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Owen and Emmett had a great water fight.

First day of second grade.

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Owen's first day of second grade was an overall success. None of his buddies are in his class, and he had no idea who his teacher was before today but he seemed fairly happy getting off the bus afterschool. He's always chatty afterschool and I hear EVERY detail of his day. By the end of the day, I usually know details down to what each kid was wearing (OK....a slight exaggeration). And, all in all, it sounded like it's going to be an OK year. He has a man teacher, and Owen said he was very silly. Plus, he wrote on the board today that he loved soccer. Bonus points in Owen's eyes, for sure. And, he only has 18 kids in his class. I'm super excited about that. He was a little bummed, because one notorious trouble maker is in his class. But, hopefully the small size will help combat that. His teacher's classroom has literally NOTHING on the wall, though. Is that a man thing....Jeff B? Busy week for us...Emmett's birthday is tomorrow!

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On his way to second grade. The morning involved a bit of this, "MOM, do I HAVE to take another photo?" Me: "Yes dear, you only start 2nd grade once in your life."

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Emmett has one more week to wait before his first day of pre-k.

And he's off...

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Originally uploaded by megan bauer

This video was taken yesterday when Henry officially started making forward motion on his hands and knees. It's amazing how quickly it happens. He didn't get up on his hands and knees and rock until we were in E'ville, just three short weeks ago. And, since this video was taken he's already moving MUCH faster. It's time to babyproof.

The New York State Fair

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The best part about the New York State Fair is that it's over and I don't have to take the boys back again for one whole year. Seriously, it's hot, expensive, dirty, crowded, and frequented by many of Syracuse's finest (if you know what I mean.....). But we did it. In between Henry's breathing treatments, we made a quick jaunt over there (and dropped 90 dollars!) for the boys to ride four rides each and eat junk food. We came. We conquered.

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Owen and Emmett in front of the infamous butter sculpture.

Cool in shades

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I need to remember to pack Emmett's sunglasses when we go places, because he ALWAYS takes mine. He doesn't like the bright sunshine!

Henry

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Despite being sick, Henry was an angel at the Fair. He sat in his stroller for most of it and checked out the scenery.

Emmett taking on the big slide.

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The boys aren't much for rides. They don't like roller coasters and they don't particularly like anything that goes off the ground. Which is fine by me, since the fair rides make me more then a little nervous. (Have you taken a good look at the cronies that put them together???). I overheard Owen telling Emmett mom wouldn't let him go on the big ferris wheel, because she loves you too much. :) . Good point. However, the boys do enjoy the mad house type thing that you walk through w/ the sliding floors and windows. I don't know why the fair had 6 of them? Seems a bit redundant. But, that's what they did.

4:30 AM sick

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This is what sick looks like at 430 AM. Henry had a rough weekend. But today, Tuesday morning, I think he's a bit improved. He sounded horrible all weekend and my pediatrician wasn't on call (someone was covering for her) and because I didn't feel like explaining his whole story to him/her and I knew they would just tell me to go to the hospital, we hung tight. But nobody slept and I worried constantly about his breathing. Even after his neb treatments, (and we were doing them every 4 hours around the clock..even in the middle of the night...remember the no sleeping thing?) you could hear him wheezing across the room. I didn't leave the house w/ him for 8 days in a row (except to go to the doctor), but we did venture to the State Fair yesterday in between breathing treatments. The pediatrician seems to think he's going to have a rough winter. I hope she's wrong, but I'm afraid she's going to be right.

Watching Grandma

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One more picture from our trip. The boys LOVE watching my mom sew in her purse sewing room. They like to "help", too :) I really should learn how to sew....;.

Henry update

My baby's not getting any better in a big hurry. The pediatrician wanted to see Henry back today to make sure he was on the upswing and needless to say, he's not. Granted the last time I nebbed him was the prior evening, but even so when I got to the pedi's you could hear him wheezing across the room. She yelled at me :( and told me I HAVE to neb him every 4 hours and added steroids to is regimen. In addition, his ears (after 4 days on antibiotics) are even worse. So, new antibiotic was added. We go back on Tuesday. I'm praying for a turnaround this weekend.

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa

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One day on our vacation we decided to go visit my grandparents in Kincaid, IL, a super small town. It's been a super long time since we've been there....well, I don't think Emmett's ever been there, so it's been at least 5 years. My grandparents always come to Edwardsville to visit us when we're home, but we're never there (in fact, they watched Henry on Saturday of our lake trip while my mom moved Brian in to an appt. at SIU). Both my parents were raised in Kincaid and this is the house my mom was raised in. My grandparents are super special people. They have so much energy and love. I enjoy every minute w/ them. And, I loved going to visit their home again. It has such memories for me. My grandma, I believe, is 79 and my grandpa is 84. My grandma is one of three girls (she's the youngest) and he's one of three boys (he's the oldest). Isn't that interesting? We had a really nice visit and the boys didn't want to leave. It'll be another year before we see them again, because they winter in Florida. But, my grandparents are taking all the kids and grandkids and great grandkids on a family reunion trip to Destin, Florida next year and she booked the rooms while we were there...August 8-15, 2009. Yeah!

Scene from the inside

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Not a great picture, but the only one I took that day w/ my grandma in it. What was I thinking???

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Owen and Emmett playing w/ the old fashioned water pumper thing in GG and PaPa's backyard. My grandpa still uses it to water his garden.

The guest of honor

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Owen studied war and the history of wars in school last year, and I told him that PaPa's brother (my great Uncle Joe) lost his leg in World War 2. He was completely fascinated and had LOADS of questions about war. So, when we decided to go to my grandparent's house, my grandma invited Uncle Joe to come to. Owen was thrilled to get to meet him (although, I think he forgot most of the questions he intended to ask him). And, both boys were super impressed w/ the electric scooter/wheelchair he rides AND MOST OF ALL....his tricked out Chrysler Town and Country mini van. It has a ramp so he can get in and out and a special seat, etc. Uncle Joe gave the boys a big demo on how it works.

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Me and my new hair w/ Uncle Joe.

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Looking for something good in PaPa's garden.

And they're off

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My grandpa has quite a garden in his backyard. He takes great pride in it, and always gets loads of wonderful veggies from it. When we arrived at their house, grandpa was ready to take the boys to go pick veggies from the garden.