Shelly Says...

Shelly's current list of baby names includes Salami, Abiva, Kaiza ("That's a kind of name you know!") and Balujah. I'm always amazed at how kids can think outside the box, make up words and names that no one's ever heard before and then they (the kids) are surprised when we have no idea what they're saying. I just try not to laugh when I hear the funny names because I know she really wants me to take her seriously.

Archer wants the baby's name to be Elijah David. He might be onto something there...

Archer rode his bike around the block yesterday and Shelly and I watched from the back yard to make sure all was going well. As he approached a point where he'd be only a hundred feet away from us we called his name and waved to see if he'd wave back. He was too focused on biking and didn't hear but Shelly kept calling him, hoping he'd see her. "Archer Bell! Archer Bell!" We call her "Shelly Bell" sometimes so I guess it was only a matter of time before she transferred her nickname onto her brother. When I told Archer about it later he just laughed and gave me a look that said, "my little sister, she's so silly sometimes."

I remember when they were little and I could hold them both at once, carry them and dance with them and snuggle them together with me. It was a relief when they could each walk on their own and I didn't HAVE to carry them anymore. But now Archer's grown enough that I CAN'T carry him, much less both of them together. Another time has passed, not to be brought back again because the kids don't get smaller, they just keep growing up. I'm looking forward to our newest child and being able to carry and dance with and snuggle him for years to come. And I'm also looking forward to Archer continuing to climb onto my lap, even when he's too big, because he still wants to cuddle and hug and kiss me. I wonder how long that will last?

SV 32: Peace

On Wednesday night the kids and I slept over at Mom and Dad's for the fishing trip on Thursday. On Thursday night the kids stayed over again and I went home for some peace and quiet with David. Only David didn't get home till really late, so it was peace and quiet by myself. And I had most of the day on Friday to myself before the kids came home. I always appreciate a little break from the routine and I really enjoyed the quiet. But... when we were all back together again on Friday night it felt like everything was back to how it should be. Hearing Archer and Shelly laughing together warms me up inside. Their empty beds leaves me feeling a little unsettled. And this morning, when Shelly and I had a serious conversation about the color of our underwear, I knew life was back to normal. I mean, what's a day without deeply considering the things that are most important in life? We all have blue underwear, so we need to make sure that the new baby has some too when he's born!

SV 31: Salmon, Anyone?

Today I went fishing with the Gruenberg men. The adventure began last night with a sleepover at Mom and Dad's. The kids had great fun swimming and playing and being noisy and (a little) out of control (all Kevin and Kim's fault, of course!). This morning we got up at 3:30. Who gets up so early??? Ugh. Aparently I'm the only one not used to getting up so early, because everyone else was wide awake when we departed the house at 4:13 a.m. Two minutes early. Listen, if Dad says we're going to leave at 4:15 then THAT'S when we should leave, right? I mean, no reason to rush out the door!
We had a fantastic time fishing for lake trout and salmon, caught plenty and only threw back a few. Grandpa Glenn, Dad, Kim, Kevin, James and I enjoyed the company and the view and reeling those fish in, one after another with only a few lulls in the action.

The kids of course had fun hanging out with Grandma and Nana, we were home and had lunch before noon, and were left wondering what to do with the rest of our day!

Thanks to Mom and Dad for letting me join the fun and for watching the kids. Another great day of memories with family!

(This picture shows only about half of the fish we caught today, whew it was a lot of work!)

SV ??: Its so HOT!

Last weekend our highlight was the Dragon Boat Festival, although it was something that David and I definitely enjoyed more than the kids.

During the week we had some fun stuff going on but mostly I just thought about trying to stay cool. We had family and friends visit almost every day, and went to the library once and Mom and Dad's pool twice. Every morning Shelly asks me, "Where are we going today?" I usually answer, "I don't know, we'll see." And then I think about going to a playground, or the beach, or something to get out of the house, and then I think "Its so HOT, I don't want to do ANYTHING..." Despite that, we've managed to keep busy. Our garden is doing great, its a daily excitement to go check on our beans and peas and count the green tomatoes.

We had a fun weekend, yesterday Archer and Shelly had a sleepover with Alex, Austin and Amberlyn while David and I went to Lauderdale Landing near Elkhorn to meet up with some of David's friends from college. We had a great time and the kids did too. Whenever we leave the kids with someone else they have fun and they don't even think about what fun thing Mom and Dad are doing. And, that's all for now folks!

Hands Up!

"Hands up! Else I'll shoot you!" I put my hands up in the air and was rushed by the gunman (Shelly, gungirl?) and given a big hug.

We just enjoyed a little family dance party in the kitchen. Now, I've gotta go find some cooler air, its too hot in here...

A perfect moment in being a mom: "Mom, what does love mean?" And the sincere look on her face as she waits for me to define love.

In a Year

I think a lot about what things will be like a year from now. Or even six months from now. A year from now, if we go to a festival, we'll have a baby that's eight months old. We'll be pushing a stroller again, we haven't needed one for awhile. I was happy when we could start leaving it behind and the kids could just walk. I look forward to pushing a stroller again...

A year from now, when we go swimming in Grandma and Grandpa's pool I'll have a baby on my hip, splashing in the water and shielding him from splashes from Archer and Shelly. Now I spend my time just trying to get them to come off the steps, encouraging them to splash all they want if they'll just be brave and come out a little further...

A year from now I won't feel those little kicks inside my abdomen, feel that strange movement that I know is him growing and squirming around, tucked safely inside. He'll be kicking me from the outside, grabbing my hair and sticking his fingers in my mouth or his own mouth or wherever else looks interesting...

A year from now I won't be wondering what his face looks like, I'll get to see it every day, see his beautiful eyes looking back at me and taking in the world around him, everything new to him and all of it a place to be touched, tasted, explored...

Six months from now he will be two months old, too young to get away when I want to hug and cuddle him, too young to escape my kisses. He will have already had his first Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's...

Today I am already in love with him and thinking of him constantly and hoping for the best possible future. I'm so excited to meet this boy, this precious gift that God has given to our family. Just a few short months to wait!

Four Months

Tonight as Archer was taking a shower I had a sudden flash of memory - the day he had his first bath. Denise was with me, and the poor boy cried the entire time. I wanted to cry too, I had no idea what I was doing and my baby was upset and things did not seem to be going well. Its been so long since that day, and the time has passed so quickly. What I know now is that there are lots of tears in childhood/parenthood. And lots of laughs, and we just try to let the laughs outweigh the tears.
I remember when Shelly came home from the hospital and I was thinking, "No problem, I've done this before, I know what I'm doing now." The first night, I got up to change her diaper and didn't have any place to put the dirty diaper. I remember so clearly thinking, "What am I doing? I don't even have a place for this diaper? Didn't I know better? I should have known better!" I didn't have a lamp in her room to turn on to see what I was doing, I felt like I was lost all over again. And I was, in a way, because she's so different than her brother. I should not have assumed I had it all figured out, I had to figure HER out. And I'm still working on that, with both of the kids.

Now, with our baby boy on the way I feel prepared, "I've done this before, I know what I'm doing now." And I also know I haven't met him yet and it will all be different. I'll have no idea. The journey will be exactly the same as it has been with his older brother and sister - unpredictable. Scary, intimidating, frustrating, joyous, amazing, happy, the best thing that's ever happened to me and the journey that's given meaning to my life. We only have four months to prepare for our boy's arrival. We have to wait four long months for this next adventure to begin!

SV 22: Another Best Day Ever

We had lunch with Dad and pool time with Grandma and Grandpa, the afternoon received Archer's seal of approval with the statement "This is the best day ever!" We finally got Archer "swimming" with the life preserver. It was a step further than he'd gone before, anyway, and I was proud of him for that. He wouldn't try anything until I bribed him with a strawberry popsicle and I wondered why I hadn't tried that before. When all else fails, bribe your children! Fun in the sun, and now Shelly's sleeping and Archer's begging for another popsicle. I wonder what I can get him to do for that popsicle? Clean his room? And also maybe his sister's?

SV 21: Quotes

Let's see if I can remember a few of the things the kids said today...

Shelly: I'll be little stinker and you be the tackler.
Archer: No, I want to be little stinker!
Shelly: Ok, you be little stinker and I'll be big stinker.
This was followed by a brief wrestling match on my bed.

The child who is making the most noise (Archer) says: I can't take it anymore! She's being too noisy!

Archer: This car is going to the junkyard!
Shelly: WAAAHHH! NOOO!! Its not junk!
Archer: Too late, its already in the junkyard.

I stopped walking to look at something out the window.
Archer: Why did you stop? What are you looking at? What are you doing? Mom, what are you looking at? Mom! What are you doing?
Notice that there wasn't a pause between any of those questions for me to answer. He just keeps going, non-stop.

Shelly said no one wants to play with her, I told her to go ask her brother to play a game and he said the game he's playing is "only a one person game." She came back to me crying and I told her to go find her own "one person game" to play. So she went and announced it to her brother, "I'm going to play my own one person game!" Now they're playing together.

Archer: Mom, I saw an ant!
Me: Did you step on it?
Archer: No, I don't have any shoes on!
Me: Its really little and you're big.
Archer: But its red.
This conversation continues on in circles with Archer refusing to have anything to do with killing the ant and me trying to convince him it can't hurt him. At some point I'd like the kids to not be afraid of everything. Or have the kids be able to kill an ant on their own. I guess we're a little ways away from that yet.

Archer and Shelly: Mom, what are you making? What is it going to be? What's it called? What is it? Mom! What is it? Mom!! What are you doing!?
Me: I have a limit of 1,000 questions per day and you've reached the maximum.
Archer and Shelly: Why? What does that mean? Why why?
Me: No more questions!

Does God get tired of our questions? The same ones over and over? Does he close his eyes and shake his head and wonder when we'll just be quiet and trust him, wait for the answers to arrive in due time?

SV 20: Fountain Fun

We made it to Memorial Fountain today and boy was it crowded! Archer dove (ran, actually) right in and was soaked within seconds. Shelly was a little timid. I walked around with her and eventually got her laughing and enjoying the water but it was short-lived. Then she became nervous again and wouldn't cross the line from the bricks to the pavement where the fountain began. I thought if I walked around the outside with her and casually came closer to the water she might not notice. Wrong!! She set her feet and pulled back, refusing to cross the line. I thought she was distracted but she knew exactly where that line was and stayed on her side of it. No coaxing would bring her across. Archer once again declared "this is the best day EVER!" (I've lost count of the number of times I've heard it, but its great that he's having so many best days!) And Shelly announced "I'm hungry!" (Don't these children ever get enough to eat?? Doesn't their mother feed them??) We stayed until we heard thunder and saw a big dark cloud rolling in, then it was time to go home, have a snack and take a nap.

SV 19: She's Healed

Well, that's what the doctor said. But we didn't need him to tell us, we knew it two weeks ago when she didn't snore anymore. And when she was ready for regular food right away, and when she was ready to play and run around and chase her brother and... Well anyway, its official, she's all healed up. And the change in her voice? I was sort of hoping he'd say it would eventually go back to what she sounded like before, as she healed some more. But nope. He said this is what she should have sounded like all along. So I guess we'd better get used to it!

Other than that we had a pretty uneventful day, just folding laundry and playing whatever games the kids imagined up.

SV 18: Weekend/Holiday/Anniversary

I could not ask for a better three day weekend than what we've just had, wonderful family time together. Who can ask for more? Saturday was a yard-work day and we grilled out for supper. Archer saw me watering the garden with the sprinkler and decided to join the plants, I asked him if the water would help him grow. He said of COURSE not, he grows when he's SLEEPING, not when he's being watered! Shelly wasn't too interested in the sprinkler and when I went looking for her found that she was playing with her dollhouse in her room, completely content at what she was working on. I love seeing the kids play together, but its also nice to know they can entertain themselves alone.

Sunday was church and a Fortier party at Uncle Wally and Aunt Doreen's house. They rented a bounce house/slide! The kids had great fun. Once again I sat on the sidelines and watched their fun. Poor me, I couldn't join in... When I was a kid I used to think that grown-ups just didn't like to do the same stuff as kids but now I know better. We still like that stuff but don't join in for one reason or another. Like being too self-conscious. Or like being pregnant and not thinking it wise to bounce around too much. Oh well, maybe next time! It was a great party and we all had a good time, what a crowd of happy people!

Today was the best day of all, our seventh anniversary. We visited the botanical gardens and tried to tell the kids about our wedding day but they weren't too interested. David and I didn't get much time to reminisce, Archer and Shelly were too busy moving from one thing to the next and we had to focus on keeping up with them. Then we saw Toy Story 3. Then we came home and at the very last possible second decided to go to the fireworks. We staked out a spot at Zoo Beach and the kids entertained themselves playing in the sand. And then the show started and Shelly entertained herself playing in the sand... Oh well, she was happy, even if that's not what we went to do. Happy Anniversary David, what better way to spend it than with our children?

SV 17: Finally Father's Day

We finally finished our Father's Day project for David, a few weeks late but now its done. The kids had fun helping me do their project for them. I mean, they had fun making stepping stones for our garden. They've picked out where we should put them, and I've decided not to make any more - I mean, not to have THEM make any more. It was a nice little thing to keep them busy, but I had to send them to bed for naps so I could finish up. Maybe if I get ambitious I'll put up some pics sometime. Not feeling too ambitious about it right now... Good night!

SV 16: Change in Plans, Again

Today we had planned on having Archer's friend over to play in the afternoon but it didn't work out and so once again, we had to change plans and find some new entertainment. We know we can always count on the pool at Grandma & Grandpa's for fun so that's where we headed and we certainly were not disappointed! Pool time, projects with stickers and paints and lots of good snacks filled up our afternoon.

Archer and Grandpa Craig were examining each other's footprints and Grandpa said "I know if I ever want to find Archer I can just track him by his little footprints." Archer responded with "You know, Archers are very rare. That means you don't see them very often." We laughed at his sincerity and the truth of his statement, he's so right - Archers are very rare! And aren't we fortunate to have one in our lives that we get to see all the time? What a treat!

Shelly, for her part has shared little treats with us as well. The other day we were all in the car together and she was making up a song (not unusual), but the ending surprised us so much that David and I burst out laughing and could hardly stop when Shelly told us not to laugh at her... "Lee-lou had a, Lee-lou had a, Lee-lou had a bad situation!" Oh darling, we're not lauging at you, but what a song!