We Band of Butlers
we few, we happy fewFall Walk
We went on a walk around our neighborhood today. Monkey was very excited, we were going to take CiCi in the baby “shoulder” (stroller) but she decided at the last minute not to. Instead, our walk consisted of acorns, fallen leaves, deciding that candy on the sidewalk is trash, and bits of flyers that Monkey dubbed “MY PAPER!”
“What color are the leaves?” “Geen!” “That’s right! Can you find the yellow leaf?” [thinking.....pointing] “LULLOW LEAF!”
We aren’t very good at holding Mommy’s hand or not running away…so we’re practicing.
Monkey is going to be getting a haircut soon…so I want to document all these little curls while I can!!
“Key inaina door open Mimi inthere Papa inthere key opit.”
Something caught her eye. I don’t remember what it was, but she gabbered about it for several minutes. (Gabbered=combo gab and jabbered. I just made it up. You’re welcome.)
Playing with the leaves on the sidewalk while Mommy played with the fun leading lines OF the sidewalk.
I LOOOOVE her face in this picture!
Handing me some of her leaves to keep because she couldn’t fit them in her pockets.
I’m pretty sure she’s trying to give her prized leaf to Dora. Who apparently lives in the sky. This probably isn’t good.
Trying to catch a glimpse of something above her…probably a bird, I don’t remember. I do remember she wanted me out of the way to see whatever it was.
In other news, a few random shots from the past few weeks/days/years/whatever it’s been.
Monkey really loves her brother. She gets upset when he’s asleep and she can’t play with him and kiss him and hug him and hold him. He’s like a living toy to her…she really likes having him around.
I love this picture…her lashes are so pretty.
Welcome to what my son pretty much does all the time. Except eating and pooping. I don’t have pictures of the latter. You can’t see pictures of the former.
“Ari?” “Huh?”
But I should probably wrap this up. The shoot is, quite obviously, OVER.
We haven’t disappeared! (Promise!)
Oh, but we have just about stressed ourselves off the face of the planet!
Hospitalizations, Dr visits, swine flu, a new house…lots has happened and we’ve just been barely able to keep our heads above water! We’ve had a ton of help from our church and family and before you ask, yes, everyone is fine. 
We’ll catch back up on the blog when we’re doing more than just keeping ourselves afloat.
In the meantime, here’s a few teaser pictures of Blueberry and Monkey – who suddenly looks ridiculously grown up in all these pictures I’m taking and I’m constantly struck with how BIG my little girl is getting. I can’t believe she’s only 20 months in some of these! (Daddy picked up a pair of her shoes the other day and said, “Oh, no…These are not baby shoes! These are little girl shoes!”)
Monkey sitting on a bench when we went to play on the playground the other day.
Monkey making a face. I am in love with this hat, ya’ll, for real. $2.50 at a local consignment store. And she will wear it every day until her head will no longer fit! (“Pretty hat wear!”)
Ah, my daughter, the diva.
Monkey meeting her baby brother. It was love at first sight!
Me and Blueberry minutes after his birth. I adore this photo with all my heart – thanks to my mother who took it!!
My mom took this picture an hour after Blueberry was born, being warmed under the heat lamps (he was a bit hypothermic…see “hospitalizations” above…)
For full story, click here.
Daddy snuggling with his brand new Blueberry.
Monkey is constantly asking to “hold him” and for “hugs.” (I’m telling you, this child is IN LOVE.)
A good friend crocheted this gorgeous blanket for Blueberry. It has become our carry-everywhere-around-and-out-of-the-house blanket. It’s soft, warm without being stifling, and the perfect size. Blueberry loves it!
Blueberry napping in his Amby we’re currently borrowing from a friend – the same Amby Monkey napped in when she was his age!
We has a babies!
Full birth story to come later – because I’m exhausted and going to sleep now – but basically it went like this:
Mommy wakes up in labor and doesn’t know it.
Daddy wakes up with swine flu.
Daddy quarantines himself in another house all day while grandma takes care of Monkey.
Mommy goes shopping, cleans the house, goes for a walk to get ‘false labor’ to go away.
False labor doesn’t go away.
Mommy calls midwife at 11:15 and says “MAKE IT STOP!”
Midwife says, “Come in, we’ll check you.”
Mommy comes in.
Mommy’s a 9.
Centimeters.
Out of 10.
Mommy pushes for 3 hours because Mommy keeps passing out because Mommy is exhausted.
Mommy is convinced baby Will is NEVER GOING TO COME EVER.
Baby Will comes!
Daddy is watching through a window because Daddy has swine flu and can’t be near baby.
Mommy sleeps at birth center for 6 hours while Will is being monitored for infection.
Monkey meets baby Will.
Monkey loooooooooooooooooooooooooves baby Will.
Mommy and Monkey go home.
Grandma takes Monkey, Mommy’s mommy takes Mommy, and Mommy goes to sleep.
Channel 8 news calls and wants to interview Mommy because of Daddy and the swine flu.
Mommy says no. Mommy says interview somebody else. Mommy is tired.
Channel 8 news interviews grandparents and Daddy.
Mommy wakes up to make a blog post because, what else do you do after a story like that?
The end.
Baby Will meeting his Daddy outside the window.
Baby Will under the heat lamps because his breathing was too rapid.
Monkey trying to pick up Baby Will because “Baby Will car carseat drive bye bye now!”
More pictures and details as soon as Mommy can!
William Justice Butler
Born October 5, 2009, 3:31 am
7 pounds, 14 ounces
20 inches long
Trip to the Park
We dressed in our new warm autumn clothes and spent a few minutes at a local park that has a pond, ducks, and, apparently, five billion mosquitos. Which is why our trip didn’t last an awfully long time.
“Down! Walk!” Monkey loves to run, and she’s so very cute when she does it. She has this little bouncy hoppy dancing run that she does when she’s excited.
I still have yet to work up the courage to cut her hair, for fear I might accidentally snip off one of her beautiful little baby curls. I adore them.
We found some small flowers by the bank of the pond. She proceeded to try to pick every single one for Daddy and Mommy. “Pretty tiny flowers!”
It’s really adorable how much Monkey loves her Daddy – and how incredibly cute he is with her. Their favorite game is “Gonna getcha,” where he chases her and then throws her up in the air to wild giggles. We never get tired of this game, but might sometimes throw a tantrum if it stops too soon.
It’s rare to find Monkey actually walking NEXT to Daddy instead of running off on her own.
I love this picture. She just looks so grown up. I don’t know where my baby went!! People warned me this would happen. Suddenly my little infant has been replaced by a full fledged toddler…
…complete with tantrums and attempts to go “nigh night” on the sidewalk at the park.
This is Monkey’s “silly face.” When she says something she just knows is hilarious, you’ll catch her tongue between her lips and a snickering laugh that you can’t help but adore.
I’m finding myself more and more just enjoying the little everyday things. I know that life is about to change drastically. In the next couple of weeks there will be a whole ‘nother tiny person to take care of, and my attentions will be divided. I find myself relishing rocking Monkey during story time, the feel of her tiny, smooth baby curls when I run my finger through her hair, scratching her back when she’s upset, that little skipping run, how excited she gets when she can actually communicate to me something that happened to her during the day (“Mommy! Daddy see outside stars pretty!”). I can’t believe how fast she’s grown up. I’m definitely going to cry the day she turns 2!
Watching Dora
Monkey loves Dora the Explorer. Dora happens to drive Mommy crazy. She gets to watch a show a day, and usually it’s while snuggling with one or both parents. Today, I had to wake her up early from her nap to make it to a midwife’s appointment. She was very tired, and by 7:15 she wanted to watch her Dora and lay on my bed. Daddy came home about that time, and she snuggled up to him to watch her show.
In other news…WE ARE BUYING A HOUSE! (I know, I know!) We’ll move in November 1. There is a special government program that allows teachers, paramedics, firefighters, and police offers in certain areas to buy certain HUD foreclosures for half of HUD’s asking price. A house showed up in our area that we were eligible for, so we put our names into a lottery to “win” the right to buy the house. AND WE WON! (We had entered previously and lost.) We both LOVE the house and are getting fantastic deals on the painting and carpet and other repairs. We’re VERY excited and will be posting pictures as soon as we can! We’ll be living near the intersection of Oates and 635 – much closer to church and many friends.
Blueberry is doing just fine, the midwife says. Facing a bit the wrong way but it’s not a big deal right now, and won’t be a big deal later it might just make labor more difficult, so I have some exercises to do to see if I can get him to flip over. It also might make carrying him easier – he sits so much more forward than Monkey did!
Well, I need to go pry my husband away from Clone Wars to eat dinner. 
Ciao!
