Taking, talking, talking!

Scott is full of new words, made up words, and nonstop babble these days. As I type this he is looking out the back window yelling for the dog who lives behind us and waving bye-bye since Bella went inside. He has started putting words together, it is so much fun! In the car a couple days ago, he pointed at Will and said, "Dat Bubba." To which I responded, "Yes, that is Bubba!" It is so amazing to watch him turn into a little person.

Words he is saying:
Bye-bye
diaper (biper)
trash (he likes to take his diapers to the trash when we change him)
Elmo (Melmo)
baby
uh-oh
dog (constantly)
ball
He can name all of us that live in the house, plus my parents and grandparents
He is also naming several animals and their sounds - horse, cow, dog, cat, duck, elephant, lion.

We are still struggling with his very strong personality, and the fact that the only time he slows down is when he is sleeping. I think once he can talk better, and can express what he wants he will be less frustrated. Regardless, he brings us loads of joy and is lots of fun!

Christmas Eve

We spend Christmas Eve in Baytown with all of Patrick's family. It is a busy, fun filled day! Scott barely napped, Will was a wild man...and they were both passed out within 15 minutes of our car ride home (at 6PM!) Here is hoping we get to sleep in a little in the morning!
Merry CHRISTmas ... Jesus is the reason for the season!

Santa Claus

Scott wanted nothing to do with the big guy, and Will would have stayed all day to hang out!

Ear Infections...

Scott just cannot seem to get rid of and keep away these ear infections. It is a vicious cycle...starts pulling his ear, nose starts running, then comes the cough and grouchy mood! We have been referred to an ENT specialist, and will be seeing her on January 16. We just want our little guy to be well.

Waiting at the doctor's office

The Boys

We lucked out this year with the pictures the boys had taken at school. They turned out great. I think we have 2 pretty cute boys if I do say so myself!

Grandma's Birthday

Last weekend we celebrated my Grandma's 78th birthday. We got a great picture of her with all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren! We are all blessed to have a Grandma like her. She is amazing, and I count my blessings to have grown up so close to her and that my boys have been able to meet her and spend time with her.

Birthday parties for the big boy and sick days for the baby boy!

That is what our life has been full of! Will has had several birthday parties, and we got another invitation yesterday! He has certainly had fun at them all, but it is wearing these parents out!

Poor Baby Scott...he had a very mild case of hand, foot and mouth, on top of several teeth coming in all at the same time. Then this week he has a double ear infection. Our poor little guy, he passed out in the middle of the living room floor Sunday morning after a terrible night Saturday. Luckily YaYa was able to take him to the doctor yesterday and we are on the mend.

We are all anxiously waiting for this week to be over so we can have 9 straight days off together ... starting with 2 birthday parties this weekend! I am ready for some rest and relaxation.

Trick or Treat!

Our firefighter and dalmatian!

Tons and tons of WORDS...and other things!

Scott is just talking up a storm. He says book, ball (anything round is a ball!), pumpkin, YaYa, Pa, Nonnie, Poppy, Billie (his teacher's name), uh-oh, cat, dog, and many more. It is like a vocabulary explosion! When he is not saying real words, he just babbles!
I think his favorite word is Bubba. He starts saying it the minute he wakes up. He looks constantly for his Bubba...and wants to do everything his Bubba does. I am not sure of he knows Will actually has a real name.
He is SO independent. He wants to do everything himself, which leads to lots of meltdowns. His temper seems to be getting worse. It scares me a little that at 14 months he can throw a full out tantrum, rolling around on the ground screaming and crying... but at the same time he is so sweet and loveable. Our very own Jekyll and Hyde!

Visit to the Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maize

FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!

I am so behind on blogging ... please forgive me!

Scott's first birthday party was great. Family, friends, and cake! Time is just passing too quickly.

1 Year Stats (closer to 13 months...)

At almost 13 months, Scott is weighing in at 24 lbs & 4 oz and is 30 1/2 inches long. He is in the 60th Percentile for both. He is healthy and the doctor was pleased. He has had quite a fussy spell lately...we are hoping for this "stage" to end soon, I want my happy boy back!

To compare: Will was just under 22 pounds, and just under 30 inches and in the 50th percentile at 1 year. Scott seems SO much bigger, but looking at the numbers there is not that big of a difference!

Busy, busy, busy...

So much so that I have not updated in almost a month. The boys are doing well...we have all been sick (except Daddy) and are on the mend hopefully.
I know that with this being Scott's first year at school he will be getting sick, unfortunately. He is doing great, walking and babbling. He has quite the temper, though. He screams when he doesn't get this way! Daddy and I are getting better at ignoring, he can't walways have his way! Everything right now is, "DA!" for that, and we never know what that is that he wants!
Will is loving school, and just so smart. His teacher said she hopes he will be reading by December, which makes us SO proud! He knows his letters, sounds, is learning about vowels, and amazes us at his knowledge of so many things.
Hopefully we will all settle into a routine being back at work - my 45 minute commute makes things a little more hectic than they were last year...Daddy is sure picking up the slack.
Pictures to come......

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, SCOTT!

I cannot beleive it has been a year since we welcomed our precious boy into the world. Life is so much sweeter with 2 boys! We love you dearly, baby boy. Happy, happy birthday!

New Stuff

I don't want to forget everything Scott is doing....at just under a year old, he is a total chatterbox! Sometimes he babbles and we have no clue what he is saying, but other times it is totally clear! He now says:
Thank you - Dank oo
Bath - Ba Ba
Yum Yum - Num Num
Diaper - di-der
Uh-oh ... sounds like uh-oh, and he uses it correctly!

He says banana in his own language ... he LOVES bananas and would eat 3 a day if we would let him!

He is also pointing at everything! He uses his fist to point. It is so cute.

He is a walker now, and actually prefers to walk over crawling. He can stand himself up without the help of an object...he just gets on all fours, then up to hands and feet and slowly stands. Such a big boy.

He has had a rough week....lots of crying. We are not sure if he is teething, had a cold, stomach bug or what? He was a mess, but never ran fever and had moments of the real Scott off and on. Of course in the midst of all that he learned to crawl up on the ottoman. He quickly fell. Blood was gushing from his poor mouth! He had a fat lip, and was not feeling well.

He is so much fun. He is so moody. He has a temper! I see so much of myself in him already. Will was very even tempered like his Daddy...Scott can go from loving life to a very unhappy little boy in just seconds. We absolutely love watching him grow. I feel so lucky to be his Mommy!!

Q & A with Will

This is great...I stole this from my friend, Shelly, who did it with her son, Jack on his blog. Love it. Thanks, Shelly!


1. What is your name? Will, Will McLendon Duane
2. How old are you? 4, 4 years old
3. What's your favorite animal? Hmm, my favortite animal is a rhino ... and a giraffe
4. What is your favorite color? Ummm, I think...black and green
5. Who is your best friend? Kennedy
6. What do you want to be when you grow up? A firefighter
7. What is your favorite movie? Um, my favorite movie is ummmm, Mario
8. What is your favorite book? A book about dinosaurs
9. What makes you happy? When people do silly faces to me
10. What makes you sad? When somebody hits me. When somebody punches or hits us we tell on them (I guess this is from school ... not from home!)
11. What is your favorite food to eat? Gooey rice (risotto) and spaghetti and meatballs
12. What is your favorite song? Boom, Boom (Black Eyed Peas), Baby, Baby (Justin Bieber), and He Can Move Through the Mountains (Mighty to Save)
13. What is your favorite sport to play? Baseball
14. Where does Daddy work? He works ... He teaches kids
15. Where does Mommy work? I don't know... tree forest (I have no clue what this means!)
16. What is your favorite dinosaur? T-Rex because he is big and mean

Mommy and Daddy's "Staycation"

For Christmas Patrick bought me a night at La Torretta in Montgomery, which included a spa package, so we finally got to go last week! Aunt Kelley kept the boys and we got a night away. It was so relaxing. The boys had a great time visiting everyone in Baytown and we had a great time being child free for a little bit!

Before we went out to dinner ... our balcony overlooked the lake.

Zoo with Cousins!

YaYa and I took the boys to Lufkin to visit Amy, Josh, Miler and Annie. We took the kiddoes to the zoo, then the big boys swam once we got home and the little ones napped. It was a great day!

Walking!

Not consistently, but walking nonetheless...he walked clear across the living room this evening. His little steps are so cute and small (I will have to video it soon!) My sweet boy is just growing up entirely too fast.

Trying to Walk...

Scott took his first independent steps this week. He will go 1 or 2 steps, realize what he is doing and sit! It is pretty funny, they are itty-bitty steps and sometimes it looks like he is walking in place! Slow down, baby boy!

Scott's latest ... 10 months old.

I don't know how it has been 10 months already. It has flown by, and my sweet baby boy is getting too big too fast! He wants to do everything his brother wants to do! He is a busy boy the entire time he is awake, and sleeps like a champ. His current schedule is waking for the day around 7:00, he eats and plays for a bit. Around 2 hours after waking he takes a bottle and then goes down for about a 2 hour nap. Once he wakes, he plays for a little while and then has lunch. Then we play some more! 3 hours after he wakes from his morning nap, he has another bottle and goes back down. He sleeps for another 2ish hours. Then he wakes, plays, eats, plays! We do bathtime around 7:00, and he loves his baths!! Then he has his last bottle and goes to sleep for the night. We are routine people!

He is talking like crazy, saying:
Bubba
Mama
Dada
Yay! (and claps)
Ta (cat when he points at Rocco)
duck ... sounds a little more like duh
bye-bye ... which sounds like bubba, but he waves!

My favorite part of the day is when he wakes up. He babbles in bed until someone comes in. Then he just grins at you...melts my heart! I love being at home!

He loves to play...with toys, with Will, with Patrick or myself. He is a happy little boy. He is laid back for the most part, until you take something away from him (like my car keys) and then he will throw a FIT!
I cannot remember our lives without him. He makes our home so happy!

Around the house

"Running" from Mommy....














At the end of a long day. Passed out on his playroom floor, before the sun went down!














I love it when he squinches his nose up!

Boys recent happenings...

We have been busy, and having fun. I have got to start taking more pictures...

We spent a couple days in Galveston. Will loved the beach! Here he is playing in the sand

We went to a friends birthday party at the park, and Scott got to swing for the first time. He thought it was great!

Trying to crawl into the toy organizer!

Climbing out of the highchair! Aaahhh!

Duck

Scott is babbling like crazy! We are just amazed at him ... tonight I was bathing him and he was playing with his 2 rubber duckies, and laughing at his faucet cover rubber ducky. I kept repeating, "Duck, duck, duck..." He looked at me and said, "D, d, d, duck!" I called Patrick in (to make sure I was not crazy) and he did it again. This child is so verbal! When I would ask him, "Scott, Where is the duck?" He would look at me like duh, Mom and then look down at them. I am just amazed...and sad at how quickly he is growing up!!

IronMan Texas

Daddy is an IronMan! He finished the race in 10:42:26. It was such an incredible experience for all of us. Congratulations to Daddy! We are so very proud of you.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Scott is growing up too fast!

He started crawling right when turned 8 months ... and within a week was pulling up on everything!! He is constantly moving, and wants to get into anything he can get to. He will pull up on whatever he can get his hands on also, which means we have to keep a constant eye on him. He is way more into things than Will was! He is letting go when holding on to things and can stand independently for a few seconds. This kid is crazy strong! He pulls up in his bed and is standing there grinning when you walk in to get him.

He is saying Mama, Baba (Bubba for Will), and just started saying Dada this week. He is working on the "n" sound as well. He babbles all the time.

He is also holding his bottle by himself now as well. He would much prefer to eat whatever we are eating, and his top 2 teeth are about to break through so it won't be long before he can try more things.

I really don't remember Will getting big so fast. Maybe I was so excited about it all with Will, but now with Scott I want it to slow down since this is the last baby.

Easter Eggstravaganza

Just Scott...

He is getting so big ... almost 8 months! I am not sure where the last months went. He is such a sweet, loving little boy and we just adore him. He is so close to crawling! I think it will happen in the next few days. He is pulling himself all over the place already.

Daddy is amazing - UPDATED with pictures!

Last weekend Patrick was in the Kemah Triathlon. He placed THIRD IN HIS AGE GROUP! Amazing! We are so proud of him, and so glad we were there to support him. Looking forward to May and IronMan Texas. I cannot wait to hear, "Patrick McLendon, You are an IronMan."

Update 4/20/11
We got pictures from PawPaw and his fantastic camera! Daddy did a great job and we cannot wait for the next race....anyone who wants to come out on May 21, come on! We will be out in The Woodlands ALL DAY! I would love company!

Mommy did it!

This past Sunday, March 27 I completed my second half marathon. It was fun, tiring, and totally worth it! I was bummed the weather was not great - it was so humid, and very warm. Not good running weather! I finished in 2:12:26. I am pleased with my time, but now I know I have to do another half to PR. I ran the Austin half in 2:08, so ultimately my goal is to break that time. I have to remind myself though I have a 7 month old baby, it was 20 degrees warmer and then humidity was up at least 50% from Austin.