First Snow

The boys decked out for a snow day!

Robbie trompin' through the deep stuff!

It snowed this morning!!! This weekend we went and got Robbie a snow suit (we knew that he would be miserable staying inside all winter) for a steal down in St. Louis--what perfect timing! Rob and Robbie made a snowman, slid down our little hill in the front yard on a cookie sheet, had a snowball fight, and wrestled in the snow...it was a great time.

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving we went to our friends' house, the Humphreys, for dinner. It was great--we didn't have to cook the whole meal and the kids got to run around for a few hours. As is tradition in the this house now, Rob made his pumpkin pie from scratch (he opts not to carve his pumpkin at Halloween in order to save it for pumpkin pies and cookies). This year I am most grateful for the little things: walking, cooking, doing dishes, picking up my kids, nursing...I didn't realize these things were even blessings until I couldn't do them anymore. We really are so blessed!

I tried to get a picture of Robbie's curls, but he just wouldn't cooperate. This is the only picture that he isn't glaring at the camera (and you can barely see his golden locks!).
I think it is totally hilarious how babies look just like little people. I had Rob hold Ty up and saw that he is just barely above Rob's knee...imagine a little person like this walking at talking! So sweet.

Robbie loves to cook (or "help"). This is a picture of Robbie helping Daddy with the pumpkin pie. He lost his counter priviledges, however, when he started dumping flour and spices everywhere.

St. Louis Zoo

Rob had this week off of school, so we headed down to St. Louis for a day at the zoo. Robbie absolutely loved it! He kept running from exhibit to exhibit saying, "See more animals!!!" It was a beautiful day and so fun.

Robbie and the giraffe

Mommy, Robbie, and the grizzly bear
I love this picture! I can't walk well still, so Rob basically has to do it all. This is his Super Dad picture--it was even better when he had Ty in the Baby Bjorn, still pushed the stroller with Robbie in it, and carried the backpack...he's a trooper!

Ty is the best little baby; he just smiles, laughs, and watches. The other day Robbie had him in a head lock (trying to give him "loves") and Ty just let Robbie have his fun. I took this at the zoo...it is such a Ty look, I had to post it.

Robbie exploring the "inside of a tree" tunnel.

Daddy's Shoulders

I don't know what it is about being on your daddy's shoulders, but for some reason, kids love it. I still remember the feeling--so high and exciting! Rob and I were looking at pictures yesterday and he said, "Man, the kids are always on my shoulders!" What lucky kids!!! I just had attach a few pictures. Ty with Daddy
Robbie (with his turkey hat he made in his preschool group) and Daddy in the backyard.

Brotherly Love

The other day I was doing dishes or something when I heard Ty start to cry. I came out to find him like this... sticky stuff all over his face and jammies! What happened? Robbie wasn't anywhere in sight, so I called for him up the stairs. Little man came down like this:

Mystery solved.

Haas Hospital

Mommy and Me! She's my little life saver! Doesn't she look great. She went to the doctor with me, and the NP whispers, "Is that your MOM?? She looks so young!"

My sulfa reaction...so painful and yucky!

No this isn't a hospital shower...it is my shower after my mom got to it!

This about sums it up...crutches, a walker, (the wheelchair is in the car), and a bottle since I can't nurse.

When it rains...it pours! After my first and second foot surgery, my foot got infected. I was on Keflex for two weeks, only to find out that I actually had MRSA--a very scary (can be fatal) form of staph. That same day, Robbie got a fever (which he kept for 2 days) and blisters all over his lips and tongue. I had to stop nursing, so Ty was miserable. I developed tendinitis in my left foot from all of hopping. My parents could tell I was at breaking point (not being able to walk for two months is tough, let alone discovering you have a scary infection and sick kids...) so my mom flew out. She came just in time, too. The night she came the fevers started. I held a fever for 3 days, followed by a rash that covered my body. Over the phone the doctor said it was a virus. On Sunday the fever broke for a few hours, but then came back full force along with a hot, swollen face and the rash connecting all over my body into huge red masses. I went to the ER and found out I am allergic to sulfa drugs (I would be so lucky). My mom extended her trip and has made my life so much better! She has transformed my house into a little hospital; everything has to be sanitized with bleach to kill the MRSA, so the first few days she did about 4 loads of laundry every day! I am so grateful for her...I couldn't have done this without her.

Halloween

I was totally out of it for Halloween (see other posts), but fortunately my mom came to the rescue and bought Robbie a frog costume in California. As you can see, Robbie wasn't too excited about fitting into the hot, uncomfortable costume, but once Rob took him to the Trunk-or-Treat and Robbie saw all the candy...all was forgotten!

Pictures

When Robbie wants to look handsome for pictures, he makes this face. I have no idea...

Robbie's baths have turned more into a swimming pool than a shallow bath lately (thanks Rob. Rob encourages Robbie to practice "swimming" in the tub...never a good sign). His rubber ducks are even drowning! No worries, we're always right there.

Ty going to church. I love this little old man stage...he's losing his hair so the ensemble is perfect!

Let the Punishment Fit the Crime

I can't wait until he can reach the sink and do dishes, too!

Robbie reaching for a few crackers while he works

I love my mom. We talk all the time. The most common topic of discussion recently, it seems, is dicipline. We'll be on the phone and she will hear Robbie throw some kind of a tantrum, and I start to laugh (mind you, this isn't all the time, but kids sometimes are just hilarious--even when throwing tantrums!). Well, that always starts a little lecture about how I must dare to discipline so that my kids turn out as well as hers! :) Her hot topic right now is letting the punishment fit the crime (this actually stems from my sister-in-law, Sarah). Well, I've been trying it lately, and though it is often more frustrating for me, it is more beneficial for Robbie and me in the long run. Here is an example. The other day Robbie was eating crackers. He thought it would be really cool if he could stuff them through a pipe and eat them on the other end. Well, they didn't quite fit, so he mashed the crackers into pieces, shoving them through the pipe and then dumping them all over the floor. Way fun (except Mommy didn't like it)!!! Well, instead of spanking him or something, he had to clean up the room and vacuum the crackers up. As for my laughing, though, I'm still going to have to work on that. A vacuum is heavy for a little guy, so after a minute of vacumming, Robbie realized that it was faster to just eat the crackers of the ground.

And so it continues...

Balcony view from our place in Midway

A few years ago, my little sister, Aricka, asked Rob, "So how come you are the same age as Jaron [my older brother] but he has a job, a house, and kids, and you don't have anything?" We still laugh about it, but since then, the only thing we have remedied is having kids. Why? It is simply the road we have chosen to take. Playing college ball so Rob could pay his way through school meant 6 years of undergrad. After that he worked for a year at a surgical hospital and then moved on to medical school. Eight years from now, though, we'll hopefully have a job and a house! We've been married 6 years; four of those years were in Michigan, one in Utah, and we are going on our second year in Missouri. Where to next...UTAH! Yep, Rob is going to be doing his 3rd and 4th year rotations in Provo, Utah. We are so excited to be close to family again, especially since Rob will have to be gone for about 4 months during his 4th year. We are planning on living in Midway, Utah (my parents have a place there)--a darling little Swiss town in the mountains. The boys will be able to swim and play basketball all year long and in the summer there is so much for them to do, they are going to go bonkers! We'll miss Kirksville a ton, but it is time, once again, to move on.

Son of a Doctor

I made a berry pie yesterday and Robbie spotted the leftovers in the fridge. Rob smiled and said, "Do you want some pie? Blackberries are good for you...they have lots of antioxidants." Robbie smiled, so excited that Daddy was yielding so easily and said, "Yeah, ox-ents. Make you big and frong [strong]." Pretty soon ice cream will be an excellent source of calcium!

Mr. Fix It

There are two ways to fix things in our house: band-aids and drills. Robbie sees Rob with the drill all the time. Just this weekend, I caught Robbie drilling holes in our fence out back...not exactly the safest toy for a child, but still. Anyway, this morning Rob had tried fixing some of Robbie's broken horse toys with his drill and had left it on the table (under my supervision). Later Robbie and I were coloring in his coloring book. He grabbled the white crayon (which, as most parents know, is a mystery to children since it never works on their white paper) and quickly said, "Uh oh. It's broken! Mommy, I fix it, k?" He headed for the table and started drilling the crayon. I couldn't help but laugh.

Halloween Decorations

This week Robbie and I took out the Halloween decorations and had a blast. We put orange lights in the window and spiders hanging from strings. We stuck little jack-o-lantern window stickers on our front door and put little ghosts in our front yard. All of that was cool, but when Daddy came home, they got to put spider webs all over the bush and stick plastic spiders, skeletons, and scorpions in them. So cool. Robbie just loved it.

Still-A-Bration

Robbie on the pony

Deputy Haas showing off his prizes!

I love ATSU for so many reasons, but number one would have to be that it is such a family-friendly school! This year's Still-A-Bration (like Homecoming) theme was a western corral. The whole first hour and a half they devoted to kids games: pony rides, tattoos, roping cattle, jolly jump...it was great and totally free!

Displastic Nevi

About three weeks ago I had a mole removed from the bottom of my foot. My parents had always told me that wasn't a good place to have moles, so I figured instead of "keeping an eye on it" for the next 25 years, I might as well get rid of it. It was a week of pain and discomfort, but hey, it was only a week. Well, when I went in to get the stitches out (which, by the way, ripped open the wound again), I found out that the mole was a displastic nevi with moderate atypia; in not-so-medical terms: pre-cancerous! I went home and cried because I had to have another surgery, but I was also being overly dramatic and staring at my kids like I'd never see them again. I had the second surgery on Thursday in order to clear the margins. Since I ripped my stitches last time, I can't walk on my foot for two weeks now. The pain is so intense this time it wakes me at night. So sad. Poor Rob has to be Student/Mr. Mom/Homemaker/Cook all over again. Still, better two weeks than melanoma, right?

He Says...

I'll never forget my friend DeAnne who told me, "Oh it is so fun when your kids start talking because you get to know what they are thinking." True.

Laying down the rules:

Ty is still in the wiggle stage, so his hands flail. Robbie was extra close and Ty popped him in the nose. Robbie gently said, "No hitting, Baby!"

"No more studying, Dad!"

"Move! It's mine!"

Robbie has given Ty 3 different colds (beginning when Ty was 5 weeks old!!). So, Robbie is only supposed to kiss the baby on the head or cheek. This morning I kissed Ty on the lips and Robbie couldn't believe it. "No kiss the lips, Mom!!!" he said accusingly. I had to smile.

The Dramatics:

After putting on a pair of sunglasses: "Cool Dude!" "Oh yeah! Oh yeah!"

Following a scream of pain from upstairs: "Mommy! I pushed Cohen."

"Daddy, I'm starving!!!"

"That's disgusting!" (after seeing a bug)

Airplane

Like his Grandpa Wilde, Robbie is obsessed with airplanes (and helicopters). We live by the hospital where we can hear and see the life flight helicopters land and take-off. When airplanes fly overhead, he will run outside to point them out. Well, for Robbie's birthday, my mom got him this airplane (as you see from the picture, flying it is very serious business). The propeller spins and makes an engine sound when you push a button. Robbie is in love with it. For days he wouldn't go anywhere without it. I taught his preschool at my house this week and had to leave it upstairs so that other kids wouldn't try and play with it (I knew that would only end in violence and tears!!!). Who knows, we just might have a pilot in the making.

Like Mama

Like all kids, Robbie loves to do whatever Mommy and Daddy are doing. If Rob is drinking V8, Robbie wants V8 (and pretends to like it 'cause Daddy does). If Mommy is sweeping, Robbie goes and grabs his little broom and sweeps too. I took these pictures this week of Robbie trying to immitate Mommy. What a little helper!

Robbie cleaning up Ty's spit-up.

Whenever I bake, Robbie wants to help. Together we have made muffins and cupcakes in the last few weeks. Well, Robbie found a tube of lotion and realized that the consistency looked an awful lot like batter. He ran to the cupboard and grabbed this pan and started sqeezing the lotion into it. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "I cookin' it!"

I made these little FALL blocks at my SAA Project Night this week. I was so excited to get out my fall decorations afterwards, so Robbie and I went to work. He climbed up on the chair and handed me all the pumpkins, corn, and leaves. This is him being proud of a job well done.

Tummy Time

Ty is started to smile and coo; we just love it. He enjoys his tummy time much more than Robbie did, but when he is done, he is done. About an hour ago Rob put him on his tummy Ty was quickly bored and started to fuss. When we didn't come to entertain, he simply rolled over. Rob put him back on his belly, but Ty rolled again. After four times of trying and Ty letting us know he did not want to be on his tummy, we picked him up. Looks like we are two-for-two in getting independent little guys.

Happy Birthday!

I can't believe that my little boy is TWO!!! Robbie turned two on the 8th and this weekend we had a little party for him. It was really great. We simply set up tents and tunnels (thanks Mom), his slide, balls, cars, and tons of balloons, and let the kids play. Before we knew it, the kids were sliding head first down the slide, through a tunnel and into a tent full of balloons (and other kids)!!! The event was topped off by my pathetic rendition of a pinata (I was too cheap to buy one, so I took paper bags and tied strings through the top, reinforcing it with duct tape) and cupcakes. It was a blast.

The Bow

Though it started out as a green branch and old rubber band, Daddy transformed it into something amazing! This is not just a bow--this is Robbie's best friend, his must-have companion when watching Robin Hood, his excuse for shooting with Daddy out back, and his latissmus dorsi builder. Just goes to show that you certainly don't need a lot of money to make a child happy--just an imagination!

Break

Rob is offically in his second year of medical school (only 8 more to go)!!!! He got a week long break after finals and I wanted to show you some of the things we did. We were origionally planning a trip down to Branson, MO with some friends, but Hurricane Gustav hit and the weather was going to be bad. Instead, we went with a few families to Long Branch State Park--about 30 minutes from Kirksville, where the kids got to watch their daddys fish and set up camp. It was great fun and the kids loved it! Ty has never slept so well--a natural mountain man. I made the mistake of sleeping between the boys (both are bed hogs, as you see) so on one of my many moments of being awoken by stray arms, I took this sweet picture. When we first moved into our ghetto apartment in Michigan, the previous tenant had left a couch and this little end table. We kept them both because we had no furniture, really. Well, after 6 years, we finally decided to refinish it. We were kind of impatient, so it is a little two-toned, but we figure that is trendy now anyway.

BEFORE

AFTER

Vitamins

This week we finally bought Robbie his first bottle of Flinstone Vitamins--a momentous occasion in every child's life, we know. Of course he loved them and wanted more and more. We tried to explain that if he had too many he could get sick, but I suppose he thought he was willing to take the risk and contintued to cry and beg. Finally, Rob said, "Robbie, listen, you get one vitamin per day when you eat breakfast, okay?" Robbie suddenly was calm, even happy. I smiled and said, "See Rob, you just needed to explain it to him so he could understand." Before Rob could even respond, Robbie was climbing up his highchair and said, "Cereal, please . . . and a vitamin."

Baby Blue Eyes

So many people have been asking, "Are Ty's eyes blue?" This, of course, would come as a shock since Rob and I both have brown eyes and Robbie's are extra-dark brown. But--Ty's eyes currently are blue. Rob thinks they will stay blue (Rob's dad's eyes are blue, so he thinks he will get the blue from him), but I think they will change. Only time will tell.

Wet Walk

Weather is so upredictable! About a week ago the little boy that mows the lawns on our street accidently broke a window on our car. Well, we live in a small town and it took almost 5 days to get fixed; fortunately, I had my stroller! Still, I was at a friend's house with the boys one day and decided I better get home to make dinner. Along the way the sky started to turn dark and eerie and before I knew it, rain was pounding on us!!! The big drops really didn't start until a block or two from the house, but I was still surprised at how well the boys did. Robbie loved it and Ty woke up just to see what was going on.

Oops!

So we were shopping in the store today and Rob gave Robbie some preserves to add to the cart. Needless to say, giving anything glass to an almost-two year old is often a mistake. Robbie dropped it and loudly said, "Doggonnit" (or however you spell it)! Rob and I both started cracking up--good thing we haven't been using "shorter" words in our house; could have been pretty embarrassing.

Exciting Events

Ty rolled over for his first time at 51/2 weeks old! In the last week and a half since then, he has rolled over two more times. This has come as a huge shock to Rob and me--Robbie didn't roll over until he was 7 months old.

Robbie finally smiled normally for the camera--so cute!

We got this fabulous double stroller and LOVE it. Walks just weren't the same carrying a child.

Robbie has become a self-sufficient bather--washing hair and all! Oh wait, it's hand soap and in the bathroom sink. Still, he thinks it is pretty cool.

Mimic

If you ever are curious how others perceive you, borrow a child! Robbie clearly picks up on more than we think...and it is so cute. The other day, for example, Rob came down the stairs wearing the most hideous bright yellow shorts (they are comfortable apparently). Well, Little Robbie didn't miss a beat. He got a huge smile on his face, almost laughing and said, "Dad, what are you doing?" Must have gotten that one from me.... Today he was playing on my bed and decided to pretend he was asleep. "I'm asleep," he said and started imitating a snore. Then he popped his head up and said, "I'm awake." I smiled and said, "That was a short nap." He simply responded, "Yeah, I have a test." That one is all Rob's. My favorite, though, is to see how he treats Ty. When Ty is doing tummy time and starts to fuss, Robbie rushed to him and whispers to his face, always stroking the side of Ty's head, "It's okay, Ty. It's okay baby. I got you." My heart melts every time.

So Alike!

Robbie and Ty are so different but so similar, too!

Left: Robert Wilde

Right: Ty Stuart

Happy Days

On his way to South Carolina, my dad (Robbie calls his grandpa "Beepba") stopped by for the weekend to hang out with the boys. Robbie has never been the same. Every single day he asks when Beepba is coming back, and my dad has called and talked to Robbie every day since then--they really bonded! But what wasn't to like? Beepba gave Robbie a ball and M&Ms when he first saw him! Besides that, they played basketball and basketball, shot bows and arrows outside, played on the slip 'n' slide, and wrestled! Coolest grandpa ever! Grandpa showing off his skills
Learning to slam dunk
My little growing Ty! He's getting so big.
Loungin' in the diapers and loving it.