May...

So we completely missed the month of April. Yeah, my bad. We celebrated Judah's first birthday, finished off Drew's first year in AWANA Cubbies with him getting his first book award, purchased a new van, took a couple trips to see friends and family and had two muffins go through rounds of antibiotics for a nasty bug.
I have lots of pictures I could post, but they are on the other computer - and here I am comfy on the couch with the lap top, so I give you: no pictures! Call me lazy, but that's how I roll some days! We are still waiting for warm, spring weather. I don't know where it is this year, but we would like it to come here. Several recent snowfalls have been quite unwelcome here...I know the moisture is good, but rain would work too!
Jude is not walking yet, but he is getting close. His crawling/cruising mobility has dropped him from the 75% in weight to below the 10%!! I have completely lost my chubby baby! And boy can he pack away the food! His weight change has nothing to do with lack of appetite as he can easily out-eat me!
Ty has a paralyzing fear of Chuck E. Cheese. Quite humorous for us to watch - especially when sparked by a simple TV commercial : "No Chucky!! Not MY house!"
Drew is Drew is Drew. To really get a good grasp on this kid you need to spend some time with him. His obsession now is to tell EVERYONE he sees that "I got a new van! It's red. It goes ZOOM really fast." That and his other favorite line (said in a whiny voice) "I'm having a hard day." It's his attempt to by-pass any requests and rules to get his own way in things. Doesn't work, but by the level of drama one would think it works like a charm all the time!
A May 4th post would be lacking without the "StarWars Day" line, May the 4th be with you! (I'm halfway through the series again, usually only able to watch a few minutes a day while folding laundry on the rare occasion all three muffins are in bed). Come join me if you like!

Sick Again

This year has been the year of sickness for us I think. We have three sick muffins - again. They have been sick for a week now. I'm ready to be done, but this one is raging full strength yet. Ugh. Poor guys can't sleep well, how can they effectively fight off this bug?
Next week is spring break - but since Pete doesn't get a break from work, not much will be different. Our van has not been running well so we are shopping around for a new one. This one has served us well; we hope to find another that will be just as good or better. We are less than two weeks away from Jude's first birthday. Crazy how time flies so fast. He has been a wonderful delight to our family and we cannot imagine life without him. Now if we can just get healthy so we can plan his party! Any ideas for his birthday cake?
We were working on Drew's AWANA verse last week.
M: Hosanna
D: I don't know!
M: Drew, say "Hosanna!
D: I don't know mommy!
M: Hosanna means Praise God
D: Praise God?
M: Yes. Hosanna
D: I don't know mommy! Who's Anna?

As Ty waddled away wearing his hooded towel like a cape, I mumbled "Master Yoda". Drew overheard it and laughed. "That's funny mommy!" He ran away only to return and ask, "Who am I, mommy?" "Obi Wan Kenobi." More laughter. As he swaggered away, I had to change my answer. "Nope, that's more like Jar Jar Binks!" Ty-Ty ran up, "Me stinks too!"

Thump, wail, SMASH!

Yesterday, in the wee small hours of the morning, Ty experienced a new first. He fell out of bed. Sunday night was the first night in his new big-boy bed. Yes, he is a little old, but since he wasn't making any attempts to get out of his crib, why bother? Anyway, he has his lil' tykes blue race car bed. Fully expecting him to fall out the first night, I wasn't surprised. So upon hearing the thump and the following wails, I jumped out of bed and ran to his room. Each time Drew has fallen out of bed, by the time I got to him he was already climbing back up into bed. I wasn't even thinking about what I was doing. So I rushed into the room and plowed Ty back onto the floor with the door. He had been on his way to find me, and just bowled him over with the door. Nice huh? We spent the next chunk of time in the rocking chair. Much more conducive for apologies, snuggles and kisses. Way better than the floor.

We had a nice thunderstorm last Wednesday, during the day. It prevented the boys from napping, but we opened windows and enjoyed the noise. Then Saturday night we had another. Drew was not impressed with the lightning and asked all windows to be closed, all curtains closed, and all lights on to help disguise any flashes. He clung to Pete, letting go only for a moment to tell me how God put scary noises in the sky.

Saturday afternoon we were enjoying the nice weather as the boys jumped in mud puddles. Sunday morning we woke up to another snowstorm, making roads slippery as we headed our way to church. Yesterday the boys were back outside playing and splashing, and today we are in a winter storm warning. I think the weather needs to make up it's mind. All this back and forth is driving me crazy!

This morning was bath morning. After getting unders and a diaper on, Drew and Ty were running around with their hooded towels flowing behind them. Ty waddled into the other room and I laughed, mumbling "Master Yoda". Drew thought that was funny and took off running. Then he came back to ask who he was. "Obi Wan Kenobi" I said. He laughed again, and tried to say it himself, running off very wildly. So I retracted my previous statement: "Nope, Drew. You look like Jar Jar Binks!" Ty-Ty ran up "me Stinks too!"

Will March bring spring?

Our family was sick for about two weeks, and now that we are healthy again our thoughts have turned outside. We did manage to get out for a nice walk yesterday - and I wonder if it will happen again soon or not. Our driveway is full of ice - a couple inches thick, so that made for interesting walking. The boys were excited to hear dogs barking, birds singing and even a few deer ran across the driveway ahead of us.

Drew and Ty are so fun to watch as their play grows to deeper levels as they get older. Occasionally they will include Jude, instead of locking him in the bathroom. They have discovered that if Jude is getting into their toys, all they have to do is coax him into the bathroom and close the door behind him. I am sure he will not grow fast enough to reopen that door! About once or twice a week they will get on all fours with him and create a crawling train through the house. It's fun to watch, until they get rough and someone gets hurt; but it's a good feeling to see all three of my boys play together!

We had some company for dinner Monday night. They have four children - seven and under, three boys and a girl. Their youngest is two months older than Jude, so it was a busy evening for the kids. They mixed well and had a great time. The dishwasher box which has been taking up room for months has finally met it's demise...so I am thankful!

In a week and a half we will have Jude's dedication. A little late yes, but it should be quite special. We are looking forward to visiting with family and friends.

As for funny stories - I think you just need to visit this time. The simplest phrases take on a whole new spin with their intonations, mispronunciations, and facial expressions. If visits are out of the question...let's try Skype!