Finally...a Stick Figure! or He Won't Support me with his Art Career

Dylan seems to have gotten my artistic talent.  He shows off his coloring prowess with random colors scribbled all over a page.  If asked to color a picture, he'll appease you by haphazardly choosing a color and drawing a few lines, but it's obvious he's not doing it for the intrinsic benefit.  Don't even get me started on writing his name.  It's as if I asked him to cut off his own toe.  However, it's recognizable and I'm sure it will get better.  Right??  It's ok to lie to me. 

Anyway, I was pleased as punch when he came home with this little gem.

On the bottom left he drew a stick figure!  Of course when I asked him about it he told me that it was his friend Colton who happens to be an octopus.  And all the stuff above...well, that's snow.  You couldn't figure that out?  Geez.    

After 20 Years (but with digital pictures and minus the gangsters)

Somehow despite my bossy take charge personality, I have managed to make (and keep) some extraordinary girlfriends.  It's funny because I don't actually remember how we met, but I know it's been since junior high and maybe if you want to be technical, 5th grade.  I know it's cliche, but we have gone through everything together (a certain party that STILL gets brought up by our parents comes to mind) - birthdays, proms, college parties, weddings, and most recently, babies! 

Unfortunately we live in different cities (and while Kel and I were in Dubai - different continents), but when we are together it's as if we lived next door.  Our friendship is easy and it's so fun to see how we all have evolved into wives and mothers while still up for girls' night out. 

Now for your entertainment - going old school

 My 16th Birthday...we are in the MINIVAN!  Note how I can barely see over the wheel!

 What is wrong with my hair (and Mel's???)

21st birthday in Austin (working the leopard print)

And now.

 The kids.

All of us.  Mel - 2 boys, Lora - 2 girls, Me - 2 boys

I love this picture!  The kids are all doing crazy things and we are trying to smile through it all!

Melodi and Lora, I look forward to 20 (plus) more!  

10 Things I’ve Learned From Doubling Our Amount of Offspring

1. No matter how much you prepare #1 for #2, he will still be pissed, jealous, and act like a bipolar monkey.

2. You only thought you knew what exhaustion was.

3. Napping while baby naps is great advice, but then no one will be clothed, eat, or smell nice.

4. Crying doesn’t bother me at all and, furthermore, crying analysis is my new specialty (as in he’s ok, that’s not his hurt cry).

5. I can bathe, brush the teeth of #1, and read him three stories while #2 screams the entire time.

6. I can feed #2 and simultaneously have an in depth discussion with #1 about where sharks live, what they eat (people and fish), and why “Open Water” is not an appropriate movie for a three year old.

7. My mealtime is a luxury.

8. Man to man defense is the way to go; I will not move to a zone coverage.

9. #1 is still too young to realize that he is being worked and gladly fetches wipes, beers pacifiers, and anything else I’m too lazy to get myself.

10. Dinner is a term used extremely loosely these days. Before #2 I was an avid cook and loved trying new recipes. Now, peanut butter and jelly with a side of sliced apples is our gourmet meal.

Flowers, Chocolates, and Diamonds...no thanks

This Valentine's Day I spent in the hospital recovering from a c-section from boy #2 and a cold from boy #1.  I didn't feel awful, but I had a lot of congestion which caused me to cough...A LOT.  You can imagine how fun that is when your abs are currently sewn together and there are staples...So the only thing that prevented me from feeling like I was going to split in half was Kel putting a pillow on my stomach and pressing down on it when I needed to cough (seriously y'all, I have a relatively high tolerance for pain and this made me cry).  And this he did all day and night.  That is some love right there.  Oh, and I got a baby.  Pretty sweet Valentine's Day!

Even Playtime is Organized

I had an epiphany the other day because I realized that a lot of my frustration with Dylan stems from traits that I see in him that are exactly like me.  Here is a list (because that's how we roll over here). 

1.  It pains me to admit this, but his whining is probably 'most' of my fault.  It's pointed out to me by a party who shall remain nameless (because I would like to rip his head off at times) that I sound whiny when I'm reprimanding him.  I get so irritated when he whines, but alledgedly I am just as guilty...
2.  Today he had a conversation with daddy that went a little something like this...
Kelly - Do you want to go outside and play catch?
Dylan - Yes, and then we come inside I can eat lunch?
Kelly - Yes.
Dylan - After I eat lunch I can play for a little while, then it's nap time right?
Kelly - Yes.
Dylan - So we can play catch, I can eat lunch, play, and then take a nap, ok??
Kelly - I think we've established this.
So, he's a tad bit of a planner.  I was getting irritated at his listing mania when I realized that I do the SAME thing to Kelly all the time!  From planning meals to planning our vacations five years in advance, I'm not happy unless I've got some kind of plan.
3.  He has a little perfectionist in him.  He has to finish doing what he's started before he can do something else...if he's started putting all of his cars into the laundry basket, so help you if you tell him he needs to get dressed.  It bugs the crap out of me when he does that - especially when it's time to go to school so mama can have some quiet time.  However, it makes me almost ill to not finish what I've started.  Ahem, laundry pile, I'm looking at you!  Your unfolded chaos is driving me cccccrazy!

And finally...
4.  He is ORGANIZED!  This pleases me to no end!  He cleans up his playroom like a rockstar!  All of his picture labeled bins were a brilliant idea (props to the awesome person - yours truly - who came up with that little gem of an idea)!  All of the cars are in the car bin, all of the balls are in the ball bin (hee hee), and all of the puzzles make it into the puzzle bin.  And, he even plays in an organized fashion...can you tell we've been reading our Dinosaur Train books?

You can't see it in the picture, but all the palm trees and rocks are lined up so that the dinosaurs each have access to them. 

I'm going to try and ease my frustration with the knowledge that my firstborn will have goals and plans and the demeanor to follow through with them OR he will just whine until he gets his way.  I'm good either way!

11...My New Favorite Number

Baby seems to be following in big brother's footsteps.  I started having very regular contractions at 33 weeks.  At the hospital they stopped them, but I had to be on bed rest and medication for two weeks.  This past Thursday night I started having some intense contractions and Friday morning, they were getting pretty close.  I was almost at 36 weeks at this point (D was born at 36 weeks and 1 day).  We arrived at the hospital and sure enough things were moving along pretty quickly.  They had me in the OR just after 11 and Jackson Walker was born at 11:39am on 2/11/11.  He weighed in at 6 lb 11oz and measured 19 3/4" long. 

Surprisingly, he was even bigger than D!  I can only imagine how big my babies would be if I went full term.  I guess 36 is just my number. 

Hope you enjoy some first pics of JW!  He looks so different than Dylan did as an infant.  It will be interesting to see if they look alike as J grows up. 

Space Ships, Astronauts, and Nasa...oh my!

Dylan has two favorite things right now - space and sharks.  You can see the dilemma we're facing for planning his 4th birthday party! 

We decided a trip to NASA was in order to indulge D in all things space-y.  We rode the tram, checked out Mission Control, attempted to land the Space Shuttle, and checked out the Mock Up floor.  Of course the highlight turned out to be the four story play area. 

And he's done...