Happy Halloween

I managed to squeeze two years out of Will's costume and he was a tiger, or "Tigger" again:

Jane was a bear (thanks to Aunt Gretchen) and also sported cousin Evan's pumpkin sweat suit:


Will & Clara

Check-up

Will had a check-up today at Swedish and things are looking good. The doctor cleaned and checked the wound which was painful for the poor guy and he howled the whole time and used his favorite new word--"NO" (pronounced like "GNOCCHI," minus the "CHHI")
He got a little boot to wear that will allow him to get around better once he's strong enough to walk. The stitches come out in about 2 weeks (she couldn't believe the ER doc didn't use absorbable stitches) which will be painful but the doctor will put him under conscious-sedation so that she can get them out without hurting Will too much or risking him kicking around because of the pain. At that time, they'll also take more x-rays to make sure everything is healing properly.
We really appreciate everyone's concern for Will!

A random note--the Skyline High School football team (John and I both graduated from SHS in '00) is playing on ESPN tomorrow. Go Spartans!

Here's a pic of Will in his new boot, Will sleeping with his buddy, Pooh and one of my favorite little girl:

Update on Will

I want to give a brief update on our day as I'm pretty sure my mom called everyone she knows today (love you mom!) to tell them to pray for Will.

To give a brief rundown of the days events, Will dropped a 30 lb weight from Johnny's weight set directly on his foot this morning as we were in the garage preparing to head out on a family walk.
I took one look at the bloody mangled foot and knew something was broken or worse. I rushed Will to the local urgent care where the doctor told me to take him directly to the hospital. We then went home, picked up Johnny and Jane and headed down to the Valley ER.
I think having a moaning toddler and small baby in tow helped us get in quickly, and within the hour the doctor numbed, cleaned and had Will's foot x-rayed. He does have two fractures on his foot/toe region, got some stitches to close a laceration and had to have his big toenail removed, but it doesn't look like the growth plate will be affected, meaning that if all heals well he should be fine and won't require surgery. We head to an orthopedic specialist next week and will then have regular check-ups, but we're thankful that we have such great medical care available to us!
Will was SUCH a brave guy during the day, and Jane was her sweet usual self and even got a short nap in at the hospital. Will's doctor and nurses were very gentle and worked quickly to help him out. One nurse even gave Will's Peter Pan doll a pretend vital sign patch to match Will's and Will kept saying that Peter Pan was "hurt" too.
He had lots of family surrounding him with love and John and I were talking about how much we could feel God's presence and your prayers, as the way was made smooth for us today and we were both able to remain calm even though it was extremely difficult for us to see our baby in so much pain.
Will crashed around 6:30 this evening after taking some Tylenol/codeine. His little foot is all splinted up, and will hopefully be well protected. It will be interesting to see how he does getting around, as the doctor said to "keep him off of it as much as possible"--could be difficult to do :-)
We're supposed to be taking some family pictures with the Simons tomorrow, so we'll see how many smiles we get out of Will...

First Shave

Will is fascinated with watching John shave, so tonight we let him give it a try on himself. Don't worry, grandmas, the plastic protector was on the whole time.

Prayer Request

We have family friends serving as missionaries in India, and I just received an email from them with an urgent prayer request that I want to pass along if you can lift them up in prayer as well:

Last week, in Orissa (a state in India north of where our friends are living), a Hindu priest and four of his followers were gunned down by unknown assailants.

Orissa is the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. So, unfortunately, it's not a surprise that Christians were immediately blamed for the killings. In the past several days, extremists have burned or blown up hundreds of churches and homes of local Christians. Many Christians, including children, have also been murdered. There are many orphanages in the midst of this chaos, and as you can imagine, the children are undoubtedly terrified.

Thankfully, the federal government and local Hindu population have helped to shield and offer protection for local groups which has, in some cases, saved many lives.

I'm compelled to pass this on in the hopes that you'll lift these people up in prayer, especially over the next several days. Please pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa and India. My dad will be traveling there next month to visit our friends (Dan and Jenny) so your prayers for their safety are appreciated as well. Thanks!

$4.99 well spent

Last week, I took the kids to Babies R' Us to spend a $25 gift card that had been burning a hole in my pocket. I told Will he could pick out a toy. He was begging for a huge plush Pooh bear, but it was like 50 bucks so I wouldn't let him get it. We left without Pooh, and Will survived. Nonetheless, Will loves Pooh right now. Usually the first thing he says upon waking in the morning is either "Pooh," "Hook" (aka Peter Pan which he can't say), or "Milk," which is his other favorite thing (and he still takes a bottle even though he's almost two which is another story).
So, imagine my delight when I found a huge Winnie the Pooh doll at the Goodwill yesterday for $4.99. Yes!
I also managed to give Will a haircut today--you can kind of see the before and after in the pictures below:




I also got Will a fire hat at the Goodwill, but Will refuses to wear hats (like father, like son), so instead I had fun trying it on my little baby doll:

Kirk won't kiss another

John and I have talked flippantly about how hard it would be to be an actor and be expected to kiss someone else on screen. Acting or not, it just doesn't seem right. I saw this article about Kirk Cameron (of "Growing Pains" fame), who is starring in a movie called "Fireproof." In the movie, there's a scene where Cameron is supposed to kiss his wife. During filming, Kirk (who in real life is married with six kids) refused to kiss the actress who plays his wife because, well, she's not his wife. They found a way to make the scene work anyway. You can read more here.
Good for you, Kirk!

One last zoo outing before hibernation

Today was a beautiful day for the zoo. Johnny, we missed you!
The kids and I went with my parents and met up with Jackson and Gretch. It was a fun time and the animals were in good form for us today. Will's favorites were the tapir, the balloon-neck monkeys, and the flamingoes.

Here are a few pics from our outing:

Getting bundled up at Gretchen's house (who lives about 3 blocks from the zoo)

The beautiful giraffes

Will and Pa on the hippo

Jane about to pass out in the bjorn

Gretch and Jackson (hope you don't mind making a debut on our blog, Jackson!)

Another blog post?!

Okay, I don't think I've ever posted this many times in one week, so hope you like pictures! We're a little under the weather, so I've had more time to catch up on pictures, email, etc this week.
I'm having such a good time with the kids. I can see why having them be so close in age will be really fun--it's already starting to get easier.
Jane is 4 months old! She is at an age where she's alert and loves to just be held forward so that she can look around at her brother and whatever other action she can take in. She is such a happy-go-lucky little girl and will always light up and give me a smile. Not a great sleeper yet, but having gone through the newborn stage with Will, I know that this will come eventually.
Speaking of Will, he is such a little sponge right now. I read in this weekly email I get that at this age, toddlers can learn up to 10 new vocab words/day and I believe it. He also mimics what we do, which can be very funny. Today I was trying to put Jane down for a nap and he came running into the room yelling. Instinctively, I put my index finger to my mouth and said, "Shhh...baby's trying to sleep." Well, he thought this was hilarious and kept doing this for the remainder of the day.
John and I are doing well, not much new to report but we're having a great time being married and being parents! John leaves Friday for his annual week-long national trade show in Chicago. Next year, the show is in Florida, and I'm hoping to join him at the end of the show so the two of us can go on a cruise out of Orlando to celebrate our 5 year (!) anniversary..

4 months!

loving the bath

enjoying a pretzel at the southcenter mall

fun in sister's crib

Family Pictures

I just got some pictures from Gretchen, Laurel and my dad of the past week and I can't resist posting a few.
Clara and Jane got dedicated at church and I was baptized (hence the white robe), so it was a big week for us!
note: I've been getting spam comments, and don't want you or me to get a virus, so I deleted the ability to comment on posts, at least for now...

Pastor Jerry showing off Jane to the congregation before praying for her

Cousins (notice that they're holding hands--very intentional I'm sure)

with my sweet baby Jane

Jane with Great Grandma Mary

First time in the double stroller:

Will loves running around with the football:

No More Obama Babies

I try not to talk politics on this blog, but I just want to give my two cents about a recent trend I find kind of annoying. Maybe some think it's cute, but I grow weary of seeing 6 month old babies with a picture of Barack Obama on their onesie that says "Obama Baby" or "My Mama's for Obama." I haven't seen anyone in a McCain onesie, maybe because McCain doesn't rhyme with Mama or Dada. Or, maybe it's because there are roughly two Republicans in the greater-Seattle area and one of them is writing this post.
Regardless, whether you like Obama or McCain, put a sticker on your car, wear a pin, stick a sign in your yard, or dress up like your favorite candidate for Halloween. But please, oh please, don't turn your kid into a walking (or crawling) billboard.
p.s. I saw an even worse onesie today. It had a picture of President Bush that said "President Poopyhead." What's wrong with us? What are we teaching our children? The lack of respect we have for authority just amazes me.

Is it just me, or is this more creepy than cute?

We got a Vizio

We purchased a new tv this weekend, and Will has been excited that he can now reach the screen and give binkies to all the cartoon characters who may be in need:



Jane has her own seat so that she doesn't miss out on any of the action:

Boys vs. Girls

I'm constantly reminded of what a boy Will is. He could care less if he's dirty, struggles to understand the meaning of "gentle" and loves loud noises.
A couple recent examples of this:
-We blew up a few balloons for Will to play with. He quickly proceeded to pop them all with his fingernails and didn't blink an eye when they popped. I have always hated the anticipation of a balloon about to pop and jumped out of my skin each time Will popped a balloon, even though I knew it was coming.
-Today we visited the Salmon Hatchery in Issaquah. Although it's great that there are spawning grounds for these salmon to return to, it's pretty brutal to watch how they dispose of these fish who have worked so hard to make it back to their home to spawn. There are a bunch of guys waiting to catch the fish as they finally make it to the hatchery, who then proceed to beat them over the head with clubs until they're dead and then cut them open and remove their eggs.
Yeah, it must be done and it's natural for them to die and yadah yadah yadah, but I still was on the verge of tears and couldn't make myself watch them club those poor fish and then fillet them. Being the boy that he is, Will couldn't get enough of the action. "More, More?" he kept saying.

Will and Pa watching fish be killed (notice the bucket of fish next to him):


Will and Johnny enjoying the less bloody part of Salmon Days last weekend:


Gretchen's Birthday dinner: