Thomas the Train

All boy as he is, Jack dearly loves all cars, trucks and trains. His favorite, however, is Thomas the Train. Thomas visited our town this weekend and we, along with all the other preschool-aged children in the vicinity, took a ride. The Thomas people need to work on their brand image and packaging, but Jack had a good time, which is all that matters. And hats were purchased, what else could one want? (Perhaps a location not located in East St. Louis, but we're too picky?)

The doctor's appointment went well, the twins look good and are on a good growth track. Should everything continue as it is, it looks like the twins will arrive the week after Christmas. It will be good to be home for the holidays, despite my growing discomfort. Long time friends will note that I've come a long way from my infertility days in a by-gone era, so I take nothing for granted so far as family and children go, but seriously....in addition to not being able to sleep horizontially, eat anything much and a variety of stomach aliments....we're adding to the list of discomforts excruitating charley horses in my calves at night. J, the hero that he is, has been waking up and applying massages and flexing my feet and the like, but this is all becoming quite tiring. The end result(s) will be fantastic and worth every minute, but the long slog toward December 27 seems quite daunting. Any tips to relieve some of these ailments is greatly appreciated.

Work continues to challenge with the merger hopefully going through by the end of the year, which will allow for some more certainty in all things. Wishing for independent wealth today!

Love to all,

More Fall Fun!

Fall is, by far, my favorite season....the returning to school, smell of leaves, smores, football games, mums, sweaters, I love it all. Topped off with the celebration of another year with our precious Jack, definitely the greatest time of year.

Two of these pictures are from Eckert's Fun Farm, visited for a neighbor's birthday recently. Jack embraces the Red Baron (a little fast for my taste) ride, rejects entirely the pony ride (much more tame). No amount of coaxing from dad would entice him to ride. Oh, well, he's still such a little guy.

Jack is really conversing with us now. Upon our usual morning wake up call at 6-ish, he states, "Want Milk," and "See Elmo," with quite a bit of emphasis. He did say, "Thank you, Daddy," this morning when J brought him his milk, which was quite endearing. Oh, and after days of wrestling with the concept of crying the kid out in his new 'big boy bed,' we put him down on Sunday night, didn't lay down with him and after only two times of having to put him back in his bed, he went to SLEEP. BY HIMSELF. Without crying. He even told me, "I close the eyes, Mommy." (As J says, "The inmates are running the asylum.").

Friday is the next ultrasound and doctor's appointment. Fingers crossed that all goes well. Next week will be 7 months -- about 6 weeks or so to go. We're starting to buy some girly things, onesies and the like. We bought some sleepers at Target last week, made the whole situation become more real to us all!

JACK TURNS 2 AND OTHER TALES.....

No, I haven't blogged in a looong time. For shame. I blame the terrible 2s and pregnancy. Nonetheless, let me catch up. Our wonderful son celebrated his 2nd birthday, complete with cake, ice cream and bounce houses. He had a great time at his party, most of our friends and the neighbors dropped by for some fun. Jack is moving incredibly fast on the learning curve of all things.......conversing, eating, sleeping and learning to use the potty.

A few weeks ago, he moved out of his crib into the "big boy" bed. While this is a great stride, we seem to have regressed to needing help going to sleep at night.....to J and my horror, the situation could be pointing toward another 'Crying Out' scenario, which we dread. Me in particular, because the only way we were able to do it at age 1 1/2, was when we were fortified by a little vino (for us, not Jack!). Gestating as I am, this crying out attempt will make transition MORE difficult!

Jack tells us what he wants and is starting to have little conversations with us. It's truly a miracle to see this little guy grow up. With a promise to blog more frequently.....

We have moved into week 26 of the twin pregnancy. Doctor thinks things are going very well and he even let me stay working full time for a bit longer. Our next ultrasound and doctor's appointment are next Friday, hopefully we'll have more good news then. At this point, we think we'll have a Brooke and Claire. (No one reflect back on the Brat Pack movies and quote Judd Nelson telling Molly Ringwald that "Claire's a fat girl's name." I've heard it, I remember it, thanks. I'm still not changing my mind).