Me

So as I was leaving my afternoon class yesterday, I realized that my outfit pretty much sums up how I dress and my general feelings about appearances.

The plan: blue/gray/white striped button up shirt, casual black skirt, flat black shoes, some make-up, fixed hair.

The result: Check on the shirt, but untucked and rolled up sleeves, with jeans because I forgot to shave last night. And yes, the shirt was actually ironed. My dear husband did it for me while I was attending our son at 11pm last night. At one point I did have some lip gloss on, but that was long gone by 3:30 in the afternoon when I took the pic. My go to clunky Birkenstock sandals. They aren't cute, I know, but they are comfy and they are sandals. I love comfy and I can't stand for my feet to be hot. My hair combed, but not really styled in any way, because right after my shower, Jacob woke up and didn't go back down for quite a while. Also notice the backpack. I'm always carrying a backpack. If I'm on my way to school, its the red one you see here, if it's anywhere else, it's a black messenger style diaper bag. Also, the glasses, I wear contacts when I think about it and have time. Those two don't coincide very often. You may notice the ring on my left hand. An amazing symbol of love from my husband, to which I seriously considered leaving in a box because who wears a beautiful diamond like that while wearing jeans and t-shirts every day. This girl, that's who. A cross necklace around my neck given to me as a gift when our first born came into the world. Chaselyn has one just like it too. A fake smile because I don't really like the focus to be on me. Unpainted toe nails, because I haven't painted them since my brother's wedding last May. Frameless pictures on the wall, because if I waited to frame them, I would never get any put up. A mess on the floor, because I am the product of my advisor.

And that's me. That's pretty much the summation of how I appear to the outside world. And honestly I'm ok with that. I've never really cared about the opinions of others, especially strangers. And as it turns out when you are the teacher, the students pretty much have to pay attention whether you look perfectly put together or if you show up in you jammies.

I would like to lose a few pounds and be generally more healthy, and I would love to look nicer for my husband and my children. But I get so much more joy by spending time loving on my kids and doing things that actually affect them. Somedays I make an effort, and I generally start with the intent of being more put together. And then life happens. And I love it!

Eleven...

... is the number of months it takes for you to step back as a mom and realize 'Oh crap, my baby is really leaving.' It was the hardest time for me when Chaselyn hit that milestone, and it's hitting hard again. But this time, I still have a lot of my little fella left to love. Jacob is being nice to Mommy and not actually walking yet. We know he could if he just put his mind to it. But he'd rather speed crawl from one room to another in stealth mode. He thinks standing by himself is one of the most fun games to play. His record is about 10 seconds before he starts laughing and dives for my lap. We've also caught him free standing by some of his favorite pull up spots, but as soon as he realizes what he's doing he grabs back on to the prop or gets down and crawls after whatever distracted him enough to let go in the first place.

So, in that respect he's still a little guy (especially compared to Chaselyn who was walking at 10.5 months). But as far as his appetite goes, he's quite the mature little man. He still takes baby food (stage 3) for breakfast and lunch (primarily because he's still in the babies class at daycare). But for dinner, he wants the good stuff. Hot dogs, carrots, ravioli, pasta, beef, lunch meat, green beans, pretty much anything you put in front of him, he'll scarf down in a matter of minutes. Double fisting handfuls of tasty treats and over stuffing his mouth is a nightly show. Maybe he thinks if he doesn't eat it fast we're going to give him some more of that yucky baby food. I don't know, but the boy loves to feed himself.

Jacob likes to play with puzzles and by play I mean gnaw on them. He is also a fan of finding the most obscure, unsafe, tiny item in the house and stick it immediately into his mouth. He still loves electrical cords of all varieties. He has developed good climbing skills which serves him well when trying to be a danger to himself and everyone around him. His favorite place to go is into the bathroom. Usually he goes straight for the tub. I think he would stay in the bath all the time if we would let him, but we can't because he is the squirmiest, slipperiest little booger in the world. Only once has he succeeded in playing in the toilet. We also think he's intrigued by the awesome animal decor in the bathroom. Another favorite hang out is Chaselyn's room. There's all kinds of toys and stuff to get into. There's also a slide in there for a good time.

We're currently working on 'bye-bye'. He says 'Ma-ma-ma-ma' in his insistent angry voice and 'Da' in his sweetest little loving voice. It's not fair, but I'm the one he calls for comfort, so that gives me the warm fuzzies.

We still have some issues with sleeping and drinking. Thankfully he seems to be back to sleeping from about 8pm to 6:30am. He also has a morning and afternoon nap. When he's home, I try to make him stay awake until about 10:30 or so before his morning nap. That way, I can usually get 15-20 minutes of overlap time in his nap and Chaselyn's nap. On average he probably sleeps for about 1.25 hours. Afternoon nap is around 3:30pm and lasts about 1.5 hours. He still doesn't care for a bottle unless he is tired. I can usually find some way to get him about 20 oz. in a day, but that's generally lower than what he should have. We're working on switching to sippy cups and in only one short month, we'll be switching to the Moo juice.

This past month was full of fun and family. We kicked off the month with our trip to Indy to see friends. And last week we got a visit from Ducky & CrawDad for the first half of the week and a visit from Papa, Granny, and Aunt Rachel for the second half of the week. We made a trip to the zoo with each group. Jacob liked the fish the best. He had lots of play time with all of his fans and some good snuggles too.

Jacob,
It is happening, you are growing up. You are going to be one year old in just a few short weeks. It is amazing to watch you grow and develop. We appreciate every little new glimpse into your forming mind. Your smile absolutely melts our hearts and your beautiful blue eyes shine extra bright in the spring sunlight. We like to lay claim (and sometimes place blame) on each other saying 'That's my boy!' or 'That's your boy!' You are your Daddy's son in that you do not seem to enjoy sleep, you know just the right time to crack a smile to make Mommy more happy, and you just do those things that boys do. You are your Mommy's boy in that you love snacks and munchies, you demand attention from those who love you most, and you love to climb and explore even when it's not so safe. We love you for all of these reasons. And we hope that the more of us that we see in you, the more you take on the good qualities and forget the not so wonderful ones. We are looking forward to celebrating your 1st birthday and can't wait to follow along on your continuing adventure. 

We love you son!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

INDY!

Over our spring break, we took a trip to Indianapolis to see our good friends MA, Chris and Caro. Despite Jacob's double ear infection, it seemed as though we would all be ready for a great time. We were packed and in bed by 10:30. Ready for our morning wake up call at 3:30. This is where things started going downhill. Who in their right mind would try to travel with 2 small children to make a 7:30 flight? (Thumbs pointing) This girl. The plan was that we would be in bed early. That worked. The problem was that we got Chaselyn too amped up for her plane ride. Which meant she didn't go to sleep until around 10:00 and also meant that she didn't really go back to sleep and make a smooth transition from bed to car seat at 4:15am. But, she was excited and very compliant. As we made it through security she was happy to find all sorts of new adventures. There were large windows to see the plane we were going to get on. So exciting! The kids both did very nicely on the plane. Chaselyn thought that it was "too loud" during take off and landing, but she just made a funny face and didn't complain really. She most enjoyed coloring on Daddy's phone and the special airplane snacks. We had a full bag packed of toys and treats, but she didn't even need it much at all. We were super worried about Jacob. Fortunately (?) the ear infection that was worse had already burst, so the pressure was relieved. He did great! He got fussy when he was hungry, but what little boy wouldn't. So, after leaving Love Field at 7:30, we stopped in St. Louis, changed planes in Chicago, and finally found our friends!  (I specifically remember having better pictures taken with MA's camera, but somehow we didn't get those pics)

Notice the awesome welcome sign!

Indianapolis seems like a marvelous city. We took the scenic route on the way from the airport to the casa. Great downtown area, lots of family friendly places, outdoor venues for lots of fun. Just amazing. One of the favorite attractions for Chaselyn was the marvelous costume closet and her personal assistant Caro.

Isn't she beautiful!

Princess Chaselyn

Time to stretch and work out.

It was truly a joy to see these two tots play together. Caro is such a kind little girl with such a precious heart. Definitely someone I would love for Chaselyn to be able to be influenced by on a more regular basis.

Our friends are such a reading family. It's a trait not really possessed by my family.

MA and Cake reading one of the Little Mister books

Caro reading to Chaselyn. BTW, this photo was taken stalker style from the indoors.

Our favorite place was the Children's Museum. We went 3 times and did something different every time. Even though Stanton and I were feeling under the weather, there was more than enough to keep everyone entertained.

The gang's all together and ready for adventures.

Chris and Jacob looking dinosaur-ish.

Caro and Chaselyn playing in the play house.

Chris and Chaselyn bonding over a book. This was one of the first times Chaselyn didn't run from Chris. From this point on, they were best buds.

Getting my Pac-Man on and educating my children.

Girls and a fast car.

Jacob play time!

Water fun for Jacob.

Splashy smiles!

Big sister ready to help

We swapped kids for a while so that we could do some science exploration with Caro.

Concentrating on the sand

His 3rd ariplane ride.

Stanton and Chris took the two little ones on Tuesday afternoon while MA took me on a tour of the Lilly company where she works (no photos allowed). We had some good girl time, and Stanton got to take his kids to see the dinosaur exhibit at the museum.

My little dinosaur.

Dinosaur time with Daddy.

 On Tuesday morning Stanton and Chris went to the NCAA museum. Where it was at least worth the $5 admission to get these goofy shots of Stantonio.

The reason for the NCAA. Apparently this formation was killing people and lead to the formulation of regulations and rules.

Nice form!

I believe the prompt was something like - pretend you just won the NCAA Wrestling Championship.

Aside from the museum we took the time to partake of some delicious cupcakes. We chose coconut and strawberry. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get the cheesecake cupcake like Chris.

Jacob had a few crumbs.

The gang's all full.

Another must see was the local Trader Joe's. The deal was only sweetened by the fact that they had tiny little shopping carts just perfect for our little tot.

So proud of her purple tulips and fontina cheese.

We originally took this trip to Trader Joe's on Monday while Caro was in school. She was heart broken that she didn't get to see Chaselyn with the little cart. So Tuesday MA took Chaselyn and Caro back for a few little things. When they parked the car, this is what Chaselyn had to say:
C: My Mommy is here not.
MA: She stayed home to take care of Jacob.
C: Do I still get a buggy?
MA: Sure!

And that's what it takes to comfort my little girl if she's missing her Mommy - her own shopping cart at the grocery store.

So as we realized that the sickness Stanton and I were suffering from was more than just being over-tired. We decided to load up on the Xango juice and preventative meds. The picture below is from our last night with our friends. The kids were in bed. Chris was on a late night run to the pharmacy to load up on ZiCam. So the three of us toasted with our  special juice. Stanton set up the camera on a timer, placed it in the microwave, and tried not cough while we waited for the camera.

Cheers!

Here's a recap for my records of what the 5 days held for our fun trip.

Saturday, March 5th

• Leave Waco 4:30, drive to Dallas Love Field for 7:30 flight. Stopped in St. Louis, changed planes with a little layover in Chicago. Jacob had his first taste of McDonald's chicken nuggets and french fries.
• Arrive in Indianapolis at 2:00 to wonderful smiles, big hugs and an amazing sign. At this point I was utterly exhausted and not feeling well at all. The kids were rested and ready to go.
• Easy evening on Saturday. A lovely dinner and entertainment provided by Chaselyn and Caroline and their dress up clothes. We went to be a little early to try to prevent the illness from ruining the rest of the trip.

Sunday, March 6th

• Upon waking Stanton tells me that he thinks I'm sick because I burned him by touching him last night. 
• Everyone except the Greer girls went to church. I stayed home to try to get my strength up and we just weren't sure how Chaselyn would deal with going to nursery during church with strangers. 
• Lunch and naps were enjoyed by most.
• First trip to the Children's museum. We did the play area with the awesome house, ice cream shop, and tree house. Also large books where Chris and Chaselyn bonded, and a play area with different video games from the different decades. 

Monday, March 7th

• Caro left for school more quietly than I could have imagined. The rest of us slept in a bit.
• Trader Joe's trip. We got some tasty treats and found Lucy the Lemur to get a free snack. Chaselyn LOVED having her own little buggy. 
• After Caro was out of school we got cuppy cakes and headed for round 2 of the museum.
• This time the Greer kids played in the area for kids 5 and under - sand, water, cushy climbing area. While the Greer adults played with Caro in the Science exhibit - pool ball machine, water buckets, bulldozer w/ rocks, underground tunnel with slide.

Tuesday, March 8th

• NCAA museum for the guys while the girls rested some more and got the kids ready. By this point Stanton was hacking and coughing and starting to really seem pretty bad.
• Guys took the kids to the dino and train exhibits. Girls went to tour Lilly. I loved getting to see a little inside MA's world. Not only will I now know what she's talking about with some of her work stories, but I can also now understand that all large companies that employ statisticians don't just lock them all in a large warehouse of cubicles. It was such a joy to hear her excitement and know how great she was doing. I mean if she had to be uprooted and taken away from me, there had better be a good reason for it.
• After school Caro, Chaselyn and MA took trip 2 to Trader Joe's.
• Our goodnight toast with our fancy glasses and Stanton trying not to ruin our pic.

Wednesday, March 9th

• We didn't do our planned tour of Lucas Oil Stadium. Stanton and I were both barely hanging on. 
• We had a leisurely morning of packing and chatting and wrapping things up. 
• Depart Indianapolis at 3:30. Change planes in Chicago. Stop in Little Rock.
• Arrive back at Love Field 8:15.
• Back at the Greer house 11:00ish. 

Thursday, March 10th

• Send the kids to day care. 
• Stanton and I rest and go to the doctor to be diagnosed with bronchitis.

10 Months - Movin' on up

Jacob is on the move. He started really crawling just days after his 9th month was over, and quickly progressed to pulling up and cruising around the couch like it was nobody's business. And that seemed to be how he felt about it too. It was nobody's business what he was doing. It was his business to figure out what everyone else was doing. With as quickly as he progressed from the army crawl, to crawling on all fours, to cruising around vertically, we really thought he might be walking well ahead of schedule. Thankfully those first steps haven't happened yet, but you can see it in his eyes. He's just waiting for us to leave him alone for a while.

Jacob has also started to have a more refined palette. He's getting pretty sick of that old jarred stuff. And if you are eating, you better make sure you've got some kind of little niblet to share with him. He will still eat his cereal, jars of fruits and veggies, and even some of the jarred meals. That is as long as no one is eating real food nearby. Favorites include snatching some of Chaselyn's ravioli's, bread bits and little puffs of varying flavors. Oh yeah, and bottles are only accepted when sleeping time is not too far away.

And to top it all off, Jacob was making all of these strides to becoming a big boy while suffering through his first ear infections. Thankfully we got the all clear yesterday after 3 rounds of antibiotics.

Jacob is really at a fun age. He's starting to play with everyone! That includes his big sister. It's so amazing to see them play together. Chaselyn tries to help, but it often comes off a little more rough than what we would like.







 
Also, we celebrated Valentine's day. It wasn't too big of a deal, but look at these cuties.




 

 And Mommy and Daddy are getting some of the most amazing hugs and squeezes.







Jacob,

You are growing up so fast! It's unbelievable. You're moving and playing and turning in to such the little man. It's so exciting to think where you will be in just a few short months. But we are so thankful you are giving us a little more time with baby Jacob. It's very neat to watch you learn to play and interact. To watch you and see how you went from pulling up to cruising to stretching to get books and puzzles off the shelves. It's so fun! We hope that we can be the parents that you need us to be. To guide you in your development to teach you the things you need to know and to be able to let you fall when that will teach you best. 

We love you very much and are thankful for all the precious memories we get to share with you.

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Addendum: We're the ones who...

... attempt to take two kids out to dinner at Chili's to commemorate our dating anniversary, but unfortunately have to pack up the food and go after about 20 minutes of Baby 1 whining for her burger and spilling a full cup of milk and Baby 2 throwing a fit that couldn't even be calmed by his favorite snack.

Jacob was running a 99.1 degree fever by the time we got back home and it was past Chaselyn's bedtime by the time we got her set up with her burger at home. But after we got the kids to sleep, we had a lovely candlelit dinner that we didn't have to cook.

What a difference 14 years can make. =)