Leafy

On our outing to Maymont last weekend, we collected a bunch of leaves for a future art project. The constant rain yesterday made it the perfect day to make a couple of leaf placements! Brennan was pretty excited to do this art project and has been proudly using one of his new placements at mealtimes since.

A work in progress. (You might not be able to tell, but he's wearing a shirt that he made at VBS this summer. It says "God is Wild About Me". It's his most frequently requested shirt!)

The finished product. My favorite leaf is the one in the bottom right corner. I love the deep, rich red!

An Update

Many of you know that chronic constipation has been part of Brennan's life for a long time (over two years, to be exact!). After trying different remedies and enduring some pretty bad instances of diaper rash, we were referred to a pediatric gastroenterologist back in January. Despite much tinkering with a daily dose of Miralax, it didn't seem to help. The kid just seemed to leak. And diaper changes were endless.

After expressing frustration to our GI doc a couple months ago, he had Brennan do a Sitzmarker study where he swallowed a bunch of little markers and was x-rayed five days later. Ideally, every marker should have passed from his system. Unfortunately, our little guy had quite a few still left in him. This seemed to indicate a motility disorder, where things just don't pass through his system the way that they should.

We received a referral to a motility specialist...in Winston-Salem. Four hours away. Not exactly close. But we need some answers and some assistance in figuring out how to help Brennan with this issue. We headed down there this past weekend for his appointment on Monday morning.

It was definitely a productive trip. We definitely felt like the doctor was very understanding with what has been going on. We really feel like we are finally on the road to making some progress. Brennan was a trooper during his appointment! Owen even did pretty well as well, despite being confined to his stroller most of the the time!

He had some blood work done to rule out anything like problems with his thyroid or celiac disease. After doing an x-ray, it was discovered that his colon is again completely full, so we are in full swing of doing a complete clean-out.

We are waiting to hear back from the hospital there in order to schedule our next appointment which will be a 3-4 day hospital stay for Brennan while the hospital does another complete clean out in preparation for a colonoscopy. Once we find out about that appointment, we'll be able to figure out what it will look like for our family in regard to traveling down there again.

This has definitely been a long road for us to have already traveled and there is still a long road ahead of us. Brennan essentially has to relearn how to go to the bathroom (which will result in a referral to a physical therapist who can help with that process, but she is thankfully at VCU here in Richmond), and that process could take another year or so.

We would covet your prayers for Brennan! The hospital stay is not going to be fun for anyone involved. The clean out we are doing now is also not really fun. Necessary, but not my idea of a good time! We will keep you posted as things progress with these upcoming appointments.

October Fun (a rare post from Daddy)

One of my favorite things as a kid was building and playing in forts, so I took advantage of my day off on Friday to build one for Brennan and Owen to play in.

Today we went to Maymont for the morning since it was a nice day and we hadn't been there in about six months. Owen admired the goats.

This picture lacks an appropriate reference point. That branch is almost six feet up, so I was proud of Brennan for being brave and humoring my obsession with "boy in a tree" pictures.

He's like Rocky Balboa at the top of the Art Museum steps!

Sandbox Fun

In the past, Owen has loved to put things in the sandbox, such as rocks, leaves, and pine needles. Little did I expect that today he would put himself in the sandbox. Sometimes, I guess, it's just more fun to become one with the sand.

Annual

It is tradition in our family to visit Carter Mountain Orchard to pick apples. Previous years have been warm enough for short sleeves and jeans. This year was a bit different. This year, there was enough chill in the wind to merit long sleeves (and jackets had we thought to bring them!). Despite a slightly chilly breeze, it was a beautiful day on the mountain. Brennan was much more excited to pick apples off the trees (as opposed to off the ground, as he has in years past) and Owen was definitely interested in wandering all around and stretching his legs. Our picnic spot had a great view overlooking Charlottesville and the apple donuts, another tradition, really hit the spot. Ah, how we love fall in Virginia!

Backyard Soccer

Brennan is enrolled in a Good Sports class through our local Romp 'n Roll kids gym. It teaches kids the basics of different sports in a non-competitive environment. It's really helped him in many ways, including developing a greater interest in playing sports in our backyard. Today, he kicked the soccer ball around and had a blast showing off his new found skills!

Who can resist the sight of this cute little face? Especially with those dimples and four of his six teeth peeking out!

And since I'm so rarely on the blog, Brennan and I caught this shot just as a bit of rain started to fall (this is the 9th wettest September on record in Richmond--seriously, the rain can go somewhere else already, like Texas where they need it!).

Fall

I found this on Pinterest. It's a pretty accurate description of why I love fall so much! Now if only the heat would retreat to the deep South...

The Best Part of Baking...

...is licking the beaters!

8 Days

There has been good reason for our utter and complete blog silence lately. We had a very unwelcome visit from Hurricane Irene which plunged us into a nearly eight-day power outage nightmare. The day of the hurricane started off fine. We ended up going to the mall play area for the boys to burn off some energy.


Our mall outing was our lifesaver that day. Being cooped up in the house with two high-energy boys is not our idea of a great Saturday! Our power flickered a few times, but stayed on long enough for us to heat up some dinner. Then, 5:20pm, it died. We had prepared for a power outage. Honestly, having been through three major hurricanes in Florida, Irene was really no big deal. No one slept well that night due to a warm, stuffy house and no nightlights for the boys. We finally surrendered and got up before 6am. We quickly surveyed our yard and the house. No damage, just some small sticks littering the yard. We were hopeful our power would be back on soon. Then, to pass the time, we took a walk around our neighborhood. Nothing prepared us for what we saw.

This tree fell on a house three doors down. The house eventually was condemned.

This tree took out power lines at one end of our street.

This tree took out power lines and blocked the road a couple blocks over.

This tree took out power lines at the other end of our street.

We really only made it through the next eight days due to the assistance of wonderful friends who provided us with warm meals, places to rescue some food from our freezer, and places to stay while we waited for our power to finally be restored. We are so, so very grateful for their help!

On Our Nightstand, Part 11

Here's another installment of some great recently-read books:

1. "One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are" by Ann Voskamp
2. "Free-Range Kids" by Lenore Skenazy
3. "Mudhouse Sabbath" by Lauren Winner
4. "The Power of a Praying Wife" by Stormie Omartian
5. "Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture" by Shannon Hayes
6. "Same Kind of Different as Me" by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

Another First

We've thought and said for a long time that Owen would be the child that required the first visit to the emergency room. John mentioned this again just a couple weeks ago on our weekend visit with friends. Little did we know how soon that would be fulfilled!

Owen has become the child that challenges our childproofing capabilities. Just this past Saturday, he located a drinking glass that had been left out and forgotten on our small filing cabinet. Both John and I had stepped into another room briefly and not even 10 seconds later, we heard the sound of breaking glass followed by persistent crying. We ran back into the room and there was Owen standing in a pool of blood and the glass was laying shattered all around him. I scooped him up and ran into the bathroom to see what the damage was. It quickly became clear that this was going to land us in the emergency room. Our neighbors graciously stepped in and watched Brennan for us so we could whisk Owen off.

Thankfully, the bleeding slowed on the way to the hospital (after layering four gauze squares on it!). That turned out to be a really good thing because we rushed in the doors and...no one was there. No nurse, no registrar, no one. It took about 10 minutes for someone to finally come out and get Owen triaged and back in a room. An X-ray revealed that nothing was broken and that there was no glass in the cut. The doctor was able to use Dermabond to glue it shut and off we went. Owen did fabulous through the whole thing. The cut didn't seem to bother him that much; he was really only annoyed that he couldn't move his foot since we had to hold it the whole time to keep pressure on it. Of course, having the doctor take a look at it wasn't any fun either (that cut was DEEP!), but all things considered, he did quite well.

When all was said and done, we were able to see the grace of God in the whole thing. Neighbors watched Brennan so we didn't have two kids to manage in the E.R. John's quick thinking to start layering gauze on the cut. No glass in the cut. No stitches needed. And a brave little boy who managed quite well during the whole event!

Weekend Getaway

We were fortunate enough for schedules to align so that our annual weekend gathering with friends happened a couple weeks ago. We love this group of friends so much! It was such a joy to get together again this summer and see what God has done in these friendships (some of which have spanned 17 years!). There was plenty of pool time, outside play time for some pretty active kiddos, and lots of great quality grown-up conversations mixed in as well. We're hoping this happens again sometime before next summer!

Eucharisteo

After hearing about One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp from several people, I decided it was time to finally read it for myself. After months of waiting for it from the library (one copy with many, many holds!), I finally got it and finished it only a few days ago. It's one I can't get out of my head. And it's one I can't recommend highly enough.

The entire premise of the book focuses on eucharisteo. One simple word so rich in meaning. Thanksgiving. Joy. Grace. Living a life of gratitude. And not just gratitude for the big things of life. Embracing joy every day, in every day moments. We often become so busy, so wrapped up in just doing life that we neglect to see the good gifts showered on us by our Heavenly Father all day, every day. As the author's eyes opened to this idea of eucharisteo, she began to realize that incorporating gratitude in her life required intentionality. She began keeping a gratitude journal to record those gift-moments. Thus began her list of 1000 gifts (and it's still going!). Writing the gift list helped her develop the spiritual discipline of gratitude, which in turn spilled over to create a heart of worship for the everyday love poured out by God Almighty.

I am still digesting this book, but already the intentionality to see gift-moments is growing stronger. My own gift list will soon be started. And I can't wait.

Garden Harvest

We definitely enjoy heading out to the backyard and picking produce that we've grown to supplement our dinner or create John's lunch. So far, we've enjoyed lettuce, green beans, and a few tomatoes. Our tomato plants are heavy with fruit; we're just waiting for them all to turn red before harvesting them. I pulled a few carrots this morning in an attempt to thin the plants. They are small, but they should do well in John's lunch salads.

This, though, is the prize of our garden. And it grows bigger by the day. I can't wait until it's ready to pick and enjoy. We have a few other small watermelons coming on, but nothing like this one. A few that were really small have shriveled in the heat. Hopefully diligent watering will help the other fledgling melons stay strong and not succumb to this brutal heat.

Crib Fun

Water Play

In an effort to conquer the heat, rather than lay down in defeat, we headed to the Children's Museum backyard for some water play fun. We've been there many, many times, but this was Owen's initial introduction to the water play. After a few minutes of looking on, he jumped right in. The best part was it was completely not crowded, so the experience was much more enjoyable for the boys.

Belle Isle

Eight years ago, I first experienced Belle Isle here in Richmond. John and I were engaged and he wanted to show me the island. We haven't been back until today. We took advantage of the (relatively) cooler temperatures and headed out there this morning. Belle Isle used to house a Confederate prison during the Civil War. Now, it's a popular spot for rock-hopping, hiking, running, and biking. We got to see rafters take on the rapids while we were out on the rocks. Owen didn't really care about getting wet, but he really wanted to wander all over the rocks by himself. As John put it, his spirit was willing, but his legs were a little weak. Maybe when he's a bit more steady he'll get to do more exploring on his own. We capped the morning off with a picnic lunch on one of the rocks and then an impulse stop at Sweet Frog for the best frozen yogurt Richmond has to offer. Definitely a day we'd like to repeat sometime soon!

Mommy Date

Even though I'm with both boys pretty much all day every day, I don't really get the luxury of much one-on-one time with either of them, so I have to be intentional about finding ways to get more time with each boy. Our local library hosted a "Superhero Night" last night with all kinds of fun activities for kids, so I decided it was time for a Mommy Date with Brennan. He and I headed off for our date and he had a blast. He colored a mask and made a cape, completed a scavenger hunt, did a Superhero obstacle training course, and scooped up kryptonite. Now, Brennan is not much for doing anything dress-up, so I was pretty impressed when he asked me if he could wear his mask and cape. I was even more impressed by the fact that he loved wearing them both and has been wearing them around the house today. He's our little Super-Brennan!

Bean Play

With the heat wave gripping the East Coast, it was time to find some fun indoor activities for the boys yesterday. We spent some time outside in the morning, but I just couldn't bring myself to go outside with them in the afternoon when it was nearly 100 degrees and humid. Yuck! So...it was time for beans. Brennan has played in them before, but this was Owen's initiation into the bin of beans. My fears that he would try to eat them (since everything, everything goes in his mouth) were unjustified. The novelty and joy of grabbing handfuls and dumping them outside the bin trumped any desire to sneak a taste. It was totally worth the localized mess they made since they both had a blast. They're already looking forward to another round with the beans!

Making "waterfalls" with the beans was most entertaining!

Dumping and pouring were great fun as well.

Crayon Tree

With the completion of one roll of paper towels today, I found a fun activity to do with the empty roll courtesy of a toddler activity blog. Brennan and I made a crayon tree. Boy, did his eyes light up when he saw the finished product! And it gave him renewed enthusiasm for coloring...and material for a new song called "The Crayon Tree Song". He loves to sing and makes up all kinds of songs using whatever comes to mind. Pretty cute stuff!

Crayon Magic

While Brennan was coloring today, I purged his crayons of broken pieces. Rather than throwing them out, we turned it into a fun activity--recycled crayons! After peeling off the remaining paper, we baked them in a muffin tin to create a conglomeration of color. He's looking forward to testing them out after his naptime today!

July 4th at Lewis Ginter

We took advantage of the free admission to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens today and enjoyed a morning stroll through the gardens, splashing around in the water play area and exploring a house made out of branches and twigs. This has become a favorite Richmond destination, and as long as we're here we'll take advantage of the annual free day on July 4th. Here are some highlights from the day:


I can think of few pictures that so succinctly capture what life is like with Owen. He's our daredevil, our wild man -- the reason small children wear life jackets and why the tether harness was invented. This was supposed to be a "stand still and look at the camera" shot, but it turned into a "let's dive into the water" attempt.

We like taking picture of Owen sitting in trees. Soon all the pictures will be of Owen climbing trees.


Fun in the water play area. Owen's rocking the "board shorts" or swim capris, if you prefer.



Brennan's grin is due to the fact that he's standing on two of the water squirters. That's one way to clean between the toes.


After this picture was taken Naomi thought it'd be a good idea to sit down in the grass with the boys for another nice shot. Then a spider crawled on her as soon as she sat down and that put an end to that idea. The screams attracted quite a lot of attention, I must say.



Something new this year ... and pretty darn cool.



Owen on the butterfly bench. As you'll see below, we have a similar shot of Brennan, age 1 1/2 wearing the same shirt, July 4, 2009. He's growing up fast.

PandaMania!

The boys and I spent this past week at Third Presbyterian Church, me helping out with VBS and the boys attending. I preferred a little more "behind the scenes" type of job, so I got to help prep and serve snacks for all the kids. I loved getting to know some new people and really enjoyed the opportunity to serve in this way. It was made even sweeter by the fact that both boys got to attend. Owen was able to participate in some of the activities on a very limited scale, but Brennan got to experience all that PandaMania had to offer. He even asked during the week if he could go back to VBS! It was a great environment for them and I'm already looking forward to helping out next year!