Kids on the Move!!!

My kids, like most young kids are active!!!  Zane is 6 and Laney will be 2 years in just a mere 2 months.  I find myself looking back at old pictures of my kids and thinking about how some aspects of their personalities have changed and how some have stayed the same

When I was pregnant with Zane I would always comment on how he was a "wiggle-worm".  I remember being 8/9 months along, and as big as a house, and watching my stomach move in waves.  It literally looked like AND felt like a water bed.  Ocassionally I would he would give me a good kick or a punch, but for the most part it was wiggling which made me nauseated even more so than I already was with my 9 month bout of HYPEREMESIS GRAVIDARUM. Well six years later not much has changed.  That kid can't sit still he is always figiting even when he is totally ingrossed in something.  Zane will be twitching a leg, rubbing his feet together, or finding some way to always be moving.  He is already signed up for spring soccer so I am looking forward to seeing him moving out on the field!!!

During my pregnancy with Laney I constantly felt like she was jumping up and down on my bladder.  She was the opposite of her brother-constant kicking and punching.  I would tell people that I was pretty sure that she was going to come out wearing tap shoes.  Almost everynight from 9pm-12am I would lay awake in bed because "someone" was rehearsing for her first dance recital.  Her kicking was so intense that I could not fall asleep, no matter how exhausted I was.  Well fast-forward 22 months and not much has changed.  This little girl is always moving her feet.  Dancing to music on the radio or on a commercial, running up and down the hallway squealing like a goof-ball, or galloping which is her newest trick!!!  Needless to say this mommy is very excited to enroll her in dance as soon as I can!!!! 

Sprinkle the Elf.....days 3 and 4

On Thursday November 29th we woke up to find Sprinkle playing with one of our Christmas puppies that rocks back and forth when you push his ear.....maybe Sprinkle is thinking about joining the rodeo come December 25th????

 

 

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This morning Sprinkle was all bundled up inside a kleenex box in our guest bathroom.  Apparently Sprinkle caught a chill during his travels to and from the North Pole last night :)

 



Meet our Elf on the Shelf....Day 1

Last night I read our brand new Elf on the Shelf book to the kids and introduced them to our elf.  I let Zane pick his name and he FINALLY made a decision....Sprinkle.

How or why he came up with that I have no idea, but does any parent really understand what goes on in a 5 year old's brain---nope!!!

After reading the book and learning the rules that Elves must follow we placed Sprinkle on our mantle and were anxious to see where he would be when we got up this morning.

When Zane woke up he came downstairs and sat on the couch like he does every morning and then about 10 seconds later I heard, "Mom Sprinkle is gone!!!" So he started his search to find our missing elf.

This is where we found him this morning, Tuesday November 27th.  During the night Sprinkle must have found our magnetic letters and decided to work on his letter sound recognition and then spell out his name on our fridge :)  

 



 

I wonder where we might find Sprinkle tomorrow morning????

Sunny Saturday

The weather was gorgeous yesterday so the kids spent the majority of the afternoon outside playing in the pool and with the water table.  The four-legged child is missing since it was too hot outside for him.  Pugs really shouldn't be outside for more than 15 minutes when the temps are in high 80's or above, plus the heat triggers his skin allergies even more.  So poor Manny spends most of the summer indoors (like he cares, he loves his sleep and treats).  Here are a few shots of them enjoying the beginning of what will hopefully be a GREAT SUMMER!!!  Enjoy-Lis

 My sweet little Laney bug enjoy the water

 Silly Zane being his typical "ham" self for the camera :)

 And by this point she was over playing in the water and decided to try and sneak away to find her own fun. (little stinker)

I hope everyone had a great weekend and got to do something they enjoy doing. 

Till next time

Zane at 5 1/2

I am offically kicking myself in the rear for not doing this when Z was first born.  I feel like my 30 year old memory is sometimes not remembering all those things about him when he was a baby that I thought "oh I would never forget this about him!!"

I took Zane to the doctor today for his Kindergarten physical, we even survived the shots that I didn't tell him about until approximately 1 minute before the nurse returned with the immunizations.  Some may think that was mean of me, but you have to know Zane.  Depending on the situation you have to time it just right on when to tell him. If I would have told him yesterday or even this morning he would have been a nervous wreck and had him self all worked up into a state of anxiety.  Being his mom, I usually have these things timed just right, although I do mis-judge from time to time.  Zane has only ever been to the doctor for baby well checks and phyicals, I am a very lucky lady to have a very healthy kid (lets hope it stays that way for his and Laney's sake)

Anywhoo....I thought I should note a few things about him to remember further down the road.

At 5 1/2 years Zane......

1. weighs 49 pounds

2. is 46 inches tall

3. favorite color is bright green (Zane talking; not green, not dark green, BRIGHT GREEN)

4. favorite food, chicken nuggets and doritos

5. loves to watch movies

6. wants to be "a guy who drives a truck on the interstate" or "train engineer"

7. is very excited to start kindergarten in the fall

8. loves to have playdates with friends and family members


9. ADORES his sister and is very protective of her ( I hope you always feel this way about her!!)

10. is a very sensitive young man, who cares about others and wants people to be happy.  He is my cautious more timid child and doesn't really do anything too crazy (yet)

11. learning to ride his Transformers bike his dad got him.....he gets himself all worked up about the
 bike moving from side to side, but yet he has training wheels on it

12. does not enjoy typical kid treats...no ice cream, cake, brownies, cupcakes, ho-hos, ding-dongs, twinkies, popcicles....he even super picky about cookies.....not that I'm complaining I just think it's weird and he didn't get that from either of his parents

13.interests are; transportation vehicles of all sorts, animals, dinosaurs, and transformers

14. loves being outside playing soccer, "racing" with sissy, playing in the water table, and going for walks with mommy, sissy, and Manny

15. current favorite phrase "awkward" although he almost never using it correctly, it is still funny to hear him say it

16. he likes to listen to music and show off his "dance moves"  another source of entertainment for mom

17. is looking forward to seeing Madagascar 3: Europes Most Wanted when it comes to theaters very soon

18. enjoys playing with others but can also entertain himself by playing educational games on the computer, reading books, playing with toys independently, or playing his leappad

19. is very inquisitive, he wants to know everything about everything!!

20. working really hard on being brave enough to try new foods!!!!

Mama's Best Friends

This post is more for my own memory someday when I look back at my very first pet as know that he won't be with me forever :(  But others may find it interested as well!

Mr. Manny Pug is 7 years old today!!  Ofically a "senior" dog.  Born on May 17, 2005 and I brought him home on August 31, 2005  He came from a breeder in Kansas where his dad was "Big Bad Bahamut" and his mom was "Tequila Sunrise IV", however I found him as an 8 week old puppy in a pet store in a local mall right after I moved to Florida in July of 2005.  I am not sure why or how he ended up at a pet store but he came with breeders paperwork as well as vet paperwork as he has just been fixed prior to me bringing him home.  All I know is that I brought him home as a little puppy, discovered that he had kennel cough, helped get him healthy again and since then he has been spoiled rotten and loved everyday!!!  He is my oldest baby and I truly love him like he is one of my children

I have always wanted a pug...some say they are ugly, but I think they are cute.  They are loving, very funny, great with kids, love to snuggle and be near their owner, like to be outside but don't need an excessive amount of exercise.

Facts about Manny
This is Manny on two days after I brought him home, not sure who is more in love already.

He is a mama's boy, always has been but, he REALLY became attached to me when I was pregnant with Zane....at 10 weeks I had to quit my job and pretty much laid in bed all day everyday with hyperemesis and he was there with me being my snuggle buddy <3...he follows me around everywhere and even insists on sleeping in my bed UNDER the covers with me at night.

He is very sweet and protective of babies....now once you are old enough to start eating food he gets a little bolder...not mean....just bolder.

He thinks that anyone that comes to our house is there for him; to feed him, play with him; and snuggle him.

Favorite food:  French Fries...preferrably from Mcdonald's he's just like his mama.  2nd favorite food, chicken nuggets...again...just like his mama :)

Manny HATES to be wet...that's what trying to housebreak a puppy in a hurricane will do to you I guess.

He is a pug, that means ALWAYS hungry and will do just about ANYTHING to get some food.  Yes even be so bold as to push his siblings down and steal there food.  Gross as it sounds he has even tried to take food out my hand and mouth as I was trying to eat it....he's a dog, he doesn't care.

On that note Manny will eat just about anything except veggies....I mean, can you blame him???

He has severe allergies... go figure my human children don't but my canine child does....he is allergic to dust mites and storage mites which are damn near impossible to completely remove from your house so we are on a strict schedule of expensive medications, bathing every 10-14 days (remind you he hates being wet), because of his allergies and being a pug he is prone to yeast growing in his ear and facial wrinkles to we have meds for that as well.  Pugs also don't like being groomed so all of the bathing and cleaning is NOT a good time.

He is a BIG pug....he has a few extra pounds on him but he has always been bigger than breed standards and always will.....I think I know why his dad was named "Big Bad Bahamut"

There is no such thing as a cheap vet visit with this dog, but he is worth every penny I have ever spent on him!!

Laney is 1 Today!!!

April 18th, 2011

One year ago today at 5:45am I waddled into Mercy Medical Center North Iowa in Mason City to begin my induction with Laney. It was a pretty uneventful day while I waited for the pytocin and contractions to do their job, and at 4:24pm Laney Mae Munger arrived safely weighing 7lbs. 4.8oz and 20 1/4 in.

A year later she is a happy, smiley, giggly little girl unless you get between her and something she wants!! You will then endure screaming, pushing, shoving, and possibly some headbutting too. She is a girl who knows what she wants and won't stop until she gets it :) She is crusing all over and will often let go of a toy or piece of furniture to stand independently, so I will have a walking one-year-old soon I'm sure....she is much braving at this age than Zane was so it could be tomrrow that she starts walking or another month.

She likes to keep me on my toes like that!! She loves being read to, playing with toys, watching Bubble Guppies and Team UmiZoomi, following her brother around, and "playing" with Manny....in her head I'm sure she calls it playing-in Manny's head he calls it abuse.

I now have a new diet plan from her Metabolic Geneticist and Nurtritionist in Iowa City, so once the little bit of formula I have left it gone no more bottles for buggy. She will continue to need a high protein/high carb. snack right before bedtime and then they said after 8 hours to wake her feed her some milk and let her sleep again until her normal wake-up time and start our day with breakfast....I have to chuckle becuase it will take some training to get her to sleep 8 straight hours because since the day she was born she has been fed every 4 hours, so we will see how this next step goes on our "MCAD Journey."

Below is a picture from her birthday party we had on Sunday the 15th. It was a ladybug themed party and I'll have to post more pictures later when I get copies from all our family members.

Zane's 1 year portraits from January 2008
My 1 year portrait from May 1983