Monday, February 26, 2007

Gang Signs

I think my boys may have recently been recruited by a rogue gang of wild and crazy toddlers. I haven't been able to identify the ring leader yet, but I have a funny feeling it might be Henry.




These are the kinds of "poses" I get these days when I pull out my camera. Always some kind of gang signs from these two!



If anyone has any information on how I can infiltrate the gang and break it up, please let me know! :)

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Toys Underfoot

These were all found on my kitchen floor this morning.



There must have been about 30 more spread throughout the house. Aren't boys fun? :)

When I went to get dressed this morning I found that while I could still fit into my regular pants, they were NOT comfortable. I shouldn't have been, but I was a little surprised! So I reluctantly pulled out the maternity pants and I am feeling sooooo comfortable today!

The weather is beautiful here today, so the boys and I met some friends at the park for a picnic lunch and a walk around a lake. It was so relaxing and fun.

I hope everyone who is reading this has a relaxing and fun day too!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

security

After reading some recent things on the internet about blog safety, Sam and I have been talking about this blog and it's contents (mostly regarding pictures of the kids and personal information) and we feel okay about most of it; however, we have decided that having our last name on here may not be the best idea. Those of you who know us already know our last name anyway, right? :)

So if you've found your way here, please note the new web address www.elmerandcricket.blogspot.com (which is the name of our pets, in case you're curious!

Have a great day!

I spoke too soon...

when I said that we were all doing better. I should have known! Sam and I both woke up feeling pretty under the weather, and then there's these two:




I went to a mom's meeting at church this morning and about 45 minutes into it, I was called out. They told me that Jonah had gotten fussy and turned red "all of a sudden" and so they grabbed an ear thermometer and he was at 103 degrees. So I rushed out, and sure enough, he looked just like Henry looked this weekend--sick. Henry has been feeling much, much better, but now today he is very tired and a little grouchy--I don't think he's feeling great today. So now we're home, nobody wants to take a nap, and Jonah is refusing all liquids. That's sure to help, huh? I could use some prayer today! We're going to go camp out in front of Sesame Street.

On a brighter note, I've been feeling some funny little flutters in my belly this week, and now today they're very consistent--I can feel this tiny little baby moving! This is one of the best parts of pregnancy for me--the chance to witness this absolute miracle unfolding and blossoming right in front of me!

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Warning...

This one's kind of gross. But it's still funny, so if you can stomach it, read on!



A week and a half ago, we went to visit someone in the hospital. While we were there, I gave the boys oranges as a snack (and a distraction!). We stayed a while visiting, then eventually made our way home. On the trip home, Jonah fell asleep--this is one of his favorite things to do--he LOVES to sleep in the car! So when we got home I just pulled him out of his carseat and moved him to his bed to finish up his nap.

About two hours later he woke up and came out to play. While we were wrestling around on the ground, I noticed he had something in his mouth. I asked him to spit it out, and found that he still had TWO WHOLE WEDGES OF ORANGE in his mouth! How yucky is that? It had been at least three or four hours since I had given him the orange. Jonah has an amazing ability to keep food in his mouth without chewing or swallowing, but I never thought he'd fall asleep with food in his mouth! We've started a "mouth-check" at nap time, because now I'm concerned about him choking!

On a different note, my children both seem to be mostly over their sickness and fever-free! They had good nights last night and haven't had any fever since the night before (Thank you, Lord!).

Monday, February 19, 2007

Ouch!

You know you've had a rough night when you're reaching for tylenol before the coffee (or in my case before the bowl of cereal!).




The boys were both up too many times to count last night....and Henry had a fever of 104. So even when the boys weren't up, Sam and I were awake and praying for them. I feel like I just spent the night with a newborn in the house!

The good news is that they are both in great spirits this morning and the sun is shining! :)

Friday, February 16, 2007

Toddler love

The boys really love their cousin Jordan, and here they had a chance to show her just how much!



Regarding the last post (about fishing), all those who guessed Jonah were correct! Henry didn't want to even touch the fish, but Jonah was eager to throw all the fish back in the water--he thought it was great fun! And since I've been stingy about prizes in the past, I'll be happy to send out prizes this time. Just leave me your address in the comments area and we'll ship you out one of the fine little fish the boys caught! :)

Thursday, February 15, 2007

A day of fishing

Don't get me wrong. Just because the sun was shining does not mean it was warm! Sam had some free time and thought it would be really fun to go fishing. And if you're going to go fishing, you might as well look good, right? :)



Fishing is one of the great joys of Sam's life, but due to the circumstances of our lives, he has had little time for it in the last few years. He's been dying to get the boys out and nurture their love of fishing too!



So it wasn't warm, and the fish weren't big. (Look closely in the pictures, the boys both caught quite a few of those little guys!) But we all sure had a good time!



Can anyone guess which of my children was brave enough to throw the fish back into the water? One was a little nervous about holding fish and the other thought it was really cool! (I'll tell the answer later!) :)

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

A message from the boys...

I meant to post this morning, but we got busy and I forgot. So here you go!




Hope you all have a lovely day!

Our little Cubbie

Henry has recently started doing Awana every week at our church. His class (the three year olds) is called Cubbies. My husband did Awana as a kid and LOVED it. I was never a part of it, so I've been pretty excited to learn more about it. Henry is SO excited about it, and can't wait to go every week!



Henry had to memorize four bible verses the first two weeks, and that earned him a vest, a work book, and a special book bag. Then the next week he memorized two more verses and earned his first patch for his vest.

This is such a fun program, and I am so glad that we have the opportunity to be a part of it. Henry is so eager to work on his bible verses and is just thrilled to share when someone asks him to repeat one! Way to go Henry! We're so proud of you.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Henry, the photographer

To all my faithful readers (ha ha), sorry that I have been away from the blogworld for so long! It has been a bit of a rough week. I thought I would show everyone a bit of Henry's recent work:



He has really taken an interest in the camera--makes it a little difficult to take pictures of him, because he always wants to be on my side of the camera!

Jonah's birthday was pretty fun. Many of you know that some things were going on that day to add a little stress to our lives, but Jonah did have a wonderful day! He got to have some balloons, lots of cake (with extra frosting, of course!) and presents from everyone! He got a tickle-me-elmo from my mom that has to be the funniest toy I've ever seen. You can't see this toy in action without laughing!

Also, as I mentioned in my last blog, Jonah moved up to a big-boy bed this week! He has been doing really well so far! He doesn't really have trouble at night. The only problem so far has been his naps tend to be shorter. But that really isn't so bad!

I'll try to have something more exciting to write about next time--I have a ton of pictures on my camera that need to be downloaded, surely there is something good on there!

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Happy Birthday to Jonah!

This little cutie:




turns 2 years old tomorrow!

I never dreamed that having two little boys could be so fun! Anyone who has read my previous blogs knows that Jonah is sweet natured, loves everyone and everything, prefers sugar over anything else and is a lovable little Mommy's boy. I am so blessed to have him in my life--the last two years have been so filled with joy!

Our little "Bear" (his favorite nickname) is spending his first night in a big boy bed tonight. We didn't mean for it to coincide with his birthday, necessarily, but that is just how it worked out. We've tried having him sleep in a big bed before tonight, and the results haven't been the greatest. However, this weekend Jonah showed us that he knows how to climb out of his crib, so today the crib went away. Right now he has been in there for about an hour and a half and we've had to put him back in his bed about 10 times. But I'm listening on the monitor, and it sounds as though maybe he has finally fallen asleep! Yay! GO JONAH!

Monday, February 05, 2007

One classy guy...



Tony Dungy (head coach of the Colts) had this to say during the trophy ceremony after leading his team to a Super Bowl victory:

"I'm proud to be the first African-American coach to win this. But again more than anything, Lovie Smith and I are not only African-American but also Christian coaches, showing you can do it the Lord's way. We're more proud of that."

Our local paper had 3-4 pages dedicated to various super bowl stories. This one stood out to me, and I haven't been able to forget it today, so I thought I'd share it with you. The quote above inspires me, and makes me wonder--do I always give God the glory in everything I do? I wish I could say yes, but it's surely something that I need to work on.

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Lazy by Nature


"Slacker Sam" has finally updated his blog and would love your comments on his interesting ramblings...so if you have a minute, hop over to Lazy by Nature (the link is on my sidebar)!

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Jonah--after stitches

Jonah had his stitches out on Sunday afternoon. The doctor had said he wanted to see him on Sunday to see how they were looking and maybe take them out. I didn't realize that the direct care clinic was only open from 1-4 pm so I took him right after church (so we would be early and not have to wait, ha ha). Found out they didn't open until 1 and vowed to be back at 1:00 on the nose. Well, things never work out that easily, do they? For various reasons, we didn't make it back to the clinic until 2:30 and there were about 12 people waiting ahead of us. Oh, and the whole family was now along, instead of just me and Jonah.



Here's where the fun starts. Jonah made a round of the waiting room, saying "hi!" to each person individually. Then he and Henry decided that wrestling would be a fun thing to do while they waited. (Such a nice, quiet activity!) At some point, Jonah tried to heave himself up onto a chair and ended up throwing up right on the fabric covered chair. (Should I mention now that he wasn't sick, before or after this visit? Maybe it was just nerves.) There were a total of TWO children's books in the entire waiting room (and I hadn't even brought in a diaper bag, thinking this would be a quick stop.) and once the kids tired of those, they started looking over the magazines. They were all encased in these nice little plastic folders, with sharp, pointy edges. The boys eventually decided to argue over one particular car magazine. I saw Henry yank it out of Jonah's hands, and told him to give it back. I know I should have seen it coming, but I didn't.....instead of handing the magazine back, Henry threw it at Jonah, hitting him square in the forehead (mere millimeters from his stitches).

Finally, at 4:00 the receptionist is walking around closing up blinds and locking doors. There were still 3 people ahead of us!

So I went up and spoke to the receptionist, to tell her that we would just come back another day. She said she thought we should stay, and that she would go and speak to the doctor. The doctor said he definitely wanted to see him, and we were magically bumped ahead of the three people ahead of us! :) Sorry folks, but I didn't even feel bad about it!



That's when the wailing started. As soon as Jonah saw the room, he recognized it and started crying. Then he could hear the doctor speaking in the hallway and would cry every time he heard him say anything! Finally the doctor came in, said his forehead was healing nicely and that we could take out the stitches. I was so grateful that we hadn't waited all that time, just to be told come back later! Jonah handled getting out the stitches very well, and clapped his hands when we told him it was all through. Then they gave him a sticker and a sucker and sent us on our way!