New Camera

For Christmas this year I told Royal all I wanted was an SLR camera. Well ask and you shall receive. Last week a Nikon D3000 was delivered to the house. I have had a lot of fun figuring things out.

Here is some of what I captured.

The Month of November

November is a busy month in our house. We have three birthdays (10, 21, 29th) and Thanksgiving. This year Royal and I turned 29 and Joshua turned 3. This year we decided to have a big party for Joshua. We went to Monkey Bizness and invited all of his friends. A good time was had by all to say the very least.


Kicking the balls all over the place.




Joshua and his friends Michael and Callie




Joshua and Michael in the obstacle course.

Are you ready for some football???

About two weeks ago mt friend Sarah and I took our boys to their first football game. Joshua and Michael are best friends, so we figured they would have a great time together. We went to the Jersey Village homecoming game.




First arrival. They ran to the railing and just stared.

Pumpkin Patch

I have been begging Royal to take us to the pumpkin patch. This was the first year that my begging actually turned into doing. The boys had lunch and we headed to The Old Time Christmas Tree Farm. We are lucky that this place it right down the street from our house, maybe five minutes. We took some pictures and picked out a giant pumpkin. A good time was had by all.



Me and the boys.




Yep, it's a great place to rest.





Daddy and his boys.





Taking a bite.











"I like this one."





"No dad, I am going to do it."










Never mind. He would rather ride.

Houston we have a walker!

Gabriel is 12.5 months old and WALKING! He started right around his birthday, but I had trick him into doing it on his own. A week and a half ago he started walking (short distances) on his own without me tricking him. The little stinker finally cooperated and let me get it on tape. So here he is. (Sorry it is tiny, the big stinker got a hold of the camera and messes with the settings).

365 days later

September 11, 2001 was a national tragedy. Last year it became a wonderful day for us. Our second son Gabriel was born at 4:05 pm. Oh yeah, then hurricane Ike hit.

Gabriel's birth story:

Gabriel was born on a Thursday but his story starts on Tuesday September 9th. All the weather people had been talking about was Ike and that he was headed toward Houston. I headed to my weekly check up 39 weeks pregnant with the thoughts of Ike coming toward up. My doctor checked me out and I had progressed from 1 to 2 cm and was 90% effaced. I was happy to hear that there was some progress. Then my doctor starts discussing his plan of action. He tells me he would like to get me in tomorrow (Wednesday Sept 10) and asks the receptionist to call the hospital to see if they have an opening. They don't...go figure! I guess all of the other doctors had the same idea. "Get the babies out!" First choice wasn't an option, what's the other option? Dr. M says he wants me to come back first thing Thursday morning and they will check for more progress. If there is more then they will send me over to the hospital and tell them I am in "labor."

The rest of Tuesday passes with nothing and the same on Wednesday. Thursday morning rolls around. I get up and get Joshua ready to go over to my parent's house and get myself ready to see the doctor. Royal got dressed for work. He figured there would be no change and I was going to be sent home to ride out the storm pregnant.

We were the first appointment of the day and go figure Dr. M was running behind. They called me back, weighed me, took my BP and had me pee in a cup. Dr. M came in and checked me. Low and behold we had progress. I was now 4cm and 90%. While he was down there Dr. M stripped my membranes and said with a walk to the hospital I should start having contractions. Woohoo I was having a baby. They called the hospital to let them know I was on my way.

We walked over to the hospital (still no contractions) and into L&D. They took me to get changed and then we went to my room. This was around 10am. They got all of my IVs in and got me strapped to the monitors and we were set to go. All of this was about 30-40 minutes of paper signing and poking and prodding. After I was settled Royal left to go home and change clothes and get lunch. No biggie I wasn't going anywhere. I watched the Ike coverage all day. The nurse came in every once in while to turn up the pitocin (sp). I could feel the contractions getting stronger but nothing too bad. At 1:15 pm Dr. M came in and checked me. I was now 5cm and 90%. There was progress but not much. He let me know that after lunch he was going to break my water and if I wanted to get the epidural I should get it now. I was having back labor again and opted for the epidural.

The nice epidural lady came in and started getting everything ready. She was in a bit of a hurry because they had an emergency c-section coming. Well, in her haste she messed up and instead of pressure I was getting stabbing pain in my spine. She took it out and did it again. Ahh, much better. Dr. M came back around 2pm and broke my water. Things really started progressing quickly after that.

TMI following

About an hour later I started really having the urge to pee. I tried to ignore it but it started getting worse the longer I sat there. At 3:30 I decided to call the nurse. When she got to my room I told her I thought something might be wrong because I really needed to pee. She said everything was working right. She decided to check me-sure enough I was 10cm and ready to go. They called the anesthesiologist back in and she gave me a second epidural. The first one was wearing off. Then the nurse called Dr. M to let them know it was time. He got to the room at 3:50. I started pushing and Gabriel Joseph was born at 4:05pm.

September 11, 2008



September 5, 2009 at his first birthday party.

Ready to Run

In the last almost three years a lot has changed about me. I had a baby, left my job, and had another baby. In between all of that I started something just for me. I started working out. My dad told me about this group called StrollerFit. For those of you who know me I am not a joiner. I sit back and watch but it takes a lot to get me involved. So much so that my dad told me about it in December and I didn't go until the end of March. I had to talk myself into it.

I joined this group and loved it. It was hard in the beginning and I HURT most days. After a while I started seeing changes. I firmed up and lost weight. I eventually dropped down to a smaller size than when I was in HS. Then a few months after I finally got to where I wanted to be I found out I was pregnant again. I was excited, but not looking forward to losing all the weight again. The good news was I was starting out smaller.

Well Gabriel is now 10.5 months old and I am still working on the last 10lbs, but I am nursing so I am not stressing about it. All of this to say I am proud of what I have done and am now setting forth with a new challenge.

A few months ago my brother approached me about running the Half Marathon with him. I thought and thought about it. I told Royal (the hubby) who quickly laughed it off as a hair brained idea. It stuck in the back of my mind for a month or so. Then the day to sign up came and I figured what's the worst that could happen and went for it.

On January 17, 2010 I will attempt my first half marathon.

Sleeping in the Nude

Joshua likes to sleep in nothing but his birthday suit.

It started when we started potty training. He started sleeping in an over night pull up. Pull ups open on the side to make it easy to get them off in case of an emergency. Joshua starting taking them off after we put him to bed. Every night I would go back in and redress him before I went to bed because I didn't want him to have an accident during the night. After a few weeks I noticed that he was waking up dry, but he was still taking the pull up off. I figured I should just let him sleep in his big boy underwear since he didn't seem to like to pull up. I also thought maybe he would leave these on. Well the first night I went to check on him and his naked bottom was sticking in the air. Not only that he took off his shirt too. Most nights when I go to check on him he is not fully nude and has happy as a clam.

Starting Over

It was my hope to have lost the last 10 lbs months ago but I have not. Then I told myself it was staying because I am still nursing. Well I think it really has a lot more to do with me not sticking to Weight Watchers as closely as I should. Starting now I am going to be very strict because I want my body back. In other news Gabriel is almost 10 months old and my plan is to start weening him at 11.5 months. I would like to have him completely weened right around the time he turns one. I can't believe that we will be celebrating another first birthday in just two months. We are planning on having a pool party.

Back among the living

We were all sick two weeks ago. Three of us had pretty decent fevers. We are all doing better and the little one has a new tooth to show for it.

We also had hosting duty for just about everything.

June 22 we had a strollerfit play date.
June 28 a baby shower for Brooke
June 29 Bunko

I don't think we will be inviting any more people over for a while.

Tiny Boy

Today I took Gabriel to the doctor for his nine month check up. He is perfectly healthy and hitting all of his milestones.

Weight: 17lbs 10oz (10%-up from 5% at his six month check up)
Height: 27in (10% down from 55%) (but I think at least 27.5 because he was worming and all scrunched up)
Head: somewhere between 50-75%.

We have been given the all clear to start table food just avoiding eggs, honey, fish, shellfish, and peanut butter until later. Shhh we already started last week with chicken. Last night he had chicken and green beans and loved it.

A sad, sad milestone

I put Gabriel down for a nap this morning, so it was just me and the J man hanging out for a while. At one point I asked him for a kiss and he puckered up to kiss me. I gave him a kiss and the next thing I see broke my heart...He wiped it off. I thought I would have a few more years before he did that.

Sneek Peaks

Last Tuesday Royal and I got the boys cleaned and dressed and headed to Collins Park. We had our first family photos as a family of four. My friend Kelley took the AWESOME pictures. Here are a few sneak peeks and a look at the rest of her blog.

KD Loftis

Five Years

Well today is out fifth anniversary. At this time five years ago we were fast asleep at the Hotel Sofitel(SP). The next day we were headed to Vegas.

We have gone though a lot in the last five years.
*Moved in together
*Bought our first house
*Bought my car
*Had a baby
*bought Royal a car
*put a pool in
*found out we were expecting #2
*Bought Royal a more family friendly car
*had #2
*Ike

Goodness we have been busy over the last 5 years. It's no wonder we are both tired. Royal you have been with me through the highs and lows and no one loves you more than I do. Happy Anniversary.

Pool Time!

Now that the weather is warm we have been enjoying the pool. This is not the first time this season that we have been in, but it is the first time I have taken pictures. Joshua loves "swimming," which mostly involves him playing on the tanning ledge and never getting his face wet.













And just for good measure Lucy Goose. She is 10 year old.

Looking for Opinions

We are taking family photos on Tuesday with Kelley from KD Loftis Photography. I needed opinions as to what we should wear.

I plan on wearing a black cotton dress. I am not sure what to do with all these boys.

Option #1 - all boys wear black polos
Option #2 - Royal in a black Polo, J&G in a different color polo (maybe blue)

Any other suggestions are welcome too.

Not me Monday

Inspired by Jess I thought I would give this a try.

Today I did not:

• I did not give my two year old candy every time he used the potty. And I don't do this everyday.

• I did not spend half the day taking said child to the potty.
  

• I did not take a shower at 7:15 in the evening and then sit in my towel all night because I was too lazy to go put on my jammies.

• I did not walk out of the room while Gabriel had a wall eyed fit because I needed a break.

• I did not waste a ton of time playing bejeweled

• I did not have a good evening playing with my kids and husband in the pool.

• I did not ask my husband if there are miniature cows knowing very well that he was going to laugh his ass off.
  

Oh the milestone they will meet

We have been all about growing up in our house. With two little ones you just can't stop it.
Joshua first
-he is still working on potty training. This weekend he started telling me when he needed to go. He still has accidents but there is a lot of improvement.

-He has a best friend. There is a little boy in his MDO class and they play together all the time. It is really cute when Joshua gets to school this little boy is always so excited to see him.

-He will talk on the phone. He told Nana (my mom) Happy mother's day.

-He has become very affectionate. He doles out hugs and kisses with such delight. There is nothing sweeter than having your little boy come up to you and say, "momma, hold you." Melts my heart every time.

Gabriel is growing just as much
-He has started army crawling. It will be interesting to see if he moved beyond this because Joshua didn't.

-With this new found movement he "chases' after his brother. This boy is constantly on the move.

-He has learned to drink out of a straw.

-He has learned to feed himself. He is eating puffs.

Just Cuteness

Joshua was eating a banana nut muffin.

One step forward and two steps back

Friday was supposed to be Joshua's first day in big boy underwear at school. That all went to the crapper as soon as I left. Now he tends to have his accidents in the mornings, so this was not a total surprise to me. Joshua had an accident as soon as I left. No biggie I brought lots of cloths to change into.

The next part is all my fault. I just assumed that he would use the school potty. The problem...this potty is a real toilet only miniaturized, but still too big for my little guy. His feet didn't touch the floor and the hole was too big for his bottom. So he spent all day in a diaper. After I spent three days introducing him to the potty chair it was undone in a day. The good news is that I have learned from my mistake and his teacher said I could bring his potty chair to school.


This is the potty chair we have. The center come out so you can dump the contents into the potty. That little hump is to block the "teetee" from spraying everywhere. This is all fine and good unless you have a boy and his "boy" isn't pointing directly down for whatever reason. Then you just get it everywhere.

Potty training day 1

So far so good. Only two accidents and he stopped himself half way through and ran to the potty to finish. It's kind of funny to watch him get the urge because he freaks out and is not totally sure where to go. Should I stand here or do I go to the potty? He also doesn't seem to want to empty completely. He'll let a little bit go and then stop and pour it out flush and come back for more.

Two tips so far. If you have another child (younger) have someone else watch them. It's hard to nurse and take someone to the potty at the same time.

Put your bumbo away. It looks too much like a potty and well it might get used as one.

At the end of the day.

Joshua didn't have any accidents in the afternoon. He wasn't telling me when he needed to go but he would take himself to the potty. I am so proud at how well he is doing.

We have only had one small problem and that is when he sits and goes well it doesn't always all stay in the potty. I have had to clean up more than a little wayward potty. Maybe tomorrow he will start telling me when he needs to go.

The last ten pounds

I have always struggled with my weight. I was at my heaviest weight when I found out I was pregnant with Joshua. My goal after he was born was to get down to an ideal weight. I wasn't sure how I was going to do this but it was my goal.

When Joshua was a month old my dad told me about Stroller Fit. I started going every day. After a while I saw results but then my weight loss stalled. I joined Weight Watchers online and with a lot of hard work I got down to my goal weight.

A few months later I found out I was pregnant again. All that hard work about to be rewarded with a new baby. This time around I was in much better shape. I worked out everyday until I was 37 weeks. I quit because it was so hot. I went back to working out as soon as I was released by my doctor. It felt so good to get out of the house and move again. The weight came off easily...except for the last ten pounds. So hear I sit 10 lbs to go. It is taunting me.

Puffs

Recently I gave Gabriel his first bite of Puffs (kiddie food that dissolves when the baby puts it in their mouth). This is what Gabriel thought. In the background is Joshua.

Sandbox

Joshua's Mimi and Granddaddy (Royal's parents) gave him a sand box for Christmas. Well last Thursday the boys and I went and bought sand. I had my brother come over to help me set it up. The bags of sand were 50lbs each; I bought 8. Joshua loves it.

Six Months

Gabriel will be six months old on March 11. I am writing this now because I know I will forget if I wait to do it on the 11th.

Gabriel 9/11/08


One Month old




Three Months old



4 months old



5 months




Almost 6 months




I can't believe how fast the second time around has gone. My little guy is rolling all over the place and has even found that he can get places by continuously rolling. He loves his big brother. There is nothing sweeter than watching Gabriel and Joshua interacting with each other.

Both boys together. Joshua didn't what Gabriel to touch him, so I had to move him over.




Oh yeah if anyone is actually reading this drop me a line and say "HI"

First Hair Cut

I wanted to get Joshua's hair cut when he was 15 months old but Royal was the hold out. Eventually Joshua's hair grew out and he looked like a surfer. Long and blond. I had been trimming the front and back to keep it from being really long.

Last Tuesday I was going to give him a trim. Royal offered to him if I would hold him. Well Royal did more than a trim. He whacked the front super short. So I ended up taking Joshua for his first hair cut at Cool Cuts 4 Kids. He did a great job. The put him in a car chair and let him watch Elmo. The only part he didn't like was the clippers.

Please excuse the funny layout.

Everyone else did one, so I will too

2008 Year in Review

January 7th - I found out I was pregnant. This was a shock to Royal and me. We were not planning on getting pregnant any time soon.

March - Royal got a new "family friendly" car

April - We found out we were having another boy. The great name debate started and lasted for almost two months. We finally picked Gabriel Joseph.

August Joshua starts MDO and loves it.

September 11- My doctor induces me because of an approaching hurricane. We met Gabriel at 4:05 pm. He was such a tiny little guy.




September 13- Ike hits and we are without power for a week. I am trying to figure out how we are going to make it with a toddler and a two day old baby. I don't recommend this if you can avoid it.

October 31 Both boys were skeletons.



November 10 I turn 28
November 21 Royal turns 28
November 29 Joshua turns 2 (not a baby any more)



December 14 Gabriel is baptized.


December 24-25 Christmas Fun.