Vacation Days

These two pictures were taken by the boys after they dressed up their largest bears. Though these are both my bears, the boys have claimed them. Hairy Bear on the left sleeps in Thomas' bed and White Bear on the right hangs with Nathan.





Nathan had some money to spend at Toys 'r 'each (as Thomas says it). This was our outing on Tuesday. He bought an army costume which he proudly wore the rest of his vacation. Upon touring the store, I was underwhelmed by the quality of the toys. This costume, which was a whompin' $25 is probably worth about $2.50. We tried to tell him it wasn't going to last but he just loves costumes and when he saw it, there was no changing his mind. I might add, that the vest has torn in several places in less than one weeks time and some of the toys have fallen apart, though I was able to put them back together well enough to suit him. Thomas had a hard time finding a toy at all. He was looking at and settling for a zillion piece army battalion but then we happened on some more toys that are part of the Imagination Adventure Series by Tree House Kids. We already had been given two of these toys a couple of years ago and the boys really enjoyed them. They take no batteries so no noise! Thomas chose two more of them and he has really played with them.





I know Thomas is strong but I didn't know he was this strong! He is carrying Nathan on his shoulders. The last pictures: Nathan's feat!....to carry Thomas on his back.

Big news: Thomas has a loose tooth! It's the bottom left center. He is so excited and I actually got tears in my eyes! It doesn't seem right that we are at that stage. Nathan is quite disappointed that it isn't his tooth. If your talking to him...act surprised when he tells you!

Outside Pictures

The men with their machinery of choice!

Need to work on the Nathan smile....trying the lip-less one and it just isn't quite a smile. You would be surprised at how many conversations we've had that go something like this....would you just do a normal smile, please? Okay, if you can't smile, just look at the camera!

Both pictures taken on the front deck...and it's only February! Thomas is looking in the french door and Nathan is sitting at a window.

Artic Snow Monkeys

This picture was taken on the way to the bus stop last week.....I was trying to capture the height of our snow banks along the driveway. The next few pictures show the snow that came last night...just another couple of inches. A sticky snow, making everything look beautiful and delaying school 2 hours which means AM kindergarten was canceled! I'm not sure where the monkeys in the tree came from, but snapped a couple pictures of what I spotted.

Snow Central

At this point, we have so much snow in the yard that it is Work to sled, so we've resorted to sledding on the driveway...not much of a thrill! They have to "paddle" to keep the sled moving! They look just like penguins. I couldn't resist the back porch picture...why does every thing turn into a wrestling match? I was just commenting on Saturday (during a match) that we could in fact get rid of all their toys because 80% of the time they are wrestling and the other 20% they spend racing around our loop on rollerblades. The first picture, is two lazy boys who can't be bothered to get through the snow to the real hill to sled! Their sleds keep sinking in because the snow is so fluffy, so they appear to have given up before they started! Matt made a mound with the loader; they are pretending to be penguins and are sliding down on their bellies. The last picture, along the driveway, is just to give some idea of the amount we have! I think about 2.5 feet, but haven't actually measure it.

Lately, the routine at supper has been to help cook it! Last night we had fajitas (isn't it great when you happen on a recipe and just happen to have ALL the ingredients!). They both donned their aprons and Thomas put the tea cozy on his head when they started. I sliced the meat, Thomas found and added all the seasoning. Nathan shredded the cheese, peeled and chopped the avocado, ripped the lettuce while Thomas set the table. Then Thomas, cut up the tomatoes, peppers and onions. Wow! I just kept things going and used the stove! Wonderful to have help in the kitchen! I'll take all I get. The more you let them do, the more they can do!

I did take Nathan to a ENT doctor of Children's Hopsital last Friday. He first had a thorough hearing test in a chamber with an audiologist. His middle ear on both sides are entirely full of fluid causing moderate hearing loss in his right ear and mild hearing loss in his left ear. His inner ear cavities are fine and work perfectly. We are treating the fluid for 20 days with antibiotic. Feb. 12 we go back in for a follow-up. If the fluid persists, he will have tubes put in. I began to fret (in front of the doctor) that I hadn't come to him sooner and the doctor told me not to worry, no permanent damage has occurred. My feeling is that, indeed the fluid may go from the use of antibiotic, but it certainly isn't a permanent fix. Every time we go to the doctor (usually just well-child checkups), he has fluid in his ears. The ENT (who actually is the same one that did Nathan's tonsil/adenoid surgery this summer) says his gut feeling is that I am right, so we actually scheduled the tube surgery for Feb. 22. I was told if it weren't for tubes, Nathan would need hearing aids, that is how bad his hearing is! It took us a while to even realize that he wasn't hearing. We thought it was a "processing" issue and then we thought he was in his own world. We are fixing it now, so I better stop fretting over the past!

First Snowman of Winter

The first snowman that I didn't help with! I came out afterward to retrieve the bag of prunes which had been used for the eyes. Love all the leaves stuck in it! I think we had about 1/2 inch of snow total, so this snowman is an impressive feat. They are really into coloring right now....a nice calm, quiet activity...as opposed to the rollerblading they do around our loop or nerf gun wars.

At story hour today, a mother of another set of twins that are also in T and N's class said she over heard her children mumbling that they needed Thomas to fix it. She asked what they meant and apparently Thomas is the "go-to" in class if anything needs fixing. He is strong and he is mechanically-minded so I wasn't surprised but I was really happy she told me about it. She said it was a snap/clasp on a shoe.

Nathan is reading me level 1 books! He does super sounding out and then using the picture for clues. Thomas is not as interested in reading to me but he easily made it through one book tonight.

More Crazy Pictures

Here are a few more to choose from for the New Year's cards....which should I chose? I just can't decide!

Back at the boy's 5 year check up in May, Nathan didn't "pass" the hearing test which means he couldn't discern what was being said at 20 dB which is very quiet. The doctor was not worried, in fact I don't even think he came back in after the nurse did the test, just sent word that it was fine. The school nurse checked hearing on 10/26 and at that time Nathan had a slight cold so she rechecked it on 12/1 both of which he "failed". She sent a note to get him checked out, so back to the primary care this past Friday. Nathan had just started a cold the day before with a very runny nose. Of course the doctor found fluid and prescribed anti-biotic. He wants to see if we can get rid of the fluid first of all and then see how his hearing is. I pointed out that Nathan has already had two tests while not having a cold (5/12 and 12/1). Interestingly there is nothing in the doctor's record about May's test. Anyways, we are doing the anti-biotic but we also have an ENT appointment for Jan. 21. Hopefully Nathan won't have a cold then! If he does, I will cancel.

My Inside Kid and My Outside Kid

These pictures are from November but I couldn't resist snapping their two different personalities! Pictures are from the same day and same hour! It has gotten much colder, so we are inside much more but have been ice skating twice on the neighbors field. The next picture is to show what I considered sending out in the new year cards! Every year it's most challenging to find a decent picture of both! Notice Nathan's eyes, he is really looking at Thomas to make sure that he is doing the same thing! Standard.