Sad Day Today...

August 26, 2007, my Grandma went to be with Jesus. She was an amazing lady who taught me a lot about being a loving and caring wife and mother. I wish I had the space to share all the wonderful memories we had together. Please pray for my Grandpa and all the family. Even though we knew she was dying, when the time came it still hurt so bad. We know she is rejoicing in heaven right now but for us, we will mourn her loss.

Pro and Cons..

of our dog Maggie.
Pros...
1. She stopped whinning and barking at night.
2. She is really good with the boys.
3. She likes to sleep and spend time in her kennel.
4. She likes her chew toys.
5. She is not as hyper as I thought she might be.
6. She enjoys a good walk in the morning.
7. Our toes have never been cleaner (and she licks the sweat off me after our brisk morning walks)
8. She likes to nap in the afternoons with the boys
Cons...
1. The occasional poop and pee on the carpet.
2. I keep having to go to Wal-Mart to buy her stuff.
3. Since we don't have a fenced in back yard (my initial request before getting a dog), we have a stake and a leash she doesn't like.
4. She likes to lick all the time.
5. She likes to jump.
6. Sometimes she acts as if she is hard of hearing.
7. Along with a brisk walk she likes a brisk run, I'm NOT a runner.

After much hesitation on my part about having a dog, I am starting to warm to her. I like the fact she likes to snuggle up next to me while watching TV, after the boys are in bed. She really tries to please us (even if she doesn't do it all the time). Plus, she has never growled or barked at the boys and that is huge to me.

Happy Birthday...

to me...happy birthday to me...happy birthday dear me...happy birthday to me. I just celebrated my 30th birthday yesterday (and I would advise certain friends not to comment on how old I am compared to them). I had a lovely day with my boys and our newest family member, Maggie (more to come on that later). Tonight I'm going on a date with Chris to a baseball game. I'm looking forward to some time without the boys. Although, I'm not looking forward to sitting in this extreme heat.

Last weekend the family packed up the minivan and headed for Jacksonville, FL, to see my brother and his new wife. They just returned from Germany and this was our first time seeing them since Christmas 2005. I was so glad to see them and their new dog Pheobe (who was scared to death of Andrew). We visited with my Grandma who isn't doing well. She was excited to see both of us. It was a short visit but the trip to and from took forever. And if my life wasn't complicated enough, we got a dog. I'm trying to remain positive about her but it is very hard. She isn't a bad dog at all. Actually, for a Jack Russell Terrier she is very good (and calm). But now I have a 3 year old, a 6 month old (who is trying his hardest to keep up with us) and a 6 month old Maggie following me around all day. I'm giving her a couple of weeks and if I continue to feel ambiguous about her...well, I'll deal with that later.

Here are some pictures of Maggie and the boys. I thought trying to get 2 to cooperate was difficult but I was wrong. Maggie continues to eyeball Jonathan because she isn't suppose to touch him.
Two out of three...
At least they are all facing the camera. If only I knew how to digitally enhance their faces to look like they are smiling.
Andrew is borrowing Daddy's new bike helmet.

Oh Now I Get...

all the meltdowns Jonathan has had recently. He had a little pearly white tooth trying to make a grand entrance. I ignored the slight fever (because he typically is a little warm in the afternoons), the constant drooling and the chewing on things because Andrew didn't get his first tooth till he was about to turn 1. I figured Jonathan would get his around the same time.

Today while we were at Target getting some things he pulled my finger into his mouth, as if to show me what he was fussing about. I felt a little something rough, and sure enough, there was the first attempts at a cute tooth popping through. Jonathan smiled at me with a big cheeser and in his own way said, 'See, I wasn't faking all those tears.'

Well Child Visit...

that's what they call it when you take your child to be stabbed with needles (aka administering vaccinations). He was well when I took him and now he is not so well. Don't worry they tell you, it should only last 24-36 hours. Meanwhile, they aren't with them those hours and I am. So, for 24-36 hours my sweet Jonathan will be in an baby Tylenol induced coma (hopefully).

Here are the stats for that visit:
weight 16.9 lbs (30%)
height 25.5 inches (50%) (there goes my hopes for an NBA star)
head 43.7 cm (50%)

Jonathan did quite well during his visit. The doctor wants him to get back on his reflux medicine. Other than that it was a normal visit.

A Little Dance

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!Just trying to introduce Chris to my Puerto Rican background (even though this is a Mexican dance).

Last Weeks High Points

Alright, I have to make this quick because I'm not on my computer. It's sad when you're too busy to use your own computer and have to borrow a friends. Here are some of the highlights of last week:

Andrew learned how to spell his name.
Andrew learned left and right (which is pretty scary since I, at almost 30, still struggle with it).
Jonathan has gotten the hang of eating cereal.
Jonathan turned 6 months old.
Andrew had a meltdown because he missed Jonathan so much.
Jonathan had a meltdown because he enjoys a good cry, and I think, likes having meltdowns.
Chris left and returned home from a golf retreat (he won one time).

Last Sunday our church had a baptismal service at the lake and here was my attempt to take the camera and take some (actually just one) pictures. Andrew got to ride a jet ski while we were there. I was jealous because I've never ridden one.
This is Andrew on a tire swing at a different part of the lake.
I've decided that getting the pictures of the boys together is almost impossible. If one is cooperating the other one is grabbing.
Here is my 6 month old sweet heart/meltdown king.
Jonathan is admiring his brother on the tire swing. This is probably one of my favorite pictures of him so far.
Oh by the way, today is our 8th anniversary. I would post a picture of our wedding day but I'm pretty embarrassed about how immodest I was that day. No one told me that my girls were hanging out for the world to see.

Mommy's Little Helper

Since Chris was out of town last weekend, I decided to take the boys to Chic-fil-a for the food and the play ground. As usual, we sit down and Andrew informs me he has to poop (I need to teach him the who # system because it is a little more tactful than saying in a loud voice 'I need to POOP...OOOO....OOOO...I need to POOP). I talk him out of it by telling him he doesn't really need to go but we'll try after lunch (see how I redirected the behavior).
Promptly after finishing lunch I pack up and throw out our trash. Meanwhile, Andrew is making a beeline for the potty and I'm saying I'm sorry to everyone I've hit with the car seat (it was an ugly sight because Chic-fil-a was packed with many patrons). We finally get to the bathroom and the handicap stall I usually use is taken so I tell him to go in one and tell me when he is finished and I'll come in and wipe (he did actually have to do #2 so I felt a little guilty making him hold it for so long). He finished his business and then it was my turn. I went in and Andrew said this to me 'When you are finished Mommy just tell me and I come in a wipe for you.' How helpful. After all these years I finally get the help I've been looking for.

This Week...

This week has flown by for us. Andrew and I have been doing preschool here at the house and those couple of hours in the morning just seem to fly by. He does a pretty good job and looks forward to it all morning. When getting ready for preschool I'll give him a little pep talk about how he'll need to act and what we'll be doing. One day he had a question for me and he said, 'Teacher, what means this?' He called my teacher!! I thought it was adorable.
Last night we went outside to play in the sprinklers and he asked if he could invite some friends. He went door to door asking the neighbors if they wanted to play in his sprinklers. One neighbor said they couldn't because they were sick and then he said, 'We'll pray that God will heald them.' Such faith and boldness, I really could learn lots from him.
Our friend Chris came in for a visit (earlier in the week) and Andrew and Jonathan had a blast with him (you can check out his wife's blog on my links). When Andrew woke up the next morning and Chris wasn't here he stuck out that bottom lip and cried. He wanted his friend to come back.
Now my husband is gone for a writing weekend and the boys and I trying to figure out how to have fun without him. Here's some picture of us attempting it.

Jonathan loves to kick at this toy. I'm glad he likes it but it is really loud and it drives me crazy. Why do kids toys have to be so loud? Their hearing is better than ours so couldn't they make them quiet enough for both of us to enjoy. I mean, teenagers have a ring tone that supposedly not all can hear. Take that technology and apply it to kids toys and we'll all be happy (not to mention less hard of hearing). (Sorry for the rabbit trail rant.)
Hears a nice toy. The padding around the rattle makes it enjoyable. Plus, he looks adorable holding it. (sorry it's blurry)
So happy!! Jonathan loves to play and smile. He is so much fun to be with.
Here's my little man. I'm not sure why all the pictures are blurry. Must be the camera, right?!?! Clearly (actually, not so clearly), it could not be the photographer, who will remain nameless.
This picture was taken by Chris (our guest) on his phone at Panera Bread. It's a fun picture.

That's all for now folks!!

Bulls Game

We went to a Durham Bulls game some time last week and had a lot of fun. They tried to get a good picture of Chris and Andrew but someone wasn't cooperating. We had a lot of fun walking around, eating lots of hotdogs and enjoying each others company.
Hey look this way boys.



Oh well, they both gave it their best.