Bouncing Ball

Meghan really enjoys this ball.  Can you tell?

Cows

We've noticed the cows going to pasture a few times now...always around 7 pm.  At least the fence is holding them in now!  Maybe when the pool comes out they will find their way to our watering hole again.

First Water Play

Are you wondering why the dry child is in a bathing suit and the soaking wet child is not?  Basically, I didn't want Evan topless in the noonday sun, and we don't have a swim top for him yet.

I just love Meghan's little suit...actually I love the little skirt.

The kids stayed cool in the water why I was sweating in the 90 degree heat.  The pool will come out soon enough!  Don't you just love water play?!

This Makes Me Smile

First Meghan drew herself on the left.  Then she added, "My Little Brother."   The photo (a day or two after it was created) didn't capture the colors so well, but she needed to get the blue chalk to make Evan's eyes blue, and then traced the rest of him in blue.

Meghan's attitude is improving, at times, toward Evan.  She even told me she will marry him.  (She really wants to marry her daddy, but he already has a wife.)

Shattered or Birthday Wishes or Bad Mom

Three titles.  Three reasons.
Shattered: Yes, that is my wonderful four-cup Pyrex measuring cup.
Birthday Wishes: I'm glad my birthday is in July.  I know what will be added to my wish list.  I liked this measuring cup!
Bad Mom: Mys son likes to go into the big drawer where I keep my dish cloths, towels, and measuring cups. I tie the drawer knob to the drawer below it. to limit how the kids open it.  Evan has recently become a serious thrower-of-all-things, but had not thrown measuring cups yet.  Till now.  I had kept the glass measuring cups in the back of the drawer, and didn't think Evan would get to it...At least he was not hurt.

What They Say...

Recently, when we had company, Derek and Grandpa were with the children while I was out with Derek's mom. Meghan asked Derek, "Where's your wife and Grandma?" She cracks me up.

Meghan also has been using a word for quite some time. Appreciate. Isn't that wonderful that she knows how to say "thank you" in more than one way. I think we could all use that lesson! She usually says, "I appreciate it."

I couldn't figure out where Meghan learned to say, "I'm sorry to hear that." After she said it to my sister, Amy, on the phone, I told Amy I didn't know where she learned it. Amy pointed out that I say it a lot.

Evan seems to say things like, "Look at me!" but really, we can't understand the words. He loves to imitate though.  He mimics Meghan especially.  He has her "No, no!" down perfectly, including tone.  They sound so much a like that if I don't see who is saying it, I can't tell.

Of course, at this point we have to be careful what we say.  They pick up everything.  Though we may not swear, we still say things that we don't want them to say.  "Stupid" (never about a person) and "shoot" come to my mind.  Then there is the television.  Last week when Evan was so sick Derek and I were watching a show...and Evan heard a bad word and repeated it.  Ugh.  It was just that one time, but I wish he would always imitate that easily!

Yet, he won't even say his sister's name!

Flyin' and Cryin"

This is how Meghan swings by herself when no one is able to push her.

Did you see the tears on Evan's cheeks?  He cried about 5 minutes before the pictures were taken.  His tears like to stick around.

Friends?

It's not often that we see our children sitting nicely together.  That's why Derek snapped these pictures of the children.  You can probably see that Evan wasn't feeling well.  They were just watching television together.   That blanket didn't leave Evan's side when he was sick, except when we left the house.

Strawberries

Would you like some?  We picked about seven pounds of strawberries.

After picking we went to their little play area.  Meghan loved this little play house.

Evan was fond of the giant strawberry slide.  GIANT!

Yesterday Derek and I were saying we should take advantage of a quiet weekend without commitments.  So we talked about berry picking.  (We've recently eaten a couple quarts of local strawberries.)  

It was actually not a bad time!  Evan just ran back and forth in the row, mostly sticking close to Derek.  Meghan picked some unripened strawberries, but really seemed to enjoy herself.

If the strawberry farm seems a bit familiar, we were there last summer with the MOMS Club.  That's when Meghan milked a cow.  We didn't make it to that area today.  The tractor was gone, too, but there were lots of berries to pick and this play area was great.

Upon our arrival home I made my first batch of strawberry jam.  (Then I made a second batch.)  I am really hoping it turns out.

Funny Noises

I was working in the kitchen, when I heard some noises that I didn't recognize. I wasn't sure which toy Evan was playing with, so I investigated. It took a while to find Evan....

since from my angle he was fully covered by the curtain!

Being the bad mom I am, instead of getting him down, I went for the camera.  The funny sounds I had heard were him clicking the window latches open and closed.

I'm not quite sure which route he took to get on to the window sill, but I hope he does not do it again any time soon.  Should I hold my breath?  Nah.

Iris Days

I had fun taking these pictures.  I'm sure had we planned a bit better they would have been even prettier, but I thought they turned out well.  Did you see Evan peeking behind the leaves in the third picture?

These were taken last week, before we were sick.

Under Construction

Well, I tried to change this back to a two column blog to allow for larger pictures, but somehow it didn't work well.

I'm not sure when I will have time to work on this again.  HTML is not my preferred language...or even my second language.  Hmm...maybe Derek will help.

Forgive the ugliness.

Bikes!

Flying down Air Street.

Evan prefers to push.

Meghan loves to ride.

Push.

Grandpa is keeping a close eye on the children.

I'm sure you guessed by now. In addition to the table, over the weekend we bought a bike helmet for Evan and a big 14 inch bike for Meghan! Though I try to avoid buying licensed character items on things like bikes, the Dora bike was the least expensive of the three bikes we had to choose from. I guess 14" bikes are not in high demand.

These pictures were taken on Sunday. The children have been sick since then, though Meghan's fever is now gone. Her cough is pretty bad though. Evan also has a fever and cough. Meghan will likely miss the complete week of school since she only goes Monday through Thursday. If Evan is still sick tomorrow, we'll see the doctor.

Meghan is quite skilled on the bike. Though she had the four wheeled bike-tricycle, it was never mastered while it fit her. At school she often rides the big tricycles. Here are two short videos for your viewing pleasure.

Today I uploaded to You Tube for the first time. The videos are slightly larger than the space allowed here, so click the video to see the video in full if you want. Sorry about that.

Anemometer

We live on a hillside (not a real hill) surrounded by fields.  With no trees to protect us from the wind, there is almost always a breeze here.  Often it is downright windy.  Derek got this anemometer for his birthday this year.  It measures how fast the wind is blowing.

With no ladder long enough to reach our rooftop, it sat in a box for several months.  However, it is now on the roof of the swing set.  The only downside is that we have to go out to the swing set to see just how windy it is.  (Of course we can see how fast it is moving, too, and hear the wind against the house on windy days.)

The funny thing is that the little computer that shows how fast the wind is moving is the same thing that we have on our bikes that acts as an odometer.  It even shows how many calories have been burned.  (Should I even tell you how few miles have been put on my bike?  Nah.  It's shameful though.)

Both kids are sick.  But I do intend to post about the rest of our fun purchase sometime soon...complete with video.   Sometime.

Tea Party Picnic!

We'd like to invite you to a tea party picnic.  

This Tupperware set has really helped Evan learn to drink from a cup!  It is lots of fun...even for this grown-up, to use.

This weekend Derek's mom and grandpa visited with a pick-up truck, so we took advantage and got the new table (and something else...but that's another post) using gift cards from Christmas.  We picked the table to grow with our family and friends (though I do not anticipate needing seats for eight children of our own) and it should be able to be used for many more years.   I'm don't think the blanket-style picnics will be missed!

It's Official

Tuesday morning I dropped off the application and registration for Meghan to attend preschool next year!  We had already narrowed down our choices to two preschools.

We're very happy to be sending Meghan to a local Christian preschool in the fall.  Their three year old morning class is only two mornings a week.  However, they understood our desire to have her at school for three mornings, and she will attend three mornings a week in the four year old class.  (This is, of course, with the understanding that we have no intention of trying to have her in kindergarten the following year.  Our local school has a September birthday cut-off, and both of our children have October birthdays.)

I love that she will be in a four year old class.  I think she needs that extra academic and language expectations that may not be in the three year old classroom.  She will have an IEP and speech therapy at the church/school.  The school is about five minutes away...very close!  I love that we live in a community where we have several preschools to choose.  (Where I grew up preschool wasn't an option for most families because there weren't any in the district!  I didn't attend preschool as a child, and that was normal in my school.  That has changed a bit now, and I know of one preschool within the district.)

Though I said, "It's Official," I am only assuming there is a place for Meghan.  I was not told otherwise when I handed over the check, and I think we would know by now if they didn't have room for her.

I think this is a school where Meghan will thrive.  She is not challenged academically at her IU preschool since the focus is speech.  Don't get me wrong.  She has learned a lot, but she catches on to things pretty easily.

(If you are interested to know what school we are sending her to, just email or leave a comment...I just didn't want to "advertise" where she would be because this is the internet.)

Neurologist Visit

A week ago Derek and I took Evan to see his neurologist, Dr. B.  Honestly, I know we are very blessed to have this particular doctor.  I know others waited months to see him, but because Evan was his patient in the hospital, it was all very fast for us.

There was no EEG unlike last time.  (You might remember that EEG showed normal brain activity.)  Since Evan has been seizure free, we only upped his medication a little bit.  He is now on the lowest possible dose of generic Keppra for his weight.

Sleep-deprived EEG in November 2009

We will have an EEG in about five months.  Then in about six months we will see Dr. B. again for a follow up appointment.

The best part of the appointment was some clarification for me.  When we were sent home from the hospital, we were told to get a prescription for diastat.  In case of a seizure, we are to give him this medication (Valium) as a suppository.  We have the prescription, but I truly had no confidence in it bringing Evan out of a seizure since his last seizure lasted for about three hours, with medical intervention.

I asked Dr. B. about this.  He explained that the longer a seizure happens, the harder it is to get a person out of it.  That is why it's important to administer the diastat after just three minutes of seizure activity. I was happy to hear that it will be effective for Evan.

Evan still makes funny noises in the night once in a while...and one of us still goes in to make sure they are just funny noises and not seizure noises.  (During Evan's seizure I heard him making noises, but that is not unusual for him, so I didn't check on him...for a very long time.)  It's always a relief to know he is okay.  It's funny how my view of seizures has changed...when I saw Evan having his seizure, I thought, "No big deal.  It's just a febrile seizure like Meghan has had."  But that was one long, horrible morning I do not want to repeat.  So I thank God that Evan is seizure free.  Only God knows if he has had his last seizure.

Though Evan still hasn't gained much weight since October, he is healthy and usually quite happy...unlike November, December, and January when he was teething or sick most of the time.  We've weaned him off his pacifier (again!) except for sleeping.  Before his seizure he only used it for sleeping, but it helped make him happy...so we allowed him to use it during play time, too.

Because She Asked

Meghan knows I love to take pictures of the kids. Sunday she came up to me with the bucket on her head and asked me to take this picture. CUTE!

Dance Partners

The kids were both doing the Hot Dog Dance, as usual. By the time I started using the camera, Meghan had new plans for dancing...it became a partner dance. I love how Evan just wants to watch the TV while he loves dancing. My memory card ran out of room, so it ended abruptly, and without injury!

Plugged

Yes, this toilet was working before Meghan finished the roll of toilet paper before I got to her.  She still needs help wiping, in case that is not obvious.  A while ago I taught her to count four squares and then tear off, but it doesn't seem to work, even with supervision.

Yes, I needed to get the plunger after this incident.

I guess the toddler wipes will be worth the investment, so that we don't lose a roll of toilet paper daily and plug up the septic system.

I'm just thankful for plumbing, especially when it works.