Sisters

Just in case you don't know, I have 3 wonderful sisters and now ALL of them blog!

Heather

Heather often comes up in my stories and photos. She lives about 15 minutes away and is a BIG part of Javen's world. (And Liam's too, but he just doesn't know it yet.) She's our go to girl for baby sitting and family dinner nights, shopping, traveling...you get the idea- we live life together. She's my best friend. She has two blogs: h.varnon and Varnon Shmarnon. The first is her personal blog and the second a blog about her career in middle school ministry. Both worth checking out. She's crazy Aunt Heather!

*Photo from Heather's bday, Jan 29, 2010

Kendra

Kendra is about to graduate from college (Yay Kendra!) and has the world at her fingertips. I'm excited to see what adventure she takes next! She just started her blog yesterday, so you can start following her funny stories right from the get go. Check her out over at Soap Sista J. (Kendra, you may want to blog about why you named your blog Soap Sista J so everyone else gets the joke! Just sayin').    *Photo from October 2008. Kendra, get your butt down here so we can get some recent photos! I think all the ones of you and Liam are on Heather's camera!

 Jessie

Jessie may not be blood related, but she's just as much of a sister as Heather and Kendra. She's been Heather's best bud since middle school and I can hardly remember her not being around.  She even lived here with Heather for a little while before she embarked on an amazing adventure in South Korea teaching middle school Korean kids! Check out her life abroad at Seoul Searching in South Korea.

*Photo from Oct 2008. It's hard to get a recent photo when she lives half a world away!

 Jeff

Jeff is my brother who is also about to graduate college (WooHoo Jeff!!) but sadly, he does not have a blog. But if he did, it would be amazing. So come on Jeff, jump on the family bandwagon and start a blog. All the cool sisters are doing it!

*Photo from Jan 2010

Tuesday

Tuesday started out great. We had a play date with our friend Will and his Mommy, Amber at the library for story time. Not only was I excited to get out of the house with both boys on my own for the first time, but also about actually having a play date at the most amazing library I've ever seen. Somehow play dates and story time make me feel like a bona-fide mother. That, and the fact that I'm pretty sure there was dried spit up in my hair that I didn't notice until about 7:30PM that night.

Javen and Will seemed to enjoy the songs at the beginning of story time, but as soon as that room quieted down and she pulled out the book, they were done. Which is funny because I know for a fact that both of these little boys LOVE to read. Turns out Liam was on the same page as the big boys because he decided that it was time to eat. So we left the story room and headed towards the train table, giant trees and the tunnel beneath them. (Told you this was a cool library!) I think we actually read a couple books as well.

After story time I headed over to church to pick up Heather. She spent her lunch break with us so that I could get some errands done a little quicker. We then went to the doctor's office so I could pick up some medicine for Liam's thrush. (The medicine originally prescribed makes him throw up). Turns out they were out of stock of the new medicine, so we headed to Whole Foods. They were also out. I'm SO glad Heather was there to help me on what turned out to be pretty pointless errands.

On the way home I tried to keep Javen engaged so he wouldn't fall asleep in the car. It didn't work. Somehow his little brain equates a 15 minute car ride nap with his usual 2-3 hour afternoon nap. Liam took a few little cat naps during the day, but that was it. I knew we were in for a long afternoon.

Later that afternoon Javen was playing with his trains and decides to throw one, you know...just for the fun of it. You'll never guess where it landed: Liam's face. Screaming baby, upset Mama, confused big brother. I took the train away and as I was explaining to Javen why he was in trouble and couldn't have his train for a while, I smelled it: the dirty pull up. (Why won't he just poop on the potty?!) So we headed to the bathroom to clean up. Upon discovering that the mess on his bottom was a job to big for toilet paper, I told Javen not to move or touch anything as I walked 7 steps away to grab the wipes. In the 10 seconds it took me to grab the wipes and walk back to him, he managed to get poop on his hands, the toilet and his shirt. I thought I was going to cry. Instead, I just cleaned him up and counted the hours till Daddy got home.

It was 5:20PM. I had about 20 minutes before Jake walked through the door and I had just finished feeding Liam when he puked. all. over. me. Through all my clothes and his clothes. Heather saves the day again by walking through the door about 5 minutes later. Shower time for Mommy!

I'm guessing that about half of you are laughing at my day because you've been there and the other half is terrified to ever have kids! :) Well, Wednesday is a new day and I've had a shower, both kids have been dressed, fed, played with, changed and are NAPPING AT THE SAME TIME. Tuesday may have been terrible, but today? Today I am Super-Mom!

Liam saying hello to Javen as he's waking up from his nap. (They don't actually share a crib!)

Even Rock Stars Share Their Toys

Look, Liam! A bear. (Such a good big brother!)

Not interested? Ok, I'll play with him!

All the men in my life are rock stars.

We may have to start a family band.

Baby Pirate Larry

Javen has this plush Veggie Tales toy, Larry the Cucumber. He's dressed as a pirate (from his role in The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything.) Javen loves to play peek-a-boo with Pirate Larry by moving his eye patch on and off his eye. Lately, Javen has created a new game for Larry. We'll call it "Shhhhh, go nigh night." Why, you ask? Because that's what Javen says to Pirate Larry as he rocks him in his arms. (He asks me for help in swaddling Pirate Larry in one of Liam's blankets.)

Javen saying "Shhhhh"
This has nothing to do with Javen or Pirate Larry, but I have to throw in a cute photo of Liam, for good measure.

"Hi, I'm new here."

Family Walk

We've had B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L spring-ish weather here this weekend and were more than ready to get outside for our first walk around the neighborhood as a family of FOUR! Javen loves riding in the new "bus". Actually, for a double stroller it's not bad, but still much bigger than the single light weight stroller I'm used to.

Liam seemed to enjoy the ride, even in his sleep!

Daddy, the bus driver!

Someone decided to wake up and take in some of the scenery...

and then he decided he was much to hungry to enjoy the ride any longer. Mommy and Liam had to cut their walk short on account of dinner.

Color Me...

...Blessed!

What Works for You?

Hey Mommy friends, bloggers and blog "stalkers" (hi!), I need your help on a few things. I'm wondering what works for you on the following baby items...

1. Humidifier. We have a cool mist one for Javen, but I've never found the correct filters. I found filters that  will do the job, but I'm hating the fact that it costs me $8 a month in replacements. What humidifier do you use?

2. Burp cloths. I have a few on hand from Javen hand me downs, but he almost NEVER spit up. What is your favorite burp cloth? I need to purchase some good ones for my little spitter. It was so bad yesterday that I had to change his clothes, my clothes and I had to take a shower...twice. Yuck.

3. And finally, what are your top 3 baby items you can't live without? I'm just curious here on this one, but here are mine (for this stage of Liam's life.)

Baby Swing: I don't know what we would do without this thing. Since Liam has reflux, he sleeps best in a propped up position. The swinging motion soothes him as well. Thus far, Liam sleeps the best in his swing, but there are a few things about the model we own that I don't like. I wish it would plug into the wall and save us tons of $$ on D batteries. Also, while I love the concept of a bouncy seat/swing in one, the bouncy seat on this swing doesn't really bounce. (No bueno.) We still ended up having to purchase a separate bouncy seat. Also, the tray that snaps over baby's lap is really hard to lock into place. (Guess they don't sell it anymore because I couldn't find a link to put on here for you.)

Bouncy seat: Again, this kid loves to move. It props him up, it vibrates, bounces and is super portable. Plus, it's really cute!

Flannel receiving blankets. Cute patterns, super soft, easy to wash. Need I say more? Oh yeah, we like the Target ones!


Here's a quick good morning from Liam video. So happy in the mornings!

Thank You, Sweet Friend!

Thank you to my real life and blogging friend, Katie for my very first blogging award!

Here's how it works:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2. Copy the award and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Share 7 interesting things about yourself.

5. Nominate 7 bloggers.

7 Things About Me:

1. If money were no object I would travel the world.

2. My new favorite thing to do is edit photos, but I have NO idea what I'm doing.

3. Lately I've resorted to writing down every time Liam eats or takes a nap because I honestly can't remember how long it is between feedings. I blame lack of sleep and the absence of cheese in my life. This no dairy thing is really messing me up.

4. I'm in the middle of potty training my almost 2 year old son, and it is HARD!

5. I have this thing about caring to much about what people think sometimes so I don't always share what I'm really thinking. I need to get over this and just be confident in who I am and in my own point of view.

6. My least favorite household chore is doing the dishes. It's like a never ending cycle! (Somehow the never ending cycle of laundry doesn't seem to bother me quite as much. Go figure.)

7. I'm tired.

I nominate:

1. Amber D.

2. Heather V.

3. Amanda S.

4. Lindsey D.

5. Becca S.

6. Joy L.

7. Jamie P.

Javen's Snow Day

It's been snowing here for the past couple of days, and yesterday Aunt Heather came over to take Javen out to play in it. He was mildly interested in the snow itself, and was more excited just to be outside walking around. He did not like the snow on his shoes or hands, and would brush it off immediately. I've never seen a child so intent on keeping clean!

And here's what Mommy and Liam were up to while Heather and Javen were out in the snow:

Apparently Liam just got back from a carribbean vacation, while I clearly haven't seen the sun in months.

Reflux Update

Please keep Liam in your prayers as we're dealing with his reflux. These past few days have been rough as it's been flaring up a lot (I've been sticking to the diet...I promise!!) It just breaks my heart to see him in pain. It's also really hard on all of us (except Javen) sleep-wise, as it keeps us up longer at night after his feedings. We have another doctor's appointment next week and will be discussing further options to help Liam. I think I'm pretty safe from him suggesting I cut yet another food group from my diet. (It's not like he's going to tell me to cut out fruits and veggies, right? I mean, what's left after that? Nuts and water?! At least this baby weight I've got hanging around should really start to disappear!)

I know Javen won't remember and probably doesn't notice much right now, but it's also taking time away from him getting attention from me during the day as I have to tend to Liam. It's been challenging/exhausting trying to remain consistent with potty training Javen as well as taking care of Liam when he's not feeling well. However, I refuse to drop the ball with potty training. We will succeed!! :) Success of the day: he actually went on the big potty for the first time today. Woohoo!

It was a nice surprise to have a spur of the moment visit from my Mom this week. She was on a trip and unable to fly back in to Maryland because of all the snow, so she ended up here instead. She's been a great help and resource in Javen's potty training. (Thanks Mom!)

Here are a few pics of Liam napping next to me as I fold the laundry.  Have you ever seen a cuter lil butt?

The Potty Train

Javen decided that Tuesday was a good day to start potty training. I wasn't planning on it until I was back to my normal self and ready to tackle it full force. Who am I to squash his enthusiasm though? So we started with the Elmo underwear he got for Christmas. I told him that when he goes pee on the potty he gets an M&M. He LOVED this, and so it started. Pee on the potty, (I then cheer, clap and sing his praises), put underwear back on, wash hands, receive M&M, eat M&M, start the entire process over again. We did this 11 times in a row and he peed EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

My word, how does he do it?

It took a little over an hour before we took a break for lunch. After lunch he went again, then I put a diaper on him and put him down for a nap. After his nap he had one accident while sitting at the kitchen table. He was VERY upset about it. He even thanked me 3 times for cleaning it up! (I'm thinking, this potty training thing is going to be a snap! Oh you silly, silly girl.)

Wednesday rolls around and he does not want to go on the potty. He goes maybe 3 times on the potty, and about 6 times in his underwear/on the floor. I'm not sure which is more exhausting; running him to the bathroom every five minutes to pee, or cleaning up his mess on the floor.

Today is another day, and I'm hoping it goes better than yesterday. If all else fails, at least Javen's looking adorable in his big boy underwear. (No pictures of his cute lil hiney, but here are a few others of the boys for you:)

Kisses from Big Brother

Having a heart to heart

Just relaxing in our PJ's

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream...

*I know today is Tuesday, just keep in mind I wrote this post on Monday night.

Let me just tell you about the past 24 hours in my house. Liam woke up last night (or was it this morning?) around 2:30AM for a feeding. I fed him, changed him and tried to burp him, but he has the hardest time getting those burps out! He fell asleep and I followed his lead. Twenty minutes later he wakes up crying. Takes me another 15 minutes to soothe him (Ahhhh....there's that burp!) and we fall back asleep. This time he's sleeping on my chest. I'm so tired, I just let him. Twenty minutes later he wakes up again. You get the idea. Every twenty to thirty minutes starting from 2:30 AM to 7:30AM (which is when Javen woke up and I surrendered any hopes of sleep). Poor Liam was having a hard time with reflux last night. It's not his fault, but that doesn't make me any more awake right now.

We skyped with my Dad for about 20 minutes in the late morning and Liam took a little cat nap for about 10 of those minutes. 12:30 rolls around and Javen goes down for a glorious 3 hour nap. Guess who only sleeps for 20 minutes of  those 3 hours? Yep, Liam. And there goes any hopes of catching a nap today. All in all, Liam probably slept for a total of 1 hour today and the rest of the time he was a bright eyed happy baby. I'm baffled by it, but here's hoping for a good night's sleep from him!

Silver lining: Javen went potty 5 times today! I think the last diaper I changed was around 11AM, and then again when he woke up from his nap at 3:45. His diaper stayed dry for the rest of the day!! And the great part is that I never had to ask him if he had to go potty. He always came to me and told me it was time.  YAY! We just might have a potty trained big brother before his 2nd birthday! (And my bank account rejoices...)

Wow, that was kind of a long (probably boring to most of you) story. If you stuck with me this long, you're most likely one of my relatives (Hi Mom!). Here are a few completely unrelated photos for your viewing pleasure.

Liam loves hugs. Really, he does. (Don't let his expression fool you!)

Daddy and Javen like making silly faces in the mirror after bath time!

I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night...

...and party every day!

I think I have a noisy future ahead of me...

Liam's First Bath

Liam's belly button cord fell off on Friday (the day he turned 3 weeks old!) so today he got his very first bath. Up until now he's just had sponge baths. He LOVES the water, but we didn't expect any less from one of our kids. :)

Looking at the lights

Checking out the baby in the mirror

Relaxin' in the tub...

"Party in my crib: 2am"

So fresh and so clean!