Not too sexy anymore

This is me, Travis. This is me after a hard day's work doing construction. I'm doing remodeling at the local J.C. Penney (no, not just me). Notice the smudge of plaster around my mouth. Yeah, the Penney's chicks thought it was hot too...add in the blossoming zit on my forehead and I'm simply irresistible (well, maybe to my wife...maybe). Anyhoo, I'm tired. I've been working this job for a week. I left my previous job due to some managerial issues (they're hosers and I was tired of taking their crap).

Upon further reflection of this picture, I really do look 30. It's a sad day in a man's life when he actually looks as old as he is...Okay, enough depressing moments...Going to see Ghost Rider with my Pops-in-law tonight...A little guys night out watching a satanic themed, ultra violent movie (ah, quality family time).

The Other Side of Me

This is my wife, Heather Nicole Sweeten. I have loved Heather from the the first minute we met. Oh, there are times when she is this close to showing up on the back of a milk carton, but I still love her, warts and all. Heather is currently in college for elementary education (although she is undecided as to whether or not it will stay that way). The best thing I can say about my wife is that she loves me, even after almost three years. I'm not the easiest person in the world to live with (of course, she's no picnic at times either) but somehow, she overlooks my faults. We aren't happily married (I say that because I don't truly believe that anyone is HAPPILY married), we are lovingly married. And I can't picture my life without her in it, plain and simple.

Lost in Translation

This is my son, Emery Dewey Sweeten. Emery is named after my great-grandfather (both me and my grandfather share the same middle name). Emery is currently going through a rough patch, vocabulary wise. When asked a question, such as "Do you want some juice?", his response, without fail, is "No". Of course, he means "Yes" but will not say anything other than "No". He finally said "Yes" (or "Yesh") after about five minutes of prompting. The so-called experts say that one of a child's first words is "No" because they hear is so often, but in Emery's case, this is not true. If it were, he would be saying "Don't" or "Leave it alone" (I'm loathe to tell my child "No"...there are a host of psychological reasons for this, far too many to go into here). So I don't know where he got "No" (television maybe...his favorite show is "Spongebob Squarepants).

A Happy Baby

This is my daughter, Emma Elizabeth Paige Sweeten. Heather and I bandied about a variety of names (I was partial to Zoe) before she announced that she was dead set on the name Emma. I didn't particularly care for it (it's too close to Emery and as they will only be a year apart in school, the situation was rife for bullying). But as I said, Heather made her choice and was determined to keep it. I finally agreed with one condition...I got to pick her middle name. Of course, Heather wanted me to tip my hand and tell her what it would be before she agreed, but I was equally adamant. So, with a heavy reservation, she finally agreed. I went to work on finding a name that suited me...Elizabeth sprang to mind, but somehow it wasn't enough. Finally, after combing through the 10th baby name book in two hours, my eyes fell on Paige. Emma Elizabeth Paige...it fit somehow, the way comfortable shoes just mold to your feet. Plus, if Emma decides she doesn't like her name in the future, she has options. Anyhoo, she's a happy baby, as you can see. Alot like her mommy though, in that when she wants attention, she will get or she will raise all kinds of hell until she does.

especially evey

Seth, the man that inspired this blog, had a nice post about me and my family on his blog so I thought I would return the favor. Pictured here is his new daughter (less than 3 months old and still has that new baby smell!), Evey. If you want to learn more about adorable Evey and the rest of the Jones clan, check out his blog, http://especiallyevey.blogspot.com. His blog is similar to mine (as it should be as I got the idea from him) but with 97% more KU basketball.

My son cracks me up. Of all the things that he got from my genes, my sense of humor has to be at the top of the list. Take this picture, a Christmas photo at my mother's house. No, it's not the bow on his head (I put it there), it's the expression on his face. Emery loves to have his picture taken. The family photo from the first post is a classic example. As soon as we sat in front of the camera, Emery starting saying "cheese" and smiling. And boy, does he smile! Nothing lights up his face like a camera. But back to this picture. 9 times out of 10, Emery will smile and say "cheese" when prompted for a picture. But it's that occasional situation where he will ham it up for the camera. Again, the family photo. We had pictures made with Heather's parents and Emery and Emma sat for a photo with Heather's sister, Courtney. The entire time Emery was in front of the camera, he was hamming it up. Playing peek-a-boo with the photographer, putting his hands on his head just before the picture was taken. I have a photo of one of those shots around here somewhere...I'll put it on a later post. But this picture...the kids had opened their presents and Emery was wandering around the house (no doubt looking to get into something). I had the camera with me and seized the opportunity for a photo. I asked him to look at me, to which he replied by sitting down and scrunching up his face just as I took the picture. Then he laughed and ran off into the kitchen. Memorize that face. Someday, years from now, he will be headlining the new "Blue Collar Comedy Tour".

This is what my children do on a Saturday afternoon. Now, you might think this is a cute picture of a big brother helping feed his little sister. However, if you will direct your attention to Emma's face, you will see a perplexed look, possibly even one of fear. Emery, while always eager to help, can sometimes be a bit...overzealous...in his attempts. In this case, what you don't see is the next 10 seconds, where he puts the nipple up Emma's nose...for those of you who don't have kids (or at least kids that haven't tried this), formula ingested through the nose is one of the least optimal ways of pacifying your baby.

This is my newest favorite picture. I have the cutest kids (no, that isn't biased...a scientific study commissioned by a well know research facility determined that my children are cuter than 99.9% of the rest of the children in the known universe). And the best part is, they still like each other! Cross your fingers that this is still true in 15 years.

Something new

This was inspired by one of my dearest friends, Seth Jones. As usual, Seth does something cool and I swipe...er, honor it by through emulation. So, kick back with some Cheetos and an ice tea and enjoy. I'll update periodically as time allows. I figured this would be better than inundating everyone with emails about the various escapades of the Sweeten family. Enjoy.

Travis