Snippets…

On Saturday, Isaac scored his very first goal since he started playing in the AYSO Under-10 division!   He really has been making a good effort, even though it has not been easy for him.  We were so proud, and so was he!

On Tuesday the weather finally cooperated and Jonathan actually got to play soccer!  He was so excited since his last two games were rained out.  He did great, had a blast, and scored a few goals.  When someone asked him if his team won, he replied, “There’s no winner.”  I’m glad that he enjoys the game at this stage without needing to keep score.  And we were thrilled that he was able to burn off some of that extra energy.

Ben has had a few trips to our friendly tertiary care center.  He has been picking and pulling at his MIC-KEY button, so last week we saw his g-tube nurse.  We have determined that the tube size is appropriate, but we think he has a mild yeast infection at the site.  We are treating him with some Mycolog ointment, but I’m not so sure it’s doing much good…he succeeded at PULLING OUT HIS MIC-KEY BUTTON for the very first time a couple days ago.  For now we’re continuing the ointment and keeping his belly bound with an ACE wrap.  Poor Ben.  I hope he stops messing with it so he doesn’t have to sweat all summer.

Today we went to  have Ben’s hearing aids adjusted.  He got new molds, and I told the tech about the severe feedback (whistling) we were getting.  She had a neat device which actually was able to cancel most of the feedback (I’m not exactly sure how it works), but Ben will finally be able to wear his hearing aids again.

Lately, Nate has been doing lots of new things.  He has begun teething, rolling over very well in both directions (finally catching up to big brother Ben with his motor skills), trying to crawl on hands and knees and really wants to learn how to pull to stand.  He has been learning how to feed himself and has been scarfing down those little Gerber fruit puffs like lightning.  But he has also been sooo needy these days and cries if you just stand up…before you even have a chance to leave the room!  He really loves Ben and enjoys playing with Ben’s face, hair, arms, feet, etc.  Ben usually tries to roll out of the way, but this week he really seems to be noticing Nate and interacting directly with him for the first time.

BTW, Mark found these neat shirts for the little boys at Toys ‘R’ Us to help everyone see that they are not twins.

Ben turns three tomorrow, and Nate is 9 months old.  Right now Nate officially outweighs Ben.

I suppose it won’t be long before they won’t seem like twins anymore.

A Birthday and a Surprise Baby Shower

Almost exactly 8 years ago I became the mother of my very first little boy. After 24 hours of gruelling labor, Isaac, my oldest son, was born. My life has never been the same.

I can’t believe that Isaac is 8 already. Mark pointed out that he’s halfway to driving age. I gasped in horror. Surely he can’t be growing up that fast!

These days, Isaac is into anything Pokemon or anything having to do with playing video games. He enjoys playing the piano, and surprisingly also likes doing any kind of craft project. He is very loving and caring toward Ben (but of course he and Jonathan have their typical sibling spats.)

On Friday night we had a couple of Isaac’s friends over for a sleepover to help him celebrate. All the big boys had a great time and (except for Jonathan) were up until 1:00 am despite all my threats! They still managed to wake up at 7:00 am as usual. Isaac was very patient – he didn’t get to open presents until this evening! And one of his parents went overboard and bought WAY too much stuff. I won’t say who…

I am approaching the end of my pregnancy with my fourth little boy. Little Boy #4 was lying at an oblique angle at our last checkup on Friday. This Thursday, we are planning to try to get him into a better position, and hopefully induce labor on Friday. If he remains in his oblique position, I’ll need a c-section, which I’ve not had with any of my previous 3 kids. We are hoping and praying for the best.

Our church threw us a surprise baby shower this afternoon! I never expected such a thing. After all, what could one possibly need for a fourth son? Well, here it is!

We really needed a double stroller since Ben is nowhere close to being able to walk on his own. So they bought us one! What a blessing! We are so grateful. We had a great evening spending time with our friends and their families. The big boys spent most of the time in the big wading pool.

It was too hot outside for Ben who was quite content to play (and sleep) indoors.

So we really had a very enjoyable weekend. And who knows – it might be our last one with only 3 boys!

Happy 5th Birthday, Jonny!

I can’t believe my chubby little baby is such a big boy who will be starting kindergarten in the fall!

Jonny has grown a lot this year. He just LOVES soccer. He’s good too, probaby because he practices with Isaac’s Under-8 team! He’s learning to read and he loves to draw and color, and of course, play video games. He loves to do whatever Isaac is doing, and he loves to bother Ben. He is always the first one to volunteer to help clean up, fetch a diaper, water the plants or bring the newspaper into the house.

He is definitely the most attention-seeking of our kids so far…

Happy Birthday Jonny!

Happy Birthday Isaac!

 

It’s hard to believe, but my oldest son turned 7 on Friday.  It seems like just yesterday that I was bringing my first new-baby-bundle home from the hospital.  He has grown into such a (usually) good big boy.  In the photo above, he is wearing the brand new “Pirates of the Caribbean” t-shirt that his great grandma Rita sent him.

We had a small pirate-themed birthday party at our house for Isaac and a few of his friends.  I am so glad we didn’t invite more kids!  I had originally planned a couple games and activities, but in the end the kids mostly just ran around with toy swords screaming at the tops of their lungs (which was fine with me).  We had a few squabbles, and one of our young guests found some long-hidden silly string with very messy consequences, but fortunately we had no major injuries.   Mark made burgers and grilled chicken.  We had cake and ice cream.  We opened presents.  We didn’t have any good/easy way of suspending the pinata outside, so we just set it on the grass and let the kids have at it!

Overall, I think the kids had fun, and so did I.    I was pretty tired by the end of the day, even if the kids weren’t. 

Here is the present that Isaac has been asking for all week:

 

It’s a musical instrument called an ocarina.  It’s ceramic, and we first heard of these on the “Legend of Zelda” video game series.  Isaac was thrilled, and really wants to learn how to play it.  It’s pretty difficult, so we’ll see.

In other news, we now have a new range!  It was delivered right before the party yesterday.  It seems to work fine, but I am still getting used to not having the Jenn-Air downdraft.

Yesterday we also received our copy of the latest Harry Potter book!  I haven’t been able to read very much of it, but so far it is living up to expectations.  Mark has very graciously allowed me to read it first.  Fortunately I am on vacation for the next two weeks, so I should be able to finish it soon so that he can read it.   We’ll have to read quickly to avoid possible spoilers on the internet.  (Note to Aliyah – if you have read any spoilers, do NOT tell me any please!!!!!)

Happy Birthday Jonny!

 

Yesterday Jonny turned four.  How time flies!  Unfortunately, I forgot to rearrange my work schedule, and things were busier than usual at the office, so I came home rather late. 

The older boys didn’t seem to mind too much, and they greeted me enthusiastically at the door.  They were so excited.  I actually was impressed at how patient they were, waiting until late evening before cake, ice cream, or presents!   Mark was making bake and shark for dinner when I arrived.   Dinner was delicious – the fish was seasoned nicely, even if some of the bakes were a little charred. 

Then we opened presents.  The funniest part of the evening was when Isaac gave Jonny his present.  He said, “Jonny, I bought this for both of us!”  So now the truth comes out!

Then we had cake and ice cream.  The cake was a homemade chocolate box cake (I baked it, Aliyah decorated it).  Thank goodness Jonny isn’t yet at the age where he wants an expensive store-bought cake!  Ben had a little ice cream, really enjoyed it, and gave us some big, runny smilies. 

 

The only problem with having birthday festivities late on a weeknight is that little boys don’t want to go to bed and leave behind brand-new, just-opened toys!  I’ll have to plan better for next year.

Here is a video of Ben playing his toy piano.  He has just realized that he can make some really cool sounds with it. 

 

The quality is lousy because I used our still camera to make the video.  Our video camera makes mini-DVD’s, and I haven’t figured out how to turn those into something I can post online.  Besides, the DVD player on this laptop doesn’t work anymore.  Time for a new computer, don’t you think?  Mark says we should get a Mac.  Any suggestions?