Loyal & Bold

We're the Purple & Gold. We are the Pirates of E.C.U!

Ahhh, yes, we at the Phillips' house are loyal & bold, purple & gold! And we are also proud East Carolina Pirate Alumni.

So while CP was out of town at a U2 concert in DC, having fun with his brothers, I was left here in the hot garage slaving away over the following...


Yup, that's the back wall in our garage. Bright yellow for the world to see as they drive by our home! It was easier than I thought it would be (shhhh, don't tell him!) Thanks to Home Depot for team color paint! (BTW, if anyone needs any, the cans are still extremely full!) For someone that did color matching for the NFL, using some generic purple or gold and not the correct PMS color would be a sin. This time, no light box required!! Sweet relief!

This project has also sparked a posting request from Denver. I will post my "materniy leave to-do list" projects. I am not going to post the list as it stands right now, so when I go back to work in 8 short weeks, you won't have a clue as to whether or not I came close to completing such said list. Stay tuned for my next "DIY Day" post!

Eat your heart our Martha!

Just like me...

She longs to be, close to you...

These are "the boys" (I LOVE saying that!!)and their Grandma. That would be my mom! She lives really close! Thank goodness for that, because we don't know what we would do without her! She has been helping all of us adjust to life as a family of 5(you didn't forget Porter, did you?). But don't let our need for help fool you, the day after she leaves I get emails about her withdrawl symptoms. She is as crazy about us as we are about her!

This post was supposed to be much longer (sorry Jenny) but that will all have to wait for another night. It is late and B just finished what I would love to call a meal, but I am sure it was more like a snack, and that means I need to get to sleep so he can wake me in another 2 hours, to grab yet another snack!

But I must end on this funny.
Last night at dinner Q insisted his baby was hungry and needed to be fed. He sat down on the floor, grabbed his "special pillow" (the boppy) and proceeded to lift his shirt and pull Josh to his bare chest. When Josh was "full" Q threw him over his shoulder and burped him! And here is the warning...Little guy, BIG eyes and ears for observing! It is crazy how much he absorbs!

People let me tell you....

about my best friend.

These are my favorite little boys and this is their best friend Porter. Q is doing everything in his power to make sure B knows how special Porter is. I must say, it's pretty awesome!


Here is one of my favorite pictures of Q and Porter when Q was 1 mo old.


Now on to some funnies
Q knows some sign language and still tends to use it, although his language skills are quite good (sometimes this is not so good for us!) When saying goodbye to grandma, he tried signing I love you, what he signed instead was F you, all while smiling and saying I LOVE YOU Grandma! We have also seen that he points with this finger now as well. Think he learned that at his Christian day care?

His new favorite phrase is "You crack me up" this cracks.me.up!!

Q has now seen me pump more than once. This has led to some fun questions. The other day he picked up the bottle and put it to his tummy!! He thn proceeded to ask how long will it take to get full?

B we have learned likes only soft surfaces...hence why he is not sleeping more than 2 hours in his bassinet....so a new dilema to battle in the mommy brain...what can we do about this???

My baby love, love

he's got what it takes and he knows how to use it!!
He's got me where he wants me and he does it with that perfectly beautiful face. Those lips and those steel blue eyes. They are amazing! He knows I am mommy and mommy=S-U-C-K-E-R! But I don't mind. For 10 more weeks, I am his (during the day, anyway) Today B is 14 days old! 2 weeks! It's crazy how fast it's gone by. It's also scary the strength this boy has! He holds up his head (pretty good) and then throws it into your shoulder. He also loves to push himself off my c-section spot! We have since found other positions we like to sit in!

I mean really, look at that face, you can't tell me you wouldn't be a sucker!

Q is still amazing with him. He is such a great big brother! He is also a really great kid! SO, thinks his mommy! He is just saying & doing some really funny things right now. The other night when asked if he wanted to go to school the next day, he replied, "I'd love to, but I need to go night-night first" and when asked if he wants to sit on the stairs, his reply is now "Yes"! What? We use the stairs for time out!! He is not supposed to want to sit on them!! When B cries he immediately comes running.."He wants me". We also have "special sauce" (hand sanitizer) and a "special pillow" (the boppy).

Can't you feel the love??

I got to drive today! I only went two blocks to the grocery store, it was fine. Nothing exciting. It's triple coupon days! However, I must admit, I am no good at coupons. BUT, I am extremely good about using all my baby coupons. It is always things I need or use. I never seem to find coupons for fresh veggies or fruits or bag salad? It is ALWAYS things I try to avoid eating. You know the ones, Pillsbury flaky rolls, the real good golden ones that melt in your mouth or how about if you buy 4 boxes of cereal that are $4/ea you can save .75!
On that note, I should go have a bowl of chocolate ice cream (it was 2 for $5, how could I say no) I am burning lots of calories right now! Thanks for nursing B!

Isn't he lovely..

made from love!
So the words are wrong, but the feeling the same! He is lovely! We are in love with him!

BPP made his way into this world by a last minute c-section (not as bad as I thought!). Thursday Sept 3, 2009 at 2:42pm. He was 7lbs 12oz and 20 3/4" long. With a head of really dark hair!! Q has adjusted to being a big brother like you wouldn't believe!!

We had no idea what to expect. How could you?! We didn't know if he would be excited or like him or what. Q is very sensitive and isnt' afraid to show how he is feeling. We knew he would be sweet and gentle but we had no idea how nurturing he would be! It's incredible! He wants to hold him and love him and hug him and kiss him and stroke his head all the time. It's the first thing he wants in the morning and the last thing at night. It's the first thing he wants when he gets home from day care. I can honestly say (today) that he is THRILLED with being a big brother! And I can tell you that we are THRILLED as well! No adjustment needed! Shew!

That "last minute" c section was because B couldn't decide if he wanted to be head down or breech. He kept flip flopping! What we did know was that at 39 weeks and breech again, I COULD NOT go into labor for fear of things being delivered before B! YIKES! So we made the decision to go ahead with a c-section. Wednesday consisted of wrapping up Thursday morning (39 weeks and 2 days) we went to the hospital. CP and I checked in and got set up with IV's etc. When the Dr came to check B & I out (about an hour before surgery) we found out he was HEAD DOWN!!! But knowing what we knew about B's acrobatic skills we decided it was time for him to make his arrival and everyone would be safe!

Q has started a new daycare and is adjusting well to that as well!! YEAH!! He is telling us more about his day, which is a really nice change! It is nice to have the days with B to bond and nap (and try to accomplish some of the things on that maternity time to-do list)! He says lots of funny new things and notices things and talks about them!

We are enjoying our days as parents of 2 and I am enjoying my new days as the mom of 1 more y chromosome!

The Dr will see you now

So you would think, I would post about the newest Y chromosome in our house, because, that is the MOST exciting thing in our lives right now. But I will have to make you wait until tomorrow night. Plus, anyone that reads this, reads facebook and since I posted on there today, that will be "old" news anyway!

Instead I will tell you about Dr. Q. We at the Phillips house, LOVE all animals. Q has several favorite Drs in his life. Starting with GGP (he would rather see people) and his Zanney. Little does he know she started out as a vet. That would really impress him. It might impress him more that her daddy was a vet too! And then there is Aunt Lynn. She only sees certain "sick" pets. So you can say it's in his blood! Which might be the reason Q loves to go to the vet. Why not? Nothing in it for him! Two weeks after we went to the ER vet with Porter, Q remembered that Drs name!! He likes to tell Porter what to do...say "Ahhh".
That is the set up for this picture. While we were at the hospital adding to our Y house, Q stayed behind with Grandma, who snapped this picture of Q listening to everyones heart and taking notes!
Is this foreshadowing? You know NC State has a really good vet school! AND, it's really close to home. In fact so close he could live at home! Hmmm....

We are family!

I got all my siters with me...

Cousins, sister in laws, mother, whatever. This weekend we started with a visit from Grandma. She knew she would have Q this week (since he is out of school and starting a new one after labor day!) but she hadn't seen him in 3 weeks and that was just waaaay too long. She needed a Phillips fix. Can you blame her? This kid LOVES his grandma!

Then Saturday on their way home from Ocean Isle my cousin and her family stopped by to say hi and give the pregnant lady a squeeze!
Then Sunday we went and hung with CP's brothers, my 2 favorite sister in laws and all the Phillips' babies! I say babies, but Q is the youngest, as of today. Of course, that is another story! Honestly though, they will always be babies in our eyes! Paul must hate that, seeing as how he just started 4th grade!! When we came home and he was being bossy, I told him "You sure are bossy tonight", He replied "I'm not bossy, I'm Q Phillips!". Oh boy, you got that right!! That is what happens when you have been hanging out with a second grade girl!!

Don't you just love family? I mean really, who else knows everything about you and still loves you regardless. If it weren't for family, I'm not sure I could survive? I have called on them numerous times. And numerous times I have not called and they still knew I needed them! There is also that part of your family, that isn't really "family". You know you have them. We all do. Q has a long list of "family" that isn't related. We call them Auntie Kelly, Auntie J La, Auntie 'lissa, Auntie Fer, I could go on and on! I'm not sure I could make it without them. However, he will grow up knowing all these special people love him and he will always, no matter what, have someone he can turn to. Just.Like.Family.

Can you feel the love?