Wet cat!

Jackson and I were sharing lunch together this afternoon when we heard this terrible noise upstairs. We just looked at oneanother wide-eyed! I told Jackson I'd be right back so I could go see what on earth happened upstairs. Liam wasn't up there, so I knew nothing happened with him. I ran up, and there was our cat, soaking wet! If you've ever seen a soaked cat, it's quite the sight to behold. I had forgotten to drain the bathtub after giving Jackson a little bath, and clearly the kitty wanted to investigate! Whoops!!! As bad as I felt for our cat, I couldn't help but crack up about it. I wish I had a video or picture of it!


In keeping with a tradition created by Justin's mom, we snuck into Jackson's room once he was sound asleep and sprinkled his face with green (washable!) dots. When he woke in the morning we acted very shocked and told him Leprechauns snuck into his room and danced on his face. He got quite the kick out of it. It will be even more fun to do with Liam next year!




Liam had his two month appointment on Monday. I can't stand well check ups! Four shots... The poor little baby. It was not fun! But I know it's for his health, so we brave through it! Liam weighs 12lb 2oz now. That puts him in the 75 percentile. I know those percentiles mean nothing. Each child will grow at their own pace, maybe starting out chunky and ending up twiggish. Look at Jackson! Anyway, he checked out well. Jackson was a bit concerned over the shots Liam had to get. He was hanging by the door ready to escape if he were to be next I think. When we got home he kept saying, "Kristen (the nurse) hurt Liam. He got shots!" What a good, concerned big brother he is!

The cloth diapering is going well. It's strange, but I have this odd sense of satisfaction when I do a load of diaper laundry and they come out smelling clean and fresh and not having any stains on them. I've lost it! Haven't I? It just feels good to know each diaper I take out of the wash to fold is one less diaper in a landfill. The boys are comfy in them, too. We did have our first leak episode with Jackson last night. I had just fed Liam and when I put him down to go back to sleep, I heard Jackson start to cry for me. He was soaked, poor child! I guess we need to add some more absorancy to his diaper before bedtime. He had drank more than normal with dinner, so that makes sense that he'd wet more. It's all kind of trial and error with this!

It's great it's finally getting warmer out! We got out this past weekend and went to the park yesterday. Last time we were at the park, I had to chase around with him to make sure he didn't get hurt. He's grown so much now he can do the slide himself now! It's nice to watch him play like that now. He's getting so big! Jackson's enjoying riding his trike around, too. We're working on him learning to ride his tricycle. Peddling takes some practice. We'll get there!

This was just so cute I had to share!

Recently Jackson has been sick with a fever and cough, and his appetite has taken a dive. Now that he is on the mends, we're trying to fatten him back up a bit. (Those of you who see him often know how *lean* he is!) In order to have something stick to his ribs, I made cheeseburgers for our lunch. He took a bite and said, "Mmmmmm! This is wonderful!" I just thought that was so cute of him to say. It's so amazing to see how his speech is developing. Fun stuff!

Cloth Diapers




Yes, you read correctly! We are making the switch to cloth for the boys. I couldn't believe it when I began researching pro's and con's of cloth vs. disposable and how dangerous those Pampers are for our sweet little boys bums. We're trying to be more health, environmental, and also more cost conscious, and that has led us to cloth diapering Jackson and Liam. The savings is incredible. Typically one will spend about $1600 in dispoble dipes and wipes before potty training. Put that against $300-400 for a permanent stash of cloth dipes. It was an easy decision for us. I'm sure our energy bills will go up some for the cost of washing, but we will still save. If we ever have another child, the savings will be even more. It's exciting to me. Yeah, dealing with the poo is gross, but it's relatively easy. I feel good knowing that it's healthier for the boys and the feel of these diapers makes me want them for my own undies. So soft!!! There are so many different options. It's not what it was when our parents and grandparents cloth diapered us. I was in cloth and my mom was astounded at how cool and easy the new stuff was. They now have cloth diapers that are just like a dispoable, with velcro closures that go on the same way! How cool! And fun colors and patterns too. And they're fleece lined on the inside. The wet stuff goes right through to the absorbant pad that is inserted and the solid stuff (yuck) stays on the outside and doesn't stick to it so it falls off right in the toilet. So see, it's not "that" bad. Sure it's grosser than a dispoble, but it's worth it to us to deal with the poop. The first pic is Liam in what they call a prefold diaper with a Snappi. No sharp pins to deal with any longer! There's covers that would go over that diaper, but we haven't gotten the shipment of them yet. The next one is called a Fuzzi Bunz pocket diaper. It has an insert in there that is absorbant and they're fleece lined, so as you can see from his face, he's comfy!






Note the powdery picture of Jackson. Yes. That is what happens when you "think" your toddler is sleeping in bed, but he's not. He's gotten to the powder you left (stupidly) within reach of curious hands. It was getting late and I "thought" he was still sleeping, so I went to wake Jackson up. I opened the door and immediately smelled a stong odor and Jackson looked down at his bed where he made the mess and said to me, "Momma, what's this stuff?!" Like he didn't know where it came from. Hah! At least I was humored enough to take a photo!

Well here's our boy at one month. He's grown to 10lbs 8oz's and 22 inches. Can't believe how fast they grow!







Catching up



Well here we are, a family a four now. It's busy, clearly showing by the amount of time that has lapsed before updating this blog!

My last month of preggo-ness was difficult. I walked around the entire last month dilated, and it increased each time I'd have a check up, going all the way to 3 cm and just hanging there for 2 straight weeks. I'd have contractions all night long, getting no sleep, only to have them go away in the morning. That was *not* fun!

Finally on January 11th, I had my 39wk check and the OB said I was 4cm. He monitored me for a bit and then sent me off to Labor and Delivery. Yay! Finally we reached the day! What a difference between my first and second labors. Liam was easy in comparison. I could almost do it again already (not really!) So at 11:10pm on 1/11, Liam Bennett arrived. All 8lbs and 21 inches of him. He's a wonderful baby! So he's 7ish weeks now and his quiet temperment seems to be permanent. It's quite different from Jackson, but we are thankful to God for giving us a quiet "easy" baby. Don't get me wrong, he cries when he needs something or now and then when he's not comfy, but overall, he's just a joy.

Jackson is a wonderful big brother. He is always concerned over Liam's well-being. "Mommy, he's a little bit fussy!" "Mommy, Liam pooped again!" "Mommy, Liam spit out his nukkie!" "Mommy, Liam's awake," are all things you'll hear Jack say. Sure, he has his jealous moments. "Daddy, Mommy can hold him," "Mommy, but him in the bassinet," and, "Mommy, Liam's done eating." But overall he transitioned very well into Big Brotherhood.