Mommy's Potpourri

Hello again! A few updates/thoughts to share. Anthony is 3. He had so much fun on his surprise birthday train ride. No, I am not talking about the expensive Thomas trainride in Eddyville or wherever, we rode the city train to the next stop, 10 mins away. He loved every minute. I cannot believe my little boy is 3 already. Lukie is doing very well too. He is short and stocky and adorable. He is built like an athlete, but the more I learn about him, the more I think he has a very good musical ear. You may be laughing at me, because he is only a year and a half, but he is just drawn to music. He can hear a song once and sing the tune almost perfectly. He plucks out harmonies on the piano and really listens to what each combination sounds like before he moves on to the next harmony. He likes fifths the most. He will play a fifth for 5 minutes straight, smiling. So cute. Baby 3 has aname and it is Ethan Christopher. It means strong/firm bearer of Christ. I love that.

So for once in my life, I was so excited to have a nice dinner ready by the time Ian got home. He told me he would be home at 5pm. I called him at 5:30 and found out he stopped somewhere to pick something up that he was looking for on craigslist. The following conversation happened: "Where are you?"  "Picking up that vcr/dvd player we talked about." "What?!?! WHY!!! DINNER HAS BEEN READY SINCE 5!" "Well, it is 5 mins away from work so I figured it would -make sense to just get it now."  "Ugh , well now dinner is cold"  "You guys can eat without me if you want"  "No. Are you kidding me? I did this for you! We aren't eating without you!" "Ok, so what do you want to do?" "What do you mean 'what do I want to do?' I JUST WANNA BE MAD ABOUT IT!!!" *I laugh because as I yelled that last part, I caught wind of my complete irrationality.*  "hahahaha, ok well you can do that. OR

Well it has been quite some time since I last updated. I guess the biggest change withi n that time is the fact that we are expecting a third little blessing in January! We are really excited, and I would be lying if I said I am not at all anxious about what life with three little ones is going to look like. Me and Ian were playing with the kids last night. Ian was wrestling with Anthony while Luke was picking on me (stealing my glasses, trying to put his hat on my head, climbing all over me, etc). All of a sudden we both had the same though at the same time. "Where is #3 going to be in this mix?" I think it will be impossible to get my mind around until after he/she (probably he though. Just a feeling) is here. So I am 12 weeks and this pregnancy is nearly identicle to my other two. I think it is more similar to my first pregnancy though. I am probably going to gain a lot of weight. Expecting 35ish lbs again which I am ok with.(I only gained 18lbs with Luke) I am pregna

Sometimes when I hear that something on the Anderson Cooper show is going to be interesting, and it sounds like something that can be on while the kids are up, I watch it. I love Anderson Cooper. I always knew he was totally weird, and now I am getting confirmation of it. haha. Anyway, that is beside the point. 2 days ago, I was watching a show about scams, and Anthony was actually paying attention which was weird. But I didn't mind because they were just talking mostly about adoption scams and stuff. Super interesting, but I could not figure out what interested Anthony. Well today out of nowhere, he says. "Welcome to Hacha show. Today we are talking to Mommy. (Holds a little toy in his hand, and is talking into it like a microphone). Mommy, when are we going to go upstairs and see Silas and my friend Titus and Lissa?" (Holds the microphone to up to my mouth). I was floored. He spent the next 5 minutes trying to tell me how to pronounce the name of his show. I kept sa

At this very moment, Anthony is riding around on his Lightening McQueen car fake crying. He stops, says (very dramatically) "I don't waaaaaanna cry," and puts his head in his hands and continues to fake cry. He clearly thinks this is hilarious because he looks at me and giggles after each "episode". Where does he get this stuff? Also, at this moment, Lukie is attempting to eat a paper towel. Don't worry, I stopped him and he is not happy about it.  So now I have one fake crying, and one crying over his lack of paper towel ingestion. Just a little life snapshot to share!

Went to the docs today. Luke is 21lbs 13oz. 28 1/4 inches long! Healthy boy! :)

Having 2 boys, I tried to prepare myself for the reality that the boys are going to get hurt. They will probably break a bone, skin their fair share of knees, and see the inside of an emergency room more than once in their adventurous childhoods. But nothing prepares you for that horrifying moment where you hear that blood-curdling scream, and see blood but cannot identify it's source. It happened yesterday when we were at the park. Anthony tried to go down something that is meant for climbing. He lost his footing, and I caught him before he hit the ground. Then came the scream, and the blood. He bit straight through his tongue. We called the doctor who asked a lot of questions and determined that a trip to the emergency room was not necessary. Today Anthony seems fine. He is talking and eating and his tongue looks much better, thank God. I know this is just the first of many injuries, but even though I know that, I doubt that scary feeling will ever go away.

Last night Anthony had his first real, terrifying nightmare. He has had bad dreams before. Usually he cries, Daddy goes and lays down with him and they both go back to sleep. Sometimes it takes a while for him to calm down before sleeping. This was a whole different thing. At 1am, Anthony woke up screaming. Daddy went in to lay with him, and they went to sleep for a few minutes. Anthony woke up freaking out. Screaming at the top of his lungs, swinging violently and shaking his head back and forth. He was hitting both of us when we tried to comfort him. He was looking around the (dark) room, and reacting as if he was seeing something. So we took him to the couch, gave him some milk, turned on the light and he calmed down. We asked him what happened and all he said was that he was scared. And when he thought about it, he started doing the shaking and jerking back and forth thing. We reassured him that nothing could hurt him, that dreams are not real, and we prayed to ask God to hel

I have figured out the pattern. 3 weeks out of the month Anthony listens relatively well. Then there is the 1 week where he decides to test everything he has ever been told. I actually questioned if he had some kind of hearing impairment because I have been talking to the air. Nothing registers in his mind unless I throw in the word 'popsicle' or mention watching the movie "Cars". Needless to say, this week has been one of those weeks. With the Lord's help I have had a grip on my patience and tone of voice - although I have screamed in a pillow more than once. Tonight, at the suggestion of a seasoned mommy-friend, I decided to put the boys to bed a half hour earlier than usual. This of course did not go over too smoothly and I ended up laying in bed with my 2 year old, rubbing his back and watching his little eyes grow heavy. (While silently hoping the giggles and squeals from my almost-one year old did not keep him from dreamland for too much longer.) As I

My kid must think I have these amazing artistic abilities. I do not. At all. But surprisingly, after months of drawing on demand, I was feeling pretty confident about my skills. That is, until this morning. "Mommy, draw fish" *I Draw a fish* "Mommy, draw baseball" *I draw a baseball* "Mommy draw dinosaur" *I draw something that looks like a dog, with stegosaurus plates on it's back. He even gives me a look saying that it clearly did not look like a dino, but he will let it slide.* "Mommy draw a jelly fish." *oh good, something easy after that dinosaur debacle* "Mommy draw Elmo." *yep, I can draw Elmo with my eyes closed* "Mommy draw feet." *Yes! Another easy one!* "Mommy draw racecar." *eek. I draw one with terrible aerodynamics.* "Draw Daddy" *I Draw a stick figure* "Draw Hannah" *The only difference between Hannah and Daddy is that Hannah has longer hair and is wearing pea

I don't know about you, but nobody told me that when you become a mom, poo becomes a major part of every day life. I now know so much more about poo (as it relates to my children) than I would have ever thought possible. I know how much, how often, time of day, color, smell and consistency that is normal. When things look off, I investigate. If I had a magnifying glass, I would use it. And I don't mind doing this by the way. It is almost automatic. Take the diaper off, clean the kid up, double check the poo. Maybe I am crazy, and the only mom who does this. It does have its benefits though. My studies have shown that my Anthony does not chew some foods as thoroughly as he should, and that some fruits and veggies have quite the effect on color (think carrots and blueberries). Studies have also shown that Lukie eats anything he can fit in his mouth. I have had my share of googly eyes staring right back at me from inside that diaper. So now I can encourage Anthony to chew those

Playing soccer, Anthony looks at the ball and says "look, Mom! A pentagon!" Sure enough, there were pentagons all over. I got really excited. Had to record it somewhere!! :)

Sometimes when naptime rolls around, Anthony is not tired. He is required, tired or not, to stay in his room for an hour. 99% of the time, he sleeps for almost 2 hours. Today, he is just talking to himself. For my (and maybe your) amusement, I am just going to start writing what he is saying, in real time. "I want more milk. I want chocolate. Can I have chocolate please? How 'bout chocolate milk? 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14, uhhh what's after 14? Hmm... 15. That's right 15. Z is for zebra! See that Zebra?? I see a Zebra! Where? Right there! Stay in bed. Listen to mommy. Obey Mommy. Obey Daddy. Obey Hannah. Daddy's working. I want to go play soccer. *counts from 1-50* Can I have a kiwi please? I find a sock. YAY!!! I FIND IT! The mommy's on the bus says 'shh shh shh shh shh shh all thouuugh town. Hey guess what? I wanna play baseball. Bay (baby) Luke funny! dou-ble-u! W! W! W! I got it! Where? There it is! It's time to pla

Anthony is just like me in a few ways: *His obsession with letters. I was obsessed too. *His knack for memorizing and reciting stories at random times. I remember doing this as a little kid. *His love for game shows. You can often hear him saying "A-nee Johnson, COME ON DOOOWWWWN!!!!" A la, the Price is Right. He also loves seeing the "big deal of the day" and his favorite show is still, Wheel of Fortune. He gets this from me. Who knew interest in seeing people win stuff is hereditary? Now in case I had any doubts about the maternity of my child, this is probably the most telling: *He is currently running around the house yelling "I love chicken! I love chicken!!! Me too, kid. Me too.

The boys are in their room, and they're supposed to be falling asleep. Instead all I hear is hysterical laughter. Hysterical baby laughter and squeals mixed with the giggling of a toddler. Every minute or two Anthony yells out... "Mommy! Baby Luke funny!!" And ... "Goodnight, baby Luke!" The goodnight announcement is then followed by more giggles from Luke, and laughs from Anthony. Ian and I are laughing at them laughing. hahaha! I just love how they are interacting more and more. Brotherly bonding. Becoming a little team. Now GO TO BED! :P

We haven't really been having much of a winter, and I do not mind one bit. Today was cooler than it has been the past couple of days. Mid 40s, which is still nice in February! The boys and I have been taking advantage of this weather. It can be difficult to work around Luke's nap schedule, but we have been making time to play baseball. Baseball is Anthony's newest obsession. He could spend the better part of an hour doing nothing but hitting anything he can, with a baseball bat. It took a couple of casualties (unfortunately one of those being the back of poor Lukie-bear's head) before I got with the program and decided to enforce a strict "no baseball bats in the house" policy. All he talks about anymore is going outside to play with his baseball bat. And he can actually hit the ball when i pitch it to him. He is certainly a lefty. I cannot wait to get him in to T-ball! Although, I think you have to be 4 years old to start that. Still a long while away. Ye

We had his 9 month checkup today and it went very well. Lukie is 19 lbs 5 oz and 27.5 inches long. He is doing so well. He also got 2 shots today. Poor thing and he takes them so well. He only cries for about a minute before he is back to his old smiling self.

Anthony just started asking "why" after every decision I make or direction I give him. I am trying to avoid shutting him down immediately with a "because I said so". Although I usually back myself in to a corner andhave to use it. I think I finally gave him more reasons than he gave questions. Here is the convo: Ant let's find the wipes so we can change your butt. Why? So you don't have to sit in your poop. Why? Because that's gross and it's stinky. Why? Because that's the way God made it. Why? So we don't eat it. Why? Because it would make us sick. Why? Because poop is made up of the trash inside of our bodies. Oh. Thank God he didn't ask why again because I would have had no clue where to go fromthere

Always check the oven before preheating. Few things smell worse than plastic magnetic letters baking at 350 degrees. RIP letters J, I, D and P. You will be missed and smelled for hours.

Luke Aaron Johnson. The most strong-willed baby I have ever met. A lot of people use that term, "strong-willed" as a nicer way to say short tempered or bratty. Lukie is not short tempered and is too young to be bratty. He just is a go getter. Fearless. I can see all of these things in him right now and he can't even crawl. Well... he probably would be more inclined to crawl if he hadn't mastered the wormy scoot. I am still amazed at the personality differences between the boys. Before Anthony tries something new he likes to be moderately sure he can succeed at whatever task is at hand. Even crawling. Anthony used to stay in crawling position for hours a day before he got the courage up to make a move. Same thing with walking. And talking. He is an observer. He copies techniques almost exactly. At 2 years old he has an impressive jumpshot. I can already tell Luke is the opposite. He is going to try new things without thinking of consequences, he will fall a lot whi