Friday Photos

What will the Boys think of Next?

DAVID

[Momma] "David! Don't hit him."
[David] "I DIDN'T hit him. I PUNCHED him."


JONATHAN

[Jonathan] "Momma, when are your boobs going to get smaller?
[Momma] "What?"
[Jonathan] "When are your boobs going to get back to the normal size?
[Momma] "What do you mean 'normal size'? Boobs can be all different sizes. Some are smaller and some are bigger. (Thinking: Am I really saying this?)
[Jonathan] "Well, when are your boobs going to get smaller?

Friday Photos

These pictures are all a week old. You can tell that Elisabeth gets a lot of attention from her brothers.

For the Love of the Game

Here are a couple of pictures to go with yesterday's post.

Video Games vs. Dad

Jonathan was given a Ninetendo DS for Christmas. It is an understatement to say he loves it! He seems to wake up and go to bed thinking about playing his video games. We have trouble regulating his video game playing in a positive way. Sometime not long after Jonathan got the Ninetendo (this was given to him by our family and not something we had planned on), Seth dug out his old Game Boy Advance and gave it to David. Both boys have trouble having a good attitude when it is time to turn off the games. As parents, we are not appreciated in our quest for limited "screen time."

I was extremely surprised today when I was reviewing some of Jonathan's school work and I found he wrote the following sentences (on a sheet where they were working on Pronouns).

"Jonathan is a boy. He likes video games."
"Jonathan likes video games. He likes his dad more."

We don't see this attitude when it is time to turn off the games. However, it is refreshing to know that it is there and it is a huge compliment to dad!

Friday Photos

Last week our memory card for our digital camera "gave up" during a photo transfer. Since that time, Seth has been trying to recover the data (he passed the card onto a guy at work who has software to recover corrupt data). It isn't looking good for those pictures. In the meantime, I have been taking pictures with the 35 mm this week. I do not have those developed yet so I cannot share them. However, I did try out the Costco Photo Center and had my Valentine's pictures put on disk (yes, I took pictures that day with BOTH cameras!). With the exception of the pictures of Elisabeth in the pink shirt, these pictures were taken on Valentine's Day. The pictures of Elisabeth on the couch were taken a day or so later.

Daddy with his 2nd Love.

Thomas shares some Valentine's Day love.

Getting ready to enjoy our heart-shaped pizzas.

Batman at the breakfast table after getting his Valentine's Day shirt from Momma.

Elsie puts everything in her mouth. She loves to grab her clothes and chew on them.

Sleepy Girl

What a face!

Complaint Department

The other night, Jonathan was complaining to me about having to clean up toys that he didn't get out. The conversation went about like this.

Jonathan: "Momma, do I have to clean up?? I always put up toys I didn't get out. I am always cleaning up extra stuff."
Momma: "Jonathan, I don't want to hear it. I clean up all the time. You are complaining to the wrong person."
Jonathan: "Well, who am I supposed to complain to?"
Momma's a bit caught off guard. Daddy is laughing.

Daddy's Safe

Tonight at Dinner David and I had this short conversation. It was out of nowhere, priceless, and a reminder that I am thankful for what Seth calls "the simple life".

[David] "Momma, Daddy's not in Iraq anymore."
[Momma] "No David, he isn't."
[David] "And the bad guys in Iraq don't know where Daddy works now."

Friday Photos

I tend to take tons of pictures during holidays (and Valentine's Day counts for that). So, after trying and trying to narrow down the pictures, I have these pictures to share.

House of Pancake Sharing (HOPS)

Welcome to HOPS. What's mine is yours, and what is yours, you'll share with me. Weird night last night; David woke up with a bloody nose around 2 AM. Janey and I both took care of him. Somewhere around 3:30ish (?) Jonathan crawled into my side of the bed and said his belly hurt. I mumbled and went back to sleep (very dangerous considering what Thomas had been doing the last few days.) Anyway, he woke me up a little while later saying it still hurt. We (Jonathan and I) got up and I grabbed some children's pepto and a glass of water. He said it was hurting really bad so I thought he's gonna do #4 (thanks Leigh Ann). So, about the time he pulled his pants around his ankles I realized the lasagna from dinner (delicious by the way) found another way our of his body! I thought, "Hmm, I guess I could pull his pants up." He says, "Daddy, I think I should pray some more. It worked before so, I'll pray now." And he did. Afterwards he told me that when Thomas was sick, he prayed that Thomas would get better. I talked to him about the possibility that he would still be sick even after he prayed and that we should pray that he is a good example for other people when he is sick; that he should act like God wanted him to act. So we prayed again. Then he woke me up around 5:15 to puke again. He threw up, sat down on the stool and looked at me and smiled. He said, "Daddy, I like that you are growing a beard!" with both dimples showing (for Jonathan, that means he is REALLY smiling. He washed his mouth out and went back to sleep with a great attitude. He's such a great kid.

Thomas sharing his pancakes

Thomas picked up a pretty good stomach virus on Thursday afternoon. He "Shared His Pancakes" with the family from about 4 PM until 10 or 11 or so. Friday, although a little low energy, he was fine. He ate a (very) little for lunch and then ate a big yummy burrito filled with meat, refried beans, cheese and tomatoes. And, yes, he held that down. So Friday night, sure we were done, I cleaned the carpets. You see where this is going, right? After two cups of chocolate milk, some hashbrowns, eggs, and bacon this morning... well, I took pretty good inventory of everything he ate and Thomas would agree that it definitely tasted better the first time. Here he is after deciding that he wasn't all that hungry (thank goodness!) for lunch:

We brought his mattress downstairs again (I slept with him in the living room on Thursday night to continue playing "catch" with him.) Notice the strategically placed bowl. He has since eaten two bowls of cereal after waking up. Maybe I won't see post digested Frosted Flakes (fingers crossed.)

Friday Photos

Here are some pictures from our week. We had a nice week...but by the time Jonathan and David were showing off their puppets last night Thomas was sick with a stomach virus (so no Thomas puppet picture). It was a rough night but so far so good this morning.

Enjoy the pictures!

For "Friday Photos" I can post pictures individually (like last week) or in this slideshow format. Let me know if you have a preference.

No More Bath Toys Left in the Tub

I have this bad habit of not always getting the bath toys out of the tub after the boys take a bath. This won't be happening again. The other night we were about to head to bed and Seth heard someone up. He looked upstairs and the bathroom light and the boys bedroom light was on. He ran up there expecting to find Thomas awake. In the past, Thomas had gotten up and turned on the bedroom light when he couldn't sleep. Seth found David and Thomas sleeping soundly. He found Jonathan tossing and turning on his bed. He asked Jonathan if he was okay. Jonathan mumbled a bunch on incoherent words with his eyes closed. Seth tucked him and and turned off both lights. The next night as I am in the boys bathroom getting ready to make sure their teeth are brushed, I notice the tub is not clean. It is clear beyond a reasonable shadow of a doubt that someone peed in the tub. The evidence is clear across the tub, kind of all over that side, and on almost in a straight line from the nearest side of the tub. When asked about it, Jonathan got this embarrassed smile and said, "Maybe I sleep-walked?"

Friday Photos

We want to share a few pictures from our week.

Elisabeth



Elisabeth loves to get all dressed up!

THOMAS


Thomas loves to "walk on the ceiling"! (This really wears Daddy out.)


Daddy thinks Thomas and Momma have the same smile.

David



David playing the GameBoy while wearing Daddy's eye protection from Iraq.

Jonathan



Jonathan earned his Bobcat badge at cub scouts this week.

Boys Day Out



Daddy took the boys out to see The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. The boys were very, very excited to see the movie. They had a great time. This was Thomas's first movie at the Theater (which is how Momma was able to convince Daddy to take lots of pictures).

Our Favorite Meals

Last night I was anticipating making our grocery list. So, at dinner, I asked the boys to tell me their favorite meals.
Momma: "What is your favorite meal?"
Jonathan: "PIZZA!!!
David: "I looove potatoes. Mashed potatoes or juuuust potatoes (referring to baked potatoes)"
Thomas: "Pirate Food!"
Laughter from Everyone
Momma: "Thomas, what is Pirate Food?"
Thomas: "Macaroooooni"

Snow Day

We woke up to a beautiful snow day. It snowed until noon. We got about 5 inches. When we were waiting to go outside (really, the boys were waiting and I was scrambling to get snow clothes), I kept explaining that the snow was a treat and it was unusual to get this much snow where we live.
Then, Jonathan said, "This is like a TREAT from God!"

2 Months Old

Elisabeth is 2 months old today. She had her 2 month doctor appointment (complete with her first round of shots) this morning. She weighs 10lbs 11 1/2 ounces and is 22 3/4 inches long (50 percentile for both).

These pictures were taken this afternoon.

David Health Update

This past Thursday David met with his new Asthma and Allergy doctor. We were pleased with his new doctor. We choose him because he specialized in both allergies and asthma. We learned a great deal at the appointment.

Asthma: The doctor determined that we needed to have a nebulizer (medical device that delivers liquid medication in the form of a mist to the airways) at home. Not only did David’s doctor suggest that we have one, he suggested that we be more proactive about his asthma treatments. Instead of simply treating attacks when they occur, he put David on a daily treatment plan. Each day, David has a nebulizer treatment. We also have medication for when an attack occurs. Part of the reason that David needs a more aggressive treatment is that he has allergies that trigger his asthma.
Allergies: The doctor did a skin allergy test. This test requires that tiny drops of purified allergen extracts are pricked or scratched into the skin's surface. This test was not fun for David. After the first skin prick, David was screaming as loud as he could. He was not still, either. Seth had to hold him very tightly. He was tested for allergies to pollen, trees, mold, grass, dust mites, weeds, animal dander from cats and dogs and peanuts. The pricks were done and we were told it would take about 15 minutes for a reaction to show up. The nurse left the room. About 1 minute later, David started crying saying his arm hurt. He was saying, “It huuurrrts. It HURTS!! It hurts RIGHT HERE.” He was pointing and tapping the pinprick right next the “P”. There wasn’t a visible reaction yet but he was clearly in pain from the Peanut test. He started really crying so we went to the get the doctor. By the time the doctor came in a couple of minutes later, the peanut test was red and swollen. He said that there was no doubt he was still allergic to peanuts. (He had talked to us before the test about how there was still a possibility David could outgrow the allergy.) It was heartbreaking to see David's reaction. Even after putting some medicinal cream on the spot, David kept saying his arm hurt for quite some time. The test also showed that David has other allergies that we were not aware of. He is allergic to grass. He is also allergic to animal dander from both cats and dogs. I had an epiphany of sorts. It was an “ah ha” moment for me. I knew that at times when David was around cats or dogs, he would have an asthma attack. This had happened a few times as friends' houses. I had decided that some cats and dogs must trigger his asthma. I had not considered that he might be allergic to cats and dogs. This revelation saddened Seth and I. Immediately, though we hadn’t discussed it, we were both wondering about George and Bailey (our sweet 12 year old dogs). The doctor said that he was not going to recommend that we get rid of our dogs. He did make some other recommendations that include: Regular dog grooming, weekly dog baths, keeping the dogs out of David’s room (that was easy because the dogs just don’t ever go in there), weekly washing of sheets, and very frequent vacuuming. Back to the grass allergy—this is one explanation for why playing actively outside exhausts David so quickly. (Of course, physical exertion wasn’t ruled out as an asthma trigger, either.) We were alarmed to find out that David is allergic to grass. It just so happens that the area we live in is known for its grass seed production. There are grass seed farms everywhere in this area. We live in the Willamette Valley and I think this quote from an Oregon Grass Seed website says it all: “Grass seed production is one of the state’s leading agricultural crops, it ranked 3 rd in Oregon’s Top 40 Commodities of 2006. Over half of the Willamette Valley is sown to forage seed.” The doctor told us that the grass season could be really hard on David but we have nothing to worry about because we will get him set up with what he needs before the peak season. (That didn’t really put my mind to ease but I am thankful that we found out about the allergy before “grass seed season.")

It amazes me how David takes all of this in stride. Yesterday at church, there were snacks afterward. He ate his fruit, cheese and crackers, without complaining that both of his brothers got to eat cookies from the cookie tray. (I ended up making some chocolate chip cookies at home.) He has taken to the nebulizer really well. David really likes that it came with a cool fish mask. In all honesty, I think he realizes that it is helping him. And, it seems that he is sleeping so much better. Normally he frequently coughs night. He has been sleeping so soundly the last few days.

New Year's Day

Jonathan and David were quite sick on New Year's Eve and they went to bed about 6:30 p.m. After a nice relaxing bath, Thomas got in bed around 8 p.m. Momma and Daddy were just plain worn out. It was an unusual New Year's Eve for us. We celebrated the New Year on New Year's Day. We had confetti poppers, noise poppers, and balloon whistles. We rounded out the celebration with a large decorated cookie. Here are some pictures from our Owen celebration.

Thomas's Bank

Thomas received a Frog bank for Christmas. The other boys have different piggy banks. (We couldn't find a 3rd unbreakable piggy bank so we opted for the unbreakable froggy bank.) One night not long after Christmas, Seth told Thomas that they needed to "Feed the Frog." Jonathan and David get pretty excited about feeding their pigs. What we didn't know is that Thomas thought the feedings were essential for growth!

Thomas was very excited and jumped and bounced around while Daddy got some money for the bank.
Daddy and Thomas: "Feed the Frog! Feed the Frog!"
Thomas put the money put into the bank.
Thomas begins fussing and whines: "Awwww... it didn't get bigger."