Life with the Rodgers

New Blog

2011-05-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

Please visit my new blog at

www.lifewiththerodgers.com

First Family Day Trip

2011-04-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

Aaron has been gone a lot with work lately. We have missed him SO much! It has been so amazing to be a family this weekend for the first time in a while. Yesterday, we went on our first family outing to Northwest Arkansas as a family of Four. When Korben was a baby, we have memories of taking him up there for the day. Most memories are good, some memories are bad, but we laugh about them all now!

We woke up early yesterday (I had to WAKE up Klaire at 7:30 after sleeping ALL night-read previous post!), and headed to Fayetteville. We got there by 9:30 and did a little shopping at Old Navy, and then bought a wedding gift at Bed Bath and Beyond. Then we headed to Dillards to get Korben some shoes for Easter. We found the cutest little Sperry's that would look good with his dress pants for Easter but would also look cute with shorts all summer. After purchasing them and getting to the car, I started to change Klaire's diaper in the front seat, and Aaron put Korben and the stroller in the car. One of us (we honestly don't remember who...doesn't matter) put the Dillards sack on the ground and never put it in the car. This didn't dawn on us until 10:00 last night when we were unloading the car. We bough thought the other person put it in the car. That was the most sickening feeling to know that we just threw money down the drain! I really hoped that the mall security or Dillards would have it, but they didn't. I'm sure someone already returned them and used their store credit! Ughh, so sickening!

Other than that, we had a FANTASTIC day yesterday. After doing some shopping that morning, we went to eat at Kosmos greek cafe. It was so delicious! Korben couldn't wait to go to the restaurant (he thinks restaurants are so cool!), and was just pumped about our "day trip" in general!

Then I had a hair appointment. I had been greatly anticipating this because I was in despereate need of a change. I got a few inches off and some hilights and I feel so great. My hair is so bouncy and easy to fix right now. Definitely important to a busy mom of 2! Even though my hair appointment took almost 2 hours, it worked out great because it was nap time for the kids. Aaron just drove around and let the kiddos sleep in the car. He actually even drove to find the Duggar's house in Tonitown! Ha! When he came back to pick me up, we took Korben for a surprise at Bliss...a CUTE store of wonderful cupcakes! Korben's favorite things in the world! Fun, fun times!

We decided to head up to the Promenade in Rogers. It was a gorgeous and warm day and we knew it would be a great day to shop up there since it wasn't a Saturday. We let Korben play on their playground, and Klaire was just as thrilled as she could be doing everything with us! Aaron and I split up a few times, each taking a kid, and I really liked it! This one-on-one ratio is totally working for us! I don't know how parents do it with 3+ kids! I'm not even going to think about that yet, and just enjoy our one-on-one time for now!

We really had a phenomenal day, but it wasn't over! It was Parent's Night Out at our church, so we drove back and dropped our kids off at 6:45, just in time for the 7:15 showing of "Limitless." VERY interesting movie. We liked it a LOT! Then we picked up our babies from church. Korben had a great time (and GREAT report from his teachers, which always makes me happy) and Klaire was more than ready to see her bed! Korben slept until 7:30 this morning and Klaire slept until 8:30!

Our first family outing as 4 was a SUCCESS, and so good for this stay at home mommy's soul. (A stay at home mommy whose husband has been gone and has had a crying baby who has just happened to have recently gotten over a week's bout of rsv....Ha! Okay, to say I was grateful to get out for the day (and night with my husband) would be an understatement!

SLEEPING BEAUTY!

2011-04-09T18:03:00.001-07:00

This has been a HUGE, MONUMENTAL, and FANTASTIC week at our house! Overnight, Klaire went from being a "Colicky" baby who cried and cried before every nap and especially before bed time...to the PERFECT baby who goes down for naps in her bed without a peep, happy as she can be while she is awake, and willingly ready to go down for an ENTIRE NIGHT'S sleep. Do you see the contrast here? I've made no bones about these last three months being very tough, and then all of a sudden, its like a switch was flipped and she is a new baby.

Let me give you a play by play of my week.

Monday morning: Scheduled an appt. for that day with our doctor because I was so worried about letting her "cry it out" any longer in her bed. She was crying so much that I was convinced she had an ear infection. Doctor examined her and confirmed that she was probably just spoiled from being held so much the previous week when she was sick. He encouraged me to keep doing what I was doing and not worry about letting her cry in her bed if I knew all her needs were met and she was tired.

Tuesday: Posted as my facebook status "Dear Klaire, I know you really liked all the extra snuggling you got last week while you were sick, but you are all well now and you are going to have to sleep in your bed again. I wish I could hold you 24 hours a day, but it is just not possible. Please don't cry about it. It makes me cry too. I love you, Mom

Wednesday: She actually went down for naps in her bed without thinking the world was coming to an end! I still had to put her in the swing to get her to go to sleep that night because she was so fussy, but after her middle of the night feeding, she peacefully went back to sleep in her own bed for the rest of the night.

Thursday: Wakes up the happiest baby I've ever seen in my life. Cooing up a storm. Goes down for THREE naps that day without shedding a single tear. Put her down to bed at 6:30 p.m., she goes down without a peep. I'm pretty much thinking this was the greatest miracle ever, until she started crying at 7:30. Turns out she just needed to burp and went RIGHT back to sleep. THEN....THEN....THEN....I didn't hear a PEEP from her until 7:30 the next morning when I WOKE her up.

Friday (yesterday): First family "Day Trip." She was the Perfect BABY. Napped at all the right times, even though we were out and about. She was happy the entire day. As soon as we got home last night she went straight to bed and slept until 8:30 this morning.

THANK. YOU. JESUS.

You know, maybe it is worth having "hard" babies at the beginning because it sure makes it mean more when they get easier! She seems SO EASY right now! Who knows how long it will stay this way, and it could all change tonight...but I have to give credit where credit is due.

Interesting theory. No doubt that Klaire and Korben were "colicky babies" in every sense of the word. A lot of doctors talk about the 3 month colic. I was really discouraged 2 weeks ago when we passed Klaire's 3 month birthday and she was still having such a hard time most nights. Colic is supposed to peak at 2 months and resolve itself mostly by 3 months. Well, Klaire's resolved at 3 months and 2 weeks. Theory is...Klaire was born two weeks early. Could it have taken Klaire 2 extra weeks for the "3 month colic" to resolve itself since she was 2 weeks early? Something to ponder...Ha!

Sincerely,

A grateful mommy

3 Month Birthday-March 26th

2011-04-04T21:22:00.000-07:00

Look who is 3 months old! (I am keeping with my tradition of writing these posts 10 days late) I'm loving her St. Patrick's themed onesie for March. God bless Rudda Ward for these awesome monthly outfits! Wait until you see the 4 month one. It's adorable too!

(Everything you are about to read regarding her sleep, I wrote about 10 days ago...before she got sick last week and decided she didn't want to sleep in her bed anymore! I write more about this at the end of this post! Hoping we will be back to the sleep schedule I wrote about by her 4 month post. )
This has been a big month for her. About 3 weeks ago, after some encouragement from some friends and my favorite book, I allowed Klaire to "cry it out" for a little while in her bed at night to go to sleep. She was getting to where she wouldn't sleep unless I was holding her, and the habit had to be broken immediately. I was not getting any rest, and desperately needed some unattached time. I'm so glad I did that because it has made life so much better for me and for her too! She and I are much more rested, and I'm actually excited when I hear that she is awake because I'm eager to see her!

She has settled into a 3 naps a day schedule, with a fairly consistent bed time of around 7:30 or 8. She usually wakes up around 2:30 a.m. for a feeding an goes right back to sleep until morning. She only has small windows of happy/play time during the day before she gets tired. Right after I feed her, she usually has about 20 minutes of happy time before she starts to fuss. It basically goes: 20 minutes to feed a bottle, 20 minutes of playtime, and 20 minutes of winding down before she falls asleep for another nap (Give or take a few minutes on each). She is usually always back down for a nap within an hour and a half of waking up. Like I said, the windows of happy wakefulness are very small, but as we learned with Korben, they will get larger over time. I felt like all I was ever doing was putting Korben to sleep, but that was the key to having a happy baby for us, and once we got Korben's sleep rhythm down we were all happier. I feel like we are right on the brink of that with Klaire and it is so exciting. I'm honestly thrilled to have these past 3 months behind us. The best is what is going on right now, and what is yet to come.

Klaire weighed 14 lbs 15oz at her check up this month. (She weighed 14lbs. at her 2 month check up, so she basically gained 1 lb. this month). She is still in the 95th percentile for her weight, but what surprised me is that she was in the 95th percentie for her height! She had grown 1.75 inches in a month! Crazy! She was 25 and 3/4. Tall baby!

She is in a size 3 diaper now and wears 6 and 9 month clothes.

She has become so generous with her smiles! I seriously can't WAIT to look over her crib when you she wakes up and see a smile that lights up the whole room. I love to watch her smile at her Daddy and brother! Thrills my soul! However, I've yet to get a good picture of the smile I'm talking about. It ruins the moment for her when I pick up my phone or the camera. I'll catch it soon!

She LOVES to sit up in her bumbo seat and her rainforest jumperoo. She likes being able to see what is going on. She still likes her bouncy seat because she likes to look at the toys that hang over it, but she would much prefer to be in an upright position.

Her eyelashes are getting long and dark! They make her look even girlier and I love it. I can't tell what color her eyes are going to be. Sometimes I am just sure that they are going to be brown, and somedays they look like a greyish blue.

She changes and learns so much every day. She is starting to focus in on everything and is attempting to pick up toys. It is the cutest thing ever to watch her grab at things. Sometimes she successfully gets it in her hand and sometimes she misses. She just shakes all over with excitement when she sees a toy she likes. She tries to hold her own bottle and every time Korben sees her he yells "BayKlaire is holding her bottle...isn't that SO CUTE?"

Korben still calls her BayKlaire, but he has also picked up on her little nicknames we call her. I call her KlaireBear, Sister Bear, and Baby Girl the most and he calls her all of those things at random times too.

She was sick for the first time last week and it was horrible. It was some sort of viral sickness that caused fever, congestion and terrible cough. The doctor said her cough sounded just like RSV when he listened to her. However, it only lasted 6 days and RSV usually lasts 1-2 weeks. Either way, it wasn't fun at all. She is just now getting back to normal as far as wanting to drink her bottles again, but sleeping...well, that's a different story. I held her constantly or she slept in the swing and now she does not want to sleep in her bed. Desperately wanting to get back to the somewhat-schedule we had before she got sick!

I have no doubt that the sleeping thing will get better and better each day. What I can't emphasize enough about Month 3 is the joy that it has been to see her smile, begin to interact, and learn to play. It is just so fun that we can interact with her now, and we're starting to get to see her little personality come out. She is really the sweetest thing ever, and my heart is fluttering just typing about her. I could really just eat her up she is so sweet. I'm so in love. She is asleep right now in her swing, and I'm honestly excited about my middle of the night feeding because I look forward to seeing her! Although, I would be even MORE excited to see her if it was in the morning!

I'm going to TRY to blog more. Ha! Too much is going on to just do this once a month.

Korben Stories

2011-04-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

I'm so exhausted right now, and have no desire to blog...but for accountability purposes I'm going to write down a few things I want to make sure I don't forget to blog about. These things will jog my memory.

1. Bullskie and Spooky Spice

2. BayKlaire

3. "Our God is Greater."

These are three Korben stories. This boy is so special. I promise you, he could have his own reality show he is so funny. I could not be more proud of this little guy. Okay, Stories to come later...gotta go sleep while I can!

Dear 3 year old,

2011-03-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Korben,

I can not believe you are three. It seems like just yesterday that I found out I was pregnant with you, which was almost 4 years ago! Your daddy and I picked out your name years before you were born, when we were just dating. We dreamed about what "John Korben" would be like if God ever gave us a son, and I had dreamed of being a mommy since I was a little girl. I am so thankful that God gave you to us. You surpassed all dreams we could have had for what our son would be like. You have completely changed our lives in the best way. We love you with a kind of love we have never felt before, and you have caused us to be closer to God and to each other. You have helped teach me what really matters in this short life.

I feel so privileged to get to spend every day with you. There was a time that I didn't think I was going to get to be a stay at home mom, and God made it possible. I can not imagine if you had spent these past 3 years in a day care. The memories you and I have made together are priceless.

I have no idea how old you will be when you will read this, but I think you may find it interesting at some point in your life what you were like as a brand new 3 year old. So, I'm going to fill you in.

One of the most exciting things I can say is that YOU ARE POTTY TRAINED! At 2.5 you starting going #2 on the potty, and all we have had to work on since is you telling me when you needed to go #1. You made up your mind about a month ago that you were completely ready to be in big boy underwear and you have hardly had an accident since. I'm just so proud of you! It is so nice to not have to buy you pull ups anymore and your big boy underwear are SO cute!

You transitioned to a big boy bed last July and you are still a great sleeper. This is another HUGE thing to a mommy. Knowing that you are potty trained and you can sleep in your own bed so happily makes me feel like we have accomplished two of the greatest tasks parents have to face with a toddler!

Your vocabulary is ridiculous. Even before you could walk, I felt like you could say any word. Now you speak in paragraphs. You wake up talking and you don't stop unless you are asleep. Every thought you have is vocalized and it is very loud! You want to talk to me about everything all day long. You want to be right by my side and ask every question you can think of. You are not that kid that run off to do your own thing, although you have learned a lot more independence since Klaire has arrived. You want to do what we are doing and join in our conversation about it. Most recently, you have watched us as we have watched the horrendous footage of the tsunami in Japan. You have asked questions about it and anytime we see any of the coverage on TV you talk about how sad it is that the people have lost their homes and cars in Japan. You also can articulate what you have learned in Sunday School at church. I loved hearing you tell me about Jonah and the Whale a few weeks ago, and about your lesson on giving. After receiving so many new toys for your birthday, your daddy asked you to pick out three old toys to give to kids who didn't have any toys. Then, you told me yesterday that your sunday school lesson was on giving and reminded me that you gave some of your toys to kids that don't have any toys. I'm so thankful that you were able to comprehend why we had you do that. This makes me so so proud.

Speaking of sunday school, you LOVE to go to church. You go on wednesday nights, sunday mornings and sunday nights. You love all of your teachers and friends. However, I'm not the type of mom that thinks my child can do nothing wrong. Oh no. You get very excited sometimes, and struggle with hitting. Your teachers always tell me that it is rarely in a mean way, it is just an "overly excited, linebacker sort of way." You know it is wrong, and when you give me an account of your time away from me you always give me an honest review of everything you did...the good, the bad, and the ugly. You admit the wrong things you did to us even when you know that there will be consequences. I'm so grateful that you haven't learned to lie yet. I pray you will always be honest with us, and we can keep communication lines open. Hopefully one day you will get the big picture, and realize that we love you no matter what and we discipline you because we love you. At this point, spankings don't seem to have NEAR the affect on you as "taking something away." In fact, the greatest punishment for you is to be sent to your room, away from us. You can not STAND isolation from people, even if you are sent to a room full of toys. I find that so interesting!

Your imagination is so wonderful. You still have Bullskie, your imaginary dog and talk about him all the time. There is not one prayer that you pray that Bullskie isn't prayed for. I would love to get inside your head and see what you are seeing sometime! You love to cook us imaginary food. Our coffee table is your "kitchen", and you could serve us for hours! Its so adorable!

I haven't mentioned how sweet you are yet, but you really are the sweetest boy. You have so much love for others. You love to pray for all of those that you love, and you never seem to leave ANYONE out! You have a really great memory! You learn lyrics and words to books so easily. Your favorite song is "Our God" by Chris Tomlin (you call it "Our God is Greater"). You want to hear it every single time we get in the car, and of course, I always play it for you. The theology is on point, and I want those words to be written on your heart. Hearing you sing the lyrics is the greatest sound on earth. Worship in its purest form. Oh, how wonderful will that day be when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior...that will be the greatest decision of your whole life!

Ever since I've had Klaire, I've noticed that you have become a BIG snuggler with me. Anytime I'm not holding her, you take every opportunity to be close to me, and I LOVE IT! You will often ask me while sitting next to me, "Mom, you got lipstick on?" And if I say no, you will just plant the biggest kiss on my lips!"

Speaking of Klaire, you are a wonderful big brother. You usually refer to her as "your" baby most of the time, but sometimes you will call her "our" baby. Ha! I recently told you about a friend of mine that had a baby in her belly and I mentioned the name of the new baby. You said, "I just want OUR baby." You are very possessive of her, but also very proud. You want everyone to see her. You love for your "friends" to get to see her. I love how you say her name. You rarely call her Klaire, she is "Baby Klaire", but you say it so fast, it really sounds more like "BayKlaire." I will be sad one day when she is no longer "Bayklaire." You love to make her smile. She has just now started connecting with us and smiling. I can tell that you are going to be her favorite person in the world soon. How wonderful it will be to see her reciprocate all the love that you have been giving her for months.

I think you are the most handsome boy I've ever seen in my life. Your red hair is still so beautiful, and your blue eyes melt my heart. When you were a baby, your daddy and I did everything but stand on our heads (well, we probably did that too) just to see you smile. Your smile still lights up our life. Anytime I'm away from you for any amount of time, seeing your smile from across the room is the greatest feeling in the world. I'm SO proud you are mine. Hear that, Korben. I'm SO PROUD that I get to call YOU, "MY SON." To say you are special is an understatement. There is NO ONE like you, and your daddy and I will love you unconditionally for the rest of our lives!

Happy 3rd Birthday, sweet boy!

I love you!

Mommy

Family Pics

2011-03-11T18:20:00.000-08:00

The fabulous Leigh Ann Hasley took family pictures of us on February 26th. Klaire was fussy that day, but you would have never known it! Leigh Ann got some fabulous pictures of our babies and we are so grateful! I can't believe she has photographed Korben since he was 2 months old, and now he is 3 already! I like to have photo sessions with Leigh Ann just to get to hang out with her! The hardest part is just deciding what pictures to order. Here are a few of our favorites.

Two Month Birthday-February 26th

2011-03-09T11:24:00.000-08:00

Klaire turned two months old on February 26th. I guess I am destined to write her "birthday" blogs at least 10 days late. Good thing I still remember what she was like during the second month of her life so I can blog about it!

Month two was tough. She was diagnosed with reflux and was put on zantac...just like Korben at her age. She seemed to have a sensitivity to dairy through my breastmilk, just like Korben. We switched to formula, just like we did with Korben. And had countless fussy nights...just like Korben. It was a very discouraging time, and is already almost a blur. Survival was my key word. My key phrase was "it's just a season." However, by her two month birthday things seemed to get a little bit better and our first Sunday back at church was February 27th. I didn't think we would ever make it out the door that morning, but we did...and it helped restore my soul to be back with the Body. I LOVE my church, and I'm so grateful that there are people here love my babies.

Here she is in the nursery for the first time with her personal bodyguard (or maybe she should be called the "Babyguard"), Linda Cain. We love you, Linda!

The thing that made month two so rewarding was her beginning to SMILE. Maybe there is a reason that babies don't come straight from the womb smiling. Maybe God knows that after two months of sleepless nights and hearing a baby cry that your baby's smile will be the sweetest sight for tired eyes. It makes ALL the difference. I'm not talking about the smiles that newborns do that people say are from gas (which I don't believe at all...how can gas make babies cry and smile?). I'm talking about the kind of smile where you talk to them, and they lock eyes with you and smile like you are the greatest thing in the world. LIFE changing!

I took her to the doctor just a couple days after she turned 2 months and she weighed 14 lbs. and measured 24 inches. That put her in the 95 percentile for weight and the 87th for height. Thriving baby girl. She completely graduated out of all of her 3 month clothes and wears nothing but 6 month clothes. She has also been in a size 2 diaper for at least the past 3 weeks, and I feel like she will be in a 3 in no time. I honestly don't feel like Klaire has ever been a tiny baby. I feel like I've been talking about how big she was since the day she was born. (Klaire, if you are reading this at 16 please don't think your Momma is calling you fat...you were just a BEAUTIFUL, healthy baby! Perfect in every way!)

Her monthly pictures REALLY showed how much she grew this month. Compare the difference yourself!

Other than her apparent growth, one of the biggest differences to me was the skin color change. She has almost completely lost her jaundice skin color. On the day I took her pictures, all I got was a grin, but it still completely melts my heart!

I'm already looking forward to writing my 3 month post because some exciting things have been happening lately! I'll give you a hint *more smiling, more sleeping, less crying* and *THE BUMBO SEAT!*

1 Month Birthday- January 26th

2011-02-10T11:36:00.000-08:00

I am over two weeks late on this post and so much has changed since Klaire's one month birthday. I'm going to try to remember everything I would have written if I would have actually written it on time!

First of all, Happy 1 Month Birthday to my baby girl! My sweet friend from church, Rudda Ward, has offered to make Klaire a new onesie every month for her first year. Isn't that SWEET? I thought this one was adorable. I'm looking forward to seeing the one for February. I am making a commitment to take her picture on every one of her "month birthdays" and blog about her. This month, I even took her to the doctor for a weight check JUST so I could blog about it!

On Klaire's one month birthday she weighed 11 lbs 3 oz and was 21 1/2 inches. The weeks before Klaire's one month birthday had gotten really hard. She was fussing after every feeding, and I could seem to do nothing to console her. Looking back, I can hardly remember those weeks because I was so stressed out. There are few things more stressful than hearing a baby cry (A LOT) and not being able to do anything about it. Everything was going through my head...is this colic? reflux? intolerance to breastmilk? is she not getting enough? is she getting too much? is she just really tired? is this gas pains? After talking this over with my mom, Linda Cain, and the nurse, I decided (on her one month birthday, exactly) to start pumping my breastmilk and bottle feeding her. I had come to the conclusion that she was having gas pains after her feedings and I thought that may have been because I had a really fast milk flow and she was gulping in too much air. I hoped that with a "slow flow" bottle we'd have more control over that issue and it may help her. It totally did! She was practically a new baby by the next day. I was so thankful I didn't have to switch her to formula and her fussiness could be cured by something so simple.

The switch came at a great time because the next day we were planning to go home and visit family. I had been really stressed up until that point about going home because she had been so unhappy. I was imagining that no one would get to hold her and I would spend most of our time in another room nursing her or trying to calm her down. Not so at all! She was the sweetest baby. Everyone had a turn at bottle feeding her, and got to hold a calm, relaxed baby! I was so grateful that her tummy troubles seemed to be better! I said a hundred times while visiting with my family that this was the first time I felt like I could really ENJOY her. I really did enjoy her, and by the time I came back home a week later, she and I had a whole new bond.

When I returned home, a week ago, I attempted to add dairy products to my diet. Up until this point, I had not eaten anything with dairy in fear that she would have the problems that Korben had. I'm not convinced by any means that she is "lactose intolerant" but I definitely noticed a difference with her fussiness level and she had some very nasty diapers that the nurse told me meant "dairy sensitivity." So, I am once again off of dairy products. This is not very easy, but worth it to keep her happy. Food is difficult for me right now. I'm back on Weight Watchers. My favorite foods when I lost so much weight with weight watchers last time were foods that involved dairy. Also, weight watchers is all about HIGH FIBER. That is fine with me, my stomach can handle high fiber. However, I can really tell after eating a lot of certain vegetables that Klaire's tummy can't handle it very well. I can't win for losing! I hate that the healthier the food, the harder it is probably going to be on her tummy! I desperately want to lose weight, but breast feeding makes me SO hungry and it is tough choosing the "right" foods without eating TOO much fiber. Difficult balance.

The past few days have just been wonderful with her! She is starting to smile a little bit and even make some sweet cooing noises. I love that she will actually allow me to put her down for little periods of time (2 weeks ago, I couldn't put her down without her crying) so I can play with her. She will sit in her bouncy seat and fall asleep in the middle of our commotion sometimes, and I think she is even starting to like her swing. It is getting easier!

She is beginning to like baths! The last bath I gave her she didn't cry at all, which I took to mean that SHE LOVED IT!

She fits perfectly in all of her 3 month clothes. I know this means that 3-6 month clothes will be next. I can't believe that! She never even really fit in her newborn clothes! She still fits in a size 1 diaper. And speaking of diapers, I think we go through at least 15 a day. Praise the Lord for people who have given us diapers and wipes.

Here are the pictures I took of her on her one month birthday. I don't feel like they are very good because I know how much cuter she is in real life. However, all of these were taken when she was still incredibly fussy when I put her down and I am choosing to post the only pictures I managed to take without her screaming her head off. I'm hoping we can get some better ones on her two month birthday!

Kicked it up a notch

2011-01-18T11:10:00.000-08:00

This time last week, Klaire had her two week check up with Dr. Beene. She weighed 9 lbs 9 ounces, and was 21 1/2 inches long. Dr. Beene said that she is usually happy to see a baby completely regain their birthweight by two weeks, and she had clearly surpassed her 8 lbs. 15 ounces! That was encouraging. And to think, she had grown an inch and a quarter too! That was a whole week ago, and as much eating as she has been doing, I would LOVE to know what she weighed and measured today!

Klaire has "kicked it up a notch." One of my concerns I voiced with Dr. Beene last week was that Klaire seemed a little "too good." I had to wake her for almost every feeding because I didn't want her to go too long without eating (I only did this because I was still worried about the jaundice not being out of her system). She hardly ever even cried. Dr. Beene assured me that she was just fine, and she would eat when she was hungry. I backed off a little bit and by the weekend she was definitely letting me know when she was hungry. Now, a week later, she is waking up in the night every two hours to eat, and is actually very hard to soothe to get back to sleep. So, I would say that our easy baby has "livened up" a bit, but that is just fine! Now I know she is real!

I think she may have her days and nights mixed up. Her longest stretches of sleep are currently in the day time. She is so peaceful and calm during the day. And starting around 8 at night, she gets gassy, fussy, and never really seems completely relaxed until around 5 or 6 the next morning. She does eventually go to sleep, but not for long stretches. I know this is just a season. I'm trying to enjoy every moment. She really is the sweetest little thing though. Her eyes are open so much more and I melt when I feel like she is really looking at me. I'm just so glad she is HERE! Can I just say how much I DON'T MISS BEING PREGNANT AT ALL? Give me sleepless nights with a crying baby, I don't care...I'm just glad to not have her inside me anymore! I'd much rather look at my baby's sweet little face any day. My favorite moments are seeing her smile after she is done eating. That gives me an energy rush even in the sleepiest of times!

Speaking of heights and weights earlier, I happened to find the little card that was inside Korben's bed at the hospital with all of his birth measurements on it. I thought I would compare it with Klaire's.

They were both born at 38 weeks:

John "Korben" Rodgers
Birthday 3/10/08
Time 11:59 p.m.
Weight 8-3
Length 21 1/2
Head 13
Chest 13 1/2

Adalyn "Klaire" Rodgers
Birthday 12/26/10
Time 9:04 a.m.
Weight 8-15
Length 20 1/4
Head 13 1/2
Chest 14 1/2

So, other than length, Klaire was a little bigger than him in every way! Surprising to me! It will be interesting to compare their growth with each other at each month's birthday. It is so hard to believe that our girl will be one month old a week from tomorrow! I know that this first year of her life will FLY by. That is why I don't care that she has "kicked it up a notch." I treasure this time with my precious daughter. Korben has proven to me that our babies grow up too fast!

My two children

2011-01-13T18:05:00.000-08:00

I've survived a week having two children at home with me. (Side note- I still can't believe the words "children" and "kids" apply to me. How can I be old enough to have KIDS?) To be honest, it has been nothing like I expected...it has been MUCH, MUCH better! I have to give credit to my two sweet kiddos. First of all, Korben is in love with her, and has blown me away with his maturity and patience. And Klaire, has been the easiest, most laid-back baby ever. I know that any of these things could change in an instant, but for now, I'm just grateful.

After Klaire was admitted to the hospital for her jaundice, Korben went back home with my mom for 3 nights. Aaron met my mom in Clarksville on Tuesday afternoon and brought him back home so we could finally be a family of four! I was so excited and yet so nervous for him to get home. I will never forget what he said when he walked in the house. I greeted him at the garage door. He hugged and kissed me, then quickly asked where Baby Klaire was. I told him she was in the living room in her bouncy seat. He walked right up to her and said "Hey Baby Klaire!" "Mom, her jammies are SO ADORABLE!" and put his hands over his mouth and giggled! We have had countless more moments like this. He says that her outfits are "gorgeous", and mimics everything I ever say to her. Such as "Hey, pretty girl" or "Klaire Bear". I was warned of him being jealous of her, but I genuinely feel like Korben and I are on the same team and we are bonded through equal love for her! He even wants to help me change every diaper. Honestly, he has been a GREAT help to me. He goes and gets diapers and wipes, throws things away for me, gets pacifiers and blankets, and even throws dirty things in the washer. He is my right hand man, and I can't wait to tell Klaire one day what a fabulous big brother she has (Well, she will probably already know that!).

A wise friend of mine with three children gave me some great advice. She told me that she has taught her kids that when she is in her chair in her bedroom nursing the baby that the two older children can come in there, but they can't bring toys in there or play. We taught Korben that rule the very first day I was home alone with them all day, and it has been monumental to us! When the door is open to my bedroom, from my chair I can practically see everything in the house. When I'm feeding Klaire, Korben knows he can come in and talk to me, but he completely understands that toys have to be dropped at the door. This has been such a simple blessing to not have to monitor or worry about spider man flying at my daughter's head.

When Aaron left for work one morning last week, Klaire starting crying shortly after because it was time for a feeding. Korben said "She wants her daddy." I thought it was so sweet! To be completely accurate, he said "He wants his daddy in reference to Klaire. He still calls her a He most of the time, although he knows she is a girl! He is working on getting the right pronouns!

One thing that has blown my mind about Korben is that when we told him we were going to have a baby back in May, he didn't understand anything. He was two years and two months at the time. As the pregnancy progressed, he understood a little more, and REALLY seemed to understand at the end of my pregnancy. Now he is two months away from being three, and I feel like there is nothing he doesn't understand. He is so smart. I feel like I'm talking to a six or seven year old most of the time. I can't imagine how I'm going to feel when he actually is six or seven! Ahhh...when did my baby grow up? I could cry thinking about how big Korben is. Everything about him looks huge to me now. When I hug him (I can hardly pick him up by the way...40 lbs,I think!), all I can think of is how "solid" he feels! When I look at his eyes, I seriously think "His eyes are so big." And his eyelashes are SO LONG! And don't get me started on how big his bottom looks when I change his pull-up! Holy Moly! All of these thoughts I have after only 3 weeks of tiny Klaire in my life. Wow, did she ever put things in perspective.

I love when he takes her hand and makes her wave. He most always says "Hey Big Brother" for her. I can't wait until she can reciprocate the love that he is constantly giving to her.

I apologize if this is poorly written. I am grateful for any spare moment I have to jot down memories and I don't have time to proofread. I also don't have time to attach pictures. Terrible, I know. I will do that soon. Just glad to get these random little stories typed out so they don't escape my brain.

Klaire is HERE! (Birth Story)

2010-12-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

We celebrated a fabulous Christmas Day at our house with Don, Julie and Dustin. I went to bed around 10 p.m. while they were still playing a game in the living room. I eventually ended up on the couch around 1 or 2 in the morning (A nightly routine for me!). I woke up at 3:30 and it felt like the blanket beneath me was wet. I thought, surely I didn't just "wet myself." I got up, went to the toilet, and a huge clot of blood fell in the toilet. I yelled to Aaron, "AARON, IT'S TIME!" At that point, I wasn't sure what had just happened, but I knew we needed to go to the hospital. Was this the Mucus Plug I had heard about? Surely I was about to go into labor, right? So, we excitedly flipped on the lights and started getting ready. I jumped in the shower, and he called his parents at the hotel to come over and stay with Korben. I was so excited. I just kept saying "GOD is SO GOOD. I'm not stressed at all! My bag is packed! Your parents are here! This is so great!" Aaron was just as excited, but a little stunned at the same time. While I was trying to put my clothes on, he stopped me, held my hands and prayed over us and Klaire. I could hardly wait for Don and Julie to get there so we could hop in the car to go to the hospital. When they arrived they had big smiles on their faces, greeted us with hugs, and Don was video taping the whole experience! Since they would need our car with the car seat for Korben, they kept their warm car running in the driveway for us to take to the hospital. Aaron excitedly rolled our suitcase right over one of our new landscaping lights in our flower bed and ripped it right up on the sidewalk. It was one of those "moments" I'll never forget!

We arrived at the hospital a little after 4. I kept thinking to myself. "Was that a contraction?" Although, I didn't really think I was having any. A nurse came in and checked me and to my MAJOR surprise said that my cervix was completely closed. I said, "like, a ZERO?" She said "yes." This shocked me since Dr. Torres had told me two weeks ago that I was already dilated to a 1. She said my water had not broken. The blood MAY or MAY not have been my mucus plug, but either way, that didn't mean I was going into labor. I was SO bummed! Even though it was only 5 days before my scheduled c-section, just the hope for a few minutes of getting to meet her early thrilled my soul. I mean, there we were with a suitcase full of every necessity, and my Boppy nursing pillow! The nurses watched to see if I was having any contractions on a monitor for an hour, and although they said I wasn't having any contractions, they wanted me to wait and see Dr. Torres when he came at 7:30. It was around 5 a.m. at this time, and that seemed like a long time to wait. Considering, he was probably just going to say the same thing the nurses said and send me home until Friday, right? So, I drift off to sleep and start thinking of all I need to do at home in preparation for my sister and mom arriving on Tuesday. Apparently I was taking a really great nap because when Dr. Torres flipped on the light at 7:30, it took my eyes a while to adjust. In fact, he had already checked me and told me that he wanted to go ahead and take the baby before my eyes had been able to adjust to the light. Did you hear that? He wanted to go ahead and do the C-section...like NOW! It was one of the most exciting moments of my life. I had been on such a roller coaster that night. Here I was convinced I was going into labor, then convinced that I was going to have to go home, and then my doctor CONFIRMED that I was going to have this bay...NOW. He did not think that the bleeding was from my mucus plug, and couldn't explain why I was having the bleeding at all. He said that he would not be able to sleep if he sent me home with bleeding. I guess I will never know what caused that bleeding, but I'm just so thankful I was as far along as I was, and we had the option to be able to just go ahead with the c-section.

So, let me tell you the story of the easiest c-section of all time. Other than the fact that I was VERY dehydrated (thanks to the stomach virus 4 days prior) and it took 4 people, 5 sticks, and lots of blood all over the floor before they found a vein for my IV...it was the best experience ever. The nurse anesthetist was absolutely phenomenal. She was the one who not only found my vein, but the one I give the credit to for making my c-section so pleasant. Aaron and I walked to the operating room. They asked what type of music I liked for them to set on Pandora Radio. First I said Christian and then I said Christmas. Then I said, well, they're practically the same thing! I remember hearing Mariah Carey singing "Hark the Herald Angels sing, Glory to the Newborn King" as they were prepping me for surgery! There were candles lit, there was pretty art on the ceiling, and a room full of friendly nurses. The spinal block was not bad at all, and worked instantly. I kept saying my favorite thing about my legs going numb is that my feet were no longer cold. I was very cold, but my nurse anesthetist let me have my own heater that I got to put under the arms of my gown. It was so wonderful! She stayed right above my head and told me everything that was going on and medically explained every weird feeling that I felt. I'm a nerd for medical information, so I loved it. I think we were quoting Christmas favorite Christmas movies around the time I interjected and told the staff that there was a lot of money on the table based on whether Klaire would have red hair or not. Aaron and I both said we didn't think she would have red hair. It was hardly a minute later that Dr. Torres said that the hair was dark and there was a lot of it. They had to use some sort of suction cups to get her head out. Her head was very far into the birth canal, which was very evident once we saw her cone shaped head. They had a very hard time getting the suction cups on her head because of her head full of hair! Then the next thing I remember is Dr. Torres saying, "She is a CHUNK...I didn't think she would be this big!" Then I heard nurses echoing, "She ISSS a Chunk." Haha! They pulled the sheet down so we could see them pull her out. I couldn't believe how big she was either! I even heard a nurse say "She's a beast!" when they were cleaning her up. They were taking bets on how much she would weigh and their guesses ranged from 8 and a half to 9 lbs. Turns out, she weighed one ounce away from 9 pounds! She was 8 lbs. 15 oz, and 20.25 inches...TWO weeks early! I guess I'm just meant to have my big babies two weeks early. Can't imagine carrying Korben or Klaire full term!

They cleaned her up a little bit and put her on my chest. I was in love. She was absolutely beautiful. I just remember her staring right into my eyes. Her chubby face melted my heart, and the first thing I told Aaron was that her chin reminded me of my dad. He totally agreed.

Aaron was able to carry her to the nursery. Of course, not without seeing Linda Cain on the way (For the record, Linda Cain made it so quickly that I saw her as I was walking TO surgery). Everything happened so fast that our family wasn't even there yet. Mom was on her way, and Don and Julie had taken Korben to the hotel with them to get ready.

I was in recovery for an hour and a half or so. I had a hard time resting in there. My face ITCHED terribly from the spinal block. They gave me medicine for it, but nothing seemed to make it stop! Even after two doses of benadryl, I couldn't sleep and my face still itched!

It wasn't long until I was in my room. And I hardly had to wait long at all before the brought in my BEAUTIFUL little girl. I will never forget that swaddled up baby with the bright open eyes, and beautiful spiky dark hair. She didn't look at all like I imagined, but I couldn't even remember what I HAD imagined once I saw her. Just perfection. I nursed her for the first time, and although I don't remember it at all, I remember that she was a natural!

I tried to make a huge effort to never forget what Korben said to Klaire for the first time. I also tried to make a huge effort to give Korben a lot of attention when he came in. I couldn't stand for him to think I was neglecting him for my new baby. I had him come get in bed with me and I hugged and kissed him a lot! He said, "Hi Baby Klaire" and "Baby Klaire's not in your tummy anymore!" . Then he pointed out that the duckies on her blanket were yellow and blue, just like his shirt! It was so funny. He also had a BIG TIME telling all the nurses what he got for Christmas. When anyone asked, he said he got a BIG BLACK DOG named BULLSKIE! Of all the awesome things Korben actually did get for Christmas, and he still went with his imaginary dog!

The rest of my hospital stay had its ups and downs. The ups were seeing our family and so many sweet friends. The downs were the lack of rest! I seriously had to be discharged before I got any sleep! My adrenaline was so high the day I had her, I got no rest. My first night in the hospital I was either feeding her, being awoken by LPN's to check vitals, or my favorite interruption...my 2 a.m. shower! That is right...they woke me up at 2 a.m. to walk for the first time and have my shower for the day. I am the type of person that can't JUST take a shower and go back to bed. A shower means: Shower, dry hair, straighten hair, put on clothes, and make up. So that is what I did. By 3:30 a.m. I was dressed for the day and back in bed...JUST in time for a feeding! Awesome. Aaron played my guard dog that day, and I was able to get good naps in between feedings. That night got a little stressful for me. Klaire, who had been perfectly happy and content, became very fussy. She would cry everytimee I fed her and seemed very restless. I had an incredible nurse named Gina who helped me tremendously. She was wise enough to know that Klaire was just getting hungry because my milk had not come in yet. She just encouraged me to keep nursing her because that would only make my milk come in faster. She also taught me several tricks to help soothe her. Gina was a life-saver to me on Monday night and Tuesday night. By FAR the best nurse I had.

We left to go home on Wednesday. The Pediatrician came in and said that her Billirubin (Jaundice) levels were at a 14, but he thought they had reached their peak and would only come down. I had a gut instinct that he was wrong because of our experience with Korben. Korben's billirubin didn't peak until his 6th day of life, and we had already gone home from the hospital with him too. So again in this instance, we happily went home. But,I should have known we would end up back in the hospital for 2 nights.

My milk had come in by Wednesday and Klaire was a new baby. Content and happy! I woke her every 3 hours for a feeding. Our first night home from the hospital was a total breeze with Klaire. I woke her up, she ate, and peacefully went back to sleep. Piece of cake. However, around 3 a.m. I noticed that I had started to break out in hives and the back of my throat was itching. It was obvious I was having an allergic reaction, and the only thing I could attribute it to was my pain medicine, Oxycodone. At the same time I was dealing with that reaction, I was also dealing with night sweats, chills, TERRIBLE stomach cramps from taking laxitives, combined with the pain of a c-section incision. This was a MISERABLE night, to say the least. Then, I only had one more normal night before my mom, Kim, Joyce and Guyndal came to Fort Smith to celebrate Christmas (Although, it wasn't really Christmas...it was New Years Eve, the day I was supposed to have Klaire!) Oh, most importantly, Mom and Kim were returning KORBEN! He had been at my mom's house all week, and it worked out so great that Kim was there too because they bonded tremendously. I'm so grateful for the great care and attention Korben received as I was recovering. I didn't worry about him at all while he was there. We even got to have several Skype dates with him while I was in the hospital! SO COOL! He loved seeing baby Klaire over the computer. He didn't like seeing her with a pacifier in her mouth. He would say, "Take that out of her mouth, I want to talk to her!" He thought she wasn't responding to him because I had her mouth plugged. Ha!

Like I said previously, My family came on Friday afternoon, New Years Eve, to celebrate Christmas. We were so happy to be reunited with Korben, although I probably wasn't as recovered as I thought I was. I got a little overwhelmed with trying to feed Klaire and trying to be there everytime Korben called. I felt guilty not doing whatever Korben wanted to do, even if I couldn't physically do it at the moment. I was determined for him to not feel like I had forgotten about him for the new baby.

The inevitable moment came where Korben was in my room and saw me nursing for the first time. I have been dreading this moment for months now. Conversation went like this.

Korben: Mom, She's drinking you!
Me: I'm feeding her some milk.
Korben: I want some.
Me: This is milk just for babies. You're not a baby you're a big boy
Korben: I'll go get her milk from the refrigerator. I drink blue (2%) she drinks pink (skim).
Me: No, Korben...Klaire only drinks her milk from my....Bbbb...bbb....BOTTLES. (Yes, I said bottles. I couldn't utter a proper term to save my life.)

When I put Korben to bed that night, after prayer time he asked me, "Is CC going to feed Baby Klaire from her Bottles?" Wow. I'm sure I'll have many more "bottle" stories to post in the future. It seemed to be the best explanation, and he hasn't asked anymore questions since!

The next morning, Klaire was incredibly lethargic. So lethargic that we physically couldn't wake her up for a feeding. We tried EVERYTHING. We knew her jaundice levels must have risen. After our doctor confirmed we needed to take her to the ER (New Years Day), so we quickily packed our bags and called mom to come over as fast as she could from the hotel (what a blessing, once again, to have family in town when we needed to get to the hopsital quickly.) Mom was there in a flash. We had a terribly long wait in the ER room. Klaire barely woke up even when they drew blood from her tiny hand. Her billirubin had gone up to 19. Of course, they admitted us to put her under lights. We were there for a full 48 hours. It turned out to be SUCH a blessing. First, because Klaire got so much better while she was there. But secondly, I was finally able to rest. It was a tiny room on the pediatric floor, and all I had to do was take care of her and sleep. Since I was no longer on the labor and delivery floor, it was no longer about me, therefore, they left me alone! The nurses hardly even came in, and it was great! Even though I was up all through the night for feedings, for some reason, it was still a restful experience.

We had saved Korben's gifts from the family for him to open that morning. Unfortunately we were in the ER so we didn't get to watch him open his presents. Thanks to my sweet family, we have tons of pictures and video footage to help us feel like we were actually a part of it! They took him right back home with him (after only being in fort smith for less than 24 hours).

He officially returned to us on Tuesday, and by that point, I felt like a brand new mom. Those extra nights of recovery were just what I needed to feel like I could be what Korben and Klaire needed. By Wednesday I was home all by myself with my two children for the first time. Mission Accomplished!

Adalyn Klaire's Room!

2010-12-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

What a week!

2010-10-16T18:38:00.000-07:00

On Monday, I took Korben to the doctor for a cough that has been lingering for over 6 weeks. It hasn't been terrible that whole time, but its never really gone away. Last weekend it got really bad again, and by Monday it was awful. Dr. Beene prescribed an inhaler, and said the cough was allergy related. I totally agreed. It doesn't sound anything like asthma. It is a very wet, productive sounding cough as opposed to a dry, wheezy cough. I was really expecting something to show up on the chest x-ray, and get a prescription for antibiotics. But to my surprise, the chest x-ray was clear. Sooooo, that means, the cough is the result of post-nasal drip. Which explains why it was the worst when he was sleeping. After two days of the inhaler, he was getting worse and not better. On Wednesday she prescribed a steroid to reduce the allergic reaction happening in his lungs. We are on day 4 of 5 of the steroid and he is just NOW better! She had me under the impression that he would be better by day 1 or 2, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. The steroid took my already hyper child and turned him into a circus act. He has been literally climbing the walls ever since he started the pills. He was already not sleeping well at night or napping before the steroid, so my exhaustion level was already sky high. Then, the steroids came and I thought I wasn't going to make it through the week. Not being able to leave the house is hard with a very, very energized 2 year old boy. He begged to go outside everyday, but since allergies are the culprit of this cough, that wasn't an option. Some days I thought that Korben felt like equivalent of 6 children. I used to say I wanted a dozen kids (It was those "cheaper by the dozen movies" Ha!), but now I'm thinking that if Klaire has anywhere near the energy of Korben, maybe two kids will just FEEL like 12 kids!

I was on the verge of breaking down yesterday afternoon. I hadn't left the house since Tuesday morning (I realize that is only 3.5 days, but these weren't normal days), and the lack of sleep was about to do me in. Thankfully, Aaron picked up on my desperation when he came home yesterday afternoon and swept Korben away for an afternoon/evening of indoor fun...chick fil a, the halloween store, the mall, and a movie! Not only was this a great time of rest for me, it was great memories for them! Aaron is officially the best husband and dad ever. Good thing he isn't anyone else's husband because I would covet him...Ha!

My morning was officially made this morning when Korben came in our room at 6:50 a.m.! I never would have dreamed I would be so thrilled to get up before 7 on a Saturday, but in context of our sleepless week, I was SO HAPPY to see that time on the clock! He was proud of himself too...He said "Its light outside! I feel all better! Go outside and play today?" That made my morning. Of course, we still shouldn't go outside, but he had a better day!

Aaron went to an early morning men's breakfast at church, then I went to a really fun baby shower luncheon (great fellowship for my soul...needed that!), then Aaron attended a funeral, and late in the afternoon we watched the Razorback game (recorded, so we could zip through the commercials)!

Aaron went for a run tonight and when he came back in he brought the mail. I guess the time has come in our lives again that we will receive TOY CATALOGS before Christmas! It was very nostalgic for Aaron and I to look through the toy catalogs with Korben. Is it just instinct for children to get how all this works? HOW MANY TIMES tonight did I hear "I need this one", "I like THIS one best", "Dad, get this for me?" Yes, he actually said "get this for me." Ahhh, the time has come ALREADY!
When it came time to read a book before bed, you'll never guess which "book" he requested...Oh yes, the "toy book!"

I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel! Korben is sleeping again, and his cough seems to be subsiding. However, we have got to get on a new allergy regimen. I'm pretty sure his body is immune to Zyrtec after a year of taking it. I'm praying for the right answers, even if that means we need to see an Allergist.

Everything with my little Klaire seems to be going well! Some days I feel more pregnant than others! Some days I feel like I could take on the world and tackle every errand and household chore, and some days I have aches and pains everywhere and feel like I am days away from labor! She kicks more and more all the time! It is hard to believe how big she is! From what I've read, she is probably already 15 inches long and 3 pounds. I just wish I could see her little face! I am DYING to meet her! Every day I try to picture what life is going to be like with her here. Sometimes it makes me really nervous and overwhelmed, and sometimes it makes me squeal because I'm so excited. The things I am most nervous about are: Being exhausted due to all night feedings, nursing (in general) with no help in that department, and most of all...not being the mom I want to be to Korben due to the first two things I've listed. In hindsight, the REALLY tough times with Korben didn't really last that long. By 4-6 months old he was on a GREAT schedule, and sleeping through the night. I will try to keep that in mind with Klaire, knowing that it won't last forever. My goal is to enjoy our middle of the night snuggle times, and realize this is just a short phase of her life. I pray God will give me the ability to thrive on even the littlest sleep, and still be a fun mommy to Korben.

Just for record keeping purposes, I must record here about my dream this past week. I dreamed that Klaire was kicking me very high and very hard, which is totally normal. And all of a sudden, her little toe nails came right out of my skin under my ribcage! The weirdest thing about this dream is that it wasn't weird at all! It was a charming, "aww, Klaire" moment. Now that makes it weird!

Random Korben Stories

2010-10-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

I've gotten really bad about blogging and really good about writing down a couple sentences a day on facebook when I have a funny story to tell. Here are a few things I've put on facebook lately about Korben.

Conversation between Korben and me:

Korben: Hey Mom, How are you?
Me: I'm Sleepy!
Korben: Don't be sad, be awesome like me!

Korben really loves to ask ANYONE "How are you?" these days! When they return the question, sometimes he says "I'm good!...but most of the he says,"I'm AWESOME!"

He woke up from his nap this past sunday and said "Hey Mom, Korben slept for two whole days!" I'm thinking, that was hardly an hour, and it felt like 2 whole minutes!

He still speaks 60% of the time in 3rd person! He is slowly, but steadily venturing into the world of saying "I." We are so used to it, but everyone who hears him talk thinks it is so funny.

The other day he was really struggling with staying in his bed for his nap. I said "Korben if you get up again, I'm going to spank you." Well, three minutes later he comes zooming out of his room with a "helicopter" he just made from his legos. I said, "Korben, now I'm going to have to spank you." He says "Okay...do it GENTLE, just pat my bottom like this" (*Motions a gentle tap-tap on his bottom*)

I could have died laughing.

There are multiple funny stories a day around here...I've got to start blogging more!

Bullskie

2010-10-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to write a Korben post for...OH...7 months or so. Today is the day. Something pretty monumental happened this week, and I figured I better type it out, or I may possibly forget it!

The Korben I wrote about back in March said lots of words. I would have ventured to say that my two year old Korben said every word! I've always thought he had a great vocabulary for his age. However, it is amazing what 7 months can do. Now he speaks sentences and can have a full-blown conversation with anyone. This makes life super fun!

One of my favorite things to do on our way home from church (whether that be sunday morning, sunday night, wednesday night, or MOPS meetings) is ask Korben what he learned, who he played with, etc. Well, the past few weeks on Sunday morning he has been telling me about a Diggity Dog movie that he watches at church. "Diggity Dog" is a character who teaches them Bible Stories on a video. Well, Around the same time he started watching Diggity Dog, he also started talking about someone/something named "Bullskie." I just figured Bullskie was another character from that video. He began to tell me often how funny Bullskie was. So, this past Tuesday, I saw our Preschool Minister while I was at our MOPS meeting, and asked her if there was another character on the Diggity Dog videos named Bullskie. I told her that Korben had been talking about him a whole lot! She had no idea what I was talking about, but she said she would look into it. Well, on the way home, I thought I would ask some deeper questions about this Bullskie character. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: Hey Korben...Tell me about Bullskie
Korben: Bullskie is SOOOO FUNNY!!!
Me: Really? Thats great! Where IS Bullskie?
Korben: In our backyard
Me: OH, Korben! You're talking about our neighbor's little white dog that we call "Bolt", right?
Korben: NO...Bulskie! He's a black dog!
Me: (A little freaked out) Can you show me Bullskie when we get home?
Korben: YES!!! Bullskie is SO FUNNY!

We get home, and I can not walk to the back door fast enough.

Me: Do you see him?
Korben: YES, THERE HE IS!

I'm REALLY freaking out at this point. There is NO dog to be found! Korben walks to the middle of the backyard and says

Korben: Bullskie, where are you? (pats his legs) Bullskie is not here anymore.

It hit me right then and there that Korben has an imaginary dog. Wow, I thought the day might come that Korben would have an imaginary friend, but I sure never pictured an imaginary dog at the age of two and a half!

I have tried to not "dig" about the Bullskie issue, as much as I would like to. I just let him tell me things when he wants to. In the past two days he has told me that he was building a Bullskie with his legos, and that Bullskie is a black dog, with white dots (i love that...dots, not spots), and has a long tail! But most of all, He just tells me how funny Bullskie is and dies laughing!

I couldn't wait to call Aaron and both of the Grandmas that day and tell them about this!

Playing catch up- The story of Klaire

2010-09-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe I haven't blogged in over 6 months. To say "so much has happened" would be such an understatement! I'm going to do my best to do a "catch-up" blog on one BIG aspect of our life.

The big news is that we found out we were pregnant with baby #2 on May 2nd (The night before my 26th birthday)! We were absolutely thrilled! Aaron had just given me my birthday present (A new camera! How appropriate with a new baby on the way!), and then I decided to take a pregnancy test. It was a digital test that just said "YES." It was the greatest feeling in the world, and that made for a birthday celebration I will never forget. We didn't get pregnant with baby #2 right off the bat, and I was nervous it may take us a long time. I am so grateful that God didn't make us wait too long. I guess he knew the suspense could have killed me! Ha! Even though in the grand scheme of things, it didn't take us very long to get pregnant, that time really taught me a lot about what my friends who deal with infertility face. I can see how easily it could captivate your every thought. I have a new compassion for my friends who struggle with infertility, while, I would never say I fully understand how hard it is.

On my birthday, many of my friends and family called me. It was SO HARD to hold in my exciting secret. We wanted to wait to be able to tell our families in person. The evening of my birthday I had stayed home from a church event because I was having really bad allergy problems. I went to the bathroom and noticed a lot of bleeding. I was devastated. I'd had 24 hours to believe I was pregnant, and now I was convinced I wasn't anymore. I thought I was having a miscarriage, and called Aaron in the middle of the church program to please come home. I talked to a doctor, talked with a few special prayer warrior friends, and prayed with Aaron. We tried to just leave it up to God. The next day I went in for blood work, and the doctor said the numbers still showed that I was pregnant. Two days later I went in for more blood work, and the numbers had almost tripled. That was a GREAT sign! I ended up having several more terrifying episodes of bleeding during my first trimester, and there was never a valid explanation from a doctor on why it was happening. Every time it happened though, I got to see my sweet little baby's heart beating on the ultrasound, and it was the greatest feeling in the world to know that God was still allowing that baby's heart to beat.

I am now 24...almost 25 weeks along, and I'm here to tell you that we have a growing, wonderful, healthy little GIRL! She will continue to be a miracle baby to me. All babies are miracles, but there were so many times I was convinced I was losing this baby and I begged God to save her. I know God is the reason for her every heart beat. I am so grateful.

We found out when I was 20 weeks pregnant that we were having a girl! It was SO hard to wait that long! We told our families that we were going for our big ultrasound on Monday, August 23rd, but we secretly moved up our appointment until Friday, August 20th. We wanted to be able to catch them off guard with the big news!

I was 99.9% sure we were going to have another boy. The funny thing about that is that the only name I felt like God had laid on my heart was for a girl. We knew we wanted to call her Klaire, and we probably wanted Klaire to be her middle name, just like Korben's. We never had a peace about a boy name. So we spent that entire week searching boy names so we could have a name picked out for him by the time of our ultrasound. We found a hand full of names that we liked that started with "N" and we shared them with Korben. Names like Noah, Noble, and Nolan. Korben instantly said "Korben likes Noble." No matter what name we told him after that he would just say over and over, "Korben likes Noble." We thought that was so cute...little did we know how much it would play into our God-story.

We took Korben with us for the ultrasound. Thankfully our ultrasound tech was kind enough to try to tell us the sex of the baby first. She seemed to search for what seemed like 5 full minutes, and after a lot of silence, she said "Well, I can't say that I am 100% sure if you are having a girl or not, but I don't see ANY boy parts." And I said, "I DON'T EITHER!" And Aaron said, "I DON'T EITHER." We had all just sat there in silence until that moment and then we all exploded in disbelief that this could possibly be a GIRL. Then we went through a 40 minute extensive ultrasound making sure everything about the baby looked healthy. Praise the Lord, everything looked great. That whole time, I was scared to get my mind set that it was a girl since she never was able to get a perfect look. Finally, right before we left, the baby had settled down a little and she got several clear shots. She said "I'm 100% sure now, you can buy pink!" My very favorite part of the ultrasound was when the tech was able to zoom in on her face. We got the clearest view of her little nose and big lips! She was beautiful! Aaron told me later on in the car that he had 100% peace after seeing her face that her name needed to be "Klaire." I wish we had a picture of the face we were able to see that day, but in 3 months we will get to see it in person! We do actually have a very short video clip of her clapping her hands! Is that not amazing? What a blessing to have a clip of her clapping her hands in the womb!

As soon as we got home we let Korben call all of the grandparents and tell them over the phone. Of course, they were completely caught off guard because they didn't think we were actually going for the ultrasound for 3 more days! He got on the phone and kept saying "Little Sister" over and over. They eventually got it!

Then, that night, we got to searching for a first name for little Klaire! After seriously considering about 10 names we found the name "Adalyn" on a list online. I read it to Aaron and said, "What do you think about Adalyn Klaire." He said that he loved it. He asked me what it meant, so I looked down at the meaning and about fell off the couch. The meaning of the name Adalyn is NOBLE. All I could hear was "Korben likes Noble, Korben likes Noble" in my head. We had total peace that God had helped us decide our daughter's first name with the help of our little boy! We also thought, what better thing to wish upon our daughter than to be noble and wise! Oh, how we need more noble women in this world! I would honestly pray for wisdom upon my daughter over any other quality. It was set. We called all our family members again the next day to announce the name! Then we shared our good news with our Grand Family at church the next day! What an exciting weekend!

As for now, I'm enjoying being pregnant! The first trimester I was really sick. I definitely felt worse this time around, but I feel great now. We have a scheduled c-section for December 31st (new years eve), bright and early in the morning. But who knows, Klaire could make her debut before that. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out...especially with the Christmas just the week before!

We are all so excited about this little girl! We just put her crib together this weekend. Her bedding is on it, and her curtains are hung. There is so much left to do in the room, but it definitely feels like a little girl's room when you walk in. Korben loves to go in there and say "It's SOOOO pretty." It melts my heart. When people ask Korben what he is going to do with Baby Klaire he says "Be nice and play toys." He also has deemed ANYTHING that he finds that is the color pink to be Baby Klaire's. For instance, one day he brought me the heavy gallon jug of skim milk and told me it was Baby Klaire's milk (just because the cap on it was pink)! If he sees a shape that is pink on a game, It is "Baby Klaire's rectangle, triangle, etc." He is just so sweet. I know he will be the best big brother.

Here are a few pictures leading up to this point:

The night we found out! We re-enacted our pictures from the night we found out we were pregnant with Korben!

We told our mom's on Mother's day! All we had to do was get Korben out of the car with his "I'm a big brother" t-shirt on!

This is the sweet little boy I had to wake up from a nap on August 20th, because it was time to see whether he was going to have a little brother or a little sister!

Here were are, in the waiting room before the ultrasound.

This picture is almost 5 weeks old, but it was the first belly shot I did, which was at the midway point (20 weeks).

Dear Blog.

2010-04-27T20:36:00.000-07:00

Dear Blog,

Please bear with me. I promise I will visit you soon. You are in my constant thoughts and prayers (okay, maybe not my prayers).

Yours truly,

Kristen

Simply Youth Ministry Conference- Chicago

2010-03-13T12:09:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to go with Aaron to his youth ministry conference this year. Aaron LOVES to soak in new information at these conferences, and always comes home from telling me all the fresh ideas he has learned. It was SUCH a joy to get to attend this conference with him, and talk about everything God was teaching us at the same time. Aaron and I went to some sessions together, but for some smaller sessions we went to different seminars that interested us. For instance, I went to a 2.5 hour seminar one day called "Raising your kids while in youth ministry." Oh my word, I was in a room with 100 women in my exact life situation. It was awesome. We had lots of small group discussions around our table, and it was so cool to see what all we had in common. We all had husbands in youth ministry and small children. We had SO much to talk about. I learned a WHOLE lot from some older women who were at my table. They will never know just how much they encouraged me! I really feel like God used them to speak some BIG words of truth to me that I needed to hear that week. I also went to a seminar on "Girls ministry and mentoring." I sometimes feel inadequate as a youth worker now that I'm so busy being a mom, but I was very encouraged through that seminar that even though I may be chasing Korben around at youth events, I can still mentor girls by taking advantage of every small moment to try to be a loving, godly influence on their lives. I could write a small book about everything God taught me and reminded me while at the Simply Youth Ministry conference in Chicago.

It wasn't just the conference that was awesome. Just getting away with my man was awesome! It was truly QUALITY time together! The sight-seeing in Chicago wasn't so bad either! It is actually one of the coolest places I have ever been. I love all "downtown" areas, but I have never been in a downtown that was quite this enormous and busy as well as beautiful, clean, and safe! If you go, you have to have Giordano's pizza. Of course, Chicago is known for their deep dish pizza. We tried the three biggest competitors, but Giordano s was so good that we had it two more times. Best pizza I have ever had!

We actually skipped out on our Sunday morning conference session and drove to visit Willow Creek church in Northern Chicago. Willow Creek is one of the largest churches in the nation, and it was educational in its own right to see how they operate there. We learned a lot from attending their worship service as well as the youth service that morning. Unforgettable experience.

And some more added perks for me were going to the gym in the morning, having unlimited hot water, and maid service. These are all silly things that I would have never cared about a few years ago, but I consider them all luxuries now. Ah, seasons of life!

Here are a few pictures!

Whether you agree with anything Oprah has to say or not, there is no denying that she is an American Icon. Her studio was in a convenient location, so I had to get a picture in front of the Harpo sign. Her show has been on the air as long as I've been alive. Crazy.

The "magnificent mile" at night. Truly magnificent. Endless stores that are several stories high. Christmas lights in the trees. Just magical!

Yes, we did attend the conference! :) There just weren't very many things to take pictures of while we were there!

Gotta be careful!

The coolest thing about downtown are the waterways that just go all through the middle of the city. I wish my pictures captured how beautiful all of this really was!

In Millenium Park

This is called "the cloud gate." It is an amazing architectural structure that is basically a big mirror of the city. I think I could have walked around it and stared at it for hours...maybe if it wasn't ridiculously cold!

Pretty little skating rink. Didn't skate. Too cold. Gotta keep on moving!

Millenium Park Amphitheater. Obama gave his acceptance speech somewhere out here.

The Field Museum. I've been a dinosaur lover (nerd) since I was a kid. This is "Sue" the largest, most complete, T-Rex in the world!

Me with my very favorite type of Dinosaur. The Brachiosaurus. They eat plants, not people!

On the steps of the Field Museum with part of the sky line behind us! So pretty!

Aaron insisted on taking this picture outside after we saw the Diamond exhibit at the Field Museum. Y'all, this was a very cold moment. I have never been so excited to get in the car away from the cold wind!

The trip was perfect. I got to enjoy being with the man God made for me, while enjoying His beautiful creation. In the meantime, the Lord taught us how to better minister to His people. Awesome.

The Birthday Boy's Big Day!

2010-03-13T11:47:00.001-08:00

My baby boy turned 2 last Wednesday! I have a zillion new stories I need to share, but for now I only have time to post pictures of his very special day. I will also post pictures soon of the birthday party he had last weekend when I can, but these are just pictures of "A day in the life with the birthday boy."

8:00 a.m. Woke up and played the drums (from Poppy) until Mom got breakfast ready!

8:30 Big breakfast and Birthday Cupcake #1

9:00 Played with tool set from Uncle Dustin and tent from Uncle John and Aunt Tommie Sue

9:30 Outside in the gorgeous weather! Played in the swing, wagon, and then went on a 1 hour stroll to see the horses down the street!

Compare the next two pictures! The first was taken on Korben's birthday last year when his friend Brayden came over.

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12:30 Completed lunch and Birthday Cupcake #2

5:00 After a 3 hour nap (must be a myth that sugar keeps you from sleeping), had dinner and the FINAL birthday cupcake!

5:30- All ready for church. Have to get our yearly (okay, well, I've only done it twice) picture with Geoffrey. Compare with the picture below. I don't know why the picture below is so small, but you can still tell just how much he has grown since his last birthday!

Check out Korben's awesome shirt from Mopppy. SO him!

He had the special privilege of practicing the drums with Adam at church! SO much fun for him!

Korben with "Binda" (Linda Cain), one of his favorite people in the whole world. She might as well be family!

Since he turned 2 that day, he promoted to the "play room" at church, and happily kissed "the baby room" good bye! You can see what a ball he had in there!

So, that concludes a day in the life of a 2 year old! Pictures from his birthday party to come!

Rambling facts and memories

2010-02-22T18:20:00.000-08:00

(Disclaimer: I am really sleepy, and I typed this without proofreading. Please have grace on my typos. I happened to be in the mood to "document" some things, so I though I better jump on it!)

Korben is just getting over a coughing/fever virus that resulted in double ear infections. This virus required two doctors visits, antibiotics and ear drops. We know everyone at cooper clinic all to well!

Just a week and a half before that Korben had strep throat. Of course, we all ended up catching it. This required doctors visits for Koben and me, as well as antibiotics for the whole family. Aaron's didn't get very bad because he caught it quickly with antibiotics. Mine was pretty ugly. Wish I could have taken a picture of the back of my throat. It could have been in a medical textbook

Of course 1-2 weeks before that we all had the stomach bug.

And a few weeks before that, Korben was on an antibiotic for a respiratory infection right after the new year.

To say the least, my little one still catches everything. It is always "whatever is going around." His doctors are not worried. They say it is normal for toddlers to be sick a lot when they play with other kids. They promise me his immunity will be exceptional by Kindergarten. I am praying that is true!

Somewhere in the middle of all this, I've had another gallbladder attack (I think) and frequent "pains." I have seen a GI doctor now, and agrees that it sounds like my gallbladder although none of my tests have shown that I have stones. He says that not all stones show up on ultrasounds and I may have stones that are the size of grans of sand. They do not go away on their own and will eventually form into bigger stones. There is a whole lot more I could say on this issue, but for some reason it is just not fun to talk about my gallbladder. I would much rather talk about Korben. Basically, I'm having a scope done on the 9th to rule-out anything bad going on in my stomach (Doctor doesn't think so, he just wants to cover his bases), and then I'm meeting with a surgeon on the 12th to talk about my gallbladder. Fun times.

So, what is Korben up to? Well, It is like night and day around here when Korben goes from being sick to well. He has been sick so much lately that I was starting to forget just how much fun he is when he is well. Korben is officially back, in all of his high-energy. If he is not dancing, he is drumming or playing his guitar. Everything is a drum to him. Even if I am buying groceries, each item I put in the cart is just another "drum" and he has to beat it to see how it sounds. And he talks...constantly. And repetitively. If the thinks you didn't hear him the first time, don't worry, you will hear it again, and again, and again.

He is not making much progress on learning his colors. It is almost humorous to hear him call four different colored crayons all "yellow." However, he is really exceptional with his shapes. He points out every heart, star, square, circle, or triangle he sees anywhere! This brings me to a story. On Saturday night I was putting Korben to bed and reading him a story. He has certain books that we read EVERY night. One is the farm book, which is an oversized hard back book with enormous pictures of everything relating to the farm. He was flipping the pages naming everything, as normal. He named the "pumpkin" and "scarecrow", then he started yelling "RANGLE!, RANGLE!" I was like, "What?" He continued to yell that and point at the scarecrow (which he had already named correctly). Then, out of frustration, he walked over and got his red triangle puzzle piece from his shapes puzzle and plopped it down on the scarecrow's nose, which I NOW noticed was a red triangle. Then he said "RANGLE" again, and it hit me..."Oh, TRIANGLE!!" AWESOME! I was so proud I almost cried. Bless his heart, all that time he was just trying to tell me that the scarecrow had a triangle for a nose. I thought it was brilliant that he was able to "think out of the box" and go get the puzzle piece for me to understand him. He knew I was so proud, and he was so proud of himself. He just smiled and hugged me over and over once he realized we were on the same page. So sweet!

This past weekend was our TWEEKEND event with the youth. Korben really liked going to hear the music. We stayed in the balcony and worshiped while the band played, but as soon as Daddy came on stage we had to leave. Korben doesn't understand that he can't yell at his Daddy every time he sees him on stage. I tried to cover his mouth one time when he yelled out and then he yelled "NOOOOO" even louder. I guess we will just be participating during worship for now!

Korben has so many FAVORITE people at church. Linda, June, Doris, Paul, Josh, and Scott! Korben adores our worship leader, Scott. Scott's wife Brittany is Aaron's secretary. He loves Brittany (who he calls "Omni"), but ADORES Scott (who he calls "Scotts"). We have a CD that Scott recorded in our car, and we hardly ever get past the first song because Korben wants to hear "Scotts, AGAIN! Scotts Guitar, Again!" Scott has NOOOOO idea how much he is talked about at our house (and in our car) by Korben! If I turn down the music for any reason, he immediately reminds me to turn it back up! Such. A. Mess.

We had Korben's two year old pictures done with Leigh Ann today. Seems like yesterday that we did his one year pictures! He was a little clingy/shy at first, but it didn't take long for him to be his ultimate "ham" self. I had been telling him all day that Leigh Ann was going to take his picture. I also told him that Leigh Ann had candy. For some reason, he decided he would call her "Lamp", so all the way there, he said "Lamp...Candy!" We slipped her some smarties candy to bribe him with and that was all it took! Hopefully I will be able to post some pictures on here in the next few days...stay tuned!

I posted this on my facebook the other day, but my blog is my baby book so I better write some of these stats on here. Korben is a little over 30 pounds, and really tall (not sure how many inches). He is wearing 3T jeans now! The length is perfect, and thanks the the adjustable waist, they are a perfect fit! I bought him his first pair of size 9 shoes and they also fit PERFECTLY. I don't know why I'm surprised his feet are so big with me wearing a size 10 and Aaron wearing a 15. There is no way he can get around big feet with our genes! He is in a size six diaper. He is not very into eating these days, but from what I hear from all my toddler mom friends, that is normal for this age. Oh well, I'm never going to stop offering. I hear that boys eventually like to eat! He seems to be doing better on the lactose intolerance issues. We have switched him from soy milk to lactose free milk. The lactose free milk has more calories and fat, which is a good thing for his age. He eats yogurt and butter on things regularly and never has a problem. He has even eaten several thing with cheese on it lately (even multiple bags of whole grain cheddar goldfish), and had no problems. Maybe he is growing out of it? Only time will tell!

Aaron and I are attending the "Simply Youth Ministry" conference in Chicago at the end of this week. I am so excited for a hundred reasons! When we get back it will be just a few short days until Korben's birthday party. We are having a "farm" themed party at CC's farm. It is going to be so much fun!

God is ridiculously good to us, and I'm so grateful for all he is doing in our lives. We are having a blast.

Snowman and curly hair!

2010-01-30T14:25:00.001-08:00

Aaron made Korben his very own snowman! Korben and I watched his every move from the window. Korben would clap and say "awesome!", "man-man" (snowman), and "Yay, Daddy!" Aaron is so talented. He is so creative, and anything he ever does he does exceptionally well. I think his snowman is awesome! Especially for making it all by himself!

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Just had to share these pics of my curly headed little guy! It is not always this curly, but sometimes when he wakes up from his naps it is out of control like this! A lot of people said that after we got the first hair cut, Korben would lose his curls. Now that his hair is getting long again, I guess we are seeing that isn't true! I'm so glad! I love his curls!

Korben's First Snow Experience!

2010-01-30T11:47:00.000-08:00

Fort Smith was lucky enough to get SIX gorgeous inches of snow (or at least, that is what we measured in our back yard!) It snowed all yesterday afternoon and all night. I seriously felt like we were living inside a snow globe. It was so beautiful! It had stopped snowing this morning, so it was time for Korben to experience it for the first time! Even though we have told him it is called "snow" , he continues to call it "man-man" which is his word for snowman. He got that word down pat at Christmas time after looking at so many snowman christmas decorations just a few months ago. When we finished playing in the snow today, without prompting, said "Bye Bye, Man-man." it was so cute. I guess we should have built him a snowman. The day is not over! :)

Soon, I will put up the video Aaron took with his camera of Korben actually walking out into the snow for the first time. It is on facebook, if you haven't already seen it. It was so hilarious because he didn't like it at all. Especially the fact that it was getting all over his shoes. He just kept saying "Shoes, Shoes."

We convinced him to stand in it long enough for me to shoot a little video of him in the snow. He thought it was funny when Aaron threw a snowball at me.

Here he is telling his Daddy to, "ZIP IT!" His coat, that is.

"Cheese!"

This picture sort of looks like Korben is sitting in the snow, but he is just hanging in the air in an "L" shaped position. This is the position he would lock himself in if we would try to put him down. He did NOT want to get back int he snow! It was absolutely hilarious. The abdominal strength it took him to hold this position was astounding.

It has been an incredibly fun weekend! The past couple nights Aaron and I have enjoyed watching the entire first season of the TV show "Friday Night Lights." We found that the first three seasons are available to watch free through our "live stream" netflix that we can watch through Aaron's X-box. If that sentence didn't make any sense, it doesn't make any sense to me either. Anyway, we have fallen in love with this TV show that started in 2006 on NBC about a high school football team in Dillon, TX. It is SO addicting! We only have to watch about 30 more episodes to be caught up to the year 2010. I am currently drinking my homemade french onion soup out of a mug as I finish up my blog, Aaron is playing a video game, Korben is napping...the house is quiet. I'm staring at the gorgeous snow through the window. These are precious memories I will never forget. What wonderful weekend this has been for our family.

Taller than Daddy?

2010-01-30T11:29:00.000-08:00

There is a "guessing" formula that some doctors use to predict how tall boys will be when they are fully grown. At 2.5 years old they double their height, and use that to predict how tall they will be when they are full grown.

Korben is currently at least 36 inches (haven't measured in a while). If we doubled that now, he would be 6 feet tall when he is full grown. However, the formula says to double it when they are 2.5. That is almost 8 months away! I predict my little boy is going to grow to be taller than his daddy who is 6'2"!

This all became very real to me last week when we were all sick with the stomach bug. Aaron and Korben were still feeling pretty weak, and Korben was resting on his daddy. It is very rare to catch Korben lounging in someone's lap because he is ALWAYS on the move. After taking these pictures I realized just how tall he actually is! He definitely took up "half" of his daddy's length! CRAZY!

Poor Korben has had a run of bad luck with his health lately. He caught the stomach bug last week. Then, this week he has been running a fever of around 102. We took him to the doctor yesterday, just minutes before our snow storm hit, and he turned out to have pink eye in BOTH eyes. How did I miss this? As well as a REALLY red throat. I was so glad to hear that his ears looked good though. I'm always afraid to hear that he is going to have ear infections, even if he does have tubes! Dr. Beene gave him an oral antibiotic to kill the pink eye, and she said it could possibly help with his throat if he happens to have strep throat. His strep throat test was negative, but it is not 100% accurate. It is probably something viral though. That is what we do around here...we catch viruses. Professionally.

Cupid, guitars, 4-wheeling, and baby pics!

2010-01-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

He doesn't look sick, does he? My poor little guy caught the stomach bug I had, and woke up this morning throwing up. He only wanted to drink water and a little bit of juice today, and his entire diet today consisted of 5 crackers. So far, I have to say, this has been the easiest stomach virus he has ever had. He has had 5 or 6 stomach viruses in his little life, and most of the time they are terrible. He went back and forth from really energetic, and then he would want me to hold him. I snapped these pictures during an energetic time this afternoon while I was tickling him.

I snapped these before we left for church on Wednesday night. Here is my personal "guitar hero" jamming out before going to hear the Refuge Band lead worship.

He tried to speed out of town on his 4-wheeler the other night before I could get him in the bath tub. Luckily, I caught him before he got too far (after I took the picture of course)!

I just had to compare a picture I took of Korben today, with a picture I took of him at 2 months old. The picture I took today brought back so many memories of almost every picture I took of him when he was a baby because he would always hold his hands in that same position. Are these not the sweetest shots? Well, I guess I am a little biased!

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SING SING SING

2010-01-17T20:40:00.000-08:00

Chris Tomlin's worship song, "Sing, Sing, Sing" has definitely become Korben's #1 favorite song. He asks for "Sing, Sing" all day long, and goes searching for instruments to accompany him. Even when he is done eating in his high chair, he will start beating his spoon and fork together to a beat and start singing "Sing, Sing, Sing..."

All we have talked about the past couple days is how beyond a shadow of a doubt, Korben has "got the music in him." I know every parent thinks their kid is a prodigy at something, so, we're not trying to be obnoxious here. However, he does really seem to have a gift for music. He would rather play with his guitar or drums than ANY of his toys!

He really likes to listen to music and stand up on his stool (his "stage") and dance, while he plays the guitar. Here is a short clip that will give you a little, tiny bit of a preview into what Korben likes to do all day long!

We are amazed at how well he holds the guitar, and how he continues to strum even when he is dancing.

Aaron thinks Korben learned some of his moves from Kris Allen. I'm pretty sure Korben has never even watched Kris Allen, but I'd have to agree that there is an uncanny resemblance of styles!

Have I mentioned how much fun we are having with our boy? :)

Ten Videos!!! You're welcome, Grandmothers!

2010-01-14T12:08:00.000-08:00

When Korben was about 10 or 11 months when Lady Gaga came out with the song "Just Dance." We would just die laughing at how our baby, who couldn't even walk yet, would dance his little heart out when he heard this song. Our iPod dock has been broken for almost a year, and when we finally got it fixed, we played "Just Dance" for him to see if he loved it like he did a year ago. Sure enough, he did! I think it is so funny at the end of this video when he notices CC's picture on the shelf while he is dancing! This was shot at the end of November, hence the Christmas decorations.

I shot this at the beginning of December when he had just learned how to say "MEEE" at the end of this song. He LOVES sing this, although, there were a lot of distractions in the back yard that day. He really would have preferred to just "jump", which is what he said during the middle of the song.

These next two are from when Aaron's parents came to eat at my mom's house over the Christmas break. We were watching Korben dance to his favorite song "Down Down." After he had requested to hear "Down Down" about 15 times in a row, I just happened to catch on video when Aaron asked him what he wanted to hear and he said "UP!" I guess he is learning his opposites?

Here is Don (Poppy) showing Korben the video he just shot of him dancing. I love it when Korben puts his hand over his face like he is embarassed!

Here is the video I promised I would post of Korben and his cousins screaming on Christmas eve. It was so hilarious. It made for some great pictures, because it looked like they were smiling!

It is really hard to video Korben while he is "in the moment" anymore because he is so obsessed with my camera. He always wants to see what we're videoing, so the things I videotape are never as cute as the real thing. Korben knows that at the beginning of this particular song, it is a guitar playing. Anytime this song comes on, he runs to his room and gets his guitar. Here is a quick, re-enactment of what Korben does when he hears this song.

Here is the video clip with Korben learning to pray. I tell the entire story of this in the blog post "22 months: facts and stories."

I'm sure you've already seen this one on Aaron's facebook/twitter. But if not, this is one of our favorite videos from Christmas. Korben was teasing the cat with one of those toys that has a string and a fake mouse on the end. We definitely know that Korben was having more fun than the cat! You can't help but laugh when you watch this!

And last, but not least...if you need to see Korben dance to "Down Down' one last time, here it is!

Last night at church

2010-01-14T09:10:00.000-08:00

As you probably have heard me say before, Korben loves music. Especially the drums and the guitar. It works out great that he has the opportunity to go early to youth on Wenesday nights and hear the Refuge band warm up. While he was there last night, two of his friends named Gabby and Izzy (almost 2 year old twins) came to visit their babysitter, Dyan, who happens to sing in the band. Korben was so excited to see them, he greeted them with big hugs, complete with the sound effect "awwww" as he patted them on the back. I can't remember if it was me or the twin's mom who said something about a kiss, maybe it was even Korben, but before we knew it Korben had kissed Gabby on the lips. Izzy couldn't be left out, so he kissed her before long too! It was so sweet! So, there you have it...his first kiss was at church, and with twins.

After church, our drummer named Adam, was kind enough to give Korben another drumming lesson. Okay, maybe he just let him hit the drums. But, Adam actually said could already tell Korben had improved since he got his drums for Christmas! Adam really is the sweetest 16 year old guy I know, and Korben just adores him. Praise the Lord for all the great male influences Korben has to look up to in his life.

Then, we let Korben have a little "open-mic" night when almost everyone had left the Refuge building. As you can tell in these two videos, he loved hearing himself on the microphone!

22 Months old: Lots of facts and stories!

2010-01-12T18:37:00.000-08:00

Where has the time gone? On January 10th we began the two month countdown until Korben turns the big TWO!

Here is a bunch of random information about my 22 month old, stud muffin!

He is growing like a little weed. He is somewhere around 32 pounds, and very tall! Strangers will even comment on how tall he is for his age. His 2T clothes fit perfectly, so I know that 3T clothes are on the horizon (his 2T shirts are actually getting a little short, due to his long torso). He wears a size 8 shoe, but not for long, they are already a little bit tight. He wears a size 6 diaper, and will until diapers are no longer a part of our lives.

He is a much better eater than he used to be! He is eating a much wider variety of things than he did a few months ago. He still won't eat everything that we eat, but he is more willing to try things than he ever was. He has developed a love for all different types of berries, which makes me very proud because they are SO good for you. He has been eating blueberries, and strawberries for a while, but now he is eating raspberries and blackberries as well! He loves the little mini oranges ("cuties"), grapes, and (occasionally) bananas. He likes to eat chicken noodle soup (the kind that has characters instead of long noodles, because it is easier for him to pick up in his spoon), and he will occasionally eat things like sausage, ham, bacon. Other than popcorn chicken, Korben would not touch any other type of meat for a long time. So, he is making some progress in his picky eating. He is still a lover of pasta, scrambled eggs, yogurt, soy cheese, popcorn, and green beans!

I remember buying him his first crayons and coloring book back in October, and he really wasn't interested at all. What a difference 3 months can make, because all of a sudden, all he wants to do is COLOR! His favorite thing about coloring is asking you to draw a heart. That is his number one request. He will also ask for you to draw a sun, moon, star, circle, square and the letter "K."

He has started putting two words together a lot more often. The phrases I am hearing the most often are "Open it, get it, read it, color it, and zip it (his jacket)." One of my favorites is when he wants me to hold him he says "hold you." He wanted me to hold him the other day when I was finishing up using the chi (flat iron) on my hair. I said "Just one minute", so he went up to the tv, reached his arms up to Dora, and said "Hold You." It broke my heart that since his Momma didn't pick him up and hold him, he had to go ask a cartoon!

He is also figuring out possession. He will point out things and say "Korben's, Daddy's or Momma's." He also seems to understand to add an "s" to things when there are more than one, such as cups, toys, and blankets. We have been working on saying "No, Thank you" instead of just "No." It cracks me up when he is trying to tell me that he doesn't want to eat something I am offering him because he will shake his head no, but the words coming out of his mouth are "thank you." You try that. It is kind of difficult. Kind of like a "pat your head and rub your tummy" sort of thing!

You know the hand motion you do when you say the words "Come here"? Korben was in his high chair this morning, motioned me with his hand, and said "come here" just as plain as day. I said "excuse me?" and and he did it again...motioned his little hand, and said "come here." I just had to laugh. That was a first.

If you have just put on something new, like a scarf, jacket, or a different shirt, Korben will always tell you "CUUUUUTE." It always makes me feel good, even if he is 22 months old!

On the way home from church last night, I heard Korben sneeze. Before I had a chance to say "Bless you", he said to himself "Korben, bless you." You can tell that this child has not had a sneeze in his life that has gone un-blessed.

He likes to associate the stuffed animals in his room with the animals in his painting. When I get him out of bed in the morning, he never really wants to get "right" out of bed. He likes to stand in his bed and tell me things. Every morning, he grabs his red stuffed snake off the side of his bed, says "snake", and then points at the red snake in the painting and says snake. He even reaches up and touches stuffed snake to the snake in the painting and says "hiss". Then he points at Geoffrey, his giraffe in his room, and then points at the giraffe in the painting. It kind of looks like he is introducing them to each other. "Giraffe? Giraffe. Giraffe? Giraffe."

We sometimes refer to Korben as our little "Holy Spirit" because he never lets us forget to pray. He loves to pray at meals mainly because he loves to hold hands, bow his head, and wait for his big moment to say "AMEN." But last week, he actually prayed by himself for the first time. We had already prayed as a family, and Aaron and I had started eating. Then we noticed Korben bow his head and start talking with his eyes clothes, then he looked up and said "AMEN." That was Korben's first prayer by himself! Then Aaron got his iPhone out, and we videoed his 2nd and 3rd prayers. We're going to be careful to not use this as another one of Korben's "tricks" that we ask him to do all the time. We want to raise him to know that prayer is not just an act or ritual, but it is actually talking to God.

Korben's favorite song for over the past month has been the hip hop song by Jay Sean, called "Down." Korben calls it "Down Down." He asks to hear it at least a thousand times a day because he LOVES to dance to it. He is also into the worship song by Chris Tomlin "Sing, Sing, Sing." He will carry his guitar around the house and just sing the lines "Sing, Sing, Sing" over and over! It is so cute!

His hugs and kisses are life changing. When Korben hugs us now, it is a tight hug, and he will pat your back and say "awwwww" at the same time. Priceless. And, when you put him to bed, he will go back and forth, from hug, to kiss, hug, and another kiss, for about 7 times before he actually "releases" you. I leave his room every night with tears in my eyes because his hugs and kisses are so sweet!

Back in May, Korben's Poppy wrote him a song entitled "Oh Oh, Cheerio" (I'll have to get a video of Poppy singing this whole song...it has multiple verses and everything). This came about when they kept him while we were on the cruise. He would sing it to him every morning when they ate cheerios together. Korben has not forgotten this song. Every couple of days, Korben will just start singing it, out of the blue. Last Sunday he was singing the words "O. I whispered to Aaron, "Listen, he is singing that song." Then, I turned around to smile at Korben and he said, "Poppy!" He KNEW he was singing his Poppy's song! We were so impressed.

Guitar Love

2010-01-05T11:50:00.000-08:00

Nothing like a rock concert before bedtime!

And the crowd goes wild for KORBEN...

He looks just like a worship leader to me in this picture because his eyes are closed while he is playing the guitar.

Picking out his favorite books before bed. "Hop on Pop", "The Foot Book", or "Go Dog Go" are always the top three on his list. You'd swear he could read because he never gets the titles of these books confused, and practically knows every word to "Hop on Pop."

Bye Bye "Bor-tay"

2010-01-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

I have no idea why, but for about six months Korben has referred to himself as "Bor-tay." In his head it must have sounded just like "Korben." Every time he would see a picture of himself, he would consistently point himself out and say "Bor-tay." Well, today....it all stopped. I was showing Korben pictures on my blog, and he was naming everyone in the pictures..."Momma, Daddy, Kim, KORBEN." I was like, "Wait, who is that.?" He says, "Korben." JUST AS PLAIN AS DAY. So, I called his daddy (who is currently waiting to catch a plane in Memphis), and said, "I think we have to say goodbye to 'Bortay'" Then I held the phone up to Korben and pointed at his picture, and he spoke into the phone and said "Korben." Aaron couldn't believe it!

Last night, I decided to go look at Korben before I went to sleep. Can you believe that this is how I found him? Here is a little boy over 3 feet tall, crammed in the corner of his big bed...bless him. I'm so proud to know that he knows what a pillow is for though.

Christmas Day

2010-01-04T12:08:00.003-08:00

Our car was packed to the ceiling, and we headed off to Heber Springs by 9 a.m. Guess what Korben found in the back seat? I can't believe he loved this hard hat so much! I still can't get him to wear a warm hat when I want him to wear one.

We arrived in Heber Springs at 10 a.m., and we were greeted at the door by Don, Julie, and Dustin wearing Hawaiian shirts and lays around their neck. We heard Hawaiian music playing in the back ground. I know our eyes were as wide as plates trying to figure out why they were doing that. Before I could get the words out Dustin told me, "Don't get too excited, we're not going to Hawaii." As it turns out, Don had just learned how to play "Mele Kalikimaka" (Merry Christmas in Hawaiian, just in case you've never heard it) on his guitar, and he was going to play it for us. The funny thing is, after all of the "scene setting", he never even played the song!

Julie and her boys!

I apologize that I didn't take nearly enough pictures, and the ones I did take are not all that great! The Rodgers family doesn't take nearly as many pictures as the Cunningham family, and I am probably the worst one about taking pictures. With my previous blog posts, I had several people's pictures to choose from. For the Rodgers' house, all I have are my few pictures.

I say all of that to say, because of the poor quality of this picture, I feel like Korben and I could both be part of the Cullen family (I know only a few of you will get that.)

I absolutely love this wooden puzzle Don and Julie had made for Korben! He has already memorized the "K" and recognizes it when I write it (which says a lot if you know my handwriting). When he sees the "O" he says "circle", which is pretty smart if you ask me!

Dustin gave Korben this blue truck. It is really cool because it is made of soft plastic so if he were to fall on it, it wouldn't injure him. I just texted Dustin yesterday to tell him that Korben affectionately calls his blue truck "Dushtin." I'm pretty sure he thinks that is the name of the truck, since we told him so many times that Dustin gave it to him! Ha! It is really sweet!

Don and Julie also got Korben this "Ride and Learn Giraffe Bike." Sadly, I have yet to get a picture of Korben on it. I will get one posted soon. He is making progress on his pedaling, but in the mean time, he really likes the learning aspect of the computer on it.

To go with the giraffe theme, he also got this neat puzzle. His sweet Aunt Tink added this Zebra to his collection of animals from the painting in his room. Thank you, Tink!

Aaron and I are modeling some of our gifts from Dustin. I got the pretty red scarf, and Aaron's hat is monogrammed to model the hat in the video game, "Halo." Aaron is always blown away with Dustin's creativity.

Aaron had to make a quick trip back to Fort Smith for church during our time in Heber Springs, but Korben and I just stayed there. After I finished dressing Korben for church, he begged to put on his hard hat and vest...again! Never ceases to amaze me how much he liked that.

Korben and his Poppy hanging out with Samson.

Julie had NO food in the house, so poor Korben had to resort to eating this. Okay, so maybe everything about that statement was false. This isn't what it looked like...I promise. It is amazing what the camera can capture in a split second.

We truly could not have had a better Christmas with our awesome family! I will be posting videos soon!

Christmas Eve- WHAT a day!

2010-01-04T12:08:00.001-08:00

After we put Korben to bed on Wednesday night (Christmas Eve Eve), we opened gifts as a family. It is easier to do our personal gifts without him awake, that way we can take our time opening one gift at a time, and make it last. This has been the second Christmas without my dad. It has already become our tradition before we open gifts to spend some family time in prayer. You know how every dad has their "chair"? Well, we circled around my dad's chair, lit a candle next to his picture, and all spent some time thanking God for him. It was wonderful to hear each other's hearts. We all shed some tears together, and I believe that was really healthy for us. Word can not express how much we miss Dad, however, we are all so grateful that we will see him again.
Thank you, Jesus, for the hope we have in you and only you.

Here are all of my Dad's girls (after we cleaned up our runny mascara).

Christmas Eve morning we were able to give Korben 100% of our attention, because it was all about him and his Christmas gifts! Here he is opening his huge dump truck from his Aunt Kim!

He couldn't wait to put on his new Elmo slippers. There is something precious about this side profile of Korben in this picture. There will be one day that it won't be cool to wear tight pajamas, and I'm positive that the "diaper booty" won't be adorable forever. But for now, this little profile of my toddler, is the sweetest thing on earth.

CC got him more Baby Einstein movies. His favorite! This boy loves movies!

Giving CC a "thank you kiss" while sporting his new Cookie Monster hoodie.

His soul was made complete when he received these drums from my mom. Korben was born to be a drummer. He has rhythm that is not normal for a baby, I do not think. When our clothes dryer is making that banging noise that all dryers make, Korben will run in the laundry room and start dancing to the sound. He has a toy train that his Aunt MeeMee gave him for Christmas. His favorite thing about it is the button that makes the "Chuga Chuga Chuga" sound. Why, you ask? Because it is the perfect sound for dancing! I will post a video of my rhythmically advanced little boy soon!

This was seriously the most fun day. We had tons of new stuff to play with, and had a Christmas party with all of our cousins to look forward to that night. We were supposed to be at our cousin's house for our family Christmas party at 4:30, and Korben needed to work in a 2 hour nap before we left for their house at 4:00. One second it was 8 a.m., the next second it was 1:30, and I hadn't even thought about putting him down for a nap because we were having so much fun with our new stuff! I love days like that. It all worked out though, he got a great nap and was raring to go play with his cousins by 4!

We had to do a picture at the piano to compare his growth with last year.

Last Christmas

Family picture before nap time!

Awake from his nap, dressed and ready to go to his cousin's Christmas party. I promise you, it was completely Korben's idea to wear his new hard hat and vest. He took it very seriously.

Christmas party time! We had to take a picture of ourselves...not for lack of people to take the picture, it is just sort of our trademark shot! Haha!

Korben and his hero, Carson.

Priceless memories with the best cousins in the whole world. They are screaming at the top of their lungs, having the time of their lives. (will post video soon)

Kim pointed out to me that if we wanted a preview at what Korben will look like in a few years when he sings in his first preschool choir performance at church...here it is!

God, bless these sweet little boys. Please let them grow up to love you and each other!

We couldn't have had a more ideal Christmas Eve with our family. We are so blessed, and I refuse to take a moment of it for granted!

Christmas break: Monday, Tueday, and Wednesday

2010-01-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

This year marked mine and Aaron's 7th Christmas break together. For every single Christmas we have had this wonderful schedule of spending the days leading up to Christmas with my family, and spending Christmas day and the days after with Aaron's family. We are so blessed that our hometowns are only an hour apart. We arrived at my mom's on Monday afternoon to start our wonderful break.

Monday night, the 21st, we had our Annual Christmas get together with the Sims Family. Billy Sims was like a son to my dad, having worked with him at the car lot for many years. Billy continues to run the business at Kellogg Valley Motors, and we still enjoy exchanging gifts with each other every Christmas. I never dreamed they would get Korben the gift they did. Here is Korben opening a four-wheeler, made for 12-36 month olds! He LOVED it! He has yet to get to ride it outside due to the either rainy, snowy, or riduculously cold weather. Until then, he just rides it inside until he quickly runs into a couch or a wall.

We went to visit my Grandmother on Tuesday the 22nd. I wish she felt as good as she looks in these pictures.

My whole world!

CC was there too!

And Aunt MeeMee!

It was so good to have Kim home with us! All of Korben's life he has been resistant to saying Kim's name. We've always tried to get him to say "Kimme", thinking it may be easier, then it sounded like he was trying to call her some form of "Baby", which was funny. It has just been mind blowing that he couldn't say it, because Korben can really say anything. Finally, he just started calling her "Kim." Who knew it could be that simple?

That same Tuesday night, Kim and I had the privilege of going on our yearly "Cousin's night out." We are blessed to have so many girl cousins on my dad's side of the family (there are a few not pictured). We are actually going on a road trip together in January to visit Kim. I can't even imagine all the fun we will have!

On Wednesday night, my mom invited Don and Julie down from Heber Springs for dinner. We had a great time! I made the comment SEVERAL times that it was fun to be with all grandparents (and a proud aunt) because we didn't have to feel guilty about being too obnoxious having Korben show off all his tricks. Of course, grandparents think everything their grandchild does is just wonderful! I love this picture of Aaron and his Momma. You can see how much they favor.

I don't even know what to put as a caption for this picture. So, make up your own caption for what you think Korben is trying to convey. HaHa. Maybe he was thinking it was his turn to play the guitar?

Entertainment Fort Smith

2010-01-03T19:18:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, a sweet lady from our church named Donna Payne gave Aaron a call. Donna has a precious daughter in our youth group, and little did Aaron know at the time, Donna also just happens to be the Senior Editor of Entertainment Fort Smith magazine. Korben and I had actually never met her, although, she felt like she knew us because she was facebook friends with Aaron. She had been looking at pictures of Korben on Aaron's facebook, and thought he would make the perfect "New Year's Baby" for her magazine cover. We were thrilled with her request, although, we never dreamed it would turn out as well as it did. Korben was NOT the best little boy he'd ever been in his life. The day of our photo shoot was the day after I had taken him to the doctor with his ear infection (5 days post ear tube surgery) and also the day after I had been in the ER ALL night long by myself.

Most of the photo shoot, in my memory, Korben acted like this...

But thankfully, we eventually got this!

We would have NEVER gotten the picture above if Santa had been anyone other than this familiar face.

And here is one little out-take with Mommy.

Donna and staff at Entertainment Fort Smith, You have no idea how much you thrilled this Mommy and Daddy by allowing us this opportunity. For the rest of Korben's life, this photo will be a centerpiece every Christmas thanks to YOU. Thank you for your patience with us during a very trying week.

Early December Fun

2010-01-03T18:13:00.000-08:00

Let me set the scene for you. It was a Sunday Morning. Korben had been awake for about an hour. For 59 minutes of that hour he had been watched with at least one set of eyes. I look at Aaron for ONE MINUTE to tell him something regarding the church clothes he had put on, then I looked back down to see Korben having an "Adam Lambert" moment with my mascara on the floor. It scared me just how accurately he put on that mascara. He also accurately got it all over the carpet, but thanks to "Resolve" we were alright. As for that matter, I'm going to start giving carpet cleaner as a baby shower gift. I've used it far more than any diaper rash cream or baby lotion.

My Mom had come up this Sunday to visit. Our church was having their Christmas "Night of Praise." There are very few people who enjoy great worship music in the way that my Mom and I do...so she couldn't miss this Sunday. She tried to take my picture with Korben before church, but he was too obsessed with taking a "pitcher" himself with his Finding Nemo camera we got him at Target the day before. Ever since then he has loved taking pictures all over the house. Then he "looks" at the pictures he has taken and goes "Awwwwww."

At the "Happy Birthday Jesus" party after "Night of Praise."

Wearing his "doggie vest" he wore last Christmas. You don't believe he could possibly wear the same thing he wore the year before? Check out the next picture.

Flashback to Christmas last year. Here he is in the same little vest and shirt!

I bribed him with "smarties" candy for these smiles. You can totally tell that they are fake. All of these cheesy grins make me laugh.

For some reason, on this particular day, Korben wanted his "doggie" to eat his lunch with him. He was very nurturing to his doggie, and wanted to make sure he had plenty to eat. I wish you could have heard the one-sided conversation he had with his sweet little puppy that day. Priceless.

Korben and his cousin Jack at the Cunningham Christmas party on the 12th.

Thanksgiving

2010-01-02T19:45:00.000-08:00

These first few pictures were actually taken outside my Grandmother's nursing home the weekend before Thanksgiving. I can't believe I accidentally got such great pictures of him just standing outside...too bad I couldn't get any pictures of him with Mema.

CC, Korben and Goldie

Thanksgiving at the Rodgers' house in Heber Springs. Here is Don showing my mom pictures from their recent trip to Scotland.

This is a terrible quality picture, but it is all I have from our AMAAAAZZZINGGG Thanksgiving lunch. Julie is not in this because she was still "slaving" in the kitchen. Thank you Julie for working so hard for our delicious meal.

Here is Korben with a random remote trying to locate a TV (or the "TT") as he calls it!

Showing something to Moppy

Tennis in the backyard with the guys!

Waiting for the ball to come down (on his face!).

Kind of thought this looked like a Baby Gap Ad.

Action shot of Poppy, Korben, and Aaron having a blast outside.

Hangin' with Moppy while eating his favorite food (popcorn) and watching his favorite show (Blue's Clues).

One memory I want to record from Thanksgiving is when Korben walked outside to play that afternoon, he pointed up to the sky and said "MOON!". Sure enough, there was a crescent moon in the blue sky at 3 in the afternoon. We were all floored, because other than Baby Einstein movies in which they talk about the Moon, I really didn't think Korben had ever seen one in real life. I know that sounds weird, but we're just hardly ever outside with him after dark. This just was one more confirmation to us that Korben is a genius. Haha!

We had such a relaxing Thanksgiving break. We had great quality family time, as usual, but we still managed to do some things that were "out of the norm" for us...including: building a fire, roasting marshmallows, and Aaron and I both completed books! Rarities, I tell you! It was a stark contrast to the week of gallbladder issues I'd had the previous week. I'd rather not blog about that though-Just the great times we had at Thanskgiving!

Flashback to November 14th

2010-01-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

I am back in the blogging world. I won't go in to all of my excuses, but if you need to know why I've been out of the loop you can refer to my previous post. I am currently borrowing my mom's laptop and it is working like a charm! So....I'm back in business!

I am about 2 months behind on documenting Korben's life. I feel like I have missed out on writing so much, but I guess it is better late than never, right? I will briefly catch you up to speed through the past couple months, then, I promise to be a much better blogger, day-to-day (new year's resolution)!!

Let me take you back to November 14th. These pictures were taken just 4 days after his ear tube surgery. He was dying to go in the back yard and help his daddy rake leaves. My best judgment knows that leaves flare up allergies, which cause for a runny nose, which drains into ears, and cause ear infections. But for some crazy reason, I thought, well, he is dying for some father/son time, and now he has tubes and won't get an ear infection....WRONG. The very next day Korben woke up and sick and had an ear infection, just 5 days after surgery. We now actually believe that an ear infection prior to surgery just hadn't cleared up quite yet, but playing in the leaves was probably not the best idea for my little allergy-burdened boy. For the record, Korben has been relatively healthy since his tubes. Sure, he has had his share of runny noses, and currently has a cough (that his nurse called in an antibiotic for), but none of his symptoms have turned into ear infections or caused him to be cranky. That is evidence alone that his tubes are working. Before, one runny nose always turned into a full-blown double ear infection complete with insomnia and constant crying. Praise the Lord for tubes.

I thought all of these Father/Son pictures were sweet. Don't you love Korben's little mini-rake? He had such a good time. Aaron taught him how to pick up sticks and put them in a stick pile. Til this day, Korben will pick up sticks in the back yard and say "stick pile." So precious!

I'm still alive

2009-12-14T20:37:00.000-08:00

I know it appears that I have neglected my blog. I haven't done it intentionally. Life has just HAPPENED the past month. One month ago today, I had a week of gallbladder issues that began with an all-nighter to the ER, and ended with lots and lots of tests. That was a very challenging week. Then it was Thanksgiving week, which was fabulous and busy. Then, I started and finished the twilight series (well, the last two books) in a matter of days. THEN, I had a week's worth of root canal/tooth infections/top lip the size of rhode island/dental drama and spent a lot of time snoozing in my spare time thanks to pain meds. Oh, and most detrimental to my blogging career, almost two weeks ago, my lap top pretty much bit the dust. I knew it had been coming. So, I only get to be on the computer when Aaron is at home with his work compter...and that is not that often. We are still deciding what to do about my computer crisis. I really miss blogging, and I can't even begin to sum up how many wonderful memories we have had with our precious son over the past month.

Every day I am full of stories of how SMART, SWEET, and HILARIOUS he is. Everyday I fall so much more deeply in love with our son. I can't believe he is not even two years old, and I already feel like we can have conversations and genuinely have fun together. I have always felt like being a mom was the most fun thing ever, but now it REALLY feels like it is getting more fun every day.

I promise I will come back to blogging soon...

Real kisses

2009-11-14T17:15:00.000-08:00

I have to document this.

Tonight was so much fun. Korben, Aaron, and I were laying on the floor by the Christmas tree reading books before it was time for him to go to bed. Korben was pointing out all his favorite things in his books and telling us what they were. His absolute favorite book for us to read to him right now is "Hop on Pop." He likes the page that says "Up, Cup, Pup.." He will open it to the correct page everytime and say, "Up, Up." Then we were looking at his farm book. He was pointing at the animals, and then then he saw the picture of a girl and said "Guhl" in the sweetest little voice. We said, "Kiss the girl." He of course, kissed the girl...multiple times...then gave her a "hug" and said "AWWWW"....then proceeded to get up, grab my face, pucker up his lips and gave me his first REAL kiss. He even made the smack sound at the end. He has never done that! He has been giving us kisses for over a year, but they have been the open mouth slobbery kisses. This was the first real kiss, and let me say, it was the sweetest thing EVER! I made a huge deal out of it, so of course, I got a hundred more tonight. He was was so loving tonight. He hugged (just about) everything in the house saying "awwww."

Great memories were made at the Rodgers house today. I could not be more in love with Aaron or Korben. Thank you, Jesus.

Ear Tube Surgery...Mission Accomplished!

2009-11-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

Korben's Ear Tube Surgery was a success. We arrived at St. Edwards at 7:40 this morning and we were home by 9:30. I was most nervous this morning about him not being able to drink anything when he woke up. Every morning, he gets out of bed and starts asking for his cup. He did ask for his cup about 500 times this morning, but he never threw a fit when he didn't get it. That made me very glad! He was so sweet when we were getting checked in with the nurse. He thought the device she put on his finger to watch his heart was so cool!

They gave Korben some medicine to calm him down before he went back for surgery. They said he would be pretty much "out" in about 5 minutes. All it did was make him more hyper. Even after 25 minutes of the medicine in his system, he was still able to kick and scream when the anesthesiologist and nurse took him back. I was worried about them being able to put him to sleep, but as the nurse told me, "The anesthesiologist always wins." I guess he did! Here is a little video clip showing a revved up little boy.

The surgery was over quickly, and they paged us to come back to see Korben in recovery. They didn't even have to tell us which room he was in because we could hear him screaming down the hall. I'm so glad I had been warned at how crazy they are coming out of anesthesia. It was like he was asleep with his eyes open, and responding to a nightmare. He wanted us to hold him, but he was pushing us away at the same time. We felt so bad for him! The only time he stopped crying was when we were finally able to give him his cup of juice!

When we got home at 9:30, I tried to feed him breakfast, but he had no interest. He was just very restless and cranky. I tried to put him down for a nap, but he wasn't having that either. So, we just hung out until 12:30, when he normally takes a nap. The little angel slept for 3 hours, and I was able to get a good nap too. I did NOT sleep well last night. I was having panic dreams that I had overslept, or accidentally woke up and gave Korben something to eat or drink before surgery. So glad none of those dreams were true!

After he woke up from his 3 hour nap, he was back to his happy self! Here is a video of our happy boy. The giggling you hear in the background is a Christmas stocking that hangs in his room. He kept wanting me to push the button "again..again."

So, as you can see...he is doing great! We are praying that we have no complications with the tubes, and they will be just what he needs to avoid constant ear infections. Even today, the doctor said there was still fluid behind his ear drum, so he would have ended up with another infection in no time. I'm so thankful we were able to have this done.

First School Pictures

2009-11-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

Okay, maybe they are not his first "school" pictures, but a real photographer came and took pictures of the children at Mother's Day Out a couple weeks ago. My baby is growing up!

I was pleasantly surprised at how they turned out. They told me that he wouldn't pose for the picture without his blankie, and a few tears were shed...so I was expecting the worst. I was thrilled with how cute they were. I just took pictures of the actual proofs, so these are terrible quality. I just couldn't wait to share though! Click on the picture if you want to enlarge it to see it better. I need to place my order soon!

Christmas Decorations

2009-11-10T18:31:00.000-08:00

I don't have much time to write tonight, but I wanted to post a few pictures of some of our Christmas decorations. I am so behind on blogging. When I get some extra time, I will blog about our fun trip to Branson this past weekend.

The most exciting thing we did this year was get Korben his own little tree. We bought some of his favorite "character" ornaments. We couldn't find an Elmo ornament, but Big Bird and Cookie have made Korben's Christmas tree their home.

Oh, and the close up picture of Aaron and Me was taken our first Christmas together in 2003. It is hard to believe that this will be our seventh Christmas together...and yet, I can't remember live without him!

Halloween Weekend

2009-11-01T17:31:00.001-08:00

We had a fun-filled weekend. It all started on Friday morning when Aaron and I got up early to get in the drive-thru line for Korben to get his h1n1 shot. Nine hours later we returned home. Yes..that's right, we were in our car with a toddler for a full work day. I am only writing this for documentation purposes. I don't walk to talk about that day anymore. All I do have to say about it is that Korben was the best little boy you have ever seen, and I KNOW his ear infections are better solely based on his behavior this entire weekend. PRAISE the Lord.

So, On to the FUN times from our weekend...

Korben wore Momma's boots around the house on Saturday Morning,

Then he wore his Elmo costume on Saturday night! We went to our church fall festival. There were over 1,000 kids in attendance, not including their parents. It was awesome!

We saw our friend Owen, dressed as the cutest panda bear ever!

We saw Junie!

We saw some Dr. Seuss characters!

Korben mostly had this expression on his face all night...

Until he got in the "bounce-around." Then he was all smiles!

Then on Sunday at church we had "Grand Fam" day, where we all dressed western, and then had a picnic in the park. Korben had fun playing outside with the kids.

My adorable, fellow pig-tail friend, Madison.

Just to prove that my husband no longer has the monk hair cut. Can't say that I'm missing it very much!

Hope you all had a great weekend! Thanks for reading!

Riding Geoffrey

2009-10-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

So, Korben wanted to ride Geoffrey today. I said..."Why not??"

A few short clips

2009-10-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

Here are a few short clips from the evening:

The first clip is Korben dancing to "The Adams Family" theme song before the costume party started.

The second clip is of Connor McGinnis pretending to be Aaron, getting "Korben"(the doll) to give people "the rock." Totally something that Aaron does.

The third clip is just so you can see how cute Korben looked in his Elmo costume.

GSM Costume Party

2009-10-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight was our annual costume party specifically for Grand Student Ministry. It was soooooo much fun! There were 100+ people there, and there was so much energy in the room. The students costumes were so creative this year!

You can always count on Aaron to kick things up a notch. This year he was a friar/monk. He had his head (professionally) shaved and everything! We wanted our costumes to go together in a way, so I was a nun. Korben went as his favorite character in the world, Elmo. Korben was such a good boy, and actually wore his costume! I dressed him in it while he had an audience of people cheering and telling him how cute he looked. He obviously liked the attention, because not only was he willing to wear the costume...he actually wore the Elmo head (which he hadn't done before)! He probably only had the costume on 15 minutes at the most because he went to the nursery while the party was actually going on, but before it started he got to greet everyone while he was still dressed as Elmo. I took his hood off of him for a little while because I knew his head was getting hot. One of our students had just arrived at the party and she walked up to Korben, he then actually tried to put his hood back on and said "Melmo." It was so sweet! He wanted her to see his full costume, so she could see that he was "Melmo." Made my night.

Korben with his great drummer buddy, Adam Lucas!

Amy Goodrum dressed as Hannah Morehart! I LOVED this costume! She had a red wig that looked just like Hannah's hair, made a dance team outfit to look like her, had Hannah's face on a mask, and even mimicked her laugh. Incredibly creative!

THEEEEE biggest hilight of my night was seeing Connor McGinnis walk in dressed as Aaron. I instantly knew he was dressed up as Aaron because he looked JUST like him. He had him down to a "T." Paisley shirt, flip flops, gelled/spiked hair, glasses, gotee on chin, and to top it all off...A RED HEADED BABY. I walked up to him laughing my head off, and he proceeded to ask the "Korben" doll to give me the rock! TOTALLY something Aaron would do.

Swine Flu. I loved this!

The Grand Student Ministry Staff. Taylor is dressed as her big brother, Brandon Stokes (former intern), Callie dressed as Brittany (Aaron's secretary), Hannah dressed as Scott (our worship leader, who is also a math teacher...notice the calculator watch), and of course, Connor dressed as Aaron.

I don't know if any of you watch "The Office", but are these not dead-ringers for Jim and Pam?? ESPECIALLY PAM!!!

Infected ears...STILL!

2009-10-27T18:11:00.001-07:00

Korben woke up this morning with rosy red cheeks. For Korben, that always means fever. Sure enough, he had 100.3. I was instantly fearful that his ear infections were back, or maybe never went away. He JUST got off 10 days of antibiotics last Friday. Dr. Beene got him in at 10:30 this morning. She looked in his left ear and said it looked really bad, then looked in his right ear and said it looked worse. It made me sick to hear that, even though I was almost expecting it. He has been SO fussy the past couple days that Aaron and I were just positive we were dealing with an incredibly cranky little boy with a bad case of the "terrible 'almost' 2's." Since he had just gotten off his antibiotics, not once this weekend did I think that his fussiness could have come from his (still) infected ears. So, I must confess that I feel royally AWFUL for that.

Dr. Beene referred Korben to Dr. Gwartney to talk about getting ear tubes. He is a well-respected, experienced, ENT here in Fort Smith. I just found out late this afternoon that Dr. Gwartney will be able to see us next Thursday morning at 9:45. I was thrilled to hear that because Dr. Beene warned me that sometimes it may be more like 2-4 weeks before we could be seen.

I am very, very eager to meet with him. Dr. Beene and I reviewed Korben's medical history and it made me so sad to think that Korben has had recurring (or the same, unhealing) ear infections basically since mid July. So not cool! Everyone has told me that when their child got their ear tubes they felt like they had a new child. I know that he will probably still have fussy days, and the occasional toddler tantrums, but SURELY this will help make him feel a whole lot better. I pray that if this is the right thing for Korben, it will be obvious, and we can move quickly to give our boy some relief.

Just last week, I had an ear infection of my own. I woke up in the middle of the night with so much pain in my ear that I wanted to wake up Aaron just so I could cry to him. I didn't...but I wanted to! I started googling things I could do to make my pain go away. I ended up finally falling asleep almost two hours later, after using a heating pad and taking tylenol. I'm kind of glad that happened to me because it showed me why Korben is not sleeping well at night, and why his naps are pretty much non-existent. Lying down makes your ears hurt 100x worse. Now it makes since why he is screaming when he wakes up from his naps, instead of jumping and laughing in his bed. Hind sight is 20/20 I tell you.

I will let you all know how next Thursday goes. In the meantime, Korben is taking a stronger antibiotic for the next 5 days. Hope it does the trick!

A very unhappy Elmo

2009-10-26T18:07:00.000-07:00

Ever since we went to see Sesame Street Live in August, I just knew Korben had to be Elmo (MELMO!) for Halloween! He is obsessed with him! We ordered him a precious costume that is even complete with a giggle box that you can push and hear Elmo laugh. When it first came in a few weeks ago, he was willing to put the costume on, he just didn't want to wear the head piece. Not ideal, but I thought, by Halloween he will probably be willing to wear it. Well, we've gone downhill. I put the outfit on him this morning, only to find that JUST wearing the suit sent him into a frenzy. He now knows how to unzip, so he was frantically trying to do that while I tried to snap a quick picture. I slipped the hood on just in time to get a couple of shots, and that really sent him over the top. Sooooo, unless a miracle happens, or Aaron can talk Korben into wearing his cool, awesome, studly Elmo costume, it looks like Korben will be wearing a halloween themed shirt and some jeans to our youth costume party on wednesday night. Not quite what I was envisioning, but you do what you gotta do.

Let me just say that Korben actually does love the costume, he just doesn't want it on his body. He begs me everyday to take it out of the closet...he likes to carry it around...he says Hi to it...but he just doesn't want it on his body. However, he does have these new sesame street pajamas. I had just gotten them out of the dryer today and they were folded on top of a laundry basket. He got them out and started trying to slip them on his arm saying "ON, Melmo, ON, Melmo." So, he spent the majority of his day in his Elmo pajamas. Ironic, huh?

Like Father, Like Son

2009-10-26T09:33:00.000-07:00

I am told all the time that Korben looks just like me. I tell everyone that sometimes I think Korben looks just like me, and sometimes he looks just like Aaron. It just depends on what expression is on his face.

Here is some proof. This picture of Korben and me was taken before church yesterday. He wasn't in the picture taking mood, and this is the only shot we got. As soon as I uploaded these picture to my computer, I thought..."Hey, that looks just like a picture I have of Aaron as a baby." So, I took a picture of the picture of Aaron and Julie from his baby dedication day when he was 1 year old.

What do you think?

I know the picture quality isn't great, but you can still see what I'm talking about! Even their hair is the same!

Terrible Two's Article

2009-10-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this article online tonight, and it brought me comfort in regards to our past several weeks with Korben. Our ears are still ringing from some of the fits he threw this weekend. We have entered into this challenging phase with Korben, and we are doing our best to "help" him through this process. Although, we are the ones who REALLY need some help. :-)

Terrible Twos and Your Toddler
Ages and Stages

By Vincent Iannelli, M.D.

Although many parents don't expect the terrible twos to start until their toddler is two years old, it is important to note that it can begin anytime during your child's second year, and so anytime after their first birthday, and unfortunately, sometimes even before.

Characterized by toddlers being negative about most things and often saying 'no', the terrible twos may also find your toddler having frequent mood changes and temper tantrums.

To help you cope with this normal stage in your child's development, you should always remember that your child isn't trying to be defiant or rebellious on purpose. He is just trying to express his growing independence and doesn't have the language skills to easily express his needs. This can also be the reason why your toddler frequently gets frustrated and resorts to hitting, biting, and temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way.

By learning more about this normal stage in your child's development, it can make it easier to get through it and make sure that you aren't contributing to more battles than are necessary.

Other tips for helping your toddler during the terrible twos include:

* having a regular routine for meals, naps, bedtime, etc. and try to stick to them each day

* offer limited choices only, like 'would you like apples or oranges for your snack' and not just 'what do you want for your snack.' This helps your toddler feel like he is making some decisions and has power over things, but he isn't able to choose unacceptable alternatives.

* learn to set limits about things and don't be surprised when your toddler tries to test those limits to see what he can get away with

* don't give in to tantrums

* begin to use time-out and taking away privileges as discipline techniques

* provide your toddler with a safe environment that is well childproofed to explore and play in. It really isn't fair that your toddler should get in trouble for playing with something he isn't supposed to if you left it within reach.

Sunday Sunshine!

2009-10-18T11:59:00.000-07:00

It may have been 45 degrees this morning when we left for church, but it has been an absolutely gorgeous day! Even if it hadn't been a sunny day, we have our own little sunshine in our house. Korben woke up bouncing in his bed this morning and has been non-stop with his enthusiasm ever since. It is so great to see him when all the world is right, and he feels well!

My mom bought Korben this little sweater vest and shirt for him to wear on Easter last year, but it was too big at the time. It fit PERFECTLY today, and I have to admit, I thought he looked so adorable! He also wore some dress shoes that were hand-me-downs from his Stewart cousins! They look brand new, and made him look like such a big boy!

He did so great at church this morning! This was the FIRST time on a Sunday morning that WITHOUT prompting, Korben reached out for his Sunday School teacher (Mr. Paul...who he calls "pawpaw"). He didn't look back at me once. It made me so proud, but I didn't make a big deal out of it at the time because I didn't want to jinx anything! Of course, I bragged all the way down the hall! The end of August and beginning of September were especially tough times for us with separation anxiety. I am so thankful that things have gotten this much better in such a short amount of time!

Playing with my necklace while watching Sesame Street.

CHEESE!

I didn't realize that either of us were making this face until I saw the picture! Notice the gaps where you see no teeth. Those are the four spaces (two bottom and two top) where Korben is getting his eye/canine teeth. They have already all started to slowly come in, and then he will have his full smile!

My studly little man.

Parenting is challenging.

2009-10-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

So, Parenting is challenging. I feel like everyday is a guessing game. Sometimes, Korben is really fussy, and seems impossible to please. I am left wondering...Is it an ear infection again? Is it just teething? Could it be the flu? Is his antibiotic upsetting his stomach? Is he just sleepy? Is this just what toddlers do?

..............AND then sometimes, he makes it so easy. He'll give me random hugs and kisses without me asking for them. He'll snuggle with me for a LONG time. He says new words and blows my socks off with how smart he is. He'll come up to me tickle me while saying "tickle, tickle, tickle." He'll hold my hand and want to pray.

Parenting IS challenging...but the rewards are already so great they are impossible to describe. It gets better everyday. I'm just praying daily for wisdom, discernment, love, creativity, and grace. Every child deserves the best and I just want to be the best mommy I can be to my child. I am exploding with pride for my sweet baby boy.

Thank you Jesus for every single blessing. James 1:17 says that every good and perfect gift is from you, and I believe it!

Weekend thoughts

2009-10-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

Here is a weekend update of some things that have gone on at our house this week!

On Monday I took Korben to the doctor because of his fussiness and runny nose. To no surprise to me, he had double ear infections (again). Dr. McClain started him on an antibiotic. Tuesday he started to have a fever, and by Wednesday it was even higher. His fussiness was only increasing, so we went back to the doctor. Got tested for the flu and strep, both tests were negative (Praise the Lord). Turns out the antibiotic wasn't working at all, and his ears were still inflamed. He wrote us a new prescription for another antibiotic.

On Wednesday evening, one of our favorite students, Rebecca Atkinson, from our Arkadelphia youth group came to visit us. She was a freshman in high school when we started working with the youth in Arkadelphia...now she is a freshman in college. Wow, time is flying by in a hurry!! We were incredibly humbled that she asked to spend her fall break with us! Korben and I didn't get to go to church on Wednesday night, but Rebecca went and got to go and experience what our youth ministry is like here. When she came back to the house, we all stayed up past midnight talking and catching up. Since Korben was still getting over being sick, we just stayed in the house on Thursday. He was a little unsure of her at first, but it wasn't long until he was really attached to "Beppa" (Becca). He took a nice long nap that day, and we watched "My life in Ruins." It was really funny! We played with him some more when he woke up from his nap and then after he went to bed, she helped me cook a big yummy supper! Then we stayed up late watching another chick flick, "The Proposal", which just happens to be one of my new favorite movies EVER. We all four had so much fun together. She left on Friday after we went shopping around town and had lunch at the house. Thanks for coming, Beppa! We love you!

We had a couple "firsts" occur with Korben while Rebecca was here. First of all, I tell Korben "Good morning" every morning. I guess it finally clicked with him because first thing on Thursday morning when I was changing his diaper he said "Morning" with the sweetest smile on his face! I, excitedly said, "MORNING!" back to him. He thought that was funny, so now he loves to say "morning" in the morning! Ha!

I was driving down Rogers Avenue with Rebecca and Korben in the car. I was about to tell Rebecca that the building next to us was Korben's doctor's office, but before I could get the words out of my mouth, Korben pointed and said "Doctor!" It is amazing to me that he is already knowing his surroundings.

He is also really into "trash." As soon as I take his diaper off, he points to the trash can and reminds me that it is now "trash". After each wipe I use, he reminds me that it is "trash." If I give him anything and tell him it is "trash", he will find the nearest trash can and throw it away.

He INSISTS on helping me unload the dishwasher. I now let him unload the silverware basket (don't worry, I take out all the sharp objects first). He puts them all in the one correct drawer, and I sort them out later. It really does help, and it is so sweet.

We had a family outing to Target, and happened to pick him up his first crayons and coloring book. He really likes his "colors" and will sit very quietly at the table playing with his crayons. He is really growing up! I also just have to share that his cutest new word is "popcorn." It seriously melts my heart when he says it. It sounds like "Pawwwp-Orn" He really loves it! Especially at Target!

Tonight, Korben got to have one-on-one attention with one of his favorite people in the world, Linda Cain. Aaron hosted a "Parent Summit" tonight, which was a dinner and meeting specifically for parents of students in the youth group. Aaron shared his heart and vision for youth ministry, while presenting the calendar and other details like that to the parents. Childcare was available, but most parents don't have children that small. It turned out to just be Korben and his buddy Will Rollans, who is 4. There were two nursery workers, and two kids. Those boys had it pretty good! They had the playroom all to themselves! When I went in to get Korben, he was having a ball playing hide and seek with Linda and little Will! Linda said Korben was showing Will where she was hiding. Korben was soooooo tired when we got home. I'm assuming he ran for at least 2 hours.

Here is a picture of him enjoying playing with his crayons today.

P.S. Have I told you guys lately how BIG Korben is? He has grown SO much just withing the past month! He is so tall! Most of his pants are starting to look like capris and a lot of his shirts that looked great a month ago are now way too short! How does this happen so quickly?

Yogurt in the bath

2009-10-10T21:23:00.001-07:00

One new food we have successfully added to Korben's menu this week is yogurt. Even though Korben has a history of being lactose intolerant, I have read that yogurt is usually tolerated by lactose intolerant people thanks to all of the live cultures in the yogurt. He has tried it a couple times this week and he has had no problems. Tonight, we let him practice his spoon skills in the bath tub with his yogurt. We made a few videos for your viewing enjoyment. Please note the new language Korben has invented. He speaks in full sentences to himself right now, we just can't quite interpret. I laugh at the beginning of one of the videos because he says "cheese" right when Aaron turned on the camera. He is such a ham!

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A great fall Saturday!

2009-10-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

After Tiger Tunes was over last night we actually drove back to Fort Smith. We got home around 11:15, which means Korben didn't get to sleep until 11:30. This was a FIRST for our child. He has never gone to sleep that late in his whole life. We were exhausted, and praying we would get to sleep late. BUT, as you know, kids are odd, and sometimes the later you put them to sleep, the earlier they wake up! Well, by the grace of God, Korben slept until 10:30 this morning! I don't even remember the last time I got to sleep that late! We were sort of in college mode after last night, so we put Korben in his OBU hoodie we bought him last year at Tiger Tunes, and headed to Waffle House (another OBU tradition).

Stacking cheerios with Daddy is fun!

"I'll have one chocolate chip waffle, one scrambled egg, and a side of toast."

I love my daddy!

We are just alike, Daddy!

I am about to go buck wild. You can see the "crazy" in my eye.

Just for old time's sake, here is a picture of Aaron and Korben this time last year. He is wearing the same OBU hoodie, even though the colors in the pictures make it look like it is different.

It was a perfect fall Saturday here in Fort Smith. It was cold, the hogs were playing (and winning!), and there was a fall festival going on at the Neumeier Nursery. After a great Waffle House breakfast we took Korben to the festival. It was complete with hundreds of pumpkins, pony rides, craft booths, and food galore. It sounds fun, right? Well, it would have been, but we forgot our stroller and our child was WILD. I can not explain just how wild he was. He wanted "DOWN", and if we let him down he was gone in a flash. He has this strange obsession right now with ice, and he kept running away trying to get "IIIIICE" from one of the vendor's ice chest's. If Aaron and I said the word "Wild" once, we said it 500 times today. Y'all, Korben was WILD. He wasn't mean, or anything. Just FULL of energy, and would not tolerate being held. Needless to say, we didn't stay there long. Right as we were leaving, we walked by a lady who was pulling her grandson around in a little red wagon. She dropped the handle for a brief moment to talk to someone and Korben picked it up and started to try to take her grandson for a ride. She thought it was the funniest thing and wanted to take a picture of them. Her grandson wasn't very excited about this little red-headed wild man taking control of his wagon. He said, "He's going to squash my pumpkins." Haha!

We then had a family outing at Target and Korben got to eat popcorn throughout the store (while confined to the shopping cart, I might add!). Then, we headed over to Petco to see the Humane Society animals. Korben and Aaron were begging me for a dog (well, maybe just Aaron). If you would have known me as a child, you never would have believed that I would EVER turn down a dog. I was the girl who would sit in the dog house with my dogs and have conversations with them, okay? I love animals, trust me. There are just countless reasons why we can not have a dog at this very moment in our lives. As a side note, we do plan to go back to Petco sometimes for educational experience! We kind of felt like we were at a free zoo. Korben got to see puppies, kitty cats, fish, reptiles, mice...it was pretty much the same experience!

Today was one of my favorite family Saturdays to date!

TIGER TUNES

2009-10-10T20:26:00.000-07:00

Tiger Tunes. My two favorite words that describe my Ouachita Baptist University experience. It is the greatest show on earth that I had the privilege of participating in all 4 years in college! Although Aaron and I attended Tiger Tunes last year, we didn't quite think Korben was ready to attend at just 7 months old. However, this year, he was just one day shy of 19 months old. We really had a good inclination that he would love it, considering how much he loved Sesame Street Live. As the show got closer, I started to worry we were making a big mistake. Well, guess what? He LOVED it! For the first 45 minutes he sat in Aaron's lap, and I kid you not, did not move a muscle. He was mesmerized. Then I believe he sat in my lap for half a second, then moved on to Emily's (My BFF) lap, and eventually sat back with his daddy. Intermission came at the perfect time because he started to get a little ansy (which really just consisted of flirting with the cute 5 year old girl down the row). After intermission he sat perfectly for another 45 minutes in either Emily's lap and then in Brandon's (Aaron's summer youth intern, who is now a student at OBU) lap. It was so apparent that he knew Drew (Korben's photographer friend who just happens to be Emily's husband), Emily, and Brandon when he saw them...even if it was practically in the dark! The show was over two hours long and Korben only had to leave during the last 15-20 minutes just because he insisted on standing up and poking the little boys in front of us in the back of the head. (He thinks everyone should want to play with him!) Aaron was happy to take him out, and it actually worked out well because they ended up getting to see a lot of friends and former students in our youth group out in the lobby. We were SO incredibly proud of Korben. Even though he is growing up so fast, we have a hard time remembering he is only a year and a half old. He is so smart and seems to understand so much sometimes! We even had him saying "Tiger Tunes" before the show! This was definitely an unforgettable memory for us!

Korben's expression throughout the whole show.

Attempt at a family pic during the show. I didn't realize Aaron was talking to Brandon.

Emily and Me (Yes, it is true, we have won Tiger Tunes together twice)

Mesmerized Korben, as well as Aaron, Brandon, and Korben's first OBU girlfriend in the faint background.

P.S. How could I forget to tell my FAVORITE memory of the night? Emily was sitting to my left, holding Korben. Korben gently reached his right hand out toward me, and I thought he wanted his sippy cup. I tried to hand him his cup, and he just softly grabbed my hand and began watching the show again. HE JUST WANTED TO HOLD MY HAND, PEOPLE! I thought it was so bizarre that he never wanted to sit in my lap that night. I was thrilled that he wanted to go to everyone that he did, but I just thought it was weird at first that he didn't want to sit with me. It absolutely made my night when he just wanted to hold hands! Emily and Aaron were both witnesses of this. I can't lie...I kind of got teary eyed.

The past month- LOTS of pictures!

2009-10-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

I have been the worst blogger ever for almost a month! Yes, we have been busy, but I have to admit I just haven't felt like blogging. For some reason, in my free time, I've just had no desire to be on the computer. Not even facebook, for that matter! My free time feels like it has been drastically cut back lately, considering the fact that Korben only takes one nap a day, stays up later, and we have so many things to do throughout the week and at night.
When I have had free time, I've been trying to read more, as well as exercise every day. I have decided that I want to train for a 5k. Thanks to my friend Karen Rollans, I now have a jogging stroller. Korben is really wondering what has gotten into me lately. He says "weeee" when we run fast, so that motivates me to keep going! I guess my blog has just not been on my priority list, so I apologize to the Grandmothers!

Here are a few pictures of what we have been up to over the past several weeks. They go backwards (from most recent to oldest). Aaron was gone from September 24th-29th to a youth ministry conference in Los Angeles . While he was gone, I spent that time at my Mom's house. That happened to be my grandmother's 90th birthday weekend, so we were blessed to celebrate that special day with her. My sister came in from Nashville (Whom Korben decided he loved, by the way. He affectionately called her Baby but pronounced it BehBeh). We had a big party for my grandmother with lots of family. It was a busy few days which helped us not miss Aaron too terribly.

Let me take you on a backwards trip of our past few weeks.

These "pancake" shots were taken Friday morning. I made oatmeal pancakes for breakfast on Aaron's day off. Korben didn't want his own pancakes, but he almost ate all of his Daddy's. It was hilarious.

Pictures by the front horse pasture at CC's house taken last Monday.

On CC's porch

Doesn't take kids long to know which drawer has the "Tooooooooooys" in it.

Sitting in his Mommy's old booster seat!

Trying out a Model T Ford that was being showcased at my Grandmother's nursing home.

Visiting Mema on her actual 90th birthday.

Mema's party

Thanks to my pal Rachel Freeman, I actually did something crafty at my MOPS meeting.

Climbs in toy chest, empties toys out of toy chest, puts toys back in toy chest, repeats...

Good times strolling around Target with Mopsy. We spent forever playing with this T-Rex demonstration. Korben might has well have been at Disney World Animal Kingdom.

Our best attempt (sad, I know!) at a family picture on Mopsy's pretty porch on Satruday, September 19th.

My sweet hubby and me at Van's food market (apparently I have a great idea, notice the light bulb above my head)!

Another attempt at a family shot!

CUTE picture of Korben and his Mopsy.

Some precious shots of Korben posing at Van's Food Market in Heber Springs. He is posing in the same rocking chair we photographed him in exactly a year ago. Check facebook for a photo album comparing the shots from last year and this year.

These were taken on September 18th when Aaron and I took Korben to visit Mema (Since Aaron wasn't going to be in town for Mema's actual birthday)

Korben and CC sitting on their "seat." Korben feels so cool when he sits on the stairs to drink out of his cup.

This was taken about 3 weeks ago. Korben was cheesing to show off his new bottom back molars.

Diaper

2009-09-14T19:38:00.000-07:00

So you probably think this is Kristen Rodgers. This, however, is not. It's the dashingly handsome, always festively plump, Aaron Rodgers. The justification for me taking over my [smoking] hot wife's blog is due to my first hand witness of tonight's events with our son Korben.

I tried to get out of the office early today (before 4:00 pm), came home, rode my bike, then sat down to enjoy some precious time with my fam. Korben was dressed in this new orange and navy checkered button up shirt (he looks like a stud in it). What took me several minutes to finally notice was ... that, was all he was wearing. MY son is not completely happy, and I know what you're thinking, "But he's usually so happy?!" and "When I've seen him happy it seems as though no other child on earth could ascertain such exuberance!" .... Well, you've never seen him without his diaper on.

The child becomes a different being when freed from the bondage of his urination & defecation pouch. When I see this, I state my observation and ask him a question, "Korben, you're not wearing a diaper! Do you like that? You having fun?" Without pause he answered, "Yeah!" as he began walking away from me, towards his room. He rounds the corner to his room, out of my sight, and returns back around the corner a few seconds later with a diaper in hand!

(I know this is a play by play, but you're gonna want it in a sec, hang in there) He waddled back to me and handed me the diaper. I congratulated him for his cognitive efforts and began unfolding the diaper. He stood very close to me and watched me as I worked. I asked him if he wanted to put the diaper on, he acknowledged with silent compliance. As I concentrated on how I would attach this soon to be soiled underpants to my son who was standing upright ...

I felt a warm unexpected embrace on my hands. I looked down to see a steady stream of concentrated evil eloquently flowing from underneath this child's classy button up shirt. Only milliseconds passed before I repositioned the open diaper in my hands to catch the yellow stream. He stood there, motionless, a face of both pure concentration and ecstasy. I waited patiently, slightly moving the now heavier diaper to make sure all the "liquid" stayed in the diaper.

He finished.

Partially clapped.

And walked away.

That's what I would have done. So I tried to call for Kristen who was out of the room as I tried to stop laughing and congratulating Korben for his new found efforts. It's about the little things. The simple moments. I'll never forget this ... especially on Korben's wedding dinner rehearsal night.

18 month check up

2009-09-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

We just had Korben's 18 month check up with Dr. Beene. Little did she know, we had just been at the doctor on Friday for a sick visit. We rarely actually get to see her when he is sick since it is usually a last minute visit.

Korben weighed 27.8 pounds and was 34 inches long. He is still following the same percentiles, 75th% for his weight and 90th percentile for his height.

His left ear is still inflamed from the ear infections last week, so hopefully the antibiotics will wrap that up quickly. She thought his gums looked awfully swollen and said "OUCH" when she looked in his mouth. His bottom molars are in, although I know they still have some growing to do. You can only see the tips of the molars on the top, so those are probably causing him the most discomfort. The space in between his front teeth and molars is really red and swollen like something could come through there anytime. It will be so nice when he gets all of his pearly whites!

I told her my concern about Korben getting sick every 2.5-3 weeks with something. Once we talked about what he was actually getting sick with, I was reminded that it usually always something different, and almost always viral. She referred Korben to being in his "first year of exposure" and said it was normal for him to catch up to 10 things a year. Really? WOW. She said she would be worried if he continued to catch the same things over and over. In example, constant respiratory infections. He doesn't have the same thing all the time, in fact, he keeps us on our toes. His schedule tends to follow like this: stomach bug, fever virus, ear infection, then another type of stomach virus, another fever virus, allergies/teething. You just never know what you're going to get!

One thing that encouraged me was that I told her that he has obvious outdoor allergies right now (just like his momma). I've been avoiding strolling around our neighborhood lately because it seems like every time I do, his eyes start watering and he gets a cough and runny nose (and then a week later that mucous has turned itself into double ear infections...NOT worth a stroll around the block). She suggested Zyrtec for children. YAY! I didn't realize I could give him any sort of daily allergy medicine yet. She recommended that through this fall season I give it to him every single day. Sounds good to me, I hope it works!

He was really good at the appointment today, especially when he was in control of the situation. If HE got to place the stethoscope on his chest, the world was fine. If she did it, the world was over. While she examined him on the table, you would have thought he was being circumsized all over again in that room. Did you hear him screaming from where you were? I'm sure you did. She said his behavior was completely normal at his age, and usually gets a lot better by the 2 year old appointment. By the way, his next check up isn't until he is 2. It seems so far away, but it is less than 6 months from now! Of course, we will be back in October for flu shots, and if I know Korben like I think I do, we will make a few more visits before his next "well" visit.

Oh yeah, as much as I would like to forget about this incident, I better record it. Here is some drama that I wish had never happened. So, I was waiting for my appointment, and I'd held Korben as long as I could in the waiting room. We waited almost 30 minutes, and I can not hold him that long with him yelling "DOWN." So, I let him down, and let him play with that big standard toy that is in all doctor's offices. He was the only one playing with it, and I was going to sanitize his hands as soon as he was through playing with it. A 13 month old little girl walked over to it and started to play with it. Korben gently took her hands and moved it off the toy and said "NO, NO." Tacky? YES. Greedy? YES. Mean? Not really. He was gentle about it. Of course, I instantly grabbed his hands and told him that he needed to share with her. About 5 minutes went by. He seemed really happy. He was dancing around to the music on TV. The little girl was standing across the room by her mom. Everything seemed great. THEN, out of nowhere, he RAN up to the little girl, slapped her on the face with both hands, and pushed her down!!! I am embarrassed even typing about how horrific this scene was. The poor mom (who was there with her newborn- bless her heart!) looked at me with the most terrible expression! I picked up korben and said "No, No, No, No....we do NOT hit or push." I made him sit in my lap until the nurse called us back, which is the ultimate punishment for a little boy who wants to be on the move. So, to say the least, I have some work to do on teaching him to be kind with other children. This was our second incident with this. His best friend Brayden was his victim last week. I just didn't seem this coming with this innocent little girl!

For the most part, we had a very good check up. I am so thankful for my little boy. My wild, unpredictable, smart, and hilarious little boy.