Happy Birthday Dadoo

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear Dadoo,

Happy Birthday to you!

We hope you enjoyed your breakfast in bed!!

Here's Anniston after we had made Dadoo's chocolate chip cookies (and before she licked the bowl!)

One of Dadoo's birthday presents was painting pottery with Anniston. He chose a trivet and put the kiddos footprints on them. So cute!

We love you Dadoo!

Love,

Mommy, Anniston, and Treyson

Gymback Meet

Here's a picture of our kiddos before the Razorback Gymnastics meet. Aren't they the cutest fans ever? Treyson even made the broadcast as Jerry was having him dance to a song (ESPN was covering the meet last night). They won. . . they're really good this year and are so fun to watch.

I think Treyson knows how cute he looks in a ballcap. He grabs at EVERYTHING right now, but didn't touch his ballcap once!

One quote from Anniston Friday: Mommy, it's cold outside; I better put my sunglasses on (and then wore her sunglasses until I made her take them off for her nap!) I feel like I need to record these things for Jerry and I because they just crack me up. And this is one of MANY!

Go away ice. . . Please stay electricity!

WOW! What a week it has been at our home. Sunday night the meteorologists were going on and on about what was to come on Monday afternoon. So I immediately decided that I was going to stay at home with the kiddos and would not venture out all day. So Jerry took my car (the 1 car in our driveway that has tread on the tires....that's another story) to work.

Well, they weren't kidding. It was so cold and starting to drizzle and slick up our back porch halfway through the day. I called my office (I work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) and asked if my patients had started cancelling for Tuesday morning. She said that I didn't have anybody coming in until 10. --no problem, I'll just go in late (better that than sit there for 2 hours twiddling my thumbs).

Here's Anniston Monday evening eating her "ice pop". It was her dessert, and she was SOOOOO excited!

Here's part of our fozen pond in the back yard (it's actually starting to melt now)

The plants out front (these are spirea) looked so weird:Here's a sprout off of our pompass grass plants (or "wheat plants" as I affectionately call them). I held my finger out there too so that you could tell the ice was about 1.5-2 inches in diameter.So the next morning we wake up and things were going fine. Jerry and Anniston were on the couch watching Good Morning America/local weather updates and I was feeding Treyson. Then the clock struck 7:45....and POOF, no TV, no lights, no heat, no NOTHING! Fortunately Jerry had already started a fire. So we reconfigured our living room furniture to get all of our furniture facing the fire and had alot of Anniston and Treyson's toys in the front of the couch so they wouldn't have to get into their rooms to play (we were planning on shutting those doors to help maintain heat in the living room area). For the most part, we did ok. I mean, it was light outside plus we had a fire inside...so technically we had heat and lights (technically).

We spent the morning/afternoon on our cell phones with friends and family trying to decide what to do about the situation and work. The kiddos did pretty good all considering. We kept a keen eye on the thermostat. . . it was slowly dropping. So the kids took their naps in their rooms because it still wasn't too bad back on their end of the house. Jerry and I are out in the living room and here this "beep, beep, beep" and had just enough time to look at eachother and say, "Huh?" before the RAYR,RAYR,RAYR,RAYR began. Oh yeah, the house alarm was going off VERY LOUDLY. . . and guess what, the indoor siren is in the hallway that the kids sleep in--PERFECT!! So Jerry and I scramble to get out to the box to unplug it...it's locked. He asks me where the key is. Now how the *beep* am I supposed to know. So my response, "Just break it open". Calm Jerry found the strategically hidden key and opened it and unplugged the alarm. We called Alert Alarm (shout-out to Pat), and they said it was our back-up battery that was low. And that's how they let you know. You have 3 sweet beeps notice before the blaring siren blows. So I know you're wondering about our kids throughout this ordeal. . . SOUND ASLEEP! Are you kidding me? So why do I tip-toe around their hall when they're sleeping. Well, I won't anymore!! haha

Then at 3:30. . . TA-DA! We have lights, heat, and a TV! We were so excited! We let Anniston watch a cartoon (after we checked the weather) and we decided to grill brats and cook french fries for dinner. AH, life is good--we love electricity! And then the clock struck 8:57 P.M. The kids were asleep, and we still had our cozy fire. We had set a bottle of Principato Rosato (a wine from Olive Garden that I LOVE!!--and btw got for my birthday from mom and dad last year right after we had surprised them with the news we were pregnant! haha) and were just about to pop the cork! WRONG!! There was a fireworks show outside our front door, and it was the power cable that came tumbling down due to the weight of the ice. We scrambled to get our flashlight and figure out what to do. We decided that we'd bring Anniston's matress into the living room (it's a crib matress since she sleeps on a toddler bed) and let Treyson sleep on it. Jerry and I would trade off sleeping out in the living room and keep the fire going. Meanwhile, we were going to have Anniston in our room and snuggle in our bed.

Here's a pic of the cable hanging down:

So Jerry got the kiddos all arranged and I went ahead and got into bed with Anniston. She was ecstatic! She sang me several songs (which I LOVE), but by this time it was 9:30 and she really just needed to close her eyes. I kept closing mine and ignoring her whispering, "Hey Mommy"'s. She doesn't give up though. She kept leaning over me and would kiss me on the lips if I ignored her (it's apparent we've been reading too many princess stories that end with a prince WAKING UP a princess with a kiss on the lips!!). She finally did get to sleep. Around 11:30, Treyson started to get restless. By 1:30, it woke me up and I went to check on Jerry. We tagged out so that Jerry could get some sleep.

I paced the floor with Treyson until about 2:45, then tried to lay him down. . .. WAHHHHH!! Nope, that wasn't going to work. So I paced again and then about 3:00, I sat down on the recliner oh so slowly and managed to keep him asleep. I was exhausted, and I didn't sleep b/c I was freezing cold. Our thermostat was down to 61 at this point. (On a side note: for those of you who don't know about my kiddos and their sleeping patterns, let me fill you in. . . because those of you who DO know how my kids sleep are probably laughing thinking, "finally, she's experiencing having to be awake during the middle of the night". We brought Anniston home from the hospital at 2 days old sleeping 7 hours through the night. She worked her way up to 9 hours in 4 weeks, and 10-12 hours by 6 weeks old. Treyson is similar. He was sleeeping 5 solid hours when we came home from the hospital, and it took him about 4 weeks to get to 8 solids hours, and now he does anywhere from 11-13 hours solid. So this "pacing in the middle of the night" thing is new to me. . . and I'm really not that crazy about the idea of it). Back to the story: Treyson slept in my arms until 4:45, until I got so cold that I couldn't stand it anymore and decided I had to get a pair of socks on and add a sweatshirt. He never did calm back down, so I decided to cave and let him nurse and did so in bed with Jerry and Anniston.

So about 10 minutes into being in bed (and somewhat warm) a beeping started to sound. It was a low battery on our smoke alarm. Are you kidding me? And it was annoying. So Jerry gets up on a ladder while I hold a flashlight, and he manages to rip it off the ceiling--for real, I think we have to get a new one. We get back into bed and sleep until 7:45. Then we hung out in our frigid home that morning (lowest point was 57). We left the house around 1 to just get out and eat lunch, then returned at 3:30 to electricity! YAY!!

Here are our 3 trees out front. The middle and right tree are goners. . . .I'm hoping today's sun will melt enough of the ice on the tree to the left so that the weight of the ice doesn't ruin it too.

Here's Anniston's playground area. The first pic is her little climber set, picnic table, and sand table. The second pic is of her "winterized" trampoline. I'm so glad Jerry decided to winterize it. Otherwise, I would have been very hesitant of Anniston jumping on a trampoline that had been left out in these conditions.

Here's the kiddos hanging out inside in their snow outfits/hat: (and it's hard to tell, but Anniston's lips were starting to turn purple...Jerry decided at that point to take both kids out to the car to thaw out!)
We celebrated by watching TV and cranking up the heat! We put the kids to bed at 7 P.M., yes 7. We watched an episode of House Hunters, then were in bed by 8:30. We were all cozy and getting tired eyes, then all of a sudden "Whoo, whoo". We kept hearing this, about every 14 seconds. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Oh yes, it was an owl, and it sounded like it was sitting on the deck attached to our room. Jerry asked me if he could throw our flashlight at it. Seeing as that was our only source of light if the electricity blows, I encouraged him not to (plus I don't know if it would scare it enough to leave)--sorry owl lovers!

Here's the back of our yard. There are lots of old, tall trees behind our fence. So far, our fence is still intact.

We did manage to fall asleep. We woke up the next morning and Jerry made us a big breakfast. He headed off to work around 9. The kids and I played all day. I went to Target last night to get a few things, and as I was standing in line to check out, the electricity went off. . . only for about 10 seconds--but I was so upset because one of my items was Orange Sunkist soda that I was craving. Oh yeah, there was also some milk for Anniston and food for Treyson, but did I mention Orange Soda for me? So anyway, all of the computers were re-booting at Target, so 1 lane was checking everybody out. Fortunately I was 7th in line (out of probably 20).

So I get in the car to tell Jerry about my traumatic 10 seconds in Target, and he answers the phone in a very somber voice. I asked him what was wrong. . . were the Hogs doing that bad? No, we lost electricity again. Oh, my goodness. I called my mom and told her I was heading home, had about 10 minutes worth of packing, and then I was driving with the kids to Ft. Smith. There was no way I was going to do another 57 degree night. I get home, get my stuff packed, Anniston packed, and was finishing up Treyson's bag when the electricity came back on. . . just in time to finish watching the Razorbacks beat Alabama!!!

I LOVE ELECTRICITY!!

By the way, we're buying a generator when they're back in stock to keep at home if this ever happens again.

Happy Baptism...

at least that's what Anniston called yesterday. It involved cake, so it was definitely a happy day! We had Treyson baptised at our church yesterday. It was such a great day! Treyson did so well. I did take him out during the middle of the sermon because he was starting to make some sad noises!!

Anniston did great! She watched her bubby "get water on his head" and was nice and quiet during the service (she normally attends Sunday school while we go to church). She was overwhelmed by all 4 of her grandparents sitting in a row. I think she spent time with each one throughout the service.

So many friends and family were there to witness the baptism. We are so blessed. Thank you to everybody who was able to make it! For those of you who couldn't make it, here are some pictures from the service:

With Jerry's parents, brother, and grandmother:With my parents and grandmother:Another amazing detail I wanted to throw in is that the gown Treyson is wearing has been in the family for 3 generations. Jerry's mother was baptised in this as a baby. Her grandmother had bought it in Chicago after she was born. I'm sure it was very expensive then. It is the finest material, and shows its age in places....but isn't that amazing? We figured out that Treyson is the 18th child to be baptised in this gown. It has been through Nanny, Don, Diane, Laura, Susan, Leah, Jerry, Meredith, Matt, Spencer, Trent, Shelby, Jake, Sheradon, Lexi, Kinley, Anniston, and now Treyson!! So cool! After church, several members of our congregation came up to congratulate Treyson and to also get a closer look at the gown. It really is beautiful.

We had everybody over to our house after church to have lunch and cake. We had brisket sandwiches, party potatoes, salad, and cake. It was so nice being able to visit with everybody and play "pass the Treyson". He was such a good sport, too!

Here's a picture of Treyson's cake from Rick's (yummmm). Thank goodness there was only about 4 pieces left (or my attempt at weight loss would be over!)

Anniston helped Dadoo open some of Treyson's baptism gifts.....while wearing her tiara!

Great Grandma (jerry's grandmother)MeMaMa (my grandmother)MaMa and PaPa Nanny and PawPaw

Again, thank you everybody for driving up here to witness Treyson's baptism. We are blessed to have such loving friends and family. We will always remember his special day!

Add-On

Here are a couple of pictures that I found from Anniston's baptism. I thought I would throw these in for fun, especially since I didn't blog then!Nice roots there, Amy....and I'm pretty sure Jerry's sporting the exact same tie as he did for Treyson's baptism!.....Maybe he planned that one!

4 Months Old!!

Treyson hit the 4 month mark on Sunday. Time is flying by so fast, and I wish I could stop it to savor these precious moments a little bit longer. Sometimes I think his cheeks will get raw from all of my kissing...he's just so sweet! I catch myself pacing sometimes outside of his nursery waiting for him to wake up so I can sweet talk him and get that humongous smile to take over his face.....I know I'm slightly partial, but I just can't help it!

So we took Treyson to the doctor today. His head was in the 75%. He measured in at 25.59 inches (90%), and weighed in at 15.19 lb (75%).

He didn't tee-tee all over his Dadoo and the wall this time when he was weighed, so that's definitely progress! He sat in Dadoo's lap like a champ the entire time Dr. Ball was checking him over. Everything was healthy, healthy, healthy---exactly what we expected to hear!

Treyson did fail on one developmental question...."Is he rolling over yet?" ummmm....not regularly. I've seen him do it once. His babysitter has seen him do it at her house. But it's not a regular thing for him. Dr. Ball says the "healthy" babies tend to be later rolling over due to their "healthiness"!! haha

Treyson has an appointment for his vaccinations on Friday morning....please pray for me--I boo-hoo like a baby taking my kiddos to get these awful stabs in their thighs. We take him to the health department. At least I got smart with Treyson. I make appointments, and am out of there within 20 minutes. With Anniston, I showed up about 10 minutes before the place opened and waited my turn....sometimes 2 hours for her shots. (Our insurance doesn't cover vaccinations; so I have the option to pay out of pocket--uh, no--or pay $5 for all of them at the health department. The health department has some pretty interesting folks lingering around....but I'm not an idiot--paying for shots out of pocket would be insane! When I took Anniston for the first time, I didn't know how much to expect to pay. I felt guilty for only writing a $5 check--what a deal!)

Ok, so back to Treyson. We decided to try Rice Cereal last Thursday (We cheated by 4 days....don't tell!). We're only feeding him this at night for the time being. He's already a good sleeper (which our doctor actually says that cereal doesn't help them sleep better...sleeping is moreso about habit vs. fullness). So Jerry fed him the first night, and it was hysterical seeing the look on his face for the first time. I'll let the pictures tell it:

It started with a smile....

And ended with a smile!

By the end, he was eating like a champ. But every night is the same type of struggle. The first bite puts a look on his face that makes you think you just fed him a lemon. Then he gets a little bit better and is wolfing it down by the end of the bowl. However, his hands seem to be a South Pole in relation to his North pole mouth....truly a magnetic attraction that requires you to keep both of his hands pinned down while feeding him; otherwise, there will be rice cereal spit out onto his hands which then find his cheeks, eyes, ears, etc. Quite funny.

Treyson at 4 months:

• Is getting better in the car. I actually ran errands last Friday and he was content and "whine-less" for an entire hour!!

• Sleeps on average 11 hours straight at a time. He's been known to go 13 hours, but still sometimes does 9-10. Mostly 11 though.

• Still sleeps swaddled....we love that swaddle blanket!

• Smiles at the drop of a hat...such a happy boy! Sometimes it's hard to nurse him, because he'll make eye contact with me and smile so much.

• Giggles more frequently.

• Loves being walked around in the baby carrier facing forward. I can clean the entire house with him there...doesn't make one peep!

• Loves to hear Anniston's voice. She starts talking and he turns his head and smiles.

• Loves his hands in his mouth.

• Drools like it's going out of style.

• Wears 3-6, but mostly 6 month clothes.

• Can't wear a size 1 shoe yet.

• Really likes his walker (feet obviously don't even touch the floor yet), except when Anniston crashes him into objects like the couch or coffee table!!

He is such a blessing. He has Jerry and i wrapped around his finger, just as his big sister does.

Anniston wanted to hold him this afternoon. So I had her sit down and do a straddle. Then I lay him in between her and she wraps her arms around him (like a hug). Anyway, she leaned around to the side of his face, kissed his cheek, and said "I love you buddy". I tear up right now thinking about it. She just loves him to pieces. Beyond not getting all attention from grandparents, she has exhibited no signs of jealousy with us and Treyson. If we're loving on him, she wants to love on him too. It is so sweet, and we know we are so blessed.

Treyson, we love you. You are so amazing, and we have enjoyed every moment you've been with us.....

Please don't grow up on us too fast! :(

2008 Wrap-Up

I've been inspired by several other friends who've done a "year in review" posting, so here's my attempt at it!

Let me back up into the last day of December, 2007 by saying that that was the day Jerry and I had confirmation that I was pregnant with Treyson. We woke up that morning, and the test was positive. We were elated, but decided to wait until the first trimester was over to tell anybody....that's one of the hardest things we've EVER done!

So January brought 2 very exciting things. First, we traveled with my parents and Todd, Melissa, Taylor, and Michael to Disneyworld in late January. We hit the Magic Kingdom, MGM/Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Anniston was able to ride so many things, and loved every minute of it! We can't wait until Treyson's old enough and we can go back and stay even longer. (PS...we got clearance from my OB/GYN to ride anything I wanted to at Disney....so Treyson had a ball, technically!)

Also, Anniston started gymnastics in January. She's actually very good at it. She loves to jump on the trampoline. She's very close to mastering a seat drop. The hardest part is getting her momentum up to land on her feet after she jumps onto her bottom. She walks the balance beam easily, does somersaults, swings on the bars, etc. We love gymnastics!

We finally told our family, and then friends that we were pregnant on my birthday! They couldn't believe we'd kept it in for so long, so it made my pregnancy go by fast for them. We started to talk to ANniston about being a big sister at this point....definitely over her head. She later decided that she was carrying a baby too. Also, she told people most of the time she was having a baby sister (since we didn't find out the sex)....thank goodness she's not holding anything against her Bubby now! She loves him so much.

March brought about some springtime weather which meant we needed "pretty piggies"! So Anniston had her first pedicure! She loved it. It lasted about 5 minutes, but she sat so still and thought she was hot stuff sitting up in the big chair getting her toes washed, clipped, filed, and painted!

April was Easter. We take Anniston to Bedfords in Fayetteville to get her bunny pictures made each year. She liked the bunny for awhile, but then she was ready for Ms. Tina to put her away. The following 3 times we went to Bedfords, ANniston asked about the bunny. We also started potty training in April. Anniston did so well with it. It really helped that we had a babysitter who worked really hard with Anniston while Mommy worked. She is now to a point where she'll take herself to the potty, wipe (tee tee only!), and flush the potty. We're so proud of our big girl! (she's modeling her big girl panties for the first time in the picture here)

May was Uncle Mark and Aunt Tracey's wedding, our first cardinals game, Mother's Day, and Memorial Day Weekend. Mark and Tracey were married in St. Louis. The wedding was beautiful, and we are so happy for them. Kinley looked beautiful in her Cinderella "flower girl" dress. We partied alot and were exhausted by the end of the weekend. Mother's Day was spent in Fort Smith by visiting my mom for church and lunch, then heading to Julie's for the afternoon and dinner. Memorial Day was FOR SURE at the lake. We hit the lake every weekend we could during May and June, knowing the 4th of July was our last trip down to Lake Ouachita due to my pregnancy. Dadoo also made Anniston a playground in our backyard. There's Railroad ties on the outside, filled with river rock on the inside. It's got her trampoline, Slide, Clubhouse climber, picnic table, and sand/water table inside of it. She loves going out to her playground. Dadoo worked very hard on it, and the sweat was definitely worth it! ( I can say that since I was 6 months pregnant and didn't lift a finger!!)

June was marked by the lake every weekend. We spent alot of money on gas (upper $3 per gallon) but it was totally worth every penny! We also put Anniston into a "big girl bed" for the first time. She did great. She fell out of her bed a handful of times between June and July, but hasn't done that since. She also went fishing with her PaPa for the first time in June. PaPa loves to fish. When he's not fishing, he's golfing. When he's not golfing, he's fishing! So he and MaMa got Anniston and Michael their first fishing poles. Anniston was catching fish left and right. She loved it, and even touched the fish while PaPa held it! Anniston also had her first dental visit in June. Mommy and Dadoo took her and let Mrs. Julia clean her teeth. Anniston sat by herself in the chair and opened up like it was nobody's business. We were so proud of her. She got her teeth counted, polished, and rinsed off and suctioned by Mr. Thirsty! Then Dado Hemi came in and counted her teeth--NO CAVITIES!! YAY!!

July was the 4th of July. Our last trip to the lake....so sad! But it was fun getting to watch the fireworks on the lake. We hit the Aquatic center quite a bit since it was so hot. Also, July was our 2nd birthday! Anniston woke up on her birthday to a new trampoline in her backyard. She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES it! We can't wait for the weather to get nice again so we can jump more! We had her birthday party with all of her friends at Gymboree Play and Music in Bentonville. It was really cute, and Anniston had a ball! We also hit Chuck E. Cheese on her actual birthday with our cousins Michael and Kinley.

August was HOT HOT HOT! And I was HUGE HUGE HUGE, which equaled MISERABLE!! But we all made it! We focused on lots of Anniston time. GOing to the water park, the park, jumping on the trampoline, etc. We also attended the Fan Day and Anniston got to see Big Red (we LOVE big Red around here!). We also started Big Girl School. Anniston loves her school, and we love it to. We know it's where she's meant to be.

September was marked by Labor Day! YAY! Jerome Joseph "Treyson", III was born on the 4th. He was 8 lb, 8 oz, and 20 1/2 inches. He was perfect and we were so excited to have a son. Anniston was also excited to have a brother (despite telling everybody she was having a sister).

We took Treyson to his first Hog football game in October (start em out young, right?). He slept through most of it. Anniston had a blast....she loves Razorback games, and really watches the ballgame and cheers. We also joined Dadoo on a business trip to San Antonio. We shopped, hit Seaworld, the Alamo, and the River Market. That was wild with an 8 week old, but we made it! We also celebrated Halloween. Anniston was Snow White, and Treyson was a pumpkin.

November was another Razorback football game and Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was strange this year, because Treyson was napping through almost every meal we were supposed to be at. I suppose things will be much different next year! Anniston got her first haircut in November, and we also attended Winnie the Pooh Live in Little Rock.

December was all about getting ready for the holidays: parties, pictures, and presents! We had a wonderful Christmas, and were exhausted when it was all over with!