Six Months

The last few weeks have been full ones, to be sure! Not only have there been changes in Jack, but there have been many changes in our house as well. The biggest change, of course, is the fact that Anne and Bryan are home! When they come home our little lives get a boost of energy and the house practically cannot hold us. We worked incredibly hard getting their rooms ready for them--new drywall and texturing, paint, new furniture, some decorating touches. They were finally done and the kids helped move their furniture in the day they came home! There are a few little finishing touches here and there that need to be done, but it was exciting to see them come in and rummage around in the attic for little treasures that they used to have in their rooms and had to leave behind when they moved to Florida. It has been a great challenge having two 11 year-old children around full-time, but it has also been extremely gratifying and rewarding. We are working on the Four Rules of Communication (yea verily, a fifth has been added). In case you don't know what they are, they are as follows:
1. Be Honest
2. Keep Current
3. Act, Don't React
4. Attack the Problem, Not the Person
(5. When in doubt, just shut up)

Anne and Bryan are absolutely each others' best friend. They are also each others' worst enemy. The fued over rooms, property, who said what and when, etc., are ENDLESS, but we are trying to teach them problem-solving skills that they can apply to ANY situation to end the problem without screaming, slamming doors or punching inanimate objects! So far they have done well. It was hard at first, but I can't tell you the feeling of pride in them that I have when I see them knocking heads over something, and then sitting down in the floor to discuss the problem and possible solutions to the problem. We are also learning the difference between "I'm sorry" and "please forgive me". We pray that they will continue this wonderful process of biblical communication even after they return home and we are no longer there to referee.

The changes in Jack are too numerous to count! He absolutely ADORES his brother and sister. We call them Bubba and Sissy. Bryan can be standing beside him and make a noise and Jack will just burst in to a fit of laughter. Anne has a special touch with Jack and takes extremely good care of him. She is able to rock him to sleep when I am unable to and he sit entranced when she sings to him. When Bry and Anne wrestle around in the floor he watches them and squeals as if he is just waiting to jump in there with them. He can roll over each way now and even gets up on hands and knees and scoots around. He is no longer left on the bed because he could be off the edge before I have time to turn around! He says "Da Da", "La La", and "Blah Blah" quite distinctly. No "Ma Ma" yet, but that's ok. At first we weren't sure that he was really saying "Da Da" and meaning Jeff, but now we are positive that he is asking for or talking about his Daddy. He will sit in his little walker and if Jeff is not looking at him he will say, "da da da da da da" with increasing intensity until Da Da finally looks at him!

Right now he is very sick. I had to take him to urgent care yesterday before he had a fever and there was gunk coming out of his eyes and nose. I was worried that he was getting an ear infection, but the doc said his ears were clear. They gave me some baby decongestant and some eye drops, so we're hoping that he gets better soon. He is pretty miserable right now, as you will see from the pictures I took yesterday and this morning. However, he is smiling this morning and although he is sticky, he is still very sweet. We love him so much.

He had his 6 month check up last week. The doctor has proclaimed him perfect! He is ahead of the game in many areas. He weight 17 lbs, 4 oz, and he is 27 1/2 inches long! What a big boy! I hope to have another post up today with some video footage for Father's Day.

Well, that kind of brings us up to speed. Our days are busy and the kids start VBS next week, so it's going to be crazy, but I'll try to do better with posting. Anne is a little computer bug too, so I am in competition for my desk!

Love to all!

PS. I'll have to try the pictures later since there is something wrong with Blogger and they will not upload!!!