Mobiles, Blowouts, and Bottles

That's right. We're parents now! After 4.5 high octane filled months of being a mommy and daddy, Laura and I are finally realizing what a blessing Everett has been to our lives. Of course new parents feel blessed to have a child the moment he/she is born... but I'm not talking about that initial high that comes from seeing your wife endure 25 hours of labor, or your husband stand holding your new precious (although slightly swollen) offspring after following you around the hospital for 25 hours. No. I'm talking about realizing that God has given you the privilege and ultimate task of being a parent, teacher, disciplinarian, and role model for a life that is 1/2 your spouse and 1/2 you. After some quick thinking... and praying... to fix any poor life decisions and/or character flaws, you decide to try and read every parenting book recommended on Amazon.com, redirect any passive aggressiveness form the grandparents, and invest in some serious Tylenol PM to get you through those rough nights.


Just kidding about the Tylenol PM. We are so proud of our little man, and are learning to keep one step ahead of him when it comes to feeding, sleeping, pooping, and crying. Ok, I admit Laura is a total champ when it comes to taking care of Everett and I'm learning to keep up. She knows him like the back of her hand, and I act like I found a third hand with him sometimes. New phrases are flying around the house. "Grab the bumbo!", "Where did you leave the paci?", "Another Blow-out!!". Yeah life is good and being blessed with parenthood is even better. Thanks for all of your support and prayers...


Keep them coming. It only gets better.


And happier.


And more friendly.

Cookie conest~

Last night I spent 3 hours baking cookies for a company function. There was a lot of pressure... because a famous judge was supposed to be coming by the office today. I followed the directions on the back of the Nestle bag, and made some incredible batter.



Unfortunately, the cookies melted in the oven instead of baking properly... I don't even have a picture to show.

As for the famous judge...



My cookies took 6th out of 10 entries. Next time I'll go with the "no bake"...

Squirrel~

You know how Kevin Costner is always running around in the movie "Dances with Wolves", trying to avoid being scalped by those crazy native Americans all around him?

That's what I thought of when I found these squirrel remains on our back porch. Was it Hank,? Z? or some other wild native beast from the woods of Fuquay-Varina? Next time you look out your window and see a "rabbit" climbing a tree. Look again, and it just may be the other half of this tail.

And as for Kevin Costner... thank God for Bull Durham.

Training Hank~

Call me crazy... I'm training our dog Hank with a baby doll that cries when you squeeze it's hand. The first time Hank heard it cry, a tilt of the head and a little sniff, and he was done. Want to know a great way to waste $15?? Buy a baby doll to train your 90lb lab, who only cares about one thing... food.

Baby xy's nursery sketch~

The baby has been called many nicknames over the past few months, but I think the most important thing to point out here is that HE will be a gentleman and a scholar.

BB, Johnny Jr., and now XY (for his male chromosomes). Laura doesn't know this yet, it's just one of my many "surprises". Perhaps she can elaborate later.

Whatever name we finally decide on, three things are certain...
1) By the age of 10, he will insist on being called "Thunder".
2) His grandparents will spoil him rotten.
3) The office is destined to become a nursery.

Here's a sketch Laura and I put together.
First reaction responses:

"Why yes, that is a wood paneling accent wall. Thank you for noticing."

"It is a masculine black chandelier. Isn't it masculine? Seriously, I mean how much more masculine can you get than a black chandelier?"

"A few toy trucks and a ball ought to offset that chandelier."

"We will not spoil our child."

"No. The room will not be all-white. I ran out of colored pencils."

-John

Last suppers~

Last night, Laura and I went out on our last Valentines Day supper without having to worry about finding a baby sitter, or dealing with an unruly child in a nice restaurant, or settling for Applebees'.

Although the Baby has yet to arrive, he dominated the conversation as we discussed everything from names (Laura's favorite subject...not), to working out our plan for scheduling when each other's parents should come visit.

Our waiter was a HOOT, and among his many comments was "just like Peppie le Pue.." in a french accent (he was not french) and "you look like you need some folic acid... here's some OJ". Basically a man who loves his job.



Overall, we had a great time, but we are slowly realizing that a 7:30 pm reservation is just too late for us OLD TIMERS! Next time, we'll shoot for 5:30 pm and hope to make it through desert. This picture was taken after dinner and Laura looks pretty tired. She was a trooper though... You never know how many more of these last suppers we may get.

-John

Kitchen pass~

Laura is out of town for the next two days, and my soon to be ex-boss said I have a "kitchen pass" until she gets back. I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but I said "oh yeah! it's gonna be great!", and went on about my day. For those of us who have no idea what a "kitchen pass" is:

A fictional pass issued/approved (verbally written or text) by your significant other to get out of the house to hangout or go shopping with your friends.
ie. Johnny was able to hangout with his friends last night because his wife issued him a kitchen pass (KP). (UrbanDictionary.com)

Because I have no friends in Virginia, the "kitchen pass" has taken on a new meaning when my wife hands me the reigns to cook in our own kitchen. (This can be dangerous on occasion...)

On tonight's menu, Spaghetti and Meatballs!




1/2 lb meat
1 jar spaghetti sauce
a little pepper
garlic powder
some onion powder
egg (for making the balls)
mozzarella cheese
& spaghetti

I won't go into too many details, but the apartment is still standing, Hank and Z are alive, and all 5 pots and pans are clean and drying, not soaking in the sink (inside joke). Tomorrow it's canned gumbo, and I'll gladly turn in my "kitchen pass" on Saturday to my wonderful wife.

-John

Time of our lives~

So… it’s been a while since we last blogged and for all of you faithful followers (2), we are sorry.
With that heart-felt apology out of the way, now we can get down to business updating the world on what’s been happening in our lives.