Life is crazy right now. Randy and I have all our "phases" mixed up. Most couples have their babies when they are young and poor. Its a time where the wife gets no sleep and the husband works hard. Thats us except for the "young" part.

When I was sitting in the urgent care clinic on Lubbock and the doctor told me I had shingles, he immediately advised me to reduce my stress levels. My first reaction was to say, "I'm not stressed."

I'm exhausted and I have really bad days, but I am happy. (I'm also 36 and REALLY bad about taking my vitamins.)

On my worst days, days when Wolfgang is injuring himself on everything and Max wont stop screaming and I've worked until 11 the night before and then stayed up half the night with the baby-head, I remember that this time is short and my boys are a shockingly generous gift from God. He picked them out for me to raise. How cool is that?

Wolfgang is my shadow. My clinging, wobbling, demanding, loud, hilarious, sweet, loving, curious shadow. Yesterday he helped me with my ever-expanding tree. I'm a bad example when it comes to creativity. "Do not try this at home," I tell him as I'm balancing on the back of the couch gluing flowers to the wall.

Max's personality is coming out in full force. I fall in love with him more every day.

His Mad Max side comes out in short, violent bursts. He will be happy and cooing, but the nano-second he drops his toy?

Screaming! Red! Helpless! Mad, Mad, Max!

(He just couldn't hang on to that darn bird)

I was forced to exchange the boys' instruments when Max kept whacking himself over the head with the flute and bursting into tears, which would motivate Wolfgang to press the blue harmonica into Max's head to silence him.

This arrangement worked much better.

One of these day I will make an appearance on my blog. As soon as things calm down. As soon as I don't look and feel like a lava lamp. As soon as we are regularly using a camera other than the one on my phone. :)

Big Fat Upload

I finally unloaded our camera after nearly 3 months.

744 pictures.

Of nothing.

I'll give you the Cliff Notes.

Aside from a day-by-day slideshow of Max getting chubby....

.....these pictures document our everyday life this year.

Here is Wolfgang with his Kee-Caw (????) on his head. Is he asleep? Awake?

Where is the Benadryl anyway?

Our last few days at Grammy and Papi's were spent the usual way.

Playing.

Wolfgang worked on mastering the craft of acting.

He needs to work on expressing himself. So repressed.

Here we have Surprised.

Angry!

Excited!

Foiled again!

Happy!

Oh wait, maybe this one is Surprised.

Angrier?

This is a genuine emotion drawn forth when Daddy comes bolting around the corner to get him.

Hanging with Grammy and new-born Max on the couch.

Then we moved.

Man was that exhausting!

Grammy got Wolfgang a JUMPY JUMPY for his room. Its his haven.

Max just hangs out wherever we are. Sweet little peanut.

We took a trip into Georgetown to watch Uncle David shave his beard.

Wolfgang and 4-year-old Zoey cruised the cauld-a-sac in the Barbie Car. Wolfgang donned his cruisin' cap.

We also went to the Poteet Strawberry Festival.

Sounds cute, doesn't it. Its just a fair. Overrun with people stuffing their faces with Frito Pie, Cotton Candy, BBQ, Funnel Cakes and Sno Cones.

Randy and the Wolf rode some rides. Randy did his best not to yak.

The Merry-go-Round nearly did him in.

It was hot hot hot out so we took a break in the shade.

Re-applied the sunscreen.

Ate some Ice Cream.

......and Sno Cones....

......and Frito Pie.......

So thats it.

The recap.

Now to move on.

just kids

Today is Saturday. I don't know why Saturday should feel any different to me. I still have the rug-rats. I still work. But it DOES feel different. Especially when I have all the doors and windows open. And Randy is here. I love that, of course.

Randy took Wolf into Georgetown this morning so Max and I did some more work.

Look at that little meat-head!

Man he is getting so cute. He looks like Randy in this picture. The dimples. The eyes. The smile(Found my camera software but now I can't find the battery charger and the camera is dead. These are all still phone photos)

He makes Wolfgang look enormous.

But when we hang out with older kids I remember that Wolfgang is only 2. He is just a little boy. Last night we went to Bigz with friends.

The outside part of the restaurant includes a huge enclosed area laid with turf. There are even trees growing up out of it. All the tables are up on the deck but the kids play out on the turf. There is no playground or anything, just a bunch of balls. Whoever designed that is a genius. The kids LOVE it. Wolfgang waddles in and out amongst them with us hovering. But there is always a kid in the crowd who takes him under their little wing. It is the sweetest thing.

Our week

We decided to drive in to Lubbock late Friday night. (Why not? Its only 7 hours.)

I did a rush job on laundry and cleaning and packing.

Max watched Wolfgang shuffle trash around with my cane. The Wump basked in the sun.

Wolf helped me by scattering all my folded laundry and donning Daddy's golf shirt.

Max laughed.

We didn't stay long in Lubbock. Long enough to see my family. My brothers Adam and Alex (why don't I ever get pics of Alex? Darn it!)

My sister Hayley (we think the flesh-colored object in the foreground is my knuckle. If I had Photoshop installed I would edit that out. Sorry)

Hayley's husband Seth and their 1-year-old Jude.

We saw my mom in short bursts and got to see more of her new husband Victor. Wolfgang was intrigued by both of them.

But I was sick. I ended up in the urgent care clinic on Sunday morning. Want to know why?

Shingles.

Who gets shingles? I thought that was a 90-year-old-man disease. Apparently not.

So we drove home on Monday morning. We stopped off at Grammy and Poppi's when we got in and they fed us. Wolfgang did some walking and leaping and praising God to be out of that car.

Then he drank water from a tiny coffee cup.

?

Now we are getting back in the swing of things.

He went to the Doctor (therapist) in his new clothes because apparently they notice that sort of thing. (how cute is my Guggy-Gooster?)

We are doing some more cleaning.

I am working and baby-tending.

Life is good (minus the Shingles)

Thursday

If you'll notice, my last post was on Thursday. This is the day Grammy takes the Wolf to therapy. That means I can open the computer without grubby little fingers pawing at the keys, or jabbing themselves into my eyes (with a little voice saying, "Eye, Mommy. Eye."

Anything to get Mommy back on Mommy-track.

Cathy and Wyatt came over for a while yesterday morning and Wolfgang showed him around his "woom".

They jumped in the Jumpy.

They kicked things around in the living room.

They sat and read books.

But the fun began when Wyatt locked himself and Wolfgang in Wolfgang's room and then proceeded to get his leg stuck between the bed frame and the wall.

When Wyatt began calling for help, I immediately pictured one or both of them hanging out the window by their fingertips.

We couldn't see Wyatt, but we deduced from his cries that he could not get to the door to unlock it. I could see Wolfgang's feet under the door, so I knew he was free. I'm sure the lock never once crossed his mind.

Thankfully apartment bedroom doors are generally thin and unnaturally flexible. This one lived up to its reputation. We were able to bust it open using my hip and a spoon on Cathy's keychain.

By this time Wyatt was tired, I'm sure, of standing on one leg. Wolfgang was sitting on his bed clutching his blankie. He burst into tears upon my entrance. Cathy pried Wyatt loose and he went for the nearest ball with great gusto.

Wolfgang didn't quite get over it until after his nap.