We need a professional family photo before these kids leave for college.

We have lots of photos of us with the kids.

 But not so many of us as a whole family, and none you would call "Professional."

This is the best one we got so far, thanks to Amy.

My World

Wonder why there has not been a real post in a million years? Life is crazy in my world.  Baby schedules or lack there of, sleepless nights, potty training, birthday parties, finishing graduate programs, broken garbage disposals, gofer infestations and hot, hot weather keeping us in the house way too much!  I think this picture says it all.

Scary because my child looks like an amputee.  

Photo Book

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Update

I don't want to go making excuses for why I haven't been keeping up with my blogging, but if I was going to give an excuse it would be that I've been a bit preoccupied lately. So here is an update of what we have been up to.

Baby Bower 13 wks 4 days (3 mo.)

Oliver has become quite the little crafter!

*3 months*

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxTrick o' Treating with the Cooke boys.

Apple Hill

*4 months*

Thanksgiving with the Hill's

Baby Bower almost 5 mo.

My 37th Birthday Dinner...Greens in a Parmesan Cheese Nest.

Xmas Visitors!

*5 months*

Oh Deer!

xxxxxxxxxxxxThe creepy things you find in boxes while cleaning your parents garage.

Grandma feeds her little chicks

Happy 2012!

New Years Day at the Race Track

*6 months*

Crocker Museum

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxFirst Real Bike Ride

Jon was bothered that Oliver's Valentine Darth Vader doll was wearing some sort of GIMP suit. Oliver didn't seem to care.

*7 months*

Old Town Sacramento...where the Salt Water Taffy is so so sweet! How I wish I would have brought home MORE!

This trip to the Train Museum marks the day that I started to feel that 3rd Trimester EXHAUSTION. It was hard keeping up with my guys!

Oliver officially starts potty training...hopefully this will be mastered by late April!

*8 months*

8 mo. pregnant, Jon and I attempt dinner & a concert. Luckily we were able to trade in our standing room only general admission tickets for tickets with SEATS! Thank You Ticket Master!

*9 months*

Just a few weeks to GO!

Is There a Difference?

Ok, 0ur 2 1/2 yr old still uses a Pacifier/Binki. But before you judge us, he has only been taking it at naps and bedtime since he was 18mo. His doctor said that was totally fine. I know our dentist and everything we read states that prolonged Binki use messes up children's teeth. That said, we finally decided to ween Oliver off his Binki, & prior to his little brother's arrival.

Jon and I debated the different approaches we should use. I wanted Oliver to gather & trash them himself, and Jon wanted Oliver to trade them in for toys at Toy's R Us. So I prepped Oliver for several days talking about being a big boy and giving up his Binki. Then one day while I'm at work, I receive a call from Jon saying...

Guess where we are? Toy's R Us. Oliver just traded in both his binki's. He traded them for a dump truck and a set of Lincon Logs. The excitement over new toys apparently was short lived. Oliver cried the whole way home saying he wanted his binki's back!

Fine. Its done. Only thing was we had a babysitter scheduled to watch Oliver in 2 days, and now we had a child who no longer wanted to nap or sleep! A very restless child.

Broke our hearts hearing him cry...

Please Dadda, get my binki...look again...please look again!
Please Mamma, go to store and get my binki!!

After 2 days of whining for binkis, he finally stopped asking for them, but the withdrawal was not over.

His entire nap and bedtime routines no longer worked. He wouldn't sit still for storytime any more, which is my special time with him each day. He used to just climb into bed and roll over, and we would leave. Now he restlessly complained, and barked off a list of demands...


I need MILK.
I need to go POO!
Turn the fan on.
Turn on my Vaperizer!
Don't go Mommy, I need to TALK to YOU! He got very clingy with me, and I would sit on his bed and talk to him till he would let me leave. Then we can hear him Kicking the Wall for an hour!


Poor kid didn't know what he wanted. He just knew he needed SOMETHING.

Finally day 3 with no binki came. The big night with the babysitter. We warned her of the possible list of demands and stall tactics that may occur at bed time. She couldn't get him down till after 9pm. His usual bedtime is 7pm.

Day 4 was even worse! Almost 10 pm before he finally stopped crying and acting restless.

Day 5 it looked bad. He was now howling for MAMMA! Storytime still did not work, and he now wanted me (8 mo. pregnant) to awkwardly sit on his bed and sing & chat for hours. Jon finally drove off to the nearest late night store and came back with a binki.

Yes. Day 5 we gave in. He broke us. And our good little sleeper is back.