Oh, Christmas Crafts; Oh, Christmas Crafts; How Lovely Are...

On Caleb's last day of preschool (December 14), he handed me a package that was COVERED in glue and glitter. Unfortunately, my stroller, Caleb's coat and most of me was covered in the wet sticky stuff before I realized that it was still wet. :( :( :( BUT, he told me that inside was a gift for me (I almost threw it away! Whoops!). When I opened the sticky package, inside was a dry (thankfully!) ornament that he had made. Is this not the cutest thing? I LOVE it! Especially his expression. We hung it right up on our tree.

Caleb also made this hanging thing-a-majig above that day at school - each sticker represents part of the Christmas story, and it jingles. He enjoys looking at it. :)

The Sunday before that (12/11), we decided to check out Calvary Church. The kids loved their Sunday School classrooms, and there were plenty of nursery workers for Ryan, who also seemed to enjoy his time. The sermon was good; they are doing a sermon series on the presence of Christmas, and I never thought about the fact that only one angel appeared to the shepherds and then it was as if heaven burst forth onto earth because it couldn't contain itself as the angels worshiped here. So cool to think about it a new way! BUT, while I enjoyed singing the Christmas carols, we both thought the worship in general was pretty terrible. I half wonder if it was a function of the sound, but you couldn't hear the lead singer so it all sounded like a jumbled mess. I'm not sure how we would feel about that during a 'normal' season. I always think I can join in any kind of worship, but this one would be particularly tough. It was still nice to visit, though.

While we were there, the kiddos made these angel crafts, and they also had ideas they sent home how to do more things at home. I'd like to make the applesauce angels next year, I think, since I ran out of time this year.

On Joshua's last day of preschool (12/15), he gave me a present that had this ornament in it that he made. So cute! It was a "secret" that he kept. I put it right on our tree. We have more kiddo-made ornaments than real ones, I think, which is great!

Joshua also made this Christmas tree craft at preschool. Many of the parents said that they have older children who made these and they've kept them and put them out year after year.

Here's another one that Joshua made at preschool - an angel holding him. :)

I love Christmas crafts! What a great month!

An Idea That Came In Handy

At preschool this year, I saw a craft hanging on the walls that looked like fun to try at home. Since neither of my boys' classes had done them, I got out our supplies to give it a go!

I used the paper that Mamaw & Papaw had given us from packing up Great Grandma Kennel's apartment. Then I took out our green washable paint and a sponge brush to paint the kiddos hands.

Joshua always laughs when I paint his hands because it tickles. :) :) :) After we made the tree shape, we let them dry and came back another day to finish them.





Here were the start to our trees. Caleb's is on the left and Joshua's is on the right.



Then, I asked Joshua to cut a star shape out of the yellow construction paper. Caleb helped me cut out the brown squares for the tree stumps. Thanks to Mamaw for our left-handed scissors for the Bean!

Once we glued on the stars and stumps, the boys decorated their trees with different craft pom-poms and glitter.

Then I asked them both to sign their names to their trees. The paint dried a lot lighter than I was expecting, but the craft was fun in general.

I thought they both did a great job!

Then I asked to get some pictures of their final trees as they were drying.

When they were dry, I shook off the excess glitter and hung them in our family room. :) :) :) Homemade Christmas decorations are the best. I wish there was a way to preserve them, but I guess that's part of the blog (and printed book that I make out of it). I cherish these moments and hope that we're making good memories for the kiddos. I am enjoying my time with them!

Ryan's 6-month Well-baby Check

Here's my little Ry-guy a week or so before his six-month birthday, sitting up like a champ! He's wearing a 12-month shirt and 6-9 month pants. He doesn't like to keep his songs on, mostly because he likes to pull them off and chew on them. I think he also enjoys feeling his toes. :) :) :)

Ryan also sleeps face down on his hands. The nursery workers at Study & Share are both nurses (little old ladies who retired, most likely, a long time ago). The one told me that he makes her so nervous the way he was sleeping. She'd try to roll him over and he'd flip right back to the same position. She said she finally left him go - he must be able to breathe if he continues to roll like that onto his hands. He'll wake up with little finger prints on his face. It's pretty amusing, but he seems to like it the best!

Ryan had his 6-month well-baby check-up on Wednesday, December 14, or one week after his actual birthday. We saw Dr. Haught at Roseville Pediatrics, and I wasn't completely impressed with this visit. Ryan's stats are:

Height: 27.5" (81.99%)
Weight: 17 lbs 8 oz (46.53%)
BMI: 16.27
Head Circ: 16.57" (9.37%)

I asked over and over again about the reflux and what Ryan's eating patterns should be, and the doctor never really gave me a good answer. I tried asking the question differently, and he said to monitor his pain level. I asked how to do that with a baby who can't talk and is also getting teeth. His response was that it is hard. YES! So, is there a test we can run? He said they typically allow babies to "outgrow" their dosage of reflux medication between 6 and 9 months, unless they show signs that they need it. What are the signs? Pain. How can I tell if he's in pain from reflux vs. other causes? What is normal for him to be eating? I was told it varies. I still have no idea. But, Ryan's eating patterns have been "off" again, and I have no idea if it's from introducing new foods or because his medication dosage needs increased. While the other doctor had told me at 6 months they often do a barium swallow test (which I remember from Joshua), this doctor didn't say it was necessary, even after I asked. He kept changing the subject to other things, which was driving me crazy.

All in all, he said Ryan looked very healthy. He was gabbing and doing all the happy baby things, etc. He's right on pace for his age. It didn't seem to concern him that while his height remained in the 80th percentile, his weight has dropped to lower than the 50th. I think I may try to schedule another doctor's appointment with a different doctor after Christmas (why risk getting the baby sick there before our special day?). I truly want to make sure that our Schnook isn't suffering, and I just am not sure. He's typically very easygoing but he's seemed more in pain lately. Again, though, how can you be sure of the cause?

After seeing the doctor, Ryan got a slew of vaccines, including the flu vaccine. He got a fairly high fever for two days, so I called to ask the dosage of Tylenol for his age. I couldn't remember and didn't want to give him the wrong amount. They told me 80mg, so I gave him his first dose and he seemed to feel somewhat better. Poor guy! But, he perked right back up after the two days. He's still not eating well, but I'm glad to hear that they think he's right on target with everything. By his next appointment, we may see him crawling, standing or saying some words. We shall see!!!

Smile

Shawn's wisdom tooth has been bothering him. So, he scheduled a dentist appointment. He told me to remind him that he's got an appointment at 2:30. I laughed and said, "That's like the joke! Q: When do you go to the dentist? A: Tooth-hurty." He didn't laugh. I told him all night I shouldn't have to remind him about his appointment - his tooth-hurty should tell him when it was. I continued to chuckle. He didn't. I told him he could at least smile. :) :) :)

Happy 41-month birthday, Caleb Luke!

Caleb's 41-month birthday was Thursday, December 8. That day was filled with Christmas activities like the advent calendar, addressing Christmas cards, and making gifts for the grandparents (which can't be mentioned on the blog quite yet).

Caleb is LOVING the chocolate that comes with Christmas. We've discovered that our second son has a distinct sweet tooth. His other favorite food these days are plain noodles. No sauce, no cheese, just plain noodles (sometimes we add butter but not always). He adores them! He also eats cheese sticks like they are the best things since sliced bread.

Caleb does not seem to like sleeping these days. He's the last one to go to bed and the first one awake. But, I decided to let him not nap and stay up with Joshua for two days straight. By the second day, he went to his bed on his own around 4 - SO tired he couldn't even stand it. Joshua also needs to nap on occasion as well. We've had some busy days!

Caleb went to the doctor on December 6 and was diagnosed with pink eye. I'm assuming he picked it up at preschool, but who knows? We were given drops, which he called "eye drips." (Seriously, it was the cutest thing ever to hear him say.) He would tell us in a sweet voice, "PLEASE don't give me any more eye drips!" They really, really hurt he said. Poor little thing! We told him that his eyes are sick and they need the 'drips' to make them better. Sure enough within a day or two, they cleared up (praise God!). I also explained to both boys the importance of washing our hands and not touching our eyes. Even though Joshua & Caleb share everything, Joshua did not get the pink eye (praise God once again!). Joshua has been washing hands like crazy! YEA!

At the doctor's office, Caleb weighed exactly 35 lbs, but they didn't measure his height. His weight is the 67.2% right now. I think that comes from all his chocolate (and he's fairly tall for his age, I think, as everyone these days has been asking me if I have twins since the kids look pretty even). 

Caleb didn't go to school that week, but we did have lots of fun just hanging out together. We'd do puzzle books, read, color, etc. It was fun to have some quality time with just him. I love each one of my little guys and finding time to spend with each one individually is difficult most days!

Caleb is doing great with learning words to entire songs lately, even 'newer' songs. He was singing one softly the other day as we were shopping, and I didn't think anything of it until an older woman behind us in line said, "If my hands weren't full, I'd clap for you! That is the sweetest thing I've ever heard!" So dear!

Caleb loves his Daddy, and he loves that they are "twins." Daddy is exactly 30 years older than him, so since he's three, Daddy is 33 or his "twin." My little Bluke will often tell me, "You're not my twin, but you're still my best buddy!" We're all best buddies in this family. Love! :) :) :)

Happy 41-month birthday, Caleb Luke!

Little Helpers...

This year, the end of my semester was crazy. Since this is a 'public' blog, I won't go into it here, but I will say that I couldn't wait for it to come to an end. I typically enjoy teaching, but this year I had a couple 'rough' situations. One thing that's great about teaching is that each semester brings a new group of students. So, I'm glad to see this one end and I'm still looking forward to a new one beginning.

With the busyness of December, it took me a little bit to get around to addressing Christmas cards. I had the pictures we took of our family, and I had even gotten the cards printed and picked them up (thanks for your help in shopping, Mamaw!) but I knew that getting them in the mail would take me awhile.

On Sunday, December 4, I met my friend Suzanne for coffee at Barnes & Noble. It was an AMAZING time! I am so thankful for Shawn watching the boys and allowing me to get out. I'm also thankful for my incredible friend who I've been close to since the second grade. Even if we don't see each other for months, we can still pick right back up where we left off. There are very few people in this world that I relate to as well as Suz. :)

She suggested that the boys help me. At first I thought that I didn't want the cards messed up - I needed to address them, and I feared they'd get bent or torn if the boys stuffed them. BUT, I found a way the boys could help me. We played the "stickers" game. Caleb put on our return address labels (aren't they so cute? We found a place online where we got these custom ones free if we payed a small amount for shipping. Love them!).

Joshua put the postage on. I told Joshua that these stickers cost good money, so they weren't going to go anywhere but the cards. I also told him that if he didn't put his stickers on correctly, people wouldn't get their cards. I think he truly understood. Both boys did a great job, I think! So, hopefully everyone got their mail. If you didn't get a Christmas card from us and were expecting one, chances are it was the postman's fault (or we could blame it on the boys...JUST KIDDING!).

Gingerbread Houses

On Friday, December 9, Joshua, Caleb & I headed over to Aunt Jen's house after dinner to make gingerbread houses. Knowing Ryan wouldn't have much of a place to roll around without being in the way, Shawn thought it best to keep him home and volunteered to stay with him, which I thought was really nice.

This year, Jen's friend Mary made the houses and brought them over since Jen has the biggest dining room of us all. She made little edible graham cracker houses for each child, which was a new twist. The boys seemed to enjoy decorating their own house (normally we work on ours as a family). Caleb ate WAY more than he put on his house. I thought for sure he'd have a belly ache, and eventually I told him that he'd had enough.

Joshua was more interested in playing than decorating, but with all the older kiddos there, he didn't get to have a turn with the Wii. He still enjoys playing with the kiddos, though. There were ten altogether and five adults since Shawn didn't come. Below is Joshua's finished house.

As the kids played, I had a house to decorate all by myself. SO fun! I freeze whatever candy we don't use for the next year, and we always add more candy from the store as well. I never eat mine, but the boys have been eating theirs. Here's one side of my house with the boys' houses in the background.

Before we left, we modeled our houses and Jeff snapped a few pictures for us. Joshua is always sad when he knows it's time to leave.

Here's the front of my house before we left that night. I had fun, and it was a great way to end a stinky week (a whole lot of 'messy' grading - I was GLAD this semester was coming to an end!).

Here's the other side of my house, at our house, displayed in the kitchen with the boys' houses as well. I enjoy this Christmas tradition! And, I'm particularly grateful that my sister and Mary make the houses each year because I truly can't imagine putting them together!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Misflakes

One of my favorite gifts from my husband for Christmas a couple years ago was a subscription to Family Fun Magazine. I'm always excited to see it come and look for ideas of activities I can do with the kiddos. Some are a little too 'old' for our ages, but some of them are great!

This particular craft did not turn out as fantastic as others we've done. I was slightly disappointed, but such is life! 

First, the directions say to place plastic wrap over a cardboard piece - done! Then we arranged 18 q-tips in the shape of a snow flake. The next part required gluing the ends together. This was where ours 'fell apart' literally. My glue wasn't working well. I asked Shawn to help open some super glue. The container ended up shattering - glue EVERYWHERE! It was a mess and a half.

So, we did our best to use Elmer's glue. The boys enjoyed pouring the glitter on. But, Caleb dumped a whole pile of glitter on himself.

The glue didn't keep our snowflakes together. Shortly after finishing, we threw them in the trash. But, the boys seemed to enjoy making it (especially Joshua's - whose snowflake turned out the best by far). This craft wasn't a keeper for our family, but maybe other folks have had better luck with it!

Do the Math!

I think every parent probably has a moment in their parenting where they would have done things differently. I have moments like these almost daily, I'm afraid. But, some stick out more than others. This week, that moment came when things 'added up.' Joshua & Caleb have both been into math latey, particularly the Bean. They will ask me how old people are and then what the difference in ages are. Simple enough. "How old is our cousin Daniel?" I'd respond "He's four, or in between you guys." Then Joshua would say "Well, when I'm ten, he'll be nine and Caleb will be eight." Correct! This game has gone on and on, but it keeps getting more complex.

Now they want to know how old Shawn & I will be when they turn certain ages. When I'm 72, how old will Daddy be? So, I'd have to think of how old Shawn was when Joshua was born and then add 72. I'd no more than answer, and he'd come up with a new obscure age. When Caleb is 43, how old will you be, Mommy? The 'game' continued as I was driving early one morning. And after not getting much sleep from my teething little Schnook, the math wasn't coming as easy as most days. (Where is a calculator when you're driving? Haaa!!! Why doesn't my brain function with no caffeine and no sleep???).

Finally, Joshua said "When I'm 99, how old would you be?" My flip answer was "Dead!" Only, I should have thought about how the response would hurt him. Both he and Caleb were in shock. :( :( :( I immediately wished I could have taken it back. Joshua said, "I don't want you to die!" I tried to use it as a teaching moment that when we get old, our bodies wear out and Jesus gives us new bodies in heaven. It wasn't working. "Streets of gold! Face-to-face with God!" didn't seem to help either.

I've answered endless questions about death since. Joshua asked Shawn about it as well. Shawn scolded me, too. :( :( :( Joshua told me that he's not ready to die either. And I told him it's going to be a long time until he's even close to 100 years old. I've learned my lesson - DO THE MATH!

Advent

One of my most favorite memories that we've done each day this year is our advent calendars. The days are not in any particular order, so the kids have to find where the numbers are for that date.

Caleb Luke LOVES chocolate. He asks for it every morning and is thrilled to get a little piece! I think he will miss it when Christmas is over.

Caleb  is great at finding the door with the right number - it's tricky at times!

I've been most impressed with Joshua's memory. He tells me the date each morning, and how many days there are left until Christmas before we even get downstairs. He's always right (I often have to look to make sure).

After chocolate, we write the number of days left until Christmas on our count-down Santa in chalk. I've had this little thing for years, but this is the first year we've used it with the boys. The Bean LOVES it! So fun! He sits on top of my china cabinet, telling us that Christmas will soon be here!

Lost & Found

Coming home from the mall area toward the end of November, Joshua asked me "Mommy, do you know how to get home?" When I responded, "Yes!" Joshua said, "Daddy, we don't need a GPS this time because Mommy knows where she's going!" We cracked up. First, how does my 5-year-old even know what a GPS is? Second, how does he know that I'm severely directionally challenged?