9 month check-up

Reese had her 9 month check up today and appears to be almost completely back to her normal self after her bout with RSV last week. Once again, you look at her and think she is petite, but by no means does she look like she is hurting in the baby fat area. The numbers would have to disagree though. She is now in the 7th percentile for her weight, 20th for height, and poor girl's head measures in the 80th percentile. You should see her Daddy's and brother's, it's genetic. She managed to lose 9 ounces since her last weight check last month, but mind you, she was sick for a week, she is a VERY active little girl, and even chose to sleep 13-14 hours straight a few nights this last week therefore missing a feeding each day. I don't know really what else to do. If she sleeps 13-14 hours a day then that leaves me approximately 10 hours to get in 3 meals and 4 bottles which makes her have to eat every 2 hours. That's what we are already doing so I don't know what else to do pack on the pounds. Oh, and forgot to mention too that her CBC today shows she is anemic. So our plan for now is to try to supplement as much as we can (even though she doesn't always finish the bottles she takes now), add one more meal to the mix during the day, and start her on poly-visol vitamins. We go back in one month for another CBC to check her iron levels and another weight check. If she has gone down any further then we will have to look at doing some further blood test to make sure there is not an underlying physiological issue. 

In the meantime, Mason and Reese are really starting to play more together. It makes for cute photo opps...like this one in the laundry basket. I just put her in it and they did the rest.

Our Christmas

My dad's response to this picture was..."cute baby, weird shoes." I happen to think that these are the cutest baby shoes I have ever seen. Coming from a pediatric physical therapist, it means a lot to buy my not yet walking child a pair of shoes. I could not pass them up, actually I did but I went back and got them because I couldn't stop thinking about them. Silly I know.

 We had a wonderful and simple Christmas this year. No traveling, no going crazy cooking for hours on end in the kitchen, no late night present buying or wrapping. Thank goodness due to Reese being sick. By the time Christmas Eve night rolled around, she was feeling well enough to get right in the thick of things with Mason unwrapping presents. Who needs snow to make angels? All Mason needs is wrapping paper.

Yes, those are matching candy cane pj's. It will be our tradition every year for them to having matching pj's until I can't find them big enough anymore.

My mom even made a short surprise visit on Thursday and brought the firetruck tent, which was a huge hit. Everyone had to spend a little time in it per Mason's request throughout the day. He even has his couch and DVD player that used to be in his man cave now residing in the fire truck. This time around girls are allowed.

Back to "Normal"

It is amazing to me how easily Reese went back to her "normal" sleeping pattern after being so sick all week long. Like I said earlier, Reese started feeling bad on Friday last week and every night since then we slept with her in the recliner in her room. Every night Gary and I took shifts sleeping with her inclined, suctioned her, medicated her, and just cuddled her, and for every nap too. So it came as a complete shock last night when I laid her down at 8, because I drank way too much water before settling down for the night with her, and she never made a peep until 7am. That's right, she slept 11 hours last night by herself. She also put herself down for about 5 naps today too, and went down by herself tonight at 6. With Mason, I can remember him taking several days to get back on a schedule once he was sick. But "littles" has spoiled us tremendously. So I guess you have surmised that she is feeling better after the RSV spell. Still running a low fever with a nasty cough, but otherwise as happy as can be. She crashed on us on Wednesday, but after a "quick trip" to the ER she was doing better and has been showing more improvement each day.  It was nice to be able to cuddle with her this last week since she is quite the mover and shaker when she is healthy. Anyway, I'll post more pictures later. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! 

RSV

Well it turns out that Reese actually has RSV. She is not wheezing yet so we are keeping an eye on her at home. Unfortunately it's hard for her to breathe and eat at the same time so she hasn't been taking in as much milk as we would like, but not dehydrated yet. So we will be staying home for a while and cuddling as much as we can. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Tis the season...

for the family to be sick. It always happens either before a holiday or before traveling. Thank goodness we hadn't planned on driving anywhere for Christmas this year. Mason started last Monday with a high fever and other symptoms you probably don't want to hear about. Two pediatrician visits and one x-ray at the hospital later, it was determined he had a bad sinus infection (that was Saturday). Well Miss Reese couldn't be left out so she started with her fever on Friday. And not to be outdone, I too had to get in the action. So far Gary is the only one who hasn't been affected. 

Here's a funny conversation with Mason the other day:

Mason:   Where's Daddy?

Me:   At work.

Mason:   You going to work Mommy?

Me:   Just for a couple of hours.

Mason:   Am I going to work today?

Me:  (laughing) You don't have a job.

Mason:  Yes I do.

Me:  What's your job?

Mason:  Miles and Jack. (the dogs)

Me: Your job is taking care of Miles and Jack?

Mason: Yes

Me:  Then yes, you're going to work today.

Just another day...

at the Kearns household. Mason has been sick since Monday, so obviously is not very photogenic today. Which is ironic considering he took about 500 pictures with my digital camera today. He is quite the photographer. He apparently wandered around the house taking pictures of items he thought were interesting. He opened the pantry and took pictures of the food items, he opened the back door and took pictures out there, and he took pictures of his potty, only to name a few. It was quite funny to scroll through the 450+ pictures and see what was captured. 

A girl and her accessories...Reese loves her pacifiers when she sleeps. We have about 6 now that stay in her crib just so she can find them easily if she stirs in the night. When she falls asleep she usually has one in her mouth and one in her hand, but when she wakes up she looks like this.

So far this is the only picture I have of her new and only teeth. She finally got them at 8 months, 1 week. 

Sweet cheeks

This picture was too cute to pass posting it. There's no story...just a cutie patootie. 

Trash trucks & Baby Jesus

We have been trying to make sure that Mason understands that even at 3, Christmas is more than just getting presents. When you ask him whose birthday it is at Christmas he first says either "his" or "Daddy's", but if you ask him again he says it's Baby Jesus' birthday (which comes out as Baby Deedus). So cute! 

So this was our extended conversation tonight after the typical "whose birthday is it" question...

Mama: What do you think Baby Jesus would want for his birthday?

Mason: A trash truck too.

Mama: A trash truck just like you.

Mason: No, Baby Jesus want a blue trash truck, I want a green one.

By the way, that's all Mason has asked for Christmas...so easy. We have decided to simplify this year and let me tell you, it has been kind of refreshing. I know that in the near future he will start asking for everything he sees in the store and at Target, but now, he is happy with his Doodle Pro, trash trucks, and crayons. 

Stuck, tights & Charlie Brown

While getting dressed for church on Sunday, I heard a little whimpering from the living room. I came out to find this...

I have no idea how she managed this by herself. And of course, as any good parent would do, I went to find my camera first, took the picture and then freed her.

Today was the first day to drop Reese off in the church nursery so I could listen to the message uninterrupted, or so I thought. She made it about 20 minutes before they called me to come back and get her. Those 20 minutes were better than nothing though. I don't know why, but I woke up Sunday morning with the sense of urgency that I had to be at church that day. With travelling and illnesses, we haven't been for about 2 months. Sad to say I know. So I got the kids ready and we headed out the door 5 minutes after the service already started. Again, getting there late was better than nothing. What a good message it was too!

Sunday also marked a major milestone in my raising a little girl...TIGHTS! I broke down and bought a pair of black tights for her a few days ago I saw on clearance. I have to say it is the cutest thing! I may have to go buy some more.

Where was this shirt when Mason was Charlie Brown for Halloween?

Elf Yourself

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Kuddos to Dad

I have mentioned before that my dad can fix just about anything. Well, over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend he fixed something near and dear to my heart (more like my hair). He fixed my Chi hair straightner. Apparently, I had dropped it one time too many and broke something in it. I had tried a couple of things with no success, but of course my dad fixed it in about 5 minutes. I told him he better watch out because everyone with a Chi knows how precious they are and he might get bombarded with "Can he fix mine too?" if I post it here.

Spiders

My mom will get a kick out of this post.

Growing up, my sister and I thought my mom was fearless. She killed bugs and spiders, rode on midnight trailrides on her horses, watched scary movies, shot at rats after dark in the shop (have I mentioned we lived out in the country)...you get the idea. It turns out she wasn't fearless, she was brave.

I had no idea that my mom was afraid of spiders. In fact, she lets out girly shrieking sounds when she tries to kill one and it turns to run towards her. I was speechless the first time I saw this happen a few years ago. Actually, I was speechless because I was laughing so hard. Our conversation went something like this..."What's wrong? (remember we are now laughing), I hate spiders!, But you were never afraid of them before. Yes I was, I just didn't want you two to know it."

So I wonder what Mason and Reese will look back on and think... "wow, mom was brave!"

Just catching up

I don't know what caused this face, but apparently it was very exciting. If there were a couple more pictures to follow I sure it would show him flapping his arms, that's what he does when he is really happy or excited...which is better for us than screeching like a girl.
I'm pretty sure I have almost this exact pose with Mason and Miles when he was about 8 months old too, except in a different house. They still really do favor each other as babies, but I think she is looking more like a girly girl.

Reese is finally getting her first teeth at 8 months old. They broke through on Monday but for several days before that she apparently liked to feel them with her tongue, hence the hilarious picture below. Then it became a trick because we can ask her to stick out her tongue and that's what she does now.

Everyone always asks if Reese is "always this happy" when they see her because she is a very happy baby out and about. Well, I always say yes, as long as she's not poopy, tired, or hungry she's the happiest baby in the world. However, patience is not a virtue of an 8 month old baby girl when she is ready to get out of her high chair. We have had the pleasure of seeing this face several times and she even has an adorable little yell that goes along with it. So, yes she is ALMOST always a happy baby. It's great for laughs though.

Rebel for a Cause

I am a blog peeper...I love to follow blogs of complete strangers (and friends too). I have found some truly amazing women, inspirational stories, tear jerkers, and funny laughs from these strangers. One that I follow very closely is my charming kids. She has truly had a miracle happen with the birth of her little Stellan and has decided to pay it forward with an organization that is amazing, although heartbreaking at the same time, String of Pearls. She has put together an amazing prize package for a raffle to benefit String of Pearls and two other charitable organizations. If you are even remotely interested in photography, it is well worth taking a peek.
Just look for the Rebel for a Cause button to the right and check it out!

Whirly ball

Gary has been trying to convince me that whirly ball would be fun for about a year now. Tonight we went and played with other couples from our church small group...and that is the most fun I have had in a very, very long time. Let's just say it brought back memories from high school basketball, which I loved.

For those that don't know what whirly ball is, it's a cross between lacrosse and bumper cars. The hardest part was learning to drive the bumper cars. I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow and have a few more bruises to identify. We joked that in 7 years of marriage, this was the first time Gary has seen me do any kind of physical competition. I have watched him run a race, play softball, and basketball, but he hasn't seen me do anything.

I'm sure I will be having dreams about whirly ball for many nights to come...in high school I used to dream about basketball games all the time to the point where I would sit up in bed in the middle of the night to catch a pass. I loved playing basketball.

The funniest thing was one of our small group members was quite the trash talker during the game...he's one of the pastors at our church. It was hilarious.

Just for laughs

I was recently telling a friend that I didn't have anything new or interesting to blog about lately. So I decided to list a few random funny stories from when I was younger that stick out in my mind.

Some may know that my Dad is one of those men who knows a little about everything, can fix anything, and is quite physically intimidating (he's 6'4", 225+ lbs). Well, when I was probably in junior high my mom, dad, sister, 2 of my parents' friends and myself all piled into our truck to go to the local fair. We lived in the country growing up. When we got there it was dark. Dad asked for some chap stick right before we were getting out of the car. So my parents' friend Liz offered her chap stick. Only it wasn't chap stick. It was a tube of very bright red lipstick. It was dark so he couldn't tell, but all the rest of us saw that it was lipstick. Dad willingly accepted it and applied a very healthy amount to his lips. We were all chuckling and giggling on the inside. I think we all even got out of the truck and started heading towards the gate, but we couldn't hold it in any longer. We had to tell him. Luckily, he thought it was pretty funny. It was priceless.

I was a twirler in the high school band at a very small school. When I was a sophomore there were about 26 kids in the marching band. One Friday night we were at an away game and I was out on the field twirling to some "hip" song (or more like our band director thought it was hip) when I noticed that the band was getting softer and softer until they almost completely stopped playing. Apparently, I had a wardrobe malfunction that had caused the entire band to take notice and start laughing so hard they couldn't play their instruments. I, however, did not notice that it was drafty down my back and rear. When it was pointed out a fellow twirler was nice enough to run over during our routine and zip me up so we could continue our routine. I got some cat calls and offers of tips once we made it back into the stands. Not something a very shy teenager wants, but I survived.

All the time again

So on a previous post I explained how Mason's new catch phrase was "all the time" added to the end of everything. So this was a conversation today (if you don't like booty humor, don't read any further).

Mason was standing at the sink with his hand down the back of his pants.

Me: Mason, get your hand out of your booty.
Mason: But I do it all the time.

I have always heard of the dreaded toddler "why?" phase where they ask why for everything you say. We have hit that phase, but with a twist...Mason says "why not?" to everything.

For example:
Me: Mason, go pick up your toys.
Mason: Why not?

Sometimes it's hilarious to listen to how funny it sounds just adding the not at the end.

This weekend...

Was full of funny stories and amazing feats!

First of all, I flew with Mason & Reese all by myself to Corpus Christi on Friday to watch my twin sister run in her very first marathon. Wow! What a weekend. The kids did awesome on the flight even though they were both awake.

Ann had to coach a basketball game Saturday morning (which unfortunately they lost) and Mason and cousin Austin played so hard any chance they could on the court. During half-time, we went out to do some musical chairs with the cars, which were parked on a small street on the school campus. So I happen to look away for an instant while digging in the backseat of the car only to turn back around to find Mason standing in the middle of the street with his pants and undies down around his ankles peeing. What made it even funnier was the fact that a car coming towards him had to stop and wait for him to finish and a couple walking along the sidewalk just laughed and said "When you gotta go, you gotta go".

So then we packed a Tahoe with 8 people and drove the 2.5 hours to San Antonio. Sunday morning we were all up at 5:30 am to get Ann to the Rock-n-Roll marathon, her first one ever. She did amazing. Mile 6 looked like a walk in the park, or should I say a prance in the park when she saw us. Mile 12 looked like she was really enjoying herself. Mile 21.5 looked like she was re-thinking her decision to run a marathon. As she crossed the finish line she looked like she could have run a few more. She wasn't the least bit sore, hurting, or tired as she finished. A couple of hours later she was starting to get a little sore after sitting a while, but still nothing like she had anticipated. We were so proud of her as she finished. As soon as we met up with her she said she was definitely doing that again. It was inspiring, but not inspiring enough to make me want to take up running. Great job Ann! We only need one marathoner in the family.

I still can't get over how easy going Reese is compared to Mason as a baby. We were in and out of the car all day yesterday and today, changed up her bedtimes and made her nap everywhere, and I even forgot (acutally, didn't feel like) to feed her solids this weekend. She survived. And on a side note, everyone commented on how chunky and healthy she looked.

Working out with Daddy

Gary works out at home using a DVD system called P90X and loves it! With the thunder and lightening tonight, we knew there was no way Mason was going to bed anytime soon so Gary went ahead and worked out with Mason. Tonight they did the plyometrics DVD together. I only videotaped a short segment, but it was hilarious to watch Mason emulate everything Gary was doing. When Gary took his shirt off (which he would not let me get on videotape) Mason had to do the same. When he stopped for water, Mason had to get water. Hilarious! The entire time he kept saying "Let's do that again!"

Our little artist

I don't know if there are many 3 year old boys that love to color as much as Mason does. For instance, today he worked on this piece of artwork on and off for probably about 2 hours. He has a method to his madness and you cannot offer any suggestions on colors or placement of the colors. This has been my favorite so far. Right before Reese was born, I sat him down with some crayons and paper and let him color. I told him it was a present for baby Reese. Then I took what he did and framed it to hang on her wall. He comments on it every once in a while. After he was finally done coloring today, he and Daddy played a hilarious game of catch that consisted of Mason throwing a ball really hard at Daddy and then Daddy trying to hit Mason in the head to make him laugh. It worked. We all laughed. Such a good Daddy!

My worst critic

is myself...disclaimer: for those who don't want to read about breastfeeding, stop here.

We have been monitoring Reese's weight gain for the last 4 months or so. She has continued to gain weight but at a much slower rate than they have wanted. So today I went to work with the kiddos and used their infant scale. She weighed 3 ounces less today than she did 10 days ago according to their scale. Yikes!

So here's where I have been beating myself up. I have not ignored, but dismissed any concerns with her weight since she is so happy, healthy looking, and slept way better than Mason ever did at this point. Last night she woke up a couple of times so I fed her once. Apparently, she must have been hungry based on her lack of weight gain today.

So now I feel awful. My stubborn self has insisted on BF her since I did with Mason for 14 months. I have nothing against formula, it's just my personal standard I have set for myself, the first year should be breastmilk. Apparently, it's a standard I have set too high.

So like I said, I am my own worst critic. Nobody has even hinted that I would have failed as a mother to not make it a year. In fact, it's the opposite. Everyone has commended my for making it this far with two kids and working part-time. But, that's where I come in and think to myself that I have failed Reese. When in fact, I probably failed her earlier by being so stubborn and not supplementing sooner. But, I know that I have not failed her at all. Again, my own worst critic.

She just woke from a nap, I nursed her a few minutes, then gave her a few ounces of formula. It is done. I have to get over it, but it is still hard on me. Knowing that she is my last makes it even harder.

On to more important things, please keep my friend Joy and her beautiful sweet little girl in your thoughts and prayers today as they endure some more medical testing. You can read back a couple of entries and read the concern they have, plus Joy is just an amazing woman and eloquent writer willing to share her many life events.

Fall

We had an impromptu photo shoot today at a park in our neighborhood. This is my favorite time of year with the leaves changing colors and falling. I think this year has been an impressive show of colors in this area. There were very few photos that didn't have Reese eating a leaf in it. Apparently, they looked tasty.

Needless to say...

we were dancing and jumping around our living room like little kids last night when Texas Tech scored with 1 second remaining. We did manage to keep our excitement quiet as the little ones were fast asleep. Gary had a headache from the edge-of-your seat anticipation the last quarter. I remained calm until the very end knowing that we would win. Now if we can just get past OSU and OU then we will have it made. Did I mention that this is our favorite time of the year...college football season!

Halloween

We had a laid back, low-key kind of Halloween this year. Reese is in bed by 6:30 every night so we waited until she was done before we hit the streets with some friends in McKinney. Reese did have a costume this year, but she hated it...80 degree weather and a polyester bunny sleeper only go together for about 2 minutes...not even long enough for me to get the camera out. I did get in the Halloween spirit and dress up again, that's 2 years in a row for those who are counting. I was quite the hit with the little girls, being Snow White and all. Mason was so cute with his candy bucket. He made Gary shine the flashlight in his bucket every time he got back to the sidewalk and was so proud of each piece he received. I don't think he ever said a word to anyone at their doors, but he was quite the chatter box between each house. Needless to say, he was pooped after about an hour and actually asked for Gary to carry him and to go home. It was a good time had by all.

Public Service Announcement

I have been on a fire safety kick lately. I told Gary we've lived in this house for a little over a year now so we should probably change out the batteries in our smoke detectors. So I went to Home Depot and got enough batteries to change out all 7 smoke detectors in our house. Gary climbs up the ladder to change out the first and we got quite the surprise. Our detectors do not need batteries, they are electric. That was not the surprise...none of them were plugged in! How can that be??!!! We thought that was something the inspector checked when you have a home inspection, but apparently not. So, we have been living in a 2 story house with 2 kids upstairs, and 0 smoke detectors working. How crazy is that???!!! So please take this time to check your smoke detectors for batteries/electricity...thanks. I know one reader's husband (he's a fireman) that will not find this funny.

Cowkin or Pumpboy

Otherwise known as a cowboy pumpkin. I have taken the easy way out so far this year. Mason and I went to Market Street where he picked out his pumpkin. On the way home I asked him what kind of face did he want the pumpkin to have. So I made up all kinds of options for him and he finally got excited about the cowboy. Gary, being the talented artist that he is, was instructed to make the cowboy pumpkin face, complete with scary teeth. So not only did Mason not go to a pumpkin patch, but we didn't carve the pumpkin either, we used a Sharpie marker instead. It was such a nice, neat, clean pumpkin experience. Poor kid was jipped this year.

He also decorated his own little pumpkin too. He is such the artist, just like his dad. Note, the little pumpkin sitting next to the cowboy pumpkin. By the way, thanks CeeCee for the cowboy hat. At least it's being put to good use. Also note the nice leftover chocolate icing around Mason's mouth from the chocolate cake he happily shared with Mama. He's definitely my child.

My little helper

On another note...where do kids learn to be such manipulators? Yesterday, Mason did something wrong, I don't even remember what it was, and I was talking to him in a very calm voice about it. In his most pitiful voice, his reply was "Mommy, don't yell at me. Don't get mad at me." I was taken aback and then laughed to myself. Where did he learn that? Well, I told Gary about it and to his astonishment, he did the same thing to Gary today. I was witness to that too and Gary didn't even raise his voice at Mason. I am afraid of what the teenage years may hold for us if he has already learned how to try to manipulate us now. Yikes!

Little ears and voices

Another example of little ears hearing what we say...Miles was barking in the backyard so Mason goes to the back door and opens the screen door to yell at Miles. In his little boy yelling voice (which is sometimes hard to understand but I knew exactly what he was saying) he said, "Miles, get in here. Dog, that's enough...I know you heard me!" I was laughing out loud at him with the last part because that is what I tell Mason all the time when he has ignored my request or question.

Hangin' Tough

I waited 20 years for this and it was well worth the wait...NKOTB. That's right. New Kids on the Block reunited just for me to come to Dallas so that I could see what I missed when I was in junior high. You may snicker in disbelief, but it was so much fun! We even made our own shirts to pay homage to our favorite New Kid with the help some iron-on transfers. We each picked our favorite from back in the day and his name was front and center on our shirts. Let me just say that Christy had some spelling issues in making the shirts, as she misspelled Joey and Donnie (not with a Y). Joey she corrected, but Donnie she never realized it was misspelled. It sure was funny when it was pointed out while eating dinner before the concert. There was no hiding it then.

It was absolutely crazy! I have never heard so many screaming 30 year old women before in my life. They sold out American Airlines Center and it was loud. There was only one incident involving undergarments being thrown on the stage. I have to say that my arm is sore from waving it back and forth so much and my throat hurts from yelling and screaming at the top of my lungs. It was definitely worth the money and the wait.

And for those who were wondering...yes, they sang "The Right Stuff, Hangin' Tough, and Step By Step" and performed pretty much the same exact dance moves from 20 years ago. There were even a few ladies dancing in the aisles doing the same. I promise I was not one of them (but I probably could have).

Laugh if you must, but we had so much fun and talked about it all the way home. Thanks Crystal, Heather, and Christy for joining me in a trip down memory lane to junior high. By the way, we only tight rolled our jeans for a photo op.

...all the time

Mason has started adding "all the time" to the end of everything.
I love you all the time.
I miss you all the time.
I eat that all the time.
I like CeeCee (my mom) all the time.
I go to school all the time.
I want to ride the horsies all the time.

On a different note. Yesterday I caught little girl trying to pull herself up to standing in her crib on the monitor. So I raced upstairs with my heart down in my knees to find her gnawing on the crib rail almost all the way up in standing. Needless to say, I lowered the crib mattress immediately. Today, she pulled herself to standing all the way up by herself. Yikes! She is 6.5 months old. That girl is definitely keeping us on our toes. I did finally get the top of the stairs gated yesterday, now I'm working on the bottom.

A man in the making...

1. Man's hideout (oven box)

2. Buddies (stuffed animals)

3. Cold one (sippy cup o' juice)

4. Remote control (doesn't work)

5. Snacks ( cheese & cheerios)

6. Couch (Thomas the Train)

7. TV (little DVD player)

8. Sitting in your underwear

Funny phrases

A few conversations with Mason this week:

We were all driving to dinner this evening and Reese was starting to cry in the backseat. Mason says, "Baby Ree crying, I don't think she like me". Gary and I had to crack up at that one.

Yesterday I was trying to get him to eat his chicken at dinner. After repeating "eat your chicken" several times, Mason scoots close to me, starts stroking my arm very gently with his hand, and says in a very sweet voice "Mama, I love you all the time." I laughed and gushed, but still made him eat his chicken. It was a nice try to get out of it though.

We have had a recent problem with Mason crying each day I drop him off at MDO. It has been getting better. This morning as Gary was getting ready to leave for work, Mason told him "Daddy you go to work? I pick you up. You don't cry." We just had to laugh because it is the same thing I have to tell him each time. Wouldn't you know he didn't cry this morning. It was great!

Man card suspension

Gary would probably rather me not tell you what all we did this weekend, but I'm going to spill the beans anyway. We joke about the fact that Gary's "man card" has been temporarily suspended because I made him go to the So You Think You Can Dance show Friday night at Nokia theater. He will tell you that I made him go, but he watched just about every show with me this summer so he is a fan too. Apparently, there were a lot of women who brought their husbands or boyfriends because there were a lot more men there than I would have ever imagined. But...you should have seen the line for the womens' restroom at the intermission. CRAZY!

Gary did earn his 'man card' back on Saturday after watching college football all day long.

On Sunday, we decided to take a spur of the moment trip to the Fort Worth Zoo. Mason was so excited when we told him where we were going. This only happens about once or twice a year so it was a big deal that we didn't even plan for it. Each time we go to the zoo, we always take a minor detour and stop in Hurst for the best Mexican fast food ever...Rosas's Cafe. They are a staple when you live in west Texas, and that is one of the very few things we miss about west Texas. Usually, we buy extra and take it home and freeze it, but this time we had lunch first and then went to the zoo. So we have to wait probably another 6 months or so until more beef fajitas with queso. Yum!

I followed in the footsteps of a friend and made the decision not to take the camera to the zoo. I have to say it was quite liberating. Not feeling like I had to have the perfect picture at every exhibit. Plus, Reese wanted to be carried the majority of the way. So it worked out well for everyone involved.

We even took the kids to the park later when we got home. I joke with Gary saying we would have won a parenting award on Sunday since we had so much fun and it was all about the kids that day. It's so easy to get caught up with work, cleaning, cooking, and living that sometimes the kids don't get the attention they need at all times. I'm working on it.

Get Your Guns Up!

There was quite a bit of celebrating today during the Texas Tech game. Mason is working on "getting his guns up". Right now they look more like antlers or ears, but we get lots of practice during a Tech game. It was a close a little too close for our comfort today, but they managed to keep it together and advance to 6-0. My sister commented on how profound Coach Mike Leach is during his post game interview..."Coach, how did you get it together at the end? Well, uh, um, er...like Sharon Stone said after finishing one of her movies...no guts, no glory." Coach Leach is a very interesting man to say the least.

Caves, flashlights, and little toes

Mason has a "cave" in the livingroom (a.k.a. the oven box) and it has lots of his stuffed animals, a pillow, and his blanket in it. He was all about Reese checking it out until he realized she could crawl and was headed straight for his animals. Hence, the concerned look on his face in the second picture, which was followed by "Mama, come get her!"

Our nightly routine...using the flashlight to locate geckos along the back of the house. For added fun, tonight he was using the flashlight to locate dog poop. The dogs have been very helpful in "hiding" a lot of poop for him to find with the flashlight.

Reese has been doing this with her feet ever since she started in the high chair, about a month now. I don't know why, but I think it is the cutest thing, this death grip she has on the tray with her first couple of toes. She does it everytime.

6 months

I can't believe she is 6 months already. She has been such a sweet baby and is truly a blessing.

She doesn't normally get her pacifier unless it's nap or bedtime. However, now that she is mobile, I have found that a pacifier in the mouth means nothing else will go in (i.e. stickers, dogfood, popcorn, mail, etc.).

Pages and pictures

I know you guys have been hanging on the edge of your seats waiting for my scrapbook page entry, so you're wait is over. I have been looking forward to completing this page since Reese was born. That's just the silly part of me being excited about a play on words involving Gary's favorite candy. And, I did not disappoint myself either. I'm sure Gary is glad that it is finished and that I will stop talking about it soon.

Reese is officially creeping on her hands and knees. She is never in the same place we have left her, which is going to make me have to keep my house cleaner from here on out. Mason loves popcorn and isn't exactly the neatest eater, and I haven't been the fastest at cleaning up messes either. So between the two of us we have to be more careful now.

Mason goes back and forth between being a camera ham and not wanting to be involved. He was in a ham it up mood today. As mentioned before, he loves his popcorn and has been asking for it everynight after dinner. Boy, does he know how to manipulate. When I was leaving for the retreat Saturday evening, Gary was getting ready to put Mason to bed when Mason says "Daddy, you eat popcorn WITH me in the chair and watch Chicken Little?" in the cutest melt your daddy's heart voice. It worked. They watched the entire movie before going to bed.

On a side note, Gary did survive the 18 hours alone with the kiddos which involved one night. They were pretty easy on him I have to say.

And finally, I don't think Gary and I have had our picture taken together in quite a while, so here's an updated picture of us.

Scrapbooking, football, and chocolate

Sounds silly but that about sums up a great weekend for me. Our Red Raiders blew out Kansas State, I got to scrapbook for about 16 hours this weekend, and there was an never-ending supply of M&M's (thanks Cindy!). I think it surprises some friends that I like to scrapbook, but when you have kids as cute as mine, I would be doing them an injustice to not scrapbook. At least that's my excuse. When I can get my pictures uploaded I'll share my favorite page from this weekend.

Third Day

Last night Gary and I got to go see Third Day in concert and they didn't dissapoint. It was actually our third time to see them in concert and we'll probably go again some day. We got there late so we missed Jars of Clay and the Robert Randolph Family Band, but they came back out for the encore so we did hear them perform a little. We did get to see Swtichfoot and of course Third Day. A Christian rock concert is such an amazing experience. To know that all those people are there to share the music that praises our God and to do it openly is awesome! Then add the excitement, the faith, and the truth that Third Day puts in their music and you have an unbelievable worship experience. If you have never heard of them you're missing out. I put a link to one of their live performances, but it truly doesn't do them justice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySJmvDV7FdM

And I wanted him to talk?

On our drive down to see my parents over the weekend, this was a serious conversation Mason and I had. I'll set the scene for you. I was driving on a country road, it was dark, and I smelled what had to have been a skunk...

Me: "Eeeewwwww! That stinks! That must be a skunk!"
Mason: "Mama, I not a skunk, I Mason."
Me: "No sweetie, I smell something stinky and I bet it's a skunk."
Mason: "I not a skunk Mama, I Mason."
Me: "Mason, I'm not calling you a skunk. I smell a skunk."
Mason: "I not a skunk Mama. I Mason."

I could see this conversation wasn't going anywhere.



Apparently I have said this often lately.
Me: "Mason, time for a bath."
Mason: "I'm coming."
Me (a minute later): "Mason, get up here please"
Mason: "I''mmm coommminnnggg."
Me ( a minute later): "Mason! Now please."
Mason: "I'm coming! I'm not going to tell you again!"

Can you believe that!!!???

Le Petite

Reese had her six month check-up today. First of all, I can't believe she is 6 months old already. The second time around seems to fly by. Secondly, she seems to be a little on the petite side so we will be keeping a casual eye on her weight gain over the next month or so. I'm not too concerned and neither was the PA, but the numbers and their trend suggests we should be. But if you have seen her chunky thighs or changed her diaper recently, then you would see that she looks very healthy and happy. So that's why we are casually monitoring her weight. Here are her stats:

Weight: 15 pounds 4.5 ounces (30th %)

Height: 25 inches (20th %)

Head: 17.25 cms (79th %)

Cuteness: Extreme (110%)

And on a side note, I think we have a blue-eyed blonde haired baby in the family. I don't know how, but we do. Her eyes haven't changed and Mason's did at this point already.