Happy Day!

Yesterday was Preston's 2nd birthday and Father's Day.  Unfortunately Michael is sick so he had to skip out on church and the family dinner.  He really wanted to sing with all of the other children for Father's Day, but he'll have to wait until next year.  I took Preston to the first two hours of church so I could teach my lesson and then traded with Kyle so he could teach his lesson.  We celebrated the day's festivities after church with just our family and then Preston and I headed out to my parents for a family dinner.

Preppy is such a sweetheart, he melts my heart every single day.  I am so lucky to be his Mom.  I have been concerned with his speech development, and arranged for an in-home assessment.  They concluded that he is okay for now, but we'll keep an eye on him.  He just likes to take his time I guess.  Since the assessment he's even started to say a few new words.  The good news is, developmentally he is right on track.  He is teaching me patience with the whole talking thing.  I have learned how he communicates, and we are making it work.  He has his favorite words, and for now, he's sticking to those.  Preston LOVES books.  He will sit on my lap quietly while I read to him.  I took Preston in for his well-child check up and he is a tall boy in the 94 % for height.  During the summer Michael and Preston can wear all of the same size of clothes.  Michael is still taller, but Preston is right up there.

Kyle is the best Daddy.  He really loves his boys, and he can't wait to add one more wrestling partner to our family.  I'm a lucky girl to have such a great dad for my boys.

Angel on Earth

Clara is our angel on earth.  She has helped us put our life into perspective, and although we have a long way to go, I hope that we are becoming a little bit better each day because of her example.  I have a wish (which will never come true) that Spokane was not 2 hours away.  It's hard to think how life would be different if she was in the hospital in our hometown, but maybe that's part of the trial.

I love having Kate and the boys over to play (we were lucky enough to have Kate all day today!), so that I can feel like I'm contributing a little bit.   I asked Kate to say the lunchtime prayer and she prayed that Clara could get better so she could play with her sister again.  Tomorrow Kate gets to head up to Spokane for another family reunion.  I hope she can unhook tomorrow like she did today!

I'm so grateful for friends and family who email me daily to see what they can do or send for Clara and Natasha.  Every prayer, thought, note, phone call, treat, and gift help.  The Woodward family of course feels the same way, read HERE.  

Make sure to get your order forms in if you want a t-shirt by Monday the 20th.  You can search on Facebook for the Clara Woodward 5k.  I'm not in charge, but I'm helping to spread the word.

Oh Boy, It's a BOY!

Daddy and Mommy cheered (then Mommy might have shed a few tears...pregnancy hormones?), Michael is in denial that it's not a sister (wait till you see the video of when we told him), and Preston has no idea what's going on!  Our latest team member is measuring a week ahead of schedule, but my due date still remains 11/1/11.  We'll see if I can pull off the magic number!  I just barely started showing the last couple of days, but still not much to show for this big boy.  We are so blessed to hear the news that we have a healthy baby.  Life is precious and we are grateful for these little miracles that our Father in Heaven blesses us with.    

*Funny fact: Since Kyle's dad passed away 6 years ago there have only been boys born.  Our baby boy will be the 7th!  We think he's slipping in the orders for all of these boys.  

Life

If you like posts where the pictures have nothing to do with the content, then read on!  All of the pictures are from Memorial Day when we went to visit Grandpa Casper's grave with family.  

Kyle is out of town for a few days with work, which makes me all the more anxious for Father's and Son's this weekend.  Kyle committed to take BOTH boys on the camp out this weekend, and I find myself daydreaming about having 15 hours to myself!  I am disappointed that the camp out is not at Teancum Timbers.  For two reasons.  One, I know how much my boys would love to be in the woods and be out in nature, and two because they are only going to be 15 minutes away camping on a softball field as opposed to an hour and half away in the mountains which means I'm sure they will be home by 8 am.  At least I can sleep in until 8.  Michael wakes up every single morning between 5:30 and 6 am.  Blacking out his room does not help either.  On Saturday morning I have high hopes of sleeping until at least 7 am.  Unfortunately I'll probably be up early anyways to go to the bathroom (joys of pregnancy).  

That being said, my boys have actually been really good with him being gone.  Last night I took my boys down to their cousins house to give them popsicles and Michael fell and cut his lip open.  He was bleeding pretty good, but he had no idea! I shoved his popsicle back in his mouth so he couldn't taste the blood.  Then the cousins Grandma Woodward went and got a cloth to wipe up the blood.  He didn't even cry. He's got a fat cut lip and he still doesn't know it.  Gotta love mister rough and tough!

Grammy (Kyle's mom) came to visit us for the weekend, and as always she was a big help.  We edged our flower beds, she ironed lots of Kyle's shirts, and when I was in Spokane they cut out a section of concrete in our backyard.  I took a picture of her and the boys, but I'm too tired to download it right now.  

Tomorrow someone is coming to our home to do a home evaluation to see if Preston needs some speech help.  This is a home evaluation, and then they'll do a speech evaluation on him at a later date if they think he qualifies for it.  He will be two in a week and half and he still doesn't say much.  He just points and points all day long.  He can say some words, but mainly just words that start with B and M.  I know he's being stubborn.  Most people would probably tell me to be patient but I'm not willing to let time pass by if we should be doing something.  

Love My Clara!

There is so much to update with Clara over the past two weeks, that if you would like to read and learn more, go HERE to read Natasha's blog.

This picture was when she was scarfing down her food.  Hilarious!

I've been able to go up to Spokane three times now to visit Clara, and each time I hate to go home.  There is something about being there and knowing what's going on, that is more comforting then reading it via the internet or hearing it over the phone.  Yesterday I drove up to Spokane all by myself (I can't remember the last time I drove that long alone.  It was weird.)  Thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law who came to visit and stayed here with my boys, I was able to do it without arranging for babysitting.

Clara has not been taking naps lately, but yesterday they got her pain meds regulated and she knocked out.  I ordered Natasha into the "suite" and I cat napped in the room with Clara who took a stellar nap.  The steroids have caused some swelling in Clara, but I think it makes her looks so cute with her chubby cheeks.  I imagine it doesn't feel very good to be swollen though.

I must say I was so surprised to see all of the wonderful things that people have brought to Clara and her family. Clara really does love everything she gets!  It's the little distractions that keep the monotony of their day bearable!

The baby is kicking me constantly lately!  We find out in a week what we are having.  I'm not really showing yet, but before you know it I'll be huge, I can feel and see my clothes getting snugger and the baby is definitely coming out of hiding.  Michael has demanded that his next sibling be a girl.  He even has called his favorite baby blanket his sister for the past year or so, and carries her around the house and treats her very carefully.  We are not allowed to call that blanket a blanket....only SISTER.   I think it's a boy, and Kyle is hoping for a boy but says he'll be happy with a girl.  I don't care either way...I think.