Allen's Dedication

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him." Psalm 127:3
Yesterday was Allen's baby dedication at church. It was wonderful - our friend and minister, Jennifer, did part of it and Dr Fields (my pastor for 20+ years, Patrick's since college and the sweet man who conducted our wedding) did the rest. Allen was so sweet and just looked around the church and "talked" a little when Dr Fields held him. Drew was a great big brother and stood up proudly with us.
After church, we had family and a few friends over for lunch to celebrate. 14 adults and 6 kids really can make your house feel small...but it was nice to be surrounded by those who truly love our children and are involved in their lives.

The Mom-Mobile...

...I finally got a minivan! Saturday, Patrick took off to run some errands and 6 short hours later, I had a new car! I have been asking for one since Allen arrived and we have been going back and forth between a new SUV and a minivan. You can guess Patrick's preference, but since it is my car he let me decide. I went with the van completely because of the sliding doors. Yeah, I could have had the awesome new Buick Enclave, but I still had the door issue (however, I do recommend it for anyone in the market for an SUV...it is amazing!). Drew can climb right in and up into his car seat while I'm putting Allen in and it saves a few minutes on each end of a trip. In my life, those minutes are precious!
The next great debate came over which van to buy. It quickly came down to the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna. If you have ever shopped for either of these vehicles, you know they are exactly the same. The differences are so minor that it took me weeks to declare which one I liked better, and even then it wasn't a definite. But Patrick took my thoughts to heart, found a great deal and bought me a new car. We got the Sienna and I love it. The most comical thing is that it is white which is the only color I really said I didn't want. But it was on the lot, we brought it home that night, and it is fine. For the 5-7 years I will drive it, I can deal with white. Patrick keeps telling me it will be cooler...I'm positive he means temperature and not my image...it is a minivan, after all!
Drew loves it - he told me today "Mommy, your new car is wonderful!" He keeps wanting to go on a trip because we told him the DVD player only works on long trips...we'll see how long that lasts! Allen seems quite content in it as well and his new seat fits much better in it.
As for my Volvo, we still have it until the lease is up in July. If anyone wants to buy it, it's a great car...just not for two small children! Also, we are very under on the miles (like 12,000 miles under) so we're offering up the use of it for trips!

Outdoor Fun

Over the past couple of weeks, the weather has given us a few really nice days where playing outside was a necessity. Drew loves to be outside and Allen is showing a strong interest as well! We have been to the park, played on the deck with the sand table, bubbles and Maddie, and Drew even helped Daddy mow one day! We're looking forward to more nice weather and more adventures in the great outdoors!






Any ideas for our large, horribly sloped, barren back yard? Anyone??

Dollywood

Last Thursday, Drew and I ventured to Dollywood with Lora and Elizabeth. We had so much fun...the kids rode tons of rides and were so good the whole day. They had to sit together on every ride and were really good in the double stroller. We were all very tired when we got home!
One sad note...the train was not running yet (it was passholder preview day so not everything was quite ready) and, of course, it was the main reason we had decided to go up there. Drew understood and accepted that the train was sick and had to stay in the shed that day. I was so proud of him!

Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter yesterday! Drew enjoyed his basket the Easter Bunny left...he even left behind some footprints when he came in the door! After church, we all went to Mama G & Pop's house (Sharon & Steve) and had a wonderful lunch and a very successful Easter egg hunt. It was cold, but not quite as bad as last year. Drew was an egg hunt natural and had a great time finding tons of eggs...Allen even found one! The kids were wonderful all afternoon so we even had time to just relax. It was nice to have Grandma with us this year, even if she wasn't feeling too well. She had to leave this morning but we had a great time with her while she was here!

What's that? Maddie did it!

Fun from the Easter Bunny!

Don't you just want to kiss his fat cheeks?! Note the beautiful sweater Grandma Ginny knitted when Drew was a baby that happend to match perfectly and was quite necessary!

Our little family

Allen found an egg!

Drew...champion egg hunter...

He was seriously stuffing the candy into his mouth as fast as he could get it out of the eggs...it was so funny!

My Little Helper Monkey

Drew found his Halloween costume today and wanted to put it on...then he decided to help me clean...so we had a little monkey working in our house today!

Our Trip to Indianapolis

Last weekend we all went up to Indy to visit Auntie Maggie and Uncle Jim. We wanted to see them again before their baby came and take them some stuff Allen is no longer using. We had a great time!

Playing trains...everywhere we go!

Such a big laugh! Auntie Maggie is funny!

Allen is the guinea pig for the Mobi wrap again...

They introduced us to the Indianapolis Children's Museum and Drew had a blast...the train exhibit was (of course) the hit of the day. Grandma stayed at the house to keep Allen...thanks bunches!

100th Post!

Wow...I actually made it to 100 posts on my blog! I really can't believe I have stuck with this long enough to hit triple digits! I have so much new stuff to post from our trip this past weekend to Indianapolis...to get you started, here is our little family with Auntie Maggie (36 weeks pregnant!) and Uncle Jim.

Update on the boys...

Well, things are looking up around our house. Grandma is in town which has helped immensely! After a few horrible nights of Allen crying all night, he finally slept through the night last night (of course, it was Grandma's watch and not mine...not fair!) Drew is feeling much better - only the occasional cough and a few sniffles.
Here is a picture of Allen and Grandma that Drew took all by himself! He loves to use the camera...I think a "kids" digital camera may be in his future!

5 Months!

Allen hit 5 months on Saturday! We celebrated with a trip to the doctor and started breathing treatments with Drew's old nebulizer. It was a blast...let me tell you! We did get an updated weight - 17 lb 8 oz. He spent the night being held by Daddy in the recliner to keep him comfortable...it was a long night!
This is the only picture I managed to get of him on his "birthday"...


Some milestones he has achieved in the past month...
Started cereal February 16
Sat unassisted (in a very unstable tripod, but he did it!) February 28
Rolled from front to back (once, but Mommy, Daddy and Drew all saw it!) March 1
First fruit...bananas March 8
He loves his exersaucer and all the activities on it. He is becoming much more interactive and wants entertainment! He is not a fan of being left alone in any situation (the polar opposite of his brother at this age!) and he loves to watch Drew play. He laughs at Maddie all the time, but will cry if she licks his face. He is completely mesmerized by the TV (usually a Thomas video) and you have to turn him away to get his attention if it is on. He knows his Mommy and Daddy and has the best grin when we return from being away...whether for 5 minutes or 5 hours!

Sick Kids...

So, the sick kid saga continues in our house. Drew started with coughing and congestion on Sunday and by Monday was running a fever. We had him at the doctor Tuesday and we decided to wait it out to see if he could fight it himself and not start an antibiotic yet. He is doing better (no fever) but still sounds horrible. The joys of his non-asthma asthma! He has until Tuesday to get through it on his own.
My little Allen started with a fever Tuesday evening and yesterday it just kept going up. By this morning it was at 101 so into the doctor we went. He has his first ear infection (oh boy) and RSV. Our doctor said she has not seen a case of RSV since early January. Leave it to one of my kids to get something crazy! He's on meds for the ear and we're watching his breathing to make sure he's getting enough air on the RSV front. If he has labored breathing then we have to call the doctor or head to the ER if it gets really bad. So...I'm sleeping on his floor tonight just to be safe.
It's so frustrating to start this so early in his life! I'm destined for breathing treatments forever!!

I've always said I wasn't crazy...

...now maybe everyone will believe me! They have now classified all our new mom brain issues...read all about it!

Postpartum changes may bring on ‘momnesia’
Coping usually takes a few adjustments — plus, a sense of humor helps!
By Mike Celizic

There’s probably not a new mother alive who can’t identify and share a smile with Andi Silverman’s stories of memory lapses. Like the time she went shopping and left her groceries in the store. Or when she went on vacation with her two small children and forgot the diapers.
With two toddler sons, Nate, 3, and Teddy, 2, commanding her total attention, this kind of forgetfulness is to be expected, say medical experts. They even have a name for it — “momnesia.”
“It’s a state of the female brain that is a bit forgetful after she’s had a baby,” Dr. Louann Brizendine told TODAY correspondent Savannah Guthrie.
The author of the book “The Female Brain,” Brizendine said that the condition is brought on by the wildly fluctuating flood of hormones that accompanies pregnancy, childbirth and breast-feeding.
“It alters brain chemistry,” she said. “All these hormones are in a stew in the brain that are changing the way a mother focuses.”

Read the rest at:
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23501326/