The boys

Here's a few pictures of the boys from the last couple of months. You may have to turn your head on a few. I haven't flipped them.

Preschool Birthday Party

Although on "spring break," Josh played with some of his preschool friends today at a birthday party. It was a great chance for me to meet some of the other parents and to watch Josh play with his friends. A few of the families attend our church, but are in a different Sunday school class. Who knew? Seriously, isn't the picture of him holding hands with his friends shocking? Very cool! True to form, Kip slept through the party.

what's going on?

I need sleep far more than I need blog posts, but I thought I'd quickly share some of the goings on around here.

Josh LOVES preschool. He goes two days a week but asked if he could go everyday. Yes, I am that boring. There are 11 other kids in Josh's class. Each child has a numbered cubby. Not surprisingly, Josh has memorized each kid's cubby number. This morning when I dropped him off, a little girl walked past us and Josh said, "Mom, there's #9." No Josh, her name is Cora. We're all excited that he enjoys his class and is socializing with the kids more each week. The downside to preschool: Josh misses his brother.

Today I asked Josh to explain to Kip how he will get teeth. Josh told Kip that someone will take their teeth out and bring them to Texas and put them in Kip's mouth. Clearly, my dad's mom's dentures made a lasting impression on Josh.

Yesterday Josh asked me why Jesus had to die and if he was one of the mean people who made Jesus die. Wow. It was a cool discussion that I hope will be continued. I'd love to know how he processes it all.

Kip isn't sleeping in his reflux contraption anymore. He likely doesn't have reflux at all (yay!), but instead had refluxish symptoms caused by protein intolerance. It seems Mr. Kip can't digest certain proteins right now - he should outgrow it. I've removed dairy, eggs, and soy from my diet, which has helped and will need to remain out for at least 4 more months, but there is more in my diet that is causing him trouble. The pediatrician (per the GI doctor) advised me not to investigate the "other" too much as it often results in malnourished and depressed moms. I can soooo see that in just our few short weeks of food journaling. I think all our babies should have the middle name "trouble." Or maybe "mystery."

Kip recovered from his vaccinations. After a 6 hour nap on Sunday afternoon he was all smiles again. So, I'm smiling again, too.

Brian is surviving the session. He's sitting in hearings, analyzing bills, wearing a suit everyday...ya know, making sausage. We all look forward to June.


Oh, the baby calls.

sweetness

Since getting his 2 month vaccines, Kip has been fussy. Not the mild fussiness that the papers that the nurse hands you warn about, but nearly non-stop crying if he is awake fussiness. He does quiet down for short intervals when he naps or we temporarily find the right balance of patting, pacing, and swaying. I'm sure it will pass.

This afternoon, as I held a crying Kipper, Josh came over and said, "Kip, you can always ask God to help. Just say, "God, please help me stop crying" and He will help you." Then Josh put his hand on Kip's head and said the above request for him. (Josh has a certain way of making Kip "talk.")

What a sweet lesson for him to teach his brother. How awesome to see that Josh has the confidence that he can always ask God for help. It was a nice moment in the midst of a trying couple of days.

Misnomer

For the past several weeks, we have referred to Kip as "Kippopotamus." He surprised us with his weight gain every time we took him to the doctor's office. Well, when you look at the record books, it seems he isn't so big after all.

Kip at 2 months:

11lb, 13 oz (4lb, 13 oz gain from birth)

22.25 inches

Head is 75^th %

Josh at 2 months:

12lb, 14 oz (6lb gain from birth)

23.5 inches

Head is 75^th %

Kip is indeed the "little" brother. I suppose an apology is in order. Sorry Kip. We'll stick to Kippernicus and Kipper from now on.

His Real Name

This morning at church, Josh introduced his brother to someone and called him "Kipper." A funny conversation ensued between Brian and someone who shall remain anonymous.

B - His name is Kip but Josh calls him Kipper.
? - So what's his real name?
B - It's Kip.
? - Just Kip?
B - Yep, just Kip.

The whole exchange made us smile.

It's not mundane anymore

I went to HEB yesterday. I know, big news, but I went alone with both boys! I've delayed leaving the house alone with both boys because anytime we left while Brian was home with us I ended up needing to feed Kip while we were out. I just haven't figured out how to nurse Kip and wrangle Josh in public without getting some indecency citation yet.

My confidence was built a little last week when Josh convinced me that we should meet some friends at a park for a picnic lunch. So, I fed Kip, got us all dressed, packed a picnic lunch, loaded us up in the car, and blammo - the car battery was dead. I unloaded everything and considered it a good dress rehearsal. It is possible to at least get us all in the car.

So, back to yesterday, I thought we could at least get to the HEB less than 2 miles from our house, even if we had to immediately turn around and come home. We needed to try. The "after bedtime" shopping trips are tough. So, we went and got all but one item! (We decided to nix the baking soda - when I remembered I didn't want to walk back across the store.) I was very impressed that we made it through the entire store (39 items) and that I was even able to do some coupon shopping (8.5% savings). We were gone for an hour and a half, which was nearly too long as Kip began fussing as we were walking out of the store.

When we got home I ended up feeding Kip before taking the groceries out of the car. Putting up the groceries delayed dinner for awhile, too. Oh well. It's all a work in progress - we'll get better. My plans for improving our performance are two fold - to accept the offer to help me out with the groceries and when possible, to shop while Josh is in preschool (he starts in 2 weeks, which is worthy of a whole other blog post). If someone loads the bags while I load the kid(s) we can improve our speed and my sanity.

Kipilicious

In honor of the 1 month anniversary since Kip's birth, here are 10 things we have learned about Kip in his short time with us on the outside.

1. Kip likes to sleep. Thank you Jesus! The polar opposite of his big brother, Kip sleeps morning, noon, and night. I envision him being our just-5-more-minutes snooze button loving son. Josh just cannot get his mind around why Kip sleeps so much.

2. Kip likes to eat. If he's not sleeping, he's likely doing one of two things - eating and #3 on the list. At 4 weeks, he weighed 9 lbs, 9 ounces - 136% of his birthweight.

3. When Kip is awake, he usually has the hiccups. It is the sound that he makes most often.

4. Kip has good taste in music. His favorite is Caedmon's Call. This is an improvement over Josh's musical preferences during infancy.

5. Following in his brother's footsteps, Kip has reflux. Despite all the 2nd child hand me downs that he will surely endure, he can at least cling to the fact that he has a new handy dandy reflux wedge to sleep on that his poor brother never had.

6. When Kip is overtired, he flails his arms and bobs his head around. He gets overstimulated and can only relax in a very dark and quiet room. If he falls asleep during the "magic window" that all parents read about, then he can sleep like a log anywhere - regardless of the noise or light.

7. Kip loves being in my homemade Moby wrap. I predict that the wrap is to Kip what the sling was to Josh.

8. Like his big brother, Kip's birth heralds another Super Bowl for the Steelers. We shall swaddle him in our terrible towel.


9. My favorite face that Kip makes thus far is when he makes his lips into a tiny circle. He does it often and it always makes me laugh. He can make them nearly disappear.

10. Kip is laid back. He is much more like his dad (who also shares his ears, I think) than Josh or I (the slightly higher strung, anal duo).

It really is hard to believe that a month has passed. It feels more like 2 weeks. Of course, Kip has only been awake for the equivalent of a couple of days - not that I'm complaining!

Happy 1 Month Kip!

The power of 10

Last year, my friend Tamber donated her hair to Locks of Love. I was impressed and wondered if I could ever do that. I decide that I'd give it a try, but wasn't ready to commit. Well, once my hair grew a couple of inches past my shoulders, and I found myself with fast growing pregnancy hair, I decided to press on to 10 inches. Last week it dawned on me that I had enough hair to donate now. Wow! So, today I cut it off. Sweet! I get a baby-friendly hair cut and someone else gets a new hairdo too! Here's the before and after.

Brian told me that I look like Erin J. This was after Joshua pulled me aside in a different room and said, "You have Seth's mom's hair." Pretty funny. I guess I'll call it my Erin cut.

A Visual Representation

Joshua, on his own initiative, decided to create a visual representation of Kip's name - well, Kip's name according to Joshua: Kip Octain Gain Robert Lloyd


Kip = Kip himself
Octain Gain = the orange race car
Robert = my dad in the photo
Lloyd = he identified 3 Lloyd options - the picture of their dad, the picture of Joshua, or Joshua himself. I do not count because apparently my last name is "Mae Lloyd."

Joshua often reminds everyone that Kip has a very long name. Joshua is even bold enough to suggest that Kip's name is the longest name in Texas.


Needless to say, Joshua remains in love with his brother. He tells us that he loves Kip best - more than Brian and I. No problem with me.

Here's a recent picture of our sweet Kippernicus. He's 25 days old today and probably passed the 9 lb mark now.

Two weeks

Two weeks in and Kip still haven't lost his shine in Josh's eyes. Last night Josh told me, "Baby Kip is the best baby in the world." Tonight, when I asked him what he wanted to do tomorrow, he said, "Play with baby Kip all day." Don't get me wrong, Josh has issues with the transition, but fortunately he is taking all of that out on his parents and not the "little guy" - as Josh calls him.

Andy Schmandy

Eye can't believe it.

Proof that the Kipper does in fact have something beneath those eyelids. Thanks for stopping by. See you two same time tomorrow.

Mom and Dad's Christmas Present

Looks like this roughly 22 outta 24 hours of the day.

Name that Baby

Which is which? The top photo is Josh. The bottom photo is Kip. Brothers for sure!

Kip's Birthday

Kip Robert Lloyd was born last Friday, December 19th, at 7:15pm. He weighed 7 pounds and stretched out to 19.5 inches. (2 oz heavier and 1 inch shorter than Josh) We've been blessed with a very content baby and a wonderful little brother for Joshua.


Josh was over the moon when he met his brother on Saturday morning. He left the hospital in tears when he figured out that he couldn't take Kip home with him.

I hope to get more pictures up soon. Stay tuned.

Bros 4 Ever

If you're going to be serious about this...

...you've got to be serious about nuclear.

I totally fed him that line.
-J

It's been awhile since I posted any eye candy. Here are a few snippets of life with Josh lately.

Here's Josh the thinker.

- Yesterday we were looking for Roman Dunes (No Stall 123's crew chief). I suggested we look in Josh's bed since he occasionally sleeps with a car. I checked the bottom bunk and didn't find Mr. Dunes. Here's the rest of our conversation:

J - Maybe we should check the top bunk?

M- I didn't think you put cars up on the top bunk, Josh?

J- No, I don't. But I like your thinking, Mom!








- Over Thanksgiving weekend we braved the mall. Josh asked to ride on Thomas and we agreed. Typically, "ride" means sit while the machine stays still. However, for the 1st time ever, Josh actually wanted the machine to move. Brian and I were baffled and pulled out some quarters. Josh asked to ride it a second time and Brian quickly agreed telling me, "Consider it $1 invested in his social development."











- Yesterday we had an OB appointment. Josh picked out his own clothes for the day. He really wanted to dress like his dad so he put on his tie. It was all business at the OB's office.

Hopefully that will hold ya'll over for a while until we have some big brother/little brother pictures. We're counting down the days!

A Full House

On our way home from Bible study last night Joshua informed me that when he grows up he wants to have 10 kitty cats, 20 dogs, and 10 kids. Wow! This morning, as I reminded him to drink his milk, he asked, "Do I need to drink my milk so I can grow up big and strong and have 10 kitty cats, 20 dogs, and 10 kids?" Sure, buddy. Maybe he needs to hook up with one of the Wilcoxson girls - with triplets on both sides of the family they may have a chance at the 10 kids part, at least.

Odds and Ends

On Sunday, Josh indicated that he’d prefer that we call him Joshua rather than Josh. Can do.

Joshua had his first dental cleaning on Tuesday morning. He survived and proudly shows off the contents of his goodie bag. Thank you Dr. Sara!

I’ve never been much into decorating for holidays. Newton’s Law of Decorating: If you put something up, you have to take it back down. At Christmas, my gift wrap is minimal and the past couple of years we have either used a small table top Christmas tree or forgone the tree all together. Well, this year, we already have Christmas decorations out. Joshua is eager for Christmas to get here – not for the presents, but because that means Baby Kip can come out!

I am amazed at our Halloween preparations, too. Joshua decorated ghosts that were either mailed to our family or hung in our entry way to give our guests a fright. He also decorated foam jack-o-lantern magnets that we’ve shared with our family. Joshua and Brian carved a jack-o-lantern and then Brian roasted the pumpkin seeds. Aunt Liz and Joshua made Halloween cookies. We went to the Halloween party at the YMCA where Joshua painted a pumpkin and went trick-or-treating. Then, last night Joshua and I made ghost and jack-o-lantern pizzas. To top it all off, Joshua selected a costume and has already worn it multiple times. He’s never expressed an interest in or willingness to dress up before. Needless to say, Joshua is the great holiday motivator. I’ve had to suppress my practical party-pooper inclinations and am enjoying the festivities.

This morning Joshua and I went to vote. I explained why we were going to vote on the way to the polling location. Joshua selected which voting machine to use and helped me push buttons as I cast my ballot. On the way out he said, “I was nervous when we were first going in, but I am glad that we went.” He cracks me up.

We filled up the car with gas at $2.20/gallon. I love these gas prices!

YMCA Halloween Spooktacular

Baby's Sling

Recently Josh has been very interested in his baby doll - named "Baby." He's been bringing her to my doctor appointments and out to run errands. I guess he's getting ready for his little brother. It is always cute, and sometimes sad, at the same time, for me to hear him talk to Baby - "I know you want to stay home Baby, but we have to take Mom to the eye doctor." Hum...wonder how he really feels?

Josh and I were at Joann's earlier this week and they had their remnants 75% off. Josh picked up a remnant of yellow fabric and asked if he could bring it home. Um, 75% off 74 cents, sure. Later, I mentioned to Josh that we could make a blanket for Baby or maybe a sling. Josh is very familiar with the sling since he lived in one for nearly two years and I've been using our slings to carry around his bigger baby doll - "Baby Josh." I was surprised when Josh said he wanted to make a sling for Baby...and continued to ask 3 days in a row. I mean, a sling touches him. Maybe he is outgrowing some of his personal space issues. Anyway, this morning, I spent the 10 seconds on the sewing machine to sew one seam and make a sling for Baby. Josh loves it! He hasn't taken it off yet. He told me that the sling "makes it easier for me to hang out with you and I have two hands to play." Wow. Wonder where he's heard that sling sales pitch before!

We're really having lots of fun around here lately!

As a side note, it is unfortunate that Josh's posed smile is far less excited than his true smile. Hopefully I'll get a real smile soon.