Thanksgiving 2018

We had a fun week celebrating Thanksgiving with the family.

Sherah's family stayed with us from Wednesday through Saturday.

Thursday for Thanksgiving we went to Aunt Sandy and Uncle Marvin's house.

Friday night we had dinner at Grandma and Papa's house.

Saturday lunch was also at Grandma and Papa's.

Today, we mostly took it easy.  We had been petsitting for Luna and her family picked her up last night.  This morning we petsat for Nikko, our neighbor's Golden Retriever, while they moved to their new house.

Morry and I took the dogs on a long walk.

This afternoon the boys decorated shirts and a hat.

Then, they watched the Steelers game.

For dinner, we went to a Chinese restaurant with Grandma and Papa.

Now we are getting ready to go back to work and school tomorrow.

Here are some pictures from the last few days.

Another Long Day

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Evan's teammate Carter came over this morning around 7:20.  His brother was playing a baseball tournament in another part of town so they dropped Carter off for me to bring him to the game.  Evan, Carter and I stopped at Donut Taco Palace on the way up.

Rachel and Noah stopped by Aunt Susan's to see Sherah, JW and her kids before coming to see Evan play in his game.

The Bucs won the first game today.  It was a good game as we came from behind.

Rachel and Noah left after the first game and went back to Aunt Susan's.

In the second game, Evan played very well.  He made a beautiful throw over to get a runner out.  He fielded the ball almost on the third base bag and throw such a perfect throw to first that he beat the runner by about 3 or 4 steps.  In the final inning, Evan raced to get a foul ball near the dugout and dove in a way to avoid hitting the fence.  He just missed catching the ball.  Unfortunately, the other team was able to squeak out a win in their final at bat.

We had Coke ham for dinner.

After dinner, we went to Sweet Caroline's for shaved ice for the first time this year.

The boys are in bed.

Until next time...

Another Dallas Trip

We were in Dallas from Thursday until today.

Papa got tickets to the Texas Rangers baseball game so that is why we came in town.

We had a nice visit.

Papa, Morry, Evan, and Noah went to the Rangers game last night.

We saw Sherah and her boys Friday night.  We took it easy the rest of the time.

We got back to Austin this afternoon.  We went to HEB and picked up groceries for the week along with already prepared food for dinner for tonight.

The boys are in bed now.

Saying Goodbye

Today, Aunt Susan, Sherah, JW, Nolan, and Court came over to hang out with us and Grandma, Papa, and Bubbe. The boys played outside a lot. We picked up food from Salt Lick and ate lunch here at the house. I made pasta for the kids. The kids ate outside while the adults ate inside. It was a nice day.

Everyone left after lunch. Grandma, Papa, and Bubbe drove back to Dallas.

Evan and Noah played outside some more after everyone left. I printed out treasure maps that I found online for Evan. He hid them and then unburied them in the backyard.

For dinner we had leftover tacos from a few nights ago.

Evan and Noah are acting very tired and cranky right now. We are going to give them baths and then put them to bed.

Day of Cousins

This morning both boys got up somewhat early. I spent the morning cleaning up more. Evan watched as I made my bed and Noah’s bed. He said he wanted to make his own bed. He was very proud of himself. Here are a few pictures.

Also, lately Evan likes to style his own hair. He'll get his hair wet in the sink and then comb it. This morning I saw him helping Noah style his hair too. Very cute!

Sherah, JW, Nolan, and Court came over around 12. They picked up pizza from Little Caesars. Evan and Noah were so excited when they got here. The boys played very well together. After eating Sherah and I took Noah and Court party shopping. We went to Party City and Walmart to find some things for Lauren’s shower.

When we got home Noah was pretty tired so I put him down for a nap. They left pretty soon after.

Morry took Mottel to the vet today for a check up. Mottel has been shedding more than usual and they think it’s from his steroids, so they are lowering the dosage hoping to get him off them completely in a few months.

For dinner we went to Boston Market and then went to Matt and Rachael’s house for Rachael’s shower. We brought the kids with us. The men watched tv and the kids played upstairs mostly during the shower. At one point Noah was with the men and was eating grapes on a plate on the floor (there was no table in the room). Noah was jumping around and somehow tripped and ending falling and sitting right on the plate of grapes and smooshed them. Everyone thought it was pretty funny, even Noah.

We got home around 10pm and put the boys to bed. It has been a long day.

The last few days

Well, here’s what has happened the last few days.

Last Thursday, Evan’s class had their first field trip. I came along, as did most moms. We went to the Zilker Botanical Gardens. The kids had a great time, though were more interested in the rolly pollies than the flowers. Here are some pictures and videos - Evan's Class Field Trip

Thursday night we drove to Dallas.

I had my implant surgery on Friday. It was a lot better than I expected. I was just a little sore afterwards. I was even able to go to the park on Saturday.

Saturday night we went over to Sherah, JW, Nolan, and Court’s house. We had pizza for dinner and then went to Sonic for dessert. The boys had a great time playing with each other.

Morry flew home Sunday.

We saw Sherah and boys Monday and Tuesday as well. The boys were really excited to see each other each time.

Grandma/Lynn drove back with Evan, Noah, and me today. I’m not supposed to carry the boys so I needed the extra help.

Evan had his sports class tonight and then we ate dinner at home. We made one of those freeze and eat meals (mango cranberry chicken). It was good.

We just put the boys to bed. We are all glad to be back home. I hope they sleep better here than they did at Grandma and Papa’s house.

Kiddie Acres

This morning we met Aunt Susan, Sherah, JW, Nolan, and Court for lunch at Cheddars. Evan and Noah didn’t eat very much, but they did have a good time.

After lunch we went to Kiddie Acres. It’s a little amusement park for small kids. All of the boys had fun. They went on many rides and then had snow cones. Evan somehow managed to get the blue snow cone all over his face. He still has some on his face now. It wouldn’t come off. It was fun to see how well Evan, Noah, Nolan, and Court got along. I wish we lived closer to them.

We drove home for nap time. Noah took a nap. Evan played in the game room with his new Legos, a birthday present from Sherah and family.

For dinner we had the leftover stew from last week and I made some quinoa to go with it. Evan and Noah ate their leftover pasta from lunch.

After dinner we took a walk. It was still light out and the weather was nice. We stopped and talked to our neighbors, Billy and Jan, for a little bit. Evan walked almost the whole way. Noah sat in the stroller.

We just put Evan and Noah to bed. They are both still making noises. I hear Noah playing with his new Woody doll.

Sherah’s Family

This morning I dropped Evan off at school and then Noah and I came home. I called Sherah. She and her family got into Austin late last night. They were going to Jungle Java (an indoor playground) so Noah and I met up with them. There were a ton of kids there. It’s was very crowded. Noah had a great time going down the slide with Sherah. He wanted to do it over and over again. They all went to lunch after that but I needed to head home so that I could pick up Evan from school.

Noah and I picked up Evan and then we came home for naps. Noah slept. Evan watched tv in the game room.

For dinner we drove to Aunt Susan’s house and ate Rudy’s barbecue. The boys had a great time playing together. We are going to get together with them again tomorrow.

We got home late. It is now 10:15. We just put Evan and Noah to bed.

Back Home in Austin

Evan didn’t go to sleep until 11pm last night. Noah was up once in the middle of the night. I didn’t sleep so well because I was hurting.

This morning I got everything packed up and loaded the car.

Evan, Noah, and I went over to Sherah’s house. Evan and Noah had a great time playing with Nolan and Court. Sherah picked up pizza and Starbucks coffee. We had a nice lunch. We stayed until about 2pm and then drove back to Austin from there.

It was not a very pleasant car ride. Evan was ok, but Noah was very whiny and cried a lot. I was so glad to get him home and out of the car.

Morry picked up Torchy’s Tacos for us for dinner. He made nuggets for the boys. Noah didn’t eat any. He cried in his highchair. We took him out so at least we could eat our dinner in peace.

I unpacked the boys’ stuff and then we got them ready for bed.

They are both in bed now, but Evan has already come out of his room.

Sunday the 13th

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Rachel said she's doing a bit better than yesterday. She was nauseous but she was very achy from the Nuelasta shot. Right now she has a very slight fever and we're wondering whether the shot is actually doing that to her because the same thing happened last time. But other than that she is ok.

This morning, Evan came into our room at 7:30 or so. Grandma/Lynn and Papa/Lenny forcibly removed him so that Rachel and I could get some rest. Apparently, he was good once he got downstairs. Both boys ate a good breakfast including blue eggs and ham.

When I got up, I took the boys outside to swing. It had rained yesterday, but I dried off the swings. Lizzy had pooped right next to Evan's swing and he stepped right in it. I cleaned his shoes off and then pushed Noah while Evan did swung himself.

We came inside and played some and then had lunch. The boys ate ok, considering they had a big breakfast.

Evan and Noah both were good when it was time to put them down for naps.

When they woke up, Evan wanted to play Wii. He played all the sports on there and had Grandma help him pick out the games he wanted to play. Noah was happy watching Evan play the sports.

I got dinner ready for us while that was going on. I broiled a steak in the new toaster over/broiler/convection oven that we got for Hanukkah from Bubbe.

After dinner, we opened presents and got on Skype with Sherah, JW, Nolan, Court and Bubbe. Noah was very excited. Evan did come over to say hi.

The boys had baths and now are in bed. Although Evan just told me he needed to go to the bathroom.

Until next time...

Smoke Detectors

About 2am our smoke detectors went off 2 separate times for just a few seconds. They do that every now and then and we have no idea why. It’s so annoying. Evan got scared and ended up sleeping in bed with us last night.

Blanca came at 10:45am. Noah was still sleeping. I had to go wake him up. I didn’t want his schedule to be thrown off.

Blanca took the boys outside for lunch and they were out there for a while.

Around 2:30 we put Evan and Noah down for naps and I sent Blanca home. The boys took good naps and were still sleeping when Morry got home.

Emily, a mom from the mom’s club, brought dinner for us tonight. She made tortilla soup and fajitas. It was nice not having to worry about making dinner.

After dinner we did Skype with Bubbe and Sherah. The plan was to have the boys talk to each other. We saw Court for a little bit, but Nolan was watching a movie. They saw Evan at first, but then Evan ran off to play. Noah stuck around a little bit. So, it wasn’t too successful.

Evan and Noah are watching Toy Story now. In a little bit we’ll put them to bed.

Last Day Alone

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Rachel is coming home tomorrow, so this is the last day that I'll be alone with the boys.

This morning, as I was getting ready for work, I heard Evan start to play in the room. I was worried he'd wake Noah up so I went and got him. We came downstairs and I got him his breakfast and set up a movie. Then Gary came. While Evan is physically awake, he always acts very tired that early in the morning so he barely acknowledged Gary. But I think both boys have taken to him.

Rachel had her blood drawn today. Unfortunately her white blood cell count is extremely low. So low, in fact, they recommend that Rachel doesn't go out in public. She's supposed to have another blood test on Monday to see if it comes back up at all. I guess if it doesn't, they are going to give some shot to her or something. She said she is feeling better though.

After work I came home and the boys were just getting up from their naps. I got Evan dressed while Blanca got Noah from his crib. I gave the boys popcorn for their snack while I made dinner. I made a steak for myself, hot dog for Noah and chicken nuggets for Evan. Both boys had cereal as well as they both asked for it and Evan had some peppers and tomatoes. They had fruit as well. After dinner Evan had a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

Both boys were very well behaved while I made dinner and after dinner as well. Before bed, we got on Skype and talked to Rachel, Grandma, Papa and Sherah. Noah really likes to talk to Rachel that way. He gets very excited. Evan was running around with a homemade cape like he was some super hero.

They are in bed now and I read Evan the riot act. I gave him all the things that meant he was a good boy and all the things that would mean he would be a bad boy. I told him if he was a bad boy tonight then he wasn't allowed to sleep in Noah's room anymore. We'll see how that goes.

Until next time...

Sherah’s Family

This morning Aunt Susan, Sherah, JW, Nolan, Court, Lauren, and Presley (the girl that Lauren nannies for) came over. I made cranberry blueberry oatmeal muffins. Evan and Noah ate a ton of them. The kids all played really well together. Evan and Nolan played upstairs in the game room. For lunch I picked up Little Caesar’s pizza. Of course I had coupons. All of us ate for a total of $11.something.

After lunch we called Bubbe on Skype and then we all went in the backyard for a little while. It was hot out, but the kids didn’t seem to mind. We took a Popsicle break. Noah had his own Popsicle for the first time. He did great and ate the whole thing.

Sherah’s family went back to Aunt Susan’s for naps.

I put Evan and Noah down for naps, but only Noah napped.

For dinner we met Sherah, JW, Nolan, and Court at Red Robin. We had to wait a while for a table that could accommodate us. Luckily there were lots of things to keep the boys occupied. In the front of the restaurant were video games and candy/toy machines. Even though we didn’t give the boys any change they had a good time playing with all the stuff.

Dinner was good. And what made it even better? Morry, Evan, and I ate for free! All we had to pay for was our drinks. Morry and I each had coupons for free burgers for our birthdays and Red Robin is also having a promotion where kids eat for free. Good deal!

Evan and Noah are in bed now. It seems to be quiet.

Science Museum

This morning we met Sherah’s family at the Science museum. It was a very nice museum and they had a lot for kids. When we first got there, the kids played in the dino pit. They had a sandy area where kids could dig for bones. Then, Evan found the fire station area and wouldn't leave. We were in that section for a long time. They had a fire truck and firefighter uniforms to put on. We stayed in the museum for about 2 hours. We talked about going to lunch together after, but all of the kids were pretty worn out and just decided to go home.

At home, we ate lunch and then put the boys down for naps. Evan fought naps again and I had to move him to the other room where he eventually slept.

Bubbe came over for dinner. Grandma/Lynn made corned beef.

Then, Tricia and Kevin (neighbors) came over to see Evan and Noah.

After that we went to Paccugo for gelato. On the way there Evan said he wanted cherry ice cream. Luckily, they had a cherry gelato there. Evan said he wanted a cherry on top. The guy working there was very nice and made sure Evan got an actual cherry in his gelato. In fact, Evan got 2 cherries.

The boys are still awake. I need to go in the room and get them quiet. We are driving back to Austin tomorrow and I don’t want them to be cranky for the drive.

Sharing Ice Cream with Bubbe