Tis the Season!

The kids had a great time making their gingerbread house this year! Too bad all of the pictures I took were of them with the back of the house-haha...notice Anteneh's curls...I'm letting his hair grow out a little and it's so cute! His little curls are so soft and pretty! My sister is teasing me b/c Luke needs a haircut and she says he looks like dracula! haha..His hair does come to a point on his forehead...it makes me laugh when I look at it...but he's so stinkin cute!
and here is a picture of the kids(still in jammies) in their new craft room(the converted sunroom) painting little wooden airplanes!I LOVE this room! It's great for the kids to have their own table so they can leave all their craft projects out on the table even when it's dinnertime b/c they aren't using the kitchen table anymore! They have all their play dough, paints, coloring books, and ABC posters, etc...in there and the floor is ceramic tile so spilled paints and such don't hurt anything...also, the table they are using was my dad's kitchen table when he was little-it's where he used to do his homework in the 50's! Of course, he wasn't too happy when he saw I'd painted it white to match the trim!-oops! And here are the boys one day last week making 'puppy chow'...while they were at preschool, I got all the ingredients out and premeasured everything and set the bowls up and even put the powdered sugar in the 2 zip lock bags...then, I picked them up from school and told them we were going to go home and make 'puppy chow' and they were SO EXCITED! Of course, Anteneh had no clue what I was talking about but Luke had been asking for me to make it for days...seeing Luke excited, Anteneh was up for it! Notice the chocolate on their faces! Haha
And a picture of Daryn and I on our way to the Young Life Christmas Party tonight!

Thanksgiving

Well, so much has happened! I am so bad about keeping up with it...I know I'm a bad blogger, Tracey:) Here is a picture of Anteneh with his new baby cousin, Jocelyn Elizabeth Clements! She was born September 21...I got to be there for it...amazing...after watching my sister go through labor, she finally had to have a C-Section but Jocelyn was healthy and everyone recovered well...now, with my sister on maternity leave, we get to see Jocelyn every day!This next picture I just LOVE...it's my sister holding Jocelyn while she looks at our grandpa...Grandpa Chapin turns 92 this summer! Dad picked him up from the nursing home so he could spend Thanksgiving with the family...Anteneh in his chick magnet suit. (Don't lose respect for me, BFF in FL)
And Grace decked out in her Thanksgiving pilgram garb that she made in her kindergarten class!And last but certainly not least is my adorable hubby reading Curious George to the kids...how cute is this picture?!

Adventures in Being Anteneh's Parents

Ahh...the joys of parenthood...I noticed this afternoon that the frig wasn't very cold....immediately I knew it must have been Anteneh...if you lived in this house, you'd know why I am saying this! Of course, the thermostat on the frig was turned down to "OFF" and when I opened the freezer, melted ice cream and various other liquids came oozing out...so, after questioning the kids and finding out it was, in fact, Anteneh James West who had turned the refrigerator and freezer off, I made him stand in the kitchen and hold the (lawn sized)garbage bag while I proceeded to throw hundreds of dollars worth of food away. FYI: we are one of those homes that has a PACKED frig at all times...The garbage bag weighed so much, I had to drag it out of the house...it proceeded to snag and drip chocolate ice cream on my new J.Jill khaki cords...I know whoever reads this is probably having a lovely laugh right now...go ahead-I understand....but I hope your kids don't turn the dial to "OFF" on your frig tonight:) heehee...at least now that there is no food in our frig or freezer, there is less to move when we move to our new house in a week! HA! Maybe I should be thanking Anteneh...Actually, Daryn should be b/c as he was cleaning out the 15 Tupperware containers that had (previously)frozen leftovers in them, he was saying how he was so glad we wouldn't have to eat that stuff...what a lucky man:)

Halloween

Well, I think this pictures says it ALL:

That is Luke running from house to house on Halloween night-SO EXCITED as you can see...sword swinging through the air as he yells, "YEAH, Haha"
The boys were knights...actually, Sir Peter of Narnia-from the Chronicles of Narnia

And there is Grace, the Leopard, with the boys and all the cousins on Daryn's side.
And here is Anteneh with his first EVER birthday cake!!! His 4th birthday was October 24th! It was a great day!

Grace, the Poet

OK....so, I'm a bad blogger...I probably shouldn't even call myself a blogger...I could tell you how awesome this day was b/c we sold our house...but since I never blog you'd probably not even know we were trying to sell our house! haha...well, that's for another day...I had to share with you the poem that my brilliant 5 year old daughter made up today (after her soccer game and awards ceremony where she received her first ever trophy)

"Where shiny trophies have been given
And soccer balls have been kicked
And people have been kicking them
It’s a magical kind of sport.
It’s soccer." by Grace West
Grace (on the left)with her soccer friend...
I'll write more soon-promise:)

...it's the next morning now...I had to add this...when I woke up this morning I found Grace (who is NEVER out of bed before us) in the bathroom, with a sink of soapy water and a washcloth, lovingly shining up her trophy! Haha...and she has carried it around with her all morning...the thing is so big (considering it's a U-6 team!). I told her that I thought it would be a lot smaller and she said, "No, those are T-BALL trophies...this is SOCCER!" :)

Matching Boys

Here is a cute shot of the boys before school today...yes, they wore jeans and thermal shirts even though it was 87 degrees...it was picture day at preschool:) Don't think I'm too mean, though...preschool is air conditioned and they had Hanes T's on underneath so they could take their thermal shirts off after pictures...

First Family Picture Adventures

Oh...I won't even go there...you know-to the place where you are explaining how frustarating taking a family picture can be...how every time the shutter clicks there just HAS to be SOMEONE who is looking around or has their eyes closed! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!! That's all I will say about it...I said I wouldn't go there...We will try again in another month or so...

Other than that...things are going GREAT!!! The boys love preschool...Grace loves Kindergarten....we are trying to sell our house and move back to Newburgh...anyone wanna nice house on the westside of Evansville?

more pictures

Here is one of the guys this afternoon...watching the race for the 'fastest man in the world'...an American won! It was so cute the way all three of them in their khakis laid there on the couch...so comfy...And here is Luke getting VERY excited about racing Anteneh on the playstation!And Anteneh....And I couldn't resist putting this random one of Luke up...he looks like he is ready to go hiking...both boys have been wearing snow boots around the house ALL DAY...I just got them at Lands End on super clearance and they are huge and hot but they are OBSESSED with them! Nevermind the fact that has still been in the 90's every day:)

Updates

I am so disappointed in myself...I have been HORRIBLE at keeping this blog updated...Here are some current pics:




Anteneh in a rare moment....being alone with Mommy-Grace was at school and Luke was napping so Anteneh and I made corn casserole AND an apple pie! It's amazing how much more enjoyable it is to spend time with your kids one on one!!!


This is Grace, Daryn and me on the first day of school right before we drove her to Kindergarten for the first time!!! I didn't even cry...so proud of myself...oh, yeah-and her too:) haha...She had on her little horse shirt and black and pink cheetah print backpack (that was a Grandma purchase!) with a fresh horse folder in there...

And here is Luke enjoying a nice blue Popsicle poolside at our friends' house Saturday...
Grace had her first soccer practice Saturday, too, and scored a goal! The only other goal scored was by the coach's daughter who played last year...Grace was VERY excited...it felt good to sit on the sidelines and cheer for her-even if it was only a scrimmage:)

Our Daughter

GRACE AFTER HAVING HER FIRST TEETH OUT! CHECK OUT THE GAP WHERE THE BOTTOM FOUR SHOULD BE! (it looks a little strange b/c the gums are still hilly)
Grace is growing up to be such an interesting girl...This world of school aged kids is new to us...There are so many things about her that keep us laughing in ways that are totally different than the crazy boys...a little bit about Grace...

She is Grace the:

BRAVE: Yesterday she went to the dentist and had 4 teeth pulled out. Her FIRST four she's ever lost (she had to b/c she had permanent teeth coming in already)...she was awake the whole time and when we asked her if she was scared or if it hurt she said, "Nope-I just watched the movie the whole time!" and never complained a bit from then until now about her mouth. She is so brave and tough!

MISTREATED: We are the biggest looser parents EVER! She woke up this morning, reached under her pillow and (gasp!) there were her teeth...She came in our room this morning and asked, "Daddy, Mommy, why are my teeth still there?" Yes, that's right...THE TOOTH FAIRY FORGOT TO TAKE HER FIRST 4 TEETH!!!!! I was mortified...I promised her tonight would be the night. Shame on us

OVERLY OBSERVANT: So, the other day I got home from running some errands and Daryn said, "Honey...Grace patted my butt today with her hand!" Oh, my goodness! So, is this a bad thing b/c it's weird or a good thing b/c she learned it from me and her parents flirt with eachother? Haha...yeah-we told her not to do it anymore

ANIMAL LOVER: Grace could spend all day with animals and love it...it really is a gift God has given her. She catches frogs, bugs, small rodents, anything she can get her hands on. Any animal she sees becomes her friend. She will spend half a day shoveling horse stalls at her grandma's and not be ready to quit. We found a stray dog Saturday and she played with it all day until we found the owners then cried when she wasn't going to get to take it home. So we let her go b/c it was breaking her heart...it's so cool to watch her with animals...she isn't like most little kids who don't know how to treat them. I've seen her walk right up to some kids who were mistreating a frog and tell them, "You'd better be careful. That frog can't breathe-it might DIE!!!" haha...

TECHNO GIRL: Yes, she is only 5 but she LOVES webkinz...(thank you West cousins for buying her her first webkinz!) Today she was online playing computer games at webkinz.com and she said, "some kid wants to be my friend? should I click yes or no?" Of course, being the protective parents we are, we quickly answered, "NO! Always say 'no' unless you know the person!" I don't know if there are any sickos on webkinz.com-I doubt it but you never know...I can't believe she is 5 years old and we are already having to watch her on the internet...it's crazy.

HELPER: Yesterday I was so excited to sit down by myself after feeding the kids lunch. I had my 2 oreos and a little cup of milk on the counter and I was finishing up the dishes. I turn around and Grace announces, "Mommy-I dipped your oreos for you! they are all ready!" AHHHH! I just said, "Thanks, honey!" and she proudly stood there to watch me eat them. You know how exciting it is to dip oreos in milk and eat them? Well, it's a little different when they've been predipped with questionablly clean 5 year old hands and laid on the counter dripping wet getting soggier by the second...I picked the wet, falling apart cookies off the counter and ate them as she watched and I tried to smile instead of gag. It's funny how one of the best treats ever can turn into a food you have to gag down! haha

THE MAGICIAN: Daryn and I were laying on the bed enjoying a few stolen minutes to talk about our days and all of a sudden one of our bathroom drawers opened and shut again...I said, "Daryn! Did you see that? How did that drawer move?!" He looked at it and Anteneh walked in the bathroom and stared at it, puzzled...it did it again! We all stared at it for a few minutes before we realized that Grace was in the cabinet moving the drawer in and out! Nobody had seen her crawl into the bathroom and squeeze under the sink...We laughed so hard...you had to be there...she really did have us going for a minute!

CLONE OF HER MOTHER: I was telling her how we are going to go back to school shopping next week, just the girls, and her first question was: "Great! Can we get a 'fun drink'???!!!" (meaning a starbucks decaff mocha)...I'm not going to lie-this is due to spending too much time with Aunt Tracey and Mommy...haha


Well, random but here are some pictures of the boys at their fist baseball game: we went to an Evansville Otters game Saturday...umm...it's not worth it-don't take two out of control three year olds and a five year old girl to a baseball game...they were so bored! But I got cute pictures and can write it in their baby books! And we got in free.

Clarification

The kids reading together...Grace is growing by leaps and bounds reading...it's making me wish were were still going to homeschool her this year so I could take all the credit for her abilities:) Haha...but really she is just amazing. She can read just about anything, it seems-and she has taught herself. She's not even in Kindergarten yet. She loves to read to the boys. Here she is reading a Spiderman book that they've already heard probably 500 times(and nursing a doll it looks like-haha!)
After getting a few comments about it, I figured I should clarify something! Our pediatrician wasn't telling me that we couldn't catch ringworm but he was saying that Anteneh's scalp fungal thing wasn't really ringworm but a different specific type of fungal infection that is harder for Caucasians to catch(it had a name that I can't remember)-he just said, "kind of like ringworm" to explain what a fungal infection was to me...A few people thought that he said we couldn't catch ringworm but that was probably the way I wrote my blog entry-sorry everyone-I was probably a little misleading! So, apparently there is a TYPE of fungal infection that is harder for us to catch b/c we aren't black but LUKE DID! It doesn't surprise me b/c he's got very sensitive skin, anyway-it seems more susceptible to rashes and such...He is now on the same medication to get rid of it that Anteneh was on...but Luke only has to take it for a month-Anteneh had to take it for 2 months but his was much more extensive...I look now at Anteneh's little face and those spots on his cheeks are completely gone...he has the smoothest, most beautiful skin-especially those cheeks...he still has scars on his forearms from the skin infection but I'm wondering if those might still fade over time, too.
Well, here is one of my favorite recent pictures...we made the trek to the nearest drive in to see Shrek the Third a few weeks ago. It was an hour away so we stopped on the way to see my Uncle Fred and Aunt Ann who live near there in Spencer County. Anteneh is becoming quite the country boy-haha. We picked green beans and eggplant out of their garden and the kids picked a pail of blueberries (that we'd finished eating less than 14 hours later) and played with their 3 big dogs for a while. They have a Great Pyrenees(FYI those gigantic white dogs) that towers about all the kids. He is HUGE. It's awesome to see the kids so comfortable around big intimidating animals! In this picture is our set up at the drive in. It cracks me up-notice Grace sitting on one of the back seats from the van in her yellow rain boots (no sign of rain-not sure why she chose to wear those)...we laid the sleeping bags out in the back of the van and ate popcorn (of course I popped on the stove before we left b/c I'm too cheap and healthy to pay $5 for bright yellow movie popcorn), junior mints, and peanut M&M's...umm...did I just say 'healthy'? Well, I make exceptions for chocolate...and for special occasions like the drive in...

And here is one more of Grace and Anteneh holding some dear antlers that the dogs had drug in...notice the skull and even hair still attached...thank goodness for soap and antibacterial wipes! They LOVE Uncle Fred's house! Oh...and what trip out to the country would be complete without a four wheeler ride? Anteneh's first four wheeler ride...oh....why didn't I get a picture of that?! He loved it...

My Great Friends

I can't believe I haven't done this yet...I have a few friends with some great home businesses that I need to mention...
Tracey, my best friend since high school, started a business years ago making hand embroidered baby clothes. She has since expanded her inventory and does toddler clothes and lots of cool accessories...Everything is hand stitched with your baby's name or the phrase that you pick out...She has had her stuff in Pregnancy Magazine, and The Pregnancy Buyer's Guide, amoung many other places...and listen to this: Adam Sandler's little baby girl even wears one of Tracey's onsies! On the VH-1 top celebrity kids' show, Sandler's baby was shown wearing the onsie that someone had Tracey embroider! Here is the website: www.tinysprouts.com . Another great thing about Tracey's business is that she does every piece by hand-she hand dyes the pieces and stitches them herself. And she gives 10% of all sales back to VERY worthy organizations like Feed The Children, The Global Fund, and March of Dimes. You can read more about them on her website.

Another friend who has a very cool home business is my friend from back in 6th grade, Kendra! When I moved to a new school, she was my ONLY friend. Well, she is a mommy now and she began a business called Once Upon a Family...she is an independent consultant and sells incrediblely beautiful items that help you create and keep traditions in your family and just help families grow closer and stay close. It is kind of hard to explain-you just have to check it out. Her website is www.legacyofblessings.com . One thing I purchased was the Family School Records book. You fill it up as the years go by with report cards, awards, and special projects your kids bring home from preschool to college. It's so nice. Many of her items help you do things you always say, "oh, I'll do that" but never actually do. Like saving things they bring home from school. If you don't have a place to put those things, you won't do it or else you'll do it and not remember where you put those things! Haha...Spend some time on her website...there's a ton of great stuff!

Goodnight!

This is a random picture b/c since Daryn has the camera in Jamaica, my blog is so boring w/ no pictures and I NEEDED to have some color on this thing!!!...I need lots of pictures to stay focused..see how great my dog is? He's awesome.That is Shadow. A.K.A. Shadrach Meshach Abednigo West...anyone know where that name comes from? I wish I could give a prize for the person who figures it out...it has nothing to do with dogs but it's fun to say

Well, I have to tell everyone I am so thankful for the great bedwetting advice! Maybe I am just missing it but I can't figure out how to send a personal email to the people who leave blog comments so I'll just thank everyone like this...We tried Goodnights last night and it went well..I went ahead and took both boys to pee at 11pm and Anteneh had peed in the goodnight pants so I changed him to dry ones (but didn't have to change the sheets-yippee!) Then, he was dry in the morning...well, they have already saved me. I think I will keep taking them at 11pm, anyway-b/c it raises the chances that he will wake up dry and it's not too hard to do that before we go to bed...so, thanks for all the advice, everyone...I'm actually surprised there's anyone left who reads this blog...it's been literally 2 weeks since I posted any pictures...maybe other people are more committed readers than me b/c I have to see pictures when I read or I can't pay attention...I'm like a little kid!

Speaking of thanks, I am so thankful for those people who showed me a good birthday, despite Daryn being out of town...of course, he did a pretty good job being out of the country and all:) Here is my award speech: First of all, I'd like to thank God b/c through Him all things are possible (even a good birthday w/ no husband to pamper me)...I'd like to thank my mom who sat with the kids while I got a message...I'd like to thank Jina for making my message possible and my hubby for setting it up...I'd like to thank my amazing mother in law for hosting the kids for dinner while I shopped with my great friend, Cassie...I'd like to thank Cassie for her priceless decorating advice...and I'd like to thank Jamie, her husband, for having his famous Rachel Ray Southwest Salmon ready for us when we had spent enough and were ready to come home...(we got to her house and he was slaving over the stove-now THAT is a man in love with his wife!) and I'd like to thank the fans...OH...wait a minute...this is not an acceptance speech...heehee...Oh...and I'd like to thank my great friend of 10 years, Tracey, because despite only living in the same town as me for less than 2 years of our friendship, she manages to always be there when I need her...when I need to bust into tears or go on a soapbox about something. And she is still friends with me even though I eat her animal friends and even feed them to my kids haha...-maybe someday I'll be a veg, Trace:) Love you...

Here is another randomly placed picture to make my blog more exciting! It's one of my all time favorites!

Record Breaking Urination

Like my title? Well, all I have to say is: Anteneh is peeing multiple times a night, now...night before last I cut off fluids 1.5 hours before bed, had him pee 30 minutes before bed, right before bed, and at 10:30pm I went in there to take him to pee and he'd already peed in his sleep....so, I changed sheets and PJ's...then in the morning I went in there and he'd peed again. I think his body is in such deep sleep that he at various times lets out anything he has in there. It's like he's a camel, though, b/c sometimes I don't know where the liquid is coming from since I cut him off hours before bedtime....So, yesterday morning I was washing 2 sets of sheets and PJ's. To me, putting him in pullups has always been regressing in potty training...I was thinking, "why take a kid that is pottytrained and put him in diapers?!" Even if it saves me from having to wash sheets, I don't want him to just keep going in the middle of the night b/c he has a pull up on...I don't want my 4 year old in diapers. BUT having him pee multiple times in the middle of the night and not wake up during it is showing me something different. If he woke him self up by peeing, I would NOT have him wear anything but he doesn't wake up. Whether he is wearing a 'good nights' pant or not, he doesn't know the difference in his sleep. If he's not even knowing he is doing it, he isn't going to learn, anyway. I am still having an inner termoul-I really still want to refuse putting him in any sort of diaper thing. I just wish there was another option. The bed alarm is too expensive and a pee pad only protects the fitted sheet. I still have to wash the top sheet, pillowcase and his clothes. (There is a plastic liner around his mattress and pillow). I think I'm buying some 'good nights' today even though I'm going to hate buying them (figures 1 weeks ago I gave an entire pack of pullups to a friend b/c I had them leftover from pottytraining Luke).

In other news...Grace has 2 barely loose teeth and 2 permanent teeth coming in. The dentist says that her mouth is too crowded and if she can't get at least 2 out in the next few weeks, he wants to pull 4! That will cost us almost $400 out of pocket b/c we don't have dental insurance...So, I told Grace if she can wiggle 2 teeth out in the next 2 weeks, Daryn and I would buy her a new Webkinz. (for those of you who don't know what that is, it's a stuffed animal w/ a special code to this fun website where you can play with your animals online and play games, etc...) I figure $15 is cheaper than $400 and it's GREAT motivation for her! She is determined...She feels so old...sometimes she sits with the phone and says, "Who should I call to tell them about my teeth?"

Here is a sample prayer from bedtime 2 nights ago:

Mommy: "Lord, thank you for this great day."
Grace: "And thank you that I have 2 loose teeth"
Mommy: "Thank you that we got to play outside and see Grandma"
Grace: "and thank you that I have another tooth coming in"
Mommy: "and thank you for the ways you bless our family"
Grace: "and for letting me get a Webkinz if I can get my tooth out"

I'm not kidding...that was almost word for word...kids are so funny...but, hey-she sure has a thankful heart about the whole thing! haha...

Getting Through It

Well, Daryn is in Jamaica again...this time for 15 days. I am trying my hardest to be a patient, fun mom-even though it's hard to have two 3 year old boys and a 5 year old by myself! Actually, this time has been going MUCH better than a few months ago when Daryn was gone for 12 days. As difficult as it gets sometimes for me when Daryn has to leave, it is still so worth it for him to have a job like he does. It's so great, really. Most days he is home for at least 2/3 of our meals...We eat breakfast and dinner as a family every night and sometimes even lunch if Daryn doesn't have a lunch meeting. His job is so flexible that he is able to take an afternoon off every once in a while to take Grace on a date or something and make it up by getting some work done on a Saturday. The funny thing is, I can't even imagine him having to work a 9-5 job. Not that he works less than that, (sometimes he works more) it's just that for the last 7 years of our marriage he has been in ministry with a job with irregular hours-that's just what we are used to as a family. The coolest part about his job is that it exists to help people. It's so great to talk to him when he calls from Jamaica each night and tells me what has been going on that day. Right now, T.R.E.K. has 4 interns living in Jamaica this summer doing some awesome things! There is a children's home with teenaged girls living there who have suffered various types of abuse and were taken from their homes. Many of the girls haven't been in school for months or even years. Our 3 girl interns are meeting with those girls in a mentoring type relationship, doing bibie studies with them, crafts, and just hanging out...basically, they are doing Young Life! Yesterday when I talked to Daryn at the end of the day, he told me how the team built a set of soccer goals for the orphanage kids. They are very sturdy and cemented into the ground. All week long they've been putting on a soccer camp for the kids there. And the day before they worked with another mission team that was in the area to take a group of kids from one of the homes to the beach and out on glass bottomed boats!
Well, back to life here on the homestead:) Right now one of our main obstacles is that Anteneh wets the bed regularly. I'm talking we cut off his liquids an hour and a half before bedtime (they go to bed at 8pm...no liquids after 6:30pm)...and at about 10:30pm get the boys out of bed and have them pee one last time before we go to bed. I did this last night and Anteneh peed the bed, STILL!!! He doesn't get in trouble b/c he obviously doesn't do it on purpose but we aren't sure how to stop it. You would think cutting off his liquids and taking him to pee again so late at night would eliminate the nighttime peeing but literally 2-4 times a week I have to strip his bed, wash the pee out, launder the sheets, and break my back trying to put the sheets back on a mattress that fits very tightly into a top bunk spot. It gets rather irritating to have to do this multiple times a week! Most of the time he pees in the middle of the night and never wakes up. (How can I tell this, you ask? B/C it's all over the sheets but has obviously been drying a little for the last few hours by the time I discover it in the morning...but no-it's not a little leaking...you can tell by the extent of the 'damage' that it was a full bladder...Where does the pee come from??????????????? When we take him to pee at 10:30pm, he doesn't have a full bladder! It's usually a light, short pee! Grace and Luke have not had this problem-they pottytrained early and easily. Anteneh is older than Luke (as far as we can tell is almost 4 years old) and is having problems...I know tons of kids wet the bed and have problems with this but this is new to me. Anyone reading have experience with bed wetters? I feel like we are doing everything right to avoid it (number one is that we are NOT making him feel guilty) but what's the next step? A little more info: for a long time after we brought him home he didn't do this...It's been 4 months and this problem just developed in the last 2 months...my theory is that he is sleeping more soundly b/c he is more at home and comfortable here and it's just an issue of being in such a deep sleep he doesn't realize what he's doing...b/c he is very well adjusted when he's awake...he used to wake up in the middle of the night for the first 2 months and now is sleeping all night long w/ no problems (except the bedwetting)...any advice is welcomed!

Well, the last bit of news: Luke is now on Greseofulvin (antifungal oral meds) for ringworm in his scalp. Kind of gross, huh? Well, when Anteneh came home 4 months ago he had that but the doctor said, "Don't worry-white people don't catch it..." Well, Luke did-and he's my fair skinned biological son. He's had it since 3 weeks after Anteneh got here and I've gotton rid of it with creams only to have it come back a few weeks later. So, finally, the pediatrician put him on the same meds Anteneh took for it and now says, "well, ALMOST never!" Haha...I love our pediatrician...it cracks me up, though...b/c 3 months ago when I called and said, "I think my biological son has the fungal scalp thing that Anteneh had," the doctor said he consulted another pediatrician and they both agreed he couldn't catch it from Anteneh...but looks like Mommy may have been RIGHT!!!! Haha... My poor little guy has a few little bald spots in his hair so I buzzed him with a #1 on the clippers just like I do with Anteneh-little almost bald best friends...wish I could post a picture but Daryn has the camera in Jamaica for the next week and half...Luke is not as cute as Anteneh with a buzzed head! Haha...Poor Luke-he looks pretty rough right now...he has sensitive skin and a slight milk allergy....sometimes I let him drink regular milk (just a little) when no soy milk is available...b/c he only gets a rash-it's not a life threatening allergy...well, I left a chocolate milk mustache on his face from lunch until his bath that night (ok, moms-don't lie-you've done the same at some point) and the next morning wher the milk had sat on this face was a horrible rash in the same shape as the milk mustache...and the day after that, all his cheeks and around his mouth were a blistering rash! The doctor said it started as an allergic reaction to the milk on his face and the naturally occuring bacteria got into it and now he has to use an antibacterial lotion on his face...he looks so bad-haha...buzzed patchy hair and a red crusty face...hahaha...so wish i had the camera....well, gotta go keep up the homestead.

Anteneh the comic

We have worked so hard at not only bonding with Anteneh over the last 4 months, but teaching him to be a well mannered little guy-as well mannered as a 3 year old can be-haha...today he was playing in his room with Grace and was getting really in to his character as some random superhero. Daryn walked into the room and Anteneh said in a mean voice, "Daddy-get out now!" (not trying to be mean-just playing). Daryn said, "Anteneh, it's not OK to talk to Daddy like that." So, Anteneh says, "May you please get out, Daddy?" in his mean superhero voice. You had to be there...

Another thing that happened today that made me laugh so hard...A little background: Luke is a little behind in his speech so sometimes words don't come out right. Anteneh is learning English so sometimes his words come out wrong, too. Well, I let them each give Shadow (our black lab mix) some treats but I told them they needed to have him sit and shake first. So, they stood there in front of Shadow with treats in their hands saying, "Adow: hit! ake!" then they'd get frustrated b/c of course Shadow had NO IDEA what they were saying..."Adow! HIT! AKE!" Poor shadow would look back and forth between them and then to me in a panic having no clue what to do...finally I helped the boys out but they didn't understand why Shadow wouldn't do what they were asking! It was pretty funny!

Anteneh is so afraid of missing out on something, he is always asking to do whatever he sees someone else doing or he frantically asks to eat whatever someone else has...Well, today Grace was in the bathroom yelling "done!" so one of us would wipe her (sorry to talk about something so gross) and I asked Daryn if he wanted to wipe her or if he wanted me to do it...(I was getting lunch on the table) So Anteneh enthusiastically yells, "Me!!! I wipe her!"...now, if he knew what he was volunteering himself for, he never would have offered! He just heard me offering something and didn't want to miss out! I asked if he was sure and he said 'yes' so we let him wipe her...I'm just kidding...we said, "thank you, Anteneh, we will take care of it!"
He is quite the entertainer

"Oh, my goodness!!!"

It's been a long time since I've posted anything! Nothing much is new...Anteneh continues to learn so quickly! His favorite phrase lately is, "OH, my goodness!"...He says it ALL THE TIME. I will admit-he gets it from me. But he says it all the time to himself with his little accent. It's so funny. For instance, he will be alone in the bathroom on the toilet and I'll hear him exclaim, "Oh, my goodness!" Hahaha...constant entertainment! It's so cool to see how his attention span and his ability to make believe have expanded. He now regulartly sits in Grace's room with her and plays with her little animals. He used to only bang cars together and fight w/ his sword but now he sits and concentrates on things...He will play with Grace for a long time, which gives Luke and I some great quality time together. We must be done having kids b/c Luke has officially taken the position of my baby. He always was but as he gets a little older I'm seeing that it's not b/c he's a baby...he's 3 years old-he's a little KID and he still holds that special place in the family. And those moments when Grace and Anteneh are playing in her room are priceless for mommy-baby time! Haha...it must be official that he is forever stuck in the 'baby of the family' position!

Anteneh has only gained 1 pound! Isn't that odd? I think it's kind of odd...We thought he'd gain at least a few pounds...The thing that has us baffled is that there is NO WAY he was eating this much food in Ethiopia. I've never seen a child his size eat so much. We still regularly have to cut him off after he's had seconds on everything AND asked to clean Grace and Luke's plates! He ate so much at Cici's Pizza today at lunch that he had to come home and sit on the toilet for 10 minutes and cried b/c his stomach hurt. There is no way he had access to that amount of food before so we wonder why he hasn't gained much of any weight. He has gotten an inch taller and his feet are definately bigger. (He was already tall with long feet)...My best guess is that he is so much more active now that he just burns those calories off! He really is extrememly active and doesn't stop all day. I guess that's where it's going!

Some Pictures from Florida

Here are some pictures from our Florida trip...we just got home night before last..it was an awesome trip...and we made it home in 12 hours straight from Destin all in one day w/ out any breakdowns (carwise or kidwise!) That's a miracle-haha...this first picture is actually from this afternoon...(in that last picture, those are spiderman lifejacket suits if anyone is wondering what in the world the boys are wearing!)

A Different Life

We are in Destin, Florida right now and having a great time with Daryn's parents, sister and family, and brother and family....I'll post some pictures when we get home but I just had to post my thoughts-the kids are having a great time with their cousins-besides Grace, Luke, and Anteneh, there are 5 other cousins-all 7 and under except the eldest cousin, Eli, who is 10 (and one of the aunts is pregnant with TWINS!)....well, last night we ALL went out to eat..."West-party of 16!" haha... we had 2 great tables that overlooked the ocean-and after we ate we took all the kids down to the beach and they all ran in the sand and waves (and got their nice out to eat clothes drenched)...we were out there for almost an hour watching the kids 'frolic' in the waves...and I just watched Anteneh and couldn't stop thinking about how his life is so different. 4 months ago he was in an orphanage in Ethiopia with no family-he had been abandoned there by his mommy-he was one of 20 kids his age wandering around a small room with only a couple toys that the kids would yank out of his hands...his hair, fingernails, and toenails were long and dirty...his ear was oozing , his hair was falling out in places, he had giardia (an intestinal parasite)...and he's wandering around a room with sharp rusty metal walls-jagged in places...and 4 months later he is running in the surf after eating a seafood dinner on the beach...he is running in the sand in a Hawaiian shirt and Birkenstock sandals...with his new family-Daddy, Mommy, Sister, Brother, Papa, Grandma, 2 Aunts, 2 Uncles, 3 cousins, 2 boy cousins, and 2 in utero cousins...(and that's just on Daddy's side)...he splashes in the ocean, runs in the white sand and falls down and rolls around-screaming with excitement...the sun is setting and he is literally on the other side of the WORLD in a completely different life...the only thing that is the same is his first name and his memories of his past and his biological family...he is healthy, has a full belly, and people all around him who love him so much...he is staying in a condo for a week that would cost the average Ethiopian 4 years wages...he truly has a different life...

437 Questions

I just HAD to take a picture of this sign at the Magic House....All I have to say is 1311 questions a day is what goes on at our house...that's 437 times three!
We just got back from a great family trip to St. Louis last night! We visited the St. Louis Zoo and the Magic House (an old Victorian mansion that has been renovated and turned into a hands on childrens' museum!)...We visited an Ethiopian restaraunt for dinner and Daryn met the new Jamaica Interns for summer 07 for some training...it was a great trip! Here are some of my favorite shots:
Grace in front of a bunch of fish in the hippo pond...

Anteneh and Daddy at the Queen of Sheba restarant (which I would highly recommend to anyone near St. Louis who would like to try East African food...they were so nice and interested in talking to us-and especially Ante! Grace was a pro at using the injera-she loved the food! And thankfully, the pickier eater, Luke, slept through the meal! It was so nice to eat the traditional Ethiopian food after not having it for 2 months...nice for Daryn and me but probably even MORE exciting for Anteneh!!! He was a little scared, though while we were there-he seemed a little insecure-probably thinking we were going to leave him there...he hadn't been around Ethiopian culture since we met him and brought him to the U.S....he didn't let go of Daryn the whole time!
Grace dressed up like Sacagawea at the Magic House

Daddy and Lukie in a giant sandbox...
and last but not least is brilliant me with my hand on the electrostatic generator...why do I call myself brilliant, do you ask? Well, because when my turn was over I turned back around and touched the big ball again and shocked myself...apparently you are not supposed to do this..I think I upset the high school kids working at that area b/c they acted really nervous when it was Grace's turn-they probably thought, "if this lady is so impulsive, her kids are probably going to do the same thing or worse!"...actually, the kids behaved themselves...it was just me that did the dumb thing.

Last picture...this is today but I had to add it...Anteneh is absorbed in his Superman movie (the old 1980's one)...don't ask me WHY he is wearing three pairs of safety goggles...3 year olds do some weird things...

Great Article Link

Here is a great article about an American doctor in Ethiopia doing some amazing things.

Someone asked me to mention how Anteneh's English is coming along...GREAT! More than anything, he is understanding more and that helps so much...he is also saying more but it is hard to DESCRIBE how it's going. He understands just about everything we say if it's the day to day stuff like, "wash your hands", "it's time to eat", "let's go bye bye", etc...he understands all of it...a lot of HIS communication, though, is one word sentences, grunts, and motions....like to see if we want him to wash his hands, he would point to the sink, make a motion like he is washing his hands, and grunt, "huh?"....or if he is wondering if we are getting ready to leave, he says, "bye,bye?"...

Well, the kids are I are going to go plant flowers now...we kicked the bird out of the mailbox birdhouse b/c he would always fly straight at our faces when we got the mail. I'm not joking-the bird would head right for our faces like we were trying to kill his babies or something when all we were doing was getting the mail. SO we ripped the lid off before he could have a family this spring and we are planting flowers in there! Is that horribly mean? We didn't hurt him... Gotta go!

A Difficult Skill

Luke doing the dishes...gotta start them early!
My awesome husband is a PRO at teaching kids to blow their noses....now, this is NOT an easy thing to learn as a child. But what an important thing it is! Haha...when Luke learned to blow his nose, everything changed when he had a cold...instead of always having snot running down his face, he could blow it all out into a tissue. Is anyone grossed out yet? Well Anteneh has a cold...(i'm praying the other two don't catch it-which we probably won't be able to avoid b/c usually colds make their rounds through our entire family before exiting)...here is a funny video of Daryn attempting to teach Anteneh to blow his nose...well, it's more of a giggle session after dinner...but hopefully soon he will learn! Man, I hope so...


Also...Grace got her ears pierced today!!! Here are before and after shots....along with a wonderful shot of some chick who needs a longer shirt walking in the mall:)

Learning our Family

Our petition to register our adoption was registered in court today! This will produce an American birth certificate for Anteneh and change his name to Anteneh James West. It will also allow us to get him an American passport to replace his Ethiopian one and he will then have a social security number...sounds pretty American to me!

I was thinking today how well he is doing, really. As we ate lunch, I watched him eat grapes and remembered 4 weeks ago when he would chew up a grape and spit the peel out. He was so finicky for 2 weeks and quickly learned to love American food...he will eat almost anything now. He eats raw veggies, even...lots of kids won't touch them. I couldn't be happier with the way he eats. The three kids are pretty easy at meals. Grace was always like that and Luke took some work, but they all eat so well...

Anteneh's belly size has diminished a lot. (See swim lessons picture above-check out those spiderman trunks!) I guess it was true that a lot of the belly size was due to the giardia. (some ladies who've adopted children w/ giardia told me it might be due to that) He does still have a belly but it's mostly gone. I really thought it was just like that b/c it took weeks AFTER he finished the medicine to see any difference.

He has quickly learned to LOVE going to Grandma and Papa's! He actually asks sometimes when we leave, "Grandma's!?" and when we say 'no', he cries. Haha! We get together with all the aunts and uncles and cousins at Daryn's parents' house often and when we do, the kids have SO MUCH FUN together. He loves it. And it didn't take him long to fall in love with it!

Also, his English is coming along well...yesterday, Daryn came home from work and Anteneh ran up to him and said, "Daddy! Watch this!" and showed him something new he could do...one of his favorite things to do is sit on the counter and help me cook. He and Luke LOVE IT! We made cookies today. (And he managed to avoid sticking the butterknife in the toaster again!)

He has learned many of our little family quirks and traditions...he knows to put Shadow in the crate when we leave, he knows in the morning if he hops in his carseat right away he gets a bag of snacks and a sippy cup for the ride, he knows when I say, "let's give you a haircut" he gets the little wooden chair and sits on the front porch waiting...he knows that when we watch a movie on family movie night, we always pop popcorn. And my personal favorite: he mixes 2 cereals in the morning like the rest of the family (OK..Daryn isn't that weird but the kids and I are)...and he knows after meals many times we turn on the radio and dance in the kitchen! Today the boys and I were dancing to Lyle Lovett (nobody make fun of me-we love him) and I started thinking about dancing with the boys at their weddings. (OK-I know this sounds totally mommish but sometimes I stop and am in awe that they are going to be grown men someday)...I asked Luke, "Lukie, are you going to get married to someone like mommy someday?" and he said the classic responce of, "I'll marry mommy"...and I said, "well, daddy already married me" (not to mention you can't marry your mom anyhow)...and he said, "Luke's turn"...Haha...

Anteneh's New Pictures

We just got Anteneh's pictures done...aren't they cute!? I love them...Grace and Luke were OVERJOYED that they didn't have to get theirs done! Haha! For some reason, my kids hate getting their pictures taken-I'm sure Anteneh will catch on soon that it's the thing to do-hide your face most of the time the camera is trying to get a shot...you may think that I'm a paparazzi mom now, but if they were willing more often to let me take their pictures, we'd have even more shots of the three of them...
Well, I just got home from my Florida visit with Tracey-it was incredibly relaxing-we got pedicures AND she surprised me with an hour long deep muscle massage at a REALLY nice spa...ummm....EVERY stay at home mom needs a friend like Tracey! Heehee...Besides the group of 10 hunters dressed in camo on their way to a big hunting trip who had been drinking for 4 hours prior to sitting all around me on my first flight and bothering me(was that a major run on sentence, or what?), it was a GREAT trip! Haha...Thanks, Trace!