Daddy's Big "Helper"

Nick went out to shovel the walk, again. We only got a couple more inches, but he is trying to stay on top of it so it doesn't get so bad. Joey, always wanting to help, went out with him. He took his garden shovel out and started shoveling the walk.
If you can tell from the pictures, he is taking the snow from the big pile, and throwing it on the walk! I guess he will learn the concept of clearing the walk at a later date! He's so sweet to help.
Joey just asked to go take a nap, so I better take him up to bed before he changes his mind!

Blogging Blahs

I haven't been blogging lately...I'm sorry. I have just been so tired lately, I can hardly think straight, let alone try to be creative.

Joey continues to show his imagination. He has a plastic tape measure that has red end on it, and just the other day he said, "Let's play basketball!" Then he stuck the red end in his mouth and hummed a "whistle." It only took me a second that he was acting like the referee's and Aunt Megan's basketball games that we enjoyed going to last year. The last basketball game he would have gone to was back in February! What a memory.

Baby Nick is getting cuter all the time. He loves his big brother to pieces! He just lights up when Joey comes over to play with him. Yesterday, the boys were both sitting on my lap and Joey was fake burping. (One of those kid things that makes dads so proud and moms roll their eyes.) Baby Nick was laughing every time. Makes me very frightened that he may end up like his Uncle Josh, never outgrowing thinking such things are funny! :)

Baby Nick is in need of a nap, and has fought the idea for awhile. Maybe now I can get him to sleep, if he has worn himself out enough.

I will try to get more sleep so I feel more motivated to blog again.
Have a joyful day and give yourself a hug from me!

And The Fun Continues

Joey was so cute opening presents. With every present, he would enthusiastically exclaim, "I love it!", even before getting it completely opened. It was especially funny when he would open a box of clothes and say "I love it" about the plain white box, before even knowing what was inside. With every gift that was from someone other Mommy and Daddy, I would make sure he knew who it was from and tell him that we would need to call them and say "thank you." So he would say "thank you" after opening it, not needing to wait until we had someone on the phone!

When we were at Randy and Cheryl's on Saturday, we adults had sat down at the table to play a game and Joey came in asking, "Where's the me-moe-noon?" WHAT?!?!?! "Where's the me-moe-noon?" I had him take me into the other room so he could hopefully further explain what he was looking for. I knew I had heard him say this before, but for the life of me I couldn't figure it out. So he points to the TV and asks, "Where is the me-moe-noon?" The REMOTE! So the next day, Nick tries to help Joey say it correctly. Nick said, "Say 're'." Joey said, "Re." Nick said, "Say 'mote'." Joey said, "Mote." Nick said, "Say 're-mote'." Joey said, "Re-me-moe-noon."

One of the gifts Joey got was another addition to his train set. This one included a remote control train! Joey was very excited about this. But there is that word again: remote. Do you think Joey calls it a re-me-moe-noon control? NO! This, he calls the Mocha Natrol!
This is the cutest Bug on his very first Christmas! He too, was very well behaved!

After opening gifts, we put on Cars, so Joey could watch while we cleaned up after the tornado that came through our living room and make a bit of lunch. Then Joey and Daddy went outside to play in the snow. This is a picture to show you how much snow we have. Now keep in mind, Joey is not on the bare sidewalk....he is still about six inches off the ground. So imagine how far the snow would come up on him if he were standing on the bare walkway and you can see how much snow we have!This picture cracks me up! If you look closely at Joey's face, it looks like he is thinking in disbelief, "Daddy just threw me down in the snow!" They had a lot of fun, though. Nick took him out to the driveway where there is a huge pile of snow that has been plowed and piled in the corner. Joey slid down the pile as if he were inner-tubing down a mountain!

For me, Nick got me a new outfit. A new pair of jeans (which I desperately needed, as I only had one pair) and a new shirt. This is what I wore today. As I was putting on the jeans, which fit very nicely, I had trouble buttoning the top button. (There are two buttons and the zipper.) Nick couldn't even button it. So I forgot it for a few minutes and went about my day. Finally, about ten minutes later, I was able to muscle the button through the hole. A few hours later, forgetting the ordeal with the button, I realize its time for me to use the restroom. As I am trying to unbutton the jeans, I remember what a hassle it was to button it, and it turned out to be just as hard to unbutton it. Again, not even Nick could get it undone. By the time I finally wrestled it free, I was doing a little dance around the room. It turns out, the button hole is a little too small. Hopefully it will stretch out a bit with use.

For dinner, we had a spiral cut ham with a spiced glaze, mashed potatoes, corn, and apple soda (sparkling cider.) The ham is already cooked, so it just needs warming in the oven and the glaze applied. I asked Nick to look at the cooking directions while I was taking care of Baby Nick. He said that it should be in the oven for 8-10 minutes per pound and it was three pounds. So I planned dinner for 6:00pm and started preparations for that time. As I got the ham out of the fridge, I again looked over the directions and then double checked the weight. Sure enough, there was a quantity of 2.98 on the sticker.....but that was the cost per pound, NOT weight. No, the ham was almost 8.5 pounds! So what I had planned on taking about half an hour in the oven, now was going to take almost an hour and a half! I took the tag over to Nick and asked, "How much does it weigh?" After looking at it more carefully, he got a goofy "oops" look on his face. What am I to do with him?

All in all, it was a very nice Christmas. I miss my family terribly and wish I could be part of their slumber party tonight, but since I can't, I will just be greatful for who I do have close. Thank you Lord, for my loving husband, my precious Bubba, and my special Bug.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! We had a fun day and I just wanted to share some of it with you.

Last night, we allowed the boys to open one gift. So they opened up the gifts from Aunt Angie; who gave them each a very cute mug with their names on it. Joey immediately wanted some hot choget, but we made him wait till morning. Joey says his cup says, "Jofis Jofis Looty."


Baby Nick is so enamored with his Daddy, as he should be. This was a great picture I got of them playing before bed time. Because Baby Nick is sick, he is having a hard time sleeping lying down, so I had to sleep with him sitting up the whole night. Needless to say, I hardly got any sleep. Still, I was up before Nick and Bubba in the morning and finally woke them up at a quarter to ten so we could start our Christmas day.


The boys started with their stockings. Joey got some stickers and a Mater truck in his stocking, as well as lots of choget. He has been sneaking pieces all day when Mommy and Daddy aren't looking. He has a tube of M&M's that must be opened gingerly so as not to spill them. But while I was fixing dinner, Joey decided to open them himself and the clatter that dozens of M&M's make on a hardwood floor (albeit a fake one) is something else.
Bubba was very helpful to Baby Nick and was involved in opening most of his presents. Bug got a teether and a musical key ring in his stocking. The keys have a place to put pictures in them. After opening the teether, Joey said, "Want to share." I of course thought it was very nice of him to want to share, so I said he could share with Baby Nick. So Joey takes the teether and plays with it himself. I should have known that Joey wanted Baby Nick to share with him and not the other way around.
After opening stockings and Santa presents, we had breakfast (cinnamon rolls) and got ready for the day. Then we came back to tackle the rest of the presents under the tree. I must say that I am very proud of Joey, he didn't throw even one fit. He did have a hard time with patience, but after being reminded that he had to wait, he waited very well. Baby Nick fell asleep after opening the first couple of presents, so he napped the rest of the time. But he will be more involved next year anyway. Here is a picture of him in the adorable new hat from Nanny and Papa Buddy. It is so soft of furry!
To be continued....

Christmas Sickie

WARNING: IF YOU ARE OF WEAK CONSTITUTION, PLEASE SKIP OVER THIS ENTRY! IF YOU DECIDE TO READ IT, PLEASE UNDERSTAND IT WAS WRITTEN WITH A FAIR BIT OF HUMOR, BECAUSE THAT IS THE EMOTION I CHOOSE TO DEAL WITH THE SITUATION.

I can't seem to keep my children healthy for the holidays. Joey had pneumonia over Thanksgiving and now Baby Nick has a bad cold for Christmas. Poor little baby; for the last week, he has had such a horrible cough that he is making himself gag and throw up everything he recently ate. If he hasn't recently eaten, than he dry heaves until bile comes up. I feel so horrible for him.

I'll say this for him, he sure can get some distance! Here is a picture of his latest upheave. Normally I wouldn't show you such a thing, but its just formula, so its not gross yet. I just wanted you to see what a champion he would be if projectile vomitting were a sport!

Smooches

Thanks to Grandma Dooley and Grandma Mary, I have some copies of pictures taken before we left. They are filled with the people we love and miss so much. This is a short clip of Joey giving kisses to a picture of Nanny and Papa Buddy....something that he does to just about every picture! Please know how much you all mean to Joey and how he misses and loves you. Just the other day, Joey said, "See Nanny amorrow." Once again, I had to crush his heart and say that we couldn't see Nanny tomorrow. Just wanted to share with you how much Joey loves everyone.

"Ahma Monster"

I so wish that there was sound! Joey is pretending to be a monster and scaring Daddy. He gets such a kick out of himself. After the first "scare" he turns to me and says, "I'm laughing!" (As if I couldn't tell) He makes such a cute monster!

Sunrise....Sunset

And that is pretty much my entire day! December 21st, first day of winter, the shortest day of the year. Sunset this morning was a very late 10:14am! And sunset today was also a very early 3:42pm! I guess that still gave me five hours and twenty-eight minutes of daylight. Starting tomorrow, though, the days will be longer. If I am extra lucky, I may get five hours and thirty minutes of daylight tomorrow! (I don't suppose you can hear the sarcasm, can you?)

At least its not as bad as I thought it would be, however, it makes it very difficult to get up and moving in the morning when it stays dark so long. I think that is why Joey sleeps in so late sometimes. He got up kind of early today, he was up by a quarter of nine. Of course, he didn't go to sleep until after two in the morning! I suppose its my fault, I am a night owl too. He actually went to bed about 10:45pm and was asleep when I put Baby Nick in his crib at 11:15pm, but about five minutes later, he comes downstairs and sits in my lap and rocks. I took him up to my bed a few minutes later, thinking he would go right back to sleep, but he laid awake until Nick finally got so grumpy that he was still up, that he took him back to his room. Joey was screaming because he didn't want to be in his room, but within two minutes, Nick came back in our room because Joey was asleep! Was I worried that his screaming would wake Baby Nick up? No, because Baby Nick had already been up twice and was at that point sleeping on my chest in our room! Let's just say it wasn't the greatest night sleep I've ever had. But I guess it wasn't any worse than what it has been lately.

When we were walking out to the car last night, I was carrying Joey, because he hasn't wanted to walk since it has been so icy, and it isn't very easy for me to walk in this much snow, so it would be nearly impossible for Joey to walk. But I did set him down for a second to see how high the snow came up on him. The snow was up to his mid-thigh! And he wasn't even all the way on the ground! I am going to try to get a picture of him standing in all that snow so I can show you, but with so few daylight hours, the timing has to be just right. It can't be while Baby Nick needs to eat, or while Joey is taking a nap. And since Joey sometimes takes an hour and a half to two hour nap, that's half my daylight right there!

One of my favorite things to do around this time of year is sit in the dark, in my rocking chair with all the lights off and just the Christmas tree lit up. Thanks to the lack of daylight, I get to do that a lot!

Baby Nick is starting to get very ticklish! He's just like his Uncle Gary though; he just grunts! Once he starts laughing more regularly though, that will change! I can't wait.

Heartbreaking

Last time we went to Fred Meyer's all together, Joey was being carried on Daddy's shoulders. If he is not sitting in the cart, he wants to either push the cart or sit on Daddy's shoulders. So we were leaving the store, and not even thinking about the added height, Nick walked right out the door.

I'm sure you can guess what happened next. SMACK!!! Nick ran Joey's forehead right into the top of the doorway! Joey didn't cry, but he looked horrified. For the next couple days, he kept talking about "Daddy hit porthead on store." It was very sad.

Tonight, we went to the store again. This time, not even remembering what happened last time, Nick was carrying Joey again. He was holding him against his chest, though, and not up on his shoulders. As we walk out the door, Joey gets a scared look in his eye, looks up at the doorway, and in a frightened voice says, "No bonk head?"

Talk about heartbreaking!

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Well, it is snowing pretty hard up here now. The other day we got about five inches or so, and some reports say we're supposed to get another 5-10 inches today. We'll see. At least it is a beautiful think coat of white around here.

I guess it's safe to say we'll have a white Christmas!

We were invited over to Randy and Cheryl's for dinner on Saturday. That should be fun. Although, since Cheryl's daughter is due on the 26th, we may get cancelled if she goes into labor. That would also be fun! :)

We don't have any other plans for Christmas. So it should be a "quiet" time with just the four of us. I say "quiet" because we won't have anywhere else to go, although I know that there will be nothing quiet about Joey opening his gifts! He is doing very well with the presents under the tree. Every morning he tries to get us to let him open one, but once we tell him how many days until Christmas, he leaves them alone. Pretty good for a toddler! Next year, we will have to keep them hidden until Christmas Eve night.

Baby Nick is loving his jumperoo. If he is not bouncing out of control, he is reaching for the toys on the tray to play with. He is also rolling around the room like a pro. As soon as I lay him on his back to play, he is rolling over. This morning, I laid him down on the floor, walked into the kitchen for a second, and when I came back out, he was halfway across the room!

I can hear Baby Nick doing his "business" so I better go change him!

First Solid Food

The art of eating solid food is definitely a leaned art. Baby Nick clearly has more learning to do. He did the best when I would hold the spoon in his mouth longer. It is quite difficult to film and feed at the same time!

Trying New Things

We tried the solid food this weekend! It was fun for awhile. I'm not sure he quite understands what he is supposed to do with it yet, and I'm certain he doesn't understand that it is food. About half way through the bowl, he started crying, clearly done with this foreign concept of eating from a spoon, and took a bottle instead. Oh well, we will keep trying a little every day until he gets used to it. I'm not worried, he is still young.


He is so funny when he is in his bouncer. He goes crazy in it and usually laughs. But when he gets tired of being in it, he starts crying to get out, but he can't stop himself from bouncing. So as I am trying to get him out, I have to move my hands up and down in time with his bouncing so I don't hit him.

Speaking of which, he wants to get out of his bouncer now!

Tracing Mommy's Hand

Joey is practicing a new talent....tracing hands. Here is an example of his early work, I'm sure will be very valuable when he becomes famous! I love how thin he makes my hand look!

Folding Clothes

Joey saw the mounds of clothes Mommy had to fold, so he decided to help. Without being asked, he started taking clothes out of the basket and "folding" them ever so nicely. This is the first time he has ever done that and I thought it was too cute. Of course, I'm not sure where he picked up his technique...it's a bit different than my own.

Ice Fishing

This morning, Nick took Joey ice fishing with Randy, Cheryl, and Jack. When they got there, they were still drilling the holes, which kind of scared Joey. He didn't want to go out on the ice unless he was being held. But, to me, that is just common sense; less chance of falling!

After they fished for about twenty minutes, they were all too cold to continue. So they warmed up with some hot chocolate. Then Joey and Jack played on the swings for awhile. Joey loves to swing. He's so cute all bundled up!

New Skill

Baby Nick can now roll over from back to tummy! I was so excited when I saw him tonight, almost get completely over. I called to Nick to come watch, because I figured he would complete the roll and I wanted him to be able to see. Then Nick says, "Oh, he rolled over earlier tonight." (While I was at the concert.) He hadn't even bothered to tell me, didn't even find it important enough to remember.

I hate missing out on the firsts of my kids. I'm the mom, its my right to be there for their firsts. But how exciting it is to watch him grow and learn new things. I knew it wouldn't be long before he would be able to roll over. I still can't believe that he rolled over from tummy to back at only 26 days old. Now at 4 months, he is rolling both ways.

I was just telling my sister the other day, that if Baby Nick is anything like her kids, he could be walking in just five months! I can't imagine. Hopefully, he will give me a little more time, but I will try to be prepared for anything.

Something that will definitely happen in five months is my oldest son will turn three years old. For some reason, I am having a very difficult time accepting that. He will go from being classified as a toddler, to being classified as a pre-schooler. Maybe it's because I am still having a hard time accepting the fact that we live so far away and my kids are missing out on being with the extended family. I have the strongest desire to keep my kids from growing any further while we are away and waiting until they can be observed by all those who love them. I know it's not possible, and I enjoy watching them grow so much, I wouldn't want to have to wait, but it just doesn't seem fair.

The closer we get to Christmas, the more I miss our families. I know we will have a great Christmas, and it will be nice to see what traditions we start for our own family, but there is nothing better than getting together with those you love, and celebrate together. It's nice to be kept busy, and have so many loved ones around that you find yourself breathless by the end of the holidays. This year, I'll have nothing but time to breathe. After the chaos of opening gifts with a toddler, it will be over, nothing more to do, no one else to see.

And the later it gets, the more melancholy I get. I better go to bed before I cry myself to sleep again.

Singing Christmas Tree

We have been rehearsing since the end of September, and finally, tonight we get to perform our Singing Christmas Tree program for the first time. I have never sang in a tree before, and it is really weird, because you can't hear the people around you as well. Sometimes I feel like I am the only alto and then there are times when I can hear the rest of my section fine.

Pastor said that they will put the program online, but because they are getting a new server, it won't be live. They won't be able to put it on the web until Tuesday. But once I find out all the information of where it will be and when it is available, I will let you all know so you can watch if you want.

The tree holds two challenges for me; heights and small spaces. The tree is 35 feet high! Thankfully, I am on the lowest tier, however, even then it is high enough off the ground to be comfortable. Also, there is hardly any width to the tiers, so as I am standing high off the ground, I am trying not to be nervous about being high up and trying not to freak out being in such a tight space. I seemed to do okay during dress rehearsal last night, so I should be fine.

Now I just have to survive the longevity of the weekend. We are singing tonight, Saturday night, and twice on Sunday. I will be at the church on Sunday from 3:00pm until around 9:00pm! It will be fun, but I will also look forward to it being over so I can breath. This will be the most time I spend away from my boys at one time, and I already miss them.

Just Like Aubrey

Bubba was just having a very difficult evening. Dinner is not ready yet and he was crabby. So I gave him some cheese, just like Mom did with my sister Aubrey.

Like magic, his crabbiness went away. Nick asked Joey, "Do you take after Aunt Aubrey?"

Joey says, "Yes." And nods his head.

Growing Boys

Bug saw the doctor today for his four month check up. She was very impressed with how well he is doing and how strong he is. He is scooting around a little on his tummy, and if he could just get his knees under him a little bit more, he would really be scooting. She was amazed at how well he could hold his head up, and how strong his back was.

Here's the breakdown on his size: Bug weighs 15 lbs and 14 oz and is in the 75th percentile for weight, down from the 90th percentile at his two month check up. Bug is 26 inches tall! He is in the 85th percentile for height, up from the 75th percentile at his two month check. His head circumference is 42.75cm, about the 60th percentile, up from the 50th percentile from his last check.

How does he compare to Joey at that age? Joey weighed 20 lbs 3oz, was 25.75 inches tall, and his head circumference was 45cm.

Dr. Bateman recommended starting Bug on solid food as he seems to be developmentally ready. She said that his drooling so much shows that he has produced the necessary enzymes to break down solid food, and because he can hold himself up so well, that is another sign he may be ready. So we will give it a try in the next week or so.

He did well with his shots, only cried for a minute. He needed some cuddling before getting him dressed and buckled in his car seat, but then fell asleep pretty quickly after that. The doctor confused me for a second when she first came in because she said, "How is this little Peanut doing?" I almost answered her at I am fine, but caught myself just in time to say that he was doing fine.

Baby Nick seems to be quite hungry right now, he keeps chomping on my chin, so I better get him fed before he gets too upset.

Sticker King

One of Joey's favorite things to play with right now is stickers. This is what happens when he is left to play with them by himself, without Mommy limiting his consumption. What better way to get rid of them? By the end of the night, they will be all over the floor, in which we will either step on them, getting them stuck to our socks, or have to scrape them off the hard floor. I hope I can remember to get them all off before they go through the washing machine.

Back to dinner prep.

Rudolph Has Landed At Our House

Yes, we have been visited by Rudolph, aka Joey. Aunt Frieda sent a package of gifts for Christmas, and in it, she included this adorable Rudolph Nose for Joey to play with. What you can't tell in the picture, is that it flashes a red light when you pull on the elastic band. Joey has gotten quite a kick out of it. Thank you so much Aunt Frieda. Thank you also for the bubble wrap. As soon as Joey saw the box, he asked, "Bubbles?" He has discovered that he can pop a lot at one time by walking on them. Now we have bubble wrap laying all over our living room floor and I can't even walk around without popping as I walk!

Joey has come up with a new nickname for Baby Nick. He has been calling him "Little Guy" lately. This morning, as Baby Nick was waking up from his nap, Joey goes into his room, climbs up on the crib, and says, "Hi Little Guy! Wake up?" Then he looks at me, points to Baby Nick and says, "This Little Guy."

December 12th, Four Months

Can you believe it? I hardly can. But it's true, Bug is four months old today. He will have his Well Child Check-up tomorrow, so I will find out how much he has grown. I don't think he is going to be close to twenty pounds (as Joey was at four months.) But he is growing so big. We started Joey on "solid" food (extra-runny rice cereal, hardly solid) around this time, but Bug is not ready yet. That is fine with me! He is so close to rolling over from his back to his tummy, he is reaching out and grabbing for things, and he is getting more vocal with "words" instead of screaming. Let's just say that I can tell already he is not going to be as soft spoken as his brother!

Look at him! Isn't he so cute?

Here is Bubba at four months, also incredibly cute.Here they are, being brothers. Joey looks a little exasperated at Mommy for taking more pictures. But at least I got one smiling!

I'll fill you in on the doctor's appointment tomorrow. Right now, Bug is tired of cooperating, so I better tend to his needs for awhile.

You're All Invited For Christmas

Come one, come all. We would love to have you stop by for Christmas. Oh, that's too bad, you can't make it. Well I know how busy we all get...maybe after the New Year. Let me give you a quick tour of our house dressed up for Christmas.

Here is our Christmas tree ordered especially from Oregon. So it wasn't ordered, but it makes me feel closer to home thinking that it was brought up here just for us.

Here are my candy dishes...decorative mugs make great candy dishes. One of these days I will actually put some candy in them!

This is Joey's favorite decorated area...he loves making all the music play, at the same time, all day long. This is my music box/snow globe collection.

Here are our stockings, hung by the "chimney" with care. So it's a staircase. I'm still very proud of the three of those stockings that I made with my own two hands. Mom, thank you so much for helping me with the pom-poms on Baby Nick's stocking. But you saw them, they were awful, even more so after being packed away and moved, so I took them off and improvised!

Here is our table all set with our Christmas dishes, courtesy of my Mother-in-law. Even if we weren't having company, I think I would set all four settings just so I could feel like we were having someone over.

Dinner went very well tonight. You can't take my word for it, but apparently the salmon was very good. The steak was done to perfection, the garlic smashed potatoes were delicious, and the broccoli was brilliant. To top off a wonderful dinner, the Hot Apple Pie A la Mode drinks we served were warming and the pumpkin cheesecake was creamy goodness. Randy and Cheryl are good company. They enjoy Joey's antics rather than be bothered by them. They are not even offended by Baby Nick's spit up.

The one downfall to the evening was quite literally a downfall. The cheesecake recipie makes two cheesecakes, and while transferring them fom the oven to the fridge, one of the spingform pans sprang open, and the cake came flying out of the bottom, hurtling to the ground, face down, on the floor of the fridge and the freshly mopped kitchen floor. Mom, there was no way I could get this dessert back in the pan, spinkle powdered sugar over the top, and call it good! Oh well, that;s life. At least Joey sat on the floor with me and hugged me while I cried. The night was still good over all.

A Little Piece of Home for Christmas

We got our Christmas tree this morning. I already feel more like Christmas. The best part....the tree came from McKenzie Farms in Molalla, Oregon. I know it's no big deal, but it is kind of nice to have a piece of "home" for Christmas.

I can't wait to finish decorating. I will take pictures of all our decorations and post them later so that you can all come "visit" for Christmas.

I have much to do....make the pumpkin cheesecakes, finish cleaning, finish decorating, and getting dinner ready, all before company comes over at 5pm.

Busy, busy.

Have a blessed day.

Fifin Time!

It's Fifin time! We are going to get a Fifin tree on Saturday. Joey can't wait to open his Fifin presents, and sees Fifin decorations everywhere. Whenever he sees decorations, he says, "Look! Fifin!" He is so excited, he's jumping up and down at every mention of Fifin!

(Have you figured it out yet? Can you see how I might have a hard time recognizing he's talking about Christmas?)

I'm sitting here at the computer while Joey is "tickling" Daddy and Joey is laughing harder than Nick is. What's more, Baby Nick is laying on the floor laughing hysterically at the sounds he hears above him. Never had I wished I had a camera that recorded sound more than right now. Listening to my two sons laughing with their Daddy, even when Baby Nick can't see what's going on, is way too cute!

Joey has learned a new skill, walking backwards. He has been practising all day. I have only seen him walk backwards in the kitchen, but he is getting quite good at it. He'll walk into the kitchen and say, "I'm walking back here. (which is supposed to be 'backwards.")

Baby Nick is getting to an age where he is staying awake more during the day and starting to interact more with the things around him. It is so enjoyable to watch. I thought that it would be "old hat" after watching Joey grow up, but it is just as exciting to me. I get just as excited watching Bug reaching for a toy or keeping hold of his rattle as I do watching Joey walk backwards. I love being a mommy. I know that is what God created me to be.

Jumping Bug

What you are watching is Bug's first time in his Jumperoo, ever. He is learning how it works. Since taking this video (20 minutes ago) he has already gotten much more efficient. He seems to really enjoy it, even if he's not smiling. He doesn't seem to reach the floor as well as Joey did, but I think that is because he is not nearly as close to the twenty pounds Joey was at this age! How fun to watch him!

Eating Snow

I'm afraid that it wasn't the best idea to show Joey that snow is okay to eat. Ever since then, he has been licking the snow off the floor that has been tracked in from outside. Last night, I even caught him licking the snow off the bottom of Daddy's work boots! Talk about disgusting. He is such a silly boy.

Yesterday, he was being silly and I asked him if he was goofy. He said, "I'm a goof ball!" I guess he told me...to him, 'Goofy' is a character, not a characteristic.

Bug is sitting on his Daddy's lap and laughing hysterically. No one can get him laughing like Nick can. This is a time I wish my camera could record sound as well, so I could share his laughter with you. Although, for both my sons, whenever they laugh real hard, they get the hiccups. I don't know why, but it happens to both of them.

Accomplishment

Christmas cards are in the mail!! Nearly 40 cards, stuffed with pictures of the family, are sitting in the mailbox waiting to be picked up and sent out to everybody. Now I only have a thousand more things to do to get ready for Christmas. Can it be only twenty days away?

Nothing warms my heart more than watching my boys together. Joey just climbed up in the chair with Baby Nick and said, "Hi B-Nick" and gave him a kiss on the head. When B-Nick is crying, Joey will come up to him and say, "It's okay, shhh. I'm here." Of course, there are other times when he'll say, "Come awwwn, that's nuff!" (I guess he listens a little to closely to Mommy, unless I'm trying to get him to obey me!)

Yesterday, Joey came up to me and said, "I'm a pirate! Ha ha ha!" in a very growly voice. He is getting so imaginative. He's been a pirate, a monster, a dragon, and any time he wears a stocking cap with a puff ball on top, he's Santa!

Baby Nick still loves chomping on his fist, or as many fingers as he can cram in his mouth. He loves to be sitting up looking at the world, he doesn't like to be held in a reclining position. He is definitely interested in what's going on around him.

The housework is calling my name...better get to it.

Busy Baby

So its not very exciting, but it gives you a glimpse of how "busy" Bug is when he plays. This also gives you a glimpse of what I was feeling while he was still inutero!

Tuckered Out

The day we played out in the snow, Nick came home from lunch because I needed the car to go grocery shopping. So, on our way back to the house to get warm, Nick showed up, so we left right away, never getting a chance to warm up. After dropping Nick back off at work, we went straight to the store and it was late afternoon before we got back. Joey was exhausted! As I was putting groceries away, Joey sat in the chair with his baby brother....this is what happened.

He fell asleep right on Bug! Too bad Bug was getting uncomfortable, because I had to slide him out from under Bubba, which woke Bubba up, so he only got a three minute nap!

Joey loves to "play the tubop." He takes the turkey baster out of the drawer, sticks the end in his mouth and hums the VeggieTales theme song tune. He usually asks me to sing "talk a mato" while he is playing his "tubop." When I get to the end of the first part, Joey smiles big and says, "Jew gob, Mommy." Translation: Good Job. (He mixes up the beginning sounds!)

I am still trying to capture a good video of Bug in action...but the only action I get out of him while the camera is rolling is screaming (which is only slightly less fun watching than hearing) or spitting up (which is not pleasant.) So one of these days, I will post a video of Bug so you can see how "busy" he is.

I get to pick up our family pictures today! That means I should have Christmas cards out in the mail by tomorrow! I am so excited to get pictures back, they are so cute. Nick should be here in a few minutes to drop the van off, so I better get the boys ready. It takes about ten minutes to pack up!

The Fun of Bubble Wrap

Joey has just discovered bubble wrap. He loves it! Nick brought some home from work so we could pack a couple of boxes to send home and I left the rest of the roll on the table so he could take it back to work, and I come home from running an errand and Joey has taken it down off the table, unrolled it, layed down across it and started popping to his hearts' content! So much for trying to take the excess back to work. Oh well, it is so fun to watch him experience the joy of bubble wrap.

I went to church early this morning because the chior was singing, but the boys stayed home as Bubba didn't go to sleep until after 2am. When I came home, Joey, who hadn't seen me before I left, noticed the nylons I was wearing. This was the first time he had seen me wear nylons. (I can't even remember the last time I wore them.) He got down on his knees and rubbed his hands along the nylons. Then he laughed. I asked him what he thought they were. Joey said, "Big banny." (Which is big bandaid!) I cracked up!

Baby Nick has been sleeping in his crib, in his own room, for the last two nights! Oh joy of joys. Joey slept all night in his big boy bed on Friday night, but we weren't so lucky last night. Hopefully we will start working in the right direction. He's actually asked to sleep in his big boy bed, so that's good.

We will be decorating the house for Christmas this week, and should get our tree next weekend. This is usually my favorite time of year, and although it is my first year away from those I'm closest to, I still want to make the most of it. I love how the house looks with all the Christmas decorations, and how the tree makes the whole house smell wonderful. I can't help but enjoy myself being surrounded Christmas.

Make A Wish

Last weekend, as I was tearing up the turkey carcas to boil it for soup, I accidently cracked one side of the wishbone. It wasn't broken all the way through, but it would never hold up to making a wish. But I kept it anyway and let it dry, in hopes that Nick wouldn't notice it. So on Thursday, before I left for choir, I held the wishbone up to Nick and said, "Make a wish." (Of course I gave him the broken side, knowing I would get to make my wish!) Unfortunately, he caught on before we started pulling on it for real. I had a good laugh!

Yesterday, when we were playing in the snow, my son displayed his brilliance once again. He made a hand print in the snow, with his mitten on and said, "Look, letter Q" And sure enough, with the mittens on, it kind of did look like the letter 'Q', a rounded top and a tail off to the side (from the thumb!)

However, he is not showing himself to be that brilliant with his new habit of sticking his tongue out at Mommy and Daddy when he is upset! Too bad it's so cute. I might be a more effective disciplinarian if I wasn't chuckling at him, while trying to tell him "NO!"

There are a couple more pictures I wanted to share, but there is something wrong with the site and it won't give me the toolbar that has all the options on it. I will keep trying.

Today, there was a knock and the door and Joey gets real excited and says, breathlessly, "Grandma Mary?" No. "Nanny?" No. "Grandpa Chucks?" No. "Papa Buddy?" No. I was so tired of telling him all the people that it wasn't, all I wanted to say was "Yes yes yes yes!" I can't wait until next summer when I can finally tell him that we actually get to see some of his most treasured loved ones.

Snow Angel

Here is the promised video of Joey making his snow angel! He is so precious. He got really good and moving his legs, but his arms still need a little work. Also, we will need to work on being able to move both the arms and legs and the same time! He had so much fun in the snow. Here's thing of you, Aunt Angie (in Texas!)

Snow Ball

Bubba is trying to make a snowball. First, the mittens are too big, but they don't really come any smaller. And who can move their hands in mittens anyway? Second, the type of snow we get up here is not the greatest for making snowballs. Basically, Joey just picked up a handful of snow and called it good!

Playing In The Snow

Here is Joey's tiny snowball. It started out with lots of snow, but the snow is so soft that the more you try to pack it, the more it falls apart. Then, trying to hand it to a boy with mittens on that are too big, just made the snowball smaller!
Here is the snow angel I promised for Aunt Angie in Texas. This was Joey's first attempt and I must say he did a great job....video coming soon!


This is how we bundle Baby Nick, inside Mommy's coat. I'm the only photographer here during the day, so I tried getting a picture with my arm extended and not looking at what I actually got...not too bad.
He is so cute, even from this close up. Again, it is kind of hard getting a good picture while he is bundled right up against my chest.
Big smiles. He's so happy to actually play outside for a change! It's usually too cold.
Mommy taught him that eating certain snow is okay, as long as Mommy or Daddy is with him. He loved it! He said, "That's delicious."
I love snow on trees, I think it is so beautiful!

The First of December

It's hard to imagine that it is already the first of December. Only 30 more days of 2006. Some things I am most looking forward to in 2007 are the vacations of my Mom and Dad, my brother Josh and his family, and my uncle and aunt, John and Cindy. Why? Because they are vacationing in Alaska...which means I will get to see family!!! Of course, not until summer, but I can still start counting down the days!

The choir only has four more rehearsals before we perform our Christmas program. It is going very well. The tree has been put up in the sanctuary, and I believe it is 35 feet tall! I hope I can request a low "branch!" Pastor wants to start recording on Tuesday so we can have CD's for people so they can continue to enjoy the music. We are also filming the performances so videos can be made as well.

Last night at practice, Tina (the lady I went to college with) asked me if I were going to the Women's Tea tonight. I hadn't even heard about it. It's a potluck, and Tina insisted that I come and sit at her table. It was so nice to be invited. I had more fun at choir last night than I ever had because Tina sat next to me...it was just like old times in choir in college. Not that we sat next to each other in college, but it was the connection, not only to my past, but to something familiar that was so nice. I get so little connection to anything familiar up here.

Nick is on call this week, so if he gets a call tonight while I'm at the Tea, I will have to leave so he can have the van. I pray that if he does get called, it won't be anything that he has to leave home for. I could really use this time to be with other adults. I love my kids, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere but home with them during the day, but sometimes, I just need a little more grown-up conversation.

It snowed last night. I don't know how much yet, but at least we have a nice pretty covering of white again. The days are noticeably shorter now. The sun didn't rise this morning until 9:46am! No wonder my kids sleep in until ten or later. They are still asleep now, and it is almost half past ten. The sun is scheduled to set at 3:52pm, so we are only getting six hours of daylight. That's still enough for now, but I know the days are just going to keep getting shorter.

I should go check on my kids, make sure neither has rolled out of our bed!
Have a fantastic Friday and enjoy this first day of the month!

Little Dipper

Joey loves to dip any food that he can...french fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken nuggets, etc. He dips in ketchup, mayonnaise/mustard dip, ranch, and he new dip "bye-guh-boo" sauce. Yes, that is barbeque sauce! He also knows that when grilling, the bye-guh-boo is hot!

He likes to watch the preschool aged cartoons on the Disney channel, and one of his favorite shows is Handy Manny. It's about a handyman and his tools who help out their friends around town, fixing things. The tools are Turner (a flat head screwdriver), Felipe (a Phillips head screwdriver), Rusty (a wrench), Dusty (a saw), Squeeze (pliers), Stretch (measuring tape), and Pat (he's a hammer). Joey will play Handy Manny around the house. He has a wooden tool set and when he uses a particular tool, he'll say, "A screwdriver like Turner." The other day, he started talking about "Oh leapin'" and I couldn't quite figure out what he was trying to say. Finally he said, "A screwdriver like Oh leapin'!" He was trying to say Felipe! I got a good chuckle out of that one. At least now I know.

I don't want to jinx myself, but Baby Nick has been sleeping through the night for about a week now. He starts out laying on my chest, and when he is asleep enough to move, I transfer him to his bassinet. He is turning out to be a tummy sleeper like his brother, which is funny because he still doesn't like being on his tummy when he's awake. But it seems to be working during the night. When he starts waking up in the morning, I can usually put him back on my chest and he will give me another hour or two of rest! One of these nights I will try walking him into his bedroom and laying him in his crib to see if he will still sleep through the night.

Stand Up

Most of you know that my kids are some of the most precious, angelic kids that you can know. However, Joey is two and a half, and with that comes some normal behavioral quirks. Let's just say that he is very good at being two!

This video has no sound, so I will explain. This is what we go through every night trying to get Joey dressed for bed. Nick is asking Joey to stand up in order to put his pants on.....it takes several tries!

Translation

If the picture is still too small to see Aubrey's translation, this is what she said:

Jesse's translation (just in case!):
"Hi my name is Jesse. I like you Trinity and you are a joy to be around." The dashes are spaces and he is a little confused about his new favorite symbol "&". He doesn't quite understand that it replaces the entire word "and".

Precious Words

I had a good birthday. My kids were fairly good, my husband and I enjoyed our time out, and I got to talk to Megan, Mom, Aubrey, Grandma Dooley, and my Dad (Scott). This morning, Megan was the first to call...she called about 9:00am (which was 10:00am her time) and said that she called as soon as she woke up! Oh, the wonderful memories of sleeping in until 10am! Just as we were getting off the phone, my Mom called. I only got to talk to her for about a minute, because Aubrey was ringing in on the other line!

So I talked to Aubrey for awhile and she told me how all weekend she had been telling her kids that Aunt Trinity's birthday was on Monday. Then yesterday, she told them that my birthday was tomorrow. So this morning, Sarina tells her mom that it is Aunt Trinity's birthday today! How sweet to be remembered!

As we were leaving to drop the boys off at Randy and Cheryl's, we stopped at the mailbox and I got a sweet card from Aubrey and her family. I posted it so you can read what Jesse wrote. It will be easier to see if you enlarge the picture (double click on it). And if necessary, Aubrey provided a translation in the upper right hand portion of the card. Sarina also wrote her own message, and even though Aubrey didn't offer a translation, I can tell that she wrote "Happy Birthday Aunt Trinity. I love you and miss you. We are not going over to your house anymore." What a sweetie!

House of Goof Balls

We are a house of goof balls. Nick tries to claim that I am the biggest goof ball, but I think that in his short life, Bubba has far surpassed me! Last night, Nick was in the other room with Joey, when Joey came in to deliver a message. He looks at me and says, "Mommy, I'm a goof ball." I was chuckling at him when I heard Nick yell from the other room, "No Joey, you're supposed to say Mommy's a goof ball!" Well, I guess Joey knows best!

Baby Nick is getting so strong. He is working on rolling over from his back to his tummy. It might still be awhile, but he is getting closer. He arches his head so it seems as if it may touch his back, and will roll over almost all the way on his side. It is only a matter of time before he gets all the way over.

I get to go on another date tonight! This will be the second date since Bug was born, and it hasn't even been four months. That is pretty impressive. Tonight, Nick and I are going to see a movie for my birthday. We got two tickets for our anniversary from Randy and Cheryl, so we thought we would use them for my birthday so we wouldn't have to spend any money. We are going to see The Santa Clause 3. I love Christmas movies. Because it is my birthday, I get to choose the movie, and Nick has to happily see whatever I want to see! He's good about seeing movies that I want to see.

Bug just woke up from a nap, and Joey just fell asleep in the recliner, so I better put Bug down and carry Joey upstairs.

The Verdict Is In...

Joey has pneumonia. Just a little. So he was given an antibiotic that he has to take for ten days. I don't know if it was the medicine, the orange drink he had with his Happy Meal, or a combination of both, but he was bouncing off the walls until well past midnight tonight. It is so nice to see him feel better. It's as if he wanted to make up for all the playing he missed out on in this one night.

We'll still keep an close eye on him over the next few days, because the doctor said he may run a slight fever tomorrow as he is starting to heal, but if he still has a fever by Sunday they will want to see him again. She also wants us to keep an eye on his breathing. Right now, he is breathing faster than he normally would, but she wants us to look for him struggling to breathe, as they would want to see him then too. So far, I have been very impressed with this pediatrics office. We saw Dr. McCartherr tonight, not our pediatrician. In the course of the conversation, we found out that she is from Eugene and did her residency in Oregon! Both doctors that we have seen have had an Oregon connection.

Hopefully, Joey will be able to sleep better than he did last night. Once we all laid down, it didn't take more than five or ten minutes for him to fall asleep. I wish I could do that. But, once again, all my boys are sleeping and I am wide awake aching to be able to sleep.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. I know that this year, I haven't done my best at thanking God for what I do have...I have been much better and being bitter about what I don't have; my family nearby. Forgive me.
Here are my handsome sons, whom I am forever thankful for. Their outfits are courtesy of Grandma Mary. Thank you so much Mom. I missed you this year, missed making an apple pie for you.

Poor Bubba has had a cold for the last week. This one is really bad. We are taking him in to see the doctor this evening on the advice of the advice nurse at the doctor's office. Usually I wouldn't have called because of a cold, but he has also been getting at least one fever a day for the last five days or so. Hopefully, it will be nothing but a cold, but if it turns out to be something else, I would rather know and be able to treat it. (It's kind of reminiscent of when Nick got bronchitis last year.)

Bubba has had little appetite the last few days and has hardly had anything to drink either, so there is also the concern of him getting dehydrated. He has done better this morning, but if he doesn't start drinking more, I will go get some popsicles, because I know he will eat those! I am encouraged that he has already eaten 2 dinner rolls and some mashed potatoes and gravy this morning and is almost done with his first glass of juice. (That may not seem like much for being a half past noon, but he has only been up for two hours!)

I also set up an appointment for Baby Nick's four month check up. It's hard to imagine he will be four months in just a couple of weeks. He's starting to reach out for things, such as the Pooh Bear that hangs from his Pooh mat. He love laying on the mat, he laughs all the time. Although, right now he is screaming because Mommy is taking too long, he's very tired and will probably be asleep as soon as I pick him up.

I had to pause in my blogging because I heard Joey putting his juice cup in the dishwasher. It was amazing, he put the lid in the silverware tray and the cup on the top shelf. Unfortunately, he screamed when I had to take them out, not understanding that the dishes in the dishwasher were clean. So I had him help me put the clean dishes away and load the dirty ones up and start the dishwasher. All is well. Now it is time to make things all well with my Bug.

Looking Forward

Ever since Sunday, when we told Joey we would be going over to Cathy's for Thanksgiving, he has been looking forward to it. Every few minutes, Joey will remind me, "See Cafee, Sink Gibbon, be fun!" My response, "Yes, it will be fun to see Cathy on Thanksgiving!"

It is hard to get Joey to understand that sometimes we don't have what he wants. A typical breakfast conversation goes like this: "Wanna pie tart." "We don't have any poptarts." "NO! Wanna pie tart." "Sorry, Joey there are no poptarts left." "Wanna zert." "We don't have any dessert, and you need to eat something for breakfast first." "NO! Want apple pie." "I'm not making the apple pie until Thanksgiving. You can have cereal, toast, or a waffle." "Zert?" "No. You can have a waffle." "Peanut butter and seer-up?" "Yes, you may have peanut butter and syrup on your waffle."

Oh the pleasure of speaking with a toddler, almost exclusively!

Daddy Popped Lellow Balloon

To encourage good behavior while getting his haircut, the stylist blew up a yellow balloon for Joey. Joey loves balloons and he carried it with him throughout the rest of the day. When we picked Daddy up from helping Randy and Cheryl move, Daddy just had to play with the balloon too. Joey kept asking for it, but Daddy had to hit it up in the air just one more time. Well, the inevitable happened. Instead of giving the balloon back to his son, Daddy popped it!

As Nanny and Aunt Aubrey well know, Joey has a very long memory (for months, Joey kept talking about the time Rina hit him on the head with a hammer!) So, for the last three days, Joey keeps talking about Daddy popping the balloon! Nick came home for lunch today and Joey said to me, "Daddy popped balloon!" I'm sure that he will be scarred for many days.

Joey is getting excited to have Thanksgiving over at Cathy's. All day he has been asking to see Cathy. (He doesn't quite understand that Thanksgiving is still a few days away.) I am trying to get him to say "Thanksgiving" and finally he got it. Joey says, "Happy Sink Gibbon!"

The Blessing of Family

As we were frantically trying to get all four of us ready to get our family pictures taken today, I got a phone call from Cathy, my second cousin who lives here in Anchorage. I had tried to reach her before, but because of circumstances in her life, it is very difficult to reach her. I had left her a message about a month ago, but she was just now able to get back to me.

She called to invite us to have Thanksgiving with her family! She said her boys (ages 17 and 18) were pumped to have our boys over (even before we accepted the invite.) Since we had just bought our Thanksgiving fixings last night, I told her I would bring our small turkey and mashed potatoes. She is going to get another small turkey (they are each about ten pounds) so that we have enough to feed four teenagers. She also asked if I knew how to cook candied yams, so I told her I would bring them too. I will also bake an apple pie. I couldn't bring myself to just buy a dessert if I were going to be a guest at someone's house. I would have made a pumpkin cheesecake, but they will already have pumpkin pie.
This picture was taken to show you how young my son is, and already starting to get "fresh" with the ladies. Of course, its just Mommy, so maybe I shouldn't worry too much.

I Miss Lanette

Yesterday, we got Joey's haircut for the first time since moving to Alaska. Up until now, Joey has only gotten his haircut by one person, Lanette. (With the exception of the one time my sister-in-law cut his hair while she was on a visit from Texas, and she did a fantastic job.) Picking a new hairstylist is just as nerve-wracking as choosing a new doctor. So I decided to go to Great Clips, where Nick gets his hair cut. (Also, I didn't have time to set an appt.) This was supposed to be a place where professional hairstylists work. I have never been so disappointed! This is what I got.
The lady who cut his hair even asked me how I like it cut, and she didn't do anything that I said. Granted, Joey was having a very hard morning and wasn't as cooperative as usual, but that doesn't mean she had to do a poor job. For the sides and back, she used the clippers instead of scissors, which is fine, it was much faster (and since Joey was already crying, it was good to go fast.) However, she didn't even take enough time to make sure that it was even. It doesn't look as bad as the front, but I can see the unevenness. In regards to the front, the lady who cut his hair did just about the opposite of what I asked. I realize that when combed over to the side, the hair doesn't look as uneven, but Joey's hair does not stay combed over to the side all day long, so when it falls forward, as it is in the picture, it looks horrible. And I don't comb his hair over to the right, as she cut his hair, I comb it more to the left. Lanette and Angie had no problem understanding what I liked to do with his hair and were able to do a handsome job even with my limited capacity to make myself understood. I MISS LANETTE! I suppose next time we need his hair cut, I will just have to fly my sister-in-law up from Texas to cut his hair! (I wish!!)
This is why we call Bug, "Puke Boy!" He is constantly spitting up, and then before we can get him cleaned up, he rubs his face in it, spreading it from ear to ear, and often, from forehead to chin! What is more, he usually looks up at us with the goofiest grin afterwards, as if knowing that he is too adorable to get upset at! (This does not bode well for the future....his brother is still like that!)

Well, today is spring cleaning day! Nick and I have to be whirlwinds to get everything done today. That should be interesting with the boys, they still haven't learned to cooperate at the same time. Hopefully Joey will feel in the helpful mood and be of more assistance than hindrance. Better get going....lots to do, little time.

Potty Training Update

Well, Joey is still not potty trained. We have relaxed on the "training" and just let him lead us. We still keep him in pull-ups. He will ask several times a day to go potty. That is encouraging. However, he still hasn't gone on the toilet once! He does at least try, though. Every time he goes into the bathroom, he'll sit on the toilet, put one square of toilet paper in, and then say, "Done trying. I'll pwuhsh." Then he gets up, flushes the toilet, and goes about his day. My hope, is that one of these times, he will actually go, even if he is not intending to, and will see how easy it is and we can go from there.

Baby Nick is getting so strong! He is working on pulling his head forward, even when he is already in an upright position. He still doesn't like tummy time on the floor, but at least he is doing better at playing on the floor as long as he is on his back. I try to give him tummy time every day so he gets used to it, but he either rolls over immediately, or screams until I put him back on his back. I guess I shouldn't be too much in a hurry to get him used to being on his tummy, because he will probably find out pretty quickly that he can move around that way, and once he starts, there will be no stopping him!

Nick stays very busy at work. He has at least 10-12 hours worth of work to do everyday, but he only gets 8 hours in which to complete it. Needless to say, he is always trying to catch up. I wish there was something more I could do to help him. They should be getting new computers by the beginning of December, and maybe that will help speed the process up, even if it doesn't make less work. Right now he is working on a computer so old, it reminds me of our old Commodore 64! (There were some fun games we played on that computer though!)

I can't believe Thanksgiving is just six days away! I would love to say that I am looking forward to it, and I am very thankful for so many things, but I dread not being close to any extended family. I'm sure we will have a fine day, with just the four of us. It's hard to think about fixing an entire Thanksgiving feast for only two and a half eaters. Although, it won't be an entire feast, I think we are only planning on a few dishes, leaving out some of those traditional favorites we both look forward to. I'm even contemplating buying a dessert instead of making one (which is a huge change for me.) I get offended by Nick any time he volunteers me bringing dessert somewhere and then suggests I just buy something! But here I am not seeing much point in making some fancy dessert for just us. (Horrible, isn't it?)

My mom and sisters are having a girls weekend at the beach this weekend. I pray they are all kept safe and have an awesome time of fun and bonding. I wish I were there with them. I'd even trade my sister-in-laws' 40 degree weather in Texas for my 12 degree weather here! With my two hot water bottles of sons sitting on my lap, I am still freezing! Oh well, just five more months of this weather!

Where Did He Learn That?

For the last couple of days, Joey has been "washing dishes", which is to say that he will take his dishes up to the counter! I would love to take credit for him learning that responsibility, however, I can not honestly take the credit. I haven't even ever asked him to bring the dishes to the counter. He is so special.

I hope that all the things in his life that he will learn without my knowing where he learned it will be this positive! (Keep dreaming, right?)

Here are all my men, sitting together, loving on each other! It is such a joy to see.

To tell you how baby Nick is doing, I will list some of his situational nicknames; Truly Drooly Boy, Puke Boy, Stink Bug...and so forth. But isn't he just the cutest? (I think we will keep him around for awhile longer!)

Futile

Ever wonder why "child-proof" means more hassle for the adults and no problem for the child? I remember my cousin Gregory helping his mom opening the "child-proofed" medicine bottles when he was just a toddler.

We have put child-proof door locks on a few select doors in our place; the front door (because Joey can reach and unlock the deadbolt), the downstairs bathroom (more for privacy of the occupant and to save toilet paper), and the coat closet which is where we have our DVD shelf. Joey loves to tear apart that shelf, and since I have our movies alphabetized for easier locating, I don't like him to have access to them. As of yesterday, the door locks have become futile! I have personally witnessed him opening both the closet door to choose several movies at a time, and the bathroom door when he want to try to go potty! He hasn't as of yet tried the front door...if he ever does, I may need to get an extra lock for higher up on the door. Although, I think that he can only open the doors when the child proof lock is in exactly the right position, so I may have some extra time.

Joey and I have been working on his meal time prayers. Usually, he repeats after me "Thank you Jesus, for this food and bless it to my body. Amen." He prays in a whisper. Tonight I had him pray all by himself for the first time. He was so cute. In an almost inaudible whisper, he said, "Taintoo Jesus for a food, bless da body. Amen" What a good boy.

I have only six minutes before I am supposed to leave for choir and I still have to eat dinner, brush my teeth, and put my shoes on. I better hurry!

EWWZZZAT?

Joey has really been enjoying my sister-in-law's blog lately. She has posted lots of pictures of her amazing family and even a couple videos. Every time I sit down at the computer, he asks to see the pictures again and watch the videos. He will sit on my lap and point to each picture asking, "Ewwzzat?" Then he will answer himself, "It's Sassy!" or "Uncle Paul." He can even recognize and name Abby and Rony!

Bug has been more vocal lately, in a positive way. Right now, he is laying on the floor on his play mat just talking up a storm. He is so cute when he laughs! He is at the stage now where he recognizes Mommy and Daddy better and smiles every time he sees us. He is in the bad habit (my fault) of sleeping only when he is being held. Lately, even at night, as soon as I lay him down in his bed, he will wake back up. So I am either up all night, or I have to sleep with a baby on my chest. Bug will sleep just fine that way, he sleeps all night, with the occasional search for his pacifier. But I, on the other hand, have to stay conscious enough not to let the pacifier fall off the side of the bed and be able to pop it back in when he needs it. So, needless to say, I am getting even less sleep than before. I am starting an experiment today that I hope will help. I am going to put an electric blanket in his crib to warm his mattress...then when I am ready to lay him down, I will remove the blanket, and hopefully the mattress will be warm enough that he will stay asleep. We'll see if it helps. I want to start transitioning him from the bassinet in our room, to the crib in his room. Maybe if I can get Baby Nick in his room, Joey will want to sleep in his room too. Wouldn't it be nice for Nick and I to have our bed back?! Although, we both agree that we will kind of miss Bubba in bed, he's so snugly and lovable.

The weather is getting colder. It's currently 4 degrees outside, but we are experiencing high winds, and with the windchill, it feels like 13 below zero! Any time I walk outside, I can't take a full breath because the cold air hurts my lungs. We have had very little snow compared to what they consider normal, and it doesn't look like its supposed to snow at all this week. Nick really wants it to snow more. The only good thing about it snowing more is that the clouds would come in and it would warm up a touch. Although, I still don't think that 20 degrees is all that warm, but it is a whole lot warmer than 13 below!

Keep warm today, for my sake! :)