Saturday, May 14, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Monday, May 02, 2011
Lost Gracie Baby Pics
Thanks to Libby for sending me some baby Gracie pictures. The blog predates Gracie by 18 months, and I wasn't backing my pictures up during that time. So, I'm trying to make sure I get a digital archive of Gracie's first 18 months.
It's fun to see her as a little peanut again.
It's fun to see her as a little peanut again.
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| Gracie Baby pictures |
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Morning Lift Off for a Father of Four
There is a segment of the population - newly weds, young couples with perhaps one child or none yet, couples engaged to be married, etc., - who dream of having a big family. I know because my wife and I did the same thing. Before we even got married we talked of our future family and that perfect number of kids we longed to have around the dinner table. Lucky for us, we agreed that four was the perfect number. For me, it was because I came from three-child family and I always thought one more brother or sister would have been a welcome addition. My wife had one sibling, seven years her elder, which meant she spent a good deal of her youth feeling like an only-child. So four was the number and the Lord has been good. Though we were a little slow getting started, in God's good timing we had our first at age 29 and number four was born last month at age 35. That's right - four kids in six years, meaning we have Gracie (6), Addie (4), Audrey (3) and Trey (1 month). The perfect number! To read this makes it sound like they came easy. They didn't. But that's a different story for a different day.
As the father I'm especially proud of this tassel of kids, and I know their mother is, too, and we wouldn't trade the experience for the world, but enough about that. The purpose of this post is to educate. For those of you out there like Anita Beth and I nearly 12 years ago, planning your brood, let me give you a taste of life with four kids. A window, if you will, into one morning of my life, as a father of four:
4:30 a.m. Alarm in bathroom begins to go off but I don't hear it as I haven't had more than four uninterrupted hours of sleep since Trey's birth nearly six weeks ago.
4:43 a.m. Feel swift heel kick to left thigh from AB, stumble to bathroom desperately hoping not to wake up somehow-still-sleeping baby and turn off alarm. Blink hard, looking at the time wondering how I slept through an alarm for 13 minutes, and wondering if I really want to run bad enough to be up at 4:43 a.m. Realizing that if I don't do it before everybody wakes up it will never happen, decide that I do, stumble to closet and dress for run.
5:19 a.m. After my cup of coffee, devotion and email check, hit the pavement for a seven-mile run. By mile two I'm quickly reminded that the uninterrupted hour of simply breathing and running is why I do this. Make mental note to be back at house by 6:30 sharp to wake up Gracie.
6:31 a.m. Walk in house, straight to oven, and preheat to 400 degrees for cinnamon rolls.
6:32 a.m. Still sweating from run, coast into Gracie's room, rub on her for a minute to try to wake her up in a civil way. As always, civil is ineffective, so just like the day before and the day before that, I pick her up by her armpits and set her on her feet. She does the same stretch she does every morning and shuffles to the living room couch, planting her head between the cushions like an ostrich plants its head in the sand.
6:35 a.m. I lay Gracie's school uniform on the couch. Oven preheat alert sounds. I tell Gracie to dress herself. She lifts her head and whines in protest that she cannot. I place cinnamon rolls in oven, set timer for 14 minutes, with a simultaneousness yell-whisper so as not to wake others tell Gracie to practice and that she has 14 minutes to get it on while I walk dogs.
6:36 a.m. The Labrador and bulldog mix enjoy a one-mile jog/relief session. I squeeze in an eighth mile. I'm sure to be back at house by 6:50 to get breakfast out of oven so AB doesn't have to get out of bed. Because she's nursing the baby, she gets a solid hour less of sleep than I do, due to the 2 a.m. feeding (Trey's stomach has its own clock and it goes off at 2 a.m. every night) so I try to let her sleep in the mornings. I don't want the oven timer waking her up.
6:50 a.m. Walk in house. Timer is going off. To my surprise Gracie is dressed. "Did you dress yourself?" I asked. "Mom helped me," she said. Mom shuffles into kitchen squinty-eyed, mumbling something to Gracie about the timer. Sees me, pivots, and returns to bedroom. So much for letting Mom sleep.
6:51 a.m. Serve Gracie warm Cinnamon rolls. I admit that I take a certain amount of pride in serving something besides a pop tart or cereal a few times a week.
6:52 a.m. Since Trey was born, I have taken over as Gracie's hair stylist. It's easy. I just spray her hair with a water bottle, brush it out, and squirt some "Curls Rock" in my hands and then fluff her hair just so as to get the curls going. Before you tell me I'm awesome, don't. This is all I know how to do. I can't do pony tails or braids and hope to never learn or be forced to learn because that would mean something really bad happened to Anita Beth. I've got the Curls Rock thing down though.
6:55 a.m. Feed dogs. There's two of them and they need anti-shed liquid supplement on their food to appease Anita Beth and try to keep the shedding down. The dogs are in a constant state of near deportation due to their different annoying habits, shedding being at the top of the list.
6:58 a.m. Anita Beth stumbles into room with Trey and begins feeding. I prepare her a cup of coffee.
7:00 a.m. Audrey (3) climbs up in her chair at the bar, ready for breakfast. "Cinnamon roll?" I ask. "Daddy, you know I don't like that," she replies. She's at that age where anytime she articulates an entire sentence it's cute, so I'm less annoyed than I would otherwise be having worked the cooking of the cinnamon rolls so expertly into the morning routine. I give the kid a pop tart.
7:03 a.m. I feed the turtle a few blueberries. That's right. As if four kids and two dogs weren't enough, we also have a pet turtle. His name is Skipperdee and I have no one to blame but myself. I picked him up off the road for the kids a week ago. Anita Beth wants me to buy him a fancy cage or get rid of him. I'm still weighing my options.
7:06 a.m. Fix kids water.
7:09 a.m. Retrieve Gracie's school bag from Anita Beth's car.
7:11 a.m. Get Gracie's head band off the counter upon her request even though I'm sure if the headband had been a cookie she would not have needed my help.
7:15 a.m. See an interview on the news I'd like to catch and start to sit down to watch. AB, still feeding Trey (he eats about 12 hours out of the day), asks me to refill her coffee. I ask her to pause DVR so I can watch interview.
7:17 a.m. Tell Gracie to go wait for her ride by the door. Forget I ever wanted to see interview and prepare water for flower pots. I'm the designated plant waterer at my house. If I don't water flowers will die.
7:20 a.m. Gracie's ride arrives. I walk her out like I do every morning, mostly because I don't want her to leave the front door wide open and let the dogs out. They don't come back on demand, so it's a hassle. I water flowers as Gracie leaves.
7:25 a.m. Sit down and chat with AB while she, you guessed it, feeds Trey. We talk about - you guessed it - the kids.
7:40 a.m. Trey finishes up. I head to the shower.
7:41 a.m. Audrey and Addie join me in bathroom.
7:45 a.m. AB and Trey join me in bathroom. Luckily, we have a large bathroom.
8:20 a.m. I get out of shower. (I take long showers, sue me. Plus I left out a few details. You're welcome.). Kids move their lives into bathroom.
8:21 a.m. Trey begins to cry loudly. He's still hungry. Audrey, who never left bathroom, tries to help by laying on top of him. Doesn't work. I pick him up and he makes really great eye contact with me, which is nice.
8:25 a.m. Put Trey down and get dressed. Trey resumes crying loudly.
8:27 a.m. Scour house for pacifier. Forget what I'm looking for.
8:30 a.m. Let dogs take quick potty break in the backyard.
8:32 a.m. Get good bye kisses from remaining kids and wife. Tell my wife how pretty she looks in her new dress (because she does, not because I had to).
8:35 a.m. Prepare third cup of coffee of morning in to-go cup. I live for coffee.
8:36 a.m. Second round of good bye hugs and kisses from kids because to the kids the first round doesn't count if they can still see me after four minutes.
8:37 a.m. Shimmy around wife's car and climb over various riding toys to get into my car.
8:38 a.m. Off to work! Fuel warning starts to chime. Classic.
As the father I'm especially proud of this tassel of kids, and I know their mother is, too, and we wouldn't trade the experience for the world, but enough about that. The purpose of this post is to educate. For those of you out there like Anita Beth and I nearly 12 years ago, planning your brood, let me give you a taste of life with four kids. A window, if you will, into one morning of my life, as a father of four:
4:30 a.m. Alarm in bathroom begins to go off but I don't hear it as I haven't had more than four uninterrupted hours of sleep since Trey's birth nearly six weeks ago.
4:43 a.m. Feel swift heel kick to left thigh from AB, stumble to bathroom desperately hoping not to wake up somehow-still-sleeping baby and turn off alarm. Blink hard, looking at the time wondering how I slept through an alarm for 13 minutes, and wondering if I really want to run bad enough to be up at 4:43 a.m. Realizing that if I don't do it before everybody wakes up it will never happen, decide that I do, stumble to closet and dress for run.
5:19 a.m. After my cup of coffee, devotion and email check, hit the pavement for a seven-mile run. By mile two I'm quickly reminded that the uninterrupted hour of simply breathing and running is why I do this. Make mental note to be back at house by 6:30 sharp to wake up Gracie.
6:31 a.m. Walk in house, straight to oven, and preheat to 400 degrees for cinnamon rolls.
6:32 a.m. Still sweating from run, coast into Gracie's room, rub on her for a minute to try to wake her up in a civil way. As always, civil is ineffective, so just like the day before and the day before that, I pick her up by her armpits and set her on her feet. She does the same stretch she does every morning and shuffles to the living room couch, planting her head between the cushions like an ostrich plants its head in the sand.
6:35 a.m. I lay Gracie's school uniform on the couch. Oven preheat alert sounds. I tell Gracie to dress herself. She lifts her head and whines in protest that she cannot. I place cinnamon rolls in oven, set timer for 14 minutes, with a simultaneousness yell-whisper so as not to wake others tell Gracie to practice and that she has 14 minutes to get it on while I walk dogs.
6:36 a.m. The Labrador and bulldog mix enjoy a one-mile jog/relief session. I squeeze in an eighth mile. I'm sure to be back at house by 6:50 to get breakfast out of oven so AB doesn't have to get out of bed. Because she's nursing the baby, she gets a solid hour less of sleep than I do, due to the 2 a.m. feeding (Trey's stomach has its own clock and it goes off at 2 a.m. every night) so I try to let her sleep in the mornings. I don't want the oven timer waking her up.
6:50 a.m. Walk in house. Timer is going off. To my surprise Gracie is dressed. "Did you dress yourself?" I asked. "Mom helped me," she said. Mom shuffles into kitchen squinty-eyed, mumbling something to Gracie about the timer. Sees me, pivots, and returns to bedroom. So much for letting Mom sleep.
6:51 a.m. Serve Gracie warm Cinnamon rolls. I admit that I take a certain amount of pride in serving something besides a pop tart or cereal a few times a week.
6:52 a.m. Since Trey was born, I have taken over as Gracie's hair stylist. It's easy. I just spray her hair with a water bottle, brush it out, and squirt some "Curls Rock" in my hands and then fluff her hair just so as to get the curls going. Before you tell me I'm awesome, don't. This is all I know how to do. I can't do pony tails or braids and hope to never learn or be forced to learn because that would mean something really bad happened to Anita Beth. I've got the Curls Rock thing down though.
6:55 a.m. Feed dogs. There's two of them and they need anti-shed liquid supplement on their food to appease Anita Beth and try to keep the shedding down. The dogs are in a constant state of near deportation due to their different annoying habits, shedding being at the top of the list.
6:58 a.m. Anita Beth stumbles into room with Trey and begins feeding. I prepare her a cup of coffee.
7:00 a.m. Audrey (3) climbs up in her chair at the bar, ready for breakfast. "Cinnamon roll?" I ask. "Daddy, you know I don't like that," she replies. She's at that age where anytime she articulates an entire sentence it's cute, so I'm less annoyed than I would otherwise be having worked the cooking of the cinnamon rolls so expertly into the morning routine. I give the kid a pop tart.
7:03 a.m. I feed the turtle a few blueberries. That's right. As if four kids and two dogs weren't enough, we also have a pet turtle. His name is Skipperdee and I have no one to blame but myself. I picked him up off the road for the kids a week ago. Anita Beth wants me to buy him a fancy cage or get rid of him. I'm still weighing my options.
7:06 a.m. Fix kids water.
7:09 a.m. Retrieve Gracie's school bag from Anita Beth's car.
7:11 a.m. Get Gracie's head band off the counter upon her request even though I'm sure if the headband had been a cookie she would not have needed my help.
7:15 a.m. See an interview on the news I'd like to catch and start to sit down to watch. AB, still feeding Trey (he eats about 12 hours out of the day), asks me to refill her coffee. I ask her to pause DVR so I can watch interview.
7:17 a.m. Tell Gracie to go wait for her ride by the door. Forget I ever wanted to see interview and prepare water for flower pots. I'm the designated plant waterer at my house. If I don't water flowers will die.
7:20 a.m. Gracie's ride arrives. I walk her out like I do every morning, mostly because I don't want her to leave the front door wide open and let the dogs out. They don't come back on demand, so it's a hassle. I water flowers as Gracie leaves.
7:25 a.m. Sit down and chat with AB while she, you guessed it, feeds Trey. We talk about - you guessed it - the kids.
7:40 a.m. Trey finishes up. I head to the shower.
7:41 a.m. Audrey and Addie join me in bathroom.
7:45 a.m. AB and Trey join me in bathroom. Luckily, we have a large bathroom.
8:20 a.m. I get out of shower. (I take long showers, sue me. Plus I left out a few details. You're welcome.). Kids move their lives into bathroom.
8:21 a.m. Trey begins to cry loudly. He's still hungry. Audrey, who never left bathroom, tries to help by laying on top of him. Doesn't work. I pick him up and he makes really great eye contact with me, which is nice.
8:25 a.m. Put Trey down and get dressed. Trey resumes crying loudly.
8:27 a.m. Scour house for pacifier. Forget what I'm looking for.
8:30 a.m. Let dogs take quick potty break in the backyard.
8:32 a.m. Get good bye kisses from remaining kids and wife. Tell my wife how pretty she looks in her new dress (because she does, not because I had to).
8:35 a.m. Prepare third cup of coffee of morning in to-go cup. I live for coffee.
8:36 a.m. Second round of good bye hugs and kisses from kids because to the kids the first round doesn't count if they can still see me after four minutes.
8:37 a.m. Shimmy around wife's car and climb over various riding toys to get into my car.
8:38 a.m. Off to work! Fuel warning starts to chime. Classic.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
iPhone 4 Makes Olympus Obsolete
That's the only explanation for why I haven't uploaded this collection of pics that date ALL THE WAY BACK TO HALLOWEEN 2010!
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| Halloween 2010 to April 2011 |
My First Ralph Lauren
putting him in this. He looks very handsome, no?
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Aunt Libby Came and All We Got Were these Awesome Pictures
Check out my sister's blog. There are lots of fun photos from her weekend with us. Be sure to watch the videos. We loved seeing you Libby! Thanks for the pics/videos.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Friday, April 01, 2011
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