Babies Come On Planes

Some fun little tidbits about the kids:

- Anytime I read a story about an airplane, Tobin comments at the end of the book that the plane is going to go and get a baby. So that is where babies come from. People get on a plane and then they come back with a baby. That is the way it happened for him.

- Jessa is quite the biter now. If Tobin tries to push past her too often or makes her too mad she reaches out and grabs him and starts biting down. Tobin gets very upset. He hates it when someone breaks the rules and does something wrong. He gets so mad, but of course doesn't mind breaking the rules himself. So Jessa has been told "no" a lot and for once has been the one starting the trouble. She also hits, just some of that baby hitting that one year olds do. She is learning how to be gentle.

- Jessa knows how to clap now and loves to do it! She is so cute and her face lights up when she claps about something.

- Tobin has really started to talk more (this is a miracle because he has been a really slow talker). He can count to 3 or sometimes 4 and knows most of his colors. Every time we get into the car he wants to find a yellow car and looks and looks until he finds one.

- The kids have started to play together every once and a while, which makes Tobin so happy. Of course it often ends in tears, but it is a start.

- Jessa screams like murder when she wants me and if she knows that I am in the house she keeps screaming until she gets into my arms. She stops crying right away and gets the biggest smile on her face. She is very attached and I love it that she looks at me like I am her whole world. I think she is still afraid that I will up and leave one day because she won't let me out of her sight.

- We play outside most everyday and no one can seem to get dirtier than Jessa Fikrte. She also likes to stick her face into any type of water she can find (even a puddle). I am always afraid she will drown and watch her really carefully around any type of water. She does it in the bath too. Tobin loves to help water the garden, but gets mad when baby pulls up the plants ("no, no baby!").

- Tobin loves to repeat things over and over again like we don't hear him or understand him (He usually repeats statements not questions). Last night he said "Dada get me banana" over and over again without a breath in between until I finally yelled to Clark to just go get him the banana already. But, hey I am just glad that he is talking more.

Renaissance Festival

Warning: the following pictures could be construed as a little dorky/geeky, but we don't care because we have a lot of fun dressing up!

Every year our little family goes to the Renaissance Festival with Clark's parents. Last year we decided to dress up for the first time and it was a lot more fun. So we dressed up again this year with Tobin as Robin Hood again and Jessa in a cute dress I found for the occasion. They were the stars of the festival and everyone wanted to take their picture (no kidding).

The kids loved feeding the sheep at the petting zoo part.

Tobin watching the jousting, he loved it and if they ever stopped asked for them to fight again.

The kids, Grandpa and I.

All of us. We had so much fun even though it was quite hot for April.

Jessa fell asleep in the Ergo at the end and Tobin wouldn't be held by anyone but me (it was waaaaaayyyyyyyy past nap time).

Easter

Update

Sorry that it has been so long since my last post. Things are crazy around here and I never seem to have time to do anything.

My sister Jessa started her first round of chemo last Friday and is feeling tired and sick some (which is pretty normal). But, all and all she is doing pretty good considering. The doctor has said that this is the fastest that any patient of hers has gone from diagnosis to starting treatment. This is probably due to the fact that my dad is a research scientist and did a lot of cancer research back in the day. He at least knows what is going on and has stayed on the doctors' backs until they scheduled her for chemo.

We have been glad to have Aunt Jessa around more and the kids are crazy about her (especially Tobin). He gets super hyper and loud around her which is hard since she is tired a lot. The other day he was so excited to see her that he started running into walls (literally). That kid tires me out. He never stops throwing things, hitting, running, yelling, or messing with his sister. I am so tired all of the time.

Baby Jessa is doing so well on the attachment front and it seems like she was always with us even though it has only been 3 months. She is a huge Mama's girl and cries if I leave the room. I have to sleep right next to her and the crib has long been put up since she hated it so much. She has a toddler bed now and will stay in it for a few hours at the start of the night before waking up and wanting me.

She now seems so attached that she has started to act like the feisty one year old that she is. She has started to pick up things and hit Tobin with them (wonder where she learned that from) and does things over and over even though I keep saying no. She can be really easy going or really stubborn. She doesn't like being told no and will keep pushing and pushing or throw a fit.

She hates it when Tobin tries to get into my arms or sits in my lap. She will then start crying and climbing all over me which will set him off as well. They will both cry pushing each other trying to climb up me even though I am sitting right there. It is like they are trying to climb on my head or something. Times like that my sister just looks at me and asks how I make it through the day. God's grace I suppose. I defiantly do not have easy going children, but they are sure a lot of fun and I wouldn't change it (though it would be nice to take a shower or go to the bathroom by myself once and a while).

News

We got some good news yesterday, my little sister has been diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer. I know it seems like that could never be good news, but we were afraid that it would be much worse. This type of cancer is the easiest to treat, so that is the good news.

My sister Jessa (who we named the baby after) is 22 years old and is a senior at college in New York City. She has been sick for over a year with odd symptoms that no doctor could figure out. Last week she was home for spring break and my parents sent her to the doctor again since now she is having fevers. A chest x-ray found a huge mass that has turned out to be cancer.

For those of you who don't know, Clark, the kids and I live in an apartment attached to my parents house so we all kind of live together. So we are glad to be getting to see Jessa more. She is not able to go back to school and will be starting chemo soon. She is doing well considering, but we are all a little shocked as her whole world has been turned upside down. I know that she will get through this and do great, but it will be a long road.

Even though we are 7 years apart in age, we have been best friends since I first got my wish for a baby sister. I don't know of anyone stronger than her and we will all be there for her.

Well, we have all been sick these last few weeks and so I have not been able to get much of anything done. Both kids are fussy and have colds. Jessa is coughing a lot and I can tell just doesn't feel good most of the time. My once good sleeper now wakes up every few minutes sometimes and can't get comfortable. She cries and cries unless she sleeps in our bed the whole time (she normally starts out in her crib) and for some reason finds sleeping on my head the most comfortable position.

Tobin has started sleeping most of the night in our bed too since he doesn't feel well either. So we are pretty smashed in but I am starting to get more sleep and feel better myself. I am still finding it so hard to adjust to having two kids. I love every minute with them, but I can't seem to get anything else done. And you can forget about getting on the computer - they both stop whatever they are doing and try to get in my lap with I pick up the lap top.

On a very important note - we have a walker among us! Jessa had taken two steps back in the middle of March and then hadn't really done it again. The first few days of April though she started to take more steps and now is walking everywhere. It is amazing to see how each day she walks more and crawls less.


Last week, my Dad's mom and sister (Grandma Sue and Aunt Jane) got to stay with us one night as they passed through on their way to FL. They got to see the baby and Tobin got to meet Aunt Jane's dog. He insisted on getting pictures with Tila (Tobin loves dogs) and did this funny gangster pose.

Grandma Sue, my Dad, and Aunt Jane

That which is lost is found

When I travel I carry a mesh bag which holds all the batteries, charges, tripods, and cords which make modern life wonderful, every device we have including our phones has a different cord. My cords are rolled and bound with color coded Velcro strips (does anal retentive have a hyphen), I love this bag. Having things in their place makes me happy and free of worry. As dyslexics Sarah and I are a bit obsessed with organization.

Two weeks ago my sister and her two kids along with my mom and dad came for a visit, I had just returned from a camping trip in Michigan (it was 12 degrees one night) with these fellow geniuses
when tragedy struck. The bag was lost. After my family members return to their respected states I began to call every two days and demand that they own up to stealing my bag. I had been a victim of crime. I tore the apartment apart looking for this bag.

I had all but giving up hope of finding my mythical bag of collated magic and joy when I decide to check all parts of one of the chairs. Low and behold that which was lost is found.


Other items hiding in the structural crevices of the chair include:
1 webbing belt
2 pens
1 hammer head shark1 crocodile
1 magnet of Olmstead’s grand boulevard @ Central Park
1 stub from a flocked Christmas tree
2 Mardi Gras dablunes
1 nickel
2 pennies
1 small screw
1 ticket stub for the Star Trek Experience @ the lovely Las Vegas Hilton
1 business card for a woman who make authentic period customs for renaissance fairs
1 riffle for a playmobile cowboys and Native Americans playset
1 halls wrapper


judging from these items we might be a pair of the dorkiest parents

Jessa was excited to see the tripod and decided it must be tasted

Tobin decided to invest the money, but bonds and mutual funds being what they are he made a deposit in the spiny funnel bank that Uncle Ryan gave him.

To all who I accused I apologize…this time…I know they all including that wife of mine have it out for me.