Several new posts (w/ pix!!) so scroll down!

Hats and Hair

Josh loves to try on Daddy's hats!


And AJ put on Josh's hat for a picture too...it's just a little small...but a great look, dontcha think?
OK, I don't know if you can see this...Josh was sweaty or wet from something (don't remember exactly, sorry) and he laid down on the carpet in the library. When he stood up, he was COVERED in dog hair! You might have to look closely, but you can see he's covered in black hair...our dog sheds a LOT!! I'd have to vacuum every day to keep things really nice, but of course that doesn't happen...so we end up posting pics like this on the blog...nice, huh?

Sam's Cereal Pictures

OK, can't seem to make this stop underlining...ugh, sometimes blogspot annoys me! Anyway, here's Sam's cereal pix. Enjoy!

He looks a little bit like he's smiling, but he's not. He's crying. He hated his first cereal!

I finally succeeded in getting part of a bite to stay in a little...did I mention he didn't love it?

Josh thought it was great, however!
He even tried a bite of it...he didn't seem terribly thrilled at first either...



...but when Sam wouldn't eat anymore, he wanted to finish it!
Course, he didn't, he just played with it and hammed it up for the camera, but he had fun.
A couple of nights later, we tried again, and this time I mixed it with a little juice. He DEVOURED the whole serving, and wanted another...which he also ate all of! Go Sam! He enjoyed playing with/trying to eat his paper towel bib.
Awww...isn't he the cutest! Anyway, cereal is now a nightly occurance, and he likes it and finishes it pretty much everytime. On an added note about Josh eating Sam's cereal...we went to Chick-fil-a the other night, and I brought Sam's cereal, and got Josh a kid's meal. He ate french fries and the fruit, knocked over his milk, and went to play. Then I got out Sam's food...and here came Josh running back, wanting to eat Sam's cereal! And he did, too! He kept coming back for more bites! He eventually ate most of a chicken nugget, too...my kids are weird, what can I say!

The POOP

This is nasty, just warning you, if you haven't looked too closely, and have a queasy stomach, stop now and skip to the next post!






Sam had this ENORMOUS blowout the other day...it got from the neck of his outfit all the way down to his toes! It was DISGUSTING! Needless to say, his outfit was ruined, and the burp rag was stained, as were my shirt and pants (I picked him up before I noticed this disaster), and the couch cushion. UGH! I can probably say it's one of the NASTIEST diapers I've ever changed, and I've been changing diapers for about 16 years! So I had to grab my camera and get some pix...this is the extent of my camera disease! Oh, well...
Notice how he could care less that he's covered in poo!
After this we had a bath...

Josh's poor butchered hair...

So we went to the BX today for dog food, and I figured, while we were there, might as well get Josh's hair cut, since it was getting a little shaggy. When we got there, I decided to just go with the guy who was open, instead of waiting for the lady who cut his hair last time and did a great job with it. BIG MISTAKE! And one I won't be making again. UGH...his hair is SSOOOOO short! I asked the guy to trim the back and sides around his ears and trim the front...this is what happened. And by the time I could have said something, it was, of course, too late! Anyway...testament to the fact that my kid is adorable, these pix are good, even with the horrible hair cut!! I do think he looks like he's about to join the Air Force, though...or like those horrible cuts that were in style for little boys a few years ago with the shaved heads and bangs...ick.

This one's my favorite!
However, we did find a snowcone stand afterwards in the front of the BX, so I'm TOTALLY excited about that! I haven't been able to find snowcones here at all! Silly Charlestonians...Charlestonites...Charlestonarians??? OK, I don't know...

FLIES!!

OK, so there are a bazillion and three flies in my house right now...down from about a bazillion and 16 (if you're keeping count, you've figured out we've managed to zap about 13 of them over the course of about 30 min!!). Where did they all come from?? We've got some theories.

Theory 1: Somebody left the door open and they all rushed in together. This is what I thought last night, only observing about 4 at the time.

Theory 2: A fly or flies laid eggs somewhere (possibly that dead critter in the air duct??) and now their offspring are flying around my house driving us all MAD! This seems much more likely as so many more have made themselves known today!!

UGH! I HATE flies...they're nasty, carry diseases, buzz in your ears, and make you itch (from their imaginary landings on you...I feel creepy crawlies all over me with that many known bugs in my house!). So far we've got at least a dozen or more flies, plus a bonus spider...do we get extra points for that???

Sam's new food, AJ's pain, and giant roaches...

OK, there are pix that go with this post, but there's a huge tree roach on the ceiling in the library over my desk computer, so I'm blogging on AJ's laptop in the safety of the living room!!
Sorry, folks, I'll get to it when the roach vacates my space!

So Sam got his first taste of cereal on Monday. He was not thrilled. He mostly looked at me like I was poisoning him and cried. Of course, he was also tired and possibly not really hungry...bad timing on my part I think.

On Thur. we tried again while we were eating dinner together. This time I mixed the cereal with a little apple-prune juice that I had in the fridge, and it took him till about half the serving was gone to get it, but ended up figuring out how to eat off a spoon, and really liking it! Gave him some again tonight, and it only took a few bites for him to get it figured out, and he cried when we ran out, so I gave him more. He ate it all!! And lately, anytime I eat food around him he acts like he really wants it, so I think we're not really jumping the gun too much.

I'll try to post the pix tomorrow sometime, but we've got a full day planned: shopping at the outlet mall and then AJ and I are going out in the evening. We did a date swap with some friends; tonight AJ is over at the Hill's house with Caleb and Kenzie (were put to bed by their parents before AJ got there), and tomorrow one of them will come here to watch our kids.

Oh, and AJ has sprained his back badly...we were a little worried that it was kidney stones b/c of where the pain was and how much it hurt him. However, he went to the doctor this afternoon and was told it was just a muscle sprain. They sent him home with some vitamin M (motrin, for those not acquainted w/ military medicine) and a muscle relaxer (and also some birth control! They put someone else's meds in with his! Sad...). We're hoping it will clear up soon, b/c he's really in a LOT of pain.

Anyway, hopefully I'll get some pix up tomorrow or Sun. provided this roach will leave...ick!! The little ones aren't so bad, I can squish or spray them no problem. However, the giant flying ones...esp. when they're on the ceiling or high up where they could fall on me if I try to do something about them, TOTALLY FREAK ME OUT!! I have to say, I do not understand the purpose of roaches...

Sam and Rachel's "conversation"

I videoed this at community group the other night...that's what all the background noise is. But you can hear Sam "talking" to Rachel and Rachel responding. So adorable!

Neighbors, Brothers, and Sisters!

Here are some pix from the last couple of weeks or so. I noticed that I hadn't put any on here lately, so they're not all super fantastic, but some are pretty cute.

Sydney and Rachel matching at church.

This is what they looked like after a little coaching.
Here's what we started with! Gotta just love the expressions!
Josh looks like he's professing his undying love to the mailbox here!
Sydney just LOVES Sam!!

She looks at him...
...he looks at her...
...their eyes meet...!!



Brothers in overalls. One night we were headed to a meeting and I put Sam's overalls on, and, as I often do, let Josh "help" choose what shirt to put under it. He then told me that he wanted to wear his "obewalls" too! So I let him pick his shirt to go under it, and voila, matching outfits! This was the last picture I took...it was awhile before Josh would be happy about the picture taking session...
Peek-a-boo!!
Where's Josh??
"No, Mommy, not take my picture!"
Cute brothers!!

Venting...

AJ has no idea when he'll be home. Should be back in the states by tomorrow sometime, so long as the jet's really fixed...

He's supposedly back on the CAOC tour for the deployment, but has no definite dates for TDY's or anything...

I'm starting to dislike the AF quite a bit...what's the deal, people? Make up your mind, and when it's actually made up, TELL the person you want to send, instead of assuming he just knows! And stop sticking him on trips where he can't check his email so he has no idea of what's going on! And please figure out the dates for sure, and then send him notification...we have a family here, and he can't make plans (even just for work) if he doesn't have accurate info!! If I can figure this out, why can't these people in the gov't????? AAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!

Update

I got everything but the bill for tricare and the Sunday School lesson taken care of. And the lesson is planned, more or less, just not typed up yet. Waiting for the boys to go down for naps before I finish...let's hope Josh will poop in the potty before nap! He tried last night, but didn't quite make it onto the potty before going in his underwear, but he knew and ran to sit on it to go in the potty...then played for a min. or two in the bathroom, so didn't get onto the potty in time... but this is some real progress, at least he knows what it feels like and wants to sit on the potty to poop!! YAY JOSH! We're hoping for more forward progress in the next few days!

Checklist

OK, so my list of things I needed to get done today is as follows:

• call Tricare and sort out the bill issue
• call CAFB and get an appt. made for Sam's 4 mo. check up and ask if I need to get his med. records or if they have them
• laundry
• clean kitchen
• clean up toys
• try to get Josh to poop in potty
• read chapter for Community Group
• write lesson plan for Sunday School this weekend

Here are the ones still on the list:

• call Tricare and figure out billing issue (can't find a good number for them, even had the base operator connect me and it still didn't work!!) This one is now changed to GO to Tricare tomorrow morning and figure out billing issue while dragging along a potty training two year old and a baby. FUN...
• call CAFB and make Sam's check up appt. This call was made twice, but the computer system on base kept going down so they couldn't do anything. Gotta love the gov't.
• laundry--almost finished
• clean kitchen--half finished
• clean up toys--was finished, but now have to do it all again...
• get Josh to poop in potty--accomplished! And he's taking a nap, and so is Sam!!
• Read chapter for Community Group--finished!
• Write lesson plan for SS this weekend--not even started, but did discuss a few things with Re on the phone about it, and since I'm teaching it, I don't have to get the plan to anyone else this week, so my goal is just to get it finished before AJ gets home or Sunday, whichever comes first!

I know everyone was dying to know my to do list, so that's why I shared it. It's kind of frustrating to have only accomplished 2.5 things on a list like that...this is why I'm always "behind".

Josh pooped in the potty, and I think there's a dead *something* in my AC duct

The two are only related by timing, unless the stench in the house helped him along somehow...doubt it though.

So, exciting news first, Josh pooped in the potty today! This is the first time he's done it intentionally, and it was FANTASTIC! He got really excited, and so did I, and he got a sucker and got to call Grandmom and Grandad and tell them about it (Daddy was unavailable), so I'm hoping the uber excitement will help him remember and want to poop in the potty, not the diaper (or underwear)! I did NOT take a picture, b/c I think that's GROSS!! I know you're all thanking God for that right now!!

Now, for the stench...yeah, so on Mon. afternoon (or was it Sun??) I noticed a smell...I thought maybe we had a diaper that was stinking things up or something...but I looked everwhere and couldn't find any, so I shrugged and went on with life, thinking it would just dissapate. Well...it's still here, and it got worse, but I'm reasonably sure that it's a dead animal of some sort, and not mildew or something like that. Not a lot better right now, but it will stop smelling evventually and we can get that cleaned probably easier than if we had a mold problem. Fortunately, it's not in the boys' rooms, it's in mine. Unfortunately, it's AWFUL and is giving me a headache...I've closed the vent (as much as it'll close), and will probably get some scented candles or something to put up there to try to help things...got the fan going, but that's not really helping much. I may have to open the windows to try to air it out, just not sure if it'll work...plus it's really hot and humid outside.

If anyone has some suggestions as to how to be rid of the stench, please post them or email me. I'll update later. At least AJ's not here having to smell it!! And no, going up and trying to get it out is NOT an option!! We'll have someone come out to service our AC at some point and check for mouse sized leaks then, but at this point, the smell's already in the house, might as well just wait for it to stop in a day or so and try to air out the house in the meantime. At least that's my take on things.

Sam is 3 Months Old!!

And has been, for the past couple of weeks...this post is REALLY late! Anyway, on Sam's 3 month birthday, we went to the Audiologist to get his hearing rechecked, since he hadn't passed at the hospital in one ear. Apparently this is fairly common in newborns, and they weren't too concerned about it. Anyway, we got there, went in, they stuck the probe in his ear, and he sat real still and quiet while they checked the frequencies, and then we were done and he passed! Not that I was too worried about that...

Anyway, I had to have a photo shoot for him, and just haven't gotten them put up on here till now...bad Mommy!

Sam is wearing the overalls that my parent's bought for my oldest sister, Jenny when she was a baby...they're a 6 months size, and fit him perfectly (2 weeks ago!).
Love the tongue!
Yay, happy Baby Sam!

I measured Sam a few days ago, and he was somewhere around 25-25.5 in. long!! Another inch or so tacked on in just a month! And he's grown since then, b/c a onesie he could wear just fine last week is now too short! Unfortunately, our scale died when our bathroom flooded a few months ago, so I don't even have a good guess at his weight. But I'll let you know after his 4 month appt. in a couple of weeks.
This is the diaper cake I made for my friend's "baby sprinkle/welcome" party the other day. (To welcome Baby Rachel) I just wanted to document my second diaper cake attempt...I think it looks a lot better than the first one (sorry, Shannon!), but I also wasn't moving out of my house when I made this one! I thought it turned out really cute, esp. the "rose" on the top, which is a little bubble outfit twisted around a rattle! Thanks for helping me with ideas, Missy!

Cow Appreciation Day

Every year Chick-fil-a has a "Cow Appreciation Day" to celebrate cows, and eat chicken. If you dress your kid like a cow, you get a free kid's meal, and if you dress like a cow, you can get a free entree. I didn't have time/energy to make a costume for myself, but my friend Anne-Marie made spots, ears, tails, and bells for the kids. They looked so cute, I had to get more pix and then post them on here! They're slightly out of order, but just bear with me, and enjoy the adorable pictures of cute calves!
Sam and Rachel as calves
Rachel finally woke up for some pics!
I just love the identical expressions/hand placement here!
She sure did seem to like being snuggled up with Sam!!
Sam didn't seem to mind!
Finally a decent shot of all the kids...too bad you can't really see Rachel's face, but at least she was present and not screaming!
Cute Calves!
Josh had a bell, too, but I couldn't find it
Conferring...

You can kind of see Sydney's "udder" if you look closely!
Cute boys!

"Sam, you OK??"
"CHEESE!!"
Josh did NOT want Sam sitting on his lap!! He finally was ok with Sam being BESIDE him
At Chick-fil-a...the boys climbed into these high chairs by themselves and were scooting around the floor together!!
Our "herd!"
Sam the baby bull
With no horns...
So sad that Cow Appreciation Day is over!!