Bo-dacious

Anyone who grew up in the 90s has probably heard of Bodacious the Bull.  Well, maybe not ANYONE. . . but anyone who grew up in the sticks where there is nothing better to do on a Saturday night than watch PBR has definitely heard of "the World's Most Dangerous Bull."

Recently, Russ introduced the kids to this famous bull from his adolescence, and they now constantly ask for BO-DACIOUS!!  By far, Calvin is the most talented of our resident bullriders.  He holds on for his 8 seconds nearly every time.

 Bodacious is usually pretty tired when Calvin is done with his ride.

Our bull gets a pretty nice break when it's Oliver's turn.  I don't think bull riding is in Oliver's future, as he usually lasts about 1 second (and that's with a gentle ride).

 Once Oliver has been bucked off, it doesn't take long for the littlest bull rider to start climbing up.

 Have you ever seen a cuter cowboy?

 Seriously, Russ gives Violet a tougher ride than Oliver because, well, she holds on better!

 Then the kids take turns playing the rodeo clown and provoking our dangerous bull.

Russ has been complaining lately about not being able to run as much as he'd like with the stresses of tax season, but I'd say he's getting plenty of exercise right in our living room!

Another Modeling Shoot

Can you believe it's been 2 months since we took our baby girl in to have her chest cracked open?  Can I tell you how glad I am to have that whole experience in my rear-view mirror?  I forgot to post pictures of this adorable shirt that one of Grandma Cheryl's high school friends had made for Miss Violet.  It says, "Whatever you do, Put your heart into it!"  It can serve as a night shirt. . .

. . . or a cute little sassy dress!

Yes, I think she knows how cute she is!

St. Patty's Potpourri Day

Today was a fun, yet random kind of a St. Patrick's Day.  Calvin was so excited to go to his very first "friend" birthday party, and it didn't disappoint!  As an added bonus, Oliver and Violet got to come along and join the fun at the bowling alley (which was nice since Russ is exactly one month from Tax Day and is hitting it pretty hard at work, even on Saturdays).  

This wasn't any old bowling; it was Cosmic Bowling!  Violet was completely entranced with the black light and all of the fun colors.

 And as much as she tried, thankfully she wasn't quite strong enough to get the ball from the rack.

Can you tell how much Oliver was enjoying himself?? 

 As usual, Calvin was Mr. Serious and Competitive.  

 

Even after this spare, he simply stood back and watched the screen.  No celebrating like Oliver did even after a gutter ball. . .

 Violet was queen of running off and causing havoc.  At one point, I turned my head for literally 5 seconds and I hear a man 3 lanes over saying, "Is this your baby?" as she is ON the lane walking towards the pins.

 Here's the party crew!

 And here's Calvin with the birthday boy, Chase (on the left) and his other buddy Joseph (on the right).  What a fun party!

 We made it home and Syd & Jack came over for the evening (with Grandma Jo & Grandpa Denny).  Violet and Jack hung out on the front porch for a bit and enjoyed the nice spring weather.

 Then the kids all went to check out the recently painted tree house (still a work in progress).  My sweet husband was responsible for the artwork. . . at least it's not John Deere Green (although that would have fit with the St. Patty's Day theme!).

 As the kids were playing in the tree house, Russ sowed some grass seed. . .for the fourth time since moving in our house a year ago.  One of these times, it'll pay off, we just know it!

 Then my little "Sassy Lassie" had some fun chatting it up with Grandma Jo.

We finished the evening watching some more March Madness.  It certainly has lived up to its name so far with the exciting #15 wins yesterday! Not over #2 Kansas, thankfully, and we won't say exactly which #2s lost, but I'll give you a little hint as to one of them. . .

Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!!

Cleft Clinic

Violet had a busy morning in Cleft Clinic today, although there wasn't much new or exciting information discovered.  It was more of a "keep up what you're doing" kind of day, which is okay sometimes, too. 

Here she is waiting patiently for her name to be called. . .

 

. . . and did she look cute or what?? When we're at Mercy, we have to represent, because you never know which team those folks are cheering for.  We are ready for the Jayhawks to start their March Madness run tonight!

 Here was the rundown of the day:

~ Dr. Singhal (Plastic surgery) -- As I said before, we canceled her "Palate Repair Take 3" that was scheduled for this summer, and he completely understood why (and I think he was actually a bit relieved).  He said the fistula (hole) in her palate is "sizable" and he plans to attempt closure again when she is 4.  So we'll have an entire year between visits with Dr. Singhal!

~ Dentist -- Last year we were told Violet had an underbite, but that seems to have corrected itself.  The dentist said her bite looks great, her last set of molars are coming in, and overall her teeth look good.

~ Speech -- the survey they did last year was updated and, no surprise, Violet scored "poor" in all areas.  They tried to encourage me by saying she did have a couple of areas that were "emerging". . . I know she doesn't talk, and I know we are doing everything we can do to get her talking, so we'll just continue to be patient!

~ Nutrition -- the dieticians were very pleased with Miss Violet and how well she is eating and her weight gain.  They were also pleasantly surprised to hear that she has been on regular thin liquids for a month now with no problems (yippee! no more yucky thickener!)  Nothing to change here!

~ Audiology -- they attempted a booth hearing screen, but our little patient was losing her patience by now.  Once she started tearing off her glasses and headband, I told the audiologist that I didn't think today was the day.

~ ENT -- the excessive earwax was removed from her ear canals (pleasant, I know. She gets it from her dad), and the ENT verified that both of her tubes were still in place and functioning as they are intended. Here she is enjoying climbing on the chair in that office. . .

~ Social Work -- our final stop of the day, more than anything just to visit.  This social worker was the one who first told us about LeeAnn Britain, where Violet goes to "school" and receives most of her therapy.  I thanked her for that information and told her how much Violet loves it!  She told me about a program called "Families Together, Inc" that we will likely look into as Violet gets a little older.

And that was it for today!  Let's get out of here and get ready to cheer on our Jayhawks! Rock Chalk, baby!

 

Are We Crazy?!?

Yes.  Yes, we are.  Crazy about babies, that is. Even the special ones God gives us.  Especially the special ones God gives us.  And we can't wait to see what He has in store for Baby #4!

You heard (or read?) me right, folks!  Baby Dwyer #4 will be here sometime in September, hopefully in time for Miss Violet's 3rd Birthday Bash.  Here is my pregnancy timeline so far. . .

~January 15: Positive test!  Russ was smiling from ear to ear and giddy as a kid on Christmas morning, saying "I think I'm more excited about this one than I've been with any of the others!  I just wasn't sure we would get to have another."  He was so excited, in fact, that he couldn't wait to share the news.  So Calvin learned there would be another baby in the household, although he was given strict instructions to keep it a secret (from Oliver) for the time being.  Based on Christmas and such, we are a little leary of Oliver's secret-keeping abilities. . . Calvin immediately decided this was worth celebrating and got out the fancy glasses for an orange-pop toast.  Of course, Oliver had no idea what he was toasting, but he's not one to turn down orange pop regardless the occasion!

 Violet enjoyed her drink during the celebration. . .

 . . . and then Calvin said a prayer. It was so sweet because you could tell he was trying really hard not to give anything away.  His prayer went something like this: "God, thank you for everything you gave us.  God, thank you for every good thing you give us.  God, thank you for all of the special gifts you gave us.  Amen."  Even Violet bowed her head; isn't she so sweet?

 Then my two biggest boys were all smiles as they toasted and promised to keep their big, little secret.

~January 18: Violet's heart surgery (yes, 3 days after we found out we were pregnant).  You all know what the next 2&1/2 weeks were like for us.  Between the lack of sleep, lack of food, and obvious stress, I was nervous if the pregnancy could possibly survive.  Being in the hospital from weeks 5-7 was also a little rough with all of the smells and such making me constantly nauseous.

~February 2:  Home again.  I got to sleep in my own bed again after far too many nights in the hospital and my wonderful husband let me sleep for practically 3 days straight.

~February 15: My first OB appointment.  I was so excited when we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat! 170 beats per minute!  When the nurse gave me my fourth copy of "Your Pregnancy and Childbirth" (apparently it's a 'revised' edition), she bookmarked the chapter on birth defects to allow us to make an "informed" choice regarding prenatal testing.  I half-jokingly told her I could probably have written this chapter, so thanks but no thanks.  Anyway, we really enjoy the element of surprise :)

~February 17: Our ultrasound to determine the due date.  Looks like September 19 it is!  (It's kind of funny. . .we had been hoping to have a spring baby this time, but apparently, I am destined to have my babies in the final 4 months of the calendar year!)  By this time we had let Oliver in on our exciting news and he REALLY wanted to go along to see.  I tried to convince him that it wouldn't look like a baby.  That, in fact, it wouldn't probably look like much of anything to him.  But still he insisted, so we relented.  And wouldn't you know, our little jelly bean was KICKING!  To see a tiny being only measuring 2.47 cm from crown to rump (about an inch) just paddling those little feet back and forth was one of the most amazing sights I've ever seen.  And Oliver was simply beaming!  Needless to say, he was thrilled to be there, and I was glad we brought him.  Seeing all of that rapid kicking already, personally made me a little nervous for what this might mean in a few more months. . . In the picture, the baby's head is at the right and feet are at the left.  The circle in the lower right corner is the yolk sac (that usually goes away at about 12 weeks).  I was just over 9 weeks at the time of the ultrasound.

Heart rate still holding steady at 170!

~That brings us to today, March 14: Second OB appointment.  13 weeks.  Heart rate 158.  Still waiting for that magical day when I will wake up feeling human again.  It's pretty remarkable how God gives us that 'mother's amnesia' when it comes to the not-so-pleasant aspects of pregnancy.  I'm thankful that I've only had one solid day of puking, but am so ready to be over the constant nausea/bloating that I've been experiencing the past couple of months.  This was the time of pregnancy that I started feeling better with the others, so I'm hopeful that one of these days. . .

So in addition to the "Are you crazy?!?" question that most people will probably only think and not actually ask, I'm sure we will get the "Aren't you nervous?" question an awful lot in the next six months or so.  When I found out I was pregnant with Violet, people asked me this question quite often, and I very confidently said, "We've already had our baby with a birth defect; I'm not worried at all!"  Well, we all know how that turned out!  But seriously, of course any mother who is human would have her moments of being nervous after my previous two babies.  And I honestly think, after seeing all I have during our NICU stays and all of Violet's precious friends at her school, I have had my eyes opened to the myriad birth defects that exist and I'm truly expecting something to be "wrong" with this baby.  But the difference is, I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT IT.  Having Oliver and Violet with their challenges, if anything, has taught me that God's got this.  He is in control of every situation and loves our babies more than we ever could.  We have the choice to either WORRY or TRUST.  It's important to note that these two things are mutually exclusive.  It's quite impossible to do both; one or the other always wins out.  And let me tell you, trusting in God is so much more liberating!  As he reminds us in the book of Matthew, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself."  And of course, my favorite verse from Philippians 4: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."  I am keeping these verses very close to my heart and making a very deliberate choice to enjoy every second of this pregnancy.  I'm not going to let worry steal even an ounce of it!  Of course, I'm praying fervently for the precious little punkin seed growing inside of me (and I would appreciate for all of you to do the same!), but after the experiences of the past 4 years, I can confidently say that God has a plan for this new baby, as he does for every child he entrusts to us.  All babies are a blessing, and I am just so excited to start thinking about all things baby again!!

JM&MB Triathlon

As it's Spring Break with Calvin out of school ALL WEEK, we definitely had to do a Just Me & My Boys day!  Yesterday was the day, and boy did God deliver with the beautiful weather.  Seriously, 80 degrees and just the right amount of breeze, and plenty of sunshine.  I'm pretty sure this is what heaven must feel like.  Anyway, we left our house at 9:30 a.m. and returned about 6:00 p.m. and it was a marathon-type day for sure.  Well, actually more of a thiathlon-type day, but I'll explain more about that in a bit. . .

Our first stop was the Hall of Fame inside Allen Fieldhouse.  With selection Sunday just a couple of days ago and March Madness in full swing, I thought we should all get in the "spirit of the season" in preparation for this weekend's big games (as if I need that!).

 

Who are those good-looking players on the right??

 Oliver's hand compared to Raef LaFrentz, and Calvin with Nick Collison. . .

 Oliver's foot compared to Julian Wright, and Calvin with Kirk Hinrich.

 Then it was time to check out the wingspans. . .

. . . and check their reflex time (not that great in case you were wondering).

 

Perhaps their favorite thing to do was "On the Air with Max" where they got to play announcer.  This was a area where they would record you announcing a clip from a game and then you could listen to the recording. They decided to announce "Mario's Miracle", and let me tell you, they were naturals.  I think the playback sounded something like this, "Hi, this is Oliver! That guy is shooting the basketball. Hi, Hi, Hi! (laughing) What are you doing, Calvin? (more laughing)"  It was hard to tell the difference between them and Max & Bob. . .

 Afterwards, Calvin told me his favorite thing was seeing TRob's locker.  We won't tell him it wasn't his actual locker. . .

 They checked out the original hardwood and some of the distant history. . .

 

. . . and then oooh-ed and aaah-ed over some of the more recent history!

 

It wasn't only about basketball, though.  They checked out the other sports like baseball, golf, swimming, tennis, rowing, and of course, football.

 

Seeing this trophy made me realize I was wearing my Orange Bowl Champions shirt under my jacket!

 Oliver's favorite thing was the old-school mascot.  He thought the boots were hilarious.

 Before leaving, the boys took many, MANY attempts at determining their best vertical.  I think Oliver's ended up being 8 inches, and Calvin's was 11.

 Naismith, Dwyer, Dwyer, and Allen.

Just Phog and my boys.

 

After leaving the fieldhouse, Calvin decided on McDonald's for lunch (and the boys were able to use their gift cards they got for Christmas).  We took our lunch to the train depot and sat at the picnic tables watching for trains.  I think I see one, mom!

 When they were sure they heard the whistle off in the distance, the boys climbed up on the fence to watch.

 If you look closely at Oliver's face, he was TERRIFIED when the engine passed!  He said, "I wasn't expecting it to be so loud!  I've never been that close to a train without being in a car before."  In his defense, we really were only about 6 feet from the train, and by the second and third train, he got much braver and was actually excited for them to come.

 We finished our lunch and left the train depot. . .

 . . .to start our bike ride on the levee.  Part one of our out-of-order triathlon.  The boys stopped to watch some of the construction going on at the river (a new dam, we think).

 And then they were off!  My bike wouldn't fit in the car, so I was hoofin' it to keep up!

 After our bike ride was complete, we found a good hiking trail on another part of the river by Burcham Park (hike/run = part 2 of our triathlon).

 The entire hike, the boys were begging to put their "toesies in the water" and finally I found a spot where we had relatively easy river access.  They were so excited!

 

My scary moment of the day was when Calvin slipped on the slippery mud and ended up knee deep in the water.  I was afraid that could put a real damper on our JM&MB day if I had to jump in the river after him!

 

They were a complete muddy mess by the time we were done!

 The best we could do for a self-portrait group shot.  Love these boys so much!

 

We washed off as best we could with the water spigot at the park and the boys played a bit to dry off again.

 Then it was time for Oliver to choose the treat for the day, and I was quite pleased with his selection!

 Our final stop of the day was the Aquatic Center for part 3 of our triathlon-type day.

As we were driving home, I wasn't surprised at all to see two sleeping boys in the back seat of the car.  It was a wonderfully exhausting day, and I am so thankful for Just Me & My Boys Days!!