Our Weekend

We whiled away the days fighting fevers, wiping noses, and playing lots of R2D2 Trouble on Mommy and Daddy's bed. Good times. Good times.

Oh, and this Guy was busy cutting Tooth #1, which finally made its appearance Sunday morning. Bottom left. Jones is by far my earliest teether! I think O was 13 months and Nosy 10 months before getting any teeth. My Baby is growing up.

Compartmentalization

When things get crazy and the house has to be straightened and the boys just keep dragging out more stuff...

Compartmentalize your children. It works wonders.

(The Biggies actually crawled in this box with their Legos all on their own. I think they're camping out in there for the day. Next up: School in a Box!)

The God Who Sees Me

Disclaimer:

If you are not interested in a post mostly about diabetes, you might as well skip this post.

I have been struggling, struggling, struggling. Really struggling. Diabetes is over-taking my whole life. Noah is having such an awful time and no matter what we do, he is not improving. It breaks my heart, stresses me out, frustrates me immensely. I ache for Noah.

Let me back up a bit. Things with the Omnipod overall are improving. Although we still have many more malfunctions than the average person (at least one a week), Nosy is happy with having fewer shots. About a month ago, Noah announced, after weeks of crazy, full-blown fits whenever we had to change his pod, that he was no longer going to scream and cry. It did not help it hurt any less. And so now he doesn't. It was that easy. He decided and that was it. Now he just squeezes the tar out of my hand and squeezes his eyes shut really, really tight until it's over. My brave, brave, super mature Boy. Breaks. my. heart.

Anyway, the pod is going better, but Noah's sugars continue to be AWFUL!! They swing from super high to super low all day long. This weekend, we had 7 very low sugars in a 24 hour period followed by 18 hours of sugars in the high 300's. (Noah's ideal blood sugar is 160. His acceptable range is 100-200.) Jeremy and I organize all of his data in a spreadsheet and just stare at it, sick to our stomachs, for hours, trying to tweak this and inch that up or down, trying to keep Noah in range. It is not working. The hospital has said we are on our own. "Bring your data to the hospital every 3 months for his check-up. Otherwise only call in an emergency." And good luck with that! I've had two emergencies in that past 2 months and, not only did I not get to talk to a nurse right away, I did not get called back for over 3 hours each time. We are at our wit's end! We have gone from checking Nosy's sugars 6-7 times a day to now checking at least 9 times a day, usually at least 3 times in the middle of the night. I think about diabetes constantly. I can not look at sweet Nosy without analyzing his coloring, his activity level, his mood, wondering if he is too high or too low. It makes me nauseous.

And poor Noah. As he gets older, the swings are effecting him much more dramatically. When he is low, it is as if he is having a panic attack in the midst of a really severe temper tantrum. He gets unreasonable, screaming and crying and thrashing. He can not control himself. Thankfully, I have learned to check his sugar prior to disciplining him. The highs make Nosy crazy-hyper, uncontrollable, with absolutely no attention span. He can't sit still or concentrate at all.

So do you see why diabetes is all-consuming? It used to be bad, but not nearly this bad. And so I've been praying a lot about it. A lot.

This is what I have learned.

God is in charge of Noah.

God loves Noah more than Jeremy and I love Noah.

God holds precious Noah in the palm of His hand.

He has proven this to me over and over. I can not tell you how many times I startle awake in the middle of the night, thinking, Noah must be low (even though all rationality would say it would be impossible for him to be low based on earlier circumstances in the night). I try to shake it off and go back to sleep, but I can't. I get up, check Nosy and, sure enough, low. That is God taking care of Noah.

What a comfort!!

One time, I sat up in bed, wide awake, confident something was wrong with Nosy. I ran in to his room to hear the pod malfunction alarm ringing. He was under so many blankets that I couldn't hear the alarm on the baby monitor. I had already done my last blood sugar check for the night, so if God had not wakened me up, Noah would have gone for several hours without any insulin.

God is taking care of Noah always, especially when I can not.

I have been reading Genesis in my quiet time lately. I love how Hagar calls the LORD "The God who sees me" (Gen 16:13). God sees me. He sees me struggle. He sees me worry and fret and try to control things the best I can. He sees me try to keep it all together and be productive when all I really want to do is crawl in bed and bawl. He sees me. And He loves me. And He is with me very step of the way. And not only that. Those promises are true for Noah too. He is always watching over my Noah. I praise Him for these truths and how He has lived them out in my life. I can trust the God who sees me. And sees Noah. And loves us so. And that is all I need to do right now. Trust Him.

Baby in a Basket

This is Jones. In a laundry basket. We call it sit up training. Jonah is doing a great job sitting up, but he still topples over pretty easily. So we stick him in a basket with his favorite toys. Now he's safe while we bustle around or play near by. Of course, in true Jonah style, he was cracking up until I got the camera out. Then he'd barely crack a smile.

Halpin Birthday Bash

We had so many very loved people to celebrate when we all gathered at Julianne's house for dinner.

Oliver, Will, Owen, Gigi, Papa and Laura Ann all have birthdays in late January or early February. We had a great time celebrating each one!

The birthday bunch...plus a few.

These three little boys were all so excited to blow out the candles and open gifts.

I have never gotten a picture of Laura Ann and me. So here we are!

We had such a great time just being together with our huge, crazy family. Celebrating this way, we get to draw out the birthday just a little bit longer. Thanks, Julianne and Rob, for hosting us!

The Cookie Cake

Every year, we have the same birthday preparation tradition. The Birthday Boy gets to go to Walmart (whoo-hoo!) with Mommy to select the exactly perfect cake mix, icing and decorations for their birthday cake. This year, O completely surprised me with his request for sugar cookies. Sugar cookies?? Yes, birthday sugar cookies. Sure, honey, whatever makes your day special!

So I had the great idea of making a sugar cookie cake, invisioning a nice, big, round cookie to decorate. Sounds easy enough, right? I have never had cookie dough that gave me this much trouble. Notice there is not a picture of the whole cookie cake. It turned out to be an uneven blob, burnt around the edges, squishy in the middle. What a mess! Oh well. We spread some icing on it, thoroughly sprinkled it, wrote some happy birthday words on top and called it a cake.

The birthday boy was thrilled with the result, and that is all that matters! At least it tasted great.

We enjoyed breakfast for dinner (O's choice) while watching a little more of the Star Wars movies. What a great day spent celebrating our super special firstborn!

Mickey D's with Pals

Way back in February of last year, right after our first trip to the Great Wolf Lodge, the boys had a conference with each other. The result of this conference? They voted unanimously to fore go their next birthday parties to take a family trip to Great Wolf instead. Considering that their next parties were almost a whole year away, Jeremy and I did not pay too much attention. You know how the minds of little boys can change over time. However, as the months have passed, O and Nosy have stuck to their wish for an overnight at Great Wolf Lodge. Wish granted! We will be visiting that great indoor water park late February. (I'd better start getting into swimsuit shape! :-< )However, once O's actual birthday rolled around, we couldn't just let the day go unrecognized altogether by his friends.

We had a tiny, informal get-together with some of Owen's soccer team at McDonald's for ice cream and play time. No gifts or anything, just a chance to sing to O and celebrate him a bit.

We all had a really great time, even though it was seriously 85 humid degrees in the sweaty play area. It was so hot that Jeremy, Gigi and Jones had to evacuate to the cooler adult seating area due to heat-induced nausea.

Gigi and the birthday boy!

Amazing Jake's

The Birthday Boy always gets to pick one special family activity to celebrate his special day. Something like putt-putt or bowling or Chuck E. Cheese. This year, O stepped it up a bit and mentioned Amazing Jake's, the grown up (and expensive!) version of Chuck E. Cheese. We decided to go for it, and I am so glad we did! Gramps and Yaya (who came with coupons in hand-yay Yaya!) met up with us to celebrate O.

Once we got there, we realized that Friday lunch is not a very popular time at Amazing Jake's. We were the only ones there most of the day! We got the royal treatment with only our favorite pizzas on the buffet, free balloons and a birthday badge for O, and no lines for any of the games and rides.

Ready for some fun! (Jones was napping)

Opening gifts

We rode the go carts over and over again. We could stay on them as long as we wanted!

The carousel is always a fave.

This picture cracks me up! Jeremy and my Mom had a blast hunting bears and deer on this red neck hunting game. Never thought I'd see my Mom or my husband packing a rifle!

Our very favorite thing to do was the laser tag. Gramps, Yaya and the Boys had never played before. It was so much fun guarding our bases and sneaking up on each other...although something about shooting my son just feels wrong. The vest was almost as big as Nosy, but that didn't stop him from getting a good many shots in. We had so much fun!

What a great birthday celebration!

O's Big Day Dawns

OWEN IS SIX!!!!!

This birthday has been the most anticipated birthday yet. O could hardly wait to bounce out of bed on his big day. His mind was full of spectacular plans to celebrate.

Daddy had the day off. Hooray! We bundled up and headed to the donut store for some yummy breakfast and to set our plan for the day. This year, O decided to branch out a little from his normal choice of sprinkled donuts. Ever since sampling my apple fritter on Nosy's birthday, he had been excited to have his very own. How disappointed we were that they had just run out of fritters! O had a great attitude though and quickly switched to a sausage roll and a blueberry cake donut. Kind of random choices, but he was happy!

Home to open gifts! Owen is always so gracious to let little brother be involved. Jeremy was a little concerned when I told him we had gotten O a globe and a rocket ship clock for his birthday. "Where are the fun gifts?" I assured him O would be thrilled. And he was!! O is fascinated with maps and geography, and the clock projects planets on his ceiling. He was so excited. (O's big gift, an electric drum kit!, definitely deserves a post of its own. It had not yet arrived by mail for O's big day.)

I can't believe my first born is really six. And yet, as we went throughout our day, there were so many times when I was impressed with his maturity. Whether it was a great, flexible attitude when disappointed, sharing his special moment with his brother, or being so grateful while receiving gifts, my little boy is growing up so well. I am so proud of him and the character he is developing.

Six.

I can not believe you are six, Owen Jeremiah.  Where has the last year gone?  You are growing in leaps and bounds, taller and lankier...and smarter and wiser. 

You have taken your role as eldest brother very seriously lately.  I can not think of a better role model for the younger two than you.  You are sweet to them and caring and considerate and thoughtful.  With Jones, you are only gentle and kind, and that Tiny Boy adores you.  With Nosy, well, you two have your moments of complete knock down-drag out fighting, but mostly you guys are the very best of friends.

These past six months have been our most challenging yet. You have discovered the world of sass and are giving it a whirl. Toss in some great foot stomping and pouty, disrespectful faces and you've got quite a mess.  It has not been fun for either of us as you experiment, but we'll get it nipped in the bud.  I have to, before you are bigger than me.

This is the O we see most of the time though.  You are funny and witty and love to tell jokes that crack yourself up.  You are contemplative and a math genius, I am sure, and so sensitive.  You balk at school, but it comes so very easily to you.  You are so athletic and have recently become even more enamoured with Lego construction than ever before.  You are quite the artist and enjoy drawing when it's quiet around the house.

You have the best laugh ever, full of pure delight.  You still love to snuggle with me, and I will take advantage of that fact as much as I can.  I know the day is coming...I can't even think about that right now.  You are competitive and are learning to be a good sport, sometimes the hard way.

You are a joy, Owen, a pure joy.  I love spending my days with you. And when I get frustrated and tired of the disciplining, I focus on the fact that I know God has a special calling on your life.  It is our job to ready you for that calling, whatever it may be.  I focus on that and the fact that you are not going to be little forever and how very much I will one day long for these tired days again. 

I am so very thankful that God chose to bless us with you.  You are amazingly wonderful.  And now you are six.  I love you more than you can ever know.

7 Months: Giggle Box

This gorgeous Boy is 7 months old and is more fun than ever!

We have lately learned that Jonah is as obsessed with balls as Big Brother Noah. Very rarely does this Guy cry, but take his ball away and the alligator tears start to roll. Bring the Boy a ball, and the arms and legs start a-flapping. He does love balls!

Jonesy's other favorite past time is his bath. Whether in my deep black kitchen sink or in the tub, alone or with his brothers, this kiddo will splash and kick until he turns into one big prune. He is still a pretty wobbly sitter, so the slippery bathtub can be a challenge, but he loves every second of it!

Outside! Jones cannot get enough of being outside. We can't wait for the weather to warm up some so we can enjoy the outdoors a whole lot more!

Something new Jonah has started this month: He pants with excitement, especially when he wakes up happy from a nap. He will chit-chat with himself until someone comes to fetch him from his crib. As soon as his door opens, he starts flapping and panting with joy. It is the cutest thing!

He also laughs a ton! Such a happy baby with the sweetest little giggle. I keep trying to capture it on video, but in true Jonah style, as soon as I get the Flip out, he clams right up. Oh how I treasure his little laughs though!

Jones, you bring such joy and blessing to our family. We all love you so, so much. We love to celebrate the new things you are learning, and we are excited to see your personality grow bigger and bigger. We thank God for you!

Our New Year's Day

What a great, funtastic way to spend the first day of 2011! We watched a lot of football, ate a lot of good food, and had a flying Flexeez contest. What's a flying Flexeez?? We each created our very best, aerodynamic flying contraption out of Owen's Flexeez. Then we raced them across the house, measuring whose could zoom the farthest. After many tweaks and adjustments, it was determined that Daddy's Chinaman (thus named because of its resemblance to a Chinese star) was by far the most aerodynamic. It beat out Miss Priss, the Noah-saucer and O's Superhero every time.

Happy New Year!

Ringing in the New Year with my very favorite person and some sparkling grape juice. Life couldn't be better!