Post your vote...

Little ZJ was the subject of an argument between my 2 best friends today. One claims that he "looks nothing like the other three, he has different eyes and face" and the other maintains "he's obviously a Jak baby". So now it's your chance to vote. Is he a carbon copy of Numbers 1-3, or does he look completely different? We'll let his adoring public decide...

Dinner and a Show

AJ and EJ are our family "hams". They love to play to the camera and try to get every one's attention. AJ climbed up on the window seat after dinner and started doing a dance for us and it only took about 30 seconds for EJ to join in. They were singing a nonsense song and dancing a la Riverdance. Quite the amusing end to dinner time. Maybe they have a future on Broadway!

(BTW, those are Daddy's hearing protection for the shooting range that EJ is wearing.)

Zach Jak is 6 months old!

Yes, we're showing our team support in these pics too! Zach has really started to develop his own personality over the last week or so - he makes his opinion known when he doesn't like something (like screaming every time you try to put him in his car seat), he giggles and giggles at his siblings (especially if they are bouncing a ball around the living room), and he is a mellow, happy little man for the most part. We're so blessed to have him as a part of our family!

Boys and Girls

Mom is upstairs changing the toddler when the 5 month old starts crying.
If you are a 4 year old girl you go to the fridge, get the bottle, heat it up, get the baby out of the bassinet and feed him.
If you are a 6 year old boy you yell up the stairs "MOM! The baby is crying! You should come check on him!" and continue reading your book.


Mom reminds you to "use your manners".
If you are a 4 year old girl you say "Brother, please let me stand on that stool for a minute, please"
If you are a 6 year old boy you say "Sister please let me stand on the stool, or I'll hit your nose!" (His response to Mom's "issue" with his manners? "I SAID please!")


You're in the shower with Mom/Dad.
If you're a 4 year old girl you want to clean every part of you meticulously and check out every nice smelling bath product you see. And don't forget the conditioner and in-shower lotion!
If you are a 6 year old boy you wash your hair (kind of) then flop down on the floor of the tub and pretend you are a fish.


There is no way anyone can tell me that boys and girls are born the same and the only thing that makes us "gender specific" is culture. It's simply not true. They are very different in temperament and their way of approaching life from the moment they arrive...

"Yes!"- This Is a Fun Outfit to Be In:

All,

Even the most junior member of the Irregular Regulars can now smile without it having to be a body function.

No matter what your "Hurricane Toddler" sister (ENJ) dishes out- you still have a smile on your face and a spring in your wiggle.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do...

XO

The Lower Rates:

Loved Ones and Bloggers,

Now for your viewing pleasure we present the best photograph yet of all of our younger Company members.

Yes- If you did not guess it yet- the whole group believes in pinstripes and interlocking NY's.

A formal copy of this picture will be going out to the primary folk and please feel free to request one if you don't get one in the next two weeks or so.

Hopefully this fall we will have a full muster of the entire Company including the Command/Headquarter section.

Take care and God Bless.

XO

She makes me laugh!

AJ has been making me laugh the last few days so I thought I would share some of her recent "funnies".
She calls gymnastics "flipping-nastics" and if something is going to last a long time she says it "will take all day-night".

Mom - "AJ what do you want for breakfast?"
AJ - "Dirty pebbles please."
Mom - "Uhhhh...."
AJ - "You know momma! Those brown cereal things!"
Mom - "Oh! You mean Cocoa Pebbles!"

AJ - "Hi there Zachary Skyscraper!"
Mom - "His name is Skyscraper?"
AJ - "Yep! And you're Momma Pasta Noodle!"
CJ - "AJ, you're nuts!"
AJ - "Momma! He called me peanuts! I'm not peanuts!"

Mom (after AJ tearfully showed us her 1/32 inch scratch, and spent 15 minutes trying to convince everyone she was too injured to do her chores) - "AJ, you are such a drama queen."
AJ (crying hysterically) - "Momma, I'm not a drama queen. I don't know what that means, but you're not being nice!"

Daddy's Kiddos

"The Babies"

EJ's expression in this picture is sheer excitement. She's probably thinking something along the lines of "Wow! They finally left him where I can reach him! Now I can play with him, and kiss him, and give him my paci, and pat him on the head, and poke his nose, and kiss him some more!" (All of which she proceeded to try to do per her daddy's report).

I've started verbally dividing the children up into "the kids" and "the babies" (e.g. "Daddy, you pick up the kids, I'll get the babies"). I'm going to have to stop myself soon or EJ and ZJ will be 10 and 11 and I'll still be calling them "the babies"!

Happy Belated Birthday EJ!

We have a family "tradition" of doing our kids' portrait and footprint at 6 months of age and a formal portrait at 1 year. We wanted to share the portraits we had done for EJ's first birthday. You'd never know that she spent the entire photography session on the verge of tears and trying to climb into my lap. The photographer used every trick in the book to get a good shot, and I think the results were great (of course I'm biased! I'm her mom!).

Happy Valentines Day!

Unfortunately, EJ was sleeping when this was taken, but it's a great picture of the other little ones.

I can't tell you how many people after hearing the ages of our kids have paused with a shocked look on their faces and said "Wow, y'all must be really busy". That's the understatement of the year! Yep, we're pretty busy but we're a big, happy family.

Keeping Others Safe from Themselves:

Ponder this in our current state of society...


Why is it that it is perfectly fine for young men to go out and celebrate the coming of the New Year in denim jeans, button-down shirts and jackets while the fairer gender finds it necessary to wear tight fitting, thigh-high and above, low-cut dresses with stilletto heels??? In 40 degree nighttime weather???"


Does going out on New Year's Eve mean one leaves their brain at the door?

Rhetorical question I guess, since the numbers of ladies wearing the above mentioned outfits way out-number their more sensibly dressed sisters.


Something I, your "socially-observant public servant" found while working downtown "A-town" here in Central TX on New Year's.


I tip my hat to those young ladies that dressed elegantly while having half a cranium in the cold nighttime temps....


Oh... this is a Christian-based blogsite so the only pictures you will get are of your fine "XO". Not the best picts, my Assistant Chief took them on his I-phone.


XO

Not Quite A "Rock of Gibralter":

All,

Well my beautiful wife is too kind with her praises since I feel I got off lucky to some extent.

I only had to worry about the three older ones (KJ, CJ and AJ) and fortunately got lucky since EJ had got the same sickness a couple of days before everyone. ZJ stayed healthy- Praise God!

My wife also did not have a chance to blog about our Christmas Day evening... Yup, you guessed it, the same malady that afflicted my dear wife, eldest son and eldest daughter hit me later that evening. Nasty GI "bug" coupled with a fever and chills- something I would not wish on anyone.

Two days later (and after some wonderful care from KJ) I was finally back in the world of the living.

Christmas 2008 will not go down as one for the old scrapbook, unless a sick and vomiting family is you idea of a scrapbook. Oh well, good bye to 2008, hello 2009.

Just another year for a family that believes in freely sharing our maladies.

Take Care and Welcome to 2009...

XO

My Poor Dear Hubby

EJ vomited a couple of times on Sunday afternoon. I attributed it to the cup of sour milk she found under the Christmas tree and drank part of before I realized what she was doing. Little did I know that was the start of a very long Monday for my poor dear husband.
AJ started crying about midnight Monday morning and when Eric went in to check on her, she had vomited all over her bed and herself (note to all moms out there - do not let your kids drink the frozen fruit punch concoctions at Chili's if there is any chance they might vomit in the next 12 hours!). After I finished feeding the baby, I helped Daddy make a bed in our room for AJ and we all settled down to sleep. I got up again to feed the baby at 3AM and found CJ standing in the hall outside our room saying "Mom, I made a big mess on the carpet. I'm so sorry!". I think we would have rather had him vomit in his bed since his attempt to get to the bathroom resulted in a huge mess on the carpet from his room all the way across the hall (again I repeat the warning against the Chili's drinks if you want to avoid the need to steam clean your carpets at 3AM). By the time we got CJ's mess cleaned up, I realized that I was not going to escape the "plague" that had beset our house.
Mom and the two older kids spent all day Monday in various states of gastric distress, lounging on various couches and beds. Poor Dad on the other hand got the "pleasure" of dealing with the laundry, clean up, and work that three very sick people can create. At one point on Monday literally ALL of the sheets, blankets and pillowcases in our house were in some stage of the wash-dry-replace cycle! Not to mention that I was so sick that I couldn't even sit up to nurse the baby so he was delivering ZJ to me every time he needed to eat and then coming back to change his diaper, etc. later on.
Mr. J. wins the award for best daddy and hubby for his wonderful care of a houseful of sickies. I credit him with our recovery in time for Christmas!

Eve-l Kenevil?

As you know, our third offspring has proven to be our biggest challenge. She is in constant motion and has frequently shown that she can accomplish physical feats that most almost one year olds cannot. She also has the disturbing (at least to her mother) trait of having absolutely no fear.

So what if I pushed my feet against the table and tipped myself over chair, booster seat and all? I'll just smile, climb out of the seat and continue on with my day.

Hmmm, how did brother slide down the stair railing? I'm gonna have to try that very soon!

Wow! That bunk bed is the coolest thing ever! Mom won't get me one, so I'll just climb up the ladder and hang out in brother's bed.

You get the picture.

Last Friday Eve got a bit too daring - climbing into a landry basket and somehow managing to get ahold of the cord on the iron which was hanging in its mounting plate on the wall. Mom was only two steps from her, but could only manage to deflect the iron so it struck a glancing blow on her little head. Thankfully she only had a laceration on her forehead instead of a much worse injury. Dad took a picture of her in the ED after they put the LET (lidocaine, epinepherine, tetracycline) jelly on her wound to numb it before they sewed her up. 2 hours and 4 stitches later we were all back at home.

She'll have a story to tell about the scar right in the middle of her forehead.

Mom may not survive the excitement of raising "#3"...

Zach Jak - The Story of the Yellow Thanksgiving Baby

As many of you have heard our 4th little blessing decided to make his debut three weeks early. He arrived Sunday night and was transferred to the NICU on Monday morning because he could not maintain his blood sugar on his own and needed IV dextrose. Then just when his blood sugar stabilized, he developed the jaundice that has been characteristic of all of our babies. He's comfortably ensconced in his isolette enjoying sunbathing under the bililights until his bilirubin levels are low enough for us to bring him home - hopefully sometime Saturday morning.

I was having a hard time dealing with having to leave my baby in the NICU, until a heart to heart with the XO and some time in prayer changed my perspective. Yes, our baby is once again in the NICU with all of the stress and difficulty that entails but he is healthy overall and has a very treatable condition. He will be home with us very soon, unlike many of the babies around him who face months long ICU stays and lifelong health challenges. And even if he were one of those very sick babies, I would still be thankful because I have been blessed far beyond anything I deserve. I know that God has a plan for every thing that happens, both small and large. And I will continue, with His help, to give thanks in ALL circumstances.

Please help us welcome Zachary Scott "J" ("Zach Jak" as the NICU nurses have nicknamed him):

Born Sunday, November 23, 2008

7lbs 1 oz; 19 1/2 inches long

Our family of 6 is complete!

Things I Have Learned This Month

#1 – If the kids have been playing outside and kindly get Mom a glass of ice water, Mom should make sure they washed their hands before getting the water or she may end up with a mouthful of sandy water.

#2 – Very tired pregnant mommies should resist the temptation to lie down “for just a minute” while the baby is asleep and the older kids are playing. The resulting mess from the “fiesta” they had on the front porch was not worth the few minutes of rest.

#3 – A gallon jug full of water makes an effective “lock” for the top of the trash can. EJ thinks getting everything out of the trash can is great fun. Now if I could just figure out how to keep her from opening the cabinet locks I’ll be all set!

#4 – Mom should remember that Daddy bought their son a 6 foot long rubber snake at the Texas State Aquarium when she goes to pour something in the sink and sees this:



I almost had a heart attack until I realized what it was! CJ’s reply to my yelling? “My snake was playing in the sandbox and needed a bath Momma! Did he scare you?”

#5 – Mom should be thankful that with a 6 year old boy in the house it wasn’t a real snake in the sink!

#6 - If you buy your son a 500ml bottle of water for a trip you should include explicit instructions that he is NOT to drink the entire thing in the first 20 minutes or else you will spend the rest of the drive trying to find bathrooms on the barren stretch of highway between San Antonio and Corpus Christi.

#7 - 3 1/2 year old girls who love gymnastics will insist on wearing a leotard all day, every day even when it is 60 degrees and wearing one requires them to ask "wrap me up in this towel so I don't freeze momma".

Hope all is well wherever you may be reading this from. We miss all of you dearly!

The Texas Coast

This was one tired little girl after spending a couple of hours climbing ladders on the USS Lexington.

I wasn't sure how CJ would react to the surf, but he waded out to where the waves picked him up off his feet and "body surfed" back in loving every minute of it!

EJ was trying to get off of the patio at our hotel to join her brother and sister on the beach.

We spent a couple of days in Corpus Christi and at the Gulf coast recently while we had family in town. The Texas Gulf coast isn't nearly as picturesque as the Florida side of the Gulf, but it is still beautiful in its own way and the kids really enjoyed collecting shells, finding crabs and playing in the waves. CJ has already asked repeatedly to go back to the beach, so we'll have to plan another trip soon. After spending a few days in the salt water breeze and listening to the waves I began to understand the attraction of living on the coast. I wouldn't mind having a house on the beach someday...

So that's how it goes!

We were having a serious conversation with AJ the other evening about death (I don't even know how we got on the subject) and were explaining to her in an age appropriate way that death is inevitable.

CJ's input into the conversation was the comic relief that we needed -
"AJ here's how it goes - you go to tenth grade, then you go to high school, then you're a grandma, then you die!"

It's always interesting when you get a little glimpse into how they think...

Firsts

We've had a couple of very interesting "firsts" in our house over the last couple of days - "first steps" and "first foreign body inserted into the nose"!

EJ took her first step to Eric as he went to get her out of her crib the other morning, and then today while she was in child care at church they said she took 4 steps in a row and then stopped and grinned at everyone as if to say "wasn't that the coolest thing ever?" I personally haven't seen her take any steps and I'm waiting anxiously to confirm the reported phenomena.

We were reading books the other afternoon while the kids had a snack and AJ suddenly said "Mom, my nose really hurts!" My queries about her nose were answered in very vague terms until her ever helpful brother piped in with "Did you stick your snack up your nose??" and AJ said "Yeah! Somebody get the raisin out of my nose please!" Thankfully the offending object was easily removed! And now AJ is telling everyone "It's a bad idea to put raisins in your nose!"

Here in Texas we're hoping that Hurricane Ike will not become any of the "firsts" it could be. The XO will most likely be at work until the storm has passed since he is helping with the coordination of medical resources for the shelters, etc. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.