LOVE

Happy Halloween!

We were (obviously) the Sesame Street clan this year!

The BIG 3-0

Turning 30 was a little more painful than I thought it would be... ; ) BUT it was a fantastic day spent with my family!!We took the boys to the Susan G Komen Race for a Cure...they did surprisingly well!

Before our fancy pants dinner!

I'm so in love with my new hummingbird feeder! Way to go Chuck! I actually got 4 for my birthday!

Before the race! I had to wake EVERYONE up at 7am! They were all pooped!

This is what I woke up to that morning...so sweet!

CJ is 6 Months!!!

Let's start with pics (cause I'm still figuring out how to navigate my new MacBook!)

CJ, Daddy & Chris at CJ's 6 month party (we had tacos, cake, snacks with the neighbors). Chris enjoyed singing!
Check out my sitting skills!

Chris loves, loves, loves Daddy & does EVERYTHING he does!

Chris painted his face at the Children's Museum (our home away from home)!

Picture of the family right before we left for our weekend getaway!

Well our baby is not so much a baby anymore... he's crawling, sitting, grabbing objects, eating solids, babbling and laughing at big bro! He's the calmest, happiest baby I've met in quite some time! (don't tell Chris we said this...but Chris was the exact opposite of Caleb when he was a baby...)

We saw Dr. G today for Caleb's 6 month check up. He's 28 inches (90%) and 18lbs8oz (65%). Caleb lost quite a bit of weight when he had a 2-3 week bout of diarrhea. It ended up he had a food allergy (we think to rice) and was pretty sick for awhile. We had to stop all solids....he got better...and now we are back with food (sans rice cereal) and he is doing great! His favorites are the Ella's Kitchen combos (spinach w/ apples, carrots w parsnips, bananas w/ apricots, etc.).

Now that he has become mobile and him and big bro are at home all day together we've run into a few jealousy issues...today Caleb crawled over and grabbed a string to Chris' toy. Chris pushed Caleb so hard that he rolled over 2 times!! CJ laughed....Chris cried after he got in trouble. Not even 10 minutes later Chris demanded to hold the baby, give him a kiss & hug! Deep down Chris really does adore and love CJ...he just doesn't know it yet! = ) Another funny from today was Chris walked up to CJ, grabbed his hand and shook it then said "Buenos dias, CJ"...Chris is hilarious right now! His vocabulary has exploded and he says the most random things! The other day he thanked me for cleaning his bottom.

Other fun stuff- Chuck & I had an overnight this weekend. We went to a Texas A&M game, went out to Northgate (our old, college stomping grounds) and stayed the night in College Station! It was great to hang out with family and friends! Namaw did a fantastic job keeping the kids solo and we had 2 happy, healthy kids when we got back home!

Anyway, life is good in our hood! Hope you are all doing well too! = )

Mrs. Mercedes to the rescue!

We've been struggling for a long time with daycare vs. nanny, pros vs. cons of each and finally decided to take the plunge with the nanny route! We made this decision before I went back to work. Oh my gosh - it was quite the process...

We interviewed SO SO SO many people.

We had about 50 applicants for the job, 20 or so deserved a call back, 12 got a 'real' interview and 3 actually kept the kids for a day (paid)...

We finally decided on a soft spoken, educated, bilingual woman (also a former teacher of Primrose, shhhh....) named Mrs. Mercedes! She is seriously more than we could have ever asked for in our price range! Fortunately for us, she just doesn't know how much she is worth, which makes her affordable! Chris adores her and I'm sure CJ will too as he gets older. The boys seem to really enjoy staying in their own environment during the day and spending time together! = ) Don't worry - they get plenty of socialization since we are always at the Children's museum, hanging out with family and friends, etc.... plus our pediatrician super approves of our plan! All in all, we are extremely happy with our decision!

Every day Chris greets us with a HUGE hug when we get home, smile on his face and some artwork and either a number or letter of the day! He then gives Ms. Mercedes a big hug and tells her "adios"!

Anyway, I'm sure most of y'all knew how extremely stressed out we were during the process so I just wanted to let you all know that it all turned out just great!

And now that we can look back and laugh on the process, here are some of our favorite interviewees:

1. Nanny E- "I provide nanny services on a pay scale. For $12/hour I will educate your child. For $9/hour I will just make sure they are fed and safe.... oh and I plan to bring my 2 year old 'sister' with me. Is that okay?"

2. Nanny K- shows up with a ginormous lip ring! Very goth. I'm just picturing Caleb yanking that thing out. I almost did.

3. Nanny C- I swear this lady was friggin' high as a kite on the phone. She talked for one hour and we couldn't get a single word in. She came over for a face to face interview and sure enough - totally hippie-d out! High.

4. Nanny R (whom we absolutely adored)-

Charlie- "do you have a car?"

R- blank stare

Charlie- "do you understand what I'm saying"

R- blank stare....

She was AMAZING with the boys but spoke NO ENGLISH! = (

5. Nanny E - drives up in a red, convertible mustang

Jennifer- "so, do you think you can handle 2 boys that are 2 and under?"

E- (giggles) "yea...(pause)...I think so..."

Charlie- "do you smoke?"

E- "only when I'm out partying with friends. Otherwise, no."

At this point I take my two fussy, hungry children in the back yard so Charlie can wrap things up...

Charlie- "well, it was nice meeting you. We will...."

E- (interrupts) "hold on! let me answer this text message really fast..."

6. Nanny T -

Jennifer- "so when would you be able to start watching the boys?"

T- "I wouldn't be able to start for 2 weeks"

Jennifer- "okay, that's fine. The boys are in daycare anyways right now. We are in no rush."

T- "I had gastric bypass surgery last week and I'm not supposed to lift anything heavy"

Jennifer- (thinking) ...well our 2 boys may be considered heavy...

Jennifer- (trying to be polite and medically oriented) "So, how's that going? Are you able to tolerate a diet yet?"

T- "Yea, I can now eat 3 tablespoons of pureed/baby food a day...if I eat more than that I get really sick, throw up and possible pass out..." WTF?!? At least she wouldn't

eat our kids or our food...

7. Nanny G-

G- "I got fired from my last job because I was on the phone too much!"

Jennifer- "oh really?!"

G- "yes. I learned my lesson though. I learned to never take my phone to work with me again. "

Charlie- "actually we would want you to have your phone with you in case of an emergency or we needed to get ahold of you."

G- "of course. good point. well, i will keep it off then."

8. Phone interview with nanny ?- "My husband and I are trying to get pregnant." I somehow lost connection with her after that statement....

And lastly, here is a pic of our bambinos! I just got a new computer (MacBook for life!) so I'm working on downloading/transferring pics so this is all I've got right now! Enjoy!

HI!

Yes we are all still alive...just been so dang busy!

So, what's new?

-I went back to work...

-Caleb is growing so fast and is now grabbing objects in his play mat...he seriously has to be one of the happiest babies I have ever met!!!...

-He is also SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT now!!!!...

-Christopher had his 2nd birthday party...and turns 2 on Wednesday...he is SUCH a handful and is constantly on the go. He is absolutely hysterical and we love listening to him talk, talk, talk...

-He is also turning into a little dictator though which is not so loved...but still funny...

-Christopher has attempted potty training on his own twice now...one was in the backyard & the other consisted of him passing gas for about 10 minutes on the toilet while yelling "I did it!"...

-We are currently interviewing nannies and may switch the kids over...

We are REALLY enjoying our family of 4! It's so great to see the two kids together! Christopher will just randomly run up to Caleb and give him a big kiss on the head. He has only head butted Caleb once and accidently hit him with a golf club another time...otherwise it's nothing but love! ; ) ...well I guess he also likes to sneak up on him and scare the poo out of him...which is soooooooooo funny, but he means well.

Anyway, here are some pics of the boys. I wish I could show you all the other ones (they are even better) but these will have to do for now.

CALEB IS 2 MONTHS OLD ALREADY!?!

My baby is no longer a newborn anymore...WOW! Kind of makes me sad!

Anyway, here are his stats as of last week:
Weight 12 pounds 12 ounces (85%)
Length 23.5 inches (80%)

He is a bald butterball! We just love him so much! He smiles SO SO SO much! It's adorable! Chris is still doing great with him! He insists that he gives him a kiss and bear hug (grrrrrr) every night! Can't wait to see them running around together soon!

Chris transitioned into a "big boy bed" tonight....let's see how this goes....between Caleb and Chris I'm planning on ZERO sleep tonight!

Hope you all are doing great! We are doing really well and enjoying life as a family of 4! = )

My 3 Boys!

Chuck is doing fantastic post knee surgery a week ago. He is working so hard to get stronger each day and I'm so proud of his progress. Caleb and I accompany him to physical therapy every other day and beginning next week we will drive him to and from work! Charlie is slowly gaining more range of motion of his knee and strength and the pain continues to decrease. Before we know it he will be back full force! Can't wait!!!

Caleb is doing well too! He recently started reflux medication...what baby doesn't have some degree of reflux though...so we shall see how long we keep him on it. He also had a BIG appointment yesterady with the opthalmologist. Yep, #2 also has an eye problem. Nope, it's not the same as Chris and is completely unrelated. So I'll be brief and if you want more details we can talk... So a piece of his iris attaches to his lens. Currently there are no concerns other than cosmetic which is not important to us. We will continue to monitor his progress and once he is a year old we may try to 'break the adhesions' with serial dilations. Long term this problem could lead to glaucoma or possibly him needing glasses at a very early age. OR it may not affect him at all. We shall see. I'm not overly concerned right now. Otherwise, this little man has grown a ton lately. He is now in the 80th% with weight and is a whole pound bigger than Chris was at this same point in time. HE STARTED SMILING THIS PAST WEEK! It absolutely melts my heart and just makes everything so worth it. He unfortunately is not quite the sleeper his brother was and doesn't really go more than 3 hours at a time at night without eating...Chris was going 6 hours at this point. I'll just cherish these extra moments we have together at night because before we know it he will be a wild 2 year old who only wants to cuddle when they're sick. ; ) ...and YES this is our last child!

Chris is just a ham! He repeats EVERYTHING we say! The other day I said "Oh my gosh"...he repeated it. Then I said "OMG" which he repeated as well. Believe it or not he can go through the ENTIRE alphabet. He doesn't enunciate each letter properly but nonetheless he goes through the whole thing. Charlie has heard him count to 9! As far as colors go everything is still ORANGE (unless it's actually orange then it is usually blue).....he will get the hang of it. His vocabulary has just exploded! He is slowly becomming interested in the potty. He will tell you before he poops. We take him to the bathroom and let him explore but we are definitely not pushing the issue...especially with our current situation. He also seems to not poo or pee at night anymore but shortly does after waking up. We are definetly going to let him guide us on this one.

Overall, we are doing pretty well! I have been so so so so so very blessed to have such great family around to help me take care of the 3 boys! I've been a little (okay A LOT) overwhelmed at times and it never fails that someone is there to help out! Thank you all so much!!!

Both boys asleep...

so I'll be brief! = ) Lots has gone one lately. Chris had the flu for a week so Caleb and I evacuated to Lake Jackson to keep Caleb safe. I missed the boys terribly but we had a nice visit with "nam-maw". Prior to our 'retreat' Charlie jumped a fence and obliterated his right knee (torn ACL and medial/lateral meniscus). He is scheduled to have surgery this Wednesday for repair followed by 6-8 weeks of recovery. Needless to say it has been quite eventful since Caleb's birth. We are SO thankful for all the help our family has given us!!!! Y'all are the best!

Caleb is doing great. Growing like a weed! He's already a few ounces shy of 11 pounds!! He recently moved into his big boy room and I'm currently sleeping in there with him. He has gastrointestinal issues so I have been putting him to sleep on his stomach. With the whole SIDS campaign ("Back to Sleep") I just want to make sure he is doing okay...let's see how long that last.

Our other little-big guy is also doing great. He is such a great big brother. He loves to help...almost to the point that it's too much. He had a Easter party at school this past week that I was able to attend. There was an ADORABLE parade, easter egg hunt and lunch. It was total craziness take Caleb with me to Christopher's room full of toddlers. We had a great time though!

Pic of me and the boys at the party-

Easter egg hunt-

Chris during the parade-

The boys after the party. Somehow Chris ended up coming home with me and Caleb before noon-All 3 of my favorite men-Best big brother ever!-

Newborn Photos!

Here is a sneak peek of Caleb's newborn photos - I LOVE LOVE LOVE our little old man!

p.s. Happy 4 year anniversary to us!!!! = )

Caleb had his 2 week check up yesterday - he is already a whopping 8 lbs 9.5 ounces. The doctor was totally impressed by how much he had gained since he left the hospital at 7 lbs. 4 ounces. This made me feel so happy because I was worried he wasn't eating enough. Apparently we are an efficient feeding-eating duo! Phew! He also checked out clear with the 'hip click' heard in the hospital and the ummmm large scrotal sac. ; ) As most of you already know - Charlie totally blew his right knee out on Monday night. He will have surgery in the next 1-3 weeks (depending on the doctor we go with). It's already a little stressful having a newborn and a toddler but this is just icing on the cake... No, really though things could be much worse. We are a strong family and will be just fine! = ) Christopher is still doing really well with Caleb. If the baby is crying he will grab the pacifier and shove (I mean SHOVE) it into his mouth...or if Chris feels like being a little turkey he will yank it out of his mouth then put it in his own and run as fast as he can away from us (quite comical I must say...). Christopher is also very opinionated (as he is with everything) about where the baby should be at all times. He will point at baby and say "baby" then point where he wants to baby to go and say "mama", "dada" or "swing". It's funny. At nighttime Chris will lay next to the baby and listen to his funny noises and even sometimes copy them. I'm honestly surprised at how interested Christopher is in Caleb...it makes me so happy! Well, I will continue to update everyone on Caleb, Christopher and Charlie's progress! = ) Just keep us in your prayers for the next couple of weeks as we adjust to life with a newborn + toddler + husband with limitations... thanks!

CALEB JACK IS HERE!

Caleb Jack arrived on (believe it or not) St. Patty's Day! I've been talking about hoping it would happen this way for awhile and sure enough it did - au natural! = )

Here's a little recap of our labor and delivery. I worked all day Wednesday in the operating room. Charlie had to work a little late that evening so it was just me and Christopher (which was really tough for me at the end of pregnancy). Sure enough homeboy decided this would be a good day for a temper tantrum!!! Around 5pm I decided to just hold him and carry him around the courtyard outside our house just to calm him down....and this is where it all began....

Christopher must have really pissed Caleb off because once we got back inside I started having regular 'pains' about every 6 minutes. I didn't mention this to Chuck when he got home because I figured it was nothing. We did our normal nighttime routine with Chris and after he was in bed I went and laid down to 'watch TV' but really I was timing these weird pains...finally around 9 pm I went into the living room and told Charlie we should probably start timing the contractions. By 10 pm they were about 4 minutes apart and starting to get painful. We called the on call doctor and he told us to come up there right away...we called our neighbor to watch Chris until Mama Q and Papa Grumps could get to our house. I took a quick shower, loaded the car (while Chuck ran around like a crazy man...I say he was freaking out...but he disagrees). By the time we got to the hospital I was in SERIOUS pain and the contractions were getting closer and closer. Of course we hit the rodeo traffic on the way to the hospital!! (it wasn't too bad though).

We checked in and they hooked me up to the monitor. Of course the darn thing was broken and my contractions weren't registering. So of course this delays them in calling the doctor and any hope of me getting an epidural immediately! I was going to go ape-$#!& if they tried to send me home at this point because of it appearing I was not in labor. So we switched rooms and monitors and finally the saw the contractions register and the doctor was called. He checked me and I was 5 centimeters at that point...still not broken water. I got my epidural and we rested for awhile (Chuck slept/snored and I enjoyed laying there listening to the heartbeat). Just like last time I suddenly got super nauseated and threw up around 6am! (I knew eating chocolate chip cookie dough before going to the hospital would be a bad idea...). And just like last time this signified that I was ready to go - 10 centimeters! Still my water had not broken and was holding on for dear life. They called the doctor and she told us to not move until she got there. She arrived quickly, broke my water, I pushed a whopping 6 times and CALEB JACK then blessed our life!!! This is probably TMI but we watch the birth this time and is was AMAZING!

His birth stats- 7 lbs 12 ounces (imagine if he stayed in until my due date!!), 20.5 inches, born at 7:38am on 03/17/11!

So he is here and we and our family is complete! = ) Chris is doing REALLY well with him around and loves to call him brother/CJ, poke his nose/eyes and copy all his funny baby noises!

For now Caleb's routine is sleep, eat, poop. Here are some pics:

Another CJ update...

Saw the doctor yesterday. I'm now 3 centimeters and 90% effaced. I had a long talk with the doctor and she suggested an induction on the 22nd...this is assuming I don't have him prior to. I've never been a fan of inductions and didn't plan on having one this time but she said I'm definitely 'ready' to have the baby with the centimeters and effacement I'm at right now so a c-section shouldn't even be a concern. She also felt it would be best since we have Christopher and we can make plans for his care. I'm still not convinced he will stay in until then but we shall see! = ) Either way this little guy will be here sooooooo soon!

CJ!

Doctor visit went great yesterday - no progress! BP is normal and all is well. She's thinking I may go a week early (maybe) but I'm still hoping for ST. PATTY'S DAY! = ) Will continue to update...

Other little man is a riot! He keeps us on our toes and laughing ALL THE TIME! = ) So can't wait to for them to meet!!!

SAN ANTONIO!

This past Thursday I flew to San Antonio for a PA conference. The flight went great! It was the best way possible to travel this pregnant. I just sat back and relaxed! = ) I had one little mishap in the airport where I missed the chair while sitting and fell flat on my butt - I found it hilarious and embarrassing but the poor people around me were mortified! It turned out the 'chair' was actually a little end table...why must they all be the same color?!?

Anyway, Thursday and Friday I attended my lectures, ordered room service and relaxed as much as possible. Of course I was wide awake at 5am Friday morning. Late Friday night (10:30) Chuck and Chris arrived at the hotel. Chris slept the whole way there however was wide awake once they got out of the car. Let's just say the night ended with us going to bed around 1am and Chris and I sleeping on a pull out couch and none of us getting much sleep at all! There were many times throughout the night I had a toddler finger on my nose or in my mouth and a big grin in front of me! = )

We had a great time spending the remainder of the weekend at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort. They had a heated pool, playground, tons of ducks/birds, smores by the campfire and an outdoor movie and popcorn night! We are definitely going back!!

Heated outdoor pool -
Tetherball with dad-He's all business at the playground-Campfire smores-

He LOVED the smores!

Chris kept calling the racoon in this picture Max...it was funny!

CJ Update!

I went to the doctor yesterday for an unexpected visit. Since Monday I've been nauseated, weak, super crampy and just feeling "blah". She checked me and I'm now dilated to 2 cm and 80% effaced. Everything looked pretty good except my blood pressure was slightly elevated. Fortunately I didn't have protein in my urine or swelling so we aren't too concerned for pre-eclampsia right now. = ) Phew - that would have been immediate bed rest! But she did suggest that I start working part-time for the next 2 weeks to keep me from progressing. Haha- as if that's an option...I just laughed when she said that.

Fortunately, I have fantastic coworkers that are going to lighten my load over the next 2 weeks to get me to full term then the doc is fine with me working hard and progressing as quickly as possible. Depending on my blood pressure etc. she may consider inducing me this time a little early. I'm not in favor of induced labor....but we shall see how I'm feeling in 2 weeks.

So for now it's doctor's orders to rest AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Try telling that to a 19 month old...thank goodness I have a great husband to take care of us both! = )

Caleb Jack!

I had my first 'check' today at the OB. I'm 1 centimeter dilated, 50% effaced and head is locked and loaded! I still have about 5 weeks to go (unless little man wants to come sooner) but this is still progress. I also got the a-okay to FLY to San Antonio tomorrow for a conference for the weekend! Woohoo! Can't wait to see how many weird looks I get in the airport or better yet during my Advanced Cardiac Life Support class when I'm doing CPR with this big ole belly... should be fun! = )

Next check is March 1st!

Quick update!

Chris is growing up too quickly. He's into running, jumping, singing songs (we usually don't know what they are), babbling/talking, repeating too much of what we say ; ), CLIMBING ON EVERYTHING!!! (it's driving me nuts) and just turning into a handsome young boy! He switched daycares a couple of weeks ago and it was actually easy for everyone! Thank goodness because I was so stressed out about the transition! We are very very very happy with our choice to move him! The other guy is growing a bit too quickly as well - it's a wee bit uncomfortable at times! = ) We are entering week 34! My appetite has been out of control this pregnancy...and since I'm carrying Caleb a little lower than Chris I'm able to eat a bit more this time around too. It's fun! Here's a quick glimpse of the belly. I have to admit the picture actually makes me look smaller than what I am (which is why I like it! haha!). We are finishing up the nursery and I will post pics when we are done. It's pretty cute I must say! I've been having dreams that Caleb is arriving around 37 weeks which is soon and kind of scary but I'm really shooting for March 17th for a St. Patty's Day baby (for those that don't know - this is one of my FAVORITE holidays!). We have an ultrasound Thursday to check the size of the baby and make sure he's growing appropriately so hopefully we will get some pics of his face and double-confirm the gender! We are really cherishing our last couple of weeks as a family of 3 that sleeps through the night ; ) but are very excited to meet the little guy!