Homage to Gracie Jane

Girl loves to dress up. I think we've got an actress on our hands. She's skilled at getting in and out of character. She can easily go from Dorothy to a ballerina supastar to a dog in the blink of an eye.

Weekend update

Saturday morning is pancake morning around the Cearley house. We took a page from Jon & Kate + 8 and have been doing this for months now. It's something that we all look forward to throughout the week. Stephanie makes these super healthy pancakes with flax seed and organic this and that - my contribution is chocolate chips. Mmmm. Healthy, yet very tasty.

The boys are this close to crawling. The days of immobility and laying on the back are almost over. I forgot what it's like to have mobile babies. Soon, I will be forced to put up the gate, take things off bottom shelves and baby-proof everything in the house. Plus, the chasing. Oy.

Today, we will go look for frames for the special pictures we took about a month ago. I purposely didn't write about them because they are a surprise. Shhhh. Texas/Oklahoma State is on later this afternoon and I'm sure we'll watch that. Otherwise, today's plan is to relax as much as possible.

On a more sobering note, my company laid off 75 employees this past week. Hopefully, there won't be another round anytime soon. The state of this nation and economy is so depressing. I'm still standing and employed, but in these times, I suppose anything can happen at any given time. I just pray for leadership, here and around the world, that wants to solve this problem and will take the right steps to do so. I know it's asking a lot, but I have confidence someone can. Hurry up November 4.

5 things that have happened since last post

1. Steph's birthday was on the 12th. We had a nice date on the lake and were able to just chill together. It was very, very nice.

2. Max is getting 2 teeth on the bottom. It is keeping him up a little in the morning and making him a little bit fussier than normal.

3. Steph is weening the nursing. Soon, they will strictly be fed by the bottles.

4. I spoke at a digital pharma conference this past Wednesday. I traveled to NYC on Tuesday, back home on Thursday.

5. My mom came to visit last weekend (she helped babysit while we went out on the aforementioned date). She and Kyle are off to a vacation in Napa tomorrow, where they'll go to a wedding for one of her students and spend a week playing around in wine country. Have fun, momma!

Sunday with the Johnsons

After 2 1/2 long years of no contact with the Johnsons, we finally reconnected and even saw each other. We seemed to pick up right where we left off. Er, aside from the 3 babies who have collectively been born between now and then. They're doing really well and their daughter, Meadow, is beautiful. I think she looks just like D. She's a little under a year right now and Gracie couldn't understand why she wouldn't run or talk or do anything that Gracie does. It's silly how you don't keep in contact with those who are really important to you and before you know it, years have passed. It takes effort from both sides and we'll just try harder. Life is puzzling like that. Especially with kids.

BTW - that's Nick in the turtle towel.

Reality - Cowboys 24, Redskins 26

I'm going to keep this simple. No excuses, we just lost. Bone-headed plays, straying from the run, 12-men-on-the-field-after-a-Redskins-timeout, nope, no excuses. The Redskins won.

I will say the Cowboys needed that reality check and it's good that it's early in the season. Those guys need to know that it's a long season and they won't win every game just by showing up. They need to come back to reality.

Our neighbors came over yesterday so I wasn't able to engage in the game like I normally do. It was nice to watch football with other people, but the sacrifice is really getting into the game. To top it off, I think I lost in fantasy this week, too.

On a brighter note, we're one day closer to the premiere of Friday Night Lights.

Prediction - Cowboys 34, Redskins 20

Date night last night. It was really nice. Steph and I just went for dinner (Thai) and drinks. It was totally chill and gave us a great chance to just sit and talk to each other with no distractions. As hard as parenting is, keeping and growing a healthy marriage with kids is no cake walk. Thank the Lord for the Nichols (Caitlin and Amy) and our parents for all of the babysitting help they've given us.

Today, of course, is the showdown. Max is in the spirit and Nick's even allowing himself to be swallowed by it. :) Everyone around here not named Stephanie LOVES the Cowboys and always will.

Prediction - Cowboys 34, Redskins 20

Progress, confidence and restful nights....finally

Our sleeping-through-the-night experiment has turned into a full blown routine at this point. It took the boys about 4 days to realize that noone was going to save them from their crib with arms or milk or anything else. It originally took them 20-30 minutes to fall asleep by themselves. Now it's less than 10. If they wake up in the middle of the night, they might cry out for 5-10 minutes, but we don't hear a peep after that. In the morning, their tummies can't really make it past 5 - 5:30 AM, so we've adjusted our waking time. But more often than not, they go back to sleep after that feeding. Problem is, I've got to go to work and then Gracie is usually up, so we haven't been able to reap the benefits of the early morning 2nd bedtime.

We're actually starting to see progress in terms of their schedules. It's not only at night, but during the day. Steph has worked really hard at getting them on an all-day schedule, feedings and naps included. As a result, everyone around the house is happier. You know, I can't think of anything more challenging than parenting. But whenever you see progress made, the sense of accomplishment you feel, even overcoming the smallest of feats, is one of the most joyful and rewarding things. All of the doubt you feel turns into confidence. Whenever you're taking care of multiple kids under 3, confidence goes a long way to get you through the day.

One day until the Cowboys pummel the Redskins.

Go Cowboys!

In anticipation of Cowboys-Redskins this weekend, 2 out of 5 Cearleys are in the right mindset. At least 2 more will be by Sunday.

Picture fun again

From Gracie's first day of school to smiling twins, here are our latest pics.

Happy Birthday, boys!

You turn 6-months old today. I think it's flown by. Your mom thinks otherwise. Be good, keep growing and let's continue to work on your night sleeping habits. You've both done good over the last few days.