A flood and heaven

So our 11 year old cat passed away this morning.  Justin and I got merlin right after our honeymoon.  She was a great fun kitty.  She would even play catch with you!  Justin would hike the toy mouse from across the room and she would stand up on her back legs and catch the mouse!!  I found one of her baby teeth in our bed one time too.  She has lived in Boone, Louisiana, Maryland, Burlington, Chicago, Auburn, and Michigan.  As she got older, she got fatter and fatter and loved to talk.  I was trying to find a home for her for this summer since I will be gone and hadn't had any luck.  I guess kitty heaven is a great place to go!

So last night Will helped me with dishes and then continued to play with water at the sink.  I was in the living room with Eric and Caroline.  I hear Will call for me that he is wet.  Since it was just about bath time I told him no big deal but he was adamant that I come in the kitchen.  SO I went in and there was water pouring out from the cabinets under the sink!!  Water was flowing down every grout crack and there was no water coming out of the faucet.  So I turned the water off at the handle and started soaking up all the water on the floor.  Caroline had come in to see what was going on and was standing by the sliding glass doors.  She mentioned that she had gotten dripped on and wondering how that happened and where it came from I look up.  There was water all over both parts of the sliding door and the ceiling!  I guess it needed dusting!  I ended up using every kitchen towel I had to mop up the water, emptying out the contents of the cabinets, and using 2 bath towels to get the water out of the cabinets.  Then I walked around to the backside of the kitchen sink (half bath) and noticed there was water on the floor there too!  It had gone under the floor!!  All the water had tripped the outlet for the disposal and dishwasher too.  But the switch to get those going again wasn't on the outlet they were plugged into, oh no, the switch was on another outlet up on the counter.  LOTS of water!  The faucet hose had just come unscrewed from the handle part.  Easy fix and I will check it periodically to make sure it is tight before letting Will wash dishes again!!

Old lady Merlin

Uncle Paul, you still want to come for a visit?!  I might be down a cat but I'm sure something fun will happen if you come!

My Will

So what has been going on with Will lately?  Lots!!  As I JUST said to him, "don't hit your sister", he tells me but she hit me!  I reminded him that we don't hit.  His response?  "But it's the golden rule!"  Well I guess I get that logic (if you're 4!).  If she hits him then she must want him to hit her, right?
But on Friday Will and I went to a pediatric food allergist.  A different one than I took him too in Nov. 09. He has always had stomach problems since he was little.  It always seemed his stomach would hurt when he would lay down.  Sometimes it would hurt enough to make him throw up (sometimes at the table).  So in Gaithersburg Justin said why don't we try eliminating dairy.  So we did and that helped, until recently when his stomach would hurt all the time.  When it hurts he wants to eat more and more and more and drink lots of water.  He won't complain that it hurts just ask for food, ALL day long.  He describes it as a hungry hurt.  So his pediatrician suggested going to this guy.  I knew there would be more testing and it wouldn't go well (based on last time), so I got a friend to watch Eric for me.  It turned out to be the longest I had ever been away from him!
They did redo the skin prick test, which he hated with a passion and I have to hold him down and listen to him scream for them to stop.  He then sat with out touching his back for 20 minutes while things itch.  And all for the same results.....nothing!!  So then on to the right under the skin test (for got the real name).  It is just like a TB skin test where the needle goes right under the skin and they inject the fluid and make the skin bubble.  Well if the scratch test was bad this test was the worst possible thing.  They had to prick him 8 times!!! He could see the needle coming at his upper left arm.  Still had to hold him down.  I hated it.  This test did reveal slight reactions to milk, wheat, corn, rice, and lactabumin.  The only one we have to avoid is milk/whey.  So now to reading lots of labels and making his tummy feel better!  I also have to give him prilosec everyday.  We go back to the allergist at the end of May to see how he is doing and then he told me he would tell me how to "cheat" on the diet.


So on the hour long ride back to get Eric, Will saw a helicopter flying near us.  He said, "look mom, a helicopter is coptering!"  Grandaddy overheard him say this and said, "I know exactly what he is talking about and what a great way to describe it!"  Will is still a big fan of cars, trucks, planes, and trains and they make him so excited!  We also saw "granddaddy's plane" on that saw trip!

One more Will story.  Last week after having a snack of a clementine and pistachios he told me his blood sugar was low.  What I asked him.  It can't be you just ate a clementine that's sweet.  He replied that he needs some candy to make his blood sweet again!!  I just love that boy!!

We're eating!!

Or trying to at least.  Today was the best day for eating real food since we started all most a week ago.  He doesn't like just plain rice cereal.  I have to mix it with bananas.  He also likes to help me get the spoon in his mouth!  Makes for really messy eating.  Today he actually opened his mouth for the spoon instead of turning his head away.  

Here's to more messy faces and yummy food!

Cake challenge!

So Susan (blaming her!) sent me this link to a cake and wanted an excuse to give it a try.  Well turns out I had an excuse and was willing to give it a try.  Will's half birthday is tomorrow and what's a birthday without cake?  So we (Will and I) started this cake project on Wednesday.  All told i made 3 cakes.  The first one was to uneven to use so i had to make another.  Turns out when your oven is not level neither will your cakes!  Had to level out the oven before baking the second cake.  That was an adventure in and of itself!
So here is what i was trying to do.
http://iammommy.typepad.com/i_am_baker/2011/02/vertical-layer-cake-tutororial.html

check that out, then see my version below

Eric rolling

So I got the roll the first time I tried this morning!

I also jinxed myself by bragging about how well Eric was sleeping.  He had his worst night EVER last night.  Was up every 2 hours!!  Eating!  Adding in the time Will got up I saw the hours of 12, 2, 4, 5, and was up for good at 630!

My stars

Thanks Mimi and Granddaddy for sending us 1300 star stickers!! We love them.

(I think this is one of my all time favorites)

4 months old

Eric turned 4 months old on Saturday!  He is still a wonderfully happy smiley baby.  He gets so so excited to see Caroline and Will!  He smiles and it looks like he is trying to eat them!  He goes after them with his mouth wide open.  It's so funny.  And today for the first time he rolled from his stomach to his back!!  So I'm glad I waited (was slow) to post about him turning 4 months old.  He is wanting to stand up more and more and uses my belly pooch to stand on!  He is a great night time sleeper (better than Will it seems) and has slept through the night 2 nights in a row and usually sleeps 6-8 if it isn't through the night.  His eyes are still dark blue and his hair is falling out and coming back in super blond.  HE enjoys sitting up when I hold his chest so he doesn't fall forward and tries to grab my placemat when I'm eating. And boy can this kid eat!  He can drink 12-16 oz before falling asleep at night!  Caroline reminded me that can also grab his toes (his right foot anyway) and loves to suck his fingers.

You are such a wonderful blessing to our family Eric!  We love you more and more everyday.

So last week the gas company showed up at my house.  Apparently we had a gas leak at our meter and it had been reported but not by me!  It was pretty chilly that day and the first guys were going to just change the valve and see.  But they realized the whole meter needed changing.  They stayed in their truck and waited for the next guy to come and told me they told them to hurry since I had a baby in the house.  The heat had to be turned off until I had a new meter on.  I didn't have much faith that it would happen quickly but they surprised me and from when the first guys showed up to when the last guy finished it was 2 hours!  I had heat again and a non-leaking meter!

Will of course had to go out side and see what the guys were doing.

All 3 kids

Caroline at 5 months

Will at 3 months

Eric at 3 months

It took me awhile to find those older pictures.  I had to get out the external hard drive and do some searching!  But they are neat to see.  Eric just turned 4 months old and I will get to his 4 month post sometime soon!

Go Deacs!

Yesterday the kids got a package in the mail.  They LOVE the WF scroll things and played with them all afternoon!  They also got a kids calendar, an ink pen, and a lapel light up pin.  All were huge hits.  They fought over who would wear the pin and who would write with the pen first.  Caroline asked me about going to a WF game and I told her one day we would but the bb team isn't wining a lot of games this year.  Her response:  they probably need to just practice more!  Will chimed in so do the Vikings.  So right they are!

Ready to cheer!

Still playing in the snow.  The only reason you see grass in our yard is because I shoveled some to make a fort last week. We are supposed to be above freezing today.  

My Willbo

Will asked why Dr. Seuss didn't get to celebrate his birthday in heaven.  I said he did and he asked if God would make a cake for him.  I said no the angels do that and it's called angel food cake.  He didn't get the humor in that but he stopped asking questions satisfied with that response!  For now at least!

Yesterday in the car going to get Caroline he asked about my grandparents in heaven (they went there because they were old), when is someone going to die, when is spring coming, why we are going to celebrate his half birthday, and how to make signs.  This is only a 10 minute car ride!  He amazes me all the time with his line of questions.  And the glimpse of what must being going on in his mind is boggling.

He has asked me if bird's sit, how (fill in the blank) is made, and tons of why questions.  Not only that but now he is into telling me did you know statements.  Like mom, did you know some people eat dirt?  I've heard that one several times.  Or some people eat lettuce with mustard on it or some people eat paper.  Both I heard at lunch today.

Will also loves to eat.  He helps in the kitchen all the time and claims he is a "good cooker."  Many times he grabs his stool, drags it across the kitchen, and tells me, "let's make something!"  The kids made cookies to give to the neighbors as a thanks for clearing snow off my driveway.  And when he gave them to he people he told them "these are the best cookies you will ever eat, you won't be able to stop."  He tells me every meal is the best he has eaten.  And calls salad dressing salad sauce.

Four year olds have to be my favorite age (so far).  They are hilarious, sweet, kind, loving, playful, generous, and full of life!  I hope to remember some more "Will" stories to share with you.

Here is a video of Will making Eric laugh.

Aunt Susan Came to Visit

And we didn't want her to go!!!  Besides playing outside we also went to the pool and she took the big kids swimming.  The water is too chilly for Eric.  The kids had a blast.

It was warm in there and he got all red and hot.  But you can see how dark blue his eyes are in this picture.

 The kids love sittin gin laps after dinner and Justin's is usually the one they chose.  Susan's lap was also great fun!

nibbling ears

getting susan's

sweet kisses

We love having visitors and would love to see any of you!  Thanks for coming Susan we love you!!