One way to discipline

We are in the process of making our upstairs "bonus room" Elle's bedroom. After much consideration and deliberation, we decided in favor of Elle and Grady not sharing a room for now. Yesterday, Steven and I were upstairs rearranging, organizing, rearranging, straightening, moving furniture, etc. I'm not even sure what it was, but Elle did something that required discipline. Steven turns to her and in his stern, fatherly-disciplinarian voice says, "Elle, go to your room." She turns to head down the stairs, and I said, "Well, this is her room." We both bust out laughing. Elle was still crying, unsure of what was so funny. We all had a good laugh and forgot the reason she was supposed to go to her room in the first place.

Firsts

Grady got his first big boy haircut Saturday. I thought it might be a scream fest. Steven said all it took was a sucker and he sat still the entire time.

The before shot:

Why is he always eating at the table in every picture?

And after:

Reese got submerged for his first big baby bath Saturday. Yes, I have just been giving him sponge baths since birth. He's not dirty and the other two didn't like the baby tub until about two months anyway. He was so relaxed the whole time. (I know that doesn't look like a relaxed face. You'll just have to trust me on this one.)

Elle's first will be September 21st. She is having her tonsils and adenoids removed. I wish it were tomorrow. Her tonsils have always been what the doctor called "generous". She had strep throat this summer and now they are just huge. The ENT called them "kissing tonsils". There is almost zero space in the back of her throat. She is snoring like crazy, waking up like crazy. She can barely swallow and her voice sounds like her mouth is full of cotton. I cannot wait to have this done. I think she will be a much happier, well rested, and healthier little girl.

Two and Two

"No."
"Mine."
"Right Now."
These are the words I hear at least once every five minutes.

Grady turned two yesterday.
He is the epitome of everything "two".
He loves to sing and dance. My current favorite is his rendition of The Fray's Over My Head.
He can name several colors, count to five, and recognize most of the alphabet (Thank you, Super Why.)

He has a very ferocious dinosaur roar.
He loves to read books (when he is not tearing them).
He loves to play with play dough (when he is not eating it).

He LOVES his big sister and loves to play with her (when he is not hitting her, biting her, or ripping a toy from her hands).
He loves Reese, too. He just doesn't notice him that much. I think that is probably a good thing.

He loves his Daddy the most (even though you're supposed to love every one the same amount).

He drinks a lot.
He pees a lot.
I change his clothes and the sheets a lot.

He makes me laugh every day (when he's not making me furious).
He loves to hug, snuggle and kiss (when he's not trying to put you in a head lock with his legs).
He loves to suck his thumb... even more than his sister (who hasn't sucked hers in 14 days!).

He is tough as nails and hardly cries when he falls.
But he will scream like a little girl if a fly comes within ten feet.
He is mesmerized by lawn mowers, weed eaters and blowers.

He has the best hair and most gorgeous blue eyes.

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord,

children a reward from him.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior

are sons born in one's youth.
Blessed is the man

whose quiver is full of them."

Psalm 127:5

Grady James is our two year old reward. And we are blessed because of him.

This little guy turned two months old yesterday. He met his great grandmother for the first time. You can tell it was love at first sight for both of them. My grandmother used to keep babies back in her prime. And she loved it. She tells me stories of having nine in diapers at one time. Holding Reese and him smiling and cooing at her made her day. Maybe even her week. At least it made the 2 1/2 hour drive up here worth it.

It's been a rough week for the two of us. Long story short, I was not making fat enough milk for my big boy. He lost 2 ounces since his one month check up. I pumped for a day and a half and fed him formula. We went back to the doctor and he had gained 4 ounces... in a day and a half. I thought I would nurse him and give him formula until I could wean him. After the day and a half of the bottle, he wouldn't nurse. I am now pumping to slowly wean myself and he's getting half breast milk and half formula. I am spending more time with the pump than I care to. Maybe we'll go to the movies again.

I can tell he's putting some fat on those bones now. And he's happy. So I am happy. And a little sad. And I just wonder why. I am sure a lot of you can relate.

Pump Patrol

Not gasoline.
This time I'm talking breast milk.

A card from my mother

A few weeks ago, Steven, my sister and I went to see the Harry Potter movie. I am not ashamed to admit I am a big fan (Big might be an understatement). I have read all the books, most of them twice. I wasn't about to miss the latest installment on the big screen just because I was nursing a newborn. So I did what any desperate lactating mother would do... I threw my dual electric pump in to my purse and took it to the theater with me. And pumped during the movie. No other patron was any the wiser. Steven and Madison got a good laugh though.

I'm interested in your craziest pumping story. Please share with me. I know there have to be some great ones out there.

It's Me

Still here... Steven's mom's surgery was a success and it seems as though there will be no further treatments for now. Definitely the best news we could hope for. And that was a groundhog in our backyard. Good guesses--I think someone even got it right?!

We are hanging in there. Having three is a little overwhelming for me. I'm not sure I have even brushed my teeth today. Hopefully my personal hygiene will not suffer much longer. Reese has had three consecutive nights of only one feeding, going 5-6 hours between. And he's smiling now! The big kids aren't sleeping together any more. That whole situation did not go as planned. Not sure what we are going to do permanently but for now, Elle has moved upstairs to the playroom for sleeping (on an air mattress). Any thoughts?

Samuel

Some of you may remember when the triplets were born back in January. The smallest of the three, Samuel, has been in the hospital since birth. The family recently found out some pretty devastating news. Please pray for this family and for little Samuel's miraculous healing.

Put your Reading Glasses on... it's LONG!

Oh my! Two whole weeks have passed since I last posted. I'm sure you faithful readers out there can understand why I haven't been able to post. There have been quite a few happenings going on around here. Here is a highlighted list of our life over the past two weeks (in semi-reverse order):

1. Today is my husband's 32nd birthday. He is enjoying a rare day of playing golf with some friends at his favorite course, Farmlinks. I am so thankful for him and his life. He loves the Lord, is an extremely hard worker and faithful employee, a wonderful husband and friend and an incredible father. I could not ask for a better partner in life and in parenting. Here's to 32+ more years! (*Steven and his sister have the same birthday, four years apart. Happy Day to you too Rhonda!)

2. I am recovering from a brief bout with mastitis. For those who have experienced this, you know it is miserable. I felt like I had the flu accompanied by an extremely sore, swollen, painful boob. Thankfully, I got an antibiotic fairly quickly and the fever broke after about a day. Now I just have a slightly painful boob without any flu symptoms.

3. Elle has been with my mom and sister since last Sunday. This is the longest she has ever been away from us and the first time staying somewhere else without us. She has done wonderfully, much better than me. They have done tons of fun things and she is being thoroughly spoiled. She comes home tomorrow and I cannot wait to see that beautiful face and squeeze that little neck.

4. Since Elle's been away, Grady has officially moved in to "their" room. He has slept in the big bed every night and for naps each day. He has done awesome solo. It will be interesting to see how it goes when big sister returns. If his sleeping positions are any indication, there might be some problems as Elle joins him.

5. Since Grady has moved out, I've been able to get Reese's room ready for him to move in. I just need to get some things up on the walls and it will be done. I am already enjoying putting most of his "stuff" in his room and not in our bedroom. If you remember, we just turned our room in to our beach oasis. However, our new roommate has turned it in to a bit of a tsunami.

6. Speaking of Reese, his umbilical stump finally fell off today. It looks like he might be our only child with an "innie" belly button. I have no doubt that Steven will take full credit for this, since Reese's cord is the only one he cut.

7. I turned 31 this past Monday (6th). Birthdays just don't seem quite as fun as they used to. I did get lots of nice presents, well wishes on Facebook and a fat Dairy Queen ice cream cake from Steven. I also got a new cell phone that I can text on (whew-hew!), a stunning necklace with my children's initials from Lisa Leonard (and my mom really!), and some good ole cash for much needed clothes. I always thought I would be done having kids by the time I reached 30. I barely made it in under that goal.

8. Over the past month, I kept seeing this creature in our backyard. I couldn't quite figure out what it was and it kept running away before any one else could see it. I'm certain my family and neighbors thought I had some severe form of post partum depression with hallucinations. Finally, last Sunday that all changed when Steven spotted it, and I was able to get him on camera. Would you care to guess what our backyard pet is?

9. My MIL found out she has breast cancer. They found it early and it is a relatively small tumor. She has surgery on the 21st to remove it. She'll meet with an oncologist after that to determine what, if any, further treatments are required. We're hopeful the surgery will remove all the cancer from her body and little other treatment will be necessary. We'd love your prayers for her surgery and complete healing.

I'm looking forward to next week. Elle will be home. Mom will be here for a little over a week while my sister is at camp. And there are a few fun things on the agenda. I hope to be back before another two weeks. Happy Weekend!