New Skates! New Camera!

Got a new camera for Christmas so I've been experimenting with the movie mode. Here is a video of Maggie putting on a roller skating show. Its amazing how much she has improved since I took this about 5 days ago. She really has the skate and glide motion down. I'll have to do an "after" video for comparison. :)

Starting Solids!

Sean is having a good time in his new high chair. He loves to chew on his spoon. We tried a little pear today on the spoon, and he sort of ate it. Not bad for a first try. Nothing came back out and he tolerated it quite well. He prefers the spoon without food on it though.

It looks like Sean may have a sensitivity to wheat. I let him try some zweiback toast over Christmas and he promptly broke out in hives. I later found out that the eczema on the backs of his legs and tummy may be wheat related as well, so I have cut out all wheat from my diet to see if Seans symptoms improve. Sean won't get wheat at one year old (which is when you are supposed to first sample it) and will have to wait until 18 months or 2 years of age to try again while his gut unlearns the allergic reaction to it. If he is still allergic then, he will likely have to avoid wheat his entire life. :( Lets hope he outgrows it.

Isn't that a cute little bib Sean is wearing? With cookie monster on it? Well, I washed it tonight and it is now pink! Grrrrrr! I washed it with the evil red tablecloth that dyed another load pink earlier this month. Why can't I learn??? All my Christmas towels and kitchen cloth like hotpads, etc, are now pink. This tablecloth is headed to the Goodwill.

Is it just me? or.....

...do these kids have all the same expressions??

No denying they are siblings!

Merry Christmas everyone!

The Nutcracker

Maggie and I went to see the Nutcracker put on by Ballet Arizona. It was a very big production hampered only by the fact that Maggie couldn't sit still during Act II. :P Here she is dressed up in her finest.

Sean and Glen stayed home. I left a bottle, but Sean went happily for 4 hours without eating. He definately nursed when we got home. The ballet took place downtown Phoenix in Symphony Hall. Maggie got to see her old preschool pal, Maddie. One of my old students recognized me. She is in grad school now. Ugh! I feel old! Only 4 days of school left until Christmas Break.

Another Doctor Visit for Sean

Saw the ped again today. Sean's ears are totally better and without the use of any antibiotics. Yay! She proclaimed him healthy and then he got his 6 months vaccinations. Poor little guy cried a bit, but was calm after the nurse left. I believe he got more agitated when they took his temperature rectally. His face turned purple and he screamed!!! Ok. So no more doctor visits until the 9 month well check. Hopefully he stays healthy.

Maggie is doing well, except she is just exhausted by the end of the week. Kindergarten is hard work! The reports home from the teacher generally start good on Monday, and get progressively worse by Friday. :( Her teacher said she was "excessively emotional" today. So we filled her up with pbj and tried to get her to bed early. Unfortenately, we ran into some of those emotions when we asked her to clean up this HUGE mess of packing peanuts she made (Thanks Stephen) so bed didn't arrive until almost 8 o-clock. But at least the peanuts are picked up now. Bleh.

We had planned on visiting the train park tonight for a train ride to the north pole, see the cool lights, and visit with Santa. But nobody was up to it when the time came. Some other day. Tomorrow Glen is chaperoning the xmas dance in my place and Sunday, Maggie and I are going to see the Nutcracker Ballet with some other moms and daughters. I hope Maggie can make it through... Ok. Enough stressing. Time to go eat some icecream. :)

Christmas photos

Got the Christmas tree up and it inspired me to take some pcitures...try to capture the moment as it were. However, all Sean wanted to do was suck on Maggies face. So, the following are the best pictures out of 50 that I took. Which would you like to see inside your Christmas card? Vote for your favorite!

1. Sean going for Maggie's nose.

2. Maggie hefting Sean up by the diaper.

3. Distracted by something off camera.

4. Getting tired of all these photos.

5. Sean looking dazed and confused.

6 month well baby visit

Took Sean to the ped today. He is 19 lbs (50th percentile) and 28.5 inches long (98th percentile). He didn't end up getting his vaccinations today because the doc was concerned about his ears. They are a little red and she wants to wait and make sure he doesn't have an ear infection before doing the vaccines. He seems fine and is in good spirits, but we have an appointment next week to check on those ears.

We were hoping to get our xmas tree today, but it is raining, raining, raining. Maybe tomorrow... Its the weekend....YAY!

Houston...the baby is sitting and laughing!

Sean can sit unsupported! Well...sort of. He tends to fall over when he reaches for a toy. But I can't believe my little baby is so grown up! Ack! He can't sit himself up yet. And he still doesn't roll from tummy to back. He will roll from back to tummy when he is reaching for a toy, but tries to be careful not to turn all the way over because as soon as he has the toy, he rolls back to his back. He definately prefers sitting though.

Today was also his first documented laugh. He is very good at the silent smile and likes to coo and "talk", but he let out a full fledged laugh today when I tickled his tummy, and another laugh when Glen "flew" him through the air. We have such a happy baby!

13 loads of Laundry

Monday -- 1 load of Towels and tablecloth
Tuesday -- My night off but something always comes up
Wedsnesday -- 1 load of diapers
Thursday -- 2 loads Bedsheets
Friday -- 1 load of diapers, 1 load Seans clothes
Saturday -- 2 loads of my clothes, 1 load of Maggie's clothes
Sunday -- 2 loads diapers, 2 loads of Maggie's bedsheets and blankets (wet bed)

Its hard to believe I used to only do 1 or 2 loads a week. Thankfully Glen does his own laundry. Lets just hope the washer doesn't break anytime soon. (knock on wood...)

Tempe Street Fair

Well, its been raining, raining, raining. Strange, I know. But we had lots of plans for the weekend that had to be reworked. We did manage to get to the street fair today inbetween showers. Its always fun to walk around and look at everything. With Maggie and Sean in tow, we saw more performances and ate more snacks then actually wandering the shops. Maggie volunteered during one act. She got to crouch down in a line with 5 other kids while a dog jumped over them. Sean was happy to be carried in the beco. Waaaaaay too crowded for a stroller. Plus I think it kept him warmer. It certainly kept me comfy! :) We also got to listen to the Tempe Police Pipe Band (bagpipes and drums) and the Brazen Heads (Celtic Music). Glen and I actually went to a pub in Dublin called the Brazen Head. Its the oldest pub in Dublin (or in all of Ireland?). Built in the 1400's or so. I remember it had low ceilings and doors. ANyway, Maggie had fun making some crafts in the kids zone and watching a puppet show too. We had to leave a little earlier then planned because I didn't pack enough diapers. But I think everyone got their fill.

How Arizonans do "cold"...

...with mittens and flip flops.

And Sean dressed up in his totally cute winter get up that won't fit tomorrow...

Turkeys and Parades

Well, here it is! The paper-mache turkey. Maggie still wants to put some finishing touches on it, but it looks pretty good! Big though!

The Tempe lights parade was tonight, but I missed it. I stayed home with Sean who is a little sick. Glen and Maggie went and they had tons of fun. Well, Maggie had fun anyway. ;) Thanksgiving was fine. I managed to ruin the yams, gravy, asparagus, and potatoes. Oh... and the turkey was underdone inside. I blame it on trying to multi-task with 2 kids, but really I just was having an off day. Glen and Maggie were out and about so it was just me and Sean, and he was sleeping most of the time. Oh well. Better luck next year. Hope everyone else had a good meal!

Paper Mache Turkey

I'm not sure where Maggie got the idea. But Glen thought it sounded fun so off they went on their project together. Glen shaped a turkey out of chicken wire and then they started putting the strips of newspaper over it. Its not currently done. Maggie is looking forward to painting it tomorrow morning but I don't think it will be dry by then. Fortuneately, the turkey looks more like a goose, so maybe it can become part of our Christmas decorations as well...

The peanut gallery watching the goings on.

Peter Piper Pizza

Its Tuesday and its the end of a loooooong week. Ok, it wasn't really that long. But we felt the need to celebrate the start of a 5 day weekend. Wooo hoooo! Maggie has school tomorrow, but Glen and I don't. I'm going to use the time to make pies for Thanksgiving and maybe get a jump on xmas shopping. Most of my shopping has been online this year, but there are a few things I prefer/need to get in person.

Maggie's class is having Thanksgiving Dinner for lunch tomorrow and families are invited, so Glen, Sean and I are going down for lunch at 9:45 am. (!?!) They stagger the start of lunch every 15 minutes starting with Kindergarten and ending with 6th grade. So when Maggie is in the cafeteria, she is there with 1st grade and leaving when 2nd grade starts to come in, if that makes sense. Can't wait to experience "the cafe" as Maggie calls it. Sounds more elegant then the cafeteria. I hope there will be some of Maggie's work on the walls in her classroom so I can see what she has been up to. She still is highly non-communicative about what goes on during her day.

Ok...so I have rambled a bit and haven't even addressed what the title of this post proclaims. We went to Peter Piper Pizza for dinner. The pizza was so much better than I remember. (We haven't been since Maggie was Sean's age as we had a bad experience...) Maybe I was just hungry? We had tons of fun. Even Maggie ate a piece of pizza. She usually picks everything off, but I noticed she left the mushrooms on this time. They were fresh, not canned. Very tastey. Sean hung out in the sling. He is too big to be worn the way I used to wear him when he was tiny. Now I put him on my hip and use the sling to support carrying him. It worked very well. Less stress on my back and Sean could see out and turn, but still snuggle down when he has had enough. I still prefer the Beco (SSC -- "soft structured carrier" for those new to babywearing -- looks like a little backpack worn on the front or back) for long carries as the weight is distributed on the hips. But its not comfy to sit in. The sling still wins for carrying while sitting.

I'm glad my English teacher isn;t reading these. I'm sure I'd lose points for grammer. I just reread everything and my writing leaves something to be desired. Oh well. Its just a blog, right? L8r!

Time flies

Wow. Has it really been almost a week since my last post? Time flies. Its been a good week. Maggie had her first field trip at school. They went to the zoo. I assume it went well. She really doesn't like to talk about her day. But her daily classwork sheet I have to sign came home with stars instead of frowning faces, so i guess things went well. I realized I need to start shopping for Christmas pronto. No more of this lazy online browsing. Its time to commit and buy!

Sean is wearing 12-18 months size clothes! He is only 5 months old! Yikes! Its getting hard to find babyish clothes that size. Everything is jeans and football shirts and polos. I really don't want to dress my baby up like a little bruiser! Let him be little for a bit longer. So I am on the hunt for soft knit baby pants and onesies in bright colors. None of this navy/gray/brown stuff. I want bright red, kelly green, and deep purple! My kids are children. THey deserve to dress in bright, fun colors. I don't like the adult male color scheme they are pushing in the 12-18 month clothing section. :( Rant done.

Jumperoo! Hopperoo!

Ok. We broke down and bought a big plastic baby item that will be outgrown in about 6 months. (I guess the baby bucket car seat fits into that category too, but ya have to buy those!) We bought Sean a jumparoo! It looks like an Exersaucer but with springs. There is one at daycare and he is always smiling when he is in it, so we bought one. He absolutely loves it! We don't have much baby paraphenalia beyond a stroller that we don't use, and a bouncy chair from when Maggie was a baby. So I guess this brings us up to par with mainstream america. Can you tell I am feeling guilty? We've been trying to stay away from MIC items (made in China) and also excessive plastic. Oh well.

Maggie loves the jumparoo too. She is very MAD that she is not allowed to climb in and give it a whirl. She asked Glen to build her a Maggie size jumparoo in the backyard. Maggie is somewhat appeased by the fact she can use her hopparoo while Sean is in the jumparoo. (Jumparoo time is when I am cooking dinner) She hops all around Sean and plays "Froggie". Sean is "baby froggy", Maggie is "sister froggy", and I am "mommy froggy". My job in the game is to ask "sister froggy" to catch some flies for dinner.

Here are some pictures...

The snuffles...

Sean has the snuffles. Actually, he is rather congested and sometimes does a little wheezing when breathing. :( We spent a lot of time in the hot, steamy bathroom with him this weekend to try to break up some of the congestion. He seems his chipper self otherwise. But as I write this, I can hear him sort of snoring because his nose is plugged up. Poor little guy. The good thing is no work tomorrow. Its Veteran's day and both Maggie and Sean's schools are closed so I "had" to take the day off too, and happy to do so. If Sean is up to it, we plan on going to the Veteran's day parade in downtown Tempe. Poor Glen has to work. It's somewhat silly that school is in session. They are closing down the street its on between 9am and 1pm because of the parade. (Not the same parade we are going to.)

Coloring Book from Photos

I thought this was a neat idea. My Kodak Easyshare Software has a "coloring book" effect. It will turn a photo into something you can color. Here is an example.

I thought it would be fun to make a coloring book out of family photos for Maggie for Christmas. Its becoming harder then I thought. Only a few photos look good with the coloring book effect turned on. If there is a busy background, forget it! Close-ups are good, but not too close. One of Sean I tried to make looks like he has no nose. Not enough color variation for the algorithm to detect I guess. The picture above looks like I have some black teeth and Glen looks like he has a double chin. Oh well. I need to focus on getting some good pictures for this project. I also need to figure out a way to put them together in a book. I guess I could just print them out and put them in a folder or something, but I was hoping for something more professional looking. Any ideas?

Halloween Pictures

First Parent Teacher Conference

Well, we survived our first parent-teacher conference. I feel it went well. The teacher seems less frustrated with Maggie's stubborness than the last time we talked. I know she is becoming more cooperative. I feel she has adjusted to life with a baby brother, and life at home seems much smoother the last few weeks. I suspect its the same at school. Boy they do a lot of worksheets! Bleh! The teacher does not seem into the hands on activities I envisioned there being in Kindergarten. Maggie has never brought home any artwork either. She has really been into painting at her easel lately. I guess to make up for it. They do have a weekly music class though, and Maggie has really been enjoying that. She likes to hit the rummy sticks.

In other news, Halloween was great. Maggie, Sean, and I went TOT-ing. Maggie was a mermaid and Sean was a dragon. Sean slept the whole time. Glen stayed home to hand out the candy. We got a lot of TOT-ers this year. Ran out of candy! That has never happened! Fortuneately, Maggie had scored a ton, so we passed out a bit of her candy while she was occupied in the bath-tub. Shhhhh! Don't tell! I'll try to post pics this weekend.

Moldy Pumpkins

I should know better than to carve pumpkins 5 whole days before Halloween in Arizona. Maggie was beside herself when she discovered long hairy mold growing inside her pumpkin. Oh the tears! The drama! She was convinced that Halloween wasn't going to come now. :( Glen whacked off the mold. Hopefully they last until the big day! 92 degrees is too hot for Halloween IMO.

Pumpkin Carving

When carving pumpkins, some of us gingerly scoop out the seeds and goop with a spoon. Those who are less timid dive in with their hands. Today, Maggie provides a third option. To truly get into the whole pumpkin carving experience, she prefers a "pumpkin bath". Yes. Once the seeds and goop have been removed, she likes to put them in a big bowl. Silly me thought she was actually helping to clean up. Then I saw her fill the bowl with water and stick her feet in. Ahhhhh...so fun!

Sean, on the other hand, was extremely less than enthused by the whole pumpkin tradition. Being somewhat groggy from a recent nap, the best he could muster was a look that says "what are these people doing?".

1st Report Card!

Maggie got her first report card today. She got mostly S's for Satisfactory, which means she is on target for her age. Got an N for Needs Improvement in "Staying on Task" and "Completes work carefully". No E's for Excelling yet. Her teacher commented that Maggie's behavior has improved a lot since the beginning of the year. I guess she is finally settling into her new life with a little brother and a big Kindergarten.

As for those N's, yes I have seen her sloppy work. She does that when she is uninterested in the activity. When she is into something, she will be very careful with her work. I guess school isn't inspiring her. Either that or she is just being lazy.

Parent-Teacher conferences are next week, so more on how Maggie is doing in school later. As for Sean, he drank his bottle of expressed breastmilk (EBM) 4 days in a row! He has NEVER done that. Never had more than an ounce under much duress. Today he drank both of the bottles I left for him and was wanting more! I guess he finally decided to drink for the daycare workers. I'm so glad he isn't starving when I pick him up anymore. Lets hope this continues...

Baby Face!

People have been commenting lately on how Maggie and Sean have the same baby face. What do you think?

I think they have the same nose and mouth, but different eyebrows. Sean definately has Glen's flat-ish eyebrows.

Hmmmm...I'm going to have to work on my formatting. This is not how I wanted it layed out... Please pardon the new blogger.

Testing...1...2...3...

And with a few clicks of the mouse button, the Hestenes family has entered the blogging world. I hope this blog will help keep family and friends up to date on the goings on of our family. Now...lets see if I can post a few pictures....