Jonas' First and LOTS of pictures

Wow! I know it's been a month since I posted! Sorry! I have been having a lot of sick kids around here lately! Poor Jonas and Sydney got a nasty cold and were coughing a lot which meant not very good nights of rest for us all and then Jonas developed bronchitis (again) and so we had to start him on breathing treatments again. He's feeling a lot better now but Sydney's cough has returned.

Even with being sick, I decided it was time this kid started solids! He's been driving me crazy with the still constant feeding every 2-3 hours! So, here is trying out the rice cereal. It was a big hit!

He also loved the applesauce and sweet potatoes we have given him.

Also this past month, we took Jonas for his first swim. He loved it! We just put him in the floatie and he was content!

Here are his 6-month shots.
Stats:
Length: 25.5-25.75 inches
Weight: 19.2 lbs
Milestones: He rakes in toys, brings everything to his month, can change toys from one hand to the other, can push himself up on his hands and knees and I think pull himself a little? He can also sit-up for a while on his own so this is the last set of month-old shots with the bumbo!

Anytime I take photos of Jonas, Sydney wants to jump in which is fine because I get these cute sibling shots:

Now for some Sydney madness. She cracks me up. Every day! Brian and I often debate who she gets her wackiness from. Sometimes, it just from trying to be like me:

Those are my boots. (Any PowerPuff Girl watchers? Him? Anyone?)

And then, she is "feeding" her baby. That's my nursing cover.

And Brian thought this little girl hiding out was cute.

We have bought some shirts for Jonas for the future, like 18-24 months size clothes and Sydney has to try them on. She has been wearing his future shirts and even a football sleeper. That's our tom girl.

As for Brian and me, Brian is enjoying his 4th week on the job at Schlumberger (prounounced schlum-ber-jay). He gets taken out to lunch about 1-2 times each week so lucky him! We're hoping that in 5 months he can get hired on permanently and get a pay raise.

For me, I took some of our tax refund and bought an independent course, Ordinary Differential Equations. It's one of the undergraduate math courses I didn't take as a Math Ed major but have decided I want to get a Master's in Applied Math and so I need it. I was hoping to get it done by September so it would count as credits I needed to get re-certified as a teacher but it's just not happening and I don't know when I will teach next. I'm hoping to have my master's before I have to go back to work and so I can teach at a college. But either way, since I'm no longer in Idaho, I will have a list of things to do to be certified in a different state so whatever! But I do want to aim to get my Master's by the time I am 30 or at least be close to finishing it!

I know I should probably focus on my kids and then my class but I also got happy news with my digital scrapbooking designing. I sell at two online stores and for one of them, I made the most sales in the first quarter! That was pretty cool. I had no idea where I was with my business and that gave me some hope. I'm hanging around a 28% profit margin now (which Brian tells me is good- my business adviser) so I'm trying to stick with it and see where it goes.

Good luck to everyone and Happy Easter!

Jonas 5 months

Can you believe Jonas is 5 months now?! He's growing every day and learning new things all the time. He now weighs 18 lbs! He can laugh out loud- so cute! and he loves rolling over. His latest trick is grabbing his toes.

And I just love this picture of Sydney and Jonas together.

 

I have lots of fun pictures from Mardi Gras (they're clean, I promise:) ) to show as well.

And these are our friends the Wanstroms who came all the way from Idaho to see us! They are showing off only a FRACTION of the goods we caught: hundreds of beads ( I haven't counted, but I'm sure the number is not too far exaggerated), cups, candy and toys. Seriously, if you want some Mardi Gras beads, I could mail you some because I have not idea what I am going to do with all of them!

It was such a fun parade- one of the few things I missed about Louisiana (haha, because I sure didn't miss the mosquito population). 

And now, this next part might be boring for you but I thought I would include the history behind Mardi Gras.

12 days after Christmas, on Twelfth Night or King's Day, kicks off the Mardi Gras season. Twelfth Night is a day to celebrate when the Wise Men came to see the Christ child. This is where the King Cake (often a large danish-like oblong ring cake, or a cinammon bread) originated from. Today a plastic baby is hidden inside the cake, representing the Christ child and whoever finds it is supposed to have good luck all year. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday and is 40 days before Passover. Fat Tuesday is a day of partying because the next day is Ash Wednesday. Catholics observe Ash Wednesday as a day to give up something for the next 40 days, Lent. These days officially end the Mardi Gras season. (If I'm a little off on some facts, pardon me, but that's the gist of it.)

Jonas 4 months, my birthday and rolling over

Hey! The weather has been so nice here! I'm trying my best to enjoy it before summer hits and it's way too hot! Sydney has had a rough month with strep and then the flu but she is super energetic now and happy again. Jonas and I miraculously avoided contracting both of those illnesses and so I thank God and count my blessings.

On the 14th, Jonas turned 4 months old! Where has the time gone?
Stats:
Weight: 17.75 lbs
Length: 24.5 in
Head Circ: 17.5 in
More smiles, coos, rolls to side, holds head up really well, can hold hands in front of him and sleeps 6 hours at night!

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! I had a great birthday. Brian made me cake, his mom came into town and watched the kids while Brian and I ate out and enjoyed a game of min-golf. Brian also got me the Kinect game, Your Shape Fitness Evolved and I was so sore the first couple of days- a good sore! I think it will definitely help me exercise more frequently.

And this was a few weeks ago but Sydney was so proud (and we were, too) that she put her socks AND shoes on all by herself. She is getting so smart :)

Monday, Jonas rolled over from his tummy to his back two times for Grandma Tuck. Then yesterday, he rolled over from his back to his tummy! Here are some pics (I of course have the video but need to shrink it before trying to upload it here).

Jonas is also sucking his lower lip at times. I told his Aunt Kymry he got that from her- you know, in the pre-existence an all or maybe it's genetic.

And Brian doesn't get much more attractive to me than when I see him with our kids:

Anyways, that's what has been going on with us over here!

I love...

• I love that Sydney asks "please stop" even when's she upset. As sad as it is, it is also cute that I am driving in the car and hear "please stop" to find Sydney has her hand up, feebly trying to tell the sun to stop shining in her eyes.
• I love hearing Jonas laugh out loud. It's so stinking cute.
• I love that Sydney LIKES to take naps. Most days, she is so easy to put down and can sometimes sleep 2, maybe 3, hours. So nice!
• I love that Jonas is sleeping 6 hours in a row at night now, although, getting him down is sometimes the hardest part.
• I love getting stuff for so cheap! I have a 20% off coupon from Parents magazine paired with Amazon discounts for Subscribe and Save and Amazon Mom, and I'm paying less than $17 for a pack of 140 diapers for Sydney. It's so fantastic! I love getting great deals!
• I love digital scrapbooking. Brian will tell you I'm obsessed and he's right. I'm really delving deep into designing now and I love it! (http://meaganswordart.blogspot.com is where you can check out some of my stuff)
• I love mt wonderful family! They bring so much happiness and joy in my life- they give me all te motivation I need to keep going. Love you!

Jonas' Blessing

I know it's been 2 weeks- the expectations are that I already have this up! My sister wrote me on Facebook, "I should check out your blog for the blessing pics" and I felt suddenly ashamed that they were not up yet! So here are some of the main photos:

Getting dressed:

Grandma and Grandpa Tuck were able to be here for it which was great!

Our little cutie!

I'm thankful for...

• I'm thankful Brian has a full-time job right now. I know it's not easy for him as he struggles with his co-workers and boss from time to time but I'm thankful he sticks with it and does his best to have a positive attitude.
• I'm thankful for olive oil. Jonas started getting some flakes on the top of his head- cradle cap! Sydney never got it and I didn't want it to spread on Jonas and get really bad! I want a clean record! I had just read that olive oil can help loosen the flakes. So I applied some on Jonas' head and got a cloth to gently scrub his flakes off. I'm thankful he didn't fuss.The flakes came off and his head has been clear for over a week now! Whew! Crisis averted!
• I'm thankful Jonas did not cry when I trimmed his nail too close and made his finger bleed. Crying would have made me feel 10 times worse than I already did.
• I'm SOOOOOO thankful for my grandparents and everything they do. Monday, Sydney had a fever and when it continued on to Tuesday, I knew she needed to get checked out. My angel grandmother went with me to a quick care so I would have help with two kiddos. She was SOOO helpful. Sydney was in a pretty good mood as we waited over an hour in the waiting room. At the very end, she had had enough but grandma stepped in to keep her entertained. After Sydney was tested and came back positive with strep, my grandmother drove me to Wal-Mart to get the prescription. Both kids had fallen asleep and so grandma drove around the parking lot for 40 minutes while I waited for the prescription to fill. I do not know how I would have done on that day if it weren't for grandma.
• I'm grateful for my sister who comes home from a full and busy day of work and asks what she can do to help when she sees two crying kids on my lap. A sister who doesn't mind my daughter begging food from her at the dinner table. A sister who Sydney often calls "Mommy Drea".
• I'm so thankful for a husband who gets up in the middle of the night with our toddler who has been waking up wailing at all hours of the night. A husband who reached into his pocket and gave money to a homeless man who approached him. Which money was a Christmas present to him. 
• I'm thankful for a daughter who loves me even when I lose my cool with her, or tell her she can't go outside. 
• I'm thankful for a son who, even though he was born pre-maturely, is healthy and growing well.

I know I am truly blessed.

Jonas 3 months

 Jonas turned 3 months today! He had a check-up and these were his stats:

Weight: 15 lbs 9.2 oz
Length: 23.5 in
Head Circ. : 17 in

How do these measure up to other kids? Well, he's average and that's all that matters! He's growing!

I wish I had thought to use these little foam numbers for 1st and 2nd month photos but you live you learn. But I will do them from now on!

Baby's First Christmas