Deep in the Mommyhood Trenches

Christmas Morning

2010-12-28T08:24:00.004-06:00

We're Still Here!

2010-09-23T21:20:00.004-05:00

It's just that it's hard to keep up with two blogs! And with 3 boys and a dog. Here's some highlights from our life lately...

On Monday, we were singing "Amazing Grace" during Bible time. I sometimes forget how much Aidan understands that Gresham doesn't. I was realizing that Gresham probably doesn't have much of a clue about what the hymns we sing are about, so I asked him, "When it says 'I once was lost, but now I'm found,' do you know what that means?" "Yes. I do," said Gresham. "It means he was lost in the desert, and then he came out of the woods, and THERE was his house! Right there! And so he was found!"

On Tuesday, we went to the doctor for Gresham's foot. He has a plantar wart on the bottom of it. The doctor said we caught it early, and we can treat it with over the counter stuff. Unfortunately, Gresham won't leave a band-aid on it. Or throw the band-aids away. (Remember that little tidbit.)

On Wednesday, we took Owen to the doctor for a well visit. He got two shots. We also had his blood drawn to test iron levels and lead levels because of his obsession with chewing on anything that isn't food (Toys, paper, the dog leash, sticks, cork that he scrapes off my coaster stones with his teeth...). Apparently, eating non-food items can be a sign of anemia.

Today, Owen ran a fever from the shots. This is our first shot reaction for any child. I had to teach today, and hated to leave him, but I couldn't really justify staying home. We went to pick up the babysitter. We came back home and I was giving her some instructions for the day, and had to stop to fish something out of Owen's mouth... it was Gresham's discarded band-aid from earlier that morning. So now my son is having a shot reaction, and is ingesting salicylic acid. Lovely.

Tomorrow is Friday, and I'm pretty sure we are going to take the day off from school...

Moths...

2010-09-08T16:11:00.002-05:00

Gresham: Watch out, Mom! There's a moth that lives in here!!
Mom: It's okay, it won't hurt us.
Gresham: Oh...
Mom: Did you think that moths sting?
Gresham: Yes
Mom: Aidan, did you know that moths don't sting?
Aidan: No, I thought they sting you 'till your dead!
Mom: (laughing) No, who told you that?
Aidan: Next-door neighbor boy...

More Puppy Pics!

2010-09-04T21:41:00.005-05:00

Happiness is a new puppy!

We did change his name... He is now Tucker! He has an ID tag and collar, so it's official.

Aidan has been doing a lot of the feeding and taking Tucker outside, and Gresham wanted a turn to feed the puppy. He was very "hands on..."

Are you drinking your water, Puppy?

So far things are going well! Busy, but well. Housetraining is a slow process. Our carpets needed cleaning before Tucker came, but now they REALLY need cleaning! We were planning for that, though, so it's okay. We had a few rough nights at first, but now Tucker is settling into a routine and not whining/howling so much. The weather has been beautiful and much cooler than it had been, so I am very thankful for that!

Puppy!

2010-09-01T15:34:00.003-05:00

Our puppy is here! We have had him since Friday night, and he is doing well so far! We took him to the vet on Monday, and they declared him to be healthy. That was a huge relief...

He definitely has more energy than our sick pet store dog, and so he is a lot more work - but also a very fun puppy, and once we train him, I think he'll be great. He is already very attached to the family and wants to be wherever we are. The boys are having a lot of fun playing with him. He is a very frisky dog, but doesn't bark much and settles down easily.

We decided to name him Scout, but I'm not sure that name is going to stick...

Monday was our hardest day. Well, and yesterday was pretty rough too. It really wasn't my plan to have this dog arrive just as school (homeschooling as well as my teaching job) were starting up! But this is what we have, so we'll make the most of it! Owen has been very sick this week, so we had an appointment for him Monday morning and then an appointment for the puppy in the afternoon. In between appointments, I was cleaning up a potty mess on the floor and heard the phone ringing. I decided to let the machine get it. I could hear the automated voice of the public library announcing that we have 22 overdue book...

This is a temporary stage. One day, we'll look back on this and laugh... it's just a stage...

Bedtime Shenanigans...

2010-08-18T21:06:00.004-05:00

So, Aidan was always easy to put to bed. He has two speeds: on and off. He is so active during the day that falling asleep is never any problem. I was hoping that we would escape the bedtime stalling that seems to plague most houses with small children...

And then we got Gresham.

Gresham was recently potty-trained just shy of age 3 1/2. I thought the day would never come! Now that he is wearing underwear, even at night!, he likes to get up to go potty about 47 times before falling asleep. Seriously, he can get up 5 times in 30-45 minutes and sometimes he is still awake at 10:00 p.m. He's very quiet and goes right back to bed, but we are worried about how much sleep he is getting.

This week, he is also giving up his afternoon nap, so we decided to get serious about putting a stop to the bedtime potty trips.

Monday night: Gresham got up. Gresham got up again. Daddy told him that this would be his very last potty trip. Didn't hear from him again.

Tuesday morning: Gresham informed me that his bed was wet because the night before, Dad had told him to only go potty once, and after that to potty in his pants, so he did. I was fairly certain that that was not Dad's intended message. Turns out I was right, and Dad set the record straight after he got home from work.

Tuesday night: Gresham got up. Dad told him that this would be his one and only potty trip.
A few minutes later, I was working on the computer and suddenly sensed the presence of a child standing right behind me. (Gresham does this in the middle of the night, too. I'll be sleeping and then suddenly have this sense that he is standing right next to me. I wake up, and there he is...) Gresham was naked from the waist down. He informed me that he needed clean pants because Dad told him not to get up anymore, and so he had no choice but to potty in his pants. Since it had been about 7 minutes since he last went, I found this hard to believe. Sure enough, he had squeezed out about 3 drops into his pants, and we had to find clean underwear...

Wednesday night: No nap today, and a long day at my school... No potty trips, and Gresham is asleep!!!!

We have a 2nd Grader!

2010-08-18T16:59:00.003-05:00

We have successfully finished two days of second grade!

I don't know about him, but I'm totally worn out! Maybe we can call it a year... just kidding.

We are doing some new things this year, and I really like them so far. We're doing Sonlight Core 1+2, which is world history in one year. Our favorite so far, though, is the Apologia science book that we got. It's zoology - birds and insects. It's good stuff with lots of experiments and activities.

Now we just need a nanny to keep Owen out of trouble while we do school, and a maid to do all the cooking and cleaning!

A Shocking Turn of Behavior!

2010-08-16T21:03:00.003-05:00

So, I have posted in the past about all our grocery store woes...

The other day, we were at Target, and the boys were acting wild, as usual. I gave them the usual corrective speech. A few minutes later, Gresham started up the silliness again, and Aidan said, "Gresham, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to do what Mom says."

Who is this boy, and what has he done with Aidan??? But, I'll take it!!

My new blog has moved!

2010-08-11T15:34:00.003-05:00

My new blog has moved to frugalfun4boys.com!

No blogspot in the URL, otherwise it is the same.

I haven't quite worked out the layout yet, but we're getting there. The learning curve is pretty steep for setting up a new website!

Check it out here, and please pass on the link to anyone who might be interested in this type of blog!

Owen reads... instead of eating the book!

2010-08-07T14:37:00.002-05:00

It seems like all kinds of development starts to take place once kids are walking. I was SO hoping this would be the case for Owen (who is into everything) and it seems to be true! He has been walking well for a few weeks now, and he is starting to play with toys more instead of just taking things off shelves and putting everything in his mouth.

The other day, I was reading to the boys before nap time, and after we were done with Owen's books, he took one of them over to the chair and started looking at it! Usually he just tries to eat the pages. Hallelujah!! Progress!! Now if he would just eat his food...

New Blog!

2010-08-04T21:46:00.003-05:00

We started a new blog today! I say "we" because the boys are going to help me a lot with this one. We will be blogging about fun activities for boys. Aidan is very excited. He is always bugging me to do crafts or science experiments, so I figured that we will blog about things we have done in the past and new ideas that we'll be trying out!

Click here to see it!

I just bought me a domain name, but I haven't figured out how to get it working... for now it is a blogger address: www.frugalfun4boys.blogspot.com, but hopefully in the next couple days it will move to www.frugalfun4boys.com

Dog Story, Part 4

2010-08-04T14:58:00.004-05:00

So we were supposed to get our puppy last Thursday, but...

The breeder let us know a couple weeks ago that our puppy was turning out to be on the smaller side and was a really timid guy, probably because he was the smallest in the litter. Cavachons are outgoing dogs in general, so we decided with the breeder that it would be best if they kept him an extra week and put him with younger puppies to see if he would come out of his shell a little. Well, we called Tuesday night to check on him, and they said that some boys had been in to play with the puppy that they are taking home in three weeks. Our puppy was with that litter. While the boys were there, they tried to pick up our puppy, and he yelped and was very bothered. They said that they have never seen a puppy be so afraid of heights, and that he's also bothered by loud noises. Definitely not the dog for us...

The picture at the top is the dog that we are getting instead! He is going to be bigger (probably 15-16 lb. as an adult) and he is already more outgoing even though he is three weeks younger.

We are supposed to get him around August 26th. We're all disappointed about the wait, but that will give this heat wave time to go away.

Any name suggestions? We had named the other puppy Crockett, and now we're not sure if we should call this one Crockett? Or choose a new name?

Toy Story 4, or also titled "An Afternoon with the Boys"

2010-08-02T17:02:00.008-05:00

It was a lazy summer afternoon. The toys were in Andy's room, minding their own business and playing a round of the Memory Game. They were playing for Mr. Potato Head's hat.

Little did they know... some evil bad guys were scheming to capture Sheriff Woody! One of them looked like a police officer, but he was definitely no good guy!

And they knew to never trust a monkey with an ax!

The bad guys quickly overpowered them, and it looked like Woody was a goner! This was a job for Evil Dr. Porkchop!!! Unfortunately, Aidan had talked himself out of buying Evil Dr. Porkchop with his birthday money!

Buzz Lightyear to the rescue! (insert laser noises here) Take that, bad guy!!

Buzz, are you okay?
Whew, the coast is clear.

Until Big Baby came along!!! Help! He's slobbering on the toys!

Big Baby is rearranging Mr. Potato Head!! Help!! Buzz, we need you again!

Aidan is 7!

2010-07-26T21:28:00.008-05:00

7 Years Old!

Opening a Playmobil set from Gresham

We got him a watch. He was super excited because he had one that he ruined by getting in the pool with it. He is so time-oriented and loves to constantly know what time it is...

Because of it being VBS week, we didn't do a big celebration on Aidan's actual birthday. We did have taco salad for dinner (his choice!) and then played outside in the sprinkler. I'm happy to see that life is still pretty simple when you're 7!

On Saturday night, we celebrated Aidan's birthday with Grandpa Packard since their birthdays are only two days apart.

Opening a new Woody toy from Grandma and Grandpa. He's so cool - just like the movie one with the pull-string and everything.

Happy Birthday!

Cute Pictures

2010-07-18T15:43:00.005-05:00

This is Gresham's superhero stance. He and Aidan are always ready to defend against bad guys at a moment's notice. This may come in handy someday.

Aidan's birthday is this week, and so I took him yesterday to get this bear at Build-a-Bear. We got a coupon in the mail for a completely free animal (up to $12, which was about 4 choices). Pretty good deal! Aidan picked to get the Buzz Lightyear outfit for it as a birthday gift.

I am having lots of fun taking better portraits with my new camera! Jordan was behind me getting them to laugh. Now I just need to get good shots with something other than the TV in the background...

Here's a Good One

2010-07-16T14:55:00.001-05:00

This is what I mostly get when I try to take a picture of all three boys. Click on the picture to make it bigger so you can really appreciate their little faces...

Another Doctor for Owen

2010-07-15T15:54:00.002-05:00

On Monday, we took Owen to a new GI specialist. There are several reasons why we switched doctors, and it's kind of a boring story, so I won't post it on here. I was very impressed with his new doctor! He really listened to us, and seemed to get what it's like to live with a kid like Owen. We are trying to figure out what reflux medicine he should be on right now, since he didn't do well without any medicine, and that has been kind of complicated. We are doing Nexium again, but he just won't swallow the stuff. I can't say I'm surprised. A kid who turns down cake and other treats is certainly not going to be willing to drink a gritty suspension! I'm waiting to hear back from the doctor as to what they want us to do since we are having trouble with the Nexium.

I wish that we were just out of this stage. I wish that he would just eat food like other kids, and drink milk (or formula even!) out of a sippy cup. He won't hold his own bottle. Eating is just so passive for him. He still drinks bottles every few hours like a newborn. He eats three bites of something and then stops. I know that he is not going to be like this forever, but some days, eating real food seems like a milestone that is going to elude us. Especially when I'm checking out at Target with two $27 cans of formula (which will last us just under a week).

But then, God is always faithful to remind us of His provision. We have a great dietician and feeding specialist that we are working with, and they are both so patient with my many phone calls. They are also some of the very best in their field, so we know that we are getting good help.

Last year, when Jordan lost his job, it looked from our perspective like the worst thing that could happen. But now he is making more money at his new job, and we have had enough to pay for all of our medical bills and formula expenses.

I am ashamed to say that I have so much trouble trusting God's provision when He has proven Himself faithful time and time again! I tend to expect the worst, when God is using every situation to accomplish the very best.

On Monday night, I went to go fill Owen's Nexium prescription (which I knew would not be cheap). Instead of being filled with anxiety over the bill, I was praying that God would show us how He was going to provide for this additional expense. When I got home, Jordan went to the website for the manufacturer of Nexium and found a savings card that we could print right from the site! If we stay on Nexium (we may not), we can use this card next time and save a percentage of the cost!

So all this to say... I would love for Owen to start turning around. I am thankful that he drinks his bottles well, because that has definitely not always been the case. But most importantly, I am finding myself appreciative of the humility that comes out of trials over which one has no control. I can't arrange my life at the moment, because the variables are not up to me, but I can find rest in the One who works all things according to His purposes. I know that His purposes are good. He does not provide all that I want, but I wouldn't want Him to. I don't know enough to know what I should want!

"The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for in GOD the LORD we have an everlasting rock."
Isaiah 26:3-4

Cars

2010-07-15T15:52:00.001-05:00

Aidan: I think I'll drive a mustang when I grow up.
Gresham: I'm going to drive a tractor.
Aidan: You can't drive a tractor all the time. You have to have a regular car, like a Honda.
Gresham: Ok, I'll drive a limousine.

July 4th

2010-07-05T22:40:00.003-05:00

Look who's walking!!!

This was the best we could do on a group shot after a million attempts. All of the failed attempts would make a good post, but I don't have time at the moment to edit all of those shots... This is a very Gresham face and a very Owen face...

A phone conversation with Aidan

2010-06-30T22:59:00.002-05:00

Mom: Hi, is Dad there?

Aidan: He's feeding Owen.

Mom: Oh, okay. I need you to go in the kitchen and tell me how much beef I need for a recipe.

Aidan: Ok.

Mom: Find the cookbook that's out on the counter.

Aidan: Ok, I got it. It says, "Beef Lumdy... Lurdy... "

Mom: Beef Lombardi

Aidan: Yeah

Mom: Ok, look the the list of ingredients and tell me how much beef I need.

Aidan: Umm, I don't see it on here.

Mom: It should say "ground beef"

Aidan: Here's ground chuck...

Mom: That's it. How much does it say to use?

Aidan: One l-b

Mom: L-b means pound. So one pound. Thanks!

Aidan: Bye Mom!

A Comprehensive Guide to Grocery Store Behavior

2010-06-28T16:27:00.003-05:00

My dear children seem to be in need of a refresher course in this area, and so I am preparing this manual for them... Actually, we did have a pleasant moment today in the store when Aidan asked if we could look at toys, and I said no. He responded with, "okay," and another shopper commented, "Wow, that was easy!" However, for the most part, all of our obedience and good sense leaves us the moment we enter a retail establishment.

In the parking lot:

We do not run.
We do not skip.
Or jump. Or play hop scotch. Or anything else that should happen into our punkin' heads.
We do not climb on the structure that holds carts. That is made for putting carts away, not for children to use as a jungle gym.
We do not pick up interesting things that we find in the parking lot.
We watch for cars, but we do not point our fingers at cars like we are shooting them.
We do not climb up the outside of the building. (One of mine has tried this. More than once. No joke.)

In the store:

We do not say "can we buy" or "do we need" or any other variation on this question.
We do not run.
We do not run in circles around the cart.
We do not run in circles around those posts that go up to the ceiling (do those have names??)
We do not walk s-l-o-w-l-y and then yell, "MOMMY WAIT FOR MEEEE!" as we run full speed ahead to catch up with Mom who is 2 ft. ahead.
We do not swing our arms wildly while walking.
We talk to our siblings, but we do not play tickle games or hiding games.
We do not point out to Mom every single item we see that is JUST LIKE one that we have at home. Mom does not need to acknowledge every box of Life cereal, loaf of bread, or box of kleenex that is "just like we have!"
We try our best not to be in the way of others. We try not to take up the entire aisle with just our family.
We do not run our hands along all the price tags that stick out from the shelves.
We do not run our hands along the raw meat case.
We do not touch all the packages of raw meat.
We try to not ask "What's this?" while point to items (some of them embarrasing) more than 5 times in a single aisle.

In the check-out:

We do not climb up onto the bagging area.
We do not push the button to make the conveyor belt move.
We do not touch all the packages of candy and toys.
We do not ask Mom to calculate how much more allowance we need to afford a yo-yo ball while she is trying to pay.
We do not play with the credit card machine.

Hopefully this instruction guide will be helpful in your family! Or, you can follow my best rule of all, which is that Mom does most of the shopping while the kids are home with Dad!

Dog Story, Part 3

2010-06-25T23:07:00.003-05:00

This is our new puppy!!! He is another cavachon, coming from a breeder in Iowa. We have been really impressed with these people. Granted, we haven't met them in person or seen their kennel, but they really seem to be very professional and care a lot about their dogs. We can't get the dog until he is 10 weeks old, which was a big selling point to us. These people don't wean their dogs until 8 1/2 weeks and won't let them go until 10 weeks, and so the dog should be a little more mature and ready to train when he gets to us. And, Lord willing, this dog will be healthy!

Aidan is planning to name him Crockett, after Davy Crockett, of course. He is coming by airplane on July 29th.

Owen Update

2010-06-25T22:50:00.002-05:00

Owen is now 13 months old, and we are still working on getting him onto solid foods... He actually has been doing pretty well lately. He has been drinking his bottles well for a few months now, but his solid food intake has been really up and down. A meal for him can be 5 cheerios or 3 bites of toast. I'm not kidding... My other two were picky at this age, but ate the foods they liked in mass quantities, so feeding Owen has been an interesting adventure! Last week he did great - he ate all kinds of things like taco meat mixed with pasta, fresh cooked green beans, bananas, etc. This week he is not doing so well, but he had a molar poke it's way through the other day, and more are definitely on the way.

We stopped his Nexium per doctor's orders on Wednesday. The thinking is that he should be over his gastritis by now, and it's a good age to try getting him off the medicine. So far, it doesn't seem to be bothering him to be off it. He's not eating great, but I think that is from the teething. It's so hard to know, and there are so many factors that it just gets very frustrating at times. I wanted to try him on dairy again before stopping the Nexium, but I never got a chance. We've tried to re-introduce dairy twice, and both times he has started spitting up and waking up from naps screaming, but both times there have ended up being other things going on - teething or the onset of a cold... I've been waiting for a good time to try dairy one more time, but that just hasn't happened yet! My gut feeling is that he is truly bothered by dairy. He tested negative for a dairy allergy, though, so it would just be an intolerance that he would most likely grow out of. The bummer is that he really likes grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese and eats those things really well.

I keep telling myself that I'm sure he won't be taking his bottle of alimentum to Sunday School while the other kids eat goldfish and animal crackers... Surely one day we'll be past this stage!

He is walking now, though! I'll have to post pictures. It's very cute. By the way, I am having trouble posting videos from my new camera. It records in high-def, so maybe that's just too much to upload?

How many blog readers do I have?

2010-06-24T10:04:00.002-05:00

I'm just curious... how many blog readers do I have?

I would love it if you would leave a comment.

I'll try to enable it to take comments from people who don't have a blogger account.

A few funny things...

2010-06-24T09:59:00.002-05:00

I have been teaching the kids a new song during Bible time. We are learning about Joshua, and I taught them a song from high school youth group based on Joshua 1:8-9. Aidan was singing it the other day...
"Do not let this book of the law, book of the law depart from your mouth. Medicate, medicate, medicate on it day and night..."
"It's meditate son, not medicate."
"Oh."

The boys and I were reading a library book. It was a mystery about a farm and some missing peppers.
Aidan: What are peppers?
Mom: You know. Green bell peppers and red peppers.
Aidan: Oh yeah...
Gresham: And wood peppers.
Mom: No, those are wood peckers...

Snack Time

2010-06-18T15:48:00.004-05:00

Usually we have a basket of library books on this shelf, but I had to take away the library books this week after Owen ripped FOUR of them... He loves to eat paper. Cardboard, book pages, toilet paper, any kind of paper... We really do try to feed him, but for some reason he just can't get enough paper. And soap. He tastes soap whenever he can. Anyway... yesterday he was sitting on this little shelf and reaching into his diaper bag to find some wipes to chew on (similar enough to paper), and he discovered a baggie of goldfish. He had a great time sitting there eating his snack, and I was happy that the snack was food!

After pulling Owen out of the millionth "no-no" of the day, I put him in his pack 'n play so that I could make dinner. I started hearing rustling paper, and thought, "He's in the pack 'n play, it can't be Owen with MORE paper!" Well, sure enough, he had found some paper!

This is our John MacArthur study Bible, so it was a good choice. Well, a good choice for reading, not ripping. We'll say he was trying to read it...

Gresham

2010-06-05T16:12:00.002-05:00

Dog Story, Part 2

2010-06-05T15:33:00.004-05:00

Poor Martha... we miss her... I sure hope that the pet store people actually treated her sickness and didn't just try to pawn her off on someone else...

So after poor Martha was gone, we went on a quest for another puppy. A healthy one. Well, actually we had to wait for our computer to get back from being fixed, and then we started perusing the options.

We could get another cavachon from a real breeder, but that would cost big bucks, so we decided to try craigslist.

On Monday, I found a litter of shih tzu puppies for a reasonable price, so I loaded up the kids in the van, and we went to look at them. After ringing the doorbell many times, the lady finally answered as we were just giving up and walking to our car. She apologized, and said that they were busy giving the puppies baths because they had discovered fleas... The overall situation at this house was not great, but it wasn't like we would ever have to see these people again, so I couldn't decide... but in the end, we decided to hold out for a different breed.

On Monday night, I found some schnoodle puppies (schnauzer poodle mix) for an even more reasonable price. Jordan and I talked and decided that I should investigate this one, and if it was a no, we'd pay the big bucks for the cavachon and just be done with it. We didn't want to drive all over the place looking at craigslist dogs and get the boys' hopes up and then come home without a dog.

I called the lady, and she suggested meeting south of downtown Ft. Worth since she lives 25 miles south of Ft. Worth. She suggested a restaurant that she knew of. We agreed to meet at 10:00 a.m.

We got to the restaurant right at 10:00, and the lady wasn't there, but we weren't worried yet. Actually, given the restaurant (sleazy cheap steak house with broken glass all over the parking lot) I should have taken that as a sign and just headed for home... but we didn't... I finally called the lady, and she said that she was just leaving the house and would be another 25 minutes. Fine, no problem, we went to get gas. That killed about 15 minutes. After it had been 35 min, I called her again. They were just getting out of construction traffic and would be another 10 min. Fine, we went to a gas station to get water bottles.

She had told me to look for a gold camaro. That description ended up being kind of a stretch. "Spray painted yellow" would have been a better fit.

The puppy was sure cute. Gresham would have nothing to do with her, though, because he wanted another "Martha." Aidan liked her. As I held her, fleas were crawling onto my shirt. The lady said that she hadn't had any shots yet. Hmmm. This was not exactly the healthy dog I had in mind. I called Jordan to get his opinion, while the lady and her daughter hovered over me and Gresham ran laps around the van (which was running). He shows his displeasure by being uncooperative.

Jordan figured that we could spend a lot at the vet on this dog and still not spend as much as a cavachon, but said that it was up to me since I would be the one to have to get rid of her fleas and such. I hesitantly decided to go for it.

Bad move.

Next time, I'll go with my gut reaction.

As soon as I paid, Gresham burst into tears that it wasn't a "Martha." We drove home, and the dog's nose kept running... here we go again... fleas were getting all over Aidan while he held her in the car.

I decided that this dog needed more care than we could give her. The people lied about her age, because she was obviously not really 8 weeks. (A vet later confirmed that she was 6 weeks.) She had more accidents in her first afternoon than Martha had all week. Aidan and I spent afternoon nap time trying to rid her of her fleas. Jordan gave her another flea bath right before bed time, and so we put her in her crate on the back porch so that the fleas could jump off her out there. By morning, the crate was covered with poop, and the puppy needed another bath.

But, the story has a happy ending! I was able to give the puppy to a teacher at my school who has been looking for a schnoodle! She took her to the vet and found out that she needs vitamins, antibiotics, and flea treatment. When I called to see how the puppy was doing, she had the vaporizer running for her. This dog is going to be a whole lot happier at their house...

Her new family named her "Ruby."

So now, we're saving up to buy a cavachon from a reputable breeder... maybe in the fall...

I told you there'd be more to this story...

2010-05-30T21:48:00.003-05:00

So... the dog is already gone. Sad times. We actually loved the dog very much, and everyone did great with her. I think we only cleaned up 2 or 3 puddles on the rug. But then... we had her vet check-up to make sure she was okay and keep our warranty with the pet store intact.

I had been worried that something was wrong when the dog started coughing on Wednesday. I could feel things rattle in her chest when she breathed. Then on Friday, she spent most of the day sleeping and didn't want to do much. I was glad that we already had a vet appointment scheduled for Saturday morning.

The vet checked out poor little Martha, and said that she was a very sick puppy. We would need to do tests to find out what exactly what was wrong with her ($$$), but the vet was very concerned about her poor health. The vet heard fluid in her lungs and a nasty cough, and she had discharge from her nose and, uh, other areas. Aidan immediately started sobbing, and Gresham alternated between sobbing and hitting things. It was not a pretty picture.

Jordan headed off to the pet store with her, because they had said that if the vet check revealed anything that they would take care of the problem. That turned out to not quite be the case, and the shop wanted to argue that she only had a slight head cold. So Jordan ended up getting a refund on the dog.

The boys are very sad, and want another cavachon, which they plan to name "Martha" as well. We have found some good options of breeders (not pet stores. ). Unfortunately, none of them are local or cheap, but Jordan has some offers to do some yard projects for some neighbors, so the boys said that they would like to help and we can earn the money for a healthy cavachon. I also have some violin lessons I can do. It will be a fun family project. At least I hope...

In other news, the Obeying Olympics was a disaster. Aidan did show some improvement. The other two... not so much. Gresham earned three stickers the first day for eating neatly at each meal. Then, after breakfast went bad the next day, he pretty much gave up and has been putting his silverware in his drink, licking his plate, etc, etc. **Side note to Gresham's future wife: I'm sorry. I tried.

No, really, we are going to keep trying. We just need a new plan.

One thing that has been successful is our "Christian Soldiers' Club." Gresham doesn't like Bible time (basically, he doesn't like to be told what to do by God or anyone else...) so I decided we would call it Christian Soldiers' Club. I bought them club notebooks to write their verses and prayer requests in. We have been studying the armor of God, and we traced Gresham's body and made a life-size soldier with all of the armor on.

Never a dull moment around here...

Martha puts life into perspective...

2010-05-26T14:59:00.002-05:00

When we brought this dog home on Sunday, I knew that we would be living in "survival mode" for a while. We already live in survival mode because of the amount of time it takes to feed Owen and keep him from getting into things (his favorites to get into are shampoo, remote controls, shoes, and any paper that he can get in his mouth...), so I figured that it was as good a time as any to do a puppy too.

Things like adding a dog (or even going out in public with the kids) reminds me of how diligently I need to be in training them, because it becomes very difficult for me in those situations when they won't obey. They were born sinners just like the rest of us, and they don't automatically obey! Their hearts are continually tempted by selfishness, laziness, pestering and fighting, and failing to obey. I need to be more consistent in discipline. I also need to teach them what actions and attitudes honor God. Ultimately, they need to be pointed to Christ and realize that only through a relationship with Him can we have the ability to do anything good.

In the interest in making this task a little more fun, we are having the "Obeying Olympics" this week. Each child has two goals for the week. Owen's are to not touch the dog crate, and to not touch the dog food. Gresham's are to eat with good table manners and to not whine. Aidan's are to do a good job at each task he is asked to do and to not say or do things that stir up fighting. Both of the older boys have a jar of marbles to help track their success. They each get 15 marbles at the beginning of the day. Gresham has to take one out every time he whines, and Aidan has to take one out for a job poorly done or a rude comment. They can also earn marbles back for doing things well.

So far we have seen some progress. We have more to do. It's just as hard for me to keep at it as it is for them! It's easy to be distracted by the things that seem like they have to get done - meals, dishes, laundry, etc. and forget the value of training my children.

It we can keep it together until Friday, we're going to have a medal ceremony. We'll keep you posted...

Martha

2010-05-24T21:24:00.008-05:00

This is Martha - our newest addition to the family! Aidan named her after the PBS kids show "Martha Speaks," which is about a talking dog.

Yes, we are crazy to add a puppy to the all the craziness that already goes on at our house, but in a way, I figured it might be good to get our crazy stage all done with at one time. We already have to keep toys with small parts off the floor for Owen, so we might as well do that for the dog too!

She is a Cavachon - a mix of Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Bichon Frise. Not a likely mix, but we liked her for the Cavalier laid back personality and ease of training (our next door neighbors have one, and he is a great dog). The Bichon mix makes it a good dog for allergy sufferers.

Isn't she adorable?

Do you like this last picture? I thought about cropping out Owen and Gresham, but it's a good snapshot of what life is like at our house. Owen is licking a gun (a toy gun!), and who knows what Gresham is doing!

Aidan is the perfect age for a puppy. He can take her outside by himself, and he can already tell when she is about to go... He is old enough to be responsible, and young enough to be completely amused by having someone to be in charge of. Hopefully he keeps having fun, because he is going to help care for her even after the novelty wears off...

Martha thinks that Owen is another puppy. When he crawls, she runs after him and nips at his feet. He is not a big fan, but he'll be walking any day now, and then she'll probably leave him alone more.

I'm sure that this new acquisition is going to lead to lots of stories in which you can laugh at our expense, so stay tuned!!

Baby Owen is 1!!!

2010-05-21T16:08:00.007-05:00

Owen turned 1 on May 18th!! We had his party last Friday night. It was a fun time with lots of friends and family here to celebrate! This picture is Owen watching everyone singing to him.

Daddy blew the candle out for him with perfect timing as he reached for the flame...

Hmmm... what is this?

Aidan and Gresham are really into Buzz Lightyear and have been wanting Owen to have his own Buzz for quite some time. When I found some Toy Story duplo legos that were released to go with the new Toy Story 3 movie, I knew I had found the perfect thing for the boys to give him!

He took his first couple of steps this week, but is still pretty content with crawling. His standing gets better every day, though. It won't be long!

Late to bed, early to rise...

2010-05-20T22:02:00.003-05:00

Every year, as we approach summer, the sun starts getting up earlier. And every year, my children feel the need to do the same.

Gresham has just discovered bedtime stalling, and along with getting up with the sun, he is getting very little sleep. Tuesday morning was the worst. Gresham came in at 6:20 a.m. to ask me to wipe him, which means that he probably got up to go potty at about 6:00 based on how long he'll sit there hoping someone will come wipe him before he gets up and goes to find someone. By the time I got up for good at 7:00 a.m., the boys were fighting in their room and had woken up Owen. Such a refreshing start to the day!

I gave them a firm reminder of the morning rules. I told them that they had gotten up at the ridiculously early hour of 6:00 a.m. They are not to get up until 7:15. Once it's 7:15 (so thankful that Aidan can tell time!), they can read in their beds until I come get them. After my lecture, I asked Gresham to tell me what the rules are.

He said very seriously, "Don't get up before A.O.M!"

Owen's Silly Faces

2010-05-20T21:51:00.005-05:00

Owen has this silly new "wrinkle up his nose" face that he does. None of these pictures quite capture it perfectly, but they're still cute...

Aidan

2010-05-10T15:35:00.001-05:00

Aidan: Mom, I need something to cover up my feet while I'm watching the movie.
Mom: Why? Are you cold?
Aidan: No, my feet stink.

A few minutes later...
Mom: So what are you using to cover up your feet?
Aidan: One of the couch pillows...
Mom: WHAT??

Owen Update

2010-05-04T19:54:00.002-05:00

So, Owen's full test results are back. We got enough data from the pH study that we don't have to do it again! Boy, was that a relief. The test showed that he still has reflux. No surprise there.

The biopsy showed that he has gastritis, which is an inflammation of the stomach lining. We switched medications to better treat the gastritis (he was already on an acid reducer, and now he is on Nexium). He seems to be doing better!

His dietician came on Saturday, and his growth looked good. The biggest issue now is that he is turning one in two weeks (!!), and he is not doing super great with solid food. His chewing skills seem to be delayed, which is not any surprise since he has hated to eat for so long! This seems to be an issue that he will grow out of soon. Granted, we've been saying that about this whole adventure for months.

Bottom line is... he will probably always be a small eater, and consequently a small kid. But he's healthy, growing, and developing just fine. Hopefully we can continue to get his GI issues under control. We are thankful for God's provision of such good professionals to help us with all of this!

My Suh-weet New Camera

2010-05-04T19:42:00.008-05:00

So, my wonderful husband let me get a sweet new digital camera! Ours has been a frustration for quite some time. It's about 5 years old, and digital has improved a lot since then. After much research, I got the Canon Rebel T1i. It's a digital SLR. I know almost nothing about photography, so reading the manual was sort of like reading a foreign language, but I am starting to figure some things out! It has an auto mode, so I can still take good pictures despite my lack of photography skillz. Why are these words underlined? I have no idea. My computer skillz are about as bad as my photography skillz. Anyway, here is Owen during his 24 hour pH study.

Aidan got his second book award for Sparks on Sunday night.
Here he is with one of his good friends.

Dad and Owen

Let me out! Let me out!

Isn't this a cute picture?

Too bad the camera didn't come with an automatic posing feature! It takes pictures blazingly fast, though, so I can keep up with my monkeys. Or try to at least.

More from Gresham...

2010-05-04T19:41:00.001-05:00

Mom: The Bible is...
Gresham: True!
Mom: What does true mean?
Gresham: sin and death.
Mom: No, it doesn't mean that...

Oh, My Gresham...

2010-04-26T21:24:00.002-05:00

Last night was our church's annual childrens' choir musical. They did the story of Zaccheus. Somewhere in the middle of the show, they sang the traditional "Zaccheus was a wee little man" and had everyone in the audience sing too. As soon as everything was silent again, Gresham said loudly, "That was a weird song!"

Keeps us humble, that boy does...

Owen's EGD

2010-04-20T21:02:00.009-05:00

Owen had an EGD (scope of his esophagus and stomach) done on Monday morning, as well as a 24 hour pH study. This was to check for damage due to reflux or allergies. The pH study was to measure the pH of his esophagus over a 24 hour period, which would show us how much he is refluxing. Well, that was the intent anyway...

Isn't he cute in his hospital gown? Waiting to be taken back for the procedure was the hardest part. No, actually, the pH test was the hardest part. I'll get to that in a minute... At the hospital, waiting for the procedure to start was the hardest part. Sitting calmly on the bed lasted for about 2.5 seconds.

Oh, this is fun to climb on! Why did the nurses put a "fall risk" bracelet on me, Daddy?

Dad, I'm tired of sitting.
I will wrestle my way out of your lap...

Here is how he looked after the ride home! The pH study involved having a tube down his nose into his esophagus. The tube was connected to a sensor box that we had to carry around with him all day. The white arm band is to keep him from pulling out the tube. Owen couldn't crawl or play or do anything except whine with the arm bands on, so we took the left one off for a while. He left his nose totally alone, so we thought he had forgotten about it. Well, he quickly pulled out the tube while I was changing his diaper. I was not watching his hand closely enough...

We went back to the hospital (20 min. drive) to have it re-inserted, which was not fun for Owen. Then they had to do an x-ray to make sure it was in the right place. After we had been home again for a while, I noticed that the pH reading was staying down too low. We called the GI doctor and confirmed with him that something was not right. So, Jordan loaded up Owen in the van and headed back to the hospital. They gave him a new tube and a new sensor box. The nurse wanted to extend the test because of our gap in data with the sensor malfunctioning. Jordan and I were quite frustrated at this point, but thought we better keep going... The new sensor was put in at 7:00 p.m., and this lasted until 4:00 a.m. when Owen somehow coughed out the tube while in bed (he was sleeping with both arm bands on!) so we had to declare the test done and pull out the tube.

Tomorrow we will find out if they got enough usable data... they may want us to re-do the test. At this point, that is not an option that we really want to think about!

To be continued...

An Ode to Amoxicillin

2010-04-13T21:42:00.003-05:00

Upon arriving home from school today,
I found my son in deep dismay.
His ear was hurting bad, it seemed,
And he hadn't ceased to scream (And scream and scream. For 45 minutes.)
Grandma had tried the usual tricks,
But none seemed to provide a fix.
I offered a drink in the favorite blue cup,
When he refused that, our options were up...
The clock was reading 10 til 4...
Our doctor soon would shut his door...
I grabbed the phone hoping to implore
the kind nurse to please accept one more!

She said come quick and get down there,
so we grabbed our blankies and honey bears!
Gresham wailed the entire ride
I hoped that when we got there it would subside...
Unfortunately (for all the other people in the waiting room)
he was still going strong.
At least our wait did not take long!

Gresham ear was very bad,
But sweet relief was to be had!
Amoxicillin saved the day!
And hail to our new reasonable prescription co-pay!

Owen got a prescription too,
Although his ear did not have as much goo...
Thanks to the doctor for checking him out,
so we don't have to go back tomorrow
(I'm out of rhymes, it's been a long day, and we were up until midnight with Owen last night!)

Spring into Nash Farm!

2010-04-13T21:26:00.011-05:00

On Saturday, we went to one of our favorite spring activities... Spring into Nash Farm! Nash Farm is an historic farm. Every spring and fall they have a day of free family activities, and the kids love it. I actually have lots of good pictures this time, thanks to my dad taking most of them!
Aidan got to make his own rope with this neat machine.

Cutting the finished rope.

Now he's all ready to tie up some bad guys! Seriously, I never knew a rope could be so fun. Aidan hardly put it down the rest of the day. While we were at Nash Farm, he rode a pony with his rope in one hand and the reigns in the other hand. He said he felt like a real cowboy. Then at home, he used it to climb his bunk beds (we nixed that idea real fast) and lift things up to his playset in the backyard. At one point, Gresham was calling from their bedroom, and Aidan said, "I better get my rope! This sounds like an emergency!"

Here is Gresham milking a goat. He quickly decided that it was too hard and not worth the effort. At least he had the experience!

This is what Owen did all morning! Rode in his stroller and chewed his jacket. But, he also drank 6 oz. out of his bottle in less than 20 minutes, which is probably a record for eating while being out. Usually he is so distracted and won't eat. He'd rather do almost anything than eat, so it doesn't take much to distract him. This is getting better, though!

Aidan looks so grown up in this picture. I think it's the watch. It's hard to believe he'll be 7 this summer! He is really changing from a little kid to a big kid. He was not interested in the hay ride this time or petting the animals... our boy is growing up too fast!

Gresham, on the other hand, is happy to be 3! And I'm glad for that.

Owen's GI Visit

2010-04-02T14:49:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a long and eventful day!

Our friend Mrs. Snider came to help us with our doctor/zoo trip, so the boys were very excited. We loaded up and left the house bright and early to drive down to Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth.

Owen's GI doctor seemed very helpful and nice. He thinks that because Owen responded well to the new formula (Alimentum), that that strongly suggests that he has a dairy allergy. I'm still not clear on that point because he doesn't seem to have the usual dairy allergy symptoms. I was expecting the doctor to differentiate between an allergy and an intolerance, but he just talked about allergies. We will be clearing that issue up, though, because Owen had a blood test yesterday that tests for all food allergies. Anyway, Owen still seems to have reflux symptoms even though he has improved on the new formula. He still does a lot of "wet" sounding burps and wakes up from his naps screaming, sometimes up to 3 times per week. So... the doctor also wants to to an EGD (Esophagogastroduodenoscopy) where he (our actual doctor - not a tech!) will look at Owens esophagus for signs of reflux or allergy. He'll actually be able to tell if his esophagus shows damage from either thing and which it is. Also, he'll biopsy Owen's small intestine to test for Celiac Disease. Then, while they're in there, Owen will get a pH probe inserted down his nose. It's a little wire that will stay at the base of his esophagus for 24 hours to measure how much he is actually refluxing and how acidic it is. This will all happen under general anesthesia on April 19th. Whew! We're not looking forward to sedating our little baby, but we're glad that we can (Lord willing) get some concrete data and know whether to treat him with changes in diet or changes in medicine. The doctor didn't want to just randomly try things without having some data first, and I must say I agreed with that!

We needed to go to the Lab in the hospital's specialty building for the blood test, so we went ahead and went over there since it was just a couple buildings away. The parking garage was packed, and we took the first spot we could find on the top level. When we walked in the building entrance, we were right in the waiting area for the lab! I was very thankful that God provided us with a parking space right there, especially since we had to go back to the van a couple times for formula and blankies.

By the time we finished at the zoo, we were all exhausted! I didn't get any good zoo pictures to post. Next time we'll go to the zoo when we can start earlier in the day and have more energy, but at least we were able to see a lot of animals, and the boys had a lot of fun.

So, all in all, I think we're on the right track with Owen. He is eating better and gaining weight better now. We would appreciate prayer for his procedure on April 19th!

Owen Speaks and an Update

2010-03-29T20:42:00.003-05:00

Owen is 10 months already! It's hard to believe!

We have seen some improvement recently with his reflux. Who knew when all this started that we would still be dealing with this all these months later!

I'm not sure if I've ever put the complete story on here, so if not, here's a synopsis... Owen started acting funny with feedings at about 6 weeks. He would nurse a little, then start arching his back and crying. He was only happy if I would stop feeding him. It seemed strange, and as it turns out, there really was a problem. He has what is called "silent reflux." This means that he doesn't spit up (much) but he has frequent heartburn symptoms. We have him on medication, which helps, but doesn't completely take the reflux away.

At his worst, Owen has had to be fed mainly while sleeping. We would have to get him to sleep for his naps/bedtime first, and then get him up and feed him. This is apparently not unheard of in babies who have the type of reflux that he does. Their bodies know they need the food, but they have to be sleepy to overcome the pain and actually eat. This stage was not enjoyable for anyone, but you do what you have to do to keep your child alive!

Owen was sick off and on from mid-February to mid-March and fought us on almost every bottle during this time. We have been working with a wonderful feeding specialist that we found through a friend at church, and she suggested seeing a dietician to evaluate Owen's weight and calorie intake. This sounded like a good idea. We had two options: seeing the dietician that our feeding specialist works with (who is very good) through her private practice, or going through Early Childhood Intervention (called ECI - it's a government program) and taking whoever they sent out. While on the phone with the feeding specialist about this, I was texting another friend who works with ECI as an occupational therapist. She had told me about a dietician that she worked with who was really good. Well, the two recommended dieticians were actually the same person! This was great confirmation that the Lord was working things out on our behalf to get us in touch with someone good to help Owen. We decided to set up a visit through her private practice because we would not be able to see her through ECI, and at this point, we'd rather pay to get good advice than risk getting someone who is not so good. Feeding issues are a big deal.

The dietician came to our house in mid-March. She was sooooo helpful. She weighed and measured Owen and found him to be in the 1st percentile for weight (not good), 3rd percentile for head size, and 8th percentile for height. This showed that he is not getting enough calories. She thought that his reflux was not under good control, though, and that there was not much we could do until he was more willing to eat. She suggested trying a new formula to see if he was intolerant of dairy. I was skeptical, as I had tried cutting out dairy while nursing, and it didn't seem to help. (I didn't cut it out completely, though. I mean, who can live without pizza?) She said that we would know in 3 bottles if it was going to work, so we decided to give it a try.

The verdict is... the new formula works! Owen is eating much better. It's so wonderful to not be struggling with him over the bottle, and he is eating solid food better too. The formula is smelly and expensive, but it is worth it! Owen has never had much of an appetite, but he is showing more signs of hunger since being on the new formula. Today, lunch was 30 min. late, and he whined until he was fed! I never thought I would be so happy to see a child whining for food!

On Thursday, I am taking him to a pediatric gastroenterologist just to make sure that we are not overlooking anything else. The dietician suggested this. So stay tuned for another update!

Here is a video of Owen and his new favorite word... "bap." He said it all day long today. I don't think it means anything, but it's pretty funny to hear him say it!

The Discussions We Have

2010-03-23T10:53:00.002-05:00

Our real-life lesson for the day...

Aidan: That was cool seeing that blimp yesterday. Do you think there is a battlefield near here? Next door neighbor boy said that blimps are usually in battles.

Mom: Uh, the blimp said "MetLife" on it, so I don't think it was for a battle... That's the name of an insurance company.

Aidan: Oh. (disappointed) Well, maybe there is a battlefield near here somewhere.

Mom: Wars don't just happen on "battlefields" that are set aside for that. Modern wars happen wherever.

Aidan: Oh. Huh. Do they just find a big field somewhere?

Mom: Not exactly. Sometimes people attack cities.

Aidan: Oh. Wow.

Pictures

2010-03-19T21:52:00.005-05:00

This is what we call a brother sandwich.

Our 3 sons. Owen still had a little bit of his rash in this picture.

Who wants a bottle? I do! I do!

This boy is into things much more than any of the other two.
Today he took a bite out of a stoneware coaster. Who knew you could bite into stoneware?

Kind of ironic that the book in his mouth is "The Tale of Two Bad Mice"...

Dishes

2010-03-13T21:00:00.002-06:00

The other night, we had chili and cornbread for dinner. Neither of the boys are really into chili, but they sure like the cornbread part. As soon as dinner started, they were both stuffing cornbread into their mouths. I explained for the 300th time that we don't stuff our mouths full and that eating is never a race. Noticing that my lecture was falling on dead ears yet again, I said, "Whoever finishes their cornbread first wins a prize!" Aidan asked, "What prize?" "You can do the dishes!" I responded.

A few seconds later, I noticed that Gresham's mouth was completely stuffed full of cornbread. He was using his hands to keep it from falling out. He ended up having to take some of the cornbread out of his mouth, drink a little water to help it go down, and then re-eat the part that he had taken out. I still hadn't caught on to what he was doing until he swallowed the last morsel and proclaimed, "There! I won! Now I can do the dishes!!"

He then rolled up his sleeves so that he would be all ready come dishes time. "Doing the dishes" to him means pouring water and playing in the bubbles, but hopefully he'll retain his enthusiasm once he is old enough to actually help!

Dr. Visit #376

2010-03-10T21:21:00.005-06:00

So our new hobby is going to the doctor. We go there all the time. Today, we had our 5th visit in 3 weeks time! It was Owen's 4th visit in 3 weeks. First we had a 9 month well visit for Owen and a 3 year well visit for Gresham, followed by a sick visit for Owen for a fever 5 days later at Aidan's well visit. Then, a week after that we went back because Gresham had an ear infection. Two days later, we took Owen in for an ear infection. (Did you follow all of that?)

The other day, I cleaned up the van a little and found about 25 discarded lollypop sticks from all those doctor visits. We've got to stop going, or we're going to have to schedule some dentist visits! There are some benefits, though. We don't have to sign in anymore because the receptionist knows who we are and signs us in automatically...

Today, we took Owen in for this:

About 20 min. after he got over his ear infection (from last week), he developed a new cough, runny nose, and fever. Then today he woke up with this horrid rash! We weren't able to see our doctor, but they got us in with another doctor. She thought it was probably just a virus and not a reaction to the antibiotic he is on, but she brought in another doctor just to make sure! They consulted together and decided that it's just a virus. I'm pretty sure we picked up this virus at the doctor's office last week. I've been getting lax and letting the kids play on the benches and read all the books there. Guess we'll have to go back to bringing our own books...

Hopefully in a few days, he'll be back to his happy self again. He looks worse than he feels, but his eating is really suffering, especially since eating is such a low priority for him anyway.

We're ready for spring!

A cute video

2010-03-10T20:53:00.002-06:00

Here is Gresham doing a little rhyme that he learned at Sunday School (during their potty break time, they do little rhymes like this to keep everyone entertained!)

The words are (in case you can't understand him...):
There was a little turtle who lived in a box.
He swam in the puddles and climbed on the rocks.
He snapped at a mosquito.
He snapped at a flea.
He snapped at a minnow, but he didn't get me!

He caught the mosquito.
He caught the flea.
He caught the minnow, but he didn't catch me!

Birthday List

2010-03-07T14:18:00.003-06:00

This morning, Aidan was updating us on what he has on his birthday list. (His birthday is in July, so this is a high-priority activity you know...)

I said, "Well, my birthday is coming before yours, I really should be making my list! Do you know what I want for my birthday?"
Gresham said, "A backhoe loader!"
"Yes," I said. "How did you know that's what I wanted?"
Gresham: "Because it is a good thing to have!"

New Bikes

2010-03-05T22:25:00.003-06:00

We got new bikes! Gresham's bike already looks too small for him... yes, we knew that when we bought it... It's a balance bike, so it has no pedals. He got a balance bike for his 2nd birthday that he has had a blast riding, but it is broken. The idea of this kind of bike is that you learn to coast on it and balance, and then can go right to a pedal bike with no training wheels. Now that Gresham has experienced the speed of a balance bike, he didn't want to ride Aidan's old bike with training wheels, and he is not tall enough to ride Aidan's old bike without training wheels. So we bought another balance bike. At least Owen will be able to use this one, probably around age 2 or 2 1/2. It's a cute little bike, and Gresham likes to ride down the driveway with his feet up. His balance is really quite good!

It's a Miracle!

2010-03-05T22:15:00.002-06:00

Gresham is potty trained! At the age of 3 and 4 months (almost 5 months) we are finally potty trained!

This has been a battle of the wills for some time, and I have been losing. I figured that it just wasn't worth the fight, and with all of Owen's feeding issues, I haven't had the time for cleaning up little puddles from someone who doesn't care whether he makes it to the potty or not. Just at a time when things have been especially rough with Owen, God was gracious and allowed our little sweetie to be potty trained pretty much overnight! Last Friday, we went to Gymboree to buy a baby present, and Gresham saw some tractor underwear that he wanted. I bought them for him (figured it was worth a shot!) and he wanted to take the tags off right away and wear them home. I told him I thought we'd wait until we got home... He came home and put them right on and started taking himself to the potty when he had to go!

He is even staying dry most night and at naps. Amazing!

Owen Playing Peekaboo

2010-03-03T20:39:00.002-06:00

Owen is 9 months old!

2010-02-22T20:48:00.005-06:00

Nine months ago... it's amazing how time flies!

Owen is now 9 months old!
16 lb. 7 oz. (3rd percentile)
28.25 inches (50th percentile)

Owen continues to amaze us with his motor skills. He is crawling, pulling up to standing, climbing onto things like step stools that he finds around the house... I'm predicting walking before he is a year old, but it's hard to tell!

I would love to say that we have outgrown the reflux and everything, but alas, eating continues to be a struggle. He's had a cold for the past 10 days which is really affecting his appetite. Overall, I'm seeing glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel, but we still have the switch to table food ahead of us.

Owen is into absolutely everything. He loves to chew on shoes, scraps of paper, tinker toys, legos... it's a full time job keeping him safe!!

He is an adorable and happy baby, and we sure enjoy having him around!

More snow!

2010-02-14T21:52:00.005-06:00

On Thursday last week we had a record-breaking snowfall - 12.5"! It was pretty amazing. It was perfect snow for playing in, and the kids had a great time!

My parents came over on Friday for the day, because they had no power. Their power ended up being off from Thursday evening to Saturday afternoon! When they arrived at our house, they got stuck going up the driveway!

It was pretty hard to take pictures of the boys, because they never stopped moving. We did manage this one shot!

Gresham wanted to build a snowman, but wouldn't stay in one place long enough to actually build one! Aidan went out back in the afternoon and built his own.

And now we are all ready for spring! Spring can come at any time! Please?!

Valentines...

2010-02-14T21:39:00.004-06:00

When Aidan found out that Valentine's Day was coming up, he said he was going to get me some chocolate. This is a big step up for him, because in his younger days he would always think to get me toy cars or action figures! The other night he came to Target with me because he was wanting to buy an army man with a parachute. They didn't have any, so he had all his money left (all $3 of it). When we got to the check-out lane, he whispered, "I'm going to get you chocolate." Then he went and looked at all the candy bars, and picked out a Hershey chocolate bar. He looked over at me and smiled and paid all by himself with his own money. It was so cute. The next day, Grandma came to babysit. Aidan told her that he had bought me a candy car with his own money, and then said, "Now I just need flowers and a card!" Whoever he marries is going to really luck out!

Jordan and all the boys gave me a bowl of Hershey kisses yesterday! There were kisses with silly face stickers from Aidan (silly kisses), striped Hershey hugs from Gresham (tiger hugs), and a kiss dipped in maple syrup from Owen (a wet sticky kiss).

There are definitely some perks to being the only female in the house!

Pictures, Finally!

2010-02-06T17:02:00.005-06:00

For some reason, our computer has not been allowing us to download pictures from our camera card for a while, but Jordan got it working today by re-installing the photo software. Yeah! Here is Owen in his bear jacket that he got for Christmas from my parents.

Owen started crawling right at 7 months. It was crazy! I've never had one who is mobile this early, and he is into absolutely everything. He won't eat much at the table, but eats whatever he finds on the floor... He is now 8.5 months and can pull to standing and takes steps holding onto something. I predict early walking, which I am not ready for!!

Small Miracles

2010-01-24T21:03:00.003-06:00

Miracle #1:

On Monday of last week, Owen fussed at the end of a bottle because he wanted more!! We had taken him off his reflux medication for the month of December because it didn't seem to be making any difference. We tried some more natural remedies, but nothing seemed to make much difference, and he was teething the whole month anyway, which always makes his eating terrible. After doing some reading, I decided to start him back up on the medicine because I figured that even if it didn't make him eat any better, maybe it would at least prevent damage (or further damage) to his esophagus. We started on a higher dose because he had grown since he got the prescription, and within 48 hours we started seeing improvement! It seemed to take a few days for him to realize that it doesn't hurt anymore and that he can eat more, and he has gotten progressively better. We are very thankful to God that Owen seems to be past the worst of the reflux! I have been very cautiously optimistic, but this seems to be real improvement!

Miracle #2

The other morning, I was feeding Owen his morning bottle (which involves me being in Owen's room with the door shut because he won't eat if there is anything more interesting to do...) and I could hear the big boys fighting in the other room. I was sitting there trying to decide how to approach this one, when the conversation took a pleasant turn...

Aidan: Gimme that guy back!
Gresham: No! I'm having it.
Aidan: No, actually you aren't. I had it.
Gresham: I'm having him! I want it!
Aidan: No, you're giving it back to me RIGHT NOW!
(insert toy-throwing noises and running across the house noises)
Gresham: NOOOOOO!
(bedroom door slams)
(bedroom door opens)
Aidan: I'm not playing with you ever again.
Gresham: Yes you are!
(now I can tell they are back in the living room)
(pause)
Aidan: Gresham, I was just thinking, "Which is more important, Gresham or this guy?" And I decided that Gresham is more important. You can play with the guy.
Gresham: Ok!

I came out and told Aidan that I was proud of him for making the right decision. Yes, Gresham should not have taken the toy, but no toy is worth responding sinfully over. Aidan said, "I felt really happy when I did the right thing!"

More Gresham Funnies

2010-01-21T22:12:00.002-06:00

Every Wednesday, Aidan goes to a PE class for homeschoolers. Gresham has announced that "when I get 6, I'm going to go to PE to run with the big boys!"

Yesterday I asked Gresham where he is going to work when he grows up. He said, "At PE!" "What will you do at PE?" I asked. "I will learn people how to run the right way!"

Follow-up to Lego Negotiations, or better titled, "We're Dumb Parents"

2010-01-15T20:52:00.003-06:00

So, after Aidan and Gresham studied the Lego catalog at length for days, Aidan finally made his order. He did some chores last Saturday and earned the last bit of money that he needed. He decided that he would rather buy the set with RC the car and Woody and Buzz than the set that he and Gresham had talked about in the video. Yeah, you can probably tell where this is going...

I knew that Gresham would be disappointed because this set would not come with the Zurg that Aidan had promised to give him, but Aidan had enough money already for the Woody set and needed another $10 for the set with Zurg in it. So we let him order that one. Gresham knew that he was not getting a Zurg and seemed fine with it.

The legos came on Wednesday. Gresham actually got the box from the front porch, but Aidan was at P.E., so we waited to open it. Aidan opened it when he got home and put it together. Then Gresham woke up from his nap. Then the fireworks began...

"But I *sob* wanted a Emperor Zurg!" (Gresham can't say "r's," so both of those words sound hilarious...)

"I want a turn with Buzz!! Aidan is not *sob* giving me a turn!"

I called Jordan, who was on his way home from work. He could hear Gresham (and Owen) screaming in the background, and I told him he could turn around and go back to work if he wanted to! Thankfully, he didn't take me up on that offer!

We decided that even though Gresham was responding the wrong way, we had probably set him up for this by letting Aidan go against what he had already promised Gresham. But God graciously provided, and in the mail we received some unexpected Christmas money, so Gresham and I headed out to Target to buy the Lego set with Zurg in it.

Well, Target was sold out of Buzz's Star Command sets. Gresham contained his disappointment, thankfully, and Jordan ordered the set online for him. He was happy with that.

The next morning, Gresham got up and was ready to go out to the front porch and retrieve his Zurg! We had sobbing all over again when he found out it would take a few days.

Hopefully on Monday, we'll have a nice shiny Lego set on our porch! And Gresham will probably lose interest in the Zurg after a couple of days, but it's okay... we felt like it was the right thing to do for him to not feel like he was treated unfairly... and Aidan knows that next time, he won't promise to give one of his brothers something and then not do it!

Brothers

2010-01-08T15:49:00.002-06:00

I couldn't make this stuff up if I wanted to...

2010-01-08T15:42:00.002-06:00

Thursday morning:

Mom: Okay, Gresham, let's go change your pull-up.
Gresham: Yes, I need a pull-up.
Mom: (Upon finding a naked 3 year old under his pajama pants) Oh! You're not wearing one!
Gresham: Nope
Mom: Did you put one on last night?
Gresham: Nope
Mom: Why not?
Gresham: I didn't wanna wear one.

He had dressed himself for bed while I was cleaning up from haircuts and Jordan was helping Aidan. He was dry all night, miraculously enough! I was very thankful for that! Then he put on underwear (at his choosing). After breakfast I asked him to go potty. He disobeyed by going and standing on the step stool and looking at himself in the mirror instead, and then went potty in his pants while doing that.

I'll have to start looking for coupons for Depends...

Thursday night:

Aidan: Dad, Gresham is throwing my army guys and I don't want him to!
Dad: Thanks for letting me know, tattletale...
Aidan: Well, it is the new sport!

Tattling the new sport? Where does he come up with this stuff?

Lego Negotiations

2010-01-02T21:21:00.003-06:00

Today a new Lego catalog came! Aidan and Gresham spent the afternoon figuring out which Toy Story sets they want. It is rare that I can get a video of them without them being "on stage!"

Aidan got a $10 Lego gift card for Christmas, and is planning to save his allowance ($1 per week) to buy all the sets he wants. He was disheartened to find out that he will have to save for 50 weeks to get enough, and that 50 weeks from now will be almost Christmas next year... He only needs $7 to get to one of the sets, so that should be do-able.

What Gresham is saying...

2010-01-02T15:08:00.002-06:00

Aidan and Gresham have been playing Buzz Lightyear all week, and I just noticed yesterday that Gresham has been screaming, "To infinity... hat beyont!"

Last night, I took Aidan and Gresham to Target with me. I told them that we could look to see if they have the new Toy Story lego sets yet. On the way in, I was giving them the usual toy lecture, with an added section about how we just had Christmas, they have tons of toys, etc, etc. and they are not to whine and cry when we don't buy anything. Gresham said very matter-of-factly, "I will see a toy that I like and ask for it, and Mom will say no. And I will definitely cry." He did, in fact, see a Nerf sword that he wanted, but he actually didn't cry when we put it back!

And then yesterday, Gresham came up to Aidan and said, "I have to tell you a secret!" He leaned over to Aidan's ear and then said in a normal volume, "What is in this box is Woody's hat! See?" And he opened the box and showed him.

It must be fun to be 3...

Christmas, Part 2

2009-12-29T15:06:00.008-06:00

On Christmas morning, we got up and opened stockings. Aidan got a Superman t-shirt in his stocking, which he was very excited about. He and Gresham pretty much play super heroes all the time...

Then we went to my parents' house to open gifts! Gresham and Aidan each got a Buzz Lightyear from Grandma and Grandpa that they are very excited about.

After gifts, all the guys went out to have a snowball fight before lunch. Now you can't do that every year in Texas!

Why is Aidan not wearing a jacket in this picture? Who knows... he only wears one when he absolutely has to, but the funny part is that he is always complaining about being cold. He likes to be warm, he just doesn't like to be slowed down by the bulk of a jacket. I guess it impedes his super hero lifestyle.

I thought this was an interesting action shot...

Christmas dinner, after warming up from the snow.

Today it is snowing again! This makes three snowstorms in December. All real snow, as opposed to the usual Texas ice. Gresham said that he does not like snow because it is too cold! He is ready for summer so that he can get out the inflatable pool again. I think I have to agree, Gresh...

Christmas, Part 1

2009-12-26T21:21:00.008-06:00

This was the scene out our back window on Christmas Eve! When we heard that there was a chance of snow, we didn't really take it all that seriously since the tv weather people tend to exaggerate any type of storm. The snow started mid-morning and lasted all day. We started wondering if we were really in Texas!

When Jordan got home from work at lunchtime, he and Aidan went outside for a few minutes. It was still pretty wet at that point, so they didn't last long out there. By evening, the roads snow covered, but we decided to venture out for the Christmas Eve service at church. The drive there was slushy and slow because of the traffic. The drive home was more icy, but at least there were less cars! And it made for a memorable Christmas Eve!

Here is baby Owen on the long car ride to church! I sat by him and kept him entertained with the camera flash.

Our family of 5 by the church Christmas tree.

Then we came home for chicken tortilla soup, and the boys opened their gifts to each other. This has become our tradition for Christmas Eve. We were all disappointed that Jordan's mom couldn't be with us this year because of the weather.

And this is what it looked like on Christmas morning! A white Christmas in Texas! We overheard someone at church saying that the last white Christmas was in 1926.

More pictures to come...

A Mom's Thoughts on Christmas

2009-12-21T20:54:00.003-06:00

2009. What a year!

Last year at this time, we were getting ready to have our ultrasound to find out the gender of our baby! We found out on Dec. 30th that we were expecting our third son. I figured that at this Christmas season, we would have a chubby little baby sitting and playing with his toys by the Christmas tree. I figured that life would have settled into a routine by now, and that we would be past the difficult newborn days. Well, it hasn't exactly turned out that way...

Instead we are riding the reflux roller coaster! Owen is a beautiful baby (yes, I can say that about a boy!) and we are so thankful that he is healthy. But reflux makes it painful for him to eat, and it affects him at pretty much every feeding. He starts out a feeding, only to begin arching and refusing the food after just a few swallows. Consequently, he has had trouble gaining weight and is in the 3rd percentile for weight. If he continues to gain weight this slowly, our doctor will refer us to a gastroenterologist. Every day revolves around counting how many ounces he eats (or refuses!). I do realize that many parents face much more serious challenges with their children, but it has still been just plain hard. It's hard for a mom to watch her son suffer so much, and not be able to do anything about it! Then there's the time required to feed a person who doesn't want to eat! I have run the gamut of emotions from wondering how I can possibly go on another minute with feeding an arching, crying baby half an ounce at a time to kissing his beautiful cheeks and realizing that no matter how hard it is, he's my son and I love him with all my heart.

A few weeks ago, our pastor was praying and thanking God that He is "too wise to make a mistake and too loving to do anything unkind." I have not forgotten those words because I need to cling to what is true about God. He is not unkind in allowing Owen to suffer. He is not wringing his hands and wondering what to do. He IS doing what is best in this situation, but what is best for us is not necessarily what is most comfortable. I have realized that when we are wrapped up in wanting our lives to be comfortable, we are acting like this life is all there is. We are on this earth for a short time! And if our current circumstances, though painful, are drawing us closer to our Father with whom we will spend eternity with, then what loss is that?

I have been thinking a lot about Mary this Christmas. I'm sure her newborn days were hard. She gave birth in a stable after all! Then she invested years in raising Jesus which culminated in having to endure watching him be put to death. It doesn't matter whether your son is 3 months or 33 years. No mother wants to watch her child die! What a privilege to be part of God's redemptive plan, but I'm sure there were many difficult moments.

And then there's the Incarnation. God in the flesh! Owen is helpless. There's reflux and teething and childhood illnesses and many things to face as part of life on this earth. And that's only as a baby! Jesus willingly took on human flesh to not only die on our behalf, but to live a perfect life on this earth. He is our compassionate high priest who understands our weaknesses. He is able to help us because He can relate to us.

In her book Keep a Quiet Heart, Elisabeth Elliot says, "God came down and lived in this same world as a man. He showed us how to live in this world, subject to its vicissitudes and necessities that we might be changed - not into an angel or a storybook princess, not wafted into another world, but changed into saints in this world. The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances."

It is my hope that Owen will recover fully from the reflux in 2010. But whether he does or not, the more important issue is that we fix our eyes on Christ and find Him to be more than sufficient for every storm.

Gresham Sings Christmas!

2009-12-20T19:18:00.003-06:00

Here is Gresham singing "Away in a Manger" and "Silent Night." Well, sort of...

Listen for my favorite words: Loid (Lord) and sta-ees (stars)

Also, note the candy bribery which bought you this cute video!

Owen is sitting!

2009-12-10T21:03:00.004-06:00

Aidan sure loves his baby brother!! He has asked me when we are getting another baby. I told him I'm not sure... we may not have any more babies. He responded with, "Well, you don't know Mom. We might get another one. Some families have a lot of kids at their house!"

Owen can sit all by himself! What a big boy!

Telling Time

2009-12-09T20:59:00.002-06:00

Aidan is really into telling time right now, and is constantly asking me, "how many minutes until...?" I told him that he should ask for a watch for Christmas.

Today he came home from Grandma's house and said that he asked her for a watch.

Aidan: I want a digital watch, because I'm better at telling digital time. See? Right now it's 375.
Mom: Actually, that's how hot the oven is...
Aidan: Oh...

Another cute one of Owen...

2009-12-03T21:20:00.002-06:00

Hot Chocolate

2009-12-01T20:58:00.002-06:00

Aidan

2009-11-29T21:32:00.002-06:00

Aidan has a journal that he writes in most days as part of his schoolwork. It has been cute to see what he comes up with. Most of the time he draws a picture and writes about what is happening in the picture. Other times I tell him what topic to write on. I don't tell him how to spell anything (usually) because I just want him to be comfortable writing and to be able to get his ideas down.

Here is a word from a recent entry: uthallsun

Do you have any idea what this word could be?

Here is some context:
"The castle guys are fighting the bad guy. The castle guys wun becouse they had uthallsun men and the other teem had one guy."

This one took me a minute, but he means "a thousand."

I get his spelling words from what he misspells in his journal. It works well, because he never forgets the words after that. He has never misspelled "castle" after learning the correct spelling! I do add in other words that he needs to know, like could and would, etc.

Another cute Aidan story...

We went shopping for a present for his friend's birthday party. We picked out two small Lego pirate toys, and Aidan was concerned because one set had 1 soldier figure and 1 pirate figure, and the other set had 2 pirate figures. Aidan was concerned because 1 soldier would never be able to defeat the 3 pirates! It's funny to see life from his perspective because I wasn't considering battle odds at all when picking out the toys...

At the party, he got a spiderman pencil. Our electric pencil sharpener broke, and our hand held one tends to tear up the pencils. When Aidan's Sunday School class was discussing what they were thankful for, he said that he was thankful that he could go to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving so that he could use her sharpener to sharpen his new spiderman pencil!

What a funny guy...

Owen is 6 months old!

2009-11-24T10:24:00.004-06:00

Here is Owen at 6 months! It's hard to get a good picture of him because he is so wiggly. He's not crawling yet, but will probably will be soon! He can sit up for a few seconds at a time.

We tried giving him baby cereal a couple times, but he's not really interested. Aidan and Gresham didn't do well with solids until 7-8 months, so I'm not going to push it.

Holding the spoon was fun!

6 month stats:
14 lb. (4th percentile)
27.2 inches (80th percentile)
I forget his head size, but it was 35th percentile.

I'm glad that he is still growing well in height. Maybe his weight will catch up once he is over the reflux and teething, or maybe he'll just be tall and thin! It's too soon to tell...

He is a happy baby who loves to laugh and is interested in everything.

Costumes

2009-11-12T21:26:00.005-06:00

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman! And, a boy in green long underwear!

Oh wait, he's actually a dinosaur! (The back of his outfit has felt spikes and a tail... I made it for him last year, and he wanted to wear the same thing again! Fine with me!)

We're still here!

2009-11-10T21:00:00.002-06:00

I can't believe almost a month has gone by without posting! We are still here - just trying to keep our heads above water!

Our most recent (well, ongoing...) adventure has been Owen. I posted a while back that he has reflux. The past month has been the hardest for him so far with teething complicating his already poor eating habits. We had a couple weeks where he would eat only about 1 oz. at a time, except for in the middle of the night when he would eat much more. He would begin a feeding and then start arching his back and squirming and fussing after just a few swallows. This meant feeding him constantly to be able to get enough milk in him! He is doing better at the moment, and we hope it lasts! This past week he had an upper GI x-ray done, and his results came back normal. This means that nothing serious is wrong with his digestive organs, and he should hopefully outgrow the reflux.

So my days have been revolving around caring for Owen and squeezing in school for Aidan wherever I can and trying to spend some time with Gresham too! It has definitely been a trying experience, but I can truly say that I am learning more about the sufficiency of God's grace. Being in a place of total dependence on Him is a good place to be, even though it is not always comfortable.

Aidan and Gresham are doing well. Aidan is really mastering telling time and counting money, which is fun. He is also reading chapter books by himself now! By God's grace, he taught himself to read. I don't know what I'd do if he required a lot of help with school right now... Gresham is starting to recognize several alphabet letters and numbers. He cracks us up every day with the things that he says.

Jordan is really enjoying his new job and is doing great with it too. His position is a telephone sales position selling advertising to businesses. We are all loving his new schedule and having every weekend off. After 6 years in retail, we are so excited for him to be off for the holidays this year!

So that's the update on everyone... and hopefully soon I'll be back to posting lots of pictures and cute things the kids say... they give me lots of material, but mostly I'm too brain dead to remember at the end of the day when I have time to sit down and write!

More to come...

Gresham is 3!

2009-10-14T21:14:00.012-05:00

Here is the birthday boy! He was too cute. We only let him open two of these presents at breakfast, and took the rest to his party at Grandma and Grandpa Packard's house. The long striped one was just too irresistible to him, and he started opening it twice before it was time!

Opening a construction truck book from Grandpa and Grandma Dees!

Aidan was happy to read Gresham's cards to him. Gresham wasn't that into listening, though... he wanted to get onto the presents!

Twice a year, the city of Grapevine has a day of free family activities at the historic Nash Farm. Aidan and Gresham have been looking forward to Nash Farm ever since April, when we missed the spring one because I was at the ladies retreat at church. Well, Gresham was thrilled when we found out the the fall Nash Farm was ON his birthday! He has been telling everyone - even strangers at the grocery store - about Nash Farm for the past few weeks. I don't think he even remembers the one last October, but he knew that it sounded fun!

Also, Jordan got to go with us for the first time this year! We are really enjoying his new Monday-Friday schedule at his new job. The weekends are so much more fun now.

The weather was cold and overcast. We would have stayed longer, but we were all freezing! The high was in the low 50's and it was very damp. The boys didn't mind too much, though.

I am so sad that this picture is not in focus! It would have been so cute!

Aidan just got this western shirt and hat. He would wear the shirt every day if I would let him.
He loves dressing up like a cowboy or like an Indian.

This was what was in the long striped package! Gresham has been wanting a guitar, and I saw one on clearance (I'm a sucker for clearance...) at Toys R Us. It's a real (well, semi-real) guitar, and he will be able to actually learn to play it at some point. I gave him a couple picks to use with it, and now they are both inside the guitar.

He had a construction cake... the close-up picture of the cake did not come out in focus either. Thanks to Grandma Evonne for getting the construction trucks for the top of the cake!

He had a great birthday!

A few random pictures...

2009-10-14T21:03:00.006-05:00

I have LOTS of blogging to get caught up on, so I'll start with a few random pictures from the last month.

I put Owen in the saucer for the first time the other day, and he had this shocked look on his face the whole time! He had a great time chewing on all the toys, but got tired quickly. It's fun to move on to new things - he is sooooo active and is getting tired of just sitting in his bouncy seat!

We went on a quick one day trip to Shawnee (where I went to college) a few weeks ago. My aunt and uncle were in Shawnee on a business trip, so my mom wanted to take the chance to go see them while they were only 3 hours away (they live in Cincinnati). It was fun to get out of the metroplex for the day! The boys had fun seeing buffalo in a field and going to Super Wal-mart to buy a plastic bow and arrow set.

The beloved Raley Chapel... What a beautiful day to be on the OBU campus... Brought back memories of when Winderweedle and I snuck up to the steeple part while they were doing renovations on the building and had the door unlocked. It's a great view from up there (where the windows are)! Remember that, Winderweedle?

Kid Funnies

2009-09-22T18:44:00.002-05:00

Wow, I'm on a roll with posting!

On Mondays, Aidan gets a dollar for his allowance. We went out yesterday and ran several errands. I told Aidan that if he brought everything in from the van (which would take him at least 5 trips) that I would give him some extra money. He happily agreed, and started working. The next thing I knew, he was hooking up the shop vac and vacuuming out the van because "he thought it needed it."

I told him that I would give him $1 for his allowance and $2 for cleaning out the car. All I had was a five, so I asked him to get his wallet. I told him that I would give him the five, and he would give me two ones back so that I would be giving him $3. He said, "Okay, let's see how much money I have now. I had $13. Now I have... $16. Every time we do this (me paying him with a five and him giving some ones back), I end up with more money, and I don't know how that happens!"

I explained the transaction again, and he understood the math better this time!

Then last night, Gresham hurt himself while Owen was napping and started screaming. If you haven't been around Gresham, you should know that his screams can shatter glass. I quickly took him into our bedroom and asked him to tell me what happened. He screamed, "I GOT HURT!" I said, "Show me how to say 'I got hurt' in a quiet voice." His response? "I GOT HURT IN A QUIET VOICE!"

And this morning at Bible time, we were reading about the wise men coming to see the baby Jesus. They came into Jerusalem. Aidan said, "Oh!! Is that Drew-slem like in the song I learned in my Sunday School class? Lord, prepare me, to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and Drew... It sounds the same, are those two things the same?" After a good laugh, I told him that the song is supposed to be "tried and true" and Jerusalem starts with a "J" not a "Dr".

It's a good thing they're so cute...

Owen's 4 month stats

2009-09-21T19:23:00.002-05:00

We took Owen to the doctor today, and he was... (drumroll)...

a whopping 12 lb. 13 oz.! That's the 11th percentile.

The big news was his height - he grew 2.5 inches this month, and went from the 16th percentile to the 70th. He also grew in head size from the 4th percentile to the 24th.

He is definitely healthy, and I think that he will fill out more when he outgrows his reflux issues. The doctor is not worried about his weight at all, although he did say that it would be good if he fills out some to match his height better.

Do you know what this is?

2009-09-21T19:19:00.003-05:00

If you guess that it's a backhoe loader with a broken back scoop, you are wrong. It's a... dynamite shooter! I'm not exactly sure where they got this idea. I think Aidan came up with it. The broken part on the back shoots the dynamite.

Usually I think that having little boys is better than having to play Disney princess or ballerina all day, but other times I don't understand them at all...

'Nuff Said

2009-09-21T19:17:00.002-05:00

The picture is Aidan with a rifle and Gresham with a sword.

Owen is 4 months!

2009-09-19T22:03:00.003-05:00

What a happy baby! He is so content most of the time. He can hold toys and chew on them now, and he also likes to suck on the edge of his blanket.

We'll find out how big he is on Monday, but he is pretty small for his age. Because he is not as chubby as our other two, he can easily roll over both directions and can grab his toes and put them in his mouth - something our other boys were never able to do! His reflux seems to be getting better, though, so I'm curious to see if his growth will pick up in the next few months.

Aidan can carry him around some, which he is very proud of! He told our babysitter, "I took two steps while carrying him!" Gresham has even come around and decided that Owen is pretty fun after all.

I told you, Mom!

2009-09-19T21:57:00.002-05:00

Gresham: I want you to make dinner!
Mom: Yes, I am making dinner. (Chicken in the oven and pasta cooking on the stove while I am checking e-mail)
Gresham: No, you are playing on the computer. That is NOT cooking dinner.

(a different night...)
Gresham: I want to go to Cubbies!
Mom: You will go to Cubbies next year. You aren't quite old enough, and you aren't potty trained yet.
Gresham: Yes, I am potty trained. I am learning how to go on the potty, Mommy, and that is potty training.

Owen

2009-09-11T21:05:00.004-05:00

A face to brighten your day!

2009-09-01T21:31:00.000-05:00

Owen David is 15 weeks already!!

2009-09-01T21:28:00.003-05:00

I'll try to get some better pictures of Owen tomorrow, but here he is doing his new favorite activity - sucking his thumb! This weekend he learned to roll over, get his thumb into his mouth, and laughed for the first time. It was a big weekend!

We also took him to the doctor last week after weeks of feeding issues, and found out that he has reflux (probably). They don't test for it, but the doctor thought we should try a low dose of the medicine based on his symptoms. It took a few days to master our medicine-giving skills, but now that he is actually swallowing the stuff, he seems to be improving quite a bit. His appetite is better and he is less fussy during feedings. Yeah!

What would I do without Gresham...

2009-08-30T16:12:00.002-05:00

This post was originally going to be labeled "2-year-old for Sale" but I thought better of it.

Oh, Gresham. What am I going to do with you?

This week was Jordan's first week to be employed full-time since Owen was born. We are very thankful! And even more thankful that Friday is the first payday!

The kids and I had a tough week. I went back to school, so I was adjusting to life with all three of them, plus working again too. This year I am teaching two afternoons each week.

Gresham decided to pull out all the stops in honor of mom's busy week.

On Monday, we ran up to school to finish up some last minute details. Gresham and Aidan ran in the halls and slapped and fought. The secretary closed her door while we were out in the hall because she could not hear on the phone with my children there.

On Tuesday, Gresham threw a fit over wearing a pull-up. He wanted to wear a diaper.

Mom: You are wearing a pull-up.
Gresham: I don't want to!
Mom: You really should be using the potty. That's what big boys do. Can you imagine if Daddy threw a fit about wanting to wear a diaper???? Does Dad do that?
Gresham: No
Mom: Why not?
Gresham: Because it is not safe to do.
Mom: (thinking to herself) This is a pointless conversation...

On Thursday, he threw a fit because he wanted to eat oatmeal squares cereal out of the new box rather than use up the box that was already open. He spent 20 minutes fighting it until he finally obeyed and ate his now very mushy cereal.

On Friday, he accidently spilled a bowl of cereal and milk while playing with his imaginary bow and arrow at the table. The mess got on a couple of our school books (no harm done, though). While I cleaned that up, I sent him to wash his hands. When I went to check on him, I discovered that he had filled up the sink to overflowing with soapy water. I went to get a towel, and when I came back, he had pumped hand soap into his hair and was rubbing it in with a soggy wet baby hairbrush.

My friend Christy was telling me today about babysitting a couple of boys this week and how boys can be "inconvenient children." That describes him very well! He is stubborn and needs a lot of discipline, but many of his messes come from boy energy and curiosity. He isn't meaning to cause trouble, but the consequences of his explorations are very inconvenient for me!!!

6 more weeks until he turns 3! But he will never be 2 ever again... I'll miss the 2 year old voice and the ways he pronounces things and the little chubby body.

Time to go wake him up from his nap because it's after 4:30 p.m... I'm bracing myself for the tantrum...

My 3 Sons

2009-08-30T16:11:00.001-05:00

Go away!

2009-08-22T21:34:00.002-05:00

So, door-to-door solicitors have never been my favorite. That's why I talked my husband into quitting his job as one after 3 days of knocking on doors and zero dollars earned. (I do think he could have been successful, but it wasn't worth it... but that's not the point of this story...)

Today someone knocked on the door and rang the bell simultaneously. Usually, when the doorbell rings, Aidan screams, "I'LL GET IT!!!!!" so that any solicitor who might be there now knows that we are for sure at home. I have instructed both boys not to answer the door until I have checked to see who is there, but that doesn't stop them from making a lot of noise! So today I looked out the peephole and saw two girls, probably around age 18, who were dressed rather indecently. I wouldn't have answered, but as I was looking out they were ringing/knocking again, so I answered, half-expecting to find some emergency like a car striking a child in front of our house or something. Instead it went like this:

Them: I knew someone was home!
Me: Uh-huh
Them: Hi, I'm - wait, are you the lady of the house?
Me: Yes
Them: Gosh, you're YOUNG! Anway, I was just over talking to your neighbor, so and so, and...
Me: Goodbye!
Them: Wow, that was rude!

I'm not answering the door for people we don't know anymore!

It goes by so fast...

2009-08-22T20:27:00.005-05:00

3 weeks

7 weeks

13 weeks - what a happy baby!

My silly silly Gresham

2009-08-10T20:57:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I went to go get Gresham up from his nap. I sat down on his bed and he sat up. He looked at the open door and said in a very self-reassuring voice, "You opened my door, Mom. A dinosaur did NOT open it to come in and roar at me."

Then, later Jordan asked him to go get some socks from his dresser. He responded by telling Dad there was a monster in his room. Jordan said, "Well just tell the monster to let you in because you need to get some socks." Gresham went to the edge of the hall and called out, "Monster! Let me in, I need some socks!"

My favorite things that he says right now are sentences like this: "I want to read the book that I want to read." Or, while we were out one day, "After my lunch I want to go to the fountain that I want to go to."

He brings a lot of entertainment to our home!

Twelve Weeks Old

2009-08-10T20:53:00.004-05:00

Gresham holding Owen lasted just long enough to snap this picture...

Twelve weeks old today! What a big boy!

Owen actually smiles quite a bit, but usually stops as soon as he sees the camera. He is totally distracted by looking at the camera... we'll keep trying to get a good picture!

Videos!

2009-08-07T19:24:00.003-05:00

I love it when babies first discover their hands!

Here is Owen conversing with Daddy.

Things that we discuss at our house and in the van...

2009-08-04T14:46:00.003-05:00

* Whether excavators park for the night with their buckets extended, or curled up close to the machine. The consensus is that it must depend on what project they are doing and where they are parked.
* Where construction workers go when they are done working.
* Whether today is a construction day or not.
* What hawks/cows/goats/other animals we see are thinking.
* Where that firetruck is going.
* Why the school buses are out since it's summer.
* Why that car has it's turn signal on, since it doesn't appear to be in a turn lane (Aidan is the biggest back seat drvier ever!)
* Which park we would like to visit next.

Picture Post

2009-07-28T21:34:00.010-05:00

My little boy is 6 years old! He's in first grade this year! Where has the time gone????

Opening some Indian figurines from Gresham. This was a surprise to Gresham too. I didn't tell him what he got Aidan, because I knew he would tell. Andy, do you remember telling me exactly what I was getting when I turned 6? Little brothers are good at that. Soon, Gresham will be old enough to pick out his own gifts for people and appreciate the surprise. Maybe.

Wow! It's the nerf gun I wanted!

Here is Mr. Fix-it with his tools. He rigged up this set-up himself. We actually used to do this with our little tikes car to get under it and fix it, but now that car is an outside toy.

My baby Owen is two months old already!!! He is almost sleeping through the night - he sleeps from about 9:30 p.m. until 4:30 a.m. now, and goes right back to bed without keeping us up for two hours. It sure is nice to feel like I've had a decent night's sleep!

I call this picture Pretzel Legs.

Funny

2009-07-28T19:20:00.001-05:00

Gresham: Where is Dad?
Mom: He's at a job fair.
Gresham: OHHH! Does it have one of those round and round things? (Moving chubby arm like a ferris wheel)
Mom: You mean a ferris wheel?
Gresham: Yeah!

I can just picture him imagining Dad having lots of fun riding rides at the job fair!

The Lord Abundantly Provides

2009-07-23T14:31:00.004-05:00

So, I haven't posted about this on the blog yet, but Jordan lost his job right after Owen was born. Whenever I say that, people then ask if his employer was cutting back because of the economy, and I have to say no, he was fired. It was his fault, and he has learned from his mistake and is moving on. Needless to say, this has made our summer more exciting!

Jordan has a new job starting on August 24. He is actually hoping to find a better position before then, but if he can't find anything else, at least we know he has a job starting Aug. 24. He has also been getting unemployment, which helps.

Although this trial has not been fun, we have seen the Lord work in ways that we would not if life was easy! Just one example...

Aidan turned 6 on Wednesday. He didn't have much of a birthday list this time, and we were having a hard time figuring out what to get him that wouldn't cost much and that he would actually play with. (Now that he is older, it seems like all the toys are ugly action figures or video games...) He wanted a nerf gun that shoots a whole bunch of darts at one time. His friend has one, and he played with it at his house. I couldn't find the nerf gun, and couldn't come up with anything else to get him. I did buy a basketball because I knew he wanted one of those. The night before his birthday, Jordan ran out to Target to get wrapping paper and decided to scan the clearance racks in the toy dept. just in case. He found the exact nerf gun that Aidan wanted marked down 30% off! I told Aidan that I wanted him to know that the Lord provided that nerf gun for him. Aidan seemed to really get it and said, "Yeah, He made Dad go to Target at just the right time to find that gun!"

I have been reading the book of Deuteronomy. The setting of Deuteronomy is Moses addressing the nation of Israel just before they enter the land promised to them. They have just finished wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, which was punishment for their disobedience. God humbled the people during the 40 years in which they wandered - it says in Deut. 8:3 "He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord."

If God can speak food into existence, then surely he can take care of us during this difficult time. He provided for the Israelites out of His great mercy despite their sin against Him, and He will provide for us. Food may sustain us, but God is the one who provides the food. We are in a place of being humbled - of realizing that God is the one who gives the ability to make wealth.

May God alone be praised!

Gresham

2009-07-19T14:42:00.003-05:00

Because we are homeschooling Aidan, Gresham has picked up a lot of "school talk." Yesterday, Gresham and I did an alphabet train puzzle. I haven't really worked with him on letters much, but he knows what letters are and that we put them together to make words because of listening to Aidan's school. This puzzle has a letter and a picture of something that starts with that letter on each piece.

Mom: Gresham, do you know what letter this is?
Gresham: Yes. I do.
Mom: What is it?
Gresham: I don't know (very typical Gresham conversation)
Mom: It's an A. What does A say?
Gresham: I don't know.
Mom: It says "a"
Gresham: Oh, A says "a" and A spells with apple. N spells with nuts...

Today we got home from church, and I was changing him before his nap...

Mom: Gresh, I will buy you anything you want if you will stop pooping in your diaper.
Gresham: Ok, how about M & M's?
Mom: Works for me!

Owen at 8 weeks (a day early!)

2009-07-12T20:32:00.006-05:00

He is looking and acting much more like a baby now, and less like a newborn, but he still sometimes curls up in a newborn pose!

Gresham is trying to look like Owen. Note the size differential... it's amazing how much growth takes place between 2 months and 2 years! Just the difference in feet makes me laugh!

This was the first time I have seen him hold his head up this high! He also rolled over in his crib this afternoon. I heard him fussing and went in and found him on his back!

These 8 weeks have flown by... I can't believe he will be 2 months old in a week. He is such a cute baby and loves to cuddle. He is smiling at us now and making lots of cute cooing noises. And the nights are going better... he now goes back to sleep after he eats, which is enabling his parents to be much more sane!

Owen, we are so thankful to God for giving you to us. You are a precious gift and we love you!