Family Photos

Below is a link to some family photos we had taken! They are by Steve Fellers Photography here in Arkadelphia. We decided it was time to finally get some professional photos and it was so worth it! The boys both did a great job despite the fact that there were gnats plaguing us. I'm still glad we had them taken outside, though.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100272961938973.2481394.9218136&type=1&l=eebfe67bfe

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas! See you in 2012.

Christmas at Home

Merry Christmas everyone! We celebrated our Christmas at home which is where we open all our presents to each other before flying to the grandparents' house for actual Christmas Day. We wrapped everything and had it under the tree for Saturday morning so Micah could get the full effect :-) He was not disappointed. "All these are for us?!" You can see him counting all the gifts in this first photo. This year we had him read all the tags to see if they were for him. He can recognize his own name and Jacob's name now. Of course he helped open 'lil bro's gifts too! We had our "Happy Birthday Jesus" party at church yesterday for all of the families with kids. It's a fun and kid-accessible way for our family to remember why we celebrate Christmas. Plus, as Micah says, there's cake!

"One for you, two for me, one for you..."

Jacob, enjoying all the excitement.

Jacobs plays with his new toy from mom and dad.

A "rite of passage": Micah receives his first Nerf toy.

Paging Dr. Micah!

"This ball popper is a blast!"

Jacob plays with his favorite toy, his foot :-)

                                             Micah and Jacob play together.

Cutiepie under the tree

Blowing razzes at the camera.

Jacob 'talks' about his first Christmas and wonders about the camera.

Micah shows Jacob how his new toy works.

Now that we've had our celebration here, we'll move our focus to getting to Delaware on Friday. So far, I'm staying sane, self-medicating with lots of chocolate, and meditating on the phrase, "it's only a two-hour flight." :-)  We are all excited about getting to spend the holiday with family, especially since it's been 2 years since we've been to DE--way too long. This may be my last post until after the holidays, so we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Haircut

The boys playing nicely together :-)

"Mmm, these 'knee' things can come in quite handy."

Losing hair, not weight!

Well, we finally bit the bullet and gave Jacob a haircut. His hair was beginning to fall down into his eyes all the time and he has ezcema on his cheeks so that wasn't helping matters! Dan got out the scissors and in a matter of minutes, he was sporting a shorter 'do. (Of course, I saved the clippings for the baby book!) We've been having a lot of sleepless nights lately because of Jacob's restlessness. I took him to the doctor to make sure he wasn't coming down with an ear infection or something but everything looks good. He's now about 22 lbs and 6 oz. He's obviously hitting another growth spurt as well, so he's back to eating in the night again. The teething has just been really tough for him and we're finally coming out of a rough week. I knew things were bad when one night, as I was trying to give Jacob some Tylenol as he was screaming and get Micah some dinner, Micah said, "Can we pray for Jacob to feel better?" Poor kid. I know he's probably been waking up at night with all the noise, but he never comes out of his room. He's a total stoic. As you can see from the pics, Jacob is becoming much more mobile, up and all fours and rocking back and forth. He and Micah have enjoyed playing with their nativity set over the last week. It plays music and there's  a star that lights up on top of the stable which has been a source of great amusement for the under 1-yr.-old crowd :-) (Also on the entertainment lineup: playing with feet and rocking out of the bouncy chair and onto the floor, followed by giggling.) Micah's been asking lots of questions about where the baby Jesus lives. In a manger? In heaven? In our hearts? How do you explain to a 4 -yr. old?

In a week from today, we'll be boarding a plane for Delaware! I hope Jacob's a good flyer, but just in case he's not, there will be Tylenol involved! Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday and balancing that with the extra tasks this time of year always brings. We're looking forward to seeing family.

Tooth Troubles

Poor little Jacob is getting his second tooth and he is not liking it! He seems to also have a cold, which doesn't help matters. The video above shows his multi-method techniques for relieving the symptoms--two finger in the mouth, making sounds and banging his head with the free hand! Sorry the video's dark, we were playing by the light of the Christmas tree! The second tooth broke through yesterday so we're hoping after this we'll get a break from teething for awhile. You can hear him say "ba ba ba". He also says "da da da" which dad is pretty excited about! The other day when Dan went to check on his in the crib he was up on all fours rocking back and forth apparently angry that we'd taken too long to come get him when he woke up. I don't think it'll be too long before he starts crawling.

Here is another video of our happy boy!

Our other happy boy enjoying some morning lounge time in his bathrobe :-)

We had the opportunity to meet up with my cousin Bruce who was in Little Rock for a conference at UAMS. Bruce and his wife Myra and kids Ethan and Anna currently live in Namibia, where Bruce works as a professor at a developing university there. They have been in missions in Africa for several decades now, so it's not every day that we get to see them! We had brunch at a Cracker Barrel in town and had a chance to catch up on the basics. Wish we had more time! Here's a family photo for posterity. The visit prompted a lot of questions from Micah: Africa is very far away? There are lions and giraffes there? Is Curious George there? Yes, we asked Bruce if he'd seen George, but of course I explained that George now lives with the Man With The Yellow Hat in the United States and had come from Africa years ago :-) Bruce told us some stories about the monkeys they see everyday over there and I think Micah thought that was pretty cool. Maybe someday he'll get to see that for himself.

Mom Brag

I just had to tell someone that Micah wrote his whole name by himself last night with no help from mom and dad! The "C" was sideways, but I attribute that to his naturally creative personality :-)

Merry Thanksmas!

Micah and Daddy put up the tree

The finished product

Micah helps Gramma open a gift

"Wow! That tree is spectacular!"

Jacob loves his new family photo album

                                                                      Micah plays Santa

We put up the Christmas tree a couple days after Thanksgiving so the boys could have a Christmas celebration with their grandparents! They opened their gifts from them--Micah got a Lincoln Log set and a lion that plays hide and seek (someone hides it, it roars when you push a remote control so you can follow the sounds to find it), and a birdhouse kit for he and Daddy to work on together, Jacob got a photo album complete with soft pages and crinkly things inside to keep him busy! There was another gift for him too but we forgot it in the closet! Good thing he's only 6 months and doesn't know yet :-) We are opening that this weekend. Oh yeah, he officially turned 6 months (22 lbs, 27.5 in. for those who are counting)! Both of the boys also got ornaments for the tree, too. We had fun playing with the new toys and listening to Christmas carols. We made playdoh ornaments.

Brotherly Love and a Happy Thanksgiving!

 Micah and Jacob have on their "surprise" faces

 Micah loves his baby "brudder"

 After-turkey bliss

 A heated game of Candyland

 Papa Roger carves the turkey

"Tell me the one about the Time Tree again, Papa!"

We had a great Thanksgiving visit with Gramma Lynn and Papa Roger! We have a lot to be thankful for, including our families who make the effort to stay in touch and visit when they can! We were busy: Micah recovered from his throat infection, Jacob caught a virus, recovered and broke a tooth all in one weekend, and we ate lots of good food! Even Micah enjoyed the turkey--for a boy with a list of 10 things he will eat, that is quite a breakthrough! I dressed the boys in their matching shirts from Grammy Marcia and took pictures :-) Dan and I even got to go on a date--out to eat at a Churrascaria, a kind of Brazilian steakhouse where they bring lots of different kinds of meats around on spits and cut you pieces off until you tell them to stop. Dan says it's a man's dream buffet! The food was great and we were one of two couples in there so we got great service too. It was just nice to eat a meal without having to feed someone else, wipe any faces/hands other than our own or field questions like "How many more bites do I have to eat before I can get down?"



What is a "man"?

I don't have any new pictures to post, but I do have a story. It's kind of a soapbox story, so bear with me! As Micah becomes more conversational, he says some pretty funny things. Anyone who's spent time with us knows that his favorite story from the Bible is Samson, y'know, the strong guy with the long hair who gets tricked by his "friend," Delilah into giving away the secret of his strength. So this morning I was trying to get him to take his allergy meds and I told him he needed to take it to grow big and strong (well, it will keep him from getting colds and ear infections, so I count that!) "Like Daddy?"
Yup.
"Not like Momma!"
No, you won't grow up to be a woman like Momma, you will be a man like Daddy.
"A man?"
Yes, grown up boys are called "men" and Daddy is a man. Grown up girls are called "women" and Mommy is a woman.
"And Papa is a man?"
Yup. And who else is a woman? Ms. Tina, right? And Ms. Afton. And Ms. AJ. (his teachers at school).
"Yeah, and 'Lila." (sneaky smile here)
Yes, Delilah was a woman. (By way of explaination: in the video we have depicting this story it specifically uses the words, "Woman who was Samson's friend," so I think this is where he got that whole 'Lila is a woman' thing. They kinda skirt that whole, "girlfriend" thing.)
And Samson was a man, right?
"Yeah"

Hmmm. I hope he doesn't equate the word "woman" with "sneaky" and "whiny" (both adjectives used to describe Delilah in this version of the story--well!). I think I need to start reading to him about the more empowered and godly Biblical women--Deborah, who led the troops into battle or Tabitha and her work with the poor or Mary, mother of Jesus. Yikes. I thought I was doing that, but it's amazing what sinks into that little head. We talk a lot about how men and women can both take on roles like police officers, caregivers, soldiers,  teachers and business workers and I tend to skip over those outdated parts of favorite stories that imply otherwise (Richard Scarry, I'm looking at you!). I want my son to view women as strong partners in life, not "lesser" beings.

And I'm always on the lookout for media that shows that little boys can grow up to be big and strong and also tender and loving at the same time and that all of those things are desirable. One of our favorite books to read is My Daddy and Me, a gift from Great Grampy George and Aunt Janice! It shows a Daddy coming home from work, greeting his son and then playing all sorts of games with him--from horsing around, to pretend play, to baking cookies, to singing him to sleep. I love it because of the wholistic picture it paints.

At the end of the day, I want my sons to model his life after Jesus, a leader who overturned the moneychangers' tables in the temple, but also a man who said, "Let the little children come to me" and who recognized the importance of the roles women and men played in his life and ministry. And I have two of these little boys to influence. God, give me gudience for this amazing responsibility.

Baby of Mine

Big brother practice

And here's someone who wishes she was the "baby" of the family again!

Lately, Micah's really been into the whole "take care of the baby" thing. Last night he grabbed his blue blankey (yes, it's still his favorite) and stuffed it under his shirt. Here was our conversation:

M: "Mama, I have a big tummy."

Me: "Are you going to have a baby or did you eat too much?"

M:"There's a baby in my tummy. He's peeking out. His name is Jacob."

Me: "Two Jacobs?"

M: "Ummm. Hmmm. He's crying. I need to rock my baby." (Goes into the bedroom, sits in the rocker with the blankey cradled in his lap.)

Me: "Is he hungry?"

M:"Yeah"

I handed him an empty bottle.

M: "It needs milk in it."

Me: "Just pretend."

And then I took this photo :-)

Afterwards, he laid the "baby" down in the cradle behind the rocker with Pooh bear, who played the part of "baby"  a few nights ago.

So sweet.

Kitty is almost 12 years old now and is nearing the last of her nine lives. She still likes to get a bit of attention. Her favorite place to sleep is anywhere the pillows or stuffed animals are piled up since she's arthritic and all that softness is appealing. I thought this photo was a great ET imitation (you know the part in the movei where ET hides in all the teddy bears...). She's the low kitty on the totem pole, so to speak, these days. But she still manages to get a little love.

Muffin Top

Well folks, it's all fall color here in Arkadelphia. I know many of you have already had your season come and go, but here's a photo of a colorful little leaf   :-)  (Recognize this shirt, Aunt Deb?) This video is of him "saying" good morning. This weekend we are having our family portrait taken by Steve Fellers Photography! Hopefully there will be clear weather and some nice foliage for the backdrop. We figured it's about time since we've never had one done! We observed Veterans Day on Friday by attending a fly-over and ceremony held on Henderson's campus after work. Micah especially liked seeing the jets and the men and women in uniform in the color guard. He then bounced around on some of the inflatables they had there for the kids and we went out for chicken strips! Over the weekend, Micah developed a low-grade fever so we kept him home on Monday. But, thankfully, nothing ever developed and he was back at school yesterday. Dan took him for a hair cut too, so he'll look cute for the photo this weekend.

Micah's B-day Redux!

 He's not excited, or anything :-)

Batter up!

 Micah and Daddy put the game together

Micah's big present!

Micah's official birthday was yesterday! Since we had already celebrated with cake and everything when Grammy and Pop Pop were here, we played it low-key. We gave Micah cupcakes to share with his class at school and they played some birthday games there. Then when he got home he opened his gift from Gramma Lynn and Papa Roger--a t-ball set! You can see his first experience with it in the second video. By the end of the night he was really getting the hang of it! The last video is one of Micah playing with Jacob at dinner. You can see that Jacob just adores him. If Micah really likes t-ball there is a 4-yr-old team here in town we are thinking of putting him on in the spring. We'll see.

Ppppbbbbttt!

 Munchkin is learning to sit up on his own!

 And he prefers to sleep on his tummy...don't worry, I always put him to sleep on his back, but he turns over in the night.

Micah and Jacob playing together in the living room.

The colorful train is his favorite part!

I posted a few photos and videos from the last couple of days. Jacob continues to be more mobile than ever! The videos are from last night...just the boys playing together. And you can see Jacob's latest form of communication, razzing. He does it all the time! I think he's trying to cut a tooth or two, hence the drooling and razzing, but nothing yet. It's just so cute I had to show you all. Micah's official birthday is tomorrow. He is really taking it seriously, saying things like "I can do xxx because I'm 4 now."  :-)  Last night while the boys were playing with the book on the floor (recognize it, Aunt Mim?),  he excused himself saying he had to go take care of the baby because he was crying. He then took his Pooh bear into our bedroom, shut the door,  turned off the light and rocked the bear for several minutes before emerging and saying that the baby was ok now. He then laid the bear down in the cradle which is still set up in our bedroom. It was the cutest things ever. He did this whole thing so seriously, as if it was a real baby. He loves helping with Jacob. I find that the key to harmony with him is to give him a way to help! He is very good at helping with dinner and is learning how to set the table, mix ingredients for me and refill the napkin holder. Of course, all this new-found independance is also causing some power struggles at home, but I think we will weather it ok :-)



Jacob showcase

Here are three videos that showcase Jacob's latest abilities. The first one is his love of jumping--he just loves to get those legs going! Last night I caught him traveling backwards on his hands and knees on the floor. The second is that infamous first bite of green beans (I think we started Micah on peas when he was a baby). The third is his "talking" and looking at his hands. He's gotten good at grasping onto things and reaching for anything in his range, including handfuls of my hair--ouch!

Pop Pop & Grammy, Halloween and Green Beans!

 Our best attempt at a family photo

 Matching warm-up suits from Aunt Helen! Check out Jacob's stylin' mohawk.

 Jacob loves to be tickled!

 Micah loves his birthday balloons!

 ABCs are all the rage at our house.

 The little dino and Spider-Man get ready for a night on the town!

 Micah gets his face painted at the Halloween bash.

 Jacob enjoyed the event, in his own way...

"Mmm, mom where have you been hiding this "real" food stuff?"

We've had a busy few weeks! We enjoyed the rest of our visit with the grandparents and thankfully the stomach virus has vacated the premises. On Saturday I took the boys to a Halloween bash at our church. Micah played games and collected candy for his efforts while Jacob snoozed in the stroller. Micah also had a party at daycare yesterday so he is sufficiently sugared up! I gave Jacob his first solid food this week besides rice cereal--green beans! He was a little unsure the first night, but ate seconds the second night and wanted more--I was worried about overload so I cut him off after that, which he wasn't happy about! Dan finally finished his latest show, Under Milkwood and took home a director's choice award and respondant's choice award at the theatre festival! We are glad to have him home in the evenings now.

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Does Whatever A Spider Can...

We celebrated Micah's 4th Birthday this weekend! Although he technically won't be 4 until Nov. 9, since the grandparents were visiting, we fastforwarded things a bit. Micah enjoyed his cake and chocolate ice cream, balloons, and of course, presents! There were some books, videos, Spider-Man helicopter and Halloween costume, and Candyland, which he had to play right after we finished the party! He won his first game. It seems like just a year ago this sweet boy was just learning his ABCs and wishing he could ride a bike. Now he knows his shapes, colors, sings whole songs, can count to 20 in English and to 10 in Spanish, can ride a bike with training wheels all by himself and lots more. 

Daddy and I love you and are proud of you, buddy! We can't wait to see what wonderful things this year brings for you.