Beach Vacation 2009, Day Two

Okay, so I can see this daily blogging of the beach trip is not off to the stellar start for which I'd hoped. A major hindrance has been Mr. Baby, who tends to keep odd hours, making for a tired Daddy at the end of the day (prime blogging time). Still, I semi-half-sort-of promised the Twitterverse and Facebookia that I'd cover a few days tonight. In the spirit of that semi-half-whatever, I'm only going to cover one day. So, without further ado, I present:
Day 2:
Also known as Monday, Day Two began with, my brother, Bennett, introducing me to this wonderful Texas Turtle coffee that he got at the World Market in Pensacola. Here's a recent photo of said coffee:
Of course, we went to play at the beach and pool immediately after breakfast. Maggie and Daniel are now completely fearless in their swimming, which makes me even more fearful, of course. Angie is fearless with them, however, so it works out well for them. The pool, which was under construction last year, forcing us to use the pool at the adjacent condo, is now open for our enjoyment. It is a walk-in pool that has a gradual slope, which I believe I called a zero-entry pool. Very cool. Here is the before and after of the pool:
After that, we went to eat lunch at Lambert's Cafe in Foley, Alabama, whose website invites you to "Come on in and eat, or we'll both starve." This is the wonderful home-cooking restaurant where they throw rolls at you with amazing accuracy, and where they pass around fried okra, "fried taters 'n' onions," and molasses in large bowls and buckets. It really is a fun experience, so much so that we failed to take any pictures. Sorry. Last year's pictures of it start here.

Upon return to the condo, pretty much everyone took a nap for longer than we intended, after which we headed down to the beach for a family photo shoot. I think it turned out really well, but you won't be able to judge because in my tiredness I forgot to ask for copies from my brother, who owns the camera we used. Oh well.
P.S. Again in my tiredness, I had to go to bed last night and finish this up while the kids went down to the beach this morning.

Beach Vacation 2009, Day One

As was the case last year, most of day one was spent on the road. We packed up yesterday and hit the road directly from church today. This was beneficial to us and the church, as we got to loan our hair dryer to some of the baptizees today. Pretty crazy. The only really noteworthy parts of the drive were the truly horrible gas station restrooms around exit 107 or so on I-65, and the way Maggie and Daniel became more and more excited and talkative, starting about half an hour from the condo and not really ending until, well, not really ending yet. I'm pretty sure I still hear Maggie talking in their room now, at almost midnight our time (11PM here). At least they're not still dancing and slinging things around. We have yet to go down to the beach or pool, but the view is still every bit as gorgeous as last year, and I'm already feeling calmer now that the crazy kids are in bed. I can't wait to sink my teeth into the meat of this vacation tomorrow. Sorry, food channel's on. G'night!

Beach Trip 2009 (Preface)

Tomorrow we head to the beach! Last year I blogged every day of our trip, and I had a great time doing it. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up that pace again this year, but I hope to chronicle at least some of it. While we're there, our new little guy will turn 6 months old. This, to me, is almost impossible to believe. I feel like we just got him, although there have been some subtle signs that he's getting older. He's already doing the pre-crawling skydiver thing where he lays on his stomach on the floor, raises his arms, and kicks his feet. Also, his first official tooth is breaking through the gum. We'll try and keep you posted on these and other developments as they, um, develop.

Why Angie's Not on Facebook (and Very Likely Won't Be in the Future)

I'm on Facebook. Angie is not. We've discussed the pros (exactly 2: seeing friends' photos, and the interaction with folks you might not get to interact with regularly otherwise) and cons (numerous, but the most important of these is that it is a COMPLETE TIME HOLE from which the day often does not recover), and she's decided that the the cons far outweigh the pros. I agree. I think it would be incredibly easy for me to get on in the morning and spend the entire day poring over photos, status updates, and notes from friends, acquaintances, and some people I haven't seen in decades. This wouldn't be a bad thing if I didn't have a job and a family and various things I want to accomplish in my day that don't involve being poked or sending pieces of flair. I enjoy those things, too, but it's too easy to let the time get away from me. This is not to say that I'm going to cancel my account or anything. I just need to find a way to pace myself. Angie, though, will not be signing up. If she wants to see pictures, she logs in under my account. If she wants to interact with folks, she calls or emails. That somehow seems more meaningful anyway.

Monday Mornings

If I were to be generous with myself, I would say that I devote Monday mornings to updating myself on the latest trends and news in technology. It's important, as one who works in technology for a living, to keep current on emerging gadgets and gizmos, as well as to get a feel for where things are headed within the industry. But really, that's not why I do it.

In truth, it's just hard for me to get going on Mondays, and it's much easier to read a bunch of articles than it is to jump into my work assignments for the day. I usually don't really get started until either 1) after lunch, or 2) a client calls needing my help. I always think that I'll get a good start; in the car on the way to work, I sometimes think through all the stuff I need to get done that day or week and try to map out a plan for the day. When I arrive at work, however, emails and news articles await, and my grand plan gets shifted until after lunch, unless a client calls, at which point the plan is usually thrown into the garbage altogether. (I would say "thrown out the window," but, you know, us techies tend to be confined to windowless basements, so garbage it is.) Oh well. I don't really know if I want to give up catching up on the latest news, but I probably do need to get more organized about my day.

Or rather, my days, since now that I've thought all this out and typed it up, my Tuesday is running behind. Later!

Ohio Trip (Brief Review)

We haven't really said much about our trip to visit Angie's family in Ohio, other than to say that we had a good time and that it was a long drive. Here, then, is a brief review: We drove up Sunday night and arrived Monday morning. This was good, in that the kids slept a lot of the way, but not good in that there are many crazy, creepy people at the last gas station in Tennessee before the Kentucky border at 3:15 AM, whereas at that same gas station on the way back at 7:30 PM or so, everyone was easy-going and friendly. Upon arrival, we slept a while.

That evening we played outside:
The next two days we went swimming and played with Angie's cousins' children:


On Thursday, we went to the Air Force museum, which wore Maggie out and made Joshua hot and thirsty. Angie's uncle was there to help:


Friday, we went to visit Angie's mom's grave with Angie's grandmother:

That evening we went to a carnival where we apparently took no pictures, although we had a great time. Saturday, it took us almost all day to pack, after which we drove from about 3:30 PM to roughly 3:30 AM and collapsed into bed. Final review: a great trip - no hustle and bustle of a cram-packed itinerary, just a good week with our extended family.

What are YOU crying about?

Over the past 5 months, I've re-discovered something that I really thought I'd learned before: babies cry a lot... about anything and everything. In fact, there are times when our particular baby cries for seemingly no reason whatsoever. He'll be well-fed, burped, clean of diaper, and laying in his crib, and he'll just be crying his heart out. Seriously, kid, what have you got to cry about? Huh? I mean, you never have to worry about what clothes to wear, you have no bills to pay, loved ones are always cooing over you, always eager to give you hugs or entertain you, and on top of all that, your favorite meal is available whenever and wherever you ask for it! Who could want a better life?

Still, he cries. However, tonight, I re-discovered something else. If all their needs are met - they've eaten recently, been through their bedtime routine (as much as possible), been placed lovingly into their crib - if all is right with the world... they will still cry. A lot. But eventually, if you leave them alone and don't bother them, they will go to sleep. Sometimes it's a matter of minutes, sometimes more, but they will drift off at last, and when they do, they are powerfully, powerfully cute. At least mine is. And that's all I really wanted to say.

Gimme that giggle

I got Joshua to giggle a couple of weeks ago. He was sitting in an infant seat and I decided to see what he would do when I played peek-a-boo with him. Lo and behold he gave me his first giggle. Daniel and Maggie were in the backyard so I called them in so they could hear it. Joshua gladly performed again. But, I couldn't get him to do it again after that, and of course that meant Davis didn't get to partake in the fun of hearing that precious little chuckle. I would make an occasional effort to get him to giggle again but he was not giving it up. Finally, yesterday, during a diaper change I didn't some hand movements and noise and I got him to giggle again. This time I had the digital camera (with the new battery charged and ready) so I had Daniel film me getting Joshua to give us a giggle. This way Davis got to hear it too. There's not much sweeter than the laughter of a baby; so enjoy.

Update: Thanks to Alert Reader MommyOctopus for letting us know that the video wasn't viewable. This has been corrected. Now, as we said before, enjoy.

A Great Deal of Thought

I want to say that the reason that I've been absent from this blog is because I've been giving this particular post a great deal of thought. The problem, of course, is that it's not true. In reality, we've been busy with the new baby, and I'm pretty sure the lack of sleep has hindered my creativity, so I'm having trouble coming up with interesting posts. So, just to catch you up, I've been reading some interesting books, taking a more active interest in Lost through blog reading and podcast listening, and working on improving my Brain Age. This last activity is made possible by the fact that Daniel bought a Nintendo DS with his own money for his birthday. He's been doing chores, earning his commission, and saving up for months. He'd managed to save over $80, and on his birthday friends and relatives gave him enough to cover the rest of the DS! He was ecstatic, and we were, of course, very proud of him. My dad then paid for us to get a game for the DS, and we got Brain Age 2, which is a great game, and a lot of fun, except that it is based on the bizarre idea that the perfect brain age is 20-years-old. This is a problem for Daniel, since a lot of the tests are over his head, but it's also a problem for those of us who are sleep-deprived and over 30. Still, it's got a lot of fun Sudoku puzzles, of which I'm a big fan. Anyway, I'm sorry this is so rambling, but those are my thoughts at the moment. Now I'm going to bed. I hope to be more coherent for my next post. G'night!

On its way

I'm pleased to announce that I ordered a new battery for our digital camera. As I mentioned here, we are sans digital camera because the battery wouldn't charge, but that won't be the case much longer. I will be sure to get up some pictures as soon as it arrives.

Summer Vacations

We are planning to go to Ohio to visit my mom's family in June. We haven't been since I was pregnant with Maggie (she's 5 now) so our visit is long overdue. It is sad that I haven't done a better job of keeping in touch with my relations. My mother made sure we visited them once a year while I was growing up, but once she passed away and I moved out of my parents home, there was nothing to ensure that I stayed in contact. I'm looking forward to reconnecting and introducing our children to their only great-grandmother (Daniel was one when he last met her so it will be just like meeting her for the first time again). It's thanks to my gracious Aunt Shirley and Uncle Kenny that this visit is possible. They are letting us stay at their house so we don't have to use a hotel (which we can't afford while we are still doing our debt snowball). It should be a lot of fun if we can get Joshua to enjoy riding in the van.

We also hope to go back to the condo in Perdido Key with the Hipps family in August. It all depends on whether Davis can get off from work (although if he can't I may just have to brave taking the three kids by myself since it was so great last year). Hopefully that works out and we will have two inexpensive family vacations this year. Can't wait!

Gotta love the iPhone

Here is a picture I took with Davis' iPhone. As I mentioned in my previous post, our digital camera is broken, so it was great to be able to capture this moment with the iPhone. We had gotten all the kids ready for bed but we still needed to give Daniel a breathing treatment for his wheezing. We thought we would just keep Joshua up until the treatment was done (10 minutes), but the hum of the machine put him to sleep. It was too precious and I was so glad that we were able to get a picture of it.

Blogging without pictures

As a novice blogger I rely heavily on pictures (mainly of my children)to make my posts interesting. Frankly, I'm not that great of a writer (it was always very difficult for me to reach minimum page requirements in English class) so it helps to have a visual. Unfortunately, I have discovered that my digital camera isn't working because the battery is broken (i.e. it won't charge anymore). I hope that we will have the money to replace it next month, only our budgeting meeting will tell. Thus, the lack of blogging lately (for me, I don't know what Davis' excuse is).

Larger than Life

	Recently, Daniel has really gotten interested in Legos (thanks to the influence of his best friend, Drake). Due to his intrest, he got some Lego sets for Christmas, has bought some with his own money, and got some as gifts from family and friends. We have really enjoyed putting these creations together. Daniel and Maggie have also just started making their own creations and playing with them.
	At Christmas, Daniel wanted to buy Drake some Legos for Christmas (since he knew that he liked them), so we went to an outlet mall that had a Legos store. We have since been back several times. The store has a Darth Vader made out of Legos so we were excited when we saw that they were going to be building an 8' R2-D2.
	It was a three day event and the kids were able to help out by making Lego "bricks" for the R2 made up of numerous little legos put together. Daniel and Maggie made several bricks.
	Once they made some bricks they turned them in to get a coupon to take to the Legos store for a certificate of participation. While we were there we learned that the R2-D2 would be completed the next day, left on display for an hour before being taken down to travel to the next city.
	So we decided to go back the next day to see the finished product and get our picture taken with the larger than life Legos R2-D2.

Two Months

On Monday Joshua turned two months old. Yesterday I took him to his two month check-up. He now weighs 13 pounds and 7 ounces and is 22 and 3/4 inches long (short and stocky and very cute). He also got his first round of immunizations. It was great that they had this combo shot that had DTaP, polio, and Hib all in one, so he only got two shots rather than the four our other kids got. He was a bit fussy and uncomfortable during the day, but he gave us our first 5 and a half hours of sleep in a row last night. He is sleeping in his crib a good portion of the night and napping in there during the day (unless I feel like snuggling at my nap time). It's amazing the difference a month makes. Now if only I would go to bed at a decent hour and get up and ready before the kids I might feel more like a productive human being (I'm taking baby steps).

All he wants for Christmas . . .

I took Daniel and Maggie to the dentist in January. It was there that I discovered that Daniel's two front teeth were getting loose. I had no idea before the hygenist pointed it out because we don't go over his teeth everytime he brushes now, and they just barely wiggled. Fast forward to March and the loose teeth are looking kind of rough. They are getting discolored and cadywonked. My friends Kim and Rachael offered to help pull them out but Daniel said no thanks and I got the heeby jeebys thinking about it. Well, finally I couldn't take it anymore so I asked him if I could use the floss on it and after several attempts I managed to get one out, but then he didn't want me to do the other one because it hurt a little.



So this morning with my new found tooth pulling confidence I asked Daniel if I could give it a try on his other tooth. He reluctantly agreed. After just two tries I managed to pull out his other tooth.
















So now he just needs his two new front teeth.

Snowy, snowballs and stats

I thought I had put a picture of the aforementioned snowman named Snowy in the last post, but aparently I'm not as techno savvy as I previously thought. So here is a picture of the snow configuration that Davis, Daniel and Maggie made on our snowday.

Here's a picture of Maggie and Daniel with some freshly made snowballs. Daniel looks like he is about to let his fly. Daniel managed to get one into his daddy's coat pocket.

Joshua is snug inside the house during the snow storm of 2009. At his one month check up he weighed 11 lbs and 8 oz. He's also grown an inch since birth. He's a solid little guy complete with double chin.

Let it Snow

It snowed here yesterday and the kids absolutely loved it. You would have thought it was Christmas day with how excited they were. Once we made it safely home from church we bundled them up and sent them out to play in it. They decided to build a snowman which Daniel named Snowy. Joshua and I only went out long enough to get a picture. The rest of the time we stayed inside making brownies and hot chocolate. Daniel and Maggie were soaked and frozen after playing outside for over an hour so we ran a hot bath, put on dry warm clothes, and drank hot chocolate while watching a movie. It was a really lovely and wonderful day.

Bears and Babies

Uncle Bennett holding his newest nephew next to his oldest nephew. It's always great to have a bunch of Hipps men together.

Maggie adores her Aunt Lynley as evidenced here by wanting to sit on her lap at the same time as her holding Joshua.

Joshua with his Vermont Teddy Bear.

The teddy collection. Uncle Bennett continues the tradition by giving Joshua a teddy bear just like he gave to Daniel and Maggie after they were born. It is one of the sweetest gifts and we just love that the kids will have them their entire lives.

One Month and Counting

Here is a picture of Joshua when he turned one month old (Friday February 23rd). The time has really flown by. It seems that the more children you have the faster it goes. So I guess if we have any more children we will have officially hit warp speed (we are currently in fast play). I will say that as much as we adore Joshua and love having a sweet baby in our home, it has been a more difficult transition than I expected. I just thought I would be out and about all the time since his food source is with me all the time, I am ready with the baby sling, and the older kids are great helpers (plus they can strap themselves in). But, alas, we have been house bound for over a month (except for a few outings and doctor appointments). I am so very thankful for our awesome church family that has been providing us with delicious meals for the last month. It has been an incredible blessing to not have to worry about meal preparations during this time. I was shocked when I saw that they would be feeding us for the entire month of February, but now I am just so very thankful (although we could stand about six more months of it). I really do think that we are starting to get the hang of things and I hope to start visiting friends and making it to outings with the kids. Overall, life is good. I thank God for our three amazing children!