Connorisms

Connor is just the cutest little two-year old around.  Don't believe me?  Then check out these little quirks that he has:

When he wakes up in the morning, the first thing he asks for is "boots-meow".  That means Dora (boots) or Diego (meow).  And in case you're wondering where he came up with those names, Dora's sidekick is a monkey named Boots, and Diego's is Baby Jaguar, who looks like a cat.  And though he doesn't always get TV first thing in the morning, Boots and Meow are a great motivator for getting him dressed and breakfasted in the morning.

Connor came home from a play-date a couple of weeks ago with a toy hammer than he doesn't want to let go of.  In fact, he calls it his "knock knock".

When we put Connor to bed every night, he has started requesting we check under the bed for the "bad bugs" that he's convinced live there.

When Ben or I am fussing at the girls or the dog about something and Connor is in the room, he starts fussing at them right along with us.  (Don't worry, we tell him to stop it.)

Currently, Connor's favorite activity is to terrorize his older sisters by chasing them around with his "knock knock" and acting like he's going to hit them with it.  When he actually DOES hit them, he loses the hammer for a while and has to go to the corner.

Connor loves to shoot people with whatever objects he can find that remotely resembles a gun.  In fact, when he gets in trouble for hitting his sisters with his toys, he asks if he can shoot them with it.


Connor has started trying to repeat everything we say.  This was especially cute this morning when I called to Ben and Connor repeated me by calling out "ho-ney!"  We also like it when he says "reindeer".

Connor's favorite place to go is "Mimi's" house.  Who is "Mimi"?  That would be my friend and neighbor, Terri.  We have no idea where he came up with that name.


Connor loves to sing and likes to asks for songs by the following names: 
Round and Round  = The Wheels on the Bus
No-Man = Once There Was a Snowman
Rain Up = The Wise Man and the Foolish Man

Connor is very attached to his bed-time routines.  For nap every day, he gets to lay down with a cup and a book.  He needs them, and often his "knock knock" or gun, too.  At night, he gets a story from Daddy, a song from Mommy, and then Daddy takes him to tuck him in.  Lately when Mommy asks for a kiss goodnight, Connor gets a big kick out of tell her "no" so Mommy will pretend to cry while he walks off.

Connor loves his baby brother.  Whenever I lay Maddox down on a cushion or pillow, he comes over to lay down next to him, and loves to kiss him on the head or hand.

We're so glad we have such an adorable little guy to make our house more fun!

Ladylike

This morning Kelsey woke up about 8:00 a.m.  She walked out of her room, down the hall, and to the couch where I was nursing Maddox. This is the ensuing conversation:

 
Kelsey: Knock knock.

Anita: Who's there?

Kelsey: Loud noise.

Anita: Loud noise who?

At this point, Kelsey passed gas and laughed.  I would sure like to know who taught her that one...

Ginger Snaps & Grandpa M

Picture from here

Yesterday I bought some ginger snaps.  I don't generally buy them, but I needed them to go with some pumpkin dip I was taking to a church social.

Ginger snaps make me think of my Grandpa Mathewson.  I don't know if they were his favorite cookie, but I remember he seemed to always have a box of them in the cupboard - the brand with the striped box. 

When I was 4 years old, my dad got out of the Navy and we moved to upstate New York to live with my Grandma and Grandpa Mathewson.  This was around 1980, so at that time my Grandpa would have been 86 or 87.  (He was born in 1893.)  My grandmother was 11 years younger and in her mid-70's.  She also had Parkinson's disease.  We moved in with my grandparents so that my mother could help care for her parents. 

Although my both my Grandma and Grandpa Mathewson had passed away by the time I was 9, I remember more about my Grandpa Mathewson than any of my other grandparents.  So today, with ginger snaps on my mind, I want to tell you about my Grandpa Mathewson:

• Grandpa was a dairy farmer in upstate New York.  
• Grandpa fought in World War I.
• Grandpa had bright red hair as a young man.  By the time my mother was born, he was 51 years old and his hair was turning white.  For most of my mother's life, his hair was completely white.
• One day while we were living in NY my grandpa decided to go out and cut some tree limbs that were cluttering up the yard.  With an axe.  Remember that he was in his late 80's at the point.  I know he got cut at least once, because I can remember the blood on his arms - a good bit of it.  My mother gently scolded him for cutting wood, and said he shouldn't be doing things like that.  He dismissed her concerns and said his wounds were "just a scratch".
• My grandpa always kept some of those old pink or white round Brach's mints in his pocket.  I can remember climbing into his lap and getting mints.
• My mother tells me that when I was little I would climb into his lap at dinner, and would only eat off of his plate.  Eventually, my mother got clever and just put Grandpa's portion on my plate, and my portion on my Grandpa's plate.
• Often in the winter we would make jackywax.  The kids would fill a big bucket or tub with clean snow and pack it in tight.  Then we would take our fingers and dig out channels all over the top of the snow.  Meanwhile, my mother would boil together sugar and water until it reached hardball stage.  When the syrup was ready, she would pour it into the channels that we made. The cold snow would harden the syrup and give us a very yummy, sugary, sticky candy that we would dig out and eat.  Once while enjoying this snack, my grandfather's false teeth got stuck together from the candy.  I remember that he had to take his teeth out of his mouth and soak them in a cup of hot water until the candy dissolved.
• One day my mother encouraged me to sit down and talk with my Grandpa after school.  I must have been about 8 years old.  Grandpa told me about the first horse he ever owned.  I can't remember if he named the horse "Blackie" or "Beauty", but I remember it was after Black Beauty.
• Right after my grandpa passed away, he got one of those junk mail envelopes that have a penny stuck on the outside.  I remember taking the penny off, and when I went by his open coffin at the funeral, I slipped the penny in the coffin so he would be buried with it.

Though my mother has never come out and told me so, I think he was her favorite parent.  He was the "softie" while my grandmother was the disciplinarian.  He was gentle and loving, and a wonderful man.  I wish I could have known him as an adult, but I am grateful for the memories I do have.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

THE GOOD

Maddox slept from 11:00 pm last night to 5:30 am this morning.  He also often lets me put him down in the crib to go to sleep, as long as he's on his tummy and the noisemaker is on.  Can I get a "Hallelujah" anyone?

THE BAD
Sickness abounds at the Ervin home today.  I noticed at church that Connor had a fever, so we brought him home.  Thank goodness, too.  He's got croup.  We didn't know what it was until around midnight when he woke up crying and barking like a seal.  He also had very labored breathing, so Ben took him into the ER.  I told him to be sure and use the magic words, "He can't breathe," to get quick service.  They were home by 3:00 am.  Kelsey also has a fever and a cough, but I expect hers won't get much worse than it already is.  We are hoping and praying to keep Maddox from getting sick.

THE UGLY
Kelsey came home from Lido's on Friday with some nasty-looking bubba teeth!  I'd get her to pose for a picture with them in, but since she's sick... a picture from the "archives" will have to do.  This one is Olivia wearing Uncle Mike's bubba teeth.

Group Effort

Now THAT'S what I call team work!

Though it's apparently a little hard on the person at the bottom of the pile...

Naked in Front of a Crowd

I feel very exposed, but I also feel the need to post about what is really going on with me these days.

I have postpartum depression (PPD).  I started to consider the possibility that I had it a little over a week ago when someone made a comment about depression in church.  I realized that what she was describing was exactly how I felt.  Then I called a friend of mine who had gone through PPD before.  She had talked about it on her blog (to see her post, click here).  At her suggestion, I called my midwife and went in for an appointment.

I don't feel like I'm going to hurt my child.
I don't feel like I can't get out of bed in the morning.
I don't cry all day long.

But sometimes I do cry.
And other times I am just numb.
Sometimes I laugh, but not as much as I used to.
And there are often times when I get very overwhelmed.
And angry.
And irritable.
And sad.


I know it'll get better, but at the moment...

I just wanted you to know.

Let Sleepings Dogs Lie

Apparently our dog likes to sleep with her tongue hanging out from time to time...

Ride 'Em Cowboy!

The only other blog-worthy thing we did this month was a field trip this past week we took the the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Since I had so many pictures, I wanted to make it a separate blog post.  They had free Wednesdays for the past couple of months, and this past Wednesday was the LAST free one.  Since we had missed all the others, we just had to go this week!

Fortunately for us we had some good friends to go with, and had a great time.

This huge plaster statue is in the entry hall of the museum.  It's called "The End of the Road".  (And for those of you who may not know/remember, the Trail of Tears led to what is now Oklahoma.)  See how tiny the kids are at the bottom?  From left to right is pictured Connor, Eva (friend), Kelsey, and Olivia.

The museum has a lot of artwork (paintings, sculptures, etc.) that weren't all that interesting to the kids, so we didn't spend a lot of time in those areas.  However, as soon as I saw this statue of "The Duke", I knew I had to get a picture for Ben.

There was an area of the museum that is made to look like a frontier town.  While exploring it, the girls decided to spend a little time in jail.

Eventually Connor and his buddy, Gage, decided to follow suit.

The kiddos posed for a picture outside.  Look closely and you'll see that Olivia had to hold Connor's head in place so we could get him to face the camera.  We couldn't get Gage into the picture at all.

In honor of Maddox turning one month old that day, he and I took a picture.

There was another smaller building on the grounds that housed "Prairie Town", which is a pint-sized replica of some frontier stuff where the kids play.  All the kids really loved these saddles thrown over logs where they could pretend to ride.

Connor also really liked the stuffed longhorn.

And Maddox got a lot of holding.  My friend (and neighbor) Terri is holding him here.  Apparently, I'm not used to taking field trips with small children any more.  I forgot to bring the stroller or any other sort of carrier except the car seat.  And I was NOT going to lug that thing around, so Maddox got held for our whole visit.

The kids also got to dress up in cowboy garb.  I couldn't get Connor to stop looking at himself in the mirror long enough to turn around and take a picture, so I just got him from behind!

Gage just can't sit still long enough for a good picture - really he can't.  He's got too much to do!  So much to see!  At least his mom, Christie, and smile pretty for the camera!

Connor's favorite thing in Prairie Town was this little log cabin just his size.  You can't see it in this picture, but he was getting ready to ring the dinner "triangle" with his long metal spoon.

While Connor was at the cabin, the girls went back to riding stallions.  Sort of.

Kelsey decided to take it easy on her saddle for a while.

And I finally got a picture of Gage where you can see his face!  Isn't he cute?

Meanwhile, Connor kept playing pretend at the cabin.  Here he is pretending to dish out beans.

After Prairie Town, I had to go nurse Maddox and Christie & Terri took the other kids for a walk around the trails on the grounds.  Afterward we met up in the courtyard and chilled for a few minutes.

Our trip was so fun that it inspired the girls to play a game of Indians when they got home.  What a great day!

Sweet November

I just don't know where the time has gone.  Actually, yes I do.  I had a baby and life got hectic.  However, we are starting to adjust.  School is back "in session" for us, but we have found that most of our classroom time now takes place when Connor is down for a nap in the afternoons.  I learned pretty quickly that a hungry newborn and an active toddler are almost more than I can handle when you toss in trying to sit down and do school work with both girls at once.  Now the girls spend some of their morning time doing chores, having "fitness time", writing in their journals, and having DEAR time (Drop Everything And Read).  We're also watching a lot more educational shows.  We've learned a lot about insects, the weather, and even meerkats.  Yes, Olivia and I have become fans of Meerkat Manor.  Who would have thought we'd sink to the level of reality TV about meerkats?  It's strangely compelling and full of drama.  We love it!

In other news this month, both of my lovely daughters decided they wanted to have drastic haircuts.  Olivia wanted chin-length hair, and Kelsey wanted a pixie cut. These pictures aren't the best, but at least it'll give you an idea:

Pumping

According to Ben, I shouldn't have let Connor in the room when I was pumping the other morning. 

If I had, however, we wouldn't have gotten THIS laugh when I walked into the bedroom this afternoon:

I think he's missing a little something, don't you?

(p.s. I also reminded Ben that the lock on our bedroom door doesn't actually WORK so I couldn't stop him from coming in.)

Things That Make You Go "Hmm..."

Olivia was holding Maddox and he fell asleep.  So she apparently put him on her pile of clean laundry waiting to be folded...

Hmmm... couldn't she think of anywhere better to put a sleeping baby?

School Pictures!

Yes, we homeschool.  Yes, we have a yearbook.  And yes...

...we take school pictures. 

What two lovely young ladies we have!

 Kelsey - 1st Grade



Olivia - 5th grade

Male Bonding

The Sweetest Thing Ever

One big question in our mind before Maddox was born was how Connor was going to take it.  He would, after all, be replaced as the baby of the family and have to share the status of "Mommy's little man" with his new baby brother.

Fortunately for us, Connor has slowly stopped wanted cuddly-time with me over the past few months.  Though it's sad for me that I can't snuggle with him like I used to, the good news is that he doesn't feel supplanted by baby Maddox.  So how has he reacted to the baby?

Well, at first he just mostly ignored him.  He did ask to hold him once or twice at the hospital, but once we got home he acted like Maddox wasn't even there.  Then, after a couple of days, he'd make observations from time to time about what Maddox was doing, such as "eat" or "cry".  But the cutest thing of all happened yesterday afternoon.  I was holding Maddox on my lap and playing a matching game with Connor on the coffee table.  I just happened to look down and saw that Connor was holding Maddox's hand.

See?  Isn't that the sweetest thing ever?

The Fun Has Arrived

As many of you already know, Maddox Cole Ervin (8 lbs, 7oz) decided to make his debut into this world on Sunday night.  He gave us very little warning, compared to my other children.  I've now transitioned into being one of those women that other pregnant women can't stand.  In other words, I had the easiest labor I'd ever had in my entire life.  And I know how other pregnant women feel - I've been one of them.  When my sister-in-law Jessica told me of her tremendously SHORT labor with her first child (who incidentally was also born a week early!) I was envious - I admit it.  I little expected this delivery to be any different from my last two kids, who took about 7 to 8 hours each to come once labor had begun.

Little did I know.

When I felt my first contraction this past Sunday night, I checked the clock - 6:20.  Okay.  A little while later, another contraction - 6:28.  Alright, maybe I need to watch these.  So we sat down and chatted a little with our company and watched the clock together.  Sure enough, the contractions kept coming regularly, so around 7:00 I decided I'd better finish packing my suitcase.  My friend Christie stuck around just in case I was going to need help with anything, including the kids.  As I moved around the contractions came a little more sporadically, so Christie and I decided to walk up and down the street a little to see if they would go away or keep coming.  I mean, who really wants to go to the hospital just to be told they aren't really in labor and need to go back home??  So off we went, joined by my neighbor Terri.  Sure enough, they started coming even closer together, so we chatted a little and then headed inside so I could get the kids into bed and leave for the hospital.  I figured I still had several more hours before the baby would come, so I wasn't in a big hurry.

All that changed about 8:15.  I was in the girls room tucking them in and singing their bedtime songs, when the contractions increased in intensity.  I told Ben we needed to get Connor into bed and head out the door sooner rather than later.  Twenty minutes later, we were in the car on the way.  At 9:00 Ben dropped me off at the front door of the hospital and went to park.  He joined me about 9:10.  At 9:20 the nurse in triage checked my cervix to see if I was really in labor.  She started laughing and called out the door for backup.  13 minutes later Maddox was born.  Before my midwife got there.  Before they had finished my admitting paperwork.  Before I got to use the iPod I had prepared, or the tub to labor in, or any of the other perks I was looking forward to using while in labor with a midwife.  Of course, I'm not complaining.  But if anyone asks me what it's like to use a midwife for when having a baby instead of a doctor, I'll have to tell them that I have no idea.  Of course, the prenatal visits were nice.  But that's about all I can say.

I have to admit that I laughed in disbelief for about two hours after I had Maddox.  At least I didn't try to walk in from the parking garage with Ben.  Later that night, some poor lady tried that and had her baby IN the parking garage.  Yeah, that would have freaked Ben out a little.  Traumatized him for life, is more like it.

All in all, it's been a good week since I got home from the hospital Tuesday night.  Maddox eats ALL THE TIME, like Connor did, so sleep is a little hard to come by.  However, Ben's been home and very helpful.  Next week I start flying solo, though I will have two great helpers on hand if I need them.  Olivia is great with Maddox - he'll stop crying for her almost as easily as he does for me (which I think makes Ben a little jealous).  Kelsey wants to be with him all the time.  Connor mostly just ignores him, though sometimes he likes to examine him while he's sleeping or eating.  All in all, the kids are really adjusting better than I am, I think.  I'm just trying not to be overwhelmed at the idea of taking care of a new baby in addition to taking care of a toddler and homeschooling my girls.  What was I thinking again?  Oh, right... I wanted 4 kids...

Morning Laughs

So my sister Beth sent me this email list called "Undeniable Adult Truths".  Some of them were actually pretty spot-on, so I thought I'd repost some of it here so you can get a good morning laugh like I did.

(Picture courtesy of http://casablancapa.blogspot.com/2010/06/corbett-is-laughing-at-you.html)

Undeniable Adult Truths

1. Nothing stinks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong. 
2. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
3. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
4. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? 
5. Was learning cursive really necessary? 
6. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood. 
7. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died. 
8. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired. 
9. Bad decisions make good stories. 
10. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day. 
11. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.. 
12. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to. 
13. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call. 
14. I think the freezer deserves a light as well. 
15. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger. 
16. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

A Moment of Silence

Well, it has finally happened.  The camera has finally died.  It's been limping along with limited capacity for about a year now (thanks to a certain little man who used to chew on it when he was a baby), yet I haven't replaced it.  Why?  Because I wanted to save up and get one of those nice, fancy, expensive cameras that several of my friends have and I covet like a sinner.

But now?  We just need a camera.  You can't have a new baby and hilarious kids and just get by with a camera phone, after all! 

I guess the fancy one will have to wait a little longer...

A Boy and His Hat

Several weeks ago was pulling out our baby stuff, which included this neck-support liner for the car seat.  Connor quickly commandeered it and started wearing it around the house, calling it his "hat".  Whenever he got his hands on it, this is what I'd see:

Since the poor boy didn't have a cap of his own, I realized he had been driven to desperate measures.  We needed to rectify the situation.  So, on our next trip to Wally World, we went by the kids' department to look at their hats.  Fortunately for us, they still had some in stock from the summer.  As an added bonus, they were all on sale for $2 a piece.

I showed Connor the selection of hats, and he picked his favorite: Spiderman with the a flap that snaps up or can be let down to cover his neck.

Of course, he always wears it snapped up.  In fact, he always wears it now, period.  I think he's had the hat for about 3 weeks, and I'm not sure I've seen his hair except at bath-time and church.  This morning when I got up, this is what I saw:

The first thing he does in the morning is put on his hat.  He doesn't take it off until bedtime.  In fact, Ben insisted that he take it off during dinner last night, and it resulted in many tears and crying. 

I guess you just can't separate a southern boy from his hat.

Quote for the Day

Olivia: "Sometimes I think that our family is... you know... not entirely normal."

Connor's Nighttime Adventure

He looks all sweet and innocent, doesn't he?

We're just not sure anymore.

A couple of weeks ago, we bought Connor a toddler bed.  Since his crib will have a new occupant sooner rather than later, it has become vital that we move Connor out of the crib and into a new bed.  We found a great deal on Craigslist and brought it home, and the next morning Connor and the girls played with the new bed.  The picture above was taken that day - Kelsey had put every single stuffed animal she could find into the bed and Connor thought it was the best thing ever!

We have had mostly success with him in his "big boy bed".  He's still fussing for a few minutes when we put him down at night (he's been doing this for months!) but generally he'd stay in the bed.  There was a couple times he didn't, so he'd get moved back into the crib, but as I said - overall it's been a success.

Yesterday Connor went down for his nap with (gasp!) enthusiasm.  He climbed into bed himself, said "night-night" to me, and I walked out of the room.  No tears, no whining.  Fabulous.  Could he keep this up at bedtime?  Sure enough, he walked down the hall with Daddy, blew kisses to me, and got straight into bed.  Perfect night, right?

Fast forward to 1:00 a.m.  I heard Connor over the baby monitor.  I heard him stir a little and then immediately let out a cry.  So into his room I went to check on him and make sure he was okay.  I looked in the bed, but he wasn't there.  Huh?  Where could he be?  I looked around the room, and there he was - sitting on top of the changing table.

Ben thinks he might be a sleepwalker.

I think he played around before falling asleep in the first place.

Either way, he obviously woke up on top of the changing table and was confused.  Needless to say he spent the rest of his night in the crib.

We're going to have to keep our eye on this one.

I Don't Snore

Every night I sing to my kids at bedtime.  They all have their favorite song, which I sing every night - even Connor. Olivia's is "Mother, Tell Me A Story"; Connor's is "I Am a Child of God"; and Kelsey's is "Jesus Loves Me".

Tonight I went in to sing to the girls when I got home from grocery shopping.  They had already been in bed a few minutes and were feeling a little goofy.  I sang to Olivia, then went over to Kelsey's bed where she was pretending to be asleep by snoring loudly.  Then she opened her little devil-eyes, looked at me oh-so-sweetly, and said, "Mommy, that's what you sound like when you're asleep."

Ha!  I don't snore.  Much.  So as I was singing her special song to her, I felt the inclination to change it just a little.  Here's the song Kelsey got tonight:

Jesus loves me, this I know,

For the Bible tells me so.

But if you pick on your mom 'cause she snores,

He won't love you anymore.

Needless to say, the ensuing laughter and requests for a repeat performance were NOT conducive to sleepy-time.  Guess I should have thought that one out a little better.

Red Rock Canyon

This past Sunday the family discussed what we wanted to do with our Labor Day Holiday.  The kids voted for the Wichita Mountains Federal Wildlife Reserve down near Lawton.  (If you want to see pictures from our last trip, click here.)  The down side of that idea was that it's a 2-hour drive down there, and another 2 hours back.  We (meaning me and Ben) wanted to make this a morning outing, since we had other things that we wanted to do - including relax.  So I looked for something closer that would give us some good scenery and a nice, yet very easy hike.  I am 7 1/2 months pregnant after all, and Connor is 2.

The result: Red Rock Canyon State Park.  It was just an hour away, so we headed out at 9am, stayed an hour and a half, ate lunch in the car on the way back, and got home at 12:30.  Perfect timing for Connor (and me!) to go down for a nap.

Here's a few pics of our day:

~The girls playing on the big climbing rocks at the playground.  There was a ledge about 4 feet off the ground that they eventually started jumping off of.  What daredevils we have!~

~After the playground we followed a little trail between the campgrounds that took us along the bottom wall of the canyon.  It was a nice, shady walk with some really cool things to see.  I've never seen a tree growing out of a rock wall like this before, have you?~

~When we got back to the picnic/playground area we noticed a line of ants across the path and decided to follow it to see if we could find the ant hill, or even their destination.  We followed it as far as we could, and still never found the beginning or the end.  The line stretched over 20 feet before we gave up!  It disappeared into the forest and we lost the other end in the grass.~

~Eventually we made our way over to the California Road Nature Trail for our "hike".~

~Fortunately they provided a handrail for the steepest part.~

~Once we got to the top of the canyon, we were walking mostly on rock - much to the girls' delight.~

~Now I know where all the red dirt around here comes from.~

~Somewhere along the way we found this dying bush in the middle of the path.  Kelsey noticed this funky-looking growth all over the leaves.  Fungus, maybe?  We've never seen anything like it.~

~And, some general pretty scenery from the top of the canyon.~

~On the way out we made a pit-stop at one of the newer-looking restrooms at the park, which was near the repelling area.  These pictures give you a good idea of how high the canyon walls were.  Nothing huge, but pretty regardless.  And definitely different scenery than what we have around here in Edmond, which is what we were after to begin with!~