To stress or not to stress?

When I think about all I have to do before leaving Thursday morning, I wonder to myself "Does it just seem like alot but I have plenty of time to do it all...or should I really be stressing (in a good way) to make sure I get it all done?" And here I sit blogging. :-P

We just returned from meeting the boys' new pediatrician for 'Lijah's 4mo appt. Yep...he's a hefty boy. :-) Height was 25.75 inches. Weight was 16 lb 13.25 oz. Head circ doesn't matter because I watched her measure it wrong -- the tape wasn't around the widest part. He's above average in height and weight, but they don't give me specific percentiles here which is kind of a bummer but no biggie. The nurse was nice, and Dr. L was superb. Not the grandfatherly type that Dr. C was, but he is very friendly and you can tell he loves kids. He talked to Elijah like a peer. It was really cute to see and I giggled quite a bit. All in all, Elijah is a very healthy kid with a nondescript rash. :-P It just showed up today. We've been having some nursing issues, and most everyone has concluded he's just gettin' hungrier. I'm bummed Matt and Judah didn't get to come and meet him, but I guess they will get the chance. It's not like this was the last time we'll see him. :-) Oh, and they are still using paper charts...so that was kind of old school but nostalgic.

Here are some cuties I took the other day. We were just having a grand little play time together.




And just think...many of you readers get to SEE these cute faces in person this weekend!

Pray for me though...it's getting pretty difficult to think of being so far away from my huzby for so long. This is me when thinking of coming to Arkansas...

:-D :-( :- :-) :-{ :-( :-D :- :-{ ... 8-\

Brought to you by the number 2

TWO picture posts in less than 24 hours...and I just took a TWO hour solid nap!!! I seriously can't remember the last time that happened!

Last night was our church's Thanksgiving dinner. It's the biggest one I've ever been to, all 180 people. It was a lot of fun, though Matt had to take Judah home soon after we ate. He only got a one hour nap yesterday and was out of sorts, hyper, disobedient, and whiny. I got to stay with Elijah, so Matt gets the next function. :-) Here are some people that we are becoming good friends with and other church members...

This is Hannah and Nathan (Tara is in the background laughing in the just Hannah pic). They are our same age/same stage friends that we have a lot in common with.


This is Robin, a take-charge kind of lady who loves our boys (esp. Judah, I think). She is also my small group leader and just got NANC certified. Laura, her middle daughter of 3, is one of my favorites! She is so much fun to be around, LOVES Judah and Elijah, has the most beautiful voice, and a wonderful heart of service. She's the one who insisted she come babysit and kicked us out on a date...and is doing so again this Friday, forcing us to go out for dinner rather than a short date. :-P


This is Steve and Lois, a couple in our small group. They came over for football and pizza last Saturday...and she left some of the simplest, tastiest coffee cake ever!


This is Tom and Sue, our pastor and his wife. We have our membership interview with them next Wednesday...and a Thanksgiving waffle/pancake breakfast with them this week...starting at 7:00am. Sheesh!


This was my experimental dessert that I took along with yummy mashed taters. They are carmel topped cheescake bites dipped in chocolate and garnished with a pecan. I've never made cheesecake, never cooked anything with carmel, never dipped anything in chocolate. AND it was a combination of two different recipes. But they were gone in a flash. I actually had people follow me out of the kitchen as I carried the platter to the dessert table. :-P


I'm not entirely sure who these ladies are (Matt took the pic), but I do know the one on the left is from Liberia. One thing I love very much about our church is the incredible diversity. I sat with a family headed by parents who are originally from Nigeria (seen in background, actually). There are Koreans, Indians, African Americans, Hispanics, Chinese, and who knows what other countries are represented. And it's not just little pockets. The entire church is a great mix, not mostly Caucasian. 'Tis wonderful!


On the left is Lyneer (sp?), a pediatric resident and "adopted" daughter of Robin. She's given some great advice already -- including switching Judah to WHOLE milk instead of soy. I keep forgetting to mention that huge change! Judah's been on only whole milk for several weeks, and it has been oh so nice. In the middle is Lilly, a 14 year old who is rarely found without a child in her arms. She adores all children, and even gave me a babysitter business card. I talked with her about it, and she will either accept payment or not. She honestly doesn't care because she loves kids so much. She's gonna babysit during our membership interview. As I sat holding 'Lijah last night, I realized how LITTLE I get to hold him when I'm with church people. Somebody else always has him. :-P Lilly even held him for an hour while he slept.


The sweet children's choir. They were just too cute!


Ah, my little Mustang. He donned the hat and slippers himself. You should hear him talking now. Still needs a mommy or daddy around to translate for others, but his vocabulary is increasing EVERY day. And he does that thing when toddlers just babble at you with even the right inflections, but you haven't got a clue what he is actually saying. You just know he really means whatever it is. :-P He also is very taken with Italian food lately -- ravioli, spaghetti, pizza, ceasar salad... He had his first kid disappointment on Saturday when Matt took him to our new Family Christian Store to meet Bob & Larry...who didn't show up when they were scheduled to. They did get 2 Veggies for only $7 though. :-)


If you haven't seen the previous post, be sure to check it out. Lots of cute pics in it!

Happy Thanksgiving Week

The boys and I made a new memory the other day by going on a blustery cold fall/winter walk and gathering some pretty leaves. After donning our winter gear (mine and Elijah's were gifts from some Cali friends), I put 'Lijah in the stroller and let Judah walk. Such a fun time -- Judah especially loved pushing Elijah by himself. :-) My mom topped the day off with a GORGEOUS Thanksgiving bouquet and a sweet note.

The trees are beyond words right now. Imagine this...EVERYWHERE.


Here's the beautiful bouquet from my mom...even with a little pumpkin tucked inside.


My adorable sons. Period. Paragraph. The End.


Goin' on our red, runny nose walk!


I hope all of you have fabulous plans with family & friends and enjoy this time of year with all its colors, smells, tastes, sweaters, and memories.

Oh my GOODness!

Try it. Seriously.

Pizza Casserole

For Mamaw & Other Cuteness-Seekers

Judah and Elijah's Mamaw has been requesting some pictures...and rightly so. It's been a while! So I took the liberty of playing with my mom's camera today -- boy, does it take great pics! Matt's actually looking at getting us a new one now. Please enjoy the adorable cuteness that my children bring to your screen. :-D

Judah loves getting in the bouncy seat. Good thing he still hasn't tipped the scales of it's maximum weight. He can even attach the toy bar all by himself...and does so frequently. Perhaps he's trying to be like Elijah? Is it a good memory for him? Or does he really enjoy it?


I wasn't doing anything, honest!


Precious. Check out the SHADOW of eyelashes. I'm tellin' ya, their to die for!


Our happy baby! He loves his tongue and raspberries all the time, creating nice beards of bubbles.



Whud up, ya'll? Not much here -- just cheesin'!


Some brother time. The latest development has been Judah trying to feed Elijah whatever Judah is eating/drinking. We'll never know if part of a ravioli made it down, but I am sure yesterday Elijah got to taste grahm cracker. When I picked him up after while, that's when I saw crumbs around his eye. I have also often come to the room with Elijah crying and Judah trying to shove his cup's straw in Elijah's mouth for him to have a drink. I appreciate Judah's kindness and sharing...but oh my!


Here is an example of sharing. First, Judah tastes then shares with Elijah.


So many people think Elijah is a perfect baby. ;-) He still has a very strong cry like he's had from day one. His cry has many facets still -- mad, grieving, pouting, fussing. Thankfully, he only really cries when he is hungry, tired, or WAY poopy. I love the pic of his after-cry face. So pitiful and adorable at the same time.


My beefy 3 month old who wears anywhere from 6 to 12 months clothing -- favoring the 9-12 month range. It's so odd. He does have some fat, but "beefy" is the proper description. He's not a fat baby. If you look at him from the back, you can see how wide his stature is. Football is what I'm thinking, for sure!


Still our little Linus. Update on the Travel Blank -- he even knows that's what it's called now and loves it as much as the other two blanks. It's SUPPOSED to be that he has one blank to be with, one as a back-up, and then Travel for car/church. Nope. He almost always wants all three. In the morning when I get him up, he hands me one blank, then another, then another. THEN he will get up so I can pick him up. Silly kiddo. We do only allow one blank when we go out, though.


::sigh:: So beautiful.


Judah is very smart and good at doing alot of things. One thing he is good at is whining. :-P This is when he first saw my mom's cool camera with lots of buttons and a flash and a strap and a lens cap...a kid's electronic no-no paradise!


Daddy Time. I'm still learning how to play with them as well as he does. He's such a great Daddy and Huzby!


Whew! Hope you got your fill!