Giving Thanks

My mom and I make a pretty mean team in the kitchen. We actually had all of our dishes prepped and ready by mid-morning and then just relaxed until it was time for the big feast. The food this Thanksgiving was hands down the best thanksgiving meal to date. In fact, Papa Grover declared that the turkey was the best he's ever had! High praise! Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling my best and couldn't find the energy to participate in the cooking preparations as much as I would have liked, but there is no one more capable to leave in command than my mom. I'm so glad we got to share the occasion and the feast with some of our favorite people. The kids were in cousin heaven--the boys barely surfaced from playing in the basement long enough to drink some pop and eat a fresh roll and then ran back down for more rough housing. 

Just in case I hadn't fully appreciated my good fortune in life, family, and health, the Saturday after Thanksgiving our company returned home, Aaron had to handle some matters out of town, and I was left alone, just me, the five boys, and a whammy of a stomach flu! Lying on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night, clinging to dear life, sure has a way of humbling you real quick! Since that nightmarish episode, I'm definitely counting my strong body and good general health on my list of blessings. Speaking seriously though of blessings, my cup runneth over and my heart is full of gratitude for my blessings--the six men that comprise my whole world, and the crazy life we've built together. I am blessed indeed. Happy Thanksgiving!

Stitch

Have you ever seen the movie, "Lilo and Stitch?" It's about this little part-teddy bear, part-Tasmanian devil creature, Stitch, that becomes adopted by a little girl named Lilo. Stitch is cute and lovable, but his curiousity and playfulness seem to keep getting him into mischief. Well, I'm pretty sure the character of Stitch was conceived, both in appearance and personality, based on my two-year-old, Joey. Joey is just the cutest little guy, but boy does he have a precocious, playful little personality! I often have to remind myself that Joey is only 2 because he has the vocabulary of an adult and the independence of a big kid. He can be feisty, but I love my sweet Joey Bear.

Edited: this awesome incident involving Joey and a bottle of red nail polish occurred just hours after I wrote this post. See what I mean? So mischievous, yet so stinking cute at the same time!

Straight 4s

Hank and Max both brought home straight 4s on their report cards so we decided to cash in their perfect grades for free donuts at Krispy Kreme and free tokens at Boondocks! I think this just might become a new tradition! Keep those 4s coming!

Challenges

The logical, reasonable side of my brain knew that when we received the results from Ben's audiology exam, confirming severe unilateral hearing loss, that I shouldn't feel upset because this isn't new information (the injury causing the hearing loss occurred four years ago). But the mommy side of my brain, which has clearly taken over all other higher thinking parts of my brain, just hurt for the little boy who already battles so many challenges. My stomach felt punched and the deck seemed stacked. I still haven't fully digested what this new diagnosis entails and how it will unfold in his continuing development, but it has made me look at Ben with an even deeper sense of pride and admiration. Ben just keeps trucking right along, completely and mercifully unaware of his own hardships. Yesterday he opened his "suitcase" and put on his own glasses and stated, without the least bit of self-pity or bitterness, "my glasses help my eyes to see." I pray everyday that his burdens will be made light, but I'm beginning to understand that this may be one of those instances when the Lord has chosen, instead of lightening the load, to strengthen Ben's shoulders...in part by blessing him with four loving, kind, and compassionate brothers.

Score!

When I signed Ben up for an Itty-Bitty Ball basketball class, I knew there were several different ways this class could turn out. I was prepared to have to hold his hand the entire class while he warmed up to the coaches and new surrounding. I was expecting to have to bribe him to participate with M&Ms. I was planning on him refusing to leave the security of a chair and his beloved Legos. But I was NOT prepared for him to forget all about me and run along and join all the other kids like it was no big deal, running, laughing, and having a great time! Half the time Ben preferred to roll on top of the ball on his tummy rather than shoot it in the basket...but it's ok because we didn't sign up for basketball to play basketball anyways! We signed up for basketball so that Ben could enjoy some physical activity, develop confidence in himself, gain more experience practicing his social skills, and because I wanted him to feel like he has his own "thing" that merits our support. The fact that he has a pretty solid little shot is just a bonus:)

First Steps

Most kids follow the standard developmental progression of milestones from crawling, to pulling up, to cruising, to finally walking. Rocky did the crawling and the pulling up, but he decided to throw in a little extra milestone into the progression: hopping. After anxiously watching Rocky find his balance we prepared to witness his first steps. Instead of putting one foot in front of the other, he bounced himself forward on two feet in a series of cute little bunny hops! What a funny boy! With the hopping only getting him so far, he's finally begun to take real steps! I'd probably feel a little woeful about my baby becoming a walker if it wasn't the cutest thing on earth to watch. 

Fang

Before we had kids, Aaron and I used to joke that with the orthodontic issues between our two families, chances were good our kids' teeth would grow in with the bottoms on the top and the tops on the bottom. Miraculously, our boys have lucked out with beautifully spaced, straight baby teeth...until now. Rocky's bottom two teeth popped up right on schedule around 11 months, but then right on Halloween Day, he cut his first upper tooth: a fang! No front teeth, just one little sharp fang in the corner. In the past few weeks, the fang has dropped into place nicely and the second upper tooth, the right front tooth, has also cut through, but he's still missing one front tooth! I'm only partially joking, given the genetics at play, about being concerned that his left fang and right center tooth ARE his two front teeth. I love this quirky little smile!