Hoppy Easter!

Easter was a busy weekend filled with egg hunts, church, and hangin' at Nana's house. We started the celebration with Kylie's easter egg hunt at school. My parents joined me for the chaos since Jason was out of town for work. The kids were racing the weather the entire time, which made for a pretty quick hunt, but Kylie had a blast and it was really fun to see her and all her friends in her class so excited. On Sunday we went to church and then headed up to Nana's for some lunch, confetti egg cracking, and another egg hunt. Ky had a blast hanging out with her cousin and even Beck got in on the action, having a couple tastes of ice cream while everyone had dessert. This easter I find myself so thankful for our two beautiful children who teach both Jason and I so much about love, compassion, and what fun is all about!

Spring...

Spring is in the air, and I'm loving it! The front yard is on its way (we got six flats planted already) and even the late snow couldn't stop them! Luckily, they're still looking like they might make it! This weekend we took the kiddos to get pictures taken. All in all, it went alright. Beck was in the middle of a nap when we had to wake him up to take his turn, he lasted maybe ten minutes before melting down. Also, turns out Kylie has become quite the cheesy picture taker. She has this fake smile that looks so corny that came across in almost all the shots. In the end, we found two we liked for Beck and one for the little lady.

Beck is getting so ready to move. He barely sits still anymore, wiggles anytime you try to hold him, and loves to be down on the ground to practice crawling, which right now is really just the funny swimming motion. No offense to the little man, but I think its going to be a while before he gets going...he's not exactly small in the stomach area, and that's a lot to lift. He has gained the ability to stick out his tongue, which is hilarious. He'll mirror you, so if you stick yours out, his will come out too. As I love doing this, we spend much of our day making funny faces at each other. For a long time now he's been making a sound identical to 'momma' anytime he gets upset and he tries to calm himself down. He obviously didn't know what it meant or anything, but now...well I'm not saying my son is a genius (that's exactly what i'm saying =)) but he's perfected the word with precise clarity and I LOVE it. I truly think he's starting to figure out that it means me, since he's been doing it so long and I always answer him. Yesterday, on the way home from taking Ky to school, the sun was coming through the car at just the right angle to be right in his face. So I got to hear a sad 'momma' call over and over all the way until we turned into the neighborhood. It was so sad, cute, sweet, all at the same time.

Kylie got to go over to her friend Makenzie's house on Saturday to celebrate her 4th birthday! Man, did her mommy Stephanie outdo herself w/ a carnival theme party complete with cotton candy maker, bounce house, games, tickets, and a prize wall. I LOVED it, and so did Kylie. She had a blast. Here's a shot of her eating cotton candy, and a pick of the inside of the card Kylie made her friend. She wrote it all by herself (except the heart which I did) I'm so proud of her!

The Weaning War...

So...this is me, waiving my white flag. I give up. After two weeks of trying, I have realized that he's just not ready and it is my own stubbornness that kept me from admitting that there is nothing wrong with continuing to breastfeed...at least for now. My goal was always 6 months for a couple different reasons, #1 breastfeeding and sweaty texas summers don't sound like fun #2 teeth (which he already has two of and, fingers crossed, haven't posed a problem yet) #3 just wanted a little more freedom to not have our life revolve around his eating schedule. But, for two weeks I have tried offering him bottles of breast milk, and now he's gotten to the point where he starts screaming before I even put it near his mouth. Clearly, he's not a fan. He has dropped two of his daily feedings (surprisingly, the two I try to bottle feed him at) and not that he's going to wither away (all 18 lbs. of him) but I can't help but thinking that he's not getting the nutrition that he needs. When I could get him to take from a bottle it was MAYBE one ounce on average, and that usually ended up coming back up because he was so distraught taking it that he took in more air than milk.

SOOOO...after praying, and thinking, I have decided to put it to rest for the time being. This should make both of us less frustrated which is always good! After all, I'm the one that decided to breastfeed...which I still think was a good idea, so I will wait until he's more ready...let's just hope that's sooner than later.

Growing so fast...

We're taking Beck in for his 5 month appointment later today. Where does the time go? In just the last couple weeks I feel like so much is happening. Beck is now rolling over and sitting up and won't stop sucking on his bottom lip (thanks to those two beautiful teeth). His personality develops more and more everyday, and I really think that I'm going to be in trouble when that boy turns mobile. He reaches and grabs for anything and everything, even the bumbo seat can not stop him. He'll scoot his bum to the very side until one of his legs just about pops out and he can touch the counter (and anything on it), for that reason..no more bumbo on the kitchen counter, which is a bummer considering that this is the only time I really use it. He's doing much better at eating his solids. He can now open wide for the food which causes much less frustration, and so far, I haven't made anything he hasn't liked (or at least eaten).

We started, or should I say attempted to start the weening process and it's been a rough start. He's never been a fan of the bottle, and seems to like frozen milk less than the fresh stuff by a mile. The first two days it was a battle of wills, with him crying and thrashing until he finally gave in and realized it was bottle or nothing, and even then he only took 2 ounces. The third day (yesterday) I think we finally started to have a breakthrough. He ate with very minimal fussing, and even though he only took 2 ounces again, it seemed to be much easier for him than the days before. Now if I could only get him to eat more instead of the minimum he needs to not feel hungry. A bottle and all the fuss isn't really worth it in the long run if I end up nursing him two hrs. later. So, right now we're nursing 5 times a day and taking one bottle. I hope to increase the bottle consumption in the next couple days, but I need to get him eating more first.

Kylie is learning all sorts of new things at school right now. The other day she came home telling me all about cylinders and how they're 3D, pretty impressive. She has our street address memorized and has really taken to this whole letter thing. Its funny, you can SO tell when something finally clicks in their heads and makes sense, and that's where she is now. She told me every letter on her juice box the other day and asked while playing on her easel how to spell my name, when I told her, she told me to come look and sure enough, she had spelled out 'brook' on the board...impressive! she's also learning sign language at home and knows probably half of the alphabet, including how to do her name!

I made an appointment to get spring picture taken of the kids next weekend! This is always a stressful, yet well worth it event, and I'm hopping they turn out well. Beck and I went shopping and found sun glasses, polos, and a super cute hat that I plan to have him wear for pictures, and we had a little dress rehearsal.

Birthday Celebrations!

It was a super busy weekend for the Alcorns! We attended two birthday parties Saturday, followed by heading to my parents Sunday to celebrate my mom and sister's bdays! Saturday's activities were bowling for Kylie at Sydney's party and having fun in the bounce house at her cousin Peyton's party. Both the kids were so tired that they both crashed on the way home. Sunday we went to church and then up to my parents for lunch and gifts exchanges. March is a very busy month since both my mom, sister, and sister's daughter's bdays are three days in a row! But it sure is fun!

Beck has finally ceased teething, at least for the moment, and as soon as he lets me, I'm going to snap some shots of his two bottom teeth (so cute)! Its just nice to see him happy again since they're in so much pain when the teeth cut the gums. I'm already seeing a difference between having a boy and a girl. Actually, I don't know yet if its a difference of sexes or just different personalities. Kylie was very un-trusting and reluctant as a baby. Watching and analyzing everything and every situation before decided if she was interested. Beck, he just goes for it. He will grab at anything he can, even things from the counter when I'm just walking through the kitchen. And I don't mean a half-hearted attempt, he'll flail those arms and practically jump at anything he sees just to feel and touch it. Its So funny, yet so different.

Spring is finally here, as are my allergies. I've debated starting Beck on the weening process so I can get back on my allergy medication, its just hard...b/c truthfully the idea of thawing out milk and wasting a clean bottle seems like such work. But I know at some point it has to happen. Many people are on spring break this week and its weird not working. Usually, Jason and I are in a mad dash to do the yard this week. In general, the week just doesn't have the appeal it usually does. Not that I'm complaining, its just different now that I'm not working. I've been making Beck's baby food and so far so good. He's now tried and liked: peas, carrots, green beans, squash, sweet potatoes, pears, and apples!

Big boy got teeth!

It has finally happened! Beck officially has two bottom teeth, and man, what a ride it has been getting to this point. Makes me dread the other twenty-so that are still to come. He's chewing on EVERYTHING and ANYTHING he can get his hands on, and if he finds something that doesn't fit in his mouth he does this funny, almost convulsive side to side head movement like he's going to get it in there if its the last thing he does! He's sitting up on his own for a couple seconds before gaining interest in something and head diving sideways. It takes a lot of concentration to keep a trunk like his steady, so I understand completely. He'll roll himself over every once in a while, but really could take or leave that motion. p.s. I LOVE the crack picture! explains why he's been pooping out of his diapers maybe???

Kylie is SOOO ready for the warmer weather. She keeps asking how long till she can take her socks and shoes off at the park, and when she can go swimming! She's got writing her first name down, can spell her last name (working on writing it) and can tell you her address (although many times she gives a 1101 instead of 1011). Every day Jason and I are amazed at how quick she is. She picks things up so fast, notices the most ridiculous details, and uses logic far beyond her years. The other day, after I pretty much blew a hotdog up in the microwave, she told me that if I didn't cook it so long that it wouldn't explode. Jason asked me how it feels to have a four year old who is smarter than me. What can I say, she made a good point. We've been working on expanding her eating, and she's taking it like a real champ. We've now gotten her to try salad, sausage, baked beans, zucchini, vegetable soup, and pink cake (just don't tell her its strawberry). She really has become such a wonderful sister. Willing to watch Beck anytime, and no one can make him laugh like she can.

We've seen a good bit of rain this week, and even got blessed with a double rainbow after the sun came out. Of course, the beauty of it can't be captured on camera. The coming weekend is full of bday celebrations. Kylie has two bday parties on Saturday, and then we're getting together with my family to celebrate my mom and sister's bdays on Sunday. I'm sure we'll be taking tons of pics!!

Momma needs some sleep...

Just when I thought Beck was getting his stuff together and sleeping through the night, he decides I've had it too easy. He's clearly teething, as is evident by the white coming through on his bottom gum, but still....he's getting up now every two hours probably and just wants to know someone is there, and then he falls back to sleep. He's really only nursing once, if at all, during the night so I know its not a hunger issue, and I would love to let him just cry himself back to sleep, but Kylie is such a light sleeper that I really don't want him waking her up because then where does that get me??? Last night I put him down around 9:30 and was up at 10:45, 11:15, 1:30, 2:30, and 4:00 (to nurse) before getting up at 7:00 to take Ky to school...and this has been multiple days in a row now. You forget after your first kid what a pain teething can be. I'm so tired!!!!

On the plus side, he's so close to rolling over, but shows very little interest in actually doing it. The only time he likes to really try is when I put him down to sleep, which is causing even more sleeping issues. He has always preferred to sleep on his side with one arm wrapped. Currently, I'm just laying him on his back unwrapped completely. We're going to try this and see if it helps with the sleeping issue. It's strange how different each kid is. They're like puzzles that change every day, and so I'm always trying to figure out what works. I wouldn't be surprised it he starts sitting up on his own before he starts rolling (not that i'm complaining, its nice to still be able to just lay him on the couch and not worry). He's already sitting up for maybe 5 seconds at a time on his own with very little help. Seems like he's doing everything (including teething) much earlier than Ky did. He's now been introduced to sweet potatoes, peas and carrots, and bananas and likes them all. However, he hasn't quite figured out the part where he needs to open his mouth to get the food, so he's still getting pretty frustrated at feeding times. We'll figure it out, hopefully sooner than later.

Kylie has been practicing her letters and writing so much lately, and has grown to really enjoy it, which is so nice to see. She has no problems writing her name now (something she learned a long time ago and then refused to do for about six months) and is starting on some sight words. Its so interesting to watch them learn to read. For me, it all makes so much sense because I know it already, but it is truly fascinating to watch them struggle through it. We've started on root words and are practicing changing the letters in front. For example I will give her "at" and then we'll practice sounding out "cat", "bat", "rat", "fat", etc. She seems to really like it.

We have her cousin Peyton's bday coming up, followed by spring break for many people and we're hoping some friends of ours get to come down for a couple days so we can meet their son finally! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather warms up soon! I'm ready to get out in the yard and garden! A guy from church is trying to get a co-ed soccer team together, and has asked Jason and I to play. We're trying to figure out if its even feasible, because it sure does sound like fun. But, the reality is, I haven't ran in two years, let alone touched a ball. And finding someone to watch two kids on a weekly basis sounds tough. oh well, we'll see what happens. I signed Kylie up for her second round of soccer tots. She'll start in April!!