Three!

At 1:14 a.m. on July 3, 2007, everything changed. Abby Elizabeth Looper came screaming into the world 6 weeks early at 2lbs 15oz. She was whisked away to the NICU where she stayed for 10 days, but she stole her mommy and daddy's hearts the first time they looked into her sweet, blue eyes, and now she's THREE!

What a difference 3 years makes.


I love you, baby girl.

Jason's Week Off

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that we had quite the week last week while Jason was on vacation. I'll dedicate this post to Abby since she was the one with the biggest experience, but you'll also see another post with sweet Jake.

First, we went to the dentist where Abby got her teeth "tickled" and "glitter" put on them for her birthday this weekend. I must say she was great. She wouldn't let us finish applying the flouride at the end, but I was just impressed she got them cleaned and let the dentist actually look in her mouth. I guess everything's better when you're sitting on Daddy's lap.


Next we went to the zoo.

Here's a picture of our zoo trip right after Abby turned 1:

And here's one from this trip:


I look back at these and can't believe how much she's changed in two years. I was thinking yesterday that I no longer parent a toddler. Now she's a preschooler.

Let me mention here that it was HOT at the zoo that day. Of course, it seems that it's been HOT around here for the past month!

On Wednesday we made a stop at Clemson to eat lunch with Aunt Heidi and of course to see the stadium. We convinced Abby to have her picture made with the tiger statue. I don't know that she's actually convinced.

Lastly, we got Abby's hair cut. She's had it cut before, but this was the first time she actually got any significant length cut off, and it looks pretty good. It's kind of funny because this was more traumatic than the dentist! You'll notice, she's on Jason's lap again - see what I mean - better.




There is one final accomplishment that I should probably mention. I think we're finally POTTY TRAINED! This didn't happen last week; it actually has been ongoing for the past month, but Abby seems to have gotten it, and that's a relief. She's still in diapers at night and naptime, and occasionally when we're on a long car ride or if we're going to be, I don't know, say, at the ZOO where the bathrooms are disgusting, but other than that she understands the concept.

So that's our stay-cation. It was a fun one.

Father's Day Weekend and Twins?

Ahhhh...has that title intrigued you?

No, we're not having twins (or any other baby right now), but we did make a trip to Hagood Mill on Saturday with a friend of ours and his two kids. Ed's little boy was born at the beginning of March (you'll remember Jake was born the end of December), and we had them both in the double stroller. We had no less than 4 people come up to us saying how sweet our twins were. I guess the real problem was that Ed's wife was working, so I was the only mom there.



Now, look at this picture and tell me that these two boys look like twins. I know they're about the same side, but Jonathan is part Navajo, and Jake is as lily-white as they come (a trait he got from me).



Abby's BEST FRIEND EVER (at that moment) Nathanael was there. They gorged on funnel cake and pig petting.

On Father's Day we had the whole family over for lunch because Jake was dedicated. I'm waiting on pictures from that because my camera didn't do a good job getting pictures.


Here's Jason's family


And this is my family.


Finally, Abby wrote her first word on my dad's Father's Day card, and it couldn't have been more appropriate.

A few pictures

Now I'm a realist, and I realize that most of you don't read this blog to hear about my spiritual breakthroughs and listen to my ramblings. Instead, many of you use this as a way of keeping up with the two precious children who live in my house.

That's why for the rest of this blog, I'm not going to say anything; instead, I'm going to post some pictures of the angels and let you enjoy them.

Borrowed

Well, I didn't find my camera cord, but luckily my mom had a Kodak camera that went kaput so she let me borrow her cord so that I could get my pictures onto the computer.

I'm going to start with the kitchen remodel pictures since they are the ones that are first on the camera.

The remodel took us approximately 3 weekends. It was a complete success. We're still lacking a finished pantry, but we are surviving with a gray, metal shelf and a few boxes in the floor. Hopefully Jason will finish that phase while he's on vacation next week.


A bold color, don't you think?


No cabinet doors. It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint will do.


Much better.


This sink is cast iron and weighs approximately 500,000 lbs. Jason told me that it's not going ANYWHERE! I love it, so he may have to take it out when we leave this house, but shhhh don't tell him yet.


I was most worried about the tile, but Jason really did a great job with it.

We did this on a shoestring budget, but I am so very pleased with the end result.

Look what I found in the laundry!

Messes

When I had kids people tried to warn me. I guess I was so focused on little tiny socks and soft blankets, chubby cheeks and pretty blue eyes that I didn't hear them. Experience truly is the best teacher, and unfortunately sometimes I'm a slow learner.

I say that as a preface to the story that I'm about to tell.

Abby LOVES cheese: cheese slices, shredded cheese, cheddar cheese, white cheese; it doesn't matter.

This morning I was in the kitchen trying to get things back in order after three weeks of renovating. The kitchen was a mess and Jungle Book 2 was on The Disney Channel, so I worked while Abby watched the movie. I filled her little orange bowl with shredded cheese, sent her into the living room, and I continued what I was doing.

I refilled the bowl several times (and let me insert here that vacuuming the living room rug was on the list, so I wasn't very concerned with her spilling the cheese), and on the last refill I said, "No more cheese; this is it."

After a few minutes, Abby said, "Mommy, can you help me. My cheese spilled."

Oh..my..word

Did her cheese spill. It was everywhere! The rug was orange from all the cheese she had dumped out.

I sighed, went to the closet, lugged out the vacuum cleaner and proceeded to suck up the mess.

Meanwhile, Abby ran into her room and stayed while I cleaned. When I turned the vacuum off, she ran into the living room shouting, "MOMMY, did you clean up my mess?"

That made me think. Sometimes I do that to God.

I make a huge mess and then run away while he cleans it up and then trot back in the room after a while and say, "God, did you clean up my mess?"

I didn't mind vacuuming the rug. It was on my list anyway, and I know that Abby is much too small to handle it by herself and clean up her own mess, but there was no remorse; there was no "I'm sorry for making that mess, Mommy." There was just the assumption that I would clean it up.

Do you and I make messes and then just assume that God will clean them up? He loves us, certainly, and he does clean up behind us many times, but don't we have a responsibility to repent, say we're sorry and not just presume on God's grace?

That's my thought for the day.

Easter!

Easter was extremely fun this year. Before now, Abby hasn't really gotten the concept of (or cared for that matter about) hunting eggs. So this year when she really engaged with the activity, we were in for a treat.

You may remember I told you that she WAS NOT wearing the dress we got her for Easter, so Jason and I started playing mind games with her several weeks ago to get her excited about her new dress. We told her how pretty she would look and that her friend Katie ALWAYS wears pretty dresses and that she would get to show Katie her pretty dress on Sunday.

All went well unti bathtime Sunday morning. I probably should have given her a bath Saturday night, but as you can see from my other posts, we were a little distracted Saturday. When she had to endure the trauma of a bath, she changed her tune from excited about the dress back to "I NOT WEAR THAT!"

Being the good mom that I am, I of course threatened saying, "Either you wear the dress or you go to church in your diaper." Some of you out there may think that this is silly - wouldn't all children prefer to run around in their diapers. Well, most children probably would, but not my daughter. She's modest with a capital M, and we're so very proud of her for that. Let's just hope it lasts to her teenage years, but I digress.

I knew that she would rather wear the dress than go in only her diaper, and I was right. She wore the dress, and then we couldn't get it off her. We put her in shorts and a t-shirt to take a nap in because it's been 500 degrees here in SC the past few days, but when she got up she insisted we put the dress back on to go to dinner at Aunt Debbie's.

I guess you could call that a success.

Jake just enjoyed the day sleeping and eating as usual. But let me just say, he was awfully cute while he did it.

Abby's Adventure

Abby went on an adventure on Saturday with Nana and Heidi.

As with any great adventure, a backpack was necessary. My mom and sister decided they would take Abby to the annual Cat in the Hat event at McAlister Square in Greenville. For those of you unfamiliar with local, children's events, let me explain. The organization Ready 4 Reading hosts the event once a year to promote readiness for reading - thus their name. Their mission is to prepare children to read. Take a look at the statistics on their website - simply astounding.

The Cat in the Hat is an event where children can come and get 2 slightly used books and one new book and participate in fun activities that promote readiness to read.

With Jake, I didn't think it would be feasible for me to go, so I told my mom to go ahead and take Abby.

And the adventure was born.

Because we are really into Dora the Explorer right now at my house, Abby had to pack a backpack (which I found out later her Aunt Heidi hauled all over the place). All great adventurers have backpacks. And M&Ms. Did I mention that she had to have M&Ms before she would go? She is my daughter - books and chocolate - who could ask for more than that?

When they got there, Abby immediately picked out a Dora book - see what I mean, completely obsessed.

She put an alphabet puzzle together, dug in paper grass for prizes and brought home a board book and another book called The Kissing Hand.

After they finished at The Cat in the Hat, Nana and Heidi took Abby for Chick-fil-A. By the time she got home, she was completely spent. It was some outing for sure.

I wanted to share this organization and event with my friends in Bloggerville because it is important that we parents read to our children and expose them to books.

What book was your favorite as a child?

This is a life lesson post

On Sunday, Abby got a sucker from her Sunday school teacher. Normally that's not a big deal, and we all know that Abby LOVES sugar in the form of a Dum-Dum. This wasn't just any Dum-Dum either; this was a bubblegum flavored Dum-Dum. It was pink and everything. As you can see, the temptation was just too much from the start.

On the way out to the car, Abby began to beg for the sucker. Being the good parents we are, we knew we were on our way to dinner at my parents' house, so she really didn't need the sucker right then because macaroni and cheese would be out of the question if she was hyped up on sugar.

That being said, we told her she could have the sucker as soon as dinner was over. She could hold the sucker on the way to Nana and Papa's but she couldn't eat it. Mistake.

Jason and I were engrossed in coversation in the front seat when I heard what sounded like little teeth on pink sucker. I turned around to find Abby with her eyes closed, lips wrapped around the Dum-Dum and a contented grin on her face.

I immediately yelled, "ABBY LOOPER! We said no sucker until after lunch!"

Jason took the sucker away and much crying ensued.

The picture you see above was after lunch when Abby got to finish her sucker on the way home.

I learned something on Sunday. Sometimes we think we know best; we sneak the things that we're not supposed to have, thinking that God is either too busy to notice or that he doesn't really care anyway. The reality is that he is neither. He's not too busy and he does care.

I sometimes enjoy sin the way Abby was enjoying that sucker, eyes closed, grin on my face.

It was convicting to realize how much like a little child I am in my spiritual walk.

Proverbs 9:17 talks about the call of Folly and Folly says, "Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!"

The reality is that though it is sweet for the moment, the consequences cause much crying and heart-break.

Something to think about.

A Real-Life Baby Doll

At least that's how Abby perceives her baby brother.

I was in the kitchen the other day and Abby was very quiet - something that is never good. When I came in the living room I found this:

In case you can't tell, that's a little cup from Abby's tea set that is upside down on Jake's head, and he's got a plastic bracelet around his leg. And Abby looks so proud of her work.

Doesn't he look pretty?

I think I'll save this picture for his senior yearbook. He'll love me for that.

Let's face it. He doesn't stand a chance in this house.

Survival

Those folks on Survivor have nothing on me. Give any one of them two kids - one who doesn't sleep through the night and another who does - and we'll chat about Outwit, Outlast and Outplay.

The picture above is my version of Outwit and Outlast. I'll post another of Outplay later. On this particular morning, Abby woke up around 4 a.m. and Jake of course was up for his usual feeding. I put Jake in bed with me and Jason put Abby in our bed too. After Jason got up and got ready for work, we three were left in bed.

I think after my kids are older, I may apply to appear on the show. I'll propose that instead of an island, they trap folks in a house all day with a toddler and a newborn.

Don't you think that would be a fabulous show?

We'll have the finale at Chuck E. Cheese with the characters and arcade games. It'll be an instant hit - at least among the housewives.

It's that time again...

In the Looper house, we live for the semi-annual Weecycle sale. If you're from Pickens, you probably know about, consign at, work during the Weecycle sale, but if you're from somewhere else, you may know it as Switch-a-roos, Weewear or some other cutsie name.

Around here, this is how Abby and Jake are clothed! It's an awesome sale where anybody can consign her children's clothes, and I can buy them at GREAT prices! Now, I'm not the kind of mom who has to dress her kids in name-brand stuff, but when I shop like this, I can by name-brand for cheaper-than-Walmart prices. It's almost too good to resist. We're talking shirts for $1, dresses for $4, and everything else baby and killer prices.

This is the first year that I've volunteered (and Jason got snookered into volunteering too) and consigned. I swear, I probably spent more than I'll make, but I'm kind of hoping to just break even.

My mom and I bought all of this for roughly $180.00.



If you can't tell, that's 12 pairs of pants/shorts, 13 shirts, 5 short/shirt outfits, 10 dresses, 1 pair of shoes and 2 pajamas, and that's just for Abby! I did buy a few things for Jake, but they were already in the wash by the time I took this picture. You'll also notice a Boppy (which I intend to donate to our church for all us nursing mothers to use) and a hiking backpack.

This dress I bought for Abby to wear at Easter, but when I got it home and showed it to her, she said, "I not wear that." I'm hoping to convince her by the time Easter rolls around. She's a very picky dresser.


And as if the hiking backpack weren't enough for Dad, I bought these overalls for Abby and Jake. Jason promptly said, "Game day!" when he saw them.

If you're in the area and have young kids, the sale runs until this Sunday, February 21. You can check out the website here.

Paci Detox Update

It's a good thing that I waited until just now to write this post because if I had written it any earlier, I would have told you that we were completely over the paci and that it was a thing of the past forever. I would have spoken too soon because just now as I got ready to lay the princess down for her nap, you got it, she started yelling for the paci. I'm sure two things have played into the sudden regression: 1. she spotted Jake's green, NICU paci on the bookshelf (he has two, and the one not in use, she assumed to be hers) and 2. we're having a little stomach problem/sinus junk and she just doesn't feel well.

Overall though, I've been very pleased with how we've progressed. Saturday was not the happiest day in the Looper house because in short, I'm an oldest child and Jason's a youngest. What does that have to do with taking away Abby's paci you may ask. Well, I like to plan things, and Jason prefers things to be spontaneous. The paci decision was a spontaneous thing, and I wasn't ready to let go of my baby girl having the paci. It was really all about me and not about Abby at all.

Saturday was also rough because Abby REALLY WANTED her paci. She cried for it all day and at naptime. Interestingly enough, she started to ask for it at bedtime but changed her mind and slept all night without it.

On Sunday she didn't ask for it at all and took a nice long nap. At bedtime however she decided that she had to have it and cried off and on all night.

Yesterday she never mentioned wanting it and even bragged that she was a big girl and didn't need the paci.

Today, we've not had any problems until now. Wouldn't you know that when we're in the middle of all of this, she would get sick. I was certain that the runny nose, headache and stomach problems would all cause her to want it, but it really hasn't. I'm hoping that a nice nap will help her too.

This is the box that has been hiding the paci since Saturday. She's not seen them and to be honest, I don't know that we'll show them to her.

So for all you parents who are contemplating taking away the paci from your little one, I say - I have no idea. We've done it cold turkey, but who knows, maybe there's a better way.

What's your paci story?

A Shout-Out

A dear, dear friend came over last week and took these pictures for us.

If you have a newborn or if you just want family pictures, please, please give her a call.

Her website is Creative Take.

She does absolutely beautiful work.

She'll do the pictures in your home or at the location of your choosing. Check her out here.

Paci Detox

Today's the day that we decided to take the paci from Abby. Isn't it pitiful?

Somehow I got hoodwinked into taking it from her. I was going to wait until she turned 3, but after spending the night with her Aunt Debbie, Daddy decided it was time.

At naptime it only took us 30 minutes for her to calm down and go to sleep. We'll see how bedtime is.

Mommy's new routine

Since Jake refuses to sleep at night (and seems to be sleeping very well during the day), I've taken to getting Abby up in the morning, putting her in my bed, turn on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and then I crawl in bed beside her and sleep for another hour. She loves it because she gets to watch her favorite show, and I love it because I get a few more minutes of sleep. Please understand that this all hinges on whether or not Jake will actually sleep for this hour. Most of the time he does, but sometimes we're not so fortunate and Abby simply gets to watch TV while Mommy feeds, changes and cuddles with baby Jake.
Doesn't she look like the princess of the Looper house?