They ganged up on me.

There were 10, no 20 of 'em. I was holding my own until one of 'em got a lucky shot in. Then, it took 8 of them to hold me down, while the rest tried to beat me up... Well, ok, not really, but I do have some fun bruises.

Yes folks, that is the black eye that my not quite 2 year old and her juice cup gave me...

And this bruise on my heal is where the rocking chair bit me.

Love it when they come to visit...

My sister, her husband and their daughter came to visit us down in good ol' Alabamy. I love love loved having them here, and even though they wore me out (I am so in need of a nap), I would have kept them here forever :) We showed them around a bit, played some games, ate some decent food (if I do say so myself) and hung out at the pool. Thanks for coming Thompson, Danny Boy and Kenna! We love you guys so much, and miss you already!

This is the first time all the Thompson grandchildren have been together, so of course we had to take lots of pictures. These are for you Grandma and Grandpa!

Photo Op on Saturday, after everyone was dressed for the day

Sunday, after church

Just the girls :)
Just my kiddos :)
Kari and Dylan. Note how happy he is...

Kari and McKenna. Note how happy she is....

And, of course, what blog would be complete without a picture of my children playing in a box...

The End.

McKenna and Dylan

My cute niece McKenna

was born almost exactly 5 months before Dylan.

This is the first time they have met each other (and the rest of us as well :) McKenna is on the petite side, and Dylan is on the huge side, so... They are actually wearing the same size clothes. You can, however, tell the difference in development when you look at the two of them together... McKenna supports her head much better, and sits by herself. She smiles almost on command (she is such a happy baby). Dylan, still needs a bit of help in the support area, and definitely doesn't sit by himself. We are working on the whole smile thing, but as you can see above, I finally caught a pretty cute one on camera :)

So sweet that they shared some tummy time. Dylan uses his arms a bit, but, cute McKenna is all neck and back :)

And we rolled them over on their backs to try to get an accurate size comparison. Notice Dylan wasn't particularly happy, but McKenna is holding his hand trying to make him feel better ;)

Pool Pictures

While my sister was here we used the pool here at the complex. It was a bit brisk at first jump, but soon was very pleasant. Dylan didn't get in, he slept on the side of the pool, but everyone else did. A great time was had by all :)

Ere' body :)

Thompson Grandbaby Girls

Chill'axin on the side of the pool.

Do you ever have one of those moments...

When your children seem like they have grown up in a few short minutes. I picked up Dylan yesterday, and I swear he gained 3 lbs, learned to control his head, and figured out how to play with his hands, all during his nap. (Play with his hands translates to whopping himself a few times, a few scratches on his face and me having to rescue him when he gets a handful of hair and can't figure out how to let go).

And then there is Kari. She put on her skates yesterday with her shorts and short sleeves on, and all of the sudden she looked so grown up to me. I dunno. It was kinda sad. Here are a couple of pictures of her.

She is sulking in this one. And I can't even remember why.

Shorts and skates.

Close up of her poor little nose. She walked up beside me in the grocery store and I didn't see her and whopped her in the face with a can of baked beans. Poor kid :(

And, of course, Kaitlyn too :)

Come hither....

I don't even know :)

Day and Night, Night and Day

That is from some musical somewhere, and for the life of me I can't think of which one it is. So, super cool points to you if you can tell me which one it is and I can stop trying to rack my overused brain to figure it out.

I was actually going to do a blog about Dylan. Since I have altered my diet ever so slightly (yeah right, who am I kidding... no milk and no chocolate... I could die!!!) and since he is pooping on a more regular basis (yes, when you become a mother poop is a regular conversation topic) Dylan is a much happier camper. Last night he slept in his bed all night long. In fact, since he is doing so much better, he seems to be sleeping more. He is up for about an hour every time he feeds, and them goes back to bed. He likes to cuddle more and is just generally happier all around. Sometimes it stinks knowing you affect your children so much (before they even know they are taking it all in). I just hope he keeps getting better :) And one day, I will eat chocolate again!

And, because he is in such a good mood, here are some pictures from a photo shoot today.

Tummy time...

I think he got tired of holding those cute big cheeks up :)

Time to roll over on his back (which he can do by himself). Although, I maintain I think it is really just his head gets off balance and the rest of him follows :)

And the last picture I think is super cute. His little piggies sticking out under the bedding and through the bars in his crib... :)

My 11.5 hour "5 hour" trip

As some of you know, Hubby works in TN sometimes. He was working on Memorial day, so we went up to spend some time with him. My trip up went thusly:

8 am Partial car loading, girls breakfast, dressed, etc.
9 am Feed Dylan
9:30 Load up car, girls go potty, shoes, etc...
10:30 Finally get on the highway
1 pm Stop to feed Dylan and eat lunch. (we usually stop at a Chick-Fil-A or something so the girls can stretch and play for a while)
2:30 Everyone has eaten, been fed, and played. Back on the road.
4:30 Arrive at our TN destination

So, even though Hubby can make it in 4.5 hours, it generally takes me 6. However, yesterday, this is how it went:

8 am Dylan decided he was starving to death and couldn't wait to eat. So, he ate.
8:30 Feed girls, load car, get dressed, etc.
10 am Final potties, shoes, loading, etc.
10:30 Hit the highway
12:30 Some nice traveller motions to me and tells me my driver side back tire is flat. We pull off. I try to fill it up at a gas station, but discover as I pump air in, it comes right back out. We drive to a Wally World, where they plug it, but make me sign a disclaimer that says it isn't their fault when the tire blows because it is so old and worn... (yes, I am aware it is about time to change the tires. Sigh.) While waiting, I feed Dylan (since he ate early, he needed to again).
1:30 The tire is fixed. However, it is now time to feed the girls (me included). And, because we traveled with the dog (can't leave her here, can I?) and Wally world doesn't allow pets, we had to sit very still and very quiet in the little waiting area with the dog. Therefore, the girls still needed some stretching and exercise time. Here we come Chick-Fil-A. Again, I might have preferred eating somewhere else, but the customer service is to die for, so.... It all works out in the end.
3-ish We get back on the road.
3:30ish We hit weather north of Atlanta. Bad weather. Rain so bad I couldn't hardly see. I slowed down to about 45 (in a 70) and parked myself behind a semi. I figured, even if he wasn't strictly speaking "in the lane", at least he would clear the path for me.
4:15 We are finally through the weather. Dylan is starting to wake up (translation: will want to eat again soon), but we are coming into downtown Atlanta. You don't stop in downtown Atlanta. However, we hit a bit of traffic. Not stopping, but again we were driving about 45 (if you have ever driven through downtown Atlanta, that would normally get you run over, or your doors blown off, unless you hit traffic... :/ )
5 pm Finally out of Atlanta and stopping to feed Dylan. Outside of Atlanta means we are less than 1.5 hours away from home. I figured we would feed Dylan, and then make it home in time to feed the girls dinner and get to bed. We all needed a potty break too.
5:30 Back in the car and heading down the highway.
5:32 We hit traffic. This time, bad traffic. Completely stopped, with occasionally enough room to let the car idle forward. It took 75 minutes to go 2 miles.
6:45 We pull off at an exit to eat dinner. Conveniently, it is also another possible way home (according to hubby). By this time, I realize we are really in no hurry. This is the last meal of the day, and we obviously aren't making it home in time for bed, so we stop at Burger King let everyone stretch and play again. Dylan talked up a storm and the girls had a blast.
8 pm Back on the road. I drove past the highway, discovered it was clear, so we got back on and headed home.
8:45 It became increasingly obvious that we weren't going to make it home before it was time to feed Dylan again. So, we pull over again. Got gas, mommy stretched, fed and changed Dylan.
9:15 Back on the road.
10 pm 11.5 hours after we left, we finally arrive home!!! Yuck! What a mess! So much for 5 hours. Thankfully, the tire held the rest of the way. Thankfully, the girls were well behaved and watched movies pretty much the whole way (again, that dvd player is worth its weight in gold!). Dylan was a bit fussy, but, it can't all be perfect. It was mostly me whose panties were in a wad {pardon my french} and whose blood pressure was on the rise. Oh well I suppose. Better luck next time :$

Dylan - 2 months

Due to our phone service being out for 2.5 days (I know, I know, it was rough for me too) I didn't get the chance to post about Dylan's 2 month check up. He weighed in at 14 lbs 1 oz and 24 in long (a scant 1.5 lbs from his immediate big sister's 6 month weight). He is in the 95th percentile for both weight and height. He has officially graduated to 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers. He eats about every 4 hours, and recently gave up his 2 am feeding. Loving it!!!

Now, some of you may remember me singing the praises of "Mr. Mellow" from a while back. Unfortunately that all changed rather suddenly. We went to eat to celebrate the inlaws in town at a Hibachi grill. It was wonderful, but that night and all the next day, Dylan was not a happy camper. Ever since then (about 6 weeks), he seems to have got some kind of tummy issue. He regularly fusses about 1-1.5 hours after every feeding (if he is asleep, he wakes up to fuss, and then goes back to sleep). And, he gets really fussy/screams bloody murder every night somewhere between 6:30-8:30. Now, there are a number of things wrong with this. A) He is obviously uncomfortable. 2) It is probably my fault from something that I am eating. d) This also happens to be dinner time, shower time, story time, and bed time. (That movie reference is for my lovely little brother... Brownie points if you can Name that Movie!) Makes for interesting nights. He hasn't been able to sleep in anything but his bouncy chair on his stomach for about 2 weeks now. However, through experimentation of my own (unfortunately, pretty disappointed with the pediatrician on this one) I think we might be hitting a sweet spot. I have thus far given up all things dairy (to include milk, yogurt, cheese, butter, and ice cream), broccoli (this seems to be the stresser from the hibachi grill), eggs and chocolate (I know, that was the hardest one). The difference is well worth it. He hardly fusses any more after eating. He even slept in his own bed last night for several hours, albeit on his stomach, but without being vibrated. And although he was kinda fussy tonight, it was nowhere near what it has been in the past. Also, the pediatrician recommended a regimen of prune juice to help his little pooper, and that may be helping him be more comfortable as well.

So, all in all, we are getting better, and I love the results. He talks (as before mentioned :) and coos, and smiles, and is more content to sit in my lap, than having to be bounced and patted. We will give him some time to keep feeling better, then add things back in, one at a time, to see if he can handle it.

I do love the little boy, and although he has only been with us for 2 months, it feels like he has always been here. Thankfully, we can keep him for forever!

Dylan

My guilty little secret

We had a playgroup the other day at Chick-Fil-A. It is already warm enough here in Alabama that we need to play inside, and their play palace is well taken care of and in the a/c. In fact, I don't 100% love their food better than anyone elses, but, the customer service is fantastic and the restaurant is clean. Besides, everyone knows play groups are really for the adults just as much for the kids :)

Anyway, while there, we mothers got around to a discussion about some of the "extreme" things we did to help our children when they were babies. One mother said they put their son in his car seat in his crib. Another said her daughter would only sleep in a vibrating bouncy seat. She said they burnt up 3 motors... That is kinda where my secret comes in. I was feeling guilty for a number of reasons.

1. That I have a perfectly good crib that Dylan isn't really using. (to be fair both of the girls used it though, so it isn't like I bought it and haven't used it)
2. That I kinda felt like I couldn't handle my own son or that I was doing something wrong because he would only sleep while the seat was on. AND on his stomach.
3. That even on days when he might sleep, I put him in the chair anyway, hoping I would get a little bit more time to myself.

So, here it is... I have been putting Dylan to sleep on his stomach in his bouncy seat. However, after discussing things with those moms, I feel much better. If that is how he sleeps, it is not a personal failing on my part. It is just how he is the most comfortable. And, if having a few extra minutes to my self makes me happier, then that makes me a better mommy. And, he wouldn't sleep if he wasn't tired anyway. So there. I don't really need to feel guilty anymore.

Also, I have cut out the glasses of milk I used to drink and saw a significant improvement. However, he still seems uncomfortable at times. About 1.5-2 hours after we finish a feeding he will get fussy. And I don't think it is because he is hungry because he recently gave up his 2 am feeding... He wouldn't do that if he was hungry, right? Also, my breastfed baby has started going for days between poops. I find that odd since both girls went almost every time they ate. So, I think I am going to try cutting out ALL dairy and go to chocolate next. (I know, horror of horrors, right.... I dunno if I can do it...) And, I guess we will see if that helps. I hate for him to cry and I hate even more that I am the one causing it... There goes that motherly guilt again. So, feel free in my comments section to suggest other possibilities if you would like.

Also, feel free to tell me your guilty secret. That might make me feel better :)