The Rives Brothers

I asked Asher if he and Jude were going to start a band as we were watching something on TV about the Jonas Brothers. He said yes, of course. I asked him what instrument Jude would play and he told me that Jude could play the "man-o-lin" and he would play "ban-o (banjo)," "ta-gah," and "dums." Hopefully the Lord will grant us another child one day so that Asher's load can be a little lighter.


So yesterday we took a little stroll in the wagon that Grammy and Capaw got the boys for Christmas. It is so fun that Jude is at an age now where he can participate just like Asher. We just walked around our cul-de-sac but it was enough time to soak up some vitamin D or make some vitamin D or whatever it is that is supposed to happen out in the sun.




Favorite Asher quote from yesterday: "Tank ooh, Mama, change my poo-poo. Put fresh diaper on." He thanks me constantly. It is so precious. When I open a door for him, change his diaper, hand him milk, he almost always says "tank ooh." I pray he will stay full of gratitude.

Favorite Jude moment from yesterday: Climbing on to Asher and trying to steal his sippy cup. That boy is a go-getter. He loves his brother and his eyes light up when he sees Asher. And whatever Asher has. It is amazing how he can move when he sees something he wants. I pray he will use this super-power for good ;)

Asher loves Jude too and is, in God's mercy, learning the lessons of patience and sharing very early in life. I am working on teaching Asher to speak kindly to Jude. He has started telling him "NO NO Judah!" He can say it pretty harshly. Guess where he learned it?

That's right--Kris.

Ok, not really. I hear the tone in his voice and I, unfortunately, recognize it as my own. So I'm training two people to speak kindly actually. The little one is proving to be a much more teachable student. It's a humbling task to teach someone something that you are still in the process of learning.

ps--the pastor at my church in Beaumont, Mark Gibson, started a blog. You should check it out!

I was fine blaming my camera

But then Robin had to go do a whole series of posts on how to take better pictures. One of her tips was to actually read the manual that came with the camera. Touche.

So all my crappy pictures may not be completely the fault of Nikon Coolpix. I learned that tidbit as well as much, much more. Robin has gone to great lengths to explain some basic photography terms and concepts so if you, like me, have much to learn and a limited attention span for such things, you should check her blog out.

She took some awesome pictures of one Mr. A. O. Rives in the Fall of 2007 (can you believe it was that long ago, Robin!) that you may check out here as proof of her credibility. Just ignore the truck in the last picture because she will be most upset to see that I did not crop it out before posting it.

It's The Little Things In Life, Really

Asher requested a "W" cup when he learned that the Elmo cup was dirty. He loves the letter "W." He still calls it "double-buh" even though we continue to pronounce it correctly.



One "W" cup coming right up. He loved it. Wouldn't you if "W" were your favorite letter?

I think I may sell these on Etsy.

Things I Learned Whilst Spinning

We just joined a new gym in our area. It is really close to our house and offers lots of neat classes, a rock wall, awesome pools, and many other amenities. And thanks to Cheryl, we were able to get a great deal on our membership. I thought this would be a great opportunity to lose the rest of the baby weight, get in shape, and have a pool to take the boys to this summer.

So I have been slowly easing back into the world of activity. I'm limited right now on what classes I can take because I don't want to leave Jude in the nursey until cold and flu season is over. So I am just trying out classes here and there as I get the chance.

Last night, I decided to try spinning. Kris was very sweet and offered to bathe the boys and get them into bed while I went to the class. I've been wanting to go, so I took him up on his offer and headed to the gym.

I will now impart to you my newly gained knowledge that I acquired during this class.

1. An hour is a freaking long time if you have not been on a bike since the early 90's.

2. If it is your first time in a class like this, you will naturally want to use a bike that is towards the back of the studio. However, you should not pick a back-row bike that is on the opposite side of the studio as the exit. Because when you realize that you are about to die, you will want to make a fast and inconspicuous exit but will be unable to do so without looking like a total out-of-shape moran. Even if you are one, you don't want to look like it.

3. Wear appropriate biking attire. Your tennis shorts from college would not fall into this category. I'm not exactly sure what would be the best outfit choice, but I can assure you it was not what I was wearing.

4. I am a victim of all of the "green" propaganda because as I was furiously pedaling (and maybe or maybe not turning my dial to add resistance) I thought that they should hook these bikes up to some sort of generator and harness all of the energy to power the gym. Al Gore would be proud. And I make it a point never to make Al Gore proud.

5. If it is your first time to take this class, you should ask some questions beforehand regarding optimal seat and handle bar height. Don't play it cool. Don't act like you know what the heck you are doing. You have spit-up on your shirt and are wearing shorts from college. No one is fooled so you might as well ask for some help. Your butt will thank you. (I know mine would have.)

6. Picking the bike behind skinny girl with her very own cycling shoes will just tick you off.

7. You might have to purpose in your heart, somewhere around minute 15, that you're new goal is to just survive. In this case, ignore it when peppy Kimberly tells you to turn your dial and add resistance. Just keep pedaling. No one will know.

8. Peppy Kimberly will also tell you to get "up off the saddle." She crazy. You should not do this if you have made the resolution outlined in point #7. Just keep sitting.

9. The hour will eventually draw to a close. When this happens, wipe off your bike, get your water bottle, and hobble on out of there. Try to restrict your remarks to the weather because you will not be able to think of one nice thing to say about Peppy Kimberly or what she just put you through.

I think that about sums it up. I think I will look for a water aerobics class for the 65+ crowd next time.

A Two Year Old's Work Is Never Done

What, with all the toys that need to be put in empty diaper boxes and then pushed around the house, it's a wonder Asher has time to eat and sleep. He certainly doesn't have time to get dressed.

So if you've called him and haven't heard back, he'll get with you as soon as things slow down a little around here.

He should probably consider hiring another worker because the guy he's got now is no help at all.

Rub A Dub Dub

We've got 2 kids in a tub now!



Yes, we do have bath toys and a little bath seat for Jude, but this was just a trial run. I just wanted to offer proof that I am no longer cramming Judah Barracuda in a tiny little baby tub.



Although by the looks of it, I think he liked it better when he didn't have to share bath time.



Look at those sweet rolls of baby lovin'! My poor little fella has lost weight these past few days. He's down to just 20 lbs. (which is more than most 6 month olds weigh) but still...

I am happy to report that he seems much better today. His appetite is returning and he is smiling and playing by himself again. For a few days he has been super clingy and just wanted to lay on me. Not that I mind that part at all, but I knew it meant he was feeling badly.

We are going to get out today and take a little drive. We've all been cooped up way too long. I'm not someone that always has to be on the go, but 5 days at home will drive anybody nuts.

And I don't want to alarm anyone, but I haven't had a diet coke with lemon since Saturday.

Oh My Goodness, Where To Begin?

Combine a blog funk with a busy, crazy, birthday, stomach bug filled week and what do you get? That's right--a picture of my chunky boy in a too-small tub for over a week.

But I will now make an attempt to catch you up, because with an intro like that, I'm sure you are just dying to be filled in on what all has been going on around here. Just to forewarn you--there will be no smooth transitions, witty remarks, or in-depth commentary. I'm just trying to get my mother off my back. (I kid, Mamoo, I only kid.)

First, Jude turned 6 months on the 28th. These pictures are just getting ridiculous. He eats the paper before I can even get a good picture. So Daddy had to help out.





Two days later, Kris turned 34. I decided (very last minute in true Jamie form) to call a few friends over for some pizza and cake. It was a fun, but short get together because most of us have toddlers with bedtimes that you just don't jack with.

Here is the birthday boy himself.



Do you want to know why he's so excited? Because this was his cake!



That monstrosity is a post unto itself. Suffice it to say, Chef Duff will not be recruiting me anytime soon.

When the kids start getting relatively still , you know the bedtime hour is rapidly approaching. So we called it a night around 7.




Next up was Asher's 2nd birthday. Again, all about being low-key, I decided to have play group here at our house and call it a "birthday party." The same 5 guys get together to play a few times each month so it worked out well. Asher also invited his 3 church friends, Saige, Meadow, and Steven.

Everything was going great. We ate chicken nuggets. We wore Elmo hats. We played with toys. Oh, but it was fun.






Then we opened presents! I'll just tell you now--I'm not cute in any of them.





And after that, I brought out the Elmo cupcakes...



and I lit the candle on the birthday cupcake...



and then Asher puked everywhere.

(No photo available.)

The party kinda wrapped up at that point. Kathy helped me clean up the puke (a true friend indeed that will clean up your kid's vomit with you...and she is pregnant I must add) and Laura held Jude and redirected traffic. I seriously have the best friends ever. They were all very gracious, but I felt so horrible that we exposed them to the yuckiness.

Of course, Kris had to run sound somewhere that night. Asher threw up a few more times and had some very dirty diapers, but felt much better by the time he went to bed.

The next day was Asher's actual birthday. We planned on celebrating with our families the following day because Jude was getting baptized at church that morning and they were all coming for that and then over to our house for lunch (and more cake.)

My mom, Jude, and I went to my sister-in-law's baby shower that morning and Kris and Asher hung out all day. Asher was feeling great and had lots of fun with his daddy, as usual. But that night around 11, Jude started throwing up. So we cancelled everything and stayed home from church. And then Asher threw up again. And then Jude. And then Jude again.

So here we are on Wednesday. Asher has returned to completely normal input and output but poor little Judah Bear still has some diarrhea and a less-than-normal appetite. He's gone from 3 rolls of fat on his thighs to just 2, bless his heart. But we are over the vomiting portion of the ordeal and for that I am grateful.

I'm very thankful that my boys are feeling better and I'm looking forward to everyone being back to 100% and getting back out into the world.

Consider yourself updated.

Maybe I'm In Denial?

I know, I know. Time to move on from the baby bath. It's getting a little ridiculous.