Thanksgiving

We had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving this year. Justin drove to San Antonio and picked his grandparents up and brought them back to stay with us for a couple days. Since there were only six of us, we decided to just buy a turkey breast instead of a full size turkey. I made rolls, cornbread dressing and green bean casserole for the sides and dessert was left over cheesecake Justin had for his birthday. It was a very low key, no fuss Thanksgiving which we all loved.
On Saturday we drove to Palacios to spend time with my family. We spent the day at my dad's river house and the kids loved it. They both got to fish, play with Spot the dog, and play non stop with my brother. Kate keeps asking when we can go back and go fishing. She was the first to catch a fish, followed by Justin and then myself. There might be a couple fishing poles under the tree this year.

Children's Museum and Swimming

A couple of weekends ago Justin and I took the kids to the Children's Museum downtown. We had gone to the one that use to be at The Woodlands Mall and loved it so I figured this one would be similar. Yeah, not so much. I think it is great for older kids but there wasn't a lot for the younger kids. Kate and Brody played in a couple of stations but they didn't have as much fun stuff as The Woodlands had. It is definitely something we will take them back to when they are older as it has a lot of learning exhibits. One good thing is if you are Bank Of America card holders the first weekend of every month is free, so we only had to pay for the kids.
Brody got moved up into the Tadpole group at swim lessons which makes me very happy as I don't have to get in the water with him anymore. He has lessons at 8:30 Tuesdays morning when there are no other kids in the pool which is good so they don't get distracted or scared by all the other kids in the pool. As of yesterday, he can now float on his back by himself. Kate is really close to moving up into a different class as well. She can free style and back stroke the width of the pool as well as dive down into the water and grab rings with out assistance. I signed them both up for 20 minute private lessons during Thanksgiving and Christmas break, so that they can continue to excel and for Brody so he doesn't forget the things he has learned.





Brody is the 1st on the left

Dr. Appt.

Kate and Brody had their yearly check-ups today. Kate weighed in at 32 lbs and is 3ft 6 in and Brody weighed 23 lbs and is 34 in. Kate chose the nasal flu over the shot which I knew she would and Brody got two shots, Hepatitis A and his Flu shot. Kate passed her vision with 20/25. During the hearing test she only raised her hand twice, the nurse and I kept asking her if she could hear the beeps and she said yes but for some reason she wouldn't raise her hand. When the Dr. was examining Kate, she noticed she had fluid in her right ear and said that may be the reason she wasn't raising her hand, so she prescribed some medicine for the eye infection. The dr. also informed me that Kate won't get anymore shots until she is 11, which Kate loved hearing.

My baby is 2!!

Brody turned two today and I can't believe it. I told Justin time is going by so fast and he said, "I feel like Brody should be 16". Uhhh...no! He is talking up a storm and singing songs. Most colors are lellow (yellow) and blue. He still loves to eat and will eat almost everything we give him. Kate and Brody usually eat dinner around 6 and Justin and I eat around 7ish. As soon as Justin sits down down to eat Brody climbs up in the chair next to him and wants some of his food as well. The boy can eat. He is obsessed with Jesse from Toy Story and wants to watch it all the time. If you ask him how old he is, he will say "I two". Just in the last couple of days, I started giving him a cup with no lid and I pray every time I hand it to him that he won't spill it. He is still sleeping in his crib and hopefully we won't have to change it into a toddler bed for a while longer. He follows directions most of the time and his fits have become less frequent. His smile can melt your heart and his evil eye is pretty serious.
We opened presents and had cupcakes on Sunday b/c Justin had to fly out Monday.
Brody, you are such a sweet, loving, full of energy little boy who we love with all our heart. Happy Birthday baby boy.

Only picture I could get of Brody on his birthday

New School

We received some very sad news Monday morning that Kate and Brody's school would be closing November 30th. I was distraught to say the least. Kate is going on her second year there and Brody had started in August. Kate loved her teacher Ms. Caprecia and vice versa. Brody had gotten very comfortable with Ms. Brittany and Ms. Ashley and I left everyday knowing they were in good hands. I was upset for the kids because I knew how much they loved their teachers and I was upset for the teachers knowing they were going to lose their jobs. There were tears from both the teachers and I, Kate and Brody didn't really understand what was going on.
So, on Monday I visited 3 different schools to try and get the same feeling of compassion, family, fun, learning, low ratio classrooms and etc. as I got from their previous school. Out of the three, I chose one which is literally 3 minutes from our house. Kay the director took me on a tour answered all my questions and made me feel at ease and not rushed. Not being rushed was nice seeing as they were swamped with parents from Kate's school. I put down a deposit to save their spots for when they would start December 1st. I wanted them to finish out November at their original school plus I didn't know if the teachers get paid for each student or if it is a flat salary. When I went to pick them up Monday afternoon, Ms. Caprecia informed me she had gotten a job offer and would be taking the job and didn't know if she would finish out the rest of the month. I told her, how excited I was for her and decided right then to go ahead and have that be their last day. It was very sad having to say goodbye to a teacher who truly loved my daughter and her job. We then went and told Ms. Brittany and Ms. Ashley goodbye and wished them luck in finding a new job.
Tuesday, I took Kate to her new school and introduced her to her teacher Ms. Lumus. Kate was very quiet and nervous but perked up a little bit when she was told some of her friends from her old school would be joining her. On our way out we saw Ms. Ashley who was there to interview for a spot in Brody's classroom. Fingers crossed she gets the job!!
Today was Brody's first day and he did fine up until I left and then he started crying. A few minutes later I went back and looked through the window and he was sitting down playing. He knows the tears get me every time.
Update: I was just told out of 70 kids, 36 will attend the same school as Kate which makes me very happy as she and Brody will have some of their friends with them as well as 8 out of the 17 teachers have already found new jobs.

Halloween

The kids had a blast on Halloween. They were both so excited to go Trick or Treating. I was very surprised that Brody actually let me put his costume on along with his mask. He didn't keep it on very long but long enough for me to get some good pictures. Kate dressed up as Blueberry Muffin, who is Strawberry Shortcake's cousin/best friend. I had never heard of Blueberry Muffin before she picked out her costume and the funny thing is a lot of kids and parents knew who she was right away. We dressed Brody up as Captain America and he wore it for the first time Halloween night. He refused to wear it any other time which made me a little nervous that he wouldn't want to wear it at all. Justin unfortunately was in London so he missed out on all the fun but we went with our neighbors and their son Knox who was dressed up as Lighting McQueen.

Wearing their Halloween shirts for school


Cutest Blueberry Muffin and Captain America ever


Knox and Kate