Hair cuts

Molly and Jack got hair cuts yesterday. After many bad hair cuts at the local kid salon, I started taking them to my stylist, Rebecca. She's awesome and the kiddies look great! Molly said she wanted a shorter hairdo this time. Jack said I could pick his hairdo.
Jack wanted to wear his new birthday outfit from Nana and PapPap but it was to cold here today. So, he asked if he could wear the belt that came with the outfit. He was very proud of himself for putting it on all by himself!

Here we go again...

My sweet little thing is having gut issues again. The last few days she has gotten fussier and fussier. Sorry to say, it's not something I noticed right way. A little fussing here (she's tired) and little fussing there ("Molly, Becca doesn't need 10 toys, you've upset her...") and the next thing I know, I have a baby who is crying all the time no matter what I do to sooth her. Then it dawned on me to check her diapers and there it was, BLOOD! I took her to my beloved pediatrician the next day and his nurse tested 4 diapers and they where all positive for blood. As luck would have it, a rep from Mead Johnson, the makers of her formula, was at his office that morning. Dr. W. went out and spoke to him and they both came back to discuss a different formula to start Becca on. Regular formula is made mostly with cow's milk and the proteins are made up of long strings of amino acids. The Pregestimil formula that Becca was on have the protein chains broken down into smaller strings. The new formula, Nutramigen AA, the proteins are completely broken down. The Mead Johnson man gave me his card and said to call him in 2 days and he'd arrange to have the company send me the first case free. When I asked how much it was going to cost us, he gave me an 'I'm sorry ' look and told me the cost. Pregestimil was Oh-My-God expensive. This new stuff is MAKE-YOU-THROW-UP expensive. Kindly, the Mead Johnson man said he would help me fill out all the paper work to have our insurance pay for some of it.

Good news is, despite her tummy pains, she continues to thrive. Today she weighed 17 lbs 14oz. She is well on her way to weighing more than Jack did at 5 months. (Molly weighed 19 lbs 12 oz at 1 year!)

Isn't she sweet? I took these last night as I was getting her ready for bed.

Busy weekend & a Firetruck

We had the busiest weekend ever and it started Friday morning. Scott and his partner Brett are venturing out on their own and leaving Wachovia Securities. They are opening up their own office and couldn't be more excited. I never realized how much work it was going to be, for all of us. The boys have done a fine job getting everything in order, but forgot about silly little things like furniture. So Friday, Scott, Brett's wife Kelly, and I went to Greenfront Furniture in Farmville to purchase some of the much needed furnishings. Saturday we went to my nephew Riley's 1st birthday party. I have no pictures from that day because I went to Appomattox with out Scott, who had to work all day. We had lots of fun playing in their HUGE backyard and I never once pulled out my camera to snap a picture. Thankfully, Emmy took lots. Sunday was our neighbor Tommy's birthday party. He is 1 month younger than Jack and they are good buddies. His parents asked the fire department to come for the party. Jack, who wants to be a firefighter, wasn't sure about the truck. He said it was to big and loud. Molly, of course went straight to it, climbed on and asked millions of questions.

I was able to get some great pictures of the kids and the truck.



I love these...

I'd like to think the week will be quieter, but it won't. Scott is at work now and will work late every night this week until he leaves on Thursday for California. Things will settle down before long...I hope.

O Baby!!!

It was a beautiful day here. The sun was out for the first time in several days and the kids and I couldn't wait to get outside. After quiet time, we decided to go on an adventure. Jack thinks he's a pirate and is always looking for fun and excitement. So, I walked with Becca in the Baby Bjorn and Molly and Jack rode their bikes from one end of our street to the other and back. It is 1 mile round trip! We stopped many times on our way looking at bugs, flowers, trees, rocks, and talking to neighbors. The baskets on their respective bikes were filled with all the treasures they found.

Before we left, I took these pictures. (Yes, we are a family who believes in change!!!! Scott got the onsie for Becca!) She is also wearing Baby Leg Warmers made by Emily's friend Ashley. Aren't they awesome! They are the best Big Sister and Big Brother ever.

Beach Baby!

I had such a wonderful time at the beach last week. It has taken me until now to "recover" from being gone so long. My house was not as messy as I had envisioned. I do think that Molly must have worn 7 outfits each day because the amount of laundry was staggering. They were all happy to see me and I was thrilled to see them. Emily made the comment a few times how she couldn't imagine being a single mom. I guess the weekend away with Will wasn't truly a break for her. For me, it was. Having only Becca for 4 days was easy compared to what I normally juggle. It was also lots of fun to have so much time alone with her. She talked and talked and enjoyed being the center of attention.


Here is Becca and Will playing on the bed in their adorable diapers.

Becca having a giggle with Auntie Em.
In the BIG chair.
We went shopping one day and worn Becca Boo out. This is us sitting on a bench after a bottle. Emmy took several pictures of her asleep. She looks like an angel...
Becca again!
I love going to the beach with the Goetz women. It is something I look forward to for months. We don't "do" much which makes it perfect. There is a lot of talking, drinking coffee, eating ice cream and simply being together.

Tuesday

I love to look at old photos saved on our computer from time to time. This one caught me off guard. At first glance I thought it was Becca. It's Molly. It was taken when she was 5 months old.

This one is Baby Becca taken on Sunday. It was cold and rainy Sunday but we HAD to get the kids out of the house to run/walk around. I carried Becca in the Baby Bjorn. This cute jacket was given to her from Aunt Nika (Scott's sister), Uncle Dave, Grace and Sophie. **Am I crazy or do they look a lot alike??? Another of Becca. This is from Saturday...off to dinner.
An old one with Aunt Emmy. I LOVE this picture of Emmy and Molly. It makes me smile. Molly has this one in her room.
Maybe my all time favorite picture of Jack. This was taken first thing in the morning when he got up.
I love my kids and my life. I am truly blessed. I sit and look at old pictures to remind myself about really matters. Today I was feeling very overwhelmed. I felt like no matter how much I did, how hard I worked, I could not get everything I needed to done. I wanted all the laundry washed, folded and put away, house tidy and clean, children clean, groceries purchased and put away, dinner cooked and ready on time and everyone happy. I also wanted to have enough time to sit and do a puzzle with Jack, read millions of books to Molly, and play with Becca on the floor. There just is not enough time in the day. I try to convince myself that other things are not as important as the time with my kids, that anyone would understand when they see my piles of laundry, but I am a perfectionist. I want to be able to do it all. As I sit here, listening to the washing machine spin, knowing it's the last load, tomorrow morning, Jack will head straight for the first mud puddle he sees and give more laundry to wash. I can't be mad at him, he's drawn to them like a magnet. I need to remember that childhood is about getting dirty, taking the house apart while playing, and spending time with your mommy. The laundry and everything else can and should wait.

Chop Chop

Scott and Jack. Jack hasn't seen the "fire" yet!
Georgie, Molly and Sam playing with chop sticks.
The crew of kids.
Knox, Paul, Scott, and Charlie.
Babies in love. Becca & Taylor.

Saturday around 3:30 our good friend Knox called to see what we were up to for dinner. He and Sarah thought it might be fun to take the kids to Kabuto, a Japanese Steak house. We planned to meet in two hours since we all have small kids. Well, there ended up being 4 families total. Us, the Hubards, Dickinsons, and part of the Guthridges. (all of the fellows in these families are childhood friends) There were 7 adults and 9 children. It was crazy fun and a little scary. Jack and Anne were terrified of the fire. I must say though, all in all, it was a good time. I am so thankful to have great friends to share this time in my life with.