Our furniture is here!!

Well, the furniture that we order right after Thanksgiving arrived yesterday. So, we spent the evening putting our dishes in the china cabinet and trying to find places for everything. The whole time I am doing this, I cannot help but think we have too much crap. We have dishes from my great-grandmother, our trip to Disneyland Paris, my grandmother's everyday dishes, and the dishes my Mom's parents bought for me when I was born. (This does not include our winter dishes, servings sets, crystal, or more of our everyday!) These are all special to me, especially the ones from my grandparents. I know that I cannot get rid of them but try to use them as often as possible. We sold our wedding china a few months ago since we never used it and we had only a few pieces. Plus, we will be getting my grandmother's china sometime in the future so we didn't need to hold onto those few dishes.
After we got everything mostly in their new places, Chris remarked that this made him feel so grown-up. And really, it does! This is the first furniture we've purchased that we plan on keeping for a REALLY long time. We foolishly bought a complete dining room set when we first married that we are still paying for but we sold it 4 moves ago!! So, this furniture is bought, paid for, and so we love it. I will try to post pics later on but feel free to come by and check it out!
We did eat dinner at the table last night and it was really nice. We bought a seat for Keegan that attaches to the table. The Dees have one that we were able to use when we went over last weekend and Keegan loved it. So, of course, we had to get it. We had hot dogs from Chapp's Cafe and fries (Don't tell my trainer!) After that, my parents came over to see it and we all sat around just talking. It was a fun time to just relax around the table. We hope to have lots more of those times! The first official meal will be Christmas breakfast. I am looking forward to it since that is a tradition that I refuse to let go. Plus, it will be easier on my mom since she will only have to make one thing.

Christmas morning

China cabinet

Our cool light that Mono and Granny got for us for Christmas. The Santas are from Grandnanny. They hung on her chandelier for as long as I can remember.

Our Welsh cubbard with my Liberty Blue dishes.

Is it Christmas yet?

While we lived in Houston, Christmas was a tough time. We had to have what we called "Chris and Sarah Christmas" before Christmas since we spent Christmas in Dallas. We weren't very good about waiting until the date we had specified for S&CC. We tended to go home and wrap the presents for each other and then exchange gifts. Made it a good joke for Mark but it got really hard once we moved up here to wait until Christmas but we've done a great job so far! Now we have to have lots of patience because we can't wait for Keegan to get to play with his cool toys!
We are glad, now we live up here, that we don't have to haul Christmas 200 miles. It was risky and we had to re-wrap presents on multiple occasions. At least living up here saves us that! So many people complain about having to drive around on Christmas Day. For us, we had no choice. We HAD to drive a while to be with family for Christmas. For me, driving around is not a big deal. This year, with our little Sweet Pea, we did have to sit down and have a discussion. We realized that we could not have Keegan in and out of the car all day. Luckily, our families understand and have made family plans spread out.
I love what the Dees are doing. With a newborn and a 2 year old, they are inviting their families to come over for a visit during certain times. That is a great way to be able to actually enjoy the day and not be stressed about getting places on time.
All of this holiday shuffling made me realize how much of a traditionalist I am. I was raised with Christmas Eve with my Mom's family and going to church. Christmas Day, we had breakfast casserole and monkey bread. We'd open presents and relax and enjoy everything. Then, we would pack and leave to go to my Dad's parents' house at Lake Kiowa. We would arrive in the late afternoon. We'd have Christmas dinner and open presents. We would then get ready and go over to the Westfall's house for their annual Christmas party. That was always fun. I really enjoyed going somewhere for Christmas. Some people may not like being away during Christmas but I enjoyed it. As an adult, I miss those set plans. Now, we do something different every year. No set plans. I am hoping for the day when we can have set plans and know weeks in advance what will be going on. That would make things so much less stressful. But that's just me and my inability to plan things at the last minute. Wonder if it is too late to ask Santa for some free-spiritedness.

In the Christmas spirit, FINALLY!

So we made it through the three Christmas parties for Chris's work. They were all fun, even the one we usually dread. That was a surprise for us. Luckily, they did have the same jazz band but we missed their signature piece, "Smooth Operator" - DARN!
We did have a busy weekend. I had rehearsal for our church's Christmas musical on Saturday morning. After that, we headed over to the Highlands in Arlington to have Keegan's pictures taken with Santa. He did great! Santa knew it was his first time to see Keegan face-to-face so he made sure to talk to Keegan and not immediately hold him. The pictures turned out cute! We then headed over to Orvis because they had Golden Retriever Rescue of North Texas there with some of their dogs. We had to go over and see them so Chris could get his golden fix. We know that our next dog will be a rescued golden. Don't worry. We aren't getting one any time soon. We know that we cannot have more then two dogs. But we wanted to go see them and have Keegan check them out. He kept staring at them. I guess they are the biggest dogs he has seen. We bought one of their calendars and asked a few questions and then headed off for lunch. Afterwards, we headed home. We were gone so much during the week that we needed to have some time at home. Keegan really enjoyed it. He'd play for a bit then get hungry. He'd eat and then take a nap. Granted, he did not want to take a nap but he would drift off while laying on my chest, with his head on my shoulder. That just makes my heart melt!
Sunday was a really good day. We had church. We are teaching the 3-4 year olds this month. It has been such a joy to have Chris help me this month. The kids really seem to like him there, too. They are so funny! We had lunch with my parents and Grandnanny at Outlaws and then headed home for an afternoon of watching the DVR (we are three weeks behind!) and laundry. We dropped Keegan of at Nanny's and t hey all took him to church for the children's program. We had an official date night! We had dinner at House of Blues and saw Chris's favorite band, Sister Hazel. They performed from their Christmas album and did some of their hits. It was a nice mix of both. Hearing their Christmas songs really put me in the holiday mood. It also helps that we actually have cold weather! Some people were complaining that they sang holiday songs but it said on the tickets that it was a holiday performance. We enjoyed the time together and the music was great. They had the stage decorated with two Christmas trees and Christmas lights. They even had their mike stands decorated with lights! It was the first Christmas show I have ever attended and realized I need to go to one every year. It was so neat sitting there and singing along. Granted, SH does have a great Christmas CD!

Aw...nuts!

So, the other night, we were out delivering furniture. We dropped off the hutch at my cousin's house and then stopped at Chapp's Cafe in SGP for dinner. They have the best hot dogs! Anyways, after dinner, I almost hit a kid with the door as we were leaving. This group of teenage boys were skateboarding right outside the entrance. Well, Chris and I, being the old codgers we are, start mumbling about how they aren't supposed to be skateboarding on the sidewalk. They even have a sign that says so! So, we are getting settled in the car and we look up to see one of the kids going to jump the curb. Well, he moved wrong and lost his balance. But this kid must be one over-achiever because he fell right on his boy parts. We bust out laughing. He's rolling around on the ground and his trusty friends are just skating around him. We start driving away and the kid starts standing up. But he stands up like a crab with his legs really bent and his arms bent inwards. The kid is in obvious pain and we are still laughing. Chris jokes that the kid should run over to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream to help cool things off. The kid then starts crab running which is such a sight. Then we notice the he is indeed making his way to Baskin Robbins which makes us laugh even more. Granted it was something you had to be there to truly enjoy but it was something I had to share.

It's party time!

This week is the week of Christmas parties for Chris's work. We had our first one last night at the Amon Carter. It was a good time even though I only knew about 3 people there. The food was really good. They had a chocolate fountain with Godiva chocolate - YUM! There was also a really cool exhibit of Frank Golkhe photographs. The really interesting ones were from the 1979 tornado that hit Wichita Falls. He took pictures right after the tornado and then again 14 months later. It was really interesting to see what changes had been made and what was still there. We have a party tomorrow night at the Old Red Courthouse. I can't wait! That is a really cool museum. Granted, I'm a geek that way. Then we have a party on Friday night that is a casino night. Not really our thing but it's a chance for Chris to schmooze some more. They have blackjack and poker which I'm not good at. Now, if they had a slap jack table, I would so be there!!
Keegan had a great night at his Nanny's house. He entertained Nanny and Grandnanny. He is so funny!! He is starting to make talking sounds so it is like he is trying to say what you say. Sometimes, he just looks at you and grabs your face and yells. What did we do before he came?
Oh and Keegan is in a photo contest again this month. Just click here once a day to vote. You can vote from one Ip address each day so vote from home and work. I have no idea what we will win but it makes for a fun month!

Happy Turkey Day!

Well, we survived so many things last week. We first survived both of us being off and having Keegan all day. I was kinda worried about it since we can only get him to nap 20 minutes at best on the weekends. Monday he really didn't nap and was kinda cranky. On Tuesday, we finally just put him in his crib and let him cry until he fell asleep. We have no idea where he gets this refusal to sleep as we wake up and can't wait to go back to sleep! We believe that he thinks we are so much fun that he doesn't want to miss a minute of being with us =). Keegan did reach some big milestones during the week. One important was that he has started sitting up by himself! It is so cool to see our little guy just start sitting up one day. He loves for us to put a blanket on the floor and spread his toys out. He will reach and grab for things. When he gets bored, he will fall over so that he can be on his tummy. This milestone gives him a new sense of freedom and we get to bring out new kinds of toys - YEAH! That means a whole bunch of new songs to learn. Keegan also turned 6 months old on Thanksgiving Day. We fed him sweet potatoes. He loved them! He kept sticking his tongue out like he didn't want a bit of it to be wasted.

Yum!

This leads to the other thing he learned this week - how to stick out his tongue. It is his favorite pasttime. If you stick your tongue out at him, he will mimic you and do the same. The first time, he did it to my mom. Chris and I busted out laughing and it scared Keegan. We were afraid that he wouldn't do it anymore but out fears were so useless. He does it all the time!! It makes us laugh and that makes him laugh.

Check our outfit out!

We had a really great Thanksgiving. We spent the morning watching the parades and being lazy. We headed up to Chris's Dad's for lunch. Josh's family was there too and we all had a good time just being a family.

Napping with Pawpi

We then headed over to Mono's house to visit with his mom's side of the family for a bit. Then we headed over to my parent's house for dinner.

Bib before

Bib after

That was really nice as Chad and Trey joined us for dinner. We also were blessed with having Clark and Traci Harbaugh join us. We haven't visited with them in a while so it was great to catch up. By the time we made our way down the alley, we were tired.

We left early the next morning and headed for Salado. We meet up with Chris's mom and family down there for a weekend full of shopping and family fun. We had such a great time.

Napping with Daddy

What happy boy!

Not a lot of great shopping but lots of laughs. Our room was connected to Josh's room. Caleb and Cole thought that was so cool! Keegan had a great time hanging out with his cousins. He loves his uncle Josh, that is for sure! Josh would how it and Keegan would reach for his face and just giggle. So cute! He is not too sure of Aunt Diane, though. I think I have figured out that wither Chris or I need to hold him and talk to the person before they address him. Otherwise, he starts crying when they talk to him.
We left early on Sunday to head home. We went and bought new living room furniture (YEAH!!), and then bought our Christmas tree. We pent the evening decorating it. Keegan just stares at it. The cats, of course, love it. They can escape from the dogs underneath it. We also put non-breakable ornaments on the bottoms part of the tree for them to play with. Now we just need to wrap presents and put them under the tree!!

Answer me this....

How is that, even when I am sick and coughing and feeling just horrible, just one look at my son and seeing his smile makes me feel better? It must truly a little blessing from heaven. This week has been rough with both Chris (food posioning from Atlanta Bread Company) and I sick (congested and coughing). Neither of us has had much energy but seeing that little boy makes all our yucky feelings go away. We keep asking ourselves, "What did we do before he came along?" He wakes up happy even though he has had ear infections over the past couple of weeks. One ear cleared up and then the other one got infected. We are hoping that this is not something he inherited from his Dad who had to have tubes in his ears. that would not be fun.

We went to Toys R Us on Sunday to pre-shop for K's 1st Christmas. So many cool things! We can't wait for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning to come so we can celebrate our 1st Christmas together. I did find a cool website that is a resale place for Little Tykes kind of toys. You know, the outdoor playthings, kitchens, car beds, etc. I called yesterday and if you buy two or more things, you get a discount. How cool!!

Oh, FYI, I am having a Lia Sophia party on November 30th at 7. They have beautiful jewelry. It runs what you would pay in the stores but they have all sorts of discounts and specials. I walked out with over $300 worth of sparklies for $130!! I love a bargain!! If you want more details, let me know.

On a sadder note, Chris's cousin Steve's wife Debbie (ok, that is a long chain of names) dies suddenly last week. She had surgery and was recovering at home. Steve is usually out of the country with his job for Nokia but he was in town last week. He went to work and left Debbie at home with a friend who was taking care of her for the day. Sometime in the morning, Debbie had a seizure and died before the paramedics could reach her. It was so sad. She was a special person and had various disabilities but she loved Steve so much. She was 37. They did not have children. I do not think they were going to in case Debbie's disabilities were hereditary but she had said something about adopting. Chris and I went to the funeral. It was REALLY long and left me feeling so empty. I could not help but think that this is so not the was Debbie was. She was full of life and love for other people. Steve did the best in summing up Debbie. He told a few choice stories about their 7 years together and really brought out the Debbie we all knew. My heart breaks so much for him. He is a fantastic man, very caring and responsible. He is just an all around great guy. To have this tragedy happen so young in their married life saddens me so much. But I was listening to the radio yesterday and "Homesick" by Mercy Me came on and totally reminded me of how Steve might be feeling. He knows she is with her Father and that brings him some relief but he must miss her so. For me, I am not sad about her passing because she is now free from her limitations and who could think of a better place to be than with their Father? But I grieve for Steve. He reminds me of Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree" because he gives so much to his family. He is in my prayers now and for the next few months as he struggles through the holidays without Debbie.

Our First Halloween

So, we have officially celebrated our first Halloween. K was pumpkin. We got the costume last year at the Children's Place in Grapevine Mills. We didn't know then what we were having but we knew they would be a pumpkin. And he made a cute pumpkin!

We went over to Miss Becky's house for a party with the kids she keeps. There were also families there whose kids Becky used to keep. It was so cool to sit there and know that Becky still has a friendship with those families even after they leave her care. K had a great time and was enthralled with one of the mothers. He kept staring at her. I think it was because she had a haci on her necklace and he was thinking, "What a great idea!" It was so fun to see all the kids in their costumes.

We then headed over to the church for Trunk or Treat. We decorated the back of the truck like a pumpkin patch. C did a great job of setting it up.

We had such a great time! We got to see our church family and meet people in the area of our church. One little girl was dressed as Pocahontas. She came around 3 times! It was so funny! The best costume had to have been Will Long's. He was dressed as a member of the GPHS band. He had on thick glasses and his hair slicked back. It was great! SGP people loved it but the Gophers didn't see what was so funny. This was our first year to do the Trunk or Treat and we are committed to doing it again. I love the fact that it is so intimate - not a lot of trudging around the neighborhood. Plus, it is very family-oriented. There were no obnoxious teenagers that tend to make passing out candy at home no fun at all. It was also a joy to spend the time with my parents and grandmother. As you can see, K loves his Nanny, even when she doesn't look like herself. He stared at her and didn't smile until she started talking and then he recognised who she was. He did not think that her hair tasted that great.

We also got to see my cousin and her family. Izzy is getting so big! I cannot wait to take pics of the cousins at Thanksgiving. The 4th of July pics turned out so cute!

So, now, we are looking forward to Thanksgiving. It will be time to start on more foods, including squash, carrots, and green beans. Plus, he can start trying to use sippy cups! Such a big boy!

We Survived!

So, Keegan and I had a guys weekend this past weekend. S organized and attended our church's annual women's retreat at Lake Texoma.

So, Friday night, we just hung out at home ... and K helped me clean out the garage. Actually, he played in his Exer-saucer while I made a lot of noise and moved things around. After that, it was time for dinner, TV, and bed. Of course, K picked that night to get up 3 times ... I think he was just checking to see if his mom was home yet ... He thinks it's fun to wake us up at 3am and be ready for his day! He'll just lay there and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk ... it's actually really funny ... but it would be funnier if it wasn't at 3am!

Saturday, we were out and about all day. We went up to Denton to catch Uncle Garrett's soccer game, then went back to Pawpi and Nana's for a couple of hours. Everyone was so happy to see K, and he didn't disappoint. He was definitely his usual happy self! Later that day, we went to Southlake with Granny for dinner at MiCocina ... YUM! I swear, every waitress at the restaurant stopped by to play with K. Too funny.

Ok, so weird thing happened on the way home from Southlake ... we're driving down Carrier Parkway in G.P. and there's this guy stumbling down the middle of the road! I called 911 to report it ... and the conversation went something like this:

911: G.P. 911 What's your Emergency?

C: Yeah, I'm driving south on N. Carrier Pkwy, and there's this guy just hobbling around the middle of the street ... not the median ... the actual paved part.

911: Did you get a look at the guy?

C: Yeah? He was white ... 40-50- years old ...

911: Was he missing an arm?

C: Yeah ... now that you mention it, he was!

911: That's Larry.

C: He has a name?

911: Yes, he does that all the time.

C. That's nice, but he's about to get run over

911: We'll send a squad car over to check on him.

C: That would be a good thing ...


So, anyway, that was just weird ... they know this guy ... do they get calls nightly about him? Sheesh.

Sunday was a lazy day ... S got home a little after noon, and we were so happy to see her! K pretty much spent the rest of the day in the chair with his mom, while we caught up on our shows on the DVR ...

All in all, a good weekend, but we sure missed mom ...

Where oh where has our Fat Cat gone?

Before we went to bed on Thursday evening, Chris asked if I had seen Fat Cat. I told him that I had not but she would come in to the bedroom later to sleep on my pillow. When we woke up on Friday morning, we realized that she had not come in our room all night. So, at 5 in the morning, we are all up and looking for her but she is nowhere to be found. Our first thought is not about what are we going to do but how do we tell Trey? Trey, our oldest nephew, adores Fat Cat and always has. He comes over just to see her sometimes. He would be so heartbroken if she didn't come back and we were not looking forward to breaking the news to him. We looked inside and out but no luck. We eventually had to give up the search to get ready for work. I made posters at school and went during my conference to Prairie Paws to fill out a lost pet form. While I was there, I had a look around. When will I ever learn? I am such an animal lover that I wanted to take most of them home. But Chris and I had decided that when Daisy and Fat Cat go to the big littler box in the sky that we will not get more cats since we are both allergic to them. I just wasn't ready to be one cat short yet. When I got home from school, still not a sign of her. We went for a family walk around the block and handed out fliers to our neighbors and calling Fat Cat's name, but still no sign of her. We had dinner and then watch some of our shows until it was time for Keegan's shower. While Keegan and Chris were in the shower, I went out side with a flashlight to our neighbor's yard. Becky, who is Keegan's sitter, is also our neighbor. She called to say that her husband had heard cats fighting outside their kitchen window the night before. I head over to that side of there house to look around but no luck. I head back to our house to get Keegan dried off and ready for bed. After we are in our jammies, we go back into the living room for Keegan's last bottle and more shows. Chris cracks the garage door so that if she comes home during the night, she can come into the garage and be safe. After a while, I notice that Daisy is sniffing the bottom of the door to the garage. I ask Chris to check it out since she never does that. He opens the door and there, on the top step, is our beloved Fat Cat. The dogs think that there is someone at the back door so they start barking which spooks her. Chris closes the garage door so she cannot get out again, and he puts the dogs in the back room. We get her in and she is such a sight. Her white fur is all grey and dirty. We have to give her a bath after Keegan goes to bed. That's when we realize how tired she is because she really doesn't struggle during the bath. We get her out and dry her off and she immediately heads for the food bowl. That night, she comes in and get cosy between Chris and I. She doesn't stop purring all night. She is so happy to be home! And we are happy, too! We never had to tell Trey she was gone. She slept most of the weekend from all of her adventures. Chris said that it is now Neil's turn to go on an overnight adventure since he is the only one of the four that has not run away. Personally, I don't think that is going to happen since he doesn't stray far from us. He really doesn't like going outside unless one of us gives him a treat to go!

Pumpkin Pics and Big Tex

Thought I'd throw in a few pics to go with Sarah's blog from Tuesday:

Here's Evelyn picking out her first pumpkin of the day ...
The family Teubner ...

K's going to be dreading this one when he's a senior in high school:

This way! The maize, er maze goes this way!

Uncle C helping Evelyn pet the horse at the fair:

K's having way too much fun watching all that is going on:My shoulders were VERY tired once we finally got this pic done. That Big Tex guy weighs a ton!

What a difference two years makes

This was a truly great weekend for us. The Lowries (Mark, Alayna, Evelyn, and Everett) came up from Houston on Friday to spend the weekend with us. We always have a great time together and this weekend was no exception. They got in late on Friday but Evelyn was awake when they pulled up to our house. She was so happy to see us! Granted, we were happy too! She is such a joy to us and is never dull! We got a late start on Saturday but that was just fine with us. We were in no hurry nor in the mood to rush around. We went to the Pumpkin Patch in Grapevine and had such a good time. They had a lot of "picture snappin" places that made for some great photos. They had a corn maze (Evelyn did a great job of telling her Daddy and Uncle Chris which turns to take), a hay maze for the little ones, a hay house, and, of course, a pumpkin patch where you could pick your own pumpkins. Alayna and I had a great time sitting with our little boys watching all the action.
The best day was Sunday because we went to the fair. We all went two years ago. At that time, we only had one stroller. This year, we were toting three!! We all remarked what a difference two years makes. We all enjoyed our corny dogs (yum!) and Evelyn really liked all of the animals. Her thing right now is that she needs things. ("I need my Cheerios." "I need Fat Cat.") After we had seen the pigs and horses at the fair, she turned to Mark and informed him, "Daddy, I need sheep." Unfortunately, Sunday was not a sheep day but it didn't get her upset at all since there were other things to see. She fell in love with Big Tex, or, as she calls him, "The Big Cowboy". She was really fascinated by him and was not scared at all even when he talked. So, we left the fair with all of us tired and hot and sweaty and stinky. They were going to leave from the fair to head home but had to go back to our house. When we had arrived at the fair, they realized that they had forgotten their diaper bag at our house. Luckily, they had diapers, formula, and wipes in the car so it wasn't a disaster. But it did make for a good memory! Sadly, they had to return home. Evelyn gave us all bye-bye sugars and hugs. Mark called when they got home and let us know that she did not sleep the entire trip back to Houston. Instead, she talked the entire time about the Big Cowboy. Wonder if they make Big Tex dolls!!
Last night, we all decorated our pumpkins. Target has these sets of Mr. Potato Head parts for decorating pumpkins. Chris got the pirate and I got the angel. They turned out so cute and were not messy. They did not have baby pumpkin parts so we decorated K's with permanent markers. Now, we are ready for Halloween to come so we can put K in his pumpkin outfit. We bought it last year and are hoping that it still fits.

Five Minutes ... 3 Outfits

So, this morning, S asks me why I set the alarm so early (5:45). I told her it was because by getting up that early, I don't feel as rushed, and I'm pretty much ready to go by 7:30. I think she jinxed me by asking.

So, I get up, feed K, make breakfast, eat breakfast, take a shower, and wake up K again to get him ready for the day. I get him dressed and ready to go, and put him on our bed to watch TV (I know, we're bad parents). All of a sudden, while I'm getting dressed, he starts coughing really loud. I go over to check on him, pick him up, then all of a sudden this 10 foot gusher of spit-up comes raging out of my son's mouth. It gets all over him, all over me, all over the bed, and all over the carpet. Yes, my son is an overachiever. So, S takes him to put on Outfit #2. I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but somehow he managed to pee all over himself and outfit #2 while she was getting him dressed. Now it's Daddy's turn to pick out outfit #3. Last I checked, he was still wearing it.

Now, we normally go through at least 2 outfits a day with this kid, but 3? In 5 minutes!? Sheesh ...

What a weekend!!

So we didn't get as much done as we had planned but life happens that way. We did enjoy a family date night on Friday night with dinner and a trip to the Container Store. Saturday was a fun day because we got to go see Uncle Garrett play soccer that the Mountain Creek fields off Beltline. That was a lot of fun for K to watch the big kids. He also enjoyed getting to see Nana. It is so fun to see him smile at people when he is happy to see them. The only problem that we had on Saturday was the K did not nap. At dinner that night, he got really cranky. The worst was when they came out to sing "Happy Birthday" when he had just fallen asleep and it scared him to death. C had to take him outside to calm him down. Poor thing. Sunday was a great day at church, even though someone stole our minister's laptop and the hard drive he uses for backup. Kinda put a damper on the morning but it was a great sermon about how things in life aren't always going good but that God is always going to be with you. We spent the afternoon at home catching up on our shows from the previous week.

This is going to be such a fun month. Our church is having a Trunk or Treat on Halloween. This is where people reserve a parking spot in our church's lot and decorate their trunk and hand out candy. We have been looking forward to this since last year. K is going to be a pumpkin so we're thinking about decorating C's truck bed like a pumpkin patch. So cute!!

Also, this month, K is in a cute baby contest. The people who took his 3 months pics have an on-line contest. Be sure to go to www.stewartsphotography.com and click on contest. You get one vote per day per IP address. This means that you can vote once from home and once from work since it is not tied to an e-mail address but an IP. Thanks for helping us out!!

We're trying cereal!!

The 4 month mark has been made, and last night, we decided to give the rice cereal a go. We got to use some cool baby spoons that turn a different color when the food is too hot. I've always liked color changing things. I am praying that they will bring back the color changing sun glasses that were the bees knees in middle school. (Rhonda, did this bring a flashback to our 8th grade Washington trip??) Anyways, we got him all set in his pea pod chair on the floor. He is not sitting up by himself yet so the highchair was out. I started feeding him and things weren't going well because he kept looking down at the spoon. So, he sat in my lap and C feed him some but K kept crying because we weren't fast enough. He did take it in well but, evidently, we're no match for the bottle. He took in most of it but was crying real tears by the end (No! Not real tears!) so we switched to the bottle. He was so relieved! The good news is that he did not get it all over him. We know that will be somewhere down the road and will have the camera at the ready.

Later that night, as we were getting ready for bed, I did some reading up on rice cereal. They suggested dipping your finger in the formula/cereal mix instead of using a spoon. Ooops! Oh well, I don't think he is too emotionally scarred from it but we want him to get used to a spoon before we get to veggies and fruits. They also suggested feeding bottle first and then the cereal. That makes sense.

The New CrabMan

So, you know what it means to walk like a crab? It's when you walk on your hands and feet, but your back is arched up. Well, K has become an expert, well, at least on the legs part. His favorite time to do it? When I'm changing his diaper. I swear, I'd get out of the house 10 minutes earlier if he would just leave his butt on the changing table! I'll get the diaper in the perfect position for minimal leakage ... then just as I'm about to do the straps ... BAM! His butt's up in the air, and I've got to start all over. Yes, I get frustrated, but what am I going to do? He starts cracking up! He thinks it's funny when dad gets frustrated. Then I laugh at him laughing at me ... and it's a whole viscious cycle.

Big plans for the weekend: We're simplifying ... and this time we're doing it hardcore. Tonight, we're going to The Container Store ... yes that wondrous mecca full of places to put all your crap ... that sea of wonderfulness full of boxes of air ... that bigbox of boxes to put all your boxes. We figured out that we've really got focus on putting all our stuff up, because K's stuff ends up taking over the house. So, wish us luck!

Such a boy...

So, K wakes up this morning and it is time for the usual morning diaper change. As I am placing him on the changing table, he starts farting. Loudly. All I can think of is that nothing but air better come out of that region while I am changing his diaper. Luckily, nothing did. Chris then comes in and goes to the closet to find an outfit for K to wear today. K lets another one fly and Chris turns around and looks at me. I tell him that it was not me but HIS son. That gives us a laugh. Evidently, K thought it was pretty funny too because every time (and, yes, there were many) he let one go, he would just scream and laugh. Of course, this made his Daddy laugh so K kept on doing it!! Such a boy! We will start feeding him rice cereal this weekend. Looking forward to it since he LOVES to put his hands in his mouth. We are already planning to have water waiting to wash him off since, being an overachiever, we know he find unique places to store the cereal for later.

FYI, had bells last night and it went much better. Still had mistakes but didn't feel like crying when I left.

You may have seen the news story about The UNT student who was killed. She was a good friend of our new youth pastor and of a few of our youth who attend UNT. Please keep her family and friends in your prayers since, like Dexter said, "It has been a hard day."

Now It's Dad's Turn to Give This a Go

Yesterday, K wasn't feeling great after his shots, so I got to go pick him up from Becky's. He's getting to where he recognizes us now, so I gave him a big smile, and he gave me an even bigger one back ... lovin' that ...

Anyway, I got him loaded up into the truck, and we went to Target. He slept most of the time I was getting the food stuff, but then we got to the freezer section, and that woke him ... and then the whole store found out he was awake ... and cold. We quickly got out of there and went to the better half of the store. We were going through the electronics section ... we both picked out flat-screen TVs, and bought neither. Then we were off to the toys ... and, of course, I bought this kid (that we're not going to spoil) 2 toys. Figures. Funny thing, this time last year, I would have been buying stuff for me ... it's more fun to get it for him.

Next, we were off to the baby section (we were pretty much low on all of his supplies). This is where he reminded me that even the smallest things can bring the biggest joy. he was playing around with toys I hadn't yet bought for him, when I picked up a box of rice cereal. He looked at it. Looked at me. Looked at box. Looked at me. Box. Me. Box. Me. Box. Me. Finally, it dawned on me that he wanted the box (I'm a little slow sometimes ... no comments from the peanut gallery). He spent the next 30 minutes we were at Target beating on the box and having the time of his life. Forget the $20 worth of toys I picked for him ... he wanted that $1.99 box of rice cereal. Funny thing ... if only we could all get so much joy out of something so simple.

This kid continues to amaze me every day. He wakes up with a smile every morning. Quickly gets to the point when he needs or wants something. Makes everyone he sees smile. Goes to bed as happy as can be. If only life could stay that simple.

It's only Tuesday??

This week is dragging by. Granted, yesterday was hard since K got his 4 month shots. I did not know that his face could turn such a lovely shade of sunset - so many colors at once! Looked like a Galveston sunset. He did super though and was done crying by the time we left the room. And he was great for the rest of the night. He was running a low fever his morning but, thank goodness, it is under Miss Becky's fever limit.



Chris and I were talking the other night about how much fun we are having with him. Everyday is such a joy. Last night, he started to mimic my mom when she would blow raspberries. It was so cute! We were all laughing, including K! His joy truly is a gift from God because it makes us all instantly feel better.

I am helping plan a women's retreat for our church. I know a lot of people would think that it would be such a pain and, honestly, I started with the philosophy that everyone has to do their part at least once. But I have enjoyed it all so much! I cannot wait for the last weekend in October because we have such awesome things planned for the women of our church. I was a bit down about the number we have coming since it is half of what we were expecting. I realized though that the people who needed to be there were coming and that was the most important thing. One thing I learned from Mary Kay is that God puts specific people in front of you on a daily basis and you need to realize why he chose you to be the one for them. So look forward to the retreat report in a future blog!



Oh and I have started handbells at my church. So far, it is very frustrating for me since I have NO CLUE on how to read music. But I'm not giving up yet! Since I can't sing, I figured this could be my joyful noise to make.