A boy and his binky

We have an addict on our hands. A sneaky conniving addict. And he's three. 

Corbin loves his binky. He wants it when he sleeps, when he's upset, when he is watching a show, whenever Cole has one, whenever he sees one, whenever he's awake. Although both Tom and I have witnessed Corbin reaching for (and finding) a binky when we are sure he is completely asleep. We even sometimes believe that he has a sixth sense that allows him to track them. 

He had been known to steal them fr his peacefully sleeping brother - much to his mothers dismay. 

He has had the dentist tell him that he needs to work on giving up the habit. He has had the doctor talk to him about how only babies use binkies and he is a big boy. But he hasn't really been on board with those ideas. We have been limiting it to bedtime but did I mention he is sneaky?

So it shocked us immensely when completely unprompted he announced to tom the other day that he should put all of his binkies in a box and give them to cole. So we acted fast. We found a box, collected all the ones we could find, and then had Corbin make the delivery. Cole was largely uninterested but we saw it as a big step and went with it. 

Until two minutes later when we realized that there was already one missing from the box and Corbin was hiding in the hall getting his fix. 

But overall he's been doing great. No binky at bedtime which has been hard (on us parents) but it has worked! It is still a struggle as he presents "the bestest plan ever" about sharing with Cole just one more night but it still has been smoother than it could be. 

Last night Tom was still at Scouts and I was putting both boys to bed. Corbin looked longingly at Coles binky but fell asleep okay. And this morning when I checked on him, he had another binky in his mouth! He must have hidden it away somewhere for emergencies!

I told you he was an addict!

Hand foot mouth and mouth

Last Wednesday Corbin crawled into our bed around 3 in the morning.  As he snuggled up close to me I realized that he was exceptionally warm. When I finally was able to take his temperature it registered just over 100 degrees. Nothing major but it did seem that either Tom or I was not going to work that day. When I realized it was better for me to be gone that day than the next, I quickly volunteered for first shift. 

We kept cole with us because even though I didn't want cole to get sick I really didn't want to have to pump while I was home. 

The day was pretty nice actually. We all stayed in out pajamas all day and besides sleeping more than usual Corbin was in pretty good spirits. 

That night around ten his fever broke. Tom planned to stay home so that we could have the full 24 hours before Corbkn returned to school. Around lunch time tom sent me a picture asking me what was on Corbin's face. It looked like he had hit his chin on something and I pointed the finger back at Tom. There was nothing there when I went to work. 

But by the time I got home it was all over his arms, legs, face, and butt. Ouch!!

Long story shorter - the doctor on Friday diagnosed it as hand foot mouth disease with a bacterial infection on top of that. He sent them home with some antibiotics to take and strict instructions to keep Corbin home until Monday. 

So here's the recovering patient with his "dots" as he called them--

So far Cole has escaped this one but he has begun teething. After weeks of drooling and gnawing on everything we saw the beginnings of a tooth last night. Such a mixed feeling to see that popping out. Exciting yet potentially very painful for mama. :)

Here's that happy fella. And if you look close you can see the drool!

Fun times at the Cinquinis. 

Weekend at the Coast

Great weather. 

Fun weekend. 

Two tired boys.  

Two very tired parents. 

Monday's tomorrow?

Back to School

School has begun again. 

Some of my thoughts --

I don't know which mornings are harder on me as a mom - the ones where the boys cry when I leave or the ones where they don't seem to notice I am leaving. 

I think the boys are running a tag team system for waking up at night. They both seem to wake when I am finally getting the other one settled. Corbin woke up the other night wanting bread. What?! He's never asked for that when wide awake. 

I get frustrated when one class has no one that will talk and answer questions. But then I get frustrated with the class when everyone talks all the time. Hmmmm. 

I hate planning lunches and dinners. But now that I can't eat gluten for a while it has become so hard to be inspired. Ugh!

I love the huge smile the boys both give me when they spot when I come to pick them up. Cole kicks his legs and waves his arms, too. Corbin asks for a little bit longer but loves to show me what he's been doing. Lately, that's lots of dirt and rock cakes. :)

I am grateful for a husband who is willing to help so much in the morning and in the evening. Everything goes so much smoother. 

I am tired. 

For those of you who are looking for picture, here are a couple --

So close....

Camping

We went camping last weekend with good friends. We had a great time. The weather was beautiful. The scenery was gorgeous. Fun times!

Lots of ways to measure success --

1. Good food

2. Dirty faces

3. Exhausted children. 

Definitely a successful time!

Busy days

Only two more weeks before I return to work. Maybe that's why I have been cramming so much fun stuff into the days. 

Monday we went to a local splash park that had all sorts of water features to keep kids happy - and cool. Since Monday reached triple digits, I think it was a really good idea. We met up with some friends. Here are some pics--

So much fun! Both boys were asleep even before we got to the freeway from the park. 

Then Tuesday we decided to participate in a town parade that ended with free admission to the county fair. Another set of adventures!!

Ready for the parade. (Yet another opportunity to wear our batman and Robin pajamas) 

The fair offered some new opportunities too. 

Helping brush a cow. 1200 lbs. wow!

Corbin's first ride. He loved it! Especially since he got the green airplane. This is one brave kid!!

And fair food, of course--

Curly fries!

And shaved ice. This picture looks kind of weird but I do think it was bigger than Corbin's head. Don't worry, though, we ate all of it. Yum!

Cole had fun, too. He found lots of new admirers at the fair. He was a bit disappointed that curly fries weren't on his menu though. 

One last funny picture of Corbin. He is in the little basket under the stroller where I usually put my purse. This is where he hung out while in line for the fries. It was a long line - it would have been nice to have such a spot for me, too. 

And the boys made it all the way home from the fair before falling asleep. But then they both slept for almost 3 hours. It's exhausting having so much fun!