Last Day Of April

I can't believe that the month of April has already flown past. Tomorrow starts the month of May. In five days, my precious Joey will turn three years old! I'm still not ready for it. It is one thing to realize that your baby is no longer a baby, but a toddler. It is quite another for your toddler to become a pre-schooler. (It's extra scary to realize that in just three months, Baby Nick will celebrate his first birthday!)

The weather has been beautiful lately. Temperatures have been in the mid fifties, for the most part. Yesterday, the high temperature was recorded at Elmendorf AFB at 59 degrees! The sun is rising before 6am and setting after 10pm. Baby Nick woke up at a quarter of five this morning and it was already getting light out. With the sun not setting until after 10pm, it stays 'dusky' out until well after 11pm. I can handle the light much more than I can handle the dark, but it still gets hard to feel like it is time to go to bed when it still looks like seven o'clock at eleven o'clock.

Hopefully, we will have a beautiful drive up to Fairbanks tomorrow. I will have both the camera and video camera for those 'photo' moments. Last time Nick went to Fairbanks, he saw a large herd (gaggle, pack, posse..whatever) of caribou. I would love to be able to capture something like that on camera.
Nick took this picture of Joey eating a grilled turkey and cheese sandwhich because he thought it was so funny how long the cheese could string. There is nothing better than a stringy cheese sandwich!
"Hello. So, guess what? We go to church on Sunday!" Do you know who Joey is talking too? NOBODY! The phone isn't even turned on. But he loves to talk on the phone, so even when no one is on the other line, he is jabbering away. I think it is very cute (but kind of scary) that he looks like a teenage girl with a phone glued to her ear! (Aubrey, didn't you spend at least 75% of your teen years like this??!?!?)

Today, April 30th, 2007, Baby Nick has cut his third tooth! His left front tooth has barely , and finally, cut through. I had a feeling it was close because of how much Baby Nick slept yesterday. On Sundays, he doesn't get his first nap until we get home from church, so his first nap was three hours long! It is not very often when he naps for that long. By a quarter of eight last night, he was acting tired again, so we put him down for what we were sure would just be a catnap. He didn't wake up until 4:45am! After eating, he went right back to sleep for the next two hours, until Daddy got up for work. Sure enough, this morning, I felt the tooth had finally broken through.

My kids are begging from my attention, so I better take care of the important things!

Found A Park

I am so excited....last night when we went for a walk after dinner, we found a little park nearby! It doesn't have any swings (which is Joey's favorite) but it does have a couple of play structures with slides. It was so fun watching Joey play. Even Baby Nick got into some of the action. He was all smiles on the teeter-totter and the slide. We even let Joey hold Baby Nick and go down the slide together! Next time, I will bring the cameras. If I had known we were going to find a park, I would have brought the cameras last night.

It was so much fun to watch the boys play together on the walk, too. They were both in strollers, and we would 'walk' them side by side, and they would look over at each other and laugh! It was way too cute. I will have to try to get a video of that as well.

There is not much going on here. Joey is typing right now, with Mommy's help. It is slow going. Okay, it's bedtime for the Bubbers.

Congratulations, Megan, on Basic Training Graduation!! I can't wait to be able to talk to you again. We love you and miss you and are very extremely, ever so proud of you!!!

Mini Vacation

We are going on a mini vacation next week. Since Nick's business trip to Fairbanks was cut short last week, he is required to go back next week. We decided to make it a family journey. There is an apartment above the office that we could stay at. Although it may be difficult to keep the kids entertained and still quiet enough not to disturb business downstairs, we still thought it would be a good way for me to be able to see more of Alaska. Not to mention, I have family up in Fairbanks that I haven't seen in five years!

My dad's brother, Roger, and his wife Barb live in Fairbanks. I emailed them to let them know we would be up there and to see if we could get together sometime while we are there. They have never met Nick or our sons...and I love showing off my boys. I got an email back saying we were welcome to stay with them. It was such a generous offer. It will be so much easier to keep the boys entertained without worrying about disturbing a business. In a further email, they told me they have a trampoline and a play structure out back. Joey will have a blast! It will be so great to see them again, as well.

The one drawback....since we got rid of our cell phones, we will be out of phone contact for a few days! Oh well. I suppose I will live. (It's not like I get a call everyday.)

It's so nice when my boys go to bed easily! I actually have a few sane moments during my evening before going to bed myself. Well, not exactly sane, but at least it is easier to pretend!

Happy Birthday Mom! Hope you have a great day and a wonderful weekend at the beach!

Ladies Night

Saturday night was Ladies Night. Sarah set the whole thing up. We all met over at Shelly's house (a lady I had met a couple times before.) There were six of us ladies there; Shelly, Sarah, Kim, Terry, and Brittany. I had met Kim at the birthday party for Alice, but I hadn't met Terry of Brittany before.

I was the first one there and had a few moments to speak with Shelly. She asked me what I thought about Alaska. Trying to be nice and honest at the same time, I was conservative in my answer. It turns out, her husband is in the Air Force and they had just moved up a month or so before I did. She and I share the same opinion about being here. I felt validated and understood for the first time since being here. We both feel that once we move away, we will happily leave Alaska and never look back. But we also agree that at anytime, God could say to us, "Today you will change your opinion." I just pray that if that day comes, I will be open to listen and not stubborn in my dislike.

When the other ladies showed up, we watched Jane Eyre, based off the novel by Charlotte Bronte. I loved it! I am very interested in reading the book now, which is a classic that I have never chose to pick up before. I am very 'one-track minded' when it comes to books. I don't branch out and read a new book unless I know and like the author, or a book is recommended to me by someone who knows what types of books I like. My Mom is the best person I go to for a new book or author. I trust her opinion and share many of her tastes in books. But I have also always enjoyed stories told (or movies set) in the 19th century, as is Jane Eyre. One of these days I may check it out from the library.

All in all, I had a great time with the ladies and can't wait for the next activity.

Joey is finally starting to feel better, getting rid of his cold. Even when sick, he is still such a sweetheart. When he sees that I am having a hard day, he will give me big hugs and say, "I love you way much, Daddy loves you way much, Nanny loves you way much." It is a sweet reminder.

Baby Nick took his first drink out of a straw tonight! I just wanted to see if he could do it, not really expecting him to be able to. When he got his first sip of slightly watered down soda, he was so surprised. He liked it so much he put a death grip on the cup. He got four or five more sips before I could wrestle it away from him without dumping both him and the soda off my lap!

Baby Nick transitioned exceptionally well to getting himself to sleep. He still screams, sometimes still for half an hour, but I don't think it has ever taken him longer than half an hour. The first couple times I laid him down, just to get a feel for how he would do, it was over an hour of him screaming before I couldn't take anymore. So my surprise was immense when I started again a week later and for every nap (and even at bedtime) Baby Nick decided he would fall asleep after crying for 30 minutes or less. We are starting week two. I have heard that it takes two weeks to make a habit, so hopefully, by the end of this week, Baby Nick will be set in a new routine and expect to get himself to sleep. Eventually, I would love to hear the crying cease all together, but since Bubba still cries for awhile at bedtime (occasionally) I don't think I will hear the end of Baby Nick's crying anytime soon.

For tonight....both boys are asleep! That is a very nice sound. Good night.

Happy Birthday, Sarina!

Happy Birthday, Sarina! I am so sorry we are not there to help you celebrate. We are thinking of you every day and missing you so much. You are getting to be such a big girl (not that I would know....your mom hasn't sent me any recent pictures! [hint, hint]).

I just wanted to share with the world some of my favorite pictures of you...let you know how much we love you. I hope you have an exciting birthday and a fabulous year! We can't wait to see you again.

Since Sarina is only two weeks older than Joey, we have lots of 'comparison' pictures.
Here is our 'punk' baby. I love how her hair stood straight out until it grew longer.
Here is the first occasion where Sarina proved she would spend her life picking on Joey; she stole his fireman's hat off his head. You can see how much she enjoyed it, too! :)
Here she is reveling in her conquest.
Sorry to say, Uncle Josh, but she looks completely bored at your birthday party!

For Papa Scott's 50th birthday, we spent the day with him at the park. Sarina enjoyed the swings.

Sarina and Joey were two of Aunt Megan's biggest fans at sporting events.

She seems to enjoy her new hat and gloves. Isn't she the cutest?

Both kids show a strong interest in music. Perhaps this picture is prophetic.

I like a women who knows how to enjoy her cake!

Isn't Nanny the best? Nanny is playing 'Ring Around The Rosey' with Sarina and Joey.

Sarina is such a doll! This was one of the last times Joey got to play with Sarina before leaving for Alaska.

We sure miss you Sarina! Happy Birthday.

Thinking Of Papa Buddy

Today we were thinking of Papa Buddy, missing him, and getting excited for his visit this summer. You can see how much we were thinking of him as evidenced by the fact both boys are wearing Papa pants today!

Both boys are fighting icky colds. There is no shortage of snot running out of those noses. I had to sit up holding Baby Nick all night, because anytime I laid him down, the drainage down the back of his throat would choke him and he would wake up gagging. It was a long, tiring night.

I have been noticing Baby Nick trying to assert his sweet tooth. He will gobble up his fruit and dessert meals in less than five minutes, but when feeding him vegetables or meat dishes (meat dishes are new to his diet) he will fight every bite. He has shown quite a distaste for the meat dishes. It took three separate meals for me to get one jar of food down him. That was, until this point, unheard of.

Joey is showing an affinity for cooking. He loves watching Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals on the FoodNetwork. He'll sit on the floor with a whisk in his hand and say, "I'm Rachael Ray. I'm making a meal. Need some garlit (garlic), bar leaf (bay leaf), and bechabulls (vegetables). Wanna taste? Are they yummy carrots, yummy soup? Do want another taste?" It is so cute.

I believe it is about nap time for both boys. Which I'm sure will mean I have to endure twice the screaming! Better get it over with.

Surprise Homecoming

Monday morning, Nick drove up to Fairbanks...a six to seven hour drive. It takes a lot out of a person to drive so long in one stretch (even though it is nothing compared to his and Dad's 48 hour non-stop drive up here with the U-Haul)! We were all prepared to be home alone for three nights.

The first day went well. I started weaning myself off of rocking Baby Nick to sleep. Since he is pretty used to being rocked to sleep, he hasn't shown much interest in trying to get himself to sleep. Last week, when I made a couple half-hearted attempts, he screamed for over an hour, without ever calming down. This week, I decided that for nap times, I would just lay him down and keep in there, no matter how long he screamed. He took three naps, and each time, he took no more than 30 minutes to calm down and go to sleep. Day one was a success. But I was not going to set my expectations that this was going to be the new normal behavior. I had decided that I would still rock him to sleep at night....for both of our sakes. Rocking my babies to sleep is something very special to me. I didn't think I could handle a cold turkey break from it.

Monday night, Baby Nick fell asleep after five or ten minutes of rocking and was down by 10:15pm. I finally got to bed around 12:30am. I knew I was running the risk of Baby Nick waking up right after I went to bed, but a good book will make you stay up longer than you know is sensible. But Baby Nick surprised me. He didn't wake up until 5:15am. It was Joey that gave me trouble. He decided to get a cold, that came on Monday night. He woke up about a quarter to two in the morning and didn't close his eyes again until a quarter to four. The whole time he was crying about needing to go downstairs and rock. I, of course, just wanted to lay down and sleep, having only gone to bed an hour before he woke up. The rest of the night, Joey was in and out of sleep, and because he wasn't feeling well, he was extra whiny. Just what I want to deal with all night.

Tuesday was not as good of a day as Monday was. Joey has a bad cold, a fever that wipes him out, and an attitude that drives his Mommy crazy. He couldn't say anything without whining. He would ask for something and couldn't handle the word 'no'. He would change his mind about what he wanted based on my response. Always whining. I still laid Baby Nick down for naps without rocking him. By his third nap, he realized what was happening when I took him to his room, so he started crying before I even got him into his crib. He fought harder and a little longer than he did on Monday....but he still succumbed each time.

About 11:30am, I get a call from Nick. He said he was coming home. He wasn't supposed to be home until Thursday. Apparently, the accreditation company that was here in February has come back. They showed up at the Wasila branch, which was empty, because the only person who works at that office was in Anchorage covering for Nick being gone. So they showed up at Anchorage and Nick was called to come home. So after driving seven hours up to Fairbanks on Monday, spending half an hour to an hour at the office, he was called the next day to drive seven hours back as he is required to be at the office while they were being audited and tested.

This has really stressed Nick out, fearing what it could mean if they don't pass. Nick drove straight home (since he was driving during all the office hours anyway.) When he got home, he said he had talked to Cliff and the first day went really well. He was encouraged by that. Today is going to be all about Nick's responsibilities...the warehouse, etc. He went into work for an hour or so last night, and then went to work an hour early this morning, just so he could make sure that things at the office were in order when they came in this morning. Of course, that meant he got up at 6am, and today Joey woke up with Nick. Baby Nick also woke up, as a result of Joey being up and loud. So we all got up very early. With Joey still not feeling well, him getting up early does nothing to help his coping abilities. He is extra whiny again today. Currently, while typing this blog, I have put Baby Nick down (fought tooth and nail, but once again, succumbed) and Joey has fallen asleep in Daddy's recliner.

I can't wait for Nick to call me to tell me how his day went. I keep praying for him, that everything goes well with the accreditation company, and that he doesn't have to stress anymore. Hopefully it will all be over by the end of the day. It shouldn't drag out any longer.

Yesterday, I got a call from Sarah. She invited me to a ladies night at Shelly's house. Shelly is kicking her boys out of the house and us ladies will watch Jane Eyre. Sarah says it's a great movie. I have enjoyed other movies based from Jane Austen novels, but surprisingly, I haven't seen this one. It will be so nice to be with other women. Nick has already agreed that I should go and that he would watch both boys! He is so wonderful. It is also very nice to have him home early. For his sake, I'm sorry he had to make the long drive two days in a row, and because of the audit at work, but I am glad he's home.

Goofy Goober

My son is so goofy. I can't imagine where he gets it. In this video, he showed flair for the dramatics. He also tried his hand at being an arobic instructor. I especially enjoy how he puts his 'contacts' in and then shows you that they are in.
Baby Nick made a special appearance on tonights video. He showed off his new crawling skills, although he didn't go very far. He was too intent on standing back up. He sure was interested in watching the baby on the screen. Our camera has a screen that folds out and rotates, so if you are recording yourself, you can still see what you are doing. It comes in handy with the boys though...especially Joey. If I want a performance out of him, and he's feeling a little shy, all I have to do is turn the screen so he can watch himself perform!
Unfortunately, the goofiest thing he did could not be captured on camera...and that was his reaction to watching the playback of the video. He laughed so hard, like he was the most entertaining act in all of creation. It's one thing for me to think that, it's quite another for him to agree! I tell you, he makes me laugh!

50! 50! 50!

I can't believe it!!! I just checked the weather on Yahoo and it says it is fifty degrees in Anchorage right now! There is something about that number that is so exciting to me. For way too long, temperatures have been well below half that.

Also, sunrise today was at 6:37am and sunset isn't until 9:25pm. It stays twilight well into the ten o'clock hour. Although I love all that light, it makes it harder to go to bed at a descent hour. You don't feel as tired when the sun is still up, but you sure feel the effects in the morning!

I wanted to share these pictures with you. Baby Nick is very adventurous. Unless I am holding him, or he is strapped down somewhere, I can't keep him from getting hurt. He is constantly hitting his head on something, falling over off of somewhere. Can you say 'boy'?

Here he is climbing up onto the bottom shelf of our microwave cart. Well, it is not being used as a microwave cart right now...we are using it for our printer, since the desk we own is not technically a computer desk and doesn't have the room for all the add-ons to the computer. You can see how much he is enjoying himself! He sure is cute when he is happy. Okay, I guess he's kind of cute even when he's not happy. (He's just not as enjoyable!)

Dinner is ready, so I better serve Joey and I up. Baby Nick is just polishing up his bottle, so he should be good for the next few hours.

Hope you all have an enjoyable evening with the ones you love.

This Week

The weekend seemed to fly by quickly, and seemed to be very busy, but there's not much that we did. On Saturday, I got away for an hour to recharge. I went to Barnes & Noble and just browsed. It was nice not to have kids climbing all over me for a little while. Baby Nick has a real hard time teething, even from the earliest point in the process, so for weeks he is more difficult to deal with. When Baby Nick gave me a hard time on Friday, Nick said I should get away for awhile on Saturday to have some peace and quiet.

When I got home, we ate lunch and then got started on some cleaning. Nick went out to clean out the van. He got it washed and vacuumed and it looks like a new car again! He also replaced the mats to the ones that came with the van instead of the snow mats. That was also a nice change, because it is nice not to need the snow mats anymore. The streets, driveways, sidewalks, and half the lawns are all clear. There are still the big piles around, but for the most part, the snow is gone from the important areas. Parking lots have lines again! It is such a treat to park between the lines. It's funny what little things you miss when they are covered by snow. Joey finally feels comfortable walking outside again. He usually says, "It's not too slick anymore."

After cleaning, we did the grocery shopping. That is always so much fun! (None of my mother's daughters like to shop...like mother, like daughter.) Baby Nick was starving by the time we got home, so I fed him while Nick unloaded the groceries. Then we made dinner, which because of the grocery shopping, wasn't ready until eight o'clock. After dinner, I spent the rest of the night, until almost midnight, making chocolate eclairs. They turned out well, and were easier to make than I thought. I made eclairs because we were going over to Randy and Cheryl's after church.

On Sunday, the boys and I went to church. I brought a few eclairs with me for the office staff, which were very appreciated. I was able to sit and visit with Sarah for a few minutes before church started. She didn't have her husbands schedule with her, so she said she would give me a call and set a date for us to get together for dinner. I can't wait. It will be nice to have another couple, more our age, and Christian, to be friends with. I like Randy and Cheryl, but they are not a couple we have a lot in common with. Nick has more in common with them because they work in the same field. Most talk is about work or the kids. It's fine, but it's not what I would call a friendship, it's more of an acquaintanceship.

After church, we picked Nick up and headed over to Randy and Cheryl's for a barbeque. It was delicious and nice to see them again. They have a spare bedroom at their house where they keep toys for Cheryl's grandson, Jack. Cheryl showed Joey where the toys were and the rest of the day, he kept calling it 'his dreboom.' He would say, "Wanna go to my dreboom and play a me?" Or, "The cat is in mine dreboom." It was quite funny.

This morning, we all got up early to take Nick to work. He has to go to Fairbanks this week. So we dropped him off at work so he could pick up the work van and drive it to Fairbanks. It is a six or seven hour drive, with no cell service for much of the time, no radio signal, no tape or CD player, and no one but himself to talk to. Now if it were me, I'm sure I could fill all that time talking to myself, or at least the people in my head! But Nick is a different story. He won't drive home until Thursday, so we will be by ourselves for most of the week. I just hope that Baby Nick takes it easy this week, or I will be a basket case by the time Nick gets home.

Well, I better get Joey lunch pretty soon. I'm hoping to put him down for a nap a little earlier since he was up early this morning, and didn't have a nap yesterday. I will keep you posted on how the week is going.

My, How Time Flies

Today, my youngest turns eight months old! How can it be, when just yesterday I was holding him in the hospital? In a very short four months, Baby Nick will be one year old. We have to start thinking of something to call him other than 'Baby Nick.' In my opinion, 'Nick' is still too old of a name, not to mention confusing when my husband is home. 'Bug' still works, but we don't call him by his nickname as often as we call Joey, 'Bubba'.
Here's my big boy...look at those teeth! I believe he is working on cutting more teeth, but they are still far enough away that they could take awhile. With as difficult as teething is on Baby Nick, we are in for a long, rough patch of time with him. It has started already. He fights more, especially when it is time to sleep, and once he finally falls asleep, he doesn't stay asleep as long.

He is starting to crawl more often, although his primary mode of transportation is still scooting. As you have seen by previous videos, he is fairly proficient at climbing the stairs, but it does take him several minutes. The one thing he hasn't done, accept less often than occasionally, that I think he should be doing by now, is sitting on his own unassisted. He sits fine in the highchair and bouncer, and anywhere else where he is buckled in or being held, but it is if his body won't even let him bend the way needed to sit on the floor unassisted. I'm sure he will one day, but I know he would have more fun playing on the floor if he wasn't always having to lay on his tummy, or hold one to something when he is up on his knees.

Here is another adorable picture of Baby Nick's favorite hobby, spitting! He has started spitting while he eats, so I have to be careful when I give him a bite. If I don't time it right, I may be covered with more than just saliva! :)
Here is a picture of Joey at eight months old. Cute as a button! They both have such personality in their faces. I think they have a similar shape to their noses, but Baby Nick's seems to be slightly wider at the base. I also think their smiles are similar, though you can't tell very well with my finger in Joey's mouth in the picture above.
I wanted to include this picture of Joey at eight months, just because the look on his face seems to say to me, "Not another picture, Mom!" That, and Sarina is so very, preciously cute, playing with her cousin. At least here she is not stealing a hat, knocking him on his back, or hitting him in the head with a hammer!!

It always amazes how quickly time flies in hindsight. Now that Baby Nick is eight months old, it means I have been in Alaska for seven and a half months. Looking back, it seems like so much time had gone by quickly. But at the same time, it feels as if more than one life time has passes since I have seen my family, since I've been able to get together with them and sing around the piano, watch the kids play together, or watch my Mom enjoy loving on her grandkids. I miss being close to them so much. The pain of separation is still so fresh and real...I feel just like I did the day I left. I can't imagine getting into that car again, having no control of it driving away, leaving my Mom and Aubrey standing on the front porch waving, all of us crying.

I'm getting of course...I was not intending to reminisce leaving my family. I simply wanted to commemorate the eight month anniversary of Baby Nick's birth. The subject of this post is getting very tired, so I should attend to him.

Climbing All The Stairs

This is just for Papa Buddy...but everybody can enjoy it too. He said he was disappointed that the last video of Baby Nick climbing the stairs only showed him climb 'one measly step.' So I got a video of him climbing the entire flight...12 steps, plus the first two to the landing...but that didn't get captured on video. By the time I got the camera set up, Baby Nick was already four or five steps up and I had to bring him back down to start over, so the entire climb could be showcased on the video. Quite amazing, if I do say so myself!

Interesting Tidbit

I left out an interesting tidbit about my time at the restaraunt with the ladies of the church last Saturday....

As the group was breaking up and getting ready to leave, there was some buzz around us about a 'someone famous' being at the restaraunt. There, just a few feet away from us, was Alan Thicke. He is most well known as being the father on the TV series Growing Pains for those of you who know of that show. Apparently, they are opening a new Boys & Girls Club and he was here fundraising. He may not be an A-lister, but he's the most 'famous' person I have ever been in the vicinity with. It was kind of exciting.

Washed In The Blood

I debated whether or not I should post this video, but my Mom said she was waiting for it..so here it is.
Please forgive the sometimes shaky recording. Poor Nick, the program was about an hour long...and we don't have a tripod. So he had to hold his arm up the whole time. My solo came in after 40 long minutes. Plus, they were passing out the communion emblems, so he was trying to balance the camera and the emblems.
I'm working on putting the whole thing on the computer so I can make a DVD and send it to Mom.
I am also working on the next installment to the family DVD, so I will get a copy out in the next couple weeks.
Have a pleasant evening.

Saturday

I forgot to post about Saturday. I guess with Easter coming so quickly after Saturday, it sort of slipped my mind. Saturday, we had a surprise birthday party for Alice, our pastor's wife. There were almost thirty ladies at the restaurant waiting for Alice to be brought in, and she was completely surprised!

I brought Baby Nick with me and another lady, Rachel, came with her four month old daughter, Tirzah. (She was one of the ladies we had the baby shower for in February.) Rachel is also a stay at home mom, and since Tirzah is her first, she spends most of the day holding her daughter. So while several ladies passed Baby Nick around (all thinking that he was so cute and his eyes were gorgeous) I held Tirzah for Rachel. She really enjoyed the break. Then everybody got their food, so I held both babies so Rachel could eat. Baby Nick was so fun to watch, because he had his first awareness of another baby, another little person. He was fascinated. His eyes were big and round, and he kept reaching out to touch her. Sure, he tried to pull her hair (not that she has much) and scratch her eyes out...but we are working with him on the concept of 'being gentle.'

It was nice to spend some time with the ladies of the church. I got to visit with some that I hadn't met before. Even though I had Baby Nick with me, it was still a chance to get away, be with other adults. I look forward to the next chance I get to be with the women of the church.

Happy Easter!!

Christ is risen!! He is risen indeed!!

If that is not a reason to celebrate, I don't know what is. We had a wonderful time in church this morning. The choir sung, and the Spirit moved. The boys enjoyed their time in the nursery. I think Baby Nick had a harder time today...he's teething again, I think.

Now that we are home and fed, all three boys are "digesting." Which is to say that they are napping. I don't mind...it's nice to have a few minutes of peace and quiet to my self. Pretty soon I will have to get the roast in the oven. With the roast, we will have garlic mashed potatoes, garlic bread, and some kind of veggie. (I haven't decided on the veggie yet.)

Here are my very handsome men, dressed for Easter. You can't see it, but Baby Nick is wearing a tie! (It is the same outfit Jesse wore to Nick's and my wedding!)

I just had to throw this picture in...The other night, Joey was so tired, he fell asleep on my lap as I was rocking Baby Nick. After Nick took him up to bed, he woke up a called down to me. When I went to see what he needed, he was hold my pajama shirt and said he needed to wear it. So I buttoned him in, rolled up the sleeves about a hundred times and tucked him back in. He was asleep before I left the room. The next morning, he woke up and said, "I'm wearing ors (your) shirt!" I don't think he remembered waking up requesting to wear it. He looked way to cute, I had to get his picture.

It's time to get the roast in. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter.

"I Don't Like To Want To"

Joey is really good at telling us what he does and doesn't want to do. He just adds more words than necessary.

"It's time to go to bed, Joey." "I don't like to want to go to bed."

"Do you want to eat your corndog?" "I do like to want to eat my torndog."

Baby Nick has found new 'pacifier'. The door handle on the hutch door does not make a very comfortable teether. He usually cries after putting his mouth on it, but he keeps putting his mouth back on it. What a boy!

Our Little Spitter

I know I mentioned it before, how Baby Nick is a spitter. I showed you a picture of him spitting, but now that I have a video camera, I can let you hear it. I can not stop laughing when he is spitting. Something about it makes me giggle, he's so cute! It's a good thing he goes to the nursery at church now, I would be quite distracted during the service if he started spitting during the sermon!

What Wonderful Weather

The weather is really starting to warm up! It feels like Oregon in December. It no longer hurts to breath when you walk out in the cold air. When I stand on the front step, it sounds like there is a bubbling brook nearby, from all the ice and snow melting off the roofs. The forecast on the Yahoo weather page says there may be rain showers later this week! As long as it doesn't freeze again, I say "Bring on the rain." There is a lot of roads clearing up. I even saw what is left of the lines in the parking lot when I was at choir last night! (Not that anybody was actually parked between them, yet.)

Much of the world to the sides of the road is still buried under very dirty snow....but progress is being made. Perhaps we may even see the end of the majority of the snow by Joey's birthday after all.

We are looking forward to this weekend. Easter is such a special day to celebrate. The choir is just about ready for Sunday. The program we are singing has such an anointing on it. We sang one piece from it last Sunday and got a taste of how God will move next week. After church, we will have a mini egg hunt for Joey at home. It will, of course, be inside...but we can still make it fun.

Last week, after the choir did a sound check and before service started, I ran into to Pastor Daryl's wife Sarah and we stood and talked for awhile. Pastor Daryl joined us after a few minutes and we had a real good time. They are really neat people. Sarah said that after Easter, we will get our calenders together and pick a time when we can get together for dinner. At choir last night, I was told by Tina and Daryl that Sarah insisted that they convince me to go somewhere on this weekend. (I can't give out details now, not that anyone from the church reads my blog, but just in case...I will have to wait to tell you where I went.) But it was very nice to know that I was wanted.

Well, from clear across the room I can smell that Baby Nick needs me ;) so I better go clear the air!

He Finally Did It

Baby Nick finally crawled tonight!!! Ten days from being eight months old, and he crawled. It was hysterical how it happened, though. He was asleep in my arms, and just before I stood up to take him to his bed, he started throwing a mild fit in his sleep. This mild fit quickly turned into a massive fit...quickly dissolving my ability to cope! So I put him down on the floor, and as he threw one of the biggest fits of his life, he started crawling towards one of Joey's toys. Both Nick and I started laughing, restoring my ability to cope. So I picked Baby Nick up and held him for a minute. Then I put him back on the floor to see if he would crawl again. No such luck....he went back to scooting.

But at least I can mark this day, April 2nd 2007 as the day Baby Nick officially began to crawl. When Joey started crawling, he chose to scoot for a couple more weeks until he began to crawl as primary mode of transportation. So it is only a matter of time before Baby Nick chooses to crawl as primary mode of transportation.

Wow...two huge 'firsts' in as many days. Climbing up stairs and crawling. How much growing can one kid do in such a short time?

Climbing Stairs

This is no April Fool's Day joke! Here is undeniable proof, that before he is even eight months old, he has started climbing up stairs! He is just too much a "mover and shaker" for my heart to handle. If this activity becomes a favorite of his, I will have to try to figure out a way to "gate" the stairs off.
Just a couple days ago, when Baby Nick pulled himself up to his knees on the first step, I told Bubba that he would be fine, he wouldn't be able to get up the stair. Boy was I wrong!

Big Full Names

We are working with Joey on learning his big, full name. Not only is he learning his own name, he is learning the rest of the family's as well.

This is what he knows so far:

His own big, full name is Jofis Jofis Chrishan Looty
His baby brother's name is Nicholas Danull Looty
Mommy's name is Trininee Rose Looty
Daddy's name is Nicholas Pickle Looty

I suppose I should offer up an explanation for that last one. Nick's childhood nickname that his mom called him was Nickle Pickle. (It is not his preference that I share this, but I convinced him he really dind't have much choice ! :) I was trying to explain nicknames to Joey, because he keeps saying his name is Bubba. Of course it is. But, it is only his nickname. So Joey says, "I'm not Nicholas Danull!" So I told him what Daddy's nickname was to try to give him an understanding of nicknames. Keep in mind, also, that having a Nicholas Michael and a Nicholas Daniel would be confusing enough. Instead, Daddy is Nicholas Pickle, Nickle Nickle, or Pickle Pickle!