Like Father, Like Son

Do you think these two are related?

I'd say so...

Lynda

Happy Birthday, Levi!

You came to us two short years ago, and now we can't imagine our lives without you. You are a joy and a blessing to us. You make us laugh daily, and we look forward to seeing you each morning. You are our precious boy.




We hope you have a wonderful birthday, full of all the snacks, basketball, and Elmo you can handle.

Love,

Mama and Daddy

Levi's Oatmeal Has The Measles

Levi eats oatmeal every morning, just like Rob. Unlike Rob, Levi needs constant coaching to finish his breakfast. I should say, he used to need coaching...

I do not eat oatmeal in the morning. I was proudly raised on Malt-o-Meal, thankyouverymuch, and I have no use for oatmeal. But Malt-o-Meal requires more time than I usually have, so I typically eat raisin bran in the morning. Levi always prefers what everyone else is having to what's in front of him, and he's fairly persistent. About a week ago, I realized that a few well-placed bran flakes accomplished what a half hour of coaching could not: a finished bowl of oatmeal. So, we have a new routine around here, and I like it. It works.

Lynda

The Cox Family Adoption Fundraisers

Summer Cox is a good friend of mine, a wife and the mother of two precious boys. From the earliest days of their marriage, Summer and her husband, Jason, knew that they wanted to adopt a child some day. That day has come; they have been approved by an agency to adopt a little girl from Ethiopa, and recently celebrated three months on the waiting list - each day on the list brings them closer to meeting their little girl.

If you've ever adopted a child, or know someone who has, you know that it is expensive. Summer and Jason have a couple of fundraisers going on, and I want to help get the word out*:

For the month of October, they are partnering with an organization that sells T-shirts to help adopting families raise funds. The proceeds from each T-shirt sale from now until October 31st go to Summer and Jason's adoption fund. To check out and purchase shirts, visit www.goseeklove.com. The shirts are pretty snazzy (yes, I said snazzy). I recently ordered one for each of us. On the site, can also learn more about The Cox family and their desire to adopt.

If T-shirts aren't your thing and coffee is, the Cox family is partnering with another organization that helps adopting families raise funds through coffee sales. Each bag of coffee that you purchase raises $5 for the Cox's adoption. Each of the coffees for sale are either fair trade or direct trade; most are organic. The coffee website is www.justlovecoffee.com/CoxRagamuffins.

Whether or not you make a purchase, please pray for the Cox family: that God will continue to provide funds for their adoption, that they will move up the waiting list quickly, and that God will sustain them as they wait and are challenged by the adoption process. This is a sweet family, dedicated to doing God's will. If you're interested in knowing more about them, you can read their blog at www.coxragamuffins.blogspot.com.

*Full disclosure: You'll see on the Cox's blog that they are offering giveaways this month to anyone that purchases T-shirts and/or puts the word out on their blog or Facebook pages. Be sure to leave a comment on their site if you make a purchase and want to enter for a giveaway. I wanted to get the word out, but I'm not entering for a giveaway. I just felt like I should put that out there. Over and out.

Lynda

Game Day

This is the day of the year we are most happy that we don't have cable - the day OSU and A&M meet on the football field. It all goes back to the Fall of 2007, the first match-up after our marriage. We met Rob's family in College Station to attend the game at Kyle Field. We tailgated with other fans, we watched the Corps of Cadets and band march in, and then we filed into the stadium and took our seats. It got ugly fast. There was shouting, shoving, and intimidating looks, and not just on the field...most of it was between us. We didn't talk to each other for at least an hour after the game, and when we did talk, we decided we'd never again watch another Aggies/Cowboys game. And so we busy ourselves each year when the game rolls around. We track other games, we go on outings, we do anything to distract ourselves until the game is over then check the final score. The winner offers
condolences, trying not to appear too pleased. The loser tries not to appear too upset. It's how we handle it now, and it's working out all right.

We may not watch the game anymore, but we don't have to pretend that it's not happening...

This is my boy. He's rooting for OSU. I told him to put on his game face for the picture....close enough. Go Pokes!

This is my girl. She's rooting for A&M, and she's very happy about it. Gig 'em, Aggies!

And here they are together, as happy and innocent as their parents were before their first matchup. Poor kids, they don't know what's coming...

Or maybe they do...Levi's invaded her space a little too long, Wren's a little distressed...

Now he's really squeezing too hard, and Wren's had enough. Gosh! He's just like his....mother. Oh, didn't I mention that I'm the one who pushed and shoved at that first ill-fated matchup? No? Oh, I guess it slipped my mind...

May the best team win! And may we not get bent out of shape about it!

Lynda

Rome Was Built In Two Days

When Levi was about three months old, we started 'sleep training', which means that over time, he learned to put himself to sleep for naps and at bedtime. We could put a sleepy Levi in his crib and walk away; no swinging, swaying, shushing, desperate praying, or jumping through other hoops to get him to sleep. We learned about sleep training from a great book: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Wiessbluth. It has been indespensible to us. If you know of anyone expecting a baby, or someone whose child is struggling with sleep, tell them about this book! It was so helpful to us, and paid off; Levi is and always has been a great sleeper.


Wren has been a different story...until today, she's been rocked (more accurately, bounced) to sleep at almost every naptime and bedtime for the last 3 1/2 months. It's exhausting! I began to realize last week that although I love my newfound muscle tone, I don't love having to whisk Wren off to a quiet room for 10-20 minutes of bouncing - while Levi gets into and climbs onto everything I don't normally allow him to get into or climb.

So...Wren's sleep training commenced yesterday. She cried for 20 minutes when I laid her down for her morning nap. I gave in and bounced her to sleep. Her internal clock went off exactly 40 minutes later. She nursed to sleep for the rest of the day, so she didn't get any more 'practice' falling asleep on her own. "No problem," I told myself. "Rome wasn't built in a day."

I wasn't looking forward to this morning's nap. I gave myself a pep talk that went something like this: "It's only 20 minutes of crying. You can handle it, and she won't remember it later. When she's in therapy later in life, it won't be because of the sleep training." So, I laid her down sleepy, but awake, as the book says to do. I closed the door and went off to iron some clothes to keep my mind occupied. Minutes later, I check the clock. Yep, five minutes later and she's still screaming. I tell myself to tune her out and get back to ironing. Ironing is a favorite chore, and I quickly lose awareness of everything around me. When I finish the next shirt, I listen for Wren and hear only silence. I look at the clock and see that it's been only ten minutes since I laid her down. It can't be that easy! Fearing that something terrible has happened to her, I open the bedroom door and peek in. There she is, sleeping serenely, her little hands up over her head. I'm so excited that I close the door and tell Levi (who doesn't care), and head out the door to find Rob and crow about our success.

Wren has had two naps since, and she cried no more than five minutes before soothing herself to sleep each time. Weissbluth says that children who are able to soothe themselves to sleep generally have longer, more quality sleep episodes. Each of Wren's three naps went significantly longer than her naps leading up today. Seriously, if you know of anyone expecting a baby, skip all the other things on their registry and buy them this book!

I'm excited about reclaiming the time usually spent on bouncing. I'm not excited about my arms returning to their pre-Wren state. I guess I have time for push-ups...

Lynda

One Month, Two Months, Do I Hear Three?

It's been quite a while since I last posted. I could give you plenty of reasons for this, but who wants excuses when there are pictures to see? Good, I'm glad we agree.

Wren's three month birthday was Sunday, and she's getting big! She weighed eight pounds, seven ounces and measured 21 1/4 inches at her one month checkup. She grew to ten pounds and 22 inches by her two month checkup. At her three month checkup, she weighed eleven pounds, five ounces and measured 23 inches. That's a total gain of five pounds and growth of four inches since her birth. Here are her one, two, and three month pictures with Dale. Because of her big eyes, this first picture reminds me of 'E.T.' hiding in Gertie's closet:


For reference, in case you have no idea what I'm talking about:



Two months, and less afraid of this world:

And her three-month picture:

Wren's Grandma bought her this precious outfit for her first Fourth of July.


Wren must be doing a cheer in her head, because this looks like a cheerleading move to me. "Goooooo U.S.A.!"

And later, tired from all the cheering, she takes a nap like Uncle Rico.

And several days later, we tried on some hats. I really wish we had colder weather around here so we could wear this one more. I think she likes it.

It's obvious from all her growth that Wren is a great eater. She's also a great sleeper. She's slept through the night three or four of the last seven nights. And...she's found her thumb! About a week ago, Wren was having a rough day; she insisted on being held while she napped, and it took a long time for her to fall asleep. A friend came by and I got lost in conversation. After several minutes, I looked down and saw this:

A few minutes after that, she hooked her finger over her nose just like her brother:

I was once thoroughly opposed to thumb sucking, but that was before I realized that it allows my children to soothe themselves to sleep. People warn us that we're going to have a hard time breaking them of the habit and that it will cause them to have to wear braces, to which I reply, peer pressure can be a positive force, and any child of mine is destined for orthodontia anway.

Wren 'talks' a lot with a sweet little voice and an occasional bark. She is able to turn herself on her side, so I imagine a full back-to-front flip is coming soon. She loves to hear her daddy's voice, and always smiles when he plays with her.

Levi is growing and learning a lot. He's learning to climb:

He's learning to build:

He's relearning the play gym that now belongs to Wren:


He's also learning lots of words. He regularly uses the words and phrases hi, bye, ball, bowl, shoes, night-night, I did it!, whoa!, ouch, sweet, uh-oh, trash, more, mama, daddy, Pop (both granddads), and Yia Yia (my mom). He tries his best to repeat most of everything we say, and he's attempting to say many of the staff members' names. Note to Betty: we're working on 'Grandma'!

He still loves the hiking backpack. We can bring it in from the mud room, set it on the floor, and watch him climb in himself. This is Levi and Rob on the way to Wrangler Breakfast last Friday:

Levi takes a lot of pride in being able to put his boots on all by himself, usually on the right feet. And no one ever loved a pair of boots more than this little boy. He wears them to breakfast, he wears them to the pool, he wears them to play outside, and he wears them around the house just because he can.

Levi is transitioning from two naps to one, and I often miss the 'ideal time' when I should put him down to sleep. I realized one day late last week that I'd missed it again. I was nursing Wren and looked over to find Levi falling asleep on his feet. His head was resting on the seat of the arm chair and his knees were buckling as he lost consciousness. He almost hit the deck once before he climbed up in the chair and feel into a deep sleep.

Levi wants to do everything like a big boy now. Yesterday he refused the banana slices I put on his plate and insisted on biting pieces from a whole banana.

This is when he realized that the peel is NOT good for eating:

And here are the kids together. This is the only picture I've gotten of the two because Levi is a big wiggle worm. My kids. Something about it just makes my heart happy.

I hope to be a more regular blogger now that we're getting into a routine. Famous last words, right?

Lynda

PS - For a demonstration of Levi's climbing ability, go to YouTube and search for 'rhymeswithdamage' . Find the video titled 'He's In Time Out' and enjoy. You should know that Wren was NOT in her crib when this video was shot.

Dale

This is Wren's sock monkey, Dale. Actually, it's Tex in drag. Dale is still two Rockford red heel socks in my craft cabinet. Until I find the time to make Dale, Tex will suffer the indignity of wearing a skirt. Get over it, Tex.

This is Wren's first sock monkey picture. It was taken when she was two weeks old. I wish I'd had the presence of mind to take this picture sooner since she's already much bigger than the tee-ninetsy baby I brought home. She weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces on Monday, about a pound and a half more than her birth weight. Her head circumference has increased by an inch, too. My delicate little flower might surpass her brother on the growth chart.

She has an internal dinner bell that rings every couple of hours during the daytime and every three hours at night. We're getting a fair amount of sleep each evening - two nights ago, she missed the dinner bell and slept for six hours straight. She spends more of the daytime hours awake, and she's making better eye contact. I am counting down to the six-week mark, when we should begin seeing intentional, social smiles. Her sleepy smiles tell me that she's going to have a gorgeous grin.

Levi is getting used to Wren. He goes between mild jealousy and infatuation with her. He either pouts because I'm tending to Wren and can't play with him/read to him/give him a snack, or he's hovering inches over her face, fascinated by her, poking at her eyes, mouth, nose and ears. He also likes to give her 'head hugs' - he puts his head on hers and smiles. It's very sweet.

It's clear to me now that Levi understands most of what we say. I was surprised to find out that he can follow easy verbal directions and yesterday he correctly pointed out all the animals in his farm toy set. He repeated the word 'shoes' yesterday with gusto - he knew it meant he was going 'out-sigh' (outside). He's very perceptive, too. He's figured out that my ability to discipline him is diminished when I'm nursing Wren, so he pushes more boundaries then. Oh, and he's invented a cuss word. He uses the same made-up word whenever he's angry. It starts with a 'b', and it doesn't sound like any English words that we know. As soon as he says it, his frustration and anger are over. We're addressing the attitude, but it's hard not to laugh about it later.

Have I mentioned that Levi's an Elmo addict? He would watch it over and over all day if we let him (we don't). He gets super excited when he sees us put the DVD into the player. He goes into a trance for the entirety of the show. If it gets any worse, we'll have his friends from the church nursery over to stage an intervention. This is how we found him during a recent episode:

If you will, go back and check out the size of that kid's feet. He came by them honest, but still...

Our summer staff are arriving and getting the ranch into shape. Our season starts a week from this Sunday. This off-season has gone so slowly, and I'm looking forward to the faster summer pace and seeing old friends. This summer should be great for Levi - making friends, playing outside in the grass and dirt, and riding the ranch's miniature horse, Brownie (the one, ironically, who hates kids). So many who visit say that this is a wonderful place for kids to grow up, and I agree. As much as I miss Texas, I wouldn't want to be anywhere but here right now.

Lynda

Spider Monkey Babies

I love skinny, gangly babies - I call them spider monkey babies. Fat babies are great and all (but they have no pride - name that reference!), I have a special place in my heart for the babies who are all extra skin and angles. My babies are all extra skin and angles. For your viewing pleasure, my newest spider monkey:

Lynda

The Cure

My labor started within hours of the last post and Wren was born early Sunday morning, April 25th. I am left to conclude that snarky complaints bring on contractions. Wren's birth was quite a ride! Fast labor and no drugs...the opposite of Levi's birth. Levi is handling the advent of his sister well; for the first 8 days he kept asking, "What's that?", but that question comes with less frequency, and now he gives her hugs and kisses. He's always very curious about what we're doing with Wren. He wants to sit with me while I feed her and watch when I change her clothes or diaper. One day I set a stool up next to the changing table so that he could see the goings on.

Both sets of parents were on hand to welcome Wren and give Levi plenty of attention. We snapped this family photo before Bob and Betty left:

This is a recent picture of my sweet baby girl. This isn't the best angle to see it, but she resembles her brother a bit. The consensus is that she looks more like me than Levi did. As much as Levi favors Rob, we may end up with his and hers babies.

We haven't learned all there is to know about her, but this is what we know so far:

She's quite an eater. She weighed 6 lbs., 4 oz . when she was born. At her six-day check-up, she weighed 6 lbs., 11 oz.!

She's an even better sleeper. She sleeps between 18 and 20 hours a day. Unfortunately, most of her wakeful hours are between 10:00 pm and 7:00 am.

She HATES wet and dirty diapers. They send her from serene to extremely angry in the span of four seconds.

She has strong lungs. She usually only exercises them when she needs a diaper change, but when she gets going, it's of the screaming-bloody-murder variety.

We're looking forward to seeing her personality reveal itself over the coming months. Like her birth, something tells me it's going to be quite a ride.

Lynda

A Watched Uterus Does Not Contract

I must have a five-star uterus. If AAA visited my uterus, they would surely take a look around and award me their AAA Five Diamond Award. If the fictitious hotel association from Ocean's Thirteen spent a night in my womb, I would have a diamond necklace dangling from my belly. What is Zagat's symbol of excellence? I'd have that, too.

Okay, so I'm still 11 days ahead of my due date, but I'm two days past the original due date I fixated on for the majority of the pregnancy, and once you have that first date in your mind, it's hard to get it out. It doesn't help my mind to know that altitude babies are often born early...three of my friends here delivered their babies an average of two weeks early. Of course I'm the one that will go past her due date.

I'm taking more walks than I typically do, hoping to 'walk the baby out'. I've considered taking some Castor oil on the sly, until I remember the particular look my OB gives me over his half-glasses when I mention such things. I've heard some women go into labor after having eggplant parmesan at a particular restaurant in the northeast - maybe I should email them for the recipe.

If anyone knows of any other labor-inducing tricks, I'm all ears. I just won't tell my OB about them...

Lynda

The Rundown

This Easter was very different from the Texas Easters of my youth. Our Spring colors were covered by layers of coats and we fought blizzard-like conditions to the car after the service. We were able to get in a family picture between flurries. My little boy looked like such a big boy in his Easter best.

Levi loves being outside. It's really amazing the difference that it makes in a day whenever we're able to spend just 15 minutes outside. For his part, it's never too cold to be outside since he has a snow suit to wear. It's cumbersome, though - we had a 'Christmas Story' moment last week when he fell and was stranded like a turtle on his back.

I don't love the cold, but I do love being outside with him.

Levi was awfully smiley when I went to get him up from a nap last week...

Then I saw this...of course he was smiley. He figured out how to remove his diaper and run free.



He may be 17 months old now, but my baby still likes to snuggle up like the little frog baby I brought home.


I am now somewhere between 35 and and 37 weeks along with Wren. Her last sonogram cast doubt on the original due date of April 22nd, so I don't really know when to expect her. It's a little harder waiting when you have two due dates to consider. Especially when you thought you were having an April baby all along. Her adjusted due date is May 5th. Happy Cinco de Mayo, baby. This picture was taken a few days ago. I may not be giant, but most days I feel like I am.


And here's a bonus picture. Some friends sent us this OSU jersey/onesie. I thought he was so cute running around with his skinny legs that I never did put pants on him that day. That's the beauty of living in the boonies. I can do what I want. Seriously though, don't you just want to bite his little legs? Maybe it's a mom thing...

Lynda

Dear Friends and Family

I am a blogging idiot. I have had several blogging misfires over the last few days, including two premature posts that I've since removed. I would love to blame it all on my laptop, or mom-brain, or something else that would make me feel like less of a blogging idiot, but I can't. Bear with me. I'll get it right soon.

Lynda

Three Years

Today is our third wedding anniversary, and I really can't believe how much has happened since the day we married. We started our life together hoping to one day work alongside each other and start a family of our own. I'm amazed how quickly God granted each of those dreams; by the end of May we'll mark two years at the ranch and welcome our second baby. God is faithful! I'm glad that our dreams were according to His will. I can't wait to see what He'll accomplish in another three.

Happy anniversary, Rob!

Lynda

Stephanie and Clint

I returned my best friend Stephanie and her baby boy Clint to the airport today, after nearly a week of fun and catching up. I've been hoping she could visit us here sometime, but circumstances over the last couple of years conspired to delay that trip until now.


Stephanie and Clint were greeted in Colorado by beautiful mountains, snow, wildlife, and cold germs (sorry about that!). It was great to hear what is going on in their lives, and show her what ours is like here. It was also good to watch our two sons play together. We made hopeful plans for another visit, next time to include Craig, her husband. One of the great benefits and joys of living here is sharing it with family and friends that feel like family.


I already miss you, Steph. Thanks for coming to see us.


Love,


Lynda

Cheese Grin

I suppose we have created a cheese-grinning monster. Sometime in the last two weeks, we noticed that any time a camera was produced, Levi smiled the most unnatural and ridiculous smile. When he smiles this way, he hardly looks like the little boy we know. We don't know where this smile came from, unless it's the result of us coaching him to smile for the camera in over-emphasized, plastic smiles. I guess it's our fault, and we're hoping it's reversible. In the mean time, it's just funny.





Here's hoping the days of authentic smiles are not far off!


Lynda