Dr. Ally

Victor had his 3-year-old doctor appointment yesterday. Gramma watched Kedrick and Eva, so Victor and I got to spend some time together. All of my kids love going to see Dr. Ally. She is an amazing pediatrician!

As always, Victor charmed his way into the hearts of the nurses and the doctor. Dr. Ally spent time talking and playing with Victor. Here is part of the conversation (all of Victor's answers end in exclamation points because everything Victor says is said with such energy and enthusiasm that it requires at least one exclamation point).

Dr. Ally: Does your mommy read books to you?

Victor: Yaaaa!

Dr. Ally: What is your favorite book?

Victor: The Bible!

(surprised cheers from both Dr. Ally and I, quite impressed by his answer)

Dr. Ally: What is your favorite story in the Bible?

Victor: About God!

Victor got one immunization shot in his thigh. He is very dramatic. I had to hold him down. Regardless, he still enjoyed going to the doctor. But now, whenever he is walking and catches me watching him, he starts limping while holding his leg and moaning.

Dr. Ally is always very encouraging. Like Victor, she is very enthusiastic. She gets so excited and impressed by everything my kids know and everything they do, it makes me feel like I'm doing an ok job. Having a strong tendency to focus on my failures - especially regarding my parenting, it is always nice to receive a bit of encouragement.

Stats:

Weight: 31.6 pounds, 50th percentile

Height: 38", 60th percentile

Tickles

I was changing Eva's shirt tonight and she started laughing. I realized that she is very ticklish under her arms.

She also started sucking her fist. I found out from reading my mom's journal that I started sucking my fist at her age. I eventually became an avid thumb sucker, which continued through much of my childhood. We'll see if Eva discovers her thumb!

About Eva: 3 months

Eva is three-months-old. She has become very responsive, especially to me. I just look at her and she smiles and giggles. She is very attached to me and can be quite grumpy when I'm out of sight. I have intensely enjoyed the baby stage, but I must confess that I am anxious for her to start walking and talking. I can't wait to discover more of her little personality.

With a chuckle and a wink, Damie describes her as follows...

"Eva knows exactly what she wants - but she won't tell you. You just have to keep guessing until you get it right."

This sums her up perfectly, and of course, Damie playfully jokes that she is a reflection of her mom.

Eva is sleeping well; one six-hour stretch and a couple of three-hour stretches. She insists on going to bed promptly at 9:00. I don't even have to look at my watch to know its her bed time.

She is very strong. She can hold her head up very well during tummy-time. When I hold her hands and pull her into a sitting position, she also holds her head up. She can track an object 180 degrees. She's a genius!

Yesterday, my mom and I read through my mom's journal of when I was a baby. It was fun to compare Eva to me as a baby, then to compare me and my mom. Eva is a lot like me and I'm a lot like my mom. I pray that I will be as good a mom to Eva as my mom is to me.

Victor is having a hard time. Fortunately he doesn't take it out on Eva. He genuinely loves her. But he has been acting out to get my attention. After cuddling with him multiple times throughout the day yesterday, Victor came up to me and said, "Mom, you never snuggle with me!" He is obviously feeling a bit insecure.

I don't think Eva looks that different from a month ago, but here are some pics.

Her grimace

Her smile

The boys reading Eva a story

Her look of adoration, reserved only for mom

Sticking her tongue out

Watching her hand

A few cute tummy-time pictures

(Beware: these will give you an irresistible urge to kiss her cheeks!)

Happy 80th Birthday Jack!

Today is my step-dad's 80th birthday. It is hard to believe. He doesn't seem a day over 60. We planned a weekend full of surprises in celebration of his birthday. Saturday was conveniently my mom's birthday. So I lured them over to my house under the pretense of a birthday brunch for my mom. When they arrived, Jack's two daughters and their families were here. They had come from out of town to celebrate with their dad. Jack was so surprised. His one wish was to spend his birthday with his kids.

Jack hugging his daughter, Nancy.

Nancy and Tracey telling Jack all about their scheming to get here.

A cute picture of my brother and his two girls, Meghan and Ashley.

The following day, we all had lunch at Jack's house. Unbeknownst to him, we had a surprise party planned. Around 3:00, many of his friends arrived to honor and celebrate 80 years lived to the fullest. It was a packed house! We had a slideshow playing, with pictures of Jack throughout the years. We had also compiled a book of cards and letters to Jack from all his friends.

Me, cutting the cake.

Jack stealing kisses from baby Reese.

This is Kaneda holding Reese. Kaneda was just adopted by our good friends, the Drakes. This was the first time I met her and boy was I blessed. She is a delightful girl and a perfect addition to the Drake family!

Victor playing with his Uncle Steve.

As the Wieber family left, the girls showered Jack with birthday hugs.

The Drakes have recently grown from a family of three to a family of six. I love how God multiplies!

Jack with his daughter Nancy and family (Husband: Steve, Kids: Logan and her boyfriend Omar, Branson, Chandler, Kobi).

Jack with his daughter Tracey, and her husband Steve.

Happy Birthday Jack! We love you!!!

Exercise

Damie takes the boys to MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) practice once a week. They all have a blast, the boys get some exercise, and mommy gets a break. Below is a video of Victor telling me all about it...

I found this great kids exercise video called "Exploricise Gymathtics." As the kids exercise, they learn math concepts: geometry (angles & lines), counting, etc. The kids love it. Here is a clip of the first time the boys tried it...

Victor-y

Kedrick likes to build words. When I try to teach him to read, he looks everywhere except at me, the book, the white board, or any other tool I use to capture his attention. But somehow, he is learning on his own.

Victor insists that there is a "Y" in his name. I think because the letter "Y" is also in the word "toy." Complying to Victor's demands, Kedrick added a "Y" to the end of his name. Conveniently, "Victor" with a "Y" is "Victory." When I shared this with Victor, he got very angry and insisted that his name is spelled with a "Y" and is pronounced "Victor."

Giggles

Eva laughed for the first time tonight. It wasn't just a happy little coo, but a full giggle. She was sitting on daddy's lap, watching her big brothers play in the bath tub. Whatever they were playing must have been really funny... something about sharks and turtles. Eva laughed and laughed as she watched them.

Purim

Purim is my favorite jewish holiday. It celebrates the story of Esther, a jewish girl who, because of her great beauty, became queen of Persia. Because of her courage and some other miraculous events, she saved her people from annihilation. It is a wonderful story. If you haven't read it, check out the book of Esther in the Bible.

People arrive in costumes, preferably dressed as someone from the story, or they are provided a mask. The story of Esther is read from the scroll and each time Haman's name is heard, everyone boos and shakes their noisemakers (Haman is the bad guy in the story).

And, of course, there is food. The traditional food being hamentashen, a three cornered, fruit-filled cookie. Some accounts claim it represents Haman's hat, others his ear (yuk!).

Two things struck me this year...

Do you know that Gods name is not mentioned even once in the book of Esther? And yet His hand is evident. I wouldn't have even noticed the absence of God's name if someone hadn't told me. This is how I want my life to be. I want God to be so evident in my life that even if my mouth speaks nothing about God, his work is clearly seen. I pray that people watching the story of my life unfold would see God's miraculous hand at work and give him glory and honor.

As we celebrated the story of Esther, we also talked about other women heroes in history, like Deborah, Golda Meir, etc. While we were discussing heroes, my friend Gayle looked over at me holding Eva and thought that mothers are the true heroes of the world. She said she got choked up just watching us. I was so touched by that. What sweet encouragement!!

King Ahasuerus and Queen Esther:

Jack reading from the scroll:

Kedrick and Victor with their noisemakers:

Jack's homemade hamentashen:

Two Month Checkup

Eva had her two month checkup yesterday. It was our third time at the doctor in five days. She was diagnosed with RSV earlier this week, but made a miraculous recovery and now just has occasional coughing fits. The baby beds at the hospital are full of babies with RSV. I'm so thankful Eva isn't one of them.

She was healthy enough yesterday to get her immunizations. She cried and cried. I think her feelings were hurt. When we got home, I was taking her out of her car seat and she looked up at me with big, teary eyes; her expression asking, "Mom? How could you allow this?" I gave her some sweet sympathy and she started crying again. So sad!

Here are the stats.

Weight: 12 pounds, 9 oz, 90th percentile

Height: 23 1/4 inch., 50th percentile

Head Circumference: 38 cm, 30th percentile

She is much bigger than the boys were at 2 months, but keeps with the Lasater tradition of small heads.

For Daddy

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for my daddy.

He is the best daddy.

He goes to work.

He gives me hugs.

He plays games with me.

Amen.

--Kedrick