Fishy Business

Let's just say you leave town for a few days and decide to turn the heat off in your house to save money on the electric bill while you're gone. Now let's just say that a cold front comes in the day you leave. When you get back inside your house four days later it might be a little chilly. And if you left behind a cat and a fish they might be really mad at you or oh, let's say dead. That's what we came home to Monday. Our cat Zoe, looked like a vagrant. She was so upset that we had left her alone in a cold house that she stopped grooming herself. She had dandruff all over herself and kept going upstairs and crying in the most pitiful, mournful little kitty voice you've ever heard. It was truly sad. Sadder still was the realization that tropical fish like Jaws 2 (our beta fish) really prefer tropical like temperatures in their little fishy homes. They're not so happy with highs in the mid fifties. We felt really bad when we saw him lying at the bottom of his little fish vase. He was obviously frozen like a little fish popcicle. So we lamented his loss and then promptly forgot about him while we unpacked and took naps and stuff. Later that afternoon, I remembered that there was a dead body in the house so I prepared to perform a burial at sea. He deserved that much. After all, he was a good fish. He never stayed out late, didn't get mixed up with the wrong crowd or anything. And he always seemed grateful for what he had. So as I went to his bowl to fish him out I noticed that his body had floated to the top of the vase. As I was reaching in to grab him I saw his little fish fins moving ever so slightly! A few hours later he had his color back. And I'm happy to report that this morning Jaws 2 is swimming happily and eating all the fish food he wants. It was truly a Thanksgiving miracle! So I guess the moral of this story is that if you ever accidentally freeze one of your animals to death, don't bury them right away. You never know what might happen when they thaw out.

Thanksgiving pics

We made it back home early this morning from a very fun and exhausting trip to Kansas. Jake had never met most of Mike's family and friends so there were several stops to be made and lots of new people to be introduced to. He was such a trooper! We were really nervous about the flight because he is such a wiggle worm and always wants to be on the move. But on every flight we had he sat in our laps and either played or fell asleep. He hasn't slept in my arms since he was three months old so I really enjoyed this! We'll have to fly more often. Enjoy the pictures!


It was very cold going to the airport!



With Grandpa Flinn after eating lots of turkey and sweet pickles.


This is Mike's friend Nathan and his fiance Emily. We had to convince Nathan that you really can't break a baby.


This is one way to contain a very mobile almost toddler person.


Grandpa Flinn with Jake and Allia.


Grandpa Flinn after Jake and Allia.


Playing with Allia and Aunt Mickey.



Jake and Allia

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

We're off to Kansas to see Mike's family in the morning. We're thankful for all of our friends and family and wish everyone a great holiday! If you have a minute leave me your top five list of things you're thankful for. Sorry, no prize for this one! Here's mine (in no particular order).

1. Family and friends
2. God
3. Dolphins (okay, all animals except the really creepy ones)
4. Chocolate
5. Books, music, bubbles, laughter, warm soft fuzzy things

Our day of FUN!

Yesterday, we took a family outing to the local Austin zoo. It's actually more of a rescue/rehabilitation center than a zoo. But they do have lots of animals and a train which apparently doesn't operate when we're there. I can't tell you how much fun Jake had. It was fun for me too because I finally got to see that even though he looks like Mike and mostly acts like Mike, there is some of his mama in him too. God help him. The boy loves his animals. He especially liked the monkeys and well, anything he could see that was moving. And for only a dollar we got to buy a bag of food to feed the sheep, goats, and deer. Let me tell you, if you've never had an animal with really big lips and gross teeth scrape food off of your palm, you are MISSING OUT! There is nothing like goat spit on your hands to remind you that you are really living life to its fullest. Totally worth a dollar. After the zoo, we went to an outing at our Sunday school teacher's house. They had a bonfire and barbeque for the class. So, it was truly a full day of fun which means today we are staying home and doing absolutely nothing. Well, aside from chasing Jake all over the house and going up and down the stairs multiple times with him, I am doing nothing!

We saw lions, tigers and bears, OH MY!

Can you see how beautiful she is through the wires of the cage? I was mesmerized.

These monkeys escaped from their cage

And the winner is...

Kara Baker, come on down! You've just won a tasty beverage of your choice at your local Starbucks! Let me just say that all of the entries were great and made me laugh. And I really needed some laughs this week! Mom, your title for the pic of Jake helping Mike was too cute and has been changed. Amy, the caption for the third pic about Kara cracking him up is truly perfect. Laura, your caption for the first photo was classic and I can totally see him thinking that. Suzanne, if my child ever learns what a Blackberry is we will be in big trouble. Too funny! In the end though I had to go with Kara's entire "hollywood" theme because, well, Jake DOES need an agent and she did reference Tom Cruise which is a little bit of sucking up to the judge but it paid off this time. Thanks for playing! I can't wait for the next contest!

It's a Contest People

A friend of mine suggested that I should put captions on the pictures of Jake below. Then she said she had some good ideas for those captions. Then she said I should have a caption contest. So, here it is! Please enter in the comments section any sort of caption or title you would use for any of the three pictures below. If more than one person enters, I'll get to choose a winner! Maybe there will be a fabulous prize. Maybe not. Okay, ready, set, GO! You have until Friday morning. (Good luck A).

After prank calling Kara

Pic # 1 I'm sorry, I've got to take this it's my agent, it will only take me a minute.

Pic # 2 Mom, your not going to believe this, he wants me to star in diaper commercial, is that crazy or what.

Pic # 3 Yeah mom, I laughed too, I’m too old for that. I told him to call me back when Tom Cruise needs a costar and that I don’t do commercials.

Little Helper

If you give a baby a cell phone...

Well, it seems that Jake is needing to broaden his social horizons. I guess I'm just not enough for him anymore. I chase him around, feed him, clothe him, wash him, play peekaboo, make up songs for him and STILL he needs more. So, what I'm saying is that if you get a phone call from him don't be surprised. In the past week, he has called my parents three times, his daddy at work one time, and my sister one time. That I know of. He is completely obsessed with all things electronic. Just like a man. When he doesn't have my cell phone he's either got the remote control or he is deleting messages on the answering machine. So if we don't return your call please don't be offended, we probably don't even know that you left a message.

And if he DOES call you, remember that he can't really talk yet so apparently you will hear lots of buttons being pushed, some babbling and much dropping of the phone on the floor. Now, I must confess, I think he gets the phone obsession from me. Although I don't remember playing with the phone at eleven months, I do remember playing with it a lot from about five years on. I used to call the operator and hang up on her. One of the most terrifying moments of my childhood was the day I called her several times and hung up and then she actually called my house! I had NO IDEA operators could figure out where you were calling from. I don't remember if I answered and she chewed me out or if she asked to speak to mom to tell her I was playing with the phone. But, I do remember being scared! Almost as scared as the day I did something wrong and then heard police sirens coming down our street and I was convinced at four years old that I was going to prison for a long, long time. But that's a story for another time. Anyways, if you start getting what you feel are prank phone calls, please don't involve the local police, just say "Hey Jake, how's it goin'?" and wait for the little boy to hang up on you. After all, it's only a matter of time before he'll have to put down the phone so he can pick up the remote control to change the channel on the television.

Target has the best toys!

Park Day

How I spent my first Halloween

Mama was too cheap to buy me a costume this year because she said why spend money on something I will only wear for an hour. But then around 6pm last night she started feeling guilty and decided to try to dress me up anyway. So, she went with a Hawaiian theme.

I don't like wearing flowers too much. So, then she tried a cowboy theme.



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The hat really bothered me. But, check out my red eyes. Very Halloweeny. So, then she gave up and dressed up the dog.