Can You Describe?

Yesterday morning Jack had a "quick" appointment with Dr. V to check his height and weight. Jack is a skinny kid. Eats like a horse, but a skinny kid. Long story, short...he hasn't gained any weight, not an ounce, in over six months. He did grow taller, but not heavier. Dr. V was concerned about his "failure to thrive" and so ordered a tall round of tests to rule out any serious problems. Some of the potentials: kidney disease, hormone disorders, allergies and cystic fibrosis. I will also summarize the tests by saying that it was horrible. I swear they took a pint of blood from my baby. Needless to say, it was emotionally exhausting for me and physically exhausting for Jack. THEN, I came home and looked up the symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis...this brought on an emotional and tearful response. There really isn't a worse feeling in the world to have to wonder (or know) that your child could be very ill. It is such a fine line that we walk. On one hand, we want them to have all of the experiences in life that are defining. To teach independence, faith, determination and self-reliance...but it is so painful to even comprehend that it may involve difficulty, pain, even death.

I will summarize by saying that the nurses called me as soon as the tests were completed. They originally said that it would be Friday before I knew anything, but apparently if you start crying they will speed things up. Jack's tests are normal. He's just going to be a little guy. And frankly, I couldn't be happier.

This morning I am back to work, and the kids are at home with Maria (Maw-we-wah, as Lachlan calls her). I read this article from the NY Times and again the tears flowed. The parental ache is felt all the world over. May God have mercy on us all.

The Scavenger

Okay, so Jack replaced his dirt-eating habit with a scavenging-for-food-in-the-pantry habit. I laughed out loud when he actually found a prize inside this box of Lucky Charms. I didn't even know that they still did that??!!

The Little Gardener

We finally had a sunny Saturday afternoon. We started the morning by hiking the River Trail and then spent the afternoon getting the backyard ready for concrete edging. Jack wanted to help his dad do the shoveling, but seemed to be better at getting very dirty. I was so happy to see that he finally went outside without eating handfuls of dirt. Lachlan had me help her dig a thousand worms for the chickens (okay, it may have only been 20, but it started to feel like a thousand)...she wouldn't touch the worms so she was just the worm-digging foreman. Did you ever think that you would be working for a toddler?

Integrated Pest Management

Meet our new girls...I was finally able to find some hens locally. We haven't had the time to have chickens for a few years and I am so excited to have them back in the yard. These girls are Bantam chickens so they are smaller than the chickens we've had in the past, but I'm hoping that they are very hungry!

Back to the Beach, Part Two

Sometimes the best picture isn't as great as you'd hoped...at least we are together in this killer windstorm.

A Few More Words From Jack

Okay, so I forgot to list a few:

Hi
Bye,Bye
Papa (for grandpa)
Bike
Bump

And now we can add:

Wash (yeah, we finally washed the car)
House
Yo-Yo (for yogurt)

Oregon Coast Trip

Before I Forget

I wanted to make sure to write down all of the new words Jack is saying. I know that he is a genius.
(In no order of preference)
bubbles
mama
da (for dad)
cat
Sierra
ba (for bottle)
no
yes
book
ball
dat (for that)
baby
more
pees (for please)
poop (yuck)
wa wa (for water)
treat

We Went to the Ocean...

...and Jack fell in. Sorry for the long delay in post updating, we went to Cannon Beach, Oregon for a family vacation. We've only been home a few days and the kids have been basically sleeping since we returned. I've got so many fun pictures, but while I put it all together I thought that I would share my favorite conversation of the whole trip. It occured while we were driving though the center of town with my folks (jeff driving, dad riding shotgun).

Dad (Bill): Oohh, look at that store. The "Good Life" shop. Maybe we should have a look in there.
Jeff: I went in there.
Dad: Yeah, what was in there.
Jeff: Junk.
Dad: Really?
Jeff: Yup, junk. You know, like mirrors with sea shells glued to it.
Dad: Oh, yeah. Junk.

I laughed so hard in the back seat that I cried all of my mascara off.

It's Miller Time

Lachlan learned a new word.

Juice.

It doesn't sound like, juice. The j becomes a b-sound. and the c becomes a z/s-sound.

It sounds exactly like, Booze.

She asks for booze a lot. Booze, mama. Booze, mama.

Can't wait until she asks for it in public. A doctor's office, church nursery, maybe?

My New Motto:

In comment to my last post, my BFF sent me this: It has given me an entirely new outlook on life.

I can be more optimistic. No, not in a "No matter how things turn out it will be okay" kind of way, but rather "Eventually these people will figure out how to satisfy me" kind of way.

Now that's therapy. Bec, the check is in the mail.

Sometimes My Expectations are Too High

I am starting to realize that I have unrealistic expectations. Expectation is a very difficult thing for me--I expect a lot from myself, others, food establishments, public restrooms...needless, to say I am often disappointed. I know that I should just get over it, but it has always been a problem for me. I will probably deal with this for the, well, I was going to say the rest of eternity, but it is likely that I won't make it far enough in this life to have to worry about that.

So my latest expectation was Friday afternoon. Jeff and I took the kids to the zoo. It was supposed to be 60 degrees-very sunny. We got there and the wind was blowing, it was completely overcast and the kids never slept a wink the entire drive (i.e., no naps). I was already crushed. (see what I mean??)

Despite the questionable weather conditions we headed out. I had been really talking up the whole experience and I was certain that the kids were going to love it. Well, apparently, the zoo is a terrifying experience. The torture began shortly after Jeff petted a FAKE, BRONZE statue of an elephant and it had an internal sound system that let out a loud, "honk!" Lachlan literally turned around and started running for the main gates. I hate to admit it, but it was hilarious! Her fear continued all the way to the Feline Habitats. As you can see, she is running from this bronze tiger (I placed her next to it to get a cute picture). The hits just kept on coming, literally, because Jack smashed his head into a marble sculpture. It didn't leave a mark because it was already a spot on his head that was previously bruised from a prior incident. And last, but not least, the train...Lachlan's favorite book is the "Little Engine That Could" so I thought for sure it would be a big hit. Jeff asked her, "Did you like the train ride?" Her response, "No, scary". The photograph is quite deceiving because it was taken pre-ride. So the question remains: What did they like?? Well, this waterfall. We actually looked at it more than any other thing in the park. Jack must have signed, "water," for 15 minutes. He walked around and actually pointed it out to several other children (who were obviously there for the animals), "wa, wa!" They also pointed out the water in the monkey cages, in the mountain lion pen, with the flamingos, giraffes, elephants, bears and several non-descript puddles within the walking route.

Let me tell you what saved the entire experience for me: Dinner with Becca and Bruce. Oh, sweet salvation. We had excellent Chinese food, fun conversation, ice cream and warm cookies--I drank two diet cokes with a chaser of Excedrin. It's a good thing that I'm a quick healer.

In Case You Missed It

Just in case you don't check the family blog.

Here is the Easter Pic of Jack and Lachlan.

You can see the full review of our photo session on Susie's blog (if you can't really get a feel for the experience from the look on their faces). BTW this is what a $15 photographer will get you.

Jackson Hole, WY

I love Jackson Hole. Last week I was able to attend a Western Regional Conference for Agriculture. The girls in our office drove up last Monday and stayed until Thursday afternoon. The kids were shipped off to my parents house (thanks mom and dad). Jeff had the house to himself. It was an interesting week.

Jeff got the doors hung in the basement. Jack got a cold. Lachlan rode a horse and oddly enough, learned to say the word, giraffe. My parents seemed overly relieved to leave the children with us on Thursday. It was made pretty clear that there won't be any extended offers for childcare in our future. A quote, "Your dad says that from now on two days is the limit."

I, however, had a great week. There were so many of my former colleagues at the conference--it was good to see them and have fun visit. The conference was also good. It's always good to have a refresher course to keep you on your toes.

American Idol Update

As long as I'm sitting here posting...

Dolly Parton. Dolly, I am your biggest fan. Carrie and Jen-how about San Diego on August 1st?? We could do a rockin' Backwoods Barbie Roadtrip!

Syesha: Choosing a Whitney song- certain death (although, I thought it was well done) you just can't go there!! Will these people never learn??

Brooke: Good song, but you are going to be in the bottom three for the first time.

David Cook: Good gosh, almighty you have a bad hairdo, but I might be your newest fan--can this really be happening?? The dude has serious style with songs!

Kristy Lee Cook: Coat of Many Colors. How did I freaking know that YOU would have to sing that song. Uggh. Oh, please country fans--do yourself a favor and go buy a Carrie Underwood CD and let this lunatic slip into the abyss.

Archie: The kid can sing. Never a sour note. I don't really want him to win because I think that he lacks "star power". We'll see.

Ramiele: Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Bottom three and it is going to be between you and Syesha...although, you SHOULD have some competition from Jason because he has SUCKED for the past few weeks.

Michael: I'm a fan and not just because you are totally hot.

AND..could it be possible that a woman could finally win the Biggest Loser?? Go Ali, all the way, girl.

Favorite Things

This picture is the perfect explanation of why I like being a mom.
He is, however, afraid of the jacuzzi jets in the tub. Too much of a good thing.

Lachlan on the other hand- well, the running joke at our house is that she could withstand waterboarding. She's really into getting water poured on her head.

Ea-Sah Butts

Ea-Sah Butts, well that's L-speak for Easter Bunny. Here she is hunting at the neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. She had a ball. In fact, at one point I was slightly embarassed because she was grabbing so many eggs that I got nervous that she was going to take them all and wouldn't leave any for smaller children. The girl doesn't mess around when "choc-choc" is involved.

Jack woke up from a mid-morning nap just in time to rush across the street and join in the fun. He kept signing, "more, more". It was so cute. The only thing better about the egg hunt was the delicious potluck breakfast provided by the neighborhood. It was the first year we have gone and I can't wait for next year!

That's Hot.

You never know what you are going to see when you open L's bedroom door in the morning. I always shut it at night because I worry that she will get out of bed and wander around. She is very interested in dressing herself--everything she wears is "tights". Anyway, when she wakes up she usually puts on her socks (sometimes on her hands) and whatever shoes are conveniently located. Well, this outfit was so original...what can I say??

The Karate Kid

I took this picture a while ago, but it is so funny. L got this scarf at some restaurant and she wore it every day for a week before the thrill wore off. She looked like a little old man...a little old Chinese man.