Why Joel needs a Chiropracter

Awkward and painful. It just doesn't look right. No wonder he wakes up screaming.

Pop Quiz

What is the reason why we haven't blogged this week?
a. busyness
b. lack of sleep
c. neglect
d. lack of inspiration
e. both a and b


If you answered "e" you are probably correct. We have had some busy evenings and even longer nights. Dan has been working like crazy. Apparently, he is the only cook available right now, since co-workers are either sick/hurt or on vacation.  Once he gets home, we put the boys to bed, clean up and numerous nights have just crawled right into bed. Let's just say that 3 hours of consecutive sleep is really nice. 4 hours feels amazing and 5 hours is a downright blessing! Anything more than that has yet to be experienced this week. Its been a week of little sleep, and REALLY early mornings. At 5:30am is NOT okay to be awake. 6am is crazy. 6:30 is painful, but do able. 7am feels incredible. 7:30 is a miracle, yet to be experienced. Let's just say coffee is our right hand man.

Please send reinforcements. Coffee, child sleep aids, or even a two by four. Anything to get us a little sleep around here would be appreciated.

Note to Self

Do not let your almost 2 year old run around naked in attempting to "potty train" him during "high fibre Fridays." This may or may not result with your child jumping on the couch and having some things come flying out. Things that should NOT come flying out. This also may result in your child jumping in said substance, spreading mess even further.

By the way Joel, "Uh Oh" does NOT even begin to cover the situation. Thank goodness for that steam mop from Grandma! (and the fact that the couch cushions were on the ground, not on the couch, thus covering any residual stainage).

When, oh when, will you learn your lesson???? Your child needs to eat more crap to prevent shitty situations!

Hold Your Horses!

The other night, I was frazzled, trying to unload groceries, feed Micah and make dinner. Joel was constantly underfoot, wanting to help cook dinner. I finally turned to him in exasperation and said, "Hold your Horses!!!!"

When I turned around from putting some groceries away, I was met with Joel, holding a plastic giraffe (which for some reason he thinks is a horse), looking at me as if he was saying, "I'm holding the horse, now what?"

I stopped dead in my tracks and burst out laughing. A literal interpretation in his own unique way. Now we tell him to hold his horses and he runs for his giraffe, laughing and saying, "neigh, neigh!"

Fort to Fort Trail

Last weekend we walked the Fort to Fort Trail in Langley with my mom.

Joel LOVED the horses! Neigh Neigh!

This little guy has quite a bit of endurance. He walked quite a bit of the trail, before we forced him into the stroller.

We let him out eventually to look at a tree frog that was on the ground.

He explored his surrounding, including the dock overlooking the river.

Micah slept. So beautiful.

 

 

Beautiful Sights

Ain't nothing better than a toddler quietly reading a book....

....and a sleeping baby all snuggled up in his blanket.

Conversations with AmanDan

Lack of Sleep Edition

(Pulling a funnel out of the dishwasher)
Amanda: Joel, its called a funnel. Its cool because its got the word FUN in it.
Dan: Look! Its Fun! Its a tunnel! Its a FUNNEL!

***************************************************

Amanda: I'm so glad that we named our kids with short names. I hate writing out all our names.
Dan: Then we should have taken your last name.
Amanda: Yah! Dan Last!
Dan: Damn Last! No way! But way better than Amanda Dueckman (pronounced Dick-man)
Amanda: Demand a Dick Man? Nope!
Dan: Probably a good thing we both changed our names! Marriage IS all about compromise.


(All we need is just 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep! That would be awesome!)

Brothers Wrestling Match

I love watching the boys play together. Today, they were wrestling together.

I would put Micah on Joel's back and try to take a picture. But Joel would roll and Micah would fall off. But Micah would try to get back on by himself.

Joel decided that being on the bottom wasn't very fun. So he decided to climb on Micah!

Micah didn't seem to mind too much. And, I got some pretty cute pictures of the boys that way!

Micah's pinned Joel down....he's a strong little fella.

Just wait till he can crawl! Then you'll really be in trouble!

5 months

I can't believe that Micah is already 5 months old! The time has flown by.

He is sitting up on his own...but not for too long, or he'll fall over.

He's laughing and cooing a ton.

He's getting up onto his hands and knees, rocking back and forth, trying to propel himself forward.

Please Micah, take some time to slow down. You're growing up so fast!

Joel's Hospitality

A few weeks ago, Joel got the opportunity to skype with his buddy Cody in the Philippines. He was super excited to see him, but didn't quite get the concept of talking through a computer. Case and point: Cody kept saying "Hi Joel" and talking with him. Joel (who doesn't really talk yet...especially on command), looked at Cody and wanted to play with him. So, he did what any hospitable boy would do. He ran to the front door, and opened it to let his buddy in to play. When Cody wasn't at the door, he ran back to the computer. Cody was still chatting away, and Joel looked at him, as if to say "where are you?" You could see the wheels turning, as he ran back to the front door, opening it to try and find Cody. We had to explain that Cody was only on the computer because he lives so far away. Joel looked so sad after we explained this to him. But he returned to the computer to "talk" with Cody anyway.

The other day, I was in the kitchen with Joel and asked him what he wanted for snack. He looked up at the fridge and said, "Daaaa, Daaaa!"  I opened the fridge and he got mad. He pointed to the freezer (where we keep the nuts) and said, "Daaaa, Daaaa!" I lifted him up, so he could help me get them out and when I began to open the door, he shut it on me. He pointed at the picture of Darnell and Christina, and said, "Daaaa, Daaaa!" I asked him, "Do you want to eat Darnell?"  To which Joel replied, "Yes please" and ran to sit in his chair. I'm not sure if he wanted to eat Darnell or eat WITH Darnell, but regardless, I told him that he couldn't have Darnell for a snack. He cried.

A few days ago, we invited Chris, Katrina and Asher for dinner. When I told Joel that Asher was coming over, he ran to the front door, opened it and seeing no one exclaimed, "Uh Oh!" I had to explain that Asher wasn't here yet, but he would be there in a little while. For the next hour and a half, he periodically went to the door, opening it and saying, "Uh Oh!" Joel was sad that his friend wasn't there yet. I think I'm gonna have to learn to not tell him things in advance!

Joel loves his friends! When we were talking to Greg and Karmen on Skype, he kept pointing at them, trying to say their names (aka: "Daaaa, Daaaa") He desperately tried to say Karmen, but only managed "Car."

On our prayer wall, we have family pictures next to the map of the world. When Joel comes into our room, he will periodically point out families and ask us to say their names, mostly because "daaa, daaa" is how he says most people's names. He loves his friends and he makes sure they are not forgotten. But when you are present, he will be sure to love you and force you to read books to him! (eh Chris!?)