Update on our TumTums!

Well, it's still more of the same in our world. Wesleigh's tummy is significantly better, but still not back to normal. Have you ever tried to feed a BRAT the BRAT diet?? Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast. Well, for starters, Wesleigh doesn't like rice or applesauce, so that leaves us Bananas and Toast. We are doing well with the bananas, but he only ate the crust off his toast yesterday. I cut out the apple juice that he drinks diluted with his ice water, and was just giving him water, but he cut his fluid intake dramatically, so that doesn't help the situation any!! So, I read that grape juice is ok when you have diarrhea, so I started flavoring his water with grape juice and he is loving it and drinking his normal amount again. As far as the rest of his food, I am just trying to keep in as bland as possible and not greasy. I guess the popcorn chicken that he ate during our insane trip to WalMart today, wasn't my brightest idea now that I think about it!! What a dummy!
Ethan's tummy is still pretty bad. Poor kid! He is going through tons of diapers. He also gave me the task of scrubbing the couch today...I will leave that to your imagination. Don't guess I have a lot to say about changing his diet, it's nothing but soy milk for that boy! I'm sure hoping we get tummies fixed soon!!
So, about that WalMart trip...I needed diapers, formula, toilet paper, paper towels, 2 gallons of milk, a bag of chips, 2 chickens and Dr. Pepper. Let me remind you, I was alone, with both boys. If you have ever put a toddler in the seat of a cart, and a baby carrier in the bottom of the cart, that doesn't leave much room for anything, especially large things (I buy toilet paper and paper towels in bulk!). I also buy diapers in boxes...didn't help that I had 4 diaper coupons (thanks Amanda) that were expiring today and when you have 2 kids in diapers, you DO NOT let diaper coupons expire!!!! Anyhoo, WalMart had Pampers Cruisers on clearance, so I bought even more than I had planned on. I polished off the WalMart gift card that Gran and G-Pa gave us for diapers (thanks Gran and G-Pa it helped a lot)!! So, the cart was stacked down below and up on top, it was a balancing act and believe me, people were staring! Before I got in the check out line I grabbed another cart, b/c I knew I would NEVER get it all back in the one cart, so we left the store in two carts...yes, I was driving both of them...rather interesting! I DEFINATELY don't plan on conquering the grocery store like this very often, but sometimes you just can't help it, I wasn't going to let those coupons expire! I do my major grocery shopping every 2-3 weeks after I plan my menu...alone after Jim gets off work!
After dinner tonight we played with Wesleigh on the trampoline for the first time. He was very scared at first...he wasn't too sure about the floor moving, but then we finally got him to losen up and have fun. He just kept saying "jump, jump, jump" over and over as he bent his knees...too cute!!! I didn't have a camera or video camera...bummer, but take my word for it, it was adorable.
I took some pictures earlier, mostly of Ethan lifting his head and looking all around during Tummy Time. Hopefully I will get those pictures up tomorrow!

Diapers and Dr. Smith's

We go through lots of diapers on a normal day, but lately we have been going through TONS of diapers and Dr. Smith's diaper rash cream!! Both boys started in with diarrhea on Friday, and it has been relentless! I will spare you the details, but it has been frustrating and has taken a toll on the diaper stash and the momma and daddy!!

They are both still drinking and eating normally, so according to the doctor we just have to let it run it's course.

We didn't go to church yesterday because we were afraid to pass anything along to other tots, but the doctor said that it really isn't necessary!! DARN!! I look forward to Sundays and interacting with adults!! We got some projects done around the house, the laundry room is done!! So nice!! We have a few more projects that need to get done, but we are waiting for Nana and Grandpa to come and help with those!

So, my world is all diapers and Dr. Smiths and coming up with bland things for Wesleigh to eat. I am about running out of ideas, diapers, and skin on my hands due to washing them every 5 minutes after changing diapers!! :-)

Hopefully we will feel better soon!!

Lots of Fun Outside

The boys and I went to playgroup this morning, and when we got home Ethan was soundly sleeping in his carseat, so Wesleigh and I decided to play outside. Ethan was just inside the front door, so I left it open in case he started screaming and off we went exploring.

I absolutely love my camera...it makes is easy to catch lots of great pictures. I took about 70 and these are the best...there are 24 here, but I love them ALL!!! I hope you enjoy. When I pick the best ones, I am going to have some printed. If you want one, let me know which one you think is best!!!

It's Been a While...We Have Been Busy!

Ok, so it's been a while since I found the time to update the blog!! Shame on me for those of you who love the pics and tales from our crazy little world!! I just sat here, during the boys naptime and uploaded a TON of pictures from the past few weeks. But, I just realized that I uploaded them backwards, so, if you want to catch up on our lives in chronological order, scroll to the bottom of the post and work toward the top!! Either way you read it, we have been busy. We have done a lot of traveling, partying, growing, and changing!!

ETHAN
_________________________ My sweet baby Ethan! He is so precious. Poor child has had a rough tummy though. In the past 3 weeks, we have tried every, and I mean EVERY bottle that has ever been made, to try and help with the tummy issues. We switched formula, yet again!! We are now on soy formula, it seems to help the tummy some, and my goodness does it smell AWFUL!!! His diapers smell like a kitty litter box!! Very nasty! He finally settled on the Playtex Ventair bottles. Since the whole BPA thing is going on with bottles, we were able to take all the old bottles we used for Wesleigh back to Babies R Us and have them exchanged FOR FREE. We were able to get a very extensive collection of the bottles Ethan likes without paying a penney!!! It was very exciting!! We also found him a high chair like Wesleigh's that was on clearance. The high chair that we have is just so wonderful, we weren't ready to transition Wesleigh to a booster, because he needs the structure of a high chair, so we were thrilled when we found another one on sale!! Ethan's tummy is still a struggle, he must be the hardest kid in the world to burp!! It is very frustrating at times, and sometimes it seems that nothing works!! He handed out his first social smile to mommy on Thursday! It was so wonderful!! It melted my heart!! He has given a few more out since then, but you really, really, have to work for them!!! He gets stronger and stronger every day! He is more alert and curious everyday as well. AND, the best news of all is, that so far, he is showing NO signs of having the nystagmus (eye problem) that Wesleigh has!!! HIP HIP HORRAY!!!!!

Ethan had been sleeping in the pack and play bassinet in our room since coming home from the hospital. Now that we somewhat have his tummy issues under control, I moved him to his big boy bed on Monday night!! I cried!! We still have the swing in our room, where he usually ends up after his middle of the night feed because his tummy doesn't relax enough to go back to bed!! So, we now have 2 baby monitors on my side of the bed. Wesleigh is channel A and Ethan is Channel B!! This is was at Nana's house!
OH this is a hoot!! This is in his swing, in our bedroom. It was one morning after I already got up with Wesleigh. I was in the kitchen making a waffle for Wesleigh (his new favorite breakfast) and I heard Ethan just start screaming bloody murder. So, I went to see what the issue was, and this is what I found!! Being the naturally mean mommy that I am, I took a picture before I saved him from the eye eating hat!!!

He is 5 weeks in this picture. We were just chillin' one morning.

SUNDAY NIGHT WITH THE MCCLEERY FAMILY

____________________

On Sunday night we had dinner with Katie, Joey and their beautiful girls in George West. This picture was taken after the kids got out of the bath!! Abby is the oldest, then Emma, then Sara-Kate! They have a new cousin on the way and who knows, before too long, they will probably have a new sister on the way!! Could be a brother, but I'm not holding my breath!!! They make beautiful girls, they will probably just stick with what they know!!

Sara-Kate is being silly in this picture and Wesleigh is actually just chillin' for once!!

Cute kids!Ok...so when Wesleigh says enough is enough, he means enough is enough!!!

PARTY AT NANA'S

___________________

On Saturday we had a big family party at my mom's house. There was a lot of extended family that we don't see very often there. It was great to see them again and to introduce them to my two sweet boys. The party was for my mom's cousin Jim, who turned 65 (I think) and for my mom who will be 53 tomorrow!! It was lots of fun. It was one of those crazy Texas days where you were in shorts sweating during the day, and bundled up in coats at night!! The kids played HARD all day long! Wesleigh stayed up until 11:30 that night. He played hard the whole time. It is Wednesday, and I am just now getting him recovered from his hard partying!!!

This is Dakota. She is my brother Brad's youngest daughter. Those HUGE eyes and precious curls are only the tip of the iceberg. She is a precious child who steals your heart a million times a day!!This is sweet Laynie. She is my cousin Ashleigh's little girl. She is 8 days older than Wesleigh and spoiled rotten!! Laynie will be a big sister in September!!

MATCHING BOYS

________________

Before Ethan was born, my mom bought the boys some matching outfits. I love them! I would never make them match every day, but every now and then, I think it is totally adorable!! This was on Sunday. I dressed the boys in their matching duds that morning, then about 6 hours later their daddy realized they were matching!! Men! I swear...they are so attentive to the details!! Turns out they were matching him too!! That part wasn't planned, but I took advantage anyway!!

My 3 boys in orange!

Wesleigh passing out a slobbery kiss! At least it wasn't a lick!! He has started licking Ethan's head instead of kissing him sometimes. It is really gross and all boy!! If you find a little matted part of hair on Ethan's head, you know you found the site of a Wesleigh licking!!! YUM!

More kisses! Ethan is so tolerate! He rarely gets mad at Wesleigh, and I know it won't be long before he thinks Wesleigh is the funniest thing on earth!!

I just can't get enough of the two of them interacting! It is so wonderful. Look at the way Ethan is looking at him!

Hmmm....Wesleigh wasn't being very cooperative!! Imagine that!

This was cute and fun while it lasted, but when it was over, meaning that Wesleigh had had enough, he used his feet to try and roll Ethan off the chair an onto the floor!!! He was very very quick about it!!! Lucky for Ethan, Mommy and Daddy were there to save the day!!

I'd like to believe that some day catching great pics of the two of them will get easier, but I am no fool! I realize that as soon as Ethan starts moving that they will only become more challenging!!

WESLEIGH

___________________

Well, on Saturday night Wesleigh got his first busted lip! It was a good one too!! I'm still not exactly sure what happened, but it was about 10:30 pm... a mere 2 1/2 hours past his normal bed time and he tripped and fell. I don't know what he hit, but he busted his lip up pretty good. It took me a good 10 minutes to get it to stop bleeding. He stopped crying almost instantly, but it wouldn't stop bleeding. I have had a lot of people lately tell me how tough he is!! It makes me proud. I will NOT raise a sissy!!! I love that he is tough and bounces back from the bumps and bruises of life as a little boy!! I do not baby him over little things, but I am certainly there to kiss the hurt away from the big knocks in life!!!

Wesleigh is learning new things everyday. He loves to sing songs, read books, and play outside. His favorite songs are Jesus Loves Me, The Wheels on the Bus, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, and The Itsy Bitsy Spider!! He has recently learned how to show you where his eyes and nose are. We are still working on other body parts...one at a time. We are also working on learning animal sounds. Right now we are working on what the COW says. I do a LOT of mooing!! :-) He still loves to read, and it is one of my favorite times of day when I rock and read to him before he goes to bed. He knows that he can't get down, so he cuddles and cuddles with me! Sometimes we cuddle for 20-30 minutes while we read and sing songs before bed. It is such a precious time of the day. Being the busy, crazy boy that he is, it isn't very often throughout the day that he will just cuddle up and sit with you, but it is a guarantee at night! I LOVE IT!!

Wesleigh has discovered the massive drawer full of tupperware lids in the kitchen! I purposefully left it not childproofed so he could play with them. That boy can scatter those lids from one end of the house to the other!! He also likes to play in the trash and throws things away! I recently had to move the trash can to the pantry, after I discovered 2 of his leap frog refridgerator magnets in the trash!!

We just switched allergy medications to see if we can't fix some of the sickness we have been having. He has been on Zyrtec for a while, but yesterday we just switched to a prescription, Singulair. Hopefully it will work! The only thing that I already don't like about it, is that it is granules in a little packet. You have to sprinkle it over some kind of food!! Such a gamble with Wesleigh, because you never know if he is going to take the next bite of something. We used ice cream last night, I haven't decided what will work tonight!

He is playing with the phone (a forbidden fruit in our house) so that I could try and get a picture of is banged up lip the next day!!

Wesleigh being silly while hanging with his daddy!

LONGING!!! Is there any place greater than OUTSIDE when you are a little boy?? I really don't think so. He LOVES it outside. He likes to wander through the grass, pick up rocks, sticks, just go exploring. He loves to swing and slide. He was introduced to fire ants this weekend. Thank goodness somehow he only got away with one bite, Mommy and Daddy ended up with more that that while trying to rescue him from the ants! He loves to play with the dogs and follow his cousin Dakota around. He isn't crazy about wearing the hats mommy makes him wear to try and protect his head though. He also had fun dragging the water hose around the yard and pulling the carpet grass runners. He also had fun hi-jacking EVERYONE's drinks and putting leaves in the cups!

Crazy kid!

WEEKEND IN SAN ANGELO
_____________________

2 weekends ago we were in San Angelo for a long weekend. Jim's parent's had a birthday party for him and we spent a lot of quality time visiting with his grandmother. She has ALS and it is in very advanced stages. We got some great pictures of her and the boys, but I am not going to post them. I am not sure that she would want them out there in her advanced state. I am thrilled to have great pictures for the boys though. I am glad that she has met them both and we will be grateful for anytime she gets to spend with them.

Jim's party was a great little family get together. His dad made a slide show DVD with lots of pictures from the past and the present!! It was fun to see it. Wesleigh had a great time exploring with G-Pa! He had adventures to the creek on the four wheeler. Collisions with mesquite bushes! They spent time playing on the fort in the back yard and rolling down the hill. We had a great weekend in San Angelo and left with plenty of bumps, scrapes, and bruises to prove it!!! That's how you know a tough little boy had fun!!! Gran spent lots of quality time cuddling and caring for Ethan! She was a huge help while getting in lots of quality time. Gran and G-Pa even let me and Jim go out for a date on Sunday night. We went to dinner and a movie. Came home to Wesleigh in bed, and Ethan ready for bed!! It was nice!! THANKS A MILLION!!

This is at Jim's grandparent's house. Wesleigh had this shreaded paper all over the place. He had a blast and it kept him out of the many many other things that little boys can discover in the homes of old people who have long forgotten about childproofing!! G-Pa was in on the fun too!!

Oh my...what fun!

"What Mom"?

DADDY'S 30th BIRTHDAY
______________________

March 8th was Jim's 30th birthday! We celebrated with Guy and Jaedyn all weekend. On Sunday we had a big lunch out with friends from church, then of course we had the famous chocolate cake. I gave Jim a bunch of much needed new clothes. T-shirts and shorts. Each of the kids gave him a different kind of chocolate!! He had a great day, but I think he still can't believe that he is 30!!

This was after a bike ride!

Won't be long and Ethan will be in on all the big adventures as well!! Gotta love how Maggie managed to make it in the pictures!!

So, overall, we have been super busy, which would explain why it has been so long since I posted anything. We have no plans to travel anywhere until Jim's sister's wedding the 3rd weekend of April. My parents are coming here for Easter weekend, because we have a lot of projects that we need help with!!! I am looking forward to life calming down a bit, at least for the next few weeks anyway!! It won't be long and summer will be here, then we will be off on great adventures with the families. We have wonderful vacations planned with both our families!! Can't wait!!

Wesleigh's Wipeout!

Well, my sweet sweet boy WIPED OUT tonight!!!

We were messing around out front after a short little family walk...the purpose of the walk, will be discussed later! He was playing on the front porch and he was trying to stand up...something that he does a MILLION times a day, but this time, he just didn't have it together, and he toppled forward and landed on his forehead on the concrete. He cried, and instantly had a major knot and a bruise! I tried to put ice on it, but he would only let us leave it there for a few seconds at a time. This is just the first of many major wipeouts for our crazy boys!!

So, About that WALK...

We went for a walk after dinner tonight. Partially to get some fresh air, but partially, because mommy has an agenda. You see, Wesleigh thinks that it is not only "UNCOOL", but socially unacceptable to hold his mother's hand. He likes to throw himself on the ground and cry to be exact. A lovely fit that he demostrated in the church parking lot on Sunday. I had Ethan in one arm, 2 diaper bags and my purse, and a screaming, flailing Wesleigh on the otherside. The interm pastor was in the parking lot and had mercy on Wesleigh and came and carried him inside. We would have eventually made it, it may not have been pretty, but we would have made it!! :-) So, I am trying to teach him to hold my hand and walk here...in the middle of no where, so no one can hear the screams!!!

If anyone has any advice on teaching Wesleigh to hold my hand without screaming...I'm all ears!

We Are Alive?!

Wow, it has been a long week!! Wesleigh and I have been sick all week, and man, that sure does make life difficult!! Lets not even discuss how far behind my house is since I've been sick!! We will get to it though!! We have just been in survival mode...everyone is fed, clothed (for the most part), and napping frequently!!! :-)

Last weekend we went to San Angelo to visit family and introduce sweet Ethan to Jim's Grandaddy and Grandmommy. Turns out that she had a cold and didn't want to expose us to her germs, so they only saw the boys through the door! Probably a good thing...since we ended up sicker than them anyway!! Wesleigh had started with a cough on Friday before we left, and it just got worse over the weekend. I took him to a walk in clinic on Sunday morning. He had Bronchitis and a cold. They gave him 3 days of an oral steriod to clear the Bronchitis up. The doctor didn't think he needed an antibiotic, and I was didn't fight it. I am not a huge fan of using antibiotics unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. There are some nasty bugs out there these days, and I personally want the antibiotics to work like a charm for my little people when we need them, so I am not into overusing them if they aren't absolutely necessary!! So, we just focused on getting Wesleigh well, and keeping Ethan well. This meant washing our hands every 5 minutes, and using Germ-X in between!!

After having my sweet boy cough in my face a million times, no big suprise when I started getting his bronchitis on Monday!! The only thing worse than a sick kid, is a sick mommy too!! We ended up taking Wesleigh to the doctor in San Antonio on Wednesday. His cough didn't seem any better and the steriods were gone. Our Pediatrician said his lungs were clear now, that the steriods must have cleared it out of his lungs, and just moved it upwards, b/c now he had an ear infection!! NO fever!! He has had 3 ear infections now, and NO fever with any of them!! It sucks, because I don't even know that he is that sick!! That boy is a challenge on many levels!! But, I adore him!! So, on our way back from San Antonio, we stopped at a Walk-in clinic in Uvalde, and I got some Antibiotics for my bronchitis!!

We are feeling better, but not great. Now I am just trying to put this house back together again!! Good news is, that when we were in San Antonio at the doctor, we had her listen to Ethan, and she said he sounds perfect and was showing no signs of getting sick at this time!! Praise God!!!

Well, these pictures were taken yesterday morning while the boys and I were hanging out! Hope you enjoy!!

Such a little "thinker". I guess there is a lot to think about when you are 1 month old.

I can not believe that my first month with my sweet boy has come and gone. Where does the time go?? It feels like he has been a part of the family for much longer, but I wish I could slow time down!!! He is taking 4 ounce bottles during the day. At night, he is down by 10 pm, up around 2:30 am, takes 5 ounces, then up again around 7:30 am. I am totally blessed!! :-)

See how Wesleigh has a hold on his arm?? Unfortunately that is his new thing...pulling on his brother!! Arms, legs, feet, whatever he gets! He still LOVES to steal his pacifer and his socks!!

Watching them "interact" just makes me look forward to the days when I get to watch them play together and enjoy each other's company!! I know that I will have to listen to them argue and fuss, but what are siblings for??

This is the first kiss Ethan had gotten in several days...because we have kept Wesleigh away!

This picture was last Thursday on our way out the door to Ethan's first Playgroup. Aren't those some good looking boys!!??

Big Cheeser!!

Well, new in Wesleigh's world is TIME OUT!! Oh yes, FUN TIMES!! We had to start something in order to get some of his really naughty behaviors in check...because I refuse to have the mean, unruly, child!! We have started counting with him. If we get to 3, he is off to time out. On the first day of counting, he didn't care about the counting, but the time out made him angry!! I also had to stand right beside him for the whole minute, so he wouldn't leave time out. Now, about 4 days later, MOST of the time, he stops what he is doing with a count to 1 or 2. When we do get to a 3, he will usually sit in time out without getting up for the entire minute. We are making progress, and it is helping to get some of his naughty behaviors in check!! I was about to lose my mind with him before we started this, so thank goodness it is working!!

He is on a mission to somewhere...lookout world!!

If that isn't a guilty face, I don't know what is??I caught Wesleigh taking KIX out of his snack trap and lining them up on the back of his "buck". I guess they were going for a ride!! Silly boy!