Bunny and Duck

Per my story last week, here is a picture of Isaac hanging out with his big fluffy bunny and duck.

Videos

So here are two videos attempting to capture Elijah crawling. The first video doesn't get any crawling but shows the chaos in our house on a daily basis pretty accurately. Isaac has become obsessed with the camera and the "ball" on the front of it (I think it is the circular lense) so every time I take it out now, he comes and stands in front of it and says, "Ball." LOL. It is so cute (and so hard to get any videos of either of them.) In addition, Scrubs, of course, needs to be in the center of things. Anyways, you can watch the video to see what I mean.



This second short video shows the technique Elijah is using to crawl. I think it's working pretty well.

Grama

If you are able to remember my Grama H. in your prayers today, I would greatly appreciate it. "Gert" has been battling cancer for quite some time and apparently she was taken to the hospital by ambulance last night. I'll post more when I know more. I know Grama is not ready to go home and see my Grampa yet so we are praying she'll have some more years with us here on earth. Thanks everyone!

Messes and baths

In our house, mess time is followed by bath time!

As you can see from the pictures above, the boys are now taking a bath together -- although Elijah still has to really be held onto as he'll tip over without any notice. I have come up with a good system to have the boys take a bath together when I am by myself.

I use the bumbo seat. I run the bath and put Isaac in the water while Elijah waits in his bumbo seat. I then derobe Elijah and put him in the water and wash him right away. After letting them play together for a few minutes, I take Elijah out and change him right on the bathroom floor (with a towel down of course) and then sit him in the bumbo seat while I go and wash Isaac. I then take Isaac out and bring him to his room to change him before returning to the bathroom to retrieve Elijah. It works pretty well and allows me to kill two birds with one stone.

Oh and if you can't tell from the pictures above, Isaac loves pasta. :)

Tiffany & Reagan

*** This is a baby shower post. Please feel free to skip this if it is painful in your infertility journey. ***

One of our wifia members, Tiffany, is due to have a little girl in October. Reagan Lee. Yesterday we had a shower to celebrate Tiffany and Reagan. Here are some photos from our day. We had a wonderful time by the way. A huge thank you to my husband who took over parental duties for me while I was gone.

Joia, of course, made the cake. And check out the little shoes she was giving Tiffany in the background.

Kacey, one of the doctors (and fellow chiefs) JB works with hanging decorations before the party got started.

Tiffany with my gift -- a sign from my friend from Mayo, Cassi


Tiffany and our shower host, Jodi

Sarah, Andrea, and Brittny (a second year wife)

The guest of honor!

Joia with her little lady, Moriah. She is such a cutie and sweetie!!

We did fondue! It was awesome!

Moriah sneaking a look at the TV through the coffee table! (And playing with Jodi's make-shift toys -- spoons!)

Moriah tuckered out after partying hard.

Actual conversation

Saturday. Very busy day.

Run. Car picked up from shop. Grocery store. Mow yard (JB not me). And a baby shower for friend Tiffany. (More to come on that tomorrow.)

True story. Joia rode with me to shower. I said to her as I dropped her off. "Elijah is getting up on all fours. If I had to guess, I'd say he is days to weeks away from crawling."

Make that hours.

Got home. Sat on the floor. Elijah was sitting in his boppy. He leaned forward and fell onto his stomach. He often does. Then he began getting up on all fours and diving. He did it enough times to move across the living room and get to JB.

Later he did it in reverse. He "dove" to me.

Not sure how I feel about this. Excited because we can tell Elijah's been frustrated. He wants to get to things that he can't. He wants to move like big brother.

Good news is that frustration will end.

Bad news is that adventure will begin. For Dad and Mom that is.

Two mobile babies.

Your prayers are appreciated.

You go JB!

A huge shout out to my awesome husband JB who did a fantastic job on his Air Force PT test this week. He got his best score ever! One of the main reasons is that he has been working really hard on his weight. Last week he reached his pre-medical school weight. Four more pounds and he will be back to his high school weight! This is quite an accomplishment for a chef like he is -- he really loves food! Great job JB. We are all very proud of you.

A big grey ball, a bunny, and a duck

I have a big grey exercise ball in our bedroom. I keep a big fluffy bunny in a basket in our bedroom. And in the guest room, on the bed, is a big white duck -- a gift from Bri to me when I left for college back in 1995.

. . . stay with me here. This may seem random, but I'm going to get to something profound.

I hope.

Isaac thinks all three of these items were personally created for his enjoyment. Every single time we go into our bedroom he immediately starts saying, "Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball." We then have to roll the big grey exercise ball down the hall into the living room. In addition, fluffy bunny must exit with us as well.

Since Isaac and Scrubs follow me to any room I go, I've started just tossing laundry into my bedroom. I'll put them away later. If I open the door fully and Isaac comes in with me, we have to get the ball and bunny out. He can't do both, so I have to take one. We bring them into the living room, Isaac incredibly ecstatic, only to drop them and go back to play with our cars. Sometimes we don't make it farther than the hallway before distraction takes over.

The duck is no different. It's in the guest room (aka Elijah's room). If we go into Elijah's room to put him down for a nap or get him up, Isaac always comes with me. When we leave, duck needs to come with. Duck is nearly as big as Isaac so maneuvering with him down the hallway is quite an adventure.

Yesterday I decided to put the big grey exercise ball onto the porch. I was so tired of rolling it back and forth down the hall. Yesterday evening, Isaac went into our room chanting his typical, "Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball," only to not be able to find the ball anywhere. I felt terrible. The ball is still on the porch, but if he looks just as concerned today, I'll probably drag it back in.

And here's where I get to my point.

I have a parenting philosophy. You may disagree with me. And if you do, that's okay.

But here it is.

There is so much you have to say "no" to as a parent, that I really make it a point not to say "no" unless it really needs to be said. If Isaac wants to play with the ball, while inconvenient, it's not a big deal. Right now he is sitting in the exersaucer. He has recently decided this is way fun again. He may be a little big, but he only weighs two pounds more than Elijah. I don't think he is going to damage it.

I have to say "no" to so much. Things that are dangerous or inappropriate or just not for kids to play with. So I really try to say "yes" whenever I can. Even if it means we have a fluffy bunny, white duck, and exercise ball, perched somewhere in our hallway all day long and I have to put them away each night only to help him take them out again the next day.

It's worth it just to see the huge grin on Isaac's face. Even if he gets distracted six seconds later and is on to something else.

Sometimes it is hard. Sometimes when he wants to help me do the laundry and toss it all over the living room, I feel slowed down. But I try to remember that Isaac is only a little boy for a short period of time. In a matter of months or years it will be inappropriate to throw laundry everywhere. But for now, he's having fun.

Don't get me wrong. I say no to plenty. I think it is definitely appropriate for children to have boundaries and to know what they are and to live within them. For example, I've decided that playing with the VHS tapes just isn't feasible. So that's a no. But I really make it a point to pick my battles.

Ball, bunny, and duck are not my battles. And so in the hallway they sit.

*** Edited to add *** Not 1 hour after I wrote this post, Isaac spotted the big grey ball on the porch. He came running up to me patting his belly saying "Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball." He was desperate to save it from the big bad porch. So inside it is!

Contest Smontest

The other day I was reading one of my favorite magazines: Real Simple. I was doing my preliminary "flip through" and saw that they were having another essay contest. This one instructed you to write about the moment that you finally knew you were a grown-up.

I thought for awhile and decided that I would enter this contest. I've never entered a contest before because I was alway so busy teaching other people to write or writing for my job to want to do extra writing. But not anymore. I'm still doing a bit of writing here and there and some editing for the RLS Foundation, but otherwise, I'm not writing much.

So for the past week, I have been working on my 1500 word essay. I decided to write about our adoption of Isaac, getting to meet him for the first time, you know all that fun stuff. I worked on it in ten minute bursts when Isaac was eating in his high chair, during naps, etc. I was nearly done when . . .

. . . yesterday, I was reading through the same magazine again. This time page by page. I read a delightful essay on adoption. I turned the page and realized that this essay on adoption was the example for writing on essay on how you know you're grown up! Are you kidding? I was really bummed and pouted about it for at least an hour. What were the chances that my idea was the example idea?

I lamented to JB when he got home. He encouraged me by telling me I could at least I could know I had been on the right track. I guess.

So obviously I can't enter my adoption essay into contest when my essay is practically a mimic of the original. It won't stand a chance. No originality at all.

Did I tell you that this really bummed me out?!

The good news is that I did enjoy writing this essay, and I've decided that if I see some other writing contests, I'll enter. That's where you all come in. If you hear of a contest that you think I'd be good for, let me know. Just leave a comment on a blog.

But until then, bummed. Really bummed.

Way fun!

New friend Robyn (first year wife), me, and the awesome Jodi

Sarah, Andrea, and Joia

The whole birthday group including the birthday girl Kara (fourth from the front on the left)

Dessert. Need I say more?

Above are pictures stolen in their entirety from Joia. I actually did bring my camera, but she was doing such a fine job, why bother. We had a WONDERFUL evening. Kara is a second year wife. She invited some people from Eglin and some from her church. We didn't know everyone, but, it didn't matter. There was FONDUE! We had an absolutely awesome evening.

Thank you to my wonderful husband JB for giving me the night off. He said the night went great with one exception. About thirty minutes after he put Elijah to bed, Scrubs decided to open Elijah's door with his nose (he can do this if we don't shut it very tightly), walk into his room, and start barking. Robyn joked that maybe there was a rat in the house (like on Lady and the Tramp). JB doesn't think there was anything to be concerned about. He thinks Scrubs was looking for me, heard Elijah, and got spooked. Either way, JB said he nearly strangled one large Dalmatian last night.

Did I tell you all what a wonderful time we had?!?!?

Wanna PRAY?

Both Elijah and Isaac have been going to bed at the same time for the last two weeks, instead of Elijah staying up for a 9pm feed. This has been really nice. We each take a boy, give them some milk, change their pajamas and diapers, and put them to bed. We usually have both boys out by 7:45.

Monday night, we finished changing both boys at the same time and convened randomly in the guest bedroom. Isaac and Elijah were both sitting on the bed, bouncing around, and Scrubs was standing by the side of the bed with his chin perched on the bedspread.

I asked JB if we should pray together, as a family, since we were all there already. This would be instead of praying individually with both boys. John said that sounded like a great idea.

So I turned to Scrubs and playfully said, "Do you want to PRAY?"

In our home, there are no words that Scrubs wants to hear more than, "Do you want to PLAY?" This is code for Wendi or JB shining the flashlight down the hallway and Scrubs throwing himself against the guestroom door. Here's a video of him doing it if you haven't seen it before.

Needless to say, Scrubs heard no difference between the word PRAY and PLAY. I did not mean to do it. It was purely coincidence. As soon as the words came out of my mouth and Scrubs' ears perked up, he backed up from the bed and ran to the hallway, standing there, waiting for me to come with the flashlight. JB looked at me and said I was so mean. I didn't mean to trick him! I really didn't!

Poor Scrubs. He had no idea I said PRAY. I felt bad so instead of praying, I got up and played some flashlight with the doggie while JB prayed and put the boys to bed.

I now know better than to ask our dog to participate in talking to God in the future!

Get a clue!

Want to know what I am doing tonight?! Check out Joia's blog for the low-down! I can't wait!

I have recently come to the conclusion . . .

that peanut butter is the perfect food.

Don't get me wrong. I am still in love with chocolate. But peanut butter is so much more diverse. You can eat peanut butter at every meal -- smothered on an English muffin for breakfast, topped on a banana for a snack, in a sandwich for lunch, and served up Thai style at dinner. Then you can have it in your ice cream for dessert.

Chocolate is a bit more limiting. I think it just feels wrong to have chocolate at every meal -- a bit like dessert over and over and over again.

Not the good ol' PB.

And so, it is for this reason, that it has moved up in my overall rating scale -- to stand in front of the almighty chocolate. Today I ate it with an apple, with a banana, and on toast.

And it was all deliciously good.

Tupper-mania

On Sunday evening, JB cooked dinner, and Isaac decided to hang out with Daddy. When I came into the kitchen, here's what I found. "Isn't he in your way?" I asked my wonderful husband who doesn't like anyone in his way when he is cooking. John nodded but said Isaac was just too cute to make him move. Here's a few pictures:

GoD and DoG

Thanks Mom for sending me this. I'm dedicating it to my Scrubby who saved my life during my first year here as I made peace with childlessness and who now joyfully accepts two little boys who have placed him a bit farther back on my priority list.

Ode to Scrubs

If you missed it, my Dad put a comment on yesterday's blog about Scrubby. He wrote a poem (something he does often for birthday cards and the like.) This one was one of the best. So without further ado, an ode to our dog.

By Grampa Coach

Scrubby’s a dog that we all love,
It’s clear to the world he’s a gift from above;
But when he is rested and ready to play,
We all want to dump his butt in the bay!

He’s strong as a bull and twice as quick,
Foxes are clever; he’s three times as slick.
When visitor’s come he’s hard to ignore,
Cuz two steps inside and you’re knocked to the floor!

Yet he does do some things endearing and sweet,
Like licking your face and stomping your feet.
Yet Wendi and John are glad he’s around,
He’s not near as bad as the Baskerville hound!

We smile cuz he’s good with the boys,
He eats their spilled food and won’t chew their toys;
He’s real photogenic and oh so good-looking;
(But mugshots precede a criminal booking!)

Yes, this is my ode to a really fine dog,
He truly is great (when he sleeps like a log.)
We love him as much as we possibly could,
Shhh…the house is still standing, so all knock on wood!

I did it!

Last night, I ate an entire container of green beans. This is a major accomplishment. It has taken many weeks of practice to not push any food that enters my mouth out with my tounge. I started with just a few bites and last week I made it to a half of a container. But then last night?! Success! I finished green beans (my big brother's nemesis) all by myself. Okay, so more than half of them got on my face and the tray and my bib. But I finished the container nonetheless. Success! Daddy and Mommy were so proud.

Happy birthday Grama!

Today is my Grama M's birthday. Grama M. is my mom's mom. She lives in Petoskey, Michigan with my Grampa. Above is a picture from our family baby shower (in Chicago) with Isaac back in August of last year, just over one year ago. I love you Grama! Hope you had a fantastic day.

Pooped

I get a little nervous when leaving Scrubs with a babysitter. I don't get nervous about leaving the boys with a babysitter. But Scrubs? He has become a very good listener for me. For JB. But to people who are not his pack leaders? Hardly.

Yesterday I had an idea. The babysitters were coming at 11:30. From the time we got up until 11:30, I would wear Scrubs out so much he'd have choice but to behave for the babysitters.

So from 7am when we went on a family run until 11:25 when the babysitters came through our front door, I did everything in my power to not let Scrubs lie down. Tired? Too bad. Get up. Follow me into this room. Chase the flashlight three times. Frisbee in the front yard. Rings. Rings again. Rings the next time. (That was the time he looked at me as if to say I cannot possibly jump for those rings one more darned time.)

By the time the babysitters arrived, Scrubby was, to say the least, horribly exhausted. He was intrigued by the guests but you could tell his body just desperately wanted a nap -- the nap I had interrupted him from every second I could that morning.

The result: Scrubs was a perfect doggie for the babysitters. We tell the babysitters they can leave him in the kitchen the entire time. But they didn't. They let him out. And they said that he spent the majority of the time following Isaac looking for dropped cheerios and taking a nap next to them on the floor! Holy cow. He did real, bonafide dogs things for the babysitters. He's been doing that for us over the last few months. But for the guests? Not an easy feat.

Unless you are so plum tuckered out you can't possibly manage to misbehave!

What a good plan, Wendi. (If I do say so myself.)

No church again

I am beginning to wonder if we will ever get back to church. We missed two Sundays for travel, one for company, and now the last two for illness. On Friday, I really thought the boys were on the mend, and we made plans to try a new church this Sunday. Then, last night, Isaac started acting a little funny, feeling a little hot, and well, sure enough, another fever. In addition both of their noses started running again yesterday evening and this morning after a brief siesta of snot. So, another Sunday unable to go to church. JB suggested I go try the church by myself while he stayed with the boys. I thought about it both last week and this week, but I really want to go with JB, and I really want to see the childcare rooms as well. So, we'll shoot for next week and pray the boys are both happy and healthy by then.

Julie & Julia

Great thing about seeing a cooking movie? Your husband comes home, inspired. He's making something for dinner that smells absolutely glorious. I have no idea what it is, but I know I am going to love it.

Julie & Julia was a fantastic movie. One of the best movies I have seen in recent memory. I strongly recommend it to anyone and everyone. Fairly family friendly but probably more of adult interest. It was especially fun to watch as a tall woman. Julia Child was a very tall woman in her era and it was a fun part of the movie. I could feel her attempt to meld into a life she always felt too big for.

It was also a movie which dealt with infertility. I had no idea that would be the case. I had no idea that Julia Child was childless.

The inclusion was slight. A second glance when a woman walked by pushing a stroller. A letter from a pregnant family member. Whoever wrote those scenes must have dealt with infertility. They were incredibly well done. A perfect representation of scenes that played themselves out in my own marriage, in our home, many times during our five year journey. I could feel her pain so vividly. Both JB and I could.

To my friends struggling with infertility, my personal opinion is that while the scenes will cause you to tear up, this is a movie that will not hurt you emotionally. I think it will provide you encouragement as to the happiness that can exist in marriage despite the heartache that can accompany it. I think it will encourage you to see Hollywood so accurately represent an infertile woman's pain. They really got it.

All right, on to less deep stuff . . .

Our babysitters were wonderful. The boys (including Scrubs) were all behaved and loved on a lot while we were gone. It was a great afternoon out with my husband. We realized that other than our brief dinner out while in Colorado, this is the first time we have left both boys and gone out together since Brittney R. still lived here! Way too long.

For now ... I must move into the dining room. Dinner is served!

Bon appetit!

Date day

Going to a real live movie with my hubby today. Julia and Julia. There is a young girl two houses down from us who is learning to babysit. Her mom comes with her. She works in the hospital with JB. They are great people and have been asking to help for months. Well, we are finally taking them up on it. They are also going to be able to do 2 of the 4 scuba diving babysits as well. Way cool.

Yeah. It's true. We are signed up for scuba diving. It's official.

I always said I would be one of those moms who hired a babysitter and got out of the house and did stuff. I haven't done a very good job. JB and I were hoping to do dates once a week. Then we were shooting for once a month. Even that hasn't happened. I cannot tell you the last time we went out. But we are going today and we have a dinner out planned on Thursday this next week as well. So, go us!

Looking forward to an afternoon out with my guy. Way fun!

Today . . .

i was reminded that life is hard.

Went for a run this morning. It was a good run. Humid. Three miles. Not too hot. Didn't have to put the shades over the boys. That was nice. I could watch them during my run. Scrubs ran well. As usual lately. He's become a pro at trotting next to the stroller. I barely know he is there.

After the run, I stopped at the park by our house. My friend Heather came out of her house with her little boy Sam. She brought me a glass of water. I didn't realize how thirsty I was till I drank the whole glass in a matter of seconds. Hit the spot.

Sam and Isaac played. Sam went down the slide. Isaac followed. That's the first time he's gone down the slide unassisted.

Growing up.

She told me about a friend of her's. They are going to be holding a "Celebration of Life" party. Their son has been diagnosed with Trisomy 18, a genetic disorder not compatible with life. This means that while he may survive until birth, he will, without a miracle, die soon after birth -- maybe hours. Maybe days. Maybe months.

I quickly reflected back to a blog I followed online for quite some time. The story of Eliot. If you get a chance, take a moment to watch this video which walks you through the 99 days of Eliot's life. You will cry. Be warned. But it is beautiful. Moving.

When you watch it, maybe you too will have a day like I had. A day where you count your blessings. Where you remember that life is not easy. That it isn't always fair. That it is hard. That while we are going about the mundane tasks of our seemingly ordinary days, others are grieving losses and carrying pain and hurting. Badly.

I walked back to my house after my talk with Heather. I walked back pushing my two little boys in my double stroller. As I write this now, Isaac just came running up to me, holding one of his blocks. He's recently discovered that they have pictures on them. He found one of a "ball." He set it on my desk and ran back into the living room to discover further. He returned moments later with another ball. This time a baseball.

It is hard for me to believe. Hard for me to believe after all the years, all the pain, all the tears, all the heartache, that I am a mom. That I have not one little boy but two little boys. When did this happen? When did things change so quickly?

I lost many embryos during our journey through IVF. But I never miscarried. I never faced a negative diagnosis for a child I was carrying. I have never carried that grief. How do you carry that grief? How do you stay strong?

God.

Somehow, faith, a belief, a trust that He is bigger than this Earth. That His plans are mightier. That He knows better.

Today, I value my pain. I know that my pain helps me to understand others. To encourage. To listen. To cry.

But my pain seems so small. So insignificant. So trivial in light of the pain of others.

May we all remember today that there are others needing our prayers, our support, our encouragement, our friendship. May we remember that while our life may be coasting in a good direction, others are facing the most difficult moments of their lives.

May we never forget the hurting people. The widows. The orphans. The childless. The broken. May they never be far from our hearts.

Thanks Heather for reminding me of that.

A few details

• It's 5pm and both boys are asleep. This means one thing: Little House on the Prairie. I love this show!
• Isaac said the word "Minnie" today. As in Minnie Mouse. Of all the words to say. Other new words include "knee", and "popple" (for pineapple). He is also saying "Mommy" and appearing to know what it means.
• Scrubs and I have been playing Frisbee in the front yard during any moment when both boys are asleep. Our street is pretty dead in the middle of the day. I'm excited about this because we haven't played much Frisbee since Bobbie and her family moved out and we lost our place to go to at the bay. Scrubs catches the Frisbee about ten times and then he takes it and runs to the back door, as if to say, "That's it. I'm whooped. Give me some air conditioning."
• We had to take our van to the shop today as the steering wheel has been shaking. It's quite a chore getting to the two boys into the Saturn. But it is possible (if we sit with our knees in our throats). Diagnosis: we need new tires. I guess it could be worse!
• All right, I am actually posting this at 7pm after we went to pick up the van again until our tires come in. But I did get to watch most of Little House!

Email woes

If you have emailed me recently and have not heard back, would you let me know in a comment to this blog? I am not receiving emails again from Facebook and another friend who works at Mayo told me she has sent me emails, and I have not gotten one of them. I am considering leaving Hotmail if I can't figure this out. I just want to see if this problem is isolated or bigger than I think. Thanks all!

Cabin Fever

So we've been in the house now since Sunday. Both boys are still running low-grade fevers and are incredibly congested with coughs and runny noses. In addition, yesterday, their Mom (aka "me") started feeling pretty cruddy as well. The only activity we had been doing outside the house was my daily run, but obviously, since I am now a bit on the down-and-out, that isn't something we are doing either. So, we are all bonding at home. Cabin fever anyone?

This 'bout of illness just so happened to fall on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday -- JB's 13-hour days this week. He leaves before 7 and gets home around 8. That's a long time for a sick mom to take care of two sick boys.

I snagged this video of Isaac earlier today. I had to do it on the sly. If he sees me taking a video, he often stops what he is doing and just tries to get the camera. This video cracks me up for a number of reasons:

• It illustrates Isaac's new hobby: spinning in circles. He started this yesterday. I think he likes the fact that he gets dizzy. But he doesn't understand the extent of his dizziness. Yesterday, he flew into the exersaucer and hit his head. I try to explain to him that spinning equals dizziness, but he just thinks it's the greatest thing ever.
• It also shows Isaac with one shoe on. This later moved to two shoes and then no shoes and just socks. He randomly finds his socks or shoes and insists that he wear them.
• It also pictures Isaac's random infatuation with the dog, Scrubs' patience, and his desire to be left alone.
• And ... you can hear a bit of the crankiness evident in our household with Elijah in the background.

So there you have it! This is the cabin fever currently present in the Kit. home. I think you'll feel like you're stuck here with us if you watch it!

Just like big brother

Once upon a time there was a little baby named Isaac who, at six months old, liked to grab the leaves on his swing:



Fast forward a few months to his little brother, Elijah, who, at six months old, discovered that the same game was pretty fun:

Full speed ahead

Caught Scrubs digging in the yard last night. Called him in. Sent him straight to his kennel. He was incredibly hyper so he went running at his kennel at nearly full speed. Only problem was, it was dark in the kitchen and laundry room. He couldn't see well. He didn't know that his kennel door was closed. He ran into that thing at nearly full speed and bounced back nearly ten feet. He truly looked like he was seeing stars. Serves him right. What kind of dog digs anyways?!

Excessive cleaning up

Isaac has learned how to put away his toys! The first time I saw him put a toy in his toy basket, I made a huge deal out of it. I told him how amazing he was, how proud I was of him, how the earth should stand still because of how awesome he is, you know that sort of thing. I also did the sign for "thank you" (tapping my mouth) over and over again.

Isaac thought this was fantastic. He has begun finding anything and everything and putting it in his toy basket and then finding me, wherever I am, and making the sign for "thank you" which now seems to mean "Look Mom, I put something in the basket."

I found his milk cup in there this morning ... and now we know where to look when we can't find the remote conrtol.

I have made my scuba decision

Thank you to everyone who gave me advice and encouragement in regards to whether or not I should attempt scuba diving. I have decided ... to take the class. If I hate it or am terrified by it, I don't ever have to do it again. Heck, if Tara can jump out of a plane, I suppose I can go underwater. Don't you think? I am amazingly blessed to have fantastic opportunities, and I don't want to let them pass by without giving them fair opportunity to impress me. So ... I told JB to move onward. We'll sign up for those classes. I'll find babysitters. And I'll dive, by golly. I'll dive.

Two boys + two fevers

There's been a lot of runny noses, sneezing, and coughing going on around our house for the last 48 hours. Today I thought both boys felt warm. Ten minutes later two thermometer checks equalled two boys with temperatures. Pretty positive they have the same exact thing as their symptoms are identical. This is the first illness for Elijah. It's also the first for Isaac in quite a few months after a bad bout of back-to-back crudola right around the time he turned a year. Called JB. Got Tylenol dosing confirmed for both boys. Elijah is napping now. Isaac is eating. Overall they are both only a little bit on the cranky side which is nice for Mom. Although they are off schedule a bit which means their naps didn't correspond. No shower today. Maybe tonight when JB gets home. It'll be a late night: 8pm. Yuck.

Lights in the kitchen

We have three lights in our kitchen operated by three different light switches. Isaac has learned the word "on." He has learned to point to each one and say "on" while rubbing his belly for please. I'm not sure we are doing a good job conversving electricity in our house.

Raining dog annoyances

It is raining. And it appears it will rain most of the day. The storm moved in late last night, well after we were in bed. It is raining this morning, and the Weather Channel says it will probably do so for the rest of the day. Scrubs still hasn't gone out to do his morning business. I think he is waiting for a break in the weather. Little does he know there isn't going to be one.

Transitioning to Scrubs, I am having a heck of a time with him and Isaac. It isn't the dog that is the problem. It's Isaac. He follows Scrubs everywhere. He climbs on him. He lays on him. He rolls trucks over him. He runs behind him holding his tail. He lays next to him. He lays under him. He lays on top of him. Yesterday, it got so bad, we put Scrubs in the kitchen to give him a break. I caught Isaac with his face plastered against the gate begging Scrubs to lick his face -- to which Scrubs was happily obliging. Scrubs knows he shouldn't lick or take food from Isaac. But when Isaac asks him to lick or shoves food in his face, what is a dog to do?

Scrubs shows amazing patience. But he is unable to get any rest anywhere. I don't want to gate him in the kitchen as he hasn't done anything wrong. How do I explain to a dog that I am putting him there for his own good? One thing I am doing -- if Scrubs is sleeping on his couch bed in the kitchen, I am telling Isaac he is not allowed to bother the dog. That seems to be working okay. At least Scrubs can get a tiny bit of rest. I am slowly teaching Isaac the appropriate times to bug Scrubs and the not-so-appropriate (when he is sleeping.) Isaac is starting to get it. But man he just loves playing with that dog.

I cannot even imagine how overwhelmed Scrubs will be when Elijah begins toddling behind him as well. I may need to make him a bed in our bedroom or somewhere else that he can rest completely undisturbed. The good thing about all of this is that Scrubs really isn't very hyper at all anymore. I think he spends so much of his day being woken up from naps that he stays pretty groggy most of the day!

Well, off to read some books to my eldest boy while the rain pounds outside. Enjoy the dreary Monday everyone.

Waiting on Claudette

We live just northwest of the 7pm Sun dot.

We are supposed to have a Tropical Storm coming through ... the news made it sound like it would be here by dinner time. It's nearly 9:30, and it hasn't come on shore yet even though we lost power for about three hours. Apparently it slowed down quite a bit in the Gulf. JB and I are heading to bed. I guess the rain and winds will pound us while we are sleeping and we'll find out how things went in the morning.

In other news, we were unable to try a new church today as planned. Both boys have some really runny noses. In addition, Isaac appeared to be running a low-grade fever. (We didn't check it because the power was out, and it was going to be a pain to try to take his fever by lantern. But he felt quite warm.) He was also quite cranky today. So, hopefully, we can do some church shopping next week instead. I was really excited about starting to look as we have been out-of-town or had company since we had our last Sunday at Crossway forever ago. I assume Isaac picked something up at one of the play-times we had last week. I took him to McDonalds on Wednesday one day to play, Kidzone on Thursday (with Andrea and Joia's MOPs group), and an open gym at a local gymnastics center with a few other gals I'm friends with here on Friday. Probably a bit too much germs for his system to combat. And then he decided to give it to his brother.

All right. Heading to bed. I'll let you all know about the storm when I wake up in the morning!

A forward worth forwarding

I usually delete all forwards. Don't like them. And most of them prove not to be legit anyways. But this morning, I got an email from my Aunt Linda. I checked it out on Snopes (a great site to determine whether concepts floating around online are accurate or not). It appears to be legit. So, let's all take a vote on NBC's website on this one!

Here's your chance to let the media know where the people stand on our faith in God, as a nation. NBC is presently taking a poll on "In God We Trust" to stay on our American currency. Click here to participate.

All Fall Down

Isaac is in LOVE with this book. It has four pages. It has like twenty-seven words in total. But we read it about 476 times a day. And often that is about a dozen times in a row. His other books, we read once, we put it down, and he gets another. But this one? Read it. Belly pat. Please. Okay. Read it again. And again. And again.

He still loves his dinosaur book, Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs! (shown below). We definitely still read that one quite a few times a day. But is has been passed up by the four pages of All Fall Down.

I wonder how people figure out that kids will like a book so much. And I wonder what makes a kid like a book so much. Many books on our shelf, Isaac will not touch. Or he'll bring them to me, sit down, listen to a page, and get up immediately. And then others he comes back for time and time again.

Like Goodnight Moon. Have you ever read this book? I find it quite strange. And yet Isaac loves it. And it is like the most popular children's book of all time. Somehow, someone knew that kids would love this. Or did they?

Another one on Isaac's current top-10 list? Peek-a-Who? I have to admit that I like this book too. This one is quite a popular pick in our house as well.

So spill everyone. Your kids' favorite books? Or your favorite book as a child. Share away!

Calling all scuba divers

Last night JB told me he had found a class. A class to get us both certified in scuba diving.

JB has scuba dived many times but many moons ago. He loved it. Talked about it a lot. I have never scuba dived. I've snorkeled. But that's about as far as my water experience goes.

Now we have booked tickets to Mexico. November. The boys will be staying with my parents. Everything is planned.

JB is attending another Wilderness Medicine Conference there. I'm going with. Staying in a resort. Our first vacation without the kids. We are excited about it. It's a conference on dive medicine. How to help people injured while diving.

While there, JB wants to go diving.

Sigh . . .

He wants me to go with him.

We'd talked about it. I'd agree, with trepidation, to do it. But now? Hearing about the classes ... that they were real ... made me rethink things. He used the words, "Open water dive," and I just got a bit freaked out.

I disappointed JB. Told him I didn't want to do it.

Firstly is the fact that I am scared of diving. I'm not sure why. I love the ocean. I swim well. I grew up around water. But being so deep. Being with creatures. I just get scared when I think about it. What if my air runs out? What if I can't get back to the surface? What if I have to go into one of those hyperbaric chambers or something? What if the boat leaves me in the middle of the ocean like in that one movie?

I'm also afraid that I'll be horrible at it. That I'll fail the quizzes. That I'll be the class moron. Seems silly to not do something because you think you'll be bad at it. But that's how I feel.

I always considered myself adventurous. Willing to try new things. Maybe I was lying to myself. This is a new thing. And I don't feel very adventurous about it.

That isn't my only reason for not being sure. There is the fact that the class is two weekends in a row. Four to six hours on back to-back Saturdays and Sundays. JB told me he'd handle finding people to watch the kids, but that's a lot of time to be away from them and ask people to help. We have numerous babysitting options, but it just seems like a lot.

And it costs money. I'm pretty cheap. Don't want to spend the money on something I'm not sure I'll like.

JB says I'll like it, but he doesn't want to beg me. He wants me to do it with him because I want to.

I know I'll regret it if I don't do it. If I don't take the class in the next two months then when we get to Mexico, JB can go diving, but I can't. I know I'll regret that. I just can't get myself to be okay with it. And I want to be okay with it.

So I write this to see if there are any scuba divers amongst my blog readers. I guess I need some encouragement that diving isn't scary. That it's beautiful and majestic and freeing like JB tells me it is.

If you have horror stories, please keep them to yourself.

My mind is already generating enough of those.

Elijah speaks

Well folks. I am now six months old. Six and a half months actually. I thought it about time that I said a few words. Don't you think so?

Yesterday, I went to McDonalds with my Mommy and big brother. Here is a picture of the outfit I wore to McDonalds.



Normally, my Mommy always has me in onesies. She says this is because my belly is so big that shirts roll up on me. Don't worry. This doesn't hurt my feelings. I know that as I start walking, I'll get ribs like my big brother. But for now, onesies it is. This basketball outfit was a special treat. I really liked it.

Here is a picture of me with one of my girlfriends (I have a lot), Moriah, at McDonald's yesterday. You can tell from the picture how excited I am to get to sit next to her.


While at McDonalds, my big brother climbed up the slide and got stuck halfway up. It was one of those tube slides. My Mommy tried to have other kids go up and help him, but Isaac remained stuck. So my Mommy had to climb up to get him out. Ms. Joia tried to take a picture, but her camera was out of batteries. Too bad! That would have been a funny picture.

Here's a picture I stole from Ms. Joia's blog. It is a picture of everyone that was at the lunch. Except for Joia that is. She was taking the picture!

I'm sure I'll come back to write more later, but right now, it is time for my afternoon nap. I think big brother and I are going to take one at the same time since this makes Mommy very happy. It was great talking to you all. Oh, and Mommy asked me to wish Lesley a Happy Birthday too. Happy Birthday Lesley. We can't wait to see you again.

Sitting up

Scrubby on the up-n-up

Well, we woke up this morning to a Scrubs with very few hives and a Scrubs who wanted to eat his breakfast. He did get up at 11pm ringing the bell with an upset stomach, but we are pretty sure that is from the Benadryl we have been giving him. Hopefully, he is on the mend. We had given him until Thursday, at which point we were going to spring for the vet. That is now looking unlikely.

Speaking of Scrubs, Isaac has been following him around like a magnet. Scrubs keeps moving, and Isaac keeps following him. Yesterday after our run, Scrubs wanted to rest on the cool tile. Isaac wanted to roll his dump truck over him. Scrubs kept getting up and looking at me desperately, as if waiting for me to tell him where he could rest undisturbed. He finally curled up behind the high chair, as safe a spot as he could find. Isaac tried to climb behind there, but at that, I stepped in, determined to allow Scrubby some rest. I also watched as Isaac sat on his back yesterday, like a horse. Scrubs just gave a deep sigh and allowed the behavior. Good dog.

That reminds me of this story I posted on my blog awhile back about a dog looking everywhere for a quiet place to rest. I am afraid that our once hyper and now older dog may be looking for the same thing very soon.

Getting bigger

Well folks, yesterday, we took "Bob" out for a run like usual. But unlike usually, Elijah sat in the stroller instead of in his carseat in his stroller. He seemed to really enjoy being able to look around. He didn't make a peep the entire ride and seemed enthralled by everything there was to look at. Mom made it 2.75 miles. Not bad for her long break while in Snowmass. Even Scrubs joined in despite his Benadryl-induced coma.

Here's a photo after our run. Isaac is saying: "Mom, we have parked. That means you are supposed to get me out ... not take no stinkin' picture!" Elijah is saying: "Holy cow! That was one of the coolest things I have ever done. Is this what I've been missing for six months while I've been riding backwards in that dumb carseat?"

JB wandered home around 8pm last night. I managed to keep both boys awake so they could see Daddy for a few minutes. Isaac was so tired he was spastic. I'd never seen him bop around so much. He didn't sit still for a second. Both JB and I wondered if this is what our lives would be like if we had a hyper Isaac instead of a calm one. I guess so! Daddy then let me go to bed around 9pm and gave Elijah his last bottle. What a blessing. I really needed the sleep.

Today, the wifia is meeting for lunch at McDonalds. It will be nice to catch up with everyone as we have all been running in different directions during the summer months. This is also JB's last 7:30 night for the week. Thursday and Friday should be slightly earlier, and he has the whole weekend off!

Well Elijah is ready to go down for his morning nap and Isaac is just waking up. Gotta run!

Our afternoon

Post-naps, pre-run, here is what we were doing this afternoon if you could have been a fly on our wall.

Look closely and you'll see Elijah's two teeth and Isaac showing you where his belly button is! Again, this may be more than some of you want to see but for those with Grama-like curiosity, enjoy!

Elijah good; Scrubby not-so-good

Elijah went to his last weekly therapy appointment. Ms. Jenny said he looks fantastic! We'll see her again in a month just to make sure he is continuing to reach all of his milestones correctly.

Scrubby is still broken out in hives. We've taken out stock in Benadryl. Yesterday I think we gave him a bit too much as he was not acting himself at all. So we've cut back today. We are going to give it 1 or 2 more days and then we'll probably take him into the vet. We just don't know what could be bothering him. At least his face isn't swollen. Poor pup.

I'd like to go for a run today but it is 101 right now. So we'll see if later this evening things look better. JB not getting off until 7:30pm is quite a bummer. I managed to keep the boys up to see him but just for a few minutes. What a long day for him. This afternoon we stopped by to see him after Elijah's therapy appointment so they could all see each other while everyone was awake.

Had something happen to me in the parking lot outside the hospital today as we prepared to go in and see JB. Someone zipped in front of me to take my spot. This has never happened to me, even when I lived in Ft. Lauderdale. I had my turn signal on, was waiting, and this other guy shook his finger at me and zipped in. I was soooo angry. I really contemplated saying something but knew that later JB would tell me confronting a man in a parking lot is not wise. So I bit my tongue and found a new spot.

Not sure I have ever been that upset behind the wheel before. I can't believe a guy would do that a woman! How rude!

If you have a moment . . .

. . . pop over to Becky's blog. Today would have been the due date of their little Johannah who went home to Jesus way too early. My heart aches for John & Becky today, and I'm sure she'd love to hear that people everywhere are praying for them.

Lotsa Bummers

The family has headed back to South Florida.

Bummer.

Scrubs still has poision ivy or some sort of hives.

Big bummer.

Wendi had to give Scrubs a bath.

Bigger bummer.

JB has headed back to an OB rotation.

Big time bummer.

Wendi has found out that the OB rotation now has extended hours: 7:30am until 7:30pm.

Biggest bummer of all.

Poison Ivy?

After many Benadryl, Scrubs' face started to look better. Ray and I took the kids to the Niceville Children's' Park this afternoon, and when I came home, I noticed that while his face looked better, he had broken out in hives.

You can see the remnants of his swollen jowls (left side) as well as the hives.

Close up of the hives.

Unfortunately, the hives got much worse after I took this picture, but after even more Benadryl, seem to be improving a bit. JB went out to inspect the yard. There is one spot that Scrubs has been lying down in a lot this past week. JB is pretty sure that there was a vine running through that spot which was poison ivy. We aren't sure, but we think this might be what happened to our Scrubs. We'll keep an eye on him. Please pray we don't have to take him to the vet! Hopefully the morning will bring a new Scrubby. Right now we are keeping him isolated from the kids as this can be passed to humans. Poor guy!

Oh Scrubbarino!

Scrubs has had an allergic reaction to something. His face is incredibly swollen, and he threw up his breakfast (and the Benadryl we had given him with breakfast.) We are hoping we don't have to take him to the vet. We can't figure out WHAT he has put his face in that has caused his jowls to swell up so much. Even his nose is like twice as big! Today is the last full day that the fam is here. They are leaving tomorrow morning. JB said we really can't leave Scrubs alone as a fear of facial swelling is airway swelling. So we'll hang out around here to make sure he is a-ok.

P.S. No pictures for now. Scrubs is a little embarrassed and doesn't want anyone to see him like this.

Just some fun photos

Isaac eating lasagna for dinner. He had no desire to be fed ... so, he fed himself. Sorta.

JB and Ray went to see the 8pm showing of Harry Potter. So it was the gals and the kids. Nate and Grace wanted to watch a cartoon they brought with on DVD. We don't normally let Isaac watch TV but made an exception. You can tell he is enthralled. Nate is a wee bit upset that there isn't room for Mommy to sit by them on the couch. (We all scooted down to make room.)

Story time. Isaac has become obsessed with his picture dictionary. However, while he will look through a lot of the pages, he spends the most time on the page featuring all the trucks, cars, planes, and farm equipment. He is really starting to get fascinated by machinery and automobiles.

It looks like Isaac is reading to Elijah. I love this picture!

Gracie does a great job holding her cousin Elijah. She really helps entertain him when he gets overcome by emotion!

Tent Time

As I write this, everyone is in the living room watching Chronicles of Narnia in their newly created tent. What cool uncles JB and Ray are! Actually, JB is in the kitchen making homemade pizzas to be enjoyed inside the tent. We also got to go to the waterpark on Base during a break in the bad weather!

Family, Doc & Shots

Ray, Gabbi, and the kids arrived late last night. We've had a nice day hanging out around the house. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I'll get around to it soon.

This afternoon, we had doctor's appointments with Dr. G. for both Isaac (15 month) and Elijah (6 month.) Isaac is weighing 24 pounds. Elijah is 22 pounds. Isaac is in the 60th percentile basically across the board. Elijah is in the 90th-100th percentile in nearly every category as well. Elijah's head is also two inches bigger than his big brother's. No surprise there. Elijah has a big head! Dr. G. took a good look at Isaac's legs and said that his bow legs were within the realm of normal and not something to worry about. She also said not to worry that Elijah's eating has not returned to normal post-Colorado. She said it is probably more related to growth spurts then it is anything else.

After the check-ups, I went and got both the boys their shots by myself. I was very proud of myself for this as I have only ever taken one boy at a time. Normally, they do not allow you to bring a stroller into the shot room which has always been a concern of mine. I decided to bring the stroller to the door and let them tell me how I should do it without the stroller. The guy working the desk took one look at both little boys and said, "No strollers." I nodded and asked him very kindly how he suggested I hold both boys at the same time. He stood there a minute and said, "I guess we'll make an exception." Yippee. If that wouldn't have worked, one of my friends was in the lobby, and she had offered to help me, but I told her I was really going to see if they'd let me take both boys in at the same time. And they did. Yay!

Isaac has had a fabulous time playing with his cousins, especially because cousin Nate brought some very cool cars for him to play with. Scrubby has been an excellent boy with all the new company as well. Right now JB is home from work making some meat to grill out with. It should be a nice weekend with the fam in town.

Quit nagging! I'll post some pictures soon!

Video of our condo in Colorado

Couldn't load this while we were gone. I've been meaning to post it. Here you go!

Home from Colorado; Prepping for Company

It's been a busy few days around here. Unpacking is quite an adventure with two kiddos in the house. Isaac just follows me around, leaving a trail behind him. In addition, JB's brother Ray, his wife Gabbi, and their kids are coming into town tonight. So I've had a lot to do. It's good they are coming though as it has caused me to unpack instead of stall on the process. It'll be wonderful to see them. The last time Grace & Nate were here, Isaac was very under-the-weather and not interested in playing with them. This time I think it will be a whole new ball game.

In addition, I have been fighting a nasty headache since our return from Colorado. JB is pretty sure it's hormonally based which is not unusual for me, but this is one of the worst I have ever had. We had to resort to a couple of really potent migraine medications which I can only take when JB is home because they so completely knock me on my rear end. Hopefully this week will bring an end to the pounding.

On Monday I had an appointment in the morning. On Tuesday, we had Elijah's physical therapy appointment. To my great delight Ms. Jenny said that we'd discuss next week dropping to once-a-month appointments. Hurrah! She said Elijah is doing fabulously. I'm so excited about this.

On Wednesday, wifia lunch was cancelled due to an abundance of people out-of-town and sick. I opted instead for a play date with my friend Kristen who lives behind us. Her daughter Addison is nearly exactly Isaac's age. They had a great time playing with all the new toys at Addison's house. I need to take a picture of the two of them. Addison is quite a cutie!

Today, JB is going to take at least one boy with him to do some shopping when he gets off of workso I can get some stuff done around the house before the late evening arrival of our family. He said he may also go for a run with all three boys.

Speaking of runs, I tried that yesterday. I went at 9:30 when my head seems to hurt the least, but it was so hot Elijah lost it midway through the run and begged me to take him home. I took a short-cut as after my trip to Colorado (which was runless due to the elevation), I wasn't doing so good myself.

Lots of pictures will follow I am sure as the cousins get to hang out during a long weekend!

Perfect devotional

God always knows what we need and when we need it. Here is my August 5th morning devotional (which I just got done reading at 2:45 in the afternoon :)

Sit quietly in my presence while I bless you. Make your mind like a still pool of water, ready to receive whatever thoughts I drop into it. Rest in My sufficiency, as you consider the challenges this day presents. Do not wear yourself out by worrying about whether you can cope with the pressures. Keep looking to Me and communicating with Me, as we walk through this day together.

Take time to rest by the wayside, for I am not in a hurry. A leisurely pace accomplishes more than hurried striving. When you rush, you forget who you are and whose you are. Remember that you are royalty in My kingdom.

Psalms 37:7; Romans 8:16-17; 1 Peter 2:9 [Jesus Calling]

No room for Scrubby!

My people! They come home from vacation and start cluttering up my house. Geesh! The big people start bringing in luggage and dirty laundry and unpacking things everywhere and the little people start pulling out every toy imaginable. I can't even find a simple place to rest. Well, I can, as you can see from the picture above, but it wasn't easy. I'm a bit squished, but I managed. Hopefully things will return to normal very soon! Thanks for listening ... Love, Scrubs.