back on track

great news...bo kept his big boy underwear dry all day yesterday! no accidents, and no pee-pee in the cabinet. i guess wednesday was just one of those off days...i'm sure we'll have more. i'm just glad he hasn't completely regressed. we even had a play date yesterday and he didn't have an accident then. last time we were with friends he got so distracted that taking the time to go to the potty didn't really happen!

B-O

yay...it's finally letting me post some videos again! we have so many cute videos of both kids lately, that it was hard to decide which one to put on today. here's a recent one of ella saying "bo." it's been so fun to see her find bo and recognize that she knows him.

little boys

i was walking past the bathroom this evening, and i noticed bo's big boy underwear on the floor in the doorway. hmmm...that seemed odd. i peek around the door only to see my son, naked from the waste down, peeing:

"look mommy, i can pee-pee in the cabinet"

sing a song

bo has taken to making up new songs...here's the latest:

verse 1: hot dogs are delicious [he is his father's child!]
verse 2: oranges are good

gotta love it!

bo and the noodles

we've been a little under the weather around here! on sunday afternoon, bo woke up from his nap with a fever. sick kids are no fun! i know bo is sick when he's content to just lay on the couch and do nothing. sunday night we were up for several hours coughing and with a high fever, and then yesterday, we spent more time laying on the couch. i just hate to see him sick. i stumbled across this video, and thought it was a good reminder of how precious he is...sick or well! it looks like we're feeling much better today, he's "cleaning out" my desk drawers for me as I type...at least i managed to keep the thumbtacks away from him!

pool fun

we were also able to spend some time at the pool with my friend's parents and cousins. the kids had SO much fun! actually, ella doesn't enjoy the water at all, but the other kids had fun! they were all asleep within minutes of getting back in the car!

fun with friends

we had so much fun with some friends in town a few weeks ago. i can't believe it's taken me this long to get pictures up on the blog. this is a couple we met in medical school...before the presence of children! the boys are only about six month apart, and they played like best buds!

okay, so maybe playing is a bit of a stretch, but they were together a lot, and they really seemed to enjoy each other. the first night they were here, the girls went down early, and the boys had some play time. apparently jumping on the sit and spin and letting it throw you to the ground was a great game. after a day in the car, my friend's son had a lot of extra energy to work off! notice bo in the background? he was happy just to stand there reading a book in his rainboots...see what i mean? they're "playing" together!

the girls are about 10 months apart, but ella still enjoyed having a female presence around for a few days. she's not too keen on actually being IN the bathtub when there's lots of splashing happening, but she enjoyed watching from the sidelines!

on their final night here, the boys spent about 30 minutes jumping around in the pack and play. who knew that could be so much fun?

it was great to see my friend! having meaningful conversation is not always the easiest when you have four kids under 3 running around, but we were able to enjoy some quality time, while the kids were sleeping, of course!!!

small steps

here's a short clip of ella actually taking a few small steps. she's not the most steady because it's hard to get her "set up" without two people. bo doesn't quite know how to work the camera yet, so jason and i had to figure out how to do it without his help!

4 small steps

well, the not walking phase may be over for ella. she took her first four steps to jason just about an hour ago. jason is now 2 for 2 on our babies taking their first steps to him! we'll try to get video soon!

B-BO

bo is really such a delight! i was telling jason the other day that he is such an agreeable kid! i think that if i was guaranteed they would all have his demeanor, i could be one of those mom with a dozen kids! okay, maybe not a dozen, but a lot!
current weight: 31-33 pounds [it's hard to get him to stand still on the scale]
public relations: we've had a rough go with sharing these past days and weeks. it seems ella is really starting to enjoy playing with all of bo's "things." we've been trying to understand what selfish means!
potty training: we've had ONE accident during the entire week! bo now very seriously protests wearing diapers, and so we just do pull-ups for naps and overnight. he's actually even been keeping those dry. we're still trying to conquer pooping on the toilet, but i'm sure it will come at some point.
vocabulary: he's actually talking in sentences now which is just so cool. this morning when I asked if he wanted milk for breakfast, he said, "mom, i would rather have apple juice please. may i please have juice in the green cup?"
important lesson learned this week: post offices do NOT have public restrooms!

ella bella

i thought it was time for me to post a quick update on the kids. they change so fast; sometimes it's hard to keep up! ella is full of spunk these days, and we are still having way too much fun with all her HAIR!
current weight: 17 pounds and 1 ounce [yes, that is the THIRD percentile for one year olds...she is TINY! I would probably be worried except that she currently eats as much if not more than bo]
breakfast this morning: 1 egg, 3 pancakes, 1/2 a banana, and 1/2 a yogurt
walking status: not really all that interested in walking or trying it out without the help of a "walker" [I'll post a video on that one at some point]
hobbies: dancing and whining when she's not where the action is
vocabulary: ma-ma, da-da, bye-bye, bo, up, uh-oh, and we've heard ella a few times

daddy's watch

bo has a new favorite thing! he LOVES to wear jason's watch. it's so cute to see it on his wrist because it's so big. he really loves the fact that he can make it "glow" by pushing a button. we're still working on telling the actual time, but at least the watch is entertaining!

on another bo note...here's a recap of our latest favorite conversation:
[bo's reaching to touch the "silver ball" in my nose]
me: no touching mommy's silver ball, bo
bo: no touch mommy's silver soccer ball
[big sniff]
bo: smells like cheese?
me: no bo, it doesn't smell like cheese?
bo: smells like pickle?
me: no bo, it doesn't smell like pickle?
bo: smells like pecaroni [macaroni] and cheese?
me: no bo, what does it smell like?
[another big sniff]
bo: smells like nose, mommy!
we typically engage in this banter at least once a day... most often just after his nap!

summer fun

we have some friends that live nearby who invited us over the other night for some water slide fun and ice cream. bo was very cautious at first, but jason finally just put him on the slide, and he was hooked. he kept going down again and again. jason was helping him manuever the climbing wall, and he figured out how to do it all by himself. after about a dozen times down the slide, bo turned to jason and said, "dad, bo's getting tired. i could use a little help please."

both of the older kids enjoyed ice cream while the younger kids enjoyed being held! ella wasn't about to attempt the slide or even get wet for that matter!

hands free

24 hours

i am hoping we have finally had a potty training breakthrough here!!!! yesterday morning bo woke up with a DRY DIAPER!! he went straight into underwear and kept them dry ALL DAY...yes, that includes a dry diaper during nap time!! this included two trips out of the house....granted, i had jason with me, so when bo said, "pee-pee in the potty please" in the middle of target, jason was able to take him while i continued my shopping. it's really helpful to have another set of hands when potty training and shopping! i'm so hoping this is not a fluke thing! we'll see what today holds :)

one more update

look closely at the photo...notice anything different?

after years of discussion and almost 9 months of trying to find an appropriate time [without the kids], i finally got my nose pierced. this is the first time i haven't been pregnant or nursing since we started talking about it, so we figured now was the time. it's small, but it's there...on the bo side of my nostril! yay!

$40 later

after a new water pump and filters, a scum sucking fish, and two nights of the fish in buckets with frequent water changes, the tank is officially put back together again! the water is cleaner than it ever has been before [it was definitely time for a new pump]. and despite a few missing scales from all the transfers, dorothy and 'nother dorothy seem to be in pretty good spirits. it's amazing how two little fish remind me of God's sovereign plan. he even cares for the goldfish floating around in our tank. he lovingly created these creatures...it's really unbelievable. we're still trying to think of a name for our new addition. bo's pushing for 'nother 'nother dorothy, but we're also considering scummy. there's was a brief period where he was calling the fish B as well...time will tell!

a rough night

i have tons of pictures to download, but for some reason i don't have the energy to open picasa and put pictures on this one. i just had to share some of the events of the last 24 hours...things have certainly been interesting. i must warn that some of the following information is not for the weak of stomach!

yesterday morning, jason headed off to work...yes, on a saturday! he was on call which is always a bummer for me and the kids, but in some ways it's an even bigger bummer for him. as he headed out the door, i was opening the blinds and turning on a few lights as always, and i noticed the fish tank was especially cloudy. no worries...it's been a week since we changed any of the water out, so i didn't think much of it. later, as we're watching veggie tales, the motor for the pump starts making a very disturbing sound. now just for a little background here...we had some neighbors whose house almost caught on fire when i was a very small child because the pump in their aquarium was having issues. let's just say this makes me a little more paranoid than i should be! i chose the safe route and unplugged the pump...i figured it wouldn't be too much of a problem.

we actually had a pretty fun day. we saw jason up at the hospital after lunch, and i managed to be productive during the kid's naps. dinner was uneventful and then we headed to the bath....

my first mistake was giving bo a haircut. he hates to have his haircut, but it was a desperate situation, so he cried and clutched melting chocolate chips in his hand for the 15 minutes it took me to do a moderately okay trim job. ella didn't appreciate hearing bo wail, so she joined him. i got bo in the bath and he calmed down; i got ella in the bath and she calmed down, and they played happily for about 3 minutes. when i was rinsing ella's hair, she decided she no longer wanted to be in the bath and the wailing began again. i calmed her down and got her out and immediately noticed an unpleasant aroma coming from bo. he was giggling and i was hearing bubbles in the tub. i was combing ella's hair, and i kept saying, "wow, bo, that is really stinky. i think you need to say excuse me." as i turned around, i realized the source of the stink was not simply gas bubbles in the tub; it was; instead; diarrhea....yes, my son turned the bathtub into his own giant toilet, and he was swimming in it.

now ella's screaming again. bo is not happy about the fact that i've stood him up at the back of the tub and started scooping out poop with the shampoo cup. they both wailed while i cleaned out the tub, washed bo off, got him out of the tub, bleached the tub. sprayed everything i could possibly think of with lysol and got out of there!

i was thinking that once the kids got in bed, i would be able to just have a few moments to settle down and absorb the chaos of the day. unfortunately that was not to be. as i was chatting with jason not too much later, i noticed that the water in the fishtank was now REALLY cloudy and the fish seemed to be struggling a little bit to breathe and swim. i mentioned it to jason, and he suggested that i very quickly remove the fish or some of the water from the tank and get the fish some fresh water so they'd have some oxygen.

well, i hung up the phone and lost it. there was dorothy floating on her side at the top of the tank, and 'nother dorothy is not looking so great. i just couldn't help crying. bo loves the fish, and i just couldn't bear the thought of him getting up in the morning and finding both fish floating on their bellies.

i ended up putting dorothy [the sickest of the two] in a bucket of fresh water for the night. this morning i was so nervous that i could hardly look in there to see if the fish was okay, AND she was! i've never been so thankful to see a goldfish swimming around in a bucket in my whole life! i'm definitely enjoying today as a day of rest!

family fun

i got a phone call from my dad's sister terri the other day that she and her daughter were going to be in town. my cousin erin is going to be a junior at vanderbilt, so they were making the road trip from colorado springs, co out to nashville, tn. i was so excited that they planned to stop here for a night and we got to hang out for a little bit.

ella had a lot of fun showing off for both of them and definitely enjoyed all the extra attention.

aunt terri brought bo a really cool puzzle set that has already been hours of entertainment! they enjoyed doing the puzzle together, and bo narrated the events of the morning. he's got this funny habit lately of talking in the third person. "mommy, bo's all done with breakfast now. bo's playing with the puzzle. bo wants to go play outside." it's really funny to have a conversation with him. some days it feels a little like a seinfeld episode! having family here is such a great reminder that there is such a fun connection no matter the distance. it is always a treat to have people here!

kids and cameras

i'm going to post more pictures from my friend's visit here before too long, but i couldn't resist putting this one up before i shut down the computer. what is up with my kids? why do they hate sitting together and getting their picture taken? is it really that bad?

african greetings

aunt hannah went to tanzania not too long ago and got to spend some time ministering to the people there. what an amazing opportunity for her. she picked up these fun t-shirts for the kids. bo loves his elephant shirt and he walks around pretending his nose is his trunk and making elephant noises whenever he wears it. sometimes he gets jealous of ella's zebra, but then he remembers how cool elephants are!

gammy's visit

i was sitting in church this morning realizing that exactly a week ago my mom was here sitting next to me. i'm not sure how it's possible that a week can feel as far away as it did this morning. seven days literally feels like a lifetime for me right now! we had so much fun during her visit. my mom has this amazing ability to encourage me on so many levels, and to watch her delight in the kids is truly a blessing!

both of my kids absolutely love being read to. ella and bo both spent quite a bit of time in her lap letting her read to them. i was definitely glad to get a break from the same books! sometimes one trip to the library a week is not enough. i now know Thomas and the Naughty Diesel by heart...definitely not something i was every planning on!


bo loved gammy's grey razr phone...he's been looking for it since she left! my mom would put it on speaker for him so that he heard a ding every time he opened and closed it. he had quite a bit of fun calling everyone he could think of. in this shot he was trying to figure out how to prop the phone up to his ear so he could talk without holding it.

this week has been an overwhelming reminder of God's ultimate sovereignty and plan. i must say; i've had one of the rougher seven day stretches than I can remember in a while. i ache to be with one of my dearest friends in the world who just had a baby. i see the precious pictures of that new life yawning and stretching and i know she will be months old before i get to meet her. i'm going to miss that heavenly newborn smell!! i had another woman here who has shown me friendship and kindness in amazing ways. i have been so blessed to know her, and bo has a special fondness for her daughter, "miss karli." she went in for a 20 week ultrasound on tuesday and there was no heartbeat. i am so pained for her as she deals with this. God's fingerprints are all over the situation, and yet it is overwelming! another woman who i was able to know a bit this summer through a Bible study is also dealing with a terrible tragedy. her husband died in a fatal car accident with a semi-truck on thursday morning. she is now left to face this life with a young daughter[9/10 months old] and no husband. never have i felt so far away from Home. the place i consider my earthly "home" is far and i long to be near the family and friends there, but i've found myself longing for my eternal Home in a new and fresh way. this world is filled with hurt and pain and sin, and i'm clinging to a perfect future with our heavenly Father:
"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" Revelation 21:3-4
What a sweet promise of the eternity to come!
i am so excited right now about what God is doing in my life and in the lives of so many godly women who i am surrounded by. what an amazing blessing it is to be in Him!

eating cake

just in case the pictures weren't quite vivid enough for you...

now you can feel like you got to experience it with us! what is it with kids and sugar???

cake!

okay...i couldn't resist sending a couple of cake shots too...i may put a video up here in a second too.
can you tell ella was a little impatient. let's just say she didn't enjoy the ritual blowing out the candle!

messy, but delicious!

ella is one!

i can't believe my little baby is a one year old! we had a great day celebrating with ella...bo definitely enjoyed the cake! ella had lots of fun opening presents and eating cake too!

it's so much fun to help mommy "cook" in the kitchen. gammy got ella a new play kitchen...it's been hours of fun already!

aunt sarah sent the cutest bathing suit ever! ella loves the animal print.

grandaddy and marmie sent an adorable outfit and a sesame street medical kit. bo thought the kit was for him, but ella managed to play with it a little bit!

it really is amazing to think that a year ago i was holding her for the first time. what is it about life with kids that makes me feel like life is in fast forward? i have so many other thoughts and photos from gammy's visit and a fun visit with some friends, but they will have to wait until tomorrow. lots of fun posts to come!