Everything...

Dear Blog,

 

I know that you have been feeling a bit abandoned lately and back when we just had Hunter and I worked full time that was when I found the time to write to you. I'm not making excuses but these days with having both boys and working part time seems like I NEVER have time.  I think about you  all the time and feel like I just wanna pick up the phone and talk to you and let you know how my day is going but I know I need to spend a little more one-on-one time with you.  With that being said, I'm sorry and promise to do better (hopefully). 

 

Yours truly,

Laurie

 

Phewwww, glad I got that off my chest.  Okay.  So, here's a quick update:  we went to Marco Island with my mom (Mimi) last month and took her for her 60th birthday (she will kill me for writing how old she is, btw).  It was soooo gorgeous there but I admit it wasn't the best of vacations . The first night we were there, Tyler had a terrible night and I knew the next morning he had an ear infection(s).  So, I called around to pediatric offices and found that I just needed to take him to the Urgent Care there and luckily when we got there, we were the only ones there!  I called ahead too and the nurse told me that she will make me an appointment anyway just in case.  Sure enough, Tyler had double ear infections so we knew he was in a lot of pain.  Got his antibiotics and all the ibuprofen and Tylenol for him.  He was still uncomfortable for the rest of the vacay and we both hardly slept the whole time but when we got home he was so much better.  He is such a great baby so when he acts in any way unusual (ahem, not eating), I definitely know there is something wrong.  Hunter definitely had a blast.  Anywhere there is water, he is a happy camper; especially now that he can swim.  We stayed at the Marriott right there on the beach and so he loved that and also had a special kiddie pool for the kids.  We went with Sean's Firefighting Benevolent Society and they all brought their families so Hunter had plenty of kids to play with.  We also thought that we got a room with a kitchen because of the kids (btw, don't ever let your husband plan the trip and book the rooms without being 100% sure of the room situation) but we managed.  Other than that, we had a great time and Mimi enjoyed her 60th, I mean 21st birthday. =)

This is that the kiddie pool...you see Sean holding Hunter and another kid hanging onto his leg...Sean was definitely worn out this day.

Here's us improvising in the hotel....

Tyler's building sand castles already....I think Hunter was down at the beach at this time. He didn't care so much about sand castles.

This was our beachfront. Ahhhhh!

Here, Hunter is holding his friend, Jayden's hand getting ready to go down a big slide into the pool.

Waiting for our lunch...

They had this guy every night doing the whole fire dancing....it was really cool.

Tyler crawled around this castle once and then bulldozed it down in 5 seconds!

Hunter and his shark.  That was his BFF the whole time. He even slept with him....too bad, we forgot him! We totally forgot to check the bed he was sleeping in that morning when we left.  Ooops!  Daddy ended up going to the store finding him a similar one when we got back.  =)

 

 

Since, then we have all just been getting back into the routine.  Hunter is back in school (he was out for a month between vacations, visits and being sick), I'm back to working from home and managing the house while Sean is studying and working, Tyler is back to his routine and feeling better, and Sean is back to working and studying for the captain's exam which has now been pushed back to next February (instead of December) so he has a couple more months of study time which is awesome for him but not for me...lol.  We manage fine when he is out studying but he makes sure to find the time and spend with us. 

 

I have been gearing up for the boys' first officially birthday together next month! The boys' birthday's are 3 days apart in September.  So we will have it over that weekend.  I feel like I'm starting to go overboard with everything but I'm just so excited and we plan on having around 50 people here at the house.  The boys are getting a surprise swing set (courtesy of their MawMaw and Paw) so we are really excited for them to get to play on it.  I have lots of stuff planned as far as games and pool stuff because we will be having a lot more kids this year.  Sean is even thinking of hiring a lifeguard! Haha.  I'm just excited for them and now Hunter is an official, "Happy Birthday" singer and "candle blower outer", I think he is more than prepared for the big 3.  Tyler is literally growing up so fast that I cried last week.  I guess I got all the tears out of the way because I knew on his actual 1st birthday that I wouldn't have time for the tears.  He's definitely growing into a toddler and has recently been nodding his head, "yes" and "no" for things that he wants or doesn't want.  I'm trying to get him to say the words but babbles just come out.  He is gearing toward walking.  I'm not quite sure when because he started crawling early but didn't seem to even care to do it until around 7.5 months so I have no idea when the real steps are going to happen.  He's definitely strong enough, just not sure enough.

He looks like a little man here.

He loves pushing around toys.

I had him try on a  "1st birthday" hat in the Party store to see if he would even leave it on but sure enough he wanted it off right away.

Hunter is really into dinosaurs and LOVES to sing!  He sings so much! He recently started singing, "Hakuna Matata" from Lion King and was surprised that he knew every single word.  He loves his ABC time (more like "let me play on the iPad with you time") and has recently been drawing his letters and likes for me to write random numbers so he can tell me what they are.  He can currently count to 50, say his ABC's like nothing, write the letters (with my help of course), knows that days of the week and months of the year, and knows the first letters are of objects - such as "H" is for Hunter, "A" is for alligator.  Oh and the best part of him right now is that he is officially potty trained!!!!!! I thought this day would NEVER come.  LOL.  I kept telling him that when he is 3 that he has to be a big boy and no more diapers and that he has to be a big boy and train Tyler to potty train one day so I think that helped him.  I still put a Pull-up on him at night just in case because I'm still in shock that he finally gets it now. So, I don't want to risk any accidents in the middle of the night. =)  Eventually, I'll give that up but for now, I am just soooooo happy about this.  He's another one I shed a tear about the other day after that happened but I think it was more of an "happy cry" for him even though I want him to stay little forever too.  I'm looking forward to this next year with the boys as they are seemingly doing everything together now anyway especially now that Hunter is sharing ALOT more with Tyler than he was before.  At one point, I was taking away every single one of his favorite toys and movies on a daily basis and was left with Tyler's toys or toys he doesn't care so much about.  He is so obsessed with the Land Before Time movies (remember those?) that when I had to go that far and take that movie time away, that's when he straightened up and knew I meant business.  My friend's have all told me that the 3 year old stage is the toughest and that the 2's were a breeze so I'm hoping that the usual tantrums and occasional, "I don't want to share my toys" is all I have to deal with.  I'm holding my breath because I find that to be tough already.  I guess we shall see.....

I didn't allow him to go in the pool this day because he was just getting over double ear infections as well so I let him play with the hose. He gets them from all the swimming he does!

My big guy.  He loves that Simba shirt I got for him at Old Navy on clearance for like $2!  I couldn't believe they had that there!

 

Love these silly boys.  I can't believe they're growing up so fast....