aislyn's first camera

aislyn got her first camera from santa (via the help of aunt courtney... braidyn will NEVER miss it. until she sees it anyways...) i have loved watching her take pictures, its too cute. i will have to post some of her work sometime. also, my blog is still broken, i don't know why it uploads EVEN tiny pics to giNORmous on my blog, so you have to click on the pic to see the whole thing....

the spot

so i must not forget this conversation today.

me: aislyn if you talk to your brother like that again, i will spank you on the spot.
aislyn: on my spot? but mommy, it will hurt my spot. and then i will have to go to the dr. to get my spot fixed. and i won't have any clothes on.

that's all. and i leave you with a picture.

sparkle day

a friend of mine (lisa) told me once about "sparkle day" that she has with her daughter, where they just go do girl things that boys wouldn't really enjoy. i had been meaning to get aislyn's hair cut for awhile, and my hairdresser has been telling me to bring her in.. so yesterday, she and i went through the starbucks drive through to get our "coffees" and then off to the salon. starbucks has kid hot chocolates (they're so cute and tiny and NOT hot) for $1.10! once we got into the salon, i seriously felt like the biggest most ridiculous mother daughter yuppie team ever. but i had to take a pic of my three year old with starbucks. by the time she was finished she had chocolate mouth for sure. "new" rachel (that's what aislyn calls her because we already have friends named rachael, so she is the new one) cut aislyn's hair and then spiral curled it all around and it looked beautiful. she was very excited about her pretty hair. we then walked around uptown, going in stores we can't afford and pretending to shop for people. she said at bedtime, "mommy lets do that again."

my new fave

this was one from our family session with elaine. aislyn has a model face, and she was striking it so kenny felt he had to get in on the action. i told kenny that it was going on our wall, to which he replied "amy, people will think we're really like that!" so people, don't think we're really like this. whatever "this" is. ha.

sibling love

just a quick one for today :) my blogger upload thing still isn't working right, so i'm not sure how this one will actually look, but aren't they cute??

testings- frustrations- trees- puppies- boxes

well, we got back the latest test results, and yes, grayson tested "high to severely high" for all 10 foods. i mean, really? seriously? so frustrating. even chicken and sweet potatoes were on the list. which is his entire diet. so, on to patch tests, because i just am not sure we can totally trust the blookwork in grayson's case. something in him builds antibodies to every food, which is what the bloodwork is counting. i was PRAYING for a new thanksgiving food! oh well. i am THANKFUL that we have a few foods even if he does test highly allergic to them. AND he is sleeping so so so so good this last month. and his face and body have been doing really well too, so i won't complain. i'm tempted. but i'll try not to. :)

new subject. we put up our christmas tree a few weeks ago (don't make fun because i don't care, it made me feel better) and i snapped a shot of grayson playing with his new favorite thing, pablo the penguin, and his train set that we kinda wrapped around the tree (thanks aunt courtney and uncle chris!). he loves the tree, and its a good thing i love decorating for christmas because he de-ornamifies the bottom two feet of the tree on a daily basis.













we got a new puppy hat thing for one of the kids to wear when we go on walks in the morning (i'm very faithful to walk every morning- HA), and the kids like to share it... can you tell who is who?

if you're a boy, you can stop reading this post now- i haven't updated on this since saying that we would be losing this baby, and we did, last saturday, november 15th. i am healing, and am ok with it all, i understand that it happens, and its a risk with every pregnancy- a very high risk. aislyn understood i think, she tells me that the "new baby" is living in heaven with Jesus and that we need to get a new baby in my tummy very soon. we'll see about that. anyway, lyss and i were hanging out one night, shortly after she found out that she was going to miscarry (update for her- her pregnancy is fine as of now, thank the Lord, we are praying all will go well for the next nine months!)- anyway... we were hanging out and being incredibly dark about our current situations and decided that hallmark needs to market a "miscarriage in a box", much like they do for other events, "baby shower in a box", "bridal shower in a box", you get the point. well, i was laying on my couch the day that i was miscarrying, and i spotted the box i had been living out of, (including a cookie) and had to take a picture. it was, in a nutshell, a miscarriage in a box. everything you need. it kinda made me laugh. sorry if that offends anyone. you've gotta find something humorous in the dark times. OH, and if anyone is in the market for new maxi pads (giving birth, miscarriage, time of the month, whatever) do not ever buy anything but "always infinity" brand. i'm not kidding, they have like memory foam or something, i don't know what it is but they are so comfortable and do the job quite well. :) if you're a boy, i TOLD you to stop reading.

anyway, thanks for all the prayers. we pray that you have a blessed thanksgiving!!!!

makaila koehlinger

please whatever you do today, pray for this family. and for the baby who is still fighting. this is from the koehlingers..

Last night at 10:33 PM our little Makaila went home to be with the Lord. She just wasn't meant to be with us. She was an amazingly beautiful little girl and she stole a big piece of our heart. We'll miss her forever, but we are so thankful for her and the time we were able to spend with her. We think perhaps she was so special the Lord wanted her all for himself. We got a ton of beautiful pictures of her and in time will send them. Grace is still doing really well. She is only about half the size of Makaila but is a real fighter. Pray for her growth and health.Koehlingers

koehlinger babies

i don't know how it's possible that in just six short months, i would have two friends give birth to micro preemies, but it has happened. some friends of ours, kelly and chris koehlinger, delivered twin baby girls this morning at 27 weeks gestation. they are tiny, one is 2.2 lbs (mikaila) and the other is right at one pound (grace). please please pray for these babies tonight. the bigger one, mikaila, is not doing well at all, and "will not make it short of a miracle." i just can't imagine. please pray for this sweet family.

grayson the champ

so , for a quickie update on the boy. we recently did some more bloodwork on him. its been 8 months since the last round, so i requested a new round to see where the food falls now. we tested chicken, grapes, apples, sweet potatoes, 10 basic things. he has sweet potatoes, chicken and rice of some sort every day, and he does great with them, which is huge. but i fear that we will ruin him and he'll never develop a taste for anything else! each time i try a food with him, it seems he reacts to it, though his reactions are typically totally random and we can't ever figure out where they came from. so maybe it wasn't the food. we are hoping that the blood test will at least give us another couple options. pray with us please. :)

the kids are doing great, they're crazy. they fight over toys and hug and makeup post fight. they make messes in the playroom, and declare to me that they are, in fact, making a mess. "mommy, we makin' a mess! look!" they love the christmas tree, yes, we put up the christmas tree. :) it made me feel better. in lieu of the ornament box that i can't get to yet, aislyn has decorated the tree with dirty socks. it looks nice. grayson has discovered that his finger fits PERFECTLY in his nose. aislyn has learned that role playing is fun. she likes to be the mommy and grayson be the daddy. they sit at their table and talk about their day and then they make us dinner at the play kitchen. its usually soup or pizza. very tasty.

not much else to report. i'm on the wrong computer to add a pic. sorry again. :) hope all are doing well!

jesus, lover of my soul...

someone asked me recently what song had been on my heart as of late... this particular song has been on my heart for going on two years. i learned this song in 2006, and sang it at my grandmother's bedside during the months before Jesus took her home. it was the song that comforted me the most as we were losing her, and she was gaining heaven. so this is the song that has been on my heart. i wanted to post the words, they are so beautiful to me. it is my comfort during this mysterious trial of a second, very unsuspected miscarriage, to know that in Him only is our comfort. i do not implore you to try and find a version of someone singing this online... i tried, and all that is listed must have been the original arrangement, which i do not care for. when i figure out where it came from, i'll post it. the arrangement that i have come to know is much prettier than anything i found.

UPDATE- my friends ruth and troy gave me the site that has the clip of the song...
http://www.redmountainchurch.org/rmm/alb/lyrics.html
go down the song list until you see Jesus Lover of My Soul and click on it. it only plays one verse, but that's the entire melody. thanks ruth. :)

Jesus Lover of My Soul

Jesus, lover of my soul, Let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll, While the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide, Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide; Oh, receive my soul at last.

Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone, Still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed, All my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head With the shadow of Thy wing.

Wilt Thou not regard my call? Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?
Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall—Lo! on Thee I cast my care.
Reach me out Thy gracious hand! While I of Thy strength receive,
Hoping against hope I stand, Dying, and behold, I live.

Thou, O Christ, art all I want, More than all in Thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, Heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy Name, Source of all true righteousness;
Thou art evermore the same, Thou art full of truth and grace.

Plenteous grace with Thee is found, Grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound; Make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art, Freely let me take of Thee;
Spring Thou up within my heart; Rise to all eternity.

Charles Wesley- a looong time ago.

i'll soon post a pic of the kids when i'm up to it.. i promise... :)

angel baby

"To the baby that i carried
But have never seen your eyes
Or told you how much I loved you
Or ever heard your cries.

My angel baby is who you are.
My angel baby you'll always be.
Your loving memory will live in my heart
So you will always be right here with me."
(c) Lori Jager All Rights Reserved

many of you knew we we got the news this week that there was no heartbeat, but we were still hopeful that it was just too early. however, blood tests confirmed that this little one will join our first (7/30/05) in heaven. thank you for your prayers as this process could take awhile :)

grayson's big brother shirt

i have to just throw props out to aunt courtney for the adorable shirt she made for grayson. she is doing this as a side business now, and i wanted to be sure to post her link right here in the middle of my blog. check it out, you can see TONS of other ridiculously cute stuff on her site. www.twolittlebyrdies.blogspot.com is her blogsite and you can find it linked over to the right of the page as well. thanks aunt courtney! love you!

first time out...

my boy is so funny. he is a mess. and pretty much at the age where we are starting to discipline him intently. the other day he was in the kitchen, getting into the cabinets where my baking dishes are and i told him countless times to shut the door and stop digging in the cabinets. finally in frustration and just kiddding around, knowing full well that he had never been given a timeout before, i said "grayson! shut the door and GO TO TIME OUT!" he looked at me, turned around, and ran to the playroom. i didn't think too much of it, and then i heard some grunting. i walked into the playroom to find him trying to climb into the timeout chair. it was all i could do to not fall over laughing at the poor little self disciplining 17 month old. i helped him in his chair and promptly got my camera. he sat there very nicely until the one minute timer went off. then hugged, kissed me, and went on his way, DIRECTLY BACK TO THE CABINETS. he opened them, looked at me, i said "do you want another timeout?" he smiled, and ran back to the timeout chair. so much for that....

we have a teensy announcement...

my domesticated children.

its been awhile, and its really time for a post. i wanted to put up some very candid unedited pretty "bad" pictures that i think are hilarious. the kids were helping clean the other day and i grabbed our little p&s camera and shot a few. as you can see, aislyn is quite the vacuumer but does not appreciate her picture being take while she is working.

grayson will take any chance he can get to open the pantry door and steal the broom.
aislyn decided that she would rather have THAT broom.
grayson did NOT like that one bit.

aislyn also noticed that there was no hand towel in the bathroom, so she wanted to remedy that for me. notice here: a wet wipe. hanging neatly on the towel holder for all to use.

that's it for this post, i just wanted to put something up here so that people won't stop checking to see if i've posted anything new.... more to come. there are birthday parties and balloon fiestas to blog about soon.

no cuchara

so this blog is for funny stories and pics of my kids right? well, can't i just share one about my man too? great.

so, we own a landscaping business. kenny has some fabulous guys working for him. a couple speak english, but most are of the spanish language persuasion. this particular day, the english speaking guys weren't there i guess, and kenny was telling- no wait, trying to tell- his crew to go and cut the bushes. so he says to them "um, cuchara el shrubberio". they just stare. at him. so he does hand motions. just imagine, that now he is doing hand motions. "cuchara el shrubbery". the guys are like WHAT the heck is he trying to say. finally one of them is like um spoon? yes, that's right ladies and gentlemen. kenny was telling his crew to spoon the shrubs. they had a fantastic laugh about that and kenny is now looking into spanish classes.

what makes it even better is that this morning, i found this. he created this in photoshop with much detail and carefulness a month or so ago. i pray that he never ACTUALLY put these around a property. yes. that says "do not trim." and "no spoon."

to my tati and my nono

a very special surprise came in the mail today for little miss i'm about to be three. well, this mommy doesn't know how to NOT open gifts the second they are given, so that is what we did. heaven forbid we wait til her actual birthday. my mom hates when i do that. :) she was more than delighted that that pretty pink envelope had HER name on it and could not wait to rip into it. she pulled out the gift card, and JUST like my girl, exclaimed "MOMMY its MY CARD!" its like she knew exactly what we would do with it. a buggy, coke, popcorn and SHOPPING. :) the potty book is NEAT. it makes these terrific noises of a toilet flushing! over. and over. and over. and it is so special to us, that carey and arnaud, when you have children, we will DEFINITELY be passing it back your way. :) thanks guys for making her day. she can't wait to pick out some fun stuff! aislyn keeps talking about these beautiful fall decorations and some new hand towels for the season... i'm KIDDING. we'll spend it on toys. :)

last days of summer

any of you who know me, KNOW that when fall comes, i am happy. not that i don't love summer, i do. but there is something about the changing of the leaves and the pumpkin patch and the apple farms and the smells in the air and the smells in my house (i have thousands of pumpkin candles, and they do not go to waste) that just make me relax or something. i can't explain it. anyway, aislyn grabbed a dandelion in the backyard the other day, and it reminded me that these are the last days of summer. it has blown by as usual and now its almost gone. i think, correct me if i'm wrong, that monday is the first day of fall. and i shall celebrate. :) but for now, i will bid farewell to summer for it is on its way out... happy fall everyone.

blue

this one needed it's own post... :)

three

so, as previously mentioned, aislyn has been quite the model this week. she has WILLINGLY let me take pictures of her, and even pulled out some poses. which is weird. she generally says "no more pictures mom", just like that. maybe its that she's almost three, i don't quite know. but it's been fun, and she thinks it's so fun to have pictures taken. so anyone who knows me, KNOWS that i'm in heaven. and she is an angel face. i really really can't believe how beautiful she is. oh. and hornery too. i have no idea how to spell that word, so i will spell it just like my grandma prounounced it. except she left out the "h", so it was orn-ery. anyways, onto some from the 3 year old session...

and then there's my boy. i put him on this chair, got him to say the word cheese (the actual word, it was cute...) but he was done quickly.

and this is what he USUALLY looks like ....

model anyone?

so, aislyn picked out a cute little suit to wear today, this the first day of fairly chilly fall weather, so i wanted to take advantage and practice a bit with the camera. this girl WORKED it. this is the first of many more i intend to post. she was so funny. i told her to do nothing, she just posed. i was crying, laughing so hard at her talent. so weird. on the other side, she was promised a lollipop, and i think that was the driving force. at any rate, here's one i liked of my 2 year old model....

the prayer

i have to share. please check out this post on lyss' site. this was so sweet....

intrauterine salvation...and then some

my daughter is smart. she just is. she's pensive and she says things that blow my mind. alot. i've posted some of them, but i didn't want to forget about a conversation we had last night as i was putting her down. her lamp is broken, so we decided to just talk in the dark instead of read the Bible like we normally do. so we're laying there, in silence, and she says:

her : "mommy, what is Jesus?"
me: "well, honey, Jesus is a person, and He is God's son, God is His daddy and they live in heaven." (i am at a total loss here. for some reason, i feel suddenly compelled to answer her as if she were an 18 year old that i was sharing the gospel with) "Jesus came to earth and died on the cross for you, to save you."
her: "why?"
me: "because you know when you disobey mommy and daddy?"
her: "yes, mommy. and my daddy lives in my house with me."
me: "well, back to disobeying, that's sin. and Jesus came to save you and me from it."
her: "well, when is Jesus gonna come to my house and play wif me?"
me: "um... well... Jesus is always with us, we just can't see Him like we can see each other." (i'm a little freaked now, because if someone told me that someone was always WITH me, but i couldn't see them, i would never want to be alone.)
her: "jesus lives in my heart?"
me: "that's right honey! and in mommy's heart too!"
her: " and in daddy's? and mimi's? and papa's?" (she begins to list several people we know)
me: "yup"
her: "mommy, i'm sad."
me: "why are you sad?"
her: "because Jesus won't come out of my tummy and play with me."

if ANYone has any further words for my daughter, let me know. :)

which is a segway to the other story i wanted to write about. at dinner the other night, the four of us were sitting around the table and we were talking about how God has the whole world in his hands and aislyn says "mommy, God saved me." she has said this before. kenny and i had never actually said to her these words, so we've wondered where she learned them. so i thought i'd ask. i said "honey, where did you learn that God saved you?" her reply?

"in your tummy mommy!"

WHOA. kenny and i just looked at each other. i mean, who knows what happens in there...

story #3. so, we're on the back porch at my parent's house, and aislyn sees an airplane. aislyn and grayson LOVE airplanes. my dad asks "aislyn, what makes that big ole airplane stay up in the sky like that and fly?" aislyn replies, chuckling with her eyebrows up, "its getting money papa!" OH MY WORD. really? does she watch the economics portion of the today show when i'm not looking? so weird.

no pic for today, sorry. i really need to update, i know! oh, and thanks dad, for the title of this post. :)

another little cash update

micah called and asked me to post a prayer request for baby cash on thursday night, of course, i never check my messages and didn't see that she had called until friday night! cash had to have surgery on his tiny little left eye (i think left) because he has stage 3 retinopathy which can occur in preemies like him. the surgery actually went really well. had they not done the surgery he would no doubt be blind in that eye. they will soon test the other eye to see if they have to do surgery for that eye as well. those must be some masterful surgeons to do this on a 3 pounder. cash was incredibly uncomfortable from the procedure, etc. so they have him on some pain meds to help him rest, so he won't burn more calories. anyway, continue to pray for them and for cash, that he would start gaining weight and would be able to take nutrition from a bottle without too much effort. thanks. :)

update and prayers for baby cash

i wanted to post a little update on some friends of our's little one. as previously posted, baby cash was born to micah and jeremiah at 25 weeks 4 days gestation, weighing 1 lb. 3oz. micah, lyss and i went out for drinks and soup last week and she showed me one of his diapers. it was the same size as my cell phone. get out your cell phone and look at it, and imagine a baby diaper that is the size of your phone. its on our fridge now so we can remember to pray for baby cash when we see it! anyway, cash was recently put in isolation because one of the micro preemies in the NICU came down with necro something.. i don't know how to say it..only that its bad. anyway, cash was in isolation for a couple weeks and just came out of it and has tested negative for the necro stuff which is wonderful. however, the little guy keeps losing weight. he was up to 3lbs. 10oz. and is now down to 3lbs. 4oz. they have tried adding calories in, but he is burning more calories just eating from a bottle than he is taking in, if you can believe that! and then when he has a fussy fit, he burns even more calories. this week they are trying MCT oil, which is just vegetable fat basically. micah's words to me were "they are running out of options", so please pray that this little guy will start to gain some more weight, and that the MCT oil will help. and that he will be calm and have less fussy fits so he won't burn any calories. i'm going to go take some pics of him in the next couple weeks so i'll be sure to post a couple, i can only imagine that he is just the tiniest cutest little guy. micah and jeremiah thank you for your prayers. oh, and pray for their other little guy, jameson. he's only 4, and his little world has been rocked by this whole experience. they don't live here, so he's having to adjust very quickly to a whole new environment of hospital living! and one more thing, they have micah on a medicine to increase milk production and it makes her fidgety and tired all at the same time, no fun at all. pray that it will stop having that effect or that she won't need to be on it anymore. thanks for the prayers, i will keep updating.

a year ago

was she really this little? so hard to believe...

no more brokies....

so this is what having a cast looks like for a one year old boy....and this is what it looks like to have it removed....



we got a good report yesterday so they cut that big ole red thing off, which grayson did NOT enjoy by the way. i don't know if you've experienced this particular cast removal tool, but it looks like a table saw for your hand. the first thing i said was "are you going to cut my son's skin?" she said "no no, it doesn't cut, see.." and she put it on her hand to prove it. it horrified me. and grayson too. after it was off he just would wiggle it and stare at it. he still can't walk. he has no strength at all in his leg. he takes a couple steps, whines and then collapses. he crawls with his leg to the side as if his cast was still on. they said this was normal, it would be a few weeks before HE is back to normal. so, while we're excited, he's mostly just wanted me to hold him still and carry him places. :) but it will pass and he will be as active as ever very soon! thank you LORD that his leg healed so wonderfully in only 3.5 weeks!

welcome little ashon

some our good friends, j & e, had their precious angel boy yesterday afternoon FOUR WEEKS EARLY!!! however, this preemie was 7 lbs 5 oz. thank you LORD that she didn't go four more weeks!! congratulations guys, he is such a precious little thing. thanks for letting me take pictures of him even though yours would have been much better. :)

flushing...

first of all- let me just say i'm so bugged because i just typed this entire post and when i went to "publish" it gave me an error and it all disappeared. so this is the less descriptive boring version. i wanted to share a funny aislynism from today.

me- "honey, you've been doing SO great on the potty today!! i'm so proud of you! but why don't you try and go poo on the potty too?"

aislyn- "i don't want to go poo on the potty because i might fall in and you will flush me."

thats all. and its enough.

mugshot

i totally think he gives nick nolte a run for his money. the bruise helps.

dinosaur eggs and socks

just wanted to share one of the munchkin from a few weeks ago. i failed to write about this, but he got a goose egg the size of a dinosaur egg on his head from falling off a chair. a chair that was only a foot or two off the ground! it was the most awful thing i've ever seen and i've intended on posting pics from our phones of it, but its really disturbing how far it stuck out. it was even disturbing to dr. steffan who came over to inspect it. :) anyway, here are the remnants of it on his head. :) the socks on the crib; i put socks on his hands before bedtime to try and keep him from scratching them off, which he promptly takes off and hides somewhere in his bed or shoves them behind his crib bumper towards the wall. then he finds them and gets so excited. that's what this one is about.. :) i think its cute.

mom don't look at this one...

kenny: "look! i caught a whopper!"

backtrack

i can't post new ones, so i'll post this one. i took this LITERALLY about 30 minutes after delivering this child, which took THIRTY HOURS by the way. (don't worry elaine, it doesn't take everyone thirty hours...) i wanted to get one of kenny and grayson while he was fresh out... they have the same look on their face, one of utter tiredness, and it makes me laugh. so here ya go...

no picture... again

i'm getting so boring. who wants to read the ramblings of a stay at home mom? i'd rather see a picture. but none for now. the camera is still down til midweek, so i will just have to give you a visual picture.

grayson has started walking with his walker dragging his cast along. its SO funny. you just hear this clank noise every couple seconds. i fear that when we get it off (SIX DAYS), its going to be some major bad skin going on. he is just this week starting to scratch it like nobody's business. foodwise: today, i am crazy... i have been giving him sweet potatoes this week because i am sick of not feeding him. they didn't hurt him before, and i now know that even OFF ALL food he still struggles with his skin, so there must be more to it. so i have made him sweet potato fries and he is in heaven. today for lunch i gave him cauliflower, sp fries and jasmine rice. OH, and applesauce. he cried a mighty cry when it was gone. i am only trying one new thing a week (except that today i added cauliflower AND apples), so we'll see how it goes. i'm doing things that he tested a low allergy to. my allergist said it was ok, don't worry. :) we are going to another doctor too, who helps allergies like crazy, but it is alternative medicine and requires its own post. however, i have not the time nor energy to broach the subject now. (is broach a word? it sounds like it would fit in that sentence...)

aislyn is hilarious. she has taken to performing as of recent. the other day, she, emma and liam, put on a play for us. at the end of the play of which i have no idea what the subject was, the other two had run off, and aislyn said "thank you" and TOOK A BOW. for real. kenny and i were incredibly entertained.. best part of the play. today, she was trying to get my attention and i was doing something else, so she said "excuse me mommy". SHE HAS MANNERS!!! i pray that happens again. thank you to emma for rubbing off her sweet manners on my daughter. she also, this afternoon, called me aunt mommy. i have no idea what that was about, but it was weird. do we live in the deep south? HAHAHAHA. bad bad joke. but i'm totally laughing.

another funny one.. (well, to me, and to her in ten years when she reads this).. last night, her grandma put her to bed because kenny and i went to old town to have ice cream and walk around. she was still putting her to bed when we got home. just after grandma came back downstairs, the power went out and aislyn's sound machine, which is set on rain, turns off. when it comes back on (5 seconds later), it is set to birds chirping, which FREAKS her out, and for good reason. so i ran upstairs to calm her down, and she wanted me to rock her so we could "talk". she proceeded to tell me about the bear that bwoke the chair, and the powwidge and, goldicox. i finally figured out, after she said goldicox five times, that she was telling me the story of goldilocks and the three bears. i cannot possibly type how cute it is when she says goldicox. i wish i could type the intonations in her voice, its so great. oooh, i should get it on video... anyway, i guess grandma had just told her this story and she wished to recant it.

and grayson sings now. when he hears a song, he opens his mouth like andrea bocelli and sings one note for a loooooong time. with a straight face. it is SO awesome.

i think that's all i can remember for today... and please, always refer to goldilocks as goldicox for the rest of your life.

potty woe victory?

well, just one, out of millions. thanks for the comments jen, anna and debbie! i SO feel you. i wanted to tell you, but wasn't sure why you would look back at the comment page, that this morning, aislyn wanted to wear a princess pull up.( i told her awhile ago i wasn't buying them anymore if she didn't actually TRY to pee in the potty.) i bought her more, she found them, wanted to wear one. and then this morning she says "i'm going to the potty. you go that way. don't come in here mommy." so i hear her get situated, and lo and behold, i hear the tinkles! her pull up was dry and she got it all out in the potty by herself. WOW. however, i'm not holding my breath. that was only once. but i'll TAKE it... for today.

potty woes.

my daughter will not use the potty. unless she wants to. which is rare. forcing her ends in utter destruction and i'm certain is not the pc way to do it. a couple days ago, she told me she wanted to wear panties for the morning. (i wish it were spelled pannies, because really, who pronounces the 't'? i don't, i doubt that you do. so for all intensive purposes and for the rest of this post, pannies it is.) ok, i said. but you HAVE to go on the potty if you 're going to wear pannies and no diaper. ok mommy. so, every 5 minutes i would ask her if she had gone yet, and remind her that 'now' might be a good time. an hour and a half passes, she still hasn't gone, i'm getting concerned. she tells me she wants to go wash her hands, which she does several times a day, very well i might add. she's in there for a couple minutes and i hear, "mommy! i wet!" UUUUGGGGHH i think to myself. well, it wasn't actually to myself, i definitely let out a frustrated sound. she is standing in the hall with the typical "i just peed my pants" wet marks down the insides of her capris. "HONEY- why didn't you go on the potty like mommy told you???" "my sorry mommy (she says "my" for "i" most of the time- its way too cute to correct). but i did go on potty. see! i standing on the potty!" translation- she uses her little potty as a stool to wash her hands. so TECHNICALLY she WAS on the potty when she went. she was standing on it. seriously? she is going to kindergarten in diapers. because i certainly do not know where to go from there.

my camera is so broken...

if grayson's leg wasn't broken, i suppose i would say that i feel as if my leg were broken without my camera that is... but since his leg IS broken, it makes me sad to make reference such as that to it. i know, i'm so ridiculous.

tonight, for the first time since the break, he pulled up on his walker and walked a little!! i mean, its hard with a bent knee cast from thigh to toe, but he hobbled around the patio so proud of himself! i'd post a picture if i had one... (violin...) anyway, this little man is the master of adaptation. he remains so happy and is figuring out how to manuever his ginormous red cast everywhere he goes. you can always hear him coming on these hard floors. bang slide.. bang slide.. bang slide.. he's only kicked aislyn a couple times with it. but so far she hasn't minded. maybe somewhere deep down she feels sorry for him. i say deep down, because she knocks him over from a pulling up position at least 10 times a day.

funny cast story to remember. after grayson broke his leg, he had a couple nights where he just wanted mommy. of course, he also had 4 other diseases and/or illnesses. so he would end up in bed with us in the middle of the night. he likes to sleep attached to me in some manner which is super fun. well, i was dreaming, which is amazing that i even fell asleep with him in the bed. and in my dream, kenny was rubbing a knot out of my back, but he was rubbing it SOOOO hard that i was crying. but i couldn't tell him to stop and he couldn't see my face and it hurt so bad that i couldn't get any words or sounds out. so he just kept pressing as hard as he could right on this knot. well. i woke up, WHIMPERING with tears in my eyes, and noticed that grayson's cast foot was jammed so far into my right kidney that i'm surprised i didn't have to be hospitalized. you would not believe how good it felt when i moved it.

oh and to tie it back into the title.. my camera broke. and i am sad.

creating memories

my mom sent me this article, and i think its a great idea, so i thought i'd share. aislyn is already saying funny stuff. today she put her tennis shoes on and told me:

"mommy, i'm goin to work".
i said, "where do you work?"
"with ian and liam".
"oh" i said, "well, what do you do for work?"
"play".
"wow, i'd love that job. well, be sure to bring me all the money you make so i can pay the mortgage".
"ok, mommy, here it is."

her hands were empty, but her mind certainly wasn't. i love make believe.

anyways, here's the article:

When we least expect it, kids say the most hilarious, touching and clever things. When my son Jesse was 3,I corrected him gently for saying for the umpteenth time "regot" instead of "forgot." My son looked at me as if he couldn't believe my ignorance and sighed. "Mom, regot means you regot again. Threegot means you regot three times. Forgot means you regot four times. I just regot."

As parents, we go crazy capturing memories of our children. Armed with cameras and camcorders, we stalk our kids like paparazzi. We scrapbook and save every piece of artwork. But we trust our memories to hold the gems our kids say. While we can't imagine forgetting our children's precious sayings—which offer a rare glimpse into their hearts and minds—we do. Unfortunately, most of us don't think to record these treasures.

For 12 years I struggled to keep journals for each of my children. This soon became another chore. But four years ago, I discovered an easier way to capture my kids' words. I began recording them on a beautiful calendar. Since the small boxes force me to be brief, I usually had time to jot down the words immediately. But I learned quickly if I wait until evening, those little gems often would be lost.

In six months' time, my calendar had dozens of entries. One evening, while everyone lingered around the supper table, I asked my family to listen to what I'd written. I read the first page. Then the second. No one wandered away! Instead, they leaned forward and shushed each other. And smiled and chuckled. And when I read Jesse's "regot" tidbit, they howled with laughter and asked me to read it again. As I reread this entry, Jesse stared with wide eyes from one smiling family member to another. His grin grew and grew, and his eyes sparkled. Before I could finish, he threw back his head and shrieked with laughter.

After that first reading, I knew I had a treasure. So I put a small notebook in my car and another in my purse so I can scribble down quotes almost anywhere. Then I transcribe them onto my calendar as soon as possible. I also began recording a few quips of my own, along with those of my husband and other family members and friends whose words have enriched our lives.

It wasn't long before my family started prompting me, "Mom, you should write that down," and asking, "Mom, can you read from the calendar?" We pack the calendars when we're planning our annual summer road trips. They're the perfect distraction when nerves are frayed and a brawl is imminent.

I take my calendars out two or three times a year when our family needs some closeness or when one of my children needs to be reminded how special he or she is. Recording a child's words is a wonderful way to say, "What you tell me is important and valued. I love being with you. I want to remember our special times together."

I'm careful about which entries I share, too. I don't read about any of my kids' faux pas until several months have passed, and I'm sure he or she won't feel laughed at.

I've also discovered my calendars have another wonderful benefit. On those worst of days, when my son busts loose with a tirade and I'm down to my last nonsevered nerve, I shut myself in my bedroom and snatch my calendar. I flip through the pages and begin reading. "Jesse, on his first day of kindergarten: 'I hate school. It's rules, rules, rules. I don't get any choices.'" At least it's not just me. He really does have a mind of his own, and that's not all bad.

And I read one more entry. "Jesse told me after I stubbed my toe: 'It's OK, sugar hon.'"

I close my journal and listen. It's quiet again. I take a deep breath and head for the door. I can do this! Thank goodness for those memories.

and then... and then....

we got a cast today. daddy insisted that it be red, in support of our landscaping company Red Shovel Landscape & Design. i offered to take grayson to go get it branded if he wanted.. anyways, we were up all night with the little guy who had a fever on top of everything else. and when i say all night, i very much mean all night. i had him in a swing in the backyard at 5:45 a.m. because i just didn't know what else to do with him. he wouldn't really eat, etc. and then i noticed blisters on his hands. oh. my. gosh. so, we're getting a cast and the PA says that they could be a sign of strep throat. i was happy to hear that because i'm thinking hand foot and mouth disease. we decide to go straight to his pediatrician after the cast party, who says it must be HFM, but since you mentioned strep i'll test for that too. well, the strep came back positive. so, the dr. thinks its both. NEAT. he is absolutely miserable. i solicit your prayers for the broken legged throat and hand blistered kid. i hate seeing him like this. i haven't put him down in about 4 days now. the Lord gave me a perspective check on the way out of the dr's office however. i was VERY down, really feeling attacked and not understanding why so much is being thrown at my son. why not ME. why him? i looked over and saw a teeny little boy, probably too small for his age, maybe 7 years old, getting out of a car with his oxygen hooked up to his nose, pulling the oxygen tank behind him. i'm not sure what he had, but it didn't look good. and i thought, you know, it could always be worse. always. all grayson has is a broken leg, an infection and a virus. they will all go away. it was clear to me that this little boy's issue wasn't going away anytime soon. it just reminded me once again to be thankful in the tough times. my husband reminds me of this daily, and i just stare at him. but he's right. we should thank God through the trials. but its really not easy. we're not even going through that much bad stuff and i still find it hard to thank him for this time. it doesn't seem natural, but maybe that's the point. anyways, all that to say, pray that our little man fights the good fight and KEEPS IT TO HIMSELF!! and i'm sorry in advance for the onslaught of HFM that is coming since we were at my niece's bday party on saturday. whoops...

scene of the crime...

as mentioned previously, oddly enough i was trying to fix a little point and shoot camera, when i accidentally took this picture. the camera wasn't mine, so i have been waiting for it via email. weird and creepy huh. this must have been the moment, just milliseconds before his little leg broke, as it got caught underneath the leg of one of his favorite people. :) i post this, in the hopes that one day, when he's older, he'll look back at it and say "COOL!", as many little troopers would.

well.. he finally got a break...

no seriously. a break. of the leg. not even kidding. he's doing fine, just pretty bored and he's sleeping a TON. he gets frustrated because he can't really crawl yet (though he crawled a couple feet today) and he can't stand because it hurts to put pressure on it. liam let grayson borrow his dump truck chair and he LOVES it. he just sits there, so sweet, eating fritos (i found out fritos have only corn, so that works!) and watching a new dora video that liam is also lettting us borrow! he is a great sport about it. he's on motrin, but not all the time. just when i think it hurts. how did he do it? well, scarily enough i have a picture of it actually happening, but i'm waiting for that to be emailed, then i'll post. we were at a play place, with blow up toys. and he was going down the slide with one of his favorite people in the world, and his sweet little foot got caught under hers. she of course, feels awful, but she shouldn't. because ITS NOT YOUR FAULT!! when they got to the bottom, he was crying, and super lethargic. i tried to get him to stand but he'd just collapse onto me and cry. i couldn't even get him to walk for a rice cake. so i KNEW something was wrong. i came home, put him down for a nap, and debated on what to do. when he woke up and i STILL couldn't get him to stand, i took him to the ER. we got there at 3:30 and didn't leave untill 10:30. oh. my. gosh. its so fun taking your broken legged one year old to the er for 7 hours. really, try it sometime. and he LOVED being pinned down for xrays. the ortho team was backed up because of a bad wreck, so it was 9:30 before they started putting his splint cast on. he actually fell asleep during the process. he's such a good boy. when we got home, we discovered that aislyn had been super sick all day, runny nose like crazy. so one of these is a pic of the two of them, snotty and gimpy with their snuggers, watchin dora. sweet babies. we have had one heck of a weekend. yesterday was kenny and i's five year anniversary, more on that later. here are a few pics for your enjoyment. or your empathy. OH, if anyone has had a toddler in a cast, PLEASE comment with your advice. i MIGHT go crazy over the next six weeks...

oh, and tomorrow, we are taking some drastic measures with this allergy stuff. more on that later too, but i'm kind of excited. possibly crazy, but hopeful.