Finally! I'm a Gardener!

For a few years now I have yearned to have my own little vegetable garden. While we were looking for a house, having a good look at the back yard was vital not just to see if there would be ample space for the kiddos to play, but also a good place for a vegetable garden. Now I am clueless about gardening, especially vegetable gardening. So anytime I meet someone who does, I cling to them like a magnet hoping to absorb their knowledge.

A neighbor around the corner from us has a HUGE backyard easily two or three times the size of ours and he has been growing vegetables for a couple of years. And luckily he was very willing to share all his experiences with me and our community one Saturday afternoon. While I was in his backyard I took viscous notes and created a sketch in my head about how to create a vegetable garden in our yard.

When I finally got the idea on paper, Chris had a few issues with some aspects, so we made some changes and compromises. Basically we decided to create three raised beds at the very back of our yard and then leave the rest open to create an area with a bench swing. For now, we are just focusing on the raised beds.

So today I went to Home Depot all by myself (yes I WAS intimidated) and got all the materials we would need to create the garden. Well, almost all of them. I got enough wood to make three raised beds, but only enough topsoil, compost and transplants for two of the beds. I was afraid of spending too much money. Well, silly me didn't do the math in my head very well, because I ended up not even using all of the $100 gift card we got. So maybe tomorrow I'll go back and get the stuff for the other bed.

When I get home, not only am I eager to brag about getting everything on my own, but I also loaded it all in the car (also known as the box, scion xb) by myself. Well, we also needed to seed the backyard, hopefully for the last time, so we can have a full lawn. If you've ever had the joyful experience of seeding a lawn then you know first you have to rake the soil to loosen it so the seeds can do their magic. It took me an hour and a half to do 80% of the back yard and then thankfully Chris took over for me. I'm such a wimp. Chris spreads the seeds out and then we get to work nailing the beds together. That was more complicated than I think it should have been. We definitely need a new drill with more power .Arrrhhh arrrrh arhhh (that was supposed to be the Tim Allen grunt from the tv show Home Improvement.)

We get the soil in the beds and I plant my little plants literally minutes before it starts to rain. It actually rained on me while I was trying to put all the trash and tools up. So now I my vegetable garden. Even if I only get two tomatoes and a cucumber I will be excited. But hopefully there will be more than that. Here are a few pics I took right after finishing. They aren't the best quality, but I was rushing because it was starting to sprinkle and I didn't want my camera getting ruined.

So here is a picture of the three beds, I know the one on the far right looks crooked, but it's just the ground isn't level. I'll fix it later. I also need to fill in the dirt around the edges of the others. But since it was about to rain on me This was all I could get done. Pretty impressive huh?

Here is the middle bed. It has six cucumber plants and two sweet pepper plants.

This is the bed on the far left. It has three bell pepper plants, a cluster of basil, two cilantro and two rows of carrots in the middle I planted from seeds. I can't wait to see if I did that right. Grow plants grow!! I want some veggies! I have to wait about 50 days for the carrots, I think I'll mark that on my calender. I need to look the others I can just pick as they look ready. I'm so excited!!!

Oh and to top things off, a couple hours after we were done and the rain was trickling away I noticed a huge rainbow over out backyard. If that isn't a sign of good luck, I don't know what is.

Gone Fishing

Last week was spring break, so we packed up the car and headed out to East Texas to visit Chris's parents. There house seems to be the place we go to the most when looking for a mini vacation. They live on Lake San Rayburn, and I do mean on the lake. There back yard consists of the lake. It's sweet. So we generally go fishing every time.

This time they took us to a different part of the lake to fish off some docs that always seem to have something bitting. So we get some worms and fish with these awesome little kid poles. We catch some brim and perch not really intending to keep anything, just having fun.

Well, Devon was getting pretty bored because she wasn't having any luck catching anything. Mainly because she wouldn't stay still enough. So Chris has a good idea to put a bobber on her line to give her a better mission of watching it bob instead of feeling for nibbles. Well, it worked. She caught a nice little sun perch, I think that's what they said it was. She was so excited when she realized she had actually caught something. She was eagerly reeling it in, seeming so proud.

But then when the fish was actually out of the water, she freaked out. She screamed and dropped the pole and wouldn't go near the fish. It was hilarious. It was a nice touch to the weekend because when we first got there she freaked out whenever a bug came near her. Even flies caused a ruckus. After a day and a half she was finally finding the courage to say "shoo fly" to most bugs without having a panic attack.

I think having to stay indoors all winter made her loose her since of adventure. We are planning to go on many more expeditions around the Austin/San Antonio area to rekindle her admiration of nature. Although that probably won't get us good stores like catching a fish and running away.

Good Times

Well, things have definitely been changing in the Cato house. Matthew has been officially walking more than crawling for about a week now. The trick was figuring out how to get back up by himself when he would fall. Now he has the hugest grin on his face as he toddles around the house. I love it. Now he is also able to explore outside more, because instead of freaking out when he falls in the grass he can just pop back up.

Devon showed me a neat trick. Apparently she can wear Matthew's jacket, which is size 9-12 months. I almost considered starting her on a all pizza diet, but then I was able to come back down the earth and remember the doctor said she was fine. But still, it's a small concern in the back of my mind. Who knew that I (former cabbage patch kid) would have to worry about having a slim kid. This must be from Chris's genes.

Well, Matthew is 13 months old now and we figure with a wet diaper he should be 20 lbs now. So we switched him over to a bigger car seat where he can finally face forward and sit up. At first he wasn't a big fan of it. He doesn't fall asleep as easily now because he isn't tilted back. And his first test drive in it was a five hour trip to East Texas. Great planning on my part, but he has adjusted and seems to enjoy it. The only thing is he looks so very tiny in the big car seat. I can only see the top of his head in my special little review mirror! But he's growing, and pretty soon that won't be an issue.

Chris and I have finally come to an agreement on how to landscape the backyard. All this after a couple of days of lobbying and compromise, and not to mention a few arguments. I can't really explain it too well, so you'll just have to check back for a garden update. We're hoping to get it all together next weekend, which is really next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, his current days off. Luckily, we got a $100 gift card for Home Depot from our credit card rewards, so that will help out indeed! Because landscaping and gardening can be pricey. Especially if you want it to look decent. Who knew?

Four Years and Twenty Pounds Apart

Yikes, it's been a while since I've been in the blogging world. What with Matthew turning one, Devon having the flu and then the chaos of having two birthday parties in one day, it's been pretty crazy around here. Oh, and let's not forget the reordering of the house after the chaos. I feel like I just now have returned back to normal.

We'll start with Matthew. He turned one and got a rad little hotrod for his birthday. He loves it! At first he would just climb in and out, in and out for long stretches of time, but now he has gotten over the novelty of it and can be pushed in it without trying to hop out like a stunt devil. Also, I made him an awesome dinosaur cake that was delicious! It was banana cake with chocolate frosting, all made with love from scratch.

Shortly after Matthew's birthday Devon starts to get cold/allergy symptoms, but then on the day of her well check appointment she runs a 102 F fever and has to miss school for the first time all year. There goes that perfect attendance record. At the doctors, they test her for strep and the flu and she comes back positive for both. This is on Tuesday, her birthday party is supposed to be on Saturday. Uh-Oh. Luckily, she went to the doctors at the height of the illness and started to recover quickly. Then on Thursday the doctors office calls me and says that the 48 hour culture of her strep test came back negative, so apparently she didn't have strep, just the flu. So one less dose of meds for her, hooray!

Now Matthew's well check was at the same time as Devon's. Seemed like a good idea at the time to just get them both out of the way at the same time, but it also meant it was a very loooooooong appointment. I think next year they will have separate appointments. Poor little Matthew weighed in at 19 lbs 4 oz, so he still has to use the baby car seat, backwards. He's not a big fan of that. Devon weighed in at 40 lbs, which means she's only gained one pound in a year. Now I know why she seems so lanky, it's because she is. But then again she was sick and her appetite goes away when she's sick. So maybe she's really 41 or 42 now.

So, Saturday comes and so does the families. We have cake and presents for Matthew at 2:00 and then somehow time fast forwards in warp speed and it's time to dash to the children's museum for Devon's party. The museum is downtown and we are in Manor. Shouldn't have to worry about traffic because it is a Saturday right? Wrong. Highway 290 was backed up and I was hyperventilating. Then there was construction all around the museum, which wasn't there during our last trip. So Devon was 15 minutes late to her own birthday party. And for those who know me, then you know I was loosing it. I absolutely HATE being late, especially to my daughters only 5th birthday party. Luckily, I have an awesome husband who reminded me the party doesn't exist without the birthday girl. Great man I tell ya, great man. Devon had a blast at the party. Unfortunately, none of her school friends she invited came, but that just left more free passes to the museum for us.

Car Boy

Well, it looks to me like on the eve of Matthew's birthday, that he is a car boy. It's funny, when little boys are between one and two or even three they are generally intensely interested in one or tow categories of toys. Some boys love trucks, some love trains, dinosaurs, blocks, balls .....the list goes on. As for now, Matthew is actually divided between books and cars. He even makes the "Brrrrrrr" sound when he pushes cars on the floor. I love it. It's adorable.

I remember my nephew Scotty being a car/train boy when he was little. He had the Thomas train table and everything, and not to mention a few hundred hot wheels. You know when I think about it, we really haven't bought any "boy" toys for Matthew. The cars he plays with are Devon's. We're mean parents we don't really buy toys very often, the grandparents do that enough. I guess it's our way of trying to teach gratefulness. As we tell Devon (thanks to Madam Blueberry) "a thankful heart is a happy heart."

I was really hoping to have a partner to share my passion for dinosaurs, but I'm not giving up hope. Devon does enjoy dinosaurs, but she isn't that into them. Matthew actually destroyed her only dinosaur non-fiction book, which was my fault for not paying attention to the ripping sounds coming from the back seat a couple of weeks ago. That's ok, it just a good excuse to go to Half Priced Books. ;) And maybe when Matthew is older we can memorize all the different types of dinosaurs together. Hey, it could happen.

Who Knew

So I'm going to be taking a class at my church which is a book study on The Confessions by Saint Augustine. I'm very excited not just because of the class, or the fact that Clifton, my pastor, is teaching it, but because once a week I get to act like an adult for an hour and a half. Ahhhhh, it's going to be great. I'm also hoping that it will help me kick the last lump of postpartum junk that seems to be lingering.

Last night, like the big dork I am, I began reading the Preface and a chapter that goes over his chronology. And to my amazement, even though he was sainted by the Catholic church, he did not lead an entirely "pure" life. This made me realize I know very, very little about this whole sainthood thing. Perhaps this class will help to educate me, even if I'm not Catholic, I still consider Catholicism a part of my christian ancestry, just like Judaism. I mean shortly after Jesus was risen, most Christians were thrown into this Catholic category.

Leaving that tangent aside, I am really enthralled by St. Augustine. The life he lived is very inspiring. Most of his life was a spiritual quest, and even when he realized his past was not ideal to his new life he just stopped, and accepted his new life without guilt. It makes me realize that right now in my life there are many temptations that I give into, and I know there are better ways to go about doing things.

The difference between me and Augustine is that once he knew there was a better way, he took on the right way and left the old behind. I know I shouldn't over eat, and that sometimes "showing" Devon how to be patient when punishing her would be more effective that yelling, and oh boy there is so much more, but the point is I can't rid my life of these bad habits until I accept the right way and persevere through temptation to go down the easy road. Yes, snacking at night might temporarily make me feel better but in the long road it only hurts me. I can say no, but it is so much easier to keep doing things the old way.

So it looks to me like this little book study might teach me more about myself, than Augustine. Fascinating! Something tells me Clifton knew this aspect of the class when he decided to teach. He's sneaky like that.

A Few Firsts

The last few weeks have been very eventful for both Devon and Matthews development.

The other day, Devon and I were on the couch and we were reading one of her new library books. It was one we hadn't read yet and I was letting her say the sight words we have been working on. Well, as we are reading about the Backyardigans surfing, I turn the page and Devon just reads the entire sentence! "I can jump." I about pooped my pants. She recognizes "I" and "can" but we haven't done "jump" yet. It was such a big moment. I dropped the book and hugged her! She looked at me like I was nuts. In less than a month, she will be FIVE! Yowsers! At some point I need to fully accept she is growing up.

Now for little Matthew, he has been saying "bu" (pronounced "bu" as in book) for a few weeks now, but I wasn't ready to claim it as a first word yet. But I'm going to stop being modest now because he is clearly trying to say book. When ever he sees a book whether it's a board book, one of Devon's books or even one of mine, he points to it and says, "bu". Mama and Dada mean nothing to him, he's all about the books. Actually, he rarely says "mama" anymore. We're going to have to work on that. ;)

Also, Mr. Big Boy took his first steps the other day. I believe it was super bowl sunday. He took three steps from me to Chris and it was so exciting! He has been standing on his own for a couple of weeks now, but just hasn't wanted to walk yet. I'm ok with that, he's fast enough when he crawls I'm not ready for running. Today he was once again standing on his own and I came up to him with my arms opened wide, trying to entice him to walk towards me and he took four steps! He was so proud of himself and of course my heart was just melting. I'm going to have to get the video camera out so we can document this.

Just an Ordinary Day

Yesterday was fantastic. Although it started out like every other ordinary day.

I was feeling a little icky when morning came at 6am, so Chris jumped up and took Matthew and got Devon ready for school. I manage to get out of our warm and comfy bed about 10:30. All is quiet and I'm wondering why Chris didn't wake me up to nurse Matthew to sleep for his morning nap. When I walk out of our room I notice Matthews bedroom door is closed, so I peek in, out of curiosity. And he is out cold in his crib.

I head downstairs and Chris is watching a Harry Potter movie, and he tells me putting Matthew down was easy, so he didn't have to wake me. At first I was a little hurt because I wasn't needed, but I got over that pretty quick because I was excited because maybe this weaning business wasn't going to be quite so horrible (on Matthew).

I went to the bus stop to get Devon and we came home and did homework. So far, like I said it was very ordinary, for the most part. Then we head downtown because Chris needed to go get some of his uniforms replaced because they had holes in them. After that it was yet another instance where we were like, "Well, now what?" Whenever Chris has weekdays off, it can be a little tricky finding something to do that doesn't cost money. So I head south not sure exactly where I'm going.

At first I wanted to go to SoCo (south congress for you non-Austin folks) and just walk around all the fun shops. But then I wasn't paying very close attention and drove right past Congress. Smooth. I know. So I changed my mind (this has been known to happen frequently) and since we were headed for the Town Lake trail (I refuse to call it Lady Bird Lake because it was Town Lake when we moved here almost four years ago). We park and check out this new area where there is this awesome fountain that is great for kids to run around on, but it's too cold, so we head to the trial.

The side of the river we were on has a leashless dog area, so there are cute dogs every where! Matthew had an unwanted encounter with a little puppy lab and got a kiss. Let me tell you, he did NOT like that at all. I suppose he felt very violated. I can see that. ;) So from then on when a dog got too close he protested from his stroller. As we're walking Chris suggests we cross the river at the next bridge and head over toward the animal shelter. Sounded fun to me, so we headed that way.

When we get to the shelter Chris goes straight for the dogs, but after a little while there are these girls in front of us talking to every dog they pass, so we detour to the cat house. There we meet Rebel. The 18 lb five year old cat. Chris and Devon go in to play with him and then I went in because he was adorable. But he hid in his cat house when I went in so we looked at the other kitties and we met Xander. He was cute and the volunteer said he was great with kids, so I take Devon in and he is very playful and sweet. One of the shelter workers heard us talking about Xander and she told us his adoption rate was reduced from $75 to $35. Wow. We hang out a little longer, including one more visit with Rebel and head back out to the dogs.

Chris found a pure bread Siberian husky and takes him out for a walk and into a pen. He's not very social, but he does listen well coming straight to the leash and doesn't fight it. Then we find a german shepard, lab mix. He's cute and playful so we take him out too. He basically acts the same as the husky, but Chris seems disappointed that I'm not interested in any of the dogs. We walk around some more and head out.

It's about 4:30 and we start walking back on the trail toward the car. We start talking about the animals we interacted with. Chris brings up the dogs again, talking about how we will never find another pure husky again at the shelter, trying to win me over. I wasn't really thinking about the dogs. I was more concerned about Xander, the playful black cat. So we talk about the possibility of getting a cat and the next thing I know we are in the car grabbing some drive thru food so we can go back to the shelter and rescue Xander.

I knew there could only be one reason they were cutting his rate. He had been there almost two months and his free room would be needed for the next kitty. So we sign some papers and hand over the credit card and wah-lah! We now are the proud owners of Xander!!! They give him to us in a cardboard pet carrier and off we go. In the car he seems a little concerned so at first I let him peek him head out and then I just open the whole box so I can pet him and comfort him.

When we get home we quaranteen him in our bathroom, give the kids a bath the put them to sleep then we give Xander a bath, just to be on the safe side. He does surprisingly well. After the bath he just roams the house for a couple of hours and then after that he just follows me everywhere. It was cute. We headed to bed and he came with us. I think he has done this before because as soon as I went in the bed room he hopped on the bed and layed down. So we get in bed and at first he lays on Chris and then moves to the end of the bed where he stayed until about an hour before we got up.

Once it was time to get up Xander got to get reacquainted with the kiddos. Devon was very good with him, but for some reason Matthew would protest if Xander got too close to him or me. It was funny. Nothing too loud like crying, he would be pretty much go, "Ehhh" like saying "hey!" It's been fun. However Matthew does seem to enjoy the cat scratcher just as much as Xander. And already Xander is good at sharing. So now, we have a third kid in the family.

Xander has quickly made himself at home. And I've got to admitt it's going to be nice having some company at night when Chris is at work.

Another Pat on the Shoulder

So I am very proud of myself. Why, you ask. Well in a few weeks Matthew will be one and I will have successfully breastfeed him for his entire first year. Many of you who are not parents are probably not impressed and that's ok. But I am! And so is his pediatrician, because I am a righty only! ;)


When I was pregnant with Devon I read at least a half a dozen baby books (and many more afterward). I was 21, and had no clue what to expect. I remember asking my doctor for recommendations because on most topics they were all the same but with others there seemed to be a divide. None of the authors philosophies really felt right. She told me she loved Dr Sears and had actually met him. So I checked him out and he changed my life.


The man has raised 8 kids who turned out great and he's a pediatrician. And to top it all off, his wife is a midwife. That coupled right there is an impressive combo. And you know what's funny? At the time my OB was married to a pediatrician who was Devon's doctor while we lived in Nacogdoches, just like the Sear's. Crazy.


Thanks to Dr. Sears ideals I was able to comfortably breastfeed Devon, in Nacogdoches of all places. God forbid Devon ever got hungry in public. People would give me dirty looks, and I can remember at least one time someone told me what I was doing was "disgusting." It made me very timid and I just avoided going out except for short periods when I knew she wouldn't get hungry. If she did get hungry I would nurse her in bathrooms, dressing rooms or in my car.
Nursing Matthew has been a much more pleasant experience. I live in a hippie city where it is the norm to breastfeed so many places have areas for nursing. And I can't recall even a negative glance.

Now Devon weaned herself at around nine months. It was a sad time, I was a little disappointed in myself that I didn't go the whole 12 months. So I told myself if I had another kiddo then I would do my best to make it 12 months. Well, Matthew has made this too easy because except for a couple of bottles in his very early months he has refused formula. And I do mean refuse. I tried to put some formula in a sippy cup and he chunked it at me. Chunked!!

So all of that to say, his first birthday is quickly approaching and it will be time to go through the dreaded process of weaning. Well, I don't really know if it is dreaded I've just heard that it's rough. Luckily his pediatrician is a big breastfeeding advocate so she can give me the scoop on what it will do to me. Because I still love it. I love the closeness. How he still 11 months later will just stare into my eyes, with love just pouring out of them. It is the only thing that I have been able to give him that no one else can.

I am purely fascinated at how my body knows exactly what to make for him. His own personal meals created only for him, changing as his needs change. It's remarkable! So I'm ready for the weaning advice to just pour on me, cause Lord knows I need it. I've been slowly replacing nursing meals with baby food, so he only nurses 5 times a day now. I'm pretty certain that the nap and bedtime nursings will be the last to go, and probably the hardest. Uhg. I just got to get the little engine mentality, "I think I can, I think I can."

Thinking During Playtime

So a while back, actually quite a while back, my good friends Gypsy and Suzanne came to visit and brought Devon some goodies. One of the things they got her was a solid art book. It looked fun, but somehow it got lost in her craft chest and I found it in the back a few days ago. Basically it is a kit to make a little Hello Kitty town by popping out the pieces and gluing them together and then you get to play with the little people in the town. It's way cute.

So yesterday during Matthew's nap we sat down at the kitchen table to put it together. Devon had a blast. It was perfect for a four year old. She could pop out the pieces on her and and fold them (for the most part, sometimes she needed a little help with the complex pieces) and glue them. It turned out much cuter than I originally thought. She loves playing with the little Hello Kitty people. It was such a cool thing to do together. It was like a model car kit, but cooler.

I was looking at the back and of course it was made in Japan. Why can't we make intelligent toys for our kids here! I love how she in essence had to earn her toy by working to put it together. Gypsy if you read this where did you find that?? We have one other one left that I'm saving for when this one becomes boring (which doesn't seem to be anytime soon). It's a little different than a town, but still looks fun.

Little Pizzas

A long while back, I volunteered to bring some food to our home fellowship group for everyone to munch on. But then forgot and had to pick up something last minute. So I grabbed a huge box of bagel bites. And of course everyone loved them, especially Devon. From then on, she has always referred to them as "little pizzas."

I have a few personal problems with bagel bites. One they are on white bagels, which to me have no flavor. Two they are chewy whether you bake them or zap them in the microwave. Third, I'm not too sure about the cheese they use. I prefer 2% and since it is more expensive I doubt they use it. And fourth, they are pricey!

So of course I set out to create my own version with more nutrition and taste. Well, let me tell you, they are a cinch to make and have become the current must have food in our house. They are eaten for snacks, I put them in Devon's lunch, and Chris and I have had them for our lunch.

For the basic bagel bite replica, all you need it mini bagels (I used whole wheat of course), pizza sauce (or spaghetti if you run out from popular demand!) and shredded mozzarella cheese (I use 2%). But of course you can get fancy and put veggies on it, pepperoni, whatever floats your boat. Pop it in the oven at 350 F for about 10 minutes.

They taste much better because there is flavor and they are not chewy because they haven't been in a freezer for months (or longer.....eek!) I'm willing to bet they are just as good with normal sized bagels, but I'm a big fan of cute food and to me nothing says cute like "mini food." Although technically a regular bagel is little compared to a pizza, but that's getting picky.

Einstein bagels has an asiago cheese bagel that is awesome! I bet they too would make great little pizzas. Super Target carries Einstein Bagels in there bakery section, in case your interested.

So I'm done talking about bagels now, go make some of your own. You'll be hooked.

Mischief Report

So since my little guy is a magnet for mischief I decided to occasionally chronicle it. Because how else am I going to remember it to put in his baby book? I haven't decided if he just has a normal boy level of mischief or if he is above average. I only have Devon to compare him too and she was anything but mischievous as a baby. So as of right now here is what he's getting into.

He has been playing in the pantry as long as he has been able to crawl to follow me in there to fold the clothes. He loves pulling all the clothes out of the dryer for me and throwing them on the floor. However, that doesn't fill his mischief tank. Now he has discovered that he can reach the bottom shelf of the pantry and I caught him this morning with some loot. He grabbed a box of Bakers chocolate. I let him play with it until he discovered how to open the box. Then I had to trade him for a big wooden spoon.

He has discovered how to open the cabinet doors. This is all my fault though. I used to open up the cabinet that has all the pots and pans for him to play with while I cook. So now he goes into the kitchen with the sole purpose to open that cabinet and pull out the pots, pans and of course their lids. And I also let him play in the cabinet that houses our tupperware. He has recently discovered that he can crawl into it and go for the goods in the back. Silly boy.

Oh and this one should get me the parent of the year reward. About a week ago Matthew discovered a little box that has samples of baby lotion, butt cream and shampoo. He loves to take it off the shelf of the changing table and empty it out. He also would chew on all the bottles. I never thought it was a bad idea until he handed me a sample bottle of Johnson's baby shampoo that was half empty. I freaked out!! I ran to Chris saying, "Does his breath smell like baby shampoo?" And of course it did. He had drank half of that little bottle. I felt horrible. So that little box has been hidden away where he can't get to it. I can't believe that happened. Apparently his new teeth aided him in popping the lid open. It's not harmful or anything, but he did have a very loose stool a few hours later. Like I said, parent of the year. Right here.

It's really going to happen

Today I when I got out of bed both kids were snuggled up to me, and it was incredible. Matthew woke up a little after midnight with some bad gas, (smooth idea giving him kidney beans last night) so I just pulled him in bed with me to nurse him back to sleep. I know. I broke my rules for having him sleep in his own room, but seriously breastfeeding him relaxed him enough to also relax his stomach so the gas could pass easily. Oh and I was pretty tired too. ;) Devon woke up about 15 minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off, so she just climbed in bed with us and snuggled until 6:15am. Then we all got up together. I had to wake Matthew up though. Poor kid. Can't leave him in the bed all alone, at least not without injuries.

So, all that to say it was a loving start to my day. Today my stomach is filled with butterflies, I am seriously giddy about tonight. Chris is getting tired of all the "Obama hype," but I'm not. I'm lovin' it, soaking up every drop. Nothing is going to keep me from watching this.

I really hope Devon's class is doing something special about the inauguration too. I know on election day they had a mock election and when she told me about it, she said "I voted for Obama, just like you Mom. He's my favorite."

I'm just so pumped today. I've already done some cleaning and organized Devon closet by putting together a new shelf. And it's not even 9:30am yet! I also have some help from an old friend I thought I had parted ways with for good. Coffee. I love you. I'm sorry I turned my back on you. I realize you are my friend and are an important key to my sanity. Just one cup a day, with one tbs of sugar and I'm good to go.

Cinco Anos???

Let me translate. Five years....... or One thousand, eight hundred and twenty five days. Sixty months. Half a decade. A quarter of a quarter of a century. Depending on how you look at it, it can be a long time or a blink of an eye. For me, it's been a little of both.

As of this Thursday, Chris and I will have been married for five years. Raise your hand if you're shocked it lasted this long. Put it down! I was just kidding. Geeeesss. We've had two kiddos since then, moved twice, graduated from college, survived the police academy (and yes that is a WE thing), bought a car together, bought a house together, had plenty of arguments, but even more laughs. It's been the hardest thing I've ever done, and yet I say that in the highest regards, because if you can believe it that is really the ultimate compliment. Just look at it this way. Michael Phelps would say winning eight gold medals was the hardest thing he ever did, but you wouldn't look at that negatively. Anyway. Rambling.

And yet somehow we missed out on having a honeymoon. We're going to have to change that soon, but probably not until next year. And it won't be any wimpy trip either, we're thinking of leaving the continent!! "Ahhhhhh, I love the smell of Europe in the morning." - Eddie Izzard.

Not to get too mushy, but I never thought love would feel this way. Sometimes it makes me want to rip all my hair out and run screaming down the street. Sometimes it makes me want to stay in a moment for all of eternity. It encompasses the widest spectrum of emotions possible and challenges me daily. It's the greatest gift I've ever received.

So. What's in store for us in the future, besides a belated honeymoon? More kids? Doubtful. I'm hoping for a lifetime of happiness, but that's for the movies. We'll just have to see what life throws at us and then laugh it off later.

Genetics

I am so fascinated by genetics these days. Not necessarily the heavy scientific jargon, but just the evidence I see watching my two munchkins grow up. Devon and Matthew are so different, yet the same at the same time it's incredible.

Devon was pretty chubby as a baby, but still always managed to stay in the 50th percentile every doctors visit. Matthew started out in the 15th percentile, but has climbed up to the 25th! He's just got little genes, from Chris's side of course.

So if you're reading this, you are very aware of just how often and how many pictures I take of the kiddos. Lately, whenever I take one of Matthew I can almost always think of one from when Devon was the same age and I go back and look at just how much they really do look alike. It's remarkable!!

Here is Devon when she was 12 months old. She was sitting in the azalea garden at SFA, playing with pine needles.

Now here is Matthew at 10 months, in a similar pose, outside playing with leaves. Isn't that awesome! Maybe it's not so much that they look alike, but that I tend to repeat photo shoots with Matthew that I did with Devon. Haha! I am seriously laughing at myself now.

And here is Devon on her first birthday practicing walking for the first time with a push toy. I can still remember that night. She walked back and forth between me and Chris for the longest time and every time she hit an obstacle and couldn't keep going she would just stand there and cry, waiting for us to "make it go again."

And here is Matthew on Christmas day pushing the same kind of push toy. The only difference is that he is two months younger. And that is just a difference in personality. To this day, Devon is still rarely in a hurry. And Matthew, well he just loves trying to keep up with the rest of us.

I am so grateful that I get to spend my days at home with them. I've been doing this for almost five years now and (this is so cliche) it has just flown right by! Next year Devon will be in school all day for kindergarten. Matthew is really going to miss her. I can tell all ready.