Absent Blogger

I know that I have thought many times this week, "I must remember to blog about that when Nick gets home." Unfortunately....I forget what I wanted to blog about. So I will try to make it up as I go. (Forgive any disconnected and disorganized thoughts.)

Nick worked like crazy over the last few weeks. He ended up with 44 hours of overtime on his last check! That was very nice. Overtime is no longer approved, so he is back to working normal hours. That, too, is very nice. Nick was in Fairbanks last week...we took him to the airport at 5am on Monday and he wasn't supposed to be home until Thursday evening. However, he called Wednesday afternoon to say that he needed to be at the Anchorage office on Thursday, so he took a 6am flight back home, and worked until 1:15pm when we picked him up. Since travel time counts as being on the clock, and he had to be at the airport so early, he was able to come home early. He took a much needed nap for almost four hours and then watched the boys so I could go to choir. Then on Friday, he called from work with bad news. He has to go back to Fairbanks next week...this time he drives. So he will leave on Monday morning and not be back until Friday evening. Two weeks in a row with my husband. We sure miss him when he is gone. I notice a difference in the boys as well.

Joey is growing so big. We can tell a difference in little things....like how he can reach the running water from the faucet with his toothbrush. I have only one pair of size 3T pants for him, and when I tried them on (since he can still get away with wearing the size 2T) they fit him very well. They are not too big around the waist (which was where I thought they would fit the least) and they reach the tops of his feet (so they no longer look like he's close to wearing high-waters.) So we went out and bought him another pair of jeans, so he has a couple. I keep looking at him for long periods of time with my eyes getting misty....he is growing up so fast and is so precious. He likes to help me make grocery lists. He says, "We need more pull-ups, taymaytoes, and milk." When I'm all done making the list he says, "You're a good lister, Mom." He can be so sweet out of the blue, when for no reason he will say something like, "Thanks for taking care of me, Mom."

Baby Nick is also growing. He is much more of a "lover" now than he was when he was younger, but I still have to beg for loves from his much of the time. He has his third molar...on the bottom right. It came in only a few days after the top two came in, but I didn't notice for awhile. I don't stick my fingers in his mouth as often unless I am willing to part with them. He just started "winking" today. Daddy was showing him how to wink, and he actually made a very good attempt. He still chooses not to walk...but he will soon. I am not despairing. He is quick enough as it is. He still likes to tear apart my food storage caddy...distributing pieces all over the house, in every other cupboard. When I need a container for leftovers, I have to look through three cupboards, four drawers, the toy box, and under the couch or desk, to find what I am looking for. Not only does he take all the dishes out of the caddy, he takes all the pieces of the caddy apart. Joey likes to help me put it back together, but if I want it to say that way, I have to keep it up on the counter.

With Nick leaving for Fairbanks on Monday...I won't be able to blog until he gets back. I will try to blog throughout the rest of today and tomorrow when I think of something. But if I don't blog until the end of next week, it's not because I am absent....just the computer is! Hope you all have a great weekend and a fabulous week next week. Missing all my friends and family.

Oh, by the way...there is snow on the mountains, so we are only a few weeks away from being covered in the miserable, cold stuff ourselves for the next seven-eight months. But it does look pretty on the mountains. It would be even prettier if it stayed there!

One Bad Week Down....One To Go

What an awfully busy week this has been for Nick. We figure he put in a 68 hour week. Thankfully, overtime pay was approved for this physical inventory season...so we will see a nice reward for it! Joey, Baby Nick, and I went in to "work" on Saturday morning and spent almost six hours working for Nick. Our payment....a doughnut for breakfast and a piece of pizza for lunch. But can you imagine how much longer Nick would have been at work if I hadn't been able to help him. We were hoping to have a babysitter for the day...but we ended up taking the boys. They did a fantastic job. We brought our gate and set it up to "expand" Daddy's office. That way, I didn't have to restrict them to a 9' X 9' cell, but I could still keep them corralled where I could see them. They didn't complain even once! Thank God for awesome boys.

Nick was hoping for a day off today, but since he is also on call, he did have to go out and do one stop. Now, we just have to prepare to have the boys ready to leave by 5:00am to take him to the airport tomorrow morning. He is on his way back to Fairbanks to train his two new employees. Hopefully his travel will be easier than it was on Friday. He had the same outgoing flight (7am) and was planning on being at the airport by 5am. Unfortunately, his flight was delayed a couple times and he didn't leave until 10am! Since he was so delayed, he had find a later flight coming home so he would have enough time to finish the inventory. He didn't get home until 10pm. So I am praying that his flight will be on time and he won't be getting us all up so early for no reason.

Exciting news...I get to pick up Baby Nick's one year pictures tomorrow! I am looking forward to seeing them, even though he didn't smile. I should be able to send them out in the next couple weeks.

With Nick gone till Thursday, I won't have the laptop to blog for the week. So I will try to remember everything I want to blog and catch up on Thursday....or Friday. Have a great week.

Observant Mother

I was doing a load of dishes just a bit ago, and although I was aware of where all the children were (and sort of aware of what they were doing) I was not paying attention to the little details. When I heard Joey call to me in a panic, I wasn't too concerned as I knew nothing life threatening was happening. So I walk around the "corner" of the kitchen and see Joey holding the gate that is supposed to keep the kids out of the kitchen. Well, if Nick had fastened it to the wall it may keep the kids out (at least the littlest ones), but as it is just held up by sitting between the wall and the piano...it just slides across the opening to the kitchen. So all the kids know how to slide it open and it does nothing to keep them out from underfoot when I'm cleaning or cooking.

So, Joey was holding it as it had come out from between the wall and the piano and would have fallen over had he not been keeping it up. It was an easy fix, just slide it behind the piano again...Joey felt better. Then when I turned around to finishing rinsing out the pot I was working on, I noticed that Baby Nick's pants were lying there on the floor; empty. I peek around at Baby Nick, and he is sitting contentedly by the stove playing with my dish towel that I try (in vain) to keep hanging from the oven door...bare legs. He must have crawled out of them...but as I was not paying attention to the details, I was taken completely by surprise! What fun my kids bring to my life. (Currently, Baby Nick is trying to place a long distance call to Tokyo, or somewhere like it...thankfully I have an older son who is concerned about our long distance phone bill and will "kindly" rip the phone out his brother's hands and turn it off.)

Off to make lunch....I believe we will have chicken nuggets...it's a favorite!

Weekends Pass Far Too Quickly

I don't know that there was anything we did except church and grocery shopping on Sunday, four loads of laundry and lunch at daddy's work on Saturday....but it just seemed like the weekend flew by.

Nick worked from 10-5 on Saturday, so the boys and I brought lunch to his office and all ate together...the only way the boys were going to see daddy more than a weekday. We enjoyed our time and were sorry to have to leave daddy at work. On the way home, there was a car accident causing a major traffic jam. A drive that typically takes 10 minutes took over twenty. By the time we got home, both boys had fallen asleep. It doesn't surprise me as it was nap time, but I had to carry each of them inside and lay them back down, trying not to wake them up. They both woke up...but they both went back to sleep, allowing me to start the first of four loads of laundry. After dinner, we gave the boys their bath and put them to bed. I spent the night getting up and down, not being able to sleep, and eventually started Sunday with two hours of sleep.

I decided to start going to Sunday School as well as church, and Pastor Daryl just started teaching a study on the book of Colossains. He has broken the sections of the book down so that we do a more in depth study of each group of passages. I am not very participatory (afraid of looking rather stupid), however, after listening to others give their answers, I did offer my point of view and found that I had the right answers or a valid point of view. (Surprised the stuffin' out of me!) I really look forward to going back. Although, it does make for a very long day for the boys. We leave the house at nine in the morning and don't get home until one in the afternoon. Then they need lunch (since they haven't eaten since 7:30) and lay down for a nap. The only problem is, they usually fall asleep in the car on the way home (at least Baby Nick does) and then their naps don't last as long....and since my nap time is determined by their nap time...I pray for a long nap for the boys on Sunday afternoons. Thankfully, I have a kind husband, and unless he is napping with us, he will let me sleep a little longer after the boys get up. But since we still had to do the grocery shopping, he couldn't let me sleep too long yesterday.

On the way home from church yesterday, my eyes fell on a pretty, but depressing sight. The taller mountains had snow on their peaks. Then, even more depressing, was this morning as I went to send something out in the mail....the windows on the cars were frosted over and the dew on the mailbox was frozen. This is just the beginning....and the end is so very far away.

Last Thursday, Joey stepped on something (I'm not sure what) that cut the bottom of his foot. He stood their crying and wouldn't come see me (and since I was in the middle of a diaper change I couldn't go to him) but when he did there was blood all over his socks. He actually asked for a band-aid, and for a kid who has been more afraid of the band-aid than the owie, he really surprised me. Since then, though, he has been tip-toeing around. Even after waking up from a nap or a full night sleep, he would start right off tip-toeing, not even needing to step on his foot to remember he had an owie. Finally, sometime yesterday afternoon, he stopped walking on the tops of his toes....but habits are hard to break, and every once in awhile, I will have to remind him not to tip-toe.

I don't know when he picked it up, but Joey has been "cheers"ing anybody with a glass. Anytime he has his cup when someone else has something to drink, he will come up to them and tap their glass with his and say, "Cheers!" It is really cute. But now Baby Nick has picked it up and he will tap glasses with someone else! I love watching the two of them "cheering" each other throughout dinner.

I can't think of anything else that needs telling right now. You already know what crazy weeks the next two are for Nick at work. I wonder if we will see him at all. The first choir practice is this Thursday (and if Nick doesn't make it home from Soldotna in time, I will have to bring both boys). Tina should be calling me this week to get together and figure some things out about the children's Christmas program. I really look forward to getting that started.

Poofy Hair

It's Saturday! I like Saturdays. I enjoy having Dakota for the day, but I also enjoy having my family to myself. Unfortunately, Nick will be working most of today.
Look at Baby Nick's hair! It's getting longer....and poofier. It really is only poofy after waking up from sleeping. After playing for awhile, it calms down a bit. But Nick is starting to tease me about his hair...saying he's getting a mullet like Joey had. Joey never had a mullet...and neither does Baby Nick. Nick just needs to learn to love his sons' hair. Everybody (except Nick) loves the curls.

This morning, as I was getting ready to turn a computer game on for Joey, I made a detour to YouTube and looked at the old videos I had downloaded. As I was watching Baby Nick spitting, growling, and climbing up the stairs, Baby Nick was sitting in his bouncer laughing at himself in the video. It was so cute!

There is not much new going on around here. You have already heard how busy Nick is at work. Choir starts next week...and I still don't have a schedule for the children's program rehearsals yet. Hope you all have a blessed weekend.

A Better Day

Yesterday, I took Baby Nick to get his one year pictures taken (finally)...and the stinker didn't smile for a single picture. It was late afternoon, it was extremely hot in the studio, he hadn't had a snack yet...so it was no wonder. I still was able to pick out a couple that were real cute. I just wished he had smiled. He showed none of his usual "haminess" that he shows at home. I can't wait to get them back, though. I will send them out as soon as I can.

Dakota's mom decided to have a friend watch him yesterday as he was having a real bad day. She didn't want him to ruin the experience of getting Nick's pictures done. She was so sweet to think of it that way, but it was completely unnecessary. But it turned out to be a good idea since I had my hands full enough with Joey and Nick whining the whole way home. Dakota has been kind of grumpy lately because he has been teething...and for some reason, the tooth was being extra stubborn. When Chris dropped Dakota off this morning, she said the tooth finally broke through and it turned out being a molar. No wonder he was having such a hard time. Today was a much better day for him.

As I was getting Baby Nick ready for bed tonight, I checked his mouth for any progress on new teeth. I was completely shocked to find that he had cut both of his first upper molars! This only happened within the last day or two, as they are barely in...but they are most definitely in!

I emailed Chris some pictures of Dakota that I took of him playing at daycare. She emailed back asking if Dakota had seen either of my kids eating right off the plate with their mouths instead of using hands or silverware. She said that Dakota had done that the other night and sat up and giggled. They were laughing so hard...she didn't know if that was something he had observed or if he figured it out on his own. (She also said that she is so blessed that he now has kids his own age to learn from.) I told her this morning that, unfortunately, Dakota did see my son (Nick) eating off the table with his mouth when each of his hands were already full with food in each. I said that she may not be thanking me for long that Dakota has others to learn from! I'm glad she has such a good sense of humor.

Tomorrow we are planning on going back to the library to get a new selection of books. Joey loves to read. As tired as I get reading the same book to him over and over again, I try to read them whenever he wants me too. I want him to have a passion for reading. Sometimes, when I just can't stand to read a particular book one more time, I'll have him "read" it to me. He does really well, and by the pictures, can identify what happens on that page! I'm so proud of him. He is so smart. I love it when he is playing a game on the computer, and looks over at me and says, "I'm so impressive." I can't help but laugh. I tell him all the time how impressed I am with him. I'm glad to see he has a healthy self-esteem. I pray that I will always build him up like that...that my words never tear him down.

Hope you all have a great rest of the week.

A New Ministry

I am so stoked! Yesterday, there was a First Ladies Brunch at the church. (It's called "First Ladies" because the church is First Assembly of God.) Tina was there (my friend from college) and said she had something to talk to me about and hoped that I was as excited about it as she was.

Then Alice (the pastor's wife) said, in our discussion, that her calling has always been to encourage and enable people in their callings. She encouraged us to talk to her about what we are passionate about, what lights our fires, so she can help us find a place to serve. My greatest passion has always been music. And it has been so nice being in the choir at this church, singing on the worship team occasionally. But I fear that if I ask to be more involved, it would seem that I am just trying to be in the spotlight...which is NOT my intention at all. So I hang back in the shadows.

Tina had to leave before the brunch was over, so I didn't get to talk to her yesterday. After church this morning, she found me and asked me if I wanted to be the musical director for the children's Christmas program! I was so excited to even be asked. She said that I was the only person she thought of. So, here is an opportunity to be more involved in a music ministry (it's a bonus it's with kids) and not be in a position of "being in the spotlight" so nobody thinks that that is my intention. Not that anybody would, but that is my fear...that somebody would think I was just out for attention.

I don't know when we are going to get started, I don't know what the practice schedule will be. Tina and I will get together some time to discuss all that. I also have adult choir practices starting a week from Thursday for the Singing Christmas Tree. I am very excited about that as well. But we will have to find practice times that work around that as well. This should be a very busy season for me. I'm looking forward to it.

The Computer Is Back!

Okay...I mean to say...my husband's back!! I am really excited that he is home. I don't have a problem when he is gone (no fears, etc.), but it is so much nicer to have him here. The boys really miss him, too, and have a blast when he comes home. He spent six hours driving to Fairbanks on Tuesday, all so that he could interview two possible candidates (one of whom cancelled due to a broken foot) on Wednesday, and then drove six hours back on Thursday. After being on the road for several hours, he found out that he would have to do a stop on the way home because the tech at Anchorage is too slow to complete the FOUR stops he had. (Keep in mind, Nick's average day in Portland was 17 stops...sometimes less, most of the time, more.) Now he will have to drive towards Soldotna tomorrow for a two-hour each way trip for one or two stops.

What's worse, he is going to have to go back to Fairbanks in a few weeks to train any new employee he hires. He is going to be extremely busy for the next few weeks, working a lot of overtime (which has been approved, so he gets paid...whoohoo), and will need a serious long weekend when it's all over.

I started my new job this week. Dakota has been here for three days now and I think he is doing pretty good. The first day was interesting during nap time, as I had Baby Nick in his crib and Dakota in the playpen in the same room. They were up there for two hours and just sat and played and watched each other the entire time. At one point, I went up to replace pacifiers (as both of them had thrown them out of their beds) and found that Dakota had also taken off and thrown out his bib (which he wears for his SERIOUS drooling issue), and his shirt (which according to his mom, he has never taken his shirt off before.) Dakota is about 14 months old, and after each nap, he sits down on the potty and actually goes! Can you believe it? He is not at a point where he can say "I have to go" but he understands the sensation, because he will sit there until he is done, and only stands up after finishing. And I can't even get my three year old to get near the potty chair. I was thinking that I might try sitting Baby Nick on the potty after naps and see what he does with it. Maybe that would be incentive for Joey.
This is Dakota. He can be a really sweet boy. He is doing very well with learning how to share toys; when told that someone else gets a turn, he will find something else to play with. However, I think it is harder for him to adjust to sharing the attention. He is an only child at home, and so far, has only been babysat by a friend of the family who has three much older kids (like, teenagers). So he has always been the one to be doted on. Now, he has to share that attention with Joey and Nick. I try to make sure that I hold Dakota by himself everyday so he knows he is just as special. He has never had to feel like he was the center of his own world before, so I think that he needs time to adjust to that.
Joey is doing fairly well with his tracing. He will use the template more as a guideline, and will color in the space more than trace around the edge. But he does make a valiant attempt to trace around the edges. Have you noticed that he is using his left hand?? It is still not for certain that he will be left handed, but he does use his left hand most when he is writing/drawing. (That would be so cool for my son to be left handed like I am, especially because he takes after me so much in so many other ways.)
Can you say "future soccer player"? Come on, he's not using any hands! Is there a rule saying you can't use your teeth, too?
Look at those sweet boys...giving kisses! Oh, how cute. You may notice that all my knobs are missing off my stove. No, I haven't lost them...Baby Nick knows how to turn them on, and since it means open flame and natural gas exposure, I removed them. He still tries to turn the stove on, but at least he can't get a good grip.
I'm sure I have posted a picture of Joey with his Cars puzzle before, but what is special about this picture is that he put the puzzle together all by himself! No help. I didn't think he would be able to do it so soon...but he loves doing his puzzle. He is getting very good at recognizing the details on each piece and how they fit together. He still doesn't completely understand the concept of an "edge" piece, but he manages to put the puzzle together none the less.

Joey can be so sweet sometimes. He will warm my hands up for me when they are cold. He takes one of my hands and rubs it between both of his. I demonstrated for him how rubbing my hands together real fast makes them hot; so now he helps me keep my hands warm.

Baby Nick is showing some great physical development in the jumping area. I will be sitting in my rocking chair, and he will stand up using my extended (but unsupported) leg for balance. Then he will jump up and down. He doesn't just bounce, he will really jump and get air under both feet. There is hardly any support there, especially since every time he jumps up, his arms push my leg down, causing the chair to rock forward dropping my leg down even further! I couldn't believe that he can get off the ground!

We had chicken nuggets for lunch today, and Baby Nick made me laugh. He would have a bite of nugget in each hand, and then lean his face down to the table and take a bite with his mouth! Oh, he is so funny.

Well, now that I have the computer back, and I have caught you up on everything I can think of....so I will say goodnight for now and hope that you all have a splendiforous end to your week.

More Conservation Pictures

This is a really beautiful picture of an elk; especially if you enlarge it. He was sitting under the "tree" and looking so serene. I'm not a hunter (and I don't think bad of anybody who is), but I can't imagine anyone wanting to go out for the purpose of sport and take a life of such a majestic animal.
This one is really interesting, because this cabin that is leveled, is one of the only remaining original structures from the town of Portage that was leveled in the earthquake of '64.
This one may be hard to decipher, but huddled together are three baby bears, a little left of the center.
Here is a picture of a magpie. I have been trying to get a picture of one ever since I blogged about trying to video tape them. (Yeah, that was successful!) Finally, one would stand still for me long enough to photograph him. I love the coloring on this bird...it looks so simply black and white, but there is a deep blue color on the shoulders, the wing joints, that really make it so pretty. Hopefully, you can see it better if you enlarge the picture.
And here is a heard of prairie bison. They are pretty cool to see. We also saw wood bison and brown bears. I didn't include those pictures because no matter how far you zoom in on the picture, the bear looks like the shadow of a bush, and the wood bison look like large rocks. So it seemed pointless to try to get you to imagine you see an actual animal. The Conservation Center also has coyotes, black bears, lynx, bald eagles, great horned owls, and Sitka Black Tailed deer. We didn't see any of these animals out and about.

Today, we spent grocery shopping and cleaning, getting ready for Dakota to come over tomorrow. Actually, Joey and Nick shopped, doing only half the shopping needed, for we need to make a Costco run but they weren't open today. Plus, the coupons we have aren't good until tomorrow. So I will have to try to shop with three kids by myself tomorrow and one of the busiest stores in existence. The nice thing about Costco, is that their shopping carts have double occupancy! So I can set the babies in it and have Joey walk; which he begs to do anyway, but is so "helpful" trying to put everything in the cart.

Nick leaves for Fairbanks tomorrow and doesn't know if he will be back by Thursday or Friday. I just hope the time goes quickly. My first week of work has to be when he's out of town; with no chance of a break at the end of the day. That's fine, I'll be okay. I am so grateful that I have a husband who works so hard to provide for us. It's not his choice to go out of town, but it is his responsibility, and when it comes to his job, he never shirks his responsibility.

Nick will be taking the laptop with him to Fairbanks, since it is only means of entertainment after hours, so I will not be able to blog about my first week of work until he comes home. Feel free to call me anytime to see how I'm doing.

Labor Day Weekend

I hope all of you have had a great Labor Day Weekend. It sounds like my brother and sister-in-law in Texas have had a very interesting weekend! (I hope MaeLynne's hives have all cleared up by now.)

We had a fairly laid back weekend. Saturday, Nick spent half the day fishing, for the last time this season. (Of course, this was the second or third time he went fishing since the last time he said it would be the "last time.")

On Sunday, we dropped Nick off at work on our way to church. Then when church was over, we picked Nick back up and went on a drive to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. It is a great place where you can drive through (or stop and take pictures when you want) and take a look at some of the animals that you may not get to see unless you spend most of your time out in the wild. You may consider staying at home with the boys "the wild", and sometimes it seems that way, but it's not exactly the same thing.

I remembered what it was that Joey says that I think is so cute. I'm only afraid that once I tell you, you'll be disappointed. (At least, I laugh or smile each time.) The other day, he came up to me and said his legpit hurt. Yes, legpit, not armpit. The area behind his knee is what he calls his legpit. Oh, he's so cute! But I think he is quite brilliant to be able articulate so well for three.
Because the drive to the Conservation Center was a bit long, I brought some "lifeberry" books with us so the kids would keep entertained on the long drive. I managed to get picture of Baby Nick "reading." He's so cute...I suppose he is talented enough to read his books upside down!
It was a beautiful day yesterday. We got some great pictures of the animals. Here is a bull moose (the first I've seen since being here). They are not very attractive right now because the moose are losing the felt off their antlers right now. But they are still very interesting.
Here is another bull moose cooling himself down in the water. The area is really beautiful, and to see all the different animals in the same area is amazing.
Because our camera doesn't work on zoom, some of the pictures are quite distant. But if you enlarge it (by double-clicking) you may be able to find the animal in the picture. Those pictures that are still too far away, I will not include, but I will make sure to tell you all the animals we saw. Here is a picture of a musk ox. (I've never even heard of a musk ox before.)
This is a caribou. I know it looks like a reindeer, but for those who don't know, a reindeer is just a domesticated caribou....so I can't really tell any difference anyway. If you want to call it a reindeer as Joey does, be my guest. I was holding Joey as I took this picture, and every time he sees it, he starts giggling. Why? Well, as we were standing their admiring him and taking his picture, he was "relieving" himself. Seeing the picture reminds Joey and he finds it humorous in the way that most boys find bodily functions (especially noises) funny. Oh boy!

September, Already?

Can it be the beginning of September already? Only four more months of 2007. It really has gone by quite fast. Now, if the remaining time we have to stay in Alaska goes as quickly!

Joey is soooo expressive! Lately, he has been talking through a clenched jaw whenever he is upset or acting "scary." There is something that he says that I find so funny, but I can never remember it when I sit down to blog about it. I will probably remember it as soon as I shut the computer down, but if I choose to restart the computer I will end up forgetting about it by the time I can log on. So for now, I will just tease you with the knowledge that there is something way beyond cute that he says, but not be able to satisfy your curiosity.

Baby Nick is still taking a few steps here and there, but has decided that, for now, he is content to crawl most of the time. I think I saw the next group of four teeth moving towards the surface of his gums. It will still be awhile before they make their appearance, but his gums seemed to be sore today, which made him a grumpy (yet still eager) eater.

I start babysitting Dakota on Tuesday. I hope I am up to the task of running after Joey and two one year olds. Especially since both Dakota and Nick are both non-stop action. I will treasure nap times!

Joey loves going to the "lifeberry" and reading "lifeberry" books. He is really interested in reading books about dinosaurs. He is really good at pronouncing many of them. He also favors Curious George, which were some of my favorite books as well. The library has a fair stock of board books as well, so I get Baby Nick a couple books each time too, so he can sit and read with us. I try to go to the library by myself or with Joey only, unless Nick comes with us. When I do take both boys, I give each of them a book to read on the way home. It is so cute to look in the rear view mirror to see them both turning pages. Baby Nick will even point his finger on the pages and drag his finger along the words and pictures, as if actually reading. He's so cute. The only problem is that he likes to eat the books. Not just put them in his mouth, he will literally slobber on it enough to soften the board and bite a chunk out of it. Since they our library books, I have to be very careful when he gets a book and keep a very close eye on him.

I will sign off for now...I should get some sleep before getting up for church. Hope everyone has a peaceful, safe, and fun Labor Day weekend.

Happy Birthday, Nick

Today was Nick's 29th birthday!! Boy is he getting old! Just kidding...he's a great age right now (older than me!)

He got to spend his day working, and right now it is crazy busy and stressful at work. He has had half his staff turn in their notices and another one who may be put on disability. So, he is interviewing for the Wasilla branch this week, driving to Soldotna tomorrow (he went twice last week), and will drive to Fairbanks to interview next week.

On top of all that, physical inventory is only a few weeks away, and with no staff, he will have to personally be at each branch for the process. Today he was booked on a flight to and from Fairbanks on the 21st of Sept. so he can do inventory there, and then he will have to make sure Anchorage and Wasilla are done on the 22nd. To top it all off, the branch manager will be out of town during that time! I can't wait for new staff to arrive and for September to leave...Nick needs a little less stress.

At home, all we did to celebrate was make a cake for him and cover it...literally, with all the candles we could scrounge up. We did manage to get all 29 candles, though! Nick had to get Joey to help him blow them all out!

Doesn't it look like there is hardly any cake showing through all those candles?!
I had to stand by with the fire extinguisher and the towel to fan the overly sensitive smoke detector!
This picture wasn't taken today, but I thought they looked so cute, like they were having so much fun being brothers I just had to show it off.

Thank You, Lord, for the wonderful husband I have in Nick. I praise You for his strong work ethic and immense desire to take care of his family. I praise You for his tender heart for his sons. I ask that You bless him this year with a fulfillment of his greatest desires. Thank You for loving me enough to send him to me.

One Year Anniversary

Today is my one year anniversary.....of being in Alaska. I never really thought about how I would feel about today, but I did much better than I figured I would have. It was just like any other day. I can tell how far I have come in dealing with the fact that I am severed from being close to my family. I am more resigned to the fact that this is where we are...I can't change it just because I don't like being far away. I'm not saying that I have a great attitude about it yet; I still dislike Alaska with a passion, and when we finally do move, I will be able to with great joy...never looking back. The one thing I will miss (at least at this point) will be the church. Although, since I still don't have any close friends from the church, it won't be too hard to leave. The worst part about moving would be to try and find a new church that I enjoy as much.

I can tell a difference in the tone of my posts from now and when I first started the blog. (Again, there is more resignation in the current posts than before.) One day, when God wills it, we will move out of this awful state and be closer (hopefully MUCH closer) to home and family. But until then, I will put up with being here.

The boys are doing well. Every once in awhile, Joey will say, "You are my best friend." or "You make my heart happy." I love to hear him say such things. Granted, half the time he says it when he wants something...but the other half he just says it out of the blue. Baby Nick still isn't talking, but he is getting more communicative by pointing and grunting at what he wants. I also sign the "I love you" sign to the boys all the time, and Baby Nick will "sign" it back to me. He holds his hand straight out with all fingers up (instead of lowering the middle two fingers) but I don't really expect that he would be able to at this age. But I still know that he is trying to respond to me in kind.

Well, I am on strict orders from my Mom to get more sleep...so I will sign off for the night. Be blessed.

I've Got A Job

It was a total God thing. I had placed an ad on Craigslist to provide daycare, as it has become increasingly important for me to bring in some income. With the cost of daycare up here, if I were to get a full time job out of the house, I would pretty much be working only to pay the day care bill....which would make no sense at all. Not to mention the fact that each time I thought of leaving my kids in day care, I would get physically ill and panicked...to the point that I am sure that I would completely die inside and there would be nothing left of myself.

So I decided to put the ad on Craigslist and pray that God would allow the right person to see the ad and respond to it. Four days later, I finally got a response to the ad and called to set an appointment when we could meet. The parents need care for a 14 month old son, Dakota, and are looking to start right after Labor Day. So Chris (the mom) came over with Dakota on Saturday and we sat and talked while the kids played together. She, too, had been praying that God would bring the right daycare provider along, as Dakota has been cared for by friends up till now, but that friend homeschools her own children and has found that, at this age, Dakota is a little more distracting. Chris was getting to the point that she was afraid she would have to put her son in a center, something she was dreading, when she saw and responded to my ad, albeit a bit nervously. They are a very strong Christian family, she the drama director at her church, and she was so pleased to be able to leave her son in the care of another Christian family. By the time she left, she gave me a hug good-bye and was looking forward to bringing her son here.

Praise be to God. I will be able to make a little money and still stay home with my boys.

Doctor's Appointment

Baby Nick had his one year check up with the doctor today. Our doctor is back from maternity leave, but wasn't available until after the first of next month, so we saw yet another doctor today. Dr. Jones was very nice and she thought that Baby Nick was doing good. She got to see Baby Nick take three steps towards me and she said, "Oh yeah, I'd call that walking. He's a walking baby."

As far as growth, Nick has dropped a lot in the weight percentile. He is now only in the 10th percentile for weight, but for his height he is fine. Also, when the doctor came in, she said, "He's not skinny at all...I thought he would be by the chart, but he looks good. He must just be burning all those calories by being active." I asked her how much I should let him eat, as he seems to want to eat all day. After seeing him, she said that he is probably just asking for what he needs and that I shouldn't worry about over feeding him at this point. (For a one year old to be able to eat a whole sandwich is pretty amazing in my opinion...but I don't want starve him just as I don't want to over feed him.) So I was relieved to hear that I wasn't over feeding him, and that he is using what he eats.

So the growth chart breaks down this way (including a comparison of Joey's growth at this age):
Nick: 20 pounds (10%) 30.5 inches (70%) and head circumference 47.25 centimeters (70%)
Joey: 23 lbs 13 oz 30 inches and head circumference 48.5 centimeters.

So they are actually evening out in their size comparison, a bit.

Dr. Jones said that she was not too concerned with the fact that Baby Nick is still not saying much (they look for three words by 12 months) because he shows that he clearly understands what is being said and reacts accordingly. He shows great social interaction. However, she did say that they would like to see him again at 15 months because he is on the low end of the scale for weight, and that he would go into a speech program at 15 months if he isn't saying anything. So that is something we will be watching and praying about.

Baby Nick got three more shots today, which he wasn't too pleased with, but he did fine. Joey had his ears plugged because he didn't want to hear Baby Nick get upset. Joey is very sensitive, and when he sees Baby Nick do something that he shouldn't, he plugs his ears because he knows that I am going to scold Nick and talk firmly.

Nick is laying down for a nap after his traumatic end to the appointment (getting shots) so Joey and I are going to play a game. Have a great day.

Walking Update

Baby Nick is venturing more into the world of walking. Today, he was standing up holding on to the card table leg and chose to let go and take one step toward me. That was very impressive, as he hasn't instigated walking on his own yet.

Then, when Nick got home from fishing, we had Baby Nick walk between us. Up to this point, the most steps he's taken in a row is two. Today, he walked up to a total of seven steps! It shouldn't be too much longer before he figures he can do it all on his own whenever he wants. I must say that I am surprised that he is waiting this long....although I don't mind one bit. Once Baby Nick starts walking all the time, it won't be long before the kids figure out that I can only chase one of them at a time if they go in opposite directions!

Joey has been saying that I am his best friend lately. It's so sweet to hear, but I don't put much stock in it. He also says that I make him sick! Somehow, I take that one much more personally.

Well, there's not much more to say. Hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Quick Update

On Monday, Baby Nick cut his eighth tooth....the lower tooth to the left of his middle. Now finally, his top and bottom gums will look balanced! Then on Tuesday evening, he took two steps! Twice in a row!! However, he has not chosen to repeat it.....but at least its a "step" in the right direction. (Ha ha ha) [I'm such a dork!]



I also realized I never put my comparison pictures of the boys at 1 year old up...so although you have seen the pictures of Baby Nick already, I will show them again so you can see them next to pictures of Joey at the same age.

Baby Nick at 1 year old

Bubba at 1 year old

Baby Nick's cake eating technique (most unusual.)

Bubba's cake eating technique (much more common!)

Cake Picuters!

These pictures pretty much speak for themselves.

This is the sad birthday cake with which Baby Nick had to suffer. I am NOT a cake decorator by any stretch of the imagination...but I couldn't bare to have a plain white frosted cake, having no identifying marks as being for a 1st birthday. (I even attempted to draw a little "Bug")
Here he is gripping the entire piece with both hands. You can also get a feel for how big the piece was, for such a young child.
This is where he stuffed it in his mouth and proceeded to, quite literally, suck it down!
You can clearly see the intensity of quest for quick and total consumption of the cake.
Here is that cheesy smile again, complete with the allusion to the fact that he is currently in the process of sucking off all frosting from his forearm!

More Birthday Pictures

Look how eagerly he tears into Grandma Mary's gift!
This is one of the shirts from Grandma Mary. I think red is a very good color on him.
Baby Nick really enjoys his ride-on toy from Nanny and Papa Buddy. His legs are just short of reaching the floor to be able to push himself along, however, he gladly walks behind it. You can't see from the picture, but the front propeller actually spins and lights up (along with the airplane playing music) with different buttons pushed.
I know it may appear that Joey is planning on clobbering Baby Nick over the head with the baseball bat, however, he simply had it in his head when I asked to have him get in the picture.
As I told Nanny when she was here and had picked out the airplane as a gift, Joey clearly enjoys it (even though it is to Baby Nick that it was given!)

Nick's Birthday Pictures

Here he is...the birthday boy!!! It's still hard to believe he's one year old already.
This picture cracks me up! This is my son, smiling in the cheesiest, eye-squinting way I have EVER seen. He has been doing this a lot lately. In some pictures, it may appear that he is upset, however, I assure you, he is just a cheese ball!
Look at him clap in anticipation of opening gifts! Do you see the look on his face? Is he old enough to understand what 'gifts' are?
As I read the cards, Baby Nick tore into the packages. Typical.
I'm sure you can see how cute Baby Nick will be in the outfit from Josh and Stacei. Even he knows he's adorable...at least according to that cheesy smile again.