Dropped like flies

One by one we dropped like flies to the stomach bug that Bryson so kindly brought home from school to share with us. I greeted him Wednesday morning as usual, but found that he'd gotten sick in his sleep Tuesday night. Poor guy. He needed a bath ASAP. After staying home with him all day, I resumed work Thursday while Jackson played Dr. Dad. He seemed to be fully recovered that evening so I went to bed relieved...only to wake up sick to my stomach at 4 a.m. At least it was my scheduled day off! So off to school Jackson took the kiddos, while Mommy moaned and groaned in bed all day and into the evening...when it overtook Jackson! Three down, one to go. And of course, it had to hit Brooklyn during an overnight stay at Grammy's house. :( Grammy was up all night doctoring Brooklyn until we got to her after a short hibernation period that took us through mid-day Saturday. And once we were all in the house Saturday, we were in lockdown mode. And I entered sanitize mode! Wouldn't you know, this had to happen on a plan-filled weekend. We missed the Gender Reveal party of some friends expecting twins. (They're having one of each & we couldn't be happier for them!) We had to cancel Granddaddy's birthday party Saturday. Missed a house-warming party for another couple Saturday night. And we barely made it to my cousin's baby's baptism Sunday afternoon. I've already had a talk with Mr. Bryson to please plan ahead with these nasty bugs, as to not interrupt important functions in the future! We'll see if he took heed to my warnings...oh, the joys of parenthood!  It's like Big Brother: Always expect the unexpected. 

Watch out!

Little Markert has teeth!  Yes, plural...just like his sister, not wasting any time and producing two at a time! And months ahead of their peers!  Some kids don't teethe til their first birthday. We thought it was starting last week from the amount of drool and his inability to keep things out of his mouth. But when I massaged his gums I didn't feel anything and disregarded the concern. The weekend came and went with no additional fuss. It was his teacher that brought it to my attention Monday afternoon!  What a champ. Grew new teeth and didn't even complain...UNlike his sister. For memory's sake, I looked back at old pictures from when her first teeth were breaking through:

It was Easter Sunday of 2010. One of the most challenging days of motherhood I've experienced to date! I didn't know what was wrong, and while we were giving her Orajel, it was just a guess as to what was wrong, and it clearly wasn't helping from the look of her little face!!  Poor princess. These aren't attractive poses, sweetie.

And then here's Bryson while his first teeth are coming in:

(His sister put the hat on his head.) 

Quite a difference, huh?!  How was I to know that this happy camper was in any pain whatsoever?! 

Disclaimer: This is not representive in any way, shape or form of how tough boys are in comparison to girls. We ARE tougher, no doubt! We'll just let you know how we feel! :) 

Observing life

Bryson spends the majority of his time observing the world around him. He knows he'll always have a big, fun friend in his daddy and has already learned how to veg out with him...

But that sister of his is a little more complicated. She's always on the go!

Can't sit still long enough to pose for a simple picture:

What more does he need, with a sister like me?!

  So on the rare instances that she's still, he's enthralled with her. She watches the TV. He watches her.

She's done worn the fellow out. He simply can't keep his eyes open any longer. But she's still right there by his side.

He wants to participate so badly! And we can't wait til he can!!

Family trip

I joined Jackson &; the kiddos on Thursday, so we had an extended weekend together. We visited the zoo Thursday, where we watched the elephants get baths. If you haven't heard Brooklyn's elephant noise, you oughtta ask when you see her next! Needless to say, I think the elephant's bathtime was a hit.

We posed like monkeys in the scorching heat:

Brooklyn shushed the birds as we cooled off indoors for a few minutes

I loved this pose. See the cheesy smile?! :)

Then Friday morning we hauled the lil guy to Dr. Sood for his 4 month check up, where it was confirmed that he's not a lil guy whatsoever, topping both the height & weight charts. After his shots, (where he proved to be his mommy's son, barely wincing at all), we hit the road for a weekend at the lake! 

I wish so badly that I had paused to take a picture of the living room before loading up. You can only imagine all the stuff that goes along with these two. It's ridiculous. Borderline embarrassing, actually. But not a bit of it that seems avoidable at this young age: beds and blankies and toys and diapers, oh my! 

Among all the toys, I love the fact that Brooklyn chooses books:

(That makes all the stuff more acceptable to me.)

When we got there, we met up with some friends who happen to be the parents of Bryson's first girlfriend, Ella. Here's a shot of some quality footsie time:

We enjoyed our time together, but branched off for some separate family time the next morning. Brooklyn walked outside first thing in the morning & couldn't wait to get in the water! "Water! Water! Boats! Boats!" was all I heard as we loaded the car back up from our overnight stay. Little did she know, though, that we wouldn't be entering the lake water. Off to the safe, more shallow and clear neighborhood pool we headed!

I don't think she minded much.

Jump!

Lots of air time on this visit!

Meanwhile, Bryson basked in the shade of his floatie.

Thank you Aunt Jan & Uncle Jerry for sharing your wonderful lake home with us. We enjoyed every minute of our stay!

Brooklyn loved the view of the water from the back porch.

School's out for summer!

Or maybe just a week, but for the attention span of a toddler, we can call it summer! The kids' school was closed for the full first week of August and Jackson took the role of Mr. Mom! Days, possibly even weeks leading up to the event, Jackson was sweatin it..."what am I going to do with them all week long?!"

So, 'what did they do?' you ask:

#1: a little dress up...

Guess who dressed me?!

Don't leave Bryson out.  Strike a pose, buddy!

#2: Sisterly loving:

She's very carefully inserting his pacifier. But it won't stay in his mouth because he can't stop grinning when she gets so close! He love love loves to interact with her! 

And of course a trip down to McAlester to visit Great Grandma & Papa brightened the day for all involved!