Cousins

HK and Nolan got a chance to play with their cousins while Mommy and Daddy had their getaway. Well HK got to play...Nolan did a lot of watching.

Nolan: I can't wait until I can defend myself. Princess stickers on my face...ugghhh. Nana you can get these off anytime now.
Nolan: Don't try to look so serious and innocent. We all know you are the princess nut...who else would've put these on my face. Nana, stop with the pictures and help me out please!

Yes, Nolan did a lot of watching...
watching...
and watching...

Jack got a new truck for his birthday Sunday. Nana took them out to the parking lot to try it out.
The Three Stooges???
Nana fixed them a car on the deck...hmmm look who's driving.

Having their coloring lesson...Jack is definitely the best at staying in the lines.

Show me the love girl
The helicopter landed at the parking lot three times on Sunday. HK and G checking it out.


Playing in the "castle" as HK likes to call it.

HK: This is my cousin named Genevieve.
That's what HK calls her..."my cousin named Genevieve".

Having dinner together

Cousins and Friends to the end!

Just You and Me, Babe

Starting Saturday morning we were childless for a full 48 hours! Wow...we had forgotten what those days of just being a couple felt like. Saturday afternoon we took a really long nap. Then we went out to eat, played putt-putt golf (yes, we did tie!), and did some shopping. Then after church on Sunday we drove down to New Harmony and spent the night. We rode bikes, even managed to ride a tandem bike, went swimming, walking, out to dinner, etc. We got about 11 hours of sleep :-). It was a wonderful time! New Harmony is definitely a tranquil and relaxing place that we hope to visit again!

We found it quite amusing that it seemed as if everyone in town had a golf cart. The picture above was taken outside the registration office where we stayed. As we walked and biked around town they were everywhere. People were driving them around; they had them parked in their driveway; and they had them parked in their garages. You had to have your golf cart registered!

This was the view of the lake from the backside of where we stayed. The building down to the right housed the pool and hot tub!
This was the building where our room was located. There were a couple different buildings and then some guesthouses as well.
We were on our way back from dinner and grabbing a big swig from the local gas station when I tried to take our picture using our reflection in the door before going in for the night. I guess it sort of worked!

It was wonderful to have uninterrupted time together. It is so important to me that through the years my husband remains the most important person in my life. I love my children dearly, but children will come and someday children will go. My husband and I will remain as long as the Lord allows. Getaways like this are so good to reconnect, recharge, and refocus our relationship. Yes, by the end we did miss our children and were ready to come home. Thank you honey for such a great weekend! I love you more than I could ever describe to you! Thank you for being patient with me and loving me the way you do! I am so blessed to call myself your wife!

To update those of you on our game plan for the poop regression....
Thank you for the comments that you all left!!!! They were all very helpful! We did get a chance to talk this weekend and make a game plan for our little angel! I was very anxious to know how she would do this weekend at my parent's house. All poop went in the toilet, and she even told them she had to go. I am therefore 100% convinced what we are dealing with is no accident. Thus, I do not feel bad in using punishment and consequences. Before we left town for the weekend, we bagged up everything in her room except her bear she sleeps with and her Bible. If she poops in the toilet she can choose something to have back. If she poops in her pants her Daddy will spank her when he gets home. So, we will see how things go! She was pretty upset tonight when she went in her room and nothing was there! Again,thank you to those of you that left comments.

HELP...ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, I DON'T CARE

I am beyond being embarrassed. I was hesitant to ask for help because to me I would feel like a failure. However in light of yesterday and today's recent events I am officially beyond embarrassed. I have a problem...well, let me rephrase that...I have a child who has a problem. Therefore, I have a problem. We are having what I am calling "poop regression." She has been very nicely pooping and peeing in the toliet for quite some time now. We are going on I believe week three...the week before Easter, the week after Easter, and this week...of poop regression. Her bowel system is on a great schedule...I can count on her pooping everyday between 1 and 2 in the afternoon. Unfortunately, that is right at the beginning of nap time. So if she is not asleep by 2 and she hasn't hollered "Mommy, I need to go poopy" I can pretty much count on the fact that she went in her pants or lately pull-ups.

Let me be very clear in telling you that she knows EXACTLY what she is doing. Let me share with you how I have no doubt in my mind about that. Sunday afternoon through Tuesday afternoon she chose to play in her room during nap time instead of sleeping...thus the pictures below from Wednesday. The first two days I tried everything I could to get her to sleep. Finally on Wednesday I laid out very clearly what would happen if she slept and what would happen if she didn't sleep. I gave her one warning and then left her alone. I thought she was almost asleep but then the I guess she decided to start playing.
Just to let you know how much fun she had, her room was completely straight prior to nap time.
At about 4:15 she came sneaking out. I asked her if she pooped in her pants. She said yes. I checked, but there was no poop. Hmmm....this cannot be good! I looked again and saw some small brown stripes. I asked her where the poop was. "In my trashcan"......inside my head I am screaming "in your what?"...then I'm pretty sure I started screaming in my head in some foreign language unrecognizable even to my own brain. I am terrified to go in her room, but I do. I see the picture from above, plus I see the one below....
Yes, that is poop on her dresser. There was also a place on her bedspread and her dress upon further examination. So here's what went down...at least what I gathered from my expert detective skills. She pooped in her pull-up. She took her tights off (she had a dress on), pulled her stool over to her dresser (pull ups are in top drawer), put on a new pair. In the process of changing her own pants she got poop on her dress, bedspread, and dresser. Now tell me that she doesn't know exactly what she is doing.

The only time in the past 2 1/2 weeks this has not happened was the 3 days we were in Eldorado over Easter weekend. She pooped in the toilet all 3 days.
Now let me share with you what we have tried. I have tried positive reinforcement, negative consequences, and ignoring it...not reacting at all except to change the pants. I have bribed with everything I can think of. There has been no TV or movies, no playdates. I even went as far as to go to the park for a playdate and made her sit in the stroller for almost an hour and watch the other kids play. One day we were going to go to McDonalds (Nate was working that night) to eat and play if she pooped in the potty. I drove us to McDonalds, got myself something to eat, went back home, and then ate it in front of her while fixing her something else. That made her mad but not mad enough to go in the toilet the next day. Yes, I have spanked until I am afraid to spank her anymore because I am so mad at her. Nothing seems to bother her. I honestly have absolutely no idea what to do.

We went to a friend's house today. I wasn't going to because of this poop regression, but I had to get out of the house. She came in from outside to go potty halfway through (we don't have a problem with the peeing). We were getting ready to leave when I discovered she had pooped in her pants. Yes, I made her ride home in it. I put her in the tub when we got home and then to bed for her nap. Thank the Lord she is asleep in her room right now.

I am looking for ideas, suggestions, anything that you think might possibly work. Yes, she has a new sibling. Nolan is 4 1/2 months old. It could be related to that. What I don't get (if it is) is that I have been spending more time with her lately then in the past 6 months. Nolan is not as needy and takes great naps. Every morning during his nap time I try to spend doing things specifically with her. I am just baffled and at a total loss. This has to stop, but I don't know what to do. I don't even know how to handle today's incident when she wakes up. I can handle drastic ideas...I am ready to try anything that is not illegal! Maybe you may not have ideas, but please ask around with others you know...maybe together some of you may have the idea we need. Until then, please pray for us and my sanity! I don't know why we are having a poop regression and obviously I cannot figure out the solution.

So there...that's my dirty laundry hanging for all to see...literally dirty.
Thanks for any ideas you may have....I need them!

My Son

Let me just say, "I love my son." Now, don't get me wrong, I love my daughter too. You wonder before the 2nd child comes along how you can love one as much as the first. I love my daughter with all of my heart and wouldn't change anything about her. When I think of her words that come to mind are...dramatic, funny, imaginative, lively, energetic, strong-willed, silly, daring, loving...there are so many more. Those are just a few. She is always challenging me as a parent and as a person. Sleeping on the job with her is not an option.
I believe that is exactly why the Lord has so graciously blessed my life with Nolan. He is so good natured, laid back, and happy. He makes life simple which in return creates sanity. Sanity is always good! I can tote that boy anywhere and do just about anything and he will smile and coo at me. This morning we dropped HK off at Mother's Morning Out, and Nolan and I were off for our usual Tuesday morning errands (including the grocery store). He slept about the first 45 minutes (the wind whipping across his face as we left the first stop woke him up). Then he was awake the rest of our 3 hours out running around. He just smiled, laughed, talked, looked around...never cried or fussed one time. I will have to say that I laughed to myself while in Kohls. We were browsing the infant and toddler pjs when this baby started crying very persistently and loudly. I could hear the mom saying..."Here is your paci...shh shhh shhh...just take it. It's okay." I was lauhging because I have been there and done that with child number one. Love her to pieces, but oh how I remember those days of one volume crying (full blast).
It was just so nice and not to mention easy not having to rush around like a fool because my baby was screaming his head off for some reason.
Two hours ago I put them both down for a nap. Nolan was asleep with in just a couple minutes. I checked on them both before I sat down here...Nolan is still asleep! HK has books all over her floor and in bed with her hanging halfway off the bed reading the books. Yes, this is the 3rd day in a row that she has made the choice to not sleep. So once again the chocolate Easter bunny remains uneaten, the popcorn has not been popped, and bedtime will be right after supper.

Thank you Lord for both of my children. They are both gifts from You and precious. It is so amazing to already see how different they are, but how much I love them both. Please daily equip me to be the mother for them that you have created me to be. Thank you for my daughter who keeps me on my toes and for my son who allows me to rest! You know what we need and when we need it!

Wraps, Cereal, and Fire

If looks could kill, I would be dead for sure!
HK has been putting me to the test again and I have been trying some fairly drastic disciplinary actions. This is just one of the lovely faces I have received because she doesn't like what I am doing. Unfortunately, I have not made her life miserable enough yet for her to change the source of my displeasure...sparing you all the details of that source!

Once again hanging out on the activity gym. HK brought them both a pillow and blanket.

"Doctor" is one of HK's favorite things to play right now. You may not be aware of it, but Nolan is actually in the ambulance in the above picture. Yes, when you are on the pillow, you are in her ambulance. Nolan seemed to enjoy the ride...this time.

HK is driving the ambulance in this picture. I can't remember what Nolan's injury was this time....but most of the time he fell down the stairs. Remind me not to let her near Nolan and stairs at the same time!!!

This guy is all smiles....The green thing is his swaddler. Yes, he still loves it. He does occassionally break his arms out...usually during the day and sometimes at night. This time all that was left was undoing the velcro. You know it was a good nap when he wakes up with that look on his face!

Daddy and Nolan hanging out together watching the Cubs game on Saturday!

Oh my goodness....love the spacesaver highchair. We had attempted cereal a couple of times using the Bumbo seat or just trying to hold him on the table. Attempts were not so successful. We pulled out the spacesaver highchair this weekend and it was a totally different story. It reclines and he sits in it so nicely. We had great success with the cereal this weekend!

Wraps...Hallie Kate now wants to eat everything in a wrap. We had tacos this past week. She ate three soft shell tacos...every bite! Then when we had BLTs she wouldn't eat it...we put it in a wrap and she ate it all. Then we had fajitas...gobbled them up. Tonight she wanted a "wrap". So yetserday and today she has had a turkey wrap!

The eating of the above turkey wrap happened right before our very exciting Sunday evening. Today Hallie Kate played (actually took every book off her book shelf and looked at them) instead of napping. Trying to continue with our drastic disciplinary measures she was getting a bath and going to bed early (since no nap). We also were going to have homemade kettle corn before she went to bed and she was not getting any. Yes, we were going to eat it in front of her. She was starting to melt down since she had not had a nap. I took her to get a bath and Nate was going to make the popcorn. Nolan was just chillin' out in the floor playing with some rattles. HK had just gotten in the tub when the fire alarms went off. There is something you have to understand about our fire alarms...they are shrill, ear piercing, and just plain loud. When they go off it freaks HK out...I do not mean scare her...I mean freak her out. She climbs up your body and clings to you for dear life while screaming and crying. Our fire alarms do go off when we have the oven on really high temperatures. Never have we had a real fire when they have gone off. So I have a dripping wet toddler clinging to me...I am now soaked as well. I walk out to see why they went off...not expecting to see a thing. My eyeballs just about popped out of my head at about the same time my heart dropped. The pot Nate uses to make the popcorn on the stove was on fire. I don't mean it was smoking...I mean that flames engulfed the entire circumference of the pot and were getting bigger. So now the kung-fu grip HK has on me gets tighter...wasn't sure that was possible and her legs are wrapped around my midsection tight enough to choke a cat. Nate is just standing there looking at it (he told me later that he was trying to decide whether to use the fire extinguisher or throw it in the lake). At any moment the flames are going to engulf our kitchen cabinets. "Get it out of here. Throw it in the lake" I yell. Luckily he can grab a hold of the handle with the pot holder. As he walks toward the balcony door I literally hold my breath because he has to walk right by Nolan who is laying on the floor trying to figure out the reason for all of the commotion...still smiling, not bothered by all of the noise. Nate gets out on the balcony and throws the pot into the lake. As this flying, flaming pot hits the water it explodes. I just feel sorry for the poor guy who was walking his dog past our apartment as the flying fireball went over his head. So now I can partially breath again....kung fu grip is still stealing some of my air. So now we open all of the windows and keep the back door open. Nate moved Nolan into our bedroom until the smoke cleared out of the family room. The alarms are still piercing the air. I still have a naked, crying girl superglued to my body. The alarms finally stop. Then HK calms down and begins telling Nolan, "It's okay. The fire is gone. The ducks got the pot. It's okay. The smoke alarms aren't beeping anymore." I think she was just trying to convince herself. So as Nate cleaned up the mess I used this as a teachable moment with Hallie Kate about what to do if there is a fire. She wanted me to call the police. It was funny to hear what she gathered from all of this as she repeated my life lesson back to me. I was honestly scared at the time, but now every time I picture the flaming pot flying into the air and landing in the water I start laughing hysterically. I hope this is our closest encounter with fire that we ever have! We did get HK calmed down and she was asleep by 7 pm. We just needed a little bit more drama in our house tonight!

Just in case you're wondering how the fire started...Nate was letting the oil heat up. Normally he stands there...tonight he was on the computer while waiting for it to heat up. Granted it was only 5 or less steps from the stove, but I guess he forgot he had the stove on. He learned his lesson. He also learned where we keep the fire extinguisher, and I learned not to throw water on that type of situation!

Thank You Lord for watching over us!

HK or Nolan?

I was going through pictures on our computer last night while working on a scrapbook online. I came across some pictures of HK as a baby. I personally thought that the pictures below greatly resemble Nolan or Nolan greatly resembles the pictures below...however you want to say it. The pictures below are HK and Daddy when she was less than 6 months old...pretty close to Nolan's age.



This is HK.

This one is Nolan.

Grandpa & Grandma Gray

I managed to get a few pictures from Grandma Gray's birthday party last weekend. Unfortunately, Nolan isn't looking at the camera...but at least he wasn't crying for the pictures.

Grandma and Nolan

Grandpa and Nolan

We hope you had a great birthday Grandma! We are so glad that we got to share part of the day with you!

Play Time at the Oldhams

Hallie Kate loves to play with Nolan. Most of the time he enjoys playing with her as well. Unfortunately as Nolan gets bigger, Hallie Kate has a lot to learn about playing together...not lording over the other! Last night Nolan was on his activity gym and HK decided that he needed some friends. He kind of looks like Waldo in Where's Waldo?

"Uh....could someone please tell that girl that it's called an activity gym for a reason. If I am smothered by all of her people I can't really be very active!"

Nolan sportin his SIU t-shirt on the activity gym before the t-shirt has to be retired! It's pretty snug!

Nolan has recently loved trying to get his feet. He sometimes gets frustrated with them because he cannot pull them up as far as he would like!

"Okay you crazy little dog. As soon as I can figure out how to get over to you, it's all over. You are mine!"
"I'm just smiling because she is my sister and there is nothing I can do about it! I hug her back sometimes just to appease her so she'll give me some space."

And while Nolan is away, the big sister will play. Her dolls and friends make their daily rounds on all of Nolan's things!

Snow White must get her daily exercise in as well!

As soon as supper was over, HK pulled Nolan under the table with her.
Nolan..."Does anybody care about my well being?!?! Anybody want to save me?!?! You should know by now it's not safe for us to be undercover together!"

HK: Okay patient, what's your problem? (that line is literally what she said)
Nolan: My knee...it hurts.

HK: Your knee? Oh no...it's most definitely your head! Let's take your blood pressure.
Nolan: You crazy doctor it's me knee. You're the one with the problem in the head! Ugh...doctors who think they know it all!

Stay tuned...who knows what will see next week from Dr. Hallie Kate and her patients. She is now taking appointments for mornings only. Are you brave enough? I was taken away in her ambulance this morning.

Easter Pictures

I was finally able to borrow some Easter pictures from my Mom and Heather. The ones at the end are from Heather.

The Oldham Family - Easter 2009

Unfortunately, both times (before church and after church) that we tried to take pictures was Nolan's nap time. He was so tired and just wanted to go to sleep!

Nana & Grampy with the kiddos.

HK with her Easter basket ready to walk to Greatie's house.

Again, Nolan just wants to be left alone so he can take a nap.

HK and "My Cousin Genevieve"

Morgan reading the girls one of HK's new books.

Greatie with two of her great-granddaughters

HK & Genevieve at the little kid table...literally.

Uncle Noah and Nolan

HK getting some sugar from her Uncle Noah.

HK giving kisses to Uncle Noah

The boys hanging out again

Once HK was ready I had her sit down and watch TV so she wouldn't look like a disaster before we ever got out of the house!

Have we taken enough pictures yet?



Thanks for the pictures Aunt Heather!