Corban is definitely getting the idea of possession. Everything he picks up or sees is usually "mines" as he says. Sometimes he'll say it's Mommy's or Daddy's though. And he likes to point to where we sit at the dinner table and say who goes where. One day while Mom and Dad were here I came downstairs and he rubbed the couch beside him and said, "Mommy sit down." Who could resist that? I sat. He also seems to be listening a little better sometimes, which is a big plus.

Caden is rolling all over the place and trying so hard to sit up. He will be lying on his back and grab his pants legs, trying to sit straight up. Won't be long until he's crawling around. I don't know how we're going to keep Corban's toys away from him. Caden had slept with Nana and Poppy pretty much the whole time they were here, so I was afraid of what last night would bring, but he did pretty well. I'm still having to feed him once a night, which the doctor said I needed to be working away from, but honestly, that boy was HUNGRY last night. I think we're going to start him on some cereal pretty soon at night to see if that helps any.

Tonight we're going over to Diana's. Her 5 yr. old cousin is there, Nadine and Luke, and maybe Christina. Tomorrow we're having everyone over here for a late lunch, pork loin and sour kraut. Can't say I'm much of a fan, but I can eat it. Plus we're having a huge pile of mashed potatoes, strawberry/cranberry salad, and that pudding dessert that Salem makes. I think they call it Tag's dessert, because it was orginally her recipe, but that doesn't really tell you much about it. Saturday we're probably going to be doing Dart Ball over at church and Friday Johnny's going to be out of the house catching up on visiting. The boys and I might have to get out and go to the mall or something, we'll see.

Christmas was good. Johnny and I were both so excited for it this year. Corban definitely got the idea of presents and he is getting there with Santa. We got him a kitchen for Christmas and he really loves it. I think his other favorite Christmas toy is the huge stuffed horse that my Mom and Dad got him. They also brough up my old slide, which is sitting in the middle of our living rood getting lots of use. We left for the Shirey's last Monday. Corban got to go sledding and have a haircut while we were there. We came home Saturday and Nana and Poppy got here a few hours after we did. Nana was excited to give Corban his Christmas, but he was in a foul mood so we waited for Sunday after naps. Nana and Poppy just left his morning. So we had a full week of visits with family, but it was wonderful. I can't imagine how fun next Christmas will be. It will be our year with the Wilsons so we'll have Grace, Corban, Caden, and baby Wilson. While I'm on the subject of Baby Wilson, we have a major praise. Laura had another ultrasound Monday and they said the blood clot is almost gone and she doesn't even need to see her high risk doctor until 20-something weeks. I'm going to try to get some pictures posted while I have some free time. Johnny took Corban out for a while and the baby has been asleep for almost 2 hours.

Wehad a while night. I was asleep by 10:30 I think. At 11:30 I woke up because Diana had left her cell phone here and Craig was calling on his way home from work. At 12:30 our phone rang because a member's father was being taken to the ER. They think he had a heart attack, he's OK, not great, now. So Johnny got up then to go be witht he family and came home at 2:30. It was probably 3 before I got back to sleep and Caden woke up at 3:30. I fed him and got back in bed by 4. Corban woke up at 6:45 and just wasn't going back to sleep. We finally came down and I've been letting him watch TV while I slept on the couch a bit until Caden woke up at 8:30. Such is the life of a young ministry family, but dang, why'd it all have to happen in one night? Oh well. I'm up now and getting some more work done on the bulletin. I've got to run that today and Johnny will have to go back to the hospital and we were planning to make a run to Sam's for diapers, but I'm not sure if that will happen now. We'll see. I'm excited that the boys get to wear their Christmas outfits tomorrow! I'll probably put them in them again for Christmas Eve service and next Sunday since my Mom and Dad will be here. It's weird for me to go to a Christmas Eve service. We never had one at Salem and we were always with family anyway.

Lately Corban has been falling or bonking his head and before he even gets up he says, "OK." I guess he's just letting us know he's a tough guy! He was also saying, "dang it" this morning when something wasn't going his way. I think I'm Ok with that, at least he hasn't picked up "crap" from us. Caden is rolling both ways now finally. Yesterday I had him in his bouncy in the kitchen while I was making banana bread and he would scream so loud and when I turned around to look at him he would have the sweetest smile on his face. He's such an attention hog.

Last night was nice. It was the area minister's Christmas dinner. We went to Dave & Buster's. If you haven't heard of it, it's one of those "Chuck E. Cheese" for adults. We had a nice dinner and then went in to play games. I basically spent my time at those machines where you drop the token in and the blade pushes them out and they just hang on the edge forever before they fall. I got the boys a bubble machine with my "winnings." Our babysitters were overworked for the evening, but I think it went a lot better than it could have been. Our boys were both here as well as Greg and Melanie's two little ones. Their youngest, Ada, has NEVER stayed with a sitter that she didn't scream for most of the time. In fact, she's just now staying in the nursery at church some without her parents. I think it ended up being Caden who caused the most problem though because he didn't sleep for long and I'm not sure how well he ate. Oh well, they were all alive and the babysitters were still able to smile as they left, so I have to figure that things went OK at least.

Today I don't have much on the agenda except for keeping Nina and getting her to dance. Tomorrow Johnny and Luke are planning to go fishing - those days are rough on me because he's gone from about 4 am until about 10 pm. Friday is my last day with Nina until after New Year and if Johnny is done with the sermon by Saturday I might get to go shopping a little.

Yesterday was nice. After church we came home and ate leftovers and EVERYONE took a nap for a good two hours. I haven't had a nap like that in a long time. I had to go to Wal-Mart to get stuff to make brownies for the fellowship after the cantata and Johnny gave both boys a bath while I was gone. We headed over to the cantata, and I was able to pass the baby off and Nadine kept Corban in the back because Johnny and I were narrators. I was thrilled with how well Corban behaved. Now we'll have to see how he does at the Christmas Eve service at Johnny's parent's.

I'm finished with my Christmas shopping, so I'm thrilled about that. I have to wrap still, but that won't be a big deal during naps. I'm hoping to head out sometime this week though to look for some shoes for me. I haven't bought a new pair of shoes for about 3 years and I've been pregnant twice in that time. Oh, and I didn't tell you guys about the deal I got. I was sent a coupon for New York & Co. that if you spend $40, you get $20 off. When I went in all the sweaters were 50% off, so I picked up two that wer originally $39.95. Since there's no sales tax on clothes here, I had to buy a bottle of shower gel to get it up to $40, but the shower gel was one sale for $1.05. My final bill was $22 even and I got two sweaters and a bottle of shower gel. I think Kerry should be proud.

Caden had his 4 month check-up and shots last week. He is 50% for weight and length, and still 20% for head. He's still my "pea head." I looked up Corban's weight at 4 months to compare. Caden was 14 lbs 13 oz, Corban was 16 lbs 5 oz. A pound and a half makes a big difference at 4 months! Both boys are back to sleeping through the night at this point, so that makes life better for me. I'm hoping that Christmas doesn't screw them up too much.

Goodbye to an old friend

OK KCC girls, I have some sad news. It's official, the red sweater, the one that was worn 4 or more times a week at school, it's dead. I grabbed it to wear for our family Christmas picture and saw what I thought was lint on the front. When I looked in the mirror and tried to pick it off I realized that it was holes in the thing. I've hardly worn it at all the last few years, and since I bought it my junior year of high school, I guess it's had a good run - the thing is at least 11 years old. Anyway, just thought you should know. It was a good friend to many of us in it's hay-day.

We've had a good few days so far. Thursday Diana and Christina came to babysit the boys and Johnny and I got our Christmas shopping done. Caden took a bottle of formula really well, so that made me happy. Johnny and I also got to eat at Olive Garden all alone! It was so nice not to have to be constantly watching out for the little ones. Yesterday I don't remember much, but Nina came after school and Johnny and Corban made a run to Wal-Mart. Today we've got choir practice, Carolyn Fitzroy is coming to watch the boys for us. After that I think we're going to order pizza and watch the new Batman movie, don't remember the real title. When Johnny comes back from running some errands he's going to take Corban outside to build his first snowman. I'm anxious to see how this turns out.

Oh, when you get my Christmas card, I know that a few of you will notice the mistake. I just thought I would let you know that I do know about the extra comma and I'm sick about it. Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Corban has said "Thank you" twice now on his own, without being asked to! He pretty much knows that when he's asking for something he needs to say, "please" but the thank you on it's own is pretty cool.

Caden slept through the night again finally last night. I think our trip to KY had gotten him all out of whack. Now watch, we'll have two goods weeks then head to Williamsport for Christmas and screw it all up again.

Oh Kim, gas here is $0.40 more per gallon here than what you got it for! I guess I can't complain about $1.79 too much, but I wonder what's making the difference when we're usually pretty close to what Mom and Dad are paying. Oh well.

We've had a wonderful weekend! I did get my tree up yesterday, I've still got a few decorations to find a home for, but the tree is the big deal. Johnny did some outside decorating yesterday while I took care of the tree. I watched "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" and drank a glass of eggnog while I did it. Corban tried to play outside in the snow yesterday, but he wouldn't keep his gloves on, so he had to come back in b/c his hands were bright red. We had a good time though, just the 4 of us hanging out. We put on Christmas music and enjoyed being together.

Today we did church and took family pictures in front of the tree at church and then came back over here to try to get pictures of the kids in front of the tree. I'm hoping to use these as my cards, so I need to get a move on. I got a great one of Caden, but Corban would not cooperate. After Corban's nap, Diana offered to take the kids during the football game, so we took her up on that. I made caramel and Johnny took a nap. Now he's gone to finish watching the game with them, and I cleaned the kitchen. I'm sure this is the first time I've been alone in the house since sometime before Caden was born.

We had a nice day yesterday and today is shaping up to be pretty decent too. Not much happened in the morning and I had Nina yesterday afternoon. Corban really had fun playing with her since we didn't have to go to dance. After Nina left we had Chinese and then bundled the kids up and went to "Light Up Night" in Turtle Creek. Basically, there was hot chocolate and cookies, a balloon artist, and Santa. This is the first time Corban got to sit on Santa's lap b/c we just didn't do it last year. Corban got a balloon duckie and absolutely loves it. He carried it around with him for a bit this morning. Already today (I'm just realizing that it's 1 so it's not so impressive), but Johnny and Corban went to get our Christmas tree, I've folded 4 loads of laundry and we've had lunch and Corban is down for a nap. I'm hoping to get the tree up and decorated before Corban wakes up. I also have to do the bulletin for church, so I'll head over there at some point this afternoon. I'm hoping to make caramel sometime, but I'm not sure when that can happen.

A couple of cute Corban stories. A few nights ago we had all gone to get groceries and when we got back, I was putting away, Corban was standing at the door, and Johnny was carrying in the bags. At one point, Corban looked at Johnny as he was coming up the walk, stuck his thumbs up in the air, and said, "Good Job." He learned that in KY over Thanksgiving.

Last night we were sitting in the living room watching TV and Corban dropped his sippy between the couch and the ottoman. Johnny picked it up and gave it to him, and he dropped it back down there. After that, Johnny just let him work at getting it himself. He was trying not to get off the couch and just reach his hand down there. Eventually, he suceeded and said, "i got it." First time for three words together!

Today I think I'm going to take the boys to the mall. It's nasty here and Corban really needs to get out. I can do a little window shopping and then let him play in the play area. That place is kind of gross, but at least it's someplace for him to play that's not home. I need to get to work on Christmas shopping, but I think we're going to have to get a babysitter before we can do any good. We did a little browsing in Wal-Mart the other day, but that was just horrible with both kids.

I just read Tammy Nischan's blog written the day that Nick died. I can't dwell too much on it, or I'll start crying again.

Everyone seems to be feeling better today. Johnny stayed in bed most of the day yesterday and is still not back to 100%, but he's better. Corban never acted sick, so he's doing fine too. I've gotten some laundry done an put a few things away, but I've not hit it hard today either.

Corban is saying his own name now! Seriously, he's 20 months and just now saying it. It was cute though b/c when we were pulling off the exit ramp Saturday night, we were still about 10 minutes away from home and he said, "Corban's house." It comes out more like Cobean, but it works. After church yesterday Anna told me that he was picking up toys in the nursery. He loves to pull things out and then put them back. Yesterday he pulled every sock out of their bag and then put them all back where he got them. He did that several times. And Tim and Laura got him this big potato head that is the container for 2 regular and 2 small potato heads and lots of parts for them. All he does with it now is dump all of the parts and then put them back. I hope that putting his toys away is a trend that keeps up! Caden is awake - gotta go fix lunch anyway.

We're home! We had a great week in Cynthiana, and got lots of visiting done. We ended up not leaving until Tuesday morning, but we got a very early start and were home by 1:30. We just got to hang out at Mom and Dad's with them and Grace Tuesday. Wednesday we had our "Thanksgiving Eve" party at Nanny's. We do pizza, put up her tree, and she reads a letter that she's written through the year. She has gifts for each family and the kids. This year she gave us all the book, "Kentucky's Everyday Heroes" Her brother, Harold is in the book and she had him sign it and put a picture of him and the author inside. That was pretty cool. For those of you who know what Nanny's (or Karen's) apartment is like, you can imagine having 15 adults and 7 kids in that space was like. Thursday we had Thanksgiving dinner with Mom, Dad, Tim, Laura, Grace, Nanny, and Mamaw. Friday Mom and I did a little early shopping at Wal-Mart, Johnny and the kids and I got to visit with the Tuttle crew, we had pictures for Nanny's great-grandkids, and then we had a party at Ann & Jerry's. We left Cynthiana Saturday morning to eat with some friends in Mt. Sterling and then we were on our way home. Johnny got sick in the night and Corban threw up in Sunday School, so I'm not sure what the week will look like with both of them under the weather.

Some extremely exciting news, Tim and Laura are pregnant! After 2 years of trying, they find out the week before she was going to have some surgery to remove a cyst. It was cool though because they got to Nanny's late Wednesday night and as they walked in the door I noticed Grace's shirt, it said, "I'm the big sister." Needless to say, we're all thrilled. she's due July 29. There is an increased risk of miscarriage and/or pre-term labor and I know that Laura is worried about that, so keep them in your prayers.

We've had a pretty uneventful weekend. Friday I had Nina until 5, we had dinner and watched a movie with Corban. He sat through all of "Lilo" and asked for "more stitch" when we were finished. Yesterday I did the bulletin and finished one of my projects for next week. Corban threw up again yesterday before his nap, but I think that was just because his reflexes are weak after being sick Wednesday. Today is church and tonight we have a dinner for small groups. It's kind of a "see how they went/get new ideas" dinner and meeting. I've got to make hashbrown casserole and deviled eggs. Johnny is deep frying the turkeys (not nearly as unhealthy as it sounds, but really yummy!). I also want to get clothes washed and as much packed as possible because we're leaving for KY tomorrow after we drop Nina off. We figure it will be easier to travel at night with the kidos.

On two very exciting notes: Caden rolled over on Thursday! He went from his back to his belly, which is really the harder, but he's done it a few times so it's not a fluke. Also, for the last two nights BOTH boys have slept the whole night through until 7 am!!!!! Yesterday I was really tired, I think just because I had gotten a little more sleep and my body was craving more. Today I feel almost chipper and the fact that everybody is ready and I'm posting before church says a lot too! Have a wonderful Sunday everybody!

Can I just say that I hate insurance? I actually had to pay a bill not long ago that was from an ER visit from when I was 8 weeks pregnant with Corban. Yeah, that was August of 2006. Anyway, I'm back at it again with Caden's birth. I think these will be easy fixes though, it's just annoying. Monday night was nice. I droppred Corban off with Craig and picked up Diana. We watched the movie and ate pumpkin pie. Johnny actually got back early and was able to get Corban for me so that I didn't have to get back out. There was about an inch of snow on the ground when I had gone out, so I was happy not to have to get back out in that again. The movie was OK, but I kind of agree with Sherry that I didn't like the ending. I just wish that sometimes the people would do the right thing, even if it's not the thing that makes them happy in that moment. Oh well. Yesterday Johnny got to hang out with us most of the day. He and Corban raked leaves for most of the afternoon. They made the cutest picture with Johnny pulling Corban's wagon that was full of leaves with Corban sitting on top. I've made a few of my Christmas projects, although one of them is not coming out the way I had wanted it to.

I took the boys outside for a bit before lunch this morning. I put Caden in the sling and then put my wool coat on over that. He actually fell asleep in the sling while we were outside. At the table though, Corban was litterally falling asleep in his mac-n-cheese. I carried him upstairs, he laid down, and didn't make a sound. Of course, he's already awake after only two hours and I JUST got Caden down for a nap. Well, I've got to get some bills paid before I go get my boy up.

This is my 100th post, but I don't have anything exciting to report like Sherry, it's just another day for me. I didn't end up babysitting today... found out at 2:40 that she wouldn't be here at 2:55. How's that for notice. Johnny's been fishing today, so it's just been me and the kids all day long. Caden hasn't wanted to take a good nap and Corban only slept about 2 hours, so I got just enough break to eat lunch. I did make a pumpkin pie though. Nina had brought home a pumpkin from school that she didn't want, so I made her a pumpkin pie, then she ended up not coming. I need to get to work on some Christmas projects, but I wasn't about to do that being here all by myself. Tonight I am taking Corban over for Craig to watch and Diana and Nadine are going to come over and watch Definitely Maybe with me. We'll probably cut into the pumpkin pie too!

I'm sure those of you from KCC already know, but I just found a website devoted to Nick Nischan today. It's http://www.nick7-11.zoomshare.com/ if anyone hasn't seen it. That poor family has had so much to deal with. I think about them often, even though I wasn't really connected with them at school.

We had a good visit with Paw Paw and Grammy this weekend. They didn't stay long, but I think they got in some good time with the kids. Corban woke up asking for Grammy this morning. It was so cool watching him this afternoon with his nesting blocks. I've never even tried to have him put them back together, but he did a really good job this afternoon on his own. It was neat watching him figure out what fit where. Not that he got them all back together, but he did better than I expected him to. He also recognized a dear today. He has also been saying "cough" all day and then doing this hilarious fake cough. I'm not sure where that's coming from.

Yesterday was pretty wonderful. We had MOPS in the morning, which was nice because I hadn't been there for a long time. I told the nursery workers that Corban has been biting, so to watch him. When I went back to get him she said that he hadn't bitten at all, but was pretty rough with the other kids. I need to get him some play dates so that he can get more used to being around other kids. After I came home and had lunch, I headed out for the alone part of my day. I wasn't ready to Christmas shop yet, and didn't even go to places where I could do that. Honestly, I went to three craft stores, the Christian bookstore, Kohls, and Gabriel Brothers (that place make Big Lots look like a major department store). I got some stuff for some Christmas projects, and the new book The Shack. Everyone is talking about it, so I thought I would give it a shot. When I got home, Johnny even had dinner ready and the kitchen cleaned up. After dinner he even washed the rest of the dishes!

I think Johnny had a little bit of a difficult day with the kids. Corban had falled asleep on the way home from MOPS, so he didn't want to go back down for his regular nap. Caden didn't help. We haven't given him too many bottles, just because I've always been with him. So, Johnny had a hard time getting him to take the formula. We decided we're going to work with him on this so that I'm not so tied to him and/or feeling bad when I do need to be away from him.

So far this morning Corban and I spent about an hour outside raking leaves. This was not my intention, I HATE yard work, but we were out there and it was something to do. I think Johnny will be surprised when he sees what we did. Caden has been snoozing in the pack-n-play. He's been much better about his morning nap lately, so that gives me and Corban some time together. By the way, Caden has been in a crib in his own room for the last three nights! Corban was 4 weeks when we moved him to the nursery, Caden is almost 4 months! HOnestly, it's as much me as anything, I was waiting until he was sleeping through the night pretty well. He's doing OK. Sometimes he gets up in the night, sometimes not until 5:30. Well, it's time to get Corban's lunch around, and the baby will be waking up soon too. I've got a TON of stuff to do today because JOhnny's parents are coming in the morning. I'm going to make a cheesecake, and try to get Saturday's dinner (stuffed shells) together so that I don't have to do that, plus I need to wash towels and clean bathrooms. Have a great weekend everybody!

We're gearing up for a crazy week! Johnny has meetings at least four days this week and I've got a regular week with Nina. This Thursday is My Day - I've got MOPS in the morning, so I'll take the kids to that and then after lunch I'm going shopping! Granted, I'm Christmas shopping, but still, I'm going to be by myself!

This morning Corban has been a bit of a bear and we had a bad night last night, so I'm not handling it well. He's teething, so that doesn't help. He actually bit a little girl in nursery yesterday. I felt HORRIBLE, but the mother was the one working in there, and she understood, but still it's not cool when your kid is biting. He seriously only does it when he's teething.

On the more adorable side, he says "Okie Dokie" now, only it comes out more like "Dokie Dokie." He's pretty much feeding himself all of the time now, which can be a huge pain, but freeing too. Caden is smiling and cooing all of the time. He's so strong too. I think he's going to be smaller than Corban, but stronger. He's about to roll over too, which is really cool since he hardly gets tummy time at all. For all of you with a second on the way, things are SOOO much different this time around!

Two weeks at this time we'll be getting ready to head to Cynthiana!

Dinner last night was really nice - we had way too much food. Luke and Nadine were here before I even left to go pick Nina up from dance and take her home, Craig and Diana were here by the time I got back. Nadine's cheesecake was AMAZING. She's not a huge Cheesecake Factory fan, and now I know why. It's always nice to have them over because they're comfortable enough with us, our kids, and our house that I don't have to take care of everything, they just jump in and do. This morning I took the kids to Wal-Mart because the vacuum cleaner I had ordered came in, but I've realized since ordering it that it's not the one I want, so I'm just going to let them send it back and order the one I do want. The "Christmas Crap" as I call it is out at Wal-Mart, so we had a good time looking at that. I have got to get going on my Christmas list, I always think I don't have many people to buy for, but before I know it the list is really long. Well, I had better get busy before my kiddos wake up.

I'm trying to think what I've been doing that I haven't posted in a week, and I can't think of anything in particular. Life has been pretty much the same. We're having Craig, Diana, Luke, and Nadine over for dinner tonight. I've still got to go get Nina and take her home, she's been here since noon. Caden has been a little stinker the last few days, but he finally crashed and crashed hard. Tonight we're having steak (homegrown), mac and cheese, grilled zuchini, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, green salad, strawberry/cranberry jello salad, and Nadine is making a cheesecake. I forgot about bread - dang it!

I thought that tomorrow was MOPS, but it's not so I'm not sure what we'll decide to do. I might go to the mall or Target or somewhere just to get out for a bit. The weather has been so pretty that we've been trying to go places and be outside as much as possible. Corban just loves playing in the leaves, so that's been big entertainment around here. Well, I've got to get a few things done before I go to finish my running.

I took Caden to the doctor today. He's had a cough, a lot of congestion, and for a while he was choking a lot. I was pretty much over-reacting though. His lungs, ears, and throat all were clear so it's just a plain old cold. It's horrible though because he's so small I can feel all of the congestion when he breathes. Hopefully he'll get over it soon though.

Corban has been staying with Craig and Diana the last two Wednesday nights while Johnny, Caden and I have been at small group. They have a HUGE dog, he's a Goldendoodle which is a standard poodle and golden retriever mix. Anyway, Crosby gets all of Corban's "leftovers" that he drops along the way so he loves to see Corban come to play. Today after his nap Corban was eating a cheese stick and dropped some of it on the floor. He looked at me, put his hands up in the air, and said, "doggy?" Like, where is that doggy that comes and eats all of the stuff I drop on the floor? He kept pointing to the cheese and saying that. He's repeating just about everything we say now too and just now he walked up to me, and kissed at me until I leaned down to give him a kiss then he grabbed my hand and said, "Five" until I gave him a high five. Yesterday I asked him where Nana and Poppy live, he said, "tucky." I think that's just about all that's new in Corban world for now.

We had a great visit with Nana and Poppy this weekend. They got here Thursday night, Friday we went to a pumpkin patch. Corban got to go on a pony ride and a hay ride. Both of them were a rip-off as far as what you got for what you paid, but the look on his face when he got up on that pony's back was absolutely priceless! We didn't get any pumpkins though. We don't do halloween, so we weren't going to be making jack-o-lanterns out of them and it was honestly just too cold out there to deal with picking one out and paying for it. I'm hoping maybe we can come to KY in October next year to go to Evans Orchard and the Tuttle hayride. Saturday I had to go to Wal-Mart to replace my phone. It was a long time in coming, but my old one finally broke. Then we took Nana and Poppy out to dinner for both of their birthdays. It was actually on Poppy's birthday, but Nana's is coming up soon. We went to the Texas Roadhouse and had a nice steak. This is where Johnny and I were going to go out on our date a few weeks ago when everyone ended up getting sick.

Monday was the usual crazy with both boys and babysitting and getting groceries. I end up doing a lot of running around on Mondays. Yesterday was pretty nice though because Johnny ended up being around most of the day. He's going fishing on Friday though, and I'm not looking forward to that. He'll leave around 4 am and probably won't be back until the rest of us are all in bed. Tonight is small group, our last one before the end of the year. I really enjoy our group, but it's getting harder and harder to find someone to keep Corban and I hate to ask the same people to do it all of the time. We're lucky people around here love our kids so much though. Sunday morning Craig showed up at the door with a toy for the boys. He was acting like it was no big deal, but I could tell he was really excited about it. Well, I've got to go clean up a mess Corban made last night. Happy Wednesday all!

We skipped MOPS this morning. I wasn't going to take Corban because he had no business being in the nursery with his cough and runny nose and Johnny's got a lot going on this afternoon, so we just stayed home. We were watching a show this morning though and Corban fell asleep sitting on my lap. He's been asleep for about an hour now on the couch. I hope this isn't the only nap he gets today. I need to do lots of laundry before Mom and Dad get here. I'm hoping that they're going to get on the road soon. Mom had some office work to do for CopperWood and Dad is getting a massage for his birthday. Happy Birthday Daddy! He's 62 on Saturday. Oh, have I put in here that my Aunt Phyllis is engaged? I've never met the guy she's dating, Mom and Dad just did at the Wilson reunion a few weeks ago. They haven't set a date yet. Mom is bringing pears to can. She got a bunch at Mike and Martha's and hasn't had time to get them done yet, so we're hoping to get to them this weekend and she will have to share!

Took Corban to the doctor yesterday morning. He has a bit of an ear infection, so he's on medication for 10 days. Since he's 19 months old and this was his first "sick" visit, I feel pretty good. The doctor was impressed that this was his first too. One good thing about me getting sick, I lost my last 3 Caden pounds! Now I need to lose 13 more to be at my pre-Corban weight and 15 more after that to be at my goal weight! And don't anybody even ask, I'm not telling you what my goal weight is. In case that doesn't answer your question Sherry, yes, I threw up. Since I got sick last Thanksgiving when I found out about Caden I've gotten sick twice. I think once I started "letting" myself get sick, I do it a lot easier now.

Yesterday Johnny was dressing Caden and I couldn't believe how big he's gotten! I can't believe that my baby is already growing up! Did I already say that we're getting a family picture for Nanny when we're in for Thanksgiving? It's not really the whole family, it's just her great-grandkids. So it's from Whitney who is 12 or 13, Blake (5), Skylar and Grace (3), Corban (1 1/2), Annabelle (5 months), Caden (4 months). That's going to be one crazy photo shoot! It's a secret from Nanny for Christmas, so if you see her don't spill the beans.

Oh, more exciting news. Mom and Dad sold their house! The couple is from New York and I think they have horses. They looked at it sometime last month I think, made an offer yesterday, they haggled a little, and they're going to close in the middle of December.

Now I'm sick too. Yesterday Craig and Diana were going to keep the boys and Johnny and I were going to go out to dinner and maybe a movie. I woke up not feeling great, but thought I would be OK by dinner time. Not so much. I "got sick" at the church while I was doing the bulletin. After that I just felt yucky and Corban wasn't doing much better either. He just wandered around and fussed most of the day. Last night I even sent Johnny to the guest bedroom so that I could take care of Corban if he got up in the night and so that I wouldn't keep Johnny awake being restless. Corban slept through the night though - actually the longest he's ever slept at one time. Today we're feeling somewhat better, but obviously didn't go to church. If he was still the only kid in nursery, I maybe would have thought about it, but didn't want to make everybody else sick. I'm letting him watch A LOT of cartoons this weekend. I just feel so sorry for him. Hopefully this week we can get better. Other than babysitting not much is going on until Thursday - my Mom and Dad are coming up. Saturday is Dad's birthday so I'm glad they'll be here for that.

Corban is sick today. He fell asleep in the car on the way home last night and went straight to bed. He woke up at 2:30 but we didn't check on him, he went back to sleep pretty quickly. Then he woke up at 5:30 and when I went to check on him he had soaked through his diaper then I realized that he had a fever. He had a temp of 101.8 this morning, but it's already gone up to 102.8 this afternoon. He's down for a nap right now, so I hope that does him some good. He's not thrown up or anything, so that is good, but I feel so sorry for the little guy. Caden pretty much slept through the night last night. He woke up at about 6 because I had brought Corban into our room and he was crying. I fed Caden and he went right back down until about 10 so I was glad to have that time to just focus on Corban. Pray for us, it's bad enough having one sick one in the house, but Caden still requires so much attention that it's hard to do it both.

Caden slept through the night last night! I fed him at 9 and he went to sleep on the couch, we went up to bed at 11 and for some reason I thought he was waking up and needed to eat, but he wouldn't and when I looked at the clock it was only 12 so I put him back down and didn't hear anything from him until he woke up at a little after 7! Of course Coban woke up at 5 and was awake until 6. Hopefully we'll get both of them sleeping through the night soon. Yesterday I went to pick up pictures at JC Penny and did a little shopping on their clearance racks. I bought Johnny two shirts and me 4 - and paid $19.05. All but two of them were short sleeves, but dang, that's a good deal! Corban didn't feel great last night. He spit up a little bit at the mall, something he hasn't done for a LONG time and then he just looked weak. He was perfectly content to just sit on our laps most of the evening after he had dinner. Tonight we've got small group so Corban goes to see Patti and her girls and Caden comes with us. I need to read my chapter, but I'm not sure when I'm going to get that done since Nina comes in an hour and I've got to get her to dance, come- home and eat dinner and then go pick Nina up and take her home and then come back here for about 15 minutes before we leave. Wednesdays are crazy, but once it's over I feel like I can breathe pretty easy.

Coban says, "All gone" all of the time now. He watched a helicopter fly over this morning and when it was gone said, "all gone," and then asked for more. I think that the DVR has spoiled him; I don't think he realizes there's not a rewind button for life. Wouldn't that be cool though?

What a week! We spent most of the week in Williamsport with Johnny's family. Kenan is tiny - Johnny's calling him "mosquito." Caden is 6 weeks older I think and is literally almost twice his size. Kenan is growing though and doing very well health wise. He looks just like Abby and Cameron and seems to be a pretty content little boy. While we were there we took a long walk on the "rails to trails" it's old railroad tracks that have been cleared and made into really nice walking/biking paths. We took all of 4 kids and 6 adults - that meant a regular stroller, a double stroller and a wagon. At one point all of the kids were out and all of those things were empty. The next day we went to John's hunting camp. Corban got to "catch" his first fish. He liked to help reel it in and look at it for a minute, then he would say "bye bye." Johnny would throw it back and Corban would say "more." He was one tired boy at the end of the trip. He hadn't taken a decent nap the whole time and didn't sleep well at night. It has taken us until today to start feeling normal again.

When we got home Johnny had a sermon to write then he had to visit a family of a member who had passed away. Yesterday was church and the viewing and Johnny had to write the sermon for the funeral. This morning he's been up working on that sermon and getting ready for the funeral which is at 10. I'm not going because of the boys and Nina is getting here at noon. It's going to be a long day, so I'm extra thankful that both boys slept well.

Corban is pretty much eating on his own now. He sits in the booster seat at the table and has his own plate and utensils. I dreaded doing it, but he actually does pretty well. He ate lasagna the other day and hardly spilled any. He has also started singing this little song sometimes, he says, "Daddy, Mama, baby, paci" or whatever else comes to mind. The other day it was "Mama tractor." Caden has been cooing and smiling so much lately. Johnny and I think he's going to be much more expressive than Corban. We think his highs are going to be higher, but his lows are going to be lower too. Kim, I have a picture of both of them together now. I'll try to get it downloaded today. Well, my little one is fussing. Have a good week all!

Crazy Day

OK, I have no idea of how that other post with nothing on it got on here, so just ignore it. It's been a CRAZY day today so far. Corban got up in the night, so we all slept in a little - it was almost 8 before I got up and got in the shower. Everybody got ready and we headed out by 9:30. I dropped Corban off at Bonnie's so that Johnny and I could both go to Caden's doctor's appointment. Bless Bonnie's heart, when I dropped him off, I just asked how long I could leave him. I realized I had very few long sleeve outfits for either one of the boys. Anyway, we took Caden to the doctor. Everything looks fine. He's 12 lbs 7 oz which puts him in the 75th percentile for his age and means he's gained 2 lbs 3 oz since his 1 month check up. His head circumference is just 15th percentile too - it's gone from 30th to 20th to 15th - that's why I call him "pea head." After the appointment I took Johnny back to his truck that we had left in town and fed the baby in the car while we waited for his lunch appointment. Then I headed to the mall. Someone gave us $50 in gift cards at Macy's so I went there first. I just bought 1 pair of pants because everything is so expensive there! I know it's basically free when you're using gift cards, but when I can get the exact same things someplace else for much cheaper, it just galls to have to "spend" the money. Anyway, I did much better at Children's Place and JC Penny - I do love those two stores. I bought Corban a pair of shoes for less than $1.50 plus I had taken back a few things so I didn't actually spend any of my money there.

After all of that I picked Corban up and brought him straight home to put him down for a nap - a very late nap. He's sleeping now but I'm going to have to wake him up early because Nina and I will have to leave before 4 to go to her dance class. Johnny's gone all day with visitations so I'm on my own.

Both boys were WONDERFUL last night at Luke and Nadine's. Corban didn't get into anything and Caden was content most of the time. It was such a pleasant evening AND the Steelers won!

Today Corban did the cutest thing. He has decided lately that he doesn't want to sit in his high chair, so he sits in the portable high chair booster seat thing. Today he was eating leftover soup beans for lunch and doing it completely on his own. Johnny was holding the bowl still for him and he was using the spoon and doing a good job. He had a little on his face, so I got a napkin and wiped him off a little and put the napkin down beside his bowl. After the next bite, Corban picked up the napkin and wiped his mouth off himself! I think he must have bit it a little because he had pieces of it in his teeth, but still, it was the most adorable thing ever! Yesterday we went to the park for a while and it was just really sinking in what a big boy he's becoming. I can't believe he's growing up so fast. It makes me even more sad to think that at this time next year I'll be saying how fast Caden is growing up.

I think we're going to Luke and Nadine's for the beginning of the game tonight. I need to think of something to take over, but I'm not sure what. It doesn't start until 8:15, so I'm sure we're not going to stay for the whole thing, probably not even the whole first half. It's a good thing they live so close, we'll just put both of the boys in the stroller and head out whenever we need to. Tomorrow is Caden's 2 month check up. He gets shots this time, which I am absolutely not looking forward to, especially since we're going to leave for Williamsport Tuesday afternoon. Johnny's family hasn't gotten to see Caden yet, and we haven't seen Kenan yet either. We'll not be coming back until Saturday, which is hard, but I've already got the bulletin to the point that I can print it if I have to - just not sure how Johnny's going to get the sermon finished.

Corban is saying two words together now. Yesterday morning during breakfast he told me that it was "all gone." He's been saying that a lot now, but yesterday he also said, "baby paci" meaning, Caden is crying so stick a paci in that baby's mouth. And he walked by the pack-n-play and said, "bye baby." I can't believe what a little boy my baby is becoming! And then when I look at how much Caden has already changed in the last 9 weeks I'm blown away!

We went Thursday to get pictures of the boys. I can't wait to get them back. Corban held Caden sitting on the floor and kissed the top of his little head - too cute.

We just got back from the park. I was glad to get both boys outside for a little bit. When we got back I fed Caden and got cornbread in the oven for dinner while Johnny and Corban played more out in the yard. We're having soup beans and cornbread for dinner - even if I don't like the idea of colder weather, I do like the food better!

I almost forgot two things.

1) "Carlton Banks" hosts a game show on GSN now. He's pudgy and really corny.

2) Elisabeth might be leaving The View. Although I think that she doesn't do a great job of explaining herself sometimes and she gets a little too defensive at times, I understand why she would be leaving, but I hate to see the one conservative on the panel leave.

Not much going on here. We've had a pretty uneventful few days. Yesterday I did make my first 100% solo outing with both boys. After I dropped Nina off at dance I only had about 45 minutes before I had to get Alexandra for her dance class so I drove down the road to a Big Lots. It's the only thing out that way and I had already been to Wal-Mart once that day. But I got both boys in the stroller and headed in. They were both so good I was able to just wander around the whole place for about 40 minutes. Of course I almost couldn't get Caden's car seat out of the stroller when we got back to the car, but I finally managed. I wouldn't want to have to be out by myself in bad weather or if one of them was in a foul mood, but I'm much more willing to go out with both of them now.

Caden is cooing in his pack-n-play and Corban is hanging out with Johnny and Luke. I'm headed off to make dinner - a really delicious roasted vegetable and pasta "ratatouille" that I got off of the Rachel Ray show. I'm 3 pounds heavier than I was when I got pregnant with Caden - if I can lose another 15 I'll be happy, if I can lose another 30 I'll be thrilled!

I haven't left the house since Thursday morning other than to go to church this morning and other than the fact I had to get ready, that hardly even counts. Someone had to make a quick trip to Wal-Mart yesterday but I had Johnny do it because I didn't want to shower yet - how pathetic is that? What's even worse is that we're trying to eat better, but were both craving something sweet yesterday so he comes back with: ice cream (not the good Under the Stars that we've been getting :( ), Reese cups, swiss cake rolls (per my craving), milk, and 2 1/2 dozen donuts. Granted, the donuts were for church this morning, but still. UGH - I know we need to be eating better, but if I don't have a little taste of something sweet during the day I go way off the deep end.

On a nicer note, Caden slept really really well last night! I fed him at about 7:30 and put him to be around 9. I didn't hear a peep out of him until almost 5 this morning! Of course, by the time i fed him and was getting back to sleep, Johnny's alarm was going off. Then when I was getting back to sleep from that, Corban started waking up. Oh well, I went to bed around 10 so I got almost 7 hours!

Last night Corban and I were looking at pictures from the zoo on the camera. He was really fascinated with the rhino, or "nino" as he called it. It was probably the animal he paid the least attention to at the zoo, but he loved looking at that picture. He's also having fun watching the hippos, elephants, and gorillas on Survivor. I alwasy try to pause and let him see when the animals come on. Well, I'm going to get some cross stitching done while my boys, ALL of them, are asleep!

We've had a long day already. This morning was my first MOPS meeting of the year. They met the 2nd Thursday of September, but I was in KY. So anyway, I hit the ground running this morning. Corban had a bad night, so we all slept in a little bit. I got showered before Corban even woke up. Johnny helped me get everybody ready and get the kids in the car and we were out the door before we knew it. MOPS was good, but very different now that I have an infant that I don't put in nursery. They said Corban was good, but I have a feeling he was a little bit of a bully. We came straight home and a member of the church had asked to visit this afternoon and bring some gifts over for the boys. She stayed from the time we got home until about 2:30. I'm exhausted and have a headache, and was starving by 2:30 but I'm so glad to be back with MOPS. Kim Fitzroy came with me this week, I'm hoping she keeps coming and maybe we can do lunch afterward sometimes. I would LOVE to start a Teen MOPS here at Turtle Creek, but we would need so much more support and volunteers than what we've got now. Maybe someday.

Corban has been saying some new words all of a sudden. Yesterday he was trying to say "vegetables" which was hilarious. Today I was getting ready to change his diaper and I said, "stinky, stinky" and he repeated me. He's also actually saying "milk," not jus signing it. It comes out more like "muck," but it gets his point across. "Juice" is still probably one of my favorite words that he says. Today Caden has been cooing - the first time he's really done much of that. He's been smiling at us, but honestly hadn't been content for long enough to do much cooing until just recently. Well, I believe that my big one is up. It's almost the weekend!

So far, today has been an exceptional day! Corban had a late night last night, so he slept in a little bit. We all got up and had monkey bread and Johnny put the new double stroller together then we headed out to the zoo. Caden was a little fussy at times, but it never took him much before he fell asleep. Corban LOVED the zoo. He had so much fun seeing all of the different animals and he got to walk around on his own quite a bit because it wasn't very crowded at all. The weather was just about perfect too. I can't tell you how many times I almost teared up at the stinking zoo because I was so happy just to see him enjoying himself so much and to think of what a little boy he's become. He made all of his animal sounds and was up close with a gorilla. I think that he enjoyed the elephants the most and I would probably say they're usually my favorites too. It's really cool this year because there were two baby elephants born earlier in the summer - they were SO cute.

Corban fell asleep as we were walking out of the zoo, so Johnny's upstairs trying to get him to lay down to finish his nap. Caden is still asleep in his car seat. I think I'm going to get some laundry done and make some Mexican Chili for dinner tonight. I think we might even treat ourselves with some "Under the Stars" icecream tonight too. Honestly, today has been the perfect day - I don't want to even think about it ending!

We had a pretty good weekend. Saturday started out slow, but then we went to Craig and Diana's for a cookout. They were having all of the kids from church over so there was a pretty big group. Everyone else was spending the night, but we just stayed until about 5. Corban hadn't had a nap, so of course he fell asleep in the car on the way home. He slept for a bit more and woke up in the best mood and still went down at his normal time. He's on an 8:30 bedtime now. Everyone slept great Saturday and Sunday was a good day too. We did church and Subway for lunch. Everyone relaxed and took naps, then we headed out to see Gail since we hadn't seen her after her surgery and then we went stroller shopping. We found one that I'm going to go get at Burlington Coat Factory this afternoon. We were THOSE parents though because Corban wasn't being cooperative and was screaming his head off while we were trying to look at the strollers and get him to test them out. Sometimes he just wears me out!

We've got a crazy day planned for today. Nina gets here at about 3, which is about the time Corban will be waking up from his nap. Nina and I will leave with Caden at 3:45 to drop her off at dance, Johnny's keeping Corban because the two of them are going with Luke and Nadine to Cabelas in Wheeling this afternoon. I'm going to run some errands then pick up Alexandra, take her to dance and pick up Nina and Nina and I are going to Monroeville to get the stroller. THEN it's back to pick up Alexandra at dance and drop the girls off at their house. We're in a rush now to get the stroller because we're taking the boys to the zoo tomorrow! Corban went when he was about 6 months old, so of course this is really the first time he'll have gone. We're hoping that he enjoys it and isn't going to be a bear because he's not going to get a nap. We'll see how it goes.

Nothing is really going on in the Shirey house right now, but Kenan is getting to come home tomorrow! He's off his meds and seems to be doing really well. Libby and I talked for about 45 minutes last night - she actually got to feed Kenan that evening.

Other than that, there are two random things that happened lately.

1 - I was walking out of Target and thinking about how I know so few people in the area, so it's very unlikely that anyone will ever call my name as I'm leaving a place like that. And that got me to thinking about my first day on campus as KCC. Sherry and Kerry hadn't gotten there yet since freshmen had to be there a day early, but as Mom and I were walking into Lusby, someone yelled my name across the foyer - it was Amy Tyson. Mom always thought that was so cool that as a freshman there was already someone who knew me.

2 - I saw a Ford Escort EXP today. Now, it wasn't red like The Rusty, but it did take me back in time a little bit. Man, I loved that car. I guess there's nothing like your first car - I wish I still had the old rattle trap and I've never named a car since :(

That's all for now. I've got to get the desk cleared off before Corban wakes up - there is a ton of mail still not gone through since my trip to KY. Have a good weekend everyone!

Well, Kenan is doing much better! He has been taken off all of the tubes and Libby and Cameron were able to hold him yesterday. He still has to stay in an incubator for periods of time to combat jaundice though. They said there is also a chance that they'll be able to have him moved to a closer hospital, which will make things easier. I'm not sure if Libby has seen Abby since Saturday, which I'm sure is hard on both of them.

In the Shirey house, we got through our crazy day of the week and I feel so much better! Yesterday I had my 6 week checkup in the morning, Nina had a half day, so I picked her up from school on my way home, did my running with her and finally dropped her off at 6, we picked Connie up at 6:30 and headed to our babysitter's and then small group. We finally got home around 9 pm. Apparently Corban broke down last night with the girls who were babysitting him for us. They said that he was tired and crying for his Daddy. He would get out the "Da" part, yawn, and then finish with the "Dy." I couldn't believe it then when he didn't fall asleep in the car, and I REALLY couldn't believe it when he woke up and fussed for the better part of the hour between 5 and 6 this morning. Caden went 7 hours last night, too bad it was from 7 til 2. I had tried to feed him at 10, but he wouldn't wake up enough to eat. Tomorrow is Corban's 18 month check up - the first one I'll have to take him to by myself because Johnny's staying home with the little one.

Today has been hard. Johnny has been around all day and both of the boys have been fussy and obstinate. Poor little Caden eats, screams for half an hour then falls asleep for about 20 minutes then screams for half an hour and so forth. I don't know what Corban's deal has been, but he's been a stinker. Sherry, he said "Bugga bugga bugga" this afternoon out of the blue - thought that was funny! I'm not looking forward to tomorrow either because I've got my doctor's appointment in the morning and I'm picking Nina up at school on my way home because they have a half day. We'll have both boys and I've got to get her taken care of, cook dinner, and take both boys to drop her off and pick her up at dance then come straight back here to pick Johnny up for our small group, dropping Corban off on the way. We'll see how this goes!

We did get good news about Kenan today. He is off of all of the breathing stuff! They're still feeding him through a tube, but I guess even that will be taken out soon if he can hold his own. He's got to stay at least a week in this hospital and then maybe more time back in Williamsport, but he looks to be out of the woods. We're not even going to try to go see him until he's home from the hospital and all of Cameron's family has left, but none of Johnny's family have seen Caden yet either, so we're looking forward to that trip.

That's all for today!

Today has been quite the day. Johnny left at 7 am to be at the hospital while Gail had her surgery. By 9:30 am I felt like I had lived a whole day! I got a lot done though, and both boys were really good. Corban actually used his sign to ask to eat today! He's known the sign forever, and he'll use it if we ask him if he wants to eat, but today he looked at me and signed "eat." It was right around lunch time and he ate a ton, so he knew what he wanted! I babysat a whole hour today. Mondays might not be worth my time, but it's too good of a job to be too picky. My boys are coming unglued - gotta go

Libby had her baby last night! He was 5 pounds and 7 ounces I think and somewhere around 19 or 20 inches long. His name is Kenan John (pronounced with a long e sound). As far as we know everyone is doing OK. We haven't really gotten to talk to anyone yet, we just got a voicemail giving us his stats.

Right now Johnny has Corban at Don and Bonnie's swimming and I'm trying to get everything put away from KY. Caden is crying in his bouncy - it's amazing what you're willing to let the second one suffer that you never would have with the first! He's actually been much more content lately and we're enjoying actually getting to know the little guy rather than all of the time praying that he'll go back to sleep!

Kim - I babysit a few days a week. The girls are 10 and 16 so I'm really more of a driver for them, I only work the days they go to dance classes. It's a pretty sweet job actually.

Hey guys, be praying for Libby and Cameron. She had to go to the hospital yesterday because her blood pressure was doing weird things. Anyway, they let her go home last night, but she had to go back today to have it checked and monitor the baby. When they checked it they kept her and Cameron has called and said that her kidneys aren't doing right either and that if things don't get straightened out they're going to take the baby tomorrow. Her normal doctor isn't here, so someone else is going to have to deliver and she's not crazy about that. The baby was going to be delivered October 1, so it's not too early, but still you never know. Anyway, be keeping the family in your prayers!

We're home! We had a great visit with Sherry, Kerry, and Carter last week. They took care of the boys so much for us, and even let me and Johnny have a date night - I think they were completely worn out after taking care of all 3 boys though! The three of them took me and my two boys back to KY and we got to see the whole family! We even stopped by Alicia's in Ohio on our way home yesterday so that we could see Annabelle for the first time - she's too cute! It was a long day yesterday by the time we had to stop by the outlet mall to pick up my cell phone that I had left there last Friday :) Then we went to Alicia's then we stopped at Cabela's and Cracker Barrel. It was after 9 when we got back and Corban went right to bed, but he woke up in the night and Caden didn't have the best night ever. Oh well, we're not making any plans for today. We've had great visits, but we're glad to be home and looking forward to getting into our routine. I start work Monday - hopefully all will work out with scheduling for that. Gotta go finish the cinnamon rolls - thanks S & K! :)

I'm having a great week!  Sherry, Kerry, and Carter got here Monday afternoon.  They brought lots of food so we aren't having to cook and I haven't changed but about two diapers since they got here!  Today we took the boys to the mall after naps and I think the plan for tomorrow is the park.  Corban tries to love on Carter, but Carter isn't too thrilled about that.  They seem to be having fun though, and Mama is enjoying the visit with the two best friends in the world!  

I should be getting to church in about 15 minutes, but I thought that I would take advantage of some relative quiet to blog real quick. Johnny was gone all day yesterday - there was a woman from the church who passed away and he went to be with the family in her last hours. He had been working in the church that morning too, so since he didn't get back until 11:30, he was gone all day. It's part of the job and I'm glad that he was able to be a comfort to the family, but it sure made for a long day in our house. The boys were both actually pretty good - Caden has seemed to settle down some in the last few days, which I am incredibly thankful for.

Caden already has the most expressive eyes, and his tiny little mouth give him an angelic look that I am sure will be used against me in the years to come! Corban is looking like such a little boy that I can hardly remember just a few months ago when he was still my "baby." I can't wait for Sherry, Kerry, and Carter to get here tomorrow. It's going to be wild with three little boys in the house, but I absolutely can not wait. It's going to be so much fun watching Carter and Corban interact - I just hope that my kid doesn't beat up on Sherry's kid. I think I'm already going to be the parent of the stinky kid, I don't want to be the parent of the bully too.

Oh, I'm going to post a picture soon of Corban walking around in my high heel wedge shoes. He honestly walks in them. That boy loves shoes and hair brushes - you can guess what I tell Johnny he's going to be when he grows up! :)

The last two nights we've asked Corban if it's time to go night night and he's grabbed Johnny's hand and headed to the stairs. Last night it was 8 o'clock, which is an hour ahead of his usual bedtime and he still slept until 7 - I could really get used to that!

We've not been doing much around here, just trying to figure out how things are going to work with both boys. The great thing is that usually Corban takes like a 2 1/2 to 3 hour nap right in the middle of the afternoon, so if I can get Caden to be calm, I've got a good chunk of time where I can either get stuff done or take a shower. Today I actually got to clean my kitchen and do a little laundry (dang, I've got to go switch stuff or it will have to be re-washed). We had our small group tonight. I enjoy it a lot, but it's harder now that I've got Caden to take care of. It's fun though because Kim is in our group, so we get to see Caden and Brody together every week! I think that the other groups are jealous because we've got both babies and they have none.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get to run to Sam's (by myself) and do a little more laundry - we'll see how that goes though!

When people ask how I'm doing after the baby, I always say, "Fine." If I was honest, the answer would always be "exhausted." Seems like if one of them doesn't have a bad night, the other does. Caden threw up for the first time last night. He did it in the bassinet, but somehow there was puke on our bed and on me too. I had just thought yesterday afternoon that Caden hadn't thrown up or spit up at all and how awesome that was. Oh well, we changed the sheets and went back to sleep. It's things like that that make me glad he's in our room, I don't know how long it would have been before I knew about that.

Today I think my big adventure is going to be the grocery store. We're all scraping the bottom of the barrel for meals. I think Johnny and both kids are coming, so this might be a learning experience for us. Other than a quick trip to JC Penny one evening and our small group (during which Caden fussed the whole time) I haven't been anywhere all week. I'm actually excited about Wal-Mart and I HATE our Wal-Mart.

Just a little over a week before Sherry and Kerry and Carter are here! I can't wait to see you guys!

I think that we might be able to settle into something of a routine without too much trouble. This morning I took Corban out in the front yard and left Caden in his pack-n-play. I heard him fussing after a while, but left him alone and he actually cried himself to sleep - never would have let Corban do that at two and a half weeks, but there are so many things that are different with the second. After I fed Corban and put him down for a nap, I thought I was going to get one too, but he woke up after 40 minutes. He's not feeling well at all today - runny nose and a little bit of a fever. Caden is awake more and more now. I'm looking forward to getting to know this little guy. I still have to keep telling myself that he's not Corban and he's not going to do and be just like Corban. I hope that he has the same sweetness though, I don't think I'm cut out for a mean little booger.

Johnny has been working from the church more, which is really good for all of us. He's getting more done and I don't feel myself relying on him to do so much around the house. So this cuts down on the guilt for both of us, his guilt about getting his work done and my guilt for taking him away from his work. Well, both boys are asleep for now so we're going to try to get our episode of Stargate Atlantis watched - we started it before we went out to our small group.

Today was our first day alone in the house. I don't know how accurate a picture of daily life it will be since Johnny was able to stick around for a good part of the morning. After Corban's nap though we did get outside for a while, just me and the boys. I put Caden in the bouncy seat on the front porch and let Corban play in the front yard. That should work well, especially if Caden will settle down - he's been a bit fussy lately. Yesterday was very interesting - it was our first car trip. We were taking Katie to a halfway point to meet up with her parents. Corban hadn't had a nap, so fell asleep in the car. He woke up screaming about 25 minutes from where we were going and would not settle down. Nothing I did would calm him - I think he had a headache. Caden slept through the whole thing though, and slept through dinner which was nice. He woke up right at the end and I fed him in the parking lot of Target while Johnny took Corban in for a few things. I forget how everything takes so much longer with a newborn. Well, one is getting a spanking, one is crying, and I need to help Johnny with dinner.

Busy, busy, busy! We've actually had a pretty good week. Katie has been here all week helping with the boys, so that has been nice. And I got to pick Corban up yesterday! Not that I haven't a little bit over the last two weeks, but I didn't feel bad about it yesterday. Both boys have slept pretty well the last two nights - I haven't even been taking naps this week. Marilou just got in this afternoon and will be in and out for the rest of the weekend taking her class. She brought gifts for Caden and a tub of Blake's clothes for Corban.

Yesterday was a learning experience for me though. Katie and I took the boys to the mall so that Corban could play in the play area - it was raining outside. I carried Caden in the sling and she pushed Corban in the stroller. When we were leaving it was raining, so I left her at the entrance with the boys while I got the car. She put Corban in, I put Caden and the stroller in. By the time we had gotten both boys strapped in and the stroller in we were both soaking wet. If I had been alone I can't imagine what it would have been like - so I'm not even going to try to imagine and I'm not going anywhere with both boys by myself until they can both walk.

Johnny is at a wedding rehearsal right now and we're going over to eat later. Tomorrow is the wedding and our church picnic and Marilou is going to be home earlier so maybe we can hang out a bit. Sunday we're driving Katie halfway to meet her dad. What a busy few days!

I've been up since about 2 am. Caden kept me up and Corban kept Johnny up. I think Corban is getting about 5 teeth at one time and he's in a stink of a mood - doesn't help that things are so out of sorts around here. I'm exhausted, Johnny's exhausted, and we've got his parents and cousin here. Tomorrow is baby dedication at church! It will be Caden's first Sunday in church - that's kind of neat :) Well, I think both of my boys need diaper changes - that's life at the Shirey house now!

What a week! My Mom and Dad left this morning to go back to KY. I feel bad for them because they've worked so hard around here and taken care of two boys and they are headed back home where they've got Grace's birthday party on Saturday and Monday Mom starts keeping kids again and Dad has to go back to work too. It was so wonderful to have them here though, I definitely couldn't have done this week by myself.

Today Johnny's parents are coming in to spend the weekend. We're actually having a baby dedication this Sunday, so they were looking forward to being here for that. They're bringing Johnny's cousin who is a senior in high school this year. She's going to stay until Sunday to help out with the boys. I'm feeling much better and would probably be OK except that I'm still not supposed to pick Corban up - and I can tell that I shouldn't - it hurts. Plus it doesn't help that next weekend Johnny has a wedding and I've got the church picnic to attend oh, and Marilou emailed and asked if she could stay with us that weekend for a class she's got to take in Pittsburgh. I don't think that we'll get to see much of her though, but I am looking forward to a visit. After next Sunday though, all of the help is gone until S & K show up.

Right now Corban is standing at the front door watching his Daddy mow the yard and Caden is in the pack-n-play. I've snuck away to do a little internet catch-up. Caden has been a real dream. He's very content and has been doing pretty well at night. For the most part he's getting up every 3 hours to eat through the night and is very happy to lay in the pack-n-play and either look around or sleep. He's already starting to be awake more during the day. Well, Corban's done watching Daddy and Caden is making some noise. Talk to ya'll later!

Hey all! I don't know what I'll have time to write, I'll do my best. Labor and delivery went very well. This time it was like we thought it was going to be with Corban. I started the Pitocin at 9:30, started having strong contractions right away and got the epidural at 11:30. My water broke at around 1 or 2 I think - this happened naturally, so at least one thing in this whole process did! An hour later the nurse came in to see if I thought I could push yet, I didn't think I could, but when we tried she said this baby was ready to be born! She went and got the doctor and in two more pushes he was here! I am so thankful that it was such an easy delivery - I was able to enjoy everything so much more this time! He was 8 lbs 19 1/2 inches when he was born. I guess he went down to 7 lbs 8 oz in the hospital, but yesterday he was already back up to 7 lbs 13 oz. We go back to weigh him again on Tuesday. He took to breastfeeding right away and that hasn't changed, which has been a huge blessing because I think it's helped him sleep better. So far being at home, he slept well then had a bad night, then did really well again. Hopefully that's not a pattern.

Corban thinks that Caden is absolutely hilarious. It doesn't matter if he's crying or just laying there or what, Corban walks up to him and just starts giggling. He's a little rough with Caden, but he does love to hug and kiss him and play with his toes. The hardest thing right now is that I can't pick Corban up and he just doesn't understand that. He's just completely out of his element right now, but I think once I can play with him a little more like normal and pick him up, he'll start to settle down and get into the swing of things.

My Mom and Dad have been here since Thursday, which has been a huge blessing. They've been taking care of Corban and the house and meals so that pretty much all I've had to concentrate on is my boys. They're leaving Thursday or Friday and then John and Paulette are coming for the weekend. After that we're on our own until Sherry and Kerry come to visit - I guess we'll call that a test run! Well, I think that breakfast is ready for us, so I'm going to go. I'll get some pictures up later.

Corban was sick yesterday. I think he may have just been teething, but he had a little bit of a fever and diahrea all day long. Bless his heart, his little hiney was so red and raw by the end of the day. He's actually never had much of a diaper rash - we've probably only used cream on him about 20 times in his 16 months and we had lost his butt paste, so Johnny had to run out last night and get some. Then, he decided to wake up at 1:30 and not go back to sleep. I finally laid down in the big bed with him and I know we saw 4 am before he was completely asleep. Usually I don't sleep with him, but between him not feeling well and me knowing that these are the last few days we've got alone with him, I couldn't resist. He's feeling much better today though, and I think Diana and Nadine are going to come get him for a while this afternoon. I'm going to clean my floors and take a nap :)

Now it's just two days until D(delivery)-Day!

I can already hardly remember this weekend. I know that Saturday I had a hard time because I was feeling nauseous most of the day and Corban was being very obstinate. I just didn't have the emotional strength to deal with it. Thank goodness Johnny was around! Yesterday was nice though. We did church, had a good crowd, and Johnny didn't have any meetings afterward! We all came home and had lunch and took naps. Then yesterday afternoon we went to the mall because Johnny needed some new tennis shoes. It was getting close to closing time so when we stopped at the play area for Corban he almost had the place to himself. After that we went out to eat again - TGI Friday's and came home and played outside for a while. Corban always wants to get in his "bath" when we're outside, so that can be a little difficult when we don't want to deal with it. Last night goign to sleep I thought I had an alien baby - he was being so active and it wasn't in just one place, he was all over my belly. It was fun watching Johnny just watch my stomach and seeing how Caden was making it roll - but talk about nauseous! I'm still hoping that I go into labor any minute now, but I guess Thursday morning is D Day!

The End is Near!

I went to the doctor today - for the last time! I'm somewhere between 3 and 4 cm, which is not nearly as far along as I was with Corban by this time, but oh well. I have an induction set up for next Thursday morning at 7 if things don't happen naturally by then. Johnny is getting very anxious about it, but I've pretty much resigned myself to another induction. I would rather go into labor naturally, but I think I need to not be pregnant more than I need to do it "naturally." Watch my water break tonight though - and all of our babysitters are out of town! Corban and Johnny are outside playing, I'm exhausted because after Johnny and I went to the doctor's we did a hospital tour and ran a few errands, picked Corban up, and went to Johnny Carino's for dinner. We figured this was one of the last opportunities we were going to have to eat out for a while, so we thought we would enjoy it. Johnny has a full day tomorrow so I'm hoping that I can rest quite a bit.

Yesterday was nice. We went to see Brody Fitzroy - he's beautiful. They had been telling Kim that he was going to be at least 8 maybe 9 pounds, but he ended up being just 6 lbs, 7 ounces. It's kind of a neat story because Jim didn't get in from Korea until about 2 am Monday morning and her water broke at 4 am and the baby was born at 5 pm on Monday. God's hand was definitely in that - and now Jim has every day of his 3 week leave to spend with his son!

Corban was excellent all day yesterday, he was such a pleasant boy during the trip to the hospital and we played when we got home and even after Johnny left he was in the best mood. He even fell asleep sitting on my lap watching TV last night - he hasn't done that forever. Since Johnny was gone last night I did my nails and caught up on some internet stuff. Today Corban took a 3 hour nap (I had a 2 hour one), we all had lunch, and then Diana came to pick up Corban and take him back to her house for a while. I've gotten my dishes washed, kitchen floor cleaned, the carpets vacuumed, and I'm going to go put the clothes away in my bedroom. For some reason I feel so much more able to get stuff done when he's completely out of the house rather than when he's just napping. Today is John's birthday - wouldn't it be awesome if Caden shared his G-Pa's birthday!

Yesterday was pretty nice. Johnny got Cameron to the airport then had to go back to the hospital to visit a lady who was having surgery. Corban and I played around the house but he didn't take a nap until 2 in the afternoon. After that we had to go get groceries. It's kind of a pain now b/c I like to be the one to get the groceries, but I can't do it by myself anymore and I definitely can't do it by myself with Corban, so all 3 of us have to go. Oh well, we got it done and hopefully won't have to make a big run for a while. We had a WONDERFUL dinner last night. We bought some potrabella mushrooms and zuchini and grilled those and some chicken breasts and then had a packet of cheddar and broccoli rice to go along with it. Yummy! We were saying last night we enjoy our healthiest meals the most, but don't spend the money or take the time to eat like that as much as we should.

Kim Fitzroy had her baby yesterday! I just got the voicemail this morning, so we're probably going to try to head to the hospital after Corban wakes up and we all eat lunch. Jim got in Sunday night at midnight, so he was there for the birth. God had to be in the timing for that! Johnny's making meatloaf tonight and is going to go see that new Batman movie with Luke afterward. I'm just hoping that Corban stays in a good mood while Johnny is gone - I depend on him so much to deal with that little boy. Everyone who watches him always comments on how active he is and how exhausting it must be for me - in case you were wondering, it is! Anyway, I'm praying to go into labor VERY soon, so if you wanna help me out - a few extra prayers never hurt!

Yesterday was pretty wonderful. Corban and I both napped in the morning, I got the bulletin done and Johnny finished the sermon and then we went to Don and Bonnie's to get in the pool. We spent 2 hours in the pool, at least one of which I was laying on a raft in my own little corner. I let everyone else watch Corban and didn't even try to socialize - it was wonderful! The water is a huge help with the weight of the belly. I told Bonnie I would probably find my way over every day this week if I haven't managed to have a baby yet. Then Don and Bonnie even fed us dinner! Corban LOVES corn on the cob we have discovered. He was taking bites off of mine, then we gave him half an ear for himself and he cleaned it off and was begging for more. Johnny gave him about half of the ear he had been working on himself and Corban ate all of that and wanted more too! Plus he had eaten a hot dog and a lot of baked beans. I love it when he eats good like that.

Right now Corban is down for a nap and Johnny is in a meeting at church. We're probably going to lay down for a nap until Corban wakes up and Craig and Diana are having us over for dinner tonight. We haven't had to cook a weekend meal for a few weeks now and it's great! Cameron comes in later tonight so that Johnny can take him to the airport tomorrow morning and I'm praying every waking moment that I'm going to be going to the hospital soon!

Did I mention that today is my original due date?

Yesterday was pretty OK. We didn't do much during the day, it was so hot out Corban didn't even really want to be outside, even in his pool. In the evening we got ready and went down to Community Days in Turtle Creek. We basically just ate our dinner down there - there really wasn't much to it and Corban is still too young for that kind of thing anyway. I got deep fried Oreos though before we came home and I ate those with ice cream and chocolate sauce before we went to bed. I thought I was going to die all night long. The reflux was terrible, I was burning up, and my stomach hurt so bad. I was honestly getting worried that I had food poisoning. Finally I got settled down enough to sleep at about 5. I got up with Corban at 7 and let Johnny sleep, so he's putting Corban down for a nap now and I'm going to go take one myself.

Corban is doing really well with his animal noises. Piggy is still my favorite, but he says "do" for rooster and it's pretty cute too! Last night at the thing, Johnny was letting him walk around and he ran right up to some girl and hugged her around the legs - he's never seen her before in his life! I'm going to have to keep a close eye on that boy or he's going to walk away with some stranger who gives him ice cream or something.

Oh, I know that this is morbid, but it's a big story here in Pittsburgh this weekend. There was a woman who came to the hospital with a baby with the umbilical cord still attached. She said it was hers, but when they confronted her she said that she bought it and they arrested her. This is her 3rd arrest for something like this. First, she tried to steal a baby from Children's Hospital, then she slashed a woman on the street to get her baby, and now they've found a dead body in this woman's apartment. I'm assuming that she cut the baby out and left the woman for dead. Scary, isn't it? We're wondering why they let her go after the 2nd thing.

NO CHANGE

I had a doctor's appointment today - she said "no change." I guess the most I'll have is two weeks because they said they wouldn't let me go past the 31st. I'm not really into being induced again if I can help it, but I'm so tired and sore and uncomfortable right now that I'm not sure how I'll feel in couple of more weeks.

We're doing well though, I've decided that I'm not going to do work while Corban is napping. I either nap myself or at least sit and rest. I'm trying to do a cross stitch for Caden and one for Libby and Cameron's boy - I think they're going to name him Kenan. I made shells the other day and put one pan in the freezer and we had Luke over and had the other half tonight. I think we've got dinner set up so we don't have to cook for the rest of the weekend! I was watching Jon & Kate plus 8 today and he was cooking for them - she was completely freaked out to have him in "her" kitchen. I can't imagine if Johnny didn't do at least half of the cooking what I would do - I've got an awesome husband because not only does he do it, he enjoys it!

We're going to Community Days tomorrow night - it's not much, but especially since the church has a booth down there I feel we need to make an appearance. Corban will probably have fun anyway. He went swimming with Diana today - he was letting himself go all of the way under and then coming up laughing when they brought him back up. Sometimes it scares me how fearless he is.

We've had a full day. This morning we went to pick up a toddler bed with mattress that a woman from MOPS was giving away. It's in great shape and even though we don't know if we'll use the bed, we really needed the mattress for Caden. When Corban went down for his nap, so did I. I decided that I don't really care what my house looks like - I'm tired and I'm going to nap when he does. After naps and lunch, Johnny had a meeting and Corban and I went swimming. Right now both of my guys are upstairs taking a nap. I was messing around on the internet, but I think I'm going to go lay down on the couch and take another nap. The pool feels great because it takes all of the pressure off my body from the extra weight, but it still tires me out.

This weekend was much better. Saturday we had a few chores to do, but we spent a good chunk of the day at a friend's BBQ where Corban got to swim. He was so worn out by the time we got home! Yesterday we had church and Johnny had a board meeting and then afterward we had to get ready for our young adult get-together. We're wanting some of the people our age to get a little more involved, so we thought this might be a good way to get some connections started. We had a decent turn out - 10 adults and Corban. I think some people were surprised that there were that many of us, and there were about 6 or 8 others who weren't able to come - maybe this will be a regular thing. We hung out outside for a while, they tried to play horshoes, but Diana got hurt, so after we ate we ended up going over to the church to play dart ball. It's this game where they have a board about the size of a chalk board set up like a baseball field and there are darts about six inches long that you throw at the board and obviously it's scored like baseball. We played girls against guys and the girls DESTROYED the boys. Personally, I got 3 homeruns! For some reason I always play pretty well when I'm pregnant.

This morning Johnny has taken Corban to Wal-Mart to return some things and pick up some things, and then he has to go to the hospital to visit and I'm going to try to make some stuffed shells to take to someone who had surgery last week. Hopefully we can get those delivered today and that should be it as far as stuff I need to take care of other than keeping my house picked up in case I end up in the hospital myself.

Oh, and let me tell you something I didn't think would ever happen to me - I have lost complete control of my bladder. I've already had a few minor "accidents" at home, but last night was the first time I got up in the middle of the night to pee and it took me so long to get there that I was completely wetting myself before I could get to the bathroom! Who would have thought that the second pregnancy would make such a difference!

Breakdown

Right now I'm having a little bit of a breakdown - and blaming it on pregnancy hormones. Poor Corban is frustrated with not going and doing stuff and I just haven't been up to being out alone with him and of course Johnny has work to do and can't be with us all of the time. Right now I'm listening to him scream from his crib because he went to sleep fine, but I can't get him into his crib asleep anymore so he's voicing his opinion of me. Yesterday Diana had him a good portion of his waking hours and that was so helpful, and I thought today would be great because of that, but it's been even harder. This is one of those times that living so far away from family and friends is the hardest. I know if I was closer I would have so many of you to call on for help. I guess I need to just be willing to ask it of our church family here - I know they would all love the chance to help, but then again, I feel like I need to be spending as much time as possible with him before the baby is born because it's going to be even harder afterward. Well, I've calmed down a little - thanks for "listening" to my rant. I'm sure I'll snap out of it soon and things will all get back to normal - I hope :)

I had another doctor's visit today and I basically don't know anything new. I'm about 30% efaced and 2-2 1/2 cm. They're still going with the due date of the 31st even though the doctor today said that she didn't think I would actually go that long. They just keep saying they won't let me go past the 31st - my response, "No crap, you won't let me go past the 31st. I think I would die if I'm still pregnant by then." Oh well, all in God's time I guess. I'm getting more and more uncomfortable and it's getting hard to deal with Corban all day, but it's actually not been a bad pregnancy at all.

Corban is saying "baby" now, which is really awesome. In fact, yesterday when Johnny took him into the nursery to change his diaper, he pointed to the crib and said, "baby." I can't wait to see him with Caden! Corban has also learned what a piggy says. Luke showed him by poking his nose up in the air, so Corban holds his nose and breathes out - it's the funniest thing. He's also great with what a doggy says and will sometimes do a cow and will "hop hop" like a bunny. He's been swimming a few times this week - he's fearless! He just throws himself around in the water and doesn't care at all about going under or if someone is holding him and he loves to play on the ladder. Well, Johnny's in a meeting and Craig and Di are coming over afterward for dinner so I'm going to get some laundry done while Corban is sleeping.

Happy Birthday to Laura tomorrow!

Yesterday was nice. Corban slept until a little after 7, we all got up and had breakfast and watched a little TV then Johnny finished up the sermon until Corban's naptime. When Johnny put Corban down for a nap, we all went down. I got to talk to Sherry for quite a while yesterday, which was nice, and then after lunch I finished up the bulletin and we took Corban outside. Corban and I played in his little pool while Johnny washed the truck. He started getting fussy and was making his vroom vroom noises, so I got out his wagon to give him a ride. Honestly, I could only pull him for a little bit - that thing is a monster and I run out of steam quick now. We came in and had a snack of grapes and apple juice and then he actually got to go outside for a little while longer before he went down for his evening nap. Johnny and I had hamburgers - home grown and grilled - they were GOOOOD!

Today we've got church and Johnny has a meeting with someone at 4 - I was hoping to get Corban in someone's big swimming pool today, but with Johnny's meeting it just won't happen with Corban's naps. Oh well, hopefully the weather will be nice enough that we can go out sometime this week.

Happy Independence Day!

Yesterday's sonogram was really neat. We hadn't gotten to have one of Corban when he was that big, so this one was really different. First of all, the 4D makes us think that Caden is going to look just like Corban. Secondly, this boy is already 7 lbs 9 oz. If he did go until the 31st, he could be a 10 lb baby! This sonogram was more in line with the original due date of the 19th, which is what I think is a more likely time anyway. The doctor still said that my belly is measuring like the 31st, but I think that I did the same thing with Corban. I think my measurements were a little behind just because I have more room to hide him since I'm so long waisted. All of the doctors have said though that they won't let me go past the 31st, but of course I could have him any day now!

We're getting excited about having a new little one in the house - I can't wait to meet my new little man! I am a little more worried about Corban though. Not necessarily that he'll hurt the baby or even really act out, but he's not paying too much attention to us right now. Saying "No" just doesn't cut it anymore and he's deliberately running away from us sometimes now when he knows he's going to get in trouble... what am I going to do when there are TWO of them doing that?!

Well, I've got to get some clothes on to go to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things for our cookout at the Fitzroy's this afternoon. I'm looking forward to hangning out with them more - they're a lot of fun. Plus, one of Kim's friends is coming in from Kansas with their 7 month old baby and I like for Corban to be around as many babies as possible. Hope everyone has a great 4th!

Last night I got to have a girl's night. Johnny took Corban to Bonnie's at 3, so I got to clean the house, get ready, and watch Army Wives before the girls got here to head down to the Waterfront. We ate at P.F. Chang's, did a little shopping, and got ice cream at Cold Stone. When we got back the guys were watching a movie and Corban had crashed early. He didn't get to swim at Bonnie's, but they took him to a park and stuffed him like a pig. He apparently ate three big plates of food at dinner.

This afternoon has not been so nice. Dale was here helping Johnny put a ceiling fan in Corban's room and I was in our room getting ready. Johnny needed something and as I got up to get it, I dropped my straightening iron on the floor and got tangled in it. Somehow though, I didn't burn my feet, but I cut my big toe pretty bad. A few minutes later Corban and I were leaving to do a few errands in town and while I was sitting at a red light, I got rear-ended. It didn't do any damage to the car or me or Corban, but it shook us up pretty badly. As soon as it happened, he started crying and I was trying to settle him down and get across traffic to get out of the road and settle myself down too. The guy felt absolutely horrible about it and it didn't make it any easier on him when he realized I was pregnant and had a little one in the car with me. Johnny came and got us though because I was a little too shaky to drive. We've all gotten settled down now though. I'm realizing I'm a little stiff, but nothing serious. We've got small group tonight and tomorrow we get our sonogram and have a doctor's appointment. Hopefully they'll tell me that my earlier due date is the one we're going with. I feel so weird telling people I' ve got somewhere between 3 and 5 weeks - just sounds weird.

The weekend has been pretty uneventful. We've pretty much hung out around the house and played outside whenever the weather permits. Right now Corban and Johnny are both taking naps. Sundays are so hard on Corban b/c he's usually down for his morning nap no later than 10:30, but on Sundays we don't get home until noon usually. I feel sorry for whoever does nursery during the second half of the morning because I have a feeling he's a bit of a pill.

Today I found out that Diana had taught Corban to blow bubbles the other day! She got some wedding bubbles out of her purse and he blew them for us - and then when everybody was impressed and clapped for him, he did a big bow. He was watching Nina and Alexandra practice their formal ballet bow last week and picked it up then. Our boy is such a ham!

I'm looking forward to this week, I'm planning to get A LOT of cleaning done and to get Corban's old clothes out for Caden and to get their closets switched around. I don't know where I'm going to put everything. Plus, we've got our usual pre-marital counseling sessions, small group, doctor's appointments, and we're going to the Fitzroy's for the 4th - I'm really looking forward to that! I'm going to go cross stitch while my boys are asleep.

OK, here's the latest baby news. First of all, I get to have another sonogram, which I am completely thrilled about! The reason I get to have it though, is because of there being such a discrepancy between my due dates. My cycle said the 19th, my earlier sonogram said the 31st. Finally, this last doctor said we would get another sonogram to see how things look now. She says that I'm measuring like the 31st and that most of the time they go by the sonogram when there is such a big difference anyway. That means that instead of being 3 weeks, I've got 5 weeks. I've got more time to get things done around here, but also more time being pregnant! Oh well, it's all in God's time anyway.

Yesterday was great! Corban took a great nap, I helped Johnny with some stuff and got my kitchen pretty much cleaned up. I got a shower while Corban was still napping and then he woke up and had a good lunch and we went outside to play in his baby pool. It was REALLY cold, but he enjoyed it anyway. While Johnny was finishing up a meeting Corban fell asleep sitting with me in the recliner which hasn't happened for a long time. Then, we went to Craig and Diana's for dinner. It was great - so much food - Corban stuffed himself! We played a little Shanghi Rummy and watched the storm while Nadine played with Corban and then we came home, put the boy to bed, and watched a little TV. I woke up with a HORRIBLE leg cramp though, which still hurts a little. Diana is going to come by this afternoon to watch Corban so that Johnny can come to my doctor's visit with me. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks left!

We've been letting Corban cry it out for naps for the last few days - it's horrible. He goes down so well at night, but naptime has always been a struggle and it's even worse now listening to him yell "Daddy" the whole time (he calls me daddy too most of the time). Today was a good day though. Corban had a good night and slept in, we all got showers and breakfast and I headed out to pick up Nina. Corban wasn't asleep yet when we got home, so we had to listen to him scream for an hour, but we played a few games and watched some TV. Whoever thought that I would be watching a show with Billy Ray Cyrus as a main character? After Corban woke up from his nap we went outside to play with bubbles and then went to our friend's the Bowersox to swim in their pool. Corban and Nina both had a great time and we ended up staying for about 3 hours and then I took Nina home. Corban has no fear, the boy would just walk off the edge of the pool or stick his face in the water and he always comes up laughing. In some ways I think it's great, in some ways it scares me to death. Tomorrow is my last day with Nina and we're having our small group over to the house for a pot-luck tomorrow night, so I'm going to be a couch potato as much as possible on Thursday. Oh, and did everybody else know that Rihanna is from Barbados? Who knows, maybe our group met her while we were there!

Today was a very nice day. We got up early, but we all just kind of got to hang out for a while before Corban went down for his nap (he slept for 4 hours!) and I had to go pick up Nina. This is my last week with her for a while - I think we're both a little sad. Anyway, while I was out Libby called and asked if we wanted to have lunch since they were passing close by. They went to Coleman's wedding in Wheeling, WV this weekend, which is about an hour away. So we took Nina with us and ate a very nice lunch at Damon's. It was nice to get to hang out with just them for a while. By the time we got home it was time to take Nina home and now Johnny and Corban are hanging out watching the Backyardigans.

Yesterday was a nice day too. We had a baby shower for Kim Fitzroy (Maggie and Carolyn's sister-in-law). She's due the 23rd of July. I ended up having a lot to do for the shower and was completely exhausted afterward, but it was fun. It was pathetic though b/c Corban was running around the house with something he shouldn't have had, and I honestly could not catch him! Less than 4 weeks now though and we'll have two to deal with!