Tabi's photo made it into the Stuff on My Cat Back to School Contest! PLEASE GO VOTE FOR HER!!!!
VOTE HERE
The cats are featured in alphabetical order, so Tabi is at the bottom and labeled as "TAB"; the voting box is after all the photos. Here is the photo you're looking for:
She's got some good competition. Tort's photo didn't make it to the finals. Voting must be done before Tuesday!!!
First of all, we were standing in church singing songs when I started to sneeze. On the final sneeze, my gum flew from my mouth and landed in the chair in front of us. I was so glad that guy was standing or it would have hit him in the ear!!! Then I got the giggles... for the rest of the song, through the prayer, but finally managed to regain my composure. Then we joined at the end of the service.
David went down with us & kept saying, "Tar" while looking at the band on stage. This afternoon, Dad was playing some music that got David's attention. David was strumming his chest saying, "tar". Get it? GuiTAR!
David was especially interested in the music when Dad played Metallica. (And I heard myself hollering, "David, turn that down!" in a few years...) Below I've added a video of David dancing around, playing air drums with Dad. It was quite entertaining!
Just in case there's any doubt... sometimes Dad really does more than sit in a recliner, watch TV and play video games while he's at work! : ) When they spring to action, they REALLY work! The following photos are from July 29. Names have been covered up in order to keep the mystery alive.
Dad is the guy on the far left leaning into the hose. 
Again, Dad is on the far left being the "back-up man."
This time, Dad is the guy on the far right, 
Apparently the photographer was getting creative with his angles. Click to enlarge - Dad is on the front of the hose in the background, spraying water from his shoulder. They were aiming over a wall to an inaccessible area.David & Mom had several rounds over naptime today. We tried his room, we tried the couch, we tried Mom laying with him, we tried closing all the curtains & playing relaxing music. Finally, I went to check email & came back to check on the boy on the couch. He wasn't there, but all was quiet. I peeked into his room and found David with his head just barely on his bed, his body propped on a wipe box, socks by his head and shorts behind him... sound asleep! I took a picture, then rolled him onto the mattress.
He looks awfully long here, doesn't he?! I measured him this morning & he has grown 1/2" in the last 2 months!
I go to the chiropractor tomorrow. Less than 8 days until the sonogram!
I wanted to quote from this week's MOPS Mom-E-Mail (article by Carla Dietz, Area Coordinator):
After a morning of running errands and making an overdue trip to the gym, I finally headed home to put groceries away and take a hot shower. As I struggled inside with my grocery bags, I was surprised to find a tiny hummingbird frantically flying back and forth trying to get outside. Just watching him flutter, chirp and crash over and over made me feel stressed. Figuring he must need my help, I dropped everything to open the windows and doors. I tried nudging him along with our long duster, but it didn't help. After a few minutes of chasing him across the house, I realized I was only frustrating myself by trying so hard. I stepped away for a few minutes and took a breath of fresh air, reminding myself that he would find his own way to fly out, when he was ready.
Prayer from a Mother's Heart: Dear God, help my child to grow and learn at just the pace you have set for him.
Have you ever felt this way as a mom? We sometimes get impatient while our little ones need extra time struggling through potty training, dressing themselves or learning to share. Lovingly, we teach them, but mom-frustration can set in when it takes longer than we think it should for them to learn. By taking a deep breath and stepping back for a few minutes, we can refresh ourselves with new mom-perspective and patience.
When getting dressed my preschool boys often announced, "I do it myself!" Their outfits ranged from cowboy boots with plaid shorts and striped shirts to the occasional Batman cape over pajamas. It made me laugh, and helped me realize that what mattered most was that little by little my children were learning and doing it in their own time. (emphasis mine)
As for the bird, when I returned from my break my little friend zoomed past me and flew away...all by himself!
Oh, my goodness... I think I'm going to cry again... When did my baby become a little boy???
Anyway, here is David giving Mom a kiss. His version is basically pressing his juicy little teeth against my lips, while I fear that he's going to bite! : )
Note his haircut. Now scroll down and see yesterday's pictures of the mud on his face to see how much I cut! He did really well with the clippers, but wouldn't let me trim the edges or around his ears with scissors. I guess all that, "scissors are a no-no" talk really did sink in!
After playing outside for a while this morning, I realized that David's diaper was dirty... on the OUTSIDE! He was playing in a puddle from watering plants, squatting as usual with his rear dragging the ground. I thought it was pretty funny.
Then I realized he'd gotten the mud on his face, too! I think he was saying something while I took the picture.
Below, I just thought that was a lovely picture of my flowers and Fluff.
This afternoon David enjoyed a swim in his pool. What's the deal with kids & their tongues???
Tell me, you who are mothers of 2 or more children... How do you get them all to look and smile at the same time? I was just glad to get both kids in this photo! Aubrey and Garrett arrived this morning at about 8:15 while their parents handled some business. Here are David & Aubrey (age 3) sharing a granola bar for snack.
And this little ray of sunshine is 3-month old Garrett. Pretty cute, huh? This was David's first experience being around a baby and he (David) did pretty well... until Garrett was asleep in David's baby swing. David still loves that swing. This was a good "test run" for David. Maybe Garrett should come over more often so David can get used to a baby! : )
The other parents returned around noon & after letting Garrett eat (he was very happy to see mom!), we all went to Rosa's for lunch. After screaming a while, David fell asleep before the food was ordered! Then woke up again before lunch was finished... not much of a nap! I think it was about 2pm when we got home maybe? We put David in his bed & I laid down with him. I had a little nap, but I don't think he did. We got up at 3 so he could eat before his speech therapist arrived. He did good through most of her appointment, but I put him back in bed right before she left. Again, he did not sleep.
May be a rough evening...
OK... here's my hair... or lack thereof.
The sonogram has been scheduled for Tuesday, August 22 at 3:00 pm. Today's heartbeat was 150.
I saw our MOPS director at the doctor's office today. Her 12-yr old hurt his tailbone being a 12-yr old! She was excited to learn of our pregnancy. And I'm excited for MOPS to start again!
Did I mention that I got my hair cut last week? At Regis in the mall... and it was free! Cool, huh? Well... it was free because she messed up!!! I'm not brave enough to post a picture yet, but some of you will see soon enough.
