Water Water Everywhere, But Not A Drop To Drink

So, funny story. I realized last weekend that I hadn't posted anything in quite some time and thought maybe I should do something about that. But then I couldn't think of anything to write about. Rob's birthday was on Tuesday so I thought I would just wait until I had some material from that. Before I could post anything about that, I got way more material than I ever could've imagined. First though, Rob's birthday.



It's tough to get much done during the day but I decided we had to do something for Rob's birthday. I took the kids out and got a cake, balloons and posterboard to make a sign. The idea was to put Rex and Wyatt's handprints on the sign, but as soon as I tried it with Rex I realized it was not the best idea I ever had. Rex wanted to basically fingerpaint all over the sign rather than just make handprints so that was a struggle. Then the paint, which was face paint, wouldn't really come off his hands too well so I decided we would just skip Wyatt's part in the sign-making process. The sign didn't turn out quite how I imagined but I'm learning that is just how it goes when you are working with kids. We had dinner at home- Rob had to buy and cook his own dinner. It sounds terrible, I know, but listen to me first. He picked up the groceries on his way home from the massage I booked him so that's not so bad, right? Then he had the option of cooking or watching the kids while I cooked and he picked cooking. Not like I know how to grill up a steak for him anyways so that all worked out for the best. Here we all are with the birthday cake.



I took two pictures like this using the camera's timer and this was the better one since 3 out of 4 are actually looking at the camera. The dinner and the cake were yummy and I think Rob had a very good birthday.

So on to my really big and crazy news. It's flooding here. It is CRAZY. Our house is completely fine. There was a small puddle in one corner of the basement- so small it could just be wiped up with a towel- and that was it. We are very thankful for that. Rob was able to make it to work on Wednesday by going way out of town and around and then back again only to discover that there was no power where he works and nothing really he could do. He left work around 11:00 a.m. and they ended up telling all the employees not to come in at all on Thursday. This is what it looked like all over town on Wednesday- lots of flooded streets and lots of people looking around at it all.



The worst news was still to come though. Because of all the flooding, there was a chance our water supply was contaminated and we have been under a boil water order since Wednesday afternoon. Thank goodness Rob was home because he went out to the store immediately to stock up on bottled water and bought a few gallons in the milk jug type containers too. We can only use very little water while they try to get the water towers (which were nearly drained empty) filled back up and then flush the whole city water system. You can take a shower but it has to be less than 5 minutes and you better keep your mouth closed while you are in there. How do you wash a 2 year old and a baby though? With store-bought gallons of water apparently- at least, that's what we did last night. They can't keep their mouths closed the whole time so we bought a bunch of water on Friday to use for their baths last night. It was either that or go rent a hotel room in another city so buying the water didn't seem so expensive after all. We have been using paper plates/bowls and plastic silverware as much as possible to avoid getting any dishes dirty. It's a lot like camping around here. They hope to have everything back to normal by Tuesday evening which is far later than they first predicted. They also thought there was only one water main break to begin with too so there you go. Although it is all incredibly inconvenient and annoying, I am very happy that is all we are having to deal with right now. It could have been much worse and I know there are a lot of people not very far from here who are dealing with much worse circumstances.

Blown Away

Last weekend we had a quite a storm that started in the wee hours of Saturday night/Sunday morning. I knew it might rain so I wasn't shocked when I heard the rain, thunder and lightning when I got up to feed Wyatt in the middle of the night. It also sounded really windy but I was still very surprised to see this when I looked across the street the next morning. (If you click on the photo below to make it bigger, you'll see the huge limb that took out the neighbor's fence and also landed on the garage. You can also see a lot of sticks and branches in our yard.)



I couldn't believe it! Wow. We have some serious storms here but I haven't seen anything like that before. Trees were down all over the place. Or there was so much damage that you had to take the whole tree out, like we had to. This is our backyard.



If you ask me, this was a special gift from God just for me. Rob would not agree. That tree had been a sore point between us ever since the squirrels planted it for us there. I wanted it gone when I saw it coming up and Rob wanted it to stay. I hated it because it shaded too many of my plants that I like which require a lot of sun. Rob liked the privacy it gave our yard. I agree that we need something tall in that area for privacy but a large bush/shrub that doesn't shade my plants would be a far better option. Rob asked me that morning, "Did you see the backyard?" I told him yes and he said, "So how happy are you right now?" Hee Hee- oh so happy! So long tree!!

Since so many people had so much damage, the city allowed everyone to put all their fallen limbs and branches in your front yard for a special free pickup they would provide. Nice. And then every street you went down looked like this.



It turned out the winds were above 70 mph in our area- woah! Anyhow, it was quite the storm. I think a lot of people were unhappy with the damage done but I couldn't be more pleased with how it all turned out for us. And now, I actually have both boys asleep in both their beds so I am going to write some thank-you notes which are long overdue!

2 Months Old

Wyatt turned two months old yesterday so it was time for another photo shoot.



I took Wyatt to the doctor today for his 2-month old checkup and he is doing just great. He weighs 12 pounds, 4 ounces and is 23 3/4 inches long. I looked up Rex's measurements at this point and was shocked to see that Rex already weighed 14 lbs, 10 oz at this point and was 1/4 inch shorter- what a pudge! I was sick- again!- and had to take my second round of antibiotics in just six weeks. It was something different each time. I don't get sick very often at all so this has been really crappy. But I am doing much better now. Rob's good and the boys are both good too. It's been super hot here lately (115 heat index) but is a little better now. We had a crazy storm this weekend. I have a lot to say about that and will put it in my next post with pictures of some of the damage. One more exciting thing to report is that Wyatt is now sleeping in his crib. His first night was the same night as the big storm so that didn't go too well but it's been going a lot better since. My boys are both getting so big!

Block Party

Last week, there was a block party in our neighborhood that we went to. You can get a trailer that has tables and tents (other stuff too, I think) from the city and they even come and block off your street for you.



It was a potluck and there were lots of good things to eat. It was nice to get a break from planning and making dinner. Not that I do much of that anymore but I think Rob appreciated the night off. I have a wonderful husband. Rex had the BEST time running around with the other kids that were there. When I saw Rex I asked Rob, "Did you pour some water on him to cool him down or is he just that sweaty?" Turns out, he was just that sweaty.



Towards the end of the evening, a policeman stopped by to say hello and the kids all got those little sticker badges and got to check out the police car. They all thought it was pretty cool. Hopefully, this is as close to the back- or front- of a police car as Rex ever gets.

Coo-Coo-Kachoo

It has been milestone mania with Wyatt lately. He is smiling now which I posted last time. And then, about a day later, he started cooing. These are two of my most favorite things so I am just in heaven right now. Here's a little of the cooing (you can also hear Rex screaming and having a good time taking his bath in the background).



Finally, he rolled over the other night- I believe it was Wednesday night- from his tummy to his back for the first time. I got him to do it twice to be sure it wasn't a fluke. It wasn't- he was two for two. I didn't get a video of that yet. Rex hit all his big milestones kind of late and it seems like Wyatt is going to be on the fast-track. Not that one is better than the other or anything, it's just funny how two kids from the same gene pool can be so different!

Since You've Been Gone

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted! So much has been going on and for a while, I thought our computer was dead. We recently had our internet "upgraded" by our service provider which meant it started working like crap. Then one day, my computer just randomly shut itself off and I could not get it started up again. I thought for sure it was dead. I love my iMac but I was ready to run right out and get a MacBook. First though, I loaded up Rex and the iMac for a trip to the Apple Store Genius Bar in Des Moines where it started up with no problem. The genius tuned it up a little and explained some problems that our service provider is having and why our internet connection is so slow. It all works great now and we've had no more problems so time to blog!

To help ease my and Rob's workload, we are teaching our little superhero how to clean.



We are also teaching him how to give his brother a bath.



Ha! Both of those are not true- duh- but they are funny. In the first one, Rex kept grabbing the duster and "helping" his dad clean up one morning. In the second one, it was bath time and as soon as Rex got in the bathroom he started stripping down. That would explain the lack of pants on the kid. We told him to hang on a minute because Wyatt had to get his bath first. It is so funny that Rex can't wait for his bath now because he used to hate bath time.

Why is it that I think of so many good things to blog about during the day then now, when I finally get a few minutes to work on this, I can't think of anything? Wyatt was up to 11 pounds, 14 ounces when we got his weight checked on June 29th so he is growing a ton. He just started smiling on Friday and I tried to capture it with my camera but ended up getting two almost-smiles.




Rex started sleeping in his big boy bed this week. The first night did not go well at all but things have been getting better little by little ever since. Here he is spending one of his last nights in the crib and waking up from a nap in the new bed.




Rob and I haven't been up to much. Just trying to stay sane with a new baby and a 2 year old is enough. We so look forward to the day they can walk out to the car, get in it and we can all go somewhere. Or just to a time when we don't have to change any diapers anymore. I do remind myself to enjoy this phase too and that when they are more independent, then I will wish they would spend more time with us. I'm sure there is no perfect age- you just have to enjoy the good parts of each phase and get through the not-so-good parts. I have been enjoying all the flowers in my yard right now. Everything looks so beautiful out there and I will try to remember to get some pictures to post next time. I think that's all for us and since Rex just took his pants off and told me "diaper", I guess I better go get him changed!

One More Celebration

I forgot to mention that Wyatt turned one month old last Saturday. Yay Wyatt! I took some photos of him that day.



I was inspired by pictures Nanette did of her daughter every month. I wasn't prepared though and didn't get the stickers in time to put on a shirt so I had to use Rex's bathtub toy letters and numbers. I can't decide if I should keep going with that look or get the stickers for the rest of the months. Hmm...

Seemed Like A Good Idea

I realized not too long after Rex was born that his 2nd birthday and Father's Day would be the same day. I thought that was pretty cool until it actually got here. I still think it is somewhat cool, I just didn't think about how much work that would be to celebrate all that. Then you throw in a new baby and a grandma with a birthday the very next day (my parents are visiting right now) and it just seems like all out mayhem. Mostly, Rex's birthday got celebrated. We kind of celebrated my mom's birthday with Rex and we kind of celebrated the next day too but neither was all that great, I'm afraid. I'm also sorry to say that Rob made breakfast and dinner that day and didn't even have a present to open. But that was only because he got his present in April (golf clubs) as his Father's Day/birthday/and-maybe-even-Christmas-too present.



Rex had a good time, I think. He had his dinosaur cake which I will make him every year. Well, actually I managed to sweet talk his Papa into making the cake since I was busy with Wyatt. He opened his presents after that. Rob did most of the birthday present shopping so he got Flarp (putty that makes a fart noise when you stick your finger in it that he actually is not even old enough to play with yet), a bubble gun, magnetic letters for the fridge (the kid seriously already knows about half the alphabet- hopefully this will help him learn the rest), and a rubber duckie and boat for the bath. I got him a set of Curious George dvds a while back so I wrapped those up for him too. Here are some birthday photos.






That's Rob playing with the Flarp in the background- guess who he really got it for?


So it was a busy weekend to say the least. I think everybody had a good time though. As I mentioned earlier, my parents are here visiting right now. Actually, they are on a little road trip for a few days but they will be back tonight. They got to meet Wyatt and are having fun with Rex too- he is a lot different than the last time they saw him in November! We are enjoying visiting with them as well and it is sooo nice to have helpers in the house again! Wyatt seems to be going through his 6-week growth spurt a little early so I better get back to my duties.

Like Father, Like Son

We get a lot of comments about how Wyatt looks so much like Rex. And he does. But here is who he really looks like.



That is Rob at 3 months old. Here is a picture of Wyatt that I took yesterday.



I was trying to prop Wyatt up so the pictures would be really similar but he just kept sinking down so that didn't really work out. I'm glad Wyatt looks like Rob- Rex looks a lot like me and now we each have our own mini-me. Ha!

My parents arrived yesterday and it is so good to see them. It has been nearly a year since they were here last. And I'm not gonna lie, it is also really nice to have some helpers around again. We haven't been up to much lately. I think I have only been out twice since Wyatt was born- once to a doctor appointment and once to get my Powerball ticket (I will win the jackpot one of these days- I will!). Rob is doing so great with taking care of all the shopping, making dinner and doing the dishes. I have such a wonderful husband! Oh, by the way, Wyatt is 4 weeks old today. I can hardly believe it- time is just flying by. And Rex will be 2 on Sunday. Wow. And I would like a nap now while the boys are both asleep so I better get to it. Goodnight!

Naptime

Holy cow- both kids are asleep right now and I have a few quick moments to blog. I wasn't sure when I would have a chance again. Rob's parents were here to visit and help us while Wyatt was born. They were so much help to us and it was a sad day when they left this Tuesday. To make matters worse, that was the day I got sick. Little infection, lot of fever and a total mess. I got some antibiotics from the doctor and am on the mend now but it's been a really rough few days at our house. Tuesday was also the day we had Wyatt's 2-week-old check up with the pediatrician. He's quite the healthy guy and healthy eater- he gained 13 ounces in 11 days. Everything looked good and there were no shots- just the kind of appointments we like to have. I got this picture of him a few days ago with his eyes open (a rare thing since he sleeps so much of the time). Very serious baby.



Rob's dad helped him build a gate and trellis on the side of our house. We used to have one there but it was falling apart and the paint was peeling off the thing so Rob took it out a while back. Now that we have a little boy who likes to run around the yard, it seemed like a really good idea to get that gate back up. The little boy who caused all the work decided to pitch in.

He helped dig the holes for the posts with his dad.


Then he decided he would rather sit back and supervise...


And let somebody else do all the work.


The three of them did a great job- it is coming together very nicely though it isn't quite done yet.


So, to recap, Wyatt is doing great, I am getting better, and Rob and Rex make a good team. I'm even managing to do okay with the two of them while Rob is at work and I'm on my own. It should seem like cake then once I'm feeling good again, right? We took a walk today and I used the double stroller to tote around my boys. With 90+ pounds of stroller, car seat and kids to push around, I was surprised at how easy it was to steer and maneuver. There are a couple of places where we go uphill some and that was tough but besides that, it was not bad.



Wyatt should be getting up soon so I better wrap this up. Don't want him to wake up, start crying and then wake his brother up too! But first, one more picture of my two boys.