All Zeker. All the time.

Okay, so here are some pictures I took of Zeker. And a video of us playing. Of course they are all in one sitting, because I always forget to take my camera out. I'm a bad mom.... Anyway. On with the photo shoot.

Here he is in his new BabyLegs from Aunt Kimi. His thighs are a little too fat for them, as you'll see in the second picture, so I put them on his arms. That's the third picture.

Here are some random close-up shots I took. I don't know why I had to post all of them, but I did. Probably 'cause he's so dern cute!

Sucking on his binky. Somebody's getting tired.

Trying to get the camera.
Or not...
Now he's trying to get the binky.
Now he looks like he's about ready to show me a certain finger...

Oh, and here's one more picture I took with my cell phone (thanks, Kimi, for sending it to me!). This is what happens when you put the older sister in charge of the baby brother. She turns him into the "King of Angland."

And here's a little video I took. It's two minutes long, so if it's shorter than that, I would let it reload.




Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Hope you enjoyed. Now I'm going to go find some food.

Windows to the soul...

Well, I was inspired by my sister's post to compare my kids' eyes. I know the pictures are a little big, and maybe slightly creepy, but it was the best way to see them.

Here is Sierra's eye color. She has always had big round eyes, and insanely long eyelashes. She ended up with Jason's eye color. Kind of a grayish-blue, with brown in the middle.Here is Tyner's eye color. Pretty much exactly the same color as Sierra's. Jay must have strong genes.Here are Zeker's eyes. Right now they are a really dark blue. There's no telling what color they will end up being. Probably just like Sierra and Tyner's. I've always wanted at least one dark-brown haired, brown eyed child. Don't think that's gonna' happen with this one...
And just for fun, here is my eye color. Kind of a greenish-brown with brown in the middle. Notice the scar in my eyebrow? That's all that left from my fall on the ice.

And, in other news. The kids and I are heading back to Washington in about a month. For two whole weeks. I'm actually taking the kids out of school for a whole week before their spring break even starts. I'm so freakin' excited, I can't even begin to describe it. I have been soooo homesick lately, it's not funny. I'm not sure if this trip home will be good for that or not. It will either make me appreciate the little community I live in, or it will remind me of all I'm missing not living in Washington.

I really miss all the convenience of living in a place like Bremerton. The large variety of stores close by, the lower prices of things like groceries and gas, the many opportunities for kid's activities, the higher paying jobs. But the thing I really miss the most is my family. I'm getting teary here, so I probably won't write too much about this. My sister Dani just moved back to Bremerton with her three kids (her husband will follow soon). I am so incredibly jealous of her. I miss seeing my sister's all the time. Calling them up, and just hanging out with them. Scrapbooking once a month. Going on payday Walmart trips. I miss watching TV with my dad, and hanging out with my mom in her sewing room. I miss family dinners, where we all throw napkins at each other when we're done eating. I miss the noise, the fights, the laughing, the jokes.

My sister Kim has been away from home much longer than I have (six years, at least), and I can't even imagine. We moved down here to NoCal about five years ago, and lived here for a year and eight months. Then we moved back to Washington for two years. Then, for some reason, I convinced my husband that we should move back here. We've been here for a year and five months now. I'm not sure why I wanted to move down here. I think when you visit, you get so caught up in the relaxed atmosphere, and seeing friends again, that you don't think about the realities of day to day life. About the low paying jobs, about the high-priced grocery store, the insane gas prices, or about WalMart being half an hour away. You don't think about the fact that the only extra-curricular activities for your children are one month of tee-ball in the spring, one month of soccer in the fall, and two weeks of swimming in the summer. If you want anything like dance or gymnastics or anything else, you have to drive half an hour to Yreka. I know I should be happy where God has planted me. Living here has been incredibly good for my husband. He has made some incredible friends, he really likes his job, he loves that he is so close to hunting and fishing. About the only thing I've heard him say he misses about Washington is playing softball. But he has his whole family here, unlike me.

But, I digress. My husband wants us to stay here, so I need to get my heart to a place of acceptance about that. He is the head of our home, and I need to follow his lead. I need to not let myself get caught up in depression about this. I need to remind myself daily that we are where God wants us. There are some good things about living here. Being close to Jay's grandparents, good schools, a good church, an awesome group of friends. God has certainly blessed us in our life here. So, I'm going to stop wallowing in self-pity. And I'm going to go take a shower, while my kids are outside playing and the baby's sleeping.

Sorry for griping.

He's flying!!!

Here's my beefcake taking flight today.

Four, four, four posts in one!

MY NEW PURCHASE!!!

Look what I bought! Well, I haven't paid for them yet, but I will soon. That's right. I bought myself a brand new set of stitches. Six of them. I slipped on the ice outside of our house yesterday morning. Split it open pretty good. Luckily Zeke had a doctor's appointment later in the morning, so they stitched it up for me, when we were done with him. I will have a nice scar from it, but luckily it's pretty hidden by my eyebrow. I also busted up my shoulder pretty good. It actually hurts more than my eye does.

ZEKE IS 4 MONTHS!!!

Like I said before, Zeke had a doctor's appointment. His four month check-up. He is 17 lbs 8 oz, and 25 3/4 inches long. He is in the 99th percentile for his weight and 80th for his length. He is fat, healthy, and happy. Except for the fact that he is sick again right now. He has a cough and a fever, and his cry is kind of hoarse, so I think his throat might be sore, too. He is pretty miserable, but he still manages to smile occasionally.

RANDOM USEFUL KITCHEN FACT

I heard this idea on Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee. You know how sometimes when you microwave something you have to cover it with a paper towel? And how sometimes the paper towel will slide off the bowl when it's spinning around? Well, get the paper towel wet, then drape it over the bowl. I do this everytime I make chili, and it works great.

CEREAL IS GOOD!

Zeke had rice cereal for the first time yesterday. He did okay. About like you'd expect a baby to do the first time. I'm hoping it will help him sleep better at night. He is still getting up every 3 1/2 to 4 hours at night, which is pretty annoying. Anyway. We'll see how it goes.