Baby Sitters Club

I had the opportunity to babysit my friends', Jason & Sara Coats, almost 4-month old twin boys, Kyle and Kase. I brought Madison and my niece Mason along for reinforcements, and I am so glad I had them there to help!

Our babysitting job started at 8:30 am. When we arrived Kase was laying on the floor under the activity mat just chillin' and Kyle just had an explosion in his diaper, so he was getting cleaned up. Sara told us the boys usually take a short nap around 9:15 and then they will want to eat around 11:00. I thought "we can handle this" to myself. And we did, but man it wasn't easy! Even Madison said "babysitting is hard work!" I hope she remembers that in the future!

About 9:15, the boys started getting fussy so we decided to try & get them down for a nap. I have seen Sara get the boys to sleep before; she just holds them, sways side, and they go right to sleep. We tried that trick, but it didn't work. I eventually got Kyle to sleep, while Madison was working on Kase. I put Kyle in his boppy to finish out his nap, and to take over getting Kase to sleep for Maddie.

About 5 minutes after I got Kase to sleep, Kyle woke up. I was still holding Kase in the recliner, so Maddie got Kyle and rocked him back to sleep in the other recliner. They both slept for about 20 minutes and then they were wide awake.

We watched them play on their activity mat and sit up like big boys in the Bumbo chair. We played peek-a-boo, and the girls carried them around like baby dolls until it was time to eat.

Lunch time proved to be another challenge! Maddie tried her best to hold Kyle in the recliner and give him his bottle, but she just wasn't big enough. So, she moved him to the bouncy seat and fed him there, while I gave Kase his bottle in the recliner. Those Coats boys can eat! They sucked down those 4 ounce bottles in no time. Once, they finished eating we played some more until Sara got home. By this time, they were getting pretty fussy because they only took a short nap. As soon as Sara took Kyle from me, she put him in the going to sleep hold and he was out in about 2 seconds. She put him down in the boppy and proceeded to do the same with Kase. It's amazing the bond mothers have with their babies! Taking care of those sweet babies was work, but so worth it. I needed a baby-fix and that took care of it!

More Casonisms...

I haven't blogged any Casonisms in a while, so I have a few to share.

1. On the way to one of Jackson's baseball games Cason says "Mom, does Santa Claus make summer runs?" I laugh, then tell him "Nope, he sleeps all summer to get ready for his winter runs."

2. On the way to one of Jackson's soccer games (do you see a trend here????), I kept smelling something stinky coming from the backseat. Jackson was asleep, so I knew it had to be Cason stinkin' up the truck. I told him he was rotten, and he told me "Sorry Mom, my nerves are anxious." What do you say to that???

3. Corey took the boys to school one day this week, and when Cason got in the truck he told Corey "It's hotter than a buzzard in a Texas desert." Seriously, where does he come up with this stuff?

I'm sure there are many more that I am forgetting. If I think of them, I will definitely share!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

A few Saturdays ago it rained most of the morning and into the afteroon. My kids are not used to being cooped up inside the house, so the time spent indoors was quite miserable. We had way too much "together time." Being the problem solver that he is, Cason convinced Jackson to go outside & play "just on the porch." Jackson, being the rule follower that he is, stayed "just on the porch;" however, this is what "just the porch" meant for Cason...

and this...

Easter Fun!

Our celebrations began the Thursday before Easter with the boys' Easter Egg Hunts at school. Luckily, Cason's party started at 12:45 and Jackson's at 1:45 so I could actually go to both parties! At the elementary school, where Madison and I are, Easter is not one of the holidays we have a party for.

When I got to Cason's classroom, Miss Haigood, the teacher, had all 18 of her four & five year old students sitting quietly on the rug listening to her read an Easter Bunny story. It was amazing, since I can't get my 4th graders to sit quietly to listen to a story! While Miss Haigood finished up the story, the parents hid all the eggs in the field outside the school. By the time we got back to the classroom the kids couldn't wait to get their baskets and get their hunt on. Cason got a "golden" egg and he was super excited!

After their egg hunt, the kids went inside for their snack. I could only stay at snack time for a few minutes before it was time for Jackson's party!

Jackson's class was just as excited as Cason's to start their egg hunt. While Cason's hunt was a free-for-all egg-grabbing experience, Jackson had to find & pick up only 12 eggs. Now, if you know Jackson you know that he is very laid back, and he didn't change for the egg hunt! He casually walked around picking up the eggs he liked the best. He even picked a few eggs up and then put them back down on the ground because he found ones he liked better. He is a boy who knows what he likes! After Jackson's egg hunt, they also went back into their classroom for snacks. Both boys had a great time at their parties, and got lots of yummy, sugar-filled candy!

Our next Easter celebration wasn't until Easter morning when the Easter Bunny visited our house. Luckily, the kids did not wake up well before the crack of dawn like they did when Santa Claus came! I guess the Easter Bunny is not nearly as generous with gifts as good ole' Santa, so they thought we could sleep in a little!

Sleepy Pre-Hunt Picture

The Easter Bunny always left the eggs inside the house when I was growing up, so that's where he leaves the eggs for my kids too. The eggs being in the house worked out great this year because of all the rain that was falling outside. I think egg-hunting inside the house is funner anyway because there are some many different places to look for the eggs. Although it didn't take very long for the kids to find all the eggs, they had fun hunting for them, and Max had fun chasing them around the house!

Our next Easter adventure was at Corey's Granny's house. We ate a delicious homemade Easter meal, and then the kids had their next egg hunt. This one involved a few more kids and it was outside. Once again, they ended up with way too much candy!

While all the kids were in the same vicinity I got them to sit down and take a picture. They all spend a lot of time together but they are usually not still and looking like they love each other!

Cason, Madison, Jackson, Mason, Carter, & Cole

Our last Easter Sunday stop was at my parent's house. We eat Sunday dinner there every Sunday, so this was nothing out of the ordinary for our family. My Mom, the creative being that she is, came up with an Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt for the kids. They each had to find the eggs with their name on them, and inside the eggs were clues to where the next egg was located. They did really well deciphering the clues and finding the next egg, and they had so much fun doing it!

One of the scavenger hunt prizes were cans of Silly String. Now, Silly String goes beyond my Mom's code of cleanliness! We would have never gotten Silly String when my sister and I were kids, so I guess it's true grandkids do get whatever you didn't. So, off the kids went to the front yard to have their Silly String wars.

At the end of the day our bellies were full of yummy food, our sugar highs had worn off, and we were tired! Everyone had a great Easter '09!

The Newest Addition to Our Family

It seems like every spring I get "puppy fever." Most of the time, Corey nips that itch in the bud fairly quickly; however, this spring he just didn't scratch my itch. I have been wanting a lap dog for some time now. Rosie, our black lab mix, would love to sit in your lap, but she doesn't fit too well. So, about 3 weeks ago I started researching what kind of dog I would like to sit in my lap. I found several different breeds that I liked, but found a Shih-Tzu listed in the paper that was local and in our price range.

We had to go to Hubbard to pick out our newest family member. Madison heard me talking to Corey about wanting a puppy, so she kind of new what was going on, but the boys didn't have a clue. We knew we wanted a male puppy, and there were only 2 males left. They were both very cute, so it was hard to decide. The boys loved both of them, but still didn't know we were taking one home. They were super excited when they realized what was going on! They couldn't believe we were taking a puppy with us! On the way home, I got out a map that lists all the streets and roads in McLennan County. After much searching & debating we finally decided on Maxwell (aka Max). We still have not come up with his full name for his papers, so if anyone has any cute names I'm open to suggestions! Max has adjusted well to his new home. We too have adjusted to having a puppy in the house. The kids have realized that the floor is Max's territory, and anything left in his territory is fair game. Right now his teeth are not big enough to really tear up anything, except your skin. We are having so much fun with Max! I'm glad Corey decided not to scratch my "puppy itch" this year!