Dinner makes a big difference

since we have nothing to eat and nothing to cook with if we did, we went out for dinner tonight. With everything that's been going on, none of us ate well today, so by the time I made the decision and got everyone out of the house, both children were crying, Bryan was trying not to scream, and I had a horrific headache and was trying not to cry.

Christopher fell asleep on the way to the restaurant, and Alexander fell asleep once we were inside. Christopher slept on my lap until food arrived, at which point I woke him up and he wasn't very happy about it. I had to cajole and demand that he just eat one tiny littke bite. But as soon as he started eating, an amazing transformation took place. Not only did he keep on eating everything available, but he was the kindest, most pleasant, most loving little boy in the state, I'm sure. Helpful, sweet, and complimentary. Quite a change from the boy who whined the whole way out to the car and "had" to be carried the right way by the right parent at only the right moment in order to arrive there. Once we were through with dinner he wanted to run down the sidewalk a few times. (This is a favored restaurant and he loves to run down a particular sidewalk there, don't ask me why, I don't really know.) So he got four rounds "because I'm four years old!" Now he is happily playing beside me waiting for me to finish this so I can read to him once he wins whatever game he's at.

In case anyone forgot or happened to not know, I love my boys. All three of them are fantastic and bring so much joy to my life. Oh, on a side note, I was called to be the primary pianist for my ward. I've had that calling before, years ago. I resented it back then because I couldn't attend classes with adults. Now that I have kids who are the joy of my life, I'm very excited to be able to play the piano and listen to them sing. And just today, while I was playing prelude, they all started humming along, and it was so sweet to hear them! Of course, Christopher won't do ANYTHING with Mommy nearby, I'm hoping he outgrows that or I'll never hear him sing! But I love being around the kids and I love being with both my little boys for all of church. My only small regret is that I don't get to listen to Bryan teach Gospel Doctrine. I think it's great that he got called to that and I know he'll do an amazing job. While I enjoy the kids in the primary. =)

I swore I would

I promised myself I wouldn't let this blog fall by the wayside. I am determined that I will continue to use it to keep all my family and friends up-to-date on what's happening with my little family. I just didn't count on this being REALLY HARD to fit in!

Moving is going. It's hard, it's tiring, and it's emotionally draining. For those who haven't been informed, instead of moving to my Mimi's house for the summer while she's traveling, she will now be staying and we will be helping to take care of her. She's taken care of me through the years, so I see this as being my turn to repay the favor. I look forward to the kids having a lot of room to run around, and Christopher is excited to have somewhere to plant his sunflowers. Remember a long time ago I posted that he was growing seeds? Well, a few tries later, we have successfully grown sunflower seeds, and they are several times the size of their pots, so they too will probably be happy for the room to grow up.

Alexander is rolling around. He's almost sitting up independantly. He loves his johny jumper (is that what those are really called?) and his catterpillar. The caterpillar is a long stuffed animal with the different segments having different textures, and the legs are just right for infants to chew on.

Christopher has been having a lot of sleepovers at Grandma's house because DeeDee (my mom) and David (my brother) have arrived for the summer.

Baby's crying, which will abruptly end my time to type since once I stop I will be besieged by the baby, Christopher wanting books read and games played, and Bryan asking for this that or the other. Lol. You know, I really love my boys.

Long overdue

I am very long overdue to post something on here. Just like I think of those who are reading this every day, I think of posting something every day. But just like I rarely call or visit, I rarely post. I'm really really hoping that when I start sleeping again I'll start being a real person again.

I just read over my last post. Good news: my toe is better, my head is better. The gash healed quickly, which is good because I delayed washing my hair for a day because I didn't want it to bleed again, and it hurt to touch it, and by the time I did wash it it still hurt a little but at least nothing bad happened.

On to other news: Christopher's adorable. The other day he HAD to do chores. He actually helped me clean the whole house. Granted, it was a major delay to his bedtime because he kept "finding" things he coud clean. But I'll take my blessings where I can find them.

Alexander, where to start. I have a lot of pictures and movies of him, and from Christopher, which I will eventually put up. They're way too cute not to share. But I don't think I have the brainpower to figure it out right now. Story of my life.

We're moving. That announcement probably should have been it's own post. I know all of you will be happy for us. We're actually going to Mimi's house because she's traveling this summer, so we'll be helping her (maybe?) and it helps us a lot. It was overdue for us to leave this house. It's far too small and far too dangerous, as we have ample proof.

No news on the job front. But that's probably to be expected. No one gets new jobs nowadays. Especially not ones that are very good and can provide for a family of 4.

On a related note to that: I spent all last Monday at the DES office. They're supposed to handle cases within 45 days. I didn't even get an appointment until day 47. And the case isn't finalized yet. Which is kind of a bummer. While Bryan is still getting unemployment insurance, it's pretty minimal. But apparently DES is so backtracked that even though I don't think we actually had any kind of coverage for Alexander's appointment this month, they allow any benefits to be retroactive to the date you applied, which means that I don't have to pay for it, and his shots. Which is great since we need to fix our cars, one of which isn't running and the other of which didn't pass emmisions. Oh joy.

Lest I sound sad and depressing, I'm enjoying life. I love my boys. While I was at DES there was this horrible mother who did just about everything but beat her poor little kid. It was a little boy that was Christopher's age. When I got home, I hugged Christopher, told him I loved him, and played with him the whole afternoon. Nothing like a bad example to show me how good I have it. I love having Bryan around as well, and while it's sad that he doesn't have a job, it feels great to see him with the kids, and I enjoy his company.

I'm sure I have more interesting tidbits lying around here somewhere, but I'm too tired to remember what they are. Or did I mention that already?

Ouch, that HURT!

Today was an OWWIE day!!!! I got up early this morning when Alexander decided he was through sleeping, and I was SO TIRED! Both boys hadn't gone to bed early... well, they DID go to bed early, early in the morning, the rotten stinkers! So I was tired, tired, tired. Current story of my life. I hung in there, trying so hard to stay awake with the boys, because I knew Bryan had gone to bed even later than me, and I wanted to let him get a little more sleep so he'd be willing to let me have a nap later. I managed until about 10:30, at which point I went in and started to wake Bryan up. He eventually got up a little before 11. By which point Christopher had brought it to my attention that Onyx for some unknown reason had pooped in our living room.

Onyx is housetrained, well housetrained, and accidents are extremely rare and usually induced by fear (bad storms) or if we forget him inside (has happened maybe once?) when we go out. Christopher informed me of this issue by running across the room, stopping suddenly, then backing up with a terrified look and hollering, "Mom! Poop!" Now, we're having issues with him pooping in the toilet, so I was definitely concerned, and I hopped up hoping that this wasn't part of that problem. And it wasn't. It was definitely the dog's fault, and (sorry, it's gross, life is sometimes) he'd obviously eaten something he wasn't supposed to and it hadn't done his little doggy digestive system any favors. It didn't do the carpet any favors either. I was SO not about to handle that, so I cleaned the poop off of Christopher (yes, I'm sorry to say that's how he found it) and sat in the chair next to the hall, patiently waiting to ambush my husband. When he came out, I told him what happened and what I wanted him to do. Then I went to bed. Muahahahahaha!

Alexander and I took a little nap, and when I woke up I found that Bryan had cleaned the dog mess, shampooed that area of the floor, banished the dog (at my insistence), and was now through cleaning Christopher's room and was preparing to shampoo that carpet as well. He's so great. And he wasn't even upset with me for sticking him (no pun intended) with the poop mess.

So that was an interesting morning. And then the afternoon was basically uneventful. Bryan played hide-and-seek with Christopher, and Christopher took more pictures with my camera until the batteries died (this is his new-found love, and it makes me fear for my camera's already questionable existence). Both things had been promised to him, so with that and food out of the way, most of my parenting responsibilities had been fulfilled for the day. I say most because I think that - technically - getting clothing on your child is also expected, and that I didn't do. He put his own underwear on (backwards), found a "playshirt" and put that on backwards, and by the end of the day had on only the shirt, in spite of repeated requests for him to make himself decent.

The owwie part included several owwies. They were "nice" enough to come at me one at a time. (Doesn't that only happen in movies???) First, my shoulder HURT the whole afternoon, so badly that I took alternating Excedrin and Ibuprofen every two hours, put a hot pack on it, and Bryan rubbed it, and it still hurt enough to make me feel sick to my stomach. I had Bryan do all the baby-lifting and bring me drinks. Eventually it calmed down, but it's not 100%. I blame baby-holding over long periods of time, but it's a half-hearted blame because the shoulder that's killing me isn't the side I hold the baby with. That side's just fine.... thankfully?

Bryan cooked an awesome lunch that was really yummy, but my shoulder hurt so much that I was a little nauseous and I only had a nibble. Then later he cooked a great dinner. I was feeling better then and ate that. But a few hours later, I was curled miserably in a chair hoping I wouldn't lose my dinner. I have no idea what caused me to get so sick all of the sudden. Bryan was just fine, so I don't think it was dinner. I was so nauseous, I was breathing deep breaths to see if I could keep from throwing up. Yucky, I hate being so miserable. Nausea for me is one of those things where I hate to actually throw up, but sometimes not doing so makes you wish you could just have it over with so you won't be so terribly sick. Bryan brought me a drink that I didn't drink, and eventually I sucked on a popsicle, and that helped a lot. A few popsicles later, I was feeling much better.

At which point, I got up to help Christopher pick a movie that he could watch before bed. I couldn't find the one he wanted, so I opened up the doors to the entertainment center to check if - on an off chance - the movie was where it shouldn't be. It wasn't there, and I was suddenly sick to my stomach again, so rather than put the case back where it belonged and closing the door, I just dropped to the floor and finished helping Christopher from there. Once I was done and the movie was set, I went to stand up to put away the case and close the doors. And then came the BIG OWWIE!

I hit the top of my head very hard on the bottom of the door as I rose up. I gasped in shock. I knew I was hurt, and was so stunned by the force that I slumped to the floor again and was too out of it even to cry. I pressed my hand to my head, and my boys ran over to see if Mommy was ok. I just sat there for a minute or two with my hand on my head. I thought, "It's got to be bleeding, it hurts too bad to not be that bad." I eventually took my hand off my head and looked at it. No blood. But my head was still throbbing, so I put my hand back. I still hadn't gotten off the floor, and by this point Bryan and Christopher were standing by watching me cautiously.

I took my hand down again. It just had to be bleeding. No blood. I pressed my hand back to my head. Looking back, I'm pretty sure that the fact that I'd been pressing my hand to my head is what made the difference. Putting pressure on it had prevented it from bleeding. When I took my hand down a third time, I saw blood. Eventually I let Bryan look at it. I had a 3/4 gash on my head, and it was bleeding. After the shock of it wore off, I finally started to cry. After all, it HURT! I sat for a long time thereafter in a chair with a rag and an icepack pressed firmly on my head. It eventually quit throbbing and bleeding. It still hurts, but not enough to be a real bother. I don't, however, look forward to combing my hair. (Insert grouchy face here.)

In addition to the things above, I have a toenail that randomly decided to swell up and start bleeding back on Sunday, and I've been keeping it clean, bandanged, and with antibacterial on it just in case. I stubbed that toe twice today, and I hit my shin.

It wasn't my finest day. It was, however, a day when my wonderful husband showed off his best side, my older son was adorable, and my younger son was a little bit difficult but still as cute as ever. I love them very much, and I was especially grateful today that Bryan and Christopher were so loving and kind to me. I really appreciate them.

My fantastic family!

I have an awesome family that I absolutely love and adore. My dear husband has been a super-spouse these past few days. He helped out tremendously as we prepared for family to visit in conjunction with the baby blessing on Sunday. (Which was wonderful. Several babies were blessed that day, and he was the only boy. Cute little girl, cute little girl, cute little girl, HUGE baby boy! His outfits was labeled "9-12 months".) Bryan also has done all the dishes, cooked dinner, helped with the kids, cleaned the whole house, shampooed the carpets, and a myriad of other wonderful things. In addition to which, he has given me several backrubs, which are one of my most favorite things in the whole world.

Christopher has been well trained by his father. In spite of telling his daddy, "You're the best parent in the whole world!" today (after which Bryan called to me and said, "Did you hear that? I'm the BEST parent!"), he has been offering me a constant stream of, "Mommy/Mother, I love you." A lot of times, I'd even say the majority of the time, he calls us Mother and Father. I dont' know why, he just started it. We like Mommy and Daddy or Mom and Dad, and we call each other that in front of him, but he still uses Mother and Father. Strangers look at us (and him) like we must be really tough parents if he uses such formal titles, but of course everyone who knows us laughs about how silly it sounds, especially that he's so serious about it!

Back to how sweet he's been, he helped his Daddy clean all day, ran errands for me and the baby, and this evening came over and kissed me and told me how wonderful I was and that he loves me and he'll love me forever. He's so fantastic. (And Alexander loves me too. I just know it, because he threw up on me and laughed. You can only get away with that when you really know the person loves you. And of course I do. How can you help it when someone lights up and smils and wiggles happily the moment they see you???)

So yeah.... I love my family. They're amazing. I'm in love. =)

The kindness of strangers

I'm tired, but this makes me happy and very, very grateful.

I went to spend the day with my friend Sarah, who also has a newborn. We just sat at her house all day, her with her new baby girl Jolee, and me with Alexander. I arrived early in the morning and left in the evening. When I got to my car, I couldn't find my keys. I looked inside the car. No keys. I thought, "This is silly! I drove here, I had the keys!" I hadn't so much as touched my purse at Sarah's, so I was certain they hadn't fallen out there, and if they had I'd have noticed because they'd have been the only thing on the floor.

I set Alexander down and continued searching my car, wondering if they had slid under the seat somehow, or maybe some passerby had found them and tossed them in somewhere. I even searched my trunk. Then I started to panic, realizing that if I'd dropped them on the way in, someone else must have them. And I realized that it was completely possible that someone out there had my keys and could just drive away with my car. The glove box has the registration, with our address on it. And I was surprised that the car wasn't actually already gone, if someone else had taken the keys.

I called Bryan and told him I didn't have the keys and couldn't find them. His car is dead, so there was no way for him to get to me or for me to get home. The only other option was to wait for Sarah's husband Randy to get home and take me home and then back again with another set of keys. Provided the car was still there. I was about to walk back into Sarah's, and as I stood looking at the car in frustration and worry, I saw a tiny slip of paper tucked under my wipers. *GASP*

I snatched it out. It was just a scrap torn from what was probably an envelope, and some numbers that had been written on it were scribbled over. In nice, feminine handwriting it simply said, "I have your keys." Then there was an address. I looked around, found the address, and walked over there. As I approached the door I hear keys jangling inside, and the door opened before I knocked. A lady looked out and said, "Are you coming for the keys?" "Yes, I am," I replied. "Can you describe them to me?" she asked. I did, and she smiled and handed them to me.

I was so appreciative that not only had she done such a kind and honorable thing, but she had ensured that only the person whose keys they were would have gotten them. I thanked her profusely. If I hadn't had Alexander in my arms, I probably could have hugged her I was so grateful. She said that she had thought there was a baby involved, because she'd seen the carseat when she picked up the keys, which apparently had fallen out of my purse or I had dropped. She said she understood how it was with kids, we don't always notice things. I thanked her again, and overwhelmed with gratitude and relief, I went home.

I am very thankful for the kindness of strangers.

Nuttiness

Not sure if Nuttiness is really a word, but if it isn't that's almost more fitting, considering the content of what I'm about to post.

I just wanted to "run my mouth" (or my fingers) on a couple of random thoughts.

For those more experienced with Bleach, I think you will chuckle ruefully at what I'm about to say. I have discovered that one should not use products containing high amounts of bleach while one is wearing clothes one likes. I think I've said enough on that.

Completely unconnected with the previous statement, I tried on some shirts today. While I am absolutely loving being a nursing mother, I was very sad that only half of each shirt fits. If the bottom fits, the top won't. If the top fits, the bottom looks like a tent got stuck to my tummy. Perhaps I shall count my blessings some other way: If I were fatter I wouldn't have this problem.

I heard from both of my sisters today. I think they're awesome.

When I was doing a paper route a few years ago, I discovered that caffeine and I aren't very good buddies. At the time, it wasn't even very effective in keeping me awake, and I'd still get the crash. I found eating an apple to be fantastic however, so I would try to down one when I could. (Something about real fruit sugars, and I personally believe that I was blessed by trying to closely follow the Word of Wisdom.) However, apples and I don't get along well either. I've never really liked them. So after turning my nose up at an apple or two, I've come back around to caffeine. And in case anyone was about to, I don't want to hear lectures or opinions. Anywho. In my sleep-deprived state, it's been moderately effective. I hate carbonation enough that it's not a first resort, but I'm considerably more fond of Mountain Dew now than I used to be. And I actually appreciate that the crash helps me sleep when the baby sleeps. Amusing side effect.

Tomorrow is Alexander's baby blessing. Sure took us long enough. I'm looking forward to seeing so many friends and family. Some time I'll have to put up pictures of Christopher's blessing outfit in comparison to Alexander's. It's a real shocker.

Exaustion is creeping up on me. I think I've done enough blabbering for now. =)

Language Skills

Alexander can't actually USE language yet, but it looks like he's got a pretty good idea of what to "say" when he's not happy.

Here's a happy baby:

Here's an expressive expression. from both boys:

Apparently the little guy thinks brotherly snuggles are OK if the big one is unconscious.

Cute giggle boys

So I mentioned already that my boys seem to have a special connection between each other. One of the things that affirms this to me is how much of a bond Alexander and Christopher display. Christopher almost unfailingly can make Alexander laugh.

The other day, Christopher was goofing around on my bed, and Alexander could NOT stop laughing! Everything Christopher did, every sound he made, sent Alexander into a fit of giggles. Another time, oddly enough, the dog did it too. I was playing catch with Onyx, and suddenly Alexander -who was watching from my lap- started laughing so hard that only the first part of the laugh could get out! I've never heard him laugh so hard before or since.

Christopher also continues his daily moment of "Can I hold my brother right now?" Usually it comes when Alexander has just gone down for a nap. Sigh. Such cute boys they are!

I couldn't help it

I couldn't help but write this. Two posts in a day, woohoo! But I had to.....

You see, if you read the preceding post, you'll know that I just told all about how much grief Alexander gives his father. And you'd know that I had to stop writing because the offending party woke up. And I HAD to write this because now you need to know what happened next!

Apparently the few moments the baby was fussing while I wrote "Speaking of the devil...." were too many moments for Bryan, because as I rose from the keyboard to retrieve my youngest, my husband walks out into the hallway, child in arms. And I laughed out loud. Quietly, mind you, because Christopher was still asleep, and if you'd seen the awake two you'd have been quietly laughing too. They both looked COMPLETELY miserable, both scowling, both bleary-eyed. Still giggling, I took the baby from Bryan, who did an about-face and collapsed back into bed. I wonder what time HE went to sleep....

I sat down with the baby. Within the next 2 hours, he did EVERYTHING to me that I had just written that he does to Bryan. I couldn't even get one thing all cleaned up before he threw up or pooped or slobbered on the next thing. It was a few hours of a perpetual cycle of stinky mess cleanup. And in spite of the fact that I changed my clothes 4 times today already (and it's only mid-afternoon at the moment), I laughed all morning. It's like Alexander was in there asleep and telepathically knew what I'd been up to, and noting my amusement had said to himself, "Wow, Mom really likes that. I think I should share with her!"

So even as I was cleaning the drippy poo off my legs and shirt, and while I washed all 5 loads of laundry (No, I didn't do a load for each messy thing, that just prompted the loading of other things I should have washed anyway), I laughed to myself. I am of the opinion that "It's better to laugh than to cry", so while some things cannot be laughed at, if there's an option to see the funny side, I like that one better. I also like the saying "Those that can laugh at themselves will never cease to be amused." So I laughed at the irony of my circumstances this morning, and was thoroughly amused the entire time.

I still have a HUGE pile of laundry to fold and put away, but I have NO intention of doing it today. I did a bajillion (yes, really a bajillion, I'm a Mom) other things today, and the finishing of the laundry is going to wait until tomorrow when I can pawn my kids off on their great-grandmother. However, I've washed my hands, done the dishes, and used cleaning wipes several times, and I still can't get the smell of baby poop off my hands. Yuck. I have slightly more sympathy for my husband now. Slightly.




P.S. Among my bajillion other things I did was play hide-and-seek with Christopher, with Alexander in my arms. Let me tell all of you inexperienced or otherwise unwarned mothers out there: Do Not, EVER, hide yourself and your newborn in a dark closet. In spite of the fact that he was digging his fingers into my arm, could smell me, and was chewing on my collarbone, the kid has no comprehension of the fact that I still exist when he can't see me, and he panicked. Thankfully the dog gave us away by trying to get into the closet with me. Oh well.

I have not forgotten!

I have not forgotten you all! No, indeed I think of you every day. And it's true: if you're reading this, I probably do think about you every day, because the only people who read this are people I know and love very much. And chances are good that I miss you, since I see people so seldom, so here's for you: "I love you, I miss you." And I haven't forgotten to update you on my life. I just haven't updated myself! Every time I am not dreadfully busy, I think "I can write on my blog, or I can sleep." And as you can tell, I never write on my blog, I always sleep. BUT! There is light at the end of the tunnel. Not the "Look out for the train!" kind, or the "You're too young yet!" kind, just the "I'm almost there and I can almost see the end!" kind. Because Christopher has been sleeping. Oh my goodness gracious sakes alive! Hallelujah!

It's been an interesting week for me. I recently heard from a good friend in Virginia who is expecting her second child, her first being a girl and this one being a boy. And my sister called to say she got her mission call - to California. And another friend of mine called the next day to say she'd just had her baby - a long-awaited first, and a girl. So that has been a lot of fun news.

There's nothing new with Bryan's job hunt. Lots of finding not much, and lots of "Sorry, we already have enough applications", and lots of no calls and no interviews. I think it's considerably harder on him than on me. Luckily - well, not luckily, blessedly - our finances ironically seem better now than they used to be. Part of that I'm sure is tithing, because the same $40 seems to hang out in our bank account in spite of the fact that I still pay bills and buy groceries. Also, Bryan's unemployment insurance finally kicked in, so while it's minimal, that helps. And even though DES hasn't gotten back to us yet, when I called to see why they aren't responding to our application for benefits, they said that they have given them to us pending a decision, so we are still able to go to doctors visit, and get food stamps (which they no longer call that, they call it some weird acronym). So both those things help too.

But part of it is also that since Bryan's not working, we just stay home. We're all homebodies, and if I want to go out I have to either convince or force Bryan and Christopher to come. Like father, like son. And being at home is cheap. When Bryan and I were talking about this interesting phenomenon, he said, "Imagine if we lived like this AND I had a job." To which I replied, "But we wouldn't. You'd have to get gas to go to work, you'd need lunches, I'd be lonely at home so I'd want to go places and see people, so I'd need gas in the car, and I'd be out and about. So it would never really happen." He conceded that I was right. But in the meantime, it's nice (usually) to be home as a family. And personally, I like that Bryan gets so much time around his kids. I felt like he missed a lot with Christopher.

Speaking of which, I have a funny story about Bryan and the kids. Well, Bryan and Alexander actually. Alexander seems to really have it out for Bryan. Hold on, let me back up. I have become convinced that my boys and I knew each other well in our heavenly home. I have never really considered it before, but it seems apparent now. Alexander LOVES Christopher, and vice-versa. Even though Alexander usually has a fit when Christopher holds him, from a safe position in Mommy's lap, he thinks Christopher is the best thing in the world. Christopher's antics almost always make Alexander laugh, and Christopher is always anxious to help us with Alexander. (Jeepers, I have to do a lot more typing when I can't just say "he" and "him"!) Whenever Alexander's blanket or pacifier falls, or when I need something for the baby, oftentimes Christopher will race to pick it up, or if he overhears me asking Bryan for it, Christopher will rush to get it before Daddy does, because "it's for Alexander". It's amazingly precious, and I love him all the more for it.

So back to Alexander and his daddy. Alexander OBVIOUSLY has some predestined desire to torture his father, and then laugh at him. Being so small, it's cute and very funny, but it definitely reinforces my feeling that they knew each other well before arriving here. On Mother's Day there was the infamous poop-on-dad-and-make-us-both-leave incident, after which Alexander cried in his father's ear for hours until I arrived home. And then at church one Sunday, I had fed Alexander and then been rocking him, and when I handed him off to Bryan, only then did he throw up - completely covering the front of Bryan's Sunday clothes. It looked bad, smelled bad, and since Bryan and I both snapped at each other over it, was in general just bad bad. But we kissed and made up later, and I think that those incidents were the start of realizing that there's nothing we can do: Alexander just saves the worst for Dad, no matter how hard Mom (and Dad, and Christopher) tries to prevent it.

The funniest/worst example of it was one day last week. I was really exhausted and Bryan was trying to help me get some sleep, so he was doing a lot of baby holding. He got pooped on not once, not twice, not even three times, but four times that day. And one time I was around for it, and I could not help but laugh because we heard the loud and dangerous sound, and Bryan lifted the baby from his chest as quick as a flash, but it was too late. A large stream of baby poo was running down his chest. So I plucked the offender from Daddy's hands and walked to the changing table. I plunked him down and told him how mean he was being and that his daddy wasn't going to like him if he kept this up. Alexander laughed at me. He seemed to think this was hillarious. I heard Bryan grumbling from the bathroom as he turned on the shower. So I open up Alexander's diaper to change it, completely expecting to find additional disasters awaiting me after such a stunt. When I pulled back the diaper, I gasped. And then I laughed. Alexander hadn't only pooped on his dad, he had somehow completely skipped the diaper and ONLY pooped on Dad! The diaper was almost completely clean, and yet Bryan had somehow been hosed. We have no idea how he did it, but that incident, in addition to the other 3 attacks that day and the several times he threw up on Bryan that day as well, cemented in our minds that there's nothing we can do about it: Alexander has it out for his dad.

Speaking of the devil, he's awake, so I shall depart, and if I ever get caught up on my sleep, I will write again soon.