Pumpkin "Carving"

Ok I didn't really let Hayden carve a pumpkin; not only because I was afraid of what might happen if I let a three year old handle a knife (of sorts) but because I waited until 6:30 on the Sunday before Halloween to actually get the pumpkins! Instead of carving we used the finger paints left over of our pre-Tucker photo shoot to decorate our pumpkins!  Here's what we came up with:

I have to admit, I almost misspelled our last name on my first attempt. I had "s i e m e s" spelled out and it fit so nicely! Then I realized what I had done and had to wipe off the last "s" and try again. But it turned out just fine after all! And Hayden had a blast!

The little artist!

Boo(mer) Sooner

I grew up in a Kansas State Wildcat household but at some point throughout my childhood I jumped ship and became a Kansas Jayhawks follower. However, in the past couple of years I've stopped becoming a die hard fan of either team. I'll watch them when they're on t.v. and definitely support them over other college teams they play but I don't claim one team more than the other (but don't tell my boss that - she thinks I'm a fellow KU fan in the rivalry at the work place!).

Today K-State faced Oklahoma University in Manhattan. It was kind of a big game since KSU was ranked 8 in the BCS and OU was ranked 9 following their huge loss to Texas Tech last week. While watching College Gameday (because I refuse to watch SpongeBob anymore!) I asked Hayden, "what do we say when we watch football?" He promptly exclaims "Gooo Cowboys!" and pumps his right hand up into the air. I laughed and said "no, Hayden, today we say 'go Wildcats'!" So he repeats "Go Wildcats" with another fist pump. We both laughed and I looked at Tucker, who was sitting in my lap, and said "Boo Sooners!" Tucker was watching us and broke out into a huge smile when I said "Boo Sooners"! I know he has no idea what we're talking about and probably won't for several years but I like to think that I'm teaching him early to pick the right teams! ;)

Finally Friday

Friday marked the end of a short but good week - not only was it Friday, but it was payday and a rare jean day as well! My favorite days of the year!

When I picked Hayden up from daycare, he was outside playing with the other kids so I got Tucker loaded up into the car seat first. I didn't even have to open the back door before Hayden saw me and when he ran up to give me a hug four other kids followed and swarmed the car seat. So funny to me that all of these little kids love to see the little baby in his car seat! But I couldn't let the look for long. I told Hayden to tell his friends good bye and he waved to them. Before we could walk away this adorable little girl who's about Hayden's age with curly red hair came over and gave him a big hug! It was the cutest thing!

The weekends are my time to do some housework and go to the grocery store. Before Tucker was born, I cleaned the bedrooms and bathrooms on Friday while Jason was at work (the weekends he worked) and went to the store on Saturday morning. While I was on leave from work I went to the store on Friday mornings so as to avoid the weekend crowds. The last time I went I took both boys and regretted it the entire time. If Tucker wasn't upset and crying Hayden was throwing a fit because he had to be in the cart or running off down the aisle when I did let him walk beside me. But I decided to brave the store again, just me and the boys, tonight. This time, though, I tried a different approach. When we had Hayden, Jason's mom got us a Peanut Shell - a fabric sling you wear to carry your baby around in, like a front carrier only it's worn across the shoulder and comes in fun fabrics. I had used it last weekend to carry Tucker around in while vacuuming. He slept through me vacuuming the entire house without making a peep so I decided to try it again. I put Tucker in the peanut shell and Hayden in the front of the cart and we made it through WalMart and Dillons without any problems!

Halloween parade

Day two at work was just about as good as day one and even Hayden got to go to preschool! Though he fought Jason and I the whole way! Poor kids hates to get up in the morning - guess he takes after his mom that way.

Tonight was the McPherson downtown Halloween parade. Every year on the Thursday before Halloween, the businesses along Main Street open their doors at 5:30 and all the kids in town are welcome to come by and Trick or Treat. Like the All School's Day parade, Main street is packed with hundreds of kids in costume and their parents. I took Hayden by myself last year and almost wished I hadn't. He really didn't understand the concept of "Trick or Treat" and the side of street we were on was so filled with people he was instantly overwhelmed and refused to walk. So instead I had to carry him the 5 blocks or so we decided to go before I just couldn't do it any more and turned around to head back to the car. This year Jason was off and even if Hayden wasn't into it anymore than he was last year at least I wouldn't have to carry him the whole time!  But first I had to pick up the boys from daycare.

Our daycare is split up into a few different "classrooms" depending on the children's age. Hayden's classroom is immediately to the left when you first walk in the front door and Tucker's room is down at the end of that hallway. Usually Hayden's group is either outside playing on the playground or "downstairs" dancing to music or playing a group game. Today, Hayden was in his classroom with Tucker and the other kids from the baby room. Instead of playing with the other kids, Hayden wanted to play with his little brother! I thought it was so sweet of him!

Since the parade started at 5:30 and I was of course late getting home we had to rush getting ready to go downtown. Hayden got dressed in his Darth Vader costume (complete with black cowboys boots) and got his surprise of the evening - a light saber! I put my Princess Leia costume on only to find out that it was completely see-through! A quick addition of a tank top and shorts fixed the problem and we were on our way.  There didn't seem to be as many people downtown this year and the parade moved fairly quickly. It only took a few businesses for Hayden to get the hang of holding out his bucket and accepting candy. He even walked on his own! We walked probably about 5 blocks south before we turned and came back up the other side of Main Street but once we crossed Kansas Ave Hayden was ready to go home. Looking back we're probably horrible parents for making him go out when he probably didn't feel 100% but we just wanted him to enjoy and get the most out of his costume!

The evening was a short one with the parade taking up most of the time. But the boys still needed to take a bath before they could go to bed. Tucker is super easy when it comes to bath time and rarely cries. Hayden, on the other hand, can be somewhat of a handful. If he's not pissy because he has to take a bath in the first place, he acts like a goofball before, during and after. Tonight was no exception! I had given Tucker his bath already and was getting him dressed in the boys' room while Jason was getting Hayden undressed for his own bath. I'm guessing the three or so pieces of candy Hayden ate after the parade gave Hayden a sugar high because as soon as the last article of his clothing came off he streaked out of the bedroom. We could hear him giggling in the hallway and the next thing we knew he comes tip toeing back into the room, looking straight at us, with his hands up in the air in his typical "scary pose". And giggling he jumps forward at us roaring like a monster as he does! Then he runs back out, giggling as he goes, just to turn around and try to "scare" us again! The third time he tries it he's giggling so hard he can't hardly roar!  Crazy little naked monster! It's never dull around here that's for sure!

First day of work

My first day back to work I was facing some very mixed emotions. While I was ready to get back into the routine and hang out with my friends at work, I wasn't quite ready to be away from the boys for such an extended period of time during the day yet! I feel like this time around I'm way less ready to go back than I was with Hayden. I know that may sound odd, with Hayden being the first born and all, but there was just so much more going on at that time: making sure the house was constantly spotless and getting both dogs and the kid out of the house so potential buys could make their rounds, selling the house, and looking for and buying a new one. We did a lot in a short amount of time and I was ready to get away from it! Plus there were days when baby version of Hayden screamed all day long if he got put down and wasn't held! Tucker is an angel compared to his brother!

Another reason I was not looking forward to going back was that I would have to get up to an alarm clock. Early. Which is something I hadn't had to do (at least not very often) for the past six weeks and I was not looking forward to it! But, surprisingly, I was able to get up on time and without it being horribly excruciating! Getting Hayden up was a different story. Poor kid was still slightly feverish and when I tried to change him from his jammies/pull-up to underwear and jeans he started coughing so hard he started gagging! I picked him up and ran to the bathroom, trying to keep the vomit off the carpet at least! He never did throw up but at that point he was crying so hard I felt horrible! So instead of going to daycare, Hayden stayed at home with Jason for Tucker's first day.

My first day back went better than I ever could have expected! The patients were welcoming and there wasn't mass chaos that ensued! (probably because only one of the four physicians was in all day, Sanders was done seeing patients on time and Neuschafer was out of the office altogether!) While I was gone, Sanders lost a staff member and gained two new ones (one of which replaced another staff member that quit before my leave). New staff members can be a little nerve wracking at times. Some that we've had in the past, especially in Sanders area, have been less than ideal. But these girls seem to be quite enjoyable! Hopefully this is a good fit for the office!

As good as the day was and as glad as I was to see some of my patients, I was even more ready to get back and see my boys! Tucker's first day at daycare was very successful! The girls said he was all smiles all day long and each staff member had to take turns holding him! He's the first baby his age they've had there in a long time and they are loving it! Being a daycare center and preschool, one might be a little skeptical taking their six week old baby there or at least surprised that they accept pretty much newborns there but I've been really pleased with how they take care of Hayden and now Tucker! I had thought our old daycare was reliable (not that they weren't) but the daycare we are at now sends home a sheet that details each time Tucker eats, how many wet/poopy diapers he has and how long he sleeps! It's great to know how much he's eating, especially for when we go back to the doctor - I never know how much (ounce wise) he actually gets since I nurse him. This way I know how much he's getting throughout the day and that he's getting enough. Not that I need to worry about that - we've switched him from newborn size diapers to size ones and his legs have multiple rolls down his thighs!

Hayden had a good day at home with Daddy too, though I can't say how much supervision he had. Jason had worked Tuesday night and usually sleeps a good part of the day the next day. When Jason agreed to stay at home with the sick kiddo I really didn't expect him to be awake all day, just thought he would at least make sure Hayden had what he needed before he went to sleep. Apparently Hayden made himself at home. Jason said he had been a pretty good kid, only waking him up a couple of time to get what he needed and pretty much just staying quiet and watching the Disney channel. However, I noticed that Hayden had decided at some point during the day to rearrange my night stand. My manicure set and emery board were sitting on a tv tray in the living room, a pair of scissors Jason had used at some point were on the floor and the pair of socks that I had originally pulled out to wear but opted not to at the last minute were in the front room on the floor. Not sure what was going through his mind at the time but he sure is a crazy kid!

All in all it was a good day for everyone on Tucker's six week birthday!

Tuesday - one day left before back to work

The plan for today was to get up (like a normal work day), take Hayden to preschool and take Tucker to Hutch with me to work on some paperwork before coming home and washing the dishes and frosting the cookies I had baked last night. Wrong. Well not entirely but nothing happened entirely as I had planned it out either.

Tucker slept all night and I was able to get up when the alarm went off (unlike the day before when I tried to "practice" and ended up hitting the snooze so many times the alarm shut itself off). Winning. Hayden woke up as I was feeding Tucker and was not in a crabby mood. Winning again. Tried getting Hayden to brush his teeth while I fixed my hair. He decided to hide in his room under his blankets. Here's where the plan starts to unravel. Went into Hayden's room and realized he was burning up - had a temp of 100.3 under his arm which is officially too high to go to daycare. I could have stayed home with him but I really needed to get some scheduling done before tomorrow morning! Little did I know that Jason had a meeting at 7 so he didn't get home until 8 (I was hoping to leave by 7:15!). But he graciously offered to stay home with Hayden so I could go to work.

I only worked for a couple of hours and came home to help out with sicko. When I got back to Mac Jason was sound asleep and Hayden was playing quietly in our bed, his Star Wars guys lined up next to my pillows. The rest of the afternoon Hayden was fever free and his typical silly self. While watching Dora the Explorer he looked at me and said "Yoda". "What?" I asked him and he repeated himself. I asked "what?" one more time and this time he got right up in my face and yelled "YODA!" then he went back to the show. Each episode of Dora features a character called Swiper who's a fox that takes other characters things and hides them so the characters can't find them. When Hayden saw Swiper he playfully gasped and said "Mommy I'm Swiper". I asked "if you're Swiper where's your tail?" He looked at me and in all seriousness said "In my butt."

For weeks Hayden's been talking about Darth Vader. He's been so obsessed with Darth Vader we thought it would be fun for him to be Darth for Halloween. The costume came in the mail today and I couldn't wait to get it on him to see how it fit! But getting him to put it on was like pulling teeth! And when I finally did get him to wear it he looked extremely sad! I tried getting a picture of him in it but that was the finally straw - he chased me around the kitchen trying to hit me so I wouldn't take his picture. I finally just gave up with a single blurry picture of him in the costume. I'll try again in a couple days!

Hayden did have a new break through on pooping in the potty though. The house had gotten very quiet and all of a sudden I hear "Mommy I need help!" coming from the bathroom. I go in there and Hayden was sitting on the potty! He sat there for awhile and there was nothing in the stool but he asked for some paper anyway. He wiped his butt and the tiniest little piece of poop was on the paper. He was so proud of himself I had to give him some M&Ms! About an hour later he announced he needed to potty and went in by himself. Five minutes later there was poop in the potty! So proud of the big guy for going all by himself!

The best part of the day though came at supper time. After I fed Tucker I laid him down on the couch next to me so I could eat my supper. Hayden sat down on the opposite side of Tucker and leaned down to talk to him. I looked over when I saw Hayden's finger moving to Tucker's face. All he did was lightly touch his nose but it made Tucker break out in the biggest smile I had ever seen! Unfortunately I was too slow to get a picture of it. I think the little guy likes his big brother!

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Monday - Two Days of Leave Left

It's hard to believe that my six weeks is almost over! Seems like it just began and there's still so much I need to do! Like make a cheese cake to take to work as a big thank you and bake and decorate sugar cookies for Hayden's daycare Halloween party! But after a weekend of friends and football (including a big Cowboys victory!) it's hard to be upset!

I decided to keep Hayden home from daycare on Monday; I wanted to spend the day with both boys since it would be the last non-weekend/holiday day I would get to! So because the weather was so nice (and because Hayden had been super hyper all weekend) I thought a trip to the park would be good for all of us! The plan was to mid-morning but of course even the most well-laid plans turn into epic failures these days! Getting both boys  ready was a trial. Hayden has turned into a super-staller (he can find a million different ways to not have to get dressed) and Tucker just likes to snack (he nurses for 10 minutes, burps, and falls asleep and when you lay him down because you don't think he's gonna wake up to finish he decides to let out a high pitch whine!). Needless to say by the time both kids and myself were ready to go it was almost lunch time!

So a few PB&Js some carrots and grapes and we had ourselves a little picnic at the park! With Tucker happy in his carseat, a breeze blowing across his face, Hayden had fun playing at the playground. The fun didn't last too terribly long though before Hayden needed to go potty. Word of warning - the bathrooms at Lakeside park are DISGUSTING! Thankfully Hayden can potty standing up or I may have told him to just pee his pants! I was going to let Hayden play some more but about 3 minutes later he told me he needed to poop! Somehow I managed to convince him to hold it just a few minutes - long enough to get home first!

The pooping never happened though - not in the bathroom or in his pants (thank the lord!). But it was soo nice out I couldn't make the kid stay cooped up inside. Instead Hayden rode his tricycle around the garage/driveway (even taking his Luke Skywalker "guy" for a ride on the back step) and we played with the sidewalk chalk.

For whatever reason, every time we play with the chalk I write out all of our names. Anytime Hayden sees the letter "H" he yells "that says Hayden" - no matter what the word is! Today was no exception and as soon as I had his name written out that's what he yells. So we went through each letter in his name with him repeating what I say. Next thing I know he's writing the letter "H" with the chalk in his hand! Didn't know he knew what the letter was but was pretty impressed just the same!

After an hour of playing Hayden was ready for a nap. And mom decided to get overly ambitious. I thought it was a good idea to start making cookies (without the cutter shape I needed) and with limited time before my eye doctor appointment. By the time that was over with it was almost 6:30 and I still had to make supper! Two hours later supper was ready and cookies were all baked and the kitchen was an absolute disaster. But everyone was fed and happy (even Tucker who was a trooper and didn't start crying until I was almost done with supper)