things to do at 4 a.m.

When you are awake anyway nursing a baby, you could...

1. blog
2. say "goodbye" to your husband who is flying out on a business trip
3. say "goodbye" to your mother-in-law who is also flying out
4. sign up for the up-and-coming Restoration Hardware baby catalog



5. email a friend
6. rock a baby back to sleep who has been very naughty tonight.

sugar overload

We took jack to our community easter festival where he got to play in the bounce house, hunt for eggs and decorate his own cupcake.

The cupcake decorating and the egg hunting were foreign concepts for jack. He did not understand the purpose of either event UNTIL he discovered that both involved CANDY...candy that he could munch on til his heart's content!


He kept grabbing the jelly beans in fistfuls and stuffing them in before dad made him adorn his cupcake. If he understood the cupcake was edible too, I'm sure he would have been loading it up with candy.


He didn't do much hunting in the easter egg hunt. Each time he saw an egg, he'd bend down, open it up, and shove the candy in - wrapper and all! He really needs to work on his strategy. I was trying to coach him to hunt and hoard now, then reep the benefits of a basketful of eggs later.


After the Easter festival, we decided to go to Sea World for a few hours. One admission ticket buys you a season pass, so we figured we ought to do it now while jack is still free. We had a great day. I thought Jack would be giddy with amazement over the variety of animals, but he was surprisingly apethetic.


While at the dolphin show, we had the pleasure of meeting this blogworthy "piece of work".

GET THIS: Here we are...family of four trying to find seats at the dolphin show. We had already been given the run-around by sea world staffers as to where we go with a stroller. Finally after being denied access, we grab the baby carrier, Jack, and the cameras and head up to the tippy-top of the stadium. Troy scans the audience looking for some spaces and kindly asks the aforementioned woman and her boyfriend if they were saving the empty spots between them. With a roll of the eyes, she shakes her head no and scoots over a WHOPPING 8 inches. So I proceed to sit down and KINDLY ask again if they could scoot down a little more for my other butt cheek....not to mention Troy's. (I didn't say that part...was thinking it, though) Her response to me....big sigh, then "No, I can't scoot down."

Me: "Oh, why not?"
Her: ( In a snotty, princess tone).."I don't want to be squished"
Me: (now irritated and thinking...is this lady for real?) I respond, "I'm sorry honey, but you're at an amusement park! I hate to break it to ya."
Then Troy chimes in from the aisle where he's still standing with baby carrier and Jack.
Troy: Lady, the only thing I'm sorry about is your personality.

BURN!

She then scoots down another few inches and what do I do? I scoot right up next to her leg. snug as a bug. oh...she was not happy. Even after all of that, we were still sitting with both kids on our laps when there was still room to spare! I have to admit...I felt a bit gratified after getting a photo of this woman for blogging documentation.




Sunday, Troy (or should I say Emeril?) whipped up his own homemade concoction for BBQ sauce that was absolutely out of this world. I kid you not, folks, when I say that it was the best I'd ever tasted! He also whipped up a green and potato salad. As you can see, I wasn't the only one anxious to get my hands on it.


For the first time I let Jack help me make some cookies. Here is how it all went down.


He's a picker like his momma!


Let's just say, if I show up at your house with a plate of homemade goodies, you may want to think twice about indulging.


....and....This is what happens when you turn your head for two seconds.

spring has sprung

To keep my sanity as a new mother of two, I decided that getting out of my PJ's, brushing my teeth and heading out of the house at least once a day is just what I need.

(Not to mention poor Jack who is bored off his rocker watching me nurse half the day away)

I have had my sights set on a few outings in our local area. First stop...the herd of sheep off the side of the freeway. I geared up with baby sling, snacks, and camera to make this trip successful. We trekked along this potholed, dirt road (lucy probably now suffering from shaken baby syndrome) to reach our furry friends. Jack hops out with excitement, points to the sheep, and what happens? They all run away.





Oh well. At least we tried. Jack was still satisfied watching from a distance and hearing the sweet hum of "BAAAA".



Now, I'm no 4-H expert, but I think next time I will come equipped with some apple slices, carrot sticks, grains and nuts, or perhaps some left-over easter candy to persuade these guys to be our friends.

Our second spring outing was inspired by my parents and Ryan Southwell...a photo tour through the wild flowers. I called up some of Jack's friends to meet at the field at 8:30 am. Up the hill we climbed in search of some good photo opps with 3 toddlers and a baby. (thanks fitness queen Amy for taking my babe)


3 boys talking airplanes, sports and girls

Jack sampling the indigenous vegetation.

Honestly, we DO feed him!

Eat your heart out Julie Andrews.....the hills are alive....



and where was lucy all this time? oh...just precariously perched on a 60 degree incline.

finley....meet your match

I can't wait to see you in June. It seems we have a lot in common.

love jack

getting to know her

she is a nighttime dream...only one midnight feeding
loves to be cuddled next to mom
enjoys gazing at jack and other surroundings
hates cold wipes
gets hiccups after every feeding
has really sensitive, flaky skin
likes to be bundled in warm, fluffy blankets
easy, calm temperament



I finally found some motivation to get out my camera. For a zillion pictures of LUCY, go HERE.

dirt...a boy's best friend

the help went home...

and we are still managing to survive...barely.

My parents came for a few days to help out with the new baby. They cooked and cleaned, let me sleep, and most importantly...entertained a very active 19 month old.

They took Jack to the splash park.

They went on a hike to see the wild flowers and to bury a secret time capsule treasure.

Look closely...our house is down below!

They took morning baths together. SIDENOTE: If hairy, grown men over 60 in the bathtub bother you, then avert your eyes. I did get permission to blog this photo.

Now that they're gone, things are slowly returning to normal. Jack loves to steamroll over lucy. He is showing some signs of jealousy. He climbs on top of lucy while I am feeding her. He still kisses her A LOT and likes to test out her binky.

Jack is reverting back to his baby days. He likes to test out her bassinet, bouncer, and swing. Here he is in the swing mischievously waiting for someone to reprimand him. When his act goes unnoticed....well....

...he just makes himself comfortable.


important thing is...we are still alive!

twist my arm...

You'd be a FOOL to say NO to your incredibly talented, professional photog friend who emailed you and asked to take some free pictures of your new baby!

My friend Wendy from Blue Lily came over today with a carload of props, including a beautiful hand-knit cozy by Jana (refer to sidebar) and a garage sale bassinet find (pretty sure it is for a cabbage patch doll) to test out on Lucy. Aren't we lucky?

Wendy...they are gorgeous as usual! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

welcome lucy jayne

born march 3rd * 5:24 pm * 8 pounds even * 19 inches long



jack LOVES his new sister. he showers her with kisses about every 5 minutes. she is the first thing he looks for when he wakes up. he waves hello to her all day long, and gets giddy when she makes a noise. It is a parent's dream watching the bond between siblings start to form.

We may have to be watchful of him feeding her watermelon or other parts of his lunch, or him lovingly "shoving" her binky in her mouth, or shaking her legs and arms a little too much. He has also taken a KEEN interest in her feeding methods. He has come at my chest with mouth wide open a few times. I told him...those aren't for little boys. Just babies and big boys.

Other than that, we are having a great time with our new family. More pictures to come.