A must read?

I do not know where all the time goes. You blink and 20 years goes by. So, of course, I have all these ideas of things I want to do and so on and so forth. One thing I would like to do is read more and watch less or no TV!!!! So, I google a woman's must read book list and what do I get as the #1 result?




I have a feeling I will have to let this one go. Just doesn't seem like a must read to me. So, if anyone has some good must read's that are maybe a little more "exciting", "feel good", and a bit less "brash", feel free to reccomend some for me!

One Step forward, Two Steps back

Well, we have had Chase on the medication to avoid constipation and we have been avoiding all dairy. At least every other day, usually daily, he has a meltdown. I think he is getting so gassy, bloated, and crampy that it is makinghim miserable. Today he carried on for 3 hours. I really really try to be 100% understanding and caring, but when this happens everyday, it REALLY wears you down. I cannot begin to explain how it feels to watch him do this day in and day out. Today was as bad as the day we took him to the ER, he was flailing around like a wild man just screaming. It was like he just felt helpless and did not know what to do. I offer to do anything I can, but he always just says, I don't know what I want. If I try to hold him, he wants me off, it is sad.

So during this time, I was trying to get the camera to tape him to possibly show his doctors how he gets. He was screaming and jumping up and down going from the couch to the floor to walking around, he looked terrified. It was like he had no idea what to do and needed something quick. As soon as I turned my back to get the camera, I heard a loud sound like a balloon popping and he instantly stopped crying and said, "Mommy, I pooped." When he was crying so was I and he said, "Please don't cry Mommy, it makes me sad."

Well, once he had gone poop, I was hugging him after his bath and started crying again. He said, "Don't cry Mommy, I am happy now, my tummy feels better." I tried to explain that I am sad knowing that he hurts so much, but of course he doesn't understand.

Of course I am exhausted physically because whenever this happens he wants to be held some then put down some. Then once he finally goes, I have to lift him in the tub to remove the pull up because it is an absolute mess, then we have to do the shower and get redressed. All this is done while trying to wrestle a one year old to stay out of the poo. The physical exhaustion is hard, but the mental/emotional exhaustion is much worse.

I know it has to be getting old to him too. He is old enough that he is getting embarassed as well, and a couple times this has happened around older kids and they don't get it. I am afraid they will start teasing him before long and that is the last thing he needs. Sometimes the adults are worse than the kids. Everyone has their opinions on the matter of course and I hear everything from, "Give him to me for a week, I'll have him going on the toilet" to "Pooping in diapers is for babies, are you a baby?" During this situation, that is not what he nor myself needs.

So, I know I have said it over and over, but I am a FIRM believer in the power of prayer, especially in numbers....please pray for his healing and for him to overcome whatever fear he has. For me, I really need strength and patience to help him through all of this. I do not want to make him feel any worse than he already does. Thanks!

Year in review

I cannot believe I have seen my second son's first year of life go by.
In that year he has reached many milestones. He walks like a champ and has for about 3 weeks now. He wasn't talking hardly at all which is a big reason he got his tongue clipped. He is currently saying Momma, Dada, yes, no, and an occasional uh oh. He can sign eat and more (of course this family is food related!)
Cole is VERY independent and happy IF he gets his way. He is an angel when his older brother is not around. When he is, they love to bug each other to death.
Cole has become our little Linus and carries his blanket just about everywhere!
He is a dancing machine. The moment he hears music, he begins to dance no matter what he is doing.
Seems that Cole has had some sort of illness just about everyday since he arrived, let's pray that is soon to change.
Both Cole and Chase will be attended a "school" 2 days a week this fall and I am looking forward to that break for us all.
Hope you enjoy the photos!

Newborn: May 2, 2006






June 2006:






July 2006:






August 2006:






September 2006:







October 2006:






November 2006:









December 2006:









January 2007:






February 2007:






March 2007:






April 2007:






May 2007, 1 year old:









Click photo to play

La Fiesta de Cole

Can't believe we have had Cole in our lives a full year! I will post a seperate blog to bring you up to speed on his accomplishments, milestones, and stats. This is just to tell you about his first birthday party.
We have always had to have our parties indoors since dear Chase is a December baby, so we were so excited to have an outdoor celebration. God blessed us with gorgeous weather so that we could have that wish. The party was on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon just following nap time. Those with young children, know this is vital to a good party! We invited friends and family and provided burgers, bratwursts, all the fixins, cake and ice cream, and lots of fun. We borrowed a bouncy from a friend which was a hit, as was the trampoline. This was the first party were most of our friends had young children as well (those who didn't borrowed their cousin's kid)that could enjoy the fun, so that made it even more exciting. I can't wait to watch them all grow up together.
After eating, we had cake. I made Cole's myself this time which turned out cute. Not as extravagant as the train cake, but still cute. Cole was not real sure about the cake. I had to force his hand into the cake and then he got upset and started shaking his hands to try and get the icing off!
After a quick clean up, he proceeded to opening the gifts with the help of a hndful of young friends! He got so many nice clothes and fun toys. The toys have been a hit and the cause of many fights between brothers ever since. As always, I will attach photos of the party.

Out with the old in with the new

Since we purchased our house 3.5 years ago, I have hated the landscaping that took over the front of the house. It hid our house and was near death and very unattractive. After 3.5 years of nagging, I convinced John on the spur of the moment to hook up his truck, better known as "Old Blue", and rip out the exsisting landscaping. After removing all the landscaping, he came down with a nasty stomach bug. I have to brag about my man. After a full night of practically living in the bathroom, he spent the entire day planting the new bushes and plants all on his own (Cole was already sick and I started getting a touch of it as well). After a full day of hard labor, lots of sweating, and tons of Gatorade, John transformed the front of our house into the beautifully landscaped home I had hoped for! We are still woking on what to do with the area by the park bench, but that will come with time and more nagging!
Hope you like! Thanks John!

OLD








NEW

Brotherly Love

I knew that having 2 boys would be adventurous, but man oh man! Chase is not the easiest on his little one year old brother. Just the other day, Chase decided that Cole wanted to go outside, so he let him out. Thank God, John caught Cole at the sidewalk about 6 feet before getting to the street!
However, about 3 weeks prior, Cole wanted to go outside, and Chase quickly shouted no and pulled the front door closed. Problem is, Cole's toe was under the door as Chase did this! Cole's toe immediately began bleeding and of course he began screaming. Once I calmed him down, it looked pretty nasty. After almost a week of crawling around and not allowing me to apply any bandages, it became infected. A trip to the doctor, a $20 copay, and a $10 antibiotic later, it seemed to be getting better. As expected though, the nail did finally fall off. If you ask Chase what happened to his brother's toe, he will proudly tell you that he cut half his toe off! I have included a couple photos shortly after the incident occured.

My lovely locks

After a year of prenatal vitamins, my hair had become quite long. I wanted to cut it, but then decided I wanted to participate in "Locks of Love" (LoL). LoL takes donated hair and creates wigs for young children who have lost their own hair to chemotherapy. How cool is that!?! Some small child can find joy and confidence in sporting my curly blonde locks? That's it, I had to do it. The required length is 10 inches. I finally reached the required length, but just barely. so, if I cut my hair now, it would be super short. I didn't care, I was ready. So this past Friday, I ahd 12 inches of blonde curly hair removed and can't wait to send it for some little boy or girl to enjoy! I think I am going to grow it out and do it again!

This is before:










Here is the Video (listen, Chase ask why I broke my hair):






After:

Cabin fever hits again

Approximately 3 weeks ago, Cole had tubes placed in his ears and he did wonderful. He actually slept through the night 3 or 4 times following that which he had never done. He was much happier and just acted like he generally felt better.
Well, the luck couldn't last too long. The poor kid started feeling crummy again about a week ago. He has spent the last four days crying from dawn to dusk, especially if I leave his sight. He literally goes from smiling one second to screaming the very next. He is unsure of what he wants. We ended up going to the pediatrician yesterday and got him put on antibiotics, so let's hope he gets back to feeling better soon.
The many phases of Cole:

happy



not happy



happy



not happy





Chase has decided to go on a wild streak and act like he is going on 13. Common words out of his mouth are "No" and "But, I don't want to." This does not settle well with me. He has spent many moments in his room and/or time out recently. Of course, no matter how much he misbehaves, he is still so darn cute! Between the two of them, I will be totally gray by 2008!









John is generally really good about helping me out in times like these by taking Chase out for a bit, or taking both boys downstairs to simply be boys and give mom a break. However, we had a DUSTING of snow come through Kentuckiana which meant John got called in at 3:30 am this morning to begin salting the lots, roads, and sidewalks of his various accounts. He did not get home until 10:30 this evening. So he was gone for 17 hours for less than an inch of snow while the boys and I had a less than ideal day. We had toyed with the idea of going out to eat for my birthday but the reality of that happening just wasn't there.

One positive side of having a sick kid is Cole napped a great deal today. While he napped, Chase watched more television than a 3 year old should be allowed to watch in one week (I did manage to nap a bit on the couch while Chase watched tv). times like these, you just have to let the battles go! We can only hope that Cole will get to feeling better quickly and that John will get to remain home all day tomorrow.

Here is a cute video of my little drummer boy during one of his better moments:

I have arrived!

Well what can I say I have arrived.
Many people moan and groan and dread the day that they may need to purchase a mini van due to a growing family. I guess I am one of the rare individuals who actually looked forward to the day that I would need one and would be able to get one. Well, that day has come. After hours of research on the net, many phone calls, many test drives, anda regected offer, we finally purchased a 2002 Chrysler Town and Country Limited Edition.
Financially, we decided we could get the most for our money by purchasing either a Chrysler or a Dodge Grand Caravan which are in essence the same vehicle. I found a great dela on one that was located in Cincinnati, so John, Cole, and myself headed to the dealer to check it out. I instantly fell in love! I wanted power doors because of my back, but other than that my only other request was captain chairs in the center to try and avoid some brotherly fights down the road. This van has more than I could have hoped for. It has leather seats, (which is great for bad backs because you slide out of the vehicle), dual climate control, power sliding doors, power liftgate, and all kinds of fun little gadgets and hiding places.
I also love that I sit so much higher now.
As I drove around the "Ville" the other evening with John listening to Michael Buble (http://www.michaelbuble.com/) while in my mini van, I had to announce that "I have arrived!"
Here is my new pride and joy:

The Saga continues

Well as we previous blog pointed out,we started the potty training journey here in the Wall household. Chase has come quite a ways, but still has a ways to go as well! He has graduated to the "big boy" style of standing while urinating. He has also accomplished the feat of announcing when he has the urge to urinate. This is such a relief, asking a 3 year old to "try" every 30 minutes gets old fast!
Now, as far as the poop end of the deal...not so good. Chase is terrified of going poop on the pot. Let me take you back in time. Months ago when Chase first wanted to explore the world of toilet training, he asked to poop on the potty. Of course I allowed him to do so. Being a curious 3 year old, he wanted to see what happened as the poop came out, so he looked into the potty as it dropped. This caused a slight splash of water to hit the poor kid in the forehead. He immediately burst into tears and has been terrified ever since. Do you blame him?
So, now when the child needs to go poop, he will hold it for days on end until he becomes so constipated that he is in tears. He is currently on prescription laxatives that would cause any normal adult to have a spell much like a scene from "Dumb and Dumber" or "Along Came Polly". They do nothing for him. We have started restricting his dairy intake and he regularly gets apple juice. I have even changed the majority of our diet to fresh fruits and vegetables with added fiber (thank you Amber for the Fiber One tip, they are awesome!). I now make a fresh fruit smoothie almost every morning to help with his fiber intake. Still, no success. When he does finally go, it usually has to be while wearing a Pull Up. I read this is fine for his situation, but how and at what point do we break this?
On a lighter note, Chase loves all the cool new briefs and boxers he has acquired. However, of course he has to be different and likes to wear them backwards from time to time so that the character is in the front. If you invision a young boys pair of briefs, this generally results in a painful looking wedgie.
Exhibit A:






Silly boy. So please, if you have some secret to getting a 3 year old to poop in the pot, please, please, let me know!
Thanks!

Look what we Kandoo

Well not yet really, but its a start. Yesterday was very monumental in our lives. On January 19, 2007, I announced to Chase that he had officially used the last diaper in the house (other than the 20 I stashed) and that they no longer made any his size, so we had to use underwear from here on out. For those of you who don't know Chase well, he is EXTREMELY strong willed and has no desire to potty train. Just the other day, he informed me that he loved diapers because they were perfect for him.
After being told it was underwear or nothing, he proudly chose to adorn his derriere with "Sarge" underpants:





I had prepared for the day by making sure all easy removable pants such as sweat pants were freshly washed and ready for soiling. We had also purchased the oh so important and even more over priced Kandoo products:






So we were off. Of course the very first time he needed to go he expected to have the same effects as a diaper so he waddled down the hall announcing "Mommy my legs is wet." So, he quickly learned how to remove his own clothes and put a whole new set of dry ones on. I explained that we did not want to wet his pants again and he responded by telling me, "yes I do." I realized I was in for a long day.
I persistently escorted Chase to the restroom to at least "try and potty." Of course his response was always "I don't have to" or "I don't want to" yet each time we went he managed to muster up urine!
At the conclusion of day one, he never quite got the hang of announcing BEFORE he had to go, but he was a champ at announcing when he had gone. I however, got pretty good at judging how soon after a drink or the last trip to the potty, to insist that we try once more.
All in all, it wasn't as bad as I had imagined. I of course had a full load of laundry and a handful of soiled underwear, but not too bad.








He did not have to "poop" on day one, so that will probably be another blog in itself. We have 3 more days before we HAVE to go out anywhere, so let's hope we can get some consistency in the works by then. until then, stay tuned.

I will end with a clip of the oblivious brother and his new found trick: