You Know You Have Been To The Doctor Way Too Much When You Have Met Your Annual Deductible Before the End of March...

We are going to the hospital very early in the morning to have tubes inserted into Jack's ears so that he will QUIT GETTING SICK every other week. We had to do the same thing with Avery so it isn't so traumatic for us this time. Sure, there is reason to worry anytime your kid goes under general anesthesia, but we are much more laid back about it this time around. (I mean, seriously, raise your hand if you have had to get tubes in your kids ears. See. It's a lot of you.)

We are really hopeful that the tubes will help with his string of illness bad luck. He has been on some sort of antibiotic for about 80% of the year so far. And the really heartbreaking part for us is that he is still the happiest little guy most of the time. He is so laid back and content so we hate that he has been feeling bad for so long. I can't wait to see what he is like when he actually feels well!

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Like all good Texans, we took our kids to the nearest patch of bluebonnets and made them take approximately 163 pictures. For those of you outside of the Lone Star State, bluebonnets are our state flower and they grow all over central Texas in the spring. All true Texans dating back to the invention of film have had their pictures taken in bluebonnets. If you ever meet a Texan on vacation in Europe please feel free to ask to see their bluebonnet pictures. They will have them. 

Since our kids are Native Texans, they will have pictures in the wildflowers around the state from every year of their lives. Except 2008 because Jack was a newborn during wildflower season and I just couldn't get my act together enough to get out of the house (or brush my teeth for that matter) so I missed it. 

Here's what happened when we took the kids out for pictures this year:

Avery liked it and actually cooperated somewhat with pictures. Don't get me wrong, she is still a 2 year old, but I did manage to get a few shots of her.
If you enlarge this shot you will see her knee is scraped with dirt already. We had been there for 1.2 seconds before she fell on her knees. 

This one is for Theresa. Finally a picture of me (and my boobs). Obviously dad's attempts to get them to look up worked...they just weren't looking up and at the camera. hmpf.
Jack's first bluebonnet experience. He wasn't sure what to make of them. It is against the law to pick them so we kept yelling "no! no!" when he started to reach for them. The last thing we need is to have to come up with bail money for this guy. 

Wardrobe change!! She was asking about where flowers come from. Always with the questions...WHO taught her to talk?
Then out of nowhere she started lifting up her dress. As if I was going to stop taking pictures because of this act of defiance. She clearly doesn't know who she is messing with.
Jack also survived the wardrobe change. It would have been nice if I could have actually taken some shots without the shadow on his face. Guess this means we will have to go out again next weekend.
This one is also for Theresa. Plus, Jack just looks cute with his hands up because he was saying "ta-da!" to the camera. My eyes are only halfway closed because I have two kids. AND I AM TIRED. 

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Later on Saturday we went to an Easter egg hunt in the neighborhood. For the 0-3 year olds it isn't so much of a "hunt" as it is a "pick up off the ground." They don't even attempt to hide them. Which, if you ask me, is an insult to their intelligence. I mean, you could at least put some eggs behind rocks or something. All they did was lay a bunch of eggs on the ground RIGHT OUT IN THE OPEN and then let the kids run out into the grass and put eggs in their baskets. Where's the challenge in that? If you ask me, we are raising a bunch of softees by not making them search harder for Easter eggs. 

Seriously? How hard is that? Eggs are EVERYWHERE. 

Jack managed to grab a few eggs during the hunt.
And here's Avery showing off her loot after the hunt was over. She was pretty proud of herself and I didn't have the heart to tell her that there isn't much skill involved in picking up eggs (in plain sight!) off the ground. Finding hidden eggs, on the other hand, is impressive. 

How are we going to cultivate a society in which people rent--or buy!--metal detectors and walk up and down the beach searching for coins that fall out of people's pockets? We are at risk of making this kind of behavior seem odd. I'm just sayin'.....