Just Like Daddy

After we had eaten dinner, we had 45 minutes until TJ's bathtime/bedtime routine. Jesse has been wanting to cut the grass, but we have had such little rain that he has been holding off. Finally, a few days ago, it rained. Trent and I went outside to play while Jesse was mowing the lawn. At first, he held my hand and observed the whole scenario. He'd wave and talk every time Jesse went by. Then, he got braver and started walking after Jesse. He followed him up and down the lines Jesse was creating. He slowly decreased the distance between Jesse and him. When Jesse was doing the last little bit of our yard, Trent had made it so he was basically between Jesse's legs. So Jesse picked him up and they mowed the last part together!

Mowing Together

Caring Bridge Site

Sue has started a Caring Bridge site to help keep everyone informed on how she is feeling, how the treatments are going, etc. You can access it here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/suekeller

One of the nice things about caring bridge is that you can enter your email address and it will send you a notification every time she updates it.

15 month checkup

TJ had his 15 month checkup today. He is growing like a weed! He is 33 inches tall, weighs 27 pounds, and his head circumference is 19 inches. This puts him in the 90th percentile for height, the 70th percentile for weight and the 70th percentile for head circumference. Anyone that has been reading this blog a while knows that we have been consistently in these percentiles since day one. He is right on track developmentally and is very healthy. So thankful!

Lesson in Futility and a Surgery Date

This week, I did a really thorough house cleaning. Not just 'going through the motions' cleaning, but really made sure everything got cleaned. I even started tackling/organizing the guest room, which will shortly be turning into Trent's room. But the house never stays that way, not even for a second. It's like the dogs and Trent see it as a personal challenge. I wash the windows and Trent determines that five minutes after I wash them is the optimal time to bang on them. I wash the floors and the dogs feel that's the optimal time to run their muddy feet on them or a sippy cup drips milk across the floor... Most of the time, it doesn't bother me and other days I have to remind myself that I'm cleaning for cleanliness and not for spotlessness because spotlessness will probably never happen. It's a regular lesson in futility, but I wouldn't change a thing!

Sue's surgery date has been set. She is having surgery on August 4th to remove the tumor in her colon.

The 'Regular' Vocab Words

Trent is getting more verbal each day. I am sure there are things he's saying that we just don't realize are words yet. He also tries to repeat things we say. Here are some of the ones we hear everyday:

Hi

Bye

Ma (Muh Muh)

Dad (Da da)

Milk (Mik)

More (Maw)

Ball (Baw)

Outside (Sighed)

I'm sure there are some words that I'm forgetting. He is so good at expressing exactly what he wants that sometimes I don't even realize if he's using words or not!

Having children is so much fun. It seems like each stage is more fun than the last. How can it possibly keep getting better?! I probably won't be saying that when they're going through their teenage years, but for now, I am absolutely loving it!

Doctors Appointments and a Plan

Dale and Sue had meetings today with the various doctors that will be assisting with Sue's treatment. She is really blessed to have some great doctors. A friend of mine used to work with one of Sue's doctors and I asked her what he was like. Her response was, "He's fabulous. He is very smart and compassionate." Definitely what you want to hear when someone is talking about your doctor!

Sue has two treatment options. The first option is to have chemo, wait for the tumor and liver spots to shrink, and then have two surgeries to remove the liver spots and colon mass. The second option is to remove the colon mass, then after she recovers from that surgery, start the chemo to shrink the liver spots. Once they are smaller, have a second surgery to remove the liver spots. It sounds like they are leaning towards the second option.

Both Dale and Sue were optimistic and had a sense of relief after meeting with the doctors today. Both doctors took their time to explain the procedures and answer all of the questions that were asked of them.

I read this verse today and it seemed applicable for the current situation.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (I Thes 5:16-18)

Thank you all your prayers and sweet comments. I know everyone in the family appreciates them!

Not the News We Wanted to Hear

Sue called the doctor for the results from her biopsy last week. We were all hoping that the mass in her colon was benign and that the liver spots were nothing to worry about it. Instead, we found out that she has stage 4 colon cancer and that the cancer has spread to her liver.

Sue has felt an overwhelming sense of peace and strength from God throughout this whole ordeal, but especially after hearing yesterday's news. It's like it's overflowing from her. For that, I'm very grateful.

Please continue to pray for Sue. We all hope for healing and know that God can and does perform miracles when he chooses. We don't understand why this is happening, but pray that God can use her and will be honored through it. Please continue to pray for the rest of the family as well as we adjust to what this means in the upcoming days.

They have a meeting with the doctor today to further discuss the situation and treatment options. Please pray for the doctors as they make decisions regarding her care.

Kitchen Renovation Part 2 - COMPLETE

Jesse has finished the second part of our kitchen remodel. I am so happy with it! It really looks great and makes life so much easier with Trent. The final part (kitchen renovation part 3) is a big, custom island that Jesse is making. I've seen the top and it looks so nice. He does such good work. I am blessed! Here are pictures of the completed part 2. I will post pictures of the island when it is finished.

Looking into Kitchen from Living Room

Looking from Kitchen to Dining Room/Living Room

Kitchen from Dining Room

Sewing for Baby!

This weekend, I finally had time to sew! We hit some great fabric sales on Saturday and Jesse had finished up the kitchen (pictures to come). He declared Dadurday and I got some free time to sew away!

First Up:

New Romper for TJ

TJ is a sweaty mess in the summer. The heat never goes away and this is about as lightweight as we can do without letting him run around his diaper all the time (which may happen on occasion). Most of the time, he wears homemade rompers, just like this one. I was experimenting with decorating the pocket on this one. I have looked and looked for other boy patterns and they are SO limited! Most of them look exactly like the one I already use. So I've taken to adding pockets and pictures instead, just to spice it up a bit.

Next Up:

Sleepsack for Newbie

As of now, the baby in my belly is still unnamed. So for now, let's call him Newbie. I know that Newbie will have his share of hand me downs since he has an older brother. But when I was at the fabric store this weekend, they were having a sale on patterns. I saw one with all sorts of layette stuff and just had to buy it. Trent slept in these a lot when he was a baby and with only five snaps, it won't be too torturous for Jesse during middle of the night diaper changes!

And my personal favorite:

My first homemade diaper!

I am most excited about getting the chance to make this diaper this weekend. The kids will be 20 months apart. I'm willing to bet that TJ will probably not be potty trained by the time the second one arrives. So, we will probably have two in diapers. We bought a bunch of bumgenius one size diapers before we had Trent. Have I mentioned how much I love them? You may remember me changing them from velcro to snaps here. They grow WITH the child, so you don't have to have a bunch of different diaper sizes. Anyway, this time around, I wanted to try and make my own diapers. Bumgenius diapers are $18 a piece. We have a bunch of fabric stores in town and I kept thinking that it couldn't be that hard to do. Isn't it cute?! And the best part, it cost me a fraction of the cost of a Bumgenius! TJ tried it on and it fit him well. We'll also be able to adjust it for Newbie.

Boys Boys Boys!

Today we had some exciting news! As most of you know, I am already incredibly outnumbered at our house. I live with a wonderful husband, an adorable son and two male dogs. And in December, there will be yet another little boy in this house! We had an ultrasound today and found out that the new baby is indeed a little man! We're very excited about the new little guy. I absolutely love having one little boy, so I'm sure two will be double the fun! I'm also excited for Trent to have another little playmate. I'm sure he would play with a sister too, but it'll be fun to see him bond with a brother. I'm hoping they'll be best buds!

Happy Independence Day!

Fireworks!

We had a fun filled 4th of July. We went to dinner with some friends at their country club. The club puts on a great fireworks show on the driving range of the golf course. So we ate some yummy food, enjoyed the company of good friends, and then headed out to our blankets on the green. Trent LOVED being on a golf course. He was excited that he could run forever in any direction. Once it got dark, the firework show began. He was a little unsure at first and attempted to army crawl away from the action, but eventually he snuggled up in Mama's lap and enjoyed the show. We thought he did pretty well for his first fireworks show!

Dinner Time

Playing on the Golf Course

Freedom!!!