Collecting a few bumps and bruises...

Jake has taken a beating this week... On Monday, Sam accidentally hit him square in the head with a big wooden wagon thing - right with the corner. Jake cried, but 'recovered' really quickly. However, the wagon left an INDENTION in his little head. I believe I held my composure quite well (we were at a friend's house), and gave it a minute to see if it would raise up - it did, and the goose egg has come and gone. See? This was just a few hours after the incident!

Today, we got a page at church (they give us pagers so they can get in touch with us if they need us) that said "Please Come." Trying not to panic (we have gotten a few of these for Sam b/c he wouldn't stop crying), we hurry to the nursery area. We weren't sure which child we were being paged for, but a lady met us at the entrance and told us that Jake had fallen and hit his head. That there's a little cut, but he had already stopped crying. He had fallen on the corner of a play mat. Jake's recovery time, I don't believe, is indicative of what could actually be wrong (our favorite 'saying' for Jake is: "I had heart surgery, this is nothing!" b/c he doesn't cry much when he's hurt). We get him back (he was tired b/c of no nap, so a little fussy anyway), and he's just fine. He does have a cut over his eye, a bruise on his forehead, and a 'black' eye. He must have hit really hard.... to have caused all of that AND for them to call us (trust me - the hit with the wagon was bad, but didn't leave nearly that much aftermath!). We signed an 'Accident Report' - that did it for me - I knew then that it must have been a hard hit for them to fill that out! Poor little guy - he's been through it!!!
Mama and Daddy came and kept the boys while we went to a wedding last night. It was a lovely wedding (Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Serio), and it was really nice to have an 'adult evening'..... The boys and Mimi and Pop Pop went to Toys R Us (and surprisingly didn't come back with the entire store), and to Five Guys for dinner....... what more could a little boy ask for??? We told Sam Mimi and Pop Pop were coming while he was eating lunch, but we said that they wouldn't come if he didn't take a good nap (heeheehee!). Sam immediately unbuckled, lowered himself to the ground and started rubbing his eyes saying, "I'm sleepy!" He proceeded to leave half of his PB&J (NEVER does THAT), and went upstairs. Before one of us could get there, he was already in his bed! It was all BJ could do to get him out of bed to use the potty! AND - here's the BEST part - he went right to sleep! It was the funniest thing!!!!!


It rained the other night, so Sam was sad that he couldn't go out and play. BJ took him in the garage and showed him how to make footprints. He yelled to me when I came out, "Look Mommy! I'm making put-frints!" He was so excited!!!!


BJ had to put Sam in time out for sitting on Jake (!?), and Sam sat there for just a little bit. He got up, and when BJ caught him, he asked "Who told you to get up?" Very seriously and matter-of-factly Sam replied, "Jake." Guess Jake has a few more words than we were aware of!?


Sam's teacher called the other day! He will be starting school in just over a week!!!!! I can't believe it! She emailed me a supply list, and I was reading it and told BJ, "He's gonna need a bag.... that HE can carry!!!!!!!!!!!" Boo! Hoo!!!! I haven't cried or anything - I really think he'll enjoy it, and if he likes it, I will too! But I was just picturing my little boy carrying his little bag with him to school!!!!! Awwwwww......

I fed Sam some chicken nuggets in the shape of dinosaurs, and he informed me that he had those at the airport! That was when Pop Pop took him flying a couple of months ago! And he also informed me that Bo had fed him (they had met Bo for lunch)! Wow! That kid remembers everything! Out of the blue, he'll tell me details of something he has done.... like riding in Bo's caddy, riding the four wheeler with whomever, flying the King Air, visiting the airport, etc. If it comes to his mind, it comes out of his mouth!!!! He amazes me everyday!!!!


More pictures...


I was trying to get a picture of Jake's 'Wal-Mart' teeth. Can you tell his two middle ones are missing and it's just his left incisor that's poked through? It's pretty funny!

Jake's pushing and walking.... man - it happened so fast. Seems like he just started crawling!?
This was just a few days after the one above - doesn't take him long!!!!AND Jake can climb UP the slide. Came into the playroom and he was halfway up one time (and for the record, it's not like I leave Jake alone to play or anything - he's just that fast!!!!!)This was one of Sam's favorite toys too!? It's Stormie's Santa Clause... one of her favorites too! Wonder if they still make this one - maybe I should stock up!?
Stormie won... this time ---- actually, Jake got distracted by something else - probably the slide!

Jake being happy... and cute!
Who says I'm old? I do believe we need a bigger one, though - the Hummer was a tight squeeze! (That's Rocky's tail fluffing up in the picture, by the way!) Sam was so funny saying, "Mommy's driving my Hummer!"My 'purpose' in driving it was to go plug it up b/c it was 'running out of gas.' WELLLLL.... it ran out before I made it back to the barn! Daddy was there to rescue me, though, and I got a good (long) push back to the plug!!!!Sam loves his Aunt Jen... and the four wheelers!!!!
Jake loves to ride the four wheelers too! Go figure!Sam and his John Deere tractors... playing in the dirt again!Jake and Pop Pop were laughing at themselves throwing the water bottle back and forth!
Sam is such a good driver now!SOOOO, we let Jake go for a ride too!!!! HAHAHA!!!! Daddy held onto Jake as Sam drove! But he loved it!!!!I get asked a lot what my brother is up to..... this is about it! Yep, that's a tree in the bottom corner, and he was pulling up at this point!!!!! He is a really good pilot!!!!!
And he's into operating heavy machinery... with the help of The Reverend Jack A Roo Lancaster the First!And who says a little bit of Jet Fuel hurt anything? OR that a chimania requires that the fire be CONTAINED? That's pretty much Bo - don't half#$$ anything - it's all or nothing!!!!!!That's about all I got for now...

Oh! Happy Day(s)!

I may be speaking too soon, but as of today, we are all healthy! Woo! Hoo!

Sam was eating lunch the other day and piped up and said, "I'm just giving you a heads-up for Christmas, Mommy." I must have looked at him funny, and asked him to repeat what he said. He repeated it, and I acknowledged how much Santa will appreciate his 'heads-up'!!!!! Where did he get that from? The day before he had started his Christmas list, so maybe I said something then about a 'heads-up'!?

Today, I had the Olympics on while Sam was eating his lunch. I TRY to keep the T.V. off during the day - with Jake that's a little more difficult - but I was curious what was on with the Olympics. It was track and field (yuck!), and they were running hurdles. Sam looked up and asked, "Why are they running?" and then "What are they jumping over?" I explained that they were running for no reason - just racing each other and jumping over hurdles. (my kid - my explanations!!! =) Sam studied them for awhile and replied, "Maybe we can run jump over those tootles later!?" My answer: "Sure we can!"

I always want Sam and Jake to feel that they can do anything! SO, if they want to run jump over tootles later, that is what we'll do!!!!

We used the last of the 'Mommy Milk' yesterday. It's bitter-sweet! If I could have just pumped a few weeks more, Jake may have never had to taste formula (not that formula is a bad thing - it's more that it was a mental challenge to me!). On the other hand, I NEEDED to stop pumping. My body couldn't take it anymore.... and I don't think BJ could have either! Either way - I'm not sorry nor do I regret my decisions. So Jake drinks formula for a month or so... not a big deal!!!! He actually seems to like it! He's such a big boy that I can probably start him on whole milk sooner than later! That will be GREAT!!!! I'm ready to be done with bottles!!!

Pictures...

This is when we went to the farm week before last.... when the boys were getting over their colds. It doesn't take much to entertain them there - just a basket of cut-up PVC pipes!!!???

And then put the crawling baby in said basket to keep him contained.... with the snot sucker to keep him happy!!!Uh, Oh! Big brother spotted him.... I'm hearing the theme song to Jaws here!!!See? Now he's bumping the basket. Checking out his prey!

Yep, there he goes! At this point, I had to put the camera down and help intervene!Now they're back to good again!!! I'm loving the open mouths!? See Sam's "towers" in the background? Sam has a big imagination! I think those were control towers for Jeremy ("Jermy") the Jet!

Jake LOVES the bike! I was nervous at first and walked beside him holding onto him. I got braver and braver, and he was holding on and riding just like a big boy! Awwwww..... Mommy learned to let go a little!Pure concentration!

I forget why he had no clothes on.... he probably puked on himself!!!!Jake has now (barely) become successful with eating puffs and not choking (and mommy having a heart attack while RIPPING him out of his high chair to flip him over to beat his back). SOOOO.... let's not just be happy with that - oh no - it's time to move onto Cheerios!

He's doing WONDERFUL with them! He is so methodical. He picks them up with his two little fingers and puts it in his mouth --- one at a time!It actually can entertain him for quite awhile!!!! If he sees the bag of Cheerios, he goes NUTS.... that Laterveer temper (about food) is coming out!!! ;) Cause we all know I don't have one at all!
Look at me Mom!Hee Hee! I can do it!!!!

AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! First, Jake gets Rosiola (virus that becomes a rash, but is no longer contagious once you see the rash and know what it is), then Sam and Jake both get colds that last for 7 days (at the same time), THEN Jake got ANOTHER rash - that appeared when we got to the dr for his check-up on Wednesday - so far no side effects, and it was basically gone the next day. THEN, Stormie broke out into hives or SOMETHING last night. She itched all night in between doses of Benadryl - which entailed me or BJ rubbing her constantly to keep her from scratching herself to death. Jake woke up last night for an hour or so (WHILE STORMIE WAS SLEEPING - once we got Jake down, Stormie started again!). Took Stormie to the dr this morning ($200 later, she has a shot and medicine and will be just fine - so they say - she may beg to differ!). Got Jake up from his nap and I thought he was warm so I took his temp. It was fine, but Sam wanted me to take his b/c he didn't want to be left out. HE HAS A LOW GRADE FEVER!!!!!!??? Might explain his wild/out-of-control behavior this morning!? What the heck am I doing wrong here???? GEEEEZ......

I PROMISE I am not making ANY of this up, nor am I exaggerating! It's been THREE WEEKS of this nonsense!?

Onto more fun stories...... pictures will have to come later!!!!

Jake is our "Wal-Mart Baby" as BJ likes to call him (I think it's more appropriate to label him our "Waffle House Baby") because he has FINALLY cut another tooth! BUT - it's the one to the left of his top middle ones (incisor tooth)! So he's a little snaggle-tooth looking!!!! Maybe the middle ones will cut through soon so he doesn't look so funny!!!!!

Sam is already telling me what he wants Santa to bring him (in detail)! He was pooping yesterday, and as we were examining the fact that there was corn in his poop, he was running down the list: a BIG tool bench with BLUE tools (?), a jeep like Mark's (from across the street), and tractors with tracks. Okee Dokee...... Santa's crafty and can do anything, right?????


I was getting onto Sam the other day because he was trying to squeeze behind the crib. After the 10th time, I told him he was going to get a spanking if he went back there again (the 'mommy light' should have come on after the 2nd or 3rd time, I realize!). He looked at me and said, "You don't understand Mommy! Jake's paci is back there!" OHHHHHH..... once I got it out, he didn't try to go back there again. Mind you, HE'S the one who put it back there in the first place!!!!!

That's all I have time to write down for now. Jake's chewing on electrical cords and Sam is upstairs singing to himself to try and keep himself awake - must tend to the kiddies!!!

What are the odds?

How the heck can these two get sick at EXACTLY the same time... isn't one supposed to give it to the other? I thought that was how it works!?

Apparently, I am wrong... again! Sam and Jake both woke up with runny noses yesterday morning, and the day progressively went downhill. Fussy, whiny, needy, you name it! Their little noses running like faucets. At the onset, I had a snot rag for each in a different pocket. About an hour in, I was confused, and figured it didn't really matter if I wiped one with the other's snot rag - the point is I wiped.

Not to mention that I woke up with a sore throat Monday morning too! (BJ's fine, of course - I'm not bitter... well kind of, but at least he can work with a clear head!)

To top off my day from H-E-L-L (does it count to just spell it on the computer too?), BJ's brother called at 4:30 and said he and BJ's dad were coming to load some furniture from our basement in a bit. SO... that entailed me outside with a squirming baby (that I couldn't put down b/c they had just treated the grass), and a running and super-busy toddler to chase while BJ helped them load the furniture (in a U-Haul van that it BARELY fit in)!!!!! UGGGG.... After that, I had to run to the drug store (ALONE - AHHHH) and pick up medicine for the kids. $40 later, I was home and it was bath time. BJ and I finally got to eat dinner at 9:30 and CRASH.... SOOOO healthy!!!

This is following a marginally sane weekend (the kids were - now I know - starting to get sick) and a TERRIBLE day Friday. Put it this way... BJ walked in (early - early for BJ is 5:30 - b/c I was going INSANE) and Jake was screaming, Sam was screaming, and I was getting onto Sam for telling me for the 10th time that he needed to poopie and he didn't really have to go. Yes, it is for attention. Mommy has to drop everything when he says he needs to poopie. Ugggg.... I still say it's better than the alternative (him poopie-ing in his pants for attention). But COME ON!!!!!!!!!

After quite a few long days in the Laterveer household, I now understand why Moms can potentially go off the deep end.

On a lighter note, I have created a time-out jail for Sam (a baby jail just big enough for him to sit in). It's in a room where he can't see us, and he's all alone and he can't get out. The first time I used it, I put him in it and went to the bathroom just around the corner. Jake crawled into the bathroom of course, and then I hear Sam's voice awfully close. Look up, and there he is, time-out jail and all. He walked around pulling the jail with him.... Sighhhhhhhh....

This morning, I went back upstairs to get Jake out of bed while Sam finished his breakfast. As I'm up there changing him, I hear Sam yelling, "Don't you play up there without me!" HAHAHA!!!

Today is a new day - hopefully a better day.... assuming naps go well! Let's all take a moment and pray!!!!! =)

Update Time!

Jake is climbing stairs now!!!!??? Last night, I said to BJ, "Jake's climbing stairs now." BJ's reply was, "I know!" Then, today, Jake had gotten up two stairs and BJ ran over to grab him, yelling, "Tammy! Jake can climb stairs now!" I must have looking at him like, "Yeah... I told you that already you nut-job!' Because he quickly said, "I thought you meant he was pulling up on the stairs!" GoodNESS - If that's what I meant then that's what I would have said!!!!!! HAHAHA! All that to say - baby gate relocation has commenced!!!!!

When I was ready to take Jake up for his afternoon nap today, I got HIM to climb the stairs...... by moving his bottle up one step at a time...... mean or genius????? =) We'll see how well he naps before answering that one!

Sam told me earlier today that Jake needed to go to time out. I asked why and he said, "Because Jake hit me, and that's not good!" Oh Boy! How do I explain that Jake doesn't have to do time out yet?????

Jake says, "Ma-Ma," "Da-Da," "Bu-Bu" (for Sam - BROTHER), "Ba-Ba" (bottle), and "Bye-Bye" (along with the cutest little wave!).... awwww.... my baby's growing up!!!!

So I finally did a Nine Month Photo Shoot! There were a lot of good ones... Jake's so happy and cute (but I AM a little biased)!!!!!

Where is that whale shark? Sam loves sleeping with Domino - that whale shark!!!

And Sam loves to get into my make-up when I'm not looking! This doesn't 'make his Daddy proud' but Mommy thought it was stinking hilarious!!!! He got my cover stick and put it on saying, "I need some lipstick!" HAHAHAHAHA!!!! As long as he's not doing it at 16, right?Sam and Jake are playing together more and more! Sam has 'reverted' back to crawling. They'll follow each other around that way... usually it's Sam running off and leaving Jake hollering, "Come on Jake!"

See? Sam passed right by him!Sam was hollering Jake's name from inside this box, and Jake thought it was the funniest thing ever!And Jake drinks fairly well from the sippy cup now! MAN - they grow up SO FAST!!!!! TOO fast!!!! He'll be 10 months old at the end of the week!?

Getting a picture where we're all looking at the camera with a pleasant expression is next to impossible!!!
You gotta have a good bye-bye shot!