Happy 80th, Great Papa!

Thanksgiving was extra special this year! First of all, it was Baby Hayes' first one! Secondly, we were able to spend it with some of our out of town family that we don't always get to see on the holidays. Last but not least, we decided that Thanksgiving would be a perfect cover for us to throw Papa a surprise 80th birthday party! We thought we almost blew the surprise a few times, but thankfully Papa wasn't ever even close to catching on. : ) It was so nice to be with family and to celebrate such a big birthday with our Great Big Papa!!

Happy Turkey Day!

Jason and Jack have added a new element to the bedtime routine lately...his prayers. Although there are a couple of different versions, they usually go something like this

Jason: Dear Lord
Jack: Dear Lord
Jason: Thank you for...
Jack: Momma
Jason: Thank you for...
Jack: Baby Hayes
Jason: Thank you for...
Jack: Dada
Jason: Thank you for...
Jack: Nina and Papa
Jason: Thank you for...
Jack: Gigi and Grandadad
Jason: Thank you for...
Jack: playground
Jason: Thank you for...
Jack: car pillow
Jason: Thank you for...
Jack: strawberry
Jason: In Jesus's name, we pray. Amen.
Jack: In Gigi's name we pray. Amen.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! We definitely did!

Lessons!

Here are a few things I've learned (mostly the hard way) over the last couple of months...

1. I am definitely as uncoordinated as I always assumed...pushing Jack on the swing while I wiggle Hayes in the stroller requires a ridiculous amount of concentration.
2. Do not change your newborns diaper while wearing a white button down shirt...poop can travel farther than you think.
3. It is possible to be completely exhausted after only being awake for thirty minutes.
4. When you plan a "bonding "trip to the grocery store with your attention deprived eldest child, it works better when you remember your wallet. That way you can actually pay for the chocolate doughnuts you have been talking about all morning.
5. If it looks like poop on your knuckle, it probably is.
6. If one errand with both kiddos goes well, it is better to quit while you are ahead. If not, you may find yourself looking a little psychotic as you struggle to get one baby in the Baby Bjoern while threatening your other child with not another sucker for the rest of his life.
7. It is possible to have two kids who cannot stand to be in their car seat. But on a positive note, your arm is longer than you think and you really can drive while holding a pacifier in his mouth.
8. If a day of errands begins with one baby screaming bloody murder because he is hungry, one toddler screaming because his eyelashes have folded in on his eyeball, and Gigi cursing at the stroller because it won't fit in the rental car then it is better to go ahead and call it a day.
9. As soon as you think you've got it under control then you are asking for trouble.
10. A two year old can definitely smell desperation.
11. It might not be pretty but it is possible to wash, wrap in foil, and then mash a baked potato with only one hand.
12. Sometimes it is better to not look in the mirror.
13. Even when a bubble bath abruptly ends after five minutes...you still smell good.
14. You should always wear underwear because you never know when squatting down to pick up your son's car will cause your pre-pregnancy pants (that you've squeezed yourself into) to split wide open.
* I had already finished this post, but had to add this last one because it happened to me at Target this morning. It was awesome...

Baby Boy Mania!

Our very good friends, Brent and Jennifer, came to town over the weekend! Jennifer was anxious to meet the new babies and more importantly to get a picture with them all on her lap. : ) There was definitely a lot more testosterone in the room this time around, but we had such a great time swapping babies and of course some old stories. As usual, our time together was full of laughs and we all left wishing it wouldn't be so long before we could do it again.

E-I-E-I-O!

On Sunday, we headed to Dewberry Farms with both sides of the family in tow. I had heard about it from some moms in my playgroup and from what I had heard I knew it was probably worth the drive. And luckily, I was right. Jack, his cousins, and the adults all had an absolute blast! Hayes couldn't even help but crack a smile or two. They have everything there...pig races, zip lines, corn trains, a giant sand box, and a bumpy slide just to name a few. At first we thought it was going to be impossible to get Jack off the playground, but once he actually took a look around it was bye, bye sandbox! Jack was completely wiped out by the end of the day and I fear we may have took one too many turns on the hayride because the poor guy ended up losing his lunch a couple of times on the way home. This definitely added an extra twist to our long drive in a very packed car. Thankfully, it must have just been some motion sickness because he woke up good as new and raring to go!

What a Chunky Monkey!!

Hayes will be a whopping six weeks old in a couple of days! He is such an easy going and content little baby. He just chills out as his Tazmanian Devil brother swirls all around him. He has the sweetest eyes and will just focus right on you with this questioning gaze. He absolutely loves to be held and almost always stops fussing as soon as you pick him up. He can screw up his face with the best of them. He loves to eat and would probably eat constantly if we let him. We can already tell he is going to be tough as nails since he rarely even acknowledges his brothers "squeezes". He has the most heartbreaking little cry...it's like you've hurt his feelings and he can't understand why. He has started smiling this week and it is just about the cutest thing you've ever seen. He is by far the loudest baby ever...he snorts, grunts, groans, squeeks, etc. He already has several nicknames Hayesee, Hayesers, Hayesebear, Cheeks, and most recently Moto, Moto (if you go see Madagascar 2 you will find out where we got this last one). He is already such a big part of our family that it is hard to believe he has only been here a few short weeks. We can't wait to learn more and more about this little bundle of joy!!