1. Jack is sick. Last night at 2:30a, I heard him wake up calling for Mommy.  Being the dutiful mom, I woke Jon up and asked him to go sleep w/ Jack. Honestly, I didn’t think it was going to be that big of a deal. I thought Jack would fall right back to sleep and all would be well. I didn’t go in, myself, because I knew I would wake Jack when Tommy woke up hungry (did you catch all that??). Well, Jack tossed and turned and cried and fussed for the rest of the night. At 6:00, Jon said that he was feeling pretty warm so we took his temp. Yeah. He was warm. 104.3. Fortunately, some ibuprofin brought it right down and we’re on monitor mode.

2. I grabbed this shot of T-dog yesterday.

3. So far, he’s not sick. I’ll keep that cute hat on him, just in case.

4. Jon is doing great. Well, not today because he’s exhausted (see #1). Other than that, he’s doing really well.

5. I grabbed this shot yesterday, too.

6. He’s a happy boy. Everyone who meets him describes him as the most chill baby ever. I agree. He only fusses when he’s tired, and who doesn’t, really?

7. There won’t be any pictures of Jack this week. He’s sick. And he has a busted lip (which I hear looks worse before it looks better) and a bad hair cut. Poor kid can’t catch a break.

8. Yesterday, when I picked him up from MDO, he ran to the door to greet me and then went back to his table to clean up his mess. He’s a good kiddo.

9. Must make it to 10.  Oh, I tried (unsuccessfully) to convince Jon that it would be “fun” to paint the landing of the stairs this past weekend. When I suggested it, he responded, “Why?” I couldn’t argue w/ that.

10. I think I’m gonna try to convince him to tackle it this weekend. I’ll come back with, “Why not?”  Ha!

…a well oiled machine, as it were. Here at the Urban house, we come up with a plan and we stick with it.

Jon and  I were invited to a birthday party for this afternoon and decided, since it was during Jack’s naptime, we would leave the boys with our favorite babysitter of all time.  Becky was due to arrive at 1:00. Jack would go down for his nap around 12:30, giving us plenty of time to tidy, get ready, etc.

Well, Jack decided to sit on the potty from around 8:30 until noon (no poop). At 12:00, Jon was taking Jack outside to run off some energy. As they were heading out the door, I reminded them, “…just a few minutes, Jack needs to eat lunch!” I started the dishes from breakfast (confession: and last night’s dinner) while Tommy played on the floor. It was about 10 minutes later when I hear a screaming Jack at the door. I thought he was upset that Jon was making him come back in so soon.

Nope. He was screaming because of this:

It’s cold here in Tejas. No, not as cold as the East Coast right now, but cold. Jon saw that Jack had pockets in his sweatshirt and was showing Jack how he could shove his hands in there to keep them warm. I think Jon forgot that Jack runs real fast. Off he went until…kersplat. He face planted right on the sidewalk. All teeth are present, but Jack walked was carried away with a lip that is pretty busted up.

Our master plan suffered a minor kink, but Jack was a trooper and downed a smoothie, some ibuprofin and settled down for his nap shortly after. Becky showed up and was took care of the boys plus her gorgeous girl while Jon and I enjoyed the par-tay. It was awesome to walk into the house and see three happy kids!

Oh, about the haircut. Please ignore. I promise I told the lady to keep it long. I guess long was interpreted as, “Please, keep everything long except for the front. Cut the front as short as you can.”

…complete with drool.

Yes, it was only for about 15 minutes, but it was long enough for Jack to get out of bed (he had already gone down for his nap), stand at the door unsure of that white stuff blowing everywhere and then run outside to play.

They’re expressive little things, those eyebrows. He can lift just one (like his daddy) and scrunch them all up (like his mommy). I was walking around the house today w/ T-dog on my hip (as always) and I passed by the mirror. I thought I needed to get a photo of him at this age- the age where he is carried all over the place. So, I call this one, M&T at arms length. It was HARD trying to get this picture. My camera is heavy and not exactly “stick one arm out and smile” friendly.

Tommy wasn’t quite sure what to make of that thing mommy was holding. I think he was busy wondering why I hadn’t wiped his nose. Just keeping it real, folks.

In other news, Jack likes to sing B-I-NGO. He knows all of our first and last names (including that of the grandparents) and is using every outing to show me what numbers and letters he knows. Just today he spotted the letter H, and numbers 1-6 (on our way up the parking garage). Smarty pants. Oh, that reminds me of this picture taken over 2 years ago.

We’re supposed to get snow tomorrow!!! If we do, it’ll be Jack and Tommy’s first snow. I’m ready with hot chocolate and mittens and spare socks. Bring it on.

Jon and I have a date tomorrow. We’re going to a wine tasting (Austin style) followed by dinner for his office Christmas party. Our favorite ever babysitter will be here with the boys and Jack is super excited (I’m hoping he doesn’t freak his freak when he realizes that Ms. Becky coming means Mommy and Daddy are leaving).

I need to update the carepages (I’ll do that this weekend), but Jon’s surgery date has been scheduled! One more treatment, some rest time and then he’s gettin’ all patched up.

They had to. There is NO way Tommy is that much taller than Jack was.  No way.  If you look carefully, you can see that Jack was further away from the measuring board and the ground was lower. That has to be it.

Friday after Thanksgiving, 2007

What a difference two years makes. Our little baby has turned into a boy.

Friday after Thanksgiving, 2007

 

I’m sure I’ll forget things, but a few that come to mind…

My husband. The most amazing man in the world (to me).

Our family and friends both near and far. We could not ask for better people in our lives. Truly.

Our home and Jon’s job, especially when so many around us are struggling.

This little guy right here:

and this big guy right here:

who both bring endless joy to our lives.

For Jon’s health. Things could have gone much differently over the past year and we are forever grateful that life has taken a course we can manage.

There are many other silly things for which I am thankful: Hokie football, Alamo nights with Jon, Vanessa’s mother in law’s pumpkin roll (yes, Lyndsay, I’m saving you a slice because I am thankful for you), and Glee. But, I’ll end with our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines. We’ve been there and know what it is like to have family away and I am so thankful that there are men and women who are willing to give so selflessly.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

 

perfect for an indoor, rainy day.

Joyce called it.

 

“Oh, Chech, you’re so soft….” Jack says that all the time. Che Che the Chetah is very loved by our little guy. He was a gift from some of Jon’s friends for Jack’s first birthday and Jack has slept with him ever since. He goes to school with Jack and then (lovingly) gets tucked into his backpack for the ride home.

Yesterday, Jack wasn’t sleeping during his nap. I didn’t think much of it. Sometimes Jack just chooses to sing or read books up in his bed. But, when I went to go get him up he said, “Chech?” Oh man! I had totally forgotten that we left Che Che in Jack’s bookbag in the car. Bad Mommy moment.

We immediately headed outside, without shoes, to rescue the poor, cold Cheetah. The reunion looked something like this:

 

Ohhh, Chech...I missed you sooo much. Let me free you from this bag!

 

Hey, look there, a rock! Be right with you, Chech.

 

Puuullllllll

 

Oh, Chech. You're so soft. I'll never leave you again.

 

I blame you, woman.

1. Jack has been waaaay out of sorts for several days now. A quick visit to the dr. showed that he has an ear infection. It’s his first and hopefully his last.

2. One week and two days until Thanksgiving. Yum.

3. When The Urbans went back to NC, I got to take pictures of this little cute one.

4. One of the first things Jon and I noticed when we were driving in NC were all the leaves on the ground. We took advantage of that teachable moment to introduce Jack to “autumn.” You know, that crazy thing that Texans only read about in books. On the page after that, you read about this thing called “snow.”

5. Ding!

6. “Ding” is the sound that is made when you pinch someone on the hiney.

7. Check out Judgy McJudgerson. I snapped this shot of him while he was at school. I think he gets that look from his Daddy. Anyone who knows us knows that I am lying through my teeth right now.

8. You know, looking at that photo, he does have Jon’s eyebrow lift thing going on. I can’t lift one eyebrown to save my life.  Man. If looks could kill. I should go find a smily picture of Jack.

9. Mashed potatoes. I love them. This year, they have been outsourced to one of our Thanksgiving guests. I have been assured that they will be filled with cream and garlicy goodness.

10. I went in search of a “happy Jack” photo, and I found quite a few. I like this one, though. My three guys. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

:::shameless blog entry:::

Melissa and Doug are having a drawing to give away one of their awesome play kitchens. By blogging about it, I get a (whopping) five entries. So far, that’s five out of over 2,000. Hey, I’ll take what I can get.

You can enter, too!  http://blog.melissaanddoug.com/2009/10/28/melissa-doug-play-kitchen-giveaway/

Off to tweet for some more entries!

and the only cure is more cowbell.

of when I asked Jack to “please not pee on [his] brother.”

i need to remember moments like these forever.

(don’t tell jon)

Pre-trip preparations:

I’ll admit it. I was scared. Very scared. I was quickly approaching a state of panic, but with two small ones, there’s no time to panic.

When our friends, e and b, told us they would be getting married in North Carolina there was no question that Jon and I were going to do everything we could to get there to celebrate their nuptials. At first, we were concerned that Jon might not be well enough to go. We were lucky that the wedding fell on the weekend of one of Jon’s “off weeks.” That, paired with the new meds that Jon has been taking made his chemo a non-issue. However, we did take precautions and I will do the same again for all future flights.

Buy travel insurance OR book your flight through an airline with no cancellation penalties.

With two small kids, there’s just no way to tell who is going to be well on any given weekend. I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t want to take a child who has been throwing up for the past couple of days onto a three-hour flight. It’s not fair to them, it’s not fair to the other passengers and you’d be kinda crazy to even try it. For about $16 bucks you can have the option of cancelling at the very last minute. We chose to book with Southwest. They allow you to cancel up until your flight time. They won’t refund your money (if you purchase their cheapest fares) but you can take a full credit, which is good enough for me!

We asked my  parents to meet us in North Carolina to take care of the boys for us while we were attending the wedding. They stayed in the same hotel as us and were the best babysitters EVER. Next tip:

Book adjoining rooms in the hotel.

If you have friends or family that will be helping you with your little ones, it only makes sense to have a connecting door. Jack was all about going back and forth from room to room. It wouldn’t have been possible if he needed to go out in to the hallway each time. Also, it made life SO much easier when I was nursing Tommy or putting on makeup or searching for Jon’s missing ID (more about that later) to be able to tell Jack to, “Go see Papa and Mer Ber.” and know that he could just walk on over.

Toddlers take time. In this case, they take time to adjust to new things. The key for our son was to talk, talk, talk about what was going to happen. Jack knows the airport well. He has been flying since he was a newborn and has ALWAYS (knock on wood) been a rockstar on planes. Seriously. Other passengers stop us getting off of the plane or in baggage claim to tell us how great he was on the flight.

Buuuuut, this was Jack’s first flight in almost a year. His most recent connection with the airport is that it’s where we go to pick up Nana Linda, Mer Ber, or Papa. He loves going there and watching the passengers come down the escalator trying to spy the person who is coming to see him. It had been too long since he had gone through security, waited at the gate and sat through a flight. So, we really talked this trip up. Starting about two weeks ago, we would talk about how our day was going to go. We told him all about parking the car and riding in the yellow van with black “poker” dots to get to the airport. We talked about going through security and staying with Mommy and Daddy. We told him all about sitting in his seat while we were on the flight and about how the nice Flight attendant was going to come by and say, “Oh, hello Jack! Would you like some bubbly water?” to which Jack could reply, “Yes, please!”

Knowing what to expect and what we expected of him was key.

Talk (A LOT) about your trip.

At the airport and on the plane:

Product of the century. I mentioned this in a previous post, but it needs to be repeated. Shoot, it needs to be shouted from the rooftops. This is the BEST TRAVEL PRODUCT EVER. EVER.

Once your child is two, they require their own seat on the plane. You have a choice of allowing them to sit in their car seat or directly in the seat on the plane. For us, it was a no brainer. I had read those (horror) stories of the toddler who wouldn’t let mom or dad put on the seat belt or kept unbuckling it before takeoff, resulting in the family being kicked off the plane. I didn’t want to be that family. Jack is used to his car seat. He knows that he can’t unbuckle it, so he doesn’t even try. The end.

But, that means that you have to lug this seat all over the airport. Enter the Gogo Babyz.

We borrowed the Gogo Babyz from a friends and I feel like I owe her my sanity. If you have two adults and one toddler, you could get away with out it. But, with two adults and two kids, why not do everything you can to make your travel experience easier? For the low, low price of $89.99 (less if you want a recycled one), you too can be smiling as you cruise through the airport.

A couple of things (and yes, this should go into pre-trip prep, but whatev): We practiced using this at home. Not only so that Jon and I could quickly put it on the seat and take it off, but also so that Jack would know what it was going to be like to be wheeled around in his car seat. It would be a new thing for him and we wanted to limit how many new things we threw at him in one day! So, the night before, we wheeled around the lower level of the house and he had a ball!

Get yourself a Gogo Babyz, or at the very least, figure out how on Earth you are going to get a toddler car seat around the airport.

As an added bonus, kids just look adorable being wheeled through the airport in this thing. Other passengers look and smile (rather than scowl at that awful, awful child kicking and screaming as they are dragged to their gate). You can also wheel it directly to the seat of the plane, with your cutey waving to each seated passenger on the way back. Hilarious. And no, not hilarious in the “only a mom would think that was cute” way. Hilarious in the “seriously, everyone was laughing at this two-year old riding in style” kind of way.

Here he is boarding the plane:

Oh, that reminds me of another tip (shared w/ me from the same friend who loaned us the wheels): Have one parent walk BEHIND the child being pulled. The last thing you want is for their loved one (Chech in our case) to be thrown on the ground only to be discovered missing once on the plane. Oh, the horror that would cause.

I bet you’re wondering where the other little guy was.

I was wearing him. It gave me two (much needed) free hands and it kept him asleep for a large portion of our trip. Win/ win.

Leave the stroller at home (unless you KNOW you will use it on your trip) and wear your baby.

Tommy (our baby) is still waking up pretty early and Tommy (my dad) gets up early with him to take him for walks so that Jon and I can sleep in. We knew that we would need a stroller for this to happen, so I called a friend at our destination and asked to borrow one.

If you know ANYONE at your destination, call ahead and see what you can borrow.

Yes, this is another “hey, that belongs in the previous section,” tip. Sorry, I forgot.

If you have ANY friends or family in the area, even if they don’t have kids, they might know someone who has kids. Call ‘em up and ask. It won’t hurt, I promise. If it can save you from packing yet another thing, it’s worth it.

Jon and I choose NOT to have Tommy in his own seat on the plane. Even when there are extra seats and we COULD take his car seat on to have him sit in it, we opt not to. I prefer to nurse Tommy (if he is so inclined) during take off and landing to help alleviate the pressure in his ears. If the car seat is on the plane, your baby MUST be in it during take off and landing (and I’m pretty sure anytime the fasten seatbelt sign is on). It’s easier for me to comfort Tommy while I’m holding him, so that’s what we do.

Bring distractions for the plane.

For us, that meant books, dvds, food and a stuffed animal (Jack’s choice). The night before we flew out, while we were packing, Jack was allowed to pick out five books and three animals to take with us. Of those, he could choose one animal to take on the plane and then he helped us pack the other two.

Oh, a note about the dvds. We bought a portable dvd player for this trip. We chose this one for a couple of reasons. The cost was right, it had 6 hours of power but, most importantly, it had a “hold” feature. Jack LOVES to press buttons. This one allows him to press the buttons all he wants, but it won’t stop/ fast forward/ rewind the movie. He hasn’t watched many movies/ tv shows at this point in his life. I thought I had nailed it by picking up Cars, A Bug’s Life, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Milo and Otis. Imagine my surprise when he didn’t want to watch ANY of them. Good thing I had broken them out a few days before for him to preview (he eventually started to like A Bug’s Life and Cars the best).

Books- great for take off and landing and when you’re not allowed to have the dvd player on.

Food- I’m not above bringing new, tasty snacks on the plane and both a bribe and a distraction.

Here’s Tommy, mid flight. Oh, another tip. If your baby uses a paci, get one of these guys to attach it to his clothes. I’m all for using pacis that have fallen on the floor. Makes you stronger, in my opinion. But, not when it fall on the plane floor, or the hotel floor, or the airport floor. That’s just gross.

You can’t really see it in this photo, but the boppy is underneath him. BRING YOUR BOPPY. It saves your arms. It also is a nice buffer between your baby’s head and the bag of that guy who is walking down the aisle with no regard of his fellow passengers.

Aaand, here’s Jack. Sippin’ on his gin and tonic. Kidding. It’s his bubbly water. He loves the stuff. He and Chech are just kickin’ back and watching Cars. No big deal. He does it every day.

Here’s happy mom and dad, rejoicing in the fact that WE have the two kids who aren’t crying. Yaaaay! Our kids rock!! We win, we win!!

I’m kidding. Which brings me to my next tip:

When your child cries on the flight, it’s really not THAT big of a deal.

I remember w/ Jack I would totally go into panic mode if he so much as whimpered. What wound up being 1-2 minutes of crying felt like 1 hour of sheer torture. I just KNEW everyone was staring at me, rolling their eyes, cursing my name, cursing my brother’s name, etc. But, think about it. We’ve all been on a flight with an unhappy baby. If it’s REALLY bad, we get off the flight, we tell who ever picks us up about the baby that was crying and then we move on with our life and never think about it again. Done.

Neither Jack nor Tommy cried on any of our four flights this weekend. Seriously, we win.

Last tip:

Sit towards the back and be the last folks off.

I say “towards the back” and not “in the back” b/c the slamming of all the cabinets back there can wake a sleeping baby in no time flat. Let the other passengers off before you. It takes time to unload two kids and all of their things. They might not care if your kid cried for two minutes, but they WILL care if they are all set to get off the plane and you are standing there strapping on your child, getting his stuffed animal, attaching his car seat to the wheels, etc. Just sit and let them pass and take your time once everyone else is off.

I think that’s it, although I reserve the right to come back and add. Happy flying, folks!

1. On Thursday morning, The Urbans will take our first plane ride as a family of four. Eeeek. This is the first time that Jack will have his own seat. He used to be quite the flier, with at least 4 round trips before he was 1. I don’t think he has flown since last Christmas, so this should be interesting. We are borrowing this from a friend. I’m hoping Jack will think it’s cool to ride around the airport like this. We’ll see.

We are returning to RDU (for you Texans, that’s Raleigh/Durham, NC) to celebrate the wedding of our friends, Brian and Elena. I seriously get tears in my eyes when I think of the joy they bring to each other, as well as everyone they meet. Jon and I are so blessed to be able to call them friends. I’m gonna be a blubbering mess. Until I get to the reception, then I’m gonna be a drunk, blubbering mess. Did I mention that Mary and Tommy will be taking care of the boys? OK, I won’t be drunk but I’d be lying if I told you I’m not looking forward to a night out with Jon sans Jack and Tommy. I wonder what kind of mischief the Urban boys will get into while we’re out for the night.

2. Hiney.

Jon brought this naked bundle of hugeness downstairs after his bath. I think he knew that Tommy was still on my bad side after last night’s choice to get up every half hour or hour. Jon knew that one look at those delicious rolls and all would be forgiven. Jon is obviously the peacemaker in the house.

3. When we get to North Carolina, I’m gonna spend Friday night taking pictures of this beauty. She just turned one. I still remember sitting with her Momma the last time I was in Chapel Hill just willing little Sophia to make an appearance before I needed to head to the beach for another (awesome) wedding.  Oh, how I wanted to be there to capture a newborn session with her, but it just wasn’t in the cards. Kate was trying all the tricks in the book, but Sophia was going to come in her own time. I’m just glad I’ll be able to grab some shots of her this time around.

4. I convinced Tommy to let me practice on him tonight. It’s been a while since I worked on shooting during the sunset.

His daddy does the same thing when I take practice shots of him. He’ll look off in the distance, deep in thought. Such pensive fellows, those Urban boys.

5. Jack wanted in on the action, too. He had a croupy cough last night, so we had a pajama day today. After being up all night (I’ll just keep mentioning that until I get the sympathy I deserve), I knew that there was NO way I could safely drive anywhere today, so there was no reason to get dressed, right?

6. Oh, after I take pictures of Sophia, Jon and I are going to head over to take the money of all of our friends. Yep, I’m pretty sure a poker game is in order. They have it comin’ after what their Tarheels did to my Hokies last weekend. I’m still hanging my head in shame. I don’t wanna talk about it.

7. I bet you’re wondering where our Halloween pictures are. We went trick-or-treating w/ friends this year (Jack’s first year, which makes this story even more pitiful). Right as we arrived, I sent Jack up to the door for a practice round. I switch on my camera and the dreaded “no card” appeared on the LCD. Yep. No memory card. Our friends were great, though, and I’m pretty sure there are some shots of Jack in the bunch. I don’t wanna talk about it.

8. Anyone else planning their Thanksgiving meal already? Care to share your tried and true recipes?

9. Anyone jealous that I have already finished Christmas shopping for Jack and Tommy? Kaleidoscope Toys had a HUGE sale on Halloween morning. Everything (well, almost everything) was on sale for 31% off. I was in and out within an hour. Now, if I can just keep the toys out of sight and resist all temptation to break them out early.

10. Ok. I have to share this. Jon is gonna kill me, but I need to have this written down or else I’ll forget it. It was a hilarious moment in an otherwise yuck day.

I was changing Tommy’s diaper and Jack was walking by. Very casually he asked, “Tommy has a little penis?” Not to make a big deal out of it (after all, he is only 4 months), I replied, “Yes, Jack, Tommy has a little penis.” To which Jack replied, “Jack has a BIIIIIG, BBBBIIIIIIGGGG penis.”

I don’t wanna talk about it.

Tommy has been rolling, regularly, for a bit over a week now. I guess a video is in order.

I present to you, Tommy rolling:

And, just to keep things fair, a flashback of Jack rolling:

Ok. Check ‘em out. See any similarities?

 

Tommy 4 mos.

Jack 5 mos.

 

 

I’ll do my best to get Tommy into this outfit sometime this weekend. Stay tuned!

Yesterday, Tommy had his 4 month appt. He weighed in at 18 lbs 3 oz and was 28.25 inches. Huge. That puts him at 95% for weight and off the chart for height. He got all of his 4 month shots and has spent most of his day doing this:

 

I took the boys to their first Halloween fair (?) over at the Round Rock Community Center today. Jack was a bit apprehensive when greeted by a whole bunch of strangers in costumes at the door, but when he realized that he got candy for doing the games, he was a bit more willing. He and his friend had their photo taken for the local paper, so we’ll keep our eyes peeled to see if they show up in press (I have to say, they looked awfully cute in their costumes- a penguin and elephant).

Here’s a picture of Jack on our way to the fair:

Jack is all about his costume. He loves wearing it, despite the hot and humid weather. Oh, and the head piece is key. He won’t wear the costume without it. He’ll tell you all about his long trunk and tusks.

Also new in Jack’s vocab, “No! Mommy, no!” Sigh.

 

1. I’m writing this on Sunday night. I like to be prepared like that.

2. When I saw this jack-o-lantern, I thought “Awwww,” and then, “hee hee,” and then, “wait…I have a little boy about that size…” and then, “I wonder if Jon and Jack would run grab me a massive pumpkin?”

3. I did jinx it last week. I mentioned Tommy’s awesome sleep and wouldn’t you know that ever since Thursday of last week (when I so brazenly bragged out him to a bunch of other moms of infants) he’s been up every few hours. He’s partially forgiven, simply because he’s cute.

4. I love this guy.

5. Jon is half way through treatment numero nine. Awwww yeah. He is going with a friend to see UNC beat UT in basketball in December and realized that, at that game, he’ll be done with treatments by almost two weeks!!

6. They did go get me a pumpkin. It was huge.

7. We squished Tommy into that squash.

8. Pretty cute, huh?

9. He didn’t quite fit.

10. I know I cheated by breaking up the pumpkin topic. Whatev.

One of my favorite all time lines out of Jack’s mouth; “Jack run real fast?” That question, asking permission to run, quickly turned into the statement and finally into an exclaimation of pride. “Jack runs real fast!”

You sure do, Jack. You run* real fast.

* Yes. Our son runs with sticks. We think it makes him more tough.

Tommy is quickly approaching 4 months old and, like his big brother, is working on becoming quite the charmer.
He will flash a grin when someone says hello and he has the fake shy routine nailed. His giggles melt my heart and he’ll talk to anyone willing to listen.
We have his fourth month pedi appointment on Wednesday. I’ll update his stats then.

1. Jack continues to crack me up. His new thing to say is, “Hmm…I’ll think about that.” I’m pretty sure he got this from Ms. Anne, his MDO teacher because Jon and I don’t use it regularly.

2. I don’t want to jinx it, but Tommy has had two really good nights of sleep. I’m talking falling asleep sometime between 7 and 9, waking up around 2 and then going back to sleep until morning (which is anywhere from 5-7). I’ll take it!

3. I just took T-dog out into the back yard (which Jack mowed w/ his bubble mower earlier today) to enjoy the gorgeous weather we are having.

he's not so sure about the grass

squishy faced from the breeze

4. Lyndsay decided to out do herself and have a raffle to raise more money for MDA. Remember when I said we had raised more than $1,700. That was a lie. Well, it was the truth at the time, but now it’s a lie. We’re way above that now. I’m not gonna say how much. Not yet.

5. I’m hosting the infant get together on Thursday. I love those. Just a bunch of babies hanging out on the floor of our family room. Nothing better.

6. I wish there were fire ant eaters that lived in Austin.

7. I’m not a fan of messy faced children with food all over them smiling towards the camera. Yuck. Buuut, I didn’t have any photos of Jack to share for this week so here ya go. Let’s pretend this is a picture to show that flick of hair that I love that is always there in the back and there just happens to be a little pudding on his face.

gross.

8. Pink pacifiers. All the cool boys are using them.

9. Really, it was the only one available at the HEB. Which brings me to a rant. Can we PUH-LEASE get some more boy things (or at least uni-sex) things in stores?!? It’s ridiculous that both times I’ve hit up the baby section of HEB there have only been pink packages of pacifiers. Pathetic.

10. Have y’all been watching Glee? I’ve probaby watched every episode four times. I’m not ashamed.

I’ve mentioned before that Jack is a singing fool. The best times to hear his new song creations are when he’s punchy and ready to sleep. Here are two clips that I recorded yesterday:

In this one, he is trying to “wrap him up or he’ll get cold.” I think he’s trying to swaddle Che Che using his truck book. Check out the tenor around 23 seconds.

Sticking with the “wrap him up” theme, Jack has moved on to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell.

A friend of mine was mentioning that her daughter gives no signs of being tired before the “putmetobedrightnoworiwillgocrazy” screaming begins. No ear tugging, no yawning or sucking on her fingers. It made me think that I needed to capture Tommy’s tired routine. Tommy, almost like a college student getting his second wind, starts the giggles before extrememe exhaustion sets in. It looks a little something like this:

I pretty much feel like the funniest mom on the planet until the “youhadbettergetoutthatswaddlerightnowandletmegotosleep” scream starts. I didn’t video that scream. The long and short of it is, from the time he starts telling me, “Oh, mom, your wit and charm are just too much for me,” to the time he says, “you are a crazy, crazy fool, woman!” is about three minutes. Just enough time to get out the straightjacket and hope that you can make it to his crib before this happens:

Yes, he has a pink pacifier. What’s it to you?

:::snort:::

http://www.lifeinmotionphotography.com/photoblog/?p=3286

I love this picture. It’s priceless and probably an indicator of the years to come.

Here we go.

1. Supposedly, there are all kinds of tips to reduce your double chin when having your photo taken. Some of these include shooting down (person w/ DC looking up at the camera), pushing your chin out rather than down, and pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Allow me to demonstrate.

Tucking chin down, tongue out:

pushing chin out, tongue against roof of mouth (I think? I mean, who can tell, really?)

Do you see the noticeable different in double chin size? Go on, go find your nearest mirror and practice.

2. I am still recovering from Saturday’s 2nd Annual Life in Motion Monster Bash! I didn’t drink enough water during the day (read: I didn’t drink ANY water during the day) and woke up the next morning feeling hungover. I’m still trying to catch up.

3. Wanna see some of the pictures? Check out the teasers on Lyndsay’s blog. First you’ll have to get past Joyce’s adorable boys. Good luck.

4. Oh, did I mention we raised over ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS?!? ‘Cause we did.

5. There’s something growing out of the mulch in our front yard. Jack thinks it’s a carrot, so I have to keep him away lest he try to eat it. When I told him it wasn’t a carrot, he moved on to thinking it was a finger. I’m stumped. All I know is it’s not a carrot and it’s not a finger. Guesses? Here’s a picture of it. Gross.

6. Jon said we need to just pick it. I don’t know why he’s saying “we.” I’m not touching that thing.

7. The Urbans are going over to some friends’ house to watch the UT/ OU game. It’ll be our first time watching UT football with other people(we usually stick to the Hokies or Maryland). My job this week is to find some orange shirts for us. Jon said to grab some from the Walgreens. I’ve never purchased clothes from a drugstore and I don’t plan on starting now.

8.  Jon is on treatment #8 and doing much better today than he was at this time last week. The real test will come tonight. That’s when was feeling worst during #7. If he can get over that hump, we’ll be home free!

9. I’m booking our hotel this week for Elena and Brian’s wedding in North Carolina!!!! We are so excited to head back to Chapel Hill. Godins, Finegans, Urbans, Shieldeses (spelled the way I say it), Frang and anyone else I’m missing, YAAAAAY!!!

10. Whew. I didn’t think I could do it this week. Let’s make #10 a good one. Hmm… Oh, I have a sad one. Papa left yesterday. How’s this for a Motley Crew:

(note: Jack is working to reduce his double chin. The Tommys aren’t)

“Jack wear Mommy’s tap shoes?”

That’s how it all starts. And when I say, “Sure!” (because he already has my shoes halfway on) off he goes a tappin’ away. I’m pretty sure we saw tap dancers on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and it stuck. The kid likes music and he likes to get down. Who can blame him?

Confession: I’m dreading 10 on Tuesday tomorrow. I don’t have 10 things. Maybe three. Tops.

Tommy thinks he’s picked the perfect team for Jon’s FFL.

1. Papa was in Jack’s room getting him ready for his nap. He left Jack on the bed and walked across the room to return a book to the shelf (or something like that) when Jack said, “Papa, I miss you.” That kid is a trip. You know what they say, a three second absence makes the heart grow fonder.

2. Tommy is a drool machine. If we could harness the power of his drool, we could easily light up all of Austin for at least a year.

3. 17 pounds. The kid is three months old and 17 pounds buck naked.

4. Jack went to the dentist this morning. He let Dr. Jenny brush “upstairs and downstairs.” Then Jack got to brush Olly’s monster chompers.

5. The Halloween Party is THIS WEEKEND!!! Major cleaning needs to happen at the Urban house.

6. The exterminator just showed up at 2:40 when he was supposed to be here between 3-4. How great that he showed up early, right? Umm…not unless you think that your toddler waiting up from his nap early is great. No, not great. You wanna hear something funny? As I was typing about the exterminator, my dad called me into the other room (where he is holding an overly tired toddler) to kill the scorpion that was walking across the floor.

7. Date night tonight. Nothing like putting off #5.

8. I’m done. I’ve got nothing else and now I’m feeling guilty about #5. It always comes back to #5.

So, for the non tv watching readers, there used to be  a show called My Name is Earl. Earl Hickey always managed to blink when getting his picture taken. Every once in a while I’ll be going through photos and find one that is practically perfect (to me) except the subject is in mid blink. I found this one yesterday:

“Oh, hang on just  a sec, Mom, I’m blinking.”

Papa took Jack to get a bagel sandwich this morning. I stayed home with Tommy because 1) Tommy doesn’t have any teeth and couldn’t eat a bagel sandwich and 2) I’ve lost 11.5 lbs and I didn’t do it by eating bagel sandwiches.

While they were gone, I suckered Tommy into a quick photo session (as if he had a choice).

It was just about a year ago that Jon, Jack and I met my parents at the beach in NC to celebrate the wedding of Steve and Liz Godin. We had such a great time catching up with friends- it was a great wedding! This was also the first time that Jack spent the night without me or Jon. I dropped him off at the beach with the grandparents and then hightailed it back to Chapel Hill to enjoy some child free days! Little did we know that we were already on our way to becoming a family of four and that our next trip to North Carolina, coming up in a few weeks, would include a new Urban.

Tommy is balding at an alarming rate. Maybe he heard Papa was coming into town and, being his namesake, he wanted to look as close as possible. Some babies get that little bald strip along the back of their head where it rubs on their crib sheet or car seat. Nope, not the t-dog. When he does something, he goes 100% all out. Behold the baldy that is Tommy:

Business in front:

Baldy in back:

1. I’m not a terrible mom, but I am having a terrible time remembering the boys’ birthdays. No one called me out about this post, in which I told everyone that Tommy was three months old. Nope. Three months and one day. JACK was born on the 25th, Tommy was born on the 24th (I need to start repeating that to myself multiple times a day).

2. Is it lame that I got giddy when I heard The Biscuit Brothers sing live? If so, just call me Lamey McLamerson. The whole fam went to go see the (now) famous duo sing Jack’s (now) favorite songs. If you’re not familiar, The Biscuit Brothers (Beauford and Dusty) live on Old McDonald’s farm called EIEIO. Beauford plays the banjo, Dusty the guitar and they teach the kids all about music. Jack loooooves them. I have actually heard Jack talking to himself before I go get him out of bed saying, “Jack says, ‘Watch Biscuit Brothers?’ and Daddy says, ‘Good idea!’ “

It’s hilarious that he works out his game plan on how to see his favorite singing farmers before starting his day.

3. Tommy has lost all of the hair on the back of his head. Stay tuned.

4. Know what happens when you fall asleep on the family room floor like this?:

Your big brother comes along and does this:

5. 7/12. By the time you read this, Jon will be (at least) 1/3 of the way done with his 7th session.

6. Papa comes into town tomorrow. Can’t wait.

7. It rained last week. Jack got to carry the “sunbrella” on the way into MDO. Then, we played in the rain (again, with the sunbrella) until Daddy got home.

I had forgotten rain could be so much fun.

8. Oh! I almost forgot that Jack now starts nearly every greeting with “Oh!” For instance, when I walk into his room after naptime its, “Oh, hi Mommy!” When Jon comes home for the day, “Oh, hi Daddy!” He cracks me up.

9. I think Jon and I might go on a date this week (see #6).

10. Do I sound 8 pounds lighter to you? ‘Cause I am.

The Miracle Blanket; loved by parents all over the world. So, why was it that Tommy couldn’t stand the thing? We tried it right when we brought him home from the hospital (after he outgrew the blanket swaddles) and again at around 6 weeks. Both times, you would have thought we were torturing him. I mean, really, it looks like a straightjacket for babies…who am I kidding, it IS a straightjacket for babies but every other kid seemed to love it- why didn’t Tommy?!? This blanket made of miracles was supposed to help Jon and I get a good night’s sleep (as advertised on their website) but Tommy just wasn’t getting with the program.

Until last week. Oh, how life changed last week. While Jon was at work, I broke out the swaddle one last time. I looked at it longingly, wishing that Tommy would love and adore this stretchy piece of fabric. As I was wrapping him, he looked right at me and giggled. What a stink. But then, it happened…the miracle. Tommy napped for (wait for it) two hours. TWO HOURS!! You think I’ve told you the best part, don’t you. Oh, no, the best part was that he slept for two hours (2!!) while Jack was sleeping. WHAAAAT?!? Yes. Both boys were asleep, at the SAME time, for TWO hours. Please, don’t be jealous…I took a nap. And I have every day since then.

The best part is when he wakes up and you unwrap him. Does anyone else remember that game that you did at slumber parties (no, not that one), the one where you stood in the door frame and pushed your arms up against the frame for a minute? Then, when you stepped out, your arms kind of float up without you lifting them. Well, that happens to Tommy. Once he is out of the straightjacket swaddle, his arms pop right up. FREEEEEDOMMMM!

And, for the grandparents…here ya go:

before/ during

after

Happy 1/4 year birthday, Tommy, to you and your thighs. Pardon the cliche, but it really does seem like yesterday when you were born. I now know too well that the next two years are going to zip by with a flash. And that means that the two years after that and after that will be gone before we know it if we don’t remember to soak in every moment.  I can’t wait to see what you show us over the next 9 months. Shoot, what you show us over the rest of our lives, but for now I think I’ll just enjoy today with ya.

When I picked up Jack from MDO yesterday, he was reading a book. Ms. Anne commented about how much he loves to read. Yeah, you don’t have to tell me twice, the kid looooves books. And I love that he loves books.

I remember during the second week of his life watching Mer Ber read Winnie the Pooh: Friendship Day to Jack while he was lying on her lap. He was so focused on her face and almost mesmerized by the sound of the story she was telling him.

:::stepping onto soapbox:::

Read to your babies. Read, read, read to them. It doesn’t even have to be an age appropriate book. Joyce reads all kind of crazy things to her boys- War and Peace and other boring books like that. I remember an elementary librarian pointing out that if you read just one story to your child a day (just ONE), then by the time they come to school they will have heard over 1800 stories. That’s a lot. Now, if you go beyond that and read some books during the day and then one or two before bed, you’re talking about well over 7 thousand stories. Yikes.

:::/soapbox:::

Tommy seems to be a bookworm so far. He digs Brown Bear, Brown Bear (but what almost 3 month old doesnt?). We were reading it (again) today and to watch his eyes scan over the page, taking in every single detail is just amazing. You can practically see those neurons firing.

Who knows if they’ll grow up to love books as much as Jon and I do. But it won’t be for lack of hearing them. Here’s Tommy doing some reading today…

…and Big Brother Jack showing off his reading skills (should have saved this for Flashback Friday, but I couldn’t wait).

I totally stole this off of a girl on the photoboard, but it was too good not to share. The best part is, it’s all true.

How to Take a Picture of a Toddler

1. Decide where you want the picture to be, take out your camera and meter the light.
2. Place toddler in selected spot.
3. Retrieve toddler from top of bookshelf and return to selected spot.
4. Get lollipop from cupboard.
5. Put toddler back in selected spot and give him lollipop.
6. Wipe lollipop smear from toddler’s face, top of bookshelf, and fur of cat.
7. Get out bubbles.
8. Return toddler to selected spot and blow bubbles to keep him interested.
9. Stop to mop up spilled bubble liquid.
10. Light has moved. Pick new spot and meter.
11. Put a basket in new spot.
12. Put toddler in basket.
13. Retrieve toddler from behind chair where he is playing with the outlet.
14. Remind self that you do NOT want a call from preschool in which the teacher inquires where your child learned to say those words.
15. Put brand new toy in basket along with toddler.
16. Throw broken toy away, retrieve toddler from kitchen where he is eating cat food.
17. Consider putting bowl of cat food where the light is good. Reject this idea.
18. Sew velco to butt of toddler pants and onto pillow. Place child on pillow where light is good.
18. Remove pillow from child’s behind and re-stuff with something heavier. Reattach child.
19. By now the light is gone.
20. Put camera away, pour self drink.

I told you it was a cute outfit.