartoons for 30 minutes. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication up front and we ended up waiting an hour before they came to take it off, but Drew was a trouper through the whole thing. The test is to rule out Cystic Fibrosis. I know - it sounds scary and I have just decided not to think about it until we know something. Drew has very few symptoms of CF, but since he keeps getting (and keeping) these horrible sinus infections and chest congestion, our doctor just wants to rule it out. We should know something tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow...I go for my 6 week check up. It's time for my doctor to give the the "all clear" to start working out. It's my one last excuse for adding in another time-consuming activity to my life. Oh well...this baby belly won't go away on its own I guess!
Here is a photo of my awesome OB - if anyone is in the area and needs a doctor, I highly recommend her!