New Orleans Babymoon

I just posted the few pix (click on pix and it will take you to the album)that we took while in New Orleans this past Thursday/Friday. We went to a Gator Ranch called "The Insta Gator" in Abita Springs (yes the water place), went on their tour and then got to play with some baby aligators with their lil mouths taped up. Then we went across a 24MILE bridge across Lake Ponchitarin to New Orleans....it was a priceless moment when we saw the sign that said "24mile bridge" and we both gasped, said it at the same time and laughed :)

 We stayed at the Wyndham Inn just outside the French Quarter but still in the center of down town NO. We picked this one so that it was within walking distance of everything we wanted to see/do since parking/driving in NO is INSANE! Our concert was just down the street for the hotel so it was an easy walk, Harrah's casino was right next to our hotel so we walked through there just to see if we could sink a few quarters and let David say he FINALLY gambled and was a in a casino! Did you know that casinos no longer take quarters?!? You either had to put money on their company cards or insert $5, $10, $20..etc into the maching to play.We went to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner....still not sure what the fuss is over the place but no complaints over the meal :) The concert (Alkaline Trio) was at the House of Blues, they started playing at 10pm and it was everything we hoped it would be. There will still a few songs we really would've loved seeing live but everything they played ROCKED! They even played my favorite song "Blue Carolina" which isn't even one of their top songs so definitely a surprise to hear it live!

Friday after sleeping in a bit and sleeping off the concert hangover (much like an alcohol hangover but goes away quicker...you just feel extremely lagged) we went over to the RiverWalk (large mall type thing located right on the Mississippi River) and had breakfast/lunch then went to the Aquarium of the America's next door. Its smaller than I remember from being there nearly 10yrs ago but it was still fun to tour again. Lastly we headed to the Insectarium just up the street and saw some creatures that would give anyone nightmares! There were a few had they not been behind glass they would've been history under my shoe in a heartbeat! You know those huge 10gal glass jugs? Over 140,000 termites can fit in that thing and is still only a 1/4 of what you would find in an infested tree! They had a "snack stand" but neither David or I were too keen on bugs for an afternoon snack! We were lucky enough to find the stuffed animal that we wanted for Jaxon though, a stuffed grasshopper!! And of course we brought Freyja home a stuffed gator to add to her collection and a shotglass for David's and my collection :)

If we had it to do again...I think we'd add an extra day but other than that we had a blast! We missed our Bugg terribly and David even called her name at the Aquarium to get her to look at a sea turtle before he realized she wasn't there. Neither of us can wait to take both kids back maybe next August or the following so that we can hatch a gator in our hands and they visit the aquarium, insectarium and zoo all together!! Its great to be home but....oh New Orleans...*sigh* how I will miss you til we meet again!

A View from Above

Yep, thats Jax! Or at least my current view of him :) Some days he's bigger than others...I guess he's finding places in there to hide that I don't know about. Hmm.. So my little grasshopper is getting much more active now and at least once a day it feels like theres a dance party going on in my stomach. The sibling rivalry has also begun, Jax has made it clear that he doesn't like being laid on by his big sister! Freyja was sprawled out asleep on me yesterday afternoon while I watched a movie and while I didn't think her leg was THAT heavy on my belly Jax begged to differ and kicked til I moved it. As of Sunday I'm on the downward slope of the pregnancy, I'm now 21wks and only have 19wks left til this little man is running our lives from the outside! After April 1st we're gonna start going "whole hog" on the nursery and getting things done. My friend DJ (yes, DJ Lance as Freyja STILL calls her) is going to help me paint the room then we're going to stencil a bug border around the room (if I can find a cute one). My cousin Patti is working on a name plaque to go above his crib, each letter is shaped out of a bug. I'm anxious to see what the final product will look like. I still haven't found a bedding that I'm thrilled over...and I'm not even sure I'm going to bother other than to get solid colors and just go with the bugs on the wall for the decor. We had dragonfly everything for Freyja and where is it now...yeah, in the closet! So keep your eyes peeled for "bug" stuff and let me know what you find! I've done a registry at Target...I dont know if there will be a "boy shower" for him or not but I figured I'd stick a few things up there for anyone who might be curious. Luckily we went the smart route when we had Freyja and bought 99% of the stuff gender neutral except for clothes...so I have tons of green and yellow stuff that can be reused! There's even a handful of outfits that are neutral enough that he can wear (actually, they were bought in the boys dept for Freyja but I couldn't resist the squirrel and hedgehog patterns that Gymboree was sporting at the time!). My next trip to the ultrasound school is scheduled for mid April when they start back up again. They will be starting 3-d ultrasound training so I'm looking forward to getting see what my little man looks like!! I have a drs appt first of the month so I can update his progress then as well :)

In Freyja news...we STILL have not had a fully successful day on the potty and I'm beginning to feel we never will...but as my friend Elizabeth said, you don't see kidergartners in diapers so shes bound to train some time... I don't think theres a single word NOT in her vocabulary now (except for colorful ones, Thank God!), she talks in complete sentences and is 90% understandable unless she's just truely pissed or tired and then you have no chance of deciphering her. She's finally letting me put her hair up in bows most of the time. Especially right after her hair is freshly washed. Its amazing how much her face can change when her hair goes from down to up!

In family news...David and I leave Thursday for a much needed, first time away from Freyja, second babymoon, and belated anniversary trip to New Orleans. We're off to see our favorite band, Alkaline Trio, in concert for the first time. This is the first time they've been less than 8hrs away from us performing so it'll be a real treat to finally get to go. We also have tickets to the aquarium, zoo and insectarium all of which I feel mildly guilty going to without Freyja but I know there will ALWAYS be future trips! Plus we have plans to just explore New Orleans since David has never been there (at least not on his own away from school to adventure around) and he definitely needs to experience the French Quarter, the cemetaries and just the beauty that downtown New Orleans holds. New Orleans has got to be one of my most favorite places in the US to visit! I've only been a few times since high school but each time has shown me a world unlike anything you find outside the New Orleans borders...the foods, the smells, the people...all I can say is WOW! I once had a chance to move there with some friends and sometimes I wish I had just to experience it up close and personal but at the same time its like that elusive dream...its out there and you can see it but its just beyond your comprehension. For now I will settle with occasional trips over to refill my heart with the love of the abience of the forgotten paradise that is New Orleans :) More on my forgotten paradise when we return...

I think that is about all the news I have for this blog, though I'm pleased to announce the in-laws are home from China and Skotty has FINALLY gone home! We only had once incident where he bit Freyja on the nose (no blood or anything) but its her fault so really he was a good pup this time around. Its sooooooooo nice not to be woken up at the crack of dawn by that crackhead dog wanting to play! Yes, I'm still working weekends and looks like I will continue to do so until the dr says its time to ease up...between the cars having issues, doctor bills and LIFE...it doesnt look like I'm in a hurry to get out of there. After New Orleans our next biggest thing is the "girls" trip to Oklahoma for the birth of my 3rd cousin and hopefully a quick trip over the border to Tx to see dad and Stella.

Time to go find what my child has gotten into..the occasional maniacal giggles (like her fathers) are coming from the living room where the pup is trying to sleep so Lord knows this child is doing! Til next time, keep an eye on our albums, you never know when I'll post more pix!

Houston, we have a problem! So apparently the little swimmers did not get the message that they were supposed to be wearing pink instead of blue this time and it appears we now diving into the unknown realm of boyhood.... But on the upside I will now have my lil "Jacky Boy", my "Aye Jax!", "Prince Jaxon", "Jaxson Vance" get your butt back over here! And of course I'll now have a LadyBugg and a Grasshopper! The history of the name: Jaxon is the only first name David and I could truely agree on, the spelling is due to the fact he will most likely go by "Jax" or at least thats what I plan on calling him. Vance is for David's "favorite" grandfather (his mothers father), it was his middle name. We tried to find something "God"-like to compliment Freyja as a Goddess but male mythological Gods had the funkiest names and even WE couldn't do that to our child! As for Freyja she could appear to care less that we know the sex now...she's still "clueless" as to whats REALLY going on :) We've told her its a baby brother and she grasps it for a few minutes or sees the ultrasound and coo "oh baby brudder" but as for it hitting home...not there yet.

Jax's ultrasound went well yesterday, he's measuring at 17wks, 5days which still puts us on or about August 5th. According to my "mom" books he's about the size of a bellpepper if you ball him up and weighs about 5-6oz. By the time we go in next time he'll be a full pound! He was like his big sister in the sense he didn't mind "posing" for the ultrasound so we could get a good look at the "apple & stem", "turtle" or whatever little acronym you wanna use for the part I'll get the joy of diapering for the next 2-3yrs! He was pretty active during this one too, doing summersaults and all sorts of stuff to stay out of the direct limelight but for the most part he was coopertive for what they needed to get pix of and from their lack of concern I'm assuming he's everything he is supposed to be at the point :) I'm not getting alot of movement out of him yet but if I lay on my side long enough he curls up with me and then when I lay on my back you can very easily tell where he is! I'm feeling him roll from one side to the other but none of the little "butterfly" kicks yet. And apparently its just my tastebuds since superstition did not pan out...I crave nothing by Mexican ( cheese enchilladas and refried beans) and chips & salsa (only from a Mexican restaraunt or Chilis) CONSTANTLY!!! And of course my old craving for pepperoncini's is back too (their related to the jalopeno but not nearly as hot, if you can handle mild heat you can pop the entire thing in your mouth and eat it whole.) *sigh*...heartburn central dead ahead though, I can already see/feel it coming again!

In other news, I have a house guest for the majority of the month....Mom and dad vH are off in China checking out the newest member of the family, Nathan Daniel van Hoose, born Feb. 25th to Rob and Chun Miao. So that means instead of rescuing one dog from Freyja's clutches I'm having to save Skotty as well! I have a bear of a time keeping this dog because he wont listen to me, is super skittish around Freyja and is used to getting up at sunrise which makes for a noisy house super early! If you can get Freyja to "calm down" a bit she will play ball with him though out in the yard and he LOVES that! He's a nice enough dog to have around but like most Cockers, he's underfoot at all times and is super self concious! Here's hoping March 18th gets here SOON!!!

NEWS FROM THE BUGG FRONT:

Bugg is getting more familiar with the potty, though she's more of a daddy pleaser than an active tryer! On the weekends while I work she repeatedly has potty successes...momma comes home and its back to the drawing board! I've had ONE successful trip to the potty with her but that was sheer accident/luck/whatever! So I'm thinking maybe I'll zip back to college get a more successful degree than David, go back to work, and leave him home with the young'en(s) til potty training days are complete!

Bedtime is getting MUCH easier around here these days! She's even letting daddy put her down on Friday/Saturday nights so mommy can get a full nights rest before work! In the past month I've only had to go to her once in the middle of the night and that was just a couple of days ago when she woke up at 5am and just needed someone to cuddle. I can even put her down now and cuddle for a few minutes and even before she drifts off she'll let me leave the bed! BIG improvements!!

She's still very much in love with my friend DJ (DJ Lance as she calls her) and still goes over once a week while I'm at the chiropractor though she has stopped wanting anything to do with the puppies since the depantsing episode...All seven puppies went to eagerly greet her one day and she ran for them to chase her and when she stopped they started jumping at her and accidently pulled down her pants. She had several little scratches on her legs and was emotionally traumatized for the day but all is well now :) It was one of those moments where if my child hadn't of been so distressed over it, it would've made a PERFECT Kodak moment! But luckily it is in my memory forever now!! Freyja loves to go over and play with the kids, the girls treat her like a little princess and do EVERYTHING for her! Even their great grandparents that live next door are infatuated with Freyja. Its nice to know theres a safe and friendly place that I can leave her where she's loved and cared for as if she was with family.

Buggisms for the months: "I NEED it in my tummy!!"-- referring to Arbys EVERYTIME we pass one! "Grandaddy fix it"-- referring to EVERYTHING that breaks or tears...including balloons, balls, napkins, etc. "I NEED to go to the supermarket"-- reflecting from one of her fav. cartoons Umi Zoomi and their quest for yogurt (her new favorite food!) "I in a marching band parade!"--as she comes down the hall wearing her drums and beating as loud/hard as she can. And my heart melter for the month was her telling me "I lush you sooooo much momma" as she's hugging and kissing me to death before bed. I say it to her often enough she returned the favor the other night and even made me tear up!

So...I think thats about all the news for this month. I go back to the OB April 5th but between now and then I hope to get an appt at the Ultrasound School here locally so I can get more pix done. Jaxon has his own album up on Picasa now that has all of his ultrasound pix in it. Its nice to have a name on it and not just just z3 :) Our love to you all! Have a great month and hopefully next time I will have "potty training break thru" news for you!!