Tonight, Owen Ray asked me to read the board book classic "Go, Diego, Go: Deap Sea Rescue" (insert gag reflex).

This Dollar Tree special begins with the following:

"Help! Help! Ayudenme! Our friend, Luis, the Hawkbill Sea turtle is stranded in the middle of a busy harbor!" Alicia exclaimed. "Al recate! To the rescue!" Diego called out...

It seems they just pick hooks and key phrases from the TV show and hope that this will float the child along. Who brought this literary masterpiece into my home? That would be me. Why oh why do I pick out books from bargain bins instead of investing in quality picture books that will truly stimulate my child's curiousity and help them develop an appetite for good literature?

Our local library has been a great means of introducing me to the best of what's out there for children to read. It affords me the luxury of "trying" books out. You get to invite this book into your home for a few weeks, find out if it gets along with the whole family, and then make an informed decision about whether or not it deserves to take up permanent residence on your book shelf!

Having used this library try before you buy-esque method for a couple months now, I have settled on some formal adoptions (i.e. books I just purchased from Amazon)

1. HarperCollins Treasury of Picture Book Classics (a-freaking-mazing)

2. Put Me in the Zoo (one of my very favorites from my childhood)

3. The Tall Book of Nursery Tales (psyched - amazing illustrations; Owen Ray already loves the Tall Book of Mother Goose and is just starting to dig into nursery tales)

4. Go, Dog. Go! (not to be confused with Go, Diego, Go)

5. A Child's Garden of Verses (I LOVE this collection of poems written from a child's perspective by Robert Louis Stevenson. The illustrations are perfect. I managed to find a CD with some of these poems set to music).

I'm afraid with all these great new books set to arrive in a few short days, Diego will just have to find a new home.

Babies in Diapers

This picture was taken in November of 2008. Owen Ray was about 6 months old. We were visiting his cousin, Mollie Grace, in Dallas. It was his first time visiting Texas. Trey and I went out to see my sister Kelli, her husband, Matt, and their little baby girl, Mollie. It was such a treat to see the two little ones together. We realized they were wearing the same diapers and couldn't resist taking a few pictures of our little babies, the first grandchildren in our family.

This picture was taken today. Chandler is about 6 months old. My sister, Kelli, and her now 3 children were visiting us in our home in Crowley, Texas. It is such a treat to see our five children play together. Today, Kelli realized that Chandler and Emilie were wearing the same diapers, and she thought back to this picture. These are now the fourth and fifth grandchildren (#6 will arrive by next Wednesday).

A few observations:

-Huggies are expensive; AmazonMom + Luvs = 14 cents a diaper

- Motherhood is spectacular. My sons are such amazing manifestations of God's grace and blessing in my life.

-Living in Texas is so much better than living in California.

Spring is Here

Sigh. It is so sunshiny outside, and I love it! So far Spring Break has been less relaxing than I had anticipated, so this gorgeous weather has me cheered up. Owen Ray had a recent bout with Scarlet Fever, and I thought we were done with our health issues for awhile. Monday, however, Chandler had an icky cough. We read up on newborns and coughs and found out what signs to look for that would prompt a visit to the doctor. Wednesday, those signs arrived. Chandler woke up wheezing and whistling,definitely more than an innocent cough. At the pediatrician's he was tested for RSV and came back positive. They suctioned him and gave him a breathing treatment then sent me home with a nebulizer to do breathing treatments from home.
The good news is... he improved dramatically and seems to be happy as can be.
This week I am thankful that God is the Great Physician and that He has given people gifts of discernment and healing, specifically Chandler's pediatrician :)

Gospel Parenting

Trey and I went to a gospel parenting seminar this Saturday, and I really enjoyed it. There was a LOT to think about. I wanted to jot down some of the principles and concepts that were talked about:
- Children are interpreters. They are not just receivers or facts; they interpret facts.
- Children are not neutral. Children are worshippers; they will worship God or something else.
- As parents, we get to instill awe and wonder in our children as we point out all the amazing things that God has created/given us in this world. However, you cannot give your children what you do not have.
- Families are meant to be theological, sociological, and redemptive communities.

The video below is a clip from the series we were walking through as a group.

Owen Ray is sick :(

Owen Ray woke up from his nap yesterday with a bit of congestion but his temp was just slightly above normal. He seemed to rebound quickly and we even went out for an early birthday dinner. However, when I woke up at 4am to feed Chandler, Owen Ray was barking with a terrible cough. We gave him ibruprofen and brought him into bed with us. His breathing was a little rough, but it eased up once he calmed down and fell asleep. Today, however, it got worse. He woke up from his nap and was running above 102. His chest rattled terribly when he coughed and he had a hard time swallowing without pain. Trey took him to urgent care and he had a 91% oxygen saturation level. They administered a breathing treatment and he rebounded. They sent him home with antibiotics to treat for strep (they didn't test; they are just going ahead and treating for it to be safe) and baby prednisone to help reduce the inflamation in his airway and allow him to get the oxygen he needs. We are praying for a super quick recovery! In the meantime, he gets to watch as much TV as he wants and drink as much juice as possible ;)

Christmas Morning!

Make your own photo album

Hello Baby Chandler

Trey and I woke up at 4am in order to be at the hospital for my induction at 5am. Because you need to know important details, I will report that I had a whole wheat bagel with crunchy peanut butter topped with sliced bananas and sprinkled lightly with cinnamon and sugar. This is the breakfast of champions and certainly an excellent precursor to an awesome labor and delivery. When we arrived at Huguley, they wasted no time getting things started. Trey and I attempted to play monopoly, but once the contractions became pretty regular, I was not too interested in continuing (that and the fact that I was already losing badly ten minutes into the game). Later in the morning my mother-in-law and my sister, Kelli (aka my doula) arrived. When I was induced with Owen Ray, his labor lasted about 12 hours. I expected Chandler's to be a bit quicker, but not by much. I was wrong. It was by much. At 11:00am the nurse came in to check how I was progressing. Apparently I had zipped right from a 5 1/2 to a 9 in no time. She said "we're going to have this baby" and called in the doctor immediately. I was pretty elated because inducing labor produces some pretty unnaturally painful contractions and my epidural was only about 65% effective. When I had an epidural with Owen Ray I had what is called a "hot spot" over my left hip. It was about the size of a quarter and that little circle could feel the contractions that the rest of my body was numb to. With Chandler, the epidural did not take for most of the left side of my body. It seems that much as we try, no one escapes Genesis 3:16. All that to say, the fact that my nurse was announcing that Chandler would make his debut in about half the labor time as his brother was just fine and dandy with me. I pushed through a grand total of four contractions and voila, Baby Boy #2 arrived. Shocker: the child had dark hair and dark eyebrows. Having no other reference point for what my husband and my genetic combination produce other than our first child, I was startled to meet this dark haired little bandit who did not have bright whitish blonde hair like Owen Ray. I didn't hold it against him, however, because he was (and is) the most handsome little brown haired baby boy I could ever imagine. After a week, I can conclude that he is practically perfect in every way and marvel at God's lavish grace that He would entrust me with another little life to be responsible for.

Addendum: Owen Ray met his baby brother shortly after. In the sweetest big brother voice he said "Hello Baby Chandler" like he'd been waiting to greet him all along and welcome him into our family.