Euleta Mae Hughes

I am not sure how to pay proper tribute to someone you love, or if I should even post this entry. But how can I not say anything and pretend like it never happened. Today my grandma passed away. I have always dreaded this day, but I must say there is a sense of relief to know that she isn't suffering anymore.
So three of my fondest memories of grandma are...well they are not specific memories, but grandma-like things she did when I was little.

1. She always popped me popcorn, and not microwave popcorn, but popcorn popped on the stove. But she had a special trick that made the popcorn taste like no other with little effort. She never washed the pot, and used just that pot for popcorn. I swear it was the best popcorn ever.
2. Whenever I stayed the night at her house, she always had grandpa bring home "long john" dough nuts on his way home from work. I always looked forward to those dough nuts. My absolute favorite dough nut to this day.
3. Last but not least, when I stayed the night she and I slept in the same bed, and we always slept "butt to butt". You know, back to back. For some reason I thought that was the funniest thing.

Well I just thought of one more, but this one is a specific memory. I am not sure how old I was maybe first or second grade, but I had a loose tooth, and grandma tied a string to that tooth and then to a doorknob and she slammed that door closed. Well we never found the tooth and I had to write a note to the tooth fairy explaining what happened.
As I am writing this I am thinking of so many memories. I love you grandma.
Love,
David, Ryanne, Joseph and Baby Girl

Green Glasses

So I guess I have a new addiction. It is shopping on ebay for children's clothes. Incredible, it's like the world's garage sale, and there are lots of NWT (new with tags) items that I especially gravitate towards. Totally unrelated, I took these pics of Joe after his bath. He has these new green glasses from Sonic, and he absolutely loves them. Plus lucky for me they seem just about indestructible. As you can see in the pics he likes to wear them upside down. And in his hands are two dandelions that he picked out in the yard earlier that evening. Tomorrow we go to the park for playgroup. And on Thursday we are headed to the ballpark to watch Aunt Bobo play softball. So everyone enjoy the weather this week, and get outside.
So gosh darn sweet.

Week in Review

What a steady non-stop week. I hope this entry makes up for my lack of pics in the last several entries.

Pre-bath ritual

Color Dotz ROCK!

Picnic at the park.

Dad swinging Joseph and a friend, Jackson.

Josie, thought you might like this one.

Little boys can be so sweet. What am I going to do with a girl?

Mom's baby boy.

Do not disturb. Eating strawberries and whip cream.

Hmmmmm!

Tree hugging on Arbor Day.

Flowers for mom.

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend. See you next week.

It's Still a Girl

Today we had a follow-up sono with a perinatalogist to closer examine baby girl's heart. Supposedly, everything looks good (all organs, not just heart). Granted I feel better about baby girl's health, but in the back of my mind I know nothing is 100%, and there is always that chance that something is wrong. But these are all normal mother-to-be fears, so lets set them aside. There was one interesting component to the sono. Baby girl is measuring 2 weeks bigger than scheduled. She has consistently measured big, but never two weeks. And I am 99.9% positive about conception timelines, (remember, nothing is 100%) so I know that my due date is correct. Maybe she just had a growth spurt this last week or two. Based on Joe's weight, I am guessing her to weigh 8-8 1/2 pounds, we will eventually see.
Meanwhile, Joe continues to be the typical two year old. Although I am not sure if this typical, but he continues to wake up several times through the night crying, and I have no idea why. I try changing his pants, I bought a night light, I always check on him to make sure he's covered up thinking he's cold. I give him water, and I most often end up sleeping with him in his bed, which is just the habit I wanted to start prior to baby girl's arrival. Then sometimes when I ly down with him he continues to just cry/whine/scream in my face, at which point I try to get him to calm down and use his words, but usually have to tell him "I love you Joe, but I don't know what to do" and I have to walk away. So anyone with thoughts on this dilemma. I guess like most things in life (other than critical care), it will work itself out.

On the Neon Lighter Side

Limbo

Not sure how to post the following. I can't not post anything about my grandma and uncle being sick because it is on the forefront of my mind, but I don't feel like going into detail. So, the down and dirty is they are both really sick, and keeping my family on their toes. I guess the scary part is, the fact that hospitals are quick to get people out and moving, but in both their cases the plan is to keep them for a while. I know, vague, but so many "ifs, ands or buts".
Meanwhile, Joe is freaking hilarious, and acting every bit of a two year old. Joe loves babies, but I really can't wait to see how he reacts to permanently having a baby in the house. Look out baby girl! Although, something tells me in time that Joe will have to be the one on the lookout.

Joseph's 2 year pics

Well here is the link to Joe's latest pics. Taking these pics was harder than previous sessions because he rarely stood still. And I bet you can tell which pics were taken at the end of the session. http://www.pictage.com/454280 Thank you Tricia, you always seem to capture my little Joe.

Yellow and Brown Make....

Well, lots of potty chair activity on the homefront. I basically let Joe dictate when he wants to sit on the potty, and that has been often. I think almost everytime he farts he wants to use the potty chair. Although it has been time consuming and sometimes exhausting, because he likes certain toys with him at his side while using the potty chair, today he has pooped twice and peed once. I am such a proud mommy. Today Joe got his two year pictures taken. I will post a website to view them when it is available.
On the baby front, tomorrow I am 20 weeks and we are on the downhill slope. I get more excited and anxious every week. Still lots more to do though. Deciding on a girl name is hard. Harder than a boy name, I think.

Random

So just a few random things. Over the weekend David got Joe's big boy bed put together and I love it. The transition has been fairly smooth, but he still prefers "mommy's bed".

So while I was heating up dinner (no fancy fixings here lately). I let Joe paint for the first time. Obviously a huge mess, but oh so fun to watch. Then last but not least, we also decided to take a bath prior to dinner, because of the body painting. And guess who peed on the potty chair. I don't think he knew that he was peeing, and I scared him when I got excited. He would just stare at me when I used the word "peed", but then finally made the connection and called it "yellow poop". He is so smart!