The New Site:

Here is the address for the new blog :  http://khfamily.wordpress.com  .

I'm still trying to work on it, when I have the time (which is rare).  So, please check it out.  : )  I will be posting new stuff there rather than here because keeping up with three blogs is too much!  If you want to leave a comment, it is pretty easy to do on a word press blog.  Just click on the line underneath the post that reads "Comments", you then submit your comment and I think it has to be approved so that spam comments are not left on the blog.  

Nicholas is now sick, too. Which, obviously scares me a little because he's still so little.  I am taking him to see his doctor this afternoon, just to make sure that he doesn't have pneumonia or bronchitis. (I KNOW--Poor, Baby!!)   He does not have a fever, though, which is good.  His breathing is labored and he has this awful sounding cough, which scares me.  Michael did not get sick this young, so I'm a little nervous.  : ( Isn't breast feeding supposed to prevent all of this?  Guess you can throw that out the window when you have a sick Mom and sibling kissing all over you, right?  

Anyway.  There's so much to get done in the next few days, so I should get started on something productive.  All I want to do is hold the baby, though.  : ( Maybe an update this evening on the khfamily blog about Mr. Nick's status and the wrapping status!

They said "heaven!"

 After a whale of a day with Michael and Nicholas, we headed a half an hour away from home to the groomer's to pick up Duncan.  That's always quite the ordeal for some reason: picking up the dog.  I can never seem to make it out the door in time to pick him up, it must be my subconscious working or something.  (Just kidding, of course!)  We managed to get to Duncan with ten minutes to spare.  

On the way home, I played a Christmas CD with the song "Silent Night".  Michael was listening intently and said, "MOM!  They just said HEAVEN, MOM! Baby Jesus lives in heaven, MOM!"  I got a little teary and answered back with a," Yes, he does, Michael!"  We talked a bit more about baby Jesus and why we celebrate Christmas, which was just so incredibly sweet.  

He then thought a bit more about the conversation and in an excited voice said, "

MOM!!  What do you think they do there?!  Who's with baby Jesus, MOM?!"  

The past few weeks have been really interesting with Michael and all this Christmas business.  He is completely intrigued by God and Jesus, and not so much by Santa.  The other night while saying a goodnight prayer, we asked God to help Michael B feel better since he has been so sick.  I explained to Michael that when we are sick, God can help make us better.  He really thought about what I was saying and asked, "Will He come see me tonight, Mom?"  I told him that God is with us all the time, when we are awake AND when we are sleeping.  Totally intrigued again

, he stated, "But, I can't see Him, Mom."  

I'm bracing myself for the Christmas Eve getting dressed in fancy clothes fight that will likely ensue.  So, we are going to explain to Michael over and over in the time being that we are dressing up for Jesus and his birthday party.  If it's for Jesus, I think he'll comply.  

Check out Mr. Nick--he's quite a flirt, isn't he???  : ) He is now ELEVEN weeks!!  And, the little rascal is sleeping through the night, which translates to uninterrupted sleep from 10:45pm to 6:00 am.  He refuses to sleep in his crib, so I'm giving him just a few more weeks in the bouncy seat.  Then it's to the crib he goes!!  Nicholas also rubs his eyes when he is tired,  those chubby wrists melt my heart.  

Santa Baby.

Why are you making me sleep in my crib, Mommy?!?!?

Nicholas began sleep training in the crib today!  What a week to start with the crib, Michael can no longer talk, he chooses to moan and groan instead.  I kid you not, he is not handling the bronchitis very well! (And, at this point, neither am I!  It's time for a break for Mom!) Back to the baby, Nicholas did pretty well with sleeping in his crib.  I'm trying to get him to fall asleep on his own, so I left him in the crib when he was content and then went back into his room when he cried.  He seemed to get the hang of it by this evening. Tonight will be tough, though. I like to snuggle with him in bed during the night, which is quickly turning into a really bad, cozy habit!  Hence, the sleep training today.  

Ariel is for girls!

Michael is sick.  'Tis the season, right?  At least he's getting past this cold/bronchitis before Christmas this year.  He's had a dry cough for awhile now, and then managed to pick up a cold on top of the bronchitis.  We had quite an adventure at the pediatrician's office yesterday!  Let's just say he was possessed: kicking, screaming, crying, all of it. The poor resident, she may have changed her mind about pediatrics after that visit.  Dr Dan quickly got little Michael settled, though.  It was like magic to me, others may just call it experience.  Anyway.  The pediatrician says he's not contagious, and that medicine wouldn't help at this time. Lovely.  Those are the visits I live for!  Basically, we are left to enjoy the misery of a sick three year old. Couldn't he have slipped a little cough syrup with codeine into my purse?  

In an effort to spoil Michael even more than he already is, I took him to the dinky little movie store here in town.  I'm all excited because Horton Hears a Who is out now, and he could care less.  Michael was in hot pursuit of a new Thomas movie, but he's seen all of the ones at the store.  (It's very, very, very small!)  When I saw Ariel's Beginning on the shelf, I pulled it down and asked him what he though about Ariel.  In a disgusted voice and completely annoyed by the suggestion, he said, "Ariel is for GIRLS, Mom!" Wow. : ) I didn't realize that he is at the age where there is a difference between "girl" movies and "boy" movies.  Guess I missed the boat on getting to watch Cinderella and The Little Mermaid again.  I wanted to call Josh right away, but I don't think he'd appreciate the humor while working on taxes and whatnot.  I'll have to save it for this evening...

Falling Behind

Well, Christmas is how many days away?  I don't even know.  Christmas Eve is like next Wednesday, right? Most days I don't know the date, and sometimes I even lose track of the day of the week.  That's what an infant and a toddler will do to you, as well as a lack of sleep.  It goes without saying that lots of days we're barely keeping our heads above the water. So, to think about sending and signing 100 + Christmas cards, and shopping for family members, and baking; I begin to feel a tad bit overwhelmed!  It would help if I made a shopping list and made a list of goals to accomplish each day, but most days I'm lucky if I eat lunch.  Next year may not be easier, but we'll probably have this two kid thing down and we'll likely (hopefully!) be a bit more organized.  Maybe...

Even though we've been going a hundred miles a minute over the weekend, we've been doing a number of fun things with the babies.  On Saturday we took the boys Christmas shopping at the outlets and out to lunch with my parents.  Michael got his first pair of running shoes!  They are so incredibly cute, they even have laces.  : ) Saturday night Josh and I went to a very fun adult only Christmas party!  It felt great to get dressed up in pants that were waaaaay too tight and could have spilt at any moment.  Think of sausage all wrapped up in a pretty green jacket because that would describe my outfit for the party.  We had a wonderful time, thank you Cary and Melissa!  Michael and Nicholas spent the evening with Michael and Mary Jane.  Nicholas had his first bottle, which he sucked down quickly.  Three cheers for no nipple confusion!  Hip, Hip, Hooray!  

And now it's time to clean these floors before the boys wake up, so that I can sign Christmas cards until the wee hours of the morning.  Complaining aside, I do love the holidays! 

Christmas Parade with Michael

My Michael.

Michael is changing and growing just as quickly as Nicholas these days.  Last weekend I took Michael to the town Christmas parade while Josh stayed home with Nicholas.  It was wonderful to spend an hour with just Michael.  We enjoyed waving to the various fire trucks and boy scout troupes, even though it was freezing cold.  He had a blast running out onto the street to grab pieces of candy, which sounds much more dangerous than it actually was!  

The Christmas spirit is certainly alive in Michael B.  Last week (or, was it the week before?) we went to Michael's for a second time to actually shop for the things that I meant to pick up on that disastrous trip.  While we were shopping I noticed a grungy, rough looking man, probably in his mid sixties, wandering around the store.  Instinctively, I held Michael's hand a little bit tighter due to both the crowds and this gentleman.  When we finished up our shopping, I noticed that my Grandmother was right behind us in the checkout line.  Michael was jabbering away to the cashier, talking a mile a minute, while I caught up with my grandmother.  (He was asking the cashier questions like: Do you like your job?  Why do you work here?  What's your name?)  During this time, I noticed the man staring at Michael and listening to him question the cashier.  Again, I wanted to snatch Michael up, even though we were basically touching, that's how close in proximity we were to one another.  The man stayed and listened to Michael for quite some time, and then moved down to another line at the end of the store.  I kept my eye on him, still feeling a little bit anxious. 

While my grandmother was checking out, I gave Michael some change to put into the Good Will bucket outside of the store.  I explained to him why we were giving money away.  As we were having this conversation the man walked up to us.  He stopped and stared again at Michael.  Michael looked up at him and said, "HI!  I'm Michael!  What's your name?"  Without taking a breath, he began to tell the man about giving money away.  He was so proud of the few pieces of change that I gave him to put into the Good Will collection.  This man then reached into his pocket and gave Michael a few quarters for the Good Will bucket.  He asked Michael if he would put money into the bucket for him, too.  After giving Michael the money, this man looked at me and told me what a special little boy I have.  He said something like there aren't many children who would give money away like that.  I smiled at him and said thank you.  And the man moved on.  My grandmother was paying attention to this conversation and so she pulled out money for Michael to give away.  He was so excited!  

The whole experience scared me a little, quite honestly.  I'm not taking both of boys out by myself until the Christmas season has passed.  Once the stores and malls are empty, I'll try again.  Michael is so incredibly friendly and kind, almost to a fault.  But, at the same time, maybe this man was homeless and lonely.  Listening to Michael may have brought him joy and comfort. Who knows if I should have been terrified or proud?  He is such a special little boy, though, and has such a giving spirit.  

New Baby, New Blog!

It's not surprising to know that this blog is driving me crazy right now; all of it: the banner, the name, the layout, and so on . So, I have decided to start a brand, new blog! Once I get it organized to my liking, I will OF COURSE (!) share the new link. I'm hoping that I can enlist the help of my wonderful father in law to get the ball rolling, as well. : ) The new blog will no longer be with blogger, which means that there is a little bit of a learning curve. Until then, I will continue to post the most current happenings on this blog...

Today is my "computer day". There's lots of online shopping that I need to get done ASAP, and I figured I could use a little bit of my time to work on the new blog. Also, this is shopping related: did you know that you could turn your blog into a book? Check out blog 2 print. It's pretty cool!

Back to spending money as fast as Josh makes it... ; )