More pictures!

Aren't they cute?? Our cubs playing together:


FYI...this is not allowed! Imagine my face when I saw my fearless little man sitting on our end table. I had to snap a photo so Daddy would believe me. I'm glad Zach thought this was funny. Mom was not impressed!!!

Week in review. --How's that for a catchy title?

The cubs are 17 months old today! I can't even believe how fast time goes by!

Now for our weekly recap. Looking back it appears that we didn't do much this week, but as exhausted as I feel today you would think that we've been going non-stop.

Zach had an appointment with an Orthopedist on Tuesday. Zach is a bow-legged little man. Dr. Gray says that most likely he'll grow out of it but he wants to see Z-man again in four months just to keep an eye on it. Zach did have an xray, which he screamed through, and everything looked great on it. Zach has perfect growth plates. Apparently they were looking for elongated growth plates which is caused by a calcium deficiency, but Z-man's were perfect. Hopefully his little legs will straighten on their own and braces will not be needed.

I took the cubs to my office on Friday. They were having a potluck lunch so I took my famous banana pudding. It's been a while since we've been up there, and it really makes for a long day because my office is almost an hour away, and that's without traffic. Considering that we went during nap time the cubs really did pretty well. Zach flirted with all the girls and Emily ran circles around the conference room.

Today was our pre-redline construction meeting where we selected our brick, stone, and trim colors, along with our garage door design and stain color. Lucky for us there was a house that we both liked the brick and stonework on, so we just told the salesperson that we wanted the same ones. Easy enough. We also went through our structural changes and options. Busy day!

Both cubs have some more teeth coming in. Yippee. More crying, more drooling, more sleepless nights. Such fun times!

Saturday in the park

Matt and Beth Ann came over last Saturday afternoon. It is always great to have them visit. Steve was working, so the three of us loaded the cubs in the car and headed for the park. This is definitely something Mom cannot do without an extra set of hands, so many thanks to Matt and Beth Ann for being so wonderful to give up their Saturday afternoon for us. Emily had a lot of fun. She is very curious and she dragged Beth Ann all over the park. We took their sand buckets and shovels and played in the sand box. Zach seemed a little unsure about everything. He's been a little clingy lately. He liked to play in the grass but wasn't crazy about walking in it. He preferred walking on the sidewalks instead. He didn't care too much for the swings this time, which Mom was really looking forward to, so that was a bit of a disappointment. We did manage to get a few cute pictures:

Contemplating the slide:


Mom and Zach in the sandbox:


Beth Ann and Emily in the sandbox:


Glad we traveled ALL the way to the park just to play in the grass:


Cute little girl:


Cute little guy:

Our new house

The first picture of our brand new house. Isn't it a very nice looking piece of dirt?

We have decided to build! The papers have been signed and hopefully next summer we will be moving in. It's very exciting, but I'm still nervous. We have so much to get done. First and foremost, we must sell our current house, so we'll be spending the next few weeks packing up and possibly renting an apartment. It's hard to show your house to potential buyers when it looks like a daycare. We must also start selecting exterior brick and stone colors. Plus we have to select from the 27 garage door designs and choose the stain color. Wow! Let's hope we're not divorced by the time it is finished.

Out for a morning drive....

I was taking the cubs to Gymboree last week and was behind this nice truck. I thought Grandpa Bear might get a laugh from this:



It says: Cornish Burton Septic Service
Caution: Carrying Political Promises

HA!

Making Daddy proud!

An exhausting week and it's not even over yet....

We were very fortunate that Hurricane Ike took a northern turn earlier than expected, so we only received a little wind and rain here at Cub Central. It has devastated many of our coastal areas, including Galveston and Houston. It's almost unbelievable when I see the news stories on TV.

On Monday I took the cubs to Gymboree. I thought I would give it another chance since they are walking now. I think it will be another long while before we go again. The cubs have a five second attention span and they were both taking off in different directions. This is definitely an activity that takes an extra set of hands. I was exhausted by the time it was over. Emily even embarrassed me with her first public temper-tantrum as I tried to get her to go to the next station with the rest of the group. It will be a long while before we try that again.

On Tuesday I had a million errands to run. What would normally be a quick in-and-out trip becomes quite an ordeal when you take the cubs. In and out of car seats and strollers made for another exhausting day. Tuesday evening was my monthly LCMOM meeting. A speech pathologist was the guest speaker. Twins are notorious for being delayed when it comes to speech, most likely because they don't get the one-on-one 100% attention that a singleton gets. It was very interesting but right now I'm more interested in getting them to LISTEN to me. They can talk to me later.

On Wednesday I had one of my monthly girls' night out. We went to a quaint little Italian restaurant (Piola's) that I had never been to before. I love going to new places and this is the only time I get to do that since Steve prefers going to places he is familiar with.

Wednesday night (or should I say Thursday morning) was not very pleasant here at Cub Central. Emily woke up screaming at 1:30 AM. We tried everything to calm her. We fed her, gave her some milk, changed her diaper, gave her Tylenol. She was fine as long as someone held her, but the minute you put her down, she would start screaming again. UGH.

Zach is still having his usual issues. He's still pretty cute though. Somehow he managed to sleep through Emily's episode last night. He was the only one. I'm really jealous!

Couch climbing is still a favorite activity although it is not allowed. They are stubborn little monkeys. They just keep trying. They have now moved on to the love seat and the recliner. Again, very exhausting.

The house issue is still a big topic here. Now we are considering building a home. We have selected a floor plan, and as usual, the only lot Steve and I both agreed on was TAKEN! I tell you the Housing Gods are against us. Now that the financial sector is in the pits with AIG, WAMU, and Lehman Brothers all having trouble, we are too afraid to do anything. What a hopeless feeling.

It is now Thursday evening and we are desperately trying to get Emily to go to sleep. So far we are starting off with a repeat of last night, so this isn't looking good. It must be a full moon!

Some more favorite pics!

Catching up on Cub Central news

It's been a week since I've posted a detailed cub update, and people are letting me hear about it, so here you go:

We'll start with the bad. Zach has been throwing up at least once per day since last Monday, so Steve and I have decided to restart his Prevacid on Tuesday to see if that might help. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

Emily has found a new way to let Mom and Dad know that she is finished eating. Instead of turning her head or pushing the food away, she has decided that spitting it out is her preferred way of expressing herself. She slowly oozes it through her teeth. YUCK! Mom is not very impressed. I'd prefer a head turn or a push away. This is a real adjustment because Emily used to always eat everything, so it was quite a shock for her to refuse food. I guess she's in that stage.

Emily and Zach have both managed to take head-first tumbles off of the couch. The couch is for sitting...it is NOT a trampoline. Try telling that to two 16-month-olds. Sorry Mom, it's a trampoline! Thus, some falls, some bruises, and some heart attacks. I'm sure there will be many more for years to come.

Now some good news. Zach had a nutrition visit on Monday. Considering that he has been throwing up more than usual lately, plus he has been sick twice since the Nutritionist's last visit on July 10, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. He is now 30 1/4" tall (previously 29") and he now weighs 20 lbs 14.3 oz (up from 19 lbs 1.5 oz on 07/10/08.) Whoo hoo. Mom is doing the happy dance. We are so proud of our little man. Keep it up Zach! So these latest stats put him at the 8.58 percentile for weight (previously 3.93), and 28.68 percentile for height (previously 18.31). PROGRESS!

On Tuesday, I escaped Cub Central for a few hours to attend a going away dinner for Sally at Uncle Julios. I met Sally through my LCMOM group. She and her family are moving to Japan, so I'm glad I was able to see her before she left. Steve didn't mind even though it was our eight year wedding anniversary. He was fine with it since we had our big family day planned for Saturday, which has now been cancelled thanks to Hurricane Ike. I guess we'll have to plan our anniversary/family fun date for another weekend....minus any hurricanes.

Emily and Zach both have started twirling to music. Very cute, except it knocks their equilibrium off balance, and therefore creates more bruises for them and more skipped heartbeats for mom. But it's still very cute.

Our friend Donna's dad passed away this week, so our thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family.

That sums up this week at Cub Central. Now we're just awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Ike. I'm getting ready to claim my all expense paid trip to the coast, courtesy of my favorite bear. Yeah, right!!! I feel the love!

I feel the love......

Received this via email today:

All Expense Paid Weekend at Sea Isle, Galveston

To Heather Nelson:

You are the grand prize winner in the Cheer Bear Vacation Contest !!!!

No other guest included, but you will be treated to a room with Gulf View on the first floor. Drinks are not included, fresh fish will be the featured feast.......

Prize package good for 9-12-08 Friday and 9-13-08 Saturday nights only.....

Bring your swim suit !!!

Your loving host,

CHEER BEAR

Update on Hurricane Ike

All day long the TV has been on two things....the Weather Channel for me and Handy Manny for Zach. We are keeping an eye on Hurricane Ike as it slams into our coast. They showed a picture of Ike from space, and it engulfs the entire Gulf. I keep hearing "life-threatening" and "catastrophic". Galveston Island is protected only by a 15' - 17' seawall that is 100+ years old. There is already flooding there and the storm hasn't even made landfall yet. Scary!

I have lived in Texas my entire life, with the exception of the two years we spent in New Mexico after Steve and I got married. This is the first time that I can remember being under a tropical storm wind warning (from the NOAA...TROPICAL STORM WIND WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM SATURDAY TO 1 AM CDT SUNDAY). We hardly got any rain when Hurricane Rita hit in 2005, but Ike is a far different animal. So we are continuing our preparations; putting gas in the cars, buying non-perishables, batteries and flashlights, and bottled water. We generally lose power here (even though our power lines are all underground) even during a typical Texas thunderstorm, so I have a feeling we will be without power for several hours on Saturday.

I am quite sad about this turn of events because we had a big Saturday planned. Steve finally has a weekend off, and instead of having our big family day, we will be hunkered down at Cub Central instead. Tomorrow is the Dallas Stars Ice Breaker at the Galleria and then we were going to take the cubs to Going Bonkers, an indoor playground with an area specifically for toddlers. This would have been great fun since Zach and Emily are in their climbing and exploring phase. ***SIGH*** Stupid hurricane.

Happy Birthday to Auntie Leslie

Auntie Leslie, Uncle Craig and Emily

With all of our hurricane preparations in full swing, we are late wishing Auntie Leslie a very happy birthday. We are thinking of you and sending birthday love your way. We hope you had a fabulous birthday!

Hurricane Ike

As are most Texans, we are keeping a very close eye on Hurricane Ike. Some of our coastline cities are undergoing mandatory evacuations, and it looks like Ike will turn north once it hits land. This puts us right in his path. We are hoping that it weakens, and we are already preparing for power outages, high winds, and widespread flooding. We may need to buy a boat since Grandma and Grandpa Bear will probably be needing the raft for themselves.

The latest from NOAA: THE SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY PORTION OF THE FORECAST IS DEPENDENT ON THE TRACK OF HURRICANE IKE. ALTHOUGH THERE IS STILL SOME
UNCERTAINTY...THE LATEST INFORMATION INDICATES THAT IKE WILL MOVE NORTHWARD AFTER IT MAKES LANDFALL. AS THIS SYSTEM TRAVERSES THE REGION SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT...THERE WILL BE THE POTENTIAL FOR STRONG GUSTY WINDS OF 35 TO 60 MPH...WITH GUSTS UP TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SECTIONS...EXTREMELY HEAVY
RAINS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES.

The fun never stops here at Cub Central!

All he wanted was his two front teeth!

WHEW!!! We are jumping for joy that Zach's missing tooth is no longer missing. Bless his heart, he only had three teeth on top because one of the middle ones was stubborn and late to arrive. I was starting to get concerned that we were going to have to get him a dental implant or something. Have no fear, his two front teeth are here!

Me, myself and "I...I....I"

Two little monkeys:

Another little monkey:

Not much to report this week. Zach is still having tons of issues with keeping his food down, much to Mommy's dismay. We were doing so well and now we have reverted back to tossing our lunch every day (and/or breakfast and/or dinner). We are going to restart his Mylanta to see if that might help. We also have a call into his Gastro doc to see about doing the swallow study. We're pretty much at our wits end and don't know what to do to help him. According to Mom's unreliable bathroom scale he has lost almost a pound this month, so I'm praying that my scale really is unreliable.

Our precious little miracle cubs:


Emily has been doing great. Mom gave up some of her control issues and let Emily spoon feed herself. I was amazed at how well she did. She needed some occasional help reloading her spoon, but other than that, I'd say it was a success. Mom even took some pictures. We are very proud!

Emily had her first face-plant (nose dive off the couch) on Monday. Poor thing now has a pretty little bruise above her right eye to show for it. It didn't keep her from climbing back up on the couch for another try though.

Zach is constantly walking around saying "I". I have reminded him that there is no 'i' in team, but Steve said there is an 'i' in twins. He is now our self-absorbed little man. "I....I....I"

He also loves making "fish lips" right now and he looks so cute when he does it! Such a funny little man.

Fish lips:


We didn't get any rain from Hurricane Gustav. It's been such a dry year and our little yard sure shows it. It should be lush and green by the looks of our water bill though. YIKES!

The cubs are enjoying a Handy Manny DVD from Grandma Shirley, so now they are glued to the TV and it gives Mom a free minute to catch up on blogging. Thanks Grandma Shirley! Otherwise, this blog might not have happened. I'm very busy these days trying to catch flying cubs! It's always a circus here at Cub Central!

Zach taking a break while playing with Dad: