In the middle of everything.

As I sat here checking my email, Graham just appeared with his dad's electric toothbrush. How he got it, I don't know. I do know that it soon ended up polishing the carpet as well as Graham's pearly whites.



My sister just left on Saturday for China, but we had a wonderful visit while she was here. Not only was I able to stay off my feet, but we also got some projects done around the house (the elusive silverware drawer is now clean!). She got a kick out of the boys, although Graham made things a little more complicated. For instance, this is what happened when Rebecca was washing some windows (Graham is actually playing with a hairbrush in the shower):



We took her final full day here to go to the zoo in the morning, since there's not much chance of that happening again. The wheelchair situation actually works out pretty well, and Graham got to stare down a tiger.



We also got to meet our new nephew Logan! It sounds like Tabatha and Gwen's drive was not for the faint of heart, but it was nice to see them again.

A long post about some crazy weeks.

We have been feverishly trying to get some work done around the house while we have people here to help us out. My parents came over at the end of July and spent the entire week fixing the lawn tractor, canning green beans, shampooing carpets, cutting down a tree, and cleaning the house. It's like the nesting instinct kicked in, but all I had to do was sit back and watch. They said they enjoyed the exercise, but I'm not sure if it counts when they're collapsed on the floor. Anyway, thanks Mom & Dad!!!

My sister flew in from China for the last week of July and will be here for one more week. Graham warmed up to her very quickly, and she's been a huge help with the boys. We've also been getting a lot of appointments done while she's here to help drive them around. One of those appointments was the purchase of a larger vehicle, and we have now moved into the minivan era. As Abbie put it, I'm no longer a wife with kids; I'm a mom. Graham loves it, though, and he could spend hours sitting and playing with the gadgets.



We've had our first corn on the cob of the season...



And if Graham ever grows a beard on his forehead, this is what it will look like.



Baby C is growing by leaps and bounds and is very tall for his age. His favorite activity these days is knocking on things with his fist. We'll be sitting in the car and suddenly hear a tap-tap-tap-tap-tap, which means that he is knocking on his car seat. He hasn't yet figured out that when he puts his entire fist in his mouth, it triggers his gag reflex. One of these days, maybe.

And finally, my sister and I took Graham grocery shopping last night, and I decided I'd better not risk all the walking. Instead, we stalked a motorized cart by following a lady out to her car. Then Graham rode on my lap while we zipped around the huge store with electric finesse. It was fine until he found out that
a) there was a horn that made a satisfying honk
b) he could drastically change directions by wrenching the handlebars from my grip
c) he could make a much louder "vroom" with his own mouth.

The situation went something like this:
"Vroom! Vroom!"
beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep
Veer to the left
beep beep beep beep beep
Veer to the right
"Vroom! Vroom!"

Then he found that he could do a tuck and roll to escape from my lap, so my sister gave him a candy orange slice for entertainment. Its remnants left a gooey mess somewhere near the cheese aisle. We quickly zipped away.

Good Morning

On Sunday, we awoke to the sound of Baby C growling in his crib. Then we went to get Graham up and found that he had taken a pair of metal barbecue tongs to bed with him.

Hanging In By a Thread

We had a doctor's appointment yesterday and little Sprout is still growing, literally hanging in by a thread. She's right on target and everything looks fine developmentally. And by the way, the thing on her belly is the umbilical cord, not a misshapen hand.



Last week, our friend Abbie, her daughter Saya, and her sister Anna came over to help us out. She spoiled us with meals and cleaning, and they did a great job entertaining Graham so I could rest. Graham and Saya played really well together, although Graham clocked Saya in the head a few times. Saya fell in love with Baby C and wanted to hold him constantly. Graham fell in love with pushing Saya in the stroller. Will and I fell in love with chicken tenders rolled in goldfish crackers. But I digress...



They even went to the park together.





Graham's chiclet teeth...



Thank you, Abbie and Anna, for all of your help!!

Updates

We have been so blessed by all the help from our family and friends over the past few weeks! My mom stayed until last weekend to help with the boys, and Will's mom came in to help over the past week. It's hard to sit back and watch everyone else do all the work I usually do, but it has been kind of nice to not have to cook or do dishes. :D Plus, on the good doctor's orders we bought a recliner, and I can kick anyone out of it when I want to sit down.

Graham has had a rough time adjusting to all changes, especially when he gets hurt and I can't pick him up, but he's coming around. He has suddenly started talking a lot more, so I think it's been good to have so many new people around. Interestingly, his new words all include fancy shoulder movements. He has recently discovered his nostrils and likes to explore them at the dinner table. Yesterday, he learned to juggle, which involves rolling a ball in his hands and then dropping it. He got to go to the zoo again yesterday and an orangutan came right up to him at the glass.



Baby C has been rolling over and scooting with wild abandon, but mostly in his crib where he gets stuck in the corner. He got his first two teeth this week and it was a little tough on him for awhile, but hopefully he can stop gnawing on his hands now that they're through. He did prove it is possible to get 9 fingers in his mouth at once.

Will has been a trouper and never stops from the time he gets up in the morning until he goes to bed at night. We just keep reminding ourselves that this is only temporary... But we also haven't hit green bean canning season yet. Some friends of ours are coming to help over the next week, and we're looking forward to seeing Abbie and Cyprus.

My family also received the heartbreaking news that our friend and cousin Kathie passed away very unexpectedly after knee surgery. She had a way of brightening up a room with her smile, and she will be missed very much.

Bright spots in a very long week.

Graham has been having a good time with Grammie while she's staying here to help us out. Here he is, helping her roll out noodles. After dinner, Grammie announced that he had slobbered all over them.



This is a VBS sign in the yard next to us. Up close you can see that it reads, "STUDIO Game Show". From the road, however, it looks like "STUPID Game Show". Try squinting if you can't see it.



Lately we are trying to find anything we can to make us laugh. :)

A Very Long Week

The past week has been a very difficult one for us, and we appreciate all the prayers and support from our friends and family.

I went in Monday morning for my first routine doctor's appointment and she quickly discovered that I was already dilated and effaced, and the membranes surrounding the baby were visible. After some quick ultrasounds, the doctor told me to immediately get over to the university hospital downtown. We called one of our friends who happened to have the day off, called my parents to see if they could drop everything to come stay with the boys, then headed over to the hospital.

Once there, we were given pretty depressing news. Basically we were told that if we did nothing, odds were stacked way against the baby's survival. If they tried to perform a cerclage (where they stitch the cervix closed), the odds were high that they would rupture the membranes in the process. They let us go home for 24 hours and think about it, which gave the doctors a chance to evaluate me later and see how things were progressing.

I went back Tuesday night for antibiotics before the surgery. Wednesday morning, I went in for the surgery and they found that the membranes were actually protruding. He asked me if I wanted to go ahead despite the even higher risks now, and I didn't know what to say. He replied with, "Hey, we'll give it a shot!" Not really something you want to hear right before surgery. My spinal anesthesia didn't take effect right away so I got some Ketamine, during which I had a conversation with the ceiling. I was awake by the end of the surgery to hear that everything went well and the cerclage was in place.

After 24 hours of observation, I went home on Thursday only to return on Friday because of some leakage. The doctors were concerned that the bag of waters had ruptured during the surgery, but then determined that everything was fine. PHEW!

Now we're all home and I'm on a modified bedrest where I'm supposed to take it easy and I'm not allowed to pick up Graham. Hopefully that is the last time we'll be in the hospital until the baby is ready to be born.