The proof is in the potty

After months of peeing in the potty Owen has finally given in and gone and pooped in it too. All this time he has been saying there is "no way" he was going to poop in the potty but Sunday it all changed. He was sitting on his potty playing with a toy when all of a sudden he jumped up with a confused look on his face and looked into the potty, pointed and hollered "There's POOP in there!" like he had no idea whatsoever how it possibly got there.

He has continued to poop in the potty ever since and we are oh-so-glad about it. It does seem to be a slow process though...I mean, he doesn't go in there and sit down and immediately poop, he goes in and sits down and sings songs or talks to himself until finally he finishes up.

So I was happy and I was proud and I was bragging and then I actually sat and listened to what he was saying as he was sitting on the potty. It could be worse, I suppose he could be talking about poop using the more widely known term, but instead he was babbling up a storm: "I don't say dammit. Mommy says dammit is a bad bad word. If I say dammit I get in big trouble, so I don't say dammit. Not ever. I never never say dammit. That's a bad word. Yes sir, dammit is a very bad word, so Owen will never say dammit."

This is a little bad, I know, but I'm learning to pick my battles and this is just one I dont' want to fight. He obviously knows it's a bad word and he never says it unless he's on the potty so what harm could it do? Plus, by him stating over and over in his monologue that it's a bad word I probably would never be embarrassed by him if it happened in public. And no one else would be embarrassed either. I mean, it would be fine, right? Not like the time the little girl in Haley's preschool class told all of us that her mommy and daddy took showers together to save water.

I think I'll be just fine with the dammit thing.

In search of happiness

Recently I have been channeling my energy into finding things that Skylar might like (either now or in the future). Doors of possibility are swinging wide open now with her new-found ability to hold up her head. So, a run down of some of the things we have acquired:

This is the bouncy seat. It was once Owen's, and he spent a great deal of his early life in it, loving every single minute. It then became Mary Kate's, who I'm sure loved it, and now it is ours again. Skylar will sit in this for approximately 10 minutes.
This is an exersaucer we got from Midge for $20. We put her in this briefly and she checked out all the toys and decided she was finished with it, maybe forever.

This is an activity gym that I got off ebay for $1.79. Shipping was $8.00. It also has little plastic animals that dangle from various places but Owen has confiscated all of them. Skylar does seem to like the music it plays when Owen beats on the buttons, but that's about it.

Through a series of events that I won't bother to bore you with we now have another exersaucer that we got for free. This one is different from the first one thank goodness but it elicits the same response from Skylar. It is, however, Owen's favorite.

We also have this scary looking contraption (also given to us) that I'm assuming took the place of those jumper things you used to hang in the doorways. Ashlyn and Haley had one that they loved but they used to bang off the door facings when they were in it so this I figure is safer.

This is the little crawl through/gym I got Skylar at Target. She will lay under this for short periods of time but she does her best to look at everything except the toys dangling mere inches from her face. One of the toys makes noise but you have to have very very good coordination to set it off. Also, there are no lights to catch her attention. Maybe once she is crawling and we turn it into a tunnel she will like it a little more.

This is the swing. Skylar will sit in the swing and watch the fish at the top go around. She will even maybe fall asleep in it (this has happened one time). Skylar's biggest issue with the swing is that she doesn't like to actually swing. It must be perfectly still for her to enjoy it. The least little amount of swing makes her hysterical.
So we now have all these things that she cares nothing about that are meant to somehow make her happy and maybe coax a smile out of her. It turns out all she needed was for me to make an obnoxious, high pitched "SHOO-WEE!" when I was changing her diaper.

Storytime

Haley got to check out her first library book last week. She read it to Skylar every day. Check out the title...

Reason #2

Why we don't leave our house:

Reason #1 of course is because of Screams-A-Lot.

Reason #2 is because Owen now insists on picking out his own clothes.

The Finished Product

Okay, Becca brought me the finished pictures that we took of Skylar and they are all listed here. You can also go to the link under the flickr badge. If anyone wants one, let me know and I'll email it to the WalMart nearest to your house and you can go pick it up. I think next week when Nana and Pops bring Brian, Jenny, and Mary Kate out here we are going to get Becca to take some of all the grandkids and I will eventually be able to put those on here too.

I'm Lost

Did anyone out there watch Lost last night? I tivoed it and on the playback it was really jumpy. I didn't know if it was the channel or the recording. Anyway, did anyone watch? Did anyone see? Did anyone possibly see THAT coming? To sum it up in 5 words or less--Well Son of a B&^%$! His DAD was IN THE CLOSET?? WTF?

New slide shows

I have added some slide shows with all of my pictures from 2006 and the beginning of 2007 here. There is also a link under my flickr badge in the right-hand column. I plan on eventually adding some from previous years also...all I need is for Skylar to stop crying long enough for me to get it done, so look for those sometime in early 2010.

I'm moving!

to Haleyland. From what I can tell, it's a wonderful place to live.

(I'm holding Skylar up on my shoulder, and she is facing away from me)

Haley, are her eyes closed?

Um, yeah.

OK, good, then she's asleep?

Um, yeah...no wait, her eyes opened again.

Oh, OK.

Yeah, I thought she was asleep and all because her eyes were closed for a while, but now they're open so she must not be sleeping. She must have just been having a long blink.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today is also the 11th anniversary of Scott's and my first date!

The Funky Side

Usually I take pictures the way everybody takes pictures, I get the person centered in the frame and snap away. Becca, who is starting her own business making baby announcements is much funkier in her choices. I mentioned before that she had come over and taken some pictures of Skylar and yesterday she brought by some finished ones for me to look at. They were all really really good! I would never think to take pictures of feet and ears and crop pictures so you only see half of the baby's face, but oddly it looks really cool! So anyway, this is one of my favorites of the shots she showed me. When she gets them all finished she's going to give them to me on a disc so I will make a slideshow so you can see them all.

Question of the Century

WHO'S VOTING FOR SANJAYA??

Sittin' like a lady

My First Four Survey

The Firstborn Survey (with all the rest thrown in for good measure):

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Yes
Yes
Yes
No

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
Yes all four times-AND to the same person!!

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
We were excited the first three times. The last time I cried for about 3 months.

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?
No

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
24 when I found out and at delivery
25 when I found out, 26 at delivery
29 when I found out, 30 at delivery
32 when I found out and at delivery

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
Home test
Doctor test
Home test
Home test

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
Scott
Cindi Bebout (she was keeping Ashlyn when I had the doctor test)
Scott the other two times

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?
Yes the first three times, no the last time but Scott talked me into it

9. DUE DATE?
March 7, 1999
December 22, 2000
May 28, 2004
February 9, 2007

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Yes, all four times

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
Death

12. WHO IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
Scott and the other kids

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
With the second yes (at first), with the fourth yes

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
I set the world record-look it up

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
3 with the first
1 with the second (after she was born)
1 with the third
1 with the last

16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
I knew about them all.

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
No

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
Chattanooga, Tennessee
San Angelo, Texas

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
From the time we got to the hospital to the time of birth:
17
17
6
6

20. WHO DROVE YOU THE THE HOSPITAL?
Scott
Scott
My dad (Scott was in Afghanistan)
Scott

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Scott
Scott
My parents (Scott was in Afghanistan)
Scott

22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Natural all four times

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
Yes, all four times I got the epidural

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH??
8 lbs 10 oz
7 lbs 2 oz
7 lbs 10 oz
8 lbs 15 oz

25. DID YOUR CHILD HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS??
Ashlyn had meconium aspiration and spent 4 days in the NICU.
Haley had none.
Owen had to spend some time in the baby warmer because he couldn't maintain his body temperature.
Skylar had none.

26. WHAT DAY WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ON?
February 23, 1999
December 5, 2000
April 28, 2004
January 22, 2007

27. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Ashlyn Kate
Haley Grace
Owen Scott
Skylar Hope

28. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?
8
6
2
@ 7 weeks

Let's go Amber, Karin, Sherri, Becca, Jenny, Midge, Lucinda, and April!

Owen! Don't look!

So I got an email from my uncle Tom this morning and he had attached a couple of pictures. Tyler is 14 and I think Owen is going to be a lot like him. Totally into football and basketball and baseball and always on the go. He is extremely energetic and when Tom tells me stories about him getting into everything I laugh but then I think Owen will be doing the same thing in a few years so then I cry a little. Anyways, I looked at the first picture and thought "Oh gee look, Tyler has a dirtbike. Look at that cool pose on the dirtbike with his dirtbike-riding clothes on."
Then I looked at the second picture and thought "Oh my God, Tyler is in the pasture riding the dirtbike and doing a wheelie on the dirtbike and the dirtbike is moving, probably somewhat quickly, and Tyler is on the dirtbike not even sitting down on the dirtbike!"
Owen would think Tyler is awesome. I think I need to keep Owen far far away from Tyler.

Getting our money's worth

Tonight we took the girls to Mastercuts in the mall and got their hair cut. There was much discussion as to how short they wanted to go, and Scott said that if it costs the same no matter how much they get cut off then we might as well get our money's worth. And so we did.

Owen did not get his hair cut, but he wanted his picture taken anyway because he likes to see himself on the "in-nuh-net" (which is better than his other word for it-the "pooter")

The Neon Jungle

This past Saturday Ashlyn and Haley were invited to a birthday party at the Neon Jungle. When I heard about it my first thought was "My kids aren't allowed to frequent strip clubs" but we went anyway because I'm always up for some crazy fun times. Much to my dismay it turns out the Neon Jungle is just an indoor miniature golf course where everything is painted in glow-in-the-dark neon paint and it is completely dark except for some randomly placed black lights. The girls had a good time, though they had never played miniature golf before and didn't understand the concept at all. Ashlyn swung her club like she was teeing off on the second hole at Pebble Beach, so she spent the majority of the hour and a half we were there chasing her ball. Haley simply dragged her ball around behind her club, never once taking a swing. And NO, I did not take Owen with us-every once in a blue moon I do manage to exercise a token amount of good sense.

Spring Break '07

Spring Break '07 promises to suck just like last year did. Today, on the day Owen has two other people in the house to entertain him, he slept until 11:45. Skylar, on the other hand, got up at 4:10. I fed her and checked her diaper and put her back to bed, but she refused to go to sleep and instead threw her pacifier over and over at my head. I checked her diaper again and found that it had leaked-damn you, Huggies-and all her clothes needed to be changed, which woke her up even more. Then she decided it must be playtime so she began to wave her arms and legs around so furiously I started to worry that planes might start to land in the bedroom. I tried to turn on her new mobile, but that backfired because the projecion light came on so we could experience "stars and wave patterns that dance on the ceiling to create a soothing environment for your baby". Well, with our eyes accustomed to the darkened room we were both partially blinded by the beam of sun that shot out of the top of the mobile.

Later in the morning I decided to take a shower so I left Haley in charge. One might ask Why Haley? but I have good reasons: 1. Nothing happens in the house without Haley knowing about it and telling me, and 2. Ashlyn plays on the computer or the watches a movie on tv with more concentration that I have ever seen possessed by another human being. I'm not sure she would even notice hugely dangerous things like, oh, natural disasters. Plus, with her oblivious to all the things happening in the room around her Owen would have ample time to fashion some type of ladder out of various household items, disable the door alarm, and escape again.

I had other things in mind to do today, like clean the kitchen and vacuum and give Skylar a bath and I told every kid in the house about it. Nobody had a problem with any of it except for Skylar, who did nothing to hide the way she really feels about me, my plans, or really just life in general:

10 Things Skylar needs to learn

1. The bouncy seat is your friend.
2. The swing is your friend.
3. The car is not hell. So don't cry like it is.
4. I know it's exciting living with Owen, but if you miss anything while you're asleep, I'll tell you, so GO TO SLEEP.
5. We hear you when you cry. There's no need to do it as loud as humanly possible.
6. I have to take a shower daily. Please see #1.
7. I have to eat daily. Please see #2.
8. Filling your mouth up with milk and then spitting it at me when you're mad is not very becoming, and it proves no point. Plus, it's wasteful.
9. When Owen comes near you, always duck.
10. My hair is not now, has not ever been, and will not ever be handles.

Fire and Water...and more fire

Last week Owen and I were making our lunch when something fun-tastic happened. I eat the same thing every single day-a grilled chicken wrap. One tortilla, some shredded lettuce, some shredded cheese, and a few slices of grilled chicken topped off with a little italian dressing. I buy the chicken frozen, so I have to microwave it for 40 seconds before I can eat it. Last week I put the chicken on the plate as usual and started it up. About 10 seconds into this the microwave started flashing blinding flashes of light and the frozen chicken on the plate spontaneously burst into flames. Shortly after that lots of smoke shot out of the small vent thingy inside the microwave.

Today Skylar was crying (imagine that) and I was walking her back and forth in the living room when I heard the sound of running water. I found Owen washing dishes, using soap and everything. So there was a small swimming pool worth of water on the floor and a LOT of bubbles.

After that I got Skylar calmed down enough to take a shower and when I got out Owen was bouncing the bouncy seat so hard her head was banging off the headrest. I then went into the closet to get dressed and when I came out Owen was jumping on the bed. Obviously he does not remember this. He then flipped around and knocked the lamp off the bedside table, which fell off, the lightbulb shattered into 2 million little slivers of glass and lots of impressive white sparks shot out of the end of the lamp. So I screamed, so Skylar screamed, so Owen cried, so I called Scott, who was on his was to a luncheon at pizza hut (&%#$%*@) who assured me we would find a preschool for Owen soon.

So for the rest of the afternoon I will contemplate a quiet life with Owen at school and me simply rocking a baby in my glider. Right after I wash my comforter, which got dirty when Owen took the lid off his sippy cup and poured chocolate milk all over it.

Let there be sleep

Hours and hours of sleep. Uninterrupted. Sleep. She's on her stomach, yes. But she's asleep. And I'm not holding her. And she's sleeping. And there's no screaming. And it's been longer than 5 minutes. And she's STILL asleep. And it's quiet...except for the angels singing hallelulah.

I forgot to mention...

My friend Karin who was being a surrogate finally had the triplets on February 21st. All the babies got to go home the next week. Karin has their weights on her blog and you can see pictures of the babies here.

Tell the Truth

The photography session

Today Becca came over to take some pictures of Skylar. She works at a photography studio and we are trying to get professional looking pictures without leaving the comfort of home. This is one of the pictures we took while we were fooling around, trying to get Skylar in a good mood. I think Becca got some really really good pictures and I can't wait to see them when they are finished! Thanks Becca!!

Skylar with some bling

Nana makes jewelry so of course Skylar got some before she was even born. Here she is wearing her name bracelet accented with garnet, her birthstone, on her right hand, and her baby pink cat's eye bracelet on her right left hand. Skylar is also wearing a new outfit that we got during our trip to the mall with DJ. The trip was lots of fun and included Owen laying down in the floor of Sears, taking off his shoes, and refusing to leave with us. He also refused to move out from in front of the stroller so DJ ran him over with it. Oh, and Skylar cried, natch.