Audrey: 5 months (December)

As of her last appointment, Audrey weighs in at 15 pounds and is 70% percentile for height, head size and weight. She is my little chunky monkey (note her forearm "rolls" ;) and we just love her!

She finally rolled over a few weeks ago and sometimes I find her sleeping on her belly. She looks so pleased with herself when she gets up on her forearms and looks around.

I didn't think I could give birth to a more mellow kid than Devon, but it would appear that I have! Audrey is still a great sleeper and will happily go along to a morning play date or errand and sleep in her car seat or pouch while Devon plays. There have been many occasions when it's 8:00 am and the house is still quite. I tip toe upstairs to check on Audrey and she is just laying in her crib, awake and waiting for me to get her. I scoop her up and check in on Devon and he is sitting in his crib reading a book. I don't know how I got so lucky to have these little babies, but I am so grateful.

Audrey loves to stand up, play with toys, chew on things, sit in her swing and watch TV with Devon. She is transfixed. She loves to be talked to and will reward you for paying attention to her with constant cooing, kicking and laughing.

The older she gets the more girly she dresses (with the occasional skull and crossbones black and grey leggings ;) I have dressed her in a few things that I NEVER thought I would, but she just looks too damn cute I can't help myself. Case in point ... THIS headband. It's not even the biggest one she has. Love it!

Audrey seems to have some sort of sensor in her brain that tells her when I have gone out of "acceptable range".

Sometimes I will wait until the kids go to bed and I will run errands and go to the store. I put them both down, wait until they are totally asleep and then I slip out. The last two times I've done this, the MOMENT I pull out of the driveway Audrey wakes up and screams the entire time I'm gone. I get home, take her from Joe and she instantly falls asleep. Poor Daddy.

I call this one "knuckle sammich". You talkin' ta me?

Audrey is such a good baby and I can't give that kid enough kisses. She gets so much love and attention from her aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents who clamor to hold her. She is super ticklish on her ribs, belly and neck and lets out giggles and grunts. She is a happy little girl and we love watching her grow.

It's not always about the kids

So ... yeah, Jasmine died. She was one of the first animals (aside from Sampson, who is still alive) that I raised so it is a tough loss for me. She was one of my first babies. I miss her. I stayed up all night with her on Friday night petting her and trying to soothe her the best I could. I kept telling her that I loved her, that I was sorry I couldn't save her. I laid next to her on the floor and she slept with her head on my hand and purred. I thought she would pass on Friday, but by Saturday morning even though she was still alive she was in bad shape. I could tell that she "wasn't there anymore". Her mind had checked out. I placed her on a towel in my room in the closet so she wouldn't be disturbed. I know that kids don't really understand death until the age of 5 and even then some kids think that the person who died will come back. We explained it to Devon as simply as we could and it's sad to me that he probably won't remember her. Joe took Devon in to see her when she was still alive and Devon said,"Bye Jasim. Good kitty. Miss you lot."

The day wore on and we had to get ready to go to my Mom's house for Thanksgiving. I put Devon in the car and came back into the house to say a final goodbye to her. I wanted to have a moment with her. I wanted it to be peaceful for her as much as possible. Joe sat next to me and she passed right then. It doesn't seem right that she is gone and buried in the backyard. So close and yet so far away.

In other, less depressing, news ....

I am 95% done with my Xmas shopping. Everything is wrapped and labeled and I am just waiting on a few gifts to arrive from my boyfriends, Amazon and Ebay, and I will be all set ;) I have one gift for one person that I am not totally sure about, but other than that I am done. I tried to get everything bought by December so I don't have to deal with any last minute shopping and I can just enjoy the rest of the month.

Since I stopped working with my trainer I have lost about 8 pounds. I have 5 more to go and I will be back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I would like to loose 7 more and be a tiny bit smaller. I haven't been working out much at all so I have just been watching what I eat. I have cut out snacking almost completely. What a difference that makes! It feels so good to be so close to my normal size after being out of shape for over a year being pregnant and carrying 30 pregnancy pounds. I hope to reach my goal by the new year. Woot!

Devon: November

Devon is so smart! He can sing the whole alphabet and can recognize most of the letters by sight. My favorite part is "L, M, N, O, P" because he basically says "Elmo, P" , but it's close enough ;) He is learning what words start with what letters and will randomly say,"T-shirt ... T!!! Truck ... T!" It's adorable. Devon loves to sing in general and knows all the words to many of his favorite songs (twinkle, twinkle). Joe and I hover over the baby monitor at night to hear Devon singing himself to sleep.

I am still working with him on his counting and numbers, but he seems more like an alphabet guy for the moment.

Devon loves to drink juice out of my "fancy" (plastic) cup. One handed no less.

Devon loves to run fast, play cars, dance, collect rocks, jump, go outside, play on the slide, watch cartoons, feed Audrey milk and "drive" Daddy's truck. Joe will put him in the driver seat and he pushes every button he can reach. Devon loves to watch sports and bands play on the computer. He still likes calculators, but above all else he loves to play cars. He wakes up in the morning and wants to play cars before a diaper change, milk or breakfast. He never gets tired of it. He plays with all his Hot Wheels and all his random trucks at the same time. He also loves to drink milk, eat lemons and popcorn.

First "official" hair cut. He got to sit in a Jeep chair and pretend to drive, he got a sucker and they turned on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I don't know what else they could possibly do to distract him from his hair cut other than sit a puppy in his lap, but it all worked and he sat there like a champ. (It's Sports Buzz $13. Kinda pricey for a kids cut, but it was so easy I think it's worth it).

Devon has started to get a bit more "tantrumy", but I try to get him to calm down by getting him to show me how big of a deep breath he can take. This usually works ... usually. I never intend for Devon to appear like the "perfect" child, but he is very well behaved. Of course he has tantrums and doesn't listen from time to time like any other child, but honestly, he is a pretty laid back, go-along kid.

Devon is starting to enjoy our play dates more and more and will talk about his friends when they are not around. Mackenzie seems to be his current favorite and he even gave her her first kiss. Oh la la! It was so cute. She leaned in, he backed away. He leaned in, she backed away. The both leaned in and kissed. Sweet! Now they hug and kiss on the cheek ... it's very sweet to see them play together so well.

I am so excited for Xmas this year to see Devon enjoy it and have an understanding of what's happening as well as having Audrey with us for the first time. Joe and I don't usually go gifts for each other, but we are slowly starting to implement family traditions without making it stressful. We hope to make the holidays about doing fun things as a family and not all about gifts. I carefully picked out a few toys that I think he will like without spoiling him with too much and I can't wait for him to open them. We have been talking to him about picking out a tree and decorating it and he loves for me to tuck him in at night and sing Jingle Bells. It's a nice break from "babies" (The wheels on the bus: "The babies on the bus go wah wah wah" is his favorite part).

I gave Devon a pony just like Audrey because his hair kept getting in his face. Isn't he so pretty? ;)

It's funny to be able to have full conversations with Devon and hear the random things that come out of his mouth like,"Here, Audrey. Hold this." as he hands her a toy. Too funny. Some of his popular phrases right now are: "Devon do it self" (Devon did it by myself) "Mama sit down there (and points exactly where he would like me to sit ;)"See? Better" (See? Isn't that better). "Love you lot. Miss you lot." "No like that." I love to hear him talk.

Joe and I are really enjoying Devon right now. We can easily communicate with him and have conversations about his day. His favorite color is blue ;) He requires a TON of seemingly endless energy, but he is so much fun to play with.

Audrey: 4 months (November)

Little Audrey is not so little anymore! She is getting bigger by the day. She barely fits into 3-6 month clothes and definitely fits better in her 6-9 month stuff. It is getting colder so I am having to layer all her summer dresses with sweaters and long sleeve onesies. Girls clothes are convenient that way.

Devon loves being a big brother and is eager to feed Audrey a bottle. He does at least one feeding a day and holds her often. It is so cute to see him share his toys with her and lay down next to her when she's on her play mat.

She is starting to have more of an interest in toys and kicks her legs with surprising force! She is getting so strong and showing off that little personality.

Audrey is a sleeping champ! She is down to two naps a day and it is amazing. She usually sleeps during our morning outing (ie: park, Children's Museum, etc) for an hour or so, but manages to stay awake and enjoy most of it. Once we get home she goes down around 11:30 and sleeps until 4:00. If she's not up by 4:00 I wake her up. She takes an evening bottle and is asleep around 7:30. She has been waking up around 3:00am lately for a feeding, but she sleeps so well otherwise I don't mind getting up with her. Everyday is a little different so she keeps me on my toes.

She is this close to rolling over. She turned on her side the other day and she is figuring it out. She will be rolling over any day now so no more leaving her on the changing table, I guess ;)

I love to put her in dresses, but she ends up grabbing the bottom, pulling it up and drooling all over it that I often have to change her into another outfit because she soaked through it. It's gross and funny at the same time. She likes to be holding something so I try to give her a toy or a blanket.

She is laughing and cooing and is so alert. She is very ticklish! She loves to be held facing out so she can see what is going on, but loves to snuggle up close right before nodding off to sleep.

Just sucking our thumbs.

I love doing her hair and even made a few barrettes out of flowers. She is pretty happy to sit while I do her hair and she looks so damn cute with a little pony "fountain" on the top of her head.

My super crafty sister, Katy, made this blanket. She even made a doll size one for her little, blue cradle. It has adorable fabric that I love, love love! Thanks, Katy!

This lavender blanket was made by my Mom. It is so soft. Isn't it beautiful? Thanks Mom!

Audrey loves to smile at her Daddy, but is quite the Mama's girl at the moment and she cries pretty much the whole time if I leave her at home. It feels good to be needed, but it's sad that she has such a difficult time.

I am just loving every moment with this little girl. She is just such a good, sweet natured and calm baby she is easy to fall in love with. It is such a special time for our family as we head into the holidays, making new traditions, making new memories and celebrating as a complete family of 4.

Jasmine: 2001-November 27, 2010

I will miss you, sweet girl.



Xox,
A.

It's not always about the kids

Jasmine watch ... day 12

Last Tuesday at 9:00 I was on my way to a play date with a new friend and her two children who are exactly the same ages as my kids. She also has a boy and a girl. She is a very sweet Mom and always makes me feel encouraged. She is a positive person and I appreciate that most about her.

As I was driving to her home all I could feel was gratitude.

Gratitude for the fact that I was NOT on my way to put my sweet Jasmine to sleep. I made a 9:00 appointment to put her down, but I happily cancelled it on Monday because she was doing so much better. I can't believe I almost put her down at the advice of the vet. I know the vet wasn't flippant about putting her to sleep, but I also felt like she wanted me to do it in that moment. It's not like I have this stray cat that I found and she's sick ... that cat is almost 9!!! She's a member of the family so you would think that more caution and more options would be considered to save her.

At least I listened to my own instincts and didn't give up. She is eating better and I got her a fountain so she can have access to running water any time of the day. Hydration is extremely important with kidney issues so that should really help her. She is up and around more and even ran away from Devon ;)I haven't seen her run in a while so that is good. I don't know what's wrong with her, but I hope that she is getting over it.

Things are really looking up! Thanks for your concern.

In other news ... nursing the baby isn't going very well to say the least. I noticed that she was fussy and crying when she was feeding and I could just tell there wasn't much milk. I decided that I would give her a bottle of formula and pump and see how much milk there was. I put her to bed at 7:00 and pumped at midnight. I would normally get 5 ounces, but I BARELY got two. Not good. I pumped again at 7:00 am and I only got two ounces. After 7 hours I only got 2 ounces. Not good.

This also happened with Devon around this same time (3-4 months). My milk just went away. It's funny how we (as Moms) can have so much guilt over things that are out of our control. I felt like I wasn't being a good Mom to him by not being able to provide milk, but I know it's not my fault and there's only so much you can do. I cried every feeding that I had to give him formula. I felt like I was failing as a Mom and it really made me depressed. I still feel guilt about stopping with Devon even though I know I did everything I could. When my supply went down I put on weight to make sure I was eating enough, I pumped every two hours (even though he was sleeping through the night), I took medication to increase the hormone that helps produce milk ... for three months. When he was 7 months his pediatrician begged me to stop because he could see that I was visibly stressed by the whole thing so I did. I'm glad he gave me permission to do that and I immediately started to feel better.

I have tried many things to boost my supply and some women just don't have a lot of milk. I am one of those women. Some women make TONS of milk and have more than enough to feed their babies and freeze milk for a year. I am not one of those women. I pumped a few days ago and when I only got an ounce I decided to stop breastfeeding. It makes me extremely sad to stop since I really do enjoy that time with her, but if there's no milk there's no milk.

I read a recent study that found that the benefits of breast milk really only apply to the first week of life since the colostrum and the hind milk (milk for the first month) that follows it are the most important antibodies and nutrients that a baby needs. After that, as long as the baby is getting milk it doesn't matter if it's breast milk or formula.

I have tried a few of the frozen dinners that I made and I have to tell you that I'm not impressed with most of it. It tastes like "left overs" even though I bake it in the oven. Does that make sense? The mashed potatoes were pretty unappetizing (very starchy and doughy) and the stuffed pasta shells were a little dry. I'm sure all of this takes a little finesse, but I don't know if it's worth it. I do think that spaghetti sauce is perfectly fine frozen. I will admit that even though the food hasn't been great, on the few occasions where we did eat them it was a lifesaver to have something ready to go. I think I might try a few soups since the weather is getting colder it might be nice to have that on hand.

I am dreading the holidays, but I am trying to stay positive. I do not have that "holiday gene" that most of my family seems to have. We put up a tree every year and I enjoy that I have to admit. I like going to the lot, picking out a live tree, watching Joe heft it into the house all by his manly self and setting it up together. We don't usually do gifts for each other, but this year we are going to and I decided that we should do stockings and start our own traditions with the kids. I am excited to give my gift to Joe and to watch Devon enjoy his first real xmas as a "big boy" since he is finally old enough to open gifts and articulate a bit better. It's Audrey's first xams this year and our first xmas as a complete family.

Xox,
A.

It's not always about the kids: Jasmine watch ... day 5

This is Jasmine.

She is almost 9 years old.

Nicknames include Jasim (Devon calls her that), the femur, the fu foo, the girl and the foof.

She was found in a parking lot when she was just a kitten and we have been loving her ever since then. We got her because our other cat, Sampson, was depressed and needed a companion to cheer her up. She is a sweet cat. She doesn't like everyone, but if you're lucky enough to have her like you she will never leave your side. She follows me into the bathroom every time I go. EVERY time. She nibbles on my toes. She sleeps in the bed with us at night and often wakes us up because she walks back and forth over Joe and I. If I'm really lucky she will burrow underneath the covers and snuggle at my feet. She will only eat tuna if it's really fresh, sashimi quality fish. She loves to have her front teeth rubbed and wags her tail like a dog. She is a sweet kitty.

A few days ago we couldn't find her anywhere. When we finally found her she had lost weight and was noticeably lethargic. She wouldn't drink or eat anything. Her back legs would slip out from under her when she went up or down the stairs. It was very sad to watch her limp around. I took her her to the vet and she weighted 5 pounds. She normally weighs 10. A normal cat fever is 100 and she was 104 ... VERY high for a small cat. They gave her IV fluids, meds and took some blood. Turns out she has chronic kidney failure. They said that she would need a 2 day hospital stay ($550 on TOP of the cost of the tests that I already paid for) and sub Q fluids every day ... for the rest of her life. Having to poke a needle into my cat every day for the rest of her life is no life for her. I can't put her through that and I have a feeling that she would not even let me do that for very long anyway. She sent me home.

I went back a few days later to talk about our options and the vet said that if I wasn't going to give her fluids that I should put her down. I told her that I wasn't ready to do that in that moment. Jasmine was doing OK at that time and it seemed premature to put down an animal that seemed "fine". I had them give her another IV and took her home. I made an appointment for Tuesday at 9:00 to take her in and have her put to sleep.

Heartbreaking doesn't begin to cover it. I had this cat before I had my children. I used to literally cry on the way to the airport when Joe and I would go out of town because I was worried about leaving my cats alone.

HOWEVER ... I have to tell you that she is doing so much better today!!! She is not 100% by any means, but she IS doing better today. She is drinking water, walking around and she is sleeping in our bed during the day which is a HUGE change since she has been hiding in our closet most of the time. She is purring again and her eyes seem brighter. She is rolling on the floor and showing me her belly so I can scratch it ;)

Maybe she ate something poisonous and it's just working its way through her system? Maybe she is just really sick, but not terminally sick? Maybe I am in denial and want to think that she is doing better, but she's really not? It's possible. Whatever happens, I canceled my appointment to take her in and I am going to take it one day at a time and see how she does. I am just giving her lots of love, water, trying to get her to eat food and hoping that is enough to get her through this. It is not her time to go and I'm not giving up on her!

The point is ... I am hopeful.

Xox,
A.

Halloween 2010

I asked Devon what he wanted to be for Halloween and he said,"Pooh" and never wavered. I found this cute Pooh costume online and it even has a stuffed "belly full of honey". When we first showed Devon his costume I wasn't sure if he would love it or cry. He walked up to it and hugged it so I knew we would be OK with getting him to wear it. I was not really interested in getting Audrey into a major costume since she's so little so I went to Savers, found a pink onesie, made some ears out of a wash cloth and headband, put some "baby legs" on her and she was Piglet. I feel a little guilty for not making her first Halloween costume more of a big deal, but seriously ... she's 3 months old! Regardless, I think they both looked so cute!

Don't they both look thrilled? Ha!

I took them to a Halloween party at this play group we go to on Friday morning. They had a few games, but it was too hot for poor little Pooh bear so we didn't stay for more than an hour. His costume is basically an arctic jacket with ears and pants so I'll need to be more careful next year with getting Devon to choose something more weather appropriate.

Friday night I thought it would be a nice family outing to go and get a pumpkin. We put Devon in a wagon and wheeled him around this huge tent and let him pick out two pumpkins to carve. It was a really nice set up. They had great live music, there was BBQ being cooked, beautiful orange, green and while pumpkins, tractors ... it was oddly peaceful being their with my sweet dolly asleep in my arms and Joe pulling Devon in a wagon.

Devon got to pet a goat, see the pigs and sit in tractors. I didn't know they were working tractors until he hit a button and the engine turned over. Oops!

The finished product.

Joe did the "Nighmare before Xmas" inspired one on the left and I did a classic happy face on the right.

On Saturday evening Joe's parents came over to see the kids in their costumes.

We met Jane and her family at the mall for trick or treating. They were Danny, Sandra and the pink ladies from Grease. Such a cute idea as a family concept.

Devon is still not really ready for Halloween so I didn't want to do door-to-door trick or treating anyway. 45 minutes of indoor candy getting was perfect for us. He got to see other kids in costume and I know he liked eating his suckers two at a time. He totally melted down when we tried to get him to eat dinner, but we went home and he was happily in bed by 7:15. It ended up being a pretty stressful experience for me and I don't think I was able to relax enough to really be able to enjoy it, but I think that Devon had a great time and in the end that's really what matters, right?

I have made a point of NOT eating Devon's candy ;) It's sort of lame when parents take their babies trick or treating just so they can have the candy. If he got something that he can't have (ie: jaw breakers) I just throw them out. He didn't get much candy anyway, but he got more candy than he's ever had in his life and it's kind of fun to indulge him this one time and let him taste it all. So far he likes suckers, air heads, sour candy and pixie sticks. The CUTEST thing by far is what he calls Twix candy bars. He calls them "chocolate toes". Hilarious.

Devon (October)

Devon is amazing. His language and understanding has totally shifted! It's pretty remarkable what he can remember and what he can say. Lately, when he gets upset I can ask him to be a nice boy, he quiets down and I am able to explain to him why he's not allowed to reach into the knife drawer or play with scissors or have 3 juice boxes at once ;)99% of the time this works and we can move onto something else.

Sometimes it doesn't work at all (he is 2 after all), but I am learning to be more patient ;) He is totally saying 4 and 5 work sentences and we have been working on turning those one word sentences into phrases like,"More milk please, Mama." Instead of just saying "more" or "milk" or "Mama" and pulling on me. He is learning the power of the word "please" and I must admit that I usually give him what he wants as long as he says please (as long as I don't have to remind him to say it). I don't give in every time, of course, but I think it's important for kids to learns manners at a young age.

Just this morning he was getting into the fridge and pointed to the egg carton and said,"Eggs come from chickens." I know that's not ground breaking news, but ... HE'S 2!!! Amazing.

Devon loves to play cars and trains complete with little boy sound effects. He got several tractors and "guys" (GI Joe type dolls) for his birthday and loves to carry them around. He is super fast on his little car and rides from one end of the house to another at top speed and somehow manages to stop just before slamming into the cabinets. Every time he does this I'm sure he's going to crash and he never does.

Devon loves to hold his sister. He is learning to be more gentle with her and to whisper when she is sleeping. He is happy to have her around while we play and I haven't seen any jealousy yet so maybe I won't.

You can't win all the time I suppose.

He is so funny! He says the most hilarious things sometimes I start to laugh which makes him laugh which makes me laugh .... it's funny.

He has been going into his play garden and using his imagination to pick tomatoes and squash. He will bring me handful of these imaginary fruits and I am expected to gobble them right up because he is coming right back with more.

He is starting to have some say in what he wears and definitely knows what he doesn't like. I make sure to praise him when he picks out something cute so he will be more likely to wear it again.

Any time he has two of anything he calls them "friends". Two peppers, two toys, two shoes ... friends. They often kiss and hold hands.

He decided that Pooh Bear needed to visit the beauty parlor for a wash and a curl.

Devon loves eating crasins, pumpkin cake, rice cakes, pokey sticks and tamarindo (this nasty, slightly spicy Mexican candy you squeeze through a tube). I started giving him a big boy bowl of Cheerios for breakfast and I think he loves eating out of a bowl all by himself. I remember giving him Cheerios when he was just a little baby so it's cute to see him being such a "big" kid. He is eating pretty well these days, but I still have to feed him to really get a full meal in that little belly.

I think he is finally coming out of his shell with other kids and now wants to give out hugs and fist bumps to his friends. I think his cousin Sadie helped him with that because she is so gentle and calm with him and they see each other once a week now. They even hold hands when we walk to the car through the parking lot. He is learning to really play with other kids sharing toys (instead of watching from my lap) and will wander away from me to play, something he doesn't do unless we're at home. If I'm not right there with him he will find me and drag me over to where he is playing. I don't mind, but it makes me happy that he's feeling comfortable and being more independent around other children.

I occasionally go to Trader Joe's when I need a few, specific things and they have these really cute kid sized carts. I let Devon push one around and I grab stuff off the shelf for him to put in his cart. He is quite the spectacle. He is very serious about this cart and pushing it. ;)

Devon has an amazing memory for names. He remembers kids' names he met twice and nearly every day he lists off (almost) every member of both sides of our family. My personal favorite is "Aunt Nick". I don't correct him either. Sorry, Aunt Nick ;)

Devon loves to run! He is so fast and runs even faster if the right music is playing. He learned how to jump all by him self so I have had to stop using phrases like,"Let's go jump in the tub." or "Jump down," because I don't really need to take a trip to the emergency for stitches ;)

I have been waiting until I ran out of size 5 diapers to officially begin potty training and that time is rapidly approaching. I think I feel this pressure to potty train him because "boys take longer" (not actually true so I wish people would stop telling me that. They potty train just as fast as girls sitting down, but they also have to learn to go standing up so people consider the standing part as "fully potty trained" ... lame), but I don't think either of us are ready. What's the rush? He can't even get his pants down by himself so I would have to take him every time. What's the point in that? I know it saves money on diapers, but really it can wait a few more months when things settle down a bit and he is a little more willing. Potty training can be very psychologically damaging or embarassing for kids if they are pressured to do it when they're not ready and I don't think a lot of parents think about that. They just want their kid trained first among their peers or they hate changing diapers or whatever. Regardless ... we're not ready yet ;)

Devon is such a tender boy. Even though he can be difficult to handle when his tantrums are in full swing, he is still a very sweet and thoughtful child. He seems to have genuine concern for people and wants to be a good helper all the time. Whether it's bringing Audrey a pacifier, giving out massages, throwing away garbage or cooking in the kitchen Devon loves to be helpful. He is so happy when he gets to be a "little chef" (from Ratatoulle, said in a high pitched voice) and help me pour or stir when I'm preparing food.

It's very cute to see Devon mimic me. If I am holding the baby he will go get a doll, wrap her in a blanket and sit next to me on the couch. I sometimes call Audrey "dolly" because she is such a doll ;) He puts his "dollars" in the cradle or pushes them in the swing. The red haired doll was mine when I was little.

This past month has been a tough one on many levels, but we are starting to get into a new routine and I am learning the activities that Devon truly likes. I try to make sure we do fun things everyday as well as spending quality time at home. Devon still follows his Daddy around the house everywhere he goes for every second that he's home. I love to see them interact and I am always inpressed (and a little envious) with the activities they do together. Joe made Devon a tee pee out of cactus ribs and a rocketship and a gun out of drawing paper. So creative, Daddy!

Joe and I are so in love with this little boy and count ourselves lucky everyday.