Dr. Appointment and Recent Pics

As I said yesterday, both boys had doctor appointments that day. Jacob weighs a wopping 72 lbs. and has grown over 1 1/2 inches since end of May! He is such a big boy. The doctor said that he has a combination of exzema (thank you mommy) on his chin, flat warts on his chin and some other bumps on his forehead. We will just give the warts and bumps time to go away on their own. If they start to bother Jacob, then off to the dermatologist we go.

Bryce weighs 12 lbs 12 oz. He has gained almost one pound in a week. He is now 23 inches long....3 1/2 longer than at birth. He is outgrowing most all of his 0-3 month clothes. He handled his shots so well. He barely even cried but was a little extra fussy yesterday. The Tylenol helped him to sleep through a lot of the discomfort.

Here are some pictures that we have taken recently:

Bryce loves bath time. He will just sit there so contently while he gets a bath....just like Jacob did.

Bryce wants to be held all the time.

Some of our first smiles. He is right now sitting in his bouncer smiling at and playing with the toy bar.

Thinking of smiling some more

Bryce in Bubba's lap

My two boys

Bryce loves to play on his mats

PawPaw loves to hold his new grandson

This and That!

I know I haven't posted in a while. We have been busy as usual. Bryce weighed in at 12 lbs last Monday at the doctor's office. He was 10 weeks old at that time. Today he goes in for his 2 month visit so I will find out how tall he has gotten. I am not looking forward to the visit as he will be getting his first set of immunizations today. I am prepared with the tylenol but not for the shots themselves. Jacob screamed for 6 hours after his first set of shots. Please pray that Bryce handles them better than that.

I think I posted recently that Bryce has been diagnosed with Esophagitis. It is a form of acid reflux and the worst possible kind of acid reflux. He is on Zantac 3 times a day. We try to keep him upright for 30 minutes after each meal. We burp him frequently. Yesterday I started him on a new formula called Enfamil AR. It is a pre-thickened formula. The jury is still out on it. If that doesn't work, I am going to add rice cereal to his old formula. If that doesn't work, then on to other feeding options. He also slept last night on a Tucker Sling (www.tuckersling.com). He slept for 6 1/2 hours straight on it. Amazing! Bryce can not sleep flat on his back. He spends a lot of time sleeping in his swing (which he loves) or on a wedge. Believe it or not, the car seat is actually bad for him as it makes them put pressure on their tummies. He does like to sleep in his car seat when we are on the go but I am trying to limit that.

Please keep Bryce in your prayers. Pray that God would heal him from this esophagitis. I know that he may suffer from this for a few more months and I am starting to accept that possibility. My research tells me that I can not let him cry for too long as it causes him pain...so, no sleep training in the near future. He does not know how to put himself to sleep as we can't let him cry it out. He won't be sleeping through the night anytime soon. UGH!

Jacob also has an appointment with the doctor today. His allergies are bad and he has some bumps on his face...I think they are warts.

On the positive side, we are leaving for Colorado on Friday. We will be there for a week with my parents who are already there. We are so excited about our trip. I am a little nervous about the time change and Bryce having an erratic schedule but I know everything will be OK. With 4 adults there, I am sure I will be able to nap when I need to.

Hugs to all!

Austin BMX race

The day after the wedding, we drove to Austin so that Jacob could race in a state race. We got to our hotel Saturday evening. They had put us in a handicap accessible room that smelled like a powder puff explosion. I could not breathe in there. So I went to the desk and asked to smell some rooms. I found a nicer hotel room that didn't smell as bad and wasn't so sterile on the 3rd floor. We had so much c*&p on that trip....speaker for the wedding, bmx bike, bmx gear, pack n play, travel swing (can't live without a swing right now), etc. It took a while to move rooms. Shane wasn't real happy with me but in the end we were all happier in the new room. We were so tired we didn't go out for dinner, just ate cereal, donuts, crackers.



The next morning we had to get up and to the track by 9am. They have a neat track in Austin. It had a bridge that goes over another part of the track. There are lots of trees for shade there too. Our entire team was there. There are 3 families that have multiple family members racing, including moms. We had several ez ups set up with generators and fans running. Bryce slept in the pack n play with his own fan on him to keep cool. There was a nice breeze BUT it is very sandy there. We were covered in dirt.



Jacob took 2nd place in the race. We were so proud of him. He really rode hard. Our team ended up taking 1st place overall that day.

Jacob in his new uniform (minus the pants...too hot for pants right now)

Ethan and Larry

Bryce....future BMXer???

Rainn (just turned 8 expert), Ethan and Jacob

Two goofballs

Our neighbor Jennifer and her daughter Jordan...Jordan, her dad and 2 stepbrothers race. One of her stepbrothers is Rainn.


After the race, we drove home to Houston....very tired, very dirty and very sweaty!

The Wedding

On July 3rd at 8pm, Karen and Mike married in Dallas. It was a very private, beautiful wedding. I wore heels but you wouldn't know it as they were sinking into the grass. So, I look like I am wearing flats. Oh, well! Karen had a bridal brunch that morning. Then we goofed off until it was time for us to get our hair done. Then, off to the races. The wedding actually started on time. The general was in charge...that's ME! Well, I wasn't in charge; but, I did help to encourage and coordinate everyone to get the ceremony going. I only had to raise my voice a few times :)


Shane and I had spent some time picking out some music for the wedding. For the processional, we played an instrumental song by Phil Kagey. Karen walked down the aisle to Then by Brad Paisley. The ceremony lasted about 15 minutes. Mike's vows were 2 pages of typed verbage (too funny). Karen had a favorite bible verse. The reception was also at the house. There were about 100 people there. Shane's mom and Rich were there to attend the wedding and to help with Bryce, who mostly slept through the whole thing. It was a lot of fun, although it did feel weird to be in a wedding at 38.

Morning of the wedding at the hotel

Wedding ceremony...that's me in the purple dress

Beatiful Bride

Me feeding Bryce

Gail, me and Bryce

Some things that I haven't posted on:

First, Bryce has some sort of esophogeal inflammation (I can't remember the official name, of course). It started when he was about 6 weeks of age. He would cry when he ate and was in obvious pain. He was extremely irritable and wouldn't sleep. The doctor now has him on Zantac. It helps, but he still has some bad, fussy days. Please pray that Bryce will be healed of this problem. It is so hard to see him hurting.

Second, we finally broke down and did 2 major things. We sided the house with hardie plank. They are finishing up the painting today. We have put this off for so long because of the cost but just couldn't wait any longer. We also bought a new vehicle. We traded in Shane's truck for a Yukon XL. We needed a big vehicle to carry all the BMX stuff around. We also like to go to races with our friends, the Hughes. Having a big vehicle helps us to all be able to ride together.

Needless to say, we now owe the bank some money....something we don't like doing. We hope to pay off the Yukon in 3 years so that we can trade in my Lexus (now called the junkmobile) for a newer and just a little bigger SUV.

You would think we won the lottery from all the spending we are doing :)

Third, Jacob is playing drums in the Met's VBS band this week. He was hand picked for this and is loving it. He gets to play in front of a thousand kids total. In the mornings, they play in the big sanctuary. Usually while in there, Jacob plays percussion but we hope he gets a chance to play the drumset too. Then, they break up by grades and he gets to play the drumset in a smaller setting....still a lot of kids that he is playing in front of. He is so proud of himself and we are so proud of him. He has definately found something that he is talented at. He is the only 8 year old in the band. All of the other kids are teenagers. Playing drums for 4 hours makes for a long morning but he seems to be handling it all very well.

Hugs to all!

Karen's Rehearsal Dinner

I know I haven't posted much lately. We have been very busy with summer. Keeping Jacob busy with a baby in the house has been a lot of work for me. Over July 4th weekend, we went on a road trip. First we drove to Dallas for my friend Karen's wedding. Then on to Austin for a state BMX race.

Karen and I have been friends for 30 years as of last June. We met when her family moved 2 doors down from us in the house that I grew up in and my parents still live in. When I was 12, they moved back to Dallas. She and I started to fly back and forth over Christmas breaks and summertime to see each other and have been close ever since. She married in 1995 (I think) and was blessed with Steven and Jack. Over the 4th weekend, she married a new guy, Michael. We are so happy for Karen and Mike. We think Mike is a great guy and can't wait to spend more time getting to know him.

Mike was a Marine in his 20's. He recently joined the National Guard and has been called up to serve. He will be leaving for 9 months in October. Before October, he will be leaving for a few weeks at a time to get ready for his deployment. Please keep Mike, Karen and family in your prayers over the next year that God would keep Mike safe while fighting for our country. And that Karen would be able to handle having her new husband gone for so long. I know this will be a stressful time for her.

We drove up Thursday just in time for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. They married in Michael's parents backyard. It was very pretty. The rehearsal was very hot, as you can imagine. The dinner was at a great little Italian restaurant. Both boys behaved themselves very well that night. Here are some pics from that evening:

Me and the boys

Steven, Jack, Karen and Sherry (Karen's mom)

Sherry, Karen and Mike

Next post....Wedding day and then BMX racing!