Baby #2 is on its way!

Yeah! We are expecting another baby! We are very excited. I am not really good at keeping fun secrets. I was going to try to keep my mouth shut for a few months, but I am starting to get a little nauseated so I've decided to announce our good news. I am due October 20th, so I am only 6 weeks along, but these past few weeks that I've known have gone by so slowly. I'm hoping the speed will pick up after the worry of keeping it a secret is past. However, I must say that now that I know what I am in for after the baby arrives, being my second time around, I am not as anxious for it to come as I was with Paul. I am hoping though the first trimester will be overshadowed by the upcoming Spring and the warmer weather. Yeah for being fat and uncomfortable! Just kidding, kind of.

Our Solution

So we have a temporary fix for the bloody noses. We just put cushions down on the floor in front of the couch. That way he climbs onto the couch himself and he has a softer face plant. We can't get him to stop jumping off things, so this seems like an okay solution for now. I am sure if I was strict enough I could get him to stop, but I just get tired of telling Paul "no, stop, don't." I feel like I tell him not to do things constantly because he is always into things; he's just a busy bee. So this is my lazy way of side stepping confrontation.

Railroad Museum

We went to the Railroad Museum this past weekend, and it was a lot of fun. Patrick and Paul were like kids in a candy shop. They both enjoy trains. There were very few museum-like exibits. It was mostly outdoors where you could go inside the train cars and observe them up close. One of Paul's favorite parts was walking on the tracks. We have now officially started our Thomas The Train collection.

Creativity

His creative juices always seem to flow just before bed when he has no clothes on. A new and very useful function of the Q-tip. He was sticking the Q-tips into the bath rug and then stomping them down over and over again. Paul never ceases to amuse me.

New Wheat Grinder

My mom got me a wheat grinder for my birthday, so I decided to try it out. Paul got into the wheat before I could even get the grinder out of the box. There was wheat everywhere once he was done. I am going to find wheat kernels around the house for months. Once the wheat was milled Paul insisted that he eat it. I usually let him eat some batter when I bake, so he was making his can-I-lick-the-spatula noise. Yum, flour. He kept eating it so I guess he liked it. Thanks mom!

Dare Devil?

Paul has been getting more and more brave lately. His latest is jumping off the couch. This is coming from a little kid that still isn't tall enough to climb up on to the couch without assistance. Everytime he has jumped off he has hurt himself so I am confused why he keeps doing it. Tonight he was up on the couch and he jumped off and landed on his face and got a pretty bad bloody nose. I discovered it is difficult to keep a kleenex against a kid's nose. Their natural reaction is to turn their head. I am sorry I am not sure if this picture is too gruesome, but it just seems to add to Paul's character. I can't decide whether it constitutes that he doesn't easily learn from his mistakes or whether he's just a dare devil?

I Love Daddy

Paul and Pat have such a good time together. I love watching them play and laugh. I am home with Paul during the day, but he asks for daddy all day. They have a bond that I can't seem to replicate.

Mischief

I guess we don't need that one anymore. It's not like we have a tape player anyway.

Lipgloss looks good on you, but that's not really your color.

Where's Paul? Don't bother me I'm putting on my lipgloss.

Christmas in Baton Rouge/Livingston

Our Christmas was delightful. We went and visited Pat's side of the family in Baton Rouge, LA and Livingston, TX. Bill and Jan, Pat's parents, are still get settled into their new home in Baton Rouge. Over the summer Bill transferred jobs from Mobile, AL to Baton Rouge. They like being close to the LSU football stadium. We were in Baton Rouge the majority of the time, but we took a road trip to Livingston and spent a few days at a lakehouse. It was a lot of fun to have everyone together. We saw our two nieces for the first time, Emmy and Anastasia. Paul loved them both. We wish we saw them more often. Gary and Dakin were the perfect hosts with their southern hospitality. Thanks for a wonderful time! I gained a few pounds while we were there, but the food was great.

We went back to Baton Rouge and spent another week before returning home. Uncle Scott and Aunt Donna took us site seeing to the Capitol Building, we walked along the Mississppi River, and we went on board The Nina replica. It was much smaller than I would imagine could sail across the Atlantic Ocean. It was very interesting. Bill and Jan took us to a plantation that had just opened for tours, St Joseph. I sure am glad I live in this era, and not back in the 1800's. Life was very different back then.

I think Paul's favorite thing was being able to go outside into the backyard with Buddy. Buddy is grandma and grandpa's dog, who can be aggressive. We were not sure how it was going to go, but after Buddy figured out that he could take Paul's food without a fight they were the best of friends. Buddy also gained a few pounds while we were there. One thing that I won't miss from that trip is a little rocking horse/lion at grandma and grandpa's that sang The Colors of the Rainbow. That song is on the same level of annoyance as It's a Small World After All and The Song That Never Ends. Paul loved it though. Thanks everyone for a fun Christmas!

Fun Videos of Paul

Here are some fun videos that we took while we were in Baton Rouge visting Pat's parents.

Paul got a hold of Grandma's hat. HeHeHe

We were nervous about Buddy being around Paul at first, but Buddy and Paul ended up getting along pretty nicely. Buddy doesn't normally get people food, but he got quite a bit of it while we were there. "It's like stealing candy from a baby."

Paul was keeping himself busy while the others were moving boxes.
1 2 3 JUMP!

Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas

Pat's birthday is right before Christmas, so we ended up exchanging Christmas gifts on his birthday just before we flew to Louisiana. The day before his birthday I tried to make a Pecan Pie. It is what Pat wanted instead of cake. It is my first attempt at making it by myself (I guess I had Paul's help, but he just wanted to put the bowl on his head). I had the oven at the wrong temperature and scorched it. As far as I was concerned the top looked like the inside of a chimney. It was the thought that counted though. The next morning I arranged a little scavenger hunt for Pat to find his hidden birthday gifts. I had a good time watching him try to think through the clues. Paul was occupied with the balloons we blew up for daddy. In the evening we exchanged Christmas gifts. Paul loves his car and tunnel. It was so fun to see Paul get excited about ripping the paper open. It is always nice to have things around the house that keep a little kid occupied for an extended amount of time. Paul could climb in and out of that car all day long. Thanks Grandma!

Alarm Clock Dancing

I will occasionally walk into our bedroom and the alarm clock music is playing. Paul has figured out how to make the music turn on. So he'll turn it on, dance for a moment, and walk off leaving it playing. I thought it was pretty funny. Another thing he recently figured out how to do is take off his diaper. Hence, he is always in onesies now. :)

Santa Round 2

We tried the Santa thing again at Pat's work party. There was a slight improvement, but still tears. I think what made a slight difference was this Santa gave him a candy cane. Paul's a sucker for candy. The party was at the zoo so after dinner we walked around and looked at all the lights. It was a lot of fun.

Santa

So it turns out Paul, like most kids, is afraid of Santa. When Santa entered the room Paul was decorating a cookie, but he still noticed his enterance. His eyebrows went down, his nose scrunched, and his mouth slightly opened. You could tell he was initially concerned, but was easily distracted back to the frosting. After he was done with his cookie we went to visit Santa. I think the picture speaks for itself.

'Tis The Season for Snow

Paul doesn't seem to mind the cold. I guess I didn't mind it as a child either, but the older I get the more I dislike snowy weather and being cold. I think part of this development has sprung from my lack of skiing. Oh, I miss skiing more than anything. My life dream at one time was to be a ski bum, and work as ski patrol for a resort. Who knows maybe my dream will someday still come true. I must confess, my favorite ski resort is still Grand Targhee in Wyoming. That place is heavenly.