Apple & Co.

Bathroom for the girls

2011-02-17T20:38:00.001-06:00

Bathroom for the girls by JamieHamilton featuring wire jewelry

A Few Firsts

2010-09-27T11:57:00.008-05:00

A few milestones have come and gone since things got crazy and since my baby books are packed up and buried at the bottom of a stack of boxes somewhere, I need to record them so they aren't forgotten.
Collin's first time to laugh was on July 15th. Allison tickled him on the neck and he let out a little chuckle. Collin is a jovial little guy. He is always smiling and giggling.His first time to roll over was August 17th and latetly he's been trying to crawl. He can actually cover a little ground doing the army crawl.

And August 28th was his first time trying solid foods. He is doing great, he just gobbles it right up.

Allison's first day of preschool was August 24th. We had registered her for preschool months ago at a preschool in Walker but we of course had to cancel that. I was really afraid that we wouldn't be able to get her into a class here because they'd all be full this close to the start of school. I put her on a few waiting lists and a week before classes started on of the schools called back to let us know they were opening another class. She absolutely loves preschool. She loves her teacher and has lots of fun doing the arts and crafts and learning. She even loves doing homework at home.

As for Sara, we've tried to start potty training a couple of times but she doesn't really seem interested right now so I'm going to give her a little more time. She has lately become technologically proficient. There's not a device she picks up that she can't operate. She's a natural, it must be in the genes. I think she can use my phone better than I can. She knows how to get to the video streaming app and watch Dora (it's a multi-step process and we never showed her how to do it) and she can play all of the games without any help.

I brought Allison and Collin for a check up last week and they are both growing and doing well. Collin is still 90th percentile for height and about 50th for weight (15lb) and Allison is average for height and on the low side for weight (as usual). We did find out that Allison has a heart murmur. Her pediatrician referred us to a pediatric cardiologist and I'll bring her next week to let them check her out but the pediatrician is confident that it's an "innocent" heart murmur and won't require any intervention.

The Big Move

2010-09-16T12:11:00.007-05:00

The last time I blogged, Collin was one month old. He's four months old now and a lot has happened in between.
I'm going to back up to the beginning of July. On July 3rd our little Sara turned two! On the 4th of July we had Collin blessed at church and we had a birthday party for Sara.

Here we are after Collin's blessing. It's not the best family photo due to the melt downs the two girls were experiencing but it''s the only one we got.

Sara decided she wanted face painting at her party.

Our life started to get a little crazy around the end of June/beginning of July. At the end of June, Joe found out that he would be losing his job at the consulting firm he was working for in Baton Rouge. The good news was that he was going to have time to look for a new job, the bad news was that he couldn't find any jobs in the Baton Rouge area. Through a friend he was able to find a job in Memphis, TN (a really good job, too). He started work around the middle of July and the kids and I stayed in Denham Springs hoping to sell the house then move. Things did not work out according to plans. Joe was working in TN during the week and driving home on the weekends and I was painting and cleaning and packing almost around the clock with three kids. Joe got tired of driving 12 hours every weekend and I was worn out (i.e. near nervous breakdown) from taking care of a 3 month old, 2 year old, and 4 year old by myself while trying to pack and get the house ready to sell. So, we decided to rent a small apartment in Memphis and live together as a family again and save me from losing it.

I don't know which was worse, trying to sell the house by myself or the homesickness since moving. I miss my family and friends more than I thought I would and I was pretty sure I was going to miss them a whole, whole lot. I especially miss my Bonnette people. After spending the first night away from Louisiana, I was ready to just turn around and come home and tell Joe I'd rather face unemployment than life away from my family. I'm surviving though. Joe loves his new job, Allison likes her preschool, we are starting to make new friends, and life's getting a little easier.

It has been a month and a half since we moved and plenty has happened since then and I'll have to fill that in next time.

1 Month Check Up

2010-06-07T09:52:00.011-05:00

I brought Collin in for his one month check up on Friday. He is up to 11 lb. 11 0z. and 23 in. That puts him in the 90th percentile for both height and weight. This boy gained 2 lbs. and 2 inches in two weeks. We also confirmed with the pediatrician that he has reflux (it was pretty obvious). I went Friday night and got him a little bassinet thing that elevates his head and he is MUCH happier now. He still has problems with the reflux and he still fusses but he sleeps a little better now. It's a good thing because after a month of very little sleep, I was feeling desperate for a stretch of sleep that lasts longer than an hour or two.

On Saturday, we went down to Plaquemine for Joe's grandmother's 90th birthday. It just so happened that they were opening their splash park a few blocks from Mamaw's house, so we brought the girls down. They had a really good time!

Joe took this picture this morning. I was afraid the girls wouldn't like sharing a room when Collin came, but they are adjusting nicely. Sara is a snuggler : ).

2010-05-30T15:37:00.006-05:00

I'm blogging right now because Collin is sleeping right now because he does not sleep at night. So here are some more recent pictures of the little bambino.

Aside from the sleep deprivation, we are managing the three children pretty well. I find that with this most recent addition, my stress level is lower. This, of course, has it's advantages and disadvantages. In order to not get stressed out about things, I just accept things the way they are and let them be. The problem here is that I can get a little too lax and that can lead to some serious oversights. A prime example of this would be leaving the house this morning without checking to be sure the two year old had on a diaper. Some where between getting dressed and getting in the car seat, the little rascal pulled her diaper off. It wouldn't be so bad except that I had just forced myself to get up after getting about 30 min. of sleep, and gone through the rigors of getting three children ready for church and forcing everyone out the door in order to actually make it to church on time we made it in time to enjoy the opening exercises up until Sara informed me her dress was wet and that she pee-peed on the floor.

Collin John Hamilton

2010-05-07T17:22:00.005-05:00

Collin John Hamilton arrived at 8:45am on Tuesday, May 4, 2010.

He weighed 9lb. 3 oz. and is 21 1/2 in. long.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-29T15:30:00.007-06:00

Christmas is so much fun when you have kids! Allison has totally been into Santa Claus this year and was so excited about all of her presents.

Aunt Clare seriously read her mind this year with this present. Allison is obsessed with birthdays so this cake was perfect for her. And the alligator pull toy they sent for Sara is awesome, too; the only bad thing is that it has the swine flu. : ( It looks healthy to me but Allison has declared several times in a sorrowful tone that it has swine flu. Sad.
Sara loves Allison's Strawberry Shortcake Doll (she calls it "cake-cake").

I'm hoping this baby will buy me some peace and quite in the car.

We got to visit my family on Christmas Eve and Joe's family came on Christmas day.

Left to right: Allison, Sara, Jacob, and Elizabeth. Don't you think Sara and her cousin Jacob look alike? Maybe it's just the shared lack of hair *shrug.*

Today's Sonogram

2009-12-18T22:30:00.002-06:00

We had our "mid-pregnancy" sonogram today and it went just great. The baby looks perfect and was very cooperative. The technician informed us that our baby has long arms and legs and a big belly. Can you guess what we're having?

We will be having a boy!!!

And now to the task of picking out a boy name and boy bedding and boy clothes and everything else in the world that a baby needs in non-pink hues. So far we have a formidable collection of baby items in all shades of pink and purple. This is going to be quite a transition. I'm excited about this!

Reindeer Games and Hamilton Happenings

2009-12-12T23:57:00.006-06:00

Allison had her gymnastics performance (Reindeer Games) last Sunday and she did great. I was afraid that she'd be intimidated by the crowd but she performed with the other kids from her class and the other preschool classes and she just went right along and did all of her little moves. I was so proud of her. Here are some pictures from Reindeer Games.

Clockwise starting top left - (1) she's the one in the middle doing the floor routine (tumbles, flip over a bar, balance beam, etc.; (2) log roll on the trampoline; (3) balance beam, she's the one in the middle that's leaning; (4) Allison with her much beloved teacher.

Allison also went to Primary for Sharing Time for the first time ever this past Sunday. They are easing the new Primary kids in by taking them out of the last hour of Nursery and bringing them to Sharing Time to get them ready for the big transition in January. Holly is in Primary so she gave me a full report afterward and she said she did really well.

Allison's not the only one growing up, though. Sara is talking so much now and she is just hilarious. It's so funny to see their little personalities really come out when they can talk more. Her new favorite thing is to look at pictures of cats. You know the LOL cats - if you've got an internet connection, you've seen them. One day, Joe tried it as a last resort to help pull her out of a meltdown and it worked instantly. Anytime she's in a bad mood, Joe can just pull up some pictures of some cats and she will go from tears to smiles instantly. It's like magic.

Speaking of Christmas, we just went to our Ward Christmas party tonight and for the first time ever, my girls didn't scream at the sight of Santa. Here they are with Papa Noel (we had a Cajun Christmas theme). Allison called him the fake Santa (isn't she too you to pick up on that?).

And here's a picture of our Christmas tree. This is the first time Joe and I have had an artificial tree since we've been married. Every year for the past six years, we've gone and picked out our tree. I missed doing that and I miss the smell of a real tree. Last year I had some serious allergy problems though so I'm afraid it's artificial from here on out. Looking on the bright side, I do not miss vacuuming up the needles over and over again.

We're Back

2009-10-26T20:00:00.009-05:00

After a technological break down, I'm back. My laptop's charger gave up and the battery is so old that it won't hold a charge so I had to get a new charger. That took me an entire month and only happened thanks to Joe. I've also misplaced my camera (and I think it's permanent this time). So for the past month, I've been using the big ol' camera and the big ol' desktop. Neither one of those are nearly as convenient as my little laptop or little camera so I only use them when I absolutely must.

So here's what's been going on . . .

Allison has been having a great time in gymnastics class.

In case you're wondering what on earth I dressed my child in for her gymnastics class, they were allowed to wear their Halloween costumes to class today and she is a cat this year.

And here's what Sara has been up to . . .

She has been perfecting her mess making skills. Check out these awesome couch decorations. Thank goodness it was washable crayon!

And, now she is SERIOUS about doing everything she see's her sister doing.

She not only wants to do what Allison does, but she wants to be able to say what Allison says, too. She's saying a couple of phrases now like, "Mommy read book" and "I want juice."
By the way, reading books is her absolute favorite thing. And just as much as she likes to have them read to her, she also likes to "read" them her self.

I just brought her in for her 15 mo. check up today and she is in the 75th Percentile for height and 25th for weight (which is good for the Hamilton girls, Allison is only three pounds more than her and she's two years older!) .

In other family news, we are going to have another baby! I'm about three months pregnant now and will be having the baby around the beginning of May.

My Baby Al is 3!

2009-09-12T22:58:00.010-05:00

And here's what happened today:

One little girl had a super good time.

Here's her "strawberry castle" cake (per her request).

I think she's trying to rip her teeth out, here. She's just so overcome with excitement.

And she of course got lots of awesome presents.

Joseph made some crepes. We had banana and nutella and strawberry and cool whip crepes.

Here was our favorite party guest. This little buckaroo was just born on Aug. 25th. This my sister-in-law's new baby boy, Jacob. So sweet!

Allison was so exhausted from all of the festivities that she passed out at 7pm tonight. That NEVER happens. She pushes the limit on the bedtime every night and we can rarely get her little body calmed down enough to go to bed by 8:30. 7pm - unheard of!

More Eye Candy

2009-08-30T00:13:00.002-05:00

I can't top Joe's "Jesus on a Dinosaur" picture but I thought that that shouldn't stop me from sharing this with the world.

I snapped this picture in good ol' Concordia Parish just a short time ago when were there visiting the folks.

The owners had it parked out close to the road for all to see; they must be so proud.

You won't believe it until you see it

2009-08-27T21:37:00.003-05:00

Quite often Jesus needed to make long treks across barren wastelands. The Tyrannosaurus Rex simply did not have the endurance or will to embark on such a journey. And many of the herbivores were just such homebodies.

The velociraptor, however, was always game for a trip out in the wild. Their spirits could never be fully tamed though (hence the bit and reins). But Jesus knew that no harm would befall him while straddling a ferocious predator such as the 'raptor.

Once he tried to cross the desert on a haptosaurus, but the poor thing missed his family so much that he begged Jesus to take him back.

- Joe

Look Out Mary Lou Retton

2009-08-25T21:43:00.002-05:00

Those of you who've seen Allison in person in the last couple of months have doubtless heard her going on and on about gymnastics. In her imagination, she has been enrolled in and been attending a gymnastics class for months now. She even shows people her "interesting" moves that she has learned in her imaginary gymnastics class. Now, she finally has some real moves to show off. Today was her first day in a real gymnastics class. Judging from what I saw this morning, I think it'd be safe to say it was everything she dreamed it would be. She absolutely loved the class. She did really well with following directions and doing all of the little moves the teacher showed her. Every time the teacher would show them a new task, Allison would shout "I can do that! I can do it!" over and over. She was just so excited about everything. Just be sure to tune in for the 2028 Olympics.

Mommy, can we keep it?

2009-08-16T15:13:00.003-05:00

It has already begun. Just this morning, Allison uttered the very words that every mother dreads - "Mommy can we keep it?"
Thankfully, she was referring to a creature that has a life span of about a year or less and can be easily reintegrated into it's natural habitat.

http://hortipm.tamu.edu/pestprofiles/chewing/earwig/earwig.html

Allison saw one of these little critters on the floor of my bathroom and decided she'd like to keep "her" for a pet. She even named her "Giddy."
We have a foresty area behind our house so despite monthly pest control, we still have lots of creeping things all around our house and sometimes inside, too.

Conversations with a 2 and 5/6 Year Old

2009-07-21T17:52:00.003-05:00

Today, I was sitting on the couch talking to Allison and she turned to me and said, "Mommy, I don't love you." I, of course, asked "Why?" She responded, "because your muscles are so little." Sadly, it's true. I have small muscles.

The other night we were having hamburgers for dinner. When we asked Allison if she'd like to eat a hamburger for dinner, her response was, "No! They have raw chicken on them!" She doesn't like hamburgers and lately she's been coming up with more "creative" excuses.

Here are a couple of her favorite mispronunciations. Instead of saying peanut butter and jelly, she says, "peanut jutter and belly." Instead of M&M's, she says, "dem-uh-nohs." And she still insists on calling sippy cups, "sticky pups." This silly girl knows the correct pronunciation of these words (I've heard her say them several times) but she insists on using her more interesting pronunciations.

The Hired Help

2009-07-17T21:14:00.002-05:00

We pay her in Cheerios.

Sara turned 1!

2009-07-06T16:30:00.012-05:00

On Friday, July 3rd my little Huggy-B had her first birthday. The first birthday is a bittersweet one. It's kind of symbolizes the end of the sleepless nights and the crying and fussing but it's also representative of your child growing into a squirmy toddler and not being your cuddley, little baby anymore *sniff, sniff*.

We had a small party at our house on Friday evening. We wanted to keep it small so we only invited family. Clare was in town so we got to see her and her cute family and Erika and her cute family came, too. Speaking of Erika, bless her little heart, she came early and helped me bake cakes and pull pork and decorate. My mom and Clare got there early, too and helped out but Erika wins the prize hardest worker. Aside from the fact that I turned my entire house into an oven by running the oven all day, the party was nice.

I decided to go with a red, white and blue theme since her birthday is the day before the 4th of July but I used turquoise and bright pink instead of blue and red.

Here's the cake. Her cousins helped her blow out the candles.

She got her own small cake. Tearing into the cake is all part of the fun of the first birthday but no one wants to eat cake that a one year old has dug around in. It took her a little while to figure out what to do with the cake . . .

Once she figured out this trick though, she had a good time.

She had lots of help with her presents. : )
And she got lots of super nice presents. "This big belly sho' does get heavy, you mind if I sit there beside you?"Here's the whole gang. L to R: Erika with Lily, Clare with Jezebel, Holly with Kailey and Eli, and me with Allison and Sara.

Spaghetti Mess

2009-06-16T12:07:00.009-05:00

This is the first time we dared to turn Sara loose with a bowl of spaghetti. She ate all of her first serving (I had chopped it finely and neatly fed it to her with a spoon) and she wanted more. Joe volunteered to get more for her. I knew this meant trouble. He doesn't feel the need to prepare things in such a way to prevent messes. In his defense though, he did clean up afterward.

Mmmmmmm . . . .

She let Dad help her out every once in a while.

She learned this move on the street.

Allison, of course, thought the whole thing was hillarious!

This mess was enough to convince any mother to leave spaghetti off the menu for at least a couple of years (give her time to develop those fine motor skills). But can you say no to a face like this?

Humans are gross!

2009-06-09T12:47:00.004-05:00

Today at lunch, Allison and I were eating some left over shrimp etouffee and here's the conversation we had. I think you'll find it quite informative.

Me: Look, those are some tiny little shrimp. And there is a big shrimp. Can you eat them? (it takes quite a bit of coaxing to convince Allison to eat)

Allison: Yeah those are little. And that one is big like me. I'm a big girl.

Me: Yep, you sure are. But you used to be little when you were a baby. You were so tiny when you were born.

Allison: I can eat the tiny shrimp but you don't eat humans, because they are gross.

The obvious lesson is that humans shouldn't be eaten because they, of course, are gross. The less obvious lesson is that you shouldn't unexpectedly shift subjects on a two year old like I did from shrimp to tiny babies.

Here's something totally unrelated but equally important. Allison has recently started doing impersonations. She does an impersonation of me and Joe (that are hillarious) and the other night at dinner, she pulled out the most impressive robot impersonation I've ever heard. I don't know where or when she learned to do this but it was very convincing! Joe got up immediately and taught her to do the robot dance. We do everything we can to help our children develop and expand their talents.

Summer Fun

2009-06-01T16:04:00.006-05:00

Today was Sara's first time in the wading pool and she loved it. She really liked being in there with the other kids but she didn't want them to play near her (it really made her nervous). She's such a funny girl.

Just as every baby does, Sara has discovered the joys of unrolling toilet paper.

She has also learned how to rock on the rocking elephant all by herself. She picked it up so quick. We showed her how to do it one night and the next day, she was getting on it all by herself and rocking her little heart out.

And here are some more pictures of my favorite people.

Can you tell which one is faking?

Express Yourself

2009-05-18T20:22:00.003-05:00

Just in the past few days, Sara has really become a lot more expressive. Her favorite ways to express herself are through clapping, saying "Mmmm" when she likes something, and making motor boat sounds when she's happy. Also, when she's excited she'll scrunch up her nose and breath in and out quickly and loudly. This Saturday, she started blowing kisses when telling people goodbye. She really prefers to blow kisses at other kids like Allison and her cousin Bella but not so much the adults (much to my dismay). She also started shaking her head for "no" when I tell her "no." It's so funny to watch these little people develop their own personalities.

I think the Sunday School teacher wanted to kick us out of class this Sunday because Sara was causing such a big disturbance with her motor boat noises. She just couldn't help it. She's like a kitty cat that purrs when she's happy. Her friends Becky (the baby whisperer) and Sister Ray (who is also quite popular amongst the babies) were sitting next to her and Nathan and Jill were sitting behind us. She was having such a good time playing with all of them that she just couldn't contain her motor boat sounds.

Speaking of "expressing yourself" Allison just now turned to me with a piece of paper in her hand and told me, "today we are making crafts out of paper" while folding and creasing the paper, then holding it up for me to see. Where does she come up with this stuff?

A Boy's Work is Never Done . . .

2009-05-15T11:22:00.005-05:00

Here's a typical day at the Hamilton's when the Bonnette babies are over. Kailey and Allison usually go right into their own little world of make believe (filled with fussy babies that must be cared for, dogs that must be walked, etc) and carry on until they have to stop out of necessity for bathroom breaks or snacks. Sara is the observer. Eli, on the other hand, serves as the agitator. I think boys just come into this world already knowing that their job is to play rough and bother their sisters/cousins.

Here he is coming off of a "death roll". . .

then to stealing the blanket.

Immediately prior to me snapping this one, Eli had sat his behind squarely on Allison's head. Can you tell she's not happy about this?

Kailey is thoroughly perturbed and Eli is reveling in his victory.

Allison the Adverb Queen

2009-05-04T22:57:00.002-05:00

Our little Allison is quite articulate. Joe and I are always marveling at the things this girl comes up with. Lately, her favorite thing is adding adverbs into her sentences. Here are some of her favorite adverbs:

Perfectly
Actually
Really
Truly
Surely
Exactly

My favorites are "truly" and "perfectly." Let me give you an example of her usage of these words. If I were to ask her something like, "Is Dora your favorite show?" she would answer, "Yes Mommy, it truly is." And she really likes to say, "that's exactly right" when she agrees with something.
I guess this is the kind of child you get when you marry a man who enjoys reading dictionaries.

A Match Made in Heaven

2009-04-27T21:40:00.003-05:00

Allison is going through a phase in which she insists on only wearing skirts and dresses. So I found these pajamas and they have a shirt and pants with a little ballerina skirt that goes over the pants. Allison also loves ballerinas and dancing. When I saw these, I knew that she would love them. And of course, she does.
These pajamas were made for this girl.

Girls in Dresses

2009-04-20T23:05:00.007-05:00

I've decided that in order to have good pictures, you must have happy babies. I wanted good pictures of the girls in their Easter dresses but Sara was mad about sitting in prickly grass and Allison was mad about being asked to sit still.
These are probably the best ones I got.

For Clare

2009-04-20T22:08:00.001-05:00

Easter

2009-04-18T17:04:00.015-05:00

We had a fun Easter this year. It seems like things just keep getting to be more and more fun as the babies get older. I'm sure we'll hit the down slope of this trend in about ten or so years but we're definitely enjoying it for now.
We colored eggs and had an egg hunt at our house on Saturday with the Bonnettes.

Kailey was right. There's nothing like coloring eggs to take your mind off of an incarcerated loved one!

Look at how gingerly she's placing that egg into the dye.

Kailey was so sweet when she was hunting eggs. She kept sharing the eggs she found with Allison.

On Sunday, we went to visit Joe's older brother, Josh and his family. They adopted twin girls from Morocco and they had the twins blessed. So we were all able to go to church with them and see the twins' blessings.

This is our adorable niece Elizabeth.

We tried to get a picture of just the kids but a majority of them are aged 2 and under so it didn't go so well. But check out Rachel's awesome mommy muscles. : )
On the back row: Bella (John's daughter), Andrew (Josh and Rachel's son), and Elizabeth (Mary's daughter)
Middle: Rachel is holding up a rebelious Leah ( I think) and Leila is checking them out, and Allison is fretting about heaven only knows what.
And at the bottom is a bewildered little Sara.

Here's Sara hanging out with her Uncles Josh and John.

Ski Trip

2009-04-07T11:42:00.016-05:00

Thanks to Trendsic (Joe's employer), we went to Utah for a few days to do some skiing and site-seeing. We had a great time. This was my first time visiting Utah and my first time skiing. It was all super fun. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

This was Sara's first time on a plane and she did really well, as did Allison. My only complaint was the gassy puppy that was sitting behind us. YUCK!

This was my first time seeing mountains like these and they were impressive. I don't get out of Louisiana much.
Holly and I brought the babies to Temple Square and met up with Keri (Holly's sister-in-law) and her baby, Ashlyn.
L to R: Kailey, Allison, Ashlyn, Sara, and Eli
We went to the Visitor's Center and took the tour. The babies especially liked the Christus. When Allison saw it, she said, "He's HUGE!" She then ran over and tried to crawl under the rope. When I explained that ropes were put there to let us know that we aren't supposed to go in there, she said, in a concerned voice, "Oh, he's trapped."

It snowed almost the entire time we were there so we had fun playing in the snow. The girls had a super good time building this snow~~man~~girl. We didn't have traditional snowman-making supplies like lumps of coal, a carrot, or a corncob pipe so we used a twizzler, some Reeses cups, a Cheeto-nose, and pine twig pigtails.

We brought the kids tubing and we all had a good time. They even had a little carousel of small tubes for the babies. Sara and Ashlyn loved it.
Here we are in the warming hut after tubing. It was snowing a good bit so we were all kind of soggy and cold.
And here's a picture of me and my man about to go skiing. After my first experience, all I will say is that ski boots were created by the devil himself but aside from the death trap boots, skiing is really fun and I'm already looking forward to next time.

Yay for Sisters

2009-03-22T22:14:00.008-05:00

I've been waiting for this day. Sara is finally old enough and mobile enough to play with Allison!

I was so excited when I found out that I was having another girl because that meant Allison was going to have a sister to play with. They even play chase in the hall (really slow-motion chase).

A Run of Bad Luck

2009-03-18T23:09:00.005-05:00

Our luck has been so rotten lately, I was beginning to wonder if I had accidentally broken a mirror or walked under a ladder. Let me just share some of the things we've endured in the past couple of weeks.
1) I got a bladder infection and couldn't take the Azo pain reliever because it's not safe for breast-feeding. MISERY!
2) After enduring a couple days of the pain and discomfort of the bladder infection, I developed a few additional symptoms - fever, nausea, fatigue and dizziness and they persisted for 2 or 3 days. I don't know if it was from the bladder infection or maybe something viral. WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS!?!
3) Allison had a bug bite on her leg that got a big, ugly staph infection. I ended up bringing her to the Dr. because it wouldn't clear up.
4) The day after I brought Allison to the doctor for the infection on her leg, she slept with a mosquito in her room. She woke up with three bites on her face and seven more on her arms. The poor baby has a reaction to mosquito bites so they were huge, red knots. She scratched them and the staph infection spread to them even though I started treating them with her prescription cream immediately. I had her on benadryl so she wouldn't scratch so much and that made her clumsy. She got scrapes on her knee, her elbow, and two bumps on the head from falling and tripping. WHAT DID SHE DO TO DESERVE THIS!?!
5) Joe's car broke down and we had to buy an expensive part to fix it.
6) Joe ever so graciously bestowed a virus upon my computer, the likes of which we have never seen.
7) Sara ran a fever for three days straight and got a rash from a case of Roseola. And this while she was cutting two teeth. I really can't complain though because even with the fever and teething, she never fussed or complained (just a little clingier than usual).
8) We've all contracted leprosy from an armadillo that we played with in the backyard (no, just kidding - but seriously, armadillos do really carry leprosy, so don't play with them).

It hasn't been all bad at the Hamilton household. Here are some good things that have been going on:

We finally got a new dining room set! Our old table was ten years old and we had out grown it. Here's the new one:

Sara has two teeth now. Look out cheerios and goldfish! And, she can clap now. She's been doing this for a couple of weeks and has gotten really good at it. She will even clap if I ask her to (most of the time).

She's so proud of the piece of grass she picked up. Seconds later, she tried to eat the grass.

Matthew 5:44

2009-03-11T23:30:00.003-05:00

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" Matthew 5:44

Last night, in Allison's prayer before bed, she went down her usual list of special people that need to be blessed. This list includes her Mimis and Papaws, the Bonnettes, the prophet, etc. Occasionally, she'll throw in someone random, but mainly she sticks with the same list. So last night, she gets to the end of her list and says, "and bless Dr. Two-brains." For those of you, that aren't familiar with "Word Girl," he is the evil villian. I thought that it was sweet that she was praying for the villian.

A Few Firsts

2009-02-25T14:02:00.007-06:00

On Sunday morning Sara said her first word. I walked into the living room and when she saw me, she held her arms out and said, "ma-ma." She has been making the "ma-ma" sound for a couple of weeks but it was just a part of her usual babble.

She crawled around on her hands knees for the first time last night.

And, she pulled up to standing for the first time today. It's definitely time to lower the crib.

And here's what happened when she tried to turn to see what the camera flash was.

The Baby Whisperer

2009-02-15T21:56:00.004-06:00

Many of you know our good friend Becky and those of you who don't, should. Every one who knows her, loves her - especially the babies. Becky has a special talent for making every baby love her. Becky is a lifesaver! Sundays are hard on the babies because church goes straight through lunch time and nap time (we're on the 11 am - 2 pm schedule this year). Just about the worst thing you can do to a child is deprive them of food and sleep. But you can give Becky the crankiest baby and within no time, she'll either have them sleeping soundly or playing happily in her lap. Becky also has a talent for knowing just when you, as a mom, are at your wits end with the cranky baby and need a break. Just today, Becky took Sara and I didn't even realize that Sara was due for a feeding until Becky had taken her for a walk around the building. I went looking for her, expecting to find her struggling with a screaming, hungry baby Sara. But, of course, I found Becky holding sweet little sleeping Sara, resting on her chest. This woman has a talent! Even Allison who had the worst stranger anxiety and Mama-clingy-ness I've ever seen loves Becky and would go to her with out hesitation. So here's to Becky, for giving my aching arms a rest, for giving my sweet babies a shoulder to sleep on or a lap to play on, and for being a good friend.

Yep, It's Pecans

2009-02-09T22:31:00.003-06:00

As most of you guessed, the sign is for pecans. I'm sure that if you pick the right street, you can buy crack in Vidalia (and just about every other city) but I'm pretty sure you're not going to find anyone who's going to put a sign out. It does make me laugh every time I see it though. It's like they are telling you, "hey, come buy some crack and you can sell some drugs too if you have some."

In a completely unrelated note, Sara is really moving with her army crawl now. Before she was just kind of pulling herself in super slow motion with her arms. Now, she has gotten her right leg into it. She seriously looks like a wounded soldier. Her left leg is completely limp and she just drags her self along. I got a good laugh out of it today and I don't think she really minds that I'm laughing at her expense (she's so good-natured). I'll get some pictures up of that soon so that y'all can get some amusement out of my wounded soldier, too.

What Do You Think?

2009-02-08T18:07:00.005-06:00

What do you think these folks are trying to advertise?

This sign is right on the side of the highway, next to a gas station in Vidalia. We stopped to get gas on the way home from visiting my Mamaw and Papaw and it just so happened that we stopped at the gas station with the sign. I've seen this sign so many times and gotten a good laugh; I thought it was time to share it.

Tune in tomorrow and I'll reveal the unedited picture. Originally, there was just the one sign and I'm guessing they might have attracted the wrong kind of business enough times that they thought they should clarify. I never did figure out what they really did until they put the second sign up.

Some New Tricks

2009-02-02T17:05:00.007-06:00

Sara has mastered sitting by herself. She's been doing this for two or three weeks.

And, she's working hard on crawling. She is definitely mobile, she's just still working on perfecting the technique.

She also jabbers alot. Her favorite sounds are, "bruh-bruh-bruh," "ya-ya," and "hey-yay." She also just started waving today. It's really more of an imitation of what she sees me doing than a social gesture, but you've got to start somewhere.

These pictures were taken on Inauguration day. Before you start wondering, we decided to celebrate Allison's first Inauguration as an event and not a celebration of the man that was elected (we don't really share a lot of his views). And when I say celebrate, I just mean, I dressed her in some "patriotic" clothes and we watched the Inauguration on tv and used it as an opportunity to teach Allison about the president, who he is and what he does.

Here's What We've Been Up To

2009-01-28T21:57:00.010-06:00

Allison learned how to make lemonade.

Sara's been getting bigger and more active. She is doing super-slow-motion-pull-by-the-arms- rawling. I'll put her down on one side of the living room and by about 15 or 20 minutes, she will have made her way to the other side.
She's also recovering from an ear infection (the first one this family has ever seen). I wasn't even really sure that anything was wrong with her because she never fussed or complained. The only way I knew she had it was that she would frown and cry any time I would bump her ear while doing things like changing her shirt. Otherwise, she was just her happy, giggly self.

My Dad has been bringing suckers for the girls the last couple of times he has come to visit. This time, Eli got one and he tore it up. He ate his sucker like 3 times faster than the girls. He loved that thing so much. My poor mom was covered in slimy, sticky sucker drool before it was all over.

And last but not least, Allison ate corn on the cob for the first time. She absolutely loved it.

A Nickname for Sara

2009-01-17T22:27:00.006-06:00

Sara has been here for more than six months now and hasn't really had a nickname stick yet. Mainly, we call her "Sara Lu" but that one is, frankly, boring compared to some of the others we have enjoyed in this family. Lately I've been calling her "my squeezy baby" because she is my soft little baby that I love to hug and squeeze. And that kind of tranformed into "Huggy Bear." Allison LOVES the nickname "Huggy Bear." She called Sara "Huggy Bear" all day long, over and over again. Tonight, when Allison was saying her bedtime prayer, she said, "Please, bless my Huggy Bear." Is that sweet or what?

Here's another Huggy Bear:

Joe informed me this evening that Sara is not the only person to ever go by the name of "Huggy Bear." I think my Huggy Bear is MUCH cuter!

Busy Elmo

2009-01-17T22:00:00.002-06:00

The other day, I found Elmo using the potty all by himself. Elmo is a pretty busy guy. He eats Wheat Thins with the Mangums, he eats watermelon with the Bonnettes and he helps Kailey use the bathroom.

6 Month Check Up for Sara

2009-01-09T22:47:00.006-06:00

I brought Sara in for her 6 month check up and she's still tearing it up in the height category. She's still in the 95th percentile (27 1/2 in.). I don't know where she got those tall genes. I'm guessing that will taper off soon. At least I'll be able to tell her later when she is average height that she used to be like the tallest baby around. She's hanging in there at about the 60th percentile for weight (16 1/2 lb.). She's been getting a lot more active lately so I guess she's thinning out a little.

Check out what I discovered this morning while I was getting Sara ready to go to the doctor.

Do you see the peace sign?

Speaking of Propagation . . .

2009-01-08T22:07:00.009-06:00

I bought Joe a couple of fruit trees for Christmas. I didn't really do any research, I just went and picked up the best looking trees at the produce stand. I bought a Washington Navel Orange (my friend Erika sent over some navel oranges straight off of her tree and I was super jealous) and I wanted to get a peach tree but the one they had didn't have any leaves, so lemon was the only other choice. I am completely ignorant to the different varieties of lemons. I really thought they were all the same; I was wrong. I grabbed a Ponderosa Lemon. The tree looked good, I thought it would be fine. Let me show you what we're going to have:

Our little tree already has lots of tiny baby lemons. I did some research online (I don't take medical advice, but I'll take lemon advice - only a well educated horticulture nerd would know about how to care for this obscure tree that produces these odd, large fruit). Apparently, the trees are pretty strong, even when they are small, and have no trouble supporting their fruit that can grow to be as large as 2-4 pounds!
I am really not good with plants, and I do mean really not good! I hope we can take care of these little lemons long enough for them to ripen. If we do, you'll all be invited over for lemonade, buckets and buckets of lemonade!

Here are some pictures of the other crop we are propagating:

This little buckaroo is right on the verge of crawling.

She tried a sippy cup for the first time yesterday.

Allison is just as silly as ever. The other day, she was digging through a bag, looking for a toy. As she was digging, she said, "Where you are, donde esta, where you are?" Her spanish grammar is better than her English grammar! Thanks alot Dora!

Keep Your Distance . . .

2009-01-07T14:14:00.002-06:00

My body is currently propagating a nice crop of the rhinovirus. It seems like I've had this cold for forever and it just won't go away! For the past few days, when people have said things like, "it sounds like you have a cold" I keep saying, "yeah, but I'm on the tail end of it." I'm telling myself that all signs of this cold will be gone in just a day or two, and it's practically over now. The problem is that I just keep feeling worse. It felt like my head was runover by a train when I woke up this morning. But I'm not writing this post to solicit sympathy (it's really not that bad, just annoying more than anything). I thought I'd share some of the "advice" that I came across online. Last night I couldn't breath well enough to sleep so I needed to find out what decongestants are safe enough to take while breastfeeding. As a rule, I DO NOT seek medical advice online (it was after midnight though and I wasn't about to call anyone over a decongestant). At the risk of sounding arrogant, I usually feel like I'm smarter than the person writing the advice (with a few exceptions, like, oh say, the CDC). My findings last night only confirmed this impression.
Here's what one site said (I'm paraphrasing because I don't remember the sites or the exact quotes):
To prevent spreading the virus, don't share personal items such as eating utensils and toothpaste.
Toothepaste? Really? I can just imagine, foaming up a good lather of toothpaste with my toothebrush and Joe comes into the bathroom and notices we are out of toothpaste and I dole out a little bit of my lather to him. I'm sure they meant toothbrush (which is bad enough).

Another site recommended things such as drinking plenty of fluids, get lots of rest, and then at the bottom it said, in bright red text, "If you smoke, STOP!" It was like they were suggesting that smoking is okay except for the fact that it might cause some complications when you've got a cold. Forget emphysema, lung cancer, the addiction to nicotene. Just like with the other silly suggestion, I got a mental image and I'm going to share it. I imagined a cold-sufferer sitting at a computer, smoking away, looking up cold remedies. They come across this site and immediately stamp out the cigarette and swear off smoking. It was a fun, leisurely activity but the cold complications - that's the last straw!

How about this twinness . . .

2009-01-03T23:29:00.004-06:00

Holly and I bought the same gifts again. This year for Christmas, we bought each other a couple of books and one of the books was the same.
Months ago, we had a brief discussion on this book. We talked about how we had both heard of it and thought it looked cute but neither had mentioned it since.

Tonight, we had a favorite things party (finally, I had heard so many others talk about these fun parties). I was lucky enough to draw Holly's number. Since you are bringing your favorite thing, there's no guarantee that the people that receive your item are going to love it the same way you do. With Holly, I knew I would love it because anything that's her favorite is almost certainly my favorite and vice versa. And sure enough, she brought a watermelon (our absolute favorite food in the entire world, ever; and a cute little notebook - Holly and I are addicted to notebooks, we have to have them to organize our minds. I might forget to cook meals for my family our wash our clothes if I didn't have a notebook to write it in.). By the way, I really liked the other things I got, too. I got some chips and the stuff for making guacamole dip from Lisa ( I LOVE gaucamole dip!) and I got some super cute Christmas ornaments from Rachel (or Sarah). The favorite things party was just as fun as I thought it would be : ).

Christmas Events and Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009

2008-12-31T15:42:00.016-06:00

Since I haven't posted about Christmas yet, here's a quick run down.
For the first time in like almost 10 years, all of Joe's siblings were all together, so we were able to spend some good quality time with Joe's family. His older brother, Josh, and his family came and stayed with us for a few days.

This is Josh and Leah, I think.

Like Josh, Joe's younger brother, John, is in the army. John, by the way, is hilarious. We had a good time hanging out with him at the family functions.

These are some pictures of our visit with Joe's Dad on Christmas Eve.

Stevie Wonder made an appearance . . . no wait, that's just my first born acting silly with her Papaw's high-fashion sunglasses.

We had dinner with the Bonnettes on Christmas Eve.

I had more pictures of the rest of the Bonnettes from Christmas Eve but Josh and Joel were talking guns and I just didn't feel good about having pictures of assault rifles on my Christmas post.

We had a good time opening presents Christmas morning! There were five kids present, so there was plenty of fun and excitement.

Don't these two just look adorable in there Christmas jammies !?!

Check out this sweet washer and dryer that my mom and dad found for Allison. You can't get one of these babies just anywhere. My mom found it at the old hardware store in Ferriday that is going out of business. They had all of these old toys from the 80's and 90's. This item, according to the box, was from 1991! I think the owner's daughter was selling all of the good stuff (like original Star Wars toys) on e-bay.

Here's Sara "tearing into" her present from Aunt Clare.

After all of the present-opening, we loaded up and headed to Ferriday. We had a nice visit with my family at Mamaw and Papaw's house and then we headed out to the lake and had some super good King Crab Legs! My Dad's sister has a steakhouse in Winnsboro and she was able to order some for him. He gets them every now and then when he's offshore, and he wanted us to give them a try. They were SO good. I'm not a big fan of seafood, but these were exceptional. Even Allison, who's not really a fan of any food, loved them. Check out her little squirrel cheeks. She was stuffing so much crab meat in, I thought for sure she was going to be sick later that night (she held onto them though, thank goodness!)

So, that's it for our Christmas. All went well. I survived my newly developed allergy to Christmas trees. We had fun with the family. We got some awesome presents (thanks to everyone - you know who you are). And I think I'm starting to feel sane again.

So now, it's time to start a new year. I'm ready. I don't have my resolutions made yet but I think I'll do that tonight before I go to bed or while I'm watching Dick Clark on my couch.

I ♥ Online Shopping

2008-12-16T18:02:00.002-06:00

This year, I have met Christmas shopping with an all time high level of dread and loathing. Now, not only do I have to face crowds, crowds, crowds, fiscal commitment, rushed decision-making and crowds but now I have to face it with two babies in tow. I am really starting to feel like the Grinch (hating the snow, and now hating the Christmas shopping) but I assure you, I'm not. Anyway, I found a good solution to my Christmas shopping problems - shopping online. In the past I've done only a small amount of Christmas shopping online. This year, however, I've done almost all of my shopping online and I'm glad. What are my favorite sites for shopping online, you ask?
oompa.com - toys; they have free shipping on orders over $65
crazy8.com - children''s clothes; they have free shipping until midnight tonight (12-16) and 25% off most stuff

All of the shopping for my babies and all 7 of my nieces and nephews is done! Now for the less fun task of buying for adults. I'll let you know if I find any good sites while shopping for the grown ups.

Happy Birthday Kailey!

2008-12-13T23:46:00.003-06:00

This post is for my dearest baby Kailey. Kailey was the first baby that I was ever truly enamored with. I never have been a baby-lover but with Kailey, it was different. Even though she's Holly's baby, she feels like my baby, too. I was so excited when Holly had her, I couldn't stand it. I used to love to hold her and play with her. I have always been amazed at how cute and smart and funny she is. She is a sweet, sweet girl.

We had a fun time at her birthday party today! Holly and I, in true twin-fashion, accidentally bought her the same gift. We had discussed what we were going to buy for her but we both decided to pick up this one barbie that came with a dog to go along with the other gifts. I guess that's one of the perils of having a twin mom.

I found this picture of her from when she was about 7 months old. It's hard to believe that she's already three!
Happy birthday KayKay!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

2008-12-11T22:38:00.007-06:00

I hate to sound like a Debbie-Downer but our Snow Day was not fun. First of all, Allison hated the snow. She's a Louisiana baby through and through. We were awakened bright and early by a call from Joe's sister to let us know there was snow. It was so early, the sun wasn't even up. We got Allison out of bed and she was excited at first because we were excited. She was not one bit happy once we got out into the snow, though. As soon as she saw the snow sticking to her coat, she freaked out and started crying and saying, "it's making me dirty" over and over until I brought her in and dried her off.
Next, Joe tore up his windshield wipers trying the clear his windshield (don't judge us - we never have snow, how are we supposed to know what to do with the stuff) so he had to take my car to work.
Right after Joe left for work, we lost power and it stayed out for MORE THAN 12 HOURS!!!I was stuck in a cold house with no way to prepare food and no transportation. Joe had to bring me my car so we could go to Holly's. Not to mention, I just had to throw all of my food away a few months ago with stinking Gustav and now a couple of inches of snow and it's all gone again. I'll probably be able to salvage some of it since it was pretty cool in the house but I am still not happy about this.

Sorry guys, I'm going to have to give the snow two thumbs down.

The Quest for Superior Moisturization Continues

2008-12-05T22:00:00.009-06:00

I'm starting to think there might be a future for Allison in the cosmetics industry, and more specifically in moisturizers. She's getting a lot of research done now. We can add Vaseline to the list of substances that Allison has tested for the their moisturizing properties. It will join ranks with bacon grease and baby oil.
This afternoon, while I was preparing lunch, Allison snuck into my room and found a container of Vaseline. I've got a few containers of it around the house because Sara has really sensitive skin and her cheeks get super chapped everyday. Our pediatrician recommended using Vaseline on her chapped skin. So Allison watches me apply Vaseline to Sara's face and ankles and elbows a couple of times a day. Every time, she asks me what I'm doing and why. I tell her that it's medicine for Sara's skin. In variably, Allison finds a little scrape or scratch or bruise and insists that I put some on her. She is very interested in the Vaseline and because of this, I always make sure to keep it well out of her reach. Well, I accidentally left the small container out on the computer desk in my room. She apparently saw it on the desk at some point this morning and came up with a scheme to return to it when I was indisposed. She did return and had a good old time rubbing her legs down. It was just a matter of seconds after I realized that I hadn't heard a peep out of her that I heard a giddy little squeal coming from the hall. She came frolicking and giggling around the corner while rubbing and wringing her hands. It took me a second to realize that she was rubbing and wringing her hands because they were covered with Vaseline, as were both legs, feet, and her shirt and the chair at the desk. I was delighted! Unfortunately I didn't get a picture this time. I was right in the middle of cooking lunch and Sara was unhappy because she has a cold and hasn't been feeling well. And this was not one of those scenes that I was willing to re-create for the sake of getting a picture.
But here is a picture of the mischief-maker doing one of her new favorite things:

And now, some pictures from Clare's recent visit for your viewing pleasures:Cute Clare

Cute Little Baby Jezebel
Mr. Roboto, AKA Daniel (Clare's husband)
Cute little Eli (don't you just want to grab that baby and kiss him right on his cute lips)
And cute little Sara hanging out with Aunt Clare

Oh Happy Day!

2008-12-01T22:09:00.002-06:00

I just realized that today is December 1st!! I made it all the way through NaBloPoMo without missing a day!!!! Hooray! I was just thinking about the stuff I could put in this post - celebrating Brandon's birthday this weekend, visiting with my best-most-favorite-friend-in-the-entire-world, Clare, who was in town for Thanksgiving. I have pictures of all of this stuff by the way. It will all eventually make it's way to the blog, but for now, I'm tired of this thing. No pictures tonight. Nothing interesting. Good night.

My Southern Belle

2008-11-30T21:28:00.005-06:00

Allison has picked up a southern drawl. She now takes single syllable words and makes them multi-syllabic. "House" now sounds like "Hi-owwwse" and "down" sounds like "da-owwwn." I'm not really that surprised about the drawl. She talks to my parents on the phone at least a couple of times a week and usually sees my Mom about once a week and my Dad everytime he's in from offshore. If you haven't met my parents, they definitely have a southern accent. I used to have one, but I worked very hard to erase all signs of it when I moved to Baton Rouge. People in Baton Rouge, don't have a thick southern accent like people in Ferriday, and I didn't want to stand out like a sore thumb. My accent will resurface if I get mad or if I'm telling a story and I'm laughing or if I'm talking on the phone with my mom. My students would really get a good laugh when I was teaching if I got carried away teaching something that I was really interested in and my accent would come out. So, I guess between catching my accent on occasion and hearing it from my family, Allison has decided to take it on.

She also has one other peculiarity that has recently cropped up in her speech - smacking. It kind of sounds like a tongue click, in case you're not following me. She will especially use the smacking when she is telling me a story. Sometimes I ask her to tell me stories when she is on the potty to keep her there longer, thus increasing the odds that she will use the potty. Here's how it usually goes (and this is a real story that she told me yesterday):
"One time *smack*, me and KayKay went to the sto-wer ("store" with her new southern accent)*smack* and we got some babies *smack* and they were reeeal little *smack* and we had to take care of them *smack* . . ."
I honestly don't know where she picked this one up. I swear to you, I do not smack. And this is not even one of those things that you don't notice you do until your youngster starts mimicing it. We've had those - like saying "goodness" alot - I had no idea I did that until Al started doing it. This isn't one of those, I monitored myself, I don't do it. I just don't know. I guess it'll have to be an unsolved mystery.

By the way, this is a brand new swing set. She loves it! We wanted to get her one last year for Christmas but we waited too late and couldn't find one anywhere so we made sure to get out and get one early this year.

Isn't this a funny picture?! It has nothing to do with anything but I'm sharing it anyway. Ok, I feel like I'm rambling, now. I had better end.

My Grandma is So Green . . .

2008-11-29T22:14:00.003-06:00

My Grandma, or Mamaw as I like to call her, is so green, she makes Al Gore look brown.
Lately, it has kind of become a fad to be eco-friendly. And if being eco-friendly is a new trend, then my Mamaw has become super cool. I might also add that this new found coolness is entirely unintentional (as you might have already guessed).
So, this Thanksgiving as I was at home visiting, I observed some of Mamaw's habits and I noticed that they are perfectly in line with all of the "go-green strategies." Here are a few examples:

* She does not own a dryer (never has) she line dries all of her clothes. That's just what she prefers.
* In addition to not using a dryer, she also has other energy-saving habits such as, reading the Ensign and other church publications instead of watching TV, using her window unit sparingly (she doesn't have central air or heat), etc.
* She grows her own produce. She and Papaw grow fruits and vegetables such as corn, okra, butterbeans, tomatoes, figs, grapes, plums, bell peppers, brocolli, cabbage, turnips, green beans, etc.
* She does not waste anything! She grew up on a farm during the depression era. Her motto is "waste not, want not."
* She has lived "reduce, reuse, recycle" for decades.
* She doesn't drive much, in fact, she usually walks to her weekly hair appointment.

I'm sure there are others that I just haven't thought of. So basically, Mamaw is awesome.

There's a First Time for Everything

2008-11-28T23:51:00.005-06:00

Up until just today, I have never eaten pecan pie. It hasn't been for a lack of opportunity; it's just that pecan pie has always seemed like something I just wouldn't like to eat. As a general rule, I don't any pies of any kind. I mostly don't like cooked fruit and since this is typically the filling of pies, I had decided to avoid pies all together. As an adult, I've come to really appreciate foods that I wouldn't have touched as a child. Because of this, I decided to give pecan pie a try. After all, pecan pie does not contain any cooked fruit, just nuts. As it turns out, I really like it now. I think all subsequent holidays shall now be celebrated with a piece of pie. I may even get ambitious and find a recipe and try making one myself.
Did anyone else try any new foods this Thanksgiving?

Giving Thanks

2008-11-27T21:40:00.003-06:00

Since today is Thanksgiving, I think I'll list a few things I'm most thankful for:
- I am grateful to have a happy life.
- I am grateful to live in this country, at this time (this has afforded me many privileges such as the opportunity to receive a good education, the freedom of religion, the right to vote, etc.)
- I am grateful for my health and grateful that I have a healthy family.
- I am grateful that I can be a stay-at-home mom.
- I am grateful for art in all of its forms , especially music.
- I am grateful for technology (everything from light bulbs and telephones to computers and digital cameras)
- Above all else, I am grateful for my family. I am grateful to have a loving husband that supports our family and loves me despite my occasional fits of emotion and my meticulousness. And I am grateful for my two sweet baby girls - Allison with her spunk and imagination and Sara with her sweetness and happy disposition.

Today, Allison found her Mimi's reading glasses and had a good time with them. Maybe a career as a librarian is in her future

Did you ever notice?

2008-11-26T23:48:00.002-06:00

This is Joe, I'm filling in for my wife.

Some of my favorites:

Favorite food - Ice Cream (Cherry Vanilla)
Favorite musician - Jack Johnson
Favorite color - blue
Favorite song - Say it Ain't So by Weezer (i know that contradicts the previous comment but I don't care)
Favorite programming language - VB.NET
Favorite hard drive manufacture - Western Digital
Favorite Video Game - Team Fortress 2 (BAH - YOW)
Favorite New Show this year - Fringe
Favorite Season - Summer
Favorite CPU Manufacturer - Intel
Favorite Person - JamieAllisonSaraJesus (That is one person)
Favorite Animal - meerkat (they jump sideways its awesome)
Favorite time - 11:39 AM
Favorite horse - Seabiscuit
Favorite shoe brand - Nike
Favorite NFL team - Saints
Favorite speed- 63 MPH
Favorite date - March 1, 2003
Favorite type of cloud - cumulus
Favorite scientist - Louis Pasteur, I love milk
Favorite scientist - Nikolai Tesla (I don't care that you think i should only have one favorite scientist or that i should capitalize my i's)

Favorite end of blog sentence - this one

Bye

Joe Hamilton

Two Girls

2008-11-25T20:16:00.001-06:00

Tired of Hearing So Much From Me Yet?

2008-11-24T22:23:00.004-06:00

There are only 6 days left in November! I think I may take a posting break until next year once this month is over. No, probably not.

Since Allison is always a good source of material for the blog, here is a funny story about her from today:
Allison always likes to help me with whatever I'm doing with Sara. She likes to help me feed her baby food and she always pulls a stool up beside me when I'm bathing her and dips her hands in the water then rubs it on Sara's arms and legs. Diaper changes are no different. She's always close by but she's more of an observer for these. She will help me by bringing me stuff like diapers or wipes but she doesn't usually get in on the changing action. She decided today that she wanted to give it a shot. I had already taken the old diaper off and cleaned Sara up and was about to put the new diaper on. I asked Allison to get the new diaper for me (it was well within my reach but I know she really likes to be included) and when she got over to me with the diaper, she informed me that she wanted to put it on her. So I told her to go right ahead. She took the diaper and turned it over a couple of times, pulled on the corners, looked at it with a puzzled expression, then threw it down and exclaimed, "I'm busy! " with an exasperated tone and as she ran out of the room, I heard her mummbling, "I needs to play in my room." It was so funny, it was like she was saying, "I don't have time for this, I've got better things to do with my time than try and figure out these diapers."

I have such a silly girl! She was actually singing at the top of her lungs when this picture was taken. She loves to sing.
And, she loves to play with her sister.

A Whole Heap of Babies

2008-11-23T22:36:00.004-06:00

Our good friend and former roommate, Becca, came to visit with her baby, Marianna. So tonight Holly and the babies and I drove out to Baker to visit them at her parent's house. It was really nice to see the Clarks.

It was also nice to meet Marianna for the first time. She is about a month older than Sara. If you look closely, you'll notice that Sara and Mariana had on the same outfits only in different colors.

There were actually three other little boys there, too. Heather,Becca's sister, has a set of twin boys and a younger boy that's about Eli's age. That made 8 kids, all under 4 years old. They all had a good time playing together.

A Much Needed Haircut

2008-11-22T23:10:00.001-06:00

Whole Again

2008-11-21T20:52:00.001-06:00

The keyboard for the laptop finally arrived! Now I have a whole keyboard again and don't have to endure little metal pieces tearing at my finger tips as I type anymore! Hooray! Even though it's super old (at least as far as computer's go), it seems like new!

By the way, this is my 100th post!

A Rogue Crayon, A Nudist Colony of One, and A New Interest

2008-11-20T10:23:00.010-06:00

During one of our regular coloring sessions, a brown crayon broke from the pack and is now hiding out somewhere in the house. I know this because I keep finding random brown scribblings. Allison has decided that coloring on things such as walls and furniture is way more fun than coloring on paper. For this reason, we only have washable crayons in our house and even those are kept well out of reach when it's not supervised coloring time. Allison also knows that if she is caught with a crayon outside of coloring time, it will be promptly confiscated. So, I think she and the crayon have agreed to keep him out of sight to protect their clandestine relationship. My goal is to locate the miscreant before the day is over. I can wash the markings off of just about anything but I do have trouble getting it out of the crevices of our textured walls. So I'm really hoping to find it before Allison introduces this crayon to the wall.

It's kind of hard to see at first, but both are these items fell victim to the brown crayon.

Speaking of keeping things hidden, there's one thing that Allison refuses to keep hidden lately - her birthday suit! I think I mentioned before that she likes to practice taking her pants off since we've started potty training. Now, she has taken it to the next level. She takes every stitch of clothing off every chance she gets. I've tried explaining that clothes protect our bodies and keep them warm, but she seems less interested in those things than in living a life free of the hindrances and bindings of clothing. Since I'm a believer in "picking your battles" and don't think that taking your clothes off at home warrants a time out, we're just going to be waiting this one out (unless of course, she takes her show on the road).

In other news, Sara has discovered the fun and wonder of toys! It's nice when you don't have to be the baby's sole source of entertainment anymore and she is getting some good practice in developing those fine motor skills!

Twilight, ClearPlay Follow Up, and Nutella

2008-11-19T23:22:00.003-06:00

Thanks to a friend who has a friend. . . I got to see an early screening of Twilight tonight!! I'm not going to say much about it but I will say that I was glad to be able to actually see the story and with any book turned movie, there were things I really liked and things I didn't really like. I had a good time and I'm glad I was able to go.

Follow up on the Clear-Play Player - these are excellent devices and for those that are interested, I would recommend it. I got mine from https://www.clearplay.com/bestoffer/. At this link, you can get a free player, with free shipping. All I've had to pay is the $8/month subscription to download the filters. I talked to one of the reps on the phone and he told me he's never heard of such a good deal, he can't offer customers a deal that good. I just happened upon it. Any way, I know it works because Holly and Joel have had one for a while and I've watched plenty of movies on theirs, so I know it works well.
In the past, companies tried to edit the movies to "clean them up" but that infringes on the copyright. Clear Play's filters just tell the dvd player which parts to skip (I'm sure I'm over simplifying that, but you get the idea). And it's really good about not leaving out crucial parts of the movie, too.

While I'm talking about things I love (Twilight, ClearPlay) I need to mention Nutella. I am currently eating a piece of white bread with Nutella spread on it. Nutella is like chocolate made into the consistency of peanut butter. I will eat Nutella on just about anything, I LOVE IT! Joe told me about it after his mission (they eat it alot in France) and I've loved it ever since. If you've never tried it, you should (you can get it at Wal-Mart or just about anywhere else and it should be near the peanut butter).

So here is my decree - go and see Twilight the movie, buy a ClearPlay player and buy some Nutella and eat it.

Clear Play

2008-11-18T23:37:00.002-06:00

We finally got our Clear Play DVD player in the mail today! We actually got one in the mail almost a month ago but the first one didn't work. In case you're not familiar with this product, it's a dvd player that uses files that you download from their site to filter the movie for you (it filters things like bad language, violence, nudity, etc.). So look out bad, immoral movies, here we come!

I've Got Nothing

2008-11-17T22:55:00.004-06:00

Posting everyday is tough. I'm out of new material. Today was pretty uneventful. I pretty much spent the entire day cleaning the house (no, my house isn't THAT dirty, it's just that I had to stop every 10 seconds to run Al to the potty or feed Sara, etc.).

For dinner, I tried to recreate my favorite dish from any restaurant, ever. It's Chicken Vino Bianco from the Olive Garden. I wish I could say that my favorite was something nice from some fancy restaurant but the truth is, I don't really eat at fancy restaurants. Honestly, the Olive Garden is a pretty stinking nice place when you come from Concordia Parish. There, eating out probably means that you bought a pizza stick and some chicken wings at the Dodge Store, a gas station that is located in what Holly and I refer to as skunk alley - a little stretch of highway between Ferriday and Vidalia that always reeks of skunk. But, I digress . . . the topic at hand is Chicken Vino Bianco. So, that's my favorite but for some reason (who can even imagine why) they took it off the menu. I was heartbroken. Joe actually talked them into making it for me one time but it hasn't worked the last couple of times. So, I decided to try to make it for myself. All in all, I think it turned out pretty good. I've got a few modifications that I'm going to make for next time but I think it came out pretty close to the original.

I might not have anything to post about, but I've always got pictures of my two girls.

TV Nostalgia

2008-11-16T23:05:00.008-06:00

Joe and I just recently watched the movie, Get Smart. I really liked it and I'm not sure if it was because it was a movie worth liking or because it reminded me of all of the tv-watching Holly and I did with Papaw when we were little. We used to watch (almost exclusively) old, 1960's shows on Nick at Night. Here's a list of my favorites:

Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In
Get Smart
M*A*S*H
Gilligan's Island
I Dream of Genie
Twilight Zone
My Three Sons
The Donna Reed Show
The Monkeys
Secret Chimp
Alfred Hitchcock
Dobie Gillis
Lassie
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Patty Duke Show
Bewitched
The Addams Family
Green Acres
I Love Lucy
Mr. Ed
Hee Haw
Petticoat Junction

I miss sitting on the armrest of Papaw's recliner (Holly sat on one, and I sat on the other) eating popcorn, drinking orange juice and watching old 60's tv shows. Those were the days.

These are pictures of a few of my favorites:

Does anyone else remember any of these shows? Have any favorites?

Different and the Same

2008-11-15T00:32:00.004-06:00

While I was browsing through some older folders of photos, I came across some photos of Allison at 4 months. Sara is now 4 months old and I have been meaning to look up some pictures of Allison at this age. When I first opened the folder, I was surprised at how much they resemble. Then I opened a picture of Sara next to it and I was surprised at how different they look. What do you think?

Two Mimis and a Papaw

2008-11-14T23:54:00.007-06:00

Today was full of fun with the grandparents. My parents came for an afternoon visit and Joe's mom came by after work for a visit. My babies have just been all loved up today. The bond between grandparents and their grandbabies is definitely unique and special. Not only are they good for loving and hugging and kissing the babies, but they are also good for giving the mom's and dad's a little break, too. Holly and I were able to go to the DMV and get our licenses renewed and go to our book club meeting tonight with only two babies (Eli and Sara) instead of four. So thanks to the grandparents for the babysitting services, especially Ms. Sheila for taking the late shift and both girls by herself. We really love you guys!

I Love Surprises!

2008-11-13T22:06:00.007-06:00

This morning I got a call from my good friend Courtney and she had some very good news! She and Jared and the babies were going to be passing through on their way to visit her family in Florida and they were going to be able to stop by for a visit. It has been a long time since we've seen Courtney so Holly and I were super excited to see her and her family. It was only a short visit but it was a good visit. We got to meet Jack for the first time and they got to meet Sara. We got to see how much Sadie has grown and all of the babies had a really good time playing together.

Can you even believe how adorable these Rawson babies are?

We miss you guys so much and we need more visits! Since it's our turn now, I'm going to start working on some excuses to go to Texas.

A Bad Bobo

2008-11-12T22:45:00.004-06:00

Tonight Holly, Kailey and Eli came over for dinner. Joel was working late and Joe had mutual so we decided to get together. I cooked Enchiladas and I was using a knife to cut the servings. When I finished cutting, I sat the knife on the side of the dish but it slid off and landed, cutting edge down, right on my toe! This was no ordinary knife either, it was super sharp. It cut a nice little gash into my toe. The cut may have actually been deeper than it was wide. I probably could have used a stitch or two but I thought about the waiting and the needles and most of all the paying and decided against seeking professional medical help. Holly helped me bandage it and later when I was sitting on the couch, Kailey came to check it out.
Here's our conversation:
Kailey said, "That looks like a bad bobo, Aunt Jamie."
I replied, "yeah, it is"
She then said, "You don't look very happy about it."
I said, "I'm not"
Then she said, "You probably shouldn't get bobos like that."
Kailey's right, from now on, I'm not getting bobos like this. They hurt.

4 Month Check Up for Sara and Some Scary New Developments

2008-11-11T21:50:00.004-06:00

Today, I brought Sara in to the pediatrician for her 4 month check up. As always, she is in perfect health! She is still in the 90th percentile for height at 26 in. and the 75th percentile for weight at 15lbs.

In other news, Allison's powerful brain is starting to scare me. Tonight I bought a new book for her at the dollar store. When I got home I read it to her once and then gave it to her to look at. After only having heard it once, she recited most of the book back to me while saying the appropriate parts for the appropriate pages. Granted it was a short book for preschoolers, but I was still impressed.

Even scarier than her powerful brain is her new potty training problem. Her potty training is really going great (after 3 weeks of work) as far as not having so many accidents but a new problem has replaced the accidents - constantly taking her pants off (YIKES). Just today, at the doctor's office she must have taken her pants off five times or more! Luckily we were just about the only people in the whole office because we were the first appointment after lunch, otherwise I would have been really embarrassed! I don't think a single person saw this except maybe the nurse, but what about our next trip to Wal-Mart? I'm just glad she has to wear a dress to church.

A Couple of Pictures and a Couple of Stories

2008-11-10T23:51:00.003-06:00

Have you seen a happier baby?!

Here's Allison and her good buddy that she used to call Ken whose name is not at all Ken.

Here are a few of my favorite things from today:
As is the case with most babies around her age, Allison's brain is a sponge and she doesn't miss anything. Tonight at bedtime, Allison was trying to persuade us to go to the living room instead of her bedroom because she knew that once we made it back there, there was no turning back. As usual, she referred to the living room as the "woom-up." She's always called it that and just has never updated it. After she said that, she walked away, toward the living room. Joe said quietly to me, "when do you think she'll start calling it the living room?" I didn't think she heard him but when she noticed that we didn't follow her she turned around and came back to us and said, "come on, lets go to the wiving woom." We both laughed.
Also, she told me several times today - out of no where, "Mom, you're the best." I would reply, "no, you're the best" and the argument would continue with her giggling all the way. I don't know where she came up with that but I'm glad she held on to that phrase and not something negative or bad. She's such a funny girl.
In Sara news, she has started trying to pull her knees under her when she's laying on the belly. It looks like just the very beginnings of trying to crawl. Give her a month or two and I'll bet she'll be moving.

Happy Birthday Andrew!

2008-11-09T22:34:00.004-06:00

Today is our nephew, Andrew's, 7th birthday. We don't get to see Andrew, or any of his family for that matter, very often because his Dad is in the army. This weekend, we were able to go and visit and we had a great time.
Since it's Andrew's birthday, I'm going to list 7 things I like about Andrew:

1) He is the best big brother I've ever seen. His mom really has her hands full with twin girls that are a year old but Andrew helps out a ton and I didn't hear him complain one single time the whole weekend.
2) He is super smart.
3) He's really friendly and nice. He played so well with Allison. Most older kids would complain about having a two year old tagging along behind or would just ignore them but Andrew played with her and was so nice to her.
4) He's as cute as can be. You can see that for yourself, though. Just look at that picture.
5) He is polite.
6) He's really good at soccer. Joe and Allison got to see him play soccer on Saturday morning (I had to stay home b/c Sara was napping) and from what I hear, he's the star of the team.
7) He loves his family.

We were also able to meet Andrew's little sisters, Leah and Leila, for the first time. They were even more adorable in person than in the pictures. Allison had the best time playing with her cousins. I hate that we only got just a few pictures. We were so busy the whole weekend and were having such a good time, we forgot all about the cameras. Here's a picture of the whole family.

Left to right: Leah, Rachel, Andrew, Josh, and Leila
I hope I got the twins right!

Thanks to my guest author and loving twin sister . . .

2008-11-08T20:58:00.002-06:00

To everyone that visits the blog, I apologize for the eyesore-of-a-background that Holly ever so lovingly bestowed upon us. I'll change that just as soon as I have more time and more computer.

In other news, we're having a good time visiting Joe's family. Allison has been having a super fun time playing hide and seek, running, jumping, and riding around in a wagon with her cousins, Andrew, Leah, and Leila.

I'll be back to making better posts about stuff like bacon grease and computer destruction as soon as we get back into town.

The Hambones are out of town

2008-11-07T23:37:00.004-06:00

So Jamie called tonight and let me know that they were on their way out of town to visit some of Joe's family. She asked if I would do a little guest post so that she wouldn't miss a day for NaBloPoMo. That's when she turned over the log in and password. In other words I have free reign of the blog....hehehe.

P.S. Jamie I know how much you love technology, so I'm gonna go ahead and say "you're welcome for the beautiful new background." I know that you didn't ask for any improvements, but I like to go above and beyond the call of duty.

The Shenanigans continue . . .

2008-11-06T22:40:00.004-06:00

Tonight, I returned home from Enrichment (for the non-LDS readers, it's a church meeting for ladies) to find that Allison had obliterated the keyboard of my much beloved laptop. She ever so lovingly plucked as many keys off as her tiny fingers could manage.
It really hurts my heart to see my little electronic friend so violently disfigured. As I've been writing this post, Joe has been working to replace the keys and he has gotten most of them replaced. It's really just a matter of popping them back on. Some of them were so badly mangled that they aren't replaceable which will mean that we are either going to have to order a new keyboard or a new laptop. We'll see . . .
In the meantime, I'm forced to use the cluttered desktop that I'm not fond of. I shouldn't complain though, at least we do have the other computer.

Au Naturale

2008-11-05T22:01:00.004-06:00

In case you haven't picked up on this before, Allison has a thing for lotion. She loves moisturizing but apparently lotion alone wasn't doing the trick. She decided to try Mother Nature's moisturizer - beautiful, glistening fat, or bacon grease to be more precise.

Joe made some bacon on the Foreman Grill this morning and he left the drip pan on the kitchen counter. Allison saw it and I guess she thought it might work well to alleviate her dry skin, so she grabbed it and proceeded to rub herself down. Notice the lovely sheen on her legs.

Mmmmm . . . who doesn't love the smell of bacon?

Here are the pictures of Sara playing with her feet, just like I promised.

Rants and Raves

2008-11-04T20:38:00.003-06:00

Rant:
- I HATE potty training! We're more than two weeks into our second attempt and let's just say, this is my very least favorite milestone. If anyone has any advice, PLEASE share!

Raves:
- I'm glad I was able to fulfill one of my civic duties by going out and voting. And I'm glad I didn't have to wait in a line. They had enough workers and voting machines at our voting site so I was able to just go right in and out.
- I love Allison's new phrases and words that she comes up with all the time. Tonight Joe asked her about something at dinner (don't remember what) and she just said, "That's weird." It was funny because that was a perfectly valid response and I had no idea she would know how to use that in the correct context. Funny girl.
- I love how Sara likes to play with her feet now. She's just so darn cute. I'll post a picture of her playing with her feet as soon as I catch one so everyone else can appreciate the cuteness of it, too.
- I love the new SteamFresh Meal for Two from Bird's Eye. They make the little bags of frozen vegetables that you steam in the bag in your microwave. Tonight we tried the one with chicken and vegetables and pasta in a roasted garlic sauce. I liked it a lot.

Chewbacca

2008-11-03T19:09:00.003-06:00

Doesn't this cross-section of a banana look a lot like Chewbacca?
I noticed this at dinner tonight. The banana was leftover from lunch, that's why it looks yucky and brown.

Sara Lu

2008-11-02T13:12:00.010-06:00

Good ol' Clare pointed out that Sara hasn't been featured on the blog lately. At best, she was only slightly visible in the background of one of the pictures in the last post. I looked back over my previous posts and I realized that my little sweet girl hasn't appeared on the blog in over a MONTH! So this post is for Sara.

She has officially started on solid foods! She'll make four months tomorrow but we started on rice cereal about a week early (not that we're really counting). She has been sleeping through the night (like 12 solid hours) for a couple of months and then all of a sudden, she started waking up a little in the night. "Waking a little" turned into waking up 4 times per night and needing to eat, a lot, every time she woke up. It only took a couple of nearly sleepless nights for me to decide that this baby needed more food. As soon as we started giving her some rice cereal, she went back to good sleeping. Thank you rice cereal!

Allison really liked feeding Sara.

A Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T23:14:00.005-05:00

Halloween was much nicer and lots more fun than last year.

We went to Trunk or Treat at the church last Friday and we all had a good time. My favorite part of the evening was when Allison doubled over in laughter at the sight of Eli in his little dinosaur costume. I thought he looked really cute but she just thought he was hilarious and could not stop laughing.

Last night, we went Trick-or-Treating around our neighborhood. Allison had a good time trick-or-treating with her little buddy, Buzz Lightyear. And best of all, we didn't end up in the ER last night : ).

The Little Fairy

2008-10-25T00:04:00.003-05:00

After searching stores and websites for the perfect costume for Allison with no success, I decided to make her costume this year. Considering the fact that I have little sewing skills, it had to be easy to make. Et voila - the fairy costume.

Picture Tag

2008-10-20T22:07:00.002-05:00

I think I was tagged by Courtney and Jenn for this one, so here it is guys. This is a picture of Joe and his sister Mary talking at Allison's last birthday party.

I might be over-doing this one but I decided to check out what picture would fit the criteria from the desktop (I knew it would be an old one). I pulled this one up and thought I should share. This was taken on July 25, 2003. I thought certain readers (this one's for you Hoppy) might enjoy this picture of Joel as a youngster : ) .

The tag is to post the fourth picture from the fourth folder in your pictures file.
I tag two of my favorite former Concordia Parish residents, Clare and Erika.

Her Intentions Were Good . . .

2008-10-14T20:34:00.002-05:00

I left Allison's spaghetti on the table after lunch yesterday because she had barely touched it. Right after lunch I went into the living room to feed Sara. While I was taking care of Sara I could hear Allison playing in the kitchen. I wasn't really worried because she often plays with my plastic mixing bowls and pretends to cook (harmless enough) and I wasn't worried about the messy spaghetti on the table because she hadn't given that stuff the time of day just a few minutes prior. After I'd been in the living room for a few minutes I heard Allison saying things like, "You want some more spaghetti, baby?" and "Is that good food, baby?" When I told her that the baby couldn't eat the spaghetti, she turned back to the baby and said with a slightly frantic tone, "Spit it out, baby! Spit it out!"

A Tag from Good Ol' Courtney

2008-10-01T22:36:00.003-05:00

I am: a unique combination of genes (well that depends on whether Holly and I are identical or not), characteristics, emotions, thoughts, beliefs . . .
I think: all people are pretty much the same when you dig through all of the layers.
I know: plenty, I'm college educated : )
I want: to lose this baby fat
I have: a headache
I dislike: fast food, folding clothes, cursing (it's so trashy)
I miss: teaching sometimes, friends that have moved away, college (me, too Courtney), being as close to Holly as I used to be
I fear: lots, the dark, being by myself, roller coasters, I could continue . . .
I feel: comfortable on my couch with my warm computer
I hear: the air conditioner humming and nothing from two sleeping babies
I smell: the smell of my house -I barely notice when I'm here but it makes me happy to smell it in my suitcase, etc. when I'm away
I crave: peace and quiet
I cry: usually when I'm watching Oprah or when I hear a sad story on the news and sometimes at church
I usually: do things very slowly and meticulously
I search: for my shoes all the time because I have a little shoe thief in my house.
I wonder: what Allison and Sara will be when they grow up.
I regret: not taking Allison's shoes off the last time we were at the park when I saw her walking funny. She got blisters and I cried when I saw them.
I wish: I could travel more.
I love: my two babies and my Joe Baby more than anything ever.
I care: about being the best wife and mother I can.
I always: squeeze the toothpaste from the bottom.
I worry: about just about anything that I can imagine to worry about. I've always been a worrier.
I am not: going to be in the space olympics.
I remember: running through the wet grass . . .
I believe: I have a good life.
I sing: to and with Allison all day long, and Sara, too. And with Joe, too. We're a singing family.
I don't always: clean the dishes after dinner.
I argue: poor Joe's head off sometimes.
I write: in impeccable print (at least that's my goal).
I win: - drawing a blank on this one, sorry guys. I'm not really the competitive type.
I lose: most sports I participate in.
I listen: to music during the day when I'm doing house work because I love it.
I don't understand: math
I can usually be found: at my house. I don't get out much these days.
I need: to feel needed.
I forget: plenty.
I am happy: when I am doing my best to live my life the way I know I should. And when I'm eating watermelon (you know I have to throw that one in somewhere).

I tag Clare, Erika, and Rachel.

I've Created a Monster!

2008-09-29T11:29:00.005-05:00

Now Allison is licking BOTH hands and rubbing them up and down my legs (see previous post if you're confused). When I kindly asked her to desist, she said, "Mommy, you needs medicine."
Aaaah!
And check out this other monster I created (well, co-created). I think we make cute monsters!

Lesson Learned

2008-09-27T11:25:00.005-05:00

Yesterday after lunch, I noticed that Allison had some food on her face from lunch.We were in her room playing so I didn't have a wash cloth or wipe near. In true "mom" fashion, I licked my finger and started rubbing the food away. I know that before I was a mom, I thought that rubbing your saliva on another person's face was super gross but somewhere along the way, that got tossed out.
Well, once I started licking and rubbing on Allison, she started doing the same thing to my face. And she didn't just do it once, she did it over and over. Just like that, I instantly remembered how gross this is. I will never clean my children with my own saliva ever again.

Check this out though . . .
http://www.momspit.com/
Someone decided to bottle it and sell it! Just kidding. This stuff looks pretty cool.

Hide and Seek in the Daisies

2008-09-19T22:15:00.010-05:00

Allison has a few books that are her favorites and she insists on having those same books read to her over and over again. She can recite Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See, The Going to Bed Book (thanks to Stacy, for both of those books, they're still going strong even after two years), and What's Up Duck. A new favorite is one that Aunt Holly gave her, Gossie and Gertie.
It is really cute and she has really been wearing it out lately. So, the other day I was cooking in the kitchen and, as usual, Allison was playing around in the kitchen. I turned around and saw this:

I asked her what she was doing. Her reply was, "I play hide-and-seek the daisies"

Just like Gossie and Gertie : )

Here's a finger painting photo. Notice the stuck out tongue, for added concentration.

The Odd Couple

2008-09-16T17:51:00.004-05:00

I brought the girls for check-ups today(2 yr. for Al and 2 mo. for Sara) and we got an update on height and weight. Allison is weighing in at 21 lbs. and she is 33 in. tall; that puts her in the 3rd percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height. Sara, on the other hand, now weighs 12 1/2 lbs. and is almost 24 in. tall. She is in the 90th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height. The pediatrician told us that she is basically the size of an average 4 month old. So we have one teeny tiny baby and one huge baby.

My Baby Turns Two

2008-09-13T21:43:00.004-05:00

Allison turned two yesterday and we had a birthday party for her today. In light of recent weather events and the unpredictability of our weather, we decided to just have a small party and only invite family. We had a nice time and Allison got lots of nice gifts. Until I had kids, birthdays had really lost their appeal. It's fun to get really excited about birthdays and birthday presents again.

I haven't been so excited about my little Bubby getting older, though. I get emails every week that tell you what milestones your baby should be meeting, etc. It hurt my heart a little when I checked my email yesterday and instead of getting an email entitled "Your baby this week," I had an email entitled "Your preschooler this week."No one told me they were going to change things up like that, so unexpected-like. It really caught me off guard. I'm not ready for her to be a "preschooler" yet.

I've been totally fine, even excited, about her growing up and doing and learning all kinds of cool new stuff. It's been really fun all the way until now when she's two. I don't know what the deal is but this 2 year mark has been a tough one for me to accept. She's not much different today than she was last week, but last week she was a one-year old and this week she is a two-year old. Doesn't that seem like a huge jump? I'm not ready for my little Baby Al to be two yet.

In this picture, if you look close, you can see that Allison is trying to "feed" Eli with a bottle and sippy cup (or "sticky pup" as she would say) simultaneously. My parents bought her a new baby and all kinds of cool stuff for taking care of the baby like a little doll-sized pack-n-play and little diaper bag with all of the stuff you would need for taking care of a baby like a bottle and sippy cup. Allison liked using the stuff on Eli, better. He was a good sport about it.

What's More Fun Than a Cardboard Box?

2008-09-10T21:05:00.005-05:00

And it's free!

This baby doesn't need a cardboard box to be happy, just somebody to talk to her.

Beach Pics & "Sometimes I Just Need a Little Help From My Friends"

2008-09-08T21:31:00.010-05:00

Here's the nice house we stayed in. Thanks again to the Wilcoxes for inviting us!

Eli enjoyed the beach, as you can tell.

Sara had to stay in the beach house the whole time because I was afraid to bring her out into the sun but I think she had a good time any way. I know she was glad to be in an air conditioned house instead of our hot, Gustav-stricken home. She was HATING the heat.

Allison had been asking to go to the beach all summer, so I was glad she got to go. She had a super-good time.

And now to my story - This evening I was faced with a dilemma. I didn't have any food in the house (all of the food in the fridge and freezers had to be culled b/c of the lack of power for 5 days) and and conditions were unfavorable for getting out to get some food. Sara refused to take naps this afternoon and had been fussing since 3 pm. I knew that if I tried to get out with her, I would be in trouble. I had gotten to a point that I didn't have much choice. Joe had to work until 8pm so I was on my own and I needed to make a move. I finally got Sara calmed down enough to buckle her into her seat. I knew she was only going to be good for just a little while but I hoped it would be long enough for me to get some shopping done at Wal-Mart. We didn't get out of the neighborhood before Sara started screaming. Some of our "good time" was wasted getting our neighbor's dog out of my car (she decided that she wanted to come on our shopping trip with us). I decided that if Sara hadn't calmed down by the time I made to Wal-Mart, I would nix the shopping and just go through Wendy's. I was delusional, thinking she'd calm down. Sara got so wound up in the two mile trip that she was coughing and gasping. I was so worried and felt so bad for her, I wanted to turn around and go home or atleast pull over. Ultimately, I decided that we had to have food and pulling over was only going to drag things out. I had a splitting headache before we left and after all the screaming I felt like me brain was going to come out of my eyesockets. I was having a hard time concentrating on driving and when I was waiting to pull out onto the highway, I was honked at because I was being extra cautious and taking too long. Poor Allison slept through the whole thing; she fell asleep as soon as we started down the street because she, too had refused to take a nap this afternoon. By the time I got home, I was feeling pretty frazzled. It just so happened that my friends, the Kerns, were driving by on their way to Wal-Mart, as I was getting out of the car. Jennie could tell that I was having a bad time and asked what was wrong and I gave her the story. She gave me a hug and she and Brandon insisted on picking up the stuff I needed while they were out. I tried to talk them out of it but Brandon threatened me with a headlock. It's nice to have good friends. So, thanks to Jennie and Brandon for saving me from the disaterous evening!

Escape from the HEAT

2008-09-05T10:22:00.003-05:00

Well, we survived the fury of Gustav with out any damage to our home but we don't have power and it might still be a while. We went up to Ferriday last Saturday, hoping to escape the power-outages and damage from the storm. Gustav was supposed to head out to the west and miss Ferriday but we still lost power, water and phone. Since things weren't any better in Ferriday, we decided to head home on Tuesday morning. Since making it home, we have just been sitting around sweating. It was great that we didn't have any big trees around our house when the storm came through because that meant that we weren't likely to have any trees fall on our house. That was bad news for the days following though; no shade trees means your house turns into an oven. A scorching hot house is no fun when you have a two month old baby. Joe would bring the babies out to car and just sit with the ac on so they could cool off for a little while.

Well, we'd finally had enough. Some friends have some friends that have a super nice house right on the beach in Destin. They invited the Bonnettes and the Bonnettes invited us and a few other families (it's a huge house). So, we all loaded up yesterday and drove over to Destin for the weekend. I am so glad to be back in the AC!!! Right now, Joe is down at the beach with Allison and I'm sitting our room while Sara takes a nap. Under different circumstances I might be disappointed to be left behind but I'm just so glad to be cool and have TV and internet and a sleeping baby (she wouldn't sleep in the heat) that I don't mind it at all.
I'll post some beach pictures later.

Reflections

2008-08-08T15:51:00.001-05:00

When I first met Joe, he possessed many traits that I found attractive. He is funny, energetic, optimistic, determined and self-confident. I failed to consider how these traits would manifest in a toddler. Allison is JUST like her father and she makes every day interesting. Just today, she totaled the bouncy seat and is currently working on dismantling the baby's swing.

At lunch, she made such a huge mess with her mashed potatoes that I had to strip her completely naked and nearly bathe her in the kitchen sink. After I cleaned her up, she refused to come with me to her room to get clean clothes. In protest, she plopped down on the floor. When I pulled her up, she twisted free and ran to the laundry room. I noticed that she had a piece of cereal stuck to her little naked booty. She pulled the cereal off, looked up at me, and said with an irritated tone, "Mommy need-a sweep a floor."
Who knew that having kids would be so much fun?!

Time to Return to the Real World sans Vampires

2008-08-06T22:43:00.004-05:00

Just today, I finished the fourth and final book in the Twilight Series, Breaking Dawn.

I loved this one just like I loved all of the others. Last Friday, I went with some friends to buy the book at midnight and we had a good time at the Barnes and Noble book release party.

I was nervous about going because I knew I would have to bring Sara with me and I was afraid she'd have a bad time (scream her head off the entire time) but, in true Sara fashion, she slept the whole time. I hadn't even considered going to the release party since I knew I was going to be home with a new baby but my friend Laura was going with her new baby. I decided that if she could go, then so could I. Laura, by the way, had her baby less than a week after me so the girls are just a matter of days apart in age. I'm really glad I didn't chicken out and it was worth it to have the book a few hours early :)

Preggie Prep

2008-07-29T11:02:00.003-05:00

A friend of mine from LSU posted this on the myspace bulletin and I thought it was really cute. Her friend sells maternity tailgating t-shirts. The site is PreggiePrep.com and if you are an LSU fan and are pregnant, you might want to check it out. It's going to be quite a while before I'm wearing anything maternity again but I thought that there might be some out there who would be interested.

A Few Firsts

2008-07-27T20:58:00.008-05:00

Sara had her first real bath this week (in case there's anyone reading that has limited experience with babies - we didn't leave or baby dirty and yucky for almost three weeks, you just have to give them sponge baths until the umbilical stump falls off). She is such a sweet baby, we didn't hear a peep out of her the whole time. It's so nice to have a peaceful, calm baby. It's funny how they come into this world with their own temperament and personality from the day they are born. Allison and Sara are as different as night and day already.

Allison also had a first this week - her first set of pigtails! Holly came over and she "dolled up" the girls. They loved it until we got a couple of rollers stuck in poor Kailey's hair. They were the kind with bristles and they get stuck so easy. Kailey was a trooper, though. Allison really liked her pigtails but just like every other thing we've ever tried to do with her hair, it only lasted a matter of minutes. She might have left these in for about 30 minutes.

And, one other first . . . my friend Erika is having first baby tonight. I just got a voice mail from her a little while ago and she said that she should have her sometime tonight. I'm super excited for her and I hope all goes well tonight!

Memory Post

2008-07-22T14:08:00.001-05:00

1. Add a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments. I can't wait to see what people remember.

It'll be fun! I tag all of y'all!

So far, so good . . .

2008-07-16T12:33:00.009-05:00

So far, things are going pretty smooth with two babies. I was a little nervous about venturing into this uncharted territory but Sara is a really good baby. Her first week and a half in this world have been pretty uneventful and low stress. Allison is still just as busy as ever but she's adjusting pretty well. She really loves her new baby sister and she likes to help out. Here's a picture of her holding baby Sara.

Sara smiles a lot when she's sleeping.

And she sleeps a lot.

More pictures of Sara Lucie

2008-07-06T21:28:00.003-05:00

Here are some more pictures of Sara that I took today (July 6) sitting on her Mommy's lap. She is turning out to be an absolutely delightful young infant. We are very happy to have her in our home. Thanks again to everyone that has helped us out with meals and everything else.

-joe

Baby = in the world

2008-07-03T08:50:00.004-05:00

This morning at 1:40 a.m. our little Sara Lucie Hamilton was born, weighing in at 8 lbs. 11 oz. and 21 inches long.

We were scheduled to be induced Wednesday night at around midnight, but upon arrival Sara decided that she would just come on without any help. Jamie quickly went from 4 to 10 cm and her water broke on its on. The nurse didn't even have time to pump in any patosin.

To make a long story short, we have a girl! The labor and delivery went perfectly and Mommy + Baby are doing very well. Thanks for all the help and support from everyone.

Here are some pictures: