Photos? Photos, Anyone?

I have this sister-in-law, Marcie, who is pretty dang awesome.

She has an awesome smile, laugh, personality, and an awesome camera!

With this awesome camera, she takes awesome photos with her awesome creativity.

This Christmas break she took some photos of both sides of our family.

Click HERE, HERE, and HERE to see Matt's family.

Click HERE to see my family.

Marcie and her husband Tyson, also have really great and kind hearts. This Christmas and birthday they gave me and Matt some wonderful treasures.

How about 9x11 prints of collages she did of each of the boys' births? Yup!

AND she put our blog in a book! Isn't that cool?!?

I got spoiled this year.

Just an FYI, Marcie is willing to travel for weddings and such! She's in Lubbock, Texas, so is pretty central throughout the US of A. And I'd book her soon, cause she is already scheduling for NEXT summer! Her site is www.marciemeredithblog.com

Adjectively Named

Goofy Isaac Boy is full of odd faces, silly face, and funny faces.

Along with odd noises, silly noises, and funny noises!

He is very willing to perform for us and friends. Need a 'throw up' noise? He got it.

Need a 'monster face?' He is your boy!

Crazy Boy Eli, 21 months old, climbs the bunk bed ladder!

After seeing Goofy Isaac Boy climb up and down for the past few months, Crazy Boy Eli decided it was time. It was time!

(Coming back down has been an issue, and there has been one fall, but for the most part Matt or I am able to grab him down when he yells for us.)

Happy Squeaky Titus Baby is in love with toast.

Never mind his 1 tooth is barely in, he can make that toast disappeared in 10 minutes, no problem. Sitting up is also something he is mastering. Skills, sweet skills.

Goofy Isaac Boy, Crazy Boy Eli, and Happy Squeaky Titus Baby,

you make your Tired Parents gloriously happy!

Poem of the Month

The Golf Links

Sarah N. Cleghorn (1876-1959)

The golf links lie so near the mill

That almost every day

The laboring children can look out

And see the men at play.

[1917]

..........

Oh man, classic "conflict theory" poem right there! I have many thoughts on this poem, but I'm not going to go too much into it. Let's just say we are stressed about our budget, and it makes us yearn for the day when said stress will no longer ail us.

Their Favorite Thing

The holiday break was great. Know why?

Cause these boys got to do their favorite thing. A lot!

WRESTLE WITH DADDY!

Then Eli had enough.

Matt started school this week. We were all pretty much dreading it. But it has started, and now it doesn't seem so bad... well, homework isn't ruling every second of every day yet! That will come next week, I'm sure. On Matt's first day back, Isaac said to me, "I miss Daddy." It's hard not to. Matt is fun, loving, and willing to beat these boys up whenever they want. And he makes some pretty sweet food, like Nutella sandwiches on white bread!

So here is to a busy, but yet productive semester! Let the 10 to 15 hour days of school, begin!

Eli Speaks

and speaks, and speaks, and speaks, and speaks!

(Yeah, we are big fans of PBS' "Martha Speaks.")

So a while back I said I'd do a post about Eli starting to talk. He is now 21 months old (started saying words round 18 months), and though language may not seem like such a big deal at this age, it is in this family!

Two reasons we are so excited for Eli's words: 1) Isaac didn't start talking till 24 months old, so all these words seem AMAZING!; and 2) during Eli's open heart surgeries his heart is stopped, and for a few seconds there is no blood flow while he is being connected to by-pass. The side effects of this lack-of-flow is possible damage to the speech development section of his brain.

We love all the little words he says. He is so wordy! His language is half gibberish, half words, and he talks all the time. It's wonderful!

He says all of our names:

Matt is "Da-ee"

I, Shannon, am "Ma"

Isaac is "I-zee"

Titus is "Ti-tee-tee-tee," well, as long as he wants to make it. Titus can also be, "be-be," as in baby.

If he is hungry, he'll say, "Eeeeeeee," for eat. And "see-ole" for cereal. He likes the "boo" one--Life cereal that is in blue on the box. And of course, "tu-tee," for cookie.

He'll copy "nap time," when we tell him it is time to sleep.

Of course there is "no!" and "yeah!"

There is cat, "tat." And play figure animals are all considered dinosaurs, and called "saurs." Except sharks. Sharks are called "sh-ah."

He requests a "sh-oow", to watch a movie or tv show. He will also hand us the remote, as he calls "mote", in an attempt to get us to turn on a show.

He loves to read books - "ree booh". And asks us to read it again by saying "den," for again.

He says "go," to start a race. And then copies his brothers challenge of, "bee-ya" to beat you in the said race. He also says this while heading towards the car.

He ends prayers with "men," for amen.

Pretty sure he says, "mine!"

When he wants a bath, he says "ba-h."

A ball, is "baw," and football is "but-baw!"

Probably the cutest is his thanks, "neh." He says this whenever he is given something. Love it!

He talks to me while I'm driving.

He'll say, "Ma?"

I say, "Yes?"

Then he goes, "gibberish, gibberish, gibberish, gibberish... Ma?"

Me, "Yes?"

He says, "gibberish, gibberish, gibberish, gibberish... Ma?"

Me, "Yeah, bud?"

Then he goes, "gibberish, gibberish, gibberish, gibberish... Ma?"

It can go on forever. I love it.

FYI, his gibberish kinda sounds like the aline baby off of Disney's Chicken Little. Again, love it!

This monkey boy keeps us on our toes!

The Little Foodie

Titus has found food! He loves it. Loves, loves, loves. Loves.... loves. It took a long while for him to understand food and the purpose of food. He spat out baby rice cereal like it was his job. He cried if we ever offered a bottle. But all of that has changed! Around Christmas break, actually. My mom worked with Titus and was able to persuade him to take and swallow rice cereal. Then when I got the flu Christmas day, Titus took to the bottle without much fight. MIRACLES!

Eating rice cereal, but totally not getting it.

"Hey, Dad, just let me chew on this really interesting dino, okay?"

"Alright, I'm spitting it out! Hahahaha! I laugh at you."

He gets a helping or two of rice cereal, daily.

And so far he has enjoyed sweet potatoes, carrots, applesauce, pears, and bananas. He may eat a jar or two per day.

Milk wise, he is now almost fully bottle fed. Drinks 4 to 6 ounces at a time, every three to four hours. We are pretty content with this arrangement. He was exclusively breastfed his first 6 and a half months.

I'm actually pretty happy with myself. With Isaac I went till 4 and a half months, then started school and COMPLETELY ran dry. It was crazy.

With Eli I pumped for 2 months, but started to not produce enough. No matter how much I drank or how long I pumped. Pumping is just not the same as nursing... and I needed to be able to mother. Instead of pump, bottle feed, pump, bottle feed, ALL DAY LONG! Why did Eli not take to nursing? Probably cause he had his chest broken open for open-heart surgery at 5 days old, and learning to nurse was too stressful and hard for his little body. Remember, feeding is a baby's way to exercise. Nursing is harder than bottle feeding, and it was just too much work for his low oxygenated body.

So this last month with Titus I just new he wasn't getting enough. Again, no matter how long he nursed or how much I drank, just wasn't enough. I hate having a starving baby! I think my milk supply is touchier than other women's... I don't know, it is just really hard for me to keep the supply up. If I lived in the time when Native Americans ruled the Americas, I could totally thrive in the communal feeding thing. But just myself with a child, it doesn't work. So thanks, Industrial Revolution, for ruining the community family and making us all depend on ourselves of sustainment.

Anyway...

... This morning I was feeling around in Titus' mouth, and guess what? He cut a tooth! His first! The bottom front-right. He didn't really seem like he was teething. Yes he drooled, yes he chewed on things. But no red checks, no fever, no over obsessive whining. If he can teeth like this for the rest of his life, that'd be great!

With this new tooth, there are so many possibilities for new foods! I wonder if he'd be into toast. Probably. He is such a foodie. Is totally into it, it just took a while for it to click in his head.

See? Yesterday's feeding of baby rice cereal:

Isn't that blond hair crazy?!

He actually has lots of hair, just nobody can see it!

And please ignore the dirty tray... this chair is shared between Titus and Eli. Can you guess which one likes to make a mess of food?

A Gentle Hug

Matt and I are in the kitchen getting dinner ready. Eli walks in. He is very whinny, probably because he is very hungry. I lean over and pick up him to put him in the high chair. On my way up my back catches the side of the open draw. SCRATCH! I feel like my back has been ripped open!

I start to fall to me knees and at the same time quickly give Eli to Matt. Eli gets scared by the suddenness of everything, the moaning mama on the ground, and the fact that I gave him up to Matt. He starts to cry. Through my moans and almost-tears I ask Matt to put him in his high chair.

Isaac at this time comes into the kitchen and is asking, "What happened?! What happened?!" Matt tells him that I hurt my back and that Eli is scared. He looks at me and bends down, and gently gives me a hug telling me that it will be okay. He then goes over to Eli and gives him the same gentle hug.

..........

There are times when being a mother is hard, and it feels like a thankless task. Yes, a task.

But, then... then...

... there are these moments. Where you see your child in a new light. A light that illuminates his strength and compassion and growth into a young man.

Raising children is such a joy.