Pregnancy brain takes over...

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I handed Graham CHOCOLATE PUDDING and a spoon. He ate very well for dinner, so I thought a little Calcium couldn't hurt anything...

This was after 10 minutes....TEN MINUTES! The child inhaled the pudding. At some point, when the spoon slipped out of his slippery, little hands, he decided that he could eat with his hands. Who was I to argue?

He promptly won himself a complimentary shower before getting in the bathtub. :) I spent a long time getting the bathtub sparkling clean today....and I didn't want there to be a chocolate haze on it within hours of it being so clean!! :)

Hope you are all doing well! Check back for some more updates!

Life's tough...

We enjoy going to Disney on the weekends. Sometimes we will stop at a nearby gas station for a coke or a snack. Yesterday evening as we were leaving the park we stopped for a coke. Just as Jeff closes the car door, a little voice from the backseat says "dodah dodah" which is doughnut. I tell Graham that daddy went inside to get a coke and he replies "coke peas coke peas". I offer him his juice and he is so tired he turns it down. By this point he has asked for nunu's to go night-night and I obliged. Jeff gets in the car, and of course has 2 Krispy Kreme's in a bag! Graham IMMEDIATELY notices and again asks "dodah peas dodah peas". Jeff hands him half of his doughnut and he inhales it. Graham asks for "oher dodah" (Other donut) and Jeff hands him the other half. Not 2 minutes later this is the view that we see in the backseat...

Yes...life is hard! (Please do not comment on the seat belt clip...we put it up on his chest when we buckle him in and he slides it down.) There is icing EVERYWHERE!!! Thankfully he just took a nap and let us throw him in the bath when we got home. Poor baby was so tired that he didn't get up until 9:35 this morning!!! And we were home by 7:45 last night!

Graham is very observant. He will point out everything to you and if there are 2 of something he will say "pumpkin. Other pumpkin". It's so cute. He was having a BALL identifying all of the pumpkins at the entrance of Magic Kingdom yesterday!!

We are all doing well!! I have sciatica pretty bad so my bum and back hurt most of the time. But that's a small price to pay for the gift of life we've been blessed with! Miles might be an interior designer when he comes out of the womb; currently his internship involves rearranging all of my organs!! He's not a gentle boy - but that might come in handy when he tries to keep up with his big brother!

Love,

Jeff, Lauren, Graham and Miles

The verdict is in...

It's a BOY!!
Miles Thomas should make his debut in February! We are very excited!!! :) He wasn't shy at showing us his male parts but he was NOT going to let us get a profile picture! He is measuring right on schedule - and the midwife told me that "he's going to be a tall one!" Thankfully we will be able to use Graham's clothes (praying that we won't need his preemie outfits though!!).
I'm going to be a mom to 2 boys...it's still sinking in. I know how close (most of the time) my sister and I were growing up and we were 2 1/2 years apart. These boys will be 2 years and 4 months-ish apart and I pray that they are able to share that special bond that Linz & I have!! Ok, ok...and I'm glad that they will be able to share a room eventually so that I can have a sewing room :) HA! Doubt that will happen, but one can dream!
So I'm seeing a future full of the following: forts, tents, balls, fighting (playful of course), balls, dirt, loud music, balls, broken limbs (it's bound to happen), and the list goes on!!
We feel truly blessed with the life that is growing inside of me!!! Thanks for all of the prayers!
Love,
Jeff, Lauren, Graham & Miles :)

Back to work! - pictures are up now!

Well, at 4:01AM the alarm went off and scared me half to death! I got up and got ready for my first day at the Eye Surgery Center. At 4:27 I loaded the car, came in and got Graham out of bed and loaded him into the car and off we went! At 5:15 we arrived at my parents' house and mom met us in the driveway. GRAHAM FREAKED OUT. Mom cut her hair yesterday and G didn't recognize her that early in the morning. :( I walked him in to the house and he saw mom and they were quickly reaquainted! I put Graham in his bed, closed the door, and left for my first day of orientation!
What a FABULOUS group of women that I'm working with! I prayed that Graham would head off to sleep and not decide that it was play time - and he did!! He didn't wake up until 8!!
I was finished at noon and went back to the house where the 3 of us, mom, Graham & I all took naps!
Here are a few pictures of Graham from the day. Mimi took Graham to the library where they sang songs, read books & made "sticker art" (so cute!)! Mom said that he did well! After the library, they got back to the house and Graham played with his food set while mom made lunch.
He's just so stinkin' cute!!! :) I love him so much! When I sat down to eat my lunch after we napped, Graham ate a snack while mom and I talked "baby" stuff. And Graham couldn't be left out of the conversation....all of the sudden he says "Avey. Myes" (Avery and Miles) It was hilarious!!!

Some more creations!

A new friend of mine is due to have her son, Mason, tomorrow - assuming the hospital has a bed for her induction.

Mason's room is done in Winnie-the-Pooh. I've had this fabric for a while and wasn't sure what I was going to do with it - so I made a diaper bag! I'm not big on character fabric, but it worked! Like all of my bags, there are 6 large pockets that line the inside!! VERY functional!! :)

Here is a close up of the embroidery!

Additionally, I did a quick bib with an "M" on it (and yes, it is supposed to be tilted!!)

And I couldn't leave out a "happy" for Big Sister Madison! Here is a shirt that I did for her!

















Let me know what you think!!

Some of my creations!

OK - I'm working on getting a website up for Belles & Beaus .... but I thought that I would post a few pictures here!!

Here is a "ribbon lovey". It is 13"X13" and can be appliqued with a letter or it can be monogrammed!!

You pick!

Here is a set of burp cloths that I made for a customer!! Dad was a pilot so we had to make a girly airplane!!

This was a set of "on the go" burps for another customer!

This is probably one of my favorite diaper bags that I have EVER made!!

There is just something about covered buttons!

So many functional pockets inside!!!

I guess that is it for tonight!!! Just wanted to share a few things!
We are all doing well! Counting down the days until we find out if we will have Avery or Miles joining our family!!

Check back soon for some more family pictures & some of my newest creations!!! Let me know what you think!

Dora & Diego....and a blushing momma!

Dora, Diego & Boots (Map, Swiper & Backpack, too!) are well-loved around the Rogers' home! Graham wakes up in the morning saying "Up, Please. Eat. Diaper. Diego/Dora". He knows what he wants!
To buy Jeff or I a peaceful shower, we will let Graham eat his banana in his chair and watch Dora or Diego.

Please hear me when I say: I HAD NO IDEA HOW INFLUENTIAL THESE 2 CHARACTERS COULD BE!

Yesterday evening, Jeff & I went to the gym to work-out. We told Graham that he was going to play in Playland and then we would be back to get him to go to the pool. Of course, all Graham heard was pool. (he's part fish you know!) We get changed and head to the pool. The 3 of us are playing with some bathtoys made pooltoys and a little boy swims past. Graham says something, but I'm not sure what it was so we go back to playing. Next thing I know, the little boy swims past again (he was tormenting Graham...but that's a different story) and Graham says "Hi Gaygo". I looked at Jeff and thought, whatever. As we are drying off, Graham says "Bye Gaygo. Bye Ora.". Graham thinks that the little boy and his younger sister are Diego & Dora. Why? you may ask? Because they were Hispanic. Jeff & I laughed hysterically when we realized what he had been saying. I know it's not the best parental response but we couldn't help it! After I laughed, I was PRAYING that the mom didn't hear Graham's comment. I was a little pink, and it wasn't sunburn!

So yes, that was our excitement yesterday evening!
We headed off to the gym this morning; we had the same agreement that Graham would play in Playland and we would go to the pool. Graham picks up on "pool" again. We workout, get Graham & head to the pool...well the big pool was open, but the "water area/kiddie pool" is closed during the day - it's open from 4-8 when the big kids are out of school....what about us stay at home moms who like to wear their kids out at the pool, then race home to put them in bed for the LOVELY 2-3 hour nap?? I might have to bring that one up! We had fun in the big pool....and there were some VERY well behaved kids that were interested in playing with Graham('s toys).

Alright, Graham is sleeping and I think I'm going to go do the same!

Don't forget to post your vote on whether Peanut is a boy or girl!!!

Love,
Jeff, Lauren, Graham & Peanut