Toe fetish? hmmmm...you decide

Texas birthday

What is a Texas birthday you may ask? Anna did. She thought it was a birthday for everybody! Actually, it was just an opportunity for us to celebrate Jaden's 2nd birthday with Chris and our friends and family in Texas since we were away when he turned 2. And we got to have birthday cake and ice cream!!!

This is probably my favorite birthday cake so far. It's hard to tell from the picture but it was a really cool looking cake. It didn't taste too bad either!

Aww..the birthday boy
Can you tell that he's excited to blow out the candle?
Hold on, not yet...
Okay, go! It took him like 13 tries to actually blow out the candle. You'd have thought he was celebrating number 92 instead of 2!
This is his Texas birthday gift. I had something else in mind entirely but it wasn't available - maybe Santa can get his hands on it. Anyway, this went with the Spiderman theme.

He was sooo tired. He didn't nap at all. (He didn't actually fall asleep until 11 p.m. this night!) He was getting a little delirious at this point but was so excited to ride it. When I took this picture he had actually just run into the garage. He was totally focused on the little red button he had to push and wasn't paying a lick of attention to where he was going. I think he thinks it has an "autopilot" like the car on The Incredibles.

More pics of my little Sis

I just loved these pictures so I decided to post some more. I am so glad that she let me take her picture. It was nice to spend some time together and share these moments with her. She is truly beautiful on the inside and out - I think it shows in these pictures.
I'd love some feedback on which one is your favorite (I'd like to hear if you think they suck too! I'll take the criticism because it will make me better). I'll pass it on to Meg and my Mom to help them decide on which ones they want to use.

Passing the buck

Who am I to pass up some extra help? Anna wanted to take a shot at feeding Lukey today. I think she did a good job. It's nice having a little helper!

While he was eating she said "I don't think he likes cereal. Maybe he would like ranch dip or ice cream or somefing (Anna-speak)".

I've been tagged...

As I was reading my friend, Dana's post listing 6 random things about herself I was thinking to myself how neat each of those things were and also how hard it must have been to think of 6 random AND interesting things about yourself. I can think of tons of random things about me but not many are that interesting. Then, I got to the end and saw that she tagged me! I did manage to come up with 6 so we'll see what you think...

1. I have always wanted blue eyes. I used to want colored contacts even though my vision is perfectly fine. I was a chicken and never went through with it. Instead, I married a blue-eyed fella and had a couple of blue-eyed babies. I can't look at my own eyes anyway - this way I get to enjoy theirs! (I'm in love with your big brown ones too Jaden!)
2. I am listed as an author in a book chapter. Here's the reference: Scotti, J.R., Morris, T.J., Ruggiero, K.J., & Wolfgang, J. (2002). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. In M. Hersen (Ed.), Clinical Behavior Therapy: Adults and Children (pp.361-382). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
3. I still wonder whether I chose the right names for my boys. I am still very happy with Anna but I worry about what the boys will think of their names when they grow up. I put a lot of thought into their names because I feel like names can have a big influence on your life. Think about it. What do you think of when I say the name Bambi? Walter? Rain? Names matter.
4. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan! Yeah, me and all the other 4th graders. If you are laughing at me you really should pick up one of the books and read it. You'll be a fan too. I'm sure of it. I love, love, love the books and can't wait for the next movie. Chris just told me it will be out in November. Yay!!!
5. I've never eaten shrimp, lobster, scallops, calamari, etc... I do eat fish (some) and I've tried a teeny, tiny bite of crabcake (can't tell you what it tastes like- guess I didn't get enough). Oh, and my Dad used to sneak fried clam strips in with my french fries when we would eat at Ponderosa. I just though I had some really tough fries!
6. I couldn't even swim on top of the water until I was 10 years old. The next year I joined the swim team. Turned out that I could do pretty good once I got it figured out. When I was in high school my relay team set a record for the 200 free style relay. That was in 1992, I think. It was still there the last time my sister told me. She'll be a Senior this year. I'll have to ask her again.

Okay, there you have it. Now it's my turn! I tag:

• Laura
• Kelli
• Chris (this should be interesting. It's a good way for me to get him to actually post something!!!)
• Jill
• Megan

This just might be my favorite photo ever!

Here it is! I just love this picture. He was soo done.

I got a new lens today (which I looove!). Anna has been so good about letting me test things out on her. Even though she didn't even really want her picture taken I think she looks beautiful.

Look at those fat cheeks! Doesn't he make fat look good?
This is the new gadget we picked up last night. It's a little tray for the Bumbo. It's wonderful! I highly recommend it for anyone in the market.

Luke doing his new "lip sucking" thing. It's so cute. I wish I could catch him doing it with video so you could see.

He still needs his Mama

I'm not certain of the reason- traveling, time difference, over-indulgence of junk food at Grandma's and on the road- could be any one of these or a limitless combination but my little Jaden has had the hardest time of any of us adjusting to being back at home. He just seems "wound up". He's got to run and jump and hit and throw. Everything he does seems to have an extra "jolt" of energy. I know he needs to get outside and burn it off but it's been about 96 degrees without counting the heat index and the mosquitos are big, persistent, and abundant! They seriously will bite you through your clothes - I'm not even joking. Chris killed one the back of my shirt at Lowes yesterday when I told him it was biting me. They are out any time of the day too- not just in the evening like normal mosquitos. They don't call Clute "The Mosquito Capital of Texas" for nothing I'm learning. Then, there's a little issue with the bug spray. I'm nervous about using it unless absolutely necessary. The other day Chris sprayed Anna so she could be outside with him for a little bit while he was working. He even sprayed her out of the house. When she came in a little while later the smell was still so strong that it burned my throat a little and made Luke cough. This is even special stuff without Deet for kids. Wonder what's in it instead?

Anyway, back to the point. My Jaden has been having a really hard time winding down to take a nap. So, he stays awake until he just can't stand it anymore then ends up sleeping 2-3 hours usually from like 4+ - 6 or 7. I'm sure you can imagine what happens next. He will not go to bed and is still raring to go at midnight. Then, he's up at the first sign of light because this is just his thing. You can see this isn't a good cycle...

This isn't really a problem for him, or Chris, or Anna but it is for ME! I'm the one hanging out with him trying desperately to make him sleepy. To add more interest to the story, Luke has been waking up pretty often throughout the night for a week or so. I am steadily wearing down. I've made it top priority to get my boys sleeping better - especially Jaden. For their sake and mine! I decided the first step was to get back into a routine. So far, so good. The next step was/is to get him to sleep in his room (instead of crashing on the couch). I know this will get better but he just cries and cries. It's so, so hard for me to hear him crying. And I can't just walk away until he finally falls asleep - it breaks my heart. I feel like I need to suffer to. So as I stand outside of his door hearing "Mama, Mama" "Oh Mama" I feel like crying too. A couple of times I went in and picked him up off of the floor (once he was right behind the door calling for me - I felt aweful). I hold him for a minute, stroke his hair, give him a kiss and lay him down telling him to let his little body rest so he can play later and I'll see him when he wakes up. Then, I leave. Today I had to do this 3 times. The last time when I picked him up I held him in sort of a cradle hold. This is getting hard to do because he is getting so long. But I do kinda like to get to hold him this way since I know my time is running out for it. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was close to sleep - all that crying wore him out I'm sure. So, I just rocked back and forth a little until his eyes actually closed. While I was giving him a minute to make sure he was really asleep he peeked his eyes open for just a moment to look at me. He quickly shut them then had the biggest grin. He was so happy. He had his Mama all to himself for a moment and he was comforted. I was so glad I went back in. He peeked one more time, gave a little smile, ran his hand across my chest and arm, then he was out. This time I could peacefully lay him down, pull the covers up, and walk out of the room to let him rest. I'm going to go make myself a cup of coffee so I'm ready for him when he wakes up!

A Sneak Peek

One of the things I wanted to accomplish while I was visiting my family was to get some nice pictures of my little Sis for her senior pictures. I enjoy taking pictures but my subjects are mostly limited to babies and little kids - mine! This was a good opportunity to test my skills with something different. Let me tell you it was sooo much easier than babies and little kids! She never complained that she was tired ("are you done yet?"), she didn't make me chase her, she smiled when I asked her to, she held poses and made adjustments when I told her to. It was actually fun!I think it was a win/win situation because since I know her so well I also know how she looks best, I can catch her when she's making goofy smiles, and I'm not afraid to tell her if her hair is messed up. The result is that we don't waste time taking pictures with silly things wrong. (I really hate that! There are so many times when I wished the photographer had told me that my hair was goofy or I needed to put on some powder/lipstick/whatever.) I can take some pictures and show them to her. Then we can make immediate changes to get what she likes (and what Mom likes).

I think we got some really good ones. I'll save them until later when my Mom and her decide which ones they want to use but these are some that I like. It was a lot of fun! It always helps when you've got a beautiful setting and a beautiful subject :) (even if she can be a little bratty sometimes!) Love you Meg! Thanks for letting me take your picture!!

Double the fun

It started on Friday. My little Luke was just not himself. He was fussy and crying. He was really hard to comfort. Sometimes he felt kinda hot and sometimes he didn't. I went ahead and gave him a little Tylenol figuring something was bothering him and just hoped it was a little headache or something that the medicine would fix. He had a rough night and and even rougher day. I took his temperature under his arm and it was normal. I was so confused because he felt warm? I thought maybe the thermometer was funky. It has been in the diaper bag for a long time - I just kept it there for traveling and don't remember where it came from. My mom was watching him during the afternoon and took his temperature (rectally - doesn't sound pretty but its more accurate). The reading was normal. Okay. So, I started trying to think about what it could be. Headache? Teething? Belly ache? ???
Sometimes he seemed like he wanted to be held and sometimes it seemed like it hurt him to be picked up. Sometimes he wanted to nurse and was fine and sometimes he wanted to nurse but would just cry. He seemed sleepy but didn't sleep longer than probably 20 minutes when he did fall asleep. And he just cried and fussed and did his shrill little scream. Clearly he was not feeling well. And clearly I was quickly becoming EXHAUSTED! Finally on Sunday morning when things were not getting any better and the Tylenol I had been giving him didn't seem to be helping much I told my Mom that I thought I needed to take him somewhere. But where? We are 1400+ miles away from home and its a weekend! I was worried about taking him to the ER because I wasn't confident a doctor there would be that familiar with a 4-month old - at least not if the problem was something outside of the normal things (sore throat, ear infection). I am very lucky that my Mom is a labor/delivery nurse and has regular contact with the Pediatricians at her hospital. She was able to find out who the Pediatrician on-call was and he agreed to see my little guy on this day - a Sunday even. He checked his heart, his lungs - both good. (for those of you who have noticed his sort of loud and gurgly breathing - the doctor said its fine) He checked for a hernia - okay. Belly was soft - good. Then he got to his ears. He checked the right - he said it was a little red. Fun! Then he checked the left and guess what? It was red as well. Double fun!
He gave us a prescription for an antibiotic. Thank goodness for that man. My little baby is doing soooooooooo much better already. He has been smiling, he's napping well, he's looking around and he's pleasant. My little Lukey is back! He still has times when he's fussy but we've continued giving him Tylenol (he recommended every 4 hours for 2 days) and it's helping.
So just cross your fingers, say a prayer, send positive thoughts - whatever works for you - that we make it back home without any more trips to the doctor or hospital!

Playing in the backyard at Grandma's

Progression of a kiss from Jaden

Luke is 4 months old

Stats:

• Eyes - beautiful blue
• Hair - was a darker brown but is turning pretty light. I'm not sure if he'll be as blonde as Jaden but it looks like it will be a light color
• Weight - he hasn't been to the doctor's but according to Grandma's scale he is 19+ lbs (like 19.6). Edit: we just went to the doctor's/hospital and he weighs 19 lbs. and 9 ounces!
• Length- about 27 inches (according to Grandma)
• Clothes size - at least a 6-9 months! But even some 6-9 months don't fit him. He's such a big boy!
• Smile - will melt your heart!

Just wanted to remember these baby parts...

Jaden playing "piggy" with Luke's toes