Buddies

Nicholas and Ella having been really cute together lately. They've been playing a lot together and they enjoy sitting in the bug chair together. They've also been playing restaurant, doctor, babies, pretty school, running relays, dancing and doing exercises. Of course, things tend to get out of hand occasionally and someone ends up hurt and/or in tears but then we quickly get ourselves put back together and then they're joined at the hip all over again.

Freakishly Smart

Warning: Do not read any further if you are uncomfortable with me bragging on my son's smarts. I won't do this often but I feel the need to share today's revelations because sometimes a Mommy just has to immortalize the musings of her bright 5-yr-old. Having said that, let me share this......

Today at Ella's preschool, one of Niko's former teachers from the 3's class stopped to talk to us and asked if Niko is just reading everything these days. I said yes and that he's very much into presidents right now. Miss Nancy then asked him who the 16th president was and he replied,"Abraham Lincoln." O.k. Then he clammed up when I asked him a few more questions so we dropped the subject. I was telling Lenn about the conversation at dinner and we decided we'd just see if the boy had any more tricks up his sleeve. I said,"Nicholas, who was the 4th president?" Without hesitation he said,"James Madison." Then I asked him who the 10th president was and he said he didn't want to answer any more questions but that he did know the answer. I asked him if he knew how many children the 10th president had and he said "15." The only president to have 15 children was the 10th president, John Tyler. He's been reading/devouring/memorizing a book called "Wooden Teeth and Jelly Beans" about interesting presidential trivia. How can he pull facts from that book out of thin air when I'm asking him about his presidents placemat? As Lenn was putting Nicholas to bed, he asked him who the 7th president was and he replied,"Andrew Jackson" but he seemed kinda shy about answering Daddy. Lenn explained to him that Mommy and Daddy have to look up the answers to those questions and Nicholas then seemed to think that knowing the presidents inside and out is big stuff! Unbelievable.

The Month of Mae

One month old Baby Mae with a raging case of newborn acne

Yeah!! Niko is healthy and can hold Mae again!

Ella's buried in the leaves!!

Playing in the leaves

"Boofus" the pumpkin

Nicholas carving our pumpkin (note the tongue action)

Baby Mae is one month old today! Wow! In many respects, the time has flown by, but it has also been quite a month of highs and lows. The joy that Mae brings has made the stresses of this month so much easier to deal with. I've decided that we need our own name plaque on an exam room door at the doctor's office. If there's a childhood ailment, we've had it this month. If I may run down the list.......

*Slow weight gain--Mae--resulting in 2 trips to the doc
*Breastfeeding issues/pain when feeding?--Mae--one trip to doc, two trips to breastfeeding support group
*What is this huge ulcer on my daughter's tongue??--Mae--trip to doc--thrush
*Coughing/Fever/Ear infection/pneumonia--Nicholas--3 trips to doc; one trip to lab for x-rays!
*Flu shots--Niko and Ella--occurred during a sibling trip to doc
*Coughing/Fever/Ear pain/ear infection--Ella--took to the doc today!!!
And we get to go back Friday for Mae's 1 month check-up!

We're praying that we're getting all the crud out of the way now and it will be smooth sailing through the winter.......it never hurts to hope for the best!

Mae has started to rally with her weight. As of yesterday, the 20th, she weighed 8 lb 15 oz so we've come a long way from her low of 7lb 7oz at the hospital. She's starting to watch us some and look in our direction if we speak to her. The kids are still completely infatuated with her. What a blessing!

Fall fun at Beasley's Orchard and Pumpkin Patch

Nicholas and Ella with the pumpkins at Beasley's Orchard

This is what happens when we say,"O.k., be silly!"

Big fun on the hayride to the pumpkin patch

Our selection from the pumpkin patch......slim pickins today.....not a good year for pumpkins!

Feeling so much better after nearly 2 weeks of being sick

Peek-a-boo!

The Detwiler Girls in the cornfield

Having a blast at Beasley's Orchard

The future Tiger Woods?

Oh happy day! Niko's very own golf clubs!!!

Nicholas and Joshua.....future PGA champions

Boys and their toys

Yesterday was a huge day in the life of our little boy. Daddy presented Nicholas with his first set of real golf clubs (sure......he's had a plastic set of Snoopy clubs for a few years but do those really count?). Lenn had found a used set of child's clubs from a grandma selling them on Craigslist and gave them to Niko yesterday. Nicholas has been obsessed with golf lately so it was fun to watch his face just light up when he received his clubs. His best friend, Joshua, got to come over for a playdate later in the afternoon and since Joshua is also an avid golf fan, he too brought his own clubs. Awesome.

Sweet Mae Pie

Woe is me......Mae must be having a troublesome dream

Biggie girl!!

Mae with her Daddy

Our baby girl is getting bigger.....she's such a joy and she's becoming more comfortable with her busy, loud family. Nala is really sweet because she camps out on the floor close to wherever Mae is. We're ready for Niko to be healthy again so he can hold his sister. He's so cute with her all the time but especially in the mornings......every morning he greets her with "Rise and Shine, Mae!" which he says in this sweet voice. Cute! And Daddy is quite sweet on her too. Mae and Daddy usually get some good bondy time in the evenings. I can tell already that she loves her Daddy.

Cabin Fever

Losing our sanity!!

Professor B. Nicholas from Building School

We're losing it around here between Niko's bout of pneumonia (we're on day 12 of him being sick) and the 48 hours of rain we just endured. Nicholas really isn't supposed to be outside much, even if the weather is decent, b/c it just gets him coughing, but he's feeling so much better and has so much energy built up that he needs to burn off......it's a vicious combination. Add to that, Lenn's working today. Yuck. So, we're doing our best to all get along, to not catch Niko's germs and to keep the bickering to a minimum (Mommy included!). I'm praying that this bout of Nicholas is it for the fall/winter......if we could have it out of the way, wouldn't that be wonderful?

We're trying to come up with creative things to do to pass the time. One of our favorite play ideas is "Pretty School".......that's what Ella calls preschool so we play preschool a lot around here. Yesterday, Nicholas created, initiated, directed Building School and he was Professor B. Nicholas......the "B." stands for Builder, he said.

New pictures to share

Mae with her eyes open!!!

Ella at one month old and Mae at 12 days old

Ella laying with Mae and holding her hand

Nicholas, Mae and I are here at home this morning while Ella and Daddy are at church. Nicholas is still sick with a sinus infection and I wasn't quite ready to expose Mae to the mass of people at Chapel Rock. There's enough germs around here to keep her away from.......I'm not ready for cold and flu season!!

So, we thought we would send out some new pictures of Ella laying with Mae and Mae caught with her eyes open......Mae is spending more time alert these days but trying to get a good picture of a 12-day-old newborn looking at the camera is a challenge. We think she's a doll even if the camera can't quite capture her cuteness!!!

Nicholas says,"Right now I'm just playing with a new coin and some coasters. " Sorry, I thought I'd get him to share some more of his insights but he's not in the mood right now.

Have a blessed day.

On our own

My in-laws headed back to Nappanee today after staying with us for 2 weeks. What a blessing it was having them here to entertain Niko and Ella, to do laundry and prepare meals, to dust and sweep, to drive us to doctors' appointments and to go up and down the stairs with my children when I couldn't, to be a source of companionship and encouragement as we became a family of 5. I am so grateful for everything they did and I would not have made it through the last 12 days without their help. A HUGE THANK YOU to Carl and Evelyn. God has truly blessed me with wonderful in-laws.

So, now we're on our own. We've got a sick 5 yr old, a 2 yr old who's acting her age much of the time, and this delicious little bean in my lap. Feels like a full plate but it is all so wonderful (except the sick part). One day at a time and really one moment at a time.....I'm savoring all the moments as they spontaneously unfold......Ella wanting to lay on the couch with "Mae Mae", Nicholas praying at dinner that Mae will be a healthy and strong baby, Ella and Nicholas playing "deliveries" and "bad guys". You just can't choreograph or predict how these 3 will interact in a given day and yet it is blissfully sweet to watch them be siblings. That's not to say that all interaction are so lovely.....there's plenty of "Nicholas, don't cough around the baby.", "Nicholas, get away from your sister (Ella).", "Ella, don't hit Bubby.", "Ella, get out of Mae's face." I do feel like a policewoman part of the time but that's one of the joys of motherhood......the wearing of ever so many hats.

If you're still reading, thank you. Journaling here is my therapy for today. Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring......