Last Hurrah

Last week was Mike's final softball game to play in during the spring season. The rest of the season Mike will be coaching rather than playing. Remember when he tore his meniscus over 2 years ago while playing basketball at a church retreat? Well, it's never felt 100% since he had surgery on it. Lately it's started hurting again. Saturday he and Caleb played raquet ball and this REALLY made it hurt. After watching him limp after ever play last Monday night, I knew he had to get to the doctor! I was just glad the game last week was an early game so that I could take the boys to watch Daddy play!

Brody has been getting much more interested in watching the game lately (rather than just playing off to the side). Here he's eating his fruit snacks and standing on his tippy toes to see over the tarp/fence.


Caleb hitting the ball.

Barrett had fun riding around in the backpack with Daddy Steve.

The great thing about a church league. They guys huddle up and pray together after the game is over. Maybe the LRC (where I used to work in KS) needs to implement a joint prayer after the summer youth league games. It might help diffuse the parents that yell at the 16 year old umps all the way to their car after a 7 year old baseball game!

Barrett and Staci at the PR Black softball game. I just love his "extra" dimple (the one just under his eye). It's so cute!!

And just so I don't leave you hanging...Mike has now gone to 2 different doctors. One wants to go ahead and do arthroscopic surgery. The other dr sent him to get an MRI today and will discuss his suggested plan with Mike later this week. Hopefully we'll figure out what he needs to do soon so that he won't be in pain anymore!

Staycation

Saturday morning we thought about going to look at furniture. We've been wanting to go to a rustic furniture store...but it's close to the Texas Motor Speedway...and there was a race this weekend. So we decided to head a different direction. What started out as just a trip to Bass Pro turned in to something that felt like a day of vacation! I guess since we didn't really travel anywhere, we're supposed to call it a "staycation"...at least that's the term I've heard in the news lately.

We loaded up the boys in the Durango and headed towards Bass Pro. On our way we called Tyler and he agreed to meet us for lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Lunch here isn't just lunch...it's an experience!

Tyler, Brody, & Barrett

Brody points out the fish swimming over Brody.

Our family at the Rainforest Cafe. When they get older will they both look at the camera and smile?

Staycation - Bass Pro Shop

After eating lunch, we headed to the Bass Pro Shop. Brody was soooo excited to get there. He sat on a majority of the ATV's that were in the store. I'm reminded how small he still is when I see him sitting on a 4 wheeler reaching for both handles!

The first place Brody headed was the golf department. He walked thru the golf dept turning his head left and right. Then he looked up at me and said, "Where is there course? I can't find their course!" We looked together and finally found their putting green. They even had a kid putter sitting out. Brody was a happy camper! I sat there watching him put for about 15 minutes. One of the golf pro's even came over and gave Brody some lessons on correct form.

What was Barrett doing? Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

We've been wanting to get a new backpack/kid carrier. We were disappointed that there was only ONE to choose from at Bass Pro. It was a good one, but we decided to keep looking online. Brody didn't like it when we put this one back. He said that it's much more comfy than our black one. It couldn't be because we've used our current backpack so much that the boys are wearing holes in it!

We had to make one last stop before we left...the "shooting range". Mike popped in a couple quarters and let Brody have fun shooting a gun.

Five minutes after we got in the car both boys were asleep. Mike and I enjoyed the ride home with each other. It was a very fun day! I'm glad that we had a little staycation!

Afternoon Walk

It's Here!

BARRETT HAS A TOOTH!!!!!!!

Yes he's 9 months old...and yes, this is his FIRST tooth...but he beat Brody by 4 months! Brody didn't get his first tooth until he was 13 months old! I'd been feeling a bulge on Barrett's bottom gum for the past few weeks. Today when I stuck my fingers in his mouth I was surprised to feel something sharp. There's not enough sticking thru the gums to attempt taking a picture yet (and I do mean ATTEMPT...have you every tried to look, much less take a picture, inside the mouth of a baby? It's hard!), but there is definitely part of a tooth poking thru the gums! Yay Barrett!

Don't Eat Paper!

When we were kids, my cousin Josh told us he could eat an entire piece of notebook paper. We sat there and watched as he tore off piece after piece, chewed them up, and swallowed them. Yesterday, Barrett unsuccessfully tried to follow in Josh's footsteps.

Namaw gave me a kids catalog that came in the mail. I let Barrett look at it while I continued working on a tax return. When I looked down to see that he was starting to chew on the catalog, I took it from him and threw it in the trash. Then I fished a piece of paper out of his mouth. A few seconds later Barrett starts coughing and gagging. I realize that he must have tried to swallow a piece of paper. I start patting him on his back which wasn't helping. I picked him up as he alternates between coughing, crying, and choking. As Namaw walks into the room, he turns red and starts sweating. There are times where I can't tell if he's breathing or not. When I realized that patting his back wasn't working and that things were getting worse, I started doing the infant Heimlich maneuver. After a few cycles of doing chest compressions and back blows, Barrett threw up on my office floor and I saw the culprit...a piece of paper. Barrett then started crying and clung to me.

For 7 years I was a CPR/First Aid Instructor. I've been certified in CPR/First Aid for over 14 years. Thankfully, this is the first time I've ever had to use it in real life. I was glad to see that I didn't panic or freeze up and was able to successfully dislodge the foreign object. I thank God that Barrett was ok!

Moral of the story: No matter what Josh says...Don't Eat Paper!

9 months

Can you believe this little guy turned 9 months old this past Friday? I can't! Time definitely goes by faster with the 2nd kid. Barrett is still such a happy little boy and blesses us with smiles all the time! He absolutely adores Brody and loves playing with him. No one can make Barrett laugh as hard as Brody can and it's so precious to watch them together! Barrett says "Mama" and "Dada". He also says "Buh Buh" while waving bye and sometimes seems to be trying to say Bubba while "talking" to Brody. Crawling is nothing new (he's been doing that since 5 months), but now he's pulling up on everything and starting to try to walk behind his walker.

It's still a literal phrase when we call Barrett our "little" guy. At his 9 month appointment last Friday, he weighed in at a whoopin' 15 pounds 1 oz (less than 3% on the charts) and was 27.5" long (in the 25%). The dr doesn't seem too worried about his weight since he's ahead on the charts with his development. He's just a little baby...and it's so cute!!!

Brody and Barrett watching out the window while we wait for the dr to get to our room.

Mavs

Last night my cousin, Ginger, and her husband, Jesse, came to town with 2 extra tickets to the Mavs game! Daddy Steve and Namaw said they'd watch Brody, Barrett, and McKenna so that we could all go. We had a lot of fun together!

Jesse (a Denver native) was excited that the Nuggets beat the Mavericks by 2 points. It was a great game...just not the outcome that MOST of us wanted!

Startling Wake Up

I'm guessing that Brody had a bad dream last night. We were woken up at 3:15 am by a screaming, crying Brody. I jumped out of bed and found him on the couch in the living room...crying HARD! He was carrying his John Deere blanket and wouldn't even stop crying to tell me what was wrong. I took him back to his bed, but as soon as I laid him down he started screaming crying again. I asked if he needed to potty, but he wouldn't respond. I made him go potty and then took him back to his room. He didn't want to get in his bed, so I spent the next 10-15 minutes sitting on the floor by his bed just holding him in my lap with his head against my chest. It was a harsh wake up that ended in a truly precious time with my little boy. After a while I laid him back in bed. He wanted me to put his Twilight Turtle (it projects stars onto the ceiling) right by his face (making me think that he wasn't wanting to be in the dark). I gave him kisses, told him I loved him, and went back to bed. I don't know if I ever got back to sleep before my alarm went off at 4:35 am, but that's ok. During spin class and Body Pump this morning I just kept thanking God for my sweet little boy.

Lunch at the Park

It's been beautiful outside lately! One day last week I asked Daddy Steve if he'd want to go to lunch with me and the boys at the park. We stopped by Bueno and enjoyed eating it with a cool breeze under the shade of some trees.

Barrett loves riding in the backpack and was happy to watch us eat lunch and then watch Brody play on the playground from the comfort of Daddy Steve's back!

It's so fun having Daddy Steve work from home so that he can go to the park with us over his lunch break!

Upstairs

Barrett's learned a new trick! Sunday morning (over a week ago) Caleb and Namaw were watching the boys at church when Namaw said, "Uh oh! Staci, you better see this!" I turned to watch Barrett crawl up the stairs.

He was so proud of himself when he got all the way to the top!

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In other news, when you have minute read the blog www.mycharmingkids.net. Their almost 5 month old, Stellan, really needs our prayers right now.

Bringin' Home Baby

We got the following email from Jan & Ron yesterday. Thank you for all your prayers for baby Bella.

"Jon and Cindy brought Bella home this afternoon. They are happy to be home, but exhausted because of their lack of sleep last night. The nurses had to keep coming into their room all during the night to check Bella----- even checked her hearing during the night! When the nurses weren't checking things, Bella cried. She was sleeping good when I went by to see her after they got home, so hopefully they will all get more sleep tonight. She looks so cute!! The nurse said to be extra careful with her for about 2 weeks because her immunities are down because of the infection/ pneumonia that she had. Even Jon and Cindy have to use the sanitizer hand wash every time they hold her or change diapers etc. Hopefully everyone can see her soon!"

We are so glad that Bella is home now and we can't wait until we can see her in person!

Bowing

What? You didn't know that "Bowing" was a sport? Well, when you take your guns to the gun range, you go shooting...so Brody says that when you take your bow and arrows out to practice...you go "bowing"!

Saturday Mike took Brody "bowing" at Big Carl's house. Mike and "Uncle" Carl wanted to try out their new bows and Brody wanted to practice with the bow and arrows that "Daddy" Carl gave him. I begged Mike to take the camera and take a few pictures. He wouldn't make any promises, but said that he'd try to get a picture or two. There weren't any of the big guys shooting their bows, but there were lots of little Brody! It looks like everyone took turns showing him how to shoot.

"Uncle" Carl (he's not technically an uncle...he's Caleb's brother-in-law...but he's the only "uncle" that Brody actually calls "uncle"...kinda funny!) helping Brody pull back.

"Daddy" Carl (he's "Uncle" Carl's daddy who's also named Carl) letting Brody help him shoot his long bow (I think that's what this kind of bow is called?)

Oops! Looks like they missed the deer. Brody retrieves the arrow out of the haystack.

Mike's turn to help the little guy shoot his bow.

Gottem right in the sweet spot! Good job Brody!

While Mike and Carl practiced with their bows, Brody tagged along with Big Carl. They mowed, played in the dirt, and who knows what else. They all had fun...and Brody took a great nap when he got home! After he woke up he told Mike that next time he wanted to go hunting for a bear!

Blah

Barrett is BOUND to be getting a tooth. He had a fever off and on last week and has just been kinda fussy (not like Barrett!) Last Wednesday Mike was home sick, so Brody stayed home with him while I went to work. Barrett rode like this all the way down the street! Can you tell he didn't feel well?

Spring Break Fun

Today was the last day of Spring Break. Instead of fighting the crowds at the zoo (they reported over 23,000 on Wednesday), we headed to the lake! I called Daddy Steve this morning and asked if he'd want to take me and Brody kayaking. He said he'd be ready by 8:30. Brody was really excited to go and politely informed me that "I would really rather ride in Daddy Steve's kayak". I was excited when he changed his mind at the lake and decided to ride with me!

Notice Daddy Steve over Brody's shoulder.

Brody kept me entertained by talking to me the entire time. It's a little more difficult to paddle over a kid...and Body Pump this morning had already wasted my arms, but we still managed to paddle around for over an hour and a half.

From a ways off we saw what we thought was a flock of birds. They were so far away that we knew they had to be big birds and we couldn't resist going for a look. Looks like we stumbled across a flock of pelican!

There were only a few fishing boats on the lake this morning, so it was a very peaceful trip. We stopped a few times to breathe in the fresh air and feel the breeze on our faces.