Backyard Flora

Mango Watch 2009!

Mangos are doing quite well and in a few more months they will be ripe and ready to eat!  Too bad I don't like mangos.  I'll ship them to you if you want them!

When NeeNee and Pop came to visit about a month ago, we had a pineapple with dinner.  It was the sweetest pineapple you've ever tasted and I decided it's genes had to live on.  I've always wanted to try and grow a pineapple but the weather in Texas is not very conducive to pineapple growth.  This little one seems to be doing great and in 3 more years (YES 3 YEARS!) I will get a pineapple if it survives.

Step 1:  Twist out the top core and cut off all fruit.  Remove the bottom leaves and put in a cup of water for 3 weeks.  Replacing the water every other day (room temp water).

Step 2:  Allow the roots to form

Step 3:  Mix 2/3 Cactus soil with 1/3 Perlite 

Step 4:  Put 2 inches of rock at the bottom of an 8 inch clay pot, load up the soil, pot the plant and do not overwater.  Keep moisture in the soil but don't let it become wet or dry.

I'll keep you updated as to the status of my little pineapple, hopefully, it will root and start to grow new leaves here in the next two months.

A Lesson

And now, Zane presents....how to play with your sister:

First you must stretch out, you don't want to pull a calf muscle!

Then you must do a little duck and dip to work on your agility

Push those weights to build your biceps

Then you're ready to steal her toys

And hold onto her bouncer, so she can't go anywhere

What a weekend

Friday was a mess because I burned the baby's food.  Instead of broiling for 10 minutes total, my directions said broil 10 minutes per side...didn't quite work out.  These were chicken apple sausages for the babies...the second batch came out better and they are very tasty.

Saturday started out sweetly.  Lily woke up and had her morning bottle and decided to come crawl into bed with daddy to say good morning! (nice bedhead on both of them)

But then...

Friday, I had noticed that Zane was having very strange naps.  He was up and down, talking to himself and was scrunched up into a tight ball laying on his side.  Zane normally sleeps spread out as if he's crash landed into the crib.  It was weird for him to be in the fetal position and look so uncomfortable.  That night when I went to go check in on him and I felt his forehead, it was searing hot.  

Saturday morning he was still hot and didn't act like he felt so well.  That whole week he had been pulling his ear, so I figured it was just an ear infection and would get him into the doctors office on Monday.

But then, I noticed the fleshy part below his ear was swollen and red.  When I tried to push on it he would hit my hand away.  From 8am-12am, he took 3 naps and was very lethargic.  Mommy instincts kicked in and after calling Aunt Dr. Anne, I thought it best for him to be seen immediately, better safe than sorry.  (In the pic you can see that his neck area is swollen...well that is if you are a detail oriented obsessive mother).  Jason took him to Miami Children's ER after his temperature had spiked 103.4 and he was crying so hard he started hyperventilating. 

The initial exam showed no ear infection or anything outwardly wrong with him, so they collected blood and urine (yes using a catheter).  Blood work showed that he had a high white blood cell count so they gave him an injection of broad spectrum anti-biotics just in case it was anything bacterial.  I took him back today for a follow up and he was still running a temperature but was in better spirits.  The doctor believes it to be just a nasty virus infection and all we can do is wait and see.  My money is on roseolovirus...if I'm right, he will get a nasty rash in about 2 more days.

oops

Today is Thursday, not Wednesday. Guess who's tired?

Way back When-sday

Even as tiny newborns, Lily wanted to be Zane's bestest friend...and Zane screamed to be left alone.  

Raspberries and Cat Food

No, the babies do not sleep in the same crib, but Zane woke up from his nap and I needed somewhere to put Lily while I went to go heat up their bottles.  When I started walking back I could hear a competition brewing so I grabbed the video camera.  Zane and Lily were trying to out-raspberry each other.  Sorry for all the background noise but Zane's white noise machine was still on in the room and I don't even hear it anymore, so I forgot it was still running.

Zane has a zeal for all things Bailey.  He is definitely a cat lover.  Unfortunately, he has also become a cat-food lover.  Hence, one of the reasons for the gate between the kitchen and the rest of the house.

10 Months Old!

For our 5 year wedding anniversary, I gave Jason a round of golf on the Blue Monster at Doral (the 5th year gift is "wood" so I gave him a little wooden golf tee with his present description written on it). I went along as his caddy and golf cart driver.  We both had a great time, however we both paid for it later.  Jason's hands got pretty torn up, seeing as how he has not played golf in almost a year (babies can be a bit time consuming).  And I, forgot how much closer to the equator we are down here in Miami, and...

I ended up looking like a lobster...sigh.

In other news, as of yesterday...THE BABIES ARE 10 MONTHS OLD!!!

Here is a 10 month picture collection below:

yes, boys are men, even at 10 months of age...

Lily is finally getting up and around

Such a nice playroom, and yet Zane is always trying to escape...

Lily and I were playing peek-a-boo above and below the arc...

Zane got jealous and came over to regulate on the individual attention Lily was receiving...

Poor Lily...

Hi Lily :)

"Hey Zane, whatcha doin down there?" "About to eat a stick, leave me alone"

Zane eats everything...grass and leaves are his favorite

He is also so ready to just take off running, most likely to escape me...

"oooo...ain't I cute..."

"Hey! Can I get some service around here?!?"

Yes, yes this is our home this week...I told you were are in a "developmental leap" period...week 44...big storm cloud (see post below with WonderWeeks chart).

And that's that.  We're still alive and in only 8 short weeks...our babies will be turning 1 year old.  Wow.

Pinecrest Gardens

"Mom, we're SO bored, could you take us to Pinecrest Gardens?!?"...ok....

Today Jason and I decided to enjoy the beautiful weather by going to Pinecrest Gardens.  This is a free park in the city of Pinecrest that has beautiful gardens, playgrounds, and even a petting zoo.  

A Banyan Garden

When we first got there, I was amazed how sparsely populated it was.  I figured there would be tons of people at a free admission park.  So, we found a little spot and gave the babies their snacks.

We then looked around and found the turtle pond.  This pond was packed full of turtles and lots of huge fish.  These little guys were fighting for the light on the rock.  Silly cold blooded creatures.

Then we walked around and found a lawn with a huge pond, swans, iguanas, and lots of ducks.  

We made our way past the playgrounds and splash park to the petting zoo.  I don't really count this as a petting "zoo" because there were goats and pigs...not exactly a "zoo" in my book.  Both Lily and Zane were very interested, so I decided to take them in to see the animals.

At first Lily was very excited to see the very large cat (keep in mind they are using Bailey as a reference here).  I explained to her and the on-looking boy what this animal was and how it also tastes delicious. 

...and then this goat came over and scared the living daylights out of her.  I explained how goats are rather stupid creatures and there was no need to be afraid of them.  But, she did not care and wanted to be quickly rescued.

So I handed her off to dad and grabbed Zane.  Zane was in love with this goat.  [It figures my angel child would be terrified of goats, the animal symbol of Satan, yet Zane loves them...the little devil]

Against my normal petting zoo beliefs I allowed him to touch the goat.  But don't worry, there was hand sanitizer quickly within reach.  I don't care about dirt...just hoof and mouth disease :)  Obviously some people are a lot more lax than I am, that little girl was just sitting on the ground, right where some animal probably peed moments before.  eck.  I wouldn't have been so paranoid but one of the pigs had a runny nose and goo oozing from one of their eyes.  Who wants pig flu anyway?

All in all we had a great visit to the Gardens and can't wait to return. Especially if the babies hurry up and start walking, they look so enviously at all the playground equipment...

Ok, so I haven't been much for words lately but that's because as I'm uploading items to the blog, I've been chasing Zane around in circles and trying to keep Lily from falling over.  This is probably the first time I've sat down to use the computer in a week.

What's going on with the babies besides being adorable you ask?  Well...

1.  Zane took his first step on Saturday and my mom claims he took two steps for her even though I didn't see it.  He is mastering the one step-stop-fall to the ground maneuver, he just needs to put more steps together to get on the move.

2.  Lily is getting her first tooth.  It's right below the gum-line and is the same first tooth that Zane got as well.

3.  Lily is "trying" to pull up on everything but she just does not have the same nerves as Zane.  He would pull up, fall over and try again.  She topples once, cries for rescue and is done for that playtime and tries again later.

4.  They are finally interacting more.  Lily's favorite person to see in the morning is Zane so I always set him in her crib with her (since he's always the first one up) and they exchange "heys!" smiling and clapping.  

5.  Zane practices his walking day and night.  At 4 in the morning Jason and I will hear "tee-hee-hee THUNK!.....ahhhh! THUNK!".  Sometimes it lasts for 10 minutes, the other morning it lasted for 2 hours.  But luckily, through lots of sleep training, he knows that we will not go in there before 7:30am, so he never cries or wants us to come watch his improving skills.  He'll get his practice time over with and then fall back to sleep in a big lump sprawled out wherever he fell last.

6.  Most of my baby-proofing is through discipline but I've had to resort to doing some proofing such as removing the handles on the dresser drawers.  Zane kept opening the easy-roll drawers and then closing it his fingers with a smack!.  Cabinets with safety concerns are taken care of but I'm trying not to "over-proof" the house.  This theory is a "Baby Wise II" theory that children need to learn to obey your voice commands, rather than think the world is safe to touch and roam about wherever they please...very anti-Montessori I know...(for those of you who don't have babies right now, these are all just different parental raising strategies, sorry for any unnecessary lingo). 

7.  Lily has become an expert driver in the walker-car.  She is very agile and can even parallel park the thing!

That's all I have for now.  This weekend Jason and I will celebrate our 5th year wedding anniversary.  Man, time flies, especially when you are having so much fun :)

A few pics from this past weekend