Four

Guess who's four today?

Nope, not this guy. This guy:

Yep, today is Casey's 4th birthday, and I know I say this every time someone around here celebrates a milestone, but he seems so big. Like such a big kid all the sudden. Like a BOY. Almost all traces of baby are gone from him, and he's a boy. Sigh.

He started his day with chocolate chip pancakes, had pigs in a blanket for lunch, and now hopefully we'll all survive the day to make it out for ice cream this evening.

And if you looked at the picture of Connor and thought, "Gee, it looks like Jen put his PJs on backwards", then you thought correctly. And no, I wasn't half in the bag last night when I got him ready for bed. It is now the only way to keep his clothes on at night. So, thankfully, there's still enough baby going on around here to keep me from getting too misty-eyed over Casey's continued journey into boyhood.

Crashed

Last week our external hard drive mysteriously bit the dust, and took along with it the vast majority of our family photos & important documents from the past 2 years. There was a bit of miscommunication between Rob & I regarding the purpose of the external hard drive, and I think somehow we both thought that the back-up fairies were taking care of everything and making sure that our precious files were safe from destruction, but we were wrong. Now we are sending the drive off to a data recovery company and for a sum they will attempt to recover the lost data. If I told you the fee for the recovery it would cause you to shriek in horror, so suffice it to say that if the drive didn't contain every photo of Connor's first year of life that would otherwise be lost forever, we wouldn't bother. All I can say now is this: Back Up. Back Up. Back EVERYTHING up as though your life depended on it.

Promotion

While googling myself the other day (oh, like you've never done it), I made an interesting discovery. Apparently during the past 4 sleep deprived years, I found time to get a PhD in organic chemistry, as evidenced by my listing as a member of the Louisville Society of Coatings Technology. Wow, and I was just proud of myself for getting my teeth brushed before noon. http://www.lsct.org/membership.htm

Might be time to update the member list, folks. Just sayin' .

Career Path

Casey announced at the lunch table that when he grows up he'd like to be a pirate. Or a rock star. Or a pirate rock star. Which has me fearing that he's destined to be the next Keith Richards. And I'm sure somewhere Keith's mother is quite proud of him. However,

I've seen Keith Richards in concert recently, and I think I'd rather if Casey's future didn't involve him stumbling around stage, mumbling incoherently, and chain smoking while playing "Jumping Jack Flash" for the 12,457th time.

Me Connor. Me Eat Blueberry Muffins.

Brothers

The lovefest between the boys and Riley continues, and they really dote on their little sister. Casey loves to make her smile, and is so proud of himself when she does ("Mommy! The baby smiled at me!!!"). Even Connor, who was slow to warm up to her, likes to help out with her, and hates when she cries ("Bebe cry, Momma!").
We've all been pitching in on the effort to get her to take a bottle, and it's been a battle. It seems like she wants to drink from the bottle, but for some reason can't get the hang of it, gets frustrated, and pushes it away. I feel sorry for her, she has developed no ability to self-soothe, and nursing is the only way to calm her when she's upset. I tried to let her "cry-it-out" a few times to get her to sleep, and she just cries and cries. When I go to retrieve her, she has tears running down her little cheeks and it breaks my heart. I don't think I have the emotional fortitude to try "Tough Love" with her, as has been suggested by the pediatrician and others. This being said, I am desperate for a little "me" time, and at this rate she might be in college before I get any.

Deceptively Cute

Hi. I keep my Mom up all night and refuse to take a bottle. Pacifier? No, thank you. I'd rather scream.

What? You don't believe someone this cute could cause so much trouble? You don't think I'm serious?

Believe me now?