Evan's one year check-up

This will be a boring no picture blog since I am super tired and need to go to bed. Anyway, I'll post his birthday pictures later...which was also a pretty low-key birthday.

The boys are very similar in size. Evan may be a tiny bit smaller than Luc was. Here are there stats at 12 months starting with Evan:


Height 30 in (50th percentile)
Weight 22 lb (40th percentile)
Head 48 1/2 cm (95th percentile)

Luc's 12 month stats:
Height 31 in (97th percentile) I am thinking one of these percentiles is wrong.
Weight 22 1/2 lb (45th percentile)
Head 49 cm (97th percentile)

Evan woke up with a swollen red eye this morning. Luckily, we were already going to the doctor. She said it may be the start of pink eye...or it's just allergies. This is awesome since we're flying tomorrow. I'll just put a patch over his eye.

Evan looks great for the most part. We did have a little bit of a dramatic visit though. He got 3 shots which he was pretty sad about. Then they wanted to take blood to check his iron. She took the blood then came back in and said "I need to get a little more. Something looks REALLY BAD with his blood." I say "Oh is he anemic" (after all, I do forget to give him his vitamins). "No, it's a lot worse than that" she says. What the heck? So she squeezes more blood out of his tiny little finger as he screams his little lungs out. Again, his blood looked really bad. She decides it is best to do it a 3rd time but start all over on another finger. By this time, I am beginning to feel a little panicky and both Evan and I have blood all over us (my legs, my face, my neck, his clothes, his face, my arms, etc). She does it the 3rd time. The blood "looks" normal. Dr Mani came in and said he is a little anemic. I asked about the serious problem with his blood and she said it must have been something in the test tube or something. UGH Anyway, no biggy about low iron. I just need to be more consistent with his vitamins.

We do have to take him back to the pediatric ophthalmologist to have his eyes checked again. She said they still look off when she does the light test. I'm not very worried about his eyes. We also have to take him to a cardiologist to check out the heart murmur. I'm not worried about that either since both Luc and I have a murmur. Anyway, we'll go just to be 100% positive though.

Other than that, Dr Mani was happy to see him walking, talking, finally sleeping through the night (although I'm not happy with his early wake-up call around 6:30-7am), and eating well.

The Plaid Family

We wear plaid a lot. I never really noticed until Heather pointed it out while she was here.

Sky and Sun

I love that the boys are in bed before sunset. Sometimes I really enjoy sitting out on the balcony and just watching the sun go down. I do complain about the heat of the afternoon sun making our apartment so hot. The view of the sunset really may be worth it though. It's always beautiful whether it is cloudy or clear skies. 

We returned from our nice relaxing night away...

Have I mentioned that I love taking pictures of my kids crying! This face is just so cute!

Anniversary/Brian's birthday/first night away from kids Get-Away

This week of May is so busy for us. First there is Mother's day, then our wedding anniversary, then Evan's birthday, and finally Brian's birthday. Heather came to visit and look around for a job for the fall last week. She kept the boys so that Brian and I could go out overnight for the first time since we've had Luc. Thank you so much Heather!

I knew that I didn't want to go very far. I booked a wonderful B&B, Mt Gainor Inn, in Dripping Springs. We were able to stop by a local winery before we checked-in. It was a lot of fun. After we checked in, the owner told us about a great café down the road. We were expecting a burger shack or something. It wasn't that at all. It was a wonderful candle lit dinner that was well-worth the extra price. Brian had shrimp and grits with a yummy creamy sauce and I had curry shrimp and rice pilaf...YUMMO!

The property was really pretty. The house is a really old farmhouse that was moved to Dripping Springs from near Houston. They have remodeled it but have maintained the "old farmhouse" look by using original oak flooring, doors, and doorknobs from the house. It is really nice. They have a nice sitting area outside with hammocks and lounge chairs...also where we were served a delicious breakfast. Anyway, I highly recommend it to any friends who want to get away from their kids...especially if you like a quiet, relaxing environment.

I stated on our reservations that it was an anniversary/birthday/ away from kids getaway. The sweet wife of the place left a personal cake in our room for Brian's birthday. 

It was good regardless of Brian's expression. 

We had these stylish robes for the hottub. We didn't actually wear them out there but we did pose for this awesome picture! 

This isn't the best picture but it was so relaxing to wake up and have coffee in peace and quiet. 

Luc's Spring Program

Luc's preschool had a really cute little program for the end of the year. I have video that I may get around to posting one day. Luc did great. He was nervous at first and stood up there with his fingers in his mouth. He came out of his shell and performed a little toward the end though.

"Uh this is a little different than practicing in front of Mama and Daddy at home" 

Funny, I caught Ryan doing the same thing 

Evan

This is how Evan's been singing lately.


Untitled from Noelle McNeil on Vimeo.

And he learned a new word a few weeks ago.

Untitled from Noelle McNeil on Vimeo.



Untitled from Noelle McNeil on Vimeo.

Great friends and a crazy party

When we and the Georges get together, it gets pretty crazy! I love it! They do a great job of making us feel like we have family around here. So I'm calling this "the crazies"...don't know if I should refer to the kids or the adults...maybe we all go hand in hand...

BTW, you may want to turn your volume down!


Untitled from Noelle McNeil on Vimeo.

Bull Creek

We've been staying outside most all of the time lately. The weather has been great. I feel like I have to really take advantage of it before it is a sweltering 110 degrees. We've been to Bull Creek a few times this year. The water is super low right now. There has been no jumping off waterfalls like previous years (see here). The boys love wading in the water though. I have been terrified of the rattlesnakes that I keep hearing about on the news so we haven't done much wondering in the woods.

How cool are these kids?

Arboretum and Annie!

This boy is always running away from me. He is in his own little world of curiousness. 

Really Kristen! I walked back to the stroller to get my camera and you have the little angel children sitting so patiently waiting. What did you do? 

MiMi and Granddaddy visit

The McNeils came to visit last month. Luc and Evan were very excited to see them. We didn't do very many outtings while they were here because of work, school, and the worst stomach bug ever. Poor Granddaddy got it too. He was able to enjoy the boys some though!

Evan's first spaghetti

This is also about 2 months old. Anyway, Evan loved it and still does.

RODEO

We took Luc to the rodeo a few weeks ago. We didn't actually go to the rodeo. We got Luc a wristband to ride all the fun rides. I am determined to take Luc to see the real thing next year. I loved the rodeo when I was a kid. I hope my boys will too.

He was so confused in the house of mirrors. And Brian was with him. You just can't see him. 

We did get to see lots of animals. 

This may have been Luc's favorite part. 

Best picture ever! 

He rode on his first BIG ferris wheel with Daddy... 

...while Evan napped... 

...and his first roller coaster with Mama. He loved it. I have an awesome video of the roller coaster ride. I may get around to posting it one day. 

Daddy got to ride some fun rides too! 

Juice

We get in these juice making kicks sometimes. Here are some pictures from our last juice making party.

Yes, we used some of each of these fruits and veggies!

 Pretty sure this was the spinach/pear juice.

Luc thinks this is pretty awesome 

Funny to some...not to others

I thought about this picture this morning on my way to work. Then I thought about the story behind it. I just burst out laughing in my car all by myself. Then I started to cry. I miss Da a lot.

So Brian and I made this picture on yearyourself.com. Here is the conversation when I showed Da.

Da: "Who is that?"

Baboo, dying laughing: "Leonie, who does it look like?"

Da: "Well, it looks like Donnie Ryles. But when was he dressed like a WOEMAN."

Me laughing: "Da look at the face....that's you"

Immediately Da said: "What? Whare'd you get that picture? That's not me. I never dressed like a woeman. I never had long hair. I never wore beads. I just don't think that's funny. Get rid of that."

I'm sure this is going to be funniest to my family but I thought I'd share.

Easter

I have a few cute pictures and a couple of really cute videos from Easter morning. I can't update the blog though. My super old computer has no memory left on it. I have misplaced my external hard drive...UGH! So, I'm scared to delete anything else from my computer. We have searched our entire apartment and can't find it. I have no idea where else to look. It has pictures from college through mid-Feb of this year on it. ALL of my videos of Luc's baby years are on it. I am so sad about loosing it.

Anyways, on to Easter...

Luc and Evan woke up to fun Easter baskets that the Easter bunny left. Evan was so cute when he spotted them. Luc probably had a sugar high all day. Amazingly, we even made it to church on time too. After church we came home to a delicious meal of salads that I had prepared Saturday night. We had a rotisere chicken, potato salad, carrot and raisin salad, spinach and strawberry salad, and strawberry pie for dessert. We just relaxed and went to the playground the rest of the day.

So here is our family Easter picture 2011