Move over, Jerry McGuire

Friday Night Videos

Here are the boys just having some fun.

Is it me, or are my elbows starting to look like old lady elbows?

A Letter to My Boys

Dear Micah and Eli,

For the record, I do NOT personally enjoy changing your diapers. I don't enjoy interrupting you from your toys to change you. I don't take pride in getting poop underneath my fingernails or diaper cream on my clothing when you move about. I don't take sadistic pleasure in having to use multiple baby wipes when you are really messy. I especially don't love having to pin you down or restrain you in any way during this process.

So, if you could take this into account and stop using every diaper change as an opportunity to fine tune your wrestling skills, that would be great.

Eli's Party!

We had Eli's party last weekend, and it was a BLAST! We were so fortunate that so many family and friends could celebrate with our little guy. Here he is, all ready for some cake!

What a big boy!

Mmmm. . . . cake. . . .

Eli got a super cool bubble machine from the Mullers. It was a big hit with the kids. Here are Caden, Lauren, and Micah in a popping frenzy.

Even Meredith and Kyler got in on the action!

Eli with his grandparents.

Here's my favorite picture: Eli with Uncle Kevin, Kelsey, Jordan, Josiah, Aunt Kim, and Kaleb. So glad they could make the trip to celebrate with us!

The Bad, the Ugly, and the Good

The Bad: Micah woke up from his nap today, very crabby, crying, with a temp of 101. Off to Urgent Care we go. The whole way there, Micah screams, "No doctor! No doctor!" These cries continue in the waiting room and at the appointment desk. I try to describe his symptoms to the check in lady over his screams, who tells us that they're booked solid, but will squeeze us in when they can. She doesn't know how long we'll have to wait.

The Ugly: A sympathetic nurse hears Micah and tells the check in lady that she'll just put us in a room right away. She and the check in lady ask some more questions, about whether he's screaming in pain or out of fear over having to see the doctor. At that point Micah screams "NO DOCTOR!" and proceeds to vomit all over himself, his blanket and Hurley (teddy bear), and me. I actually was lucky enough to get the majority of the vomit, including some in my hair. At that point, we are immediately put into a room and given a bag for our, umm, soiled items. The nurse even offered me a pair of scrubs if I wanted to change my clothes. Minutes later the doctor diagnoses Micah with double ear infection. We were sitting in a maroon colored chair and the doc's quote was, "His ears are redder than that chair." Poor guy.

The Good: I learned that a surefire way to get bumped to the front of the line is to have your child whine and then vomit on you in public. So, parents, if you're ever in a pinch. . .

Epilogue: Kedron whined later in the evening when Eli got a little bit of poop on him. As you can imagine, he got no sympathy from me :)

Pride cometh before a fall. Or a spill.

Eli had a doctor checkup today, and I always have to do a lot of prep work with Micah beforehand (the doctor won't try to touch you so you don't need to scream when he walks in the room; Eli might scream when he gets shots but you don't need to scream too, etc.). I always try to pack plenty of toys, books, and most of all snacks to get Micah through the appointment.

So we're in the exam room waiting for the doc, and Micah has been asking me for his animal crackers. I told him he could have them if he was a good boy, and so far he'd actually been very good. So I pull the container out of the bag and begin to lecture my 2.5 year old that, if he is clumsy and drops them on the floor, he won't be able to eat them. I reiterated this as Micah listens, waiting patiently in his chair.

Well, no sooner had I finished my lecture when Eli decides to take a headfirst dive over the side of the stroller, where I had briefly set him. So in my effort to catch him (I did), I proceeded to spill ALL of the prized animal crackers all over the floor. Great. Just great.

Micah just waited patiently for me to clean them up (ie wrestle them away from Eli) and deposit them in the trash. Luckily as an afterthought, I'd packed a small bag of goldfish crackers for Eli in case we had a really long wait. So Micah had to settle for those.

On a side note, we had a weird substitute nurse today. After she gave Eli his shots, she refused to put band aids on his bleeding legs because, her "biggest fear is that he'll pull them off in the car and put them in his mouth, but I guess he will have long pants over them." So she just gave me a tissue and walked out of the room. She didn't even say goodbye so it took me a while to realize that our visit was over and she wasn't coming back. So I'm left with a bleeding 1 year old, hungry 2 year old, and diaper bag contents all over the floor, as I rummage through the cabinets to find band aids myself. :)

Happy Birthday Eli!

Yesterday, our little Joy Baby turned 1! Here he is on the day he was born.

Here he is as of yesterday :)

We won't be having his party until next weekend, but we went to the park today and celebrated on the swings. We also sang to him in the evening and instead of birthday cake, Eli enjoyed some yummy pumpkin bread.

Hopefully this isn't TMI, but most of you probably don't know that I found out over the phone that I was pregnant with Eli. I had some bloodwork done and was quite surprised when the nurse called me with the results! We were planning to start trying for another baby soon, but I guess Eli didn't want to wait :) Eli has been the biggest, most wonderful surprise of our lives. We are so grateful for his first year of life and excited about all the years to come.

Let's Pray for Ann Day!

My cousin Ann is having surgery to remove a brain tumor today. If you are able to, please pray that everything would go smoothly and that she would recover completely. Her sister Meagan has started a blog to update her progress. Click here if you want to check it out.

Ann has played a very significant role in my life. She was the person who first invited me to Parkview Church in Iowa City (she was a student at Iowa when I first moved to town in 1997). So, for many of you non-local, non-family readers out there, I owe my friendship with you to Ann. I guess that also means that if it had not been for Ann, I may never have met my husband!

Stepping Stone

As per our tradition started last spring, around Easter, Micah gets to decorate a new stepping stone for us to use outside. Maybe next year Eli will be old enough to join him. Look at this masterpiece!

So cute it actually hurts a little bit

Easter's Downs and Ups

Don't be fooled by this picture. Micah had the WORST tantrum of his life this morning (an hour plus) because he didn't want to wear this shirt. It was an epic battle and really amazing that we even made it to church. But we did. And we took this nice pic afterwards.

The Mullers came over for lunch and the handy team of Lauren and Micah decorated the traditional Govig bunny cake. Let's just say their decorating skills are very ahead of their time and probably won't be appreciated by the common observer.

And again, we'll also forget how Eli has not been that good today; he has not eaten or drunk well for the past 2-3 days, has puked on our comforter, and pooped through all his jammes (and, as I type this, has just woken up and is screaming, probably due to starvation). He was also deeply traumatized when we tried to put cute bunny ears on him and Meredith for this pic:

Nope, we'll just focus on the positive. Jesus is risen indeed.

And our kids love bubbles.

Funny Words from Micah

I am ever surprised by my 2.5 year old's budding vocabulary and thought processes.

Yesterday morning, when I tried to bribe Micah to come outside with me:

M: "No sidewalk chalk; no help Mommy. Just watch Diego."

Later in the day, as we were eating some veggie sticks:

M: "These crunchy."

R: "You're right. These have potatoes, tomatoes, and spinach in them."

M: "And crunchy in them."

Also, when I ask Micah to do something for me, he frequently (and enthusiastically) responds with: "OK. You're ON!"

FYI: Today is April Fool's Day

Since I am still taking heat for the shenanigans I pulled a year ago today, I would like to remind all you readers out there not to be a FOOL today. If you hear shocking or exciting news, practice critical thinking skills please. Someone is probably trying to pull your leg.