Serious Slacker

I have not sent a single thank you note (YET!!) from Dalton's baby gifts and Easton's big brother gifts. I am usually soooo much better than that. So, don't think I forgot you, nice people, and don't give up on me. I'm really not that rude. Usually. Also, we haven't even ordered Dalton's birth announcements. He is over 2 months old! What am I waiting for? Especially since I made them way back during J's two weeks off. This is just sad. I wasn't kidding when I called myself a "serious slacker". My excuse with the birth announcements is that, obviously, pretty much everyone already knows and has seen pictures. The beauty of the internet, I tell ya. Still...we did them for Easton so I want to send some for Dalton. We'll see if that happens.

I haven't done any digi-scrapping either. Not that I was popping them out left and right, but I haven't done a single page since Dalton was born. Part of that is because none of my "supplies" are on this laptop. I use that as an excuse for everything these days.

I gotta get my butt in gear. Especially since Dalton might be heading back to his old, better sleeping ways and I can't use sleep deprivation as an excuse forever either. I'm sure I've totally jinxed it now by saying that but last night he was back to doing another nice long stretch. 5 hours of sleep, 6 hours between feedings. It is so much nicer to hear from him after 2 a.m. than it is before midnight. Yay D!

And before I go too far. Look what J's cousin Britten posted on her blog for me:

Check out the hair! That is Jason's senior picture. Good thing I didn't know him then...for many reasons, including the fact that I was only in 8th grade at the time...but I don't like long hair on guys. Thanks for that, Britty. That was fun!

So, more pictures...let's see...Easton is an a phase where he will only eat shredded cheese vs. any other versions of cheese. Not the tidiest feat for anyone, especially a tot. But, it's cheese and he's eating so we let him do it occasionally. Cheese and corn bread. That was his dinner last night. He followed it up with more cornbread and syrup "from the lady". Finally, a dessert I just can't get into.


I just love how he's hanging on Jason in that last one. So, tell me my few commenters, is cornbread and syrup just a southern thing? Or just a J's family thing? All I know is, it ain't my thing. Pass the M&M's.

Anyway, Farmer E was up before 6:30 today!! I tried telling him it wasn't morning yet but he wasn't buying it. Hey, it wasn't really a lie. It wasn't morning to me. So, then I went and got him his sippy of milk and gave it to him to have in his bed. That kept him quiet for a few more minutes while he drank and we woke up a little more. Grrr. He has been in a suprisingly good mood considering the extra early rising.

He was helping with Dalton this morning. I went to get a baby wipe for Dalton and came back to Easton taking D's temperature.

"Help Mama" he explained. Awwww, sweet helper boy. I didn't ask what the temperature was but I can bet it'd be "twenty-six". He can count to 12 and then he just somehow knows about 26. So, if he's looking at a big number, like the clock or something he usually tells you it's 26. Goob. Here are some more sweet shots of the brotherly love they've got going on.

And the top view.

Good thing Dalton's such a sturdy lad. Otherwise Easton laying on him might make me a little more nervous than it already does. Dalton seems used to it. He only minds if Easton is also being very loud at the same time.

We made what seems to be our now weekly Krispy Kreme run today as we're hoping to go see Max tomorrow (we had doughnuts on Thursday last week). There was a line at the drive-thorough and as we waited our turn Easton went, "I waaaaant..." in a long drawn out way like you might do as you're still deciding what to order. He even had his little finger up to his lips to aid his decision making. Then he told me, "Open window" and went "Bunumanumah dougnhuts please." I don't even think he thinks "bunumanumah" is a real word. Sometimes he talks jibberish like that to be amusing. Once it actually was our turn the lady came on the intercom and I opened my mouth to talk but Easton started jabbering away his "order" from the backseat which made me have to stop to laugh before I could really order. That kid cracks me up, I tell ya.

When we came home he had one and a half of them again! Yay! I looked online and just one of those has 12 grams of fat. I'm trying not to think of how many grams I ate. In the midst of breakfast Easton told me, "pee pee!" He wanted to go up and take off his p.j.'s and sit on his potty and read again. Still nothing happened but again, I'm encouraged he wants to try. Or whatever it is he's doing. We came back down, dressed, finished our doughnuts, and made this:

It is supposed to be Easton. He picked out the clothes and shoes. I picked out the hairstyle, eye color, and nose. Then we could "animate" it and he thought the guy doing the worm was hilarious. He kept cracking up at first. So, that's what we went with. He wants to make Dada next. I really like hanging out with him, most of the time anyway.

We headed off to Circle Time after that. Not much to report from that. Miss Jenny had paper taped to the windows for the kids to color on. Easton colored on the window. I'm pretty sure he knows he's only supposed to color on the paper. Ugh. I cleaned it up with an alcohol swab I had stashed in my purse. What kind of person keeps hospital alcohol swabs in her purse? Me. That kind of person.

I think we might go to Old Navy after the boys wake up. I hear they're having a sale and my non-pregnant self would like some new things. Dalton is wearing some Old Navy fashions today:

It's actually his second outfit of the day. He's still a puker sometimes. *sigh* I need to find another shirt too but I haven't yet because, like I said, I can be a serious slacker. But, I really should go find one now. See ya next time!

It's Raining, It's Pouring

Before we get started let me just say there are no new pictures today so if that's all you come for you can move along...but come back tomorrow. I might have some then.

So, we did end up going to exchange some shorts yesterday. Kyla is right...Target does seem to have bigger waists but I hadn't picked up on that yet. Last summer at 18 months I bought him a pair of 3 month sized jean short. Remember? I got a couple different pairs but haven't tried them on him yet. Too bad he's still too small for the "adjustable waist" sizes. I can't find them anywhere in less than a 2T yet. We measured his height the other day and he was 35 inches. I always trust our measurements more than Tina at the doctor's. My point in saying all that is that he's still not super tall. 35 inches would be 38% for his age and he's got short legs so 2T's are waaaaaaaay too long. Then of course the whole waist issue...

Little Dizzle fell asleep while we were at Target (around 4:30) and little did I know he was down for the night! After Easton went to bed, Dalton was still asleep in his carseat. It was 8. We decided to wake him to feed him and then do his routine. He ate some but never fully woke up even with his diaper change so we kept him in his clothes. No bath. And put him to bed. He has been so much sleepier as he fights the little bug he had. He already seems all better symptom-wise. Thank God! I still sound all raspy and Easton has the hardest time ever shaking a cough so he's still hacking away and has more boogies than usual. But no more runny nose. Just boogie nose. :) Do I ever stop talking about poo or boogers? Good grief.

Today it is pouring down rain. Perfect day for staying home by the fire. But we don't have a fireplace and we had plans: Gymsters. And as we were getting ready Easton was being a big boy. He wanted to sit on the potty this morning. So he spent some time there and he asked me to read him the "potty book". Nothing happened while he was there but I liked that he wanted to sit there for a spell. When it was time to get dressed later I asked him to take off his jammies. Y'all have seen nakey boy plenty of times but this particular pair of jammies is harder for him to get off his ankles. But he did it all by himself and ran in to show me. Yay! Then, I was changing Dalton right before we were going to leave and I asked Easton to go down and put on his shoes. He does his shoes himself a bunch but sometimes needs help getting the tongue unstuck or getting the backs unfolded. But not this time. He ran up the stairs with his little shoes on exclaming, "I did it, Mama!" And they were on the right feet. He's getting so big.

At Gymsters he was a star as always. I overheard two mom's talking. They are friends outside of class too. Anyway, one of 'em went, "Easton's like Spiderman. Luke can't do that" and the other mom went "neither can Ellie". Granted, he is older than them but he's a climber too. Always has been. It's still nice when people are impressed with my kid. Mr. Ken came over to me later and quietly asked, "Can you guys come to Gymsters on Friday?" and I was like, "You mean switch?" and he said, "No no. Channel 4 is going to be taping a segment." Last time we were on Channel 2. So, anyway...we're going again on Friday to help his class look fun and full and appealing and all that or whatever he's going for. I thought we were all special since he whispered it to us but then I watched him go whisper it to 2 more moms. Oh well. A free class! I'm not complaining. When the separation time toys came out Easton was across the circle from me putting a ball away. He saw the toys and knew what was coming and started nodding to me and said, "Mama come back" but he wasn't saying it as in, "Don't go!!!" he was saying it like, "Mama will come back". And I did. I was so proud of my big boy again. This is 2 weeks now with no crying! He just sat there and played a drum while Ellie and Miss Stephanie played the tambourine. Another kid is the one going through the crying phase now. I'm glad it's not E anymore. Woo hoo!

We came home and the boys ate and now they're having their naps. We've got to brave the stupid rain again to go get our groceries. Blah. Hauling 2 small boys through the rain is no fun. Well, Easton thinks it's a blast and loves to drag me by the hand as he yells, "Run, Mama! Run!" Anyway, tonight is a perfect chili rice night so that's what we're having. Yum.

Hope you readers are warm and dry wherever you are! Bye!

2 Months Old Today

Just look at those cheeks spilling over his arm...

During his first nap of the day, I was washing his blanket so he had to sleep here:

He's officially 2 months today. Crazy crazy. Only 2 months old and he's been sick twice already. How sad is that? He's seemingly better today. His temp was 99.4 after his breakfast today. And he is waaaaay less stuffy and slept better last night only waking to eat every 3-4 hours. Although Easton rose before 7 yet again and Jason said, "I think he wants to be a farmer." That's too early, Eastie!

E's being fun today and being cranky and clingy at the same time. He's going through another spurt in his language development. It's kinda hard to explain but Jason and I get it. He's just saying more things. More than just nouns and verbs and adjectives. Like yesterday he asked Jason, "How 'bout the blue one?" When Jason went to pick up sandwiches for last night's dinner he brought Easton along. They're best buds and Easton is usually so well behaved in public and just fun to take along to make things more interesting. Apparently they were chatting in the car on the way there and Jason asked Easton what he wanted for dinner. He said he wanted an egg (he doesn't like eggs), "The orange one" (from Easter). So, when they get to the sandwich shop Easton walked up to the counter and "ordered" his egg from the girls working there. They liked him and gave him a free cookie (score!) and high fives and stuff. The best part? When he got home he actually ate 3 bites of hard boiled egg!!! This is amazing for him. This week he had those bites of egg, he ate a couple of peas, and even some green bean. If we see he might actually try it we get super excited and chant "Go! Go! Go!" much like you would to a friend chugging a beer at a frat party. Not that I'd know what that's like.
He responds really well to that as you might imagine. Now only if he'd go in the potty and I could do the same thing. Oh well.

Speaking of...I've been buying him clothes for this summer in an 18 month size. I put several of the pairs of shorts on him today...too big. Darn. In fact, if he is miraculously potty trained this summer the shorts wouldn't stay up at all without the diaper there. Ugh. I also tried a pair of underwear on him, just for fun. While this brand did stay up, there's loads of room in there for other things too. They're super baggy. Like he could wear them OVER a diaper. Do they do this on purpose or is his butt just that non-existant? Anyway, I'll be needing to make some returns and/or exchanges. No matter. I'm wanting to shop for me too. I can tell you one style I won't be getting Ick. Nice 9 inch zipper. Is that seriously considered stylish? Why is that nasty high-waisted look coming back?...and it's not just Jessica Simpson. Others are doing it too. Gross. Like my legs don't look long enough already. Anyhoo...how 'bout a picture? J double teaming the boys last night:

You Tube on the laptop is a huge hit with Easton. Dalton just likes being included.

And now? Easton and Dalton are both napping, of course. I told Easton it was time for his nap and he said, "See the man!" all excitedly. Huh??? I said, "What man?" and he told me, "The man bed." So I followed him up where he pulled out one of his little Lego men from in between the mattress and box spring. Oh! That man! But wait, there was "two mans". He put them both on his pillow and gave them kisses and I had to too. And he told them, "Ni-nite mans. I luh-doo mans." (I love you). So when I left they were both on his pillow "no buckah" (blanket) for them though. Says Easton the boss. What a silly guy.

It looks like a beautiful day so we've got to leave the house to do something. Probably go return some shorts I'd imagine. I dunno yet. Tonight is Chick-fil-a for dinner. J discovered they give you a free Chick-fil-a sandwich on Mondays if you have one of their cow antenna toppers. So, we've had it for the last 3 weeks. Chick-fil-a and Bachelor. Gotta love Mondays!

First Fever

Last night was rough. Dalton was up a lot but not to eat...to breathe. Well, mostly he just wanted comforting. Poor baby. He came in bed with us around 6.

When he first woke for the day I took his temp: 100.5 in his little pit. When he had his cold last time the doctor said to call if it was 100.3 or higher. Hmmmm. I looked online and they said the same thing: call immediately if it was 100.4 or higher rectally. Well, we don't do it there (doctor's orders and I'm not complaining. Neither are the boys). Anyway, an axillary temp would likely be lower than a rectal temp but we still didn't call the doctor. Jason is smart that way. We waited a bit and it came down some. But still, poor little guy. Someone should really tell him that he's sick because you wouldn't know from looking at him:

Although he is super sleepy and falls asleep just about wherever you put him:


Easton seems to be on the mend:



I'm still feeling yucky. The lack of sleeping isn't helping matters. And you should hear my voice. I feel like I should bust into my "sexy voiced" rendition of Phoebe's "Smelly Cat".

So, yesterday we went to that gumbo party. Not suprisingly, my Louisiana native wasn't exactly blown away by the Boulder guy's gumbo. And he only got 3 shrimp in his bowl. Poor J. Since I don't knowingly like to eat seafood (I once devoured J's leftover shrimp calzone before I knew it was shrimp) I had salad and bread. We were both starving when we got home last night. But, Easton had fun. There was a 4 year old boy at the party and he and Easton played and played. It was so cute. Most of E's little pals aren't quite ready to play with him yet. More like around him. Anyway, Easton loved this other little guy and gave him hugs and they laughed and spun around and had a blast. It was fun to see since we don't get to see other kids play with him yet. Even at Gymsters those kids mostly do their own thing. And it was nice to have him entertained. Of course we still kept a close eye on him and when J saw him playing with the homeowners blinds he went to fetch him. As Jason led him away Easton took that opportunity to step in their dog's water bowl soaking his pant leg. Ugh. Then it was time to go.

Dalton slept in the Snugli nearly the whole time we were there which was a shame because no one got to appreciate the outfit he wore for the occasion. This cute little ensemble from Gramoo:


Another 3-6 month sized get-up. The cute little hat says "crabby" but he doesn't look a bit crabby to me.

Today is Earth Day so we had originally planned to go to the Free Day at the Botanic Gardens again but with Dalton being feverish and me sounding like crap and Easton waking up at 6:30 we decided not to go. Maybe next year.

Anyway, I guess I should go do nothing now. Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Dang It!

Easton gave me his cold again. I'm guessing my immmune system is a little supressed from some sleep deprivation. Dalton's a little snuffy (yes, I meant to put snuffy) now too. Ugh! If Easton felt as crappy as I'm feeling I feel kinda bad about some of the timeouts he's had to have in the last few days. Oh well. Sick or not, you're not allowed to kick mommy. Or do dangerous things. Anyway...

We're going to a gumbo party later on. Jason and Easton went to pick up some Louisiana beer and garlic bread. Dalton is napping on the floor on his tummy. Guess he didn't want to do tummy time today. He doesn't want to do much but sleep today, it seems. He usually goes about 2 hours between naps but this time he just nursed and pretty much went right back to sleep despite my attempts to engage him during his tummy time.

Easton is the opposite. He woke up before 7 and took a short nap. Doesn't he know he's sick and needs his rest? Grrr. Dalton woke up 3 times to eat last night which means it was a lot. Especially when he'd been going for much longer stretches. Grrr again. I just wasn't feeling up to it last night especially but what's a nursing mom gonna do? Nada. Although at the 3rd waking I did end up just bringing him to bed with us. I was too tired. This one-sided feeding business takes a lot longer for him to fill up and he's not sleeping as long. But the green is gone. I think I'd pick green if I had to choose. We'll give it a little longer for my body to adjust.

Well, I think I should just share some pictures from yesterday afternoon instead of rambling on anymore. While I typed AJ the world's longest email, Easton entertained himself some of the time by playing markers near me:


After Dalton woke up I brought him down to do some buns-in-the-breeze time and I set him on the couch so I could gather the supplies (towels and chux). He then thought he'd just be super cute and smiley instead. I got soooo many pictures of them but I'll only share a few.


And this next one reminded me a lot of one of Easton. So here:


And then Easton wanted in on the fun. This one cracks me up because of Dizzle's expression:

And this one is blurry but lovable:


Then last night at dinner Easton was in a crazy mood:

That's about all he ate for dinner. He was cracking up at himself:

And finally a video. I think he might've been drinking. Watch this movie of him being a complete loon:

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

8 Weeks Old Today!

Holy cow time flies even faster with this kid than it does with Easton. Seriously.

So, McLaughlin is right...there has been quite a lot of bum and poo talk around this blog lately. Oy! The things that are "important" in the life of a stay-at-home mom, eh? Well, guess what: here's more...I think Dalton is doing better with the green-ness but he was up eating more often last night. I thought the opposite is suppposed to happen. I'm looking forward to his doctor's visit next Friday so I can actually talk with his doctor about everything instead of rambling to you guys about it. Not that you don't love hearing it, I'm sure. *wink*

Well, today is the anniversary of the Columbine massacre. Since it was so close to home I thought I should at least mention it even though I never have anything poignant to say about such matters. I wish I did. I have nothing to say about the Virgina Tech shootings this week either. This world scares me sometimes. My poor sweet boys growing up with it all. So innocent still...

But, there is still plenty of good in this world too, I know. Okay, I said I had nothing poignant to say and I don't. So we'll move on.

We played sidewalk chalk yesterday afternoon:

And climbed in Dalton's seat:


And today the boys wore their matching guitar jammies:

Aren't they cute? We bought those before Dalton was born. They're a 3-6 month size. He's moving into that size range already. For the length. We're used to short pants around here as that's how all of Easton's clothes are in order to stay up at the waist. Then there's me and my 36" inseam. Anyway...we're "retiring" quite a few of his 0-3 month stuffs which actually makes me sad. Will anyone ever wear them again? It's crazy to have a kid growing on track like this.


Well, they're both napping once again. I should move on to read some other blogs now. Have a good weekend, people!

Again Again Again

EASTON FELL OUT OF BED AGAIN
Poor guy, at about 1:00 this morning we heard a giant thump followed immediately by a frightened cry...Jason went, "He fell out of bed" and we both moved to get up. I'm quick like a cat, though (My friends call me "Whiskers") and beat J to Easton. E was sitting on the ground again and we cuddled for a minute and I made sure he was okay with me putting him back in the bed. I didn't want him to be scared of it falling out twice in less than a week. I think he was scooting up too high in the bed to escape his warm covers. He was quite hot as I laid him back down. A slight fever perhaps because...

EASTON IS SICK AGAIN
Another cold. We saw it coming. Last night he refused to eat anything at dinner. Not to mention the beginning coughings and such. I just hope and pray that Dalton stays healthy this time. Easton actually seems like he feels yucky. Most of the time when he's sick he still acts roughtly the same and has the same activity level. This time he's cranky and laying around more. Poor guy. His temp was only 99.3 so I wouldn't ordinarily give him meds for it (I like his body using the slightly elevated temp to fight things off, you know?) but he just seemed so miserable that I gave him his cough and cold medicine. He did seem a little better after that.

We skipped Circle Time today because of it. We hit up Krispy Kreme and Target instead.

A SCARY DIAPER LANDED EASTON IN THE BATH AGAIN

Oy, it was another doozy. Easton was bathing before 8 a.m. Daytime baths are nice though because he gets to spend a lot of time playing. And he got bubbles. He loves bubbles but his skin is just too darn sensitive to use them too much. I tried some new ones today and sure enough, even as he was sitting in the bath he developed a red ring around his middle where the bubbles hit him. I hosed him off with the shower head afterwards to get rid of any residue so we hopefully don't have any further issues. My poor sensie.

DALTON'S POOS ARE YELLOW AGAIN
In case you are unsure about such matters, yellow is a good thing for exclusively breastfed babies. It's what you want to see. Lately he's turned green so I looked into it...it could be that he wasn't getting enough of the higher fat milk that comes in later on in a feeding. Oops. Hope his weight gain isn't suffering or anything. Starting last night I was more careful about giving him enough time on just one side during a feeding. I thought I was good about it before but now I'm being even more diligent. Hopefully he'll stay yellow. Green is more potent, that's for sure. Pee yew!

DALTON'S BUTT IS LOOKING BETTER AGAIN
I'm gonna say it...it is even better today. He's getting a ton of air time...and we're going through tons of towels. But, I really think that is doing him the most good. That and stopping the antibiotics so that the Desitin can do it's thing. That Desitin is some good stuff...40% zinc oxide. A lot of the other brands are around 10-13% but those have other "goodies". The downside is Desitin has fragrance and Easton is sensitive to that. He's never had anything other than slight redness in the past and Desitin has nipped it in the bud...or butt! Ha! But, I guess he wants to be like his little bro and Easton developed some mild diaper rash the other day. Think he'll lay still to air out too? Nah...we picked up some fragrance free stuff at Target today for him. Hopefully that'll do the trick. These boys!

Speaking of these boys and moving away from the sub-categories...look how fun they are:
While I was nursing Dalton in Dalton's room Easton came in to play as usual. He brought in the Legos from his own room and I told him that was fine but he'd have to pick up the blocks first. He did without issue. Good boy! Then before he dumped the Legos all over the floor, he asked me if it was okay first. How could I say no?

I told him he could dump them but we'd have to clean it up later. What fun! He just sat there entertaining himself so well while Dizzle ate.

Then afterwards we went to change Dalton's diaper. Easton tried to stay close and wanted to climb up on the Pack & Play with Dalton but ended up here instead

I think it's better that way. Especially since E wasn't hurt in the slightest and wanted to do it again.

Later we headed downstairs where Dalton was diaper-less on the floor. Easton tried to help out by shoving Dalton's paci in his mouth:

But, Dalton didn't want it at that time so I told Easton that and said, "Can you make faces at each other or something instead?" Easton said, "Yes" and then did this:

Not exactly what I had in mind....
"What was that all about?!?!"


So, Dalton slept a little better last night. Hopefully as I make sure he's getting more of the high fat/calorie milk he'll start doing even better again. I feel so bad that I was doing it wrong, especially 'cause I thought I was doing it right. I knew about hindmilk before all this. You'd think I'd do better being that it's my second kid and all. But, Easton had a much smaller tummy than Dalton does. Heck, he probably still does. Anyway, Easton could only ever eat on one side anyway and I'd have to pump after every feeding. We never had green issues with him. Hopefully we're moving out of the green with Dalton too.

Dizzle doesn't care. He slept so late today. I heard him start fussing so I went and popped his Prevacid and his paci in his mouth as I usually do. He usually dozes for another half hour or so (perfect for the meds to get in his system before he eats). Anyway, today it was over an hour and we still hadn't heard from him. It was 9:40 at that time so Easton and I decided to just wake him up. We wanted our Krispy Kremes! Here is little D on the bed...he is craning his neck in order to keep looking and smiling at his bear mobile.

What a great little guy. Two great little guys. But I'm glad they're sleeping right now. Bwa ha ha! Off to enjoy my time to myself. Dalton's getting fidgety.

P.S. My friends don't really call me "Whiskers"...that is from a Will Ferrell SNL thing.

Smells Like Summer

As I sit here moving my fingers over the keys the lingering aroma of sunscreen wafts its way towards my nose. It's the first time we've broken out the sunscreen yet this year and the smell definitely makes me think of summer. So, why did we need "sun skeem" today? The zoo!

We knew the weather was going to be great today and we didn't have anything else going on so we decided to go to the zoo...Dalton's first trip. D wasn't all that excited about it seeing as how he slept until 9. But Easton was rearin' to go. When I turned off the shower this morning he yanked open the shower curtain and said, "Sooooo! See ammos!" Which means "Zoooooooo! See animals!" if that wasn't obvious. We got dressed and ready and all that and waited for Dalton. Poor Easton was just so anxious to go. He carefully decided which hat to wear "Da boo one" and even when I offered other choices he said, "No dis one" which was fine because it matched his Backyardigans outfit nicely. I don't know what kept Dalton sleeping so long. Maybe a growth spurt? The last two nights he hasn't slept any long stretches. I've gotten up with him every 4 hours at least. Oh well. And dare I say, but his tush is looking a little better today. That is something you don't hear me say even when Jason is being optimistic as we gaze at D's rear. All I've done is stop the antibiotic ointment. Hmmm. I've asked a few sources for other butt cream recommendations (they all say something different) and think I might pick up something else just to try.

Anyway, back to the "soo". We pulled up to the parking garage and I asked Easton, "Where are we?" and he said, "Ammos!" and went on to name just about every zoo animal he could think of as we searched for a spot. He made it better by making each word extra long, "Biiiiiiirds! Snaaaaaake! Bearrrrrr! Zeeeeeebra!"...you get the picture. He's fun. So, without further adieu let's look at some pictures. Easton got the stroller, Dalton rode in the Snugli.

And, as I've complained about in past blogs, their stupid guard rails are always in E's eyeline of the animals. But he made do:

This was our best zoo outing yet because he is really interested in seeing the animals and knows many of the names. On past trips (months ago, mind you) he called all animals "doggie".

Check this out:

As we rolled up to the window we spotted that orangutan off in the distance. And he or she spotted us. For the purposes of this story we'll go with "she". Anyway, she got up and started walking over to where Easton was. She did a fancy little spin move and kept walking right up to the window where she plopped down, folded her long arms, and proceeded to stare at Easton:

This is his not-sure-if-this-is-cool-or-scary face:

Before long he realized it was very cool, especially when other zoo-goers kept coming up saying, "Oh wow! He likes you!" or "Look at her staring at that kid". I personally think that she was interested in E's snacks. I got some videos too but haven't watched them yet. It was pretty neat. We went inside to see the gorillas after that and there was a little baby and his mama. Easton told me which one was the "baby daddy". Yes, he said it that way which made me laugh. How ghetto.


Impressed by two lorakeets "fighting" as they hung upside-down:



As much as Easton enjoyed the caged animals, he really liked the geese and such that roam about. He got up close and personal with one fine feathered friend:

He'd laugh hysterically as the bird pecked for crumbs around E's stroller. Those things are brave. Braver than me. I was afraid for E's fingers! Well, kind of.

Me and D as we head for home:


And as we got close to home I looked back to see Easton had removed his shoes and socks (stuffing his socks neatly into the shoes, by the way). He's crazy:


Notice his fingers in his mouth? That's his latest thing. He's got those in there all the time lately which is kinda annoying. If his finger isn't in there he's sometimes picking at his lip. Next thing you know he'll be eating boogers. When we see him doing it we just say, "No fingers please" and he stops without a fight. It's almost like he doesn't really want to be doing it either. I don't really think his mouth is bugging him. I looked the other day and he's got all 20 teeth now (meaning his 2 year molars are in). They might still be moving their way up, I s'pose, but they've broken through the gums. I hope this phase ends soon. And I hope his mouth isn't hurting. That would suck.

Okay, so Dalton woke up at 9 and slept on the car ride to the zoo, slept much of the time in the Snugli, and slept on the way home. So, while Easton is down for his nap, here is Dalton:

Wide awake with his buns in the breeze. Only I can see that part. And only I can see that I had to take off my pants because he peed on mine. But, dedicated blogger that I am I've decided to just wait out finding new ones.

Also, I heard from the eye clinic surgery scheduler today. We have a date: 5/29. It's nice because my mom is off that week so she can watch Dalton while Jason and I give Easton our full attention. I asked about the anesthesia because I'd heard Baby John "only needed gas" when he had his ear tubes put in last week. But, Easton will get gassed first to be "out" when they start his IV because he'll have to be intubated. :( Bummer. I guess the reason for intubating is because the duct probing can cause some bleeding (which means bleeding in his nose) which can then drain down the back of his throat and so they need the "breathing tube" to maintain his airway. Makes sense, of course, but still kinda scary. They do pre-op surgery tours for kids at Children's and I'm thinking we might do one of those as the date nears. Perhaps it's just me but he seemed to understand things when I took him on the birth center tour before Dalton was born. Maybe it just made me feel better. I dunno...

And, since yesterday was just medical updates I didn't get to tell you about Gymsters. Well, he did great...superstar as usual and all that jazz but what I really wanted to mention was separation time. He did awesome! Back to his old ways! He saw the toys come out and did his worried sounding, "Mama" but I told him that I was going to go sit for a few minutes and he should play and I'd come back like I always do. He said, "Yes" so I directed him to the puzzles and he just sat and played happily the whole time...just like the old days! He didn't watch me leave or even look for me once I was gone. He just played puzzles! I was so proud. Mr. Ken congratulated him afterwards too. When he started all this Gymsters separation anxiety (after being fine previously) Mr. Ken told me it was just a phase. Long phase, apparently. I don't know if it's truly over but yesterday went swimmingly. However, after class E had a very rare public meltdown. Gosh, those are so embarassing, I'm glad he does them so very rarely. He didn't want to put on his socks or shoes which is what you have to do to get a stamp. I told him he had to have socks and shoes anyway and since he was pitching a fit he couldn't have a stamp. He was so bad, screaming and hitting me. I told him not to hit, of course, and he said, "Time out!" but I couldn't see doing a time out there so I just said, "Yes, you get time outs for hitting". And when he saw I was serious about "no stamp" he shouted, "Yes stamp!" a couple times and I just threw on my shoes, without tying them, put Dalton's seat over one forearm and wrapped the other arm around's E's middle and carried him out of there. Mr. Ken called, "Bye Easton! Have a good day!" in the middle of the screaming. Goof. He was better in the car. I still don't quite know what set him off. Maybe he was just tired. Or that was the trade-off for doing well during separation time. Who knows?

Okay, well, Dalton's gonna nap and I should actually go wake Easton if he's not already up. He keeps coughing. Great. Hopefully he's just choking on some blanket fuzz or something. :) Although he had a coughing fit during the wee hours of the morning as well and I hoped that's what it was then too. He seems fine when he's awake. I hope he's not coming down with something to pass on to his brother again.

Anyway, we'll talk soon, my friends...bye!