God has blessed us with another baby!! With such a HUGE 3 year gap :) in between Micah and the new addition we're not going to know what to do with ourselves! We are so thankful and so excited. Due date is January 6th. To add to the fun, my sister in law, Chenoa, is due a week before me and one of my best friends here, Christy, is due a week and a half after me!!
We have taken Zeke to a puppy training class for the last 8 wks. and it has been quite the adventure! First of all, Zeke is BY FAR the largest puppy in the class... It's a pretty funny sight.. and he also tends to be a very "friendly and excited" puppy on class days... I've gone through the whole humbling experience (that you usually get with your kids) of feeling like I must look like a complete failure as a parent!(or puppy owner) Anyway, on the last day of class there was a competition and a graduation ceremony (Complete with caps! It's hard to see, but he's got it on in the picture above!) The competition was to test the puppies in all of the skills that they had learned.. Zeke won 2 out of the 4 events!! He had the longest "down-stay" and the longest "leave it." (not eating a treat that is put inches from his nose when I say "leave it.") The kids alternated coming each week and this last week it was Caleb's turn, so he was in the "ring" with me. But since it was "Graduation day" the rest of the family came too and watched from the outside of the ring! I think we were all equally amazed that he won! Anyway, at the end of the class the trainer passed out sheets of paper and everyone in class was to vote for the "best in class" and "most improved." Caleb and I agreed that Rufio was definitely most improved and that Lucky was best... But, apparently, the other people in class thought that Zeke was the real champion because they voted him Best in Class!! We were shocked... In fact, I was kind of waiting for the "Ha! Ha! Just Kidding!! The REAL winner is..." But, I accepted our certificate and doogy treats graciously and praise our new champion puppy. It was all quite exciting!
Isaiah has lost his first two teeth... And the other two in the front are about to come out as well.. (I think he's going to be lisping for quite a while!) The first he lost about a week ago, and the second yesterday.. But apparently our tooth fairy is either a slacker or broke, because as of yet we've seen nada..... O.k, So really what's going on is that I AM a major slacker when it comes to Santa, reindeers, Easter egg hunts and now tooth fairies as well... I don't know what it is... I think I just have an abnormal lack of enthusiasm and imaginary play skills... But, the questions always come - "Sooooo, is Santa coming to your house this year?" and "When are you going to have your Easter egg hunt, kids?" And so, having entered the season of mom-with-kids-with-teeth- falling-out, the inevitable has happened... "How much did the Tooth Fairy leave for you?" and "WOW.. two teeth?? You must be making the big bucks.." And, as usual, my kids stare with blank faces, trying to figure out what in the world this person is talking about.. (O.k.- it's not really THAT bad.. They have learned to smile and laugh uncomfortably as they look to me to give the person an answer..) :)
All that said, in the past year or so, I have searched into the depths of my soul looking for some creative and childlike excitement to offer to my kids so that they too can have the thrill of random imaginary beings entering their homes while they sleep to leave money, candy and gifts... So, the plan WAS to do the whole Tooth Fairy thing and give the kid some money.. But I forgot! And then forgot again, and again and again! Finally, a week later when he lost his second tooth at Grandma and Grandpas, (during their "nap" where the kids were all "asleep" in the same room and Caleb starts calling "Isaiah's bleeding!" and upon entering the room I find out that somehow Abigail "made it come out." Yeah, not too sure how that all played out, but ANYWAY....) Grandma hands me some money to go put under his pillow. I fessed up to the fact that I still hadn't "paid" him for his first tooth and promised to do it for both teeth that night. We get home and I get the kids in bed and sure enough, I forget again.. So, pretty desperate at this point to be the fun, enthusiastic mommy, I try to wake Isaiah up to tell him that we have to put his teeth under his pillow. There I am, 11pm at night, in some Twister game-like pose trying to straddle four little kids' bodies sprawled out all over the boys' floor, (it's "Sleeping bag Friday") shaking, tapping, rolling, pulling, and talking (not quietly) to Isaiah, trying to wake him up! I keep saying (in my most enthusiastic-Mommy voice) "We need to put your teeth under your pillow... OK??... Isaiah, remember?? We forgot... OK?? Let's put them under your pillow.." the kid was in the deepest sleep I have ever seen.. There was no way he was waking up or even close to conscious enough to remember putting them under there. And that's half of the whole deal, right?? That's half of the fun - putting your tooth under there and falling asleep, anticipating some creepy guy with wings sneaking into your room, fumbling around under your pillow trying to find it, and then leaving some pocket change for you.... Right?? So, one more night has gone by and still no Tooth Fairy... Maybe tonight...
Prior to our week of puking, I got to help Grandpa pull some wire... 250 ft. of it to be precise... Out of the little opening pictured above... The three wires had been stuck in there for 50 years and the pipes that they ran through were corroding, so the wires were covered in rust slime. Grandpa kept telling me that it was very important that I know how to do these things... :) I even learned what a "come-along" was and how to use it to help get the wires started...
After ten days quarantined in our house we ventured back to Grandma and Grandpas again. Turns out, Grandpa had more to teach me... Back in the basement, the two of us had our heads stuck in between ceiling panels, feeding, pulling and rewiring some older wires.. We finally tracked the wire we were looking for and managed to get it up through the floor to the bedroom and then through the wall to the other bedroom.. And then came the stripping and splicing.. At one point Grandpa had me in the basement holding various wires together while he was upstairs testing them. He said, "Now, don't worry, it's not live, so it can't hurt you..." Followed by, "I guess we'll know if you come up and your hair is sticking straight out..." Great... So, with complete confidence I followed his instructions as he talked to me over our cell phones, "OK, first green to yellow, now red to green, now red to yellow..." Good, quality Grandpa time... :)
So, Micah's temp got up to 107.0 that night after we went to the doctor... No, that's not a typo and no, my thermometer was not broken... I didn't think it was possible for a (live) person to have a temp that high. He was asleep with only a t shirt and diaper on and had no blanket. I (thank you , Lord) went in to check on him in the night and he felt pretty hot. I took his temp and it was 107.0. Surely, that couldn't be right. So I took it again.. 107.0.. and then again... 107.0. I took my own to make sure the thermometer was not broken. It was normal. I took Scott's and his was perfectly normal too. So, I took Micah's one more time... Still 107.0. We got some more Tylenol in him and put him into a cool bath. As I was pouring water over him and he was playing (in a sleepy, feverish stupor-like way) I kept taking his temp. When we finally got it down to 99 I pulled him out of the bath, cuddled him for a while (trying not to warm him up again) and laid him back down. I checked on him several more times during the night and by the morning his temps were staying below 102. At the appt. the Dr. had said his tonsils were red and big and had spots... (Really, the fever and his breathing being a little labored were his only other symptoms.) He took a throat culture (gag) and then we had to get a chest x-ray and have some blood drawn.. It was hard to to hold down my crying baby while he was getting stuck for blood. They gave him like 50 stickers.. Out of guilt. :) And then, in the x-ray room I had to hold his hands up in the air while he stood in front of the x-ray with nothing but a diaper and lead apron on. :( He kept half crying half laughing in a very lethargic, nervous way. 50 more stickers... Once again, trying to buy away their guilty conscience. heh heh. :) Anyway, they started him on an antibiotic, thinking it might be strep. We gave him his first dose that evening and a few hours later was when we temped him at 107.... Since that morning he's been MUCH better. And so far, the rest of us are doing fine. But, what a scare! We are so thankful that we happened to check on him and found out that it was so high - Who knows how long it may have stayed up like that and how that might have hurt him. Oh, and here's a little sidenote.. The next morning I got a phone call from the lab saying that one of the tubes of blood had clotted on the way to the lab and that he would have to come back and be "re-drawn." (re-tortured.) I told her "Not on your life, lady" and hung up. Not really... But, we DID eventually get out of having to go again.
Isaiah has a great sense of humor... He is actually quite witty.. He LOVES to serve other people is any way at all.. He is also very cautious and likes to know what to expect.. Not at all the "plow ahead through whatever may come" sort of kid.. Since he was 2 he has always lived vicariously through Caleb - encouraging HIM to try something that he's (Isaiah) not too sure of. He watches and assesses the situation, evaluating whether or not the thrill is worth the risk.. He pays attention to and studies things that most don't.. For example, air ducts, pipes, wires, sewers... :) He's a sweet kid, more huggy than he lets on.. He gets embarassed by affection at first, but really enjoys the attention and snuggles anyway.. He is very quick to catch on in Math and would listen all day (literally) to someone read a book (even without pictures!)or tell a story... He's definitely a quality time kid when it comes to love languages.. He will talk your ear off if you get him alone!
He's also very sensitive to words - affirming or critical.. The verse that we chose for him when he was born
- "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me." (Is. 6:8) is SO him... The first to be cheerfully willing and eager. What a great kid... He's growing up way too fast.
So, we just about made it through the entire winter without getting sick... Micah had a fever yesterday and today that just wouldn't get down past 101-102 even on a Tylenol/Advil alternating 3 1/2 hour rotation. 
As soon as the meds wear off it shoots right back up to 105. I decided to call the nurse to see if I should just keep treating the fever or what... So, we're headed in in 45 min... But the nurse asked if he was potty trained.. Because if I "could bring a urine sample that would be good.." Hmmm... Now, most of you are familiar with my very lackadaisical, detached attitude toward potty training my kids... Not too interested in the whole process... (Just let me know when you're ready to go the undies-way with no messes.) So, I pause and tell the nurse, "No problem.." Right. It's 1:13pm.. Abigail's screaming because she has a splinter the size of Montana stuck in her heel, Caleb is feeding Isaiah's beloved stuffed animals to Zeke, I haven't even THOUGHT about lunch and I've got to get pee - in a cup - out of my very UNpotty-trained 2 year old. (Who, by the way is probably totally dehydrated from the high fever, lethargic and kind of tremoring a bit.) After slipping into a phone booth to change into my super mommy-too-tight suit and cape I spring into action. (Because I am such a "springy" kind of person..) While calming Abigail, talking up the big potty adventure for Micah, and fielding questions from the boys about lunchtime possibilities, I grab the saran wrap and a plastic container. Saran wrap across seat, (with slack) container on saran, seat down,
potty seat on, diaper off, Micah - who I should have used hot pads to pick up - on... We read through a couple of Ranger Ricks together, (thanks, Susan) and Caleb takes over while I yank out the splinter and fry up some tortillas. (well, nuke up some tortillas..) Caleb's taking his job seriously.. We've got a sippy cup of juice, animal crackers, and a fine reading of Green Eggs and Ham going on in there. Caleb emerges for a moment to write his name on some paper and returns to Micah on a mission to get Micah to actually say "Caleb" and not "Brother." (Because surely if he SEES the word he will SAY it the right way.) Still no urine sample... Abigail is recovering nicely, lunch has carried on. (two eating in the bathroom yes, gross I know, and two at the counter.) After lunch the big kids are on there way upstairs to nap and I'm back in the bathroom reading another issue of Ranger Rick. Micah takes over and the tylenol has kicked in... He's talking a mile a minute and reading that magazine with more fervor and enthusiasm than I ever could. So, I let him have the magazine and he reads (babbles) aloud through about 6 issues- bear in hand. Clock check... 2:45. My kid has been on the pot for an hour and a half... I would feel very guilty if it weren't for the fact that he's as happy as a clam in there with Ol Buddy Rick. Urine check... We have a positive.. Woo Hoo. As I cheer Micah on and take the container out of the bathroom I notice animal cracker crumbs floating in the pee... Wonder if that's ok..
(from Thrivent.) This was the fortune in his fortune cookie. :) Now, we really are NOT superstitious people, but it was pretty fun to get!! Sure enough, a couple of days later we got the call and he was hired. About a month later, we were eating at that same Chinese restaurant, and he got the next fortune pictured! heh heh. Pretty funny.
So, yes. It was inevitable, I'm sure... (If you don't want to work for Caterpillar, don't move to the Peoria area... heh heh) We have officially joined the 99.9% of the population here in working in some way, shape or form for CAT. :) Scott is in his second week at the Peoria Proving Grounds and is really enjoying it so far. He is on a team that focuses primarily on the BIG wheel loaders and works with the engineers and mechanics to run tests, diagnose problems, and brainstorm solutions, among many other things!! Scotty Lee heaven, I call it. Looking at big machines all day that don't work right and then working with a bunch of other people to try to figure out the problem!? Not so much heaven to me.. :) He even gets to DRIVE them.... Which of course caused an instantaneous achievement of Super Cool Daddy of the Year. We are all excited about the change and I am loving seeing my husband not only enjoy his work and do well at it, but also get paid to do it!! (AKA NOT commission-based work) He will work first shift until the fall and then the plan is to move to second shift... My nephew, Elijah, will be relieved to know that his uncle Scott now has a "real" job.
(He comes home dirty.) :)
