One of these things is not like the other...

A week with my mom and a weekend full of family fun confirmed what I have known for some time now...Jack is very different from his brother and sister!

He shocked me by popping out with some seriously red hair, and he has been surprising me every since! He's not the most laid back of babies, which caught me a bit off guard since he was a dream for those first 6 months. He's definitely not a self soother. While Bo and Ella were content with a finger or thumb or a toy, Jack requires a bit more contact and interaction. He is happy in my arms and in my arms and on the floor when he is in my arms.

It just catches me at the craziest of moments. I mean, he's number three! I should have this down, and yet every day [every moment, sometimes] is new and different.

He also likes to get into things that the other two have never been interested in, like baby wipes...

Whew!

Sayin' Goodbye

We got back from dropping Gigi off at the airport not too long ago, so we are once again on our own. That said, Gigi hasn't gotten on a flight yet because everything is oversold due to the ice, so I guess there's a chance she could be back for the night. That could certainly be confusing for the kids!

Bo woke up this morning and almost started crying when I told him he could get out of his bed. "I will get up, but I don't want Gigi to leave today," he whimpered.

I snapped this shot just before my dad left to catch his flight out. Notice how Bo's leg is draped over my dad's legs. I think he thought that he could physically keep him here.


More pictures and stories to come, but I've got a few things I'd better get a move on while the kids are still sleeping!

Ice, Ice, Baby

I'm here, and despite being stuck in the house with lots of ice and sleet covering the roads, all is well. I'm sooooo glad that Gigi is still here with me for the week and we had a great weekend with Daddy, Papa, and Aunt Sarah. Thankfully, Aunt Sarah made it out of town before the weather got too bad.

I had plenty on my agenda for the next few days, but everything has been cancelled so we're laying low. I'll try to get some pictures on here before too much longer. I'm just praying we don't lose power at this point!

Home

Tonight, I left the kids with a sitter because I had a dinner I committed to go to. I was checking on them a few minutes ago and Ella woke up as I was smoothing her hair.

She looked at me tenderly and then her eyes got really big, "You're home" she sighed softly.

How sweet it is to be home!

Whirlwind

I'm realizing that we've been away from this house for almost a month. This week, as I'm living in my own home once again, I'm seeing just how neglected it's been. Throw in a shower retiling and let's just say it's a disaster zone. Toss in single parenting while J works out of town, and I am one exhausted chickie! I'm trying to get things straight and clean because we have some visitors coming tomorrow!

My mom [Gigi], dad [Papa], and sister [Aunt Sarah] come in tomorrow to hang out for the weekend and then my mom will stay until the end of next week. We are SO excited!

That baby needs me!

Ella is quite the little mommy. She can't get enough of all things baby!

She hasn't loved going to the nursery at church until just recently. As she was whimpering and pouting at the door, one of the workers picked up a baby doll and offered it to her. She exclaimed, "That baby needs me!" and went running off into the classroom without looking back. She hasn't cried since!

Here are a few pictures taking care of her little one...

Snuggling on the floor and looking at "tiny bear" together.

Time to eat!

Tickles...

They really do love each other!

A Cup of Cold Water

Jack is the baby that is making me think I don't know anything about being a parent. He is a dream baby in so many ways, but he certainly knows how to keep me on my toes.

There was a time when bathtime was a treat for Jack! He would splash and grunt and kick and have himself a big ol' time in the tub.

Then, a cup of water changed his perspective.

I took Bo with me to the store one evening [back in September, I might add] and J was with Jack and Ella for the bathtime/bedtime routine. He decided to bathe them together to save himself some time. He got both kids situated in the bath and then realized he needed he soap [which was a mere 18 inches away on the counter] and turned around to get it.

Ella felt this would be the perfect opportunity to take the cup she was playing with, fill it with water, and pour it over Jack's head. It's a game she and Bo love to play together when they share bathtime.

Jack, did not appreciate the game. At all. He began screaming in that instant, and bathtime has been terrifying ever since.

I thought he would get over it. I thought maybe I was consistently making the water too cold or too hot for his taste. Then, I thought maybe he was just going to be one of those kids that hated the bath. We tried everything we could think of to make bathtime more pleasant, but Jack didn't want anything to do with getting clean. He would scream and kick and fight to get out of the tub! In fact, the whimpering would start as soon as he heard the water begin to fill the tub.

Imagine my surprise last night when he clung to me, terrified, for a brief moment, and then happily began splashing in the water. He was content and happy and had himself a big old party. I was stunned. We took some pictures and video just to document the moment.

In reality, I know it's not all that monumental an occasion, but it really was a milestone for me in so many ways. Now I can enjoy that clean baby smell without feeling like a terrible mom!

Really, does this look like a kid who hates the bath?

No Words **Updated**

I'm finding that I want to post something today, but I just really don't have anything I could even coherently say!

This is one of those days that I would typically just find a really cute picture and post that, BUT since I don't have access to any of my pics until we're home this weekend, that isn't going to happen...

**Update**

I did think this moment was worth sharing. This morning, Ella was having a meltdown for some reason [it was one of a dozen this morning, so I don't remember the exact reason!]. My phone rang, and I announced that it was Gigi! Ella was excited to talk and actually cheered up and said hello to Gigi. The conversation was brief, and as I hung up, Ella looked at me as if trying to remember what we were doing before the call. She remembered suddenly and threw herself back on the floor to resume the fit. She's a character!

Wisdom, Peace, and Toothpaste

This afternoon J came home to take a nap. He gets a two hour break before he takes call here, so he decided to stop by and see us before a long night at the hospital.

It's a new place, and he's reading studies on little kids, so it is often a pretty hard night for him. As he was heading out the door, he asked me to say a quick prayer for him. I started to pray and both the kids came over to join our huddle.

Ella began repeating each phrase of the prayer. As I asked God to give J wisdom, peace, and patience, Ella echoed my prayer and asked for wisdom, peace, and toothpaste.

Back in the Saddle

We're out of town once again for this week!

Thankfully, on Friday we will head home for the rest of the month. J will have to work by himself for the last two weeks. It will be bummer to be without him, but I definitely think the kids are ready for a little consistency. It feels like we've been all over the place since the beginning of November.

It's been an eventful day already. Ella sprayed Lysol in her eye just as I was asking her to put the Lysol down because she might spray it in her eye. I think the 15 minute eye flush was enough of a deterrent to prevent her from doing it again. Just in case, the Lysol is now up in the top of the cabinet!

And Bo decided the patio looked like a nice place to go potty. I let him go out there to drive his remote control truck and he opted to mark his terrtory instead. Ugh! He said he thought it was okay because he was "outside." Maybe letting him go in our backyard isn't the best plan any more!

I'm Fine

Bo's new favorite phrase is, "I'm fine." I seem to be hearing it all the time these days! Here are a few of my favorite Bo shots from the past week...

This is why I try to let Bo's hair dry all the way before bedtime!

We love finding sticks outside!

Bathtime fun.

Hmmmmmm...

Sweet Honey Ella

The kids have picked up on the fact that I commonly say the word "honey" to J and to them as we interact during the day. It's prompted many discussions lately about middle names and last names. Ella was insistent that I call her honey, Ella the other day!

Here are a few of my favorite shots so far from our time out of town.

Taking care of her "special baby." Each doll has a separate title. This one is special baby, and it's a full time job keeping that doll's diaper changed. Thankfully, Ella is on top of it!

She wasn't really wanting her picture taken here, but I thought it was a sweet picture regardless.

Fun in the bath. I just think this is one of the most beautiful shots of her!

Outdoor fun: Ella was carrying water from the fountain to the stone rabbit in the flower bed in an attempt to give the rabbit a "bath."

The Boy Gets Around

Here are a few shots of Jack on the move in our new "home away from home!"

Jack also decided to eat his mush again eventually. Here is is happy and full!

Hit me baby one more time...

Jack has now added insult to injury!

The sudden weaning was certainly unexpected, but yesterday, he stopped eating his mush as well. It wasn't that he didn't want to eat; he just didn't want his usual pot of goodness.

I don't really think this would be that much of a problem except that Jack can't quite get food to his own mouth quite yet. He has no problem with the grasping, or the moving fingers to his mouth, or chewing on fingers or food. He just can't seem to do it on his own or in that order.

I called my mom at one point because I was just totally exasperated. I mean, an eight month old that is completely weaned and now wants to eat only table food. I was, well, exasperated!

It just seems to be another way that I am really learning patience these days!

Love these thoughts from my reading the past couple of days...

From Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero:
[Love, love, love, this book!]

"I like control. I like to know where God is going, exactly what he is doing, the exact route of how we are getting there and exactly when we will arrive. I also like to remind God of his need to behave in ways that fit in with my clear ideas of him. For example, God is just, merciful, good, wise, love. The problem, then, is that God is beyond the grasp of every concept I have of him. He is utterly incomprehensible. [pg. 129]"

AND

"An outgrowth of greater brokenness and holy unknowing is a greater capacity to wait upon the Lord [and it] breaks something deep within us-that driving, grasping, fearful self-willl that must produce, that must make something happen, that must get it done for God (just in case he doesn't)...What does it truly mean when we read, 'Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord' (Psalm 27:14)? Or 'I wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord' (Psalm 130:5-6)?"

Hmmmm, learning to wait is not easy!

Picture People

I realize I'm posting lots of words lately. Sorry if you only come here to look at the pictures; it will be lots of words until we're back home. :)

Miller-Dieker Syndrome

For those of you who actually know me, you'll know that I am not a big fan of change. It has never been easy for me to think about new places and new things.

Getting married, moving away from the familiarity of a lifetime in the same town, and adjusting to a new job was rough! Unfortunately, in many ways, change has been the only consistent theme of my life and marriage for the past seven years. I'm amazed and thankful at all I've learned through the changes, but that doesn't always make them less overwhelming.

Ironically, I married a man who enjoys change even less than I do! We've laughed about it over the years. I think God is teaching us both a lot.

J is currently in the midst of a month long rotation at a hospital out of town. It's new everything: housing, commute, hospital, doctors, residents, computer systems, etc. We've seen God's hand in so many ways as we prepared for the trip and got everything in order. We are so thankful, but nonetheless, J's first day was still a difficult one.

Ironically, one of the first cases J got for the day was an extremely rare syndrome. He was describing the images to the doctor and mentioned that based on the images, the logical conclusion was Miller-Dieker Syndrome. It's EXTREMELY rare. The doctor was floored that Jason even knew what the syndome was, and even astonished that he was able to identify it!

Here's what the doctor didn't know:
When J was in medical school, he worked with Dr. James Miller [as in Miller-Dieker]. He learned about the syndrome from man credited with discovering it!

What an amazing gift for J on his first day! He joked that he's been waiting to see that case for the last five years! And of all days, it was on his first day in a new situation.

We can't stop chuckling about it.

All Day

Bo's memory absolutely amazes me most of the time.

We are in the same city we visited for our mini-vacation to the waterpark. I hadn't even put it together really as I was preparing the kids for this trip. Turns out, Bo thought we were actually going back to the waterpark for two weeks.

All day yesterday, Bo kept peppering me with questions. "Where is my special bed? Where are the squirt guns? Do I get my special bracelet back?"

He was disappointed every time I informed him that we were not at the waterpark for this visit!

2009: An Iffy Memo

To: 2009

Memo: Rocky Start

I do not know how you will go 2009. It has not been the smoothest of year beginnings to say the least.

You see, on Christmas Eve of 2008, my baby nursed for the last time. The problem was that I didn't know it was the last time, and now here we are in 2009, and my little bundle of baby is all big and chunky and happy and doesn't really like me anymore.

I gave him a week of trying, selfishly begging him to continue nursing me, but he just didn't want to do it. So I drank my glass of champagne at midnight and officially stopped trying to make him stay attached to me. I'm still struggling with the whole thing; can you tell?

There are a number of late December and early January birthdays in our family, and I haven't sent celebration cards to anyone. Not a one!

It was COLD yesterday as we were walking into church, and as I noticed the kids shivering, I also remembered that their warm fuzzy coats were hanging out together in the car. I'd simply forgotten to put them on as we jumped out and raced inside. Mother of the Year in 2009 doesn't look good...maybe 2010?

I should add: We were racing because we were almost 20 minutes late for church. And we missed communion. Not a great first Sunday of the year!

I spent the first days of this new year entertaining the kids pretty much every minute they were awake while J frenetically put the new tile in the kid's shower. While the kids were sleeping, I raced around doing laundry, cleaning, and getting things together for the two weeks we are currently spending out of town! [NOTE: the new tile is up and grouting will take place next Saturday, so that is a yay!]

I am now sitting in yet another two bedroom apartment out of town as freezing rain falls from the sky and all my babies nap. The were awake so late last night getting settled in our new home away from home that they were actually begging to take naps today!

J is starting a month of work in a new place, and that is never easy.

And I cannot believe that it is already January 5th. I'm sitting here remembering all the things I forgot to bring from home that I should be doing right now.

I'm just wondering if this is going to be the year, or the first of many years, that are over before I've even gotten used to the beginning.

2009, forgive me for being a bit skeptical, but I still need a little time to get to know you...