Chaney: Party of Four

10 Months!

2012-01-28T23:05:00.002-06:00

My littlest monkey is now 10 months old! Seems so crazy. Wasn't he born just yesterday?? Does the growing ever stop? I guess I should know by now that it doesn't. Can we at least slow it down a bit? I guess we can't do that either... dang.

Logan man is changing every day. He started "for real" crawling last month but has now pretty much made that his main form of movement and given up the army crawl. Of course he would still prefer to hold someone's hand and walk around. He loves to open and close doors and since Korben's play kitchen is just the right size and has plenty of doors to open, it has become one of Logan's favorite things to play with. Almost every morning, the first thing he does when we make it downstairs is grab my hand so we can walk over to that kitchen. And then he plops himself down and goes to town with those doors and starts pulling stuff out. I'm not sure why I don't have a picture of it; I really should get one.

He's also been cruising pretty well these days and is constantly getting into big brother's things. Korben is constantly yelling at his little brother for taking his toys. "Logan, that's not yours, it's mine!" and "Logan, that's not a toy!" are very common phrases from our oldest monkey these days. And "Uh-oh" is a commonly used phrase from our youngest monkey when he drops said toys. Of course that's about as far as his vocabulary is extended to anyway besides "mama," "dada," "bubba," and "GAH!" When Logan isn't nabbing one of brother's toys though, the boys are still actually very sweet with each other. Korben is Logan's favorite person and Korben loves that he can make his little brother laugh. I love it when Korben randomly gives Logan hugs and sugars and says, "I love you, little brother!" It melts my heart!

Something else Logan is into these days is Wheel of Fortune. I have no idea why he likes that show so much but he does. No matter what he's doing, he drops it all as soon as that first puzzle comes up and crawls straight to the TV to watch. It's hilarious.

When bed time comes around, Logan likes to listen to music when he falls asleep. The music thing used to just be Daddy's thing when he put Logan to sleep but there have been a few times lately when I've had to pull out the tunes also. I used to get away with not having to play any songs since I always feed him to sleep but the boy does love his music. It actually kind of makes me happy that he's got some musicality in him... I hope it stays that way!

A mini version of his "scrunchy" face

Getting his Wheel of Fortune fix in

Spending some time with Gram in Abilene

Walking with Grandpooh

Getting some Gal time in

Hanging out with Gus

Love that smile

My boys!

Wearing their matching stripe pajamas... I do love matching pj's!

Korben sharing some of his ice cream with Logan - he was very appreciative :)

We finally had a warm enough day to take the Power Wheels truck out for a spin to the park

Asher the Elf

2012-01-15T01:21:00.001-06:00

In the last post, Josh mentioned our family elf, Asher. Since he was such a big part of our Christmas this year, I thought he should have his own post!

It all started when I kept seeing pins on Pinterest of ideas for this elf on the shelf thing. I had never heard of it but quickly caught on to the gist of what it was basically about - an elf doll that comes from the North Pole to keep an eye on the kids and report back to Santa every night if they had been good or bad that day, then moves to a new spot when he returns from the North Pole each night. I thought this looked cute and after inquiring with other parents who had done this tradition before, I knew I wanted to make it one of our own family traditions!

Our elf arrived at our house the day after Thanksgiving. He showed up on the fireplace mantle next to the book that tells the story of "Elf on the Shelf." We read the book to Korben and explained how you can't touch the elf because he might lose his Christmas magic. Then Josh and I asked Korben what he wanted to name his elf but he needed some choices so we gave him the options of Rufus (which means red and the elf's outfit is red), Sneaker (since the elves sneak around the house every night), Twizzle (because twizzlers are red? Not really sure where that came from but it was cute none-the-less), and Asher (which means happy since you know, elves are very cheery and happy)... Korben almost immediately chose Asher! And so it began!

I thought Korben would have an issue with the no touching rule but he actually did quite well with it! There was one day that he accidentally touched Asher and knocked him over while trying to get back a toy that Asher had "borrowed" and Korben was really upset about it! Poor thing felt so bad about Asher losing his magic! Thankfully some of the other elves came to the rescue and gave Asher his magic back! :)

Asher was quite the mischievous elf! He was quite fond of Korben's toys and took them to play with pretty frequently! I don't have pictures from all of Asher's "spots" but some of the places he was found were hanging from the ceiling fan pull string, playing with Korben's toy cars, roasting marshmallows on candles, eating cereal bars in the pantry, and reading a book to Korben's stuffed animals and action figures. Korben LOVED finding Asher in a new spot every morning! Asher even got blamed for a few things that he didn't do too. When I hung up all of our Christmas cards, Korben insisted that was all Asher! It was so much fun having Asher around and we can't wait for him to visit again next year!

One day Asher wrapped up Korben's books (enough for him to unwrap and read one a night before bed). There were a few new books snuck in the pile too... Korben especially loved it when he was surprised with a new book! :)

Asher making some adjustments to the light with Korben's toy Turner screwdriver. Korben yelled at Asher for taking his toys that morning!

Santa made an early visit to fill up stockings and Asher caught him on film with Korben's camera!

We were glad to see that Asher knew how to use the potty... we were also surprised to learn that elves have green pee! (Sorry if that one grossed you out... we thought it was funny though!)

Hiding under a glass!

Gone fishing!

Asher got got a little toilet paper happy and tp'd Korben's room!

Asher isn't in this picture but there was a day that he sat at the front of Korben's gingerbread house and ate some of the candy from it! I hadn't posted a picture of the house Korben made yet so there it is.

On Asher's last day at the house before going back to the North Pole with Santa, he left a goodbye note to Korben and made reindeer donuts!

Logan 9 months / Christmas party of FOUR !! (posted by Josh)

2012-01-05T22:03:00.002-06:00

Logan had his 9 month appointment a couple of weeks ago, and is developing quite a personality these days. He definitely knows how to get his way. His favorite activities include the army crawl (even though he can "for real" crawl now), sitting and playing with all the new toys that he got for Christmas, walking while holding onto Mommy's hands, and climbing the stairs (baby gates are up). Here are his stats as of 12/21/11: Weight 19 lbs 14 oz (50%) Height 28 1/2 inches (70%) Head 46.5 cm

As well as being Logan's first Christmas, it was also Korben's first Christmas with his new baby brother. And as our family grew this year, so did the fun!! We went to ride the train in Grapevine at the Polar Express to see Santa, looked at Christmas lights just about every time we left the house at night, Korben had his own tree and unwrapped a book every night before bed time, built and ate a Ginger bread house, baked cookies with Mommy (and ate those too), watched tons of holiday movies, made homemade gifts and ornaments, and let's not forget we welcomed our newest elf friend Asher !! WARNING : ** CHRISTMAS PICTURE OVERLOAD **

8 months!

2011-11-29T20:58:00.001-06:00

Hard to believe our youngest son is now 8 months old! He is growing and changing every day.

Here are a few fun facts about Logan these days:

--According to our scale, he weighs exactly 20 lbs
--He has 6 teeth (3 on top, 3 on bottom) and 2 more coming in
--He is now army crawling but still prefers to walk via holding someone's hand
--He loves the vacuum
--He loves plastic straws and will jack the one in your drink if given the opportunity
--He makes this hilarious alien static clicking type sound and squints his eyes when he gets excited about something. You have to see it to really appreciate but trust me when I say that it's adorable! :)

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More Mommy Confessions

2011-11-27T09:52:00.001-06:00

It's not as bad as peeing in my kid's diaper or refusing to tend to monthly female needs in order to keep the baby in my arms asleep, but here is today's confession....

Logan has been sick the last few days with a virus, sinus infection, and ear infection. He's not a heavy sleeper to begin with so not being able to breathe when he lays down has not been helping things. Friday night, I could not get him to sleep in his crib to save my life. I tried everything. We even have a crib wedge and one end of the crib propped up on books. After about the 7th failed attempt to get him sleeping in the crib, I went to plan B. I laid Logan down in his crib and then I climbed my ginormous adult self into that tiny crib, curled up into a semi-fetal position so I could actually fit, prayed with everything I had that my weight wouldn't send the crib crashing onto the floor in a million pieces, and then nursed my baby while laying on my side and him next to me so I wouldn't have to move him after he fell asleep. And then I climbed my ginormous adult self out of the baby crib with as much grace as possible - which was pretty much none. But at least Logan stayed asleep and the crib remained in one piece. A definite victory.

Confession #2: I did it again last night. And I foresee this going on until my poor sick baby is well again. To be honest, I'm ok with that.

To top everything off last night, after I finally got Logan to sleep, I went downstairs and found my husband asleep in his chair and Korben passed out on the floor soaking wet in pee. Yay. I picked him up and carried him upstairs to his room and got him cleaned up with a clean pair of pajamas on. I told him I was going to go get his medicine (he's sick too) and change clothes (mine were now wet with pee too from carrying him) and be right back. By the time I made it back with his meds, poor little man was already conked out again.

And that was my night. Pretty sure I would have laughed at anyone who told me what kind of things I would submit myself to as a mommy before I became one. :)

But looking at those 2 (now peaceful), sweet little boys sleeping made all of the chaos that it took to get there totally worth it. I wouldn't trade these days for the world.

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Pumpkin Patches

2011-11-06T01:31:00.000-05:00

We hit up a couple of pumpkin patches last month; first in Rockwall with friends Max and Rylee and then in Flower Mound with cousin Caroline. Both were a lot of fun. The Rockwall one had story time and small crafts each Saturday during the month of October. It was smaller and more intimate. The Flower Mound one was a lot bigger than I imagined it being. It had hay rides, train rides, bounces houses, and a few other things that we never made it to. It was fun but also a lot more crowded when it came to doing the activities. Korben had a blast at both so I'm sure we'll do them again next year! I'm also a big fan of the Dallas Arboretum pumpkin patch but we didn't make it to that one this year and I was really bummed. Maybe next year. Maybe not. I always seem to think that life will settle down and be less hectic the following year and it always ends up being the exact opposite! LOL

Listening to the story

Love Korben's pirate face

My attempt to get all 3 kids (minus Logan because he was sleeping in the stroller)

Showing off the pumpkin wind sock he made

He wanted a pirate painted on his face to match his shirt :)

Korben and Max showing off thier painted faces :)

This was the best I could get of them with the pumpkins. They both ready to leave to go eat lunch and play at Chick-fil-A!

Hangin' the Phineas and Ferb gang at the Flower Mound pumpkin patch

Since Logan's nursry is done with giraffes, we thought it appropiate to get a picture of him with the Madagascar giraffe :)

Hangin' with Daddy

Child labor law abuse, anyone?

That's better :)

Love them! Thanks for the matching turkey shirts, Stacey. :)

My family :)

Obviously thrilled about taking this picture

Love my sweet little niece, Caroline!

Who needs a double stroller anyhow?

Ok, bad idea on so may levels, I know. We tried. It didn't work.

Train ride!

Robin could almost pass for a little kid! :)

Through the Eyes of Korben

2011-11-04T20:50:00.001-05:00

Lately Korben has taken an interest in actually using my camera to take pictures instead of just look at the picture that are already on there. I got him a toy camera last Christmas that takes real pictures but it didn't have an LCD screen and you had to connect it to the computer to see the pictures you took so he didn't show a whole lot of interest in it. We may be getting him another kid camera this year with an screen to see the pictures you take. :) Here are a few shots that he's gotten with my camera...

7 Months and Halloween

2011-11-03T20:17:00.001-05:00

One of these days, I will catch up and post stuff on time. For now, here's another combined post since I'm late as usual (with Logan's monthly pic).

So my youngest son is now 7 months old! C.RA.ZY! He is just growing up way too fast for my liking! Although, I have to admit, I'm really enjoying watching his little personality blossom these days. The first thing I should point out about his personality is that he is a MOMMA'S boy through and through! He will tolerate other people for a while but then he wants his momma back! This is also the case during the day when I try to put him down in his exersaucer or in the play pen... he's good for a few minutes but that's it... then he's ready to get out and be held by mama again! I love the snuggle time but it does make for some difficult times getting anything done. If I'm being completely honest, it does get hard carrying a baby on your hip 24/7 but I try not to complain too much because I know these sweet baby cuddle days will not last forever and the day will come soon enough when mama is no longer his favorite person. Actually, I've already got some competition with big brother! If only Korben was big enough to hold Logan by himself without having to sit down and be supervised. :)

Some other things that I'm enjoying seeing with Logan these days are his sweet little talks. He is talking a heck of a lot more these days. He alternates pretty regularly between saying "mama," "dada," and "buba." And Korben cheers him on every time. Pretty cute stuff. Logan has also started sreaming more... not in the "I'm upset" sense, but just because he thinks it's fun. He is so cute to watch when he get's excited about something. He kicks his legs, waves his hands, and lets out this little shriek! So so funny!

For Halloween, I had this super cute idea for the boys. Here is what I had in mind for Korben....

And this was going to be Logan's costume....

I mean really, how cute would that have been? A pirate and a parrot! But Korben saw a catalog with costumes and when he saw a Green Lantern costume, he had his little heart set on it and there was no changing his mind! And it didn't stop there... he wanted baby brother to be Incredible Hulk, Mommy to be Batgirl and at first, he wanted Daddy to be Green Lantern with him. His words were, "We're going to be a superhero family!" And how can you say no to that? I just couldn't crush that sweet little 3 year old's dream of having a superhero family for Halloween! Eventually though, Korben changed his mind about Josh's costume and he ended up being Captain America. I have to admit, it was pretty fun. :) And I'm sure Logan will appreciate his big brother picking out his first Halloween costume!

On the actual night of trick-or-treating, we met up with a group of friends that we've gone around the neighborhood with for the last couple of years. It was a little chaotic as it always is with such a large number of kids involved but super fun as always and we can't wait to do it again next year!

The whole trick-or-treating gang

Our little superhero family :)

He absolutely loved being Green Lantern! His costume lit up and was completed with a light up sword and lantern bucket!

6 Months & A Couple of Firsts

2011-10-10T08:59:00.000-05:00

I'm a little late posting this, but here is Logan's 6 month picture along with a couple of others from his first time eating rice cereal and trying out a sippy cup for the first time. He had the rice cereal for the first time on September 11, just a couple of weeks before he turned 6 months. He didn't seem as excited about it as I thought he would be but he didn't hate it either and he ate the whole bowl. After a few weeks though, he grew tired of it so we dropped it and moved on to pureed fruits and veggies. He's been a little picky with those so far too but really likes carrots and peaches. :)

We finally moved Logan to his crib at night. He's done really well. I was anxious about it at first but he slept 9 hours his first night in his crib! He's had several nights of sleeping 7+ hours but nothing consistant yet. Hopefully that will change soon; although I'm not getting my hopes up yet. :) He still mostly sleeps on me for his naps though just because he gets longer naps in that way. I really don't mind the snuggle time either. :)

He's not crawling yet but he acts like he wants to so we'll see what happens. Since about 4 months old, he's been walking with support (either holding on to someone's hands or in the walk around toy he has) so I think it's possible he may walk before he ever crawls! When he's on his tummy, he likes to roll from one side to the other. I'll post a video at the end of the post that shows him doing it at the beginning. It's probably not as cute to everyone else but I think it's pretty funny and adorable; especially when he does it a lot. :)

Logan is up to 5 teeth now too. He has 3 on the bottom which were the first ones to come in and now his top front teeth have also come in. There are days here and there where the teething has bothered him, but for the most part, it really hasn't been too bad so I'm very thankful for that!

He really likes his sippy cup but he can't hold on to it by himself unless he's laying down so using it can be a double edged sword when it calms him down but you have to sit there and hold it for him!

Korben is still Logan's favorite person and they make each other laugh all the time. I love it. Whenever Logan starts to get upset about something, I can just call Korben over and the problem is solved! It seriously is cute how sweet the boys are with each other!

And here are his 6 month stats from his last doctor's appointment on 9-28-11:

Height: 27.5 inches (85th %)
Weight: 18 lb. 10 oz. (75th %)
Head Cir: 45cm

6 months old already!

First time eating rice cereal

And first time drinking from a sippy cup!

Major Sweetness

2011-10-07T23:53:00.001-05:00

I meant to post about this when it happened a couple of nights ago but just didn't get around to it.

Anyhow, last Wednesday night Josh wasn't feeling well so I ended up putting both kids to bed; which meant Korben was still up when I was putting Logan down. Korben was being really good and was actually being quiet so Logan could fall asleep. He was playing on his MobiGo game and Logan had just fallen asleep when something on the game happened that Korben found funny. He started giggling pretty loudly and I fully expected Logan to wake up... to my surprise though, his eyes were still shut and he didn't flinch at all BUT there was a huge grin on his face from ear to ear! It could have just been a coincidence but Korben laughed 2 or 3 more times at his game and Logan smiled (with his eyes still shut) every single time! It was seriously THE most adorable thing ever! You probably had to be there to appreciate it as much as I do, but that is one of those memories that will stick with me always.

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How Thunder Cat Videos Came to be Banned...

2011-09-28T04:25:00.001-05:00

For the longest time, it has been the norm to read Korben a book before bed. After the story, Josh or I (whoever is putting him down) might lay down with him for a couple of minutes but then we say goodnight, leave the room, and Korben goes to sleep shortly after.

This past week, my dear husband has decided to change that routine. Instead of reading him a book, he's been letting Korben watch Thunder Cat videos on his phone. Apparently Josh would start a video and then tell Korben that when the video is over, it's time to go sleep. Yeah. That might work if Josh didn't fall asleep first.

Korben likes sleeping with one of us in bed with him and I've been feeling guilty about the lack of individual attention he's been getting since Logan takes so much of my attention these days so I didn't make a big deal about Josh falling asleep in Korben's room every night this past week. The problem is (and I didn't realize this at the time), Josh is falling asleep while Korben is still watching videos.

A couple of nights ago, Josh told me he felt bad because he woke up at 1:00am and found Korben still watching videos. He took away the phone and Korben finally went to sleep. We both kinda laughed it off since it was just a one time thing.

I just learned that this was not a one time incident. Tonight Logan woke up at 3:30am. After I put him back down, I thought I'd go peek in on Korben -- and guess who was passed out and who was STILL WATCHING VIDEOS???!!!! As soon as I walked in, this little head peeked up at me from over the iPhone, and very casually said, "Oh, hey Mommy! I'm watching Thunder Cats! Can you get me some chocolate milk?" What in the whole wide world???? This was not in a sleepy voice that may have just woken up, this was in a very alert "I have not been to sleep at all" voice! WHAT THE CRAP???!!!! 3:30 IN THE FREAKING MORNING!!!!!

I got Korben his milk, took away the phone, kissed him on the forehead, and told him to go to sleep. And when Josh wakes up, I will be notifying him that he is now banned from putting Korben to bed - at the very least, all Thunder Cat and any other videos are banned at bedtime and books are back in.

For now, I will try to calm down and get some more sleep myself.

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Tooth!

2011-09-15T16:40:00.001-05:00

While I was playing with Logan on the pack-n-play, I noticed he has a tooth coming in! It's his front bottom left tooth (on our right when looking at it). His gums have been super swollen for a few days so I figured it was going to happen fairly soon but I didn't realize it would be THIS soon! He's not even 6 months old yet! I tried to get a picture but it's barely visible so it's impossible to see it on camera. But since this blog is also acting as a scrapbook, I had to document it! Hooray for teeth!

You'll have to take my word for it that there is a tooth inside that smiley mouth :)

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Houston and Great Wolf Lodge

2011-09-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

Alright, so my apologies for the picture overload again! We had a super busy but fun weekend last week and I tried my hardest to cut down on the pictures but failed to do a very good job at it!

We started the weekend off by going to Houston on Friday. My Uncle Rick (he's really my dad's cousin but we call him Uncle) turned 60 and retired from Union Pacific so my cousin, Carla, threw him a surprise retirement party on Saturday. We've haven't been down to visit that side of the family since Korben was Logan's age and I cannot tell you how good it was to see so much of my family!! We had an absolute blast and the look on Rick's face when he walked through the doors to his party and saw everyone was priceless! One of my favorite parts of the weekend was watching my young cousins, Morgan and Mikenna, with Korben and Logan. Korben lovingly referred to them as "my girls" and every time they left the room, he would ask, "Where did my girls go? I need my girls!" It was precious. Korben and the girls were pretty much inseparable the whole weekend, except, when Morgan and Mikenna were fighting over holding Logan! :) Josh and I got to have the girls hang out with us for a while on Saturday while Carla finished up some last minute arrangements for the party and we had so much fun with them! I adore those kids! And I realized when we got home and I started going through pics on my camera that I got so many with the girls and I did not get a single picture with the man of the hour, my Uncle Rick! Sorry Rick, maybe you should work on your cuteness so you can make the cut next time! ;)

Uncle Jamey and soon to be Aunt Tonya with Logan :)

Super Korben!

Trying on the new puddle jumper for the first time

Carla and Logan :)

Morgan and Mikenna with Logan :)

Nothing says family bonding like some shared quality time on the iPad! :)

Logan was passed out and Daddy was being goofy, as usual :)

Passed out at the party!

Hittin' up the dance floor!

Cake!

We ended the weekend by heading to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine on Sunday morning to spend some time with Josh's side of the family. We met up with Josh's parents and brothers and had a great time! Even Memaw showed up for a surprise visit with Aunt Cindy and Aunt Liz! And even with all of the pictures that I got, I still seemed to miss some shots and didn't get everyone in all the pictures. Oops... sorry people! The hotel was just as much fun as I remember from our trip there last summer! We stayed in the Kid Kamp room and Korben loved it! He had his own little room area with his own bed and TV. I seriously wish every hotel had an option like that for kids! Last summer, Korben was terrified of the slides. He wasn't super enthused about them this year but he did go down a few all by himself. My only complaint about GWL is that they don't allow lap rides on the slides and this year, they wouldn't even let adults go down the kids slides at all. Korben wouldn't have been as reluctant go down them if Josh and I could have gone with him. Oh well. We still had a blast! :)

Hugs for cousin, Caroline, before we hit up the water park

On our way to do some swimming!

He actually liked the toddler slides and went down those several times :)

Riding the giant banana!

Logan hanging out with Granny

matching puddle jumpers for the cousins! :)

Caroline was like a little fish in the water :)

Love this expression!

Korben got some new Crocs while we were there. He loved picking out the colors and accessories. He went with green shoes and an orange strap with monster eyes, a robot, and a "Worlds Best Brother" button. We got his last pair of Croc's at Great Wolf too so this may become a tradition for us! This was the best picture I got of the new shoes.

He LOVED laying down in "his" room watching cartoons :)

The very last thing we did (literally, on our way out the door), was build a wolf... even though it was really a raccoon!

Korben with his new "Wolfie" :)

5 Months and San Antonio

2011-08-27T23:55:00.003-05:00

Logan turned 5 months old this week! And he is a mess now that he is rolling over both directions... he's all over the place! He is also "talking" more and more these days which is really cute. He especially likes to talk when he gets tired and tries to keep himself awake. It's really funny. He's been grabbing his feet for a while but that has also gotten more frequent lately and he also tries to eat his feet now! It's so funny watching him try to grab and pull his little rolly legs up to his face! Korben is Logan's favorite person in the world and can make him laugh more than anyone else and I love that! Logan is already so into anything and everything Korben does and watches his every move... it is so cute! We still haven't started him on solid foods yet, mainly because he just doesn't need it since chunky monkey is 18 lbs! But we'll probably give it a go in a few weeks when he gets closer to 6 months. He did have some Nutella by accident a few days ago. I was getting some out for myself and squirmy wormy got a finger in the jar and then stuck it in his mouth! He seemed to like it. :) With 2 picky eaters in the house (Josh and Korben), I'm hoping that when Logan does start real food, he will be my good eater. Time will tell I guess.

Earlier this week, Josh had to go to San Antonio for a few days for work so we decided to tag along with him and make a little mini vacay out of it. We stayed at the Westin on the River Walk so when Josh was at work and I needed to get out of the hotel, I could just get out the stroller and head down to the river to get food and have stuff to do. Uncle Joey and Aunt Jeni were off work on Tuesday so we got to hang out with them. We decided to have a zoo day! It was pretty hot so we missed quite a few animals that opted to stay inside where it was cooler, but we still had a lot of fun! Korben didn't care that it was hot and Logan stayed in the shade of the stroller most of the trip, unless we were indoors somewhere taking a break to cool off... which we did quite frequently. Wednesday was our last day so after we checked out of the hotel, Josh and I loaded up the kids and headed to the Alamo. My camera was dead at this point so we didn't get many pictures, except a couple on Josh's phone. Again, it was really hot, but we made it through and had a really good time.

5 months old!
I got these stickers to put on Logan's clothes that have his age on them so we'd know when we went back and looked at the pictures... better try it on a plain shirt next time though!

Fun in the exersaucer!

Happy Boy :)

Passed out at the zoo thug style

Uncle Joey with his nephews

I'm a pretty butterfly! Haha!

Jeni is a pretty butterfly too! :)

Smiles for Uncle Joey :)

You know you love him! :)

Korben was attached to Aunt Jeni's hip pretty much the whole day! He hardly left her side! :)

(Gross) hippo kisses! Those guys were huge!

Strolling with my boys :)

I have no idea what animal that was or if it even made it in the picture.

The Okapi. It looks like it's part deer, part donkey, part giraffe, and part zebra. Very strange.. but cool.

There were these machines throughout the zoo that makes plastic animal molds. Korben loved it and made a lion and a gorilla.

Smiles for Aunt Jeni :)

The poor bald eagle had been shot and have to have part of his wing removed so he can't fly anymore.

Hanging out in the AIR CONDITIONED kids area!

There were plenty of toys for Logan too. :)

Korben loved loved loved catching fish in the little river in the kids building!

Chillin' on the giant frog pillow on the water bed.

Showing off his new hat

The hat was just a little big :)

Me and my boys :)

Swimming at the hotel

Ummm.....

At The Alamo

Out for the count

He Rolls Both Ways!

2011-08-24T12:26:00.001-05:00

So, Logan rolled over from his tummy to back for the first time several weeks ago and has been really close to going from back to tummy for quite some time. He could get his tummy and legs over but always got stuck on his arm (you can see what I'm talking about in the first part of the video). Well today, he finally made it all the way over! He was laying on the bed while I was getting everything ready to check out of the hotel we've been staying at in San Antonio, and he just decided to roll over! We're so proud of you, sweet Logan! :)

YouTube Video

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Caught on Camera

2011-08-14T12:43:00.002-05:00

I love having a video baby monitor that also takes pictures. Ours has 2 cameras so one stays in Korbens room and the other follows Logan wherever he is sleeping, which is sometimes in his crib and sometimes in our room. Here are some of the snapshots stored in the monitor... FYI: The black and white ones are like that just because the room was dark at the time and the camera was in night vision mode.

Pool Time with the Cuz

2011-08-11T15:44:00.002-05:00

We were going to head to Lewisville yesterday and go to a splash park there with cousin, Caroline, but because Logan doesn't always do so well in the car, Uncle Jake was kind enough to bring Caroline here so we could avoid any car drama with our youngest son. We also wanted to stay close to home for water activities since Logan is still so young so that we could bring him home in case he didn't enjoy the water like the older kids and got too hot. The only downfall was that we missed Aunt Robin since she had to work. We missed you Robin and we'll be sure to make a trip to Lewisville soon. :)

Once Jake and Caroline got here, we headed to our neighborhood pool and we all had a lot of fun; it's always fun when we can get all 3 cousins together! Logan even had fun getting a few splashes in while he sat in the water, although he spent most of his time in the water being mesmerized by it and just staring. I meant to get a picture with all 3 of them together but of course I forgot! They should call it "baby brain" instead of "preggo brain" because it does not come back after you've had the baby!

Is he not the cutest thing ever?

My big boy lounging in the pool

Hamming it up for the camera!

swim buddies

Sweet hugs

Yup, that's the father of my children right there

*Gasp* Mommy made it IN a picture!

Kisses from big cousin :)

My 2 adorable boys

Story Time Video

2011-08-05T19:47:00.001-05:00

Logan got the pleasure of listening to his big brother read a story to him. This is the kind of stuff that makes me so grateful that my full time job is staying at home with these 2 little guys.

YouTube Video

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Science at Home

2011-08-05T19:19:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, my friend, Kara, sent an email with a project idea for kids and it looked like something Korben would get a kick out of so we tried it today. We made homemade lava lamps and just as I suspected, Korben had a lot of fun with it! The bubbles don't last but a few seconds so you have to keep adding to it to keep it going but that was Korben's favorite part anyway. Nobody actually learned anything about science from this little experiment but it was fun none the less. :)

Fill a clear container a little over half way with vegetable oil then fill the rest up with water...

Add ten drops of food coloring...

Break an alka seltzer in half and add to the bottle. Watch the "lava" go! You can add more alka selzter pieces as the bubbles die down but if you put too much in at once, it gets cloudy.

We also made a blue one

You can put the lids on to make a more complete look although I think it's kind of a pointless step.

The Cuteness That is Korben and Logan

2011-08-02T23:56:00.002-05:00

Several months ago, when I was still preggo with Logan, I bought a Groupon for a large 16x20 canvas for like $40. Those things are normally over $100 so I snatched one up and knew right away that I wanted to use a pic of the boys for it! So a couple of weeks ago, I remembered I had it and needed to use it soon so my neighbor and good friend, Laura, took a few pics of the boys for me. It was a super hot day but the boys both did great and Laura got some GREAT shots!! I could not be more pleased with how they turned out! If you're in the Dallas area and need some pics done, I highly recommend her! http://www.laurajunephotography.com/
Thanks again so much, Laura!

These are just a few of the shots she got....

Circus Fun

2011-07-28T01:54:00.004-05:00

Tonight was family circus night. It was super ~~chaotic~~ fun. Here's how the night unfolded...

We tried to get there early for the pre-show. We didn't. It sucked anyway. Five minutes into the actual circus, the 4 month old starts to get cranky. It hasn't turned into a major meltdown so I try the pacifier to appease him. It semi works. Finally, I decide to take him into the bathroom to feed him. I don't know if you've ever breast fed a baby sitting on the toilet, but I certainly do not recommend it. Baby seems happy after the feeding so we go back to the show. Baby immediately starts to cry again. So I take tired baby out of the auditorium to try to get him to fall asleep. About 10-15 minutes later, we have success and the baby is sound asleep. So now I'm finally able to enjoy the show with the hubby and 3 year old. That lasts about 2 minutes. Aunt Flow all of a sudden decides to make an appearance. That's right, I have just started my period. Lovely. Well the baby is soundly sleeping and there is noooo way I'm risking that to go to the bathroom! If you're a mom, I'm sure you can sympathize even if you wouldn't have made the same decision. 'Tis the sacrificial life of mommy hood... nothing is worth the risk of messing with a peaceful sleeping baby, especially in a crowded public place! You can cope with just about any kind of discomfort if it means the baby doesn't wake up. :)

So the show goes on and it's intermission. Josh leaves to refill drinks and I'm left with both kids. Korben tells me he needs to go potty. I tell him to hold on for just a little bit until Daddy gets back and can take him. I call Josh on his cell to notify him of the situation. Korben starts BEGGING me to take him to the potty saying, "Mommy, can you PLEASE help me?" The poor kid is seriously dying to go to the bathroom. He doesn't make it. I hear the pee hit the floor... the same floor that my purse and diaper bag are sitting on. Great. About 3 seconds later, Josh gets back. Of course. I'm not sure what can be accomplished at this point because Korben does not have a spare change of clothes but Josh takes him to the bathroom anyway. They come back with Korben still wet in pee clothes but he doesn't really seem to mind too much because the elephants have just come out and he is super stoked and apparently distracted from the grossness he is wearing. So he sits down and we finish the show. Why not? Korben has a GREAT time.

After the show, we head to the car (which is not a fun walk considering my current condition). Josh changes Logan's diaper in the back of the car, all the while I'm thinking, "Can you PLEASE hurry up so we can go?!" I haven't told him about my visitor and I'm not really sure why. Maybe it's because I didn't think it would make a difference, maybe because I was being a martyr... I really don't know. Regardless, I can't really be mad at him for not going any faster when he didn't know about my crisis.

So we finally get on the road. Korben is content watching a movie and Logan has fallen asleep. I finally get a chance to drink some of the coke that Josh bought for me at the show. I open the bottle and of course Logan wakes up. The kid wakes up to the sound of a feather hitting the ground. Korben also hears it and is now begging for some coke. So much for the peaceful trip home. I let Korben have a sip and while he kept asking for more for quite a while, he finally gave it up and went back to his movie. I give Logan his pacifier and he falls back asleep.

We finally make it back home and I am whooped. Josh takes Korben to bed and I take Logan (after I've made a much needed trip to el baño). And then do I go to bed like I should? Nope. I come straight to the computer to write about our evening on the blog. :) And I have to tell you, even with all of the craziness that happened, I can't be upset about any of it. While Logan started out a little upset, he did finally get a nap and after he woke up, he was in a good mood for the rest of the night. And Korben didn't care about a single thing that happened tonight other than getting to see the circus and he had a lot of fun... THAT is worth everything that happened. The whole purpose of going was to take Korben out for a night of fun and as far as he was concerned, mission accomplished. :)

And if you are thinking that I have no shame, you're absolutely right. And if you're surprised about that, you obviously haven't read this post. I think I lost all modesty towards that type of stuff 3 years ago when I gave birth to my first child. It is the life that is called parenthood. :)

Here are a few pics from tonight (minus the mishaps).... :)

Logan Rolls Over!

2011-07-25T23:38:00.010-05:00

Let it be known that today, on this 25th day of July, 2011, Logan Lee Chaney rolled over from his tummy to his back for the very first time! Now let's work on going from back to tummy, bub. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you! :)

4 Months and Other Cuteness

2011-07-24T17:56:00.001-05:00

I know, I know. I'm getting terrible with the blog updating. It's just hard to find enough free time to get much done these days! My apologies. :) I really want to make a scrapbook of the posts from Logan's 1st year like we did with Korben when he had the babyhomepages site so I'm going to try to do better... no promises though! ;)

Logan has his 4 month check up on Wednesday so I'll update this post with all of his stats then. Until then, here are a few recent pics of the youngest man of the house (and his big brother too). :)

**Update on 4 month stats:

Weight: 16 lbs. 10 oz. --- 75th %
Height: 26 inches ----- 90th %
Head: 43 cm -------- 75th %

4 months old!

As usual, Korben had to pull out his dog and get in on the picture taking :)

Logan isn't upset; I actually caught this pic mid sneeze and thought it was funny!

Brotherly bonding in Logan's crib

They took their first bath together on 7-23. They both loved it!

Happy boy :)

Bumbo time

The boys had matching shirts for 4th of July :)

3 Months!

2011-06-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

Somebody turned 3 months old this week! Why does time seem to be flying by faster with baby #2?!

Every time I take a picture of Logan with his growth object, Korben wants to get out his own growth object and join in the picture taking! :)

First Swim

2011-06-13T13:35:00.068-05:00

Josh and I recently took Logan to the pool for the first time and I wasn't expecting him to really like it since he was only 2 months old, but I wasn't expecting him to HATE it as much as he did either! It took a whole 2 seconds for him to start screaming his head off when his poor little feet hit the cold water! Thankfully, he calmed down fairly quickly after we got him out of the water and just lounged and eventually fell asleep while big brother got his water time in. Hopefully he will become more tolerant as he gets older. We'll keep trying! :)

NOT a fan of the water!

"Please get me outta here!"

He much preferred the pool from this view :)

Loungin' with big brother

2 Months

2011-05-25T16:42:00.010-05:00

I can hardly believe that it has already been 2 months since Logan joined our family! Where does the time go? And can we please pause time for just a little while so I can soak in my little baby while he is still a little baby?? I seriously cannot believe how much our sweet little boy has changed in just a few short weeks. He is growing up way too fast.

Logan had his 2 month check up today and even though he weighed a pound less than Korben did at birth, he weighs close to a pound more than Korben did at 2 months! He is 23.5 inches long and weighs 13.4 pounds... 75th% for both height and weight! Korben was 12.6 pounds at 2 months and he was also in the 75th% for height so I'm a little surprised that Logan isn't in a higher percentile than he is! Did I mention that he is a little chunky monkey? :)

Here are the pictures with Logan's growth object so far....

1 week

1 month

2 months

A Few of My Favorite Things

2011-05-18T17:24:00.007-05:00

Bobble head babies with unsteady heads,

Sweet smiles and coos and fat chunky legs,

Sound sleeping babies snug in their beds,

These are a few of my favorite things

I think my tiny little newbie newborn is gone. The newborn clothes are too small and Logan is officially in 0-3 month clothes. And in the last couple of weeks, he has started to really smile and coo; I of course have been eating it up! It is the cutest and sweetest thing when Logan locks eyes with people and he immediately smiles from ear to ear. And his little voice is the absolute cutest thing in the world! I adore our "conversations!" Our little man is also our chunky monkey. While Korben has always been big for his age, he never had a lot of chunk or rolls; Logan is a different story. He eats every 3 hours on the dot and it is starting to show! He is already getting some cute little rolls on his arms and thighs! I could seriously eat them up! Ok, let's be honest, I could eat up everything about that sweet little boy! :)

(If you watch the video at the end, don't forget to pause the blog music at the bottom of the page)

Can you see the rolls developing on those cute little thighs? :)

Easter Part 3

2011-04-26T18:59:00.000-05:00

The night before Easter, Korben colored eggs and of course I didn't get any pictures. He was really into it this year so it was a lot of fun. The next morning, the boys got to see what the Easter bunny had brought them and then Uncle Joey and Aunt Jeni who were in from San Antonio came over to visit. It was their first time to see Logan since he's been born. Then we all headed over to meet Uncle Jake, Aunt Robin, and cousin Caroline at Granny and Pops house for an Easter egg hunt. It was a super busy day but lots of fun!

Ready to go hunt some eggs!

What a handsome egg hunter :)
Uncle Jake thought he'd be funny and hide an egg in the rocks in the middle of the pond!

Caroline getting an egg :)

Logan was uninterested and preferred to sleep

There were so many eggs, Korben filled up 2 baskets!

Checking out the loot I attempted to get a picture with both boys and this was the best I could get

I hope everyone had a super fantastic Easter!

Easter Part 2

2011-04-26T17:56:00.000-05:00

Egg hunt #2 this year was held at Landon and Reid's house. There were 11 kids including Logan (who didn't make it in any pictures because he was covered up on my shoulders so he wouldn't be in the sun) and they all had a great time! Thanks for opening up your back yard, Haley!

Claire, Korben, and Max enjoyed a snack before the Texas winds got hold of their plates!

Hunting for eggs!
Miss Kara was nice enough to help Korben find and reach an egg hidden in the tree. :)
Korben and Landon refusing to cooperate during the picture taking!
All of the kids (sans Logan) actually sat down together long enough to snap a picture!
Korben and Mia checking out some of their loot
Luka, Max, Katelynn, and Korben playing on the sand table
Bounce house time! Max is the cutie with little plumber's butt going on! :)
I guess Korben and Max thought the bounce house was a good place to lay down for a nap! They were so cute playing and copying each other in the bounce house! Until Korben started beating up Max anyway! Korben will be playing Tball with Max this summer so I'm glad they get along so well! :)

Easter Part 1

2011-04-26T17:52:00.004-05:00

Korben's first Easter egg hunt this year was at Aunt D's church the week before Easter. I didn't want Logan out so I stayed home with him while Granny picked up Korben and took him and they met Aunt Robin and Cousin Caroline. I was really bummed about missing it but I sent my camera with Granny and she got some pics for me! Thanks Granny! :)

He loves bounce houses!

Korben and Caroline with the Easter Bunny :)
Time to get some eggs!

Korben, Granny, Robin, and Caroline
He thinks he's so cool :)
Cousins comparing their loot :)

Who's Who?

2011-04-20T14:40:00.000-05:00

When Logan was first born, I thought he looked exactly like Korben did when he was born. While Logan still has some similar traits as Korben at this age, with each passing day he looks less and less like his brother. I still thought it'd be fun to do some comparison pics, though! Can you guess which pictures are of Korben and which ones are of Logan? I'll post a comment with the answers in a few days. :)

4
5

2 Week Check Up

2011-04-06T20:19:00.002-05:00

This is probably boring information for most of you, but I need to document these things for Logan's scrapbook when I get around to making it. Plus, I figure there is family out there that would appreciate these little facts! :)

Logan had his 2 week appointment today and these were his measurements:

Weight: 8lbs. 11oz (50th%)
Length: 21 inches (75th%)
Head: 37 cm (75.90th%)

He's grown 1/2 inch and gained 7 ounces since he was born so he's definitely a growing boy! And for your viewing pleasure, a cute picture of a cute sleepy baby..... :)

3-24-11

2011-03-31T01:04:00.004-05:00

On March 24, 2011 at 8:09am, Logan Lee Chaney entered this world. He weighed 8lbs. 4oz. and was 20.5 inches long. We could not be more thrilled to have this sweet little bundle of joy in our lives! I went in for induction on Wednesday night and expected labor and delivery to be pretty similar to Korben's, but just like during pregnancy, Logan switched things up all together during labor even though the induction process was the same. With Korben, I didn't actually go into active labor until the next morning and with Logan I went into labor right away. I had a doctors appointment that morning and there was no progress but when I checked into the hospital I was actually at a 1 and having contractions (that I couldn't feel and were detected on the monitor). I was supposed to get 2 doses of Cytotec during the night and start on Pitosin the next morning but that first dose was all Logan needed to get going! Almost immediately, I started feeling the contractions even though dilation still seemed slow. I ended up not needing the second dose of Cytotec or the Pitosin. At 6:00am, I was at a 3 and got the epidural. I was still expecting a full day of labor ahead of me at that point but was able to finally fall asleep and get some rest. Around 8:00am, the nurse came in and woke me up to check me, and to my surprise, she told me that I was ready to start pushing! It was just a few short minutes afterwards that we were holding our sweet baby boy in our arms! Korben was a little unsure about his baby brother while we were at the hospital but as soon we got home, he was instantly attached and has been such a good big brother to Logan! Josh, Korben, and I are all just so so thrilled to finally have our Logan here!

Daddy cutting the cord

Mommy holding baby for the first time

Daddy holding baby for the first time

All clean after his first bath

Big brother got to watch :)

Pure sweetness!

Sugars from big brother :)

How can you not love this? :)

Korben was so sweet showing Logan his room and all of his stuff when we got home from the hospital!

Kristen came over to take some newborn pics; unfortunately, Logan was not having it so we only got a couple of shots. But the few shots that she did get are super cute!

Don't you just want to eat him up?? :)

Our family of four!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

2011-03-20T10:38:00.001-05:00

We are loving the nice weather and taking advantage of it as much as possible!

Build-a-Bear Party

2011-03-05T21:52:00.000-06:00

Well, it only took me 3 weeks, but here are a few pictures from Korben's birthday party... finally! While it was a fun day, it was also a super chaotic day for this preggo mama, so I didn't get very many pictures.

This year, we did a joint party with sweet friend, Katelynn, whose birthday is just a couple of weeks before Korben's (Feb 7). Katelynn's mom, Kara, is a crafty one and she made matching camo bear shirts with the number 3 for Korben and Katelynn and she even made clothes for all the kids new stuffed animals as part of their party favors....super cute!

We had a morning party at 10:00am at the Build-a-Bear workshop at Northpark Mall and after everyone made their stuffed animals, we all headed to the food court to eat lunch and have cupcakes. The original plan was to also open presents at the food court but nap time came for many of the guests (and our birthday boy) so we decided it would be better to just take the presents home. It worked out great because we were able to get home and take a nap, and then when Korben woke up, he got to continue to celebrate by opening his presents... which I of course got zero pictures of!

While the day was really chaotic, it really was a lot of fun and I think the kids all had a pretty good time so we'll call it a success! :)

The birthday kids, Korben and Katelynn, in their matching shirts :)

Some of the party guests. I think they were holding hands here because they had all just put their hearts in their stuffed animals and made a wish... but I honestly can't remember for sure!

The birthday kids giving their new friends a bath

Showing off his new friend :) He chose to make this dog and name him "Spot." Although, he was only called Spot for that day... ever since, Korben has just called him Doggie. :)

He loves his new friend! To this day, Korben often likes to sleep with his new dog. :)

Blowing out the candles on the cupcakes

And one last shot of the birthday kids! Chocolate and all!

Korben's 3rd Birthday

2011-03-04T16:32:00.001-06:00

On February 19, 2011 at 6:27pm, Korben turned 3 years old! Since we had already had his birthday party the previous week, I tried to make his actual birthday as special as possible. The day before, I went to Kroger and let him pick out either a birthday cake or some cupcakes for us to enjoy the next day. He insisted on getting the Sponge Bob cupcakes! He's only seen the show on TV a couple of times but he still likes the character. I myself am not a huge Sponge Bob fan but it was Korben's birthday cake and since that's what he wanted, that's we got! That night (the night before his birthday), I made a few birthday signs and colored a couple of his giant Toy Story pages so it looked like the characters were wishing him a happy birthday. Then I set out the cupcakes on the table with a few balloons. When Korben woke up the next morning and came down stairs, he was really excited to see everything. Josh and I sang Happy Birthday to him and we all had cupcakes for breakfast before Josh had to go to work.

After Josh left, we watched a couple of Korben's favorite shows (Umizoomi and Diego) and then headed to Chick-fil-A for lunch. After Korben got enough play time in, we headed home to take a nap. As soon as nap time was over, we headed to Toys R Us to spend some birthday money that Korben had gotten. He ended up getting an Imaginext Batman cave, a Thomas scooter, and a Mickey's playground set thing. He couldn't wait to get home to play with his new toys! When Josh got home later that night, we headed to CiCi's Pizza for some dinner and games. We came home, played some more and finally went to bed at 10:30 (an hour and a half past K's regular bed time)!! It was a really good day and Korben loved having an entire day devoted to him!

Time to sing "Happy Birthday!"

Who needs hands to eat cupcakes??

Showing off his blue icing tongue!

The Batman cave

He LOVES his Thomas scooter! Every time we go to the park now, he insists on riding his scooter on the way!

The day after Korbens birthday, Pops took everyone out to dinner at Kyoto. Korben only wanted to eat rice, but loved watching the chef cook! Thanks for a great dinner, Pops!

So interested. When the chef flicked a piece of broccoli into Josh's mouth, Korben laughed so hard! He really liked all of the chef's "tricks!"

He even got to use some chopsticks and actually preferred them over the fork!

And he did a pretty good job at using them, too!

I still have a few pictures from the birthday party to post, so hopefully I'll get to that soon!

The Stomp Rocket

2011-02-20T14:56:00.011-06:00

One of Korben's birthday presents this year was a stomp rocket. While he was perfectly content to play with it in the house and watch the rockets hit the ceiling, he was super excited to see how high they could really go out in the open when we finally made a trip to the neighborhood park to play with it outdoors! And of course, Daddy always has to get creative and show Korben other ways to do things and he showed Korben several different ways to "stomp" on the rocket pad! There was hand stomping, bottom stomping, and even head stomping! Korben loved it all!
Stomp rocket: success.

More birthday pictures from Korben's party and his actual birthday are coming soon.

Not actually sure why he was making this face but I thought it was funny and had to post it!

Mommy gets a turn to help stomp :)

Daddy took a turn to stomp, too

And this would be the "head" stomping I was referring to!

The "wrestle" stomp??

And some good ole' regular stomping!

It's going way up high!

Greatness!

Then and Now

2011-02-19T15:09:00.001-06:00

My sweet, sweet Korben,

Today you are 3 years old! How in the world did that happen so fast?! As I was holding you in the hospital after you were born, I remember thinking that I could not wait to watch you grow up and see what type of person you would grow into, and while I was curious to see your personality unfold, I also remember having such a hard time picturing you being any older than you were at that moment... as my little newborn baby! And now here we are 3 years later and what a little man you have grown to be!

Then (February 2008), you were 9lb. 4oz. and 21 in. long. Now, you are 35 lbs and 39 inches tall.

Then, you were super alert and hardly ever slept... the only newborn I have ever seen that didn't sleep all day! Now, you still don't like to sleep but you don't put up TOO much of a fight when it's time to take a nap and so I'm thankful for that! Of course, bed time can be a different story!

Then, you were very snuggly but also very independent. While you loved to be held, you also started holding your head up and standing up early and loved to check out the world around you. Now, not much has changed.... you are still trying to find your independence and love to do many things by yourself without any help from Mommy or Daddy, but you also still love your snuggle time, especially in the mornings and at nap and bed time!

Then, you were content to snuggle on the couch and watch Mommy's show with me. Now, you have your own favorite shows that you enjoy watching. Your favorites are Mickey Mouse, Dora and Diego, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Umizoomi, Bubble Guppies, and Tom and Jerry. You especially like Tom and Jerry because of all the beatings Tom takes from Jerry! You crack up with laughter everytime that silly cat falls, gets stuck, or get's in any kind of trouble! It's the same laugh that comes out when you watch another favorite show of yours, America's Funniest Home Videos!

Then, you loved talking. Of course it was all baby jibberish but I always knew that you would be a talker! I loved our daily "conversations!" Now, still not much has changed! You talk quite a bit and you like to be aknowledged when you're talking to someone. You also have quite an imagination and I love that! At any given moment, you will tell us that the big bad wolf has shown up and is about to blow something away or a dinosaur has shown up and we have to run away!

Then, you loved to eat. When you first started on solid foods, you would eat anything! I never thought you would be a picky eater. Now, it's a much different story! There aren't very many foods you like or will try. And it can be tough to get you to eat all of the foods you do like because you are too busy to eat... you would much rather be playing than taking time to sit down and eat! The foods you really like right now are grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chicken nuggets, rice, and just about any fruit as long as it's not a melon... strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and bananas are your faves. :)

Then, you loved wrestling. Daddy started rough housing with you when you about 5 months old and whenever he swung you around and threw you on the couch, you laughed so hard and when you first started talking and could say actual words, you would say, "Again, again!" Now, you still love to wrestle and rough house! When Daddy starts a play fight with you, your day has been made!

I'm a little biased, but you are also super smart and know quite a bit for your age. You know your colors and shapes, can count to 10 (sometimes further), and can recognize your letters and numbers when they're written down. When were out and about, you often point to letters, numbers, colors or shapes and let us know that you see it and know what it is! You love getting applause and beam with pride when anyone tells you good job!

You also love puzzles these days and are very good at them! You have 4, 12, 24, 35, and 48 piece puzzles and you can do them all with ease!

Daddy and I are so proud of you and can't wait to see what the next 3 years bring! Happy Birthday, Korben! Love you to the moon and back a thousand times!

Then

Now

Logan's Nursery

2011-02-14T08:28:00.005-06:00

I'm still looking for a a couple of cool giraffe art pieces to add but here are a few pics of the nursery. I have a tendancy to sit in here almost every day and try to imagine what life is going to be like in a few weeks when there is another little boy in the house! Thanks, Josh, for doing such a great job and working so hard to get our baby's room ready!

33 Week Maternity Pics

2011-02-01T09:18:00.013-06:00

Just a few shots that my best friend, Kristen, took for me. Thanks soooo much, Kristen! You are amazing! :) Can't believe we're just a few short weeks away from meeting our sweet baby!

A Korben First

2011-01-15T21:18:00.003-06:00

Josh's work had a company dinner tonight for the account reps for having such a good month last month. It was a no kids event so Josh and I got to enjoy a kid free night, which was nice. Aunt D was kind enough to come over and babysit on super short notice and Korben took to her very quickly! Korben has done well with babysitters that he knows but I still have had to sneak out of the house so he doesn't get upset and while he get's over it pretty quickly, he does still sometimes get upset when I leave. Tonight however, was completely different. Aunt D is no stranger by any means but Korben doesn't see her as much as he sees other family so I wasn't sure how he'd do when I left... turns out that I had no need to worry at all! For the first time ever, Korben not only didn't get upset, but on the contrary, seemed quite pleased to see me go. He even waved at me and told me "Bye, Mom!" He has NEVER just waved me off like that and TOLD ME BYE! It was nice to be able to leave without any drama but I have to admit that a part of me was just a tiny bit sad that I wasn't going to missed.

When we got home, I felt better when Korben got really excited to see me and ran over to give me a super big hug, but that excitement left him about 5 seconds after Aunt D left. No tears when Mommy left, but there sure were a few when Aunt D left! I guess that just shows how much Korben loves her and how good she is with him! :)

Thank you so so much for taking such great care of my little boy, Aunt D! Korben can't wait to spend some more time with you!

The Big Bad Wolf

2011-01-08T13:51:00.005-06:00

So, first let me start off by saying that this will be a picture less post. I know I'm behind on posting Christmas pics but Korben spilled juice on my laptop a few weeks ago and I refuse to attempt to upload photos on this ridiculously slow desktop! So until I get my laptop back from Sony, no pics. :(

Anyhow, I thought that Korbens new obsession with the Big Bad Wolf was worth blogging about... I'm not sure where this interest came from but it's quite funny! For the past several weeks, when Korben wakes up in the morning, he comes straight to our room and says, "The Big Bad Wolf is going to blow the blanket down; we gotta get outta here!" This happens every morning without fail so we quickly get out of bed and head downstairs to escape the Big Bad Wolf!

Well, I guess the Big Bad Wolf has been hanging around enough that Korben is now (sometimes) friends with him and he tries to call the Big Bad Wolf. Yesterday, Korben was playing with his little radio telling me that he had to "push the button to call the Big Bad Wolf." And then as soon as that Big Bad Wolf comes, of course we "gotta get outta here" because he's going to blow something down. So far the blankets, the TV, the toys, and even the house have all been in danger of being blown down by the Big Bad Wolf! Today, the Big Bad Wolf was in a Kleenex box. Korben said, "Mommy, don't touch it, the Big Bad Wolf will come out and blow you away!"

I LOVE how vivid that little boy's imagination can be! It makes me smile and laugh for what seems like hours on end! And I can't wait to see where the big bad wolf will be hiding tomorrow!

She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy

2010-12-13T08:49:00.005-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, we were at Granny and Pops' house and Korben got to ride on Pops' tractor. He loved it!

Yesterday we were back at their house for an early Christmas and this is what they had gotten him.... he was one very happy little boy! :)

Tragedy of the Preggo Brain

2010-11-23T18:27:00.004-06:00

I have an AWFUL memory. At least when it comes to short term memory. Seriously. I cannot tell you how many things I've lost, phone calls I've never returned, or play dates I've missed... all because I simply had a lapse in memory and forgot! And being pregnant certainly doesn't help things!

So, all week I've been looking forward to making some banana bread with Korben and today we finally did just that. I brought Korbens step stool into the kitchen so he could reach the counter, and together we mixed up some homemade banana bread, and I put it in the oven. It was supposed to take an hour to cook. It was a little after 4:00 and the bread had been in the oven for just 15 minutes and I realized I hadn't eaten since breakfast and was starving. I was planning on making pasta for dinner tonight but Josh wouldn't get home for another 2.5 hours and I really didn't feel like "making" anything else before I made dinner so I thought I'd load up Korben and go and grab something small real quick.

We made it back home about 20 minutes later but I decided that since it was a nice day today, I'd take Korben to the park for a little while. So instead of unloading Korben and going inside, I drove back out of the driveway and headed to the park.... totally forgetting that I still had banana bread in the oven! We played and had a great time at the park, completely oblivious to the burning bread in the oven back home. I didn't remember it until I was loading Korben back in the car to come home and when we finally did make it home, I think the bread had spent somewhere between 1.5-2 hours in the oven.... oops!

So needless to say, there will be no yummy banana bread eaten in the Chaney house tonight. Such a tragedy!

Family Time

2010-11-13T16:05:00.002-06:00

I love Sundays and Wednesdays when Josh is off of work and we get to spend time together as a family! We spent some time at the park on Sunday this week. This first pic is Josh trying to take Korben across the monkey bars... he thought he would carry Korben in between his legs....

.....not such a great idea after all!!

Korben always loves the swings!

Big boy in a little swing! Even though there are "big boy" swings at the park, Josh opted to try out the kid swing and let Korben push him! :)

I guess Korben thought Daddy was a little too heavy to push and decided to push something a little bit lighter in the swing! If you look closely, you can see a couple of his pez toys in the swing!

Wednesday ended up being bowling night at Shenanigans! Everyone got their bowling shoes on and was ready to go!

Bowling with Mommy

Korben said, "Yay, ball!" after every ball he threw and even threw in a little happy dance every now and then! :)

High fives for Mommy!

Bowling with Daddy. Korben was very insistent that he carry his own ball to the ramp! Mommy and Daddy helped but never carried the ball for him! The child thinks he is so big! :)

Anxiously waiting to see how many pins get knocked down!

"Yay, ball!"

I totally killed the first game! I lost the second game and barely even beat my 2 year old but I refuse to post the scores because I totally got cheated! I bowled a strike in the 10th frame but our time ran out seconds before the ball hit the pins so it never showed up on the score board! The guy at the front desk did give us 10 more minutes so I could re-do the frame but I didn't get the strike the second time around...boo!

After we finished bowling, we ate at the restaurant inside the bowling ally and then played some games in the arcade. Korben loved putting all of his tickets in the ticket counter machine!

Korbens 2 favorite prizes of the night were his duck whistle and Mickey Mouse that Daddy won with the claw machine! :)

Got Pez?

2010-11-09T08:05:00.001-06:00

At the young age of just 2.5 years old, Korben has already started a collection of things he loves... Pez toys! Every single time we go into a store and he see's one, he just has to have it! I'm not sure what it is about these little things that he loves but he truly does enjoy them! And we've never put any of the Pez candy in them so he doesn't even know that it's really a candy holder....ssshhhh! ;) Maybe for Christmas, Santa will bring Korben a carrying case to haul around all of his Pez toys... You should see him try to carry all of these things himself!

So proud of all of his "trophies"

Korben is....

2010-11-04T12:30:00.003-05:00

.....going to have a little BROTHER!!!!! We are so excited to announce that we are having another little boy in a few short months!! I really truly would have been super excited with either gender, but I'm glad Korben (and the new baby) will have a brother to do "boy" stuff with! I only have a brother and I love him dearly and we are super close, but I always thought it would have been cool to have a sister growing up and I'm glad that Korben will have that! I can't wait to find out if he will look a lot like big brother or look completely different! I have a feeling their personalities are going to be completely different though since he's already been so different from Korben in utero! This one has given me more morning sickness and nausea than Korben ever did (of course I didn't have any with Korben!) and he doesn't move around nearly as much as big brother did either. Korben was quite the soccer player in my belly and kicked ALL THE TIME! I have to really pay attention with the new baby because I might miss one his seldom kicks! I just can't wait to meet our newest addition and watch his little personality unfold!

And for your viewing enjoyment, here's a sono pic we got today of our little bundle of joy!

Fun with Pumpkins

2010-11-01T10:40:00.005-05:00

Last week, we decided to carve pumpkins for the first time in a very long time! Each of us had one pumpkin that we designed and carved. Korben wasn't that interested in the actual carving part since he wasn't allowed to help with that part, but he did enjoy helping Mommy and Daddy clean out the pumpkins!

An owl face for Mommy and a "C" for baby Chaney to be!

A bat for Korben!

A few friends got together for a PB&J party last weekend and it was really fun to carve pumpkins together and see what everyone else came up with! Unfortuneately, the pumpkin we bought for this event busted so we saved Josh's pumpkin for the party!

We ended up with a "Trick or Treat" design on Josh's pumpkin!

Since Korben didn't get to help much with carving pumpkins, he got to paint one! And he loved it!

We had 3 pumpkins for painting... I helped Korben with the big white one, but the other 2 are the end result of Korbens artwork that he did all on his own! :)

Here's a video of Korben painting his pumpkin :)
Don't forget to pause the music at the bottom of the page!

Hope everyone had a very happy Halloween!

A Little OCD?

2010-10-23T18:26:00.005-05:00

My son thinks that all socks must be in shoes and that all shoes must be lined up together when they're not on anyone's feet! Now if I can just get him to straighten up the rest of the house... :)

Bath Company

2010-10-18T21:40:00.003-05:00

We spent the day in Lewisville yesterday at Josh's brother's apartment and when it came time for little Caroline to take her bath, Korben decided he wanted to join! So the 2 cousins took their first bath together. :) Korben tried to play with Caroline and dump water on her head a couple of times but for the most part, he did pretty good with a 6 month old in the tub with him! Jake ended up causing more trouble than anyone when he tried to snap a picture while eating his pizza at the same time.... he dropped both pieces of pizza in the tub and we had to drain it and start over again! So this picture was actually take 2 of bath time. :) Thanks sweet Caroline for letting cousin Korben invade your tub for a night! :)

Korben also had some company in the bath with him last week when we watched sweet Hannah for a few hours. As you all probably know, Korben is potty training right now and I guess when another kid gets involved, it becomes much more fun! After Korben went in his potty, they decided it would be fun to splash in it! I wasn't about to attempt to wipe them down, so in the tub they went! Both of them loved taking a bath together! Hannah is Korbens age and seems to enjoy rough housing just as much as Korben so he was thrilled to have a friend he could splash with in the water! :)

Food for Thought

2010-10-11T11:50:00.009-05:00

I've been thinking about food quite a bit lately. And even though pregnancy does have a part in that, it's not the main reason food has been on my mind so much lately. My little brother is the main cause. Most of you know about the disease that he's been diagnosed with and with that disease comes a pretty strict diet. There's a long list of things he can no longer have and won't ever get to have again. I won't bore you with all of the details of his new diet, but I will tell you that it has made me look at food differently. Every time I eat something that Jamey can't have, I feel a little guilty. I wish that he could enjoy the same things that everyone else does and not have to read the labels on every single thing he buys at the store. I've always tried to make it a point to not take food for granted because I know there are so many people in the world that don't have access to good, healthy food. But I've never thought about the people that do have access to food and still can't have it because their bodies can't handle it. Food is one of those things that we usually don't think about... we just decide what we want and then we eat it.

And then I started thinking some more... and I think it's safe to say that not just UC/Crohn's patients have digestive problems. Yes, their problems are much much much MUCH more severe, but in every grocery store you go to, there is an entire section with OTC medicines dedicated to digestive health. Even in the dairy section you see yogurt that promises to get your digestion under control if you eat it every day. Those of us that don't have UC, Crohn's, or any other IBD disease may experience a little discomfort, choose an OTC med, take it, and move on. But is that really supposed to be normal? Or are we just so accustomed to it that we've made it normal? I recently came across this website written by a woman who is living with UC and since her diagnosis, has left the corporate world of work and became a nutritionist. She talks about the incredible difference diet and nutrition have made in her life with UC. The site is mostly healthy recipes, but I came across this post from her site:

getting back on track with your digestion:

It doesn’t take Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys to see that the majority of people have issues with digestion. Just take a stroll through your local supermarket or pharmacy and you’ll find product after product to relieve constipation, others to aid those suffering from diarrhea, more for heartburn and still more options for gas relief. Digestion is something a lot of us don’t feel comfortable talking about, but it’s clearly something that causes a lot of discomfort, or there wouldn’t be so many options so easily accessible.
All animals, in fact every organism, has to digest the food they eat, so why is it so difficult for us? Is it possible to live in a world where you don’t need a box of pills (or that morning cup of Joe) to pass a bowel movement? That’s right, I just said bowel movement. No big deal.

The Standard American Diet (SAD) is to blame for our inefficient and malfunctioning digestion epidemic. Sorry, but there is no sugar coating or tiptoeing around this. Packed with processed foods and few fruits and vegetables, the SAD consists of foods high in lots of things the body really doesn’t need. The SAD is loaded with high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lacking in the basic essentials like vitamins and minerals. Packaged foods have little, if any, nutritional value. It’s no wonder our bodies don’t know how to handle them.

It is possible to have a happy and healthy digestive system. Although our digestive system is tied to many different factors including physical activity and mental health, what and how we eat plays a huge role in how we feel on the inside. Cleaning up your diet is the first step.

This is some of the stuff I work on with my clients. So many people that I work with think that it is acceptable and perfectly normal to constantly be uncomfortable and carry around at least one over-the-counter product that brings them relief everywhere they go. Trust me, this isn’t normal. Why live with unnecessary pain and discomfort?

Frankly, I'm starting to agree with her. I think that maybe foods affect us more that we realize. I think that we were perfectly designed for the natural resources that The Creator gave us, not for manufactured stuff made in bulk in a large factory and then shipped 100's of miles away. Now I know that eating foods full of junk is not nearly the same and as unhealthy as smoking, but bear with me during this analogy. Smoking is bad for you, right? We all know that it causes lung cancer, emphysema, and other health problems. But not every person that smokes develops any of those problems. Some smokers live perfectly long and relatively healthy lives. So does that mean that smoking is perfectly healthy for some people and not so for others? Or that smoking wasn't the cause of emphysema in a person who does smoke? Of course not! Had that person not been a smoker, they would not have developed emphysema. And just because some people are lucky enough to avoid such problems, doesn't mean that smoking is a perfectly healthy thing to do for those people. I think the same thing can be applied to the foods we consume. Just because some people don't experience any major problems from eating junk all the time, doesn't make it a healthy thing to do.

As far as the UC thing goes, I'm not necessarily saying that a bad diet is the main factor for the cause of it. There's no medical link suggesting that and I know that plenty of people who lived very healthy lifestyles still developed the disease. But it's hard to imagine that food and diet don't play a role at all in the cause of a digestive related issue, especially when diet plays such an important role in the effects of the disease post diagnosis.

I'm also not trying to be "preachy" and tell anyone that they need to stop shopping at regular grocery stores and only shop at Whole Foods from now on and only eat organic foods. I am probably one of the worst examples of "healthy" there is! In fact, I may be the queen of unhealthy! I was just at the State Fair yesterday and ate a ton of the worlds unhealthiest foods ever made! ***bows head in shame*** And the fact of the matter is, we live in a society where it's nearly impossible to avoid highly processed foods that's full of manufactured stuff and not so full of nutrients. And frankly, it's none of my business what you eat. The subtitle of this blog is "the stories of [our family]" and this just happens to be what's going on in the thought process and life of Cassi Chaney right now. I have a sick brother who has to look at food differently and that has caused me to also look at food differently. That is all.

Loving the new tricycle!

2010-10-01T09:29:00.003-05:00

Cousins

2010-09-08T09:55:00.004-05:00

Korben got to spend some time with his cousin Caroline this weekend and the boy is in love with her! It was so cute to see them together! Anytime Caroline talked or cooed, Korben thought it was hilarious and started cracking up... and anytime she cried, Korben asked, "What's wrong, baby?" And he loved to give her sugars and even asked to hold her at one point. I know these 2 kids are going to be great friends as they grow up together!

Snagging some sugars while cousin was swinging

This was when Korben asked, "Korben hold baby?" :)

Jake and Robin made a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse fort on the bunk bed for their daughter and nephew and had story time.... so so cute!

Vacation Pics

2010-08-22T22:00:00.009-05:00

I know it's been a while since I've updated the blog with pictures and I apologize for that. Our desktop recently crashed and my camera disk doesn't fit into the laptop. Thankfully, I got a few pics copied onto a CD before the computer crashed! Anyhow, here are a ~~few~~ LOT of pics from our recent family vacation to San Antonio and Austin. :)

We stayed at the Hyatt in the Hill Country the first couple of nights and LOVED it! It was a very kid friendly hotel with a lazy river and beach (which Korben actually thought was "yucky." He wasn't a fan of sand in between his toes!), a huge pool, and lots of activities every night including smores roasting, outdoor kid movies, and horse drawn wagon rides! We didn't get many pictures at the hotel, but here's one we got at the pool.
Enjoying some ice cream after playing at the hotels playground with Daddy
After we checked out of the hotel, we headed over to Josh's brothers apartment. Joey and Jeni had just moved from Rowlett to SA and they were gracious enough to let us crash with them for a couple of nights during our vacay! We were with them when Josh celebrated his 30th birthday and we had a really nice evening with just the 5 of us. We went out to dinner and then had cake at their apartment. Jeni make a delicious chocolate cake and then she and Joey gave Josh a "30's survival kit" for his birthday filled with a ton of cute gag gifts! They also gave him a bottle of Josh's choice of liquor, Crown Royal, so don't feel too bad for the old man! :)

When Josh took all of his gear off and Korben saw it on the floor, he decided he wanted to wear it!

We spent a day at Sea World and had an absolute blast! This picture was during a 4D pirate movie. The movie was in 3D and it also had water effects. Whenever someone got splashed or wet somehow in the movie, so did the audience!

Sea World had lots of spots to cool off with water throughout the park, but they also had a complete separate water park....not something that was there when I was a kid! Korbens favorite thing was going down this "whales tail" slide tummy first at the toddler pool!

Getting some grub to feed the ducks
Giving the ducks their food

One of the splash pads inside the park. This was not inside the big water park area and was pretty central in the park so we stopped here a couple of times to cool off after the shows!

Juice break
During certain hours of day, you can buy a tray of fish and feed the dolphins! It was really neat. I wish Korben had been awake for this because I think he would have enjoyed feeding the dolphins but of course it happened while he was taking his nap!

The star of the show, Shamu!

Shamu just had a baby last January so we got to see him too! He was super cute to watch as he followed his mama around! He even did a few tricks with her!
The dolphin show!

The sea lions ended up being one of Korbens favorite "fishies!" Yes, everything at Sea World was considered a fish to Korben! I think he liked this show so much because it had props and an actual story to it! It really was cute!

We also spent a day at Fiesta Texas. Somehow, we were able to get in a family picture!

We rode one single solitary ride inside the main park area at Fiesta Texas. We soon discovered that they had an entire childrens area dedicated to one of Korbens favorite group of people, The Wiggles, and once we got to that area, there was no going back! Poor Josh kind of got the short end of the stick this vacation with a toddler and a pregnant wife who couldn't ride anything fun with him! The Wiggles area put on short shows with a few of the characters from the show. Korben was in heaven getting to see them!

Josh and I got a bit of a kick at the nice dark tan that the Fiesta Texas version of Captain Feathersword acquired! :)

Wags the dog making his appearance

After the show, Korben got to meet and hug Henry the Octopus and Wags the Dog and get a picture with them!

There were Wiggles rides all over the place. Josh and I took turns riding with Korben. This was the Fruit Salad ride.

Airplane ride

One of Korbens faves, the Big Red Car!

We spent the last night of our vacation in Austin with my aunt and uncle. Their names are Lori and Steve and Korben calls them Gus and Gal.... GUS for Great Uncle Steve and GAL for Great Aunt Lori. :) I wish I had pictures with them but my camera was dead by that point and I didn't think to get any with my phone! We all had an absolute blast with them! We ended the vacation by a show with the real live Wiggles in Austin! Korben was completely beside himself getting to see them in real life! He just kept saying, "Mommy Daddy, that's Jeff! (his favorite one) That's Anthony! That's Murray! That's Sam!" And of course we walked away with a TON of Wiggles memorabilia! Since my camera was dead and I forgot to pack my charger, I had to result to the use of my phone and a disposable camera for The Wiggles pictures, none of which turned out very well. But at least have some none-the-less. All in all, our first real family vacation was a success!

Not the Maid

2010-08-10T10:15:00.007-05:00

There was once a time when I was extremely OCD about keeping my house clean. I remember at one point, I would wipe down the counters about 10 times a day, vacuum every day (sometimes twice), and kept everything in proper order at all times. If one little crumb fell on the floor, I swept and mopped the whole floor immediately.

And I admit that during this period of my life, I was also judgemental about other peoples homes. I couldn't understand why people let their homes get so cluttered. You just pick it up and put it away; what's so hard about that?

Then I became a mom. And then I became the mom of a toddler. And then I got pregnant again. And my house is a complete wreck and there is so much that needs to be done, I don't even know where to begin. Furniture needs dusting, floors mopping, windows cleaned, dishes washed, and way too many toys need to be put away. And I know that just as soon as I put the clutter away, a little 36" body is going to follow right behind me and undo everything I just did. I didn't have the time and energy to clean my house 8 million times a day before I got pregnant with baby #2 and I sure don't have the energy to do it now! It would be so nice if I could clean my house and know that it would stay that way for a while. But it won't. The clutter will be back out in 10 minutes or less and while the clean dishes and floors may last a little bit longer, it still won't be more than a day before the trash is full again, the sink is filled up with dirty dishes again and the floors have food crumbs and spilled juice that needs to be swept and mopped up. And I just can't keep up with it all.

And while I'm sure that I get the same judgement that I used to pass on others about my not-so-spic-and-span house, I have to remind myself that judgement used to come from me and I chose to quit working when I got pregnant because I wanted to be a full-time mommy, not so I could clean my house 24/7. I am a stay at home mom, not a stay at home maid. That's how it should be and it's ok. Even if the mess does drive me up the wall!

If you happen to be one those super moms who can do it all and your house shows no sign of child dwelling in it, I commend you and ask that you teach me your ways! But if you happen to be one of the parents out there who fell victim to my judgemental ways in years past, please accept my sincerest apologies!

A Stolen Post

2010-07-26T09:00:00.006-05:00

I sometimes read this blog written by Jenny Simmons who is the lead singer of a Christian band I really like called Addison Road who also happens to sing one of my favorite songs. She recently made a post that really hit home for me. I'm re-posting her original post word for word, but if you want to see it on her blog, just click on the underlined title of her blog below.

She writes about the ugliness of self-entitlement and the anger that can result from it. And while I think that she is being a little hard on herself about the story of what happened in the restaurant, I get her point. I was totally convicted after reading this. I've found myself in this exact same position a million times. Sometimes I'm the one angry at other peoples self-entitlement, but sometimes I'm the one thinking that the world should be revolving around me and my needs. It's hard to admit that.

It's a fairly long post (at least compared to the posts that I write!) and I thought about not re-posting the stories of what happened on the plane in restaurant and just re-posting her main points, but I think you get a better insight if you read the whole thing. Soooo, here ya go....

Entitlement, Narcissism, and Other Ugly Things...

"The world is not all bad. Hear me say that. There is a lot of good.

But, seriously, something nasty must've crept into the spring water this year cause people are not at their best right now.

In fact, my dad recently said, "Jenny, the world is full of freaking crazy people... and most of them are in church," and y'all, this is the most true thing I've heard in a long time!

Examples of the Crazy
I sit down in first class for my two hour flight home this week. I buy cheap tickets, I promise. But I fly so often that I get free upgrades. Thus, in first class. Sitting next to a man who sort of looks like George Clooney on a million dollar budget. Snake skin boots. Three separate rings on with diamond studs. Thick cologne. And a dead give away of self-indulgence: perfectly manicured nails. I'm sorry men, but if you have perfectly manicured nails you have just given yourself away. You care way too much about appearance. Double standard, I know. No one would ever say that to a woman! And it may not even be true for men... but it is my prejudice.Dudes with perfect fingernails have either too much money or too much free time and definitely too much thought going into their hands.

Anyways, first thing outta this guys mouth?

"This sucks."

He said this with a disdain, snobbery, and anger that really took me off guard.
"I am supposed to be in 5b. Do I look like I want to sit in a bulkhead seat? But, one of those stupid married couples asked to switch seats and practically did it before I could say no. This. Just. Sucks. Life sucks."

No, actually, life is pretty dang good, maybe your life just sucks.

That's what I said to him in my head.

He spent the first fifteen minutes on the plane telling me about himself. 2.4 million American Airline miles. 5 million Hilton Honors points (for those of us in the travel world who live and breath our reward points, this man has us drooling. He is the pinnacle). A hotel room in Dallas that he never even checks out of. And a third wife in a New York brownstone, but he prefers to travel alone if "you know what I mean."

Oh my gosh... this guy is a word I am going to refrain from using. He is oozing with anger, arrogance, and attitude and he is messing up my positive energy field!

I turned my body towards the window. Wrapped myself up in about three blankets and tried to look for stars the entire flight. He made me sad. My heart felt sad.

***
Freaking rich people in first class. But this is not a money issue. This is an everybody issue.

We were recently unloading a cramped minivan in front of a restaurant at lunch time. We were, admittedly, right in front of the door. But, there was plenty of room to drive around us. And, we are not talking a busy Dallas restaurant. We were in a smaller town in Indiana and there was no lunch rush. The parking lot was rather empty. Still, we are being dropped off and trying to get six adults, backpacks, and Annie out of the minivan because we are going to be at this place a while.

A lady pulls up behind and waits impatiently. I motion for her to go around and she just glares at me while thumping her fingers against her steering wheel. It's pretty obvious that we are going to be just a few minutes but she refuses to go around. She starts to honk. Of course, this scares Annie and she practically jumps out of my arms. We go inside to get a table and while they are getting it together for us this lady walks in. "Oh great. Now the whole world gets to wait on you and your baby again, huh?"

I'd love to say this is where we, Addison Road, turned the other cheek like Jesus would do. But my husband, ever the protector and particularly tired of rude people on that day, shot back, "You need to stop. There was plenty of room to get around us and we were going as fast as we could to get everyone out. We have a baby."

Y'all, this lady flings her sunglasses off and gets in Ryan's face!!! It's 11:00 a.m. in the morning and I swear we are on Maury Povich or Judge Judy or wherever those staged nasty horrible cat fights happen. I'm holding Annie, trying to walk away, but I am stunned. This woman starts dropping all kinds of profanity and threats and looks like she might hit Ryan at any second. And ends by yelling, "The world doesn't revolve around you and your ________ baby. I could've just hit you with my car. Then what happens to your baby!?!?!" And she storms off to the bar.

I mean, my heart is pumping. Blood racing. Hands shaking. I am so angry. The guys are white in the face. What just happened?

We just had a can of crazy opened on us! That's what happened!

And can I honestly say, I cannot think of a time in my life where I have wanted to take someone outside. But everything in me wanted to hand Annie to someone and say, "Excuse me, you need to walk outside. Because I am not afraid of you and you just scared my baby you CRAZY PSYCHO WOMAN."

It was one of those days where you go before the Lord and have to hang your head because you were less than holy and had less than holy thoughts and did not respond to life in a way that brought goodness into the world... and I'm making it sound really pretty... it was one of those days where I had to honestly look at myself and say, "Wow, I have a lot of venom in me. Maybe as much as her."

The guys stayed angry for a good long time. All through lunch. Fuming. Replaying the whole thing. Coming up with things that they should've said. And everyone was imaging Ryan or I taking her on outside like we were on some dirty reality talk show. This at least gave us something to laugh about.

The guys were riled up, but I was sad. I was crushed Annie had heard that lady. And I was crushed she saw us even respond- mild though it was- and crushed that she could probably feel the anger flowing through my veins. I was sad that Annie saw the face of anger. I wish I could've protected her from it for a little bit longer. I was sad for the lady. There has to be a terrible thing happening in someone's heart for them to get to that level. I was sad for Ryan and I that we stooped to the level of responding to this lady. I was just sad for everyone involved.

It's not supposed to be like this, is it?

There's a lot of ugly out there.

Are people getting meaner? Are we so consumed with ourselves and so hell bent on our own rights, privileges, and agendas that other people no longer matter? And more importantly, what deserves our anger, wrath, and simple annoyance?

A parking spot? Someone who cuts us off on the highway? A loud talker at Starbucks? The person on the other end of the phone line doling out bills? The person walking too slow in front of you? Or too close behind you? Or the co-walker who doesn't do their fair share? The person that updates Facebook too often? Or the friends that take extravagant vacations? The neighbor's kids who seem to be lawless? Or the lady at church that has five prayer requests every single Sunday? The Internet that doesn't go fast enough? Or the decision you don't agree with?

Are these things worth fighting for? Do they really deserve anger, wrath, and all-consuming annoyance? Or are these the complaints of an over-indulgent, self-centered, narcissistic society that has lost touch with what it means to be human?

One of our pastors asked us a few weeks ago, "Do you really think the elevator is going to go any faster by pushing the inanimate button several times, sighing, and getting angry with it?" I laughed and thought, "I hate it when people do that!"

Next day I was at the airport with Annie, outside in the hot sun, and waiting for the elevator. I pressed the button three times and grumbled out loud, "Good Lord. This is the slowest elevator in the world....uggggghhhh."

And then I heard my pastor's voice... "Church, we are an impatient people. And it's not ok."

We are an impatient people. I am impatient.

The world is full of orphans, disease, injustice, corrupt governments, human trafficking, lack of clean water and sanitation... and we are hacked because our Starbucks drink took too long to be made?

Something is gravely wrong.

Tough Topic Tuesday...
What's wrong with us? And when does it end? After fists have been drawn or bullets have been blown? After we have wounded someone with our snide comments? After we have driven people out of our churches? Or haunted someone with our piercing gaze and stolen a bit of their humanity?

Impatience leads to anger. Impatience screams that we are so important, so entitled, that the world should operate on our watch, on our terms. Impatience says that we have not found peace... that there is something missing.

There is a pervasive selfishness in the world right now that is literally stealing our souls away from us.

The thing is, religion is on the rise. Islam and Christianity are exploding around the world. Spirituality is on the rise. The practices of yoga, meditation, and the reading of sacred texts from all different religions is on the rise People are getting progressively more entangled with God, spirituality, and religion... so shouldn't we be looking more and more like the God that we say we worship?

I'll end with this quote from CNN's, July 12th, belief blog written by professor Richard T. Hughes,

"Let me be frank from the outset: A great cultural divide is ripping the heart from this nation and Christians are partly responsible. I say that because 83% of the American people claim to be Christians. If those Christians lived as they are taught to live by the teacher they claim to follow, the American public square would be a very different kind of place."
Endeavoring to live a life today that is not so little. So focused on myself. So impatient. So easily angered.

Attempting to be a good human to every other human I interact with...

Attempting to be filled by real love that overflows onto the world around me...

attempting..."

Blog Name Change

2010-07-16T10:35:00.004-05:00

As you can tell from the new title of the blog and the nice big ticker, we got ~~another no~~ a YES this month!!! We're just one month shy of the one year mark for trying to get pregnant and it finally happened! It still hasn't really sunk in yet. My first doctors appointment is August 18th and they'll do a sonogram then so I'm sure it will become more real at that point. Josh and I are both just on cloud nine! I'm about 4.5 weeks along and my unofficial due date is somewhere around March 20, 2011. :~)

I told Josh by getting a "big brother" shirt for Korben and when Josh came home from work, Korben was wearing his new attire. :) I've bought a LOT of clothes for Korben over the past 2.5 years and this was by far the most fun I've had shopping for him! :) He doesn't really grasp that he's going to be a big brother and understand what that means just yet, but then again, I haven't really grasped that idea either!

I keep wondering what this baby will look like; if he/she will look like Korben or completely different, and will he/she be strong willed like Korben or will I get a laid back baby this time around?! Any which way, this tiny little miracle is already so so very loved and we can't wait to meet him/her!

Big Boy Talk

2010-07-09T11:05:00.001-05:00

Our little boy has been quite the talker for most of his life (as long as he's not in the company of strangers). Even when he was just a few months old he would lay and talk to you for hours on end... of course it was mostly just smiley cooing and gibberish at that time! But even then I knew I was going to have quite the talker on my hands. Now Korben still talks up a storm all day and repeats anything you say, but he mostly talks in short sentences. He says things like, "Mommy, whata you doing?" and "Korben go night-night" and when he needs help with something, he says, "Help, Mommy. Please!" And he always refers to himself in third person. He's never said, "I, me, or mine" when referring to himself. If he wants to do something he says, "Korben's turn" or "That's Korbens."

Last night, he was trying to carry a bunch of his toys and his pillow and was having a hard time. I was waiting for the usual plea for help, but instead of the normal 3 word sentence my little boy normally uses, he said "Mom, can you help me please?" What in the world?? Where did that big boy sentence come from??? It was so cute hearing such a big sentence coming from that tiny little 2 year old voice, but I'm not sure I'm ready for my baby to be so big yet!

And so it begins...

2010-07-02T13:25:00.004-05:00

A couple of months ago, Josh brought up the idea of moving. I was totally against it at first... mainly because I loathe the whole moving process and we don't really NEED to move. But he got me looking at houses anyhow and slowly but surely I started to get excited about the idea. Besides, it would be nice to have a little bit more space. Still, I thought, we don't HAVE to move so we can take our time finding a house we like and getting our house ready to sell. I really thought it'd be about a year before it actually happened. So we've been looking in a ton of different neighborhoods... and we already found a house we like... in Woodcreek of all places! But it was out of our price range. But since it's in the neighborhood we already live in, we've randomly driven by it several times just to see if it's still for sale and dream about moving in. Well Josh drove by it a couple of days ago and it had a different realtor sign in the yard so he checked it out... and the price has been reduced! So if we can sell our house quickly and get an offer in on the other house before it gets snatched, we may actually be moving sooner than I thought!

And so it begins. We start on all of the hard work that goes into selling a house. I made a list of all the things that need to be done to our house so we can sell it and it really wasn't that bad. But last night, we started actually doing those things on the list and more and more things keep popping up. It's not an old house, so thankfully there aren't any major repairs or anything that need to be done, but all the little stuff is adding up quickly! We need to repair small cracks, do touch up paint in almost every room and the hardest part...declutter! That's a toughie with us just because we have a 2 year old that likes to re-clutter spaces with all of his stuff! I will say though, that caulk is my new best friend! I was kind of enjoying using that stuff last night! I'm weird like that. :)

We've got a meeting with a realtor next Wednesday and I'm sure he'll point out even more stuff that needs to be done so that'll be fun. Did you catch that sarcasm? :) But if we can sell our house quickly and get the house that we want, it will be worth it. **Crossing fingers**

Summertime is.....

2010-06-18T14:30:00.001-05:00

watching The Wiggles in a giant tub.....

wearing very cool sunglasses....

feeding the ducks at the community pond....

swim lessons.....

letting cousins style your hair into a cool mohawk....

tube rides....

slip n' sildes....

...even for the big boys!

...and building lego trains half naked when you're inside. :)

"Does this make my butt look big??"

2010-06-07T16:39:00.007-05:00

I asked Korben if he wanted me to undo the buckle for him... he said, "No." He was happy as a lark walking around the house with a chair strapped to his rear end!

Pancakes with Korben the Sous Chef

2010-05-28T11:59:00.006-05:00

Blueberry Pancakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more as needed

blueberries

Add all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together

In another bowl, beat the eggs and then whisk in the milk, vanilla and melted butter. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk just until a thick batter forms.

Ask mom if you can eat a blueberry

Add blueberries to the mix

Keeping the skillet at medium heat, ladle about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the skillet, to make a pancake. Make 1 or 2 more pancakes, taking care to keep them evenly spaced apart. Cook, until bubbles break the surface of the pancakes, and the undersides are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip with a spatula and cook about 1 minute more on the second side. Serve immediately or transfer to a platter and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter to the skillet as needed.

Enjoy the finished product!

(Recipe courtesy of Food Network)

Luckenbach

2010-05-24T16:25:00.001-05:00

Alright, here are the pics from Luckenbach. And can I just say that I want to bust out and sing some Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings every time I mention that town! Like I said in the previous post, we really wanted to get some pulled pork sandwiches in this town since we had heard that they were so good, but it was never open so no luck there. But we still hung out for a while since there were always a few locals out playing their music. And there was a lot of room for Korben to run around so he loved that... especially when we went down by the creek to do a bit of exploring. There were also 3 roosters that liked to hang around town also... it was really random. And apparently roosters do not just crow in the morning because they were crowing every NIGHT that we were there! Crazy roosters. It really was a neat little town, though. :)

I thought the post office building was pretty cool

Every night that we went to town, there were different locals out playing some great music! From country, to blues, to folk rock...

Gram, Grandpoo, Korben, and Aby in front of the HUGE Oak tree by the creek

Korben loved swinging on the tree branch!

One of the 3 Luckenbach roosters

Since when do roosters climb trees?!

Doin' a a crazy dance

It was kind of dark out so I did the best I could with editing to get everyone to actually show up in this picture... what can you do?

Fredericksburg

2010-05-21T18:35:00.005-05:00

This past week, Korben and I met up with my parents and a couple of friends of theirs in Fredericksburg for a mini vacation. I had never been before and wasn't sure if there would be much to do in such a small town, but I was looking forward to the time away! And the trip ended up being a lot of fun! I wish Josh could have joined us but he had to work. They've got some camp grounds so maybe next time we will make it a camping trip and get Josh to go. :)

The main purpose of the trip was to go to this huge nursery called Wildseed Farm and it really was gigantic! There were acres of plants and garden things! And there was also a butterfly exhibit that we got to go to. If you know me, you know I have a thing for butterflies. I just love what they represent with whole chrysalis thing and becoming a new creation. I have never seen so many different butterflies in one place... it was really neat! We also spent a day going to the shops and eating peach cobbler since Fredericksburg is apparently known for their peaches. Luckenbach is really close by and they are supposed to have really good pulled pork sandwiches so we went there a few times... unfortunately, the restaurant was closed every single time we went! But, there were always some locals out playing some great music so there was never a wasted trip! I've got a few pictures from Luckenbach and since there are already a ton of pictures on this post, I'll do a seperate post dedicated to that later. For now, enjoy the gazillion pics from Fredericksburg.... :)

Korben and Grandpoo :)

There were 2 things Korben liked more than just about anything. One of those things was drinking coke.....

....the other was getting ice! He wanted to push that button all day every day!

One of the stores we went to had a TON of goofy hats so we all tried one on. Korben liked the elephant hat!

Mommy got a mad hatter hat...

Grandpoo wore a crab on his head!

And Gram wore a wizard hat!

The weather was warm enough to get some swimming in so we did just that. This picture was right before Korben decided to jump in the pool all by himself... he wasn't too happy with that decision later on but thankfully he had the floaties on so he was ok!

Swimming with Gram and Grandpoo. I know the arm floaties seem like overkill since Korben is sitting in the big boat float but he refused to sit still for very long in that thing so the arm floaties were definitely needed!

Fun with Gram in the water!

The gigantic nursery we went to...

Korben standing in some plants...

This was a new butterfly just coming out of it's cocoon in the butterfly house. It was really cool to see!

He thinks he's so cool! :)

Waiting on his candy from the fudge shop... :)

Riding on Grandpoos shoulders is Korbens favorite way to travel!

I'm sure the conversation they were having was very deep. :)

Gram got her turn to get her ears talked off!

I sure hope this isn't a sign of things to come in the future... unless that future is being a fireman and NOT a pole dancer!

Stay tuned for the (shorter) Luckenbach post!

Dog Walker

2010-05-14T12:55:00.003-05:00

Korben got this dog pull toy for his 1st birthday last year. It makes a squeaking noise that's supposed to sound like a bark whenever you pull it and Korben was really into dogs at the time so it was one of his favorite toys. The newness finally wore off and it's just been sitting in the toy box for a few months now. Well, a couple of days ago, Korben rediscovered it and fell in love all over again! Yesterday I asked him if he wanted to go on a walk but instead of riding in his wagon like he usually does, he wanted to take Doggie for a walk outside!

We went to the park but Doggie didn't do so well on the grass...

Korben made sure to give Doggie lots of hugs and sugars to make him feel better. :)

Good as new!

Dallas Zoo

2010-05-10T22:48:00.014-05:00

Aboretum Days

2010-04-21T11:05:00.000-05:00

We spent quite a bit of time at the Dallas Arboretum during Mommy and Me Mondays earlier in the spring. We went with sweet friends, Jennie, and her daughter, Jade, nearly every week! Laura and sweet Hannah got to join us one week also but unfortunately, the kids did not want to cooperate for pictures that day so I think we only got one decent pic with all 3 kids that day! I apologize for the picture overload... especially if you've already seen these on FB! :)

Stopping to smell the flowers

Korben loved the petting zoo

Wish I knew what they were talking about!

Mommy made it in a picture! *Gasp!*

Ferdinand!

The only pic with all 3 kiddos!

Korben about to make his move on Jade with some sugar... Jade thought he was crazy! :)

Korben and Jade loved the old play houses :)

They got what they wanted and made a run for it!
Washing some pretend dishes

I've finally started to play around with the Paint Shop Pro that Josh got me for my birthday. This was my first attempt at photo editing. Hopefully I'll get the hang of it soon and can play around with more photos!

Just for Haley

2010-04-16T15:02:00.005-05:00

My dear friend Haley has been sharing a few of her favorite recipes on her blog and has asked for people to share some recipes also. I think this is a great idea and I love getting new recipes myself... so here is a recipe I made a few days ago that turned out pretty well. I didn't take pics to show what the final product looked like but I'll try to remember to do so in the future! This recipe came from my Food Network Favorites cookbook. I tweaked it a little when I made it but I'll share the original recipe.

Tomatillo Chicken Tacos

6 tomatillos
1 serrano chili (I omitted this)
Olive oil
1/2 an onion (chopped)
1 Tbs. chopped garlic
1 C. cilantro
Juice of 1 large lime
2 Tbs. honey
1.5 C. shredded rotisserie chicken
Corn tortillas (or flour)
1 C. crumbled queso fresco (I just used Mexican style shredded cheese)

Husk and wash the tomatillos. Grill tomatillos and serano chili on the grill or a grill pan over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes per side, until blackened all over. Remove from grill and rough chop. Put in a saute pan and briefly saute in a little olive oil.

Put the tomatillos, serrano chili, onion, garlic, cilantro, lime juice and honey in a blender and blend until smooth. Put the mixture in a saute pan, add the chicken, and heat through.

Warm the tortillas on the pan for about 20 seconds per side. Spoon mixture on tortillas and top with cheese.

I took half of the mixture and added a little bit of mild salsa to it. Both turned out pretty well, I think! If you want to skip the homemade tomatillo sauce all together, you can always buy the salsa verde in a jar but I would suggest adding a little bit of fresh cilantro and/or lime juice to it to make it taste a little more homemade! :)

Happy cooking!

One More Easter Picture...

2010-04-06T18:25:00.002-05:00

We took a picture with the Easter Bunny at the Dallas Arboretum last week. :)

Easter Weekend Fun

2010-04-04T13:04:00.003-05:00

This weekend has been a ton of fun! Gram and Grandpoo (yes, that's spelled correctly... Korben couldn't say "Grandpa" when he was younger and it always came out "Grandpoo" so the name has stuck ever since) came in town for Easter and it's been nothing but playing, wrestling, and laughing all weekend long! We all ended up sleeping in and getting some much needed rest this morning so we didn't make it to service but we still had a great time celebrating Him!!!

Korben wanted in on the foosball action when he saw the big people playing... here he is taking on Gram... not sure who's having more fun!

Playing a game with Grandpoo... I'm pretty sure Korben won!

Saturday afternoon, Woodcreek had a neighborhood egg hunt that we went to. Grandpoo got a coke to drink while we were waiting for the hunt to start but Korben took over that stuff pretty quick. The kid is an addict!

And the hunt was on... for about a full 15 seconds! The field was covered with eggs and they were all gone in literally a matter of seconds! It was the craziest egg hunt I'd ever seen in my life! We walked away with about 5 eggs! It was still a ton of fun though!
Korben wanted popcorn afterwards but for some reason, he wanted the bag on the ground!

That night, we all colored eggs!

Korben had some stickers to put on his egg :)

The finished eggs and Korbens Easter basket full of goodies

Korben loved waking up to a basket full of fun stuff on Easter morning!

"Hmmm, what do I want to get into first?" :)

After everyone got dressed, we hid eggs in the front yard and had another egg hunt... this time Korben got all the eggs to himself!

We even hid some on Daddys truck!

Daddy helped find a couple of eggs hidden in the flower bed

Every time he saw an egg, he got excited and said, "More eggs?!" It was so funny!

Korben filled up his Easter basket pretty quickly so Daddy brought out a second one! Look at all of that loot! :)

Disney on Ice!

2010-03-30T15:56:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday we took Korben to see Disney on Ice. It was a 2 hour long show so I wasn't sure if Korben would actually sit through the whole thing. To my surprise, he did! He had an absolute blast watching all of his favorite characters in "real life!" Of course Mickey was his favorite but he really enjoyed the whole show. He kept pointing and saying, "Wow!" and "Who is that? Is that _____?!" (Fill in the blank with the character that was out at the time) The kid was all smiles and giggles the whole time! I had fun just watching Korbens face light up! At the end of the show, we bought a couple of souvenirs... out of nowhere, Korben has decided he likes Buzz Lightyear! So we got him a new Mickey and a Buzz Lightyear toy. He's been flying Buzz around the house like an airplane ever since! It was worth every penny spent on tickets, food, and souvenirs to see Korben have so much fun!

Watching the show :)

Mickey!

Goofy!

After the show with Mommy and our new Mickey!

With Daddy and our new Buzz Lightyear!

Future WWE Wrestler?

2010-03-17T08:10:00.001-05:00

I think Korbens future as a professional wrestler is looking bright. He's getting plenty of practice in, that's for sure. Here are a couple of videos of his practice sessions... first with the couch pillows and then with Daddy!

Don't forget to pause the music at the bottom of the page! :)

Spring

2010-03-10T11:55:00.001-06:00

I love it when the weather is nice enough to hop on this...

and go here....

to do this...

and this....

and this.

"Can I take your order, please?"

Too bad Josh was just a tad too big to fully enjoy the slide :)