Giving the 'Bee-bee' a kiss

Katie and Uncle Phil

Look how small she is!

Taking a snooze

Haircut,anyone?

James is now a certified Barber if anyone needs a haircut. He currently has one style available: the buzz.

Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa:

Check this out: Loma has its own website. How's that for nifty.

http://www.lomacommunitychurch.com/

Here are a few of the latest pics. James has been doing the sweetest things for Katie. If she spits up, he goes and gets a napkin to wipe her face. He brings her blankets and burp clothes, and tries to put her socks on when they fall off. He also tells her 'up, up' when he wants her to play. He gives her 'bow-bows,' which is elbows. He invented this in lieu of the high five. He touches elbows. Not sure where he got that idea, but its really funny. He also laughs hysterically every time Katie sneezes. Before we know it they will be plotting together. As for Katie, she is doing everything a normal baby should be doing: eating, sleeping and pooping.

The kids have a sweet new ride from Aunt Marinda. This stroller does everything but push itself!

James 'holding' Katie

Little Old Man

Jeff and James have a new project: organizing the shed! Jeff organizes while James 'helps'!

Here is my son who thinks he is a little old man. Yesterday he pulled his chair and footstool up to the screen door and just sat and watched the neighborhood. Yikes! He is already turning out to be the perfect little suburbanite, snooping on the neighbors. All he needs now is a pair of binoculars and he'll be all set!

She's Awake!

Here you go, Aunt Marinda! Now you can see my eyes!

James giving Katie a kiss...Awwww! Katie's shirt says "Does this diaper make my butt look big?" Its from her cousin Shelly.

Here are the kids posing for the camera. Its so weird to say 'kids.' As in, two kids...all ours. That's pretty cool. Things are going well. James is trying to figure out how all this new 'bee-bee' stuff works. He's doing good, most of the time anyway. Katie is just a sweet little baby. She doesn't cry a lot and is pretty peaceful. Its so weird to have such a small baby at home. Fortunately, we have no worries about health this time around!!! After an amazingly quick labor (2hrs,15min.) she was checked out by the neonatologist and given a clean bill of health. We are so grateful. Having such a new baby here, I am realizing I missed a bunch of stuff with James since he was in the NICU for two weeks. I am glad it was only two weeks.

Guess that's all the details for now...my tired mommy brain just gave out on me and I have run out of things to ramble about. Time for a nap!

Meet your new sister/brother!

She's finally here!

Good thing I have two arms!

Grandpa meeting Katie for the first time

More Pictures to Come....

The new family!

She's Here!

Katie Grace
Born September 11, 2007 at 6:30 a.m.
7 lbs. 7 oz. 20 1/2 inches

Welcome to the World!

It's September 10th....

That means its James' second birthday!!!

Happy Birthday, James!

Where was a witty comment when I needed it?

So, I decided to stop in at the corner WaWa and get a hoagie. I don't normally do such things, but it sounded good and I am nine months pregnant. Rachel was with me so she waited with James in the car. What happened inside has me scratching my head and wondering what in the world some people are thinking (or not thinking). I went to the counter to pay for my sandwich. The lady leaned forward and asked when I was due. I responded with 'any day now.' As I was answering her question and getting out my money, she leaned over the counter and with both hands started rubbing my belly. And, she didn't stop. She made some comment about not seeming nine months pregnant, and asked if I knew what I was having. I told her we were expecting a girl. 'Oh, thats nice,' she says. 'Do you have any others?' I told her I had a son who was two today. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, James!) She replied by saying, 'That's too bad. Does he want a sister?' Now what on earth is 'That's too bad' supposed to mean???? That their birthdays will be close, or that I am having another one, or that I already have a boy?! I really wanted to shake the lady, and on top of that she was still rubbing my belly. I just hurried up and paid and on my way out, she says in a very cheerful voice, "Bring her in! I'd love to see her!" Uh, OK, lady. You'll be lucky if I even come back at all. That was too weird.

Where's your nose?

New fangled technology here, folks! Check out this video of James. Click on the arrow and it should play for you.

Bad Habits

When you have a kid, you figure out that you have some bad habits. Unfortunately you figure this out when you see your kid doing something you do. Here are a few things we have figured out. Don't slurp your cereal in front of your kid. They figure it out mighty quick, and think its hilarious to try and slurp their bowl of cereal. (This one is me, by the way) Don't spit in front of your kid, in the trashcan or anywhere else. You will soon see your pint-sized protege lifting the lid of the trashcan, standing on his tiptoes and spitting into the trashcan. (Hmmm...I wonder where he learned that!) Another thing we've learned is to be careful what you say. Whenever I need James to move, I say "Beep-Beep, excuse me!" Well, he picked up on the beep-beep part but can't say the excuse me part. So now I have a kid who says "Beep-Beep" when he wants me to move. Its not like he's being rude. He actually sounds cute, but I also don't want him to run around saying "Beep-Beep" to everyone who's in his way.

And the award for "worst-thing-to-do-in-front-of-your-kid" goes to Jeff, for showing James how to launch a baby doll across the room using none other than the baby's bouncy seat! And I quote, "He won't actually do that to the baby!"

Lets hope not....

Who Knew?

Check this out! There is actually a Beard and Mustache Championship (http://www.worldbeardchampionships.com/) Who knew you could do such things with facial hair. But why?????

Its a Small World!

This morning I turned on the TV just for the heck of it. And what did I see? The TODAY show was having a segment on Vacations From Hell. They said mentioned a Colorado family who had a nightmare vacation. Well, ends up we know the people. Eric Langner and family were featured on the show, so it was pretty cool and strange to see someone from little ol' Loma, CO on national TV!

Nesting

Hooray for the closet!!

Please witness something seen only once every 97 leap years: a clean fridge!


The 'nesting' phase has officially kicked in, and for the past week I have been trying to get stuff done before the baby arrives. I have been shopping for birthdays and some Christmas things, and even wrapped the stuff! We have finished....yes, after a long three+ years....our closet! Wow! Who knew that you could actually find your clothes in a few brief moments without running upstairs, looking here and there and everywhere. We finished remodeling the big room upstairs, so now you can come visit and you won't have to smell remnants of the cat that once lived there. Let me rephrase that...we didn't have remnants of an actual cat upstairs, just the smell of a cat that apparently wasn't very well trained. Also as part of this nesting craziness, I have sewn two dresses for the baby, some PJ's for James, and a lot of other little kid things. And, my biggest accomplishment, besides the closet of course....drum roll, please....I cleaned out my fridge! Yes, folks, I managed to weed out all of the science experiments and mysterious items and give the fridge a long-overdue scrubbing. Now, I am not saying that I had fun. I am just saying I feel accomplished.

So now all thats left is, well, quite a bit. But hey, it doesn't all have to get done. With James I went through two weeks of nesting before he decided enough was enough and made his debut. Who knows? Anyone making bets yet on when Groves#2 will make her appearance?

Little Boy's Little Boy

James has become quite his own man lately. He is very particular about what 'boots' and hats he wears. Above you can see some of his favorites. He may choose to wear the fireman's hat with the blue rain boots. Or maybe the safari hat and his nice dress shoes. Today on our way to Target, in fact, he wore two hats simultaneously. Decisions, decisions! He also likes to don the occasional pair of eye wear, as you can see. One of his wackiest ensembles to date included the glasses, the green safari hat and his blue boots. His trademark look is the cowboy boots (about 4 sizes too big) and his spiffy old-school Holtec hat. And, in case you are wondering, it has a straight brim and he wears it just a bit to the side. People at church ask if he is training to be a gansta'. Uh, no, he's just training to be himself, whatever that may be.

Better get going...New York is calling. They want him create his own line for the runway. But, alas, his mean old parents say he is too young for such thing. For now, if you are lucky maybe he will share with you a few of his favorite style tips.

Giant Nasty Bugs: A Science Lesson

We have been noticing annoying little holes dug up in our newly sown lawn lately. The holes are about 1/2 wide and the mounds are about 6 inches across. We immediately ruled out the possibility of miniature prairie dogs, and the holes were too small to be from rabbits. Hmmm...what could it be? Then, we noticed a giant nasty (dead) wasp laying on one of the mounds. After a little research, we found out that they are Cicada Killer Wasps. They kill Cicadas and drag them down into their burrows and eat them! Pretty weird, huh? We also happened to find a dead Cicada, so you can get an idea of what this wasp is capable of. Anyone want to come over and play in our yard?!

In response to the previous post, here is a list of questions to test your newfound understanding of hicks and rednecks.

Hick or Redneck? You decide….(Answers Below)

1. You shoot prairie dogs.

2. You have eaten the prairie dogs you kill OR taken them to the taxidermist OR both.

3. You own a goat.

4. You have installed smoke stacks and a cow-pusher on your Chevy S10 Pick-up.

5. You have ever played hide-and-seek in a cornfield.

6. Your pants are so tight that you have rendered yourself infertile and you had to rub dirt on your boots to make them look ‘broke-in.’

7. You know precisely how to shimmy through or over a barbed wire fence without getting snagged.

8. You have a Confederate Flag bumper sticker on your truck.

9. You have chrome-lady mud flaps on your truck.

10. You have a “Where’s the Beef?” or “Sheep: 1 Million Coyotes Can’t Be Wrong” Bumper sticker on your truck.

11. You have a gun rack in your truck window.

12. You have a gun rack in the back window of your Buick Century.

13. You married your cousin.

Answers:

1. Hick
2. Redneck
3. Well, it depends on where the goat lives. If it lives inside with your pet pot-bellied pig, you are definitely a redneck! If it lives out in the pasture, then you probably fall into the hick category.
4. Redneck
5. Hick
6. IDIOT! (Redneck)
7. Hick
8. Redneck
9. Redneck
10. Hick
11. Hick (Unless you live in the city-then Redneck for sure)
12. Redneck
13. Redneck

Visitors!

Yesterday we had a visit from our friends Meg and Ryan. They were in NYC from CO and rode the train down for a day. We had so much fun seeing them and visiting. Meg is a childhood friend and the one responsible for 'this.' She set us up on a blind date way back in the day, when I was totally dragging my feet! (Obviously it worked out quite nicely!!) We went to South Street for a cheese steak at Jim's. We all practiced up on our 'I'll have a steak wit whiz' lines before going in, only to find that the guy on shift was actually almost friendly. They made up for that, though, with the cashier, who gave us the look of death. But, oh, are those cheese steaks good! After that, we went on a brief drive-by tour of the Independence Hall/Liberty Bell area followed by Jeff's famous Ghetto Tour. By then, Meg and Ryan were quite ready to go straight home to their town of two traffic lights and friendly people.

On The Differences Between Hicks and Rednecks

Here it is after all this time: my long-awaited dissertation on the difference between hicks and rednecks. I have been formulating this speech for a long time, and now its finally here!

It is all too often that we, being from Colorado, are pegged for being rednecks. Most people are well-meaning, and don’t realize that it is rather a misuse of the term to apply it to us. In the past, I have tried to explain the difference between hicks and rednecks to various people, but it is a tough stereotype to sort through. I have resorted to telling people that when they are old enough, I will explain. Well, try telling that to someone older than yourself! So, here it is, folks: an essay on the differences between hicks and rednecks.

First, let me begin by saying that hicks and rednecks are not mutually exclusive. It is possible for one to be both a hick and a redneck at the same time, although one is not necessarily indicative of the other.

Geographically speaking, rednecks come from everywhere and hicks come from more rural areas of the country. It is not often, if ever, that one claims to be a hick from South Philly. However, it is more likely that there are a fair share of rednecks living in South Philly.

The best way to describe what makes a redneck is to describe the mentality which many rednecks have. Here are a few generalizations about the redneck breed. They can be known as backwards, uneducated and racist. Rednecks love Nascar, cheap beer and The Simpsons. In the interest of keeping this relatively short, just find a copy of the ubiquitous “You might be a redneck if…” daily calendars and read a few. You’ll get the idea really quick.

To further add to the confusion, there are subcategories within the redneck genre. The only one I will touch on is the ‘goat-roper,’ or ‘K-Mart Cowboy,’ as Jeff calls them. This brand of rednecks are wanna-be cowboys. They have usually procured their entire cowboy get-up from K-Mart, right down to the Rustler Jeans. They wear big belt buckles and let the end of their belts hang down to their knees. They fold their cowboy hats up like tacos and smash the back brim down so it lays flat against their back. They bend down the bill so low they have to tilt their head up to look at you. Guess that adds to their ‘cowboy’ appeal. I even saw one such chap who bleached a tobacco ring onto his back pants pocket. The only problem was that he used a little too much bleach and it dripped down, making his deception clear to see. To sum it all up, these fellows are all about the look, but if push came to shove they’d try to feed the south end of a northbound mule, as the old-timers say.

When taking hicks into consideration, keep in mind the saying “You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl.” Hicks are typically just your average country folks. They put their pants on one leg at a time. They come from small towns or farms or ranches. They are usually down-to-earth no-nonsense people. Hicks have the farm ‘mentality.’ For example, if a coyote is eating your sheep, you kill it. You don’t sit around and worry about the coyote’s feelings. You just shoot the darn thing and be thankful it didn’t eat any more of your livelihood. If your kids are hot in the summer, you tell them to go cool off in the cow tank. You let your kids handle farm animals without scrubbing them down with sanitizer afterward. You know that cow pies make excellent Frisbees when dry, and road apples make great objects to throw to unsuspecting friends. And, you know what road apples are. Hicks can range anywhere from the uneducated yokel to the rocket scientist living out in the sticks tinkering around with solar power and wind energy.

As you can see, there is are many fine distinctions between hicks and rednecks. While it is possible for one to be both a hick AND a redneck, all hicks are not rednecks and vice versa. So take note, East Coast friends, all this to say that we are hicks, NOT REDNECKS! There is a difference between the two, and we would rather not be shoved into the redneck category, thank you very much!

COMING SOON: Test your Hick VS. Redneck Knowledge with my "Hick or Redneck: You Decide" Questionairre

Lookey What I Did!!!

Thanks to Mom and Rach, my art room has been excavated and made useable again! And so, to celebrate, I spent James' nap time finishing up a few projects. Here is a dress I finished for the baby. Hooray! I feel so productive!

Anybody want some tomatoes?

Its that time of year already and I am picking handfuls of tomatoes, peppers and chilies nearly every day. No matter how many we eat or give away, we still have more and its just getting started! But, it does feel like quite the accomplishment to make something entirely from your own garden. And, its an excuse to play in the dirt! Now if only I could find someone who is interested in the beautiful bumper crop of weeds I have on my hands!

Trying to Stay Cool

This week the weather has been so HOT and HUMID that the towels never dry and you feel like you are walking into a steam bath when you open the front door. Where is the dry, desert heat that I can handle? This stuff is just awful! Anyway, enough ranting from the pregnant lady. We have been trying to stay cool by staying inside, mostly.
As you can see, James has quite the fascination with shoes of any kind and likes to wear them around the house. Yesterday, we went swimming with Rachel and James loved the water! Other than that, we are staying inside in the relative comfort of our 80 degree living room.

The Bun In the Oven....

So here I am...getting huge! Only 6 weeks or so left to go!

More Cousin Fun!

James and Shelly

Tyler stopping for .00009 seconds to smile for the camera, before running back to the beach

Athan

Ah, the magic of homemade GAK!

Meg and Tyler

Some homeless bum digging thru our trash...or is that Shelly?! She got some special effects makeup at 5 Below and they had a great time transforming her into a bum. She ran around the neighborhood getting funny reactions from people. She completed her outfit by wearing Jeff's pants.

The kids kept us laughing while they were here. Here are a few funny things they said:
I was telling the kids as we were driving thru Trenton that we call NJ the armpit of America. Tyler said, "Who's armpit???" Then, as we were driving past the sewer plant, he got real excited and yells "Hey, I smell the armpit!" I can just imagine him telling his teacher he went to the armpit for vacation. Shelly was trying to feel the baby move, and the baby was all over the place. We were trying to figure out where she'd kick next, and Shelly said "Hey, its just like Whack-A-Mole!" One night for dinner, we told Tyler that he had to finish his dinner if he wanted a treat. He thought for a second and then said "If I only eat half my dinner can I get half a treat?" Smart kid, but no. They also enjoyed Water Ice, although Tyler kept asking if we were going to get Ice Water! Now that the kids are gone, James and I have been catching up on our lack of sleep.


And here is a recipe for homemade GAK, in case you are bored from reading this long and random post. Its lots of fun and easy to make:

In a bowl, dissolve 1 TBS. Borax in 1 C. warm water. In a different bowl, mix 1/4 C. white school glue and 1/4 C. water. Add food coloring if desired. Slowly pour glue mixture into Borax mixture and watch the glue turn into a cloud of Oobleck right before your eyes! Let it sit for a minute or two and then remove your GAK. Store in a ziplock bag with the air squeezed out.

The Cousins Are Here!

Here are a few pictures of our week so far. James is enjoying his cousins and we are having a great time!

Bum Deal

Alright. I know I do not normally blog about butts, or the President, but today I must digress. I just turned on the evening news to hear this evenings HEADLINES. 'Topping this evening's headlines,' President Bush will be getting a colonoscopy tomorrow. First of all, you have to feel sorry for anyone who has to get a camera threaded up their bum. That's just sick and wrong. I plan on staying 49 for as long as I can. Second, why, OH WHY, does it have to be broadcast on the nightly news???? Poor guy, can't even get a colonoscopy in peace. I understand he's the President but the guy deserves just a little privacy! And good luck with that, Mr. President. I, for one, am very happy to have plenty of years left before the dreaded FIVE-OH.

Flying By The Seats of Our Pants

I was pondering what to blog about, since its been a while. I realized that its been awhile because life has been HECTIC! In the past month, we have been in a total of 9 states. (PA, NJ, NY, CT, MA, ME, NH, MD, DE) As if that weren’t enough, Jeff managed to squeeze in trips to Montreal, Canada and Mexico City, Mexico. So, welcome to our crazy life. Here are a few random bits of info from the past month or so:

• James is learning new words constantly: hat, birds, blocks, bunny, doggy, up, down, boots, keys, etc.
• Jeff managed to evade being mugged/kidnapped/robbed while in Mexico by staying in his hotel and only leaving with his translator.
• Jeff brought back three whole bottles of Mexican vanilla, which made Mom, Rach and I very happy!
• Its been hotter than the blazes around here, as Grandma says. Its been in the upper 90’s with 80-90% humidity! Ugh!!!
• Less than ten weeks till the baby is due!
• The baby is a girl!
• We crossed the Mason-Dixon line when we went to visit our friends in MD. Didn’t realize it was so close.
• As if all that wasn’t enough, we have been working to update the big room upstairs, installing wood floor, trim, shelves, etc, etc, etc.

And there you have it, in a very abbreviated nutshell. In a week and a half two of our nephews and our niece are flying out for a visit, so don't think we've dropped off the face of the planet. Summer will be over soon and then things will slow down for about 3 days and then we'll have a new baby and then, well.....who knows!?

Jeffro's Adventures in Mexico

Who knew that a humble roll of toilet paper could be folded into such fanciness?!

Yummy...Here's the pig, right before they lit it on fire.

Jeff's Bathroom...marble from floor to ceiling

Last week, Jeff traveled to Mexico for business and had quite an experience. He stayed in a really ritzy hotel in Mexico City, and was told not to go anywhere without his trusty translator/guide. The hotel was in a very wealthy part of the city, and apparently the threat of kidnapping/muggings/etc. is very high there. While there, Jeff schmoozed with one of the most wealthy men in Mexico. His 'compound' was complete with a three-story library with glass ceiling and a rain forest in the backyard. While out and about, Jeff had the opportunity to see a suckling pig lit on fire and served up to four of the guys he was with. Now being from Colorado we are not opposed to whole roasted pigs, but, well, check out the picture and see for yourself. It was a little much even for Jeff. Other highlights of the trip included Mexican driving 'rules' and experiencing the lavishness of a five star hotel. I'm just glad he made it home in one piece!