January / February

Birthday Celebrations

January was a month filled with family and celebrations. The month began and ended with birthday parties and special celebrations. In all we gathered for 6 birthday's (Logan, Alyson, Jackson, Nancy, Glenn, and Kennedy) and a few Colts playoff games. It's always fun to get the whole family together.

Jackson turned 3! I really can't believe just how BIG he is getting. I am happy to report that "potty training" is finally going well. I know everyone assured me it would happen when he was ready, but there have been some LONG and FRUSTRATING months of "trying". He really enjoys the verbal praise we give him and will now come and ask, "Mommy, are you proud of me?" It just melts your heart as a Mom to know that your son not only understands, but that he thrives off of your approval. It's exactly the relationship we seek with our heavenly father as he comes and whispers "I'm proud of you!"

Jackson is also becoming more vocal and verbose in his explanations and recounts of events. He still LOVES going to preschool and sunday school. We are amazed at the growth we've seen and have been really happy with the experience. Jackson's latest thing is getting himself dressed which includes picking out his own clothes and not wanting to brush his hair. Some battles are just not worth fighting.

Here are some pictures from Jackson's special day and birthday celebration:

Best Friends sharing birthday cake!

Jackson blowing out his candles (his favorite part).

One day Jackson decided to read Daddy's bible. It's hard to tell, but it's upside down.

Go Colts!

Grandma and Grandpa Stoner's Visit

Also in January we were thrilled to have a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Stoner. Jackson and Everett were very happy to visit with the grandparents from the "blue house" and both boys hit some major milestones while they were here. Certainly Jackson's potty training was helped along by having an extra set of cheerleaders and helpers. Grandma helped Mommy to set up a goal/incentive program which really got the ball rolling. And Grandpa was the lucky winner who Jackson always wanted to take into the public restrooms. Within days of their arrival Everett decided he would finally hold his own bottle. I can't tell you just how long we've been working on this skill and how much he has resisted. By the end of their visit he was an expert. I warned Grandma and Grandpa that they might not be able to leave since so many changes were happening with the boys.

While they were here Grandpa Stoner got working on many of our "to do" items around the house. It's usually a busy schedule around here so it's been hard for Greg or I to get to a lot of the extra things. He basically completed a task for each of us:

Greg got programable thermostats installed, I got a utility sink installed in the laundry room, for Everett he designed and built a "Little Room" and Jackson got a new playground in the backyard. I can't tell you how long we've been talking about getting each of these things done and he got it done in about 2 weeks. We are so GRATEFUL!

Just to give you an idea of how complex the playground set was to put together - this is the list of parts and below he's Grandpa Stoner working hard. He was very thankful for the weather as it made the working conditions a bit nicer.

Here is our "Wild Man" checking out his new swing. His expression makes it all worthwhile.

This is Everett's "Little Room". It's used for therapy and I'll explain more later.

Here it is - my favorite new addition to the house!

February

The month of February has been filled with viruses and hospital visits for Everett. So far during the month we've encountered 2 ER visits, 2 Urgent Care visits, 1 ambulance ride and 2 separate hospital stays. Both hospital stays were short 1-2 days, but still exhausting. We are really hoping that this week (Feb. 21st) marks our return back to normal. We've all been out of sorts as we've had to cancel and reschedule therapies, doctor appointments, playgroups, date night, bible study, etc... We are really looking forward to getting back to a typical week around here.

Everett is doing well! He was diagnosed with a virus similar to RSV, but now as serious. However because it was a respiratory virus he immediately starting having trouble breathing and needed to be treating with steroids and oxygen. We thought we were all better after our first hospital stay, but then Everett woke up on President's day lethargic and struggling to breath. We are scheduled to visit with his pulmonary specialist this week to discuss why this keeps happening, but needless to say I'll be a bit neurotic about germs for a while.

I knew Everett was feeling better when he grabbed his bottle and started to drink.