Bah humbug

I manage to get one cub feeling better just in time for the other to get sick. Emily has been running a fever since Sunday night. I took her to the Doctor on Monday morning only for them to tell me they can't see any infection in her ears, nose or throat. I guess I should be thankful, but no antibiotics and a persistent fever makes for an unhappy little girl and a very tired Mommy. Exhausting.

The weather isn't helping. It's been mostly rainy and damp. The sun finally came out today but the wind was bitterly cold. We're expecting snow tomorrow night. What an unusual winter we are having. Three snow days in December and a stretch of below freezing temperatures for a straight 53 hours is very rare for Texas. FOR A REASON!!! WE DON'T LIKE COLD WEATHER HERE!!! We like our warmth and sunshine and we want it back!!!

Starting February off with a bang....

...of antibiotics! Yippee! Poor Z-man has come down with an ear infection. WHAT a bummer!! So I kept both cubs home from preschool on Monday and speech on Tuesday. Tomorrow Emily can go to school and I will have to keep Zach home until his fever goes down, so hopefully the antibiotics will kick in quickly. I'm just praying that Emily doesn't get it too.

Z still loves the alphabet, except that he won't say "H", instead he just repeats the "G". He spells his name Z-A-C-G. Oops. Oh well, hopefully he'll figure it out soon.

Emily is doing great. Every day is something new. She's very big into giving hugs, even to her brother. So sweet, even though Zach doesn't like it much. Bath time is still going really well. They LOVE LOVE LOVE baths. They are practicing putting their heads in the water which will be great when it warms up enough to go to the pool. Splish splash!!

We haven't taken many pictures lately, I guess we're in a down swing. With everyone being sick lately I don't think we've felt in the picture-taking mood. I'm sure that will change soon...waiting for Spring to get here! Outdoor pictures are way more fun!!

ESL

I'm contemplating teaching the cubs English as a second language (ESL). Here are a few short blurps from conversations I've had lately with Emily...

The first while I was talking on the phone to Grandma Bear:

Me: Emily, can you say 'hi' to Grandma Bear?

Emily: Hola (Hello in Spanish)

and then while Emily was standing at the refrigerator door (which she had opened) and pointing to a bottle of juice.

Me: What do you want?

Emily: Juice

Me: This juice?

Emily: Si (Yes in Spanish)

Since we're progressing slowly with English, maybe I should just switch to Spanish instead. I might have better luck.

Where have we been?

Hmmm, good question. Every day seems to be a repeat of the last. Naps are becoming fewer and farther between....EEEKKK! NAPS are very important to our well-being. Theirs and mine. I wonder if bribery would work....these are desperate times!

The cubs are doing well. We had a pretty bad case of the germies here at Cub Central. It seems that I was harder hit than the rest of the crew. We're going on two weeks of the dreaded cough...it has to end sometime, right? We have had our fair share of runny noses, coughing, and sleepless nights. Even Dad was a little under the weather.

Speech therapy at TWU starts again tomorrow. I am looking forward to it! The cubs really seemed to benefit from the sessions last semester. I can't believe the progress Zach has made with his numbers and ABCs. I will write them down and he will say the number or letter. I even mix them up and he still gets them. He still has a little trouble with M, N and W, but it becomes clearer each day....and he LOVES to do it. Emily is using two-word phrases and is repeating almost everything. Please sounds like 'fleas' which makes me laugh every time because it's so cute.

We have stalled in the eating department. Emily is on a strike. She hasn't really wanted anything. I place a plate in front of her and she turns her head, sticks her nose in the air, and adamantly says "no". GRRR! Things she used to love she refuses and when I offer new things she refuses that too. Whatever this phase is, I hope it passes quickly. Zach is now eating chicken nuggets, fish sticks and Ritz crackers. While this is huge (HUGE) progress, it makes me laugh that we have gone from one extreme to the other. Before he would just nibble microscopic bites and now he shoves the whole thing in his mouth, which makes mom very nervous. I would much appreciate a happy medium.

We now have a busy Spring ahead. With speech and preschool we now have something to do every weekday, so I'm hoping the days pass with less drama and as they get busier I hope their napping frequency increases back up. FINGERS crossed.

Christmas #2

Because the weather delayed Grandma and Grandpa Bear's visit, we had our second Christmas on January 2nd. Here are a few pictures.


Cheer Bear made a special appearance at Cub Central.

E and Z with their super-duper extra large Christmas stockings from Great-Grandma Betty.

The flashlights were a big hit.

Zach is all about the alphabet!!

Steve helping Zach tackle the new shopping cart.

Tent time!!

Peek-a-boo!

Our future hoarder. She relocated everything from the toy bins to the new tent.

Poor Zach can't even get into the tent.

Me with my traditional Christmas gift...Humfrey!! This is the 23rd Anniversary Bear.

Santa even left a special gift for my favorite bear.

Obligatory Baxter photo. I wasn't aware that we offered facial massages here.

Christmas #1

Christmas photos from Christmas morning....FINALLY!!!


Playdoh, playdoh and more playdoh

Zach and his DoodlePad

Mom helping Cinderella with her "glass slipper".

Em loved her new jammies so much she had to put them on "right now".

Little monkey even put them on over her clothes.

Zach reading his new book.

Zach opening his new remote control transformer truck while Em tries to free her new puppy.

Emily ripping into her new Musical Color Pad.

Tubdoodles for bathtub fun.

Mr. Potato Head.

Opening each other's presents.

Zach's train and Emily's doll house...or vice versa.

Doll house fun.

Best buds.

Loving her new doggy...she didn't put her down all day.

Pool progress

It took approximately 72 hours to fill and now we finally have our pool. Too bad it is still WAY too cold to enjoy it.