Who said T-Rex was a meat eater?

Fynn is a very picky eater, and even with stuff he does like, he eats very little of it. Just about every meal ends in his plate, over three-quarters full, being thrown on the floor before any of us can do anything about it. It's like he thinks, "I'm done, NOW WATCH!" Today was no exception, and unfortunately the plate had lots of peas left on it. Before I had a chance to clean it up, Bryce looked over and found him gently feeding peas to his dinosaur. I had to fish peas out of its mouth later, and I guess he must have been giving it "sips" of milk, too, because a white liquid trickled out of the corners of the mouth.

Careful selection process

"What? Whatcha starin' at? Dude's hungry."

Hopefully I make it that far, or hopefully not...

Today I had a doctor's appointment, and we were able to go ahead and schedule my C-section. As of right now, it's for October 30. I think it's possible I could end up in the hospital before that, though, as my due date is November 1, and I already have painful contractions through most nights. With Ewan, I was exactly 37 weeks when labor started, and it wouldn't surprise me if that happened again. I just wanted to update everyone. I'll be in the hospital for Halloween!!! Meep. But that's okay, I bought the baby a newborn hat that is a black owl with littel tufts that stick up on top. He'll be very cute wearing it in the hospital.

Just for fun, all of my boys relaxing together, enjoying some Sesame Street before we had to leave this morning. Note Ewan's stash of Transformers that constantly accompanies him everywhere. Bryce was lamenting the fact that it was a nice, cool, snuggly-type morning and he had to get up and exert himself.

Labor Day Weekend

I love Labor Day - because it gives us a nice 3-day weekend. On Saturday, at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Bryce and I were suddenly thinking, "Hmmmm, let's hop in the car and drive to Austin." So we did. Ewan had been asking to go to a dinosaur museum, and a few days before I had found this one by the UT campus. It was awesome. They had a skeleton of a pterosaur, specifically Quetzalcoatlus, hanging from the ceiling like it was flying over you. I kid you not when I say it was one of the most amazing, awe-inspiring things I've seen in my whole life. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was so huge, and just... WOW. It was so cool. There were also lots of other skeletons of giant bison and some random little dinosaurs. They had different rocks both from Earth and space - just a lot of really neat things. By the time we hit the 3rd floor, I couldn't really walk anymore and had to sit and whine inside to myself. After, we headed over to Jesse and Amy's to visit. We were able to see the baby's nursery and Amy and I compared pregnancy woes. It stinks because I probably won't get to see her baby for a while. I don't want to burden them right after he's born - she has Ashley coming to help and we don't need too many cooks in the kitchen. And our little guy will be coming right after by a few weeks, so I won't be up to traveling. Hopefully it won't be too long. I'd like to see him before he starts cutting teeth!

For Labor Day, the Saunders came over and Bryce made some steak and pork using one of his odd concoctions and it turned out really good. Ewan, Fynn and Ben ran around the house playing trains and Transformers (Ewan's latest OBSESSION.) Then we let them play outside in our two little kiddie pools. They splashed, blew bubbles, and chased the cats. Missy took lots of wonderful pictures. So we take no credit for the ones I'm going to post. It was all Missy! The guys then went off to do a little golfing while Missy and I put the kids to bed. We ate cookies and talked for a long time, even after the guys got back. There's no telling how long we would have been up talking if not for the fact John had to get up at 4:30 this morning. It was so much fun - the only downside being that I had to switch from chair to couch to floor back to chair or couch to alleviate back pain. But, hey, I'll consider it my exercise!
This was about the best Ewan would let her take until she bribed him with more bubbles...
...then he turned into a male model, giving her different poses and facial expressions. This is one I call, "The Kelli Expression." I never noticed those two dimples until Missy pointed them out.

Cutie Fynn, looking like Daddy.

We were out of swim diapers. This thing was bursting at the seams,
until it finally start to fall off.

I post this only because my blog is private. His swimming shorts didn't stay on much better, and I had to run after him at one point to pull them up to a level of decency.

Fynn sat at the edge of the yard and stared at the wind blowing the trees.

BUBBLES!

Cute, hilarious Ben.

This is the face he makes when he says "Juice," "Cheese," or "Shoes."

Such a cool friggin' kid.

My son the pole dancer

So much to catch up on...

... and I'll probably forget most of it. Last weekend, we made a last minute plan to drive down to Glen Rose and see the wild animal safari. Afterward, we planned on checking out the dinosaur prints at the river. The safari was a huge success with the boys. We had taken Ewan once when he was very little, and he didn't care, but he loved it this time. Fynn was also very excited and grinned and giggled the entire time.

Random deer. LOTS of deer there.

Ignoring the warning to not feed them by hand. He was pretty.

Ignoring the warning again for Ewan.
Not the best picture, in fact Bryce looks a little like a serial killer. But he was the photographer for the trip and Fynn practically needs to be surgically removed from him, so a self-portrait it was.

I almost kidnapped this one. Seriously. If he'd only come a step closer...

What's up, Giraffe?

And the crowning glory of the day, letting Ewan drive for part of the safari.

After this, we went to the river, where we soaked for a little while. And where I totally bit the dust on one particularly slimy rock. A couple of women there were pretty sure I was going to go into labor, but I was totally fine. I was more impressed with myself because I was carrying Fynn and was able to completely shield him from getting hurt at all. I actually think those women were disgusted with me for even doing anything like that while pregnant, but one of their husbands shushed them by yelling out, "That baby's fine in the embryotic sac!" Indeed. Then we couldn't find the path back up the river wall to the parking ground, and ended up doing some serious hiking. Like, for real hiking. The best part was when I had to climb up over a rock that was almost taller than me.

Anyway, that's all for now. Although I did get my hair done, with Missy - which she posted about here. I loved the girl who did my hair, she was awesome. I knew I was looking pretty blah before the haircut, but I didn't realize how bad until I saw how good it looked after. The day before my C-section is scheduled, I am so going back to her to trim and fix my hair so I'll look good in the hospital. You know, at least until the trauma wears me into looking awful. I'm just going to post one of my after pics. Check out Missy's blog for the rest of the pictures, because hers was totally cute, too.
First on the agenda after Baby comes - get rid of that face fat!

Looking like his daddy

Good things

To make up for my earlier rant, and to put myself in a better mood after Fynn threw up again all over his crib and bedding, and Ewan had an accident on the floor, I'll now post some things that are good right now and that I am grateful for.


1. John showing up to pick Ben up a little early, bearing an ice-cold 20 oz. Coke. And he didn't even take me up on my offer of $1,000,000.

2. My new table and chairs, which I plan on posting about soon. Too long I endured a peeling table from Goodwill. No more. Ikea to the rescue. My kitchen looks so nice.

3. The dogs are staying in the yard. For now.

4. The littlest baby is moving more and more every day and making his presence known.

5. We are getting a brand-new, FREE double stroller from some incentive program at Bryce's work. YAY!

6. Fynn is napping. Hopefully to wake up puke-free this time.

7. No one else is sick (crossing fingers).

8. I think I figured out what happened to the fish. Pretty sure it swam way up into the shell in the bowl and got stuck. Which, you know, is sad, but at least I know. Whether it was suicide or not, I can't be sure.

9. On my table are several good fashion magazines just waiting for me to peruse.

10. Bryce promises to not be late from work.

11. I dreamt I had adopted another rabbit. Woke up to find it wasn't true. Always a bonus.

*** Updated to add one more great thing - Just now, I flipped on the TV to see if Oprah had anything good on, and Ewan, sitting on the couch coloring next to me, randomly said, "Yeah, Oprah's a fake." He swears he never heard anyone else say it, that he made it up himself.

Boring, I know, but that's all I had for now, without getting totally sappy. Which I don't like to do. So there you go.

Grievances

1.  I can't sleep at night due to pregnancy insomnia, an overly affectionate cat, and vigorous coughing up of my lungs.  Very tired.

2.  The two dogs I had previously taken to Mary Ann's had to come back due to serious over-crowding at her house.  I'm making them stay in the backyard.  But they keep escaping.  

3.  So very tired.

4.  Fynn threw up on me this morning.  All down inside my shirt. Yum.

5.  No energy to clean.  Much cleaning to be done. 

6.  A vase full of colored rocks fell off of the fridge and all over the floor.  Great fun.

7.  Ewan's fish disappeared.  Into thin air.  Cat not responsible.  Weird.

8.  Some animal pooped on Ewan's bed last night.  Complete mystery as to which creature or when.  Due to this and the fish incident, beginning to think a raccoon lives in there. Only partly joking.

9.  Sleepy.

10.  I'd pay someone $1,000,000 to bring me a Coke.  Not that I have a million dollars.  But still.

To make up for my horrible pessimism and negativity, I'll publish a list of good things later.  Much later.  After sleep.  

Quest for the Holy Grail

Ugh, it's late, and I want to be asleep.  But I remembered I needed to check Ashley's blog for Chloe's birthday pictures, so I popped up really quickly.  While I was looking, I was reminded of something that happened at the party that irritated me.  One of the people asked the sex of my baby, and when I told her, she said, completely dismayed, "OH YOUR POOR THING!"  And she didn't mean anything by it, and it's not like it's a lone incident.  It's just the cherry on top of lots of comments I've gotten, both from strangers and from acquaintances, who I know mean well, and it's not really offensive as much as "IHHH!"  (Ashley knows exactly how that should be pronounced.)

Anyway, it boils down to this:  when did giving birth to a girl become the Holy Grail of pregnancy?  I admit I wanted a girl, but it was more for naming purposes than anything.  I have the hardest time naming my boys, and I have the perfect girl's name all ready to go.  But I'm thrilled we're having another boy!  It's gonna be so fun (hard, but fun).  I always knew I would have tons of boys.  But people will ask me, "Do you know what it is?"  And when I tell them it's a boy, they always look so deflated and disappointed.  "Oh, well you'll get your girl next time."  Um, what?  This is a person who is coming to be a part of our family, and he belongs here!  That's totally awesome and exciting and just indescribable!  Boys are so cool.  One of my favorite sounds in the world is a little boy imitating a race car, or roaring like a tiger.  I love their cowlicks and skinny legs.  I love their dirt grimy hands when they cover mine.  And I love when Ewan, in perfect imitation of me and every member of the Anderson family, grabs my arm or hand, squeezes as hard as he can while gritting his teeth and says, "Squeeze you 'til you pop!"  They are just awesome, and in case there was ever a question, once I found out it was a boy for sure, it was like, "Oh, of course, I knew you were coming.  We've saved a place for you."  

Even if I have to call him "No-name Taylor."

Help me name the baby!

Obviously, I love Irish/Gaelic names.  I love both of my boys' names so much.  Ewan Bryce and Fynn Christian.  Both Bryce and Christian are family names, and I kind of wanted to follow that same pattern, but I might have to break it this time.  I love the name Liam, but after a little research, I really feel like it's gotten too trendy for me.  My whole idea was to name him Liam Kelly.  That's just not going to work for me, now, even though here he is constantly referred to as Liam.  The other name I found that I like is Cael or Caelan.  But I need a middle name!!!  I can't think of anything.  And obviously I can't do Cael Kelly.  So, if you know of any good middle names for that, or if you know of any good Irish names I'm not thinking of (that aren't too popular), shoot me some ideas.  With both kids, when I finally "heard" their names in my head (thanks to Ashley for helping me put Ewan and Bryce together.  And I fell completely in love with the name Fynn after seeing the Ethan Hawke version of Great Expectations when it first came out.) I swear it was like angels singing, they were so perfect.  I want the same experience for this one.  It's part of the reason I wanted a girl; I knew I was going to have such a hard time finding another boy's name I love.  Mary Ann is on her way this morning to Ireland for a lovely trip.  She's also going to keep her eye out for me.  Maybe a baby name book right from Ireland...

Feeling bad about getting my way

I had dogs growing up, but they were mostly confined to the backyard, so it has taken me a while to realize - even though I love animals, I am just NOT a dog person. Unless it's someone else's dog - then maybe - but I'm not promising anything. Anyone who has read my posts knows I really, really don't like my dog. At all. Trust me, I've even said much worse about her in person than I have on here. It started out okay enough, when we first got her nearly three years ago. But she would chew on my stuff, and Ewan's as well. She chewed four pairs of my shoes during one period of time, and they had all been brand new. She would sneak in Ewan's room, take a toy out of his basket, and we'd find it under the kitchen table in shreds. I tried to like her and be kind to her, I really did, but after all the chewing and the hair that literally fills up our vacuum canister every day, I just couldn't pretend anymore. Add to this the fact that about six months ago, (she has gotten so spoiled to being inside), she seemed to decide she was not ever going to go out back again. We can't keep her back there, even for small amounts of time. She jumps the fence immediately, which has been very annoying for me. It came to a head last week when Animal Control came to my door and told me I was lucky he wasn't ticketing me, but that next time he would. You should see how ridiculous our gate looks from all the stuff we have piled there trying to keep her from climbing, and I wanted that man to go look and see! How could he even think of writing me a ticket?! The only thing that has redeemed her presence in my home is that she barks at strangers and anyone suspicious, so we always feel safe and alert when she's around.

Last year, when I was babysitting Ben, we noticed she'd get really odd around him, and sometimes act quite aggressive. So I would keep her out back all day until he left and let her in. Fynn was still a very wee guy during this time, so I never was able to see how she "felt" about him. But as he's gotten older, it has become apparent she DOES NOT like him, although she loves Ewan. I've been a little nervous about this, but Bryce and I both agreed that no matter what, if she EVER, even once, snapped or growled at Fynn, she was gone. No tolerance. On Friday night, Bryce took Ewan to the movies, and Fynn was having fun just following Sugar from room to room, giggling. I never let my kids hurt or bother the animals, and this was no exception. He was doing nothing that even warranted me to fuss at him, or what she eventually did. All he was doing was sitting up against her back, and it would make him laugh when she'd get up. All the sudden, I thought I heard a growl, but wasn't sure. So I watched her closely, Fynn merely walked within one foot of her, and she growled and snapped her teeth at him. I put her outside immediately, and she is now in Craigs List and PetFinder for a new home. We just absolutely won't have that at all. It feels funny here without her (she's staying at Mary Ann's) and I feel like I "got my way," but this isn't how I wanted it.

That's not to say I'm not totally thrilled she's gone.

Overdue picture upload

There have been several pictures I've wanted to post, but right now I am the laziest person on the planet, so I'm just getting around to it. Some of these are a couple of months old.

Ewan concentrating very hard on constructing a "crash" with his trains. He loves the crashes, they are his favorite thing ever.

The finished project. Billy, the orange train, was done in by a parachuter. There was also some damage to vegetation in the area.

This is my floor after Fynn ate lunch one day. Seriously, after one meal.

This is from Bryce's birthday when me and the boys stayed up late to make his cake. I didn't think the pictures had really turned out, but I found this one tonight. The way the dog is posing, and Ewan is concentrating so hard on stirring, I just think it is so cute. Of course, that dog lives with Mary Ann, now...

Swimming in the kiddie pool.

Just a good shot.

I have to pull Ruby off of the blinds half a dozen times a day. What you can't see is how they have broken off at the bottom, just this side of white trash territory. I still love her, though. You can see through the window how our dear tree is trying to grow again.

We planted some sunflowers around our mailbox, and the first bloom is particularly spectacular, I think.

Etsy, I love you

Bryce took Ewan out of the house for a little while, and Fynn is asleep, so I found myself with - gasp! - nothing to do. So since I know what the baby is now, I decided to do a little Internet window shopping. All I have to say, and I say it in a wail, is: why didn't I know about Etsy when I had the first two boys?!?!?! I have a feeling I'll be browsing Etsy a lot in the future. So much cute stuff, and this wasn't even the tip of the iceberg.

This owl onesie. It's killin' me, it really is.

And this cowboy burp cloth.

Why do I love pirates so much?

And owls, again? I want this in my size.

I'm totally happy that it's a boy, because that's who he's supposed to be, but oh, man, if it were a girl... I would never let her take this off.

Why can't I sew????

Can't forget the big brothers.

I'm learning to love bugs since I had boys.

And I'm sorry, but this is just cool. Really really cool.

Daddy's shadow

Fynn followed Bryce the entire time as he mowed our yard, and our neighbor's yard. Gotta love Bryce's mowing attire...

Amateur photographer, mud pies, and crazy people

*Note* I'll have you know that I am this close to throwing my computer through the window because it will not properly publish my font. Everything is all squinched together. Pardon the strain on your eyes, and also my cussing, which maybe you didn't hear, but trust me, it happened.

Ewan is currently ground from any video or computer games. Today, as a substitute, he decided to take some pictures. Usually he takes pictures of the wall or a box of crackers, but today he actually got some good shots of Fynn. Later in the day, he wanted to dig for worms, but our neighbors lovely pit bulls were trying to climb the fence to eat our dog, so we decided to go play in our side yard instead. And it was a total MUD PIT! So naturally we took our shoes off and had a grand old time. Well, except for Fynn, he didn't like the feeling of the mud so much, so he steered clear.

Taken by Ewan while playing Door Peekaboo

Those big, soulful eyes are full of tears because I was on an important phone call and had put him down because he was screaming in my ear. Also taken by Ewan.

Sitting in the mud pit.

Standing in the mud pit.

He got much dirtier after this one.

Tonight we went to the ball game with the Saunders, Bowers, Kirchmanns, Grimmetts and Grundbergs. That was a lot of fun, and the kids did really well. (Again, I'll be stealing pictures from the other people present, so those will come later.) The only dark spot on the whole evening was the bat*%$! crazy woman who sat next to us. All the kids were pretty much communal property among all of us families, the whole "it takes a village" thing, and Ewan and Natalie were sitting in two chairs next to me. Some young couple wandered over the the seats next to them, and at first I thought this lady was just overly friendly as she started chitchatting with the kids. A little annoying, but nothing compared to when I looked over and she was giving them cotton candy! Now, I don't care if my child has cotton candy, we were going to buy some for him, but where on Earth did this lady hear it was okay to offer someone else's children, that you don't know, candy? I was very aggravated, but was trying to be nice, so I just thanked her. And she continued with the questions, working her way to asking them their names. Bryce and I were both getting very uncomfortable, but nothing prepared me for when she started TICKLING MY SON. Seriously. Tickling him. Um, yeah, don't touch my kid. So I start figuring out in my head how I'm going to lure him away, when that woman pulled out a camera and was taking pictures of both of them. That was the final straw, and I had to work up my courage to get them away NOW. Luckily, Natalie saw Bella and wanted to be with her, so that worked out. But I had to physically pick Ewan up and put him in my lap to get him away from her. She and her companion apparently got the hint, because they immediately left and went back to whatever hole they came from. But seriously, how many grossly inappropriate things was she going to work into a ten minute period? So we had to have the talk with Ewan that even though strangers may seem nice, we just don't know, and that all the things she was doing were not appropriate. I am mad at myself, though, because I should have immediately said, "Please don't tickle him." The cotton candy thing I could have overlooked, because we were right there, and she was eating it as well, but the rest was so far over the line, and I hate that I even hesitated to offend her. But I finally did, and I know Natalie also got a good lecture from her mother about it once I told her what happened. It's a lesson to be learned by me to stop caring about offending other people.

Night happenings

Bryce got home at 2:00 this morning, and didn't have a house key with him.  I forgot this fact, and was brutally awakened by the dog barking her head off, of course right outside the kids' door.  I finally realized Bryce must be home, and I stumbled up to let him in, right as Ewan stumbles out of his room telling me he's had a nightmare.  He likes to sleep on the couch when this happens, so I snuck into his room to get his pillow and bear.  There was Fynn, laying on his side, staring at his Gloworm, which he has recently rediscovered.  It was laying right next to him, and the glow was shining on his face as he listened to the music.  He saw me, gave me a small grin, and just continued listening and staring.  I am not even kidding when I tell you that since I had Ewan four years ago, nothing has melted my heart as much as seeing Fynn laying there with that Gloworm.  

After the house had finally settled back down, I was having a bit of a hard time going back to sleep, when my beloved new kitty Ruby climbed up on my pillow, and for twenty minutes proceeded to search through my hair, like she was looking for somewhere to nurse.  But it was like the nicest head massage as her paws just kneaded my scalp.  She finally gave up, realized I don't have cat nipples on my head, and wrapped herself in my hair, where she slept for six hours straight.  Ahhh, I love that kitty.  

(And do you see how you can tell I'm really a cat person?  When I talk about the dog, which is almost never, I only refer to her as "the dog."  I haven't even mentioned the new dog once since he came here.  But get me a kitty, and I'll talk about almost nothing else, and I even refer to her by name.  They are like my family, cats.  It's a good thing I got married, because I would seriously be crazy cat lady.)

Nothing to say but in pictures

This is Fynn's "Where?" pose. Ask him where something is and he does this while he looks all around. Every time he does it I have to refrain from kicking him. His appointment for that awful rash is finally coming on Wednesday.
Bryce caught the kitty sleeping on my head the other day. On a side note, it is a girl, and we named her Ruby. I love her. A lot. And you'll be seeing a lot of her, I'm sure.
I love this picture, she's asleep amid the chaos she inflicted on the flowers. Oh, how I love her.
It was so hot today, I took the boys to get a fun little sprinkler thing for them to play in. Fun was had.
Although Fynn wasn't always so sure about it when it was spraying his face. He'd start to fuss and look at me like "Get me out of here!" That is a serious belly there.