Kiddie Update

Here's a quick rundown on what the family is up to these days...

Jake: I think Jake is suffering from severe cabin fever. We had some attitude problems last week but this week has been much better after a busy weekend. He loves playing with his Thomas the Tank Engine toys and he has recently started creating "tunnels" for his trains using whatever he has on hand. A box or pillows or other toys. His imagination cracks me up. He also likes to refer to us in the family by our Jake-assigned Thomas train names. Jake is Thomas of course. Jordan is Percy, Daddy is Gordan and I am Emily. This took some convincing because he originally called me Diesel 10 (the mean one). When he decides that we are playing this game, we have to refer to everyone by their train names. Even when I'm scolding them he will say, "No, I'm not Jakey! I'm Thomas!" Or, "that's not Jordy, it's Percy!" Sometimes it's annoying, but mostly it's cute.

We are trying to explain the concept of Christmas to him but I think he's getting more and more confused. He thinks Santa's name is Christmas and will argue that point until you just give up and agree with him. He says Christmas and Jesus are coming and putting toys in our socks.

Jordan: Jordan is 18 months old this momth and the biggest copycat right now. She mimics everything her big brother says. The loves her "baby" which is an ugly blue teddy bear that says, "Worlds Best Dad" on the chest. She sleeps with it every night. We got her a real baby doll for Christmas but she'll probably still prefer that blue bear. Like I said in a previous post, she is learning to count and sing her alphabet. It seems like she picks up a new word or two every single day. Today she started saying, "broken" after Jake tattled on her and told me that Jordy had broken something he made.

Joshua: Joshy is 2 and a half months old and such a little fatty. He's just a big teddy bear. He's very happy, smiles all the time and loves to cuddle. He sleeps from 10pm until 8:30 or 9am now. Plus he takes several 2 hour naps during the day. He recently outgrew his 0-3 month wardrobe and it has been fun pulling out all the 3-6 month outfits. His flailing hands and feet are starting to discover their purpose in life but he still hasn't tried to grab at a toy.

That's about it for now. I'll keep posting pictures as I take them.

How cute is this?

Jordan is taking classes from Jake

In the past couple of days I have realized that Jordan can count to 5 and she knows her alphabet all the way to "G." Now I wonder, where was I during all of this? I honestly think Jake is teaching her.

Smiley Baby

Little Joshy is full of grins for everyone now. And he is quite the chub-o-lub. He just turned two months old and he's busting out of his 0-3 month clothes!

Little baby Jayhawks

Aunt Raychel and Uncle Rusty came over for Thanksgiving and we did Christmas with them while they were here. Jake and Jordan each got some new Jayhawk gear so you know I had to dress them all up and take a hundred pictures.

Sleepy Boy!

Baby Joshy is sleeping 9 hours at night now. What a super star.

Joshy Update

I forgot to update everyone on Josh's condition. Turns out he's perfectly fine. He does have a hernia but it is very common and will probably go away on it's own in a couple of YEARS. I have to check it periodically to make sure I can push it back in even if it just pops right back out. He got his voice back now that we have taken measures to help with the reflux. Jakey's eczema has returned full force now that the weather is so dry. He has alligator skin over his whole body. We got a prescription for it and he has to be rubbed down a couple of times a day. He absolutely hates it of course. Jordan is not suffering from any type of malady at this point in time. I hope everyone has a fabulous week.

It's been a while...

I guess I haven't posted in a while. That's what happens when there is either nothing going on, or too much going on. We happen to be experiencing the latter. Darrin has been coaching a couple of different basketball teams and they all have random schedules and various games. I think I saw him last night for a minute...
Our friend's kids have been staying with us this week while mom and dad and big sister are out of town at a youth rally. The kids have been so good and such a big help just keeping my kids entertained.
Baby Joshy is suffering from "grunting baby syndrome" which is a condition (usually caused by reflux) which causes him to grunt like a pig while he's asleep. And he does it for hours on end. It has gotten so bad that he has lost his voice (and now he cries silently) and he gave himself a hernia under his belly button (which now sticks out like a ball). Things have improved slightly because we have implemented some preventive measures we found on the internet. This coming Wednesday I will take him to the doctor to see if she want's to prescribe any medication for the reflux. In the mean-time, please pray for our little guy because this condition is very uncomfortable (read: painful) for him. And I've decided a silent cry is more heart-breaking than a loud one.

Halloween

This was Jake's first year trick or treating. He had so much fun. He just couldn't believe people were handing out candy! He looked so cute all bundled up in his winter gear with his costume on top. People couldn't stop commenting on his cheeks! We unbundled later for the church carnival and he was able to wear his costume over regular clothes, which he preferred.

Jordan was an adorable ballerina and she just loved to shake her booty and dance in circles. She had to stay home for the trick-or-treating but she handed out candy with Grandma and she loved seeing the kids in their costumes.


Joshy was a sweet little lion. RARR! He tried sleeping through Halloween but he kept waking up every time someone rang the doorbell. He had a rough night!

Joshy is one month old!

Today Joshy turned one month old and we celebrated by having a fun photo session. Isn't he a ham? Check out more pictures in the photo album on the left. It's the button with the camera on it.

It's Winter

Winter has offically arrived. Despite my silent chagrin, I chose to embrace it with an outing to the front yard. It's not easy dressing these two in all there gear, undressing them for potty breaks, redressing them and having them want to come back in 2 minutes later, hence, more undressing. All this with baby crying in the house. And it wasn't even good snowball snow. And Jordan can barely walk in her hand-me-down snow boots. Hmm, this post makes it seem like I'm not ready for winter!

Happy Birthday to ME!

I recently celebrated my 29th birthday. I can't believe how fast time flies. I can't believe I've been married for over 7 years and have 3 kids! The nice thing is, back in high school when we had to write an essay on where we wanted to be in 10 years, this is exactly what I wrote. How blessed am I?

Today Darrin had a half day at school. We spent the afternoon playing "fort" in the playroom. Aren't they cute?

A couple of pictures of my boys

Cowboy Darrin

I just thought I'd post a silly picture of Darrin on his way to work at the "Western Jamboree" at church. I caught him with his mouth full. Jaycob kept asking, "Dad, are you a cowboy?"

Awana Cubbies

Today Jaycob earned his very first Cubbies badge. He earned it by having his bible verse memorized every week. He is so proud of his badge and can't wait for mom to put it on his vest. Here he is showing me where it goes...

Moose!

This morning we had some fun visitors. Jaycob spent a fair amount of time "mooing" at them through the window. I had to slither past them in order to take my trash out to the curb. Fortunately, the garbage man was equally enthralled by the moose and he waited while I slowly snuck past them and into my carport. They trotted off when I started dragging the cans down the driveway.

A week with Grandma

My mom went home to Seattle today after a week of helping me chase after my children. It's amazing how an extra set of hands can make all the difference. Whether she was hauling one or another of them to and from the car, or catching Jordan unrolling an entire roll of toilet paper, or just holding the baby so I could have a shower, she was exactly what I needed! As we were getting ready to head to the airport, both Jordan and Josh decided to have simulaneous meltdowns. I looked at mom with tears in my eyes and exclaimed, "PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!!!" I was only joking a little.... Fortunately, Darrin managed to come home early from a basketball event and he became my extra set of hands as we wrangled them all into bed!

Baby Joshua is 6 days old today. We went to the doctor for a check up and he weighs 7lbs 3oz which is less than his birth weight, but more than he weighed when we left the hospital. He is also our first baby to avoid getting jaundice. Woo hoo! Both Jake and Jordan had to get shots today. Jake was such a big boy. He watched the whole procedure and didn't even cry. He flinched a little when the nurse poked him but then he laughed when it was all over and she gave him a fun bandaid. Jordan had to have 3 shots and she screamed. Then she ripped all her bandaids off.

Joshua Lawrence Powers

Baby Joshy was born Sept. 26 at 12:25pm Alaska time. The hospital gallery pictures can be viewed at www.birthprint.com

The baby's ID number is 131943

Another Day of Birthday Fun

Jake's birthday was a fun day of church and toys. He got a train set, a scooter, a remote controlled semi (I think it was more for daddy...), a Harly Davidson semi truck and a Thomas the Tank Engine Tshirt. Needless to say, we need to sort through some old toys to make room. We went outside to play with the new remote controlled semi and to learn to ride the scooter. Jake crashed the semi within 2 seconds and then he didn't really want to play it anymore. So he rode his scooter around while daddy drove the semi around. And Jordan just chased them both around while I took pictures.

Yesterday we celebrated Jake's 3rd birthday at the H2Oasis Indoor waterpark. He had 10 of his closest friends in attendance. After a couple of hours of splashing and swimming and sliding, we ate pizza, juice and cupcakes. Jake's favorite part was the PRESENTS! Afterwards, we swam a little more. It was difficult to get him to take a nap when we got home. He just wanted to play with all his new stuff. Tomorrow is our family party after church. Maybe we'll save presents for after nap this time!

Jordan's Pony Tails

Jordan's hair is finally getting long enough for pony tails! Of course, now Jake wants pony tails too. Daddy told him that when boys wear pony tails they are weird. So Jake said he wants weird pony tails.

Two weeks???

I had another doctor's appointment yesterday and I am now dilated to 2cm. We talked about my delivery options and we decided that if I don't go into labor on my own before hand, I will get induced on or about the 28th of this month. That way the birth won't coincide with Darrin's first week of coaching basketball (read: not home at all). So it looks like this baby will be here one way or another in the next two weeks! I feel like nesting...

Not much

There hasn't been much going on the past couple of days. Just trying to get prepared for the new little one. The baby dropped really low yesterday and now I can barely walk. Jake has been practicing riding his bike in the last few days of nice weather. He can pedal and steer at the same time now. The last time we were outside riding I was following Jordan around while she practiced walking and I glanced over at Jake on his bike, only he wasn't on his bike, he was peeing on the mailbox. Jordan is trying to run and now she spends a lot of time flat on her face because of it. I think both kids are sensing that a big change is coming because suddenly they are really clingy and needy. Hopefully it wears off shortly because I'm starting to go a little insane. Work is going well for Darrin and we are gearing up for basketball season at the beginning of October. This is the start of 9 whole months of coaching various sports and being gone every weekend at games. I stopped attending "away" games when Jordan was born but now it might be difficult to even go to home games. Unless Jake learns to walk in the snow this year...

More pictures

I just felt like posting a couple more pictures because I can. Here is daddy with his babies at the fair

Baby Stuff

Today I had a doctor appointment and discovered that I am well on my way to having this baby. I'm nervous at the possibility of going into labor on my own because I was induced with both of my other pregnancies. And my labor went extremely fast both times. My fear is that I will be home "wondering" if I'm actually in labor and I'll wait too long and end up giving birth in car or something. I would much prefer to plan this birth just like the others. But I have to wait a little longer to do anything about it so we'll see what happens.

Powers Family in Alaska

Powers Family in Alaska

Today we FINALLY finished moving the last of our stuff into our new house. Well, that's not entirely accurate. We still have a shed full of stuff and one rather large flower pot left over there. I think we may leave the shed alone over the winter and move it next spring. It's fortunate that our friends are moving into our old house and they don't mind if we leave it for a bit.

Another beautiful day at the fair! It seems like we always pick the one day when it doesn't rain. The kids had a blast. We were afraid Jake would be too timid to do any of the rides or pet any of the animals but he surprised us. Once he realized he could ride a train and a helicopter we couldn't keep him off them. He went down the giant slide with daddy and then took off running back up the stairs to do it again. He didn't pay any heed to the fact that there was a huge line behind the gate and he had to give the guy more tickets! He got to slide again, but he had to wait impatiently in line again first. Jordan had fun this year too. She LOVED the animals and she loved staring at all there was to see. She practiced her walking while we waited in lines for rides with Jake.

The funniest part of the day happened while we were strolling through some of the fairway and Jake declared he had to go potty. In the two seconds it took for Darrin and I to turn away and look for a bathroom, Jake had dropped his pants and peed on a trash can. I almost walked away and left him there. Fortunately, all the witnesses thought it was hilarious. No citations for public urination!