New Vehicle

On Saturday Beth, Libby and I went out and picked up a new (to us) whip. We went to CarMax and had a very pleasant experience. It was great because they carry a ton of different brands of vehicles, so we were able to check out and test drive a bunch of different cars. We also looked at the GMC Envoy, Cadillac SRX, and Dodge Durango. But none of those cars had nearly the room or the features of the Chrysler Pacifica. It seats six with plenty of room for other stuff. We plan on getting it tricked out with "dubs" and "spinners", also a DVD system.

How Nice

I got the nicest text message out of the blue from Dave today. He wanted to let me know how much I'm like Jesus. Or as I put it, how God-like I am.

Happy Birthday Ben

My youngest nephew Ben turns 2 today. Here are a few things you might not know about him.

5. When Ben grows up he wants to be a dentist. He will specialize in dogs.
4. Ben is one of Libby's favorite people in the world. When ever she sees a picture of him she says "Bin Bin" and tries to hold him. Ben also is responsible for teaching Libby how to wrestle.
3. I have never called Ben by his given name of Benjamin. He is always Bender or Ben.
2. Ben gets his athletic abilities from his Dad. He is the most athletic 2 year old I have ever seen. If Libby tried to ride a scooter like this she would crack her skull wide open.
1. Ben is the best baby ever. I have never seen him cry or whine. He always has the best smile on his face. It must be because he is a third child.

Happy Birthday Rudi

My brother in law Rudi turns 28 today. Here are 10 things you might not know about him.

10. In the 5th Grade, Rudi changed the spelling of his name from "Rudy" to "Rudi" so he could dot the "i" with a smiley face or a heart.
9. On one of Errin and Rudi's first dates, I arranged for a copy of the movie Rudy to be held for them at their local Hollywood Video.
8. Rudi's favorite basketball player plays for the Memphis Grizzlies. Rudi like him for two reasons.
7. I'm not really sure what Rudi does for a living, but he works mostly nights and loves walls of fire.
6. As I did, Rudi got very lucky in the wife lottery. As my old boss use to say, "Even a blind squirrel will find a nut once-in-a-while."
5. You'll always know when Rudi has sent a funny email or posted a funny comment on a blog, because he will call you and tell you about it.
4. Most of Rudi's high school friends have crazy nicknames like Tiny, Jaws, or Skid-Mark. He was just called Rudi.
3. Rudi pretends to be Hungarian because he loves goulash and paprika.
2. Rudi is one of only 6 people born since 1979 who went to college without watching the movie Tommy Boy. He says that he just doesn't find Chris Farley or his antics funny.
1. Last September Rudi got to witness the wonders of micro-surgery firsthand when he had work done on his groin. The surgeon told Rudi that they had to use the smallest laser they had.

Congratulations!

Will, my brother from another mother, is finally engaged! On Saturday he asked Monaca for her hand in marriage (and the rest of her too). We are very excited for them both. Libby Danielle and Monaca Violet will both be practicing for their roles as flower girls.

Post Edit: I have just been informed that the picture I posted is not of Will and Monaca, but rather Will and Kate, some random girl. This does not make me any less excited about the upcoming nuptials. So instead I am posting a picture of a monkey lifting weights. Also I accidently let the new baby's name slip.

Call a plumber

Looks like we need to call a plumber for Beth's mouth. Yesterday she accidentally leaked the new baby's name to one of her family members. That family member has been sworn to secrecy, she can't even tell her husband. If she tells anyone, I am legally allowed to change the name of their newborn child to "Squirt".

Lessons Learned

After staying at Dave and Cathie's house for four days, I learned many things about them. Here are a few of them

• Cathie loves shower scrubbies. I was not sure which one was designated to clean dingle berries out, so I rotated and used a different one each day.
• Dave and Cathie love dimmer switches. From their bedroom to the kitchen to the family room to the bathroom, you can assured that if the light is to bright for your taste, you can dim it.
• In the past I have always been amazed at what morning people Dave and Cathie are. But I figured out it is not because they like getting up early, but it is because they have no choice as they have no working shades in their house.
• Dave has the messiest office in the world. When I mentioned how messy it was to his son Nathan, he told me that Dave "only cleans the office once a year, but must have forgotten to do it this year".
• I consider myself something of an audio and video expert. But Dave has the most confusing TV/DVD/Satellite system I have ever seen. I had to call him for help on watching a DVD. Dave could really benefit from a Harmony Remote.
• Apparently anyone can get a free vacation to Costa Rica if they just ask Dave.
• As a family they follow the "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down" rule.
  

Happy Birthday Allie

My niece Allie turned 4 years old today. Here are five things you might not know about her.

5. She is the most patient cousin Libby has. One time Libby reached up to take off Allie's hat and accidentally knocked her in the head. Allie told me "it's OK, even if she hits me in the eye it's OK".
4. Allie looks exactly like her mom (my sister). I sometimes call her Little Susan.
3. Allie is not the clearest speaker, sometimes I will have entire conversations with her on the phone not understanding what she is saying until Susan decodes a key word for me. Today's word was "streamers".
2. I helped teach Allie how to ride a two-wheeler bike.
1. Allie was once called a "fat little man" at an Old Folks Home by a lady with dementia.

Hooray

I am an Uncle! My newest niece was born at 9:25 p.m. Her name is Julia Alexis. She weighed in at 8 lbs 6 ozs is 23 inches long and 6 inches wide and like her older sister she has tons of hair. Congratulations Paul, Laura and Elise. Sorry there are no pictures yet as my brother-in-law Paul can't figure out how to work the camera on his phone.

Happy Birthday Dave

Today my brother Dave turns 36. Here are 10 things you might not know about him.

10. As much as Dave loves going to the gym to work out, he enjoys complaining about it even more.
9. Dave always has connections to get things done. Whether it is paying to much for a new car or getting a deal on a TV, there is always "someone from church" who he can call to take care of business.
8. Dave likes to wear his clothes on the small side. His pants are a size 30 and his tee-shirts are girls medium.
7. Nobody in our family has any idea what he does for work. We know it involves travelling and watching lots of videos on you-tube.
6. Dave can't sit still for even 5 minutes. He always has to either be doing something or getting all his ducks in a row to be doing something soon.
5. Never eat ice cream while over at his house. He will occasionally dip his junk in the ice cream so other people won't eat it.
4. He is a huge "cat person". If you read his blog, you will read entry after entry about how great his cat is, but you would never even know he has three wonderful children.
3. One time on a trip out to Iowa, Dave pushed me off the slide and I broke my arm. I had to start nursery school with a cast on.
2. Dave was the Best Man at my wedding, as I was at his. Our older brother Dan had some other guy.
1. When Dave was younger, he perfected the art of taking my money. One thing he would do is convince me to put all my money underneath a brick out in the yard and he would do the same. Then together we could save up to buy Star War figures. The next day when I went to check on the money, it was all gone and I still have yet to see the figurines.

33 Weeks

On Wednesday Beth had her OB appointment and we got to see new ultrasound pictures of the baby. As you can see on the picture, Baby #2 has her hands up in front of her face, just like Libby did. But this baby is going to be HUGE. Libby weighed in at 6 lbs 1 oz when she was born and all during the pregnancy she was always in the bottom 5th percentile for weight. Baby #2 is already 4 lbs 6 oz and will gain about 1/2 lb per week from now on, so she has the possibility to weigh upwards of 8 lbs, as of now she is in the 47th percentile.
For those of you planning on coming down to visit, it looks like June 8th will be the day for the repeat c-section.

New Bed

I painted Libby and baby #2's room last week and we set the bed up this weekend. Today I picked up the mattress that we had ordered (saving $70 picking it up myself). Libby was so excited, from the time I dragged the mattress into the room until it was put on her bed, she kept saying, "nigh' nigh'" and "bed".


For the rest of the evening she kept bringing books and her babies into the bed and pretending to sleep with her head resting on the pillow. After we get back from Michigan next week, Libby will start taking naps in her new big girl bed until she masters that, and then hopefully before baby #2 arrives, Libby will be in the big girl bed permanently. Any suggestions out there on keeping Libby in the bed would be much appreciated.

Happy Birthday Emily

My oldest niece named Emily turned 6 today. Here are 5 things you probably didn't know about her.

5. Emily loves animals more then anyone I know. From bugs to bees to zebras, she has kept them all as pets at one time or another. If she could be any animal it would be an elephant.
4. Emily is a neat freak. At anytime you could eat off the floor of her room. Her motto is "there is a place for everything and everything has it's place".
3. Two years ago, I was babysitting Emily for a few weeks and her and I went out to eat at a Coney Island joint. She dropped a hot dog on the floor. No big whoop though, they brought her another one.
2. Em is great to have along when travelling with Libby. She will sing Libby songs and keep her amused for minutes on end.
1. She is a great eater. She once ate her weight in corn-dogs and cheetos.

Getting Bigger

Beth is now 32 weeks along.

Helpful

The other day Libby made a huge mess in her car seat. She dumped a snack sized bag of teddy grahams into her lap and then doused them with a healthy helping of water. I brought the car seat inside to clean it up, but before I could get to it Stretch and Zoe decided to give me a paw. They have the perfect sized schnozzles to get in every nook and cranny. The car seat now looks like the day we brought it home from Babies R' Us. Thanks wieners!

Bad Name

And you thought Will Brown was an awkward name to have...

Named

It is official, the new baby (still in Beth's belly) has been named. As we speak I am working on repainting Libby and Baby #2's room. It looks like Beth will have a repeat c-section on June 8th (date might change) and all of you will get to learn Baby #2's name.

Lumpiest Libby

Once again, Libby decided to stuff blocks, cups and eggs down her shirt. Since we had to leave to go visit Beth at work, I emptied her onesie and discovered all this:

• 12 blocks
• 2 cups
• 2 1/2 plastic Easter eggs

The worst part about it is the brusies and contusions she gets from all the blunt corners and cup edges that get jammed down her shirt.

Oh Lumpy Libby...will you ever learn?

Allie Not Safe

Does this seem safe for highway travel?

Happy Birthday Andy

My oldest God-Son turns 9 today. Here are 5 things you might not know about him.

5. Andy has one of the only birthdays I can remember, because it is also tax day.
4. Andy loves to be creative. Give him some markers and paper and he will keep himself amused all day. Just be careful, he will also draw on your walls if your not watching him closely.
3. He owns almost every single Rescue Hero there is, but never plays with them anymore. His mom keeps them organized and will one day soon open up a Rescue Hero Museum.
2. Andrew loves Irish Dancing, much to the chagrin of his Scottish relatives. For his birthday he is going to an Irish Dance-off. He also insists that he is the true "Lord of the Dance".
1. Andrew has a huge heart and will do anything to keep his favorite cousin Libby amused. Last time they visited he let Libby "push" him down over and over, she laughed every time.

(Because of the heavy workload, I will now only being doing the top 5 things for nieces and nephews)

Lumpy Libby's Moving Company

Libby managed to put all of these things in her shopping card and push them around the room, all why having her onsie filled with stacking cups.

Baby Carly

Today Jen and Damon welcomed their second daughter into the world. Caralynn Jean (Carly) weighs 6 lb 15 oz and is 22 inches long! Despite all her hard work, Jen looked great and was awake enough to visit with us. As you can see from this picture, Isabelle made sure she kept a safe distance from the loud creature known as her baby sister. Isabelle was disappointed that her parents took the Hallmark holiday "Siblings Day" so literally.

Carly has already learned how to pose for the camera. (It serves us right for making the camera flash in her eyes.) Libby was quite enamored with Carly. She kept holding out her arms expecting to hold her. After seeing how Libby treats her own baby, Damon put the kibosh on that idea. Libby even gave her own farewell, saying "Bye-bye baby."

The proud father.

Sleep Over

Last night we got a call around 6:30 p.m. that our friend Jen was heading to the hospital to be induced. So Isabelle got to spend the night over at our house. It was Libby's first sleep over party, except Libby didn't know that Isabelle was there until the next morning. Isabelle was a dream house guest. She went to bed without a peep, slept the whole night, and woke up in a wonderful mood. Libby was so excited to find Isabelle sitting on the couch when she woke up.

The girls had such a great time playing dolls and eating Fruit Loops. Libby force fed Isabelle two bowls of cereal and Isabelle loved every bite.

Lumpier Libby

Libby is still in the stuffing items down your shirt phase. Today she stuffed all 8 of her stacking cups into her onesie. She just had her diaper changed which is why she isn't wearing pants.

National Sibling Day

Today is National Sibling Day. I called my brothers and sister and told them how much they mean to me and what great siblings they are. They should receive their cards later this week.

I am very blessed that some of my siblings care enough about me and my family to make the long drive down south each Spring Break to come and visit us. I think it is so important that Libby connects with her cousins and Susan and Dan are doing everything they can to make sure this happens.

Taking a Bath

After celebrating Easter with Damon, Jen, and Isabelle (and Jesus), Libby was ready for a bath. So ready in fact that instead of standing next to the tub waiting to be undressed and allowed to put her bath toys in the tub, she decided to climb over the side her self dress and all.

For all of the who are getting their panties in a bundle about Libby's safety (Will, Monaca, and Mom), don't worry, Beth was within arms reach at all times.

Ben's Bed

With Susan, Kevin and their 3 kids staying with us last week, I got a few emails wondering where everyone slept. Being only a 3 bedroom house it was very tight. Luckily Susan brought Ben's bed with them. He slept like a log each night.

Naked Cookie Time

While Libby was getting ready to take a bath, Beth thought she would sneak into the bag of Nutter Butter cookies for a snack. What she didn't realize is that Libby has very good hearing, just like her four-legged siblings. As soon as Beth opened the bag, Stretch, Zoe and naked Libby came swarming like piranhas. Fortunately, there is no such thing as "bad naked" for a baby.

Robbed

Yesterday between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. somebody smashed my car window and stole my ipod FM transmitter. Luckily that is all they got. Usually I keep my Ipod and GPS unit in the car also. Luckily it only cost about $200 to get fixed and they were able to fix it quickly.
Yet another reason I can't wait to move out of Memphis.
(The reason I was parked in the street was to let Susan and Kevin have their car closer to the house to make it easier to load-up, but I'm not bitter)

Organ Grinder Monkey

Here is Libby doing her impression of an organ grinder monkey.

Gabe's Quote of the Week

"Rip out the fire"

-Said by Gabe to encourage his Dad while he played the Cow Racing game on the Nintendo Wii

Dog Lovers

Something I never thought I would be able to say about Kevin and Susan is that they love dogs. This past week that they spent with us turned them into dog lovers. Stretch and Zoe really charmed them. I actually had to search their van before they left on Thursday to make sure they hadn't kidnapped one of the dogs. My guess is in the next few months they will be getting a hairy child or two.

Happy Birthday Anne

Our friend Anne is turning 27 today. Here are 10 things you might not know about Anne.

10. Anne likes long things. One time we had her over for dinner and she asked that we have hot dogs, asparagus, and corn on the cob. For this reason, she doesn't like Rudi.
9. Anne is technically my sister-in-law Errin's friend. For the first 6 months I knew Anne, I thought that her nickname was Anus, but it is actually Annis.
8. Anne almost caused Beth and I to divorce. Everyone knows that I love Will Ferrell and all his movies. Knowing this, she still called and invited Beth out to see Anchorman. I still use this against Beth when I want something.
7. It is a small world. Anne is good friends with Amy T, who was one of my sister's good friends in third grade. I once house sat for Amy's family and the water main broke and flooded the basement.
6. Anne is very thoughtful. She bought the outfit that Libby wore to her first studio shoot. For Christmas, she got Libby one of her favorite books to read.
5. Stretch once gave Anne a "teeth kiss".
4. Anne was a competitive diver for Holt High School. She would have continued onto the Olympics but she didn't like getting her hair messy wearing the swim cap.
3. Anne writes articles for a fashion magazine. She sometimes gets free swag and gives it away to her favorite people. She sent me two hats that Beth will not let me wear outside of the house.
2. Anne has a cat named Maize, pronounced MAY-ZEE. She doesn't like it when you call her kernel or maize .
1. Anne is always very well put together. Her hair is always perfect as is her makeup.

Happy Birthday Damon

Our friend Damon turned 31 today. Here are 10 things you might not know about Damon:
1. Damon likes to keep his house at a balmy 85 in the summer and a crisp 62 in the winter, much to the chagrin of his wife.
2. Damon has more body hair then a Yeti. His body hair keeps him warm while he swims in the dead of winter.
3. Damon works at St. Jude where is main job is borrowing mices eyeballs to experiment on. According to some of his patient's moms Damon is the George Clooney of St. Jude.
4. According to Damon's Mii age he is only 29. What he is lacking in is stamina, much to the chagrin of his wife.
5. Damon's favorite restaurant is Chipolte. He has even paid for a tee-shirt to walk around giving them free advertising.
6. Damon is not a huge fan of dogs. He jumps and squeals like a school girl when either of our 10 lb dogs jump on his lap or come anywhere near his toes. He once threw his pregnant wife in front of him to protect himself from a dog on walk.
7. Damon doesn't believe in throwing anything away. He still has clothes in his closet from high school.
8. Damon can eat more than anyone I know (except for my brother-in-law Kevin). He regularly eats left over baby food off Isabelle's face and hands. Damon can also eat two entrees from Pei-Wei.
9. His favorite band is Tool. Last year for his birthday I got him this tee shirt. Damon is also a huge fan of Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas. He sometimes says that he is Damonlicious.
10. Damon is one of the more liberal people I know. After he finishes his Fellowship, he plans on moving to Minnesota just so he can vote for his hero, Al Franken.

Lumpy Libby

Whenever Libby wears a onesie, she likes to take her toys and stuff them into her shirt. Today she had 12 puzzle pieces and assorted items of cookware in her shirt.

What I watch

With so many new shows on the TV schedule and some having been canceled, I thought I would update you all on what I watch each week. As you will see I have scaled back my TV watching quite a bit.

Sunday:
King of the Hill
Family Guy
The Simpson's
American Dad
The Winner
The Apprentice: L.A.

Monday:
How I Met Your Mother
Two and Half Men
The Class
New Adventures of Old Christine
Rules of Engagement
Prison Break
24
Heros
Black Donnelly's
The Riches

Tuesday:
American Idol
King of Cars
Dirt

Wednesday:
American Idol: Results
America's Next Top Model
Dirty Jobs
Top Design
Good Eats
South Park
Halfway Home
Knights of Prosperity (may be canceled by now)

Thursday:
My Name is Earl
The Office
Scrubs
30 Rock
Andy Barker: P.I.

Friday:
I record nothing, just catch up on shows

Saturday:
This Old House Hour
America's Test Kitchen
Saturday Night Live

Daily:
First 20 minutes of the View (just to hear Rosie get my blood boiling)
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jack's Big Music Show (for Libby to watch)

For those of you who aren't watching it, The Black Donnellys is the best new show of the season. Go to NBC.com or itunes and download the past 3 episodes to get yourself caught up. This is also the first season I am watching of 24, it is OK, not sure I will watch it next season.

The Helper Monkey

My sister and sister-in-laws are always asking how I keep the house so clean while still being able to spend so much quality time with Libby. Well the secret is out, Libby helps me clean. She has taken to removing the swiffer from the closet and running it all over the floors. Afterwards I give her a nickel.

Baby in a Box

After finding out that Beth's sister-in-laws had decided not to have a baby shower for Beth and the new baby, we went out shopping this weekend to Babies "R" Us. We had heard great things about the Bumbo from some of the people Beth works with, so we picked one up. While it is suppose to help newborns from 3-14 months old sit up, Libby also enjoys the box. She will drag it out of her bedroom and bring it into the den and sit in it while reading Readers Digest. She also finds it hilarious when we put Stretch or Zoe in it, which is truly a wiener in a box.

Monkey See, Monkey Doo

During lunch I usually work on the New York Times crossword puzzle as Libby watches on. Now when I leave it laying around, she will bring it to the table, sit down and pretend to fill in answers (she hasn't gotten one correct yet).

She also has a new job around the house. After we are done changing her diaper, she takes the diaper and brings it to the trashcan and throws it out. Libby also insists on bringing her socks to the hamper each night to throw them in.

18 Month Pictures

Libby went to The Picture People today to get her 18 month pictures taken. To say she was a trouble maker is an understatement. She cried most of the time, kept walking away from the shooting area to play in the lobby, and kept turning her head and body just as the photographer was going to take the picture. They usually only use one roll of film per child, but Libby needed two to get enough good pictures. To top things off, we had been keeping an extra close eye on Libby for the past week to make sure she was bump and bruise free. But this morning we went to the zoo and as we were leaving the monkey exhibit, she triped and fell and scratched her forehead up good. Luckily her hair covers most of it. To see each individual picture just click here.

First Haircut

Libby went to get her first haircut today. Three minutes and $19 (including tip) later she came out looking much cuter. While Libby was getting her haircut, I wanted to tell the hair stylist not to make Libby look like a boy, but then I sized up the hair stylistt, who was a manish looking woman, and kept my mouth shut. Libby cried most of the time because she did not like the cape over her hands and didn't want to sit by herself in the chair. We were able to calm her down by feeding her M&Ms.


And here is Libby mullet free. Beth and I are now not embarrassed to be seen in public with Libby.

Jack's Big Music Show

Libby has a new favorite TV show. She watches Jack's Big Music Show each day on Noggin. It is a great show that has enough funny things in it to even amuse Beth and I while we watch it with her. From what I have read, each day Libby watches the show it is the equivalant of 1 day of pre-school.

Libby's favorite part of the show is the opening song, she claps her hands, stomps her foot, woofs like a dog with Mel, and sings "dum-ditty dum dee dum dee dum day" with Jack's best friend Mary.
This is a good start to Libby's TV watching career and I can't wait until we can watch even more TV together.