Raising McGees

Sam wanted to cook tonight, too.  I got him a pot out and put it on a dish towel so he wouldn't scratch the floor.  He then got his "pink" washrag from the same drawer to sit on.  He diligently moved the towel everywhere he moved the pot (it's a big, heavy pot, too!) and the "pink" washrag.  He even got mad when David tried to take the towel.  When I asked him what he was cooking, he proudly told me "Cooking circles!" and "Circles hot".  We tasted them.  They were yummy!

Oh yeah, his shirt is off because he spilled milk on it and told me "Take it off!"

Our prayer wall has been MIA since I painted the kitchen in March.  I wanted to make sure I had it just right when I put everything back up.  Today, it has been put back to work!  I will add all of the people we pray for in the next couple of days to the white erase board.  If you have a prayer request, send it to us and we will add you to our prayer wall!  If you send us a newsletter, keep sending them!  We love to read them and they help us to remember how to pray for you.

David will have his 9 month check up with Dr. Greene in two weeks and Sam will see his pediatric cardiologist Dr. Rhoades on October 22nd.  In passing a few days ago he mentioned Dr. Greene.  So we got on the computer and I showed him a picture of Dr. Greene and told him David would go and see him in a few weeks.  Since the PC visit is also coming up, we looked at a picture of Dr. Rhoades and I told Sam that he was going to check his heart.  I don't want him to be apprehensive about the visit since this is the first visit to the PC that he will understand what's going on.  I plan on doing some role playing with him in the next few weeks because I think he is going to have an EKG which means lots of stickers all over (which could be a lot of fun if we play it right!).

This afternoon he mentioned Dr. Rhoades.  I told him he was going to see Dr. Rhoades and that he was going to check Sam's heart.  Sam said "Check Sam's heart, check David's heart".  I almost cried.  I told him, "No, Dr. Rhoades doesn't need to check David's heart.  He will check your heart because God gave you a special heart."  It's time.  The conversations I have been dreading and shoving to the back of my mind hoping the words never had to be spoken need to be spoken.  We want him to be proud of the heart God gave him and while it is easy to say that God has given him a special heart, we can't very well say David has a "normal" heart because at some point he would realize that his heart isn't "normal" and we don't want him to feel inferior or defective in any way because he isn't.  He is a child of God and God made him perfectly for His purpose.  Please pray that Sam will always see his TOF as a way he can glorify God.  We also pray that God gives us the words and actions to help Sam understand in the coming years that he has a special heart and that it isn't a bad thing, but rather it was always God's plan for him. 

I just learned this week that Shaun White, aka the Flying Tomato, who won a gold medal in snowboarding in 2006, also has TOF.  Read more about him here: http://www.shaunwhite.com/bio/about/.

Buying toys that is....

The boys had to go to bed before the Auburn/LSU game tonight, but that didn't stop David from supporting the team.

It makes me sad to know that I will probably never hear Sam say "I Sam" or "Mom Mom" or "its" instead of "sit" again.  Tonight, I almost cried when he told me "Daddy put them on!"  That is his most complex sentence to date and I was so proud of him but also knew that those cute one or two word phrases will soon be just a memory.  He really is growing up, but tonight I want him to be little just a little longer.

David just loves to smile and is only content sitting up. 

Sam likes to "drive" his alphabet caterpillar.  He scoots it along the floor.  It's hilarious!  Do you see those sunglasses? 

This was the conversation Matt and Sam had at lunch on Sunday when Sam wanted some of Matt's Buffalo chicken wings:

Sam:  Chicken.

Matt:  It's hot.  It will burn your mouth.

Sam:  Blow on it.  Blow on it.  (He still does not understand the difference between stove hot and spicy hot.)

Matt:  No, it will hurt you.

Sam:  Pease, PEASE?

Matt:  Sam, I don't want it to hurt you.  It's too spicy for you.

Sam:  Chicken.  Pease (This goes on for a few minutes.)

Matt:  OK.  Here is a little bite.

Sam:  Chicken!  (He takes a bite. And then another bigger one.)  Burn.  Mouth!  Ahhh!! 

Kim:  Here drink some of your juice.  It will help.  (Sam drinks his juice and continues to eat the rest of the piece of chicken.)

Sam:  More!

I think the kid will do just fine eating our favorite spicy foods!

Pop sent this hat from his trip to Quebec.  David looks SO cute in it!

Matt and I registered with the National Marrow Donor Program this summer.  It was super easy and FREE!  Well, if you missed the free registration in May, it's free again compliments of the NASCAR Foundation.  If you are interested in joining, go here.

If you remember, our interest in this all started when the son of a friend of a friend needed a bone marrow transplant.  Ethan, who is David's age, received his transplant a few weeks ago but is still in the hospital.  If you are interested in his story, please go here. 

since our second bundle of joy arrived.  These eight months have flown by!  David has stopped sleeping so well at night and doesn't want to nap for longer than 30 minutes at a time.  Needless to say, Mommy is a little tired!  David has really started babbling a lot lately. Mostly "Bababababa" and he loves to squeal in delight.  He has almost mastered sitting up on his own, although I still put pillows all around him to make sure he has a soft place to land when he tips over.  He loves sitting up so much that a few nights ago when Matt was holding him he started screaming until Matt put him on the floor and then he was all smiles.  What a sweet smile he has, too!

Sam is becoming a very good big brother.   He notices when David drops his toys and gives them back.  Today, he wanted to carry him up the stairs.  Silly Sam!  He is just 6 pounds heavier than David!  When we go to the park he always wants David to ride on the horse.  David really enjoys Sam too.  He likes to look at him and grab him.  What a blessing!

We think they came for the watermelon. When they were done, the decided to venture out and explore our first floor.  They played with David's toys, they rolled on the rug and they enjoyed the cool air conditioning.

Who were these guests you ask.  Maggots.  Yes, you read that right:  Maggots! 

I found them yesterday afternoon, first in the downstairs bathroom and then all over!  Ick!  I immediately began trying to find the source of the infestation but it wasn't under the fridge, the oven or the couches so I can only assume it was in the trash which I immediately took out, not wanting to look too close.   Everything downstairs has been cleaned...the floor I scrubbed on my hands and knees and I even steam cleaned the carpets to make sure I got them all.  I am still working on the toys since a lot of them were on the floor.  Thankfully, we haven't seen another guest for about 22 hours.  Oh, and Sam knows a new word!

I initially thought I wouldn't share this with you because I was embarrassed that you would think I didn't have a clean house.  My mother-in-love assures me it's a Southern thing and all I really have is trash that wasn't taken out fast enough.  It's kind of funny today.  Actually, I am thankful because everything I had to do yesterday were all things I had on my to do list, I just hadn't planned to do them so soon!

Tip of the day (from Grandma Dykes):  Take out the trash every night!

Hanna turned out to be nothing more than a little wind and about 5 inches of rain here.  But that 5 inches means that we are no longer in a rainfall deficit and maybe we can start watering our grass again on a more normal basis!

I thought Hanna was going to be a serious storm so I created a very pathetic emergency kit by buying 4 bottles of water and some batteries for the radio. It seems that even Ike will be taking a different path, so I am sure we can find another use for the contents of our emergency kit!  I thought we would put Hanna to work cleaning our trash cans (see above, washing your trash cans would probably result in some astronomical fine for wasting water).  She did a pretty good job. 

Thankfully, Hanna was gone by early afternoon so we could go outside and play.

This morning I took the boys to the NC Museum of Life and Science.  It's a fabulous children's museum about 15 minutes from our house.  They have lots of fun things to do inside, but we like to play outside better.  They have a huge playground, drums, a train and lots of animals to look at.  In addition to getting out of the house and letting Sam have some fun, my secret motive was to try to get David to take a morning nap.  We have had some problems in that area since we got back from Albuquerque.  He is finally going to sleep in his crib (although he is waking up a few times a night) but I just can't seem to get him down for a nap (Mom, help!!).  My plan worked!  He slept for about 1 hour 15 minutes!! 

Today, Sam saw a turkey.  He hasn't quite got "gobble, gobble" yet, but we will keep working on it.  He also saw a bear who was shedding a little, Sam just thought he was "dirty"!  I have a few pictures from our day.  Unfortunately, the battery died so I didn't get as many as I would have liked. 

On a side note, Sam told me today "David" (long pause) "Jonah".  How sweet!  (Oh, and yes, it's David now, not Dadid).  On Sunday, he told us he learned about "Moses" all afternoon.  I love how he is picking up words!

I am the type of person who likes to see progress to feel like I have accomplished something...a freshly cut lawn, a carpet with vacuum marks, a clean kitchen table (a rarity in our house!).  I feel like I accomplished a lot last night and tonight.  We have this utility sink in the laundry room that had paint in it when we moved in and of course I have added to it, plus the water pressure has never been too good.  So last night I got tired of the water pressure and tried everything I could think of and finally I figured it out...I cleaned out the aerator and, tada!, great water pressure!  Then I decided it was time for the paint to go...$50 for a new sink seems a little crazy.  So last night and tonight, our sink has been soaking in alcohol and, tada!, it's clean!  I feel like I can use it as intended rather than as a storage bin!  It's amazing that alcohol can get paint off of lots of surfaces (just make sure you use the 91% and not the 70% because it works better!).  Oh, and lemon juice and hot water can save a stiff paint brush. 

I have attached a picture.  I wish I had taken a before picture, but there was every color under the sun in that sink including HOT PINK!  The people we bought the house from had three girls and apparently loved pink... I just found a third room that was painted a shade of pink (they painted it neutral before putting it on the market). 

I am sure that some of you are bored with my home improvement stories, but I finally feel like doing things again.  It is amazing how long it really takes to recover after having a baby.  I am so thankful that I have the energy to do the things I really like, and the things I don't.  I can't wait to get out in the yard some more!

Happy Labor Day!

I can't figure out what is wrong with this blog thing, but I wanted to post these pictures even though they may be hard to see.  I did some "art" for David's room inspired by his bedding (for you moms-to-be, this is all the blanket part of the crib set is good for...a wall decoration, or a playmat for the floor).  They are far from perfect but I had fun painting them and it makes the room a little more personal.