An Easter Blessing

A week ago I asked for your prayers for my Uncle Tim who was deathly ill. I am thrilled to report that he is on the mend and the doctors are discussing moving him out of the ICU. As it turned out, he didn't have influenza. He has gram negative strep in his lungs. If he had this in any other part of his body, it would be called "flesh-eating disease."

Uncle Tim is off the ventilator now, but still receiving oxygen. He is still receiving dialysis to help clean the sepsis out of the blood, and because in the course of this disease his kidneys shut down. He could regain kidney function in 4-6 months.

The doctor says Uncle Tim danced with the kiss of death twice. His recovery is beyond amazing. It truly is miraculous. What an amazing story of new life this Easter season!

Uncle Tim has a long way to go still, but he's here to make the journey. So thank you to all of you who said a prayer or sent a positive thought our way. Our prayers were answered.

Celebrating Six Months of Craziness and Joy

Today Sam, Isaac and Alex are six months old. It's hard to believe that half a year has already passed since we welcomed them into this world. Perhaps that's because time flies when you're having fun...or because the sleep deprivation has completely warped my sense of time.

It feels like this occasion warrants a special photo post or a video, but I haven't had time to put anything together, so this will have to do.

SAM
Sam, your hair gets redder every day, but your temperament has sweetened up greatly. When we first brought you home nearly everything led you to throw a fit. You would scream so hard you couldn't even draw a breath, and your face would get bright red. Amelia called you, "The boy that hurts my ears."

These days we get more giggles and smiles from you than screams, though when you get upset you do get very upset!

Sam, you love morning more than any other time of the day. You are almost always the first to wake up and you babble away for a while before demanding breakfast. These days you will drain an 8-ounce bottle, while your brothers will take 5 or 6 ounces.

You love to play with your feet right now, and I just love your big grin and the way you "talk" to me so seriously when you are on the changing table.

I love you, Sam. And I thank God that you are part of our lives.

ISAAC
Isaac, you are the smallest of the bunch still, but you know how to hold your own with your brothers. You were the first to get a tooth, and you started sleeping through the night the same time as your bigger brothers -- even though I was sure I would be getting up with you at night for a while because you were the littlest.

You are a very active boy. You LOVE to kick and splash in the bath, and you are really starting to enjoy the doorway jumper. I suspect it won't be long and your brothers will be trying to keep up with you.

I love to bury my face in your hair, as soft as duck down. I love to watch your face light up when you are amused, and boy do you have a pout that comes out when you are upset!

I love you, Isaac. And I thank God that you are part of our lives.

ALEX
Alex, how can anyone resist your big cheeks and huge smile? As soon as you learned how to grin, you have hardly ever stopped. You have rolypoly thighs and a rotund belly that lead us to call you the Baby Buddha.

What you love most is eating! You'll eat a good bottle, but give you something solid and stand back! From the second I first held the spoon in front of your mouth you knew exactly what to do. You are always the last guy to finish eating, and we already joke that I'm going to have to get a paying job just to keep you in food.

Alex, you are the leader of the pack when it comes to moving. You were the first to roll, and now you're up on your hands and knees, rocking back and forth and contemplating crawling. Any day now you will be officially mobile. You already will roll across the floor to get what you want.

I love your big chuckle and baby grin, and your (mostly) easygoing nature.

I love you Alex. And I thank God that you are part of our lives.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

We are having typical Midwestern spring weather. Some days it's beautiful and we can play outside and other days it's cold or rainy and we're stuck back inside.

Amelia is not a fan of the rain.

So lately we've been singing a lot of: "It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring." You know the song.

The other day she was singing it when all of a sudden she stopped.

Her face lit up.

And she sang, "It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is daddy!"

She thought it was very funny.

So did I.

Jeff chuckled, but only a little.

Night Owl

Amelia is a bit of a night owl, and while she comes by it honestly (from me), I wish she would fall asleep faster. It's not unusual for her to lie in bed for an hour or even two before she finally falls asleep. Generally she's very good about staying in bed and being quiet while she tries to go to sleep. I just hate the fact that it takes her so long! Especially because I know she needs her sleep. But, you can't force a child to sleep, so I've learned to accept it...more or less.

While Amelia moved herself to the big girl bed a while back, she's been going back and forth between the bed and the crib for the last months or so. Then the other day, she climbed into the crib by herself. We had suspected she could do this, but for whatever reason, she doesn't think she can climb out. So, I made a big deal out of it and told her that means she's too big for the crib now and on her birthday we can take it out of her room.

I gave Jeff the heads up, and he made an equally big deal out of it when he came home. Amelia was all smiles, talking about what a big girl she is and how she doesn't need the crib anymore. She's been very, very good about sleeping in the bed ever since.

From the time Amelia was a little baby, we've played an ocean sounds CD in her room all night long. (Hey, when your child doesn't sleep, you'll try almost anything!) We joke that she's going to think she grew up on the coast. In the last week, she's asked for the "Mama bird song," that is on another sleepytime CD we sometimes play as we get ready for bed. The song is "Hush Little Baby," and the lyrics are, "... mama's gonna buy you a mocking bird." I chuckle every time she says "mama bird" instead of "mocking bird."

I did have to go in the other night and turn the sound down a couple notches. I was slowly going crazy hearing the occasional snatch of that song over and over and over. When I'm old and senile and shuffling around the nursing home in my slippers you'll all know why I keep singing the "Mama bird song" endlessly.

Sweet Little Feet

About two weeks ago, the boys discovered their feet. Now whenever we get one of them on the changing table they immediately try to get their toes in their mouths.

Alex

Sam

Isaac

They are currently obsessed with their feet, and so am I!

Sam

Just look at those little jelly bean toes!

Isaac

Couldn't you just eat them up?

Alex

Yum!

So little.

So perfect.

So precious.

SO MANY!

Photo of the Day

Alex

Ready for Our Billboard

My brother Dave works at General Mills, and he and his wife sent these onesies for the boys. I think they are ready to be featured on a billboard somewhere, don't you?

Isaac, Alex and Sam: General Mills label babies.

Sam: Cute as a Biscuit

Isaac: Little Sprout

Alex: I love my Cheerios (and all other food, too!)


Brothers: Isaac, Alex, and Sam