Fall Festival 2009

Today we woke the boys up from their naps in time to enjoy the last hour of our church's Fall Festival. There was lots of candy, lots of games, lots of bouncy things, lots of hay (achooo!), and lots of smiling faces. (Barrett did smile, just not for the camera.)

Barrett the Bear - "Grrrrrrr!" He insisted on carrying his own pumpkin...even though it's close to the same size as him!

Katie and Jenna have been teachers or helpers in some of Brody's classes at church. They were reading stories to the kids who were waiting for a hayride.

Barrett on the hayride. I was informed that I should've picked a more "Texas" Halloween costume for Barrett...meaning one that's not so HOT! What can I say. It's a hand-me-down from Brody who wore it in Kansas where it was much cooler on Halloween.

Matt & Julie were there with their kids. My camera batteries died after I took this picture, so Lauren (and her silly shirt) is the only proof I have that we saw them!

That also means that I don't have a picture of the crash that Brody took on the concrete while he and Collin were racing. He skid across the ground (nose first). His nose still bears the scars from that race!

The boys were not ready to leave when 5:00 came. Next year we'll have to put them down even earlier for their naps so we can spend more time at the festival!

Test Results

On Thursday I called our pediatrician to see if they had the results from Barrett's tests. I forgot that our doctor only works M-W-F. The nurse that returned my call (not our normal nurse) said that they had received some of the results, however, some of the tests were still pending. She said that there were a few abnormal results, but she didn't know if they were anything to worry about or not. She said the dr would call me on Friday. I couldn't believe that she said that to me!! Why would you tell a mother that there were abnormal test results for her child and say, "I don't know if they're anything to worry about or not, but we'll call you tomorrow and let you know." Crazy! Thankfully, God gave me peace and I honestly didn't worry. (On the other hand, I didn't tell my mom what the nurse had reported because I knew that she would not have been able to sleep!)

I waited patiently on Friday...until noon. Then I called and left a message for the dr to call. I called again at 4 pm and let the receptionist know that the nurse the day before had given me cause for concern. Our nurse called back 15 minutes later. She was shocked that a nurse would've said that to me. In her words, "She must not be a mom!" lol. Our nurse informed me that the abnormal results had to do with celiac disease (a gluten intolerance). She said that they were still waiting on some other lab work so the results were currently inconclusive and that I really shouldn't worry. When we got off the phone I was really struggling not to worry!

At 6:30 our doctor called. She was a little upset at all the information the other nurses had given me. She said that she had been waiting to gather all the results before calling so that she could give me accurate information. She said that if she'd know what the first nurse had said, then she would've called first thing this morning just to ease my mind. Between 4:15 and 6:30 they received the results to all of the tests except for one (the sweat test which tests for cystic fibrosis).

Blood tests: white blood cell count is normal (no infection), sodium is normal, potassium is normal, he has mild anemia which can be attributed to his current diet (or lack thereof) and can be remedied once we can convince him to eat more....or with a multi-vitamin, urine/kidney function = normal

Urine test: he had a little protein in his urine, but (according to the dr) this isn't any biggie. They may test it again later to see if it changes once his diet improves.

Stool test: normal. His body absorbs fat correctly. The elastase levels were good which means he makes good pancreatic enzymes.

Celiac disease: This is a three part test. The first test they had gotten the results for showed elevated IGA levels (this was the abnormal results). The other two parts to the test came back "normal". She contacted the GI specialist at Cooks and they said that the IGA levels were within their "normal" range and that the results of these tests show that he does not have celiac disease! Yay!!!

Thyroid function: normal

Sweat chloride test: still waiting on these results (this tests for cystic fibrosis).

Conclusion: She thinks that Barrett is just small, uses a lot of energy, and doesn't take in enough calories. After we get the sweat test back (assuming that it's negative), then she'll send us to meet with a nutritionist at Cooks. I would gladly welcome the help of a nutritionist! I've been keeping a food diary for Barrett for the last week and a half and have discovered that the boy hardly eats anything! On Thursday he ingested less than 300 calories of solid food and only had 9 oz of milk! Most days he drinks more milk than that (usually 20+ oz), but it was a typical day for solid food. I offer him a wide variety of food. Although it goes against everything I know, I offer him ice cream, candy, and brownies. He'll turn his nose up and push those away just like any other food I offer. CRAZY! I'm hoping a nutritionist will be able to offer me some fresh advice. I don't want to just "fatten him up", I want him to be healthy. I don't want to start his life out getting him addicted to fats and sweets. I'd rather help him grow with nutritional, healthy foods!

Thanks for all the prayers. I was never really too concerned about his weight (he's just small), but I'm glad to get the tests out of the way so that my dr will also have a peace of mind.

I can fly!

One of the many freebies from Mike's company picnic was a helicopter hat (guess that's what you call it) for the kids. When Mike handed it to Brody, his eyes got wide and lit up like Mike had just handed him the most prized possession in the world. We thought it a little humorous that he was so excited about a hat. Brody carefully put it on his head, reached up and spun the propellers, and then asked with awe in his voice, "Am I flying?!?" We told him "no" and he anxiously asked if one of us would spin the blades so that it would go fast enough to lift him off the ground. Suddenly it hit us. The reason he was in awe of the hat was because he actually believed that it would allow him to fly! The disappointment in his face when he learned that you can't fly with a hat was almost heartbreaking. Thankfully he's gotten over that disappointment and now loves to pretend like the hat makes him into a human helicopter.

Halloween Party

Today I went up to Brody's school for his Halloween Party. The family life center had tons of games set up all around the room. When I got there Brody went into hyper, show-off-for-Mommy mode. He ran around and around the room showing me how he could throw balls in all the baskets and play all the games. He stopped for a brief second to let me take his picture as a muscle man.

Then he was off to the games again.

He slowed down a little bit when pretty Emma wanted to play ring toss with him.

But then he and Jackson (one of his friends) spent the rest of my time there racing each other across the room. It was fun to see him interacting with his friends and enjoying his time at school.

Down, Set, Hut Hut

The first thing Brody asked when he woke up this morning was, "Is today the day I get to wear my football uniform to school?!?!?" He was jumping up and down when I told him that today's the big day. They're having their Halloween party at school today. He's been looking forward to this day for a loooooong time. I can't tell you how many times he begs to wear this outfit to school. He waited patiently for me to take a shower and then asked me to come outside to take his picture. Like I could say no to that!

Giving me his "serious football player" look.

He's off! He tells me that he'll run faster in PE today because he's in his Cowboys uniform. I just hope he doesn't run into anything when the helmet falls down over his eyes!

College at the age of 3

"Mom...I'm goin' to college."

That's what Brody walked into the kitchen and announced to me and Mike last night after dinner. I asked what he was going to do at college and he said, "I'm going to go to school, then I'm gonna go play racquetball, and then I'm going to work like you do, but for someone else. I'm gonna work for other people to pay taxes. (I think he means do tax returns...but his choice of wording is kind of ironic.)"

I asked, "What are you going to do with the money you make?"

Brody, "I'm gonna put it in my piggy bank. But can you give me some money right now? I really need some in my pocket so that I can give it to other people."

Aww. Really? He just wants money to give to people? So I said, "Give to other people?"

Brody, "Yeah. Like when I go to the store to buy things."

Oh. Ok. I was giving him too much credit. Maybe "giving money to other people" means "giving money to the sales associate at Wal-Mart".

Mike told him that he had to go to work before he got paid. So Brody turned and said, "Ok. I'm leaving now. I'm going to college. I love you! Bye!"

I made him promise to call me every day. He thought that sounded like a good idea. (Although he did say, "But if you call me at work and I'm in a meeting I'll have to call you later...when I'm on my way home.") Fifteen years from now, I wonder if he'll still think it's a good idea to call me every day?

16 months

We are somehow a month off on our well-check visits for Barrett. That means that he went to the dr at 16 months rather than 15. Our doctor is still concerned about his weight. He is "between 25-50%" for height (don't know why she didn't give me an exact %) but is still below the charts for weight. He's been staying on his "own" growth curve for weight, however, this visit his weight leveled off. He only gained 13 oz in the last 3 months putting him at a whoppin' 18 lbs 13 oz. Our pediatrician consulted with a GI and they both thought that we should take Barrett to Cooks for some blood work. My gut tells me that they're being over-proactive and I really just think that he's a lightweight...but I like it when doctors are proactive and we thought it would be best to follow their suggestions and make sure that there's not something wrong that is keeping Barrett from gaining weight at a "normal" rate.

Yesterday I took him to Cooks for a sweat test (see his arm below). They also drew 3 vials of blood and took a urine and stool sample. (I had to refrigerate and bring the stool sample in with me. Gross!!! Even though it was in a sealed container, I'm not sure I want to eat the food in my fridge now! lol) He took all the testing like a champ. While waiting on the sweat test, he went around and made friends with all the kids and adults in the waiting room. I made sure to bathe him in antibacterial sanitizer after we left!

Weight aside, Barrett is way above "normal" with his development. I absolutely love the age he's at right now. He tries to repeat everything we say and claps for himself for even the smallest accomplishment! For the past week or so I've put him on the potty while I'm drawing the bath...just to get him used to the idea. Several times he's gone #1 and Brody and I cheer for him. Last night he went #1 AND #2!!! It was like he'd just won the Superbowl! Brody and I were so excited! I think Mike wondered what in the world was going on in the bathroom.

One of the cutest things that Barrett does right now is to tell you "Bye bye!" He'll walk into my office say, "Bye bye!" and blow me a kiss as he turns around to leave. I'll say, "Don't you need a hug before you go?" Then he'll run back to me, give me a hug, and start the "bye bye" all over again. When I show him "I love you" fingers as he's walking away, he'll turn and hold one finger up in the air towards me. He can't seem to make the other fingers cooperate to make the sign...but it doesn't matter. I know what he means and it melts my heart!

On the highway

Have you ever looked out your car window to see two airplanes passing you on the highway?

It was a strange sight!

Matching Camo

Ever since Mike got back from his hunting lease, the pretend hunting has been more intense and more frequent at our house. On Wednesday, Brody built a blind on top of the bed at Daddy Steve & Namaw's house (using 2 chairs and a blanket) so that he could take his nap in his hunting blind. When we got home from work on Wednesday night he got straight to hunting deer from the "blind" in his room. He donned his camo pants, hunting boots, and a sleeveless camo t-shirt. I was thankful when Mike said he needed to put on a shirt that had sleeves to go to church on Wednesday night. I thought it was because the tank and pants had different camo and they didn't match. Later Mike told me that it was just because it didn't have sleeves. He said that your camo doesn't have to match. This is hard for me! If Brody's going to wear camo pants, I want his top to be something different (like orange or grey) or I want the camo to match! I told Mike that I'm sure that women hunters have matching camo. I know I wouldn't want the deer to see me in camo that clashed! lol

Anyways, yesterday Brody woke up and immediately put on his camo pants and a camo t-shirt (with sleeves...yes, this boy has lots of options in camo). He shot two deer before it was time to go to school! It was going to be very cool yesterday, so I thought I had a sly way of winning the matching camo battle. I told Brody he needed to wear long sleeves and I grabbed a shirt that had a camo thermal underneath a blue t-shirt. Even though the sleeves didn't match the pants, there wasn't as much "un-matching camo" as a solid shirt, so I thought this would be better. I didn't count on the argument that "the blue isn't camo and the deer will see me if I'm wearing this much blue! I have to hunt until the moment we leave for school and then I have to go hunting as soon as we get home, so I have to have solid camo on!" I decided this wasn't a battle worth fighting and got out his camo fleece for him to wear.

So what do you think? Does your camo need to match? (Of course, the majority of my readers aren't hunters...so I don't know how accurate this poll will be!)

*Edit* Reading Morgon's comment made me realize that Mike is exactly like that. When he gets new camo, he has to get gloves, a face mask, etc to match...so I wonder why his has to match but Brody's doesn't? Maybe it's just because he's a kid and it's hard to find matching camo?

Matching aside, I love how much Brody wants to be like his Daddy. When Mike got home from work on Wednesday Brody told him, "I have my camo on and am hunting for deer...because I want to be just like you!" Melts my heart when I see him so in love with his Daddy. It also make me think about how much our boys look up to our example and how we need to make sure that we are striving to set a Christlike example every single day.

Boys will be Boys

They boys had a pretty rough weekend while Mike was gone. I told Mike that he'd never want to leave the boys alone with me again! It started on Friday after Mike left. Brody was running into his room, tripped, and fell head first on the bottom log of his bed. The bump on his head popped out as big as an egg!

That same night, Barrett fell on the open drawer of the train table. He hit his face just under his right eye. It left a nice purple bruise that is just now yellowing and disappearing.

On Saturday my parents and I took the boys to the park. Barrett fell and scraped his elbow. He also banged his head in three different places while going down one of the big slides. I don't have pictures of those. I did get a picture of Brody's knee (he scraped it up when he fell while running). He also had a big bump by his right eye (probably can't see it unless you click on the picture to make it bigger) from falling at the playground.

Then on Monday, at the pumpkin patch, Barrett fell off the tractor and busted his bottom lip. There's still a big scab there. The dr told me that it's a good thing we're vaccinating because without the tetanus shot, slicing open his chin on rusted metal could've killed him.

I know that it's just boys being boys (or toddlers being toddlers), but Mike and I both hope it's just a kid thing...and that the boys don't get my grace! I still run into things on a daily basis. Last night I banged my leg on the open dishwasher and now I have a nice cut/bruise on my leg!

Sweet!

This morning I was reading Salad in a Jar and was salivating over the pumpkin cookies that Romaine made. I posted a comment telling her that I'd be happy to be a taste tester for her. Can you believe that an hour later I got an email alerting me to the fact that I had a package waiting for me on my door step! Inside were some delicious goodies from Romaine! I like being "on the way to work" for one of the worlds best chiefs! If you haven't ever looked at her website, you need to check it out. She has lots of healthy (and some not so healthy) recipes along with amazing photography of her cooking.

Thanks, Romaine, for the wonderful treats!

She thinks my tractor's sexy...

There was a rusted, old tractor by the barns at the pumpkin patch. Barrett and I walked over there to take a few pictures.

This was the last picture I got of Barrett (below). If you click on this picture you'll see that his right hand is in the air. Just as I took this picture he let go of the steering wheel and fell forward. He hit his chin (just under his lip) on the step. As soon as I realized he was falling, I dropped my camera and lunged for him...but I was too late. Thankfully he didn't need stitches, but he does have a nice slice on his chin now.

As we were heading back to the group, Brody ran across the field towards us and said he wanted his picture taken on the tractor too.

He was a little disappointed that there wasn't a key in the tractor and that he couldn't really drive it...but he made do with pretending.

He lasted a few minutes and then the bounce houses were calling his name...

Pumpkin Patch 2009

Today the boys and I went to a pumpkin patch in Flower Mound with some friends from church (Anna & Autumn; Shelly, Avery, & Reagan; and Leanne & Andrew).

There were actually two different pumpkin patches side by side. The first one we went to was supposed to be "the good one". The problem with going to the "good one" is that EVERYONE goes to the good one! It was crazy. There were bus loads of kids who were there on field trips along with hundreds of moms and their toddlers. We spent an hour fighting the crowds. There was even a 5 minute period where one of the kids in our group got separated and we had to split up to find her! Talk about scary! We decided to forgo the stress of the "good" pumpkin patch and go back down the road to the second one.

We made the right choice. Pumpkin patch #2 was not crowded at all. In fact, it was peaceful and we felt like we were out in the country rather in the middle of New York City! I loved the sign that they had posted several places around the patch...

I took 172 pictures today...so I'm pretty pleased that I was able to narrow it down to 13 for a post. (Well...that's not exactly true because I'm gonna do a separate post with pictures of the boys on one of the old farm tractors...but there's only 13 pics in this post!)

There were bounce houses galore at the pumpkin patch. I bet Brody spent a total of an hour bouncing up and down. I wonder if his calves will be sore tomorrow?

I ran into Lance & Ashley Hall at Pumpkin Patch #1. While I was talking to Ashley, Brody ran over to this group of pumpkins by the fence and just sat there...eating cheerios and watching the chaos. It looks pretty peaceful from this angle!

I was trying to get a pic of the boys when a "helpful" lady walked up and started talking to them trying to get them to smile for me. The problem? She was standing up about 6 feet away from me. Hmmm. Not exactly where I was wanting them to look.

Brody tried his hardest to keep Barrett sitting by him for a good picture...but after this Barrett was done!

Everyone had so much fun today. I'm kinda sad that we didn't get a group shot...and it's funny to me that I didn't get any pictures of the other kids. Makes it seem like we went all by ourselves! We had great company and great weather...and we were all exhausted by the time we headed for home.

The ride home was going great. Barrett was sleeping, Andrew and Brody were playing together, and Leanne and I were talking. Then a warning light began to flash on my dashboard. I looked up and saw that my rear drivers tire was losing air pressure. We exited at the next exit to check it out. By the time we went a couple blocks and pulled into a tire shop, the tire was flat! I'm so thankful that we have the tire sensor on our car. It would not have been fun to be stuck on the side of the highway with a flat tire considering the fact that we had 3 kids in the back seat and I'd've had a pregnant lady (Leanne) as my sidekick! We said a prayer of thanks when the mechanic got us in right away and had us back on the road 20 minutes and $10 later.

We made it home safely and I carried the kids from the car straight to their beds for a nap.

Have you seen Castaway?

Brody has really missed Mike this weekend while he was at the hunting lease. When we got home from church today he cried and cried about how he missed his daddy. At first talking to Daddy on the phone helped, but then I think it just made the distance harder on him and, choked with tears, he couldn't talk anymore. He was so excited this afternoon when he found a picture of Daddy. It's one of Mike's senior pictures.

He immediately took this picture to his room and gave it a place of importance (out of the reach of Barrett). When I tucked him into bed tonight he asked me to bring him a flashlight. When I brought the flashlight back he pulled out the prized picture and propped it up with some pillows so that the picture was facing him in bed. As I left the room he was clicking the flashlight off and on...watching Daddy smile at him thru the picture. Made me think of the movie Castaway.

I'm glad our boys love their daddy so much! I really missed him too!

Chasin' after a little white ball

Mike used to call our friend, Chris, and ask him if he was having fun "playing in the dirt". (Chris would be driving his tractor around on the field). Chris in turn would call Mike and tease him about wasting his time "chasin' after a little white ball" (aka playing golf).

This morning I promised Brody that we'd go chase after a little white ball (ok...so maybe they're either red, green, yellow, or blue at Putt Putt...but you know what I mean) after lunch. After stopping by the gym to buy my membership (yay! I finally have a new gym!), going to Fry's Electronics (because what's a Friday off work for Daddy Steve without Fry's?! Ok...maybe it's because I needed to get something there too), taking shoes back, having a spontaneous playdate with Jamie & Kori, and eating lunch at Chick-fil-a with Caleb, Daddy Steve and I finally made it to Putt Putt with the boys.

Brody thought it would be a great idea to get his picture taken with the turtle sculpture since his class at pre-school is called the Turtles. He put on his fake smile for the picture.

Barrett missed his morning nap since we were running errands. It wasn't long before he started dozing off in the backpack.

Fun was had by all as we played 18 holes of miniature golf. We got back in the car just as it was Brody's nap time, however, we had one more stop to make. Sam's Club. Daddy Steve and Brody made sure to get one of every sample food that was offered while I got the necessary shopping items loaded in our cart.

When we got home it was almost time for Mike to get home from work, so I just let the boys play outside while I planted some flowers. (I know. Planting flowers doesn't sound like me at all does it? No, I haven't grown a green thumb. Mike bought some flowers the other day and we started planting them with the boys the other night. Mike asked if I could finish getting them planted today while I was off work. Since he had them laid out and all I needed to do was dig holes...I gave it a try. For some reason I'm afraid that I didn't do it right and they'll all die! lol)

They had fun playing together, but I was paying for the no-nap-day by dinner time. Everyone was cranky (me included). So much so that by 7:30 I made the executive decision that early bedtimes were necessary tonight. We had so much fun today, but it left me totally exhausted! As I put Brody in bed I apologized to him for being so grouchy tonight. He said, "I forgive you."

The house is quite right now...except for these little gnats that have plagued our house the past few days and are buzzing around me. Maybe that's my sign to just give up and go to bed....but it's not even 9:30 pm! Is that allowed?

Spontaneous Playdate

This morning Daddy Steve went with me and the boys to run some errands. While I was taking a pair of shoes back to DSW (don't worry Ann...it wasn't the boots...it was another pair of shoes that I got that I changed my mind about), Brody convinced Daddy Steve to go to Dick's Sporting Goods. If you walk thru Dick's, you enter the mall and the play area is directly in front of you. While at DSW, I got a call from Daddy Steve saying they were at the play area and he told me that Jamie and Kori were there too!

I met Jamie at the gym where I used to work out (before we moved). She is such a sweetheart and we quickly became friends. Since we were usually rushing in and out of the 5 am aerobics classes, we have actually gotten to know each other better thru our blogs. There've been several times where we've tried to set up a playdate...but it hasn't worked out yet. It was great to have a spontaneous playdate!

Barrett and Kori (2 1/2 yrs old) sitting in the boat in the play area. Two little towheads

He Did It!!!!

Brody actually smiled for a picture at pre-school! (Last year all his pictures from pre-school were stoic.) Yes, it may have been his cheesy, fake smile. But it's a smile! Yay!!!

I think he also took the liberty of "fixing" his hair before the picture. For some reason he likes to smooth down the front of his hair flat against his head after I've worked hard to make his curls look just right...