Ramblings of a Wife and Mother

New Job & Girls' Weekend

2012-01-23T06:00:00.004-06:00

Marcus is nearing the end of nine years of post-graduate medical training. This coming summer, on June 30th, he will complete his residency in radiation oncology. This past summer and fall, Marcus spent a good amount of time researching job opportunities and interviewed for several positions. From the very first interview in June of 2011, one oncology group stood out among the others. He called me just hours after that interview and I could hear the big smile in his voice when he said, "Well, Rach, it looks like we are moving to ___________." He had nothing but good to say about the group, his potential co-workers, and the town. Through the rest of the summer and fall, he continued to explore positions here in Birmingham and in his hometown of Melbourne, but no matter how hard he tried to "make them work," he just kept coming back to this job. Though I love our lives here in Birmingham, and I will miss our friends and church here tremendously, I knew Marcus needed to go for the job that he felt so drawn to.

So (drum roll time), in about six months, we will be opening a new chapter of our lives in Chattanooga, TN!!! Marcus signed his contract just a couple of weeks before Christmas, and we have been busy getting this house ready to sell, as well as doing some looking around for a new place in Chattanooga. In fact, Marcus gave me the most wonderful gift of a couple of days house-shopping with my BFF in Chattanooga. We drove up on Saturday morning, looked at about five houses, ate dinner at the hopping Blue Water Grill, hung out in our hotel's hot tub, and then talked until we fell asleep! Sunday morning, we visited Clear Creek Church together and spent a couple more hours driving around and exploring the northern Chattanooga area. Q discovered this great little neighborhood that I love. I have a feeling we are going to end up living in one of those houses :) We met up with our realtor one more time to look inside a few more houses, and then headed back to Birmingham to resume our lives as wives and mothers. This was the first night that I have spent away from my kids in 2.5 years, and I was ready for it! Thanks, honey, for a perfect gift!

A Season of Sickness

2012-01-20T06:00:00.005-06:00

This has been a rough month for Ethan & Lydia, healthwise, and therefore it's been a hard month for me as well. (Caleb has cruised through it all unscathed, like he usually does, though he did lose his second tooth in his sleep last Friday night!)

It seems like we've been to the pediatrician every week for more than a month! Ethan has had bronchitis, pink eye and two ear infections, in addition to the general yuckiness of congestion. On top of that, it took several weeks for the fluid to drain off his ears after his ear infection cleared up, so he was having a lot of trouble hearing for several weeks. Ethan can be challenging enough when he is fully-functioning, but non-hearing Ethan has really reset the bar. At school this past Monday, he threw a toy that collided with another boys' head and split the little boy's head open! He didn't mean for that to happen, but it's just a result of him losing his temper.

After I got that delightful report, I piled all the kids back in the van and headed straight back to the pediatrician. I'd been told 3 weeks in a row that we just needed to wait for the fluid to drain and then he would be able to hear again, but I needed something better than that. After waiting in the little room with all three of my tired and hungry children for NINETY MINUTES, the doctor finally came in. This week's diagnosis for Ethan was: yes, he has a lot of fluid on his ears, no he still can't hear very well, but, yes, we will try something else other than waiting now. The doctor put him on another round of antibiotics and steroids, as well as setting us up for an ENT consult to see about getting tubes again. I was very happy to have some answers, and even happier when, the next day, Ethan could finally hear normally again. He has been a happy, cooperative little boy for the past two days. (Now all I need to do is get him to write his apology note to his classmate, and make my own phone call of apology as well.)

During this same pediatrician visit, Lydia was diagnosed with another double ear infection, her second in 2 weeks. (The only reason we're sure this one is a new infection is because we were in the previous Monday and her ears were pronounced clear.) This is her 3rd ear infection in 3 months, so she may end up being a candidate for tubes as well. I'm not as resistant to the idea as I was with Ethan, since they worked so well for him and it was so much better than having him on antibiotics every couple of weeks.

Lydia has also been dealing with a major eczema outbreak. Just like the fluid in Ethan's ears, I kept showing the excema to the pediatrician whenever we were in (which was frequently), and I was told to use hypo-allergenic lotion twice a day. I did that, but over a period of a couple of months, it has continued to get worse. It finally got bad enough that the pediatrician prescribed Alclometasone Dipropionate Cream, which cleared all of it right up in just a few days. One day, her back, bottom, elbows & thighs were covered in raw, patchy skin. The next, it was smooth again and you could just see the outline of the eczema.

So, at the moment, Lydia and Ethan are ear-infection, virus & eczema free, and Caleb is healthy. But it has been a ride!

Magic Kingdom

2012-01-19T06:00:00.001-06:00

One of the best parts of our week in Florida at Christmas time was getting to go to Disney as a family for the first time. Marcus & Mike have taken Caleb & Chase a couple of times before, but I had never been with any of the kids and Ethan & Lydia haven't been at all.

One of the coolest parts is that the whole day was completely free (except food) for the five of us! My parents had four park hopper passes from back in 1988 when our whole family went to Disney for a week, and we only used 3 of the 4 days on the pass. Mom kept those tickets in an envelope for 23 years, and they got our whole family into the Magic Kingdom for a day. I don't know the exact cost, but I'm pretty sure that saved us more than $400 in admission. Thanks so much, Mom & Dad!

Another really cool thing about this trip to Disney is that Marcus used an iPhone app to help us pick which rides to do next (it gave us up-to-date wait times on all the rides). Because of this, even though it was December 26th and a very crowded day at Disney, Marcus said that we were able to ride more rides in one day than he ever had before. And I thought it was really cool that we had such a smooth, enjoyable day, despite the crowds and the fact that our own group numbered 13, with more children than adults. Everyone agreed the day was a huge success, and we look forward to doing it again soon!

First glimpse of the Disney Castle from the ferry.

Marcus was laughing at how intent I looked on this Buzz Lightyear Shoot-em-up Ride

Mimi kindly lent us her double-stroller for the day, and it turned out to be very useful.

Lydia enjoying the tunnel on Tom Sawyer island (one of the only times she got the get out of the stroller the whole day!)

Ethan & Daddy love :)

Mimi and her newest grandbabies, Lydia & Dallen

The whole Wagner clan, except Gigi, Wendi & Joel was able to be there. We missed you three!

Enjoying Melbourne

2012-01-18T13:50:00.003-06:00

We packed a lot into our 5 1/2 days in town, including a day at Disney (another post coming), a morning at the Zoo, an afternoon at Gemini park, and plenty of time hanging out at Mike & Gigi's house and at Mimi's house. The weather was beautiful all week and we spent enough time outside to satisfy even me :)

Lydia & Ethan hanging out with Uncle Mike. Lydia wasn't too sure about Uncle Mike at first, but it didn't take him more than a couple of days to charm her.

Lydia hanging out with her Mimi :) Mimi was kind enough to pull babysitting duties two of the nights that we were in town so that the adults could enjoy some hanging out time. Thanks, Mimi!

We spent Thursday afternoon at the park by Gemini Elementary (where Chase goes to school). We brought the bikes and Chase & Kylie's new wheeled-toys (a Razor and a skateboard). Marcus and Mike came up with the idea to let the kids lie belly-down on the skate board and push them back and forth across the empty parking lot. I kept Lydia out of the way :). The kids and the men had a blast, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them.

Group Pictures

2012-01-18T13:50:00.000-06:00

It wouldn't be much of a traditional Wagner gathering without multiple group pictures. This gets harder and harder to accomplish the more kids we add to the mix, but here's a few of the better ones:

The grandkids in matching pajamas, one of our Christmas gifts to Mimi :)

Present Time!

2012-01-18T13:30:00.000-06:00

We opened presents at Mike & Gigi's house on the afternoon of Christmas Day. We had agreed that this year, the kids would be getting a day at The Magic Kingdom for Christmas, so we did not exchange gifts across families for the kids. Each kid had a couple of presents to open from their parents and then the gifts from Mimi, as well. Lydia loved the wrapping paper, and the boys were happy with and thankful for their gifts. The adults had drawn names, and it was funny to see quite a few wall canvas prints appear for several different people. I guess everyone had canvas on the brain this year.

Christmas Eve & Christmas Morning

2012-01-18T13:13:00.004-06:00

We arrived in town at dinner time on Christmas Eve. Aunt Gigi's mother had prepared a huge Christmas meal for all of the Wagner's, and we all thoroughly enjoyed her feast. After dinner, we heard from Uncle Mike that Santa Claus was scheduled to make a drive-by appearance in a fire truck, something he described as a perk of living in Melbourne Beach. We all headed outside at the appointed time to see this exciting spectacle.

To our surprise, Santa not only drove by, but stopped and got out of the fire truck, right on the corner of Uncle Mike's property. And, to our complete amazement, he took a present out of his bag and said, "Is there a little boy named Caleb, here?" At first, I was thinking that there must be some other Caleb in the group of neighbors gathered there, and that my Caleb was going to be so disappointed. But I should have had more faith in Uncle Mike and Aunt Gigi :) Santa (via Mike & Gigi), had brought gifts for each of the Wagner cousins and handed them all out by name (even to Lydia!). I was very impressed, and the kids were elated. "Santa" gave Caleb a Nerf gun and Ethan a Captain America shield that shoots discs. I think it would be safe to say that these gifts were the hit of the season. I'm sad that we didn't get any pictures, but we were completely taken off guard and didn't even have the camera outside.

Christmas morning (Sunday), we all got up early so we could get ourselves and the kids dressed up in the finery they wore in Aunt Wendi's wedding four months earlier. Apparently, a picture of the seven grand kids in their wedding clothes never got taken then, so we did our best to recreate the moment for Mimi's photo op. After church, the clan headed over to Aunt Traci's house for lunch. Everybody split up for naps and the guys went to watch a movie. Next thing on the agenda was presents at Uncle Mike & Aunt Gigi's house.

Marcus, Caleb and Ethan outside Melbourne C of C

The best way to take a group picture of kids is in steps :)

Maddie, Josh, Traci & Dallen McGough (Marcus's younger sister and her family)

Everyone hanging out at Aunt Traci's house after church.

Trip To Florida

2012-01-11T12:38:00.000-06:00

We broke the trip from Alabama to Florida at a hotel in Georgia. On the second day of driving, we stopped (as we have before) at the Castillo de San Marcos in Saint Augustine, Florida, only this time we actually paid the admission fee to go into the castle. You can see a great deal of the castle from the external grounds, and we've stopped other times to let the kids stretch their legs on the huge grassy fields. The decision to go inside this time was made over much laughter when Caleb politely asked, "Mommy, this year, can we please go inside the castle instead of just looking over the walls?" The trip went extremely well, and Lydia only cried for about 15 minutes during the whole two days of driving. We also broke out the head phones that came with our minivan, so Marcus and I were able to listen to a book on tape (Dave Ramsey) while the kids watched Disney movies with the head phones. All-in-all, it was the best road trip we have ever had with kids on board.

No More Showers With Superman

2012-01-10T05:24:00.005-06:00

For more than half of our time living in this house, we have used only one of our two bathrooms (at least the shower part). Our master shower sprung a leak back in 2010, and after three estimates of over $4K to fix it, we decided we could be a one-bathroom family. It really hasn't been that big of a deal most of the time to shower in the kids bathroom, but there are the little annoyances: walking between bathrooms to get towels, stepping around or cleaning up bath toys, having NO privacy (since little boys pay no attention to the closed door when nature calls). It has been a challenge when we all come in from camping or swimming and everyone needs a bath/shower at once. And, of course, there is Superman. For many months, Ethan's favorite toy was this little plastic Superman that he toted with him everywhere, including the bath. I can't tell you how many times my shower has been interrupted by stepping on Superman, fishing him out of the tub, or doing a Superman hand-off in the middle of my shower when Ethan suddenly realized where he'd left his favorite toy.

For the past few weeks, we have had a contractor at our house renovating both of our very dated bathrooms. As of three days ago, we now have not one but two fully-functioning showers, as well as two beautiful, easy-to-clean bathrooms. To say I'm excited is an understatement. The bathrooms are GORGEOUS and I love them. Ethan is just as excited as me: he loves the new counter tops, the additional sink in his bathroom ("his" sink), and, most of all, the built-in child seat on the toilet (an idea we got from Mimi's new toilets). Caleb is just happy not to have to look for a contractor-free bathroom in order to use the toilet, but Ethan exclaimed over every shiny, new thing, right along with me. Enjoy the pictures!

BEFORE, Master Bath

(I never got a picture of the inside of the old shower, but it was those little white square tiles and had a low shower head and low ceiling. Marcus had to bend over to get under the water.)

AFTER, Master Bath

(Mirror still needs to be mounted, but other than that, it is finished :)

The contractor removed the shower ceiling and raised the shower head.

BEFORE, Kids' Bath

(The counter tops in both bathrooms were this strange surface of tile-ish leaf shapes embedded in concrete. They were very hard to clean and never looked good, even when clean.)

AFTER, Kids' Bath

Caleb's Tooth

2012-01-09T05:15:00.002-06:00

We thought that the teeth-losing thing wouldn't get started until after Caleb's sixth birthday, but I noticed about a week ago that one of Caleb's bottom front teeth was loose. It just kept getting looser until we were sitting in church yesterday morning. Caleb was quietly eating Kix from a baggie while the rest of us were singing when I felt a tap on my leg. I looked down at Caleb's outstretched hand, and, sure enough, there he was holding his tooth! No blood, no whining...I'd say it went perfectly.

We told him that he could put his tooth under his pillow and see what the tooth fairy brings him. He looked up skeptically and said with narrowed eyes, "Come on. The tooth fairy isn't real!" I responded with, "Well, you are right about that, but what is under your pillow tomorrow morning will be real." He was very happy with the five $1 bills he found. Marcus and I agreed he scored big since we both remember getting coins for our teeth.

When Ethan saw the big gap in Caleb's mouth and the tooth in his hand, his face broke out in a HUGE smile and he said, "Caleb! It's like you're EIGHT!" I guess losing teeth seems to be a purely eight-year-old experience in Ethan's eyes.

Campbell Christmas

2012-01-02T20:00:00.003-06:00

Here are a few pics from our Christmas celebration with my parents here in Birmingham. See the post on my mom's blog for more details and pictures. I am swamped right now and it's all I can do to get the pictures up :)

Pictures

2011-12-19T06:00:00.005-06:00

We got dressed up in our Christmasy garb for church yesterday and snapped some pictures on the deck afterwards.

Ambitious Big Brother

2011-12-11T07:00:00.001-06:00

This post was also started a while ago, about two weeks I believe. I do what I can :)

Caleb and Lydia were down in the playroom while I was preparing a meal in the kitchen. I can see them from the kitchen, but my attention was mostly on what I was doing. All of the sudden, Caleb rushes up the six steps from the playroom and says, "Mommy! You have to see this! Lydia just crawled across the room!" I was very surprised because she had not been interested in crawling for the past couple of weeks, so I walked toward the play room with Caleb. Sure enough, Lydia was 10-12 feet from where I had left her, still sitting and playing happily. I was taken in for a second and rather amazed, but soon realized from something in Caleb's grin that all was not as it appeared.

"Caleb, did you drag your sister across the room so it would look like she crawled?"

"No! Of course not! It was amazing! She suddenly just crawled across the room!"

"Caleb."

"Oh, maybe I helped her a little bit."
"Caleb, tell me the truth."
"Okay, I did it. I pulled her across the room. Sorry for telling a lie, Mommy."

As evidenced from this story, Caleb gets even more excited about each of her milestones than we do, even to the point of rushing them a bit :)

Not The Best Way To Wake Up

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

I started this blog post about a month ago when this story happened, but am just now taking the time to finish writing it and post it.

The other day, Marcus was home in the early afternoon, and he let me sneak upstairs for a little catnap before dinner. Lydia had been up a lot the night before, and I was exhausted so I fell right to sleep. About 45 minutes later, I woke up in a panic, but had no idea why. I rushed downstairs and saw nothing immediately alarming: Marcus was sitting at the computer, Lydia was playing on the floor behind him, the door from the play room to the garage was open...wait a minute! Just as I was wondering why that door was open and where the boys were, Caleb rushes through that very door saying, "Daddy, Ethan is playing with a big knife in the garage and there is blood coming out of him!" (So that's why I woke up in a panic!)

Marcus sprung out of the computer chair and we both rushed into the garage to find 3 1/2-year-old Ethan sitting on the garage floor, playing with a box cutter and bleeding from three fingers. He looked up with a guilty smile and said, "It doesn't hurt. It really doesn't hurt," in the same soothing tone that we usually use for him when he gets hurt. He saw our panicked-changing-to-angry faces and made his own switch to a logical appeal: "But Daddy, you are a doctor and you can fix me! Don't worry, you can just fix the bleeding!" And that is exactly what Daddy did: cleaned him up and sealed him up with Band-aids while I put the box cutter back in the tool box and put the toolbox on the highest shelf in the garage. I think Daddy and I are in agreement now about the boys playing in the garage unsupervised :)

"I'm Making My Bad Heart Angry"

2011-12-05T06:00:00.058-06:00

Ethan is our passionate child. From day one, he has been hot or cold most of the time. The older he gets, the more mellow time there is, but he is still a very intense little guy. When he's bad, he's really bad, and when he's good, he's really good. Because of the intensity of his personality, I talk to him a lot about the good/bad war within him. He has a good handle on the idea that he has a "good heart" and "bad heart," each vying for his permission to act.

One night, I had tucked all the kids into bed, and Ethan asked me to lay down and sleep with him. I usually tell him no because Marcus is usually waiting for me to watch a TV show and hang out with him. But Marcus was working late and I was exhausted myself, so I cuddled up with Ethan on his single mattress and closed my eyes. I was just about to drift off when I heard him whisper in a smugly mischievous voice:

"Mommy, I'm making my bad heart very, very angry."

I asked him what he meant, and he explained that since he was being so good today, his bad heart was getting madder and madder that it wasn't getting a chance to be bad. As he was talking, I realized that he had a mental image of something like this going on inside of him: a little demon locked up in a cage and throwing a massive fit of rage while the good little angel skipped circles around the cage. I was telling this story to a friend later on, and my friend pointed out that Ethan had found a way to "be bad" by being good. His love for power and strength over anything, even the "bad heart" inside of him, is helping motivate him to behave well!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T15:38:00.003-06:00

We drove to my parents' house in Arkansas to spend Thanksgiving. The drive went well; it was our longest road trip to date with Lydia (soon to be trumped by a drive to Florida for Christmas), and she handled it very well. We had a great time hanging out in Searcy, despite the cold, wet weather. We did the usual things: walked around Harding's campus, visited our three favorite parks, and even checked out the newly-renovated indoor PlayPlace at McDonald's.

Even with all that, we spent most of our time at Nanna & Papa's house, thoroughly enjoying all the goodies Nanna had in store for the boys: half-a-dozen brand new activity books (all their favorites like color-by-number, connect-the-dot, word search, etc.), as well as her very well-stocked play room, complete with creatively organized storage bins (now I know where I got that!). The kids also enjoyed the back yard for the first time on this trip. Nanna & Papa have added a small back deck since we were in town last, and it really made the backyard a lot more appealing. Plus, the boys are finally old enough to play outside with less supervision, so us grown-ups didn't have to match their cold tolerance :).

As always on Campbell holidays & vacations, our evenings were full of poker. All three kids were asleep every night right around 7:00 pm, so we spent several hours of every night at the card table. All in all, it was a great visit, and we are already looking forward to having Nanna & Papa here for Christmas.

It's hard to get a picture of Lydia alone because Caleb always jumps in :)

Everybody hanging out in the living room at N&P's house.

Caleb & Ethan enjoying the craft table that Nanna bought just before our visit.

Lydia taking one of many bottles in Nanna's arms :)

Daddy & the boys hanging out in Papa's new recliner.

Grandparents' Day

2011-11-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Grandparent's Day at Caleb's school, and we were very happy to have my mom (Nanna) in town for the event. When I was growing up, my grandparents lived out of town and didn't come to anything like this. My mom said that she always felt bad for my brother and I about that, so she decided to make it a priority to be at Caleb's first Grandparents Day. Even though she'd had bronchitis the week before, had been having trouble walking for weeks, and was in the middle of her final week at work (she is retiring this Friday), she flew out for a quick visit to enjoy this event with Caleb.

And as if she wasn't going against enough to make this happen, she came down with food poisoning or a stomach bug the night after she arrived! It's very good we had a doctor in the house, because at one point she was throwing up every 10 minutes. Marcus got her some meds and she was finally able to fall asleep. And then she was back up at 6:00 am to get ready for the grandparents' day festivities. From there things went well. Caleb was happy to have her by his side during the program, and Ethan even got to enjoy a surprise visit from Nanna in his classroom (since it happened to be one of the days he was in preschool). I apologize for this terrible picture of Caleb, but between shuffling Lydia around and manning my volunteer post, it is the only one that I got.

Fall Festival and Halloween

2011-11-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

This year, we were so happy to have Marcus home for Halloween. The last few years, we've had to juggle Halloween festivities around the national radiation oncology conference that Marcus has to travel to. This year they moved the conference to early October, so Daddy got to come to the Halloween Party at our BFF's house, the Fall Festival at church, and Trick-or-Treating on Monday night.

This was the best year ever for trick-or-treating. Caleb dressed up as Spiderman and Ethan went to Fall Festival as a pirate and Trick-or-Treating as Superman. The kids are finally big enough to run up to the houses on their own, so the process went much faster and was much more relaxed for the adults. We went with several other families from church. Even with 20+ preschool and elementary aged kids walking the neighborhood together, it was still a lot of fun. Caleb and Ethan were ecstatic about all the candy they collected. I think this is the first year that Daddy and I are not going to be able to get away with pilphering what we'd like from their stash. Everything was studied and organized so thoroughly that I think even a piece or two will be missed. At least we can still confiscate candy for bad behavior :)

Fall Festival at church was great this year as well. The church brought in real horses instead of ponies, and this is the first year that we could kind of let Ethan go on the bounce houses without worrying too much that he would get hurt. Of course, our LifeWalk group was in charge of monitoring the bounce houses, so we spent most of our time there anyway.

The whole family, just before heading out trick-or-treating.

Caleb and Ethan on a bounce-house slide at Fall Festival.

Caleb throwing a dart at the balloon-popping booth.

Lydia was so chill the whole evening in her stroller. We are so thankful that she is such an easy-going baby!

DeSoto Caverns Fun Park

2011-10-28T06:00:00.010-05:00

This past weekend, we headed out to spend a family day at the Old Baker Farm, our favorite pumpkin patch. When we arrived, the place was so packed we decided to think up a Plan B. A few more miles down the road was a place we'd planned to visit for a long time, but had never made it out to. We decided that that gorgeous fall day would be perfect for exploring DeSoto Caverns Family Fun Park.

Caleb shooting a bow and arrow for the first time.

Marcus, Caleb & Ethan in a really cool privacy-fence maze.

Lydia with her brothers. Caleb is inside a cave-simulation crawl exhibit.

Lydia's 6-Month Pictures

2011-10-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, the kids and I had our fourth photo session with my all-time favorite photographer, Heather Swanner. Unlike the other three sessions, this one was a mini-session, so we didn't have as much time as we have in the past. In addition, Lydia was very tired during the session and her typically quick smiles were much harder to coax out. She actually spent most of the session staring blankly at the camera, despite our best efforts. I honestly didn't think there were going to be any great pictures, and only a few good ones. It is a tribute to Heather's talent that there were as many good pictures as there were. Here's the slideshow, Mimi & Nanna :).

Ethan Starts Preschool!

2011-10-20T06:00:00.045-05:00

Ethan started attending a 2-day-a-week Mother's Day Out at the school that Caleb attends. I had originally decided to keep him home all the time this year, both for financial reasons and because I didn't want to be doing four different carpool lines in one day, but Ethan and I were driving each other nuts without Caleb around. Ethan is super-social, and I did not realize until Caleb went to kindergarten just how much of Ethan's social energy Caleb normally absorbs.

After several days in a row of thinking that one more "Mommy, watch this!!!!!" was going to make me lose it, I started looking into preschools again. When I found out that I could enroll Ethan in an MDO program at Caleb's school and drop them off and pick them up at the same time, I was sold. Now, for the first time since Caleb started kindergarten, I feel like I have my head above the water. I am getting my housework and grocery shopping done during the two mornings a week that Caleb & Ethan are at school, and I also get to enjoy some one-on-one time with Lydia on those days. The other three mornings each week that Caleb is at school and Ethan & Lydia are at home, I am able to give Ethan a lot more attention since my housework is mostly taken care of. And Caleb gets plenty of attention in the afternoons, with practicing baseball skills, doing homework & reading with me, all one-on-one activities.

I feel like we are in a workable rhythm for the first time since kindergarten started. Both boys enjoy their time at school, I'm getting my stuff done, and I have good "protected" time with each child.

Zoo Field Trip

2011-10-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

I was lucky enough to be one of the two parents who got to ride the bus with Caleb's class for his first kindergarten field trip. He was so, so happy that I was there (and that he was one of the only kids with a parent on board). Many of the other parents met the class at the zoo, and we all spent a leisurely morning walking through the zoo. I especially enjoyed it since my younger two were in the school's childcare, so I spent the whole morning just being with Caleb and watching him with his friends. The weather was perfect, and we were all surprised to see that the lion and lioness had a little family to show off. It's been a long time since I've seen an animal as cute as those playful little lion cubs were!

"Alabama" Cousins

2011-10-19T06:00:00.003-05:00

Marcus's younger sister, Traci, and her husband and kids came into town for a quick visit a few weeks ago. As you can tell from their college football garb in the picture below, they had an ulterior motive for their trip:) We had a great time hanging out with them on Friday night and then visiting the Montgomery Zoo with Traci, Maddie & Dallen on Saturday (while Josh was at the game). By the way, I do feel the irony that Traci and Josh are from Florida, but are Alabama football fans, while we live in Alabama and we are Florida Gator fans.

Soccer

2011-10-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Ethan's first season of soccer has been interesting, as well. After Caleb played soccer at age three and it didn't turn out to be a good experience for anyone, we had planned to make Ethan wait until he was four. But he talked us out of it. He wanted to play so badly, and since he'd already had to sit and watch while Caleb played three seasons of soccer, we decided to give it a shot.

The first two game nights went well. Ethan listened to his coach, stayed pretty focused, and (literally) ran circles around the other kids. But at some point during the third soccer night, he started getting frustrated with other kids kicking the ball away from him and started checking out. Now, Caleb checking out means that he sits down on the field and picks blades of grass. Ethan checking out means that he finds someone to play with. Unfortunately, all the available playmates were supposed to be playing soccer, so he decided to be entertaining enough (or annoying enough) to get them to stop playing soccer and pay attention to him. You can imagine the effect a class clown has on a 3-year-old soccer team. Let's just say when Ethan lost interest that night, there was a lot less soccer going on.

The next time, he didn't even attempt to get involved, he just did his best to distract others until we took him out of the game. The fifth night was the worst, and he ended up watching a most of the game from the sidelines after getting a spanking from Mommy for disobeying his coach. We've got three more soccer nights left. If things don't improve significantly, I will have no problem telling Ethan that he is going to spend the spring sports season sitting out and watching Caleb play baseball or soccer.

Baseball

2011-10-18T06:00:00.012-05:00

Caleb's first season of baseball has been interesting. Apparently, 5-years-old is too old to start playing baseball around here. The other kids on Caleb's team have been playing for two years, and most of them are really good. Not just skilled, but also very knowledgeable about the game. Caleb started out completely lost and now he hovers around mildly confused. After watching him suffer through the first couple of games, I decided it was time for baseball boot camp with Mommy. The next day, I took all three kids to a nearby park. I put Lydia in her stroller, safely shielded from any runaway balls, sent Ethan to the playground, and spent 45 minutes teaching Caleb how to bat. He was resistant and whiny (as he usually is when being taught something he doesn't necessarily want to learn at that moment), but we plugged away. By the end of that session, he had down the basics of swinging a baseball bat.

Over the next couple of weeks, I played baseball with him every chance I got: batting, throwing, catching, running bases, fielding, etc. And he has gained a lot of ground in the five weeks since the season started. He can hit pretty well off the tee (though 5-year-olds play machine-pitch here, so he first has to miss five pitches on the machine in order to get to the tee). He can throw decently and stop a grounder pretty reliably, and he generally knows where to throw the ball when he gets it. His favorite is running the bases, particularly that last stretch to home base. I think he would like batting better if he didn't have to miss those five fast pitches before getting to the tee. Most of the other boys on his team connect with the fast pitch every time they bat. He's only hit a pitched ball twice this season, and one was a foul ball. Even so, he is catching up, and, if baseball turns out to be his thing, he will probably be on par with his peers in a couple more seasons.

His best moment in baseball so far was during his most recent game. He was up to bat and the machine-pitched ball slammed into his thumb, mashing it against the baseball bat he was gripping. It hurt pretty bad, but he choked back the tears, took a moment to compose himself, and then got back in the batting stance, ready for the next pitch. That next pitch was one of the two that he's connected with this season :) The coach was impressed with how he handled himself, and came over to tell us so right after Caleb got to first base.

B-U-S-Y

2011-10-17T06:00:00.041-05:00

We have been pretty busy around here this past month! Here it is in under 50 words: Caleb is playing baseball, Ethan is playing soccer, Uncle Josh & Aunt Traci came for a quick visit, Caleb had a kindergarten field trip to the zoo, Marcus spent a week in Florida (visiting his family and attending a conference), Lydia had her 6-month-pictures taken and Ethan started preschool! My goal is to write a quick post about each of these in the next few days. Stay tuned!

Lydia Update

2011-09-21T07:08:00.005-05:00

Lydia is 5 1/2 months old now, and is doing well! She is cooing, smiling and gurgling all the time, and everybody in the family loves to be on the recieving end of her "talking." She hasn't started babbling with vowel-consonant combos yet, but she does say "Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma" sometimes when she is crying. Her gross motor skills are staying about a month behind where the boys' were, but she is still within the normal range. She is sitting up well now, and no longer needs a boppy pillow or any other support. This is my favorite baby stage: she can sit on the floor with some toys and watch everything that is going on, but can't yet crawl and get into it any trouble.

I know the movement is coming, though. I was hoping she would be one of those chill babies who is content to sit and watch for a really long time, but she is not. The boys both started crawling between 6 and 7-months-old, but she is getting around better than they were at 5-months because she is so good at rolling. If I put her down on the floor, she'll play with toys (sitting up) for twenty minutes or so. When she is bored with those toys, she will lunge forward from sitting and get onto her belly. Next, she will look around a bit from her tummy, and then roll in the direction that she wants to go. She's pretty good at getting where she wants to be, and the only trouble she gets into is rolling over onto a hard toy. Thankfully, there are usually three or four big people around who are happy to rescue her.

I'm happy to report that Lydia and I made a full recovery from our breastfeeding setback in July. She is back to being 100% breastfed, and I haven't even had to pump in over a month. All her chubby rolls and happy disposition assure me that she is getting plenty to eat. She doesn't seem interested in eating solids yet, and I'm not in any hurry to start that hassle until she's ready. It is wonderful to be back to normal and have feeding be easy & no stress again, just as it has been in the past. The one residual negative from the whole experience is that Lydia doesn't sleep through the night like she did before the setback. I nursed her every time she made a peep while I was trying to rebuild my milk supply, and she got in the habit of nursing every time she woke up at night. She's getting up 3-4 times a night right now, and though I'm handling it okay, I am planning to take steps to wean her at night in the near future.

Lydia is a very happy baby most of the time. She is in a Mommy stage, and if she is tired or uncomfortable, no one else will do. As long as she is fed and rested, she is perfectly willing for others to hold her, and doesn't (yet) have any separation anxiety when left in the church nursery or gym childcare. Her smiles come easily, especially when she first wakes up, and they are CUTE! She is our little princess, and we are loving watching her personality express itself a little bit more each day.

Caleb is Reading!

2011-09-19T16:39:00.006-05:00

This post is way overdue, but I feel like we have been in a whirlwind since school started five weeks ago. Since I last posted, we spent several days in the dark, thanks to the tropical storm that blew through here earlier this month. We went from Monday evening (Labor Day) to Thursday around noon without power. A friend helped us put a positive spin on it by labeling our adventure as "camping in our house." The kids bought that for the first day, but after that, they were pretty tired of being in a house with no lights, no refrigerator, no microwave and no AC. When the power came back on, Caleb was so excited, he ran up the stairs calling, "Now I can go to the bathroom with the light on!!!"

Anyway, on to the purpose of this post: Caleb is reading! He learned how to sound out words that follow the basic phonetic rules more than a year ago, but he has just recently taken that leap from sounding out each word to seeing the group of letters as a word and recognizing "sight words." With about 25 sight words in his reportoire, he is now able to read many of the early reader books that Mimi left us on her last trip. And boy is he excited! He even picks up chapter books and eagerly chooses words that he recognizes. He's been reading for a couple of weeks now, and he is enjoying it so much that our roles have switched from me asking him to practice reading to him asking me to read with him.

I know this is opening up a whole new world for him, and I'm so happy to be enjoying it with him!

Colorado Trip

2011-08-30T06:04:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, we braved four airports (2 of them twice) and the big bad TSA with our three small children! What inspired us to such madness? A family wedding...what else? Marcus's older sister, Wendi, tied the knot at the top of a mountain in Keystone, Colorado this past Sunday morning. The whole family and quite a few friends made the trek to beautiful Colorado to celebrate with Wendi and Joel. The weather was gorgeous, the mountains were spectacular, and the wedding was beautiful. The trip really couldn't have gone much better than it did. It was not stress-free by any means, and there were some moments (even hours) where we wondered why we had ever agreed to drag our kids across the country, but, all-in-all, it wasn't too bad.

A few low points:

(1) Waiting in line for over an hour to get our rental car, after having already traveled for about ten hours. Caleb fell asleep on the floor of the (remote) Hertz rental building at the Denver airport.

(2) Trying to get the boys to bed each night in the loft of the 4-bed condo, where we were staying with sixteen members of the Wagner family. The loft, as it sounds, was open to the living area on the floor below and in between the two upstairs bedrooms. Any kind of quiet was impossible to achieve, and bedtime was a beating.

(3) Getting caught in traffic while Lydia screamed (with barely a lull) in the carseat for almost an hour. She is a very chill baby and this is the longest either of us had ever had to listen to her cry. Poor baby. She had woken up from a long nap and was hungry, but we were stuck in traffic and couldn't stop to feed her.

(4) Running through the Denver airport, holding Lydia and our four carry-ons with the boys running right behind us, trying not to miss our homebound flight. We stepped on the plane at 10:11 and the flight took off as scheduled 9 minutes later.

Despite these, we had a great time. Some of the highlights:

(1) Caleb & Ethan's first flight (that they remember, though Caleb flew once as a baby and once as a toddler). They were as fascinated as any preschool boy with the idea and reality of flying, and they soaked in every bit of the experience. Marcus did a great job of explaining everything to them, and they even enjoyed the extra treat of a private tour to the cockpit, thanks to a very kind Southwest pilot.

(2) Riding the gondola. It was about a 15-minute gondola ride from the Keystone Resort (where we were staying) to the summit where the wedding took place. The whole ride, we could see gorgeous mountains and scenery for miles.

(3) The mountains. They were spectacular. Whether we were in our condo, in the car, riding the gondola or at the summit wedding location, the mountains were everywhere. It's been 10 years since I was in Colorado, and its beauty is just as breathtaking now as I remember it then. I can understand why it is Joel & Wendi's dream to live there someday.

(4) The wedding itself. The mountain location was as beautiful as Wendi described it. The wedding day weather was perfect, and as long as the sun was out, we weren't even cold at the 11,000 feet elevation. Wendi looked gorgeous and happy, and the ceremony went off without a hitch. Caleb and Ethan did a great job of walking down the aisle with their scroll that said "Here Comes the Bride." They were not even slightly daunted by the situation, and walked calmly and confidently, just as they were told.

(5) For Marcus, spending an afternoon mountain biking with his brother. They had quite the adventure, and I was relieved to have them both back in one piece.

(6) The kids. All seven of the grandkids (and all the adults) were staying together in a 4-bedroom condo. Surprisingly, they all got along very, very well the whole five days. Caleb and Ethan were very obedient and cooperative the whole weekend, despite the sleep-deprivation and Caleb getting sick the last couple of days. Ethan only had to sit in time-out twice the whole weekend, which is some kind of record for him :) Lydia took everything in stride, slept very well during the day in night, and hardly cried the whole time we were there (except for the afore-mentioned car ride).

(7) The backpacks. I bought Caleb and Ethan backpacks for the trip (used from ebay) and filled them up with four new activity books: a maze book, a sticker book, a superhero coloring book and an animal coloring book for each of them. These books provided them with hours of entertainment on the trip and in the condo. I ordered them all from amazon based on reviews, and wasn't sure what they would be like, but they were all excellent and more than worth the money.

All-in-all, it was a very good trip, though we do not plan to travel by air again until the kids are quite a bit older :)

Colorado: Getting There

2011-08-30T06:03:00.001-05:00

Lydia sleeping in her stroller at the airport.

The boys enjoying their backpack goodies at the airport

This is how we sat for the plane rides: Mommy, Caleb & Lydia on one side,

and Ethan and Daddy on the other. Can you tell which of our children needs the most attention?

Caleb and Ethan got a huge treat on their first flight: the pilot called them up to the cockpit for a tour!

Colorado: Hanging with Family

2011-08-30T06:02:00.002-05:00

Marcus's cousin, Carsen Williams, watching a Disney movie with Caleb, Ethan & Maddie.

Caleb with 4-month-old Lydia

Uncle Josh and Cousin Madelyn (Maddie)

Caleb doing his sticker book at the condo.

Aunt Gigi holding Lydia

Aunt Traci and 6-month-old Cousin Dallen

Uncle Mike with 3-year-old Cousin Kylie

Colorado: Fun on the Mountain

2011-08-30T06:01:00.003-05:00

At Keystone, you can ride the gondola up the mountain for free in the summer, so we spent one evening enjoying the ride and exploring the mountain.

Mimi and our boys in the gondola, headed up the mountain for the first time.

The view from the gondola was spectacular.

Caleb spent his time at the summit picking a bouquet of wildflowers for me.

Ethan spent his time pretending to be a superhero :)

Marcus and Mike went mountain biking one afternoon. I heard it was quite the adventure.

Colorado: The Main Event

2011-08-30T06:00:00.010-05:00

It's a little embarassing that I didn't get a picture of the bride and groom, but when you consider that Marcus was in the wedding and I was handling my three kids during the ceremony, you can understand :)

Marcus and Mike, just before the wedding.

Our family at the wedding...you can tell the kids had had enough with pictures :)

Daddy and Lydia, in the gondola on the way down from the wedding.

Lydia sleeping in my arms at the reception.

Caleb

2011-08-21T09:17:00.001-05:00

My mom has told me stories about what a deep-thinking child I was, and how I would bust out with the most startling perceptions/conclusions. Caleb is like that, and he has blown me away a few times before with something he's come up with. One of those times was last night. I have absolutely no idea where this came from, but he just walked up to me and said this:

"Mommy, if someone ever takes me to a really sad place and then says, 'Now you've seen it, now let's go back to your home,' I'm going to tell them no, because I want to stay and help the sad people in the sad place."

I wasn't sure I'd heard him correctly, so I asked him again, and he said exactly the same thing. I asked him more questions about it, and he explained in his own words that he didn't just want to look at the sad things in the world, but he wanted to fix them. The next morning (this morning), I asked him in front of Marcus if he remembered what he'd told me about going to a sad place. He did remember, and immediately told Marcus the same thing that he'd told me, almost verbatim.

It scares me and makes me proud at the same time that God may be growing the heart of a missionary in my little son.

It Begins

2011-08-17T15:00:00.008-05:00

Caleb's first day of kindergarten was today. We are now officially a "school" family. Mornings, daytime activities, vacations, and just about everything else will all be subject to the school calendar from here on out. Since this had to come, at least we had a very successful kick-off: Caleb had a great day and says he can't wait to go back tomorrow. I asked him if he liked his classroom, his classmates, his teacher, the toys in his classroom, the playground, and everything else I could think of, and every reply was positive. The only negative thing he had to say was that he hadn't found a new best friend yet (he had set his sites high for the first day of school :).

The whole family came in to walk Caleb to his classroom this morning. Daddy got to meet his teacher and snap a few pictures while Mommy helped Caleb sort his supplies and corral little brother. Caleb walked confidently into his classroom and hugged us all goodbye without a hint of separation anxiety. He didn't seem nervous at all this morning, and jumped right in to what the other kids were doing. Maybe it was his confidence, but for some reason, I didn't get emotional at any point. Caleb has been ready for this for months, and I am very, very happy for the opportunities that kindergarten is going to offer him. At home, Caleb's needs regularly take a backseat to Lydia's & Ethan's, and I am really glad that he will have these four hours of developmentally-appropriate activities every day.

After the family drop-off, Marcus suggested that I take Ethan to Krispy Kreme to offset all the fuss around Caleb. I thought that was a great idea and headed straight there. Then Marcus surprised us by showing up at Krispy Kreme and enjoying some donuts with us. I was so glad that the first day of school fell on a day when he could go in an hour or so late, so that he could be a part of everything. (And the Krispy Kreme surprise was an even bigger bonus!)

The only part about today that I was not pleased with was the carpool line. Dropping Caleb off in the morning was smooth and hassle-free, but the pick-up process was kind of miserable. Ethan and L ydia both took naps in the car while I waited 45 minutes in the carpool line! I had no idea it would take that long. I think it may get a little better in the future, since there was some confusion among the parent drivers about which way to go, but still!

We went straight from school to get haircuts with our favorite Mr. Mickey, and I'll close with a conversation Caleb and I had while there:

Mr. Mickey: So Caleb, what did you have for a snack in kindergarten today?
Caleb: Just apples (in a droll tone of voice). That's all Mommy gave me (droller still).
Mommy: Well, didn't the other kids have fruit for a snack, as well? (the teacher's note had requested that we send healthy snacks)
Caleb: NO! They had really super yummy snacks!
Mommy: Oh yeah? Like what?
Caleb: Cookies, and popsicles. A LOT of people had popsicles!
Mommy: Really, Caleb? So, if I call Mrs. Ketchum on my phone right here, she is going to tell me that a lot of the kids in your class ate popsicles for a snack today at school, right?
Caleb: Ummm, I don't think so.
Mommy: What will she tell me?
Caleb: She will probably tell you that everyone had fruit for a snack, just like me. 'cept one kid at table four, and I know he had a popsicle.

Summer 2011

2011-08-11T19:43:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that the years of having all of my children at home with me all of the time are coming to a end. Caleb starts kindergarten next week, and, though I'm not feeling sentimental about it yet, I know our lives will never be the same. (But, then again, since when has my life ever been the same from one day to the next?)

Before I let too much time go by and start to feel all nostalgic about life as it is now, I wanted to take a few minutes to write out the good, the bad & the ugly of this stage of parenting (this summer):

The Bad

They all still need help wiping their bottoms.
They all still need help, to varying degrees, in the bath (C & E just need their hair washed).
Ethan is in a ROUGH stage, and there are very few days that go by without him being a persistent menace to Caleb and regularly disobedient to me.
It is a BEATING to get the boys to pick up their toys.
Lydia is not sleeping well at night anymore (thanks to the breastfeeding issues).
Lydia can't sit up yet, so she has to be held in order to see what is going on and interact.
Pumping is miserable.
The boys have so much energy and it is too hot to do anything but swim outside (at least in July & August).
There is very little downtime for me...the boys don't nap, and I'm usually ping-ponging between getting stuff done and doing stuff for the boys when Lydia is asleep. I tend to go without pause most of the day, and wind up totally exhausted by the kids' 7:00 pm bedtime.

The Good

I am with my kids all the time, and I see firsthand everything that influences them
The boys can buckle themselves in the car completely independently, and all I have to do is say "Load up in the van!"
The boys can (and do) dress themselves without help every day.
Sibling relationships are relatively simple: offenses are quickly forgiven, and it rarely takes more than a minute to settle a dispute.
Lydia isn't old enough to realize that she isn't big enough to do what the boys are doing.
Lydia isn't mobile.
Both boys are independent in the pool, and Lydia doesn't mind sitting on the side with me.
We have very few "schedule" restraints. Most days, we figure out what we are going to do that day after we get up in the morning.
Lydia takes good naps during the day.
All the kids are asleep for the night between 7:00 and 7:30 pm
Lydia is so, so sweet and smiley and cuddly. We are all in love with her.
Caleb is in an incredibly sweet and encouraging stage...always trying to think of ways to be good and to do the right thing, very gracious and forgiving towards others, and an excellent big brother in every way to both of his siblings.

Busted

2011-08-11T19:27:00.002-05:00

The last couple of days, I've been shopping quite a bit on www.etsy.com for just the right dress for Lydia's upcoming portraits. Apparently I've been spending a little too much time on it, because this is the conversation I had with Caleb earlier today. He was painting in the kitchen (a daily activity for him lately), and he called me up from the playroom so he could show me his most recent masterpiece:

Mommy: So what did you make this time, Caleb?
Caleb: (gesturing appropriately) Well, this is our house, and this is the playroom, and there you are sitting in your chair. This little box is your computer screen and that flowery thing in the box is Lydia's dress that you are looking for.

Swim Lessons Mommy-Style

2011-08-07T13:29:00.003-05:00

After paying for group swim lessons at the rec center for two years in a row for Caleb, I decided to try teaching them myself this year. Caleb learned how to "swim" (dog-paddle) just before his fourth birthday, but for the past year-and-a-half of being in the water without any flotation help, he still just dog-paddled around the pool with his face out of the water. We've offered him various rewards if he would swim with his face in the water and his body horizontal, but he wasn't willing to go for that until a few weeks ago.

When we re-joined the rec center, I determined to take the boys swimming twice a week for four weeks in a row (which is the equivalent of the eight swim lessons I have paid for in the past) and give them swim lessons myself. I've sat through enough swim lessons to have a good idea of how it works, and I was ready to give it a try. I made my appointments to leave Lydia in the childcare room, packed up a (huge) bag with all of our swim stuff and changes of clothes, and set out.

It went well from the start: I took turns taking each boy out on little skill-specific drills, just like I had seen the swim instructor do. In the beginning, Ethan couldn't keep himself up in the water at all. Just one week before I started lessons, he had jumped in a friend's pool before I got his swim vest on and I had to, once again, fish him out of the water. During our lessons, he made tremendous progress right from the start. By the third lesson, he could swim about six feet from the side of the pool to me. Since he does not share Caleb's aversion for putting his face in, he was swimming horizontal, head underwater from the beginning. I think seeing Ethan do so well that third lesson lit a fire under Caleb. The next time, he, too, put his face in the water and swam horizontally like his younger brother. Since he is older, stronger & more coordinated, he was quickly able to swim quite far.

The next step for both of them was learning how to come up for air and then go back under and continue swimming. They both wanted to stop once their first breath was gone. We tackled that in the fifth and sixth lessons, and soon they were both popping up for air and going back under. By now, I was able to set up short races to motivate them to better-coordinate their arm and leg movements for more efficient speed. I also played a game with them where I threw plastic rings in the water and they had to retrieve them before they floated to the bottom. This got them doing a little swimming down and up.

The latest step forward was this last time we went (this time with Daddy) and that is jumping off the diving board and swimming to the side unassisted. They both did this multiple times at the pool this past weekend. I got some good video of it, but I have no idea how to upload video to a blog post, so it'll just have to stay on my iPhone :) I can't believe how much they've learned this past month, and I am really proud of my little swimmers!

And So It Goes...

2011-08-04T11:00:00.002-05:00

Poor Lydia has gotten the short end of the stick in so many ways when compared to the boys, but this last development is just too much: this week I've had to supplement her diet with formula! The boys never had any formula and I would have been slightly horrified if someone had given them some. I had an over-abundance of milk with both of them, and never dreamed that I would have a supply issue this third time around. But I have.

It started with Lydia increasing her night wakings from one to three to five, all within a week or two. I also noticed that I never felt "full", nor did I feel the letdown sensation nearly as often while I was nursing. Finally, the morning came when she latched on, sucked hard, and then let go and wailed. At this point, after almost a week of wondering and worrying, I finally accepted that, somehow, my milk had dried up and she was hungry. I immediately started pumping and drinking water to increase my supply, and was shocked to see that I could pump less than 1/4 of an ounce from each side. My milk really was almost gone, and my poor little girl had probably been getting hungrier and hungrier for more than a week.

There were several factors that could have contributed to this unexpected event, and my culprit-of-choice is the progesterone-only birth control pill that I had started taking 12 days before. Other possible contributors are Lydia's less-than-ideal (and very noisy) latch, which may have been providing insufficient suction for milk production (though she managed to get enough milk with that latch for the first 3.5 months), or maybe it was the 1-day overnight trip we took to Chattanooga 4 weeks ago that caused a dip in supply that I never fully recovered from (though I pumped 22 oz. while we were gone).

Regardless of why it happened, I've been in overdrive trying to correct the problem for the past four days. I've been pumping twenty minutes on each side every 2-3 hours during the day and once each night. I've also been choking down six fenugreek supplements, two cups of Mother's Milk tea, about a gallon of water and at least two bowls of oatmeal every day. The first day, I couldn't get more than 1/2 an ounce from both sides combined each time I pumped. I used what was left in the freezer and the little I had pumped to feed her that day. I made it until her last bottle of the day, just before bed, which I had to add some formula to to make it a full bottle. She took it fine and didn't even seem to notice that it was different. She had been in a great mood and full of smiles and coos all day, which only made me feel more guilty for not realizing that she was hungry before. It just didn't occur to me because I always had more milk than I needed with the boys.

After the first day, I quit taking the pill and continued all of the other "home remedies." I was able to pump a little bit more the second day, but still had to give her half-formula in each bottle all day. By the third day, I could get 2-3 oz. combined each time I pumped...still not quite enough to keep up with what she was eating, but getting closer. Today is the fourth day, and I think I may be almost back to normal. I am pumping 4-5 oz. combined each time I pump (5-6 oz. was normal in the past), and that is slightly more than enough to satiate her right now. Hopefully we are done with formula, and I will be storing up as much milk as I can fit in the freezer just in case something like this happens again!

Ice Cream

2011-07-28T06:00:00.020-05:00

I have been in a longterm, committed & satisfying relationship for the past fifteen years...with ice cream. We have been best buddies since I was a teenager. I remember telling someone in college that I rarely went a whole day without a bowl of ice cream. That has remained true through past ten years since college. My nightly bowl of ice cream was rarely-broken ritual until about three months ago. When Lydia was just a few weeks old, she began to get very gassy and fussy shortly after feeding. Since the same thing had happened with Caleb, I immediately tried cutting out unprocessed dairy and limiting my other dairy. With Caleb, I only had to do this for a few weeks and then I could eat dairy in moderation.

Not so with Lydia. Initially, she improved within a few days from my diet restriction and was back to her pretty chill newborn self. A few weeks later, I tried eating a bowl of ice cream again. The next day was full of weeping and gnashing of teeth, and I vowed to give it a whole month before attempting even a bite of unprocessed dairy. I tried again after another month, and the result was exactly the same. And this time I ate less than half a bowl! I don't drink milk anyway, I can live without yogurt, and I don't mind limiting my cheese to a moderate amount, but this ice cream thing is killing me! I joke with my best friend that it has actually been ice cream keeping me thin all these years: that nightly treat satisfied my sweet tooth and kept me from munching on junk throughout the day. Now, since I constantly crave ice cream, I have been carrying an extra ten pounds of junk-snacking ever since Lydia was born. I'm finally working that off at the gym, but I still seriously miss my nightly ice cream.

Lydia will be four months old next Monday, and I may give it another try, but only if we don't have any big plans the next day. I have a feeling that dairy will not be a daily part of my life again until she is weaned, and it may not be a part of her life for years after that.

It's Official

2011-07-26T09:03:00.000-05:00

For the past three days, Lydia has found her thumb and sucked on it every time I've put her down for a nap. I did my best to get her to take a pacifier, but she's found her own way to self-sooth. Nothing we can do about it now, but I hear it is TOUGH to help a kid break this habit later on.

Movie Theater

2011-07-16T06:00:00.002-05:00

The boys and I saw our first movie in a movie theater together last week while Mimi was here to keep Lydia at home. (Caleb went to a theater with Marcus three years ago on a Daddy/Son thing at church, but he was barely two and doesn't remember it.) This time, we saw Madagascar II for $1 each at a very nice theater not far from our house. Both boys were mesmerized the whole time. Caleb didn't even want to get up to go to the bathroom when I took Ethan to go. We were sitting with friends, so I let him stay. Ethan was impressed with the screen size when we walked in, exclaiming, "That TV is even bigger than you, Mommy!" I love that I am the go-to comparison for large items :)

Super Ethan

2011-07-15T06:00:00.001-05:00

As I've mentioned before, Ethan loves his costumes. He is frequently recieving rewards and consequences in the form of getting to wear (or not getting to wear) a specific costume. Lately, his favorite reward is getting to wear a costume out, like to the library or the grocery store or whatever. The first time he asked to do this, the conversation went like this:

Ethan: If I clean up all of these toys super fast and not whining at all, can I wear my superman clothes to the cookie store (Publix)?

Me: Yes, you can, son, if you do it without whining.

Ethan: Oh yay! All the people at the store will point and look at me and say "Look, a little Superman! Isn't he cute!" and they will think I am so cute and like me very much!

And that is exactly what happens. This little dude sure knows how to attract the attention he craves!

Mimi's Visit

2011-07-12T06:00:00.006-05:00

Mimi was able to spend a week-and-a-half visiting our family this summer! She timed her visit to coordinate with Marcus studying for his medical boards (which he took on Thursday!), so she could help with the kids while he was tied up 24/7. It was really nice to have her here: three different times, she kept Lydia at home while the boys and I enjoyed baby-free outings: blueberry-picking, a dollar movie at the theater, and swimming at the Rec Center. It was so fun to have some "Mommy & the boys" time again. I was very thankful to have her help out with Lydia like that.

Mimi got to enjoy some special one-on-one time with Caleb, too, while she was here. She unlocked the door to his heart by bringing a huge suitcase of brand new Scholastic books, most of which he'd never read before. He and Mimi read book after book after book together up in her room. He already misses going upstairs when Mommy is busy to ask Mimi to read to him. He is somewhat consoled by the fact that Mimi left us a big pile of her wonderful new books to borrow.

This also happened to be a week of several new firsts for me. We've stayed home a lot since Lydia was born, but I ventured out by myself with all three kids several times this week: a puppet show at the library, the rec center for a workout (I think getting all three kids there and settled in childcare was half the workout!), and to the grocery store (for the second time). I also took all three to a VBS program and to the McWane Center, though Mimi came along for those two outings.

At the end of her visit, we even had time to work in a little grown-up fun: the night after Marcus took his boards, we met our BFF's for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and then spent the rest of the evening visiting at their house. Mimi scored with the best baby-sitting job ever for her first time to keep all three kids: she arrived home from shopping with Aunt Wendi a little after 7:00 pm, and we had already put all 3 kids to bed! We love overnight babysitters (i.e. family in town) because once the kids are asleep, we don't feel guilty about staying out as late as we want to.

Mimi didn't have it quite as easy her second time to keep all three kids, mostly because it was for more than a day! After pumping for weeks to store up enough milk for this trip, I was able to take an overnight trip with Marcus to Chattanooga, TN. Originally, it was supposed to be a little getaway/celebration for the completion of his medical boards test, but it turned out to be more of a job investigation trip. Marcus had interviewed with a group there a few weeks before, so we had dinner with two couples from the group and spent the rest of the time exploring Chattanooga as a possible place to live. Mimi did a great job taking care of all of our kids while we were gone. They didn't play favorites with her: they got her up during the night just like they do for us (Ethan wet the bed and Lydia woke up twice), and were up for the day before 6:00 am, just like they are for us. So Mimi was pretty tired when we arrived home Saturday night, but we had all had a good time overall, and we were very thankful for the break.

Thank you so much, Mimi, for giving up part of your summer to spend time with our little people!

Blueberry Picking

2011-07-05T06:00:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, we drove out to Bear Mountain Blueberry Farm to pick blueberries with some of our friends. (Lydia stayed home with Mimi and Daddy had to miss out because he was studying for his medical boards.) The boys and I did this two years ago, but both boys were too little to be very into it. This time was awesome: they both picked blueberries for over an hour and a half, and we ended up with a gallon and a half of delicious fresh blueberries! And that is not including all those we ate! Ethan ate more than he put in his bucket, but he still collected a decent pile. Caleb was a trooper: he was in full-focus picking mode the whole time, and every time I suggested that he slow down and eat some, he said, "I'll eat them in the car! I have to fill up my bucket now!" Hilarious. He did eat a ton on the 45-minute car ride home, and all throughout the rest of the day. When we got home, we proudly presented Daddy with a huge bowl of blueberries that he could "eat all right now" if he wanted to. Blueberries are normally an expensive accessory, never a full-course snack around here, so eating all the blueberries we wanted was a special treat for all of us. After that first day, I froze most of what was left to be used in blueberry muffins and blueberry pancakes and eaten with yogurt & granola during the coming weeks and months.

VBS (Times Two)

2011-07-01T06:00:00.003-05:00

The boys finished up their second week of VBS yesterday. The first was at our church at the beginning of the month. The boys had a good time singing songs, playing games & doing crafts for three hours each morning. This was Ethan's first time to go to VBS, and he was excited to be a part of everything. I was surprised that he had some separation anxiety each day when I dropped him off. He is generally pretty ready to jump into something new, but I guess I am usually around when he is jumping in, so me leaving threw him for a loop. As long as I sat with him for the first few minutes, I was able to give him a quick hug goodbye and slip out before he got upset. This was actually my first year to not be a part of VBS. I've always been a crew leader, but Lydia was just too young to leave in the workers' childcare, so I opted out this year.

Caleb (who has never had a moment of separation anxiety in his entire life) marched right over to his group as soon as we arrived each morning. He has such a maturity about him at all things structured these days. He has a little "school boy" persona that takes over in settings like Bible class and VBS, and it is really cute. He seems to have learned how to put his silliness aside for learning, and that has come just in time for the start of kindergarten (which is only seven weeks away, yikes!). He got pretty involved in the singing and hand motions this year. We missed the program at Sunday morning church because that was the weekend we were in Gatlinburg, but I think this would have been the first year that he was really into the performance.

The second VBS the boys attended was at a large community church nearby. I was introduced to the church last summer by a good friend, and Caleb attended their VBS last year, as well. The boys both had a GREAT time at this VBS program. I'm not sure what they do, since the kids are dropped off at a checkpoint and I didn't even get to talk to the boys' group leaders until the last day, but whatever they are up to must be FUN. The boys chatter all the way home, tag-team telling the Bible story of the day and describing in detail the delicious and creative snacks that they were treated to. And they can't wait to go back the next day! Ironically, Ethan had an easier time with me leaving him there than at the church he was familiar with. I have a feeling that the aforementioned treats may have had something to do with it :)

The end-of-VBS program was last night. Caleb did a great job, singing and doing all of the hand motions. Unfortunately, his friend beside him thought it was more fun to poke Caleb, put his hand in front of Caleb's face, and all-in-all distract him in any way possible. Caleb handled it great for the first few minutes: he just moved out of the way over and over and kept singing. Eventually, it got to be too much for him and he responded a few times in kind. Thankfully, neither boy got upset and soon they both went back to singing appropriately. I was so proud of Caleb for being so into the program this time. His little face was so focused and his smile so huge and joyful at the end of each song. My little man really is growing up!

Ethan didn't have as smooth of an experience. (It was much more like Caleb's first little 3-year-old program.) He sang and did hand motions for a few minutes, but soon got bored and decided it would be more fun to try to climb on the huge speakers behind him. Fortunately, I was sitting on the front row and was able to jump out to the aisle and stop him just as the speaker started to tilt. I think I scared him with my frantic, "Stop!" and his little face just crumpled up. He asked if he could come sit with me, and I nodded my head. So he spend the rest of the program standing in the back with me (and Lydia), where he was much more comfortable singing the songs and doing the hand motions all by himself.

Poor Kid

2011-06-25T06:00:00.007-05:00

About a week ago, while my mom was still visiting with us, I got into a discussion with Ethan about our family tree. He was spending time with his Nanna, so he asked me if I had a Nanna. I told him that I had a Nanna who died a few years ago. He looked very sad and said with true regret, "Mommy, I'm so sorry. Are you sad about your Nanna dying?" I said that I was, but I was thankful to have known her and loved her while she was alive. I then steered the conversation to other waters since I felt a little in over my head with my very perceptive, but still only three-year-old, son. As the week went on, Ethan stopped his play several times, looked sadly at me, and said something like "I'm just so sad about your Nanna dying, Mommy."

This all came to a head a couple of nights ago when we were reading bedtime stories. Ethan pointed at a jellyfish in a book and said to me, "Your Nanna has some special medicine to put on me in case of I ever get stung by a jellyfish. But I guess I can't get that medicine from her now because she died." This was followed by Ethan's super-sad face (the one usually only reserved for losing his blankie or being denied some much-anticipated outing).

The wheels started turning in my head as I tried to figure out why Ethan thought that he'd had a conversation about jellyfish stings with my Nanna, whom he'd never met. Suddenly, something clicked, and I realized that in his convoluted little three-year-old mind, he thought that his Mimi (Marc's mom) was my Nanna, AND THAT SHE HAD DIED! A few questions directed at Ethan confirmed my theory, at which point I warmly assured him that his Mimi was alive and well, and in fact on her way to our house in just a few days. He was confused at first, then obviously relieved. His final question was, "Then, Mommy, who died?" Lesson learned: when the topic of death comes up with your three-year-old, be very sure that you and he are on the same page!

New Look

2011-06-24T07:42:00.003-05:00

I followed the example of one of my friends and got a makeover for my blog. Like her, I hope it will motivate me to make the time for posting. Haley Morgan did a great job with the new header and color scheme, and I highly recommend her!

Pictures of Lydia

2011-06-23T21:41:00.002-05:00

Like a typical third child, Lydia doesn't see the front end of the flash nearly as much as her brothers before her, but we do manage to get out the camera every once in a while, especially to catch those daily smiles! All of these were taken this past week, at 2 1/2 months old. I can't believe how fast she is developing! Her stats at her two-month appointment found her around the 90th percentile for height and around the 80th for weight, so sleeping 17-18 hours a day certainly has not kept her from growing :)

Smoky Mountain Vacation

2011-06-16T06:00:00.111-05:00

We've spent the last week enjoying time with my mom (Nanna) and spending a long weekend vacationing in a cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Nanna flew to Birmingham a couple of days before we drove to Gatlinburg, and it was WONDERFUL to have that extra pair of arms for Lydia while I got ready for the trip. I commented later that I didn't think I'd ever felt so relaxed once we were all on the road...it is usually much more stressful than it was with Nanna here to help with the preparation. The drive up to Gatlinburg wasn't too bad, though Lydia did cry more than half the time that she was awake, and she never slept for more than 40 minutes at a stretch. Nanna sat next to her and helped her cope with her nemesis, the car seat, as much as possible. The boys enjoyed the Rear Entertainment System in our new minivan, and Marcus and I enjoyed surfing through about half of our iTunes library accessed through a flash drive hook-up in the glove compartment. All-in-all, the minivan travels very well :)

While in Gatlinburg, we enjoyed a lot of hiking in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Each morning, I would feed Lydia and then everyone but Nanna and Lydia would head out for three hours of hiking. I always had to be back to feed Lydia 3 hours later, but Marcus & Papa kept the boys out longer one day. And, of course, that was the day that they spotted nine black bears (two cubs on their own, a momma & two cubs, and a momma & three cubs). The first two cubs ran across the road less then a mile from our cabin. I was driving, so I pulled the van over and we watched them play together, explore the brush and climb a tree next to the road for about ten minutes. These were the first bears I'd ever seen in the wild, and the first for Caleb and Ethan as well. Marcus wasn't with us at the time, but later that same day, he was out with Papa & the boys and the spotted a mama bear with cubs two different times. Over the weekend, we spotted smaller wildlife like wild turkey, deer, squirrels, chipmunks, salamanders & ravens. One day, we drove up the highest mountain in the park and then hiked the last half-mile to the top. There is a circular lookout at the top where you can (supposedly) see for 100 miles in any direction on a clear day. The day wasn't particularly clear or particularly cloudy, and we could see for miles in every direction.

We didn't do much in Gatlinburg, since the kids aren't really old enough for much of the touristy stuff, and it is all quite expensive. The one exception is that we went to Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. Marcus and I went to this aquarium on our honeymoon nine years ago, and it was pretty cool then. The designers clearly had children in mind when they built this place, because there are about a dozen places where kids can crawl in tunnels and get themselves "inside" different aquariums or habitats. The Penguin Playhouse is the best example of this, and the kids LOVED it. Also super-cool was the Shark Lagoon, which contains a LOT of sharks, some of them 12-feet long. The lagoon has a tunnel under it, so you are looking up at all of the fish & sharks, and they swim right toward you in the tunnel. It is really something else to view ocean life from that angle.

Other than the aquarium, we only went into Gatlinburg to eat dinner. When we weren't hiking or eating, we hung out at the huge chalet or went swimming in the community pool. One afternoon, Nanna, Lydia and I went to the Tanger Outlets. Just like last November, Nanna & I spent about an hour at the Carter's Outlet where she picked out a BUNCH of adorable summer clothes for Lydia, all for a great price. I even got to do some shopping on my own after that, and spent most of my annual clothing budget on new running shoes, some work-out clothes, a couple pairs of shorts and four new tops. And, of course, we kept the Campbell Poker Night tradition alive each night after the kids went to sleep. Sometimes that ended up being pretty late, because Lydia did not sleep nearly as well "on the road" as she does at home. (I was very relieved when she resumed her stellar sleep habits as soon as we got back. I guess she is just really attached to her crib :) Regardless, we managed to get in some good hours of poker. As usual, Marcus came out on top (maintaining his original $20 of chips and gaining $13 more), and Nanna cheerfully lost all of her money :). I usually break even, but this time, Papa went home with a good chunk of the money I bought in with. Oh well, as Mom always says, your paying the price of dinner for several evenings of fun, so all-in-all it's a good deal :)

All-in-all, it was a great vacation. Made all the better by the fact that it was practically free. Since the chalet belonged to a friend of my dad's, all we paid for was gas and admission to the aquarium. Money is particularly tight this final year of residency, so we are very thankful to have been able to have such a fun vacation!

Nanna, Daddy & Caleb playing the "popping game" (i.e. Trouble).

Papa with his first granddaughter.

Papa reading bedtime Bible stories to the boys.

Marcus thumbing through the Harding yearbook at the chalet.

POKER TABLE!

Nanna caring for Lydia, something she did a lot of this weekend.

Boys spontaneously giving Mommy trail flowers. Thanks for catching this on camera, Daddy!

The view from the top of the lookout tower.

You can barely see Caleb's head in the pop-up tunnel in the Penguin Playhouse.

Bugs

2011-05-26T06:00:00.002-05:00

We do not have a beautifully-manicured backyard. It is actually mostly weeds, if not entirely. But it is awesome for hunting bugs. There is an old, partially-broken, stone walking path, and under every stone is a small colony of bugs, especially roly polies. For more than a week now, the boys' very first morning activity (after breakfast) has been bug-hunting. They spend at least an hour, sometimes two, outside with their bug bowls. When they are done hunting, we take a picture of all the bugs they've caught, talk about the interesting ones, and then let them go for another day (I seriously wonder if they are catching the same bugs day after day...I'm pretty sure I've seen that big roly poly with the speckles before...)

I LOVED critters as a kid, not bugs as much as birds, reptiles & small mammals, but I have many happy memories of time spent outside (and inside) with my little adoptees. My parents were always really cool about letting me raise & care for all kinds of animals. I plan to follow in their footsteps, if any of my kids have the same interest. Either way, I'm glad to see the boys enjoying God's creation so much right now on these beautiful spring mornings.

The area of the yard where the boys find most of their bugs.

Caleb's bug collection from yesterday morning:

Ethan's morning bounty

The bugs just after we let them go yesterday.

Lydia Update

2011-05-21T06:00:00.002-05:00

Lydia is six-weeks-old now, and she is such a delight! All my newborn babies have been precious, but circumstances are allowing me to enjoy Lydia more than I was able to before. With Caleb, since he was my firstborn, our initial bonding was shadowed by the insecurity and uncertainty of figuring out how to be a parent. I had dozens of baby books battling it out in my head as I experimented and struggled to determine my parenting style. With Ethan, he was a very fussy baby, and we were at a very chaotic and stressful time in our life (we moved from Florida to Alabama when Ethan was two-months-old). Now, 5-year-old Caleb and 3-year-old Ethan entertain each other very well, and I have so much time just to hold and stare at this precious little daughter who has already added so much to our family.

On to the update on Lydia...she is such an EASY baby! Caleb was pretty easy, but I was too busy trying to do everything "right" to really appreciate it. And Caleb was not a good sleeper, in that he woke every few hours during the night for months on end. Lydia, on the other hand, is easygoing when she is awake and is a champion sleeper, both at night and at nap time. At night, she sleeps 9-10 hours only waking once (after 6-7 hours) to nurse. During the day, she is awake for 1-2 hours, and then she's ready for a 2-hour nap. She sleeps about 18 hours out of 24 right now, and most of that sleep is in her crib or in the Newborn Rock 'N Play next to our bed. But she is flexible and she will sleep anywhere when needed. If we're out and about, she goes down easily in the baby carrier or the stroller and at church, she sleeps contentedly in our arms. For her early morning nursing, she nurses in our bed and then goes back to sleep next to me until the boys get up. I know that she is only six-weeks-old and that she will grow less malleable as she gets older, but I've never had a baby who was this sleep-flexible at any point, so I'm stoked :). It is so wonderful to finally have a sleeper! I have quite a few friends and family members whose babies slept through the night and napped well at an early age, and I've always hoped I would end up with a baby like that someday.

As far as her temperament when she's awake, she is pretty content 95% of the time. She's not smiley in general (at least not yet), but she does smile consistently when she sees me and sporadically at Marcus and the boys. She is getting better and better at holding her head up, but she lacks the unusual strength that both boys had (they were both holding their heads up consistently around two-weeks-old). Her eyes are very communicative and intense: I often think that she is looking at me curiously, asking for a play-by-play of what is going on around her. She is definitely most content and relaxed in Mommy's arms, but she is happy to be held by the rest of the family and friends, as well. She fusses after she poops until we change her. She loves her warm bath, and doesn't even cry when I take her out and dry her off. She does not like her car seat and regularly wails through car rides. She loves to be wrapped up and warm, but not swaddled: she likes her arms to be free.

My mom has told me for years what an easy child I was: slept through the night by six weeks (without "crying-it-out"), potty trained around 22-months with the whole process taking about 24 hours, very compliant and eager-to-please preschooler, and only needed one spanking my entire childhood (probably could have used a couple more when I was a teen :). I've listened to these stories and shaken my head at how different my experience has been with the boys. Now, based on our first six weeks with Lydia, I'm starting to hope that maybe one of our children will follow that path. I'm not counting on it or anything, but she sure has been a delight so far!

Bedtime Bliss

2011-05-19T06:00:00.069-05:00

I've had this post in the works for a while, but there hasn't been a sufficient lull in other news to move it to the top...until now :)

I posted a little over five months ago about the "musical beds" we struggled with through the second half of 2010. I mentioned then that we hoped setting up the bunk beds would start a new era of bedtime consistency, and did it ever! Shortly after that post, we set up the bunk beds and moved the boys back into the same room. I continued keeping Ethan's nap less than an hour long and not putting Caleb down at all. The result has been the return of our child-free evenings! For more than five months, they have both been asleep by 7:30 pm almost every single night. YIPPEE!!! Of course, they are still up around (usually before) 6:00 am every morning, but that's just because they (unfortunately) only need 10-11 hours of sleep each day. Being a morning person, I can handle early mornings much better than late nights.

For the past five months, bedtime has been enjoyable and predictable once again: pajamas, brushing teeth, trip to the potty, reading books, sharing hugs & kisses and saying prayers. The bunk beds have been just the ticket to give the boys the perfect balance of togetherness & separation. Caleb is able to drift right off to sleep from his top bunk perch, tuning out the wind-down chatter of his younger brother below. And neither of them feel the need to crawl into our bed during the night, since they have each other. Marcus and I have breezed through several seasons of our favorite TV shows during our lovely, quiet evenings this year. Even Lydia's arrival hasn't interrupted that, since she (unlike her brothers) is a champion sleeper and still spends most of the day and night in peaceful slumber. I am so thankful that this third child of mine seems to need a lot of sleep, after five years of Energizer-Bunny little boys :) With any luck, she may actually continue to sleep as many hours as the sleep books recommend for her age!

Tornadoes & Toys

2011-05-12T06:00:00.005-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, on March 27 & 28, our neck of the woods got hit hard by a bunch of tornadoes. Birmingham didn't suffer as much as Tuscaloosa, but the damage around here is still staggering. Thankfully, we did not personally suffer any damage to our property and only lost power for a little over 24 hours. Actually, we lost power because of the tornadoes and storms on Tuesday evening, and therefore we were out of the information loop during the even more severe weather during the afternoon on Wednesday. Thankfully, one of Marcus's bosses (who still had power), heard that we were out of power and invited us to bring the kids to their house and spend the afternoon & night in their basement. They were staying on top of forecast for the second set of storms, and knew it wasn't a good idea for us to be in our basement-less house with three little kids. I'm still amazed at their thoughtfulness, since they had just brought their second child home from the hospital three days before! And in hindsight, realizing how little we knew about the second storms in our powerless house, and realizing how differently Thursday could have gone if the storms had followed their originally projected path right through Hoover, instead of turning north, I am even more grateful to Dr. & Mrs. Burnett. So our night of historic tornadoes was spent pretty peacefully, eating chicken alfredo & crescent rolls and visiting with the Burnett's in their basement while all the older kids watched movies and the newborns slept.

Unfortunately, many others around here have a very different story. Our church, like many others, has been busy organizing and mobilizing to help with the relief effort. We're all helping any way we can, with donations and labor and time. One of our elders sent out a motivational email to his "Tree Team" (tree and debris removal), reminding them of the old adage: "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at at time," to encourage them. The amount of work to be done and the needs of so many displaced families is truly daunting. Since Lydia is attached to me for feeding, all I've been able to do so far is clear out our pantry of anything we don't need right now for donations and sign up to babysit other people's kids while they go out in the work groups (and keep mine, too, so Marcus can go).

Our church also started a toy drive for the kids who lost their homes, and Caleb and Ethan spent yesterday morning going through all of the toys in their playroom and deciding which to donate and which to keep. Let me set this scenario up for a minute... Caleb and Ethan love their toys. Some of their friends are not really that into playing with toys and most of their toys sit on the shelf and collect dust, but Caleb and Ethan are not of that race. They play with their toys all day long: together, independently, with their friends, etc. There are really not any toys in our play room that go weeks without any play time (the Toy Story toys would have been happy to land at our house :). So, back to my point, this selection process was no easy thing for them. I didn't force or even persuade them to give up anything, and the rule was that if either of them didn't want to give it away, then it stayed. Even so, they together chose about a fifth of their toys to donate to the kids who lost everything. Some of them were kind of hard for Marcus and I to let go because they were recent purchases or longtime favorites, but we kept our mouths shut and let them give as they saw fit. We were both very proud of the pile they collected, and we look forward to taking it to church on Sunday.

Alabama Adventure

2011-05-09T06:00:00.045-05:00

This weekend, our family finally made the long-awaited trip to Alabama Adventure, a local theme & water park about twenty minutes from our house. We thought about going last summer, but Ethan wasn't tall enough for most of the rides, so we waited until this summer. We bought our season passes back in February, so Caleb has literally been counting down the days for three months. We had a chart on the pantry door with a square for each day, and he has "X'd" off every day for close to 80 days. Most mornings for the past few months, he has started out the day by counting how many days remained until Alabama Adventure opened for the season.

We had to postpone our trip by one week because of the tornadoes, but this past Saturday turned out to be everything Caleb and Ethan hoped it would be. There were no crowds, hardly any lines, the weather was perfect (75 to 81 degrees all day) and the rides were great! Caleb and Ethan got to ride all the rides that they were tall enough for, and most of them multiple times. A lot of times, they didn't even have to get off when the ride ended because there was no line, so they just stayed in their seats and rode again! Their favorite rides were the kiddie roller coaster, a race car ride, the bumper cars, the log ride and the family raft ride. They would have enjoyed the water park more and spent longer there if the water hadn't been so cold. (That will change I'm sure in just a few weeks.) As it was, we spent most of our time on the theme-park side.

And one-month-old Lydia did great all day long. She slept in the stroller most of the day, nursed every two hours just like at home, and hardly cried the whole day. Thanks to our big stroller and a nice little sun hat, we were able to keep her out of the sun almost completely. Since it was not crowded, Marcus and I were able to take turns riding rides with the boys while the other one stayed with Lydia. He would go with them on a ride and then I would go with them the second time, or vice versa. I thought that I would end up just tagging along with Lydia most of the day, so I was very glad for the lack of lines that allowed me to participate a lot more. We got out there just before it opened at 10:30 am, and all three kids did so well all day that we stayed for eight hours and didn't head home until 6:30 pm, just before closing. We had a wonderful family day and I are looking forward to many more this summer.

Nanna & Papa's Visit

2011-05-03T06:00:00.055-05:00

This past weekend, Nanna and Papa came into town to meet Baby Lydia. The morning they left Searcy, we still had no power from last week's storms. Thankfully, the Alabama Power Company came through and restored our power before they got here. Despite the emotional heaviness from the aftermath of the storms, we still had a very good visit. The boys enjoyed swimming in Nanna & Papa's pool (at their hotel), spending an afternoon at Overton Park and another afternoon at the Hoover Sports Park (followed by some nearby hiking). Marcus and I enjoyed Papa taking us out to three of our favorite restaurants, playing "If" in the evening after the boys were asleep, watching Nanna enjoy Lydia, and all worshiping together at our church Sunday morning.

Caleb and Ethan really enjoy their Nanna and Papa! Nanna brought her bathing suit this time so she could enjoy the hotel pool with the boys. Each night at bedtime, Nanna sat in the boys room and told them off-the-cuff stories (at Ethan's request) and read books to them. Papa got pretty silly on Saturday night, chasing the boys around in circles in our playroom. He also played soccer with Ethan and pushed him in the swing at the park forever, making him Ethan's new best friend. Caleb is in a very "boy" stage right now, thinking that all men are the epitome of coolness, so he needed no prompting to fall in love with Papa. Ethan also got very attached in this short weekend, enough that he had a 10-minute meltdown at church when he had to say goodbye to Nanna & Papa. Thankfully, we were able to console everyone with the promise of a vacation in the mountains with Nanna & Papa in just six weeks :)

Annual Spring Photo Shoot

2011-04-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

Our photographer, Heather Swanner, has outdone herself again with some incredible pictures of Caleb, Ethan & Lydia. Follow the link to enjoy!

www.heatherswannerphotography.com/wagner

Adjusting

2011-04-22T06:00:00.003-05:00

We've been a family of five now for two weeks, and we are all adjusting to our new roles. From the first moment he saw her in the hospital, Ethan has been in love with Baby Lydia. His love is so exuberant that there always has to be an adult nearby, but we love watching his affection for his sister. Caleb was less excited about Lydia during the first hospital visit. Surprisingly, it was Caleb more than Ethan that had a hard time with me being away in the hospital. He really missed me being around, and was struggling with some resentment about several other things. It wasn't until we'd been home for a couple of days that we really got to see Caleb's love for and fascination with his new baby sister blossom. Now, he spends even more time with her than Ethan does. She'll be laying in her bassinet and Caleb will hop in bed next to me and stare and stare at her sleeping. Ethan talks her ear off, bouncing into her face and out of it just as quickly, but Caleb stays still beside her for long periods of time. Sometimes, he'll come up and "count" for her when she is awake and alert: he just lays there, looking into her eyes and counting into the hundreds to his rapt little audience. Thanks to his steady presence, Caleb was blessed with Lydia's first social smile yesterday. She was in my arms and he came up to us with a huge smile. She took a minute to bring his face into focus and then broke out into a huge newborn grin.

Lydia is doing great. She was jaundiced, just as the boys were, for her first week. We ended up deciding to treat her jaundice with a portable bili-light during her first few days at home. She slept on the bili-light for five days, and her numbers fell the first day but then stayed about the same for the next few days. The pediatrician decided to take her off the phototherapy treatment when she was a week old. She has continued to gain better color every day this past week, so it looks like the jaundice has resolved itself. She is a good nurser and eats every two hours during the day and every 3-4 at night. Her nights have been going pretty consistently like this: sleep from 8:00 to around midnight, feed for 10 minutes, sleep until around 3:30 am, feed for 10 minutes, sleep to around 5:30 or 6:00 am. There have been two nights that she's been up more than that, but this is the pattern. As far as temperament, she is still so sleepy during the day that it's hard to tell for sure. She seems to be awake for no more than 2 or 3 cumulative hours a day. Neither of the boys were sleepy newborns: Caleb was alert and happy & Ethan was awake and unhappy from the start, so we aren't quite sure what to do with this sleepy girl. When she is awake, she is very content to look around and take everything in. She fusses a tiny little bit when she is tired of being awake, but somebody always jumps right in and rocks or nurses her to sleep, so she never gets really upset. I know she is only two-weeks-old and she could still develop into more of a wailer, but so far she is as sweet as can be :)

Marcus and I are adjusting as well. Marcus had the foresight to put in for two weeks of paternity leave, since we didn't have any family members who were able to come and help with the kids while I recovered from the delivery. It has been a lifesaver to have him at home, especially that first week. I really don't know what I would have done if he'd had to go back to work right after I was discharged from the hospital. He saved the day by doing 100% of everything the boys needed until I got back on my feet. The first week, all I was able to do with them was invite them to sit in bed with me and read books or cuddle. As I got more of my strength back, I've been able to do much more with and for them. (Though Ethan is still frustrated that, even though the baby has "popped out" and my tummy isn't big anymore, I still can't pick him up and carry him.) Now at two weeks postpartum, I feel about 90% normal, and I am ready for my new job as a mom of three, which starts first thing Monday morning :)

Pictures

2011-04-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures of the kids (mostly Lydia) from the past few days. That contraption in Lydia's bassinet is a portable bili-light to treat her jaundice.

Lydia Katherine Wagner

2011-04-13T06:00:00.007-05:00

I've been working on this post since Lydia was born, but nothing is getting done very fast around here right now :)

Last Thursday afternoon around 2:00 pm, I noticed that I was having regular contractions and started timing and recording them. They were coming about 10-15 minutes apart and were not painful at all yet. I had a doctor's appt later that afternoon, and my doctor said I was 4 cm dilated and 75% effaced. We talked about it and decided to go ahead and strip my membranes (which is very different from rupturing membranes), to encourage things to keep moving along toward a delivery that night.

The membrane-stripping procedure was even more painful than I remembered it being with Caleb, but, it only took a couple of minutes, and soon the contractions were coming even more frequently. I started making phone calls to Marcus, Mimi, Wendi and the Pollard's to plan the rest of our evening and work out childcare for the hospital stay. I also stopped at Walmart to get dog food, which we were completely out of :) Marcus had the boys at the park while I was at the doctor, so we all got home about the same time. He bathed C & E while I tidied the house, made the boys' dinner, and finished packing our bags for the hospital. My friend Quenta arrived around 7:00 pm, just in time to finish up the boys' bedtime routine with a few books and them down for the night. Marcus and I headed to the hospital when she arrived. My water had still not broken and my contractions were still not painful, just a little more intense, and they were coming steadily every 5-6 minutes.

We were checked in to a labor & delivery evaluation room around 8:00 pm. They started monitoring my contractions and the baby's heart rate, and asked the usual 100+ questions. The OB resident came in and checked me, saying I was still about 4 cm dilated, but 90% effaced. A little bit later my doctor came in and cleared me for full admission to a LDR room. She would have broken my water then, but I tested positive for Group B Strep, so I needed to complete a round of IV antibiotics before things progressed. (We were actually glad for the slight delay because it gave Mimi a few more hours to make it here from Florida for the birth.) So we got into our LDR room, the nurse started my IV, and Marcus and I watched a movie for a couple of hours. Meanwhile at home, Wendi arrived at our house around 9:30 (after she got off work) and relieved Quenta of babysitting duties for the night.

Around midnight, anesthesia arrived for an initial consult about the epidural. For whatever reason, I was exceptionally freaked out by the idea of the epidural this time around, even though I had one both times before with no complications. I'd been toying with the idea of going without pain relief this time, but Marcus thought that was a bad idea, so we went ahead and gave the thumbs up for anesthesia to do their thing. Again, I don't know why, but I was completely and totally spazzing out mentally about having the tube inserted in my back. It didn't help that the anesthesia resident was entertaining me with a verbal barrage of risks and possible negative outcomes while she worked. I cried a silent but steady stream of tears all the way through the 5-10 minute procedure of numbing my spine & inserting the epidural. I was already shaking from the cold of the IV fluid in my arm and being mostly naked in a cold hospital room; add to that the fear I was experiencing about the epidural, and I was trembling rather violently.

But she finally finished. I could tell immediately that something wasn't right. My right side was going very numb very quickly, but my left side was normal. I told the resident, and she started messing with my back again, attempting to adjust the tube so that it would deliver anesthetic to both sides. (Whatever she did didn't work, at least not very well, because the numbness remained lopsided through my entire labor.) After the anesthesia resident left, the nurse came in to put in a catheter. Unfortunately, the combination of turning over onto my back with the newly-introduced anesthesia caused a wave a nausea; almost immediately, my blood pressure started falling and I started to black out. Everyone started to fade away and I could hear them talking to me, but couldn't respond. They turned me back over on my side, and my head began to clear but my BP stayed low. All I remember about this part is that there were a lot of people in the room. They put some meds in my IV to help with my blood pressure, and soon we were back on track.

My doctor arrived and broke my water sometime between 1:00 and 2:00 am. In the past, I have enjoyed the epidural and slept through the last part of my labor, but the epidural wasn't working well enough for that, so I was wide awake feeling contractions for the next few hours. Marcus was able to sleep for about an hour and a half. Marc's mom, "Mimi," arrived at the hospital around 4:00 am. The doctor checked my progress not long after that, and I was still only about 5 cm dilated, fully effaced. I was discouraged that more progress hadn't been made, and very, very tired from a long day and then staying up most of the night, so I finally fell asleep for about an hour. When I woke up, Marcus was watching a movie, so I watched it with him for a little while. I had not pushed my anesthesia button for hours and hours, since I did not like the one-sided numbness, so much of the original numbness had worn off and I could feel every contraction pretty intensely. As I was breathing through a contraction, I suddenly felt a lot of pressure and immediately told the nurse that I thought I was ready to push. Sure enough, she checked me and declared me to be complete. It was time to deliver our daughter!

My doctor here in Birmingham had a very different approach to this part of the process than my doctor in Florida. She wanted the baby to be born at a slower pace to reduce the trauma to my body, so she did not have me push at every contraction. I pushed a few times, rested, then pushed a few more times until the head was out. Then she had me wait and not push through a couple of contractions, giving my body time to adjust to the baby's passage through the birth canal. Even with things slowed down a bit, Lydia was out in less than fifteen minutes. I delivered the placenta immediately afterwards, and my job was finally done. I was much more exhausted from this labor than from either of the others, mostly I think because of the reduced anesthesia, and because I labored all night and delivered in the morning, instead of laboring all day and delivering in the evening.

So, our lovely daughter, Lydia Katherine Wagner, was born on Friday, April 8th at 7:16 AM. She weighed 7 lbs, 7 oz and was 19.5 inches long. She had a good amount of light brown hair and beautiful dark blue eyes (which we did not see until later in the day). They put her on my stomach immediately and I was able to breastfeed her just minutes after birth. I was overwhelmed with how tiny and delicate she was: both her body and her facial features. She was just a little bit smaller than Ethan was as far as birth weight, but much more delicate and feminine in every way. She was so very beautiful to me from the first moment, and I was again amazed by how the heart expands to love each additional child just as much as it loves the others, with unexpected nuances for each child.

A couple of random memories from the delivery...I remember being absolutely starving all through the second half of my labor, and I was very frustrated that it took an hour or two for the hospital to change my dietary status so that I could order food from the hospital cafeteria. I also remember being taken aback the first time I changed Lydia's diaper: after changing little boys for the past five years, it was very odd to open up a diaper and see no penis :)

Our family of five, taken when Lydia was just over one-day-old

Mommy holding Lydia just moments after she was born.

Getting weighed (she was 7 lbs, 7 oz at birth)

Looking so sweet in big brother, Ethan's arms.

Being admired by both big brothers :)

Ethan's 3rd Birthday

2011-04-05T06:00:00.001-05:00

Ethan turned 3-years-old yesterday, and I sort of ruined his birthday. It all started a couple of weeks ago when I called the pediatrician to make appointments for the boys' annual well visits. It turned out that Ethan's birthday was the only day this week that we could see their doctor in the well clinic. I asked if Ethan would be getting any shots, and they said he would not, so I went ahead and made the appointments.

Ethan's birthday dawned around 6:30 am when he rolled out of bed. The rest of us got up and loaded up in the van for breakfast and presents with Daddy at Krispy Kreme, just like we did for Caleb's birthday a couple of weeks ago. Everything went smoothly...Ethan loved his donuts and his presents, and we all had a good time. We left Krispy Kreme when Daddy had to go to work, and the boys and I headed to the pediatrician for our 8:30 appt. Everything went pretty smoothly there, too, until I was told that Ethan had to get two immunizations (I knew ahead of time that Caleb was getting some, but it wasn't his birthday). Ethan actually took both the finger prick and the shots really well, not crying at all for the prick and only for a minute or two after the two shots in his thighs. (I won't go too much into the drama of Caleb's shots, but let's just say that he had to first be dragged out from under the exam table and then they had to call in an extra nurse to help hold him down.)

We left the doctor's office for our first stop, the McWane Science Center, around 9:00 am. Both boys seemed to feel fine and had a great time playing together for about an hour-and-a-half. They spent a long time playing a dodge ball game & then a squash-the-bug game together. We left McWane around 10:30 for Ethan's second destination of choice: I-Jump. Unfortunately, I got some bad info from a website and we discovered upon arriving that I-Jump isn't open on Monday's. By now, Ethan was getting a little whiny and complaining of being tired, so I decided we would head home for some food and a nap. Ethan was almost asleep when we pulled in the garage, so I carried him upstairs and put him down for his nap. I was particularly tired yesterday as well, so I got Caleb started with a Lego set and I took a nap as well. Ethan woke up crying around 1:00 pm, and said that his legs were hurting so much. I should have given him ibuprofen before his nap, but Caleb had gotten two more vaccinations than Ethan and he hadn't complained at all, so I thought Ethan wouldn't need any either.

Regardless, Ethan was feeling too crummy after his nap to proceed with our afternoon plans. So I fixed the boys some leftover spaghetti for a late lunch and then we sat in the play room and unpackaged his new Imaginext Toy Story toys from Nanna & Papa and his very first "real" Lego set from Mimi. The boys played with these new toys for a couple of hours, though Ethan wouldn't walk b/c of his legs...just crawl. Ethan was so sad about his legs and not being able to go anywhere in the afternoon that I suggested he choose a movie for he and Caleb to watch. They rarely get to watch movies at home, so he brightened right up at that treat. They settled onto the couch in the living room and cuddled up under a big blanket to enjoy their movie together. (I was still feeling exceptionally tired and lethargic, so I did an unprecedented thing: I left the kitchen and play room a mess, ignored my to-do list for the day, and went upstairs for a second nap while they boys watched their movie.)

Shortly after the movie was over, Daddy arrived home from work. Ethan was feeling better (thanks to the ibuprofen), so we hopped in the van and headed to Chuck E. Cheese to finish off his birthday fun. Ethan had a lot of fun playing games with Daddy & Caleb. His favorite thing there is always the roller coaster. Unfortunately, it was also the favorite thing of a couple who looked like they were in their late 50's. They sat there on that roller coast ride for four consecutive turns while Caleb or Ethan and I waited patiently beside the ride. At the end of each ride (they last about 4 minutes each), Caleb or Ethan would pipe up with a polite, "Can we please have a turn now?" which was completely ignored by the couple. Even if they were deaf, they would have seen the boys mouths moving as they looked at them, so I can't excuse them with even the possibility of not hearing the question. They just figured they would take the word rude to a whole new level by hogging the roller coast ride and completely ignoring the kids who were waiting.

After their third turn, I spoke to the manager and explained the situation. She waited out the fourth turn with me, and, with beautiful aplomb, stepped in full view of the couple and said, "Would you guys mind getting off and letting these children have a turn now?" The woman looked annoyed at first, but the guy looked sheepish and they both got off without a word. Then the manager handed me about ten extra Chuck E. Cheese coins and apologized for our wait. The boys had a great time on the roller coaster, and I stood by to make sure they got off when anyone else came for a turn.

We picked up some pizza on the way home, fed the boys, and tucked them in. In spite of the ill-timed shots and the closed I-Jump, Ethan's birthday wasn't too bad. And, the good thing is, he probably won't even remember it :)

Wagner Family Visit

2011-04-04T06:00:00.009-05:00

Last week, seven members of the Wagner clan made the trek from Melbourne, Florida to visit us during their Spring Break. In spite of the yucky change in weather that left us with five cold, rainy days in a row, we still managed to have a good time. I was actually pretty impressed with how well the six cousins did, especially considering the confined space of our house and the other limited indoor activities. And even with eleven people sharing one bathroom for five days, everybody stayed clean and we rarely had to wait to use the potty. At least once a day, we were able to mobilize the whole crew for some time out of the house; during those times, we enjoyed the McWane Science Center, Chuck E. Cheese, an indoor McDonald's, Caleb & Ethan's birthday party, and, on the last day when the weather warmed up a bit, some time at Moss Rock Preserve. Marcus had to work every day except Thursday, so he missed out on most of the big breakfasts we enjoyed together, as well as the outings, but he caught up with everyone in the evenings.

I think Mimi (Marc's mom) had the best time of all, simply because she had five days with all six of her grandchildren under one roof, which is sort of a euphoric experience for her :). She also spent a morning going to a prenatal appointment and ultrasound with me and then touring the school where Caleb will be attending kindergarten in the fall. That may not sound fun to you, but she said it was a perfect morning for her. And the next day, she got to spend the morning with Marcus, first going to one of his presentations at a local cancer conference and then shoe shopping together.

Caleb and Ethan did a really amazing job sharing their home, their toys, their Mommy & even their bedroom with their cousins. There really wasn't one territorial meltdown the entire week, even when 3-year-old cousin Kylie stood guard at the door to C & E's bedroom and emphatically informed Ethan that this was HER room and he could NOT come in. Ethan just gave her a long look and then said, "It really is my room, but I am letting you use it," and then headed back downstairs. Caleb and Ethan have always been taught that all of their toys and other things actually belong to God and they are just being permitted to use them for a while, but this is the first time this teaching has been tested out over a series of days like this. There were of course the expected altercations when one child snatched a toy out of another's hand, but there was no general possessiveness expressed by either Caleb or Ethan about their space or their things. Any toy on the shelf or the ground was free game for anyone, and the boys didn't even fuss when their cousins sat in "their" eating seats and slept in their bunk beds. Uncle Mike and Mimi are not early risers, so it was usually Aunt Traci and I doing kid duty and preparing breakfast in the morning, and C & E were generally patient as I served their cousins first. Caleb would occasionally get overstimulated, in which case he would go to the quietest room he could find and play by himself for a little while. Ethan started acting out when he was overstimulated, and he had to be sent up to his bed (a pallet on the floor in our room) to regroup. Overall, all the kids did great together, especially considering the unfortunate weather conditions.

My newest nephew, 4-week-old Dallen McGough with his Mommy, Aunt Traci.

All six Wagner cousins: Kylie & Chase Wagner, Maddie & Dallen McGough, and Caleb & Ethan

Aunt Wendi on our deck with Caleb, Kylie & Ethan

22-month-old Madelyn McGough

Chase, Caleb & Ethan at Moss Rock Preserve

Boys' Birthday Party

2011-03-30T06:00:00.075-05:00

Yesterday, we celebrated the boys' 3rd and 5th birthdays at a joint birthday party, just as we have done for the past three years. And, just like the past three years, nothing went exactly as planned :) Our original party was supposed to be on Saturday in our BFF's backyard, but a gloomy weather forecast convinced us to postpone the party a few days. Unfortunately, this week turned out to be the chilliest, rainiest late March that we've had since moving to Birmingham, and it was still rainy and cold when the new party day approached. So we gave up on an outdoor party and were graciously allowed to use our church's facilities instead. We set up basketball goals, soccer goals & the church's bounce house in the cleared auditorium, and enjoyed pizza and cake in the largest children's classroom. The kids had fun kicking the soccer balls around, shooting hoops, bouncing, and playing some group games like Duck Duck Goose, Red Light Green Light & Simon Says.

We were very excited to have all the Wagner cousins in town for the birthday party: Chase & Kylie Wagner and Maddie & (newborn) Dallen McGough. (Extra kudos to my sister-in-law Traci, who braved the trek from Florida to here in the back of Mimi's minivan with her 22-month-old and 3-week-old.) There were fourteen children in all at the party, including the birthday boys. Both Caleb and Ethan had a great time with no meltdowns, though Caleb did get a tummy ache from too much juice toward the end and elected not to play one of the running games. And Caleb (ever the cautious one) did not want to get close enough to the fire on his birthday candles to blow them out alone, so Daddy and I helped him out. Ethan's favorite part of the night was eating cake, and Caleb's favorite part was opening presents.

Aunt Traci with 22-month-old cousin Madelyn.

Cousin Kylie Wagner

Uncle Mike (Marcus's brother), who I could never catch on film without his iPhone :)

Caleb, grinning in his superhero-themed T-shirt.

Singing "Happy Birthday" to Caleb

Ethan's turn :)

Some guests: Brian & Ethan, Lena Ann & Mary Grace, Caleb & Ethan, William, Jackson & Addison, Lydia & Matthew

Ethan's favorite part: the cake.

Mimi Wagner with Baby Dallen & Aunt Traci

Playing Simon Says

Caleb's favorite part: opening presents

Caleb's 5th Birthday

2011-03-24T06:00:00.061-05:00

Well, the long-awaited day finally arrived for Caleb. He's never cared much about his birthdays in the past, but boy was he excited about this one! He's been counting down the days until his fifth birthday for more than two months. It wasn't the birthday party or the presents or even the cake that he was most looking forward to; it was being 5-years-old. For the past two days, he has initiated every conversation with a stranger like this: "Hi, I'm five." There is no person too insignificant to be blessed with this news, either...the clerk at the grocery store, the mother strolling her baby by us at the park, the hand-stamping guy at Chuck E. Cheese. Need I go on? Apparently, being five has actually usurped his identity, because he no longer introduces himself with his name, just his age :)

Anyway, his birthday was yesterday, and we did a few things to make the day special (since he does have to share his birthday party with his brother every year). Caleb woke up at 6:15, and instead of sending him back to bed until his permitted wake-up time of 6:30, we all got up and went to Krispy Kreme for a birthday breakfast. We took his presents with us and he opened them after our donuts and chocolate milk. He got two new Creator Lego sets from Nanna & Papa, an electronic learning map from Mimi, a Disney movie from cousins Bennett & Jasper and another Disney movie from Mommy & Daddy. He was excited about all five gifts, and asked to watch one of the movies (Beauty & the Beast) as soon as we got home.

We were home before 8:00 am, Daddy went on to work and I put the movie in for the boys. Ethan was complaining that his ear hurt, so I made a quick appt with the pediatrician for him. When the movie was done, I had everything ready to go for our morning at Chuck E. Cheese (Caleb's destination of choice :) We had to delay things a bit to take Ethan to the doctor & then pick up his antibiotics, but we made it to the kid-casino (our fond name for Chuck E. Cheese) by 11:00 am. The boys had an exceptionally good time together during the two hours we were there. Their favorite ride/game is the roller coaster arcade thing, which they rode over and over and over again together. They also really enjoyed playing a car racing video game (I had to hold the gas pedal down for Ethan because he couldn't reach it) together. There was nobody but us and one other little boy in there, so it was very easy to keep up with Caleb and Ethan.

After Chuck E. Cheese, we went home for Ethan's nap. He wasn't feeling well, so I let him sleep a little longer than the hour I usually allow him. Caleb and I started one of his new Lego sets while Ethan was asleep. Caleb was pretty tired himself, but he almost never naps and I decided not to suggest it since it was his birthday. When Ethan woke up, the two of them played together for a while and the three of us ate an early dinner. Then we went to pick up Daddy at work on our way to the next birthday outing: The Treetop Family Adventure. Most of the activities at this place are geared toward children a little older than our boys, but they still enjoyed a spirited game of (adapted) miniature golf with Daddy, and then spent a long time enjoying the two indoor playground areas. By 7:00 pm, both boys were pretty worn out and ready to head home.

Caleb was still very happy about his birthday and about being five when he fell asleep last night, and I was very happy that he enjoyed his birthday so much :) And I think we might have to make the birthday-breakfast-before-Daddy-goes-to-work a tradition.

LifeWalk Camping Weekend

2011-03-16T06:00:00.003-05:00

In true Cross Bridge Church style, the idea of a group campout sort of evolved "organically" in our small group. We have talked about it on-and-off since our campout two years ago, but then, at our last gathering, some dates were thrown around and a weekend in March began to look like it would work for everyone. As the date approached and the weather looked like it was going to cooperate, we decided to invite our "sister" small group as well. As the emails started coming in, I was amazed to see that almost every family from both groups was going to be able to make it out to Oak Mountain State park to enjoy some or all of our camp out.

Originally, Marcus had planned to take that Friday off so he could help me with the kids & setting up the campsites, but we had a last-minute change in plans, so I ended up being at the campsite at 8:30 am on my own with the kids and all our stuff :) Add to that the fact that I had gotten very little sleep the night before due to a double-bed-wetting-and-double-bad-dream night at our house. Thankfully, one of the men from small group called me and offered to come over and help me set up, which was very much appreciated. The boys and I spent the rest of the morning enjoying the beautiful weather at Oak Mountain, and then headed home for Ethan's nap and to pick up the food and other items that didn't make it into the first load. (Normally, we sort of hover around "set" in the "ready, set, go" trajectory of going camping all spring and all fall, so it is not that hard to get everything in the car and out to the campsite. But this time, since there were so many first-time campers joining us, I packed a lot of extra essentials to share, and that made for a lot more stuff.)

The kids and I made it back to the campsite around 3:30 and were joined shortly after that by Marcus. Other families trickled in over the next couple of hours. Marcus got a great campfire going, and we took turns cooking hot dogs on my new Coleman propane skillet. Soon after, we brought out the marshmallow roasting forks and the kids and adults all enjoyed some well-scorched dessert :). The two families that just came out for the evening headed home when the kids got tired, and the three who were camping out started putting their kids down. I was totally exhausted at this point, and, when Ethan fought bedtime and appeared interested in everything but going to sleep, I happily volunteered to take him back home for the night. Ethan and I were home and in bed by 9:30 and we slept soundly until he woke up at 5:45. Feeling much refreshed, we jumped back in the car and headed back to camp to cook breakfast for all of us.

After a sumptuous meal of bacon, eggs, toast & orange juice, and a few more roasted marshmallows around the campfire, everyone started getting ready for our morning hike. Three more non-camping families came out that morning to join us, so there were six families (including ten preschoolers) on this adventure. Marcus played the part of trek guide and took us on a combination of the red and yellow trails, to total about a 2.5 mile hike. We went pretty slow, with lots of stops for exploring, collecting "treasures," and throwing things in the fast-flowing stream that flanked most of our hike. The highlight was a long stop at Maggie's Glen, where there was a little bridge, lots of sunshine, and plenty of rocks and sticks to throw in the water. The low point of the morning was hiking up the sloped trail out of Maggie's Glen, especially since we were all already tired. but we made it back to the cars and then the campsite.

After lunch, the the three families that just came for the morning headed back home to let their kids nap, while the three of us who were camping took our kids down to the camp beach to play in the sand. It had warmed up to the mid-70's, so our boys put their swim shorts on and enjoyed a little wading and water play as well, though the water was still pretty cold. After an hour or so at the camp beach, the idea of driving up to the top of Oak Mountain (so the kids could take a little car nap) and then hiking down to Peavine Falls was proposed. I was pretty beat from the morning hike, but I figured I could go for the ride and see how I felt at the top.

Less than a quarter of a mile into the hike, I hit a wall. We sat down on a cluster of benches, and I seriously doubted whether or not I could get back up. I'd been having Braxton Hicks contractions all afternoon, and I started to worry that I was going to push myself into early labor at 35 weeks. So, anyway, long story shortened, we decided to drive back down the mountain, pick up the food from our campsite, and head home for an evening of rejuvenation and sleep in our own beds. We have never "bailed" like this in the eight campouts we have enjoyed as a family, if that gives you any idea how utterly exhausted I was. We got home a little before 6:00 pm, took baths, ate carry-out pizza, and watched Toy Story 2 with the kids (the promise of this treat is how we coaxed them home from the campsite). I was asleep by 8:00 pm (Marcus finished the movie with the boys & put them to bed), and I slept straight through to 6:00 am (minus one hour for Daylight Savings). At 6:00 am on-the-dot, the boys simultaneously woke up, clamoring to get back to the campsite.

We hadn't even taken the food bin and cooler out of the car, so we just drove straight back to the campsite and went ahead with our planned breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast & OJ. One of the other families from church had stayed a second night, so they walked over to enjoy our campfire and share breakfast with us. The weather on Sunday was just as beautiful (if not more) than Saturday had been. After a short church service around the morning campfire with just our two families and another mother and her daughter who we'd met that weekend, we all walked down to the camp beach for some more water fun. (The two dads stayed back to break down camp.) After the cars were loaded up, we drove over to the petting farm near the entrance of Oak Mountain, and Ethan took a much-needed nap in the car. We ate another picnic lunch after the petting farm, and decided to make one final effort to hike down to Peavine Falls with our friends.

It probably would have been better to call it a day and skip this last hike, but we couldn't resist seeing what all the recent rain had done to the falls. The hike down was very steep, and we took it very slow, letting our friends go on ahead. It was a bit scary at points, since my balance is off (being 8-months-pregnant) and Caleb and Ethan are pretty young for such a steep hike, but we made it to the bottom unharmed, and the boys had a lot of fun playing in a shallow pool near the base of the waterfall. Marcus found a different trail back up, which turned out to be a much easier hike than the way down had been. We got back to the cars to head home around 4:30 pm, at which point I let Caleb play a game on my phone for the 20-minute drive so he wouldn't fall asleep and mess up our early-bedtime potential :)

All-in-all, the weekend was a success because the kids got to spend three days outside and we all enjoyed a lot of time with some of our best friends. I do admit that I bit off a little more than I could chew though, considering my current condition. It's just that, when I'm feeling good, I forget that I'm pregnant and that my gas tank is going to run out much faster than usual. Also, in my defense, I started out on an empty tank as far as sleep and as far as Marc's work plans for Friday changing at the last minute. It's Wednesday now, and I am feeling completely recovered (and out-of-the-woods as far as accidentally inducing myself :)

I almost forgot my very favorite thing about the weekend!! While we were all sitting around the campfire Sunday morning, Marcus surprised me by telling me that he was ready to settle on the baby name we've been talking about for weeks!! I'm going to wait to announce it on the blog until she is born, but now I can put her name up on the wall in the nursery and enjoy calling her by name over the next few weeks! Thank you for this surprise, dear hubby :)

Our fearless trek leader (Marcus) at Maggie's Glen.

Warming up by the fire on Saturday morning.

The kids enjoying the sandy camp beach.

Ethan never feels complete outdoors without a stick in his hand.

Caleb and his friend Mary Grace.

Most of the kids who were there this weekend (4 weren't around for this picture).

The kids playing on the little bridge in Maggie's Glen.

The other brave pregnant mommy who joined us for the hike.

Getting Ready For Baby

2011-03-14T06:00:00.076-05:00

I have been in all-out nesting mode for weeks now! I am a nester even when I'm not pregnant, so my nesting instinct goes a little off the chart toward the end of each pregnancy.

It started back in January when my BFF offered to come over and paint my nursery for me. She and I and another friend browsed pictures of little girl nurseries online, and they helped me come up with something that would go with the used bedding I'd bought (and stay within my very tight budget). The third weekend in January, she and her hubby came over and turned Ethan's old room pink! I did all the prep & painting during the day on Friday, so Marcus, Al & Quenta were able to start and finish the two-toned pink walls on Friday night. I painted the white border stripe over the next week.

The rest of the decorating I did bit by bit, as I had time, and I'm pleased that I spent right around $200 on the whole project. I bought a crib bedding set second-hand from Craig's List for only $50 (it's a Caden Lane set that still retails for $450), and then just picked up little things here and there that went with the bedding. Sheer white curtains were $30 at Target, a white lampshade (on a base I already had) was $5, a pink basket for diapers was $8, name letters were about $12 and the polka-dot baskets were $20. The most expensive part was the painting & supplies, but since a good friend lent me a lot of painting supplies, even that only totaled about $85. It is not my dream nursery for a little girl (that would have required all white furniture and a bedding set with accessories from Pottery Barn Kids), but, for the price, I am very happy with it.

I was very blessed to be given a baby shower by my church, even though this is my third baby and I thought my baby shower days were over. I got a lot of beautiful and useful things, and had a lot of fun washing everything and putting it all away. I have to admit I had a bit of a surreal moment when I opened the dryer and saw a full load of pink baby clothes. I think it hit me anew that this girl thing is going to be a whole new adventure. I enjoyed washing and putting away the few little baby bottles, pacifiers, and other things and carving out a little cabinet shelf for "baby stuff" again. Over the past few weeks, I've dragged the stroller, baby car seat, swing, and bouncy seat out of attic and cleaned each one thoroughly. The boys get excited about each new baby thing that appears.

I made myself wait until after the baby shower to buy any clothes for this baby. Since I have known that she is a girl for seventeen weeks, that has been a monumental exercise in self-control. I have browsed and fingered and wished, but all without spending a dime on clothes until this week. I'm glad I didn't buy anything before, because between my Mom's shopping spree back in November, hand-me-downs from two friends at church, and the baby shower, I really hardly need anything. The only two things left to buy were a little bathing suit for the summer and an Easter dress. I decided to choose between the two, and went with the bathing suit since she will wear that more. Besides, she will only be a week or two old on Easter and will likely not even make it out of her swaddling blanket at church :) So the first outfit I bought for my daughter was a SUPER cute little bathing suit with a matching hat from Gymboree.. I'm sure there will be pictures of her in it on the blog eventually :)

My nesting has definitely expanded outside the home into a frenzy of appointment-making. I just looked at the calendar and counted FIFTEEN appointments for Caleb, Ethan and me during the next five weeks before my due date (e.g. hair cuts for all three of us, maternity pictures, prenatal visits, carpet cleaning, AC maintenance, spring pictures of boys, hearing evaluation for Ethan, an optometry appt, and annual well visits for the boys!) Add to that the fact that Marcus's brother and his family, as well as Marc's Mom (Mimi) will be coming to spend the week with us for their Spring Break, and you can see that we will be keeping ourselves busy between now and Baby Sister's arrival!

I have to put the finishing touches on the nursery (including hanging the name letters, now that we have finally settled on a name), and then I will take and post some pictures.

Ethan (Monthly Update)

2011-03-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

Ethan is one month shy of his third birthday now! A new development in Ethan's world is a recent obsession with shorts. He was so excited when he put his first pair of shorts on after six months of pants. He really does not like pants, shoes or socks. When forced to wear pants because it is cold outside, he insists on having them rolled two or three times so they don't even touch his ankles, and he is usually barefoot in the house (even though the tile floors are FREEZING in winter).

Since the first day that I let him wear shorts several weeks ago, his first question every morning is "Can I put some shorts on, Mommy?" Sometimes I have to say no because we are going somewhere and the high is barely going to be 60, but most of the time I say yes and am duly rewarded with a huge grin. Since shorts came into the picture, Ethan is usually fully dressed within five minutes of waking up. Today he even dug out a pair of Caleb's old sandals from the shoe bin and wore them all day long, calling them "my flip-flopping shoes, cuz they go flip, flop, flip, flop when I walk."

Ethan is just hilarious when he gets into trouble (which is a frequent occurrence). He is so good at distracting the scolding parent or teacher (or brother) from what he just did, or at least making us smile while we dole out the consequences. Here is a classic, almost formulaic example:

Mommy: Ethan, did you just throw that car at Caleb?

Ethan: Sorry, it was an accident and not on purpose (it was definitely on purpose). But I didn't throw the space ship at his head! (in a tone of, "Look at the bright side, Mom!") Mommy, are you wearing lipstick on your lips? You look kind of like a princess right now." (I haven't even showered yet, let alone put on make-up)

And so he goes, talking nonstop with excuses, alternative perspectives and even flattery until the hearer smiles and Ethan knows that whatever consequence is coming has at least been mitigated. At the same time that I see the humor of all this, I also know how destructive such a gift can be and I work extra hard not to fall under his spell. But, as I teach him to use his quick tongue and quick mind to bless others and not to use them, I'm going to continue to enjoy seeing him in action :)

In the discipline arena, Ethan has been a little on the rambunctious / mischievous / limit-pushing side lately. I think he is dealing with a little angst about Mommy's growing tummy. He does not like that my lap is not as available (purely because of space) as it used to be, and he really does not like that I will rarely carry him anywhere anymore. He doesn't seem to mind all the new baby things emerging from closets and coming home from baby showers, though, and he is very excited about meeting his baby sister. He puts his ear on my tummy sometimes and tells me what she is saying. His eyes lit up like stars when we explained that he was soon going to be a big brother to her just like Caleb is a big brother to him. I'm very much looking forward to observing and being a part of this new brother/sister relationship.

That's all I can think of in Ethan-land this month. Just six more weeks (or less!) until we become a family of five. I'm getting more and more excited every day!!!!!

Swimming Lessons

2011-02-28T06:00:00.003-06:00

February flew by for me because of the nice weather. The boys took swimming lessons this month. (It's a month earlier than our swim lessons last year, but we had to get them in before our membership to the gym expired.) Lessons went well for both boys. I was relieved that Caleb didn't lose any ground over the winter. He can still swim (dog paddle) on his own. The point of lessons this time was to encourage him to swim underwater. He is still resistant to putting his face/head in, but he definitely made progress. By the end of the month, he was swimming in short spurts under the water without freaking out about the water in his eyes/nose/ears.

Ethan's entry-level preschool class was more about getting comfortable in the water, which turned out to be kind of a waste of money, since he is already as comfortable as can be in the water. He was the only one in his class who was perfectly happy to jump off the diving board, over and over again (Caleb still doesn't like the diving board). Ethan has no problem putting his whole head under the water, floating on his back, blowing bubbles, kicking, or any of the other swim lesson activities. The one thing I wanted Ethan to work on in swim lessons is keeping himself afloat independently, but they spent so much time playing games and "getting comfortable" in the water, that he had very few opportunities to work on that, and therefore made very little progress. Regardless, it was good for him to be in the water twice a week all month.

A Week of Parks

2011-02-21T11:50:00.090-06:00

We have had such gorgeous weather the past ten days or so! Last week, we went to a different park every day of the week and enjoyed hours outside every day. On Sunday, we took the kids to Leeds Park. It is really pretty far from our house, but not too far from church, so it's a great Sunday afternoon option. Plus, the kids don't get to go there much and therefore they love it. It has a huge play set that makes me a little dizzy when I look all the way up it, but doesn't daunt the boys at all :) On Monday, we met a friend and her two little ones at a little neighborhood park near our house, and then, after Ethan's nap, I took the boys to Hoover Sports Park Central, another nearby park that Marcus recently discovered.

On Tuesday, we spent almost three hours in the afternoon at our very favorite park, which the boys have dubbed "The Castle Park." It has a huge maze of wooden levels with "castle" look-out points that the boys love exploring and running through. When they were younger, it made me nervous to go there, because I can rarely see both of them at once, but now that they are older, it is fun for all of us. Caleb recently learned to do the monkey bars at this park, because they are low to the ground and he didn't mind dropping whenever his arms got tired. While we were there this afternoon, Caleb and Ethan made friends with a sibling group of three, and the five of them played hide-and-seek-freeze-tag for a long time.

On Wednesday, we went to Homewood Park (the kids call it the "Caterpillar Park") and rode bikes. This was quite a workout for me because I had to keep up with Ethan, who is not quite old enough to be trusted to stay on the sidewalk throughout the park, nor to steer clear of younger/smaller children. I was pretty worn out after an hour and a half, and the park was starting to get crowded, so we loaded back into the car and went over to Aldridge Gardens to meet Aunt Wendi and Joel for a quick hike around the gardens. Caleb loves parks, but Ethan prefers hiking and the zoo, so this was his favorite part of the week so far. On Thursday, we spent the morning at Veteran's Park. I guess the rest of the Mommies were pretty parked-out by then, because it wasn't too busy. Caleb and Ethan did manage to find two little girls (sisters) to play monsters with, though (monsters = the boys act like monsters and chase the girls and the girls squeal and run away).

By Friday, I was almost ready to stay home and forgo one day of beautiful weather, but a friend called and invited us to a play date at the castle park, so we got ready and headed over there. I probably should have followed my instinct, since this turned out to be the only day all week that the boys weren't happy and well-behaved outside. Ethan was whiny and Caleb was mischievous, so we called it a morning a little early and headed home for Ethan's nap.

Saturday was the best day of all, because Marcus got to go with us to Oak Mountain State Park, where we hiked for hours with Aunt Wendi and Joel. We stopped by the petting zoo first, and were amazed to see five new pairs of goat kids in the barn (I say pairs because there were two born to each mother...maybe goats always have two at a time, I don't know :) All five pairs had been born within the past week, and one had been born just two hours before we arrived. They were still wet and very, very new. Since almost all the goats were in the barn with their babies, there were only a strutting peacock, a very sweet Shetland pony, and a lot of very shy sheep in the barnyard, so we didn't get to do much petting. Next, we drove over to one of the lower trail heads and set off on our hike. We always hike pretty slowly with plenty of stops to allow the kids to climb up a slope, walk over a log bridge, or collect cool things they see along the path. At one point, we stopped near a stream so the boys could throw stuff in the water (a favorite amusement). The weather was so nice that we even let them strip down to their undies and play in the stream for about 30 minutes. They, of course, got soaking wet, but they had a blast, and, when they were done, we just took off their undies and put their shorts, T-shirts and shoes back on. When we finally got back to the cars, we looked at the trail map and realized that the boys had made it for a 2.5 mile hike! (and Marcus only had to carry Ethan for about ten minutes) It was a beautiful day outside, and I am so glad Marcus got to take a break from his dedicated studying to enjoy it with us.

The great weather is supposed to be continuing this week, so the plan is to visit the zoo and another favorite park that didn't make it into the line-up last week, though we are taking Monday off for grocery shopping and getting some housework done :)

Birmingham Winters

2011-02-16T06:00:00.005-06:00

As I've mentioned before, I love the climate here in northern Alabama. Each season lasts about 3 months, which is the perfect amount of time (in my opinion). For the most part, winter is December, January & February; spring is March, April & May; summer is June, July & August; and fall is September, October & November. It gets pretty cold during the winter months (at least compared to Florida), but we rarely get snow or ice. This is our third winter here, and we have had snow for 1 or 2 days each year. That is just the right amount of snow for me, since we are a southern family and my kids will only play in the snow for about 30 minutes at a time anyway. My favorite thing about winters here is the random warm days (or weeks) that seem to come out of nowhere. In December, there are usually 5-7 sunshiny days during which the high is in the upper sixties (or even higher). In January, we're lucky to get 1 or 2 nice days like that. In February, it's usually back to 5-7 pretty days. We're getting even more than that in February this year: this is the fourth day of temps in the high 60's, and they are predicting the same kind of beautiful, sunny days for the next five days. We went to two parks on Monday and spent most of the day outside yesterday, so we are milking this taste of spring! I love being outside!

Lego Mania

2011-02-11T06:00:00.001-06:00

For the past six weeks or so (ever since Caleb got five sets of Legos at Christmas), building Lego creations has been his favorite past time. He hasn't been napping at all for the past four weeks, and he usually spends Ethan's nap time breaking and rebuilding one of his Lego sets. He is impressively focused and meticulous about following the directions. He checks and double-checks that he's done everything on one page before moving to the next, and he rarely makes a mistake. When he asks for help, it's almost always help finding a piece, not figuring out where to put something. And it is definitely the process that he enjoys more than the product, because he has no problem breaking one of his creations so he can start a new one. The first few pictures are of him building one of the cars in his car set. The last picture are things he built over the past couple of days: a house/carport, a mini-castle, and a helicopter.

Puff the Magic Dragon

2011-02-09T06:00:00.032-06:00

My kids are currently fascinated with the song Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul & Mary. They follow the lyrics (and can sing most of them), and listen attentively every time we sing it or play it. They are intrigued by the idea of a boy with a magic dragon to play with, but they are puzzled by the fact that the boy grows up and deserts his friend. You can see on Ethan's face that he feels the dragon's pain on that day that "Jackie Paper came no more." Caleb's favorite part is the chorus, which he sings with gusto, but Ethan is captivated by that final verse..."the sad part," as he calls it.

Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee,
Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puff,
And brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff.

Oh Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee,
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee.

Together they would travel on a boat with billowed sail
Jackie kept a lookout perched on Puff’s gigantic tail,
Noble kings and princes would bow whene’er they came,
Pirate ships would lower their flag when Puff roared out his name.

Oh! Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee,
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee.

A dragon lives forever but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys.
One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.
His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain,
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane.
Without his life-long friend, Puff could not be brave,
So Puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave.

Ringling Brothers Circus

2011-02-07T06:00:00.007-06:00

We got two free tickets to the circus through our library children's reading program, so we took the boys to see the show while it was in town last weekend. The kids had a great time. They saw tigers, elephants, horses and zebras, as well as stunt men, acrobats, tight-rope walkers and all kinds of other performers. Marcus and I were most impressed by the human canon ball catapulted across the arena, as well as the animal trainer in the ring of white tigers. The whole thing lasted several hours, but the boys didn't get antsy until the very end. We did find out that the reason the circus can afford to give out free tickets is because they make most of their money through the vendor's booths. A little plastic toy cost $22, cotton candy was $12, a snow cone in a cup was $18. The shocking thing to us is that people were buying this stuff right and left. I was flabbergasted to see one Mom hand over THREE $100 bills to a vendor to pay for a few toys and snacks for her three kids and herself. We, needless to say, bought absolutely nothing. But we had a great time walking around looking at everything, and definitely enjoyed watching the show with the kids.

Ethan (Monthly Update)

2011-02-04T08:20:00.003-06:00

Ethan is 2 years and 10 months old today. He is doing really well with recognizing his letters. He knows most of the them, capital or lower case, on site, as well as the phonetic sound. A few cause him some trouble, like "V", "J" and "W." He loves to do his ABC puzzle, write letters, or do letters on the Starfall website. He is learning to recognize his numbers as well and knows about half of them. He can count a group of objects of up to five consistently, which he does multiple times of day. He knows his birthday, our address (at least the street, city & state part), and is well on his way to being able to recite Mommy's phone number without help. He can say the seasons, the days of the week and all twelve months in order, most of the time without missing any. He loves to sing the songs "Puff the Magic Dragon" and "Jingle Bells."

His love for his Superman costume has not waned in the six months we've had it. At some point around Christmas time, I started limiting him to wearing it just one day each week (to avoid the battle of getting dressed in other clothes all the other days). So for the past two months, he has asked every morning what day it is, since he knows that he can only wear Superman clothes on Monday. His second-favorite thing to wear is absolutely nothing, which is only allowed for a little while after baths (since it is the dead of winter). After naked-time, his next choice is pajamas, which he wears almost all of the time we are at home. He does not like regular clothes at all (particularly pants), and getting him dressed to go out is always either a negotiation or a battle.

Ethan has a lot of favorite toys right now: a baby iguana (a little TY beanie baby) that sleeps with him every night and every nap, an Imaginext Batman plane with a specific Batman figure (we have 3, but he only plays with his favorite one), a Superman figurine (we have two of the exact same one, but he will only play with the one that doesn't "kick him's legs"), a long orange Tinker Toy stick that is a sword to him, and a flashlight that Uncle Mike gave him at Christmas time. He totes some (or all) of these toys around the house with him all of the time, and he doesn't like to set them down. If he needs his hands for something else, he wants me to hold the toys that are in his hands. Usually I just help him find a nice corner to pile them in for the moment.

He is still very generous and forgiving and protective of others. He always shares his treats, is quick to forgive almost every offense, and is the first to jump into a (literal) fray to defend someone else. He will go so far as to hide the switch when he hears me tell Caleb that he is going to get a spanking. When Caleb has been caught by the "tickle monster" and is being mercilessly tickled, Ethan stops mid-run, turns around, and jumps right into the conflict to pull Caleb away. He is an energetic little sweetheart and we love him dearly!

Third Trimester

2011-01-26T06:00:00.047-06:00

Yesterday was the beginning of my third trimester. I haven't done a very good job of writing about this pregnancy (or either of the others), so I thought I'd take some time for that. The morning sickness subsided significantly around 13-weeks. Since then, I've had a lot more days than not where I have been totally exhausted. For those of you who haven't experienced it or can't remember it, let me try to describe pregnancy exhaustion: it's like the feeling you have after working a long day, staying up way too late, sleeping poorly, then working another long day, except that you feel that way when you wake up in the morning after a full night's sleep. Some hours, I feel so tired I think just making it up the stairs is more than I can do. Once in a while, I'll have a "normal" day, where I feel relatively energetic, get a lot done, and have a lot of fun with the boys. I am very grateful for these days (or parts of days), both physically and psychologically, because I feel like myself again and I have hope that "myself" will return full force someday :) But the other days, I am basically dragging myself through everything I do. I do my best to do everything with a good attitude and a "cheerful heart" (as I'm always saying to the boys), but there is definitely a spark missing. In spite of all this, it is usually pretty easy for me to adjust my perspective and be thankful even for the fatigue and discomfort, because it is all so much better than being nauseated all of the time.

A Day In the Life Of...

2011-01-21T06:00:00.397-06:00

This is the third year in a row that I have sat down near the turning of the year and typed up a play-by-play of my life as a stay-at-home mom. (For the exceptionally curious, here are links to the 2008 and 2010 posts.) This is long and detailed, and not for the casual reader, but I love having a verbal snapshot of what our days are like each year. Here goes...

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

5:40 AM I wake up very reluctantly to Ethan calling "Mommy! Mommy!" I stumble into his room and he whispers, "I'm cold, can you lay the blanket flat on me?" I cover him up and start to head back to bed when he says, "Mommy, could you please lay down in my bed and sleep with me for one minute?" I realize that he is probably not going back to sleep either way, but there is a little better chance if I lay down with him, so I consent and cuddle in his bed with him for a few minutes.

6:00 AM I give up on Ethan going back to sleep and we both get up. I open the blinds in the boys' room and leave the door open, in hopes that Caleb will wake up soon and then be tired enough to nap with Ethan this afternoon (which he hasn't done all week). When we get downstairs, Ethan wants to be held so he can choose his cereal out of the upper pantry. He chooses Chocolate Bunches of Oats, dried fruit and a cup of milk for breakfast. I fix his food and put it in front of him, then go upstairs and use the bathroom, brush my teeth and put in my contacts.

6:15 AM I hear a crash and come down to see that Ethan has accidentally knocked his bowl of cereal on the floor. Thankfully, he didn't want milk on it this morning so it is easy to clean up. I sweep up the mess, give him more cereal, chew up my vitamins and pour myself a bowl of cereal. I take my cereal downstairs and get on the computer to write a quick blog post about the boys climbing trees.

6:35 AM Just as I hit "publish," Ethan wails. He has finished his breakfast and joined me in the play room. The wail is because he accidentally stepped on the lid of a toy container and hurt his foot. I hold him while he whimpers for a minute, and then go get his "night-night" for him at his request.

6:45 AM Marcus comes down dressed for work while Ethan and I are cuddling. Marcus gives Ethan a toy camera that he fixed for him last night and Ethan's good mood is restored. He climbs off my lap and goes to take pictures. I feed the dogs and then go upstairs to wake up Caleb and collect a load of laundry to put in.

6:55 AM Caleb beats my back downstairs and asks for breakfast, so I put down the huge load of laundry I'm carrying to fix his food. He asks for waffles and I remember that there are some leftover waffles in the freezer from the batch I made yesterday, so I pop two in the toaster and pour his milk. He is a little grumpy (as usual in the morning), so I have him repeat his grumpy comments & questions in a pleasant voice several times. While Caleb eats his waffles (Ethan has one, too), we go over our days of the week, months, weather, seasons, memory verse, good habits, address, phone number and birthdays and then recite the Lord's Prayer together.

7:10 AM The boys head into the living room to play with their trains while I resume my laundry trip to the garage. I get the laundry sorted and start the first load when I hear a wail from the living room. Two boys come sprinting downstairs, one with a train in hand and the other bent on violence. We talk through the dispute and it appears that Caleb is more in the wrong. He sits in time out, then apologizes to his brother. Ethan forgives him readily and then gives him the train that they were previously disputing over and the play resumes happily

7:25 AM I get my workbook from the ladies' class I'm in at church and do a few pages of homework in the living room while the boys play.

7:50 AM Caleb climbs on the couch to jump and is reminded that he is too big to jump from couch to couch. This is something I just decided a couple of days ago, and he looks genuinely sad and even says quietly, "I don't want to grow bigger. I get too big to do all the fun things!" I put my workbook and Bible down and take the kids downstairs to show them pictures of Alabama Adventure (the local theme & water park that we have season tickets for this summer) to remind him of the advantages of getting bigger. Then the boys want to play with the dogs in the garage, so I move the car out of the garage. While they play with the dogs and ride their bikes in circles, I sweep out the garage (one of today's several cleaning tasks) and move the load of laundry over. I also call my OB's office and make my first prenatal appointment in 3 months.

8:30 AM The boys watch Dinosaur Train on PBS while I take a shower and get dressed for the day.

9:00 AM We head upstairs to do our morning homeschooling stuff. The boys tidy up their rooms while I fold a load of their laundry and put it away. Caleb is resistant to cleaning up his assigned area, so I spank him twice before he will get to work. When they are done, Ethan gets out the Spanish workbooks and Caleb chooses which page we will practice that day. He chooses "Mas Cosas," so we listen to that track on the CD twice and practice saying those 20 or so words. Ethan wants to read books next, so both boys choose a book to read and I choose our unit book from Five In A Row, which is Katy and the Big Snow this week. We read the books together and then Caleb asks if we can play a game next. The boys choose Chutes and Ladders. The game goes well and both boys do very well, both with counting and coping with the "ups and downs" of the game. In the end, I win, and Caleb struggles internally with the loss. He triumphs over his bad loser instinct though, and says, "Good game, Mommy." Ethan doesn't care at all and is already playing with the marble race toy in their room. While I clean up the game, Ethan suggests that we do Bible reading next and goes to get the Bibles. I turn over the 5-minute sand timer and we all sit quietly "reading" our Bibles until the timer is done. The boys show me which stories they have selected and I read both stories. Ethan gets a little rambunctious toward the end of the second story and starts pulling books off the bookshelf. I redirect him to doing a puzzle and finish the second Bible story. The last thing on the morning agenda is exercises. We start with jumping jacks, which Caleb gets really into this morning and keeps jumping and counting all the way to 100 (Ethan and I stop around 25.) I'd never heard him count past 40 independently before, so I was impressed. We continue by doing leg lifts, push-ups, squats and all kinds of stretches.

11:00 AM Back downstairs for an early lunch, since we didn't do a morning snack and we are all hungry. I fix hot dogs (Hebrew National All-Beef), corn and grapes for the boys. At first, Caleb complains about the food, since he is an extremely picky eater and doesn't like hot dogs or corn and wasn't in the mood for grapes. I remind him that there are children all over the world who would give away their clothes to have this much good food. He says nothing, but starts eating his food. I guess both boys were listening to my little talk because they both volunteered several positive and thankful comments during lunch. While the kids eat, I load & run the dishwasher, wipe down the counters, and fix myself a tuna salad sandwich.

11:20 AM They finish just as my lunch is ready, so they go down to the play room and I eat my lunch in front of my computer and start to type up this blog. The kids play with minimal conflict for about an hour, though Ethan does have to sit in timeout twice for knocking down Caleb's magnet towers and once for hitting Caleb. In between all the interjections of "Watch this, Mommy!" and "Can you open this, please, Mommy?" and "Will you help me with this?", I spend the rest of that hour blogging and backing up all the documents & pictures on my computer to an external hard drive (something I do about four times a year, since my computer is old and unreliable). I also eat a slice of leftover apple pie :). At one point, Ethan squeals in panic and tells me that something is stuck in his nose. I look to see that he has put a small white cylinder-shaped Lego from one of Caleb's Lego sets into his nose. I remove it quickly with tweezers and ask him why he did that. He tells me that he wanted to be silly like the guy in Toy Story 3. We talk about the importance of never putting anything in our noses or ears.

12:30 PM We do a couple of things from the afternoon agenda: Music Time (listen to our Daily Songs playlist on iTunes and sing along) and Caleb's math lesson for the day, since I know we will have baths and getting ready for church after naptime. The kids each get a quick snack before naps since lunch was so early today.

1:00 PM Both boys go potty & Ethan brushes his teeth because he says they are yucky (he loves brushing his teeth). Both kids get in bed and I tuck them in. Caleb argues with me every step of the way, insisting that he doesn't need a nap. I insist that he has to try, since we will be up late because of church tonight. I come downstairs, move the laundry over, take the load out of the dryer, fold a few things, and hang up a few wet things from the other load that can't be dried. Then I read today's chapters of Job in my chronological daily Bible.

1:30 PM I go upstairs, hoping that Caleb went to sleep and I can now take a short nap. Unfortunately, today is no different than any other day this week...he is lying wide awake in bed. I tell him that he can get up and go play quietly in the playroom while Mommy rests. I lay in bed resting, but not sleeping, for about 20 minutes.

1:55 PM Caleb comes into my room and whispers, "Mommy, will you help me with the Lego thing I'm building?" I sigh and head downstairs to join him, mentally noting that I need to wake Ethan up in 35 minutes (he is very difficult to get down at bedtime if he naps for more than an hour-and-a-half). I help Caleb with the Legos, fix myself a snack, and write a little more of this blog.

2:30 PM I wake Ethan up from his nap and fix a snack of Chex Mix and raisin bread toast for both boys. While they eat, I empty the dishwasher and reload it with the lunch dishes.

3:00 PM We get started on Table Time. I print Caleb out a color-by-number with seven colors. He colors it perfectly with colored pencils, not a jot outside the lines, working on it for 40 minutes straight. Ethan uses a yellow marker to color a different color-by-number in about ten minutes, paying no attention to the lines or numbers :) Ethan then plays with Tinker Toys while Caleb colors. I tidy up the play room.

3:45 PM Caleb is still only half-done with his picture, but I ask him if he wants to finish it later. He decides he does want to do something else, so I take out the stack of twenty 3-letter-word flash cards and we do his reading practice. He does very well today, both in attitude and skill. He doesn't get upset when he makes a mistake, and gets most of the words right on the first try.

4:00 PM Ethan picks out a few toys to take upstairs for his bath. Caleb stays in the play room to build a Lego sled and man while Ethan and I go upstairs. I get Ethan in the bath. Ethan, who LOVES bath time, plays for about 25 minutes while I put on make-up and fold some laundry. Caleb calls me from downstairs to help him with the Legos. I tell him to bring them upstairs, which he does, and I help him with the part he's stuck on.

4:30 PM I get Ethan out of the bath, drain the water, and start running Caleb's bath. After Caleb is in, I get Ethan dressed for church and then look through two sets of Baby Einstein flash cards with him. He is very proud of himself for recognizing his numbers and does a good job counting items on the cards. Then I get Caleb out of the bath, set out his clothes and tell him to get dressed for church. I look at my phone to see a missed call and text from a friend who is sick, so I call her back and chat for a few minutes. Ethan deliberately exasperates his brother several times while I'm on the phone, impudently ignoring my warning looks and words, so he gets a spanking when I get off.

5:00 PM Both boys are ready for church, so I send them to play in different rooms while I cook dinner. This is a regular preemptive move that I use to avoid conflict while I am trying to cook. My energy-level and patience-level are at their low points during this hour, so it goes better for all of us if there is no conflict. I dice and saute the chicken for the quesadillas and cut up an avocado. About halfway through cooking, the boys sweet-talk me into letting them play together, assuring me that they will be good and not fight. They keep their word and play nicely until dinner is ready.

6:00 PM The boys and I sit down to eat dinner. Marcus calls about five minutes later saying he is on his way home. I finish eating, clean up, and then pack Marc's dinner to be eaten on the road, since we will have to leave for church as soon as he pulls in.

6:25 PM Marcus walks in. I pull the car into the garage, we load up and all leave for church. Marcus eats his quesadillas in the car.

8:35 PM Pull back in the garage after church. Kids had a great time at church, but, unfortunately are pretty wired and not very tired-looking. (It is amazing to me that my 4-year-old can go from 6:45 AM until 9:00 PM with no nap and without ever looking or acting tired, and that my 2-year-old can get up an hour earlier, take a 90-minute nap, and be just as alert and happy at 9:00 as his brother.) We head straight upstairs, I get the kids to brush their teeth and go potty, and then get their pajamas on in their room. Daddy comes in and reads their two books to them, tucks them in their beds and hands them back over to me. I cuddle in bed with Caleb for a few minutes, whispering with him about his day and praying with him. Then I do the same with Ethan.

9:00 PM Caleb falls asleep while I'm finishing up with Ethan. I kiss Ethan good night, tiptoe the six or seven steps from Ethan's bed to mine, and collapse on top of my bed, fully-clothed, contacts in, no covers, etc. I intended just to rest for a minute, but I guess my body took over because that is the last thing I remember.

Little Monkeys

2011-01-19T06:00:00.007-06:00

On Sunday afternoon, Marcus took the boys outside with him to rake leaves. At some point, they figured out that one of the small trees in our front yard is perfect for climbing. Marcus assured me he was spotting them the whole time :)

An Eventful Small Group Meeting

2011-01-17T06:00:00.140-06:00

Last night, it was our turn to host our small group meeting. To give you a little background...At the end of every "semester", we discuss as a group some tweaking that can be done to better meet everyone's needs & preferences for the following semester. One of the tweaks for this spring was to have a different family prepare the entire meal once a month, so that everyone else can just come and enjoy the fellowship without having to cook. Since we were signed up for January, our family had the first turn for this endeavor. The plan was for everyone to arrive around 4:00 pm, start the Bible Study at 4:30, and then eat and visit from 5:30 to 7:00.

I didn't initially intend to do as much cooking as I ended up doing, but Marcus had to go into work on Saturday, so the boys and I were at home all day with very little housework or homeschooling to do. The boys enjoyed a free-play-at-home day (and were extremely good and low maintenance all day!) while I enjoyed a cooking & baking day. I started out by making two pumpkin pies, followed by two apple pies (which the boys helped with). Next, I prepared the Italian sausage/beef/marinara sauce that would later go in the lasagna. It took about 45 minutes to do the stovetop part of the meat sauce, and then I poured it all in the crock pot to cook for four more hours. Later that afternoon, when the meat sauce was done, I spent another hour layering the two lasagnas. On Sunday afternoon, I made the green bean casserole (with from-scratch cream sauce!) and finished cleaning the house. I intended to cook chicken nuggets (for the kids) and crescent rolls during the Bible study.

At about 3:45, the first family arrived. Marcus and I, as usual, were still in a flurry of last-minute preparations (especially since the kids and I had just woken up from our nap about 30 minutes earlier). As the second and third families were arriving, I turned the oven on to preheat for the lasagnas. A few minutes later, our very sensitive kitchen smoke alarm went off and I realized that there were some apple pie drippings that were burning off the bottom of the oven. Since we didn't have time to cool the oven down for a full cleaning, we opened the doors and windows and decided to let the drippings burn off. Just this situation (a smoky, stinky kitchen) with twenty guests in my house was enough to put a serious damper on my well-planned evening. But this was just the beginning. After several minutes of smoke seeping visibly and steadily through the cracks of my oven, I opened it slightly to see an open flame burning impudently in the bottom of the oven. I grabbed the kitchen fire extinguisher off the wall and handed it to my best friend, who wisely suggested that we should first remove the lasagnas from the oven. By the time I had the two casserole dishes out of the oven, the flame had subsided some and Quenta was able to blow it the rest of the way out.

Marcus was the next worker on the scene. He quickly removed two screws from the base of the still-hot oven so he could slide out the bottom panel and see what in the world was catching fire in our oven. It turned out to be just what we thought, a small pile of apple pie filling that was just large enough to ignite and make a LOT of smoke. Marcus and I cleaned the burnt mess out of the bottom of the (still-hot) oven while the other adults did their best to keep the ten preschoolers out of the kitchen and under control (no easy task) When the oven was as clean as we could get it, Marcus put everything back together again and replaced the screws. Glad to finally be back on track, albeit 30 minutes behind schedule, I turned the oven back on and put the lasagnas back in.

Within five minutes, to our chagrin, there was once again an open flame burning in the bottom of the oven, this time much larger and alarming. We quickly removed the lasagnas and had the fire extinguisher in hand, but Marcus was able to subdue this fire with cups of water. At this point, thinking there was something serious wrong with the oven, we began to discuss the logistics of getting pizza. While these discussions were going on, Marcus began disassembling the oven once again, only to discover a mostly-burned hot pad that had been accidentally "installed" into the bottom of the oven during the first hectic reassembly process. In Marcus' defense, it was a crazy environment to be doing any kind of repair (10 preschoolers running around!), and the hot pad was a very dark color just like the base of the oven. Marcus is typically extremely thorough and methodical about fixing things, and he had never done anything like that before.

Anyway, now that we knew the cause of the second fire, we decided to herd the kids into the play room and go ahead with our Bible study while Marcus cleaned up and reassembled the oven a second time. From this point, the evening actually went very well, despite the rough start. The adults had a good discussion while the kids played downstairs with Mr. Tim (who later said he was cured of wanting a third child). The lasagnas finally enjoyed a peaceful, smoke-free hour in the oven, and I was able to make the chicken nuggets and crescent rolls as the discussion was winding down. The kids ate their meal first (due to limited seating) and then we sent them back downstairs to watch a movie while we enjoyed our meal and dessert. The lasagna turned out to be the best I've ever made, which we all jokingly attributed to the secret ingredient of burnt hot pad smoke.

So I survived the first fire in my kitchen (and then the second fire in my kitchen) with twenty people in my house. Thankfully, they were all very good friends, and everyone thought the whole thing was hilarious. I guess that is better than the first kitchen fire happening when nobody was home :)

Homeschooling Update

2011-01-12T06:00:00.011-06:00

This post is in response to your question, Katherine (though, I admit, I don't need much encouragement to talk about it).

Though my original homeschooling plans that I posted about back in August were slightly derailed by morning sickness, we got back on track in early November and things have been going well since then. The routine/agenda has not changed much, but I'll type it up again since it's been six months. Our day usually goes something like this:

During breakfast, we use a learning calendar to practice weekdays, months, seasons and weather. I also have a binder that we go through that includes the Lord's Prayer, this week's memory verse, our address & phone numbers, birthdays, and a section of good and bad habits that we discuss each morning. (I type these habit sheets up and add clip art based on whatever I think needs some attention at the time, i.e. washing hands, flushing potty, chewing with mouth closed, making eye contact, etc.)

Sometime during the morning hours, worked in around the kids playing, running errands, and me doing housework, we make our way up to their bedroom for these activites:

Get Ready--Get dressed, brush teeth & hair, tidy room, make bed

Bible Reading--Mommy reads her Bible silently while boys look at picture Bibles and each choose a story

Bible Story--Mommy reads chosen stories to boys

Exercise--Push-ups, abs, squats, jumping jacks, stretches, etc.

Read--Read Five in a Row book and other books aloud

Spanish--Listen to Hear Say CD, look at pictures in workbook and practice saying words

Games/Puzzles--Play board or card game and/or do floor puzzles together

After school time in their room, we go downstairs for more play time and (usually) 30 minutes of PBS (favorite shows are Curious George, Caillou, Dinosaur Train & Super Why). Next is lunch and then naps, though Caleb usually only naps once or twice a week. After nap time, we work in these afternoon activities between playing outside, taking baths, preparing dinner, tidying the play room and any remaining housework. (On the days Caleb doesn't nap, I try to do his math and phonics lessons while Ethan is sleeping).

Table Time--Alternate coloring, scissors & glue, handwriting, drawing, painting, etc.

"FIAR" Activity--Alternate subject lessons throughout week from Five in a Row

Phonics--starfall.com and sight word flash cards reading practice (Caleb)

Math--math workbook followed by a PBS math game on computer (Caleb)

Music--sing along with daily song list (custom made on iTunes) and then listen to varied music while playing

I only try to get through all of this stuff four days a week and reserve one day for play dates, mornings at the park or other "field trip" outings. I'm pretty flexible about the agenda, since this is just preschool, and we frequently skip an item or two to make room for a doctor's appt, trip to the library for story time or something else that comes up. (I just try not to skip the same thing more than once in a while.) Up to this point, the kids enjoy all or most of what we do each day. For me, I love having a flexible schedule and being able to participate in their learning.

New Years Eve & A Birthday Party

2011-01-10T06:00:00.004-06:00

We welcomed in the year 2011 at the home of our BFF's, the Pollard's. Marcus and I picked up Chinese take-out on our way to their house, which, apparently is a popular thing around here. There is usually no line at our favorite Chinese take-out place, but there were NINE people in line when we pulled up. We fed the kids PB&J and enjoyed our delicious and economical Asian cuisine. Our boys were beat from a long, napless day, so we put them to bed shortly after dinner while the triplets watched a movie and the adults enjoyed some grown-up time. Not naturally a night owl, and even less so when pregnant, I was happy that I actually made it up until midnight (and even a little after). Of course, Marcus and Al stayed up even later playing their PS3.

The following weekend (this past Friday), we celebrated Quenta's 40th birthday party by having a sleepover with all the girls in our small group. It was like a mini-retreat to have so many good friends (and no men or children) under one roof. True to the 15-year-old spirit of the night, the group decided it would be hilarious to drive over to our minister's house at midnight and set up Quenta's blow-up snowman as a Saturday-morning surprise for him and his family. Being generally a more cautious person, I was a little uncertain about the wisdom of this venture, but I didn't want to be the party-pooper at my BFF's birthday party, so I went along.

It turned out that our plan had not considered the possibility that our minister, his wife, and two of his teenage kids would all still be awake and about the house at midnight! They heard us setting up the snow man in the front yard (thanks to one female giggle that, for once, was not mine) and came out on the porch to chat! Mrs. B had made cookies earlier that day and so she invited us in for cookies and hot chocolate. Our clandestine plan completely shot, we laughed and filed sheepishly in the house. It turned out to be a really cool visit because the family's youngest daughter had torn her ACL in a basketball game that evening, and they were all discouraged and worried about that. Gary and Carol said that our silly visit really cheered them up and even made their evening. I teased him that it had to be an ego boost to know that a bunch of women could have a slumber party and the most fun thing they could think of to do was crashing their preacher's house. (He got the last word by thanking each of us ladies by name for our unexpected visit during church Sunday morning.)

So here we are, in our jackets and our pajamas, with our senior minister and his wife (far right), and Frosty the Snowman.

Ethan (Monthly Update)

2011-01-07T06:00:00.065-06:00

Ethan is 2 years and 9 months old now. In addition to his trip to the emergency room a couple of weeks ago (by the way, his limp has been completely gone for days now), Ethan's other medical issue this month has been the return of his ear infections. He had 4-5 ear infections from age 4 months to age 10 months. He had tubes put in his ears just before he turned 11-months-old, and we have been almost ear-infection-free for almost two years now (one exception last February). In my last update, I mentioned that Ethan had been acting out a lot in early December (including deliberately pushing the Christmas tree over). The morning after the Christmas tree incident, he woke up crying and complaining about his ear, so I took him to the pediatrician and found out that he had a bad double ear infection. Ethan tends to deal with pain or discomfort by being extra mischievous (as opposed to whining and complaining like his big brother), so I'm sure his ears were a big contributing factor to that week of challenging behavior.

We started his course of antibiotics and both ear infections cleared up quickly. Less than two weeks after he finished his antibiotics, he woke up with another ear infection, this one painful enough that he cried for over an hour about his ear after a nap, (until the ibuprofen kicked in and made him feel better). He is currently on the second course of antibiotics. Since the tubes were so successful last time, I would like to go ahead and get them again now, but the pediatrician wants to wait until Ethan gets one more ear infection (and one more round of antibiotics) before making that move.

So, other than the recent health issues, Ethan has had a good month. The behavior problems I mentioned before disappeared as soon as the first ear infection cleared up, and he has been back to his passionate, fun-loving, people-pleasing self. Since he loves people and any kind of party, he had a great time during both Christmas celebrations. His memory about who gave him what is surprisingly accurate, and he often tacks the giver's name onto an item that he is talking about: "I was playing with my new flash light that Uncle Mike gave me and I shined it at Caleb's shirt and..." He is still dry at night most of the time, and he fights bedtime much less than he did just a couple of months ago. He is still eating much less than he used to, but he has not mentally adjusted to that change: he still asks for food all the time, but then takes 2-3 bites of what I fix and says he is full. There is almost always a bowl or plate at his seat of something for him to finish "later."

We are back into our homeschooling routine full swing after the holidays, and both boys are once again spending a couple of hours a day at the craft table: coloring, painting, drawing, cutting, gluing, writing, tracing, etc. Ethan loves doing "school" stuff with Caleb, and, for the most part, I am able to give him a scaled-down way to participate in all the preschool stuff Caleb does. He wouldn't have it any other way :)

Enjoy the pictures of all of us at Nanna & Papa's hotel pool:

Bunk Bed Fun

2011-01-05T06:00:00.036-06:00

The kids absolutely love their new bunk beds! They have been set up for 12 days now, and, so far, all of our parental hopes have been fulfilled. The kids are happy to sleep in their room (except for the first night of an ear infection for Ethan), bed time is smooth and enjoyed by all involved, Caleb can fall asleep even while Ethan is chatting to himself at night, the boys are enjoying the bonding benefits of sharing a room without having "access" to each other when they are supposed to be sleeping, and their room looks GREAT! We have lots more floor space in their bedroom for doing the puzzles, games and exercises that are part of our morning routine. And I don't know if it is exhaustion from the holidays or fighting off winter viruses or the bunk beds, but nap time has made a comeback since we got home from Florida. Both boys are napping every day for at least an hour, and still going to bed by 8:00 every night. Morning is still around 6:00 am (give or take 30 minutes), but that has always been true no matter what we do during the day. The only thing that isn't fun is changing the top bunk bedding, but it is definitely worth it for all of the other pluses. Thanks so much for a great Christmas gift, Nanna & Papa!

(FYI, there is a picture of Ethan on the top bunk on Christmas morning, but the house rule is that Ethan is not allowed on the top bunk at all. Two little boys that high off the floor is a formula for disaster :)

Campbell Christmas

2011-01-03T06:00:00.114-06:00

For Campbell Christmas this year, Nanna and Papa came to Birmingham to spend Christmas weekend with us. Despite Ethan's temporary handicap, we still all had a very enjoyable Christmas. Since we still only have one working bathroom (still can't afford the $3K to fix the master shower that sprung a leak this spring), Nanna and Papa stayed at a nearby hotel. Their hotel had a small heated pool (with an adjoining hot tub), which turned out to be very useful for burning off Ethan's ample energy combined with his limited mobility. We spent several hours every day at that pool. When we weren't at the hotel pool, we were playing at our house, at church, or eating out at one of several favorite restaurants.

On a side note, I was totally spoiled this Christmas by not having to do any cooking! I was pretty tired from our trip to Florida, so Dad just ended up taking us out to eat every day that they were here. Since they were visiting us, I felt bad about him paying and tried unsuccessfully to beat him to the check/register. In a final attempt, I wrote a check for one meal that he'd already paid for and gave it to Mom to give to him (he wouldn't take it from me). On Christmas morning, I found that check voided inside our Christmas money envelope :) It was really, really nice to eat so well without my financial conscious nagging me the whole time, and it was also really nice, in light of my pregnancy fatigue, to avoid cooking big meals.

For Christmas Eve, we all attended the Christmas Eve candlelight service at our church. It was a very good service, and we all especially enjoyed getting to see/hear Caleb sing a couple of Christmas songs with the Children's Chorus. After the service, we all headed back to our house where Nanna and the boys watched The Polar Express together while Papa and Marcus (secretly) carried in and set up the bunk beds in the boys' bedroom. While the men were setting up, I typed up and hid the clues for the scavenger hunt and rearranged the smaller things in the boys' room. When the room and the movie were done, we put Caleb & Ethan to bed in our bed as a "special treat," said goodnight to Nanna and Papa, and finished up the Christmas Eve preparations (stockings, presents under the tree, etc.).

Christmas morning, the kids were up (as usual) around 6:45. Nanna and Papa arrived from the their hotel just a few minutes after the kids woke up, so we started the festivities with the bunk bed scavenger hunt. They loved their new beds from the first moment, and the new arrangement has been a huge success since then. I've got another post in the works just about the bunk beds, so I'll say more about that later. After the bunk bed hunt, we enjoyed a big Christmas breakfast of bacon, eggs and (Caleb's favorite) biscuits. The boys opened their stocking presents with Nanna and Marcus while Papa and I cooked breakfast. After breakfast, we opened the gifts under the tree. Just like during their "first" Christmas, I was very happy to see their sincere pleasure and gratitude at each gift. (I have a morbid fear of my kids being spoiled, and I am definitely one of those parents who would take a present away in a flash if anything but thankfulness was displayed.)

The rest of our Christmas is pretty well described in the pictures below. Thanks, Mom & Dad, for a very enjoyable weekend!

Papa & Caleb building a Lego helicopter together.

Nanna and boys decorating a gingerbread house.

Papa carrying "lame" Ethan through the steps of the scavenger hunt.

Boys & Nanna playing with the new marble maze from Mimi.

Caleb singing in the Children's Chorus at the Christmas Eve service.

Boys listening to a clue for the bunk bed scavenger hunt.

Caleb passing out presents from under the tree.

Caleb opening stocking presents.

Ethan, getting right to work after opening new dry erase markers from his stocking.

Boys playing with the Batman castle and accessories from Mimi.

Ethan wielding Iron Man gear from cousins Bennett & Jasper.

Ethan's First Trip to the ER

2010-12-31T06:00:00.088-06:00

So Ethan has now taken his maiden voyage to the Children's Hospital Emergency Room. He is four months younger than Caleb was for his first visit, but I'm actually surprised that it has taken Ethan this long since he is MUCH more of a daredevil than his brother. Well, on to the story...

About 14 hours after we got home from Florida, on the afternoon of December 23rd, Nanna and Papa arrived for their Christmas visit. Shortly after they got to our house, Ethan was playing in the play room with Nanna while Daddy, Papa, Caleb and Mommy were upstairs. According to Nanna, Ethan suddenly decided to take a leap from the top of the playroom steps into the playroom (something he has never been permitted to do, but since when do two-year-olds obey all of the rules?). Nanna said that he hit the ground left foot slightly ahead of his right, and that his left leg immediately buckled under him. Initially, he cried a little bit, but was easily calmed down. He resumed crying anytime he tried putting weight on the foot, so he compensated by crawling and dragging himself around the play room for about thirty minutes. After observing him for a while and Marcus examining his foot, all the adults agreed that an X-ray would be a good idea. Marcus and Ethan headed off to Children's hospital while the rest of us went ahead with our dinner plans.

Since I didn't get to be there for the ER visit, this part of the story is second-hand, but I have no doubt that Marcus will correct any errors I make :) They arrived and were admitted quickly to an exam room. Apparently, children in the ER over Christmas week get the royal treatment, because, during the 2-3 hours they were there, Ethan received a bunch of stickers, an adorable new teddy bear, a really cute Christmas book and a lot of playing and tickling. (Marcus said that he's pretty sure Ethan's infectious smile and eye contact won him more 'rewards' than the average patient.) Whether due to the holidays or to his personality, Ethan had a great time from beginning to end. He was very cooperative and still for the doctor and for the X-ray, and we were all very relieved to hear that there were no breaks or fractures anywhere in his foot. He must have just pulled a muscle or bruised the bone.

It has been over a week now, and he is still limping, but the foot has improved a lot. For the first three days, he wouldn't even walk without a dose of ibuprofin in him. By the start of day four, he was putting weight on it without meds. The ER had suggested that we follow-up with the pediatrician if Ethan was still limping in four days, so I took him in on Monday afternoon. The pediatrician recommended no further X-rays as long as he was improving, and said that he had no concerns at this point since Ethan was walking on it without complaint (albeit, with a limp). The only hard part the last couple of days has been trying to keep him from doing any further jumping until the foot is completely healed. Ethan's feet have been spring-loaded since he could jump, so keeping him grounded has been no easy task.

The one funny thing about this foot injury has to do with the timing. Since Ethan was limping everywhere we went the whole week of Christmas, Marcus ingeniously taught him to say "God bless us every one" whenever someone asked about his foot (just like Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol). Ethan's childish enunciation of this phrase is perfect and the image of him limping around and delivering that line has been absolutely hilarious.

More about our Christmas with Nanna & Papa next time!