Frankenstein

On Wednesday Luke finally got his third eye removed! Wahoo! Actually, the tumor did not contain an eye, just some hair. I can't decide which would have been worse. Both are pretty gross. We got to see the tumor. Jay wanted to keep it for Luke but they said it had to go to the lab for a biopsy. No souvenir for him. Guess the hospital bracelet will have to suffice.


He stayed pretty happy the whole time. They gave him a sweet little teddy bear and a cute little gown to wear.


They had a playroom for him which was a nice distraction since he had been fasting for a while. A hungry baby is never very fun.


They marked his face so they got the right eye. It took forever to come off.


I got to go into the OR and hold his hand while they put him under. He didn't cry even one bit! Wish I could say the same for me. I lost it the minute I walked out the door and had to leave him. Haha!

This picture is really making me rethink my dream to be a surgeon.

After they were done (about 20-25 minutes) they came and got us and I got to hold him while he woke up. He was a little out of it and disoriented, but he drank his bottle and cuddled me. I kind of liked him that calm. I wonder if they had some of that I could take home for Jack? :)



At last we got to leave. He slept all the way home, most of the day and then 13 hours that night. He woke up the next day as happy as could be! He is such a great little guy! He has 6 stitches and looks like a little Frankenstein. We are lucky we didn't get another earthquake or he could have had a few more :) Ha! His incision is healing and now he will have a cool scar to impress the ladies. Although, we may have to think of a better story than just a tumor....like maybe a wolverine attack or something :)

Dazed and Confused

I have never smoked pot, so I guess it's true what they say about losing brain cells when you have babies. Or maybe it is all the helium I sucked as a child (let's be honest, as an adult, too). My brain power was bad after Jack, but I had no idea it could get worse after the second baby.

Scenario #1: Jay and I were eating out and they brought out my salad. I looked down at a red circular thing and asked Jay what it was. He replied that it was a beet. I said, "Oh. Is that what they make cranberry sauce out of?" He replied (with a snort and water coming out of his nose) "Nope. They make cranberry sauce out of cranberries." Oy. Beets look alarmingly like canned cranberry sauce. Go look.

Scenario #2: A few months ago I took the boys to the park. When it was time to leave, I got them loaded in, got in the car and started to drive away from the park. From the back seat I hear Jack say, "Um, mom? You forgot to strap me in!" I slam on the brakes to look back at him and he is holding on for dear life to his car seat straps frantically trying to buckle them.

Scenario #3: Once again at the park. Jack was walking and Luke was strapped into the front carrier. I stepped up onto the sidewalk, grossly misjudging the height, and fell straight forward. I did a slow-motion-Jackie Chan roll so I didn't land on the baby, ripped my jeans, tore up my toe, and lost a lot of dignity. Luke remained unscathed. Good thing I said my prayers that morning.

Scenario #4: Today I took the boys for a walk. We went to see the horses, played on the swings, and I had a nice jog. I loaded them into the car, (making sure to buckle them in properly) then I got in and started to back up. Suddenly two women come running at me waving their arms. I stopped, rolled down the window and they told me that the stroller was still behind my car. I forgot to put it in. Sheesh. At least the kids weren't still in it, right?

So, that is enough proof of my stupidity for one day. I am amazed that my own mom can say her ABC's after 8 kids. I'm worried that I will stop functioning if I even think about having another baby.

Maybe brain cells grow back? Please tell me they grow back.

Replaced

There comes a time in all of our lives when we must let go of something we love. This time, it was our loveseat. I bought it before I met Jay. It moved with us three times. It was where we spent many a movie night snuggling. It was where I learned to nurse my babies. It was where I spent 2 and 1/2 months on bed rest watching movies and eating snacks with my sweet Jack. I truly loved it. But, as a family of four, it had fulfilled it's purpose. So, with much sadness in our (my) hearts, we gave it to another family to love.

I have never seen Jay happier to get rid of something.

Now we are the proud owners of a couch monstrosity. It is huge. It is comfortable. It has won over my family. Jay loves it.

I love it too. But, I miss my sweet little couch that forced us to sit too close together. It was the perfect size for Jay to reach my feet and give me nightly foot rubs. My feet miss the love seat. Now we each have our own section to sit on. Everyone seems so far away! I guess we will just have to have more children to fill in the gaps.

Ha!! Please.

I don't miss the love seat that much.



Jack found his Halloween costume that he wore at 6 months. Sadly, it still fits his waist. Could the kid get any skinnier?


Oh my precious. Can he possibly get cuter? I'm sure he has hit his peak, right?

Lastly, this is the reason I will no longer have time (or energy) to update our blog. See you in 18 years.

Besties

Two weeks ago my dad came to visit! He is absolutely Jack's best friend. When we moved to Virginia, that was the hardest part. Watching them say goodbye. So, we were so excited to spend the weekend with him, and to have him here for Father's Day!


Luke really loved him, too :) We were glad to have you here, dad!


Jack decided it was too hot out so he stuck his head in a memorial fountain. And then Jay did it, too. Sorry person that the memorial was for.


Apparently we have lived in the ghetto for too long because Jack will only wear his hats like this. So we taught him some gang signs just in case.


This month Jay's company changed ownership and brought in all of their own people. So, once again, Jay is on the job hunt. It has been so nice having him home! We have had a ton of fun as a family and Jay has loved getting to know Luke a little bit more. If only he never had to work again :) Hopefully it won't take too long to find a job, but we will live it up while he is home!

Our insurance company couldn't get their act together in time for Luke's surgery so we had to reschedule it once again. So, Luke is still tumorific until the end of August. Good thing he is so cute, tumor and all :)

Overload

Sorry for the picture overload, but it has been a while since I posted for the grandparents!

On the 22nd, Jack turned 3! Who knew I was responsible enough to keep a child alive that long?!?! We had a great time celebrating him. My sister-in-law sent me a recipe for really cute hamburger cupcakes. They were soooooo yummy! I wish I had more time to make them really cute, but maybe another year!

Jack was spoiled as usual and we don't plan on changing that. How can you resist that cute little guy?


Jack and Luke are really starting to bond. They just love hanging out together. So much that I heard something from their room when Luke was supposed to be sleeping and this is what I found....

We had to have a talk with Jack about not climbing into the crib when Luke is sleeping :)

Soon our fatty Luke is going to be bigger than Jack.


Memorial weekend was lovely. Scott and Jami came up for a night which is always fun and we also went to some fun BBQ's. My friend Sabrina took these pictures at the BBQ she hosted. It was about 190 degrees and 400% humidity.


Luke started to look like a tomato so we had to get him naked. My favorite :) (You can see his little tumor in this pic. Right eye, inside corner. Gross, huh? :))



No, there wasn't a pool. Jack is just THAT sweaty and wanted to wear his swim trunks.

But, he found a great way to cool off.


Luke is 6 months old already! Wasn't I just pregnant like last week? He is such a charmer. I love his flirty personality and his chubby legs. He weighs in at a whopping 16 lbs. 3 oz. Almost 2 lbs. more than Jack at 6 months. However, it only puts him at the 25th percentile which I just don't understand. He is so fat!

We rescheduled his surgery for July 1st. His little tumor just keeps getting bigger! I am anxious to get it done! We were hoping to wait until Halloween so he could be a pirate with an eye patch, but it just didn't work out :) Ha!




I love these 3. Can't live without them :)

Now, since this post was a little boring, here is a fun game!

Which kid is Jack and which one is Luke!

(The winner gets to go through all of my pictures and sort them out so I can tell them apart!)

Parental Hookie

We got to ditch the boys and have a super hot date this weekend! Jay's boss got married on Saturday at a lovely hotel right in DC. It overlooked the White House and a few of the monuments. Our very wonderful friends took Jack and Luke for the night (in addition to 4 of their own!) so that we could stay in the city. We had a great time, ate amazing food, danced and danced and enjoyed just being the two of us for a few hours :)



Isn't spring gorgeous here? I know I complain about the trees, but when I can see over the tops of them, they are simply divine.







This was our view from our hotel room. This is the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. We really lucked out because it is beautiful at night!

Gettysburg

Jay finished school for the spring semester and we both got released from our church callings (due to a ward split) so we decided to head out of town and enjoy our week of freedom! It was absolutely fantastic not to have anything we HAD to get done. We decided to drive up to Gettysburg. I'm going to be honest, I don't know much about the Civil War except what they put in Gone With The Wind, so this was a good history trip for me :)

The drive was lovely. The boys slept a lot, and Jay and I got to hold hands for 4 whole hours :)


Jack loved the cannons. Not sure he got the concept because he kept looking down the barrel.


The monuments were huge and beautiful and everywhere. I had no idea how big the battle was. Guess I better see some more Civil War sights while we live out here.


This is the area where the biggest, bloodiest part of the battle was. There were more casualties in 3 hours here than all of the casualties of the Allied forces combined on D-Day. Just an interesting thing we learned.


We ate at this great old house that was built in 1776. During the lunch hours they open up the basement tavern. We ate by candlelight and our waitress looked like a barmaid. It was really fun.







And since Luke's cute face wasn't in any of our pictures, here he is. The red hair is almost gone. I am really bummed out about it. At least he still has his armpit rolls.