Back in our groove.

Things are getting back to normal around the Z house. We put the Christmas tree up this week and have not had near as much trouble with curious little hands as I expected. We left most of the extremely fragile stuff off. It is set up in our empty formal dining room in front of the big triple windows facing the road. I love it because it is the perfect set up! Since we have this huge new house I am hoping to get a good deal after Christmas on a new tree. I love our fishing themed tree but I also want a pretty girlie tree too. If I can't have a girl at least I can have a girl tree, right?

Harper is doing so good. His energy level is pretty much back to normal. He is still having at least one major fit during the night. We are not quite sure what that is all about. I hope to get a picture of him posted soon so everyone can see how good he looks. I still can't believe how fast he has healed. We truly are blessed.

Mason is as wild as ever. He is very excited about Santa coming to visit. With everything that has happened, Santa hasn't had time to take care of the Z boys. I am sure it will all work out but I can't stand cutting it so close. I am usually done with all of my shopping before Thanksgiving and it just happens this is the one year I wasn't on point, oh well, at least we are all together and are at home.

Thanks for all of the encouraging comments, it really makes my day to hear from you all!

By the way Sara, are you working on Wed., Dec. 19th. We have an appointment at 1:00 at the burn clinic. I would love to drop in for a visit, let me know.

We are home!

We are home now. We got here about 3:00 yesterday afternoon. We welcome any visitors. Harper is just about back to himself as far as his energy level goes so he will be excited to see all of his little friends again. Love to all, be blessed.

We may be headed home.

Well, we are not going to hold our breath but it looks like we could be going home today. Harper is eating and drinking as much or more than he did before the accident. We are waiting for the doctors to make rounds this morning and hopefully tell us we can leave! I will let you know what happens as soon as we know something. Keep your fingers crossed!!!

Amazing progress

I am so sorry I have not posted. Now that Harper is getting back to himself it is much more difficult to get anything done. He wants me to hold him or at least be within reach of him all the time. He has made a ton of progress since I last posted. On Tuesday evening my mom and I went to dinner and H decided he wanted some pizza. He would only eat if we were not watching, the second we would look at him he would stop eating. It took him until Thursday morning to drink anything, but is now eating and drinking really well. They removed his feeding tube this afternoon and we just have to keep very specific info on how much he is eating and drinking. If he meets the proper criteria for intake then we may be going home this weekend!!!!!!! Seventeen days is a long tome to be in a hospital. H misses Mason so much and I think being at home will only help him return to normal even faster. I know I am repeating myself here but I just can't say enough how much I appreciate all the prayers and phone calls. We are so very blessed to have such an awesome group of people that care about us. I don't know how I would have made it through this without my faith. GOD IS GOOD!!!

Wagon rides and daddy time

Harper had so much fun with his daddy this weekend. He is really starting to show more and more of his personality every day. We are getting out of the room as much as possible and going on walks around the hospital. He loves being pulled around in the wagon. If you stop for too long he will point at the handle to let you know it is time to move on. We have been visited by speech and physical therapy in an attempt to push him along. He still has not started to eat anything and only has enough strength to support himself sitting up for short periods of time. One note of progress is that he is off all of the pain meds. We are hoping that since he will no longer be groggy that he will develop an interest in eating. I am just enjoying the amazing progress he has made and am so thankful for how wonderful his burns look!!! Love to all.

Official drug addict

Harper seems to be having some morphine withdrawal symptoms. It is just some mild shaking but still breaks my heart. He is now on oxycodone every 4 hours. At about the 3 1/2 mark he is getting quite alert. He was smiling really big when daddy was playing peek-a-boo with him last night. It feels so amazing to see him show a little personality. We are settling into the new room. It is really nice because we can talk on our cell and eat in the room. We also have internet in the room which will make it a lot easier to update although it is a little difficult because there is no mouse. I 'll check back soon. Thanks for all the wonderful comments, it is nice to hear from you even if it is just a typed message. Be blessed!!!

Harper is out of PICU!!!

Harper was moved at about 11 a.m. this morning to a regular room. He has been weaned off of the oxygen and no longer has a central line. They had planned to replace the central line with a regular IV but after 12 sticks they gave up and changed all of his meds to oral. He still has the feeding tube. I must have misunderstood the doctor about possibly removing it. Harper basically has to start waking up and moving around and eating a normal amount of food before we can go home. He has yet to eat or drink anything. The nurse seemed to think we could be here for about another week. :(

Daddy is back. He got here a little after noon and will stay until Sunday. I hope to have somebody come on Monday for a day or two, maybe my mom. Mason stayed at home with Brent's mom so he probably thinks he is on vacation. I held my baby last night for the first time since we got here. It was wonderful for both of us. I am able to hold him all I want now so we are gonna be having a lot of snuggle time now.

Thank you all again for your faithful prayers, I know they are being heard!

Slow and steady wins the race.

Harper pulled his feeding tube out last night and it took two attempts to put it back. Because of that, we didn't get to bed until after 1:30. He slept really well after that. His face looks amazing! I would guess about half of it is scab free. We are waiting on the burn team to come work on him right now. They are going to sedate him and clean him up really good. If he comes out of sedation okay then we are going to be moving out of PICU today or possibly tomorrow. I over heard the doctor say his feeding tube was no longer necessary so they will be removing it after he wakes up. His oxygen flow has also been reduced gradually over the last 12 hours and he is now getting 6 liters per minute. It was at 12. I will let you know how it goes and if we move. Love to all!!!

Life is good!!!

My sweet boy is such a fighter. He is so strong and spirited. God is working his wonderous power and grace in our lives right now. I just fill so full of joy and appreciation for Him and for each and every one of you out there praying for us.

Harper is conquering the pneumonia. Every day the x-rays look better and better. He is still on a very high flow of oxygen to help him breath easier but at least he has not had to be put back on the vent like they were afraid of. He has been put back on a steady flow of morphine to help with his pain. His little face is healing beautifully! Some of the scabbing is starting to flake off and the healed skin underneath looks fantastic. All of the swelling is now gone out of his face. He has started to open his eyes a little, he even called out Mama a few nights ago when he was in distress. That was the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. We are still not being told any kind of time line for going home. H is going to have to beat the pneumonia first for sure. By the grace of God he is making steady improvements and getting closer to healing and home! Thanks again for all the love and support.

progress and a set back

Harper was taken off the vent yesterday and after some struggling he was going pretty good. He had a really good night last night. He doesn't seem to be in much pain. He had a chest x-ray this morning and they discovered that he is getting pneumonia. They have him on antibiotics and of course this will extend our stay in PICU a little longer. They had actually been talking about moving us down to the burn unit today. Obviously a lot is going on here and since Brent is back home I am not leaving the room much so please forgive me for not returning phone calls. Lori has the direct line to H's room or you can call and get it from Brent since he is home if you would like to call and get an update. I don't mind calls at all. There is no way to express just how much all of the love and support we are receiving means to us. My friends, family and church family are the best. I am still counting my blessings and thanking my Father for everything he has done for us. Now get off the computer and go love on your kids or your friends kids if you don't have any! :)

Getting better

Harper is doing great! When I went back to the room after my last post, the doctor had been in and decided not to re suture the tube in H's mouth. They have started to change over his pain meds in preparation for removing the tube. It is exciting and scary all at once. He is already instigating breaths. It is cool to watch the ventilator monitor and see the color coding that shows the work he is doing and the work the vent is doing. It is set to give him 27 breaths per minute and he is actually taking 30 to 35.

He is such a fighter! I know God is taking care of him and that everything is going to be okay.

My friend Lori came to visit us today on her way home from her Thanksgiving trip. It was so wonderful to see her and her family. I just appreciate her going out of her way after such a long trip. True friends are such a blessing.

I will post later tomorrow and let you know how everything is going.

Another rough night

Harper had a red headed fit last night. The nurse ignored my warning not to mess with him without giving him a boost of meds and he showed her what he is made of. He popped the sutures holding in his breathing tube but thankfully did not pull the tube out. The plastic surgeon is coming in this morning to re suture it. He order that the morphine and versed be doubled so now he is getting 4 ml. per hour of each with the 1 ml. of ketamine and a dose of chloral every 6 hours. I keep saying that we could sedate a moose with that much medicine. They took his cath out last night and he was not able to go on his own so they had to put it back in. We still have not been give any kind of time line yet and are just trying to be patient. We have so much to be thankful for! I feel so blessed to have so many people praying for our little guy. I will let you know any new info when I get it. Thanks for all the love and support.

Friday update

It is Friday about noon and I am so exhausted. Harper had a bit of a rough night, nothing serious, he just got very agitated when the nurse would come in and mess with him. The plastic surgeon was in again this morning and still seems pleased with the progress Harper is making. He continues to improve in the swelling department but he actually looks a little worse because of the color of his burns on his face. It is all normal healing going on but it is just going to look bad for a while. They sutured his breathing tube to the roof of his mouth because they can't tape it to his face. It sounds horrible but is the standard for burn patients. We are just comforted by the fact that the tube won't get pulled out by accident now. Brent is hanging in there. He talks the ears off of the staff here with his questions and comments but the staff is just awesome and don't seem to mind. We are so blessed to have such an amazing hospital and group of doctors and nurses here to take care of our angel. Keep praying!

Harper is still doing well

Harper is still doing well. The eye doctor came in this evening and checked his eyes. There was some concern that he may have actually burned at least one of his eyes but he did not! She ordered some topical antibiotics until he is opening his eyes and blinking again. He seems to have rested well today. They have him set up to where they really don't have to do much poking and prodding anymore. He has a central line in his leg and a probe that they leave in his rectum to continuously monitor his temperature. He is able to really relax rest and work on healing. Thanks for checking in, keep praying please!

Lots to be thankful for!

I was quite sleep deprived when I posted this morning so please forgive me if I was all over the place with my details.

Harper's little face is already starting to look better. Don't get me wrong, he looks nothing like his normal self but he has finally started moving in a positive direction. The swelling went down a little over night in his face. The doctor came in this morning on rounds and when he spoke Harper turned his head real fast in his direction. His meds were not quite strong enough anymore because after time they start to build up a tolerance and then the meds are not as effective. It was a blessing that the doc was right there. It took three people to hold Harper down and the doc was able to order a new med on top of the old one which he also doubled. He is now getting 1 ml. of Ketamine, 2ml. of morphine and 2ml. of versed every hour. He seems to be tolerating the feeding tube okay. His fever kind of comes and goes and they are managing it with Tylenol. We are very hopeful that he will bounce back quick. If we are still here on Sunday and it is kind of looking that way, Brent is going to head back home. My mom will pick Mason up from my brother's house and bring him to us so that he can go home too.

Please continue to pray for Harper! I will update again when I have more info.

Harper is at AR Children's Hospital

I have tried to let as many people know as possible but there is no way I can call everyone so I will try to update Harper's condition on here. Most of you know Harper pulled a cup of boiling water on his face and upper body on Tue. evening. He is now in ACH in the PICU. His burns have been classified as second degree. The plastic surgeon was in on Wed. afternoon and says we will know a lot more over the next 48 hours but that he thinks there will be little to no scaring. Harper has a breathing tube because he has a lot of swelling in his face and they were concerned about his airway becoming compromised. He was given a feeding tube earlier this evening (it is now 4:00 a.m.) and is now receiving Pediasure. He has been such a trooper! This whole ordeal has been just devistating, I think I cried for 24 hours straight. I just praise God that my baby will recover, walking the halls up here in the PICU is real eye opener as to just how bad it could be. We ask that you please pray for quick healing for Harper and for strength for all of us. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask in the comment area. I will try to check back in after we get all of our updates in the morning and answer any questions.

I 'll be back soon

No, I have not fell off the face of the earth. Blogging has just fell to the bottom on my list of priorities. I promise an update soon and maybe some new pics.

Birthday, teething and swim lessons.

I feel so old. July 17th was my 35th birthday. I had the joy of having a cyst removed from my butt cheek and I still haven't recovered. My insurance company sent me a letter telling me my rates were going up because I am now in a different age bracket. To top it all off the day after my birthday I went for my yearly gynecologist appointment and she informed me that because of my age I now have the joy of getting a mammogram. Remember when 35 year old people seemed like they were ancient. Apparently we are...

My poor baby finally cut his last one year molar and now the canines are about to erupt. The kid just can't catch a break. He is really struggling with these, runny nose, low grade fever and trouble sleeping. We are both very sleep deprived but at least he makes up for it a little with his naps. He is now repeating a lot of words that we prompt him to say. He pointed at a book a few days ago and said book without the k. He is moving right along with his verbal skills. I think he is going to be an early talker like Mason was.

Mason started swim lessons today. We are doing private lessons at a local athletic club and he seemed to really enjoy himself. He is in the back yard "practicing" right now. I hope in the next few years that Brent will give in to the pool idea. The boys would get so much use out of a nice in-ground pool. Maybe after we get the updates done to our house he will be more interested.

For our friends in the NWA area, we finally painted our shutters and it has made such a difference in the appearance of our house. Drive by and check it out if you are in the area. I will try to get a picture to post soon for you out of towners. Hubby is yelling for help from the back yard so I better go.

Zoo pictures

The picture above is from our trip to the Gentry Safari Zoo. We went with three other families and this is my favorite shot of the day. Below is a picture from a recent trip to the Tulsa Zoo. This was the favorite spot of the day, the polar bear exhibit. He was in there just swimming back and forth in front of the window enjoying the cool water. All four boys were mesmerized.

We are home and I will update about the trip later.

Big boy hair cut!

I'm back sooner than expected. I just had to post this picture of Harper with his big boy hair cut. I took it in Sam's right before I printed the pics off my card. He looks like such a big boy now! I have never been very sentimental about my boys hair but this one hit me a little harder than the rest. I guess I am just sad that he is not a baby anymore.

Illinois here we come.

Well folks, tomorrow we leave on our annual family trip. I refrain from calling it a vacation because there are a few key elements that set this trip apart from a traditional vacation. For one a vacation should involve a body of water, be it a lake, ocean or river, any one would suffice. The next is you should actually be involved in the festivities on a vacation, not sitting at husbands relatives house taking care of the children while said husband is at the Nascar race drinking beer! My third reason is that my idea of a vacation does not include in-laws. Brent's mom takes this trip with us every year and that is fine but I think I would like it to just be Brent and the boys along for an real vacation. Last is that unless you are going to the coast, a vacation should never involve a 12 hour car ride especially with a 4 and 1 year old. Wish us luck.

Our eight year anniversary is next month and I have given my husband the challenge of planning a small trip for the four of us. I will let you know how he does or if he does.

I will check back in when we get home. We are coming back late on Mon. so it will probably be Tue. before I post. Love to all!!!

Can a mom catch a break?

Sometimes I feel like I am on a merry-go-round. Harper has been less fussy the last couple of days but now Mason is sick. He started complaining about feeling bad yesterday about 7p.m. We gave him some Motrin and a bath and then put him to bed. I went in to check on him about midnight and he was on fire! I took his temperature and was a little freaked out because it was 104.3 degrees. We had him take another dose of Motrin and continued to check his temperature for the next hour to make sure it was coming down. He came to our room and woke Brent up about 3a.m. and told him that his bed was wet and he wanted to sleep on our floor. He must have been sweating profusely when his fever broke. When he woke up this morning he drank a little sprite (the sick persons drink of choice) and then proceeded to throw it up on my bedroom floor. Yes, the bedroom that has brand spanking new carpet. On the bright side, at least red punch is not the sick persons drink of choice, it would have been much harder to clean up. On a typical day Mason eats quite a bit if through grazing alone but today he has had almost nothing until about 9p.m. He seems to have his appetite back now and is more energetic too. I am praying it was just a 24 hour bug and that Harper does not pick it up.

Thanks for the memories!

Today is my paternal grandmother's birthday. Mamaw passed away a few years ago and was by far the hardest loss I have ever experienced. My Papaw and Mamaw were the perfect grandparents. I know that after people pass we tend to only remember the good stuff but they really were amazing. During my childhood they stepped in and took over my dad's weekend visitations when my dad was unable to be there for me and my brother. That is a story in its self. My Papaw would come pick us up every other Friday after he got off work and take us to their house for the weekend. We would always giggle to ourselves on the ride because most of it was made with the blinker on, we thought that was the funniest thing in the world. I think my greatest childhood memories are of being with them and I bet my brother feels the same. In a world of dysfunction, they were a rock. Always stable and reliable.

My Papaw passed in my later teenage years of bone cancer. It was hard to see him at the final visit in the hospital. His lung continually filled up with fluid and prohibited his breathing until the nurses came and suctioned him. They never seemed to come as fast as I expected and I remember feeling so angry at them. The funeral was a beautiful celebration of his life. Most of the eulogy was stories we grand kids told the pastor at a meeting before the service. We laughed, we cried and we were thankful to have had such a loving and caring grandfather.

My beloved Mamaw also died of cancer. Honestly, it was in so many places in her body that I am not exactly sure where it started, lungs maybe. A few months before she died I took a week of vacation and went to Louisiana to care for her. That was pre-Mason and I was still working. We went back and forth to her chemo and radiation appointments all week. It was so hard to see her like that but I treasure that week as much as any in my life. We spent a lot of time talking about the past and about the future. I knew then that Brent and I were within a year of trying to get pregnant and she was so excited for me. She always loved having babies around. I think my cousin Hope's daughter Kayla was her favorite great-grandchild, although she would have denied having a favorite. Hope now has twin boys only a month or two older than Harper, Mamaw would have been tickled about that because she was an identical twin. She adored Tyler and I know my little guys would have been just as precious to her.

In closing I just want to say with a heavy heart, Happy Birthday Mamaw. I love you and miss you. Thank you for all the memories.

More teeth!

We have had a bit of a reprieve from the teething until the last few days. I realized today that Harper has had very good reason to be fussy. He had his first one year molar break through. If I hadn't been tickling him with his head thrown back in a full out laugh, I may not have figured it out for a long time. I can't believe we have to do more of this teething... ugh!

Otherwise Harper is just the light of my world. I just melt when he smiles at me. He is growing so fast and seems to have a new skill to show off almost daily. He is getting quite good at saying mama and dada. Mama comes out a lot when he is distressed and wants me because I am his comforter. He knows that Brent is dada and calls to him when he sees or wants to go see his daddy. He said bye-bye a few days ago when I prompted him. Yesterday he picked the phone up off the floor put it to his ear and said hello. That was a proud moment because those of you who know me well know that he has obviously been paying close attention to me, I live on the phone. I think he picks up on things quick because he watches Mason too.

Mason told me today that "this baby is wearing me out", because he was helping me watch him and Harper was not happy and kept fussing. Mason is still totally in love with his little brother. They play together a lot. For the most part Mason is patient and understanding with Harper. There are times when he just wants him to go away too. I think they are destined to be best friends for life. That just makes my heart sing!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July.

I'm back!

I know, I totally stink at the frequent updating. I do happen to have a really good excuse. I have been without internet for weeks now because of the move to the new house. Since we had not sold the old house, Brent was still working over there. He finally moved his office to the new house this weekend because we close on the old one in the morning. Yea to having the computer back in the house with me!

So much has happened since I last posted that there is no way I can get caught up in one post. With that in mind I will give you a few tidbits and fill in details later.

Harper had his first birthday and is walking now. He has changed so much in the last few weeks. More later about that.

Mason is still a maniac! We just took a wonderful trip to the Tulsa Zoo on Wed. He was mesmerized by the polar bears.

We are of course in the new house now and we LOVE it. The first night was very weird and I got a little teary-eyed walking through the old house today for the last time but it's all good. Big thanks to Mike, Lori and Brendan for all the help, we couldn't have moved all of our stuff without you.

On the note of moving, my friend Reagan is now on her way to a new home in Florida. I am excited for her but sad for myself. We have had an awkward year and I think things were starting to get back to normal and then she up and moves on me. Oh well, at least she is moving to a cool place so maybe we can visit, how bout it Reags?

I hope to be more consistent with my posts. Love to all!

Two moons?

While sitting in our front yard a few days ago, Mason noticed that he could see the sun and moon at the same time. He has noticed it before so it was no big deal. A little later we went to the new house and were watching daddy mow the yard. Mason looks up and says "Mom, there are two moons!" I was a little confused so I asked him to explain. He said pointing to the sky that there was one moon and the other one was at our other house. I had never thought about the subject from a four year old perspective. He now realizes that there is only one moon but a little disappointed all the same.

Harper is still trying to cut his other front tooth. Can anyone say MERCY? We have had quite a few hard nights and he is not eating as well as usual. It is so close to breaking through and I hope that ends our problems.

We started moving a lot of our stuff this weekend. The attic is cleaned out and a lot of my kitchen stuff is now at the new house. I figure the next two weekends will be all we need to make the permanent move. We still have not sold our house and just made the first payment on the new house(ouch!) so I am becoming a little uneasy. We showed it yesterday to our State Representative and he seemed quite interested but I am afraid to get my hopes up. I know it will all work out in God's time and that He already has the perfect family for this house, so I will continue to pray for His will. I just hope He is not trying to teach me patience again.

That boy can eat!

My grocery bill is about to be even more insane than usual. Harper is doing really well on solids so I have been offering him more and more "real food". He was only getting Gerber baby food for a long time. We transitioned into Cheerios and Gerber graduates, then on to frozen sweet peas. I know it sounds disgusting but a friend of mine told me try it because her son loves them and low and behold mine did too. Now the child is eating as much as Mason at times. He had four slices of turkey cold cuts, about twenty peas and ten to fifteen goldfish for lunch today. He is definitely a carnivore just like Mason. Those kids love their meat, sorry Porter family. Harper can easily eat two or three chicken nuggets and of course he love fries as well. I am very thankful that my boys are good eaters. Life is good. By the way, this pic of my 3 sons was taken on Feb. 13, 2007.

God bless the poison control center!

So maybe I am not such a seasoned professional at this baby proofing thing after all. While I was in the bathroom, Harper made his way to his favorite no-no spot, the door stop at the front door. He then spotted the bath & body works wallflower (scented plug-in) pulled it from the wall, unscrewed it and started sucking the protruding wick. In my defense I had just moved a table that had been hiding it but left the plug-in there because we had showed the house to a potential buyer earlier that day and I wanted it to smell nice when they walked in. Anyway, it obviously tasted pretty bad because he immediately started to throw up. I walked out of the bathroom to find him with the forbidden item in his hand and vomit all over him and the floor. I started to freak out and called Brent who told me to hang up and call poison control, of course (I am not good under pressure). Fortunately he had only consumed a small amount that is apparently not toxic. They were however concerned that he may have aspirated some of the vomit so we had to watch him close for any wheezing or fever. It has been long enough now that we are confident he is fine. It was a hard lesson to learn and I am so thankful he is okay.

Mason has turned into a total bookworm. I am so thrilled that he loves to be read to. He also enjoys "reading" books to us on occasion. I have a love for reading that I rarely get to indulge in anymore, but never the less my love has not changed so passing that passion on to my kids is quite exciting. Mason will start a kindergarten ready program at his kids day out in the fall so I hope all the reading we do helps to prepare him. I turned our phone number into a song and have been singing it to him to help him learn it easier. He always remembers the first three and the last two but mumbles the two in the middle. I will continue sing the silly song until he gets it and then it's on to our new address. My friend Reagan talked about her daughter being strong willed in her new blog and as bad as I felt for her, it made me feel better because I know I am not alone and that maybe Mason is not that unusual after all. I guess misery really does love company.

I saw Tyler a few days ago and he looks so good, except for all of the skateboarding bruises and scrapes. He got his hair cut really short again so it looks very nice. I don't see him as often as I would like so I really cherish any time we spend together.

Let me know who is checking in, I would love to hear from you!

My crazy life!

Okay, I know I have really fallen off of the update wagon. Life has just been so crazy here. Since I last posted everyone in my house has been sick at least once, a few of us have had multiple bouts with various illnesses. Fortunately everybody is well now.

Sweet little Harper is trying to cut his 6th tooth. He is crawling now and therefore into everything. The doorstop to our front door is one of his favorite forbidden areas. The fireplace is a real problem right now, he can get up on the hearth and have his hands inside the chain screens before you can turn around. Any cord that is plugged into the wall is also a huge attraction for him. He seems to be going through a separation anxiety phase right now. I have heard that a lot of babies do that around 9 months (Mason never did). By the way he is now 10 1/2 months old. He gets upset if I am not where he can see me. If I walk out of the room he will totally loose it. It better just be a phase because I will loose my mind if he doesn't grow out of this soon. He does however adore his Daddy and brother. As long as he is well rested and well fed then he does well with either one of them. The nursery at church seems hopeless right now, at least on Wed. nights.

Mason had his Power Ranger birthday party at Fun City. Five of his little friends came and they all seemed to have a good time. He keeps asking me if he is still four. It cracks me up and confuses me all at once. He loved all of the goodies that the Easter bunny brought, chocolate being his favorite. He got his first chocolate bunny this year. That was always a big tradition in our house growing up. Mason's was very small and I would only let him have a couple of small bites at a time.

Our big news is that we bought a new house. We have been cruising neighborhoods that we like for quite a while, just hoping to stumble on the right house. We found it in one of the areas that we love. The yard is great, 2 acres with lots of mature trees. We had a fantastic egg hunt Sun. afternoon in the new backyard. The house is 4177 square feet. That is more than double what we have now! It is 4 bed, 4 1/2 bath. We have had all new floors put in and a lot of painting also so it looks really good now. When we first saw it I was overwhelmed by the amount of updating that needed to be done. There is still lots to be done but we can live there and do the rest, one project at a time. Mason is excited about his new room and about climbing the trees (only the small ones of course). Harper is getting the smallest room which happens to be about the size of our master bedroom in the old house. All of the rooms are wonderfully large and it has an insane amount of built in storage space and closet space. The new pantry is as big or bigger than our old laundry room. I am really stoked about that! I will post more details as we work on it. We are still not quite sure when we are moving, maybe another week or two. Oh yeah, please pray that our old house sells soon. We hope to not be making two mortgage payments for long.

I hope you all have not given up on me since I have been such a slacker. Maybe I am back on track now, but no promises.

You put what in you nose?

Greetings friends and family,

Mason had an eventful day today. After eating a Hershey kiss, he decided to stick the balled up foil wrap in his nose. I am not sure how long it had been there when he told me about it. It only took a couple of attempts to get it out but the real battle was convincing him to let me stick tweezers up his nose. I hope it was a lesson learned. A few days ago while Brent and I were watching tv Mason came in the room with his toy fishing pole and asked Brent to pull the line out. He went back to his room and after a couple of minutes we heard something hit the globes on his ceiling fan. Brent went in to investigate and Mason told him that he was trying to swing from his fan using his pole. Of course Brent started explaining why he couldn't do that but Mason was sure it would be okay because he said he is very fast. Who knows what this kid will think of next. I love that he has such a full and active imagination but I am sure that it will create much chaos in the future.

My sister-in-law Dawn is having their baby on Jan. 29th. I am excited about a new baby girl in the family. They are naming her Mary-Scott and I hope to go down to see them the last week in Feb. My brother Scotty is going back to New Orleans that week to work so it will be a good time to be there to help Dawn. She is having a scheduled c-section so please keep her and the baby in your prayers for a safe and uneventful delivery.

Harper has teeth!

Time goes fast when you have children. My boys keep me so busy that I am really struggling to find time to sit down and update the site. I am sorry I have not been more faithful.

Harper has had a few milestone moments since I last posted. On Dec. 23rd, he pulled to standing while in his crib. He has just now gotten good at balancing once he is up. If he is anywhere close to anything that he can grab a hold of then he is trying to pull up now. He is getting up on his knees and rocking now and also moving backwards when on his tummy. He gets very mad when he runs into anything that stops his progress across the room. When he is sitting up he can lean over on his hands and pull a little then readjust and pull again to get where he wants to go. I have seen him move across a room that way, it is quite funny. Another milestone is 3 teeth! I noticed signs of one on top first but the two on the bottom have actually come in first. He seems to be sleeping better now that they are in, we had a few terrible nights in a row before I figured out what was happening. At his six month check up on Dec. 26th (he was actually 7 months that day) he weighed 21 lbs.(90th %) and was 26 inches long (25th %). He was right on track developmentally except for the pulling up which Dr. said was early for his age. He is growing so fast, almost out of all of his 6/9 month clothes. I just want to make it all slow down. Daddy says Harper is our last one (I am still on the fence about it) so I want him to stay a baby for as long as possible.

Mason is already planning his birthday party. We still have two and a half months before he turns four but he is already excited. Power Rangers are his new thing. That is the theme he has picked out for the party. I got him a black sweat suit for his Jitterbugs performance (a creative movement class at his preschool) and he calls it his black ranger costume. He started back to school on Thursday and I'm not sure which one of us was more ready. We have also worked out a weekly play date with Mason's friend Robert. Mason loves to play with Robert and they seem to really enjoy each others company because they can play for hours without conflict. That's a pretty big feat for boys their age. I enjoy the opportunity to cultivate and nurture his little friendships.

We spent Christmas day with Tyler. We opened presents and ate the traditional meal. I think everyone had a nice time. I always enjoy having all of my boys together.

Thanks for checking in, hope you are enjoying the site.