Conversation about Heaven

We were on our way home from MDO yesterday and we passed a church with a HUGE cross on the building. From the back seat I hear, "Nice cross." And this is the conversation that followed...

Me: Ryan, who went on the cross?
Ryan: Jesus.
Me: Why did Jesus go on the cross?
Ryan: Because they hit him.
M: Well, he went on the cross so we can go to Heaven. Anyone who believes in Jesus will go to Heaven.
R: Mommy, and Daddy, and Drewski and me?
M: Yes, all of us.
R: Mommy, how do I get to Heaven?
M: Well, I guess an angel comes and takes you there.
R: Will I get wings like the angel?
M: (not knowing the answer) Uh, I guess you might get wings.
R: I don't want wings!
(silence for a few seconds)
R: I just want to do one big....giant....boooiiiinnng! (throwing his fist in the air slowly)

So needless to say, Ryan isn't interested in getting wings and flying to Heaven (which I think sounds like a lot of fun)...he just wants to do a big giant jump to get there!

Little Blurbs by Ryan

Ryan is one of the funniest kids I know. He is always saying something that makes us laugh out loud! Here are some of our recent favorites....

~Last night we went out to eat with Noni. While trying to decide where each of us would sit, Ryan said, "Well, this side is for dudes. Mommy and Noni go over there" and pointed to the other side of the table.

~He really holds us accountable in our prayer time. If he's ever even heard us say that we will pray for someone, you'd better believe that they are getting prayed for multiple times a day. Two nights ago I was saying prayers with him before bed. Our routine prayer includes praying for "Miss Fania, the man that Daddy gave his sandwich to, the man that Mommy gave her water to, the people that don't have homes, Mr. Jerry (Caleb's grandpa), Mrs. Katrina (a friend with Leukemia), Mr. Ray (Miss Katy's grandpa), Mr. Al's finger (a guy Rob works with), and little Layla Grace (a two year old that was diagnosed with cancer and didn't have long to live)." Well, that morning Layla Grace had passed away and I was trying to explain to Ryan that we no longer needed to pray for her to be healed. I was telling him that little Layla Grace had gone home to be with Jesus and that she was playing with the angels in Heaven. Ryan asks, "Mommy, where is Heaven?" I explained that it's way up high, above the clouds, where God and Jesus live. In his oh-so-innocent voice he says, "Well, when I go up in an airplane, I'm going to look for Heaven and God." My heart melted!

~A few nights ago, again I was saying prayers with Ryan before bed. I was at the part where we pray for Mr. Al's finger and he stopped me. He said, "No Mommy, we not pray for his finger anymore." (I guess he had overhead a conversation Rob and I had about Al getting out of the hospital...and figured we didn't need to pray for him anymore.) He proceeded to make me take back my prayer for Mr. Al. Rob was in the other room trying to keep from laughing out loud as he heard me literally take back my prayer for Al's finger!

~Rob and I had a discussion in the car about how we were going to use our tax refund (how much to put into savings, how much to put towards debt, how much we need for our trip to NC this summer, etc.). We got home and got the boys bathed. I was getting Drew dressed in his pajamas and Ryan comes walking in the room. He says, "I think we should use the tax refund to buy a Wii" and then turned and walked out of the room. As he was leaving he said under his breath (while looking down and slowly shaking his head) "Man, I really want a Wii." Where does this kid get these things????

~Yesterday, we were out in the backyard enjoying the nice weather. I was pushing both boys on the swings. Ryan said "Mommy, push me REALLY high!" So I gave him a great-big shove. He looked up at the clouds and said, "I'm so high that I'm almost to Heaven. Watch out God, here I come!!!"

~Anytime that we are riding in the car, Ryan likes for Rob and I to tell him stories. It can be something made up, something that we remember from when we were kids, something about him as a baby...he doesn't care, as long as it's called a "story." On occasion, Ryan will ask us if we want to hear a story...and then he'll proceed to make up one. Here's how it ALWAYS goes. "Do you want to hear the story of the two turtles going to Target? Two turtles were sleeping. They got in the car and put on their seat belts. They went to Target and it was closed. So they went back home. And the mommy and daddy were sleeping at Target. Do you want to hear the story about two bears going to Target? Two bears were sleeping. They got in the car and put on their seat belts. They went to Target and it was closed. So they went back home. And the mommy and daddy were sleeping at Target. Do you want to hear the story about two bunnies going to Target....." and it goes on and on....the same story, different characters. I have no idea where he got this story from, but it's always the same. (Even when he goes a month or more without telling it to us.)

My boys

Ryan had his first "sleepover" last Thursday night. One of my friends from church, Sarah, has twin boys that are Ryan's age. Her husband is deployed overseas right now, and I thought it would be a nice treat for her and her kiddos (Alex and Nate). Her boys have never spent the night away from home without her there, so we decided it might be better if she stayed over, too. So, they loaded up all of their gear and headed over to our house. They all had SO much fun. We went out to dinner at Casa Ole (only a kid-friendly place would do), they played trains when we got home, watched Monsters Inc before bed (while all laying on the coffee table), and ate pancakes the next morning. Overall, the night was a success! (And hopefully a little "break" for Sarah, as we let her sleep in!)




Ryan is such a big boy. At night, we read a book to him, say prayers with him, and the leave him on his own. He brings a book (or two) to bed with him and reads to himself. When he gets tired, he turns off his lamp and goes to bed. Rob and I wait until he turns off his light and is quiet before we head to bed. Some nights we sit and wait, and wait, and wait...and after a while, we go in to check on him. These are a few pictures of what we find when we go into his room. I guess he gets so "into" his books, that he falls asleep while reading them (with the lamp still on). It cracks us up! (Not only that he falls asleep with the book still open, but that he has his "sleep mask" on too!)



Drew officially has 4 teeth...and he LOVES to show them off. One of his other favorite things to do...put your finger in his mouth and say "Bite my finger." He bites down as hard as he can...just to hear you squeal, or scream "Ouch!" Then he cracks up laughing!



Now that the weather has gotten a little nicer, the Nordlander family decided that it was time to work on the garden. (Ryan has been bugging us for a while about it!) This year, we plan on having two gardens, in two different parts of our backyard. The one that we grew tomatoes in last year will now be filled with flowers. The new one (in our side yard) will be where we grow some veggies. If you ask Ryan what he wants to grow in his garden, his response is, "Carrots, popcorn and chicken!" Without fail, those are the three things he's determined we will plant! (Sometimes he'll add in pizza or zucchini.) I don't know how we're going to explain it to him when popcorn and chicken don't grow!



Drew has FINALLY started walking. It's now his main mode of getting from Point A to Point B (although he will occasionally take a break and crawl). He decided to show off his new-found walking skills while Daddy and Ryan were working in the garden! He LOVES being outside (and eating dirt, too). And, of course, he doesn't do ANYTHING without his tongue sticking out!

What's new in our house?

First of all, before I update you on the boys, let me explain the picture. Last night in the bath, Drew discovered that there was another baby in the tub with him. He kept looking into the little metal part and squealing. Then he'd wave at the baby. It was too funny!

Okay, now for the newest news. Drew officially has 4 teeth now. For the longest time, he only had the two bottom ones. On Wednesday of last week, he woke up from his nap and the top right tooth had finally popped through. Then he woke up for church on Sunday morning with the top left one. Maybe now he'll really be able to chow down on some food!

Ryan and Drew both went to see an ENT a few weeks ago. Ryan has had persistent fluid in his right ear (the tube fell out a little over 6 months ago) for the past 4 months. His speech teacher at the elementary school recommended we see Dr. Morgan, the ENT who did Ryan's tubes the first time. She said that speech won't help him if there's fluid in his ear. (She compared it to us being under water and being told to learn Chinese...we'd never "get it right.") And since Drew has had many, many ear infections, we decided to kill two birds with one stone and get them both checked on the same day. The audiologist did some hearing tests on both of the boys. Ryan passed in his left ear (the one that still has a tube), but failed in his right ear. The did another test to test the hearing nerve (this would show any permanent hearing loss)...and he passed with a 100%. This means that if we can get the fluid out with tubes, that he will be hearing perfectly in both ears. This will help his speech tremendously. Thank God! They were unable to do a full hearing test on Drew because he's so young. But from the tests they were able to do, they noticed that he's not hearing at 100% (due to fluid). So they recommended tubes for both boys. Ryan is scheduled for March 12th...and we're still up in the air about Drew. We aren't thrilled about putting our babies to sleep...but hate to see them sick all the time and with speech problems. (And Rob and I don't want Drew to go through the same speech "issues" that Ryan's going through if we can prevent it!)

Both boys are in school...and loving it! They took school pictures last Thursday. Drew was out sick (with ear infections) on Tuesday, so they had theirs made on retake day. They did them first thing in the morning, so I got to be there to make sure they looked at the camera. Why is it that when I'm behind the camera only one will look at a time (if I'm lucky 'cause most of the time they're both goofing off!), but for this lady they were both on their best behavior?! Anyways. The picture that she took of Drew by himself will (I hope) turn out SOOO cute! He was sitting there with his tongue sticking out. She kept trying to wait for him to put it in to take the picture. She waited and waited, until I explained to her that he rarely ever puts his tongue in. I told her that we didn't mind if his tongue was out...in fact, it wouldn't be our Drewski without a tongue in the picture! I can't wait to see how they turn out. Don't know when we'll get proofs and info to order...but I'm looking forward to it!

On Thursday, I got cleared to take care of the boys after my back surgery. Praise God! This is my first week where I'm able to do it all...and boy am I having to do a lot. Rob had to take a business trip to Pittsburg...so I go from having help 24/7, to little help. (Thank goodness we hired Katy through the end of February, so she's here to help me this week! But we're sad to see her go! Hopefully she'll come by and hang out still....the boys truly love her!)

Birthday Boy!

I can't believe that over a week ago (the 19th) my little boy turned one! Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday that I was leaving the hospital heading home to Ryan, while Drew stayed in the NICU. So to think that was a year ago blows my mind! My little Drewski has changed so much over the last year. He's turning into such a little man! Here's what he's up to these days....

CLIMBING - This boy LOVES to climb anything (and everything) that gets him the least little bit off the ground. He can sense when Ryan has left the bathroom door open. We have a step stool that Ryan stands on to wash his hands. If Drew is "missing", that's the first place we check. And sure enough, that's right where he is. Standing on the top step, waving at himself in the mirror. We're constantly checking to make sure the door stays closed 'cause he's going to get hurt one of these days. (He's already fallen off once and busted his head pretty hard!) He also likes to hold onto the top bar and stand on the bottom bar of the oven. It's all good until the oven door starts to open and he leans WAY back trying not to fall off!

WAVING - He waves "bye bye" all the time...whether you're leaving or not. If he even hears the word "bye" he starts flapping his arm around like crazy. He also says "bye bye" (in his own baby language). While waving his arm somewhat uncontrollably, he'll babble in a VERY high-pitched voice "ba ba ba ba." It's really cute!

EATING - Several months ago, he decided he was DONE with baby food...and refused to eat it. He wants to eat whatever it is that we eat. How he chews steak and raw carrots with only two bottom teeth baffles me! But he can do it! And he's in a phase where he wants to feed himself. If the fork or spoon comes near him, he grabs it and shoves it in his mouth. He's pretty good at it...till he starts flinging it around in excitement and food goes flying all over the place! We gave him cake on his actual birthday...and he was NOT interested. He wanted to wave it in the air and throw it on the floor. He did much better with it at his party though!

WALKING??? - Nope, not walking yet. Although he did take his first two (un-forced) steps two days ago. He was holding on to the table leg and I squatted down and put my arms out. He let go of the leg, steadied himself, and took two steps before falling into my arms. Ryan was so excited for him! He's called just about everyone to tell them "Drewski took two steps!"

DOG FOOD AND WATER - Yeah, if he's not looking at himself in the bathroom mirror, he's either playing in the dog's water or chowing down on Dog Chow! This boy can find pieces of dog food ANYWHERE. He'll be on the other side of the house, and you'll notice he's chewing on something. After prying open his jaws...you'll find a nice, soggy piece of Dyson's food. Yuck!

SCHOOL - Yes, you heard me...school. Although he was "expelled" from school in January, God blessed us with an opening in his class. He started back to school this week. (It's crazy how quiet my house is on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So much to do, yet I want to sit and enjoy the silence!) He loves the friends in his class and he loves his teachers. He has so much fun that he doesn't even cry when I drop him off. My baby's growing up!!!

We DIDN't fall off the face of the planet!

Wow! Has it really been almost 3 months since I've posted anything on here? I guess one of my New Year's Resolutions needs to be "keeping up with our blog!" Anyways...I'll try to sum up the past three months.

November 3rd - I had spinal fusion surgery (ALIF to my L5/S1 disc). I am pretty restricted as to what I'm allowed to do for at least 3 months. Limited housework (darn), no bending (only I make an exception to shave my legs), and no holding my kiddos (that's the hardest) until I go back to the doctor on February 18th. It still seems SO FAR away.



We took the kids to see Santa...and it was rather uneventful (as you can tell from the picture). Ryan was excited...and wanted to know where his Spiderman bike was. I guess he hasn't figured out the part about waiting til Christmas morning! Drew didn't realize he was sitting in a stranger's lap until Santa said, "My, what big eyes this baby has!" (in his oh-so-low Santa voice)...which scared the crap out of Drew and he started screaming. That's when Rob came to the rescue (before I could take any really good pictures of him being terrified of the jolly man). Oh well...there's always next year!



December (sometime towards the beginning) - Drew figured he needed to keep up with his "baby cousin"...and decided to "sprout" his first two teeth...which you can KINDA see in the picture, if you look closely. Just like his big brother used to do, he LOVES to chew on the edges of the coffee table...to keep them nice and sharp, I guess.



December 24th - We celebrated Christmas with Noni and Bumpa (Rob's parents). We had a really good time. Drew got an airplane...and LOVES it. He and Ryan fly all over the house in it!



December 25th - We celebrated Christmas with Papa and Ghi...and the rest of the "Sendt" clan. It was quite a chaotic day, but that's when memories are made, right? The best part was the fact that Ghi and Papa's heater was broken...so it was FREEZING in their house. Thank goodness for the fire in the fireplace, otherwise we'd all be sick.

Throughout the month of December, we visited the boys' pediatrician MANY times...probably somewhere in the range of 15 times or so. They have both been fighting ear infections. They have taken amoxicillin, zythromax, augmentin, and finally (coming in at $94) clindomycin. We went back to the doctor this week...and they are CLEAR! Thank goodness. We were praying that 2010 didn't start with both boys needing tubes.January 4th - We had a nanny named Katy start, to help out with the kids (on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays) until I'm cleared by my doctor. This was her first day...and she is WONDERFUL! She was exactly what my kids need....someone who has LOTS of energy to keep up with them and doesn't mind spending her day on the floor playing cars, building racetracks, stacking blocks into tall towers, wearing funny hats, etc. The kids absolutely love her! We are so blessed to have her help! (On top of keeping the kids entertained, she picks up around the house too. What else can you ask for???) When Ryan woke up from his nap this day, he walked into the kitchen and said, "I missed Katy." Awww, he's so sweet!

January 7th - We were thrown a curve-ball by the MDO program that the boys go to. I talked to the director and she said that Drew no longer has a spot in the class, so he's not allowed to return. (We joke that he's already been kicked out of school!) They were doing me a HUGE favor by allowing an "extra" child in the class for a while. But decided that they wanted to go back to only having 8 babies after Christmas. So, we were without a back-up plan for him. We were shown proof (again!) that God has a plan that's bigger than anything we could think of. Our nanny, Katy, has agreed to come on Tuesdays and Thursdays to help me take care of Drew through the end of February. Isn't God good?!? We are having to do some pretty tricky things with our finances in order to make ends meet, but we're trusting God that it'll all be okay. She will start working for us full-time this next week. We can't wait!

What else is going on???



I can't believe that it's already time to start planning Drew's first birthday party! Where has the time gone? I feel like it wasn't that long ago that we were (finally!) bringing him home from the hospital and introducing him to his big brother. So much has changed since then. And my two boys are such a blessing in our lives. They get along great. (In fact, there are many times when we're at dinner and Ryan says, "Drew's my best friend!") He's crawling and has just started to stand up by himself. (He's only done it a few times, but again, I guess he's trying to keep up with his "little" cousin. Malachi is practically walking already!) He still only has his two bottom teeth, but that doesn't stop him. He will no longer eat ANY baby food (or anything that resembles baby food, like applesauce)...he only wants whatever we're having for dinner. And he can chew like you wouldn't believe! Even without teeth! Some of his favorites are: pretzels, lasagna, pancakes (he eats 2-3 big ones at a time) and cheese enchiladas! Besides Gerber, there's nothing this boy won't eat!



In December, I took Ryan for a speech evaluation (through the school district). He is a little behind due to his numerous ear infections when he was younger. The speech therapist said that his intonation is that of a deaf child. In other words, the way he pronounces words reflects that of a child who has been unable to hear for a majority of his life. They said that he would NOT qualify for PPCD (aka preschool) because he is ahead of where he should be intellectually. But he WILL qualify for weekly speech therapy. We go back to finish the testing on January 25th. Sometime after that he will begin getting 50 minutes of help each week. As much as I absolutely LOVE to hear him talk and tell stories, I am ready for him to be understood by those outside of our family.

That's about it. We are really hoping for a healthy year for our family. (Please God, no more medical bills!) And I'll do my best to keep up with this...for a while at least. :)

Pumpkin Patch 2009

Every year my sisters and I meet at a pumpkin patch to take pictures of the kids. Well, this year there were two new additions to the group shots...Drew and Malachi. It's amazing how each additional child makes a "good" shot that much more impossible. One's always looking away...or should I say that only one's looking at the camera?! Some are talking. Others are giggling. And right when we get everyone to look...Ryan acts silly. He's quite a ham...always wanting attention on him acting goofy! So, we didn't really get a good group shot, but here's what I got. (Note: there aren't very many of Ryan because he was busy running laps around the pumpkin patch and playing soccer with the white pumpkins the entire time!)

Little brother likes to do whatever big brother does! Here are Mommy's two little pumpkins looking at all the pumpkins.

Drew is one cute little pumpkin!

Fell off of the bench and the big pumpkin steam-rolled over him! (And of course, Mommy had to grab the camera and take a picture before she could console him.)

Look Mommy...I can stand up with a pumpkin! How exciting!

Who needs pumpkins when there's grass to chew on?!?

Here's Ryan showing me one of the white pumpkins. He was calling them "soccer balls" and kicking them all around the patch! I just knew we'd have to pay for them if he kicked 'em too hard!

Here's one smile I got from Ryan...after bribing him with a bag of Spiderman fruit snacks!

Ryan and Jacob playing what looks like Pumpkin Poker. "I'll see your one pumpkin and raise you three!" Hmmm....where have they seen that?!?




Enough's enough already...it's time for my nap!