Mismatched Boots

A common occurrence in this house: mismatched boots. The boys virtually wear the same size boots (only one size separates them), so they "share" boots all the time. In fact, having the boys were the same two boots is rare. They prefer to share. I have absolutely no problem with this, especially since they can dress themselves!

Advent

One of our goals this Christmas, was to spend time praying for others. We enjoyed it so much at Easter, and again at Thanksgiving, that we knew that it had to be a part of our Advent celebration. (Plus it was something that would be easy to do if we were blessed with the early arrival of our new baby....or if I was too tired/sore to do other activities).

We had pre-written names on angels, and added two (or more) almost every evening. It was so neat to see the "heavenly hosts" grow each evening.

The boys have really enjoyed this activity. They love picking a new angel and finding out whose name is on it. We have had to stop dinner multiple times to pick an angel. Once the angel is on the wall, we have to" pray again for the people." It's been neat to see how important this activity is to Joel and how much he has grown through it.

Alongside our prayer wall, we have also lit the advent wreath every night. The boys adore this...but probably because they love blowing out candles. Each Sunday (and sometimes during the week if Joel insists), we say a special advent prayer. I found a child friendly advent prayer that is basic enough for the boys to understand. They seem to enjoy it.

We also read a Scripture (Joel calls it a "criwsper") a day. The Christmas story was broken down into short readings, followed by a question. We have loved hearing the boys answer questions ranging from "Who is Jesus?" to "What brings you joy?"  It has focused our meal time conversation and allowed us to dig deeper into Scripture as a family. It has also allowed us to peek into Joel's brain and see what parts of the Christmas story he is retaining and how he has translated it.

As if a prayer wall, advent candles and a Scripture weren't enough, we also had an advent activity calendar. It was filled with Christmas activities ranging from driving to see Christmas lights, to crafts, to reading a Christmas story. Oddly enough, this calendar was the first to be thrown aside.  We found ourselves too busy this month to add those types of activities to our lives. Between midwife appointments, chiropractor visits, birthday parties, the last few days of work and various other Christmas related activities, our days were too busy to add a craft or story to our lives. Or rather, the boys had no desire to do any. On the days we were home, they just wanted to play. So, about 3 days in we scraped the advent activity calendar and never looked back. Sure, we did do a few activities, but we never stuck to the day to day activity. I knew at the beginning of the Advent season, that I would give myself grace, and not force ourselves to do the activity if it became too much. What I didn't realize was that it would become overwhelming earlier than I expected. But, it was a blessing in disguise. We have spent more time together as a family, putting together puzzles, chatting about the future or putting Legos together. It was a blessing in disguise.

This advent season has been full of blessings. One of our main goals was to have the boys know the Christmas story by the end of December. We also wanted to focus more on Jesus and less on anything else. And also to spend time together as a family. 

We have accomplished those things and so much more. We have felt the richness of the season, as it embeds itself into our children. We have seen their wonder grow as they ask poignant questions and answer ones we ask. We have seen the importance of prayer and praying for our friends and family. We have seen Jesus infiltrate our lives and remind us of the real reason for the season.

Joel-isms

Joel (and Micah) were in a time out for fighting.  I told Joel he needed to apologize to Micah for hitting him.  Joel goes up to Micah, but doesn't end up apologizing. I tell him again that he needs to apologize and Joel says, "I keep trying to apologize. But every time I do, Micah keeps putting his eyes away." (aka....not looking at Joel). I guess he's finally taken our request to look people in the eyes (especially when you apologize) seriously.

After this incident, I was reminding Joel that it is never okay to hit in my house. He turns to me and says, "But mom, its not your house. It belongs to Darnell and Christina." Seriously kid!  You got me on a technicality. I rephrased my statement to include the fact that we never hit. Ever.

Time Out

We got the boys a nativity set last year so they could play the Christmas story. For some strange reason, the angel Gabriel refuses to stand up. This frustrates the boys to no end.  So this year, they took matters into their own hands. This is where Gabriel spends most of her time. In Time Out. When they play nativity, and Gabriel falls over, they send her off to time out until she is ready to stand up properly....or until they forget about her and run off to play something else. It never ceases to amaze me, the creative things these boys come up with.

Veteran Parenting Mistake

Don't ask me how we didn't get this sooner. It was 37.5 weeks into our pregnancy when I had the brain wave.


You see, I kept getting "kicked" by the baby in a rhythmic fashion. I kept saying to Dan that the baby is kicking me in a heartbeat pattern. We kept wondering what was up with this baby. Seizures? Rhythmic baby? Weird kicking pattern?


Nope. At 37.5 weeks, I FINALLY figured it out. Hiccups. The baby has hiccups.


Yep. We forgot about something so simple. I guess somehow in the 2.5 years since Micah was born, we lost the brain cells that remembered that babies in utero have hiccups.


Oh veteran parents.....how could you forget?

What's been happening?

We have been busy these last few months...prepping for baby and preparing for Christmas. Literally, we have been anticipating Christmas since October.




Needless to say, blogging has taken a back seat. I have either been too tired to blog, to annoyed with the new way to upload pictures, or too busy searching for Christmas ideas. I am trying to get back on the bandwagon. I have literally written 5 or 6 different posts in the last few weeks. Unfortunately for all of you, they have been written in my head at 2am. Sadly, they have not been typed out. And when I go to type them up, my brain goes blank. Nothing. Not even an idea of what I should be sharing. Such is life.




An update (of sorts): We are currently 36 weeks pregnant. Anywhere from 4-6 weeks left in this pregnancy. (Please Lord sooner!) This pregnancy has been physically fairly easy (aside from the morning sickness), but emotionally very difficult. We have had a few "complications" that so far have turned into nothing. We were measuring about a week ahead for most of my pregnancy. Suddenly, at 32 weeks, I was measuring 3 weeks ahead. They did something called a "ripple test." Basically, they tap your stomach and watch it ripple. If it ripples, there is a risk of extra amniotic fluid, which can be dangerous. Some complications involve cord prolapse or the placenta separating from the uterus during labour. Or genetic defects including kidney problems or cleft palate. The fear of these things sat with us for almost 3 weeks. We were sent for an ultrasound to check for those types of abnormalities. When we had our ultrasound, the amniotic fluid level came back normal, as did the size of our baby. But they did a test with the cord, and the test came back inconclusive. Basically, we've been told not to worry (haha...very funny). I go back at 37 weeks for another ultrasound. If it comes back fine, we'll go ahead and wait for baby to arrive on its own. If it comes back with a problem, I will have my care transferred to an OB, with the possibility of induction (if things are really bad).




All this to day, these "complications" have brought a lot of fear into our pregnancy. We already have felt so much fear, after our miscarriage. We felt fear during the first 12 weeks, worrying about another miscarriage. We felt fear when the baby didn't start moving until almost 24 weeks (Joel moved at 14, Micah at 16). We felt fear when I started feeling lightheaded and dizzy, almost to the point of passing out, especially when sitting for long periods of time (driving became dangerous, and we had to stop travelling for long periods of time, which was anything over 40 minutes). We felt fear when I injured my tailbone by accidentally sitting on a garbage can, worried that I broke my tailbone. And then we worried about amniotic fluid levels and now problems with the cord. This pregnancy has FEAR  written all over it. But oddly enough, its also had the word PEACE plastered over it. Its a both/and situation. We feel anxious about things, but also filled with Peace. We know that we have friends and family all over the world praying for this little baby's safe arrival.  We trust that God's perfect plan will come to fruition. We pray for this little baby, for its delivery and for our hearts. That whatever happens, our hearts will be prepared for it and be filled with Gods immeasureable peace.


For this entire pregnancy, I have never been able to picture myself having another home birth. My imagination always took me to a hospital--most often Abbotsford. Which, unless there was a serious complication during our homebirth, is not the hospital we will deliver at. We are registered at Langley, since that is where my midwives have privileges. It has bothered me the entire pregnancy. Then yesterday, I had a regular midwife appointment. We talked about the "complications" we were having. My midwife reassured me that they aren't concerned at all. She even handed over our homebirth kit. Something about that simple act, gave me confidence and peace. Suddenly, my imagination was able to picture a homebirth. In fact, I got quite excited about the possibility. I took my list home of what to have on hand and got straight to organizing it (hello type A!!!). I headed out to the store that afternoon to purchase my waterproof mat for the bed. Here I am, the following day and I sense my excitement building. I am ready to  have a baby.


This. THIS is the peace that only comes from God. That a simple act of handing over a homebirth kit could put my mind at ease. That my fears have disappeared. That I am excitedly anticipating the birth of our next child.


"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:14

Thankful Tree

This October, we decided to put up a thankful tree in our house. Every night at dinner, we would write down on a leaf what we were thankful for.

The kids have GREAT imaginations and it was interesting to see what things/people they were thankful for.

Pine trees, sticky tack, and puppies all made the list.

We watched as the tree filled up with beautiful leaves and sentiments of thankfulness.

Grandma, friends from church and all things nature made the list.

It was always interesting to hear what the boys came up with (love that seahorses made the list).

The boys loved the project and it was with gratitude that we thanked God every night for the items on our tree (yes, even napkins or pots and pans)

Our completed tree.

A little taste of what was written on the leaves.

Ebbs and Flow

I feel as though as a parent, there are times of ebb and flow. Seasons that change as your child grow. Sometimes, you sail through life and parenting is easy and enjoyable. Other times, every day is filled with challenging parenting moments and you wish you could fast forward a few months.

We are in a season of challenge. I know that in a month or two, it will change back into a season of enjoyment. But seasons of challenge are well...challenging. And when you have a spirited child, they are even more challenging.

Currently, every demand is met with a challenge, or a negotiation. "Put on your shoes" can take 15 minutes. Sometimes we are met with a negotiation or downright defiance. Even when we implement the warning system (five minutes till we put on our shoes!), we are still met with defiance. Its extremely exhausting. We have to be creative at times to get things done or to have obedience. We are tired.

We know that one of our children works at their own pace. He goes against the flow and toots his own horn. We love him for his creativity and the observations that he makes. But sometimes, we just wish that we could focus his creativity on the task at hand. We've often joked that dinner time would go much faster and probably be more enjoyable for us if we could seclude him in a black box. A bug, the wind, his brother, creativity are all distractions. Sometimes a crab or lobster (his hand) will come to the table with us but we can never get the crab or lobster to take a bite. Its frustrating to all of us.

The hardest part (right now) is the defiance. A simple request can warrant a tantrum, negotiations, manipulations or defiance. Almost every single time!  We often hear the words "....and that's why I can't do it." This phrase is usually proceeded by some creative excuse. The toys are in the way. My animals wanted to (insert excuse).  I need to (excuse here). Seriously kid! Just put on your dang shoes! Or get dressed! Or pick up your toys! Or stay in your bed! Or get in the van! Or stop colouring on the table!

Every transition during the day is rough. Sometimes, we feel as though we need a few more tools in our parenting toolbox in order to parent this child. We do our best with what we know, but sometimes during these seasons of challenge, we feel inadequate.

But often, before we are consumed by our inadequacies, we either gain more skills to cope or we flow into a season of enjoyment. We know we are doing our best. But sometime during these seasons of challenge, we feel overwhelmed. We are exhausted. We are tired of negotiating.

My mom gave us a comic strip, Grand Avenue, that we put on our fridge that perfectly describes our life.

The Grandma (the caregiver) is telling the child, "Why am I always negotiating with you? I'm the adult-I make the rules. Yet every time I ask you to do something, you start in with bargaining and haggling. So you're going to be punished. March straight up to your room."

Child: "Can I skip instead?"

It makes me laugh. But when you deal with it in reality, its not as funny. But its our life. And our child. We don't get to have it any other way. Not even if we try negotiating our way out of it.

One of those days...

You know its going to be "one of those days" when...
...you're the first in line at Starbucks, waiting for the store to open and you've already been awake for over an hour
...you tell the barista that you want the really big one, with pumpkin, that's cold because you forgot the words, venti pumpkin spice frappacino
...your eldest child's first proclamation of the day is, "Today, I'm going to be disobedient!" and proceeds to follow through with it.
...the only words you hear out of your toddler all morning involve whining, crying and basic gibberish, none of which you understand therefore leading to excessive meltdowns and more tears
...its 10:30am and you've already changed 4 poopy diapers (3 more to follow), all belonging to one child
...to correspond with the excessive poop, there is snot everywhere. All you do is wipe, praying that this will be a mild cold and that it will be gone by the weekend
...naps only last one and a half hours. You would think that after being awake at 4:50AM that they would sleep a little longer.

After naps, things start to look up. I baked pumpkin cinnamon rolls, and prepped the dough for nutella stuffed cookies with the boys. Dan came home earlier than expected. We had a really nice afternoon (minus disobedient child and his stance on obedience today) and the kids were in bed early. (They didn't stay in bed and it took 1.5 hours to get them to calm down enough to go to sleep, but at least they were asleep before 8pm. Plus, they slept in until 6:20am the next morning!)

Thank goodness for coffee!!!

We love our neighbours

This reads: To our favorite neighbors. Please enjoy this foreign chocolate from Switzerland. This was a gift from Simon's boss. Thank you. From Harry and Simon. 

 We found this stuffed in our mailbox at the end of June. It was gift from the two boys who live beside us. They are super sweet young men who always take time to give us a wave or chat with our boys. Two days before we received this in the mailbox, they brought over leftover birthday cake from Simon's birthday to share with us. We truly have been blessed to be in this neighborhood.  People look after one another and care for each other.

When a different neighbour lost her husband suddenly, there was no shortage of neighbours bringing over food and condolences. Every night, we watched neighbour after neighbour bring over dinner for her to eat. We actually had to wait a few nights before there was an opening for our family to bring over dinner! But watching this all unfold was a blessing to my heart as well. We realized that our neighbours are important people who care for one another and look after one another. Still to this day, we watch as neighbours stop by to chat with her or take the time to look at pictures of her husband. She has expressed to me how much this means to her.

Our neighbours are awesome. In the words of Joel, "they make my heart sing!"

We're a weird family

Yep. Not only did we make jam while on vacation, we also foraged for huckleberries, and a few blackberries, at a rest stop. It didn't take us long and we had a snack trap full of them. We didn't get very far down the highway and they were gone. A delicious and nutritious snack...especially since taking fresh fruit over the border is a no-no. 

Lessons and Reflections from Seaside, Oregon

1. Dan and I are water snobs. Yep, its true. We have some of the best water in North America. So when we end up in another city, we really and truly miss water from our homeland. There is something about chlorinated water that makes us want to vomit....or at least drink less of it. When we found a roadside natural water spring, we dumped out our chlorinated water in favor of something a little more pure. It still wasn't the greatest tasting water, but it was much better than what we were drinking.

2. When people ask me what the best part of my vacation was, it wasn't anything we did. It was what I didn't do. For two whole weeks, I didn't change a poopy diaper (I think I only changed two diapers the whole entire time). For me, THAT was my vacation. A vacation from the every day, mundane tasks that fill my day. The other thing that filled my soul with joy? Not having to change the toilet paper roll. Being the only woman, and the one who uses the majority of toilet paper in the house (thank you pregnancy for upping the daily quota), this was a welcome break. Sometimes its the little things that make the biggest difference. Yes, I did enjoy the beach and all the fun we had, but those two things made me genuinely happy!

3. I hate city driving. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I am not a city person. One way streets, heavy traffic, stop and go, no parking....those are the things that make me nutty. A lot of people we know love Portland. I, on the other hand, didn't have the greatest experience. I don't enjoy trying to find my way in heavy traffic. Or having to drive twelve city blocks out of my way, to make the left hand turn that I couldn't make twelve streets ago, to right myself back into the correct direction of travel, so that I could go ONE city block further to our destination to pick up the husband I had dropped off since there was absolutely no parking for BLOCKS!!! P.S. I ended up taking a few rights instead, since the "no lefts" went on and on. And all of this could have been avoided if the parking lot wasn't a one way only! But the upside? Those donuts (VooDoo Donuts) were well worth it?! Needless to say, not a city girl! But I already knew that since I'm not a fan of Vancouver traffic either.

4. Fourteen days is too long of a vacation for me. Seven is too short. Ten leaves me wanting a little more. Probably 10-12 days is the ideal length for me. But ask me again when the kids are older and I'm not preggo. This may change!

5. Staying in a vacation rental house is perfect. Having my own laundry (and coming home with clean clothes) is ideal. Cooking our own meals saves a ton of money and rids the kids of the chicken strip/french fry meal overload. Our best idea: bringing our crockpot. We were able to prep a meal during nap time, set it and head out to the beach. When we got home, dinner was ready! This saved us from having to come home early to make dinner or having grouchy children while we prepped it. The second best luxury item we brought? Our handheld shower head.  Best decision ever! It heightened the shower so Dan and I didn't have to crane ourselves in awkward positions to rinse out shampoo, as well as allowed us to shower the kid's feet off without having to soak them with the shower or explain why we aren't having a bath yet again! So luxurious and wonderful! Like I said before, sometimes its the simple things that bring us joy!

Seaside, Oregon

For two glorious weeks, our family, along with my mother, had the privilege of going to Seaside, Oregon. We spent hours on the beach, enjoying the waves as well as seeing the local sights.

Little crabby

Micah enjoying the sand. His face was just a little bit covered in sand, until I said, "Why don't you just rub sand all over your face and hair?" He took me seriously.

Munson Creek Falls: an unexpected stop on our trip. Literally, we saw a sign for the falls on the side of the road and just decided to go down the road until we found the falls. It was less than 2km from the highway and a nice short walk from the parking lot. Plus, they were beautiful falls. The only downside is that the downed tree in front of us was the end of the trail and as close as we could get to the falls. The trail had closed due to all the downed trees and debris.

A highlight of our trip: riding the stream train. The boys absolutely LOVED it. It was a half hour trip each way with a half hour layover in the middle. It was the right length and absolutely gorgeous scenery.

Young River Falls: beautiful stop and a nice place to play in the river.

The view from the Astoria Tower. We threw little balsam airplanes off the top and watched them sail away. We also did a hike for the first time to the Cathedral tree (another unexpected trip). It was a little longer of a hike than expected, but the boys did great considering it was snack time and a lot of uphill. I, on the other hand, complained the whole way. Never let a pregnant lady, just recently over morning sickness, miss snack time and then expect her to walk uphill for a few kilometers.

The boys at the beach, chasing seagulls

Playing in the waves

Digging a whole to the Philippines so that the boys can visit Cody and Makai. Apparently it will take 10 hours, according to Joel. The hole got so deep that Joel built stairs so he can touch the bottom.

Goofing off at the beach

Love Micah's face as the waves splash up. This little guy loves the water!

Joel showing his bravery as he plays in the waves. This boy was fearful of the water, but occasionally was brave enough to venture out by himself.

Salal Berries

Joel LOVES salal berries. So much so, that earlier this spring, we planted a bush in the backyard. While on vacation, Joel got his fill, eating his way down the promenade every night.

While we were picking them, people would stop us and ask what type of berry it was. We would stop and talk with them, educating them about Salal berries. Joel would always stop, hold out a berry and offer the stranger one. He would also tell them that "they have to be black. Then they are ripe!"

Unfortunately, they stain fairly easily. So Joel's tongue was purple!!

While in Seaside, we picked a few for consumption. Okay! Who am I kidding??? We picked them and made JAM!

Yep! We are the crazy people who make JAM while on holidays! It is delicious. Plus, we got to take 5 buckets of Jam home. Productive, relaxing and delicious! That's my kind of vacation!

Micah and Joel: Songs in our house

Micah: I was singing "Be still and know that I am God" to Micah a few nights ago. All of a sudden, he starts saying Irmgard! Irmgard! I was so confused until I realized that he meant, "Be still and know that Irmgard." (Can you tell that he loves Irmgard?)

Joel: Every night I ask Joel what song he wants me to sing before nap and bed. His answer is always the same. "The one that Angelika sang at church." So for 8 solid weeks, we sang, "I have decided to follow Jesus," TWO times!  Twice a day, every day, for eight weeks. (Because you know, we sang it TWICE at church and it has to be the EXACT same.) Well, finally Angelika is back from vacation and led worship last week. He's finally changed the song (thank-you!) to "Be still and know." Now we have to sing ALL the verses every night before bed (good thing I could only remember two verses!?). Any chance you're on worship team soon Angelika? We need to add a few new songs to our repertoire! That boy loves it when you sing. Heck, he just loves you!

Fear and anxiety

This pregnancy has been marred by the past. I feel a lot of anxiety and fear. A previous miscarriage will do that.

Most days, I feel fine. Normal perhaps. Or at least ignoring the pregnancy as much as I can, going about my normal daily life.  I don't want to get too close. I don't want to bond with the baby. I'm too scared. So I just try and push it all aside.

This is the latest I have felt a baby move in all my pregnancies. Or at least, I think its the baby moving. I second-guess it all the time. It could just be gas or digestion, right? Its still the slightest movement, or what I think could be slight movements. Its hard to tell at this point. By this time with both the boys, I was no longer feeling the flutters, but full out kicking.

A week or two before an appointment, I feel riddled with fear. I wonder if there will be a heartbeat. I wonder if this baby will "make it." I wonder if I will need to go through the sadness again. I don't want to loose this baby. But that is my greatest fear.

Today my anxiety was high. I had my 18 week midwife appointment. Another time to hear that little ones heartbeat. (We've heard it twice before, at our dating ultrasound and during my 12 week appointment). But this time, I felt more anxiety than before. Perhaps because I am further along than before. Or perhaps because of anxious thoughts that have plagued me this past week. I went in anxious, yet tried hard to hide it. I just feared that this would be the day I would hear that this baby was no longer.

We proceeded with our regular appointment, a physical of sorts. Until the moment of truth came. It was time to hear the heartbeat. The experienced midwife put the doppler to my belly and nothing. No sounds of movement. No heartbeat. She continues to move it around to no avail. She reassures me that she hears my uterine arteries which means there is a baby. But that brings no reassurance to my aching heart. I wonder if the baby has no heartbeat and has died. I pray, God please let us hear this baby's heart. She continues to search for the baby. Nothing. Minutes tick by. I try to reassure her and myself as well. "It took a long time to find Joel's heartbeat" I didn't mention out loud that he was moving the entire time and we literally had to pin him down to hear his little heart.  All I can think is that this baby is gone. I still pray. We hear more uterine arteries. The midwife tries more positions, places where she doesn't think a baby should be. Still nothing. Fear and anxiety are creeping in. I'm doing all I can to hold in the tears. Seconds continue to tick by. Then, all of a sudden, I hear the faint whop, whop, whop of a baby. Suddenly, I'm overwhelmed with relief. Joy. Praise! I try not to cry, merely so that the doppler won't loose the heartbeat and pick up on my sobs. 152 beats per minute.

There is something about this heartbeat that brings me to tears every single time. I'm overwhelmed hearing this little baby, alive and well. The midwife comments that this baby is a mover and shaker. That statement elicits a different sort of fear. We love our children, but thoughts of another spirited child bring fear of a different sort. A lifetime of sleeplessness and energy, a different sort of temperament, and intense parenting.

But for some reason, that little heartbeat still brings anxiety. I wonder if this child will be born sick or with some sort of defect. I still hold this baby at arms length. Until its ultrasound in two weeks, I'm not sure I will allow myself to bond with this baby. I'm still full of fear and anxiety.

I've been told not to let the past affect the future. Most days, I'm okay. But some days, anxiety takes hold and grips me with fear. We are praying for a healthy baby. A living baby. A baby with a strong, steady heartbeat. And a little less fear and a lot more peace.

Top Ten Toys

While on vacation, Dan and I commented to one another that bringing the boys cardboard guitars was one of the smartest last minute decisions we ever made. They played with them everyday, multiple times a day. Because of that, I started wondering what our boys favorite toys were. Dan and I compiled a list of the boys top ten toys. (a side note: these are what the boys use during the summer months. They may change during the long winter months. But for our memories, this is what the boys love right now!)

1. Loveys: Joel's giraffe and Micah's newest addition, Muk Muk (an Olympic mascot thrown to him during this years Canada day parade). Don't leave home without them!

2. Lawn Mower: best side of the road find EVER! If it actually worked like a real lawn mower, this entire neighbourhood would have the best mowed lawns around. It was the first toy Joel grabbed when we returned from our two week vacation.

3. Diggers: this past Christmas, we bought the boys a few diggers. We brought them with us to Oregon, and they boys love them. They play with them often, especially the large ones outside, which were gifted to us by my brother and sister in law last summer. Those boys love scooping dirt, pouring it out, and playing construction site.

4. Rocks, Sticks, Dirt, Berries and the Forest: we actually had to ask ourselves, do these even count as toys? The boys LOVE playing outside in the forest. They forage for berries, throw rocks, use sticks as drumsticks (or blue herons) and dig in the dirt. Quite often, we find them doing this more than playing with actual toys. We love the backyard and the park. They just love playing outside!

5. Cardboard Guitars: Best three hours spent on DIY in recent history. These guitars have lasted surprisingly almost 9 months and are played with every day. The boys are constantly singing, like Jacob Moon. They place blocks or Duplo on the floor to use as their looping machine, just like Jacob Moon. Recently they have added a maraca and drumming to their repertoire. Darnell and Christina left a cement mixer truck with a removable "bucket." The boys dump the Legos from the bucket and use it as a drum. Our poor neighbours must wonder about these boys. They sing ALL THE TIME. But never a real song....just dah da daaaaaaaaahhh!

6. Piano: See above. Our budding musicians play it all the time. Sometimes they just bang on it. sometimes they use the piano to play songs (it comes with pre-recorded songs). But they sing, and play instruments all day long. (in fact, instead of napping, Joel is drumming in his room right now!)

7. Train Tracks: Okay, its not always the train tracks that they play with. But they like to play "ding, dingers." You know, the wooden arms that come down across the track when a train is approaching. Yep, that's what they play. So sometimes, they play with an actual track and use the car ramp (with the little elevator that goes up and down) as the "ding dinger." Two days ago, they were playing ding dingers with two brooms on the deck pretending that their bicycles were the train.

8. Books: these boys love to read. Books are all over our house. If you come over to our house, do not be surprised to find a boy crawling into your lap asking you to read him a story. Good thing we have LOTS of books and rotate them regularly. Dan and I got so tired of reading the same books over and over, that we started a rotation for our sanity. It works wonders. Now, instead of wanting to throw books away, we simply rotate them and get a good break from that particular story.

(okay, can I stop at a top eight? I'm having a hard time coming up with ten!)

9. Hopper: the little ball that the boys jump on all over the house. They love this thing. I'm pretty sure the downstairs tenants do not.  Oh well. They haven't complained yet and it keeps the boys entertained for long periods of time.

10. Bicycle/Plasma Car: Micah's favorite pastime is zooming around the deck on the plasma car. Joel prefers the tricycle. They do laps around the table and get awfully close to the stairs (enough to give people heart attacks). Sometimes I find Micah just sitting on the plasma car engrossed in his imagination. Or maybe just looking at bugs.

P.S. Do bugs, worms and snails count as toys? Cuz those are also a daily activity in Micah's world. Joel won't touch the things, but quite often I hear him calling Micah over to do the "dirty" work. Micah! There's a bug! Come pick it up! Micah loves all things creepy crawly. Joel only loves the snail shells. But somehow they work together to play with those things.

Cravings and Aversions

* a little bit of a record for myself for memories sake

The Cravings:
Blueberries and cream (the ultimate craving. But I held off until blueberries were in season to fulfill it. Plus, I didn't want to ruin blueberries for a lifetime by puking them up!)

Blueberries (frozen. Rationed down to the last blueberry of last years season to perfectly sync up with this years season. Or in Tim Hortons muffins. Not homemade, only Tim Hortons. I've been known to drive to three separate Tim Hortons in search for said muffin, dry heaving or puking in the parking lots of those who "ran out." And the poor lady that offered me a fruit bran muffin instead....oh boy! Let's just say, I'm sorry and move on.)

Gouda on toast (thanks to Maria for fulfilling this one for me. Alas, it turned quickly into the aversions. Dang inability to keep anything down! Dan was excited though!)

Fresh summer fruit (for some reason, I think of July as the beginning of summer fruit...peaches, nectarines, plums. But those are more August. I was definitely disappointed to not have summer fruit in abundance. Can't wait to get my hands on them!)

Aversions:
Bananas (ever since my pregnancy with Micah (or Joel?) these have been gross, but I can handle them no problem. This pregnancy? Can't stand to even be around them! Unfortunately, the boys love them and suddenly took to throwing banana peels around the house. Super gross! Just the smell alone can send me over the edge...let alone having to touch one or clean up goo from one!)

Cucumbers (sickening! Still haven't been able to add them back into my diet. I've picked through salads and thrown out flavoured water to avoid them. Can't believe how disgusted I am by them)

Chocolate and other sweets (this cho-a-holic is in hiding. I've indulged a few times in sweet things, but often feel nauseous afterwards. Not normally a puking food, but I've also not indulged to avoid puking up deliciousness)

Peanut Butter (the smell is gross. Still to this day, I can't handle the smell. Of course the boys are on a peanut butter sandwich kick right now. Once, I accidentally licked my finger after preparing a sandwich and dry heaved over it.)

Crackers (don't matter the kind or flavour, I'm over you! So tired of eating you to "settle the stomach." You're gross. I'm not necessarily avoiding you, I'm just sick and tired of eating you.)

Water (for the first 5-7 weeks, I could barely drink a cup a day. And for a large water drinker like myself, that was unusual. I drank a lot of juice...and puked a lot of juice. But finally my need to drink water came back and I'm guzzling it up like a fish!)

Worst thing I puked (this time around): Upside down pizza. Oh the burn! Tomato sauce is the worst! It will be a long time (if ever) before I eat that again. Just looking at a container of leftovers in the freezer (and writing this) makes me want to hurl. Blech!

In those 8-10 LONG weeks of nauseausness, I have learnt to eat every 1.5-2 hours. Do you know what its like to eat that often when NOTHING tastes/looks good? Its awful. And when you see that food again in a matter of minutes? Gross. Just remember to take small bites. It comes back out easier that way.

I'm glad that the nauseausness has subsided. I'm gaining my energy back slowly. (I can actually make it all the way around Fishtrap without huffing and puffing and needing a nap to recover!)

I am grateful for the blessing of this baby. But I was definitely over the "blessing" of nausea. Now that the nausea is over, I can look forward to the jabs and kicks of this little one.

Sorrento

The first Saturday in July, we went on a day trip to Sorrento, BC to visit Dan's dad. Although his Dad lives in Alberta, he was in Sorrento for a special family camp. Since its only four hours from our place, we've made it a tradition to visit him yearly (much better than the 10-12 hours to Alberta)

The boys are FANTASTIC travelers. In the four hour trip up, they played with a doodle for five minutes, and read books for five minutes. That's it! The rest of the time they were looking out the windows spotting waterfalls and mountains (Micah) or trains and their ding-dingers (Joel).  We did stop multiple times for pee breaks (not to self: no Blue Moose smoothies on the trip or Joel will have to pee 3 times before Merritt!) But every stop was quick, and we made it there faster than we expected!

On the four hour trip home, Micah fell asleep about 10 minutes into the trip, mid sentence since neither boy had napped all day long. Joel took almost an hour, but was happy to look out the window at the trains. They only cried for less than five minutes, when Dan and I stopped at the old toll booth to use the bathroom. And that is only because the light in the van comes on and it was "too bright." As soon as we were on the road, silence ensued. 

We had a great time visiting Papa, Grammie and Uncle Eli. The weather was expected to be in the high thirties, but seemed much cooler due to the shade and lower than expected temperatures. (Yippee!) We did have one brief rain shower, but it only lasted through dinner time and allowed our bustling family, time to snuggle under a small tarp to enjoy our dinner together. We surprised the family with fresh blueberry pie complete with whipping cream! Needless to say, other than Joel's small sliver, none of the kids like blueberries, so the adults had to sacrifice themselves and eat a quarter of the pie each! (We were NOT taking that home with us! I don't think the men minded!)

We stayed an hour and half later than expected because we wanted to watch Eli do his hip-hop dance performance. It was well worth the wait. Plus the drumming beforehand had Joel and Micah in a trance. We enjoyed our time together. Its always neat to see the boys interact with Papa and Grammie. They certainly have a soft spot in their hearts for them, even though we rarely see them.

My favorite part of the day was sitting on the beach. Joel walks up to Papa, Dan and myself and says, "Maaamma....Daada, Ma, Da, no......PAPA!!! I want to walk in the water!" Papa jumps up and takes his opportunity to spend time with this grandson, walking along the shore listening to Joel chat about everything and anything. Such a sweet moment!

Our day ended when we pulled into our driveway, just before midnight. It was a long day, but so worth every second!

Papa, Grammie, Uncle Eli, we love you!

Good-bye Diclectin!

Hello allergies.

I am super excited that I am now finished with Diclectin!  About four weeks ago, I started slowing downing how many pills I took in a day. I got it down to five fairly quickly (from seven), and slowly over a couple days dropped more and more. I was on four for over a week, but eventually just forgot to take one. I did okay. I puked only once, but I realized that its my prenatal vitamins that cause it. Literally, within twenty minutes of taking one, it comes back out. Needless to say, I've stopped taking my prenatals (oops!). Before our vacation, I got it down to two pills a day. (Considering I didn't have enough to last me the entire trip if I took any more and I refused to buy more.) Plus, I was starting to feel better and know that somewhere between 14 and 16 weeks, the nausea subsides (aka, the start (14) and end (16 weeks) of our trip.)


The first couple days of our trip I forgot to take a pill. I felt fine. Just a bit nauseaus late at night (but maybe perhaps it had more to do with lack of food for hours than actual sickness). Within 3-4 days of the beginning of our two week trip, I had stopped taking Diclectin all together. A bit of nausea at times, but nothing that I couldn't handle. (haha..it was less nausea than I felt during those rough days of seven pills a day!)


But, what I did notice is my allergies started acting up. Oh wait! Could it be that Diceletin is one part anti-histamine??? Oh yes! Yes it is. So, needless to say, I've stopped one expensive pill for a slightly less expensive pill (oh allergy meds...how I loathe you and love you!)


But I'm not complaining. I think my allergies are bad because our vacation house is older and dustier than our place at home. I'll take a few sneezes over puking any day!

Survival Mode

We have been in survival mode around these parts. Being sick for 6 weeks, thus far, has rendered me incapacitated for many days. This means that our household has let things go that aren't of utmost importance.

We ensure that our kids are fed and (mostly) clean. The household tasks have taken their turn on the back burner. We do dishes and laundry on a regular basis. Occasionally, we sweep or mow the lawn. But those deep cleaning tasks have fallen by the way side. We only mop if the floor is sticky.  Vacuuming hasn't been done (not that we do it that often anyway, since we mostly have hardwood floors).  Dusting....well. It's only been done when it bugs me and I'm feeling up for an "extra" activity.

But those extra things, cleaning the fridge, dusting baseboards, wiping cupboards, clearing clutter, getting rid of dust bunnies, cleaning under couches, organizing toys....those things haven't been done. Our house doesn't look awful. Its just not as clean as I like it. But we've been in survival mode, so I don't care. (except for the fact that I had planned to do a deep clean before the Barkman's showed up. Sorry guys. It didn't happen.)

Last week our survival mode, turned into an extreme sport. I was stricken with the 24 hour flu. What I thought was an extreme case of morning sickness, turned into something much, much worse. Dan had left for work already, so it was just me and the boys. I could barely move. In the morning I got them snack traps full of cheerios and plunked myself on the couch. The boys watched ten whole minutes of a movie, before running off to cause trouble. The lids on the snack traps came off and cheerios were everywhere. But I was too sick to care. Didn't even ask the boys to clean it up, since I was too tired and sick. When Dan got home, I apologized for the cheerios all over the living room floor. Dan comes up the stairs and says, "What cheerios?" I guess the boys had their afternoon snack...of cheerios. They have great foraging skills.

The next day, I felt much better. The following day, I didn't even feel nauseous all day. We spent the day stripping and staining the deck, doing a little bit of cleaning (just the basics) and celebrating Deklan's first birthday. It felt amazing to get out and DO something.

Survival mode is tough. Especially for a clean freak. But I've learnt to let things go. I've sort of taken the mantra of the airplane breathing mask instructions. Take care of yourself first, then help your children. That way, everyone lives. The boys are really good about taking care of me and one another. I have never been worried about their survival....not even when I had the flu. Joel got out crackers and fed Micah. They kept giving me water to keep me hydrated.

Somehow in the last six weeks, we have survived. And sometimes, we have thrived. We are making it. One day at a time. And soon, we will look back at this (agonizingly long and slow) time as a distant memory. We will have survived.

$10.99

7 Diclectin a day, keeps the nausea at bay.

Eleven bucks. Thats how much it costs A DAY to keep the nausea away. At $1.57 a pill, its a small price to pay to keep "living." Without the pills, I'd be lying on the couch moaning and groaning, or over the toilet spilling my guts. Even with the meds, its still touch and go at times. But not nearly as bad as when the nausea first hit. And with two kids, I can't afford to be down and out.

So, somewhere in our limited budget, we have pulled the first two hundred dollars to pay for the first "months" worth. (a months worth is 4 pills a day or 120 pills, so my 7 a day habit is a smidge more than a months worth at 210 pills). Luckily, we were gifted another 60 pills, so not quite MY months worth. But we definitely appreciated the gift!

Hopefully the nausea will lessen quickly and not last my usual 8-10 weeks. Otherwise, we might need to rob a bank to pay for my "drug" habit.

A (slightly) small price to pay for such a precious gift.

RLS

Three nights of painful RLS (restless leg syndrome) symptoms. That's how I knew. Somewhere in my third night of suffering, when I was awake yet again dealing with the painful urge to move my legs, I turned to Dan and said, "I haven't suffered from restless leg syndrome this bad since I was pregnant with Micah."

*Lightbulb goes off*

Holy moley! I'm pregnant! Nah, that can't be true.

Now what did I take to make it better? Racking my brain, I figured out that Calcium/Magnesium was the ticket to relieving my restless legs. So the next morning, I took the kids and went to Shoppers for some meds. While I was there, I grabbed a pregnancy test. We did some running around and by the time I got home, I took the test. I didn't really think that I was pregnant. Normally, I would inform Dan of my decision to take "the test." But this time, I did it on a whim. That's how convinced I was that it would be negative.

So, I did my business and put the stick on the counter. When I glanced at it a few seconds later, I marvelled at how they had changed where the control line was. Hmmm...oh well. I waited a few more seconds for the grand reveal. Then I started that doing the look.  The one where you wonder if that line is really a line or just a figment of your imagination. If I turn it this way, I see a shadowish type of line, that could possibly be a line. (Can you tell that I've always had lines that were barely visible for all my pregnancies?) But this one. Oh this one. You remember how I mentioned that control line? Yep. That wasn't the control line. They hadn't changed where it was. That control line was the "you're pregnant" line. The control line was there. Yelling at me.

Holy Moley! There are two lines. I'm pregnant!

I freaked. I couldn't believe it. So many emotions flooded my system. Excitement. Fear. Disbelief. Nervousness. Happiness. I really didn't know what to think.

So I shifted my attention on making a "big reveal" to Dan. I knew I needed to act normally. Focus on him. Ask him about his day. Tell him about your mechanic trip. Basic ordinary things that we do everyday. Then, when I could stand it no longer, I told Dan that I got him something. He was excited, wondering what I could have possibly picked up for him during my busy day. In a nice, empty box of chocolates that we keep around for gift giving, I had placed my pregnancy test. So I handed him the box. He spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to open it. Literally it was 2 seconds, but I was so excited that I "helped" him get it open.

His response: shock! Are you kidding me? What does this mean? Two lines? That's pregnant! Oh my goodness!

Once the shock wore off, happiness ensued. Then fear. Then more shock. We had a fun evening chatting about all our emotions and sharing the joy of this little life.

Mother's Day

This Mother's Day was a particularily emotional one for me.

I was grateful for my two precious little boys. Happy to see their smiling faces deliver hand made cards (one a day early since the big one couldn't contain his excitement). I marvel at how they have grown up and am facinated by their knowledge. I felt cherished as Dan tried to explain to them what today was all about. It was a relaxing time with my boys, spent at church and at the beach.

But it was also a sad day. Today I remember Judah. I remember and mourn his loss. I should be 7, almost 8 months pregnant. My body should be uncomfortable, but instead it was my heart. I am sad about what should be, but try to focus on what is.

Today I remember that I am holding a little blessing. Unknown to many, but a few chosen friends and family. Today I cherish the little life that I am growing. Today I am six weeks pregnant with my fourth baby. Today, as I fend off nausea and fear, I cherish my little blessing. My emotions are wild. I am excited to be pregnant. I am fearful that just that one little twinge may be the end of this pregnancy. I fear that when I feel healthy, that I have lost another child. I rejoice and am disgusted when I feel nauseaus.

Today my emotions are all over the place. I am happy for the family I have. I mourn over the child I have lost. I am excited, scared and filled with hope over the life that is to come. Today is MOther's Day. A day to celebrate all sorts of Mothers. Mothers that are, and are yet to be. Mothers with their arms full and Mother's longing for a child. Mothers by a traditional sense and mothers by other means. 

Today I longed for the Mother's Day of old. The days when I didn't realize the heartbreak of motherhood. The longing for a child. That there was a difference between a mother and a spiritual mother. I miss the simplity. That pretty much everyone older than me was a mother. Today, I wish that every woman (and man) would realize their importance. That whether we have children of our own or not, we are all responsible for raising these children. We are all intrusted to be ambassators of these children. Raising my two boys has made me realize that I need all the help I can get. I need a different perspective on life from other people. I cannot do this on my own. I need community. These boys need community.

So today, to everyone out there: Thank you. Thank you for being present in our lives. For encouraging us, challenging us, caring for us, celebrating with us and mourning with us. Our lives have been touched by your generosity and your spirits.

Happy Mother's Day!

Love Amanda, Dan, Joel, Micah, Judah and Baby #4

Micah turns 2!

Today, with a small gathering of friends, we celebrated Micah's second birthday.

Micah's request: a sea star cake!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Micah's life. Micah had a great time playing with friends and eating cake (including his friend's piece!)

Micah, you are a character. You constantly keep us laughing at the silly things you do. The way you make your food "rain" or fly into your mouth with this silly grin. You have been nicknamed The Garburator, since we can almost always find you at the table finishing off your meal (or someone else's) long after everyone else has left the table.  You definitely love food! Sometimes we even find you chewing on table scraps that we haven't had a chance to clean up! Silly boy!

You have been an the easiest child and the hardest child to parent. You are super easy going and I will often find you reading books or playing by yourself.  You can entertain yourself for hours with simple items and I don't often worry about you getting into things. But boy oh boy, have you been a challenge. I think it will be a long time before we forget how you woke us up every 45 minutes for three and half months! Your sleep has improved drastically and we can regularly put you in bed, sing a song and walk out the door. But when you are off, you are off. Hours of tears or crying out for mommy and daddy. You are only snugly when you aren't feeling well, which has been quite often. My poor boy, you have spent more than half of your life with a cold or teething pains. I don't really know what its like to have you without snot dripping out of your nose. You are not a fan of teething, and you like the whole world to know it! I can't blame you though. You are like your momma. You have a low tolerance for everyday pain, but when the big injuries happen, you handle it like a trooper. In your two years of life, you have been to the ER twice and for an emergency dental trip once.  This has resulted in numerous stitches in your finger, a lost front tooth and a nice scar in your chin.

You look up to your brother Joel. You imitate him regularly, which is super cute. Unless its doing something naughty! Joel loves to let you out of your bed in the morning, and you are always happy to see him. I often find the two of you playing nicely together, holding hands, going off on an adventure. But you are a little spitfire and certainly have a set of lungs to prove it! When things don't go your way or toys are taken from you, we certainly can hear your screaming about it! Hopefully, when you learn a few more words, you'll be able to communicate a little differently.

You are talking more and more everyday. You certainly surprise me with the words that you know, although I should have know that your vocabulary would be immense since you copy everything that Joel says and does. I love that you can identify the plants around the lake like buttercups and bleeding hearts. But sometimes its hard to understand what you are saying since you often drop the first one or two syllables of words! "uttercup" "eeding art!"

I can't wait to see the boy that you are becoming and to see your interests develop. Your brain works so differently than your brothers, and I can't wait to see all the things that you come up with. You have an eye for how things work, and I'm excited to see your engineering skills at work. I can't wait for your words and stories to become clearer and answer all your "why" questions. (or to see how Joel answers your questions!) I'm excited to see how you will transition into your role as Big Brother. You are so tenderhearted and love to help out, and I am excited to see how you react to the new baby.

Micah, you are a welcomed addition to our family. We love you and can't wait to see who your turn into!

Coming January 2015

Baby McCrimmon #4

9 weeks 4 days old

We saw and heard this baby's little heartbeat today.

There is no sweeter sound to this momma's ears.

Alive and well!

We are overjoyed!

Easter Reflections

47 days. That's how long the season of Lent is.

As a family, we spent 47 days doing two of the most incredible things to prepare our hearts for Easter.

The first was to draw a name of a person, family or place and to pray for them. We would place their name on a flower and glue it to the cross in our dining room. One of the most incredible sights was to see the cross "beautify" as Easter approached. This was by far, Joel's favorite activity. Often we would sit down for dinner, hold hands in anticipation of our nightly prayer, only to have Joel remind us that we forgot to pull a name to put on the cross. We would always stop, pull the name, pray for the person(s) and put their flower on the cross. It was a beautiful time of reflection.

It was a way for us to pray for people that we love but don't often pray for. It was neat to see how certain names were pulled on days that a certain family needed prayer (God's providence perhaps?).

It caused me to pause throughout the day, say a quick prayer for a name that caught my eye, or the name we pulled for that day, before I continued on with my daily activities.

It helped Joel be mindful of others. He would pray for the "person of the day" during his nightly prayers. Or caused him to ask about who that person is (eg. friends from afar that he hasn't met) and what their needs are.

Joel would play a game where he would ask, "Where's ______?" Inevitably, he knew exactly where their name was on the cross, but would have us guess anyway.  Often, this game would cause us to remember people whom we'd already prayed for and pray for them again.

Sometimes, Joel would ask to pray for a certain person. Inevitably, he would always pull that person's name out. Every. Single. Time.

The second thing we did over the Lenten season, was an activity a day. It could be as basic as reading an Easter story, or a complex craft. The point was to introduce the Easter story to the boys and help them learn the basic points of the story.

I hate to admit it, but we definitely read an Easter story more often than I would have liked. But I went into this season with Grace, because life happens. Needless to say, Joel has the Easter story book memorized. He would recite the book, word for word, to us.

But when we did do activities, they were amazing. We painted, glued, coloured and reenacted. One of my favorite memories, was making palm branches with Joel, Micah and their friend Anaya. We used their hand prints to make palm branches attached to Popsicle sticks. We sang Hosanna, while parading around the house waving our palm branches. We then sat down to reenact it with our play animals. With our palm branches on the ground, we added a leopard as our donkey. A Kleenex was added to the leopard's back, to act as cloaks.  A rubber duck, took the place of Jesus, and various other animals played the crowd. The duck (Jesus) kept falling off the leopard (donkey), so Joel made the duck walk alongside the leopard. We sang Hosanna the entire time. It was such a blessed time for me.

Actually, the reenactments were definitely the highlight for me. We participated in our own version of Resurrection eggs. Twelve eggs, each filled with a symbol of Easter. A leaf, representing the palm branches and the Triumphant entry. Some dice that represented the casting of lots for Jesus' clothes. A cracker representing Christ's body during the Last supper. By far, the best one for me was the three nails. I had the kids take a nail each (luckily, we had a friend for this activity) and poke it into the palm of their hand. "Pointy! Sharp! Ow!" were the words I heard from their mouths. Same when we held a bramble bush  representing the crown of thorns. I asked them to imagine the "crown of thorns" in their head. "I don't like it. That's not very nice. Ow!" Those were the responses the kids gave me. For some reason, this activity really made the story come alive for me. So often, I think, we gloss over the cruelness of Jesus' death. It was awful. But those little tastes of pain were enough to symbolize the agony that Christ went through for us.

We reenacted the washing of the disciples feet, with each one of us taking turns to wash another family members feet. We had the Last supper, complete with pita bread and juice. Humbling times and a great time of conversation with the little boys. Could you imagine your best friend, selling you out for money? Could you imagine washing your friends dirty feet? Ones that had spent all day in the dirt?

The conversations, the crafts, the reenactments, the story readings all contributed to a wonderful Easter for us. Our focus was on Christ and his story. 47 days of prayer. 40 days of activities. 1 Blessed event. Numerous great memories.

Lent: Our Families Overview

We shared this in church on Sunday as part of our Corinthian worship service. Its an overview of how our family is observing lent this year.

*special thanks to Indelible Grace for the song, "Out of my bondage/Jesus I Come"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWy--nZgJgI

(its not loading properly, so try the youtube channel instead)

The (embarrassing) things they say

Oh Joel! Oh Joel!

"Sometimes I have boogies inside my nose. And sometimes I have boogies on the outside of my nose. Sometimes I use a tutu (tissue) to get them out. Sometimes I use my finger."

Gross buddy. Gross. But utterly honest.

The "Last" Curse Continues...

2 for 2. Yep, the odds are in our favour. Or rather the dentist's favour. I'm pretty sure if we have another child, their first visit to the dentist will also be for an emergency visit, not a checkup.

 

Joel had his first visit around two years of age. His poor tooth was pushed backwards after a fall. And his second visit about six months later for the same reason.

 

Every one of my brothers kids have also chipped a tooth, or pushed one backwards. We call it the "Last curse."  Just take a peek at their coffee table. There are three separate corners with three separate indents, one from each of their kids.

Micah on the other hand, decided to one-up his brother and his cousins. It was a big spectacle. He had climbed off the couch and onto a side table. The table tipped and Micah ended up tooth first into the fireplace. I rescued him and the half turned table. I picked him up and immediately the blood started to pour. Dan and I frantically looked for the source. It was then I caught a glimpse of our fate. There was no tooth.

 

I immediately got on the phone with the dentist (which after two "busy" signals and a frantic prayer, I finally got through) to get an appointment. They told me to come on over and they'd take a peek.

 

Nothing. That is what they could do....unless we had the tooth. We searched the floor before we left, but we assume that he swallowed it. (He had gagged when we picked him up).

 

So now Micah has a new look, similar to that of a hockey player. He will sport his look until his permanent tooth makes its appearance (in 3-4 years!!!) 

 

Until then, he'll be singing, All I want for Christmas is My Missing Front Tooth!

 

Those little things

Sometimes its the small everyday memories that I want to remember. The little games the boys play, or the things that they say to one another.

This week, I was reminded of one "games" they play. Joel always starts it, but Micah enjoys it too.
Joel turns to Micah and says, "I say bun, you say butt. BUN!" Inevitability, Micah will respond, "Butt." (emphasis on the T).
(Side note: This game started because butt happens to be one of the words that Micah can say. There aren't many more, although that is changing daily. Joel came up with this all on his own.)


Another thing that they boys do is go and see the lions. Literally, Joel will take Micah by the hand and tell him, "Let's go see the lions." And they'll walk off hand in hand. Usually they get distracted by a toy along they way and they never make it to the lions. But I love the way Joel takes care of Micah and includes him in his games.

Sweet, sweet moments

Reading together on a rainy Saturday afternoon

Post nap time snuggles with mom