One of the things I really enjoy about my second child is that he is generally a great sleeper. And an early one. He likes to go to sleep between 8 and 9 PM. Gabe has always been more of a night owl just naturally. And Israel has been generally sleeping all night, despite Gabe's cough fests that have been occurring a mere three feet from his little earsies. Ahhhhh. Sigh of luxury. Just gives me that much more of an evening.
I seem to be done breastfeeding. Not necessarily voluntarily, but between traveling, vacation and work, I had been sort of inadvertently cutting out some feedings, and then yesterday, I didn't really have anything to offer to hungry babes all day. :( Oh well. It's ok, it's just another step of him moving on out of baby-ness, which I have clung to a bit more dearly this time, because it seems to go so quick. That cuddly, soft, snuffling, giggling, clutching baby stage.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Blankets
I read a quote tonight online that greatly amused me.
"If breastfeeding offends you, please feel free to put a blanket over your head."
Chortle.
I read an article in the paper the other day about a woman in Lexington who went to Applebee's with her 10 month old son. She chose a rear corner booth, facing the wall, because she wanted to breastfeed her baby. At some point during the meal, the waitress came up to her and informed her that if she wished to continue breastfeeding, she needed to cover the baby with a blanket, as another customer was offended by her breastfeeding in public. The mother told the waitress that she did not have a blanket, as it was July. The waitress repeated her statement. The woman asked to talk to the manager, who came over and supported the waitress. The mother went to go finish breastfeeding in the car, refusing the offer of a napkin. She was very upset, and was requesting a public apology from Applebee's and education for waitstaff. Applebee's response was to say that they may now provide blankets for any woman who wants to nurse.
I'm not arguing against the importance of discretion; I think that is only considerate. I'm just saying, if someone catches a glimpse, just look the other way for pete's sake. Get over your over-blown self important sense that no one should have to see "that" while they're eating. Avert your eyes. Put a blanket over your head.
"If breastfeeding offends you, please feel free to put a blanket over your head."
Chortle.
I read an article in the paper the other day about a woman in Lexington who went to Applebee's with her 10 month old son. She chose a rear corner booth, facing the wall, because she wanted to breastfeed her baby. At some point during the meal, the waitress came up to her and informed her that if she wished to continue breastfeeding, she needed to cover the baby with a blanket, as another customer was offended by her breastfeeding in public. The mother told the waitress that she did not have a blanket, as it was July. The waitress repeated her statement. The woman asked to talk to the manager, who came over and supported the waitress. The mother went to go finish breastfeeding in the car, refusing the offer of a napkin. She was very upset, and was requesting a public apology from Applebee's and education for waitstaff. Applebee's response was to say that they may now provide blankets for any woman who wants to nurse.
I'm not arguing against the importance of discretion; I think that is only considerate. I'm just saying, if someone catches a glimpse, just look the other way for pete's sake. Get over your over-blown self important sense that no one should have to see "that" while they're eating. Avert your eyes. Put a blanket over your head.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Blank Stares
I am downstairs. The deep freezer door is raised, and I am leaning over it, my head on my arm, staring at the carpet, feeling the cool air on my forehead. No reason, just taking a break from my fruitless day. Gabriel is coughing INCESSANTLY; a dry, irritated, irritating cough behind me, interspersed with high pitched whiny conversation. Cough…1, 2, cough…1, 2, cough. Whine. Cough.
½ pound fried sausage
1 bag frozen cheese tortellini
desired amount of frozen spinach or
Milk to preferred creaminess
Salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste
**EDIT** - Tim thinks that I need to add the fact that I worked 13 hours yesterday and then was up 1 1/2 hours during the night with Gabriel, leading to what he feels is a deserved day off. I didn't say I didn't need it, I'm just saying I feel agitate-y.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
My Buddy is Three
Gabe turned three years old on September 8. He is a sweetheart boy, full of energy and life. He loves playing with his cars, trucks, and tractors, or swinging make-shift sticks to hit balls in a varied form of golf or baseball, or versions of basketball and football. He loves "football" for the physicality of it, and loves to dramatically throw himself around, employing lots of energetic "oofs".He is quite a talker, and has little monologues where he talks with his hands and looks all around. You can usually understand about half of what he is saying when he is going full-bore like that.
He loves "baby Is'wel" and loves to give him hugs and "hold him", loves to climb in the crib with him and tussle and giggle. He also gets pretty irritated with him when Israel gets interested in something that Gabe has and tries to grab it away.
He isn't drumming quite as much as he used to.
Gabriel plays pretty well on his own, and likes to zoom around outside, playing in his sandbox or in the backyard.
He loves to have books read to him, and sits very quietly to listen.
He likes to sleep with the closet light on. He still likes to sleep on the floor - if he starts out in the bed, he ends up on the floor with his blankets 99.9% of the time.
He is friendly and not afraid of people, but is sometimes a bit shy for the first few moments. He often tends to divert emotion into talking about what he sees around him.
He loves to snack - and it is often hard to get him to eat well at meals. He starts rooting around in the kitchen when he is hungry. He loves chocolate and chewing gum. He also loves milk.
Some of the things he often gets in trouble for now are telling Mommy and Daddy "No I will not do _____", throwing toys, and being too aggressive physically with Israel. He responds very well to the "1-2-or else" system. :)
He is very good at saying "Cank you, Mommy!!", but is still working on the "Peas"(please) part, saying it readily when prompted. He loves to "help" in the kitchen or with whatever else is happening.
His bedtime ritual includes a bath, a snack, books, brushing teeth, praying with Mommy/Daddy, a story ("Once upon a time there was a little boy named Gabe. One day...")and a song from Mommy (usually a made up song about Baby Israel) and a story (usually about Charlie the Butterfly) and a song (often a made up song about Chloe) from Daddy. He usually goes to bed around 10 PM and wakes up about 9:15 AM or so. He is definitely much more of a "night owl" than an "early bird".
He takes a nap about half the time, and usually naps about 2 hours if we let him go the full time.
He has the cutest little high-pitched voice with an equally cute little lisp.
His hair is still very blond.
He loves to have Mommy and Daddy pretend that he is a baby.
We have discovered that he is allergic to malt, like his Daddy, and that it makes him very itchy.
He loves Elmo and Cars and Caillou.
He sings on pitch.
He can go pee-pee in the potty, but usually doesn't unless he is not wearing a diaper. He is not at all interested in "big-boy underwear" or in the fact that everyone he knows goes pee-pee in the potty, but is somewhat drawn by the allure of "potty candy" and "potty stickers" - but not always.
He plays well with other children, and does not seem easily offended.
He is sometimes frustrating and often adorable and we love him sooooo much.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Bedroom Update...Sigh
So last night, on their first night as Kentucky roomies, the boys woke each other up with their coughing around 4:30 AM. Then Israel saw Gabe's closet light on and decided that meant it was time to get up, so he is wide awake and yelling/crying in his crib while Gabe is shouting sleepily at him to "Be quiet Baby Is'wal!!!!!!" I tried to close the closet door, but Gabe hates the dark, so I thought maybe Israel would readjust. Nope. Finally, I abandon my own cozy bed, groggily get on some warm clothes, fetch the yelper from his crib, and transfer him to the living room floor, where he begins to play busily. It is now 4:50 AM. Good Morning America is not even on yet. This is just not a good time for Mommy. I lie somewhat comatose and quite crabbily on the couch until around 6 AM when Israel decides he might could use some shut-eye and crawl greedily back under my warm covers. The boys both slept until 10:30 AM. And so did I, my friends, so did I.
Tonight, we had plans. Both boys got cough syrup, a humidifier on high steam, and we were set. Unfortunately, for the first time, Israel was not asleep when Gabe came in. So then Israel had to get back up, while Gabe "went to bed", except he wasn't going to sleep, and then Israel was tired, but then Gabe was still awake, and then they were "talking" and definitely not going to sleep and then Israel was yelling and it was 11:30 PM...sigh. Oh, sigh sigh sigh. Finally, Tim took Gabe on a late night stroller ride that put him to sleep, and I closed the closet door so Israel would know it was night. My new plan is to provide Gabe with a flashlight that he can clutch, and hope he doesn't wake up and open his closet door. We shall see how the night fares... (look of long suffering inserted here)...
This is quite the process.
Tonight, we had plans. Both boys got cough syrup, a humidifier on high steam, and we were set. Unfortunately, for the first time, Israel was not asleep when Gabe came in. So then Israel had to get back up, while Gabe "went to bed", except he wasn't going to sleep, and then Israel was tired, but then Gabe was still awake, and then they were "talking" and definitely not going to sleep and then Israel was yelling and it was 11:30 PM...sigh. Oh, sigh sigh sigh. Finally, Tim took Gabe on a late night stroller ride that put him to sleep, and I closed the closet door so Israel would know it was night. My new plan is to provide Gabe with a flashlight that he can clutch, and hope he doesn't wake up and open his closet door. We shall see how the night fares... (look of long suffering inserted here)...
This is quite the process.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Miscellaneous
- Today Gabriel came to me all distressed after eating some chocolate chips. "Milk!! I need milk!! I need milk to wash my teef!! I need milk to wash the choc'ate off my teef!!!" :)
- Israel has been really starting to pull up this past week. (10 months 3 weeks. He pulled up for the first time at 10 months 2 weeks.) Today I found him TWICE in the bathroom playing in the toilet. Oh my goodness, child.
- Israel is also clapping his hands happily (10 months), which is almost too cute to handle. He also is repeating noises. Tim says "Thank you!", and Israel sing songs a phrase back.
- Israel now has 6 teeth.
- As of tonight, we have our bedroom back. Whoo-hooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We discovered that Gabe didn't really seem to disturb Israel's sleep while we were all in one room over vacation, so we rushed to reclaim our room today. It is quite a nice thing, having your own bedroom to sleep in. If you want to get a change of clothes, for example, you can just go rummage around and find what you need. No tiptoeing in the dark to search blindly, or simply waiting for morning. You also don't have to fold your covers up and put your mattress away in the morning. It is the coolest thing, having a bedroom. I feel newly wealthy. :)
- It appears we are on our second round of colds. I think we picked up a Kansas cold from vacation. Sigh. I'm sure Tyler has ours, too.
- Tim and I were talking on the way home yesterday about the bemusing mix of emotions you can have toward your child in a simultaneous moment. The night before when Israel couldn't sleep, I brought him into our bed and put him in between us, and both of us had the mixed feelings of exhausted frustration and secretly smiling and savoring his sweet little warmth and softness and just wanting to squeeze him with overwhelming affection. :) That soft skin and those silky curls and the involuntary giggles that turn quickly into exhausted fussing are just so adorable...
- Both of my boys have been on a "MommyMommyMommy" kick lately. Nobody may help Gabriel except Mommy. Mommy needs to hold Baby Israel, Daddy just is not quite sufficient. I think because I want to be home with them full-time and cannot quite yet, I sort of relish all this Mommy-love. Too quickly this will pass. I'll squeeze that chubby baby close a bit longer, I'll stop the heart-broken tears to do the diapering this time. It won't be forever.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Myrtle Beach or Bust!!!!
STAGE ONE: The Arduous Trek South
(written en-route to Myrtle Beach)
The only apt description I can think of to best describe the fine art of traveling with young children is WORK. WERY, WERY HARD WORK. I was pretty sure I burned a good extra 300 calories at least in the first few hours, what with wrenching around repeatedly in my seat to fetch toys, dole out pieces of cheeseburger buns, hanging over the back of the front seat to hold a bottle for and smile happily at the crabby one located directly behind me (we took out the back seat for more room and put both kids in the middle seat), and lumbering over the front seat to thrash around busily in the back searching for varied and sundry items. That's why I had TWO McDonald's Apple Pies for lunch instead of one. Heh he.
"Gabriel, stop whacking the baby with the measuring tape!"
"Yes, Gabe, we are going to the beach."
"Tim, the baby has been crying/fussing steadily for 20 minutes - should we just stop?"
"Oh, STINK!!!! The air conditioner quit working again!!!"
And oh, yes, it had. For good.
My friends, what a joy and a delight it is to sail down the steamy blacktop toward Myrtle Beach, SC, hair whipping in the wind, clothes sticking to one's back, a steady trickle of sweat dripping down one's chest. :) Guess it just makes life that much more of a sensory experience.
It also makes you thank Jesus that much more intensely for a sleeping baby, for when your AC does work, and for even that icy blast of AC from the gas station. One has never relished entering a gas station bathroom more than in this time. :) When, exactly, is the last time you savored your last gas station john, eh? Add all this sweet joy to the fact that Israel is cutting another tooth and sick with a cold that his hacking, phlegmy brother and sneezing Daddy have also appropriated. Anybody wanna join the fun? At least we didn't also have the dog, praise the Lord, HalleLUJAH!!!! And thank you Jon Charles. You are a blessed, blessed man.
We got to the hotel that night to discover that at some point along our breezy journey, Gabe had spilled a carton of apple juice in his seat and had been contentedly sitting in it, eyes glued to his new "Cars" DVD. He then proceeded to accidentally dump a sizeable cup of water onto the direct center of the roomy (oh-so) double bed that Tim and I were sharing, leading me to lie perched on the edge of the bed, curved around the water, with one shin slightly damp. I didnt' discover the spill until the lights were off and both kids were snuckering down for the night and didn't feel like changing my clothes and trudging out to the front desk for a whole new set of bedding, waking everybody back up in the process.
Hotels are not quite as much fun as they used to be. Used to be I'd sprawl lazily in my comfy bed with my mountain of soft pillows, meandering at ease through the luxury that is called cable television that we do not currently own, nor particularly desire (well, maybe I kind of do after all after this week), but is nonetheless fun to enjoy...taking a leisurely shower, savoring a tasty and free (sort of) continental breakfast.
No more.
These days one watches boring things like golf or cartoons, with only a brief, wistful glimpse of E! as I race off to slather clean babies in lotion and clothes so as to plop their fussy eye-rubbing selves into bed. Then lights out for everyone. Breakfast involves me precariously balancing plates of food and cups of drink down the hall towards the crawling baby and bouncing boy, feeding them as we change diapers and repack pack-n-plays. Phew. One of these days when Baby Israel gets older, I'm going to dump the kids on some nice, unsuspecting grandparent and scoot off to a hotel where I watch E!, Talk Soup, and VH-1 to my little heart's content and Tim's great chagrin. :) :) :) (Note: Courtesy of the 4 televisions in our condo, I had quite an enjoyable television experience in the following days. Heh heh. I needed to get caught up on important issues like Angelina J@lie and makeovers and such things.)
Gabe and Israel "help" Daddy as he slavers away in an unsuccessful attempt to repair the air conditioner.
Daddy's little wrench monkey. :)
Daddy's little helper. Is that cute or what?
Israel occupies himself during a bored moment. :)
Taking a snooze break.
STAGE TWO: WHOOOOO-HOOOOO!!!!!! VACATION, BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We arrived in Myrtle Beach on Saturday afternoon, and promptly proceeded to enjoy ourselves. Wayne and Melody arrived that night. We had a great time of swimming, shopping, body boarding, and going out to eat at night (thanks Norm and Carol!!!). It was so nice to have additional hands to help with the boys.
A view from our balcony - this shows the rest of the hotel.
This was the pool area on our side of the street. You can see Gabe swimming around with his inflatable duck in the kiddie pool, Carol sitting on the side of the kiddie pool, and Norm on the chair by the kiddie pool.
View from the 13th floor.
Gabe's first experience of the ocean, with Grandpa's assistance. Gabe LOVED the ocean. He was pretty fearless, and would splash on out in a hurry.
Israel dips his feet in the Atlantic.
The cutest little buddies ever. Gabe and his cousin Tyler sharing a hat moment. They like each other so much and played so well together. Tyler was due a few days before Gabe was, so they are almost the exact same age. Gabe was born about 3 weeks early, though, and Tyler was born about 2 weeks late!
Enjoying the balcony. Israel cuddles with Grandma.
Grandma and Gabe digging in the sand. This was another activity Gabe really enjoyed.
Daddy and babe.
All tuckered out. Gabe and Tyler both did really well on edited nap schedules.
Da boyz and Grandma Carol watching Wace Cohs. (Race Cars, ie. Cars, the animated movie that we gave Gabe at the start of his trip as an early birthday present and that he watched approximately 756 times during the trip entirety.)
Tyler and Gabe staring out to sea. :)
The wind-swept Miller family. :)
The wind-swept squirmy Tyler-ed Stuckey family. :)
The bee-yoo-tee-full ocean.
STAGE THREE: Happy Third Birthday Gabey-Baby!!!
We celebrated Gabe's third birthday on Friday, since everyone was leaving on Saturday.
Gabe's cakey-wakey. I'm describing this in rhyming terms so that you may best appreciate the rhyming stage that Gabe has been in the past few weeks. Last night he asked me for a sippy-cuppy-wuppy-buppy. :)
We enjoyed some tasty Mc'y Dee's for a little boy treat, courtesy of the grandparents.
That's three generations of boys right there.
Tyler Wayne, the cutest little buddy ever.
Gabe huffs and puffs to blow out the candles. Then Tyler had to blow them out too. :)
Gabe got a Thomas the Train set from Aunt Melody and Uncle Wayne, some "wace cos" from Grandma and Grandpa (along with some Bible Adventure illustrated story books that arrived at home in KY), some Cars sippy cups, a minature etch-a-sketch, and rainbow colored Goldfish from Mommy and Daddy.
Gabe and Tyler playing rowdy boy balloons in the birthday aftermath. :) It called for lots of laughing and racing around.
STAGE FOUR: The Equally Arduous Trek North
Apparently, the traveling got no easier in a week. Our first event in our travel north-west towards home was an hour-plus stop. A tractor-trailer had burnt out. We stripped the boys down and sweated.
After that, we needed a pit stop. So we cooled off in a McDonalds, and then let the boys play in the play area for a while.
A silly Daddy.
A goofy boy.
We stopped at Asheville, NC for the night at a comfy Comfort Inn, and after enjoying some tasty Thai take-out, settled down for a night that included Gabe have coughing spasms from about 2:15-3:30 AM that included some episodes of vomiting (he would cough and then gag), followed by Israel waking up wet at 3:30 and not going back to sleep until about 5:30 despite being painfully exhausted (along with his bleary-eyed parents). I trudged out to the minivan at about 5 AM to get the humidifier and extra blankets for him, where the hotel lady wished me a cheery good morning. Hah.
The thought occurred to me as we zipped on down the interstate - I used to always enjoy trips! I liked the traveling down the road thing, and the stopping for food, and the opportunity to read. This is no longer the definition of trips, however. Now it is a constant process of trying to keep the baby happy, feeding him toys one after the other, craning my arm back to hold his bottle; then the baby crying because it is hard for him to go to sleep in his seat, then he finally goes to sleep and Tim needs to stop for some caffeine, and I'm super cranky about that because I'm SURE the baby is going to wake up and guess who gets to ineffectively pacify his cranky self if he does, and then I'm breathing a sigh of relief because he is still asleep and I can enjoy some relaxed travel...until he wakes up again, to repeat the above process all over. Gabe does great. But we made it home FINALLY, safe and sound, which is all that really counts in the end, praise God!! And I must say that the week of fun was well worth the there-and-back process.
Thanks Norm and Carol for such a great week!!! We had such a great time being with all of you guys! p.s. Missed you, Lynette and Rusty... :(
(written en-route to Myrtle Beach)
The only apt description I can think of to best describe the fine art of traveling with young children is WORK. WERY, WERY HARD WORK. I was pretty sure I burned a good extra 300 calories at least in the first few hours, what with wrenching around repeatedly in my seat to fetch toys, dole out pieces of cheeseburger buns, hanging over the back of the front seat to hold a bottle for and smile happily at the crabby one located directly behind me (we took out the back seat for more room and put both kids in the middle seat), and lumbering over the front seat to thrash around busily in the back searching for varied and sundry items. That's why I had TWO McDonald's Apple Pies for lunch instead of one. Heh he.
"Gabriel, stop whacking the baby with the measuring tape!"
"Yes, Gabe, we are going to the beach."
"Tim, the baby has been crying/fussing steadily for 20 minutes - should we just stop?"
"Oh, STINK!!!! The air conditioner quit working again!!!"
And oh, yes, it had. For good.
My friends, what a joy and a delight it is to sail down the steamy blacktop toward Myrtle Beach, SC, hair whipping in the wind, clothes sticking to one's back, a steady trickle of sweat dripping down one's chest. :) Guess it just makes life that much more of a sensory experience.
It also makes you thank Jesus that much more intensely for a sleeping baby, for when your AC does work, and for even that icy blast of AC from the gas station. One has never relished entering a gas station bathroom more than in this time. :) When, exactly, is the last time you savored your last gas station john, eh? Add all this sweet joy to the fact that Israel is cutting another tooth and sick with a cold that his hacking, phlegmy brother and sneezing Daddy have also appropriated. Anybody wanna join the fun? At least we didn't also have the dog, praise the Lord, HalleLUJAH!!!! And thank you Jon Charles. You are a blessed, blessed man.
We got to the hotel that night to discover that at some point along our breezy journey, Gabe had spilled a carton of apple juice in his seat and had been contentedly sitting in it, eyes glued to his new "Cars" DVD. He then proceeded to accidentally dump a sizeable cup of water onto the direct center of the roomy (oh-so) double bed that Tim and I were sharing, leading me to lie perched on the edge of the bed, curved around the water, with one shin slightly damp. I didnt' discover the spill until the lights were off and both kids were snuckering down for the night and didn't feel like changing my clothes and trudging out to the front desk for a whole new set of bedding, waking everybody back up in the process.
Hotels are not quite as much fun as they used to be. Used to be I'd sprawl lazily in my comfy bed with my mountain of soft pillows, meandering at ease through the luxury that is called cable television that we do not currently own, nor particularly desire (well, maybe I kind of do after all after this week), but is nonetheless fun to enjoy...taking a leisurely shower, savoring a tasty and free (sort of) continental breakfast.
No more.
These days one watches boring things like golf or cartoons, with only a brief, wistful glimpse of E! as I race off to slather clean babies in lotion and clothes so as to plop their fussy eye-rubbing selves into bed. Then lights out for everyone. Breakfast involves me precariously balancing plates of food and cups of drink down the hall towards the crawling baby and bouncing boy, feeding them as we change diapers and repack pack-n-plays. Phew. One of these days when Baby Israel gets older, I'm going to dump the kids on some nice, unsuspecting grandparent and scoot off to a hotel where I watch E!, Talk Soup, and VH-1 to my little heart's content and Tim's great chagrin. :) :) :) (Note: Courtesy of the 4 televisions in our condo, I had quite an enjoyable television experience in the following days. Heh heh. I needed to get caught up on important issues like Angelina J@lie and makeovers and such things.)
Gabe and Israel "help" Daddy as he slavers away in an unsuccessful attempt to repair the air conditioner.
Daddy's little wrench monkey. :)
Daddy's little helper. Is that cute or what?
Israel occupies himself during a bored moment. :)
Taking a snooze break.STAGE TWO: WHOOOOO-HOOOOO!!!!!! VACATION, BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We arrived in Myrtle Beach on Saturday afternoon, and promptly proceeded to enjoy ourselves. Wayne and Melody arrived that night. We had a great time of swimming, shopping, body boarding, and going out to eat at night (thanks Norm and Carol!!!). It was so nice to have additional hands to help with the boys.
A view from our balcony - this shows the rest of the hotel.
This was the pool area on our side of the street. You can see Gabe swimming around with his inflatable duck in the kiddie pool, Carol sitting on the side of the kiddie pool, and Norm on the chair by the kiddie pool.
View from the 13th floor.
Gabe's first experience of the ocean, with Grandpa's assistance. Gabe LOVED the ocean. He was pretty fearless, and would splash on out in a hurry.
Israel dips his feet in the Atlantic.
The cutest little buddies ever. Gabe and his cousin Tyler sharing a hat moment. They like each other so much and played so well together. Tyler was due a few days before Gabe was, so they are almost the exact same age. Gabe was born about 3 weeks early, though, and Tyler was born about 2 weeks late!
Enjoying the balcony. Israel cuddles with Grandma.
Grandma and Gabe digging in the sand. This was another activity Gabe really enjoyed.
Daddy and babe.
All tuckered out. Gabe and Tyler both did really well on edited nap schedules.
Da boyz and Grandma Carol watching Wace Cohs. (Race Cars, ie. Cars, the animated movie that we gave Gabe at the start of his trip as an early birthday present and that he watched approximately 756 times during the trip entirety.)
Tyler and Gabe staring out to sea. :)
The wind-swept Miller family. :)
The wind-swept squirmy Tyler-ed Stuckey family. :)
The bee-yoo-tee-full ocean.
STAGE THREE: Happy Third Birthday Gabey-Baby!!!We celebrated Gabe's third birthday on Friday, since everyone was leaving on Saturday.
Gabe's cakey-wakey. I'm describing this in rhyming terms so that you may best appreciate the rhyming stage that Gabe has been in the past few weeks. Last night he asked me for a sippy-cuppy-wuppy-buppy. :)
We enjoyed some tasty Mc'y Dee's for a little boy treat, courtesy of the grandparents.
That's three generations of boys right there.
Tyler Wayne, the cutest little buddy ever.
Gabe huffs and puffs to blow out the candles. Then Tyler had to blow them out too. :)
Gabe got a Thomas the Train set from Aunt Melody and Uncle Wayne, some "wace cos" from Grandma and Grandpa (along with some Bible Adventure illustrated story books that arrived at home in KY), some Cars sippy cups, a minature etch-a-sketch, and rainbow colored Goldfish from Mommy and Daddy.
Gabe and Tyler playing rowdy boy balloons in the birthday aftermath. :) It called for lots of laughing and racing around.STAGE FOUR: The Equally Arduous Trek North
Apparently, the traveling got no easier in a week. Our first event in our travel north-west towards home was an hour-plus stop. A tractor-trailer had burnt out. We stripped the boys down and sweated.
After that, we needed a pit stop. So we cooled off in a McDonalds, and then let the boys play in the play area for a while.
A silly Daddy.
A goofy boy.We stopped at Asheville, NC for the night at a comfy Comfort Inn, and after enjoying some tasty Thai take-out, settled down for a night that included Gabe have coughing spasms from about 2:15-3:30 AM that included some episodes of vomiting (he would cough and then gag), followed by Israel waking up wet at 3:30 and not going back to sleep until about 5:30 despite being painfully exhausted (along with his bleary-eyed parents). I trudged out to the minivan at about 5 AM to get the humidifier and extra blankets for him, where the hotel lady wished me a cheery good morning. Hah.
The thought occurred to me as we zipped on down the interstate - I used to always enjoy trips! I liked the traveling down the road thing, and the stopping for food, and the opportunity to read. This is no longer the definition of trips, however. Now it is a constant process of trying to keep the baby happy, feeding him toys one after the other, craning my arm back to hold his bottle; then the baby crying because it is hard for him to go to sleep in his seat, then he finally goes to sleep and Tim needs to stop for some caffeine, and I'm super cranky about that because I'm SURE the baby is going to wake up and guess who gets to ineffectively pacify his cranky self if he does, and then I'm breathing a sigh of relief because he is still asleep and I can enjoy some relaxed travel...until he wakes up again, to repeat the above process all over. Gabe does great. But we made it home FINALLY, safe and sound, which is all that really counts in the end, praise God!! And I must say that the week of fun was well worth the there-and-back process.
Thanks Norm and Carol for such a great week!!! We had such a great time being with all of you guys! p.s. Missed you, Lynette and Rusty... :(
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
August Days in Kentucky
Today was a perfect day for the following activity:
Splish splasher had a great time. It was so hot. All the water on the carport led to this:
>:( No, not really. Tim cleaned it up immediately. It was actually sort of amusing to have these big muddy footprints all over my kitchen floor. Sort of.
This is the baby boy whacking away at the piano. He was longingly stretching up to reach it, so I helped him out. Guitarist? Check. Drummer? Check. Piano player? Apparently.
After some energetic piano playing, Israel was ready to help Daddy give Gabe a bath. He loves to be part of what everybody else is doing.
Splish splasher had a great time. It was so hot. All the water on the carport led to this:
>:( No, not really. Tim cleaned it up immediately. It was actually sort of amusing to have these big muddy footprints all over my kitchen floor. Sort of.
This is the baby boy whacking away at the piano. He was longingly stretching up to reach it, so I helped him out. Guitarist? Check. Drummer? Check. Piano player? Apparently.
After some energetic piano playing, Israel was ready to help Daddy give Gabe a bath. He loves to be part of what everybody else is doing.
Gamma and Gandaddy
Gamma and Ganddaddy came to visit last weekend, which is always a great time.
Gandaddy and Gabe had to have some special boy time where they traveled to the Tractor Store and Lowes and all sorts of fun boy places. Gabriel had to call Nana Carol on his pretend phone while they were out and about, so as to get all the beloved grandparents in on this exciting weekend. :)
Gabe "weading" his books.
The other cutie patootie wandering the premises.
On Saturday night we went to the Barnum and Bailey Ringling Brothers Circus at Rupp Arena.
It was pretty nifty. I had never been to the circus before. I could have bought a lemonade for $8, but I didn't. I could have bought a snow cone in a plastic elephant for $12, but I didn't. I could have bought a cool little light swirly thing for $20, but I didn't. Man, I missed out.
Gabe liked it, but got a little squirrelly at the end. Israel wiggled his way madly through the entire performance.
I wouldn't want to be a circus performer. But if I were, I'd be one of those dancer people. Maybe next year.
Gandaddy and Gabe had to have some special boy time where they traveled to the Tractor Store and Lowes and all sorts of fun boy places. Gabriel had to call Nana Carol on his pretend phone while they were out and about, so as to get all the beloved grandparents in on this exciting weekend. :)
Gabe "weading" his books.
The other cutie patootie wandering the premises.
On Saturday night we went to the Barnum and Bailey Ringling Brothers Circus at Rupp Arena.
It was pretty nifty. I had never been to the circus before. I could have bought a lemonade for $8, but I didn't. I could have bought a snow cone in a plastic elephant for $12, but I didn't. I could have bought a cool little light swirly thing for $20, but I didn't. Man, I missed out.
Gabe liked it, but got a little squirrelly at the end. Israel wiggled his way madly through the entire performance.I wouldn't want to be a circus performer. But if I were, I'd be one of those dancer people. Maybe next year.
Friday, August 24, 2007
The Fam
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(This picture was taken for our church directory a little while ago and I just now got my sweaty little palms on it. )
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Wibbit
Tonight Gabe was being a frog on the kitchen floor. Daddy picked the frog up and carried him off to bed. "Wibbit," said the frog as he traveled down the hall. "Wibbit." :) :) :)
Today Gabriel and his mommy had a shopping-intensive day, causing Gabriel to sleep the hard sleep of the zonkered:
Apparently you don't need to be actually laying on the couch to sleep. This morning I found this child snuggled up on the rug in his room, once again out of his cozy bed onto the hard floor, fast asleep. Silliness.
Tonight Gabriel and Gabriel's Mommy traveled to Mallmart, where Gabriel got to sit in the Spiderman Car. He was pretty intrigued by Spiderman sitting next to him, and studied him intently, laying a gentle hand on his Spidey arm. Then he raced off to "drive" the boats.
Tonight Gabriel's Mommy bought Philadelphia Ready-To-Eat Chocolate Dream Cheesecake Filling for the irresistible price of $3.78, which she is currently eating straight out of the container with a table knife AS WE SPEAK. "Tasty", my friends, is not EVEN the word.
Today Gabriel and his mommy had a shopping-intensive day, causing Gabriel to sleep the hard sleep of the zonkered:
Apparently you don't need to be actually laying on the couch to sleep. This morning I found this child snuggled up on the rug in his room, once again out of his cozy bed onto the hard floor, fast asleep. Silliness.Tonight Gabriel and Gabriel's Mommy traveled to Mallmart, where Gabriel got to sit in the Spiderman Car. He was pretty intrigued by Spiderman sitting next to him, and studied him intently, laying a gentle hand on his Spidey arm. Then he raced off to "drive" the boats.
Tonight Gabriel's Mommy bought Philadelphia Ready-To-Eat Chocolate Dream Cheesecake Filling for the irresistible price of $3.78, which she is currently eating straight out of the container with a table knife AS WE SPEAK. "Tasty", my friends, is not EVEN the word.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Snapshots of Life
Shots of the past week:
Gabriel and his One Man Pan Band. He can make a delighted racket with this ensemble.
Baby Israel and his sweet sits. This is how he always sits; one leg bent backwards and one forwards. Tim's Grandma Polly said is how Carol always sat. :)
Israel "helps" Mommy load the dishwasher.
Fireman Gabe and Tim read a Dr. Seuss book on the couch. Gabe was playing with his fireman hat the other day and informed me that his name was "Daken". :) He's really into pretending games right now. Today he had some long involved conversation on his little red handset, where he talked to Granddaddy, then to Grandma, then to Uncl' Qintin, then to Travis (?), then to Smokey, Emmy, Katie, and Moxie. Then he hung his phone up: 
:) :) :) Is that cute or what?
Busy Boy Gabe busy busy busy at the bathroom sink. There is all sorts of pouring and washing of hands and brushing of teef's and what-not to be done here. Keeps a boy busy for a while. The other day during his bath I opened the bathroom door to find him sliding around on the bathroom floor in a bunch of water he had dumped out of the bathtub pretending to be a frog. Mommy was not convinced of the importance of this game and said boy was reassigned jobs.
Little Squeezer in the bathtub. I love love love his hair right now. Devoted sigh.
Gabe and Mommy one night after a "baff". :)
And then after all the 'precious' pictures, here's a snapshot of real life:
Gabe lying on the bed crying about some vague injustice as Israel busies himself at the bedside amongst shoes, diapers, and other sundry things that need to be picked up along with the rest of the house. Life with my baby boys. I love it.
Gabriel and his One Man Pan Band. He can make a delighted racket with this ensemble.
Baby Israel and his sweet sits. This is how he always sits; one leg bent backwards and one forwards. Tim's Grandma Polly said is how Carol always sat. :)
Israel "helps" Mommy load the dishwasher.
Fireman Gabe and Tim read a Dr. Seuss book on the couch. Gabe was playing with his fireman hat the other day and informed me that his name was "Daken". :) He's really into pretending games right now. Today he had some long involved conversation on his little red handset, where he talked to Granddaddy, then to Grandma, then to Uncl' Qintin, then to Travis (?), then to Smokey, Emmy, Katie, and Moxie. Then he hung his phone up: 
:) :) :) Is that cute or what?
Busy Boy Gabe busy busy busy at the bathroom sink. There is all sorts of pouring and washing of hands and brushing of teef's and what-not to be done here. Keeps a boy busy for a while. The other day during his bath I opened the bathroom door to find him sliding around on the bathroom floor in a bunch of water he had dumped out of the bathtub pretending to be a frog. Mommy was not convinced of the importance of this game and said boy was reassigned jobs.
Little Squeezer in the bathtub. I love love love his hair right now. Devoted sigh.
Gabe and Mommy one night after a "baff". :)And then after all the 'precious' pictures, here's a snapshot of real life:
Gabe lying on the bed crying about some vague injustice as Israel busies himself at the bedside amongst shoes, diapers, and other sundry things that need to be picked up along with the rest of the house. Life with my baby boys. I love it.
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