I ♥ Bumbo!

Bumbo…One word…GENIUS! I used it with Jude and now Jon and I find ourselves taking it everywhere for Joel! Priced at $10-17 depending on where you purchase, I should probably just buy a spare and keep it in the back of the 4Runner! It’s worth every penny tenfold! Sometimes we think “we probably won’t really need it tonight” when we’re going over to someone’s house…we always regret that thought!
What it does: It allows infants without great head/neck control to sit upright on their own. It’s made of solid yet soft foamy material, it’s super lightweight, comfortable, durable, and SUPER easy to clean!! *No I am not being paid for this blog entry, LOL.* The best part…it can go anywhere baby goes! Hence, the above picture…bath time made easier! :)
Though some think I’m an awful parent for putting it on the kitchen table (there are no straps or fasteners), Joel LOVES being part of our dinner at eye level.

*Yes, my baby is "diaper only naked"quite often in our home*

I’ve heard some mothers use it as a booster seat at restaurants too…I will probably try this!
The ability for me to be hands free for household chores or to play with Joel face to face is wonderful! There’s no product like it! It’s a must for all new parents!

Oh and there’s MORE! There’s a Bumbo tray too!! Not AS amazing as the seat but still, pretty awesome! :) When Jude was old enough to eat small bites of table foods we used the tray a lot. Even before the table foods, we used it for toys.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! :)

Our Delightfully Chaotic "Right Now"

As the days continue to blur by…I have to make myself stop and write down where my baby boys are at in their tiny full lives and where Jon and I are in ours! :)

Words I would use when talking about JUDE right now:

Independent –
“I do it molmmy”
“mine!”
“no molmmy”
Apparently in Jude’s mind, there is an ‘L’ in mommy. I correct him all the time, and for a bit he’ll say it right but nevertheless, always goes back to “molmmy.” HaHa.
“Daddy!” – He’s Jon’s shadow! He wants to do everything with Jon, be everywhere he is…all the time. Monday nights are hardest for me because Jon plays Ultimate Frisbee after work and doesn’t get home until way after the boy’s bedtime. As soon as I walk in the door from work Jude immediately says “Daddy?!” I tell him every Monday “Daddy is playing sports. He’ll be home later” and then…meltdown! Thank God for chocolate milk! ;-)
Potty – Definitely interested but so not trained. We’re using the m&m technique, which seems to be pretty effective. Never fails, when I need to go “potty” Jude isn’t far away. Last night, he busts in my bathroom and sees that I have just finished successfully using the potty and shouts “Yay molmmy! Candy!” I had to laugh out loud. Never a dull moment.
He has the process of going pee pee or poo poo IN the potty down as long as he is in the right place at the right time but can’t quite grasp the concept of needing to be near a potty fast as soon as the urge arises. Yes, makes for interesting times! This morning he woke up in his crib and stated he needed to go potty, took off his diaper and pee’d in his crib! Jacqueline, the boy’s wonderful nanny, was the fortunate recipient of that incident. Sorry girl! ;-)
Talker – He has SO much to say! Sometimes I understand him…others, not so much. HaHa. He’s developed quite the little personality and I LOVE IT! I’ll have to post some videos. He has been talking more to grandparents and people he knows well on the phone lately too.
Sensitive – to others and personally. If you look at the kid the wrong way, watch out! He’s either going to cry or act out. Lots of hugs and reassurance right now for sure. He also hates to see others cry…even strangers. In the nursery at church this past Sunday, a little girl was crying for her mommy so Jude went over to her and brought her a book and a toy. The nursery teacher said he worked really hard to calm her down…and it worked. :-) He’s such a tender hearted boy.
Jealousy – who is this new baby?! He does love Joel and is sweet 90% of the time but when baby brother needs attention in the middle of a story, dinner time, etc…NO BUENO! Jude is not shy about voicing that his time is being interrupted. If Jon or I have Joel in our lap, Jude will come over and say “hey! Goal (Joel) down!” and point to the floor. If we don’t submit to his command, he’s glad to help us out by pushing Joel off of our lap. Any advice in this category welcomed! I want to be firm but assuring in my response…easier said than done! Now that Joel is getting older and stronger, it has been better. I can now sit them BOTH on (or near) my lap and we can all read together. :-)
Entertainer – if you’re happy, he’s happy. If you’re upset…he’s going to try to make you happy. :-)
Animals – He knows em! By sight and sound. He can tell you what they are and he’ll be happy to tell you the sounds they all make… Our typical car game.
“Two” – If you hear Jude saying “Twoooo” you better find him quick! He’s about to jump off something! He’s a dare devil! He sometimes says one but usually skips it and goes straight for two. He also likes 5. I know he can count to 5 (he has several times) but it’s on his terms. He’s not going to do it if you want him too. Rascal!
Teeth – He went from 4 to 16 in a month seems like! I know it wasn’t literally that fast but they are popping in like crazy! He looks like a little boy now…bittersweet.
“Amen!” – Doesn’t matter where we are, what we’re doing…if he hears “in Jesus name” he’s going to shout “Amen!” It’s ADORABLE! This is probably my favorite thing, next to his cat “meow” sound. He loves to pray and it’s been a blessing for us with structuring bedtime!
Manners – it took a month to get Jude to actually SAY please! He was so used to using sign language (learned in daycare) that he only wanted to sign. With help from Jacqueline we finally did it! Since saying “Please” we’ve moved on to Thank you, Yes sir/ma’am, no sir/ma’am and his favorite…”bless you!” He’ll fake sneeze to say it! I have to try not to laugh but it’s so darn cute!
Roomie – Joel moved into Jude’s room 2 ½ weeks ago. So far, it’s been amazingly better than I expected! I do think Jude has suffered a little more than Joel as far as sleep interruption but they really are doing so great rooming together.

Outside – if he can be anywhere, he WANTS to be outside. It doesn’t matter if it’s hot as the sun or pouring rain! He cannot be outside enough! He’s my little monkey man! :-)
Birthdays - seems like there is a birthday party to attend EVERY weekend lately. Who's 2 this week? ;-)

Words I would use when talking about JOEL right now:
Bubbles/Teething – Constant slobber bubbles from teething :(
Formula – Going thru it like a baby! ;-) Costco is our friend!
Baby Food – We’ve started! And he LOVES it! Green beans, Mixed Harvest veggies and any kind of fruits are golden!
Diapers – WE NEED MORE DIAPERS! Already?! Yep! The baby does not like to be wet! That and being hungry are the only reasons he cries.
Growing – NON STOP! He’s about to bust out of his 6 mos clothes. He’ll be 5 mos on 9/29. The pediatrician says he’s going to surpass Jude.
Smiley – The happiest baby ever! Joel smiles constantly and giggles! He’s a happy baby :) melts my heart over and over!
Cuddly – If I need a snuggle, Joel is my cure!
Strong! – Rolls over, Lifts up, holds his own with Jude…has a hardy grip! (watch your hair and earrings!) He’s going to be crawling soon!
Momma’s boy – When I walk in from work he gets SO excited! Makes my whole day! His face lights up and he reaches out for me. When he hears me talking he stretches to look at me from any angle…*sigh* Why I became a mother, hehe. ;-)

Words I would use when talking about JON right now:
Home Depot – His home away from home :)
Daddy – The best! I LOVE LOVE LOVE watching Jon with the boys. They adore him! He’s so great about letting Jude hang out with him in the garage, playing legos or just taking time out to read to the boys. With Joel still needing a lot of “mommy attention” right now, Jon takes over with Jude and makes sure that BOTH of the boys are getting that undivided attention they want and need. He also helps a lot at night with feedings, etc. Cannot say enough how attractive it is to me seeing Jon with the boys.
Ultimate Frisbee – He plays every Monday night and Saturday morning… This is his athletic outlet. His time away from me and the kids where he can just go and play! And he’s really good! :)
Busy – Gone are the days when we would lazy around the house for a weekend. Always something to do and somewhere to go!
Leader – This year I’ve seen Jon really turn into a strong leader…not only in our home but at work.
Our “Rock” – Always ready for church on Sundays, bibly study during the week and there to answer my questions when I have them. If he doesn’t know the answer, he helps find it. So appreciative of this!
Chess with friends – Jon’s new addiction. Look him up if you wanna but beware, he’s intense! ;-) JoNate14 is his username.
Funny – Can always make me, and the boys, laugh!
Best Friend – He is mine. :)
Husband – sorry ladies, he’s taken! ;-)

Words I would use when talking about MYSELF right now:
Planner – “what’s the plan? Why’d it change? What now? What time? When? Where? I’ll put it on the calendar.” I need a plan! And don’t cancel last minute! LOL. OCD? Maybe…
Mommy – hardest most rewarding job ever. More in love with my boys every day! I cannot imagine life without them!
Sew cool! – My new hobby…that consumes large parts of my house, mind and time!
Social Media – Blog, Facebook, Pinterest…
Pictures – who says I can’t be a photographer?! I’m my family’s photographer, hehe. And photo books…Genius! I make them for everything! I don't care who takes them or really, if they're even of my family...I love pictures!
DVR – the only way I get to watch anything outside of PBS/KERA ;-) And I now have no patience for commercials.
Social – I thrive on relationships and invest in them (Spouse, kids, family and friends) hoping to receive the same in return. I’m a social person for sure! My social “scene” has changed somewhat but in my opinion, better with age! ;-)

This is us...at this moment! ;-)

How Pinteresting!!

Lord help me! I’ve found a new addiction! My friend Lindsey told me about this must see fabulous site “Pinterest” months ago and advised I would most certainly become as obsessed as she had become! I didn’t fully understand the concept and never made time to sit down and browse the site. Partly because I was afraid I would, as Lindsey stated…become obsessed! Well…my free time was forever changed this past Friday evening. Another sweet friend of mine, Brooke, sent me an e-mail invitation to join the site & follow her. After hearing much hype (mainly in blogs I follow) since Lindsey’s bringing it up, I couldn’t resist any longer! It is truly a genius of a site!!
I’ve already “pinned” probably a hundred things! Craft ideas and so much more to do with the boys! Design ideas for the clutter that has become my house! Quotes…oh the darling quotes! Patterns to sew…projects for Jon…recipes for football watching party…ideas for Jude's upcoming birthday!! *sigh* I’m in love! Now…to actually put the ideas into motion! Can’t wait!
I’ve mainly been “re-pinning” since I browse 90% from my iPhone. I do wonder if people feel like I’m stalking them…b/c technically I guess I kind of am. HeHe. Such great ideas!! LOVE THIS SITE!!

A BIG Day for the Howerton Boys :)

Yesterday was a BIG day for the Howerton boys!


Joel rolled over for the first time! YAY!! He’s been SO close for weeks! He would get 95% of the way over and couldn’t seem to figure out what to do with the arm that was then under his body. He seemed to ponder for a bit but then would very willfully just return to his back with a smile. Well…yesterday was the day! He was on his whale play mat and BAM, he was on his tummy pushing off the ground. :)



And for Mr. Jude bug, he is 21 mos old (yesterday). I wish I had a snooze button…time is absolutely flying by! We celebrated with a pizza dinner and a backyard family night! The weather was gorgeous!


To finish the night off, we put the boys to bed at the SAME time in the SAME room (separate cribs)for the first time. I will be honest and admit I was extremely skeptical that it would be any kind of a restful night (for anyone) but…I was wrong! They did so great! They were both asleep within 15 minutes of us laying them down. Jude was a bit fidgety at first and super annoyed that his brother was crying…he said ”no no Goal (Joel)!” before dozing. It was SO CUTE! I had to go out in the hall to snicker with Jon.

A GREAT day! :)

A Random Thought for you...

TGIF

Five Good Things to Celebrate this Friday!

1) It’s payday! I love getting paid weekly. It’s like a fresh start right before the weekend! :) My husband works in finance, has always been money savvy and therefore, he pays the bills & manages our accounts. I never knew giving up control of finances could be so wonderfully liberating! I do watch what I spend but for the most part, I just keep Jon in the know on what I’m purchasing and he tells me when I need to “slow my roll” a bit. ;-)

2) Fun times w/good friends! Tiffany grew up with Jon in Dalhart and they’ve been friends since they were young. Tiff is now married to Colby and they also have 2 boys, Cade & Collin. We’re heading out to Weatherford tonight after work (w/Jude & Joel) to celebrate her youngest, Collin, turning 4! Where has the time gone?! Excited to see everyone and hang out!

3) LOVING this weather! High of 90 degrees still sounds hot to most but let me tell you, when it’s been 110 out…it’s a HUGE difference! Excited to grill out and enjoy our backyard with the boys! Hmm, wonder if we could even squeeze in a Sat morning zoo trip?!

4) We’re staying in town! After so much traveling lately, it’s nice to be at home sweet home for a weekend and enjoy local stuff!

5) BABIES! Particularly, BABY BEN! Meeting Mike and Lindsey's precious baby boy this Sunday after church. It was an intense process getting pregnant for our friends and I am so thankful God has provided such an absolute blessing! Cannot wait to get my hands on him & I love this family!!

What's on your Grocery List?

I feel like an average trip to the grocery store tells so much about where you are in your life. Do you buy a lot of groceries or eat out most of the time? Do you go to wal-mart to save as much money as you can or would you prefer to just pay more and go into a Tom Thumb for the better layout, produce and bakery items? Are you purchasing healthy/produce or mainly just snack items?

Here’s my un-edited grocery list for this week…which I purchased yesterday after work at the ever dreaded wal-mart. I’ll also note that I would rather grocery shop hungry and chance “add-ons” over going later with kiddos.

On the list:
Cars (the movie) or Batman toy – for birthday party boys were invited to Friday.
Green Leaf Lettuce – salads/sandwiches
Bread – gotta have sliced bread for sandwiches
Can of Diced Tomato – to make salsa
Ripe Tomatoes - to make salsa/salads
Peppers (Anaheim, Poblano, Japs) - to make salsa
Bag of fozen ckn breasts – we eat a lot of ckn :)
Veggies – signed up to bring a veggie tray to our small group this week
Miracle whip (lite) – for Jon’s sandwiches during the week
Capers – because they’re delicious!
Cheerios – Jude bug
Can of corn – A typical go to for Jude bug and recipes
Can of Chili Beans –new crock pot recipe A
Can of Black Beans - new crock pot recipe B
Can of Tomato paste - new crock pot recipe C
Sour Cream – for veggie ranch dip mix that will go w/veggies
Hamburger meat – an “on hand” must have
Taco seasoning – Jon loves him some tacos
Flour tortillas – for the (soft) tacos
Lunch meat – we bring lunch to work
Milk – 2 gallons min a week
Bananas – Jude bug
Red Grapes – good for work snack
Tortilla Chips – to go with homemade salsa
Hot Dogs – Jude Bug, no buns needed
Chives & Onion Cream Cheese – bagel topper
Crescent Rolls – dinner bread
Shredded Cheese – another must have on hand item

Purchased but NOT on my list:
Can of diced pineapple – a sweet treat for Jude
Can of Manwich sauce – who doesn’t love a good ole’ Sloppy Joe
Pasta – spaghetti
Mushrooms – spaghetti
Jar of pasta sauce – spaghetti
Cheez-its – I caved
Vanilla oreos - I caved
Potato and cheese pierogies – somewhat healthy…right?? No clue, I wanted them
Frozen pizza – easy option for after work when lazy
Apples – easy lunch side (work)
Ranch Dip mix - shoulda been on the list but I forgot ;-) Goes with sour cream that WAS on the list
2 cans of soup – easy work lunch
Halloween Mellow Pumpkins – Halloween candy is out, what?!
Sun Dried Tomato Feta Cheese – yumm-o, yes please! I’ll put on my salad!


And..wow! I just put grocery list into google search to see what would pop up and found this site immediately - http://www.grocerylists.org/ It’s the world's largest online collection of found grocery lists. Too funny! Check it out!

Motherhood is…

I read this confession this morning on another mom’s blog:

“I really, truly, honestly wish someone–ANYONE–would have told me what it was really like having kids. Before I had them.”

I know she was exhausted ending a “less than easy day” and speaking out of complete frustration. I can absolutely relate and in turn, reflected a little on my own life & kiddos. I realize both of my boys are still under 2 so I have MUCH still to learn about being a parent but for all my sweet friends that are yet- to-be and soon-to-be-mothers who really wonder what it’s like, I’m going to do my very best to describe motherhood, thus far for me, for you.

Here goes.

Motherhood is constant middle of the night wake up cries. Just when you think “they had a wild busy day, stayed up late, had a short nap..SURELY they’ll sleep thru the night”…. “Mommy! Daddy! Mommy! Poo Poo!”

Motherhood is reading book after book after book after book…after book.

Motherhood is needing more concealer.

Motherhood is having to leave something fun because you failed to bring enough
diapers &/or formula to stay any longer.

Motherhood is finally appreciating your own mother.

Motherhood is being so proud and excited when your child learns something new.

Motherhood is worrying that you’re not doing everything right that you should be to ensure your child progresses “on track.”

Motherhood is kisses for boo-boos and prayers before bed.

Motherhood is hormonal.

Motherhood is having someone to blame for the smell when a toot slips out.

Motherhood is sharing…everything.

Motherhood is giving up spontaneous date nights with your hubby and replacing them with “play dates” with friend’s and their kiddos.

Motherhood is frequent Wal Mart trips.

Motherhood is less trendy and more comfy.

Motherhood is an invasion of toys and safety devices to your once neat and tidy home.

Motherhood is dreading restaurants and preferring to eat at home.

Motherhood is feeling like a failure after repeated lactation consultant visits…wondering if you’ll ever be able to live up to the breast feeding requirements society imposes. And for the record, I did not. One of the hardest things for me EVER was overcoming what I FELT was judgment from so many…mainly mom’s that must have been dairy cows in a previous life ;-)

Motherhood is learning that if you act REALLY excited about something, your toddler will want to be that excited about it too.

Motherhood is house parties over bar hopping.

Motherhood is the easiest most difficult job ever.

Motherhood is submitting your life to your children’s schedule.

Motherhood is “packing up your house” when you want/need to go anywhere out of town.

Motherhood is all of your spending money.

Motherhood is snapping pictures constantly to “treasure this moment.”

Motherhood is not remembering what you did the day before when you used to have an impeccable memory.

Motherhood is finding a balance of your time between jealous siblings fighting for your attention.

Motherhood is trying not to be jealous when your toddler turns into a total daddy’s boy.

Motherhood is being pee’d on and wiping more poop than you ever thought you’d see in your life.

Motherhood is a car so filthy that you are embarrassed to let your own husband see it.

Motherhood is praying that you can raise your kids up in God’s word and be a good enough example that they’ll know and love the Lord.

Motherhood is emotional.

Motherhood is knowing, just from the touch of a forehead, almost exactly what your child’s temperature is.

Motherhood is feet a 1/2 size larger than before, tighter pants and a saggy booty.

Motherhood is fantasizing over reaching the bottom of the laundry pile, knowing full well that it’s never going to happen.

Motherhood is singing all the words to your kids favorite songs even though they annoy the heck out of you.

Motherhood is enduring countless episodes of Clifford, The Big Red Dog (“Ruff Ruff”) in order to get the house somewhat presentable.

Motherhood is never feeling 100% at peace unless all of your children are with you, under your own roof.

Motherhood is almost always feeling mildly sick but never being able to wallow.

Motherhood is a removal of any privacy once had… never using the bathroom or showering in peace.

Motherhood is using your sleeves to wipe snot and your spit to clean a dirty face.

Motherhood is when you are so exhausted, you just want to curl up into a ball when one of your children suddenly farts or burps or does something spontaneously funny. It’s the moment when you dissolve into a hysterical fit of laughter; the kind that you haven’t experienced since grade school. It’s the moment you pause and look at your children and husband, all piled on your bed, breathing hard with rosy cheeks, and think that the only things that really matter in the world are right there in front of you. They are yours, and they are worth every sacrifice and sleepless night!

Rinse and repeat a million times. That’s what motherhood is to me right now…and that’s just off the top of my head! Haha.

XO,
Brooke

Going home for the Labor Day holiday weekend...times 3!!!

I’m blessed and SO thankful to have a wonderfully sweet & giving mother in law! I couldn’t have handpicked her better myself! She kinda reminds me of Angela Lansbury (minus the British accent ofcourse) to give you a mental picture. Even sings like her. :) She makes the 6 hr drive to see us quite often. We’re fortunate to live in the middle of her other 2 kids (Jon’s older brother and sister) so she typically stays at our house. We’ve definitely taken this for granted and haven’t been out to Dalhart, Jon’s home town and where Judy still lives, since Christmas…and even then, we just passed thru on our way to Colorado. Few in town had met Joel and most hadn’t seen Jude since he was just starting to walk. So…we packed up the house (very little exaggeration) and if my calculations are correct…we drove 883.46 miles over the holiday weekend making the rounds visiting my parent’s, Judy’s and Jon’s dad’s house!


I wish I had taken a better picture of the inside of our 4Runner! Suitcases, blankets, ice chest, diaper bag, swing, boppy, play mat, travel booster seat…Bentley (our D-O-G) in between the two car seats. It was a site!

Being Labor Day weekend, we had Friday and Monday off work. We loaded up and headed west for Roscoe Thursday afternoon pulling into Highland High School just before half time to watch the end of my little brother’s football game. He’s the QB this year. “GO KEVIN!” We stayed the night with my parents Thursday then got up and headed to Dumas to see Jon’s dad Friday. We got there around 4:00…in time for Jon to help his dad a little bit (install windows) on a building he’s working on and eat a delicious steak dinner! From there we went on to Judy’s where we stayed thru Monday early afternoon. We got to see several but some but even having 4 full days…the weekend flew by as usual! Jude and Joel soaked up the attention and love being at all of their grandparent’s houses! The weather was amazing and we were sad to leave Monday afternoon. We made a stop in Dumas for lunch and to meet Jay, Mary’s (Jon’s step sister) fiancé before heading home. Why is it that the drive home always seems so much longer than the trip going?! We got home around 8:20…I did a load of laundry, ran the dishwasher and unpacked…before I knew it, it was 10:30! Lights out!
It was a wonderful weekend! Thanks to my parents for DVD player! Jude enjoyed being able to watch sesame street in the car and we loved that it occupied him! ;-) Thanks to Judy for letting us invade your home w/all ours and the boy’s stuff! :) Thankful Melanie is such a fabulous garage saler! Jude LOVED all the toys at Grumpa and Mimi’s house! HeHe. Thanks to Lisa for the cute homemade humpty dumpty pillow dolls! Thanks to the ladies at church for ensuring Jude didn’t escape after lunch when he was crazy running around! And thanks to everyone who stopped by Judy’s house to come see us – we love you all! AND ofcourse thanks to ALL for the delicious food…we’re all fat now! ;-)