On Friday, Sloan and I had an awesome time of just sitting on the couch together talking and laughing and reading the Bible. At one point I asked him if he make sure to never get too big to sit on my lap and give me kisses and hugs. “Okay, mom,” he said. “But when I’m 49 I might be too big.”

Well, I’ll take it.

Sitting there with him being all snuggly and cute made me want to document some things about him. This blog is kind of like my journal. I am printing off every month and storing it in a notebook so I’ll always remember these stories. So, let me tell you a little about Sloan.

He’s always been a really funny little kid. It took him forever to start talking, not quite as long as his sister, but close. But the words he said were really cute and random. He was big on making the sounds of things to let you know what they were. A firetruck was a Weeaw-weeaw. A bird was a tee-tee. When he wanted you to sit down, he’d point and say “ahs,” which sounded an awful lot like ass. We don’t know where it came from and were a little glad when he stopped doing that. For a long time he called my mom “House” because we always said we were going to byshka’s house. We were also glad when he stopped doing that.

Sloan is a very passionate and excitable little guy. One night, when he was about 2.5, we were driving and the moon was really big out his window. In his loudest voice he exclaimed, “Wow! Wook at da moon. It’s pitty (pretty).” We then turned a corner and the moon was in front of us. “Mommy wook,” he said pointing. “Two moons! Der’s two moons tonight.” Every time after that, whenever the moon was in a different window he got excited about another moon!

When he was three he was big enough to sing on stage with his class at church. They crowded the kids in groups around several mic’s. Sloan kind of looked from side to side at everyone, then stepped proudly in front of the microphone, put his mouth up on it and sang his little heart out. And he knew all the words. It was darling, and like a good, proud mama, I caught it on videotape. I may post it sometime…if I ever figure out how to do that. Sloan loves to sing and will do so loudly, even if he has no clue what the words are. It’s hysterical to hear how he interprets songs.

Sloan is very empathetic. He does not like to see people hurting or upset. Despite his orneriness (is that a word?) he really adores his sister and wants her to play with him at pretty much every moment. The other day, we were talking about how his Byshka (my mom) was in Florida so Boss (my dad) was all alone at home. “That’s so sad,” Sloan said. “What if a monster comes to his house. What will Boss do?” There are so many funny stories about Sloan it’s hard to keep them all straight. Mostly, I’m just so glad he’s mine. Even though he’s a bit sassy these days, sitting with him by the fire on Friday reminded me that he’s still my precious little boy and according to him, he will be until he turns 49.

Landon had his check up on Tuesday morning. He weighs a whopping 14 pounds! Pretty good for a kid that doesn’t eat hardly at all. He’ll hate that slow metabolism someday but for now it’s a good thing. He also got his first round of immunizations. I would love to hear some thoughts that some of you have on immunizations. Here are my struggles. While I am all for some of the big ones like polio, hep b, and even MMR despite the controversy over that one, I am beginning to feel a little leary about the others that they keep introducing. Like, is it completely necessary to immunize children from the chicken pox, pneumonia (prevnar) and rotovirus? The reason I ask is because some good friends of ours recently found out their 4 year old has type1 diabetes. This is a severe form of diabetes. Since then, they, and I, have been researching some of the studies that suggest the possibility of some of these live virus vaccines being the root cause of some auto immune disorders. Now, I know that for every study that links diabetes and autism to vaccinations, there is one that refutes any such link, so I am not going to not vaccinate my children for those reasons alone. But, I am beginning to wonder if the risks really outweigh the benefits in some cases. Now if hundreds of thousands of children were dying a year of chicken pox, then sure, the vaccination would definately outweigh the risks associated. Same with rotovirus. But as far as I can tell, the actual percentage of children who have actually died from chicken pox and rotovirus is quite low. I don’t know, it’s all very overwhelming. I did let them give Landon all four vaccinations the other day because I’m a weanie and didn’t feel like I had any ground to back up my concern, but I am strongly thinking about holding off on chicken pox and rotovirus until I either have enough research to feel comfortable with them giving those to him, or I feel comfortable forgoing them altogether. Lee and I decided we will be doing a lot more research before Landon gets more vaccinations, then I think I will have him come to the dr.’s office with me to discuss our concerns and decide which ones we may pass up. If any of you have done research, I would love to hear some of your thoughts.

…that trying to run outside when it’s 32 degrees out and you have a cold and you’ve only had a baby two months ago is a bad idea. Amy S., if you are reading this, I would just like you to know that you stink for making me think it would be a good idea to run this race. I have to be able to run 6 miles in about 4 weeks. Uh-huh. I’m also hoping for a unicorn for my thirtieth birthday but that probably won’t happen either…

For all you moms of boys, I have a great website for you to check out. Actually, Tia loves these videos too. It’s called littlehardhats.com The videos are awesome!!! They are a little pricey on that website, but you can find them for half the price on Amazon. I think we may have all of them at this point. They are shorter, which is nice so the kids aren’t plastered to the TV for an hour and a half and they are so informative! We have Where the Garbage Goes, which shows you everything about how garbage is recycled and processed. Just beware, you’ll probably be convicted on how much we consume as a nation – it’s disgusting. Another favorite is Farm Country Ahead, which shows the kids how corn is grown, how bread and peanut butter are made and how milk is processed. Did you know that one cow poops an average of 150 pounds per day! That’s a lot of s*@#! There’s also some poor guy that has to get in a little Bobcat and scoop all that manure up and shovel it into a dump truck so it can be sprayed over the crops to help them grow. When we wathced it for the first time I commented that these videos are great advertisements for a college education. Now, every time Sloan watches the poor guy scooping up the poop, he says, “I don’t want to do that when I grow up. I better go to college!” That’s right my boy! Tia loves the airplane one called Cleared for Takeoff and they both love the fire fighter video. Seriously, these videos are fun. Check them out. They’d be great birthday presents. What kid wouldn’t like to sit and watch garbage trucks, tractors and fire trucks!

I don’t know why my stories of Tia always involve her doing gross things. No dainty little girls for us! So, while this isn’t nearly as disgusting as her chewing on Landon’s umbilical cord, it’s still pretty yuck (if you’ve not heard the story, click the link. Just don’t eat while you read). Yesterday it was a whopping 40 degrees out. Not warm enough for shorts and a t-shirt, of course, but still seemed balmy and pleasant after several days in the 20’s. Anyway, because it was so warm, all the ice is melting into a nasty, slushy mess. While I was busy getting Landon and other things out of the car, Tia went to splash around in the muck on the driveway. When I looked over at her, she was sitting in the garage, scraping the slush from the grooves of her shoes and eating it. Why on earth she felt the need to eat the ice off the bottm of her shoes and not just pick it up off the driveway is hard to say…

I went to Target today to buy a new swimsuit. Guess what I came home with? Two cases of SlimFast. *sigh*

Hey everyone,
A friend of ours just released a new CD and it’s awesome! His name is Jerod Starkey. Jerod and I sang together in college – go BRH!!! Jerod also sang in our wedding. He’s got an amazing voice and he’s a very gifted songwriter and musician. I highly recommend you click over to his website and purchase his CD.

If you guys get a chance, I wouls highly recommend you click over to my sister-in-law, Becke’s site and read her latest post. It will encourage you greatly and move you and hopefully spur you on to a deeper knowlege of God’s grace. I’ve always admired Becke’ for the way that she so deeply seeks to know and understand who God is. So many times when I talk with her on the phone she is on the internet researching some aspect of God or the Bible that she wants to know more about. While I find myself reading the latest celebrity gossip, she is seeking God’s face. Plus, Becke’ is just good fun to be around. It has been a really hard week for her and for her family, yet she has been gracious and strong, not on her own, but through the strength of the Lord upon whom she so faithfully leans. I am so honored that she is a part of my family and that I get to learn from her.

We went to the mall today and went to St. Louis Bread Company for lunch. While waiting for our food, an older gentleman walked by using a wooden cane. Sloan, in his highest decible voice, points and says, “Look, it’s Moses. It’s Moses from the Bible.” Sheesh. Poor guy.