Happy Birthday!

Dear Garrett,

Yesterday was your birthday!  I'm really in awe of the fact that you are 4 years old.  How did that happen?  The first couple of years were border line insane, I will confess, but this past year has been pretty awesome.  You surprise me each and every day with the words that you use.  You have a huge vocabulary, which is awesome considering that I thought you would need to go to speech therapy back when you were 2 because you didn't say much and what you did say was hard to understand.  In the past month or so, you've become more and more aware of God and want to talk about Him and try to figure Him out.  You're always asking questions about Him, where He lives, what He looks like, if He will kill the monsters...  Just this evening you were standing in your swingset fort singing at the top of your lungs "God is bigger than the oldie man, He's bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on TV."  That's from Veggie Tales, in case you've forgotten and the words are actually that He's bigger than the bogey man, but you think it's oldie man and I think it's funny, so I haven't told you otherwise.  Daddy said that you were practicing your preacher voice and trying to witness to our neighbors all in one fell swoop.  We've joked that you're going to be a preacher when you grow up, but you're more than welcome to be whatever you want to be.  Maybe a CEO...

You are the BEST big brother.  You never act jealous of Cooper, you always want to help with him and entertain him.  You worry about him and ask where he is if you don't see him.  It's so awesome to watch!  I'm thrilled that you have a brother.  You guys are going to have so much fun when you're older.  I know you're going to teach him a lot of things (some good some bad, I'm sure).  

Right now, you consider Avery Jackson to be your best friend.  You guys have known each other since you were born, have been in the nursery and Sunday school classes together and were in the same Mother's Day Out class last year and will be again this year.  According to her mom, Avery likes you just as much as you like her.  She prays for you at night and tells her parents that she loves Garrett Dungan (in order to distinguish which Garrett since she knows more than one.)  I think you guys will continue to be pretty great friends, at least until one of you figures out that the other one is not a boy or a girl, then it might change, but I hope not.  The other day, Daddy asked you if you liked another girl from church and you said "No, I just like Avery."  We thought that was pretty funny.

You currently LOVE most sports related things.  We gave you a tee ball set for your birthday and you love it!  You want to watch baseball or golf on TV anytime that you see it when we're flipping through the channels.  We're going to see how you progress with your tee ball and if you still like it next year, we might sign you up to play with other kids your age.  We'll see.  I'm not sure if I'm quite ready for structured sports just yet.  In case you haven't figured it out,  your Momma is pretty competitive.  I will have to wear a mouth guard to all your games starting early on so I don't say something to embarrass us both.  Unfortunately, you are also competitive.  I'm sorry I passed that on to you, but we'll work on it together.

You are such a huge helper to me and really try to please us when you can (and when you're in the mood to do so, which is never the case when we're sitting in church on Sunday mornings and I want you to be quiet and stop driving your car all over Daddy's face.)  

We love you so much and can't believe that you are our son.  

I can't wait to see what this year holds for us.

Love, Momma

Professional Pictures

For those of you who aren't my friends on Facebook (or never check your account), I took the boys to have their pictures taken yesterday at JC Penney's.  I've been taking Garrett there for the past couple of years and really liked the way his pictures turned out, so I was looking forward to what they would do with both boys this time.

I was not impressed.  

Maybe they're not trained to work with small babies.  Or maybe we just got a bad photographer.  Either way, I was somewhat disappointed in the results, but I went ahead and ordered some shots because I'm not going through all the hassle of getting both boys ready and there on time (despite someone having a dirty diaper in the mall parking lot and getting to change yet another one in the car.  I might as well move my changing station out there as often as I'm changing diapers in the seat of the SUV.  I changed another one just today!).  Not to mention just the general hassle of scheduling the appointment and going through all the poses and the breakdowns.  Last year's picture taking was perfect.  Garrett was terrific.  This year's photographer totally intimidated him and he cried several times.  He's much past the age of just crying without being hurt or totally tired (and this was at 11am, so he was NOT tired nor was he physically hurt.)  

Anyway, here are a few of the decent shots that I ordered.  

The best shot of the boys together.  Not wonderful imo, but it's cute.  Cooper's totally in the smiling stage right now, yet this photographer couldn't seem to get him to smile to save her life.  Not that she tried very hard...

For this picture, the photographer kept trying to get Garrett to cradle Cooper like a newborn.  Cooper weighs, at the very least, 12 pounds.  I can barely cradle him without something supporting my arm, there is no way Garrett could hold him that way.  That's why he looks awkward in this picture.  

Literally the best picture of Cooper.  Pathetic.  Yes, it's cute, but I capture pictures that are, in my opinion, 10x's cuter than this at my house.  And he's typically smiling.  She kept insisting that he lay on his stomach initially, but she had a bunch of weird pillows under him which made him slide down and he wasn't comfortable.  So she moved him to his side and did not attempt another position after that.  

A strange pose for a boy, but I love his long eyelashes, so I like it.

You can tell that his eyes are shinier in this picture.  He had been crying because he didn't understand what she was saying when she kept telling him to look through the hole.  Rather than SHOWING him (hello, he's 3!!), she just kept repeating herself over and over until he started crying and I had to go to him and show him how to do it.  While I was holding Cooper.  Ugh!  I would have complained to someone, but she was the only employee working that day.

I'm surprised she actually took this picture.  She kept telling him over and over to stop smiling like that and keep his fingers down.  But this is totally Garrett.  So I do love it!

Tomorrow is the big birthday and the big birthday party!!!  I'll be sharing pictures from that as soon as I can.

Weekend Recap

This weekend was both busy and low-key at the same time.  I'm not sure how that's possible, but I think we managed to pull it off.  

Saturday, Keith and Garrett spend the bulk of the day outside finishing up the assembly of Garrett's swing set.  (It's done!  A few minor details are left to be done, like putting sand around the concrete that Keith poured at the base to bolt down the swing set.  And someday we will need to refinish it, but that will take place when it's MUCH cooler outside.)  I spent the day cleaning during Cooper's naps, and when he was up, enjoying him by himself.  I haven't really had the chance to do that.  Not that I don't absolutely love and adore my oldest, but it was kind of nice to just spend time with Cooper when he was awake.  It's crazy how much you can get done when you just have a baby in the house, no 4 year old.  When Cooper was asleep (and even when he was awake part of the time), I was able to clean both bathrooms, clean the kitchen, and vacuum.  It felt so good!

Sunday morning we were getting ready for church when Keith and Garrett both just had this sneezing fit that would not stop.  It was almost funny.  We decided to just hang out at home because they didn't want to do that at church.  We assumed it was allergies, but then Cooper started sneezing and has a runny nose, so now we think it's a cold.  (According to our doctor, little babies do not get environmental allergies.)  I was able to get all of the laundry done, folded, and put away, which is a huge accomplishment in itself.  Those stages are usually stretched out over the course of a few days (or more).   I also went to Target and finished buying for Garrett's birthday party which is this Saturday.  I'm still in denial that he's going to be 4.  

Now today has been spent suctioning Cooper's nose with a nasal aspirator (so fun!).  I thought this was early for Cooper's first cold, but I checked Garrett's baby book (yes, I was THAT mom who wrote down everything with him.) and he had his first cold only a couple of weeks later than Cooper's age.  Of course that was in November with him and this is only August.  I have a feeling we have a long winter ahead of us with 1 kid bringing home germs and passing them on to the other.  I do NOT look forward to it.  I've already started implementing many rules with Garrett: 1. Do not touch Cooper's face.  2. Do not put your finger in Cooper's mouth.  (yes, this rule is necessary.  Don't ask.) 3. Do not touch Cooper's hands.  4. Cover your mouth if you sneeze or cough.  5. Do not get within 1 foot of Cooper's face.

I've given him a list of things he CAN do as well, like touching Cooper's head or feet etc, but I'm going to have to be strict about this in order to avoid having a chronically sick baby this winter.  Of course the media hype about the swine flu for this winter certainly doesn't abate my fears any.  

Now I'm attempting to do a little each day in order to prepare for Garrett's birthday party on Saturday.  Last night we made a construction paper chain with one link for each day between now and the party so we can countdown to his birthday.  He was so excited about taking off a link tonight.  Today he helped me clean out his room.  We put up (and threw away) a lot of toys in order to make room for the new ones.  

And now I'm up and down with Cooper.  His nose doesn't seem to be stopped up, just runny, but he is running a low grade fever and can't seem to get comfortable.  Calgon, take me away!  I'm praying this cold is short-lived.

2 Months

(This should have been posted on the 17th, but seeing as how I'm spending this week in my (relatively small) bedroom with both boys due to the fact that our central a/c kicked the bucket and we now have a window unit in the bedroom which doesn't cool much past the hallway, I'm doing more entertaining and less blogging at the moment.)

Cooper,

You are 2 months old today! It seems as if you've had a big growth spurt in the past couple of weeks. You've already moved up to size 3-6 month clothes with a few exceptions in the 0-3 month outfits. All of the sudden, you seem to fit well in your carseat. No more of the "tiny baby thinking he's big enough for this seat." You actually are.

The past couple of days, I've had a strangers stop me and ask how old you are and they've been surprised and said they thought you were older. You might like those compliments now, but trust me, once you hit 30, you won't. (And what's up with strangers asking people random questions about a baby they see at Walmart? Seriously, if you want attention, just take a small baby out in public and you'll get it. Or a screaming toddler. But I try to avoid that kind of attention whenever possible. I can just imagine that moms of twins, triplets or quads probably aren't able to get anything accomplished when out in public. PSA for everyone thinking about approaching a mom with a small baby. Besides not touching their hands or face (for the love of all that is good), please try to use all context clues before asking "Is it a girl or a boy?" If the baby is wearing blue with no pink pacifier and no bow on its head, then it's a boy. If the baby is wearing pink or has a big bow on its head, then it's a girl. And moms, you can't get upset if your baby is wearing gender neutral colors and you don't have anything else on them to signal the rest of the public that its a boy or a girl. Cooper always has a blue pacifier in his mouth if he's not already covered from head to toe in blue or wearing something sports related. Yet I've had several people ask me if he was a girl or a boy. Let's use our brains, shall we?)

At 2 months:

•You still are not completely sleeping through the night. What's up with this? I checked in Garrett's baby book and he started sleeping all night at 7 weeks old and never looked back. You'd better get on the ball with this one.

•I haven't really shared this publicly because I kept thinking it was just a fluke. But I think it's safe to say that you can roll over. I have had you on your stomach at various times and found you on your back with no one around who would have rolled you over. This has happened once or twice a week now for about 3 weeks. I haven't witnessed the actual event yet, but I know it's only a matter of time.

•I don't know how much you weigh right now. We go for your 2 month checkup in 2 weeks so we'll find out then. And you'll get your first shots. With all the confusion with our pediatrician's office when you were first born, you haven't gotten any shots yet so I'm sure this will be a fun visit. Especially since Garrett will be getting his 4 year shots at the same time.

•You're very happy when you first wake up, whether it's first thing in the morning or after a nap. When I lay you on the changing table, you immediately start smiling really big. Sometimes you even coo and talk to me.

•You're enjoying the swing, bouncy seat, exersaucer, and bumbo seat more and more. You still do not like the activity mat much, only if you're laying on it on your stomach.

•You had your first total meltdown in the carseat a couple of days ago. You were screaming hysterically and very highpitched. Daddy was so thrilled to be in the car when you decided you hated all of us and, most especially, your carseat and pacifier.

•You take 5 ounces at each feeding and eat every 3 hours. Sometimes you've stretched to 3.5 hours, but those have been few and far between.

•You are very hit and miss with good naps. I think you've taken maybe 2 three hour naps in the past 6 weeks. Most of them range from 30 to 90 minutes long, which, frankly, aren't long enough. In the next month, we will be working on better naps and sleeping through the night, so get ready.

•In the past month you've made your first trip to see 2 of your great grandparents along with other relatives, been to your first movie with me and Garrett (Ice Age 3), joined us as we ate at Texas Roadhouse, had your first major diaper explosion (thanks for doing it in your carseat and not on me. That onesie will never be the same.), and took a bath with Garrett in the big tub.

In the next month, you have Garrett's birthday party, a family vacation, joining me at the church, when I get back to my normal work hours, and I'm sure much, much more, to look forward to.

And obviously, you are very excited about it all.

8 Weeks

Cooper is 8 weeks old today.  His personality shows more and more and I'm afraid we have another Garrett on our hands.  He was being really vocal last night, cooing and "talking" to Keith when he got home from work.  Keith looked at me and said "Great, we have another talker on our hands.  We're both gonna be deaf before these boys are grown."  Garrett is quite the chatterbox. Poor Keith.  Between me, Garrett, and now Cooper, maybe, he's just going to do a lot of nodding and tuning us out.  

With Cooper getting older and changing looks, we've been debating over who he looks like.  We don't really think he looks much like Garrett, though the following pictures may say otherwise.

Can you tell who is who?  You've got to love the pictures of them screaming.  At least it shows a bit of the reality that goes on in our house.  

I also found this picture of me as a baby to compare with a picture of Cooper.  I think he might resemble me a little.

A Garrett story:  He has taken to saying "I'm gonna tell God."  Not in a tattle tale sort of way, just in a way that he wants to have a convo with God.  This is always after his bedtime prayers, so I guess he feels his mumbled prayer isn't cutting it and he needs to tell God other things.  Mostly listing all the things God made.  Like rainbows.  And Spiderman.  

I'm emerging from the depths of laundry, diapers, and spit-up to bring you this mediocre post. Enjoy!

I know.  It's been awhile.  I do apologize.  I'm not sure what exactly has been keeping me too busy to blog.  Hmm, maybe it's the almost 8 week old baby, or the almost 4 year old boy, or the housework that never ends, or the job I just went back to last week (on a part/part-time basis haha, was working 10 hrs a week, cut it back to 5 for the next few weeks), or the husband who, for some crazy reason, wants a part of my time for conversation and the like.  Not to mention that I am completely addicted to FarmTown.  If you've never played it before, seriously, it's so addicting.  So you might not want to get involved if you don't want to wake up in the night and wonder if your field of tomatoes is going bad.

I do apologize for yet another random post, but the lack of sleep is really starting to get to my brain function.  That and who knows how much time I actually have to write this.  It's easier to come back and finish a random blog post than to try and pick back up mid paragraph a few hours later.  My multiple, unpublished blog posts can attest to this.

I can't believe that in 21 days, Garrett will turn 4!  He really is looking and acting older all the time.  It's hard to believe he used to be that baby who would hold his breath and pass out.  Fun times!  He comes up with the funniest things sometimes.  I just can't believe how much he catches and picks up on throughout the day.  Here's just the latest thing he's done that I've found funny.  He has invented a game that he can play with Cooper.  (Can you tell he's dying for his brother to be old enough to actually play with him?)  The game goes like this:  Cooper spits out his pacifier, Momma asks Garrett to give Cooper his pacifier (if I'm unavailable to do so.  I wouldn't dream of making my child do something that I'm more than capable of doing myself...), Garrett gives Cooper his paci, Cooper spits it out again, Garrett gives it to him again, Cooper spits it out again, Garrett gives it to him again and holds it in his mouth.  He laughs and says "We're playing the paci game!"  I don't think Cooper likes the last step of the game.

In 11 days, Cooper will be 2 months old.  I can't believe this, mainly due to the fact that it feels like a much longer time of no sleep.  The temper is becoming more and more apparent.  Earlier today, he was ready for his bottle, but it was taking me a minute to get everything situated before I could sit down and feed him.  When I did pick him up to feed him (maybe 5 minutes after I had initially put him down), he wouldn't take the bottle without crying a little more just to let me know how unpleased he was with my tardiness.  The positive to him getting bigger is his ability to participate in some additional baby equipment.  I put him in the exersaucer today for the first time.  Of course he had to be propped with pillows, but he sat there for 10 minutes or so and just looked around.  

And that's the end of my free time.  Cooper has had enough with the swing and the paci game, so I guess it's Momma to the rescue.  I apologize for my lack of posting and the fact that this does not include a picture.  I'll attempt to make up for this in my next blog entry.  Maybe.