Brushing

The newest cool activity around here is brushing. We brush our hair, we brush our teeth, we brush the dogs, etc. You get the picture. The only problem is determining which type of brush to use for each brushing occasion. I think I must have introduced all of the different kinds of brushes and all of the different things you can brush all in the same week. Mark has brushed his hair with his toothbrush and his teeth with his hairbrush. In fact, just tonight I saw him try to brush his hair with a fork. I can kinda see where a fork resembles a brush...sort-of. So maybe we have a little remedial work to do in the brushing department!

Anyway the next few pics are a progression of Mark trying to brush the dogs with his hairbrush. He started off with Mo who surprisingly tolerated him for a little bit until his brushing turned into hammering. Then Mobley moved so Mark followed him to continue his brushing/beating. Next Rocky moved into Mark's brushing station. I swear Rocky is the most meek 110 pound brute you will ever see! He loved the attention.

Well Happy Easter to you

I feel like we treat Mark like he's a puppy sometimes and we show off his new "tricks!" But as you can see he knows a lot of body parts nowadays including his eyes, ears, nose, belly, toes, and of course...his tongue.

We had a great Easter weekend. Mark got to go on an Easter Egg hunt with Mimi at her country club and he was a good little egg hunter. The only problem was getting the egg away from him before he opened it and ate the sweettarts, nerds, snickers etc. Maybe next year he can reap the rewards of all of his hunting efforts. After the hunt there was a big breakfast at the club and apparently the chef had to come out and ask Mark to quit eating because he was running out of food for all of the other kids!

Sunday morning we got all gussied up and headed off to church..in the rain=(. Mark actually did not enjoy sunday school for the first time ever. His classrooms were packed and lots of kids were crying, so he in turn had to cry too. Poor baby. And I think his Sunday school teachers hate me now because I went to check on him between church and sunday school and he was crying with all the other kids so I just had to go in and comfort him. Well they were mad and said I just made it worse because now I would have to leave again and he would just start crying again. And they were right but I don't care. He's my baby and if I want to comfort him I will thank you very much! There is something about a mother's love that superseeds everyone elses opinion about her I guess.

Anyhoo later in the day we went to Grammy and Papa's for dinner with Marks' great-grandparents. He had a little easter egg hunt in the house and got an easter basket with a new hat and sunglasses. Which he loved and will actually wear. He also got an Easter bunny Mr. Potato Head. He's a little young for it as he can't actually get all of the pieces in or out of Mr. Potato Head but he knows where they all go. And as you can see he likes to give Mr. Potato Head lots of kisses.

"I wanna be a rock star!"


Since it was rainy we didn't get too many pics outside with the tulips but as you can see my mom's dogwood tree is blooming and beautiful!

No More Bottle...for Mom...

Hey Folks- John here. Got some thoughts I want to share on the child you know as Mark, but we know as "Mr Perfect"...

Before I became a father, had you told me that it is a lengthy process to "wean" your child off the bottle, I would have thought that statement to be true. Like most new parents, I assumed the child would fight the change in routine and struggle for a few days or weeks, or whatever, to adjust to this change in schedule. That being said, we both knew it was probably time to take on this adjustment, but Mark slept so well (and had since he was a newborn) the thought of changing something that worked great was difficult to grasp!

And so my story begins... A week or so ago, Kristy was working so I took care of the nightly bath, bottle, bedtime routine. As we'd done for over a year to perfection, after the bath I sat down with Mark to give him his bottle and when he was done put him to bed. That night was different however. It was very clear from the moment we sat down that he didn't want anything to do with the bottle, so I didn't argue. I put him in his crib, shut the door, and called it a night. The exact same process happened again the next night, so I thought great! We're done with the bottle! That was easy!

Then came the third night...but this time mom was home. She normally does the nightly routine when she's available, so when it came time for bath I explained what had been going on the last few nights. She seemed to understand and off they went...

I was doing some odds and ends around the house and I heard Mark start fussing from his room. This seemed a little odd, b/c he normally loves his nightime routine and then is out until the next morning, so I walked over to his room and stuck my head in the door. Much to my surprise there was a bottle on the table next to Kris and Mark! I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I thought he'd want it tonight." I told her again what had happened the last few nights and how this was our chance to stop the bottles, but she insisted and told me to take a hike! So I did, after a roll of my eyes, and that was that.

The next night came along and almost the exact situation occurred. So this time when I stuck my head in the door I asked, "What are you doing?" She responded with something about this time she thought he'd want it b/c his dinner was small..... I said, "OK. Try and give him the bottle again and we'll let him decide."

As if I was having deja vu, he arched his back, closed his lips, and fussed when she tried to give it to him. I looked at Kris, walked over and took the bottle away with a soft comment about who exactly are we weaning of the bottle again?! She couldn't help but smile and laugh and the guilt was written all over her face! I cracked up as I walked to the kitchen, and she did too when she came out of the room. It was a funny evening and it reiterated to me how much mama's love their babies...

If you've been around me for any length of time you know I'm a huge fan of Kristy. She is such a great mom and loves little MT so much it killed her to take away that aspect of their relationship! Not that this bottle struggle is unique to us, because I'm sure it isn't, but our deal's a little different with Kristy's insane work schedule. She often spends the night away from Mark, or is gone for the entire day, or multiple days at a time...so I don't blame her for wanting those few extra minutes with him!

Truth be told, it just makes me feel blessed. She's such a wonderful wife and mom, and such a talented individual overall. So level headed, smart, discerning, strong, and loving....this was just another reminder of those wonderful attributes that makes her the person she is!

Mark and I are lucky to have a wife/mom who, when given the chance, will always try and spend time with her two boys!

Thanks for being a great mom and wife Kris. We Love you!!!

Pics of the week

We went to the zoo yesterday and even though it was really windy the weather was still great. We started out having sunglasses on Mark only they were the kind that little bitty babies wear and they just velcro around your head. Well I feel bad saying this like I am so shallow but he really looked like the biggest nerd in the world. In fact I have a picture and I am not showing it to you because he would never forgive me! So I know the sunglasses were good for his light blue eyes but I just couldn't do it. But he was agreeable and just wore a cute hat instead. And it shielded his eyes pretty well as long as the wind didn't blow it off of his head!

And he does like looking at the animals but what beats playing with two sticks?

I have really messed up this post. Somehow I keep deleting pictures or things I've already described. Anyway the pic above is upstairs in the game room. Every once in a while you'll look up to see Mark just hanging out with all of his stuffed animals. Its pretty cute.

Well this is probably the most fun ever! We still haven't filled up this room yet so it is perfect for horseplay with daddy and its where Papa teaches Mark to stop, drop, and roll. (I've got to get that on video!)

This is Mark grinning at Aunt Lindsay and telling her she is the best Aunt in the United states. And she is telling him he is the best baby outside of the womb!

Well I'm behind in posting...what's new! There are some pics from our busy day today but those will have to wait for another day. They are still on the camera anyway. These are just a few pics from last week that I love. We had some really warm weather for a few days and Mark was decked out in shorts and crocs. Bizarre that there is snow all over the ground today! Anyway the first one just cracks me up at what a little boy he is. And by that I mean how much he is growing up! I think he is going to be built like his dad.




These next two just crack me up. He is turning into quite a ham!

We stopped off at the zoo last week to become "Zoo Friends" and had a great afternoon. It really was an awesome zoo day. ALL of the animals were out and active including the penquins! AND the lion walked across his enclosure and started roaring!!!! I LOVE the zoo. I was surprised at how much Mark liked it too. He was able to find the animals without too much help from me and was actually totally entertained. I was afraid he might not be quite old enough yet but I was wrong. Well, from time to time he was more interested in the mulch on the ground but for the most part he was looking at the animals. Here he is lined up with the other kids looking at the swimming penguins.

And here he is with an up close and personal view of a baby chimp. Too cute!

Baylor

The Baylor men's basketball team played in the big twelve championship game tonight and although they didn't win we are still proud. John insisted that we were all decked out in Baylor gear today to show our support of the bears.

I decided to post a few random pics from today. It was great to be off today because the weather turned out to be beautiful and we went to the Home and Garden show and had a great time walking around.

Here is a pic of Mark petting the boys through the fence. He absolutely LOVES them. He screams when we put them out and don't let him go too. Its starting to become a hassle!



Opa came over briefly this afternoon and he let Mark ride the mailbox. He loves to check the mail but he hasn't ever gotten to ride on the mailbox before!



My mom and Mark picked some flowers the other day and he learned how to smell them. Here he is at the home and garden show sniffing every flower we walked by! (And yes he's wearing a backpack with a leash on it. Which I never thought I would put my child on a leash but he loves to walk around and that way I don't lose him. One rude lady asked me if he bites!)

And the Baylor gear....don't you think this pic should be on the Baylor alum home page or something? =)

Glorious

This is just glorious. We finally got our new washer and dryer today and I am on my 6th load already! I love them. And you all know me, I am not sally home-maker who spends tons of time at home and doing laundry, but these things are great! When we sold our house we sold our washer and dryer with it. It was a great washer/dryer set that was GIVEN to us by John's mom when we first got married. Who gets a FREE washer/dryer??? They served their purpuse well but after almost 8 years of wear and tear and dog beds, etc it was time to move on. The old ones were starting to take awhile drying clothes and were SUPER loud. Funny story: one time John had started a load in the washer when Bryan and Courtney dropped by. Well the "spin" cycle started about then and it was so loud that Courtney said, "John, do you need to go turn off that buzzer?" Hysterical! It was like an alarming buzzer for the full 30 some-odd spin cycle. Well anyway the new one is quiet as a mouse. In fact if the laundry door is closed you wouldn't even hear it. One thing I can say is thank-goodness the doors have automatic looks when they are running because Mark has already figured out how to open and close the doors! Here are the beauties.


So since I morphed into Sally home-maker when the new washer and dryer came I decided to make brownies and "my" home-made chicken noodle soup. I had to take a picture as evidence as this rarely happens! Poor John. (I also added this picture because Adrienne asked to see pictures of the house...here's the stove!)

Last but not least, John brought me home some BEAUTIFUL flowers today because I was officially announced as chief ER resident for the upcoming academic year. Yippee!