We're back!

Jeremy and I returned today from our Babymoon today!  We went to NYC for 3 nights, sans kids (thanks to Mee Maw and Poppy!) and had a blast!  Didn't do a whole lot, other than eat really well and hang out with some family.  Did a lot of riding on the subway and in cabs, even a bus or two!  I got a preggers massage, which was lovely, and we had an awesome dinner at Craft, one of Tom Colicchio's restaurants--oh my goodness, was it AWESOME!  Best food we ever tasted!  Well worth the [many] monies spent.

And now we're home... Jeremiah and Jesslyn were thrilled to see us, and happy to come home themselves, though they also had at blast at my parents' house.  We're all (including my parents and the kids) thoroughly exhausted, but no rest for the weary!  Tomorrow, the kids and I have church (CBS, to be exact, or Community Bible Study) and Jeremy's back to work.  But lots of fun was had by all, and it was a great time away before #3 shows up and throws a wrench in what currently defines 'normal' in our house.  ;)  Only 6 more weeks (3 if they're kind, 8 if not...)

Onto your Daily Shots of the Quadruple Threat!

Jeremy... is so happy to be back in his own bed!  After sleeping in hotels since last Tuesday, he's thrilled to be home with our awesome bed (it's the same one the Crown Plaza uses.)  Oh, and of course, he's happy to be back home with his kiddies, but missing them wasn't nearly as physically painful as missing our bed.  ;)

Jess... dumped out the stockings, still hanging on the mantle, in order to raid the candy still held within.  So sue me, I had a craving.  ;)  Out of sight, out of mind is so true!  But I got my fix, and now the kids will have lots of yummy snacks to choose from at lunch time tomorrow.  Oh, and did I mention we're 34 weeks!!  Yikes!

Jeremiah... got a new train today, courtesy of Mommy and Daddy missing their babies, and wanting to spoil them with something other than some cheap souvenir, just because it says "NY" on it.  So he got a Diesel 10 train, and was SO HAPPY!  Maybe that's why he couldn't wait to come home--he wanted to try him out on his train tracks downstairs!  Hasn't had a chance yet, as he hadn't had a bath since Wednesday, so that's what we did when we got home and then right to bed!  I promise, though... tomorrow.  ;)

Jesslyn... got a huge stuffed teddy from Mommy and Daddy, and was trying to carry it, along with their giant, stuffed penguin, around at the same time.  That's a bit of a handful, though, so that didn't work so well.  But she was also beyond thrilled to have Mommy and Daddy home.  She laughed when we walked in and she saw us, she was so happy!  Melts your heart....  =D

Baby #3... has a name!  Well... sorta.  We're pretty confident as to what the first letter will be, and have a possible boy's name (maybe girl's, also.)   That's all you get.  :)

Daily Shots 1/21/2010

Jeremy... is in Boston, still, living it up with his Canadian co-workers.  Will see him tomorrow!!

Jess... had a fine prenatal appointment, and is home alone.... Weird.  Baby's good, Mama's good, so all is good.  Gonna try to leave the house at 6 a.m., so I'm gonna wrap this up...

Jeremiah... is living it up at Mee Maw and Poppy's house this weekend, with Jesslyn.  He didn't seem very sad to say goodbye to me, so I'm guessing he'll do just fine.  :)

Jesslyn... was asleep when I left, so I dunno how she's doing.  But I have a feeling she's better off than if I'd left AFTER she woke up.  :)

And that's it!  Off to NYC!  The bus leaves at 10:30, but with the unpredictability this icy weather is giving us, I plan on leaving really early, and hoping for the best.  Wish me luck, and we'll "see" ya when we get back!

Daily Shots 1/19/2010

Jeremy... flew to Boston this morning.  I haven't heard from him since--this just now gives me pause.  But I'm sure he's at some pub (Cheer's, maybe??) having a grand ole' time with his co-workers, while his uncomfortably pregnant wife sits at home and wonders if he got in okay....  :)  [Update... just heard from Jeremy.  He is alive.  Yay! ;) ]

Jess... got both kiddies ready and to church by 9 a.m. for CBS, all by myself!  Go me!  :)  We skipped lunch there, though, as it's become more trouble than it's worth.  Instead, we went to Harris Teeter so I could get stuff for Cooking Club (thank you, Uncle James, who watched my sweet kiddies for me so I wouldn't have to miss it!)  And now I'm uncomfortably full, tired, and planning on going to bed as soon as this is published!  :)

Jeremiah... asked at lunch, "Mommy... where's me fish?" Remember our betta?  The 2nd one?  Kicked the bucket on Christmas morning.  We just kinda moved him away, and didn't think Jeremiah would notice.  He just did.  ;)  "Oh, sweetie, your fishy died--he was really sick, and there are no fish doctors to help him get better, so he died and went to fishy heaven."  Pause as he lets this sink in... "Mommy?  Me get another fish?  Me get a black one!  Me get another fish, Mommy???"  :)  "Of course, sweetie, we can go next week after you come back from Mee Maw's house, okay?"  "O-tay, Mommy.  Me get 'nother fish.  Me get 'nother fish later?"  And to think I didn't think he'd ever remember he had one in the first place!  Guess I need to clean out that tank....

Jesslyn... forces the nursery workers to hold her constantly... of this, I'm pretty sure.  Every time I pick her up from the nursery, SOMEONE is holding her!  This is how I picture it going down: I drop her off, and she cries, so someone holds her until she calms down.  Once she does, they put her down, and she goes to find a toy to cuddle (always has to have a bear or baby or something in her arms.)  Once she finds "it" she goes up to a worker, raises her arms to be picked up and waits.  If they don't, she cries, and they do anyway.  That's my guess, at least.  Today, it was a nice older woman, who was very proud to have held her (all 29 lbs of her!) almost the entire time.   I think she reminded Jesslyn of my Mom.  :)

Daily Shots 1/18/2010

Jeremy... finally took our live Christmas tree out to be relieved of its misery.  I think there are more needles on the floor than there were on the tree itself when we got it!  It was in bad shape... Can't wait to clean that up!

Jess... is thoroughly and sufficiently stuffed after an AWESOME dinner at the Sunny & Max's house.   She made chicken fried chicken, mashed taters with white gravy, creamed spinach (which I was SO HOPING she would make!) and yummy dixie pie for dessert!  Oh man, it was so good and I can't wait to have it again!

Jeremiah... enjoyed a nice time outside this morning, with his Daddy.  He took a nice nap (3rd day in a row!  They're becoming rarer and rarer...) and then had LOTS of fun playing with Georgia and Ella.  He didn't want to go, originally (we had to bribe him, practically,) but the whole way home, kept saying how happy he was and how much fun he had!

Jesslyn... had an uneventful day.  She was clingy clingy clingy, though, which could be an issue in... 7 weeks!  AHHH!  And, yup, that's all I've got. :)

Daily Shots 1/17/2010

Jeremy... discussed names for #3 with some guys at church (for the record, he has yet to really talk about 'em with me, but he DID promise to do so during our babymoon this weekend!)

Jess... has nothing interesting going on today.  Well, I took a nap this afternoon.  Umm... yeah, that was the highlight of my day.  ;)

Jeremiah... got his hairs cut tonight!  He screamed a bit before we even did anything, but once Mommy was holding him, he calmed down and "took it like a [whiny] man!"  :)  As soon as he was in the tub, he was happy and even thanked us for cutting it.   What a sweetie!

Jesslyn... was very sympathetic when Jeremiah was upset during his cut.  She kept watching the hair falling on the floor, like it was a limb or something.  You could see the gears turning in her head--"Hmmm... Jeremiah's screaming, and his 'hat' is falling on the floor.... That can't be good!"  She didn't even trust Daddy when he tried to take her and Jeremiah upstairs for bed.  But she sure did enjoy her bath time with her favorite big brother, once she realized he was okay!  And she forgave Daddy, too.

Oh, and don't ask either of them if they like 'bridges'.   Especially Jeremiah--his response is usually, "Me no like that big bridge" except 'bridge' comes out sounding like something else...... yeah..... ;)

Daily Shots 1/16/2010

In my quest to blog more regularly, I'm going to attempt to do a "daily shots" post, which is nothing more than a series of 'status updates' for each person in our family. Some days I may write more, but I figure if I can update my status on Facebook several times a day, I can do at least that here. But don't expect more. It'll just be a nice surprise. :)

Jeremy.... got new glasses today. They're channeling Drew Carey but much more cool and hip. They look good on him. ;)

Jess.... is feeling very pregnant today. And had a dream that MeeMaw took her for a sonogram and told us we were having a boy. Thanks for spoiling it, MeeMaw! ;)

Jeremiah.... gave his new Hot Wheels car to a friend's son, though I have a feeling he was only trying to "share." (However, this friend gave us their old crib, so we're not complaining.) He then left his "Big Thomas" at church, which prompted some whining and fake crying. Miss Jill promised to look for it in the morning, though. :)

Jesslyn.... continues to try to get over her cold today, but was a peach at church--we walked her in and she didn't shed NOT ONE tear! Hallelujah! She's also beyond obsessed with stuffed animals--anything she can wrap her arm around instantly becomes her "baby." Who says gender differences aren't pre-programed?! She's going to be a great big sister (unless she tries to carry the baby the way she carries her dolls....)

Baby #3.... is only a bit over 7 weeks away! Still quite the mover and shaker, and definitely getting big! Hard to believe we'll be a family of 5 soon--we can't wait to meet you, yet we have so much to still do!! AHH!!

That's actually not a bad post, if I do say so myself. :) I think I can manage that daily. Will do my best!

(Oh, and in case you were wondering about the timestamp, yes, technically it's Sunday, but only by a few minutes... I didn't want to D.S. for Sunday since it really hasn't happened yet!)

Happy Birthday, Jeremiah!

Wow. Jeremiah, my little man, my baby, is now THREE!

Wow.

As with each passing year, he's changed quite a bit since turning two. The biggest change: he speaks! At his 2 year check up, our pediatrician expressed some concern about his development, since he was only saying a handful of words (his favorite being "apple.") We went through all the motions to get him evaluated, both privately and via the county, and both suggested therapy. By the time we had our follow up assessment with the county, though, he'd decided he was going to start talking, and boy did he! Five to ten words quickly went to 40-50, and there's been no stopping him since!

It's so cute, now, because he has little phrases that he'll use regularly, and it's just so sweet to hear him try to explain things. For example, he told me the other day that he was going to, "Tell MeeMaw" when we were en route to my Mom's house. "Tell MeeMaw what, Jeremiah?" "Umm.... tell MeeMaw!" Once we got there, we found out that he was planning on telling her about his playgroup that morning, and how he was playing at Cameron's house and they were playing with trains, etc. :) That was the first time he's given a report of his morning without prompting! Pretty cool.

His latest thing is saying he could do something, "all day long." And everything he does, he does, "all day long!" :) Like when he woke up from his nap, and I asked him if he had a good one. His reply was, "Yeah, me nap all day long!" Or he'll be drinking some water, and he'll say, "Mommy, me drink water all day long!" Not sure where it came from, but it sure is cute! :)

We bought him a balance bike for his birthday (if you're not familiar with balance bikes, see thisarticle.) So far, he's really been enjoying it, though we haven't had many opportunities for him to ride it outside. And when we did, he decided it was more fun to go off roading, and try to ride over snow instead of staying on the driveway (which was far less muddy...) Sigh. Oh well, I'm sure he'll get the hang of it on PAVEMENT, too.

For his birthday, we had a party for him at Chuck E Cheese. Kinda weird, since I remember having my birthday parties at Chuck E Cheese when I was young. According to my Mom, the price has only gone up $1 since then! Crazy. It was loads of fun,t hough, and everyone had a great time. My Mom and I made the cake for him, since it was the only thing we actually had to do for the party, and I think it turned out quite well (though the pic below is blurry--camera case is STILL missing, and that has the card converter so it will fit in my laptop.)

It's still hard to believe my little man is 3, yet at the same time, he seems so much older. Funny how that works, huh? :)

Happy birthday, Jeremiah! Mommy & Daddy love you lots! :) You're such an awesome son, a super sweet and cool big brother, and a blessing to everyone who has the pleasure knowing you! :)

Determination.

Well, I've slacked for too long. I've sorta lost my motivation for blogging. It no longer has the impact it once did, since I've had to make the blog private, and I also do most of my "updating" via Facebook now. But as I sit here on the eve of Jeremiah's 3rd birthday, I looked back and saw quite the history unfolding. It's sad to imagine I won't have anything further. So I'm going to try harder. At least once a week! Maybe I'll get back up to my every-other-day schedule I once held. Maybe not. But I gotta at least try!

So where to start?

How 'bout the holidays?

They. Were. Crazy!

~Thanksgiving was held at my parents' house. We had quite the crowd there, as 2 of my 3 Uncles and their families came. Jeremiah was a bit overwhelmed by the chaos (my cousins are pretty loud and rambunctious,) so we set him up with his Cars movie while the rest of us ATE! And it was YUMMY! However, the turkey was on the smaller side, so I didn't get my turkey fix, which lead to me wanting to do turkey for Christmas, as well. More on that, later.

~I do love Christmas. It's my favorite time of year, and having kids makes it that much more fun! This year is really the first year Jeremiah's starting to "get it." For a while, we debated on what to tell Jeremiah, regarding Santa, since we really want the focus to be on Jesus and His birth, and not on the gifts under the tree. For a while, we thought we'd just try to be as vague as possible, but in the end, I decided I wanted Jeremiah to wonder if Santa was "real." So I told him, "On Christmas Eve, Santa brings presents to all the good little boys and girls! When you wake up on Christmas morning, and you see the gifts under the tree, many will be from Mommy and Daddy, but hopefully, some will also be from Santa!"

One thing we did do, though, was still emphasis that Christmas was Jesus' birthday--this is a concept even Jeremiah can understand. To really hit it home, we even ordered a birthday cake for Jesus (okay, Mommy wanted an excuse to order a Costco cake. Mmmm.... Costco cake....) and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus on Christmas day. And if you had asked Jeremiah, "What day is next week?" the week before, he wouldn't have said, "Christmas!" but instead, "Jesus' birthday!" I know we did our job when the very last gifts to be opened (days later) were those from Santa, but you can still ask him who had a birthday recently, and he'll tell you, "Jesus!" We'll add the more important details as the years go on, but I think we're off to a good start.

~Before Christmas, we had some fun. I had a Cookie Swap, we had our Christmas party (during the first snow storm of the year! but we still had 30+ people!) and various other things that are all a blur at this point. We gave lots of stuff away, too! All year long, I buy toys and baby things on clearance for cheap cheap cheap! Some, I intend to keep for my kids. Most, though, is saved for Toys for Tots, or some other charity during the holidays. We weren't on our game this year, so we waited for our church to put up their Angel tree and took as many cards as we thought we could supply gifts. And it was quite a bit. Even once we dropped everything off, we could have taken more cards, since most people got ONE thing for each card, whereas we had multiple items (not many bigger ticket items, but we could have probably split each one in two.) It felt so good to get all that stuff out of the house, especially to know it was going to someone who might not have anything otherwise.

~December also brought our biggest snow storm of the century! Granted, we're only 9 years in, but considering we haven't had a white Christmas since 2002 (and that wasn't very white... more like a heavy dusting,) this was huge. The forecast called for 12+ inches. Then it was 16+ inches. Then it was up to 24 inches?! Yikes!

The night before, the Friday before Christmas, we decided to take the kids out to go look at Christmas lights. We got a late start, though, since we also wanted to drop off all the cookies I'd collected from the Cookie Swap to our neighbors. And then we hit traffic on 28 (rush hour traffic? still? at 7:30??) But we found the neighborhood we were looking for, and the lights were, indeed, quite impressive. Lots of over the top stuff, but the kids loved it.

On our way to another neighborhood, we stopped at Chick-Fil-A for dinner, and were surprised to find a Barber Shop group there, singing Christmas carols! They serenaded us throughout our meal, even reading the Christmas story from the Bible in between carols. It was really cool! After every song, Jeremiah would say to me, "I like that song, Mommy!" :)

Once we left there, we went on our search to find the house with the million white lights. We found it, and there really was, what appeared to be, a million white lights! Everything was covered, but tastefully so (think wrapping-tree-trunks with strands of lights, and then each branch was also wrapped...) They had several "tasteful" lawn ornaments, too, like reindeer and even a nativity scene! It was very impressive. To top it off, while we were there, it began to snow! A few flurries here and there, and by the time we left, a few had become many, so we stopped at Home Depot to get some supplies (more salt and gloves for Jeremy,) before heading home.

We did get our big snow, about 18" overall, and both kids LOVED it! Jesslyn is definitely part-Canadian, as she wasn't phased by the cold at all! Granted, they were well bundled up, but her face was so red when they came in, yet she was still smiling! I think out of the three of them that went out (Mommy stayed inside) Jeremy probably tolerated it the least! He also had the least amount of clothing on, which may have had something to do with it. ;) Mommy rectified that on Christmas. :)

~As far as Christmas day goes, we overdid everything! We got the kids WAY too much stuff (some of it is still sitting in the garage, waiting for another gift-worthy occasion,) but I kept finding good deals on things, it was hard to say no! My parents came over around 10 a.m., so that's when the fun began. Jeremiah got a Tag Reader (which he loved! though he didn't know it at the time--took us a few days to open it and get it programed,) a train table, some Thomas stuff and a bunch of other random things he doesn't care about (I thought for sure he would, too! I'm looking at you, Rocky the Robot Truck....) Jesslyn got a doll house (so cute!) a new praying baby doll, some "Mommy" gear (high chair, stroller, etc.,) but her favorite gift was definitely the shopping cart! Both she and Jeremiah push that around EVERYWHERE! At least Mommy got one good thing right! :)

After gifts, we had a yummy breakfast my Mom brought over (quiche!) and we made malassadas! Yummy! We took a couple of hours to chill (and Mommy took a nap) before cooking the big dinner! It was all tasty, but next year, I think we should just have brie chicken and maybe some sauteed green beans, or something--keep it simple!

~New Year's Eve was spent at my parents' house. We went over, ate dinner (stromboli!) put the kids down for the night, played cards, watched the ball drop and I fell asleep while Jeremy... did something! Not sure what. Probably on the computer. :) Around 2 a.m., Jeremiah woke up, so we decided to leave. Soooooo tired.... thankfully, so were the kids, and they slept in 'til 9:30 or so, which made the morning a bit more palatable.

That night, we went over my Uncle Nelson's for "Christmas". Normally, we do this part of Christmas on Christmas Eve, but they were away skiing in CO, so we pushed it back a week. It was a nice night, but really, I felt that the whole Christmas thing had gone on long enough. I was ready for the chaos part to be done! I miss the Advent part of the season. That's where the magic lies (see Christmas outing on snow storm eve above...)

Overall, we had a lovely Christmas and holiday season, but I'm too pregnant to do anything that crazy again. :) Next year, I'm going to try to simplify as much as possible! We'll see how well that goes.

And with that, I will leave you, for it is now Jeremiah's birthday, and I need to get some sleep before the birthday boy wakes up! Hopefully we'll be seeing you again soon. :)

Hi. How's it going? Long time, no see.

More coming soon....

Jesslyn's Favorite Words

"Hi"

"Bye"

"Shoes" (She has a pair of red shoes that she LOVES... sadly, they're kinda too small for her now.)

"Baby" (Anything she can hold, rock, and pat on the back is a 'baby' from baby dolls, to stuffed seahorses, to Brobee...)

"Mommy" (Actually, it's usually, "MOMMY!!!!!")

"Da-eee" (Still working on that 2nd & 3rd 'd')

"Poppy" (She loves her Grandpa!)

"Titty" (err.... 'kitty')

"Ball"

"Dis" (if she's got it...)

"Dat" (if she doesn't....)

"Poo-poo!" (Usually accompanied by some bum patting...)

"Bum bum" (yeah...)

"Diaper"

"Cheese" (Well, she said it once, when prompted. Probably doesn't really count.)

Still, not bad for a 13.5 month old. Jeremiah definitely wasn't there at 13 months. Oh, and she signs "more," shakes her head "yes" and "no" and dances when you chant, "Go, Kookie! Go! Go! Go, Kookie!" So yeah. She's doing well. ;)

A Whirldwind of a Trip

Last week, we embarked on an excellent adventure. Our first stop was NJ for a wedding where we knew only the bride and groom (a couple other folks we had met once before, but other than that, we knew NO ONE ELSE!) We did make friends with some of the folks at our table during the reception, but up 'til that point, nada. Still, it was a nice wedding, and it was nice to get out away from the kiddies (my parents came along to watch 'em.) We would have taken more pics but the battery(ies) on our camera died and I didn't have our other cam handy. Oh well.

After that, we headed to NYC for a few days. It was a lovely time, as we got to hang out with Jeremy's cousin Mary and her fam in their schwanky Manhattan apartment (which has an AWESOME view! Could have stayed up there, just looking over the city all night.) Again, no pics, because I didn't want to drag out my good camera for just a few shots, and our other camera was.... dead. Yeah. But we had a good time, the food was yummy (Mary made Texas style bbq, as that's where they've been for the past 4 years!) And all of her siblings also came to dinner, which was an unexpected surprise (well, we were pretty sure one would be there, with her new hubby, as they also live in the city, but her brother, James, is nearly impossible to track down. Always globe trotting somewhere.) They even got cupcakes for dessert! Mmm... yes, America, NYC cupcakes ARE worth all the rave. Well, not from Magnolia, but more on that later.

The next day, we did head out into the city a bit, FINALLY venturing into Toys R Us Time Square (meh, it's just a big toy store... Jeremiah was too upset to ride the ferris wheel because he wanted to go in the "beep beep" and not the "truck." Oh well. He did get a Thomas train out of it, so he was happy.

One thing we did learn about NYC while there is that it's really difficult to traverse with kids. At least, if your kids are stroller bound, and your stroller is heavy (as ours is...) Yeah. It was way more hassle than it was worth to take the bus or subway anywhere, and cabs made me nervous, too (since the kids wouldn't be in car seats, and they drive crazy...) So we walked quite a bit. And it was all good. At least we were able to justify the cupcakes we ate later that day, right before we headed up to the Top of the Rock. I will say, though, Magnolia is totally NOT worth the hype. The cupcakes were so dry! The frosting was good, and necessary, but I do not pay $3 for frosting, so I was disappointed.

Top of the Rock was fun! Jeremy's Uncle Chuck and his family was able to meet us there (they live in NJ) so we had some company to enjoy the sights with (and help watch the kiddies!) We timed it right around Sunset, so we could see the city during the day, and get a nice view of Central Park, yet still be able to see it fully lit up, and watch the sunset. It was a little more crowded than last time I went (around 8:30, I think) but by the time the sunset, almost everyone was gone, and we could take it all in ourselves (and Jeremiah and Jesslyn could entertain everyone with their little dances.) 'Twas a good time had by all!

Those were the highlights of NYC. Off to RI we go! This part of the trip was crazy. We basically were there to eat. And eat we did! The night we got there, we had a bunch of RI favorites--fried clams, clam cakes, and lobster rolls. The next day, sampled some Portuguese fare at Sagres. We had papsicos! (Portuguese hard rolls... can't get 'em here in VA!) And Sumol (a Portuguese soda. You CAN get it here in VA, but there are only two places that sell it, and both are a little hike [and overpriced...]) We also had quejo fresco, a soft goat cheese with a texture very similar to greek yogurt--very fresh, indeed! And of course, we had to have the caldo verde, or Portuguese Kale Soup. Not as good as homemade, but nice, since there version is very smooth and refined, whereas our version is more rustic.

For our entrees, Jeremy had what I had wanted to order, which was a Portuguese Steak. They put fried eggs on top of EVERYTHING in Portugal, so of course, that's how it came to us! And the fried potatoes were nice and crispy, like thick potato chips. I had the "bacalhau" or salted cod. It was cooked with potatoes, olives, and LOTS of olive oil, with, of course, fried egg on top. It was yummy, but I would have preferred Jeremy's dish. Oh well. Maybe next year, when we go to the Azores to visit my Grandparents (my Avó and Avō) I can have it then!

We did visit Battleship Cove, because I thought Jeremiah would think it was cool. Well, he played along with that idea for all of 5 minutes and then decided he'd rather run around on the waterfront (pics coming soon...)

We also took a trip to Fogland beach, which was our beach of choice growing up. We didn't spend a lot of time there, though, since it was VERY chilly, with a stiff breeze coming over the water. I wanted to stay, since the kids obviously did, but it was just too cold for me, and we didn't have the proper outerwear to justify it (and I don't care how tough Jeremy thinks he is--wearing just a short sleeved polo shirt and shorts in cold like that is crazy.) But it was nice to stop by and see the place.

We didn't really do much else. I was able to find fresh malassadas (or malasadas, depending on who you ask,) and it came with a huge breakfast (2 eggs, 2 strips bacon, 2 sausage, 2 french toast, 2 pancakes, potatoes AND the malasada... crazy!) for $8! Jeremy got a chourico, cheese, and egg omelette that was a steal at $5. Jeremiah was perfectly happy with just his malasada, though. :)

Before heading to Pittsburgh (why did I think that would be a good idea....) we had breakfast with a friend of mine from High School, Ali. I don't think I've seen her in... 8 or 9 years now? So that was a nice way to end our trip. :)

The Pittsburgh part of the trip was not the highlight, that's for sure. Endless traffic, en route, miscommunication about a reunion meal at Jeremy's ol' college campus, meh food that kept me near the bathrooms, swarms of bees that wouldn't go away, chilly temps, and uncomfortable shoes made for a rough day. And I didn't even get the sandwich I wanted (a Pittsburgh staple: meat, fries and coleslaw, between two huge piece of Italian bread,) so it was a bust for me. Oh well. Next time (yeah right... not a lot of reason to go back at this point.)

Needless to say, we're SO glad to be home. I won't do a trip like that for a while. Poor Jeremiah was so desperate for stability and his own bed, instead of a different hotel room every other night, practically. Yeah, too much in too little time. But it was fun. Unfortunately, we're all sick now (and were partly on the trip, as well!) so it's hard to be cheerful at the moment. :( Hopefully, we're getting this all out of our system now, so we don't have to worry about it come the holidays!

And with that, I sign off. 2 a.m. is too late for bed when you're supposed to be getting as much rest as possible. Ah, screw it. Too sick to care. :p

Jesslyn's B-Day Party!

On Sunday, September 6th, we had a 'little' birthday party for Jesslyn. I say 'little' because it was supposed to be a simple party with cake and just some family & few friends, but it morphed into something.... bigger. :) Not too crazy, but I just can't keep it easy. 'Twas goot times, though, and we're still eating leftovers. :) Here're some highlights for ya!

Mommy & The Kookie post-nap at her party!

The Kookie's "smash" cake, courtesy of Miss Merry.

"Our" cake, courtesy of Costco. :) 'Twas quite yummy, too.

Staring down her cake... I don't think she liked the candle.

"Hmm.... not too sure about this. I'd better try another bite."

"MMMM! It IS yummy!"

Now, Jesslyn SMASH!!

After....

And now... some video highlights!!

Jesslyn vs. Her Birthday Cake

"Hey, it's not so bad after all..."

Jesslyn SMASH!

Trip to the Fire Station!

Jeremiah, like most boys his age, is obsessed with fire trucks. He will watch the Mighty Machines "At the Firehall" (it's a Canadian production....) over and over and over and over and then.... just one more time. So when the opportunity to go on a tour came up in my Mom's group, we had to go!

And go we did! :)

Checkin' out the firestation from the inside. It was HIGH!

Watchin' a fireman suit up.

Jeremiah 'totally' not interested in watching said fireman suit up.

"Does he look scary now, kids?" Me: "Yes...." Kids: "NO!!!!!" Whoops....

Meet and greet with the 'scary', I mean, 'not scary' fireman. Jeremiah waved at him. That was it.

Woah. What's that face, Jeremiah? :)

Oxygen tanks, extension cords, and... radios? I guess so.... They didn't have THAT on the Canadian truck!

Eh. I got nutin'.

He sure does look little next to that tire!

He wanted to climb in the truck, but those steps are a bit spikey....

.....So Mommy helped him out! (He really wanted to push buttons, but was a good boy and refrained.)

Utter bliss. :)

He sat in every seat....

....in every truck.

HAHA! Okay, this is not a flattering pic at all, but it makes me laugh. :)

Yeah, so we had a great time at the fire station! Jeremiah really enjoyed it and I know he'll want to go back again someday soon! Fun stuff!

Still no van...

Now what we're hearing is that the district manager for Honda is a real hard a$$ (Service Manager at the dealership's words, not ours) and the most we can expect from him is 25% or 50% off. What... a..... COLORFUL WORD &%$&#^!%#^$&!!!! I'm so glad there's a lawsuit in the works. They lost the last one (same issue, older model years) so there's a good chance they'll lose again, which means we should get reimbursed for our costs. Not our headaches/hassles/time without, mind you.... But what can ya do. I guess better late than never, right?

What's sad is that I'm really getting used to being stuck at home. I'm sure the kids are getting anxious about not having a change of scenery every now and then. And at least the farm is still just a walk away, though not a fun one when it's low-mid 90's and muggy. But it was nice tonight--high 70's and just a tad muggy made for a comfortable expedition! Jeremiah loved every minute of it. And there's nothing like the lack of light to cue him in on when it's time to leave, not that he was happy about it.

I'd say the rest of the day wasn't too bad. There re-paving the road right behind our property, so we sat on our little hill to watch for a bit. Jeremiah LOVED that! First we watched a huge dump truck back up while another truck swept up all the debri and it went up a conveyor belt into the truck. That was cool. Then a little loader went behind that truck, and picked up more debri. Then a couple of street sweepers went behind that and scrubbed it all clean (I guess.) That was it for today, so I'm guessing they're going to pave tomorrow, which should be fun to watch. I just hope it's not so hot tomorrow, so we can go out and be comfortable. And maybe the stupid bugs'll stay at bay, too! I didn't realize mosquitos were active in the daytime.... Grrr...

Sleepiness has been an annoying problem lately. Everyday this week, I've been desperate to nap, so I have. Thankfully, Jesslyn has been feeling the same way. Either that, or she figures, "Well, it doesn't look like Mommy's coming to get me up, so I guess I'll sleep." Last week, she wasn't interested in her afternoon naps AT ALL. For a while there, I thought she was being like her big brother and giving up her 2nd nap before her 1st birthday. As annoying as it is to be stuck in the house twice a day, well, it's not like I'm going anywhere anyway! Yeah, I'm okay with it. I like those breaks in the day, especially because Jesslyn is my "needy" child. She's okay if I'm in the same room as her, but usually, she wants me to hold her. It's very cute, but there are definitely times I wish she were more like her brother and happy to play by himself, sans Mommy. At least I know I'll always have a cuddle bug!

Only a few more weeks 'til her birthday! Crazy. I think we'll have to have a little family something or other. It was quite the year!

And now, for Top Chef...

Interesting Facts

Most of you with whom I keep in contact regularly know that we've adopted a "low carb" lifestyle recently. This is something my family has been talking about for YEARS, but I've never been convinced to the legitimacy of it. Then we saw "Fathead", a sort of follow up documentary to "Super Size Me" and it really started to make sense. I've been perusing their blog in recent weeks, and thought I would share their "No-Bologna Facts" with you. Emphases are mine.

• There’s never been a single study that proves saturated fat causes heart disease.
• As heart-disease rates were skyrocketing in the mid-1900s, consumption of animal fat was going down, not up. Consumption of vegetable oils, however, was going up dramatically.
• Half of all heart-attack victims have normal or low cholesterol. Autopsies performed on heart-attack victims routinely reveal plaque-filled arteries in people whose cholesterol was low (as low as 115 in one case).
• Asian Indians - half of whom are vegetarians - have one of the highest rates of heart disease in the entire world. Yup, that fatty meat will kill you, all right.
• When Morgan Spurlock tells you that a McDonald’s salad supplies almost a day’s allowance of fat, he’s basing that statement on the FDA’s low-fat/high-carbohydrate dietary guidelines, which in turn are based on … absolutely nothing. There’s no science behind those guidelines; they were simply made up by a congressional committee.
• Kids who were diagnosed as suffering from ADD have been successfully treated by re-introducing natural saturated fats into their diets. Your brain is made largely of fat.
• Many epileptics have reduced or eliminated seizures by adopting a diet low in sugar and starch and high in saturated animal fats.
• Despite everything you’ve heard about saturated fat being linked to cancer, that link is statistically weak. However, there is a strong link between sugar and cancer. In Europe, doctors tell patients, “Sugar feeds cancer.”
• Being fat is not, in and of itself, bad for your health. The behaviors that can make you fat - eating excess sugar and starch, not getting any exercise - can also ruin your health, and that’s why being fat is associated with bad health. But it’s entirely possible to be fat and healthy. It’s also possible to be thin while developing Type II diabetes and heart disease.
• Saturated fat and cholesterol help produce testosterone. When men limit their saturated fat, their testosterone level drops. So, regardless of what a famous vegan chef believes, saturated fat does not impair sexual performance.

Hmm.... sounds like a lot of the opposite of what we've been told all of our lives.

Oh, and it gets better. Here's an interesting article about---exercise!

Exercise Bologna--

The USDA came out with their recommendation to do 60-90 minutes of aerobics for fat-loss in 2005. The first ever research study on the efficacy of their advice didn’t come out until late 2007. Do you know what the study said?

Men who did moderate to vigorous (think your target heart rate zone) exercise for over 60 minutes per day, 6 days per week, for an entire year lost only 6.5lbs of body fat! That is a half pound per month, for more than 6 hours of exercise per week. Women barely lost 4lbs! (1)

So, if you’re a woman with 20lbs to lose, all you’d need is 20 hours of aerobic exercise per week and you’d be set in 12 months!

You'll have to read the article to get more details, but the gist is that exercise that doesn't build muscle isn't going to help you lose weight. That's not to say it isn't good for you--but killing yourself at the gym on the elliptical machine isn't going to equal pounds shed. So maybe we could all go back to a more primitive form of exercise for better health--walking, jumping, and PLAYING! That sounds like more fun to me, at least. Though I still kinda wanna take a belly dancing class. :)

One month later...

...and still no mini-van. GRUMBLE!!!!

That being said, I'm getting used to being stuck in the house all day. And with the exception of Sunday and Monday, the weather has been favorable to short walks and visits to the farm. But man... those past two days--whooo! As my Dad would say, "It was a SCORCHA!" But we had a nice time, despite the heat.

Sunday, our friends (and soon to be married) Juanaldo (real name, John,) and Carolyn (real name, Carolyn. :) came over for a little cookout. Had some yummy burgers, chocolate chip cookies, and just a nice time hanging out [inside] with our favorite engaged couple!

Yesterday, Jeremy worked from home, which totally messes up my inner-clock. Someone mentioned Monday in passing, and I thought, "Isn't that today???" Yeah. I blame it on a placenta brain. ;) But it was nice to have him home! I had TWO meals to deliver yesterday to two new Mommies--one way out in Leesburg (it's only way out because they're Mom's from my Moms' group in Reston/Herndon, so they're a little further out than I expected,) but the other was in my neighborhood, so they equal out to about 15 minutes each way, each. There we go! :) I made some YUMMY Stuffed Peppers. I haven't had 'em in so long, and boy was it good! I used this recipe from All Recipes, in case you want to make them yourself. I did use chicken stock instead of water, was a little more generous with worchestsire sauce, and used canned stewed tomatoes instead of plain. Very tasty.

I'll make this again, but I'll use boiled cabbage isntead of the peppers. Nothing against peppers, but I really just wanted the filling, so I'll use something that's a little less in your face the next round. Oh, and I made my own Tomato Soup using tomatoes from our garden (so if you didn't want to use all of it as a sauce for the peppers, you could just eat it!) All that was was our peeled tomatoes, an onion, garlic, s&p, a few bay leaves and some crush red pepper flakes! Blend it all together, and YUM!

Back to the Mommies. So the whole meal was the stuffed peppers with tomato soup/sauce, mixed greens with strawberries and blueberries with a balsamic vinegrette (which I accidently made into mayonnaise the first time... thought I'd be clever and use my new hand blender to mix it. Yeah.... too much power. Came out yummy the second time, though!) and chocolate chip cookies for dessert! Yum! I was very pleased with it, and both Mommies seemed to be pleased as well! Unfortunately, I didn't get any baby time at either delivery, but that's alright. I'll just go steal my neighbor's baby sometime, so it'll be okay. :) Hey, she said I could. Is it stealing, then, if you have their permission??? ;)

Jesslyn turns one in a month. CRAZY! This year has gone by so quickly, much more quickly than Jeremiah's first year, I think. Then again... no, it definitely went by more quickly. :) I wonder what'll happen when #3 arrives! Will it all be a blur??? Guess we'll just have to wait and see. She's changing so much (who doesn't say that?) She's practicing standing unassisted (got it down, pat!) starting to "talk" (ma-ma, da-da, ba-ba [ball or bottle], ki-eee [kitty], etc...) It looks like we won't have any speech problems with her!

Speaking of speech, Jeremiah had his evalulation with the county last week. He's no longer developmentally delayed, just below average, which is not surprising. He adding words everyday! Just wasn't interested in talking before, that's all. I'm sure by the time he has his three year check up, he'll be right where he should be! So we're very thankful to put an end to *that* chapter in our lives.

Back to Jesslyn--I love her hair--it's so cute! It's getting really long in the back, but instead of just being long, it curls up underneath itself, so while it's been the same "length" for a while, when you comb through it, you realize just how long it is. But that's the only place she has curls--the rest is pin straight and wispy! It's too fine for hair clips, but I can put it up in pigtails all day long! I usually, do, but it's not the easiest task--I have to find something really interesting to distract her with, otherwise she tries to "watch" what I'm doing and keeps twisting and pulling away. So cute once it's done, though!

That's all for now!

Yay for good days!

In my quest to post more often, I thought I would write a short one about today, since yesterday wasn't so great.

Oddly enough, today's been a rather good day! I went to bed last night around the time I usually do (midnight...) despite my plans to do otherwise.... Hey, Top Chef Masters was on 'til 11, so, y'know, I had to watch that! Then it was "He said/She said" on 1 vs. 100 (on XBox Live) so I thought I'd play that a little while, and then it was cleaning up from dinner/getting ready for bed nonsense... Yeah, next thing you know, it's midnight.

ANYWAY, I woke up at 8 today and was, strangely, rather awake. Both kids were still sleeping, so I tried to go back to sleep, only to hear Jeremiah a few minutes later--"Mooooooooooooommeeeeeeeeee!" Since Jesslyn was still asleep, I tried to convince Jeremiah to come lay in bed with me, even trying to shush him as we walked down the hall to our room. Of course, as soon as we were close to Jesslyn's room, he shouted, "Dat one, too!" Grrr.... He wanted his blanket in bed with us. Long story short, we got a scant few minutes cuddling before, "Kookie up!" as Jeremiah would say. Yes, Jesslyn still is, and forever will be, "The Kookie"

Am I the only person who thinks that days that start off gray and rainy are good days??? I think it's because I don't have anywhere to go (and couldn't go even if I did--STUPID HONDA! Anyway--) so it's just a sign that we can take the day slow and easy, and just see how things go. So that's what we did. We took our time at breakfast, and just kinda chilled this morning. Jesslyn was a good girl, and went down for her nap on time, Jeremiah was happy to watch Caillou while Mommy showered, and then Meemaw and Uncle Stephin came over to hang out for a bit.

Since they were here, I seized the opportunity to get out of the house. Our neighbor/friends from down the street, Leslie and John, welcomed a beautiful baby boy, Matthew, into the world yesterday, and I was lucky enough to get to visit them at the hospital today! Of course, it was part of my master plan--Leslie had asked for ideas on how to make John's birthday (today) special, since they'd be in the hospital. I volunteered to bring a cake in, but of course, I really wanted to see the baby. :) Not that I minded doing that for them, but c'mon... who doesn't want to see a new baby?! When I got there, he'd been wheeled out for, umm, "boy stuff" so I got to visit with Leslie and John (mostly Leslie) instead. And Leslie's sister, Kate, so it was a nice time chatting while we waited for Matthew to return. Once he did, much cooing/oo-ing/aww-ing ensued. It was a nice time, and I was honored to be able to share that with Leslie and her family.

Jeremy's working the rest of the afternoon from home today. Well, he did, since the workday is now over. He had a "team outting" to Annapolis for some sailing. Yeah. For some reason, they made it an overnight trip. This was "okay" with me, until he decided to not call/text/email/check in AT ALL until 8 a.m. this morning. Seriously, I was sending him text messages, asking him if he was still alive. How was I to know differently??? Thankfully, he is, and home safe and sound now. He was even kind enough to run to Burger King and get me a Whopper (which has since been consumed, furthering the goodness of the day. :) But then he locked me out of the house.... I don't think he meant to, I think it was out of habit (and a good one, too! Especially since he accidently left the front door not only unlocked, but OPEN, one night last week! Yeesh.)

That's been our day, thus far. I think some Chuck E Cheese action is in store for this evening, although the weather has really cleared up and turned beautiful. But those dang tokens are just clanging around in my diaper bag, and I'm getting a little tired of it. They gotta go!

Tomorrow, Jeremiah has his eval with ChildFind about his speech. Or maybe it's just a hearing test. I'm not really sure, but I don't think they're going to do anything to help him at this point--he's been talking up a storm! But I'm no expert, so we'll see.

It's one of those days...

'Those days' always seem to occur when Jeremy goes out of town, and I know I'll be without a break until bedtime. Where did he go, you ask? He's going boating in Annapolis with his team! What the heck?! Oh well. I'm glad he's out to have a good time, but of course it means I'm stuck here at home, vehicle-less, with two young kids and nowhere to go. Thankfully, my Dad is going to come by tonight to give me a break, so I can run some errands (need to check on a friend's cats, get some milk at the store, etc...)

I think part of my frustration is due to the caffeine in the coffee I had this morning--makes me a little jittery, which I interpret as "stress." I don't drink coffee in the mornings very often, and now I remember why. I'll stick with tea from now on. Just don't have the tolerance I used to have (as if it were an alcoholic beverage!)

Life has been pretty non-eventful lately. Since we're STILL waiting for Honda to fix our van (this is getting really REALLY ridiculous--3 weeks now, and they still don't have an answer for us! This is the LAST Honda we'll ever buy--as soon as it's fixed, we'll work on selling it, and buy a Sienna instead! They've lost a customer for good.) the kids and I have been stuck at home most days. My Dad was on vacation last week, so we did take Jeremy into work a few times so we could go out there an enjoy the pool. That was a nice time, but again, frustrating without a vehicle (and Jeremy's car isn't nearly as roomy as my van...) The kids really do enjoy going to Meemaw's and Poppy's house, though--Jeremiah loves to go back and forth between the pool and the sandbox (which is right next to the pool.) Jesslyn wasn't too fond of the water either time, though when she went in with Meemaw, she loved it! What the heck! No love for Mommy, I guess. She just whined the whole time with me, and laughed when

with Meemaw. I don't get it. Oh well.

This past weekend, Frying Pan Park (across the street from us) had their annual 4H fair. They had a carnival come and set up, so we took Jeremiah Friday night. He LOVED it! We really thought it would freak him out, as he's not too crazy about the "wild" rides at Chuck E Cheese, but he really did enjoy it--he went on ride after ride all by himself! I guess that's a plus to being tall for your age. :) He wasn't very happy to leave, but it was getting late, and Jesslyn was overtired. All in all, it was a nice little outing, one we'll be repeating again next year (maybe Jesslyn will be tall enough to ride the rides herself, too!)

Jeremy's garden is doing really well this year. Although his assortment of vegetables is lacking. He's only growing 4 different things.... I don't get it, but whatever. So if you're ever in the need of tomatoes, banana peppers or yellow squash, we've got ya covered. And jalepenos, but there's only 2 of those so they don't make very much. We had a bunch more squash, but the stupid groundhog that lives under our deck ate most of 'em. Stupid groundhog. He's lucky I don't know how to use Jeremy's shotgun, or I would have taken that little pest out myself! I kid.... :) I wouldn't do that--now if Uncle Stephin were over with his bb gun.....

Anyway, I made tomato soup yesterday to use up the many tomatoes we had sitting around, and it was yummy! Jeremy really liked it. I guess that's good, since it seems like all anyone grows around here is tomatoes, so they're tough to get rid of. I was going to make it "Portuguese style" which would have meant a thick piece of toast with a poached egg atop, at the bottom of the bowl, but we didn't have any toast, and I didn't think the egg would go over well with my non-Portuguese loving family (well, Jeremy would have eaten it, I think, though he is easily weirded out by non-traditional food. Jeremiah wouldn't even eat the soup as it was, insisting it was too hot, despite the fact that it had cooled on the counter for at least 10 minutes... And Jesslyn just wouldn't have more than a few bites. It was late, and she was tired, so I can't really blame her.)

On a "lighter" note, we've been eating relatively low carb, ever since watching "Fathead," a documentary-follow up to "Super Size Me." It rebuffs many of the falacies shown in that film, and explains the science behind how our bodies process fats and sugars. Turns out, it's not the fat in our foods that make us fat--it's the sugar! [BTW... here's an interesting post about how killing yourself at the gym every day won't help you lose weight....] Our bodies just weren't designed to process the amount of sugar and carbs that the USDA recommends we consume on a daily basis (300 g of carbs, if on a 2000 cal/day diet.) Anyway, you should see it for yourself--it was really encouraging, and backs up what my family (who's been low-carbing it for a while now) have been trying to tell me for years! After a month of just cutting out most of the junk (not all of it, and we do occasionally indulge, but we definitely don't consume nearly what we used to!) Jeremy and I have both lost 10 lbs. Not that I'm at a time in my life when I'm preoccupied with losing weight, so I've actually been trying to add more carbs back in my diet, just to stem off the losing. But it's amazing how much food you can enjoy and still lose weight by just cutting out the processed sugars and flours. So come March/April next year, I'll be going at it full force again. Yay!

Finally, we're taking a break from our cloth diapers. We just can't stay ahead of the pile of clothes that keeps appearing on a daily basis, so we're using disposables for now. Although when I told Jeremy how much they cost, he said, "That's it, we're going back to cloth." Yeah, $80 for a little over a month of diapers is a bit much. And they're not nearly as cute as our cloth. :) Maybe we should invest in a 2nd washer/dryer.... It'd be cheaper than using disposables, in the long run! Crazy, huh?

Oh, and for those who are thinking, "Why don't you just potty train Jeremiah?" Well, he's just not ready yet. I've tried to get him interested, but he could care less about "being a big boy" and is perfectly happy not interrupting his play to use the potty. So we'll wait. I'm sure he'll be outta diapers by the time he moves outta the house. In the meantime, it's not really a big deal to us.

And that's that!

I'm not saying anything....

...but the blog says something. :)

Anywho, life's been crazy and calm here in the Wilcox household. Nothing much has changed, yet so much has changed all at the same time. Oh, you want specifics? Well, okay...

I'm trying to think about what's been going on with us. Really, nothing spectacular. The weather lately has been beautiful, which has made for quite a few impromptu trips to the Farm across the way. Jeremiah loves it there. Other than when we're crossing the street, I let him walk instead of ride in the stroller. This new found freedom has really taken him places, literally! His new favorite spot at the farm is anywhere there are sheep. We went once, and he climbed up on the fence and just stood there, watching the sheep for what seemed like a very long time (it's also right in the sun, as are most places on the farm, so Mommy was getting warm, and Jesslyn was getting anxious.) I bet he would have stayed there all day if he could have.

One nice addition to the farm is a little eatery type thing called, "Gordon's Grill." They have hamburgers, hotdogs, french fries, ice cream, cold drinks, etc... Before, the only place to grab a snack was the little shop they have by the playground. It was fine, but unless you wanted water, juice, ice cream, or candy there was nothing else to eat. So now we can go and each get a hot dog and drink, and have "lunch out" for less than $5. Not a shabby outting in my book! Plus, on Wednesdays, they're open later, even when the shop is not, so that's nice. It's especially fitting right now, as we're a one car family for the moment (which SUCKS, but more on that in a minute,) so really, it's the only place we can go to when Daddy's at work.

Yeah... so we're down to one vehicle. At least, temporarily. A couple of weeks ago, we noticed our Honda Odyssey "slipping" while driving. As in, it sometimes forgot what gear it was supposed to be in. Originially, we thought nothing of it, but then it started happening more and more. The final straw was when I was driving the kids to Miss Sunny's house (out in Paedonian Springs, or something... it's about 30 minutes from out house,) and it kept jumping from 5th gear (I'm assuming, since it's an automatic and we were on the highway,) down to 2nd or 3rd gear. It was especially problemsome when I would try accelerating to go up a hill or merge/pass traffic. The scariest part was when I was on the last leg of the trip on 7W (out past Leesburg) and I has a tractor trailer on my butt. Couldn't accelerate. And I couldn't move over, either. Finally, it kicked in, and I was able to get to a comfortable cruising speed before needing to catch my exit, but it was at that point (and when I put it in reverse and it did nothing....) that I decided I needed to call Jeremy to come meet us out there to switch vehicles. And he did. So we did. Both car seats crammed in his little SUV. We all fit, but hardly comfortably. Poor Jeremiah has 0! leg room, and I have to sit nearly straight up when my knees touching the glove box.

Turns out, this is not an uncommon problem in our model year. Honda has dealt with this problem before for their 99-01 model years. They lost a class action lawsuit against them, and had to pay to replace every transmission. There's another lawsuit in the works for our model year, so we figure they can either pay for it NOW, or we can join the lawsuit and they can pay for it LATER. Either way, we know they're going to have to pay, so would they rather upset a "Honda Family" or shake our trust in them and force us to jump ship to Toyota. At least I have a Certified Toyota Specialist in the family who can keep it in tip top shape, should anything happen. And, they have a 9-seater Sienna, with 3 seats in the middle row instead of just two.... could come in handy...... :)

Back to the kiddies!

Jeremiah has been speaking a lot more lately, as you can see from our last post. He's trying to say more and more on his own. Just today, he started saying, "roof," and pointing to the roofs of his Matchbox cars that Daddy got him (on clearance at Giant, btw.... we are a crazy deal-hunting family!) We need to call the County back to schedule a hearing test, but I'm not really in any hurry to do so. Jeremy's point of view is that "we pay for it with our tax dollars, so might as well take advantage of what they offer." My point of view is that he's fine, just took his time starting to speak, and I don't really want to deal with scheduling of having a speech therapist come out here when he doesn't really need it. Of course, I was never really worried about it in the first place, but that's not my tendency anyway (whereas some other folks in the fam can't help but worry!) Yeah, so, I vote for "go with the flow." :) We'll see, I guess.

Jesslyn is getting more and more mobile everyday. She's standing independently more and more, so walking can't be too far behind! Jeremiah was taking a few steps here and there by her age, but she's been behind him when it comes to physical things, so no surprises here. For now, she can crawl whereever she needs to go quite easily and quickly, so I doubt she's in much of a hurry.

That's enough for today. I'm gonna go make some dinner before the kiddies wake up from their naps. I love afternoon naptime! :) Should have spent mine NAPPING, but it's all good. :)

Jeremiah's Word List

Now that he's officially 2.5, I thought I'd write down all the words he can say, as of today...

"Trash" (just started saying that one today...)

"Boo-foo" (Zoomboomafoo)

"Aye-yoo" (Caillou, again, new today...)

"Ow-tide" (Outside)

"I di-ii..." (I did it!)

"Dat one, too!" (That one, too. Usually said when kissing boo-boos. More magically appear.)

"Uh oh."

"No no!" (We think he's really saying, "Nwaow Nwaow" or "Meow Meow" for Big Fella.)

"Oooo... Dat!"

"Cool?" (For some reason, "cool" is always a question. :)

"Mommy"
"Daddy"

"Baby" (it is what it is. It's also his name for Jesslyn.)

"Kooky!" (another name for Jesslyn. Usually preceeded by "da" for "THE KOOKY!)

"Apple!"

"Cookie"

"Poo poo" (self explanatory...)

"Boo boo" (ditto)

"oh no, dah!" (Oh no, that. I dunno...)

"No."

"Uh huh!" (he won't say 'yes', but he'll say, "Uh huh!")

"soo-ry!" (sorry)

"Mine!" (almost always an exclamation... Usually followed by Jesslyn whining/crying...)

"Me/Me do-ii!" (Me do it.)

"Buh-bye!" (So cute! I'm glad he's finally started saying this instead of "Ah-ti!")

"Tea"

"Two!"

"Tee!" (Three)

"Joo-ree" (Jewelry... yup, he's got the important ones down.)

"Dis" (This)

"Dat?" (That?)

"Turch" (church)

"Tiarrr" (tire)

Okay... That's all I can come up with for now. He's adding new words every day, I can't keep up anymore! But you get the idea... :)