Christmas in July

This is what happens when you tell a 4 year old to "go get dressed."

What, Mom? I look good!

Giant Jack's 9 month stats

I took Jack to the doctor yesterday for his 9 month check-up. I almost didn't schedule the appointment because he wasn't due for any shots and I knew once he returned to daycare next month that I would be taking him to the doctor all the freaking time. However, I couldn't resist getting his measurements.

Weight: 24lbs., 1 oz.
Height: 30 in.
FOC: 47.2 cm.

He is in the 90-97% for all three...perfectly proportionate! The doctor said he is the size of the average 15 month old. She went on to clarify that means he is bigger than 50% of 15 month olds! I asked if I was feeding him too much and she said no, he is just a big boy and his height matches his weight.

It is a good thing he is so sturdy because Ellie has taken to dragging him around the house and wrestling with him. For some reason, he seems to like it.

Ellie told me this morning that she and Jack are going to get married. I told her she couldn't marry her mother and replied with teenage condescension, "I know, mom. Not right now. When we get older." Hopefully, by the time she gets older, she will have outgrown that little notion.

Random Bullets

• I just had a full-on conversation with the hubs in which I agreed to something, but for the life of me, I have no idea what it was. That is because I was looking up decor ideas on the internet at the time. And I can't ask Tom what I agreed to because then I would be admitting I wasn't listening and the tables would be turned.
• Ellie is being especially attitude-y as of late. It kills me. When she was at Rosie's, she was acting up and then said something to Rosie along the lines of, "I am not acting like a snot!" Rosie was all, "Snot? Where did you hear that word?" And Ellie was all, "My mom." Rosie was quick to inform her that she is sure her mom would never use that word. Um, well, I might have told Ellie she is acting like a snot once or twice. Because she totally was. But hearing about that little conversation made me decide to rethink my word-choices.
• Our house has been invaded by crickets. Several times a day, Tom and I have to relocate a cricket we find indoors. Tom relocates them outdoors. I relocate them to the toilet. When we were in San Antonio, we found a cricket in out hotel room. On the 19th floor. I was convinced it had taken a ride in our suitcase, but soon I was seeing them all over the place. I felt a little comforted knowing that we weren't the only ones being invaded.
• I am currently snacking on dill pickles that have been in my fridge for possibly a year. I looked all over for an expiration date, but finding none, I am assuming that dill pickles last forever. They taste...delicious.

The rough life

Tom had to go to a coaching conference in San Antonio that fell on his birthday. He really wanted me to go with him, but I was hesitant to leave the kids again. It felt a little greedy when we already had our New Orleans trip. But Rosie and my mom were kind enough to step in for a few days so I could go.

We dropped the kids off at Rosie's on Sunday night in time for bed because we had to leave at 5am Monday morning. I wasn't worried about Ellie at all, but was really hoping that Jack wouldn't wake Rosie up early. Poor Rosie, Ellie started throwing up around 4am. What is with my daughter and her overly sensitive stomach? (I am still not convinced that it was the 4 turkey dogs I fed her for dinner. Contrary to rumor, they weren't a month old and I did cook them!) Anyway, Ellie was so adamant that she didn't want Rosie to call me and she didn't want me to come get her. She was intent on taking full advantage of her cousin sleepover. At least Jack slept in til 8 for the first time ever.

Despite all the drama and feeling guilty for leaving Rosie with my sick kid, I have LOVED this little vacation. It is the perfect balance. For part of the day, it is just "me-time." I have no household chores to get done or kids to entertain. I have been sleeping in, reading my book, working out, and laying by the pool. Then, Tom comes back and we go play. I think I might have to go with Tom to all his conferences from now on (although, Rosie might not agree!).

A little story about my two bald men

When Tom was a toddler, he had this rocking horse on springs. According to family lore, he would rock fast and furiously for hours. His parents worried about him getting brain damage, but still he refused to get off the horse. To this day, he still likes to rock. He prefers rocking chairs so he doesn't look crazy, but catch him off guard and you might see him rocking back and forth in any ol' chair.

Baby Jack is also a rocker. He rocks so hard back and forth that he moves his high chair across the kitchen and his exersaucer across the playroom. When holding him in your lap, he will rock so hard that you have to watch out or his head with collide with your face.

Yesterday, we went to my mother-in-law's to celebrate Tom's birthday (32, in case you were wondering). My MIL happened to find a little horse just like the one Tom had when he was little. She bought it for him for his birthday. Unfortunately, he is too big for it, but Jack sure seemed to like it!

Dear Jack: 9 months

Dear Jack,

Today you are 9 months old. As I am typing this, you are screaming with laughter at your sister who is spitting pacifiers at you. I have never heard you laugh quite so hard. I love the relationship the two of you have despite the difference in age. Whenever you see her, your face splits open in the biggest grin. Even when she is wrestling with you or dragging you around, you are just so thrilled to be with her.

This past month has been a big one for you. Your top two teeth came in (whew, was that awful for all of us!) and now you have two more on top pushing through. You started crawling (army crawl with a bum leg) and now you are able to get around pretty quickly. Just today you learned to go from laying down to sitting. You also recently learned to pull yourself up on objects. This past week we walked into your room to find you had pulled yourself up on the crib rail...time to lower your mattress. You still love to eat (as is obvious from the rolls on your thighs) and we have started giving you more and more finger foods. Cheerios are our staple, but you like to sample everything we eat. If we are eating and not sharing, you start screeching. My once quiet child, you are now so loud! You chant "dadada" the most, but will also throw in the "mamas" occasionally.

You are still a snuggler and sturdy enough to withstand your sister's hardest squeezes. You have no problem giving loves to anyone who picks you up (and you love to be picked up), but you are still a Mama's Boy. No matter how happily you are playing, you will start fussing and reaching for me if I walk into your line of sight.

I love seeing the world through your eyes. You find everything around you fascinating. I write these letters to you partially so you have some sort of baby book. But mostly I write them for me. Because someday you will be a grown man with your own family, but I will still be able to look back and remember my roly-poly little boy who loved to bury his face in my shoulder or grab my chin and pull it towards him to make sure he has my full attention. You are a gift, little man, and I love you so very much.

Love you forever,

Mama

A little wicked

A year ago, I went with my mom and sister-in-laws to see Mamma Mia. We had so much fun that we decided to see a play once a year...girls only. This year we went to see Wicked and Dianna and Leilani were able to join us. I LOVED it! Loved the music, loved the story-line, loved everything. I am thinking we should change this tradition from once a year to four times a year.

Sisters, Sisters

"There were never such devoted sisters..."

My little sis lives all the way in North Carolina. Although I talk to her on the phone almost every day, it just isn't the same. I was so excited when she came into town this past week. I had so many plans for us. We did about half of them.

Ellie went with me to pick up Dianna and her two kids (Levi and Kinleigh) from the airport. Ellie and Kinleigh have a very intense relationship. Their personalities are so similar and they are just like sisters. One minute they are the best of friends and a split second later they are bickering. As soon as Ellie saw Kinleigh at the airport, they ran to each other and wrapped their arms around each other in the tightest hug. All the passerbys started "awww"ing and one man ordered Dianna to take a pic.

The week went by way too fast, but it was so fun to see our kids playing together.

Kinleigh is 7 months older than Ellie, but Ellie is still significantly larger in size. Levi is a year older than Jack and Jack is already bigger than he is! But I guess it makes sense...I mean, look how I dwarf my sister.

Circus!

Aargh, no matter what I do, blogger uploads this picture sideways! Which is irritating because it is such a cute pic!

Oh well. This sideways picture was taken last Wednesday night at the circus. We went opening night where every seat costs $10. Guess where we sat? 2nd row, right in the middle. Ellie was riveted the entire time. My mother-in-law was sweet enough to watch Jack so we could focus all of our attention on Ellie. My MIL also gave Ellie money and told her to buy herself something nice. Ellie picked out this horse and has slept with it every night since.

Weekend recap: July 4th edition

We had such a fun 4th of July weekend! On Saturday, we went canoeing with my dad and 4 of my siblings' families! We fit 11 adults and 10 kids into 6 canoes. Out of those 6 canoes, Tom, Ellie, and I are the only ones who managed to 1. tip over and 2. get marooned on top of a log and require rescuing. Still, it was a lot of fun meandering down the river and stopping at the beaches to play. After we finished canoeing, we went back to my parents' house to grill out and swim in the pool. I didn't bring my camera so all I have is this one picture of Tom, Ellie, and I when we stopped for a break on the canoe trip.

Whew, what a rough looking group!

On the 4th, we went to church and then over to my mother-in-laws for more grilling out.

Tom and Ellie enjoyed fishing from the dock. Um, notice Tom's fishing pole? Heehee. We were able to enjoy a good fireworks show and Tom and Ellie had fun lighting Roman Candles. When it comes to fireworks, I prefer to enjoy from a safe distance...like inside the house.

It was such a busy weekend and we haven't stopped! My little sister is visiting from North Carolina this week. Tonight we are going to Eclipse, tomorrow the circus, and Thursday all the ladies are going to see Wicked. Plus, in the midst of all this, Tom and I are trying to get our house ready to put on the market by August 1st. We bought this house when I was pregnant with Ellie and its 3 bedrooms and 2 baths seemed plenty big for our little family. But now that we have Jack and all 4 of us are home for the summer, we are feeling pretty cramped. We found a great community up the road that we want to build in, so keeping our fingers crossed that our house sells fast!