Let’s give it up for KELSI!  Everyone was on track with the hand guess, but Kelsi nailed it with Ethan’s hand. 

Have you ever had one of those ideas that just pops in your head, and then it actually works even better than you had envisioned in your mind?  Well, I had that moment a couple of months ago.  Ethan was just learning how to count with his hands, and I thought it would be so cute to take some photographs of his hands.  Well, Clay took the shots and we’re having them framed to hang up in our hall upstairs.  (Those crooked little fingers are my favorite part!)  I just love it when a good idea actually works out!

I think that’s probably a more appropriate title for this column since I can’t seem to get it done on Wednesday.  The best laid plans…

Here we go – let’s see some specific guesses!

Well, we’re not going to count Nicole because she’s already seen them, so I’m declaring a tie between Amy and Tracy.  It’s a picture of the letter H from the letters my sweet cousin Jessica (actually my cousin Clint’s wife, but I don’t think there’s such a thing as cousin-in-law so we’re sticking with cousin) made for Rachel’s wall.  While they are very cute in the picture, they’re even better in person because some of them have a dashed border, the flowers are pink and brown, etc.  She made them and mailed them a couple of weeks ago (along with some great hand-me-downs from Makenzie) and I was so excited to get them up on Rachel’s wall.  Now the room is officially hers!  Thank you, Jess, for putting so much work into these.  They are very special, and you’ll have to make a trip down here to see them for yourself. 

Oh, and Jess has started a website for her precious daughter, so check it out!

After a very strong reprimand from Amy, I am back to my What is it Wednesday column. It just so happens that this one is on Thursday.

Obviously, these are flowers, but what are they on or a part of?

My mom, the kids and I loaded up this morning to go to Tyler for the day and spend with my Meme (my mom’s mom).  We LOVE going to see her because she just adores the kids…and me…and mom…you get the idea.  Her 79th birthday was last week, so we went to take her to lunch to celebrate.  The kids did great on the trip which was a blessing (there is a special place in heaven for the inventor of the portable DVD player). 

We got there around 11:00 this morning, said hello, etc., then went to Traditions for lunch.  After that, we went to the cemetary to visit my Pop’s grave (my mom’s dad).  I can’t believe it, but he’s been gone for 21 years.  Meme is such a strong woman, and I admire her so much.  I just can’t fathom living without Clay for 21 years.  Pop (Charles William Graf) is Ethan’s namesake, and I so wish he could have met little Ethan.  I didn’t know this until we were there, but my Meme’s parents are buried beside my Pop.  I have very vague memories of being 7 years old and attending his funeral, but I have great memories of getting very special treatment for being the only granddaughter and the youngest.  I’m really glad we went out there today.  (Shawn, Emily, Chad – I didn’t know this, but your grandfather is buried right next to mine.  I thought that was pretty neat.)

Then, we went back to Meme’s and Rachel rolled over (with no pillow assistance) for the first time!   She was lying on her stomach on her little play mat and just rolled right over.  She did it about 10 times in a row, and she was very pleased with herself each time.  I did get a video of it, but don’t know how to upload a video so I’ll get techy Clay to do that hopefully tomorrow. 

Another exciting happening for us is that Ethan is very successfully using the potty now.  I guess he just woke up Saturday morning and decided that he would do it because Clay and I really can’t take any credit for it.  He told me every time today when had to go (pee and poop), and he was very proud of himself each time.  On the trip home tonight, he told me he had to pee pee, and I asked him if he could hold it for a few minutes until we found a bathroom.  He said yes and ended up having to wait about 15 minutes – and he did it!  (Side note – this is the way the sign read on the drink machine at the gas station – The white cup’s is the ice cup’s.  Many of you know that I hate it when people use an innapropriate apostraphe…oh how I wish I had a camera phone.)  I took him to Target yesterday to get some pull-ups and some real underwear, so he’s pretty excited about wearing those.  We have the underwear put in a special place for when he’s really good at this whole potty training thing.  (Side note – I had my grocery list out at the store yesterday and it had been in my purse for a few days so it was a little crumpled.  He said, “Mommy, somebody was not very nice to your shopping list.”)

Let’s see – then we went shopping at a really cute little boutique called the Punkin Patch and got some things for Rachel and her cousins.  We ate dinner and then came home.  It was such a great day with Meme, and we’re hoping she and her best friend can come this weekend to hang out.  And please say a prayer for my Meme as she goes to the doctor tomorrow for some testing. 

I’m not sure how any woman could be more blessed than I am – not only do I have an amazing Dad who has taught me so much, loved me so much, and been there for me so much, but I also have a husband who is more than I ever could have prayed for in a Dad for my kids.  Both of these men love God first and their family second, and both of them love being a Dad. 

On our way to lunch after church, Clay was saying something about how Father’s Day doesn’t get the “attention” it should because, unfortunately, so many people in the world have deadbeat dads.  I do feel for those people because they don’t know what it’s like to be loved so unconditionally by an earthly Dad. 

Daddy – thank you for always being the head of our family and for protecting us and providing for us. 
 

Clay – if Ethan could put it into words I know he would tell anyone who would listen that he has the best Dad in the entire world.  And if Rachel could talk I’m sure she would say how much she loves seeing your face when you get home from work every day, and how you just let her curl up in your arms.  You amaze me and I love you.

We had a nice mid-week visit tonight from Clay’s mom.  Ethan talked about Mimi all day and wanted to know exactly when she would get here.  Despite the horrible traffic, she did make it and brought Ethan a really cool work bench/took set.  It’s neat because you put the thing together with the tools it comes with.  Of course Ethan loved it.  And in case you didn’t know, tools can also double as doctor’s instruments.  Thanks, Mimi, for coming to see us and brighten our day. 

Since we were supposed to be on vacation, Clay went ahead and took Thursday, Friday and today off of work so we could spend some time together.  Thursday we had a picnic at the park and let Ethan run around for a while.  Friday we got together with the Crum family at my parents house for a cookout and to let the kids play in the treehouse for a while.

They had a ton of fun until Ethan started running a fever and got very cranky very fast.  Poor guy ran fever all night long, so I took him to the on call doctor Saturday morning to make sure it wasn’t another ear infection.  Thank goodness it wasn’t, but he thought it was probably a sinus infection.  His fever broke early Saturday afternoon and despite a couple of disgusting diaper/bathroom trips (he’s actually been sitting on the toilet some this weekend!), he felt fine. 

Our friends Tim & Dondi came by for a couple of hours Saturday afternoon so we could meet their precious son, John Christopher, and so Dondi could meet Rachel.  They are right at 4 weeks apart, and they had fun looking at each other and making funny noises. 

Then the Pilgrims came over for a wonderful spontaneous visit Saturday night.  We ordered pizza, scrounged up enough quarters for some sno cones, and let the kids play for a while.  They also checked out the house next door that’s for sale, but it needs a LOT of updating. 

Then, yesterday, the fun started all over again.  I’ve been having this twinge in my back for a few days now, but something happened during church yesterday morning and I literally couldn’t move.  It was such sudden and intense pain that I can’t even describe.  Thankfully Jenny (an ER nurse) came to my rescue.  She loaded me up in her car and took me to her ER where they thought I had a kidney stone.  After lots of tests and a very scary reaction to some pain medication, the final diagnosis is some type of muscle spasms in my back.  The doctor asked if I’ve been under any stress lately … hmmmm.  So, I’m not supposed to pick up anything over 5 pounds for the next 2 weeks.  That should be interesting.  We are so blessed, though, to have such good friends and church family.  Jenny and my friend Carolyn stayed with me at the hospital while Clay got the kids settled at home (keep in mind that my parents are in North Carolina right now), and then our friends Chris & Jo came over to the house to stay with the kids so Clay could get to the hospital to bring me home. 

And you know, all I could think about is how God works His plan in the most mysterious ways.  Just last week we had all of the “issues” with Rachel that really forced us to give her a bottle and she’s been doing great with it.  I can’t imagine how much more stressful yesterday would have been if she had not taken a bottle yet, and I obviously wouldn’t have been able to nurse her.

So, speaking of Rachel, we took her back this morning for a weight check.  She has gained 2 more ounces since last Wednesday, so that’s a total of 8 ounces in a week!!  We are so overjoyed, relieved, and proud of her.  The doctor felt very good about the progress she’s made, and we’ll just keeping going back every 2 weeks for a little while to make sure she’s keeping this us (Emma – thank you for your sweet and encouraging comment.  It really did make me feel good).

So, I have a follow-up doctor’s appointment tomorrow and will hopefully get a good report, and then we’re praying for things to get back to “normal” around here. 

Clay and I were talking tonight about how incredibly blessed we are to have 2 wonderful children.  I love this picture of them – Ethan looks so big, and Rachel is always her happiest when he is around entertaining her.  I can’t believe it, but our Ray-bug is 4 months old today.  And I can thankfully write that she did not have any blood tests done today.  We were supposed to go to Arlington Memorial Hospital to try her arterial blood gas, but Clay and I just don’t feel like it’s necessary right now since she’s been through so much this week.  I talked to the doctor’s office again this morning, and our pediatrician is comfortable with us postponing (hopefully avoiding altogether) this test.  We’ll go back for a checkup Monday morning, and I have complete confidence that she will have gained even more weight.  We also gave her about 2 oz of formula today – mixed in with one of her bottles – and she did great.  The best part is that it was regular milk-based formula!  (Robin – I know you know how thrilled we are that she tolerated it)  So, we are assuming it’s safe to say that she doesn’t have a milk allergy like little Ethan.  (Now we’ll just go ahead and start praying about the best way to handle the “dessert” situation when Rachel’s older since she’ll be able to have cake, ice cream, etc. and Ethan won’t – that worry is for another day.)

So, her official 4 month stats are:
13 lbs, 11 oz
24 3/4 inches long
And she rolled over for the first time today!  I didn’t get a picture because she wasn’t too happy about it, but maybe she’ll remember how she did that and repeat it tomorrow.

It’s so strange to think that this is the same baby who weighed 2 ounces shy of 10 pounds when she was born! 

In all of the stress and activity of this week, I not only forgot my What is it Wednesday post (don’t worry, it will return next week), but I also forgot to mention that Ethan had his first sleepover guest Tuesday night – his cousin, Addi!  We had so much fun with her here, and Ethan is still talking about her sleeping in his bed with him.  They played doctor and dentist, then they “doctored” Clay for a while, and they actually did sleep that night.  We miss having her here, and we gained a lot of insight into Addi’s little world.  I wish we were in North Carolina right now with them and my parents, but at least we are able to keep our tickets and reschedule any time within the next year.