Half a Year Already!

Yep, it's that time again! Jack turned 6 months old this week, and here are his Dr's visit stats: (Don't those little Band-Aids just look so sad?)

Weight: 13 lbs 10 oz- 3%

Height: 25 in- 25%

Head: Don't remember- 25%

Our pediatrician was laughing at Jack's weight. He commented that Jack has decided to follow the "Merriman curve." I guess that means how my kids tend to almost go backwards on the growth curve after their 4th-5th month. 2 months ago he was in the 50% for weight- the little squirt only gained 6 ounces in 2 months! But, that means that he can wear all of his clothes longer, & is easier to pack around, so I'm OK with that as long as he's healthy.

We also ventured into the world of solid foods this week. Here's some pics of the grand event. I think his face says it all.

I also needed to throw in this pic just for fun- because it's so darn cute!

It also reminded me of these ones I took in October of 2006. Frank was 5 months old & Emma almost 3. See what I mean about wearing clothes longer if your kids are tiny? Emma's still wearing the same jammies!

Is it just me or do Frank & Jack almost look identical?

Egg-cellent, Egg-citing, & Egg-streme Fun

This weekend was our ward's annual Egg-stravaganza. It's sort of like a Pinewood Derby, but on steroids & with very few rules. The car can be literally anything- as long as it can carry a raw egg down a ramp, cross the gym floor, & bash into a brick wall without breaking the egg. Andrew decided the night before the race to build a car, & this is what he came up with. We let the kids decorate it, & Mom's job was to carve out the hole for the egg. (Mom with an X-acto knife- scary!) Dad did the rest.

I have to provide pictures to explain this to all of you that haven't had the privelige of participating in this grand event.

The ramp goes practically straight down- the cars really get cookin'.

Our competition- there's definitely a WIDE range of skill levels & design expertise. Remember- each of the items on this table is a "car."

Our family had a great time racing, and did pretty well. We won our first race, just barely lost our 2nd, and were going to keep racing in the losers' bracket. However, the #1 rule at the Eggstravaganza is that your egg CANNOT break. No matter what. That's a great rule, but they also have the stipulation that you must leave your car on these tables in between races. Not such a great situation when you have dozens of kids running around the gym & vying for the best seats to see the race.

Andrew went to check on our car & found the egg smashed to smithereens, sitting ever so snugly inside our custom-made egg-cushy-football. So, despite our success at slamming into a wall unscathed, we were disqualified because of some boisterous Primary kid. Oh well, there's always next year!

Movin' & Shakin'

Jack went from rolling over for the first time to doing that log-style, cross-the-living-room-in-30-seconds-and-get-wedged-underneath-the-couch roll in about 1 1/2 days. He is everywhere! And to make it even more scary, he's already starting to do the bum-in-the-air, swim-with-the-arms move that inevitably leads to crawling. Where has my baby gone?

Oh, there he is!

Remember the Rainforest Jumperoo that we found next to the trash dumpster last year? Well, we washed it really well, and it's definitely a hit! He can really get this thing bouncin', and even shakes himself right to sleep. But the thing that's REALLY cute is that when he wiggles & wakes up, he'll bounce with just 1 foot to soothe himself back to sleep. Too bad I can't let him sleep in this thing all the time!

Note the hat. Little man has figured out how to yank out the hearing aids (not a big deal) and put them in his mouth (VERY big deal, since they don't belong to us)! But seriously, is there anything cuter than a sleeping baby?

And don't forget this stage- I LOVE it when they chew on their little toes! (And I especially love it when it's finally warm enough for their little toes to be uncovered!) He's never really tried to mouth his toes because they've been encased in warm little sockies since the day he was born. But now that they're naked on a daily basis, I think he might chew them right off!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love this little one?

A Whole New Perspective

I will NEVER complain about one of my children waking me up in the night again. Last night, while innocently blog-surfing for coupon shopping ideas, I came across a family's story of tragedy. On Thursday morning, the father went to get his 8 month old baby out of his crib & found him not breathing. After some CPR & a blessing, the paramedics declared him dead. He was only 8 months old! The thing that made it even more heart-rending is that the grandmother had taken a picture of mom & dad holding their poor deceased child in their arms & posted it on the blog. I literally cried for over an hour.

I guess I have never considered too seriously that these sweet little angels that we watch over are not really ours at all, and that if Heavenly Father needs them at home, he will not hesitate to take them back there. Such an eye-opener! As much as I try to cherish the time I have with my kids, I need to increase that appreciation ten-fold, because they could very easily not be here tomorrow.

Yesterday is history,

Tomorrow is a mystery,

Today is a gift,

That's why they call it the PRESENT.

Memorable Moments

Sometimes mothering is a totally thankless job. OK, about 95% of the time it's a mundane, frustrating & totally exasperating job. But every once in a while these little munchkins of ours pay us back for all of the poop, puke, & stretch marks, not to mention the yelling, screaming & throwing of objects (me, not them, unfortunately). These are the moments we need to remember.

Like good little doobies, we have scripture study every night with the kids. We have the Scripture Stories series, and I would recommend them to anyone that wants to have scripture study but thinks that their kids are too small. Emma is usually glued to the book, and has each story memorized before we're even done reading. She even wanted to be a Stripling Warrior for Halloween. (Awesome, huh?) Frank, however, stares at the ceiling, plays with the couch pillows, and climbs all over his parents during stripture time. I've never been all that sure that we're getting through to him.

We finished the Book of Mormon a couple of weeks ago and are now starting into the Doctrine & Covenants. We were discussing Joseph Smith & all of the bad things that happened to him when he was the prophet. We then talked about Newel Knight's struggles.

Our conversation went something like this:

Mom: Newel Knight needed a blessing from the prophet to help him know that the church was true & that Satan was trying to get him not to join.

Emma: Like Satan tried to get Joseph Smith not to pray?

Mom: Yep, honey. Joseph & the other men who started the church had to be very strong men. Satan tried very hard to get them not to believe in Jesus. Joseph was a very strong prophet.

And then, totally out of the blue, Frank yelled: Like Nephi!

Yea! My efforts are not totally in vain, he is hearing at least some of it, and the Lord does answer prayers! I can get through the poop, jumping on the couch, and wrestling for toys for at least one more day. If only these crazy little kids could bring it upon themselves to pay us back more often- but I know that's wishful thinking.

Until the next Memorable Moment.....

Think Green!

I LOVE St. Patrick's Day. And no, it's not for the beer or the goofy shamrock glasses that people wear. St. Patrick's Day is awesome to me because my absolute favorite color in the world is GREEN! Now brace yourselves, fellow Bulldogs. My favorite color is not only green, but it's (gulp!) Thatcher Eagle green- otherwise known as shamrock or kelly green. Andrew (who is from Thatcher) gets a total kick out of my disgust for his school's color, yet my love of the color itself. Strange, I know. I am happy all day long on St. Patty's day- just thinking green can do that to me.

I love the 17th of March because I can wear my disturbingly loud green shirt proudly for all the world to see (without looking totally cuckoo). And I must admit, I love to find new & interesting ways to serve strange green food to my family. This year we went really tame. Just corned beef & cabbage (those old Irish staples- yum!) for dinner, with green lemonade & green Jell-O for dessert. For breakfast, Mommy was too tired to get up & cook green eggs & ham, so the kids had to settle for green milk & every single green Froot Loop that I could dig out of the 2 boxes I had on hand. Served in green bowls, of course, with green spoons. Hey- the kids got a kick out of it, and next year I'm sure that I'll be more creative. Next year I won't have a baby getting up 3 times a night!

I do need to share the success I had doing Emma's hair all fancy for the big day. She loved it, and I was shocked at how well it stayed in all day. I'm actually getting quite comfortable at this hair thing, and Emma no longer doubts my ability to accomplish these fancy 'dos.So I hope that your GREEN DAY was as fun as mine. Think green- it'll brighten your day too!

My CRAZY Kids! Part 1

Part 1: Jack

One Busy Little Baby!

In the past 2 weeks, this little guy has discovered a whole new set of exciting things about the world:

Hey, what are these things attached to my legs?

And I don't have to just LAY there like a lump! If I wiggle just so.....
I can see the world from a whole new perspective! (I know, it's the beginning of the end for his baby-hood. From here on out he's going to be a big boy. Tears.)

And look what the world looks like from here! WOW!

I love this little guy!

My CRAZY Kids! Part 2

Part 2: Frank

Ladykiller or Little Stinker?What a little heartbreaker! Every time Frank goes outside to play, he comes back in with some lovely flowers & a "boo-tiful" rock for me. I used to think that he would just grab random rocks & bring them to me, but I caught him last week analyzing a whole pile of pebbles to find the best one for Mommy.And then, just when I think he's pretty much perfect in every way, he does something like this:Yes, those are cinnamon rolls that we had made for some friends. I love how he didn't use just 1 finger to scrape off the frosting. Not this sugar-holic kid! He used his whole hand. What a crack-up! And no, we did not deliver them, we had to eat this pan ourselves. (Bummer)

But just so you know, I still do think that he's pretty much perfect in every way!

Luv ya, Snugglebug!

My CRAZY Kids! Part 3

Part 3: Emma

Fashion Challenged or Fashion Forward?

This little girl LOVES to look pretty. And granted, I am certainly no expert when it comes to lookin' good, but sometimes I wonder about her.....
Obviously she thinks that when it comes to clothes, the brighter, the better! I think she might be onto something here. Who ever said that camo & bright purple don't match? Maybe she'll be a famous fashion designer someday.This picture cracks me up. It's like she chose 1 item of clothing from every drawer in her dresser (with her eyes closed) & put them all on together.

I KNOW I've seen supermodels with hair that looks just like this!

I vote for fashion forward! Luv ya, girl!

Bestest Buds

Frank has decided that Jack is his #1 buddy. I've gotta say- these 2 are hilarious and oh-so-adorable when they get talking to each other. I only hope it lasts through the growing up years! Frank has taken it upon himself to instill a love of cars, trains, and anything else that moves in Jack. Jack is learning fast, but doesn't quite appreciate them as much as Frank thinks he should. Of course, nobody loves cars as much as Frank!

Oh, my sweet boys!

I've been meaning to blog about this for the past week or so, but it's been so hard to deal with that I've intentionally been putting it off. But, since I've received some calls from people wondering how we're doing, here we go!
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Well, it's officially been confirmed that Jack does indeed have a mild hearing loss in both ears. Unfortunately, the experts don't know what caused it, & they can't do further testing for another month or so. At that point, he'll get a CAT scan, an MRI, and possibly some blood work to try to determine if whatever's wrong can be fixed. We're not very optimistic about that, because most people that have a hearing loss never find out what caused it. However, for the time being, we're goin' with the flow & doing what needs to be done to ensure that he'll be right on track when he starts to speak. And that means hearing aids.

Doesn't he look thrilled?

I have been dreading this for the past month or so. And yes, I did cry a little. But overall, the whole process was as painless as the good folks at the Arizona School for the Deaf & Blind (ASDB) could make it for us. They have an early childhood intervention program, and they'll be working with us for the next 3 years to make sure that Jack doesn't fall behind in his language skills as he grows.

Jack was a little teary-eyed, too.

I have to admit that they're not anywhere near as bad as I thought they'd be.

See? He's wearing them in this pic.

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I think that the folks at the ASDB thought that the improvement was going to be a lot more drastic than it has been. So, on the one hand, that's good! He was hearing almost everything before. On the other hand, it's depressing that he has to wear these hearing aides when his hearing loss is so mild. Since he got them, we've mostly just noticed him turning his head to sounds or voices that are coming from across the room. It's nice to know that he's hearing everything now, but also comforting to know that he wasn't missing all that much before.

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Hopefully this will get less hard as time goes on. I'm told that attending the parent support groups & being with other people that deal with this will be helpful, although I still am having a hard time with the idea that my son will be "different" from now on. I'm afraid for him- how he'll be treated by other kids, how he'll be viewed by others, and most of all, that he won't feel "normal" as he grows.

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But we perservere, and once we get used to this, I'm sure something else will come up. That's life, after all, isn't it?

What Rules?

Good parents know when to break the rules, and Andy is most definitely a good parent.