Sunshine Please

I have basically been sick this entire month. I feel like I've been cooped up in this house FOREVER. So when did I take all these pictures? I'm not completely sure. I guess a few things did happen this month, besides me being sick. For instance, we got to meet our new nephew, Aiden.

 Aiden got to visit my diaper-changing station (which also conveniently doubles as the washing machine), where so many of his cousins before him have been tended to as babies. He especially enjoyed the spin cycle.

 Most of my time around him was spent like THIS, so I wouldn't get him sick.

Apparently, this month, we had a day of snow. A pleasant surprise, even though it was gone the next day.

                     Future "Crazy Cat Lady", Olivia (& Abi, of course) came for a visit at one point.

I think someone has it IN for Crazy Cat Lady.

 
 The friend that Justin baptized a few months ago, baptized his girlfriend at our church.

                                                                            Buds!

Kids started coming down with the flu. Mama got sicker.

                                               Isaac swallowed a lego. Made a visit to our ER friends. The lego showed up in Isaac's diaper the next day. All's well and ENDS well on that matter. No, Seth wasn't leading us in camp songs. He was waiting for a friend to pick him up for Reach Band .




                                              Isaac went poo-poo in the potty for the first time!

 
Mr.Lego-Man was cryogenically preserved in my freezer. Along with a dog hair.



 More kids got the flu. I was sick & takin' care of everybody. Got lost in a haze of medicating childrens' fevers, writing down doses & times on the fridge, wiping copiously snotty noses, coughing my brains out, late nights with miserable kids & miserable ME. Thankfully, we're mostly all on the mend, though my strength is just sapped at this point. But I can see the light at end of the tunnel now. I went outside today & was immensely cheered by the sunshine that greeted me. I realized that I hadn't been out of doors in a very long time.

     
          Sometimes Jarod can be a little cheesy.

 How much is that doggie in the window?

King Isaac

Last Thursday, Isaac turned 2 yrs old, officially. As has become their tradition, the boys crowned Isaac "King For the Day".

Jarod supplied King Isaac with entertainment as his own personal court jester.

 

His Majesty the King did NOT want to take his birthday nap.

In the evening, we had a small family celebration (as opposed to the BIG family party we had a few days earlier). King Isaac's brothers gave him some of their favorite stuffed animals, wrapped in pretty plastic bags. He got more Elmo toys from his mama & daddy as well.

                         The little WalMart cake wasn't as cute as Aunt Emmy's lion cake, but it sufficed. (Toby was hoping for a piece of cake too.)


 
 Isaac is using his fork like an old pro now, except when he has to supplement his feedings with the finger-stuffing method. (I find that to be a resourceful method myself at times......)

 I am just sitting here, in dumb shock, as it feels like he was just born last week.

 How on EARTH did we go from THIS........

 ........and from THIS......

 ..................and THIS........................

 ................and THIS..............


 .............................to THIS.....................

 .............................and THIS...........................

 .................................and THIS............................

 ...............................and to THIS??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He's not a baby anymore. He's just one of the boys now. Before I know it, he's going to grow up, take off & fly away from me to live his life. And I will have no more babies to snuggle when I feel sad about that. But I'm so happy he's mine for now. I love you, Isaac Joel. Happy Birthday.

Pterodactyls, Birthdays, Crazy Hats, etc

                   These past few days have been filled with.........many things. To start with, more pink eye. And sniffles. And ear aches. And faithful kitty cats.                   
 Good-hearted, hard-working teenagers with occasional bad attitudes.

 
 Boys studying.....comfortably.

 Cute-girl-cousin-sleep-overs, story times, snuggling Uncle Justin, bad hair days & more pink eye.

 More snuggling.

 More birthday. Isaac's birthday is in a week so this week we had a combo-Gideon-Isaac-big-family-party, with my in-laws. Grandma Colleen spoiled the boys as usual (& ME, by bringing dinner, so I didn't have to cook) with lots of cool presents. Auntie Emily & Rara made a cute & yummy little lion/chocolate cake.

 We've been cleaning house. (Maybe a little TOO thoroughly?) Wow. This pic is WAY out of order. Back to the birthdays.

 I can't believe Gideon is already 6 & Isaac is almost 2. It's time for me to get pregnant again. I'm seriously having that "baby-ache". Every time I hear a newborn cry, I want to steal it from it's mother. But, alas..... there are no new babies (of my own) in my future. I am entering a new phase of life. Feeling a little sad about it. But relieved as well. Excited and blessed. Very blessed. But......still.....a little sad.

 Isaac LOVED the Elmo stuff he got from Grandma, as well as his chocolate lion cake & dinosaurs.  

 Gideon got this creepy little pterodactyl from Grandma. It's like a little, evil, scary jack-in-the-box.....except it's not a box. Or a jack. And there's no music. Only noises. Kind of scary noises. The wings open up repeatedly, in a jerky, robotic manner, while the creature makes distracting, yet oddly hideous, noises. Then, suddenly, unexpectedly........ the mouth ejects this green, slimy, projectile-dart-thingie right at you, making you jump out of your skin. It scared Auntie Deborah something fierce. Her scream was a delight & a joy to  her nephews. They were also delighted to discover that it scares our cat, Jerry, as well. But, to the boys' great disappointment, it doesn't bother Tom a bit. He patiently tolerates what his torturers dish out. Albeit, not without rolling his eyes a little.

                                           "Oh. I'm terrified. Really."

 Last night was Crazy Hat Night at Celebrate Recovery. The boys proudly wore their "hats" on their heads ALL evening long. Jarod wore Justin's old dress blue's cover from his days in the Marine Corps. Justin wore a fatigue cover. I wore my original wedding veil. It still fits!!! ;)    (My wedding dress? Well.......I don't wanna talk about it.)

In other news, I have a beautiful brand new nephew, born to my brother-in-law, Michael & sister-in-law, Jubilee on January 30th. Welcome, little Aiden!!! We can't wait to get to know you!