A Flurry of Events

I did not ever post wintery pictures, or Christmas shots. We PNW folks have certainly all seen enough "Valley Floor snow" to last us the entire season. But for posterity sake, I must-must-must sneak one or two in here.

Above: The view out one of our family room windows. The barn is not ours, but we enjoy looking at it. And the icicles were 12-18" long SPEARS!

Above: Just two shots of the backyard. In case you can't tell, that first picture is of the creek covered in snow and ice!

And I cannot pass up this opportunity to throw in shots of the kids opening gifts and making gingerbread houses at my folks house.

I wanted to include a video of the kids opening up presents but it is a little long and is a huge file. Instead, a simple description of one scene. Weston is oohing and aaahhing over a book, while the big boys are opening up downhill skis in the background. I just love the excitement you see and hear from each boy at the gift. In the foreground is little 2yo Weston, who is absolutely THRILLED with the farm animal book he received (and I mean thrilled... you hear him squacking about in the background when the attention turns away from him and onto his brothers). And in the background is Davis, super excited about the set of awesome (used) skis he received - oh, and they are way cool looking... thanks Grandpa and Grandma! Jackson receives a pair, too, and upon seeing the present's shape my 4yo - smart as a tack - says, "Well, I already KNOW they are ski's, Daddy."

This Christmas will be known to us as "The One With All The Hats." Each boy received a total of 4 hats. That's 16 new hats floating around the house right now. My oh my. The photo above is the boys wearing stocking caps that Ryan and his two sisters wore some 25 years ago. I think they are the coolest!

And then (below) you see us melting snow by our fireplace. What would possess my husband to do such a crazy thing? How about not having running water in our house for more than 24 hours. That's WAY FUN with an infant, let me tell you! We were very thankful to learn that it turns out we did not have frozen pipes but rather a neighbor(?) turned our water supply off by mistake inside our neighborhood pump house for the shared well.

Thanks for peeking in at the fun we had in these past several days!

A Simple Request, Unsatisfied.

With a cheerful smile and pleasant tone, Jackson came to me asking, "Tie this string on my (stuffed) kitty's tail, please."

"Sure I will. But, on his tail? How about around his neck."

"No. On his tail. and make one side of the string short and one side long so that I can swing-swing-swing him around and smack people's faces. Smack! Smack! Smack!"

Needless to say, the string did not make it on the kitty's tail.

A Parenting Re-Run

One thing I really enjoy about keeping a blog is that I can go back to things I have written and remind myself of things. I had an opportunity to be reminded of something I wrote back in February that was really great for me to read again (I needed a nudge in the right direction).

February 16, 2008
Some days I wake up and I feel like I've fallen behind before my feet hit the floor. Like I hit the snooze button one too many times and I've missed the window for my shower, and the whole day is shot. I will never catch up. The kids argue with each other and I don't know how I will handle the conflict -- but no sense dealing with that one, because another one is fast on its heels. And the picky-eater-teething-feverish-toddler won't ... read more and comment here.

Don't tell Tiffany, please

Please don't tell Tiffany, but for Ryan's Christmas present I caved. I totally and completely caved. And now I am "the best wife ever." So, I am sorry. I hope she will still be my friend. And yes, Andrew, you and the fam can come and play. Anytime. If your wife can forgive me.

Our Little Curious George

I have blogged enough about Weston's lack of words over the past several months for most to know that our little two-year-old is mostly without expressive language. But I made an interesting and fun discovery about our little Weston that I thought might bring a smile to my snowed in friends this week.

So Weston's most favorite character is Curious George. He carries the book, "Curious George and the Bunny" around to look at often. he was delighted when Daddy came home one day with a Curious George stuffed animal (he now sleeps every night with it). And BY FAR his favorite TV show is PBS's Curious George.

It dawned on me that our little Weston expresses himself a lot like old CG. Lots of pointing and "uh-uh" grunts, with big laughter or tears. To tell us he is thirsty, he points to his mouth, makes a gulp-fulp sound and then whispers, "aaahhh" as though he just took a big, satisying drink. If you have ever watched the little TV show you are aware that, though George does not speak, you always know exactly what he is thinking (thanks, in part, to the help of the narrator, I suppose).

Here is a short video of Weston watching a little bit of Basketball with Daddy.

I bet you can figure out that he is retelling Daddy what he just saw on the TV.

Anyway, the other day I said to Weston, "You talk like Curious George, don't you?" to which he excitedly and emphatically answered,

"YEAH!!"

He seemed thrilled to be understeood in a new and more complex way. It was quite a moment.

Fact Check

A little reminder for moms, or a little TMI for the rest of the world...

FACT: Thinking about needng to feed a newborn WILL cause your milk to let down.

FACT: Wondering when the last time it was you fed your newborn WILL cause your milk to let down.

FACT: Showering, even immediately after nursing your infant, WILL make your milk let down.

FACT: The process of changing out of your day bra and into your sleeping bra WILL make your milk let down.

FACT: Blogging about your milk letting down WILL make your milk let down.

FACT: That's too much letting down. Where is my pump?

First Grade Writing

For those of you who have yet to have kids enter into school, let me just tell you that Kindergarten is fun and exciting, but First Grade is AMAZING. I mean, they walk into first grade generally not knowing how to read or write much at all, and before Christmas they are reading and writing sentences you will be astounded at.

It is just so much fun. Really. Really. Fun.

Here are a few examples of Davis' writing. Mrs. Baker encourages the kids to write about real things, and his little stories are the making of an elementary school blog:

9/10/2008
I playd socr. We wun 3to8.

10/30/2008
I korvd my pumpkin. It wus sceree. It was mad (made) wot uv triagles. Frst we brot in the pumpkin and thean we wosht theam. We got sum newspaper and poot it on a table. We poot the pumpkin on the table. Dad cut the top off and we rethe into the pumpkin.

SO much happens in just six weeks!!

A "Crackin' Down" Update

Ever wonder how its going with someones Newest Resolution To Change Their World? I thought I would let you in on mine (mostly because it is a successful one thus far and therefore not embarrassing to mention again). In the first post I told you I was not going to give warnings any longer. Do as you are asked the first time I ask (and all-the-way-complete the request) or suffer the consequences.

And the update is that it is working AMAZINGLY. I use the technique throughout the day, but the one area it has impacted me the most is getting ready for bed. The two oldest boys have responded in earnest, knowing (via a stinging bun or two) that they must heed my request. It comes at them with kindness and patience (oooh! its so easy to be that way when you only have to ask once!), and they delight to show me they can get it all done without being hounded ("Come on!! Get those jammies on! Did you brush your teeth? Are your clothes put away??"). Really, with two other kids to tend to (ages 2, and 2 weeks) I can't- CAN'T - spend a half hour tending to what should take seven minutes.

And thanks to The Crack Down I don't need to.

And now it is time to crack down on little Weston. He totally gets the notion of obeying. And he is actually pretty good at it... but he currently is testing the waters of non-compliance (read: ignoring Mommy completely). So The Crack Down trickles down to my baby, who is no longer the baby. And the area of obedience I will concentrate on for him is getting from the car to the house. We park the minivan in a carport and getting his outdoor-loving tooshie into the house with a baby carrier and diaper bag weighing down my upper extremities is no small feat. So I will use this scenario to teach and train him to Obey Mommy The First Time.

This should be fun!

A Playdate Planned

My good friend Lori was chatting with her three boys (ages 7, 5, and 3) about our new addition to the family. She was sweet enough to be directing the conversation to how the boys could help us in our transition. A playdate was suggested by one of them and five year old Carter (squeaky, sweet, missing his two front teeth, Carter) said with all the enthusiasm inside his little body, "YEAH! And we could have Baby Drake come, too!"
"Well, He needs to be with his Mommy all the time right now," Lori responded. "And besides, he sleeps pretty much all day long."
To which Caleb (the 7yo) responded: "Is that because he is NOCTURNAL?!?"

Thankfully, Caleb, he is no longer nocturnal.

Several Piles and a Panic

A couple of nights ago... Little Drake had peed out of his diaper so many times the night before that i had zero bundling blankets or easy-zip jammies left. So I was destined to do a load of laundry in the morning.

It took all day long to get the single load of laundry done (shocker!) so that evening after all the kids had gone to bed I was folding it. It just so happened that this laundry load was the first ever containing clothes belonging to all four boys. I don't usually do the big boys' laundry, but I needed to add to the relatively small load so the big boys got spoiled, I guess.

ANYWAY, I was struggling to keep the piles straight ("Let's see... this is Jackson's shirt, and this one is Weston's shirt - no wait, these are both Weston's shirts... and this pile I started is who's? Oh, Davis'. Right. Now where is the Drake pile? Here - no, HERE it is. Oh. I guess he has TWO piles..." And so on and so on). It was during the laundry folding/pile sorting process that it really sunk in: I HAVE FOUR KIDS.

FOUR.

And I tried not to panic.

Quote of the Day

Jackson said (quite out of the blue), "Awww! I wish I was a girl!"
Really, son? Why?
"Because that way I wouldn't have to work so late."

Boy did I feel conflicted. On the one hand I thought, Yeah. Working all day long, every day is no longer my idea of a fun way to spend my week. Boy am I glad Ryan does that instead. And then pretty much before I even had the chance to finish that thought it occurred to me, WAIT! I work all day long, too, and all night right now, too. Jackson, dude, I think you might be ok being a boy. The grass sure is greener on the other side at times.

But boy or girl, we sure do work. And hopefully it is to the glory of the Lord.

Happy Birthday, Sister

Now it is time to pause from my family being the center of attention and focus a moment on the wonderful woman who is my sister.

Happy Birthday, Megan!

I love you with all my heart. I am so blessed to have you in my life, in my town, and around my kids. I am thankful for our differences and thankful for our similarities.


Have a wonderful birthday, sis!


p.s. can we count it as an extra bonus birthday gift that Weston's seventh (or is it ninth?) word, said yesterday, is "Mingy?" It was a gift to me, that is certain.

p.p.s. Isn't this picture fun? It is from her junior high days... or maybe early high school? I am not sure now that I type it. Megan, you will have to correct me. Anyway, once a year, in December, we ladies: Megan, Mom and I, get all dolled up and go to a fancy restaurant and see a play. What a fun tradition it is. Hopefully we will resume this tradition (and include Jenna and Elsie) soon.

Pictures, Pictures, and More Pictures

At the risk of great personal embarrassment, I start this post with a "Before" shot. I still can't believe how far that kid stuck out! Whew - glad he's on the outside.

And "After." Labor went very smoothly. (I will spare the bloggy-world the details.)Here he is!

The boys came and visited at the hospital. They were all so sweet and excited.

Davis has been Davis: Excited and sweet, and anxious to hold him and introspective and mature and contemplative... he is the best biggest brother a baby could hope for.
Jackson could hardly put the little guy down. And the questions he has asked are so cute. Like, "Can he live with US?" and "Does he have ears?" and "Why is his cheeks so soft?" jackson's big brown eyes were just HUGE all day. I LOVED watching him with Baby Drake. What a treat.

Weston wanted to hold the baby a ton, too. He was extremely gentle and tender. He kept pointing to Baby Drake and then looking up at me to make sure I saw that he had a baby.

Pictures of Baby Drake

Drake Robert Glover

9 lbs 9 oz

19 inches

He's precious!! 

(For a few more pictures, you can come to my site by clicking here.) 

Baby Glover has Arrived!!

Drake Robert Glover was born today at 3:27pm.  He weighed in at 9 lbs 9 oz!!  Baby and mom are doing GREAT.  I was talking to Jenne on the phone at 3:15 and right when we got off she started to deliver!  Nice and quick :)  I will post some pictures tonight after I get to go meet my new nephew!!

Baby Day Post #4

Dilated to an 8, they called the doctor, and she has been 'happy' for about an hour now (you know, happily drugged with an epidural).  The next post should be an announcement!!

Baby Day Post #3

At about 12:30pm, Jenne was dilated to 5 cm.  As many who have labored before know, this number could mean that the baby will come soon, or that it will still be a long time!  I share this because I thought some inquiring minds out there would want to know :)

Baby Day Post #2

The doctor broke Jen's water at 10:30am...

Baby Day Post #1

As of right now, Jenne is at the hospital.  They haven't started any medicine yet, but as of right now it looks like they will keep her and be able to induce today!