Isn't She Lovely

I just put Ray down for her nap by patting her back while her lullabye CD played. The CD is of an unknown title because my friend, Aimee, burned it for me when the her son and Ray were just three weeks old. On the CD is the song Isn't She Lovely by Stevie Wonder. E has already decided that this song is going to be the Father/Daughter dance song at Ray's wedding. She has no say in the matter. And she's not allowed to date until she's thirty. But that's another post altogether.

Read these words. It describes how we feel about our daughter totally.

Isn't She Lovely by Stevie Wonder

Isnt she lovely
Isnt she wonderfull
Isnt she precious
Less than one minute old
I never thought through love we'd be
Making one as lovely as she
But isnt she lovely made from love

Isnt she pretty
Truly the angels best
Boy, I'm so happy
We have been heaven blessed
I cant believe what God has done
Through us he's given life to one
But isnt she lovely made from love

Let Me Remind You of the Spaz

See that dog over there <--? That is the Spaz.

See how he looks like he wants to eat something? Well, he does. He is growling at the two cats who spend their days in the lanai behind us.

I promise, the Spaz is friendly and is the sweetest dog ever. He is just intimidating and still acts like a puppy even though he's 6 years old. Its the mixed breed in him I guess.

But I digress.

The first night that we owned our home, we were so excited and left the sliding doors open to the lanai so we could appreciate the beautiful Florida weather that we now owned a part of. Ray and the Spaz had free roam of a screened in lanai for the first time in their lives.

See that screen that he's looking through today?

Remember those cats across the way in another screened in lanai?

The first time the Spaz saw those cats he ran straight through that screen, did a couple of somersaults, and ended up with shredded screen around his neck/legs/body/ears. He immediately came limping back to us with his head between his legs and wimpering all the way.

The people behind us still don't like us because he barks at their cats, but they are confident that he'll never come after them when he's on the lanai again. And, he won't, I can guarantee it. How could you not love this total Spaz of a dog?

Yummy Water. With Ice. Of course.

I have never given Ray and Chay juice, willingly. This is not a judgment on those that do, I just never found it necessary to give them juice. It can get expensive, and quite frankly, we're damn poor. Also, and more importantly, its just not healthy. So, other than milk at select mealtimes, they really have never expected juice from me, nor do they want it.

With that background, you will appreciate the following conversations:

Ray: Mommy, I want water. With ice. Please give me water. With ice.
Me: OK, go get your cup.
Chay: Grunt. Grunt. (Waiving his sippy cup and pointing at the fridge.) Grunt. Grunt.
Me: What? Do you want ice in your water?
Chay: (Nods yes)
Me: Chay, can you fly?
Chay: (Nods yes) (Continues to shake his cup at the fridge.) Grunt. Grunt.
Ray: Here you go, mommy. But I want two ice. To make my water cold. Because I looove water.
Me: With ice of course. (Handing both Chay and Ray their respective waters.)
Ray: Of course. (Drinking a big sip.) Aaaahhhhh. Yummy, water. I looove water, mommy. I dream of yummy water all day.
Me: You dream of yummy water all day?
Ray: Yes, Mommy. Its my favorite. (Takes another big drink of water, with ice.) Oh, I love water.

And, then:

Chay: (Pointing at Ray's sippy sitting on the counter.) Grunt. Grunt.
Me: Chay, do you want water?
Chay: (Nods yes)
Me: Chay, can you fly?
Chay: (Nods yes) Grunts. (And, continues to point at Ray's cup.)
Me: Here you go, buddy. (Hands Chay Ray's cup).
Ray: (Seeing Chay with her cup.) No!!!! That's my water! That's my ice! NOOO!!!!!
E: Ray, we'll get you another cup of water.
Ray: No, no other water is like that water! I want my water!
E: No, really, the water we'll give you comes from the same spout that your old water came from. It will taste the same and I'll even give you two new pieces of ice.
Ray: No. Here is his sippy cup. There's water in it already. Now give me mine.

OK, now add the three year old speach impediment. And you really will get the idea of our evening tonight.

Diaper-change Escape Artist

Chay loves to be chased. Usually during diaper changes. He'll get up in the middle of one and run as fast as those legs will take him, either into our bedroom or his room. He used to just run into the room and fall on the ground laughing his butt off and kicking his legs histerically. Now he's started hiding. The first time he did this, I couldn't for the life of me find him. I walked into his room and all I could hear were little giggles and screeches coming from the corner of his room. He had managed to squeeze his big ol' body between the wall and his crib and wouldn't come out. I had to then squeeze my even bigger and fatter body in there to pull him out.

While these hide and seek sessions are usually funny -- his laugh is infectious you know -- it can get so annoying when you are in a hurry or just plain lazy and don't feel like getting off the floor. During those times Ray helps by holding him down. She loves it wrestling him to the ground (and I actively encourage this). Luckily he hasn't peed or pooped on the floor during his diaper change escapes. Then I'll be actively discouraging these hide and seek sessions.

Its Only Taken a Year and a Half...

But E finally got his Residential Contractors License! Yippee!

Let's follow the journey, shall we?

October 2006 -- E started his classes to study for the state tests.

December 2006 -- E took the test. He passed with flying colors (like a rainbow colored horse with wings?)!

August 2007 -- We submitted his application. It took awhile to find a sponsor that qualified because we had not lived in Florida for long enough, and the qualifications for out of state sponsors are much more strict. We finally were able to track down the architect that E had done work for in Virginia. We thank our lucky (rainbow colored) stars to this day that that guy was impressed enough with E's work to sponsor him.

October 2007 -- The State tells us they need additional information. What? It takes two months to figure that out?

November 2007 -- I submitted the information they requested (we were moving the shop so it took longer than expected. I know. I'm a slacker, but really, we're real people, just trying to survive. I'm just sayin').

February 2007 -- I was getting the run around by the State so my dad called in the big guns, i.e., a state senator he knows, to look into what the hell was the problem.

February 2007 -- Turns out the State lost the updated information. Miracle workers, they really are. I re-submitted the information.

March 2007 -- E received a message from the State saying his license was approved. He has a license number and everything! He's the real deal. Well, not really. They said it will be another 10 - 12 days before we receive the official paperwork. But, really, he's big time now! Hey, E, I'm one proud wife!

SSG Collin J Bowen, January 18, 1970 - March 14, 2008

It is with a heavy heart that I must write that Collin passed this morning. He was a hero to us all. I pray for his family's continued strength and peace of mind. Here is his Caringbridge site, in which his brother, Justin, chronicled his fight for life.

New Body Nicknames: Apples and Bull

Chay is all about new words lately. Today, we learned the new body part names.

Last night we were going over body parts and he was obsessed with learning the word for his nipples. Tonight, he ran around the house pinching his nipples saying "apple." An obvious toddler-ism for future reference.

But the name "Bull" for a certain body part has taken us by surprise. When he first started walking we called him Bull. He ran into everything head first and he still does. But the Bull nickname kind of fell out of our repretoire in favor of other just as appropriate nicknames, until Chay resurrected it tonight.

After bath time, I dried Chay off and sent his naked butt into the living room to be diapered up. All the way down the hall, Chay grabbed his penis and yelled, "Bull, Bull, Bull!" Then he ran up to E, and continued pointing at his penis saying, "Bull, Bull, Bull!" E called me to clarify that he really was calling his penis "Bull" and I can confirm that he was, in fact, calling his penis "Bull."

We are not keeping the "Apples" nickname -- its sure too cause future confusion. But "Bull" is sticking around.