Big Brother and Brown-Eyed Girl

What a sweet big brother we have on our hands!

So that I don’t forget, here are a few of the sweet things Russell does for Meredith:

• if he can hear me patting her on the back to burp her, no matter what room he’s in, he’ll come running over saying, “help, help” to pat her on the back and help burp her
• when I’m getting her dressed, he thinks it’s funny to point out her belly button
• he absolutely loves it when I play “patty-cake” or “this little piggy” with Meredith; he asks for more when I’m done
• he tries to share his toys with her by putting his beloved cars in her hand, and today he shook a rattle for her
• if he notices that she’s lost her paci and is crying, he sometimes says “uh oh” and reaches to put it back in
• he tries to feed her Cheerios and goldfish, and tries to let her drink from his sippy cup (we are obviously putting a stop to this, but it’s still cute)

Meredith loves Russell just as much: she follows him around the room with her eyes, and rarely gets upset even if he is a little too rough with her.

Speaking of Meredith, look at those BROWN eyes!  They were never really blue, even when she was first born.  She is our little brown-eyed girl (and you can bet that Mommy sings her that song!)

I love to watch these two interact and can’t wait to see how close (hopefully) they will become as they get older.

Another Weekend, Another Swing Set

This morning, we all went over to our friends’ house so that my handy hubby could help them set up their swing set (a birthday gift for Lily, who is 12 hours younger than Russell).  While Jason and Justin worked hard out in the heat, Russell and Lily played inside, Meredith napped, and Sarah and I got to visit.  It was a really nice way to spend the morning!

Sarah held Meredith for a while – this was before a huge diaper mess, so Meredith was still in her first outfit of the day

Here are the guys, standing next to their product – we had to leave before it was finished, which made Jason sad, but they made great progress!

Sweet Sarah made us lunch before we left.  We had lots of fun!  Hopefully soon the kids will be able to use each other’s swing sets!

Whew

Still trying to catch my breath from this crazy past week and weekend. Poor Russell had strep throat AGAIN last week - it started on Monday and the doctor's office didn't figure out it was strep until yesterday (Sunday), so he has had quite a rough week, with a low to moderate fever every single day. (Well, the doctor's office called it low to moderate - it's been between 99 and 103.4). Thank the Lord it was a short week, and that Jason's parents came down for the weekend! Russell needed some distraction!

This weekend, while Jason's parents were here, Russell got his 2 big birthday gifts (yes, a few weeks early). I only managed to get pictures of one of the gifts: his gift from Jason and me - a swing set! (Don't worry, Paw Paw and Kacki, I will get up photos of your gift soon - I don't want to tell what it is and spoil the blog surprise :))

Russell had fun in the big box while Paw Paw and Daddy put it together:





Then he got to try it out! He loves it! (Jason took pics while I tried to take a nap inside!)





Unfortunately, we had a problem with Russell's favorite thing: the swing. I bought a bucket swing since the set did not come with one. Well, it didn't quite work:



...but Jason got it fixed today and it is at the right height now!

This has nothing to do with the swingset, but I can't leave Meredith out! She got a lot of cuddle time with Paw Paw and Kacki this weekend. Other than that, she just laid around looking cute :)



Russell has started an antibiotic now and should be feeling much better very soon. We (I) cannot WAIT to see our friends this week!

Strawberry Fields Forever

This morning, my mom, Russell, Meredith and I drove to a farm about 30 minutes away to do some strawberry picking. We went to this particular one because Russell's play therapist recommended it. I'm so glad we chose it; it was huge and had lots of things to do!

I had to nurse Meredith in the car as soon as we arrived, so my mom took Russell exploring. They saw the goats, and I'm told that before my mom realized what was happening, Russell kissed one on the nose! Gross, yes, but hilarious too!

When we were all ready, we rode on the tractor up to the strawberry fields. You know Russell loved that!



Russell didn't really pick any strawberries. However, when we first started picking, as soon as I put one in the basket, Russell would grab it and eat it. I didn't think any would actually stay in the bucket, but thankfully he slowed down!



(Look at his hat all askew - so funny :))



Meredith has an outfit for everything :) Here she is in her strawberry outfit:



This is as close as I could get to a photo with both of them in it:



Russell watching Mimi pick strawberries:



When Russell wasn't eating strawberries, he was walking up and down the rows. I had to really stay on him to keep out of the path of the tractor (the road was at the end of the rows).



It was SUPER hot outside, and Russell got pretty whiny after a little bit of picking strawberries. So while my mom paid for our 2 pounds (only $1.15 per pound!), Russell and I sat in the shade and ate some homemade strawberry ice cream.



It was really a wonderful, fun thing to do. Next year we'll pick a cooler day so that Russell can enjoy it a little more.

Memorial Weekend Family Time

This has been an awesome weekend full of family time...

...and nap time...
On Friday, Jason and Russell decided they were sleepy. Did you know a grown man could fit in a crib? Russell found it quite hilarious!



And on Saturday, Jason got some nap time in with Meredith!



(If you're wondering, I did not get a nap - a mother's work is never done, so I was cleaning, and then I actually found time to exercise.)

Also this weekend, we pulled out the activity mat for Meredith's first time. Russell loved it, and Meredith didn't really care about it but couldn't take her eyes off of Russell - I love that they love each other so much already!





My parents were here, and they got some great quality time with their grandchildren:



Like I said, a great weekend! Even though it's been long, it's flown by (sadly!)

Russell's New Table

I love how handy Jason is around the house. He can do just about anything, from tiling a floor to patching drywall to installing a ceiling fan. It is so wonderful, especially on a budget!

We have been wanting a little table for Russell. Even though he has a playroom, he had overtaken the guest bed in Meredith's room, and this is what we spent many hours of many days doing:



Since we're going to move Meredith into her crib soon, we knew it wouldn't work to have Russell coming in (or pounding on the door) to play with his cars. So yesterday, Jason built a beautiful table to hold them! Thank you, honey! :)

Since my parents and my brother were here this weekend, everyone got to play on Russell's new table:





It's obviously unfinished, so my plan is to paint and/or somehow finish it - maybe make it look a little artistic or creative? And eventually it will also be an art table, maybe a tea party table for Meredith, and anything else the kids need to use it for.

Wordless Wednesday