Uncle Hal 1935-2012

I've only ever had 2 uncles, but my "Uncle Hal" was often more like a grandfather because of the age/experience difference. I have so many fond memories...at their home in Austin: Easter egg hunts in the lawn, gathering eggs from the chickens, horseback rides on the property, shooting the potato canon, naps on their many window seats, many hours in the oldest, coolest, hot tub ever, the smell of mesquite trees, lady longhorn basketball games, and listening to many many stories. My uncle was a storyteller for sure.

Then there are memories at Lake LBJ...him driving the boat while we tubed, fishing, etc. etc.

I'll never forget out time at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. What fun. There was a sea of people and sometimes Nanny and I thought we needed a "leash" to keep him with us....too funny!

He never met a stranger, had the warmest heart, a wise soul, and an unforgettable voice. I will certainly miss the sound of his voice. He always made me feel beautiful and like a princess among a sea of boys.

He was always wearing burnt orange....all things Texas. I must credit both my aunt and uncle with teaching me how to "hook em" at a super early age. I knew what that symbol meant long before I knew "I love you", "peace", or "hang ten". It also makes my heart happy that Connor remembers everything...I showed him one time when he was 2 and he will still tell me occasionally, "Remember, Mom...hook it horns?" Close enough. He is a pro.

We never lived in close proximity, but we didn't have too....family was, is, and always will be important. Love extends over many miles. I hope that the Haralson family can feel our love from here as they celebrate his wonderful life. He is most certainly in a better place, he is no longer suffering, and I'll bet he is evening wearing burnt orange & white.

With his love of all things Texas in mind, this is how we chose to honor his memory....from his niece, nephews and our families...

D slept ALL NIGHT

I have a list of 20 things I should be doing other than this blog post, but documentation needs to be done too.

Declan was with my at the YMCA yesterday and Thursday from about 8:00 until 1:00 each day. I was doing a holiday photo shoot with my photographer friend, Kate for a bunch of the kiddos there. We did 40 sessions and I am exhausted with a TON of editing to do, Christmas cards (for others) in the works...haven't started ours yet...book cover comps due on Monday, a cover that needs to be finalized today, a logo for Kate that has to be done by Monday morning, samples and pricing book done for Monday...the list goes on and on. My body is trying to tell me to slow down a bit. I can't speak above a whisper, despite Connor's requests for me to "talk normal, Mom".

Anyway, all of this to say that Declan's timing couldn't have been better. I woke up just before 7:00 this morning (went to bed around 1:20) and quickly realized I never got up to feed him! I never heard him cry or even whimper. I quickly headed into his room to make sure he was breathing and I heard a little bit of movement in his crib. :) That is when I realized that the consequence for a sleeping baby is a soaking wet mom. Despite wearing breast pads, the front of my shirt was soaked and the throbbing began (sorry if that is too much information). I knew I had to wake him up to eat. I'm not going to lie, he got sprayed and at one point I thought he was drowning, but he pushed through. :) Happy guy also had a wet diaper....a very wet diaper that I realized soaked his jammies too....his big boy, 6 month, fleece, firetruck jammies. Yes, he is only 9 weeks old. They are big, but fit a lot better than they should! I changed his diap and his jammies while he was a super happy guy on the changing pad. I thought he would be up for a while, but after a little bit of rocking he got squirmy. I took that as his way of telling me he wanted to lay back down. I was right...he is out again.

His first morning in the "infant room" was so exciting I really don't think he slept at all. Then he didn't sleep in the afternoon either. He was even up until about 11:00 Wednesday night. This also wore me out! Yesterday, although he just took cat naps in the infant room, he crashed yesterday afternoon into the evening and obviously made up for it last night. I just hope he naps a little today too, or I'm going to have to be up way late tonight working instead.

Happy day...I hope he can do it again!!

Sweet Declan

I have GOT to go to bed.

I just have to share this sweet shot I snagged of my little 9 week old man at the very end of my YMCA holiday shoot with Kate.

Believe it or not, he was soooo tired he could barely keep his eyes open....and hungry too...

Vivian Ruth Trotter

She's here, she's here!

Vivian Ruth Trotter was born early this morning at 1:17 am. Weighing in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces and 18.5 inches long. Carrie was a rock-star (so I hear) and is the first Trotter woman not to require a c-section in 2 generations!

We are so happy for the new family and I can't wait to meet this little sweetheart at Christmas!
I absolutely adore that when I showed Connor this picture first thing this morning after he woke up, his comment was "She got out!" The visions I get of her escaping from Carrie are hysterical. Then tonight as I was telling my mom this story via Skype, he looked at me in all seriousness and said, "She had to get out, she was trapped in Aunt Carrie's belly." Oh, the mind of a 4 year old!

Portrait Innovations - 2012

So, I think I can take a decent picture of my kids... but I also took Connor for his baby pictures when he was about 6 weeks old and I wanted to follow suit with Declan. I have a bit of a complex about things being even with my two kids and I want Declan to have some pictures of just him. (No, I do not have this complex because there aren't any pictures of just me...there are plenty.) Of course I wanted 4 year old pictures of Connor too...and he is very photogenic, & I wanted some of the two of them together.

I really like Portrait Innovations, but I wish they would be really innovative and just give me a CD of high resolution images that I can take home and edit. If you aren't familiar with their setup, they take a bunch of pictures with a few backgrounds or outfits. Then you sit down and they help you narrow down the 100 or so pictures to about 50...they would love it if you would buy all 50 for about a bazillion dollars. Then there is me...I'm narrowing and narrowing. I really want to get to less than $100 and sometimes I seriously want to leave only purchasing the $14.99 special. (I've yet to be able to do that...I always at least get one extra sheet.) My problem with their pictures is that although they are good, they could be a lot better with a little bit of editing. They do not edit at all. I realize it would take way too long for them, but I would love to have the option myself.

Today I bought enough $155 after tax that I got the CD, one extra "decorator" (I just got a normal picture), and I'm expecting a hardback book in the mail that has lots of the pictures....even ones that I did not purchase. The CD is just low resolution pictures and they all say "Portrait Innovations" at the bottom. Nothing a little Photoshop won't fix. :) So, I just edited the low res versions and broke my cardinal rule (you don't up resolution & size of the original). Oh well. Here are some of my favorites. Granny, if you want to download & print them yourself, be warned that they might be a little bit blurry because of me breaking my rule. The smaller you print them, the better they'll look. I do have hard copies of many of these that I will be distributing. :)

Enjoy.... Nealon boys November 16, 2012.

 

This last one was also the last picture taken...poor buddy was hungry and tired. Considering the appointment was exactly 3 hours from when he last ate, I think he was more than a trooper!

Little D Update

I just wanted to provide a little update.

2 nights ago, Declan woke up 3 times to eat. Most days I've been up until midnight doing work stuff, so perhaps that why it seemed like more than usual....but he got up at midnight, 3:15 and 6:15. I was a zombie for a lot of yesterday (C was late for school...not a big deal, just had to feed him breakfast here.)

Then, Declan didn't sleep or eat much yesterday afternoon. He would "snack" and then take a little nap (10-15 minutes) but that was about it. Thankfully, he can be easily soothed most of the time and he even rested, awake, in a pillow "nest" I made him on the daybed in the office while I finished packaging some work. It didn't help that we had to run a few errands yesterday so anytime I thought he might actually stay asleep for a little while I would have to put him in the car seat, which typically wakes him up.

All of this to say that last night was AWESOME! He went to sleep following his bath and eating at around 9:30. I had to wake him up at 2:45 to eat (because I was making quite the mess...) Then he woke up at 6:30 to eat again. That is only 2 times, one of which was of my doing! He is now still asleep and it is 9:24...I am definitely calling this a victory and am thankful that Connor does not go to school on Fridays because I didn't have to jostle him into the car and he is still sleeping away! YAY, D!

Declan absolutely LOVES his changing pad. I'm very thankful he doesn't roll yet or even come close because I can still feel pretty safe leaving him unattended up there. Unfortunately it doesn't have the same effect if I just move the pad to a different space. He was up there for about 20-30 minutes last night before bath-time just as happy as a lark! He is also smiling so much more now. It just melts my heart. He specifically smiles a lot at his daddy. Brian says "chooey-chooey"...like a fake sneeze.

Here is a picture I took with my phone yesterday morning when he was in my lap. I still marvel that all the kid eats is breastmilk and he has become quite the little porker...my chunky monkey for sure! Check out these cheeks!!

A Daddy & his boys

Connor was snuggled with Brian on the couch and I passed off Declan to take advantage of this photo opportunity.

Brian wasn't so eager to cooperate...that is okay, I Photoshopped his head from one of the pictures where he doesn't look quite so annoyed (at me taking pictures, not the boys) and put it on one that was good of the little boys! Ha..I WIN...and I love this picture. :)

This also captures Declans love affair with our ceiling. We'll be glad when one of these days he finds us equally appealing, but until then I'm glad I have it documented.

For the record...I guess or ceilings are pretty entertaining. The living room is coffered with tan in the middle and there are several cutouts (above the dining room table and above the basement steps) and of course there are lights up there too...so I can't say I completely blame the kid...

Connor at school with friends

When I picked up Connor from school today, one of his teachers showed me a picture she had just taken of 4 of the kiddos. She said they were so proud of the structure they made together that they gathered around it and asked for her to take a picture with her iPad. I swear...technology and these kids today. Believe it or not, Connor asks to be photographed frequently. :)

Pre-K at the YMCA. Gracie, Cassicy, Connor & Sam