Belated Easter photo

After much attention being paid to the live baby chicks instead of the photographer, we finally got a great shot of the boys.

We've been very busy; Peyton is now potty trained, Herman has been trying to plant, but the rain keeps coming, and we've had the stomach flu go through the house recently. Paul will soon be "graduating" from Pre-K & starting Kindergarten & the twins will start Pre-school in August. They are growing up so fast.

Look who is....

...needing a bigger bicycle for this summer

...going to have quite a few cavaties filled (will have to go under anesthesia)
...WEARING UNDERWEAR!

For a couple of weeks now, Porter has been wearing big boy underwear. Wow what a difference that has made in my purchase of Pull-ups. Porter is so proud, he's been telling everybody & hardly any accidents. Peyton hopefully isn't too far behind - just need to get him to poop on the potty.

Prayer Request

A good friend of mine through work (Val) just got news this week that her 8 month old nephew John has neuroblastoma. John was being checked at the Dr's office for a bad cold, they did a chest x-ray & found the tumor. He was flown to St. Jude's where he is receiving excellent care. John gave his parents & Dr's a scare yesterday when the tumor moved and cut off his breathing. He is currently in the ICU. Please pray that they have found this tumor early enough and that the Dr's will be able to put together an effective treatment plan after further testing tomorrow. Please pray for comfort for the family, as John as a twin sister named Lilie & and an older brother Sam (2 1/2 yrs old).

I have a link to Val's blog on my side bar (Adventures of a Single Chick) & she hopes to keep updates on John there.

Questions

It's been one week since "Opa" (Grandpa in German) passed away. The boys are still struggling to understand what exactly death means & what happened to Grandpa. We did let the boys view Grandpa. I think that's when it finally settled in with Paul. He's been really thinking hard about it. Asking questions about if "Grandpa had pushed Jesus out of his heart & that's why he died" and then "What happens when you push Jesus out of your heart?". They did wonderfully during the funeral - with the exception of having to go potty during the sermon (which is what they normally do every Sunday - when the sermon starts, we feel the need to go). They have asked every day if Grandpa is still dead & if Jesus still has him. Porter keeps asking if Jesus is going to wake him up. My inquisitive boys - I'm glad they're asking questions.

We're also battling upper respiratory infections. I'm home right now with Paul who spiked a fever of 102 at daycare today. I had to take Porter to the Dr last week the day of the visitation because he was running a temp & had a cough. So illness is running through the household again (including myself - sinus infection ugghh!)

Grandpa

You were our one & only Grandpa that we knew. We'll always remember you speaking to us in German, feeding us crackers & cookies, pushing us in our swings and watching you ride in your tractor. We are so glad that we got to spend the last couple of Saturdays with you at the Railer basketball games, knowing that that was something you greatly enjoyed. You will be greatly missed.

Peyton, Porter, Paul & Grandpa (1926 - 2009)

"It looks like a hot dog"

~Another Porter moment~ (if you are not fond of poop stories - stop reading now)
The boys are still not completely potty trained. There seems to be a problem with letting go of the poop over an open area. I would think by the age of 3 that the feeling of mashed poop on your bottom would not be too appealing, but yet, there it is - everyday. Porter has made some progress. He will tell Ms. Rita at Daycare that he has to poop and will make her wait with him while he tries to poop. Sometimes it takes 30 minutes before he gets one out; and on those days he will happily report to me that he "pooped a small one". The other day he was so proud that he went in the potty earlier doing a small one & in the same sentence told me he had just pooped his pants.

But tonight, he took a dump on the potty at home (first time pooping at home). He was sooo proud. We had to call Daddy & let him know. And then we told daddy this; "I pooped a big one & it looks like a hot dog!" So, this was apparently Porter's first good look at a turd that wasn't smashed. Another proud moment for mom.
Sorry for the lack of posts. It seems like this time of year things get crazy in the house. The boys have been cooped up all winter & Herman is home more. And it's just a lot of people & time spent in our 2 bedroom home. We start to get on each others nerves because we are always in each others way or faces. We've rarely had a quiet moment in this house because the boys are being their active, loud, sword fighting selves (they are boys after all & it is to be expected). This all leads to frustration in not having a bigger house & having enough room for the boys to have their own space & for the parents to have theirs. Also, we have 5 people wanting computer time. The boys love getting on to www.NOGGIN.com and www.nickjr.com . They get around on the computer quite well - it's almost scary.

Bad Blogger! Bad, Bad Blogger!

Slap my hand. I know, I know, I've let quite a bit of time go by without a post; but nothing too exciting is going on besides the usual everyday stuff. Of course, the boys are grounded (again) from going to Walmart, Walgreens or any place where carts are used for shopping for the rest of the month. Yes, I have already started that grounding thing. Before I even venture to Walmart or Krogers, I will give the boys a lecture on how if they throw a fit, misbehave or do anything that makes Mommy have to get after them, they don't get to come back for quite a while. They are just like any other kids, they will point out things to me & say "I want that" all through the store. And they don't throw fits if I don't pick it up (which is the case 99% of the time).
It's the cart. We fight over the cart. If we're at Walmart, who's going to sit in the two seats & who's going to ride on the end or walk it at first. I even tell them every time that they are going to have to rotate during our visit, it's still a race to see who will get to the cart first to get those prime seats (which is usually Porter & Paul - Peyton doesn't have the competitive edge yet). So, needless to say the last trip to Walmart didn't go so well; it started off great, but ended very, very badly.
And telling them they can't go shopping - oh, it's the end of the world. They had the best time at Menards a few weeks ago; who would have thunk it. Of course we walk in the entrance & they have toilets on display right there. Porter & Peyton being the new toilet enthusiasts they've become since the whole potty training thing thought they should try them out. That was the only time I had a close call with melt downs. We picked up paint for the boys room & I let them each pick up a cheap foam paint brush. Of course, I've been asked everyday if we are going to paint the room today. I just haven't found the time yet to get started; but, I do hope to at least get started on it by the end of the month.
I've also tried to download the video footage of the Sunday School Christmas program, but it's not working. Will try to do it from somewhere else & see if that works.

Leaving you with a shot of Peyton wearing Hulk gloves, with his cousin Forrest & Porter in the background. The gloves were Forrest's gift & they were a big hit. Maybe they boys will get some for Easter (if they're back in stock - I was lucky to find those on line). I promise to not be such a blogger slacker again.