So I actually meant to post on our actual anniversary, June 28, but life intervened, as it has a way of doing.  Anyways:

This is Team Hooper, pre-kids.  (We look like people who sleep!)  We look happy because we are.  We have always been happy together.  If I knew how to use the scanner I would upload a picture from Long Ago, when we were first dating.  Long Ago we were children, foolish and head over heels in love, absolutely shocked that our parents did not share our certainty that we were soulmates.  (NOW we get it.)  We thought we understood "true love."  We thought we knew what it took to always be a team.  Then (this keeps happening) LIFE INTERVENED.  And it taught us a lot of things but inevitably confirmed what we suspected all along: that we are indeed meant to be together and we had better work hard to keep it that way.  So I'd like to just share with you 10 random reasons why I still want to be with this man every single day:

1. He really truly makes the best breakfast tacos in the world, and I don't really like eggs, but I can't get enough of these.
2. He doesn't let me boss him around.  (It's true.  I try every day.)
3. He actually called my knitting "an interesting part of you" and lets me talk about it in detail.
4. He came to every single boring endless flute performance I had in college and stayed awake for most of them.  (This is EXTREMELY hard to do, even if you aren't a sleepy person like Paul.)  Bonus points:  actually stayed until the end of the 70 minute Bruckner symphony.  I think there were 10 people left in the audience at the end of the concert.  (ask Kelly and Joe, I'm not exaggerating)
5. Everyone calls him for computer help and he never complains and always helps, no matter how long it takes.  And he takes time out at work for my stupid computer questions.
6. He gave me my sweet babies.
7. He always supports me in my crazy pursuits, be it songwriting, singing, teaching, Finale, Arbonne, knitting, you name it.  He encourages, finances, watches kids, whatever, and he pushes me to be the best but never makes me feel bad if I fail.
8. He knows that I like my coffee really strong with lots of cream and if he adds flavored syrup he only adds enough to give it a hint of flavor but not enough to make it sweet.
9. He brings home Serranos.
10. No matter what my body looks like (and believe me, 9 weeks postpartum, it isn't pretty) he has always genuinely and completely thought I am beautiful, and he tells me every day.  This amazes me to no end and reassures me that when I am old and decrepit he'll still feel the same.

See, Daddy, I told you he was perfect for me!

Today, my Audrey turned 2 months old.  I can barely remember our family before her.

She is such a delight (most of the time, everyone has their moments).  My favorite Audrey things:

• how a diaper change makes her instantly smiley
• how she loves to push off of my chest and look around
• how she goes crosseyed when she concentrates
• the way she folds her little feet under her when sleeping on her tummy

• her little turned up nose and great big Paul-ish smile
• her squeaky noises
• how watching her is like deja-vu, and I get to freshly remember Kate's baby-ness, which has faded in my memory
• and how she is also totally different from Kate, so uniquely herself

And I can't explain how full my heart feels when I see how much Katelyn loves her:

Wow, what fun times lie in store.  Writing this now makes me miss them both now that they are asleep.  (Catch me at about 2:00 tomorrow and I might feel a little differently, but that's motherhood for you.)

Yup, he did it:  Paul got a Wii yesterday.  Ryan called yesterday morning to let us know that they had some at Fry's, so Paul picked it up on the way in to work.  And now, he is playing tennis with Kate!  Really!  Here's the proof:

In non-Wii news, we are all a bit under the weather. I think Paul is almost over it but I have a sore throat and Kate has a super runny nose. Since the actual weather is rainy today, we will probably just lay around and play Wii all day. Baylor won't be feeling well either in a few hours. We were away from the breakfast table for a few minutes taking care of potty and diaper issues, and returned to find Baylor had eaten approximately a pound of bacon off of the table. That won't end well.

Audrey:

• Had her 2 month shots today, and I cried almost as much as she did.  I just hate holding down my baby when she screams.
• Weighs 11.5 pounds and is more or less 23 inches.  Her height was difficult to measure due to squirming.
• Reflux is better and controlled with the Zantac, but we were warned that it may peak in the next 2 months.

Katelyn:

• Has been a real challenge this week in regards to potty training (read: all out war) BUT we are definitely making progress.  She is staying dry for longer overall and has told me she needed to go sometimes.  Keep praying that she will be compliant and that I will be patient.
• Still is not enrolled in preschool.  I am getting anxious about this.  I have not heard back from the school we really want (they have not returned my calls) and I am about to bail.

Amy:

• Did thyroid bloodwork and discovered that my dosage was actually too high; this is a first for me.  Might explain some strange things I have been feeling lately, especially my blood pressure being slightly elevated (super weird) and the night sweats.  I got new meds today.

I uploaded a bunch of pics to Flickr today, including this, my new favorite:

My three favorite people. Happy Father's Day to the sweetest husband in the world!

I started a separate knit blog to connect with the yarniverse...by that I mean the online craft community.  This way I won't bore the rest of you with my yarny mumblings.  It also gives me a place to keep track of my projects until I get invited to join this wicked cool site called Ravelry. 

A Good Day: The Post-Children Version

• Audrey slept in her room for the first time last night, from 11:30 to 5, then 5:45 to 8.
• Because of this, I SLEPT TOO.  And not on the floor of the nursery, as anticipated.
• Katelyn woke up dry this morning.
• Katelyn has not gone in her pants at all today, only in the potty, and she earned another potty training reward!
• Audrey has been calm and pleasant this morning, and has taken a good nap.
• We're going out to lunch with Paul!

If I get a shower today, it might just be an all-time high for the Hooper girls!

Audrey slept from 11 pm to 5 am last night.  Yay!

... and about 1 gallon of sweat -- and the dog's water dish.  More on that later.

As many of you know, our A/C went out downstairs last night (AGAIN!  3rd time this year) and I was going to try and fix it (or at least diagnose it) myself.  My prior workings on the A/C revealed that, at least electrically, A/C systems are actually extremely simple devices and I had confidence!

It started with Amy telling me around 7-ish that the thermostat was completely dead -- like it had no power.  She was right, there was no power (typically 24 VAC) going to the thermostat.  It was 7pm, so I figured I'd see what I could figure out.  After a simple check of the breaker, I went up into the attic, pulled the cover off the furnace and went to work with the multimeter (yes, the same one my Papa gave me about 20 years ago).  At first I suspected a fuse, but no, both were intact.  Then, maybe the transformer.  No, there was no power into the transformer.  I feared the main control board (pictured) was dead, but I found no power going to the board at all.  Then I suspected the door detection safety switch (which I was pushing over and over while doing all this testing).  Upon opening it up, I found no power going into the unit at all!  I went back downstairs to check the voltage coming off the breaker.  (This is when the dog's water dish was sacrificed.  I mistakenly thought I had two screws left, and the breaker panel cover fell to the floor, the dog's water dish breaking the fall in a spectacular explosion of plastic.)  Alas, the voltage coming off the breaker read live at 120V.  Huh?  The wires in the house aren't that old!

Then I remembered there was actually a switch in the attic that could turn off the power to the A/C unit.  (Groan.)  Did a bird get in there and hit the switch?  A squirrel maybe?  I found the switch, and it was still on.  Despite my doubt that a physical switch (that gets used maybe once every 5 years) could be the root of the problem, I decided to check it out.  Upon pulling the cover off, a piece of plastic fell out.  Interesting.  When I took the switch out, I found a loose wire, not connected to anything.  Aha!  It turns out that the plastic at the back of the switch had cracked (probably upon the original installation) and the contact had completely fallen off (pictured).  The wire to the A/C had likely been just resting against the switch -- time and temperature fluctuations finally disconnecting it.  This is a good reminder NOT to insert wires into the back of the switch, but to use the screw terminals instead.  I raced to Home Depot (as they were about to close at 9pm), bought a new switch for $5.99 and raced home.  Once I installed the new switch, the problem was solved!

Update: Steve and Barbara Arnold have a A/C service website that is chock full of good information if you have A/C problems.  It's somewhat poorly organized and looks kinda 1990s style, but there's good information there and they sell parts for decent prices.  If you get a "pro" to work on your A/C, you might want to stop by this place if you're wondering whether you're getting what you're paying for.

Ok now that I have seen or talked to practically everyone I know over the weekend, and you were all so kind to ask about Audrey's reflux, I am finally able to steal 2.2 minutes to write an update.  But you already know.  Still, I love redundancy...

The Zantac is DEFINITELY helping!  I feel like I have my kid back.  That's not to say she still doesn't have moments of pain and fussiness.  Saturday and Sunday nights she had episodes that were painful, but they only lasted about an hour.  She was cranky in general on Saturday but it was (ahem) bowel-related.  I'm still trying to figure out what times of day are best to give her the Zantac.  It does seem to bring her some fairly quick relief when she is already in great pain, but I think primarily it is designed to reduce acid over a specific period of time rather than just be a quick fix.  It allows her traumatized esophagus to heal.  She still spits up and gets the hiccups a lot but there has been no bile or true vomiting.  THANK GOD!

And she continues to grow - I think this is the last pack of size 1 diapers we can use.  I still have about 3 more packs from my RLG girls and other sources but HEB will let me exchange them.

Times up, someone's crying.