On the First Day of Christmas...

Timing is everything. Another obstacle in getting the perfect picture, in this family, is the State of Will's Face. The nomiker "bruiser" would fit him well. So, we made it to Christmas Eve with a clear, bruiseless, scratchless, chapped-cheek-free face...until about 6:30 a.m. This happened while taking a header off the bed and meeting the bed frame on the way down--ouch! Poor Will. He is forever donning the proof of the wonderful wild way he plows through life.

Taryn is here!!! We are so loving having Big Sister here to read and play with! She's also great for drawing, wrestling, and cuddling. Taryn crafted these awesome wall hangings of the Littles' names. I'll try to get a good picture of them and post later.
Santa brought us our long-awaited kitchen! Ben is still in shock that it's all his. He keeps asking if he can "open the microwave" or "put pizza in oven"! Yes yes yes, cook away! Will, so far, likes to cook his trains. He moves them in a bowl from one door to another--open, close, open, close, open, close....
While getting white tights for Ella Rose to wear on Christmas Eve, Taryn and I couldn't resist getting these feetie jammies for the Littles. If we could have squeezed Taryn into the red ones, we would have bought some for her, too. Just for the photo. :)

We're looking forward to the next 11 Days of Christmas...
Grandma and Papa will be here through the New Year!
Stay tuned...

Me? I Want a Hula Hoop!

And I thought getting 2 to smile and "look pretty" for a photo was a challenge... None of these fine offerings made the cut for the card this year. Keep your eye on your mailbox for the winner maybe sometime next week.
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We are really enjoying the Advent season this year. The boys are totally into Christmas music, the nativity scene is getting lots of play action, and we are wearing out the bindings on our Christmas picture book collection. We've been crafting and baking and singing Jingle Bells since Thanksgiving with no signs of stopping any time soon. Our neighborhood is Big Into decorating with lots of lights and those enormous obnoxious blow-up characters. There is one house with an animatronic Santa in a sleigh (slightly creepy). We love it!
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We all went to the movies yesterday afternoon for the opening matinee of Alvin & the Chipmunks. OH, how I love going to the show! It's not that I don't love being able to hang out on the couch in my jammies and pause a film while I go pee, I do. You just can't replicate the sensory experience of the movie theatre at home adequately. The giant screen, the whole Dolby sound thing, the smell of popcorn (I'd say the taste, but it really doesn't taste as good as it used to when we were kids...), being part of an audience in a darkened room...eh, I can't describe it well tonight, but we've all been to the movies and know what I'm talking about. And, like anything, you don't really miss it until it's not around. Getting a babysitter to go to the movies isn't something we tend to do a lot (once!) as we really like to hang out as a family, especially with Mark gone so much of the time. But, we do like to get out of the house sometimes. So, thank God for Alvin & the Chipmunks, a movie we could see as a familiy. The computer-generated 'munks were adorable, the script was "eh", but whatever. Ben, in particular, loved it. Will loved the popcorn. Ella Rose slept soundly in the sling. And I got to go to the movies--yay!

Bluffton Christmas Parade

The Bluffton Christmas Parade was last weekend. We sat with our friend Katie and her son A.J. A.J. is one month younger than Will. It's fun to have two just the same size, but not for extended periods of time. The thought of twins makes me want to run run away.

The parade began as usual with the Parris Island Marine Band playing "Here Comes Santa Claus" and a few other tunes that work well for a marching band. We really enjoy them. Ben likes the tubas.
The parade is a typical small town affair with local churches, Boy Scout troops, politicians, and school marching bands. It also has a few entries that are strictly "Lowcountry". Like the giant roach that marches in front of the pest control truck. Or Yosti the puppeteer who marches alone, dressed in Christmas garb with a puppet on each hand, softly singing and moving the puppet mouths open and closed. And then there's the extraordinary amount of enormous shiny tow trucks, decorated to the hilt--a big hit with the boys-under-five set I know.

I, personally, get a big kick out of the Bluffton Ladies Drill Team. As far as I can tell, these ladies only perform in this particular parade with their battery-operated power tools, donned with shiny streamers that twirl. They march along together wearing hard hats, tool belts, and obligatory obnoxious Christmas attire then periodically stop and do these silly choreographed routines with their drills. Very entertaining.
There are also just random people marching along with their dogs, or driving their golf carts. The grand finale is the fire truck brigade, of course, with Santa and his bride waving from the back. So, it's offical, the Season has begun. Hooray!

Blue Eyes?

Okay, they're really more gray than blue. But they're definitely not brown. Both Ben and Will have these amazingly dark brown eyes. You can barely distinguish the pupil from the iris in Ben's peepers. And that, in itself, is weird: the fact that they have these dark brown eyes, that is. My eyes are greenish hazel. Mark's look greenish to me, but he insists they are brown. If so, they are the lightest, greenest brown eyes I've ever seen. They are more like an olive khaki color. So, theoretically, using the 2 gene eye color chart we all learned in school, I could have a recessive brown eye gene and Mark's eye color could be classified as a brown and wa la, boys with brown eyes. Brown eyes so dark they look nothing like either parent's eyes, but whatever. But now we have this possibly blue-eyed baby girl. What's the deal?? No way the 2 gene chart is working for this scenerio. Enter Google. Don't you just love Google? (Even if they might possibly take over the world...) Check this out from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience.
http://www.imb.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=57400&pid=11690

“So contrary to what used to be thought, it is possible for two blue-eyed parents to have a brown-eyed child, although this is not common.”

So, there you go! Fascinating, huh? Ella Rose's eyes could still change color. Most sources I found said eye color is established by about six months for most babies. So, we've got some time yet. Maybe she will have her mama's eyes after all. Come on Green!

Almost a Smile...

The Birth of Ella Rose

Ella Rose is three weeks old today. It has taken me this long to not only get my thoughts together, but to also get some time to write. I am sooooo outnumbered during the week while Mark stays in Charleston. By the time everyone is in bed, I am way too pooped to do anything but go to bed, too.

I've struggled with where to begin this story of Ella Rose's birth. I'm afraid I could write for days (given the opportunity!) with the intent to include all important backstory details--my previous birth experiences, the births of the boys, my thoughts on natural birth, hospital births, midwives...it's all part of the long and winding path that brought us to our decision to have a homebirth without a paid professional attendant. Knowing the mixed audience that will read this, I've felt challenged to reassure, educate, inform, give helpful links, and otherwise infringe on, what ought to be, the simple story of how our family grew in the wee hours of October 16th.

That being said, I will try to keep this short and sweet, but if you want more just email me. ;)

On to the story...

I got the boys in bed and asleep by 8 pm. By 9 pm, contractions began. I wasn't too concerned, especially since I labored for 25 hours with each of the boys, but a short time later I noticed some 'bloody show' (blood tinged mucous) which is a pretty good sign of an impending baby. :)

I called Mark, who had just driven back to Charleston the night before on limited sleep, and told him about the contractions and the show, but assured him that it still could be *days* and that labor could stop at any time--not to worry. I really wanted him to get some sleep in, especially if we were going to have a baby tomorrow night (going by my previous birth timelines here). He said he'd call me in 3 hours. By midnight, I had finished up laundry and the dishes, walked/danced/breathed through contractions that weren't especially strong, nor regular, and was ready to try to sleep. Will woke up then. I crawled into bed with him, but he was unusually restless and wanted to get up. Mark called while I was trying to get Will back to sleep. I told him I was still contracting, but they weren't very regular or strong. He suggested calling back in two hours. I told him, "make it three, I don't think anything is going to happen tonight."

Will would *not* go back to sleep! Around 1 pm, it was too difficult to handle the contractions while lying down. I couldn't get comfortable during them and I really felt the need to be up and walking. So, Will and I went downstairs so we wouldn't wake Ben. At this point, I called Mark back and asked him to come now. I did this mostly because Will was awake and I predicted things only getting more difficult once Ben woke up. Will and I talked about the baby being ready to come out and how Mama had to work hard. He figured out pretty quickly that meant "stop and breathe". For about an hour, my little man sat next to me on the couch while I labored. I think we both fell asleep during contractions then.

Around 2:30, Ben woke up. I brought Will back upstairs and hoped I could get them both back to sleep in bed. Oh no. There was no more sleep to be had by these boys. We told Ben the baby was getting ready to come out. Will told him "Mama breave." They cried. They wailed. They wanted to be held (not possible). I willed my contractions to stop so I could tend to my boys. No luck for any of us. By 2:55, it felt seriously crazy. Mark pulled into the drive, ran inside, scooped up the Midnight Wailers and put them in the car for a usually sure-fire sleep-inducing drive.

Alone again, I was able to get down to the business of baby birthing. Contractions were pretty irregular, still. Some were definitely more intense than others, but they didn't seem particularly organized or spaced evenly. I knew all about the 'stages' of labor and birth, as well as how to manage contractions through deep breathing and deliberate relaxation from a class I took while preparing for Ben's birth. Contractions are supposed to build in intensity and frequency in Stage One until you think you can't possibly go on. That point is then called "transition" where labor may all of a sudden stop, or change. Many mamas get suddenly hot or cold, throw up, or have other intense body changes at this point. After transition, Stage 2 arrives which is the pushing stage. What you are supposed to experience is an overwhelming urge to push that cannot be denied. Shortly thereafter, of course, you have a baby. All of this 'textbook' labor was not happening for me at this point. I decided to run a bath.

Mark arrived home around 3:30 with a sleeping Will and a still-awake Ben. He settled them both on the couch, popped in Ben's favorite movie and came upstairs to check on me. This was one of my favorite moments. The bath felt great and having Mark walk in and put his hands on my belly (sticking out of the water in our not-deep-enough tub) was perfect. He was unable to get home from Iraq for either Ben's or Will's birth, so his actual presence was cause for much joy. I soon felt the need to get out of the tub and stand up. Mark got busy getting supplies ready and making a 'nest' for me on the floor of our bedroom (we were in the attached master bath.) I hung out on the toilet for awhile. This is apparently a really common place for mamas to labor as the position of your body there naturally lets you relax and release the muscles that need relaxing. I started to vocalize through contractions. It was sort of a low moaning that warbled as I let it out. Mark said it sounded like singing. Bless him. :) I tried some different positions during contractions to see what felt the best. Surprisingly to me, I felt best while standing.

Closing in on 5 am, Mark and I were chatting and laughing in between contractions. I commented that we're just not even close to having this baby since I'm still able to have a conversation. I said, "and I'm smiling and laughing!" The very next contraction was when Ella Rose decided to move on out. I was still standing, but in a mid-squat position--the kind you do in aerobics class to work those quads. I said "baby's coming!" and Mark got on his knees to check it out and get his hands ready to catch. The next contraction was when her head appeared and Mark announced "it's in the right position". One more contraction and the rest of her flew out of me into Mark's hands. She was pink, her little arms spread wide open and she cried immediately.

We cuddled together on the floor and tried to get over the shock of it all. It happened so fast and so unexpectedly. We were prepared for another 10 hours of labor! My second baby, Will, had been 10 lbs 6 oz at birth, so I was expecting another big baby. Another surprise--she was much smaller (7 lbs 6 oz, we determined later). But the biggest surprise was about 10 minutes after talking about how small "he" was and how quickly "he" came, we decided to maybe just check and make sure it really was a boy. Funny how we didn't even think to look. :)

After a few minutes, Mark went downstairs to check on the boys. He had been doing this periodically since putting the movie on for Ben. The movie was just ending, Ben was still clinging to his awake state when Mark asked him, "would you like to come see your new baby sister?" Ben answered, "no, thank you" and then promptly fell asleep. Will awoke a short time later and joined us upstairs just in time to help Daddy cut the cord. He climbed up into the bed with Ella Rose and me, snuggled in, and said "hi Baby!" They've been fast friends ever since--she gives out most of her elusive three-week-old smiles when he is near. When Ben awoke a few hours later, he walked in and asked to hold the baby right away. Hooray for harmonious sibling introductions! The harmony continues, and I contribute this to our commitment to include the boys in the birth of their sister.

I contribute many wonderful things to this birth experience--from the knowledge that my body *does* work (not that I ever really doubted it would, just the paid professionals did in my previous births with their litigiously-formed time limit rules--woops! Let that one slip by ;)) to the amazing impact on our marriage and family, the insights into trust and faith and God, and everything in between--I could write on and on. But, I promised short and sweet. So, here she is: Welcome to Home Ella Rose!




Love,
Mama

10 Days Old

Ella Rose is ten days old today. We're just over the moon for her and trying to get our sleeping habits (ours, not hers) back in order. The boys are taking an afternoon nap for the first time in a long time. And Boy, did they need it! I, of course, should be sleeping as well. That is the rule, I know. Just wanted to get up some newer pictures. These are from last Sunday--five days old.

Here She Is!

"Our Little Pumpkin"

Ella Rose Kayser was born at home, into her Daddy's hands at 5:10 am on October 16, 2007. Her gentle, peaceful birth was all we could have hoped for and more. We are all CrazyInLove with her and overly blessed! Yay God!

Stay tuned for Official Birth Story with all the fabulous details of Ella's arrival on Earth!

Photography Fun

Check out this cool feature I discovered on my camera. It lets you isolate one color via the image in the lens. I played around with the blue from their jeans and the green from the plants, too. The orange pumpkins looked the coolest, I think, with the exception of the tinge of orange that showed up on the boys' cheeks, of course. I'll need to mess around with this feature more. That, and get a bit friendlier with my editing software.

Belly

Okay, dear sister, you asked for it.

Here's the belly and it's popped turkey-timer button. The boys love the belly. I hope they like their new sibling as much when he/she arrives.

And how about that hair? It hasn't been this short in nearly 10 years.

And since when am I old enough to talk about something that happened 10 years ago and not be referencing my childhood??? Mama Mia!

Haircuts

So, we all got haircuts this week. The boys have a preferred barber named Jose. I really like him a lot. He is petite and wears his scissors, combs, etc. in a holster slung around his teeny hips. I'm not sure how much English he speaks, or Spanish, for that matter, as he is a man of very few words. But he knows how to communicate with children. At least, he knows how to commuicate with my children. He not only hears their protests or objections, he anticipates them. He is so quick to respond to their every movement, to back off when necessary, to invite me to intervene, to introduce an alternative option, that the boys are really completely at ease while he does the job. It all happens so fast, and the experience is so painless, that it would be easy to overlook his skill. And, the best part according to the boys, they get to sit in fun vehicles and watch movies during their turn in the chair. Here's Ben in the airplane and Will in the tractor for their "before" shots.


And here they are in their carseats for their "After" poses. Such handsome fellows.

Sheridan

Here are some pictures of Sheridan *not* doing the dishes in her 8th grade graduation dress. I couldn't find these when I first posted updates, so here they are now. Such gorgeous girls we have. :)

No new news on the Kidney Front. We are awaiting the docs from the dialysis center and the hospital to get together and make a plan. After that happens, there should be some testing that happens to qualify Sheridan as a transplant candidate, and THEN she gets put on a list. Ugh. She still gets dialysis 3 times a week before school at FIVE AM. Double ugh. She's made the transition to high school pretty smoothly with a few extra "academy" classes which help her catch up from when she was in the hospital. We're so happy that she has recovered this much so far. Thanks to all for your prayers, love and support. Continued prayers are appreciated, of course.

Boys of Summer

Here's a picture of the boys from last month. This was right before heading to the beach. We have so much fun in the sand and surf that we never remember to take pictures once we get there. And we go so often that it doesn't seem like we have to take pictures *every* time we go. But, we were particularly lax about it this summer. Beach season is not nearly over so we'll have more opportunities for photos. I'll try to remember the camera next time...

Lucky Day!

So, have I mentioned that Ben has a brain that works a bit differently than the norm? Of course not, this is just my 3rd post! This is a weird topic to just jump into, but in order to appreciate the story, you're gonna need some background. I figured that was as good a way as any to introduce the topic, as awkward as it is.

Hmm, where to begin? Well, let's just say that although Ben's language development has always been within the typical range, his interest in language as communication has not nearly been as prominent as his interest in language as "interesting sounds". Ben's first word was not "duck", but "quack". It took so long I thought he might never call me "Mama". The sounds things make are, and always have been, very exciting. The vacuum is a delight, car/truck noises thrill, silly sound effects (brrrrr with quivering lips for example) are often hilarious.

We used Baby Sign with Ben when he was wee and he was a champ at communicating with his tiny little hands. That's him signing "moon" which was, as it is sometimes, out during the day. Spoken language seemed to come more slowly, but not dramatically so, especially since he could tell us so much *without* actual speech. When he did have that "language explosion" that so many children do around age 2, it was an explosion of nouns. Labeling his environment was a primary goal. But, the labels weren't used as a 'conversation starter'. He wasn't interested, necessarily, in sharing his observations with you, just in naming for naming's sake. Numbers and Letters were of particular interest and walking around the block took ages as he would have to toddle up to each house number on the block to touch and name the numbers there.

As Ben grew during his 2nd year, it became more clear to me that he was not picking up the subtle rules and nuances within spoken conversation. His social interactions were awkward. He would repeat things over and over. He required prompting to answer simple questions. It was obvious to me that his learning style was rote memorization, learning pat answers, to participate in conversations. His vocabulary was large and growing, but mostly consisted of 'sound bytes'.

All of this is much more clear to me now that Ben is older.
During this time I constantly questioned myself about whether this was within the range of typical development. Maybe I'm overanalyzing things due to my experience with special needs kids in the classroom. Maybe this is okay for a Two. Maybe it's not okay when language presents itself like this *still* at Three. Maybe I ought to get a professional opinion.

And so, I did. Sort of. We switched insurance plans in the Fall and the new plan did not cover Ben's physical therapy. The only way we could continue (and have it paid for) was if he qualified for the SC state early intervention program. The case worker who came to our home was very nice. She observed Ben play, she interviewed me, and added up all the numbers. He didn't qualify. At all. Not physically, not developmentally, not cognitively. I wasn't exactly devastated. I had had doubts as to the efficacy of the PT on Ben's muscle strength (once a week, walk up these stairs--ta da--therapy!) And my observations of the speech therapists where we went for PT were not very impressive. And the problem was so not 'speech' as in the formation of sounds and words, but the understanding of language. Which just can't be addressed appropriately in a tiny cubicle with an unfamiliar adult with flash cards. Really, it can't.

I decided to wait until Ben was Three. Then I would know for sure. Because I *know* Three. I'm an expert on Threes. Almost 10 years in the classroom with Threes--all kinds of Threes--would help me decide if MY Three was neurotypical or not. It was silly, really. Who was I kidding? I KNEW Ben better than anybody. And I had KNOWN since he was a baby. But, it's a big thing to admit, I think. A big thing to admit to yourself, more than anybody else, that your Baby is DIFFERENT. It's not like I kept all of this pondering to myself. I talked about it a lot. My family knew I had concerns. My close friends listened to all my stories and thoughts about it. Mark could practically be an early childhood special ed consultant with all the information I had loaded him up with since Ben's birth. Yet. I didn't want to think about it until Ben was Three. There would be plenty of time then to research, investigate, make decisions, deal.

So, life continued on. We supported Ben's learning style as we always had. With prompts and cues, practiced routines, turn-taking games, language expansion--special ed. techniques that come naturally and would have whether or not we knew the special ed. jargon to describe it. As parents, you just 'do' these things. I'm sure my background helped, but I don't give it higher billing than the natural instinct you are given when you become a mother.

Ben will be three-and-a-half soon. He loves books and stories (he always has). He loves music and singing and has become a regular performer when the video camera is on. He plays with his little brother and recently began initiating pretend play scenerios. He still has trouble interpreting novel conversation and relies heavily on learned 'scripts' and pat answers when interacting with others. We see growth every day and each tiny step towards understanding his world makes me want to cheer. We've begun researching intervention options. We've grown more comfortable with the terms that describe him. He hasn't been officially "diagnosed" with anything at this point. I question the value of a "diagnosis", even as I know how much that label could help out. And by "help" I mean strictly monetarily. Early Intervention is paid for federally or by the state as long as you 'qualify' with a 'diagnosis'. I'm waiting until we move to decide on that.

Okay, so that was an awful lot of backstory. Way more than anticipated. I can see this blog business is not going to help me with my brevity in writing issues...

Anyway, on to the story:
Every morning, the boys get vitamins--fish oil which they lap up from the spoon like candy and a couple of chewable multivites that are in the shape of jungle animals. There are lions, elephants, hippos, and tigers. The tigers do not look like tigers. They look like cats. And they are the favoritest shape around here. Every morning Ben will ask for a 'cat' vitamin. I refuse to dig through the bottle for specific animal shapes and instead let the cards (vitamins) fall as they may when I shake them into my hand. I tell Ben, "we'll see" "maybe it will be a cat, maybe not" and if there happens to be a cat, I'll tell him "well, hey, it's your lucky day!" And so it goes, every morning. It's one of a million routine exchanges that make up Ben's day. There is some unexpectedness (which vite shape will it be?), but the words that describe it, that make it 'safe' are the same. Language from one routine does not usually transfer to another. They are seperate entities and have their own 'script'. It is a rare and wonderful thing when Ben will say something out of typical context, but appropriate for another. Case in point. The boys were sitting at the table awaiting me to finish up dinner prep and serve their meal. I had given them a handful of raisins to tide them over. Dinner contains the usual, Ben saying superfastgrace, food on the floor, me getting up half a dozen times for more water, more food, a washrag... I recap our day, we talk about our plans for the next. Later, after dinner, Ben is climbing down from his chair, he reaches into the folds of his shirt, pulls something out and practically shouts "it's a lucky day!" I am puzzled and look at his beaming face. It is not breakfast time. It is certainly not a vitamin. It is half an hour after lots of conversation. He has a huge grin on his face and is triumphantly holding up a raisin. A "lucky day," indeed.

"Chocolate Bunnies"

This is what I awaken to this morning. Will (now 20 months old) sits up next to me in bed. {We co-sleep. Yes, all of us, in our Queen size bed. Don't ask me how we'll fit when the new one gets here.} He is squinty, bed-headed, and has a small smile on his baby lips. He says it again in his croaky, just-woke-up little voice, "chocolate bunnies." It's a wonderful way to be woken up, and it's not uncommon at all around here.

Will often wakes up with food on his mind. The first word he utters upon waking is usually some sort of yummy treat: "banana," "pancakes," "smoothie," "cake!" I have wondered if perhaps he doesn't get enough to eat, to always awaken talking about food, or if he just happens to dream a lot about eating. It's true that Will eats with gusto--digging in *while* saying "Amen!", asking for more with his mouth full, cheeks bursting, eating all of one item before moving onto the next... He climbs up into his chair at the table if he spots me even near the kitchen. In true brotherly fashion, he will do the 'old switcheroo' with Ben's plate during a meal to sneak whatever morsel Ben has overlooked. He's also figured out how to move the chairs over to the counter where I am preparing a meal. He climbs up and 'helps' with the food prep by tasting every ingredient.

I guess he is just a Food Lover. And who can blame him, really? Our happiest times are when we are all together around the family dining table. Praying, laughing, nourishing our bodies, sharing conversation and stories about our day... And for such a short person to be able to be at eye-level with his family? That's got to feel pretty good.

We do love our sleep around here. Naps are necessary and always encouraged, if not enforced. :) Both Mark and I love to indulge in 'putting the boys down' for naps or nighttime as a way to sneak in a snooze. And the boys are usually pretty cooperative. They, like us, enjoy the snuggling and drifting off to sleep. It's the waking up that can be grizzly. Waking up is never fun when you *like* to sleep. Unless you can help yourself make the transition--perhaps focusing your thoughts on your plans for the day, saying a quick prayer, doing stretches, or maybe by thinking of something that is just as lovely as being in your warm bed... "Chocolate bunnies"--that oughta do it.

First Post

Well, here it is. The blog nobody was waiting for... :)

I have been considering starting one for some time now. Mostly so I have a place to put all the Kid Stories I have saved in the ever-shrinking mamabrain. And. *true confessions moment* I have no baby books. I haven't recorded a single moment of my children's lives other than on film. Well, digital film. And those are all locked away in the computer. The boys' anyway. I do have scrapbooks from the girls' baby photos that I put together from Mark's box of photos. But that happened before I became a biological mother. Back when I had Time. I've also thought that this would be a nice place for family and friends to check in and "see" the kids as they grow. I'll try to give a rundown on what each of them are up to in this post.

Taryn
turned 15 this summer and is a sophomore at Elma High School. She competed at the county fair this year with one of their horses, Rose and won two ribbons. She is on the Drill Team, FFA, and in 4-H. Here's a picture of her from August.

Sheridan

is finally home from Seattle Children's Hospital and Ronald McDonald House! She has been 'officially' diagnosed with chronic renal failure and still receives kidney dialysis 3 days per week. They never have figured out exactly*why* this happened, other than the food poisoning/virus that seemed to trigger the shut down. Sheridan hasn't let any of her health problems slow her down, though. Here's a picture of her all dolled up in her 8th grade dance dress. She has started her freshman year at Elma High School with Taryn.

Ben

is almost 3 and a half! He loves the library and his music enrichment class we attend once a week. Favorite activities of late are playdough, playing 'chase' with his brother, and riding his Skuut bike.

Will

is 20 months and our resident nudist. The boy will not keep clothes on. He talks all. the. time. and is always in action. It is difficult to get a picture of him that isn't blurry.

Baby

is due to appear sometime next month. :) Photos coming soon, of course.

Mark's new job in Charleston is going well. He stays in Goose Creek with friends during the week and comes home on the weekends while we wait for our house to sell. Although we do not like being separated during the week, it's sort of 'old hat' after enduring all of the deployments of the last 5 years. Yep, that's right. We'll be celebrating our 5th Anniversary this month. Crazy.