Be still

A quiet week. JR did not work Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. The funny thing, he is starting to really get the staying at home with the kids thing and how it is not as 'easy' as it may appear. He cracked me up because he is like, "I don't know how you do it, all I do is eat." To which I smiled!
B is still trying to figure out his language skills and when to use what phrases. I often tell him 'don't talk to me like that' and if I had a dollar for everytime he has said that back to me. The other day though I had to laugh, he said "don't talk to me like that because I am going poopy". I wanted to say "so, how should I talk to you when you are going poopy" but refrained.
Another quiet weekend planned. We might head to some friends house for the Super Bowl. I tried to explain to B how we could not really have a Super Bowl party at our house because no one would enjoy watching the game on an 18 inch tv!
J has not really made any 'potty progress' but he is slowly becoming aware of things and I am just waiting for the time when we get him on the potty at the right time and he goes.
The other day I had an hour without kids and went to a local coffee shop. I was amazed while watching others. (I took a few books along to read). Everyone had their laptops, cell phones, etc just working away. Just seems that people don't know how to just sit and be still. That is something I have been convicted of lately and am trying hard to just be still, not always feeling like I have to be doing something. Maybe the Sabbaths will help with this.

The Sabbath

We have started a new bible study this semester at church. It is a book written by a Messianic Jew on the holidays and traditions of the Jewish/Christian faith. This week I am the 'teacher' and am teaching on the Sabbath. As I did some reading yesterday, I decided that I would try to incorporate more into our 'sabbath'. So, today after church I made a very conscious decision not to get on the computer or do any kind of work (other than necessity). How freeing it was not to feel bad about working on our taxes versus playing with the kids. I spent about an hour watching a movie, took a long bath and then played several games with the boys that ended with a wrestling match (I took it easy). Then for dinner I decided I was not going to cook and we had popcorn, applesauce, breadsticks, cheese, frozen blueberries and sunflower seeds. (I recently read a gal's blog who said she very rarely cooks a meal, they just do al a carte. Sounded great.) I know a lot of the 'convenience foods' they are allergic to but I figured once a week is not bad. So, I think I have found a new routine to make the sabbath more enjoyable and a day of rest. Hopefully in the weeks to come I can finetune things.
Here are two recent pics.

Winter again

Finally getting a little more snow. I am grumbling because it is late January and the temp is low 30s. How we had gotten spoiled most of January, being above normal temps. Been a quiet week. Have started putting J in 'training pants'. Not that he is showing signs of being ready to potty train, but I figured since we are home quite a bit these days, why not. Hopefully something will start to trigger the whole potty training thing and it would be nice if he could be out of diapers by the time the new one comes! (He does have 3 boy friends who all were pretty much potty trained before they were 2, so it is possible with some boys.) He continues to progress with speech. He is becoming more spontaneous in his words (although still not full/complete words). Instead of us having to prompt him to say 'down', he is starting to say it on his own.
B and I went out and ran errands today. We ended up at Borders. I had a small amount left on a gift card so we had some hot chocolate and split a 'rice krispie treat'. We played board games and then read books and looked at magazines. We were there almost 2 hours! I think he had a lot of fun and is looking forward to a return trip sometime. B has been doing really well with preschool, so much so that the teacher has commented. I guess he gets distracted pretty easily and she has told me several times how he has gotten started on his 'paper' right away instead of talking the time away. He also went to the dentist this past week to have his cavities filled. He did very well. They came out and got him and I did not even walk back with him. He had a little Valium on board, so other than stumbling and falling, he was great! He loved the two milkshakes for dinner, along with the pudding and applesauce. The next day he tried to tell me he was not feeling good and wanted a milkshake!

Coyotes

The last couple of weeks JR has found some avenues to go coyote hunting. I am not sure if he enjoys the hunt more or trying to learn all the calls to bring the coyotes in. Sometimes he is successful but he definitely needs more practice. Yesterday he took B out with him. Here is a video clip of B trying the 'call'. Who knows, maybe he will get in down and in a few years can call in some big game for dad.

Mid January

(If you are looking for the 'special' blog, read the previous day)
It is mid January, 2:30 in the afternoon and I just turned off the heat, opened up all the windows and turned on ceiling fans to get some fresh air in the house. I think we are at least mid 50s. The boys are in the back (which is shaded) with no coat or gloves shoveling snow!!! Not sure what impact this will have in the summer and our fires, but it sure is nice now.
Yesterday the boys and I got stuck in an elevator. (Not as tramatic as it sounds...). The elevator never left the floor but would not move and the door was about an inch cracked. One of our pastors was able to open the other door and jimmy the inner door opened. We were in there probably 3-4 minutes but long enough for B to start getting really scared. I can only imagine what it would be like for an hour or so.
The other night I had just crawled into bed and the smoke alarm went off. Freaked me out. Turned out JR had just gotten out of the shower and the steam from the shower set it off. That is a first after 2 years of living here.
Still feeling good!

Its official

Mid August our family of four will become a family of five! Saw the heartbeat yesterday, along with a little foot and hand!!!! Amazing what ultrasounds can show at 9 weeks and how developed babies are at 9 weeks! All of my pregnancies have been good but so far, this one has been great. Other than tired, no other 'side-effects'. You can see the wheels turning in B's head, trying to figure out the whole thing...he has been pretty quiet but he sure looks at me funny!!!

Ba

J finally has a 'name' for big brother B. Ba. Why am I surprised. All of his communication consists mostly of first letters/sounds of words. We were at the mall yesterday and several times I said "Where is B...?". He then would loudly yell "Ba?, Ba?" We had dessert at a swanky restaurant (we had a little bit left on a gift card). As we sat down the waiter asked if we would like a booster and it was an immediate yes. (What was I thinking?). It took about 15 minutes before J came flying out of it and smack on the floor. There was the hushed silence in the restaurant and then the wail. I picked him and he was bleeding from the nose and mouth. Fortunately, it was easily cleaned up. The waiter then brought out a different booster/high chair that attaches/straps to the chair. Why they still use the old plastic boosters I don't know. We were very fortunate that he did not have a spoon in his mouth or hit the floor wrong. He was even sitting in between us, but all it takes is a split second.
I have decided that I am going to ask the speech therapist to have an occupational therapist observe J. I think he needs a 'chew toy' so to speak. He just has a great desire for the oral stimulation still. I am actually going to sit in and observe his first therapy session tomorrow and see how him and the therapist interact. Our new 'caseworker' (since we qualify for a county program since he is under 3) thinks J is doing great. She does not think it will be long before more words start coming and she gave me some great ideas to use at home.
Today the boys pulled out all the costumes and played dress up....here is a pic, along with two we took this morning.

Quiet week

It has been a quiet week here. B started back up at preschool and his teacher said he has done really good this week. He has been a great help with J and getting him to use his 'words' (ie sounds). I have decided to focus on about 10 words with him and try to get him to use them throughout the day. (Yes, No, Up, Down, Help, Please, Drink, Eat, Done, More).
B loves watching the clock in the mornings. He will stay in bed until 7, even if we tell him he can get up early. They really love it when I set their cereal out the night before and send them downstairs to eat, while I sleep (or atleast lay in bed) a little longer!
B has been pretty tired this week, most nights asleep well before 7:30.
Nothing spectacular planned for the weekend. We were in the mid 40s a few days this week. I am ready for some warm weather. We have another 2-3 months to wait.

2009

Hard to believe 2009 is here. I was fast asleep when it rolled in. I was actually asleep around 9:30 that night and don't even recall hearing fireworks.
On the first we all went sledding. Some friends make it an annual tradition to have a sledding party at one of the local hills. They bring the grill and everyone brings meat. B had a ball! Anything that involves older kids he so enjoys. J was not quite sure what to make of it. And the best part, B was totally exhausted after walking up that hill many times.
I have decided that J is my little problem solver. So, I take away his chairs and barstools. No problem, he just finds the closest trash can, dumps it out regardless of contents and turns it over to stand on. At the moment he is so proud of himself, he just discovered where I had his little chairs hidden. So he pulled everything out of the laundry room to get back to them. It is quiet, I will go check on him....He was into the dental floss, trying to floss and trying to get his sleeves pushed up so he can put on the deodorant he found. (Fortunately he is not able to get the top off). Time for a new hiding spot for the chairs.
B is my negotiator. Some friends were over the other day and got a kick out of him. Anytime he would ask me something and I told him 'no', it was never 'why' but always 'when'. I can't wait until J can start talking and to watch the two of them converse. It will be harder and harder to stay one step ahead of them.
I have had problems with the other website I used to upload slideshows so will try again. Here are photos from Christmas and sledding.
I can't figure out how to imbed it, so try following or copying and pasting this link.
http://slideroll.com/show.php?s=s06b910e