Merry Christmas

This year for Christmas we tried to scale back on the crazy schedule and focus more on our family. We got the results we were looking for. I again made PJ"S for Russ' grand-kids (two for Matt), I think they all turned out super cute! I am getting better at the swearing thing, I mean sewing.

Santa must have thought we were good this year, among Matt's favorite things are green binoculars, digger toys, and lots of new books to read . Seth got games we all like to play, poor kid has to share already. As for Rob and myself Santa left a new skinny TV, we are enjoying it very much.

Over the last few days Kate and kids came up from Iowa for the holidays, Matt has been in cousin heaven. We all went to go see Puss In Boots at the cheap theater, cute movie. Other then that we have been laying low, enjoying new toys (thank goodness) and cleaning around the house after I had ignored it over Christmas.

We are looking forward to a fun new year filled with lots of adventures, both foreign and domestic.

Some Holiday Fun . . . . . .

A funny picture of Matt showing off his "Bony Tony"


Big Brother "helping" Seth open his gifts

Santa's little helpers


The family, the amazing Jeff, The Train and the look what I got

Seth: Two Months

Two months have gone by and it seam like a lifetime ago. I am getting better at juggling two kids and I am getting better about ignoring a baby cry while I make dinner.Seth is really getting big fast. Over the last month this is what he has been up to.

• He has started holding his head up but is still shaky with it so he sometimes headbutts my shoulder.
• He can keep his legs under him when he "stands" on them. He likes to think he is big.
• Loves talking to his older brother. I get those two together and sometimes they have conversations only those two understand. (Matt gets a kick out of it too).
• He started smiling a week before thanksgiving. How I have missed those toothless grins of babies.He just loves to smile and talk to anyone who will listen. But he wont smile for a camera (like dad) and it drives Grandma Moss crazy.
• He is such a good eater he is up to 12 pounds at the check in with the doc. (Little fatty)
• Thankfully getting 4-5 hours of sleep at a stretch at night and cat napping frequently during the day so I never get anything done.
• Still poops a lot but slowing down a little
• Received his baby blessing in a house full of people who love him.
• He has found his fist and likes sucking on it and staring at it. It is just the coolest thing.
  

He is really a good little baby and we are blessed to have him in our family.

At the BlessingTwo Months old


Goofing around

Seth: One Month

Seth will soon be 2 months old so I had better get this up. My fun sister in-law sent me month by month stickers I was excited to use them.


Seth is growing so fast! He no longer looks like the wrinkly old man he started out as. He got dry skin that pealed everywhere but soon it cleared up. he is definitely a pooper, he poops all the time! Loves to eat and snuggle up to mom. Not too much going on for month one. Just eat, sleep and poop, not always in that order. (No sleep for mom). He did get to go on a road trip to see Aunt Kate Uncle Chris and cousins. He was a good boy, mostly slept.

I had made a sign before I got the stickers.

Matt is a great big brother. I ruff lover to his little brother but he loves him very much.

Thankfull for my Village

This year for Thanksgiving Rob's sisters Cindy and Kate came home with their family's. We had a noisy group of 40 to share the holiday with (we were missing another 18). While we were enjoying having people we love close I had some time to think of what I am thankful for.

I am thankful for our good health and the opportunity we have. Also for our little family and I love my kids and husband. And I am very thankful for my village. . . . . .

They say it takes a village to raise a child, well I think it is true! I am so great full for those that help me guide my kids in the right direction and for the good influence they have. Many times have they taught Matt how to do things I wouldn't know how to teach, and taken him so Seth and I could catch up on sleep. My village has helped me find ways to parent and taught me in other ways, like sewing and cooking. My village is a fun village to get together and go visiting other states that I would be hesitant to do on my own. My village never hesitates to help me when I need it and I hope I can do the same for them.
I just want to say thank you to my village and let them know how much they mean to me. (You know who you are).

This was so funny I had to take pictures and tell everyone about it. The Other day I was feeding Seth and Matt was wondering about how and what and being 3 and asking all kinds of questions. I tried to tell him as close to the truth and keep it kid friendly so he understood.

A few days later I was feeding Seth (again) and Matt wanted to do it too. He went and got his doll and came to sit by me and had to take his shirt off so it would go better. With out prompting or anything he sits down and starts to feed and burp his doll. I yelled for Rob to grab the camera so we had some black mail for later.

He is just trying to fit in the new way of life. Too Funny!

First he tried the football hold.
Then the Cross cradle.

Then the burp. What a good little daddy.

Road trip

Matt, Seth and I all took an impromptu road trip to Iowa to see Rob's sister Kate. We took SueAnn and Rachael with us. They had moved there in the summer and I had wanted to go visit for a long time. We stayed a long weekend and while we were their Kate took us to go see some fun things. We went to a little zoo and had a pic nick and heard the lion roar and saw big elephants. And we saw dinosaurs.
Of course we had a train ride too, what a fun day.


This is little Clair Bear all bundled up. She is just so cute!


Another day we went to Molein Ill to see the John Deer Place to sit on and drive Tractors! Matt was in heaven!!!!! He ran from one to the next and didn't want to leave. They had an excavator simulator and that was the cats ass. Next time we go see Kate we will have to stay longer at the tractors and see more. It was fun to see you Kate and your family.

Practicing for later.


He is still my little guy.

He is all boy and doesn't want to paint his nails (*KEN*)

Happy Halloween

We had lots of fun for Halloween this year. I had asked Matt what he wanted to be for halloween and he said Peter Pan because he had a sward. So that is what he was, I put together some things to keep him warm and Dad found a sward. Grandma Moss helped make a Peter Pan hat to keep his head warm. It turned out perfect!


For Seth I had some onsies from when Matt was little, he didn't care one bit.


We had gone down to Palmyra like we always do ( I like their neighborhood better than mine) and had fun with cousins. Rob got the four wheeler and trailer and had fun pulling the kids around. It really was a bad weather day, cold and rainy. You wouldn't have know it by the way the kids were running from house to house. I stayed to hand out candy and to keep Seth warm.
SueAnn took some pictures for me and this is one of my faves.


He looks so little and meek next to the big skeleton. Till next year trick or treat

Big Brother Fun

I wanted to have Matt share the spotlight a little. Seth has been hogging it lately. Here are some random photos of him being silly the last two weeks.

Being goofy getting his pj's on, too cute

Driving the tractor at Grandpa Pattens, So Much FUN!

We played dress up one day and he wouldn't take this one off.

We are enjoying one of the last nice days of the year.

He seams to be so big and full of energy next to his brother. I look at Seth and I can still remember Matt just coming home from the hospital, small and pink and perfect. It is hard to see him as a little guy now, he seams so grown up at times.

A New Addition

Well it finally happened. Saturday night 10-8-11 I started having minor cramping in the middle of Target. I was just out to get out and I thought it would be a good time to get home just because. When I got home I asked Rob if there was anything he needed in the hospital bag and that's when he started really paying attention (this was about 8pm). After much debate as to if we should call Rose in the night for a false alarm, we decided to make the call to have her come watch Matt so we could go to the hospital (this was around 11:30pm).

By the time Rose got to our house contractions were in full swing. Rob in the mean time had been a busy body full of nervous energy. He wanted to be helpful but there wasn't much for him to do sense labor is really a one person job ( it does help to have a cheerleader). He made sure we had the things in the truck, and took out the trash, and looked out the window every two seconds to see if Rose was here yet. It made me laugh a little to see him that way.

We get to the hospital around 1am, dilated to a 7 but still able to walk on my own. They called my doctor to have her come in for the delivery. Next thing you know there she is saying "When they said it was Bonnie I rushed right on over, I know this girl means business." My doc broke my water for me and it was game on from there. No real pain meds or epidural (Chuck Norris has nothing on me!) A half an hour of good pushing and out came a beautiful baby boy all pink and healthy at 2:43am, 7lbs. and 6oz (smaller than Matt) and 19 and 1/2 in long. First thing he does is pee all over me, then he goes to get weighed and he pees all over that too. Go figure.

It took Rob and I till mid-morning to settle on a name for him (we had to look at him and try some out first). Please welcome to the world . . . . . . . . Seth Robert Moss!

We think he looks a great deal like Matt did right a way but just a little different. There will be no mistaking these two for brothers.

Seth

Mom, Dad and Seth

Big Brother Matt

We are all doing well and this is Rob's first day back to work. I really miss having him around. He just jumps right in and was so very helpful. I am trying to get use to having two kids to cart around. Who knows in a few weeks it may become natural.

38 week Up Date

I have finally made it to 38 weeks and considered full term. I am 77 % effaced and 2 cm dialed, a long way to go yet. It seams like forever ago I found out I was pregnant. Lots of things have changed since then. I have stopped working at the studio as of our trip in August. This baby has just stayed in my hips the whole time and made it hard to move like I use to. I have however been working for a friend for his company. But as of this whole week I have been on full maternity leave, no more work. What am I going to do with myself? I am hoping to spend quality time with Matt before the baby gets here.

My pregnancy is going well, as pregnancy's go. Matt was just so easy, I have had a bit of a different experience with this one. Here are a few of the fun things I get to go through.

• Heartburn at night, I could out fire breath a dragon ,thank goodness for Tums!
• I have to pee twice a night, not so bad except our only bathroom in downstairs!
• Tiredness, no naps when chasing after a 3 year old, keeping house and working!
• Allergies, no relief from medicine.
  
• A low sitting baby, it has been sitting in my hips all a long so every time it gets the hiccups it is bouncing off my hip. And getting in and out of my car just got way too hard so now I get to drive the truck (One Plus)
• PUPPS!!!!! It is a rash developed late in pregnancy and is extremely itchy! It affects one in two hundred pregnancys (lucky me) and will last till delivery. It starts on the belly and can spread to the legs, back, chest, wrists, ext. I wake up in the night scratching my belly ( in between potty trips) till it really hurts. It is said that 77% of the time those affected by PUPPS deliver boys. Even before they are born boys are a pain for their moms.

On the brighter side I think Matt is happy about having a baby come home to live with us. He likes to look at pictures of him as an infant and look at all the things for the baby and touch my tummy when it kicks. He still thinks there is a baby in his tummy and that his tummy got bigger like mommy's did. He once asked how the baby got out, I told him I go to the hospital and the doctors help me get the baby out. He seamed fine with the answer and it is close to the truth with out the detail. We will so how happy he is when baby does come home and all the attention is not on him.

I am ready to get to the next, harder, part of life. It sucks getting up and I can't get comfortable at night but I am ready to have my body back to myself. Even if that means chasing after a toddler and caring a baby. I'm not the first and not the last woman to ever do it and it hasn't killed any of them.

And here is a little comparison between baby and Matt belly sizes.

Baby

Matt

Pee Pee on the Potty

I had been trying to get Matt to get the idea of potty training off and on all summer. Manny failed attempts (and a frustrated mom) latter we had a break through. I knew we were getting close when Rose tried with him a week before his birthday. I didn't think he was quite getting the sensation. His birthday came and went and he loves telling me he is three and a big boy now, but the big smack in the face happened at Target.
Matt and I were there getting things for the baby and I was going to walk around the corner to the next aisle when a little panicked Matt says loudly, "Not yet mom I'm pooping!" Unfortunately we were not the only ones in that aisle, a older gentleman was down a bit doing all he could not to laugh out loud and keep himself up from falling over with laughter. Completely embarrassed I started laughing too and waited until Matt had finished. When he was he told me to take him to the bathroom to get changed. All the way he kept telling me to stop laughing at him but it was too late I had tears in my eyes. I thought to myself, yep potty training for you mister!

After our trip to Missouri that was it no more diapers for Matt (he gets one over his undies for naps and a nighttime only diaper). We have had many successes and few accidents. Tonight he had his first poop on the potty. He was sting on the potty cowboy style (him facing the back of the potty so he has to lean forward) and all of a sudden he turns around and starts grunting. He was so excited he jumped off the toilet to look and show me. Suddenly he grabs his little willy and is trying to get it up and over the edge of the rim on his tip toes with a worried look in his eyes. He has to pee, so I get him up just in time. I had to giggle a little at that. And he loves to sink the cheerio.

We are so proud of our little guy and hope he won't have too many set backs. Just in time for one to enter diapers. I guess I get a week or two off of diaper duty till it starts back up again. At least I won't have two bums to change!

Trip to Missouri

Over Labor day weekend we went to visit Greg and Sarah and family in Missouri. It was a long drive down there. Matt was so excited to see Morgan, that when we got there at 1 in the morning he said he was going to go in the house and play with her. The next day we went to Morgans favorite park. The kids had fun throwing rocks in the pond. Of course Matt being a boy was the only one to get really dirty.

After that one of Greg's neighbors is a fireman at the fire station so we stopped by for a tour. The kids LOVED it! Little Shelby was all over the place and Matt and Morgan wanted to see everything all at once. The guy giving the tour was great, he gave the kids coloring books and stickers and a really cool fire hat.


When it was time to look at the trucks Matt couldn't contain himself any longer. I turned around and said "Where is Matt?" Turns out he found a way in to a closed firetruck by climbing in the back way, he really wanted to drive one.


And the kids had fun sliding down the pole (not really they just pretended to)


That night it was fun in the tub!

Sunday we all took the hour pulse drive to the St. Louis Zoo. Let me tell you, I think I am spoiled for all other Zoo's. It was fee to get in and it was big and had tons of variety. And the exhibit houses were not done cheaply. The train alone was really cool, it made stops where you could get off or on. It also went into tunnels and you could actual see the animals and had a guided tour. I can see why it is like the 2nd best zoo in the country.


The men didn't want to ride the awesome train so we went with out them.

It was so much fun to see Greg, Sarah, Morgan and Shelby we sure do miss them and are glad they are coming for Morgans Birthday! If only you guys could live a few hours closer.

My Baby Is Three!

A week ago my little guy turned three with a vengeance. He is very independent hardly naps and plays with everything like it's a smash up derby. He is not all terrible, he can be very sweet. He loves to read books by himself or with us and is getting excited about the baby.

On Matt's birthday we got to do some really fun stuff. We went to the Madison zoo with Aunties SueAnn and Tina and all the cousins that go with. It is a bit of a small zoo but it is fee and perfect for little kids. They have a huge playground for them to run and get the wiggles out. Matt was brave enough to feed the goats and had fun hanging out with the older cousins like Isaac and Ethan. And for a treat we took a ride on the carousel.
Right across form the zoo was a little beach. It was such a beautiful day we had a pick nick in the shade and watched the kids play in the sand and cool off in the water. It is sooo nice my kid has gotten to the stage where he doesn't need me to go have fun. I can sit and chat with the adults and he can go play. However this phase of my life will not stay this way forever (#2 on it's way).

Matt wanted a cars themed party this year, so I got real creative. I had the kids make their own cars out of cardboard boxes (I supplied the car kit with headlights, tail lights and a personalizes license plate and straps). They had fun making them then we raced for the Piston cup. Matt loved his car so much he would race and make his car noise at the same time, he hardly took it off the rest of the night. It was well worth it so see him enjoy his car he made.



Sue Ann came through with another fantastic cake for Matt. She is getting really go at it.


Matt's mom and dad got him a twin bed for his birthday and Sue Ann and Grandma Moss made him a cool quilt to go on it. He loves sleeping in the big bed. He hasn't fallen out yet. It doesn't seem like that long ago we had brought him home from the hospital all tiny and cute now he giggles when he farts ( just like his dad). Some days I wish I had my sweet baby back and other days I'm glad he is growing up and now it is fun to tease him and watch him learn things and what he comes up with.
Like the other day we passed a water tower and he pointed it out to me. I said good job you're right. Then he asked me where the milk tower was. I had to laugh and told him to keep a look out for one. He cracks me up sometimes.