Evan is Eleven

Man! I can't believe it but this beautiful boy whom I gave birth to. This awesome little boy with a name that means "God is good". This amazing little boy with baby blue eyes and dark curls is already 11 months old!
At 11 months old Evan is active and wild. He's even showing some signs of strength of will...which is not always a bad thing. He's independent and knows what he wants. He tries to be big and do what all the other kids are doing...
(He just thinks he's big). He picks on his brother often and he's beginning to hold his own when his brother picks on him. Sibling rivalry is already a commonplace in our house. "He's touching me!"

Evan has really started babbling a lot and guess what?! Momma is a common word and it truly seems it is directed towards me and not just babbling noises. Oh...be still my beating heart! Many times over the last couple days when he has found himself in an unpleasant situation I've heard "Mom-ma! Mom-ma!" He gives me a great big grin when I come to his rescue.
Evan loves animals. Especially dogs. His dog loves him too!
Evan has been "walking" for nearly 2 months now. He's following in his mother's footsteps though...he just won't let go! My mom said I held on to her skirt hem f-o-r-e-v-e-r and just wouldn't let go. Evan just won't let go! He insists on holding on with just one hand to anyone who will offer a finger. He is so agile that he almost runs at times. He just won't let go! that doesn't stop him from going anywhere he wants to go. Everything that moves is fair game for becoming a walker and the walls are just fine for balancing and support.
Because he is so active he seems to already be losing some of that "baby fat" look. We haven't been to the doctor in a few months so I'm uncertain of his weight but I'm not worried. He still takes eating very seriously. He now has 6 teeth unless another one popped through today. He's been cutting 2 or 3 at a time, so he now has 4 up top and 2 down bottom. He uses his chompers to his advantage and he can eat most things. Just yesterday he and his brother each had their own chicken nugget happy meals and they both ate them...all.

Evan is an amazing little boy and I love him more and more every day.

Tornadoes, Deals and Decorations

This blog post doesn't really all go together but that's just going to have to be okay.

If you've watched any news at all lately tornadoes have been the topic of conversation. Missouri was devastated by a major one and most recently Oklahoma has been too. For those in other states that may have been hit by tornadoes today...my apologies...I have no power. Yep...no power. The tornadoes came uncomfortably close to our area (within 4 miles) and as a consequence we will be without power until the weekend. Thankfully power is the only thing we are without tonight. Our perishables will be gone in a day, our comfort may be redefined, our kids are going crazy, and I feel pretty disconnected but...WE HAVE SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR! Many homes were destroyed...

This was just four miles from our home.

At least 9 lives were lost and many more were injured. One family...the Hamil family...lost a 16-month-old little boy and their 3-year-old son is still missing. Please pray for them. Please pray for all of the people affected by these storms.

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It almost seems inappropriate to blog about anything else tonight, so forgive me if the following is...indeed...inappropriately timed.

Today...as a way of escaping from the lack of electricity...we went out and about. Annie has outgrown her crate (bought originally for a mini-aussie), so I've been searching for one. Boy did I get a blessing of a deal!!! We stumbled into Petsmart today to *browse* the dog crates. This one...

...was on their clearance rack. Originally $129...it was marked down to $77. They gave it to me for $32!!! It has a crack in it and some marks and scuffs, but I don't care! It's big enough and basically new. Woohoo!

As a side note...the clerk asked me if it was for my dog or my kids...Hehehe. Little does she know!

And...moving on to another thought...

Decorating. Man do I have the bug! I've been wanting for quite some time to work on decorating our home...getting rid of some of the coldness of bare walls and rooms and bringing in some warmth and comfort. I want my home to feel like a place of refuge...warm and cozy! In Evan's room we recently moved in a twin-sized captains (I think that's what it's called) bed. The bed was built by my late great-uncle Rusty. It fits perfect and my intention is to turn it into a daybed of sorts. Here's the start...
I'm loving the orange! Need more pillows and I have a few ideas for the walls. When we move the boys together into the big room (since Evan's room is actually the laundry room) I'm wanting the extra space in the laundry room to be a guest/quiet-time/reading/project/relaxing room.
Or it may end up being a play room. Who knows!

I found some great garage-sale deals last weekend. Sprucing up and warming up the dining room a little...
$15 for the big mirror and $10 for the other grouping. I was pleased.

Now if I can just convince the hubby that painting and distressing furniture is not a bad thing I have a few pieces that I'd like to re-do. (Not the table). Oooo...and if I can find a really good deal on some new-to-me living room furniture that would be pretty awesome too.

Random Pictures

Me and The Boys

Urology and Potty Training

Whew...what a day!

As many of you know (or may not know) we've been in the midst of potty training a very stubborn little 4-year-old for quite some time, but let me back up a little...

Per doctor's recommendation we were encouraged not to address the potty training issue until Ryan was at least 2-1/2 or 3. Well...2 1/2 and 3 came when I was on bedrest so it wasn't strongly addressed then. After Evan's birth the doctor recommended we not *push* the issue until Evan was at least 3 or 4 months old to lessen the stress around our house.

Sometime last fall we decided to start *introducing* the idea and encouraging the use of the toilet. We were met will every sort of opposition. Screaming, crying, yelling...everything EXCEPT willingness to use the toilet. After months of VERY STRESSFUL toileting trials we finally discussed the issue with our pediatrician. A friend recommended we set up a "Big Boy Day"...a day that Ryan chose to start using the potty. While we waited for that day to arrive our dr. suggested we consider an appointment with a urologist.

Well..."Big Boy Day" came and we were pleasantly surprised when Ryan suddenly decided that using the toilet was...well...okay. He started using the potty! Of course I know that potty training is a tedious, time-consuming, stressful challenge. I'm not fully convinced by the moms who "claim" their kid was trained in a week. I'm totally sympathetic with those moms who say they were ready to pull their hair out and spent many hours crying with frustration.

So Ryan started using the potty. We started with setting a timer every hour. Every hour we visited the potty. Well, from all my consulting with other moms I figured we would be going regularly/hourly for a couple of weeks but within a few weeks we could probably add 15 minutes and with more time add some more time. It didn't work. After many weeks an hour was all we could do. Every hour. Hopefully. Some hours weren't successful.

After consulting with our pediatrician again a urology appointment was scheduled.

Today was that appointment.

Ryan first had an x-ray of his med-section. Next he had an ultrasound of his bladder. After a thorough history & physical by the doctor here is what we found out today:

• I'm not a crazy fanatical mom that needs to get a grip and just be patient...and more consistent...and whatever else (since some people had already made me feel that way it was nice to NOT be reassured of that by the doc.)
• Ryan should be able to hold his pee longer than an hour but he is going to be one of those kids that timed bathroom trips will be the key for quite some time.
• I'm going to need to find a good deal of patience because this process could take up to another year. Or more.
• There doesn't appear to be any physical problems with his bladder.
  
• The same nerves that innervate the feet innervate the bladder so the fact he walks well indicate good nerve function to the bladder.
• The fact he can pee when asked is a good thing.
• His x-ray showed his colon was completely full with plenty more poop forming coming through the pipes (large intestine)
• Pooping is a big thing with peeing.
• His overly full colon could be a big contributing factor to the inability to hold his urine because his bladder is being compressed by the colon.
• Our first course of action is to deal with the pooping.
• Basically until he is a good pooper we shouldn't expect him to be a good pee-er. However we should still remain vigilant in our hourly toilet visits and try to add time over time.
• The only way to change the pooping issue is to first get it cleaned out (enemas, laxatives, stool softeners, etc....poor little guy.)
• The only way to maintain the pooping progress is through diet changes.
• His diet changes (not super strict...he can splurge from time to time) include: no caffeine, no carbonated beverages, very limited sugary food and drink intake, no citrus, limited red meat, limited refined flour products, limited dairy, limited fast foods like pizza, etc. (Ummm...cheese and pb&j sandwiches are his staples...what in the world are we going to do?)
• Other diet changes: increased fruits and vegetables, whole grains and water.
  

So there's lots more info but that covers the basics. He has a follow-up appt. in 3 months. Now that I've had time to process all the new information I'm now ready to call the pediatrician and discuss HOW IN THE WORLD AM I GOING TO GET MY VERY PICKY EATER WHO ONLY EATS PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICHES AND CHEESE TO GIVE UP HIS DAILY SANDWICHES IN FAVOR OF MORE HEALTHY AND NUTRITIOUS OPTIONS? Did I mention he's strong-willed so I do expect that if he was only offered the healthy options he would eventually eat, but I also know him well enough that he may go a week or more without eating just out of retaliation.

Zoo Pictures

We went to the zoo today. We had a great time.













And here's a couple from our own home-zoo...