Walk the Dinosaur!

We've been promising Chris a trip to "the dinosaur museum" (actually Fernbank Museum) all summer, and yesterday we finally came through for him. Fernbank has played host this summer to a travelling dinosaur exhibit (hence "the dinosaur museum"), and the boys couldn't have had more fun!

Before I get to the requisite video of their shenanigans, though, I have to share a quick story about Chris. We were standing in line in the little food court at Fernbank when, all of the sudden, Chris starts shaking his head back and forth really hard. I laughed at first because he looked a little stupid, but then it got a little strange. I finally grabbed him and asked what the heck he was doing...

"DAD! I have too many smarts in my head, and I have to shake them all out to make room for new smarts!" Can't argue with that... :-)

Enjoy the video...

Chubby Chia Baby!

First, this note from our friends at WebMD...

Congratulations, Holly! You're 30 Weeks pregnant. Your baby measures about 17 inches from head to toe and weighs about 3 pounds. Baby is growing plumper and beginning to control its own body temperature. Eyebrows and eyelashes are fully developed, and hair on the head is getting thicker. Head and body are now proportioned like a newborn's. Hands are now fully formed, and fingernails are growing. Your uterus is about four inches above your navel, and it's hard to believe you still have about 10 weeks to go. You may be feelingmore discomfort in your pelvis and abdomen now, and you can expect to gain about a pound a week from now until delivery.

It's pretty incredible to me that Tyler will gain anywhere from 5 to six more pounds before he's born (based on Chris and Matthew's birth weights), especially since the little booger already appears to be getting so big. He's been doing backflips and cartwheels for several weeks now and, despite what last week's update said, appears to show no interest in slowing down in his acrobatic adventures. Holly's doing pretty well, as long as she can keep moving. She pretty much crashes as soon as she stops going, so we sort of have to keep her in a state of perpetual motion unless we want her to go all narcoleptic on us. :-)

Chris and Matthew have really gotten into the spirit of the pregnancy, and they're starting to really show an interest in Tyler's growth. They even talk to him through Holly's belly button...it's WAY too cute! It remains to be seen whether Matthew will fully embrace having a little brother. He's been the baby for the last three years, and he's not really used to having other people steal the limelight. Still, it was pretty much the same for Chris, and he's been an AMAZING big brother, so I guess we'll see.

On an amusing note, stop by Andrea's blog for a second to see the sort of effect this pregnancy is having on other families. Her account of Annabeth's curiosity about babies it great!

Finally, I just think it's hilarious that Tyler's hair is starting to fill in. For whatever reason, I can just picture the little guy in there with a sprig of hair that miraculously sprouts into a glorious head of hair. Chia-Pet, anyone? :-) There's also something hysterical about the phrase, "Baby is growing plumper." Not sure why...

Ol' Blue Eyes...

First, this note from our friends at WebMD...

Congratulations, Holly! You're 29 weeks pregnant. Your baby measures about 10.4 inches from crown to rump, or a total length of about 16.7 inches from head to toe, and weighs about 2.7 pounds. At this stage, a fetus's eyes are almost always blue and can distinguish bright sunlight or artificial light through the wall of the uterus. Baby is performing fewer acrobatics as conditions in the womb have become cramped now that he is getting bigger. Your uterus is about 3.5 to 4 inches above your navel. Weight gain is probably between 19 and 25 pounds. If born now, your baby could probably survive outside the womb - although in a neonatal intensive-care unit.

How amazing is it that they know that almost all babies have blue eyes at this stage of development? Guess that's why they call 'em Baby Blues, huh? The whole thing made me think of Frank Sinatra, which made me think of Frank Sinatra, Jr.'s cameo role on (once again!) Family Guy. Check it out!

Again, I never cease to be amazed by what doctors are able to discern about kids who are still in the womb. I also got a kick out of the "Baby is performing fewer acrobatics..." First of all, all I can picture is a baby flying across the Big Top on a trapeze or something. Second, Tyler seems to be kicking Holly more frequently (and with more ferocity) than ever before. Maybe the WebMD guys are wrong about that...

Shamon! (with apologies to Adam Selzer)

So the other day I turned on the TV only to find (on every stinkin' CHANNEL!) the Michael Jackson memorial service. Chris happened to be sitting next to me at the time, and says, "Who's that?" I gave him a quick overview of Mikey and his musical legacy, and quickly (though vaguely) explained what was going on. Chris takes another look at The King of Pop and says, "Wow. Michael Jackson is handsome. I'm sure glad he's dead, or Annabeth might want to marry HIM!"

Nice...

What Do Babies Dream About?

First, this note from our friends at WebMD...

Congratulations, Holly! You're 28 weeks pregnant. Your baby measures about 10 inches from crown to rump, or a total length of about 15.75 inches from head to toe, and weighs about 2.4 pounds. He is able to dream when sleeping, and his eyelids open and close. His lungs are almost fully developed, so there's a good chance that your baby would survive if born prematurely. Your uterus extends well above your navel. As your baby gets bigger and stronger this month, you may experience leg cramps and mild swelling of ankles and feet, difficulty sleeping, shortness of breath, lower abdominal aches, clumsiness or scattered Braxton Hicks contractions (hardening and relaxing of the uterus). These contractions are normal, but if they start showing a pattern, call your health care provider.

First of all, how amazing is it that babies can DREAM while they're still in-utero? Second of all...what the heck do you suppose they dream ABOUT? They don't have any life experience to speak of, other than that of growing progressively larger every day, so that really only leaves memories of the fertilization process itself. Ick...

Also amazing to me is that women can handle all of the ridiculous things that come along with being pregnant. Holly is currently experiencing all of the maladies listed by WebMD, AND she has to deal with ME! This is no small feat, ladies and gentlemen. The only thing that men have to compare this amount of discomfort to is being kicked in the, uh, nether-region. While this is excrutiatingly painful, the pain (and subsequent nausea) only lasts for about an hour or so after the fact. You ladies deal with this nonsense for NINE MONTHS! Incredible...

That's enough canonization of women for one day, but seriously...I'm impressed that anyone lives to tell about being pregnant!

It Starts...

First, a note from friends at WebMD...

Congratulations, Holly! You're 27 weeks pregnant. Your baby measures about 9.6 inches from crown to rump, and weighs a little more than 2 pounds. Hands are active and muscle coordination is such that he can get his thumb into his mouth. Thumb-sucking calms the baby and strengthens his cheek and jaw muscles. Your baby can cry now, too.

OK, thumb-sucking jokes aside here, how wrong is it that kids can start crying when we can't even HEAR them?!? Is it not enough that Tyler will spend the majority of his first few months engaged in this very activity (when he's not eating, sleeping, or pooping, that is)? No, no...gotta' have some in-utero crying to go along with it, too. WOW!

Even funnier in this? That's it's just sort of thrown in there as some sort of after thought! "Oh, and by the way...you know that sound that's going to keep you to a maximum of two hours of sleep for the first three months of your baby's life? He's making it NOW...and he's PISSED about it!"

For whatever reason, this post totally me think of the Family Guy episode where the family is celebrating Stewie's first birthday. Stewie has a flashback to his in-utero days, and it's priceless. Enjoy!



Family Guy - Stewie's Birthday
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More Dancing Babies...or Ooga Chaka, Ooga Chaka!

First, this note from our friends at WebMD...

Congratulations, Holly! You're 26 weeks pregnant. Your baby measures about 9.2 inches from crown to rump and weighs almost 2 pounds now. Its hearing is full developed. As the fetus reacts to sounds, its pulse increases. Your baby will even move in rhythm to music. Lungs are growing but are not yet mature. Patterns of your baby's brain waves appear like a full-term newborn. It also has patterns of sleeping and waking. The baby's constant movements should be reassuring. You'll be putting on weight at the rate of about 1 pound per week now. You may be feeling some rib pain as your baby grows and pushes upward on your rib cage.

OK...so admittedly I've already blogged about dancing babies. In restrospect, I now feel sort of ripped off that I went that route so early. So, if you want to see a dancing baby video, please feel free to click here to see my earlier post.

In the meantime, I find it hard to believe that:
A. Tyler will have rhythm at all given his parents, and
B. That his moving "in rhythm to music" would look anything unlike the following...

And Now Here's Something We Hope You'll Really Like...

Sorry for the Rocky and Bullwinkle theme...something got me going on that earlier today, and now it's just stuck in my head.

And now here's something I hope you'll really like...an update from our friends at WebMD!

Congratulations, Holly! You're 25 Weeks Pregnant. Your developing baby now measures about 8.8 inches from crown to rump and weighs 1.5 pounds. Skin now becomes opaque instead of transparent. Its body is still covered with folds of skin like a puppy that need to grow into its skin. The heartbeat can be heard through a stethoscope or, depending on the position of the baby, by others putting an ear against your belly. Besides your uterus growing upward, it may be getting bigger on the sides of your abdomen.

24-Week Update (It's late, I'm tired, and I can't think of a creative title!)

And now this note from our friends at WebMD:

Congratulations, Holly! You're 24 Weeks Pregnant. Your baby measures around 8.4 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 1.2 pounds. He is starting to produce white blood cells, an important component of blood that is responsible for combating disease and infection, and may respond to your touch or sounds. Your uterus is about 1.5 to 2 inches above your navel. Expect to gain about a pound per week this month. Tests for detecting gestational diabetes are given between now and 28 weeks.

I'm not sure if it's just because it's late (a little after midnight) or if I'm just insane, but the idea that Tyler can hear things going on around him is just awesome to me...and totally makes me think of Stewie Griffin's iPod commercial on Family Guy. :-)

Wrinkled Old Bag Lookin' Like A Sharpei

First, this note from our friends at WebMD...

You're 23 Weeks Pregnant. Your baby measures about 8 inches from crown to rump and weighs almost 1 pound. His body is starting to look more like a newborn, but his skin is still wrinkled as more weight is to be gained. By now, there is no mistaking that you are pregnant and you have likely gained about 12 to 15 pounds. If you have aches in the small of your back, consider treating yourself to a pregnancy massage or apply a warm (not hot) heating pad or hot water bottle for a short period of time to the area.

Let me first say that I think it's a bit presumptuous of the WebMD folks to assume that all husbands are kind enough to provide their loving wives with a trip to the spa for a pregnancy massage. Maybe they've got some sort of arrangement with the Spa Sidell folks or something. Hmmm....

Second, I think it's hilarious that Tyler has essentially not grown into his own skin yet. For whatever reason, all I can picture when I think of this is one of those wrinkly little sharpeis...

And why the bizarre title to this post? It's a shout out to our good friend, Will "The Fresh Prince" Smith, from his classic 1991 ode to old drivers, "You Saw My Blinker!"

We both pulled off on the side of the road

I was hot ready to explode

The only thing stopping me from breaking her nose

Was I was 21 and she was ninety years old

Then the police came turned the lights off

The lady started crying and the cop got soft

The cop said oh it'll be okay

Wrinkled old bag looking like a sharpei...

Graduation!!

Chris graduated from Pre-K last week. HOORAY! I'll post more information on this later, but I thought I'd post the video for now. Enjoy! :-)

Do A Little Dance...Get Down Tonight!

First, this note from our friends at WebMD...

You're 22 Weeks Pregnant. Your baby measures about 7.6 inches and weighs about 12.3 ounces. His muscles are getting stronger, and his eyelids and eyebrows have developed. Your baby's acrobatics are pretty constant, and since he responds to sound, rhythm and melody, you can try singing and talking to him. After he's born, the same sounds may soothe him. Your uterus is continuing to grow, but you're probably feeling pretty good -- no more morning sickness, and your abdomen isn't so large that it's getting in the way very much. But many women experience leg and foot cramps, as well as mild swelling of ankles and feet, around this time.

I think it's absolutely incredible that Tyler is already forming a love for music. On the other hand, the image that keeps popping into my head is that crazy dancing baby from Ally McBeal! :-)

Mah Name's Tahler...But Y'all Can Call Me Bubba!

First, this note from our friends at WebMD...

You're 21 Weeks Pregnant. Your baby measures about 7.2 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 10.5 ounces. He is steadily gaining fat to keep warm. Growth rate is slowing down but organ systems, like digestion, are continuing to mature. A waxy film, called the vernix caseosa, is being produced by your baby's oil glands and covers the skin to keep it supple in the amniotic fluid. Buds for permanent teeth are beginning to form. Friends, relatives, and even strangers can probably tell you're pregnant by now. Your uterus is starting to extend above your navel. You've likely gained between 10 and 14 pounds.

Before continuing on, I think it's important to note Holly's response to this post. She's generally felt like everyone on Earth (and maybe even NASA astronauts thanks to the Hubble telescope) can tell that she's pregnant for the past several weeks. To say that she was shocked to hear that people might (just now) be able to tell that she's pregnant is perhaps the understatement of the century!

Anyway...I love the idea that Tyler's beginning to develop "buds for permanent teeth." That sort of makes it sound like he's growing some of those Hillbilly Teeth that you can buy in gas station gumball machines. :-)

Note to family members who are reading this...be sure to ask Ann about the teeth she wore the first time she met Holly's mom. Hilarious!!

20-Week Update

From our good friends at WebMD...

You're 20 Weeks Pregnant. You're at about the midpoint of your pregnancy. Your
baby measures about 5.6 to 6.4 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 9
ounces. He can hear sounds by now - so talk to your baby often. Baby will even
cover his ears with his hands if a loud sound is made near you, and he may even
become startled and "jump." Your baby is moving often, too -- twisting, turning,
wiggling, punching and kicking. Can you feel him? Your uterus is just about even
with your navel and your waistline has pretty much disappeared. But don't worry,
it is only temporary!

I'm lazy today, so there's nothing clever about this post. As they say, "just the facts, ma'am!" Until next time...

I Just Have Too Many Interesting Things to Say!

So a couple of weeks ago, Chris had notes on his daily reports that said he was "chatty" at nap time, meaning that he was probably keeping some poor kid from getting his or her daily ration of sleep (and - more importantly - keeping his teacher from getting her daily ration of sanity!). This went on for two or three days, and when I finally asked him why he kept being so chatty he replied, "I just have too many important things to say, and I have to get them out!"

How hilarious is that?!?

X-Men?

First, this (slightly belated) note from our friends at WebMD...

You're 19 Weeks Pregnant. Your baby measures about 5.2 to 6 inches from crown to
rump and weighs about 7 ounces. The baby's skin is developing and is transparent, appearing red because of the visible blood vessels. A creamy white protective coating, called vernix, is also developing. As your baby continues to grow, you may be feeling some mid-pregnancy aches and pains -- lower abdominal achiness, dizziness, heartburn, leg cramps, mild swelling of ankles and feet, and a backache are all normal. Dilated blood vessels might cause tiny, temporary red marks (called spider nevi) on your face, shoulders and arms.

Admittedly, I'm a little creeped out by the "creamy white protective coating." It sounds like someone slathered Tyler in suntan lotion or something. Who knows? Maybe ultrasound waves can give you a nasty burn...

Regardless, the idea that Tyler's skin is still transparent and a little red reminded me of the scene in the first X-Men movie where Senator Kelly gets turned into a mutant by Magneto, only to have the mutation fail completely, ultimately resulting in his disintegration into a gelatinous mass on Dr. Grey's table. NASTY stuff, but a VERY cool effect!

Like A Rock...

Last weekend, we decided it would be cool to celebrate Mother's Day a week early by having lunch with my aunt, uncle, cousin, and granda out in Stone Mountain. Since we weren't planning to eat until 2:30, though, we decided it would be cool to take the boys out to Stone Mountain Park. What a great experience!

We hadn't really been out to the part since they underwent massive renovations and privatization, and I have to say it was exceptionally cool. There's a whole village now that's filled with shops and historic activities, and they're really done a great job revamping the place. By far, our favorite spot was the glass blowing exhibition. We must have stood there for 15 minutes while this guy turned a two-inch blob of liquid glass into an absolutely beautiful vase. Truly mind-blowing!

It was also cool to walk around the base of the mountain. On either side, there are memorials to the fallen soldiers of the Confederacy, and there are lots of really great quotes engraved in the walkways. I'm not Southern by birth, but I have to say that if you had ties to the Confederate South, this would be like Mecca for you, I think.

It was interesting to see Chris and Matthew's reaction to things, too. Since he's still pretty young, I think most of the symbolism of the Mountain went over his head. Chris, though (in typical fashion), was fascinated by the whole affair and had tons of questions. Most interesting was his confusion over the idea of war, and why people were killing each other. Holly did a really amazing job of explaining it to him, though. She said, "Sometimes people believe in something so strongly that they're willing to die for it, and sometimes people love something or someone so much that they're willing to die for that, too. These people loved their country so much, and believed so strongly in what they thought was right, that they were willing to die for it." Even cooler, though, was how Holly worked in Chris's apparent religious zealotry. She told him, "It's kind of like how Jesus loved us so much that he was willing to die for us." Very cool!

Enough bragging about my wife and kids, though. On to the video! Enjoy... :-)

The Moo Turns Three!

WOW is this post ever late! Matthew, or The Moo as he's become affectionately known (for reasons known only to Holly), turned three last month. It's a little ridiculous that I'm just getting around to posting this video in celebration, but I'm sure we'll all move on...right? RIGHT?!? OK...now that that's out of the way...

The Moo turning three was absolutely cause for celebration, and celebrate we did! It turns out that our neighbor's daughter's birthday falls just a few days before Matthew's, so we organized a dual birthday party for the two of them. It was AWESOME! We tag-teamed with our neighbor to rent a moonwalk for the day, and the kids absolutely wore themselves out. This had to be the single coolest moonwalk ever, by the way. Not only did it have a full-scale jump zone, it also had two basketball hoops (one inside, and one outside) and slide. Seriously...awesome!

We grilled out burgers and hot dogs, and stuffed our guests full of cake and goodies. There was also the requisite beverage for all three-year-old birthday parties...beer! :-) By the end of the day, parents and kids were completely exhausted, and a good time was had by all.

If you're reading this and were present for the festivities, thanks so much for making The Moo's third birthday a great one. We had an absolute blast, and we're thrilled to have such a great group of friends and family.

Enjoy the video!

Drama at the Prom-A

This weekend was my youngest sister's junior prom. First, let me say just how much it boggles my mind that Hope is already a Junior in high school. I would swear that it was just last week that she was running after the school bus on Annie's first day of school, wishing her sister would come back to her. Of course, that all ended about thirty seconds later, when she famously said to my mom, "HA! Now I get to play with ALL the toys!"

Fast forward a decade and change, and she's all grown up into a beautiful young woman.

Granted, she's still playing with all the toys now that Annie's off at college (another mindbender), but we'll save that for later. Here's where the drama comes in!

Hope and her friends were all set for group pictures on Saturday, when all of the sudden it started to rain. The mass hysteria of flash-happy parents that made of the original photo shoot was therefore forced to move over to a local country club where one (or more) of the group had a membership. Pictures were snapped by the bazillion inside, but then we got lucky and the rain broke off. This is where it got interesting...

As it turned out, the best place to take group pictures was adjacent to the golf course. Also nearby...the golf cart garage! As you can imagine, Chris and Matthew were absolutely fascinated by the carts, especially since they seemed to be SO kid-friendly! Dad was wise enough to go around to the various carts and turn the keys to the "off" position, and the boys found themselves squarely in hog heaven. There were smiles all around, and a general calm fell over them as they pictured themselves hurtling along at breakneck speeds with Lightning McQueen and the gang.

Fast forward about 15 minutes and an untold number of cart returns...

We'd left the cart area for a few minutes to take pictures in other locations, and had just returned the cart corral. Naturally, the boys headed straight back to their favorite new toys and hopped aboard.

As an aside, I feel it's incumbent upon me at this point to mention that we'd spent the better part of the early afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese's for a birthday party. Chuck E. Cheese's, as you may know, is famous for its selection of kid-friendly video games...including driving simulators. This is important...

Anyway, there we all are, standing in awe of our suddenly waaaaay-too-adult-looking sisters/daughters/granddaughters/aunts/whatever, when all of the sudden out the corner of my eye I see...wait for it...

Matthew DRIVING a GOLF CART across the parking area and heading straight for a small pond!! Superhuman speed took over my parentally-exhausted body, and I flew across the parking area to leap into the cart with The Moo. I slammed on the brakes, sending Matthew flying into my arms, and promptly asked Matthew just what the heck he was thinking. Naturally, panic took over at that point, and poor Matthew just broke down crying. Also naturally (since crying kids and a death-defying leap into a golf cart are hysterical to adults), everyone else present completely cracked up...myself included.

By the time all was said and done, Matthew was convinced that he's the next race car champion of the world, and I was convinced that he'll NEVER get near another wheeled vehicle as long as he lives.

Guess we'll have to see...they DO race GoKarts over at the fairgrounds on the weekends. Maybe there's a future there after all! :-)

Spoon!

OK, so there's not really an overly cute story or intricate background to these pictures, but... I came up to kiss the boys goodnight before heading off to bed the other night, and this is how I found them. How cute is that?!?