As Promised...Pumpkin Edition

Here is a recap of the events of the last few weeks. If you would like to see all the pictures (by that I mean, if your name is Mamaw) then you can go to our Shutterfly site.

We went to the Pumpkin Patch a while back. We got some really good pictures. Although I'm not sure how pictures of cute kids sitting on pumpkins could really ever go wrong.













A few days later, we went back to the pumpkin patch for a little festival they were having. What follows is an incredibly sweet candy corn and an overly happy mummy.




Little brother, as usual, just along for the ride.

As Promised...A Sling and 3 Month Pics

This is Jude's favorite new position. He loves the "kangaroo" carry in the sling. He's not really a "hang out in the carseat" kind of guy. He wants to be unbuckled and part of the action. Another piece of the Jude puzzle figured out!

Here are the 3 month pics...he's gettin' big!




He is a smiley little guy but it is hard to capture those smiles when your camera likes to take its sweet time.


Here are a few more of him from the past few weeks...

As Promised...A Monkey, Electrical Tape, and Inflatables

For Halloween/Reformation Day, we got all dressed up! My little monkey was, well...a little monkey. Although I'm afraid those ears say "mouse." But I tried. He pulled the look off despite his mother's less-than-stellar sewing skills because he does a very convincing monkey noise. Really. Get him to do it for you next time you see him.

Kris playing that party favorite "Pin the Tail on the Monkey"


"Ooh ooh, ee, ee, aah, aah!"



Jude is not one to miss out on festivites so he and I did a themed costume. He was a bumble bee and I was his flower.



A little felt and electrical tape can turn even the most boring Baby Bjorn into a fabulous bee costume.



The next day was cousin Reagan's birthday. She had it at an indoor play area full of super fun inflatables. There were things to bounce in and slide on! Oh the fun that was had by my boy!



Asher enjoyed it, too.

As Promised...Deer and Vomit

This is the only picture I have from this day. We went to Kendall's birthday party at Old MacDonald's farm. It is a great place to take kids. It is a playground and petting zoo all in one. Deer roam freely and all the animals are in pens that you can walk right up to to feed or pet them.

But as it turns out, Asher is not really into woodland creatures. As I was showing Asher how to hold his hand out and feed the sheep the food that they let you feed them, Asher got very freaked out. About this time, two deer who have no fear of people wander up to see what's for snack time today. Asher completely loses it when he sees the first deer and turns to run away and runs right into the other deer. He just falls to the ground and waits for me to come rescue him. I have Jude in the sling so I throw the rest of the food down and heroically save my little boy from the perilous deer.

Then, he is standing at a fenced-off pond, but accidentally steps too close to the fence and gets one leg stuck in the water. Of course, I am feeding Jude at this point so I run over with the bottle tucked under my chin to pull Asher out. So now the poor boy has a wet foot for the rest of the morning.

Then we went and played in the sand and rode the train and all was right in his world again. I definitely want to bring him back there but we will wait until Daddy can come with us.

We got home and I was feeding Asher lunch. He started to gag a little because he tried to swallow a piece of his sandwich without bothering to chew it up. So he is choking and trying to get the food out of his throat and I am kneeling in front of him. I can see he is breathing, but is still struggling to get the food out of his throat. That's when the gag reflex kicks in and he throws up ALL OVER ME!

It was a busy day, needless to say. But after a bath, a load of laundry, and a nap, he was as good as new and I earned a new badge for my mama sash.

More Free Derek Webb

Also, here the guidelines I would set forth if I am put in charge of the next election...

1. Each candidate is allowed to publish one position paper detailing (1)his philosophy of government, (2) his stance on the major issues,(3) his goals for the first 6 months, first year, and his term as a whole, and (4) the means he will use to assess whether or not his goals were met. It wil be published in English, by the way.

2. There will be no commercials, yard signs, bumper stickers, hour-long infomercials, or the like. Voters will read the aforementioned position papers, decide which one resonates with their particular goals and ideals, and vote accordingly.

3. The candidates will not be allowed to tell the voters what another candidate did or didn't do, said or didn't say, agrees with or doesn't agree with. The candidates will not say to themselves, "What do most people want? OK, then that's what I'll be." They will first ask, "What am I? Do most people want this?"

This is just what I have right now. I'll keep a little running list so that I'll be prepared when the election officials ask my opinion. I'm sure that will happen.

Major Catching-Upage Soon

I have so much to blog about yet so many other things that rank slightly above blogging in importance to do.

So here is a little preview just to make sure you don't abandon reading my blog altogether to teach me a lesson about being so terribly inconsistant.

The posts to come will contain (in no particular order):

a monkey
giant inflatables
deer
electrical tape
vomit
a certain somebody's 3 month pictures
a sling
exciting news!!! (and NO--I'm not.)

So come back, OK?

Tag, You're It!

Go to your picture file on your PC.
Pull up the 4th folder.
Pull up the 4th photo.


Tell us about it.



This is little tiny Asher. He had just been upgraded to the Level II NICU. He still had his little feeding tube. Those were the days when we worked and worked to get him to take 30 mL of milk. Let's just say we don't really have to beg him to eat anymore. He is sporting a 24 lb. weight gain since then. So am I, but we're working on that.

Ok, since everyone loves to be tagged, I tag...

Robin
Kathy Littlefield
Mandy
Kathy Hill
Laura
Cheryl
Becca

Rock Star

As I was checking email, I look over and see that Asher has set up for his concert. He uses the guitar stand as his mic. I grabbed my phone because I knew if I went to get the camera, the moment would be over. Before I started filming, he was rocking back and forth and swinging his guitar a little. He watches his daddy so he knows just what to do.

The Obligatory Pumpkin Patch Picture

More to come as soon as I load them up. Let this tide you over for now.

Not Sure Who Hates The Big Boy Bed More...

I think it might be me. I have yet to throw myself on the floor in a crying fit, but I have felt like it.

Day 3 of napping on the floor. By his door. After much weeping and gnashing of teeth. Maybe falling out of his crib a couple of times a night would be less painful?

I know this is just a transitional period and that it will get better. It's just staying sane between now and then that seems to be the tricky part. Who knew that the 3 month old would be the easy child at this point?

Any advice?

Big Boy Bed Bonanza

I do love alliteration.

So yesterday, while cooking dinner, Asher did something that I asked him not to do. Depending on the situation, I discipline him by either spanking him or putting him in his crib for a few minutes. This time, after consulting my veritable treasure trove of motherly wisdom that I have stored in my brain, I chose the crib. Or maybe I chose it because it was the fastest thing to do and I was in the hot middle of something. I can't recall.

Either way, he was in his bed. I walked back to the kitchen to continue making dinner. No sooner had I reached the stove when guess who comes sauntering around the corner. Uh yeah. My 20 month old who was supposed to stay in his crib for at least 4 more months had climbed out! That was not on today's agenda.

I stood there in disbelief. He seemed pretty nonchalant about the whole thing. I said to him, "Did you climb out of your bed?" "Dah!" he said with a grin. I knew the end of an era had come. The era in which I had a cage to put him in for a few minutes, an era in which if he woke up before I was ready to get him out of bed, he just had to lay there and talk to himself, an era in which nap time and bed time was only a matter of plopping him down and walking out of the room. It was a good era. And now it's over. Dang.

He was very blessed to not have hurt himself and we didn't want to risk it happening so we decided is was time to make the switch. Kris and Asher went to Target and got a bed rail and Kris moved the twin bed into Asher's room and the crib into Jude's room. Jude has been in a pack-n-play his whole life so now he gets a real bed. He hadn't complained about the sleeping arrangements, but I'm sure he appreciates his new bed.

The short version of the rest of the night goes like this:

Asher gets in bed, Asher gets out of bed, Mom and Dad say "get back in bed." Repeat 20 times.

We decided to be firm, but not punish him since this was such a new, unplanned transition. He was most upset and many tears were shed. But eventually, he wore out and went to sleep. He wandered into our room about 1:30. I got up with him and laid with him in bed. We both fell asleep.

Then it was Jude's turn. I heard him crying so i got out of Asher's bed and went into Jude's room. He had wiggled up to the corner of the crib and was upset that his head was jammed in the corner. I scooted him down to the opposite end and he went back to sleep. All problems should be so easily rectified.

Asher slept until around 6:45. Kris had already left for work. I was still in bed so I just let Asher climb up with me and we snoozed for another 30 minutes or so.

Fast-forward to nap time. Same thing as bed time, but he was showing no signs of slowing down.

I told him it was nap time and he looked at me with a worried look and said "Big boy night-night?" Oh yes, brother. Big boy night-night. Let the games begin.

I finally (after an hour and a half of insanity) shut the door and he cried himself to sleep. On his floor of course. Oh well, a nap's a nap. Just take one. I don't care where.

I can't believe he's out of the crib. But there was a waiting list to get in it so I guess this is a good thing. I find that if I have too much time to stress out about something, then I make a bigger deal over it than I need to. So it's done. But no more milestones for a while, thanks.

One Year Ago

I was looking through old pictures and came across this one that was taken on Oct. 22, 2007. It's crazy to look at all of those babies in their strollers! And it was very chilly that day--the high is 80 today. Go figure.

This is also to remind all of my Fall Creek buddies to remember to call me when they go to the zoo :) I miss seeing you guys!

6 Things You Must Know

1. I'm ditching the South Beach Diet and going back to my old friend Weight Watchers. Something isn't working this go around with the ol' SBD (not to be confused with ODB) so I must alter my strategy. I'm not going to go to all the effort that the SBD requires and then just ignore it when the scale says the exact same thing for 2 weeks. Oh no. I will not.

2. Asher is a veritable fountain of language. Not all of it is completely recognizable as English, but he talks constantly. Except when Elmo is on. Then he sits in reverent silence as that irritating puppet drones on and on. Incidentally, I gave away an Elmo chair and stuffed animal a few months back because they both scared Asher. The stuffed animal found it's way back to us in a serendipitous manner. Thankfully, the chair did not.

But as I was saying, I am amazed at all he says now. More than I could list here. And he will attempt to say anything you ask him to. This is how I amuse myself during the day. I think my favorite right now though is "tank-ooh, Mama." Just precious.

Jude is pretty vocal, too. You never have to wonder if he is upset or needs something. Definitely not the strong, silent type. But when he has had his requisite 18 hours of sleep during a 24 hour period, oh what a joy that little guy is.

3. I think my new favorite word is "incidentally." It is quite underused in today's conversations. You don't hear it nearly enough so I try to throw it in when appropriate. Incidentally, I also like to toss around the word "anthropomorphism" because six syllable words are hard to come by in most conversations as well.

4. It's coming on yard crap season. This saddens me. Y'all know I can't handle yard crap. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, yard crap refers to any and all inflatable decorations and/or wooden cut-outs of various holiday characters. My neighborhood can't get enough of either. I try to set a good example. For fall, 2 lovely pumpkins and a cheerful pot of golden mums. For December, a tasteful wreath of holly berries upon my door. That's all you need, crazies. That's all you need.

5. I'm going to be 29 in a few weeks, but have decided to forego the usual "birthday month" festivities. No month-long celebration this year. It's not because I'm bummed that it's my last turn about the sun as a 20-something. It's just that it has run its course (note my usage of "it's and its". The former is a contraction so it requires an apostrophe. The latter denotes possession--no apostrophe needed. Free grammar lesson. You're welcome.)

6. I think necklaces look weird on me. Nine times out of ten, I will put one on, then look in the mirror and immediately take it off. Then a few minutes later, I try again...and take it off again. I don't know why this is. Same with bracelets. And the only rings I wear are my wedding and engagement rings. I wear earrings all the time, but usually only pearls or diamond studs (both of which are fake because I am notorious for losing earrings.) I want to wear cute, trendy jewelry. Can someone help me out?

I need to update

and I will. Soon. Until then, go here and laugh at these until I am back with my usual charmingly witty musings, observations, and the like.

Sold.

So long, Sienna. Can't say I'll miss you and your one sliding door, but I appreciate the 13 months we spent together.

Enjoy your new family.

Oops...forgot to formally welcome the new minivan into the garage. We bought a 2001 Honda Odyssey from Craig's List. Now I don't slam Asher's head into the ceiling of the van because I don't have to lift him into the very back row anymore. And don't even get me started on my double sliding doors. Or do. They are my favorite thing to talk about right now.

Four Words!

Asher said his first four word sentence today! I'm talking a noun, a verb, an adjective, and a direct object. He said, "Addie wah boo-boo pacahs!" which translates to "Asher wants blueberry pancakes."

At first he just said that he wanted pancakes. Then, after a thoughtful pause, he decided to modify that request and see if a little fresh fruit might be possible.

Unfortunately, we had no blueberries to offer him. So he settled for plain pancakes. He and his daddy make pancakes together every Saturday morning. Asher knows what goes in them and helps Kris get it all out and mix it all together. A Saturday morning tradition has served as a basis for language acquisition. I love it!

Skirts rule.

I love wearing skirts. I much prefer them over shorts. I have a ton of them and I wear them all summer long with t-shirts and flip-flops. And by summer, I mean "Texas summer," which lasts from March until later November/early December.

So I saw a link to this blog on Amy's Humble Musings and simply had to post it here. I knew skirts were awesome and this just gives weight to that assertion.

Enjoy reading 10 Reasons Why Skirts Are Better Then Pants.

Also, check out the Color Hue Quiz. My eyes crossed a little doing it though. I scored 21 with 0 being perfect on a scalse of 0-100. Let me know how you did!

Au Revior, Dumbo

Guess who is no longer part of naptime, or bedtime either? Dumbo and "ottawa" (other one--his other lovey) and his other "ottawa" have all been phased out. We took all three guys with us to Florida and he never really asked for them when he went to sleep. So when we got home, I just kept them put away and he's never said anything about them. This is a good thing because Dumbo's nose was just about the most disgusting thing I have ever seen (or smelled!) He has slept with that thing since about 4 months and has been sucking on poor Dumbo's nose for most of that time. I washed him often, but nothing got that smell out. Ew.

So Dumbo is now in the memory box. I will never forget how he would put it over his face when he was a baby to sleep or how we would listen from the hallway as he sucked on his nose.

Here are a few pictures (not in chronological order because that would take too long) of Dumbo's glory days.

















So long, Dumbo. Thanks for the months of faithful service.

Pictures I Meant to Post Long Ago

Whoa. I was big. These were taken on Friday and Jude was born on Monday. If you live in the Houston area, I'm sure you recognize this location. For the rest of you, the is the Water Wall. It's a very cool place to go and take pictures.

Asher, of course, fearful of nothing, takes off towards it. You would think a huge wall of water that is 64 feet tell might give him pause, but no. Same with the ocean. Just runs right in to it. I'm sure there is a metaphor there but I'll leave it for Patti to extrapolate. She's good at that :)





This is me in recovery wondering what the heck just happened. Kris took my picture because he figured I want to blog about it. He knows me too well.




This is the wild man after his first bath. Thankfully, he enjoys bath time now.




This is me and Jude at the beach. I laughed because I would have NEVER taken Asher on the beach at 7 weeks. I'm a little more relaxed the second time around. Plus it was about 5 in the evening and we were under an umbrella.



I took this at breakfast a few days ago. High chairs are for babies. Big boys use booster seats!



Don't you love these random photo posts? I know I do!

Grace Upon Grace takes a break from the usual witty posting to bring you this commercial...

For sale! One 2000 toyota sienna minivan! Priced to sell because the first losers backed out after they said they were buying it. If you or someone you know is interested in this gem of a mini, please do call or write.

Operators are standing by.