Warning: Graphic Material

Toward the end of the church service yesterday Titus, nervously wiggling, excused himself to go to the bathroom. I waited to hear his calls which end every "big job." Not hearing any for a suspicious amount of time, I checked in on the boy. Poop smeared his leg and globs landed on his pants, the floor, and potty seat.

I panic and call for him to not move. After depositing Henry with a friend in the service, I gather my wits about me again. As I'm tackling this mommy job and begin cleaning Titus up, he says, "Well, I won't make that mistake again."

Katie And Titus and Henry

I sat down to upload our Reformation Day pictures (Halloween to some), but they have disappeared. I hope to find them some day, but since I haven't posted pictures of the kids in forever, I'll share some more recent ones.

Katie and Titus love to crawl into the crib to relieve Henry's loneliness. I'm not an advocate of extended crib or playpen use, but sometimes a mom has to get some things done. Everyone appreciates it when I take the time for a shower, and they really like it when I make meals.


We dogsat Matt's parents' dog, Maddie (they insist they didn't name the dog after their favorite son, but we know better. Sorry to break it to you this way, brothers.) for two weeks this summer. To our great satisfaction, even though Maddie is one of the best dogs we've ever known, Katie was glad to see her go. This picture was taken within the first day or two of Maddie's visit while Katie still thought dogs were great.

This was taken before Henry could crawl properly. It wasn't until we went to my brother's house where they have carpeting that he got the hang of crawling. In this picture he is scooting himself about our wood floors via army crawl.


Here's our first born son practicing his winner's pose while playing his uncle's wii (I totally want one of these.) Titus is a chip off the old block and LOVES!!!! video games.

I'm throwing this picture in just because I love Henry's cool guy look.

Learning about "on purpose"

"Titus, don't hit your sister!"
"It was on accident."
"No, it wasn't on accident."
"What's it on, Mommy?"

Just Like An Oldest Child

Bud, Matt's dad, has mentioned how their oldest boy made sure he won all the games by changing the rules as the game progressed. I don't remember this about my oldest brother, but he is six years older than I am and wouldn't have had to cheat to beat me at anything.

After breakfast the other morning, I got a glimpse of something similar to what Bud was talking about. I hear Katie say to Titus, "Whoever eats their toast all gone wins!"

Katie has only a crust left. Titus looks at his plate and sees most of his piece still on his plate. He looks away in resignation to losing.

"Whoever fills up their cup first wins!" Katie says as she is almost done filling her cup with water. Titus looks over and I see the excitement of competition cross his face quickly followed with disappointment as the reality of his lack of chance dawns on him.

Katie is across the kitchen, but Titus is standing right next to me. "Whoever," I say, "hugs their mommy first wins!" I hug Titus and his face lights up.

"Whoever sticks their bottom out first wins!" Titus yells as he wears a mischievous smile and cocks his bottom out. He's clearly the winner of the bum sticking.

Katie says a funny thing

Katie, when talking to Titus about the goblins in his dream, said:

"And did he kill you with a hammer?
And did he poke your eyes out?"

"Katie, why are you saying such violent things?" I ask her.

"For two reasons. And I don't know what they are."

Birth Announcement

Henry is finally here! He's perfect, not a bruise or dent on him, just a little dry skin from being overcooked. He was born at 10 a.m. Monday morning, so we avoided all the unpleasantness looming over our heads if he didn't come soon. He weighed 8lb, 12oz at birth and measured 22" long.

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Powell, for allowing us to so disrupt your home like that. We are so grateful you were willing to accommodate us. Your help through all of this was indispensable, and we appreciate the sacrifices you were willing to make for your grandson.

There is one person I need to thank, someone who made it possible for us to have the home birth we planned: Thank you, Mr. Tow Truck Driver.

Comedy of Errors

I've felt like the tail-end of this pregnancy has been fraught with difficulties to the point of the ridiculous. I posted on my late term cold, and now the cough from that cold tore a muscle or ligament in my back. The pain from which sent us to the emergency room the other night hoping for some kind of relief. It's funny how people go quicker when they find out you're a week over your due date, even though I was not in labor. When we checked in at the emergency room desk, the attendant's manner went from bored/lazy to urgency as soon as he found out how far along I am.

Maybe it's just the maternity section, which is where we were sent, or maybe it's my poor observation skills, but I have yet to experience the health-care crisis. I've had two babies at Memorial Hospital, and now this experience, and I've felt very well taken care of. I can't say a lot about the doctor care because the majority of the care has been by the nurses, but the nurses have all been fabulous. I have been admitted with and without insurance, and the care has been great in both instances. I even preferred the care better without insurance because they involved us in more of the decisions. Kudos to Memorial Hospital.

To cut to the chase: Still no Henry. Thank you for all your prayers regarding the back injury. The recovery has been steady, and I'm almost insensible of any pain anymore. I'm not worried about going into labor anymore as far as the back/rib injury goes. God has been more gracious than I deserve.

The midwife has scheduled us to come into town Monday, and she will begin trying some things that can induce labor. Perhaps Henry will come tomorrow. If not, the midwife is required by law (The Fascists!) to take me into a doctor's office and have tests done to assure the well-being of the baby. Her experience has been that the doctor will give the baby the okay and send me home for another week. So that's where we are at right now.

Just a quick anecdote that's come of all this:
Last night Titus was sitting next to me on the couch and went: Cough. "Ouch!" He did this a couple more times before I realized he was mocking me.