Thanksgiving and getting ready for Christmas

Thanksgiving went well.  We all went to Del Rio to see my family.  It was Luke's 1st time to go.  It is about 420 miles and takes about 6-1/2 hours  to drive there, but of course with 2 kids it takes quite a bit longer.  Overall the drive went well.  Luke did great in the car and Matthew has always done well on long car rides.  It was nice to see my family.  Oma is doing great.  She had recently been in the hospital for almost a month and almost died.  It was great to see her.  Thanksgiving was full of great food and great family.  I couldn't have asked for more. 

Christmas is fast approaching.  The tree and decorations went up the weekend of Thanksgiving.  I love all the lights.  Matthew is very excited about the presents.  Christmas shopping for the kids is done.  It is so easy when they are young.  They pretty much like anything and everything.  I dread the day when they start wanting the "big ticket" items.  I am hoping to set a standard early as far as the amount of gifts they recieve at Christmas.  It is just ridiculous how many gifts some kids get, but if they always have recieved a ton of gifts then they expect it.  I am hoping to avoid that.  Easier said than done I'm sure. 

Well I still have baby fever, and it's a very high fever :)  My thyroid is back to normal and my period has returned so I am taking that as a sign.  I had to completely wean Matthew from nursing before I got my period back, but apparently not this time around.  I "think" Mark is on board with trying for 1 more, but I don't think he is overly excited about it.  I think at this point we will probably just try for a few months and see what happens.  If nothing happens then oh well, and I will likely have something permanent done.  I will be more than thrilled with my 2 boys, but if God decides to bless us with 1 more that would be wonderful.  Honestly I would love another boy.  It would just make everything so much easier.  Don't get me wrong a girl would be great, but I would not be dissapointed at all if it was another boy.

That's all for now. 

Grandpa being silly with Luke

Matthew and Oma.  Matthew loves windmills and Oma has lots of windmills in her house.

Del Rio

Matthew and Luke

Luke and Grandpa

The boys ready to start Christmas decorating.

Hanging up lights.

Luke is helping as well.

Decorating the tree.

Blessings! 

Halloween

Well now that Halloween is over the holidays are officially here.  Can't believe it.  I am excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.  Matthew seems to understand more this year regarding Christmas.  We are going to Del Rio this year for Thanksgiving to see my family.  Looking forward to that.  It will be great to see Oma (my grandmother).  She is 93 and generally very healthy and spunky, but recently was very sick and in the hospital for almost 3 weeks.  She almost died, but it wasn't her time because she is back home and getting stronger everyday. 

Well Halloween went fairly well.  Matthew enjoyed the pumpkin patch and carving pumpkins.  We went to our Church's glow in the dark festival Halloween night and well let's just say we had to leave early.  Not sure what Matthew's issue was but he just wasn't coping well.  The festival has a bunch of games to play and after you play the game you get candy.  I don't know if it was too overwhelming for him but he was not wanting to wear his costume, wait in line, take pictures, etc..  Sounds like typical toddler behaivor right, but it seems he should be able to have more fun at these sorts of events.  It was very crowded so maybe that bothered him.  He just gets frustrated soooo easy and the majority of the time I really don't know why he is frustrated and he really isn't able to tell me why.  Of course he wanted to go and see the fire hydrant and I am thinking why would he want to still go and see the fire hydrant when we are at a fun Halloween festival with lots of games, candy, etc... That's just Matthew.  There is just this level of immaturity that is lingering that can be hard to deal with.  Don't get me wrong I don't expect a 4-1/2 year old to be "mature" but compared to other kids his age he just has a lot of maturing to do.  Oh well,  maybe next year will go better.  After we got home we did some trick or treating in the neighborhood (we know all of our neighbors very well).  Matthew loved this.  He did great with the trick or treating so the night ended on a good note :)

Beware:  Picture overload!

Blessings!

Luke at the pumpkin patch

Matthew at the pumpkin patch

It's pretty much impossible to get everyone looking. 

Even the fire hydrant got a pumpkin thanks to Matthew

More pumpkins

Having fun

Getting ready to carve the pumpkin

Our pumpkin

My sweet Lukey Luke.  He was a cow.

At the festival.  We left shortly after this :)

Matthew the firefighter.  Trick or treating in the neighborhood

Candy!  Yummy!!!!!!

Betsey 

Fall is finally here and baby fever.

Fall is finally here.  Yay!!!!!  I am usually sad when summer comes to an end but not this year.  I was so tired of the hot weather.  It has cooled off some.  It is definitely not Fall-like temperatures yet but it's better than 110 degrees.  Temps are in the upper 80's and morning lows are in the 60's.  I am still looking forward to it getting even cooler.  Hard to believe the holidays are right around the corner.  I am looking forward to it this year.  Looks like I won't be working Thanksgiving or Christmas this year.  Yea!!!!  Not sure what the boys will be for Halloween yet, but I am looking for ideas.  Our church is having their big fall festival again so we will be attending that.  It is lots of fun. 

Well I can't believe I am going to write this, but I have baby fever.  There I said it.  After having Matthew I was contemplating just having him but I knew I would regret it so I of course had Luke.  After having Luke I am very sad to think that this may be it.  I have enjoyed Luke so much more and the transition was so much easier that having another doesn't sound scary or overwhelming at all.  I like the idea of having more than 2 kids.  The chances of actually having a 3rd though are quite low.  There are so many circumstances that will make it difficult to have a 3rd.  Mark and I's age, finances, childcare, my thyroid issue that I have to get under control 1st, etc.....Those are just a few of the reasons.  I really thought after having Luke I would feel so relieved since I "would be done" and our family would be complete, but I don't feel that way at all.  I will give it until after the holidays and see how I feel then.  If we did go for a 3rd we would have to start trying soon.

Luke is good.  He started crawling this week.  He isn't crawling everywhere just yet, but he's getting there.  He is definitely very curious and loves to play with anything and everything.  He is eating well.  Enjoying baby food very much.  He has turned into quite the cat napper though.  His naps are maybe an hour tops.  I would really like for those to be longer. 

Matthew is good.  He is enjoying school much more this year.  He is slowly but surely maturing.  He finally pooped in the potty.  Wasn't sure if it would ever happen.  He has done it several times but he does fight me on it some.  He would still prefer to go in the diaper but for the most part I can convince him to use the potty.  My little boy is growing up.  His talking is moving right along.  He is doing very well.

Work is good.  Still very busy although it has slowed down the last few weeks.  Looks like we will be getting a new NICU in 2013.  Very excited about that.  Looks like it will be double the size and mostly private rooms.  They opened up the new antepartum unit and it is VERY NICE.  They will be adding 2 new floors to the Women's Center which is very exciting.  Lots of growth which means lots of job security.  I feel very blessed to have that job.  I still have not found a transcription job but I am so close.  I am still waiting on 2 companies to get back with me regarding if they are landing some new accounts.  If they land these accounts then they want to talk to me about employment.  I really hope it works out.  I am ready for some extra money.

Hanging with cousin Jayce

The toy he got for going #2 in the potty.  Matthew loves windmills almost as much as fire hydrants.

Fall Festival at Calloways

Luke swinging.  He loved it!!!

Luke's favorite way to sit right now.

Until next time!  Enjoy the pics!

Blessings,

Betsey

All is well here

All is well at the Krueger house.  Matthew started back to school today.  He cried when I dropped him off.  Not surprised.  He likes being at home.  I don't blame him.  This is his 2nd year of his preschool language class (PLC).  This class has been great for him.  The teachers are great.  I think it is helping him a lot, especially since Kindergarten is coming up fast, which scares me big time.  I can't imagine him in Kindergarten.  I am waiting until he is 6 so we have 2 more years left.  I think he will be ready by then.  I did find a private school I can afford which I am thrilled about.  Very small class sizes which will be very beneficial for Matthew.  It is a private school that was affiliated with the church I used to go to so I know it is good.  I know several people that work there.  They are building a new campus on 11 acres.  I think I will enroll Matthew next year in their Pre-K program.  It is full day and 3 to 5 days a week.  Not sure if I will do the full 5 days but maybe.  I am curious to see how he will do.  They do contract with the public school district if speech services are needed which is great.  As he moves along in the grades though and he starts having more significant academic problems not sure what they will offer but I am trying not to worry about that now.  Since he has had such difficulty with his speech and language he is at high risk for learning disabilities.  I hope that isn't the case but only time will tell.  Anyway, enough of that.

Well I am officially looking for a medical transcription position and that is a job in itself.  I finished up with M-TEC a few weeks before Luke was born and gave my self some time to get settled in.  I have a few leads so I am hopeful something will come up soon.  I am looking forward to the extra money but I do have to work for it and give up some of my free time.  That will be an adjustment.

Luke is doing fabulous.  He is 6 months old as of Saturday.  I started some solid foods and he is really liking them.  I am also playing around with some homemade baby food.  Made him a sweet potatoe and he ate every last bite.  He is such a sweet baby.

Well my Grandmother passed away.  She had been battling bladder cancer.  She was 89.  She passed away in her own home which is a blessing.  She is at peace now. 

Work is good.  We are still busy, busy, busy, busy, busy.  Did I get my point across?  We are running at over 90% capacity pretty much all the time.  We had 26 babies at one point.  We only have 23 beds.  There is talk about opening up some more beds upstairs by the well baby nursery.  These would be for very low acuity babies.  I think over the next few years there will be a lot more growth.  We deliver around 4000 babies a year and this year it will probably be over that.  On May 12 we had 31 babies born in a 24 hour time period.  That is A LOT!!!!!!!!!

Well can't think of anything else right now.  Enjoy the random pics below!

Blessings,

Matthew's 1st movie (Winnie the Pooh)

Enjoying the exersaucer

At his friend Jamie's birthday party

Hanging out



The cat

 Betsey

Pics of the boys

Had pictures done at Portrait Innovations.  It went okay.  Matthew was semi cooperative and surprisingly Luke wasn't very happy.  It was really hard to get him to smile.  He had just napped and been fed.  Oh well, I tried my best.  The pics turned our fairly well.  I am not too crazy about all the props.  I am just a simple kind of girl so I like the more basic, simple backgrounds.  Portrait Innovations was pretty reasonable.  For $99.95 I got a ton of pictures and the CD as well so I am not going to complain.

Enjoy the pics!

We're still alive :)

Sorry haven't posted in a while.  I really don't have an excuse.  I just forget to keep this blog updated.  All is well here.  Baby Luke is almost 5 months old.  Can you believe it?  I just love him to pieces.  He is such a sweet baby.  Breastfeeding is going well despite the difficulties I had in the beginning.  He is growing but not as fast as Matthew did.  I know, I know,  all kids are different.  He wasn't even 13 lbs at his 4 month visit.  He is long and lean apparently.  When you exclusively breastfeed and you have a small baby you can't help but to wonder if he is getting enough.  We are going to do a weight check at 5 months and if he hasn't grown much I may start solids a little early.  We'll see.  He is sleeping good.  I have been blessed to have babies that sleep well. 

Matthew is good.  He has adjusted to Luke and seems to be a little less jealous.  The sibling rivarly is starting already though.  If Luke has a toy all of a sudden Matthew must have that toy.  It's only the beginning.  Oh boy!  Matthew saw the developmental pediatrician last month for a check up and all is well.  He isn't quite up to age level for his speech and language but the gap is closing in.  She wants to see him in 6 months to do some more testing since he is 4 now.   Can't believe Matthew is 4 now.   He had a nice birthday at the house this year.  We just did family this time around so it was a little less work for me.  Grandpa and Grandma Carroll came from Del Rio so that was a nice.  Matthew enjoys seeing them.

Well it is VERY HOT here in Texas.  It has been over 100 degrees for the past few weeks with no end in sight.  I used to love summertime but as I am getting older I am not enjoying the heat so much.  It is hard this summer because since I have Luke I feel housebound.  It is just too hot to be outside for too long with a baby.  I am eager for cooler temperatures so we can go for walks and be outside more.   Probably next summer we can try some waterparks since Luke will be a little older. 

Work is good.  It is BUSY, BUSY, BUSY.  Good for job security.

As usual Mark is working on several projects outside.  Something is always changing in the yard.  He does an excellent job and is keeps him busy.  I definitely don't have a "lazy" husband.  That's a blessing.

Well can't think of anything else right now.

Blessings,

Matthew is 4 now.

Baby Luke (4 months)

Grandma and Grandpa Carroll with the "boys" (Caden, Luke, Jayce, and Matthew)

Grandma and Grandpa Krueger and Grandma and Grandpa Carroll with Matthew and Luke

Matthew playing with his cousin Jayce

Betsey

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all of you or as I like to call it "Jesus is Risen Day."  Thank you Jesus for making the ultimate sacrifice for all of us.  Started the day off at church this morning and will be ending the day at the in-laws for dinner (yum).  Enjoy the pics!

Update

All is well at the Krueger household.  Baby Luke is doing well.  He is a sweet baby.  After he eats he likes to smile and coo lots.  It is soooo sweet to see.  He is sleeping good.  Taking lots of naps.  He is only up for about an hour or so before he starts to get cranky and back to sleep he goes.  He is like is momma, loves his sleep.  He is sleeping well at night.  I am putting him down between 8 and 9 and I don't hear from him until sometime between 3 to 5 a.m. then he eats and is back to sleep.  Matthew is doing well.  He has his moments but I am just trying to be patient with him.  I know his little world has changed dramatically since Baby Luke arrived.  It will be so much better when Luke is older and more interactive so Matthew will see that he will benefit from having a brother.  At this point Matthew can't see that it is actually a good thing to have a brother.

I am enjoying my time off from work.  I have 3 more weeks until I go back.  I am not dreading it as much this time around.  I am actually kinda of looking forward to going back.  I do enjoy what I do.  It is only 2 days a week so not to big of a deal.  I have a wonderful sitter lined up for Luke so I have no anxieties about leaving him at all.  Such a blessing!

Well my grandmother (Dad's mom) is dying.  She is 89 and has cancer and has decided not to do chemo.  She lives in New York.  She is a wonderful lady and has lived a very full life.  I am trying to figure out how to get up there and see her.  I would take Luke and leave Matthew and Mark behind.  The thought of flying with a baby really stresses me out and not to mention all the stuff I need to bring.  I will figure it out because I would really like to see her.  I have a lot of fond memories as a child visiting her in New York. 

Blessings,

Zoo day with his PLC class.  Who cares about lions, tiger, and bears when there are fire hydrants at the zoo.

Hanging outside

Happy boy!

My sweet Momma's boy

I'm ready to go.

He looks like Matthew here.

Betsey