Joe's breakfast in santa fe

Road trip!

For our anniversary, we are headed to Santa Fe and staying with Cousin Allyn. This is Jonah in the car on the drive down there.

a bit confused

Trey has been walking around the house measuring everything with a
measuring tape and saying "this weighs 13 pounds!"

Happy anniversary to us!

We've been married for 5 years!

On monday we are driving to Santa Fe for a few days for our anniversary trip. Any tips of things we should do or see? We'll have the baby with us and Gigi will be babysitting Trey. I haven't been there since high school and can't wait.

a nice scene in steamboat springs

How clever

We've discovered the secret to getting Trey to eat

Chopsticks!

So cute!

A smile to brighten your day

Trey watching the garbage man

Bumbo

I tried Jonah in the bumbo chair today. He didn't love it but he is still a bit young and still working on head control. The bumbo was a lifesaver with Trey and one of my "must have" baby products. I used to put him in the chair on the kitchen counter when I was doing things in the kitchen and he loved it. Since they they recalled that version of the bumbo - not because of something wrong with the chair, but because the packaging didn't say not to put your child on a table or counter. oops.







I think he's starting to look like Trey did at this age.

furry dogs

In Colorado we have a lot of prairie dogs, which Trey calls furry
dogs. On our walks we look for them, and today we saw one but it
went down in the hole. This was our conversation:

Trey: where did the furry dog go?
Me: he went back down to his house
Trey: but why?
Me: probably to go night-night
Trey: he has a big big big bed because I have a big bed because he
has a big bed (circular logic at play here)
Me: does he have firetruck sheets like you do?
Trey: yea
Me: does his mommy kiss him goodnight?
Trey: yea
Me: does his mommy read him books?
Trey, in his best "i can't believe you just asked me that" tone: no
mommy. furry dogs don't have hands.

Happy 7 week birthday, Jonah!

Happy birthday Jonah - you get your own room today!

Joe decided it was time for Jonah to move out of the bassinet in our
room and up to his crib in his room. I won't love going up the
stairs in the middle of the night to feed him, but I certainly won't
miss hearing him grunt all night long.

Our Texas trip

We had a fun time in Texas at Mimi's house and farm. The flights were surprisingly ok, even with both boys. I was glad Uncle Clint was with us on the way back because Trey had more energy than I did. Jonah slept most of both flights.

Here are a few photos, and more via the "Gladewater August 2008" link on the right.

Jonah's first smile

Trey and Caleb (step-cousin) meeting the cows

Is this really how 2 1/2 year old boys talk?

And I thought it was only 31 year old men...

"Mommy change my diaper please. There is a big turd in there." (At least he said please.)

"I want to smell my diaper. It smells like skid marks!"

He also sings some awful childhood song about putting pee pee in your coke which I refuse to repeat.

Is this really how all 2 1/2 year old boys talk? Or just mine? I'd love to know.

Baby Boutiques

Calling all friends and family...

I am trying to expand the Tiny Tales wholesale business. If you know of or see a baby boutique, please send me the name and city so I can send them a brochure.

Smiles!

Right on schedule at a few days older than 6 weeks, Jonah has started to smile. I have some photos on my camera so I will post when we get back from our Texas trip.

Trey: I want a baby
Me: we have a baby, jonah
Trey: I want my own baby
Me: jonah is your baby. We share him.
Trey: no! I want a special baby.

I wasn't sure what to say to that.

Shopping!

25% off at Ann Taylor through Sunday
Use code 10701098 all weekend long at Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft.

30% off everything at Gymboree for 3 days
August 21-24th, use coupon code GYMFRIEND to receive 30% off your entire purchase.

15% off orders of $35 or more at Tiny Sprouts
www.tinysprouts.com
August 22 - 24, use coupon code upagain

Jonah with his great grandmother

The first time they meet...

Look at these beautiful flowers Joe bought me for my birthday! I love how they turned the water pink. Very cool.

So exciting!

Gap just asked for a few more product samples so their online and visual teams could set up to shoot. How exciting!

 

Rockin

I am taking both kids to TX tomorrow....by myself! I am a little worried about the plane ride. Trey has a hard time sitting still for 2 hours, like any 2 year old. I have 5 movies and a DVD player for him, and I picked up these kid headphones for him. Pink was the only color they had. He's been walking around the house with them on, and saying "Can you hear me?" into the plug end.

Happy Birthday to me!

The Fountain

One of our favorite places to go is Southlands Mall. It is an outdoor mall close to the house. It has a very cool fountain that, on a nice day, has a ton of kids running through it. My favorite restaurant is there too - Mt. Fuji - I love Japanese hibachi!

What is the result when a cold weather day sneaks up on you and all you have to put on your taller than average 2 1/2 year old is last year's fall clothes? Ummmm.... It's not pretty. Poor kid. Good thing kids this age don't make fun of each other yet b/c he would be a prime target.

I wonder what the neighbors think?

My son, sitting on the hydrant on the corner, no pants - only a pullup.

I'm wearing "real" jeans today!

Meaning pre-pregnancy, non-maternity jeans. Yipee!

In denver the high will be in the 60s today.

Lil' copycat, part 7

Trey has my vocabulary down pat!

He'll get into my car in the driver's seat, put the keys in, and say "all rightie!"

He grabbed my swim goggles, and said "let me get them situated for you."

Dipping his feet into the pool, "ohhhhh this feels nice!"

"That sounds like a good deal."

And it's not even 9am

I didn't think when I woke up this morning that I would get peed on by both my boys.

I was changing Jonah and got sprayed. I know better! I keep forgetting to cover him. Interestingly, I have gotten sprayed about 10 times. Joe? Not once. Maybe Jonah can recognize his own kind?

Then later Trey had ripped off his diaper like he does about 10 times a day now, and we were standing in the kitchen talking. Right as I felt something warm on my foot, Joe said 'he just peed on your leg.'. I don't think he was aiming for me, but I have no idea why he even peed. Guess we have a long way to go with potty training!

A few of Trey's favorite phrases

"Who bought that for me?"
(Most of the time it isn't even something that is his. He asked me that when he noticed a new trashcan in our bathroom).

"Will this get me a popcicle?"
(We've implemented a barter approach to treats. You eat this much chicken - you get a popcicle).

"Watch this cool trick"
(Adapted from the cool tricks segment of his favorite show Yo Gabba Gabba).

"But..."
(He has an excuse or reason for everything and most of the time it doesn't even make sense! Such as "Trey don't jump of the couch.", "But I need to so I can feel better.")

New photos - see link on the right.

Trey: I was riding my scooter earlier in the driveway and fell down and got a boo boo.

Me: I know. It doesn't feel good when you fall down on the concrete, does it?

Trey: it sucks

Target update

My time on the endcap will be September to December 2009. That is sooooo far away! :(

The boys

My boys are so adorable!!



More photos on the right under the Photo Albums header. If you want to get prints, let me know and I will send you the original because ophoto reduces the quality and they might not come out well.

Find the baby

Back to School Sale

Ok…so getting pregnant or having a baby doesn’t exactly follow the school year for most people, but tis the season for Back to School sales and I don’t want to be left behind!

For the month of August, get 3 free notepads with every Tiny Tales order. Enter code BACK2SCHOOL08. You don’t need to add the extra notepads to your order - they will be included automatically when it ships.

Happy tales!
www.tiny-tales.com

Big boy!

We went to the doc today because Jonah seems to have a slight case of reflux. He will now be taking baby zantac.

He weighs 8lbs 1oz! Let's put this into perspective. Jonah has put in 2 POUNDS in less than 2 weeks.

Jonah's first bath

I admit we've been a little lax when it comes to bathing Jonah. They gave him a sponge bath in the hospital, and I wiped him down with a wet washcloth once, but other than that his 3 weeks of life have been bath free. To our defense, we couldn't give him a bath until his cord stump fell off, which was just earlier this week, but we could have been giving him sponge baths all along. When he looked undeniably greasy and started to get some acne...I decided we had waited long enough.

Here are some photos of his first bath in his "European Spa Tub." This is a new product that is supposed to make for happy bath times.

Spa Baby the European style baby tub is the tub babies love. Discover for yourself what the Europeans have known for years. They bathe their babies in tubs that let them sit in a natural upright position with warm water to their shoulders. The tub calms the baby because they feel secure and warm in the bath. It's no wonder babies relax completely and enjoy it so much! It even calms colicky babies. And best of all, it is easy to use for newborns until your baby can go into an adult tub, around 10 months of age. Spa Baby is beautifully designed for all hip mamas and spa babies in a translucent sea green that is durable and easy to care for. So relax during bath time, and treat your baby to a Spa Baby.

Check out the happy model baby.



We didn't look quite like the mom and baby in the advertisement, but I think he'll eventually like it when he is a bit bigger.

I am the smartest mom ever

Taking ultimate advantage of Trey's "let me try it" and "I want to do it myself" stage.

Cool sunset!

The deck is finished

This is a bad photo b/c I took it out of the living room window, but you can see the lower deck and the stairs. The upper deck is 16x11 with a pergola over half of it. Then the stairs are angled (with a baby gate at the top), then a landing, then the bottom deck is an octagon shape with benches around half of it. It is so cool! Trey and I hung out there a lot yesterday afternoon/evening and the weather was perfect.

Not totally finished, but very close!

(rest assured Trey has normal boy parts...I used my photoshop skills to blur them out so he isn't on display to the whole world and take me to therapy later for not protecting his privacy.)

The deck

Just slightly addicted to taking pics with my blackberry

It's just so darn convenient!

The deck is coming along!

Should be finished by the weekend. I am so excited to relax out there.

coming soon to a Gap Baby near you: Tiny Tales

Stay tuned for more info on this exciting development. I am a little
hopped up on percocet right now to deal with the mastitis pain...
not sure I could type the details correctly, but I will soon.

Be back soon....

I'm temporarily sidelined with mastitis. Blog postings will resume soon.

Airplane or ship?

Me: look trey! There is an airplane in the sky.

Trey: wow! Who is in there?

Me: I don't know. Who do you think is in there?

Trey: well, probably the pirate.

(I think he meant pilot)

Matchbox cars

Judy sent some matchbox cars and trucks with Grampy this trip as a present for Trey, and he LOVES them! Joe put him to bed last night, Trey insisted on taking handfuls of them to his room. When Joe checked in on him later, he was on his back, spread eagle, cars in both hands.

Jonah's 2 week checkup

I took Jonah for his 2 week checkup today. I'm technically not supposed to drive until tomorrow, but shhh... I did it anyway. Grampy is in town, so I let him and Joe and Trey spend some quality time together shopping at Sam's.

Jonah weighs 7 lbs 6 oz. The doc is very impressed with his weight gain. They look for the baby to be back to birth weight by 2 weeks, and Jonah is past that by 12 oz! He is still relatively small though on the weight scale in the 20th percentile. He has grown a 1/2 inch, which puts him in the 50% percentile for length. And he has a small head like his brother, coming in at the 10th percentile. His cord stump fell off yesterday and looks healthy, and his "boy part" is healing well from the snip snip surgery.

You might have noticed I am the one always behind the camera, so there are few photos of me. I have resorted to taking them of myself and the baby with my blackberry.

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My wild and crazy son

Right before dinner is the "witching hour" when Trey has a sudden burst of uncontrollable energy, loud volume, and selective hearing. When the deck is finished, I will be sending him outside to play during this time.

Mom's Eulogy for Aunt Marianne

Isn't this one of the most touching things you've ever read?


Marianne and Suzanne – The Shepperd Twins

That’s how we were thought of when we were young, and always in that order.

Marianne always was first: the first born, the first to walk, the first seat in our bicycle-build-for-two, the first driver of the car we shared, the first to have a baby – her precious daughter Anne – and the first to travel to our heavenly home.

When I was trying how to describe Marianne, I was drawn to her amazing artistic talent to think of a box of crayons.

Remember how you felt when you opened that new box, and you could choose from any of the crayons…….but you were drawn to one special color in particular, and that would be the first you’d take out of the box.

It was more exciting, more vivid, more unique, more fun, more memorable than all of the others.

And if you looked at the label to see what that color was called, it might have been something like Periwinkle Purple or Tropical Orange.

Now, imagine that those crayons were actually a box of people who were the most wonderful and loving, the most unique, the most memorable in the box.

The name on the side of that crayon would be Marianne Morse. She was a color of her own.

To talk about how special Marianne was to us, we would have to talk about those things that were most special to her.


First and foremost was family. Marianne’s children and grandchildren were everything to her. Anne and Byron, Maggie and Cole, Clint and Diana – Stephen Forrest and Grace – Marianne loved each very much and delighted in her grandchildren. Her husband Clint was the love of her life and her friend and companion.

Marianne also was a wonderful daughter to our parents, and I couldn’t have asked for a better sister for my brother Al and myself. Countless nieces and nephews, great nieces and great nephews…. The family is large and loving and she will be greatly missed by us all.

Since January, I have been in Roanoke quite a bit and Marianne and I have discussed a lot of things that in our busy adult lives we hadn’t had time to talk about.

We talked about Romans 10:9 – “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

I believe with my whole heart that Marianne accepted that promise and at this moment is standing in the presence of the Living Lord.

I believe that on Wednesday Marianne decided that everything she needed to do was taken care of here on earth..and that she should have the privilege of going on – to see Dad and our brother Johnny – and to check things out to make sure it is ready one day for the rest of us.

So for those of use who have been left behind, our crayon box is missing one very special color.

But if you look closely at a rainbow the next time you see one, you might just see a color that is a little more vivid, a little more unique, a little more interesting, a little more memorable.

That color would be called Marianne.

When Joe picks out clothes for Jonah...

His onesie says 'like father like son'

Pics of the week

2 brothers and a little lamb



Trey likes to eat his popsicle on the back deck and spy on the neighbors



Jonah chillin'



Trey isn't allowed to wear shoes in the house, but he argued that wearing them on his hands was ok

Is there anything sweeter than a 2 year old boy?

Tonight I was upset about something, and when Trey saw me crying he said "bend down mommy I will wipe up your tears."

Overheard in the car

Trey telling Jonah in a quiet, sweet voice when Joe stopped at a red light "hold on tight baby Jonah."