Long, Fun Day 2

It was another long, fun day.

We had the boys' birthday party today. It was very nice and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Grandma, Papa, Noah, and I drove back to Dallas together in my car. We got to Dallas about 10pm.

Noah and I will be in Dallas this week since I have a bunch of check ups scheduled.

Here are some pictures and video from today.

Birthday Pictures added to Mike and Jen Shower and Birthday Weekend Pictures

Long, Fun Day

Today was a good day, but very long. We had a full, fun day.

Evan had a baseball game this morning and then we had a baby shower for Michael and Jen.

Here are pictures and a video.


Michael and Jen's Baby Shower Online Photo Album

Getting Ready for a Big Weekend

This morning Noah wanted Aunt Jen to come to school for drop off. After dropping Noah off at school, I dropped Jen back off at home and ran some errands. I went to the bank, library, and Michael's.

When I got back home I started getting things ready for the parties this weekend.

Grandma and Papa got here around 2:30 and Grandma came with me to get Evan at school. Evan was very happy to see her and ran up and hugged her.

Evan and Noah stayed at home with Uncle Mike and Aunt Jen while Grandma, Papa, and I went to HEB.

Today is Michael's birthday and to celebrate we went to dinner at Trattoria Lisina. Aaron and Mandy also met us there. It was a good time and the boys were well behaved.

Evan and Noah are ready for bed now, but not yet asleep.

Finally Sitting Down

It's been a busy day.

This morning Morry and I put dirt and rocks down in the backyard.

I gave Noah lunch and we went to Sports Class. He had fun.

Then, Noah and I went to Starbucks. I got a coffee for me and a cake pop for him.

We had a 2:00 appointment for Noah to see the therapist. He seemed to have a good time and felt comfortable there.

After that Noah and I went to Sams Club to get stuff for this weekend.

We came home for just a little bit. We filled the pinata and then left for Evan's baseball practice.

Morry left at the same time to go to a meeting.

After practice we stopped at HEB to order the birthday cakes.

Evan's school was having a Hawaiian party tonight. Evan wanted to go so we came near the end. Evan had a great time running around with his friends. They also sold shaved ice, so all 3 of us got a cup.

We came home and I gave Evan dinner. Noah said he didn't want any.

I just gave the boys baths, got them ready for bed, and now I'll read to them.

Michael and Jen should be here any minute.

Errands with Morry

Today was a busy day.

This morning I dropped Noah off at school and then went to drop off the car to get the mirror fixed.

We had someone come to clean the house today and once Morry showed her what needed to be cleaned he came and picked me up.

We went to Fiesta to get a pinata for the birthday party. Then, we went to Home Depot. After that we went to my Pilates class. Morry was able to sit in the lounge area and get some work done.

Then, we went back to the car place. Morry dropped me off and picked up Noah from school. The car was ready when we got there, so I didn't really have to wait.

At 2:00 I had a phone/web focus group thing that only lasted about 20 minutes.

I left the house at 2:30 to get Evan.

I was home for just a little bit and then I left to tutor. Gabby came over to babysit.

Morry and the boys had pasta for dinner. When I got home I had leftover Blue Bamboo.

The boys are asleep now.

Noah's 4th Birthday

Noah was in a good mood today.

We kept asking him what he wanted to do today and he would just say, "I don't know." We gave him a few suggestions. He finally decided he wanted to have lunch at McDonalds.

We had an appointment at Wonders and Worries at 10am, which Noah was looking forward to. He enjoyed it there and then we met Morry at McDonalds. Morry and I didn't want to eat there so we just ordered food for Noah. Noah ate some there and then we went to Brugger's Bagels nearby so Morry and I could eat lunch. We sat outside to eat and Noah finished his food there.

After lunch we went to Rita's Italian Ice and all got water ice (as Morry calls it). It happened to be free as a First Day of Spring promotion they were having.

We went home and Noah was happy just sitting and watching tv. His stomach was bothering him and I think that's part of why he didn't want to do anything.

I got Evan from school and we went to the book fair. Evan picked out two books. He got Pete the Cat and some other book about space.

At home the boys were happy playing wii and Leapster and just hanging out.

Noah said he wanted to eat at home for dinner. Morry picked up Little Caesars for the boys and Blue Bamboo for us.

After dinner we played in the cul-de-sac for a little bit.

The boys are finishing up their baths now and then we'll put them to bed.

Here's video from Noah's birthday today.

Noah's Birthday Party at School

This morning Noah was good. He was in a good mood and didn't fight going to school.

After Morry and I dropped off Noah we met with a counselor to talk about Noah. She didn't really offer any suggestions. She just wanted to get all the information on Noah's behavior and what we have tried. Noah has an appointment with her on Thursday.

Toward the end of Noah's school day Morry and I came by celebrate Noah's birthday. We brought cupcakes and sherbert for the kids. Noah liked the attention and enjoyed having us there.

After school, Noah and I went to the bank and library. He fell asleep in the car on the way home and then slept more on the couch in the game room once we got home.

I got Evan from school and on the way home he told me he wanted to go out and buy Noah a present with his own money. I said we could do that before dinner.

While Morry got dinner ready, I took Evan to target. He got his bag of money and told me he would pick out a toy for Noah and himself that we each under $10. He picked out Matchbox cars for Noah and Star Wars Fighter Pods for himself. He paid with his own cash at the checkout.

For dinner we had leftover tacos.

I tutored and Morry put the boys to bed.

I got home around 9pm and they were still up, though it seems to be quiet now.

Here are some pictures from today.

Trying to get Bluebonnet Pics

We thought we would go to the Wildflower Center, let the boys run around, and get some nice pics with the bluebonnets. Noah threw a little fit while we were getting ready to go. He didn't want to get dressed. He didn't want to go. We told him we were going anyway and if that meant wearing his pajamas to the Wildflower Center, that's how it would be. He finally let Morry get him dressed.

Noah was cranky at the Wildflower Center. He didn't want to walk and made Morry carry him. He threw fits when we were walking because that wasn't the way he wanted to go. Of course, we couldn't get any pictures of him.

We only ended up staying for a short time.

We came home, ate lunch, and then Morry took Evan to baseball practice.

When they got home they went outside to play baseball some more but then it started to rain.

Morry had a phone meeting this afternoon so the boys and I went to HEB.

When we got home we told the boys it was time to clean up while we made dinner. Like always, Noah threw a fit and did not clean up at all. We told them we would do movie night if they cleaned up. Evan cleaned up quickly. The plan was to just watch the movie with Evan, but since it was getting late we started watching ET during dinner. The boys seemed to like it and Noah was pretty good during the movie. I don't know how we could have kept him from the movie without a major tantrum and we just didn't feel like dealing with that tonight.

The boys are in bed now and hopefully go to sleep soon.

Here are some pictures from today.

Haircuts

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

The boys went to bed very late last night.  For some reason, after the Parents Night Out at the Little Gym, both Evan and Noah came home very wired.  Noah was in our room after midnight telling us it was morning and therefore he did not need to sleep.  He did eventually go to sleep.  They woke up a bit after 8am.

I came downstairs when I got up and made some phone calls and did some stuff I needed to do while the boys played Wii.

Rachel came down and we had some brunch.  After that, we took the boys to the Wildflower Park.

The boys needed haircuts and they always fight going to get their hair cut.  So we decided we'd pay a bit extra and go to Cool Cuts 4 Kids.  We went there after the park.  When the kids sit down, they choose whether they want to watch a movie or play a video game.  At each station they have a tv and a game console.  Both Evan and Noah chose to play the Lego Star Wars video game.  As we were driving over there, Noah was throwing a fit that he didn't want to go, but once he was in there and saw all the things, it was almost hard to get him to leave.  He loved it there.

The boys did not really rest during "nap" time.  They ended up playing some more Wii.

For dinner we had a Groupon for Trattoria Lisina.  We went over there at 5:30 but we were told it was an hour and 45 minute wait.  They said they might be able to get us in at the counter but that never materialized.  We waited a bit to see if that would work out.  They have a playscape there now so the boys were fine playing.  But after a while they told us we'd have to wait the full time.  So we left and went to dinner at Craig O's.  We also had a group coupon there.  The boys ate very well.

We came home and got the boys ready for bed.  They are still awake though.

Until next time...

Another Parent's Night Out

This morning Noah threw a little bit of a fit about going to school. Morry got him dressed and in the car. After that he was ok.

I was trying to think of something to do with Evan today. We decided to go to an indoor mini golf place. We were getting ready to leave and the doorbell rang. It was Jack and he asked Evan to ride bikes with him in the cul-de-sac. Evan decided he'd rather do that, so I met Jack, his sister, and their babysitter in the street. They all played for a while and then Jack came over to our house for about an hour. It worked out well.

While Evan ate lunch I went to get Noah from school. Noah had a good day.

Tonight, we did the Parent's Night Out at the Little Gym. While the kids were there, Morry and I ate dinner at Gumbo's, had dessert at Mozart's, and then got a few things at Target.

The boys had fun. We just got them ready for bed, but they are pretty awake right now.

Sports Class

This morning we had a guy come by to fix out outdoor lighting.

It was a overcast and little bit drizzly at times, so the boys and I just stayed home this morning.

We all went to Noah's sports class. They did baseball again today and Noah had fun. Evan watched some and played Angry Birds on my phone.

We stayed at home this afternoon and they boys played a lot of wii. Well, Evan plays and Noah watches.

For dinner we had barbecue chicken and couscous.

The boys just had Popsicles for dessert.

Hanging out with Evan

Noah had school today. We all dropped him off and ran some errands with Morry. We went to the bank and the post office. Then, we got Smoothie King. I had to run a few errands too, but promised Evan McDonalds for lunch. We went to Kohls and Bed Bath and Beyond. On the way home I got a Happy Meal for Evan.

We picked up Noah from school and went to Wonders and Worries. Ali met with Evan and Noah separately. Ali let each of the boys pick a box of Girl Scout cookies.

Then, we stopped at body repair shop to get an estimate on fixing on side mirrors on the van.

Morry and the boys played Super Mario Brothers and then ate dinner.

We are going to give the boys a bath and then put them to bed.

Spring Training Trip To Florida

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Evan, Noah and I just got back from our annual trip to Florida to see the Pirates at Spring Training.  This year, Noah made his first trip.  As always we met Zayde down there, but we were also joined by my good friend Mike Gordon.  Mike and his wife Darcy used to join us when schedules were easier to match up.  So it was good to have Mike spend the weekend with us.

Rachel got a much-needed and well-deserved four-day break from the boys in her life.

The boys and I flew down on Friday and they were really well behaved on the plane.  We met up with Zayde, rented the car, and then met Mike at TGI Fridays at the airport.  From there we drove down to Bradenton.

On Saturday morning, we got up and went over to play miniature golf.  Evan loves this course.  It's supposed to be on a pirate ship.  They actually have live alligators on the course (in a fenced in area) that you can feed.  The first person to get a hole-in-one was Noah.  It was really a great shot.  He was very excited.  All of us eventually got at least one hole-in-one.

We got some brunch and headed over to the ballpark to see the Pirates play the Twins.  The boys got all the goodies there.  They had cotton candy, popcorn, icees, frozen lemonade, Gatorade.  They were very happy.  They also got to see the Pirate Parrot, and Zayde bought them some stuff at the Pirates store.

For dinner, we brought home food from Joey D's Pizzeria.

On Sunday, we drove to Mike's cousin's - David Glosser's - house.   When we pulled up, David was waiting outside.  He introduced himself to the boys and told them he had a job for them.  He needed to pick oranges and grapefruits for our breakfast and he needed the boys help.  They boys loved going out in their backyard and picking fruit.  Also, a family of eagles had made a nest in one of their trees.  We were able to see one of the eagles flying.  It was huge.

From there, we drove to Port Charlotte where we saw the Pirates play the Tampa Bay Rays.  The big star for the Rays is named Evan Longoria.  When Longoria came up to bat, you could hear people yell "Come on, Evan!"  I think Evan liked that.  They had a playground at that field so the boys played on the playground some.

We drove from there up to Tampa where we had dinner at Flemings and Evan ate most of one pound of Alaskan King Crab legs.  We dropped Mike off at the airport and drove home.

On Monday morning, we drove over to Pirate City to watch the minor leaguers practice and then drove up to Clearwater to see Winter the dolphin.  Winter was the subject of the movie A Dolphin Tale.  Evan absolutely loved it and asked to fly to Florida so he could see Winter on his birthday.  Noah said it was "boring".

We got up early this morning and flew back to Austin.  The boys still seem hyper though.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

Rodeo Day

Today, the kindergarten classes had Rodeo Day. They had the cafeteria set up with lots of different activities. The kids rotated in groups and did square dancing, pin the horns on the bull, pictures, sack races, stick horse races, horseshoes, and milk the cow. Below you can see some video.

Noah was good most of the day. He was excited to go to sports class and did well there.

After sports class he and I went to HEB.

I dropped Noah off at home and picked up Evan.

Evan was supposed to have a baseball game today, but it was canceled because of the rain. They didn't make the decision until both teams were already at the field.

Morry picked up Blue Bamboo on their way home from the canceled game.

Noah fell asleep on the couch while they were gone and woke up super cranky. He threw a fit lasting around 45min and we couldn't even figure out what he was so worked up about.

Soon, we'll get the kids ready for bed.

Here's some video and pictures from today.

Better Noah and Errands

Noah was good this morning. He woke up early, but was in a good mood and went to school without a fight.

While Noah was at school I ran some errands and went to my Pilates class.

Noah was in a good mood at pick up.

I got Evan at school and he was also in a good mood.

Gabby came over at 4pm and I tutored.

While I was tutoring tonight Morry and the boys picked up pizza from Little Caesars and went to Petco.

I got home a little after 8pm. Morry had gotten the boys ready for bed.

They are both asleep now.

Wonders and Worries

This morning Noah was pretty good. He didn't eat much for breakfast and said his stomach was hurting. He was acting ok otherwise, so I'm not sure how much it was really hurting.

We went to Wonders and Worries today. Noah seemed to have a good time. On the way out Ali asked Noah to count to 10 slowly anytime his stomach was hurting him. He asked Noah to try it there, but he wouldn't. Then, Ali asked Noah which he liked best - bee, monkey, or ladybug. Noah chose ladybug. Ali went in the closet and pulled out a ladybug Pillow Pet for Noah. Noah was very excited. He's been asking for that particular one for a while. Noah also got to pick one out for Evan. He choose the bee for Evan. Ali said Noah should hug the ladybug anytime his stomach starts hurting him.

After Wonders and Worries Noah and I went to Sams Club and then came home and had lunch.

Noah stayed at home while I got Evan at school.

Evan had baseball practice tonight. Morry said he did well at practice.

When they got home we had leftover pasta for dinner.

We just gave the boys a shower and now Morry is reading to them.

Better Day for Noah

This morning Noah was pretty good. He started to throw a fit when I wanted to get him dressed. He said he wanted Morry to get him dressed. Morry got him dressed and we went to school with no other problems.

Noah seemed to have a good day at school. He stayed at home while I left to get Evan. Evan was in a pretty good mood.

Blanca came at 3:45 and I tutored.

While we were getting dinner ready Evan played out side with some of the neighborhood kids. For dinner we had pasta.

The boys are playing Wii and soon we'll get them ready for bed.

Alamo Drafthouse

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

With Grandma and Papa here, there was lots of fresh fruit.  Evan took full advantage and ate a ton of fruit this morning.  He essentially ate enough to feed him through lunch.  Meanwhile, Noah ate 3 Eggo Waffles.

I had a call this morning with a client while this was going on.

Today was a "training day" for the Alamo Drafthouse on Slaughter Lane.  Their soft opening is on March 8 while their grand opening is on March 22.  But today they were having $2 movies with half-priced food.  We had gotten tickets to see Happy Feet 2.  We got over there early in case it was really crowded.  It wasn't too bad.  Before we were seated, I began talking with one of the manager.  She offered to take, Evan, Noah and me on a little tour.

You could tell it was training.  There were some mix-ups with the food.  But you can't beat it for the price.  It is definitely, by far, the nicest Alamo Drafthouse.  It's great that it's right by our house.

When we got home, Grandma and Papa left.  I had to do some work while the boys played outside.

Rachel and I had eaten a lot so we didn't feel like dinner but we told the boys that if they cleaned up before dinner, we could go to Rita's Water Ice.  Evan cleaned up everything by himself, while Noah threw a massive fit that lasted until we left for Rita's.  In that time, not only did Evan clean up his room and the game room, he also had his dinner.

We told Noah he was not allowed to have anything at Rita's.  He seemed ok with it until we got into Rita's.  I ended up eating my water ice in the car with him because he was not behaving in the store.

By the time we got home, he had calmed down.  I think he'll go to sleep well. I don't hear any noise upstairs.

Until next time...

Blog Post for March 3

We were about to go to sleep and we just realized we didn't write the blog today. It was a nice, busy day.

Evan had a lot of baseball stuff today.

We met Aunt Susan and Aunt Diane for lunch.

Grandma and Papa took care of the boys tonight so that Morry and I could go out.

Ok, going to bed now.

Good night.

Warm Afternoon

This morning I took Evan to school so Morry could sleep in a little. All went well. Evan was in a good mood.

Noah went to school without any major problems. He complained a little, but it wasn't too bad.

Both boys had good days at school.

When I got home from picking up Evan from school Grandma and Papa had just gotten to our house.

The boys were excited to see them.

It was warm out today. It was 81 degrees. Evan and Papa went outside so that Evan could ride his bike. Papa was impressed with how much Evan has improved since the last time they saw him.

For dinner we tried a new place called Senor Buddy's. It's near us and only has outdoor seating. Noah threw a fit leaving the house, but once we got there he was ok.

We just got home and we'll get the boys ready for bed soon.

More Noah

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning seemed back to his normal self.  Yesterday he seemed like he was moving more slowly.  But today, he was energetic when he got up and was excited to go to school.  When I dropped him off at the cafeteria, Ben and Jack were there.  Evan didn't even look up to say goodbye.

Noah continued his ways of not wanting to do anything when he got up.  Rachel wanted to go for a walk.  He initially said he would go but then changed his mind.  His energy level is really low.

The concerning part was that when it was time to go to sports class, he didn't want to go.  Throughout all of this, sports class was the one thing Noah never fought.  He loves it.  We made him go thinking when he got there, he might perk up.  At first I sat with him while they were working on hockey.  Then Rachel said with him.  But he refused to participate.  After about 20 minutes, we left.  He seemed extremely lethargic on the way home.

When we got home, Rachel called the doctor and made an appointment for him for about 30 minutes later.  I took Noah to the doctor.  The doctor looked at him and his ears.  He said that Noah didn't have any fluid in his ears and that overall he looked fine.  He then wanted to have some bloodwork done.  They take blood in the office.  Noah sat in my lap when they went to take blood. I didn't warn him that it would hurt.  I didn't want to give him anxiety.  Like me, Noah seemed to have good veins.  They asked me to wrap my arms around Noah.  They stuck the needle in him and he started to whine.  But it turns out that he didn't whine because it hurt.  He said my arm was too close to his neck.  He looked over and he saw this thing coming out of his arm.  He calmly asked what it was.  They pointed to the vial and said it was his blood.  He seemed very curious, not at all concerned that something was in him.  The finished up and put the cotton swab on him and put the tape around it.  He asked why they were doing that.  They said they didn't want him to bleed since he had a cut.  He said he didn't have a cut.  It was hysterical.  They couldn't believe how tough he was.

The bloodwork came back negative.  The only thing that was even slightly off was his platelet count was a little high which was standard if he was getting over from being sick.  They are checking his thyroid as well but those results won't come back until tomorrow.  At this point they just think he's getting over being sick and that his energy hasn't come back.

We stopped and picked up Slurpees on the way home.

When we got home, Rachel told Noah he needed to be quiet for his nap.  He really fought with Rachel.  Eventually she got him in his room.

Rachel tutored tonight and I got dinner together for the boys.

When she got home, we put the boys to bed and then made dinner for ourselves.

Until next time...