Teeth!

The last week was a bit rough around here and we finally have confirmation of why...teeth! Samuel finally popped out his bottom two teeth. He started having an awful time sleeping, waking up during the night to cry, inconsolably, for an hour or two. Not interested in eating, milk or solids. He would do 20-30 min naps and wake crying. And was rubbing and grabbing at his left ear.

He sits!

No more laying around for Samuel, in the past week he's learned to sit all by himself!

Nut Butter Experiments

As we've been jumping into our Paleo journey Jamie discovered some yummy pecan cashew butter at the store. After quickly demolishing a jar we realized that at $13 a pop this might become an expensive habit. So we thought, why couldn't we make our own? Turns out you can and with a little experimenting you can tailor one to just what you like. After checking with the google a bit we decided to use our food processor instead of the Vitamix blender. We also decided to toast our pecans first. We did three batches and varied the cashew/pecan ratios which impacted the amount of time needed to process it to the texture we wanted. (Forgive my handwritten tape labels, my label maker ran out of tape and the replacement is in the mail from Amazon.)

The original $13 jar of pecan cashew butter.

 Batch 1: 1/2 cup cashews, 1 3/4 cup pecan (toasted 4 minutes), processed about 5 minutes. This one had the runniest consistency. It also tasted a bit more toasty. 

 Batch 2: Half cashew, Half pecan (toasted 2 minutes and chilled), processed less than 5 minutes. This one had a nice consistency, not runny, but not to chunky. It tasted pretty cashew-y.

 Batch 3: All pecan (toasted 2 minutes and chilled), processed 5 minutes. This batch too much longer to get even a chunky texture. It tasted very pecan-y.

Flipping over!

Sammy flipped! And I missed it :( I put him on his tummy and went into kitchen and came out to find him on his back! Look how pleased he is.

Cowboy Judah

Judah was playing cowboy with his boots when he found his belt from Ashley. So he had to

Camping with Days!

We finally got to go camping with the Days! We headed up to Snohomish to Flowing Lake County Park. It is a very wooded campground, the type where you don’t see your nearest neighbor, with water and power hookups for the trailer. There was a bit of an adventure getting to the park as the google took us down the wrong road that dead ended at the bottom of a big hill at a huge gated house. We chose to back up the hill into another driveway since we weren't’ sure we’d make the turn around at the bottom. I ended up scratched with blackberry thorns helping with the backing and sent a strongly worded note to the google letting them know what I thought of their directions.

Anyway...we arrived and got settled in, cooked some sausage up for dinner and got Samuel to bed. Day’s rolled in after dark so we used our flashlights to help set up their new tent. Then we settled by the fire for S’mores. The kids were up a bit late but went to bed pretty easily and we had some nice adult campfire time. The next morning we awoke to no power - gasp! Thankfully our coffee timer had been set and made the coffee before losing power. But we were planning to do waffles for breakfast. Thankfully the power came back on before we had to fire up the generator. After all we had promised the kids waffles, even if it meant we had to run a noisy generator. Jentry had made the yeasted overnight waffle batter so they were amazing and our trailer smelled yummy all day.

After breakfast it was still foggy so we went on a bike ride walk down to the lake. We checked out the playground, the beach, the boat launch, ran some races, and hiked back up the hill for some lunch. While Judah was sitting in his chair eating he happened to lean back and fall over backwards. This wouldn’t have been as big of a deal, except that right behind him was a log and behind that a drop off of about 2 feet. He did a complete backwards sumersault, landing on his head. I saw it happen in slow motion, powerless to do anything. The back of his head was punctured by a rock in the gravel and it was bleeding pretty bad. I grabbed #4 of the four (seriously) first aid kits we have to start patching him up. (Why do we have so many first aid kits? 1. Well, back when we first got our trailer we had an incident with our friend’s child having a seizure so we bought a big fancy one at Cabelas. 2. Then I decided we should have something in my car in case we were at the park and something happened. 3. After my fall at church Jamie set up some blood specific first aid kits which I also carry in my car. 4. Jamie forgot or didn’t remember these first 3 and threw in his sport medicine kit when we packed for this trip.) I actually had to get kit #3 as well to get the peroxide for cleaning the wound. (Turns out we need to go through our kits periodically too as the ice pack in #4 did not work, thankfully we had a bag of ice in the freezer, another good thing to always bring camping.) Judah seemed his normal self and so we just kept an eye on his wound the rest of the trip and didn’t pursue any further medical care.

After this excitement we decided that naps were in order with the hope that we would have sun for the beach afterward. And sure enough the sun came out and burned off the fog. Joe and Jentry did some paddle boarding while the kids swam and played in the sand. They kept trying to find worms by pouring water over the dirt, because when it rains all the worms come out, so this must be how to get them out. They were bummed we didn’t have any fishing gear and kept talking about how they might scavenge some. Later at the campsite they kept looking for insects to add to their water bottle terrarium. I think they’ve all been watching quite a bit of Wild Kratts.

Dinner was delicious mac and cheese with hot dogs, a camp classic, and salad. Then another fire with S’mores. The kids headed to bed after Chloe asked to go to bed! Judah had a hard time going to bed so Ally was enlisted to help him out. Us adults made it all the way to 9:30 before calling it a night and heading to bed. The morning came early for the Day’s because of a barking dog. Our night was a bit rough because of our dog, well actually because Judah kept waking up and realizing she had left his bedside and coming to tell us about it. He was up at least 3 times for this reason. Despite that we were able to having a relaxing morning and then start packing up to head home.

Samuel continued to sleep in his bassinet this trip but he is soon to be too big for it. Thankfully he still isn’t rolling over so we don’t have to worry about that yet. He did really well falling asleep for his naps and it was so nice to put him on our bed with white noise so he could get a good nap. Sadly, our next trip we’ll have to figure out a new sleeping arrangement for him. Its wonderful and hard to see them growing up.

Two shirts, just like Dad

This morning Judah was getting dressed with his Dad when he suddenly took his batman shirt off and ran to get another one. When asked why he said, "I have to wear two shirts, just like Dad does." Here he is with his green John Deere undershirt. (And a silly face, he didn't want to smile.)

Cleaning stove burners - part 2

Before:

After:

Cleaning stove burners - part 1

Our stove burners were super dirty after several years of use. Turns out it is really hard to get this off. I finally found something that works: bartenders friend and lots of elbow grease. Here is the before.

And the midway. 

And the final product. 

First Day of Pre-School

Judah started preschool on Tuesday. It was a big day for all of us. I was a bit worried because of his separation anxiety that started after Samuel was born. Thankfully his teacher is great and very understanding. She was able to help him while I left and he was just fine. I was thankful to receive a text telling me this from my friend who checked in on his class after I had left. He was very excited to see me at pick up and told me, grandma, Jentry, and his Dad all about his day. (The picture above was actually taken after school as it was a bit hard getting him there, much less taking the picture.) On Judah's second day of school it was chapel day so he wore his button up shirt (a flannel, the only button up one we have). He was excited that Daddy said he would wear his flannel too and agreed to a front step photo with Daddy (notice they also both have their backpacks).

Visiting Friends on the Mountain

For Labor Day we headed over to the other side of the state to visit our friends, the Michaelis. They live on a beautiful property on Mingo Mountain, overlooking Lake Roosevelt and Kettle Falls (I love this picture of Ally on the hay ride that shows their amazing view in the background). Judah refers to them as our "friends on the mountain" and every time we can see the mountains from our house he mentions that they live over there. The drive over went very well, it was Samuel’s first long road trip and we managed to only have to do two stops! He slept most of the way. Judah enjoys watching movies on our travels. This time he only watched one, The Lego Movie, or as he calls it, The Everything is Awesome Movie. And he watched it 3 times in a row! Thankfully we had brought his earbuds so didn’t have to listen to it over and over. We did know where he was at in the movie because every so often we would hear him say, “spaceship, spaceship, spaceship!”.

Once we arrived we commenced with playing and relaxing. The dogs got to know each other again and the kids hit it right off. The kids even got to have a movie night with Rio 2. Samuel was a big hit with all the kids, they very sweetly entertained him as he lay on the floor, giving lots of smiles and laughs. On Saturday we took an adventure over to the next county over’s fair. We got to see lots of animals, horse races, eat fair food, and ride a carousel twice. Judah really enjoyed the carousel the second time, the first he spent hanging on very tightly. On Sunday we got to take a hay ride all over the property, including up to the cistern that provides water to the property from a natural spring. The dogs tagged along behind us, getting super muddy in the puddles by the water cistern. Ally was so tired that night. We rounded out the night with a hot dog and marshmallow campfire. The next day we had a lazy morning with breakfast and packing before we headed on down the road for home.

 

What to do with Gasoline in Clothes

Today Judah was being a super helper to his dad, helping change the oil on the lawn mower. He held the cup to catch the oil as Jamie poured it out the spout. Unfortunately, our mower has a bad gas cap (that may or may not have been run over accidently) that leaks and when the oil poured out so did gas...all over Judah’s arm. He was a trooper though and didn’t move the cup at all, even while being doused with fuel. He came in reeking of gas so I grabbed his shirt and tossed it into a load of laundry I was just about to put in. BIG Mistake. Don’t ever do that. I didn’t even think or better yet, google. Needless to say I ended up with a load of laundry that all smelled of gas. And because I have a huge washer, it was a big load. So I went to my friend google and this is what I did salvage our clothes.

1. Removed the offending shirt and rewashed the load (this was before I googled).

2. Washed with 20 oz Coke, Baking Soda (a box full), and apple cider vinegar.

3. Soaked in baby oil all night long.

4. Rewashed with laundry soap.

5. Hung to air dry in the sun for 6 hours. (this finally killed the smell in most of the clothes)

6. Rewashed with laundry soap.

I still have yet to deal with the offending shirt, which sadly is his Seahawks champion shirt. We shall see if it survives. At least now I know what to do (and not do). Let this be a lesson to everyone else, learn from my mistakes. Now back to the rest of my laundry.

Historical Picture Recreation (Ben and Andrew)

Have you seen those pictures around the internet where grown adults “recreate” pictures from their childhood. Some are quite funny (and some are a bit disturbing). Well, while visiting my folks this summer I was looking for a picture in the album and stumbled across a really sweet one from 12 years ago of my cousins, Ben and Andrew. Well, the stars aligned and they happened to both be at the lake at the same time and it turns out we had almost all the original props too so we had to recreate it! So here it is the original from 2002 and the recreation from 2014.

Judah Prays

Judah just asked to pray at dinner tonight with our neighbors and did an amazing job. He totally nailed it, thanking God for the food and our friends. My favorite was part was when he thanked God for our neighbor's baby (she's pregnant) and our baby. He struggled a little at how to close it but Charlie, his buddy, jumped right in with a hearty AMEN!

Riding the Dog Like a Small Horse

The fact that Ally puts up with this astounds me. She is a great dog. Don't worry, I asked him to get off right after I got the picture. I love this example of Judah dressing himself. Camouflage pants and a striped polo shirt. Hey at least the colors match :)

Brothers!

Samuel is still a bit unsure of pictures with his brother.

My Clock is Yellow!

Today was a milestone. For months we have noticed that Judah is awful with colors. We don't think he's color blind, just really not interested in getting them down. Several months ago we got Judah a clock with colors that shows when he can get out of bed in the morning. Blue means stay in bed, yellow means get up. For months, every morning he comes into our room saying, "My clock is blue, I can get up!". It's actually yellow, so for months we've been saying, "You mean your clock is yellow?". Well, today Judah comes in and says, "My clock is yellow, I can get up!". Funny how it is exciting and sad all at once for him to have finally learned that.

Giant Leek

Last year we left a leek to winter over in the garden. We never got out to use it and when we finally started paying attention to the yard again noticed that it had flowered. It's hugely tall! Who knew leeks flowered, we didn't. 

A smile...with his brother!

Too bad Judah has his hands on his face. Most of my pics of the boys have Samuel with an awful look on his face, probably from being pestered by Judah. Apparently he likes movies and snuggling with Daddy.

Father's Day Camping Trip

We decided last minute, Wednesday, of a busy work week for Jamie, that we should go camping. Jamie found a place in Anacortes, Fidalgo Bay Resort, that had openings. We were able to stay right near the water, overlooking the lovely Anacortes refineries. You may think that isn’t a fun view, but being the Chemical Engineer I am I get a kick out of it. Jamie was hoping to get off early Friday as he had put in lots of hours earlier in the week. Unfortunately that was not possible and I packed as best I could with the kids until he was able to help at noon. We pulled out of the drive around 1:30, not bad!

Once we pulled into camp Jamie went to work setting up the trailer while I took the kids to the nice park across the street from our site. Judah loved it and made a friend and met a really nice cat. Next time we’ll try for site #16 or 17 which is right near the park and a big grassy field. Our site was also great, on a nice grassy area that connected to the bike trail. We went into town after setting up to get some early dinner as we hadn’t had lunch. Then it was back to camp for some bike riding and playing. Judah went to bed really easily in his big boy bunk. Samuel bunked in our stroller bassinet on the couch. It took a little to get him settled but thankfully he takes a pacifier and did sleep. Jamie and I started a cribbage game while we waited for the boys to sleep since I learned to play while at the lake the previous week!

Samuel did pretty good sleeping, only waking at 2:30 and then at about 5 but going right back to sleep. The day was rainy so we watched some shows and hung out inside for awhile. Then we went into town for lunch and to check out the outlet malls. We stopped at the “toy store” (Value Village) on the way back and Judah got a cool hot wheels race track set and cars. He and Jamie set it up on the picnic table to play. We had very nice naps that afternoon and then started on dinner of chicken, potatoes, and veggies. After dinner we did a walk on the trail and then off to bed. Samuel slept really well the second night and only woke up once in the early morning. We didn’t hurry to get going but got started around 10, thinking it would go quick. Turns out it took a bit longer, we didn’t pull out until 12! That’s what happens when the baby wakes up from nap and you lose a set of adult hands. Judah even got a new job, flushing the toilet to rinse the blackwater tank! He did a great job and kept at it for quite a while longer than we expected him to.

Jason and Amanda Visit

We started our weekend with a lovely date night on Saturday night. Jamie and I got away for a movie and dinner while the boys hung out with our great neighborhood sitter. After church the next day Samuel and I headed south to the airport to pick up Jason and Amanda. It was quite sweet to get a running, smiling hug greeting from Jason. The boys immediately hit it off and played together really well. Jason liked to do whatever Judah was doing. We had several adventures over the week. We had sent Jason the book “Larry Gets Lost in Seattle” so he was anxious to ride a ferry boat. After getting some ice cream we took an impromptu ferry ride to Kingston and back one evening when the weather turned out to be glorious. The boys ran all over and had lots of fun.

Jamie had Tuesday off for Memorial Day and since it was a business day and the Sounder Train was running we decided we should make that happen for Judah, plus Amanda wanted to do some downtown adventuring. So we got up bright and early to make the 7:15 train out of Everett. Samuel and I dropped them off and started to drive down to pick them up on the other end. That’s when the adventure got a bit hairy. Jamie will have to relate the whole story, but let’s just say it was stressful but they made the train! After that things went more smoothly. We had a nice walk at the statue park, took lots of pictures and had a snack. Amanda, the boys, and I continued to walk toward the market while Jamie moved the car. We got some yummy food at the market for lunch (crab rangoon, yumm!). Then headed to the Seattle Great Wheel. We got four revolutions on the wheel and got to see the view in glorious sunshine. Then it was time to head home for naps.

Wednesday Jamie headed back to work. We debated what to do with the weather and it turned out pretty decent so we went down to the zoo. We got to see elephants, monkeys, giraffes, and more! Amanda got the boys animal crackers for the ride home and we made it without falling asleep to nap at home.

The next few days we played lots more, had a great seafood dinner out, and we wrapped up the week with a fun halibut dinner with our neighbors, the Rikalos.

Samuel is 7.5 Weeks!

And just like that there goes a month! Samuel is now 7.5 weeks old, almost 2 months and I’m finding it hard to believe. He was 11 pounds at his post circumcision appointment (about 5 weeks old), so still eating really well. He has stretched out this sleeping and now does 5, 6, and sometimes 7 hours at night! Of course he sometimes is up until after midnight, but since I’m a night owl I usually don’t mind. Sadly, Judah’s sleeping has regressed some and I’m up more in the night with him on some occasions. All in all I’m still pretty tired and still very brain dead as a result.

Samuel is still a great baby. He actually loves being on his changing table and most times it calms him down, not sure if that’s the nice window he can look out or what. He enjoys baths and snuggles and laying on his back. Not a huge fan of the swing or even the bouncy chair. He actually does better just in the middle of the floor. No major fussiness, except for some gassiness in the evenings which resolves once we can bounce, patt, bend, or somehow get the fart or burp out. I joke that he burps and farts like a man but its really true! They are loud and in the case of farts, stinky. He also seems to be a poop every few days kinda guy, so we have to be prepared for blowouts.

Mother's Day and Samuel's Dedication

This Sunday was Mother’s Day and they usually do baby dedications at church so we decided to dedicate Samuel. Jamie’s family (Andi, Dan, Jenn, Bryan, Hazel, and Gus) were all able to come down for the weekend to join us in celebrating and some family time. Sadly Judah developed an awful cough Friday night and coughed all night long, so between that and Samuel’s feedings I was wiped out and not good for much Saturday morning. They left me in bed (glorious!) and all headed to Grandma’s hotel to swim in the pool. I joined up with them for lunch and then the girls headed out to pedicures while the boys chilled at home. Jamie got Judah to sleep a little, which was good because his best friend Charlie’s birthday party at Pump it Up was at 1:45. Judah had a blast in the bouncy houses and on the slide. I even did the slide and it was pretty fun. We got home and the Johnson clan decided to head out on a spur of the moment adventure. They invited Judah along and so Jamie, Samuel, and I were left to have a last minute, impromptu date night to PF Changs! We all returned home having had great times, you can’t plan this stuff sometimes. Sunday we were up bright and early to head to church for the 8:30 service. We chose this verse to dedicate Samuel. It is the same one we used with Judah but we really liked it and it is our prayer for all our kids.

Micah 6:8

He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

Iowa - Minnesota Visit (Blast from the Past Entry)

The blog below is a blast from the past, from 2009. I was reminded of this event by my Dad's admin, who is putting together a photo book for my Dad's retirement. She saw the pics of the burning bookcase and wanted to know more about the story.



May 29, 2009

The last weekend in May found us in Iowa for the wedding of our good friends Andy and Abby. The trip seemed marked for awesomeness when we found tickets for $143 each. I flew in to MN on Friday afternoon (Jamie had to go early for work) and met my Mom for lunch. I then drove my Dad’s brand new truck (only a few weeks old) loaded with Amanda and I’s old bedroom furniture down to Cedar Rapids.  It was a pretty sweet ride but slightly embarrassing as my Dad has made it a “boy” truck by hanging some truck junk off the hitch. Jamie and I delivered the furniture to our friends house for their two little girls to use. They were very excited and got to stay up really late to move it in. 

The next morning found us driving 80 mph on I-80 with Mark and Krystal to make it to the wedding on time. We did. It was a beautiful wedding and it was fun to see some old CR friends. We’re so happy for Andy and excited to get to know Abby better (I already know she’s way cool, after all she did get married barefoot). After the wedding we departed for our drive back north to my parent’s lake house in MN. We arrived just in time for bonfire with Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Amanda, David, and all of the Bells (plus two friends).

And what a bonfire it was! It was a special occasion bonfire as my Dad had finally decided, after 35 years, that he no longer needed his college engineering text books.  So he decided to burn them. Yes, I know that sounds awful, burning books, but they were engineering books and not worth anything on the used book market. Moral of the story: Sell your books back! You will never need them again and if you do you will always have a work colleague you can borrow them from. (Does anyone need any chemical engineering books circa 2002, I’ll give you a deal) 

Anyway, in true Beaver form we all had to wager how long it would take for the “bookcase” to collapse into the fire. I’m not sure the final time but it was well over an hour. In the meantime Jim went down to the boat, threw out one cast and pulled in this beautiful large mouth bass.  Too bad it wasn’t in season and had to be released, good thing we have the pictures to prove it. After that the bookcase collapsed and we all went to bed. 

Now you would think that was the end of the story but no, there’s more.  The next morning was really windy and as Grandpa was cleaning up the fire pit an ember escaped and made its way into the firewood pile (the massive, 7 cord pile whose splitting still lives in Beaver family infamy). It became a 3 foot high blaze on top of the pile in no time. Thankfully Grandpa caught it, alerted Jamie and Dad and it was under control by the time we got back from our walk. Scary, but even scarier is that the forest behind it was full of dry leaves...oh and the pile sits right next to the propane tank.

The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful thankfully. We spent it relaxing and then going back into town for, our favorite thing, a Costco run where Mom got new pots and pans.  Then it was back home to work and the crazy Seattle June heat wave. The last weekend in May found us in Iowa for the wedding of our good friends Andy and Abby. The trip seemed marked for awesomeness when we found tickets for $143 each. I flew in to MN on Friday afternoon (Jamie had to go early for work) and met my Mom for lunch. I then drove my Dad’s brand new truck (only a few weeks old) loaded with Amanda and I’s old bedroom furniture down to Cedar Rapids.  It was a pretty sweet ride but slightly embarrassing as my Dad has made it a “boy” truck by hanging some truck junk off the hitch. Jamie and I delivered the furniture to our friends house for their two little girls to use. They were very excited and got to stay up really late to move it in. 

The next morning found us driving 80 mph on I-80 with Mark and Krystal to make it to the wedding on time. We did. It was a beautiful wedding and it was fun to see some old CR friends. We’re so happy for Andy and excited to get to know Abby better (I already know she’s way cool, after all she did get married barefoot). After the wedding we departed for our drive back north to my parent’s lake house in MN. We arrived just in time for bonfire with Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Amanda, David, and all of the Bells (plus two friends).

And what a bonfire it was! It was a special occasion bonfire as my Dad had finally decided, after 35 years, that he no longer needed his college engineering text books.  So he decided to burn them. Yes, I know that sounds awful, burning books, but they were engineering books and not worth anything on the used book market. Moral of the story: Sell your books back! You will never need them again and if you do you will always have a work colleague you can borrow them from. (Does anyone need any chemical engineering books circa 2002, I’ll give you a deal) 

Anyway, in true Beaver form we all had to wager how long it would take for the “bookcase” to collapse into the fire. I’m not sure the final time but it was well over an hour. In the meantime Jim went down to the boat, threw out one cast and pulled in this beautiful large mouth bass.  Too bad it wasn’t in season and had to be released, good thing we have the pictures to prove it. After that the bookcase collapsed and we all went to bed. 

Now you would think that was the end of the story but no, there’s more.  The next morning was really windy and as Grandpa was cleaning up the fire pit an ember escaped and made its way into the firewood pile (the massive, 7 cord pile whose splitting still lives in Beaver family infamy). It became a 3 foot high blaze on top of the pile in no time. Thankfully Grandpa caught it, alerted Jamie and Dad and it was under control by the time we got back from our walk. Scary, but even scarier is that the forest behind it was full of dry leaves...oh and the pile sits right next to the propane tank.

The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful thankfully. We spent it relaxing and then going back into town for, our favorite thing, a Costco run where Mom got new pots and pans.  Then it was back home to work and the crazy Seattle June heat wave.

Samuel is 3 Weeks Old!

Wow, I just typed March, guess I’m still in a bit of a time warp. Well, Samuel is three weeks old now and still not sleeping through the night :) I’m a bit sleep deprived but was sort of inspired to update our blog a little. It’s been a bit light since August, which isn’t surprising, that’s when we found out we were pregnant with Samuel. I was also a bit out of excuses since my friend who has 5 kiddos, including brand new twins, is updating her blog fairly regularly. What can I say about the first 3 weeks? Well, the first two were awesome! Seriously, my Mom was here and took amazing care of Judah, as well as cleaning, cooking, and caring for me and Samuel too. Jamie also was able to take off the first week, which was great since he was still recovering from his head cold. It’s also been unusually sunny which has helped with all our moods and allowed us to get outside to play and do projects and walk.

Samuel is actually a pretty great baby. He is nursing like a champ, he went from 9 lbs to 8 lbs 8 oz and then back to 9 lbs 10 oz in the first two weeks. We had a bit of a blip at day 3 when my milk transitioned from colostrum to milk, he just didn’t quite know what to do with it and we struggled for a day. Thankfully we had our doctor appointment that morning and I was able to have a phone consult with the lactation consultant which were reassuring. He is also pretty good natured and sleeps well. We’re up every 2-3 hours but he falls right back to sleep after eating, similar to Judah. He’s the fussiest in the evening and doesn’t go to bed until 11ish but continues his night sleep until 9ish. That would be great for me as I’m a night owl that likes to sleep in if it weren’t for son #1 getting up earlier and earlier it seems as the sun comes out earlier and earlier.

Judah has suddenly become a big kid, like overnight, when we brought Samuel home. He is the “big brother” and has become fearless and brave. Just the week before Samuel was born I had to go with him to his dark room or downstairs. But now “big brother” will go everywhere (sometimes this is not good, like when I’m nursing and hear the garage door shut because he’s gone looking for Dad who was mowing lawn, did I mention he can’t get into the house from the garage yet?). I had joked that I was hoping Judah would be able to dress himself before baby came. As of even the day before he was born Judah was still not able to dress himself. Baby comes home and boom, he is dressing himself, completely, undies, pants, and shirt. Sometimes they are on backwards but we don’t complain. He loves his baby brother and is pretty gentle and sweet to him. He has become a pro at sanitizing his hands before touching him which turned out to be a really good thing because on Friday after my Mom left we discovered...pink eye!

Cue trip to the doctor, our second that week. Thankfully my mother in law Andi and Jamie’s Aunt Lexi had planned to come up to visit for the day so I was able to put them in charge of the baby with some pumped milk and take Judah by myself. We got eye drops which are a bugger to get into his eyes, thankfully my MIL had a great tip that they just had to go in the corner of his closed eye and they would blink into the eye. The “Grandmas”, as Judah called Andi and Lexi, also did laundry and cleaned up my kitchen, huge thank you for that!

The weekend weather was good and we did some projects outside. We put together our new patio furniture and washed up our old set to sell. Judah helped me go to Fred Meyer for my fuschias for my hanging baskets. Sunday we had our first family outing for lunch. We went to Demetris in Edmonds, sat on the patio, and saw three trains!

Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk...But What About Fruit Punch?

This morning while I was feeding Samuel, Judah needed a refill on his fruit punch. So he got a hold of the pitcher on the counter and managed to spill it...all over the carpet. I was so mad and annoyed. It was really really hard to do as I’ve been asking Judah to do, not act out in sin in my anger. I know I actually blew it, in my attitude and lack of patience with him after the event. I’m still processing it, but the anger is coming somewhat from the fact that its probably not going to come out, so we’ll be living with this big pink spot for years (cause what’s the point in replacing carpet with two young boys and a dog?). I was thinking about that in the moment, that I had the choice to look at this pink spot for years and choose to love and forgive my son (who was really really sorry about the accident) or to continue to stew and be angry that my “stuff” got ruined. I have to be ok with stuff getting ruined, (which is hard for me) I do have two boys, its going to happen. As Jamie said in his text, “Take care of his heart, we can replace the carpet”.

Heeey Brother....

Meet Samuel John Zaehring
Born March 23rd, 2014 at 9:18 am

9 lbs, 21.5" long, 13.5" head

More later