davejenbarnes

Congrats to my amazing friend Amy and her family on the arrival of Audrey Jeanette! She was born at 11:39 a.m. weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces and 20.5 inches long.

Amy is a relatively new friend of mine (by that I mean in the last few years) but such a kindred spirit with the love of all things yarn. She’s inspired me to keep knitting even with a *somewhat* colicky Lowell and a super-duper James around and believe me, it isn’t easy to come up with free time these days.

Congratulations, Amy. You’re a super star!

aye, that he is.

At his 2 month well baby checkup, he tipped the scales at 11 pounds, 13 ounces.  That is a gain of 13 ounces in 2 weeks.  Don’t know if it’s good or bad, but it is what it is.  I was secretly hoping for a 2 pound gain in 2 weeks.  And I’m depressed that my mind continually compares Lowell to what I remember of James.  I know that an 11 pound, 13 ounce 8 week old is perfectly fine, but to me at times it seems like he must be failing to thrive because he wasn’t 13 pounds 11 ounces like his big brother.  Having 2 kids is sure a mental battle for me.

The pediatric office that we have  been taking the boys to recently went from three doctors to two doctors (our doc left) and the wait was tremendous.  I knew it would take a long time, but an hour and a half is ridiculous. So I guess we’re looking for a new pediatric office.  I didn’t like the interim person we saw one bit and I don’t like not having a doctor that we “belong” with.

Oh, and no pictures of Lowell on the scales this time.  I just don’t have it in me to remember everything.  Shoot.  I even forgot baby wipes and had to use wet paper towel on the little guy at the appointment.  He got 4 shots and a syringe for the rotovirus.  Let’s just say he is sleeping more than normal these last few days.

James can count to ten.  Yesterday he could not.  Today he could.

With all the yummy food we’ve been brought after Lowell’s birth, I’ve been curious about some recipes. This has led me to a site that I can’t wait to try out! RecipeThing.com (our username is none other than davejenbarnes) My mom’s playgroup is where I found out about it. I hope to find some great recipes there. So far, my favorite place to find recipes is allrecipes.com and good ol’ mom.

I’m not a cook but having two young kids and a husband that works, I am finding that it is falling to me to cook more than not at all. Here’s my recent most favorite recipe for any of you looking for something yummy to try. King Ranch Chicken (via allrecipes.com and my mom’s recommendation — she made it for us!)

My 360 is dead…temporarily. I am kind of in mourning, as I realize just how often I used the thing. For those of you without a 360, it is so much more than a gaming console. I watch DVD’s on it, I video chat with my homies, I browse the marketplace and download many things…come to think of it, the 360 is much like my beloved G5 PowerMac in terms of the way I use it. The title of this post is a verse from the Bible, and taking it out of context and relating it specifically to my situation, I’m convinced that the verse refers to all of the n00bs I have pwn’d in my recent online gaming exploits:

“You have seen the depth of their vengeance,
all their plots against me.”

They’ll be traveling to Chicago in December to perform at Midwest.

CPMS Band Selected for Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic

In December, the Cedar Park Middle School Band will perform at the prestigious Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago.

The Cedar Park Middle School Band was the only middle school band selected from Texas and one of only two middle schools from the nation chosen to perform. The Leopard Band placed first from among the national and international middle school contenders and received the highest accolade of any auditioning band from the international organization.

This event is the largest instrumental music education event in the world and will provide students with the opportunity to interact with well-known composers, conductors, and music educators from around the world. The CPMS students will perform before more than 2,000 audience members at the clinic.

The Leopard Band is directed by Manuel San Luis and assisted by David Barnes, Jessica Gonzales, and Manny Maldonado.

See the official announcement.

I’m loving my ella roo wrap.  It makes this stage of parenting so much easier when we’re out and about.  I’ve always had a kind of disgust for the carseats that people lug their precious babies around in — seen them get bumped and jarred and set on the floor at public places like pieces of luggage.  The wrap is such a loving solution for us.  Lowell gets to snuggle his mommy and I can even carry James and have a free arm!

Lowell was eleven pounds on Monday at our 6 week checkup.  His next appointment is on the 23rd — his 2 month visit and he will be getting his shots…

I’m unbelievably exhausted, so that is all I will type for now.