Anna is hitting the potty train (and Dr.'s appt.'s)!

So Anna has been potty training for a few days now.  She is really doing well.  I haven't been brave enough yet to take her out in undies, but that will come.  She has yet to tell me she has to go, I've just been sitting her on the potty frequently.  I am not sure she gets that she needs to catch herself and tell me she has to go before she has an accident.  At any rate, I am so far really proud of her and don't be surprised if you stop by our house and see a half nakie Annie!

I took all three of the little ones to well child visits yesterday.  They all looked good.  Annie is right around the 50th percentile for height and weight (a little above for the weight and a little under for the height).  Gideon weighed 24 lbs 11 oz.  He was in the 3rd percentile for weight and the 25th for height.  We are taking Gee back to the GI specialist in December as a follow up and he had requested that a mid 6 month weight be done.  A three of the little ones really looked great though.  I left that Dr. appt. feeling so blessed for the 5 healthy kids I have!

A couple "funnies." 

-Ryan came home Sunday afternoon after cutting some wood and as usual all the kids ran up to him saying "Daddy home, daddy home."  Well, Ryan just happen to ask Anna to come sit in his lap and as she walked over to him she tripped a little bit and whined.  Ryan held her babied her a bit.  So Gideon, not missing a beat stands up and pretends to fall and than whines.  It was so funny and Ryan was just cackling.  We where both like "we can't believe he just did that."  I guess Gee was needing some lovings also!

-The 3 toddlers new phrase is "No mommy, I talk'in to ______."  Madeline started it and now all three say it.  A typical situation goes like this:    One of the little one is rambling on about something and I will say "Anna what do you need?" or I will answer their question if they asked one, to this I get (in a very frustrated voice), "No mommy, I talk'in to Madeline."  I feel like sarcastically saying "gesh, sorry!"

-Anna is very big into "why" right now.  Ugh, if I never heard that word again it would be fine by me.

Oh yeah, our camping trip last week was tons of funs.  I have lots of pictures and as soon as they are uploaded I will post them.  We hiked quite a bit and the kids did really well.  It was great to get some family time!

Well, until later....

Julie    

"Poopy, wet"

So this is often times Anna's phrase when she has pooped (yes, potty training is right around the corner).  Earlier today this is the conversation I hear:

Anna - "Poopy, wet......poopy, wet"

Madeline - "Ok, Anna, let me see"

So Madeline proceeds to check Anna's diaper like I do, by pulling it out at the back. 

Madeline - "Ohhhhhhh.....Anna, you poopy"

This is funny to me because she said it exactly like I say it, she even had a look of disgust on her face.  Yes, sometimes I get tired of changing literally 6 to 8 poopy diapers a day (Maddie is potty trained and Gee and Anna have poop issues) and I act disgusted that I am changing yet another on.

So I lay Anna down and change her and Madeline and Gideon gather around.  Maddie says "that's disgusting" and Gee chimes in with "dis-gut-ing."

Poor, poor Anna.  Fortunately she was not phased by the whole incident and she seriously cackled the whole time.  

Julie

Finally, some Gideon birthday pics!

Gideon had 4 different birthday celebrations this year.  Hey, we barely missed his first birthday, so I don't feel too badly for going a little overboard. We celebrated with my whole family the day before his birthday and then of course we had to have a little party on his actual birthday.  Then, we had a big pirate pool party for all his cousins and finally we celebrated with Ryan's family while camping.  Gideon and my niece are two days apart, so they partied together this year.  

The pictures are nutty as usual, but there are pics of his pirate pool party and his joined party (while camping) with my niece.  

PS.  I am so frustrated with my picture issues on this blog.  I have tried to remedy the problem in the few ways I know how (I am not computer savvy).  I wonder if it's not just a weird "Apple Computer" thing.  It seems I have a lot of issues with this computer not recognizing typical programs.  But, I have loaded pictures normally on here before.  **Sigh**

Julie  

Oh dear gussy........

Well, I guess I asked for it.  A blog is indeed very public, meaning anyone can read and obviously post a comment.  Which truly is fine, but now I find it necessary to respond to such comments......

Please do not assume that we are uneducated or unenlightened on the pros and cons of circumcision simple because we do not share your opinion on the subject.  We have done our research, prayed about it and we have come to a conclusion that we feel is best for our son and our family.  I do not feel obligated to share those views on a public blog which is why they will remain our personal convictions.  As Gideon's parents we will always have his best interests at heart.  We don't get overly concerned with strangers opinions.  

Julie

Just Checking in.

I had a minute so I thought I would post and ramble on a bit.

The summer is flying by.  I mean seriously, where did it go?  I love fall and winter (until about early March) so the upcoming season change is just fine, but along with fall comes homeschooling, piano lessons, just more stuff.

We are leaving later today to go camping again.  It should be lots of fun and the weather is suppose to be really nice, not too hot.  A couple weeks after we get back, Ryan and I are taking the kids to Gatlinburg to camp for a week.  That will be tons of fun!  We have never gone on a week long vacation with just our family, so this will be cool/interesting.  I reserved our campsite, but I haven't put too much thought into what our week will hold.  I am sure lots of trails, bike riding and relaxing.  Can you tell we are really enjoying our new camper?

Anna and Gee are really doing great.  Anna is started to get really upset when we leave her (like at the church nursery or with the babysitter).  She often will cry when we leave her, but lately she will literally scream and throw a fit.  Within 5 minutes she is completely calm and fine, but it sure puts on a show.  Besides that Anna is really doing well.  We had/have a problem with her putting her fingers in her mouth.  She never had any fingernails when it was nail clipping time, well I am happy to say that this has gotten better.  I actually clipped her fingernails the other day.  I am proud of her because she got into a bad habit and now she just does so much better.  She still does it occasionally, especially when she needs comfort, but we are making strides.

Gideon is talking more also.  He is just repeating everything now.  I think he is just getting to the point where he can form word properly.  I actually think he speaks more clearly than Anna, but Anna knows more words and it putting words together better.  Gideon's circumcision is scheduled for late September (maybe the 23rd?).  Poor guy.  I do feel bad for him but I am sure he will heal quickly and be better in no time.  Ryan and I did debate a little about circumcision and whether or not we felt it was necessary.  We did some research and came to slightly different conclusions, but in the end I really feel like we are doing the right thing for our family and for Gideon.

Oh, all three of the kids have discovered cartoons.  I guess I realized a couple months ago that the kids never really watched cartoons.  I think that is just fine because I am sure many kids these days over watch the tv, but it has become a good distraction for them if I need to go do other things around the house.  Right now their favorites are "Go Diego, Go," "Dora the Explorer," the "Backyardians" and "Yo Gaba Gaba."  Let me just say that "Yo Gaba Gaba" is probably the most annoying show I have ever watched.  I think it even tops "Barney."  But, the kids love it.  If your kids have yet to see this show, keep them far, far away.  It came on after Dora one day and our kids were hooked!

Well, until next time!

Julie 

"Mommy, that my brother and sister!"

For the last week or so Madeline has been learning about siblings and cousins.  It all started when she said one of her cousins was her "sister."  So we have gone over with her a couple times what a sister/brother/cousin was.  So I was cleaning out in the garage today and the 3 little ones were out there playing.  They were actually playing really nicely with very few fights.  Out of the blue Maddie says "mommy, that my brother and sister."  She has finally "got it."  Obviously, this comment was especially sentimental for me.  My heart just swells when I see how close the little three are getting.  I just love that we can bring two strangers into our family and within a very short period of time they can become siblings in every sense of the word.

Maddie is kind of the bossy one out of the three, but I do believe she genuinely tries to keep the smaller two out of trouble.  She may be the first to yank a toy from them, but she is also the first to comfort them and tell them "it's ok" if they are sad.  Gideon loves to stick things in his mouth, you really have to watch him.  Out in the garage Madeline yanked something from his hand and of course he screamed (and said "Madeline, no!").  She had taken a little golf marker (like the thing you put on the green to mark your ball) from him.  I gave it back to him and then realized he probably ought not have it and I threw it away.  Madeline then said "I tell Gideon, don't choke on it."  Maybe she wasn't being as selfish as I originally thought.  I think she was watching out for her little brother.

Also, I wanted to add that Anna is speaking more clearly lately.  I still can't understand 1/2 of what she says, but a lot of things are becoming more clear and she is saying lots of new words.  I was a little concerned about her for a while.  Not overly worried or anything because I think she is doing great for not hearing English for over 1/2 her life, but I guess I have felt she doesn't speak as well as other kids her age.  Now, I don't normally worry about what every other kid does because I know first hand that each kid can be extremely different in how they develop.  But, when it comes to language with our two little Guatlings, I feel I need to be more diligent than I would normally be. 

Julie

Happy Birthday Gee!!!!

Well, Gideon isn't officially 2 yet, but in less than 1/2 an hour he will be. I will not have time to blog tomorrow as we are leaving to go camp and I have a lot to do and for some reason I have extra energy right now.

This time last year I was feeling a range of mixed emotions. I had just dropped Gee of with his foster family. I needed to take Anna home, but I missed his first birthday by a day. I remember that we bought him a USA airplane backpack (hoping his foster family would send it home with him when we came back, which they did), filled with toys and stuff and a chocolate bar from Marie's candy. We also bought him a birthday balloon. It was so sad to leave him, although I was grateful to have Anna and to be so close to bringing him home.

I have pictures of his first birthday party and him eating his chocolate bar thanks to his wonderful foster family!

Now that Gee is home, where has the time gone? Gideon is growing into a strong funny little man. Yes, he still can cry at the drop of a hat, but I just know there's a little ham working it's way out. Boys are just fun. I love that God made boys and girls so different. Gee does all the typical boy stuff. He loves wheels and balls and he hangs like a monkey off of our table (he is a strong little guy). His newest trick is taking the girls' things and throwing them over the gate in the kitchen (where they can't reach them). It is seriously a hoot. The girls' get in such an uproar about it and Gee just thinks it is sooo funny.

I love my little boy. From the minute I saw his picture at 3 months I knew he needed to be our son. How wonderful blessed we are the God allowed my dream to come true. As I said earlier with Anna, I cannot share in this blog all that Gideon means to us, but we could not love him more.

Happy Birthday Gee!!

As for the pictures, the first two were taken within a couple days of his first birthday when we were picking up Gideon. That last 3 are recent.

**Could you please pray that the package we sent to his foster family arrives soon. We sent it over a month ago and they have yet to receive it. It had some irreplaceable things in it and it would really be sad if they don't get it. Also, I am sure they (as well as his birhtmom) are thinking of him on his birthday. May they both be blessed with sweet memories!

Julie