Update

Here are some of the things that have been happening with the Ducks. This weekend, my brother-in-law and a friend of his laid a patio for us. It is awesome! They worked very hard and made every brick level! I can not thank them enough.

Widdle, Waddle and I have been spending a lot of time outside. On Monday, I mowed the lawn while Widdle was awake so that he could enjoy the lawn mower. He pushed his own lawn mower around the back yard for a while. When I was in the yard with him, mowing, he was a little afraid of it and kept a good distance. He still can not stop talking about the mower though.

The boys and I, mainly I, have also been working on some flower beds. It seems like I can keep full plants, bought from the store alive. I have also been working on some seeds and bulbs, which are breaking through. But, my plants that have been transplanted are not doing so well. I'm not sure what I'm missing, or what the trick is...but hopefully I figure something out soon. We have some pretty little flowers all over our yard, so I thought I'd pull some up and move them to the flower bed.....they are all wilted. My friend gave me a few plants from another friend's garden......only one looks good. I harvested some bulb type flowers from my neighbor's yard (no-one lives there).....they are looking pretty shady. Hopefully all of these plants will perk up quickly, it's so fun to see them thrive.

Mr. Waddle is back to sleeping all night! Albert had a couple of nights where he worked from 7 pm to 7 am. So, we set about making Waddle sleep all night. He did pretty well for about 3 nights in a row. Then decided he'd like to be awake again. Now, he is back to sleeping all night. He is sleeping better than Widdle! If both boys slept until after 7, I wouldn't know what to do with myself!

Waddle had his 4 month check up today. He weighed in at 14 lbs. 1 oz. and a little over 24 in. long. He is still in the 50th percentile. I just looked it up and Widdle was 16 lbs. 4 oz. at this age. It is crazy how much of a difference 2 lbs. makes in a baby. I am thankful that Waddle is a little smaller. My arms are looking pretty good from lifting an almost 30 lbs little boy and 14 lb. baby!

I think I gripped about mail order in a previous post....well, our new bedding is in. I was hesitant to open the box because the color description said "Moss." I did not recall moss being anywhere in the comforter I ordered. So, a couple of hours after the boys went to bed, I bit the bullet and opened the box. Thankfully, it was the right comforter and it is awesome! It's so comfortable and pretty. I like looking at my bed now!

I think that's all for now. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the crazy weather!

Fertility

Fertility is one of the great wonders of God's creation for me. We have several friends who have struggled with getting pregnant and several friends who just think about a baby and they are pregnant. This past week several different animal's "cycles" have been brought to my mind. I do not have any conclusions, but I just thought I'd share my thoughts.

Birds lay eggs once a year, sit on them for either 30 or 60 days (don't hold me to that), then care for their young. I wonder how small the human population would be if women had to sit on their eggs or be on complete bed rest their entire pregnancy. I think God knew what He was doing when He designed this.

Chimpanzees can only mate once every five years. When they are ovulating, a horrible looking red thing grows on their rear-end. Again, how would this affect the human population.

Dogs can have puppies twice a year. Their pups are very immature when they are born and need a lot of care for the first few weeks.

These few examples just made my wonder why God set women and men up the way He did. Are we supposed to have larger families? I'm not saying we should have a baby every time we ovulate. But, why do we have so many opportunities for children? I mean, we do go through menopause in our 40s or 50s. Meaning that we won't be able to have children forever. Adam and Eve were told to increase in number and subdue the earth. Their sons had to have married their daughters. Are we really increasing in number if we only have two children, or are we just replacing ourselves? Just some thoughts I've been pondering. What do you think?

B

My little baby boy has had quite a rough time the last couple of days. He has been battling a cold, had an extremely dry cough, and is starting to move a little bit. The last thing is a good and bad thing. I am excited that he is nearly rolling over, but I keep forgetting that he can move at all. Last night we went to a friend's house for dinner. She has wood floors, so we put B on a soft chair while we were eating. Yes, I am sure you can guess what happened next. We are all sitting there chatting and we hear a loud thud. I look over and my little baby is sprawled out on his belly, on the floor. I quickly picked him up and tried to sooth him. He calmed down pretty quickly and we put some ice on his head. None of us were sure if he actually rolled or just scooted off. Either way, he will not by laying on raised surfaces any more. He awoke this morning looking as good as ever. No goose egg or red marks to remind me of last night. Seeing my child hurt or cry because of something I did is one of the things I like least about parenting. I am thankful that they bounce back quickly, and will not remember much of this time in their lives. Maybe that is a blessing God gives us, we'll just call it practice time!

Mail order

I always think of several things to blog about throughout the day, then when I have time my mind goes blank. So, I will try to remember everything, but my memory might lend itself to several small post. Enjoy!

Recently, I have found myself enjoying on-line shopping much more than actually going to a mall. While shopping on-line, I can quickly check prices and quantity at several different stores. Also, I do not have to load and unload two little ones, change poop diapers or nurse in public. All that to say, I can get a lot of shopping done pretty quickly if I don't leave my house. The part that I am not enjoying is returning. Returning something or exchanging it in the store is not the most fun thing, but through the mail it is even less fun. Today was a return day. Actually, I have needed to mail a couple of things back for several weeks, but I don't enjoy going to the post office. The post office workers are never in a hurry, and I can never guess how long it will actually take to get something mailed. I've been there sometimes and it has taken more than half an hour. Today, thankfully, we were the only ones there. So, I was able to get my two items in the mail pretty quickly. Let's hope the company will get the items back to me before I go out of town!

So Sleepy

I have been trying to work in the yard while the boys are sleeping. Yesterday I mowed our lawn and the neighbor's and several days before that I was working on laying out our flower beds. Today, I thought I would shape up the shrubs out front. C fell asleep on the way home from church this morning, and stayed asleep when I took him out of his car seat. So, I laid him in his bed and planned on giving him his lunch when he woke up. Then, I worked on the bushes. I finished up and he woke up around the same time. I made C his lunch and B piped up that he would like to be held. So, I sat in the chair with B and weights pulled on my eye lids. All of a sudden I was exhausted. I could not keep my eyes open. Every time I semi dosed off, C would yell, "Mommy!" Then he would reach for me. I told him to finish eating, and was hoping to just sleep for a couple of minutes. But, every time I closed my eyes, he fussed at me. When he was finished eating, I got him cleaned up and we sat on the floor. At first, I laid my head on a pillow, and he tried to pull me to sitting. Then, I laid my head on the couch while sitting on the floor. That wasn't going to work either. So, I am now off the bed! I guess with being pregnant and staying out of the sun the last two summers, I have lost my sun endurance. Who knows if I'll ever be able to build it back up to where it was in college. I think I'll just have to drink more water and work outside in the morning, while the boys play. Then I can sleep during nap time too!

Birds

This spring I thought it would be fun to have a couple of bird feeders around the house. This has proved to be true. We have had a great time watching the birds and trying to figure out what kind they are. C enjoys announcing that birds are on the feeder by making bird sounds and has started saying "bird." So, the couple of dollars spent have been well worth it. They have also added a great deal of humor and frustration, however. Several weeks ago, when I first put one feeder out, a squirrel found it. He was so heavy that he broke the feeder. Not just once but three or four times. One time I saw him on it, turned into an old farm lady, and went running outside yelling at him to get out of my yard. He did not get the hint and within a few hours was back on the feeder. The scene repeated itself. A couple of hours after that, C, B and I were playing in the back yard when I heard a loud "pop." I looked to the left, and something red was falling from a near by power line. Yes, a squirrel had been electrocuted. I had mixed feelings about this, thinking "it serves him right" and "maybe if I had not scared him away, he would not be on the power line at that time." None the less, it gave me a little laugh. A couple of days later, Albert, the boys and I went for a walk, and thought we'd see if there was a dead squirrel. Apparently he survived, as nothing was laying at the bottom of the pole. The next time I went shopping, I found a "squirrel proof" bird feeder. Again I laughed, but was pretty sure the squirrel could not sabotage or eat out of this feeder. I was right, but the birds are having trouble as well. It is a cage, shaped like a large ball, with several openings for the birds to go in and eat the food out of the middle. The squirrel has not even attempted it. The birds took a while to go near it and still have to re-learn how to get to the food every morning. It has slowed down my bird-food buying though!

I hung our other feeder right out the living room window. That has been very fun to watch. There have been a couple of issues though. First, it is a little tall, so I have trouble reaching it to put more food in. Second, the birds use their beaks like brooms and knock all of the food out. I just filled it yesterday and it is totally empty today. Thankfully bird food is not expensive. But, I will not be filling it again until all of the food that is on the ground is gone! That should teach them!

Mr. Helpful

As I've mentioned before, C loves to help with yard work and some small tasks around the house. Any time I have the broom or dustpan out, he tries to take it from me. I often find him in the closet playing with the vacuum. And we really can not touch anything in the yard without him being right there. Last night I was running the water for the boy's bath and C wanted to help. Normally, when the boys are in the tub, I'll let C pour water on B's feet or belly. But, I try to encourage him to only pour the water on himself. He is not the best aim which can be a little frightening for B. So, last night both of the boys were in the bathroom while I was running the water. C was in his bouncer, C standing right beside me. C reached into the tub and grabbed the cup that we pour water with. I'm not sure if I blinked for a long time, or was pressing the mat into the bottom of the tub or what, but the next thing I know, B is crying and has a couple drops of water on him. I fussed at C and wiped the few drops away. Then, I put C in the tub and reached over to get B. The entire backside of B was soaking wet. The cup must have been totally full when C "bathed" B. He must have poured it more towards the back of B's head and straight down his back, thankfully!

Today was a little less eventful, and better directed. We had to fill the bird feeder and C wanted to help again. He did a great job listening to my direction and I poured the food into the feeder. He just was so intrigued that he managed to get his head right between my head and the feeder, making it very hard to see where I was pouring. He is quite the curious little guy.

Cradle Cap

I'm not sure how many of you have battled cradle cap, but hopefully you can relate. When B was about a month old, I noticed that his head was flaky. C never had cradle cap, so I wasn't exactly sure of what to do. I did remember my friend, Lisa, saying that her little girl had cradle cap and she was picking up a cream from T@rget. So, we headed to T@rget. Any time I go to T@rget or W@l-mart for one specific item, they are always out. Such was the case on this day. I waited a couple of days and went back. Thankfully they had the cream and we started the process that night. The first time we used it, B's head smelled awful. I remember thinking that if it smelled that bad every time, we might just have to deal with the flakes. After a couple more uses, his little head smelled normal again. All of that to say, I think we have beat the cradle cap! I was snuggling B this morning and noticed that his scalp was nice and clear. This was a small thing to deal with, but I'm glad it's over. Sometimes cradle cap can get pretty nasty. So, I'm glad it's all cleared up!

Exciting

We have had a couple of exciting things happen the last couple of weeks that I have neglected to write about. First, B slept through the night three nights in a row. He will be sleeping through the night more now that Albert is gone and I do not have to worry about him going without rest due to crying. Second, my skinny jeans fit again! For all of you new moms out there, I know that you can relate. My hips definitely spread during my pregnancy and delivery with B and I had pretty much decided that they would never go back together. I actually became okay about it. Then, my bigger jeans started to be really baggy and I thought....well, I'll try my skinny jeans one more time, I'm sure they won't fit, but it's worth a try. Up to this point, I could not get the button any where near the hole. Even if I could, they were so tight everywhere else, I was certain they would rip if I moved. Little did I know, they fit! It was quite an exciting day. Third, we spent a family day at the zoo on Saturday. We love going to the zoo and always look for something new and exciting that the animals are doing. On this day, we saw a Mama and Daddy goose with seven goslings. I thought this was a pretty amazing sight, then it got better. We were standing near the edge of the lake, about four feet up from the water. The Daddy tucked his head under the railing, moved down a couple of feet, tucked his head under again, and jumped in. The Mama followed. Then, one by one the little goslings jumped in the water. I was shocked, then quickly thought, "This is a great teaching moment." I turned to C and said, "did you see how well those little goslings obeyed their mama and daddy? They set a very good example for you. You need to obey your mama and daddy like the goslings obeyed their mama and daddy." Who knows how much he understood, but I do intend on using this one in the future!

Sweet Farewell

Today we said "good-bye" to Albert for our longest time apart yet. He will be participating in the war for the next 60 days or so, and I could not have asked for a sweeter good-bye than the one we had today.

Albert has been sick for the last couple of days, and last night the only one who slept well was our dog, Piper. So, our last couple of days have not exactly been a dream. Today we all went to the base Exchange to pick up a couple of last minute things. After lunch we headed over to a local Bar-B-Q place to pick up dinner for the whole crew, then on to the flight line. I always have a hard time the last couple of days before Albert leaves. Yesterday, I felt somewhat emotionally checked out. I was not on the verge of tears, like normal, but just wanted to sit quietly. Of course, that didn't happen, but that is where my mind was all day. Today, I was on the verge of tears, or crying, most of the morning. But, it was D-day, and whether I was crying or not, he would have to go. So, the boys and I dropped him and all of his bags off in front of the squadron. I was able to meet a couple of the other wives who's husbands were going on the same trip. The three of us decided to hang out until the guys were ready to fire up the engines. I have not hung out with many of the wives in our squadron, so this was a little bit of a stretch, but very refreshing for me. The guys all started calling around 1500 and we headed their way. They met us in front of the squadron and escorted us in. We walked through the hanger and C was in awe of the huge plane being so close. We stood their for a little while and said our good-byes, cried, and watched them walk out to the plane. The hardest part was keeping C near us and out of the hanger. One of the other wives gave us a good laugh by texting our last minute questions to her husband on the plane. We discovered that Albert was one of the pilots, which made me pretty proud. They fired up the engines and taxied our way. Albert was in the right seat and signed "I love you" out the window. I wanted to hang on to that moment for longer than it lasted. C was excited to see the plane so close, but didn't quite understand Daddy being the one driving it. We stood outside of the hanger and watched the plane take off and fly out of site. A Chief was standing with us, as we still had to have an escort, and our conversations lightened the tension of the moment. I still cried, but the tears were gone quicker than most of the time. I hate being apart. I know that this mission is very important, and I am thankful that our family is able to be a part of it.

So, please pray for us in this time of separation and know that if I seem distracted, it is not because conversation or life is boring, I am just longing for the sweet reunion that is to come.

Mr. B

I feel like I am talking about C a lot, but B is growing in his own ways. He his holding his head up longer and enjoying sitting in his Bumbo seat. He also loves to watch his big brother be a crazy man. He could laugh at his daddy all day long and boy, does he love to snuggle. Now that the weather is turning to spring, Waddle has found himself loving the outdoors. He almost never cries when we are outside. Our neighbor loaned us a beach umbrella so B can sit in the shade. He really enjoys that, along with rides in the stroller or the front pack carrier. Pretty much any outside activity is good for him as long as you keep the wind out of his face. Yesterday he watched me move garden bricks all over the place.

Both of the boys love being outdoors. C has recently taken to the mower. All day long he asks about the "mower." Little do these two boys know that within 10 years they will be our yard boys! No more mowing the lawn for this mama! I hope they still love being outside then.

New Teeth

C and B have had a faucet coming out of their little faces for the last couple of days. Each morning they wake with a pillow/sheet covered in fluid and some nice yellow yuk stuck to their noses. Allergies are definitely setting into their little bodies, but today I noticed a possible second cause to the irritability and crankiness associated with Mr. C. His eye teeth are coming through. Actually, the one on the right is half way out. It is amazing how quickly they come in. I brushed his teeth yesterday morning and did not notice anything, Albert took care of him this morning and it was not until this afternoon that I noticed an extra tooth in there. Hopefully these teeth breaking through will cut down on some of the whining that can be heard all day at our house!

She breaks his heart

C and Piper (our dog) have the sweetest relationship. They are just 3 1/2 months apart in age and do not know life without each other. These days, Piper is enjoying C's ability to drop food all over the place and get distracted while eating. The other day C was enjoying a bagel for breakfast. Piper was sitting patiently, right by his side. The moment that he lowered the bagel and her tongue could reach it, she took it. He burst into tears. You would have thought someone pushed him down. It was very sad.

He seems to have recovered the relationship though. Today Piper was laying on the floor and C decided to roll around on the ground next to her. He was putting his feet in her face and I think a finger might have gone into one nostril. She came out the winner again however, noticing some crumbs on his face, she quickly removed them! Above are a couple of pics of their growing friendship.