Hide and Seek! (and a clue!)

Wow - what a Monday!

When I got home from my volleyball games tonight (more about that later), I found a little boy who didn't get a good nap in today - so it was a somewhat long night. It's always difficult when Alex won't use his words to say what he wants - although he is getting better at using words to say what he needs.

He did have an ornery streak in him today, though. Andy shot this video - Alex was *gasp* acting camera shy - - silly guy! :)

Now, on to the results of the volleyball games tonight - -

After arriving nearly 30 minutes late (due to reasons beyond my control, and believe me, I was getting quite upset about WHY we were leaving so late!!), we played Callaway twice (in an "A" game and a "B" game), then played a game with Arnold. The coach from Callaway asked if we could play two games, and I was certain she said "A" first - which usually means your better players. However, midway into the game, I began to question if her better players were indeed in, because my girls were just kicking the kaboodle out of them.....I decided to keep them in, and I am glad that I did because, they were, indeed, their "A" team. We won the first game 25-6 and 25-9, and then against the "B" team it was 25-4 and 25-11. I was proud of my girls - they played well and their serving tonight was AWESOME! The thing that always seemed to catch us off guard was when the other team actually returned the ball - we were caught sleeping. BUT, overall, they played MUCH better than last time.

Then it was on to the Arnold team - they were a little bit better than Callaway, but we won both sets 25-15 and 25-21. I could tell that the girls were getting tired - six sets is a lot to play in just under two hours, but they stuck it out and finished strong. Most of the parents travelled down to see them play, and I got a lot of compliments after the game. It wasn't me who played well, it was the girls - so they deserve most of the credit, but I will take just a little. :)

On another note, I think that my due date has been pushed up two weeks because I had to ride a BUMPY school bus for 1 1/2 hours to Callaway.....I can certainly feel all of the bumping around tonight....ugh. I also was smacked on the side of the stomach with a volleyball, so that didn't keep little Acta too happy either. It was more rib than belly, but still "scary" for a few minutes until I was assured that all was fine by his swift repeated kicking to my already-sore-stretched-out-stomach-skin.

On a somewhat-related note, for those of you asking for "hints" about Acta's name....we have left one here on the BLOG (not this POST, but BLOG). If you are reading carefully, you will know the name. Happy hunting. :)

Quick Update...

Sorry, I realize that it's been a week without any "news" - - life just gets in the way sometimes and the blog is on the back burner.

Last week went well - I think that all three of us had colds/allergies/I don't know what - but the noses were running! We went through three boxes of Kleenex - yeah. But I think that we are on the mend (for the most part), so on with it all!

This past weekend we went to Lincoln, because my grandma offered Andy her ticket to the Husker football game. Andy didn't hesitate saying "YES!" - plus my cousin Sophie had her 5th birthday party, so we were able to go for the weekend. Grandpa Dave and Grandma Le came up from Missouri Friday night, and stayed through supper Saturday, so it was good to see them. Alex had fun walking up and down my grandparents' block with the kiddie lawn mower - - I think he walked the block at least 800 times! All this with at least one grandpa (sometimes two) in tow. The boy does love the outdoors!!

This week is starting out with a bang - - I have two volleyball games today (Monday), a conference in Kearney on Wednesday, plus all of the other "normal" things that go on every week. Plus, there's this "having a baby" thing that seems to drain every last ounce of energy that I might have after 4 pm - - I can't believe that this little guy will be here in +/- 5 weeks!!! I'M NOT READY!!! :)

Andy's still driving all over the browning central Nebraska - - he's been going to Burwell every day to help out with nursing home coverage - plus keeping up his caseload in Ord. The highlight of his weekend (besides going to the Husker game) was taking a 2+ hour nap with Alex on Saturday! I can't remember the last time that he took that long of a nap! :) Seriously, though, Andy has been so awesome - especially when I am so sore and tired and just feeling crappy - he really steps up and takes care of things. He is just so amazing.....I couldn't do any of this without him!! :)

Well, there's the "quick" version of what happened this weekend - would you believe that the camera didn't even come out once? Sorry - - my mind has gone (all of the bloodflow is in the belly - it's amazing that I can even form a complete thought these days!) :) We'll try to get pictures or video of Alex soon - - I almost got some this morning before I left for work - Alex was "sashaying" across the kitchen floor in his pajamas - - it was quite funny! :)

Baby Update....

The Dr. Appt. today went well.....all was "normal." I have been fighting this cold, so I was worried about my temp, but all was fine when they checked me out and my blood pressure was still good (114/76). Baby's heartrate was 128 bpm, which is a little on the slow side, but Dr. Lawrence thought that it could be because he was sleeping and because I am fighting this cold crap. She said the heart still looked strong, so nothing to worry about. I am officially at 34 weeks, so it's hard to believe that in around 6 weeks, we're going to have another little fella around here!

I talked with Dr. Lawrence about induction - simply because we need to have someone here to watch Alex. She was fine with that, and told Andy and I to think about a date we would want to go for it. I don't like the idea of "scheduling", I'd like it to happen on it's own, but we also have to consider that family is hours away, and can't show up at our house in the middle of the night if that situation arises. We'll pray about it - my next appt. will be on October 7, so Andy and I have a while to think and pray.

Other than that, today went well! Alex didn't sleep too well last night (what is it about Sunday nights?!????), therefore, Andy and I were rather tired today. Hopefully he will decide to crash a little earlier tonight, and I will follow shortly thereafter. :)

That's all! Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Happy Birthday Weekend!

Well, another busy weekend has come and gone. I started coming down with some cold crap, so most of the weekend was a blur for me - but Andy got A LOT done around the house - and even had time to sleep in! :)

Friday (Andy's birthday) we went over to Sargent for the Homecoming volleyball and football games. I had expected to leave school on time (silly me for thinking that I could get out of there at the right time) so that I could pick up a few last-minute things for Andy's birthday. But, because of our Homecoming pep rally (I am still a little bitter about this, so note the "tone" of my words as I type) was over 1 HOUR long - it went from 2:30 until 3:45!!! We were SUPPOSED to dismiss school at 3:12!! That means that our buses were over 30+ minutes late on their routes, and there was no one in the office to answer the phones - - so I am glad that I am NOT administration needing to answer to upset parents. So, needless to say, Andy's last minute surprises were not finished. Grrrrr......

We did go back over to Sargent to watch the teams play, and the football team played well. All of us were able to watch most of the game - but at halftime Alex was winding down, so we pulled out the stroller and I walked up and down the track for the quarter. We changed him into his jammies at the beginning of the 4th, and he and I stayed in the car (we were parked along the end zone, so we could still watch) while Andy went back out. Once the game was over, we hadn't even left the town and Alex was out. Tired boy!

Saturday we went to Grand Island to do some shopping and to eat Andy's birthday meal. He has been wanting the "endless shrimp" at Red Lobster, so we stopped there for lunch. It was VERY yummy!! Then it was on to Sam's, Wal-Mart, and Hy-Vee for the rest of our shopping. The boys also needed haircuts - this time Alex's went better - there were still tears, but not nearly as many as previous times. Here are a couple of shots of the boys once they were bathed and de-haired. :)

We were back home in time for supper and a few other things around the house.

After supper, Andy began to tape off the bathroom so we could paint the ceiling and trim. Once Alex was in bed, Andy began working. I had every intention of helping him, but this cold was not giving me the energy I wanted (the pregnancy doesn't help with the energy level, either!). Andy insisted it was a one-man job, so I cleaned up after tornado Alex in the living room.

This morning, Andy slept in while Alex and I tried to keep quiet in the living room. It worked pretty well, but when Andy got up he shared the bad news with me.......the tape that we had bought on Saturday PEELED the paint OFF of the walls!!! So, all of the trim work was fine, but everywhere we had tape was now the purple color (it ripped it clear down to the drywall - took off the primer, paint, and 2 coats of the faux finish). It looked like this all around......

Talk about FRUSTRATING!! Here we thought we were on the last step - nope! So, back around with the faux finish we will go again. GRRRR!!

And now for our funny video - - Alex has a singing toothbrush, Thomas the train. It was a gift from Grandma Le and Grandpa Dave. For the past 2 months or so, every time the train sings, Alex just holds it and stares at it, screams if we try to brush his teeth with it. Until this past week....we kept it in the drawer along with his other toothbrush, and one night he chose Thomas. Once the music began, he popped it into his mouth and brushed throughout the entire 2-minute song. Now, he has began to add his own little dance step as he brushes. Enjoy! :)

Here's what's on the agenda for us this week - I have a Dr. appt. tomorrow at 4, Andy has a dentist appt. Tuesday (which he is REALLY looking forward to - note the sarcasm), and the rest of the week should fly by! Don't know when we'll post next, so have a great week!!! :)

Another First.....

...but this one is NOT a happy one.....

Around 3:30 this afternoon, Julie called Andy at work, to tell him that Alex and another little boy had been in a "scuffle." Alex was trying to take a toy away from this little boy and the other little boy decided that he needed to use his teeth to make Alex stop.

So we have our first bite.......

I guess I think it looks worse than it actually is, but I feel so bad for him! It hasn't seemed to bother him all night, but it certainly looks painful! I guess, that as much as I want to, I can't protect my little boy from everything - he's going to get hurt. Others are going to hurt him.....grrrrr!!!

A friend of mine just posted about her daughter being bit while she was at childcare, so maybe it's something in the air! Regardless, it STILL stinks!!!!!

Oh, well, tomorrow's Friday - AND DADDY'S BIRTHDAY!!!! :) So, it's bound to be a better day!

It's Thursday!

Wow - Thursday already and I haven't done any posts this week - - sorry!

Here's what's been going on:

Monday my girls had their first VB game, and it seemed as if over the weekend they forgot EVERYTHING that we have worked on the past 4 weeks. We couldn't get a serve over the net to save our lives, and our serve receive was terrible. I called a time-out to check their shoes for cement blocks, because that had to be the only reason that we were standing around and looking at each other. We did have a few good plays, but lost both games. We played Burwell, which is only 20-or-so miles from Sargent, so the girls were familiar with the other team. Burwell has a few REALLY good players, so I think that my girls may have been intimidated by that before they even set their feet into the gym. Our next game will be the 29th, against Callaway and Arnold - those towns are at least an hour away, so hopefully we won't have to overcome any mind games this time. :)

Tuesday we discovered we were STILL having toilet problems, so we finally broke down and called the plumber. (As of now, knock on wood, all is still working....) Alex had a great day at childcare, Julie even commented on how well-behaved he is and how he listens so well. Now I know what other parents mean when they can't believe how well their kid behaves at school, but not at home......I am glad that he does behave for Julie. (He behaves for us, too, it's just that I think he has to push more limits with Andy and I.) His napping has been going well there, so we haven't had nearly as many meltdowns at home, which we are ALL thankful for.

Wednesday Alex woke up bright and early at 6 -- he really needs to learn how to sleep in!! He was in a goofy mood, one that I haven't ever seen in the mornings before. He was laughing, making silly faces and noises, and just being a goof. It put us all in a great mood to start the day. That afternoon we went to go and visit Daddy at work, and once we got home, Alex was the first one to go inside! He usually has to spend a good 20+ minutes outside before he even thinks about coming inside (I usually have to bribe him with supper!), but he wanted to go inside immediately!

And today - - he didn't sleep too well last night, he was very restless all night, and we finally broke down and gave him some Tylenol at 12:15 AM. He felt very warm to me, but I begin to wonder if he wasn't just overheated from the warm day that we had....but the Tylenol seemed to allow him to sleep for about 2 hours - then he was up about every 30 minutes after that. I haven't had any caffeine since I found out that I was pregnant, but I am SERIOUSLY considering it today! We have parent-teacher conferences today at school, so it will be at least 7:30 before I make it home.....with my feet dragging all the way!

If you think of it - send a special message to someone very dear to all of us tomorrow - - Andy will be having a birthday!!! :) Alex and I have a couple of surprises for him - we'll get pictures! :)

Until then.... SMILE!

Misc. Weekend Happenings.....

Well, as I looked through the pictures and video from this past weekend, that was the best title that I could come up with. This past weekend was a blur, so I am glad that we have the pictures to remind me! :)

Saturday morning we got up and had a yummy breakfast of pancakes and sausage. As I was doing the dishes, Alex wanted to be in on the action, and apparently I was the perfect amusement park.........at least until he noticed the camera.....

Then it was on to the big project of the weekend - finishing up the paint in the bathroom. Last weekend we finally decided on the colors, and I think that it looks really cool. We did a "Bellagio Faux" finish - where you work a 3' by 3' section, lightly coating the paint onto your base coat. Then, 5 minutes later, you go back over that same section with a trowel, spreading it out and letting some of the base color show through. We did this twice - the base coat is the "nude" that we have had up since the beginning, and then the first finish was a darker brown, then we did this all again with a lighter tan shade. We are very happy with the results......here's a shot for you to see!

Then it was on to cleaning the house. I always dread that part, but it always feels so good once it's done for another few days. I wanted to get it done before the Husker game, and with Andy's help, we did get it all done. Alex still isn't a fan of the vacuum, so he kept his distance while I worked. I had just pulled the sheets off of the line, so he found a comfortable place to sit while the vacuuming went on.

Then it was time for the Husker game. The Huskers looked pretty good, their defense is looking great! While we were watching the game, one of us (I can't remember who) yelled, "Go Huskers!" and our little echo repeated it! It took us quite a while to get it on the camera, but here is Alex's first "root" for a team! :)

Not shortly after the echo, Alex re-discovered a new game, with his landing zone now gone. (If you remember, Alex used to jump off the couch onto Andy - - this time there was no Andy...) We decided that we had better get a video of it so when we have to go to the ER with a broken leg or ankle, we can prove that it wasn't child abuse. :)

Then he put a new "spin" on it - - blinded! What this boy won't come up with......

Then today - we went to church where Alex set the record for smacking his head on things - - I am ready to sew non-skid patches onto his knees and butt! The wooden church pews and his khakis didn't exactly give Alex the resistance he needed to do what he wanted to get done!

After that we went grocery shopping, came home and finished the laundry, and played a while. Alex decided that today was going to be his ornery day - and he was FULL of the weird facial expressions ALL DAY today! He would get into things that he knew he shouldn't be into, just to see what Andy or I would do. As Andy was finishing up getting the toilet re-set (again) in the bathroom, Alex shot his Daddy this look.....

Oh, that little man! Have a great week everyone! Keep your fingers crossed on Monday at 2:30 and 3:30 (central time) while my VB girls play their first game!!! I'll let you know how we did! :)

Jesus, Cookies, and Alex's First Driving Lesson

As I look back onto the title of this post, you all must be thinking that I've been drinking or something.....nope! :) Just the happenings of what's been going on here the past week or so.

Jesus - Alex has some "Arch" books that have a pretty good rhythm to them as you are reading them. He really seems to enjoy them, because he chooses them almost every night for one of us to read to him. A few nights ago, Alex came into the living room with one of his Jesus books, and pointed to Jesus, and said His name! Andy quick grabbed the camera, and we got it! Enjoy!

Another night (or maybe it was the same one, I can't remember!), I was having a craving for some sugar cookies. Alex is always wanting to help me in the kitchen, so I let him decorate. Yes, I can hear the audible groans from most of you, and the rest of you saying, "Stick, stick, stick!" because of the sticky mess that came along with it! But, Alex REALLY enjoyed shaking the sprinkles on. Enjoy!

Here is a shot of the cookies once they were baked. Yum-o!

After they had cooled, Alex and I sat on the floor and enjoyed our work. ;)

Mmmmmmmmmm!

On to tonight! Alex is always wanting to stay outside when we get home at the end of the day. He loves being outdoors, and will go look for toads, snakes, or just play in the car. Tonight he wanted his first driving lesson - and Andy needed to be in the car for the "ride"!

Steering.....

Trying to reach the pedals......(a few times he actually crawled down onto the floor and pushed the pedals!)

Daddy looking on to see how his student is doing.......

Alex messing with the foglights and interior lighting (I'm going to have to remember that in the morning when I turn on the lights and can't see anything!)

And Alex showing that he does have a little of his Grandpa Dave in him......messing with the radio! :)

He even figured out how to eject the CD - only to push it immediately back in!

That's our life up until now - all is going well for all of us - Acta has dropped a little bit since last Friday, which my ribs are thankful for! Andy's work life is going to be hectic for the immediate future, and possibly for a while......one of the PTA's (Physical Therapist Assistants) just found out that she has breast cancer - she has 5 kids - from a freshman in college to younger than Alex, so keep her and her family in your prayers. She is late-30's, early 40's.....so pretty young. Andy will be picking up her caseload (mostly home health), as well as keeping his own clinic caseload going. AND, another one of the therapists will be going on maternity leave any day now......so they are all stretched pretty thin right now. My first volleyball game is on Monday, and I think that my girls are ready, most of them anyway. This will be the hardest game we play all year, so we'll see how we stack up!

Until then........

Daddy's Little Boy

Oh, what a night! Alex's mood, again, ran the spectrum. Fortunately, tonight he had many more pleasant moments than tantrum moments, but he still had a couple......I think that it has to be all related to his sleep, because this weekend, he was fine because he was getting his usual 2 hour nap. He must just wake up early at childcare (noise or something else waking him up), because he's not getting enough.....

Which is why we are beginning to put him to bed earlier at night. He was usually in bed around 9, but we have officially bumped it up to between 8 and 8:30. It seems to be going well, for the most part.

Tonight, as we got Alex ready for bed, we got one of those "moments" where it was just too funny, we couldn't help but laugh. Normally, our routine is to brush teeth, change into jammies, take his flouride (just a little dropper-thing - our water here isn't flourinated), choose 3 books, climb into bed, choose which parent is going to be reading to him, say good-night to the "unchosen" parent, "unchosen"parent leaves, read the three books with the "chosen" parent, get a drink of water, lights out and to sleep we go. Tonight, as we got to the choosing, he chose Daddy to read to him - which he has been for the past few nights. That's fine - it gives me a chance to get some stuff done for the time Andy is reading and such. Tonight, however, as I was saying goodnight to him, getting my hug and kiss and "love you", as soon as he said the "love you" I went in for one more kiss on the cheek. As soon as I kissed him, he looked at me, put his hand on my shoulder, gave me a little push, and very clearly said, "Move!" He was ready to read and I was in his way!!

Andy and I both had to chuckle. As I closed the door, he did blow me a kiss and say "love you" one more time.......what a kid! :)

And here's a shot of the happy bedtime readers - -


We certainly know who is ruling this roost - at least for another 50-or-so days! :)

Our Weekend...

Hello all -

Again, no pictures tonight, but I wanted to send out the update on our weekend events. :)

I had my visit with Dr. Lawrence on Friday afternoon. She wasn't what I was expecting (I guess I don't really know what I was expecting, but she wasn't it....), but I was impressed with how thourough she was. VERY different from my delivery Dr. last time.......very refreshing. :) She did an in-office ultrasound just so she could see everything instead of reading someone else's report. Acta has finally rolled over, but she was surprised to see how high he is. His butt and legs are right under my bra-line, his head is above my belly button. I told her that was good to hear because my ribs are already being kicked!! She listened to his heart, looked all over him (he was "snuggling" with his cord, had it pulled up to his face and was gripping it with both hands), and said that everything looked "perfect!" She wants to see me every two weeks for a while, until we get closer to November. Added bonus - I was in and out of the office in 45 minutes! (Unlike my Dr. here in Ord, where you are usually in the waiting room for at least an hour, then another 30-45 minutes to see the Dr! If it weren't for the outstanding care that we get through them, I would have said "gone" a long time ago!) Anyway......I was VERY impressed with Dr. Lawrence and her staff. My next appt. is on the 22nd (I didn't want to go back on Andy's birthday - )

This weekend flew by - as most do. Saturday morning Andy had to work (which he didn't find out about until Thursday night), so Alex and I stayed at home and ran a few errands. It was chilly and rainy outside, so putting his jacket on was a struggle. I was exhausted by the time Andy got home - I am so thankful that I have him!!! I don't know how I could manage by myself....or how anyone could, for that matter. I guess I have a new respect for the "single parents" - - I know I couldn't do it right now (being pregnant and exhausted all of the time doens't help, either!) So we just bummed around Ord on Saturday, got a few things around the hosue done.

This morning we got up and headed to Grand Island, because we needed to get a few things for the bathroom (the toilet upstairs has been leaking - the wax ring didn't make a complete seal when it was put on, so we had to get a bigger ring - - it appears to be working now, so fingers crossed!) And after spending 1 1/2 hours at the Home Depot paint counter, trying not to get too mad while 4 men stood around the machine and tried to figure out how to get the color that I wanted into the paint container.......can you tell I was a little erked? Finally, another lady (who was supposed to work at noon today but came in early) walked up, told them how they needed to do it, and I had my paint in 3 minutes. Not bashing you guys out there, but seriously!!! 4 men and 90 minutes, and here a woman comes in and solves the problem in 3!

Then we ran to Sam's, Wal-Mart, and had Applebees (yummy salad!) for lunch, then headed for home so we could fix the toilet yet this afternoon. We also had some laundry to get done, so we had the better part of the afternoon left and finished everything. Andy was a gem and took Alex for a while so I could get a nap in. It was just what I needed - - too bad I can't work naps into the workweek!!

So that was all - we will try to get some photos up tomorrow, it just didn't work out this weekend. Have a great week everyone! :)

Different Plans.....

Well, I had fully intended to come home tonight and take some pictures and/or video of Alex tonight to share with all of you - - but as the title reads, Alex had "different plans."

Tonight I think that he hit the beginning of the "terrible twos" wall and just kept trying to run through that brick wall - getting more frustrated each time that he hit the wall.

Honestly, tonight was one big tantrum. I hope that we don't have to have another night like tonight in a LONG time!!! He was fine until supper - then he got frustrated because he had mashed all of his carrots (trying to cut them). He threw his fork twice, threw carrots onto the ground, even leaned over out of his seat and proceeded to allow the drool fall from his face to the floor (that's a little bit funny, now - it wasn't too funny when he did it!). He hardly ate any of the roast we had, and needed both his milk and juice at his elbows. When he would attempt a bite (or a cut), he would knock one of the cups over, and then the crying would start all over again. Trying to move the cups up (so they were still within reach, but where he would not be knocking them over) was pointless - we would be screaming. So that was supper.

I bought some new books today from a Books Are Fun vendor that comes around to the schools in our area. They are some pretty cool picture books about bugs, trucks, kids, etc. I pulled those out thinking that it could get his mind off of whatever was bugging him......nope! He sat for one of the books, and then went over to get another one of his books, but melted down because he thought that one of the pages needed to be separated (it was a board book - with the thick pages!). It took forever to convince him that the pages were, indeed, NOT stuck together, but we shed quite the tears over it.

When we FINALLY got that book read, he wanted to sit on the couch for a while. I thought, "Great! He's going to be happy for a couple of minutes!" Wrong!!! He kept throwing his blanket, then wanted it, then didn't want it, then he wanted his juice, then he didn't want it, then he wanted some fruity jello. He wanted Mommy to hold it, nope, Daddy hold it. No! Mommy hold it, no, Daddy. This went on for a good 20-times. We finally put the jello back into the fridge because he couldn't make a decision.

A few minutes later he had calmed down enough, and decided that he wanted Mommy to hold the jello. Great! Can we be happy now? Nope!

He began to eat it, but then decided that he wanted me to read a book instead. I couldn't get up to put the jello down, he wanted me to put jello on the armrest of the couch.....sorry, little man, my better judgement is going to override you on this one. Daddy couldn't hold it, it couldn't go on the floor, crying, crying, crying.

Do you want to go outside? (Usually this has to be asked once, and he is out the door!) Not tonight! This resulted in more crying and tantrum-ing.

I wanted to make it as late as possible before putting him to bed, but finally at 8 (an hour before his usual bedtime) I had enough. We brushed his teeth (he didn't want to do it - yep, more crying), got him in his pj's, and he cried "Mommy" the entire time. So afer we had finished, I asked him to pick out his three books before bed (our usual routine). Nope - we had to throw another tantrum. So Andy picked out three books, kissed him goodnight, and left the room. Then even more screaming happened. Apparently, the "Mommy" he was crying earlier was only for that 5 seconds - he wanted Daddy now. So Daddy came back in, read him his books, and it's 8:12 now and the little man is sawing logs. It's the first time tonight I have had time to think!

I don't know if he is just not napping well at Julie's, if he is cutting teeth (heaven forbid that we actually be allowed to feel inside of his mouth!), has allergies (we all seem to be fighting some crud right now.....), getting sick (or is sick), or if it's just the two's coming on a little too soon. Whatever the reason, I don't want to have a repeat of tonight EVER again!!

Tomorrow night we have a football game in Sargent, so hopefully that can occupy him enough to keep him happy thoughout the night. I have to take tickets.....so Andy and Alex are by themselves until at least halftime! I also have my first appt. with my delivery Dr. tomorrow, so we will see how that goes. I'll be driving to Broken Bow after school to meet with her, so I will post about that most likely on Saturday sometime.

Until then.....pray for patience!!!!!!!!!!!

Baby Poll Results

I just removed the poll about what you all believe the baby's name is. For future reference, here are the results:

Taylor - 1 vote
Christian - 1 vote
Zachary - 8 votes
Christopher - 6 votes
Michael - 3 votes

Thanks to all of you who voted - you're going to have to wait until the little man is born to know his name! (Which may or may not be before we find out who our next President will be! Sorry, with all of the "conventioning" going on last week and this week, it has me in a bit of a political mood! Don't worry, it won't last!) :)

It's Been Awhile...

Heya faithful blog readers out there. This is Andy coming to you tonight, with an update of what we have done since you last heard from us. I will fill you in on updates regarding our individual wheelings and dealings, and then finish with a pile of pictures with vague captions for you. For those of you who are picture people, skip to the end, but fellow thousand worders, read on. Confused? 1 picture = 1000 words. C'mon people. Its simple word/math, or wath. Or Mard.

Alexander: daycare is going very well for one Alexander James. He has his buddies, who I call the Little Boys Club. Alex, Jake, and Dawson are all about the same age, and love playing together at Julie's. They all get there about the same time in the morning, and the LBC starts its day with a few laps around the house. At the end of the day, Alex is happy to leave with us, but always has to wave goodbye to "Jooolie" and "fends" (I think that means friends.) His head has recovered nicely from multiple falls, though his shins may be more black and blue than normal skin tone at this time.

Alex picks up new words everyday. He will repeat pretty much everything you say, so his mother is having to watch her language very closely right now. (Or maybe that's me). He knows the names of 20-25 animals, most of his body parts, quite a few foods (zissa = pizza, asana = lasagna), and is a big fan of the word "outside" (ahsize).

Christine: School is now in full swing. She is coaching junior high volleyball again, and for the most part enjoys coaching, though I'm sure working with junior high age girls has its days. Acta has started moving quite a bit the past few weeks, and we are both getting very excited to meet our new little one. She gets little tired by the end of the day, what with the limited amount of sleep, a full day of teaching, and her little man using her like an amusement park when she gets home at the end of the day. Even though she gets worn out by the two (three) of us, I don't think she would trade us for anything.

Andy (me): Work has been going well for me. I will have some schedule changes coming in the next few weeks which will mean less driving, so I am quite excited about that. We have been busy at the clinic, so I am staying busy there. Otherwise, I can't think of much new going on in my little world.

This past weekend, Grandpa and Grandma Bowin came to town, and we had a great time with them. On Saturday, we all went for a walk to the pharmacy, grocery store, and then the park. Alex played on the merry-go-round, the swing, the swing, and the swing. His favorite was the swing. The toughest part of the day was getting him to leave the park. On Sunday, Alex heard grandpa mention something that sounds like the word walk, and he was ready to go. It took him a solid 10-15 seconds to convince grandpa and grandma to take him for a walk. Somehow, they ended up at the park again, where the previous day's activities were repeated. On Monday, Alex got to take another walk around town with grandma while grandpa helped us wash our cars (thanks again grandpa!). After lunch, they headed home, and we all laid down for naps.

Happy September to everyone! Stay tuned for more updates. Eventually.

Now, on to the pictures.

Alex playing in the car. The toughest part of the day is getting him to come inside once we get home.

Who me?

I like burritos.

Saturday afternoon naptime. That's grandma on the couch, grandpa on the floor, Christine on the loveseat, and Alex on Christine.

Zzzzzzzzzz.

Alex playing shy after his Monday morning walk with grandma. Oh, and grandpa has a toy croquet mallet.

I'm invisible.

Are you guys still paying attention to me?

Alex ran and dove into this position.

Safe!!

X-Games Baby!! (photo courtesy of G & G Bowin)

Read it again daddy. (photo courtesy of G & G Bowin)

Why did you stop reading, Dad? (photo courtesy of G & G Bowin)