How do I get out outta here?

I feel like a Chilean Miner. About a month ago we noticed that Ryan got REALLY fussy at night. I did a little research and narrowed it down to what I thought was Acid Reflux. So when we went in for Ryan's 2 month check, I explained to his Doctor what was going on, he agreed and we put a plan of action into place to treat the Acid Reflux. The Dr. suggested we come back a week later to see how things were going. At the one week check we hadn't really seen any improvment so we said let's check back in one more week. During the next week I narrowed down the problem, it was the formula that was bothering him. So I of course told the Dr my hypothesis so then he gave me a can of of soy formula as well as a hypoallergenic formula as a last resort. Well we struck out on the soy formula and the he's only had about 1 oz of the hypoallergenic formula but seemed to tollerate it, unfortunatly it costs about twice as much as the regular milk based formula. So I'm trying to give him as much breast milk as possible, which is leaving me feeling trapped. I'm on the right path and soon I'll be feeling better, but this is one tough job. Perhaps by the time all is said and done I'll be a member of the La Leche League!

School Pictures

We recently received the boys' school pictures. As you can see Matt's photo looks more like a mug shot. The jury is out if we should have them retaken. I'm leaning toward keeping them as it makes me smile/laugh out loud each time I see it. I guess I'll sleep on it!

Which Way to Heaven?

This past weekend we said goodbye to my Grandma Agnes. And while it was sad to say goodbye, she had lived a wonderful, long and healthy life of 99 years. We had just been back home to visit 2 weeks ago and had the chance to stop by to say hello to her so she could have a chance to meet Ryan for the first time. I'm so glad I have this photo of she and I and my 3 boys. I'll cherish it forever as she was one very special lady.

Death and heaven are pretty tough subjects to fully understand even as an adult, but for a 3 and 5 year old it must be even harder to understand so of course there were lots of questions, which actually kept me smiling, which I needed. First the boys were asking why she died. Now they actually get the general concept of something dying. They've had a fish that has died, they've seen dead animals in the street, but a person, that was new. We ended up explaining that Grandma Agnes' batteries wore out (they obviously get what that means), but of course couldn't understand why we couldn't just pull out of the box of batteries and replace them like we do here at home. Then when we explained on Saturday night (after a 6 hour car ride home) that the next day we'd be going to see Grandma Agnes who is now in heaven, Matt asked "Do we have to drive there too?". As my dad pointed out, if Matt has directions to heaven, we should all jump in the car with him. Then of course came the visitation. As we approached the casket Matt started waving to Grandma, but couldn't understand why she wasn't waving back. And then he brought another smile to my face when he said, "Are we in Heaven now?".

I'm not really sure how much the boys understood about it all or even how much they'll remember, probably more than I expect knowing them. For that matter, I'm not sure how much they'll even remember her. But I do know that now they have an Angel looking out for them. Goodbye Grandma, we'll miss you and we love you!