A Hairy Situation

We may look different, but when it comes to hair, Isaac is just like me....the girl who will grow her hair out for years and then decide in one hour that she wants to chop and donate it....which usually results in tears and regret and promises to never be so drastic again.

My boy will work and work to grow his hair out, even when we're begging him to let us trim it. And then all of a sudden, on a whim,  he decides he wants it short. And it has to be done right then. And if Daddy took his clippers with him on his mission trip, then we borrow clippers from Mr. Donnie and we cut.

Here he is picking out the afro he has been proudly sporting the last several months:

Wow.

Those are some gorgeous curls, but a little bit too long for my taste. Especially in the heat of summer and especially when he cries the majority of the time we need to pick them out.

We tried the 1/2" guard first.

I loved it.

But the boy who has begged and pleaded us to let him grow his hair out?

Nope. Had to be the 1/4". If he's cutting it, we're going all the way.

The end result?

Still pretty dang cute in my opinion.

Love this kid.

Love these curls.

I'll miss them, but I know they'll be back soon.

Until the next whim....

Seeking Random Stranger

We're figuring out that one of the more difficult aspects of parenting Owen is discipline. It was explained to me that his brain learns things a little differently than the "typical" child,  so a lot of times the normal disciplinary actions aren't going to work on Owen.

(Of course, they don't work on my other two half the time either......just sayin')

Anyway, one of our biggest thorns is shoes.

He likes his shoes to be a certain way. He does not like the velcro to overlap or veer off the intended path. Easy fix, right? Just line it up perfectly and move on.

I wish.

Specialist said to intentionally mess up his shoes and make him cry it out. Hopefully over time, the behavior will change.

So as we're leaving the hospital one day, his OT reached down and messed with his shoes (thanks, Jessica.....) and he, of course, launched himself into an all out fit.  I'm talking knock down, drag out. This was the kind of fit that had the other parents looking away and thanking their lucky stars it wasn't them while the toddlers in the room took notes and admired his tenacity. 

And if you've been wondering if it hurts to get hit in the mouth by Horsie?

I can assure you, it does.

As I dragged my mini Mike Tyson out of the hospital kicking and screaming, we walked by an older man sitting on a bench. He definitely seemed interested in what was going on. He was giving me the Look. You know the one? The look the older generation has that basically says "that kid needs a serious a___-whoopin'!"

Usually the the older generation is right. Just sayin'.

I ignored our audience and just kept dragging Owen along and telling him his shoes were fine while he screamed bloody murder and hit me repeatedly.

Got all the way to the car.

Forgot to get the parking voucher.

Double Crap.

Dragged him back in still screaming and hitting me.

Random Stranger still staring audaciously.

Fourth trip by Random Stranger and Owen threw himself on the hot concrete.

Yup, still kicking and screaming.

I just stood beside him and waited.

Random Stranger stops me.

"Miss?"

Me in my head: Oh geez. I know you think he needs his butt whipped but there's more going on here than what you're witnessing.

Me for real: "What?!"

Random Stranger: "I just wanted to say I think you're doing a great job. A lot of parents would have given in by now. You're teaching him."

Me, embarrassed with my jaw on the floor: "Uummmm. Thank you."

He had no idea how much I needed to hear those words right then.

Or maybe he did.

Maybe he was an angel in disguise.

Maybe he was just a grandpa who gets it.

Maybe his shoes annoy the bejeezus out of him and he could just sympathize with the battle.

I don't know why he was there at that precise moment to encourage me,
but I sure as heck needed it.

And now I'm trying to track him down to come live with us and continue being my personal cheerleader. So if anybody from New Jersey is reading this, I'm looking for a tallish, thin, 70-80ish year old African American man with gray hair.  He was last seen outside the St. Joseph's Feeding and Swallowing Clinic in Paterson. I will pay his fare to get here and I have his pom-poms ready.

If you see him, please call asap.
Thanks.

Photography Tips

Now I know that I'm not a professional by any means, 

but I do love taking pictures so I thought I would share a few tips with you.

When you're driving your car very slowly (look in bottom right corner of tom tom) and  stuck in traffic and rain like this,

do not be afraid to use the time to play with your camera and try to get some great shots.

(Of course, Mom, I definitely kept my eyes on the road at all times.)

You just turn your camera on, angle your arm in a very awkward position and shoot away.

The result can be quite adorable.

Like this:

But more often than not, they turn out like this:

I won't charge you for this lesson.

You're welcome.

PS - We're Home!!!!!

Homeward Bound Tomorrow Afternoon.

Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.
Oliver Wendell Holmes

Guest Blogger

Okay, this isn't really a guest blog. That would imply I asked Rachel if I could log in as her and post to our family blog. This is more of a hijacking because hey, why should she have all the fun, right? Before you judge me for logging into someone else's account, let me say that I hijacked the blog tonight to brag on my lovely wife and three great kids.

EG, Isaac and I just got back home from New Jersey tonight after our 11 day journey to the north. I'm not going to lie, it is really rough to watch your kid have to be completely retaught how to eat. Eating is something I do a lot of and just take for granted. Think about telling someone, "This is how you open your mouth. This is where your tongue goes. This is how you chew. Its okay to have a little food on your fingers and face. Its okay if your shoe straps aren't perfectly aligned while you practice the seemingly simple procedures of eating." It boggles the mind to think that every bite of every feeding for at least the next six months has to be calculated and controlled until Owen's muscles and brain are reformatted to eat normally. But then you sit across the table at breakfast this morning and watch this litte mouth doing everything it is supposed to do all on its own. Owen has always loved corn chex because he doesn't have to chew them, they dissolve in his mouth. Three weeks ago, that's how he would eat them. I was so proud of him this morning because he was chewing his food like a pro. That may not seem like a lot but it was pretty awesome in my book. Owen, I just want to thank you for fighting so hard this month to work with the doctors, for being patient with me while I learned how to feed you the right way and for all the hugs, kisses, nuggles, and laughs you shared with me in New Jersey. I miss you more than you can imagine!

I think what was even harder than realizing the depth of Owen's needs was knowing that your wife had been carrying the full weight of them for the last two plus years virtually single handedly. Whether its right or wrong, with three kids it has kind of been a divide and conquer setup and Rachel has been carrying the lion's share of Owen's heavy load. I know I am partial but I don't know another person more dedicated to their family than my wife. Rachel, I know you would take a bullet for any one of us without even hesitating. Thank you for sacrificing so much of your life for us and helping me better understand the definition of 'love' found in 1 John 3:16-18. You are the perfect wife and mother for our family. As a husband, Ephesians 5:25 is a challenging verse but you make it joyful for me. Thanks for sticking with us through this crazy ride and for all the laughter along the way. I guess what I want to say is, thanks for all the crazy moments like this:

and this...

and this...

Apparently we need to do more than just hang out in Target and mess with carts and glasses...

Anyways, Emma Grace and Isaac have been quite the troopers over the last month or so too. It can't be easy having your mom and brother leave for 5 weeks, then get shipped all over the place so dad can still get in time to work, drive 10 hours in the car in one day twice, be away from home more than you are there and share a bed every night, but they did it. Emma Grace and Isaac, you two keep growing tighter every day and I am more proud than you can imagine to call both of you my kids. Thanks for putting up with the shortage of food, generally messy house and less than organized schedule since your mom has been gone. Here are some highlights from our journey.

Seeing the Statue of Liberty 

(Sorry for the bad pic, its the best I had)

In front of "Eloise's House" 

(Note the flag EG is pointing to. Not sure what Isaac is doing?)

Posing in front of a life sized Bumble Bee statue in Time Square

Riding a train to Weehawken NJ to watch the fireworks with Chips

Playing veterinarian at Marbles before Mom leaves

Getting home and realizing that your fish can survive 3 weeks without food

(Don't judge me. Rachel always feeds them. I forgot we had fish to feed.)

and my favorite, figuring out how to have fun with a few random bags from Subway

Life has its ups and downs but how can you complain when you are blessed with a family like this. I love you Rachel, EG, I & O!

[POSTED BY TODD...]

This, That, and the Other....

Todd and the kids took off this morning.

Luckily his parents were still here tonight to cushion the blow

when Owen got back from the hospital and his brother and sister were gone.

We had some rough feedings today,

but you know, what kid does like broccoli?

Watching The Office right now. 

This show makes me laugh.

I'm scared to come home and step on a scale.

Seriously.

Apparently I am not at the age anymore where I can stop exercising, eat huge and fattening meals three times a day, and not gain any weight.

I miss being that age.

We hit Lake Packanack again on Saturday.

I played and played and played with the kids sat on the side and watched Todd win the Father of the Year Award.

I did take pictures though.

That counts for something, right?

Three days to go.
Woot Woot.

Going Home

Owen will be discharged next Friday after four weeks here.

We're excited about going home and scared about doing all this on our own.

It's bittersweet. While it has been hard being here and away from everybody, being surrounded by specialists who are watching him closely and answering questions the second you have them has been quite nice. (It's kind of like being nervous leaving the hospital with your newborn....)

I offered to set up a clinic in our house for them, but apparently they don't think insurance will cover that.

It's also like having a newborn again because he has to eat every 3 hours and Todd and I are the only ones who are trained to feed him. Yowza. There goes our dating life..... Not that we had much of one anyways.

 

While Todd was at the hospital the past few days getting trained in the art of feeding Owen, the bigs and I had a blast swimming. We even borrowed passes to a lake and my skin was like "vitamin D? What the heck?"

They made some new friends and once we're done with laundry and laziness today, we may head back over there. The hotel will clean your bathrooms and kitchen and make your bed, but apparently they draw the line at washing your dirty undies. I don't get it....

After Owen's dinner, we went out to eat and to watch the fireworks last night.

(No, his feet are not one of his new foods. He just likes to smell them. Don't we all?)

Happy Holiday Weekend!