Alone Again!

Well, my friends have already left. I loved seeing them and spending time with them. And I have to give Sara credit, she was surprisingly UNdifficult! :) Let's see, we had some yummy eggs benedict ala Charles, went shopping twice (I didn't buy a THING), went out to a Sushi restaurant in Dallas (I don't eat sushi, but I did enjoy the Chocolate Soup for dessert), and hung out around the house. Today it is awfully quiet - just me and Jack again. Luckily for me, Jack is excellent company.

The guys never showed up to clean the barn, so that is one thing that did NOT get done this weekend. They are supposed to come next weekend - we'll see.

I have tons of pictures from this weekend but I just realized that like 90% of them are of Sara and Valerie!! I'll see if I can find some that actually have me and Jack in them for this...

Me and Jack dancing (he loves to dance, or should I say he loves it when we hold him and dance)

Sporting his super cool outfit from Auntie Valerie. I was in denial about how big he is and didn't think this would fit him. HA! Luckily Valerie was here to shake some sense into me. Jack will probably only fit in his for a couple more weeks!

Auntie Sara and Jack. All of the pictures I have of Sara and Jack mostly showcase Sara so (although she does look hot in this one!) this is pretty much the only one that actually shows the BABY. Hehe.


Good times! I don't even remember taking this one.


Jack loves his Auntie Valerie.

Yay for Visitors!!

Yay! Valerie and Sara will be here tonight! Sara will probably get mad, if she ever reads this, because I put Valerie's name before hers. In fact, Charles sent Valerie a text yesterday to see what they wanted to drink while they were here (besides water) and then I told him that he'd better send Sara a text or call her because she would get mad if he texted Valerie and not her. Of course, he called and left her two messages and she never called him back, but I bet she will still be mad. See how difficult my friends (well, just Sara) can be???? Despite this, I am still SOOO exited to see them and of course to show off Jack, my pride and joy.

We have someone coming this weekend to clean out the barn. Another thing to "YAY" about. If you read the post below you'll remember that the barn is a disaster. So we have someone coming to clean it and then (how many times can I say this) maybe I can bring Titan over next weekend and start riding again. And even better, if it turns out this guy is a good worker, maybe we can hire him to help on a regular basis (you know, because I have so much time these days to clean stalls and all...).

Well, Jack is in his swing and he's waking up so it's time for me to go now.

Disaster in the Barn, Getting Stronger and a Little Piece of Home!

Oh my - Charles accidentally left one of the stalls open a few days ago and the horses had a free-for-all in the barn! Luckily the feedroom and tackroom were closed, but OH. MY. GOSH. What a mess. Norman, Seamus and Mo destroyed the place. My chair was broken into little pieces, the wheelbarrow crunched, the rake in pieces, a glass bowl that Ziggy had been eating from shattered, and the concrete carpeted in horse poop. And to top it all off, Norman was standing in the middle of the barn aisle like a king staring at me when I opened the door. Of course he walked right up to me like nothing was wrong.

I was in the barn to sweep it out for some hay that we had coming, but when I saw the mess I just cleared off a little space for the hay instead. Hopefully we can hire someone to help us get that barn under control. The most important thing is that no one go hurt - all three horses are none worse for the wear after their barn party!

On another note, I am feeling much stronger. I put Jack in the Ergo Baby carrier and walked for about a mile today. He's got to be about 14 pounds now, and my back hurts a bit this evening, but it felt great to get out and go for a walk. I have also just felt stronger in general - little things like getting up off the floor are easier, and getting off of this couch with Jack in my arms is easier, too.

And speaking of being on the couch, we were sitting on it Saturday night watching Cops (I didn't know they even filmed that show anymore, but they do, and in HD!). I was surprised and excited to get a little piece of home - COPS San Diego! Woohoo! The first segment was filmed in Santee (figures) and featured a woman getting arrested for stealing a cake. Hehe. The next segment was from Vista (even more appropriate). Imagine my excitement as the COPS car whizzed past the Ford dealership (over by Coco's - yum) and arrested someone for pointing a shotgun at his neighbor. I was hoping it would be someone I knew from high school or something, but I guess it's a good thing it wasn't. Well, for someone, anyway!

Yummy Lunch

One benefit to Charles working from home is that we can get lunch together once or twice a week. Our favorite place to go is the Victorian Lady, a tea room in Mabank. They have the YUMMIEST, freshest salads and homemade dressings. I love that place. We have been taking Jack almost every week since he was about 4 weeks old - today he actually slept through most of lunch so we were BOTH able to eat with two hands. Yay!!

Cutie Patootie and Something Creepy, Too

Cousins! Max gets to "hold" Jack. This was the last day they were here but I think it's the first time Max took any real interest in Jack. Well, aside from when he wanted to get into the little baby bath with him. Hehe.

I broke out the Baby Einstein Jungle Gym toy today. As you can see, he was pretty into that red bird. And I just noticed that Janga is sniffing his toes.

Smiles! This is my new favorite onesie. I am pretty sure it came from Jess and Ed. It is so cute. He is one stylin' baby in this!

That red bird is pretty funny!!

Last night, smiling for Daddy in his monkey onesie and brown cargo pants.

And the "Something Creepy." Charles models the Storm Trooper hoodie that Polly gave him for Christmas. Very, very creepy.

And that's pretty much all that's new around here. We had a really fun visit with Richie, Jeanette, Max and Polly. Today Jack and I are taking it easy. I'm going back to work in a few weeks so I'm busy spending as much time as possible with Jack. I know, I'll only be working part-time AND I'll be working from home but it won't be the same. I will be glad to talk to some adults now and then, though! :)

Also, Valerie and Sara are coming out next week so I am really looking forward to that. They can finally meet Jack, who will be almost THREE MONTHS OLD. I can't believe how fast he is growing.

OH - and Ziggy is living the fabulous life. I'll try to remember to post some pics from his new dog daddy soon.

Haha!

I just noticed that Charles and Jack have the same expressions in the picture below. Cuuute!

Just Some More Jack Pictures

Guess What I Just Bought?

REGULAR jeans. OK - they are four sizes larger than my "real" size and still very tight around the belly, but I am so excited to have them that I could do some jumping jacks (hey - maybe that's a good idea). Yay for me! Polly also gave me my Christmas/Birthday presents and they are NORMAL shirts that are long and flowy so I can wear those instead of my maternity shirts. Woohoo!

Richie, Jeanette, Max and Polly are all here right now. Richie and Charles just left to go golfing, Polly is asleep, Jeanette and Max are at my mom's still, and Jack is sleeping in his little swing so I have two free hands to type with. We have had a great time.

Yesterday, Jeanette, Polly and I went shopping. Mostly to buy baby stuff but also some stuff for ourselves (after all, Polly doesn't have a baby and wasn't too into BabiesRUs!). It was the first time I have left Jack with Charles for so long. Of course I knew they would be fine, but towards the end of our adventure (we were gone for four and a half hours) I was starting to have separation anxiety. It didn't help that Charles was sending all of these cute little pictures of Jack to me on my cell phone. I wondered if he was trying to make me WANT to come home sooner, but I was still glad to get them.

And of course, Jack and Daddy did just fine without me. But I really missed Jack and didn't want to put him down after we got home! I even feel a little guilty right now about having him in his swing, but figure that I spent all night with him (as little as he his, he can wiggle right up next to me so I usually wake up several feet away from where we first fall asleep) he will be okay in his swing for a bit.

Valerie and Sara are here in a couple of weeks (yay!) so I guess I should practice so we can do some girl stuff (more shopping!) when Charles is home to watch Jack.

I like his triple chins in this one!

Will I EVER....

...be out of these maternity clothes?!?! I am so tired of wearing the same three outfits over and over again. And they're not even comfortable. And they're REALLY not cute. I thought that surely after the baby was born I would be back in at least some of my regular clothes a couple of months out...and here we are, nine weeks later and no such luck! I even joined Weight Watcher's - I've only lost four pounds in as many weeks. Oh, well!

Doctor Appointment

Well, Jack had his two month wellness exam on Monday. He weighs 13 pounds 5 ounces!! He's doubled his weight from when we left the hospital and is in the 88th percentile. He's also grown three inches. Big boy!! The doctor did have one concern. One of Jack's little testicles was big and had a lot of fluid in it. He was worried that it could be a hernia and wanted us to take him to a pediatric surgeon as soon as possible as it would need to be operated on if it were a hernia. He gave us a referral to a very well-respected pediatric surgeon and we we were able to get an appointment for Tuesday morning.

The very thought that Jack might have to have surgery at 9 weeks of age was terrifying. It was very stressful for Charles and I to imagine Jack requiring surgery, no matter how "minor" and "routine" the doctor said it was. It was still surgery, and would require anesthesia and recovery, and possibly a night in the hospital! Not to mention fasting beforehand - the little guys eats every 1-2 hours during the day, so I was really worried about him having to fast.

Tuesday morning we took Jack in to meet the surgeon (who we really liked and were immediately at east with). To make a long story short, Jack does NOT need surgery at this time and hopefully never will. He doesn't have a hernia - he has what's called a "hydro seal." In very technical medical terms (HA!), when the testicles descend into the scrotum they go through two little tubes, which close up behind them. In Jack's case the tubes didn't close, so fluid from his belly is filling up his scrotum. At this point it is nothing to worry about, and we heard the fabulous news that no surgery is required at this time. WHEW!! So, we will have a follow-up visit in June to make sure things are under control and until then we just need to watch it.

And on to something else now (since I'm sure some day Jack will not be happy hearing that I was discussing his testicles with everyone on the internet...)! Ziggy went to his new home yesterday! He truly could not have a better home. His new dog daddy emailed us when he got home to tell us that a Dallas police officer pulled up next to him (in rush hour traffic), rolled his window down, and went on and on about what a beautiful dog Ziggy is! I couldn't be happier with that match. Ziggy is at Doggie Day Care today and about to become one spoiled dog!

San Diego Super Chargers!

Jack wears his Chargers onesie for the Super Bowl (since he isn't a Steelers or Cardinals fan!).