Sweet Relief

As I have said in previous posts, J.D. has been as fussy as you can possibly imagine. He has been quite the screamer. Anytime he was not asleep, he was crying...hard. We have been to numerous doctor's appointments trying to figure out what to do. This past week, after a teary phonecall to the doctor's office again, my doctor suggested that J.D. may be allergic to dairy. So, since I am still nursing him, I have been on a strict no-dairy diet. She also put him on an additional medicine to help with his reflux. Within 24 hours, J.D. was a completely different baby. I feel like I got to see what he actually looked like for the first time...without his eyes closed from screaming or sleeping. It has been such a better week!

We are still going to do some investigating to see if it was the new medicine or the lack of dairy. From what we can tell, it was a combination of the two. People who have spent time with us the past 2 months have been amazed at the difference. Last night, we went out to dinner (at a restaurant!) with friends, and J.D. sat in his carrier happily until he fell asleep. It was so wonderful! Our friends were shocked...since last week, they had to endure Life Group with J.D. screaming his head off. (Sorry, ya'll. Thank you for being such great friends!)

So I am thankful for a much more peaceful house. I kind of miss sour cream, ice cream, cheese, ranch, milk....(it is amazing how much stuff has dairy in it!)....but the reward is so much greater!

Life in the Fast Lane

I feel like this post could have a lot of different titles...Life in the Fast Lane, No Rest for the Weary, I am so Tired...the list could go on. We have laughed lately thinking about the difference between Anna Lee's schedule as a newborn and J.D.'s. When Anna Lee was born, we didn't really even take her out of the house for six weeks. J.D. is a completely different story. The little guy has been on three trips so far, and had company come to stay with him for a weekend. And our summer is just beginning! Our summer has started off with a bang, and there is so much more fun to come! Hopefully it will come with just a little more sleep!

Life at our house has been a bit crazy. Poor J.D. is a fussy, fussy fellow. He sure does have a set of lungs- and he likes to use them! (I tell myself it is just because he is going to be an amazing singer someday.) Besides having a good amount of reflux, J.D. does NOT like to be awake and not being held. He is happy to let you know it, too. It isn't too bad when Jim and I take turns in the evening, but trying to take care of a 2 year old and a screaming baby all day wears you out! But he sure is cute! Anna Lee takes J.D.'s crying way better than I do. She never really seems bothered by it. I have been so thankful for her patience lately..and for the ways she has made me laugh.

Yesterday was a rough day. J.D. was really never settled down all day. Anna Lee and I finally had a moment where we were sitting and playing a game while I held J.D. to keep him calm. Anna Lee was moving something over and fell on her bottom. She cried a little and started to get up. I looked the other way and when I turned back, she had pulled up her dress and was bent over, holding her rear end up to my face...I mean just inches away. And she was saying, "Kiss it. Kiss it." All I could do was bust out laughing. I was holding a baby who had been screaming all morning (including our whole trip to Target), and my 2 year old wanted me to kiss her rear end....literally. Oh how life has changed.

So last week, we loaded up the car and headed down to Mom-Mom and Grandad's house in San Antonio. I wasn't able to travel for a good amount of my pregnancy, so it was so fun to get to go "home" again. We had so much fun! Anna Lee and J.D. both got lots of attention and love, and I got a bit of needed rest. Jim and I even got to go out to dinner for my 30th birthday one night. We spent our time there seeing friends, swimming, eating, and playing.

This picture was so sweet. Anna Lee in a pair of my mom's old high heels, without her pants, helping to give J.D. his paci.

My dad used to do this with Anna Lee when she was little too. I always think it is so funny to go in and find my tiny baby asleep in a heap of pillows on the big bed. J.D. seemed to enjoy it!

Anna Lee got to help my mom lead praise songs on Sunday morning with the 1st and 2nd graders at church. I think Anna Lee and my mom equally enjoyed it...for different reasons. Look carefully and you can see her up there lifting her hands up.

At one point while we were in San Antonio, we went and visited my friend Amy and her crew. Amy and I were best buds growing up, and spent hundreds of nights at each others houses. We used to put on musical shows for our parents, and always had so much fun together. It was fun to get to see our little girls (and boys) together now.

Some sweet friends from church had a luncheon for J.D. on my birthday while we were there. It was so fun and special. There were so many ladies there to celebrate J.D.'s arrival with us. It was special to me to get to celebrate with so many wonderful women who have loved me and cared for me so long...and now love my children. Thanks, Kendra and Lauren, for such a wonderful day!

As fun as the luncheon was, this is how J.D. spent the majority of it. Typical these days. But the party went on anyway!

My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Miner, also came to the party. It was so fun to get to see her! Our family has kept up with her over the years, and it was so special to me to get to see her with my kids. Amazing that she taught me when I was close to Anna Lee's age. Oh how I wish she could teach Anna Lee! She was the greatest!!!

Mrs. Sarah came to the luncheon with gifts for not only J.D. and me, but also for Anna Lee. She could not have gotten Anna Lee anything she would have liked more. See below.

On Sunday, we got to go and visit Ninnie. We love Ninnie so much. She has been like a grandmother to my sisters and me for so long, and now she loves Anna Lee and J.D. too.

On our way back from San Antonio, we got to stop in Waco for lunch and a swim. Our time with GranDee was short but really fun!



Two days after we got home from SA, some of our favorite friends came to see us again! The Maples came from Nashville to get to play and meet J.D. Anna Lee LOVES Riley so much, and they had a fun and crazy time together. Amazing how time changes things. 5 years ago, our time as friends in Nashville was much calmer/quieter/filled with much later nights...We had a ball with them being here.

I had bought a pool for the kids to play in. Too bad it didn't come with a pump! Lots of hard work went into that being ready for swimming- it was a team effort! But the kids seemed to think it was worth it!

Ericka with Sweet Baby Blake

So that is our last crazy couple of weeks in a nutshell. So much fun!

Roommate Reunion

Well, last weekend we had the Litton Family Reunion...and this past weekend, we had the First Annual Roommate Reunion.  Jim had four roommates in college.  They were (and still are) some of the most wonderful guys I have ever known.  They are the closest thing to brothers I have ever had...the same for Jim.  Here are the original five...

This past weekend, we all got together for a reunion of sorts.  It was so fun!  The friendships that these guys have are so special- the kinds of friendships you keep for a lifetime.  But beyond that, all of the wives were friends in college, and have such special relationships together now too.  Since college, the group has significantly grown.  Here we all are now...

One of the most fun parts of the weekend was getting to see all of our kids play together. 

  The kids all had a blast together, and the parents did too!

In the last post, there were a couple of pictures with Anna Lee and her cousin, Allie.  Here is another shot of the two of them.  Jim's roommate, Doug, married his cousin, Lana--Allie is their little girl.  The really crazy part is that my family used to go on family vacations with Lana's family (Jim's cousin).  My parents were best friends in college with Lana's parents (confusing, I know).  So watching Anna Lee and Allie together is really special...kind of like looking back in time to Lana and me together.

On Sunday morning, we had "church" together.  After so many years and the addition of so many kids, "church" has taken on a completely different form.  Most of the songs we sang were of the 3 year old variety (i.e. My God is So Big), the "sermon" was a Bible story book about Moses, and the "fruit of the vine" was apple juice.  We all loved it, though, and it was a special time to worship together.

Here is a shot of Cody reading a story to Anna Lee before bedtime.  We kind of laughed at him reading a bedtime story about Noah to Jim.  Jim and Cody lived in the same room all through college.  He was and is so wonderful.  It was so fun for Anna Lee to get to spend time with him...and he was amazing at getting our fussy J.D. to calm down.  We need him around more often! 

One of the most exciting parts of the weekend was when the boys left the wives with all the kids and headed out to get pizza.  Rachel came up with toenail painting to keep the peace.  Anna Lee and all of the little girls (and boys) loved it!

Oh how I love Chris.  Some things never change.

Chris and his wife, Merry have been living in Pennsylvania for 3 years.  We are so glad they are back in Texas now!  Our little boys are only 2 months apart (and all of the roommates' little girls are around the same age).  Who knows...maybe we are starting a whole new generation of roommates!