Female Foy

Christmas Celebration

2012-01-24T13:02:00.000-08:00

We hosted Christmas this year and it was awesome!! Mom, Bobby, Mary, Nani, and Mike and Adrianna all hung out for Christmas. Since I was large and in charge (meaning fat and pregnant) everyone was a huge help and made it possible for us to do it at our house. We all opened one present Christmas eve after gorging on Tamales, Queso, Bacon wrapped dates, and 7 layer dip!

All Lincoln wanted from Santa was "Tookies" and because he is such a cute little guy, Santa came through and brought Lincoln tookies Christmas morning. So Lincoln decided to eat like 10 before breakfast... Christmas is special!!

Really, if that was all of the presents and whatnot, he would have been happy there, but of course he got lots more.

Here I am rolling out Cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. Wow, I look lovely.

Lincoln got to help be Santa and hand out gifts for everyone.

Here is Mimi and Mary showing off their Christmas plates that Lincoln made them.

Lincoln even helped cook Christmas dinner, a beef rib roast, mashed potatoes and green beans.

Here we are mashing taters...

Lincoln got new boots and likes stomping around in them!

This is "Lincoln ball". You hit a ball in a downward motion with a blue plastic bowling pin. Wearing cowboy boots...

I got surprised this year!! I got a Nook from my sweet baboo!

Pop was happy to get a new mouse pad from his favorite little guy - and the LOTR trilogy special edition!

Everyone got lots of nice things, and best of all we were all together for Christmas.

Mike and Adriana came over on Christmas day and surprised us all with an awesome Tee-Pee for Lincoln...

He loves it!! And also for Christmas I'm getting a new Sister-in-law because Mike and Adrie are getting married!

Now if I could just get this baby to come out we would be in business.

25 Days of Christmas

2011-12-19T11:51:00.000-08:00

This year I did a planned 25 days of Christmas for Lincoln. I LOVE Christmas, and I wanted to make sure to start some traditions with him that were fun, but especially ones that taught him, and reminded Jay and I about the real meaning of Christmas. JESUS!

So I bought an advent calendar and put a Hershey's kiss in every day along with a strip of paper that had a scripture reading for that day. Our church provided those selections and I have to say it has been an awesome experience. Lincoln doesn't really listen to the scriptures all that much, and Revelation may be a bit over his head, but I know this is a great new family tradition that we will continue for years to come.

On a completely unrelated note, we made a gingerbread house! Linc decorated it and it was a huge success. Now when anyone comes over he takes them to the bar where it sits and proudly declares, "I make DAT!!".

We also went to Dewberry farms again, this time with Jay. They grow Christmas trees there that you can cut down... but we just enjoyed all the amenities they have to offer.

Goats are super fun!

Lincoln loved that Daddy was there to play. Mommy is just to big and round these days to wrestle or fit down many slides, so they had a blast!

Linc's favorite mode of transportation currently is Daddy's shoulders... I think he is trying to help Jay from gaining too much pregnancy weight by having Dad carry all 35 lbs of Lincoln on his shoulders where ever they go... :)

Big smiles!

Tractor Ride

I JUMP!!!!

Linc went down the slide by himself again! He is in a very independent mode right now...

We have also made ornaments, cookies, looked at Christmas lights, wore our new footie jammies, and this week will take some toys to boys and girls who don't have any... While we haven't done everything on the list exactly according to plan, this has been a fun experience and I will do it again in the future.

Please leave a comment with a favorite family Christmas tradition you have!!

Tookies

2011-12-17T09:53:00.001-08:00

Today we made tookies - aka cookies. Linc loves tookies and in fact tha is all he wants from Santa for Christmas!

Linc used the cookie cutters and cut them out.

Then we made icing....

Here is stinker trying to sneak some... He tasted powdered sugar and said, "I wike dat!!!"

Yummy!

He is a wiz with sprinkles!

Sweet rewards after hard labor.

So pretty!!!

Halloween 2011

2011-12-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

This year Lincoln was Bamm-Bamm for Halloween. I figured it would be one of the last years that I had total control over what he wears so I took advantage of it. Also, I needed something that did not require a hat because if you ask Lincoln, all hats have a deadly venom in them and should never, ever be worn for longer than .25 seconds or else you could die. Well, he hasn't said it in those words, but if you've seen his reaction to hats, you would know that is what he is thinking.

So I found a costume online but it was sorta lame, and it cost 30$. So I decided to make my own... I think it turned out pretty cute and only cost about 7$ total. I love these pictures of him, the light is good and he's still pre-sugar rush. Our church does in-neighborhood get togethers instead of at the church, since Halloween is one time of year that people come out of their house and meet their neighbors. They really did it up right!

They even set up a photo spot so people could get their kids picture taken, it had lighting and everything! I tried to get one of Linc and Jay but Linc wouldn't put his legs down since the hay is pointy and as you can see below, Jay was very, very into it.

One of Linc's friends from our Moms club came with his Mom and Dad, and Lincoln was excited to have a friend there. Here they are watching putt-putt.

Here is where stuff gets crazy. By crazy, I mean 2 year old sneaky-sugar-crazy. So I didn't realize that Linc was drinking a Capri Sun in this picture...

Then he and Dad had hot-dogs...

Then Sneaky-Linc-y asked Mommy for a juice. WHAT!?!? and dumb ol Mommy fell for it. So this picture is of him sucking down his second juice right before trick or treating time started.... What a stinker!

Here is the sugar kicking in. Notice the crazed look in his eye, and his friends face which says, "this guy is CRAY-CRAY!"

So then it was time to strike out on our candy hunt. I wasn't sure that Lincoln would get it but realized quickly that I did not give that kid enough credit. He walked up to the first door and rang the bell. When the nice lady opened the door he walked right in and said "Trick or Treat!" then stood there while she gave him candy. And stood there. And stood there. Finally she gave him some more so he would leave. Then he said "Thank Youuuu!" before turning around and looking and Jay and I and screaming, "NEXT HOUSE!!!"

We got done and he got to have a sample out of his bag. Jay and I ate most of the Chocolate candy, we must admit because we know next year that probably wont fly.

A great time was had by all...

Next post is Dewberry Farms... Its become a yearly tradition for us and is lots of fun.

Fall, finally

2011-12-06T12:18:00.000-08:00

I have been a bad, bad, bad blogger. But, I'm back!! I'm getting a bit caught up since its been a million years since I posted. I've also been a bad photographer... I haven't been taking nearly as many pictures as I normally do, but here are some from this fall. We went to a farmers market here in Sugar Land one weekend when Mary was visiting, when I was still in the "honeymoon" of my 2nd trimester. Linc fell in love with 'punkins' when we were there. He tried to carry each and every one at least once.

Then he got tired and decided to pose. The reason I like this picture below so much is he wasn't even looking at me. He didn't know i was taking pictures, just decided to sit a spell.

This is the one we finally bought. He helped Daddy carry it to the table where we paid. Such a good little helper.

There was an "EEE-OOO-EEE-OOO" parked there. He was totally blown away to get that close to it. He kept waving to the firemen but when Daddy walked him over to say "Hi" he got all bashful and wouldn't even give a high-5. Can I just say that I love Linc's language?! Besides "EEE-OOO-EEE-OOO's" (firetrucks) there are also "EEE-OOO-EEE-OOO frooms" (police cars), frooms are cars, and fuff's are dogs.

I let his hair get shaggy, mostly because I'm lazy and I do think it is a bit cute, too. He was Bamm-Bamm for Halloween and I thought it looked best with lots of blond shaggy hair. Here is one morning getting ready for school. It was so nice out that we went and ran around the front yard for a while before heading out. He LOVES to run and will do it any time he can.

Here is one of his many "CHEESE" faces below, I love this expression. It makes me laugh just looking at this picture!

I am posting Halloween pics tomorrow. It was a great one this year. He totally got it and was a HUGE fan of free candy. I am loving this cooler weather! So nice!

I am 33 weeks pregnant now, and its starting to catch up to me. I'm in that easily-tired-out stage and keeping up with Lincoln is a full time job. We are getting ready for Christmas and enjoying the Advent season. I'll post more on that soon.

Amanda's Baby Shower

2011-08-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

This is such old news that Amanda has already had her baby! That is how slow I am! We had a shower for Amanda's family in Austin. We went to the fabulous Chez Zee for a brunch including presents, flowers, and creme brulee french toast. DIE!

My poor mama had 3 pregnant girls in her house a the same time. Luckily we are all really sweet and agreeable so we had a great time. Sunday we went to the pool before everyone had to head back home and mom showed us a trick she does and ended up at the minor emergency clinic. She is fine though!! She is one tough Mama!!!

The cake was worth slapping someone over. It was lemon rosemary and a TRIUMPH among cakes.

Ashley let me dress Maylee in a frilly dress. She was so stinking cute that other diners were gawking at her like she was a monkey at the zoo.

Amanda got a ton of lovely gifts, and a ton of advice. We stayed at my Moms house and had a girly-good time all weekend.

Welcome to the world Emerson Kay! I cant wait to see you! (You do know I will be your favorite Auntie, right!?)

The Empire

2011-07-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of this summer, we went to the ranch. We had not been in a while and it was nice to get away. We had planned to be out there more but spent the first half of the year going through Nani's house and getting it ready for the estate sale and to sell the house. Now that that is done, we are planning on spending more time at the Empire. We would have gone again but soon after this trip we were blessed to find out we are pregnant, and shortly after I began the long first trimester saga of feeling as though I may barf at any minute, all day long, all the time, forever. I know I shouldn't complain, many people have it way rougher than I, but it is tough chasing a 2 year old ball of energy all day while everything, especially food, makes you barf.

But back to the Empire. I was nervous about going. Its so hard because that place is just SO Baba. It was truly his castle and all his things are still there. It looks like he stepped out to check the feeders and may be back at any moment. This time I spent a lot of time cleaning and getting rid of toiletries that he had there since 1999. Jay got to take Linc on his first tractor ride. The neat thing is we both have pictures with our dads on tractors at this age, and now we have one of Linc too. The picture above is him retreating behind the screen door to watch as dad fires up the engine. He was scared and excited all at once.

He loved digging in the dirt and getting dirty, just like I did when I was little. Nani and Baba bought this place when I was 1 year old... so its neat seeing Linc getting to enjoy it, just like I did.

Lola Likes it too. She looks like a feral rat here. I like it.

Lincoln is now at the age that he is truly Daddy's little boy. He wants to be where Daddy is, doing what Daddy is doing, all the time. I was on the porch and turned my back for a second and he had run half way down the road between the house and barn, because he saw Dad having fun down there without him.

The Beans, a neighbor at the ranch, gave Baba this bush hog as a thank you for his help. It is Linc's favorite thing. We ride around all day, checking the tank, the fence, and looking for deer.

Sometimes Linc likes to have a little taste of the local dirt. He is a dirt connoisseur and I think that means he'll grow up to be a geologist! Doesn't he look busted in this picture?

A great time was had, and hopefully we will be returning soon. I'm 13 and a half weeks now, and starting to feel human again. I'm going to catch up on summer posts this week. We found out that we are blessed to be having another bouncing baby boy... I know Linc will love having a little brother to play with.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

2011-07-08T11:34:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Linc's birthday last weekend with a barbecue and family and a few friends. Lincoln loved his balloons and all the attention although I'm not sure he knew what was going on. Lincoln and Charlotte were waiting for dinner in the picture above.

Lincoln really loves his uncle Mike, aka The Dude...

Lolli came into town to help celebrate!

I made a car cake... I'm not sure it exactly looks like a car but it was close enough.. This was the 2nd one I baked. I also had to use a bottle and a half to make the icing red.

Luckily the babies LOVED baby back ribs.

"Don't take my rib, mama!"

Misti, Blake and Nani all came too... Misti is due in November so we gave her a good dose of what is to come!

Carl and Amber even came with Thia and new baby Gracie... they are doing great!

Here is the car again...

We waited to open gifts after dinner, and it as almost bedtime by then so Mr. Lincoln Johnny was a little less than cooperative. He did give everyone hugs after opening his presents. Even Misti and Blake and they got him clothes.

Rahhhrrrooar!!!

Uncle Mike and Adrianna gave Linc a shopping cart, grill set, and sandwich set. He LOVES THEM!

Here is Uncle Ty and Maylee... she didn't get any ribs.

Amber and baby Gracie, 2 months old... So precious!

Linc is really corn-fused... he is wondering, "Why is everyone singing to me?" and "Am I in trouble?"

Awesome! The cake is for me!!! And he even blew the candle out all by himself.

He enjoyed the triple chocolate fudge cake with vanilla butter cream icing - yum!!

Charlotte and Thia also enjoyed it. Charlotte had 2 pieces and a cookie!

Cute Scary RED teeth for everyone!!

Poor Maylee!! No ribs AND no cake... next year sweetie!!

We are so blessed to have such a wonderful, happy, sweet, energetic little boy. We are still celebrating tonight, heading to our first visit to Chuck E Cheese.

We are also celebrating our next adventure - that is right! Baby number 2 is on its way and due in January!!

More to come soon....

Begining of Summer

2011-05-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

So Lincoln is officially out of Mothers Day Out for the summer, and we are both a little sad about that! He loved it so much and I know he will have a blast next year too. I'm excited about the summer too and we have lots of fun things planned including trips to the Zoo, the Children's Museum, the pool and lots of play dates.

Before the school year ended, Linc's sweet teachers, Miss Martha and Miss Monica asked if we could celebrate Linc's birthday before school got out. Of course I said "yes!" and baked some cupcakes for the occasion. I also remembered at the last minute that other Moms had sent a goodie bag home for their kids birthdays and didn't want to be the looser mom who didn't get the goods so I skedaddled to Walmart. We sent bouncy balls, balloons on a string, parachute tigers, and whistles for the kids to drive their mommies bonkers with! Woo Hoo! and You are WELCOME!

They weren't really sure who I was or why I was taking their picture, but they sure are cute!

Inner Voice of Lincoln Foy, "HOT DOG! I am getting a chocolate cupcake in the middle of the morning and I have no idea why! But its awesome!"

Yeah! I love sharing cupcakes with my ladies.... I mean friends!

We will miss Mommy's Day Out, but the summer will be a blast. We've already been to the pool 2 days in a row! More soon...

Pictures Lately

2011-05-16T11:15:00.000-07:00

Lincoln has been officially introduced to the slip n slide... it was a BIG hit!

He also really digs spaghetti-o's. But then again, who doesn't?

I told him he could go out side and he just sat on the back step and looked at trees. I think he was thinking deeeeeep thoughts.

The former office is now the playroom. I'll have more pictures later. I'm not done with it yet but its coming along!

Don't tell me my business Mama!

OHHH! Look at that!

JUMP!

Where is Daddy? I love this picture because you can see his reflection in the glass.

He likes smelling Mommy's flowers. Each time he sniffs them he says, "yumm!".

He likes corn! Now that is 2 veggies, including Avocados! Score!!!

Easter

2011-05-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

Before we can talk about Easter, we must discuss Linc's new tool belt. He thinks its groovy, and I agree! I love IKEA!

I used baskets I already had. I'm being frugal! The blue one was for Linc to hunt eggs with and I got out the purple one for his presents. Jay thought they both looked too girly, especially after I added ribbon, but DANG! I can make things pretty for boys too right?!? I didn't add flowers or make the ribbon into a hair bow, right! Sheesh, husband, cut me some slack!

Lincoln woke up to some presents. We got him some cute cutlery and bowls as you can see here. We also got him a Dinosaur activity set, some books and a gardening kit. I had to hide the spade and trowel that came in the bag because they were the real deal, metal and everything, and I knew he would murder someone (probably Lola) if he got ahold of them. So we're going to give those to him later. I didn't give him any candy because right now he doesn't know to miss it, so we're going to capitalize on that.

I have to brag a bit, because I did make some delicious blueberry pancakes for Easter Sunday. I love Bisquick!

My guys are so cute! Here they are, all ready for church. I am the photographer so I don't get in many pictures but that is OK with me!

Mom and Pop were supposed to come for Easter but had to stay in New Braunfels for Pop's work. So sadly it was just us and Nani, but I still had to make deviled eggs!! Actually, this year Jay made them and did a great job. The only negative was that in true Jay fashion, he added a ton of garlic so they were a bit garlicky for my taste, but I still ate about 10 of those little guys.

I set the table all pretty, and Jay called me his little Martha... How sweet! I love these glasses, they were Nani's and she passed them on to me.

After a late lunch, we hid the Easter eggs. Lincoln had hunted at School so I knew he knew what to do. We headed out and he hunted, but we were outside for about 2 days because my curious little guy wanted to stop and open each egg, then show Jay, Nani, and I what was in each one, then put it carefully back together before putting it in the basket. We had about 24 eggs people! It took a while!!

Nani took this picture of us, its funny because we were just glad our heads made it in the picture! Nani has a history of headless photography.

Jay looks really cute in tube socks and driving moccasins, don't you think?

After hunting, we came in to go through the eggs, Nani and Lincoln sat down to do it together. Lincoln loved Easter and is still hunting eggs whenever possible. We are also teaching him that its not just about eggs!

He is Risen!

We ended the day with some Trifle. Shirtless Trifle. Its the only way to eat a Trifle, don't you know?!

We are thankful for our family. We are thankful for our little boy, and that we are together. We are thankful for a savior who gave everything for us, we are truly blessed!

Valentines Day

2011-05-06T05:20:00.000-07:00

This year for Valentines day I took Lincoln to his first Valentines day party. I love crafts and arty stuff and coloring, painting, and gluing. I am so excited to do projects with my kids that I took my 19 month old to a craft day/ valentines day party when he really just wanted to eat the glue in to grand Foy tradition.

The result is the bag you see here. He colored it, stuck hearts on it and even printed his name! Just kidding - he wrote it in cursive but I didn't want to show off so I erased it and printed it for him.

The other part of this party was 1. Eating, and 2. exchanging Valentines. As I may have mentioned before, Linc is a good eater. I made him a plate of food, all the normal stuff, goldfish, fruit, a muffin, and he ate it. A few minutes later I went back to check on him and all the other kids had gone to play and he was working the room, cleaning their plates. It was funny but I couldn't help but flash to the scene in Billy Madison when that kid ate every ones lunches on the field trip... Lord help us!

Ok, now my rant about Valentines Day cards. Remember when we were kids and you for a cute card and it came with a little envelope? And you could write your friends names and a heart or sticker on it? What happened to that? Now everything is a tattoo or a 3D monster or a character from a Disney movie. I just wanted something simple and plain - with an envelope because that was half the fun! Opening the envelope to see who it was from! Just turning the thing over somehow loses some of the excitement but maybe I'm just over analyzing this.

Anyhow, after Linc's nap I let him open the bag and it was a big hit. He got a couple stickers and a bunch of 3D monsters and he thought it was peachy!

Location:Valentines Day

Baby Bro all Grown Up

2011-05-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

My little brother Austin just graduated from LA Tech with a degree in Electrical Engineering. I am SO proud of him!! He has a job with Oncor in Fort Worth. I'm so happy for him but sad too because I lived there for 10 years, moved and NOW he lives there but I'll get over it!

On a trip between Louisiana and DFW he stopped in and stayed the night with us. I got to cook him dinner and he met Jay and Lincoln for the first time. We looked at pictures that I had just brought back from Nani's house during this long cleaning out process we have been going through to get ready to have an estate sale.

Saturday we went to see Nani. She had not seen him since he was 2 years old. She was so excited I thought she was going to jump out of her skin. It's all she talked about for a week!!

I'm so thankful to have him and my step mom in our lives!! Family is so important!

Beach Part Deux

2011-04-27T06:16:00.001-07:00

Our buds Carl an Amber are expecting a little bundle of joy this May and decided to get away for some of what I like to call, "married people time.". We watched Thia for the night and then headed to Pointe West in Galveston to all hang out at the beach. I was super excited since I had gone to the beach with linc without Jay before and felt a little guilty. On Friday afternoon I felt adventurous and took both kiddos to the grocery store by myself. We picked out ice cream, Thia's favorite, pink. It was Lincolns first experience with ice cream and he was a big fan!

We loaded up and headed out Saturday morning. I was totally blown away by this place! The pool and beach club was amazing. It was cloudy and windy but we didn't care!!

Jay and Carl had fun trying to teach the kiddos how to build sand castles. They were more interested in tearing them down.

This was also the first day in Lincolns life that he didn't nap. There was just too much excitement! After the beach we hit the baby pool and that was linc's first pool experience besides the backyard.

The kiddos slept good that night!!

This was our sunset view - it was so nice!! The boys grilled down on the BBQ pits while we put the kiddos down then enjoyed the deck.

Spring Break Beach Day!

2011-04-26T13:14:00.001-07:00

We went to Galveston with Amber and Thia for the day over spring break. It was Linc's first beach trip and I was so excited, I love the beach so much and while I thought that he would, I couldn't be sure until we got there. He was ecstatic from the moment we arrived.

Thia showed Linc the ropes and they dug and shoveled all day. I was so worried about him getting sunburned that I kept putting more sunscreen on him, especially his head since he won't wear a hat. Each time I did about a half of a cup of sand would get stuck in his hair and he looked like Guy Fiere.

When we got home he had so much sand in his hair that I had to hose him down in my shower then shampoo his hair 3 times to get it all out.

It was white with sand. It was a great trip with our friends!!

YouTube Video

MDO

2011-04-26T12:32:00.001-07:00

Lincoln is in Mothers Day Out! I have to say, I thought this day would never come. First, because when I first learned what MDO was when I was pregnant, I thought, Really!? So you stay home, don't work, AND take your child to daycare twice a week!??

So yes, I was totally judgemental. And you can all judge me for it. I just didn't get it. I wanted to stay home and care for Lincoln and at that point I didn't know if that was going to be an option for me. But thank God, He made that happen. We downsized, we moved, lots of other stuff happened but now I get to take care of my baby boy! All day!! Even when I am trying to scrub the toilet and he's trying to drown his Cookie Monster at the same time! From sun up to sun down! And in the middle of the night!

Now I get it. They made MDO so that Stay at Home Moms won't carry an AK47 to HEB and mow down the stock boy when he tells us they are all out of organic applesauce.

So I was also convinced it wouldn't happen because of our "ahem" tighter budget. I also had a lot of guilt about it because I QUIT MY JOB so I could stay and home... so now I wanted to send him to Moms day out? What did that say about me? But with lots of prayer and conversations with my hubby, I realized that it was a good thing. Lincoln LOVES being around other kids, he loves to play with them and interact. AND my hubby helped by being awesome and making a big bonus that allowed us to sqeeeeeeeze some MDO money out of the budget. I think its also because he likes me better when I'm sane.

God also confirmed it in the way that Lincoln took to his class instantly. By instantly I mean that he didn't even cry the first day when I dropped him off!! I couldn't believe it, but I was so glad. I knew he was in a good place and loved being there.

Now Linc goes 2 days a week and I use that time to clean, run errands, take showers by myself, take Nani to doctors appointments, and even sometimes get a quiet cup of coffee and quiet time in. Its amazing what I can get done in 4 1/2 hours by myself! Then I'm ready to go get him, I miss him! It makes me a better Mommy.

The top picture is of Linc on the first day of MDO. Sort of like the first day of school. The middle one is him showing off his Shark backpack and impatiently waiting to go out to door to school. He kept looking at me like, "Really Mom! No more pictures, lets go!!"

Each day they send home little projects that the kiddos work on, cute art projects, etc. I know I cant keep them all but feel a bit sinful throwing them away. The picture above is Linc's nap mat. I ordered it on Etsy and it is so cute!

Christmas in April

2011-04-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

We visited Santa at the mall this year. I was afraid that Lincoln was going to freak his freak when we dragged him close to a large old man dressed in garish colors and shouting HO HO HO! But he wasn't - at all!! I was so proud. He walked up and said hi then let me put him on his lap for the picture. This little grin was all we could get out of him. I think he was too overwhelmed by all the decorations to give us a bigger grin, but I was happy with how it turned out. What a big boy!!! (18 months old) After we were done, Daddy and Linc were walking around while I paid and got the prints and Linc kept trying to go back in the exit to see his buddy Santa again.

I love Christmas! And even though this one was a little sad after the loss of Jim and Baba last year, we had a great Christmas. Lincoln isn't too sure about all of it yet, but he loves to beat the crap of Christmas trees and really loves opening presents!

He loved playing in all the decorations, including tulle and making ornaments sorry they every were manufactured and ended up in the Foy house. Before Christmas, we went to the Sugar Land town center for the big Christmas hooo-ha. It was really fun with carolers, choirs, Santa, and tons of people.

Jay and Linc posed with the super big elf - which confused me because aren't they supposed to be tiny?

We headed to Georgetown for Christmas 2010. Lincoln was super excited to see his BFF-cousin Matt. He wanted to be wherever Matt was the whole time. Christmas eve was nice, we had tamales and other good Christmas junk. We played cards and had a little Christmas cheer. I also started my new Christmas tradition by making Cinnamon rolls from scratch from the Pioneer Woman's recipe. I made the dough Christmas eve, then rolled and baked them on Christmas morning.
Yes, they were as good as they looked... if you like to cook, I recommend the recipe!!

Lincoln had a great time making art for the family as his gift this year. I bought some canvases at Big Lots and had some acrylics and brushed already. I think everyone liked the paintings but no one as much as Nani. She insists that hers is a bird on a branch and shows everyone at her Assisted Living and they have declared him a young Picasso.

Nani went with us this Christmas and had a nice time at Mary's house. We opened presents after coffee and rolls and it was a blast!
Here is Mary showing off her sassy fluffy slippers...
Here is Brother looking chipper on Christmas morning. I don't think he's used to having a toddler rise at 6:30 each morning. :)
Linc got a ton of presents of course, and we all enjoyed watching him open them. Some of his favorites were the Elmo phone, his tool kit, and train set.

Next year I'm putting on makeup first...
After all the excitement Matt and Nani needed a nap. This year we are planning on hosting Christmas at our house... I cant wait!

Coming soon....

Beach trips I and II
Nani's Birthday Party
MDO
Corpus House Clean out

Sad Goodbyes

2011-02-02T08:43:00.001-08:00

Jimmie McBratney Foy

1936-2010

2010 was a year of blessings and sad goodbyes. As you know if you read this, we lost Baba in April and thought were were done with goodbyes for the year. But, Jim went to be with the Lord on December 6, 2010. We thought we had more time with him. We thought we had more chances to chat with him and watch his favorite shows, Criminal Minds and NCIS with him.

Jim spent his life doing what he loved, being a pharmacist, a photographer, a lover of classical music, and a lifelong friend of his beloved BTHOOTEB buddies. One of my favorite stories of Jim that Jay told me is of the time Jay, Mike, and Mary came home to Jim blasting, at full volume, his favorite symphony and madly conducting - without knowing they had come home to witness it! He was a man of passion and opinions, and was even known to invite the Mormon missionaries in to his home so they could have an in depth chat about the Bible.

The truth is that Gods timing is not always our timing. We miss him but are so thankful that after 10+ years of battling cancer, he did not linger in pain. He went peacefully with his wife and two sons by his side. I pray that when my end comes, I am blessed as he was.

Jim was an awesome father in law to me, father to Jay and Mike, and husband to Mary. He was also a very loving and devoted Grand-pop to his grandson Lincoln. He loved that little guy so much and the feeling was mutual as you tell in the pictures posted here.

Thanksgiving 2010

2011-02-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

They CAME! My whole family - well almost - came for Thanksgiving at my house! Under one roof! And no one used a gun or any other explosive! God is so good!

Ok well I didn't really expect anyone to shoot anyone else. Or blow anyone up either. But my Mom and Dads side of the family have historically not been the best of comrades so I was super pumped when Mom, Pop, Granddad, Aline, AND Nani were all at our home for Thanksgiving this year. Jay had to work on Friday so we stayed at home and invited everyone over for the big day.Here is my table(s). I made the table runner/cloths out of fabric I had in my sewing closet. It was a kind of tweed-looking stuff that was black, white and brown. I used our china and crystal cause - why not! The center pieces were modern candle holders and glossy white and silver pumpkins and gourds and even a turkey and pilgrim that I-ene brought for me. She is so crafty - she painted them herself to match my theme. I also got to use the butter dish that Nani got at her wedding shower, real silver!

I love this picture, so in love!

Big Happy Family! I made the whole sha-bang - Turkey, dressing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole with fresh green beans, and Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie! Mom brought homemade cranberry relish and vino, and Granddad and Iene brought cake, pie, and a bunch of goodies, in our family known as a sack-r-full. Misti and Black brought sticky pumpkin bars and yummy rolls and Nani provided the relish tray.

Those crazy kids! It was a great holiday... we are so thankful that 2010 is over! HAH! More soon!

Sick baby

2011-01-10T18:20:00.001-08:00

My little captain Destructor is sick. This pic is from this morning when he was feeling better than he does now. I hate it when he is sick. And to make it worse he fell off the ottoman yesterday and hurt his leg and has a little limp. Today was his 18 month well child visit and I swear they must think I beat this child. (The last time we were there was because I dropped him. He was flopping in my arms and got away from me. He was fine but I cried for 2 hours!)

So we went for his well child appointment today even though he was running a fever as of last night. I think he knows when shots are coming and finds some germs to gobble up. Anyhow he has his first ear infection. We have been lucky thus far in avoiding them but our time has come.

As for his stats, he is 34 1/2 inches long and weighs 28lbs 11oz. He is a big boy!

He has hit all his other markers developmentally except speech. He just ain't talking yet. We go back for a hearing test next month and I am praying that by then he is ready to give an oral dissertation on toys to the doc. Please pray with us. More soon.

Half Birthday

2011-01-09T19:10:00.001-08:00

YouTube Video

Our baby has started taking one nap a day now but sometimes waiting till after lunch is doggone impossible!

This was taken in linc's half birthday, Saturday. He is such a big boy! I'll post this week all his new milestones.

Cousins

2011-01-08T06:26:00.000-08:00

Cousins...

I found some pictures while moving Nani to Sugar Land that I hadn't seen in quite some time! Our Banks family reunion was in New Orleans when I was 13... For me it was the first time I got to meet many of my family that I had heard of and seen pictures of forever it seemed.

A couple of memories stick out... when we got there we walked by the pool and there was a large, tall man sitting there with a beer (I think - at least it was some sort of alcoholic beverage) and a giant condom hat. It was my uncle... Hah!

Another one is meeting my cousins, Mickey sticks out in my mind... I guess he was about 5 or 6, and we were immediate friends. I held him any time he was around. That is him above with his head on my shoulder. My uncle reminded me that with a connection like we had, you could marry your third cousin in Texas. He was such a sweetie. We lost him earlier this year. He and his whole family came to my wedding in 2004... it was the first time I had seen him since. He and Katie were all grown up and I regret so much not getting to know him as an adult.

My girl cousins, Natalie and ... were very into the "I feel like chicken tonight" reenactment of the popular commercial of the time, and as you can see not afraid to perform. It runs in our family.

And I remember when Pop took me for my first beer. I thought it tasted terrible but I felt so grown up I drank it anyway then giggled for an hour. (It was only about a half A BEER... don't call CPS.)

I dont know if anyone reads this anymore, but I'm going to catch up posting this week. Sorry for the long break - a bit of tragedy and writers block will do that to you.

2010-11-20T13:45:00.001-08:00

I've been very busy. Nothing like a deadline to get your booty in gear. Below I show proof that I finally hung family pics.

Halloween

2010-11-17T12:33:00.000-08:00

Well our plans got changed after Jay went all "brokeback mountain" on us. I keep saying that and I don't think he likes it. But I am of course referring to the fact that his back is messed up and not implying in any way that he is "a gay" as Nani says. We were supposed to go to my moms so we could see them and Peter, Amy, Sarah and their new baby Peter Jr. Sadly we woke up Saturday morning and Jay was in much worse pain and we quickly realized that he was in no shape to travel. So we decided to stay, and since I was sad at our canceled plans, I started to bake and the result is above!

Later that evening his back got worse, to the point where he couldn't put any weight on it and had to use Nani's walker that we had here in the garage. So we went to the ER and waited for 2 hours then Jay got the really good stuff. They pumped him full of muscle relaxers and pain meds and I could see him visibly melt into the bed. I have never seen him in such pain before! It was so scary!

Funny story: So one of the reasons we went to the ER is because Jay was so tensed up that he couldn't, ahem, "make water" as Baba would say. So after they doped him up, they wanted him to try to go. So I was in the room with him and he was all goofy and dopey after all the meds but Linc was done, and I mean done. By now it was 9pm and I needed to get him to bed. The nurse brought in a little urinal and I was worried that Jay was so out of it that he would need help using it, but I couldn't help him because Lincoln was having a wall eyed fit trying to jump out of my arms and pull all 896,000 cords right out of the wall. So in my crazy-eyed desperation I run out of his room and see his sweet ER nurse sitting there and blurt out, "Can you go help my husband pee?!?." She looked at me with an incredulous look, then I ran out with my squawking baby. Hah! Jay is going to kill me for posting this, but its funny! And for the record, he didn't need any help... Everything came out just fine.

After I ran home - I ran next door to our sweet neighbors and asked if one could come sit with Linc while I went back to the hospital to check on Jay. She did, and I put Linc down then went back to Jay. Luckily, they didn't find anything too serious and prescribed steroids, Ibuprofen, and lots of pain killers and told him to go home and see his doc on Monday. Phew!

So Sunday was Halloween and we just hung around the house and Jay slept mostly and I cooked and played with Linc. That evening we dressed Linc up in is super awesome dragon suit and went next door to give our neighbors some thank you cookies and cupcakes. As you can see he was not a big fan of the costume. He grabbed at it and tried to pull it off with all his might. Poor baby. So we took pity on him and took him back home and changed clothes - into his skeleton pj's for trick or treating.

He was much happier in those clothes, so we went out and hit about 4 houses. He loved it! Rang the doorbell, got the candy and enjoyed the whole outing! Jay wore his hottie t-shirt and the trick or treat pj pants I got him. Isn't he cute?

We gave out candy and even ate some chocolate when we got home. It was a great holiday even if it didn't go how we had planned.

Weekend in Duval

2010-11-17T08:45:00.000-08:00

We went to the ranch this weekend - all of us. Jay, Lincoln, Nani and I. What a trip! It was quick, we left Saturday morning and returned yesterday afternoon. It was emotional and wierd being there without Baba. Man do I miss him. The ranch looked like he had just stepped out to check on the deer or run down to the tank and he would be back any minute. We'll be making more regular trips to the "Empire" as Baba called it...

Jay hurt his back hooking the mower to the tractor, pray he gets better really soon...

(P.S. I wrote this a while ago and never published it!)

Mimi and Lincoln go to the zoo

2010-11-10T09:25:00.001-08:00

Mimi came to visit and we had an awesome time!! We went to the zoo and played outside and cooked and had lots and lots of fun.

Linc loves Mimi, she is a big tomboy at heart and loves teaching linc to play in the dirt with her.

Also super exciting, mom introduced me to the wonderful world of the dollar store. She kept asking me where one is and I kept putting it off thinking "gross!". I hadn't been to one in a long time and from what I remembered they weren't that great. But this one is awesome!! Paper products, soap, dental floss, name brand tooth paste,cleaning-supplies all for a dollar! Now I go there before HEB! Thanks mom!

Pictures

2010-11-05T15:25:00.001-07:00

I am working on a Halloween post now but linc woke up before I could finish it. So for now here he is helping mom with paperwork. I got the hipstamatic app on my iPhone and I love it!! I used it to take these.

Linc got new shoes! He has really big hoofs. He's in a 7 at 15 mo. Is that normal?? I have no idea but they look big.

Bummer

2010-10-30T14:28:00.001-07:00

Last night we carved our pumpkin. Linc just wanted to look on it, not at it.

We are supposed to be in New Braunfels with Mimi, Poppa, Peter, Amy, Sarah, and PJ but my poor husband is in excruciating pain. His back is out of wack and he can't move without assistance.

So we're staying here. Pray that he feels better soon. I'll post Halloween pictures on Monday.

Happy Halloween!!

Nanis Halloween Party

2010-10-21T17:12:00.001-07:00

We are at the Halloween party at Nani's apartment and there is a dragon roaming the halls! I'm going to have to speak to the management about this.

Filler

2010-10-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

So after Linc's birthday and before now, we had a lot going on. I posted on one of our trips to Corpus, so I thought now I would fill in on other things that happened around that time. Jay and I had our birthdays, I turned 31 (Woo hoo) and Jay turned 33 and I reminded him that he will always be older than me.
Linc liked helping unwrap presents even though he was a bit scared of them at his birthday - time flies! I got a french press for my birthday and Jay got clothes. Now that we're old, our birthdays arent as exciting as they once were - but they were still nice. We went to dinner in Corpus for my birthday with Ashley and Tyler and ate ice cream cake.
Nani has moved into Colonial Oaks. She likes it so far and Linc misses her but we see her almost every day. Tonight she came over for dinner - Salmon with Dill sauce. Its a really nice place but its hard to leave your home of 45 years so its taking some time to settle. All her friends and family have been great about going to visit and calling. Tomorrow - our visit with the Harveys!

Photoshop

2010-10-18T19:36:00.001-07:00

So I finally, today, October 18, used the Photoshop Elements program that Jay got me for Christmas. It is awesome! I don't really know how to use it but I am sure having fun figuring it out - and I'm looking into some tutorials too. I used it to enhance this picture I took this weekend of Maylee...

We had a very busy day today. Jay was off of work, and I had errands to run with Nani. Then I finally got out my pumpkins! Now my house is much better looking. I'll post some pics tomorrow. We also moved furniture so that I can finally finish unpacking my guest room!!! I know that doesn't seem that great but to me its GREAT! Now I can unpack and actually sew the projects I've cut out and been working on.

For now my hubby is in a Rangers play-off induced haze, so I have to watch him and make sure he doesn't fall off the deep end.

Sweet Baby Marilyn

2010-10-17T19:35:00.001-07:00

I just got back home from Corpus Christi this evening after a weekend of newborn baby cuddling, goose tickling, and missing my boys.

Yes it was my official first weekend away from Linc and it was so hard! I missed him and Jay but they has a good time at Grammy and Pawpaws house. I got to meet my new niece "Maylee". She is so tiny and sweet. She is eating and sleeping like a champ! We even got to go to lunch and get a pedicure while Mike and Melissa watched the babies.

It was a great weekend but I am REALLY glad to be home with my guys.

Dewberry Farms

2010-10-15T06:27:00.001-07:00

We went to Dewberry farms yesterday with some other moms from the Moms group I joined. They organized it and we met there and it. was. awesome. They have a pumpkin patch, a corn maze, pig races, bouncing pillows, food, singing chickens and a goat that can walk on water. Just kidding about that last one, but it is really really awesome!

Lincoln loves to walk and run, especially outdoors now. The problem we kept running into in the pumpkin patch is that he doesn't pick his feet up very far and kept tripping over and over and over. That kid has persistence! He would fall down, stand up and fall right back down again. Also, he is soooo uninterested in me and me taking pictures of him. He tends to run away. Note several pictures of his back. The one above is of he and Levi checking on the crops. They are only one week apart in age.

He looks very serious here, but he had a ball. I took him up on this big bounce pillow and he immediately ran down it, and face planted in the sand. Then the attendant walked right over and awarded me the mom of the year award! I kid. But seriously it was scary, but he got right back up and kept playing. After that he scooted backwards when he wanted to get off the top, or as the picture above shows, walked his feet down while bouncing on his bottom. So cute!

This was a ride with barrels cut out and painted like cows. I almost let him ride with his friend Conrad (below) but I'm so glad I didn't! He would have jumped and that would be tragic. All the moms of younger kids rode with them... you can see Melissa, Erin, Allison, and Marta.
Lincoln and Conrad are good buddies, they are both very active, wild little boys.

They had all kind of play structures, this is a log tube and my little boy stared into it, as if at the abyss, for a long long time before venturing into it. Once he did, I couldn't coax him out!

I have many more updates coming soon... my goal is to post everyday next week starting on Sunday, in order to get caught up! Going this weekend to meet my newest niece in Corpus, Marilyn!!

T-Rex

2010-09-26T19:45:00.001-07:00

YouTube Video

Singing

2010-09-25T06:59:00.001-07:00

YouTube Video

2010-09-24T05:46:00.001-07:00

So we went to Corpus to pack Nani up and move her to Sugar Land. We were there longer than necessary.

Linc and I stayed with Ashley and Charlotte. Nanis house us not baby proofed. We both got the stomach flu, linc got a black eye from the windowsill, then popped it again on a toy and it split like a prize fighter. The last night he took a header into a shelf withhis mouth and Aunt Ashley and I had to dig paint chips out of his mangled upper gum. So now we're building on to the house, to add a much needed padded room for Linc.

They got their baths together and oompa loompa hair too!

They love each other (mostly) and I miss the goose already. The packing was hard, especially on Nani but we are now unpacking in her new digs and it's really nice! Pray for her to have a smooth transition and to enjoy her new place and make lots of friends.

This is a cactus that my daddy planted, and the oak he planted a long time ago. I wish we could move them to Sugar Land.

Shiner

2010-09-14T10:42:00.001-07:00

Linc got his first shiner. Not from a kid or Lola, but from a windowsill. He took a header into it last night. Now it looks like he is wearing purple eyeshadow. We're in corpus packing Nani up to move to her new home in Sugar Land. Her place is ready!

Pray for us this week! Linc is walking all the time and into everything and we are packing for the third time this year!!

OMGoodness

2010-09-01T06:12:00.001-07:00

I did not know that babies would do some of the things Linc is doing so early!! I'm not talking developmentally... He's walking but mostly crawling still. I'm talking about how he figured out how to open the dishwasher! And pocket door! And doors with lever handles! And all drawers! And he is so tall he can pull things off of countertops!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm scrambling trying to figure out how to keep my little whirling dervish safe. I had to barricade off the whole kitchen and office to keep him from yanking cords off the wall and pulling butcher knifes out of the dishwasher. There was a point in my life that had I read something like this I would have thought "They just need to teach that kid what no means!". But I had never met Linc. One, he's only 13 months old and even if I let him slice a finger off he would turn around and grab another knife. Two he laughs when I say no and he's fearless!!

So for now I'll keep trying to teach "danger" and "no" and "you are scaring your mommy to death!". And I'll pray for protection for my little Tasmanian devil. And tell Mom and Nani and Mary that I'm sorry! Because I'm sure that Jay and I gave them fits!!!

- Posted on the ee-pa-honay

Walking tall

2010-08-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

Linc is walking more and more. It started with just one or two steps and now he will go up to 8 little stutter steps. As you can see in the video he is super impressed with himself and that is the cutest part!

YouTube Video

- Mobile Mom

Happy Birthday Baby!

2010-08-25T07:19:00.000-07:00

Lincoln,

You are one year old now! You are so big! Gone is my little sea monkey who just laid there drooling and pooping... You are developing new things every day. You crawl and pull up on everything. You are already reaching for door knobs and climbing on top of anything you can. You've started to show off by standing there all by yourself and look at us like "Check me out! I'm a big guy!" You've even taken a little stutter step before plopping on your bottom. And now you can take 3 or 4 steps before sitting down. I know in no time at all I'll be chasing you as you sprint around our house!

You are all boy, as they say. You are fearless and will throw yourself off the couch, bed and when we took you swimming, you were annoyed that we wouldn't just let you go. I was so glad that you were not scared of the pool, but it was hard to hold you while you squirmed like a little (26 lb) piglet.

We went to your new doctor and you are 32.5inches and 26lbs. You are the average size of a 19 month old baby at 12 months. You love your sippy cup and drink milk and water all day. You are completely weened now. It wasn't hard on you (thankfully). I started giving you big boy milk right after your 1st birthday and in a couple of weeks, my milk was gone and you haven't looked back. I was so worried about traumatizing you by taking away the boobie bottle... I agonized over the timing and how to do it and it was super easy. God is good!

You have been going through a bit of a biting stage. Thankfully it is on its way out and you haven't bit anyone in a while. The best part of it was when we dropped you off at the nursery at church and were telling the workers to watch you when you got close to other babies... only to turn around and see another couple with their tiny, defenseless 6 month old in their arms waiting their turn to drop off. I couldn't help but think "Gee, aren't you glad we're visiting YOUR Church!". Their painfully worried and terrified smiles said it all. But you were good. The only baby you have bit so far is Charlotte.

Speaking of, she was here for your birthday and you thanked her for your presents by trying to remove her left cheek. She loves to hug you and pat you on the back and head and you had had enough of her girl-coodies. You turned around to (I thought) kiss her and she left shortly after with a swollen and bruised cheek. Poor Charlotte... she is such a lady and you are such a boy and sometimes that ends in bruises.

You got soooo many presents for your birthday. You got clothes, and puzzles, and books and trucks and and play house. So many toys that I have to rotate them so you don't get bored with them at once. We had everyone over and ate hamburgers and hot dogs. I baked you an airplane cake that was strawberry with cream cheese icing. Everyone else had double chocolate and strawberry cupcakes with homemade vanilla ice cream on the side.

You give kisses now, and that is probably my favorite new development. You give open mouthed, sometimes with a little lick, drooling kisses. You are very selective with them, and have to be in the right mood or NO KISSES! You remind me of the soup Nazi with the way you do or do not give out your kisses. You did kiss your new babysitter with no hesitation. Amber, the adorable 17 year old cutie, had just babysat you and when I asked you if you wanted to give her a kiss goodbye, you laid a big ol' wet one on her. I think we're going to have to watch you closely in your teen years.

You love to push things around, especially chairs, but anything will do. Your wagon, the remote control, a spoon from the kitchen, a car or truck, even Lola's bed. You love pillows and when you get tired, you will roll around on the pillows, cuddling with them. You LOVE buttons. Any kind. You get to push the button to open the garage when we come and go and you beam with delight every single time. You push elevator buttons, remote control buttons, dishwasher buttons and you love all the buttons on the Thomas the Train book that your friend Ben got you for your birthday.

You learned how to open sliding doors and are already reaching for and pulling door handles. We joined a Moms group for stay at home moms and you found the stairs right away and climbed all the way to the top. Your dad and I call you a whirling dervish because you never seem to stop.

You dance, and its awesome. You wave your head around, head bang, bop and wiggle. You love music and never miss the opportunity to dance. In the car you wiggle in your car seat and it looks like your are popping and locking with your chest. You will eat just about anything. You love fruit, meat, some veggies, cheese, yogurt, and above all else, Crackers! You will not let us brush your teeth, you want to do it all by yourself. We go to the dentist tomorrow so we will find out if you are doing a good job. You are getting another couple teeth in right now and it looks so painful!

We love you soo much!!!

Love,

Mama

Missing DFW

2010-08-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

I just need to mention how much I miss DFW. I read my friends blogs and see their comments on Facebook and it makes me so sad! We love Sugar Land - its a great town and I stay busy with Nani and Linc and also just joined a MOMS group that has lots of fun activities so I can meet new friends. I have already met several Moms and they are super nice.

But I miss my friends! I miss their kids that are growing up while we're away. I am super excited that Cat, Mike and Cason are coming for labor day so we can have lots of fun. We are planning to go to Keyma for the day and have a girls outing to have high tea at the St Regis.

Linc loves Nani and Nani loves Linc. They talk all day to each other and play. Its so great that they get to spend this time together. (If Nani knew what the Internet was she would kill me for posting this picture with her hair less than perfect and no lipstick on.)

Our church search is continuing - so far we've only visited one and like it a lot. We want to go to a few others to see if its the right one for us. Its so weird to "church shop". We are praying that God shows us the right one that He has for us, and soon.

It has been such a crazy year. I will never again complain of boredom. We've sold a house, moved, quit my job, bought a house, cared for Baba through chemo, hospital stays and in his last days at the ranch, buried him, moved again, seen Nani in and out of the hospital, heart procedures, saw our baby crawl, walk and turn one. We've helped Nani make some hard decisions, moved her in with us in Sugar Land. We're learning a new town, looking for new friends, a new church, getting ready to take responsibility for the ranch, Nani's house, moving her into Assisted Living and selling her home in Corpus. We've driven thousands of miles and cut our income in half. But through it all, God has been with us. I have never felt more cared for and lead by Him. It has not been easy, but God has been so good, answering prayers every step of the way.

So even though I miss my friends and am sometimes amazed and overwhelmed to look around and see what has happened and what we have in front of us, I know we are where He wants us to be, and for that I am so thankful!

Mobile

2010-08-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

I got a new app that will help me blog more! This is my first trail run!

What adorable babies! Isn't Charlotte's table cute!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

We have liftoff!

2010-08-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Linc walked last night!! 2 whole steps before plopping back to the earth. He smiled and clapped and was very very proud of himself! I didnt get it on video but Nani saw it and so did our neighbor Noelle and her son Noah who had stopped by.

They had stopped by because our AC had blown up an they wanted us to know! Isnt that sweet! No worries, its fixed. They gave us the name of their AC man and he came right out and fixed it. Great neighbors!

Now I am going to work on getting some video of the little man.

Here is a pic from the 4th of July. Linc was feeling very patriotic!

That is one dang cute baby!

2010-08-04T14:37:00.000-07:00

We had Linc's pictures taken for the big 1 year milestone! We found an awesome and sweet photographer here in Sugar Land to do it, and we're really happy with what we've seen so far! We are going to meet with her again to do some family pics because the day we did these it was so humid that I looked like I was wearing an Afro wig and melting. Not a good look. Usually Jay will say "Honey, you look great!" no matter what and even he looked scared. Go see her blog at the address below! I will post the ones of the family later, you know, after we take them.

Trip to Grandpas

2010-08-04T11:33:00.001-07:00

In June, we took a trip to Grandpas to hang out with him while Grammy was in China (lucky duck). Jay came on the weekends and Lincoln and I stayed during the week to have fun with Grandpa, make sure he took his medicine and didn't eat too much Ice Cream. (FYI I don't think that is possible... its like having "Too much fun" or "Breathing too much air") Lincoln loves grandpa and especially his fun walker.Linc made sure to accompany Grandpa wherever he went in case he needed some help with his walker. So thoughtful!

Jay and I picked up this pool for Linc at Walmart and as you can see, he enjoyed it quite a bit. Grammy had already got a sand box for Linc complete with bowls and lots of tasty sand. I thought he would quit eating it after he realized it tasted bad, but instead he just gobbled more up. Sandbox time didn't last too long.

It was really great to see Linc enjoy Jim so much and vice versa. They are a cute duo. While we were there Lincoln discovered that playing under tables is super fun. He was happy to crawl around laughing and playing peekaboo for hours.

Uncle Pat came one day so I could go see my Mom and Pop for the day, then my sweet Mom came up and spent the night to play with Linc and help me out around the house. Jay came back for the weekend and Linc and I left to go spend the night with Mimi and Poppa. It was a great trip but I was glad to get home. I only had a few weeks left till Linc's big Birthday Party!

I just told him we had to go. He was all "NO MOM!". Hah!

Update

2010-08-03T07:12:00.001-07:00

Ok so I haven't blogged in a while and now I am feeling overwhelmed because of how behind I am! So I am going to strive to catch up. Here is some news and hints of upcoming posts...

1. Nani is living with us till she gets a spot in Assisted Living.
2. Lincolns birthday was awesome, the party, the presents everything! Of course I havent sent thankyou notes yet.
3. We have settled in our house somewhat and I have pictures.

For now, here is an adorable video of Linc and his Daddy.

Preparation

2010-07-02T10:18:00.001-07:00

We're preparing.. for Linc's birthday party. I of course want the house to be perfectly organized and decorated but that is proving to be somewhat of a challenge. We've been working like crazy people and its starting to come together...

Yesterday I sewed curtains and hung them then went to the store. The curtains look good... Today I went to the mall and target. I got little buddy some of the cutest seer-sucker pants for his big photo shoot.I'll post pictures soon! The 4th was great, Linc was very patriotic in the swim trunks his Mimi got for him!

I'll post more regularly soon... but for now... When Linc gets really excited, just crawling isnt enough... shrieking and head tossing must go with it!

New Home

2010-06-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

As you can see, Linc likes his new home, and so do we. The neighborhood is great with parks, pools, lots of trees and his future elementary and middle schools all very close to us. We met our neighbors next door also, and they have a little boy who is 5 months old. I took lots of before pictures of the house, and we've already begun to paint and we had our carpet replaced and had the living room floor stained. The carpet looks good, it isn't what I picked. I picked really plain tan regular carpet because I just wanted something basic since its just going in the bedrooms and closets, but they showed up with a nice Berber and since they goofed, I got it for the same price. And against the advice of our contractor, we stained our concrete in our living room. There were a lot of paint spots that are evident now, and although I hated it at first, now its really growing on me.

I'm in Georgetown this week hanging out with Jim, my father-in-law while Mary is in China. We are all very jealous of Mary and I am so excited to see all her pics when she gets back and hear the stories of her travels. Jay's cousin is getting married to a girl there in her home town in a traditional ceremony. I've been working on sewing curtains for Linc's room and fixing the curtains that I'm going to use in the dining room and office. The office window is what Linc is look out of above. Notice the super sassy blue and yellow curtains. Dont be jealous!

Here is a good one of the floor and my poor baby in Christmas jammies in June. Dont judge. I'm almost ready to start decorating, then I'll post more pics...

Until then email me! or comment! Its lonely here in golfcart retirement land!

Reunion Weekend

2010-06-18T13:18:00.001-07:00

We've been friends a long long time so we get together at least twice a year... more often if possible. We went from 4 girls, to 4 girls, 4 husbands, and 2 babies (so far). We have a thing for baby pools and now we have an excuse for that... babies.

This was Linc's first actual pool experience. It combines his 2 favorite things, bath time and out doors! He splashed his face off!

Charlotte is so big! She walks, and talks and is very excited that her little sister, Alice is on the way. She used to be able to beat up on Linc but now he fights back.... Watch out Alice!

On Saturday we(by we, I mean the hubbys) boiled crawfish while playing in the pools. Linc thought he could probably win a fight with one but we didnt let him try. We got to go get pedi's that morning.. It was very fun.

Charlotte showed us her pretty hat she got in Chinatown when she went to San Francisco.

They guys even put up a shade for our pools so we wouldnt get sunburned. Just say no to skin cancer.

This is what our mornings look like. We like to hang in our pajamas!

The pictures below were friday night. Let me explain how this came about. There was a storm that came in all of the sudden. The babies were in bed and we were just sitting around telling stories and reminiscing about the years when we didnt go to bed by 11 on a Friday night. The Blake and Jay had already set up the awning so they ran out to take it down so it didnt blow away and I locked them out, just for a few minutes, but it was enough for them to be soaked. Jay asked Blake to borrow a t-shirt because Linc was already asleep and Jay's stuff was in there. Blake went in his room to get a t-shirt and was gone for quite a while. When he came out he threw a t-shirt over to Jay, and the result is below.

Apparently what took Blake so long was the cutting a regular t-shirt into a half shirt, then taking time to compose himself so he could stop giggling before he walked out and gave it to Jay. We laughed forever. Then, as the newest husband in the group, Matt did not want to be outdone by Jay's sexyness so with his wifes permission ripped off his shirt to reveal the SWEATER! Please note Amanda to the right of him in the picture... We are sooo proud of our hubbys!

Dadgumit! That is some hair, man!

Sunday was girls day out and while our sweet husbands watched the babies, we girls went to lunch then to the picture show to see Sex in the City part DEUX. It wasnt what I would call "good" but it was pretty! We sent the boys out that night to the Wing resturaunt and Iron Man 2. They deserved it.

As always it was super fun to see everyone and we made more memories and nicknames.

Injury

2010-06-18T07:33:00.000-07:00

Lincoln has been very very injury prone lately. He tripped on his arm and fell on his face and big his lip on Sunday... blood and screaming ensued. It was very sad, but this was sadder. There he was, just playing and minding his own business and the coffee table leg jumped up and smacked him on the forehead! Actually, he slipped when trying to pull up and bam! I freaked! It was a blue line that was quickly turning into a unicorn horn right there before my eyes! So we went to the ER. A little hasty? Probably, but I was afraid to let him nap because all I could remember was that you weren't supposed to sleep if you have a concussion. He is fine and on the bright side, we now know the way to the ER, because the way things are going I can see that is something we're gonna need to know.

11 Months Old

2010-06-15T05:47:00.000-07:00

Lincoln,

You are (a little over) 11 months old now! So much has changed so fast recently its hard to keep up. First, we have a home again! You are back to your own room and we finally unpacked our suitcases, after living in them for over 3 months. I think you might be sad because one of your favorite games is taking everything out of the suitcase, 1 item at a time, then putting it all back in. I sat in your room last night and watched you dump your cube out then fill it up about 20 times. You are so cute with your little face all focused and concentrating on the task at hand. Sometimes you even stick your little tongue out.

Now you crawl everywhere and pull up on everything and are desperately trying to climb things. You have already climbed both in and out of the tub and scared your Mama to death. No serious injuries, just a bonk on the head and a mad cry. You are also trying to stand up in the middle of the floor and trying to let go when you are by the couch. You fall down right now, but I know that soon you will just take off.

We had to put locks on the cabinets because you love to get in them, especially the ones that I filled with all the china and breakables. You opened one last week while I had my head turned for a minute and pulled out vase and slammed it on the ground right as I turned back around. I nearly had a heart attack and scooped you right up! Glass shards were everywhere but we both escaped unscathed. Daddy put the locks on that night.

Speaking of Daddy, you love him so much! Its so awesome to see you light up when he comes home for work. We started night weaning you on Thursday night, and your Dad has done a fantastic job of taking care of you when you wake up at night and putting you to bed each night. I have been anxious to do this so we both can get more sleep, but very nervous. You are such a good baby and this has gone so well. Its only been 4 nights when you slept from 8 till 7 and only woke up once! Wow!!!

You eat everything now. Fruits are a favorite, especially strawberries and blueberries. You also eat grapes and melon with your new favorite lunch, Cheese and Turkey. You love your sippy cup and slurp down water with each meal. You DO NOT want baby food from the jar anymore. You look so disgusted when I try to feed it to you, as if you are thinking "Duh Mom, I'm not a little baby, don't feed me that!" Oh, and at the Black Walnut cafe, I discovered that you like Saltine Crackers, A LOT! You look so cute crunching them with your front toofies.

You have grown 2 new teeth in the last month, on each side of the 2 little teeth on the bottom of your mouth. Soon you will have even more I know. You are slimming out more and look like a little boy. I don't know what happen to my round pudgy little butterball but that baby has gone and this new little boy is here.

You babble so much more now, Ba-ba-ba was first (I think you were saying Baba!) And then Da-da-da and Muh-muh-muh. You like making SSSSS sounds and TTTTTT sounds and you love it when we mimic you and you answer back.

You love wheels, any toy with wheels is a favorite, along with anything that holds anything. You throw things over your shoulder with abandon without looking and that always makes me laugh. You are like your dad too, because you love to push buttons and play with electronics. I have to watch you all the time to make sure you don't chew on plugged in electrical cords, and now you try to pull up to type on the keyboard when I'm using the computer. The cameras make you mad because you just want to rip them out of our hands so that you can explore them. Also in the move, you have discovered the wonders of bubble wrap and boxes. And you dance! When your little toys play music you dance... awesome!

Little buddy, I cant believe you are almost 1 year old. This time has gone so quickly. You are precious!

Love,

Mama

still here

2010-06-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'm still alive, I just don't have a computer or the Internet. What is going on in the world? France could have attacked China for all I know. I do know we got new carpet, and they are staining our living room floors right now. That is why I'm at Misti's house.

We are "squatting" in our new home, we have no furniture or refrigerator. We do have an air mattress and a pack and play. Boy o Boy do I miss chairs.

I did get a new couch, being delivered tomorrow. Super stoked about it. And a chandelier and a new ottoman and its yellow! Yes, ME who is afraid of color bought a yellow ottoman. Go ahead, praise me. I'll post more about all of this soon, but for now I leave you with the picture of the half of avocado in my drink holder in my car. Sanitary? No. But when you are trying to feed a baby you do what you need to! Don't worry, I ended up throwing it away instead of feeding it to Linc but only cause it had been in the car for hours, otherwise I would have probably fed it to him for dinner. (He ate the first half for lunch and I didnt want to waste!) That is what happens when you are gypsy/squatter!

So many new things!

2010-05-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

We've been in Corpus again... its becoming our home away from home away from daddy. We (that is, Linc and I) have been helping Nani get settled back in and feeling better after her week long stay at the hospital.

Jay came down for my FIRST mothers day weekend, it was lovely! We took Nani to lunch, had a fabulous fish fry with Mom, Granddad, and Gramma Iene, and Dad let me sleep in while he played with Linc. Super sweet!

On Mothers Day Linc decided to feed himself! Up till now he had a great time playing with food but was not the least bit interested in inserting it into his own mouth. It was so exciting!

Then yesterday, Monday, he crawled! Now I can't take my eyes off him or he's trying to eat electrical cords!

I found it

2010-04-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

After Baba passed, we started looking at pictures. One of the many directives he gave me in his last days, and in the last 10 years, regarding his funeral was that he liked those picture shows that they did these days and he wanted one at his funeral.

I think I went into autopilot once he was gone and wanted to just stay busy. This was a great task for me. We went through lots and lots of pics at home. Old ones from when he and Nani were dating, ones of their wedding, of daddy when he was little, then me. Maybe the best ones were from his Marine days, looking all handsome and sure of himself at the ripe old age of 19.

I couldn't find my favorite picture. I had it at home, in Dallas, but I couldn't find Nani's copy and although the core group sent many other awesome, great favorites, this one alluded us. We put all the pictures together, 50 in all, for the show. It turned out well.

I was so happy to get home and see this picture. It just sums him up perfectly. The denim pearl snap shirt and jeans. The cap that someone gave him with mesh in the back so his head didn't get too hot. The little grin he always had when he was happy or someone forced him to smile. The glasses and cell phone in his front pockets and the expandable band watch. I have no doubt he was wearing his favorite black tennis shoes from Walmart.

Mostly, his hands are the focal in this picture. Those big ol' meat hooks were Baba. They represented who he was. A big man, a hard worker. He passed them on to Dad and they were my favorite part of him too, apart from the mustache.

I think I am just starting to realize that he is gone for good... at least from this world. I know I'll see him again, but I really, really miss him now.

(almost) 10 Months

2010-04-28T11:55:00.001-07:00

Lincoln,

We've missed a few months, but I will try to catch up. Life has been crazy. God is good, He answers prayers and sometimes all at once. We sold our house, moved, went to Corpus to see Nani and Baba came back, went to Houston, then back to Corpus, then back to Houston, then back home. I'm thankful you wont remember this time because we lost Baba, but I'm sad that you wont remember how wonderful he was.

You haven't lost many meals. You still breastfeed but also eat 3 meals a day of baby food. Veggies, Fruits, Yogurt, Puffs, and Meat combos are all in your repertoire. You like it all! You don't feed yourself yet, you like to play with puffs or bananas or apples or whatever I put in front of you but you so far are completely content to let me shovel in the goods while you play. We're working on that. Look at those butt cheeks! You have no chance with my butt and your fathers... we are a family of bubble butts. I love it that your size 4 diapers cant fence you in!

We had your first Easter in Corpus. Baba was in the hospital but we went to church anyway and had you dressed up so cute! I had really cute shoes for you but you did not like wearing them and preferred instead to chew on them. We took you to the hospital and snuck you in to see Baba even though he was in ICU.

Later we went by Charlotte's house and you two opened your Easter baskets and chewed on your eggs. The bunny outfit above was given to you by Nani for Easter... so cute!

You are such a happy baby. You smile and play all the time, and as long as you have some toys are pretty happy. You hate it when I put clothes on or off of you but you LOVE bath time and kick and kick and drench your mama. You love being outdoors and anytime you are fussy I can just walk outside and you are instantly happy. When we were at the ranch with Baba we would put you in a chair on the porch with your friend Trey and you were happy for hours.

You don't crawl yet, but you spend a lot of time lunging and sitting, scooting and rolling. You still manage to get across the room fairly easily. You hold onto mama and pull up onto your knees now and each time you do you smile and laugh, very much pleased with yourself. I think you might skip crawling and go right to walking, then I'll be really busy!

We went to your friend Charlotte's first birthday and you love balloons. My goodness, you watched them and played with them for hours! You are "all boy" - always grunting, grabbing and kicking. You love it when I say "What does a lion say?" then ROOOOAAAR! It makes Charlotte cry and you laugh.

Your uncle watched you while mama and dad went and looked for houses and you were good for a long time, but then you got tired and fussed at him. It was pretty funny, and I don't think uncle will be volunteering to watch you anytime soon.

We are buying a new house, one we will be at for a long time I hope... I think you will love it. We love you so much little buddy...

Love,

Mama

This turtle never had a chance

2010-04-22T05:57:00.000-07:00

We (might) have a new house!

2010-04-22T05:51:00.000-07:00

So we found a great house and put an offer in on Tuesday. And they accepted it - just like that! No counter offer, no haggling, this is the way to buy a house! I hate the negotiations. I know many people, including Mr. Foy, love this part of the buying/selling process but I do not. It makes me sweaty and nervous and I'm not very good at playing the game.

Anyhow, Its a really nice house, and I'm very excited to show it to all of you as soon as I can... The option period has begun. Wish us luck!

Home Sweet Home

2010-04-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

Well, not really but maybe soon. I'm in Houston now at my Brother-in-laws house and am trying to find a home. I think we found one, and are planning on putting an offer in today. Its not in the First Colony like we wanted, but we like the neighborhood a lot and the house is really great.

I was in Corpus until Sunday helping Nani get things taken care of. The funeral was really nice, a lot of people came and Andy, Wes and I spoke. I'll probably post what I said here soon. I dont think that it has sunk in for me that Baba is with Jesus. I still think of him riding around at the ranch, taking care of his deer and cooking tacos for Oscar.

I am really really ready to have a home again. This gypsy life isnt for sissies. Poor Linc must think we're homeless. Next week we're planning on coming to Dallas, to pack and hang out for a bit. Does anyone want a cat? Or need a rent house? If so leave a comment here!

Thanks for all the calls, texts, and flowers. It means a lot.

Baba

2010-04-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

Johnny Gene Kalenda, age 76, passed away 9 April 2010 on a beautiful spring afternoon at his beloved Ranch in Duval County. He was God's great steward of the land to the end. He was born to Rudolph Kalenda and Albina Mikus on August 30, 1933 in Granger, Texas. Johnny was a proud Marine who served in the Korean War.

He is preceded in death by his son, Terry Kalenda and Johnny's siblings.

Johnny is survived by his wife of 54 ' years, Shirley; his beloved grandchildren: Julie and husband, Jay Foy, Austin Kalenda, Jay and Kathryn Wieder; brother-in-law, Ed Cooper; sisters-in-law: Nelda Mucha and Elsie Mucha; great-grandson, Lincoln Johnny Foy (his namesake); nieces: Lanna Warren, Judy Bowman and Nancy Bohnenberger; as well as several other relatives, friends and ranch family who were the greatest joy and blessing in his life.

Visitation will be from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., on Tuesday, April 13, 2010 at Seaside Funeral Home.

Funeral Service will be at 10:00 a.m., on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 at Seaside Funeral Home Chapel.

Interment to follow at Seaside Memorial Park.

Memorials may be made to, Covenant Baptist Church and Marines Toys for Tots.

To view tribute, please visit www.seasidefuneral.com.

not in Duvall yet

2010-04-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

So we didnt end up in Duvall county for the weekend. As soon as Baba left and got to the ranch, they called and said that his blood was way too thin and he needed to come back asap. He was bleeding internally and they have given him 8 units of blood and gotten his blood thickened up again. It was kinda crazy. They had to put him in the back of the suv on a mattress propped up with pillows and when he got there had fallen back in between pillows. I was worried when I opened the back of the SUV and could only see one eye but he hollered, "Julie! This is pretty darn comfortable!" He has an amazing spirit and we're all so glad he hasnt lost it yet.

He cant swallow right now and is pretty weak. We don't expect that his time left is more than a few weeks and are meeting with hospice today. We're hoping to get hospice at the ranch so he can enjoy being in the country with his deer and all his best buddies.

Pray for all of us and that this would go according to HIS plan!

Baba

2010-04-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

I'm in corpus and have been helping Baba and Nani while trying to care for little croupy Linc. Its been a little crazy. And to keep things fresh and exciting, it looks like we're springing Baba from the nursing home tomorrow and taking him up to the ranch.

I am nervous about this but I feel like its the right thing to do. He hates being in there and all his buddies up at the ranch have volunteered to help out. He is still weak and needs lots of help, but I think it will do him good to be up in the country he loves.

Pray for everyone involved.

I'll be here through next week before going to Austin for a wedding. We're still looking at houses and havent found the perfect one yet. Pray the perfect one at the perfect price comes available soon! I would love to get the move over with.

When I get back to Dallas, I'll be packing up and need some volunteers to come to the packing party. It will be super fun I promise!

The life of a gypsy

2010-03-28T20:00:00.001-07:00

So we're here in Houston. For now. We got here yesterday and I'm leaving tomorrow to go to Corpus Christi, then back to Houston, then Corpus for Easter, the Austin for a wedding, then back to Corpus then kaboom!!!! My head just blew up.

We did get to look at about 12 or so houses today. I dont know if we found THE one, but we found some maybes and narrowed down the neighborhoods we are interested in. Now we just keep looking and find the perfect one! Lincoln has been feeling better and is loving his new big boy carseat. Oh, and we love our realtor, she is awesome which is such a relief!

Uncle mike babysat today and his head almost blew up too. 4 + hours for your first time to babysit a still sickly baby is a little much but he did awesome. Lots to do in the coming weeks, but I'll keep everyone posted and I have a post coming about being a sahmife soon.

Croup

2010-03-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

At 5:30am Lincoln woke up. He was crying and I went to go get him. My first thought was, "Wow! He slept all night for the first time since forever ago!!" Then as I went into his room I could hear him gasping for breath in between cries. It sounded terrible! It was like a gasp crossed with the honk of a goose and a cough. Not a good sound at 5:30 am when you are a first time mom and just lived through RSV.

We called his doc, which reminds me to mention that I can't stress enough how awesome it is to have a doc who takes her own call all the time! Its amazeballs. She called right back and said to go ahead and take him in since she hasn't seen him lately and you never know with breathing problems.

So we got dressed and jumped in the car and raced off to Cooks. We went there because last time we got sent there because regular hospitals are very very scared of babies. Like how 5 year olds are scared of the boogieman. I think they are afraid of the deadly baby venom that most babies carry. We got to Cooks, and again, they were super nice, and immediately diagnosed it as Croup.

Duh, Croup! I should have known, I saw that on Terms of Endearment! Apparently its not that big of a deal and just sounds way worse than it is. They gave him a breathing treatment and some steroids because they were worried that he was so skinny and wanted him to bulk up a bit. Hah, that was a joke, have you seen the size of my child!?! Then we just had to hang around to make sure he was ok, then they released us.

He was happy most of the time and trying diligently to remove the little leg bands they put on him and was successful. Jay snoozed a little then held Linc for a while. Linc had a little pulse thingy on his toe and it fell off and so to help, Jay put it back on his toe. Then it fell off again. Then Jay thought to keep it from beeping and just for fun, he would put it on his own finger. The thing went crazy beeping and screaming. I told him to please knock it off. Then about 10 minutes later, just for fun AGAIN Jay stuck his finger in it again! Sometimes its so fun raising two boys!

Now we're home and Lincoln is napping lots and doing just fine. Days like this are when I am extra thankful that I don't have to go into work anymore!

Houston

2010-03-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

As you may have heard we are moving to Houston. Houston is a sweaty steamy place not that unlike Corpus Christi, the home of my childhood. Jay got a new job, still with his current company Fidelity, in Sugar Land. We have been praying about moving closer to Nani and Baba for a while, and many of you know have been looking for jobs in Austin, Houston, even Corpus off and on over the past few years. Well everything certainly came together at once. It makes me truly realize that God's timing is so much better than mine and that I need to trust it.

Our house sold, we learned of Baba's cancer, and moved all in a couple of weeks. I was able to quit my job to take care of Lincoln and be free to go to Corpus when I needed to help Nani and Baba. I came back and unpacked all day only to have Jay come home on that same day and tell me that he was about 95% sure he was getting a job in Sugar Land. I was shocked! He has interviewed for many positions over the years, but no doors ever opened. Now more than ever, we wanted to be closer to Corpus and here it was... opportunity delivered to us just in time.

So now I'm packing and we're going to Houston next weekend to stay with brother Sansabutt (aka Mike) while we look for a house and I go check on Nani and Baba. Jay's going to stay with brother while I go back and forth between Corpus to help the grandparents, Houston to see him, and up here in NRH to finish packing and get ready to move. I should get frequent flier miles for driving. It will be hectic but I know it is worth it.

The sad part is starting to hit me now. We just had home team tonight and I realize now that we're going to be leaving so many great friends. I am so excited about what our future has in store for us in Sugar Land, and very excited to be close to Mike, Misti & Blake, and Carl & Amber, all friends in Houston, but I am going to dearly dearly miss our friends here and I cant even think about saying goodbye without tearing up. Stupid Friends. I know, everyone move to Houston with me and Jay! We can start a big commune!

While you all pray about the possibility of moving with us, I welcome help during the day so I can pack and watch Lincoln (and spend time with friends...) So holla if you wanna play.

Here is a video from February of Lincoln rolling over. I wanted to to share this so that everyone could see 1. Lincoln can actually finally roll over, both ways. and 2. Everyone needs to his glorious round smushy rolls. I love a nice chunky baby. (I also didn't know that I sounded so ridiculous in real life, so sorry for that.)

More Soon

Christmas, the final chapter

2010-03-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I never got around to finishing my Christmas posts. After having a great time with the Foys, we went over to spend the night with Mom and Pop. They had gotten some tickets for the amazing winter show at Schlitterbaun. It was so cool! There were carolers and an ice skating rink and lights everywhere.

First we went to dinner at Johnny Carinos, that is actually the restaurant where Jay and I had our first date, but the on in College Station. It was a nice and fancy dinner... I love me some steak and that is what I had. Lincoln loves his Mimi and Poppa and we found out that Bobby is the baby whisperer... Its amazing, Lincoln fusses, and Bobby picks him up and all is well.

We got to the water park and cruised around enjoying the sights. Mom kept threatening to ice skate and we all tried to talk her out of it considering all the times she has visited the emergency room in the past. Luckily, she changed her own mind about it so we had some hot chocolate instead.

Mom had this great idea. "There is a carousel! Lets go take Lincoln on a ride!" Great! I agreed completely and we cruised on over to the carousel area and got in line. We had Linc wrapped up in about 10 blankets to keep him insulated from the cold. But that made him a bit hard to hold on to.

You will notice the laughter - its nervous laughter. We had at that point realized that we were off our rockers. Taking a 6 month old baby on a carousel? Who does that? Well, we do!

Its ok... it all turned out fine and I chalk it up to a lesson learned. And it was still really fun even if it was dangerous. Afterwards we met the local reindeer and then went on home. We were cold and it was getting late.

We didn't exchange gifts this year. We got them some stuff from Lincoln and they got us stuff for Lincoln. That is how it works once you have kids! It was a short visit but fun and nice to have time to see the whole family over Christmas. The pic above is from November, because I forgot to take pictures because I had just gotten the flip video and was enamoured of it.

oops

2010-03-19T07:56:00.001-07:00

Here is the video of Linc that I referred to before at Nani's. I guess I cant put more than one video per post?

Down in Corpus Christi

2010-03-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

So I headed down to Corpus to help Nani and Baba while he went through his first round of Chemotherapy. If you didn't know, Baba was diagnosed with Lung cancer so that is why he's doing chemo. Duh, like someone would do it for fun.

Linc and I drove down in 2 days. The first day was during a snow storm in Central Texas. That's right, I said snow storm in Central Texas. You weren't hallucinating. It was crazy. Snow flakes the size of golf balls were falling out of the sky while I drove down 35 going 25-25 miles per hour. We got as far as Georgetown and decided to stay the night.

The next morning we finished the drive. Baba was doing really well until the weekend when his feet started hurting. After many consults with many doctors and a trip to the hospital, we just now found out that in fact the pain was not from gout, vasculitis, chemo, or tiny trolls living in his blood... its an infection. That took 2 1/2 weeks in real time, but I just summed it up for you. Trust me, you don't want to know the gory details.

The foot pain is why we stayed for 2 weeks. Baba was having trouble getting up on his own so Linc and I stayed to help. It was tough, for everyone, and it wont be the last time we have complications I'm sure. But it was nice for Linc to see Nani and Baba and spend time with them. However, there wasn't a ton for linc to play with so as you see below, we improvised by turning a bassinet into an (unsafe) swing.

I did get out from time to time to the grocery store and to visit Ashley and her family. We even sneaked (snuck?) off one day to the Texas State Aquarium. It was neat and this was the first time I saw the dolphin exhibit. The babies were more interested in looking at each other and chewing on their stroller straps than the huge friendly dolphins, but Ash and I enjoyed it.

The video is a little long, but very cool. I think the little boy thought I was stalking him...

Baba got better enough to where he could get up on his own so I finally came home... Stopping at my mom's to stay the night on the way back. When I got home I got busy unpacking, only to get the good news the next day that it looks like we're moving to Houston! More soon....

PS I'm posting the video of Linc in his Bassinet in the next post, it wouldnt let me do two...

I didnt disappear

2010-03-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

I'm back. A ton has been going on so I'll explain. No, there is no time. Let me sum up. (Did anyone get that movie reference??) We sold our house. (Yeah) We moved into a rent house. I quit my job. (Yeah) Baba got diagnosed with cancer. (Boo) I went to Corpus for 5 days and stayed 2 weeks. (Boo) Jay got a job offer in Sugar Land. (Yeah) Now I'm packing again to move. (Boo)

God has been very very busy in the Foy household. We feel very blessed and excited about being closer to the rest of the family but I'm so sad about leaving our friends here.

I am now a stay at home mom/wife. I'll refer to myself as a sahmife from now on. Its a bit wierd. After working out of the home for so long, I am so grateful for the opportunity to stay home, and the supportive wusband (that is working husband) that makes that possible but it is a bit of an adjustment. The awesome thing is that I got to take Lincoln to the park, get some exercise, and give Linc his first ride in a swing. Lots more to come soon...

By the way - thanks to uncle sansabutt for my flip video. I use it all the time as you will see in the coming days.

Christmas Eve and Morning

2010-01-28T08:03:00.000-08:00

So Christmas Eve morning started with me having ginormous hive all over my face which was super fun. I went and saw the doc and got the last few items we needed for Christmas Eve dinner. We had the traditional Tamales and Queso. Isn't that what everyone has on Christmas Eve? Oh and it snowed... all day long. Our back yard is above, isn't that gorgeous?

Lincoln and Dad were very tired from all the fun. Lincoln is wearing his "Santa's Favorite" jammies. They are so cute! We opened one present each Christmas Eve and went to bed early. I was in a grumpy mood because my hives bothered me so much. Here is what I looked like.
Notice the huge grouping of red lumps on my forehead? I felt like I was growing Reindeer Antlers. They were also on my chin and nose. I had attempted to cover with makeup.

The next morning I woke up with many fewer hives, and we were all very excited for Christmas Morning. Above is a pic of Lincoln with his new cell phone. He loves to chew on it and watch while I pretend to answer it then put it up to his ear. So hit him up on his celly soon! 555-1234

You are probably wondering why he is naked wrapped in a blanket. Its cause he was in his cute jammies, but we started unwrapping presents and he was sitting in his bumbo in his new Radio Flyer red wagon and pooped, and it shot right out the top of the diaper like a fountain. Happy Christmas!! So we washed it and continued. Jay got a big propane burner so he can use it to make beer and fry turkeys and other manly things, He also got UP the movie, which is awesome. I got Photoshop, some wine glasses, and an iTunes card.

Then we got in the car and drove to Georgetown. It wasn't too long of a drive and we had fun opening more presents when we got there. We got moo-lah from Grammie and Papaw and I got a flip video from Uncle Sansabutt. Lincoln got books, clothes and money too. Sansabutt's new girlfriend even sent us presents... We had a delicious dinner and watched UP!. It was a wonderful Christmas!

All the grandparents got a video that Jay made for full of videos and pictures of Lincolns first 5 months. I'll try to post it here but its about 16 minutes long - I don't know if anyone is that interested in seeing it.

I'll leave you with this pic of Linc showing off in his jeans. Such a Cutie!

Update: Silver Fox

2010-01-27T12:32:00.001-08:00

So far Beth says that my grey hair looks awesome aside from the fact that it ages me about 20 years.... That backhanded-compliment giver Beth!

I really will post pics soon.

RSV

2010-01-27T10:18:00.000-08:00

We're home! WHEW! Lincoln is slowly getting better and is currently napping. Here is what happened.

Sunday morning Linc was coughing a bunch and starting to get fussy. He is usually a pretty happy baby, wanting to sit up all the time and play and as always, loves to eat. I knew he was sick when he was fussing but didn't worry too much. He's had little colds and stuff from daycare so I thought it would be a pain, but no big deal. He got a fever that afternoon so I called my doctors, Dr. Misti, Dr. Amanda, and my real doc, Dr. G who is Linc's pediatrician (officially). They suggested that I give him baby Motrin and keep an eye on him. So I did.

Monday morning I called at 8 to get in to see Dr G and they set me up for a 10:15 appt so that is when I went. As soon as the doc saw him she looked concerned and ordered a breathing treatment. We started that then the nurse hooked him up to the pulse/oxygen monitor thingy and his oxygen saturation was only 82%. I knew immediately that was bad because I spent lots of time with my asthmatic friend in the ER in college. The doc came back and sent us to the ER. I panicked a bit and practically ran to the ER at Baylor Grapevine. They got us right in and gave him a couple breathing treatments and an x-ray. My friend Kim came up to hang out with us and help me hold Linc, who was not wanting to be put down and his 21lb 8 oz butt is HEAVY!

After waiting for the results to the swabs the doc did for RSV and the Flu, the ER doc told me that he was sending us to Cooks Children's in FW because he was concerned with Lincs o2 numbers and the rapidness of his breath. They had an ambulance come to get us for the ride over. Thank God Kim was there, she helped me stay calm.

We got in the ambulance and Linc was in a better mood, happily chewing on the oxygen nose thingy. He was calm all the way there - again Praise God! It would have been awful if he had been screaming the whole time. We got there and it was CRAZY!!! There were so many people at the ER but they put us in a private room, probably because Linc has RSV and they didn't want us to infect everyone else.

Linc strapped to the stretcher, getting on the Ambulance.

The nurses and everyone were so nice. You can tell that everyone likes kids and is used to making them happy because they were super good with Linc. He was breathing really rapidly once we got there so Jay went out and started asking for help after we had been waiting for about an hour. The nurse called a doc in and he ordered a breathing treatment. After the treatment he was still breathing fast so they ordered another one and an IV. The sucky part is that I couldn't feed him, they didn't want me too since he was already struggling to breath. The other sucky part is that I was totally exhausted. I had been holding him all day, and was stressed and upset. The respiratory tech told me this was life threatening so I started to freak out on the inside while trying to stay calm on the inside. They finally decided to admit him. First, this guy came and put the IV in while the other guy held Linc down. It was TERRIBLE!!!! I mean TERRIBLE!!!!!!

Linc's splint/IV

I have a whole new load of sympathy for parents of sick babies. Also, for the nurses and docs that deal with them. The people at the hospital, all of them, were so nice (except that respiratory lady who gave me a heart attack).

He couldn't wear his jammies, instead had to wear this gown, which I don't think he liked too much. And we had to get a urine sample which included taping this baggie thing to his wee-wee, which I KNOW he didn't like. And every time they would take is temp and especially when they would take his blood pressure, he screamed like crazy. I think the nurses though I was poking him with pins because they kept coming in and asking if he would take a pacifier. And no, he wont, I've tried!

Anyhow, overall, we are very very blessed and very grateful to be home and to be getting better. Thanks for the prayers and meals.

P.S. Our house is under contract - so hopefully it will be sold soon! If all goes well we close Feb 19th so stay tuned for info on a packing party!

The Old GREY Mare

2010-01-18T16:37:00.000-08:00

So I have recently decided to see what my hair looks like without the benefit of hair dye. I know there is more grey than there used to be, but I'm not sure exactly how bad it really is. If its just in one main area like it seems to be - I think it could be pretty cool. So does my hubby. Either that or he doesn't want me to spend the money at the salon.

I told a couple of my friends my plan the other night and they didn't agree with me as to the coolness of my experiment. No matter, I now have a new friend, Beth, who is imaginary and agrees with most all of my ideas. She's kind of like the antithesis of the Fat Little Girlfriends. They too are imaginary, but they are evil and Beth is kind. So I told my real friends that my imaginary friend thinks is a superb idea.

So I'm going to give it to mid February to see how my hair looks. I'll post a picture of the progress so far soon. Now is a good time to mention that my beloved friend Misti saw me around new years and gasped in shock and awe of the amount of grey at my temple. This is her hubby below with Lincoln. They just found out their doggie has cancer so pray for them.

Christmas and New Years

2010-01-08T15:21:00.000-08:00

Hanging with Uncle Sansabutt

Napping with Dad (in his new fancy pearl snap shirt)

Georgeous Charlotte

Bathtime in the kitchen sink at Nani and Baba's house

Best buddies!

Backwards

2010-01-07T18:57:00.000-08:00

I'm posting backwards. So this video is of Charlotte and Lincoln at Ashley's house. Charlotte has grown so much and is crawling and pulling up and I have no doubt walking very, very soon. She is in love with Lincoln and he feels the same way. He gazes at her with a big grin on his face, mesmerized by her beauty as she endeavors to pluck his eyeballs from their sockets. Everyone shows love in different ways, haven't you read the 5 love languages!?! Seriously, she wants to devour him and I think its because he's so cute.

Anyhow, we had a great time with Ashley and Tyler, and Misti and Blake for our faux New Years. See, we had decided to celebrate on New Years day because Misti and Blake wouldn't be able to come till that day and we were going to be flying in on New Years Eve so it would be too late to go to dinner. So we did, fly from Dallas, to Houston, to San Antonio, to Corpus, back to Houston, then back to Corpus on New Years Eve. Whew! Its tiring just to type all that. Southwest added San Antonio to our flight from Houston to Corpus Christi, then for good measure did a touch and go in Corpus due to dense fog, then had to refuel, so went to Houston again. Lincoln was an angel... just ask our fellow passengers! He slept the WHOLE TIME! I was shocked. All our fellow fed up passengers commented on what a "Good Baby" we have. I hope he's that calm next flight!

So on New Years Day we went to Dinner at 6:30 while Mike and Melissa watched the babies. We are such rock stars that we were home by 8:15 - woo hoo! The next day was spent shopping, napping and hanging out and was so nice for a break from the routine and to be with friends.

Sunday morning we met Nani and Baba at T&C for breakfast and had a grand ole' time. Suffice to say Tyler got to meet Nani in all her glory - crazy comments and all. After that, Misti and Blake left, and we spent the rest of the day with Nani and Baba. More soon.

Lincolns First Christmas Dinner

2010-01-06T19:03:00.000-08:00

This is undeniable proof that we are unfit. We gave Linc this taste that you see in the video at Christmas Dinner. We had a great Christmas and I'm sad its all over now. We have traveled all over Texas in the last couple of weeks and I'm going to catch up blogging soon. This is a little nugget to keep you interested!

You can go ahead and comment on our lack of parenting skills, I wont mind!

Santa Baby

2009-12-07T20:27:00.001-08:00

So we went to the Gaylord Texan Saturday to see Santa... and it was awesome! This is one of the pictures Santa took with Lincoln... So cute! I'll post more pictures soon but I had to get this one up for the grandmas.

Bubbles

2009-12-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

I love these pictures.I wish this one wasnt blurry, but he was mid-laugh. So cute!

First Snow

2009-12-02T06:07:00.000-08:00

This is Lincolns new hat and his new habit of sticking his tongue out.

This morning as we were getting ready for work we realized it was snowing. I was feeding Lincoln and said, "Lincoln! Its your first snow fall! It's so exciting!"

Jay's response was, "Gee, why didn't we celebrate his first rainstorm?". Then I kicked him. Kung-foo style.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T11:30:00.000-08:00

Our First Family Thanksgiving!

(Mimi and Papa were here too - just not in the picture!)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We certainly did. Mom and Bobby were here for Lincolns first turkey day and it was a huge sucess. The picture above is a post - dinner nap that Jay and our (ahem) tiny little baby boy were sharing. Isnt that the best!

I have to brag for a second. My turkey rocked!!! Everyone agreed that it was the best they have ever had. I'm glad to share the recipe with anyone who is interested. The rest of the feast was also very good... all the usual fare. The only other important thing worth mentioning was that I made my first homemade Pumpkin pie and it was awesome. I used a very special, secret family recipe. (Its the one on the Libbys Pumpkin can.) Lincoln liked sitting in his bumbo supervising.

Mom and I also made jelly! My step-mom gave me juice from Muscidine grapes, and mayhaw fruit when I went to visit way back and I finally made it into jelly. It was very fun and not nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

On Tuesday before turkey day Mom came up with Peter and Amy and Baby Sarah! It was the first time I got to see Sarah and the first time they say Lincoln. It was great to see them even though the trip was short. They have another bundle of joy on the way!

RASCAL

2009-11-25T14:16:00.000-08:00

4 Months OLD

2009-11-19T10:32:00.000-08:00

Lincoln,

You are 4 months old! You went to see your pediatrician and you weigh 19 lbs and 9 oz and are 26.5 inches long. You are so big!!! Huge! We had to buy more pajamas in size 9 months this time because you are already too big for the 6 month ones we bought about a month ago! Your thighs are gloriously huge and you have baby fat rolls everywhere. Its adorable. You nearly broke your Mimi's back when we went to visit last weekend because she carried you up and down her street to show you to all her friends and neighbors. She's currently lifting weights so she'll be ready for Thanksgiving.

We went to visit both your grandparents last weekend. They hadnt seen you since 2 months and couldnt believe how big you are. We took you to Wurstfest in New Braunfels, and you slept right through the umpa-loompa band. Then we went to Georgetown and took a ride on Grammys golf cart and almost got stranded and again, you slept! Your dad and paw-paw had to pick us up half way across town!

Halloweeen was fun. You dressed as a pumpkin on the actual day because it was too hot for your Monkey suit. Your friends Cason, Carsyn, and Jack came over to help give out candy. The grown ups ate frito pie and cupcakes. We had your picture taken with both your outfits on. It was your first official professional photo session and you were adorable, except when you screamed when I changed your clothes. You really dont like to put on or take off clothes.

This month your personality has certainly continued to show up and show off! You are so cute and flirt and smile at everyone now. You have found your feet and as soon as I take your diaper off, you grab your feet and make noises and try to eat them. You try to eat EVERYTHING. You can reach out and grab what you want now and whatever that may be, it goes into your mouth. You chew on your blankets, toys, my hair, me and dad's clothes, and the washcloth at bathtime.

Your dad got you a jumperoo and you are starting to jump in it a little... but mostly you chew on the seat and look at the toys. We have so much fun watching you and seeing you discover new things. You stare at the kittys and at Lola looking a bit confused - like you are thinking "why does that stuffed animal move?".

I'm sorry you didnt have a 3 month letter. About a week before you had your 3 month birthday I went back to work. Thankfully I only have to work Wednesday through Friday each week, but I have had a very very VERY hard time leaving you. You stay with Mrs Brandy, and she is so sweet and takes great care of you, but I hate leaving you during the day.

We have our house on the market now as well. That was a big chore to get the house ready to sell, and to keep it looking good because your stuff seems to multiply all the time, and get spread from room to room in a matter of minutes. So everyday your Dad and I pick up toys and blankets, and bouncers, and burp cloths from every room before we leave the house so hopefully someone will come over and love our house and give us lots of money for it.

You like to be outside now. You love to watch the trees and talk to them. We went shopping at Southlake Town Square with Catherine and Cason and you loved it and had a great time looking all around. I'm using your strollers more now because you are so heavy that its hard to wear you in your sling for very long.

We love you,

Mom and Dad

Headlines

2009-11-12T08:25:00.000-08:00

I usually don't comment on this blog about what is going on in the news. That is usually because I don't have the faintest idea of what is going on in the news except for the really big stuff that is so big that people talk about it.

First, I would like to say that Levi, Sarah Palin's daughter's baby daddy is really annoying me. I read that he is preparing to appear in Playgirl and he is always popping up here and there with an opinion about this and that. WHO CARES! He is a random loser who glommed on to celebrity thru his ex-girlfriends mom and now is milking it in the most shameful and embarrassing way. This is further reason to not have sex in high school, because you could end up having a precious baby with an total dork. Not to mention that God says not to (have sex) till you are married. Man he really gets on my nerves.

Secondly, and I know this is old news, but I simply love Leach's rant about the "fat little girlfriends" who apparently held some responsibility for the loss of Tech to A&M. I don't know the whole story, but my understanding is that Leach feels like some of his players chose to listen to what their "fat little girlfriends" had to say over the leadership of the coaching staff and this made them lazy and as a result - Aggies beat Raiders.

So from now on, I am blaming "fat little girlfriends" for all bad things. For example, I now believe that the "fat little girlfriends" sent the HIVES to me - just to annoy me. I also believe that they must be the reason we haven't received an offer on the house yet. Maybe they are hiding in my bushes and whispering bad things to the potential buyers. Maybe they are farting in the living room and leaving a bad smell so people don't like the house. Either way, I am certain its all their fault!

(In my head "fat little girlfriends" are a little like garden gnomes - but female.)

Baby Mama Drama

2009-11-11T09:07:00.000-08:00

So the last several weeks have been a bit of a beat-down. I had a nose-thing where my nose got all big and red and owie. So I went to the doctor and he said "You have an infection!" Woo hoo! So I took some medicine and started to feel better.

The next week I woke up to feed the monkey at about 4am and felt this awful pain in my back that just would not go away. It lasted all morning then went away. Then came back. Then went away. Then came back worse! Then went away. Then I peed out a kidney stone! My doctor said that I need to drink more fluids.

The week after that my sinus infection came back with a uti to boot. So more medicine.

Then a few nights later I started to get HIVES. Yes, HIVES. If you remember, when I was pregnant I got hives all over my body and they couldn't figure out why and ended up attributing it to the baby in my belly and all the crazy accompanying hormones. They went away ,finally, 1 month later.

So this time I called the doc right away and they put me on a Steroid dose pack that helped a ton. Yeah! No more HIVES. Until last night when they came back. I guess now that I am not using the steroids they decided to pay another visit.

(I put HIVES in all caps because they are awful and also because it reminds me of dooce's SHINGLES that she had after giving birth. I also copied her letter idea. www.dooce.com )

Lincoln's 4 month birthday was this weekend and we had fun visiting my parents and Jay's parents. I'll be posting his letter and pics from the weekend soon.

A long future together

2009-10-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

I hope Lincoln and Charlotte like each other.
So far they seem to get along ok.
They have a long future together. They are 3 months apart. Charlotte is older although Linc is passing her up in size. I joked at my baby shower that Jay was Charlotte's future father-in-law but I think that it is more likely that they hate each other in the future than love each other. That seems to be how it goes when your mothers force you together from a young age.

lincoln JOHNNY

2009-10-16T05:51:00.000-07:00

Here is my chunky monkey in his super cool jeans and hoodie. I love to dress him up like the cute little man he is. Sadly this is one of two warm outfits he owns that fit him properly. So this weekend we have to go buy him some warmer clothes - that are bigger too. I felt like an unfit mother yesterday sending him to Miss Brandy's house in an outfit so tight he looked like a sausage.

And here is a picture of Linc's namesake, Johnny Gene Kalenda. He emailed it to me - ya thats right. Baba can email! He's pictured here with Chris Schatte, one of his buddies out at the ranch.
Baba had a rough year last year health-wise and I was so happy to see this picture and him looking so much better!

Our house is officially on the market as of yesterday. We even had our first showing last night. The pain in the butt is that we cant go home while people are there, but the nice thing is that we are living in a super clean and pretty house! My aweseome, talented, and sweet friend Dina came over and re-arranged our furniture and decorations and made it look amazing! I wish she would have come over when we moved in, instead of now that we are selling the house.

So pray that it sells soon for oodles of cash!

Happy 3 Month Birthday!

2009-10-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

Back to work again

2009-09-28T07:46:00.000-07:00

I'm back at work... IT IS SO HARD! I knew it would be hard, I watched others struggle with it but I had no idea I would have such a hard time leaving my little chunky monkey.

Miss Brandy is awesome and so sweet and I know she takes good care of him. That still doesn't make it easier. I am very lucky to be only part time, an everyone has been so nice in welcoming me back. I'm looking at the positive... The little monkey tried to give me a heart attack by refusing to eat from the bottle at first but now he's back to eating like a champ!

Lincoln is getting bigger and bigger. We had to go buy 6mo pajamas for him because all his others are too small and too short for him. I know they say that babies grow so fast but I had no idea!

My friend Catherine mentioned on her blog that she has a serious addiction to Starbucks and I do too. Since the PSL (pumpkin spice latte) is back, its bad! I think they put crack or heroin in those because I crave them sooo much. And they are so expensive! Now that we are on a budget (me working part-time) Its crazy! But I found a good and cheap alternative. They make a creamer called Pumpkin Pie Spice and its only about 2$ for a bottle of it and I can make my own at home. No, its not the same, but its close!

Oh ya, Linc had his first fever. Nothing major but it happened... one milestone down!

Buttered Popcorn

2009-09-20T17:58:00.000-07:00

This post is not what you think it will be about. Its not about going to the movies or popping the perfect popcorn. Its about poo.

That's right. You heard me, poo. My baby's poo smells just like buttered popcorn. And not because I'm so in love with my little guy that I'm delusional. I even have witnesses who can attest to the yummy popcorn smell.

Jay came home from work one day and was wondering around the kitchen and asked if I had made popcorn. I had not, but Lincoln had made one huge poo that had spilled out of his diaper and got on his changing pad and onesie and I had them sitting on the island so I would remember to put them in the washer when it was done. We sniffed around and quickly that the delicious movie-style buttered popcorn smell was coming from the poo-stained items. AWESOME!

His farts smell like popcorn sometimes too... its pretty awesome and I wanted you to all be jealous of my yummy smelling poo producing baby!

2 Months Old

2009-09-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

Lincoln,

You are 2 months old and are growing so fast! We went to the Doctor today for you to get your 2 month check up and your first round of shots. You weigh 15lbs and 4oz and are 24" long. The nurse gave you 3 shots and you were looking right at me when she stuck you and I don't think that I'll ever forget the look of surprise on your face, then the red-faced, outraged screaming that followed. I felt so bad but you stopped crying very quickly.

You can so so much already! You like to be held at the shoulder now because you want to look around, no more cradle hold, you get mad! You smile all the time and are awake so much more now. You don't laugh yet but when you think Mommy and Daddy are funny, you coo and awww and talk to us. It blows me away every time you do it and I'm convinced you are trying to tell me something very very important. You work so hard on getting those little sounds out and they are coming more and more all the time. You also sleep a little more at night now - most of the time.

You have outgrown a ton of clothes and all of your nighties are already too short for your long legs. You are in 3 months and they dont always fit. You get baths more often now so I can keep up with your sweaty fat rolls and you like them now, and usually don't cry at all. You like to look at your friends Mr Fan and Mr Lamp... you smile at them and stare so intently its like you are trying to memorize them. You take a pacifier sometimes now, but not from me too much... I think its because you know I have the boobs with milk and you would rather have that!

This month you went to your first restaurant (On the Border), and many after that. You also had your first play date with your buddy Cason. You two looked at each other for a few seconds so Catherine and I declared it a success. You also took your first road trip. We went to Georgetown to see your Grammy and Pawpaw, then to Corpus Christi to meet your aunts Misti and Amanda and to see your great grandparents, then to New Braunfels to see Mimi and Pop on the way home.

Your Nani and Baba, and Granddad and Aline were all so excited to see you and hold you. You were such a good baby on the drive down and had only a few meltdowns. Granddad and Aline gave you a high chair and an awesome set of wooden blocks along with other goodies. Nani and Baba took you to dinner at Kiko's to celebrate your 2 month birthday, and Baba's 74th birthday. He's the one you re named after and who cant wait to teach you to shoot my BB gun.

I even left you with a baby sitter (Charlotte's Mimi - Melissa) to go out with the girls Saturday night for a couple hours. I was a wreck but you slept the whole time. I have to go back to work this Friday, only part time, but I'm dreading it so much. I'm so nervous about leaving you with someone else all day but I know you will be fine.

You are such a joy, you cry less now and I can just see you soaking up the world as you gaze around with your big blue eyes.

Love,
Mommy

My baby birthing story

2009-09-01T11:04:00.000-07:00

(this took a long time to write because I started it then got distracted... you know, with a baby and all... but I'm glad I started it when I did because I'm already forgetting!)

Well, as many of you know I really, really, really wanted to have a "natural" birth. To me, that meant no c-section, no induction, no pain killers, just a good ol' fashioned vaginal birth. Jay and I took birthing classes - the Bradley method - to prepare ourselves for that sort of birth. Well, it didn't all work out how we had planned or hoped but it all worked out well anyway. We do have a healthy baby boy after all!

First, I will say that if you do want this kind of birth make sure to have a birth team (doctor, midwife, whatever) that supports your wishes. We did not. I didn't want to change doctors because I felt the need to stick with my doc since she had treated me when we miscarried before, and she had treated me for my PCOS while we tried to get pregnant with Lincoln. In hindsight, I wish I had found a doctor that I had 1. been more comfortable talking to and 2. didn't think natural childbirth was absolutely butt-stupid crazy. Don't get me wrong, Dr Moser is a great doctor! She deals with high risk and multiple births all the time and has a great track record with them but our philosophies just didn't line up when it came to birthing babies and having options. She wanted to schedule and medically manage every aspect and I wanted to be a hippie and let it just come when God said so!

So I didn't have a perfectly healthy pregnancy. The Bradley Method is really geared towards the "typical" pregnancy, one free of complications and medical issues. I did great till the end when I found out I had Gestational Diabetes. Besides being a pain in the butt, Gestational Diabetes makes for big babies. So as soon as I found out that I knew that my doc would be pushing for an induction. We let our wishes to not be induced be known and she agreed to let us go till 39 weeks before inducing, then thankfully, she was booked that week so we scheduled for my due date, which would put me right at 40 weeks. I felt good about that. I was so certain that I would go into spontaneous labor on my own I didn't even worry about the induction too much. Well, I didn't go into labor despite my best efforts. I had walked, sat on the birthing ball, squatted, pelvic rocked, even had sex! And no labor, just a few random contractions here and there and I did loose my plug in the Albertsons bathroom following a fabulous dinner at Trulucks. They moved my date, but we went to the hospital on the 7th at 7pm to check in to be induced. We had our bags packed, all our stuff ready to go and even had a thank you note and brownies for the Labor and Delivery nurses.

We checked into the hospital that night and they checked me and I was still only about 2 cm dilated and about 30% effaced. Let me say that its confusing because everyone who checked me told me something different... the doctor and all 984,000 other people who checked me all gave me different - drastically different numbers. The plan was to give me Cytotec that night, a prostaglandin medicine that is actually developed to treat ulcers but that some doctors use to "ripen" the cervix. I DID NOT want to have this drug. I had read very scary things on the Internet about it and it made me very nervous but I felt like I didn't really have a choice and I didn't want to P.O. my doc by making a stink about it so I was a good patient and did what she said. Let me say that it is very uncomfortable when they check you and when you are in the hospital it seems like everyone that works there comes in and has a go at it(hence the 984,000 people.) My nurse was very sweet and got me all settled in then tried to put in my IV and missed twice - ouch! Then she brought in another very nice nurse who finally got it in. I hate IV's!!! (Another reason that I will totally go to a birth center next time.) So after the paperwork was done, and the IV was in, they put the medicine in me - on my cervex - and we tried to sleep. I had never stayed in a hospital overnight and it was not so fun. They came in quite often to check my vital signs and the bed is hard. Poor Jay had to sleep on an awful chair-bed thing. Not to mention I was all excited and nervous about having this baby finally!

So in the morning at about 6:30 my nurse came in and started my pitocen. I had some contractions but nothing very painful or memorable. I was getting excited and hungry. I forgot to mention that the doc gave me instructions for before I checked in to the hospital. Those included administering an enema on myself and not eating after 3pm so I had the biggest Whataburger, fries, drink, and lemon pie you ever saw at 3 then, ahem, did the other thing which was awful and I will never ever ever do again. Another reason I want to go to a birthing center.

Anyhow, the doc came in at 7 and checked me, said I was about a 3, still just about 50% effaced and that he was "very high" meaning he had not dropped at all. I was bummed! That was what the evil medicine was supposed to help with and it seemed like it had no real effect on my stubborn cervix. Well then the party started, she broke my bag of waters, and before she could, ahem, remove her hand from my lady parts, the contractions started.

I'd like to take a minute to say here that everyone lied to me. They told me that contractions feel like menstrual cramps and the LIED! Yes, the pain is in the same area but the pain is different and more intense than any cramps I have ever had, and I've had some bad ones. I don't think that is normally how they start out - but the pitocen ramped them up right away.

So my "active" part of labor had started with a bang! I immediately began having contractions every 1-2 minutes and they lasted for a minute each. For those of you that are unfamiliar with this fun stuff, that means that most of the time a contraction started as one ended. It was like they were all best buddies and couldn't stand to be apart for a second! Even the nurse commented on the intensity and frequency of the contractions. I had told Fatma that I wanted to go as natural as possible. That was kind of funny considering nothing at all about my labor was "natural". I was hooked up to an IV pole with my water broken, hooked up to a fetal monitor and an internal monitor too. The internal monitor measured the intensity of my contractions and the baby's heart rate. It was incredibly uncomfortable too... I had hoped to spend some time in the shower relaxing during labor, to walk around, to get on a birth ball, and all that was not an option due to all my attachments.

Fatma was more supportive of my wishes to not have any more drugs and simply told me that if I decided I wanted an epidural that it would take her about 20 minutes to get me "ready" for it from the time I requested it. That included getting 2 bags of fluid in me and giving me a nausea medicine. I could tell that she thought I was a bit nutty for not wanting the drugs right away but I was sticking to my guns! I asked for the birthing ball because I was really uncomfortable lying in bed and wanted to sit up. Because of my internal monitor she suggested the rocking chair. I moved over to it and was more comfy. Jay was an awesome coach. He was very calm from the beginning and very supportive. He started rubbing my feet and legs during each never ending contraction. He moved to my shoulders and head from time to time and never stopped being my cheerleader.

I did good for quite a while. I had my eyes closed most of the time and kind of went into myself. I knew I couldn't fight the contractions because that would only make it worse so I concentrated on keeping my whole body limp - including my face. My big fear was that I would wear myself out with the labor and be pooped when it came time to push. After learning so much about the stages of labor in my class, I was shocked to find that I felt like I had jumped right into transition. My contractions were right on top of each other and I was nauseous right from the very beginning. I kept thinking that I was doing well and that with all this intensity there must be great work being done to bring my baby down and out. I think Jay was surprised how relaxed I looked. We also get several comments from nurses and from the doc on how relaxed our room was - we had classical music playing - Jay had made me a play list.

So about noon Dr Moser came back into check me. I had not been checked since that morning when she broke my water. (This did surprise me since the previous night it seemed like someone was waving their forearm up there every 10 minutes of so, but I digress.) So they made me get back in the bed to be checked and WOW it hurt. Because my contractions had no breaks, she checked me during one and that really hurt bad. She said I had made progress and I was thinking GREAT! I BET ITS TIME TO PUSH!!! Then she said, yes, you are about 3-4 cm dilated, 75% effaced, and at a 0 station. I wanted to die. She kept feeling around and the pain got worse, much worse once she was done. It didn't help that I was exhausted and now felt hopeless because of my slow progress.

She left and I said to Jay, "I think I want the drugs". We had a deal that if I asked for drugs I had to wait 15 minutes to make sure. I was afraid he would be disappointed in me but he was very understanding. I had gone a long time and not gotten very far and couldn't continue without some relief. Even as I write this I am bummed that I didn't get to have him without the epidural but hopefully next time I will... and without the other drugs as well.

So we told the nurse and she got me going, and it turns out she had lied. It took her an hour and 20 minutes to get me the epidural and by then my carefully constructed relaxation plan was starting to crumble. I was having trouble keeping my focus during contractions and that made the pain worse. The doc finally came in to give me the epidural and it was quick and painless. They numbed my back before putting in the big needle and it was completely painless compared to the contractions, and in fact, I don't remember any pain from the epi at all. I laid back down and within about 10 minutes was completely pain free.

Now I failed to mention earlier that my favorite place had been in the bathroom. For some reason I was much more comfy on the potty than just about anywhere else but they wouldn't let me stay in there with my monitor unhooked and iv pole to drag around. Now that I had the epi, the nurse put in a catheter because I could obviously not get up anymore that the bottom half of my body was numb. That wasn't bad because I was numb, but it did hurt later.

After all was situated with my catheter and epi, I fell asleep hard! I slept for about an hour and a half I think. The epidural made my legs feel like what I imagine a teddy bear would feel like if it was alive. They felt warm and furry. I could still feel pressure with each contraction, but no pain. They did have to keep turning my pitocen up after the epi because my contractions slowed down and lessened in intensity.

Soon after my nap my mom and pop, and Jay's parents showed up. They each came to say hello then went and waited in the waiting room. Jay and I took another nap. It was kind of boring waiting with nothing to do and I was still sad that my birth plan had gone so completely out the window. At 5 pm Doc came back and checked me. I was convinced she was going to try to c-section me because I hadn't progressed. But to my surprise she said I was complete! Awesome! Now just another couple hours of pushing and he would be here!

So the doc starting breaking down the bed and getting me ready to push. The nurse came in and pretty soon we started. The doc was in a rush to get to a dinner at 3 forks (something I did not care at all about) so we got right down to it. I started pushing with my contraction and they said I did good. I had been really nervous about not knowing how to push correctly - the doc told me to push like I was pooping so that is what I did! I had my legs up in stirrups and the nurse was on one side and Jay was on the other. With every contraction I would grab my legs and push forward holding my breath for a count of 10. Then I would quickly breath out then go right back into another count of 10. I did this 3-4 times each contraction. Pretty soon Jay said he could see hair! I was shocked! It had only been about 10 minutes and there was already hair! Wow! So within 10 more minutes, at 5:20pm, Lincoln came into the world. It was amazing! All of the sudden there he was, all slimy and BIG!

Doc let Jay cut the cord and then they put him in my tummy, he was so beautiful and perfect - I couldn't believe it! I didn't even notice that he was all goopy. He had a lot of Vernix on him and the nurse rubbed it in when she took him to the little warmer. Jay started taking pictures and the doc started sewing me up. I had a 2nd degree tear and needed several stitches, I don't know how many cause I was too busy staring at my darling baby to ask. I also missed the placenta! I delivered it pretty quickly after he was born but didn't get to see it. I know it is weird that I wanted to... I was just curious! After she weighed him, 8lbs 11oz, she wrapped him up and gave him back to me.

He was amazing, his eyes were open and he was quietly looking around the room. I stared at him and he stared back. I was able to breast feed him then and he did a great job taking to the boobie. I fed him for about 20 minutes and Jay and I just stared at him! I think we were in shock a little that we have a baby!!! He ran out at some point to show our parents a picture of Lincoln on the camera. I didn't want everyone to come in right away because we wanted a little family time. After I got done feeding, we invited the Moms to come in. Everyone loved him of course, and we all agreed that he is the most beautiful, smart baby ever!

Soon after that they had to take him to the nursery to be bathed and to measure his length. I did not like that they took him but Jay and I had already agreed that Jay would stay with the little monkey. So Jay went and watched them give him a bath and they brought me food... awful food, but I didn't care. Finally I got moved to my new room and they brought my little guy in and we settled in... Jay went and got me Burger King cause I was still so hungry and he's a great husband.

1 Month Old!

2009-08-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

Lincoln,
My baby is already 1 month old! You're getting bigger and changing already. I'm very impressed at how you can hold your head up. If you are laying on my chest with your head facing 1 way, and you decide you want to look the other direction, you pick your head up and turns it by yourself! You'll also just hold it up and look around when you are on my shoulder. I think this means you are going to be a genius!

You are awake more and more during the day and last Wednesday I think you smiled at me. I was singing your favorite song, the song about putting pee-pee's in the diaper for Mommy to change that I sing to you every time we change your diaper and you smiled. Some may say it was gas but I know better. You may be the only person on earth that likes my singing.

We're going to the doctor today for your 1 month checkup and I'm willing to bet that you probably weigh over 10 lbs and are 24 inches long. Your little legs and arms are getting chubby and you love to store sour milk in your adorable neck fat rolls. We give you a bath every 3 or 4 days and you like being in the water, you relax as soon as we put you in the tub.

You have lots of gas and that makes you fussy sometimes, but we expected that because you are, after all, your father's son. I never thought I would worry about the digestive tract of another person so much. I stopped eating Dairy products and it seems to have helped you out. You like to be swaddled when you don't feel good, and you like to sit with your Dad in your rocking chair and listen to music together. He is trying to instill in you a love for Tom Petty at an early age.

Every morning when we wake up, which can be anywhere from 5am to 8am, we sit in the living room and you nurse and I read a chapter of the Bible to you. Right now we're reading Matthew. I figured that the gospels were a good place for us to start. You went to church with us the last 2 Sundays and everyone thinks you are adorable, of course.

We've already been to the grocery store together, to Costco, to Target, and to mommys work to show you off to the girls. When you are in the car, you love to stare out the window at the world. If you get mad, you do NOT like pacifiers but you will suck on my or dad's pinkie. You are already in 0-3 month clothes and don't fit in most of your newborn ones already.

Your grandparents have all seen you and spent time with you except for your Nani and Baba, and Grandad and I-ene, your great grandparents. You are so loved... by me and Dad and everyone!

Love,

Mommy

More of little Lincoln

2009-08-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

Tiny fingers and toes
Sleepy Boy

Letting the bottom air out!

Lincoln Johnny Foy

2009-07-30T10:56:00.001-07:00

I'm back on the internet! I am sort of amazed that I remember how to type. He's here! Lincoln arrived on July 8, 2009... a healthy 8lb 11oz 21 inch long baby boy!

I'm working on my birth story and an update of the time since then but its not done yet. WARNING! It will be a little graphic in the birth part. Not for shock value, but because I feel like not telling the truth would do an injustice to all women who may read this who havent had babies yet.

Nursery and Belly

2009-07-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

Here is finally some pics of the nursery. I dont have the drapes done yet but I did finish the mobile and I think it looks kind of cool!

The BigBird, Grover, Kermit, and Cookie Monster were made for me when my Mom was pregnant with me by her mom, my Mimi who is no longer with us. They never got to me so when Mom found them she saved them and now they are for baby Lincoln!
DANG that is a big belly!

07.08.09

2009-07-06T07:41:00.001-07:00

Well it is official. If I don't go into labor today, I'll be induced tomorrow evening and have Lincoln on Wednesday!

I went to the doc this morning and am still just about 50% effaced and only 1-2 centimeters dilated. So she wants me to go to the hospital tomorrow at 6 to get some medicine to make me dilate more then be induced Wednesday morning. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time!

I'm still hoping to have an epidural - free birth in spite of the fact that I will be having the evil Pitocin. My biggest prayer is for a healthy baby boy and secondly no c-section! Please pray for that with me if you are praying!

I'm so excited, I have to go clean my house now and get everything ready for Lincoln's arrival!!

Lincoln watch 09'

2009-07-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

I went to see the doc today and I'm 2 cm dilated and 60% effaced. That means progress! I am also now on the waiting list for a July 8th induction, the doc has a meeting on the 7th so cant induce me then. If I don't get in on the 8th, they wont induce until the 15th since the hospital is booked till then for inductions.

I did lose my "plug" yesterday (at Alberstons) and got very excited thinking I would go into labor any minute, and now 24 hours later and no labor I think I'm coming off of my adrenaline high and now am convinced that this baby is going to live in my pelvis until his would-be 30th birthday. I know that isn't the case but still! I'm not expected to be rational at 39 weeks and counting.

The positive side (that is the side I'm trying to look at) is that hopefully I'll have a bit more time now to go into spontaneous labor instead of being induced. If you are praying, please pray for that! God has been so generous to us so I am just thankful for whatever, whenever it happens.

I'll keep everyone posted on news flashes as they happen.

Other preparation

2009-06-28T13:43:00.001-07:00

Jay did a great job putting together the baby bed and bassinet. He is very handy. Mary and I were good supervisors.

My friend Lisa and her daughter Courtney brought us this diaper cake - it was very yummy.

Since the showers we have enjoyed relaxing and not working on projects. I now have only 9 days left (or less) until he arrives! My doctor put me on house rest last Wednesday after seeing my swelling and the fact that my blood pressure has been a little elevated. Its been very very nice to sleep lots and rest... I'm working on a few small projects, like his mobile, but nothing too strenuous.

So the nursery is done, the crib is ready, the house is (mostly) clean and we are as ready as we'll ever be. I'm not sleeping well anymore, trips to the bathroom and aching belly wakes me up several times a night and I really love sleep. I know - everyone keeps telling me its gonna get worse but I don't really want to hear that - I'd prefer to be in denial! I have some stretch marks on my sides but none on my belly so far. At least, none that I can see.

Any last minute advice is welcome! Please pray that I go into labor on my own, I really don't want to be induced if I can avoid it.

Second (Awesome) Shower

2009-06-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

My friends from church threw me my second baby shower. It was super awesome... Dina had it at her house and she's very creative and decorated everything with baby bottles and whatnot. We painted onesies and ate and opened a bazillion presents - thanks everyone!

Crystal organized the onesie - painting and Melanie bought petite-fours that were scrumptious. Terra, Courtney, and Leianne did food and it was all delicious, I especially loved the cucumber sandwiches and cheese blintz's that Dina made. It was all wonderful!

This is Dina and I in front of the onesie- mantle - Catherine provided the onesies.

Everyone had fun and looked really cute in their dresses. I wore pants to cover my cankles. :( These are some of the custom, one-of-a-kind onesies that were made for baby Lincoln. He's very lucky!

I'm so blessed to have such wonderful and caring friends!

First Baby Shower

2009-06-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

My first baby shower was given by my friends, Ashley, Misti, Amanda, Lindsay, and Jayme. It was memorial day weekend and the reason for all my husbands stress in the months and weeks leading up to it. I think he may have been more excited about the weekend than even I was due to the fact that the projects were completed and I would then leave him alone.

Ashley, Melissa, and Charlotte were the first to arrive for the weekend. Nani, Jim and Mary showed up soon after. Charlotte is getting so big and really liked her bath in my Kitchen sink.

Charlotte got to wear an especially frilly dress for the occasion. She looks happy huh?I didnt get a picture with all the hostesses, here is one when the out of town girls. And another with Gabby, Stacey, and Michelle.

JAY HELD A BABY! JAY HELD A BABY! I think the only reason he did it was because it was Charlotte. Otherwise he would have abstained. I think this picture speaks volumes and needs no other commentary from me.

The shower was awesome. We had tons and tons of food, including my favorites, tiny sandwiches and love dip followed by yummy chocolate cake with cream cheese icing. We had punch, and favors and tons of presents.

Isnt Nani cute all dressed for the shower. She had a great time looking at all the baby stuff.

We had a great weekend, after the shower we let the guys come back over and we hung out and ate and looked at baby stuff... always a great time!

Shower weekend

2009-05-22T10:11:00.001-07:00

Its finally here! We've been working furiously to get the house put together and up and running for my first shower and the weekend is finally here. I'm so excited that my family and friends are all coming here to celebrate Lincoln's arrival. I'll take lots of pictures and be sure to post soon!