The Chronicles of Pee and Poop...

Between the incontinent puppy and two kids in diapers, I probably spend more time dealing w/ excrement than most people, or at least more than I'd care to. I'm not complaining - the dog (and the kids, too, I guess) have been brought into this household on my own volition.

So, for the latest installment in The Chronicles - I go into Jack's room this am and he is standing up in his crib, naked from the waist down, diaper in one hand and pj shorts in the other. Not to mention how proud he was - jumping up and down and giggling. I couldn't help but laugh. The kid has outsmarted me once again, and hey, he's now reached his milestone of removing one article of clothing! He's been able and willing to remove his diaper for some time now, but he's only done it the couple of times that I've been stupid enough to put him down for a nap w/ only a t-shirt on.

It's probably my own fault. I let him stay in his crib and entertain himself for about 45 minutes this morning before I got him. I'm sorry but 7am is just too early to get up and around. Most of you know that I'm not a morning person to begin with. But, spending all night "sleeping" w/ a squirmy 4 1/2-month-old who feels the need to latch onto SOMETHING, ANYTHING every couple of hours makes it even less appealing. What happened to my little one who was waking only once at night and sleeping in his CRIB?! What a little stinker.

In other developmental news, I'm going to start transitioning Jack from his crib to a big boy bed. I started today w/ naptime just by leaving the crib rail down. He needs to get out of that crib that's now been used by about 5 or 6 kids before he destroys it. The jumping up and down is becoming a routine thing, plus I'm afraid that he will indeed launch himself over the rail at some point. I have to start looking for a reasonably priced twin bed and some safety rails that I may perhaps go ahead and set up in his room so that the option is there and he can get used to it. I figure that I might as well since Patrick is not sleeping anyway, it shouldn't phase me or Matt to get up a few times at night with Jack, too!

WHY!?!?

...does Jack insist on pooping in the bathtub at least once a week? I am exhausted and have been all day and the last thing I want to do is Clorox the tub, but alas, that's what I'll be doing tonight. I'll leave you with that to ponder. Someone please come up with a solution...I'm begging you!!!

Mouthin' off

Mr. Jack is increasing his vocabulary every day. For example, this morning he reached his arms out indicating that he wanted to hold the baby. I sat Patrick on his knee and he hugged him and said, "Hi Baby Yack (Jack)" I about fell out of my chair. He laughed because I laughed and then kissed him, too cute! And just now, I found him knocking over the closed (thankfully) container of dog food and I said, "Excuse me," which he promptly responded w/ "Scuse me," in the same inflection and tone followed by a cute, yet sadistic little smile. I turned to Matt and said,"Did he just mouth off to me?" and he said, "I think so!."

G'ma and granddad sent a package today w/ lots of fun surprises. The popsicle holders were thoroughly enjoyed by all, including Patrick:

He actually held the thing himself and directed the popsicle straight to his mouth. He was taken aback at first by the cold, but after a couple of licks realized it wasn't so bad. This is his first experience w/ anything other than milk. Don't worry, I don't feed my 4-month-old popsicles on a routine basis - this was for cute picture-taking purposes only; ) He probably loved the cold since I'm pretty sure that he's already teething.Jack's first experience w/ a popsicle was yesterday and today he got to do it w/ the handy dandy no-mess popsicle holder and it went quite well.

Tonight we're taking Matt out for Father's Day (since he was on call yesterday) to the Asian Bistro which is his favorite place to eat around here.

Mommy and Patrick photo op:

Meet Roscoe...

Our new 10-week-old pit-bull mix we adopted from the humane society.

He's very sweet and very much a bounding, playful little puppy. It took a couple of days, but he and Sandy have established their bond/hierarchy and now play very well together:

He does well with the boys too...I had to teach him to be extra careful with them and he minds most of the time...."Hey, whatcha got in that wipe container?"The trick is also making sure that Jackson is careful w/ the puppy. Here's the sulken, dejected look of a boy who was just told, "We don't kick the puppy to get his attention."

All in all, he's a great dog. He seems to have a really good temperment and most importantly, knows who's boss and responds accordingly. One downside is that he is basically incontinent at this point. He pees about every 5 minutes, but is mostly pitty-pad trained in the house (because I'm not going to let him out 800 times a day!) I just remind myself that Sandy was the same way when we got her and since she was maybe 6 months old, has not had an accident in the house, so I'm optimistic.

Jacks's favorite words of the week: "NO" (a favorite among most his age); "hosh" (hush - he says it when the dogs are barking, just like mommy ; "Saaa-hee" (Sandy)

Patrick's favorite words: "aa-goo" and "gaa" all the while blowing bubbles with his drool; and now giggling when we tickle him and say stupid stuff

My boys...

Patrick's wondering "Hey, when do I get some of the good stuff!?"

He's getting so big! His 4-month check-up on Friday went okay. Only okay because "Dr. Ben" heard a new heart murmur. Probably not a big deal, but still not something you want to hear. We'll wait to see if it's gone by his 6-month visit and if it's not, he'll probably need an echo. He's weighing in at 14lbs even and 25 inches. He's starting to get long and lanky because he stayed on his growth curve for length, but dropped from 75th percentile to 25th for weight. Most likely due to the fact that he still has reflux and spits up anywhere from 3-6 times with each feeding. He's still growing out of a lot of his clothes - I guess he's just long-waisted. He's started laughing when he's tickled, too...so adorable!

(It was at this moment that Matt commented that "Uncle Fester" had come to dinner...leave the poor bald baby alone!!)

Jack showing him the ins and outs of the Hop-n-Pop, which he loves because he loves to stand up!!
(Wow...he can dance and brush his teeth at the same time...so safe...)

South Cove

Time at the lake last Thursday afternoon when Matt got home post-call. Jack was a little weary at first: But then, when he discovered the mud, he played with his sand toys and eventually waded in up to his waist - it was a struggle to get him out!

Patrick mostly just chilled in his stroller:

Cause when I dipped his feet, this was the reaction (followed by screaming):The red clay was a little much to clean off, but we all had a good time. I've heard from some people that there are "sandy" beaches along this lake, you just have to find them.

Weekend in Cary

The boys and I had a great time in Cary over the weekend. Friday, we met Steve, Brenda, and Jennifer in Raleigh at Pullen Park. (sorry no pics...my hands were full with both boys and no Matt to help!) We rode the train and Jack rode the carousel w/ granddad, and Jack looked at the ducks, got in the swing, and played in the sand. We later had lunch at Sweet Tomatoes where Jack ate his fair share of pizza. It was pretty good, I had never been there before. We then went to Cary Towne Center where I got to do a little bit of shopping - it's been a long time - there are no decent malls around here!! It was a fun and exhausting day - great to see Matt's family!

Saturday was much more chill. I hung out at my dad and Lisa's house and pretty much just played with the boys all day. They both had a blast with my parents. Jack loves their house and yard because there's so much room to run - and plenty of people that are willing to chase him for hours on end. Patrick eventually warmed up to everyone and had fun talking and smiling at my dad. It was so cute! Granny came over for dinner that night, but she didn't stay long enough for Patrick to get used to her so she didn't get to hold him very much w/out him screaming. Isn't it a bit too early for all of this clinginess?

Patrick and Grandanny talkin' it up:Jack scootin' his ride-on firetruck across the rock path:Jack and Grandma Lisa hangin out:

Grandma Lisa, and the sleepy one:And my favorite, look at that grin after Grandma Lisa gave me the hose:

Buddha, anyone?

WOW, that's a round belly. And not to leave out another cute bathtub boy...

What a tease.

So I mentioned last time that Patrick was sleeping for most of the night for about a month now. Well, I guess I just had to jinx myself!! The last three nights have been rough. He got up several times Saturday night for Matt. Then he was up at 1:30am Sunday night and when I brought him to bed with me, he wanted to eat about once an hour. Then last night, he was up at 10:30 and again, wanted to eat every hour or so. Maybe it's a growth spurt...I think they have one around 4 months. I'm sure he'll start sleeping better soon...he's proven to me that it can be done!
I have to work the next couple of nights then it's off to Cary for a long weekend to celebrate my dad's 50th!!! I'm really excited, although slightly scared. This is my first time travelling with both kids by myself (Matt's on call Friday). I think Jack is going to spend the day, Friday, with Matt's parents, so I'm sure he'll have a great time.
Yesterday we went to a cookout at one of the other resident's house. They have a baby that was born just 2 days before Patrick. Olly was also an early bird (about 4 weeks before his due date) but he's doing great and so cute!! The two bald little Cabbage Patch kids just stared at each other and drooled. Jack had a great time playing with their little girl, Lily, age 3 1/2.

Why requiring a license to procreate is more important than one to drive...

CASE AND POINT!! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24594248&GT1=43001

Probably happens more often than imaginable here in rural SC.

Don't say the word...

"TACKLE" around Jack. Or else this is what will happen: Don't worry...they were just horsin' around:And of course, Patrick can't do cute things like tackle yet, but he looks very angelic in photos: Everybody has been doing great lately. I haven't updated about Patrick's sleeping habits in a while. We're still working on the napping thing. He will rest for maybe 45mins-1.5hrs in the moring in his crib for a nap, but otherwise just sleeps in the car or in my arms for his other naps. Which is really strange because he loves his crib at night. Both boys go to bed between 7pm-8pm and of course Jack sleeps until morning. For about 3 weeks now, Patrick has been getting up ONCE between 4am-5am! I can't believe how lucky I am!! At that point I change his diaper, and he gives me the silliest little smiles through the glow of his night light, and then I bring him to bed with me to eat and sleep until Jack gets up around 7:30 or 8am. So, his nighttime behavior completely makes up for his lack of sleep during the day.

I have the next week off from work, but I'm on call Monday night. There are only two nurses scheduled after 11pm so I'll probably have to work from 11-7. No biggie. It's amazing how you get used to being up all night that it hardly phases you anymore. I mean, I have to sleep after work, but usually only 4-5hrs and I'm good.

Matt's on call tonight...only two more after tonight for this hard rotation (he's up all night), and then he begins his last month of commuting to Anderson. Starting July, he'll be working at the same hospital that I do and will have home-call ONLY!!!

Upgrade!

So I finally bit the bullet and upgraded my digital camera. Mine was about 6 years old and although I was still impressed by the pics it took, I have developed a pretty serious hobby of taking pics and wanted some new technology. So I've gone from 3.2 megapixels to 8.4. I love my new camera, but it's going to take a while to learn how to use all of the features. Here are a couple of pics of the kids from my new camera:

Not that either of them could take a bad picture, but I thought that the quality of these was pretty good.

Here's Jack swinging on the big boy swing in the backyard the other day - he's such a goof:

This was taken with my old camera...I think you can tell a difference.

Last night I got called into work from 7pm-1am to work in the nursery. We had 7 babies...TWO sets of twins, which is just crazy for our tiny little community hospital. I had a good time...a break from the norm...plus time-and-a-half call pay, woohoo!!!
In response to my last post...I apologize again for the negativity...but the van and the computer are now running smoothly, in case you were wondering!

Work, work, work...

So Matt and I have seen each other a total of probably 5 minutes in the last couple of weeks (of course I'm exaggerating, but it seems like it.) Matt's back in Anderson and taking call every 4th night. He's got some very sick patients on his service right now, so he's definitely not getting any sleep when he's on call. Otherwise, he's at home helping me with the house and the boys. He gets no break - so I give him my props.

I'm also working up a storm. I am working 2 nights/week and taking call for work up to 3 times a week. (We have a nurse out on leave for the last half of her pregancy, so we have to be on call in case we are busy.) I love being at work...the people I work with are awesome and so much fun! Unfortunately, I have been branded with the Labor and Delivery "black cloud" as of late. I have only been back in L&D twice since coming back from maternity leave and the first night, there were only 2 of us OB nurses on the floor and I delivered a baby without a Dr - thankfully the baby was okay even though it was a little early. The 2nd time, which was last week, a woman came in at 1am abrupted (bleeding) and we had to do a stat c-section. The baby had a rough go at it - he was only about 35 weeks and had a hard time transitioning. Luckily his shell-shock wore off after a couple of hours so we didn't have to transfer him to Greenville.

Stress, stress, and more stress. I have found myself venting, so for that I must apologize. But it feels darn good, so I'm going to keep going!!! Some of you may have known that I traded in my CR-V about 2 1/2 weeks ago to get a *gasp* Odyssey (minivan). As much as I hated to get rid of my car, the Odyssey is about as cool as it gets for a minivan, plus I got a great deal on my trade-in. It's been awesome until this Saturday afternoon - now it won't crank. So I've gone around and around with the dealership folks to get it fixed (it's amazing how once they have your $$, they are way less willing to help you!!) Anyways, that won't get fixed until Monday. Not to mention that the garbage disposal bit the dust earlier this week and Matt just called me at work to tell me that the computer was on the fritz.

Okay, now to the wonderful part of my life, my boys!!

This is the two of them lovin' it up on the couch this morning:

And Patrick just loungin':

Jack's 2nd Birthday - a blog a month in the making!

I have completely broke my promise of posting at least once a week, but I left my camera charger in Greenville when we had Jack's birthday party and couldn't bear to post w/out any pictures - I just got it back today and it's back to the grindstone!!

Jack's birthday party was in Raleigh at Matt's grandparent's house on April 19 hosted by the Higgins. Complete with Elmo theme, it was a party indeed. I was so happy to get to see some of our family that we haven't seen in a while. I even got to visit with my Great-Grandma Wilson. It was very neat that her and Patrick were born 99 years and 1 day apart. How incredible!!! With that said, here is the "Grandmas" picture that was taken (all of Jack and Patrick's grandmas, great-grandmas, and great-great grandma in one pic!):

We had pizza, fruit salad, and goldfish - and don't forget Elmo cake! This is the one that I decorated as Jack's smash cake. I was pretty proud considering how non-artistic I am. Jennifer created a huge masterpiece that is a bigger version of this one:

Jack got a TON of presents...in fact, we had to rearrange the entire house when we got home just to arrange them all in an orderly fashion. Here he is sitting at his new table and chairs with cousin Andrew:

Eerily enough...here's what the 2 looked like about a year ago when they got together:

They have grown so much!!

And opening the greatest present of all (problem was, after opening this one, he wasn't really interested in the others!):

He really loved this little wagon that came with a sock monkey in it - at home he enjoys carting around his juice and blankie and whatever else he feels like in it:

A picture of Patrick and Mommy - please just look at Patrick!!!:

A picture of Mommy and Jack on his actual birthday after opening a big box of presents from the Higgins:

He loves his new ECU football, but it seems that the balloons are the biggest hit!All in all, it was a great party...everyone had a blast...I think that Jack may have been a little overwhelmed by all the people and presents but he still had fun!

Back to the daily grind...

So last Thursday I finally went back to work. I am not really scheduled until this Friday, but they called and asked if I could come in, and looking to get out of the house for some non-household duty work, I volunteered. I only worked from 7p-3a and it was great - we were pretty slow so it was a nice way to ease back in. Patrick did pretty well for Matt, taking a bottle of breastmilk every few hours and sleeping about as much as he has been (2-3 hour stretches, with some "awake" time in between).

It seems like ever since then, this kid has been eating nonstop. Must be a growth spurt, but I can't keep up. I haven't even been able to pump any more to store because he's drinking it all!! His 2-month appt isn't until next week but he's weighing in at about 12lbs here at home. Perhaps he's trying to bulk up to become a football legend as his shirt might suggest (Cheryl at work made it for him, so cute!):

Jack has been enjoying the beautiful weather playing outside, swinging, exploring the yard, and playing the "fill-pour" game in the corn box (that's where you fill something up like a cup and pour it into the dump truck and then dump it out and do it all over again - sounds complicated, I know, but it's very important business for a toddler):

We had something very interesting happen on Saturday. We were eating dinner and Matt was standing at the kitchen sink washing some dishes when he heard "snap, crackle, pop, rustle" and saw out the window a HUGE tree in our backyard falling down. It wasn't raining or windy, apparently it was just that tree's time to go. This thing was enormous and thankfully it went in the opposite direction of the house and fence, and into the woods taking several smaller trees down with it. By the looks of the stump, it was pretty dead and rotted:

Why I love where we live...

While it's hard to be so far away from family, it makes it somewhat more palatable to live in such a beautiful area. Friday, Matt took the day off and we took the boys out to the Chau Ram County Park that's less than 20 minutes from our house. It is a great place along the Chauga river with waterfalls, hiking trails, and even a small playground. It was a beautiful day, in the 70's. Jack had a blast going down the big slide ALL BY HIMSELF...man is he getting brave.

After playing for awhile, we loaded up the kids into the backpack (Jack) and the Snugli (Patrick) and did a little bit of hiking. Jack just loved the big waterfall, and kept pointing and rambling on about it...

Patrick loves walking around with mommy in the Snugli lately...
It was so much fun (and not to mention the most exercise that I've gotten in a while!) I can't wait to go back. I think that when we get some pictures made in a month or so, that we'll do it there.
When we got home, daddy took care of the boys outside so that I could continue with our yard work. I can't wait to get it done so that we can enjoy our yard. It's rainy this weekend, so Matt's working Sat and Sun nights. I hate that he's going to miss the Elite 8 games, but that's what TIVO is for! I was actually on call this morning for work from 7-1, but it's now 11:30 so it doesn't look like they'll need me. I'm going to go do some housework while "wearing" the baby in the Snugli. He's been so good lately, smiling and interacting and even going about 3 hours between feedings, so I'm beginning to feel a little less tied down and able to do more with Jack and around the house.
Next most exciting thing on the agenda, my first day back at work is April 11 and Jack's b-day bash on the 19th - I can't wait!