Rites of passage

Yes I'm back after a few months of rest! Our new little Wy-boy made it here in September. He is precious and my labor was uneventful. No kidding...two hours from the doctor's appointment we had the newest member of the Stinky Boys Club. Two pushes people!!!

We have seen some interesting moments this fall with the kiddos. K-man learned how to ride his bike and this week he has learned his 120th sight word. He is reading up a storm and does a great job sounding out words. He is a great big brother to J-Dub and keeps him occupied, even if the fussing drives us crazy at times.

J-Dub is a riot! He is onery for sure. His latest and greatest is being able to chew gum for at least thirty minutes without swallowing it. We have started potty training. Ugh! Not quite as successful to this point, but he is still pretty young. He has his moments, but he is so darn cute you can't help but smile. Elvis lived this Halloween through this little guy.

Wy-boy is growing, growing, growing and giving lots of smiles and coos to his Mama and Daddy. He weighs over 12 lbs now! WOW!!!! We only get up once at night and that makes Mama pretty happy. It sho does!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We are thankful for our family, for our freedom, and for the blessings the Lord has given us!

Swim lessons video....

I finally have included video of K-man at swim lessons. It was amazing how everything changed this summer for him with swimming. We had "Meet the Teacher" night tonight and his 1st grade teacher is Ms. Suffield. I think he is going to have a great year. It is hard to believe that he starts first grade on Thursday. He is not a baby anymore. The boys are doing great in their bunk beds. And, they really are enjoying playing with each other. Not sure how Wy-boy will get along with all the noise, but I guess he will manage. Not much longer....

It's Official....

I finished my last class last night!!!! WOO HOO!!!!

I am an official graduate of Oklahoma State University and have my Masters of Science in Educational Leadership Studies with a higher education emphasis! Woo...that's a mouthful.

Guess what this means???? I am officially going to start "reading for fun" again! Any suggestions on where I should start??? I don't think I know what I am going to do with myself over the next year....oh yeah....I am having a baby here in about six to seven weeks! Shah....no problem! The way I look at it is I have a year to clear my brain before the doctorate cohort starts in Fall 2010! Baby Shmaby...I'm superwoman!

PS Thank you to my wonderful husband, parents, and sister who supported me through this endeavor including: keeping the kids while I was in class, taking the kids away so I could work, holding down the homefires while I worked with group projects, etc. You get the picture. Couldn't have done it without 'em. Thanks family. I. Love. You.

PSS Thanks Jana for always letting me call you after class and chat while I drove home!!! Love you the most! :)

Summer 09

Summer tuition for camp....$500

Swim lessons....$25

Swim shirt.....$10

Your 6 year old finally jumping in with eyes open and swimming under water....PRICELESS!!!!

FINALLY!!!! K-man is loving to swim! Hopefully, I can get pics and video this weekend!

Peace out!

The Great Adventure Begins - K-man and J-Dub get bunk beds!

Yes. People. Your prayers were answered!

The bunk beds were constructed this weekend, the room was thoroughly rearranged and cleaned out, and the official beginning of what I have termed as "The Great Adventure" has begun. It began a little shaky in the construction department...

When Daddy and Papa started pulling all the pieces out to construct the beds, one of the headboards was broken. Never fear...Mama's here! I loaded it up and back to Mathis Brothers aka "Matches Brothers" as K-man likes to call it to replace the broken piece. Once I returned (with Sonic drinks for my men), the bottom bed was finished and Daddy had just about lost his patience of keeping the excited duo OUT of the room. Now Mama was home to put these excited lads to work. What better way than to use the new Spiderman sheets!

As Daddy and Papa continued their quest for the ultimate bunk bed building, the boys and I took out their new sheets and boy were they cool! Then, we put them in the washer because they were very stiff!!! ( I don't think K-man understood why we had to wash these, but he should be happy his Mama was raised right!!). Finally, I called my sister and she whisked the boys away for a playdate at Aunt Staci's while Mama and Mamaw did some major cleaning aka Operation Toy Sweep. We made it through the boys room and cleaned out J-Dub's old closet to get ready for Wy-boys new nursery. Of course, we did not complete our task in the nursery. But it is started and is a work in progress.

We picked the boys up from Aunt Staci's around 6:00 and K-man shot to his "new" room!!! This was the best bed/fort/clubhouse ever! And let me just tell you, J-Dub has no problem with that ladder. His favorite words right now is..."I climb." They spent the rest of the evening playing in their room. Here. is. the. good. part.

9:00pm Read books to the boys in the bottom bunk, pray, kisses, turn the light out, cross our fingers, and wait...

9:15pm Giggles abound while two little boys who play all day together discover the fine art of sharing a room, and we wait...

9:17pm K-man begins to get sleepy, J-Dub keeps saying, "Night Bubba!" and then proceeds to get out of bed (for the first time). Here we go.... Daddy puts J-Dub back in bed and comes back to the living room laughing. K-man tells his Daddy, "Dad, J-Dub keeps talking to me and making noises while I am trying to fall asleep." Eric tells him just to ignore him.

9:20pm We hear the pitter patter of little feet, Daddy looks at their doorway to see two bright blue eyes and a giant smile in the doorway of their room. Daddy gets up and J-Dub shoots back to bed!

9:30 K-man calls for Mama. I go in and he says J-Dubs crying. I sit by him on his bed and tell him it is time for night night. He rolls over and ten minutes later I am back in the living room watching t.v. with the hubby with two sleeping boys in their new bunkbeds!

1:30 am K-man is whimpering...he has to go to the bathroom and can't get down because we put up the ladder to keep J-Dub where he was supposed to be. I connect the ladder, help him down and check on little guy. He is not in his bed. I ask K-man where is Bubba. He tells me he went in the living room. I go in the living room and he is groggy with this fingers in this mouth. Pick him up, put him back to bed, all is well.

6:30am (No typo here!) I awake to a LOUD whisper..."Daddy, I am awake (because that's how it works you see....they go to Daddy's side of the bed! :) ) I open my eyes to Daddy's giggle of K-man and just a little lower right beside him....J-Dub. Now, Mama is smart...I told K-man to go turn on the t.v. and push 172 for Disney. That only lasted five minutes because I forgot to make the stinking chocolate milk!!! :)

Night #2
8:30 Read books, pray, kisses, yada yada yada, lights out

9:00 J-Dub falls asleep.

6:30am I wake the boys up to start the day.

Not bad for transition....

July 4th...

We had a relaxing 4th of July weekend! K-man spent the night with his cousin, Code-man, and J-Dub had a chance to visit for a little while. Little guy is still too little to get to spend the night at Aunt B's. He felt better after we told him we were going to get ice cream though.
Me: "J-Dub we are going to get ice cream. Just you....Bubba doesn't get to go."
J-Dub with fists pumped in the air and a sly grin, "YES!" Too funny that kid!

Nesting is upon us. I have officially decided it is time to get the house ready much to Eric's dismay. The honeydo lists hits the fridge tonite! :)

Too Good Not to Share

WARNING: If you're squimish about stories about poop...stop reading...but do note, it's not a graphic story.

Eric and the boys (aka Stinky Boys Club) met my father-in-law on Tuesday night to take their Grampa out for dinner for a belated Father's Day Celebration. Of course, in true K-man fashion, as soon as the dinner had been served, K-man had to go to the bathroom. (This is Eric's responsibility since society seems to think only Women's Bathroom can have changing stations, the tradeoff is once they are potty-trained, Eric takes them! See how that works.... :) ). Anyway...

Once they get into the bathroom, Eric asks K-man if he has to pee or poop. Of course, K-man has to poop. Eric said we were in there forever, I mean a looooonnngg time. Eric told K-man,

"K-man, you have to hurry. We haven't even been able to see Grampa very long cause we are in here. You need to do a "speedpoop"!" (I don't know...that's what he said.)

K-man looked at his Daddy and in his most serious voice said,

"Daddy, that's not my superpower! That's not the kind of superhero I am!" Eric threw his head back and laughed. K-man bathroom stories....always good for a good laugh. Happy weekend!

Caught you!

J-Dub wants to be just like his brother. This includes every activity that K-man does, J-Dub is fast on his heels. Currently, K-man is into writing stories and drawing pictures. Great for the mind and the creativity. One problem...K-man forgets to put up his markers and the attached photo is the result! J-Dub draws all over himself and in this case made the water grey when we washed off the "washable markers".

We will be moving little brother into big brother's room soon. First, we have to shift and remove all the stuff (to keep this g-rated!) that has accumulated in big brother's room over the years. K-man is pretty pumped about sleeping in the top bunk of the bunk beds. We shall see how this all goes. Pray for us people, bars are nice to keep J-Dub where he is supposed to be in the middle of the night. I am sure we will hear the pitter patter of little feet out of bed quite frequently.

I have made it through the dreaded intercession class! Thank goodness. It about killed us (collectively, the entire class). I have never been so glad to have something finished in my life. I am in the last 8 week stretch and then I will have completed all my coursework. Pray for me to make it through July 31st!!!!

We visited Aunt Jana in Dallas. It was too much fun! She took us swimming at her workout pool and a great dinner at Uncle Julios! Yummy! Their new house is awesome and the boys enjoyed playing football in the backyard (with their Dallas Cowboy footballs!). It is H-O-T, hot here! Swimming pools are in the future. Stay cool!

I'll pass on the sugar and the carbs...

I guess you can tell by the title that I pretty much have gestational diabetes. Oh joy...oh bliss! Diet and fingersticks here I come. As one of my best pals told me earlier this week, the silver lining is I won't have as much wait to lose once the little bambino gets here. That's good since I will be in my sister's wedding four weeks later! And that's all I have to say about that...

Commencement went well. We were in and out of there in no more than two hours! I don't know if you have ever had the opportuntity to see the hooding ceremony for doctoral candidates, but it is pretty impressive. Makes me want to jump right uo and go for my doctoral degree. Sure does....I will wait a bit though for my sanity!!!!

K-man is taking a trip this weekend with his grandparents to go see his cousins in Texas. Always a great time for the K-man and this time little cousin Code-man gets to go to!!! YIPPEE!!! Stayin' in a hotel and swimming...what more can two little boys ask for you say???? Two more Texas cousins to make the fun complete! J-Dub will miss his brother, but it will be good to have some time with little guy and mama and daddy. If only it wouldn't rain....

Here's a video of me walking across the stage. The sounds a little iffy...

EDIT: I can't get the video up from work. I guess I will add sometime over the weekend. Check back!

May Happenings!

I walk tomorrow folks! YES!!!! It's been a long road and I am not quite done with my coursework yet but will be on July 31st! YIPEE!!!! OSU doesn't have a summer graduation so all summer grads walk in the Spring. $53 for my cap and gown. I think I am going to find a week in August and wear it everyday to work. $10/day sounds more worth it than $26.50 an hour. Sheesh....

Things are busy here. K-man is finishing up Kindergarten and will attend a summer daycamp this summer that he is super pumped about. Sweet J-Dub talks more and more everyday. Let me tell you, this kid is hilarious! He cracks me up everyday! We are beginning to operate in the 'terrible twos' mode. Ummhmm, the No's have begun and the attitude to go with it. He has seen some movement on the potty training front and will go anytime you ask does he need to potty. He does not, however, know when he has to go. That is the next step.

Things are moving right along with baby #3. I had to take the glucose test early since I had gestational diabetes with J-Dub. No surprise here - I failed. Three hour test tomorrow. Not looking forward to that. Not. One. Bit. Oh well, we will roll with it.


J-Dub is really getting into praying at night with our family. K-man says the prayer and we all copy what he says. J-Dub gets the last word in while peeking through squinted eyes. I am trying to get it on videotape, but haven't been real successful to this point. The other night Eric and I were eating at the dinner table after the boys were finished. J-Dub pulled up in K-man's chair and was trying to convince us for a "bite". As we were talking I asked him if he could sing Jesus Loves Me with me and I started to sing. He folded his hands and closed his eyes through the whole song. Brought tears to this Mama's eyes. It sure did. Thank you God for the glimpse of you in his heart!

Have a great weekend everyone and don't forget your Mom's!

Introducing the newest addition...

To the S.B.C. Fraternity (aka the Stinky Boys Club)....

Founding Father: Daddy Eric (1972)

Brotherhood: Caleb (2003)

Jack (2007)

Pledge: Wyatt Scott (anticipated initiation 9/09)

House Queen: Kristi!

Brothers...

Boy do these boys like to play! It is so fun to see them enjoy each other. J-Dub is K-man's shadow and chases after him, sometimes to K-man's dismay. We just tell him that he wants to be just like you and that seems to ease the torment...sometimes!!! It has been very tiring over the last few months keeping up with them!

J-Dub has decided he likes to sit on the potty right before bath time. He doesn't do anything mind you, but he wants to be like Bubba. Great! One step closer! Potty training...here we come soon! K-man has learned to play a new game in PE where he gets to take his shoes off. He calls it "MOGA". Say it with me people. "Yoga". His "moga" skills are great and he enjoys showing you the mountian, tree, pretzel, and downward dog poses. Impressive if I do say so myself. Does it count if a six year old can stretch past his toes????

We have had crazy weather here. Snowing one day and 60's the next. It does wonders for those of us suffering from allergies. Hmpphhh! Enjoy the weekend!

New Addition

Consider this your official notification....

We are adding to our family! We are expecting another human arrival in September. Rest assured that this will be the last addition to the Eric Pendleton family in human form! Any other additions must be animals...perhaps a fish. (That's what K-man is wanting anyway!) I am 12 weeks today and am beginning to come out of the morning sickness fog. Praise the Lord!

K-man is super excited and is hoping that this baby will be a girl. I think Eric does too - one more boy may do him in. This week, J-Dub whacked his Daddy good with K-man's "King Peter" sword with the exclamation, "A-Haaaa!!!" Emphasis on the "Haaa!". We are having good times with these boys. I can't believe that my K-man will be 6 next week! And...reading so well! I am so proud of him and how hard he tries to sound out words.

J-Dub is talking more and more and though he still has moments where I have no idea what he said, his speech is becoming more and more clear as he attempts to speak grown up talk. I still think there are times that he tells us all off and we have no idea what he said. However, his tone and temperament lets you know. I think we are hitting the terrible two's with him so this summer and fall should be interesting! Pray for our sanity.

I will finish my master's degree this summer. WOO HOO!!!! I will be walking in commencement in May. Super excited. Everyone else may not be excited about the ceremony, but I worked too hard not to attend commencement activities. So, exciting times around this house. My parents have announced their retirement this week. I know they will be missed, but they are ready for this new time in their lives.

Have a great week! I will try to post more regularly in the future, but the girl's been busy ya know???? :)