Pumpkins, Papa and a Praying Mantis

The boys spent the night last weekend with Nana and Papa and when they brought them home we carved pumpkins (we meaning Chris and David, mostly).
Here is David with his masterpiece -

Here is Papa enjoying his little pumpkin (with some interesting post-nap "bed head")

And here is the praying mantis that Steven discovered on our front porch. I have to admit, I was pretty amazed by it and I am NOT a bug person. With the help of the neighbor boy we captured it for a 24-hour period and David got to take it to school for show-and-tell!

She Speaks

We officially have a "talker" (or should I say another talker)! The switch flipped for Rebecca this week and she is adding several words each day! Her main words are - baby, apple, cheese, bye-bye, Elmo, Nana, duck and of course - Mama, Dada, "Dadad" & "Steeee"! Taking the good with the bad, she has also learned "NO" and says it quite clearly and often.

Here is a picture of all of us at our church's Harvest Festival last week. The photographer took a bunch of just Rebecca that I have in print form, I am working on having him send me the digital file as they turned out so well! David is going to be a robot for Halloween Day, but we didn't think it would survive the bounce-house so we used his costume from last year for this event!

It's a Girl & "Look Ma, No Cast"

Our good friends Todd & Kinza had a baby girl on Wednesday! They have 2 boys so we were all hoping for a girl! It was so fun to get that phone call! It was a long labor (especially for #3), but everyone is doing well now! Her name is Eva Sharon and she was 9 lbs. 5 oz. I got to see her today for the first time! Can you believe all that beautiful HAIR!!!


In other news, Steven got his cast off yesterday! He has a brace that velcros off and on that he will wear when he's not sleeping or eating for the next few weeks! He was such a trooper!

The mystery of the pinkie toe!

Rebecca's pinkie toe has been bothering her for over a week now. When she bumps it or when we are putting her shoes on she will hold up her foot and say "Ow"! Last weekend, Chris noticed that it was quite swollen. I took her to the ped. on Monday and she thought it was probably broken. We went and had X-rays done and they did not show a fracture. So then I took her in later for some bloodwork (she did not make a peep!) to test for infection. So far the bloodwork has come back normal. I am going to call the ped. back on Monday to let her know if it seems to be getting better. We are thinking maybe a sprain???

Becca is starting to show a lot more interest in talking in the past week. Although she still doesn't initiate a lot of words, she has been repeating words a lot this week! It will be very interesting to see what it is like to have 3 kids talking to me at once!
Here she is reading her favorite book!

And here she is wearing her biggest brothers shoes (or "canoes" as Dad calls them).

Lessons from Steven

It's amazing what you can learn from a 4 year old!
Steven has done so well with having this cast. I really can think of only one time when he has complained at all in 2 weeks (and that was because it was getting itchy because it was hot out). Not only hasn't he complained, he does almost everything he could before and just works it out! It challenges me, because I think if the tables were turned, I would find quite a bit to complain about. He is reminding me that we can't control our circumstances, but we can control our attitude!
Then the other day, Steven and I were playing Candyland. He said to me "I want you to go first, because I love you more than me". Little did he know that he was living out one of the greatest commandments of God's Word, to "love your neighbor as yourself".

He did go for a recheck of his arm this morning. The Dr. said it is healing very well, but that he thought it should be re-cast for 2 more weeks for protection as it completes healing. Chris was able to talk him into a short-arm cast this time, so at least now he has more arm mobility!

What's a girl gotta do....

...to get her diaper changed around here? I was involved in a heated game of Crazy 8's with the boys and Becca was trying to let me know that she wanted a fresh diaper.
Now here she is cheezing for the camera! She's happy because Mom finally changed her!

A trip to the ZOO

Steven didn't have preschool on Monday - so Gams, Steven, Rebecca & I decided to go to the zoo. Gams had never been to our zoo, and come to think of it neither had Rebecca. It was a great time to go as the weather was nice, but it was not crowded at all. Steven favorites were the butterflies (they have a butterfly house), the turtles and the anteater. It's been neat to see Steven be "top dog" during the day while David is at school. I am glad we have this year together to let him be the main guy!
Here are some pictures from our visit:

The kids with Gams at the butterfly house

Steven visiting the prarie dogs

Hey Steven, there's a polar bear behind you!

Blogging has it's advantages

Here is the text of the blog that I started writing earlier today - it set in motion a day long chain of events...it was orginially titled "oops - he did it again"!

We are still waiting on the official X-ray results, but it appears that Steven has fractured his wrist. He was standing on the sit-and-spin (believe me, he's gotten "the lecture") and slipped and fell. It is the same wrist he fractured right before his 2nd birthday. Once again he has been a real trooper. There is a chance that what they saw in the X-ray could be the old break, so they are comparing the results today. They went ahead and put a splint on his arm to be on the safe side!

Here he is this morning -

So then as I went to post this picture of him in the splint when he was almost 2 - I look at the picture and realize that it is NOT the same wrist that he fractured before!

I called Chris freaking out about it. When I calmed down, I decided to call the pediatrician's office. At this point we realize that it is definetly not the old break they were seeing as it was the other wrist. So they told me I needed to come into their office to have it looked at. But before I came I needed to go to Urgent Care and pick up the X-rays (isn't there technology now to make this happen more easily). So I took Steven and Rebecca to the Urgent Care to get the films. Then Gams came over because I had a dentist appointment for me (that I had already rescheduled once). I got back just in time to pick up Steven and head over to the peds office to have them look at the X-rays and say "Yes, it's fractured" and give me a referral for the orthopedics. They said they would call the ortho office to make an appointment and call me back. As I am almost home, they call on my cell and say that they need me to come there within the next 1/2 hour, otherwise I have to wait until Monday. So I run in and ask Gams if she can stay until Chris gets home (a friend had already agreed to pick up David from school). It's about a 25 minute drive to where the ortho office is. We made it and they put the cast on quicker than I could fill out the 5 pages of paperwork. My poor Steven is not real happy about the cast. Last time they were able to do it below his elbow, but at this age they had to do it above, so that he doesn't try to pull it off! We go back in 2 weeks to check it - hopefully it will be healed enough to not have to do 2 more weeks!

So now here is Steven with his cast tonight and then in his cast 2 1/2 years ago!

A smile for today

First of all, I have been meaning to post this picture of my 3 sweeties!
I couldn't decide which one I like best, so I guess I'll post them both.

Now I have two funny stories.
Steven: the other day he told me that one of his grandmas told him that animals don't have thumbs. I told him that was right. He thought for a moment and then said, "Well then I guess they can only count to 8"!
David: In his class, each student along with their name has a number - it is posted on their mailbox, etc. David brought home a little book he had made about school. It had fill-in-the blank statements for them to complete. One page said, "A new friend I have made is..." and David filled in "Travis #20". I don't know why, but that totally cracked me up!

David the First Grader

Yesterday was David's first day of 1st grade. They only had a 1/2 day, so today will be the real thing - being there all day. David has 2 teachers. One teaches on Monday &Tuesdays, the other teaches on Thursday and Friday and then they alternate Wednesdays! We'll see how it all works out.

Here is my handsome boy yesterday morning!

Giving Back!

I ran across an amazing article/video last week about a girl that was adopted from Peru!
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/21/dodson.heroes/index.html (If you go to the link, along with reading, watch the 2 video clips as well!)
It has stayed with me and affected me profoundly. I am just in awe of what this girl has accomplished at such a young age. It has challenged me to make all 5 of us more aware of the plight of orphans and to find ways as a family to give back. Stay tuned...

Steven's first day of school!

Hard to believe it's that time already! My big 4-year old boy had his first day of preschool today! Not sure if I mentioned it in another post - but Steven is READING!!!!!!! About a month ago it just clicked for him and he really LOVES to read.
Here he is just before school today!

A visit from Pop and Grandma Jane

We dropped Pop and Grandma Jane off at the airport this morning after a wonderful week-long visit! They were really troopers as the 2 days of rain earlier this week left some puddles in our basement (also their bedroom for the week)!

The boys enjoyed playing games with them -

and Becca spent the whole week making her Pop smile and laugh!
We are so glad there are able to come and stay with us! We always have so many special memories of our time with them!

The 1/2 matters!

David is officially 6 1/2! We went out to visit Grammy yesterday as she is recovering from foot surgery and we had a little cake and sang "Happy 1/2 Birthday to You"!
David has had a good summer. He has started playing with the neighbors kids much more this year and loves to be around friends. David continues to amaze us in the pool. He is such a good swimmer. He logged 12 hours of reading this summer (in 15 minute increments) for the library summer reading program. Only a few more weeks until 1st grade!

We finally got our patio furniture! This is a "so far" after picture, we still need to get an umbrella (this is the old one) and next summer we will add some big pots of flowers!


If you scroll down a few entries or so you can see the "before" pictures! We are looking forward to having lots of family meals on our patio for the rest of the summer.

Who could resist....

this smile?????

It seems like everyone lately has been commenting on how big Rebecca is getting. She has suddenly become a toddler and is changing so much! We realized about a month ago that she has stopped growling (which was most of her communication). She still isn't talking a lot, but she is getting much more verbal (and loud). She says "Ma" for both Chris and I. She says "num,num,num,num" if she sees something she wants to eat (she put away 2 hot dogs at dinner last night!). She also does a few animal sounds.

She loves to give this HUGE grin to anyone who will greet her and she loves to blow kisses - which could melt the hardest heart!

It has been interesting to see how little girls are different than little boys. Becca likes to imitate what I am doing - getting the towel to clean up a little spill, etc. She is also much more interested in babies than the boys ever were. If she sees a stroller or a baby carrier, she gets excited and points and wants to see the baby. She also likes to carry her baby dolls around the house.

Have I mentioned how wonderful...

my husband is recently???? Well let me tell you! Earlier this month we celebrated our 10-year anniversary. Just last night we got back from our anniversary trip. I have known for about 3-4 months that we were going on a 4 night-5 day trip just the two of us! Chris planned the whole trip. He started giving me hints about the trip last week and by Sunday I had it figured out. On Tuesday, we flew into Calgary, Alberta, Canada. We then drove about 2 hours to Lake Louise where we stayed two night and then we spent two nights in Banff! It was absolutely beautiful and we had a wonderful time! A HUGE thanks to the grandparents that loved on and took care

of our kids while we were away!

We took a TON of pictures, but I will try to just post the best! The pictures can only give you a glimpse of the beauty of God's creation!

In front of Lake Louise - the highest settlement in Canada (@5000ft.) and one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.

Deer Lodge - where we stayed in Lake Louise

One of the highlights for me - Takakkaw Falls

This is Johnston Canyon - between Lake Louise and Banff - we walked 1 1/2 miles each way to see the waterfalls. The walk up along the river canyon was amazing - notice the catwalk along the edge.

This is the Sulphur Mountain Gondola in Banff - and I actually went on it! I was a little freaked out, but I knew the view from the top would be worth it!

This is a picture from the internet - here is where the gondola brings you and then there is a walkway to go even higher on another observation deck!

Here is the view from the top looking down on Banff.


This is the Banff Springs Hotel. We walked around inside on our last day there and then enjoyed a leisurely lunch on the terrace. There was a wedding taking place just a few feet away from us - so that was our lunch entertainment!

This is the view from the hotel!
What a special trip! Thank you Chris and thanks to the grandparents!

This and that

Here are a few pictures from our past week!

The boys went to a 1/2 day Science Camp/Discovery Days at a local charter school. They both really enjoyed it. One of the mornings they were there, Gams and I went out for breakfast with Rebecca at a special restaurant we've been wanting to take her to.

On Saturday the boys, our friend Todd, and some of the neighborhood boys worked hard all morning, taking loads of mulch to the backyard to fill in the play area. We still haven't taken our "after" picture as we haven't quite gotten it all put back together and are shopping for patio furniture!

Here is a sweet picture of Claire! She and her family are doing quite well!

I'll call this one "Three Garveys on a Tricycle"!

Interesting conversation - deep thoughts

For those of you who don't know us in "real life" - my David is quite the conversationalist! Not only does he talk A LOT - but you he can hold his own with adults when it comes to his reasoning skills and thought processes.

The other day he was saying that God could have made us any way he wanted, but he made us people (as opposed to robots, dogs, etc). I said, "Yes, and God chose to give you dark hair and dark eyes, why do you suppose he made you that way?". He didn't have an answer and so I suggested maybe it was so that he would look like Rebecca. So of course he replied "but what about Steven?". And then I explained that he and Steven were both born from my belly, but because Rebecca wasn't, it may be harder for her later in life, and that looking like her brother may make that all a bit easier. Which turned into quite a discussion about me not being her "real" mom and what is a "real" mom and what role does Rebecca's birthmother play in our lives! This is something that I think about from time to time. In a way right now, I feel that we are sort of living in a bubble. Rebecca's transition to our family was so seamless and right now she has no questions or thoughts about who she is and where she can from. That's what I mean about the "bubble". In the meantime, I try to educate myself about adoption issues. I have connected to other adoptive families and for those with kids that are old enough to hold conversations and ask questions about these issues - I hang on their every word to hear how they answer the questions, etc. The bottom line is that every child is different and responds differently to the realities of adoption. I pray for Rebecca that she will have not struggle with any of this, but am also aware that struggle is a part of life.

On a lighter note - this is what happens when the boys are getting restless in the summertime and haven't been able to swim all week because of the backyard project - ("after" pictures soon!) They were afraid to show me because they thought they would be in trouble! I thought it was hysterical!

Sarah Joy and our backyard project (unrelated!)

I have some updated pictures of Sarah Joy! On Saturday night we had a small shower for Carol - of course when it was originally planned we didn't know that Sarah would be joining us! She is still so tiny - everyone at the shower said she looks like a baby doll!

You can really tell how tiny is in the picture with the kids - this was last week - the first time they saw her.

We are having our backyard redone. They came on Monday and took out all the old concrete and mulch! Hopefully they are pooring the new concrete tomorrow! The major work is in the back, but they are also widening our driveway and replacing our front steps!

Here is a before picture.

And this is what is looks like right now - with all the concrete out!

Notice the climber set up in next to the diving board? The kids have been having fun sliding into the pool!

My water baby!

Just had to show off our newest little swimmer! Each of the kids has gotten more comfortable with the water at an earlier age! Having a pool in our backyard means they get a lot of exposure to swimming. Becca seems to be the most fearless of the bunch and wants to do everything her big brothers are doing! She gets all around the pool just like this with her arm floaties and swim vest. She can climb up the ladder and down the ladder. She likes to jump in, but she can't really jump yet, so she kind of just steps in.

Here she is on the diving board!

More water fun! We spent a hot Monday at the Sprayscape! And of course she loved that too! She was moving so much I could only get a picture of her from behind!

And one more - I had to throw in a picture of her with her PIG TAILS! They make her look like a big girl!