Oh Shelby...

WHY did you pee on my couch?!

I thought Scotty taught you so well. If you have to use the bathroom you scratch on the door until a human lets you outside. The sectional couch is NOT the restroom.

I have tried a vinegar and water combo along with baking soda to get the smell out. It's definitely better but I can still smell it...if I stick my nose to the cushions. I am obsessed now walking around smelling pillows, cushions, rugs, etc. I want to make sure she hasn't done it anywhere else. I should have know I wouldn't have been able to leave the outside cat outside. I have a soft spot for animals and I can't bare to let them live outside! So as hard as it is for me, I am going to have to put a litter box in the house. It's so gross, but it's better than her using our furniture as a litter box. I think I am going to put it in the master bathroom since it's away from the rest of the house. I will have to clean it daily so I don't smell it. What have I gotten myself into? Now how do I train her to use the litter box?!

My new interest

I was talking to my dear friend Natalie the other day about how I haven't really ever had a hobby. Andy has lots of hobbies/interests but my time is usually spent doing chores, running errands, taking care of the family and when I have down time watching tv & blogging. One thing that I have always been interested in is photography. I envy people like Natalie that have such a talent for photography and capturing a story. There are two things that really speak to me..one is pictures and the other is music. Put the two together and I am a sap! I have always wanted to learn photography but never knew where to start and couldn't afford to buy a nice camera (I couldn't really justify buying one when I had no idea what I was doing!). Here is where Natalie comes in. She asked me the other day if I would be interested in learning photography if she let me borrow one of her old cameras (Nikon D70s). Um....YES!!!!! I was ecstatic!! She brought it over the next day along with two batteries, two different lens, a card reader and the manual. I am hooked up! I started reading the manual this weekend and taking some pictures for fun. I still have no idea what I am doing, but I can't wait to figure it out. Plus, Natalie said she would be my teacher...in all of her spare time! :) I am so grateful!!

This rose is from our yard. It was the only pretty living thing in our yard! We have a lot of work to do on our yard. We are waiting for the right time. Even though it feels like spring, I'm sure we have some freezes left in our "winter".

Austin- 5 weeks

One of my new years resolutions is to do better about documenting our family. My blog is our family scrapbook and my memory! Now that Austin will be 6 weeks on Thursday I guess it's time I write about his first month! He is such a sweet baby. He eats 4 ounces every 3 hours, 24 hours a day. We started him on Similac Advanced but have switched him to Similac Sensitive. That has seemed to help his gas issue some. Thank goodness for gas drops though! He is alot more aware these days. He loves watching his projector in his crib. He also loves his playmat. He is not a fan of the swing though. He will go to sleep on his own if you put him in his bed, but most of the time he is passed out after drinking a bottle. He sleeps best with noise, thank goodness! He has learned to tolerate his carseat and the car ride puts him right to sleep. However, he is not a fan of carline. Thank goodness for Kristi and Missy! They have been picking the boys up most days since Austin was born. He is wearing 3 months now for the length. He likes his bath. He is using a pacifier more which probably isn't a good thing. But we have found through experience with Alex, it's better than sucking his fingers. At least we can throw the pacifier away eventually. He is making eye contact now and will follow objects you put in front of him. He will roll to the side if you put him on his back. He doesn't mind tummy time. Mason and Alex were not a fan. He burps like a man but rarely spits up. He has the best big brothers. They are always willing to help and fight about who is going to hold him. I can't wait until Austin gets a little older and can interact more with the boys. They are going to love it! Although, I promised myself I wouldn't say "I can't wait until..." with Austin. I want to savor each day because I know how fast it goes! I love this little man! I tried to capture pictures of the things I want to always remember like his rolls under his chin.

His little fingers and old man hair line!

His cute little feet and toes.

That sweet little face that brings me hundreds of smiles a day! (I couldn't get the picture to rotate, sorry!)

Stay tuned for posts on Mason and Alex!  I have to keep things equal, you know!

Through Alex's lens

I wish I could post all 200 pictures Alex has on his camera. Then you would really get an idea of how Alex sees things. He has documented every corner of our house on his camera. If we ever need pictures for insurance reasons Alex has hooked us up. He has taken pictures of every corner in every room in our house. Below are a couple of house pictures so you can see what I mean. Here is our half bath (during Christmas). This one cracked me up because you can see the top of his head reflecting in the mirror. If you have been in our half bath you know he must be sitting on the toilet. Hilarious!

Natalie let us borrow a bunch of Tice's shoes. I have them in a basket in Austin's closet. Alex picked out this pair to take a picture of. He should have taken a side shot so you can see that they are UT shoes! It just cracked me up that he would take the shoes out of the basket, place them on the floor, then take a picture of them.

The soap rack in our middle bathroom! The funny thing is he had 4 pictures of this bath tub from all different angles!

Granna took the boys to a shop that sold webkinz animals. Alex had about 10 pictures on his camera of the different animals he likes/wants. Here is just one example!

Kristi gave Alex a bunch of scrapbook paper. Apparently he really liked this one because he took a picture of it!

The bottom of a pringles can?! Okay!

I loved seeing what Alex thought was important enough to capture on his camera. And I loved the angle and view through his eyes. I may have to have a weekly post of pics from Alex's camera!

Photos by Alex

Santa brought Alex a camera this year. It's a Nikon cool pics camera. He absolutely loves it. He takes pictures of everything! I finally downloaded the pictures he has taken so far. I am dividing them into two posts..the posed pictures and the random pictures. The picture below was the very first picture on his camera. He is sitting in his new bean bag chair from Uncle Casey and Aunt Heather. He is holding his new mini pillow pet also!

There were a ton of self portrait pictures that Alex took himself, including this group shot below.

We spent many hours building legos this Christmas. I love building legos!

Alex's best friend Blake and his dog. Cutie!

Austin- 3 weeks old

Love this little guy!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Newborn pictures

Last week Natalie came over to take pictures of Austin. Her talent continues to amaze me. She spent no more than 10 minutes on this photo shoot and got so many great pictures. I love the RC cola box and the placement in front of the Christmas tree. I don't know how I am going to pick which one(s) to use for birth announcements! Austin was two weeks old in these pictures. Looking at him today I can already tell he has changed since last week. I feel like before I know it he will be starting kindergarten! For now, I am going to cherish each day because I know how fast they grow!

Which one is your favorite?

Christmas Day 2011

Our first Christmas with THREE boys! Look how proud Mason and Alex are of their baby brother. It just melts my heart! Christmas morning the boys were so patient. They checked out their gifts from Santa but waited until 10:30 am to open their presents from Andy and me. Santa brought Alex a digital camera (which is nicer than mine!) and Mason a stereo for his room. They both loved their santa presents. Later that afternoon they got to open their presents from Granna, Grandpa and Aunt Amy. I still don't know where all of these toys will eventually "live"! They definitely got spoiled this year!

Mason had been asking for a football since football season ended. He was so excited when he opened his first box! He takes that football with him everywhere, even to bed! He can't wait for Andy to get home from work so they can play!

Alex is starting to get into legos like his brother. He built his first big set on Christmas eve. He cracked me up. He said things like, "wow, I am getting worn out trying to build this" and "I'm trying not to give up here!" He did a great job of staying patient and finishing the project.

The big thing on Alex's list this year was a hex bug hive. He loves it! I wish I would have created something like that! You never know what is going to be a hit with kids.

Christmas Eve 2011

We did things a little different this year for Christmas. Since we had a 10 day old baby we knew we wouldn't be able to travel, so everyone came to us. My mom, Casey and Heather came in Christmas Eve hauling most of their kitchen with them. They made chili and tamales for lunch. For dinner Andy grilled chicken and everyone else made sides. Andy's family came over for dinner as well so we had the whole crew here Christmas Eve.

Heather is so great about thinking about the kids needs/wants. She bought a gingerbread house kit to do with the boys on Christmas Eve. The boys loved decorating the mini houses. I loved that Heather was helping and not me. The last time I tried to build a gingerbread house with the boys it was a disaster. It feel apart before we even finished it! These turned out really cute.

After lunch we let the boys open their presents from my mom, Heather and Casey. They are very spoiled!

My mom gave us a very special gift for Christmas this year. At my dad's funeral, she received two American flags. One was presented to her by one of his former TABC agents. The flag had been flown over the Capitol in my dad's honor. The other flag was the one draped over his casket that the Marines folded and handed to my mom. My mom gave one flag to my family and one flag to Heather and Casey. I will have to find a special place in our house to display the flag. I can't even describe how hard Christmas was this year without my dad. There were times that I had to excuse myself and go into another room just to catch my breath. I miss him so much it literally takes my breath away. I have extremely good blocking skills (which I know is not a healthy way to handle the grieving process but it's how I have handled it since I found out I was pregnant), but this holiday season was hard. Even the best blocking skills didn't do the trick some days. But thankfully, we were able to be together as a family and I know my dad was there with us in spirit.

This was our second Christmas to have our elf, Zack. The boys (especially Alex) were so sad that Zack had to leave when Santa came. Our elf hops on Santa's sleigh after he delivers our presents. The boys decided they would like to take a picture with him before he left this year.

We made brownies for Santa's snack this year. We figured he got tired of cookies! Alex left him one brownie and 9 carrots (one for each reindeer). He also wrote this note. We have been focusing on spelling over grammar as you can see! :)

I also have to report that I had my first glass of wine since April on Christmas Eve. It wasn't all I remembered it to be. It took me about 2 hours to drink the glass. But, I am not a quitter, so I will keep trying until it tastes great again! :)