Take Good Care of My Baby!

Here are some of the most recent pics from our Adventures in Babysitting. Holly and Emma have been such a joy to have around the house, Jack and Scott can't get enough of them.

Sorry this slideshow is so small, I'm still learning how to do these. But if you'd like to view larger versions of all these photos and even more from this group, click this link. You could aslo order prints from this link if you'd like to do so.

http://picasaweb.google.com/JackandScottKnight/TakeGoodCareOfMyBaby#

We're Sick.

I took Scott in to see the doctor last Friday, on suspicions of Strep. The Strep test was negative so we blamed Scott's fever and general bad mood on teething, until Jack woke up this morning with a 102.5 temp. We're now working on the assumption that we've been struck with a virus. Boo.

Here's Scott, checking his own temp. Either he has a calling in the medical field or I've taken his temp far too many times in the last 48hrs.

Poor lil guy, he'd been up since 2:30am with a fever of 104!

These viruses seem to have no affect on Jack's energy levels or capabilities.

This kid, on the other hand, is beyond delirious at this point. Is he smelling Legos?

Yes, yes he is.

WALL-E

So we finally broke down and bought the movie, WALL-E, for the day off Movies OnDemand... and we taped it... because we're sinners. Then Jack insisted on "watching" it 3 times in the course of one day. Sounds bad, I know, but the kid has like negative attention span; so after playing the movie 3 times in one day, he may have actually seen half of it and comprehended maybe 15% of it. So when you break it down in those terms, watching the same movie 3 times in one day is necessary and not only necessary, but even insufficient.

He "watched" it 2 more times today.

All justifications aside, after 3 WALL-E cycles, Jack still hadn't had quite enough of the little Robot. Thus, he insisted Scott put on his WALL-E gear. I thought it was fitting because WALL-E actually reminds me of Scott, he's so sweet and caring, aw.

"SCOTT-E!"

All day today, Jack and I have been yelling Scott's name out this way in a voice that we think sounds like EVE, from the movie. And although my impression is way better than Jack's, we've accepted that we both probably do the worst EVEs ever. But everytime we do it, Scott just cracks up. That kid'll laugh at anything!

Bath Time for Bonzos

Forewarning: This is so gross.

So if you've ever seen me give the boys their bath, then you may have noticed my semi-OCD approach to the bathing process- Wet, DRAIN, Soap, DRAIN, Rinse, DRAIN, Refill, Play. Jack has been referring to my obsessive bath water draining as "Gettin' rid of the Dirty" for some time now. However, despite my greatest attempts to keep bath time the only clean half hour of our day, Jack somehow always finds a way to dirty it up. Here are some shots of his latest favorite bath time activity.

He fills his mouth with bath water - SO GROSS - then slaps his cheeks, forcing the water out.

So even though I know that this water is the cleanest of all the bath water, it's still bath water and it should not be in thier mouths! Can someone back me up on this??

Scott thinks it's hilarious. I think it's disgusting, so of course Jack thinks it's great.

Corrupting my sweet little Scotty. Can you guess what Scott got shot into his face about a second after this pic was taken? Yeah, here's how funny Scott thinks this disgusting act is. What are we going to do with these dirty little boys?

We Love Our Dad!

These boys could spend an entire afternoon trying to get Kyle's hat off his head. That game never gets old.

He was trying to get me to take a picture of one of his many crazy faces but he was so anxious to see the picture I took that he couldn't stand still long enough for me to take the picture! I just kept getting shots of him coming towards the camera!

Waving to Mom.

What a Day!

Took the kids to Amy's Icecream last week and they had a blast!

Miss Holly! Jack says "Ha-wee is re-wee coo-wah" (Holly is really cool). I think Holly is really cute.

Her parents are going to have their hands full with that combo!

Jack's getting good and dizzy here.
I forgot Scott's shoes, can you tell?

Back at home, watching the Fox and the Hound.

Jack Attack!

Some front yard play with the boys!

It's next to impossible to get Jack to stand still long enough for a decent picture these days! Luckily Scott's slow progress in the walking department has made my job as a photographer a little bit easier. But God help me, it may be nothing but blurry pics once Scott reaches that milestone!Here we go, Jack slowed down for a sec to school Scott on which objects he found outside he should and should not be putting in his mouth. And that's a lesson that Scott sorely needs!
Thanks, Jack!

Scott Monkey

Aw, look at our Lil' Scott Monkey!

He's still not quite walking, but he does a great Ape Impression, doesn't he?Gosh I wish I could say these Baby Blues were sticking around, but I'm willing to bet that they are just that- BABY blues. Jack's finally turned hazel around 1 1/2 years old, so we are going to enjoy Scott's bright blue eyes for a little longer! He's such a good boy, look at him listening to Mom so sweetly.

"Uh, you want me to do WHAT? Slide DOWN?? I don't think so, lady!"

He did not.

Entering A New Era

After a failed job hunt and many sleepless nights, Kyle and I finally made the hardest decision we've had to make since Jack's birth. We decided that the best idea for us at this point in our lives is for me to stay at home with the boys. But that wasn't the hard part... if I'm a stay at home Mom, what does that make Janie?

Janie has been watching Jack since he was 8 weeks old and Scott since he was 6 weeks old. She is the only babysitter the boys have ever known and they love her as if she were their surrogate mother, which she has been to them 5 days a week, 10 hours a day. Wow. Telling Jack that he was going to be staying home with Mom from now on was heart wrenching. He was thrilled with the idea until he realized that it meant he wouldn't be going to see Janie as much. When he figured out that part of the equation, his response was first that it would make him very sad and second that "Janie's gonna cry" which of course made me cry. I don't know what we would have done these past three and a half years without Janie.

The day we found Janie, I had just learned that the daycare I had lined up for the previous 3 months before Jack was born had changed their prices and we would not be able to afford to send Jack there. We had 2 days to find him a new sitter or my maternity leave was going to run a bit longer than planned. Kyle's parents happened to be in town that weekend and after asking around, Kyle's dad learned that a woman named Janie watched kids and she lived in our same apartment complex. We met her that day and she has been watching Jack ever since. Janie and Jack have meant so much to one another over the years and we can't thank her enough for the loving care she has always given to both our boys. She has loved them as her own (her daughter Alyssa will tell you it's more like BETTER than her own!) since the moment she laid eyes on them and we thank God for her.

So as much as I am thrilled to have this opportunity to stay home with the boys and really be a full time mom for the first time, I am heart broken over pulling the boys from Janie. But we have promised Jack that he can go see her anytime that she says it's ok and we've also found some new little distractions to help keep Jack's mind off of how much he undoubtedly misses Janie.

Below you'll find pics of Holly and Emma, the two little girls I'll be watching here at the house along with the boys. Holly and Emma are such sweet girls and Jack and Scott love hanging out with them. They're no Janie, but they are great playmates!

That's Not My Sister, That's My Emma!

I have finally gotten through to Jack on the sister issue. Ever since he met Emma he has been asking when his "New Sister" is coming back to play with him. I think the confusion set in when Lily Kate's new sister, Charlotte, was born on the same day that Emma first came to play with Jack. But he finally gets it now, Emma is not his sister, but apparently she is his. Thankfully, Emma is probably the most agreeable little girl we've ever met and as such, seems to be ok with this arrangement.

Emma sure does LOVE to be outside!

Emma is 19 months old, but if you saw her and Jack together, you wouldn't believe it! She is extremely capable and keeps up with Jack like a Pro!

Keep Up, Scotty!

Lil' Scotty tries to keep up with the big kids...

But it's not an easy job...
I keep finding him on various soft surfaces throughout the house in this position.
Pooped.

Thank Golly for Miss Holly!

Here's Jack's Newest Friend, Holly! She just turned 3 and just moved to Austin. She and Jack became fast friends and they do an excellent job of keeping each other thoroughly entertained!

Here they are enjoying the prizes they got for making it all the way to the end of the Road on 'Jack's Road of Rules to Follow' board. It was pitch black in the bathroom when I took this picture, Jack was showing Holly how the prize he picked out glows in the dark. Holly picked out that blue and white flower sticker, which she so stylishly placed on her adorable little shirt there. But after really experiencing the extreme coolness of Jack's pick, she started to rethink her choice. Needless to say, Holly later requested a glow in the dark prize as well. And since she did so ever so sweetly, I had to give in!

In Da Hood

Chapped Lips
Just like Dad!

Watcha Got Cookin?

Walkin' The Walk

After our walk on Sunday...

Scott wasn't too sure about Jack manning the wagon. Smart Kid.

It Takes A Village...

We had the hardest time getting Scott to sleep this weekend. He's definitely teething pretty bad so that's alot of it. But this weekend it actually took 2 whole excruciating hours to get him down for his nap. After two bottles, about a thousand different soft bears and singing toys, not to mention me holding him sitting, standing, bouncing, swaying, etc, he was still awake and so exhausted he had resorted to just screaming, his now famous ear piercing, blood curdling scream.

So I finally laid out the softest blanket ever, which Kyle's Mom gave me for Christmas last year, on the couch in Scott's room, sat him down on that and wrapped his favorite blanket around him, the one Nana Marcille made for Jack years ago. And then I just sat on the floor slowly showing Scott all the different pictures of animals and bugs and fruits and balloons on the soft blocks that Great Grandma Cynda made for Scott, which also spell out his name.

We sat there for about 30minutes, "Look, Scott, a doggy! What does the doggie say? Ruff! Ruff! And look, Scott, a froggy! What does the froggy say? Ribbit! Ribbit!" And when we had gone through all the pictures on one of the soft blocks, I would drop it on top of his head and it would bounce off and he would just crack up and then we'd move on to the next block. But let me tell you, after an hour and a half of nothing but screaming, the sound of Scott laughing was quite possibly the sweetest sound I have ever heard!

And here's how he finally fell asleep: holding on to one of the blocks in one arm and grasping the tassels on Nana's blanket in his fist as he sucked his thumb with the other hand while rubbing his aching mouth and face all over the world's softest blanket.

So after it was all over and he was sound asleep, I just sat and stared at him for a while and thought, "If not for all these wonderful things our family has given to us and made for us, how would we have ever gotten Scotty to sleep today?" And it suddenly became very clear to me that it truly does take a village to raise a child and I'm so thankful for ours!

So thank you all for all that you do for us, even if you aren't one of those who contributed to this particular scene, you have all impacted our lives and these children in some grand way. And for that and so much more, we love you more than you know and appreciate you every day! So please take a moment to look at this picture, maybe even click it to enlarge, so that you can really enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Scott's So Big!

Scott is getting SO big these days, we just can't believe it. This weekend he started saying his first word: "Up!" with a very pronounced "Pah!" at the end of it.

And he took three steps unassisted two different times this weekend! So we wouldn't say he's walking, per se, but he is extremely close to being bipedal.

And as you can see here, he is also feeding himself his own bottle!

"Look Mom, One Hand!""UP!!"
"UP!" has come to mean many different things also. Sometimes UP! means, I'm done eating so get me out of this high chair. Other times it means, I'm done playing so get me off this horsey. But as you'll see here, UP! meant, You didn't really think I was going to sleep, did you?