Potty Training? And lots more!

Are we crazy?!?! No, we're not crazy. We aren't really, truly potty training....we're just being prepared. A friend of ours who has a little girl 10 days older than Denver happened to go on the potty chair so Daddy said it's time to buy one! I refuse to clean out a potty chair and try to find a place to store one (or walk around one as our bathroom is too little the way it is), so I bought a seat that fits on top of the toilet. It has Sesame Street characters on it and for those of you who know Denver well, he LOVES Elmo, so he was super excited to see Elmo on the potty seat. Every once in a while we'll pull the seat out and let Denver sit on it. He thinks he's pretty cool sitting on the toilet, but hasn't figured out what to do yet, which is just fine with us. We don't want our little boy to grow up any faster than he already is on his own without any encouragement from us. (Any tips or hints you have about potty training for when we truly are serious about this we'd appreciate! You can email me or leave a COMMENT.)

We also had permission at Denver's 15 month appointment to turn his car seat around! The car seat in Daddy's pickup doesn't face backwards so he has had some rides facing forward prior to this, but now he gets to ride forward facing all the time. Denver loves watching the cars go by and I love the fact that I can actually see him and what he's doing now!

Denver got a big boy hair cut last Saturday. It's his first real short haircut (that was cut this short purposefully anyway....we did have that one in August that was shorter too, I guess). He looks like such a big boy with his hair cut like this. It's made me realize how much his little face has changed.

Denver has returned to being a Daddy's boy. He loves spending time with his Dad and would much rather listen to Daddy read him his books at night than Mommy. This has been a bit of a tough transition for me. I appreciate the time I can go get stuff done without someone hanging on my leg, wanting up to see what I'm doing, but especially after I get home from working a 12 hour shift I've missed my little guy and just want to snuggle.

Denver continues to like to clean and got into the Swiffer this past weekend. He found the button that sprays the cleaner and he made a mess! The little stinker. I can't wait until he knows how to "truly clean" and be our good little helper.

Denver got to spend some more time with his cousin Jacob this past weekend. He continues to love him and want to love on him, but he was not interested in taking pictures with him. We'll just pretend we didn't want them looking AT the camera. :)

All BOY! Denver is definitely all boy. He continues to find my potted plant that always gets neglected and some how is still alive. He has started taking his little shovel for the beach and trying to shovel the dirt out. After being told "no" he usually listens and goes on with things so after it happened today I expected to turn back around and see him playing with something else, but instead I saw him EATING dirt! (Oh what fun are we going to have this summer!) To top it off Denver and I had just taken a shower...at least there's not enough dirt that he didn't get real dirty. As you can see in the picture we need to invest in a bigger robe!

Also, just wanted to update all of you on Jovie. She's doing amazing thanks to all of the prayers she's received. She has finally been able to eat. This is huge as she never was able to eat before. Things are going so well that it looks like she'll be discharged from the hospital next weekend (not this weekend) and will stay in Pittsburgh where she can continue to see a feeding specialist (although she's been doing so well with and couldn't get enough orange sherbet!) and any other docs that she needs before she can return home again. Thank you for all of your prayers! Our God is so good!

Give Thanks to the Lord

1 Chronicles 16:34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

By my title I'm guessing you've figured it out.....YES....Denver's test ALL came back normal!!!!! This couldn't have made us more happy or more excited. The verse I started this post with just keeps going through my head as I'm just so thankful that God has brought us through this with such wonderful results and has made it so we can relax again and enjoy our perfect little boy!

The plan was to just watch Denver and check his weight again at 18 months if all of these tests came back normal. I say the WAS because we have decided to change that plan a "smidged". Today when I was at work, anxiously awaiting a call back from the clinic with the rest of Denver's test results I listened to a family telling our speech therapist (who yes, is called a speech therapist, but no she's not working on the babies speech, she works with their bottling and is an expert on picking up on cues that a baby is giving and why they may be struggling with bottling and what they can do to help the baby progress) about their older child at home who had struggled with feeding issues and I felt like they were almost exactly describing Denver. When our pediatrician called me with Denver's test results and we talked about what to do from here I told him some of the conversation that I and this family had with our speech therapist and he agreed that it wouldn't hurt to have them evaluate Denver. Now, I don't know what they exactly all do at a consult with a speech therapist with a 15 month old, but I'm hoping they'll be able to pick up on some feeding cues of Denver's....whether he has trouble with swallowing some things, or if his reflux is causing issues and he's just not presenting it how he used to so we didn't realize he was still struggling with it, etc. and then with that information I'm hoping they'll be able to give us some hints on how to get Denver to eat better. Denver likes to eat, but he doesn't usually shovel food in like most kids do and he'd rather graze than eat a bunch at one time. Also, something that has also really bothered us is that Denver will chew and chew something, but then spit it out or as we say "abort" some of his food and then he just decides he's done eating. With this said, we ask that you PRAISE God for answering our prayers in all the normal test results that we received, but that you pray that Denver can learn to eat better so he can at least maintain where he's at on the growth chart instead of continuing to drop. We understand that Denver will probably never be a huge kid or person for that matter, but we also want to make sure he thrives and does well and that we aren't missing something that he really needs. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers thus far as they have helped us get this far and we at least now know that their is nothing majorly "wrong" with him!

Also, I keep forgetting to put in my updates that Denver continues to get more teeth. Number 7 is all the way through and 8 is close to cutting through his gums. Next will be his 1 year molars which have been swollen (at least on the top) for quite some time so I'm guessing they won't be far behind. Denver's been a trooper with all of these teeth trying to come through at once and hasn't really acted like they bother him other than he rather drink his milk and pediasure (and chew on his sippy and everything else in site) instead of eating so much.

Since I know everyone appreciates pictures here are some pictures of Denver and his "zooey" (or is it "zooie", I can't remember now). Denver's Great-Great Aunt Ardis made him, his little sister, and his cousin Jacob all "zooey's". It's a long story of how the blankets got their names, but that makes the blanket special in its own way too. What makes this blanket extra special is that this Great-Great Aunt Ardis did this for her sister, who was Denver's Great-Grandma Betty, who Denver unfortunately never got to meet. Although this blanket doesn't replace Denver's sleeping blanket he loves to drag it around the house and to lay down on it on the floor in the living room. I hope this blanket will be a reminder to Denver of how special his Great-Grandma Betty was and how important of a person she was not only to his Mommy and Grandma, but to everyone else who knew her.

A Long Exhausting Week

We've had a long, emotional, exhausting week and boy am I happy Friday is here and is almost over! Very rare do I wish a week away, but after being so drained I have been anticipating Saturday more than I think I ever have.

First, I'm sure every one's been wondering where things are at with our 15 month old "little" Denver. Our emotional week began with Monday and lots of poking and prodding on our little man. Denver weighed in at 19lbs. 11oz. Although this wasn't 20lbs which I was hoping so much for, (but really didn't think we'd hit) it was a weight that I was very happy about. This puts Denver back with an "x" right below the 3%. (He had been WAY below the 3% the last 2 visits to the clinic...but he was sick then too, so dehydrated, not eating good, etc, etc.) He was 30 1/4 inches long and I'm not sure about his head, but both his length and head were back in their original percentiles or very close to it that there was no longer a concern in those areas, thank goodness! Even though Denver's moving back up on the growth chart, we and our pediatrician decided that we need to go ahead and do some testing just to make sure we aren't missing anything. After 21cc's of blood(and only one poke for all that blood!), bagging him for a sample of urine, and 2 shots (normal 15 month well baby shots) we finally got to leave the clinic! On Tuesday we had a phone call that some of the lab results were in and those that were back were all normal. Today (Friday) we had to go to the hospital where Denver was admitted as an outpatient and they completed a sweat chloride test. Believe it or not, I got a phone call just a little bit ago with those results and as I suspected they were normal too. Praise the Lord! We are only waiting on 2 more of the blood tests which are for celiac and an allergy panel. I asked for the allergy panel since we were doing other blood work anyway and he seems to get "bruises" under his eyes off an on which is an indication of allergies. We ask that you continue to pray for Denver and pray that at least the celiac test comes back normal. I know I've touched on celiac before, but for those of you who don't remember or didn't read that blog it would mean a specific diet for Denver that would include NO gluten. Gluten is in lots of things, so this is very scary for Evan and I in the thoughts that we would have to change how we prepare things at home and what we can let Denver indulge in. For now, we're just going to hope and pray it comes back normal.

I also had a doctor appointment for our little girl today. Once again everything looked great. Denver was a trooper by going to his appointment, then later to mine. He was such a good boy and I was so proud of him.

I have a couple of new pictures. The other night while the boys were waiting for me to come home from work they were playing and Daddy snapped some pictures (I was impressed...not just that he took pictures, but the quality of them too! Pretty good for a Daddy!) The boys have more and more fun playing together every day. I could watch them play together for hours. They are so silly and have so much fun together it just warms my heart.

Denver got into some scraps from Mom's sewing projects.

Here are some other miscellaneous pictures of Denver.

A lazy Saturday morning. Denver loves to play with his toys and read his books.Playing in the tub.

Denver loves to brush his teeth. Elmo is on his toothbrush and he LOVES Elmo, but he also likes Mommy's plain toothbrush too!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We are having a good Valentine's day and hope you are too! I did some trading so I could have the day off with my boys and be able to go watch my cousin and his team play basketball (and it's finally in Sioux Falls so no driving!!!). Today was a much needed day after an exhausting week of running around and lots of time thinking about "life". First, I want to thank all of you for praying for Jovie and her family! It sounds like she's doing awesome and the organs looked great. The physician took extra time to make sure everything looked 100% before giving the organs to her otherwise he wasn't going to do the surgery. Praise the Lord for such a successful surgery. At the same time, Jovie and her family have a long road ahead of them. Please continue to pray for them and everyone taking care of Jovie. That her body can handle the meds and whatever she needs so her body does not reject the organs and that her story continues to be a success and touch many more peoples lives. She's an amazing little girl! Also, please pray for the family who had to say goodbye to their little one. I couldn't imagine going through the loss of a child and it will take them a long time to heal. Pray that Jovie's story can touch their lives and that they can feel like the loss of their child helped another one live. Also, we had another tragic loss in my hometown community. A good family friend of ours passed away at 23 years old due to drowning in a bin when he was helping his dad. This once again has turned my mind to the thought of life and how precious our lives are and how we never know when our end (but new beginning) will come. Please pray for this family and our community and their friends to find comfort during this difficult time! Yesterday, I was pulled to our pediatric floor as they are overflowing into 3 other units with children. RSV is out in full force! By the time the day was over I was able to take care of 6 different children, all who were within 5 months of Denver. To watch these kiddos not feel good and get poked and prodded while Mommy and Daddy had to stand by and watch; my heart just broke. I couldn't imagine being the ones in their shoes. It would be horrible to watch your child have to suffer so they can get better. I also, came home from work last night feeling scared about my "little" Denver and what news we may find out next week. I ask that you please pray for us, for Denver, and for our pediatrician as we have Denver's 15 month appointment next week and we will then know if we're going to do any testing to find out why he's so little and if we do we'll find out those test results. Even though I really feel in my heart that he's okay and if something is wrong it's something very minor that we can fix it stills scares me; especially after seeing all those little ones on peds yesterday. I think we've just had so many emotional things going on in our lives lately that I'm getting overwhelmed and I hope and pray that after next week my mind will be able to focus on our daily lives and not worry about the little things that we can't change or do, but to leave it all in God's hands. Now, that all of that has come out........I'm so grateful for today and the time we can spend as a family. Nothing is better than when we can spend time as just the 3 of us. I wrote this "post" on Valentine's day and waited as I had hoped to get some good pictures of Denver and his 2nd Valentine's day, but the camera was kind of forgotten about so sorry...no pictures once again. Denver continues to do well in his toddler bed and we are so very proud of him for making this transition. He's such a big boy! Denver makes us laugh every day and it's amazing what he learns every day as well. Last night he insisted on drinking water from my glass and after a couple sips he wanted to do it himself. He usually does pretty well with a glass, but this was a big glass full of water and ice. When I handed it to him I said "you're going to wear it" and sure enough....I was right. He immediately wore it and the ice cubes went down his chest and he was sitting in his highchair so the ice cubes were then sitting in his lap. At first he cried and then he said "brrrrrrrrr", it was so cute and funny. I wish I would've grabbed the video camera before I let him have the cup!

Prayer Request

Sorry, no pictures this time. I just want to get as many people praying as I possibly can for my dear little friend Jovie. I had helped them start a blog for her awhile back, but haven't been able to "teach" them how to really update/etc so it just has the intital blog, but it tells a little about her and her link is on my sidebar with the blogs that I follow. Anyway, I just got an update that she's on her way to Pittsburgh to get her transplant. This is huge for this little girl. It's so exciting, but so scary at the same time. Please pray for safe travels, to keep Jovie calm (and her family) through all of this as it will be scary to go to a new place, etc. Also please pray for the family who had to lose a loved one so Jovie could benefit from their organs. Keep the doctors, nurses, and everyone else involved in Jovie's care in your prayers also, so that everthing goes well and that Jovie and her family can feel God's presence with them. Thank you for all your prayers!

Growing up too fast!

Our little boy is once again growing up too fast. We no longer have a crib set up in our house. There's no way Mommy would have been ready to do this if we weren't trying to get ready for another baby! Last night after I got home from work and after we ate supper the mission to turn Denver's crib into a toddler bed began. It's amazing what you can forget after a year and a half has gone by...like where are the instructions and hardware to change this crib to a bed! I finally found them and work began. As you can tell from the pictures Denver thought this was great and was all about Daddy's toolbox. He is definitely a boy!

Denver and Daddy after his crib was transformed to his toddler bed.

This is cool Mommy!

Our first night in a toddler bed went amazingly well. He never woke up and cried, he never tried to get out, he just laid down and went to sleep like he always does, and woke up at 8a.m. this morning and stood in his bed crying until I went to get him. I thought wow that was easy, but let's see how naps go. We've been a little busy in our household lately with lots of running around and late nights and Denver was tired this morning so he went down for a nap and once again he was a champ. I laid him down in his crib and he went right to sleep and slept for 2 and a half hours! This never happens in the morning anymore! When he awoke he sat by the edge of his bed and patiently waited for me to come and get him out. I know it won't be long and he'll figure out how to get out of his bed as he knows how to get down from our bed and off the couch if he really wants to, so the time is coming, but for now I'm thankful this transition has been so easy. Please pray for Denver that this transition continues to be a good one for him, so he can be one step closer to being ready to welcome his little sister into this world.

Denver fast asleep in his bed!

Denver's a TV/Basketball Star!

Denver made our hometown news last night! We went to watch cousin Ethan play basketball against #3 in the state Viborg last night. Unfortunately after leading most of the game they lost by 1 thanks to a 3 point shot by Viborg with about 10 seconds of the game left. We were all bummed, but still super proud of the boys as they had played a tough game against Wagner (an A school) the night before that they won. On the bottom of the blog (in the red box) I embedded the "Sports Zone" broadcast, unfortunately I can't cut it down so you'll have to watch from the beginning to see Denver.

I forgot I actually had my camera at the game too, so here are some pictures of our little man enjoying the game. Denver loves to go to basketball games, but these close games get a little too loud and a little too late for him. The other night he was crying and clapping at the same time!

Denver's soon-to-be cousin Tom took Denver out on the floor at half time to let him run around and play with a basketball. Denver ate it up!

Stubbornness?

Is there a little stubbornness in our child? Today, I think the stubborn genes that Denver inherited shown right through him. Denver and I were at the mall with a girlfriend of mine and her little girl who is around Denver's age. I could tell Denver was getting tired, but we were to the point that it didn't matter if we left or not because he'd fall asleep in the car ride home if we left then and unfortunately this child does not know how to transfer from the car asleep and to STAY asleep, to finish his nap in his crib, so I decided we would stay a little longer. All of a sudden I look down at Denver and realize he's asleep. Only....this is how he was asleep. He did not want to give it up, so he was NOT willing to lay back in his stroller. Instead he fell asleep with his head against the hard plastic. I put his blankie up on the tray, but he wouldn't let me move his head to lean on that instead....his head had to fall there after he fell asleep again.

We also found this shirt at the mall today. It was too fitting for Denver so I couldn't pass it up when I saw it was also on sale. (It says: "Don't Be FOOLED BY MY SIZE")

Denver continues to become braver every day and one of these days I'm worried this little boy is going to go flying down the stairs if the baby gate ever gets left open. He's beginning to want to attempt to walk down the stairs like an "adult", but after a foot goes forward to try he quickly hesitates and waits to grab your hand or to turn around and go down on his hands and knees. Daddy likes to swing the door in towards the stairs so it doesn't stick out of it's left open, but then you don't realize as quickly that the gate is open....not only that, but Denver knows the gate is supposed to be closed so if he finds it open he goes to close it...so when Daddy has left it open he has to lean forward on the stairs to grab the gate to close it.

I just had to include this pictures of Denver. He's becoming quite the little character. Denver LOVES shoes. He is always digging in his shoes and socks bucket and pulling them out. He has a favorite pair of tennis shoes that he insists upon wearing, but he's recently become interested in some clogs that his Great Aunt Lynn gave him, that are yet too big...I'm thinking this fall they will fit, but he thought he had to wear them around the house today.