2 weeks

Well, our lives have been quite busy lately . . . still adjusting to our new joy. Don't get me wrong, she's an awesome lil' baby! But juggling two + trying to work (yes, I had a shoot this past Sunday and a wedding this Saturday) + keeping up with the house + trying to keep everyone posted . . . it's hard!

I still need to blog about her debut, but till then, let me tell you about my baby girl . . . or 'Tubbs' as I call her! She has the BIGGEST and CUTEST chubby cheeks! Gah, I kiss them all the time :) 

Tubbs is quite the eater. I mean, QUITE the eater. I am breast feeding / pumping (yet again) and she's done well at keeping most feedings to every 2.5 to 3 hours. At first, she was every 4 . . . which scared me, because I know breast milk goes thru their systems faster than formula . . . but with every 4 hour spans, she was still gaining . . . so no need to change anything. Not to mention, she is letting Daddy and I sleep at night! So, now that we are on a 2.5 to 3 hour schedule during the day, she sometimes gives us a 5 hour span at night! Thank you baby girl! She's beginning to make up for my miserable pregnancy! Laugh.

She had her 2 week appointment today and she is now 9 lbs 7 oz. -- Tubbs gained a pound from her debut! And she is 20 3/4 inches long. Sigh. She's already making me sad by growing so fast!! Tear.

She has started to like sleeping on her belly. I seem to have tummy sleepers! Makes me nervous with all the 'studies' about SIDS . . . but, they love their tummies! And hey, I slept that way . . . and I'm fine (or so I think, j).  She has also started to lift her head a little. She thinks she such a big girl! AND she is starting to pay more attention to us . . . she will stare at us longer :) Makes us smile!

OH, and Houston loves her! He says 'Mornin' Joanie' when he gets up and 'Mama, baby okay?' for when she cries . . . which isn't too often. He likes to hold her hand and help carry her carseat to the car. Oh, my buddy. He even shares his cars with her! He lets her look at them . . . and maybe hold on. That's it. haha.

Here are a few images. I have more but need to download! Another on my 'to do' list that keeps getting longer! 

She rarely cries . . . and it's usually because she's hungry :)

They just can't get enough of each other :)

I think we have another belly sleeper!

my houston.

I have one crazy child! He is so outgoing . . . WILD! For one thing, he LOVES to play dress up . . . sounds weird for a lil' boy, BUT he thinks it's so funny to walk around in my clothes / accessories. I mean, I get it . . . he sees me doing it EVERYDAY . . . so to him it's normal. And have no fear, we only let him do it and laugh . . . it's not like we let him go out of the house this way!!

This was the day I was dressing up for my Maternity Photos . . . so, he dressed up too!!

Not only is he playing dress up . . . he is beginning to 'mock' you. AH. Scary! Especially since Jess lives with us! And if you know my sister, she 'corrupts' our kids! j. She has taught Josie and Wes many things that we all 'shake our heads at' but then we can't help but laugh! So now, when Houston goes up to 'GiGi's House', he usually comes back down with some sort of new trick! The newest is 'making faces' and giving you 'FINGERS' and giving it to you 'crooked'. And for those of you who don't know what 'crooked' is . . . Houston tries really hard to give you the 'peace' sign with his two fingers, but he can't . . . he can only 'criss cross' them (like you do when you are wishing for something) . . . and Jess has now taught him to 'give it to people crooked' . . . OH GAH!

silly days up in GiGi's House

AND, he has become quite the lover. He absolutely LOVES our animals. ALL of them. All three cats. Even Jess' classroom pets, turtle and fish. Which turtle was recently given away, thankfully he hasn't noticed. He loves Belle and Pollie (Matt's dog and Donna's dog, they stay at Bob and Donna's). OH, and can't forget Pepper, Jojo's cat (well, it's really Earl's cat).

Here is H with Millie . . . he loves rubbing her belly.

giving Millie love.

And he loves them SO much that he has conversations with them . . . don't ask! Jess got Joanie Leigh a cute lil' hat for her shower next weekend (she can't keep secrets) and she was showing Matt and I her new hat . . . in the midst of her showing us, Houston decided he wanted to show Sloan. And tell Sloan that it's too small for him, and that it only fits Joanie's head. Laugh. HE IS SUCH A MESS!!  And isn't her hat cute!!!

H showing off Joanie Leigh's new hat from GiGi

 

New Addition(s)

When Jackson went missing, Matt and I started to get lonely. Mason, our other kitty, mainly stays outside . . . so we N-E-V-E-R see him. We wanted a kitty to snuggle with and show US some attention! So, Matt started looking . . . we looked at several places (5, I think) in Columbia and didn't find any kitty that 'clicked' with us. Finally one night . . . Matt saw 'Jewel' -- renamed to 'Millie', and still being discussed -- in Aiken, SC. Of course, he always finds the good cats at some shelter where we have to drive an hour to get there! Mr. Zoe came from Newberry and Jackson came from Camden . . . and now, our new addition was coming from Aiken.

So, one Tuesday, Houston and I set down the road, on our journey to bring home 'Millie'. The only problem was . . . I found another kitty I fell in love with! Whoopsie! I couldn't help it! He was so cute!! His name was 'Xane', renamed to 'Sloan'. He had these puffy big eyes and was just staring at me! And playing with 'Millie' . . . I couldn't resist! I texted Matt if I could bring home two -- his response -- 'NO!' -- And so I did anyways. Whoopsie. BUT come on! I couldn't resist!

Look how cute they are! And they are best buds! They cuddle together and play together . . . How could you split that up! Not to mention, Houston is in LOVE with them!

Mister Zoe

So far we have not started our 2011 on a good start. Houston and I brought in the New Year with a bad cold. We were shortly getting over it when we were hit by a nasty stomach bug that took down our entire house hold. NOW, we are terribly missing our Zo-Zo.

Four years ago this past Christmas, Matt gave me my first pet -- Mister Zoe.

Most of you know, that when we first got him, we thought it was a girl... but 3 weeks after getting 'her'... 'his' balls dropped! Laugh. So, hence the name, MISTER Zoe.

He was the best cat. He would keep to himself but occasionally would want love. He would go outside [most of the time] to go to the bathroom. But, if he ever had to go to the bathroom inside... he made sure to do so in the bath tub or in the sink [easy clean up]. He would chirp at birds in the window. He would talk to me. He would notify me if he needed or wanted to go outside. He never clawed the furniture [except one chair that was his]. And most of all, he snuggled with me at night. He was my baby.

Unfortunately, this past Friday, Mister Zoe was ran over by our neighbors [she didn't mean too and she was so upset after it happened]... but, he now lays in 'Kitty Heaven'.

RIP my Zoe.

I am so glad that Houston got to know him... and love him... and annoy him. I sure am going to miss my Zoe. He was my best 'kitty' friend.

Dont stick your tongue out at me...

... and this is how I found Jackson sleeping the other day....

Sleep Habits

Jackson is typically our lover... He loves for you to pet him, scratch him, love on him. However, he is also our wild cat -- meaning, he is always outside chasing/hunting for something -- so, him being around long enough to get loved on, is slim.

Since its been way too cold lately, he has been inside -- A LOT. And he has demanded lots of attention... BUT, I think Jackson is starting to realize that he wont be getting as much attention soon...

... because he apparently wont sleep too far from me! Everyday this week, he has been right on top of me! AND, I love it! Sure wouldn't trade it for anything!

- the baby {M.E.}

.Christmas Present.

3 years ago, Matt gave me Zoe (Mister Zoe) for Christmas.

This year, Mister Zoe gave me himself as a present!

Such a cutie!

Houston's Goodies get put together!

The past couple of days Matt has decided to get some of the big boxes out of Houston's room and put the items together! sigh. It was fun to watch!

First Project:  The Travel System (aka Stroller and Carseat)

*This was the easy one. Most of the parts were already put together. But, Daddy did a good job! Now Houston can travel in safety everywhere he goes!

Second Project:  3-in-1 Play ExerSaucer

*This one was HARD. Notice the instruction manual was brought out.

But, after a lil' time and reading, Daddy got it all put together.

This part is for when Houston gets bigger! The 1st phase was being investigated by Mister Zoe -- he was TERRIFIED of it!

And still is scared. He will not sleep in Houston's room anymore. Laugh.

We (more so Matt) still have a few more big items we need to assemble, but we are taking it a few projects at a time!

peaceful moments.

Our lil' Jackson

You dont see much of our Jackson because he is our 'active' cat. He likes to stay outside, runs like a lion, eats rodents and aggravate Mister Zoe as much as possible.  However, he does take naps!

 I can never capture a photo of him because he is constantly moving! So, I do it in his 'down' time. Such a cutie!

Bad Habits starting EARLY?

This is what we found in Houston's Crib Saturday.

YIKES! Got to start breaking these habits before he gets here!

While I sleep...

Some of you may know, I sleep in odd positions.  For those of you who dont know, Matt makes fun of me when I sleep. I know I sleep in odd positions - BUT - he proceeds to make fun of me ALL the time...

Now I can see why -- I never knew they were the positions were this bad!

Go ahead, Laugh at me. I know. I laughed forever at this picture!! So, I had to put it up! I was apparently crossing my legs -- dont ask why. It must have been comfortable!

OH - and have no fear, there are shorts somewhere under the legs.

But Hey -- I am not the only one who sleeps in funny positions

Although, When Mr. Zoe does it -- its cute!  Too bad people dont say, "awe" when I sleep. Maybe I will try working on positions that's 'Cute'.

Belle and Pollie

For those of you who dont know, Belle is our 6 year old Black Lab. She is such a good dog!!

*As you can tell from her picture pose. Such a model.

And this weekend we got the pleasure of keeping Miss Pollie (Matt's parent's dog). She is a 2 year old Black Lab. She is such a sweetie -- but still a puppy!

It was hard to get her to sit still for a good picture. This was about the only one I could get of her face!

Belle and Pollie sure have enjoyed each others company! They play together, sleep together, run together, pee together, they even wait by the door together...

(This was when Matt came home from work -- they love him.)

This is them playing together... hard to take good shots when all they do is run and chase each other! As soon as I click the button - they are off to the other side of the yard!

Overall, its been a good visit with Pollie! Belle will be glad to relax some when Pollie leaves.

Mister Zoe and Me

Apparently this is how Mister Zoe and I sleep at night... He sleeps at my feet... Matt woke up the other night, saw it and took a picture.