Ode to Fall in Texas, Which Really Should be Called "Why I am Contemplating a Move to Arizona".

This...















(For those of you non-Texans, that would be a field of ragweed. Right down the street from my house.)


Plus this...






















(For my non-science mindedfriends out there, this is pollen. Under magnification by a really expensive microscope, of course.)


Equals this:



















Pitiful, isn't it?

















At least we have this little bundle of cuteness and smiles to get us through.

Piper's First Friend

Today Piper and I were priviledged to meet Piper's first and long awaited friend Laila Alexis Chadwick. She was born this morning just before 8 am is not just under 7 pounds. She is a tiny little bundle of cuteness and we can hardly wait to get together and play.

Laila's brother, KJ, is Caleb's best friend and we are hoping that our girls will be just as close. We are so blessed to have such great friends in our lives where our kids can grow and mature together, even if it is a tad too fast for our tastes!

Myself and Piper, Laila and Mommy Courtney (just 4 hours out of surgery looking fabulous!)

Conversations with Caleb - Part 2

Caleb: saunters into the bathroom

Mama (me): getting ready for the day

Caleb: Mama, you're hot.

Mama: Thank you Caleb. Mama is feeling cute today, and this new hair cut is really doing wonders...

Caleb: Mama, you're hot (he says as he walks to the fan and turns it on)

Mama: Oh... (Mama's feeling stupid...)

About Us

So I'm a sucker for these things and since it's not too terribly long, I thought I would just post it here!



1. Who is your man? Jes to me and Daddy to Caleb and Piper. His real name is Jesse, but I've always shortened it.

2. How long have you been together? 8 years all together, married for 7

3. How long did you date before you got married? 16 months

4. How old is your man? 31

5. Who eats more? He does, but it's nothing like he used to eat when we were younger. My grandfather used to say he had a hollow leg because he would eat and eat and stayed SO skinny. Ah, to have the metabolism of a guy in his early 20's.

6. Who said "I love you" first? Hmmm, I think he did. We kind of did it together. After knowing each other for a week. When you know, you know.

7. Who is taller? Jes is. He's 6'2" and I'm 5'10". Perfect for wearing heels!

8. Who sings better? I think he has a beautiful voice, but he would say me. We are both highly musical, so who knows.

9. Who is smarter? Depends on the topic. All things math, engineering, mechanical are all him. Anything having to do with something living (animals, humans, plants, etc.), creative stuff, is all me.

10. Whose temper is worse? Well, mine tends to come out more often, but he's got one too. Again, it depends on what is going on. We both usually are pretty calm until we get a gutful.

11. Who does the laundry? He does his and I do everyone elses. Jes has never done my laundry because the idea of having to pull things out to air dry overwhelms him a bit. However, we both will do anyone's on occasion.

12. Who takes out the garbage? That's all Jes.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do because I have a thing about sleeping on the side closest to the door. I just can't do it, so he's on that side of the bed.

14. Who pays the bills? Praise the Lord, he does. He took that over when I got pregnant. Long story...

15. Who is better with the computer? We're both equally good at researching things, but he's better at fixing it and I'm better at word processing/excel/power point stuff.

16. Who mows the lawn? Oh totally Jes. This is part of our "contract". The deal was that he would never ask me to mow the lawn and I would never wear sweatpants. So far, so good.

17. Who cooks dinner? MW- Jes because I have to be at work at 5:30. Sun, Sat, Tue, Thu, Fri- it's all me.

18. Who drives when you are together? 98% of the time he does. If he asks me to drive, I know there is something wrong.

19. Who pays when you go out? Jes usually does because I would have to dig my wallet out of the diaper bag.

20. Who is the most stubborn? Well, we are both really stubborn. Makes for fun times around here.

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? If I was wrong, me. See #20... Enough said.

22. Whose parents do you see most? Since his parents live in Oregon and we don't, that would be mine. We spend the weekend with my parents usually once every 2 weeks or so, sometimes more. I talk to them everyday though. We're all really close.

23. Who kissed who first? He kissed me first, but he sure did make me work for it.

24. Who asked who out? We met on a mission trip and had told each other we loved the other before we even rolled back into Texas, so this question is a little hard to answer. When we did go on a proper date, he asked me.

25. Who proposed? He did on the bus in the same seat where we had met on the way to Mississippi, the afore mentioned mission trip.

26. Who is most sensitive? In general, me. When it comes to our kids, probably him. I have to be the one to take care of them when they are sick and takes a little bit of detachment. When we had to take Caleb to the hospital last year and they couldn't get an IV in him, it was me who had to hold him down while Jes stood in the corner and cried. (Don't tell him I told you that.)

27. Who has the most friends? I totally do.

28. Who has more siblings? He has more blood related siblings, 2 sisters, but I have 2 step brothers and a step sister as well as 5 half brothers and sisters that I've never met.

29. Who wears the pants in the family? We try to each wear a leg. If it's a big decision, we make it together. Anything small or insignificant, whomever is in the situation makes the decision based on what is best for our family and what would benefit us all.

30. How did you meet? Again, on a mission trip to Clarksville, Mississippi. We were on the bus on the way there and someone had taken his seat, so he sat across the aisle from me. We've been together ever since.

First Day of School 2008

Today was Caleb's first day back to Mother's Day Out, or what we call school.

Caleb started the morning with a leisurely breakfast of banana, a Quaker breakfast cookie, apple juice and a little Elmo. This is as good as it gets for breakfast around the Mathis household. I don't cook in the mornings, and in fact, I can't even make normal breakfast foods like pancakes, eggs, etc. Ok, back to my child... Anyway, this was followed by a quick shower and dressing in his clothes for the first day.

Everyday Caleb HAS to hold Piper. Today was no different. He looks so grown up in this picture, doesn't he? Sniff.

I know this is the same shot, but I had to include this one for one reason, look at what Piper is doing with her arms. Anyone who knows Caleb knows that this is his position. It looks like he passed it on to his sister!

Caleb and Piper talking and laughing. She so adores her brother that she will smile for him when she won't smile for anyone else.

Look at that look of adoration on her face. I'm enjoying it while I can because I know soon enough they will be screaming at each other.

Caleb trying to show off his Cars backpack. He's still perfecting the over the shoulder look.

My big boy ready to go!

First Day of School 2006.

First Day of School 2007.

It Has Officially Happened...

Ok, so I'm not getting the mother of the year award today either. I was pumping (I know more information that you wanted to know, but it is part of my excuse for this whole thing happening) while watching the latest recorded episode of Project Runway. Piper was right in front of me on her boppy and Caleb was happily talking to her. At some point Caleb either hit, poked, bit or something to Piper and she started screaming bloody murder. I knew that there was some sibling rivalry, but I didn't really think that Caleb would do anything to her. I know it's normal, but it rattled us. While Piper was upset, Caleb ran away crying, just as upset as if it had been done to him. He self-exiled himself to his room for the next 20 minutes and then was very penitent when he wanted to come out. Maybe this won't happen again anytime soon...

Stats

I guess I should have waited to post my last entry so that I could have combined all this with it. Oh well, I suppose it makes it a little more manageable.
Piper had her 2 month check up with the doctor today. Here are the stats from that visit:

Weight: 12lb 8.5oz
Height: 23.5 inches
Head: 15 3/4 inches

She got 3 shots today as well as the normal checks, which were all good. On top of that she got an oral dose of Rotateq to help keep her from getting RotaVirus. Good thing since Caleb starts school a week from today and will be tracking in who knows how many germs and bugs. This was not something that Caleb ever got because it came out after he would have needed to get it. Piper sucked the medicine down like a champ and the nurse even commented on how well she took it, not spitting out a drop. I suppose Piper is going to be like her brother and not be difficult to give medicine. Like I suspected, Piper screamed bloody murder when she got the shots, but was quickly soothed with a little loving, a bottle and a very fast trip home. She is now passed out next to me in her Boppy happily dreaming of her next meal.

Month Two

This has been a big month for our little girl. She has grown and matured in so many ways that it's hard to find a place to start. Piper is much more alert now and spends more time awake than she did this time last month. She has a semi-schedule of being awake after each feeding for around 30-45 minutes and will play and laugh and smile during this time.
















While she would smile in her sleep last month, this month she will do it when she sees one of us. She is very smiley after each feeding and never fails to give us one of her big, open-mouthed smiles that tells us that she is happy to see us. She always has one for her big brother and is promptly rewarded by him smothering her with hugs or kisses.

When Piper is awake, she loves to play and talk. This month has given way to the discovery of her voice. Caleb and I spend our days having "conversations" with Piper and it really sounds like she is trying to talk back to us. She still loves to stretch and flail somewhat, but is gaining some control of her hands and loves to play on her mat. You will often catch her batting at things just to see what would happen.
Piper is very much like her brother in that she does not like to be confined unless someone is holding her to get her to sleep. She has not let me swaddle her for sometime now but loves her footy pajamas and will not sleep without them.
















I think I posted last month about Piper not liking her swing, but the past few weeks has seen a complete turn around on this. There have been nights when she has slept for most of the night in her swing because we just couldn't get her to sleep anywhere else. Piper LOVES sleeping on her stomach and I just cannot let her do that at night when I can't supervise her the whole time. It's one thing for her to do that when I'm sitting right next to her, but it's quite another for her to sleep on her tummy all night. Mama's got to sleep at some point.
While we're on the subject, sleep is at a premium here still. Piper has, on occasion, made a 5 hour stretch at night between feedings, but most of the time we're still feeding her every 3 to 4 hours. Needless to say, we're all pretty wiped here in the land of Mathis. Please be kind if you see us out in public and we act stranger than normal.





















Piper was none to thrilled with her first bath, but over the past month she has developed quite the love for the water. I think she would stay in the bath for hours if I let her. There hasn't been a time when she has been in the bath or getting her massage afterward when she hasn't had smiles for me!





















We also broke out the Bumbo seat this month (ok, really just today!). Piper has been able to hold her head up since her birth, but she really has great control of it now. She is starting to gain control of her upper body as well, so I thought I would try her in this seat and she loved it! I think she just really enjoyed seeing the world in a new light.
Piper is just the sweetest little girl that we could ever have hoped for and we have had a great 2 months with her!