Dressin' Up for Fun

We had so much fun dressing up in October!!

I could never catch it, but Meg has been having fun trying on hats lately!

One of the rare brother/sister cuddle times without tears! I don't even care that it is blurry!

JD dressed as a cowboy for his school nursery rhyme party. Yes - there is a nursery rhyme about Tumblin' Tumbleweeds. I looked it up. Yes, my boy just really wanted to be a cowboy.

This is JD with Emily and Jachin from his class.

Our family did Wizard of Oz this year for Trunk or Treat! My mom's trunk was Munchkinland, complete with a house and witch legs. Dara's trunk was Emerald City with the wizard (pay no attention to the man behind the curtain). We were in between the two cars with a puddle of witch, a broom and a bucket. I was the "Witch Disposal Crew."

Dara's trunk won Kids' Choice award! Yes, I am responsible for the yellow brick road.

Meg made the cutest Cowardly Lion!! Too bad it was so hot outside!!

JD was a most handsome Tin Man (pretend man as he called it).

Jon and JD went trick or treating in our neighborhood after Trunk or Treat.

Meg and I hung out and passed out candy. We also got some Wiggle time in between treaters.

JD and Meg were both pooped by the end of the day (one more literally than the other). JD cried when he had to take off his costume because he loved it so much! Dressing up is so much fun!

Meg at Nine Months

True to form, we are barely making the nine month post while Meg is still nine months!!

We took Miss Meg into the doctor this week for her visit and he was very impressed with her early walking skills. She also gave him big smiles and reached for him, which he also liked.

For Nine Months, Meg is weighing in at 19 pounds (50th percentile) and measuring 28 inches (55th percentile). I always forget the head measurement, but it is 25th percentile. She also had a pretty good ear infection in her right ear, most likely from the 4 top teeth that are threatening to pop in any day now.

Meg is taking independent steps here and there. I caught her walking from our couch to the kitchen table the other day while I was cooking! She still prefers speed crawling, but I don't think it will be too much longer before she is toddling around everywhere.

Baby Meg is such a happy, smiley baby and so much fun! It is rare these days for her to be fussy (unless she is sick!) and I love picking her out of her crib in the morning and getting a huge smile from her!

She is just barely starting to mimic some words. She tries to say JD and Uh Oh and we have definitely heard lots of Mama and Dada.

Meg sleeps 12-13 hours at night and 2-3 hours of naps during the day. What a massive improvement from 3 months!!

We are going to have to bypass third foods with her because she doesn't like the textures of chunks and smooth. But she likes table foods just fine and would eat the whole bowl of mommy's zucchini and onions if I would let her. She also likes steamed asparagus and green beans and carrots and has tried chicken, salmon and spaghetti and meatballs. Of course, she loves puffs and yogurt melts and cheerios.

We are making some progress with the sippy cup. We have tried several brands without too much interest. What is funny is that her favorite one is the "Take and Toss" brand that we use for JD's juice in the morning. Too bad they don't travel well with liquids in them.

Meg LOVES the Wiggles, just like her big brother did. Thank goodness we switched to AT&T where we get the old Wiggles shows (pre-Sam for those who are into the Wiggles). She will stand up and bounce and shake to the songs. Too cute!

JD loves his "sitster" and is learning how to play without hurting her. He actually asked me if she could come outside to play with him the other day!

Margaret Sue is such a sweetheart and we love her very much! I can't wait to see how things progress in the next couple of months!

Sick and Tired

Do you remember hearing your mom say to you "I am sick and tired of this mess or your attitude or...(fill in the blank)!"??

Well, since I am a mom, I feel like I have earned the right to use that statement - at least once a year. And since we are heading rapidly to the end of the year, I am cashing in this card.

I am sick and tired of my kids...being SICK AND TIRED!!

We have had a rough week of illness at the Boyd household. It started with JD and Jon getting a violent stomach bug on Saturday morning, complete with all the nastiness that you can imagine around that. Three year olds just aren't capable of making that split second decision of dashing to the bathroom when you get that feeling or just laying in bed to see if it passes. They ALWAYS pick laying in bed.

So I spent Saturday and Sunday cleaning and caring for my boys. Meg and I remained pretty well throughout most of it. (Meg has 4 teeth coming in and had her own brand of misery though).

Monday comes along and we try to go to the Arboretum with my family. Not a great idea. We left after an hour and a half with one pale faced little boy and screaming tired and teething baby girl. Everybody is sick and tired (including me who is just weary and needing some good rest!).

Then comes Round Two of the stomach bug - The Big D. JD has had this issue now since Tuesday afternoon. Again - potty-training three year olds just aren't equipped to deal with the runs. Poor guy. Our washing machine is still getting a workout.

And yes, I called the doctor's office (who hasn't called me back), but I'm pretty convinced that this is a brand of rotavirus or something equally as horrific. And there is nothing you can do for a virus, but give them fluids and pray. So I have been doing a lot of that today.

I'm especially praying that Meg is spared this terrible illness because I don't want to do this all over again next week with a 9 month old. Plus we found out yesterday that she has an ear infection and that is bad enough for my pain intolerant little girl.

Anyone know any good ideas of what to do with bananas and bread (the only two things I am giving JD today)?

Perfectly Imperfect at the Pumpkin Patch

We went up to our first pumpkin patch expedition for the year. On the plus side, JD was the perfect age for feeding the animals, enjoying a tractor ride and picking out his very own pumpkin.

But it was VERY difficult to take pictures of him and get him to look at the camera or even in my direction for most of the day. He was so interested in everything around him, but oh well, here are the best pictures of the bunch!

JD with his buddies Margaret and Bree. They all really liked feeding the animals, but got pretty upset when the animals took the feed cups away from them.
JD on the hayride with Meg. Almost impossible to get a good picture of a 3 year old and a 9 month old without help!

JD picked out his pumpkin.

He wasn't sure though and looked some more in the patch.

Neither child was interested in looking at me, but I love this picture anyway! Tractor in the background, pumpkin patch and pumpkins and my two punkin heads right in the middle!

Baby Steps

Meg has been working on 1-2 steps independently for a couple of weeks now. Yesterday, she ventured out a bit further.

Just like her brother, she needed a little incentive and the remote control was enough to do it. We almost have ourselves a little walker!!

Pay no attention to the mom who was still wearing her morning workout clothes...