Hello.....Is anyone out there?

It's a little before 3am and I am having trouble sleeping, so what better time to update the blog. I often wonder if anyone reads this anymore. I just spent the better part of an hour looking through my old posts, and I must say that I'm glad I have done this blog, I just wish I would have kept up with it a little better. To anyone out there who still visits the blog, my sincerest apologies!

So, I'm sure you are asking: What is going on with the cubs???

Where to start??? The cubs are potty trained and have been for some time. Even at night. I can't remember the last time we bought diapers or pull-ups, but this is now a diaper/pull-up free zone. Emily pretty much potty-trained herself over the summer and I was just a casual (and delighted) observer. Zach took a little more effort, but I think the peer pressure from preschool really kicked him into high gear. We started out the first week in September in pull-ups and by the end of September we were in our "big boys". AWESOMENESS!

The cubs are also in big girl/boy beds. I don't quite remember when that happened either. I do remember that it took 3 tries for Emily to accept the toddler bed, and that was a miserable experience in itself. Now she is in a twin bed (she calls it her "princess bed"). I held Zach's transition off as much as possible, and to my surprise, he did great! We converted first to a toddler bed, and then a twin bed for him as well, and I must say with great relief, that we had no trouble at all with it. Such a pleasant and unexpected surprise.

Our first visit to the Dentist was in February. Emily did fabulous. She let them take x-rays, clean her teeth, and do the exam with little fussing. Zach was a bit more trying. He started screaming when they tried to take xrays so they took us to a room for the Dentist to do an "infant exam" (inward groan). I tried my best to calm him down. Then the Dentist walked in. As she was starting the exam, I asked Zach one last time if he wanted to get his picture (xray) taken and he slowly nodded "yes". I am sure this big change of heart had everything to do with the fact that the Dentist was a very attractive blonde. FLIRT. So xrays, cleaning, and exam...DONE! Both cubs are cavity free. Emily is still missing her 2 year old molars on her right side, and Zach is missing both on top. They are there but haven't broken through yet, so apparently we have more teething in our future. Yippee (UGH)!

The cubs are still taking swim lessons. Last session was quite a test for us, especially for Zach. He would resist going and would cry often, even though he would do what they told him to once he was in the water. He would just cry as he was doing it. This session has been a complete turn around. He is excited to go, puts his swimsuit on without a fight, and is really making great progress. By looking at him this time you would never know the headaches we went through last session. I'm sure the fact that he thinks his instructor, Alex, is cute certainly helps. And yes, he told me "Alex is cute". Of course I just rolled my eyes at him. FLIRT!!! Emily is doing great in her lessons too. She always wants to be the first one to do anything. Last week her group got to go down the "big slide" and that's all I have heard about. They are doing great with their kicks and their "big arms", the only problem is getting them to do both at the same time. They hold their breath, blow bubbles, jump in and turn around to back to the side of the pool, and they do it while looking amusingly adorable in their little goggles!

Both cubs are still in speech therapy, both through the school district and TWU. We are making progress there too. Zach is working on his action verbs. He has a book with pictures of actions, and we go through it by me asking him "What is this girl/boy doing?" and he will tell me "the boy is fishing" or "the girl is running". Last week in the car, he took the book from me, held it up for his sister, and said, "Emily, what is this boy doing?". I was so proud of him. Emily is working on her articulation and she still has some trouble getting her words in the correct order. She sings a lot, which is adorable, but it always takes me a while to figure out the song, because she makes up her own words, and sometimes the tune is a little off. Pretty sure she won't be trying out for American Idol. Gotta love her.

Preschool is wonderful! The cubs run to class and barely look at me as I'm leaving. I practically have to beg for a goodbye kiss. Sometimes they surprise me with "Goodbye, Mommy" but most of the time I can tell they are ready to jump into the first activity and I am just in the way. SIGH. They really are growing up too fast. I love their independence but I love my hugs and kisses more.

Zach eating has been amazing. It definitely isn't because he is trying new things, because he really isn't, but when I look back at where we were two years ago, I am so relieved at the progress he has made. We still have our few select foods, but at least he is eating. He has added "quesadilla" to his food rotation (as well as his vocabulary - so cute to hear him say it). Just this week he asked me for a cookie. He ate two mini-oreo cookies (what mom can say they are excited that their kid ate a cookie?!?!) but of course the next day he had no interest in them. BUT, he asked for a cookie! AND he tried it! I will never complain about that! He loves pasta in almost any form as long as there is no red sauce of any sort on it. There must also be no ketchup within a mile radius of his plate. He still loves Bueno burritos and recently he ate a whole mini pizza by himself. He likes Chuck-E-Cheese pizza too! Can you believe it?? We are still supplementing his diet with Pediasure. I look forward to the day that he will no longer need it, it is quite expensive when he gobbles down 2-3 bottles a day. Emily is still dealing with her addiction to nuggets and fries. She still loves strawberries, bananas, and mandarin oranges, but refuses all veggies. Occasionally I can get her to eat a taco with meat only. Who knew this little monkey would turn into a picky eater. When she was a baby she liked everything except watermelon. Now she is on picky diet too - and of course it can't be anything that Zach likes. That would be too easy. I know there are those out there who feel that I shouldn't cater to them, but when you have a baby with eating issues, you will do whatever it takes for them to eat. Believe me, I have tried the "he'll eat anything if he's hungry" approach, and he will literally refuse to eat. All day. And it won't phase him a bit but it will make the rest of us miserable. I stand by the advice of my pedicatrician..."if you find something he likes, then feed it to him". Even if it is the same thing day after day, because right now, the important thing is maintaining his weight. He still gets his nutritional needs met by vitamins and Pediasure. I have no doubt that when he becomes a teenager I will need a second income to feed him, but for now this is just how things are going to be.

Zach still LOVES golf. Whether he is playing it or watching it on TV, he LOVES it. Which makes his Daddy very proud. He says "Titleist, number one golf ball" every night before bed. I should record it and then see if Titleist will endorse his future golfing career. I am sure that he and Steve will be glued to the TV this Sunday for the final round of the Masters.

My last day of work was March 31st. It was just getting too hard to work and maintain the cubs' "social schedule". Between school, therapies, swim lessons, family time, and my other household duties, I was having difficulty trying to manage work too. I was staying up late at night to work, or passing up on family activities to work, and Steve finally told me I needed to choose one or the other, and of course he was right. I am really thankful that I was able to work for so long, and I am grateful for my boss allowing me to have such a flexible schedule, but now I am thankful that I have one less thing on my plate. I will miss the income, but spending time with the cubs is more important right now.

Steve is still incredibly busy with work and we really enjoy the time when he is home. He is trying to golf once a week, but sometimes other activities keep him from doing so. Eventually we will get a schedule worked out. He has been really great letting me do all my "girl stuff" in the evenings. I still enjoy our neighborhood Bunco group and getting together with the girls for dinner and conversation. I served a year on the Board for my Mothers of Multiples group, but have decided this year to pass that torch on to someone else. Our neighborhood has started a Women's Association, so I've enjoyed meeting new friends and neighbors through that as well.

It's just a crazy, busy time of year for us at Cub Central. I can't believe that my precious cubbies are about to celebrate their fourth birthday. We love and appreciate all of you who have taken this journey with us. Thank you for remaining patient with me as I sadly neglect my blog. We have some exciting things planned this year. The cubs' first airplane trip is scheduled...not sure what to expect there, but we'll make the best of it. I'm sure I'll blog about it six months after it happens! Just pretend that we are in our own special time zone with a six month time delay!

Hugs and kisses from all of us!!