Sorry!

I can't believe it's actually been 3 months since I've updated this blog. I have really been so unbelievably busy it's just not funny. Jackson is in preschool now. He's still a major handful. Grayson is trying to crawl and walk at the same time. He's growing up so fast. It's hard to believe he'll be one in just a little over 2 months! Parker is enrolled in CRE classes at St. Stephen Martyr on Wednesday evenings. He'll be going through Reconciliation in March and will make his First Communion in April. Jackson and Grayson are being baptized next Saturday at our church, Holy Family.

Christmas is right around the corner and we are ready! I hope to do a little Christmas post with some pictures of the boys. We really need to get our tree up. We still haven't gotten around to that. We go to church every Saturday night, so we're probably going to have to put it up on a Sunday. Christmas decorating is an all day event in our house. I guess we were too busy finishing up our Christmas shopping to be bothered with decorations!

Happy Holidays from the Ebel crew!

My Slideshow

Playing Catch Up

Okay, so I seem to be forgetting about my blog lately! So much has happened since the last entry, so where should I start?

Grayson's 6 month checkup went very well. The pediatrician has decided to start him on a Vitamin D supplement once a day since he refuses to eat solid foods. He's addicted to the breastmilk and it doesn't look like he's ready to cut anything in just yet. I'm slightly disappointed, because I used my new Magic Bullet my in-laws gave me for Christmas to make homemade baby food. It tasted pretty darned good too! Grayson just isn't ready yet, so we'll wait. He is now 17 pounds and 12 ounces and he's 27 and 1/4 inches long. They gave him an oral vaccine and 3 shots and the little angel never cried once. It made the whole ordeal much easier on Mommy! Needles don't bother me, unless they're being used on my babies.

Eric and I took the boys to Gatlinburg for an End of Summer vacation before Parker went back to school. They had so much fun. The picture above is one I took of the 4 of them while we were there. We went to the Aquarium, which Parker and Jackson really liked. However, we spent most of our time driving go-karts. Jackson has taken after the rest of our family by becoming a go-kart fanatic. He kept screaming for "racer cars" the whole week. He was the tiniest guy on the track, but he had a blast. That trip will be going down in history as The Great Gatlinburg Vacation of 2008! Sure, we had fun, but that's not why it was great. It was great because Jackson, who we were sure would never be out of diapers, decided he was miraculously potty trained. While we were driving down the interstate on the way to Gatlinburg, he told Daddy, "I gotta go potty!" Daddy, forgetting the fact that we were trying desperately to potty train him, said, "You have a Pull-up on, just go! We're nowhere near a potty!" Jackson started crying and screaming, "No Daddy! I gotta go potty!" Eric pulled off at the next exit and Jackson went to the potty. That was it for him. I was completely amazed. He didn't have one accident during the entire trip. He's been wearing "big boy pants" ever since! Was it a coincidence that all I had to do was mention that Jackson would never be potty trained in my blog? Just in case it was...."Jackson will never calm down and be a nice, well-behaved, little boy!"

Oh well! That's all for now! Hopefully I'll get back to blogging more often than once a month.

It's Been Awhile

I know I haven't blogged in awhile, but I've just been busy. Actually, I've just been tired lately and haven't felt like picking up the keyboard to type. (And I'm puzzled as to why I'm so overweight?!?) The boys are all doing great. Parker is halfway through his Advanced Reading course he's taking at the college around the way. Grayson is trying desperately to crawl, and he's starting to sit up for longer periods of time before he topples over from the sheer weight of his fat rolls and that mass of hair on his head. And then there's Jackson. Sweet, sometimes evil little Jackson.

We're in the midst of a potty training adventure with Jack. By this time in Parker's life, he had graduated to "big boy pants" already. Jack is another story. We started almost a year ago with the potty chair and frequently saying, "Let's try to go to the potty, Jack!" Sometimes he would go, other times he would scream at us saying, "No I NOT go potty!" I just backed off. I figured, "Maybe he's not ready. Maybe we should just try this New Age, kinder, gentler parenting approach of letting the child decide when he's ready to go on the potty." Well, I've got news for you. If we let him decide when he's ready, he'll be graduating from college and we'll have bought up lots of stock in Depends. Then again, maybe all we need is to just have Aunt Gayle move in with us full time. Apparently, Jackson loves nothing more than to go potty for Aunt Gayle all day long! (I'm laughing hysterically right now, although I'm not sure if it's because I find that funny, or because I'm just beginning to lose my mind!) About two weeks ago, I decided enough is enough. We're not having luck with the Pull-ups, so I'm just tossing them out and he's going to wear big boy pants starting now. He'll learn to stay dry once he realizes he's not going to be able to wear diapers anymore! Yeah! That's what I'll do.......so, the diapers are back on. The big boy pants are safely put away in his drawer in the hopes that never again will I have to chase that child around my house cleaning all sorts of "presents" he's left for me off of my nice hardwood floors! And, once again, I'm left asking him hourly, "Do you want to try to go to the potty now, Sweetheart?"

Insider trading tip for all...buy stock in Depends. I promise you, their stock will be rising as soon as Huggies no longer make diapers big enough to fit Jackson.

Grayzilla

I thought I'd make a quick entry before heading to bed for the night. We took Grayson to the pediatrician's office for his 4 month checkup yesterday. He now weighs 16 pounds and 3 ounces and he's 26 inches long! He jumped from the 75th to the 90th percentile in his height. (And no...they didn't include his hair in his measurements!) He's really trying to sit up on his own now. He's growing up too fast! Parker couldn't believe how much Grayson had grown while he was in Europe. He didn't believe me on the phone when I told him.

Well, the house is quiet now. All the boys are sleeping and it's time for Mommy to enjoy some quiet time and relax. Good night, all!

Going Green...and Saving Some Green, Too!

Parker made it safely back home. The weather caused a little bit of drama, but drama seems to follow Parker wherever he goes anyhow. Their flight from Zurich to Atlanta got re-routed to New York. From there they flew into Cincinnati, where they caught a bus back home. Not exactly how they had planned to arrive, but they arrived just the same.

Some of you may already know, but I've turned into a Tree Hugger. Ha! Just kidding. My parenting style has adapted quite a bit since Grayson was born. I'm doing a lot of things differently. We have a more "attachment parenting" outlook this time. I'm a baby-wearing, homemade baby food-making, cloth-diapering breastaurant! I've added all sorts of slings and wraps to my wardrobe so I can carry Grayson with me everywhere we go. I'll be making my own baby food (since my Mother in Law bought me that awesome Magic Bullet for Christmas) once I'm ready to start him on solids. I'm still breastfeeding, and I don't really feel like I'm anywhere close to finished with that just yet. (I promise I won't be one of those Moms who has a 5 year old pulling up a chair and saddling up to a breast!) We've also switched Grayson to cloth diapers! Wow, have they come a long way since flats and diaper pins!

Eric also changed out all of the light bulbs in the house to those new energy efficient ones. I can't believe how much of a difference it's made on our electrical bill! I highly recommend them. Now all we have to do is find a local dealer with a hybrid Minivan....

Development Updates...and One More Day!

So, I haven't posted anything for a few days, and there are plenty of reasons for that. I've been busy, I've been tired, etc. The boys are doing great. Jackson has been swimming a lot. He's becoming more independent everyday. He is doing much better with his potty training. Eric and I are both really proud of him. Maybe it's just me, but he seems to be calming down just a little. I like to pretend it's because he will be 3 in a couple of weeks and there's no such thing as the "Terrible Threes!" (One can hope, right?)

Grayson started rolling from his back to his belly a little over a week ago. He smiles a lot more, too. He spends his evenings cooing up a storm. Looking at our boys's baby books, I've noticed Grayson seems to be hitting most of the milestones earlier than Parker and Jackson did. I guess that means he'll be completely potty trained by the time he turns 2! What? It could happen!

Well, the Great European Vacation of 2008 is coming to an end! Parker will actually be on American soil tomorrow evening! Eric and I are picking him up Saturday morning before heading out to the Meghan's Mountain shindig at Coach Crum's place. We haven't told him yet, but since we got an extra child's ticket, we're going to pick up his friend Camron and take him with us. I'm going to take plenty of pictures...and of course, as soon as I get a chance I will go through the pictures Parker took on his vacation and post them.

Hope everyone else has a great weekend!

A Telephone Call and...the Straight Poop

While I was sitting at work today I got a call from Parker. He sounded like he was having so much fun. He was calling to tell me that he was finally in Italy. He couldn't talk long, but we talked long enough to tell each other how much we missed one another. Chris said Parker was a picture-taking fool. He's been so ate up with his new camera that Chris has had to stop him several times because he's burning through the 2 GB card we sent with him. It was so nice hearing his voice.

Jackson was being so sweet today when I got home. As I was cooking dinner, he danced around the kitchen to the music on the radio. That boy sure can move! After dinner, he went back to his room to play with his toys. As I was sitting in the living room watching television, he came around the corner looking kind of sad. I looked at him and said, "What's wrong, Baby?" He stuck his bottom lip out and said, "Mommy, I need tell you sumtin!" So I said, "Well come here, Baby! What's the matter?" He walked over and stood right in front of me and just looked down at the ground. He looked like he didn't feel well, so I said, "Come up here on Mommy's lap and tell me what's wrong." He climbed up on my lap facing me and said, "I poop my pants, Mommy." I pulled my hand out from behind him and sure enough....my hand was covered in poop. He just couldn't have told me that BEFORE I picked him up! So I took him back to the shower to get him all cleaned up. He must've had diarrhea, because it was all down his leg and it was horrible. (Sorry. I know...TMI.)

After I got him bathed and in his jammies, we came back out to the living room to watch some television before bedtime. That's when he kneeled up next to me, grabbed my face with both of his hands and said, "You best friend, Mommy!" Even little devils can be angels sometimes!

Update From Parker

I just received another text message from Parker. He's in Bern, Switzerland today. It's 4:36pm there now and a chilly 56 degrees. He wanted me to know that he got to see the Bear Pits there. (For those of you looking for a little history lesson, Bern was founded by Duke Berchtold V of Zahringen and named after a bear he had killed in a hunt when the city was founded in 1191.) Parker loves animals, so I'm sure he is enjoying watching the bears. I can't wait to see all of the pictures he takes. Of course, many of them may not turn out well since Parker gets the shakes when he tries to take a picture...no offense, but that's why we bought him a camera with image stabilization!

*Sigh* It'll be a week tomorrow that he's been gone. The good news is, we're halfway there! He'll be back home next Saturday.

He's All Boy

Ah, Jack. That boy can make even the most peaceful of Buddhist Monks scream, "CHILL!!!" After running through the house and screaming at the top of his lungs, Eric told him he thought he needed a nap, to which Jack promptly replied, "No I not take nap!" Eric said, "Fine. Then go to your room!" Jack's comeback? "No I not go my room!" (Didn't see that one coming, did you?) So, Eric took him back to his room, made him sit on the floor, and told him that once he was able to calm down, he could come back out. After we noticed it had gotten really quiet, I decided to go back to Jack's room to check up on him. This is what I found. When Jack crashes, he does it wherever he happens to be, no matter what he is doing. I don't know who he was trying to call on that cell phone he's hanging on to, but he must have thought they were going to bust him out!

Ask anyone to describe Jack and sooner or later you're going to hear, "He's all boy!" It's true. Jack is always getting new bumps, bruises, scrapes and cuts. I know people think we beat him. He gets hurt more than Parker ever did. But, how does a boy who runs into walls with a bucket over his head not get hurt? It's amazing that he hasn't broken a bone....yet.

It takes everything I have not to laugh sometimes, even when we're trying to be serious. He's just so darned funny! He can be mean as hell on occasion, sometimes even bordering on downright evil. You know what I mean by that. Aunt Gayle does. He gets that look in his eyes. The "I-don't-really-want-to-do-what-I'm-about-to-do-but-I-just-can't-help-it" look. He gets that look right before he does something bad....and it takes everything I have not to laugh.

He's all boy....and he's all mine!

My Little Travelin' Man

So, I'm missing Parker like crazy today. As most of you know, he's in Europe with his Dad and his family. Chris has been really good at letting Parker send text messages to me while he's gone. The message he sent me yesterday said he had spent 20 minutes paragliding over the Alps in Switzerland. Can you imagine? My boy (who is terrified of roller coasters) is flying over mountains! He'll be leaving Switzerland next week for Lake Como, Italy. I can't wait until he comes home. Eric and I bought him a new digital camera for his birthday and gave it to him early so he can take lots of pictures. I'll be sure to post some here when he gets home. I'm so glad that he is getting this opportunity and I really hope he gets something out of this trip.

Parker has my thirst for knowledge. I know I'm his Mom, but I honestly think he's brilliant. I can't believe that he's going to college in just a little over a month! Okay...well, he's actually taking an advanced reading course at Bellarmine University that is primarily for kids around his age, but still! Not everyone has an almost-9-year-old who is reading at a 7th to 8th grade level! Can you tell I'm a proud Momma? All for now...

And So It Begins....

Motherhood. Sometimes it fries your brain and it makes it impossible to remember what you ate for dinner last night, much less what funny little comment your 2 year old made several weeks ago. This is why I've decided to enter into the world of blogging. My boys entertain and amaze me every single day and I want to do everything I can to document it all. For those of you who love these boys as much as Eric and I do, you just might be able to keep up with their latest escapades here. I'm doing this in my spare time (don't tell Eric I have spare time or he's going to start wondering why the house is such a mess) so I may not update it as much as I would like.

Speaking of Motherhood, Jackson just shoved a Ninja Turtle in my face and yelled, "Mommy! Mommy! You fix it!" I told him, "in a minute, Jack. Mommy's busy." Now he's in the hallway banging on the bathroom door (which Eric is trying to steal a few moments of peace behind) with his Ninja Turtle. All I can hear is: "Daddy! You come out and help me peas! Fix my turrel!" I guess that means it's time to wrap up my first blog entry.