12 Years of Memories

12

Now that we’re at the number twelve

I think it’s time that I delve

Into some top memories made

Before they start to fade

(You know that there are a lot more

But to list them all would be a total bore)

Walking down the church aisle

Looking up to see your giant smile

Upon hearing husband and wife declared

That happy zip, zap jolt we shared

Snorkeling and exploring in waters clear

Accidentally pinching some else’s rear

Riding beside while you learned to drive stick

Up and down mountains without getting sick

Hard work and Elton John serenading our floor

Morning, with the last tile placed around four

Lost in Paris, but don’t fret

Because you can ask, “Ou est la met?”

Early morning and late night talks with you

About what could possibly lead to WWII

And what to do in the event that you let

A precious but ominous Mogwai get wet

Bringing home Penny to stay

And the chewing repairs we had to pay

Landscaping the yard and coming home

To find holes dug and the plants gone

The gentle, caring support you gave

When to another job calling I finally caved

That thrilling secret we shared for weeks

Before our first baby news we excitedly leaked

Sweet Henry fresh from God and up every hour

Happiness blended with fatigue that could devourer

Our first family beach trip to Sunset

Back to home you couldn’t wait to get!

Watching you grow with the office you opened

And to grow our family we were hoping

Sitting quietly in sorrow then surprise

A fuzzy, wiggly baby image before our eyes

Lying in bed for months and months

In awe of your talents as I munched

On breakfast, lunch, and dinner in bed

No one could say I wasn’t very well fed!

Your face in that chaotic delivery room

When Elgin came on out with a zoom!

Knowing the world was back open for adventure

Renewing our love for hiking and camping ventures

When the Boston Whaler took a big leap

That look we shared when our hearts skipped beats

What we will do for our family’s best

Linked together when we faced some tests

(Now I’m going to stop writing on my own

Because it’s really you who is better at a poem.)

Sweetness

Elgin's sick with a pesky high fever that forced us to bow out of a camping party. Well, originally Cory was going to stay home with Elgin while I camped with Henry, but Cory is very good to indulge my maternal constitution when it hits, particularly when my youngest is just plain pitiful. 

Tonight, while we didn't camp, we did shoot hoops, hit the wiffle ball, watch Transformers: Rescue Bots, and snuggle a lot. 

His fever fluctuated again tonight, and he only wanted to be rocked. I told him that he was my sweet boy, and he said, "I'm not going to go anywhere." 

That's better than camping. 

Listening

It occurred to me several times over the last few weeks that I am incredibly distractable in the afternoons. It's troublesome. It's my main time with my kids, and I don't want to miss it! So, I'm trying to regrasp my active listening. It used to be so good that H would even repeat back to me what I said to him. He certainly no longer does so, and EW just kind of ignores me when I ask him questions. 

So, tonight, after reading, I also tried to focus back in on being specific when telling my kids that I love them. It went this way:

Me: Henry, I'm so proud of you. 

Henry: For what? 

Me: I think you're neat, and Iike the way you...

Henry: I hope I can drive a vehicle under water one day. 

(I was going to tell him that I like how he can tell me when he's frustrated with something. There's a back story... a long one. I was not a good mom this morning.)

He went on about a wii game that he loves. I listened. Boy, it was hard. But, he snuggled in for a bit. That part. That part is why I'm going to keep practicing until I get a little better again. 

Resolved but not a resolution

I'm thinking that I need to pick back up on the blogging. It used to be a great source of joy and therapy, but my lagging computer was frustrating me when it came to uploading pictures. Pictures, though, aren't the only thing going on here. I need to record the funny, the silly, the adventurous, the eye rolling, the ridiculous, the tough, the gross, and, with a little more ease, the pictures from my phone. Stay tuned, all you who have been waiting for months and months and months and months...

Oh, goodness... Oh, goodness... Oh, goodness

My Henry starts Kindergarten tomorrow.

I emailed the teacher no less than five times already. How is it that I'm the parent I always said that I wouldn't be?

How is it that he is starting kindergarten tomorrow?

Shoot. I thought that I was OK. I'm not so sure now...

10

Ten years ago to this very day

We declared to all that together we’d stay

No matter how much peril we might face

We would remain each other’s first place

We made it all the way through year ten

Around thick and right on past thin

You beside me, and beside you is where to find me

Surely and gracefully our road is long and windy

(Remember, Cory, I mean curve, not howl)

I’m sure looking forward to our dinner at The Owl

Where we will look around then at each other and admit

We are as good as it can possibly get

Not in some let down kind of way

Because it is very good, I must say

I mean, like, really, really good

I love you. Thank you for being sexy and clever and for supporting me and us just because you love me and us. Thank you for our family. Did I tell you that I love our marriage? I do. Ten times over.

Spiderman

Mosquitos love Elgin. They get ahold of him as soon as he steps outside, and they're unrelenting with their blood sucking ways. As a result, EW is familiar with things like After Bite and "bug bites." This morning while I was periodically helping EW dunk a ball into the Spiderman over the door basketball goal, it finally registered that he was talking about a "bug bite" when he would walk back to me after each dunk while I was trying to return back to my bedroom to apply some (much needed) makeup. I kept asking if he was itching or if a bug bite hurt. It wasn't until I realized that the "bug bite" citations were followed by a pointed and determined stare towards the basketball goal that I caught on that when he was saying, "bug bite," he was talking about Spiderman. I don't know how or when the Spiderman context got tangled up with bug bites, but I'm just going to suggest that we go ahead and change it universally. It's way, way cuter and does make some sense.

Up, Up, Up... and then a little down

Yesterday was such a good parent day. Elgin was in a wonderful mood after being very, very sick for five days. Henry read a new dinosaur book to his class. My heart was full and at peace.

You have to sit through this video. He's truly reading--no memorization for this new photocopy book. Henry wants to be a reader, and I think he succeeded! I love how he handles his friends and how they handle him. It's really hard to imagine him anywhere else with any other teacher! We are school-spoiled.

From H Reads

Now let's cover how today went. Elgin woke crying and didn't stop until we got close to the school. He was very hoarse and could barely cry out, "buuussss!" as he does each morning in the school parking lot. It came out more like, "uu-s," and I was worried that his throat, recently coated with a thick film of puss, was in bad shape again. Henry also began coughing. Later, I took them both to their "well" checks with Dr. Song. She and I discussed at length that Elgin continues to be sick more often than not, and that he seems to have a case of chronic congestion. We finally decided to go ahead and refer him to an allergist to check for a lurking milk allergy through a skin test. It's likely a minor allergy if present, but it will be helpful to know. My heart hurts for him. He's skinny, skinny--weighing less now than when he went for his 15 month well check. We don't know if his decreased appetite is due to a myriad of viruses and general yuck, or if food might be truly bothering him. I'm glad to have a date to rule in or rule out food allergies as a potential culprit for weight loss and illness, but I mainly just want him to be OK.

Meanwhile, Henry's probably just working on a cold--hopefully a minor one. And he marveled Dr. Song and her nurse with his conversational demeanor and recollection of his daily activities. It's so fun to sit in with Henry in an assessment of any kind. He just takes in the question, shrugs his shoulder, and answers with something like, "Well, I'm not really sure. She either gave me Motrin or Dimetapp."

Throughout his assessment, Elgin cried and begged for "mook," which is Elgin for "milk." He ended up with two popsicles, and Dr. Song reassured me that there was no more puss coat. The whole time, though, I really wished I could present him with a cup of milk, and now I'm wondering if he should even have milk! Good grief.  The Ups. The Downs.

Let me tell you, though. They are some cute mo-fo's! I love them dearly--can't even remember life without these sweet, smart, fun, hilarious boys. Henry never stops with the off the wall hilarity. Elgin loves "big cars go vrrrrm... vrrrrmm.. beep beep!" and has been singing, "baa baa ba sheep," all evening.

You know, now that I think about it, I might be feeling a little down because an old lady in a Baptist church gym fussed at me for taking someone's Zumba spot tonight. Baptists. Thanks a lot for watering some deep rooted issues for me, lady.

Don't worry reader. I'll go back to Zumba. To the exact same spot.

Here are the checkup stats from today:

Henry, Age 5 and almost 1 month

Weight: 37 lb, 23%
Height: 43.5", 63%
BMI: 13.75, 4%

Elgin, Age 18 months and 4 days

Weight: 21 lb, 10%
Height: 34", 93%
Head Circumference: 19.29", 89%

Note: BIG BRAIN!

I feel so much better now.

Five Fun Years

Henry is five. My son is five. I have a five year old. Henry is already older than just five. Can you believe it? It happened over a week ago, and I can barely believe it myself. Part of me feels that there's no way my little guy can be all of five years, but another part of me cannot believe he's not fifteen--he's been going on thirty for the past two years! 

Henry, you made our lives fun beyond reasonable, enjoyable past what should be allowed, and hilarious bordering on hysteria. You made us family. We love you. 

Graciously agreeing to an early morning birthday picture...

 Daddy's annual birthday CD for H...

 Star Wars!

 Lucky Charms! This gift was later declared his favorite gift. Sugar cereal... ahhhh...

 A bike suitable for a five year old...

 So handsome...

 Can you hear him laughing?

 You, there... let's get on with the party.

 Plate of Cheetos...

And Funions, too!

 Junk food face!

Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog... note the addition of broccoli.  Yep, his birthday dinner menu was hot dogs, cheetos, funions, broccoli, and chocolate & strawberry cupcakes.

 Satisfied...

The addition of chopped strawberries to the chocolate icing made for a mess, which was somehow fitting. I like to think that it looks like some kind of sludge from far, far away.

More gifts... he's a spoiled five year old.

Helper...

 Special guests...

 Cheese!

We partied hard to celebrate five good years--sugar cereal breakfast, lunch together at school, a haircut complete with photography (pictures to come), special dinner, and a trip to Great Wolf Lodge with Nana, too! Yes, Henry, you brought so much fun to our lives--ridiculous amounts of fun for the past five years. 

A little catch up

I'm simply not blogging enough, and I need to capture a few memories. I'll have to blog with pictures later. My overloaded computer memory makes picture uploading a chore and a half.

• Halloween was a lot of fun. H wanted to be a ghost then later asked me if he could be a zombie, to which I replied that he was too young to be a zombie. I'm not sure why ghost is more age appropriate, but he bought it, only after he proceed to zombie-walk all over the house and critiqued my own efforts with, "You're not supposed to bend your knees!"
• Elgin was a recycled and adorable sock monkey, although he really just looked like a boy in a grey, speckled coverall since he wouldn't wear the hat. No, scratch it. He apparently looked like a girl in a grey, speckled coverall since our neighbors kept saying, "She's so cute." 
• I have pretty boys.  It's true.
• EW needed a hair trim
• We don't see our neighbors enough for them to remember the sex of our children. 
• We already turned in an application for a real 5K kindergarten. I cannot believe time is passing this quickly. Can Henry really be on the cusp of turning 5?
• When you ask Elgin what a cow says, he says, "Booooo."
• EW is insanely upset about having to still ride in a carseat, and I haven't figured out how to lessen the hardship. It wears me out, but Henry tries really hard to distract him and make him laugh when I put him in after school. He's such a good big brother!
• Elgin's favorite toy is any type of ball.
• Elgin's second favorite toy is anything he can climb.
• I found him sitting on H's captain's bed--just sitting with his adorable legs sticking out over the side.
• EW requires food and drink immediately upon entering our home after school. Immediately. No room for error. Peel the banana and put it on the tray.  Quick! 
• Henry is beside himself with Jedi giddiness after we let him watch Star Wars Episode 5, 6, and 1. We'll let him watch 2 and 4, but I'm not so sure about Episode 3. 
• Henry also wears his new Darth Vader PJ's every night. Cory told him that Anakin Skywalker turned into Darth Vader after he wore Darth Vader PJ's everynight for too long. 
• Henry is "Star of the Week" at school this week. He took his camera with him on Monday, two Mo Willems books on Wednesday, and two more favorite books today. He's taking his RC Spiderman Motercycle tomorrow. His week was cut a little short due to the election.
• Elgin and Henry were great while we waited in line for an hour to cast our vote. It was Henry's second time to vote for our president. Again, time is passing too quickly.
• Henry chose to go into Cory's voting booth, and they wrote in Henry for State Senator. H left the booth cracking up and saying, "Mama! I didn't know that you could vote for yourself!"
• H was very pleased with the election results, especially since he "heard on the radio that Mitt Romney killed somebody!" Ahhhh... politics.
• EW correctly points to our nose (and says nose), our mouth, and then takes it a step further to insist on scratching our teeth. 
• Elgin had his first haircut on Election Day. It was the only change I thought I was comfortable with, but then even that small snip made me nervous enough to call off the shears. Amanda ended up shaping his bangs.  They're a little more manly now.
• I have been way too sick lately--a cold turned brutal. It facilitated a reminder that Cory is an amazing husband and daddy. Thank you, Cory. You do more than your fair share, and even more on days like these recent ones. I love you.

More on the subject...

Turns out that, during a language arts group activity, H gave the class monster an extra appendage, but "we just turned it into three feet, instead." I asked Ms. Susan about it, and she had no idea that the third foot was actually something else.  Ms. Kelly did know, though, and it was her idea to change the anatomy.

I gave the class artwork collaborative a critical look this afternoon, and I would say that it looks a little different than a foot.

Can't forget...

EW and H stayed home from school yesterday and today due to colds that wouldn't go away and coughs that were worsening. (Henry was the blood work champ, taking the finger prick for him and his brother to test for walking pneumonia, which, thankfully, was negative. They're being treated for sinus infections.)

Henry went to my office with me on Monday morning since he woke as I was preparing to leave early, and I wanted to make sure that Elgin could sleep in as long as possible while Daddy stayed home with him for a short while before I returned. Henry was beyond excited for this rare opportunity to hang out in my office. He quickly dressed and brushed his teeth and was especially thrilled that we packed him a breakfast of Count Chocula cereal.

Once there, he settled in a chair beside me at my desk, selected my brain eraser-topped pencil, and drew pumpkin faces and ghosts and managed to ask a lot of questions about my work while chowing down on some sugar cereal. As the morning passed a few coworkers were made aware of my little assistant's persistent coughing. One particularly nice but somewhat naive coworker popped her head in to say hello to Henry. She told him that she hoped he felt better, to which Henry replied, "I'm drawing a lot of penises on this ghost."

WHAT?!?!

I just burst out laughing, and I don't know if Patty's brain registered his bold statement, or if she was just laughing because I was laughing. I hope it was the later. My work can be very entertaining, but it rarely makes me laugh that hard that early in the morning.

After we got home and Cory left for his office, Elgin stood on his little red table then fell off onto a couple of baskets. Then, later, he was running towards me and tripped and fell face first on my shoe. We were visited by some Jehovah's Witnesses shortly afterwards. Thank you, God, for sending me signs affirming my working mom status.

The boys stayed home again today with Cory, and Cory reported some additions to Elgin's language development.  EW's no longer just standing in our chairs. He now crawl on them, stands, and says, "'it down!"

When I called Cory this afternoon to tell him I was on my way home, Elgin heard the phone ring and said, "hello?"

Their appetites are back, their spirits never dampened. They're off to school tomorrow and hitting the sidewalk to beg for candy tomorrow evening.  Let's just watch what comes out of those sweet mouths.

More wagon fun

We have a cute, classic, wooden, Radio Flyer wagon for our boys.  It belonged to the Josh and Caleb, but since they're not using it right now, we pull along in our neighborhood in a Pleasantville fashion. Cory had to work late a few nights ago, so before bedtime routine stuff, I suggested that we get outside and pass some time with Elgin rolling in the wagon and Henry riding his bike. (The boys were just coming off a very successful trike-a-thon, and H was getting back into the bike riding rhythm.)

All was euphoric. A neighbor stopped with her dog to catch up, and H pedaled back and forth, up and down the sidewalk. Elgin declared her pet a "dawg" a few times while reaching to pet it. Then, in a classic EW move, he stood up to yell, "DAWG!" as the furry friend walked away. From there, he stood taller when I asked him to sit back down, he arched his stomach up when I tried to sit him down myself, then he turned himself into a board with side gripping hands when I tried to lie him down in the wagon. I stopped to catch my breath and try to safely position the wagon, which gave him time to stand back up and crawl over the side to plant his feet on the ground.

So, again, I was faced with a choice: chase my boy who was sure to bolt after the dog or try to park the wagon to keep it from crashing with either Elgin or my other son who was happily oblivious on his bike.

I parked the wagon.  I know the perils of a runaway wagon.

Elgin bolted to the street.  I grabbed him when he reached the middle of the intersection across from our house.  When I tried to pull the wagon out of a neighbor's yard, he squirmed his way back down to the ground and tried to run back to the street. Another neighbor came outside and asked if I needed help. I declined for unknown reasons and made it back to the driveway to ditch the wagon and just "walk" Elgin behind H. He was more inclined to stick to the sidewalk when he had a brother on wheels to chase.

My goodness! I'm feeling a little leery of wagons and thinking I'll lay off on solo wagoneering.  It's not for me.

Utensil prowess

We discovered on Sunday morning that Elgin is more comfortable using his fork to eat certain foods than he is using his fingers. It's pretty cute that our 13 month old boy insists on a fork but not quite as cute that our 4.5 year old shuns utensils daily. The differences are already so apparent!

Consider the weasel

I cannot tell you how much I love this video and for how many reasons, but I'll list a few reasons why:

1) That voice--so, so sweet
2) The strong weasel image
3) His sincerity

From Henry Video

We are trying more and more to remind Henry that he is a "beloved child of God." I bet God smiles a lot when he hears this sweet child's voice.

Say Cheese!

We gave EW cheese on Monday night after getting the go ahead from Dr. Song to try a small amount of processed milk (cheese or yogurt) to gauge the reaction. He woke up with croup symptoms on Monday night, and since his allergy may have lead to some respiratory issues in the past, we are back on hold again. His stomach seems just fine, so I think that we will pick right back up with the cheese once the respiratory virus clears. Despite being on hold, we are feeling optimistic around here!

Cider House Rules

Today was Elgin's second day of being sick with the latest respiratory virus, and since he woke from a long morning nap with no fever, Henry and I decided that it would be a good day to head to Sky Top to pick some apples. Fresh air is good for the lungs, after all.

The lady who pointed us towards the orchards was quick to tell us (yell) that the wagons are not for riding after I told Henry to pick one to ride.

I told Henry we could break this rule once out of their site.

Well, as it turns out, there's good reason not to ride those wagons.  Henry was my passenger as I pulled the wagon along a bumpy road that traversed a relatively steep ravine. Squirmy Elgin was in my arms, refusing the Bjorn. I stopped to adjust Elgin, let go of the wagon, then turned to see the heavy wooden vehicle carrying my Henry down the hill.  I could either toss Elgin to the side to be able to dive after the run away wagon, or I could try to catch it the best I could without endangering my other child. I. could. not. catch up. Henry started screaming, "Mamaaaaaaa!"

Henry mercifully crashed into a line of fledgling vegetation, stopping a dangerous decent down the rest of the mountain side, and catapulting just inches away from the wagon. His knee was scraped, and his finger was scratched.

He declared it the worst thing that ever happened to him.

So, Sky Toppers, heed the rules.  The wagons are for apples only--not your trusting children.

At least I was able to produce a cider slushy and an apple cider doughnut to amend for my error.

Here are my two beautiful boys.

Picking up the ones off the ground... stupid wagon back there.

Trying to help his little brother who loved running down the hills but didn't really love the face planting

What H thinks is an appropriate apple orchard pose.  That damn wagon's in the background. 

A climbing/ jumping thing.  The play area there is... different.

For me?

Always the observer:

It was right after he picked this apple that he declared, "That's enough." We came home with six apples, and I'm pretty sure that we only paid for five.  I don't know where the sixth apple came from--maybe Elgin is a smuggler. 

True colors

Henry and I both woke up early this morning and had some quiet minutes together before the rush of the day began.  He chose to begin coloring his assignment from his Wednesday night church group.

For the first time, I noticed that he's coloring intentionally within the lines, intentionally choosing realistic (but still imaginative) colors, and intentionally holding the crayon in a tripod grasp.

I'm amazed.  We never really pushed him to color within the lines, especially since it's a little out of Henry character.  We used to try to see if he could hold pencils and pens with the tripod grasp but haven't really pushed it, either. I think he just practiced until he got it.  And, now, he seems to actually enjoy coloring.

My lover of white space took just a couple of years to embrace the colored wax medium.  What's next?

Results

It would seem that Elgin either didn't really drink the tiny sea monkey egg water, or his digestive system is cool with it.  He's on augmentin for an ear infection (which isn't supposed to happen due to tubes placed at 7 months), so his diapers are a mess, but his stomach seems to be fine.  Perhaps he won't be allergic to crustaceans? We have a particular affinity for lobster and oysters in this house, so I sure hope he can participate!

Instant pet... Food

Today we will find out if Elgin is allergic to teeny tiny shrimp. Not sure how much Amazing Live Sea Monkey water he ingested, and poison control says it's not toxic but to watch for an upset stomach.

Who put the container within his reach? I'll give you a hint. It wasn't this Total Elimination Dieter.