Jumping Beans

Uncle Kenny came to play for a week! The boys were both pretty excited to have him here, which means he now knows what it's like to have people camped outside the bathroom door! :) Luckily, I don't think he minded! We did a lot of the usual, the weather has been getting hotter, so we swam and played outside. (I don't have any pool pics, taking all 3 kids to the pool was a first, I didn't even think about a camera!) The trampoline is still the only backyard entertainment other than dirt... and Kenny has lots of tricks.All of the boys, Patrick included, got to go and see How to Train Your Dragon. And then of course there was the birthday party. And he even got Reagan to laugh at him! :) We were really glad he got to come out and play for awhile! Thanks for making the trip!

Party at the Park

With Patrick's schedule change and the usual chaos we decided to just have a good ol' BBQ at the park for Jackson's party. Uncle Kenny even made it! (I've been kicking myself and feeling super guilty because I only got like 5 pictures! But he had a BLAST so I guess it's ok.)

This is the only picture I got of him opening presents, he opened them as people arrived and gave them to him, so we pretty much missed them all but this one.

We had a good time with a few friends, kids played and ran around and then we had dessert. He wanted mint chocolate chip brownies... green, that's his favorite color. We caught him long enough to sing, but the wind didn't really work with candles. So this was the next morning. He didn't seem to mind.

I did get one of Harrison after his brownie. Only because I needed a hose to clean him off. (He is generally easier to find too, somewhere near the food.)

It was a good day! Happy Birthday Dude!

Jackson 5

Jackson's story:

We got to the hospital at 7:30 am on May 17, 2005 (or 5/17/05).We were scheduled for an induction. It was raining and the power was out, except for the emergency lights and medical equipment. They got my IV in and started the Potocin at about 8:30. I was already dilated to a 5. The doctor broke my water at around 10:30 and by 11:30 I had my epidural. (I like to forget the hour of actual labor I got to experience.) At 1:30 (5 hours later) they called the doctor back...

Jackson Edward Swain was born at 1:45 pm after just a few pushes... and with a lovely crusty on his face. haha. Handsome boy with a little bit of dark hair. He was 6 lbs. 5 oz. and 20 inches long. ...And he still looks like this when he sleeps.

And now...

Dude is 5! A whole hand! And couldn't be more excited about it! He's also now 44 inches tall and 38 lbs., still tall and skinny! And still handsome!

He got to open presents today, there were 5 of them. He was up at the butt-crack of dawn, you would have thought it was Christmas. (Only mom was smarter this time and put the presents up out of reach! )

*FYI: He got the glasses he's rocking in Primary yesterday for his birthday.

He was super nice and let Harrison help him open everything. And he loved everything he got! He pretty much got to do what he wanted today. So there was a lot of time on the computer with his new Webkinz, taking pictures and a lot of book reading. Dinner was his choice too, he decided on homemade rolls with "sweet" (honey) butter and pepperoni pizza. So, that's what we had. :) (There will be cake later, the party is this weekend.)

I can't believe what a wonderful little person he is growing up to be. He has the softest heart. And the sweetest little testimony. He LOVES being a big brother! Imagination and attitude coming out his ears! He is totally going to be a rock star in school! And with those blue eyes, I'm a little worried about how much longer we have before the girls start to notice. hahaha. Our little man is on his way. Watch out world! He's 5!

The People I Live With

Updates and Randomness.

Jackson: The one with all the imagination. The one who loves to help and be the big brother. The one with the soft heart. The one who never stops talking or learning.

He took this himself with my new and very expensive camera while no one was looking. And we never would have known... except for the 15 pictures of random objects, himself and Harrison.

He ran some errands with me the other day and talked my ear off! I couldn't believe the things he knows. He kept spitting words out like "species" and "magimation" (imagination) and then would proceed to use them in complete sentences. At this rate he is going to be smarter than me by the time he is 10.

He came to me crying after "All Dogs go to Heaven" was over last night. It took him a minute to get it out, but he was pretty upset that Charlie went to Heaven. He had finally put together that it meant Charlie had died. I felt so bad for him. But we talked a little about Heaven not being so bad. And that it was just a movie. He seemed to feel better. He is so sweet.

Harrison: The one with the hair that everyone notices. The one who is full of it. The one who thinks he is 2 going on 12. The one who has a smile you have to smile back at.

He has decided he is newly independent. Along with many other things he now insists on "do myself", he has to put his own shoes on, and he can. See how proud he is.

He HATES to wake up, especially from naps. It's the funniest thing in the world to watch him give out death crusties for at least 30 minutes! He is the character at our house for sure! The kid has attitude. He loves to tell me "just a minute" when I ask him to do things. He also likes to talk to his shadow and sing to himself when he thinks no one is paying attention. His new thing is tattling and then informing me of what punishment he would like to see implemented. He kills me.Reagan: The one who gets the most attention - from all of us. The one who smiles a lot. The one that gets pretty much whatever she wants. The one that is easiest - for now.

Matrix Baby. She had to wear a Halter Monitor for 24 fours, it was part of some follow-up on her heart. She hated it.

You can't totally tell from this picture, but she plays with her hair when she is tired. It's the cutest thing ever. And just because she is the sweetest baby! I just can't help it. (Plus, in most of the pics I take of her with the boys she looks like she's having a panic attack.) She started laughing this week, it's SO funny! (She only laughs for Dad. I got the first one, but that was it.) She can roll over from front to back. And she still loves to be swaddled when she sleeps. Sweet girl.

A New Non-Violent and Inexpensive Hobby

The Rock

A true story that happened last week,

written by means of cowboy poetry.

Just sittin' in a vacant lot,

A couple down from me,

I gazed upon that slab of stone

And envisioned it by our tree.

But to move it from its current spot,

Into my own bare front yard,

Would be the test I'd have to face

And I knew it would be hard.

So to the rock I walked from home,

Just wearin' comfy brown flip-flops,

I sized up that mighty stone

And knew alone I'd bust my chops.

But then the thought of my good friend,

A strong and sturdy fireman,

The two of us would be good as gold

So to the phone away I ran.

"Are you up for a challenge?" I had asked,

"You bet I am," he answered fast,

In two quick shakes he had arrived

The time had come for the chore at last.

With the big red hand truck we settled in,

To move that 1/2 ton mini boulder,

With real poor footing we slipped and fell

And I thought for sure I tore my shoulder.

Ol' Darin's force threw him backwards,

He did two awkward somersaults,

I thought for sure if he got hurt

That bad misfortune would be my fault.

As the mighty fireman lay on his back,

I realized I was still in the way,

For that rock still had me in its sights

And I knew the time had come to pray.

With dolly still in hand,

I felt my balance quickly fade,

It was save the dolly or my back

I chucked the dolly the decision was made.

As my body flew backward,

I watched the hand truck fly high,

My two feet tried to scramble

But all I saw was blue sky.

When all the dust finally settled,

And we knew no bones were broken,

We sat there and giggled

No words could be spoken.

As we looked at that rock,

We saw we moved two feet,

More determined I grew

For I'd never say defeat.

With simple thinkin' and physics,

Along with a very low flat-bed,

We muscled that stone up,

Now that's called usin' yer head.

Once in my own front yard,

We heaved and then we hoed,

That great stone fell with a thud

True manliness we'd showed.

This story has three morals,

They're very plain to see,

You may already know them,

It's too hard to disagree.

Never weaken and live to laugh,

Those are two we all should know,

And friends are also nice to have

Whenever you need a good heave-hoe.

-Patrick Swain

May 9, 2010

M*O*M

I LOVE being a Mom. I had NO IDEA what it would entail when I became one. And I'm pretty sure on most days that I still have NO IDEA what I am doing. But I think that's part of what makes it great! Winging it... makes it more like an Adventure than a Job. We have our schedules and rules, but almost everything in between is new... and there are always surprises. Most days I love that too. Because for every time they make me want to pull my hair out there are 100 other times that make me want to sqeeze the crap out of them! :)

Some things that I've learned... that no matter how many times I explain that there is no "escape route" out of the bathroom, there will still be crying on the other side of the door. (I have to come out the way I went in, there is no need for panic!) ...Also that little fingers fit nicely under doors... ANYTHING can be a weapon! ...Negotiating skills start before speech... Just because they are young does not mean they won't cheat/peek/sneak, especially during game play... Never say anything you absolutely don't want repeated... Never laugh or smile while handing out a punishment... They are smarter than you think possible...unless they are in group, for some reason this lowers their brain function and heightens their adrenaline... Forgiveness is easy... Love is free... Anyone can be your friend... A kiss really can fix almost anything... And most things are still pretty much magic.

Moments I LOVE ...someone singing to themselves or to their baby sister. Sometimes it's a primary song or one that we sing together, and sometimes it's one they make up as they go. ...them playing together, often with a large amount of imagination. There are usually crashes or explosions, but they are almost always on the same side. ...their prayers. With help or without, they are theirs, even if there is giggling. ...their laughter. Different laughs mean different things, and sometimes I know something evil is going on, but I can't help but laugh too! ...a conversation between any combination of the 3 of them or sometimes with imaginary friends... I love to see them together. To watch them grow and change. And I love that they love each other so much!

They are little pieces of me, filling in all the spaces that no one or nothing else could fill! And stretching and pushing me in ways I never thought possible. (Sometimes helping me grow and sometimes leaving me with a nervous twitch.) But having them makes me more grateful... for everything! (Especially guardian angels!) What a miracle they are! I am very blessed! So I would like to say thank you to the 3 very special little people who gave me my title! I never could have imagined how much they would each impact my life. And for all the moments and smiles and loves that melt my heart! (Thanks has to go to their Dad too! My 4th child! :) We make a pretty darn good team! And we make pretty stinkin cute kids!)

And a special thanks to our Moms! It's a job that never ends, and we love them for never giving up! I would also like to apologize for all of the things that we like to laugh about now! :) Becoming a mom made me a thousand times more grateful for you! I even sound like you sometimes. But the most important thing I ever learned from you was that you loved me no matter what. Unconditionally. Everything else you earn... love is free. Thank you for all of it!

R.I.P.

Just for the record, and on a funnier (not necessarily happier) note, we have had a couple of deaths at our house recently! I realize death isn't really funny, but keep reading.

The first went something like this... we ordered some Chinese food, and without thinking of all the possible places a 5 year old could put them, left 2 packets of soy sauce out on the counter. A couple of hours later I started to smell salty smoke and I ran into the kitchen, it was obvious where the smell was coming from! Jackson happened to be standing at a safe distance (from me, not the toaster) when I asked who had done it. (Knowing full well only one of my kids can actually reach it.) Jackson proceeded to dig an even bigger hole when he said "Harrison". After a very tricky attempt to retrieve the packets and save the toaster, there was a long talk about playing in the kitchen and burning our house down... and then a very short talk about lying. The toaster didn't make it. And when I asked Jackson why he would do that he told me he just wanted to see them pop out. Sigh. Maybe he will be getting a jack-in-the-box for his birthday!

The second, was not quite as obvious. Patrick and I could smell something weird every once in a while, and it seemed to be coming from the boys room. We couldn't figure out exactly what it was, but had decided it was probably the ceiling fan motor. Later that same day, as I was getting the boys ready for bed, their room smelled really bad again, but the fan hadn't been on. So I started looking around and noticed that their lamp was a weird yellowish color... and smoking ever so slightly. So I took a gander, and sure enough, it was most definitely the culprit of the smell! After looking a little closer I realized that the smell was actually a plastic beaded bracelet that was melted to the light bulb. I didn't even have to ask who had done it, Jackson nominated Harrison before I could even say anything (and I was inclined to believe him. I think he learned his lesson with the toaster)... sure enough, this time, he was telling the truth. Harrison admitted it was him! I didn't bother to get an explanation, but instead proceeded to remove it from the room and have the very same conversation with him about playing with hot things and burning our house down. He just stood there with his head hung in shame. But he listened. I guess that's what we get for letting our boys have dress-up jewelry.

Those two. You know, on the positive side, the house is still standing AND we learned to STOP-DROP & ROLL.

Reagan and the HEART Doctor

Miss Reagan met her Cardiologist... and fell in love! haha. She absolutely adored him, it was hilarious! All flirting aside... her heart looks good, there are no murmurs or holes. We did an echo (which is an ultrasound of her heart) and they found a small Atrium Septum Defect (or ASD) they are fairly common in babies her age. There is a small hole in babies hearts, one that they are born with that is supposed to be there. It closes on it's own in over few years. Hers has some extra tissue around it, so we will be going back before her first birthday to make sure it is closing the way it's supposed to. It shouldn't be a big deal! Yeah!
(Making faces for the camera.)

The Cardiologist also looked into her other anomalies and took it upon himself to do some research. After we left he called us at home to let us know he had found a syndrome that fit her. I'm not going to get into details about it now, we don't know for sure that it is what she has, but we are going to do some more heart related tests. If the syndrome is what she has we will need to know before she can have surgery on her foot, anesthesia can be a problem. He is also going to help us get genetic testing started and try to get us in to the geneticist. (Apparently there is only one in Tucson and it can take a year to see him... but, lucky for us, he happens to be in the same building as the Cardiologist.) So we go from here. On the plus side, we know her heart is good! Thank Heaven! And we know she is gaining weight and growing! Woot Woot! ...But unfortunately, we have more questions to be answered.

(Church is exhausting! And that outfit is to die for!) :)

I debated on whether or not to write about all of this, we want to let everyone know how things are going and this is our scrapbook... but we don't want to talk about the syndrome in question. If the time comes, when we know for sure, then there will be a discussion. But for now, we'd like to leave it in the hands of the doctors. And lets be honest, with the Internet and the name of any health issue, you can get A LOT of info, none of which would be specific to her. So for now it's better left unsaid.

With that said, I just want to end this post by saying how overwhelmingly grateful we are for our little girl! We love her SO much! (And who couldn't love that face?!) We are also very grateful that her little heart is healthy! It's an important part and we are ecstatic that it is in working order! :) Thank you for all of your love and support and prayers! THANK YOU! Really, really!