Playing Nurse

My three boys have been passing around a yucky cold now for several days.  It is crazy how three little boys can become even more needy when they don't feel good.  Parker, in particular, has been quite dramatic to demonstrate how lousy he feels.  He is trying to climb in my lap or be held at all times which poses a huge inconvenience to Grayson who has decided that being held is absolutely the only option for his happiness.  Parker tells me all day, "I sick, I need medicine" - in a very nasal, weepy voice.  As of this morning - Parker and Grayson are the only ones who still have fever so I'm thinking this thing is one its way out (since Davis got sick first).  I just had to post a picture of Parker - who is looking at me like "why are you taking my picture when I don't feel good . . that is not very sympathetic!".  Yes - it is the afternoon and he is still in pj's, with a pacifier and a bottle.  Come on . . . he is sick!!  I know I am not doing their future wives any favors by waiting on them hand and foot like they are completely miserable - I can't help myself.  Little boys who are sick REALLY need their mommy.  

Random Other Stuff

I love to listen to my boys have simple conversations with one another.  When they play and don't know I am listening they just talk so cute, almost in a "trying-to-sound-grown up" kind of way.  A couple days ago during lunch Davis was determined to teach Parker to say "Davis".  Parker has always called him "Day-day" and I love it so I've never corrected him - instead I enforce it of course.  Davis kept saying, "Say 'Day' 'VIS'" over and over.  Parker would do just about anything Davis tells him to do so he continued to try to copy the sounds.  He eventually got it right and Davis threw him a little party he was so excited.  That was all it took.  He has not called him 'Day-day' since.  Only 'Dabis".  I was sad for a minute, but Parker's little voice is so sweet it doesn't really matter what he says it sounds cute to me.  I love his voice - it is precious.  He usually tries to communicate things as clearly as possible, but I just realized the last night that he uses the word "thirsty" to tell me he is hungry.  Poor kid, hungry for weeks and I just keep handing him a sippy cup of water.  He said something else yesterday that I thought "I don't want to forget that" and now I can't remember . . typical.  Maybe I will think of it and add it later.

Growing Grayson

My happy little boy.  I was feeling so sad this morning reading my friend Jenn's blog.  Cute little Hugh is going to have a detailed account of his first year of life - week-by-week.  I think Grayson only gets a post on here when I realize he is doing something particularly landmark.  Poor kid had a doctor's appointment last week and I didn't even think to post his stats like a good mommmy.  I'm going to try to be a little more focused so that I can get to remember the little things too.  
Yes he is sitting in this picture, but no he can not just sit and play.  This little boy does not make any real effort to sit up.  One tiny distraction and TIMBER, he falls to the side like he has no core strength whatsoever.  Why?  Because I don't think he really cares to sit.  He is very laid back.  I know, I know, I actually had one that is laid back.  I don't know if he is "Johnson" laid back but he is DEFINITELY "Filleman" laid back.  He is perfectly content to sit in the exersaucer and play or watch his brothers.  He loves it when I put the bouncy seat outside so that he can watch them and be in the backyard.  

Even though he is not sitting, he is very strong.  He pushes himself up very tall when he is on his belly and even attempts to scoot around.  At this point he can only succeed in pushing himself backwards.  

He had a doctor's appointment last Monday.  He was almost 18 1/2 pounds (55%) and 28 inches (90%).  The chubby seems to be going down the last two months.  He is eating some solids but doesn't love it.  He like his sweet potatoes and carrots, but pretends to gag on most other things.  He didn't even appreciate my new attempt at giving him fruit.  He'll eat some, but he doesn't seem to love it as much as I was hoping.  He seems to be cutting teeth like crazy.  His bottom two are completely in and he has one top tooth (the second from the middle) and appears to be cutting the same one on the other side - dracula style.  I love this little guy.  He is so sweet and I have so much fun just loving on him.  He is in that stage where he clearly realizes he LOVES his mommy (I'm not kidding myself, I know it is because he can recognize me easily and knows I'm the milk source) but it is still nice.  He loves to bury his face into me - especially when he is tired.  He can be so sad and flip to so happy if I love on him.  I think he might just be the cutest thing ever - no bias of course :) 

The Play House

Mark and Buzz ("Granddad") put together a play house that my Gram got for my boys got for their birthday.  They built a really nice floor for it which makes it even better.  Davis could hardly contain . . . actually I'm going to go with "did NOT contain" his enthusiasm during the four hours it took for them to get it ready.  They love it.  Davis was still asking to play in it last night after it was dark outside (not normal for Davis to want to be outside by himself at night) and the first thing he said this morning when he woke up was "where is my jacket mom, I need to get to work in my play house".  I'm so excited that they have something new to play in together outside.  One more funny thing - and I write this only because it is 'classic Davis'.  He asked Eli & TJ to come play in his play house this morning and he told them "only two people can go it at a time".  I said, "no buddy, all three of you can fit, it is not kind to say that".  He adamantly told me, "No mom, I saw on the picture on the box and their is ONLY two kids in the play house.  It is the rule.  It is the directions!".  Oh, Davis :)

Cousins, cousins, cousins (to copy Jenn:)

Parker, Kara, Davis, Clay, Hugh, Eli, Grayson, TJ, & Logan

In what seemed like a very fast, but very hectic week Mark's sister April and her family came to visit from Alaska.  My boys love to play with their cousins and it is the ultimate thrill if they get to play with ALL of their cousins.  I'm so tired tonight that I don't even know if I have taken the time to really think through the events of the last four days, but we had a great time.  We tried to round up all the kids for a picture last night.  I think it was a pretty successful attempt for EIGHT boys and a sweet little girl.  Yes, Eli, TJ & Logan are also cousins with my in-laws' kids - it is too confusing to explain but it works - and No Hugh is technically not related to my boys but they don't know the difference at this point.  (Mark's cousin Callie is now dating Troy's cousin Ben so they are making it even more mingled:)  One of the sweetest things to me about the trip was how excited Parker was to see Kara and Clay.  He talks about them often and prays for them regularly, but I always wonder how much he really remembers since he hadn't seen them in six months and only a few times before that.  Time and distance seem to make no difference to him . . . he LOVES his cousin Kara.  He would talk to her so sweet and made every attempt to be glued to her side.  He has a new-found affection for his cap gun and Kara would let him shoot her and then fall down in a very dramatic fashion.  I think that won his heart :)  Davis of course has played harder in the last four days than he usually does in a month.  I woke him up from sleeping on the floor at five tonight and held him out until just before seven.  He is one tired little boy.  I really treasure the relationships that my boys have with their cousins and am always grateful for the time they get to spend together.  We can't wait to play with you guys this summer!!  Maybe we will make it up there to AK one of these days.

Parker's Day

Breakfast with Grammie and Granddad - they brought food here

Parker would prefer no one talk loudly before 8 am - he is not so social until he has had some time to wake up

Opening his first present - golf clubs yeah!!

Lunch at the park with Papa, Grandma, Uncle Troy, Aunt Liss, Uncle Matt, Nikki, and the cousin clan

Slides and swings - his favorite

A new spring horse from Papa and Grandma . . crazy but very fun for both boys

We took Parker out for dinner with just our fam but I forgot my camera - bad I know.  Mark asked him what he wanted for dinner if he could have anything.  He wanted chicken, fries and ketchup.  (Not "with" ketchup it is more like "and" ketchup because it is more like a side dish than a condiment for Parker).  We took him to this diner place by our house where he got everything he wanted for dinner and had a great time.  I tried talking him into a banana split for dessert but he just wanted a chocolate shake.  I think he had a great day!

Happy Birthday Parker!

I actually had the thought last night that I would probably get grief from my sister for not doing Parker's post last night but selfishly I got a horrible paper cut on the tip of my index finger and it makes typing so irritating.  Anyway - she of course DID notice and was harassing me on my FB page so I need to get on this. :)

In some ways I can hardly believe that Parker is two years old and in other ways he acts so big to me that it seems like he has been two years old for a while.  I don't remember exactly when Parker started talking but I know he was speaking in pretty clear phrases by the time he was 18 months old.  I think this has made him age quickly in my mind because Davis was over two before he communicated the way Parker has for a while.  Some other 'random' things about him that make Parker - Parker:  he loves dinosaurs (it is his 'thing'), he loves the slide and the swings at the park, he has white shaggy hair which I have let get quite long in the back and I love it, he loves to brush his teeth, he is not a morning person and is grumpy if he has to be even remotely 'social' before 8:30 am, he genuinely likes t.v. (bad I know), he stills sleeps in his crib and is happy, happy to be in there, he loves shoes - new ones, other people's, his own personal faves, he is really attached to his blankies (one from my mom and one from Renee, both crochet) - he wants them on him in a particular order when he climbs in bed, he loves ketchup, he is still very snugly - he will ask "nuggle me mommy", he loves the song God is So Good, he is a very sweet brother, he loves everything about breakfast and could probably exclusively eat pancakes, cereal, yogurt, granola, blueberries and apples, he loves to read and brings me books all the time.  

There are millions of things that are unique to Parker in my mind.  He has a uniquely sensitive little heart.  He is so loving to his brothers and to us.  He is usually very quick to ask for forgiveness when he has done something wrong.  Usually I will hear Parker yelling "Sorry Day-day please "agive" (forgive) me" before I even know that Davis is hurt.  He loves to pray for people that he is thankful for.  He loves his Daddy and is quick to run over and love on him when he gets home from work.  When Parker was only a couple of weeks old, I was reading through Psalms.  I distinctly remember rocking him in his room and praying for him and the love that David had for the Lord kept coming into my mind.  I began praying that God would give Parker a deeply affectionate love for Him like that of David.  I have prayed that for him almost everyday for two years.  I don't necessarily see that in completion in Parker today, but I do feel like God has made him very affectionate.  I pray everyday that God would transfer all of Parker's sweet affections to Him alone.  We love Parker so much.  He is a joy and a piece of this family that makes it perfect.  Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

Funny Davis Comments

Davis has said some funny things lately that I want to remember:

D:  "I have the BEST name for Aunt Liss' baby"

Me:  "Oh yeah buddy, what is it?"

D:  "Tabernacle" (We are studying Leviticus in BSF:)

Me:  Hmm that would be an interesting name.

D:  "That is where God was, wouldn't she want to name her baby where God was"

Me:  "I don't know buddy"

D:  "Well then maybe she could name him Abernacle"

Yeah - that makes a big difference :)

Later that night:

D:  "Maybe Aunt Liss could name her baby William"

Me:  "Oh that's a really nice name - maybe she will pick that"

(I think he got that from baby Hugh)

D: "Or we could make Grayson's third name William (he calls a 'middle name' a 'third name') so that MY third name could be Mark . . . Davis Mark Filleman."  

I don't know if I've mentioned it before but he is obsessed with wanting his middle name to be Mark ever since we gave that to Grayson.  I hear this AT LEAST every other day.  This was a creative twist - suggesting something new for Gray.

D:  "Mom, Parker's diaper smells like a yucky porcupine"

Me: "A porcupine?  Why does it smell like a porcupine?"

D:  "Hmmmmm, ummmmm, no wait, what is that?  Oh YEAH, a SKUNK it smells like a stinky skunk!"

Now that makes more sense - good analogy when you have the right critter :)

In my previous post I mentioned Parker's park melt down.  In a "great mommy moment" I went with the "okay good bye - we're leaving" approach.  Of course this is lost on Parker.  He just turns around from the top of the slide and waves yelling "K, BYE MOMMY".  I even started to walk away from the park which is when Davis went into a firstborn frenzy.  With actual tears, he cried "No you can't leave him here, he is my favorite Parker brother, if we leave him here, what will he eat?"  So one child is in happy rebellion and I have just manipulated the older one into thinking I am abandoning his brother . . . awe yes I should start writing my parenting book tonight.  

Prayerful Parker

As my boys each get older, it is so sweet to me to see God made them their own little unique person.  Parker loves to pray in a different way than Davis has up to this point.  I pray with him in the morning and at night before bed everyday.  Parker always has a very specific list of who he wants to pray for - it is always people.  The list always has its variations but it ALWAYS includes the following:  Daddy, Day-day, Parker (yes in the 3rd person), Grayson, TJ, Logie-loges, Aunt Brenda, Uncle Don and Uncle Brad.  (Random on the relatives, I know.  Don't be offended, you ALL make an appearance once in a while.)  While I am praying he says "pray God for Daddy . . pray God for Day-day . . ect" so that I pray for the people he wants to pray for as he lists them off.  Mark and I have often wondered if he goes through such a long detailed list at bedtime just to delay bedtime, but I have been convinced lately that he genuinely wants to pray for these people.  When Mark and I had been talking about his Granddad's illness, he would regularly pray for "great granddad" and when Mark was at the cabin with Mike Caruso, he prayed for several nights for "miko's daddy".  It is always a list of people that he thanks God for - never anything else - never "stuff" or circumstances.

Tonight after dinner I took all three boys to the park.  When we went to leave, Parker had a melt down.  This very rarely happens with him but he did indeed pitch a huge fit.  Of course, with Grayson strapped to my chest and Davis on his bike, I had to just firmly hold Parker's hand and get him home.  He continued to cry and scream at me all the way home.  Lovely.  He changed his attitude when we got home and played happily, had a bath and got ready for bed.  When I went to pray with him tonight, he went through his current list of people.  When I was done he said again "Pray for Parker".  I said, "I already prayed for Parker" but I thanked God again for Parker and prayed for him the way I do each night.  I said amen again and he said "no, pray for Parker's attitude".  I know it is small.  It might seem crazy, but he genuinely wanted to pray for his attitude.  Hmmm, good idea buddy.  Maybe mommy should have thought of that earlier.  It was just the sweetest, sweetest thing to me to see him choose that on his own and possibly even see the necessity to pray to God about such things.  I love to see this little boy's sensitive heart.  God is so good to me to allow me moments like this.

I guess I should clarify . .

I realized after reading some of the comments that the way I wrote my post sounded like I thought I deserved an award for how hard my day was or something.  My sister and sister-in-law always joke that we deserve the "mom-of-the-year" award when we have a day that is deserving of quite the opposite.  I guess sarcasm becomes less obvious when you are reading words off a page . . that happens a lot in the 'blog' world I think.  I just felt silly when I realized that you could take it the other way :)  Definitely not some of my finest moments today - Parker suffered the consequences.  All in all - a lot to be thankful for at the end of the day.  

And the award goes to . . . .

Yes, if they were presenting an award today for mom of the year, I would be a serious contender.  I would like to present a defense that Grayson was up crying almost every hour last night so I feel like I am in a fog - but that is really no excuse for this day.  It was simply rough in general to start because of the night.  Just before ten this morning, I had to take Davis downstairs for an ongoing discipline issue (fun, fun).  As I was coming up the stairs, I hear Grayson screaming only 15 minutes into his nap . . . FANTASTIC.  The award winning moment however is Parker running out of the guest room, frantically scrapping his tongue, yelling "that pop is yucky mommy!".  I took one look in Grayson's room and knew that he had gone in after the crying baby and had taken the rubbing alcohol off the changing table.  He had opened it and drank some in the guest room.  The back of the bottle says "If swallowed, seek medical attention immediately, death or serious injury could occur".  Obviously the next part of this story is my first ever, crying phone call to poison control.  The lady kindly reassured me that a child his age will not typically ingest enough rubbing alcohol to cause a problem because it tastes so bad.  She told me to brush his teeth, give him lots of fluids and watch him to make sure he didn't get nauseous or overly tired.  Good news - he appears to be "okay".  Of course, not even two rough hours later, Parker took a fall directly on his head.  He didn't break his fall on anything other than his noggin.  He has a huge goose egg and it has "aggregate burn" type cuts in the bump from the rocks.  (the picture does not do it any justice).  This poor kid!  Did I mention we are taking family pictures with my extended family next week :)  As I type everyone is sleeping.  Hopefully Daddy will be home soon and we can give this day a restart.