Cooler weather is here!

We had one good month of no a/c and no heater!  That rarely happens.  We now have space heaters in each bedroom and keep the heat around 68 degrees at night.  Hopefully we can save some money because it has become real, real obvious just how expensive kids can be!  I don't think I have ever watched the pocketbook and the balance at the bank quite so closely in my entire life!!  Gone are the days when I can spend what I want., when I want, and don't have to worry about it. 

This blog has become more of a way to update some friends and family, but also a sort of diary as to what our daily life is like with two young kids.  I wish I could keep up with it more often.   I know I will enjoy looking back and reading it someday.  Right now, both of my kids are at an age where I can reflect on pictures taken just two months ago and see such changes in their appearance!  Tobin and I both watch their development change weekly.  Kinsey is definitely picking up on things at a more rapid pace since she has so many role models to learn from.  The relationship forming between my sweet kids is a precious one on most days.  Tanner is generally concerned about her and tries to help her out by bringing her a blanket or helping her up on the couch.  Today they were even holding hands on the way to school!!!  How sweet is that???  He does have his jealous moments where he feels threatened by her presence or still wants me to himself.  However, she is the first thing he asks about upon waking each morning and the last thing he wants to know about prior to saying goodnight.  Very sweet.  On that note, during the last few weeks, I have heard my first "I love you, toooo!" at bedtime!  It doesn't get much better than hearing your child sincerely tell you they love you!!!   Kinsey follows Tanner around the house like a lil' puppy dog.  They will actually play their own version of hide n seek and it is soooo cute to hear Tanner say, "Sis-Sis, come get me!!!"   She giggles and runs toward his voice.  She has her own games too though.  She likes to remove all pillows from the couch and then walk along the couch and try to climb up on the arms!  Geesh!  Now, I have TWO daredevils.  I sure hope the ER isn't a a frequent stop of ours in the future.  I just don't know if my heart can take that!

Well, our house has been OFF the market for a month now.  It is very difficult not to keep looking at homes.  Our contract with our realtor expired and Tobin thought we needed to take a break from the madness of keeping the house clean.  He would rather not move in winter either.  So to help out on our lack of space, Tobin took a week-long vacation recently and built a barn-shaped storage building in our backyard.  I am excited at the prospect of getting some of our stuff out of the garage and attic and into the shed.  I simply cannot wait to feel organized again.  That is the most frustrating part of having your house for sale!  That and the idea of keeping everything picked up and clean so at any given moment, when you get that phone call, you can get our of the house within the hour with two young kids!  You can't even walk through the garage right now.  Recently, I found a plastic tub of clothes that Kinsey should currently be wearing and part of them she actually already grew out of before she ever got to wear them!  I guess they were in the storage unit all summer and I didn't have access to them.  Major bummer.  I am very sad at the idea that we are not going to get a bigger house.  We so desperately need more space.  It is such a buyer's market, but certainly NOT a seller's market.  I have no idea where our computer is going to go...we had to get rid of the desk to make our house seem less cluttered while it was on the market.  The computer has been in the floor or the closet for six months now.  That has NOT been good for my back when I have to lie in the floor to use the computer!!

Tobin is an immense help around the house.  I don't know what I'd do if he weren't a "hands-on" dad.  He even bathes them!  Tobin has enjoyed several hunts this fall and already has two deer in the freezer!  He is a very good aim with his bow and very much likes the challenge of a "stick and string."    Gun season began this past weekend as well.  I think at this point, he is just trophy hunting, as he calls it.  He was excited to go wtih Hunter on his very first hunting trip now that he is eight years old.

As for me, I suppose I'm doing well.  My hairstyle is straight now, but I can still go curly if I am rushed.  I am still working on losing the baby weight.  There is never any "ME time," but that will come again someday.  And at that time, I will probably miss the days when I had no life and no hobbies, and spent all of my time running after two toddlers and tending to diaper bags, washing the highchair tray, changing diapers, reading books, and picking up toys!  Not to mention the laughing and crying!  I would love to say I am caught up on their baby books or their scrapbooks, but that would be wishful thinking.  I did have a scrapbook function on  November 6th!  That was very nice and I even got to go with my sister!  I need to schedule time for working out, but I have no clue when that would be...or how I would do that. 

Both kids are over their stomach issues and we haven't had any really bad diapers in several weeks.  THAT was a very long week for everyone.  We assume it was viral.  Kinsey had developed a cough and had started breathing treatments with the nebulizer.  She cried and cried at first, but gave into the idea that this is what had to happen.  At her bedtime treatment, she literally fell asleep with the mist, and that allowed me to give her a back to back treatment.  They are both still on their meds for allergies.

As for now, Tanner has avoided any leg braces (serial casts) for the tippy toe walking!!  Tobin took him to his most recent appointment and surprisingly, Jean never mentioned the casts.  She said that Tanner had made great improvements in walking more flat-footed.  He had not improved as much as she would like in his resistance while she manually stretched his calf muscles, but she thought that a good pair of cowboy boots might be in order!  GREAT!  That's right up his alley since he likes being a cowboy and was one for Halloween!  Sounds like a Christmas present to me!!  We go  back to the physical therapist in one month as per her request. 

We are gearing up for Thanksgiving Break and then Christmas!  Tanner has been attending Sunday School for about six weeks in a row now.  He doesn't cry anymore and seems to enjoy it.  He sings most of the words to "Jesus Loves Me" and "Jesus Loves the Little Children" and even does arts and crafts there.  Sissy saw Santa at the mall and waved!  Good things to come!!!

Halloween festivities

I always love Halloween decorations and activities.  I love fall in general!!   However, my son does not like anything remotely scary looking or scary sounding.  I hoping that is just normal for a two-year old!   Overall, we didn't get to do as many fun activities as I would have liked, but next year will be different with two that understand the holiday.  We went to a Halloween party at a daycare, Jones Farm, and Trick-or-Treating in my sister's neighborhood. I know Tanner had a good time and Kinsey always seems happy.

We were lucky enough to get some of the cousins together for a group shot, as seen above.  Tristin was a dinosaur creature and Koen and Griffin were Bob and Larry from the Veggie-Tales.  Tanner was a cowboy and Kinsey was a ladybug.  Early October, when it was warmer, she was a little cheerleader, but it was too chilly for that on Halloween night. Tanner had been acting like a cowboy around the house , so the costume choice was fitting.  He even got to wear his altered shoes in order to make the chaps fit better. 

We were soooo proud of Tanner and how he handled his first Trick-or-Treating experience.  He did a great job saying "Trick-or-Treat" and "thank you" when asked and seemed pleased about the activity.  Then, about the 4th house, he was trying to run to catch up to his cousins when the door opened and two loud, scary dogs started barking.  Tanner is dreadfully scared of all dogs no matter what size.  You would honestly think he has experienced something terrible or had been attacked as a baby.  He cries and even shakes.  So, it took us several houses to get over that.  The lady came out and apologized, but it bothered me that it didn't occur to her to put the dogs up during such an event.  From then on, Tanner was a little leery of any strange noises or scary scenes, but I'm hoping that is partly the age too.

Kinsey rode on Papa's shoulders for the first 5-6 houses.  As her timing would have it, she soiled her diaper as we were really getting in to the trick or treating.  Daddy had to decide whether he should carry on, or take her back home to change.  He decided to take care of her diaper and miss the rest of Tanner's trick or treating.  Tough decision and I hate that for him.  Kinsey was content as could be at home reading books and playing with Papa and Grandma.

As for Tobin, he is still in his hunting mode and has maybe three more trips for the season.  He is still hoping for a buck with his bow before gun season starts.  I, of course, have no hobbies, but I am looking forward to hanging out with Mel at a scrap-booking function this coming Saturday!

 I will try to get a new slideshow going with many more pics from this fall and Halloween in particular.