August-Soak up the last few weeks of summer-enjoy every moment....

Hello everyone! We hope you all are still having an AMAZING summer! :o) We still have a few more weeks left.....soak up every moment while you can before fall arrives along with the cooler weather. We intend to, that's for sure! Although in Florida cooler weather is welcome, because of the very HOT summers, in saying that though after a few days of cold weather we miss the warmth of summer only to wish for it back again right away :o) Well we had a lot going on this month as we seem to always....that comes along with having two kids. So I hope that you will enjoy the update this month. There aren't any videos to post this month, b/c I didn't take any on my point and shoot digital camera. I took some on our camcorder and when we get a newer p.c. I will be able to upload them from that. I still of course have plenty of pictures. So after the blog please check them out and enjoy!
Nicholas and Olivia both were sick just a few days ago. Olivia had a double ear infection, cough and runny nose(her first time being sick) and Nicholas had an ear infection in the right ear along with a cough, runny nose and the doc was concerned that he may have been getting bronchitis and didn't want it to turn into Pneumonia. So we got them both on meds and now they are feeling MUCH better. Thank God, b/c the whole house was awake for about 3-4 days straight. WOW TWO sick kids was rough! We felt so bad for them :o( One or both ended up in our bed each night too. Olivia and Nicholas kicked Ray out of the bed for two nights. Needless to say we are glad they are feeling better and back in their own beds :o) Nicholas is catching on to the sharing thing a little better with Olivia. He will share his sippy cup that she likes sometimes and his cars too. Not always, but I guess when the mood strikes. :o) He always tries to play with her and love on her though....it is so sweet! I know he can't wait till she can run around and play with him. We took them to a concert in the park (series they had this summer with different music bands) one evening at the park we got married in to watch their Papa play the drums with his band. They enjoyed it for a little while and then were getting tired(it was about 7pm when it started so they were getting close to time they were ready for bed)! The weather was great for it....no clouds and a nice cool breeze off the river!
Olivia was 11 months old this month and still scooting all around on her bootyshaker as fast as she can go to stay up with her big brother....she does pretty good! She keeps trying to pull up on the couch and she does pull up on me when I'm laying on the floor with her. Waiting for her to start walking any day. She has learned to say "uh-oh" when she drops something or if someone else does. It is so cute. When they weighed her at the dr when they got sick she only weighed 2 oz more than she did at her 9 month visit. She is 14lbs and 6 oz. She eats really well and drinks plenty of milk. She is meeting all her milestones so the doc isn't concerned about her....says she's just little like her Mama! :o) She is getting longer though....not sire what she is now, but was 271/2 at 9 months and seems to have grown alot in length since then. She is so beautiful and has such a personality. Although, she still fights you to change her diaper, get her dressed and feeding her(except for at breakfast time)! She is still nursing. I'm starting the weaning process and now just feeding her morning and night. She won't take a bottle hardly so she drinks it out of a sippy cup all the other times. Still eating baby food, but have been slowly introducing her to some of our food....she always cries and reaches for what we are having. The way she looks at Nicholas is the sweetest thing too....she just adores him :o)
Nicholas is 29 months coming up on the 4th of Sept. He is so awesome too! He is putting sentences together so well. Wants to help us do everything that we go to do(mowing the lawn, taking care of the garden and flower gardens, cleaning, cooking, etc). He hasn't been wanting to drink his milk as much as he use to, but instead wants water....so I can't complain there. He's generally a good eater too, but there are times where all he will eat is "noodles" and "tots". Oh and one week he asked for a cupcake all week. When the groc shopping day came around I bought him some so that he could have a couple! He loves them. Oh and he LOVES the big marshmallows that you roast, but he eats them without roasting....they are a treat though and he doesn't get them all the time. He likes to help me feed Olivia, b/c she is usually ready to eat before we are. He sits with me and helps with the spoon and sometimes helps Olivia eat her food(by taking a few bites for himself)! He always say"Mama, I help" any time that he his Helping us with anything. He also says"Mama, this is good" anytime that he's eating something that he REALLY likes! :o) It's SO cute and it's so amazing to see him grow and learn. He has this thing where he wants to stand up on the couch and the rocker and lean against or over the back of it. I've told him NO a million times, b/c I don't want to see him do a face plant on the tile. Well, one day he didn't listen one too many times and ended up falling over with the rocker onto the tile. He didn't hit the tile himself, b/c his face hit the rocker and scratched his face. I think it scared him more than it hurt him though. I told him that is why Mama tells him not to climb up on the back of the furniture like that and I asked if he was going to do that again and he nodded really big"NO" :o( He hasn't since that. It scared me when he fell too! He's still into CARS and the train sets. LOVES his tent and when anyone comes to play with him he takes them right to it to show them. He still is scared of Monsters and Ray and I have to "eat them all gone"! Nicholas says this about anything he doesn't like.
Ray, is still doing great with the weight loss. Hasn't lost anymore, but is maintaining and going to the gym to keep it up. He had is 20 yr reunion this month. We went out and bought some new clothes for us both. He needed some b/c he was too small for his other clothes he was wearing and I needed to update my wardrobe a little bit for the season. He had a great time reuniting with old pals and I enjoyed meeting some new faces and having a couple nights out with my husband....much needed for the both of us! He has been working long hard hours at the salon and then doing projects around the house one the weekends too.
As for me, I've been enjoying the kids everyday after work and hanging out with my husband and kids on the weekends in between helping with projects around the house. I never got started with my yoga again. The studio I really wanted to go to was closed for a few weeks....hoping to get started in September! I'm still trying to get my Melaleuca business started on the side. I'm still working PT at the hospital and liking that! Did some scrap booking this month and took a trip to the mall to a bookstore with the kids and my friend Trisha(their Godmother). I was invited to an evening event called the "Ladybug Ball" that is an annual event to celebrate being a woman. It's an awesome event and am looking forward to going again next year! I also enjoyed a late night movie with my friend Trisha one Saturday night while Ray stayed home with the kids. We went to see Julie and Julia....great movie! I had massage at my fave spa one day compliments of my husband that he gave me for a gift earlier in the year and it was AMAZING! We celebrated my moms birthday this month at her house for dinner with the whole family. Ray and I went out to a new place for Sushi for the first time in a LONG time with some friends just this past weekend and it was nice too! We really enjoyed the food, company and good conversation! Looking forward to doing it again. I'm trying to get into a habit where we have a date night ATLEAST once a month! Just to have some time for US. We love our kids SO much, but we need to maintain our relationship in order to keep the family intact and happy! Tonight we went shopping and purchased Olivia's' 3 in 1 convertible car seats for our cars, her birthday gift(her 1 yr is coming up next month) and we got most of Nicholas' Christmas shopping done and got them a standing sand box/water play box for the backyard that I'm going to put together this week and I got Hula Hoops too. I know that can't really do it yet, but I enjoy it! I got a pink and a blue one. I Hula Hoop with Olivia's' pink one and Nicholas tries with his blue one. It is WAY cute! :o) I'll have to get that on video! One day we we all be able to do it! Okay, well I need to get going and get to bed....up at 530am for work. Hope you all enjoyed catching up with what's been going on in our lives this past month! Hope this finds all of you well! Please enjoy the last weeks of summer! :o) Check out the new pics in the August album! Take care and be well!
PS) Our cat Dax still hasn't showed up. I guess he isn't going too :o( I'm really sad about it and need to accept it....Nicholas misses him too. He asks about him once in a while.