Myatt Family Jewels

About Rowan

2010-12-08T10:38:00.001-08:00

Rowan's turning ONE in a little over a week, and because of my HIATUS, I haven't talked about him exclusively in a while. So, here is a post just about Rowan.

He is really, really sweet. His eyes light up and dance when he smiles. He loves to play in our playroom. He is quite fond of his brother and sister. And his Dad and I, for that matter. Lately, though, he has been in a "Daddy" phase. If Dean walks into the room and doesn't pick him up, he has a giant meltdown..............did I mention he has a temper? Somehow, even though I've been busier this first year of his life than EVER before, he got really spoiled and decided he was in charge. We're working on it. It is really only an issue at bedtime, as in he doesn't prefer to sleep in his crib. But we are working on it and it is slowly getting better.

He is taking 3-4 steps at a time now, and he steps sideways. He babbles, mostly "dadadadada" and "uh-oh." He weighs about 22 pounds, he doesn't seem as tall as Deacon was. He fits into mostly 12-18 month clothes.

When I think back, I was REALLY shocked to be pregnant with Rowan. Totally unexpected and not an easy time in our lives, so adding another pregnancy, gestational diabetes, and all that stuff entails was not what we had in mind. But, I can say with 100% confidence that God has a plan for little Rowan T...........and we would be missing something without him. He's perfect and I am so thankful for him.

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HIATUS

2010-12-03T23:11:00.001-08:00

Hello, readers. As you've hopefully noticed, I've been on quite the HIATUS.

[hahy-ey-tuhs] –noun, plural -tus·es, -tus.
1.
a break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.

(from dictionary.com)

I guess having three kids, a part-time job, and a budding bakery business has kept me from this blog which I so love. Or loved. It has been so long since I did this regularly that now when I think about blogging, I cringe and say "ohhhhh my blooooooooggggg.............." I have been reading a lot of blogs. I have some new hobbies since last time I wrote regularly. We also moved to another house, I wrecked my minivan, and my baby is almost 1. See what you've missed? I don't write this post to tease you. Or to appease you. Because...........

I'M BAAAAAAAACK!!

So check back often!

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Time Flies.........

2010-08-25T21:08:00.000-07:00

When you're raising kids!

How did this precious little baby girl with the sweetest smile....

(this photo won her a beautiful baby contest, just fyi!)

Go from being so little.............

To being in KINDERGARTEN????
Lola Grace is growing up. We have an all-day school-going kid on our hands now!

She likes it a lot so far. Of course she's making a new friend every day and learning so much already. Deacon and Rowan are becoming best buds while their ringleader is gone during the day. I think they'll be ganging up on her by Christmas break.

Four Month Old Rowan!

2010-04-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

Rowan is growing and growing! Although he has not had his 4-month checkup yet, I weighed him the other day and he is 18 pounds! He laughs, cooes, and smiles at all of us now. He wants to be held most of the time, which is a challenge......but we are making it. (sort of) I was going to hold off on solids as long as possible, but this kid is one hungry dude, so I gave him his first cereal yesterday. Surpirse - he liked it! Here are some pics of our roly-poly little man, in the bath with a strategically-placed rubber duckie.

All stretched out!

"Get this duck offa me!"

He likes to stare at his hands. It's his new trick.

I love his rolls.

Precious boy. So thankful for him!

Blogger app

2010-04-17T21:21:00.001-07:00

I am trying out a new app to see if I can blog from my phone. Hopefully it works! In the meantime, here are a few pics of my cuties!

Rowan Timothy and Billy Bean

2010-04-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

Billy Bean was Dean's Cabbage Patch Kid. He was passed down to our kids.

Here is Rowan and Billy Bean!

You may remember this photo of Deacon and Billy Bean too!

Since I Last Posted....

2010-04-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

It's busy busy around here! I have tons and tons of pictures to share. I'll try to catch up.

We moved Deacon to a toddler bed. Then moved him back to his crib when he got up 85,000 times. Since then, he has a new, special toddler bed that he is staying in a little better. Pics of that later.
Bathtime shenanigans.
Lola and Deacon spent 6 days in Dallas over Spring Break. Dean and I worked, slept, and hung out with Rowan.

They had a great trip!

Rowan turned 3 months! He is getting so big and showing a lot of personality. He prefers his parents over anyone else. Chunky baby!

It's hard to tell, but his eyes have turned the same color as Deacon's, pretty blue!

St. Patrick's Day getup

Big 3 month old boy!

2 Months

2010-02-21T21:50:00.001-08:00

Rowan is 2 months old today!

The Bathtub is Dangerous

2010-02-19T19:18:00.000-08:00

Not sure what this picture is of, besides my naked bathing children?

See the shower curtain next to Deacon? They pulled it so hard that it, and the rod came crashing down. It souded horrible and scared me to death.

Both little punks were fine, though.

I have lived to blog another day.............

2010-02-16T22:08:00.000-08:00

So, I survived the first 8 weeks of having three children. It hasn't been easy, but I have enjoyed my little people here at home. I have even enjoyed being back at work! I will take any excuse not to wear sweatpants.

Rowan is a REALLY good baby. No complaints about him. Yesterday was his first "sick" visit to the pediatrician. He has pink eye. I have no idea how-none of us have it yet. He weighs a whopping 14 pounds at the tender young age of 8 weeks! He has started to smile, just the last few days. Here are a few pics.

(P.S. I promise to blog a lot lot lot more. I want my readers back. All three of you.)

Rowan, 5 weeks

Rowan, 6 weeks

Eight Weeks Old!

This is my new fav.

Goofballs.

Lay it on me, sister!

Deacon looks like my brother and sister in this pic. Haha!

She accessorized and posed for this picture all on her own.

First SMILE caught on camera!

Rowan Timothy Myatt

2009-12-31T11:23:00.000-08:00

Rowan was born December 21st at 4:55 pm. For the most part, labor and delivery was uncomplicated.

He weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 21 inches long.

He looked a lot like his brother and sister right after they were born!

He didn't cry much the entire time we were in the hospital. He still only cries sometimes when he is hungry. Ususally he just grunts when he needs something. He's very laid back.

Doe Doe and Deacon meeting Rowan.

Dr. Devine and Rowan. She also delivered Deacon but I never got a picture!

She is wonderful.

Lucille, my labor and delivery nurse and me. She also was my nurse with Deacon.

I could say so much about how wonderful she is, but there is not enough room on this blog. :)

Lola and Rowan.

Family of 5!
Sweet little Christmas present, under the tree.

He is such a good baby and I am so thankful for him.

Parties and Parades!

2009-12-19T22:33:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday my Aunt Gay came and took the kids to the 34th Street Christmas Parade and kept them until late that night so Dean and I could go to his work Christmas party. The kids had a great time!

Deacon, Aunt Gay, Lola

Happy, excited kids!

Happy, excited parents!

Thanks for babysitting whenever we need you Aunt Gay! You rock!

Christmas Brownies!!! (???)

2009-12-07T18:09:00.000-08:00

Doesn't that look appetizing? Lola loves to plan "parties" and she wanted to decorate brownies tonight for Christmas. We cut them out in candy cane shapes, colored leftover orange cookie icing from Halloween red, and flavored it peppermint. Then we added sprinkles. It was a mess, but a very yummy one and lots of fun!
Deacon didn't spend as much time decorating as he did eating. :)

Lola worked very hard on hers!

Learning to use sprinkles!

Pretty girl!

YUM!

I love Christmastime.

Crazy Kiddos!

2009-11-18T18:55:00.000-08:00

These two are really keeping us on our toes these days! What will we do with three????

Snuggling after their bath

Dress up by Lola - this girl is dressed up everyday from the time she wakes up until she goes to bed. Tonight I let her wear a crown and sparkly shoes that are too big to the store. Because I just didn't feel like fighting her! In this pic, Deacon's face is marked with red marker.

Lola made a "bank drive-thru" out of boxes. You will notice a makeshift cash register, hand sanitizer, and a bowl of change. Deacon is supposed to be "driving up" in the car but he didn't get it. He was looking at her like, "I just want to sit in this box and watch a cartoon, okay?"
Dressed up again.
They are hilarious and I enjoy every minute, even though I am exhausted by the end of the day!

A Letter to Santa

2009-11-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

Anyone else thinking about Christmas? We are!

(The following was spoken by Lola, transcribed by Jessica.)

Dear Santa Claus,
Please bring me a toy car that's bigger than my pink Barbie car, but not bigger than my real car, like the ones at Wal-Mart. And then I want a big kid bicycle and a purple or pink kid chair with a foot-rest that is covered in pretty rainbows.
I want pretend baby food for my big fat baby doll. I also want more video games and a Leapster Portable.
I have been very good. I help my mom take care of my brother. I haven't done any hitting or punching. I have talked nice to my mom and dad. I try to clean up after myself.
Love,
Lola

The kids-and Dean have been all about the Toys R Us catalog the last week. Christmas can't be very far away!

Guess Who.......

2009-11-01T06:25:00.000-08:00

Is 19 months old today?

Deacon is!

Since we were sick from mid-September until mid-October, his 18-month well check was a little late. He is growing and developing very well. He weighs 27 pounds and was 80th percentile for height. He says over 30 words, some of which are "ball" "vroom-vroom" "mama" "dada" "lala" "swing" "juice" etc........ He can point to many of his body parts, including tummy, head, eyes, ears, nose, teeth, tongue, etc. He is facinated with transportation. He loves to go outside and touch Dean's car. If he is upset we can put car racing on the TV or computer and he immediately perks up and says "VROOM VROOOOOM!!!" Two of his favorite words the last month have become "no" and "mine," so two's here we come! Occasionally he will hit or bite, then turn around and give kisses to the person he just hurt. It's hilarious. He hates for his feet to be cold and will ask for socks or "ockhhhssss." He eats ALL THE TIME. This week he figured out that he could drag the step-stool to the pantry and look for what he wants. He is very attached to his sister and they play well together most of the time.

We love you Deacon!

Buzzcut

2009-10-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

Taking a shower after his haircut.............

The finished product.

There's a Light at the End of this Tunnel

2009-10-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

Am I going to jinx myself by saying that? I sure hope not. It feels like we have been sick forever. I started having symptoms of the flu last Monday. Deacon got it Thursday night. It was the worst "sick" I can remember being my entire life. I made Dean take me to the hospital-usually I would just tough it out, but I couldn't do it anymore! Poor Deacon.....he would wake up with fever and be shaking so bad! He hasn't had fever since Saturday, but he still has a bad cough. My cough is almost gone. We are all on Tamiflu, so hopefully that will keep Lola and Dean well! Then there was the stomach flu from 3 weeks ago, Dean cutting his hand, I cut my foot.....seems never ending.
I did get my flu shot, but it was only 6 days before I started to feel bad. Usually it takes two weeks for immunity. We may have had H1N1-we don't know. I can't stress enough how important it is to get your flu shot this year. Even if you are wary of vaccines, don't like needles, etc......IT IS NOT WORTH getting the flu. There are two strains present-the regular flu, and H1N1-which is just another type of Influenza A-but STILL! Two kinds of flu out there! And one has gotten a lot of people down before it's even cold outside! One more thing-to test for the flu, they will stick a long wire with cotton on the end in your nose and beyond-and it HURTS. That alone may be worth getting your flu shot. Off my soapbox now. I had an ultrasound 2 weeks ago and we got some really good face shots.

Fetus the Third

Sleeping

Lola sleeping at 6 weeks old-I think all my kids look the same when they are sleeping.

Deacon asleep at 4 days old.
(I have one somewhere of him that looks more like the other 2 but I can't find it.)

Please pray for us to stay well. We are all tired of being sick and stuck in the house! Thanks.

Cowboy Day

2009-09-22T07:52:00.000-07:00

The 4-year old classes at preschool have quite a few special dress up days, and today was the first. It's Cowboy Day! I'm not sure what all they will be doing, but hopefully I will hear all about it this afternoon. Lola and I had a great time finding her an outfit yesterday. She didn't want to wear the bandana around her neck, so we cut it in half and tied them in her pigtails. She was really excited to see how everyone in her class was dressed.

Hooray for Cowboy Day!

What HAVE they done to the living room????!!!!!

2009-09-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

Let me attempt to explain this mess. Last week, the kids and I had a stomach bug. It started with Deacon, then Lola, and then they so lovingly passed it to their mother.
I don't DO the stomach bug. I almost always have it in my power to avoid throwing up. This is my third pregnancy in 5 years, and it had been about 8 years since I had thrown up. Until this week. It was miserable. Luckily, we have great family members who took care of my kids for an entire day while I was laid up in my bed, achy and delirious. I didn't leave the confines of our bedroom for over 24 hours.
SO, to explain the picture, we had washed all of our linens and when they came out of the dryer, Lola built a ginormous fort out of them. What a mess. Dean and I finally got a lot of the house cleaned yesterday. Hallelujah!
Now that we are better, here are some recent pics.

Sick little Deacon man.

Can you tell he likes to say "cheese" for the camera?
She wanted me to take one of her, too.

We love our wagon!

Sharing her tricycle-how sweet is that? I think Santa will be bringing a big-girl bike!
"Cheese" again. Attempting to eat cereal and milk....out of a Dora sandwich holder.

We are so glad to be well again.

First Day of Preschool - 2009!

2009-09-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

Lola has been at Sugar n Spice Preschool since she was one. She was exactly Deacon's age three years ago when she started there. At the time we had no daycare at all-our family helped out and we worked around eachother's work schedules. It was such a relief for her to be able to go somewhere and learn while being in a Christian environment where she was so well taken care of.

First Day as a Dynamite Dinosaur!

Sending Deacon at this age is a whole different "ball game." (For me.) He has never been left anywhere except for with family. He is a big time "mama's boy" because I have been with him at home almost every day of his little life. But, I need to work. And having a few hours twice a week where I can sleep allows me to work the nights before. And, the child is social. I am confident that he will make friends, just like Lola did. I just really didn't want to leave him. But we both survived.

First day as a Tiny Turtle!
Strapped in-ready to go. Hurry up, mother.

Lola's teacher is very experienced with this age group. The curriculum for the 4 year olds is a "kindergarten readiness" program. I am excited to see what she learns!

Deacon's teacher is very sweet. I hung around outside the door until he quit screaming-which explains the quality of this picture. He is the 2nd kid from your right. The teacher was blowing bubbles and he seemed to like that.

My kids are getting so big! And to think, I get to do this one more time. We are blessed by God.

Vacation, Part Two

2009-08-31T16:00:00.000-07:00

The last full day in Galveston we had a very full day. We visited Moody Gardens. It is a huge resort area next to Schlitterbahn with several areas for kids to play and learn. We went to the Aquarium, Rainforest, and Discovery Pyramids.

In the Rainforest Pyramid, there was a huge exhibit on chocolate!

Penguins at the aquarium. They seem very friendly.

A teachable moment.

Deacon went absoultely wild at the aquarium. We had to get the wagon and strap him in!

Dean and Lola in the Rainforest.

We ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe that day. No pictures of that-batteries had died. The kids loved it.

That evening we headed to the beach one last time to take pictures, eat dinner, and swim.

The wild man being still for 2 seconds. He likes to say "cheese!"

I love this.

What is it about photographing 2 children at one time?

Hilarious.

Favorite picture of all time!

Look how they both have their right foot raised.....it's just perfection.

I'm pretty sure her innerds were sqaushed after this!

The humidity does amazing things for her hair!

What a pretty girl!

She didn't have the same fear of the water that she had at swimming lessons!

Little pasty boy got to take his shirt off to swim, since we were there so late!

He looks so big here!

We ate sandwiches on the beach-Deacon tore his to pieces, threw it in the sand, THEN proceeded to eat it. Gross. He didn't mind.

It started to thunder a little while we were swimming..........and then lightning! We went to Ben & Jerry's that night-an actual Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop. It was cute!

We got up early Saturday morning to head for Dallas.

This was the view from our window-not too bad!

Both kids loved looking out the window. It held Deacon's attention for a really long time. I guess he had a lot to think about?!

We had a fan-tabulous time on our first real family vacation. The kids were overall very well behaved and seemed to enjoy themselves. Can't wait to do it again.................with THREE kids!

Vacation, Part One

2009-08-25T07:18:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to Galveston! We left Tuesday morning, and including all of our stops (which were many) we made it in about 12 hours. LOOOONNNNNGGGG day.

Wednesday morning we went to the beach right after breakfast.

Let the sandcastle building begin!

Deacon ran right into the water. He ran until a wave knocked him over. He then laughed and smiled until he got a face full of saltwater. Then he cried, cried, and cried. Then he repeated this process approximately 8.342 times that day.

She LOVES the beach. She was so well behaved!

More sandcastle........

Poor little buddy! This was right before the meltdown of the century.....he had so much sand, saltwater, and sunscreen in his eyes that they were huge and swollen. I took him back to the room and we took a bath and napped while Lola and Dean stayed to perfect the sandcastle.

We went out to dinner that night.
Lola was quoting one of her TV shows "Charlie and Lola"...........(imagine her saying, in an English accent) "I will never, ever, ever eat fish fingers!" She was so big and brave-she tried shrimp, and liked it!

He was much happier after his nap.

More pictures to come!

Someone got a haircut.........

2009-08-18T05:44:00.000-07:00

More pics to come next week. We're headed to the beach!

Recent Happenings

2009-08-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

So here's a little info on what we've been doing since I last updated.......I am kind of at a loss for words because we have done a whole lot, and I am used to facebooking all the time. But I promise not to turn into one of "those" people who quits blogging because of facebook.

I don't have pictures of EVERYTHING, but here's a quick run-down.

In mid-July, we went to Dallas for my Aunt Gay's retirement party. I got to make the cake. Yay! It was fun. Cousins from both sides of my mom's family were there. We stayed in Allen with the Myatts. One night my cousin Leslie came over and we went hot-tubbing and had a rousing good time. We also ate coconut cream pie in honor of Mimi's birthday. The next night, the kids and I ate dinner and swam with the Baldridges. Dean went to film MMA fighting and came later. It was a great trip!

The kids also started swimming lessons in July. Lola was in "advanced Aqua Tots" although her fear of the water keeps her from being truly "advanced." Compared to last year, she did awesome. She kicks her feet and paddles her hands with a water noodle tied around her waist. She loved it. Deacon and I were in the "parent & me" class. Oh, how he hates the cold water like his mother. The child went from happy and laughing to scowling and screaming the minute we got in the water. He did do better as lessons went on. He went off the diving board a few times, which was really just me dropping him in to the instructor.
(Pics of swimming to come soon.)

On July 29th, Dean came with me to my ultrasound and we found out we are having another boy! We DO NOT have a name picked out, which is what I am asked on a daily basis. When we do, it'll be a secret like the last two times. Sorry. We just really like to shock people. After the ultrasound, we had a "lunch date" at Thai Pepper - oh how I looooooove spicy food.

The last 2 weeks Dean has had an INSANE work schedule which has, thank the Lord, come to an end. He is back to his normal 8-5 workdays. It was so hard for him to sleep during the day.

We had 2 weddings to attend last weekend, and we have one more this weekend. Next Tuesday, we leave for Galveston! We are taking the kids to the beach. We are thinking it will be super fun. I am currently borrowing my mom's camera (thanks mom) so I now have pictures to post! Here are some pics from the last couple of days. Enjoy!

Mmmmm popsicle. He takes a lot of baths!

He busted his nose and ran head-first into the couch, all within a few days!
More and more freckles every day....
"Mom, take a picture of my monkey face!" Sweet blue eyes.

It was a hot, hot day!

A wagon ride in the shade.

The ice-cream man came by at just the right time!

It's a............................................

2009-07-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

BOY!

4th Of July

2009-07-23T23:38:00.000-07:00

So, about 3 weeks ago we had a big weekend watching fireworks and such. My camera died on me and I have become a terrible blogger. I am working on it, please forgive me. My fetus is sucking the life out of me. It takes everything I have to wake up in the morning. Okay, my pity party is over now. Here are some 4th of July pics.

Deacon being tackled, trying to run away!

"Wow!" Kids in awe of the fireworks!
Deacon charming the ladies. He has a thing for grandmothers.

I guess she was trying to help him see the show better.
Yay fireworks!!!!!

Deacon at 15 Months

2009-07-09T00:04:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't done a "milestone" update lately, I figured I would do one now and then every 3 months for awhile. That way I will remember to do them the same months as Deacon's well-checks at the pediatrician.

Deacon turned 15 months on July 1st! He is very active-walking, running, and climbing most of the time. I have turned around twice to find him on top of the kitchen table. He has also started talking-his most common words are "banana" "mama" "dada" "la-la" and this week he has started saying (or shouting) "mmooooooore" when he wants more food. He can feed himself with a fork and can drink out of a straw. We have to include him in our Sonic happy hour budget now!

He is still a big boy-he wears a size 7 shoe and weighs 27 pounds! He is sleeping well through the night, and even puts himself to sleep now. We put him down when he's drowsy and he rarely cries-such a big boy!

He knows where his nose is and where his feet are, and will point to them if you ask. He loves to put on his shoes-and everyone else's. He also loves the bath. He lays back and puts himself almost completely underwater and laughs-like he's threatening to go under-it's so cute.......but I can only run him an inch of water since he's such a dare-devil now. He doesn't mind a face full of water at all!

The thing I love most about Deacon is that he is happy 99% of the time. Everyone is always commenting on how happy he is! He smiles and laughs most of the day. I am so thankful to have him!

-the lack of posting is due to my camera dying last week. We have been to a family reunion and had lots of fun on the 4th. I should get some pics that others took from those events and post them soon!

Trilogies

2009-07-04T08:57:00.000-07:00

Trilogy: A group of three works related in subject or theme.

I like Trilogies. Here are a few of my favorites.

We watched Back to the Future a lot when I was a kid.

Didn't we all learn SO much about time travel in the late 80's and early 90's?

Super Mario Brothers, for the original Nintendo. I successfully beat all three by sometime in the early 90's.

Oh, how I loved seeing the Scream movies in the theater!
These are super great horror films, even for those who don't like horror!

What a nice looking group of three siblings!

Here's another pretty cool group of siblings.

My my, isn't their hair red?

My favorite trilogy of all time is.......................................................

My kids!

We are going to have THREE KIDS by the end of this year.

Lola Grace

Deacon Samuel

Baby #3....coming December 2009.

What have we been up to?

2009-06-26T08:09:00.001-07:00

This week Lola has been in the Dallas area making the rounds to see all of her grandparents. (Or "parents" as she calls them.)

Deacon and I have been chilling out together during the day, and he and his Daddy have had a grand old time at night while I am working. I worked extra this week, and he also stayed with his great aunt and great grandmothers some. He has been such a good boy-he is so easy to take care of. We forgot how "easy" it is with just one kid.

Tonight we will meet Lola at Dean's family reunion. Hopefully I will have pictures from the weekend.

Little Man loves to use a fork! So big!

Helping take care of the flowers!

Caution!!!

2009-06-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

This is what 2 kids can do to your house in the time span of 1 day.

My floors were swept a mere 24 hours before this photo was taken.
And they have since been swept again!

New Tattoos

2009-06-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

Deacon told me he wanted a tattoo like Daddy's. So this morning, I took him down town and he got one! What a great mother-son bonding experience!

Actually, it came in the kids meal we had for lunch.

It's temporary.

Lola got one too. She was being too much of a goofball to be still for her picture.

Today, I learned something: Going grocery shopping close to lunch time/nap time is a BAD idea.

Feels Like Summer

2009-06-11T12:35:00.000-07:00

It has started to feel like summer to me not only because of the heat, but because we have grilled out this week for dinner.

These are my favorite thing in the world. Besides chocolate.
The kids love their swingset and to splash in the baby pool.

And, Deacon had his first Sonic slushee.

Summer's here!

Lola's End of School Program

2009-06-08T07:41:00.000-07:00

I finally found my camera. Sorry this post is so late-the program was on May 21st!

Lola's class performing "The More We Get Together"

(Sorry about the quality of this picture. It shows you how far back we were sitting-you can't even see Lola. She was in the back right corner.)

Us afterwards

Lola with both of her Great-Grandmothers.

Hopefully I will get a lot of posting done this week to catch up.

New Pics

2009-05-31T23:01:00.000-07:00

In April our friend Shauna, of K&S Photography in Dallas was in town for a bridal session, and was nice enough to do some pictures for us. They turned out great!

I love how cute Lola's freckles look here.

Are they dancing or running???

This was the same weekend as the "haircut incident" - so her hair is still long in a few of these.

I love these montages!

Shauna just started doing photography full-time. Her link is in the right hand column. If you like her work, give her a call!

Action Figures

2009-05-29T10:24:00.001-07:00

My kids played with action figures yesterday. "So what?" you say, "a lot of kids play with action figures."

Dean brought a box of his old action figures and it was left in the car. We had to stop by his work for a few minutes, and the kids were super-restless in the backseat. Fussing, hollerin' and making all kinds of noise! He handed each of them an action figure and they were quiet for 20 minutes in the car, until we reached our next stop.
Those of you who watched Dean, Andrea and Kyle grow up will not find this surprising because apparantly this was one of their favorite pasttimes. However, the only time I was ever entertained by an action figure was when my brother had his GI Joes suspended with a rope on our Christmas tree. And, my kids are never quiet in the car unless they are sleeping.

I have a lot of other things to blog about, but I can't find my camera at the moment. It is lost somewhere in the aftermath of the tornado that blew through our house recently.

2009-05-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

I have nothing good to say today. Here's a picture of my kids in the bathtub. I stood on the toilet to take this so my camera wouldn't get ruined. They were having a "splash party."

Want to see something gross?

Deacon after finishing his very first bean burrito.

Mr. Cutie hanging out in the kitchen cabinets.

We are in the throws of some pretty challenging behavior-the worst yet. Harder than the "I'm a new 3-year-old with a new baby brother" stage. This little girl has a mouth on her and boy can she talk back! I'm tired, Dean is tired. Deacon is probably tired too.

This week is the last week of preschool-Hooray! That means I don't have to show myself in all my hideousness twice a week to all the stay-at-home-luxury-suv-driving-early-morning-makeup-wearing-moms that are there to drop their kids off. Thursday night is Lola's program, and then it's the official start of summer! Swimming lessons, going on trips, etc........a nice change of pace. Have a good day, faithful readers.

I Dont Want To!

2009-05-10T19:26:00.000-07:00

First of all, Happy Mother's Day everyone! I am blessed to be a mom today to my sweet kiddos!
All day, and for the past few days, I have had the biggest case of the "I don't want to's." Here's how my thoughts went earlier this evening, just as an example. "I-don't-want-to-go-home-bathe-kids-listen-to-anymore-whining-crying-screaming-fussing-or-get-kids-in-bed-i-just-want-to-lay-down-and-watch-desperate-housewives-in-a-clean-house-oh-no-wait-my-house-is-a-pigsty-and-smells-like-dirty-dishes-and-old-trash-i-dont-want-to-do-the-dishes-AGAIN-i-don't-want-to-go-to-the-gym-and-do-my-cardio-but-i-have-to-so-i-won't-be-fat-anymore-ooooooooohhhhhhhhhh-i-need-a-vacation!!!!!!
Help me. Because I don't want to! And I really, really do need a vacation.

The Circus

2009-05-03T20:56:00.000-07:00

April 22nd was Dean's birthday. We ended up with tickets to the circus that night. I don't remember having been to the circus before, and it was pretty fun. We made butterscotch cakeballs for his birthday.

Lola enjoyed the circus the most probably.

This was the little weenie dog tribe that did so many cool tricks-I took this picture for you guys, Leslie and Aunt Greta! Some weenie dog love!

The elephants were my favorite part. I was in awe.

Deacon spent the entire first 30 minutes fussing because we couldn't let him get down and walk around. (We were in the very top last row at the coliseum.) After Dean went and got snacks, he calmed down. And, yes, he ate popcorn. Quite well actually. Try to eat something in front of that kid and then tell me not to give him popcorn! Also, he has eleven teeth.

Me and my sweet punkin at the circus!

So.....there's a lot more I could blog about tonight but kids are in bed and I REALLY want to catch up on my shows.

G'night!

Friday Humor

2009-05-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

If you frequent your Lubbock, TX Wal-Mart Supercenter, and you happened to be there last night and stumble upon a small family that includes the little girl pictured below, who was wearing a gymnastics medal, had dirt under her fingernails, and had covered the entirety of her left leg in green marker, make no mistake. It was us.

But we're not white trash. We just pretend to be.
Happy Friday!

Deacon "The Shark" Myatt

2009-04-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have mentioned before that Deacon has a lot of teeth. He has had eight teeth since he was eight months old. I quit nursing him because of his teeth. He was able to start eating solid food sooner than I thought he should because of his teeth.

In my true fashion of being Mother Oblivious, (more on that later) I figured that his constant waking in the night for the last three weeks was out of habit from when he was sick around his birthday. Then, Tuesday night, I decided to put some baby toothpaste on his teeth before bed. HOLY MOLY this kid now has ELEVEN teeth! And one of them is a big old bad jaw tooth, in the back of his mouth! Lola got her teeth early, (my kids do a lot of things early, they are so advanced you know ;0>) but not any ginormous jaw teeth! By the way, what is the real name for "jaw teeth?" Are they molars? I don't know much about dental stuff. Anyways, in these pics you can see his pearly whites, at least on the bottom.

I took this picture one morning after Lola announced, "I fixed Deacon's hair with Daddy's hair stuff!!!!" Sure enough, it was all gooey and spiked. These are the things that happen when I try to have one moment to myself and drink my coffee.

And now onto me and my state of oblivion.........this is just one example, folks. This is becoming a real problem for me! Lola had a field trip today. I read the little sheet her teacher sent home about it on Tuesday. Wear tennis shoes, your school t-shirt, be on time, etc, etc, etc. We arrived at 9:20, wearing sandals, and not our school t-shirt. (To be fair, only one kid in her class was wearing theirs anyways.) As we walked in, I saw the bus through the other glass doors, and lines of little 3 and 4 year olds walking that way.........luckily, Lola's class was still in the classroom. I think they were waiting on her. I need help. Thank you for listening. Now Deacon and I will proceed to the backyard to swing. Have a glorious day, and don't forget your sunscreen. Or your tennis shoes, or your school shirt. And be on time for goodness sake!

Conversations With Lola, Part Four: A Haircut

2009-04-20T14:35:00.002-07:00

To read the very first installment of Conversations with Lola, go HERE:

www.babyblogaddict.com!!!!

A Haircut

The Scene: I am asleep on Saturday about noon, after a long night at work. Enter Dean.

Dean: "Lola cut her hair and Deacon peed all over me!"

Me: "What???!!!" When did she cut her hair?"

Dean: "I'm not sure, I just found it in the bathroom."

I stumble out of bed, into my bathroom. There are many locks of dark brown curls all over the floor. (see previous post below.)

A few hours pass. Lola and I are preparing to leave the house to go get her hair PROPERLY cut.

Me: "Ok Lola, let's go get your hair cut at the beauty shop."

Dean: "Lola, when did you cut your hair?"

Lola: "When I was supposed to be sleeping."

Me: (puzzled.....) "Were you at home with Mommy or with Daddy?"

Lola: "With you, Mommy."

Me: "Yesterday during nap?????"

Lola: "Yep."

Dean: (gesturing dramatically, laughing, carrying on) YES!!! Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!

Me: (thinking to myself) "I'm glad my children have an unattentive vampire of a mother who feels the need to sleep during the day. I've GOTTA quit working nights...I can't believe she did this on my watch!

As you can see the haircut is actually cute. At the salon, the lady cutting it pointed out to me that there is a section ON THE TOP OF HER HEAD that is about 1/4 an inch long-pretty much like stubble. NICE. It looks like age Four is going to be as interesting as age Three was............

A Teaser.....................

2009-04-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night, a blog post that I did last summer will be featured on BabyBlogAddict.com!!!! Please, please, please, all two of my readers go and check it out. Show me some love, people!
In honor of what I consider to be a momentous occasion in my blogging life, there will also be a brand new "Conversations with Lola," right here, on Myatt Family Jewels.
Be sure and come back Monday night. You won't be disappointed!

Here's a hint as to the subject of the new post:

Scroll down,

Keep scrolling,

almost there,

See you all tomorrow! (All 2 of you!)

Too Cute to be Edible...........

2009-04-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

Lola's birthday fell on a Tuesday, so she got to have a mini party at school to celebrate. I was SO done with baking for awhile because of all the time and energy their cakes took. I had several leftover plain strawberry cupcakes and some buttercream left in the fridge. So I decided to make cupcake bites!

Since I had all the other ingredients, all I had to buy was the peanut butter cup candy mold, which was around $3. (You can ready all about cupcake bites, cupcake pops, and cake balls HERE.)

Here's how to do it:

melt candy melts ( i used chocolate)

pour into peanut butter cup mold

immediately add cakeball to each cup

place in fridge for 15 min.

pop out of candy mold

melt candy melts for top of cupcake bites ( i used lavender)

turning upside down, dip the top of each cupcake bite into the candy melts. Cover the entire cakeball, all the way to the rim of the peanut butter cup shape.

place onto wax paper to set. immediately add sprinkles and whatever topping you would like to decorate. The candy will set pretty fast. (I used plain old multicolored sprinkles and the pink hearts from a bag of runts.

More Easter!

2009-04-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

The Baskets after the Easter Bunny came.

Deacon's first Easter basket - he got socks, bouncy balls, and

lots of eggs!
Lola got pom-poms, stickers, and lots of eggs!

An attempt to get a picture together at church....

Sweet brother man in his sweater vest!

He loves to put these ears on his head...

Being silly.

Even though this pic is dark, if you look close and see their faces, it's quite hilarious. They were having so much fun!

Lola hunting eggs.

Deacon already figured out that the eggs have candy in them from the ones Lola brought home Thursday from school. So, he picked up one at a time, opened it, ate some candy, and then looked for another one. I think he had 3 eggs when we were done. Lola had about 30.

Yes, I let him eat candy. He has a ton of teeth-he can eat jelly beans and skittles just fine.

Lola is showing off her goods. Deacon was ready for a nap.

Sidenote-I did try to get more individual pictures of Lola, but she wouldn't sit still!

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T23:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter from our Little Hatchlings!

(I'll post more pics tomorrow.)

Dear Lola,

2009-04-07T20:42:00.000-07:00

You were born Thursday April 7, 2005 at 4:33 in the morning! I had been in labor for a LONG time-28 hours! You weighed a perfect 7 pounds, 10 ounces.

You had to spend a week in the NICU for an infection, due to my long labor. It was the longest seven days of my life and most of the time that I wasn't with you in the NICU, I was crying. I wanted to take you home with me SO badly.

You finally came home on April 14, 2005 and have been a little ball of fire ever since! You have always amazed your Daddy and I, your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends with your intelligence and your vocabulary - it is beyond your years!
You are becoming a great big sister already. You are always showing Deacon, Daddy and I how much you love us. We love to hear you sing, and watch you dance around and play dress-up.

You are such a special little girl. Today, on your Fourth birthday, you have reminded me to enjoy every moment, because this time is going by so fast.

We love you Lola Grace!

Happy Birthday!

"So I will dance with Cinderella,

while she is here in my arms

Cause I know something

the Prince never knew
I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
Cause all too soon
the clock will strike midnight..."

Birthday Party, Part One

2009-04-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

I only have a few pictures of the party. I was busy. Sorry. Family is supposed to be emailing me their pics and I will put them on here ASAP. I can hardly get anything done right now, Deacon is sick and clingy and won't let me out of his sight. He is asleep right now and I have a billion things to do in the next 4 hours before I go to work............so not much time for blogging. Enjoy these pics. It was a great party......so I have been told. To me it felt like complete chaos!

Party day outfits

Lola's cake

Deacon's cake

Sweet girl, waiting for her swing set to be ready!

This boy was not feeling good at ALL Saturday, especially at the party. He had a cupcake later that night and seemed to enjoy it.

More to come later.

CAKE

2009-04-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

I started baking cakes today for tomorrow's party, which I now believe is going to be a much longer process than I originally thought. My sister, the REAL cake decorator, told me I was overly ambitious.

However, I will prevail. This time tomorrow I will be putting the finishing touches on two awesomely decorated, cute as a button birthday cakes.

Stay tuned.

Can you guess why these cakes are green????

Dear Deacon,

2009-04-01T18:21:00.000-07:00

You were born on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 at 6:20 in the evening. Your dad and I went to the hospital that morning very early. My labor with you only lasted about 10 hours - that was short compared to your sister! You weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces. You had the biggest baby feet and hands we had ever seen. The footprints on your birth certificate were enormous!

You were and still are precious in every way. You had fuzzy blonde hair that has now turned into sweet little blonde curls. You are such a happy baby. Everyone is always commenting on how happy you seem and how you are always smiling.

Since you were born, I have been able to be at home with you and your sister more than I was before you came. I have enjoyed all of the time I had with you in your first year and I will never stop thanking God for giving us such a precious gift - a son.

"For this child I have prayed, and God gave me what I asked of Him."

1 Samuel 1:27

Happy Birthday Deacon!

We Love You SO much!

The Meaning of March

2009-03-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

This time of year, I am very sentimental. Almost everyday my thoughts go back to what I was doing four years ago and one year ago to get ready for the birth of my kids.
Lola was born on a Thursday morning. I had spent since the Tuesday night before laboring.......28 hours total. The Sunday before, I couldn't sleep because I was very uncomfortable. I thought maybe I was having contractions. Dean stayed home from work the next morning, and went with me since I already had a doctors appointment scheduled. To my dismay, I was not in labor and had made no "progress." We scheduled induction for Thursday night, April 7th. The doctor said she would probably be born April 8th. (That would put me at 40 weeks, 2 days, with PIH and Gestational Diabetes on insulin, for all my OB nurse friends!!) I will save the rest of the story for later. I will say that what they say about "nesting" is true, because the night that we went into the hospital I had been scrubbing my stove with a toothbrush. Haven't so much done that since.

We spent A LOT of time getting her room ready! Dean built the canopy over her bed!

Dean and I in front of our sweet little house in Levelland. We had just gotten all moved in. I miss it.

Deacon was born on a Tuesday. The weekend before, we took Lola to Chuck E Cheese and to see "Horton Hears a Who." I was VERY anxious about having another baby, because Lola and I were pretty much BFF, attached at the hip. And I was afraid of losing that. She was very excited to be a sister though, and as we all know it was a little rocky at first but we have settled into life with 2 kids. We spent the rest of those few days cleaning the house and getting all the baby clothes washed, and baby equipment out of the garage and set up in the house. We knew we would be going in on Tuesday, April 1st for induction. Dean and I, and a few people at work (for scheduling purposes) were the only ones who knew...........it seems a little selfish to do it that way, but we wanted it to be just us and the new baby, and we wanted it to be a surprise. Most people thought it was an April fool's joke!

Lola and I at Chuch E Cheese The 3 of us on Easter last year.

Look for Birthday posts very soon!

Are You Wondering........

2009-03-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

What we have been doing? Well, lots of things.

Playing outside,

Growing our curls, Dressing up,

Vaccuming,

Learning to Share,

Picking flowers,

Making messes,

And Streaking.

That's about it. Have a nice weekend!

March for Babies!

2009-03-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

Lola and I will be participating in March for Babies this year, also known as March of Dimes. Because I work on a high-risk OB unit, many of our patients deliver their babies quite early. Some need only a few weeks in NICU, while others stay for months, and a small few never make it home.

Here's a fact sheet on prematurity:

http://www.marchofdimes.com/prematurity/21191.asp

Please consider sponsoring us and the Antepartum Angels team this year!

Click here to help me reach my goal!

Bribery

2009-03-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

Now available at your local Sonic. And it only costs you a dollar.

A Moment to Never Forget

2009-03-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

Tonight Lola came home from her great-grandparents house, and was very sleepy and fussy. She came in the kitchen for some medicine, and when Deacon saw her standing there, he stood up, took about 6 steps over to her, and reached for her. Then they sat on the floor hugging eachother for a little while.

"I Do It Myself!!"

2009-03-15T16:39:00.000-07:00

That is what Deacon would shout at me if he knew the words. When we feed him with a spoon, he grabs onto it for dear life and insists on feeding himself-which is very, very messy with yogurt! Yesterday, I let him have at it. He had to have a bath afterwards!

Playing Outside......

2009-03-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks have been so warm! We have taken advantage of the great weather as much as possible.

Deacon swinging at the park

Ready for a stroller ride! Look at those dirty socks......he likes to play in the dirt. And I'm a good mom, so I let him.
Lola was glad to be at the park!

Deacon thought swinging with Daddy was hilarious!

Lola took this picture of Deacon's feet. He has the chubbiest little baby feet and until now we have not been able to find a pair of shoes that he would wear without screaming when we put them on. He likes his clogs, though! He is taking more and more steps every day.

A Conspiracy or Shake Machine Maintenance?

2009-03-05T22:01:00.000-08:00

First off, I have three things to say.
1. What you are about to read is some of the randomness that circulates in my brain daily, hourly, etc...
2. I frequently work 7pm-1am, and therefore am left to my own devices at 1am, in my van, husband and kids at home asleep, no phone ringing, no one awake to talk to........
3. I am a chocoholic

Let me tell you something fundamental about milkshakes. Specifically, chocolate milkshakes, because I don't believe I have ever tried or want to try any other kind of milkshake. Milkshakes are not to be consumed casually. They aren't a leisurely beverage that you sip because you need something refreshing. When I drink a milkshake, specifically, a chocolate milkshake, it is out of pure necessity. Why else would I consume, like, 1,000 calories in one sitting? Because I need it!
Last week, I needed chocolate. Badly. I decided in my evil little mind before even leaving work that I was going to stop at (where else at 1 am?) the 24 hour McDonald's that is dangerously close to my residence. Being the calorie counter that I am, I ordered a medium chocolate shake.

"Ma'am, I hate to be a downer, but our shake machine isn't working."

Do you know how many times in my life I have been told that by someone on the other side of a drive-thru? (this milkshake obsession has been going on a long time...)

Fine, so your shake machine "isn't working." Where does that leave me? I have only been thinking about this chocolate milkshake for, like, 2 hours, SIR and now you're telling me I can't get one tonight?

I didn't say that. I just drove away. And frantically drove towards the nearest row of fast-food restaurants, only to realize that none of them would be open.

And then, a glimmer of hope! There is a Whataburger that is even dangerously closer to my residence than the 24 hour McDonald's!

After waiting in line behind all of the drunks who were waiting on their breakfast taquitos (it's no secret that drunk people eat Whataburger breakfast in the middle of the night) and paying almost FOUR DOLLARS, I received my delicious, long anticipated, chocolate milkshake.

I really, really needed it. Then I came home and watched all 14 hours of The Bachelor (a whole other topic) that had recorded on my DVR.......and life was good.

Thank you, Whataburger, for maintaining your shake machine so that those of us with a pathological addiction to milkshakes, specifically chocolate milkshakes, can have one whenever we want. Even at 1:30 am.

Tea Party

2009-03-04T10:37:00.000-08:00

Fancy new dress: $20

Updo for an opinionated, active 3 year old with very fine hair:

30 minutes and much arguing
Afternoon of tea with favorite cousin,

and Great-Grandmother...........

Priceless.

Eleven Months and Taking Steps!

2009-03-01T22:30:00.003-08:00

Deacon turned 11 months old today, and to celebrate, he took his first steps! I was only able to catch a little of it in the video above. (Please excuse my annoying screeching in the video!)

Our 11 month old is also babbling a lot more, saying "Lala" and "Mama." He LOVES to play in the kitchen and drag stuff out of the cabinets and drawers. He still claps his hands all the time, and waves "hi" and "bye-bye." I am always afraid to talk about his sleeping patterns, for fear that it will jinx me, but he has been sleeping longer stretches. In the mornings he will crawl up to Lola, lay his head on her, and say "Ohhhhh" like he is hugging her. It's very sweet. He is still a sweet, loveable little baby, but is fast turning into a little boy. We love him so much.

Grumpus!

2009-02-27T07:44:00.000-08:00

Lola is grumpy, grumpy girl when we wake her up for school and church. Ironically, when we let her wake up on her own, it is usually early and she is happy and ready to start the day. Go figure!
What a sad face!

That's better!

The Baby Parade

2009-02-25T11:16:00.000-08:00

My kids are so much fun right now! They enjoy each other and will play for awhile everyday. Actually, it is Lola playing and Deacon follows her around, but they are both having a great time.
When I take a shower, I put Deacon in his pack'n play, which is in our bedroom. Lola stays in the room with him also. Today when I came out of the bathroom, she announced that she was "making a float for the baby parade." She took every blanket and pillow she could find in the house and put them in and on the pack'n play.

Deacon and Lola and the "float"

Deacon enjoyed the baby parade!
This girl is so silly!

Funny

2009-02-20T17:17:00.000-08:00

I am not an animal person, really. I don't really care for little dogs, and I HATE loud, annoying dogs that bark all the time and jump on you. I like big dogs and cats. Hamsters, turtles, and other "housepets" creep me out. Even looking at Lola's goldfish while I am cooking grosses me out.

However, one of my new favorite websites is http://www.icanhascheezburger.com/ - it is pictures of (mostly) cats with captions on them. For some reason, I can almost pee my pants from laughing so hard when I read it. Anyways, here is one that was on there today. So funny. Check it out.

more animals

Where There's a Will, There's a Child!

2009-02-18T15:51:00.001-08:00

Sweet, sweet Deacon. Where do I begin? I haven't blogged lately because this little fella is keeping me on my toes. He is standing and reaching things that he shouldn't be. He also has started showing A LOT of personality. I don't think he's going to be the quiet, reserved "baby of the family." He has already figured out that he and his sister have to share toys, and even if she tries to share with him, he won't have it. He wants the WHOLE toy to himself, and lets out the loudest screeching scream you have ever heard!

Of course he is still sweet and precious too. He waves "hi" and "bye," stands up, claps his hands, and gives hugs. He hugs his sister when they wake up from naps.

Here are some pics of Lola at the same age. Oh yeah, Happy late Valentine's Day! Remember when I only had one kid and I had time to pose her and take her picture just for holidays? Not so much anymore. Sorry.

Here's to You, Little Brother

2009-02-04T19:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Late Birthday, Bhoov! I wanted to tell you over the phone, but you didn't answer. (weird, huh?) So instead I made you some delicious deviled eggs and took a picture of them so you would know how much effort I put into your birthday.

Just kidding, these are the ones we made last Christmas that Hillary and I dared you to eat in 5 minutes without puking, and you ate them! And never puked to my knowledge. Anyways, its been a delight having you around these last 25 years.
Here are some interesting things about you my incredibly huge blog audience should know.

You can drink more Red Bull than anyone else I know.

You can grow lots of really long facial hair. And back hair. And once I helped you shave your back. Remember? Who's your favorite sister?

You like to make us laugh, especially around the table. When you were a kid, it was the black olives on your fingers. In this pic above, it's shrimp heads on your fingers.

You have come to stay with me several times and we always have lots of fun. Like in this pic, where I think you were trying to look like Dangle from Reno 911. You stayed with us for 2 weeks during the summer and babysat Lola and we watched tons of chick movies. Remember?

You like to sleep. During the day. Me too, bro. It's totally genetic.

You're funny, always have been. Probably always will be.

Oh, and I know you will get all mad and say "take those pictures off your blog!" and stuff and act like you don't like the attention and whatknot, but I know the truth.

Next time just answer your phone. It'd be much easier that way.

Here's to 25 more!

Snow Day

2009-02-03T19:24:00.000-08:00

Last week we had freezing rain/sleet/ice/snow on Tuesday morning. Lola went to school on time, because people in Lubbock actually think it's safe to drive in that mess, and after school she wanted to play in the "snow."

Both kids ready to brave the cold.

Drawing in the "snow."

Snow Angels!

Deacon really wished he could go too. But that would mean I would have to go, and I have a vivid memory of cracking my tailbone on the ice one Thanksgiving as a kid. No thanks!

She would have stayed outside all day.

10 Month Old Sweetie!

2009-02-02T11:25:00.000-08:00

This little man was 10 months old yesterday. He started clapping his hands the other day, and I have tried SO hard to get video of it, but it hasn't happened. As soon as he sees the camera he comes barreling towards me to get it, which is what he was doing in this picture. Usually he stands up when he claps. He can stand up on his own without support and stand there for a while! He takes little steps if you hold onto his hands. He also FINALLY said Mama. Its more like "Mamamamamamamama" when he wants to be fed. He is babbling a lot more sounds too. He still says "Lala" all day long though.
He is starting to show preference for things he wants and does not want. Sometimes it takes 15 minutes to dress him, SERiously. He hates to get dressed. He also would prefer to play with a cell phone, remote control, or camera above any of his toys. And he does not want the old cell phones that we have taken the batteries out of and given to he and Lola, he wants our actual phones that we use now. He got his own remote from Santa, but still prefers the real remote control. He holds it up and points it at the TV. If you do not give him what he wants, be ready for some screaming, fussing, and wrestling. He is very strong.
A few weeks ago he randomly started sleeping well at night, like 8 or 9 hours. I was going to mention it, but didn't want to jinx it, so I didn't. He has quit, and he is still waking up once, sometimes twice a night for a bottle. He refuses to nurse, so now I am forced to get up at 4, 5, 05 6 am sometimes and pump him a bottle. (I am not a morning person.)
He is overall very happy and sweet. He loves to go outside with Lola, so we are looking forward to Spring so we can go to the park!
He has 8 teeth, with another coming in, and has the sweetest smile. He loves to "pat" the ones he loves, usually in the face, so if you don't know he is trying to love you it seems as though he is smacking you. He is very sweet and definately starting to show more "boy" characteristics. I am sad that his "baby" days are coming to an end, but I know he will be such fun as a toddler.

This is why I rarely do laundry!

2009-01-28T16:26:00.000-08:00

Diaries of a Bewildered Goldfish, Volume One: A Fish Out of Water!

2009-01-25T17:16:00.000-08:00

Hi, I'm new to this "blogging" thing, so bear with me. I am in a new place, and it's still quite strange.

It all started last night............I was swimming with my fellow goldfish in our tank at the superstore-type place, when I was abruptly scooped up and placed into a clear plastic bag. I was then carried carefully by a tall man with many freckles on his arms, and then handed to a short dark-headed woman. She was holding a very large baby in her other arm. The baby started to squirm and she set me down on top of a 24 pack of Dr. Pepper. The next thing I know, a conveyer belt beneath me jerks forward and "SPLAT" goes my clear plastic bag, onto the floor. Water was everywhere, and I laid there as my life flashed before my eyes. While I lay there dying, I heard a little feminine voice cry, "My fish! Mommy, what happened to my fish???!!!!!!" Just then, that same tall man picked me up and put me back into the broken bag, and there was just enough water to submerge myself in. Thank goodness! I could breathe again! I was taken to the back of the store and thrust into another plastic bag and given more water, then brought back to the man with the freckled arms. I then endured a bumpy ride to a warm home where I have been since. I even have my own bowl to swim around in, with neon-colored rocks! And about every 10 minutes, the little girl pictured below puts her face up to my bowl and checks in on me.

It's great being this little girl's pet.

A Few Pics for Fun

2009-01-19T15:46:00.000-08:00

These were some funny pictures we took on New Year's Eve and I forgot about them until now!

I guess she had something red to drink that day.

"This one goes out to all the ladies.........."

He looks so big in this pic. And so redheaded.

Happy Monday!

9 Months Old and a Curl............

2009-01-15T22:33:00.000-08:00

Deacon has been sick and instead of a 9 month well check, we have been to 2 sick visits at the doctor this month. Today he finally had his well check, and he is definately all better. He weighs 23 pounds and is 29 3/4 inches tall. He is almost half as tall as I am!!!!!! Definately a big boy. One thing I hear people say at church, at Lola's school, and other places we go is that he has enormous hands. They are still little sweet chubby baby hands, but I guess they are kind of big! He is babbling all the time. He still says "Lala" sometimes but mostly just babbles. He has started pulling up to standing and then totally letting go and standing on his own. Look out world, here comes Deacon! Also, he has the most adorable curl now in the back of his hair. You can see it in the picture above. He has a TON more hair than Lola had at this age, it's just hard to see being so light. He is a very happy baby and spends most of the day playing with his sister, me, and his toys. We love him so much.

Conversations With Lola Part 3: The Doctor's Office

2009-01-15T21:22:00.000-08:00

Lola: "Put Deacon behind the desk with me, Mom. We're playing doctor's office.
Me: "Hello ma'am, I need to see the doctor."
Lola: "Are you sick, or do you have a baby, or do you need to see the animal doctor?"
Me: "I'm sick."
Lola: "You can't pretend to be sick. You have to REALLY be sick."
Me: "OK, well I am sick."
Lola: "No, you can just have a baby."
Me: "Ok, well I'm having a baby so please come check me out."
Lola: "Mom, having a baby is really hard. You get a big, big pressure."
Me: (laughing out loud) "Thanks for the warning Lola. Someone should have talked to me about that pressure about four years ago!"

The kids behind the "desk" at the "doctor's office."

Sickness and Other Shenanigans

2009-01-08T08:53:00.000-08:00

This little nugget has been a sick dude. Over a week ago, before New Year's, he started running a fever. New Year's Eve day we went to the doctor and he had a double ear infection and a cold. So he started on antibiotics for his ears, which upset his tummy for the first 2 days. Last Saturday he started acting more like himself, but was still not sleeping well AT ALL. Like he wouldn't go more than an hour or two at night in his crib. This past Monday we noticed some little bumps on the back of his neck. It looked like a heat rash, so we didn't think much of it. He was also still very congested. Tuesday night his rash had turned into what almost looked like hives and was on his tummy, back, and neck. Wednesday morning I took him to the doctor. They checked his oxygen saturation because his lungs didn't sound great when they listened to them. Needless to say, he needed a breathing treatment in the office and was diagnosed with bronchiolitis. (Inflammation/infection of the small airways of the lungs most common in children under one year, caused by any one of 7 viruses.) They didn't test him for RSV because his oxygen saturation came up quickly after the breathing treatment, so it is probably caused by another virus. Thank goodness. He is on an oral steroid and breathing treatments here at home. He is doing much better! And the rash is almost gone. It is weird because the whole time I was thinking he didn't seem right but I couldn't put my finger on what might be wrong. DUH-get out your stethescope, nurse, who used to work in pediatrics!!!!!! For the most part he has remained his happy self. Lola has been very helpful the whole time. She started back to school this week.

Here are some pictures from the last week of the kids playing.

Lola sharing her kitchen.

"Cool sister, take me in there with you!"
"Mom, why can't we get in the dryer?"

Enjoy the pictures!

Christmas Day

2009-01-03T16:37:00.000-08:00

Santa visited our house early Christmas morning! He laid out all the kid's presents nicely. He brought toys, clothes, and books mostly. However, I misplaced my camera from the night before and didn't get good pictures of all the loot before they tore into it.

It was a Tinkerbell themed Christmas for Lola.
"Look what Santa brought you, Deacon!!!"

"Share those toys with me our you're mine!"

These pictures were taken with the camcorder, so they are a little blurry. She loves this movie.

"Geez mom & dad all this playing is making me tired!"

Deacon loves this table. It lights up and sings, and he dances along with the music.

Later that day we had Christmas with Tim, Kelli, Andrea and Kyle. More toys, clothes, and books for the kids. Lola got a Fancy Nancy doll, which I do not have a picture of, because I misplaced my camera. By this time it had arrived back at our house, and it got stuck under a pile of presents and I found it when we were done opening. I need help. Anyways, Deacon loves his little car. It unfolds and makes into a push toy, so he can learn to walk with it!

Dean's dad made a brisket for dinner and it was sooooo good. Our cousins came over to eat with us. Dean sat at the kid's table.

My new purple fiestaware from Dean's parents. I got six serving pieces, all in purple! Doesn't it look great with the yellow? I also have red.

More fiestaware.

Merry Late Christmas Everyone!

Christmas at Billiemom's

2009-01-03T12:49:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve we spent the day at Billiemom's house. Dean had to work but he took a long lunch to come open presents with us.

This is our cousing Palmer, just chillin with his new toy.

Lola opening with Lauren looking on.
Sweet cousinly love.

Deacon staring at his monkey he got from Aunt Lauri. It makes sounds and he tries to communicate with it. Will post a video of that soon.

Dean, Deacon, and Kellimom. I didn't get a lot of pictures this day. I misplaced my camera several times. It was a great day though, and Billiemom cooked a wonderful brunch and Christmas dinner as usual.

I had to cut out early and go to work. I worked 1/2 a shift on Christmas Eve. When I got home at 1 Dean and I finished wrapping presents and waited for Santa Clause!

Christmas at Mamaw's

2009-01-02T09:53:00.000-08:00

I have so many pictures I decided to break these up into seperate posts. They are out of order.

On Friday the 26th we celebrated at Mamaw and Doe-Doe's house. They are such a fun bunch of people and we are usually only all together at Christmas, so it is really fun. The day started off when Dean's mom and dad came to get the kids and take them out to the country with them. I was going to do a little shopping.........but my shopping buddy got sick. So I took a nap instead, and it lasted FIVE hours. It was great!

Here are the kids that morning waiting for Kelli-mom and Sir at the front door.

Lola opening one of her gifts.
Sweet baby Bella. She is our cousin who was born only a couple of weeks after Deacon!

Cute cousin Josh and his tractor.

Lola in her new dress-up outfit from Mamaw!

Deacon was lovin on his daddy while we opened presents.
Lola passed out in the backseat on the way home.
We stayed pretty late that night and all played a rip-roarin' game of Balderdash. It was a very fun day.

Sick!

2008-12-31T16:10:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of pictures and delay in Christmas pictures. Deacon has been sick and both kids are keeping me on my toes (feels more like flat on my rear) as usual. Pictures coming soon! Happy New Year's Eve!

Joyeaux Noel

2008-12-25T21:05:00.000-08:00

We have had a busy but great Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I have a lot of pictures to post, but I am going to wait until tomorrow.
Most of you know how I love Christmas music. I would listen to it all year long, but then I wouldn't have any friends. Anyways, the songs I really love the most are the traditional religious Christmas songs. They have so much more meaning than we give them credit for, because we are so used to hearing them! Take the time today to concentrate on the words and what they mean. And here's a sample of one of my favorite songs.
Merry Christmas!

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing"Glory to the newborn King!"

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2008-12-19T21:39:00.000-08:00

Let me preface this entry with 2 pictures of what I should be doing.

Cleaning this mess, in my kitchen.

And folding this mountain of laundry. At least it's clean.

Guess what we did this week? We filmed a short Christmas greeting that will air on KCBD sometime in the coming days.

Fortunately, there was no sticking out our tongues or pulling off our hats in the video segment.

These pictures are a different story! And I have 14 chins! Yay!

These are Dean's grandmothers. We made candy with them this week. How cool is it for my kids that they even get to know their great-grandmothers? And, their great-grandmothers are best friends!

These women love me and treat me like I am their own flesh and blood. They would do anything for me. I am so grateful to have grandmothers in my life again.

Lola helped swirl the chocolate into this batch of Tiger Butter. Then she licked the spoon right as I was taking her picture. And yes, she dresses herself. And she was wearing a tank top in the middle of December. You should have seen the rest of the outfit!

Tonight we went to Santa Land. The line to see Santa was already closed, so we walked around for a little while and then went and got hot chocolate.

Aren't my kids freaking adorable?

Here are some cookies I made for Lola's party at school. I messed with the color to make this picture look old-timey. Sugar cookies from 1957, anyone?

I forgot to take my camera to the party. It was cute like a 3-year-old preschool party should be. Except one kid got sick. So I bathed my kids as soon as we got home. I was really grossed out.

Here's Lola finishing her cookies. She used all of my Christmas sprinkles for, like, 7 cookies!

Here's my tree. It fell down last week and I had to re-fluff it and redo the ribbon and everything. I love Christmas trees. I remember sitting under ours when I was a kid and staring up at the lights while listening to Mariah Carey Christmas CD on my discman. If I had time to do that now, I'd probably take a shower instead.

Here's one of my favorite ornaments.

And another.

That's all I have to say. Sorry if any of my faithful readers found this post to be random or unorganized. If you know me, you know that I am random and unorganized, so it should come as no surprise to you. I am also in a constant state of sleep deprivation that I don't see an end to any time soon. Please pray for me to keep my cool and be a good, encouraging, cheerful mom in the midst of the chaos. (Chaos=teething, not sleeping, crawling, pulling up, making giant messes all over the house, changing clothes 18 times a day, mommy and daddy both work, etc...)

I love my family and I am so thankful for our health and how we have been blessed this year. I will try to post again before Christmas.

Good night. Or Good Morning?!!!

~Jessica~

He Loves Me...........and Karaoke!

2008-12-14T21:38:00.000-08:00

Saturday night was Dean's compamy Christmas party. Afterwards, we went out with friends to sing karaoke.

Please observe the picture below.

These are the antics that I live with everyday of my life.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

We were both really tired in this pic. It was getting late.

Dean always jokes that he is going to sing "Beth" by Kiss to me, Karaoke style, of course.
"Beth I hear you callin', but I can't come home right now...."

"Just a few more hours, and I'll be right home to you...."

Enjoy the video!!!!

La-La?

2008-12-12T07:43:00.000-08:00

Brace yourselves! I think I heard Deacon's first word. I'm not 100% sure, but I think he is trying to say "Lola." But it sounds like "La-La-La-La." Very cute. Of course I could be just expecting him to talk because Lola said words at 6 months, BUT I really think he is saying Lola. Or La-La. And now he is eating paper, so I must go.
Jessica

Ooooo La La!

2008-12-10T09:43:00.000-08:00

This is Lola impersonating a character from a book that she loves, called Fancy Nancy.

This getup is similar to what she wears almost everyday. (On days that don't involve going out in public.)
The video below says it all. Enjoy.

Deacon is Eight Months Old!

2008-12-03T14:17:00.000-08:00

Sweet little Deacon turned 8 months on the 1st. He is still a happy, content baby. He crawls everywhere-all over the house, and pulls up onto everything he can. He loves to stand up. He is starting to sleep longer stretches at night, too. He recently found his voice and loves to squeal and sing.

Thinking about putting the lights in his mouth.
So silly.

He's getting so big!

He is the best baby. I am thankful for him everyday.

Tagged!

2008-12-02T19:00:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Denise!
(I actually started this a week ago. Sorry. I'm a little behind.)

8 Things About Me

8 TV Shows I Watch

1. Jon & Kate Plus 8
2. Desperate Housewives

3. Dancing With the Stars
4. Brothers and Sisters
5. Eli Stone

6. Grey's Anatomy

7. Private Practice

8. The Colbert Report

----------------------------------------
8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Sonic
2. Taco Bueno

3. Chick Fil-A

4. Savannah's (hole in the wall in Levelland)

5. China Sun (Plano, TX)

6. The Cracker Barrell

7. Patrizio's (Plano)

8. The Cheesecake Factory

----------------------------------------
8 Things That Happened Today

1. Went grocery shopping, if 1 am counts as today

2. Dropped Lola off at preschool

3. Took a shower (this is big for me, doesn't happen every day)
4. Got fingerprinted so I can renew my nursing license

5. Had lunch with Dean

6. Read some blogs

7. Went to Hobby Lobby

8. Went to the Bank

---------------------------------------------------
8 Things I Look Forward To

1. Uninterrupted Sleep (Hasn't happened in almost 8 months)

2. Christmas

3. Thanksgiving
4. Valentine's Day
5. Halloween

6. New Years
7. Watching my kids grow up
8. Vacation next year for our anniversary
------------------------------------------------
8 Things I Wish For

1. My kids to stay little

2. A Nintendo DS

3. My kids to grow up knowing God.
4. To live out in the country

5. To buy a house in the next few years with lots and lots of square feet

6. My Christmas decorations to magically finish putting themselves up
7. My house to clean itself

8. To sleep all night tonight
-----------------------------------------------
8 People I Tag
1. Leslie

2. Dana

3. Bailey

4. Michelle C.

5. Lauren

6. Anyone else who reads this and has a blog - most of my blog friends have already done this!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-02T17:04:00.000-08:00

Our Thanksgiving started Thursday at our house with some of my family.

Dean fried our turkey, it was really pretty! And yum!

Turkey cake balls crafted by my sister, Lola, and me.

Sadly, this cake ball didn't make it.

Lola's placemat she made at school. It says "I am thankful for flowers."

One of my favorite cousins- Tim (Countrybabe) and his wife Karen.

Lola took this picture.

We were so full. I thought Hillary was going to throw up at one point. It was that full feeling that takes hours to go away, you have to sleep it off.

Friday we went to Mamaw & Doyle's house with Dean's family.

Here is Miss Priss watching all the action going on outside.

Bolt and Joey - 2 pretty Golden Retrievers.

Lola with her cousin Tyler. She loves him because he always takes her along and makes her feel like a big kid.

On the go-kart with Tyler.

On the porch with Doe Doe.

Deacon was asleep with me when most of these pictures were taken-he really was there and he loved his Thanksgiving food!

I Heart My Husband - He's a Good Person

2008-11-23T23:34:00.000-08:00

It is about 1:30 am. Dean got called around 12:45 that something needed to be done at work, and there was no one to do it. So he went and did it. Even though it's not his job. For the second time tonight. Earlier he went to fix a computer that crashed. He's just a really stellar guy. If it was me, first of all I wouldn't have answered the phone. Secondly, I would have turned it off after I knew who it was calling me. He was about to go to bed, and has to be there at 8 in the mornings. He's just a good person. He cares about his job not just because it is a paycheck, but he cares about the quality of work that gets done.
Also, you should see the spotlessness (is that a word?) of Lola's room. He cleaned it with her after he got home from work the first time tonight. Did I mention it's Sunday? (Monday) Anyways, All him. So not me. He's a good cleaner.
Here's a picture of us last year in Vegas. I love him.

Goodnight.

I am NOT Mother of the Year!

2008-11-20T12:58:00.000-08:00

Last week and the week before were very challenging for me as a mom. And as a person. I can't pinpoint the exact day that it all started, but everything seemed to spiraling out of control. To start with, I was VERY tired. For those of you who don't know, I work nights. Usually 7pm to 7am. During the week I leave early at 1am, come home, feed Deacon, usually get to sleep by 2:30 or 3, get up and feed Deacon again between 5 and 7, go back to sleep, and get up with Lola usually around 8 or 8:30am. I used to get a nap those days in the afternoons, but lately it is virtually impossible to get the kids to sleep at the same time. Sometimes I turn around and go back to work that night. It finally caught up to me.
At the same time, Lola started behaving very "unbecomingly." This is not typical, she is usually a really well-behaved kid. All of the sudden, every bottle of shampoo, lotion, conditioner, NAIL POLISH, etc, became her toys. She also enjoys shredding paper towels and toilet paper, and drawing on paper plates. She made a couple of attempts to physically harm her little brother. Then there was the "Play-Doh incident" that you will all remember.
None of my efforts to discourage this kind of behavior were working. Not even positive reinforcement for when she DID do something great or helpful. The corner, time out, loss of priveledges, taking away toys, and spaking (as a last resort)........nothing worked.
The thing about three-year-olds is that they can't always express what they need. They can say what they WANT, like juice, a snack, to watch a movie, a new toy, to go to the park, etc.......but they can't always verbalize their needs.
"Mommy, I need to to pay more one-on-one attention to ME." "I need more outlets to express myself and have fun."
This is what Lola's terrible behavior was trying to say.
Lola's mother was so tired and frazzled and worried about having a dirty house that I didn't recognize this.
So, this week, instead of basking in my unrelieveable state of exhaustion, we have had playdates. Twice. Our new "hangout" is the mall playground with our friends. Then we walk the mall, window shop a little, and eat some Chick-Fil-A. Also, I have let Lola do more "arts and crafts" as she calls them, which involves tearing up paper and gluing it to paper plates, or drawing on paper and making "cards." Most importantly, I have made every effort to spend individual time with her and positively reinforcing everything she does. It has really made a difference. She has only put one thing in her hair: mousse. And guess what? My house doesn't look any worse than it did before. The biggest and best change is that she seems more like a happy and fulfilled child.
Please pray for all of us that things will continue to go well.

The Polar Express

2008-11-17T12:03:00.000-08:00

Saturday we went on a "Polar Express" train ride! Here are the kids beforehand in their matching Christmas jammies. Please excuse Deacon's bed-head. He had just woken up.

Lola, Dean and Deacon with the conductor!

They play a recorded version of The Polar Express on the train, serve cookies, and sing carols. You ride out to the "North Pole" and Santa gets on the train and rides back with you. Lola had a great time, and Deacon would have too if he had known what was going on. Why does he always try and look so angelic in pictures with the kids?

We all know better....

These next 2 are my favorite pics from the night.

Isn't that sweet?

I have a lot more posting to do and will try to get to it ASAP.

Enjoy the pics!

A Day of Firsts!

2008-11-11T00:23:00.000-08:00

Deacon has done several new things the last 2 days! First off, he has been feeding himself in his high-chair. In addition to his pureed vegetables, he eats green beans, peas, and puffs. He is getting really good at picking up small pieces and putting them in his mouth. Last night I gave him a sippy cup with water and he did okay with that too.

Then, as I was straightening up the kitchen, he was scooting around the living room floor with Lola. When I walked back in there, this is what I found:

He had pulled himself up onto the step stool!

He drools about like this all day. He is a teething machine!

One more thing: this morning he dropped his pacifier onto the floor, and I heard what sounded like a first word come out of his mouth: "Uh-uh." (Uh-oh.) Which was Lola's first word too, besides "Daaadddeeeee." I will try to catch video of him saying it next time.

I could find other things to say, but I must take my nocturnal self to bed now. Goodnight!

Election Day - Scrapblogging!

2008-11-08T15:17:00.000-08:00

I recently came across scrapblog.com, a free online scrapbooking site. You can create as many pages as you want, print them, or save them to your computer.
So, here is my first scrapblog page, about the election.
Enjoy!

PS-Sorry if anyone took offense to my post about play-doh. It was a really bad day. I really do love my kids.

I HATE Play-Doh!

2008-11-05T16:03:00.000-08:00

This is the mess that has been left for me alone to clean up, and it is ALL OVER my kitchen. After a particularly long few days with little sleep, I am not happy about this.
Most of it would be easy to clean without all the little pieces of dried play-doh.

And wet play-doh.

PLEASE DON'T EVER BUY MY KIDS PLAY-DOH!!!! The evil thing about little kids is that they act really sweet and wonderful for other people, and like little devils for their parents. Even if Lola plays nice and cleans up after herself at your house, SHE DOESN'T AT MINE! Even with toys and priveledges taken away, this is a daily battle for us. It is probably the one thing in my life that I absolutely CANNOT stand.

SO, I will ask again, please never ever ever buy my kids play-doh. Or markers for that matter. You will run the risk of me snatching it out of their little hands at after they have opened it and throwing it in the trash, most likely causing them to cry. You don't want my kids to cry, do you?

Then don't buy them play-doh.

Seven Months Old!

2008-11-02T21:17:00.000-08:00

Deacon turned 7 Months yesterday, November 1st. He is still the sweetest little boy in the world! He loves his family - he smiles when he sees any one of us and has started reaching for Dean and me. He recently started crawling - almost. It's still more like a scoot, but he can definately move himeself around now. His top two front teeth also broke through a little over a week ago. Everything goes in his mouth!

Here he is practicing his scoot

Today I took him outside to play and take a few pictures. He loves going outside.

"Sweet, I get to play in the grass??!!!!"
Watching the leaves fall...
Everything into the mouth!!!

This is my new favorite picture of him.

He is just absolutely adorable.

This was so funny....Lola was dressing him up in her costume. She even had him hold her wand. He didn't seem to mind. Poor kid needs a brother!

C'est L'halloween

2008-11-02T19:38:00.000-08:00

Our Halloween festivities began last Wednesday, when Lola and I made cupcakes for her class.
On Thursday, she wore her costume to school and they had trick or treating to all of the classrooms.
Friday we spent the morning waiting for my mom and Rich to get here, and I listened to the following: "OOhhh mommy they are never going to get here! When is Nana coming??? AAArrrggghhh I wish they would hurry up....." etc, etc, etc..... Excuse me, am I parenting a 3 1/2 year old or a 14 year old?
Anyways, Friday afternoon we cleaned house and got the kids ready for trick or treating. I took Lola to Dean's work in her costume, and then we came back home and got Deacon ready.

Lola as Abby Cadabby

Deacon as Superman
Say Cheese!

I guess you could say Nana was our "subject"- I painted her face, sprayed her hair purple, and gave her a witch hat. Lola made her wear a pair of wings!

A great time was had by all trick or treating until Lola had a melt-down and we came home.

Later that night.............

We went to a party with Dean and Kyle's work friends.

Dean and I were Shaggy & Velma from Scooby Doo.

Funny Story: Dean went and bought me the actual "Velma" costume with the wig outfit, and glasses. I was so flattered that he thought I could fit into it that I didn't even get mad at him for buying something I could never wear!

We had a great time.

Joyeaux l'halloween!

Bath Time!!!!!

2008-10-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

Deacon's baby tub has gotten too small for him. So, we got the little bath seat out and tried him in it last night. I asked Lola if she wanted to take a bath with her brother, and she was SO excited. Then, when we got into the bathroom and I was putting Deacon in the tub, she said, "mom, make sure he doesn't go potty in the bath."

Ok Lola, I'll get right on that. :)

In case you are wondering what all that grunge is in between the tiles, it's BATH CRAYON - beware, it's not really that washable!

Hope you enjoy the video.

Playing Outside

2008-10-26T16:55:00.000-07:00

Recently when we had a free afternoon and the weather was nice, the kids and I played outside. Lola stood in the middle of the front yard for the first few minutes and kept yelling, "I go to school....school.......school......school......" - finally she told me, "Mom, I made an echo!" She is so funny. Enjoy the pics.

100th Post!

2008-10-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

In honor of my blog's 100th Post, here is a really cute video. Enjoy!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Lola and Summer

2008-10-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

I am a couple of weeks behind on this-but anyways, 2 weeks ago when Summer and Cory were here, they babysat so we could go to a movie.

Lola got to play with play-doh!

Then they played with shaving cream!!!
She had a really good time.

One of the best parts was that Lola was SOOO happy when we got home, and there was no mess. All the play-doh and shaving cream was cleaned up, because Summer is all neat and clean like that.

Summer and Cory: We really appreciate that you guys stayed with us while you were here. We had a great time! Thanks for treating our kids like your own! Come back soon.

Six Month Stats & First Veggies

2008-10-08T20:18:00.000-07:00

Deacon's checkup was Tuesday. He weighs 20 pounds, 4 ounces, and is 27 1/2 inches long. He is 80-85th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference. He is still doing well on his developmental milestones, two of which are supported sitting and grasping.

I love this picture! It was right after one of his first bites of zucchini. (He liked it better the next 2 nights.)

We went prepared for both kids to get a flu shot, but luckily they had the "flu mist" for kids 3 and over. I had been telling Lola that she was going to have to get a shot, and she was very anxious about it. So it was SO wonderful that they had the inhaled vaccine instead. The only side effect is runny nose, which she hasn't had.

Deacon ran a little bit of fever, but he is over it now. He was really happy tonight, in fact, he JUST NOW fell asleep, and it is past 12:30am.

We are making his babyfood ourselves, and so far he has had zucchini, and tonight he started carrots. Dean actually blended most of it and put it into jars for me while I was working. He's pretty handy. :)

I am working a little extra this week, so I am pretty tired. Some days the kids just don't nap at the same time, so I have to survive on my 4-5 hours of sleep after I work. But it is good because then I get individual time with each of them.

This is Lola's choice of clothing most days now-one of her princess costumes. She also has a party for her imaginary sister, Ashley, every night. :) I think she didn't want to eat her soup in this picture, it's really not that good, I just didn't have another one on hand with her in her princess dress.

Enjoy the pictures!

Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree with Anyone Else But Me!

2008-10-05T23:48:00.000-07:00

We made a trip to the Apple Orchard to celebrate our anniversary, and for something fun for Lola to do. Our friends Summer and Cory and Cory's parents, Chuck and Jan were in town this weekend and they joined us. It was really fun!

Lola thinking about picking some apples.

Lola and I.

Dean and Lola doing some picking.

She was trying soooo hard.............

Deacon looking cute."Hmmm I could eat some of this dirt..."

And now, for the cutest pictures of all time.............

Aren't they so adorable in their fall getup? It looks like they are having a real conversation!

Summer and Cory babysat for us last night so we could go to a movie. I have more to post about Summer and Lola's good times - Look for it soon.

Four More Years!!!!!!!

2008-10-02T21:39:00.000-07:00

I met Dean at church camp in June 1997. We were good friends until October 1998 when we started dating. We were "on and off" a lot, especially through our college years!
We were married October 2, 2004 at the Apple Orchard in Idalou. It was a crisp fall day and the sun began to set during the ceremony behind the gazebo that you see below. I will never forget the colors of fall, the flowers, music, and all the people that we loved who were there with us. I will never forget how lucky I felt to FINALLY be marrying the person that I knew I was supposed to marry for years before.
These four years have not been short on trying times for us, but they have also been the happiest and most rewarding of my life.
I love my husband for many reasons: he is hilarious, he has gorgeous red hair and freckles, he is smart, he is hardworking, he loves our kids, he is fun to be with, he is witty, and he has given me a wonderful life.
Here are some pictures from the last four years, not necessarily in chronological order, but I tried.... Enjoy!

Our wedding ceremony

Getting ready
Nervous???Christmas 2004 February 2005 - our first house!
April 2005 - in labor with Lola
Sharing my oxygen mask.
Ruidoso October 2005
Ruidoso again
1st Anniversary! August 2005 at Abby's wedding Christmas Eve 2005
Christmas Day 2005 - our first turkey May 2006
Halloween 2006Goofy self-portrait -
I have no idea when this was taken!!
New Year's Eve 2005 August 2007 February 2008-pregnant with Deacon
July 2008 I love you Dean!