The Not-So-Well Well Check-up

Caleb had his 9 month check-up today (even though he's almost 10 months). He weighed 19lbs 13oz and is still in the 95th percentile for height. All was well except for one thing...a double ear infection! Let me backtrack a bit: He had some allergy issues a few weeks ago (runny nose, sneezing) but never had fever or seemed ill. I had the same issues. I blame Hurricane Ike. Anyway, the last few days he's been extra clingy, fussy, not sleeping, just not himself. I was beginning to get frustrated with his constant need to be held and constant yelling (no, not screaming...yelling) for no apparant reason. He's been eating and not had fever so I really didn't think he was sick. I blamed teething. Anyway, I've been snappy with him lately and even Ethan was telling him this morning "What's your problem?!" Now I find out he's been battling a double ear infection. He's been yelling at me that his ears hurt and he feels crummy. All that is to say I'm the worst mom ever and I have guilt beyone belief. I know, that's hard for some of you to believe that I have guilt. :-) Ever since I found out about his ear infection I've been doing nothing but holding him and playing with him. Poor little guy......

Summer Lovin'

Ethan has been a huge Grease fan since he was tiny. His favorite song is "Summer Lovin'." He loves to do the part at the end like Danny...and it's hilarious. Enjoy!

A Day at the Zoo with Mommy

I was brave and decided to take the kids to the zoo by myself last week. I just wanted a little mommy bonding time. If you recall, I tried this several months ago and it was a complete disaster. But this time it was a complete success! We stayed for several hours and made a whole day of it. We explored parts of the zoo that I hadn't even been to before. There are tons of pictures so I'll just let them tell the story.

It's almost impossible to get them to look at the camera at the same time.

He was wrestling this alligator (or abigator as he calls it). I had to peel him off of it so other kids could play on it.
This was in the Terminix building with all the bugs and spiders. He called it the bat cave. There were bats in it but he really couldn't see them because they were in the dark.

We had never been in here before. This was in the children's part of the zoo. He was pretending to milk a cow.
We packed a lunch from home and ate outside until we got attacked by bees and decided to move inside. He was giving a thumbs up in the pic.

Caleb enjoyed lunch in his stroller.
This was not an exhibit. There were two racoons outside trying to steal lunch crumbs around the tables. I turned around at our table and saw this guy peeking his head through trying to get some food.

I couldn't get him off these rocks. He kept climbing higher and higher saying he was a cheetah.

Caleb was too busy looking at something else.

He loved feeding the birds. It was hard to get a good pic because I was holding Caleb. Strollers aren't allowed in the birdhouse. I guess they don't want them to get squished.
I got one to land on his stick.
I don't think Caleb let go of that paci the whole day.
His serious pose. He actually climbed on this rock and told me to take a picture. I've trained him well.

Feeding the fish at the Koi pond.
Climbing a giant ant hill.
This was also posed by him. And I have to say that this shirt is too small for him because he has had it forever. But, everytime I tell him to get dressed this is the one his puts on. Oh well we were at the zoo so who cares, right?


We had a lot of fun and I'm happy to say I'm finally at the point where I can take my two kids out alone and not get freaked out. It was a great day!

9 Months Old...and Getting Mobile

I feel like Caleb is changing right before my eyes. Each month that I update I'm amazed to see how much more he is doing. He says "dada" and "mama". He's usually babbling "dada" all day. That's ok, I hear it's easier to say. ;-)

He's eating everything in sight. He doesn't really like baby food anymore. He'll usually eat about half of it fussing all the way through then when I give him "real" food he digs in. You can't eat chips around him without giving him some, thanks to Daddy. I think he doesn't have enough teeth for chips but Mondo will break of a teeny tiny piece and give it to him. I'm suprised it's even worth it to him but he loves them. If he sees you eating one he will whine and lunge for it.

He's got four teeth now. He's working on two more on the top and maybe two more on the bottom. I'll be so glad when he's done teething...and so will he!

He loves to clap his hands and gets excited when you sing "Pat-a-cake" to him. He jumps up and down on his knees and claps his hands.

Mondo invented the game of pulling the kids on the carpet. He used to do it with Ethan when he was little. Caleb loves it too. I'm too out of shape for it.

It didn't take long for Ethan to join in on the fun. I think we need a bigger blanket!

This is one of Caleb's favorite places to nap...Ethan's bed. I kind of got into the habit of letting him nap there because he would sleep forever. But I stopped when he was having trouble sleeping in his bed at night. I don't know if they were related or not. I think he just likes comfort. :-) I can totally see Ethan and Caleb sharing a bed when they get older. I don't think either one would sleep very well because they both move a hundred times a night! Oh, his sleeping is better. He still doesn't sleep through the night completely. He usually wakes up once or twice for his paci when he loses it (I've tried putting 3 or 4 in his bed but he still can't find them!). Then he usually wakes up around 5 and ends up in our bed. Sometimes I can move him back to his bed and sometimes I can't. He's usually up for the day by 645 or 7am. And I wonder why I have headaches all the time and don't want anymore kids..... :-)

They're learning to get on each other's nerves but they still adore each other. So cute...

I bought them matching PJ's. I decided if I'm not going to have a girl to dress up then I can match my boys and have just as much fun.

It looks like he's swinging in the pitch black outside...I guess it was just the flash. He does love to swing.
This is his cheesy face. He makes this face a lot now for no reason. I guess it's just his smile. It's pretty funny.

He can crawl like crazy. He usually crawls with one leg pulled up like he about to get up. It's weird. Here's a couple of videos of him thinking about walking. He's definitely not ready yet but he sure is thinking about it. Maybe in the next month or two.

Wrestle Mania

Oh the joy of having two boys.

***No one was injured in the making of this video.***

The Big One

Well, it's final. No more Hernandez babies for me. Today Mondo got the big snip, the big V, yes...a vasectomy. He was talking about getting one before Caleb was even born. He has been very set on only having two kids. I was a little wary of only wanting two but after all these months of having my little critters I'm good. :-) Anywho, he had it done at 10:30 this morning. They gave him a Zanax 5 minutes before they called him back. It really wasn't enough time to start working. I was going to stay in for the procedure but the Dr. kicked me out. He didn't want the liability of me passing out. That wasn't going to happen but that's his policy. He got 6 shots of lidocaine (that was the part he was the most worried about but he said it didn't even hurt!) then they waited 15 minutes for it to start working. Mondo said the actual procedure only took about 3 minutes. He walked out and looked tired but otherwise was fine. We're at home now. He's not really in pain yet but I gave him some pain meds and now he's laying in bed watching the Sopranos with a bag of frozen peas.

Bath Time

Yes, he was standing in the tub not holding on to anything. I'm suprised he hasn't had an injury yet. His favorite thing to do is hold on to the duck over the faucet and chew on it. It makes it easy to scrub him down while he's standing up.
Dueling mohawks.
Ethan wanted to squish his....
And Caleb's too. He splashed water on the camera lens...ironic where it landed to cover him up. :-)
This was after Ethan literally patted down his head. Look at the water flying in the background. I usually end up as wet as they are.

All clean!

Ethan had to wrestle with Spiderman before getting fully dressed. He sleeps with him every night.

He looks so angry! (He was actually posing with an angry face.) Spiderman got a beatdown that night. Look at his little fat roll on his side...he finally gained his weight back after being sick.

First Day of Preschool

Ethan had his first day at his new preschool on Tuesday. It was all pretty uneventful. I took him alone since Mondo had to work. I was worried he would be upset when it was time to drop him off in his new class. The teachers want the kids dropped at the door and for the parents not to go in and disrupt the mood. I told him he had to give me my hug and kiss before he went in so he did. Then we put up his backpack outside and I told him to tell me bye because I was leaving. So he said "bye" and walked in and sat at his table. I thought..."That's it? No screaming, no tears, no clinging to me?" Nope. I guess he is older this year and remembers that school was fun. The bad thing about this new school is that it goes from 9-12. Last year he went from 9-2. It sure is a short 3 hours. I enjoyed to quiet time with Caleb. We napped together for an hour when we got home from taking him to school. When we woke up it was almost time to get him. Mondo went with me to pick him up. We asked him how his day was and what he did. First he said what he always says "I don't want to talk." Then he said, "We sat forever, we played basketball, and we played toys." I asked him if he made any new friends and he said yes "Will and Tyler". Those have been his friends since birth...they are just new to his school. So, it's back to getting up and out of the house at a reasonable time every Tuesday/Thursday. Enjoy the pics.

He actually felt like posing.
I was shocked at his good mood for the photo ops!
This is his Kung Fu Panda packpack I ordered online. Of course the backpack he wanted was not available in stores!
Just being silly.
Caleb wanted in the pictures too.

This was on his way into school.

This was after school.

See how thrilled Caleb was to go pick up his brother from school? (Yes, that's his spit on my shoulder...he constantly chews/sucks on my shoulder.)

This was after school...happy to go home!

VBS

I've been meaning to blog about VBS for months! I had to miss Ethan's first VBS because I had to work...or sleep after working. Mondo took him to the "Jerusalem Marketplace" at church. He had fun and ran into his cousins Madilyn and Morgan. Here are some of the many pics.

He had on a yamaka in this pic.

Of course since I wasn't there I have no idea what they were doing. That is his cousin Madilyn.


Madilyn, Ethan, and Morgan.
Yes, he still bites his nails...just like his Daddy.
Notice his eyes are shut. That woman sure is brave!
Maybe that's why he did it himself this time. He was printing his name with that hammer and nail.
He loved the petting zoo at the end of the day. He is still all about animals!