My little boy

Goooood Morning, Sunshine!

For some reason, Maryn screamed every time I picked up my camera yesterday.  That's why she's crying in this photo.  Anyway, she was helping me fold laundry and rolled the wash cloths like this, ran up to me and shouted, "Mommy, look!  Enchiwadas (enchiladas)!"  It was so cute I just had to get a picture. 


Yes, that's marker on her face. 

I was up until almost midnight with Josiah, was up with him again at 3, and Maryn woke up at 5:30.  John left for work at 5:30 and  Maryn screamed and screamed for half an hour.  My head hurts, I'm exhausted, and I have a ton of things to do today--including holding a little button while the washer spins our laundry because the little button is broken and can't do it on its own.  And our air/heat is broken.  Four and a half hours of sleep isn't that bad, right?  God help us all. 

Kian Update

My friend, Danielle's baby boy, Kian, who was born with a very rare medical condition, died last week on February 9th.  They are comforted by the knowledge that their baby is in Heaven now, but they are suffering a lot of pain and sorrow.  Please pray for Danielle, her husband and their family.  I worked with her sister down  in Florida and their family has had a rough few years. 

Thanks, friends!

Valentine's Day (redo)

 We celebrated Valentine's Day on Wednesday since Monday didn't go so well.  Maryn and I spent the day dressing up like princesses (doing our nails, hair, makeup, and trying on lots of clothes). 

 By the time Daddy got home from work, the enchiladas were out of the oven and he surprised us with more princess wear, a Valentine's table cloth, strawberries, and pink frosting for our heart-shaped cake.  It was a fun day.  But as you can see above, the rest of my family was not all that enthused.  Party poopers.

Look at my baby boy sitting up!  He is such a buttery little morsel.  :)  But I am going to stop talking  about him as though he's food.  A few weeks ago, I was playing around with him, making all kinds of funny noises, when he quickly put his finger in my mouth (he does that often) and I chomped down accidentally on his little finger!  I immediately thought, "Oh my gosh, what if I really did bite off his finger accidentally!?  Would anyone believe me that it was an accident?"  And all those times I called him an ooey gooey gumdrop, butterball, a good-enough-to-eat little morsel, etc. flashed through my mind.  I would surely be found guilty. 

So here's to motherhood and controlling my appetite.  No more biting, Mommy!

Did they read my blog?!

I just got this invitation in my e-mail.

Who?          All Ladies of the Seminary Community
 
What?         "Emotions:  Can I Control Them?"

Presented by Dr. Janice Seifrid, 

Associate Director of Women's Leadership and 

Assistant Professor of Women's Leadership

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday afternoon Maryn woke from her nap on the couch at 3:15 with a fever of 104.3.  I had made a doctor's appointment for today at 11:30 but with a fever that high I called her pediatrician to see if we could get in sooner, and at least talk to a nurse to see what we should do.  First, she calmly told me that it was probably so high because she was napping under blankets and to give her cold water.  If she wants to cover up, give her nothing heavier than a sheet.  The nurse also told me a bad fever virus is going around Louisville.  But when the nurse found out she'd had the fever since Friday, she told me to bring her in at 4:45. 

So John came home with my Valentine's Day presents--paper plates and a Sierra Mist (don't go too overboard, honey), and took Maryn off to the pediatricians' office without me (ahh!) since taking Josiah to the sick bay was not optimal.  They returned with two pizzas from Pizza Hut (YUM!), amoxicilin and children's Mucinex, and a sort-of diagnosis of PNEUMONIA (although an official diagnosis can't be given without X-rays) and the beginnings of an ear infection!

After I got over a few minutes of pure hatred and loathing of myself, I ate 4 pieces of pizza, a brownie, a Reese's Peanut Butter Heart, and half a bag of tater tots (I may have some serious emotional issues).  And then I completed a survey for John's Biblical Counseling class that rated him on a scale of 1 to 4 on character qualities.  Which may have been skewed a bit due to my instability (or my sugar rush.  Or my heavy salt intake.).

So, we didn't really celebrate Valentine's Day, but we have been doing Valentine's Day stuff for the last few weeks.  I am planning something for tomorrow, however.  I am going to stop with all this self-loathing, and between all the nose blowing, diaper changing, Josiah's teething tantrums, medicine taking and giving, movie-watching, Pedialyte-swallowing, mayhem...we are going to have FUN, gosh darnit.  If it's the last thing I do! 

The Sick Files

Maryn is so cute when she's sick.

Last night, I couldn't sleep so far away from her.  She kept waking up and I'd have to keep go checking on her, so I gave in around 10:00 and pulled our big couch cushion into her room and slept next to her bed.  With that vaporizer and the sound machine going, I had the best 2 hours of sleep I've had in a very long time.  Josiah woke up at 12 to nurse, and Maryn woke up as soon as nursing was over.  Screaming, burning up, coughing.  She wouldn't take any medicine.  I was trying to get her to take it (big mistake) when she started throwing up every where.  "Mommy, hold me!"  So I held her as she vomited over my shoulder, while Josiah laid on her bed being his normal happy self.  "Mommy, medicine please!"  ***barf, barf***  "Mommy, medicine please!"  ***barf,  barf***  So she was pleading for medicine in between her vomiting.  I called for John and he took her to bed with him, while I cleaned up the mess and got Josiah to bed.  I spent the rest of the night sleeping on the couch.  Aside from nursing Josiah again at 2 (or was it 3?)...and he ended up crashing with me on the couch until 6 (or was it 7?).  And then we all slept until 9. 

So today, I was laying with Maryn on the couch watching Toy Story 3 and she was starting to get a pretty high fever and I asked if she wanted some medicine.  She said, "No, I'm feeling better, Mommy."  And she laboriously picked up her head and smiled at me--the fakest, but sweetest smile I've ever seen from her. 

We've watched a lot of Caillou, Toy Story, and Santa Clause 2.  We've been playing lots of games and puzzles.  She's gotten quite good at Candyland..  And Josiah is loving to read (eat) books with us.  I think Brown Bear, Brown Bear might be his favorite.  

I haven't gotten Maryn to eat much at all for the last few days, but she is drinking Pedialyte pretty well, some juice, some water and some milk.  She's eaten a little bit of toast, noodles, and cheese.  Not the best thing for being sick, but at this point I'm letting her have whatever she'll take.  She's already lost a pound or two since she's been sick.  Which is not good since she's already a skinny minnie.  At our WIC appointment last week the nutritionist told us she's in the lower 10th percentile in weight, and above average height for her age.  Which she said isn't a bad thing.  But she does normally eat, eat, eat all day.  She's a little John.  :)

 Doesn't Josiah look so long?!  He is.  He's actually thinning out a bit, too.

He hasn't had almost ANY formula in a few weeks.  I think it's helping him

become a little leaner. But as you can see, he's still healthy.  :)

 Here's my sick girl this morning, watching Toy Story 3...mouth hanging open.  :)

We couldn't get in to the doctor today, but we have an appointment tomorrow.  Let's hope it goes well and we get some answers.

Big milestone and a little prayer request

Josiah had oatmeal tonight at dinner and NO stomach problems yet!  He was gobbling it up like a starving little bull dog.  He was grabbing the spoon himself and shoveling it in. 

Please pray for my baby girl, Maryn.  She still has a fever.  It's staying pretty low, but she's had it since Friday.  Doctor appointment tomorrow.  Why do these things always happen on Friday afternoons? 

Giraffe. Yum!

sort this out

 

Here's Maryn sorting little hair ties into Valentine's bags.  Cathy sent these to us, and as you can see, she taped a different color hair tie to each little bag.  The other day, we used the hair ties to make patterns on her little wooden hammer.  Making patterns and sorting are very early math skills.  Your kiddos do it when they clean their room, help sort, fold and put away laundry, and many times in their play.  Sorting is oddly fun for lots of kids, and it's one of the reasons preschools have "bins" instead of giant toy boxes.  Labels on those bins further teach kids how to read, categorize, and sort.  Plus it teaches them to clean!

Sorry about my lack of posts, especially pictures, lately.  My kiddos are sick.  Maryn has had a fever the last two days and all of us are trying to ride out a pretty nasty cold.  Hopefully we will be better soon!

midnight talk

Tonight, Josiah and I had a midnight talk.  He had some trouble staying asleep because of a raspy cough, so he and I were sitting together after trying to lay down three times.  I just didn’t have the heart to let him cry with all that painful coughing going on, so I was trying to soothe him once again, when he looked up at me, and said,

“Hehh, Hehh!” with a little grin.

“What?”  I replied.

“Hehh, Hehh!”

To which I responded with kisses, Eskimo kisses, tickles, and smiles.  I tried to be quiet and just listen.  I want to be a better listener.  He just talked or sang away, smiling, laughing.  He smoothed down my hair, pulled me towards him for more kisses, grabbed my face—just smiling and giggling without a care in the world. 

He told me about his favorite sports teams, his hopes for the future, the girl he likes, his best friends.

Some day maybe I’ll be a good enough listener.  Maybe I’ll be sitting next to him close to midnight as he tells me about the girl he thinks is the one.  Or the best friend who he thinks needs prayer.  Maybe he’ll tell me some football statistics, or mathematical equations, or systematic theology, or maybe he’ll play me a song on his guitar.  Whatever he does, and whoever he grows up to be, there is one thing I know.  I will love him, and I hope he knows I am here to listen.  And I will love him, whatever he has to say, and whatever he does.

Josiah has such a flirty personality.  He is always trying to win me over.  He captures my gaze, smiles, and woos me.  I hope he learns that he doesn't need to win my affection.  He had me from the beginning.  

creative cat

 Maryn drew this picture of our family ALL by herself (isn't she getting good!?).  Look at that green person.  I asked her who it was, and she said, "That's Mommy."  I asked, "Why am I all green?"  And she said, "Cuz you're nakey and you need a shower."  Then she drew that huge orange circle above me and made it rain down, explaining, "That's your big shower."  And look, all the rest of the family is clean and smiling.  Boo!

Here Maryn with some our neighbor friends who came over the other day.  Ella Grace is almost exactly Maryn's age, and Eli is about 3 1/2.  Aren't they cute?  Ella Grace kinda hangs out and plays pretend by herself, and Eli and Maryn play together well.  He doesn't let her boss him around.  They have a new baby sister, too.  We love our neighbor friends!

shallow girl meets hot boy...another story in our dating story

We had been dating for a few months.  He had held my hand, sparks had flown, I was head over heels attached to John.  Still amazed that he found me cool enough to be seen with me in public.  Still in awe of his incredible upper body build (wink, wink ;-))))

Anyway, it was Decemberish, right...so yes, we had been dating for about 8 months.  He had started wearing this new winter hat.  The kind some people I know call toboggans (which everyone else in the world knows that a toboggan is a sled).  He also had some new gloves to match, and I was very chic (not) in my pink Columbia jacket.  We were very, very young and attractive back then so I guess our winter wear didn't matter much.

John had begun doing this twitching thing with his eyes.  I had noticed him doing it for a few days.  Now, this story is going to make you realize how absolutely shallow I am, in case you didn't realize it before.  But that twitching was beginning to worry me.  I thought I might have to end our relationship.  Sorry, but I just can't date men with twitches. 

So on one of our dates, he started that twitching thing, and I just came out and said it as nicely as possible, "Is something wrong?"

"What?"
"Your eyes.  Is something in your eye...or something?" 
"No, it's this hat, it keeps coming down over my eyebrows."

So, it was the hat.  And he was raising his eyebrows to, um, push the hat up, or something?  I don't know.  Anyway, we always laugh when he wears his winter hat and uses his eyebrows to keep it in place.  What a freak.  ;-)

Happy Half Birthday, Josiah

My little boy is 6 months old.  We celebrated his half birthday tonight by dropping both kids off at a babysitter's house and going on a date, just John and me.  Maybe tomorrow I'll make some cookies with 6 candles.  :)

I hope I never forget the feel of Josiah's fat cheeks pressed against my lips.  I know soon his fat cheeks will be gone.  But for now, I will enjoy every chubby little ounce of him.  Josiah has been an absolute joy to me.  He drools like crazy, spits up if I eat anything containing dairy, and can't tolerate any solid foods yet.  But the little man is fun, silly, loves to go, wants to grab anything and everything that moves.  He is going to be a whole lot of fun when he starts crawling and walking.  In this post I will be recording some boring things, mostly just for my sake, so don't feel obligated to read every word/

Eating:  Josiah is still not eating any solids yet, but it's not for lack of trying.  Each time we've tried solids, his little tummy hurts for about 2-3 days.  Not fun.  So, we will be trying oatmeal once again tomorrow.  He doesn't have a problem swallowing or keeping the food down.  It just doesn't want to come out.  Ever. 

Sleeping:  Josiah has been sleeping about 10 hours straight per night, and taking about two naps each day, totaling about 3 or 4 hours of nap time.  If he does wake up during the night, it's usually to nurse and then he's straight back down.  He does really well falling asleep on his own.  If he cries more than a few minutes, it's usually because he needs to burp or he's still hungry.  Which are always easy problems to solve.

Physical Development/Motor Skills:  His bottom two teeth have been in for a few weeks, and they are looking cuter than ever.  He is STRONG.  He kicks, pulls, and grips things so hard.  He has a weird way of getting around.  He's so chunky he doesn't go far, but he pushes with his legs so hard that he very nearly does somersaults or backwards somersaults right across the floor.  It's pretty wild.  He can sit up for a few seconds unassisted, but he wants to grab EVERYTHING around him, so sitting up never lasts long.  So far, if he does happen to have a tumble (or if his sister bonks him on the head), he just laughs. 

Josiah weighs about 19 pounds.  Which is, by the way, more than Maryn weighed when she was a year old.  Yes, I am on my way to being quite a buff little mommy. 

Happy Half Birthday, Josiah!  You are such a treasure.

Spring cleaning has begun!

 Colorful, plastic toys all over our house

 Disney and television characters joining us in all our activities,

Messes of budding artists spread all about the house,
Creations only being created so that they can be cut into a hundred tiny pieces.

Bath tub toys,
A bathroom decorated with fish,
Princess toothbrushes,
Pasta hand prints all over the walls.

Sometimes I mourn the loss of a clean house
Until I remember why it's messy. 


Sidnenote:

My sweet friend Kendra pointed out to me that some of you might not realize my last post was supposed to be read as sarcasm.  I do of course dread the eye doctor and all that.  Who wants to sit there for an hour answering the questions, "Which do you like better?  The right or the left?  Right?  Left?  Right?  Left?"  Going for acupuncture sounds so, so interesting and therapeutic.  Doesn't it?  I would almost love to be the girl who goes to Starbucks, then the acupuncturist, then maybe stops by the art studio, the mall, or the natural foods market for a wheat grass shot (NOT!  But maybe I'd be delusionally happier and hotter).  But instead I am here, cuddled up with my incredible husband and two sweet little babies.  :) 

It's a wonderful life.  :)

Amanda fell ill and the doctor prescribed her a six month holiday in the country.

Whenever I read a biography about a missionary, the biography always tells me that the subject was ill for 3 months here, 6 months there, etc., and that they spent their time being ill out in the country.  For George Mueller, I am sure it was helpful to escape the pollution of Victorian England.  For others, I don't know.  There were just so many illnesses and so few cures. 

Anyway, I feel like I just haven't been "well" since we moved here, and I think I need to go stay in a cottage out in the country.  Go for a daily stroll, breathe in the country air, plant some flowers and watch them grow.  But nowadays it is not very fashionable to be sick for six months at a time.  No one would believe I was actually ill without a dire diagnosis. 

One of my big problems is that I need to see an eye doctor and a dentist.  But I'm scared about how much that will cost.  For instance, the insurance will say there's only a $20 co-pay, but it seems like there's always some hidden cost.  And I'm not sure if I can even wear contacts anyway. 

So I'm thinking maybe I'll try acupuncture.  There's an acupuncturist right across the street and every time I drive by there, I am just intrigued.  And since I can't go tanning, acupuncture seems like a nice alternative.  I wonder how much that costs. 

Okay, gotta finish folding laundry.