Our Baby Bugs

Black and gold superbowl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-25T15:19:00.002-06:00

I cannot begin to express the words for the Saints NFC championship division win against the Vikings last night.

It was easily and utterly the most exciting, gut wrenching, stomach twisting, heart attack inducing, nauseatingly wonderful game that I have ever witnessed. I have been a die hard Saints fan as far back as I can remember. My dad is the number one fan of all time, and he taught me to be that way. We have supported our Saints when they have been 1-15, when they were the worst team in the league, when they had no hope. When everyone else had given up, we pushed on.

One day, we said.

One day we will see the Saints go all the way.

Our one day happened last night.

I have been praising our sweet Lord ever since.

You see, it is not just a silly football game, or a meaningless win. Not to us. Not to those who believe in and support our team and everything they stand for. New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina 4 1/2 years ago, and has yet to fully recover. Not only does the city remain broken, but the spirits of the people remain broken as well. How do you come back from something so horribly damaging? The Saints win was exactly what we needed as a city, as a people. To renew our hope and lift our spirits. They did it. We did it. God did it.

Be still and listen! Do you hear the sound of My voice calling to you to come to Me? I wish to have a time of fellowship with you, says the Lord. Do you sense the stirring in your spirit, a shift in desire causing a very subtle but gentle awakening? Put aside the noise of circumstances and busyness, and allow your yearning heart to be fulfilled in sweet communion. Matthew 11:28

How unbelievably appropriate is that passage!

Rejoice New Orleans...after 42 years, it will be a black and gold Superbowl this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!

word.....from their momma

2010-01-21T22:40:00.003-06:00

Mommies homeboys

Jacob insisted I take these pictures (and video). He adores his baby brother and entertains him constantly! I just hope he keeps it up when baby brother decides he wants to play with all of big brothers toys...

long time no see!

2010-01-05T13:22:00.003-06:00

It has been too long.....we have been SOOO busy!

I am debating on weather to keep blogging. I love doing it, it just takes some much needed time away from other more important things. For example, I have not started a scrapbook for William at all yet, and Jacob's is a year behind!

For today though, I will continue blogging and post because my mom insinuated that since I last posted about the Saints being 13-0, they have not won a game.....I would like to think that I am not the bad omen, but I am NOT testing that one....especially since our good ole Saints will be playing in the second round of playoffs next weekend.

So mom, this ones for you!

What have we been up too since my last post? Well, here's a summary:

-We have had Mikes bumper and windshield repaired, and just today had to bring the car in because the door won't close....um, correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the door being ajar kind of a random problem? I'm just sayin'

-Poor baby William has had a ruptured eardrum, 10 days of antibiotics, a second threatening ruptured eardrum, more antibiotics, and ear drops, all just to have pressure equalizing tubes placed just before the new year

-little man is cutting two more teeth, for a total of four, and boy are they killer

-Santa was so good to all of us

-My sister (in law), her husband, and their little beauties came in town just before Christmas, found a house in Texas, and will be moving ASAP!

-Jacob got to spend some much needed quality time with cousin Emma

-I am more committed than ever to loose the rest of this damn weight before summer....I WILL do it!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's our end of 2009 wrap up.

Over and out.

13-0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-13T19:47:00.001-06:00

William is SOOO excited that our boys are 13-0 today.....

Matchy

2009-12-09T22:55:00.002-06:00

Jacob LOVES to match his baby brother....

this and that

2009-12-05T09:45:00.004-06:00

A few pictures from the past few weeks. Thanksgiving was wonderful and laid back, a good time spent with family.

Here is William hanging out in his bed, playing with his toys. I look for new places to let him play. It seems he would get bored of doing the same thing day after day! OH! By the way, Mr moose here now weighs a whopping 17 smackers!!! Everyone thinks he is at least 6 months old when they see him! That's my chunky monkey=)

The weather here has been crazy...seriously. We have been sitting in the mid to low 50's at night and getting into the 70's during the day.

Until last night that is.

We got snow. You heard right...I said snow. TWO years in a row! Although last night's snowfall may have been 1/4 of an inch, it still counts! The snowfall did not start to fall and stick until about 10:30 last night. I tried to wake Jacob up, but he just looked at me like I was crazy and went back to sleep! There was a bit of snow/ice left on the ground this morning so he went out for a while and played. Nothing he could build a snowman with like last year.....

Poor little William is getting over a nasty ear infection and sinusy (is that a word....) snot nosed cold. We will be decorating for Christmas and watching the Saints go for 12-0 this weekend! Have a good one!!!

The big guy

2009-11-25T22:17:00.002-06:00

We went to the mall for some pre-Thanksgiving shopping/browsing this afternoon. Santa just so happened to be there so we stood in the surprisingly short line and let the boys ham it up for the camera. I was not really prepared for Santa pictures, mainly because Jacob is having them done at school next month. That might explain Williams totally random, not Christmasy outfit!

Enjoy!

more thanks

2009-11-23T19:20:00.003-06:00

BLAH! I want to post more often. I want to have time to sit. think. type.

But golly gee, I am a busy woman of two precious boys and a doting husband who keep me on my toes! No time for thinking!

and so this week, I am especially thankful for being busy. For having a family and a home and a job that keep me busy.

I am thankful that our Saints are kicking some you know what this season and are thus far undefeated!!!!

I am beyond thankful that my sister (in law) and her family are coming home (or as close as they may get) for good this Christmas!

I am thankful for early Christmas music putting us all in the Christmas spirit just a wee bit early.

I am thankful for good friends.

Since I will be busy (so thankful) for the rest of this week, look for some picture only posts of the boys in their Sunday best. Oh, and have yourself a wonderful thanksgiving!

Kisses from our family to yours....HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

pre- Thanksgiving pictures

2009-11-19T21:44:00.001-06:00

Gearing up for Thanksgiving....just a little photo thats easy on the eyes...

a few things

2009-11-12T21:30:00.002-06:00

Since I have a bit of free time tonight, I thought I would do my Thanksgiving 'thankful' post a wee bit early....since I only blog every other week or so....

I have SO MANY things to be thankful for, but here are the top 15 on my list for 2009

15.) having the job flexibility to stay at home with my guys and an awesome husband who supports it!

14.) the ability to workout for two hours at the gym...getting my sweat on is AWESOME

13.) Mint chocolate chip ice cream...piled high...seriously...ask Mike how high...

12.) random 'I love you mommy' 's

11.) My boys big brown eyes, they get me every time

10.) Survivor. I love it. It is that simple. Don't judge.

9.) baby breath...sweet sweet baby breath. Oh, and an awesome toothless grin.

8.) crisp fall air and clear blue skies

7.) sitting on the floor playing with my boys, without a care in the world.

6.) open mouthed baby kisses (slobber included - why, it's the icing on the cake)

5.) Saints football, and oh what a season we are having!!!

4.) sweet sleepy kisses from my man every morning

3.) my AWESOME family, precious niece and nephew, and the best in laws a girl could hope for

2.) my three guys...the best gifts God could ever bless me with

and the number one thing that I am thankful for this holiday season....my Lord and Savior...who will always be number one in my heart!!!

What are YOU thankful for?

(sidenote, make sure to scroll down a few posts for the Disney entry many of you were looking for!)

Happy belated Halloween

2009-11-11T20:58:00.003-06:00

These are late going up, but I have a good reason. Right after Halloween we hit Disney for 8 days=)

Here are our boys on all Hallows eve...

baby bear

Cap'n Jack

Jacob and Logan

sleepy boy sucking his thumb! (random picture that has nothing to do with Halloween, but one I thought was so cute!)

The Halloween cake I made for the neighbors party

Disney or bust!

2009-11-11T19:54:00.010-06:00

I know I have been on a blogging hiatus, but I have a good reason...we went to Disneyworld!!!

These picture don't really do our recent trip to Disney much justice, but I am NOT having much patience with blogger right now, so they will have to do!

Jacob did AWESOME the whole time we were there. He went from sun up until (way past) sun down without complaining or whining once. He had an absolute blast and is totally ready to go back!

William did great with the grandparents, but we missed him SOOO much!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoy these few pictures (I took many more!)

Oh poo!!!!

2009-10-29T15:29:00.002-05:00

*WARNING!!! This post is anything but pretty, in fact, it is downright stinky!!! It may contain dirty material, I could not rightly say...

Earlier this afternoon, William was playing in his exersaucer (only the BEST infant toy around) while I was picking up around the house. I glanced over to check on him (he often slips down in the oh so wide seat and starts headbanging the toys. I tell him that this is not something good wholesome boys do, headbanging, but sometimes he can not help himself. Who could blame him.)

Upon glancing, this is what I saw.

Do you see what does not belong (hint: look down!)

That little turd!! (pun intended)

What cracked me up the most...when I lifted him out to get him cleaned up, the seat had been spared. No poopie in sight!

Doesn't he look so sweet and innocent!

Well he's not, he's a stinker!

boy oh boy (s)

2009-10-26T11:00:00.006-05:00

Jacob finally got in to the GUTS of the pumpkin this weekend. He is a lot like his daddy...not so interested in getting down and dirty. But, being the good mama that I am, I convinced him to grab a handful of yucky ole pumpkin guts so I could get a picture for the scrapbook (you, know, the one I have not touched in almost a year...yeah, that one....)

and here is our second born. These pictures are from this morning. He was being too sweet for words!

worth it

2009-10-20T22:29:00.006-05:00

For all you moms out there, a witty post from me tonight.....

You know you are a stay at home mom when.........

**A trip to the mall (or Target, Walmart, etc) sounds as challenging as a trip across the country.

**You hear yourself whining and saying things like, "Oh man. This is the exact same episode of Handy Manny/Mickey Mouse club house/Blue's Clues they showed yesterday...

** You have a very strong preference between Steve and Joe from Blue's Clues.

**Breakfast consists of getting everyone else fed and cleaned, and by the time you are done, you realize it is lunchtime and you must do it all again!

** and dinner is something somebody else better be figuring out because by dinner time, mama is still trying to figure out what happened to breakfast and lunch...

**Movie watching is a lost art because sleep is just more important....and going to bed at 9:30 on a Saturday night is totally the hip thing to do.

**You are so used to having to pee with the door open, that when company is over, you come dangerously close to sharing too much.

**Eco-Rangers, Moose and Zee, from Noggin are the ones who've convinced you to be more energy efficient.

**Your friend says, "Have you heard that new song, __________?" and you think to yourself that unless it's sung by The Backyardigans or Mickey, you most certainly have not heard it.

**You spend way too much time each morning trying to choose the cutest outfits for your children to wear, when you realize (as you are walking around Walmart with your beautifully goomed kids) that you are wearing the same clothes you wore yesterday and you cannot possibly remember when your hair was last washed.

**but then, you realize that this makes it all worth it....

picked a pack of pumpkins

2009-10-16T21:53:00.015-05:00

What a beautiful day it was today. With a high of 67, how could we stay indoors!?

So, we didn't.

Jacob, William and I drove on over to our friendly neighborhood pumpkin patch.

Unfortunately, we had a monsoon come through the night before, and the patch was one big slosh pit of mushy brown mud.

Needless to say, we picked a pack of pumpkins, posed for some perfectly precious pictures, and pranced back to the pavement where we could stand on solid ground!!!

William does have feet under those pants....he just didn't want that nasty mud on his tootsies..

pack of perfect pumpkins

trying to pick the perfect one

he is practicing his "goblin look" for Halloween

and this is his "you know you want to give me candy" look

We (I) also carved a big ole punkin this evening. Last year we (I) carved Mickey, this year Jacob wanted Buzz Lightyear.

I aim to please!

Baptism

2009-10-11T21:09:00.000-05:00

Sweet baby boy on his day of Baptism

More to come!

all smiles

2009-10-08T20:05:00.003-05:00

Quick post tonight, it's Thursday ya know and Thursday night is ultimate TV night. I don't kid around on Thursday's. Bath, dinner, bed. Isn't it weird how Jacob gets sleepy so early on Thursday nights. Humph....yeah, that is weird...

I took some really cute pictures this week of the boys, especially tonight when they were in their matching jammies. William is a smiley baby, and he makes it pretty easy to capture that smile on camera. Of course Jacob is just as much a ham as his baby brother.

Enjoy. Grey's Anatomy is calling!

Mr Stone says hello

2009-10-01T10:44:00.003-05:00

I know I know....it's been so long. Two weeks to be more precise....BUT, I have a great excuse. You don't believe me?? Well, just ask me!

I have been tormented by a humongous rock. One that feels the need to jump around inside of my kidney like it is a trampoline. Bouncing around, having the time of it's life. All the while leaving me screaming in pain. That's right my dear blog readers....I have a kidney stone. Well, more like 3 or 4 kidney stones, but hey, whose counting?

I had been in pain for three days before I decided that enough was enough and had my dad bring me to the ER on Saturday night. Mike was at our dear friends wedding. One that I could not attend due to my friend, Mr. stone.

Mike met up with us at the ER shortly after I was admitted and stayed with me until I was discharged at 1am the next morning. Before discharge, the doc sent me for a CT scan of my kidneys and was beside himself when he saw how big Mr. stone really was. A typical kidney stone (he informs me) is 2-3cm. Your stone, however, is 10cm.

I see.

Monday came and I phoned my urologist about my situation regarding Mr stone. He got me in immediately and did an ultrasound and an x ray. He confirmed Mr stone's size and location, and found some junior stones still up in the kidney.

Tuesday morning I went for lithotripsy. I remember almost nothing from the experience because, for some reason or another, the nurse felt the need to heavily sedate me. Not that I am complaining! A drug overdose is WAY better than feeling the pain! I was pretty well sedated until 3 or 4pm Tuesday afternoon. My sweet sweet mom came up to care for the boys and even took Jacob home with her on Tuesday.

I spent yesterday recovering and am feeling pretty good today.

Not sure if I have passed any stones, but I have a follow up appointment next Tuesday with my doc.

In the meantime, I will be posting October - like pictures of my little pumpkins. Stay tuned!

Tigers

2009-09-19T22:11:00.004-05:00

We LOVE game day around here. I know every state has a team (college or NFL) that they are devoted too. But let me tell ya, you have not experienced fans like us LSU folks. We are DE-VO-TED!!!

Mike was actually out running the tailgating party on campus for work today, so the boys and I went out to the mall for a bit. We were all dressed in our purple and gold, as were every other man, woman, and child we saw.

First stop was to buy Jacob a new LSU hat. You see the one on his head in the picture above....well it is an infant hat, size 12-24 months! He finally outgrew it this season! We have small heads in our family...

We ate lunch, rode the carousel, visited with an old high school friend of mine and just leisurely strolled along and did some people watching. The boys were wonderful, the whole experience was really very enjoyable and relaxing. Oh, well, except for when I was changing Williams diaper and he proceeded to urinate a nice fountain of yellow water the very minute his diaper was removed. His attempt to spray me with urine was quite futile though, as I am a quick draw. A simple flick of the wrist and said urine stream was contained with a nice cold wipe over the pelvic region. Alas! My shirt was saved. No one urinates on purple and gold....no one!

We headed home with 30 minutes to spare, enough time for a quick bath. William and I plopped on the couch for the game while Jacob and Mike headed to town for a bachelor party (yes, of course Mike dropped Jacob off at the grandparents before heading to hooterville. Did you really think otherwise?)

To top off a good day??? What else but a victory for LSU!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GEAUX TIGERS!!!

Just one

2009-09-17T21:45:00.000-05:00

One picture that is too sweet for words...

2 months

2009-09-17T10:54:00.003-05:00

2 months...or

9 weeks....or

62 days

That's how old little William is today. Sweet sweet boy.

His current stats:
*Weight 11 pounds 8 ounces
*22.5 inches long
*eating 4-6 ounces every three hours during the day
*sleeping 930pm-7 or 8am every night
*LOVES to watch his brother
*smiling, trying to coo
*holds his head up very well
*currently on antibiotics for chest congestion and runny nose =0(
*The (second) love of our life!

bittersweet

2009-09-16T13:57:00.003-05:00

I am sad.

My sister (in law) left yesterday with her two babies. They flew back home. All the way to Seattle. Way too far for us to visit as often as we would like. Way too far for her to visit us as often as she would like. Way too far for our kids to play as often as they would like. Too far.

It is bitersweet really. It is so awesome to see them, hug them, kiss them. Our visits are full of memories, but they are too short, and I am always heartbroken when they leave.

Jacob and Emma hit it off immediately and played non stop every time they were together. So much sweetness, I could eat it on a spoon. I hope they are always that way with every visit, despite the miles that seperate them.

Even William and Matthew noticed each other for a bit. Smiling and hitting each other with their not so controlled baby movements.

Being the awesome mom that I am, I forgot my camera on our first trip in town to visit, and the batteries were dead in the camera on our second visit. So I shall have to wait for someone to send me pictures I suppose.

I am not good at waiting.....

I am sad, but trying to look forward to the next visit. Until next time sista, I love you!!!!

Eleven thousand...?

2009-09-13T20:48:00.002-05:00

When did my counter hit 11,000??? How in the world did I miss that! Where have I been??? What have I been doing???

I will tell ya. Running a million miles a minute. Soaking up every minute of every day. Enjoying my three boys. That's where I've been.

Jacob has been loving his new school, and although it is only 3 hours each day that he is gone, I am learning to do (almost) everything I need to do in those 3 hours so that when he gets home, I have more time for mommy and Jacob. He has been going through a "lying phase" lately and I just dislike it so. My mom tells me I was an ingenious liar as a child. What's so funny to me is that I cannot lie to save my life now. Guilt overcomes me and the truth always flies past my tightly pursed lips. We have been drilling it into Jacob that the truth is always the way to go. *sigh* One of the many trials and tribulations to be being a parent. He is still our precious baby boy though, so sweet and tender hearted. Hilariously silly, preciously polite. Loves his baby brother so.

William is a little ham. A feisty little guy he is. Full of sweet gummy smiles and silly faces. A leisurely eater and an awesome sleeper. His name is Will, and he is addicted.......to his big green pacifier.

My sister (in law) is in town with her precious babies right now. I cannot believe how cute they are. Jacob and Emma adore each other, and my heart will ache when they have to leave. I will post pictures in a few days, once they are back home. Right now, we are enjoying the short time they have here.

Oh, and on a side note. My little lady friend decided to rear her ugly head after a very sweet 11 month hiatus. All good things must end I guess. *sigh*

Labor Day deals

2009-09-08T16:18:00.002-05:00

No time to post....ever. Seriously. I miss it, but I am so busy. How do those bloggers (with thousands of followers/readers) find time to post daily....? A question I guess I will never get the answer to.

Anywho, we had a lovely Labor Day weekend. We did our typical weekend things. Walmart, Sams, church.

On Monday we ventured to the mall. I led the pack, declaring that it was time for mommy to drop some cash on herself, get out of the same old clothes that I have worn for years, and purchase something new and hip. Well, by golly, I did...or at least I tried! I did buy a few new things for myself (including a $46.00 pair of dressy jeans for a whopping $13.80), as well as for the boys (a few $1.97 finds) for winter. Is it just me, or is every mom drawn like a magnet to the kid section in every single store I enter??

I must admit, I have absolutely NO fashion sense whatsoever when it comes to shoes and accessories. Trying to pick the right pair of shoes is like trying to read a book in Chinese. Ain't gonna happen. I am not so sure why this is, all I know is that I desperately need help when it comes to covering my feet with fashionable footwear. Any takers?

We also shopped around for some new pots for the kitchen. Our current ones are peeling and flaking all over. I do not particularly want plastic chips in my macaroni, that's just me though. So we found a nice set marked for 50% off. When the sales lady rang them up, the register rang them up for more like 65% off. Ain't gonna argue with that!!!

All in all, a great Labor Day weekend it was. Oh, and on a side note, I think little William is starting to try and "talk". It takes every single muscle, and every bit of energy for him to push out the smallest sound, but he is trying!

Since it may be another week before I post again....GEAUX TIGERS, GEAUX SAINTS!!! Love me some football!

Flirting with the lady(ies)

2009-09-03T17:45:00.006-05:00

I recently started watching a friends little girl for her a few days a week. Little Ms Evie is 6 months old, and she has taken a liking to our youngest son. Well, she likes Jacob too...but he is at school most of the day

Evie and William, checking each other out

Hey Evie, I'm over here!!!

still not looking...

maybe if I flash her my biggest smile...

Ohhh Kaaaayyyy...she must have a thing for feet...

Is she looking at me???...well...IS SHE????

Uuuhhhh...I think I'm in love!!!

The post in which I use parenthesis (lots of em)

2009-08-31T15:01:00.006-05:00

Jacob has a new addition to his bedroom (like he needs anything new in there).

When we purchased the new washer and dryer, they gave us a "free" (yeah, OK) TV with our purchase. We already have a TV in the three main rooms of the house (everywhere except the boys rooms), so Mike and I decided to put one of the older TV's from the office in to Jacob's room, and to put the newest TV in the office. I asked Mike to also put the VCR (ancient, I know) and extra DVD player in Jacob's room since he always asks to watch the Disney movies we have that are on VHS tapes.

Needless to say, the kid scored big this weekend in the electronics department (yes, our four year old has a TV, DVD and VCR in his room...don't judge).

He is LOVING his new entertainment center!

See Jacob all the way to the right, and his TV all the way to the left....

and of course, pics of the sweet babe

We all have snot nosed (EW) colds right now (wanna come over for a visit?), so there has been lots of sheets and clothes washing (which I don't mind since I am loving the new washer and dryer). For some reason though, William's cold has him sleeping AWESOME! He slept 9 hours straight last night!! Is it wrong of me to hope his cold lasts just a few more days....enough to get him in a routine of sleeping long hours like this?? Yes it is, but a mama can dream (can't she?)

Told you I was gonna use lots of parenthesis (didn't I?)

no rest for the weary

2009-08-26T14:09:00.003-05:00

Saying that I have been busy is a complete understatement.

Between getting Jacob up, getting him breakfast and dropping him off at school, and getting William home and fed, it is 10am before I know it. Trying to remember to feed myself has become less of a priority! Maybe I will loose the rest of this stinkin baby weight.

I think that my breast milk is finally dried up, I stopped pumping about a week and a half ago. It made me sad. I cannot imagine actually breastfeeding the baby. I would go through withdrawals when it came time to wean!

Our washing machine quit on Sunday. In the middle of a cycle, full of water and clothes. We tried everything we knew to try, to no avail. The result was me pulling the sopping wet clothes out of the washer one by one, wringing them as best I could, placing them in a basket, and dragging said basket across the street to the neighbors to get them completely washed. I really hope no one saw me during the dragging process. The basket was WAY to heavy to lift, so I put it on top of a towel and drug it across the street. The scene may be a typical one here in hick town though, so I'm sure I fit right in.

We headed out on Monday evening and purchased ourselves a snazzy new washer AND dryer (they have to match, don't ya know), front loaders to be exact. Do you know that they charge roughly $300 ($150 each) to get a colored washer/dryer? OK, let me fork out the extra $300 cause I would like my clothes washed in a RED washer. WHAT?! People really think that way? You have got to be kidding me. My clothes will be just as clean coming out of a WHITE washer, thank you very much.

So anyway, our brand new WHITE washer and dryer are due to arrive tomorrow. It is just like anticipating the birth of your child (OK, so maybe it's not exactly like that). I am so excited!

William started smiling last night. It is the cutest thing ever! I looked back in Jacob's baby book, and he did not smile until 8 weeks. William is 5 1/2. We have an advanced little fella...or maybe it's just that I look funny to him and he is laughing at me....I'll choose to believe the former. He will not allow me to capture this precious event on camera. Instead this is the look he gives me:

He is still sleeping great, 6-8hours a night. He is also starting to become a little more laid back...little being the word of focus in this sentence. Not that he is high maintenance, he just likes attention!

OK so hopefully I will have time to start blogging more frequently. I certainly hope so!

all in one week

2009-08-20T11:23:00.005-05:00

Total number of shots: 4

Total number of bandaids on legs: 3

Total number of tears shed: countless

Being able to comfort my boys and take away their pain: priceless

William also made one month old this week, Monday to be exact. He falls in the 25% for both height and weight, weighing in at 9# 9oz and measuring 21"

and Jacob is in the 25% for weight, 50% for height. He weighed 33# and measured 39 3/4"

Our sweet little fellas are growing too fast!!

Pre-K4

2009-08-17T14:54:00.003-05:00

Today was Jacob's first day of Pre-K4. Although he has been in "school"/daycare since he was 10 months old, he started a whole new school today and there were a lot of changes for him.

His new school is only 3 hours a day, and they don't eat or nap at school. Not to mention he had a new teacher, new friends, and a whole new environment. I was so excited for him this morning, as was he!

He was quite tickled that he got to carry a "pacpack", but wanted to know why it touched his butt. "It is too big mama", he exclaimed this morning when he wore the backpack for the first time. When we got to school I showed him that all of the kids had a big backpack. He seemed satisfied with that. He went right in and sat down, not a tear shed.

When we picked him up (a very quick 3 hours later) he raved about his new school, and listed everything they had done today.

I think this will be a good school year...

PUSH

2009-08-13T13:45:00.000-05:00

An email that was sent to me....thought it was worth posting....

A man was sleeping one night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and God appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to Push against the rock with all his might....

So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sunup to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might!

Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing discouragement, the adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind: (He will do it every time)!

'You have been pushing against that rock for a long time and it hasn't moved.' Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man.

Satan said, 'Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough.' That's what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of Prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

'Lord,' he said, 'I have labored long and hard in Your Service, putting all my strength to do that which You have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?'

The Lord responded compassionately, 'My friend, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done.

Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed..

But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back shiny and brown; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard.

Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. True, you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be Obedient and to push and to exercise your Faith and trust in My Wisdom. That you have done. Now I, my friend, will move the rock.'
At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He Wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him.

By all means, exercise the Faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God Who moves the Mountains.
When everything seems to go wrong...........................Just P.U.S.H.

When the job gets you down....................................Just P.U.S.H.

When people don't do as you think they should.............Just P.U.S.H.

When your money is 'gone' and the bills are due............Just P.U.S.H.

When people just don't understand you .....................Just P.U.S.H.

P = Pray

U = Until

S = Something

H = Happens

random cuteness

2009-08-10T14:45:00.002-05:00

Been a few days since my last post. The days sure fly by now. I always seem to be busy with something!

William has been doing fairly well at night, still only waking up once a night to eat. Although last night, sometime between 3 and 5 am, the battery in the baby monitor died.....and I slept....

I woke up around 5:45 and realized that there was a lack of white noise coming from the baby monitor. I plugged it in, and within 15 minutes, William was beckoning me to his room. I wonder, how long was he awake while I slept...

Jacob has been LOVING his Leapfrog Leapster that we got him for his birthday. The boy spends hours on end playing it. I am gonna have to get him some new games for it very soon. I can't take much more of the same game music over and over and over again.

and finally, some pictures, for your delight.

Happy Happy Birthday

2009-08-06T11:32:00.009-05:00

Our big man made 4 years old yesterday.

Four.

years.

Wow!

I cannot believe he is just a year away from starting kindergarten. Oh my.

Let's have happier thoughts, shall we?

Of course, since his birthday was yesterday, I am blogging about it today, a day late. I took both boys to the mall since that is where Jake wanted to go for his birthday (and since I thought it would be the easiest place for me to venture out with TWO kids.)

He played in the kids play area, he ate at soothie king AND chik fil a for lunch (because he wanted both, and it was his birthday, so I got him both. That's how we roll), he built a bear at the biuld a bear factory (a New Orleans Hornets bear complete with basketball and goal, if you must know), and he topped off the afternoon with icecream and chocolate sprinkles.

William was a complete angel the entire time, he LOVES his carseat...

Once home, Jacob requested to watch a movie, so he did. I baked cupcakes for his "party" at school today and made him meatloaf per his request.

After dinner (which he scarffed down in lightening speed), we sang Happy birthday and he opened presents.

Daddy was quite interested in Jacobs' newest Handy Manny toy. So much that he asked Jacob if he could have a turn to play with it. Boys and their toys....

After presents, Jacob asked if William could take a bath in his tub tonight. So I happily obliged.

I think our little 4 year old had a great day.

It seems our little 2 1/2 week old did as well (warning: nose in picture is way larger than it is in real life...)

and today is my dad's birthday. Happy birthday pops!!!!!

frightful

2009-08-03T21:46:00.002-05:00

Meet Captain Jack Sparrow

Scary....huh?

William thinks so too...

swimming (kind of) like a fish

2009-07-31T09:12:00.005-05:00

Jacob completed his two weeks of swim lessons yesterday. I was very pleased with this swim place. There were at least 15 or so instructors and each instructor had 3 children that they taught.

Jacob started these lessons (having never had a lesson before) completely afraid of the water. If you remember from a few weeks back, I had finally gotten him accustomed to the water with floaties, which I was not particularly fond of.

He did wonderfully and seems much more comfortable in the water. I still don't know how confident I would be with his ability to save himself if he were to fall in accidentally, but it is a major step forward for him.

Baby brother all ready for big brothers swim lessons

waiting for lessons to start. Notice the MANY swim instructors names on the wall behind Jacob. The kids had to stand by their instructors names before lessons started.

Jacob and his instructor, Ms Kasey

Baby brother was all pooped out after big brothers swim lessons

yuck

2009-07-29T19:52:00.005-05:00

That's how I feel today....

Mike came home with a stomach virus yesterday, and today I have the pleasure. Thank goodness it seems to be a 24 hour thing.

William has been having good nights (sleeping for 5 hours straight) and not so good (3 hours straight). Can't comaplain though, he is not even 2 weeks old yet!

and a post would not be complete without pictures...right?

Buzz lightyear enjoying his chicken noodle soup

Serious conversation between father and son

newborn pictures

2009-07-27T13:40:00.003-05:00

are up! We JUST had them done on Saturday and Tiffany already has them up!

Go to http://portraitsattiffanys.com

click on 'client proofing' and the password is our last name (all lower case).

Let me know what you think!!!

Here is a little sneak peek for ya!

Blessed

2009-07-26T14:40:00.004-05:00

Blessed.

That is the best word to describe having two boys!!!!!

I am officially a sterilizing, pumping, diapering, feeding, bathing, entertaining, dish doing, laundering, hugging, kissing, snuggling, picture taking mommy of two beautiful, precious boys.

I am so blessed...

less words, more visuals

2009-07-23T14:20:00.004-05:00

A week.

Seriously.

It has been a week since my last post.

6 days since I gave birth.

Wow....

It has been busy round these parts, and blogging has been at the bottom of my to do list. I have missed it, so I am back. Not that I have much time. So I will be short on words, big on pictures.

William Thomas was born on Friday July 17, 2009 at 5:15pm after 12 hours of labor. He weighed in at 7# 6.6 oz and measured 20 inches in length. He is welcomed and very loved by his mommy, daddy, and awesome big brother Jacob.

16 and a 1/2

2009-07-16T12:33:00.002-05:00

more hours until we head to the hospital to be induced. Yes, I am counting the hours, wouldn't you???

Jacob is staying at the neighbors house tonight so we won't have to wake him at 4 in the morning and drag him to the hospital. He seems a little nervous about his first non family sleepover. Who am I kidding, I am a little nervous about his first non family sleepover. I hope he sleeps all night and does not wake up before the sun!!!

I think what I am most excited about is (of course) meeting William, but about Jacob meeting William. I cannot wait to see how he reacts. He may not completely realize that the baby is the new reality until early next week or so when he sees him every day at home.

A little more packing to do, and some vacuuming and I will be all ready for the big day.

Obviously it will be a few days before I post again. Have a great weekend, I know we will!!!!

my daddy bites

2009-07-14T10:33:00.002-05:00

OK, so I went to the doc yesterday, and after a HORRID exam to see if I was dilating, we decided William would be forced to make his debut on Friday. Only 3 more days!!!!

Our boys hang out, soak it all up and then have to be forced into this world by drugs. I don't think that's how the Lord intended it but we are excited all the same =0)

This weekend was a great one, as usual! Jacob spent the weekend away with grandparents and Mike and I had an awesome anniversary dinner and movie night out. It was much needed adult conversation throughout the night!!!! We love our boy, but have a hard time talking when he is saying "excuse me" 1500 times in a row!

Jacob and I spent Sunday night in town with my parents for Mike to get all of his schoolwork done. Yesterday was his last day of class until November...YAY

Last night Jacob and I went to dinner with the neighbor and her kids so Mike could finish up his last bit of schoolwork. The neighbors' little girl rode with us in our car. This was their conversation:

M: Jacob, I am warning you, little brothers are fun, but they hit too. It doesn't hurt though, but they do hit.

J: (firing right back, without hesitation) Well, my daddy bites....(a game they play, but Jacob does not offer this information)

Nice...

six

2009-07-11T22:55:00.002-05:00

Today makes 6 years of wedded bliss for Mike and I. I am so blessed that God brought him in to my life, and I hope I get to spend another 60 years with my man!

Happy Anniversary baby!!!

Thanks to my sweet mother in law for taking Jakey tonight so we could spend our last weekend together as parents of one!

Rain rain come today!!!!

2009-07-08T18:14:00.005-05:00

This is apparently what happens when it rains for the first time all summer...you get a flood!

This was after 2 hours of torrential downpour. I couldn't resist letting Jacob play in it. I remember playing in the street rain water as a kid and I loved it! Our neighbor even ran down the street to catch our runaway trash can!!!

It took a little while, but the water soon dissipated and now the sun is shining and there is not a cloud in the sky.

nothing

2009-07-07T10:27:00.002-05:00

no real progress, that figures....Oh well, it's all in God's timing right?!?!?

Jacob and I were supposed to go swimming again today, but between the yucky weather and him wanting to go to the movies instead, we are postponing the swimming until Thursday. I am hoping by keeping busy this week, that the week will fly by....

We are going to see Ice Age 3 today. Have we seen the first two, no. Doesn't matter though, kids don't care about that stuff! Just gets us out the house for a bit.

So, we are off for the afternoon, have a good one....

11 days or less

2009-07-06T13:39:00.003-05:00

and our little fella will make our big fella a big brother! Oh the joy!!!

I am having some pressure (?) type pains, so I am thinking he may have dropped. I sure would think that after all of the activity that went on this weekend something would be going on! I have an appt this afternoon, so we'll see.

Today was my last day of work, and I got sent home early because we were not busy at all....how well did that work out! So, I came home and took a nap =0)

We were also blessed with rain today, and a cold front is coming through. Our high (at the moment is only 84 degrees. Cool front, I think not. I might call it a less hot front.....

Tomorrow I am supposed to be bringing Jake back to Tickfaw to practice swimming with his floaties. He is so excited. Hopefully it won't rain while we are there, but I will not complain if it does. Rain Rain come today, and keep coming everyday! It sure keeps the house cool when it rains.

Mike leaves to go out of town this week for a few days and I am kind of nervous that that is when William will want to make his debut. The neighbors are all on alert though. Just hope it's not the middle of the night!

Will update later on the dilation factor after my doc visit this afternoon

peace

Happy 4th!

2009-07-04T19:48:00.005-05:00

Another fun day today!

We headed to Tickfaw this morning to meet Mike's family for our annual 4th of July fun. They had rented a huge blow up slip n slide, which took Jacob a few minutes to get the hang of, but once he did, he had a blast on it. His little friend Sam was there and they played great, as usual!

They also have a pretty big above ground pool that we swam in for a while. Jacob was petrified of the water to say the least. It was his first time in a pool since last summer and he clung to my neck like his life depended on it. He has never been completely comfortable in the water, and especially freaks out if I try to let go of him at all.

I have to say how proud of him we are today though, within an hour, he allowed me to pout floaties on him and he swam all by himself with them on!!!! This is a complete first for him. Good job little man!!!!! Here are some pictures from our day.

God bless America=)

in summary

2009-07-03T20:45:00.004-05:00

Summary of our day at the water park:

-loaded up on water before hitting the heat wave

-Arrived at 1030am, waited in line for 15 minutes to enter the park, handed over 3 (full) coke cans in order to get $5 per person taken off of our total price.

-climbed the monstrous amount of stairs to cross the highway and enter the park (they make you park across the street and walk over)

-played, splashed, floated

-drank water

-watched Mike and Jacob go down a few big slides

-had a $20 lunch consisting of hamburgers and corn dogs

-drank more water

-played, splashed and floated some more while daddy rode a few slides neither Jacob nor I could go on

-took Jake to Pirates Cove (the kiddie section) where he proceeded to climb up a rope ladder leading to a collection of slides. As Mike and I watched on, he disappeared from sight, only to be found by me minutes later, having gone down the wrong slide. He was screaming hysterically and Mike and I were slightly freaked out by the ordeal. Jacob then decided he would have no more of the kiddie pool section!

-tasteless ice cream and awesome hand squeezed lemonade

-Mike and Jacob rode a bunch of rides, I just hung out and elevated the cankles and people watched. Mike said that every time the ride they were on would drop or dip, Jacob would exclaim, my belly hurts - it's a FUN belly hurt!!!!! How cute is that! I did ride the train with them though and rode in a car that Jacob got to drive.

-water

-hiked back up the stairs, across the highway, back to the car and called it a great 8 hour day at the water park.

-decided that next year we will buy season passes!

-unfortunately ended the night with Mike having a massive migraine, resulting in him going to bed at 8pm (along with the little fella) and me left typing about our day.

-William had a great day too, he danced a jig all day long=)

Happy 4th tomorrow, it is another day of fun in the sun for us in Tickfaw!

-

2 weeks and counting.....

2009-07-02T20:12:00.002-05:00

SO glad this week is over, ONE MORE day of work, then maternity leave here I come...YAH!

I guess because of the intense heat, my feet (and ankles) and toes are like tiny little sausages poking out of a fresh risen loaf of bread. Seriously. I feel like I am walking on water balloons by the end of the day. I am looking forward to some 'down time' before this little guy arrives.

July 17th is the big day. If I have not had him by then, I will be induced at 5am on the 17th. Two weeks! Mike does not think I will make it that long. He told me my stomach was enormous tonight.....love you too babe=)

I am starting to get that nervous, anxious ready to meet the baby anxiety that seems to be my norm for this point in the pregnancy. I hate this part, it's like torture when you know you are SO close to the end!!!

Tomorrow we are all headed to the local water park. I am excited about that. Although I can't bring my camera because I would so drop it in the pool. I hope people don't notice my loaves of bread....

New look

2009-06-30T22:14:00.001-05:00

trying something new, just because there is nothing on TV and I needed something to keep me entertained! Let me know if you like!!!

Ants!

2009-06-28T10:28:00.002-05:00

That's right, we have ants=(

I first noticed them yesterday in the garage. A LONG line of them traveling back and forth. Where were they headed? That is yet to be determined.

So I mentioned to Mike that I thought it may be time to spray the house again for bugs. His response, "OK, will get to it tomorrow".

Yesterday evening I noticed ants in Jacob's bathroom. Not a ton, but enough for me to have a little freak out, wipe down everything with clorox, and mop with bleach (twice). You see, his bathroom sits in between the boys bedrooms. So, naturally I assumed that if they had infested the bathroom, then they must be in the bedrooms as well. So I searched and scoured every inch of both rooms, and to my relief I have not found any ants amongst their toys. I JUST cleaned William's room, washed everything, wiped down everything. I would have lost it just a little if I were to have to re-do it over because of some damn ant infestation!!!

So last night we trekked out to Walmart and purchased some Combat ant killer 'houses' to place around the bathroom and garage. It seems to be working, I only found one ant roaming around looking for his clan this morning. My big toe easily smashed him in to oblivion. God help those ants if I ever find one crawling on my newborn babies head, or arm, or anywhere else.

Mike will spray today.

It won't last for long....

2009-06-25T19:57:00.003-05:00

Why is is that Jacob will go for months without any sleeping issues at all, and then BAM, all of a sudden he starts some annoying bedtime habit=(

It really isn't that bad, I really should not complain. He just delays bedtime as much as he possibly can, every few nights or so. I'm thirsty, is my radio on, what are we doing tomorrow, where's my Mickey Mouse, etc etc etc!

He has even gotten out of bed a few nights this week just to see what we are doing! I feel bad showing frustration, but he CANNOT do this when William arrives!!! I don't think it helps that it is daylight outside until 8:30 at night and his bedtime is 7:45.

What always plays in my head though is that most awesome song by Darius Rucker "It won't last for long". It is so true, it won't, time will fly. One day I will look back and wish I could rewind the clock. So I'll take it, I will enjoy my sweet boy, despite his (every so often) annoying bedtime rituals to delay going to sleep =0)

In other news, I am SOOOO ready for William to make his debut. Everyone at work insists on telling me that I look like I am about to have the baby right now and , my goodness, how much longer do I have?? Jacob is beyond excited about the arrival of 'his baby', I think it may be more the fact that he knows his birthday party is right behind the birth of the baby. Little stinker. He will be an awesome brother! 3 weeks and counting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Praise Jesus for leading the man who invented the air conditioning unit to do so many years ago. I don't know what I would do right now having to suffer through a heat index of 108! God is so good!

Well, that's my update for now, goodnight. Oh, and GEAUX LSU TIGERS (college world series baseball champs)!!!

What it takes to be a 'dad'

2009-06-22T15:24:00.004-05:00

What is a dad, really? Any man fathering a child can claim the role, but what does it take?

A dad is someone who is more than willing to put aside what he is doing to play with his children. A dad makes his children his top priority. A dad gets on his hands and knees to let his boy pretend he is a horse, and proceeds to tromp and gallop around the house tearing up his knees all the while. A dad teaches his son how to throw a ball, and swing a bat. A dad puts things together for his boy, like swing sets and bikes, and uses this time to teach that boy about power tools, nails, and hammers. A dad shows his son how to properly wash the car and mow the lawn. A dad teaches his son how to urinate on the plant outside, wipe his mouth on his shirt, pick his nose, and how to show pride when he does these things!

A dad is so important in the life of a boy, and my boys have the most wonderful dad in the whole world.

Thank you Lord for blessing us with Mike, my angel husband, father to my boys, King of the household. He is the perfect dad.

Yesterday was Father's Day, and I got to work, so on Saturday we head in to town to spend an early Father's Day with the two best Father's I know. My own dad, and my awesome husband. We all went to lunch at a nice Italian restaurant (along with my brother - who is not a dad yet, but will one day make a great one!). After lunch we spent some time with my parents and other family before heading home.

Happy Father's Day daddy!!!!

HOT!

2009-06-20T20:28:00.001-05:00

It has been horribly HOT outside the last week or so, but today was the first time that I truly noticed the heat.

Everywhere we went I sweat.

My ankles swelled more today than they have in about 4 weeks.

The grass is trying to die.

The plants are droopy and pitiful.

The air conditioner NEVER kicks off...

There is no rain in sight.

and it only gets hotter in the days to come

10 Day Weather Forecast for Denham Springs, LA (70726) - weather.com

maybe this heat will send me in to labor....one can wish, right?

Storyland

2009-06-17T20:32:00.006-05:00

Took the big guy to Storyland today. I myself have not been in well over 20 years, and it has not changed one bit...memories =) They were currently making renovations though, so next time we head out there we are bound to see some new things. There is not too much to do, but we managed to spend over an hour there playing, and Jacob had a blast with me and his Gigi tagging along. We wished daddy could have been there, especially since daddy has never been! =( We went right when they opened to try to avoid the extreme heat. It was overcast most of the time, and we had fans, cold water, and plenty of benches along the way!

Outside the gates

Blast off!!!

Cinderellas' ride

Jacobs' favorite part, the firetruck

Old King Cole

Pinnochio's Whale (mommy's favorite part!)

Even Gigi got in to the spirit

as an added bonus, Jacob was quite willing to pose for pictures for me. Storyland is in City park, which houses some of the prettiest trees and landscaping for great picture taking!

Week(end) in review

2009-06-15T19:46:00.004-05:00

WOW, the weekend just flew right on by now didn't it. We had a great one, as usual! Here's the skinny on what we have been up to the past few days...

I had my first, 'your stomach is so huge you cannot fit into the booth' experience. In a feeble attempt to squeeze in to the booth at a restaurant with my family on Friday night, I sized up the seat and attempted to slide in, only to realize quite quickly that I was stuck. Wedged between the table and the seat, my stomach was. Humph, that booth must have been made for the vertically challenged, because there is no way I am that wide...

At said dinner, Jacob informed us that he would not eat his chicken fingers with a fork because they are not fork fingers, they are chicken fingers. I couldn't argue with that.

Errands were ran on Saturday. The awesome (or so we hoped) "get your dog to stop barking by sending a piercing whistle sound into their ear that only they can hear every time they bark" contraption that we bought two weeks ago has failed us. $80 and two very obnoxious barking dogs later, our problem goes unsolved. One failed bark stopper contraption thingy returned to store, $80 returned to us.

A second stomach episode was experienced at a second restaurant on a different day. "(waitress) ma'am (to me) could you please move your chair in a bit so I can get by?" "(me) Ummmm, I don't that's gonna happen, my stomach is already pressing against the table". "(waitress - now red faced) Oh my, I am so sorry, I'll go around to the other side)" =0/

Pretty good late night movie that we stayed awake for (Bangcock Dangerous).

Church to worship our great God, then off to the mall where Mike pointed out at least 4 different 'I want that for father's day' items. Too bad I already bought his present.....

Mike insisting on taking this hilarious (according to him) picture of my huge stomach, just for documentation purposes....

On a side note, I am due to go to the OB tomorrow, hopefully he will be willing to set an induction date and we will have a definite end in sight.....PRAY!

check it off the list

2009-06-12T10:19:00.004-05:00

Well, I finally got around to enrolling the boy in swimming lessons! I am excited, as is he. Little does he know that he will be forced to go under the water, and as far as I know, he should be swimming at the end of the two week session. At least that is my hope. What's the point of lessons if he still cannot swim when the lessons are over?? I wish his nanny was here (my SIL who just had the baby) so she could teach him!

His lessons do not start until the very end of July, which means his brother will be tagging along with us (on the outside of my belly). They did not have anything available beforehand, so I enrolled him in the very last summer session. Following the two week lessons, he will have his 4th birthday and then he is off to start a new pre-school! Our boy is growing to fast =0(

Next week will also be a busy one. I am so excited to have off all week (well, I may work on Monday). I have my OB appointment on Tuesday, we are going to Storyland in NOLA on Wednesday, and Mike and I are having a family day with Jacob on Friday. Not sure where we are headed yet, but it will be somewhere fun!

Have a great weekend, I MUST get some cleaning done....right now!

birth day

2009-06-10T15:58:00.003-05:00

My sister in law (Mike's sister) and her hubby had their second child today, a boy. I am beyond exited for them, and even more excited that our boys will be so close in age.
Congrats to Matt, Courtney and Emma on their newest addition, little Matthew Jr!!!!! Happy birthday little man, we love you and cannot wait to meet you!

Splish splash

2009-06-09T19:48:00.003-05:00

Jacob and I discovered the FREE splash park today. Actually I didn't "discover" it, I had a friend tell me about it last week, so we ventured out to find it today. It's a good 30 minute drive from our house, but well worth it. We ended up staying 3 hours!!! Good thing I packed lunch, snacks and plenty of water!! I made small talk with some of the other mothers there, two of which each had a two year old child that outweighed and towered above Jacob!! What are they feeding their children?!?!?!?

They also had a large pool with kiddie area available to the public, but had it closed off for daycare field trips until 2:30. Jacob was quite upset about this and pouted for a good 30 minutes. That being said, he had a great time and we will definitely go back.

After the park, we stopped and got a snoball. They offered a clear bubblegum flavor, so needless to say that's what Jacob got!

I think we are both exhausted from the sun and will head to bed early tonight....goodnight all!

day to day happenings

2009-06-06T22:55:00.002-05:00

Sorry about my lack of posting lately, but I have been somewhat busy the last few days despite the fact that I only worked one day this week!

I spent (literally) all day yesterday washing baby clothes, blankets, bedding, and am about 85% done...YAY! I love the smell of freshly laundered baby clothes=)

Jacob started in his new class on Monday of this week and the afternoon teacher is a new employee of the daycare. When I went to pick him upon Thursday afternoon, she informed me that she basically had to threaten him at naptime with a phone call to mommy or daddy if he did not go to sleep, thus making him cry and eventually sleep.....ummmm.....is it just me or does that seem totally and ridiculously unacceptable!?! Needless to say I placed a phone call to the director of the center that evening telling her how upset I was over the situation and she said that she would handle up on it. Geez woman, I don't think threatening a 3 year old was in the handbook when you were hired....

Today Jacob and I swam in his pool in the backyard (yes, the BACK yard, I refuse to let the neighbors see me in a maternity swimsuit frolicking in a kiddie pool...) for about 2 hours. Needless to say I am as red as a craw fish tonight....remind me next time to put on some of that sunscreen that I slather all over my son.

We then went for a second 4-d ultrasound since I was informed at my last OB visit that William has flipped in to the head down position and is no longer breech. He has in fact flipped, and I have noticed a considerable difference in my ankle swelling since the flipping took place. I have little to no swelling throughout the day anymore. The little booger must have been compressing a nerve or something so that the fluid could not properly distribute! The technician told us that he is going to be a big baby....8 or 9 pounds....WHAT!!!!! Oh my....

After the ultrasound we took Jake to see 'Up'. Mike and I thought it to be a very cute movie, but Jacob was not all that impressed. I think it had something to do with the fact that he was exhausted, and as soon as he ran out of popcorn and candy he was ready to go!

Now that we are on the subject of exhaustion, I am headed to bed. G'night!

Bouncing boy

2009-06-02T20:40:00.002-05:00

I took Jacob to 'Bouncing Tigers' today to see if he would like it. It is basically a HUGE warehouse filled with all sorts of spacewalks, slides, inflatables, etc. We plan on having his fourth birthday party here and I wanted to make sure he would not be scared of any of the larger inflatables.

What do you think, did he like it much???

Busy weekend

2009-05-31T21:38:00.002-05:00

What a fun weekend!

Friday was my 32 week appointment with my OB. They did a quick ultrasound to check on my placenta previa (http://www.babycenter.com/0_placenta-previa_830.bc). Although it is considered a low lying or a marginal previa, he says more than likely I will deliver around 38 weeks to avoid any complications. So, we may only have another 6 weeks to go!!! YAY!

Saturday was our first ever yard sale. We have contributed to them before, but never hosted our own. I think we did really well, and we got rid of a lot of stuff! Both of our mom's came up to help, as well as some of our neighbors. There were two other yard sales on our street that day, so we had a pretty constant flow of people.

Today Mike, Jacob and I went to church, then came home to play outside, wash the cars, and do some yard work. I even got a little sun on my oh so white skin!!!

Jacob loved this new little pool that we bought him yesterday, but I don't think it was worth the money. I am going to return it tomorrow and get him a nicer one that will last all summer!

We have also been researching dual/two seater strollers the past couple of nights, and found out that we have enough credit card points to get a really nice one for (basically) free! I am pumped about this, as a stroller was really the only big purchase we needed to make before the baby came!

We are also hoping (really soon) to book our next vacation. I am SO ready for a vacation. We usually spend a weekend in Destin this time of year, but with my monstrous ankles and spider veins, I don't think I am willing to jump in to a bathing suit, even if it is a maternity one. Maybe in a few months, who knows....

Musings from a 3 year old

2009-05-28T19:58:00.002-05:00

He took the words right out of my mouth....

for dad (pawpaw)

2009-05-26T21:02:00.003-05:00

per your request, even though I cannot flip it right ways!!!

Memorial Day

2009-05-26T20:28:00.003-05:00

So, yesterday was Memorial Day and we had our first crawfish boil of the year.

Now that crawfish season is just about done, Mike felt it necessary to eat his weight in mud bugs because he may not get them again until next year! I, however, do not like seafood....of any variety. I do like the garnishing that come with it though (potatoes, corn, carrots). All it took was one bite of corn for me to have immediate onset of heartburn, so it was a macaroni and cheese kinda day for me!

The kids swam (we celebrated the day with the neighbors) and played the entire afternoon and Jacob even tried some crab (although I had to tell him it was chicken to get him to even open his mouth. I guess because I don't eat it, he thinks he shouldn't either and has thus far refused all seafood). He declared that he liked that chicken and wanted more!!! Maybe there is hope for him and seafood after all.

Today when I picked the little fella up from school I told him that since daddy was not going to be home until late tonight, we could stop for some ice cream as a treat this afternoon (since there was no rush to get home). He however made a scowling face, furrowed brow and all, and declared that he would much prefer a coke icee. WHAT?? An icee over ice cream, this cannot be my child! So, I stopped, and he got his icee. He also got a little taste of his first brain freeze - hilarious!!! He drank about half and threw the rest away. Again, is this my child?

We are having a garage sale this weekend and I hope to get rid of a lot of this random stuff we have laying around. Just in time for baby Will's arrival, in which we will accumulate that much more stuff=)

Daddy is out late at a work function, so it's just us for now. Good night!

Stunningly superb Saturday

2009-05-23T20:35:00.007-05:00

For a day projected with an 80% chance of rain and likely thunderstorms throughout, today was glorious. Overcast, somewhat dreary, but hardly any rain at all. So, we took Jacob to Global Wildlife for our second attempt at the safari adventure. Jacob had a blast and his favorite animal was the llama. We also saw zebra, camel, bison, deer, elan, ostrich, giraffe, and cattle. The weather was perfect for me too, cloudy and windy, no sweating involved!!! We are totally pooped now, so I am making this post short and sweet, with lots of pictures. Hey, aren't pictures what you come here for anyways???

Also included, some pictures from our first attempt at Global Wildlife

and an oh so precious picture of our niece, little Ms Emma (who will be a big sister very soon!)

Future fireman

2009-05-22T14:20:00.006-05:00

Jacob and I had a busy morning...

After he played while I slept in (can we say best kid ever!) we made pancakes with strawberries, bananas, and blueberries - yum!

Following our pancake breakfast we headed to the library where I let him check out 6 new books. The fire station is right across the street from the library, so I asked him if he wanted to go and see the trucks. He is currently loving fire trucks and anything to do with firefighting. He has been telling us for a while now that both he and his brother are going to be 'fire truck drivers' when they get bigger!

So across the street we drove. We did not see anyone at first, but almost immediately were greeted by some really nice firemen, paid and volunteer. One in particular showed Jacob everything there was to show him about the truck itself, and he got to meet the fire chief. Being the shy little fella that he is, he didn't say much, but you could see the excitement in his face. They let him climb in to the truck, honk the horn and sirens, turn on the lights and wear some of the gear. I thought it was so sweet of them to be so generous to a little 3 year old boy. They even equipped Jacob with his own junior fire hat and a big bag of goodies. When it was time to go, Jacob got upset. The fireman told him to come back for a visit anytime. Great guys those firemen.

taking the drivers seat

getting ready to see all of the gear the men wear

wearing a real fireman's hat

turning on the lights

touring the inside of the truck

trying on a real fireman badge

sporting the badge!

hanging out in the passenger seat

After the fire station we went to Chik-fil-a for lunch and to get a quick hair cut for Jake. We made it home just in time to beat the rain. I have my girls night out in a little bit, so it's just the guys tonight. Hope the rain lets up just a little bit so we aren't home bound all weekend!

where has the week gone?

2009-05-21T20:56:00.003-05:00

I apologize for the lack of posting...I have worked THREE days this week! Woosh, how do you people work FIVE days a week??? I feel like the week has flown by, for petes sake, tomorrow is Friday!

Not to much going on this week. I am keeping Jacob home to spend some quality time with me tomorrow, and am heading for a girls night out tomorrow night. Some of my most awesome friends (ex-work buddies) are throwing me a mini baby shower tomorrow night and we are going out to dinner and maybe a movie. Good times=)

We have a lot planned for this weekend, but it is supposed to rain the entire time, so we'll see what we get accomplished. Stay tuned for lots of pics!!!

wedding weekend

2009-05-17T17:12:00.006-05:00

One of my best friends got married this weekend. Rehearsal on Friday, wedding on Saturday. Mike, Jacob and I all took part in the festivities. I was a bridesmaid, Jacob was the ring bearer, and Mike did a reading during the ceremony. The wedding was beautiful and the day was filled with plenty to do! It was an all day affair yesterday, as Kim (my friend...same name!) was marrying an authentic Irishman, accent and all. The tradition in Ireland, as well as many other parts of this country, for a wedding is to use the day to celebrate. The wedding was at 130pm, then we had pictures, cocktails, a sit down dinner, and dancing. The night ended about 10pm. Jacob had an absolute blast! He was the center of the attention on the dance floor, and we literally had to drag him off kicking and screaming at the end of the night. Enjoy the pictures, and video (remember to silence the music at the bottom to hear the video)

Zonked...

I appologize for the video being sideways....I unknowingly turned my camera to take the video, not realizing that's how it would download! I may try to fix it when I have more time=)

Get down little man!!!

baby brother

2009-05-13T18:31:00.004-05:00

Meet William, Jacobs' baby brother. I am 29 1/2 weeks and had my 4-d ultrasound today!!! He looks JUST like Jacob, nose, bald head and all....hehe!

The pearl like necklace across his face is the umbilical cord, he sucked on it at one point!

He is even positioned like Jacob was, breech with his feet touching his forehead...

This is a good shot of his furrowed little brow. He was not happy with all of the poking and proding going on.

A smile!

We also got a yawn, but we didn't capture it on film=(
All of the black 'holes' are just artifact from the ultrasound machine, not holes in his head!!!!

rambling thoughts

2009-05-12T15:19:00.004-05:00

Just hanging out for a bit before I go get the little fella from school. He gets highly offended if I try to pick him up too 'early'. He complained yesterday that he had not had his turn in the kitchen center (they have centers at school that a few kids play in at a time) yet and he was, in fact, not ready to go home.

Jacob has been having a nasty runny nose for a few days now, and on Sunday night started with, what sounded like, some wheezing to me. I usually would have whipped out my handy dandy stethoscope, but since someone at work swiped it, I had to resort to the old ear on the chest to try and hear wheezing in his lungs. Despite my pretty perceptive hearing, I was unsure if he was in fact wheezing. I decided a little breathing treatment wouldn't hurt, so I went to the medicine cabinet to retrieve the breathing machine and inhalant medicine. Low and behold, his medicine expired...LAST AUGUST! Damn.

Mike seemed to think it would be OK to give him an expired breathing treatment, he says he remembers the pediatrician saying once that that stuff never really expired. His medicine is VERY pricey, so I contemplated giving it as well. I called Jacob's after hours pediatrician number and the nurse said it would not hurt him to give it being expired, it just may not help him if he was wheezing. So I gave it last night and the kid was bouncing off the walls! This is a side effect, but it has never done this to him before. It took him over an hour and a half to fall asleep, poor fella. On the positive side, I think it did help his breathing some.

Last night we had a pretty bad rain/lightening/thunderstorm right about dinner time. I found out that lightening hit one of the neighbors houses and caught their roof on fire!!!! Praise Jesus, there was hardly and damage at all. SO SO scary to think of that happening. The scariest part is that you don't know when lightening strikes your house until someone tells you that your house is on fire.

I also discovered/realized that red sauce gives me MAJOR heartburn/indigestion. MAJOR. SEVERE. HEARTBURN. I love red sauce. Pizza, spaghetti, lasagna....oh my.
I guess I will have to keep the tums handy, because despite the horrid chest burning I will have, I am craving lasagna tonight....

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:12:00.004-05:00

This little boy made me a mother

and this little boy made him a brother

How lucky am I....

Happy Mothers' Day mom, I learned (and am still learning) from the very best!

this weekend is flying by!

2009-05-09T20:09:00.002-05:00

Wow, tomorrow is Sunday, already! Where did the weekend go?

I spent yesterday evening teaching Jacob how to roller skate while Mike cut the grass. He praticed skating again this evening and is actually pretty good at it. I feel so bad because every day he asks to go outside and play and he always wants me to play a game with him. It is SO darn hot outside, I am lucky just to make it to the chair to watch him play. After about 20 minutes I get so hot and swollen that we have to go in=( Poor fella ends up playing in the backyard with the dogs.

I cooked a big meal for the family for Mothers day tomorrow. Rice, gravy, roast and potatoes. Chocolate covered strawberries for dessert! Yum!

Have a wonderful Sunday moms!!!

to sum it up

2009-05-07T18:50:00.004-05:00

Quick post before Survivor, a sum up of our day...

Today was a great day! Jacob and I spent the whole day together. He woke up completely congested, runny nose, very watery eyes. Not complaining at all though and no fever.

We went to the pediatrician for a quick urine recheck, and his urine was clear, no protein at all...yay! Praise Jesus.

After the pedi, we made a pit stop by the mall for him to play in the play area, grab lunch, and dessert.

Then we hit Target to pick up some fixins for Mothers day lunch at my moms and for teacher appreciation tomorrow at Jakes' school. If I am being totally honest here, I completely forgot about teacher appreciation and just happened to pick up some brownie mix (because Jacob put it in the basket...) for home.

So upon returning home, I had Jacob hand make some cards for his teachers and we baked them brownies...yay me! Why are they doing teachers appreciation so close to Mothers day???

Anyways, that about sums up our day. Jacob is slatherd in Vicks vapo rub and schnokered with Benadryl to help his little runny nose.

Mama is ready for Survivor....g'night!

Tired

2009-05-05T17:44:00.003-05:00

You know how pregnant women always complain of being overly tired? Well, I never had that issue with Jacob and I have not had it thus far in this pregnancy, until today....OH.....MY!

I am beyond tired today. I don't know if it is because we had a busy weekend plus the fact that I have worked the past 2 days, but woosh, mama needs a nap. When I picked Jacob up from school today he wanted to come home and play outside. I told him that we could, but just until daddy got home. It is getting pretty darn hot outside as summer approaches and I can only take so much heat. I sat in a fold out chair in the shade while Jacob rode his Hummer around the driveway. Before I knew it I was pecking corn (you know...when you fall asleep while in the sitting position and your head bobs forward, and you jerk it back, and it bobs forward, and you...well you get the picture).

When Mike came home, Jacob asked to play in the back yard and I decided to take a quick bath. It is NOT often (in fact it never happens) that I get to bathe in peace. Mike stayed outside with Jake, and I slid in to the tub, truly intending on bathing rather quickly (since I am not supposed to bathe in hot water, the bath is lukewarm). Again, I started to fall asleep almost immediately....

Mike and Jacob walked in to mama (aka beached whale) snoozing in the tub.

Gee whiz, I need to WAKE UP for petes sake. It is only 530....

On a side note, I am supposed to take Jacob back to the pedi this Friday for a urine recheck. I don't remember if I posted about this but when he went to the doctor week before last, they saw traces of protein in his urine which are not supposed to be there. I don't necessarily want to expose him to all kinds of people with their sick little swine flu kiddies, so I called the office and asked if I could obtain the sample at home and drop it off. Avoiding the swine flu AND the copay! The said that would be OK, so we will head over there on Friday for that.

Time to get the boy out of the tub now, and get something going for dinner.

Goodnight all.

Magic Splash Mania and much more

2009-05-02T10:12:00.003-05:00

OK, I found a great new program at a great new price to edit my photos. I love the color on black and white look, but have not been able to find exactly what I wanted without buying a program priced at least $300-$400!! I have been using 'Picasa' in an attempt to add color splashes to my photos. It does not work exact and I usually have to settle with a picture that I am not completely happy with. Until now. I had someone tell me about a site called Magic splash. They offer the color on black and white program that is immediately down loadable to your computer once you purchase it....for $15 bucks! Wahoo! I spent a good portion of the night last night trying it out and so far, I love it. Check out these older photos that I 'touched up'....

OK, now that I have introduced my newest find and have calmed down a bit, I can update on the rest of our week.

I took Jacob to the dentist on Thursday. This was his third visit, and prior to each visit he gets a dose of Amoxicillin (an antibiotic) due to the 'Functional Atrial Valve' in his heart.
Basically he has a heart murmur and one of his heart valves that is supposed to have 3 'slits' only has two, creating a slight back flow of blood in the wrong direction, creating a murmur whenever his heart is listened to with a stethoscope.

Still with me???

Anyways, he has to see a cardiologist every 2 years and he is due to go again at the end of this year. Hopefully his murmur will be resolved and we can stop the prophylactic antibiotics before procedures from here on out.

Let's move on! He did wonderfully at the dentist. He was SOOO cooperative and did everything the dental technician asked him to do, including biting down on that plastic mouth thingy for teeth x-rays! I was so proud of him, but not surprised. He has always been quit the cooperative child you see. He is an angel for haircuts, doctor visits (including shots and urine samples), and of course the dentist is no exception! We will be so blessed (not that we aren't already) if William is as laid back as his brother!!!

Following the dentist, we went to the mall to play in the kids area for a bit before heading home. There were not many kids, only a few including Jake. One little boy that looked to be about 2 years old and most definitely outweighed Jacob decided he had been named bully of the day and that he was going to pin Jacob down in a wrestling move to see what he would do. Oh, he also ripped Jacobs' hat off of his head. My sweet baby boy didn't think it appropriate to push the kid off, since he was smaller (in height) and younger than himself, so he looked at me for assistance. I had to waddle over and pull the beast like child off of my boy! At least Jacob took his hat back!

After the mall we scrubbed down our hands (you know, to avoid the swine flu), got some fresh baked cookies, and headed home.

Today (Saturday) we have lots of errands to run and tomorrow we are supposed to head out to the Global Wildlife park with Grancie. Check back tomorrow for pictures from this weekend!!

Bye for now!

(untitled)

2009-04-29T09:44:00.002-05:00

Not much to report this week so far.

Jacob has been doing great in his bed at night, no night accidents at all. I think cutting out the fluid intake after 6pm has done the trick!

I have only worked one day (so far) this week, and I must say, it is kind of nice! On Monday I spent the day in town, getting my final fitting done on the bridesmaids dress that I will wear in a few weeks. I was MUCH happier with the way it looked this time around, and I am pretty close to the goal weight that I wanted to maintain for the wedding! I also went to get my shoes for the wedding ordered and dyed, and my maternity pantyhose purchased. Did you know they charge FORTY dollars for maternity hose.....I mean, COME ON! I did find some a bit more reasonably priced and bought those, but why does everything maternity have to be so darn expensive?? Don't they realize we are trying to save our money for when the baby actually gets here, and that we only need these huge tent like clothes for a few months?

Anyway, today I am spring cleaning. On my hands and knees, belly sliding on the floor, creating a trail wherever I crawl. The spiderwebs that form under the cabinet lip totally disgust me. Especially since they are back within a week of wiping them away. grrrrrr.

Picking up chicks

2009-04-25T20:33:00.009-05:00

This morning our neighbors called, asking if we wanted to go to the annual LSU agricultural (AG center) center show. It was a display of everything having to do with agriculture in La, specifically geared to be kid friendly. So we packed up and headed out around lunch time. The kids had a blast, and us adults thought it was a great exhibit as well, especially since it was free! Very educational for all!

Despite this gator being behind a pane of glass, I was quite nervous with Jacob standing so close to him...

Did you know????

One of Jakes' favorite exhibits...digging in the dirt for worms!

our little sweet potato

Red bell pepper plant

Butterfly exhibit

Jacob even managed to pick up some chicks today!!

Once we returned home, Mike had a ton of homework, so Jacob and I went outside since it was such a pretty day. He played in the sprinkler, while I washed the dogs.

(remember to scroll down and pause the music at the bottom to hear the sound on the video=))

A fun day all around. Ready for another tomorrow!
Oh, and Jacob has not had any more fever since Thursday, and no night accidents since last weekend...YAY!

sickness identified

2009-04-23T14:16:00.002-05:00

Yep, definitely sick=(

I had originally scheduled Jacob for a pediatrician appointment at 3:20 this afternoon, but at the last minute decided to keep him home with me today and bumped his appointment up to 10:20 this morning. He woke at 5am needing to potty, and went righ back to sleep. He was fine this morning, playing, ate breakfast (and kept it down) well. Alhough I, on the hand, felt quite nauseaous and dizzy.

We headed out to the pedi and arrived just on time. They took us right back (record speed for them). Dr F said that she doubted that he had a bladder infection, they are just not common in boys, but that she would get a urine sample and test it just to be sure. He LOVED peeing in the cup, and actually wanted to do it again once the first sample was given! He was upset that he was not able to fill the cup up!

Everything came back OK, no infection. She did say that he had a small amount of protein in his urine though (not normal to have protein spill over in to your urine) and that she wants to see him again for a second urinalysis in two weeks. I asked her what it meant if he continued to have protein in his urine, and she said it could mean decreased urine function and that she would send him to see a specialist to have other kidney function tests run. I am not worried at all though. On top of thinking that he had a bladder infection (which, Dr F thinks he is just having bladder spasms - apparently common around this age as they grow) he is obviously suffering from a (hopefully short lived) virus of some sort. He has not thrown up or had diarrhea again today, but he is now running a fever - 102. So I gave him some Motrin and he is napping. He does keep complaining of his belly hurting, so hopefully he won't get sick later.

Poor little guy.

The worst part is that tomorrow I have my glucose testing and 27 week appointment with Dr S, and if Jake is still sick, I will have to drag him along with me. I hope he starts feeling better soon...

He weighed in at 31.8 pounds and measured 39" tall today. He is just 3 1/2 months shy of turning 4!

sick?

2009-04-22T20:37:00.002-05:00

We are starting to wonder if poor little Jacob has a bladder infection and or virus...or BOTH!

Remember last week/weekend when he had nightime accidents 2 1/2 nights out of 4? Well we started noticing Monday that he was asking/telling us he had to pee...alot! This is very uncharacteristic of him, as he can hold his urine for hours before going to the bathroom, and often fights us when we tell him he has to go because it has been a while. He is claiming that he needs to go (what seems like) every half hour for the past few days. Sometimes within 2 or 3 minutes of just going! Definite frequency on his part. So I called the pediatrician today to get their opinion, and she says that if it is a bladder infection (which is not common in boys) that it may explain the bed wetting. So I made an appointment for tomorrow afternoon for him to have his tee tee checked.

Good thing, because tonight, just before bedtime, he vomited. I am SO glad that he was standing in the bathroom when it happened. He originally had been in bed and told me he had to potty (again!) so I went ahead and let him get up to go, when he got sick all over the bathroom floor. Poor little guy, he was so upset. So I bathed him (again), while poor Mike gagged his way through vomit ceanup duty.

He is sleeping now, and I hope he rests good tonight (no vomit please...). We shall see what the MD says tomorrow.

High and Dry!

2009-04-21T21:04:00.003-05:00

That's right, no stinky ole tee tee bed last night. Way to go Jacob!!!!! I decided to cut off his liquid intake as of 6pm last night (bedtime is 730pm). It worked out wonderfully, for he woke up as dry as he was when he went to bed, and momma and daddy got a full nights sleep. Can I get a Woo-Woo!

I had told him that if he was a big boy and remained dry all night that he could have a pizza roll picnic when I picked him up from school today (the boy loves pizza rolls, NOT that I buy them that often). He got home, ate his 4 pizza rolls and drank his chocolate milk like he was the luckiest kid in the world.

His newest cute thing (there are so many...) is to read a book while he is 'doing his business' on the toilet. I can hear him in there for like 10 minutes, reading the book to himself. He won't let me come in to the bathroom until he is completely done with his story. So cute.

He has also been really interested in playing games on the computer. The biggest problem though is that 99% of all games require knowledge and skill with the mouse. Now, the games are suitable for his age, so please tell me what 3 year old knows how to independently manipulate a computer mouse??? I guess I will have to start teaching him to use it soon!

Mike and Jake are in town tonight, so I am home hanging out with baby Will and the cankle twins. Goodnight all!

C-A-T

2009-04-20T13:45:00.004-05:00

OK, so I have a few things to post about from this weekend.

On Saturday we did our normal Sunday thing. We went to Walmart, then had Subway for lunch. The weather was pretty threatening all day, so we spent most of it indoors. After an attempted 1 1/2 hour nap, Jacob cheerfully exited his room fresh and ready to go. I say attempted because I don't think he actually slept at all. At least he stayed in his room, in his bed, and was quiet...right!?

Mike and I had been debating all day about taking Jacob to the LSU spring game. We have never been, and Mike had about a gazillion free tickets. We were feeling pretty cooped up, so we decided to ward off the rain and give it a shot. We changed in to our LSU game day gear and headed out. The seats were great, and there were a lot more fans than we thought there would be for such a dreary Saturday night. I didn't bring my camera (it was Jacobs' first 'game') because I was afraid it may rain. He had a lot of fun, and asked a lot of questions about what they were doing, what was that thing with the two sticks in the air (the goalpost), why were the men standing in a circle (the huddle), etc. I played commentator to my sweet boy and his quest for knowledge.

We decided to leave around halftime, because the rain was now becoming way more than threatening, and head to grab a quick bite to eat. While we were waiting for our food, I decided to spell out words to see if Jacob could sound them out. He has all of his letters and letter sounds, so we are working on basic reading. He can site read his own name, and the word STOP (I think it is more the sign than the letters that he associates the word with). So, I wrote out the word C A T. He sounded it out, and READ IT!!!!! Our man read his first word, without any help!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY JACOB!!!! We were SO very proud of him. My goal is to have him reading before kindergarten, and I think we are on the right track!

Yesterday (Sunday) was even more laid back. Mike had a ton of school work to do, so Jacob and I hung out downstairs playing games and painting. We went to a local pizza buffet place for dinner, where Jacob proceeded to eat a TON of peaches (yes, he ate fruit instead of pizza, that's our boy!). While he was eating said peaches, I happened to glance over and notice a STAPLE chilling out on top of a peach slice. WHAT!!!??? I promptly took his plate, informed the manager and received fresh peaches out of a brand new can. Honestly, I would really rather a staple in my sons food than a hair....seriously. We left unharmed and called it a night.

Jake has been night potty trained for a while now, accidents here and there. But this weekend he tee teed in his bed 2 1/2 times.....grrrrr....(1/2 because one night he made it out of bed before having the accident).

He never has accidents during the day, and has not had a problem at night up until now. We are not doing anything different, and have changed nothing in his routine. The only thing I can come up with is that I have noticed on the days he gets in a good nap, he does not have a problem at night. On the days he skips a nap is when he has the accident. I am thinking that he may be so overtired that he is sleeping too hard on the nights when he did not have a nap prior to bedtime. I am about to put the smack down on napping!!! It's not that I mind so much peeling myself from the warmth of my bed to change out his wet urine soaked sheets. It's the fact that I cannot get back to sleep after performing such a glorious task, thus leaving me droopy eyed the next day.

Say some prayers that he stays high and dry this week, and that I pass my glucose test this Friday! Almost 27 weeks now...YAY!

A day with friends

2009-04-17T09:56:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, Jacob and I spent the day with friends. What a nice day it was. The sun was shining and a cool breeze was blowing. We took the kids for some lunch at Chik-fil-a and let them play in their play area for a while (this is the only restaurant that has a play area anywhere near where we live, plus they offer healthier options...you know, healthier than fries!). Following lunch, we brought the kids to the nearby duck pond. Jacob and I frequent this pond, and the ducks are always in abundance, waiting to hiss (yes, they hiss) at you for bread. On this day though, the ducks were all spread out around the entirety of the pond, not so interested in the bread. Figures. I am thinking it is because it is spring break week, so the ducks have had a bit more bread than their usual from all of the visitors to the pond this week.

After feeding, er....throwing the bread at the ducks, we took a stroll on the track around the pond. Their are stretch stations every so often, and the kids thought that they would stop and 'exercise' at each one. They had great fun, and us mom's had a chance to catch up. Praise Jesus for a fun day with friends.

Just like mom, loving the icecream...

Throw that bread boy, use your arm..

Already a smoothe talker.....

Connor, Brooke, Jacob and Lauren. Just hanging out at the park...

nada

2009-04-15T21:06:00.002-05:00

Not too much happening around here so far this week, other than the fact that my ankle swelling has increased after working 2 days in a row....

I mean, come ON ankles. How is a girl supposed too look cute in a pregnancy bikini when her ankles are as wide as her hips???? Yeah right, me - bikini---NOT!

I do have to give credit where credit is due though. Mike was so awesome tonight. As I sat propped up, ankles above the heart, Mike made me dinner....twice! I was not in the mood for the first dish that he prepared (that I requested...), so he made me a second without complaining. What a man!

Jacob has been precious lately. I really need to write down all of the cute things he says, when he says them so that I can post about them all. Way too precious for words that boy.

Tomorrow (pending the cankle situation) Jacob and I are headed for a combination 3 families in one play date at the duck pond. It is supposed to rain this weekend, so hopefully we can spend a good bit of tomorrow outside.

Night all!

Easter 2009

2009-04-13T14:24:00.007-05:00

The day started with Jake man waking us at a very early 6:40am with his oooooooohhhh's and aaaahhhhhh's over what Mr. Easter bunny had left for him in the living room. Mike and I trgudged out, bed hair, eye boogers and all to try and whip up some excitement over his new found treasures. He was so very excited about his new bike and helmet that he wanted to ride it right then, helmet and all, in the living room.

We promised him that after church, he could ride his bike. So after a quick breakfast, it was off to praise the Lord for His most awesome sacrifice and glorify His resurrection on this beautiful Easter morn. The service was packed, but luckily we arrived in just enough time to nab a seat. There were easily just as many p eople standing as there were sitting. At one point, I had to run to the restroom and it took me a good 2-3 minutes to weave through the crowd of standers. It's a good thing I am visibly pregnant now, because I think that most people would have been slightly annoyed to have to shift and shuffle just for me to squeeze through to potty. Each person that I unintentionally interrupted, though, just looked at my belly, then at me, smiled and moved out of the way.

After church, we headed to Mikes' aunt and uncles home, where, for some reason, Jacob was a bit of a grumpy gus most of the time we were there. He did eventually warm up and participate in the little Easter egg hunt that they had for him and another friend of the families little boy. He then requested to ride his bike (with helmet, of course), when Mike snapped his chin in the buckle. This set off a string if endless tears and a refusal to touch mr. beloved red bike for the rest of the visit.

We then headed even furthur into town to visit my parents, where Jacob decided that, since he had not had a nap the entire day, and his system was full of candy, he would put on a small one man break dance show. He boogied like I have never seen him before. I only wish I had had my camera handy so that I could have videoed some of it. Oh well.

Jacob finally fell asleep for a bit on the car ride home...poor boy was all tuckered out from such a fun day!

After all was said and done, we had a wonderful holiday weekend. I hope Jesus was as blessed this weekend as He makes us feel each and every day.

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ps-these were too cute not to post. Jacob the golfer, and Jacob waiting for his baby brother to kick...

WAY too much stuffed in to one day

2009-04-11T20:50:00.003-05:00

We woke this morning, unsure of what the plans for the day would be. Mike and I spent some time rapping (yes, we rapped) a song during breakfast about the dog while Jacob looked at us as if we were crazy. Mike went to the gym, and then we decided to make a quick run to the mall before finally finishing up the garden work we started last weekend.

We got a lot done while shopping. Mike hit the jackpot at JC Penneys, where he found dress shirts for as low as $2.50!I also finally found a black tie for Jacob for the wedding he is in next month, no luck on the child suspenders or strapless bra though. Who pays $30 for a strapless bra? Is it just me or is that an insane price for something that is not worn everyday....?

After the mall, we came home to garden, while Jacob played with the neighbor girl. For some reason, working in the yard makes the time pass very quickly, because before we knew it, it was 6:30 in the pm.

I gathered in the troops for a quick washdown in the shower and we ran over to make (a very quick) Walmart run. I found a strapless bra here (big surprise) for only $10bucks. That's what I'm talking about!

On the way home, we stopped to fill up the tank in my car and (yet again) the credit card company had put a freeze on our card. The freeze it over the dumbest things. Mind numbing minuscule transactions. I appreciate a credit company watching so closely for fraudulent charges, but come on....does a two dollar and something charge at Race Track qualify as a fraudulent charge? I think not.

We got that squared away, filled up the car with gas, and rolled in to the drive at 8pm. Without dying eggs or putting out carrots for the Easter Bunny,we scooted Jacob off to bed with thoughts of candy and chocolate bunnies dancing in his head. It's a good think he is young enough to not mind missing out on the dying of the eggs. Maybe next year....

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Jacob: "mama, are we going to Jasons' pannies?"
me: "yes man, we are going to JC Penneys"

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Jacob: "mama, where is Madigascoe" (In reference to the US map)
me: "baby, do you mean New Mexico??"

Have a wonderful Easter Sunday

A very 'Good" Friday it is

2009-04-10T19:35:00.001-05:00

I couldn't have said it better myself....

By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with Him, make us fit for Him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that He has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering His Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to Him.

Romans 5:1-8 (The Message)

Today is "Good Friday", traditionally recognized by millions of people across the world as the day that the man called Jesus was crucified on a cross. But, what makes the horrific death of one of the most respected persons in history something to be considered "good"?

Death is usually not a welcome topic for people to think or even talk about.

Crucifixion is, by all accounts, one of the most painful and gruesome ways to end a life.

For those who knew and loved Christ, His death certainly had to seem like a hopeless and untimely end of the Messiah's journey.

Perhaps, there is no such thing as a "bad" situation in life. Certainly, there are poor choices we can make, but if God desires the "best" for our lives, isn't He willing and able to use each and every situation for "good"? He certainly turned Christ's death into the greatest good ever known to man...can't He also turn the "horrible" situations (even those that involve death) in my life into something good? And, maybe He doesn't actually "turn" those situations...maybe all along, they are good no matter what our human minds and emotions want to tell us.

God hasn't called us to worship Him despite our "bad" situation...He wants us to worship Him because of our "bad" situation. This is why today is "Good" Friday...not just because Christ rose from the dead three days later, but also because his death on the cross was, in and of itself, a good thing...the greatest thing.

At the wonderful tragic mysterious tree
On that beautiful scandalous night, You and me
Were atoned by His blood
Forever washed white
On that beautiful scandalous night

bunny cake - take two

2009-04-09T18:32:00.003-05:00

OK, so we had a wonderful day today, besides the fact that I showed up early to deliver the cake to Jacobs' school only to discover that his teacher decided to postpone the class party until 10 or 10:30 (was originally scheduled for 9;30). So, I left and drove over to Hobby Lobby. Mike told me he thought they had closed down (WHAT!!!!! HECK no....). They didn't (whoosh!) and I ended up browsing a little too long. I did not make it back to his school until 10:15, and the teacher thought it would be OK to do the egg hunt without me (GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRR). So basically I watched the kids eat lunch and read stories. Oh well, time with my baby boy, that's all that matters.

I left him to nap at school, went to the gym, and came home to do some spring cleaning. Then, once I picked Jakey up, we headed to the neighbors to bring some baked goods to their little boy who had surgery today.

I am posting pictures from the party today, and of the twice baked bunny cake!

Bunny cake-take one

2009-04-08T20:25:00.004-05:00

Jacob and I started baking his bunny cake for his Easter party this afternoon. Well, really I mixed and baked, and he enjoyed the fruits of my labor....

Only to discover once the cake came out the oven, that I had forgotten to spray the pan and the cake was stuck....grrrrr
So, I threw that one away, and baked a new bunny. It is cooling now, so I will ice it in the morning and resume part two of the bunny tale.

Egg hunt 2009

2009-04-06T18:15:00.003-05:00

Since we missed the Church's' annual Easter egg hunt this year, I decided to have my own mini egg hunt in the backyard for Jacob and a few of the neighborhood kids. We had 5 kids total (ages 2-7), and each kid was to hunt 12 eggs.

When I picked Jacob up from school and got him home, I seriously debated on whether to change his clothes so that he was a little more presentable in appearance. Mike sent him to school in sweatpants (totally appropriate for school) and I would normally NEVER let him wear that when we have company coming over. But, I took control of my obsessive ways and decided to let him remain in his dirty stinkiness until after the egg hunt. I am SO glad I let him be, as the neighbor sent her kids over without shoes=) I also did a non-me like thing to do, and had my child hunt for eggs with a Walmart bag. If you know me, this may come as a shock to you. Jacob is normally groomed and proper, all cleaned up, and of course he would normally have the cutest basket on the block. What the heck, I gave him a plastic bag and told him to have fun!

Just before everyone arrived, I waddled my pregnant self outside to pick up landmines, as I did NOT want tons of dog poop drug through the house on the bottom of many small feet. That was enough to wear me out. Boy, I feel old rather than pregnant!

All the kiddies had a blast, but of course while every other kid was running around collecting their 12 eggs as fast as possible, as if there was a grand prize at stake, my child would find an egg, open it, and ask me if he could eat the candy. At one point, his little Walmart (makeshift basket) bag was flittering around the yard, letting the wind carry it, while Jacob examined his ONE egg. At least we know he won't be a greedy child!

He was the last to collect all 12 of his eggs, and the last to open each and every one. He was quite the meticulous one. All the other kids were running and playing, acting like typical wild children. Jacob was sitting nicely on the porch, examining the contents of his plastic bag.

While I was hiding the eggs (before the hunt.....in case you needed clarification...) I made Jake stay inside so that he would not know where all the hiding spots were. When I returned inside, I found Jacob sitting by the front, with his hiney propped on top of two packages. I asked him, stunned, "son, where did those packages come from?" Apparently he thought it ok to open the front door , and pull the packages inside while I was out back. Um, hello Mr kidnapper, come get my child!!!! Needless to say, we had a long talk about handling the doorknob when mommy and daddy aren't around. Scary....

Here a few pictures from the hunt...enjoy!

first crawfish of the season

2009-04-04T23:07:00.003-05:00

NOT that I actually eat the crawfish, but I love the crawfish boil!

We were invited to our first (of many) crawfish boils of the season today in Biloxi. My cousin (whom we have not seen in quite a while) was in town from her home in South Carolina this weekend, and my aunt decided to throw a shindig at her home in Biloxi for her. They boiled crawfish and shrimp, and had TONS of other wonderful food to eat. Mike loves crawfish, but my parents, brother and I are not big fans. We get picked on often for this. People cannot fathom the knowledge that, despite being born and raised in the deep south, none of us much likes the mud bug. Unfortunately , I think I am passing this dislike of seafood (despite my best efforts) on to our firstborn. He would not even try the crawfish. I think it was more the fact that he knew this is what they looked like before they were peeled, and less likely my influence on him of my dislike.

I even offered to eat one with him, if he would just try it. But, it was a no go. So he ate the alternative foods, along with his mother and grandparents, while daddy chowed down on the bugs.

Shortly after arriving in Biloxi, we noticed that Mikes' ring finger (modeling his wedding band) was starting to swell. He informed me that this morning he noticed that it was a bit tight, but was able to slip it off and push it back on without much difficulty. He also noted that his watch was a bit tight on his wrist, and decided to remove it earlier. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to remove his ring at my aunts' house. We tried slathering it with soap, water, lotion, etc, all to no avail. His finger was growing increasingly large in size with each tug of the ring, and his knuckle starting looking a little discolored! So rather than waiting for his finger to turn completely blue and heading to the ER, my uncle cut Mikes' ring off in an attempt to save the finger. Good call, but I am a bit sad. Mike has not removed that ring in the entire (going on) 6 years that we have been wed. He informs me though that a jewler can fix it by melting it back together and we won't ever know anything happened. I hope that is the case. I wish we knew what caused the swelling in the first place....

We went to dinner tonight with our neighbor friends. I was unable to eat much, following the big lunch we had, but enjoyed the company of friends and family immensely today.

A good day...

random babbling

2009-04-02T15:24:00.003-05:00

Happy Thursday!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Thursdays! It may just be my (and my SIL) favorite day of the week. Every good show comes on tonight, all the ones worth watching at least!

We FINALLY got a small bit of rain today (actually it was more like a major hail storm with tornadoes that lasted about 30 minutes). The skies parted though, and now we have sunshine and a bright blue sky.

Jacob woke up in the middle of the night again last night to poop (sorry, TMI). Am I feeding him to close to bedtime? I don't know anyone that wakes up at 3 am to have a bowel movement.....Hey...at least he is waking up and putting it in it's place, right?!?!? The downside; I could not go back to sleep, and laid in bed waiting for my alarm to 'wake me' at 430.

I was supposed to get to the gym today, but instead I ate some yummy pizza rolls...(the baby made me do it - I swear).

Yesterday Jacob and I played some soccer outside in the yard. I have been contemplating enrolling him in soccer this fall, but have no idea if it would be something he would like. He has never seen anyone play soccer, and has no idea how to play (and that would be different from his father and I, how exactly...). Well, once I showed him the very basics of kicking the ball in the goal, and trying to steal the ball away from me, he had a blast! and he was good at it! So I told Mike I think we may try out soccer this year. He is still to young for baseball, and I think he may like being involved in a sport with other kids. Soccer is one of the few sports Mike and I did not play as children, so we won't be of much help!

Well, it's off to get the boy from school.

Where did I put my shoes....

90%

2009-03-31T14:20:00.009-05:00

***UPDATE***
There is not a durn cloud in the bright blue sky! Jacob and I went outside for a while and played, until the minor tantrum insued (I told him he should have taken a nap) and now he is happily splashing in the tub. I checked the weather forecast, and it has changed to a 60% chance of rain, starting at 9pm tonight! HA!

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chance of rain....today....um, no! Maybe they meant 90% chance of sun, cause it sure ain't raining!

I checked the weather yesterday afternoon and sadly noted that, although it was sunny and beautiful at that moment, it would surely and quickly become cloudy, dreary and thunderstormy all day today. 90% chance in fact. So, I forced my waddling pregnant self to go outside around 5pm and plant a few more things in our ever changing garden so that it might get watered in the downpour today. I also had a list of rainy day activities for Jacob and I to do at home.

So, we lounged in bed this morning until about 9am. Snuggled, pillow fought, watched Mickey mouse. For every time we peered out towards the sky, doom and gloom threatened. After a yummy breakfast of eggs and fruit, we painted with these neat little bubble paints that I picked up at the dollar store yesterday. Each paint smelled like a different fruit/candy and they kept us busy for over an hour.

I did a few things around the house that needed doing, and all the while, we peered out the window. Waiting. because it was 90% likely we would be trapped here all day....

Lunchtime rolled around. I was getting bored. I am not a person that can just sit inside all day long. When there is no rain falling from the sky. So I hurried Jacob along and we went to the library (where I ALWAYS have a fine of some sort). He got his very own library card, and he even signed the back!

He picked out 6 books, and we headed to McDonald's for lunch. I know, YUCK! But, I never take him out for lunch, and since I feared it may start raining at any second and we would be cooped up for the rest of the afternoon, went ahead and agreed to the nasty play place at Mickey D's. He played while I read a book, and we left peacefully (without tantrum).

Still no rain.

So, I told him that f he took his nap, when he woke up we could play outside if the weather was nice. Well, I have fought him for the last 45 minutes to nap, and he is winning. It is now 3pm, and it is pointless to get him to nap this late. Heck, bedtime is in 4 1/2 hours! So he is watching a movie and having quiet time on the couch. Later, we may go outside, since it does not look like it will rain today.....

90% - humph!

4:15

2009-03-30T09:10:00.003-05:00

That is what time Jacob woke me up this morning, soaked to the core with urine and shivering his little hiney off!

This has been his first true nighttime accident since we got completely rid of the diapers well over a month ago. He has been totally potty trained during the day since this time last year, but has been wearing pullups at night. He has been doing remarkably well, and even just 2 nights ago woke me up at midnight because he had to poop!

So, I was pretty surprised to learn of the accident, but saw it as no big deal. He must have had one of those dreams where you are dreaming that you are on the toilet....you have those too, right?

So to his bathroom we headed, where I peeled off his urine soaked jammies and attempted to wipe him down with a warm washcloth. He was shivering violently and still wreaked of urine. I decided that he could not go to school today with the remnants of stale urine on him and smell like one of 'those' children. You know those poor unkempt dirty children, with mussed hair, dirty nails and smudgy faces. The ones that go to school smelling of whatever is growing in their home....

So rather than starting a whole bath in the tub, I squeezed his little hiney in to the bathroom sink and scrubbed him, all 31 pounds of him. He LOVED it! He kept saying, "mommy, it's so warm in here, but I am too big for this baby tub". He sat and warmed up in the sink while I changed out his bed. Somehow, he managed to avoid peeing on his quilt, blanket, pillow, and each and every strategically placed animal that resides on his bed. Awesome!

Once all was said and done, fresh jammies, fresh bed, he thought it was time for a story. I mean, isn't that our routine....bath, story, bed? I informed him that since it was (now) 4:40 in the morning, that he would not be getting a story, but would in fact be placing his precious little head back on the pillow until morning.

sweet boy.

picture post!

2009-03-28T19:59:00.005-05:00

Finally! A post with some pictures. We decided this morning (since it is still too wet outside to do any yard work) that we would head to the mall to get Jacobs' picture with the Easter bunny and to take him to a movie. AND I REMEMBERED MY CAMERA!!!!!

So, after lunch, we headed out to the mall. Mike decided that he wanted to stop at the Christian bookstore nearby to look for a simple chain with a cross for himself. While he was shopping, Jacob and I decided to browse over the kids section. I often look at this store for books containing characters with the name Jacob, and since Jacob is a biblical name, you would think I would find at least one. Nope. I have never been successful in my endeavor. The only book I have that contains the name Jacob is a christian book that my mom found shortly after he was born. So, again today, I continued my quest for a 'Jacob book', when I came across this....

a book with the name Will!!! What! I was not even looking for that, and certainly did not expect it to be that easy, that I would simply stumble over a book with our second sons name inscribed in the title. So, of course, we bought it.

Then, it was to the movies we went. To see 'Aliens vs Monsters'. They had it available in 3-d, but we thought it best not to allow a full 'monster jumping out at you' experience for Jacob in the theatre. So we opted for the typical 2-d, popcorn and candy experience. He did well, for the first 2/3rds of the movie, and started to get antsy. We made it through though, and the movie was pretty cute.

Following the movie, it was the Easter Bunny we sought, and found, with very little wait time! Mike was embarrassed that I had brought my camera in an attempt to nab a free Easter photo of our child, rather than paying for the $30.00 package they so conveniently had ready for you. My response was simple. I did it for his Santa pictures, and they had no comment, so why not Easter? Of course they said nothing! Don't even come between a mother snapping a picture of her child on the bunnies lap....people could get hurt!

After the bunny we let Jacob play in the mall play area for a few minutes, just long enough to call it play. Some kid apparently released his bowels in the area, and Mike and I were no longer able to breathe through our nose, so we left.

After a dinner of Mediterannean pizza and grilled cheese (Jacob), we are home. Fun day! Maybe tomorrow we will be able to head out to do some yard work. I WILL have my camera, so stay tuned!

Friday field trip

2009-03-27T14:09:00.002-05:00

Just returned from Jacobs' school field trip....why is it that every single time we do something new and fun, I forget the darn camera....every time!!!

We headed to Monkey Biz (very similar to chuck e cheese) with his class around 930 this morning, and we just got home a bit ago (130pm).

He listened very well, was nice to the other kids, and threw NO tantrums! I would say it was a great outing.

Now if I could get him to nap....

accomplishments of a 3 year old

2009-03-26T12:59:00.003-05:00

This is more for myself than a typical post for the blog....

I have had quite a few people ask me lately where Jacob is intelectually, and will I start him in kindergarden next year (since his birthday is so close to the cutoff age to start school) or will I keep him in preschool an extra year. I tracked what he was doing in his baby book up until about 20 months, then I stopped=(

So here goes. At age 3 years and (almost) 8 months these are the things he has mastered:

-counting (perfectly 1-10, then sporadically to 20)
-if you hold up a certain number of fingers, he tells you how many you are holding up
-can visually identify about 5 numbers
-all letters and pretty much all letter sounds
-freehands about 13 different letters, including writing his name
-traces dotted leters/lines/shapes
-can only draw a circle freehand
-knows all of the common shapes and colors
-knows all common animals and their sounds
-identifies opposites/similar/and size related objects in a workbook
-can figure out simple mazes
-JUST learned how to peddle a bike and flip a jumprope
-very recently started portraying that he is 'scared'. (mommy, there is a with in the laundry room, and she might get me if you don't come in there with me)

He follows instructions generally well, throws few tantrums, is completely potty trained. He is very tender hearted, sweet, and thoughtful. He has a VERY laidback, go with the flow, even tempered personality. He gets along well with other children, and is very shy and introverted around people he does not know.

OK, woosh, got that logged, so that when our newest little bundle comes along, I will be able to compare them at similar ages!

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On a completely different subject, my cankles have subsided and I can see the bone in my ankle again!! AND, my carpal tunnel injection worked and my right hand is back to normal! Thank goodness for the small things in life!

Thanks for checking in, and if you live in our area, I hope that you survivied the storm last night!!!

the joys of pregnancy

2009-03-24T14:37:00.002-05:00

cankles, and I mean serious over the top of your sock, fatter than your actual foot, ankle that runs into your calf without a second glance. I can push into the fluidy pouch taking residence over my ankle bone, and leave a large indent of where my finger once was, like those tempurpedic mattresses that hold your form.

I parked my pregnant self on the couch last night with my cankles elevated, and slept all night with them elevated, but they are still large and in charge after working today. I guess I will have to give them a day off soon.

I also got my wrist injected today due to the major carpal tunnel that I have been having. I have it in both hands, but it bothers me most in my right (dominant) hand. It was quick, painless, and free. I hope it does the trick, having a hand that basically goes completely numb every few minutes is not feasible!

BUT.....knowing that I have cankles and a numb hand is WAY better than having kidney stones, and having a healthy baby beats them all! So I'll take it!

there's no place like home

2009-03-22T20:30:00.003-05:00

Mike is home and it is good=)

We sure missed him tons! He got home late Friday night, and woke up early Saturday morning, unbale to sleep in. So we got up and took Jake to a mini fair at one of the nearby schools. About halfway through the day, Mike got really tired and the jet lag caught up with him! But once we returned home, we decided it was way to beautiful to go inside and nap, so Mike and Jacob cut the grass and cleaned up a bit outside while I snapped tons of precious pictures. They had a blast together!

Today I went to town for a friends bridal shower, and Mike and Jacob had a father son bonding day. I love when they have time together like that, just the two of them. I am pretty sure Mike enjoys it too=)

Tomorow it is back to work - yuck! 2 weeks off has spoiled me.

Have a great week!

3 days without a nap...

2009-03-19T20:04:00.004-05:00

Well, I was trying to figure out how many days Jacob could go without a nap, and 2 is definitely his limit! By day 3 (today), he had a meltdown. He freaked out when we were leaving the play place at chik-fil-a after lunch (he had been an angel up until this moment) and screamed the most awful high pitched female scream he could conjure from the depths of his lungs. Everyone, and I mean everyone turned to stare. I guess they assumed I was beating my child with a shovel.

We drove over to target (across the parking lot from chik-fil-a) where he proceeded to throw an all out fit. I plopped him on the red bench right outside the doors, and let him scream for a good 5-7 minutes. After numerous disapproving stares (I mean come on people, have you never seen a tantrum before!), getting beat down by the scorching sun, and thinned out patience, I sat him in my lap and had a long chat with him. He was exhausted, and I felt so bad for dragging him out all day (we had gone to the duck pond this morning) knowing he had not had a nap all week=(

I told him that he was punished from swimming today, and that he would not be getting any special treats of any kind in the store. Sweet boy saw a bunch of things that caught his eye on the shelves, but would just touch them and say...."maybe next time I can have this". He is such a good child.

God please continue to bless us and let our second boy be this sweet. My heart aches with all of the love I have for him.

P.S. - Daddy comes home tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

play by play

2009-03-18T20:35:00.004-05:00

** cinnamon rolls and grapes for breakfast
(over breakfast) Jacob: mommy, you have a nipple on your face
me: yes baby, thank you, I know I have a pimple this morning...

** visit to new school for Jacob

** yard work and lunchtime picnic in the driveway

** swimming and splashing, learning to count backwards
from 5

** bathing and learning our vowels in the shower

** eating Piccadilly in the living room

** squeezing his skinny little hiney into size 6 month baby Santa pants and trotting around his baby brothers room (to which I responded by laughing hysterically and taking a picture with my cell phone because, again, Mike has our camera in Rome)

** reading, snuggles, and goodnight kisses

GREAT day with my boy!