"You have your hands full!"

Yes, yes I do.  Thank you for the astute observation, Captain Obvious. 

Ok, so that is a bit harsh.  I know these strangers that continue to tell me this over and over again don't mean any harm with the statement, but it gets old and a little frustrating.  Its not like we are the first couple to ever have 3 children this close in age.  And I think we are doing a decent job of keeping them in line (most days).  Its not as if the children are acting like wild monkeys climbing the store shelves.  Ok, so Courtney won't keep her shoes on, Avery consistently wiggles her way out of the cart straps, and Lee talks to every person we pass.  Its just part of their personalities, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.  I'm sure someday I'll look back on these days longingly...someday.  Until then, I suppose I'll just keep smiling at the Captain Obviouses of the world.

In other news, I took my hand-fulls to get some pictures at Portrait Innovations and I have to say they did pretty good!  Courtney in particular was channeling her inner model.  And I'm fairly certain she had a little crush on the photographer.  But, hey, whatever gets a smile this big works for me...for now at least.

And, we're back!

Do you know why sleep deprivation is used as a torture tactic?  Because its effective.  Sleep deprivation is also why I haven't written in awhile.  Around the time of my last posting, I started teaching classes again.  Avery wasn't sleeping through the night yet and, as luck would have it, she made a habit of waking up around the time I was finally able to go to bed each night.  As if that weren't enough fun, Courtney started waking up around the time I would get Avery back down (usually waking Lee up in the process).  Needless to say, it took a toll on us all.  Add the holidays and then, all of sudden, its March.

The good news is we are getting back to normal.  We re-arranged the kids' bedrooms and everyone is sleeping better.  I just finished my last course and plan on taking the summer off. 

So, what's coming up?  FUN!  Field trips, birthday parties, soccer games, etc.  And lots more outdoor fun like this...

Whirlwind Adventure -- Part Two

Before I continue the re-telling of our recent roadtrip, I wanted to give an update on my favorite "worst baby in the world", Miss Avery Joy.  Don't get me wrong, she isn't a bad baby.  She is bad at being a baby.  She doesn't want to do baby things and believes herself to already be a toddler.  Avery started sleeping through the night at two months, rolled over at three months, and got her two bottom teeth at three and a half months.  Now four months and three weeks old, she is trying to sit on her own and is a good push away from crawling.  Given her current sprint to being a big girl, it was little surprise to us that the doctor suggested that we start feeding her real food.  The doctor and I both don't go with the standard "rice cereal first" practice, so for dinner on Monday Avery had her first baked potato.  And, true to her form, she ate it like a champ.  She has fully embraced this new challenge and will let out an eardrum shattering squeal if you don't get it to her fast enough.  The challenge in feeding her lies in getting it into her mouth, as she gets very excited and wants to help.  I can only describe it as being akin to feeding a baby octopus.  I captured this exciting event and posted it below.  And, yes, that blur in the bottom of the photo is her foot...

Now, back to our story...

We left Alabama the next morning around 11am.  I had hoped to get an earlier jump on the day, but when Junior woke up with a fever, the plan (again) changed.  I got her some meds and loaded the car.  The poor girl slept most of the way.  Much to our surprise, so did Avery.  Wanting to get as far as possible before she woke, I declared the car would not stop until she did.  It worked for everyone, until we hit Kentucky and Lee needed to go to the bathroom.  If you've ever made this trip before, you'll know that there aren't many places to stop in Kentucky.  This normally wouldn't have been a problem as Lee will be the first to tell you that all he needs is a tree, but it was pouring down rain outside.  Having no other options available, Grandma convinced him to pee in a water bottle.  Not preferrable, but it beats needing to shampoo the van's carpet.  Why would I tell this you ask?  Because I'm sure Lee will at some point relay his own version of the story to everyone he meets, so I might as well get it out there first.  Fortunately, that was the most excitement we had on this leg of the trip.

My grandfather's visitation was held the next night, which was also Junior's 2nd birthday.  She still had a fever of 103 and hadn't eaten anything but oranges for 2 days.  But my poor baby girl took it like a champ.  Having her daddy back (who was able to get his company to fly him in directly from Florida) certainly helped.  Her fever broke that night and by the end of the funeral the next day, she was getting back to her normal self.  Since the entire extended family was at my cousin's house, we decided to throw Junior a party.  I realize that sounds strange -- going from a funeral to a birthday party -- but in these moments you remember that we should never miss an opportunity to celebrate the wonderful gift of life we've been given.  And I think Grandpa Ralph wouldn't have wanted Junior to miss her big day.  No one enjoyed a grandkid's birthday (or birthday cake and ice cream) more than he did.  That gruff ole SOB was always the first to put on a party hat (be it Spiderman or Cinderella).  So, that night we celebrated the lives of both Grandpa Ralph and Courtney Junior.  To steal a line from Truvy in Steel Magnolias "laughter through tears is my favorite emotion."  We shared plenty of both.