18 Months Already

Well, I have concluded that time is not going to stand still and that my babies are going to continue to grow whether I like it or not. I can now see where people start to get the baby itch around this time, especially when I see friends that have just had babies and those precious, tiny angels just lay there sleeping peacefully. At our current stage of development that is depriving us from a solid night of sleep, we are starting to see that we may have actually gotten more sleep with two newborns than with two toddlers!

This week we went for our 18 month checkup. After a normal routine check, it was concluded that my kids are healthy, just some slight allergy issues, and all this lack of sleep is a "developmental phase" that most kids go through. Unfortunately when you have multiples, it is magnified and sometimes results in only a couple of hours of sleep in one night.

We are beyond blessed however to have healthy, perfectly developed kids. They are still small of course but we are assuming we will not have college bound starting centers on our hands.

One thing that blew my mind this week is I asked the kids if they knew their memory verse from church. I figured we would practice it in the bathtub each night and go to church next week hopefully able to perform with little coaching for our teachers. To my surprise, before the question had even fully left my mouth, the kids both started signing Jesus. Elliot was also saying the word "Jesus" and Keaton was trying his best to repeat after his big sister. They now can sign their entire memory verse of "Jesus Loves Me". It is the sweetest thing and to think that their love for the Lord is already beginning to take shape at 18 months old thrills my soul. God is so good!

Here are our current stats for those of you keeping up:

Miss Elliot:

• Temper of a red head! This little one can already pitch fits with the best of them!
• Now has 8 teeth with all four molars still trying to come in after 6 weeks of cutting them.
• Weight=19.8lbs (below 5th%)
• Height=30 in. (10th%)
• Head still at 50th%
• Can say just about anything she wants. Loves to say Momma, Bubo(for Bubba), Keaton, No, Dada, PawPaw.
• Constantly trying to sing songs with whatever is playing.
• Loves Mickey Mouse, Curious George, Nemo, the neighbors Plasma Cars, playing in the dirt & sand and filling up cups and dumping the water out. She is going to have a blast at the beach!

Mr. Keaton:

• Our little daredevil. This child is now afraid of nothing and can climb like a monkey!
• Has 12 teeth and is just waiting on those eye teeth to come in.
• Weight=20.12lbs (5th%)
• Height=31 1/4in (25th%!!!)
• Head=50th% too.
• Loves to say "Ready, Set, Go!" and "One, Two, Go!". Can also say Momma, Ball, Dada, Je (Jesus), cracker (they both say & sign cracker now for their snack!).
• Also loves Mickey Mouse, Curious George, Nemo, any toy that is over at the neighbors but also loves the Plasma Cars (he can actually ride it down the driveway into the street and down to the end of the cul-de-sac...daredevil I tell ya!), loves bible class and still loves to play by himself more than anything.
• We also caught him this past week climbing up the big slide at the park all by himself and sliding down forward, backward, head first, belly down...just about anyway he could think of.

_________________________

So it is a good 7 hours since I wrote the above. What happened you asked? Well, the kids awoke from their nap and I went to change their diapers. I noticed something in Keaton's ear and when I turned his head I saw that his ear was bleeding and had a large clot in the ear canal. So it was back to the Dr. to check it out. Good news is ear drum in intact, tubes are still in and there was just a small laceration deep in the ear canal. They think he may have scratched it with something but after coming home and doing some CSIesque investigating I discovered that the little booger scratched it with his own finger. He has been scratching at it but during nap today he took it to a "Whole Nuttha Level" as Ed Young would say! So nothing much we can do but watch it and put drops in for the next few days to prevent infection. I swear I am a good mother! I don't just let my kids eat off the nasty carts at Wal-Mart or take them to the 9th Street Drop Off (One Fine Day reference for all you girly movie fans).

So goes our new family motto: This Too Shall Pass!

PS...all pics are from last Saturday when I couldn't find Keaton and discovered him out back playing in the puddles that collected from the rain in the curves of the still not put together slide. Of course Miss El had to get in on the actions too. (Had I not had to take photos at church I might just have joined them!)

One of my favorite things...

Since I was a child, I loved observing people's hands.  I feel that our hands say so much about a person, and if you have never noticed...hands do not hide your real age or hard work!  I can probably describe in detail what people's hands look like long before I could remember what they were wearing at a past event.  I just love how they are so unique to each person and the strength and tenderness behind someone's hands speaks volumes to me. 

Just recently I realized that I need to combine this passion for photography with my love of hands.  I really wanted to capture my Grandmurna's hands on my last trip home and I love how this picture captured that moment in time.  Her hands have always been embedded in my memory from a young age.  I can always remember her rolling her thumbs as she sat and watched us play (by the way...this is what she is doing in the picture above except she is now watching my children play!)  I remember how she always rubbed her fingers together in between dialing numbers on the old rotary phone in her kitchen.  I love to watch her hands as she cooks. Those magical materpieces have been the blessings from heaven that have provided our family with some of the best culinary experiences of our lives.  I love her hands.

So this is just a start for me in taking pictures of people's hands.  Strange hobby I know, but it is mine and I love it.  Now, don't everyone start wearing gloves around me!  I guarantee when I get you, you won't even know it (just like Grandmurna had no idea I took this one of her)!

Flashback

I stumbled upon this pictures yesterday.  What a blast from the past.  I use to always say that I wanted little chubby babies because I thought my kids were so little and tiny but check out those cheeks and Keaton's big 'ol belly!  

Even after going almost a month without a solid night of sleep, they still kill me with their cuteness!  I have to remind myself of this from time to time when I am so sleep deprived I can't feel myself think.  

It Works...It Works...It Works

Thank the Lord above for friends who are also dentist. My friend Jill was over last night to borrow some baby items for her new little one that is on the way and she observed Elliot in one of her teething meltdowns. Luckily for us, Jill is a dentist and was prepared with a new treatment I had not tried yet. As you know as a faithful blog reader of mine...we have tried EVERYTHING. So what harm would one more thing cause? The best it could do is help right?

Well, help it did! She told me to rub liquid Benadryl on her gums. It taste better that Orajel, so she would be more willing to let me do it, and it numbs the gums on contact. Literally with in a split second Elliot stopped crying and started smiling at us. WHERE HAS THIS REMEDY BEEN ALL MY LIFE???

So for all you mom's out there, give it a try. If anything, you all might get a little extra sleep out of the deal!

Finally....SLEEP!

Wonder why I haven't blogged....try not one single night of sleep in three weeks until last night!  

Yes, our children are having some bouts of insomnia where they are enjoying waking up every hour and screaming as if they were losing a limb.  Keaton does have an ear infection and I guess Elliot's is either sympathising screaming or her molars are still trying to come in.  Poor kids both have diaper rash from the antibiotics and teething so that is not helping them sleep soundly either.  

Sad to say, Ryan & I had hit that point like when you have newborns where you are so tired, you don't realize you are tired anymore.  So to have an actual full night of sleep again last night was a shock to the system. 

So we are back home and trying to get back to normal.  Being away down south for so long through the kids off their schedule and coming home has taken some adjusting on our part. Fortunately today was beautiful so we walked to the city park and played for a couple of hours at their toddler playground.  The kids LOVED it and of course, loved the sand.  I think I am still feeling the grit in between my toes.  That coupled with the smell of sunscreen made me more than ready for the beach in a few short months!

Here are some more pics from Easter.  Lots going on but hope to be back with my faithful blog followers now.  Sorry for disappointing these past few weeks.  Keep hangin' with me!

Waiting for the egg hunt...

All fun & games until the kids realized some of the eggs had chocolate in them!

Look at those dirty mouths!

See...I told you...one of the most beautiful nieces in the world!  This was just capturing her being casual too...unbelieveable!

Taste of Easter

So we are at my parents for the week and everyone back home is awaiting a blog update with some pics from Easter.  Here is a taste.  I promise to post more once we are back home and hopefully back to a normal schedule...who am I kidding?  Are schedule hasn't been normal since October 19, 2006!

My GORGEOUS niece Trae!

El enjoying the slide

Happy Birthday Uncle Jim!

Sure its a day late, but it still counts!  Doesn't it seem like birthdays are coming along much faster than they use to?  When did we start getting old?

In honor of your birthday, I wanted to share with my blogging family one of my favorite pics of us.  Sure I could go on all day about you high water pants (nice socks by the way), or my rockin' jeans, or our amazing hair...but I will let the picture speak for itself.  Who let their kids go out like this?

Thanks for being my big bro.  Sure I prayed and prayed for a sister growing up but God knew what I needed.  You have truly been blessed with the amazing ability to share our God with others and I hope that your dream of writing a book one day will happen sooner than later.  The world needs to hear what you have to share and in only the amazing way that you can.  It's no accident that you have the ability to talk in stories and to share the word in a way that makes people feel they are the only ones in the room with you.  You are one of the greats and I am proud to say I know you before you become all big and famous!

Now, enough stroking your ego.  Your still that same brother that called me in the back yard giving me the false hope that our neighborhood friends, of ALL boys, had finally decided to let me play...only to slide a ball into your pitching machine and have it hit me square upside the shnozz!  And you are also the same brother that use to scream at me when all I wanted to do was cheer on your make believe team you were coaching in your room (we have proof of that on tape).  And the same brother that use to crawl in bed with me during storms or after seeing "Faces of Death" for the 100th time.  

But you are also the brother that let me be your song leader/closing pray"er" for our church services.  And you let me partake of the elements at home well before my time.  And you shared in my hatred of picking strawberries and tending to that God forsaken garden (sorry mom).  And you were that brother that let me hang out with your hot friends when yall were in high school and I was still that awkward Jr. High girl with braces.  Your that brother that also picked me up in the halls at school and made the biggest deal out of me getting homecoming in front of all those cool friends of yours.  You were also that brother that made me love Sports Center, not knowing one day my knowledge of who Charlie Steiner was would make my future husband fall in love with me.  You are also the brother that I have always been able to call no matter how distant at the moment we feel from each other and feel like you are right there with me.  You are the only one who truly knows and can relate to how I was raised and where I come from.  You are my safety net and I am so proud to call you my brother!  (Random I know but its your birthday and all!)

We hope you had a wonderful birthday and can't wait to see you next week and get a much needed updated picture.  

We Love You!  Mel, Ryan KG & EE

Down on the Farm

So where was our exciting adventure???

After naptime on Wednesday, we were invited to Memaw's house! Ryan's grandmother, Memaw, invited us over to see their new baby calf and to have some of her famous banana pudding &/or pecan pie. Who could resist that offer?

So the kids & I went Wednesday afternoon and immediately, the kids wanted to play outside. They were way too excited about all the wide open space to care about a snack at that moment. We hopped up on Carl's golf cart and headed out to see the cows. One had just had a calf and there is said to be 12 more on the way! (We will definitely be back to see for ourselves!) The kids loved the cows and Elliot finally put together that these were cows and that they say "Moo". And yes, that is barbed wire they are hanging on. I know...bad mom but somehow they handled it like pros and happened to grab right in between each and every time.



After a short play with some sticks, we hopped back on the golf cart and headed to see the horses. Elliot also learned here to call up the horses by clicking her tongue. Too cute! As you can see from the photos, Keaton thought that kicking them was a good idea. They loved the horses and I think are ready to hop on and ride, although momma knows they need to wait at least until they can learn to peepee on the potty first! There were also rabbits to see and more sticks than their little hands could get a hold of. (For some reason, my children love them some sticks!)





After playing a little while longer, we headed back to the house and now were ready for some snacks. Of course, Miss E ended up wanting MY pecan pie and Keaton spotted some grapes when Memaw opened the frig. Once those were spotted it was all over. The boy is obsessed with grapes (purple not green)! After turning their house upside down, almost beheading Memaw flowers in the window seal, and KG sucking on all her potatoes, it was time to say goodbye.





We had a blast and can't wait to go back. There is rumor of a great creek as well that we are invited to this summer. I can't wait for that! The kids will LOVE it and hopefully we can teach them to catch crawdads and skip rocks just like I did as a child on the banks of the Saline River. How creative and awesome is our God to give us seasons? Now if He would just let summer come a little quicker and stay a little longer!





*Don't worry family, you will be receiving an email shortly with all the photos from our day at the farm photos session!

Where the heck you been?

Missed us?  Well, things have as usual been pretty eventful around here!  Thanks for checking back and not giving up hope on us.  We hope to be back to regular posts after this update of where we've been lately.  

We'll start with two weeks ago Thursday.  Of course, Ryan was out of town on an overnight work trip and the kids went to bed like perfect little angels.  Skip to 3:30 AM when KG wakes up coughing.  You know that "Is that a seal or a dog?" kind of cough.  I go get him and he is coughing and trying to cry to the point he is struggling to breathe.  I bring him back to bed with me and try to calm him down with lots of lovin' and some early morning cartoons.  He just lays there lifeless struggling to breathe.  He would dose off here and there and then would wake back up with a coughing vengeance.  By 4:30AM I call my aunt who immediately tells me I need to get KG to the ER.  Thank goodness for in laws who live in town!  Martha came and stayed to EE since she of course slept through the whole fiasco.  

We spent the morning in the ER doing breathing treatments and doses of steroids.  Come to find out, they want to admit us and keep us in the hospital overnight for observation since he wasn't getting noticeably better with the treatment at that point.  Luckily, Ryan was headed home and arrived that afternoon to help us out.  My dear sweet friend Kathy came the minute she heard and stayed to entertain us (ME) while we waited in the ER.  She came prepared with cokes, cheerios, yogurt & her never ending uplifting spirit.  I have never needed her more and she was there without even having to ask.  You can't ask for a better friend than that...OH, and the fact that she came and got ALL our laundry (Ryan's political boxers & all) and brought them back on Saturday, laundered and folded!  Is she the best or what?....I forgot to mention that our washer went out from all the use at laundry fest '08 during our week of staph!

Long story short, KG stayed overnight and was much better the following morning.  Apparently he just had a case of terrible croup & laryngitis.  We headed home and finished out the weekend feeling much better and having some much needed sunshine to help us recover.  

Tuesday, we were to leave for Nashville to visit Ryan's brother Adam and his wife Bethany.  We had to run to the Dr. before leaving since KG was starting to wheeze again and EE was starting to cough as well.  Seems she was getting a touch of it and fortunately was not going to get to the point KG did!  So we headed out of town, stopping by my parents to break up the trip.  The kids did great in the car and thank you Jesus for inviting the portable DVD player!  How did our parents make it without those?

We spent Wednesday through Sunday in Nashville, stopping at Interstate BBQ in Memphis on the way....YUM!!!  The kids slowly started to feel better (as I started to come down with it) and slept like champs every single night!  We took them on Thursday to the Adventure Science Museum while A&B worked and let them see the worlds largest kindergarten class that was there too.  We got to go and visit my college roomie Wendy's house and play with her kids that afternoon.  Thanks again Wen for the hotdogs, fruit & snacks!  Why can't we live closer?

Friday, we headed to eat a late breakfast at the Loveless Cafe and indulged in their world famous biscuits.  The kids loved them until E had her breakdown of all breakdowns.  She wanted NOTHING to do with sitting at that table.  So while Ryan ate, I took her to the observation window to watch them make biscuits & homemade fried chicken.  Then we switched so I could enjoy my biscuits & gravy and a few bites of the kids pancakes.  After lunch with headed to Green Hills mall to shop and look for Easter outfits (can't wait for you all to see those!!!).  The kids were superb and we actually spent all afternoon shopping and enjoying the day.  Chupa Chu's (suckers) will by you at least half an hour if you ever need to know!  Bethany's sister Paula & her husband Scott (who live two apartments down from A&B) volunteered to watch the kids Friday night so we could go out to eat.  We ended up at a place called Rumors for some fabulous food, great wine & much needed adult conversation!  When we left, it had started snowing.  When a town hasn't seen snow all season they come out to play no matter what time of day.  There were people everywhere out walking & playing in the snow.  It was so pretty to see Nashville blanketed in white beauty.

Saturday was my day to catch the kids illness.  Luckily we were all tired and enjoyed a lazy morning at the apartment.  We went that afternoon to the outdoor shopping area by their house and enjoyed walking through Whole Foods since we don't have one here!  Oh how I would LOVE one of those nearby.  I could make the most killer fondue with that assortment of soft cheeses!  

Sunday we enjoyed going to church with them and hit the road afterwards to once again, break the trip up with a stop in Benton.  

We are finally home now and trying to get some order around here again.  The kids are feeling better, other than cutting all four molars, and I am on the up and up.  Could there be a glimpse of hope in our future?  Is that warm weather coming around the corner?  Pray for a swift & short spring so that the allergies stay at a minimum and keep us out of the Dr.'s office!  I know yall have just loved reading day after day about going to see the Dr.  How boring!  Thanks for indulging my in my life 'o illness!

So that is what we have been up to.  Hope yall are well and will continue to check back in.  I hope to update more often, like the good 'ol days, and keep the pictures coming since that is the only reason I know yall check this.  

BTW... I am a MAC owner now and will never go back!!!  My wonderful husband surprised me with a MAC last week to encourage me in my photo endeavors.  No pressure huh?  

We have something extra fun we are heading to do this afternoon.  Check back (hopefully tomorrow) for some pictures from our afternoon!  For now, enjoy the slide show since here were so many pics to update you all on!

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