Dumb stairs!

I love my kids!  Beyond description.  What mommy doesn't?  I never knew I could love someone so much!  And when they are happy, I'm happy.  When they hurt, I hurt.  And tonight my poor baby got hurt.

Gracie and I were upstairs and she made her way to the top of the staircase.  When I went to get her, my sweet little girl was practicing her new skills of going down the stairs backwards.  A skill I recently taught her...once.  For safety.  And she already caught on and you could see the pride in her smile.  It was as if she said, "Look Mommy!  I'm doing it!"

I was a proud mommy!  But then I saw her sitting on her knees a little too close to the back of the step.  So I went to pick her up, and when she raised her hands for me, she lost her balance and took a tumble down the top half of our stairs and landed with her face hitting the corner of a small bookshelf in the stairwell landing.

Naturally, I scooped her up as quick as I could and comforted as best as I could.  But then I saw that things were bleeding.  So I called, and called, and called (cell phone service FAIL)...then finally texted Hubby, who was out for an evening run.  And one minute later, he was at the house and we looked everything over.  There didn't seem to be any permanent damage, but we still headed to the ER to make sure teeth, gums, and her eye was okay.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  There are HUGE benefits to having a great hospital in a small town.  You get right in.

The doc looked her face over and said everything looked fine.  Just a little scraped.  Teeth and gums were fine and her actual eye wasn't scratched.

So I said a prayer of thankfulness to God and we headed down the hall to visit our neighbor who is in the hospital right now.

I hate it when my kids are hurt.  I know it's part of life.  And I know it will continue to happen.  But when your 15-month old has a huge battle wound across her face, it falls in a special category of "hate."  But again, thank the wonderful Lord that nothing was permanently damaged.  Now, the bookcase is getting a buffer of pillows until little Princess is a little bigger.

It's a [Little] Man Thing

Isaac has phased out naps.  Unfortunately.  But we've incorporated "quiet time" into our afternoon schedule.  While Gracie naps, Isaac has to be in his room (preferably on his bed in case he falls asleep) playing or looking at his books quietly.  This gives dear 'ol mom a chance to rest or get something accomplished for the day when it's "been one of those days."

This week has been a challenge for the little guy though.  He's gotten bored before "the clock turns 3" and it's everything he can do to stay in his room.  Yesterday he came out of his room into our bedroom and told me he needed more toys to play with.  So I told him he could quietly go downstairs to get more toys, then back to his room to play until quiet time was over.

Gracie naps at the top of the stairs in a Pack-n-Play since she and Isaac share a room.  So Isaac hunched over (as if it increases his tip-toeing abilities), and quietly inched his way down the stairs.  A couple of minutes later he came back up the stairs with a little advertising booklet that came in one of our Disney DVDs and headed straight to the bathroom.

Reading material for potty time!  According to hubby, it's a "man thing."  Apparently it starts early on.

Pumpkin Patch

This past weekend we finally had a chance to visit the pumpkin patch!  We've never been to one and at first I thought, "Why do kids love pumpkin patches so much?"  I mean, come on!  Isn't it just a bunch of pumpkins? What do you do at a pumpkin patch?  But I wanted some of those super cute pictures of my kiddos surrounded by bright orange "Cinderella carriage wannabes," so we set out for an adventure.

Then we got there and Isaac and Gracie loved it!  Pumpkins were everywhere!  Who would've thought that kids would enjoy climbing around pumpkins so much?  Then they found the bales of hay, and the wagon, and Gracie got sleepy and sat like a statue on some pumpkins.  But nonetheless, we had a fun time.  It's on our "must-do" list for next year!

 Isaac and Gracie were preoccupied with all the pumpkins to pose for a picture.

 This is the smile you get sometimes when he "smiles on command."

Sleepy girl.  Sitting contently on the pumpkins.

Waiting for a nap...

 Riding in the wagon.







Big pulling Little in the wagon.

Isn't this the most beautiful face you've ever seen??

Getting candy from the Pumpkin Patch Lady.  

  Isaac with his sucker and the pumpkin he picked out.  Out of all the pumpkins, he wanted that one.  That tiny little pumpkin that is now fashionably situated on our dining room table.

Updates

It's been about a month since I've blogged anything.  Things have been pretty hectic lately, but finally seem to be slowing down a bit.  I was working part-time for a while filling in for our church's administrative assistant who has been ill.  It's crazy how much I missed being home with my kiddos in the morning.  Morning time is "our" time.  We do our fun craft projects or play with cars...or Play-doh...or tickle until my kids are blue in the face.  They've already grown up way too fast and this time with them is SO incredibly precious.

A few updates on the youngsters...
Isaac is such a funny little guy!  He says the cutest things.  I need to write about some of the "Isaac-isms" we've heard lately.  He's also started calling us "Mom" and "Dad" and I'm not sure I like that very much.  It means he's getting bigger.  And speaking of getting bigger, potty training for our "big boy" went extremely well!  Once the little guy got it in his head that he was ready to go in the potty, it took him about 4 days to get it down without any accidents.  I really wish I would've listened to those moms who told me, "It's gotta be their idea.  Don't even try until then."  We didn't take a pushy approach with Isaac at all, but we sure started to stress a little that he would near his fourth birthday in diapers!  And quite frankly, we were tired of buying two sets of diapers for our kiddos.

(Big sigh of exhaustion).  Gracie is currently teething.  She must be getting several teeth at once again, because she has been extremely fussy and moody lately.  She's also taken every opportunity to exert her "independent spirit."  She still scoots around like a little monkey (video coming soon) rather than crawling, but she started pulling up about a month ago and now she's climbing anything low to the ground.  Having a little climber is new for me.  Isaac never really climbed anything except the stairs.  And Gracie climbs anything but the stairs.  The other day our little 14-month old, who -- mind you -- doesn't walk yet, was climbing up the Little Tikes slide on all fours like a little monkey.  I always thought it would be my little boy jumping off of things with no consideration of safety.  But I have a weird feeling that our "little princess" might be the one to worry about.

Recent video clips and pictures coming soon!

Potty time!

He FINALLY went on the potty!  My three year old FINALLY went on the potty!  Sure, his baby sister was used as a prop to show him that it's "cool" to go on the potty, and sure, we bribed him with a toy he's had his eye on.  But nonetheless, he went on the potty!!!

Now I know it's a little strange to be blogging about your son's potty training.  But this is huge for our household!!  It's been a long awaited day that has been met with much resistance!

Yesterday, early evening, I was changing Gracie's diaper and before putting the clean diaper on, I sat her on the nearby CARS potty seat that is now fashionably situated in the living room where it's less threatening than by the big potty in the bathroom.  So I enthusiastically showed big brother..."See!  Gracie sits on the potty!"

It worked!  Big brother saw that "the baby" was on the potty and he wanted to go as well.  So I asked him, "Do you want to go pee-pee in the potty???" and he replied with an enthusiastic "Yeah!".  Then dad jumped in with more incentive...

"If you go to the potty like a big boy, mommy and daddy will get you the Cookie Monster toy you like from Target!"

Well, that did it!  Off came the diaper and little bare cheeks actually sat on the potty!  So we sat with him for a little while until we enthusiastically encouraged him that we could try again tomorrow morning.

So that's what we did.  He sat on the potty today about 6 different times for about 10 minutes each.  But he was patient.  And so was mommy.  And mommy cleaned carpet and "big boy underwear" today about 4 different times.  But then the big moment came!

About 3:00 today, he sat on the potty and asked for some water.  So I gave him a small glass of water and he sat and drank it until finally...pee-pee in the potty!  It's as if the kid knew the water would eventually come out, if he only sat there long enough!  He then very quickly and enthusiastically reminded mommy that he gets to go to Target and get his toy now.  So we made a trip to Target JUST for this toy.  But at this point...we're doing all we can to encourage the little dude.  And we're not above bribes.  :)  So we'll see how tomorrow goes.  Day 2, Operation: Potty Training commences in about t-minus 8 hours.

Butterflies!

Fall has finally arrived!  For our household, that means it's time to open the windows, play outside as much as we can, and take in all the joys of the cooler weather.  And every year around this time, we start seeing these beautiful butterflies around our house that are migrating south.  Yesterday we were playing outside with the kids and Isaac noticed a monarch butterfly fluttering around our front bushes.  So I grabbed my camera and we watched for a good long while until we had to make a run to the store.  It's amazing the joy and loads of fun that come to a 3-year-old simply by watching a butterfly up close and personal!  When we left for the store Isaac gave the butterfly an enthusiastic farewell..."Bye, Butterfly!!"

Cuddly

It is such a neat experience having a little girl in the house!  I love witnessing the unique differences that God created in boys and girls.  Sure, boys can be cuddly and affectionate (mine is) and girls can be "tomboys" (I sure was).  But they still exhibit qualities that are so unique and special to each of them.

Isaac has always slept with a toy of some sort (typically a hot wheels car or something of the like).  And he has a puppy and teddy bear that can typically be found beside him while he sleeps.  But he's never really cuddled anything soft or squishy to sleep, or had what Beth Moore calls a "lovey" -- a "security blanket" object of some sort.  

A few days ago, however, I wondered if Gracie might want something to cuddle so I gave her a stuffed puppy dog to sleep with.  Now, every time I lay her down to sleep, whether it be for a nap or at night, she throws her arm over her puppy dog or bright green monkey and goes right to sleep.  Even when I carry her downstairs and take one of the toys with us, she wraps her arms around it and "holds" it while we walk.  

There's just something about it that seems like a "little mommy."  

Cuddling puppy.

Cuddling puppy again.  This time, sleeping while sitting up!

Digger!

Today we went outside to play diggers and bulldozers in the dirt and we heard a loud noise around on the other side of the church property.  I told Isaac I thought it was a digger, so we ran over as fast as we could and caught the monstrous beast in action!  Isaac was enthralled, to say the least!  Gracie was a little startled at first, but she's a little firecracker and it didn't take her long to figure out that there was nothing to be scared about.

We watched for a few minutes, then ran to get Daddy so he could watch too.  I grabbed my camera and got a few shots of Isaac watching every move of the digger busting through concrete...which he later mimicked while playing with his toy digger.  I love that we're in a small town and we witness things like this quite often.  In a way, it's like a little "field trip" just by stepping outside!

Watching the digger

Still watching...

and watching...

and...still watching.

Could he be ANY cuter???
 

Digging in the dirt with a stick to show Mommy how the digger is working.
 

Playing diggers and bulldozers

I HATE technology! Not really, but I do!

I am now referring to this as "The Summer of Poopy Technology!"  Yes, my rhetoric may sound a bit childish, but I live with two small children and my language tends to reflect what little ears can hear.

A couple of months ago, our computer got a "Windows Recovery System" virus that wipes everything off your computer.  Thanks to the Geek Squad and $150, we were able to extract, or recover, everything onto an external hard drive...including every picture we have taken since Isaac was born.  That was my biggest concern.

Then we couldn't find our software CDs that came with our laptop, so I had to order a backup copy of Windows Vista to reload onto our computer in order to have a functioning laptop once again.  No biggie....it only cost $18 from DELL.  So I reloaded the Windows software, only to later discover that I also have to load Microsoft Office with another CD...which I also can't find.  We've moved four times since we got this computer!

Then about a month ago, I was in the shower and Isaac wanted to play the "Bug Game" (Pacman) on my iPhone.  Reluctantly, I let him.  But he was warned that if he did anything else on the phone that he would be in trouble.  Well, he did.  Somehow the little booger put a passcode on it and I didn't know it until I went to use my phone about half an hour later and couldn't even get into the thing!  And did you know that every time you try an incorrect passcode, it disables your phone for longer periods of time?  Each time I entered a wrong passcode I had to wait an hour before I could try again.  And after 10 tries, it disables your phone altogether, and the only way to use it again is to "restore" it to manufacturer settings in iTunes.

So I did that.  And sure enough...it wiped everything off my phone.  Once again...stuff was lost.  I wasn't so concerned with the pictures.  I only lost about a month of pictures.  I last saved the pictures to our computer at the end of April (which Geek Squad recovered for me) and I got a new camera the beginning of June so I had it with me almost everywhere I went and very rarely relied on my iPhone to take photos.  So that left the month of May.  So I wasn't that upset...

...but then I realized about a week and a half ago that I lost my voice memos.  Since both of our children were born, we have prayed with them every day.  We've prayed for their salvation.  That they would be Godly people in a world that has gone terribly astray.  That they would display Christ in their character and integrity.  And that praises to God would always be on their lips.

So when Isaac began singing praise songs at a year and a half, our hearts were SO overwhelmed with joy.  He knew the words.  He would sing right along with me while we rocked at night before bedtime.  And while I realize that he didn't understand what it meant at the time, my prayer for our children is that they will look back on their lives and be unable to pinpoint a day when they first believed in Jesus because it's what they have always done...what they grew into.  Yes, there will come a time when they must start to publicly confess Jesus as Lord before man.  But I want to "train up" our children in the way they should go so that when they are old they "will not depart from it."  (Proverbs 22:6)

So we recorded Isaac singing praise songs on the voice memo app on my iPhone.  And I had a voice memo of him giggling as a young baby.  That contagious giggle of his that I wanted to keep forever.  That HUGE belly laugh that made everyone laugh with him.  And after the "passcode incident"...it's gone.  I never saved it to the computer or made a CD.  

So I started googling, trying to find someone who had experienced a loss of voice memos and how/if they recovered it.  And I found a couple of websites where people out in internet world were able to recover their lost voice memos.  But unfortunately, it required "jailbreaking" your phone and I had absolutely no idea how to even start on that process.  And while it apparently runs the risk of making your phone a "paperweight" (according to my brother), I was more than willing to take that chance to recover precious memories.  

After racking my brain trying to think of someone I knew that could help, my dad suggested I call an old friend from high school and college who married a computer guru who is now the Director of an IT department.  So I did.  And they had no idea.  But I sent them the links that I found and they were going to look over everything and see if something could be done.

Fast forward to last Tuesday.  I took the kiddos swimming with some of Isaac's little friends to the public pool.  And naturally, we started off in the kiddie pool, which is a whole 2 feet high.  Since Gracie was born, I might as well forget about my swimsuit fitting properly, and I never got around to buying a new swimsuit this season, so I wore a t-shirt and shorts.  And after being in the kiddie pool for a whole 5 minutes, I felt something hit my foot.  And sure enough...it was my iPhone.  Left in my pocket.  

So I'd imagine that any chance I had to recover those voice memos is especially lost now that the thing won't even turn on!  

Added to all this is the fact that our video camera broke (which we discovered the day of Isaac's birthday party).  The day Gracie decided to crawl for the first time.    

When it rains it pours!  I don't think I have ever felt so strongly about that old cliche as I do concerning the events of this summer.  Yes I lost my iPhone.  But thanks to the overwhelmingly generous hearts of my neighbors (who all got iPhones for Christmas), I now have one of their old AT&T phones.  So I have a phone to use.  And yes, after having an incredibly user-friendly iPhone, I feel like my 96-year old Grandad would feel trying to learn how to use a computer.  I still have a phone to use even if it requires a little practice or "refresher course."  

But losing my most precious memories is the hardest.  I'll admit, I still haven't come to terms with it to the point I don't tear up.  Of all the things I wanted to remember the most about Isaac's "babyhood," I wanted to keep those voice recordings.    

So once again, I find myself praying to God to grant me grace when it comes to accepting the fact that my children won't be babies forever.  It's easier to accept that when you have videos or little recordings to look back on.  I've never been a person that remembers things very easily over a period of time.  My husband, on the other hand, has a memory like an elephant.  So it's been a hard lesson to learn.  Back up your stuff!  Technology can be poopy and stink like nothing else!

Birthday Party!

Last Saturday we had Isaac's 3rd birthday party!  The theme was "Construction."  He absolutely loves diggers, bulldozers, cement trucks, and backhoe loaders right now...so we thought it would be a great theme for his party.  CARS 2 was an option, but he had a CARS party last year for his 2nd birthday, so we opted for something different this year.

Since our house is on church property, we took advantage of our backyard which includes a huge playground -- the kind that has a wooden fort with slides and a swing set.  And because the weather has been EXTREMELY hot this summer, and temperatures are still above 100 on a consistent basis, we had this fun idea to create a little makeshift kiddie water park, complete with two slip-n-slides and a couple of sprinklers.  Even though we had the party from 10am-Noon, it still warms up pretty quickly, so the kiddos came in their swimming gear ready for some fun in the water.  And they had tons of fun...for about 30 minutes!  Then what did they want to do?  Play on the playground or dig in the dirt!  The same thing they do everyday.  But our grass got a nice drink of water for about two hours!  And the kiddos still had heaps of fun!  :)

We were so thankful to all our friends that came.  I think birthday parties are just as fun for the parents as for the kids!  And Isaac seemed to have a great time and asked for his friends to come back to his birthday party the next day.  We were exhausted afterwards, but had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the time we had to spend with our closest friends.

Here are some pics from the party...

Tate, a 7th grader in our youth group, gave Gracie company in the kiddie pool!

The slip-n-slides actually being used!

Reid is...Captain Sprinkler Boy!

Captain Sprinkler Boy still chasing with the sprinkler.

Watermelon!!!

Sutton took a ride on the slip-n-slide, courtesy of his dad's help. :)

Playing on the playground.

He FINALLY went down the slide by HIMSELF!  It's been a while since he's attempted it.  I guess he just needed enough kids around to prove that there's nothing to it.  

The birthday cake.

Posing with the cake.

Singing Happy Birthday!

Blowing out the candles!

Eating!

Gracie wasn't left out on the cake and ice cream! Ryan was on baby duty while me and Matt served up cake and ice cream. 

The Party Crew!

Birthday Boy!

The older attendees, minus Grammy Karen and Pops who already left. (I took the picture).

Blowing party favor bubbles.

Playing in the dirt with new toys.