What a Cheesy Smile

We found another food Barrett will actually eat.

Queso.

Just queso. No chips, no tortilla, no anything else.

Here he is enjoying his bowl of cheese.

Fisher is doing great, and I really hesitate to write anything about how great he's been because I don't want to jinx us.

I'll just say that the sleeping thing is getting a lot better. More on that later IF the pattern continues.

Here's Little Bit relaxing while his brother smothered himself in queso.

The Zoo

Last Wednesday, Barrett went to the zoo for the second time. The last time was a year ago, and he was far to young to remember any of it. Fisher was with us too, but he slept the entire time, so he doesn't really have anything to tell about his first trip to the zoo!

I can say, without a doubt, Barrett remembers it this time.

All I have heard every time we get in the car is, "aminals, zoo?" (Yes, I know animals is spelled wrong, that's how he says it.)

It was cute the first thousand times, but not so much anymore.

He even told his teachers about the aminals.

If you ask him about the zoo, he'll first say aminals, then elephant followed by his elephant sound, and then tiger followed by a big roar.

We did see other animals, but apparently the elephants and tigers were his favorites.

He was literally glued to the fence at both exhibits.

The other part he loved was the water play area in the children's zoo. The zoo was so empty that Barrett and his buddy that went with us were about to play without anyone else for a long time.

At first, Barrett was a little apprehensive about getting in the cold water.

I tried to encourage him by pointing out that his friend was already soaking wet within seconds, but Barrett wasn't convinced too quickly.

After getting close a few times, he finally stuck his hand in one of the streams of water, and then he was laughing and happy.

The real "fun" came when his friend was drinking the water, and Barrett apparently thought that looked fun.

He was so funny. I wish I had video of the entire play time in there because he was too cute.

The one thing he did NOT enjoy was the carousel. Here is the expression he made the ENTIRE time on it.

When we left the zoo, he slept the entire 40 minute ride home and still took a two hour nap after that. Considering that and how much he liked it, we definitely need a zoo membership!

Poop

With a title like Poop, this post could go so many different directions...

Luckily for me, this is a good poop story.

I am pretty confident that most moms of a nineteen month old don't have many fun poop stories, so that makes this that much more fun to share.

Today we went to the zoo (more on that later), and when we got home Barrett was exhausted. He went straight to bed and took a nice, fairly long nap.

When he got up, we changed his diaper like usual and headed into the living room to watch a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

We had watched about half of the Goofy's Petting Zoo episode that we have seen a gazillion times, when he looked at me and said, "poop."

This isn't unusual, so I said, "You have poop?"

"No," was his reply.

I just figured he was talking randomly until he got off the couch and again said, "Poop."

I asked if he was going to poop, and he did his "come on" thing he does with his arm.

I got up and followed him. He went staight to his bathroom.

He stood in front of the potty like Daddy does, and was pulling his pants down.

He again said, "poop."

So, I took off his diaper and put him on the potty.

He made his unmistakable poop face, and to my amazement, I heard a plop.

Yes, be jealous, my kid pooped in the potty with absolutely no prompting from me. I actually almost hindered him!

He even wanted to go again tonight, so Daddy ran him into the bathroom. He sat on the potty trying to go, but he couldn't. Doug said he could see his little tummy muscles trying to go. So, Doug asked if he was done, and Barrett said, "done."

Being the great Daddy he is, Doug clapped for him and still let him flush.

I know this can't be this simple, and I know we are way away from being potty trained, but it is still fun to say my little guy pooped in the potty!

Can It Be?

I think I now can see a light at the end of our sleepless tunnel.

Last night, Fisher ate at 7, and went to sleep at 8:30.

He didn't wake up until 12:30 to eat. That's 4 whole hours.

Then, when I was sure I was in for a really long night, he drank four ounces and went right back to sleep.

He actually slept until 3:30, and again, ate and went back to sleep.

He wasn't up again until 6:00.

If you don't have kids, this may sound like an awful schedule, but trust me, it's WONDERFUL!!

Now, all we need is for him to skip one of those feedings and for Barrett to stay asleep all night.

I know tonight will probably be really bad, but at least I know he can sleep at night. :)

Pictures

Here is a random assortment of requested pictures.


Fisher, one month old.

Yes, he sleeps on his tummy. My whole generation did, Barrett did, lots of kids do. I'm just one of the people that admits it. If your kids doesn't, good for you. I just know that he'll actually sleep on his tummy and doesn't startle himself awake constantly. Besides, I was reading a recent study and tummy sleep only makes it 3 times more likely the kid will die from SIDS and co-sleeping makes it 20 times greater, so really, I am safer than a lot of people. :)

Fisher, one month and one day.

Here is Fisher when I was trying to take pictures of him in the chair in my room, but his brother came running at him and grabbed his foot.




I have a feeling there will be a lot more times he'll make that face.

Lastly, here is his completed room.

All Alone

Today is my first official day completely alone with both kids. They are currently both napping so I guess you could say I am surviving.

Last night, I was on Fisher duty. I went to bed around 9, and Doug put him to bed when he ate and fell asleep at 10:30.

At 12:30, he was awake and apparently starving to death. I changed him, he ate, and he fell asleep UNTIL I put him in bed. Then, he was wide awake. It took until 1:45 to get him back to sleep.

I don't fall asleep easily (especially when Doug is snoring), so the last time I looked at the clock it was 2:20.

3:15... Fisher is again awake and screaming for a bottle. I run to get him before he wakes Barrett up.

It took me until almost 5:30 to get him to go back down without screaming.

6:15... I hear screaming again. Oddly, Fisher has learned to say Momma and Dada was the first thought that ran through my mind after the "Oh Sh&*" I have to get up again. It was then that it dawned on me that Barrett was up.

I made Doug go get him, and I unsuccessfully tried to get Barrett to snuggle me in bed and go back to sleep. He just kept saying, "up".

A few minutes later, Fisher was up too. Doug went to feed him because I told him there was NO WAY I was getting out of bed yet.

By 6:45 I was in the living room feeding Fisher with my right arm, Barrett sitting on my left leg drinking his bottle, and watching Barney.

Happy Monday to me!

By 9:30, I was ready to get out of the house. I got everyone dressed and we headed out to run a few errands.

We went first to the bank to make a deposit because I couldn't do any of my other errands without putting money in the bank.

The bank closest to my house was having drive up ATM issues, so I illegally parked in the handicap spot sidesways so I could sprint to the walk up ATM that I actually turned in to a drive up one. Unfortunately, there were no deposit envelopes.

I didn't want to unload everyone, so I decided to drive to another branch of my bank.

Twenty minutes later, I'm there.

I make my deposit, get a little cash for the dry cleaners and stuff, grab my receipt, and reach to the card hole to get my card.

The machine kept making a weird noise, and my card was not appearing.

I hung myself out the window to get a better look. I could see my card, but it wasn't making it all the way out.

I tried to pinch it with two other credit cards, but it wouldn't come out.

Then, the machine ate it.

The screen went back to the welcome crap, and my card was gone.

I called the bank from my car. (Lazy, I know, but I have 2 kids now.)

They ended up saying I should just report it lost because it's quicker than waiting on them to get it out, send it to some eaten card headquarters, and then getting it mailed back to me. Stupid bank people!

I left the bank to finish errands because I was getting too close to bottle time and I wanted to get everything done.

We went to the cleaners that only takes cash. They took 23 of my 50 dollars.

Next we needed to go to Walmart. We were loading up what little space is in the cart once Barrett is in the seat and Fisher is in the cart, when I came to a realization...

I only had 27 dollars. Oops.

I picked the essentials, and put the other things back. (Ok, so I stuck it all on one shelf.)

I checked out and only spent 23 dollars, so I treated Barrett to a happy meal at the McDonalds in Walmart.

We ran into a friend who has two young boys also and because they were eating, Barrett actually ate most of his fries and two of his four nuggets. Normally, I would be thrilled, but because of my lack of cash, I was planning on eating most of his since he NEVER eats.

I guess it's a good diet plan.

We made it home with 15 minutes to spare until nap time.

I was feeling somewhat successful about our outing excluding the whole ATM fiasco when Barrett informed me he had poop in his pants.

I changed his diaper with the one diaper that was in the diaper bag and went to reload his diaper stacker and diaper bag with more diapers from the HUGE economy box in his closet.

The huge box is great because I rarely have to buy diapers, but I guess I should check it from time to time because I might not be the person that takes the last ones out.

Yep, we have NO diapers for Barrett.

Since Fisher's size ones probably won't work, I am headed back to Walmart after naps.

I better run. I need to find enough money to at least get a few diapers. Walmart takes change, right?

T-I-R-E-D

Fisher is one month old today, and I'd love to say the month has flown by.

BUT, to be honest it seems likes months and months since I was in the hospital. I am so tired I can't think straight.

I was up ALL night with Fisher and then Barrett woke 5. That's 5 AM!

While Barrett napped Fisher slept and when Fisher fell asleep, Barrett woke up.

No nap for Mommy. :(

Enough of the griping.

Daddy earned big points tonight because he took both kids to his parents house, so I can go to bed early, so...

It's not even 8 yet and I am getting in bed!

Yeah Me, and Good Night.

Yee Haw

On Friday, Doug's parents, Nana and Paw took Barrett to the livestock show at the rodeo. He had a great time.

He liked all the animals, but there was one thing that he apparently liked more than the bunnies.

As he was looking at the bunnies, a little girl about his size came walking up to look too. After that, Barrett was looking at her instead of the rabbits. When she walked to the other side, he followed right with her. I always knew the rodeo was a great place to pick up people!


When he was at the display where chicks are hatching, he was more engrossed in the eggs than the chicks. He would point to them and say, "broke".


He also pointed to the poop around animals and said, "mess." Nana tried to correct him that it was poop, but all he saw is a mess. He is so my son!

When they came home, he showed us what Nana and Paw bought for him.

His first cowboy hat! He is so cute in it. He wouldn't cooperate and look at the camera because he was too busy looking for a bull to ride, and he found one too...

He even wore his cowboy hat yesterday while he worked in the backyard with Daddy. He thinks he's so big! Now all we need is the wranglers and boots.

Saint Gigi

I don't know how the Catholic church picks saints, and to be honest, I don't really care seeing that I don't go to the Catholic church. Although, I am thinking of submitting someone for consideration.

I am allowed to call the pope and give him a nomination?

Here is what I would say...

Me:

Hi Pope. I'm not Catholic, but I was raised in the Catholic church. My Mom is Catholic. She went to Catholic school her whole childhood even though the nuns weren't all that fun. Even though she didn't love her Catholic schooling, she stuck with ya'll. She goes to church pretty regularly and even gives up stuff for lent without cheating too much. So, I was thinking you might make her a saint for me.

Pope:
Why should I?

Me:
She has been the best mommy ever the past three weeks. She has taken Fisher every other night so that Doug and I could sleep. She also takes Barrett to the park, grocery shops, cleans, cooks, etc. on days when she is going on VERY little sleep.

Like today, I think she got about 3 hours of sleep last night in about 15 minutes chunks, but she still has taken Barrett to Mother's Day Out, ran errands, hit golf balls (Ok, that doesn't help us, but it does show how tough she is.), and now she has taken Barrett to the park to play.

I realize that she won't be sainted for this, but she has been amazing! (I don't know if sainted is a word or not.)

I am panicked that I only have her one more week which is dumb because I don't know anyone who had their mom help them for as long as mine has.

Seriously, what am I going to do?

Hopefully, Fisher will be a better sleeper by then, and Barrett's stupid teeth will finally finish torturing him and us at night.


Just because I love pictures of my kids, amd I think everyone else does too. Here are a few more.

Barrett loves turning the music on for "Baby".

(If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know Barrett loves to run around naked after his bath with Daddy. Mommy takes clothes into the bathroom with them, Daddy doesn't.)

The next two are just too sweet not to share. I was trying to get a picture of Fisher alone for his birth announcements, but Barrett felt he needed to be a part of it all.

Love

I am so tired that I actually wonder for brief seconds why in the world we had another child, then I have moments like this that make every sleepless hour worth it.

How could I not be completely in love with both my boys!

Shhh... It's a Secret

Ok, if you are someone that talks to Doug, either don't read this post or find a way to NEVER let him know what happened...

I've never been good at following any kind of rule. Anyone who knew me in junior high, high school, college... come to think of it, if you knew me pre-Doug, you know how rebellious I can be. As I have gotten older, my rebellious side doesn't come out much until yesterday.

I was given a list of rules at the hospital when I was discharged. Among them were:

1. No lifting anything heavier than the baby for 3 weeks
2. No driving for 3 weeks
3. No bath until my doctor gives me the ok (at least 3 weeks)
4. No exercise for 6 weeks (I can walk, but no worthwhile stuff)

There were others, but they were easy to abide by.

I WAS actually doing really well on my rules, but then yesterday happened.

My mom was up all night the night before with Fisher, so she was exhausted. Barrett had mother's day out at 9 am, and I wasn't about to let him miss it. So... I drove him there, but I figured I was only breaking one rule, right?

Mom and I decided to take Fisher with us when we went to get Barrett, and depending on his mood, we'd stop at Target.

We ended up going to a Target that I don't normally go to because my car was once hit in the parking lot, and I dropped a bag with pictures frames in the parking lot once breaking them all. Basically, I think the parking lot has it in for me, so I don't go there anymore.

Unfortunately, it was the only Target around that had the slide I wanted to buy for Barrett.

We headed in to Target for Fisher's first official outing. We started with one basket with Fisher in the top and Barrett sitting in the basket. After finding the slide, we realized we needed another basket, and mom went to get one.

When she came back she had the HUGE basket that two big kids can sit in. (I still don't know why she got that one!?) As Mom tried to maneuver the beast around the store to get a few other things, Barrett decided to ride with her. It didn't take long for him to jump out and run.

When we finally checked out, we were ready to just go home. (By the way, Fisher did great the whole time.)

As we walked in the parking lot pushing my basket and the beast, the wind was crazy.

We made it to the car, and mom unlocked it. We were starting to put Fisher in the car, when the wind caught his basket. Luckily, I had one hand on it. Fisher went safely into the car. I actually thought to myself that I had outsmarted the parking lot curse, stupid me.

Barrett on the other hand was supposed to stay next to his Gigi as she wrestled the slide into the car, but he took off running.

I left my basket, and ran after him. (Oops, rule #4 broken) When I caught him, he was in big trouble. I told him he is NEVER to run in a parking lot. It's not safe, you have to look for cars, stay with mommy, blah, blah, blah...

Then I noticed a basket going out of control in the parking lot. It didn't take long for me to recognize the diaper bag in it.

It was at that moment, all rules were gone. My basket was headed to a very busy highway with my wallet in it, I was holding Barrett and my mom was no where near by. So, I did what any completely sleep deprived mom would do, I ran after my basket carrying someone who is three times my weight limit. (Rule 1 broken and rule 4 REALLY broken.)

I guess I was lucky that my basket decided to turn. It ended up hitting a curb and flipping in the air. My diaper bag contents were everywhere, and I am pretty sure a diaper flew away in the wind. I picked everything up, and put what we bought back in the bags.

Barrett just kept saying, "uh-oh". So much for the don't run in a parking lot lecture.

I looked back at mom to see if she even knew what happened. She did see us, but then she started running too.

The beast cart had started flying away too, and although it was empty, it was headed towards people's cars. With the force my cart hit the curb with, I am sure the beast could have totaled a small sports car. Mom caught it pretty quick, and then she drove to pick Barrett and I up since we were really far away from the car.

We were laughing so hard, that we had to stay in the parking lot for a while. I made her swear not to tell Doug because he'd lecture me. (He's a rule follower except when it comes to hunting.)

Thankfully, Barrett can't talk well enough to tell on me yet...

When we got home, I seriously considered breaking the last of the rules and relaxing in a nice, hot bath, but Doug came home too soon.

Maybe another day...