Birthday Bonanza

Saturday was such an incredibly FUN day. Scott's brother, Cory, and wife, Jennifer, arrived shortly after lunch. The kids were ecstatic...not to see them, but to meet their new cousin, Alex!! (sorry Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Cory) He will be 5 months old tomorrow and I'm afraid we've already scared him. Granny Whitaker came with them, and later my parents, brother/sister-in-law and cousin Kymn joined in on the fun.



We set up the pool for the kids to escape the heat - which was fun. We let Uncle Cory do all the heavy lifting with the kids! Will tells us today, "Man Dad, Uncle Cory is so much fun to play with." Guess Dad has been demoted.





Hanging the birthday banner. What can I say, we're Aggies. We did it once and now it's a tradition.



Scott made some out-standing margaritas and Mexican martinis, along with some guacamole, grilled chicken breast sandwiches and burgers. It was quite a spread. Papa even made his famous fruit salad, which, of course, disappeared by the end of the evening.





Oh yes, I decided to try out this "new" contraption that made homemade ice cream sandwiches. I think it's been in the cabinet like 18 months. But, why break it out sooner than that? Anyhoo, they turned out AWESOME.



Then, we opened presents. And, I say "we" because Clare could've cared less about the gifts, she was much more interested in the grass. Her three siblings, however, loved "helping" her.











Certainly, the high point of the evening was watching Clare dig in, and I do mean DIG IN, to her birthday cake. Her first swipe, everybody started laughing and it scared her half to death. But, after we got her calmed down, she dug in like a pro and decided to not only eat, but wear her cake. Thank you Aunt Amanda for bathing her and Nana for cleaning up her seat...and the table...and the floor.

Said freak out.



Comforting...ahhh















After all the hullabaloo died down and I put her to bed, I just stood over the crib watching her sleep for a few moments. I'm so incredibly thankful for the gift of Clare Rose. Everyone (ok not everyone, but alot of you) thought we were crazy when I got pregnant so quickly after my spine surgery. Hey, that wasn't the plan, but it happened and I haven't questioned, even for a moment, God's timing. She is such a gift to our family, a miracle in a sense. And, while I'm incredibly sad that our first year with her is over, I look forward to what God has in store for our littlest Whitaker.

The season of birthdays is over at our house until October. If you see me walking the bakery aisle at Central Market, muttering to myself, don't worry...I'll snap out of it soon.

And, I need to give some BIG props to Uncle Daniel. Notice he's not in any of the pictures?? That's because he was taking them! Uncle Daniel, next time I'll grab the camera for a few and get a picture of you...just know this...we appreciate your photographic talents. If it weren't for you, we would have 3 blurry pictures from the birthday. You are appreciated and loved...very much.

Happy FIRST Birthday Clare!!

Before the day slips away - we have to offer up special prayers for Clare as she turns ONE today! Man, today was fun. I'll have a full post up tomorrow (until then, enjoy the photo teaser!) ALL the aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents were here to celebrate. Hooray!!

Top Ten: All about Clare

Saturday is it. The day officially, at least according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, when she goes from being a baby to a toddler. Heavy sigh. God is a funny guy. With my first (and even second), I think I was so overwhelmed at how much work these babies were that I thought it would get easier. What I realize now, is that IS the easy part. At least emotionally. It was alot of physical work, alot of sleepless nights, but alot of joy and excitement about being a mom. So, here we are, on the threshold of our fourth kiddo turning one. There are so, so many things I love about the time in life we measure in months. And, there are some things that I don't miss. But, mostly I'm going to be nostalgic on you today. Forgive me.

TOP FIVE: THINGS I'M GOING TO MISS MOST

1. Baby snuggles. Yes, your kids do it when they're older, but nothing beats a baby just burying her head in your neck. God designed that perfectly, didn't he? They snuggle and you get to kiss them on the head. Love it.

2. Babbling. She's not yelling things like, "Mommy, I don't like you anymore, I only like Daddy" or "Ewww, that's lunch?" Nope, just babbling away, blowing raspberries, happy as can be.

3. Nursing. I know I have to end sometime (we're down to 3 feedings and my body has definitely gone into shutdown mode), but I'm going to miss that time with Clare. Thank you, God, for giving me that year. It's been precious.

4. Onesies. I wish they made these for adults. Can I tell you how many times I ask the boys to tuck in their shirts???

5. Baby face. Her little cherub face, her toothless grin have already given way to 5 teeth. I just love those cheeks. Man, I'm gonna miss those. That, and not getting bit. Her new trick is chomping on your shoulder - yowza.


TOP FIVE: THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO MOST NEXT YEAR

1. Seeing her personality emerge. If you know my children at all, you know that while they have mine and Scott's DNA (sometimes I do wonder), they are all uniquely independent. I can't wait to see what it's in store for Clare. My hunch is she's our female version of John Paul. Those two can't get enough of each other.

2. Table food. Seriously? Is baby food skyrocketing or what? It's a total racket. And, now that we're on this organic kick, it's kicking our tail. Could someone please remind Clare that table food is good - she seems to fancy rocks, legos, grass, leaves and any leftover food on the floor as opposed to what we put in front of her. Hey...that's it! I'll just put all her food on the floor and then she'll eat! Brilliant.

3. Walking and running. Since my predictions were right on, and yet another Whitaker made it to the one-year mark with no walking, I have hope that she's getting close. It will be fun (for me) to watch her run after her brothers and sister (not for them, though). Then, the fun begins. No toy will soon be safe!

4. Interacting with Anna-Laura. Finally, our little princess will have a girl playmate who loves babies, tea parties, coloring, sunglasses and princesses as much as her. Having them as playmates will be fun...for both of 'em.

5. Talking. One of the sweetest sounds is hearing those first few months of talking. They say some of the cutest things (which, of course, you'll read about here!)

I'm off to VBS and then back for a busy couple of days. John Paul did not end up having his test at the hospital Tuesday. Long story that I'll share in another post...his new test is next Thursday.

It has begun...

...Vacation Bible School that is!! For those that read this, I assume you know me well. If not, um, VBS is a sickness. I absolutely, totally, 100%, without a doubt, LOVE THIS WEEK!!!!!! As a matter of fact, behind Christmas and my birthday, it's my favorite week of the year. Yes, I'm on medication.

We have 170 kids, 100 youth and adult volunteers and we completely take over all things at St. Elizabeth. It's awesome. I guess I'm finally starting to understand why my mom volunteered for every activity in which I was involved - she wanted it to be the best for her kids. And, I think that's why I love it so much. On the drive home, the kids were singing the songs and at lunch it was a fight to see who could tell me all their favorite things about the morning. And, really, as a mom I couldn't have been prouder. My kids are excited about God. They weren't raving about the latest Wii game or the next blockbuster movie, but it was all about the Big Guy today. How cool is that?

I'll do my best to catch some action and post the pictures this week. I apologize in advance for the light posting. We will be checking in tomorrow. John Paul has his MRI at Children's and the visit with his urologist tomorrow morning. Keep him in your prayers. We're going to track the "must pee all the time" culprit down!

What a fun week

Anna-Laura and John Paul went to "camp" this week up at St. Helen. Can I tell you how much fun they had? Can I tell you how much fun I had with just two kids???? Scott, Will, Clare and I even went on a lunch date yesterday. Heaven, I tell ya. Funny, when we had one, I remembered thinking it was so much work - HAHAHAHA (hold on while I pick myself up off the floor). Now, we're a fam of 6 and that doesn't seem too difficult. Perspective folks. It changes. I'm hoping no mom of 8 is reading this thinking, "FOUR? Are you kidding me? That's cake!" And, to the expectant mom or mommas of 1, please take no offense :-)

Snowglobes from "Arctic Camp" (hey, at least we made an attempt to cool off the heat)





Will and I even had time to make 5 dozen cookies on Wednesday. I think they were our best batch yet.



Because it's like, 150-freaking degrees, we haven't seen any neighbors since February. Finally, the bickering, the fighting, the "I'm bored, Mom" comments and the frazzled nerves made me crazy enough to send them outside. I slathered them with sunscreen (spf 80 I think?), put on their swimsuits and let them loose with the sprinkler. But, I'm no dummy. Clare and I opened the blinds, locked the back door and watched the fun from our nice, air-conditioned living room. It was great. Obviously Anna-Laura didn't think so, but she came around.





And, because these are two of the cutest people I know, I had to share. Yes, Clare is one happy (and healthy) baby.



Oh, and here's the book fair picture I meant to post earlier this week.



Make it a great weekend!!

Happy Birthday Aunt Jennifer!!!

Tis the season around here - lots of June birthdays in our bunch. Aunt Jennifer, we hope you have a spectacular day...your first as a mom! We're even happier that you, Alex and Uncle Cory are just right up I-35.

Clare's Baptism last September (thank you Ms. Shannon for the outstanding photos!)



I know that Wednesday is typically my top ten and because Aunt Jennifer's birthday is on said day, it should be dedicated to her. But, I realized that in the 12 years that Scott and I have been married, we have never lived in the same area, much less the same state, as her. Our time together has always been during "an event" (a holiday - yeah, those are never crazy, a birthday, a graduation, a baptism, you get the picture). And, we have alot of getting to know one another to do. The last time we saw Jen (see photo above), she was just past her first trimester and she and Uncle Cory were just starting to tip-toe into the life of parenthood. She's a mom now. She and Cory have lived away from Texas for 6 years and no doubt, their perspective on life has changed. So, Aunt Jennifer, we look forward to getting to know you and Uncle Cory again. Here's to sharing big (and little) life events together. Welcome back to the Lone Star State. Yee Haw.

Too Cute

Just got this photo from Uncle Cory last night. It looks like he and Alex had a great time at Harvard graduation!

Book Fair

Will, ever the reader, decided to set up a "Book Fair" in our hallway. He was charging 1-cent per book, with a limit of 4. But, he's evidently learned a thing or two from his Uncle Cory. Books just went up to 4-cents, no limit. But, when I picked out my 3 books, he told me I owed 75-cents. His reason? "The price is going up and the store is about to close, Mom."

Happy Father's Day!

What a weekend!

I headed up to Dallas on Saturday to see my old roomies and fellow Chi-Os. E and Lis - I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time. Man, not much has changed except that now we think we looked so much better in college!! The time was way too short, but I'm grateful for the few hours that we did have. We must do that again soon.



On Sunday, we enjoyed brunch with my parents and some family friends, Don and Alby. The food was fantastic, as usual. And, John Paul belted out "Papa, Nana, I love you!" during the meal. Our sentiments exactly.

Scott spent some time with the boys fishing and I took the girls for some Amy's Ice Cream. We had a great time, but when the boys got back (with no fish in hand) and found out we got ice cream, Will's reply was, "Dad, that's not fair. They got ice cream and all we got...was hot." Reason #54 to buy the fish at Central Market and go for the ice cream everytime :-)

And, before the whole weekend gets away from me, here is an added bonus: A Father's Day top ten. Yes, you get THREE this week. Aren't you lucky?

TOP TEN REASONS MY DAD HUNG THE MOON

1. He wrote me "I love you" letters in college. I got 3-4 week and it made the distance so much easier to swallow. I would practically run to the mailbox every day!!

2. He knows the value of hard work.

3. He's funny...in his own "Bill" sortof way. And, he'll talk to a fencepost - he's not shy at all!

4. He loves being a grandpa...and the kids love him.

5. He tells you that he loves you and always has a hug. In fact, I think that's the thing I love most about my dad. He didn't hear it much growing up, but he tells me that all the time. I grew up knowing I was loved. How lucky am I?

6. He loves brisket and strawberries more than any person I know.

7. He cries. Yep, the day I left for college and the day I got married were the two times I saw my dad shed a tear. Those were tough days for both of us, weren't they Dad?

8. He's patient.

9. He has a laid back attitude and doesn't let things keep him up at night. Man, I wish I could do that!

10. He's sensitive, faithful and the kind of guy everybody wants to call a friend.

I Love you Dad.

And, for the other man in my life...I believe my Dad told him, after he asked for permission to marry me, "She's all yours. Good luck to ya."

TOP TEN REASONS I LOVE MY HUSBAND (the list could be so much longer, but I won't do that to you)

1. He is a man of great faith. That has served our family well and I am blessed to be his wife.

2. How he embraces his role as a father. The kids absolutely adore him. Really, they do. He's definitely "good cop" in our house.

3. What an incredible cook he is - in the kitchen and on the grill. He gets that from his Dad.

4. How he still acts like he's 5 but I somehow find it cute?? OK, most of the time, I do. Perhaps that's why the boys love him so much.

5. How he never gets ruffled. Seriously? I flip out and Scott just takes it all in stride. Amazing.

6. How much he loves spaghetti, ketchup, the movie "Hoosiers", Texas A&M and fishing.

7. How sensitive he is. Yes, he's a man's man, but he changes diapers, cleans toilets, cleans up throw-up, rocks a sick kiddo or helps me decorate the house. What more could you ask for?

8. That he's using his gift of fundraising to glorify God. He's good at what he does and loves every minute.

9. How he always rubs my back, even when he doesn't want to, and says, "I'd love to dear." (and means it)

10. How he makes me feel when he walks into a room. We may have been married (almost) 12 years, but I'm as much in love with him today, as I was when we first met.

I love you sweetheart - more than air :-)

William Van Gogh

Well, he may not be ready for NYC just yet, but we were SO PROUD of Will and his fantastic art! He had an amazingly good time at camp this week. The capstone is "the" show on Friday morning. He talked about it all last night. And, he practically floated into camp this morning he was so excited. Well?? What do you think?



Will and Ms. I



His adoring fans - minus Clare Bear (she was parked next to Papa!)



The class with their favorite projects from the week. Obviously spin art won out as the class fav.









Papa really did come, see his hand? Dad, sorry we didn't get you in any pictures - but he took all these great ones. Thanks Dad!!



Papa and Dad joined in on the fun. Will was elated they came. Next week, John Paul and Anna-Laura are off to camp. So, stay tuned...

As a sidenote, I was just checking the headlines of the day and saw this. Death is always tough to swallow, even if that person may not have been a personal friend. Scott and I have always been a fan of Tim Russert's after reading his book, "Wisdom of our Fathers." No doubt this Father's Day will be hard for his family and many others. Yet another reminder to hug the people you love today.

The Pee Diary

Amazing, how 7 years ago, I NEVER would've talked about what goes on in the bathroom with complete strangers, much less put it on the internet for all to read. My how 7 years and 4 children can change your perspective. I write, not to make you laugh (although you might) or to make light of a serious situation (I'm not), rather I ramble on to ask for your prayers for one John Paul the Great. So, here goes...

Scott and I have become increasingly concerned about how often John Paul goes to the bathroom. I called the urologist last week to schedule an appointment. Evidently there is an unspoken rule here in Austin that you can have no more than 3 pediatric urologists per 1 million people. So, to get him in to see Dr. Cortez would take like 4 centuries. We settled for an appointment with the Nurse Practioner in this century, instead. After an ultrasound, a pee test and a physical exam, we learned lots of things (ok, Scott actually learned all these things and told them to me; I was at my doc doing spin classes, remember?):

1) He has fluid in both kidneys (not in and of itself bad, but still not entirely normal)
2) He may not be emptying his bladder completely (thus the reason for 1,000 trips a day)
3) He needs more fiber (we'll just leave it at that)

We go to Children's sometime next week for a further test to see if his ureter (sp?) tubes are large enough. And, after that we'll know more. We (along with the NP) don't presume to freak out any more than we already have. Further testing could mean surgery, but it could also mean a change in diet, more fluids, etc. So, I haven't gone into Hypo-Freakout-Mode...YET. I'm just getting revved up. Keep our little guy in your prayers and we'll keep you posted.

Oh, how could I forget? Part of his "testing" is to journal his peeing, thus the birth of THE PEE DIARY (duh, the whole point of this post!) As we pull into the driveway last night, John Paul comes running from the house, holding his container and shouts, "Mommy, mommy here's my pee bucket. Isn't it cool?" Wow, I never knew just how cool it was to be a boy and have the doctor give you a target to pee in...and then tell you to write down how often you do it. It must be great to be a 4-year-old boy.

Happy Birthday to...ME!!!!!

Yes, today's the big day. And, in my head it was on par to be a super fantabulous day. I was all prepared to share my top ten favorite birthday memories and then 10:15 came along and the day hasn't been the same since. So, here is today's...

TOP TEN UNPLANNED THINGS I DID ON MY BIRTHDAY

1. 10:15a. Get so dad gum dizzy I almost hit the wall. Laid on the couch forever watching Noggin making sure the kids didn't tear down the house.

2. 11:30a. Surely by now I'd be better? I thought it was because I didn't eat a great breakfast or it was my anemia getting the better of me. But, when I got up to get the kids' shoes on to go pick up Will from camp, same wall hitting sensation - driving is a no go.

3. 11:45a. Call Scott and ask him to pick up Will. Man, and Will had told the class about my birthday and had the kids all ready to sing to me. What a sweet guy.

4. 12:30p. Scott gets home and brings lunch from Wendy's. We had a fabulous family lunch planned at County Line over on 2222, overlooking the Lake. Oh well, the baked potato was almost as good as brisket?

5. 2:00p. Scott takes John Paul to the urologist. That's tomorrow's blog post - nothing super major, but just another feather in the crazy hat around here.

6. 3:00p. I call my doctor and make an appointment.

7. 4:00p. Manage to get myself up off the couch, get three kids in the van and drive myself to the doctor. At least I'm only "sortof dizzy" by now.

8. 4:15p. Find out I have vertigo. Yep, "happy birthday to me" (I start humming the tune and get dizzy again).

9. 5:00p. Call Scott and tell him to meet us at County Line. I want BBQ even if I have to eat it lying down on a table at the restaurant. Find out John Paul has to start a "pee diary" (see, I told you tomorrow's post would be good). Entire table busts out laughing when John Paul yells out "A PEE DIARY - HAHAHAHA"

10. 7:00p. Get home and find a beautiful vase full of roses on my back porch. Uncle Daniel / Aunt Amanda - you have no idea how much that made my day. Seriously.

So, I see these gorgeous roses and I hear my kids laughing in the bathtub and I'm so thankful. Really, I am. Because if today had been what I envisioned in my head this morning, that really wouldn't have been life at our house. I'm proud to be 34. Yes, you heard that right. I love getting older - it's another year I get to spend with the people I love most in this world. Even if we're keeping pee diaries, getting dizzy and running back and forth to doctor appointments. That's life at our house and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sing with me..."Happy Birthday to me...."

Let the camps begin...

Summertime means water, late mornings, flip flops and CAMP!! Will started "Art Camp" this week with his "most favorite" teacher, Ms. I. She is phenomenally talented, so patient and the first teacher we heard about when Will started school. We are really going to miss her next year when she moves to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Each year, the kids do some amazing art pieces using different mediums, different paints and techniques. My dad, a commercial art major himself, was quite impressed with Master Will's creations last year. The capstone is an "Art Show" on Friday. Not only do the kids show off their talent, but they create a unique 1' x 5' canvas based on a theme. It's so cool to see how the kids interpret the theme differently. Will gave me a hint today, "It has to do with Vincent Van Gogh, Mom. I can't tell you anything else." So, the suspense will build until Friday. Stay tuned for pictures of THE SHOW!

Snapshots: Express Baseball!

This past Sunday, one of my clients invited the family to enjoy the Round Rock Express baseball game from the suites. Sweet! We ate, and ate, and ate - cotton candy, popcorn, chips, cokes - yes, we do let the kids let loose once in a while :-) We even witnessed 3 home runs!! The ballpark had a free promotion and passed out Nolan Ryan jerseys. The kids wore them all night. As long as Anna-Laura's is, she'll be wearing it until middle school. It was a great night, beautiful weather and the kids are still talking about what fun they had.

Of course, we totally paid for it until Tuesday considering the number of timeouts, cranky kids and bad attitudes - but it was worth it. I think.

Top Ten: Best Things about Summer

I realize I've been a little lax in the blogging department. All my clients have been calling, Will wraps up school TODAY, we're getting ready for VBS at church (and I got sucked back in) and Scott's been busy at work. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

Who's ready for summer? I can't heaaaarrrr yyyyyooooouuuu...WE ARE!!!!!!!! Here's to 77 glorious days of summer.

TOP TEN: BEST THINGS ABOUT SUMMER

1. The smell of sunscreen

2. The slip 'n slide

3. Ice cold watermelon







4. Grilling out and letting the birds clean up the crumbs

5. Driving NOWHERE. Ok, the kids are going to some summer camps, but it 'ain't nothing like what we do during the school year.

6. Vacation to Arkansas this July!

7. Not getting up and getting everyone out the door by 7:10am

8. Flip flops and Crocs

9. Hanging baskets

10. A more laid-back house...which we definitely need around here

THREE CHEERS FOR SUMMER!

Bragging Rights

Well, it seems as if there's a celebrity in the family...

Cory, (Scott's younger brother) is graduating from Harvard Business School tomorrow. Yes, that's pretty awesome in its own right. But there's more. He was also named a Baker Scholar, given to the top 5% of the MBA class each year.

Uncle Cory, we're proud of you. Have a GREAT graduation!!!

Overheard at Mass

Last night, I took the boys with me to Mass. They're finally at the age where you can take them and hear about half of the homily as opposed to bringing the whole family and spending the entire hour in the back, wondering if you're at church or the supermarket.

Anyway, at the Mass we had a visiting priest, a Paulist Father, in town for our Parish Mission. He was a funny one, and the boys thought his jokes were hilarious. I should point out that he was a bit bald - that will be important in just a moment. So, it's near the end of Mass, and I was so proud of the boys. In fact, the behavior was so good they were just minutes shy of earning their favorite reward - a walk through the parish's rose garden. Just as the congregation noise dies down, to prepare for our closing hymn, John Paul belts out AND POINTS TO THE PRIEST, "Mommy, that man needs to grow some hair!"

Reason #216 why John Paul is the funniest member of the house.

Oh, and yes, they earned the rose garden. I mean, how could I not honor that after amusing at least 20 parishioners??