when I was prego.

My good friend and her husband took these pictures of Mark and I one week before Melvin was born. :) Aren't they fabulous? I wasn't going to post them, since this was over 4 months ago... but still.... maybe some of you will enjoy this angle of Mel. :) I really do miss my belly!

Learning to roll-over

This is so frustrating for us! Mel is trying to roll over.... he get's soooooo close.... but only makes it to his tummy probably 1 time out of 600. But, with so many attempts we do get some good photos of him burrito-ing himself in the process.

P.S. I too love picnik.com. That is how I made this picture fabulous. :)

Melvin makes a friend...

It has finally happened! Melvin has made his first friend, and so have I... well, in Dublin at least. :) Here is the proof... exhibit A: Melvin and Friend .... aren't they adorable?!!!!

Yikes... Melvin looks small. :) Well.. he IS small.

So, my friend and I, along with our children went to the park today. We wanted to find bits of nature which we could craft with... but really it was just a reason to get out. :) I did get some sticks and pine needles... but I haven't put it together yet... when I do, I shall post and all will see it.

At one point in the excursion, we sat on baby blankets... when all of a sudden a worm appeared in the center of the blanket.

It is in fact a mystery. The blanket was both dry, and flannel... neither of which is conducive for an earthworm.. but here is the evidence... exhibit B: Earthworm on dry flannel blanket.

There it is! My big adventure for the day! I just really want to thank my friend... and am wondering if she would mind my putting a picture of her child on my blog... and if it would be alright if I gave her a name... but until I know... she shan't be named... but... to my good friend... THANK YOU! It is so nice to have friends, and Melvin and I just love you guys!

Since I originally posted this, permission was granted, by my good friend, to be named.... So, Thank you Marie, her adorable baby, and Mel's best and only buddy, Jack! We love you guys!

Rockin' Out....

a very good year

The day I took a pregnancy test, and it was positive was one of THE happiest days of my life... and within that VERY happy day, my happiest moment was telling my mum and sisters my happy news all at the same time.

I traveled to Mum's house, where she was working on laundry... I walked in to talk to her, when Leigh-Anne came walking through the door... I quickly called my other sister Megan, and with them all waiting on pins and needles, I shared my happy news. :) Their reactions were perfect- the moment was perfect... it was all perfect!

That joy was doubled when shortly thereafter Megan found that she too was expecting! Then what next do you suppose.... just a few months after that Leigh-Anne found that she was expecting as well!!!

It was beyond special for me to be pregnant at the same time as my sisters, especially when we found we were ALL having boys. :)

Now they are all here. Melvin was first, then little Porter, and finally after all the anticipation, baby Jack was born just a few days ago. :)

I can't believe it! I am SOOOO HAPPY!!! ...

So, here is a wonderful picture of us three mothers before all the birthings... and yes, this is THE most fabulous picture taken of any of us. :)

...he quite exploded.

I don't know how this happened. Do you see that knee? The one that is all dark and wet looking? That is poo. There I was, minding my own business burping Mel-and then he quite exploded. He is a baby-what do I expect? True. There is nothing special about an exploding baby... but this

time, I didn't notice the leak until it was seeping through a kneecap, and running down my belly. This picture, nor any other does this job justice. This is not an exaggeration folks. Here is a champion pooper. It's a shame too... he was in such a cute onesie. It wasa picture with a cowboy on his steed, roping, and says, "giddy up little dude." Thank you target.

mel mel mel

I just took these two pictures of Mel. He is practicing sitting. Today is his four month birthday, and to celebrate, we went to the Doctor's office to have his four month check-up. Things are great! He is now 14 pounds, 1 ounce, and 26 & 1/2 inches long. That puts him in the 25-50 % for weight, and 90% for height. Wahoo! Up till then in weight he has always been in the 10th %. The sad part of the appointment was the four shots he had. Boo. Though, according to these pictures he doesn't seem to upset about it.

Here are some other pictures. This poopey upside-down one was actually taken awhile ago... but I thought it was still worth documenting. Then, a cute face while we go on a walk...


These here were taken at the hotel just a few days ago when we were seeking refuge from the remains of hurricane Ike. One shows how long he is, and the other, his new facsination.... his feet.

Then, another cute one... thanks for the hat Megan! We can't wait for the cold weather now that we are fashionably prepared. Next....Melvin learns to play the drums on rock band. He nearly jabbed his eye out for this one.

And here is Mel with his Amish Country hat. Then a picture when were returned from our sleepless night at the hotel, and gasless adventurs on the freeway. We were all beat and happy to be home... WITH POWER!

Here is a picture of Mark burping Mel. tres mignon.

a few good candles...

Some of you have heard tell of our latest adventures... and since you have already heard about them, I'm not sure if I should post them... but for the sake of posterity, and my own personal amusement in reflection thereupon, I now document the goings-on of September 14th and 15th.


It was on these days in question the remnants of hurricane Ike reached us here in Ohio. We knew it was coming.


September 14th began as any other Sabbath Day... which is, in and of itself, always worth recounting. It was not until the late afternoon that Ike showed himself. Frankly, I was disappointed. Sure, it the winds were strong, bending the trees behind our appartment in half... and there were moments when I was sure the roof would blow off... but it didn't-- and from what I could tell, all our trees were intact. In fact, there was a possy of hoodlums playing in the wind, soooooooo.... yeah-it didn't seem like a big deal. No thunder-no lightning-no rains- and consequently, no floods.

Mark and I were going to watch a movie... we were about 15 minutes into it, when we lost power. It flickered off and on for a few minutes... and by 4:00 p.m. it was out.

We played chess... which, surprisingly, I won. Then, we played with Mel, talked to our families on our cell phones, and I don't even know what else.... all the while, we were losing daylight. Finally, it was dark-we had not even lit a candle.

We roosted around, found only these. Thank you Mary! Yep... no lanterns, no flashlights, just these... three tea-light candles, and a scented candle.

So it was dark, but not Mel's bed time yet... and he was getting very upset... but not sleepy... and I couldn't see a thing that I was doing.

Mark went to Walmart, Meijer, and Target....but returned disappointed, and nearly emptyhanded. Apparently we didn't panick soon enough because by the time he got to all these stores, everyone had bought everything.... except for Walmart... which still had small flashlights for 30 bucks.

Knowing Mark, what do you think he did? Correct. He bought another small scented candle, and came home. He refused to overpay for the flashlight--thus giving into supply and demand prices. That night, none of slept easy. Just kidding. Mark always sleeps easy, but Mel and I were up ALL night. It was strange--Mel usually sleeps very well... so when he woke for the 5th time that night at 3:00 a.m. screaming bloody murder and refusing to nurse, I thought maybe he had an ear infection. I was doing everything in my power, bouncing, rocking, singing, and attempting to nurse time and again. I tried to take his temperature... which I did, but then couldn't make out becuase it was pitch black and I was working by aid of scented candle.

It was horrible.

The next day the power still was out--so we took refuge at a hotel that did have power... it was nice enough, though the shower curtain was very moldy. Mel still didn't sleep well, but at least there I could see what I was doing, so it was an improvement.

The next day we went home. We had needed to get gas the day before, but because of the power outage, only select gas stations were open, and all of those had outrages lines... so we hadn't gotten any. So, right before we got on the interstate, I asked Mark if we should get gas... he said we should be good to make it home... but that it would be really funny if we ran out on our way home. Yes... funny indeed.

So what do you think happened on our way home? We ran out of gas. Fortunately we were close to an offramp... so we coasted off, and then to a more remote street which was slightly uphill. Mark hopped out and started pushing. He did pretty well until we tried to turn into a parking lot.

Just then... a good samaritan appeared, and helped push us to safety! Hooray! and, luck of luck, this good man had just filled up a gas can for his generator (seeing as how his power was still out)... so he generously gave us the gas, and since he had just purchased it, was able to direct us to the nearest gas station with power.

We tried to pay him, but he woudn't accept it. He told us to just pass it on... :) Has he seen "Pay it Forward" ? Perhaps. Whew. It was an adventurous couple days. And yes... when we returned, we had power.

What it comes to is this, thank you Mary for the candles! Without them we would have been... even more ill prepared... if you can believe it!

I can't stand it!

Look at these two. They are so darn cute. I can't stand it.

Home again home again...

jiddy jig. Mark and I have been married almost 20 glorious months, and are now living in our 5th "home." Whew. So, here it is folks, appartment #5.
Ours is the one on the top right. Then pictured is the living room, the entrance area, master bedroom,and two pictures of Mel's room taken at different angles. We also have two bathrooms, and a small but sufficient kitchen, laundry room, and balcony which overlooks a small forest. WE LOVE IT HERE!

For the present...

Well... here we are. I really hate writing things, and consequently have already erased most of what I've written several times. Writing is not my gift.

So, let's cut the cute, and get down to it. Here is a picture of the three of us, me, Mel, and Mark taken at a local metropolitan park we patronized just one week ago when Mark's sister Laura came to visit. :) We love you Laura! Thanks for the coming! One other thing... I would like you all to note my t-rrrific t-shirt in this shot... you can't tell, but it is a picture of a horse and buggy and a farm, and it says, "Amish Country, Holmes County, Ohio." Pretty great huh? I purchased it for a very reasonable price at said location. Hoooray. Come visit us, and you too can sport this apparel. And... check out the greenery! Ohio is tops. So there.