Pricks and pokes, books and jokes....

Yesterday the family spent a good part of the day at the office of our Allergy Doctor. The boys were being tested to see if they could tolerate flu shots despite their egg allergies (the flu vaccine contains a small amount of egg protein).

The appointment started with 3 pricks on their back to see how they would respond (two test spots and one vaccine spot). The skin had to sit for 15 minutes before the doctor could evaluate. Thus our first round of entertainment... a lolly for C, Smarties for TW and a book. Daddy arrived halfway through this part (YAY!!!!! A huge blessing for Mommy to not have to entertain/restrain on her own). After the 15 minutes were up the doctor checked their skin and only a slight reaction caused him to OK them getting the shots... but they would have to be given in increments!

So... that meant 4 pokes (injections) each with small amounts of the vaccine. TW took his with much objection (screaming, trying to hold his pants up, the whole works...) and C took his in the arm quite peacefully (a few moans... but quite nice... thank you, son!). After each poke we had another 10-minute "wait period". More entertaining/restraining in the gloomy exam room (it was raining out too!). Eight pokes and a handful of books later we were able to leave, no reactions, no problems. Phew!! What a relief. By this time it was nearly 2 pm and we headed straight to McD's to treat the boys to chicken nuggets & fries (well Daddy & I opted for soup at Panera instead).

Stay away flu!!

The happy fellas awaiting the Dr!!

(I apologize for the quality - this is a cell phone pic)

Harvest Time

It comes just once a year.

A must on our list of things to do with the boys each fall.

Nothing beats a ride in the combine.

Especially for little boys.

(It's extra fun when it's in the field directly behind Nana & Papa's house!)

A special thanks to Uncle Ronnie for letting us tag-a-long for a few rows!!

Ladies night at the Coliseum

Nebraska Volleyball has a tradition of excellence. Tickets to see them play are hard to come by both home & away. We are spoiled by the fact that my parents have had season tickets for the past 9 years giving us plenty of opportunities to see the Lady Huskers play. Last week we had all 4 tickets since M&D were out exploring the New England states... Todd graciously suggested I make it a girls night and invite some ladies to go along!!! (maybe because he didn't want to wear pink??) Despite the Huskers losing (first time EVER in 74 matches) to Iowa State, we had a fabulous time cheering on the home team. It was pink night in honor of breast cancer awareness... but there was still plenty of red around!

Thanks girls for coming along (though I did miss you during set # 3!).... and thanks to Mom & Dad for the tickets.... and to the guys for keeping the kids!!!

GO BIG RED!!!

Weird Toddler Tricks

Isn't he cute?

Missing Mamie & Papa

Mamie and Papa have been on a trip for the last week and

the boys are missing them so much!

Carter keeps saying it's not fair that they go on long trips and

Turner just says, "Mamie, trip, home" over and over!

I decided we'd seen them some "blog-mail" while they're away!

Hope you have internet at your hotel tonight!!

Come home soon!

xo,

Happy Birthday, Aunt Heidi!!!

Another birthday shout-out this one goes to Todd's sister, Heidi! Today is her 26th birthday! Heidi is a wonderful young lady who knows how to work hard and loves serving other people! We are so thankful to have her nearby even if we don't see her as often as we should!!

Happy Birthday, Heidi!
xo,

Happy 7th Birthday, Makylee!!

Today is the birthday of a special friend of ours, Makylee! I couldn't resist putting up a few pics of her with Carter. Hard to believe how much they've changed in the last couple of years! She is another favorite of Carter's - he is always talking about "Kylee" and her school! He can't wait to go there some day!

March '07

October '09

Happy Birthday, Makylee!

Love,

Carterisms #8

I have hesitated to share this, but can't stop laughing about it, so why not!

Tuesday morning I was getting a few things ready for the preschool kids to do during Women's Bible Study in the resource room. As I'm loading up the stroller to move the craft supplies to the other end of the building, Carter reaches behind me and pulls down my shirt (I guess a little tiny bit of my skin was showing!). As he does this he proclaims, "I was covering your buns up mommy."

Thankfully there was only ONE other person in the room at that moment and I was ready to move on!!! I did make sure to clarify with him that it was my back he saw!!!! I guess we need to work on our body parts as even tonight when he was going to bed a little skin was showing at the top of his pajamas and he said, "my tummy is sticking out". He's close, but obviously this could get us into trouble one of these days!!

It is however good to know that someone's got my back!!

Tree-rific Work!!

This summer we decided that several of our pine trees that were dying needed to come down. One in the front and one in the back. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the front one... mainly due to the fact that I was put to work helping Todd as he used the handsaw to cut it down. It wasn't a big tree, but I think it was a bit harder to cut down than anticipated!! Thankfully our neighbor from down the street happened to be watching us struggle out the window and came down to help! Thank you, Mr. Moore!!

The second one was WAY too big for the handsaw, so we had to call in for help.... thus enters cousin, Brian, who happens to cut down trees on the side as he is waiting to start Dental School! He came with a big chainsaw and some great "know-how". Here are some photos of he & Todd taking down the big tree in the backyard. This was back in July... so the boys were entertained out of the way with the water table!

Next came time to plant some new trees, so Todd and the boys began by digging holes for them!

Later that week, Todd took several trips to our friend Conrad's nursery and brought home 5 beautiful trees. With the help of our friend, Tyler, and several other neighbors (after I failed miserably at helping unload tree #1) we were able to get them planted!

Here is the final product! The first picture shows two River Birch trees on either side of the canopy, the second two large Maples by our back fence and the third, another Maple in the front! We are excited to watch them all grow!!

A tree-rific job by my green-thumbed hubby!

Any guesses...

where the tops of these markers went???

Thankfully they ended up on the table... not in Turner's tummy - silly boy!

Can't turn my back on him for a minute!

Sometimes....

you just gotta sleep....

doesn't matter where you are....

who is grabbing your toes....

how many pictures momma is taking of you...

sometimes sleep cannot be avoided!!

I love my TW,

Happy 3rd Birthday, Savannah!!!!

There is a special little girl who is turning THREE today!

Savannah, or "Nana" as Carter fondly refers to her, and Carter are the best of pals.

Last year I videoed Carter singing to her and decided we try it again!

This year he's added a little confidence and of course his guitar!

Happy Birthday, Savannah!!!

xo,

We have a CUBBIE!!

Yep! This year Carter is participating as a Cubbie in our church's AWANA program!

Each week we have a lesson to read through with him at home and a Bible verse to memorize. Then he goes to AWANA and share his verse with his leader and learns more about his lesson. So far he is doing great - it is fun to see him hide God's Word in his heart and have fun doing it! He loves going to the church and spending time with his Cubbie leaders and friends.

My boy is growing up!