Smiley Brent

My little guy is really beginning to show off his gorgeous gums! During his bath last night he was giggling and moving his body all around, splashing. Once he figured that out the whole counter top was soaked. He loves bath time and screamed once I took him out. I wish I could have gotten a picture of him, but you know what they say about leaving a baby unattended in the water!

Then yesterday morning I held him up in the mirror. You could tell when he finally focused on himself because he would smile. It was so cute but I thought it was a fluke so I would move him and then let him see himself again and he would smile real big again.

Tonight he is not feeling very well. He had projectile vomit (fortunately in the kitchen right by the sink) everywhere. He hasn't very much today and to top it off he is constipated. Poor guy! I so hate it when my kids aren't feeling well because it is hard to know what to do when they can't verbalize.

Caitlyn doesn't really have a problem with verbalizing anymore. She is talking so much more. When I got her out of her car seat and she was climbing out of the car, I started to help her for time sake and she said, "No mommy, I can do it by myself." Then she turned around and said, "Goodbye car seat and waived!" It is so amazing how all her communication is in sentences now and I find myself sitting at the table talking to her.

Tonight we went through the sales ads and she would find a cool toy or movie, etc. I would cut it out and she would glue stick the back of it and turn it over and paste it down. There was a lot of prompting but she did it! It was kind of like a Christmas list. Then we used stickers to put her name on it, but it was all out of order. She kept asking what it spelled? It amazes me what concepts she gets - Spelling? I don't think I use that word that much (well at home anyway).

My students took a writing benchmark this Wednesday. They bombed it. They only wrote 1/2 - 1 page. For the highest score it has to be closer to 2 pages. They write two pages on a regular basis, but they all decided to be lazy yesterday. Today they had to retake the exam and it is a full day. Their papers are better in length so hopefully they will be just as good in organization and detail.

School is going well and I can't believe that we only have 12 more school days until Christmas break. I can't believe I have already made it through half a year.

It's Been Awhile

My sister asked me if I'd fallen off the Blog Bandwagon. Well I'm back! It has been busy around the Rickert household. We have been Christmas shopping, straightening up, organizing, changing formulas and oh, yeah, messing everything up again.

We finished the kids Christmas shopping. It is always so fun to shop for them. I really do think we live vicarously through them. There are just so many cool toys to play with now a days.

Brent is doing well. We tried to put him on a generic brand of Enfamil but that is a no go. Poor little guy has been constipated for a while now. We switched him back and hope to see some improvement soon. Last night I found a thin string or piece of hair tied tightly around two of his toes. We got it off in time and you can tell the blood flow is back now but there is still some indention because of swelling I guess. I feel horrible for letting this happen.

Caitlyn is speaking in full sentences now. One of her favorite sentences is, "Where are you momma?" I can run, but I can't hide!!!! She can draw a circle now and is always very impressed with herself. She really enjoys working puzzles and is quite good at them. She has a Diego 30-piece puzzle that was difficult for all of week.

We got the coolest new desktop computer. It has been lots of fun to play with. Supposedly you can watch tv on it. It even came with a remote control as most of them do now. Unfortunately my laptop is no longer hooked up to the network or printer. I have to figure out how to do this. If you know how please feel free to help!

The pictures are from Thanksgiving. There is a picture of Caitlyn working her Diego puzzle and taking care of Brent. There is a pictures of my dad, grandma and mom with the kiddos.

Black Friday

Today we went shopping! We were not out with the masses at 6:00 am. However I was up at 3:30 and had a sick thought, like such, "oh, I could run out to Kohl's." I thought better of it. My parents, Jeff, the kids and I went to a few stores here in Rockwall. It was so nice because we were all able to load up in my suburban and ride comfortably, in one car to the store.

Caitlyn is feeling better although she is still not eating very much. She has been very sweet. Today I laid Brent on the couch and was working around the room. I look over and notice she has put her baby up beside Brent and is putting a blanket over both of them. She has learned not to cover his face. She was very proud of herself and told me, "Now it's all better."

We bought curtains for our bedroom finally. We picked out beautiful suede curtains that are supposed to keep the heat in, in the winter and cool in the summer. My dad was awesome enough to iron each panel for us. Unfortunately we got one pair of curtains too short so we will have to return them and my dad won't be here to iron, bummer. Luckily I love to iron myself, as long as it is not all the time.

Thanksgiving

Brent loves his bottle. He is so serious about it that he almost always puts his hand on the bottle even though he is obviously unable to hold it himself.



Brent enjoyed Thanksgiving very much. He was alert and happy all day. He had his eye on the apple pie so I indulged for him.

Caitlyn seemed to be in good spirits today but she isn't feeling well. We were awoken at 3:30 this morning to her yelling that "it was dirty." She had thrown up everywhere. We had to bathe her, change and wash her sheets and clothing. She didn't seem sick otherwise. Today she hasn't eaten much and stayed in our bed for quite a while this afternoon. She hasn't had any of our scrumptious meal either, poor thing.

We had a wonderful meal this afternoon. My dad made jalepeno dressing, Jeff made the turkey and cut up all the veggies for each course. We had mashed potatoes and broccoli and rice casserole and delicious pies. My mouth is already watering again for seconds or thirds!

I am so thankful for a wonderful holiday.
I am thankful for my husband who is so helpful with cooking, cleaning and the kids.
I am thankful for my sweet children, who are tremendously precious!
I am thankful for a wonderful job with great students.
I am thankful for good friends.
I am thankful for my home, new car and all the fun things we have.
I am thankful for the men and women serving overseas for my freedom.
I am thankful for the wonderful woman that takes care of my children while I work.
I am thankful that we have such an amazing God to provide for us!

I am thankful that Jeff let me sleep in this morning and took care of the kids.
I am thankful that Brent slept through the night again - 3 times now!
I am thankful that Caitlyn is not very whiney today.
I am thankful for Pull-ups!
I am thankful for the coffee that my husband has ready for me in the morning.

I am thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!

Getting Ready

Today I was able to hit the grocery store without the kids to get the Thanksgiving fixings. It was really a quick in and out for it being so busy. We (Caitlyn, Brent and I) are going to my Aunt Donna's tomorrow for Thanksgiving. She has to work on Thursday with SWA so we will celebrate early. She is the best cook and I love to eat at her house. There is always a ton of incredible food. My parents, grandma, her parents and my cousins will be there. Jeff won't be able to go because he has to work. So thus my shopping trip for turkey today, we will have Thanksgiving here on Thursday too. Luckily it is my favorite meal!

Brent slept through the night again last night. I love it! I love him!

All through the night!

I'm super proud to report that my baby boy, Brent, slept all through the night. He slept from 10:30-6:45. Of course first thing, at 6:00 am, this morning I jumped up and made sure he was still breathing. He is such a good baby.

We went to a benefit concert for a dear friend of ours, Deena, last night. Deena is fighting Cushing's disease and cancer. She is a wonderful mother, wife and former teacher. She has two beautiful, amazing daughters. Her oldest daughter is an upcoming county music singer and she performed last night as well. She is awesome and a true talent in every sense. Please say a prayer for this dynamic family. You can read about their journey, written by Deena's husband, John at http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/inputSiteName.do?method=search&siteName=deena.

Last night at the concert there were a ton of babies. There was an adorable little girl that was 3 weeks old. It was kind of sad because I'm used to my sweetie being the smallest baby. Lucky for me, every one who came by commented on how cute and small he was. I still want to hear that he is so tiny, even though he is a chunky little boy.

Organzied Toy Room

I'm so proud of myself. I hunkered down and stayed with it and finished the toy room. I have walked in there multiple times for the past weeks and just couldn't make myself do it. Today I succeeded. I cleaned it, purged it and organized it today! Yeah!!

Now that is a difficult task with a 2 year old. She wanted to play with everything I purged. When I started to put it on the counter in the kitchen she told me I was taking her toys. Poor baby, it is hard for her to understand. I am actually doing it for her so she can have room for new toys at Christmas.

I am going to post some pictures. That way I can see how clean it was once. It's really too bad I didn't get any before pictures but I can paint a picture in one word - TORNADO! Just imagine you can't see the floor, every toy in every box is all mixed up and nothing is in it's right home.

We got to go out to eat with Kathleen, our dear friend, this evening. We ate at our favorite restaurant, Chiloso's and the kids were pretty good. Brent was gassy this evening but if you held him just right he was fine.

Just a quick tip, if you register at www.bloglines.com you can enter my blog and all your other favorites. The reason for this is so you just have to check one website to see when your favorite bloggers have posted. My sister over at www.karisramblings.blogspot.com turned me on to it. What a time saver!

My voice is completely gone today. I'm sure Caitlyn is wondering why I am whispering. I would be if I was her but she hasn't asked once what's wrong. I got a steriod shot today and started steriod's to bring down the inflammation. Hopefully I will be filling better soon. They are the legal steriods by the way. My voice is already starting to get better but will probably be tons better if I shut up and let it rest.

Quiet Times

Yesterday I woke up with a scratchy voice and cough. Today I woke up with no voice. So it should be an interesting day. It's probably a good think it's the weekend. I'm really hoping the quietness will rub off on Caitlyn and she will whisper too.

Not much is going on here this weekend. We are going to be lazy this morning and then probably make one trip out just to be a part of the world.

The students are out for the next week for Thanksgiving break. Teachers have to work Monday and Tuesday. Then we are going to my aunts house for dinner on Wednesday and my parents are coming down for the holiday! Yeah!

Here are some cute pictures of Brent. He is wearing his "doggie" outfit and "doggie shoes". He is so precious and snuggly.

Yesterday morning I was actually going to be a few minutes early to school. I try to get there by 7:30 and the kids come in our rooms at 7:50, usually I am walking out of the house by 7:30. Anyway, yesterday was going to be good. I got dressed without any issues, I mean the first outfit I tried on worked. Everything was going well. I even had my lunch packed before feeding Brent (the day before I forgot it). So anyway I was nursing Brent before I left. Nursing in the morning is hard, because you have to weigh in an extra 30 minutes that you could be in bed sleeping. But it is such a sweet time, because it is just Brent and me. Caitlyn is not usually awake, Jeff is still in bed, and everything is quiet.

Well that sets the scene. Yesterday morning Brent had a really good diaper, meaning he had gotten his money out of this one. So I was changing him and he had messed his pj's too. So I cleaned him up and was holding him out to the side so I could get the sleeves off of him. Well you probably already guessed it, he pooped all over. He got me, my easy to throw on outfit for the day, the couch, the carpet, the coffee table and the basket liner and basket that his diapers and wipes are in under the coffee table. Man, it was a big mess. Jeff had to get out of bed and clean the carpet because I was completely out of time, plus I didn't want to leave him out of this experience, I am very good at sharing !!!! My baby Brent really knows his stuff though. He was all smiles and grins after that, so of course, I couldn't be upset at all with this little guy.

So tonight I venture out with the kiddos to Target and Old Navy. I needed to exchange some shoes at Target for a bigger size because my feet have grown since my pregnancy. Grrrr! At Old Navy I really needed another pair of pants. Target went great without a hitch, but Old Navy was another story. I decide to carry Brent because he is very fussy and is probably going to need a bottle. So on the way to the back of the store Brent is screaming his head off - so people are staring. Caitlyn is actually sitting in the stroller. So we get Brent happy and then Caitlyn procedes to get out of the stroller and runs around. So all of a sudden she is gone. I call her name a couple of times but honestly I am quite embarrassed to call too much. People have been staring and giving me that look all through the store and here I am trying to shop, hold a baby, feed a baby a bottle with the other hand, push a stroller and keep up with a toddler. So I grab the bag, ditch the stroller, and look for Caitlyn. I decide to be quiet and look around the aisles closest to where I lost her. I finally hear her. She is in between the clothes hiding. Oh goodness! Thank goodness I found her quickly. I decided to hit the road. It took about another 10 minutes (or so it felt) just to get her to the front door - and of course people staring. Fun times I tell you!

We did the Applebee's Car Side To Go. That's a beautiful option with a kid and you are sick of drive thru.

I would love to hear any funny, crazy stories you have to share about your kids and shopping or getting ready in the morning.

For Kari

Kari, here is the picture I promised you. Brent is wearing the shirt you got him. I think I heard him say today, "I love my Aunt Kari, giggle, giggle!" I love you!

Here is a cute story of Caitlyn. Last night she was heading up the stairs to bed with dad. I had given her a kiss and then she headed up, but stopped and turned around and said, "Hug!" It was such a beautiful, sweet moment.

Well I would have paid big money for just 1 sweet moment tonight. We walked in the door and bam - she was a complete mess. I started dinner, she's in tears. I'm feeding Brent and she is playing in the expensive can of Enfamil. She was so pleased with herself too, she had some in another bowl - yikes! She took the alfredo cup and rubbed it on the dishwasher. She dropped play-doh bits all over the place. It was just one of those nights. Error, tears, error, tears, etc. The sweetest moment was bedtime! We will try it again tomorrow!

My Dream Picture

I finally got my dream on Septemeber 9, 2007. It might sound silly but I have longed for a picture like the one above. I missed the opportunity to have a picture right after birth with Caitlyn because she had to be in the NICU for 5 days. So it was even more precious now. I have recently learned that I am not alone in this desire for a certain picture. A coworker recently had a baby at 30 weeks and her baby had to stay in the NICU for awhile. Well right before her baby was ready to come home the hospital gave her a chance to room in with her baby. She said it healed many wounds for her. I know it might sound silly, but it is a wonderful experience and I am so blessed to have had the opportunity.

Brent, I want you to know how much your sister loves you. Ever since the first time she crawled in bed beside me in the hospital she has been taking good care of you. She insisted to hold you immediately the first time she met you and she rushes to your side when you cry. She has never been jealous of you. She is a very good helper and loves putting your paci back in your mouth and choosing which diaper you should wear. Please remember how much she loves you because sometimes shes crams the paci in too hard. Or pushes the blanket over your face (I'm sure she is just trying to prop it against your paci so it won't fall out). Or when she is moving around on the couch so fast and bumps your head pretty hard. She doesn't mean to. She loves you very much.

We all love you so much and can't imagine life without you. You fit into our lives so well. You are such a sweet and precious boy. You seem to be getting on a schedule and my, how you love to eat. I love looking at you. If I had more time I would just sit with you on the couch all day and stare at you. You are starting to smile more often when I talk to you. You are my special baby boy and I love you so much.

Saturday

Today was a really nice day because I was able to relax, hang out, piddle around, not wear makeup and do everything on my time table. I love that. It was just the 3 of us today, Jeff is hunting deer. I went with a friend to Mardel's and bought some things for my classroom. This evening some friends from my mom's group came over. When you say it sounds so old. A young friend was teasing me about playing cards, etc. But honestly that is fun. We had lasagna and such and just talked until too late. Now all my darlings are in bed, so I am excited to crawl in my bed and watch tv until I fall asleep.

Tomorrow at some point I want to reorganize my closet. It is such a mess and driving me crazy. I was able to go through Brent's clothes today. He has so many cute outfits for 3-6 months that I hope he stays in that size for a while.

Sleeping with the Dogs

I know there is an expression similiar to my title but in true fashion I can't say it correctly. Anyway, I believe I've told you before that Caitlyn periodically comes downstairs in the middle of the night and will sleep with Cali, our lab. Last night I woke up to feed Brent about 2:30 am and the living room light was on, so I knew Caitlyn was up. She was asleep with Cali and had the blanket from the couch over her (usually she has her blankie or nothing). I decided to leave her there and luckily Jeff was able to get a picture of her this morning.

When I picked her up from the babysitter she was, of course, having a great time. The sitter and I talked for a while and then I picked up Caitlyn because she had gotten hit by the door (long story) and she was burning up hot. We were around a little girl that we later found out had strep so since we were going to meet Jeff for dinner anyway we ran by and happen to find out she has strep and so do I. On the way in I saw my teammate who was also diagnosed with strep. Oh brother! Thank goodness for a weekend to recover, especially since I have no days to take off.

Brent is doing well in the midst of all this mess. This weekend I am going to have to put away his 0-3 month and break out his 3-6 month clothing. He is already in 3-6 mo - I can't believe it!

She Amazes Me

Caitlyn was watching Diego and Dora on tv tonight. All of a sudden she burst out counting in spanish from 1 - 6. She was even saying it before the tv did. Wow! I am so impressed. Jeff said this morning he was counting with her and she said, "No. Let me do it." She just started counting in English and can count to 13.

We are still working on a couple important things. I keep trying to get her to say her name. I'll say, "say Caitlyn" and she'll say, "me". The other big thing is potty training. My goodness, it is the biggest battle I think I have ever fought. We have started and stopped this process since last Octoberish. Each time we start up again she does better. Well this time, since Brent was born, you can forget it. She does great for the babysitter. Of course that is a whole side story - she is perfect for the babysitter. If anybody has any bright ideas we would much appreciate it. I just keep holding on to the fact that she will not walk across the stage and get her diploma with diapers on!

Brent is growing so fast. I keep looking at him and try to memorize every little sweet curve and the touch of his soft cheeks. Poor thing has to endure millions of kisses from his mommy. His eyes are getting darker. It looks like they are going to be a grayish hazel like his sister and daddy. Tonight he has been giving us lots and lots of smiles.

Tonight I was able to pick up my suburban. It is such a nice car and I am happy to have it back. We purchased an extended warranty and thankfully so. It saved us about $1200. Unfortunately we had to pay a deductible. I was quite upset, but handled it calmy (believe it or not!). To make a long story short the used car manager wasn't budging, even though we brought it in days after the purchase and they said nothing was wrong. The nice part of all is that when I got home this evening the salesman you sold us the vehicle, called and said he was going to a higher level and trying to get our money refunded. If anything it is a nice gesture and I appreciate him for it. Hopefully we will get a good report tomorrow.

Ladybug Video

I am hoping that I am posting a video of Caitlyn. She is so cute in her ladybug costume. She is running around saying, "boy, boy" which I am sure really should be "boing, boing". Certainly she is not boy crazy yet.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I stink at science. So it is quite funny that I teach 3 sections of Science and Social Studies. Luckily I am a great teacher and can handle elementary science. Actually I learn it but it does NOT stick with me. I might have a better chance of retaining this year since I have to repeat myself 3 times. Today we had a soil retention lab. It was crazy getting the kids through it and then setting up a new lab, back to back, no time in between. The kids loved it and from grading their journals I can tell they got the objective.

Big News

I knew I had something else very important to tell ya all yesterday. Brent Tyler Rickert has slept in his very own bed (pak-n-play) for 2 nights now. He didn't cry and I didn't have to get up multiple times to put in his passy. Although I am very excited about this progress I am also sad. It makes me realize how quickly he is growing up. I just keep reminding myself that as cute as it now to sleep with him, it is horrible when they are 18 months and squirming all over the place. Or even worse, a 2-1/2 old, and think that the middle of the night is for talking or watching tv.

Today was Brent's 2 month well child visit. He weighs 11.15 oz and is 22-1/2 inches long. He had to get 5 shots. Poor baby. But he is tough, although he cried, 5 minutes later I was able to have him rocked to sleep in my arms. PTL! I was a little worried about Caitlyn seeing Brent have shots because while the nurse was giving him an oral-suspension medicine she tried to push her away and said, "No that's my sister." Which of course I had to tell her, yet again, that Brent was her brother. Luckily she had band-aids to play with during all 5 shots. Band-aids are very important part of our laugh. They work wonders! See http://www.karisramblings.blogspot.com/ to see a full report of how wonderful band-aids are. If you are having a bad day - try a band-aid.

I had to take my car in to get fixed because it is leaking oil. So Jeff and I dropped it off at 7:15 am this morning. It was still not ready when my friend dropped me off at 3:30 pm. So luckily my extended warranty covered a rental. I needed to get to the kiddos fast for our dr. appt. so I opted for the Saturn they had on the premises. So 15 minutes later, car seats installed, I am on the highway speeding to get the little ones. I must admit I have become extremely spoiled with my suburban because in the little car I felt like I was sitting on the ground. All the rear view window reflections seemed so small that it almost made me sick to my stomach. And I guess now they make cars with the speedometer in the center of the dash. This is really wild when you are driving home and it is dark behind the steering wheel. Hopefully my car will be ready by tomorrow!!!

Just Another Manic Monday

Today we all got up at the same time. Jeff had to go to the ranch this morning. As we were waking up Jeff said that Caitlyn was up. He saw the light go on in the living room. So I peeked out there and she was just laying on the couch with her blankie on her. Saturday night she had come down stairs, turned the light on, and went back to bed. It was 3:30 am when I woke up and noticed the light, but she was sleeping soundly in bed.

After school I had a few errands to run. I had to drop off clothes I was donating to Helping Hands, take my car in because of an oil leak and go to Target to exchange diapers for size 2. Caitlyn was such a trooper. When we were at the Chevy place she couldn't understand why they were taking her Diego (ago) away, that would be her Diego video.

Well the sad thing is that I had others things I wanted to blog about but I can't remember any of it. Good thing is I can put the computer down and enjoy the movie I'm watching with Jeff.

Busy Day

This morning I woke up at 8:00 and feeling refreshed. It was kind of neat to realize that it was really 7. I had time to just sit with Brent and talk to him. He kept smiling back at me too! It took many tries but I finally got a picture of him smiling. Yesterday he even tracked me with his eyes while I danced in front of him. I'm sure he was thinking, oh mom, please stop, your embarrasing me!

I had the opportunity to go shopping this afternoon with a friend (we left the girls with their dads). We had a great time and crammed in as many shops as possible. It was funny because our goal was to buy clothes for ourselves and we kept picking up things for our girls or our husbands.

Super Saturday

The morning started off beautifully because the house was cleaned. I took the time last night to straighten up and boy was it worth it this morning. Most importantly I was able to stay in bed until 8:30 when Caitlyn woke up. NICE!!!!! We spent the morning at my friend's house and then had a nice, long nap time.

I did find out that Brent and I have thrush. Bummer! Luckily, I could call my hubby and get a script called in pronto.

Brent has been fussy and gassy today. He demands being held. I really love to hold him. I do put him down when I can. I hope I'm not spoiling him. Although at least once a day when he's crying I put him in his pak-n-play and he goes to sleep without me. So I know he can do it. Caitlyn has been asking me to him down every once in a while. She'll say, "Put Brent here and hold me." It's so cute because she'll clean off a spot for him if she needs to.

We made our weekly trek to the grocery store. It was amazing because it was completely uneventful. As long as we go on a Diego and Dora hunt, everything is fine. We don't have to buy everything, we just search for them on every row.

Finally Friday

Another week has flown by and my precious Brent is almost 2 months old. It's hard to believe. He is so much more alert and gives tons of smiles. He enjoys kicking his little legs and talking. He has officially grown out of another outfit - a 0-3 mo. onesie. I can't believe it.

Brent has a rash. Jeff thinks it's a viral rash. It hasn't changed or gotten worse so he should be fine.

Caitlyn loves her new Diego puzzle. It is a 30-piece puzzle that is in the shape of Diego. It was very difficult for her but in 2 weeks she pretty much has it down. She spilled her juice tonight so I made her clean it up. She went and got my (used) bath towel and cleaned it up. She is pretty handy to have around.

It is opening season of deer rifle season. Jeff and the guys are at the lease. So I'm going to go shopping with Jennifer. We are going to hit up an Outlet mall in Allen. I can't wait. We are even leaving the kids with a sitter (well except for Brent).

Well I'm looking around, I didn't hear it, but a bomb went off in my house. I'm not sure if I should clean it up tonight or ignore it. Of course, then I'll be running late tomorrow, my house will even get messier. I'm talking myself into ending this blog and cleaning.

One more picture

This picture was left off my last post. He is so cute! I love him!

Halloween Pictures

We had two outfits for two diapers! I am going to attach a video of Caitlyn so you can get the full effect.

Just think next year he could be walking too! Yikes, double the candy.