Jax's 4-month pictures

The ever-fabulous Kelly Stocksen came over 3 weeks ago and took pictures of the family. She's one of those incredibly creative people who can make beautiful things out of nothing. For example, the outside pictures of Emerson were literally taken in the empty lot next to our house. We're talking a dirty, weed-filled, rocky empty lot, and Kelly was literally laying flat on the ground taking pictures. In her cute designer jeans and top. Not kidding you.

Anywho, enjoy taking a peek. Click on the link below, then select Proofing. The password is: 082609vanvalkenburg

Kelly Stocksen Photography

Lazy blogger

Pretty much every day since my last post, I've tried to set aside time to upload some videos & pictures so that I can sit down and write all of this. But it's been one of those weeks where the days seem to run together and I'm not getting much of anything done! And for those of you who know me well, that's a frustrating thing. Because I LIVE to get things done. Last Friday, my friend Leslie called & asked if we wanted to have a playdate at the zoo. What an absolutely beautiful day it was weather-wise (not your typical August day in Tulsa), and we had a fabulous time. Her daughter Claire is about 5 months older than Emerson and is as cute as can be. We had a funny incident in the rainforest exhibit... Leslie had a rogue bird land on her arm and it scared the pee out of both of us. I just saw it all go down out of the corner of my eye, and I swear I thought it was monkey that had landed on her head. She screamed, but it was a soft, lady-like scream (talking about the incident later, she said she was so in shock that a small scream was all she could muster). Both of us ducked our heads and ran in opposite directions, leaving our helpless children to face the rainforest alone. That also made us laugh as we thought about it later. As we were about to leave, the perpetrator bird actually had the nerve to cross our path again, this time strutting his stuff. I think he was taunting us. Here is a cute video montage of our girlies. *Actually, I can't get the video to upload right now, so here's a picture of the two of them on the playground. Hopefully I can get the video working tomorrow.

Poo-Poo in the Potty!

So yesterday Emerson and I were playing in the living room on the floor with Jax, and she looked at me and said, "Poo-Poo potty." So, as usual, we traipsed into the bathroom, took off her shorts & diaper, and she sat on her little potty. I, as usual, said, "How do we get our poo-poo out?" And she, as usual, made a grunting sound and then we chatted for a little bit before she decided enough was enough. I took her into her room, put her diaper & shorts back on, and we came back in the living room. About 30 seconds later, she walked back down the hallway toward the bathroom and came back holding the entire potty in her arms. I laughed & told her that the potty needed to stay in the bathroom, and when I went to take it from her, I was met with the wonderful aroma of toddler poop. That little stinker (both figuratively & literally) pooped on the potty while we were in the bathroom, and I didn't even know it! I, of course, praised her to no end and we got Daddy on the phone to shower her with more praises. There were pictures taken of Emerson next to the poop in the potty as well. I know, I know... but come on, it's a milestone! She got a few bites of peanut butter straight out of the jar to which she replied, "Mmmmm... Yummy Buttuh!" Later that day MeMaw (Grandma) & Pa-Pa Van called to congratulate her as well.

So, I'm not expecting it to be habit yet, but I'm pretty sure she's right around the corner from being ready to potty train fully. Exciting times at the Van Valkenburg household!

Free lemonade

Free lemonade from Chick-fil-A this Thursday, August 20th! This event will start at 6 a.m. at all area locations. Coming from a lemonade lover who knows where to go to get the good stuff, trust me when I say this lemonade is stinkin' good. Slightly sour with the perfect amount of pulp. Exactly the kind that makes my husband's forehead sweat when he drinks it and causes an unexplained gagging reaction and near-profane list of reasons he hates lemonade. Needless to say, he won't be participating in the free-ness on Thursday. His loss.

Lazy Sunday afternoon

Jax rolled over yesterday from his tummy to his back! I didn't actually witness it... I laid him down for some tummy time in the living room on his blankie, walked into the kitchen to put the dishes in the dishwasher, and when I came back, there he was on his back with a look that said, 'Well, would you believe that?! I don't really know what just happened, but I think I kind of liked it.' I was so proud. I called Daddy (who was fishing with Pa-Pa and Uncle Travis) and left a message with the exciting news. It doesn't take much these days, folks. ;)

I'm also wondering if Jax is teething. It seems a little early at only 4 months, but he has really been gnawing at his hands lately, his nose has been runny, and I would say he's fussier than normal. Emerson got her first teeth at 5 months, so I guess it's possible. It just seems so early!

We got up from our normal Sunday naps just a little bit ago. I think Jason and I have taken a Sunday nap for pretty close to every Sunday of our seven years of marriage. I seriously LOVE them. We usually sleep for close to two hours, and it's always a good, hard sleep that makes you feel groggy and comatose when you wake up. Usually I wake up a little too groggy, and what Jason refers to as my 'Grumpster' side comes out. It's strange that this happens only after Sunday nap because I'm your prototypical morning person. When my two feet hit the floor in the morning, I'm pretty much up and ready to face the day. I think I used to drive my family nuts growing up with my morning chipperness. You know the excitement and anticipation you feel on Christmas morning? Imagine that. Every day. I know... it's a sickness.

So now we're watching the PGA Championship. Emerson woke up from her nap after we did, and we could hear her shouting, "Momma, Daddy! Momma, Daddy!" Then she started counting from 1-10. It's really quite comical to listen outside her door sometimes. Yesterday it was, "Ginkle, ginkle, yittle stah." I LOVE IT!!! Anyway, she walked into the living room, saw that the PGA was on, and yelled, "Doff!" Then she saw my favorite player and yours and yelled, "Tigah Wooooods!" Speaking of, Tiger and Elin's children are almost the exact age of our two, and they have girl then boy, too. Is it wrong to hope that at least one of our children becomes a superstar golfer and ends up at the same college as one of the Woods offspring? I mean, it would just be terrible to have to show up at the same events with Mr. and Mrs. Woods, right?

So long for now. I'm off to the living room for some good Doff watching.

I took this video a few weeks ago, and when I watched it again today, I discovered some underlying irritation in Emerson's expression. I don't think she's too fond of Jax touching her, but notice how she tries to play it off by acting all lovey-dovey and saying his name. Oh, it's fun to see human dynamics at work.



Oh, and I had to throw in an old-school picture of Emerson at 4 months for the title picture. I miss her being this size.

My friend Amy just texted me and said, 'I'm reading the Dooce blog. Are you freaking kidding me??? This is HILARIOUS!'

So now you really have to read it. See link below.

Telling it like it is

I was up late last night getting caught up on a myriad of things computerish. Doesn't the time just seem to fly when you're on the computer? I'm balancing the checkbook using online banking, planning an upcoming MOPS kick-off meeting, finalizing the registration and budget for our church's golf tourney on Saturday, checking my email that never stops, and then I look up and see that it's 11:45. Seriously, how did that happen? The hubby has already gone to bed b/c he got up at 5:00 to run this morning (what a stud), and then I figure, 'What the heck, I'm up this late, I might as well check my blog list and see if anyone has updated their blog.' I checked Dooce's page and noticed a link to her latest and final installment of her labor story with her newest baby. Let me just tell you... I don't think I've ever read anything that so accurately describes the joy, pain, elation, torture, insanity, and genious of going through natural childbirth. She seriously hits the nail on the head with this one. *CAUTION: Dooce doesn't exactly mince words, so there is quite a bit of profanity.

http://www.dooce.com/2009/08/04/labor-story-part-three

Car talk

Today we were in the car on the way home from errands, and I was just kind of blue. No particular reason, just not my usual chipper self. I pulled the rear-view mirror down so I could see Emerson in the backseat (I know, it's a no-no, but sometimes I can't help it). She saw me peeking at her, flashed me her beautiful smile and said, "I luh you, Mommy." I said, "I love you, too, Emerson." Then, she looked right back at me and said, "Baby Jesus." Ahhh... He's always right there with a reminder of His goodness, isn't He?

July pics

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this past month. July seemed to fly by so fast! I'm lamenting the fact that I will have a 4-month-old this week. Jax is trying really hard to roll over from his back to his side and came dangerously close to laughing a few days ago. He and Daddy have been bonding something fierce, too. I love it when my babies have fun with their Daddy. There's nothing like it in the world. Anyway, enjoy the pictures.