Helping Hand

This has been a fabulous weekend, so far. Nick comes home from work sick on Wednesday, so he stays home on Thursday. It was nice to have him home, but too bad that he felt so awful. Because he had the flu, I called Chris to keep Dakota away for the day. She stopped by late that night to drop off the tuition check (very nice of her) and told me that she made arrangements for Dakota to be watched by someone else on Friday as well. Nick was planning on going back to work, so I didn't think that was necessary....but I appreciated it all the same since I was exhausted after being up most of the night with Nick.

It turns out it was a VERY good idea, as Baby Nick spent most of Friday throwing up! (Whoever said 'it's different when it's your own kid' was lying!) Dinner on Friday was a horrible affair, as we weren't feeding Baby Nick since he couldn't keep anything down, and he spent the time running between mommy and daddy crying and holding his hand out for some food. It broke my heart. Thankfully, he didn't throw up at all over night, and he has kept everything down today. (Not that he has eaten much, but it's a start.) I will keep him home from church tomorrow with Daddy, and Joey and I will go by ourselves.

Baby Nick was helping Mommy and Daddy do the dishes....so I had to capture it in picture.
I must admit, it is a bit difficult to load the dishwasher with Baby Nick's idea of "help." But isn't he cute?!?!?! After I got the picture, we spent the majority of the time in the kitchen chasing Baby Nick off the dishwasher so we could finish.

Please pray that I get some good sleep tonight, and that my slightly icky tummy doesn't turn into anything more! Have a good weekend.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! We are not doing anything for Halloween this year. I am not really into Halloween, but I have good memories of Halloween when I was a kid (before things got really creepy) and I don't want my kids to miss out on some of those same memories.

So this year, we didn't even get a costume for Joey, but he still fits his "Bob the Builder" costume from last year, so for the sake of the picture, I dressed him up. Baby Nick is wearing Joey's old pumpkin costume, and looking adorable...even though it is a size to big. Dakota arrived this morning in his dinosaur costume, looking cute. So I quickly dressed the boys so I could get a picture of the three of them.

I made Jack-O-Lantern cookies on Monday. I sent a few home with Dakota, and we are selfishly keeping the rest for ourselves. They won't last the week! Last year we didn't pass out any candy, but this year we have some candy available to be passed out. But I don't think there are too many kids who go trick or treating door to door around here; one, because it is so cold, and two, because they have the indoor trick or treating event the weekend before Halloween. But we will be available for anybody who braves the weather.
Here are the boys all dressed up. Dakota the Dinosaur, Nick the Punkin', and Joey the "Builder Bob". I couldn't find his foam tool belt, so the costume looks incomplete, but since we are just wearing it around the house, it will be okay.

Hope you have a great day. Stay safe on this night.

Late edit: Here is another picture of my Punkin' "Cheesecake"! Ha Ha (Because he's such a cheese ball!) Anyway....cute cute cute!

Joey is so precious; he says about Baby Nick, "He's so much cute." or "He's so much soft."

Okay...I know it's gross, but I have to tell you this. Nick came home from work feeling very sick. He just went into the bathroom and started throwing up. Baby Nick stood outside the door listening, and every time Nick retched, Baby Nick started laughing hysterically. I feel bad for Nick, but I couldn't help cracking up at Baby Nick!

Cutest Boys I Know

I just wanted to quickly show some cute pictures of my cute boys.
First, you will see Baby Nick "talking" on the phone. He will pick up the phone, hold it up to his ear (or cheek) and start grunting his greetings. It's so cute. I remember Joey doing that also. Nick will also use the remote as a phone, as Joey once did, if the phone is out of reach. Notice the mark under his eye. I felt so bad...yes, I did it. My fingernail and his face met in the same place at the same time. I still feel awful, every time I see it.
Bubba is getting so big, growing up so smart. I haven't taken a picture of him for no reason in a long time, so I thought I would show him off a bit. Doesn't he look angelic? Don't let your eyes deceive you! He may be sweet, but he has a sour side as well.
We had Aunt Bonnie's tonight for dinner. As you can see, Baby Nick thoroughly enjoyed his dinner. It was a good thing we dunked in the tub right afterward. We should have put him in fully clothed, with as much food ended up down his front.
But don't forget how much food landed on top as well. It is harder to see, but the right side of the top of his head (left side of the picture) is bathed in goop. He also loves to stick his tongue out. He walks around with his tongue hanging out. He now can stand up from the floor without pulling himself up on something. He has been able to do that for the last two or three days. His fourth molar came in about a week ago. Just four more teeth until he has his complete baby set. And those teeth aren't too far away!

We have an appointment scheduled for Christmas pictures. This year we are only going to have the kids photoed. I bought them matching shirts (a solid green, nothing dorky) and they will both wear jeans and brown shoes. They will be so cute. I decided, since it is close enough, that I will send out Baby Nick's one year pictures with the Christmas cards. I haven't forgotten, I just thought that I could cut down on postage cost, as well as not having to spend loads of money on greeting cards.

Joey and I spent some time together. We went to the library and then got his hair cut. He did very well. It also gave Nick some time alone with Baby Nick. All in all, it was a good day. Tomorrow, we should really be getting going on the kids Christmas program, since it's only seven weeks away. It is a cute program and will be fun to see come together.

Week In Review

I'm so thankful it is Friday. What makes it even better is that Nick gets a three day weekend! His personal time has racked back up to near forty hours (and since he can't accrue any more than 40 hrs, he has to use it or lose it.) So, since he got caught up on some of his work, he is going to take Monday off.
We had a fairly uneventful week. It's just normal day to day things around here. But the kids keep me laughing, especially Joey. The other day, I went upstairs to change the sheets on the bed, and I asked Joey to stay downstairs so he wouldn't be underfoot. As I am clearing the bed, I hear Joey slowly make his way up the stairs. I was in NO mood for disobedience, so I called down to him, "You better stay down stairs like I told you." A couple minutes later, he poked his head up at the top of the stairs again. I issued another warning. Then, a minute later, I hear him at the top of the stairs say, "See, I'm such a big helper. I brought this up for you. I'm a helper boy." How can I punish him for being helpful? Not to mention that it made me smile. So I say, "Thank you, Joey. Now please go back downstairs." Once more, he shows up at the top of the stairs...this time with a smile and a blown kiss! I figured it was useless to ask him to stay downstairs, so I put him to work holding the top sheet while I put the fitted sheet on the bed.
Baby Nick is also very "helpful". Here is a picture of him sweeping the floor for me. What would I do without him? He also likes to unload the dishwasher. However, that is more work for me, not less. He will start the dishwasher when there are clean dishes in there, or he will speed the cycle along to skip all the washing part. Oh well, gotta love him. He is so cute. He has such an exuberant laugh, when you can get him laughing. He laughs the most for Joey and his Daddy.
I love watching the boys together. Baby Nick adores his big brother, and the feeling is mutual. Just tonight, when B.J. came to pick Dakota up, Joey says, "This is my friend brother, Baby Nick. He's so cute. He's such a happy baby." Joey is always quick to comfort Nick when he's upset.
This is Nick's new "personal space." He loves to crawl under the table and play. He has to be careful not to bump his head when he comes out, but that doesn't stop him. He really enjoys it when Bubba looks down on him from the glass top. He really isn't supposed to be under there, but he is so head strong, I can't keep him out. But he sure is cute!!

Well, it is very late, and I am having a difficult time spelling and concentrating. So I will call it a night. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Stinky Winky Little Bitty Booty Boy

Try saying that five times fast! This is what Nick started calling Baby Nick when changing a potent diaper. It's quite catching when you get the cadence down.

Baby Nick is learning to blow on things when they are hot. He usually blows on his milk soaked Cheerios, and more often than not, will blow on his food after it is already in his mouth. That makes a pretty mess! But he is very sweet to blow on my food for me...expecting to be rewarded with the bite. I tell ya, this kid can eat! He eats more than Joey does. He will eat his dinner, beg to get down, and then walk around to each of us who still have food on our plates, anxiously reminding us that we are supposed to share.

I know I have informed you that Baby Nick knows what a dog says...but when asked what Mommy and Daddy say, his answer is the same. Oh well...someday he will learn. I'm just afraid that his answer will be the same as Jesse's was, so long ago, "Mommy says 'no'."

We had Randy and Cheryl over for dinner last night. We haven't seen them since we went camping with them at the end of June. I made my homemade cream of chicken noodle "stewp", salad, and potato-rosemary bread. Nick bought a carmel-apple pie for dessert. The soup was a big hit, and tasted so good now that the weather is turning colder. It was nice to see them again. The brought Cheryl's granddaughter, May. She is almost ten months old and still has to grow into her big blue eyes. She is such a mix of her mother and father. Many babies favor one parent or the other, but in May, you can see an equal (sometimes odd) mix of both. She sure is a cutie, and got upset when we took our boys up to bed.

We had quite a treat last night; we were able to get Joey to sleep in his own bed for most of the night! Unfortunately, since both the boys have colds, they took turns waking each other up. Finally, Baby Nick woke up about ten to four in the morning. When I peeked my head in the door, Joey was not in his bed. He was draped over the mounds of blankets on the floor. I still don't know if he fell out, or if he got out and fell back asleep before he could make it to our room. Anyway, since Nick woke up, so did Joey and neither of them would lay back down in their own beds. So I brought Joey into our bed, and laid down with Nick on my chest for about half an hour. Then I took Nick back to his crib (and since he wakes right back up) made him cry himself back to sleep. But Joey wouldn't budge. Unfortunately, Joey wouldn't hear of sleeping in his own bed tonight, so it was a short-lived victory. Hopefully, we can wean him out of our bed soon.

Nick has to go down to Soldotna tomorrow. They are closing that branch down and have some final things to take care of. He will have to stay overnight since they waste half a day traveling. He and Cliff will only stay one night...but he will still be gone. It will be a long, lonely night tomorrow. I hope the time will go quickly.

My brain is about fried. i can think of nothing else I may have wanted to say. Have a good week, and I will check back in Tuesday night.

Wow...It's Been Awhile

I'm sorry it has been so long since I have blogged. It's so hard to blog during the day...I don't have a second to myself except during nap time; but that is the only time I have to rest for a minute. By the time the boys go to bed at night, Nick is usually on the computer until late; and if I am still up, I am beyond the point of concentration. Even now, after getting very little sleep last night, it is too late for me to be able to be clever; but since it has been so long, I wanted to at least let everyone know I am still here.

Baby Nick loves to walk; as I knew he would. He walks all over all day long. When he runs out of floor in one direction, he turns around and walks the other way. He is getting much closer to being able to stand on his own (without using something to pull up on). He will bend over to pick up a toy and be able to stand back up without falling over. Just in the last two days, he has started being much more vocal. He still doesn't say any words, but he is making more sounds and will carry on entire conversations with whomever (or whatever) is near enough to listen. He is so precious.

Joey keeps me laughing half the day (and pulling my hair out the other half.) A few nights ago, Nick and I got to bed very late...2:00am. We were trying to be very quiet so Joey wouldn't wake up. I had to sneeze real bad, but I tried to stifle it. It ended up coming out in some strange squeaky snort-like sound out my nose! Well, for those who know me well, there is not much that can get me to stop laughing once I get started. Trying to stay quiet, I just laid there laughing...shaking the bed (as if that wouldn't wake Joey up). Everytime I opened my mouth trying to explain to Nick why I allowed such a sound to escape my nose, I started laughing harder. Finally, Joey woke up and said, "Kiss Daddy, Mommy." "You want me to kiss Daddy?" So I leaned over and gave Nick a kiss. Then Joey says, "How 'bout I get to have kisses?" So Nick gave Joey a kiss. And then Joey says, "Sanks, Daddy. That makes my heart happy." And he laid his head back down and went back to sleep.

Then last night, Nick and I went to bed and Joey was asleep, so we wanted to be quiet again. This time, I was quite cruel to Nick. I started tickling him mercilessly. Knowing that he had to keep quiet or wake Joey up, there was not much he could do. He couldn't yell at me to stop, and he couldn't thrash around to try to get away from me. Every time he vehemently whispered for me to stop, I just redoubled my efforts. Joey woke up, looked at Nick, and whispered, "Go to sleep!" I couldn't stop laughing. We are usually the ones who are telling Joey to go to sleep. Which is what I was doing between 4am and 6am!

Joey likes to tell me what to do. My least favorites are; "Leave me alone", "Don't talk to me that way.", and "Keep your hands to yourself" (after he has just been swatted or flicked!) But the one that is becoming a favorite is when he is asking if he can do something. "Can I watch a movie. You can say, 'Yes you may.'"

It is way too late for me to stay up. I am taking twice as long to write this blog because I am pausing every couple words trying to remember how to make my fingers move. Hope everyone has a wonderful week and weekend.

Funny And Amazing

Here are a couple pictures to show what the boys are up to. Baby Nick is walking all over the place now, and he can make the sound of a dog (it's more like a grunt...but at least it is something.)
Here; Baby Nick is "riding" the "iron" horse. That is to say, that he has started straddling the leg of the ironing board and bouncing on it as if riding a horse. (That's the 'funny' in the title.)
Now for the 'amazing.' This is a picture showing that Joey now knows how to write his name all by himself! I am so proud of him. I suppose he could get his own library card now, if he wanted one. I can't believe how fast he is growing up and how quickly (and often) he learns new things.

We are still trying to get over our colds. The colds are progressing normally (moving from sinuses into the chest) so at least I am not walking around in a fog. I look forward to the day that the colds are gone completely....from all of us. The kids are currently running circles around the dining room table, making me dizzy just watching. I will get them lunch soon and put them down for an early nap, since the little ones didn't get a morning nap.

Have a blessed day.

Catching Up

It has been awhile since I've blogged (besides the quick post yesterday)...and I'm sorry. After Nick came home Friday night, I have had writer's block. Now, of course, we are all sick with nasty colds and I have no strength to concentrate. So if I sound disjointed, you will understand why.
I'll start with a few pictures. Here is Baby Nick, growing up so quickly, eating Rice A Roni, and apparently, enjoying stuffing his face. This kid could eat all the food in the house if I didn't stop him. He is so active that he burns so many calories and doesn't gain much weight.
Of course, seeing the camera come out made him smile as big as he could so I would take a picture of him! What a goofy boy.
Joey is wearing Daddy's socks; on the outside of his pajama pants. He looked so funny. Nick thinks he looks like he is wearing a speedo with really pale legs. I said he looks like a trapeze acrobat at the circus with his tights and leotard on! You can see how Baby Nick, again, noticed the camera come out and gave a big cheesey grin for the occasion.
Nick and I were puttering around the house, both ending up in the kitchen, when we heard something scooting across the floor. This is not so unusual, as Baby Nick will scoot anything that can scoot so that he can "walk". But when we discovered the object that was being scooted, we couldn't believe it! Baby Nick had gotten up on the bucket of blocks, sat down, and scooted his way across the floor! I had to get a picture of it, so of course, once again, Baby Nick sat there with his cheesiest grin until the picture was taken.

Just over this past week, Baby Nick has decided to start walking more. He will walk around for a bit after being placed on his feet, or if he is already in a standing position (for example; trying to reach something on the couch, or getting into his toy box) he will walk to his next destination. He still isn't walking as his main mode of transportation, but he is walking more often. I have also discovered that he "talks" in his sleep. I heard him the other day through the monitor, and I went up to check on him, thinking that he was awake and playing in his crib. When I opened his door, there he was laying with his arms tucked under him and his little booty up in the air, still asleep, "talking." It is so cute!

Bubba is so sweet. Everywhere we go, he introduces us as, "my friend." So, to Joey, I am, "My friend Mommy." Or, "This is my friend Baby Nick." As we were getting the boys dressed for church, Joey took my face between his hands, and said to Nick, "Hey Big Guy, this is my pretty little Mommy friend." Oh he makes my heart happy. And he reminds me of that, too. "I make your heart happy, Mommy." Of course you do, Joey. I couldn't be happier to have you for my son.

Baby Nick just woke up from a nap (since he got up at 6:15am this morning.) So I better go get him up and let him play any energy out so he takes a good nap this afternoon!

For You, Mom

Especially for your birthday, Mom, God gave you snow! Okay, so it's not a lot, and it's 2700 miles away.....but there is snow for your birthday!
I was hoping beyond all measure, that the snow would hold off for awhile. Granted, it might still be a couple weeks before we see the real stuff come down, but I was shocked to hear Nick tell me that it had snowed. I was up with the boys before Nick, but I didn't look outside (I wasn't expecting to have a reason to.) After we gave the boys their baths, Nick took Baby Nick downstairs while I combed Joey's hair. There is a window at the bottom of the stairs, that is at the level of the top of the stairs. That was when Nick saw the snow. (It was still dark when I got up with the boys.) I almost thought he was trying to get a rise out of me...but sadly, it was true.
You can see that it really isn't a lot of snow, which is good. Last year, the first day it snowed was also a Sunday. There was a couple inches on the ground, but it snowed heavily all through church, and by the time we got out, there was another five or six inches on the ground. Hopefully, that won't be the case today. I think the snow has taken everybody by surprise. We haven't heard of any chance of snow in the forecast.

Well, it is time to leave for church, so I better go. Happy birthday, Mom. I love you and miss you so much.

Five Years At Apria

Today, my husband "celebrated" his fifth anniversary of working at Apria Healthcare. I am very proud of his dedication and commitment to his work. He works so hard, every day, because he loves us enough to provide for us in the best way he knows how.

Unfortunately, he is "rewarded" with a trip to Fairbanks.....but when he gets back, he will have a plaque and three weeks vacation, instead of two!

His five year anniversary at Apria comes just twelve days before our five year wedding anniversary! Sometimes it seems like no time at all has past since we got married. But when I look back on everything we have packed into these first five years, it doesn't seem possible that only five years have come and gone. (I wonder how much more we can pack in the next five?!)

Baby Nick can recognize and point out mommy's nose (which anyone can point out from quite a distance...so I guess that is not that impressive); he knows where his tongue is and can stick it out on command. He knows how to communicate what he wants, although he still uses no words. he is also getting better at not putting everything in his mouth, or if he does, and finds that the object doesn't seem right, he will take it out and give it to mommy. He is very good at obeying me when I ask him to give me something he shouldn't have, and will usually do so with a smile. Now, if only he would listen and obey so well in all other areas!

Joey is learning a lot about the rules of the road. He knows we have to stop at red lights and go at green lights. He knows that a yellow light means we should get ready to stop. A few weeks ago, I was driving through an intersection when the light turned yellow, and Joey said, "Mom, we should be stopping; the light is yellow." Since I was already halfway through the intersection, I explained that you only had to stop for a yellow light if you had enough time to safely do so. He almost always asks why I have stopped, even if he can see the red light. And he is the first to tell me when the light turns green and I can drive again. He is extremely observant and has a memory that astounds me. He is so precious. Lately, I find myself looking over at him and finding tears in my eyes at how fast he is growing up. I feel like I don't have much time left with him. I'm sure that in another ten years, I will be begging for the time to speed up....but for now, I wish time could move forward at a snail's pace, giving me more time with my sons.

I don't like when Nick takes the computer to Fairbanks, because I feel so disconnected and out of touch with everybody at home. But I also feel bad that the only "company" Nick has when he's staying at the office is the computer. I will miss having the computer this week, try to remember those things I should blog about later, and will catch up on all I've missed as soon as I can.

Saturday morning will be another Ladies Brunch at the church, and Tina and I should be able to finally get together and discuss the children's musical. Hopefully, we will be able to get a schedule in place and get started on rehearsals soon. I know that it is only the beginning of October (since it is now after midnight), and sometimes it is hard to feel "Christmassy" this early (for those Scrooges out there, anyway) but putting on a production takes a lot of work. It is important to give the kids enough time to learn the play without over-stressing them with everything else they have on their plates. I am excited to get started.

May God bless you and keep you. Have a wonderful week...and I will be back next weekend.

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!