and this is what's on my mind??

so i have no real reason to write tonight as today held nothing of real significance. (or as weentrab says, today was not "blogworthy.")

hmmm...what to do for henry's 3rd birthday? (october 30) i have a feeling there will be always be a pressure to have a halloween-themed party. but i will resist it. i will resist it. i know one thing i am getting him. i think it's perfect for him. maybe a bike? maybe a sand table (instead of the sandbox that eventually became a white trash swimming pool this past summer). maybe a new pair of shoes. no...my odd, quirky almost-3-year-old only wears ONE pair of shoes. granted, not a bad pair of shoes to wear if you're only going to wear one pair. but come on!

woke up and had eggos and watched blues clues with henry in my bed. sometimes i'm not sure there is anything better than snuggling with my kiddo. especially when it's henry. though he is not a snuggler by nature, when he does, you have struck gold. ahhh. not to mention when he throws his leg over you and says (without prompting, i might add), "i wub you, mommy." drip, drip, drip---my heart is melting.

greta slept in pink pajamas last night. thanks, grandma. i'm SURE she felt extra feminine. (speaking of grandma, she and i got to do a little online shopping for miss gretahead. so fun! again...thanks grandma.) she hung out with me in the infamous bouncy seat, and of course she was sweating the entire time. but she looked cute, and that's all that matters, right? she took a nap, while king henry and dad played outside. henry played, and dad *tried* to get some work done outside. and don't tell dad, but i just pretended to have LOTS to do so that i got to stay inside. which brings me to another point...

i'm sorry, but is it september and 97 degrees? can someone tell me why in the free world i live in dallas????

took greta to run some errands, which included buying henry the exact same pair of shoes he already wears, so that we have an extra pair in case one pair gets left in the other car. again...he's so weird.

and for some crazy saturday night entertainment, the 4 of us went to babies r us and old navy. got greta some t-shirts at old navy and got her some diapers at babies r us. i mean, we wisners really know how to live it up. :)

however, for those of you who are interested (bm, you know who you are), we enjoyed some nice pei wei for dinner tonight. delish! and we thought we'd start up our "date night" again. (now, date night around our house consists of the same dinner at pei wei take out and a rented movie. sometimes we even get crazy and get candy and dr peppers.) we are creatures of habit, and we love it. tonight's feature was forgotten. for those of you who have not seen it, let me save you the $. don't rent it or buy it on pay per view. wasted hour and a half.

and another note of observation that i must comment on...the return of the 80s fashion. i have been following a fellow blogger, and she has spoken frankly on this topic. and i second everything she said. tonight when we were in old navy, i had to pause my phone conversation with kelly to note the jeans with zippers on the bottom. oh, how i flashbacked to 7th grade getting ready for a YWCA dance at kelly's house and dreaming of dancing with jason whitson. i would PRAY that "you're the inspiration" by chicago or "all out of love" by air supply would come on. i was SURE that if one of those songs came on, we were destined to be together forever. but wait...i didn't know erik zimmerman was here! maybe we were meant to be together. gosh, hoping at night before i went to bed that tomorrow would be the big sale at the brass buckle at washington park mall on anything denim made by guess. blah, blah, blah...

sometimes i have to stop and remember how much i love my life. every so often, i take things for granted. not tonight. i tucked big h in, and he wanted me to tuck buz (lightyear) in too. i knelt down to say thank you to jesus. i started with, "thank you, jesus, for this amazing day and getting to play with daddy and getting to have a lot of fun outside." normally, we start praying for people. he starts with the obvious, "uh-shoo (thank you) zezus, for daddy, mommy, gree-ya (greta), ah-nee (henry)...and then it's wide open to his choice. sometimes it's tee-ya (tanna), ay-fruhl (april), and tie-ehr (tyler). sometimes it's amy wes (amy AND wes, but it's one word to him). sometimes it's daddy again. (i try not to take those personally.) last night, it was buz and woody and bullseye. tonight it was neville and his tender (from the world renown thomas the tank engine empire). it was also for the #1. (yes, the NUMBER one. hmmm...thomas is, of course, number 1.) i can't help but laugh. i mean, how does he come up with these things? then, we finished, and (because he has a problem staying in his bed and keeping the light off) i asked if he was going to make a good choice tonight. he said, "yes, i make good choices mommy." i asked what the good choices were going to be. he responded with "lay here with buz and big neville." what a big kid! henry, i love you! you make me smile.

we finally got to play with amy and wes this week. this is the first "person" word he learned after mommy and daddy. not grandma, nana, uncle bob, no...it was AMY. every day this week, he has asked if we are going to play with amy. and talk about heartwrenching when i had to say, "no, we're not playing with amy and wes today. we'll play with them tomorrow." (we play with them every friday.) and he would start wailing, "no, not rorrow. not rorrow, mommy." so i made obligatory calls to amy to "ask" if we could play that day knowing that we weren't getting together until friday. henry has a one-track mind.

next week is the big OU/texas game. greta will be all geared up in her official sooner get up.

here is henry LAST year saying boomer sooner...

i must go check to see if my husband has won the national championship tonight (playstation). and then it's on to nightnight land.

oops...

i didn't forget to include the link to the pictures weentrab took. i tried, and the server was down last night. but here it is...enjoy!

dedicated to...

all things greta. my daughter is an amazing little person. and sometimes i feel like she gets the shaft around here. so i thought i would offer up a tribute to her tonight.

1. girl went to sleep 2 nights ago at 8:40, and i had to wake her up the next morning at 8:30. i mean, are you serious? (those of you with small children, i hope i didn't offend you by making you jealous. however, she did wake up last night at 1:30, just to keep us on our toes.)
2. even though she does wear mostly pink these days, she is ok with the occasional hand-me-down from her brother (i.e. t-shirt, running pants, and thorlo socks).

(could she look any more unhappy?)

3. she also is totally fine with the fact that all of her pajamas are blue (don't want to spend $ on clothes no one will ever see her in).

(yes, these have helicopters and airplanes on them. the other ones in the rotation have firetrucks. she doesn't fight it.)

4. she poops the MINUTE we put a new diaper on
5. the only time she seems to not cry when she's being held by buz is when he is most uncomfortable (walking around the house in awkward positions). she can be dead asleep until you sit down. we KNOW she senses that you've finally gotten comfortable. little stinker.
6. buz thinks she only cries when i leave the house. (not true, but we'll let him believe that it's our little secret.) :)
7. i've been so anxious about her feeding (she has had some major breastfeeding issues). i took her to her 2-month well check-up, and i was praying so hard that the Lord would give me some kind of sign that she was doing better. buz and i took bets on her weight. he said she would be at 12#8, and i said 12#2. the chubster weighed in at THIRTEEN FREAKING POUNDS!!! way to go, hoss!
8. also, at her 2-month check-up, she had to get 4 shots, 2 in each leg. she basically cried really loud for approximately 6 1/2 seconds, and then just grabbed my neck and kind of whimpered. hoss!
9. she's 2 months old, and she hasn't had to see a GI specialist yet. and we haven't lived everyday at Medical City of Dallas.
10. every wednesday morning since she was 5 weeks old, we have been going to bible study at our church. i feel like she is too young to be taken to the nursery. so i feed her beforehand, and then she just gets passed around from grandmother to grandmother. she eats it up.
11. last week, henry and i got "into it." (never good. battle of the wills is a scary thing around our house.) she stayed in her bouncy that she really doesn't seem to like right now because it's fleece, and she sweats a lot (just like her mom). but she remained calm in her very hot bouncy seat and waited until henry and i were done "resolving" our issues. she's like, "you guys just wake me when you're finished."

(the infamous bouncy seat)

12. it's cute (?) that all of her hair has been preserved in her crib. buz keeps telling her, "greta, yours will grow back. i promise. yours will grow back."
13. she succumbs to henry's "gentle loving." he likes to "kiss" her which really means suffocate her by holding his open mouth over her open mouth in what looks like an extremely romantic moment. he also likes to "hug" her which means lay on one of her extremities until it goes numb.

("help! someone get him off of me!")

14. i'm not sure she's ever blinked because she has such alert eyes. doesn't want to miss a thing.
15. the only person she'll lean up against without crying is henry? how is that so?


16. she is ok with henry being the one to "wake" her up. that means climb up her crib and talk really loudly into her bed. and with the inflection that only henry can use, he asks, "baby, you have a good nap? huh? it's me! ah-nee (aka henry). and i brought my ding (aka eggo)! you get up and watch broo croos with mommy and ah-nee? huh?" i mean, God love him. and she just puts up with it. i mean, is she thinking "i really don't like blues clues, and i don't really care about what he's having for breakfast. but it's easier not saying anything right now."
17. you know once she can talk, she will be the only one to put henry in his place. we long for that day. we think she's going to turn into a know-it-all, and we think that will be a welcomed asset to our family. she'll talk henry into anything. don't tell him any of this.
18. she has resorted to the fact that most of her 9-week life has been in the carseat. and she just goes along with it.


19. for some reason, she REALLY does NOT like baths. she loves the bath itself. it's the getting out that she lets the neighbors know about. yikes!
20. and finally, she smiles! a LOT! bless you, Greta!

i know i have already done the 1-month and 2-month comparison pictures, but i couldn't help myself. here is g-dog at 1 month...

and here is the little peanut at 2 months...

well, should i come up with some more, i will most them at a later time. all that to say, this girl is a superstar! what a champ to be sister to Sir Henry and have him really, really like her. what an honor, Greta. we are glad to have you in the family!

so see some of the handiwork of my buddy weentrab, here are some pictures from when we were expecting greta and when we came home. weentrab, you are my hero! my hats off to you! thank you!

hooked

i'm hooked. i have fallen madly, deeply in love with someone...greta ellen, you have captured my heart. i got a smile today. we're not just talking a little bit of a crooked mouth. a full blown SMILE! she is the most beautiful girl i have ever seen! it was just the two of us. and what a moment. buz had taken orders from "the boss" (aka big h) to take his (yes dad's) nap in henry's bed. mind you -- henry has a bunkbed. it's pretty difficult to get into his bed to take a nap. but if henry says so...

what an amazing weekend. yesterday, buz went in to work in the morning to get some things done. henry, greta, and i dilly-dallied around the house. we went to our buddy andrew's birthday party, where henry did awesome. i comment on how he "did" because some of you might know that we sometimes fear how henry will handle social situations. :) he's not too keen on sharing yet. and when he melts down, people in neighboring states can hear. so we go places praying that God grants us (and the others around us) peace. he was a total champ. sometimes i just look him and laugh. he is my sunshine. he had a lot of fun, and greta was the life of the party, as usual. then, we came home and attempted to take naps but were unsuccessful. again...unfortunate for all. we headed to big denton, texas to see nana and papa (aka ace and nance) as well as see where they're going to live! so much fun! now, they're not moving for at least a year to maybe a year and a half. but fun to start thinking about. we got to their hotel room, and henry was pumped to give a little sugar to papa and got some tickling from nana. and the piece de resistance...nana and papa brought henry toy story 2 (aka buz woody and horsey show). we walked around and looked at the place, which was very nice. we had dinner at the clubhouse. greta was a champ sitting on dad's lap just enjoying the sights. henry was a trooper, eating a ton of his grilled cheese (but more of his french fries and ketchup). we played outside where there was a beautiful waterfall that big h was mesmerized by. greta didn't care so much for her trip home, but once she got home, got something to eat, and got put in her bed, she was much happier in la-la land. henry was asleep before baby tad (his 6-minute singing frog) finished his songs. and buz and i got to finally watch the season of grey's anatomy. the joy of tv watching once kiddos are asleep. today, we did something we don't normally do -- we skipped church. not on purpose. but big h didn't wake up until 8:30 (that's enough to praise the LORD!), and greta wasn't up yet. :) so we had pancakes and went to a park to play.

came home and had lunch and took naps. (well, everyone except greta. she doesn't care so much for the daytime sleep yet. which is ok because she LOVES the nighttime sleep.) greta and i went to run some errands, and dad and big h went to another park to play some more. henry was probably thinking today was christmas. had dinner, watched some veggie tales, and took baths and went to sleep. again...h was asleep before tad could finish his songs. amazing. and greta sawing logs in her crib.

so, i'm obsessed with fall. i can't get enough of it. we have the windows open right now, and i want to call everyone i know. it got *down* to 70 degrees, and i felt like i should go get my sweater box out of the closet. one thing that cracks me up about living in dallas--people like me who want it to be colder. you see all of these people wearing parkas when it finally gets down to 65. people in colder places (aka kelly) start wearing shorts when it finally gets UP to 65. all relative, i guess. oh how i long to wear a coat and jeans and actually NEED the down comforter at night. oh, and how i long to stop sweating for a couple of months.

i've also got the sunday night blues (i.e. daddy goes back to work tomorrow.) we ALL get the sunday night blues. henry doesn't know that he does until monday morning when he is really sad that his ultimate playmate has gone back to work. here's to you, dad...

heart attack

hmmm...should i inform those interested parties about brad's heart attack or tell of the day's events? tough call. perhaps both?

to start with the lighter of the 2...we'll begin with brad's heart attack. and for those of you who have made "heart attack jokes" lately, no worries. we aren't offended. or i should say brad isn't. it's actually humorous to us. the morning of friday september 18, brad called on my cell phone. he typically never calls during the day. i was at the pediatrician with both children (that's still weird to say) to see if he could find anything wrong with greta. she was having (and still is) nursing problems. i normally turn my cell phone off during doctors' appointments. but for some reason, i didn't that morning. in my attempt to win wife of the year, i pushed the ignore button. it rang again. i pushed the ignore button again. by the third time, i was annoyed. (course, i'm sure brad was too.) so i told the pediatrician i was going to answer really quickly. brad asked if i was in a place where i could hear him. he told me he was in the ER. well, brad works in a hospital, and so he calls from all over the hospital. i didn't think a thing of being in the ER...until he told me he was a patient in the ER. the 3 of us managed to leave the pediatrician as quickly as i knew possible. i talked to him briefly, and he told me he had some chest pains that morning when he was interviewing someone for a job. he had to excuse himself and go to the ER. 2 hours later, his boss called me to tell me that he was ok, that he was alert, but that they were going to admit him????? what??? so in a matter of an hour, i nursed greta, sent henry with his dear aunt tanna and then later dropped greta off at aunt tanna's as well. they both stayed there friday night and saturday. (thank you camp wisner.) i drove to ft. worth thinking "i'm sorry. am i really driving to see my 36-year-old husband in the hospital? i mean, could this be serious? am i going to be a single mom of 2 children?" i know all of that sounds dramatic, but i couldn't help but think the worst. when i got there, he was in the cardiac ICU. it was the scariest thing i have ever seen. i spent the night on the cot there. my sweet father-in-law flew in on saturday morning from new mexico to spend time with brad and to relieve me. i went back home on saturday to henry and my FOUR-WEEK-OLD (trying to get some sympathy). my buddy bitsy came over that night to clean my house and help me put my kiddos to bed. it was so weird not sleeping with my spouse that night. then, the next morning was sunday, august 20 -- my 31st birthday. pretty sure it was the crappiest birthday i have ever had. but henry, greta, and i managed to get to church and then dunkin donuts afterwards. and that night my bff came over to bring me a burger and help me put my kiddos to bed. i have the best friends and family EVER!!! bff spent the night sunday night and took greta to her house that monday. i took henry back to aunt tanna's on monday morning. i went back to ft. worth on monday for brad's cardiac catheterization and angiogram. i spent my time in the waiting room with my sweet brother-in-law who couldn't imagine not being there. (again...so blessed by family and friends.) they found that brad had suffered a mild heart attack. so scary. we took him home that night, and tanna graciously kept henry that night. so we had a night with just the two of us and greta. anyway...he is much better now. just taking an exorbitant amount of pills every night. i promise he's only 36, not 86. so there you have it.

to be honest, i'm ready to hit the hay. so i'm just going to post some pictures of my little family. hope you enjoy!

shocker...henry playing with a train

just a look at how big my "little man" is getting...

i LOVE that henry wants greta to do things with him (like watch blues clues). she's not ever very comfortable, but henry loves being with her.

ahhh...

two amazing days in a row. my life is rich.

(before i forget...for those who don't know about brad's heart attack (and are actually interested), stay tuned. details to come. (i can hear the anticipation.)

so my morning started with big h waking up saying, "mommy, where are you? you sleep good? you come to my room now?" so i got him out of his room and brought him back to my bed. that may very well be one of my favorite things about being a mommy. snuggling with my almost 3-year-old little man. then, we fixed "dings" (or eggos, as most people call them) and watched some tv together. i had to wake greta-head up at 8:30 to eat. i took henry to school and on the way, we had a fascinating conversation. we began talking about how daddy goes to work and helps people. i asked what greta does, and he replied, "she cries." insightful. i was scared to ask, but i went for it. "and what does mommy do?" "oh, you feed baby!!!" and he informed me that he plays trains. again...insightful! the best was when i asked what nana (my mom) does, and he said very confidently, "she comes to see us and runs errands." priceless!

greta and i met my buddy kerri (aka jackson's mommy) for some starbucks and a cinnamon twist. gosh, what a neat place she's in right now. getting ready to have a baby in a couple of weeks. kerri, what a refreshing time this morning was.

went to pick big h up from school, and his teacher said he was talking to daddy. i was confused. henry proceeded to tell me (while holding a play telephone), "hold on, mommy. i'm leaving daddy a message." apparently, henry has a lot of business to take care of during the day. he is very important. we went home and got to spend some time with one of my new buddies, jill (aka smitty's wife). got to share in some typical 2-year-old boy stories. jill, i'm here for you. :) been there. still there.

and then, for the piece de resistance. went to the dream cafe to meet my buddy weentrab. this is my buddy who i long to be just like. for a while, i dreamed of attending the "weentrab institute," only to find out that there is and will only be ONE weentrab. to be able to sit and watch henry play with sam and ben and not point his finger at either of them or bark orders is a rare occasion. and greta, in her laid back style, hung out with us girls. i think she maybe cried once? and just let everyone know...she was wearing a dress. not only was it a dress, but a PINK one at that. i realize most of you who read this might be shocked to know that i would put my baby girl in something other than jeans and a white t-shirt. she looked amazing.

speaking of greta...she sure has changed in the last month. (forgive the fact that i can actually take SUCH horrible pictures of such a beautiful little girl.)

this is greta at 1 month old...

and at 2 months old...

and to end the day by watching the season premier of the office with my spouse and digging into some yummy to go dessert. ahhh...does life get any better?

and for those of you are interested, henry's burn or "oussie" is a TON better. i think he's going to make it. it was touch and go for a while, but he will live.

Awestruck...

so, tonight i sit at the computer while my 36-year-old husband plays NCAA football on his playstation 2. and i am moved. moved by the amount of love i have for my family. first of all, after dealing with brad's heart attack 4 weeks ago, i don't take a day with him for granted. how blessed i am to be roommates with my very best friend! then, there's big h. i know some of you reading right now are wondering what in the world i am going to say about my little man. my buttons are popping with joy. he is the most amazing little boy. the things that come out of my mouth blow me away. (clearly, today was a good day.) and then let's get to greta. could anyone other than God alone have created something/someone more perfect?

today, brad had an upper GI (i mean, the guy is acting like he's 85 years old these days). so he was going to be home the rest of the day. not only does that make me happy, it THRILLS my little boy. some days i can't imagine what it must be like to be brad. to have henry scream at the top of his lungs, "DADDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEE!" and run as fast as he can to the back door and jump in my arms and kiss me. gosh, it was so fun to have him home today. we got a lot of good playing done outside. (because it wasn't 624 degrees outside for the first time in about 6 months.) greta came too. (of course she did.)

henry, greta, and i headed to church this morning for bible study. we (greta and i) are studying "breaking free" by beth moore. of course, we had to stop at whataburger on the way to get "sunsee uh-tee-os." (that's henry language for crunchy potatoes or hashbrown sticks. extremely nutritional.) greta got passed around from lady to lady. she loved every minute of it, and i would bet the ladies enjoyed it too. i picked henry up from "the nursery," where he got to play with miss gina and miss polly, who think the world of him. i try not to use the word nursery because he's not a baby anymore, so he says.

we came home and none of us took naps. unfortunate for all. henry's speech therapist came over and loved on him a LOT!!! ashley, he LOVES you! we had dinner, and somehow (?), we had both kids in bed AND asleep by 8:00 tonight. and now i'm getting a chance to just sit here and realize how wonderful my life is.

tonight, before henry and i talked to jesus, he started singing, "deep and wide, deep and wide" and "joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart..." i'm sorry -- is my 2-year-old singing bible songs? again...my life couldn't be any better?

i didn't post a picture tonight because i actually have a chance to go hang out with my best friend for a while before going to bed (aka brad)