Happy Birthday, Bana!

Last night we went to my mother-in-law's house to celebrate her birthday. The funniest part of the night was trying to get all three grandkids to pose for a picture with Nan (or Bana, as Ellie calls her). I think the pictures say it all.

My trip to the $1 store

I don’t get embarrassed by much. Usually, I am all too eager to share my foibles and failures on my blog for all to see. But there is one story I almost didn’t share. One which I felt truly embarrassed by, until I told it out loud a few times and decided it wasn’t all that bad.

A few days before Christmas, I had Ellie shake out the contents of her piggy bank so we could go to the dollar store and buy a present from her for Jack and Tom. She poured about $4 in change into her little pink purse and off we went. Because I had just finished feeding Jack, I knew I only had a 3 hour window and I didn’t want to waste any time getting myself ready. Meaning that I walked out my front door in sweats, no makeup, and straggly hair. It’s like your pride goes out the window the minute the doctor slices your belly open. Anyway, back to my story. While in the car, I vaguely remember Ellie saying she spilled some of her money. I told her to pick it up, but was too distracted by something shiny to give it much thought. We pull up to the dollar store and the place is packed. It is insane how many people were frantically shopping for low quality goods. Ellie picked out a gigantic pencil for Tom and a blanket for Jack along with gift bags to put them in. I had a dollar in my purse so I picked up some tape.

The line at the register was crazy long, but instead of getting the money out and ready like a normal person, I busied myself with reinserting Jack’s pacifier into his mouth multiple times and making funny faces at him. When it was our turn to pay, what do you know, but Ellie only has like $1.78 in her purse! I can only assume the rest of her change was rolling around on the floor of my car. I frantically dig through my wallet, counting out pennies, nickels, and dimes while the people in the line behind me start getting restless. And, of course, the cashier insists on recounting everything after I have already counted it. By this time, people are actually making comments to each other about how rude I am. In the end, I am told that I am 36 cents short. I stand there for a second debating whether or not to put 36 cents on my debit card when a man in line throws down a dollar and says somewhat angrily, “Here. Just take it.” I thanked him profusely and mumbled something about how much Ellie had wanted to buy these presents herself. I can only imagine what I looked like to all those people in line. This poor, unkempt mother with two small children who could not even afford $5 worth of merchandise from the dollar store.

I sure hope Tom appreciates his pencil.

Christmas Day After

The day after Christmas we went to my father-in-law's (aka Grandpa Tom) house to celebrate some more. Ellie had fun exploring the house. Our house is only one story and Grandpa's house is three so Ellie got a big kick looking out the third story window. After eating and listening to music for awhile, we opened presents. Ellie was really excited about her princess shoes and accessories. Isn't it strange how girls just naturally gravitate towards princess stuff despite your best efforts? Jack got some cute outfits, but still refused to smile about it. At least his cousin Brannon smiles enough for the both of them!

Growing up, none of my grandparents lived close by. I would only see them once or twice a year. I can't help but think how fortunate my kids are to have all of their grandparents nearby.

Christmas Day

Dianna and her family spent the night Christmas Eve and her 4 year old (Kinleigh) decided to wake us up bright and early. I think it was payback for all those years I would wake Dianna up Christmas morning by pinching her and telling her Santa had come so she could wake the family up and I could keep my cool by looking like I didn't care and oh isn't Christmas such a drag.

Despite the early hour, it was so fun for Ellie to open her Christmas presents alongside her cousins. She loved her "house with the purple roof" and her digital camera (more on that later). Jack seemed somewhat interested in his gifts,too.
After a leisurely morning opening gifts and eating cinnamon rolls, turkey bacon, and scrambled eggs, we headed over to my mother in law's for more gifts and eating. When I say more gifts, I'm not kidding. I only bought Ellie three gifts. My MIL bought Ellie like thirty gifts. Seriously. We left the house with two black garbage bags stuffed full. It got to the point where Ellie was not even looking at the present she opened, just tossing it aside and asking for another one. I was a little embarrassed by her ungratefulness because she is usually so excited by a gift and always wants to know who gave it to her and then gives an enthusiastic thank you. I think the sheer number of gifts just went to her head. We decided that next year, we are putting a limit on the number of gifts Ellie is given. She had so much fun playing with all her presents once we got home, but I just don't want Ellie to get to caught up in the materialistic aspect of Christmas and forget what it is all about. Of course, Tom and I were more then happy to accept the Wii my MIL bought us (hey, we already know the meaning of Christmas)! Anyway, we had a great afternoon hanging with family and enjoying a yummy meal of ham and brisket. I wish I had more pictures, but I put Tom in charge of the camera while my hands were full of Jack and he failed me miserably! I have like 3 pictures! Men.

Christmas Eve

I feel like I have so much blogging to catch up on! I almost want to say forget it, but since I turn my blog into yearly books, I would hate to miss Christmas!

Christmas Eve was spent at my brother Mark's house. Dianna and her family drove in from North Carolina so the 4 youngest kids were able to celebrate together along with our parents. I was so excited for Ellie to experience the Christmas traditions that I loved as a child.

Rosie made sugar cookies for the kids to decorate for Santa. Ellie couldn't help herself and ate Santa's cookies. No wonder she wasn't hungry when it came time to eat the yummy spread of finger foods Rosie and Sabrina put together.

After dinner we reenacted the Nativity, something that we have done every Christmas for as long as I can remember. My Dad always narrates from the Bible while the kids act it out in robes, towels, and whatever other costumes we can come up with. I made sure that Ellie was given a noncritical role because I know what an unreliable actress she is (like Lindsey Lohan minus the drugs). We made her a sheep.

Ellie kept encroaching on the scenes that just involved Mary and Joseph, demanding rides on the donkey, but when it came time for the shepherds to appear, Ellie was out of costume and on to other things. See? Unreliable. At least we were able to count on Jack to pull off the swaddling clothes look.

After the Nativity, my Dad told his Pack for Santa's Back story. This is generally done on a felt board, but the kids seemed to enjoy it on the ottoman as well.

Finally, we had Jesus' birthday cake. My hands were full with the baby Jesus aka Jack (is that sacrilegious?) so I didn't get a picture but it is always white cake with a yellow star on top. We used to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus as well, but Mark nixed it this year.

The highlight of the evening was when the kids opened their present from my parents. My dad had painstakingly made them all Noah's Arks. He used the best wood and carefully carved and sanded each piece. It is a toy that will last forever and something that Ellie already loves playing with. I know how much time and love my dad spent on the Ark set and that just makes it all the more special.

I still have Christmas Day and Christmas Day After to write about, but Jack is now awake and demanding to be fed.

Oh so busy

It is 3am and I am awake with a tummyache. The fact that Jack is asleep and therefore I actually could be sleeping, but am not, is such a travesty. I don't mind lack of sleep due to Jack's hungry tummy, but when it is caused by my own issues, well, that just sucks. But, hey, I can finally update the ol blog!

My sister and her family drove down (across?) from North Carolina and arrived last Saturday. Just in time to take the kids to see Santa. There is this guy in Sabrina's neighborhood who goes all out on his lights (I'm talking crazy, Clark Griswald all out) and on Fridays and Saturdays has a Santa Claus in his yard listening to kids and handing out candy canes. Ellie was beyond excited about it, but also disappointed that he didn't have ponies for her to ride.

The following day, we dressed all the kids in their Christmas "Sunday Best" for church. They all looked so adorable. Especially Jack and Levi who were wearing the same sweater vest. Totally unplanned.

So far, we have been super busy this week. Monday, we went to the library. Tuesday we went to the outlet malls, and today (yesterday) Rosie, Dianna, and I took our girls to go see The Princess and the Frog. Tom stayed home with Jack. Ellie was riveted by the movie, but whenever asked about it afterwards, she would just say, "It was kinda scary." And it was. Then, the whole fam got together at the baseball fields to let the kids run and wear themselves out. After they all spent enough time to coat themselves in the only mud puddle in the entire ball field we headed back to Rosie's house for pizza and games. I just need to note for my journaling purposes that I won at the train game. No, I totally killed. I modestly said it was the luck of the cards, but really I am just skilled.

I am really looking forward to Christmas eve tomorrow (tonight?) where we all get together to act out the Nativity play, listen to my Dad tell his "Pack for Santa's Back" story, and eat Jesus's birthday cake. I love traditions. Merry Christmas!

Coach Tom

A gift from Tom's cross country team. An exact replica...right down to the clipboard and stopwatch (although in real life his head does not bobble). Is it not the most awesome thing ever?

2 month check up

I took Jack in to the doctor yesterday for his 2 month check up and vaccinations. Before going, I tried to prepare Ellie for what was going to occur. Jack is going to get some shots today, baby. He will cry, but it will be fine and the shots have important medicine in them.

Jack was the happiest baby for the whole two hours we were there (until the shots). The doctor commented on what an easy going baby he is. I was all, well, he was pretty fussy last week. She dismissed it as a probable growth spurt. Then, when asking milestone questions, she asked about smiling spontaneously and responsively. I told her he makes you work hard for smiles and doesn't coo much. While telling her this, Jack is on my lap smiling and cooing the whole time. Yeah, just like Ellie, always making me out to be a liar.

His 2 month (9 weeks) stats are as follows:

Weight - 15 lbs even

Height - 23 3/4 oz.

FOC - 41.5.

He was in the 75-100 percentile for everything. That's my big boy! Gained over 5 pounds and grew over 2 inches! He is in 3-6 month clothing and wearing size 2 diapers (totally kicking myself for buying the huge box of 1-2 Huggies).

After the doctor left, we waited over 30 minutes for the nurse to show up with the vaccinations. I used that time to snap some pics with my phone. Couldn't quite get smiles.

Then it was time for the dreaded shots. There were 5 of them and Ellie freaked out. She kept telling the nurse over and over, "Babies don't like sharp, pointy things!" When we got home, she ran up to Tom and told him, "They hurt Jack at the doctor's office!" I think it was more traumatic for her than for Jack.

So, I can't seem to get a real smile on camera, but here is a hint of one:

And some cooing:

Lights in the Heights

My friend, Stephanie, recently moved to the Heights. Last night, she had an Open House of sorts for friends interested in going to Lights in the Heights. Her place was the perfect location...right next to the parade start, Santa, and pony rides! The first thing we did was walk down to watch the parade which had everything from roller derby to men in kilts playing bagpipes. Ellie loved it, but Jack remained unimpressed.Later, we walked over to get pictures with Santa. This was the first year that Ellie sat on Santa's lap willingly. She was pretty excited about it. Santa pretty much forced Tom and I to get in the picture, too. The picture was such that I refuse to scan it in for this entry. Then, we took Ellie over for a pony ride. She did not want to get off the pony. Tom had to pull her off and then wait while she petted and said goodbye to the little guy.Stephanie had quite the crowd at her house and Ellie was thrilled when two girls around her age showed up. She walked right up to them, grabbed their hands, and led them to the toys. Later, she informed me that she had so much fun playing with her "cousins." Um, yeah, I was all, "not every kid is your cousin." We probably need to get out more.

2 months

Dear Jack,

Today you are two months old. This past month you learned to smile. Oh, how I longed for that smile...some kind of response to let me know I wasn't totally screwing up. You smiled first at your daddy, but the very next morning you smiled at me. Don't worry, I know I am really your favorite. Despite being able to smile, you are pretty stingy about it. You make us really work for those grins, but when we get them...wow. They are amazing.

You have grown so much. I won't know your exact measurements until Monday when I take you in for your 2 month checkup and shots (sorry about that), but I can tell you are going to top the charts. You have the most adorable chubby cheeks and your thighs have rolls on top of rolls.

As for sleeping, well, I think you do okay. You still go to bed around 11:00 and wake up around 2:00 and again at 5:00 to nurse. From 5:00 on, you snuggle in bed with me, a luxury I never allowed myself with your big sister. I am getting used to walking around in a state of semi-exhaustion. As long as I don't have to hold any intellectual conversations with anyone, I am fine. Luckily, your sister doesn't expect me to be able to explain the big mysteries of the universe and you seem happy when I count to 10 over and over again in baby-talk.

Normally I would like to say you are a chill, little guy, but this past week you have proven us wrong. You have been pretty fussy and high maintenance, but somehow it doesn't bother me that much. I really don't mind holding you. In fact...I love it. My house is messy and I have so many things to do, but I would much rather hold you in my arms while you gaze up at me with your big, blue eyes. You stare so intensely, like you can see right into my heart. That sounds so cheesy, but it is true. Right now, you are squawking at me angrily from your swing because I dared to put you down. Is it wrong that I think your furrowed brow and pouty lip are so adorable that I sit and watch them happily for a few moments before rushing in to rescue you? I am so in love with you my grumpy, little man! Happy 2 months.

Love,
Mama

Christmas card rejects

Yesterday I went over to Sabrina's house to take Christmas card pictures of the kids in their adorable new outifts from my mother-in-law. I was counting on Sabrina's creative side to help me pose the kids and she didn't let me down. Ellie, however, did not want to cooperate. Everything I told her to do, she would do the opposite. There was some serious bribery going on during this photo shoot. And Jack was just not willing to crack a smile.

Ellie was right there to comfort him, though.

When I decided to attempt their pictures individually, Ellie insisted on sitting with her back to us and smiling over her shoulder. The kid is such a poser.

The great thing about digital cameras, though, is that you can just snap a million pictures and you are bound to get one that you like.

Snow Day!

The morning of my birthday, Tom called me from work and told me to look out the window. I saw little white flakes floating to the ground. Snow! We almost never get snow in Houston, so I started yelling for Ellie to come look. I couldn't wait for her to experience her first snow.

Me, all excited: Look, Ellie, it's snowing.
Ellie, unimpressed: It looks like rain.
Me: Look closer. See? It's white! Snow!
Ellie, still unimpressed: It's not snowing on the ground.


But, then the snow picked up. So, I sent her outside and she had so much fun chasing the snowflakes and trying to catch them on her tongue.

She had even more fun when Olivia showed up to join in the chase. I would have let her stay outside to play longer, but I realized that Ellie doesn't own any coats. Actually, neither do I. Just hoodies. But, still...SNOW!

Growing old

This morning at 4:30am, as I sat in my glider nursing Jack, I thought about my birthday and how I was always excited about my birthdays in the past. I never understood why some people hated their birthdays because it was a reminder that they were getting older. I never felt like that because I never felt old. Until this year. Then, Tom's alarm clock went off and he rolled over and whispered across the room to me, "Happy birthday, babe. How are you feeling?" I told him I felt old. That my stomach was saggy with stretch marks. That I had gray hair, hemorrhoids, and an incision that wouldn't heal. (I know, I'm a catch aren't I?) (And yet Tom still tells me every day how attractive I am...go figure.) (Also, I totally realize that I am using these parentheses wrong. Sorry, Mrs. Jenkins.)

So, after listening to me talk about why I feel so old, Tom responds with his standard, "You're beautiful, babe" and gets out of bed to shower. What happens next fully deserves a more detailed post, but I feel I overshare as it is so I will just tell you that we spent the next 15 minutes accusing each other of pooing in the bed until I finally flipped on the light and realized it was just a purple fruit snack that had been smeared around (thanks, Ellie) (Also, we are very sleep deprived) (Ack! Again with the misused parentheses!).

Anyway, after Tom left for work, I lay in bed with Jack snuggled up to against my chest, making his little happy humming noises. Suddenly, I felt so very content and I realized...31 is going to be awesome.

Sunday Best: Beaumont edition

I didn't get a chance to post my Sunday best pictures because I was at my parents' house in Beaumont. I also only had my old camera on which I completely blame the blurry quality of the photos.

As always, it was so nice to get away to my parents' house. It was kind of a spur of the moment trip...I just felt the need to escape so off we went. I helped my mom make some of her Christmas presents, we tried out an amazing new fudge recipe, and went shopping. Ellie was in heaven, as always, playing in the large play room and getting tons of attention from her grandparents.

I slept with Jack in the bed with me and he slept so much better. I, on the other hand, slept so much worse. I don't know how people do the co-sleeping thing. I was so terrified of rolling over him or pulling covers on him that I slept frozen. Except once when I slipped into a deeper sleep, realized it, and jerked awake and smacked Jack in the face in the process. Nice.

By the way, Jack has started smiling! Not the drifting off to sleep smile or gas smile that he has been doing for ages, but an honest-to-goodness response smile. I have been too busy making a fool of myself to get more smiles that I haven't been able to capture it on camera.

Buncha turkeys

Happy Thanksgiving! Today we went to my mother-in-law's house for Thanksgiving. Judy and I took Ellie out on the paddle boat. Ellie loved it, but I think my legs will be feeling it tomorrow. I needed to work off all that fudge I ate. The holidays are the worst time to be trying to get back into shape. I can't stay away from the desserts!

Ellie was so worn out that she fell asleep on the car ride home. Now, Ellie, Jack, and Tom are all napping so I am taking advantage of this rare moment of "me" time to catch up on blogging and, of course, eat some more fudge.
We are slipping into a nice routine around here. Jack likes to stay up til 11 or 12 and then he wakes up to nurse around 2 and again at 5. Ellie wakes up at around 7 and I am still trying to "train" her to not come in and wake me up. Every night, I set out some Goldfish or cereal for her and have the TV set to Nick Jr. Then, I tell her multiple times when I put her to bed to please, please, please not wake Mommy up in the morning. It hasn't worked yet, but I keep hoping. Every day we try to go somewhere whether it be to the library or to the grocery store. Then, when Tom gets home from work, Ellie and I go "exploring" which really just means a walk around the neighborhood. But I look forward to that one on one time with Ellie. So much of my day is spent taking care of Jack that I feel Ellie gets a bit neglected. I get so proud of myself when I successfully take both kids somewhere...I seem to forget that my mom used to haul all 7 of us kids all over the place. Of course, she would occasionally forget one of us...just a casualty of being part of a big family! Heehee.