Ahab with a Piggyback

Daddy's been very busy with work lately, but we caught up with him at Moe's for lunch on Monday. $5 burritos and a bag full of Cheerios made for a fun time.


And play time with Thelma and Louise last weekend wore his Precious Bicks right out! We've got a going away party for Thelma and Louise and their Mommy and Daddy this afternoon. They seem to think moving to Arkansas is a good idea, which puzzles me exceedingly. I think they're going to miss paved roads and the electric light more than they think. And I can't even begin to imagine how much I'm going to miss them.


And now for the highlight of today's post: A video of Nannie trying to learn back exercises on Phil's yoga ball. She had no idea I was filming this, so I hope I'm not written out of the will for posting it for the world to enjoy. You may want to hold off on any food or beverage consumption while watching unless you enjoy the feel of Fritos and Coke coming out of your nose.

I Think You're Bruising My Neck Meat!

How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You ... Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord. ~ Psalm 31:19 & 24

It is my immense pleasure to introduce to you baby Weatherson* Neiwert with his parents, Wade and Rachel! Thank you so much for all of your prayers for this family. The adoption was final as of 4:30 yesterday afternoon, and the Family Neiwert is full of joyful celebration. Isn't he a cutie?!

As Andrew gets older, I get more and more comments about how much he favors his daddy. I love it. Not only do they have the same big eyes and adorable smile, but they have the exact same feet. Doesn't having a shorter big toe mean something, like they're geniuses or royalty or destined for incredible wealth?

And finally, in cloth diaper news, I actually bought real cloth diapers the other day. The ones that I normally use are fancy dancy ones with Velcro closures and waterproof outer layers, but with these upgrades you loose some of the benefits of cloth, the main one being air flow. Hey, wake up! This is fascinating! So I went online and purchased what I thought were Chinese prefolds (which is a pretty common diaper), but when they came in I realized they were instead Pakistani prefolds. Gasp! 'Twas not a crisis, fortunately, for as it turns out the Pakistanis know how to make a darn good diaper as well. Below is my first attempt at diapering a squirmy baby with PINS. Yikes. The picture really doesn't really show off just how bad it was. The thing was barely hanging on, sitting low on his hips with enormous gaps around the legs. I might as well have just put him in a pair of Phil's boxers.

They're Obsessed with Raisins. Humiliated Grapes, Really. Think About It.

Happiness is a shaved cat.

We've just had the most delightful weekend here at The Home O' The Precious. My Aunt Amy, Uncle Mark and cousins Brent and Ashton came to visit and loved all over us. They are some of the most hilarious and delightful people you will ever meet. Below is a picture of me, Ashton, Auntie and Uncle Mark as we were heading out to see Celtic Woman at The Fox. And really, are they not the most beautiful people you have ever beheld? I like being related to beautiful people.

The concert was so good. I had never heard of Celtic Woman before, but it was right up my alley. My favorite performer was Mairead, this little pixie-looking thing that flitted all over the stage playing a fiddle - she was amazing. I couldn't play a kazoo and jump around like she did. The only down moments were during the intermission: A) I asked Auntie to spot me a fiver for a margarita and she refused, 2) I was very nearly mashed to paste trying to find my way to the ladies room, and D) I couldn't find cell coverage to call home and make sure no one had stolen my baby. Being the strong and resilient girl that I am, I was able to overcome these things and enjoy the second half of the show.

Now here's my Andrew with his Ashton:

Now here's my Andrew with his Brent:

And now here we are eating Auntie's delicious pound cake by candle- and flashlight (see the flashlight hanging from the light fixture?) after the show. No electricity 'til about 5am. Poor Brent on the couch had a rude awakening when all the lights popped on in his face.

To top of a great weekend, I got a call from my brother Bradley, navy corpsman currently training in Kuwait. He thinks they'll be heading to Iraq within the week. Not the news I wanted to hear, but getting to talk with him was wonderful. He regaled me with crazy stories of his adventures in Guam and Singapore, my favorite being about his discovery of a nude beach.


"What else was I to do?" he says to me (indicating, of course, that he joined right in).


"Are you serious?!" I ask, knowing all to well that he is.

"Yeah. But I don't think I know nude beach etiquette. I don't think you're supposed to run and jump around. But I just felt so free!"

Bradley wearing Andrew at Christmas