Happy Halloween!

Our Little Ballerina!


Our "Worker!'



























Kiran's Halloween Party at Preschool

Our Sweet Little Girl

It is with great sadness that I post this. Our sweet dog, Sunshine, died on October 24th. She was 7 years old. Last Wednesday, she was having difficulty breathing so we took her to the vet. Our local vet was able to determine that she had fluid around her lungs. They were able to pull some of the fluid off and did some tests. After a few days of tests we were referred to a large veterinary hospital nearby. Fluid analysis results did not look good for Sunshine so on Wednesday she had a small surgery to take a biopsy of her lungs. Her diagnosis was confirmed as Mesothelioma, a type of cancer that is very rare in dogs. By this time, she was effusing fluid at a very rapid rate; a rate too great to bring her home safely even for a short time. With little ability to breathe on her own without a chest tube to drain the fluid and and a prognosis of just a few days to live, we decided it was time. We had a special time together as a family at the hospital on Thursday night and on Friday morning Ami and I went to say goodbye. She died peacefully in our arms while we sang "You are our Sunshine" to her. In memory of her I would like to tell a little of her story.

In the spring of 2001, one of Ami's professors posted fliers for a dog who needed to be rescued from a bad situation. Ami brought one of the flyers home and showed it to me.

We immediately fell in love with our sweet little girl. When we went to meet her, she was wild. She playfully chewed on every arm in sight. We knew we could work with her and committed to take her home with us. I built a fence in our yard for her to stay in during the day and a few days later we went to get her. She was my constant companion for the first 1 and a half years as Ami finished graduate school. She went hiking, camping, and pretty much everywhere with us for the next 3 years. When Kiran was born she settled down like the rest of us and instead of weekend adventures in the woods, we took walks around town and played in the yard. Kiran enjoyed playing with her and she was great with him. Ellery too had a great time with Sunshine and they even shared a meal together from time to time (usually Ellery's food but not always). The past few months had been tough for everyone with my back injury and the illness and death of Ami's Grandmother and we really cut back on walking. But Sunshine was in good spirits and enjoyed playing with Ami, the kids, and me around the house and loved the occasional walks she took with Ami. She was truly happy until last week when she got very sick.

Sunshine is survived by her good friend Rocky (our cat). Rocky likes to sleep outside when it's warm, but in the winter they always shared a bed and they were great friends who got along amazingly well for a dog and a cat. Since the weather has turned colder, Rocky and Sunshine had a few nights together before she went to the hospital.

We will remember Sunshine as loyal and sweet to those who knew her well, patient and gentle with our children, and most of all a precious companion to Ami and I.





You are our Sunshine, our only Sunshine
You make us happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much we love you
We will love our Sunshine always

Kiran is 3 1/2 Years Old!

Our son has turned 3 1/2. A big deal. For one thing, it's one step closer to being 4. Which is then only 1 year away from him leaving Mommy at home to go on to new things and adventures! Exciting? Of Course! A little sad? Not too much. But definitely a moment I think every mom and dad gets to reserve for reflection and a little drama!

I love watching Kiran grow and learn new things. This is what he is up to these days . . .

First thing in the morning, Kiran likes to put on boots and jeans. This has been true for a few months now. For the past couple of weeks, he has been much more willing to go with tennis shoes or shorts, maybe because other kids at school wear them. After breakfast, he likes a little cuddle time with me. I love it! Kiran is then ready to go outside or go to school depending on the day. He would stay outside all of the time if possible. Kiran is often labeled 2 ways: At school, he is known as "our little observer." He knows just what everyone is wearing within a minute of being inside the classroom. He has asked the teachers, "Why is ____ not wearing his gray tennis shoes today?" The other day when I took him in, he just stopped as soon as we reached the playroom and watched for about a minute just taking every child and activity in. At home and basically anywhere he is outside, he is known as "a worker." He calls himself this, too. He is constantly moving, doing something with a tool or riding toy. Lately, he says, "I'm tearin' up the road." He moves gravel from one part of our driveway to another. Not sure exactly the purpose, but I think it comes from the movie, "CARS." Kiran has lots of little sayings lately, and most come from the movie "CARS" or "NEMO." He really likes both of them a lot! So, many times a day, we hear, "We did it, we did it!" "We're eatin' here tonight." Yesterday, he moved mulch from the back of the house to my front flower beds. He likes to tow other riding toys with his tractor. His legs are finally long enough to drive his JD tractor all over the place, and boy can he move! He is more interested in sports/athletics now. He likes to jump from things (while I hold my breath)! He has just started playing "football" with Ellery and sometimes Daddy upstairs. Yes, he tackles his sister. Usually, he is careful. So far, she has survived, and she usually loves it! At bedtime for the past few weeks, Daddy has given bear rides to bed. At first, it was just Kiran, but now, Ellery can't stand it if she can't join in! And Bubba is happy to oblige. He holds onto her, and they ride on Daddy's back and usually growl at Momma.

As far as conversations go, Kiran is a hoot! Recently, I was trying to ask Kiran about his motive for something he wasn't suppose to be doing. His response, "Mom, it's complicated. If it wasn't complicated, I'd tell you about it. But, it is complicated, so I can't tell you." Simple enough.

Everything these days that is a lot in Kiran's mind is stated by the phrase, "Way too ____!" For example, one night Jeff had the kids while I was MC for a hunger banquet. Kiran was riding his small red trike that he has deemed as his motorcycle. Jeff needed him to get in the car, but Kiran said no because he had to go "WAY TOO FAST" so he could get a ticket. He was upset when Jeff put him in the carseat. But when Jeff returned to the truck, he gave Kiran a ticket because Kiran had been going 150 mph on his motorcycle. Kiran's only question: "Is that WAY too fast?"

Another classic for Kiran right now is "Are you a real cowboy?" He asks this to anyone who wears boots and a hat. It all started in TX when at a restaurant with my family about 15 "real cowboys" came in. He asked each of them if they were a real cowboy and what their names were. So now, to add to his varying roles of worker, farmer, and bike rider, he is often a cowboy these days.

Kiran is definitely into the "I can do it!" independent stage now. He loves to talk about Luke at school. Luke is 5, and Kiran is beginning to see age differences and what that means. So, now he talks a lot about being 5 like Luke and what he will do when he is 5. At his school's Trike-a-thon recently, Kiran talked nonstop afterwards about how fast he and Luke were going and that he raced with Luke!

A few weeks ago just before bed, Kiran got his ukulele and asked if Ellery and I would like him to sing bedtime songs for us. Of course we said, "yes!" He did a great job. He sang and played, "Jesus Loves Me" and a few other songs. I loved it!

Kiran gives the "I Love You" sign every day when I leave him at school, anytime someone in the family leaves home. And, at night as soon as our feet hit the bottom stair of the staircase, he says, "I Love You Sign," and Jeff and I both send one up while he sends one down. It's really sweet.

Kiran loves his sister. He takes such good care of her. He wants to play with her much of the day.

Kiran can say the pledge, draw circles and squares, do great problem solving. I love picking up Kiran at school and seeing his fun artwork! They have the cutest projects - my favorites so far are the scarecrow made of shapes and a turtle made from tissue paper art! A cute thing about school: Kiran is the first to wash hands for lunch b/c otherwise he misses out on the beginning of outside time - he takes his time eating! Maybe it's b/c on school days, I usually send an extra special treat like his favorites: tractor snacks!

Kiran has excellent coordination, and can ride bikes and other riding toys really well. He is sometimes cautious with new things, but is becoming more adventurous every day.

Kiran is still in a playgroup that meets on Mondays now.
Tues & Thurs are school days.
Kiran is in a gymnastics/sports skills class on Tues. nights.
We go to the library on Thursdays.
Every other Fri. Daddy has off from work, so this is a family fun or project day or both.
Saturdays, Kiran and Daddy like to watch 1 or 2 "home shows" on PBS.
Sunday he enjoys Sunday School at church.

Kiran is now making his bed. A couple of weeks ago, I walked into his room, and there it was - a nicely made-up bed with 3 stuffed animals sitting up on it! Adorable! At first, I thought Jeff must have done it, then remembered that he did not have time to do this before he left for work. I asked Kiran, and he said, "I did it, Mom!" He was very proud of himself, so was I, and now he does it almost every morning without prompting! I better enjoy this now, huh!?

Here are some pictures of a special Mommy, Daddy, Kiran date last Friday. We went to a Children's Museum and had a blast! It was great to have some special time with our little boy.






























It's always hard to get a picture of Kiran with me because he automatically sucks his thumb and wants to hold my hair instead of smile at the camera. So, here I am trying to remove him from my hair, and finally we got one sweet shot!

At the Children's Museum, there was this adorable little house that reminds me of our house - 2 story, 4 rooms, etc. Anyway, it is just for kids, everything is their size. Super cool! Addie, we hope you can come play here with us someday! We think you would really like it!









Basketball at the Children's Museum

Playing with a model hands-on channel of the lock system on the Tennessee River























Okay, so this may not be a shot of the cute little boy you would recognize from our blog, but this is the little boy I pick up from school every Tuesday and Thursday! The playground is full of wood chips, and Kiran loves playing in the dirt under the chips, so here he is! Thankfully, there are lots of other unrecognizable children with similar facial features when I arrive at 2:00. The first thing we do after school is go potty, wash hands and wash that face!





Trike-a-Thon 2008

Kiran particapated in a trike-a-thon to raise money for St. Jude's Hospital. It was so adorable! Kiran was super cute. I have no idea how many laps he did, but he circled non-stop for 40 minutes! He didn't even get a popsicle when they were offered - he was having too much fun!





























A few weeks ago, the city chopper truck came to mulch the shrubs we took pulled out of our yard. Kiran got to talk to the workers - they were very impressed with his work gloves. They chopped for 15 or 20 minutes and used a chainsaw. He loved it as you can imagine!


Helping Daddy build Sunshine's new dog house!













As I already mentioned, we recently pulled out the shrubs in the front yard. Our wonderful neighbor and friend, Bud, brought his tractor for the job. Here are a few pics.

The Work Crew after a Busy Afternoon
Kiran trying to pull up a root - he worked on this one for days!
Helping Bud shovel dirt
Kiran giving directions

You've Come a Long Way, Baby Ellery!

Ellery is such an amazing little girl! She is happy, spunky, hilarious, caring, nurturing, adventurous, curious, and very loving. She smiles and it's impossible to do anything but let your involuntary smiling muscles :) take over. I just get these huge grins every time I look at her, and she is almost always smiling!

Ellery went to her 15 month check-up a week ago. She weighed 20.6 lbs and is 31 inches long. She is between 15 and 25 percentile in weight and is 50th percentile in height. She is very healthy! She got 2 shots in the arms and one in her leg. She did get ice cream after her appointment, though, so it wasn't so bad.
You would never know now that Ellery had such a rough start! We are incredibly grateful for her life, for the love and joy she brings to our family, and for the person she is becoming. We are amazed by the ways in which so many things came together for her to come into this world safely. We know that was not by accident, and we feel blessed and in awe of God's love and grace and provision when we see our two beautiful children!
















Ellery can say about 100 words or so that I can think of, but I'm constantly hearing her say more just when I think my list is complete. So, I don't know for sure, but I do know she has a very nice vocabulary. The things she gets most excited about, which she acknowledges with a really high-pitched version of the word, include: bapple (apple), Sunshine, tractor, puppy, pretty, bike, Bubba, and Daddy! She also loves to say "boots" and "truck!" She enjoys singing and will break out with her own little tune at times.

Ellery has recently started running! It's not an all-out run, but it is definitely more than walking. And, it is almost always an attempt to get away from me outside! She is quite independent!

Ellery loves her belly button. She really enjoys brushing her teeth. Still loves bathtime. She loves to play hide and seek with Brother. She has started enjoying him chasing her. She loves to swing. She has a yellow blanket she sleeps with. She loves to get a "bapple" and walk around everywhere with it, leaving peel shavings around for Momma to pick up. She gets very excited about putting a dress or jeans on each morning, and goes first thing to see herself in the mirror. Add one of Aunt Natalie's bows to the outfit, and she is ecstatic! Ellery loves everything outdoors, just like brother. She has helped me wash dishes, has brought me wipes before diaper changes and says "help." She can follow most any 2-step instruction. She gets a huge thrill out of trying to keep her brother awake at naptime and bedtime. She gets way too happy about climbing all over Mom and Dad's made up bed and making a mess of it.

Ellery really likes to draw! She loves her Doodle Pro. It is the traveling toy of choice! At home, she loves the easel or coloring. Another favorite thing for her remains her joy in climbing to the top of something, looking at us like, "Well here I am! I did it! Are you going to come get me? Please don't, but please make a fuss about me being here. I love the attention!" But, the best was the other day when Ellery climbed on the chair and then onto Kiran's little table with an apple in her hand. She was so proud of herself!

Ellery says "no" a lot, not just when she is upset but also when we ask her to do something she is not interested in doing. She also swings her arms or shakes her head in disapproval!

Ellery didn't cry at all for the first time when I left her with the sitter last Monday, and now she just walks in at their house and makes herself at home!

Ellery has a few favorite books: Over the past couple of months, she has loved one of Kiran's books about tractors and a book called, "What's Up Duck?" In the duck book, on the page that says duck is sad, Ellery pretends to be crying. It's super sweet.

Last week, at her appointment, the nurse and I were asking Ellery to tell us what she was pointing to (it was her belly button-the way she says "be-but" is super cute!). Rarely will she repeat a word on command. Instead, she lifted up each foot, pointed to her toes and very plainly said, "toes!"

Now, I promise I am not exaggerating! Ellery is still an amazing kicker! She still does exactly what she did as a newborn in the hospital with those legs. On her back, she lifts both of them as high as she can, then throws them down on the bed or couch. Her legs are wicked (a word I don't use as others I know do, but it seemed appropriate) strong!

Ellery is another cuddler, which I love!

Playing piano at Sophia's house.












There's the bapple!

Playing with her sand and water table! The kids will play with it for hours!
Another bapple!
One night, I was shopping (yes, it was awesome!), and Daddy got the kids ready for bed. Ellery brought Kiran's pajama shorts to Jeff and wanted to wear them. Kiran obliged, and they fit!
Play date with Opal! Fun, fun, fun! By the way, our kids love being pulled really fast around the yard in their wagon!
Ellery's Baptism

Riding her new horse at Samuel's birthday party
BOOTS!
The serious look!


Over the past week, Ellery is doing something very cute. She likes to get behind her little rocker, lean against the wall and read books with her feet sticking straight out under the rocker! The other day, I had been doing laundry, stepped out to check on the kids, and only found Kiran! I looked around for a minute knowing she had to be there somewhere, then saw a little foot barely visible under the rocker. I couldn't see the rest of her because there were a few towels laying on top of the rocker. When I called her name, she poked her head around the chair and just laughed as loud as she could!