Freddie's rocking Don King hair.

Freddie's rocking Don King hair., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Jacob requested I take a picture of this awesomeness. FYI: Freddie did not style it with the comb prior to this picture.

Good morning, Sunshines.

Good morning, Sunshines., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Loving Crunchy Munchy Honey Cakes!

Loving Crunchy Munchy Honey Cakes!, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

You can't really tell in this picture, but it was a rare one with his mouth closed. He was very excited about dinner last night - especially the ranch-flavored oven "fried" (goBare) chicken drumsticks and Crunchy Munchy Honey Cakes for dessert.

Eating corn out of the serving bowl, with the serving spoon.

Eating corn out of the serving bowl, with the serving spoon., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

We are all about good table manners here.

Crunchy Munchy Honey Cakes

Crunchy Munchy Honey Cakes, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

We were inspired to make these little treats thanks to The Wiggles "Crunchy Munchy Honey Cakes" song.

Winter Program

Sammy - my adorable performer, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Sammy's preschool class had their winter program on Thursday, February 11th. He and the rest of the Butterflies sang and danced to about 10 classic kid numbers, then afterward we had a reception of cookies and juice. It was a fun night, and Sammy is such an adorable (and natural!) performer.

That's a little red heart painted on his nose. They'd had a puppy-themed Valentine's Day party at preschool that morning and he did not want to wash off the heart. A few of the other kiddos were still wearing theirs, too.

Snow as high as Freddie

snow as high as Freddie, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

On Super Snowy Monday. Sammy loves to sled, Freddie loves to shovel. Freddie's method of shoveling basically involves tossing snow from a high bank to an area recently shoveled by Jacob.

Super Snowy Monday

jacobs-well beanie, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

We had a great snowy day on Monday. The boys were happy playing in the front and back yard for nearly an hour!

Here is a cute shot of Sammy after a ride down our front "hill" on a sled, wearing the Jacob's Well beanie he earned for his recent community service!

Tiny Love Wind Chime Recall!

Hazard: The wind chime toy can be pulled apart exposing sharp metal rods, posing puncture and laceration hazards to the baby.

I know a ton of parents with toys like these. Here is the direct link with pictures of the (seven!) specific toys: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10136.html

What a great idea! Washing Tiny Socks

This reader tip from ohdeedoh would have saved us a week of headache with a "broken" washer right after Freddie was born. Remember this?

Instead of searching for all those little baby socks after you do the laundry- stick them all in a mesh laundry bag before you throw them in.

Read article: Washing Tiny Socs

30 weeks

Thanks so much to Sonja for inviting us over to play this morning, and for snapping a few shots of me for my mom and Blogger friends! This is the first official belly shot of Baby Rod #3. Obviously I have hit the glamorous stage of pregnancy, note the pony tail, sports bra outline and entire outfit of stretchy material. But I still think Sonja made me look good with her mad photography and Photoshop skills. Thanks again, friend! :)

Feeling very European...

makeshift indoor clothesline, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

To continue on with our year of household failure our dryer stopped working on Tuesday, after I'd washed two loads of clothes. I rigged up this makeshift indoor clothesline in the boys' bathroom upstairs.

Playing together at Choo Choo Bob's

Playing together at Choo Choo Bob's, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

We met up with friends at a favorite local train store this afternoon. If you are local and have not been yet, check out Choo Choo Bob's on Marshall Ave in St. Paul. It's a little boy's dream. :)

Another shot of the clothesline and octopus dryer

makeshift indoor clothesline and octopus dryer, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Tuesday's snow

Freddie and Sammy out on a snowy day, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Why Rear-Facing is Better...

I started looking into car safety again after talking to a friend who's little one is about to out grow his infant car seat, and am once again stuck by how much information there is out there. It's relevant, updated, keeping-your-kids-as-safe-as-possible-in-the-car information that so many parents ignore or overlook or are just plain ignorant about. I realize my blog has a very small readership, but still I feel convicted to share some of this invaluable information. Here is installment I. It's about extended rear-facing. This is from carseatblog.com:

Here’s a list of concrete reasons why we recommend rear-facing past age 1 and 20 lbs. That old recommendation that many pediatricians still hold onto stresses the bare minimums of when to turn a child forward-facing. Who wants the minimum for their child? It’s best practice to rear-face to the limits of the child’s convertible carseat: check the label for the rear-facing weight limit and make sure there’s at least 1″ of carseat above the top of his head.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recommended since 2002 that after age 1 and 20 lbs., children should ride in a rear-facing convertible seat until reaching the weight limit of that carseat. ....

Read the full article, including You Tube videos documenting RF safety: CLICK HERE

And here are a few tidbits of basic rear-facing info:
Children are 5X safer when left rearfacing until at least 2 years.
Many convertible car seats will accomodate a rear-facing child until 3-35lbs.
Broken legs are not a concern when rear-facing.
Rear-facing convertible car seats can be installed as upright as 30 degrees to give older children more comfort.

Minnesota TImberwolves game

pre-game Nacho smiles, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Jacob took Sammy to a Timberwolves game Friday night. I would have loved to go, too, but tip-off was at 7pm and that is just too late to have Freds out. So Jacob and Sammy took the $200 a piece tickets and gave the $150 tickets (one row back) to Nate and one of his friends. (One the perks of working for a Fortune 500 company!)

Sammy had a really good time. He and Jacob rode the light rail down to the Target Center (a highlight in itself), they got nachos and ice cream, watched the players warm-up, saw the pre-game show and made it through the first quarter. From what Sammy told me he had a blast. Next up, Twins season!

More pics from the outing up at Flickr, just follow the link under the picture.

Jackrobatics

This is what I've been calling the baby's movements lately. Jacob thinks it's embarrassingly bad. But it's so fitting because this baby is in constant motion. I don't think anyone really believes me. Constant. Motion. And he gets the hiccups all the time, too. It's cute and wonderful and amazing and miraculous, but it can be weird at times, too. Especially when I'm just sitting here minding my own business and a freakin' knee glides across my middle. "Hi! Baby in here!" Weeeeird.

When the OB was doing my belly check on Monday (29-week appointment) she had to keep moving the doppler from side to side to pick up his heartbeat. And she heard and commented on the hiccups, too. Sweet validation. The ultrasound tech also struggled with him holding still long enough for her even to snap a picture for measurements. What a turkey!

Y'all say a prayer for us that while he's not resting (or letting me rest) in the womb, he'll be a mellow, docile, sweet sleep-loving baby once he's born!

Almost forgot! The OB also said he's measuring to be closer to Freddie's birth weight (a hearty 9.2 lbs!!!) than Sammy's (a mere 6.2). She basicially told me to expect another 9-pounder. Yeehaw.

current reading

current reading, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Just in case anyone is interested in our progress. There is none. We have yet to solidify a name for Babycakes #3, although Jack might be the current front-runner.

And for what it's worth, I really like Aiden. :) I just don't know if it's the right combo with our last name. Of course, I reeeeally like Javier, but I feel like that's problematic with the last name, too, at least as a first name. Think about it - there would be, like, a gazillion dudes with the same first-last name combo.

Other names we've discussed:
Joey (but I'm not sold anymore, I keep thinking "baby kangaroo")
Tobias (Jacob called the baby this for a while and it's kind of grown on me - for a middle name, maybe)
Anthony (Tony Stark anyone? :D )
Wyatt
Dylan
Rhys/Reece
Presley
Jude

Who knew choosing a name could be so challenging?!

What do I do with this hot mess? Book overload!

What do I do with this? Book overload!, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Suggestions, anyone? I straighten it, they destroy within seconds. But we love books. Help!

All About Me! poster by Sammy

All About Me! poster by Sammy, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Sammy made this poster for a school assignment. Most of the other kids at his preschool left their posters to be hung up along the hall at school but Sammy loves his so much he brought it home. He was special person the week of Jan 11th.

The answers to his questions read:
Name: Sammy
Birthday: Nov 13
Fav Color: green
Fav Toy: remote control crane (although I'd argue this and say GeoTrax... but what does Mom know?)
Fav Food: strawberries and bananas (Sammy *loves* his fruit!)
Fav Animal: giraffe
My family: Mommy, Daddy, Freddie, Emma the dog and a baby brother on the way!
When I grow up I want to be: an airplane pilot

An early anniversary present.

etsy.com Anniversary Art, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

I found this on (customizable) print at vol25's store on etsy.com and bought it as an anniversary present for us. Great news is that J loves it as much as I do, and it looks great in our room. Score!

Sick Freds.

No pictures, please., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

It's been a not-so-fun week at our house. Just for Freddie and me to a lesser degree. Sammy and Jacob seem to have escaped from the... unpleasantness.

Freddie's big boy bed!!!

Freddie's big boy bed!!!, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Last Saturday Jacob took down the crib in Freddie's room (because Freddie was hanging out of the bars and about to nearly destroy the thing before Baby #3 got a crack at it). And we finally set up a twin bed in his room.

He pretty much loves it, and has done so well with the transition! The first night I sat at the top of the stairs and walked him back to bed probably a dozen times between 7:30 and 10 pm, and he woke the entire house up at 6 am after sneaking out of bed and knocking things off the wall, but since then he's back to his normal sleep-loving self. Freddie can be super tricky and challenge me at nearly every turn, but this boy is a happy sleeper and for that I am eternally greatful (no way would I make it as his mama with him being a poor sleeper!).

Yay for Freddie being such a big boy! (And a tiny sniff for my baby growing up too quickly!) Now, we are just looking forward to that other big boy milestone -- potty training! (I doubt there will be misty eyes for mama with that one!)

Welcome, Michael!

Dom&Michael, originally uploaded by dancgbear4757.

My step-sister Dominique and her husband Moises welcomed their baby boy into the world last Friday, January 8th. Baby Michael weighed in just under 8lbs (!!!) and around 19" long, if I'm remembering correctly.

Congrats, guys! We are so happy for you and can't wait to meet your sweet baby boy!

A boy's lunch.

A boy's lunch., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

We try to follow a "no toys on the table during mealtime" rule but sometimes a graham cracker is just too perfect a ramp to pass up.

Leave your child with me, she'll go home a Texas fan...

Kaia and Freddie rocking the Texas garb, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

I tried to indoctrinate Kaia while I was watching her this morning. I dug through Freddie's (Sammy's) outgrown clothes and dressed her for the occasion (National Championship game v. Alabama is tonight!). I even tried to get her and Freddie to "Hook 'em" but they both busted out with number ones. I'll take that! :) Aren't these two year olds so cute?

Texas Fight!!!

Happy 2010!

We took the boys and Jacob's parents to the Minnesota Children's Museum for their Sparkle-rama party on New Year's Eve. The kids had a blast and we very happy to be back at MCM after a brief respite since the weekly visits of the summer.


rockin' out on air guitars made at MCM


with Grandma and Papa, who were visiting us (from Texas!) for the week after Christmas


the 8pm ball drop - Sammy *loved* this part! You can't really tell by the pictures but there were hundreds of beach balls being thrown down and around the museum and a band was playing, too. I imagine it was a lot like New Year's at Times Square ;)

Merry Christmas!

Wow! Where did December go??? Here's a picture from Dec 22nd - Jacob and I took the boys to a (free!) gingerbread house building even at a local park rec center and afterward Santa stopped by. The boys spent much of the that night searching the sky for Rudolph's red nose and listening for Santa's sleigh bells as he returned to the North Pole to get ready for Christmas!

Here is Freddie diligently working on his gingerbread house.

It's a BOY!

Here he is!


Here is the ultrasound picture - from two weeks ago! True, it is a not so great picture-of-a-picture but I was tired of waiting to figure out our scanning software. We have many more 3D pictures of our sweet baby, and I'll hopefully post whenever we can scan.

He is perfect, healthy and 100 percent precious. From the u/s pictures he looks a lot like his big brother Sammy! (so super cute!! !:) Jacob and I are thrilled beyond belief with our third baby boy, due in early April. Due date was April 13th, but the ultrasound tech said he is measuring for a due date around April 4, 2010. We think we have big boys, no surprise there!

My guys at the Holidazzle Parade

My guys at the Holidazzle Parade, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Talk about great timing! We were already downtown at Orchestra Hall for the General Mills Hispanic Network's Holiday Party and on our way out we noticed we were right along the route of the Holidazzle Parade - hooray! Luckily it was a balmy 30 degrees, too!

Sammy in the snow

Sammy in the snow, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

This is our first genuine snow of the year, meaning multiple inches sticking around on the ground. He is so excited to be out playing in the snow again!

A quality snow...

Snoooooow, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

A few pictures of our part in the Midwest's recent snow/blizzard activity. The snowdrifts were very impressive. The cold was, too, but nevertheless the boys couldn't wait to get out in it. Jacob took them sledding Tuesday and Wednesday nights and they all returned pink-faced and freezing - it's pretty and fun but it's single digits out there!

A joke Sammy thought was hilarious...

Q: Why did the banana go to the doctor?

A: He wasn't peeling well!

Family Christmas Photos - Thanks, Sonja!

Many thanks to my generous and talented friend Sonja for volunteering to take pictures of our boys for our Christmas card. Here is an example of her work - a rare family photo. She did a great job, especially considering she had some major crankiness and an uncooperative child to work with.

Look for a Christmas card coming to a mailbox near you!

Just for fun, here's another of my failed attempts at a decent picture of these guys:

ha! nice goggles, Sammy....

Our Christmas tree and little elf.

decorating the tree, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Sammy did most of the tree decorating this year and did a very nice job. I think he was sad when we ran out of ornaments.

Silver Dollar City: An Old Time Christmas

Silver Dollar City Christmas Parade, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

We took the kids to Silver Dollar City on Black Friday, which was the day before we flew out of Branson. I really wanted to see the park in all it's Christmas glory. It was beautifully festive, but very crowded. Sammy loved it, all of it - the rides, the light show, the parade, even the bus haul to our BFE parking, thanks to the crazy crowd. He kept asking when we could go back. Some year I would love to return to see An Old Time Christmas on a less popular day. Thanks to my parents for making the drive with us, even though they didn't have to. :)

Hayride

James hooked up this truck bed to a tractor and he and Sammy filled it with hay so the kids and other family visiting for Thanksgiving could go on a hayride. Sammy loved it. But he pretty much loved everything Ba did - as long as it was outside!

Arriving in Branson, MO

The Branson airport is a beautiful newly opened facility located about an hour and a half drive from my parents' place. It's not located on the Branson strip by any means, rather it's down a two-lane 5-mile curvy road carved out (exploded) of the side of a mountain with lovely, ear-popping views, but it makes for *much* quicker travel from Minneapolis to Monkey Run, Arkansas (1 hour 15 minute flight plus an easy - by AR standards - 1 hour 30 minute drive) and for that I love it!

The airport has tons of character - inside the terminal you'll find a Bass Pro Shop, hunting trophies and a Famous Dave's alongside the three (two?) gates. The airport crew greets you as you walk down the stairs and onto the runway to depart the airplane. The baggage crew basically hands you your bags. And much to our surprise upon arrival there is only one choice in rental car - Enterprise. Just an FYI for all you Avis members needing a rig.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

We are heading to Arkansas to spend the week with my (Jess') side of the family. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Attempting a Christmas card picture.

Take IV, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Tricky. Very tricky with my two nutballs. Obviously there will be another photo shoot but here's one for your amusement.

Side note: we unknowingly stumbled into this Employees Only area at Bachman's and we all thought the giant wreaths were cool. I was really hoping for a card-worthy shot!

Sammy waiting for Santa

Sammy waiting for Santa, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

We took the boys to the annual Holiday Open House featuring Santa's arrival at Bachman's , a local nursery. In addition to Santa, there were cookies, crafts and lots of beautiful Christmas displays. Check outFlickr for the full onslaught of photos. :)

Power Wheel!

Power Wheel!, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Many MANY thanks to Cody and Ashley for making Sammy's 5th b-day more awesome than even a five-year-old could imagine. He LOVES this thing.

They gave it to him Saturday afternoon and he drove it around for about 45 minutes even though we were freezing! Then, Sunday morning he woke up ready to go out and ride, which Jacob obliged even though there was frost on the ground and he could only find one sock for Sammy (C & A were bunking up in Sammy's room). He went to the Vikings' game, then came home and rode for another hour or so. Today (Monday) is a glorious, perfect fall day and the boy drove from about 11 am - 1 pm, barely stopping to eat a few apple slices and a bar for lunch. He is thrilled, and as an added bonus, totally big stuff at the playground now. Thanks, guys!

Sammy's 5th Birthday Party

, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Held at Edinborough Park this morning. Thanks to Cody for taking ALL the pictures for us! :)

More pics can be found here!

It's my birthday!

, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Sammy posing again with his birthday hat and mittens and in the outfit that Grandma and Papa sent - the greens match perfectly! More b-day pictures on Flickr... clicky clicky

Birthday hat and mittens!

Birthday hat and mittens!, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Happy 5th birthday to our sweet Sammy boy! Sammy woke up about 45 minutes early this morning (around 6:30 am) and went to bed at least an hour late last night because he was so excited for his birthday to start. Look at that tired face! He happily obliged posing for a picture with the hat and mittens I knit for him - the first present he opened, his choice. :)

Pump It Up

Freddie, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Leah invited the boys and I to this giant bouncy house place called Pump It Up on Friday. There were two rooms of inflatables - including two HUGE slides that were the big hit of the trip. Sammy and Freddie LOVED it.

For his birthday...

Sammy would like a remote-control butt. Then he asks me, "But, where would we find one?" (uh, let's hope we never, ever can)

I have a feeling Sammy is going to be a bit like Jacob's Uncle Ramon when he's older.

This morning

Freddie: "Where's my candies?"