15 weeks

Yesterday the local Crisis Pregnancy center called me and said they would love to do(practice) another ultrasound. So today I went in for a 15 week shot. The baby is measuring accurately to the day! That little kid was very active. Could it have been the cheesecake and hot chocalte I had a few hours before going in?? In another 5 weeks I will get the 'big' ultrasound. I think I have decided to be surprised and not find out!
This past weekend was beautiful and I was introduced to one of JRs fishing spots. An awesome place about 5 minutes from us. The river was great and the boys easily played for over an hour throwing rocks, digging in the sand with sticks, etc. We had so much fun, B and I went back the next day and took a 5th grade boy from church with us. (Whenever I ask B who he wants to have a playdate with, he often mentions the older kids.) We had a blast and stayed 2 hours. They were trying to figure out if they could 'loosen' a little chunck of ice so they could stand on it to float down the river. As much as I would have loved to see that (the water was pretty low), I redirected them.
The last 2 weeks or so things with J are really coming together. I think we are going to do another evaluation and see where he is in regards to where he should be with speech and oral awareness.
JR has been home this week, so nice for me to get a few breaks, although I am not making much headway on my projects!

Life continues on

Not much going on here other than the usual. J is finding himself in underwear more often. Things are slowly starting to come together for him. I am still waiting for him to initiate going to the bathroom, but at least now he will tell me right after he goes! Potty trained by his 2nd birthday would be huge but not banking on it. There is a 6th grade girl at church that due to medical reasons is being homeschooled this semester. Both of her parents work during the day so she has started coming over here one day a week. Sure is nice having another set of hands around, especially when J is sleeping and I need to run B somewhere. The other day we were at a 'daycare' type setting. As we got ready to leave, B had a car in his hand that I did not recognize and did not recall him bringing with him. When I inquired, he was adamant that it was his and he had brought it. Usually when he is not telling the truth he cannot look me in the eye with a straight face. After a few minutes, I decided he had never given me a reason to doubt him and I will trust him on in, but we talked at length about lying. The next day B saw J eating some candy. He immediately put his hands on his hips and said "J, did mom give you that candy?" J mumbled something and then B said "you better be telling me the truth because if you are lying to me you will be in trouble." Of course B came straight to me to get the facts. My boys just crack me up. You can be in a room 20 feet away and if they hear plastic, they come running afraid someone is opening something they might not get to eat. Here is a video from when JR went winter camping. He made the video for his dad, that is why it is in Spanish. He is unable to email the video for some reason, so I told him I would post it. If you don't know Spanish, enjoy the scenery anyway. (If I did not already post it, I found it very interesting when he went camping. His element is being in the outdoors. The more quiet and secluded he is, the better. He called me twice - he happened to have cell service where he was. He was complaining about how quiet it was! Maybe he is getting use to the chaos!)

A whole week

I can't believe it has been a week since I last posted. We have just been cruising along. I am still feeling a 10 out of 10! I often forget that I am pregnant! The boys are keeping me active. For some reason J has been waking up about 5:45 in the mornings and very rarely can we get him back to sleep. He takes about a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. I sure long for the days when they would sleep in until 7:30.
B had a Valentine party at preschool and of course he got loaded up on candy! Can't there be a party or holiday without sugar!
The other day I had put J in his room and sometime later heard a call of distress. I went in there and he was sitting on top of his dresser. I have already moved the dresser over a foot from the bed and it is about 5 feet tall. Not real sure how he is getting up there, well, of course I know but just can't believe he is making the reach. He continues to use the potty but only when we initiate. If I could just remember to take him every 30-45 minutes all would be good. He has finally said his first 'full' word. "Out". I am not sure why he has such a hard time closing off words, but he now has one under his belt.
Most of my conversations with B are dominated by "Mom, I just want to ask you a question...", "Mom, how about....", "Mom, listen to me..." or asking one of 20 questions about what I am doing at any particular moment.
JR worked 4 days this week and should have at least 3 days next week. We are all thinking once spring hits, things should pick up. Of course we have had beautiful spring weather most of February. Makes me wonder what the summer holds.
Here are a few pics, most of which are from the park today!

12 weeks

This past week I had my 12 week appt. Heard a good, strong heartbeat! Already starting to get the question "Are you going to find out what you are having?". As far as I am concerned, the verdict is still out. I found out with the first two, but this will be a planned, scheduled c-section, so might be nice to keep something a surprise. (I guess the kid could always make an early entrance though.)
We have been staying close to home! JR has gone out winter camping this afternoon/evening. I can't wait until it warms up enough for him to take the boys out for an overnight. There is of course so much I want to get done, cleaned, organized, projects finished, etc. I am currently working on my t-shirt quilt. I have everything cut out and ready to put together, just trying to figure the best way to put it together.
J continues to use the potty some. We give him some Pez candy when he does, so there is a little bit of incentive. He has started making the connection with peeing in there, he just has not gotten the 'logistics' down. He will sit on the potty but forget to aim in the toilet. I forgot to tell JR this little tidbit. JR got excited when J took him by the hand and walked to the bathroom. J climbed on the toilet and insisted that JR sit on the stool in front of him. When J started peeing, I dont' think JR had moved that fast in a long time. However, we reward it, because at least he is trying!
JR and I are going out to dinenr with another couple friend tomorrow night. (I have a mystery dinner shop I need to do.) I don't know when the last time was we went out with another couple and no kids. Will be really nice. Hope to get some dominoes in!

Potty

More beautiful weather. I was actually outside in shorts today and it was nice. Low 50s with great sun and no wind. Oh for those days to be here to stay for several months.
Having J in 'underwear' has not been too bad. Yesterday I got him to the bathroom as he was in the middle of a poop, so he finally made the connection. Then today I randomly put him on the potty and he pooped. He is so proud of himself. Normally the poop is the last thing to click with the kids but maybe he will be backwards. After all, those are the messy ones. I am able to keep up with the washing of the underwear. All of this is a trial run for possibly cloth diapers. I know it sounds horrid but if you have not checked out cloth diapers in the last 10 years, they are amazingly simple. We will see. I definately want J out of diapers by the time the next one arrives and hopefully we are moving in the right direction.
Sure is nice having JR around the house this week. An extra set of hands sure makes things easier! Sounds like though a little work is lining up so hopefully for his sanity he will get some hours in next week.

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

The boys

I am so thankful right now that there is a little age gap between the two. Amazing the difference. The last few days we have enjoyed playing games with B, he is starting to get it. We have moved beyond Candyland! Yesterday afternoon it was mid 40s. We did not get out when it was that warm, but we did take B sledding. There is a good size hill by the church. He got probably a 5-6 second ride. At the end there is a little bump to catch air. I think the 'air' scared him but once he figured out how to put his hands down to keep from toppling over, it was all good. He loved it and went down every time by himself. More importantly, he trudged up the hill dragging the sled all by himself too. So nice that he is getting older and more capable of doing things by himself.
J on the other hand! He loves to get himself dressed and if you try to help him, he will grab his clothes and run away from you. I have already taken the bar stools away and put their art table chairs up. The next thing to go is the dining room table chairs. Everything gets put in the garage cause I just can't trust him. He has figured out how to open the microwave and loves to put misc. stuff in there. If he ever hits the right combination of buttons, I am in trouble. Today he decided to get a coffee cup out of the cabinet. For reasons unknown to me, I decided to scoop out all the water in the toilet and dump it on the floor. I know he has never seen me do that. He is something else.
JR had to work today and works again tomorrow. I guess it breaks up his 10 days off, but it sure was nice and convenient having him around.

Christmas

Had a quiet uneventful Christmas. The boys are still young enough that they don't know you can wake up really early on Christmas. I have B trained not to wake me up until 7. We started with prayer thanking God for Jesus' birth and then we headed downstairs. The stockings awaited us. Everyone had candy in theirs and that was all J needed. He got a little bowl, poured himself some whoppers and sat on the floor eating them. He would not put the bowl down and open a present, otherwise Mom might take the candy and put it up. B had a lot of fun exploring/playing with everything he opened. From start to finish it took us over an hour. We made a birthday cake for Jesus and it sure was good.
We received 3-4 inches of snow Christmas night and it looks like we could hit the high 30s by late weekend. That will be shorts weather compared to 2 weeks ago!
Christmas Eve day JR took a sled out to the field behind our house. B got to ride along as JR wrapped the rope around his waist and got a workout pulling B.
J has not had any ill effects from the hand, foot and mouth, which is a huge praise. B has not shown any signs, so he appears to have fended them off. (J did get one little boy from church sick though).
Having problems posting pics, will try tomorrow!

Sick again

All indications are that J has hand, foot and mouth disease! Quarantined again. At least the weather is not conducive for playing outside. I sure hope B does not get it.

Instead of Na, now we are getting a full on No with J. He often will walk around the house saying No, No, No, No (emphasizing the O). He usually comes to find me as he is saying it. He takes my hand and proceeds to take me to the "No". Recently it was an empty bowl of chocolate. He had eaten every last bite and was telling himself "no". Or it was the red dry erase marker he used on the white fridge. Or the bottle of B's mouthwash that he took the lid off of again and spilled.
J's skin is doing much better now that we have taken him off of most dairy. I also bought some Aveeno Intense Relief Overnight Lotion. I noticed a huge difference after one use.
B, J and I are starting to get into a routine in the evenings. I have shown B how to put towels and pajamas in the dryer so they are warm when they get out of the bathroom. They think this is awesome and then they both crawl in my lap and we sing songs. I can only hope this will continue to last.
Another cold weekend, so around the house, doing odd projects, working puzzles, etc.

B's Christmas Program

B had his preschool Christmas program Monday night. It was short and sweet, 20 minutes. What did I expect with 70 preschoolers. I think he had a lot of fun.
Both boys went to the dentist the other day. B has 2 cavities (guess he has deep grooves on his molars). Both boys have orthodontics in their future! Guess we better start saving now.
The weather has warmed up. Surprising how warm 20 feels when you have been -20.
Speech therapist continues to hear more new sounds each week. We have added "p" and "v" and he is starting to vocalize more instead of signing.
Some more pictures. I keep thinking I will have time to explore more features on the camera, but not yet. Maybe when JR is off the week between Christmas and New Years. (His work is closing that week to try to minimize expenses so as to keep everyone on until work really gets going strong again.)

Not Warm Here

I had to laugh at my post 2 days ago. As I write, it is -2 degrees and the windchill is probably -40. This morning JR left to go hunting at 5:30. When he returned 2 hours later, there was a knee deep snow drift in front of the door, where there had been no snow previously. (The guys hunting turned around after they missed their interstate exit and drifted onto the shoulder of the interstate several times due to low visibility.) Not a good day for the ol' heater to quit working on the black car. Took it to a shop 'around the corner'. They said they would look at it and call me in about an hour. I said 'I think I will walk home, it is just 3 blocks'. Bad, bad decision. With a wind chill of probably -30 in my face, I considered several times knocking on a door to warm up. I should know better. Bitter, bitter cold and I did not have a hat. I had my really warm coat and gloves on. I ended up wrapping my scarf around my head and that minimized things a bit. They called to say the problem was more extensive and they could not fix it. JR warmed up the red car to take me back (I was not walking back). It sat in the driveway warming up for 20 minutes. We got in it, backed into the street and the car died. After about 15 minutes we got it pushed back through the snow into the driveway (we were able to laugh through this) and my neighbor took me to get the car. I bought some antifreeze for the red one and after it was added, it started right up. Let's just hope that was the reason for it dying. The black one either has a blown fuse somewhere that I can't locate or the fan/compressor is out. Not a good thing, but what does one do?
Saw Santa yesterday, it was an uneventful visit. At first J was hesitant, but warmed right up. Our gingerbread house had a tragic end. The icing did not hold and coffee got spilled on it. Managed to salvage a few pieces so they will just have to lean against the wall until they can be eaten.
Here are pics from the last few days. If you move your mouse over the picture, the caption will show up. I added a little music. (Bit by bit I am figuring this out)

Warm here

Today we were close to 60 and it snowed in part of Texas. Crazy weather these days. However, we are suppose to be in the negatives this weekend.
A friend from North Dakota is due in any time, so not sure if we will get any snowshoeing in. We are also suppose to go Christmas Caroling this weekend with the church. Will be interesting to see the turnout if it is -10. I did promise the kids a trip to see Santa, since the line was too long last weekend. As B said "it was all my fault they did not get to see Santa". We did see some reindeer (aka Caribou) though.

Camera

J has gotten pretty sneaky these days. On more than one occasion, we have found him fully dressed without a diaper on. He is somehow undoing the 'tabs' and then the diaper falls down around his feet without us knowing this. Once he had on overalls and we could not figure out why we found a misc diaper on the floor, until his overalls turned up all wet. The second time he was in bed with footed pajamas on. Fortunately I checked him before he went to sleep.
The other day B woke up with a barking cough (it has since gone away). It was obviously the first time he had had that cough cause his reaction was, 'Mom, you need to call the doctor, I am making a really weird noise'. Every time after he coughed he would say, 'mom, did you hear that'.
We have been playing around with the new camera and here are some pictures.

Christmas cards!

I mailed the Christmas cards today!! Yeah, it is always nice when I get that done. (I have merged two lists so if for some reason you don't get a card, let me know).
Today we were at Costco and the boys love sampling the foods. We tried Godiva chocolate. I was very excited that J ate his entire bite without any 'chocolate saliva' running down his chin. It appears he is beginning to understand what his lips are for. It is getting to where I cannot let him out of my sight. B and I will be playing and then one of us is like "where is J...it sure is quiet." We have found him on top of the 4 1/2 foot dresser. I have found him barricaded in the bathroom standing on a chair eating a candy cane. JR found him the other day sitting on the computer desk eating a lollipop. Whenever I ask him to do something, he looks at me and gets this 'are you talking to me look'. He stands there and does not obey. As soon as I stand up, his expression is priceless. He makes a 'uh gasping' sound and does a big 'o' with his lips, then immediately acts. I really need to get this on video. Such a ham he is. He is certainly getting his share of discipline though.
The new camera arrived yesterday and hopefully I can start trying it out tomorrow. We are going to a birthday party so will try taking pictures there.
Here is a pic from when he got on the desk, notice the two lollipops in his hand that he was trying to eat before he got busted.

Allergies!

At least J's allergies are mostly contained to one family. Milk and Cheese. A moderate allergy to eggs. So, that makes it easy since B is allergic to the same things. Although J's allergies seem to be much worse.
Another gal involved with J's speech therapy stopped by today and was very impressed with what she saw. He is making a lot more sounds and will even mimic you when asked to do so. He knows all of his body parts and can point them out.
Today I felt really bad. We have put a different lock on their door that locks from the outside, to cut down on getting up at bedtime. J was not happy when he saw me lock the door and shut it at nap time. He cried, banged on the door and carried on for 10 minutes or so. I finally went up there and he was laying on the other side of the door. He had pooped in his diaper and had started to take it off and then realized the potential mess. He was desparately trying to hold his diaper on and get my attention to come help him. Oh I can't wait until he learns 'help'.
It is snowing here. It was 60 yesterday and we already have about an inch on the ground. It is December....

Christmas Movies

B never likes it when I pack the Christmas movies away every year, but he sure enjoys them when I pull them out. We have watched more than one every day. I really enjoy the short days and the Christmas tree lights glowing! Although today we were close to 60 degrees!
J had speech therapy today and the therapist said he did good. She is starting to hear a lot more sounds and not just growls and grunts. We are working on him using appropriate communication for most things even if it is sign language. He is getting the word 'mine' down a little better. Instead of a form of 'ma', we are hearing more of a 'mi'. I am convinced that it will all come together for him in the next couple of months. He has a lot more inflection in his voice too. Tomorrow we have an appt with the doc to go over his allergy testing results.
B loves watching, as he says it, Rudolph the Reindeer Red-nosed. Today his teacher told me that she finally separated him to another table during their '20 minute' work time. She said he is just so social and loves to talk. She has a hard time getting him to focus. As she is telling me this, I am laughing cause I can see it all unfolding. He was not in trouble, so to speak but she figured he was far enough into the 'school year' that he should be able to start adapting and focusing more when needed. I told her not to give him an inch but to correct things after asking the first time and not waiting 3-4 times before separating him. He does much better when the lines are very clear.
Off to finish a few more projects before bed. Will try to post tomorrow about the allergy results.

Thanksgiving

If I ever want to know who is reading my blog, just mention a special post coming tomorrow and see how many people let me know I forgot to post!
We attempted our fun little post but I did not like the end product so we have not been able to redo it yet. I will just keep you all waiting for a bit.
Had a quiet Thanksgiving. One of JR's co-workers joined us. Him and JR went hunting that morning. They went to a new area and they found grizzly tracks and mountain lion tracks. A pretty sure sign you are not gonna see elk or deer. The guys were excited though for the tracks. Mountain lion tracks are somewhat rare (the tracks were probably a day old....)
The boys and I stayed home and watched the Macy's parade. At one point the Uncle Sam balloon came on and B asked who it was. I said that is Uncle Sam. His first response was "oh, that is Yankee Doodle's cousin." I had to sing the song and then I said "close, it is his uncle." The kid does not miss a beat. The other day he said, in it's entirety the Pledge of Allegiance. I have never taught him this so it is obviously something they are learning at preschool. I was really touched by that and maybe I can get him to say it on video sometime.
Today we went out looking for a Christmas tree. Last year, we were unsuccessful, namely because just any tree won't do. Most of what I usually find are Charlie Brown trees. JR got frustrated so last year we cut our hunting short and borrowed an artificial tree. This year though I spotted a little drainage 200 yards off the road. The trees looked full and perfect. I ran up for a peek and I was excited! I called everyone out of the car. No snow on the ground, a short walk and wa-la.
Attached are some photos from yesterday and today!

Thanksgiving week

Hard to believe it is here! We are gonna stay home and one of JR's co-workers will come join us. They are thinking they might go hunting in the morning, so looks like it will be the boys an I for the Macy's parade.
More B stories - The other day I put J in his room because he was throwing a fit. He settled down and got quiet. A little bit later B opened his door and said "Now, J, do you have a better attitude? You just shake your head yes before you come out of the room. You have to have a better attitude before you come out"
Last night we were driving home and B said "hey dad, what is that blue jellyfish thing?" We were both perplexed and he said "that blue jellyfish thing up there". I realized what he was talking about and just cracked up. He had seen the 'high beam' headlight indicator on the dashboard of the car. I think he has seen a picture of a jellyfish once or twice. And he was right, it did look like a jellyfish swimming through the water.
J, on the other hand, might get him checked out for some sensory processing stuff. Maybe after the holidays can have the occupational therapist observe him. Not anything major but could explain some things. I noticed the other day they were playing in the backyard. It had snowed and there was that ice/snow pack on the patio. J was out there barefoot and was not the least bit bothered by it. He had been out there 2-3 minutes! Not sure if it is related, but made me think twice about it.
B and I are scheming a fun post tomorrow. Hopefully it will pan out and you all can check back!

praises!!

As you can see, a mild, very mild case of the pox. Praise God. I guess the vaccine he got at 12 months kept him from getting a worse case? The only time he seems to scratch them is when he gets out of the tub and sees them. Otherwise we try to keep them all covered up with footed pajamas. I finally solved the puzzle as to where the boys got the chicken pox from. Remember about a month ago when 3 middle school boys stayed with us while they attended a local conference? Well, I found out this week that they all came down with the chicken pox just after leaving here. Just glad to know how we were exposed.

A conversation with B recently. It went something like this:
"Mom, why do people do bad things?"
"Because there is evil in the world"
"Why is there evil in the world?"
"Because this earth is satan's kingdom"
A slight pause, then
"Mom, now who is satan again?"
"Remember satan was the one in the Garden of Eden that convinced Adam and Eve to do bad. Satan use to be an angel that lived in Heaven with Jesus. But he got kicked out of heaven."
"Why did he get kicked out of heaven?"
"Because he did not like the rules and did not want to obey the rules. He wanted to be just like God, just like he tried to convince Adam and Eve they could be like God by eating the fruit. He got kicked out of heaven and now he is trying to convince others to do bad things here on earth."
Just as quickly as the conversation started, it ended. Nothing like a child to keep you on your toes and always be ready to give an answer. My greatest prayer for my kids is that they will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and accept him. When I have conversations like this it really encourages my heart. I know he is taking in everything from Children's Church, preschool, family devotions, etc. He is starting to process everything.
The second thing I pray for the boys is for a hedge of protection. The other night JR had put the boys to bed in our bed (which is not the norm). We thought both boys were asleep. B was, but J was not. I had not heard a word from them. Finally, J gave himself away as I heard him on the stairs. The stair light was not on but I could tell he had something all around his mouth. He was acting a little strange and quiet. He kept pointing up to the top of the stairs. I turned to JR and said, "he got into my lip liner earlier today and it looks like he got back into it". I grabbed the camera to get a picture of the aftermath of his make-up drawer raid. JR then grabbed him and headed up the stairs. He walked into the bathroom and then yelled for me. Come to find out, it was not make-up he had gotten into. He had found JR's razor and had managed to cut his tongue twice and his lip. It was blood and not make-up after all. All I could think was this is exactly why I pray for a hedge of protection on both of them. The strange thing is, he never cried. Just appeared he had knicked his tongue and lip and my guess never really knew he had cut himself or was bleeding. Here is the picture I took on the stairs, before I realized what had really happened. You can just see him smiling away like 'look at what I did'.

Random stuff

The boys are suppose to be having a quiet time in their room. Ha! Oh well, at least they are in their room and sounds like they are having fun. Best yet, I get some alone time!
We just drove past the bank today and it said 70 degrees. Now, having 4 ski resorts within an hour of here, 70 degrees mid November is not good! The 10 day forecast calls for cooler weather but not snow. Also puts a damper on the hunting. JR has gotten a buck and then a friend gave us his doe. He will go out 2-3 more times and then call it a season. With no snow, the animals tend to stay pretty high up.
The first day of speech therapy for J went pretty good. She literally sits there and counts the number of different sounds as she interacts with him. She got him to say 'mine' or very close to it pretty consistently. She is hearing more new sounds so that is very good. Maybe he just needed a little outside intervention.
I cut J's hair the other day. It was just such a mop. Looks okay but some of the 'curl' did not come back when I cut it. He looks much cuter with the curls so haircuts every 6 months or so!
(B just came out of the room and told me J bit him on the bottom. Then J comes around the corner with the 'aren't you proud of me mom' smile. Both of my boys have that little grin that just brings a smile to my face. )
One thing I have really noticed lately, when we are out in public, so many people make remarks about J (like they use to with B) and go on and on. Then there is B standing there going "I am four, I am four". People don't even notice B. Sure makes me think twice when I interact with a child in public, to be sure and include the older sibling in my remarks.
One thing I am hoping we can buy in the next 6 weeks or so is a digital camera. I miss so many shots because of our camera. I think it takes one photo every 20 seconds and then sometimes it is tempermental and won't take when it is suppose to. So, that being said, if any of you have a digital camera you like, let me know. I am starting to research them. Honestly, the one quality I am looking for is the rapid shoot. I will never have the time to learn all the ins and outs of a camera but just want something that takes good photos without missing too much action.
Will try to download some video in the next day or so!

Chicken Pox Round Two

Yep-they are popping out at this point! We are homebound again this week. Fortunately B has two friends whose mom wants to expose them so they are coming over on Thursday for a play date. Hopefully they won't be too bad for B.