frogs take over kiddie pool.

What do you get when you forget to clean the kiddie pool out after a few months?

Hundreds of baby frogs. I don't even know what to do with them. And I don't know what's worse, the tadpoles or the nasty stuff growing at the bottom. Promise I don't let the dishes go this long.

update on punk number one

Sporting Grandpa Tim's sunglasses. My dad is notorious for buying a new pair of sunglasses at nearly every gas station he stops at (which is a lot). My favorite pair to date had skulls going down the sides (which he clearly had no idea when picking them out).

Excuse the lack of blogging lately, I have no excuse other than the cliche...life is busy. Thought I'd do a little update for son number one. This kid cracks us up, daily. I need to get better at capturing some of this on video for us to look back on. The other morning he was telling me the things he needed to complete his 'work clothes', as I had just purchased him some work boots (this conversation I would kill to have on tape, seriously thought it was the best thing he had ever heard), he had his work jeans on, his work shirt on, then told me I needed to buy him a hard hat and a billfold. Then he'd be set.

He amazes us by how observant he is and how much he can remember (don't worry, I'm very aware this is all probably very normal for his age, we're just enjoying it so much). He could probably tell you right now all of Bryan's active job sites, what pieces of equipment are at each and who runs them. Still very obsessed with this.

Is loving that Grayson is getting a little more active and for the most part, is good with him. This morning he pulled Grayson around on the bed by his legs...Grayson didn't seem to mind so I let it carry on.

Still sleeps in our room (I know, keep shaking your head). HOWEVER, ha, he's on a mattress on the floor next to our bed. This is progress, people.

Now to the poop (what I'm sure you've all been waiting for). We have gone rogue the last month or so and have taken him off of all MiraLax and other laxatives (against doctor's orders), just trying to focus on getting him enough fiber via his diet. Doesn't really make any improvement, but the fact that it didn't make it worse (by taking him off laxatives) made us feel better. Just couldn't understand how a kid is supposed to learn when it's super soft, all the time. So finally last week we brought him back to Children's and had the botox injections again. It would be clear that there was stool that needed to come out, and he would push and push and push, to get no results. So, we thought it couldn't hurt to try relaxing his sphincter. About three days ago we started seeing some improvements, a good, formed stool, once a day. Like I said, we're only on about day three, but already he seems to be exhibiting 'normal' signs of kids going through potty training. Sneaking off into the other room and just standing there, that sort of thing. Fingers crossed that these types of stools continue. This is what happened last time after the botox and for whatever reason, the good stools only lasted about three weeks or so. We always felt had that continued, we were positive he would have 'gotten' it. So, it continues. It get so frustrating at times (well, all the time) and then throw kid number two into the mix that doesn't seem to have normal bowel movements, ugh. But, that's the update on that. Oh, the surgeon also did a rectal biopsy to check and see if there were nerve cells present (which there were not when he was born and why he needed surgery) and there were, so that was good news. No indication of any Hirschprungs still.

And that's probably all you care to know about his poop and more :) Stay tuned to read about our pet frogs.

happy birthday, mom!

Happy birthday today to my amazing mother! Mom, thank you for all you do for us and most importantly for being the amazing grandmother you are! We love you SO much!

grayson: five months

Grayson is five months old today, still seems like my little baby even though he's huge :) Here's a snippet into his life:

-goes to bed between 8:30 and 9:30 or so and I typically wake him up around 6. (knock on wood, his sleep schedule has been heavenly lately) I would let him sleep, but I would hate if he would wake up while I'm pumping.
-just started rice cereal about two days ago, I think he'd tell you he's ready for WAY more than that based on how he watches us eat and seems to kick his arms and legs while we're eating, but we'll follow the recommended guidelines for a little bit at least plus he needs to figure out how to eat from a spoon
-goes days and days without pooping. It would seriously be SO nice to have a normal pooper...but, not in the cards for us I guess. One time he went 7 days, where he proceeded to have a massive amount of solid, formed stool (very uncommon for breastmilk fed babies), screamed so bad there was no sound. Nurse practitioner said to not let him go three days and then to give him juice. So he goes three days. All the time. He had another 8 day stint, but had a normal stool at the end of it, thankfully. Not that you all really needed to know this, but just documenting :)
-is all smiles but somewhat difficult to get giggles and chuckles going, I blame this on the fact that he typically always has his hands halfway into his mouth
-loves to listen to Bryan talk
-likes to watch Connor do whatever he's doing
-has days where he drools gallons, and others where he doesn't drool at all
-drinking 4 ounces every 3 hours or so at school, and 5-6 ounces here at home (therefore I assume he'd drink that much at school, but he's not going to float away anytime soon so I think its ok)
-I think I'm at about 450 (466 official count on 8/16) bags of milk (I could get you an official total but I'm too lazy to get up and look at my sheet :)), this is already ahead of where I ended with Connor
-still wearing 6 month clothes but they're getting a little snug (part of this is just me not wanting to let him grow out of them as I love so many of them)
-still incredibly chubby, multiple dimples on elbows, knees, etc.
-still not rolling (cut the guy some slack, he's huge) but he is definitely getting close. He gets about 2/3 of his body over but that's about it. Connor rolled at 4 months and 10 days and was roughly 2 pounds lighter.
-No teeth
-Can hang out about anywhere, which has been awesome.
-likes the nuk but is not addicted to it like Connor was
-can say about 3 or 4 words, ha, kidding, just seeing if you were still paying attention :)

I think that's about it for my super random list.  I am in love with my two boys, can't snuggle them enough! Well, Connor isn't too much into snuggling anymore but he cracks us up. His latest, "oh mom, what are we going to do with you?" Seriously love these two boys!

swimming lessons

A few pictures to recap Connor's swimming lessons this summer. He had them Mon-Thurs for two weeks at the outdoor pool in St. Peter. For the most part he likes the water and enjoys it, but just don't try forcing him to do something (like jump off the diving board). If it's not his idea, it's not a good idea. Hard for me, as I used to be a fish in the water and could stay in for hours, but, not Connor's thing maybe and I just need to get over it :) Maybe Grayson will be my swimmer.

Grandpa Tim even came a few times!  

At least he likes jumping off the side, he could do that a thousand times and not be sick of it.

Swimming lessons were at 5:40 so since Bryan wouldn't be home from work in time, Grayson got to come with. Thanks to my mom for coming along to watch him!

No hands! (meaning no hands holding him)

kicking and scooping

clearly, swimming lessons were SO entertaining

DMI walking billboard

Bryan recently ordered some apparel for his work and we had some kids sized clothing thrown in as well, much to Connor's delight. He currently has a black shirt with the DMI logo but he is now SOOOO excited to have a shirt just like Dad's and that he can now be 'official' on the job site (neon vest/shirts required). And yes, he sports this to school. He'd wear it everyday if he could.

Pretty sure the reflective strips confused my flash.

He also has a matching hat and I'm not sure why he's not wearing it for the photo, but he wears it to school on a daily basis. Pretty cute :)

weekend in Winona

A few weeks ago we went to Winona for the weekend along with Bryan's parents. On Saturday we had the Gurgel (Nate's Mom's side) family reunion in Onalaska, but we decided to extend the weekend into a mini-vacation by staying Friday night as well. We got LOTS of pool time (yes, Connor had fun, just needed a little time to warm up to the idea of course :)), had a great time at the reunion and just an overall great weekend with family.

One of a billion jumps into the pool

 hanging with Grandpa by the pool

 chillin' with great aunt Vick at the reunion

water balloon fun at the reunion

sports camp

Better known as the Sports Sampler at the Y, Connor has attended this little activity twice now, missing one time for the first night of swimming lessons. Essentially, a bunch of 3-5 year old kids learning one sport a session. The first night was soccer, I think we missed basketball and earlier this week was football. We have floor hockey and baseball left I believe.

One would think Connor would be fine in group settings as he's with a ton of other kids at school AND one of his classmates is in sports camp with him, but nooooo. You'll see that Connor is the only child that needed a parent out with him (second from right).

Working on his soccer skills. Well I don't know what he's pointing at, but otherwise working on skills.

Eventually, he was able to go off on his own. Which was finally cute to watch :)

This past week during football, he was shy for the first 10 minutes or so but then he did great! He was a great listener which at times was actually frustrating because the children that didn't listen, didn't go to the back of the line after their turn, ended up being able to do the activities more than Connor because he was following the rules. Don't worry, I am fully aware Connor could be one of those annoying non-listening children next week, it was just especially annoying as he was finally comfortable to 'break free' from us and then he got the shaft. We will see how next week goes!

quick update

I will blame my lack of blogging the past few weeks on swimming lessons. They're right after work and by the time we're home, there seem to be plenty of other things to do (and my house still looks like a disaster). But, tonight's the last night, and pretty sure Connor is definitely okay with that.

Can't find Connor? Check the far left corner of the photo. He and Grandpa Tim off doing their own thing (checking out the life guard?).  Oh well, at this point I just care that he's in the water and enjoying himself for the most part. More to come on how swimming lessons went this year :)