Buckeye Baby

Allergy Update

2010-10-26T08:21:00.003-04:00

We took Matthew to see an allergist yesterday so they could review his blood work and give us more insight into what we should and shouldn't feed him. They also tested him for some more nuts and foods. The skin prick test was so much better than getting his blood drawn. For one Josh was there to hold him and I could be in his face and let him know everything was ok. They pricked his back 11 times, but each one was short and looked like it would feel like a pinch from somebody. He didn't have to be held down, and he didn't freak out like when his blood was taken. He did cry and squirm, but the nurse could catch the moments that he held still. He did a great job and in a few minutes was asking to play a game on daddy's cell phone.

We already know he's allergic to cashews, so they didn't test him on that, but peanuts are a danger, and egg whites are a slight concern. Pistachios are very close to cashews, and we were advised to stay away from those. The doctor told us that when it comes to others taking care of him, it's safer to tell them across the board to not give him any nuts. As he gets older and he gets more responsible, we can allow the safe nuts into his diet. And he said to stay away from omelets and mayonnaise. He'll go back every 6 months and then every year to get retested to see if he's outgrown some allergies.

So just so ya'll know, no nuts, no peanut butter period. And as for boxes that say "may contain nuts" or "processed in a plant with nuts," the doc told us to find an alternative on the shelf. But he also said the chances of him getting sick with those types of foods is very slim. Again, being on the extra safe side.

He was a very nice doctor that spoke honestly with us and let us ask any question we had. Josh and I are making sure we don't talk about Matthew missing out on stuff in front of him, cause we don't want him to feel bad. Essentially he's not missing out on much. What's a few nuts deleted from your diet anyway, right? And he's not big on eggs for breakfast. We're also not big nut eaters to begin with. Now I will miss pb 'n' j's, and Matthew does love peanut butter cups, but again, trying not to highlight what he's missing out on.

We were also prescribed the epi-pen jr. with a DVD instructional for us to watch. They even give you a training epi-pen, so you can practice with it. I'm glad I have a peace of mind now that I have more knowledge of the do's and don'ts of what Matthew can eat. And I feel more comfortable that I have the epi-pen to take of him in an emergency.

Half Family Trip

2010-10-09T21:20:00.006-04:00

Esther and I flew to the New England area for my Grampa's funeral this past weekend. He wanted me to sing for it, so I always knew I would make the time to attend, no matter how far away I was. Esther came with cause she's still so young to be gone a long time from me (and cause I'm still nursing her), and Josh and Matthew played bachelor for the weekend. I didn't come home until Tuesday, so my mom-in-law watched Matthew so Josh didn't have to take some time off work.

Esther's first airplane ride. She loved looking out the window.

I let her out of the Bjorn during the plane ride, and she had fun with the tray table, the magazines, and crawlilng all over me to charm the passengers in front of and behind us.

A short layover, but we had some time for her to stretch her legs and get around.

My brother-in-law and my sis picked me up from the airport, and my niece Ari was so excited to meet "Baby Esther." She even picked out a special toy monkey for her to play with while we were there.

Esther hanging out with her Auntie Sara.

I got to see my brother and sister-in-law as well, so Esther got to meet another cousin, Micah.

Sucking her thumb on Grampa's lap. She does that when she's tired or when I'm holding her.

Look at that one-tooth grin. She looks like a hick or something. That other front tooth did pop through recently, but you can't see it yet.

Here's trouble waiting to happen. Josh told me it's like a mini-Sara and a mini-Mary.

On the way to the burial site, my grampa's fire station saluted and sounded a bell as the hearse drove by. It was a really neat moment.

Ari being cute in the car.

Esther was definitely tired of being in a car seat by the end of the trip, but I managed to catch her pretty content with this book.

Gramma and Grampa hung out at the airport before my flight to spend some extra time with us.

And so ends my whirlwind weekend. It was weird not having Josh and Matthew there, but it was so nice to go home to them. Life has gotten back to normal for the most part. Esther's been catching up on some much-needed Z's, and Matthew's cold, which was hanging on for 2 weeks, finally seems to be going away. We did get some antibiotics for him though, since we had him checked and they found an ear infection in one ear. And Josh is busy at work and growing a beard for our church's Christmas cantata.

For those who don't get to see us very much, I'm sorry for my absence in blog land. But if you have or ever have had more than one little kid to take care of, you can understand how little time I have to sit in one spot and get something done, like blogging. I know there's a lot I've missed putting up here, so I might back track a little, but it may be easier to just move on from here. And to give you a little more frame of reference, Matthew is now 2 1/2 and Esther is 10 months old. Happy weekend, everybody!

One Video at a Time...

2010-09-16T08:43:00.003-04:00

Overdue Pics

2010-09-04T20:49:00.005-04:00

We've been busy and blogger seems slow sometimes -- but enough excuses. Please enjoy our pics!

Matthew is a little puzzled

Esther sitting pretty

Peek a boo!

The cousins!

Just being cute!

Garage Sale Finds

2010-06-05T20:48:00.004-04:00

Today was Saturday, our community's garage sale day. There were quite a few, and we used the stroller and walked to some that were near our house. Then we jumped in our van for a few reasons: 1) it was too far to walk, 2) Esther would nap in the van, and 3) rain was coming.

We made out pretty good, and the kids did well also. Esther ended up sleeping for about an hour during our journey, and Matthew loved getting out to walk around and "play" with the toys. Here's what we got..

The clothes are all for Esther, a 3T summer outfit, an 18 month dress, an 18 month sweater, and a knit hat complete with clip-on flower. Then there's 3 pairs of shoes for Essie and 1 for Matthew. 2 of those pairs are Stride Rite (aka expensive shoes) and I got em for a dollar each. Then there's a potty seat, a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse toy (we got that one for free!) and 3 books (one of which was free also).

Step 2 picnic table for $15.

Kitchen for free! Just out by someone's mailbox, begging for us to pick it up. It didn't come with dishes, but Matthew's got some play food already, and I'm sure Esther will get some play dishes or something for Christmas.

The clubhouse is pretty cool. It makes all sorts of sounds and noises. Matthew had fun exploring the options, and Esther was equally interested. Yeah, so for free, right? It was raining, and I hopped out of the car to look at what this house had. They were bringing things into the garage, and I brought the clubhouse in for them so I could look at it while I was dry. And the lady says, "I'm taking all these things to goodwill, so take whatever you want." I guess she wasn't into making any cash, or perhaps the rain discouraged her efforts. I don't really care, it was awesome for us!

This rocking chair is so darling for the kids. $5 folks. It needed a small repair, but Josh took care of that for us.

Ok, she's not quite big enough for it, but she still looked cute :)

All in all, we spent under $30. Then we came home for lunch and naps, and we had dinner at Bob Evans tonight. Yes, it was a good Saturday.

Oh, and one more cute pic from earlier this week.

The messy solid food has begun!

Look-Alikes

2010-05-08T16:31:00.002-04:00

Matthew at 5 months old...

Esther at 3 months old...

March, Part 2

2010-05-03T09:02:00.009-04:00

Blogger is being so dumb. I had to upload all these pics twice cause they didn't go the first time. Ugh. Anyways, here is more of March, though when I looked at the dates, some of them are actually the end of February and and the beginning of April, but whatever. It's all around the same time.

Love his smile here.

Remember the previous post when Esther was hanging out with Grammy at Hannah's b-ball game? Well, Poppa had a little sidekick that day.

That was a long day for him, and he promptly fell asleep in the car. I had to get this close-up. Just look at those eyelashes!

For a few weeks he was very into lifting up his shirt for everyone, even at church during Missions Conference.

Esther trying out the exersaucer for the first time.

And later that evening she was so tired out that she just fell asleep on the floor like that. And we hadn't even left the room. I was reading a magazine on the couch and Josh and Matthew were playing together. She totally wouldn't do that now. Matthew is so interesting to her, and she doesn't want to miss a second of whatever it is he's up to.

He fell on the driveway the night before his birthday party. He had a nice egg for a couple weeks, but the scratches healed up nicely.

I don't know why this is upside down, but isn't this dress darling? :)

She gave me a nice smile one night as we wandered around Lowes for a few things. Josh had Matthew in the cart.

Sucking on the bjorn before we went outside with Matthew to play. I'm telling ya, everything goes in this kid's mouth.

Just looking cute.

We had a swingin' time!

Next up, pictures from Matthew's birthday party. Although if blooger is being a pain, I may just put them on facebook. Either way, I'm slowly getting caught up.

March, Part 1

2010-04-29T11:19:00.011-04:00

Esther was 3 months old in March.

Hanging out with Grammy at Aunt Hannah's b-ball game.

Looks like she's trying to roll her eyes here.

Chilling with Daddy.

Esther's friend Emma was born this month, so she got to meet her in the hospital.

Profile of a happy face.

Matthew loves to color...

...and Esther likes to watch him do so. She's lately not cared for the pacifier and chooses her thumb instead.

Quirky face :)

Me and my kids.

He still likes to hold her, but now she's more squirmy in his arms. He's recently opted for having her sit next to him on the couch.

She looks so surprised that I'd take a picture of her.

Oh yeah, I had a birthday. Matthew loved all the candles, and apparently so did I ;)

Josh's parents came over to celebrate too.

Love this mother/daughter shot.

A church morning, most likely.

Big smile for Mommy.

Matthew loves to be outside. This is him up in his play set thingy.

All set for a car ride.

Matthew's ready too.

He's the only one that can make her laugh...

2010-04-15T08:26:00.004-04:00

My Pitiful Little Baby

2010-03-16T09:31:00.005-04:00

Just some videos

2010-03-08T08:56:00.004-05:00

This one's just cute. She's all excited and squeals a little.

And here's her first laugh. Priceless moments.

Random February Pictures

2010-03-03T11:00:00.006-05:00

Below is a picture of all the clothes I got at Once Upon a Child. The sale was to fit everything you could into a bag they give you at the door, and you pay $15 for it all. I mostly got things for Esther, since she was outgrowing her 3 month stuff. I got her some dresses, jeans, summer clothes, sleepers, and for Matthew I got a pair of shorts and a button down shirt. We made out pretty good I think.

This comic was in Parade a couple weeks ago, and it made me laugh, so I thought I'd share. It says I got confused between a "high five" & a "fist bump," & punched a guy in the face.

These were my flowers for Valentine's Day this year, 20 white tulips. And my frugal husband only paid $10 for them!

One Saturday we drove around on some errands. This is what our kids looked like in the back seat.

And a few church pictures. Matthew loves to drive around a choo-choo, or in this case, a bus. He also likes the slide.

When Esther's not eating or crying, she likes to hang out in the crib and check out the mobile.

On Sunday nights we gather round the TV and eat mac 'n' cheese and either hot dogs or chicken nuggets. And yeah, it's not the healthiest, and we may die younger, but boy, what a way to go--mac 'n' cheese is the best!

Even Esther watches TV, in her own interesting way.

I have a few more videos to show, and then I think I'll be caught up. I haven't had much luck loading them, so you may not ever see them :)

Let's see, what else haven't I told you yet? I sang a solo in my church for the first time. I've been in the choir for a couple months now, so that helped me get warmed up for singing in front of people. No matter how old I get, I think I will always be nervous before I sing.

Josh and I went shopping at The Children's Place one night, and they'd marked down a bunch of winter clothes. I'd already shopped there several weeks ago, and I didn't want to buy stuff that I'd already gotten. We did get pants and a shirt for Matthew, a snowsuit for Esther, and 2 Christmas dresses. Hear that, Grammy and Gramma? Esther doesn't need any Christmas dresses for next year. The ones I got were $1.99 each!

Esther is officially 3 months old, and I need to start planning Matthew's 2 year birthday party! An abbreviated update, but that's pretty much life with 2 kids under 2. Everything has to be shortened or limited to the time frames I'm given each day, which can vary greatly throughout the week. Until later!

More of What You Missed in February

2010-03-01T19:23:00.007-05:00

Making her wave--he still thinks she's a toy sometimes.

Matthew's smile is perfect. I just wish Esther was looking at the camera.

She looks so worried here :(

He loves to hold his baby sister :)

Dressed for church one morning

I love girl jeans. They always seem to have some kind of flowers or something else cute embroidered on them. These were from Once Upon a Child, a second hand clothing store, and I happened to have a onsie to match it.

If only Matthew hadn't moved.

She can be a drool factory sometimes. It'll only get worse when teeth start popping through those pink gums.

One of her favorite places to sleep. I've been putting her in her crib more often for naps. It's not as convenient, since all three of us have to trudge upstairs and I have to remind Matthew to be quiet over and over while I rock her, but it's getting better. He now plays with his train set in his room and will only check on us maybe once.

She actually enjoys being on her tummy for several minutes. Matthew used to cry within seconds on his tummy time. I think it helps her reflux a little. Yeah, she's got some reflux at times, but it's not so severe that I feel she needs medicine. Overall she's very pukey. When it hurts when it comes up, that's when I feel bad for her. But she hasn't had it lately, so maybe we're seeing it taper off as she gets older.

I told Matthew to give her some toys, and I found this teether blanket on top of her and this rattle on her wrist like that. Well, at least she won't lose it :)

My friend Sharon made her this khaki skirt and a denim one just like it. Isn't it darling? Pants are easy on baby girls, and dresses are pretty of course, but I think I love skirts on my baby. She just looks so adorable in them!

What a height difference.

More pics to come!

200th Post :)

2010-02-28T14:44:00.012-05:00

Reading big brother a story.

Love the sweet smile.

She likes to be naked, can you tell? :)

Love her face here. I know I'll see that face again in the years to come.

I have this one framed cause it's so dear.

Dressed for a cold outing.

I love sleeping baby pictures.

It's even sweeter when dad's involved.

Me and my two kids.

Rubbing her eyes and getting sleepy before bedtime

Just before she sneezed

Liking her new Bumbo seat

Blah!

She can be so pitiful sometimes.

Kisses from Mommmy

Yay for kisses!

What Matthew is Like in Person

2010-02-26T11:16:00.009-05:00

He enjoys emptying out his entire toy box. Then he proceeds to get in it, or ride on it, or climb on it, or whatever his crazy imagination comes up with.

The monkey likes to stuff his face with a banana. Probably his favorite fruit--he never refuses it when offered.

He's a great big brother. Always willing to help take care of his little sis.

A nice genuine smile for the camera. Rare.

Recently decided to like hats because Daddy wears them (this is Daddy's on his head right now). His hats are all too small, so we bought him a red Cars one that fits.

Eating his foot, or kissing his foot, some silly thing like that.

Stop! he's saying with his hands. He says this when we chase him, and then he'll say go when we can go after him again.

He will literally carry on a pretend conversation with someone on his phone, with all the right inflections too. He doesn't do it so well in this video, but you get the idea.

Walking his toy alligator, a Christmas gift I believe.

This kid is a cookie monster, asking for them at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Chunky Monkey

2010-01-27T08:44:00.010-05:00

Esther had her 2-month appointment Monday, and this also began her first round of immunizations. She screamed of course, and Matthew was upset for her as well. But he calmed down when I pointed out her cool Band-aids, and Esther was fine once I picked her up and nursed her. The doctor said she is doing great--that's always nice to hear. And obviously she's growing well, as you can see from her stats below.

Height: 23.5 in. (90th%)
Weight: 14 lbs. 7 oz. (97th%)

I've been so tired lately that I can never think of what to say on here. I know I have stuff to tell you about the kids, but my brain can't seem to put it into words.

Matthew's been losing sleep due to his getting out to bed. It's decreased, but last night he got up in the middle of the night a few times. Fortunately he slept in til 7. His normal lately has been just before 6, and if he doesn't get a good nap, then the losing sleep cycle continues. And when he's tired like that he cries over small, silly things and throws fits easier too. All the ingredients for a fun-filled day.

Esther grabbed a toy for the first time yesterday. She likes to sit up and see what her brother's doing. She's got pretty good neck control too. She's very alert and active, but she lets us know when she's getting tired. She is the queen of short naps though. She'll sleep for like 30 or 45 minutes, and when she wakes up she's still tired and finds it even harder to go back to sleep. Ideally she should sleep about an hour and a half to her next feeding, but when she wakes up prematurely, she wants to eat even though she's not really hungry. And if I feed her she gets too full and pukes all over the place. Ah, another crazy cycle.

Don't get me wrong, I love my kids and I love being a mother, but just like anybody else in the working world, I do get tired of my job from time to time. I take my hat off to working moms, who seem to juggle motherhood and the career world effortlessly. And kudos to the dads out there who are like my husband. They work hard at a demanding job all day, come home late, and then spend time with their kids and help out the wife. They put away dinner and give baths to the kids. And then on top of that, they assist with things that happen in the middle of the night, such as a toddler getting out of bed or bouncing a fussy baby to sleep. By the way, thank you, Josh. You are a wonderful husband and hard worker--we make a good team, you and me. It's a good thing we got married :)

Ok, now for some pictures...

Goofing off under the table

"O"

Not fully awake one morning

Now you know where he gets his goofiness.

Smiles for Mommy

Girl talk

Hanging out together

A true Baptist baby--sporting denim for a church function :)

Aw, his arm is around her!

First time holding her without any help. He was a little nervous.

See? She likes to sit up. Told ya so.

Daddy always has time for us, no matter how long his work day is.

He's usually pretty excited when we specifically give him permission to touch sissy.

Shaking Mickey

Playing in the basement while I did some laundry.

I like her expression here.

Esther...

...and Matthew around the same age. I think they're related, don't you?

Monday Movies

2010-01-24T15:24:00.011-05:00

Here's some short videos of the kids I've been meaning to put up here. The first one was taken a little bit ago, but the others are more recent.

He's recently been working on 2-word combinations. It's so neat to watch him communicate and begin forming sentences. Examples: Sit down, stand up, Ashy turn (it was Ashley's turn on the slide in the nursery), Daddy car (riding in Daddy's car), Momma car (same idea), More eat (he wanted more to eat), Dit do (thank you), etc.

By the way, the getting out of bed thing is waning already (praise the Lord). In case anyone doesn't know, I had put on Facebook how Matthew discovered he can get out of bed and turn his light on and come down the hallway. And he did this in the middle of the night. So the gate went up, but that meant we also played room police as we had to keep putting him back in bed over and over and over and over. He seems to always want a tissue when he goes to sleep. He scrunches it up in his hand and holds it, whether he needs to wipe tears or not. He also holds his plush Mickey, which is more of a conventional lovey than a tissue is.

You see how good he's getting at walking? He gets better and better everyday. The ankle braces have been helping, and he loves to wear them.

We had to buy him new shoes to accomodate the braces. For one it had to be a wide shoe, but also we went up 2 sizes.

She's definitely got the smiling down, even if we don't see it too often. Interesting fact: she's got a dimple in her left cheek, and Matthew has one in his right.

All About Esther

2010-01-13T19:40:00.009-05:00

So Esther is 7 weeks old today, but she seems older for some reason. I say 7 weeks, and it just doesn't sound like a big number. Yet it feels as if she's been around longer than that. I guess we are sort of getting on a schedule. It's not like it's by the clock or anything, but it's more a pattern I try to follow. She's sleeping longer stretches overnight, which is wonderful. Although, sometimes she'll wake up screaming, and once we burp her she's fine and will drift back to dreamland. She's still sleeping in our room, so it's easier and quicker for me to get her. Josh will get her and change her diaper and then hand her off to me so I can feed her. It takes her about 15-20 minutes to eat, sometimes shorter. It's funny cause I feel like she's not eating enough because Matthew would nurse for 30-40 minutes, but I'm learning that every baby's different.

Sleeping in church

Even though she doesn't eat for very long, she's a total puke machine. She spits up a lot, some days worse than others. Sometimes it has to do with what I've been eating. She seems to be sensitive to my diet, like onions or spicy food. Even caffeine. Matthew didn't seem to care what I ate when I was nursing him. And he pooped almost every diaper in the beginning, but she is a different story. She's gone as long as 4 days between bowel movements.

Little chunker

Esther had a fair amount of hair when she was born, but then it started to fall out. Not all over, just in a C shape on the top of her head. But it's starting to grow back. I can't call her our little baldy anymore :).

She's definitely got the smiling thing down. And she's experimenting with getting her arms moving. It's the funniest thing, because she ends up hitting herself in the head. The startled expression on her face is priceless. I wish I could capture it on camera for you.

I don't think I have anymore to say, so here are a few thousand words :)

Brother and sister

Mom, what should I do?

The three of us

I think she was watching Daddy and Matthew play the Wii here.

Close ups of a beautiful face

And my favorite picture of her to date...

My pretty girl

All About Matthew

2010-01-12T15:30:00.016-05:00

It's hard to believe that my baby boy is almost 22 months old. And get this, 2 months from now I'll be planning for his 2nd birthday party! Sheesh, do I really have a 2 year old? Well, he certainly acts like it sometimes :). I'm referring to the terrible, tantrum part of being 2. Most of the time he is his sweet self, helping me out with sissy and playing on his own when I can't be with him. I don't know that he's really been jealous of his sister, but when he wakes up from his nap and I can't cuddle with him on the couch, let's just say he's not in the best mood when that happens. So yes, there are times when he definitely wants his mommy and insists that I put sissy in the swing or the carseat, but he's also really stepped up to the big brother position.

Hanging out with sis

Dude, give me some space.

He tries to play with her. He brings her toys and shakes them in front of her face. He copies anything we do, so we have to be careful how we play with her. For instance, if we are touching her nose as a game, we have to tell him that only mommy and daddy can touch her nose. He tries to cover her with a blanket, which he does so over her face. So I have to keep reminding him to cover her feet and legs only. We don't put anything over sissy's face. (said in Mommy Voice). He's pretty gentle with her, but again, constant reminders are necessary. He can get carried away when he's being playful, which is totally understandable. He's still so young, but yet at the same time he seems to have grown up overnight in some ways.

The cutest Buckeye fans by far.

Part of that could be because he is walking so well lately, and of his own accord. He's now much more willing to walk. A lot of it is just reminding him to do it. He's so used to crawling everywhere, you know? And he's starting to put his arms down by his sides like a real big boy, instead of holding them out for balance like most new walkers do. His PT (physical therapy) is going well. I'm learning new ways to strengthen his legs and such. His ankle braces are in, but the lady who would fit him is home sick, so we'll be doing that next week.

Totally excited about the impending hotdogs coming his way.

As I said before, he's a good little helper. He likes to clean, either by using the little vacuum we have, or wiping his tray with a wet paper towel. He asks to clean in the nursery at church too, when the ladies start wiping down the toys at the end of the service. They usually give him a baby wipe or a tissue so he can clean. He's very good at making a mess all over the house. You can tell where he's been just by observing the toys and where they are scattered. He gives us issues sometimes when we want him to clean up. But I've been working on him cleaning up as he goes along so it's not too daunting at the end of the day. For instance, he's got blocks and legos and tools and play food, but as he wants to move on to each activity, I have him clean up the previous one.

His favorite foods are chicken nuggets, hot dogs, cookies, and pop-tarts, and he loves to dip things in ketchup or tartar sauce. He dipped a cracker in ketchup just today, and he'll ask for ketchup or cheese on his veggies. Hey, at least he's eating them. He's been particular and picky about fruit and veggies in the past, which I think contributes to the constipation issues he's had. But now that he's better at eating those, his digestive system is a little more regular. Which will be good when potty-training comes along. Whoa, that's sooner than I realize, I think.

He's a little copycat, saying things we say, and singing along to songs he knows. He was very sad when the radio wasn't playing Christmas songs anymore. He got so familiar with them and even had some favorites. But he loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Special Agent Oso on Disney Channel. He learned the word "tip-toe" from Mickey this week and has been saying it everyday. Another new phrase from him: slam dunk, as he throws a ball up in the air.

This is one of my mixing bowls he put on his head. I think he looks like a storm trooper from Star Wars.

And yet another new thing he says: "Daddy/Mommy, where are you?" I couldn't believe he said a full sentence like that when I first heard him say it. It's amazing how fast kids can learn. He even makes jokes on his own. He does something silly or says something that's the wrong answer on purpose, and then he'll laugh about it.

Oh, we had a decent snowfall recently, so Matthew got to play in it with Daddy, which he loved.

Trying to take off his hat.

Posing with Daddy.

He's recently graduated to his big boy bed. He actually requested to sleep in it one night, the night before we were gonna put him in it. And he's loved it ever since :)
By the way, the walls came decorated like this, the others being green, blue, and red. All we had to do was add the furniture.

Yay! Story time!

Well, that's what Matthew's been up to lately. Coming soon, Esther's update...

A Little Bit More Family Time

2010-01-12T11:05:00.003-05:00

These are still sorta Christmas pictures. I forgot to post them.

This was the Sunday after Christmas, and Matthew is sporting a new sweater vest combo from Grammy. It has a choo-choo on it, which he loved. Oh yeah, he's graduated from saying "choo-choo" to saying "choo-choo train."

One of Esther's many Christmasy outfits. Love the reindeer tushy!

A sweet picture with Grammy.

Sarah and Donald weren't with us for Christmas day, so we celebrated with them later that week. This is their daughter Chesney showing off her beautiful Christmas dress.

We opened Christmas presents in the evening, when both Matthew and Chesney could be more comfortable. Chesney gave him a magnet book, and he loved it. The bear they gave him? not so much. No, it was really funny. The bear wasn't wrapped, just had a bow around it, and he picked it up, and we were all like, Hey Matthew, that's for you, and he immediately threw it behind him and went digging for another gift. I laughed for like 5 minutes :)

Another day we spent with the family, because Josh had some time off. Aunt Hannah and Beka said that Esther looked like a watermelon in this outfit :)

Caught this great face at the perfect time.

Hanging out in her pretty pj's.

Matthew's holding a Wii remote here. Josh's family got one for Christmas, so we brought our remotes so we could play together. Josh even lets Matthew play a little bit, and he's not too bad.

Esther is one month old now (7 weeks tomorrow actually). I have to go through some pics and get them up here. I think I have some cute ones. Of course we are talking about my kids, why wouldn't they be cute? ;)

Strictly Videos

2010-01-07T11:22:00.004-05:00

When Daddy's not home for a wrestle buddy, poor Mickey gets volunteered.

Mommy's little helper and his new favorite toy. Can't say that I mind too much. Someday he'll know it's a chore and despise it, but for now, I'll just keep my mouth shut.

This kid is crazy, that's all I can say.

Esther's first bath, as promised.

Making Cookies

2010-01-07T08:39:00.008-05:00

This activity was done before Christmas, and Matthew had a good time with it. He got flour all over himself, and he didn't exactly "sprinkle" the sprinkles on the cookies. It was more like dumping them on and drowning the poor snowmen and gingerbread men. He's definitely become a cookie monster over the holidays. He's discovered sweets (or rather I introduced them to him), and there's no turning back :)

"Consider Your Ways" Haggai 1:5,7

2010-01-03T13:48:00.005-05:00

This morning our Pastor challenged us with these 10 questions at the turn of the new year:

1.What is one thing that I could do this year to increase my enjoyment of God?

2.What's the most humanly impossible thing I will ask God to do this year?

3.What's the single most important thing I could do to improve the quality of my family life this year?

4.In which spiritual discipline do I most want to make progress this year, and what will I do about it?

5.What is the single biggest time waster in my life, and what will I do about it?

6.What is the most helpful new way I could strengthen my church this year?

7.For whose salvation will I pray most fervently for?

8.What one thing could I do to improve my prayer life this year?

9.What single thing that I plan to do this year will matter most in 10 years/in eternity?

10.What's the most important decision I need to make this year?

It's not enough to say Oh, those are great questions. We should first answer them and then act upon them.

Grandparent Visit and Christmas Rolled into One

2009-12-31T15:23:00.007-05:00

My parents came to visit us the day after my due date (Dec. 5th), so they got to meet Esther when she was a week and a half old.

Wish I could say I made this. A local person created this masterpiece, and it was displayed in the grocery store. I just had to take a picture, because it was so beautiful.

Matthew cheesing in front of the Christmas tree. It's hard to get a normal smile from him, but we've found that we can "trick" him into smiling by saying something silly or asking him to say a word he likes, like "cookie" instead of "cheese."

My parents got the kids a bunch of gifts, and they brought some from the aunts and uncles too.

Matthew loves Thomas right now, and my mom got him a sheet set for his big boy bed. Which by the way, he has transferred very nicely to that. He actually requested to sleep in there before the night we were gonna do it, so we followed along, and he's been sleeping there ever since. He's still going through a I'm-gonna-scream-and-cry-when-you-leave-the-room-but-I'm-actually-fine phase right now, but he was doing that in his crib, so it doesn't have to do with the new room. We actually thought he might be scared of the dark all of a sudden, so we started leaving on the bathroom light that shines underneath his door. I don't think it's had a huge affect, but he did go to bed pretty good tonight. Anyways, off that rabbit trail...

My mom loved holding Esther and did so every chance she got. I don't think I held my daughter very much while they were here, but that's ok. It left me free to get some things done around the house or just rest.

Esther liked Grampa too.

Matthew wasn't very cooperative for pictures, but we did manage a big cheesy smile. Hey, I'll take what I can get.

My dad was Matthew's buddy all week. He warmed up to both of them pretty quickly, but Dad was his playmate. They colored together, exercised together, Dad fed him breakfast, and Matthew watched him prepare food in the kitchen. Even now he asks for Grampa from time to time.

And now begins Christmas pics. Well, one from Christmas Eve first.

Matthew opened some presents from his aunt and uncle the night before Christmas. Here he is playing with his new truck. Pretty much anything with wheels he loves.

Opening gifts Christmas morning at our house. I found a bunch of Disney story books for a dollar at a half price book store. Josh and I are tired of reading the same books over and over to him. My parents got him some new books too--our libary keeps growing and growing.

We got him a wooden train set, and so far it's a hit. By the way, you don't see us opening gifts to each other because we decided to get a bigger purchase for the house as our gift. The day after Christmas we bought a couch, and it comes on Saturday. Yay for more seating!

We spent the day at Josh's parent's house. Here's Josh helping Matthew with one of his gifts. It's a stuffed moose from Aunt Beka. She calls him Moose cause he was (and still is) a big boy.

During gift-opening time, Matthew did well passing out gifts. He only tried to open a couple that weren't his, and that was because he tried to get someone's attention to find out who to give it to, but when no one answered him, he tried to find out for himself :). He did get pretty cranky at one point, and I looked at my watch and realized he needed a food break. So Josh set him up at the table with some mini hot dogs from the night before, and then he was good to go for the rest of present time.

One of Esther's Christmas outfits. This one was from my mom. She pretty much slept a lot of the day I think.

Aunt Laura holding Matthew and Aunt Beka with Esther.

Aunt Hannah smooching on Matthew.

Papa holding Esther. Or trying to pass her off to someone else perhaps :)

We had lots of fun, food, and family to enjoy for the holidays. Among the gifts Josh and I received: Bob Evans gift card (yum!), books (Ronald Reagan for him, Karen Kingsbury for me), stable animals to go with our Willow Tree nativity, clothes (shirt and tie for Josh, shirt and bracelets for me), and a coffee maker. I know there was more, but it's too late at night to remember them all. Everyone was so generous, but the gifts don't matter to us anyway. The best part was having a good time with family and getting to celebrate Christ's birth with them.

The First Few Weeks

2009-12-31T11:44:00.007-05:00

I'm playing catch up with pictures a little bit. So much has happened since we've been home, and I've taken tons of pictures. To start with, here are some random ones of my kids.

She's having more alert/awake times during the day now. She was so sleepy at first, which I didn't complain about.

Esther and Kate, a girl at church a few months older than her. Please, no more pictures, they seem to say.

She looks so small next to him.

Decked out in his winter gear for a particularly cold day. He hates wearing the hat, but normally we can convince him to wear it when he's outside with the promise that it comes off in the car.

Looking so happy and goofing off with me.

Babies look so cute when they yawn.

She's thinking, C'mon, Mom, really? What's with the hat?

This was taken 2 Sundays before Christmas I believe. Esther had a few Christmasy outfits, and I had to make sure she wore them all this month. This one was a gift from Grammy. She looks like a little Christmas present. And sheesh, Matthew looks so grown-up these days.

My best friend since 1st grade, Sharon, stopped by overnight with her husband (Mike) and son (David). They were on their way to pick up her sister and then head to see their families for the holidays. It was so nice to see her again, even if it was for a short time.

I actually caught David holding still. We put a Thomas DVD on, and he watched it for a little bit, but this kid was everywhere. He wanted to check everything out, and you couldn't take your eyes off him for a minute. They should have named him Curious George :)

First bath. I've got a video too, but I'll have to put that up some other time.

Pondering something.

And finally, so pretty in pink.