Campout

Eric has been wanting to do a backyard campout with the kids for a couple of years now, so when I saw a tent on sale at Aldi the other day, I brought it home so we could make it happen. The kids were beyond excited and they spent the bulk of the day setting things up and playing in the tent.  Miles watched over the tent diligently while they played.  It was a super hot day - much too hot to want to sit around a campfire, so we decided to just do hotdogs and s'mores on the grill.  The kids had a blast and were happy when it was finally time to hunker down for the night in their sleeping bags.  Eric said they slept really well and everyone made it through until morning.  They want to do it again, so we'll try to tackle it yet this summer.  Perhaps by next summer, we'll be ready for a bigger camping trip!

Growing Up

Twins...in more ways than one!

From the moment Simon was born, we were startled at the similarities he had to his brother, Nolan.  The same round head, the same dark blue eyes, and the same little mouth.  I've been playing a game with Eric while he's at work where I send him a picture of one of the boys and he has to guess which one it is.  His record is far from perfect and understandably so.  They just look so similar.  Can you pick out who is who?

There are many things that I wouldn't mind re-living from Nolan's babyhood, but his food protein intolerances are definitely NOT on the list.  But despite our wishes of never having to go through that again, here we were faced with a baby who screamed and writhed in pain each night and he struggled to pass bloody stool.  The plus is that we guessed right away what we were dealing with.  We knew the drill - a dairy-free diet for me and a few weeks to get it all out of my system.  Eating dairy-free is not so easy.  For a baby with cow's milk protein allergy, ALL of the milk proteins must be avoided, so intense label reading is a must.  Eating out is next to impossible.  But I was diligent and didn't have a drop of dairy for over 2 weeks.  The problem was that Simon was still having pain and blood in his stools.  We met with Dr. Slette who confirmed our diagnosis, but we were shocked to find out that Simon had fallen to the 22nd percentile in weight gain from the 98th that he was when he was born.  She recommended a hypoallergenic formula trial, the same course of action we did with Nolan, to see if his stools would improve and he would start gaining weight.  He cried much less on the formula, but was still having bloody stools, even a week later!  Eric and I decided that we were done with this and pulled the trigger on starting him on EleCare formula.  This formula is for SEVERE cases and all of the proteins are broken down to the amino acid level.  It is what we ended up using for Nolan.  After about 3 days, all the blood was gone and Simon's fussing basically stopped.  At our follow-up appointment two weeks later, Simon had already gained a full pound and was up to the 33rd percentile.  Since then he was continued to thrive and was up to 14 pounds the last time I weighed him!

It was really hard to give up breastfeeding, especially with Simon being my last baby.  But, with such a severe case, and no idea what other proteins might cause a reaction, it would be nearly impossible to restrict my diet enough to make it meet his needs.  "Breast is best" permeates mom culture, so it's hard to get away from that mindset and not feel judged for it, or at least feel like I need to justify it to those around me.  But Dr. Slette assured me that it was not healthy for either of us to continue on that track.  That restrictive of a diet would not meet my nutritional needs, nor his.  We're just so thankful that science has created an option for babies like Simon and Nolan.  Though EleCare is crazy expensive (About $45 for can that lasts 3 days...), at least we have an option for our baby that allows him to be happy and healthy.

Auntie Brigid comes to visit!

My BFF came this weekend to meet her newest "nephew."  It is such a blessing to have friends who love our kids too.

New landscaping

When we moved in to our house almost two years ago, the front landscaping was kind of a disaster.  There was a weird mound of uneven dirt with some shrubs haphazardly placed all along the front of the house.  There was some old mulch, a spattering of decorative rocks, and black plastic peeking out all over.  We decided to combat that by building a short retaining wall last summer.  We moved the shrubs into a more logical location and added a few flowering perennials.  We finished it with some fresh cedar mulch.  It looks clean and well taken care of now and we're both relieved to have this project done!

Fatherhood

I feel very fortunate to have Eric as my partner in raising our beautiful kiddos.  He knocks the fatherhood thing out of the park.  Here are a few ways he does that:

1. He is fun.  The kids giggle manically at his goofy faces, silly sounds, and fart jokes.
2. He wants the same opportunities for his sons AND his daughter.
3. We are a team in all areas - he helps with dishes, cooking, cleaning, and any other jobs that come up.
4. He is a safe place.  He kisses owies, gives baths, and shares snuggles.
5. He puts his family first, always and without question.
6. He takes time to make memories with them.

He is our kids' hero and I am so thankful that they have his love and presence as a constant in their lives.  Having an awesome, hero dad myself, I am grateful that my kids will be so lucky, too.  Happy Father's Day!

Brothers

Number 2

It finally happened.  After 18 long months.  Olivia pooped in the potty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She told me that she was starting to go poop and that she was going to go on the potty.  I asked her if she wanted help and she said no and to close the door so she could have privacy like Nolan.  I left her alone for a few minutes, hearing a few grunts through the closed door.  All of a sudden I hear, "Mommy!!!!!!!!!! I did it!!!!!!!!!!!!"  At first I didn't believe her, but when I went to inspect, I saw the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.  A perfect (albeit giant) turd floating in the toilet bowl.  I have never been so proud of anything ever.  I have spent the last 18 months trying to convince her not to poop in her underwear or pull-up. I have patiently (though begrudgingly) cleaned up smooshed turd after smooshed turd from all of her most intimate of parts.  I have cut off and thrown away countless pairs of underwear because I just didn't have it in my to scrub any more poop.  But not today.  Today, my amazing daughter pooped in the potty. This may be the best day of my life.

Creepy Crawlies

Our house is seeming to abound with creepy crawlies since the discovery of the snake in our basement.  We found a cute little toad in our front yard and Nolan was brave enough to hold him to get a better look.  We made sure he was put back under his bush, but they had fun getting up close and personal with him first.

The most interesting reptile we had in our house was a very rare species of turtle.  This species comes with long blonde hair and big blue eyes.  It has no scales and an affinity for all things pink.  It is by far my favorite reptile.

Liv's been prepared for another creepy crawly encounter by donning her "snake boots" along with her Moana dress.  Don't want to take any chances...!

God Bless Simon

Simon's baptism was such a special day.  The ceremony was beautiful, and all the more meaningful, because he was baptized by my friend, Pastor Kari.  We had to laugh though because throughout the heartfelt, sincere prayers for Simon, when all the action was happening, our middle child decided that she needed the spotlight back on her.  She ran back to the pew to get her doll, Chompo, and started posing with her baby on the altar steps.  She stuck her leg out like she was posing for a magazine and everyone cracked up.  Leave it to Olivia...

We felt so loved by the congregation as they welcomed our little son.  The quilting ladies made him a beautiful quilt for him to always remember his baptism day.  (Actually, one of the sweet church ladies made Livi a few hats and blankets for her dollies just a few weeks before.)  We have definitely experienced holy hospitality throughout our years at Trinity, and this was no exception.

Simon was surrounded by his godparents, (Tom and Sara), grandparents, Great Grandma Ruby, and several aunts, uncles, and cousins.  We had a brunch to celebrate at Steve and Patti's house after the service.  We are so thankful for the beautiful child that God chose for us to parent.  We will do our best to teach him to be kind and loving and to help him grow in his lifelong relationship with God.  Simon, we hope you know what a blessing you are to us and how much we love you.  You are a beautiful child of God and are deeply loved.  God bless you, sweet boy.