Thursday, August 21, 2008

Another comparison

Looking back at how the two kids measure up.

Teagan, at her 2 month checkup was a mere 7 lbs! Cael was 11 lbs, 12 oz.



Top: Teagan at 2 months Bottom: Cael at 5 weeks

Now, here's where it gets fun because by 3 1/2 months, Teagan was 12 lbs. Cael is just under 3 months and about 12 lbs, so let's see....



Top: Teagan 14 weeks Bottom: Cael 10 weeks
(I'll try to get a better smile photo)

And yet here's Teagan at 5 months:



Anyway. That's all I've got for now. They are awfully cute though!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

A Week Away

The subject is really two-fold. The first is, omg school starts next week?! And Teagan starts school the week after! Is it possible?! It seems so fast.

The other is what I'll expand on. We spent the last week away! First to Columbus for the annual Ohio School-based OT/PT Conference. Teagan stayed with my parents, THANK YOU THANK YOU and Matt came with to keep Cael nearby. An adventure to be sure, the three of us in a single room. It worked out alright, I think. Matt didn't sleep as much as he normally does what with "the little snuffle-snort", as we call him, waking in the middle of the night. The first day of the conference was intruiging. Barbara Connolly, PT spoke about dyspraxia. It was a condensed 16 hour course in a 6-hour session. The next day was "Addressing Sensory and Motor Needs through an Educational Team Approach" which was not-so exciting. Dinner at an Irish Pub with Jeff & Angela and a trip to Jeni's Splendid (and they mean Splendid!) Ice Cream. Yum!

THANK YOU THANK YOU to Andrea who brought Teagan from Cleveland to Columbus so we could complete the trip to Indianapolis. The convention was alright. It went by fast. Definitely some things we will do differently next time, including staying downtown again. Staying off-site didn't save money, I don't think with the drive and paying for parking for two cars and the convenience-factor shouldn't be overlooked. Next year I will take time to play some games too and be firmer about making plans with people. Anyway, got to see some out-of-state friends, of whom I didn't take pictures, sadly. I spent a ton of time with the kids, which was stressful at times, but overall lovely.

And here are some photos of our time together...


Silly Nekkid Time :)

Teagan adoring Cael. She still loves to pet him. :)

After bath-time...
.....more giggles!


A self-portrait. 2 of my 3 loves.


Matt's birthday dinner at Mikado.
Matching Hypnotoad shirts (Thanks Mom!)
and Matt with his little girl

Sunday before we headed back to Ohio, we stopped at the Indianapolis Children's Museum. It was awesome! Wish we'd had more time to spend there. Definitely a highlight and we will make it an annual stop whilst at GenCon. One of the special exhibits was about comic book superheroes. Here's Teagan running around in a Flash costume! :)




And that's all she wrote... for now ;)

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Stats and Flowers

Cael had his 2-month check-up with the nurse practitioner on Wednesday.

He is now 11 lbs, 12 oz and 23" long which puts him in the 50th percentile for height and weight and having gained nearly 5 lbs in 6 weeks! Everything else checked out fine. He's met all his milestones for 2-months and is even showing an emerging responsive smile and coo. It's adorable. :) I'm trying to get a picture of it, but it's hard to capture. :) He got his DTaP immunization for diptheria, tetanus and pertussis which are most common in our area. I'll be taking him back in 2 weeks, along with Teagan, to get his next shot (either HiB or Prevnar) and the rest of her shots needed for preschool. Then before Hawaii he'll get the other immunization and possibly a second DTaP since we are travelling during cold & flu season on an airplane. He did fine with the shot. Actually recovered quickly in the office, but was fussy off and on the rest of the day.

Speaking of Teagan's shots for public school, we got the letter in the mail today about her preschool schedule. We have a parent meeting on Aug 25. On Aug 26, she gets to go to school for an hour with some of her classmates to get acquainted and then she starts Tues Sept 2. :) Her first monthly tuition is due August 15th! How much does preschool in Berea, OH cost?, you might ask. $120/month for 3-days a week, 3 hours/day.

Meanwhile, last night we got a call from Auntie Liz requesting our presence at David's Bridal as Jami and her bridesmaids were dress shopping and the wedding dress & coordinating flowergirl dress were discontinued, but in the shop. Time to buy! I've included pictures. Teagan was a riot! She wanted to know what her boyfriend (Jon, Jami's son) would say and then she wanted a purse and hat. :) Such a cutie!

On with the pictures....

Cael June 12, 2008 vs. Cael Aug 5, 2008



Princess, I mean, Flowergirl Teagan. Just FYI, the bow will be black to match the
bridesmaids dresses. This is almost an exact replica of Jami's dress, btw. The bridesmaids
will have red (maid of honor) and black (bridesmaids) dresses in a similar style, matte sateen fabric with the same sort of pick-up style skirt. :) Gorgeous!!

And while I'm here....

Happy 1st Birthday, Gavin!!!





Keith and Liz hosted a fabulous 1st birthday party for Gavin at Oak Grove Picnic Area in the Brecksville Metroparks. The weather was great. They cooked up hamburgers and hotdogs, made homemade potato salad, had grapes and watermelon, and a delicious almost-casada cake. (sans custard layer...so basically white cake with whipped cream and strawberry layers) So yummy! They had gift bags for each of the kids (including Cael), a frisbee and kite (until it got stuck in a tree), bubbles, swings nearby and most importantly lots of close friends and family. It was a pretty awesome party for a very awesome kid! (and awesome mama and daddy!) Congrats on surviving your first year as parents, Keith and Liz! Love you! The adventure continues!! :)

Monday, August 4, 2008

Forsaking sleep

I really should be sleeping, but instead I'm catching up on oh, billing, LJ posts to try to sell dipes, and this mini post.

Life is consuming, but I have been taking some pictures. So now I share a few of my favorite recent photos.....and I just realized that I'm in most of these.

So Some Things we've been up to...

Teagan has been working on her photography skills. She LOVES to take pictures with my camera. Prior to this photo the exchange went something like this:
T: Mama, say "Hotdog"
Me: Hotdog
T: Did you just call me a hotdog?! :) (just like when she gets her photos taken)
so cute. Here's the pic she took.

And she likes to take pictures of herself too.


Mom got this bike from the girl across the street for $5.00. :) Teagan's tolerance is still very short, but we're excited just the same.


Cael is officially 2 months old now! At 8 weeks I took this photo. It might be a new favorite.
I don't have his stats until Wednesday, but he's growing! Oh is he growing and I think his social smile is emerging!

Last weekend we were busy. Friday we went on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. They had a special "The Little Engine That Could" ride. It was a nice afternoon. Here's photo from Andrea of my brother Keith, his son Gavin, me, Cael (in the sling) and Teagan. Teagan really loved the inflatable train and the pet zoo with pony ride.


Saturday we(I) walked 2.4 miles to the other side of Berea for an ex-coworkers party. Teagan had a great time with the other kids. She was so good. It was nice to get some exercise and have a sense of pride in walking rather than driving. No pics.

Sunday we did the 15th Annual Richfield Sweet Corn Ride....a family 10-mile ride. Lovely day. Keith hauled Teagan and Gavin in his ladybug trailer. We were joined by Liz and Mom. Dad rode the 25-mile with the Konsens and Matt, my darling, watched Cael so I could get back on my bike for the first time in almost a year....it felt great! No pics.

And last but not least, Cael's been loving his nekkid time.