so what happens now?

Sick

2012-02-08T10:13:00.001-08:00

Last week, the boys and I caught a stomach bug which led to some dehydration issues for Micah and a couple doctor's visits. We are on the mend and looking forward to finally getting out of the house this weekend. The city we live in has its drawbacks but also quite a few perks. Some of these perks just happen to be a few of Caleb's recent birthday gifts: memberships to the local air and space museum, aquarium, and zoo. I am looking forward to hitting these places up this week.

piloting a jet simulator

directing the planes on the aircraft carrier

riding in a canoe with friends

petting sting rays

Birthday Gone Wrong

2012-01-27T10:44:00.000-08:00

Small group night happened to fall on Caleb's birthday. The only thing he had requested for his birthday was a shark cake. So, I decided to bring his cake with us to small group.

The cake

Two things I learned from the experience.

1. Don't try to wait and have cake after a three year old's bedtime.

2. Make sure the other children present realize it is not their birthday before bringing out the cake.

Recent quotes from Caleb

2012-01-27T03:59:00.000-08:00

Anyone that knows Paul, knows he is quite forgetful. Apparently, Caleb has realized this too.

Paul- Bye buddy, I have to go to work.

Caleb - got your lunch?

Paul - No, I didn't even think about making a lunch. Thanks, Buddy.

Caleb - your welcome dad.

Reading his children's bible the other day we came to the story of the cruxificion.

Caleb - He got a big booboo and then he got dead.

Me - Yes, he did die

Caleb - and then he turned into a statue

Driving to church last Sunday. Wishing my child wasn't so inquisitive.

Caleb- mommy, was I in your belly?

Me- Yes

Caleb- how did I get out of your belly?

Me - I pushed you out

Caleb - but how?

Me - at the hospital

Caleb - but how did you push me out at the hospital?

Me - like this (I made a motion from my stomach down to my legs)

Caleb - out of your peep or your poop?

Me - (so wishing the hospital response was enough to satisfy his curiosity) out of my v_____

Caleb - oh ok

C turns 3

2012-01-26T12:02:00.000-08:00

Today C turns 3 years old.

May you continue to grow into a man of

compassion

courage

faithfulness

and self-control

We love you!

just for fun

2012-01-18T11:08:00.001-08:00

Best Buds

Mr. Independent insists he knows how to put on a helmet

Bittersweet

2012-01-15T08:07:00.000-08:00

Last night my husband gave me a wonderful gift of a night out with friends. My best friend is soon moving away to Mexico where she and her husband get to live out so many of their passions and dreams. While I am super excited about what is happening in their lives, I am also really really bummed they are moving away. I am sure I will post about this transition as her departure date ensues, but for now I can't really think about it.

We celebrated her birthday with an overnight at a lovely oceanfront hotel and endless hours of talking and laughing. It was supposed to be her birthday gift but I think the gift was really for each of us.

Whew!

2012-01-13T04:50:00.000-08:00

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind. We had a wonderful Christmas celebrated with our boys. We flew to California Christmas night for the week. I didn't bring my camera for two reasons. 1- I knew I wouldn't remember to take pictures and 2 - we had no space in our luggage. We had an eventful week being with family, biking around San Francisco, eating, playing cards, and witnessing medical emergencies for family members. We returned home on a red eye flight and have spent the last two weeks trying to get back on east coast time and catching up on life here.

I had hoped to send out a Christmas card for the first time this year but as expected, life was busy and the Christmas card was an easy cut. Here are a couple pictures I had hoped to use, taken courtesy of my sister. Merry Belated Christmas!

Christmas at our house

2011-12-17T11:35:00.001-08:00

A friend asked me to post on her blog about what we have decided to do this year for Christmas. Thought I would copy the post here as well.

Last year, after many requests from my husband, I read the book Ancient-Future Time, by Robert Webber. The book led us into a discussion on how we can intentionally foster spiritual formation in our children through tradition and celebrating the Christian calendar. Or put more simply, how can we communicate the mystery of the birth of the Messiah to our boys in the midst of the abundance that surround the holidays? There is a chapter in Webber’s book on Christmas. He begins the chapter by retelling his two strongest memories of Christmas morning. Here is a brief summary: The first memory is of his time growing up in the Congo. Each year, early in the morning, the villagers would gather at the foot of the mountain, hike up a path and gather wild flowers. Slowly they would proceed down the mountain singing Christmas carols, surround the missionary compound, and plant the gathered flowers all the while rejoicing in the Savior’s birth. His reflections on his African experience were of mystery. The Christians there celebrated something not fully comprehendible in a “poetic and symbolic way.” The second memory was of his family’s sabbatical in the United States where he received an abundance of gifts. That Christmas morning Webber’s father asked the children to wait to open their gifts until after reading the Christmas story and praying. The only word Webber recalls hearing that morning is the word “Amen,” before plunging into the wonderful gifts he received. Webber doesn’t try to belittle the act of gift giving and in fact communicates his American experience as a juxtaposition between the human and divine (the gifts and the Christmas story), the incarnation. These stories and Webber’s further reflections left us asking again, “how can we communicate the mystery of the birth of the Messiah to our boys in the midst of the abundance that surround the holidays?”

This is our first year implementing some ideas that were formed through our discussions. Here are some of the things we came up with…

We have been celebrating Advent with our boys; realizing we won’t communicate the full weight of the Christmas story in one morning. Our friends introduced us to the Jesse tree and a beautiful devotional by Ann Voskamp (find her info here www.aholyexperience.com). Each day we read through a piece of the Christmas story beginning with the creation, tracing the continual promise that Christ will come through the Old and New Testaments. Each day there is an ornament that the boys hang on their “Jesse Tree” that corresponds with that day’s reading.

We plan to celebrate Christmas Eve with our church community and Christmas morning we will read the final part of the story…Christ is born. Our plan is to dress the parts and act out the story, to sing, dance, and celebrate the birth of our Savior. (Also to eat a lot of yummy food.)
As far as gift giving, we have been reading about the real St. Nicholas. We asked the boys if they would like to be like St. Nicholas to someone this year and give a gift on Christmas in secret. Our oldest is very excited about this idea and immediately chose to give a gift to my best friend’s children. On Christmas Eve, we plan to sneak over to their house and leave the gift on their front porch. We plan on being “St. Nicholas” to our boys and place a gift for them on the porch to find Christmas morning. We are hoping that learning about the real St. Nicholas will help them not completely ruin the fun of Santa Claus (what some may call St. Nicholas) when they speak to others, help communicate the beauty ofgiving to others, and at the same time be a fun tradition on Christmas morning, but not the focal point.

These decisions were not easy to make because they required us to change our previous way of celebrating the holidays. We typically alternate holidays with our extended family: spending Christmas morning either in California or North Carolina. We tried to incorporate our vision for communicating the mystery of the incarnation into our travels, but every scenario we contemplated seemed to take away from either beautiful time with family or intentional time to teach our boys. We plan to travel to visit family Christmas night and on, hopefully still giving our boys time to celebrate with their extended family.

This is definitely a trial year as we figure out what works well and what does not work. As we work through our failures we hope that if nothing else our boys will see in our hearts a love for our Savior and excitement that HE HAS COME and HE WILL COME AGAIN!

Outside

2011-12-15T10:08:00.001-08:00

Stress

2011-12-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

Travels, work, Paul coaching, and the holidays approaching have left me feeling more stressed than normal. Tuesday night I had a bit of a meltdown as I felt my perfect balance was being disturbed. On my way to work Wednesday morning, I listened to NPR and caught the news update. The update mentioned the Barbara Walters interview with the Syrian President and the atrocities that are occurring in Syria. Later in the update, they reported the suicide bombing in Afghanistan that killed 56 people on Tuesday. My mind immediately began to think about mother's in these countries. Not only do they have the normal stresses of work and family life but also the very real stress of keeping their families alive. Suddenly my stress seemed insignificant.

Lord, please bring peace, and healing to this broken world.

15 month stats

2011-12-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

Micah had his 15 month check up today. His stats were...

height - 33 1/3 in (although, he turned his head right as the nurse drew the line on the paper. so I am going to say this is an underestimate)

weight - 28.86 lbs.

That is 96th percentile for weight and still off the charts for height.

Caleb at this age was pretty close: 35 inches and 27 pounds.

Prayer time

2011-12-06T17:18:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to decide if it is appropriate to put a time limit on Caleb's nightly prayers. I know he is stalling but at the same time I want him to feel like he can tell God all the things for which he is thankful. This week prayer time has included all numbers 1 through ten, shoes, that thing over there, continental, usairways, southwest, mommy and daddies faces, hangers, lizards, snakes, frogs, alligators, lights, closets, bathrooms, and doors to name a few. It is hard not to laugh as he squeezes his eyes closed and in all seriousness thanks God for octagons.

Quote of the Day

2011-12-02T12:01:00.000-08:00

Caleb: "Hey Micah, you want to wiggle your booty with me?"

Crowder

2011-11-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

When Paul was a youth pastor there was a standing joke amongst the youth that he had a man crush on worship music leader, David Crowder. Whenever Paul had the opportunity, he would include some of David Crowder's music into the youth service. It seems that Caleb is following his father's lead and has three favorite songs, all by David Crowder. No car ride is complete without a request for what he calls the whistle song, drum song, and o praise him. Even though I have heard the songs more times than I can count, I am so thankful these are his song choices and not other children's songs like the wheels on the bus that I am certain would drive me insane.

Bug Hunt

2011-10-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

30 years and camping

2011-10-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

Paul and I turned thirty two weeks ago and decided to celebrate by taking a weekend away for camping in the Great Smoky Mountains. Everything about the weekend was perfect. My mom kept the boys for us, giving us two full days of talking, reading, hiking, and relaxing. It was wonderful.

The view after a much longer than expected hike

The place we camped had only twelve camp sites. It was quiet and peaceful.

The leaves were still changing

Paul even dressed the part with the beginnings of his mountain man beard.

It was lovely

We reflected on our last decade together and decided it would be ok if the next decade is a bit less eventful. In our past ten years together...
- we both graduated from College
- we were married
- we both obtained Masters degrees
- we moved seven times
- we had two children and
- we worked a total of nine different jobs

We'll see what our 30's have in store.

Excuses

2011-10-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

So much for keeping my resolution to blog each week. I would like to say, I have many excuses for my lapse in blogging that make me feel justified.

Excuse #1 - Trip to NC to visit the family left little time for sitting down to blog.

Excuse #2 - I decided to start training for a 1/2 marathon. It will be my first race since before I was pregnant with Caleb, 3 1/2 years ago. I am enjoying running again but finding that carving out time to run with two little ones is much more challenging than running in the past.

Excuse #3 - A friend of mine asked me to be a guest blogger on her blog. I agreed to post every other week before I realized the other writers on her blog are either professional writers (journalist, authors, etc...), have their PhD's, are in the process of obtaining their PhD's, or are currently professors teaching others that are in the process of obtaining their PhD's. I think she asked me to post in order to obtain a little balance to the blog. I bring the grammatical errors, smaller vocab, and poor sentence structure. Needless to say, I find myself very intimidated to post and put any blogging energy I once had into my twice a month posts for her.

The boys are doing great. They have settled into their new in -home daycare and no longer cry when we drop them off. Micah is now walking everywhere he goes and is communicating more and more. Caleb continues his love affair with marine life, often retreating to find a spot to read a book about sea animals. The boys have also started to play together; making my life much easier.

Football

2011-09-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

This evening Caleb brought his bike helmet to me and said, "mommy, I need to play some football."

Safety first

Art show

2011-09-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

This summer, a lovely lady from our church came each Friday to our home. For an hour she led an art project with the children in our neighborhood. She had the great idea of having an art show at the end of the summer so the kids to showcase their work. Secretly, we were hoping the art show would help us get to know the children's parents. The kids didn't hand out invitations during the week and then this morning were scrambling to invite others to see their work. In spite of not meeting the adults in the neighborhood, the kids were very proud of their work and the day was a success.

The art show

The boys and their work

Group shot

Micah's One Year Stats

2011-09-09T10:14:00.000-07:00

Weight – 94th percentile – 25 lbs 8 ounces
Height - 99.99999th percentile –33 in

Can't remember where Caleb was at one year but at 15 months he was 35 in. and 27 lbs. Micah started a little slow for this house but is rapidly working back into our families large child lineage.

Neighbors

2011-09-06T16:18:00.001-07:00

Earthquakes, hurricanes and...birthdays?

2011-08-30T17:40:00.001-07:00

Micah turned one on Sunday. In a last minute decision we headed to NC to get away from hurricane Irene. The plus of evacuating was we were able to spend time with my family. The negative, we had to rush Micah's birthday party so I could be home for work on Monday morning.

A short clip of our danty little cake eater.

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

Micah may you continue to grow into a man of peace, justice, wisdom, and mercy. We love you!

Micah update

2011-08-22T18:16:00.000-07:00

milk

2011-08-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

One morning this week, as I was getting ready for work, I heard Micah's horribly high pitched scream coming from the other room. I walked in to find Caleb holding his own shirt up with one hand and with the other hand mashing Micah's face into his chest. My response, "Caleb what are you doing?" Caleb's confident reply, "Mommy, I am just giving him some milk." Our Caleb, always the helper.

While I didn't get a picture of the above episode, I did get a quick shot of Caleb holding Micah today. So much has changed since I last grabbed a picture of these boys sitting together in this chair, almost exactly one year ago.

side note - Micah took four independent steps today. He will be walking soon.

Dugong

2011-08-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

Have any of you ever walked into a room to find your child pretending to be a dugong?

Long time

2011-08-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

Despite the lapse in blog posts, much has been happening around our house. We've been traveling and filling our days with as much family time as we can before Paul goes back to work on Wednesday. Sadly, my camera has not accompanied me on any of our trips (locally or out of town). Sorry family. We are getting back into our routine so hopefully updates will appear more steadily.

Micah had a rough morning. Caleb bit his finger and face, he fell and hit his eye on the edge of the table, and slipped on a ball landing on his forehead. In spite of all the bumps and bruises he remained his sweet, happy self.

Retaliation

2011-07-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

The day finally came that Micah decided to fight back (yes those are bite marks)

Obsession

2011-07-11T18:07:00.001-07:00

Caleb has an obsession with marine life. He is fascinated by anything having to do with the water. Recently, his interest has zeroed in on sharks. He likes watching nature videos including BBC Earth and his most recent favorite is Popular Mechanics for Kids Sea Creatures (we've checked this out at least ten times from the library). My only worry with this interest is the fear that may develop from reading books and seeing videos that include the full circle of life - sharks eating seals, going after turtles, hunting fish... Last night around 4 am, Caleb woke from a nightmare yelling something. I was certain the world of sharks had entered his dreams.

When I came to his bed he told me, "mommy I don't want green one, I want white one."

Me - "want the white what Caleb?"

C in tears - "mommy I don't want green one, I need white one."

M- Caleb use your words and tell mommy what white one do you want.

C- "mommy I want white yogurt not green yogurt."

M - "ok Caleb today you can have white yogurt, no green yogurt."

Immediately Caleb stopped crying and nestled into his pillow to return to sleep.

So, what lesson did I learn from this episode? Green yogurt is more menacing than the great white shark.

Garden update with a little music

2011-07-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

I thought I should post a garden update before all the sunflowers are eaten up by the birds. Paul is 100% responsible for our amazing garden. Every summer I love eating fresh veggies from our yard and stocking our cabinets and freezer with goodies for the winter.

Looking at pictures of our little piece of the country in the midst of the city make me feel like listening to a little folk music. Thankfully I know two boys that are quite handy with the kazoo.

So sad

2011-06-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

We just found out this evening that the wonderful woman who has been watching our boys since Caleb was born can no longer keep them for us. I am so utterly sad. The more I think about it the sadder I seem to become. She is completely irreplaceable. When we were looking for someone to watch Caleb after he was born I talked to her about how much we could afford to pay her. When I told her I didn't think we could afford to pay as much as she received from others she so humbly responded..."Lauren it has never been about the money. I just ask that you would pray for me. Pray that I would be a good model to your son and that I would help him grow into the man God desires."

I never once had to coax Caleb to her house. He was excited everyday to go see her and i never worried about my boys while they were in her care. She took them out to do fun things, taught them truths about God, loved on them when i wasn't able to, played games, and disciplined them in a way I would have done myself. I feel like we are losing a member of our family. My heart is so sad that my boys won't get to spend their weeks with her anymore. She has known each of them from their first day. Other than myself and Paul, she knows them better than anyone. We are so going to miss her.

California in June

2011-06-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

We had a great visit with family in California. As always, it was too short and we are already missing everyone. Here are a few pictures of the week courtesy of Grandma. As you can see the pool at Grandma and Grandpa's house was a big hit.

Snuggling with cousin, Colin

Watering plants with Grandma

Playing in the pool

Swimming

Paul and his sister - they look so much alike

Having fun with Grandma

swinging

Family photo before our departure - do you think Micah is tired?

Our trip home from CA deserves a mention.

We received a call on Tuesday morning at 4:30 am letting us know that our flight scheduled to leave that day at 11:45 am had been cancelled. We had been rescheduled on a flight leaving the following day at 6:00 am. This posed many problems for us. Paul's parents live about two hours (without traffic) from the airport. A 6 am flight meant we would have to leave for the airport, for a a full day of travel, with two little boys at 3:00 am. Also, I was scheduled to work Wednesday morning and have no extra leave time.

Paul called the airline and after talking to various representatives and saying all the right things, got us on a different airline with a 1:40 pm departure the same day.

Our departing flight ended up being about an hour delayed and had to reroute in the air to avoid storms which put us landing in Philly 1 hour and 45 minutes late. Paul called the airline when we landed and found out our connecting flight was also delayed, scheduled to leave at 12:45 am.

We were the last row on the plane so by the time we exited the plane it was already a little after 12. We found out our departure gate was on the other side of the airport and only accessible by shuttle. Problem was the shuttle was no longer running due to the time. We had to completely exit the airport and go through screening again. On our almost mile long run through the airport we hit the edge of a moving walkway with the stroller and the front wheel fell off. We managed to press on with a lopsided stroller to the security screening where I had to chug all of the water left in our water bottles from our prior flight, where Caleb felt the need to get upset that his shoes were being taken off, and where Caleb also needed to enter and exit security repeatedly in order to help move our items along the conveyer belt. We made the flight and arrived in Norfolk at 1:45 am. As could be expected our luggage did not make it home with us so we spent a little extra time at the airport filling out the appropriate paper work. We finally arrived home at 2:15 am and got everyone to sleep by 3:00 am. Just enough time for me to get three hours of sleep before heading off to work. It was a long day.

Too good not to post

2011-06-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

We leave CA tomorrow. More pictures from our trip are to come but this one was just too good not to post today. Paul's mom took the picture and no photo editing was needed. I know I'm biased but he certainly is one cute boy.

Date to Yosemite

2011-06-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

We are in CA for the week. Paul's mom volunteered to watch our kids so we could get away to Yosemite for the day. This area of CA had a lot of snow this winter so currently the falls and rivers are roaring. We had a perfect day full of hikes, waterfalls, beautiful views, and time together.

Paul in front of Nevada Fall

Yosemite Falls

Tunnel View

Bridalveil Fall (checkout the colors of the mist)

Here I am walking overly cautious with my no tread tennis shoes from Nevada Fall

Quick video of some of the rapid waters

Paper towels

2011-06-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

We rarely buy paper towels. In a small effort to be green we use linen napkins and keep dish towels handy in the kitchen to use as needed. This past Saturday, I found that paper towels are a true gift - green or not.

We put Caleb down for a nap on Saturday. He had fallen asleep on the way home from a trip on the ferry and was reluctant to continue on with his nap after waking when we arrived home. About ten minutes after putting him to bed I decided to take a quick peek to see if he had fallen asleep. Looking into the room I found an empty bed and the bathroom light on. The first words out of my mouth were, "oh my word!" Caleb had pooped in his pull-up and, from the looks of things, tried to wipe himself. In the process of cleaning himself, he managed to get poop on his hands, which I think he then shook and splattered poop all over the walls. Little poop hand prints were all over the bathroom: on the toilet handle, toilet roll, bathroom rug, my water cup.... Here is where my gratitude for the paper towel comes into the story. We filled a grocery bag with poop covered paper towels and tossed them into the trash to be seen no more. Thank heavens for paper towels.

Micah 9 month stats

2011-06-06T17:44:00.000-07:00

Micah is our light weight. Weighing in at 22 pounds (around the 74th percentile) and 29 1/2 inches long (around 81st percentile). A whole inch shorter and almost three pounds lighter than Caleb was at the same age. Practically skin and bones.

random clips of micah at nine months

Conversations with Caleb

2011-06-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

I thought this past Sunday was Pentecost (I now know it is next week). On Pentecost, Anglicans wear red as a visual reminder of the Holy Spirit's coming. I decided to explain to Caleb why we all were wearing red (albeit on the wrong day)...

M: We all have on red because today is Pentecost Sunday. Today is the day we celebrate the Holy Spirit coming.
C: mommy, daddy, micah, and caleb - red
M: that's right we wear red because today is Pentecost Sunday.
C: No mommy, no mommy...octagon red
M: not pentagon Caleb, Pentecost. But you are right an octagon is red (a.k.a. stop sign)

At the swimming pool I was trying to kick on my back and let Caleb hold on. He was not thrilled with this idea.

C: Mommy hold my (insert unintelligible word here)
M: Hold your what?
C: Hold my (again with the word)
M: Are you saying hold my breasts?
C: Yeah mommy, hold my breasts
M: How about you say hold my chest
C: Ok, mommy hold my chest

Boys

2011-05-26T09:54:00.001-07:00

Before having kids I was a big nurture proponent. In any debate on nature vs. nurture, I always felt strongly that we create the masculine and feminine traits in our kids by the way we raise them. Caleb has proved me wrong. While I do think nurture is a huge influence in the differences in our society between boys and girls, nature certainly has a huge roll. While I know many of the things Caleb shows interest in are also things little girls find interesting, it is the combination of the items that paint such a stark difference. His most recent "boy" fascination is the slug. I am certain this is not something I instilled in him because truthfully I find the little buggers disgusting.

Bound to happen...right?

2011-05-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I learned two important things...
1. Poison control is a wonderful federally funded program
2. Milk is the antidote for consuming too much toothpaste

Micah is sick. Yesterday afternoon, I was getting Caleb ready for nap when Micah decided to release the little lunch he had eaten all over me, himself, and the floor. I asked Caleb not to step in the throw-up that graced our carpet while I went to clean off Micah. Caleb said he was going to brush his teeth. Perfect, a little tooth brushing would keep Caleb away from the vomit. After cleaning Micah, I returned to check on Caleb's brushing progress, only to find he had been eating toothpaste instead of brushing with it. A quick call to poison control where they calculated his weight, the kind of toothpaste, plus the amount he consumed and we were assured a glass of milk would prevent any complications. I am a huge fan of that 1-800 number.

7 years

2011-05-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

Seven years ago today, Paul and I married. I flipped through wedding photos today and thought about how much has changed in the past seven years. We look older, less tan, less rested, less in shape, some of us (no names mentioned) have less hair. As cheesy as it may sound, one thing there is not less of is love. I love Paul more today than the day I married him. I look at these two naive people in the photo above and want to tell them, you think you know what love is...just wait. Wait until you have children together, wait until you experience difficulties together, wait until you pursue dreams together, wait until you experience loss together...just wait...from today it will only get better.

Brothers

2011-05-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I get a glimpse of how things will some day be between my boys... secrets and laughter shared that only the two of them understand, imaginary worlds to explore and create together, partners in crime when mischief is done, looking out for each other in what can be a very overwhelming world, best friends...

Today, as I was feeding the boys lunch, I looked over and saw Caleb nibbling the skin off of his pear. He then placed a perfect little skin free slice on Micah's tray, so Micah could gnaw away on his own pear slice without choking on the skin. It is funny how this little thing made me so proud.

Glorious Day

2011-05-09T17:27:00.001-07:00

This morning marked the first time since Micah's birth that Paul and I woke up before both boys. Last night there were no middle of the night cries, no bad dreams, no falling out of the bed, no legs stuck in crib slats, no poopy diapers, and no hungry bellies. We slept uninterrupted all night. It was glorious!

Proud

2011-05-06T06:03:00.000-07:00

When Paul and I married, handyman was not one of the attributes he brought to our relationship. Over the past seven years (and a house that needed a lot of work) I think he can now officially claim the title. Here are some pictures of his most recent work.

Working hard

front gate and fence (to be fair, my dad helped)

back fence (Paul's dad helped)

garden and compost bin in the back (all done by Paul)

new deck (ok so this was built by others but it was Paul's design

Mad

2011-04-28T10:15:00.001-07:00

During the final week of the lenten season we told Caleb the Easter story. Every day we told him what Jesus did on the corresponding day long ago. Palm Sunday - Jesus rode on a donkey, Monday - Jesus was angry in the temple, Tuesday - He taught people, Thursday - he ate with and washed the disciples feet, Friday - he died, Sunday - he rose again. For some reason, the thought that most resonated with Caleb was that Jesus got mad. He could recount the week for us by day, if prompted, but if we asked him blankly what did Jesus do this week?, his response every time - "Jesus got mad!" I think we need to work a bit more on teaching about the love of Christ since it seems Caleb will have no problem understanding God's wrath/justice.

So Two

2011-04-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, Paul mentioned to me that he felt we were really fortunate not to be experiencing the legendary "terrible twos" with Caleb. Come to find out he spoke too soon. I don't know when it happened, but all of the sudden Caleb seems to be running full steam 100% of his awake time. It is as if he has a caffeine drip during the night that doesn't run out until he is fast asleep. If Caleb does not have our direct attention for an extended period, we can be certain he is up to some sort of mischief (usually antagonizing his brother). We decided not to use spanking as a form of discipline but I must admit, it certainly would make things easier around here.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T18:35:00.001-07:00

*photo courtesy of Grandma - thanks Grandma

Baby Blues

2011-04-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

I keep meaning to pull out my camera and capture the boys doing something, anything, so I can post this week. Alas, a week has gone by and I have no photos. Thankfully, my sister captured this photo last week and passed it on.

Weekend visit

2011-04-12T03:36:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy of Christy Smith

Memories

2011-04-02T05:54:00.000-07:00

One of my most fond memories from childhood is of lazy Saturday mornings. My sisters and I would head out into the family room and dance to cheesy Christian music while mom and dad prepared a special breakfast. Today was one of those days...cheesy Christian music and all.

On the move

2011-03-26T06:36:00.001-07:00

Seriously

2011-03-24T10:57:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I wonder if there is any hope for our society.

Last week I took the boys to the zoo. We were watching as the giraffes were being fed. The man feeding the giraffes was fielding questions from the crowd. A middle-aged woman standing next to me, who had her three elementary aged children with her, piped up. "This may sound like a dumb question but are there still giraffes in the wild, like in Africa."

Love

2011-03-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

This morning I took Caleb on our first mommy/son date. I wasn't sure how the date was going to go when Caleb fought getting dressed, going to the potty, and was even negative as we walked into the restaurant. We split an order of sweet potato pancakes. About ten bites into his pancakes, Caleb looked up at me with eyes gleaming in delight and said "Mommy, I love it."

*Disclaimer: I forgot my camera this morning. Picture was taken at dinner*

Potty Time

2011-03-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

Sleep Training

2011-03-12T10:56:00.001-08:00

This week we learned that our sweet smiley boy has quite the will. After six months of not sleeping, we decided it was time for Micah to learn to self soothe. The result has been quite a few nights of heart-breaking, hair-pulling (my own hair that is), nauseating tears. Thankfully the training seems to be working and every night there are fewer tears. One day everyone in our house will sleep through the night right?

Micah had his 6 and a half month check up. He is 28 inches long and 20 lbs. Both stats put him in the 90+ percentile.

Not Without Hope

2011-03-04T10:37:00.000-08:00

This week we received sad news. A dear friend of ours, from our old church, was just given two to four weeks to live. The cancer he has been fighting has grown too large and his body is too weak to fight any more.

I am so sad for his wife and three children. I am sad for everyone who knows and loves this witty man. I am sad that our busy schedule has kept us from seeing him more often. I am sad.

A friend sent me a link to a video of him today. I didn't ask his permission to post this but I have been so encouraged by watching it that I wanted to share. (it is also on you tube so I'm assuming it is open to the public) The video shows a small glimpse into the faith of this man. His life may end in the next few weeks but he is not without hope. His joy has not ceased. He still has something to sing about. (the sweet voice you hear helping him remember the lyrics is his daughter)

You never let go Lyrics - by Matt Redman

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I'm caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won't turn back
I know you are near

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?

(Chorus:)
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We'll live to know You here on the earth

(Chorus)

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

6 month comparison

2011-02-27T15:47:00.001-08:00

Caleb 6 months

Micah 6 months

Neighbors

2011-02-20T14:54:00.001-08:00

We just returned from a lovely long weekend visiting my family. Sadly, I left my camera at home. In an effort to keep my blogging once a week promise, I did capture a few pictures of Caleb with our new neighbors earlier in the week.

A family from the Philippines moved in to the house next door last year. There are fiveboys ranging from ages 7 to 11 who, for some reason I can not explain, enjoy playing with my two year old. They are incredibly kind and well mannered. As I was packing lunches on Monday after work, I looked outside and two of the boys were sitting on the edge of the garden singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with Caleb. Later all of the boys were flying Caleb around the deck as if he were superman. I am so thankful for our sweet neighbors.

(you may have noticed the little guy on the right is not Filipino. He is another neighborhood kiddo that is over quite often)

Rough week

2011-02-13T10:04:00.000-08:00

This week marked the appearance of Micah's two bottom teeth (accompanied by ear infections).

The week also included colds all around and Paul being away coaching at the conference meet. The only thing that could have made the week a bit more exciting would have been a broken sewer line. Lucky for us that is just what the week delivered.

Caleb's stats

2011-02-04T06:08:00.001-08:00

In the midst of all of the birthday festivities, swim meets, family visits, and normal life busyness last week, Caleb also had his two year well visit with the doctor. His stats are 36.5 inches and 33 pounds. Still in the 90+ percentile but starting to slow down on the accelerated growth.

Laughter

2011-02-02T16:51:00.000-08:00

No one can make Micah smile like Caleb. I don't completely understand this joy he has for his brother. This same brother bit him on the face last Friday (that's right on the face), hits him when he wants my attention, and drew blood by scratching him on his nose on Saturday. And yet, Micah would choose to watch Caleb over me any day.

Today was the first time I have heard Micah belly laugh as Caleb entertained.

Birthday party

2011-01-30T11:33:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Caleb's birthday yesterday.

(Caleb attempting to show us how old he is)

We often call him our "crazy monkey."

My favorite part of this video is hearing the voices of our friends who have no reason to love our son the way they do, but choose to be a sweet part of his life.

Birthday

2011-01-26T12:34:00.000-08:00

Our prayer for you...

May you continue to grow into a man of

Faithfulness

Compassion

Courage

and Self-Control

We love you Caleb! Happy 2nd Birthday!

Milestones

2011-01-22T16:17:00.000-08:00

In an effort to do a better job documenting what is going on with the boys, my goal is to blog something every week. This blog has inadvertently turned into the means for me to record important milestones for my boys (that I will hopefully one day put into a book) and keep family and friends updated. I never thought I'd have a "mommy blog" but that is what it has become.

This week marked Micah's (mostly successful) intro to solids

and although he learned how to roll a month ago, I finally got a quick video as proof

Farewell

2011-01-15T11:17:00.000-08:00

Dear second week of January,

Forgive me for skipping all pleasantries and getting straight to the point. I am glad we are approaching the end of our visit with you. I hope subsequent weeks will be more gentle on our family. Please be sure to take with you the throw up covered sheets, sleepless nights, high fevers, late night swim meets, uncontrollable crying spells, cancelled family visits, and cancelled play dates. When you come back next year we would appreciate you leaving these unpleasantries behind.

Farwell

Turned my back for one minute

2011-01-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

Micah's 4 month stats

2010-12-31T09:57:00.000-08:00

It seems Micah has slowed a little in the weight gain department and is no longer ahead of Caleb on the growth chart. He weighed in at a little over 18 pounds, which puts him in the 83rd percentile, and was 27 1/2 inches long (still off the charts).

We love him a little more everyday.

Christmas 2010 Snow

2010-12-31T09:41:00.000-08:00

Whales are all the rage

2010-12-18T13:07:00.000-08:00

Caleb and Micah's babysitter introduced Caleb to this PBS video on humpback whales (watch around the 5 minute mark to see where Caleb gets his inspiration) and now whales are all the rage in our house.

Just Because

2010-12-13T17:41:00.001-08:00

Micah's first laugh

2010-12-13T17:36:00.001-08:00

November 27, 2010 - with Mae Mae

You know you are hairy when...

2010-12-07T05:44:00.001-08:00

Every morning around 6:00 am, Caleb hops into bed with us as we gradually wake up. Here is a little excerpt from last week's early morning conversation.

C: Brown (he says as he points to my shirt)
L: That's right Caleb mommy's shirt is brown. What color is Caleb's shirt?
C: Green
P: What color is daddy's shirt (Paul sleeps without a shirt on)
C: Black

12 weeks

2010-11-21T10:23:00.000-08:00

Maybe some day I'll post more than photos of my children but for now this is the easiest medium to give the family some updated pictures of Micah. He is sweeter everyday. (Also larger everyday - already in 9 month clothing).

Two months (a few weeks late)

2010-11-13T09:47:00.000-08:00

I have received several requests from the family for some photo updates. I have a multitude of excuses as to why there are no new photos (more on that later) but my strongest excuse is that whenever I get out my camera my subjects do not cooperate and I end up with pictures like this.

It looks like I drug my children.

Caleb wants to be a part of every picture but I find that it is hard to snap a photo while keeping Micah from getting squished and at the same time catch both boys smiling. I was able to sneak a photo of Micah today on the changing table. Nothing great but at least I can document his looks at eleven weeks.

At his 2 month checkup he weighed in at 15 pounds 6 ounces (off the charts) and was 25 inches long (97th percentile) He is still managing to stay bigger than Caleb was at his age.

Micah Week 7

2010-10-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

Clicks

2010-10-03T17:39:00.000-07:00

I spent six months in South Africa my senior year in college. While in SA, I learned some of the Zulu language. Overall the language was fairly simple (only having three tenses) to learn but I had quite a bit of difficulty properly executing the clicking sounds that accompany the letters q, c, and x. I wondered if it was difficult for children to learn to correctly form their mouths to make the appropriate clicking noise. Caleb has shown me this week that learning to make the clicking noise is easier than pronouncing the letter 'r.' He attaches a click to almost all words that end in a letter 'e.'

A short video of the only three words I could think of off the top of my head that end in the letter 'e.'

One month

2010-10-01T11:57:00.001-07:00

Micah had his one month check up yesterday and as hard as it may be to believe he is actually bigger than Caleb was at one month. Being bigger than Caleb is impressive in and of itself and is only made into a grander feat knowing that Micah weighed less than Caleb at birth.

(sorry for the lousy picture. I am a horrible photographer and don't know how to compensate for poor lighting on my camera without using the flash.)

Our little chunk weighed in at 12 lbs 9 oz and was 23 in tall

Constant companion

2010-09-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

Guilt
when I play with Caleb and see Micah lying lonesome on the floor
Guilt
when I am nursing Micah and Caleb is begging for my attention
Guilt
when I lose my temper with Caleb after he has hit Micah for the fourth time
Guilt
when I am so tired from night feedings that I don't have the energy to play hide and seek one more time
Guilt
when I get angry with Caleb after he plays in the toilet water after three prior reprimands
Guilt
when I have nothing left to give friends or family who could use a little help
Guilt
when I can not engage my husband in conversation with a sleep deprived brain
Guilt
that I don't have the energy to make a healthy meal for my family

Guilt - I did not invite you into my life but so easily you have come in and taken over. Will you ever leave?

Photo Update

2010-09-24T12:37:00.001-07:00

A quick photo update courtesy of grandma.

Micah is four weeks old tomorrow and continues to be a sweet boy. He hasn't quite mastered staying awake during the day and sleeping at night but we are seeing his big beautiful eyes more often each day.

Caleb is a loving big brother; always ready with a hug and kiss for budah (his name for Micah).

Birth Story

2010-09-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

A post for those, who like me, love to hear labor stories...

Several people have asked how long my labor was with Micah. I honestly have no idea how to answer. I started having regular contractions (every 30 minutes) August 7th. The last week of the pregnancy the contractions started to become more painful but they weren't any closer together. Saturday, August 28, we had friends over for lunch and all of the sudden I started having contractions around 5-7 minutes apart. I didn't think anything of it because, as mentioned earlier, I'd been having regular contractions for three weeks. Our friends and my husband tried to convince me these were different and I should go to the hospital and get checked out. I assured them that the pregnancy books I'd read said the contractions would need to gradually progress to 5 minutes apart and need to stay that way for at least an hour before we could really determine if I was in labor. These contractions were not completely regular so they must be another false alarm.

Our friends left and I decided we should get ready to go to a birthday party. Paul convinced me to go for a walk to see if I could help the contractions along. My best friend came over to join me on the walk and she too thought I was in labor. After the walk we called our friend who had graciously agreed to watch Caleb for us when I went into labor, to see if she would be willing to come pick up Caleb. Caleb left at 6:00 pm and we left for the hospital shortly after. We arrived at the labor and delivery ward around 7:00 pm which happens to be shift change time and the time three other babies decided to be born. They had nowhere to put us, so we were put in the recovery room and told to wait. Finally around 8:00 a doctor showed up, checked me, and reported I was 7 cm dilated, 90 % effaced. I was relieved to hear I was actually in labor. We waited in the recovery room until about 8:40 pm for a room to open for us. Paul tried to encourage me to scream a little during the contractions so maybe they would hurry things along for us.

We got into our room and hooked up to all the monitors at 9:00. The nurse asked me to stay attached to all of the equipment for 20 minutes and then I could move around the room. At 9:20, I unhooked all the equipment and headed to the bathroom where my water broke. The next bit of time is kind of a blur because the contractions started coming hard and fast and at the same time I felt the urge to push. I did not think it was time to push because I had not experienced enough pain. My labor with Caleb was induced and long, with incredibly painful contractions. I thought I had to withstand pain more like my labor with Caleb before I started to push. The doctor came in to check me and sure enough I was 10 cm dilated and fully effaced. They asked if I wanted to push and all I could say is I don't know, I think so. I pushed through two contractions and sweet Micah made his way into our world at 9:46 p.m. So how long was my labor? If you count the weeks of regular contractions it was about 525 hours long. If you just look at the time from when we left our house for the hospital, it was about 3 and a half hours. I think I'll stick with he 525 hour story and remind Micah of the long labor when I need a little leverage.

One Week

2010-09-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

Micah has been home with us a little over a week. He is a sweet and sleepy boy. Some day I'll get around to blogging a little about him but in the meantime here are a couple pictures taken by my talented sister.

Brothers

2010-08-31T07:22:00.001-07:00

Home

2010-08-30T18:10:00.000-07:00

We made it home. We are all a little (or a lot) tired, but we are good.

New Baby

2010-08-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the world Micah Caedmon Gyorfi.

Born August 28, 2010 at 9:36 p.m. 8 lbs 5 oz, 21 1/2 inches long. We are so happy you are here!

Final countdown

2010-08-21T03:46:00.001-07:00

A little less than two weeks until my due date. I assumed at this point my mind would be racing with worries about labor, being induced, what to take to the hospital, what if things go wrong, will baby #2 be healthy, will he nurse... Instead, I've been thinking about how much things are going to change for Caleb. Up until this last month, when I thought about the idea of the baby coming and Caleb, I was excited. Soon Caleb will have a playmate, someone to play cars with when Paul and I are over it, someone to run in circles with around the house long after my legs have tired out. But then the incident with the big boy bed occured.

We have the bunk beds set up in the boys room but weren't planning on transitioning Caleb into sleeping in them for a few more months. We asked him if he wanted to sleep in his bed one afternoon and he said yes. Napping in the new bed went great. Night time in the bed was horrible. He woke at 2:30 and would not go back to sleep in any bed until around 5:30. The next day all I could think was if this is how difficult transitioning into a bed is for Caleb, how is he going to transition to a new human in our home. Everyone tells me it may be hard at first but in the long run it will be beautiful. I completely agree, but I can't seem to get past how hard it may be at first. I am saddened that Caleb won't understand what is going on and that we can't explain to him our love for him hasn't changed.

So, if you think of us in the upcoming weeks please continue to pray for a healthy labor, mother, and baby but also pray for Caleb. Pray that this transition into being a big brother will be a joyful experience for him.

Floors

2010-08-14T10:18:00.001-07:00

The week leading up to the wedding our house was pulled apart as Paul and a friend of ours put in new hard wood floors. Caleb and I crashed at some very generous friend's home. At the end of a very long week Caleb and I returned to beautiful white oak floors. (I apologize for the poor picture quality but you get the idea.)

Before...

After...

Before...

After...

Before...

After...

Before...

After...

Quick recap

2010-08-11T16:25:00.001-07:00

I had grand plans to photo document our trip to Chicago. I also had plans to tour the city, get good rest, enjoy the wedding ceremony, and play on the dance floor with Caleb. I don't know what I was thinking. Being thirty-six weeks pregnant with an eighteen month old completely changed many of my plans for the weekend. We had a wonderful time being with friends and family but things didn't always go like I expected. In my dream world, I thought Caleb would sit quietly and look at books during the ceremony. Every mom out there is now rolling their eyes at my naivety. Caleb looked at books but he wanted to loudly identify all of the pictures in the book. I had to sneak out of the ceremony. Instead of watching the ceremony, Caleb and I hit up the gymnasium.

After the ceremony, the man that officiated the wedding (also a former professor) asked if I had been able to see any of the ceremony. Through misty eyes I told him no. He gently grabbed my arm and said, I know your son doesn't see how much you loved him today but I see it. I was incredibly sad to miss out on the ceremony but at the same time I realize I missed out on something beautiful for something else beautiful: playing basketball with my boy.

I managed to take one quick photo of Paul and Caleb on our way to the reception but have nothing else from the wedding or reception. If any family members have any pictures I would love for you to pass them along.

In spite of having contractions every thirty minutes on the day of the wedding Baby #2 managed to stay put and saved us from having a Chicago baby birth story. We had a great trip. Exhausting but sweet.

Can't wait

2010-08-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

I wanted to wait and post pictures of the three of us after the wedding, but I can't resist. There is nothing quite like seeing a little boy in a suit and tie.

We are so excited about this wedding.

Chicago

2010-07-31T17:54:00.000-07:00

The word Chicago immediately sends my heart and mind into nostalgia. It is the place I began my life with Paul. Where we got engaged. Our first apartment. Our first year together.

It is also the only place I have lived close to my sister since she left for college. My first apartment with girlfriends. My first true feel for independence.

I love everything about the city. I love the...

crowded sidewalks. massive buildings. art exposure. free festivals. cultural mosaic. public transit. friendly faces. spring tulips. running path...

This week we return to Chicago to be a part of Paul's brother's wedding. I am excited to be with family and friends and witness the beginning of the bride and groom's life together. I'm also quite thankful that the Bride's hometown happens to be right outside of my favorite city.

Update

2010-07-05T17:27:00.000-07:00

After various requests from family members here are a few photo updates.

In spite of the lack of rain in the past weeks, Paul has managed to keep our garden alive and well.

Here is a little of what Paul harvested this weekend. He seems to have quite the knack for gardening.

(Three bags of salsa, cucumber tomato salsa, two bags of corn, cucumbers, two spaghetti squash, random squash, heaps of tomatoes, and I forgot to add the black beans, green beans and lima beans from this weekend too)

Baby #2 is growing and growing. Here are some pictures of his growth (and mine) at 32 weeks.

*side note* for the sake of my pride/self-esteem...please don't comment about how big I am. You can think it to yourself all you want but I don't think I can handle any more negative remarks about my size. Obviously, I am feeling a bit self-concious.

The boy's room is mostly done. We still need to buy mattresses but the everything else has fallen into place.

Last but not least...the sun has made it official. Caleb is a blonde.

Busy

2010-06-28T17:56:00.000-07:00

Everyday these past two weeks has been completely filled with activity. We have traveled, worked, painted, assembled furniture, moved furniture, organized, washed baby clothes, spent time with family, hung out with friends... The most memorable event of the past weeks was Caleb's first overnight away from us. He spent last Sunday through Wednesday with my mom in North Carolina. Paul and I had a lot of work to do in order to get the bedroom ready for the boys (pictures are coming). My mom (and sister) volunteered to keep Caleb so we could get all of the painting and moving done and spend some time alone. Our time together was fun and very productive but I was surprised by how much I missed Caleb. I cried a good two hours of the drive home (sorry Paul), didn't sleep well a single night Caleb was gone, and always felt like something was missing about my day. I am so thankful Caleb had a chance to get loved on by his family and build relationships with them in a way that wouldn't happen if I were around but I am glad to have him back. Thanks again for taking such good care of my boy.

My sweet sister took these pictures of Caleb getting some love from his cousins and Mae Mae.

Our boy is back

2010-06-14T17:03:00.000-07:00

After two weeks of constant crying, whining and fussing, Caleb has returned to his normal state (a generally happy child). After many tears on both my and Caleb's part, I listened to one of my coworkers and took him to the doctor. I was told by the doctor on call that the change in Caleb's mood was due to his stage of development. She assured me that what I was seeing was his personality and independence coming out. This doctor isn't Caleb's regular doctor so she would't know that he is usually quite happy, but it irked me to be told that I didn't understand my child. She found he had an ear infection but didn't suggest that this could be the cause of the altered mood. One day into the prescribed antibiotic and our happy boy was back with us.

Caleb watched a little of the World Cup with Paul this weekend and seems to be doing some training of his own.

Two babies

2010-06-03T16:48:00.000-07:00

I have decided it is not humanly possible to have more than one child when a child is sick. The week started poorly with Caleb's molars coming in and took a turn for the worse yesterday when Caleb spiked a high fever and threw up. The past 24 hours I have watched baby einstein videos too many times to count, read Caleb's five book choices at least 20 times each, built blocks, blown bubbles, rocked a crying toddler, and tried to get a little sleep. How do you mothers of more than one do it? I haven't bathed, cooked, or done anything around the house. I can't imagine having another little person to be in charge of today.

Neighborhood

2010-05-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we went to lunch with my mom and a friend. The conversation shifted to questions about my past and my trip to South Africa was brought up. One question that came up was regarding how my experience in SA effected me. I struggled with loving many of the white people (there were many that I admired as well) of South Africa. The majority of whites I encountered had never even traveled into a township, let alone been into the home of a black South African. My Zulu class was full of South Africans who were forced by their employers to learn some of the Zulu language. Coming into the class they did not even know how to say hello in Zulu. Zulu is not just some random language. It is one of the national languages and the language spoken by the majority of people in the region I lived. In an unusually frustrating day I sat down to journal about the flagrant disregard the white's in my community had for blacks. As I wrote I realized everything I was saying about white South Africans I could say for myself in the United States. I was no different in the way I chose to live and the community I chose to surround myself with. I avoided people that were different and had never taken time to learn about the varying cultures that live so close to my home.

Sunday afternoon Caleb and I were playing outside when two of the high school boys that live in our neighborhood stopped by. I sat and watched these sweet African American boys play with my son for forty-five minutes. As they repetitively let Caleb throw a basketball at them and pretend to fall over I couldn't stop smiling. I smiled because it was pretty stinkin funny to watch two giant guys pretend to be hurt by a one year old and I smiled because Caleb's reality is that there is nothing unusual about playing with people whose skin is a different color.

Baby bump

2010-05-09T11:03:00.000-07:00

Baby 2 hasn't received quite as much attention as Caleb did during the pregnancy. It is not out of a lack of love, there just is not quite as much time for documenting all the little details this time around. Having photo documentation is also made difficult by a husband who has a bit of trouble taking his photography job seriously. Here are a few pictures I think are somewhat presentable that I was able to salvage from the dozens of photos Paul took. Most of the pictures were either blurred or close ups of my face and other random features that have nothing to do with the purpose of the photo shoot. Baby 2 is growing well and moving around like crazy. We can't wait to meet him.

Rebirth

2010-05-07T06:24:00.000-07:00

When we bought our house the yard was a complete wreck. When I say wreck I mean an utter disaster. The people that lived here before us were known in the neighborhood for wild parties, drugs, and alcohol. The backyard had been completely overrun with vines and underbrush and what little of the yard was not overrun with wild vegetation was covered in trash.

We approached our yard as an opportunity to reclaim something that was broken into something beautiful. Paul (with very little help from me) has spent countless hours transforming our yard into that something beautiful. Not only beautiful but sustaining us with fresh vegetables all summer long.

Here is the backyard when we moved in. Pictures don't do the chaos justice. We found old steel drums, eating utensils, loads of children's toys, bags and bags of trash...

This is last summer's garden. Wonderful garden but notice the crazy wild brush still in existence.

This year's garden and yard. We are still working on filling in grass in the old garden beds but things have come a long way.

This is the beautiful flower garden I walk through any time I head out to the driveway.

Paul still has landscaping plans for various parts of the yard and wants to build a deck but I couldn't be happier to have such a lovely place for Caleb to run and play.

Growth

2010-04-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

I forgot to blog Caleb's stats after his 12 month doctor's visit and thus have completely forgotten what his height and weight were. So that I don't forget today's 15 month measurements I'm leaving myself a little blog note. One day I'll transfer information into Caleb's empty baby book but... not today.

Caleb weighs 27 lbs (somewhere between the 50-75th percentile) and is 35 in. (way off the charts) tall. Crazy to think that Paul may be the shortest male in this house someday.

Cork board

2010-04-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

Last year I bought a cork board to cover the awful utility box in the corner of our kitchen.

The box is snugly situated between our refrigerator and back door and, because of it's location, is hard to find something that will cover. We talked about building our own cork board from recycled wine corks. I never thought we would collect the over 300 corks needed for the job. Paul convinced me to return the store bought cork board and with the help of friends and family we have the needed corks. Last weekend, Paul built this beautiful cork board.

I am super impressed and glad we'll have something hanging in my kitchen that was made by my husband's loving hands instead of a factory somewhere in China.

It's a boy

2010-04-16T07:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's ultrasound revealed baby #2 is a boy. I had been mentally telling myself we were having a girl because with a girl comes a lot more prep work (getting girl clothes, figuring out how to decorate a room for mix-genders, the dilemma of how long a boy and girl can share a room before it becomes a bit awkward, etc...). I would have been happy to have a girl but am delighted that our next child will be, as my friend Katy put it, another gentle giant.

The ultrasound overall went well. The technician was quite impressed with the size of our boy's feet (no surprise there). As the technician looked at every part of our little boy's body she gave positive feedback until she was looking at our boy's brain. While she was looking at the brain she asked me when my next appointment with the doctor was scheduled. I knew something was wrong but hoped she wouldn't make me wait until next week's appointment to find out what she had seen. At the end of the ultrasound she brought up the scan of the brain and highlighted a dark spot which she called a choroid plexus cyst. She said she would bring in a doctor to talk to us about the cyst but that she does not see any reason for concern. Choroid Plexus cysts are in and of themselves unharmful. The choroid plexus makes the fluid that bathes the brian and spinal chord. Sometimes a cyst (or fluid-filled area) may form inside the choroid plexus. The cyst usually resolve themselves and almost never need follow-up. They do not cause any problems or delay brain development. The only concern regarding the cyst is they have been linked to a chromosomal disorder called Trisomy 18. Trisomy 18 is a very scary chromosomal disorder with a high early mortality rate. Cyst are a soft marker for the disorder. Hard markers for the diroder include complications with the heart, the absence of a specific bone in the nasal region, and what almost looks like cleft fingers. Our baby had none of the hard markers for the chromosomal disorder and even with the discovery of the cyst my risk factor for having a child with Trisomy 18 did not increase. The doctor encouraged us that he saw no reason for concern and or need for a follow-up. He also informed us we were the third patient that day to have an ultrasound show a choroid plexus cyst. So, all of that to say our baby looks good but if you could pray that he will continue to form into a strong healthy boy and that this cyst will disappear quickly. Pray also that I don't allow any worries or fears about the cyst to form and create an unpleasant and fearful pregnancy.

Hot

2010-04-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

Last week's high temperatures left me feeling quite depressed about being pregnant during the summer. As much as I complained, the warm weather wasn't all bad. It gave us a chance to take Caleb to the beach and the fountains at the botanical gardens. Thank goodness for cool water on a hot day.

Spring Break

2010-04-08T07:23:00.001-07:00

This spring break I planned to accomplish various projects around the house. I have yet to check off one creative project from my list. Paul on the other hand has been very creative. He was talking to a friend a few weeks ago who was brewing his own beer. When Paul asked if making your own beer is hard, Paul's friend responded, it is about as hard as making yogurt. Paul could not get over the idea that it is possible to make your own yogurt so, with some helpful hints from our friends, this morning I am enjoying a cup of yogurt made by my loving husband. I am impressed and thankful.

Mini Retreat

2010-04-06T05:53:00.001-07:00