More kid-isms...copied from our facebook updates!

David: Today at boudin cookoff, there was live music. Great weather with a nice breeze. Nadia says, "Look, Daddy. The trees are dancing!"
October 18

David: Baylor says to me this morning, "Hey, I'm wearing size 14 and they are not even falling off." I'm thinking, "Wow, I'm like 250% bigger than that." Hmmm.
October 14

Gretchen:
Nadia crawled out of her bedroom wrapped in a blanket. I fussed at her and told her to go back to bed. She stood up, and her pajamas were GONE. I asked her to go put her pajamas back on and go to bed. Her face crinkled up and she cried, "But... Momma, I was pretending to be a boy!" (This girl is ALWAYS trying to be like her daddy.)
David's Comment: Gave her g'night kiss, D: I'm going to sleep in my room.N: I want to sleep on floor next to you. D:OK, but I don't think mom's going to let you out of your room. N: I know, you go now & I'll hide under a blanket go later. D: OK, is that going to work? N: Oh yeah! She can't see me under the blanket.Part of me is laughing at cute, clever, and slightly naive 3 yr old, and part of me crying cuz if she is this crafty at 3, what do I have in store down the road???

Gretchen:
I was doing some school work with Baylor, and he was reading aloud to me about how God sent Abraham to Canaan. He looked at me and said, "Hey, isn't that where you went?" I said, "No, I've never been to Canaan." He ...replied, "Mom, aren't you and Granny and Papa from there?" The lightbulb came on...I said, "OH, you mean CANKTON!" Now that is Facebook funny!


Nadia News: It was her turn to pray tonight before supper. Here's the transcript: "Okay, Here I go....God. Thank you for our food. Thank you for our food. Thank you for our family and for Dawson. Thank you for our house, and thank you... for our breakable stuff. Ok God, Amen." When she was done, Baylor looked at me and said, "Mom, that was Facebook funny!" I agreed, so here it is.
October 13, 2009

Gretchen:
has been up since 3:30 am...Dawson started screaming. I gave up on letting him cry it out when I started hearing the other two kids waking up. When I walked in his room, he looked at me and did the sign for more (which is his way of saying he's hungry). After about an hour of eating he went back to sleep, which was just in time for my alarm to start ringing. I'm thinking today is a good day to stop for coffee...
Sept 23

Nadia News: We were watching Golden Girls today (which Nadia calls the Grandmas) and Dorothy was fussing at Sophia. Nadia listened for a little while, and then she turned to me and said, "Mom, that Daddy-Grandma is fussing at that little Grandma."
September 20

Gretchen: is outside Nadia's dance class. she comes out the room and says, "Mom, I want you to leave me like that dad left that other girl."
September 14

Home today with the little kiddos...

Today is fall break. For some reason the school board decided we needed a day off in October. Okay, I'll take it! Tomorrow is parent-teacher conferences, which means I'm going to spend the day tomorrow thanking parents for doing the great job they are doing (because only the parents of the good kids show up generally!)
I enjoyed sleeping until 7 am, and I'm enjoying watching Nadia discover the joys of play-doh. She is having a ball! I'm not sure why I never introduced her to play-doh before. She is so creative, and is making me ladybugs, rainbows, and a carseat. It's precious to watch her little imagination working overtime to come up with new ideas. She did start out with the cookie cutters, but she's branched out on her own now.
Dawson is walking all over the house now. I'd say running is a better description! He still isn't talking much, but he is walking, running, and climbing all over the place. He does say "Momma", "Da-Da", and "Nayia"...So cute!
Baylor went on his first retreat this weekend with the middle and high school kids from Trinity Bible. He had a blast, and is already talking about going to summer camp this summer. There is a mission trip to Alaska, and he wants to look into going on that as well. I can't believe he's old enough to be going on retreats already. David went on the trip as a chaperone...partly because they needed chaperones, and partly because I wasn't quite ready for him to go alone!
We are taking the pictures for this year's Christmas card this afternoon. I've been brainstorming about this for about three months now, and I think what I've come up with is a winner. I'll post pictures later, but for now I don't want to spoil the surprise.
We signed up to attend a parent information meeting at Lafayette Christian Academy in December. Nadia needs to be in school, and she needs some structure. This school comes highly recommended, and is affordable and close to work. I hope it's a good fit for us. (Ideally, we'd send Baylor there as well, and then Dawson when he's older, but we'll see how it goes.)
Baylor is still being homeschooled at Mrs. Elaine's, but I think it's time to put him back in school. We decided when we pulled him out of public school that this was only going to be for a year or two to catch him up. This is his second year there. I've signed him up with a program called www.time4learning.com, which is online lessons in English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. I'm having him work on several lessons a day. This is partly to fill in some more gaps in his educational experience, and partly to make being homeschooled a little less attractive so he doesn't fight me on going to school too much next year!
David and I are in the middle of a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace Class at church. We are really enjoying it, and especially enjoying the benefits of paying off debt. We are hoping to be in a house this summer, and getting out of this neighborhood!

Birthday Birthday...and a bunch of Nadia funnies transferred from facebook!

Today was Nadia Blair's 3rd birthday, and Dawson Nicholas's 1st birthday. Yes, time flies! We had their birthday party at the Baton Rouge Zoo. The weather was dreary and misty, but temperatures were cool, and we got to see a lot of animals. Overall, we had a very successful day. I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that my little baby is not so little anymore.

Nadia News... N: Can I have some water? D: yeah, baby in a minute. Several minutes later N comes into the living room with 2 cups. N: Momma, do you want some water? Momma: sure baby. N: OK, here is a cup for you to get some water, and when you get so...me water for you, you can put some water in this other cup for me.Read More
Wed at 7:54pm

Daddy: Nadia, finish your broccoli, baby. Nadia: ROAR!!! D: What?!? N(in her dinosaur voice): I'm a dinosaur. D: you're a dinosaur? N: I'm a dinosaur... and dinosaurs don't eat broccoli.
September 7 at 3:40pm

Swimming at an indoor heated pool this morning. When heated water started coming out of the pool jets, I had Nadia come feel the warm water. Her response... "Feels like my leg is in a microwave!"
September 7 at 3:30pm

Last night, she was punished on her knees and immediately had to go potty. When she was told she couldn't get up, she waited until parents were not looking, then kneel-walked down the hall to the bathroom and kneel-walked back. She didn't get off her knees, but she managed to get her way. It was priceless!
September 7 at 4:04pm

Nadia: whine, whine, whine. Daddy: Nana!, dry it up...quiet pause. N: the cries are coming. D: you have to tell those cries to go away. you are the boss and not them. N: (full authority in voice) CRIES, YOU GET OUT OF HERE AND GO OUTSIDE OR I AM GOING TO SPANK YOU. DO YOU HEAR ME? ... long quiet pause. N: (as a matter of fact) Well, Daddy, I guess it didn't work. I still feel them coming.
August 31

End of supper: Gretchen,"OK David time for invoices." Nadia,"Momma, I have to do my invoices, too." then runs to her toddler laptop and "gets to work". Momma,"time for bed." Nadia,"BUT MOM, I am not finished my invoices yet!"
August 6

Checkers combos for supper tonight Start of supper: "Daddy, can I pray?" asks Nadia. "Sure, baby". Nadia,"Dear Jesus, we really love you. Thank you for good family, good food, paper, and these really big cups of drink. Amen"
August 6

Sundays

I love Sundays. We start off Sunday with church. Then it's home for lunch and visiting, followed by an afternoon nap. It's important to have some down time, and Sunday seems to be our day for it.

Baylor had his friend Vaughn spend the weekend this weekend. I'm glad he's been able to maintain this friendship since he no longer goes to public school. The kind of take turns spending time at each other's house. Baylor is 11 years old now. That hardly seems possible. I know it is, but when I look at how much my life has changed since he was born it kind of overwhelms me.

Nadia is a little stinker. She is so independent, and fights us on everything. It's such a challenge, but it's also such a joy. She is so strong emotionally that we are going to never have to worry about some guy taking advantage of her. She would hurt that poor dude~

Dawson is walking. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. He and Nadia have a birthday in two weeks. He has really been growing a lot in the last few months. He's starting to sing and hum, but not much talking.

Nadia is starting dance lessons!

Yes, that's right! I found a Christian dance school in Scott, and little Miss Nadia will be starting ballet and tap in August. She is so pumped because she'll be doing ballet like Angelina Ballerina on PBS. The school does a dance review every other year, and this is a dance review year.
I mentioned to her that she was going to take dance lessons and learn ballet and tap. She got so excited. She started running around the house screaming, "Woo Hoo, I get to wear a tattoo! I get to wear a tattoo!"
It took me a minute to realize she meant tu-tu! It was so cute.
Dawson is crawling all over the place and pulling up on everything. Last night we had the suitcase from our weekend trip to New Orleans/Baton Rouge in front of the couch. He climbed up on top of the suitcase, and then climbed from the suitcase onto the couch. He was so proud of himself.
This past weekend we went to New Orleans on Saturday for Marissa's 1st birthday party. It was so hot, but we had a good time. It was at the park, and there was a really nice play area (if you ignored the homeless guy sleeping on the stage!). Then we drove to Baton Rouge to spend the night in a hotel. We spent the evening swimming in the pool. We got some Cici's Pizza, and ate in our hotel room. It was very relaxing, and some good family time.
We got up Sunday morning and drove to the Baton Rouge Zoo. It was nice. Dee Ann, Mark, Marissa, and David's parents came too, and we spent the day. We rode the train and the tram, and ate lunch in the outdoor cafe. I was pretty thankful for the double stroller!
I'm thinking about having Nadia and Dawson's birthday party at the Baton Rouge Zoo instead of the zoo here. The party package is much better, and it's the same cost. Plus, the zoo is much bigger. I have a couple of more months to decide, but as of today, their party will be in Baton Rouge.
Baylor is thinking he wants to have his party at the Rock Haus with just two or three of his friends. I can't believe he is about to be 11. How did that happen?

Why do I get writer's block?

Seriously, everytime I have a minute or two to update my blog my mind goes blank. I think several times a day about something I need to blog about, but when I'm blogging....nothing!
David is working hard right now putting the straps back into Nadia's carseat. We had to remove the cover to wash it in the washing maching. Apparently she had an accident in her car seat that I didn't notice until the scent of old urine hit me in the face when I opened the car the next day. Wow, what a potent smell.
Baylor is at his dad's again, and has been there for almost a week. I think he may be coming home tomorrow. Nadia has been asking to go pick up her Frere. She's lonesome for him too.
I've been home yesterday and today with Nadia and Dawson. It's been nice to just stay home and do nothing. (Well, as close to nothing as possible with 2 little ones on the loose!). Dawson follows me around the house crying all day. The ONLY time he isn't crying is if I'm carrying him. I give him formula during the day so that I don't have to readjust my milk supply when school starts, and he doesn't really like it. I think that may explain some of the whining.
Nadia found a new way to dry Penelope today. She called me into the bathroom, and was very proud of herself. She was standing over the floor vents drying her Penelope. If this paragraph doesn't make sense to you, or doesn't seem that funny, then you need this important piece of information: Nadia calls her private parts "Penelope". Now read what happened again and laugh.
It's almost midnight, and I'm going to bed. Dawson hasn't slept past 7 am yet this summer!

Finally: An Update

I haven't updated this blog in a while. I rarely have two hands available anymore, and it's really easier to type with both hands.
School finally ended this year, and I've really been relaxing and enjoying my summer. We've been spending time at the pool, hanging out at home, and just taking it easy.
Baylor has to do about a week and a half of summer school, I have a week of training in Baton Rouge in July, and a 3 hour Poverty Presentation in August when school starts, so I want some time to just do nothing. Last summer I overbooked Baylor, and then had to spend hours each day in the van bringing him from one place to another. It was not fun or relaxing.
Baylor spent a week at his dad's house, so he's only been home for a week since school let out. He bugs me daily to go swimming. I guess I'll have to figure out a way to make that happen. It's just so hard with the little ones. He's been playing video games and sleeping late. I'm making him read some, and he's not happy about that at all. My parents came over and planted some seeds/plants with him in our yard, so he enjoys going outside to water and take care of them.
Nadia is as rambunctous as ever. She is a full time job. Seriously. The girl is fearless and tireless. I can't imagine what she's going to be like when she's older when she's such a handful already. We will have our work cut out for us. She's also extremely funny. Today we were riding in the van and Baylor was saying that his room still wasn't clean. Nadia piped up, "Well My room is clean." (I cleaned it for her yesterday!)...Then, as if she realized that she was making him feel bad, she said, "But, my room IS a little bit smaller than yours." It was cute.
Dawson is crawling, rolling, and pulling up on everything. He has two bottom teeth that came out last week. He has a big, bright smile that lights up when he sees his Momma. Yes, we have a Momma's boy.
We are going on a little mini vacation in July to Houston. I think it'll be nice to get away for a few days and do some fun stuff as a family. We'll be going to the Children's Museum, the zoo, the jAquarium, and a few other family friends places. Plus, we'll be sleeping at Nanny Nola's house and hanging out in her pool in the afternoons. Ah, the joys of vacation time!
We sold some of our baby stuff today. After the fact David tells me that he's sad about getting rid of it because it seems to be officially saying that we are done having kids. Honestly, I am spread about as thin as I can handle, especially while still working full time. If I happen to get pregnant again, we can buy more stuff. Meanwhile, our house has a few less large items in it, and we have a few more dollars in our pockets! We could have made more if we'd have sold the items ourselves, but I just wasn't in the mood for the hassle.
I can't find the cord that connects my camera to my computer to update some pictures. As soon as I do, I have a lot of pictures to post!

Dawson is now mobile!

Here's the video to prove it!

24 days

That's all we have left of this school year. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
We're trying something new at our house. Dawson is asleep right now in the pack and play in our living room. I think the sounds of me tossing and turning were waking him up. Then, he'd sit up in his bed and peek through the bars with his cute little head and SCREAM his bloody head off until his Momma would pick him up. Of course he was not going to cry himself to while he was LOOKING at me.
We started our experiment last night, and he only woke up once at about 3:40 am. Maybe tonight he'll sleep through the night. Maybe tonight Nadia won't wake up and join us in the middle of the night. (That happens almost everynight, but I'm not even fighting that battle until my 24 day sentence is up.) This summer I'll get up and put her back into her bed everytime she gets up. Right now, I'd rather sleep.
I've been spending a lot of time on Facebook finding old friends and current ones. It's been so much fun reconnecting with high school people. We're even talking about planning a band reunion for sometime this summer. I hope it works out!
Nadia has been trying her hand at knock-knock jokes. Unfortunately, she really doesn't understand the concept. Here's her attempt today:
N: "Momma....Knock Knock"
Me: "Who's there?"
N: "Me!"
That girl is a laugh a minute. Really.
I've been reading the Twilight books, and quite honestly, even though I'm not a teenaged girl, I'm hooked. I read the first one in less than 10 hours, I read the 2nd one in about the same amount of time, and I'm anxiously awaiting my turn with the third one from the library or one of my students. If I don't find out soon what happens to Bella and Edward I'm going to lose it.
I wish I could come up with some brilliant idea for a book.
Dawson made an important announcement today. He's been babbling lots of sounds lately, but today he put two very important ones together: "Da Da" I actually got it on the video camera on my phone, so I'll be posting it here soon. He's sitting up really well, and will be crawling around and talking before we know it. He has changed so much since his birth. He actually has blond hair to go with those big blue eyes. His hair was black when he was born. I was so excited that I finally had a child who looked like me, and his hair all fell out! I thought brown was the dominant color???
I had an appointment after school today, and I was running so late that Baylor missed his tae kwon do class tonight. He was sad about it, and I feel really bad. We'll definitely make it next week. His teacher told him today that he was to have a certain amount of work done by the time May is over, or he will have to do some summer school with her. I'm pretty sure that was the extra incentive he needed to bust his butt to get his work finished. I'm anxious about his iLeap scores. I am so hoping that he did well. He says that he thinks he did okay on them.
I talked to an old band friend today, and he had the idea of maybe trying to get the band people together for a band reunion this summer. I am "friends" with about 25 former band members on facebook, and I have phone numbers for about five or six more.
Well, the kiddos are asleep, and I'm going to try to join them. Hopefully I'll get four or five hours of sleep in a row.

A few photos...

Dawson and Kiki at church. Dawson is wearing an outfit that was Baylor's when he was a baby.
Nadia with all her eggs at the zoo's Easter egg hunt

Nadia on the search for more eggs
Daddy with Nadia and Dawson at the zoo. We love our stroller.

Dawson in his new jumperoo. He loves the one at church, so we bought one for our house. Of course, he doesn't like it as much. So much for peace and quiet!

Don't bring a toddler to a Weight Watcher's meeting....seriously!

David has been working like crazy for days now, so I had to bring Nadia and Dawson with me to my weight watcher's meeting tonight. I knew she couldn't be quiet or still enough to stay for the whole meeting, so I had planned from the beginning to just go weigh in and leave.
In the 4 minutes we were there she managed to really embarrass me.
First of all, she notices a man standing against the wall, and while pointing at him says really loudly, "Momma, that man has a big, fat belly!" I grabbed her arm as quickly as I could and practically ran to the weigh-in line. While in line, she charming everyone asking them their favorite color and stuff, when she looks at me and announces to the room that she needs to poo-poo. Immediately afterwards she lets out the loudest and longest fart I've ever heard from a human being (including my brothers when we were growing up). She laughs and says, "I farted!"
The lady in front of us says, "That's okay, baby, we all do it."
I was mortified. I realized in the moment that it was a funny story, and I even chuckled on the way to the van, but I was still embarrassed.
Needless to say, we definitely headed straight for the van without staying for the meeting. If David ever has to work on a Thursday night again I'll just skip the meeting.
I lost 2.8 lbs...for a total of 22.8! Go me!

Baylor started Tae Kwon Do

Tonight was his first class. He seemed to really enjoy it, and his teacher seems like he knows what he's doing. (I, on the other hand, have no idea what it's supposed to be like!) He's been asking for about two years to take some sort of martial arts, and I just couldn't find any place that was astronomically high in the financial area. I discovered recently that UL has a Youth Tae Kwon Do class at Bourgeois Hall, and I signed him up today. He was so cute. He was a nervous wreck on the way to the class. It's only once a week, so I figure it's a great way to see if he really likes it before we look into a "real" class.
Pray for him this week. He starts his iLeap test tomorrow, and doesn't finish until Tuesday. I think he'll do okay. I'm hoping to see some radical improvement in his reading ability since last year. Well, radical isn't the right word. I'm hoping for any improvement. Ms. Elaine says he's really doing well with her, so we'll see!

We're pretty sure Nadia is a genius.

Baylor has his standardized test coming up this week, so we've been having him work on some practice lessons and quizzes. Tonight I sent him to the office in our front yard so that he could work on a section of the test without the distraction of Nadia and Dawson.
He came in to ask me a question. After a little moment of stalling, I told him to go do his school. Nadia commented, "Baylor's can't drive without you and you. Is he walking to school?" David and I both said, "Wow!" What a connection our girl made. Then she added, "Well, is he riding his bicycle to school?" David then explained to her that he was doing his work in the office in the front yard..."Ohhh" she said.
This weekend we were riding in the car when she said several times that her stomach hurt. "What would make your stomach feel better?" I asked her.
"Hmmm...Jesus. Jesus would make me feel better," she said.
So I reached back and grabbed her little hand, and we prayed for God to make her feel better. After a few minutes, I asked her if her stomach was better. She thought about it and said, "No, not yet!"
Then she said, "Hey, my stomach is better." I asked her what she needed to do, and she loudly exclaimed, "Thank you God!"
Baylor played his last soccer game this weekend. We've agreed to let him quit soccer since he really wasn't enjoying it anymore. It was a hassle to get him to games with him being at his dad's every other weekend. He wants to take Tae kwon do, and UL's Potpouri offers a class that we are going to look into for him. He's pretty excited about it.

Weekends...

can be great! This weekend was a wonderful one. (How's that for alliteration?)
Friday night we brought the little ones to my mom's house for her to babysit while we went out to eat with the Donham Computer Services crew. The food was good, the company was good, and sleeping all night was good. I actually slept from midnight until about 7:30 am, which is an eternity as far as I'm concerned.
We woke up Saturday morning, ate some cereal, and then got dressed. David had bought me a gift certificate for a water massage when Dawson was born. He's six months old, and I hadn't redeemed it yet. So we went and had massages, and then walked around the strip mall for a few minutes. Our morning ended at Southside Bakery where we each had an awesome cheeseburger with grilled onions. Perfection.
On we drove to Mom's to get the kids. (Baylor is at his dad's). Nadia was having a blast playing in the dirt and planting flowers, so we visited for a while. I even got to go in the house and take a nap. Mom took some pictures (of the weekend, not the nap), so I'll try to post some.
We left there and came home. We went next door so David could help Ms. Geri with her new TV. After that we came home and went to bed.
This morning we went to church, stopped at Albertson's for mac and cheese, and are about to take our naps. I think this was just the kind of weekend I needed. Easter break is rapidly approaching, and it is definitely time for it. I'm just worn out.
We planned our family's vacation this year. I wanted to go to Tennessee to see Ruby Falls and the Lost Sea, but it just wasn't in the budget this year. So we decided to go to David's nanny's house in Houston. Houston has something called a "City Pass" which allows you to get into six of the major attractions for one very discounted price. We're planning to go to Nasa, The Children's Museum, the Houston Zoo, the Downtown Aquarium, the Health Museum, and the Natural Science Museum. I can't wait! We'll have evenings to hang out at his Nanny's pool and visit.

Another weekend gone.

When David and I were dating, we'd always sigh with contentment at the end of a weekend and just bask in the joy of an awesome weekend. We'd hang out with friends, go out to eat, talk for hours, and just enjoy each other's company.
Boy, is that season of life behind us now! I find myself longing for a chance to SLOW down and just enjoy things. With three kids and a full time job....slowing down is not an option. I feel like I'm always rushing to get to the next event. The thing is, there's nothing unimportant that can be cut to make things less stressful.
Take today for example. We volunteer once a month to work in the nursery on Sunday mornings. Today was that morning. We signed up for a Communication in Marriage class at church during third service. That's important, especially in the season of life we are in now.
Lunch. Naptime. Tonight we have small group, which is something we enjoy once we get there. David had to leave with Dawson and Baylor, and I'm sitting at home waiting for the dessert we are supposed to bring to finish in the oven. I'm also waiting for Nadia's underwear to dry in the dryer. Both are pretty important.
You might be asking, "Well why don't you just put another pair of underwear on her?" The answer is simple. There are no other clean underwear in this house. Trust me, I've looked. So they are ALL in the dryer, and we have to wait.
You might be asking, "Well, why didn't you buy something ready made to bring for dessert since it was your turn?" The answer is simple. In my brain, making a cake-mix peach cobbler sounds easy-peasy. I can do it with my eyes closed. It's good. It's simple. It's inexpensive. So why am I sitting here at 5:22 waiting for it to come out of the oven ?(Small groups starts at 5!) There's this little nugget of GOLD on Sunday afternoon called naptime, and apparently I was really tired today because I slept like I was a dead woman, and woke up at 4:22. Yes, at 4:22 I still had an unmade/unbaked peach cobbler in my kitchen.
Back from small group now. It was good as always. We're very fortunate to have the friends that we have at our church. They've been such a blessing to us in our lives.
My back has been bothering me. David asked me to lay down on the floor, and he was stretching my legs up towards my chest to stretch out my back. Nadia walks up behind us and says, "Momma, nobody wants to see your butt!" We were laughing so hard that he had to stop stretching my back because I couldn't breathe. When she realized what David was doing, she said, "Daddy. That's my momma. Stop doing that. You are hurting her!"
It's Sunday night again. Another weekend gone.

Back from New Orleans!

We took a little trip through the 9th Ward today on our way to our niece's baby dedication and baptism. It still amazes me just how much damage was done by Katrina.
Marissa is getting so big, and looks even more like her daddy than she used to. I took some pictures, and hopefully there a few good ones in the bunch. We ate way too much food, but it's hard not to when Mark's dad is the cook. I'll go back to counting points tomorrow.
We stayed in a hotel in Metairie, so it felt a little like a vacation. The four of us slept in a big king sized bed. (Baylor is at his dad's til tomorrow.)
Dawson slept from 11 pm-2 am, and then was up at 4 and 6. Nadia was up at 7, so to say I'm tired is an understatement.
Well, I'm off to bed. This time change is killing me.
Nadia and Dawson are both sleeping, which in our house is a rare occurance.

New playground at the zoo

Thinking this would be an AWESOME place for their birthday party!

We went to the zoo today!

We had so much fun. David decided to take the day off of work since he's been working like crazy, and after we slept late this morning, did a little housework, ate lunch, and took naps, we went to the zoo. It was a gorgeous day, and Nadia and Dawson were wonderful.

The only thing that would have made the day any better was if Baylor had been with us. He had some important business of his own to tend to today. His baby brother, Kohlden Rider Dohmann was born this afternoon. Baylor has two brothers that are five months apart! Imagine that!

After the zoo we met mom at Roly Poly for dinner. Thanks Mom! The food was really good, and it was a nice way to end the day.

This morning while Nadia and I were in the tub, David came in carrying Dawson. He started flipping him upside down, and I said, "Oh, no, not again." Nadia looked at me and said, "Now Mom, just close your eyes." She also regularly says things like, "Oh my gosh", "Oh my goodness", and "Hey, guys, guess what?"

Here are some pictures from today...

Oh I wish I had some time...

...to update this blog more often. I find it rather therapeutic, but time is pretty short these days. We had some fun this past weekend. We went out to eat Saturday night with Elliott and Suzi (and during the course of our discussions solved all of the world's major problems!). My mom babysat so that we could just enjoy our evening.
Sunday after church we went to Olive Garden with Kurt and Wendi. It was so good. I choose to just forget about the fact that I'm on Weight Watchers. I decided it's time to live a little.
Tuesday we went out to eat again with my parents for my birthday. How is it possible that I'm 36? I can't believe I'm that old. Wow.
Tonight at WW I found out that I've only lost about 1/2 pound this week. Oh well, at least I didn't gain anything!
Dawson still isn't sleeping. I started him on cereal, and I honestly don't notice a difference at all. I was hoping that the cereal would be the magic solution. Too bad I was wrong.
I've been updating my resume, and calling local private schools and neighboring parishes to see about a job for next year. I just don't see staying where I am with the decline I'm seeing. I dread going to work, and I am tired of babysitting and not teaching anymore. I don't enjoy it, and I always have. Time to move on, I think.
Baylor seems to be doing okay in school. I'm having him take the LEAP test in April, so we'll see. I'd like some clarification that we've done the right thing. I hope we didn't mess him up.
I need to take some pictures of the kids this weekend. I've been terrible at it. Dawson is 5 months old now, and it's been awhile since I've taken his picture. It's horrible of me. Dawson, if you ever read this blog...I'm so sorry, and I'll try to be better about taking pictures of you. He is rolling over from front to back and back to front. We're so proud of this major accomplishment.
Some cute Nadia conversations:
Nadia: Here daddy. Hold my baby. I'm going to kill the monsters. Be right back.

Nadia: Momma, how come milk won't come out my boobies?

Semi-Relaxing Weekend...

Baylor is at his dad's again, and Nadia spent the weekend at my in-law's house. So it was just Dawson. It was nice to have the pace of life slow down a little. The two little kids have been sick all week, so my MIL actually came and spent the night Thursday night so she could take care of them.
It really sucked that I didn't have any sick days left to stay home and take care of my own sick babies. I drove to work with a lump in my throat both days I had to leave them.
Friday afternoon Nadia left, and David was out of town at a Dave Ramsey conference. Dawson and I just hung out and rested. It was NICE.
I slept late Saturday (interrupted by Dawson's feeding sessions, of course) and David got home around lunch. I think that little time apart was good for us. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, you know!
We rested, and went out to eat at Applebee's. Then we got to chaperone the Sweetheart Dance at CHS. Oh joy. Not exactly my idea of a date night, but at least we only had to stay for an hour. After the dance we went to walk around Circuit City to see the sales (they're going out of business). We were home by 9:15. What a long way from my party animal days. I'm such an old fuddy duddy now. I just wanted to come home!
Nadia got home today with her little pink sunglasses. Of course she was going at full steam ahead. We missed her while she was gone, but she sure is a handful.
David and I started the Marriage Communication class at church today. Apparently there was a need for it because it was in the double classroom at church, and there was STANDING room only. I was astonished at how packed it was. I'm excited about the class. I think it will be good for us.
It's 10:15, and I'm going to bed. Dawson is asleep in the swing, and I'm leaving him there. Rule number 1 of motherhood is this: Never wake a sleeping baby. He'll be crying soon enough to eat, so I'm going to go sleep while I can.

Weight Watchers Works!

I started WW on 1/08/09, and I've lost 6 lbs already!

Updates...

Dawson had his four month check-up yesterday. He got two shots, and he was NOT happy about that at all. He weighs 14 lbs! He is a pretty big boy.
I've run into two friends from high school this week. Well, one I've talked to on the phone (we're meeting tomorrow afternoon), and the other one I saw at the doctor's office. For anybody who knows people from my past, it was Julie Patterson and Tywanna Guidry. I was so excited. Then I started feeling old when I realized that I've now been out of high school for 17 years. Exactly HOW did that happen? I still feel like I'm 17 years old!
David has been really trying to get off of work early to come home and help me with the kiddos. Some days that plan works better than others.
I went to my very first Weight Watchers meeting. Since I'm officially going to start counting points and following it tomorrow (since you are supposed to track the foods you eat all day long), I stopped and had a Big Mac combo on the way home. I'm kind of embarrassed about that, honestly.
Kiki is doing great this week. She's going to job shadow with some EMT's/Paramedics tomorrow. She sounded really happy on the phone, and I'm so excited for her. I hope she has a great time.
Our church is starting a new Sunday School class for 8 weeks about Communication in Marriage that's being taught by a local Christian counselor who comes to our church. I'm anxiously awaiting this class. I can't wait to get some extra time alone (kind of) with my dear husband. Our lives are in such chaos right now that I think it will be GREAT for our relationship. We already have a really good marriage, but I welcome the opportunity to make it great.
Well, it's 9:30 pm, and Dawson seems to be actually asleep, so I'm off to get ready for tomorrow and go to bed. Hopefully I'll get some sleep.
Quick story: We sent Nadia to bed and told her to lay down and go to sleep. We could hear her talking to herself, so David called out, "Nadia, are you asleep?" Her reply? "Yes!"
Then he went in there to turn off the light and tuck her in. She was in bed "reading" a book when he walked in, so he told her it was bed time. She quickly shut her book and said aloud, "The End!" Our daughter is so precious!