New pics and videos...

It has snowed quite a bit in Nashville. It's very pretty and it's been kind of nice to be locked in the house together as a family; watching movies, eating snacks, sleeping in, etc...

Anyway, here are some pics from our venture out yesterday.

Here is our 6 week check-up. 9 lbs. 9 oz. !!

Baby Contest Pictures

So, my friend Megan has alerted me to a Beautiful Baby contest that Regis and Kelly are sponsoring. The deadline is Jan. 29 and I think you can only submit one photo. It doesn't really say you're limited to one photo, but it says that to submit a photo. One of the rules is that the picture must have been taken within the last month and cannot be professional. So, all the pics we had done at Christmas are out because Jonathan took them and he is a professional photographer.. on the side and not his full time job.. but still...

So, I gathered some photos I took at home and I also took a ton of pictures today. I actually took both kids to the park by myself... with the help of my double stroller. It was soooo nice to get out in the fresh air and since I went to a park that is not very busy but very wide open, I thought I'd take a bunch of pictures of Jrew to see what we could come up with.

So, look at these and see if you think we have a shot. Pick the one you think I should submit and (hopefully) vote for it. If you think I should keep taking pics and see what I come up with... I will. :) The picture number and caption are just above each photo.

Photo 1 -

Not really for voting - just so you can admire (along with me)

his incredible thick long eyelashes. Love this shot!

Photo 2 - No explanation needed - except I wish his eyes were open.

Photo 3

Cute, even though his smile isn't nearly as big as it is in these other photos.

I like how his hands are resting on his lap.

(obviously unplanned since I didn't have anyone there to

help me pose/prompt any of these pictures).

Photo 4

He's wildly excited about being free from the stroller in these shots!

Photo 5 - He looks amazing in this color blue! :)

Photo 6 - Warning: The resolution on this photo isn't really all that great.

May not make a good impression on the judges. :)

Photo 7 - Sweet shot - I asked Jrew to say cheese and he did... imagine that!

A Rich Man's Paradise

Some people have told us that we have a "rich man's house" now because we have a boy and a girl. Well, we are very far from rich, but we are truly blessed to have these sweet little bundles. I am merely updating this post to keep a record for my future self of all the incredible things Jrew is learning so quickly and how Jazz is doing at nearly 4 weeks old!

Baby girl is doing well. She slept last night from 12:30 am to 5:00 without waking! Sweet for me. I am hoping she will do the same again tonight.. then we can claim a pattern. She smiles sometimes in her sleep and I am definitely not rushing her to grow up any quicker. I can take my time to see her smile - and laugh and roll over and crawl and walk and talk and grow up. She is such a sweetie. She does not like to be wet (nobody does - come on) and she loves to snuggle. If she's awake, she pretty much wants you to hold her. She is nursing really well. Sorry if this is TMI - but she often tends to be a picky eater, unlatching and re-latching multiple times. This indeed makes a huge mess all over the two of us. I guess I could count that as a good problem.

Jrew has picked up many new words and understands way more than we ever thought he would at this age. I'm sure it's normal - but to us it's genius of course. So here are some anecdotes about Jrew from this week.

*Earlier this week, Jrew came into the living room and started poking around by the lamp (as always). He picked up a rolled up wet diaper and started walking out of the room. I decided to follow him to see what he was planning to do with it... he walked straight into his room, to the diaper pail, and patted on the lid for me to open it. The amazing part of this (to me) is that the diaper pail is behind his head when he's getting changed... so I'm not quite sure when he saw me put diapers in it... but he's very observant.

*He came into the bathroom with me one day last week (more TMI, but he's a toddler, right?) Anyway, he tried to hand me tissue and I said no thank you. He pulled off a piece and put it in his mouth - realizing how nasty it tasted he started spitting it out. I said "Jrew, don't eat that. Why don't you blow your nose?" - So, he put his bare hand up to his nose and blew. I laughed and said "No - use the tissue" and so he did. He put the tissue up to his nose and blew.

*Jrew knows and can demonstrate that he knows his face, hair, nose, mouth, eyes, and feet. He can now say many new words including apple, shoe, open, out, thank you, baby, and Jazz.

Now, here are random and stupid thoughts from me (I probably need more sleep). Again, more information that you may want to know but perhaps humorous enough to make it worthwhile. These are actual thoughts I would never - ever tweet... but I guess this is just as bad. Anyway - random thought #1 - If men did nurse babies and it was normal for them to do so - would people freak out if they saw a man nurse in public? Random thought #2 - it has been said to me before that women who do not have curly hair want it, and women who have curly hair do not want it. I do not count this true for me because I actually like my hair. But, I do think the same can be said for women who are top heavy. LOL