The Fruits Of Our Labor

Three!

2011-05-22T06:08:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, our oldest princess turned 3. Seriously can't believe how fast time is flying. Laney has become quite the little girl.....she's sweet, spicy (although not as spicy as her younger sister), caring, sassy, smart, and a little momma.

Laney loves to sit and read. We even found her at her friend's birthday party last week sitting quietly in his room alone with a book. She also loves to play with playdoh, write notes (I won't be surprised if the next time I go to grab a notecard that it's already been written on), play kitchen/tea party, and anything princess (including "click clack" shoes--which is her name for the fancy dress shoes that click on the tile floor). Oh and she's been completely potty trained for a month or so! Her favorite panties are those with Ariel on them.....she is all about Ariel these days.

We still wake up most mornings with her sleeping inbetween us...and she's super stealthy about climbing up in bed. And she's still taking a good nap during the day. She growing like a weed and is wearing mostly 5T and some little girl 6s.

And while most kids her age are "why"ers, Laney is definitely a "because"er....she really enjoys explaining things. She also asks "why?" a lot but not nearly as much as she states "because".

We took her (and her brother, sister and cousin) to the park on her birthday morning, after a pit stop at Shipley's Donuts. These kids just love a good park...and we were able to meet up with some good friends, too.

Since we were traveling the weekends surrounding her birthday, it didn't work out for us to do the joint birthday party with her friend, James, this year. But we are planning something mid-June for her and her friends....a little (and final) get together with her friends here so that we can eat her special request Ariel birthday cake.

Happy 3 Years, Alayna!

Graduate 2011 #1

2011-05-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

Since a month before Hannah was born, we decided to put Josiah and Laney in our church's Mother's Day Out program two days/week....as a way to educate/socialize them and give me some time alone with the baby. We took them out for the summer last year...we did movies, playdates, VBS, etc. But they were ready to go back to "school" in Sept and see their friends, so we worked with the budget to make that happen. They have enjoyed every minute of it...and ask nearly every morning, if it's time for school.

Today, Josiah "graduated" from the MDO program. So bittersweet. I always said that if I could just make it to 5 years old.....well, now that we're almost there, I think it's okay for him to stay little for a little bit longer. I nearly lost it during the slideshow with "Let Them Be Little" playing in the background.

We're not 100% sure about what we're going to do about next year. Technically, Josiah will be old enough to attend Kindergarten, but with such a late birthday (mid-August), we've been told that boys generally do better when they're the oldest in their class. We're still praying about it.

Here are a few pics from this morning's program.....

Tiny Bubbles

2011-05-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

The kids are always asking to blow bubbles...today Mommy said "yes".....and nothing makes them more happy than to see bubbles fill the air.

Painted

2011-04-08T16:46:00.000-07:00

One of the big happenings of the last couple of months is that Laney is potty training. I would venture to say that our big girl is completely potty trained (both day and nighttime)...we're still working on #2. In fact, we kinda ran into a bit of a snag with #2, but now we are getting back on track. And one of the rewards for getting back on track with #2, was to paint her fingernails...for the first time. She loved it. Such a big girl.

First Haircut

2011-04-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

The record for the earliest first haircut is held by Josiah. When he was 11 months old, we were getting him ready to take on the role of "ringbearer" in my youngest sister's wedding, and I just couldn't let all of the crazy, curly baby hair be in the pictures. Sadly, those curls never came back...but I've never regretted sending him in for a trim.

When Laney was 19 months, I just couldn't stand her crazy bangs (the only thing I could do is pull them into a "whale spout", so I took her in to get "real" bangs. And while I regretted it moments after (I blame my decision on hormones--I was just 1 week postpartum with Hannah), they grew out fairly quickly and they've never been a problem since. We pull them back in a braid every day to keep them out of her face.

But Miss Hannah refuses to let me pull her bangs into a "whale spout" every day, so I took her for her bangs yesterday. She did really great, and just sat there (unlike her sister, who SCREAMED the whole time) like a big girl. And now she does look like a big girl, and while the lady cut them a little too short (they'll grow fast so it's no big deal), I'm glad we did it....it's so much easier and I don't have to constantly wipe her hair out of her face.

Before:

After:

It cracks us up to see how much all of the kids look alike....but in looking through all of the "old" pics, I must admit that if I wasn't looking at the dates, I would have a hard time deciding if it was Laney or Hannah. haha.

Catching Up

2011-04-08T10:56:00.000-07:00

To say that life has been crazy would be an understatement.....we I have been busy decluttering the house, sorting through all clothes, toys, recipes, pantry items, games/coloring books/crayons/markers, and bathroom drawers. I know we'll be moving more than we came here with, but I refuse to move the stuff that we've moved twice already and haven't used in over 3 years. Plus, I've been busy sewing the girls' Easter dresses, planning/hosting baby showers, and enjoying time with sweet friends before our 16 hour move North in June....oh, yeah, and working out so that I can lose the last of the baby weight gained with Hannah...only 10 more to go!

I've also been spending some time learning my camera....I even took some pics of a friend's newborn in Feb. It was fun to research set ups and download new actions in Photoshop...and I was pleased with the end results for a first time session.

Luke Henry Lazzopina, 2 weeks

During the last 3 months, Miss H has turned 16 months and is now communicating more with words. She now says "milk", "down", "out", "no" (very clearly, I might add), "ow", "yeah", "juice", "nigh, nigh", "ba-bye" (in the most southern accent). She LOVES noodles and anything sweet....oh and expects you to share just about everything you're eating with her, even though she might have the same thing on her plate.

Laney is just a month shy of turning 3. Seriously, can't believe it. She has grown into quite a little lady, sweet little momma, and very expressive little girl. Most little people her age are into asking "why?" all of the time...but not Laney, she loves to say "because", explaining the "why's". She talks with her eyes....you can always tell if she's sad, mad, happy, glad, or sassy....and she's definitely sassy.

And our little man, Josiah, officially turned 4.5 in Feb and was so proud to finally tell someone when he was asked. This little guy will ALWAYS give me a smile in front of the camera, loves to play wii, all things Ironman, Spiderman, and Battle Force 5. He is completely done taking naps during the day and is doing well if he spends 30 minutes of quiet time in his room without asking me if he can come out....he is a constant ball of energy. Josiah is a great big brother and is usually happy to play with/keep Hannah occupied. He loves to make her laugh. While we haven't started him in any organized team sports, he is becoming quite the athlete...and it will be hard to choose just a few sports. He loves to play soccer and all things football....although, he's pretty good with a tee and bat. And he will outrun you, too.

And Randy and I celebrated our 8th Anniversary on March 8th. Hard to believe....so much has happened to our little family in 8 years, and we are expecting even more in the next 2. Can't wait to take that 10 year Anniversary trip....wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

Joseph and an Angel

2011-01-03T20:33:00.000-08:00

The last day before MDO dismissed for Christmas break, Josiah and Laney participated in the annual Christmas program. I just LOVE watching them do stuff like this....I love seeing them in their costumes and hearing them sing the songs I listen to, in pieces, for weeks leading up to the event.

This year, Josiah played "Joseph" and Laney was an angel. They both did so well. It was such a delight to see Josiah and Laney smile and sing instead of stand still, scared and unsure about what to do (like we saw last year). And Hannah enjoyed watching them and dancing to the songs.

Josiah's classmate, Kenna, played "Mary"....when I asked him if he and Kenna were married since Joseph and Mary were married, he blushed and said, "noooo, we're only married for the program, mom". It was really cute.

The last song of the program was "Happy Birthday"....which they sang while a cake was brought out with a lit candle. The kids loved this part...firstly, because they knew all the words and secondly, because they knew they were just moments away from enjoying Christmas sweets....Josiah couldn't secure a piece of cake fast enough (but only after pictures).

Thanksgiving and a Birthday

2011-01-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

And then it was Thanksgiving....and the WHOLE gang was there...Mom, Dad, 3 daughters and their respective husbands as well as four children (4yo and younger), and even Grandma made it over. It's been a while since we've had everyone under one roof, it was nice.

Dinner was yummy....turkey, whole cranberry sauce, lime applesauce jello (a childhood favorite/staple), rolls, green bean casserole (made with Trader Joe's ingredients), and mashed potatoes.

And dessert....was birthday cake (since Hannah's true birthday was 2 days before)!

After dinner we attempted family pics for Dad's "Annual Christmas Newsletter".....

Josiah-4, Laney-2.5, Hannah-1

And then there were FOUR.......

grandchildren

Great-grandma (mom's mom) with Hannah, Grandma with Lexie, Laney & Josiah

The Whole Clan, including Moby

And to top the night off....a little bit of snow. Josiah and Laney thought it was awesome! Hannah just wasn't sure...all she knew was that it was COLD!. It was Mom's idea to get the babies' footprints in the snow....and it's turned into one of my favorite photos.

Meet Me in St. Louis

2011-01-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

During our time with my parents, we slipped away for a day to St. Louis for Randy's 2nd Sports Medicine Fellowship interview. While he interviewed, I spent the day with my friend, Katie, whose husband graduated from our Residency program 2 years ago and has since finished Fellowship. It was great to see Katie and for the kids to play (although they didn't really remember each other--Josiah was just shy of 3 and Isabella was 2.5 when they moved away). I got to shop at Crate & Barrel AND Trader Joe's for the first time, too! Oh how I miss big city shopping!

After Randy finished up with his interview, we decided to take the kids to the Arch before heading back to my parents. It had been a looooong time since my last ride up to the top of the Arch....and I did not have good memories about the small, rickety tram car.....so needless to say, I was a lot nervous about taking the kids and having to ride it again. Well, it was as small as I remember it but it wasn't as slow and rickety as I remembered. The kids, including Hannah, thought the ride was great! And they were even more amazed with how far they could see once we got to the top. Me, I didn't do so great. The wind picked up, causing the Arch to really sway. I almost lost it....I, seriously, collapsed to the floor and just waited for the feeling of vertigo to pass. 10 minutes at 630 ft. in the air was long enough for me.

Adventure to the Midwest Pt. 2

2010-12-23T14:19:00.000-08:00

On Monday, after spending a 1.5 days in OK, we continued on our way....and finally made it to Mom and Dad's on Monday evening, after being on the road for 3 days. And it took us no time to make their clean, clutterless home look just like ours. Sorry, Mom!

We enjoyed beautiful weather the first week we were there. The kids got to experience Fall...wow, there really IS a season other than Summer. Josiah jumped at the opportunity to rake leaves.
And of course, there was a little John Deere riding time.

Our first weekend there was filled with a visit from my sisters and our newest niece, Alexis. Randy and I got our baby fix, and Josiah and Laney got time with Aunt Kara.

A week of 70s was nice, completely abnormal, but welcome. But then it got "normal" real quick...highs in the 40-50s. We spent a lot of time indoors that next week. Of course, we got to the point where being inside at someone else's house was getting rough, so I took the kids on a couple of field trips....to the Children's Science Museum and a huge indoor playground.

The Science Museum was fun.... but the huge indoor playground was AMAZING! A mom at the Museum told me about it, and I couldn't wait to check it out. A church created this indoor haven as a place to go when the weather gets cold (ha, and we try to find somewhere air conditioned here). Inside the walking track was a large jungle gym, lego boxes, a merry go round and few stationary ride-ons. Around the outside were facades of different "stores": police station, candy shop, movie ticket window, etc.It turned out to be a great place to meet up with Meghan, a bloggy friend that I've "known" for about 2 years because it was really nasty outside.

Adventure to the Midwest

2010-12-22T06:08:00.000-08:00

For the last year, Randy has been thinking about pursuing a Sports Medicine Fellowship. And honestly, I've been spending the last year trying to talk him out of it. In fact, "fellowship" has become the new "F" word in our house. ha! But if the man truly feels like this is the direction that God is leading him, well then, I guess I will follow. So in an effort to get some face time with the fellowship programs he's interested in (and potentially increase his chances of matching), he contacted them about doing a week long rotation. However, there were no rotation slots available, leaving us with Plan B.....to go IL and rotate with one of my dad's colleagues, who just so happens to be a Sports Medicine Fellowship trained Family doc....just what Randy wants to be when he grows up. :-) Within 2 weeks of contacting the potential preceptor, we were able to get everything worked out....to spend THREE WEEKS with my parents. But just 2 days before we hopped in the car to drive 30 hours to IL, we drove to Randy's first fellowship interview, 4 hours away. So we drove to the interview Tuesday night, interviewed all day Wednesday, drove back home so that Randy could take the National Family Medicine Resident's exam on Friday. Then...we were off.

I have to say that the kids did amazingly well during ALL legs of the trip. We purposefully tried to only travel 6-8 hours in a day...and take a break about every 3-4 hours, whether that be at a park, Bass Pro Shop, Walmart, or Target. And of course, the portable DVD player and iPad kept them busy, too. We spent so much time in the car, that for the first week we were back, Laney asked for a movie because she thought we were going to be in the car longer than 30 minutes.

Once we got to OK, we hung around for a whole day, visiting Randy's brother and family...and got to meet our newest family member, Aiden. We aren't going to see them at Christmas because of Randy's schedule, so we wanted to make sure we spent some extra time there. Josiah and Laney always have such a blast with their cousins! And because we got to spend some extra time in OK, I was also able to see some fellow doctor wife friends!

I was going to write about our whole trip to/from IL and Thanksgiving, but I just had too many pictures to share...sooo, there's more coming...consider yourself warned!

Our Little Cupcake turns ONE!

2010-12-20T22:05:00.000-08:00

I'm only a month behind in posting about Hannah's FIRST birthday party...what can I say, things are busy around here.

When I started looking around for first birthday party ideas and saw cupcakes, I knew that was the theme I wanted to go with. I had SO much fun designing her party!

The invite:

And because I had decided to do just cupcakes and ice cream...instead of the big birthday dinner complete with bouncy house, I wanted to make fun decorations. First up was her party dress, my very first attempt at sewing an article of clothing...and I'm so pleased with how it turned out. And if I may toot my own horn, I'm very pleased with how just about everything for the party turned out....the 12 month banner, tissue paper pom-poms, cupcake toppers and wrappers, and her giant smash cake cupcake...everything.

Hannah had her first cupcake experience during our month in IL with my parents....so she kinda knew what do to when all eyes were on her (and she was all smiles when everyone was singing to her). And because she has a sweet tooth, like her momma, Hannah went face first, mouth WIDE open, toward the giant smash cake. It was so fun to watch.

Little Miss H has grown into quite the little toddler, leaving the baby stage waaaay behind....and while there is a part of me that is sad to be leaving the baby stage, I can't wait to see what God has in store for her this next year.

1 Year!!!!

2010-11-23T06:39:00.001-08:00

Today is a BIG day....one year ago, at 2:07pm, M3--another girl unbeknownst to us--joined our family. Hannah has kept to the personality description of the "3rd child"....she is very social now and loves to "ham it up" (my mom says she reminds her of me in that way), she was very driven to catch up with her older siblings and started walking early, and she is LOUD--maybe for fear that she will go unheard. Hannah's Aunt Elizabeth calls her "spicy"...and that's about right.

Hannah is very curious and enjoys "reorganizing" my cupboards and pantry. She loves balls, carrying purses/bags of any kind and size, and helping dispense wipes (I have to either place my bag on the counter or take out the package of wipes or I will find wipes all over the floor).

She loves pineapple, oranges, noodles, broccoli, oyster crackers, beans, and gnawing on apples. And since we've been visiting my parents, we have discovered her LOVE for grandma's chocolate chip cookies! It's SO funny to watch her drop whatever it is she has in her hands in hopes for a cookie.

Pretending to talk on the phone is one of her most favorite things to do and will carry it throughout the house. And playing with baby dolls is a new favorite activity. Hannah also loves to dance and is learning to "sing".

We found out I was pregnant with Hannah on April 1, and I will admit that I was less than thrilled with God's April Fool's joke. BUT if you ask me now, 1 year after she joined our family, I would say that God knew exactly what I, as a mommy, and what we, as a family, needed....she has been a wonderful, fun, crazy blessing to our lives.

Happy FIRST Birthday, Hannah!

11 Months

2010-10-24T17:55:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that I am now saying, "Hannah will be a year next month." During this past month, she grew from baby to toddler...she is now walking.

Hannah really seemed to grow to us this month....

She now recogizes herself in the mirror/anything reflective and loves to "get the baby".
She seems to be completely over her separation anxiety and will willingly go to the church nursery or just about anyone of my friends, whether it's the first time meeting them or not.
Hannah enjoyed her first playground and loves all of the action of the kids running back and forth. She even climbed the stairs at the last playground we went to this past week. But she's not too sure about the slides. And we discovered that she loves to swing.
Hannah went from standing for a few seconds to standing with confidence to walking all in a matter of 2 weeks.
She is wearing mostly 24 month clothes.
Hannah now weighs xx pounds.
I am proud to say that she signs "eat", "more" and "all done".
I just noticed today that tooth #8 is cutting through.
Hannah still loves to hold the car keys for me when we go anywhere. And will now put the cell phone up to her ear and say "hi". SO cute!
Hannah discovered the dishwasher and cabinets this month. If the dishwasher is open, she makes a "bee-line" for it...and immediately starts removing the silverware.
Now that she's standing, we have needed to become more conscious of what is near the edge of the table.
One of Hannah's favorite things to do is get into the diaper bag, find the wipes and pull them out. Yes, she has figured out how to open the to-go wipes container....and she would pull them ALL out if she could.
In addition to starting to throw food on the floor from her highchair (grrr), she thinks it's great fun to throw the fridge magnets on the floor, too.
She naps in our bed but sleeps most of the night in her crib.
And she has figured out how to hassle her big sister. Don't tell Laney, but it's kinda funny to watch.

I honestly canNOT wait for her birthday party! We're going to do things a little differently than we have done the parties for Josiah and Laney...but since she's Child #3, we can do that, right?

Happy 11 Month Birthday, Hannah!

We love you,

Momma and Dada

Look Who's Walking!

2010-10-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

In the last two weeks, Hannah has gone from standing for a few seconds, to standing for 10s of seconds, to cruising between pieces of furniture (but making sure she had at least one hand something solid) to taking a few steps with "encouragement" (before falling into your hands), to taking steps all on her own, to walking more than crawling.

Hannah is like her older brother in SO many ways.....so we're not too surprised that she's walking at 10.5 months, just like he did. The next step is to find her some shoes that won't make her feel like she stepped in wet cement since she's been barefoot since birth (I don't think she's worn but 1 pair of socks when she was just a few weeks old).

It's really cute--Josiah and Laney are really loving that Hannah is walking...and they love "encouraging" her to walk TO and WITH them.

Pay no attention to Josiah's outfit...he's really into dressing himself these days.

War Eagle!

2010-10-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

Back in Sept, my parents traveled to Florida and on their way, they stopped in "Tiger Country" to pick up a few things....to give Randy a good "ribbing". I'm honestly quite thankful that our team allegiances don't conflict with one another (the Tigers and Longhorns are in different conferences)....we can BOTH win and it doesn't impact our chances (too much) for a bowl game.

Thanks, Mom and Dad for the kids' new team gear....

the interlocking AU looks good on 'em!

Enjoying Cooler Temps...

2010-10-15T13:51:00.001-07:00

The weather has finally cooled down some here...and by some, I mean, we're no longer in the 90's most days. It's much easier for us now to take the kids outside in the evening to ~~run off some energy~~ enjoy some fresh air. So last night we hopped in the car and headed to a local sports park where the kids could enjoy riding their bikes and climbing/sliding at an awesome playground. Josiah even rode some of the hills that are part of the park's bike course (things will be so much better when he can ride without training wheels). Everyone had fun....especially Hannah on the playground...it was her first time down a slide.

Can't live WITH each other BUT can't live WITHOUT each other....

2010-10-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

After a long day of playing nicely, then agruing, then laughing, then screaming and crying (and really, the day is not complete without crying)....

they still fall asleep holding hands.

It makes all that time of me hiding in the closet worth it.

No Mas Chicle

2010-10-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

I believe this picture says it all....

mommy won't be sharing her gum again any time soon.

**Just a side note: I did cut the gum out...it was STUCK! I figured that because his hair grows so fast that it would be no big deal to cut a chunk of it out. Now, if it had been Laney's hair, I would have probably tried everything and anything to keep from cutting it out.**

Miss H Hits Double Digits

2010-09-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

Can it seriously be only 2 months until our Little Miss H turns 1 YEAR OLD?

Today Hannah celebrates her 10 month birthday!

Let's see...what has she been up to this 10th month....

Hannah will now shake her head "no" if she doesn't want something. And she loves to minic us when we say "no" or shake our head. She will even shake "yes"...but "no" is far easier.
She will occassionally stand alone for a few seconds and thinks it's pretty funny when we play and to try to get her do it more.
She LOVES to help with the laundry...by removing it from the basket.
She finally graduated to a big girl car seat....trips to the store have definitely become more interesting.
When seated in the cart, Hannah extends her body so that she can grab one side of the cart with each hand.
She is becoming more consistent with waving and saying "hi".
She just adores her brother and sister and is fine to be left with a babysitter as long as they are around.
Hannah is now tipping the scale at 23 pounds and is starting to wear some 24 month outfits.
She experienced Chuck E. Cheese for the first time last weekend on our way back from our Residency Retreat. She thought the games were pretty fun (she especially enjoyed the shooting games) BUT she was far from being okay when Chuck E. visited our table.
Hannah's night time sleep schedule has gotten A LOT better...for the last couple of nights, she has slept through the night. SO, it's time for her to move out of our room and back to share with big sister Laney.
We are down to nursing around 3 times/day now....first thing in the am, afternoon nap, and at nighttime.
Hannah has also found that screaming is somewhat effective....and let me just say that her "best" scream is LOUDER than that of her brother and sister combined. If she is hungry, she wants to eat RIGHT.NOW.
Her favorite foods right now are cheese sticks, Life cereal, turkey dogs, grapes and beans....and she LOVES sharing popcicles with her daddy (she will grab his face and open her mouth).
Hannah now has 6 teeth...and has been teething for what seems like forever.
She LOVES music and will "get her groove on" whenever she hears it. It's so cute.
And one of the sweetest things Hannah does is give kisses, big open mouth kisses when we say "kiss, kiss".

Happy 10 Month Birthday, Hannah!

Daddy-Daughter Date

2010-09-10T11:23:00.001-07:00

Randy came home early one afternoon this past week and decided to take his oldest daughter on her first date to the movies. We thought that Laney is now old enough to sit still and pay attention (well, better than she would have 6 months ago)....so he found a movie, loaded her up, and off they went. They watched "Despicable Me" in 3D (explaining the glasses). Randy said she did really well, enjoyed the movie AND the popcorn and actually kept her glasses on the whole time...she even wore them home.

When Daddy's In Charge.....

2010-09-04T22:40:00.000-07:00

My little princess gets dressed like a boy

wears a hat to cover her bed head

(that her daddy avoided combing).

But then later on in the day,

we saw her walking around the house (still wearing the jersey and shorts) but wearing her princess high heels, carrying a purse and her baby.

Zzzzzzz

2010-08-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Remember this post? Hannah, like her older sister did at 10 months, resisted her morning nap yesterday. I left to check on one of the many other things going on in our house, and I came back to find her "alseep", still chewing a chicken nugget while holding one in each hand.

Sadly, it just gets harder and harder for Hannah to get the much-needed morning nap....we are either going somewhere due to the 'big kids' or it's just too loud due to the 'big kids'. And now that she's been upgraded to her 'big girl' car seat, I'm sure she'll continue to lose that morning nap. Grrr. But on the bright-side, she is taking a pretty good afternoon nap and has slept through the night the last two nights. YAY!

Meet Aaron & Jesus

2010-08-27T11:03:00.001-07:00

Last night the kids enjoyed their very first Build-A-Bear experience, which was also a birthday party for one of their good friends, Liam. And in fact, it was my first time stepping back into the store in over 7 years, when we made our niece's and nephew's "bears" as their flowergirl and ringbearer gift.

It was pretty crazy...and even more so since I tackled the experience alone...with three kids...in an already busy mall. And while they weren't perfect, all three little monkeys behaved pretty well. They were so excited to help fill their doggie and rabbit with "cotton" (they have cotton on the brain since it's harvest time around here), wash them at the bath station, and dress them. Once Josiah eyed the football outfit, he knew for sure that that was the one he wanted. Laney needed a little help...so she chose from a couple of outfits that mommy liked.

After we dressed the "bears", I asked them what they wanted to name them. Josiah was quick to answer, "His name is...Aaron, Aaron M". Not at all sure where Aaron came from. And Laney decided on "Jesus". That's my girl....except Jesus wasn't a rabbit OR a girl. Oh well. We've offered her other names for her rabbit but she replies, "No, Jesus". Ok then...her name is Jesus.

Meet the newest members of our family....Aaron & Jesus.

Aunt Kara's Summer 2010 Visit

2010-08-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

My younger sister, Kara, had some spare vacation time, so she thought she would use a few days to visit her favorite nephew (and nieces) for his birthday. We tried to keep her visit a secret until the minute we picked her up from the airport, but the kid is just too darn smart (and listens to everything)! He knew who we were picking up the minute we turned into the airport. He was still very excited to see his Aunt Kara...they're best buddies.

During Aunt Kara's 4 day visit, she and the kids had fun at the beach, enjoyed ice cream and popcicles, read, played 'tea party' and 'cookies', had a water gun fight, went to two birthday parties (one of which was Josiah's), and broke out the new birthday gifts, including his new Cabela's hunting game.

Aunt Kara's departure really affected Josiah. He cried for a good couple of hours that day we took her back to the airport because he missed her....and he still, at random times during the day, will say how he misses her...such buddies.

We loved having her here....and while I'm certain she definitely enjoyed her time with the kids, she also got a good 'dose' of birth control. :-) Can't wait for the next visit! Remember, Kara, it's waaaay nicer here during the winter than it is in Northern Indiana.

Miss H at 9 Months

2010-08-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hannah has officially been outside of my womb for as long as she was in it (well, technically, she was in it for 10 months, but no one counts that first month). Why does it seem like her time spent "on the outside" flew by much more quickly than the time she spent "on the inside"?

Hannah's 9th month was full of exciting things:

She is officially crawling now. The "type" completely depends on the flooring. If she's on the tile, she has this "gimpy" kind of crawl where she's not on her knees at all. However, if she's on the rug or the carpet, she crawls normally.
This girl will only say "mama" now, no more "dada".
She's discovered that if she gets some saliva worked up in her mouth and opens her mouth slowly to say "ma" that she can blow a bubble.
Just when I thought we were making progress about her sleeping habits, she was hit with THREE more teeth. Teething for this little lady has been a nightmare!
It wasn't until this past weekend that she would take a bottle of thawed milk...without too much strong encouragement. She will hold out for milk straight from the "tap" if she's tired and/or not feeling well due to the teething.
She refuses a paci now. It's funny to think back on the progression of thumb to paci to anti-paci. Too much of "using mommy as the pacifier". boo.
She was diagnosed with her first ear infection a couple of weeks ago. boo.
She NEEDS to move out of her infant carrier (because the scale now reads 22 lbs.), but I'm really dragging my feet because it's just SO much easier.
Hannah now waves and says "hi" (in a deep southern drawl). We're working on "bye" and blowing kisses.
She will also give you "five".
She also claps when we say "Yay, Hannah!"
She loves a good game of peek-a-boo and will move the blanket herself and say "boo".
She quickly progressed from tummy to sitting to standing this month. She is now pulling up on everything and anything and is starting to "cruise" a little. She is now able to bend over to pick something up off the floor while holding onto the stable item.
Her crib mattress was lowered because of the aforementioned pulling up.
She will also "walk" if we hold her hands and walk with her.
And speaking of pulling, one of her new favorite things to do is pull hair and my glasses off. So I feel like I'm saying "no" a lot.
She is constantly trying new foods....she LOVES beans, just like her sister. And grapes, just like her sister. And crackers, just like her sister. She might have a stomach similar to that of her sister, but she looks more like her brother did at her age.
And I think we're making more progress on the sign language....she will mimic "all done" just before I clean her up and remove her from her highchair.
Sadly, she's still waking up at least once (more like twice) during the night to nurse. Grr. This has frustrated me since her brother and sister slept through the night at 6 weeks. But this is also the longest I've nursed a baby without supplementing. We have just started supplementing regularly from our frozen stash of liquid gold this weekend.
If you take her out and about, she is the happiest baby ever, despite the painful process of cutting teeth.

We're so proud of all that you accomplished this past month!

Happy 9 Month Birthday, Hannah!

4 Years

2010-08-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

4 years ago, a certain little man changed my name (from Jessi to "mom"/"Josiah's mom"), my priorities, and how my heart loves. 4 years ago, after a looong labor and delivery, we met (on the outside) the baby who changed our family dynamic forever, the one who started our family expansion project....

Rodolfo Josiah.

August 13, 2006 *4:11 PM * 7 lbs * 19in

Maybe in my mind alone, today marks a monumental milestone.....our baby is no longer a baby..he's become a little BOY.

August 13, 2007: 1 year

August 13, 2008: 2 Years

3rd Year

Josiah accomplished so much this past year:

he transitioned from diapers to underwear in 1 day (we put underwear on him on his 3rd birthday and never looked back--no day OR nighttime accidents)

he learned to sound out a few words and "read" them

he can write his name

his imagination has really taken off....he will pretend to play 'beach', 'doctor', and 'rock star' (the constant drumming is enough to make me go nuts most days)

he started to really sing in the car...to the radio or praise CDs (his favorite song right now is "Trading My Sorrows", with his favorite part being the "yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes, yes, Lord" part...hearing it makes us smile every time

he upgraded to a big boy bike (18") from his starter bike (12"), but we are still working on the training wheels

he now LOVES fireworks and the beach (you will not find him out of the water often)

he became a Big Big Brother this year (when he spent the night at a friend's for the first time) and has helped me A LOT

he now fully dresses himself. It may not always match but it's one less thing I have to do. However, he LOVES to change clothes...so there seems to be much more laundry since this accomplishment.

his relationship with Laney has really sprouted....it's been fun to watch them play together and have conversations.

he completed a full school-year of AWANA and his very first week of VBS and enjoyed learning about Jesus.

he spent a full week with his Grandparents, away from momma and dadda....and he enjoyed it so much that he didn't want to come back home.

he developed really good basketball dribbling skills, making baskets into an 8ft. goal, and throwing spiral footballs.

he experienced/watched his first high school football game....and of course, he LOVED it.

he really enjoys playing with his two best buddies, Beau and Tyler....and will really miss them while they attend preschool and MDO at two separate churches.

August 13, 2010: 4 years

Josiah,

We are so proud of the Jesus-loving little boy that you've become.

Your energy is both exhausting and refreshing, your love for your sisters is precious, and while your curious nature drives us nuts (something I'm certain you got from your momma), it makes us smile.

Happy 4th Birthday!

We love you,

Momma & Dadda

Biker Momma

2010-08-03T08:28:00.000-07:00

Randy has been begging me to ride the motorcycle with him since the day he brought it home--2 years ago. And now that we are days away from putting it up for sale (we need the $$ to purchase a 'family' vehicle), I decided it was a good time to 'hang on for dear life'. Plus, I need to start doing a few things outside of my comfort zone. Randy was so excited!

It was every bit as scary as I thought it would be....at first. I think I laughed with fear the whole way out of the neighborhood. Randy laughed because I had quite the "death squeeze" on him.

Our Harley driving friends and fellow Residents, came with us. I'm pretty sure I would have chickened out if they hadn't been there to encourage me. We enjoyed the double motorcycle date--we went out for sushi. Randy said I could order anything I wanted and even ordered me the "Hot Momma Roll". :-)

I have to admit...I can see why the boys enjoy riding. Once I relaxed and realized that I wasn't going to fly off the back, I had fun (I even told him that if he didn't want to sell the bike that that would be okay). And we even got to ride the Harley back.

Month 8

2010-07-23T05:51:00.000-07:00

Yep, another milestone month update for Lil' Miss Hannah...number 8.

She's been quite the busy little baby since her 7 month update...

Hannah can now successfully traverse a room by rolling...it's so neat to leave a room for a second only to come back to her nowhere near where you left her and getting into something she shouldn't.
She took her first crawling 'steps' yesterday....while the strides may not be in 100% succession, she is moving FORWARD. I always get so excited to for the babies to reach this milestone since they can go after what they've been eyeing since 3 months, but then I forget how much work it is to keep the floor free from chokeables and other nastiness that is intringuing enough to put in the mouth.
I swear she can sign "milk"....unfortunately, she seems to be wanting less and less of it. She is very distracted while nursing and often will only nurse on one side before she pulls away and wants to do something else.
Hannah started putting herself to sleep just this past week. It's been great to feed her, rock a little with her with her blankie (and sometimes a paci) and then put her down.
"Dada" still seems to be the only word she enjoys repeating, but I have caught her saying "mama"....and that makes my heart happy.

This girl loves the beach!
We have put away all 12 month clothes...I was so thankful that Laney had quite a few summer 18 month outfits, keeping us out of the store.
The scale now says 21 pounds.
We just discovered that Hannah is completely frightened (full blown scream frightened) of dogs.
She now has TWO teeth. I know I posted about the new chompers already but I felt like including it in her monthly update.
She is SO loving eating...real food. No more baby food here. I just love that she can feed herself. AND she can drink from a sippy cup, even one of the big kids' cups.
And if you don't count when she's teething, Hannah is still a pretty happy, laid back baby....one of her best characteristics.

Happy 8 Month Birthday, Hannah!

Summer "do's"

2010-07-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

For the past two summers, Randy has shaved a little here and shaved a little there...
giving Josiah a MOHAWK.

Josiah loves it.
Especially since he gets to put 'taffy' (aka hair gel) in it to make it stand straight up.

and apparently he's not the only one who likes it.....

he's received quite a few compliments.

And Laney, now that she'll let me 'do' her hair....

can been seen either sporting a single 'spout'

or double 'spouts'

Her hair is just not long enough to pull back into a full ponytail or pigtails yet...but soon enough. This time last year, she didn't even have enough to hold in a clip.

Chomp Chomp

2010-07-08T21:59:00.001-07:00

Every.day for the past week, my calm, happy-go-lucky, will-play-wherever-you-sit-me-down Hannah has been fussy, waking up in the middle of the night, and SCREAMS bloody murder at even the anticipation of being set down. At first I thought it was all of the sand she had eaten on Sunday when we took a family trip to the beach and that she just had an upset tummy/bottom. But this behavior change has continued...and I am about to lose.my.mind.

I checked her gums every day after the first day but it wasn't until the 4th day that I discovered the reason why my baby had suddenly become so inconsolable...I felt TEETH...and not just one....but TWO! Poor baby!

If you look really close, you can see 'em.

And YAY....it's another milestone! I do love this part of the baby's first year....they learn so many new things. And even though my babies may weigh more than 90-95% of kids their own age, they still look like babies, just chubby ones...that is, until they start getting teeth, then they really start looking older....no more gummy smiles...and that kinda makes me sad (even though I can't wait to see what she's like as a toddler).

Josiah was 8 months before we saw his first pearly whites and Laney, at this age, already had 4 teeth...so Hannah is right inbetween. We are suspecting more teeth are coming soon since the first two have 'cut through' already and she still seems to be having a difficult time staying comfortable during naps/nighttime, prefers to be held, and will refuse the bottle if she knows that I'm around. It's a constant cycle of frozen washcloths, teething rings, and occassionally a dose of good ol' Tylenol.

The Countdown is ON!

2010-07-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

Happy First Day of the Last Year of Residency, to US! Only 364 days until we either move to begin a Sports Medicine Fellowship or move to begin a "real" job! But no matter which way you look at it, a new adventure is just a year away.

7 Months

2010-06-23T02:46:00.000-07:00

Here we are, celebrating yet another month birthday for our littlest princess.

Quite a bit happened for Hannah in her 7th month of life:

She flew on an airplane for the first time to Baltimore, MD.

She finally got to meet her "Uncle" Jason...they share the same middle name, Reese....it was so cute to see them together.

She mastered the art of rolling. Hannah can now successfully roll both directions. However, she often gets 'stuck' on her belly.
Hannah's pincer grasp is pretty amazing, I think, for a 7 month old. About 1 in 5 Cheerios actually makes it into her mouth. She LOVES Cheerios.
We've discovered that she's not much of a baby food type o' gal...she wants the real stuff. In addition to Cheerios, Hannah LOVES meat (definitely her daddy's daughter).
And she LOVES to sup water from a straw (she also gets a kick out of biting on the straw, making us have tug the straw out).
We're STILL waiting for teeth. BUT because we are still going strong in the breastfeeding department, I don't mind if we get another toothless month.
Josiah and Laney were SO excited that Hannah will sometimes join them in the tub. And truthfully, Hannah thinks it's SO fun and wears a smile the ENTIRE time.
She sat in her baby pool, in a real bathing suit, for the first time last week. Splashing without worrying about water getting on the bathroom floor...who could ask for more?

We've also discovered that Hannah LOVES the jumper. Only problem is is that so do the 'big kids'...they want to 'help' her jump.

Hannah is definitely chunking up like her sister and has almost outgrown size 12 month clothes. Monthly stats: 20.5 pounds and 27 inches.
And just like her siblings, she is pretty verbose (she found her voice while on the Baltimore trip)...and has made noises sounding pretty close to "dada". She studies our words very intensely by just staring at our mouths.
Hannah and I are starting to work on sign language, but she will say "mmmm, mmmm" to indicate that she's ready for more.
You can just see her desire to want to get moving...she will be on her belly from sitting within minutes because she is reaching further and further for things. Her newest thing, while on her belly, is to try to push off with her feet, causing her little tushy to go into the air. SO cute.

Happy 7 Months, Hannah!

Sum, Sum, Summertime!

2010-06-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

Since graduating High School (cough, 14 years ago), I really haven't given "summertime" much thought....I was either taking classes (I was a full time student all.year.round in college because I wanted to graduate early, go to med school, and have babies before I was too old--haha!), working, or recently, taking care of babies 24/7. But 6 months ago, I was blessed with the most wonderful baby gift ever--$$ for Josiah and Laney to attend Mother's Day Out (or 'preschool' as the kids called it) twice a week. So during those 6 months, while Josiah and Laney were learning about colors, letters, numbers, Bible songs, Jesus, how to write their name, and of course, playing with their friends, Hannah and I ran errands, nursed, did laundry, nursed, cleaned house, nursed, and maybe took a nap. I LOVED that quieter time (at the store especially), and I was sad for it to come to an end. When we got back from our Baltimore trip last week (when Randy and I picked Josiah and Laney up from spending a whole week with Randy's parents), that's when I suddenly felt the impact of "summertime". I no longer have a place to take the big kids for a couple of hours a couple of days a week so that I may enjoy that quieter time.

Just in the last year or so, I have slowly realized that boredom comes to life, in my home, in the form of argueing, whining, crying, and flat out disobedience. So it didn't take me much time to put together a list of summertime activties to keep them entertained and expend some energy. Last week, the kids and I traveled to good ole Wally World to not only pick up groceries but to buy their first plastic pool (with a built-in slide) for the yard. They have been in it almost everyday, about twice a day. They are really enjoying it, and Hannah is enjoying watching them splash and squeal from the shade in her exersaucer.

Today, I surprised the kids with a 'muffin tin' lunch, because, after all, today is Monday (Muffin Tin Monday). They LOVED it and ate everything, including the green bell pepper. I will definitely attempt this on Mondays for the next couple of months.
Tomorrow the kids will make their own english muffin pizzas....I just hope they go over as well as the muffin 'cup' lunch did.

Today was also Josiah's VERY.FIRST.DAY of Vacation Bible School. Even though he does not technically meet the eligibilty requirement of 4 years old, the church makes exceptions for kiddos turning 4 during the summer....and that would be Josiah. YAY! He was a little shy at first, but after his buddies arrived, he was good.to.go. He was so excited to tell me what they did today, and that he can't wait until tomorrow.

So in an effort to be more organized (and intentional about what we do with our time instead of just lying around), I put together a weekly schedule (and included a few of the activites I want to try) for after VBS:

Monday: Summer treat day

pick lemons at local orchard, make fresh lemonade
ziplock bag slushies
ziplock bag ice cream
popcicles

Tuesday: Movie clubhouse (the local movie theater shows a family-friendly movie each Tuesday, through August 3, at 9:30am for a $1/person)

June 15: Alvin and the Chipmunks-The Squeakquel
June 22: Ice Age 3
June 29: Igor

Wednesday: Water day

Pool
Sprinkler, slip n slide
local splash park
beach
'paint' the house
toy frozen in water balloon (use 'tool's to melt/chip the ice to get the toy out)

Thursday: Park day (visit a different park each Thursday)
Friday: Art day/Outdoor fun

shaving cream fight
Goo-blek
Koolaid finger paint
corn syrup paintings
tin foil art
bubbles
refrigerator box house (I'm hoping an appliance store has one I can have)

And we'll close out the summer with Josiah's 4th birthday party on August 14th.

So, what do you have planned for the summer?

Flying & Fun in Philly

2010-06-02T07:39:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we packed up the kids and headed for San Antonio to meet Grandma and Pappo...the kids were so excited (they hadn't seen Randy's parents since Christmas). But this meet-up was like no other....Grandma and Pappo took the 'big kids' home WITH them. I have to admit I teared up a little bit reinstalling their carseats and giving goodbye hugs and kisses....this was the first time I'd left my babies with someone other than their daddy. But I KNEW they were in good hands...and that I would eventually get over my tears and enjoy ~~some quiet time~~ spending time with Hannah.

After we loaded Grandma and Pappo's car with all of Josiah and Laney's stuff, Randy and I enjoyed some time visiting with family (while we may be far away from parents, we are never far from cousins thanks to the expansive nature of Randy's extended family). Then we enjoyed a dinner with JUST Hannah (McAllister's Deli), a hotel night with JUST Hannah, and a 3 hour flight with JUST Hannah. I was a little nervous flying with an infant (ya know, because they don't require much--just a car seat, stroller, and filled-to-the-brim diaper bag)...but check in was a breeze, and Hannah did remarkably well....except that she didn't want to take a nap for fear of missing out on something. She was so cute the last 20-30 minutes of the flight when we were below the clouds again and she could see the ground...she tried SO hard to put her head through the window so she could see more. And each time the plane would dip a little on the descent, she would gasp--expressionless, look at us and then smile....and then ready to do it again...SO cute!

Five minutes into standing at baggage claim, Hannah was sound asleep....and she slept solid for 3.5 hours--and woke up just as we arrived in Philadelphia, PA.

Our first stop once we got to Philly was "the house" of my sweet bloggy friend, Melisa. We've been getting to know each other for a little over a year....I have been blessed by our friendship, so it was wonderful to get to meet her (and her sweet family) in person. While this was not either my or Randy's first trip to Philly (I travelled 7 years ago for the American Public Health Association Annual Conference and Randy drove up 3 years ago to take the PE of the Board Exam) , it was the first time to be able to do touristy things. Melisa and Brad happily drove us downtown and took us to see the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, Benjamin Franklin's grave, LOVE park, Philadelphia Art Museum (aka Rocky Stairs), and CHEESESTEAKS!

Our Liberty Bell viewing was an interesting experience....we're not sure if there was an Indian Consortium or something but there was a LARGE gathering of folks from India. While we were waiting our turn to stand in front of the Libery Bell, we saw a couple of Indian women pull a couple of white American ladies--ladies they did not know--into the picture with them. Once they saw Hannah--they wanted to then take pictures WITH her. One lady saw another do this so when the first one's picture was taken the second one reached for her. Hannah took it all in and was happy to go with these ladies. Then another lady came up to us, with Hannah seated in her stroller, and asked if she could take a picture of the baby. We've never had this happen to us before, so Randy and I thought it was kinda weird...but Randy readily handed Hannah over.

Once we finished seeing a couple more "things you must see while in Philly", Melisa and Brad took us to one of Brad's favorite Philly Cheesesteak places, Dalessandro's. This cheesesteak was delicious...and much better than one I had eaten 7 years ago! Randy was pleased with his cheesesteak as well....he agreed that it met the hype.

After a full afternoon of sight-seeing and filling our bellies, it was time to head back to Baltimore (a 2 hour drive)....but NOT before Melisa and I took a picture (I forgot to take one of me and Trisha--grrr).

6 Months

2010-05-24T12:46:00.000-07:00

The months just keep flying by.....Hannah is 1/2 a year old already!

She really came to life during Month 5.....

Hannah smiles every time you whistle at her.

She started grabbing for everything we have in our hands...cups, food, remotes, etc.

She doesn't really enjoy baby food puree....I've tried twice to give her homemade sweet potatoes and butternut squash, and I got the 'bitter beer face' each time I offered it. Come to find out she just wants MEAT. I fed her a little bit of hamburger and chopped brisket this weekend while her Grandparents were visiting, and she LOVED it!

Hannah just LOVED her Grandma during her visit this past weekend...it was like she remembered her from when she stayed with us for two weeks after her 'birth' day.
Hannah started growling a couple of months ago but had not done it in a while....well, she's picked it back up as one her main methods of communication. We all find it hilarious!
She loves bathtime....I lay her down in the big tub, and she just splashes and splashes.

Hannah, like Laney, thinks her brother hung the moon....he is the only one who can really make her laugh.

She wears mostly 12 month clothes now...and weighs around 18.5 lbs (her well-baby check up is tomorrow).

Hannah LOVES to play in her exersaucer and high chair...and enjoys hanging out in the kitchen while I cook.
She is a completely independent sitter and is starting to grab for things outside of her immediate reaching circle.
Hannah is still working on teeth....not only does she gnaw on every.thing...this does not make for a very happy baby!
Most days Hannah is a pretty happy baby and just chills, taking in the constant noise made by her brother and sister. She has started getting upset when we leave her in a room by herself...so I know she's going to absolutely love it when she can follow us (which scares me to think that it will probably happen in the next 1-2 months).

Happy 6 Month Birthday, Hannah!

37th Rotation

2010-05-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Randy's not one to make a big deal out of birthdays, but lucky for him, birthdays are a BIG deal to me, so I'm going to make a big deal out of today for him! You love that, don't you, honey?

Today marks Randy's 37th full rotation around the sun! Yep, 37! And you would never guess it since this man acts far from being just 3 years shy of turning, ahem, 40. I just love that about you, by the way!

We won't do too much to celebrate today....aside from making one his favorite meals and enjoying his traditional Carrot Cake birthday cake (keeping with the tradition set by his mother) with friends, since he and I will be traveling to Baltimore in a couple of weeks....where we will have, what will seem like, a million more restaurants and entertainment spots to choose from. We are SO excited (we will also be traveling TWO less children)!

I'm so proud of what you've accomplished this year, Randy!

I pray that you have a wonderfully blessed day!
Happy 37th Birthday!

2nd Trip Around the Sun

2010-05-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

My dearest Alayna,

Today, we celebrate your 2nd trip around the sun! Your daddy and I can hardly believe how fast the time has passed. You have grown into quite the little lady over the past year....you are no longer a baby.

June 2009

Just some of the things I don't want to forget:

you love to dance and have since you started walking (you were the "little" star of the show at Aunt Leslie and Uncle Josh's wedding)...you appear to have more rhythm than your brother (you got that from the "good" side).
your speech/vocabulary just exploded this year....and you are rarely quiet.
and since you started talking more, you love to sing. Your current favorite is a compilation of Twinkle, Twinkle-Jesus Loves Me-the alphabet song-and Jesus Loves the Little Children. You also love to sing 'My Girl' to your baby sister.
since we brought Hannah home from the hospital, you have become quiet the little momma...you wrap your baby in her blanket, rock her, put her in the high chair, and even stroll her around the house in her stroller. You even try to tell Josiah what to do by copying what I tell him.
we are still working with you on pedaling your tricycle, but you've almost got it. You'd rather walk/run after Josiah, which you do quite well, I might add.
you've figured out how to drink from a cup all.by.yourself...still working on water bottles.
you LOVE your teacher at church and school....Ms. Gina just adores you, too...you are good little helper.
you are wearing 3T-4T clothes and a size 7-8 shoe...and you try to dress yourself.
jewelry and shoes excite you....the love of jewelry happened immediately after you attended your first tea party of your friend, Brooklynn. And you are starting to get excited about pony tails and bows.
no one can make you laugh like your brother...you think he's just great. In fact, you are his biggest cheerleader.
you love to read...you will just sit in a room (alone) and read your books. You especially like to read the stories about Jesus and will point Him out as soon as we turn the page.
you just about all things Dora, hence the Dora and Boots birthday cake. You love her books, her PJs, her DVDs....just NOT her dolls. It cracks us up that you are frightened of the doll that Aunt Kara brought during her visit.
you are NOT a fan of thunderstorms.
you love playing at the beach...digging holes, throwing sand, and jumping over little waves (you weren't quite sure when we took you to the beach at 13 months).
you love to draw....you will sit/lay down with a pen and paper you stole from the printer and just draw (including drawing on your legs).
we're working on potty training....you enjoy sitting on the potty during every diaper change.
and you've figured out how to manipulate situations by simply fluttering your beautiful eyes/eyelashes. It makes me and your daddy sick to our stomachs that we are not strong enough to withstand your cuteness.

You are quite the little firecracker...you make us laugh every day. While you are already showing some definite signs of independence, we are looking forward to how a 2 year old little GIRL will change our lives.

We love you, Laney.

Hugs and Kisses,

Mommy and Dada

Es Hora de Fiesta!

2010-05-03T12:44:00.001-07:00

I was going to leave this post wordless because I thought the pictures said enough, but Randy wanted me to write something.

This year's birthday party theme was Mexican Fiesta (quite fitting given our location).

The invitation

A friend of mine went to Mexico a couple of weeks ago and came back with this really cute mexican dress for Laney. I even had a bow made to match--She looked SO cute!

Laney talked about a Dora and Boots cake forever.

And since Dora is mexicana, I thought she and Boots fit in well with our theme. Even though the cake didn't turn out exactly as I envisioned in my head, I am still quite proud of how it turned out.

No Mexican Fiesta is complete without a pinata!

And no birthday party in the valley is complete without a bouncy house. Laney LOVED it! She started bouncing as soon as I got her dressed...and bounced non-stop for about 3 hours....until it was time to sing and eat cake...and then it was back out for more bouncing.

Laney LOVED having everyone sing to her.....and she blew out both of her candles by herself.

Laney and her co-guest of honor, James. They are only 3 days apart...James is older.

We had a great night with wonderful friends (and yummy eats--fajitas, beans, rice, homemade guacamole and of course, CAKE)!

5 Months

2010-04-23T07:50:00.000-07:00

Another month has passed, and my little girl is still growing.

What has Hannah been up to? Let me tell you...

Hannah discovered her feet and loves to grab them and bring them to her mouth.
Hannah rolled over from her back to tummy (just once, though).
She loves to growl.
She loves to kiss (read: drool) all over Laney's baby (pictured above).
In fact, she loves to kiss/chew on everything.
She loves to play in her exersaucer...and watch Josiah play Wii Sports.
Hannah will grab for anything we have in our hands: phone, pager, wii mote, cup, etc.
Hannah can sit, unassisted, for about 10 minutes at a time...making playtime much more fun.
She will hold her own bottle most of the time.
She ate her first bites of cereal....and hated them. The most positive thing to come out of feeding her, however, was that she figured out the mechanics of eating from the spoon.

Hannah, you are still, by far, my most laid back baby.

You are still a wonderful shopping partner, sleeper, and eater.

Happy 5 Months!

Easter 2010

2010-04-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

We started the Easter Weekend festivities with our Residency Program's Annual Egg Hunt....Josiah and Laney did GREAT....their baskets were full of goodies!

Easter Sunday morning started bright and early with teaching the story of Easter via baking Resurrection Rolls. I wanted to make the Tomb Cookies I posted about, but I thought Josiah wouldn't quite understand the whole "recipe".

The Resurrection Rolls were super easy (and yummy)....dip a large marshmallow (Jesus) in butter, roll in cinnamon/sugar, and wrap up in a crescent roll (tomb). The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll puffs up, but like the tomb--it is EMPTY!
Josiah was quick to understand that Jesus died on the cross for us because He LOVES us...and that after He died, he rose/left the tomb and went to Heaven.

And because the kiddos looked SO cute in their Easter outfits (I found matching dresses for Laney and Hannah), I had to at least try to get a good shot.....hmmmm, you would think I would learn my lesson.

Sadly, this was the best one of the 200ish we took....grrr.

BUT at least I do have 3 of 3 looking at the camera....ah, baby steps.

New Perspective

2010-04-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

As for most things in life....it's amazing what a little change in perspective can do. Today, I sat Hannah in the Boppy to work on her core strength...and she surprised me by being able to sit, unassisted, for about 10-15 minutes. And from what I could tell, she really enjoyed being able to reach for and grab toys instead of just swatting at those dangling overhead and 'play' with her big brother (read: she watched him show her how to do it) instead of him talking ~~yelling in her face~~ down to her while stuck on her back.

While I'm definitely excited that Hannah is reaching all of her developmental milestones, I have to be honest that I'm pretty excited that our picture taking arrangements have just gotten easier (seriously, how many ways can you arrange a baby laying down?).

Word of the night: H-O-T

2010-04-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

Since our car does not have tinted windows (yet), we use the window cling shade thingys. On the shade, there is an indicator telling you when the internal temperature of the car is HOT. I guess when we got into the car later this afternoon, the internal temp was high enough to turn the red "button" white and show the red letters: H-O-T.

Out of nowhere, Josiah says. "H-O-T. HOT". Randy and I immediately halted our conversation....and I just about choked on the water I was sipping.

Me: "Are you kidding me? Did I tell you that that spelt HOT?"
Josiah: "No."

Me: "Josiah, you just read your first word! That is VERY exciting!"

Josiah: BIG SMILE

I think I've created a little monster

2010-04-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

Up until last week, neither Randy or I would fall for the "I'm too cute to punish" act played so well by our Princess Laney...I'm not really sure what happened, but we've become soft. One look into this little girl's eyes and we melt....smile....and then realize that we've just lost our opportunity to punish her. But seriously, how can you resist this?

In other "monster"-making news, I decided to let her put on big girl panties for the first time tonight. Thanks to Big Brother Josiah, Laney has definitely become interested with the potty...about a month ago, she pooped in the potty on two consecutive days. And just when I thought we were on our way, she went and hid in the closet. Oh well, that would have been just too easy. Since then, she requests to sit on the potty as part of our diaper changing process, just about every time. Sometimes she "goes" and sometimes she doesn't...but if this small step helps her to succeed, I'm for it.

Tonight, I found her walking around diaper-less (turns out that she had pooped and needed to be changed...but instead of telling me, she took the liberty of removing her own diaper..not paying attention to the fact that her poop had just fallen out of her diaper and onto the floor--which I didn't find till a couple of hours later). So instead of putting a diaper back on, I wanted to see how she would react to wearing princess panties.

She was SO proud to be wearing underwear like "Siah"....she wouldn't take them off for anything.

I had to return a movie and decided to take both of the 'big kids' with me so Hannah could relax in some peace and quiet....I made sure Laney went potty before we went, but I let her go out in her panties. No accidents! She had NO interest in putting a diaper back on for bedtime, but I had NO interest in washing bedding tomorrow AM.

I'm not convinced that she is 100% ready for Potty Training 101 yet (afterall, she's not quite 2 yet), but she's gettin' there.

Surprise!

2010-04-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

One year ago today, Randy and I were shocked (and that's a mild description) to learn that we would be adding to our family sometime in late November. I can remember back to that morning just like it was yesterday....first came tears, then panic, then denial...and eventually acceptance (but not till like, um, 11 weeks later). Even though a "surprise baby" was not a new concept to us, it still didn't lessen the blow. I seriously thought it was just the worst April Fool's joke EVER...it just wasn't a joke.

It's so cliche to say it, but we can't imagine our family without our little Princess Hannah. She's been such a delightful addition...God knows exactly what He's doing.

And on a side note, stuffing 3 babies across the backseat of the car hasn't been nearly the big deal that was playing out in my head....and we have loading/unloading down to a science.

Princess Tea Party

2010-03-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

One of my (and Laney's) good friends hosted a Princess Tea Party this morning, and our presence was requested. We enjoyed decorating a wooden mirror, drinking "tea" and eating teapot and teacup-shaped cookies with 15 other girls, under the age of 4. Surprisingly, everyone got along...there was no crying or fighting...and just about everyone cooperated for pictures. Plus, Laney agreed to wear "jewels"...I was so excited when I saw they matched her dress.

Laney LOVED her time at the party....I see a small table with tea set in our future.

This Princess Tea Party was the first fun event where it was just me and Laney. While I wasn't too sure about all of the girly girl, princess stuff (if you know me, I'm SO not a girly girl), I LOVED the special time with my little Princess (#1).

Easter Story Cookies

2010-03-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

My pastor's wife posted this recipe on her Facebook page this morning, and I thought it was too amazing NOT to share. If I can get my act together (I don't even have Easter outfits purchased yet), I might try these with Josiah...since he's the only one who might ~~understand~~ have a small clue as to the significance of Easter.

I have NO idea what they actually taste like, but the opportunity for my child(ren) to learn the truth about Easter is by far better than the taste.

*****************************

**Begin this recipe on Saturday, the day before Easter.**

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory,
the glory of the One and Only, Who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14
-----------------------------------------

You Need

1- cup whole pecans

1-teaspoon vinegar

3 egg whites

pinch of salt

1-cup sugar

zipper baggie

wooden spoon

tape

Bible

Preheat the oven to 300 (this is important-don't wait 'til you're half-done with the recipe)

1. Place the pecans in the baggie and let the kids beat them with the wooden spoon to break them into pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.

Read John 19:1-3

2. Put the vinegar into a mixing bowl. Let each child smell the vinegar. Explain that when Jesus was on the cross and He became thirsty, He was offered vinegar to drink.

Read John 19:28-30

3. Add the egg whites to the vinegar. The eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life so that we could have life.

Read John 10:10-11

4. Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand and let them taste it. Put the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.

Read Luke 23:27

5. So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup of sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him.

Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16

6. Beat the egg whites with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.

Read Isa. 1:18 and John 3:1-3

7. Fold in the broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto a wax paper cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus body was laid to rest.

Read Matt. 27:57-60

8. Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven off.

9. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the door. Explain that Jesus tomb was sealed.

Read Matt. 27:65-66

10. Go to bed. Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight and that Jesus followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.

Read John 16:20-22

11. On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. the cookies are hollow! ON THE FIRST EASTER, Jesus' followers were amazed to find His tomb empty.

Read Matt. 28: 1-9

HE HAS RISEN!!!

4 Months

2010-03-24T11:03:00.001-07:00

4 Month Stats:

Weight: 16.7 lbs (90-95%)

Height: 25 inches (50-75%)

Let's see....what happened this month?

Hannah....

learned how to end the much dreaded 'tummy-time' by rolling over onto her back.
went on her first LOOOOONG vacation/car ride--she was a very good traveller.
met her Uncle "Boss", Aunt Elizabeth and three of her cousins.
took a bath in the 'big tub'...she loved having all of the extra room to kick and splash.
is learning to really LOVE routine and gets cranky if she's not in bed by 830pm (if I could only get her older brother and sister to yearn for their bed about that time).
is getting close to outgrowing 3-6 month clothes.
and laughs whenever daddy says "cystoscope". Ha, we start the learning process early around here.

We've reached the beginning of the fun months for me...all of the physical developments (rolling over, sitting up, standing, etc), talking, laughing, and soon to be eating of solid food. I just can't wait to see what she has in store for us.

Happy 4 Month Birthday, Hannah!

The "fat" months are over

2010-03-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

Hannah will be 4 months tomorrow...and that means it's time to start losing the baby fat (I give myself 4 "fat" postpartum months.) The goal is to lose 1lb/week....very slow to make sure that I'm maintaining enough calories to make adequate milk for Hannah.

So to make sure we enjoyed our last day of junk food before my "diet" starts, we went out for doughnuts this morning.

What do you think....think they enjoyed their chocolate frosting and sprinkles?

Fun with Aunt Kara

2010-03-09T12:17:00.000-08:00

I would have to say that our biggest complaint about living down here (aside from the 5 months of 100 degree temps) is that we live SO far away from family. Thankfully, our families are more than happy to come to us since Randy's schedule doesn't lend itself to much time off and traveling with 3 small children...alone...on planes doesn't sound like too much fun to me.

Since Hannah was born, we've been blessed with a couple of waves of family visits...my parents hopped in the car and arrived the day after Hannah was born (a couple days before Thanksgiving) and, Randy's parents and sister came down from West Texas over Christmas...so now it was Aunt Kara's turn. Josiah (or I) couldn't have been more excited!

Josiah absolutely ADORES his Aunt Kara...probably because she was the most tom-boy of the three of us and, therefore, enjoys playing soccer, basketball, baseball, and trains with him.

Josiah was so sad to see Aunt Kara leave....inbetween tears he said that he wanted it to be summer already so that we could see her again (the current plan is for us travel to IL....sans Randy...sometime this summer so that we can visit with preggo Aunt Leslie).

We had a great time and wished she could have stayed longer (but we understand...someone has to earn a living and support dentist-in-training Uncle Chris). But something tells me that a couple of days was just right...Kara arrived with a hint of "baby fever".....and I'm pretty sure we cured of that for a while.

Thank you, Aunt Kara, for flying down and spending a couple of days with us. We, Josiah and Laney especially, can't wait to see you this summer.

7 Years

2010-03-08T12:09:00.000-08:00

Dearest Randy,

8 1/2 years ago, we took this picture....our first date.

And last night, we took this one...celebrating our 7th Wedding Anniversary.

Thank you for treating me (and our little tag-a-long) to dinner at the Island...it was ah-mazing! I can't wait to go back (maybe after you start moonlighting)!

(our little dinner guest--she was perfect and slept through dinner)

Randy ordered Ahi Tuna--it was phenomenal!!!

Sadly, I didn't even think to take a picture of our appetizer--

Ahi Tuna poke (similar to Japanese sashimi).

It, too, was amazing with beautiful presentation!!!

......as was MY dessert.
YUM!!!!

Thank you, Randy for sticking with me for the last 7+ years....it still amazes me just how much we've jammed into our 7 short years of marriage....1 year of Grad School, 4 years of Med School, 3 babies, 2 big moves, and 1 1/2 years of Residency. And while the 'road' hasn't been without its fair share of bumps, I wouldn't trade it for a smooth one.

I'm looking forward to what God has in store for us in Year 8.

I love you.

3 Months

2010-02-26T21:27:00.001-08:00

Congratulations, Hannah, we made it through the 4th trimester! It's no secret that I don't do 'newborn' well, so you can imagine how excited I am now that you are...

talking more....you are becoming quite the "chatty kathy".
starting to laugh, but something has to be really funny to get you to giggle.
loving it when your brother and sister sing "My Girl" to you...you give them a BIG smile, which only makes them keep going and going.
smiling when we talk to you...now if I could just get you to smile when I break out the camera.
watching your brother and sister like a hawk, especially when they play the Wii.
sleeping through the night. Your first stretch is anywhere between 6-8 hours and then you give me another 4-5 hour stretch after that.

A couple more random facts:

you are super smiley when you wake up either first thing in the morning or from nap.
you still don't enjoy tummy time very much; however, you will 'work' longer if Josiah is on the floor with you.
your eyes were glued to the tv when we watched the Olympics-Men's Figureskating.
you were given your first sibling-inflicted boo-boo. Laney accidentally hit you inbetween the eyes with the corner of a dustpan. Still not really sure how it happened except that she just happened to be carrying the said dustpan when she got mm from your face to say 'hi'.

I weighed you today when we visited daddy at work...and you weigh 15 lbs. 6 oz. (over 95%). You are filling out 3-6 month clothes easy (but I need you to slow down because I have a ton of CUTE stuff for you to wear). Despite your awesome weight gain, you're not nursing as well anymore.....you are WAY too interested in what Josiah and Laney are doing. But it's not entirely all your fault...they like to be milimeters away from your face at.all.times, especially when you eat. And speaking of eating, you still seem to have a sensitivity to diary. You did NOT appreciate my eating ice cream cake for Valentine's Day.

And because you are so 'healthy' and pretty sturdy, you played in the exersaucer for the first time this week.....I think you enjoyed the new perspective even though you don't quite have the coordination to play with the toys.

"Seriously, mom, more pictures?"

Lots to look forward to next month....you're going to meet your Aunt Kara for the first time next week and then you are going on a 16-hour car ride to OK to meet more family and friends. Your daddy and I also moved your sister out of our room at 4 months, but it hasn't been discussed to date..so you might get to 'hang out' a little longer, which really doesn't bother me one bit (you're a pretty good roommate). :-)

Happy 3 Months, Hannah!

Hair

2010-02-21T11:38:00.000-08:00

Each of my babies, thus far (we'll see what happens with Hannah--so far she's had the most hair at birth), has had little-to-no hair for their entire first year...but when hair decides to grow...it GROWS!

Laney-6 months

Laney-11 months

And in just the last 6 months, we've gone from this......

to....

And as horribly disheveled as it looks when our little princess wakes up from nap, I don't have the guts to cut it...the curls are just TOO cute (when they're combed), and I'm afraid they won't come back....like they didn't with Josiah.

Paci-Free Zone

2010-02-14T13:58:00.000-08:00

Guess who hasn't had or asked for her "ba-ba" in the last 5 days?!!!!! Woot-Woot!!!!!!

Randy and I thought for sure that breaking this little princess of her "ba-ba" was going to be down right miserable--for all involved. BUT 2 naps and 2 bedtimes later (without it on her own), it looks like WE'RE FREE a couple of months before she turns 2 (which was the goal)! Plus, she's not even tried putting one of Hannah's in her mouth (BTW, Hannah is SO not into the paci, she would much rather suck on her hands/fingers--if she could just get her hand to open somehow).

"Play dough" Lollipop Cookies

2010-02-03T12:07:00.000-08:00

I can't remember how I came across Amy's blog, The Idea Room, but I'm SO glad I did....it's a blog full of creativity, from sewing to baking to mod podging...it's become one of my most favorite "craft" blogs. Amy has given me many "ideas" to do for and WITH the kids...like her "play dough" lollipop cookies. Since ~~we were~~ I was without a computer last week (story is forthcoming), I thought this "idea" was perfect to help pass the time.

Amy's pictures are MUCH better than mine, but Josiah and Laney loved them...which is all that matters, right?

This is what saving $$ looks like around here.....

2010-02-02T20:05:00.000-08:00

One of my New Year's Resolutions this year is to gain better control of our spending and pay down the small debts (translation: we aren't even considering Randy's med school loans). We're working through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University with another couple, I've been in contact with our Smith Barney Financial Consultant, and thanks to my good bloggy friend, Trisha and her blog post about her money making trip to Walgreens, I've started collecting/using coupons and looking out for deals.

I scored last week and was able to buy 6 pkgs. diapers for both Hannah and Laney for around $30 thanks to the diaper deal at Target and Huggies coupons, 2 boxes of Special K cereal/granola for less than $1/box, and 2 boxes of Huggies wipes for $.88/box. I was VERY proud of myself....and can't wait to see how this new endeavor proceeds.

Randy decided that he could help with the car maintenence budget. He came home on Friday with tools and the determination to change the oil and rotate the tires on the truck himself. His dad taught him how to care for vehicles growing up, but I hadn't even seen Randy take the vehicles to get the oil changed since we got married, almost 7 years ago. Honestly, I wasn't sure if he could do it, so I made him use his truck as the guinea pig.

I have to admit that I was quite impressed....I even called his dad informing him of what his son was outside doing.

And then I saw this....

Me: "Um...."

Randy: "Yeah, I missed."

Needless to say, the next day he went out and bought the oil pan I suggested he buy to begin with. And as upset as I was to see an oil stain on the garage floor, I had to let it slide since it was done in the spirit of saving money.

9 Weeks

2010-02-01T19:13:00.000-08:00

As of last week, Hannah is now halfway through what I consider to be the hardest time period of a new baby...and I'm starting to really enjoy her. Hannah is definitely exercising her social skills, she coos and smiles the most after a feeding and when her sister and brother dote on her (Randy and I have decided they treat Hannah more like they would a pet--they love to rub, pat her head and hug her). In fact, she giggled a BIG giggle just yesterday when the 'big kids' were doing their usual thing.
Hannah's stats from her well baby check up last week:

Weight: 14 lbs (over 95%)
Length: 22 in (between 25-50%)
Head circumfernce: 15.5 in (between 50-75%)

Looks like she's going to be a chunk-a-monk just like her sister, if not more (she's weighing more than Laney did at her appointments thus far)....however, I think she's going to be the shorter sister (the Mexican AND German genes are kicking in).

Hannah has finally gotten the memo about sleeping longer during the night. On a night when I've given her a bath and massage (which she LOVES by the way), she'll sleep about 6 hours. On the non-bath nights, she's averaging about 5 hours during the first stretch and then 3 hour stretches after that. She now drinking about 3-4 oz. milk per feeding...hence the cheeks and 95th percentile for weight. We changed out her wardrobe this past week also...Hannah is wearing mostly 3-6month stuff now and has been wearing size 2 diapers for the last month.

And just for kicks and giggles, I thought I would post a picture of Laney at 2 months, wearing the same sleeper.

Above: Hannah @ 2 months

Below: Laney @ 2 months

Happy 9 Weeks, Hannah!

That's more like it!

2010-01-15T16:38:00.000-08:00

Welcome back average "winter" temps of South Texas! Oh, how we've missed you! 40-50 degree highs are just NOT acceptable "winter" temps those of us with "thin blood" (the Winter Texans were especially frustrated, these are the temps from which they are trying to escape). We thoroughly enjoyed 67 today and look forward to low 70s next week! Now I can stop FORCING my children to wear clothes as they would prefer to run around with just underwear or a diaper.

Note to self: even the baby needs a pedicure before she can wear sandals every day.

Happy 6 7 Weeks!

2010-01-14T09:21:00.000-08:00

Would you believe me if I told you that our little princess Hannah will be 2 months old by the end of next week? Yep, 2 MONTHS....already! I honestly can't believe I've survived 8 weeks of multiple 'middle of the night' and 'every 2 hour' feedings.

Randy and I change our minds almost everyday about who we think she looks like....some days it's Josiah or Laney or even my sister, but lately we think she looks like herself...just a little different from her brother and sister. She's got more hair now than Josiah or Laney ever did at 6 months, she's been blessed with a slightly darker complexion, she has more of an 'outie' belly button, her eye color is somewhere between Josiah's dark brown and Laney's hazel--Hannah's were the only ones that started out blue, her head is a bit smaller, and from what I can tell she doesn't have a birthmark.

I found Josiah's "going home" onesie...and just HAD to put Hannah in it, seeing that she is our only "Native Texan" baby (Randy has tried to convince Josiah that he is from Texas when the truth is that he was born in Virginia. Randy's brother does the same with his kids who were born in AR).

Hannah and her big brother....he just LOVES her to peices. In fact, Hannah smiles the most when Josiah and Laney talk to her. At Hannah's 1 month well-baby visit, she weighed 11 lbs 15oz (95%) and measured 21.5 inches (50%), which was about 8oz heavier and 2 inches shorter than Laney at her 1 month appt. So it looks like we're going to have another chunk-a-monk little princess....This girl is ALL cheeks!

Unfortunately, Hannah is not sleeping the 6 hour stretch at night like I was hoping for. Both Josiah and Laney started sleeping 6 hours as soon as they reached their 6 week birthday. Hannah will sleep great during the day, but then will only sleep 3-4 hours at night (and sometimes it's still only 2 hours).

Nursing/pumping is currently going well. As of today, I have around 100 bags of frozen milk, totally 457oz. This is the most I've ever had frozen during the first 4 months...so I'm SO excited! I'm actually starting to have to cook the freezer meals just to make room for the milk. How AWESOME is that?! The 4 month birthday will be the tell-all about whether my body will continue to produce....but if not, it looks like we'll be able to supplement with breastmilk for a bit longer before introducing formula.

She is also just learning to take a pacifier and bottle....but only from Josiah or Randy. If I'm around, she would rather nurse or find her hand...she did suck on her thumb for a couple of minutes last night and her middle fingers the day before (just like Laney did). In fact, she had suck blisters on both of her hands when she was born.

Hannah's been smiling for a couple of weeks now....and has been pretty consistently since we brought her home. HOWEVER, every time I get the camera out, she refuses to give me a smile...until....I just have to have the camera ready right after she eats when she's SO happy (just like her momma, happy when the tummy is full).

It's so hard to get 'calm' pictures of her....she has such big eyes (with beautiful eyelashes) that in most of the pictures of her, she has WIDE eyes....a deer in the headlights look. But here's a good one....

Happy 7 week Birthday, Hannah!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-05T12:06:00.000-08:00

Is it me or did December just fly by? While we did manage to do quite a few Christmas-y things, despite the new baby; there were quite a few things left undone because of the new baby.

And because there is A LOT to share (and document), I'm going to use the beloved bullet points and SOOC (straight out of camera) pictures (sorry).

We added a new ornament to our tree this year.....

Hannah and Josiah sported their traditional Christmas/winter jammies (sadly, I didn't get one of Laney in her big girl nightgown--so cute)....

Josiah and Laney participated in their very first Christmas program. Randy and I were SO proud....they both sang into the microphone when it was time to sing "Happy Birthday".

Josiah and I made our 2nd Annual Gingerbread House....we even let Laney help in the decorating. Although, I think she ate more M&Ms than she put on the house (even Josiah snuck a few).

Josiah helped cut out Gingerbread boys, girls, candy canes, snowmen and trees....

and smash candy canes for the peppermint cookies we made for his class party....

Randy's mom, dad, sister, BIL and nephew made the 11 hour trek down to spend the whole week before Christmas with us. I was a little sad that because of Hannah we couldn't spend Christmas with my family in IL as the schedule dictated, but I was SO glad that we were able to spend it with family, regardless of last name.

Josiah and Laney were able to spend some special time playing with Grandma and Pappo...and their cousin, Samuel.

Laney loved wearing Pappo's cowboy hat and cap.....

Hannah also enjoyed Grandma and Pappo...and this is how she spent A LOT of her time....

Laney enjoyed reading some of her new books to her baby and with Uncle Leo....

One of our newest traditions is to bake Jesus a birthday cake. This year I attempted a rainbow cake.

Josiah and Samuel helped Jesus blow out his candles....

My gift from Randy was a Wii. His purpose for the choice is to help me lose the baby fat--whenever I'm ready. Truthfully, I'm not much of a workout-at-home type person, there are too many distractions. Sadly, I've not even touched a wii-mote...but the kids (plus Randy) are thoroughly enjoying it.

I hate that we've put away the tree and all of the accompanying Christmas decorations...there is nothing more beautiful and calming than sitting a room lit only by the lights on the Christmas tree. For me....Christmas just wasn't here long enough this year, too much of my attention was devoted to constant during-the-day and numerous middle-of-the-night feedings. I would have loved to have had more energy and time to bake my family's traditional Christmas cookies and fudge, to have walked around the neighborhood/driven around town more to enjoy Christmas lights, and to have sung at the candlelight Christmas Eve church service. Needless to say, I'm more than excited for next year's celebration to come.
And since I've not done a very good job of posting pictures of Princess Hannah, I'm including a couple just for fun.

Up on Santa's Lap

2009-12-20T09:08:00.000-08:00

Friday was our Residency Program's Family Christmas Party, and no Christmas party is complete without a visit from Santa.

Josiah was pretty excited to sit with Santa.....

Hannah could have cared less....

It made us laugh to realize the stuffed penguin was as big as she was.

AND Laney, well, she had NO interest in sitting with Santa.....

even after we told her it was Daddy.

What would Santa photos be if we didn't have one with a screaming child?

Tornadoes in South TX

2009-12-17T11:46:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you can't imagine why I've been so absent from the bloggy world lately....*wink, wink*....but a lot of it has to do with 2 toddler-sized tornadoes (and we don't even live near OK).

Josiah & Laney 'cooking'...

too bad you can't hear the 'music' that accompanies "cooking up a storm".

Josiah's room...I caught it on a good day when most of the books are still on the shelf.

BUT here is Laney's room....EVERY toy is on the floor...care to play 'I Spy'?

And sadly, I can't blame these 2 of 3 laundry baskets full of CLEAN clothes on the aforementioned toddler-sized tornados. This is a result of not having enough time outside of feeding, burping, changing, and rocking a baby (who is just a few days short of celebrating her 1 month birthday) and taking a shower and/or nap whenever the baby is sleeping.

We are doing well despite the constant tornado aftermath....

~~I'm~~ Josiah and Laney are really enjoying MDO--tonight is their Christmas program. Randy and I are SO excited!
I just celebrated my 2nd Blogoversary; however, I completely missed it
Laney has become quite the 'little mama'...she carries around her baby doll and tucks her in Hannah's car seat and bouncy seat, she rocks and burps her.
The 'big kids' love to hold Hannah and invade my her personal space and talk to her. Amazingly, Hannah enjoys it.
Josiah and I are in the midst of baking/assembling our Gingerbread House 2009

And, of course, I can't NOT include a picture of 'the other' reason why every sq ft. of carpet is covered with toys, and why we are digging clean clothes out of laundry baskets instead of drawers and closets (I know, she's being blamed already...sad, isn't it?).....

Introducing M3: Hannah Reese

2009-11-25T16:59:00.000-08:00

God blessed our growing family with another little princess on Monday, November 23 at 2:07PM. Hannah Reese weighed in at 7 lbs. 15.1 oz and measured 20.5 in. long.

Home free....3 children in 3 car seats! Whew!

Getting a little sun to help with her jaundice.

Please forgive my lack of report...as you can imgine, I've got my hands just slightly full.

First Field Trip

2009-11-21T21:11:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday, I accompanied Josiah on his very first field trip. We travelled out to the farm of one of our good friends.

Josiah was SO excited!

Josiah and Mr. Levi's hay baler.

3 and 4YO MDO classes

Of course, Josiah had to wear all of the green and yellow he had--to match Mr. Levi's new tractor.

During our hay ride, the kids were able to try some Ruby Red South Texas grapefruit

--doesn't get much more fresh than pulling straight from the tree--

it was delicious even though it wasn't ripe yet.

and sugarcane

and see army worms at work.

I had a blast watching Josiah learn a little bit more about farming. (I, too, learned a few things...I'm constantly amazed at the how "involved" farming really is)...
and I can't wait until our next trip!

Catching Up: Part 2

2009-11-09T11:58:00.000-08:00

Geesh, how time flies when you're ~~having fun~~ getting ready for a baby. Quite a bit has happened in the last month....

Laney was ~~kicked out of her crib and~~ moved to a toddler bed. She definitely has her good and bad days where I spend 30 minutes repeatedly dragging her back to her bed for a nap. And Randy has spoiled her in that she will no longer fall asleep on her own in her bed at night, she insists on being rocked to sleep. Randy's of the opinion that there will eventually be a day when she won't want to be rocked....so he's enjoying it now.

Josiah couldn't let Laney enjoy the newness alone.

The FP Residency and my MOPS chicas blessed M3 and me with a wonderful baby shower. We had some super yummy desserts, enjoyed a couple of games, and watched me cry like a baby when I opened the surprise gift from the group---Mother's Day Out (MDO) for BOTH Josiah and Laney for TWO months after the baby arrives. I honestly don't think I could have asked for a more perfect gift. It's no secret that I've worried about my sanity since finding out we were expecting M3 32 weeks ago.....I'm feeling much comfort in knowing that Josiah and Laney will be taken care of and loved on by some wonderful ladies while I get to spend some alone/bonding time with the baby.

Me with my pregnant friend, Dr. Chaylah....her baby girl is due 4 days after M3

(but we think she'll arrive earlier).

Both Josiah and Laney started MDO this month, just to give me a couple of days/week to ~~relax~~ get a few things done without spending 10 minutes getting them in/out of the car or the entire trip saying "no", "Josiah!", and "if you don't do 'xyz', I'm going to give you a spanking" as well as to get them used to going--I didn't want to have to worry about them feeling 'shipped off' after the baby got here. Josiah LOVES his time at "preschool"...and he always asks when it's time to go back. And to say that he was super excited to pick out his Batman backpack is an understatement. Laney even got to pick her own lunch box. I think Laney enjoys her time 'at school'...she's just SO tired by the time I pick them up at 1PM.

Josiah and Laney on their first day of MDO.

As of today, I am 38 weeks pregnant...only 2 weeks (14 days) to go! It's crazy to think that this baby could be here any day now....although, I'm feeling fairly confident that we'll go the whole 40 weeks (Josiah was 39 wks and 4 days, Laney was 40 wks 4 days). I'm surprisingly feeling pretty good with just a little bit of low back pain and swelling. I only have a few things left to accomplish on my 'before baby to-do list', which helps me feel more ready to take on my new title of 'mommy of three'.

PS. I can't wait for Christmas....I've even started listening to Christmas music. In fact, I just might play some while I'm laboring...I LOVE it that much. And I CANNOT wait to put up all of the decor...and since we're staying here for the holidays, I'm making Randy hang outdoor lights (and maybe take me to San Antonio to look at lights).

Happy Halloween!!!

2009-10-31T19:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!!!

Love,

A Texas Longhorn Fan, A 'Sweet' Little Girl, and A Jack o'Lantern

Remembering TWO

2009-10-24T05:50:00.000-07:00

I've accomplished quite a bit in the last two weeks, which I'll share later....but right now I'm just soaking up this time when it is just TWO.

Catching Up

2009-10-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

Randy is spending the night working in a busy ER, and I am sitting in a quiet house with a heating pad soothing my sore and tired back while listening to Classical Christmas music on Pandora....ahhh, "Ave Maria". Oh, the things that make me happy these days. LOL!

I can't believe it's been a month since my last 'real' post. My days seem to be slipping by as my tired body continues to chase after two energetic little people while growing another. I've always said that pregnancy seems to go by faster for the ones who aren't pregnant, but I can honestly say that these last 34 weeks have gone quickly for me. I just haven't had a lot of 'free' time to sit and think about being pregnant.

Okay, so in the last month, since my last 'real' blog post:

We traveled to Corpus Christi for our Residency program's annual retreat. It's the only weekend during the year where ALL shifts are covered so that everyone can participate. It was wonderful to spend time with our medical 'family'....I even got some time to relax.
Randy started another month of Hospital Service. These months are our least favorite in terms of how much of his time is spent away from the family (from when we say 'good night' each Sunday, we don't see him until 2PM on Tuesday), but he learns SO much. The upside--he really does enjoy hospital work, and he'll have 2 of the required 3 months out of the way by the time M3 arrives, allowing him to take some time off without any problem.

I turned another year older. Sadly, I had TWO little people at home with fevers who needed their mommy, so I didn't get to spend any fun time outside of house (I really wanted to eat at PF Chang's and see a movie at a real theater). However, we did order out Chinese and enjoy cake with birthday cake ice cream....YUM!

Laney turned 17 months. She has started saying two words together now....and "NO" can often be heard all.day.long. Laney also insists on climbing up into her car seat, which now sits forward-facing....she's really enjoying it. She continues to love to read and now can be heard singing her version of the Alphabet Song at least twice a day. AND she is also learning the art of using eating utensils....I'm slowly getting over my intense dislike for the mess this process creates.

I leave for an hour, taking Josiah with me, so that I can head to the grocery store...

and this is what I come back to....my princess with a curly mohawk.

My craft projects have slowed down; however, I managed to finish Laney's tutu as well as try my hand at applique. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with how the ensemble turned out. I'm also in the finishing stages of crocheting a baby blanket for M3, after which, I have just a couple more projects to finish.

And of course, my belly continued to grow. Everything is going well, minus the common low back pain and exhaustion. It's amazing how quickly I forgot what these last 8 weeks of pregnancy are like. We are now just 6 short weeks away from welcoming a new little one. And to be perfectly honest, I'm feeling much anxiety about how I'm going to chase after three little ones and stay sane. I don't know how you did it, Mom....you are one amazing woman!

Taken 2 weeks ago at 32 weeks.

I also continued to freeze meals....successfully adding Tacos in Pasta Shells, Baked Spaghetti, Swiss Stuffing Chicken, Chicken Casear Tetrazzini, Chicken Florentine, 4 dozen meatballs, and Chicken Tortellini Bake to the freezer. This week I plan to freeze a pan of Italian Chicken Pastini and Meatball Stuffing Bake.

I guess that pretty much sums up what we've been up to during the last month...see, you didn't really miss anything exciting. We still have not transitioned Laney to the toddler bed....I'm dreading her being able to get out of bed when she wants....but it's next on the list.

Please continue to pray for our family as we make all of the necessary adjustments to welcome M3, including the decision on a name....we're really struggling with one for a boy.

Same Family, Different Digs

2009-10-12T13:07:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the new bloggy home of Randy, Jessi, Josiah, Laney and "M3"! Sooo, what do you think? The new name took us a while, but we finally agreed (and finally found a name that wasn't already taken).

We are just 6 short weeks (or so) from welcoming yet another 'fruit' to our family....we are getting excited, anxious, and a bit tired. Now if we could only come up with a name for our little one....ugh, us and names. *wink*

I hope to post a bit more of what we've been up to since my last post....uh, a month ago (how sad), later tonight....when Randy will be taking up residence at the hospital.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.

Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!

Psalms 127: 3-5

Busy Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-11T21:05:00.000-07:00

Sadly, I'm almost a full week late in posting pics and such from our Labor Day Weekend...but better late than never, right? So, here is what filled our weekend....in semi-bullet point fashion.

Friday night: Randy's first love is football...he just can't get enough of this season. And since our Residency Program docs work as one of the local HS team's "Team Docs", he thought it would be fun to take the family....show us (specifically, Josiah) where he will be "working" many Friday nights till November. It was a great night (minus the surprising cost of admission=$24)...and the kids really enjoyed themselves. We sat right next to the band (on the non-student side) where Josiah and Laney could dance their little hearts out...and they did! It was an interesting environment, being around all of those 'kids' (boy, things/kids have changed in the last 13 years--whoa, that makes me feel old) and seeing the marching band (yep, I was one of those band geeks, but I loved it). And one other interesting observation....a popular concession item here is cucumber wedges seasoned with chili powder and lemon. Hmmmm, wasn't quite sure what to think of that, so I refrained. Here are a couple off snapshots from our of HS football game experience.

Football is SO big here in TX that it's not uncommon to see scoreboards with jumbo-trons at the HS level...I was amazed.

As long as Laney had popcorn, she was good to go.

Ah, just remembering the days...wool uniforms in high heat and humidity.

Laney also turned 16 months on Friday...and sported her first up-do (or 'whale spout' as I've just been informed my bloggy friend, Sabrina). Isn't it just darling?! Up to this point, she's not really had enough hair for us to pull up/back with even a clip...but with all of the outside activity (translation: sweating), she kinda sat still long enough to let me pull it up off her forehead in an effort to cool her down.

Saturday: I decided it was time to finally install Laney's new car seat. The big, pink, flowery car seat had been sitting in the entry way for the last couple of months...and every day, Laney would sit in it. My hesitation about installing it so soon after it was delivered was that it was too big to sit rear-facing...and I wasn't ready to turn her around quite yet. But I broke down, cleaned out the backseat, switched Josiah to the passenger side (his legs are too long to fit comfortably when Randy drives), and installed Laney's new seat....she LOVES it. Now there's just one more seat to install.......

Sunday: We headed to Brownsville for a friend's first birthday party at a local splash park. I've been wanting to go the park since we discovered it last year; but when it came down to it, I never really could get myself excited about traveling 30 minutes just to play around in water when we have multiple friends in town with pools. So this was perfect....plus, we didn't have to worry about a ton of random kids pushing over the babies, my friend had reserved it specifically for her daughter's birthday. It was so much fun...and the weather was perfect (yep, still really hot down here; however, we have cooled down to the low 90s)!

Monday: We just relaxed and enjoyed having daddy home for a change. I cleared out the hall closet to make room for my newly organized file boxes (I no longer have clutter in the 'junk' corner of our bedroom--YAY, now we have room for the crib!) and was granted time to grocery shop ALONE. Randy had also smoked a turkey on Saturday, so we invited our fellow PGY2s over for fellowship and food.

It was a great weekend, filled with lots of family-time. Only a couple more weeks before Randy heads into another horrible month of hospital service, and then shortly after that, we become a family of FIVE.....we are definitely cherishing these moments as our little 'Table for 4', full weekends or even an hour--we'll take whatever we can get. Hope you had a great weekend!

Hiding His Word

2009-09-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

Last night was Josiah's FIRST night as a Cubbie in our church's AWANA Club. And if you aren't familiar with AWANA, it's an international, nondenominational, Bible-centered ministry for 3YOs through HS students, and the name comes from 2 Timothy 2:15:

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." Approved-Workmen-Are-Not-Ashamed.

Last night was also Parent VIP Night for the Cubbies, so I was able to sit in his class and observe how he'll be spending his time (6pm-7:45pm every Wednesday)...and Josiah did pretty well considering he one ball of non-stop energy, which is only enhanced when he's around his friends. He began learning his first Cubbies Bible verse: "...God...loved us and sent His Son..." (1 John 4:10), the AWANA Pledge, the Pledge to the Christian Flag, the Pledge to the Bible, and Cubbies song. Each week, Randy and I will work with Josiah to memorize a different verse, thus hiding the Word in his heart. And with each successful verse recall (or series of verses), he will earn a badge to put on his Cubbie Vest, which he'll receive in a couple of weeks.

Randy and I are excited to use this additional opportunity to teach Josiah (and Laney) about Jesus and God's grace (truthfully, I think I'm going to learn just as much). We just can't believe that we have a little one old enough to participate in the Club. 7-8 years ago, before Randy and I were married, we were group leaders for our church's kids program...I remember thinking just how cute, small, and impressionable our Cubbies were....and now we have one.

Kind of a goofy picture....he's learned the art of cheesy smiles.

Preparations for Baby: Part 1

2009-08-31T12:36:00.000-07:00

Today I'm 28 weeks pregnant, which means that I'm officially in my 3rd Trimester. I honestly can't believe how fast time is passing! It seems just like yesterday that we told our friends and family our shocking news.

I had the beloved glucose tolerance test this morning...and passed! I really didn't think I would fail, and I was praying that I wouldn't because I would not know life without my carbs and sweets....I already have to endure 6-9 months postpartum without chocolate or dairy.

Anyway, with only 12 weeks left, I've started preparing bit by bit.

1. Nursing cover: during the last couple of years, nursing covers have become popular among nursing moms. But for whatever reason, I've never purchased one. In thinking about things that I would enjoy having with this baby that I've not had with either Josiah or Laney, I decided that I wanted a nursing cover. However, I did NOT want to pay $35 for one. Sooo, I decided to search online for free tutorials and sew my own. I found two tutorials, but ended up using this one. There are a few things I would change upon sewing another one, but in the end, I was happy with how it turned out (despite its imperfections, which will probably continue to drive me nuts--but I do have the satisfaction of being able to say "I made it myself").

2. Travel changing pad: in my search to find nursing cover tutorials, I ended up spending a few extra minutes perusing around Esty (very dangerous) and found that I could buy a travel changing pad to match my nursing cover. What a great idea! So that led me to search for changing pad patterns, and this is what I found. But again, I was unwilling to spend $31 for something I could easily sew myself for much less. Here are pics of my end product:

Again, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Although, next time I would use only 1 layer of quilt batting between the fabric layers (the 2 layers I used does make it extra cushy, but it definitely adds bulk) and try to find a softer fabric for the back side.

3. Diaper clutch: this is the last piece of the set, and I'm just waiting on my mom to send me the pattern so that I can put it together. A friend made me one of these 'envelopes' when Josiah was born and thought it was one of the best gifts (thank you, Lori)! However, when I started carrying around diapers for TWO kiddos, the original clutch was too small....so my mom copied the pattern, making it bigger to accompany more diapers and wipes. And of course, I will be using the same fabric (bubbles-outside, orange-inside).

FYI--The cost to buy all of the fabric, quilt batting, ribbon, thread, boning and D-rings was a grand total of $35, the price of just one Hooter Hider.

4. Freezer meals: I've also started the process of stocking my big freezer. A couple of times a week, I'll make a double batch of dinner and freeze one. So far, I've got a Wild Rice and Chicken Casserole, Noodle and Spinach Casserole, meatloaf, and some 3 Bean Turkey Chili already done.

This week will be:

Tacos in Pasta Shells,

Baked Spaghetti,

King Ranch Chicken,

Swiss Stuffing Chicken, and

some banana bread (I've got tons of frozen bananas that I need to use up to clear out my in-house freezer).

And once I get my hands on a couple of OAMC cookbooks, I'm going to spend a day just cooking my little heart out. If you have any great recipes that work well for the freezer, please pass them along! If there is one thing that has me a little anxious about caring for a newborn, a 19-month old, and a 3YO, it's finding enough time and energy to cook. I just don't want to have to do much more than thaw and bake.

Next on the list....moving Laney to her new car seat (and finally turning her forward-facing), crochet another baby blanket, organize drawers, and transition Laney to the toddler bed. Wish me luck...and energy.

Getting SO Big

2009-08-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that the baby stage is by far my least favorite stage about having children, so it should be no surprise that I'm filled with excitement and joy each time Josiah and Laney figure out how to do more 'big kid' things.

Last Thursday, Josiah's 3rd birthday, I decided it was time to really try the potty-training gig (having 3 in diapers really scares me financially). The night before I purchased some cool 'big boy' underwear, the ones that had all of his friends on them--Buzz Lightyear, The Incredibles, Nemo, Wall-E, and Lightning McQueen, hoping that this would be a good place to start, incentive-wise. I'm excited to announce that since last Thursday, he's only had a handfull of #1 accidents and NO #2 accidents. In fact, as soon as we got home Thursday night from a Residency pool party/dinner, he told me that he needed to go poo-poo. SUCCESS! And don't you know that we had quite a cheering session! In this past week, we have even found him running out of the room, taking himself to the potty (even climbing up onto the toilet to take care of #2). He's also been waking up dry from nap and nighttime. I'm not entirely sure if I can say he is potty trained quite yet, but he is making strides everyday. We are SO proud of you, Josiah!

Not only has Josiah tackled potty training during this past week, he is working on dressing himself. The arrangement is for me to lay out his clothes, and then he is responsible for putting them on. We are still working on "the tag goes in the back" and "your head goes through the big hole at the bottom of your shirt first"...and dressing in a timely manner, but he's doing a great job. And a lot of times, despite his obvious struggle, he still wants to "do it by myself"......

thus the unique way to wear his underwear.

And we moved Josiah out of the 'baby' room and into his own room, complete with 'big boy' bed with 'big boy' sheets. As per my mom's suggestion, instead of transitioning Josiah and Laney at the same time, we decided to make a big deal about him moving to the big bed...and we disassembled the toddler bed. There are days when he wants to sleep in his 'little' bed, but overall he's doing really well.

Laney, too, is growing by leaps and bounds. She can now speed walk, can step up and down stairs unassisted, throws balls well (and is even trying to shoot baskets), is gaining a little bit more 'air' each time she tries to jump, is speaking many more words--saying 'more' and 'all gone', will say "uh-huh" and shake her head 'no' depending on the question, and can tell you what the letters A, B, D, and M say...it's so cute! She's also become our biggest picky eater....not entirely sure what happened, but one day she wouldn't eat her up-til-then most favorite foods. Speaking of eating, she loves, loves, loves, to sit in a booster seat and will sometimes prefer it over a highchair.

She is also becoming quite a the 'little mama'....she sits her baby in her highchair when she's not in it, she brings baby up in the highchair with her and feeds it Cheerios, and even enjoyed helping me change Josiah's diaper by wiping his bottom (when we were using diapers, *wink, wink*)....let's just hope this behavior continues once her little brother/sister arrives.

I took both kids to their well-child/baby exams on Tuesday (Josiah-3 years, Laney-15 months), and here are their stats....

Josiah
Weight: 37.5 lbs (just shy of 90%)
Height: 39.75 in (between 90-95%)
Head: 19.5 in. (50%)

Laney
Weight: 27.5 lbs (between 90-95%)
Height: 32 in. (90%)
Head: 18.5 in. (75%)

Clearly, neither one of them is deficient in the physical growth department. YAY for healthy babies!

Outside-Inside

2009-08-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

As of today, we are 26 weeks and 2 days pregnant...only 96 days to go....or 14 weeks....regardless of how you count it, though, it's not much time left at all!

Everything is going well....I'm measuring right on target, my BP is good, weight gain is fair (as in maybe gaining too much), my iron level is great, and baby's heartrate is around 150-160bpm.

On Monday we had our 'big' ultrasound...and I managed to keep my word and tell the U/S tech that we were not interested in finding out the gender and to please tell me when she would be taking the abdomen and femur measurements so I could turn my head. Baby M#3 is still laying horizontal with its feet near his head. According to BabyCenter, he weighs about 1.75 lbs and is 14 in. head to heel.

Picture from the OUTSIDE....

and from the INSIDE....

In 2 weeks, I go in for the oh.so.loved glucose screening and the following week, I have my very first appointment with the Nurse Midwife. I've hesitated in switching my provider to the CNM mainly because I've loved my epidurals too much and I really don't think I can endure 12+ hours of labor with no medical intervention (I'm too much of a pain wuss). But after sitting hour after hour to see my OB and then to just feel like a chart, I'm more than willing to try a different perspective to labor and delivery. Please pray that it goes well.

Flashback Friday

2009-08-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be perfectly honest...I'm not sure if I failed to post a "Flashback Friday" last week because I was wrapped up visiting with family or if I was just hesitant to post baby pictures of both me and my husband....okay, maybe it was a little bit of both.

BUT....for your viewing pleasure and a few giggles.....

Me: 3 1/2 Months

Randy: 3 1/2 Months

Josiah: 3 1/2 Months

Laney: 3 1/2 Months

(I always thought my children looked similar, but geesh....at 3 1/2 months, it's hard to tell who is who)

Me: 2 Year Birthday

Josiah: 2 Year Birthday

Three

2009-08-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

My dear, sweet Josiah,

As we celebrate the THREE years of life God has given you and blessed us with, we can't help but reflect on all of the things you've done or come to enjoy this past year.

Since you turned 2, you've become quite the big brother...you gladly bring me diapers and wipes whenever I ask, you inform me when Laney wakes up from her naps, and you make her laugh every day in a special kind of way that no one else can.

You learned how to pedal your tricycle and eventually ride a bicycle with training wheels....you especially enjoy riding up and down the 'ramps' (aka driveways) when we go out on our family walks.

You absolutely love anything to do with skateboards, scooters, motorcycles and tractors. You ask Daddy for a ride on his motorcycle each and every time he takes it out.

You enjoy helping me in the kitchen....you are a great stirrer. You even made your first gingerbread house this past Christmas.

You discovered how much fun carnivals are....you love the rides, the faster and taller-the better.

In the last 3-6 months, you learned your letters and their sounds. Plus, you enjoy playing Starfall on the computer since you figured out your hand-eye coordination with the computer mouse.

You love to play basketball....and you often say to us, "I have to practice so I can make the team."

You took your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th trips to the beach this year....and you loved it! Plus, you love to swim in your friends' pools....and you even started purposefully putting your face under water.

You love to sing, play your guitar, and drum on anything....you are our little noise maker. Lately, your favorite song to play your guitar to is the "Fruit of the Spirit" song.

You love to go to church (the worship is your favorite part)....and play with your friends during Children's Church.

Your favorite movies are Bolt, Cars, and Kung Fu Panda...you could watch them over and over and over again.

You don't really have any favorite foods because you've grown into a very picky eater (except if we stop at Rudy's for smoked turkey). However, you do love your 'hot cocoa' (aka chocolate milk), and you call it 'hot cocoa' because you heard it once during an episode of Curious George.

And today, you moved to your own room and wanted to wear underwear...marking the start our potty training endeavor.

We are so proud of all of your developments and accomplishments this past year, and we can't wait to see how you will make us laugh, how you will make us jump for joy, and how you will stun us with your knowledge/comprehension this next year.

We love you.

XOXO,

Mommy & Daddy

A Bouncy House and Motorcycles

2009-08-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

The day that Josiah's been waiting for, for what seemed like forever, finally arrived on Saturday, his birthday party--complete with bouncy house and motorcycle cake!

Josiah and his cousin, Samuel

We had a great evening....WE (yep, the pregnant momma even enjoyed the bouncy house) bounced until 9:30PM. Many thanks to Randy's family for making the 10 hour drive down to celebrate with us....for the smoked brisket, homemade tortillas and potato salad, and especially for spending an extra day in town, just hanging out with us and the kids.

Tomorrow is Josiah's real birthday, and we will be spending the morning moving him to his own room, the afternoon decorating cupcakes and the evening swimming with friends.

You Know You're A Mommy When.....

2009-08-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that I never leave home without both sippy cups full of some kind of liquid and a snack cup full of Goldfish crackers or two (or more) packs of fruit snacks.....

that I've cleaned up multiple piles of cheerios and raw oatmeal off the floor (because the kids wanted a snack)....

that I just spent the last 45 minutes talking with a friend about car seats....
and that I consider myself lucky if I get a shower once/day....

You know you're a mommy when you get the store, rummage through every pocket of your bag only to find that you have no pen (to mark things off your list) BUT....

you have crayons.

Beachy Sunday

2009-08-04T20:24:00.000-07:00

We headed to the Island on Sunday, our first trip of year. Sad, I know...we live 45 minutes away from the beach, and we haven't been but one time all summer....but there is no appeal in dragging two toddlers (and all of their gear) to the beach by myself. But since we would be joining friends (who have a tent for shade) and Randy was able to go with us, I thought it would be a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon...before we start a rough month.

It was beautiful out on the Island (translation: it was 10 degrees cooler). The water was a little cool, but it was still refreshing; and the sand was soft. Surprisingly, Laney wasn't too excited about the water--she went crazy in Corpus. But after we sat down, started digging a hole, and building/destroying a couple of sand mounds, she was ready. Unlike his sister, Josiah jumped right in with his friend, Lincoln. They immediately found fun in trying to jump over the waves and splashing in the "baby pool" we dug just a few feet from the "big pool".

*I decided to take the camera off 'automatic' and play in 'P'....

clearly not ready to take the next step...

but this is what we walked away with.*

We stayed all afternoon...and we heard not even one small whine from the little people. We all had a great time, and the only bit of sunburn happened on my back (due to an error in application by the husband)...is it bad to be jealous of your children because they have gorgeous tans (and don't seem to burn)?

I'm so glad that Josiah and Laney enjoyed themselves and were so well behaved because next weekend is our Program's Beach Retreat, and I'll be taking them....alone because Randy has to work.

Flashback Friday

2009-07-31T06:47:00.000-07:00

During the summer, every Friday we have a playdate at the pool. It's the only place outside we can stand to be for longer than it takes us to get fastened into the air conditioned car. Have I mentioned that we have been on quite a lengthy stretch of 100 degree weather?

Much of my childhood was spent in the water, and I'd hope that my children would love it as much as I did. I'm excited to say that it takes quite a few "no, not yet"s and "wait"s once we enter the "pool zone" to keep them from jumping in alone. They are more than ready.

Here are a few pictures from Josiah's first swim at 6 months old.

These are a couple from Laney's first trip to the pool....she was just 2 months.

Thank you, Sabrina, for hosting "Flashback Friday"....I've really enjoyed looking back. Although, I'm not sure I'm too excited about next week....baby pictures of me and Randy (if I can find any).

Compliments of Big Brother

2009-07-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you bend over to pet a puppy, and then your big brother decides to pet the puppy from the front of his bike, accidentally moving backwards and causing you to face-plant into the back tire. Poor baby....now she has an eyebrow boo-boo, just like her big brother.

Cafe Preggers

2009-07-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

Instead of enjoying a much needed afternoon nap, I dove head first into a massive pile of papers begging to be filed. I've never been really good at keeping the filing pile minimal, but it's also never really bothered me...before. Now it bothers to me to end that one corner of my bedroom has become overrun by a mountain of loan statements, receipts, tax documents, etc. I'm pretty sure it's a result of needing to find all of the extra space possible in order to welcome baby #3 to our home without resorting to putting him/her in the bathtub...and as we all know, clutter takes up more space.

Sooo, after about 30 minutes into my filing extravaganza, I undercovered an issue of Babytalk magazine. Of course, I had to stop my efforts and read through the magazine real quick before I threw it in the "garbage pile" (plus, I had to take a potty break--boy, I forgot just how small the bladder gets when a baby is competing for space). And written on the last page was a menu from "Cafe Preggers"....I thought it was just too funny not to share. Hope you enjoy it just as much as I did.

*******

Cafe Preggers

We always have just what you want, at any stage of pregnancy--from the queasy beginning to those last weeks when the baby has taken up every ounce of spare room in your belly.

First Trimester Menu

Appetizer

Turns compote

Entree

Fresh Saltines on a bed of Saltines, lightly seasoned with Saltines

Beverage

Ginger ale (IV drip available upon request)

Dessert

Ten minutes in a dim room with an ice bag on your head

Second Trimester Menu

Appetizer

Half a roast chicken, extra crispy

Entree*

A succulent leg of lamb smothered in pork chops, served with BBQ ribs and garnished with cheeseburgers (all burnt beyond recognition for your safety)

Beverage

Toll House-pie smoothie, prepared with 1/2 pint heavy cream

Dessert

9"x16" pan of double-fudge brownies

Third Trimester Menu

(Each course followed by a 15-minute neck massage and/or bathroom break)

Appetizer

Three bites of tossed salad

Entree

Two bites of lasagna

Beverage

None-so you'll have room for dessert

Dessert

A Tic Tac

*Double portions available if you're expecting twins

Flashback Friday

2009-07-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

I mentioned last week that I wanted to start posting old pictures, particularly of Josiah, since this blog started about a year and a half after he blessed our world. Soooo, I decided to join my good bloggy friend, Sabrina, in her "Flashback Friday" series, which she created to enable her love of looking through old fotos. I, too, enjoy drifting back....although it does make me a little sad to see just how quickly and how much my children have grown.

It was tough deciding on which pics to use for this post, so I decided to copy Sabrina's idea and use pictures from our first family vacation in July 2007. Randy's parents, brother, SIL and our nephew flew from West TX to VA to celebrate Josiah's first birthday as well as visit Washington, DC (it was their first visit).

National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial

(Randy's uncle was shot during a routine drug check at a Greyhound bus stop in West Texas in 2002)

WWII Memorial

(Iowa--the other half of his 'roots')

Randy and I always enjoyed our time in the DC area....and we miss being so far away.

Zoo-tastic!

2009-07-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

Our MOPS group decided to change up the scenery of our Wednesday AM play date this morning, from the air conditioned church gym to the 95 degree ambient air of the Zoo. It really wasn't too bad, even being pregnant....we just made sure that we had enough juice and water. The kids really enjoyed themselves. Josiah thoroughly enjoyed running around with his good friend, David; and Laney giggled each time I picked her up out of her stroller to get a better look at the animals. She loved watching the flamingos and did a petting hand motion each time she saw a big kitty--lion, tiger, or bobcat (she pets the kitty cats in her books while she reads).

After 2.5 hours, we just couldn't stand the heat any longer and left to enjoy a picnic lunch at a neighboring park. Even though Laney missed her morning nap, she did really well...and enjoyed playing with the other kids. Of course, she crashed once I got her fastened in her car seat and got the A/C circulating. Josiah amazed me by continuing "full throttle" despite a full morning of running around the zoo in the heat. But they were more than ready to say "good night" tonight. No fighting at bed time always makes for a perfecting ending to the day, don't you think?

I'm still trying to figure out this whole collage construction thing in Photoshop, but here are a few pictures from our day.

Taken Sept 2008 (Laney was just shy of 5 months old)

Something New

2009-07-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

In preparation to change our blog name (ya know, 'cause we're adding another little Mexican to the family), I thought I would try my hand at redesigning our blog. I'm trying a free 30-day trial of Photoshop Elements 7.0 just to see if it would be something I would and could use...and so far, I'm LOVING it!

I've also learned a little bit of HTML to change the background tile as well as adjust the writing space.

Who says you can't teach an old dog (with preggo brain) new tricks? LOL! Nap time for the kids just can't come soon enough.

Soooo, what do ya think?
(I've got a lot to learn, but I don't think what I've created thus far is all too bad.)

Then & Now

2009-07-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

My bloggy friend, Trisha, started a "looking back" series as a way to incorporate the pictures taken before she started her blog. I thought it was such a good idea, I couldn't not copy (imitation is the ultimate form of flattery, after all).

Not counting our trip to IL just last weekend, our last trip up to visit my parents and sisters was Dec 2007, when Josiah was just 16 months old (he's now just 1 month shy of being 3).

And since I finally broke down and started a new ~~addiction~~ friendship with Photoshop, I thought I would try to compose a simple collage of a couple of "Then & Now" pictures. (It's far from perfect, but you have to start somewhere, right?)

Fun in IL

2009-07-16T10:57:00.000-07:00

Last week we travelled to IL for my sister's wedding, the last "Good" wedding. And we figured that since we were spending $$$ on tickets and we are uncertain when the next time we'll see everyone again, we decided to spend a week at Grandma and Papa's house.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves...we had great weather and lots of new things to do.

They had fun at the park....

They wrestled with Aunt Kara....

They rode the John Deere with Papa....

They loved on Moby (Aunt Leslie's furry child)....

Laney got her toes painted....

Laney with Aunt Leslie and Soon-to-be Uncle Josh....

They played the piano....

Josiah played Candy Land (game board circa 1978) with Aunt Kara and Uncle Chris....

They rode on the John Deere some more....

They helped Grandma sweep the grass clippings off the driveway....

They posed with Grandma....

Laney quietly ate a mouthful of black M&Ms....

They even celebrated their birthdays (2 months late for Laney and 1 month early for Josiah)....

Laney even blew out her candle by herself...

Whew, it was a fun yet exhausting trip. We were sad to leave, but it's good to be home.

PS. I apologize for all of the individual pictures....I have just downloaded Photoshop and hope to figure out how to create collages and edit color, etc. Wedding pictures will be posted soon.

Happy 4th and Fourteen Months!

2009-07-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I'm a bit behind, but better late than never, right? I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend, celebrating the freedom that our many service men and women work so hard to protect.

We spent the afternoon at a cookout/pool party at our Program Director's house. We enjoyed good swimming, good food, and good fellowship with our fellow Residents and their families.

July 4, 2008

(Laney was just 2 months old)

July 4, 2009

In addition to fun in the pool, Josiah tried out the homemade slip n slide, complete with dishsoap (helps in gaining distance).

There were also games. Josiah was excited to be able to participate this year. I think he was even more excited about wearing matching bandanas with Randy.

Our evening ended with a small backyard fireworks display. It was a great night...bright moon, no clouds, light breeze, and NO mosquitos. After spending the last couple of days saying how he wasn't going to be scared of the fireworks this year, Josiah ended up hiding out inside while Daddy, Laney, and I enjoyed the site, sounds, and smell of the fireworks outside. Laney even fell asleep during the "show", that's how much she enjoyed them. Oh well....maybe next year.

*********

And while we were celebrating our country's independence, we were also celebrating Laney's 14 month birthday. Laney is getting so big and is doing and saying so many things. A couple of weeks ago during a visit to see Randy, I weighed her....26.5 pounds, so still a big girl. She is still wearing 2T clothes and has grown into a size 6 shoe...and speaking of shoes, she loves to wear them. If she sees them laying around, you can most certainly expect that she will bring them to you, say "shoes" or "here ya go" and sit down. Definitely a girl (well, except for the whole not-wearing-a-bow thing)!

In addition to saying "shoes", Laney now says "juice", "go", "ouch!", "uh-oh", and "up". And she will clearly sign "please", "thank you", "milk", "more", "eat", and "all done" (and she'll also open her mouth REAL big if she sees something she wants to eat and say "ah, ah"). Laney is also thoroughly enjoying learning her letters and sounds along with her brother, she already knows that "the A says ah, the A says ah, every letter makes a sound, the A says ah". She is also learning her animal sounds and has cow, dog, and goldfish down pat. If you ask what a goldfish says, she'll open and close her mouth silently...it's SO cute.

Laney is still seated rear-facing in the car (her feet are just now barely touching the back of the seat). However, she will get an opportunity to see the world from a whole new perspective when we turn her around this week for my sister's wedding. I hope that she won't like it too much because I do plan on turning her back around when we get home....until her new car seat and baby brother/sister arrives.

Laney sure does love her brother...if imitation truly is the highest form of flattery. It's 100% "Monkey-see, Monkey-do" around here. And in just the last couple of days, she'll walk up to Josiah and give him a kiss. It's darling! Eeek, so many cute things to capture on video before they are gone and forgotten!

Laney, you are definitely one quirky, sassy, funny, and cute little girl...and we just love that about you.

Happy 14 Month Birthday!

Halfway

2009-07-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that I've reached the halfway point of this pregnancy already. It seems like just yesterday I was sharing our shocking news. I guess that's what happens when you're in denial for 3 months. *wink* Things have been going well, and I feel great. I've just barely started showing, and I'm not in maternity clothes yet (losing 30-40 pounds twice now has given me a little bit of room for growth in my "fat pants"). While Laney has no clue what is about to happen to her little world, Josiah is much more aware...and he has started talking to the baby and pat my belly when we lay down together...it's very cute.

Please pray that the next 20 weeks go smoothly (and I'm on the fence about whether I want them to go by quickly or not) as we adjust the house and the big brother and sister for baby's arrival in just a few months. We hope to transition Josiah to a big, "big boy" bed, in a separate room from Laney, move Laney to the toddler bed, and move the crib back to our room, in about 4 months. New car seats are on order (our current seats are too wide to accommodate 3 seated across the back of our car)....I just hope they fit and that the kids like them as much as their current seat.

Lots to prepare for in the next 5 months....

Promotion

2009-06-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

As of Friday evening, Randy is no longer the lowest on the food-chain, an Intern. WE are now 2nd Year Residents, which also means that we have drastically less "First Call", more time spent in education-packed rotations (ie. Hospital Service), and a teeny, tiny raise! Woohoo! But Friday night's Graduation Dinner was bittersweet....while we were excited to be one year closer to being done with this training nightmare (my word, not Randy's), we were also sad about saying "good-bye" to friends.

I had a lot of reservations about moving all.the.way.down.here for a number of reasons...probably too many to list...but a good friend helped make the tranisition a little easier. She was willing to look at houses for us, she hooked me up all sorts of information about utilities/formalities once we got here, she kept Laney's breastmilk (AKA liquid gold) in her freezer just days after we met in person (we lost power for a week after we moved in because apparently you just can't transfer the names like we were originally told), she frequently brought her daughter over to play with Josiah to help pass the time, and she shared whatever she learned about coping (about Residency and about living so far away from 'home'). Over the past year, she and I had dinners together, MOPS together, Bible Study together, and chit-chatted about anything and everything while the kids played together.

Katie and Matt became wonderful friends over the past year, and we will miss them. They've headed to St. Louis for the next year for Matt's Sports Medicine Fellowship.

And while I am losing a good friend (in person--thank goodness for Facebook and the Blogosphere), so is Josiah. Isabella (only 6 months younger) and Josiah grew to be great friends, and Josiah will tell you that she is one of his best friends. They were MOPS buddies, sandbox buddies, Children's Church buddies, and pool buddies. Being dropped off at MOPS or Children's Church seemed all right as long as they were together. I know Josiah will miss his friend.

Katie and Matt, we are so blessed to have gotten to know you this past year. We are excited for you guys as you start yet another new journey in this crazy life we call "playing doctor"....we just wish it were closer. ;-) We pray abundant blessings for you and your family...and can't wait to hear the news of Isabella's Big Sisterhood.

Dr. Matt left his scooter with us to sell.....so in the meantime, the kids are enjoying it.

Inner Iowan

2009-06-20T07:33:00.000-07:00

"Sweet Corn" season is by far my favorite food season of the year, if I can describe a season by what which food is harvested when. I just *heart* sweet corn....and we were able to find some pretty decent corn in our neck of the woods this year ("knee-high by the fourth of July" doesn't apply down here as corn season is already over-sniff, sniff)...however, it's just not the same as the good ol' fashioned Iowan variety.

I apologize for the not-so-great pics (not great lighting)...but I wanted to show my family that I haven't forgotten that the kiddos are half Iowan (as much as Randy drills into their heads that they're 100% Texan). ;-) To say that my children loved sweet corn would be an understatement...Laney couldn't get enough (this was her first time eating corn straight off the cob).

AKA Trouble

2009-06-16T07:01:00.000-07:00

Guess who's tall enough to open doors now?

Oh, this has introduced us to a whole new meaning of child-proofing. I've already had to switch out the knob going out to garage because of Josiah's excitement to wash the car (he helped himself out to the garage, fetched his stepstool, opened the big garage door, and hung out in the garage by himself while I was busy putting Laney down for a nap when a Police Officer drove by, walked into the garage, and then proceeded to tell me that I need to keep a closer eye on my child or he would write me up the next time he saw this happen).

We have started closing the bathroom doors because she thinks unrolling the toilet paper is a great way to keep busy for 10 minutes. However, now that she can open doors, we can no longer keep the toilet paper where it's supposed to be....it's now kept on the counter.

And, I can't forget that she (and Josiah) thoroughly enjoys playing in the pantry. And now that she can open the door, I have found canned food, boxes of mac-n-cheese, and various other pantry-stored kitchen items strewn around the house.

Of course, now that she's taller, she can grab things off the kitchen table, our usual dumping ground for bags, mail, emptying pockets (Randy).....and sidewalk chalk, need I say more? Thankfully, I watched her grab the chalk, so I could successfully intervene before our walls and floors were recolored.

Laney is into SO many more and different things than Josiah was ever interested in....we've really had to grow eyes in the back of our heads.

Adjusting to the News

2009-06-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

It has been 10 weeks and 4 days since the "Congratulations, you're pregnant" bomb was dropped on us...and I'm just now starting to accept that I will soon be a mother of THREE, 3 years old and under.

I'm still not sure what God is thinking...the only explanation Randy and I can come up with is "at least we won't be 50 raising a 5 year old". Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not for us.

I know I briefly mentioned the news already in a previous post, but I thought I would write more detail about 'that day'...you know, for documentation purposes and something to laugh at later...when it's funny.

April 1, 2009: I went in to see the doctor, a friend and fellow Resident, about getting back on birth control now that I was done nursing (I avoid any kind of birth control pill while nursing because it decreases my milk supply) and couldn't manage to get my cycle back on track. Dr. Nina asked a bunch of questions and then directed me to give a urine sample with which they would perform a routine pregnancy test. Ah, no big deal. After all, you have to get all of the routine stuff taken care of before you can move on, right? Not even 10 minutes later, Dr. Nina opens the door and says, "I have goosebumps!" while carrying a small slide to me. She showed me the slide, and I asked, "What does that mean?" (Pregnancy was the furthest thing from my mind).

Nina: "You're pregnant!"
Me: "Nina, this is the meanest April Fool's joke anyone has ever played on me!"

Unfortunately, she wasn't joking. Oh, the tears started immediately....what was I going to do?! Randy and I had fully planned on having more children once he graduated and we could afford a bigger vehicle and home...in TWO years. I'm just now adjusting to having the two I have...and Laney just turned ONE.

For at least 6 weeks, I didn't want to talk about it, tell anyone (we did tell family and a few praying friends), or have Randy touch my belly. I didn't even have my first prenatal visit until I was 12 weeks, which is a good 4-6 weeks later than my first visit with both Josiah and Laney. I even hesitated to listen for the baby's heartbeat at the visit. I really went through a tough time.

Well, today was my second visit, and after they conducted all of the routine stuff (pap smear, blood work, blood pressure, weight), I was asked if I would like to have an ultrasound (I hadn't had one yet). If you'd asked me 4 weeks ago, I would have declined. But after discovering that I CAN fit three car seats in the back of my Accord (we are going to look like a clown car), keeping us from having to find a larger vehicle that we simply DO NOT have the money for right now, I'm a little bit more accepting of adding #3 to our 'Table'. Silly how finances can help me better accept the gift God has given Randy and me, I know....I just was feeling financially overwhelmed (babies are NOT cheap). But today, I decided it was time to see who I've started to feel kicking me...on the inside, that is.

Introducing Baby M#3.....

16 weeks and 4 days

Today's ultrasound just measured crown-to-rump, and we appear to be right on schedule with my LDMP. In 5 weeks (after we get back from my sister's wedding in July), we'll have another U/S, during which they'll take the brain, abdominal, and femur measurements. And right now, the plan is NOT to find out what God has blessed us with until his/her "birth" day...gotta keep the trend going.

So while I was in complete denial for about 8-10 weeks, I'm starting to warm up to the idea of having a baby in the house again (even though it's my most least favorite part about having babies). I've even started rearranging furniture, you know, while I have the energy to do it. ;-)

Now for my request to you, dearest readers. Since Baby M#3 will be Martinez #5, I no longer will have a "Table for 4".....so I'm currently taking suggestions as to what our new family blog name should be (I have the hardest time with creating a name), preferrably with no numbers in it...you know, just in case. ;-) Looking forward to what you come up with.

Corpus Christi/Houston Vacation: Part 3

2009-06-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

After spending a couple of hours at the Texas State Aquarium, we hopped in the car and headed for Houston. Randy's cousin, her husband, and their darling little man, Noah, just recently made the move back to H-town from North Texas. It had been almost a year since we had seen them last, and we figured that since we were just 3 hours away, that we should 'go the distance' and visit for a couple of days.

About 5 years ago, we travelled to the Mayan Riveria with Noah's mommy and daddy and had a blast! We just love their company...and enjoyed visiting. Randy's cousin recently made the transition from career-woman to stay-at-home-mommy, so we enjoyed 'exchanging notes' and recipes. And while we didn't 'go into town' to see the sights and smells of Houston, we enjoyed relaxing at the house and watching all three kiddos play. I think Laney enjoyed having someone a bit more her size to play with, Noah just turned 16 months. And Noah enjoyed chasing Josiah around the house.

Thursday arrived, and it was time for us to make the trek back to The Valley. A drive that should take a family travelling sans children (or those with older children) 5 hours took us 2 stops and 8 hours. We really enjoyed our short, not-so-far vacation...and while it may not have been to anywhere absolutely amazing (ahem, St. Maarten like my BIL), we just enjoyed spending a few days together as a family, visiting family. That's what it's all about anyway, right?

Corpus Christi/Houston Vacation: Part 2

2009-06-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

We spent Tuesday AM at the Texas State Aquarium. It is a beautiful facility, sitting right on the bay, just next door to the USS Lexington.

The bay side of the aquarium, taken from the Lex's Flight Deck.

The dolphin show was our favorite part of the whole aquarium experience (I still think it would be awesome to be a trainer). The kids loved it!

The aquarium has a really neat touch pool where you are encouraged to touch and hold hermit crabs and urchins. Randy was brave and picked up a pencil urchin. Josiah had no interest in holding one.

The USS Lexington seen from the aquarium's "back yard"....what a big ship!

Randy and the kids at the aquarium's entrance.

We took this as we were leaving since 5 bus-loads of elementary kids took over the area as we arrived. Laney was exhausted and ready to get her nap-on for the ride to Houston.

Corpus Christi/Houston Vacation: Part 1

2009-06-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, Randy was granted access to use the last 5 days of his vacation, so we started planning for a short, simple vacation...somewhere just to get us out of The Valley. We had no idea where we wanted to go: FTW, Houston, San Antonio, etc., until Randy spent a couple of days in Corpus for CME. He couldn't say enough wonderful things about how his hotel overlooked the USS Lexington and was located right on the beach. I was sold. Corpus was just far enough away to "get away" but it wasn't too far where the kids (or me) would have to sit in a car for 10 hours just to get there (not to mention getting home, which is always worse). So we booked the same hotel Randy stayed in during his CME course.

We left Sunday after church (Randy was on-call on Saturday so we couldn't leave any earlier), arrived in Corpus around 4PM, checked into our hotel, unloaded the car/changed diapers, and then headed down to the street so the kids could take in the water/sand/gift shoppe where the entrance was through an open shark's mouth/entrance to the USS Lexington. The kids were SO excited about being in the hotel room...somewhere different, I guess. They were excited about the small balcony, small fridge which contained their special juice, and closet safe (the buttons beeped when pressed, which they LOVED, of course).

At the entrance of the USS Lexington:

It's not a very good picture of Josiah on the anchor, but we just thought it was hilarious that it came from the Norfolk, VA Navy Yard (something also from VA having been transplanted to TX).

Once we filled all of our tummies first thing Monday AM, we headed over to the USS Lexington. It was an overcast day (translation: not as hot), so we thought it would be a great day to use at the big, for-the-most-part unairconditioned ship.

Josiah and Laney LOVED all the buttons.

And the telescopes.

Josiah trapped in the Brig.
It would be nice to have once of these at home sometimes.

Laney and Randy's turn.

No significance of the picture other than the name listed in slot #41....
my not-so-common maiden name--Good.

On the flight deck

Me with my babies (All 3 of them)
(Laney fell asleep soon after making it onto the flight deck)

Josiah taking a seat on the Bridge
(where the Captain would have been seated).

Sadly, I don't know much more about the Lex after spending 5 hours walking through her bowels than I did before stepped aboard (small children just don't allow time for much reading). But it was really cool to see the berthing areas (did you know the Lexington could sleep more people than the world's largest hotel?), the ER, isolation room, barber, kitchen, engine room, and Captain's Quarters (he was the only one with a private escape port).

After dinner, we headed to the beach to spend the remainder of our day. Josiah loves the sand and water (his first experience was VA Beach in 2007) but we just don't make it over to South Padre Island very often. This was, however, Laney's first experience since being old enough to be excited about it (the last time we took her to SPI was in November when she was 7 months old). She was SO excited...and had no idea what to think of the sand.

Laney just plopped down just where the waves came up to greet her.

She thoroughly enjoyed splashing in the water.

About an hour (and a face full of salty water) was all it took before Laney decided she'd had enough...then it was time to watch the birds before heading inside to take a shower followed by bedtime.

Accidents at 13 Months

2009-05-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

This past Monday, Laney proved that my children are accident-prone around 13 months.

Since Friday, we've been dog-sitting our favorite Harlingen kanine, Rocco, and I've managed to keep Laney out of the dog's water bowl (although keeping her out of Rocco's crate is a different story)....until Monday. On Monday, her curiousity resulted in a puddle and semi-wet clothes. I immediately grabbed a towel to sop up most of the water; however, she was ready to relocate prior to me being able to dry the floor completely. It was when she was on her way away from Rocco's crate that she slipped (thankfully, she was just crawling) and smashed her face on the tile. We had screams, tears, and blood immediately (yet another reason why I HATE tile). My heart sank and instantly worried about her teeth. We were able to stop the bleeding within a few minutes, so that was a good sign. But her upper lip had caught her front teeth coming down, resulting in a pretty good-sized gash, but nothing requiring stitches. And the impact of the floor-to-face crash caused a verticle split of the under-belly of her upper lip. As you can imagine, her lip swelled within minutes.

Once she calmed down (with a walk outside), we gave her Motrin, which must have helped a lot because she was still able to take a bottle and her paci before bedtime.

I failed to take a picture shortly after the accident happened, but here is what it looked like the next morning.

During our trip to VA Beach a couple of summers ago (for my half-marathon), Josiah managed to pull a small side table (which sat next to the chair in our hotel room) down onto his eyebrow, causing a pretty ugly gash. Unfortunately, it didn't really quit bleeding, so Randy made the decision to take him to a local ER. Thankfully, no stitches were required on this gash, just a little Dermabond. And you can barely see the scar...unless you're really looking for it.

What is so interesting about these accidents, is that Josiah and Laney were almost the exact same age (just shy of 13 months) when they incurred their first accident. I'm praying this is not a new trend....but I'll be keeping my eye on M#3 when he's 12-13 months.

It's My Party.....

2009-05-15T11:10:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we hosted a double 1st Birthday Party since having two separate parties (a couple of days apart--James is only 3 days older than Laney) where the same people would have been invited would have been perhaps a bit too much. James' mommy, Cassie, and I decided to go with a Western Themed party, seeing that we're in Texas 'n all. It was a lot of fun.....we had grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, chips, baked beans, fresh veggies and dip......and can't forget about the CAKE and ice cream.

Laney sitting with her fellow birthday friend, James, in front of a cowboy pinata (the pinatas down here are just amazing).

I found the cutest red bandana pillowcase dress on Esty and just had to have it...it was so perfect for the theme...and she just looked darling in it, especially with the bow which she definitely was not sure about.

And just as she was unsure about the bow, she didn't know what to do with the cake. She definitely didn't "dig right in". However, she tried a couple of times to bite it.

We were so blessed to have Randy's family (Mom, Dad, Sister and nephew) make the 12 hour drive down from West Texas so that they could celebrate Laney's birthday with us.

Laney with Tia

Laney and Josiah with Grandma and Pappo