Heath running...take two.

This video didn't work in the last post so we're trying it again. 

Asher, silly Noah, long day, Heath running, and rice cereal. WOW!

I thought maybe this was way too many pictures to post but then I thought what the heck it's my blog. 

Just a cute picture.

PUSH!

PULL! That thing just won't budge. 

I came downstairs yesterday to this. Noah is so silly and has been doing the funniest stuff. And don't worry those are Asher's.

Just another cute picture.

This is Heath after working 13 hours for the tree service with no lunch (well a package of peanut butter crackers).  He was so dirty and dog tired. He wasn't too excited about me taking this picture. 8am-9pm. I'm glad he's such a hard worker. 

Noah seems to think it's neat to clean his chalkboard off with his hands then wipe it on his face. Nice chalk beard. 

Proof that Heath is capable of running. 

After the run. 

Asher eating his rice cereal. Doesn't love it yet but does anyone? 

I looked out the window & what did I see?

So there we were sitting at the breakfast table and Noah points and says, "Wha es dat?" (What is that?). Heath and I both look over and out the sliding glass door, beyond the deck and right to the edge of the wooded area. What did we see?  A doe? A deer? A female deer? That's exactly what we saw. It was pretty cool watching nature happen in our own backyard. Heath was so proud that Noah spotted his first deer at 2 1/2.   

An update on Asher's arm and Jaundice

Here are some pictures and a video of Asher moving his right arm. This is my first attempt at a video so it's not awesome but you can tell what's going on. I wish I had done some in the beginning so you could really see how much it has improved.  The doctor said Asher is doing well and making good progress. He said there is a good chance for him to get full movement of his arm and that it would probably take about a year to resolve. 

The jaundice has improved. The results came back from the blood test and his billiruben score is 1.4 which they say is within a normal range so he doesn't have Gilbert's disease.  Also, Asher is a little guy. Yesterday at his appointment he weighed 11 pounds 10 ounces (he's 4 month's old now) that's the 1 percentile for weight. The doctor said that it's good that he's on the chart and that his length is good (36th percentile) and his head measurements are good (26th percentile). He's a skinny guy. The doctor wants to check on him in a month.  I think I'll start some rice cereal soon to bulk this little guy up. My mom said I was a skinny baby so there you have it. 

PROVIDENT LIVING, PASS IT ON!

To pay debts and avoid future debt requires faith in the Savior, Elder Hales said. "It takes great faith to utter those simple words, "We can't afford it." It takes faith to trust that life will be better as we sacrifice our wants in order to meet our own and others' needs. 

A quote that I found inspiring. That's all I have to say about that. 

S'more please! Also, somebody help me potty train this kid.

Ok, so we have a really cool fire pit in our backyard. Heath and Noah started a fire last night and we made s'mores.  We didn't have any skewers or even metal hangers so we used sticks with the bark shaved off the tops. Heath promised we wouldn't die.  So far so good. 

GAME ON!  I'm seriously ready for Noah to be potty trained. The poopy diapers have always made Heath want to spew but now man, ... I'm done! Please, I need some tips.  I'm not even sure how to start. 

Gilbert's disease and other things too.

Today Asher had a doctor's appointment at the Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. This appointment was for his jaundice. He had breast milk jaundice which got better by not nursing him for a little while (12 days to be exact).   The jaundice has never fully gone away. The specialist that we saw today thinks that Asher has Gilbert's disease (pronounced 'zheel-BAYR').  They needed to do a few more blood tests to confirm. Today they took the blood from his arm. Sad! They usually take it from his heel. The good part about taking it from his arm is that it was faster and they didn't have to do any squeezing. Plus the lady taking the blood called me Ma and gave Asher a camo band-aide. Anyway, there is no treatment for this disease but the only symptom of this disease is a yellow tent to the skin when you get stressed. The Children's Hospital is new and nice.  The waiting room is huge. I have been in and out of so many waiting rooms in the past year. There is really a lot to be learned in a waiting room.  

Well, we are still getting moved into the new house.  We really love it so far. There' s  lots more room for Noah to play, the kitchen is bigger, the dishwasher has a sanitize button, there are ceiling fans in the bedrooms and there's a cardinal that comes and sits on the rail of the deck throughout the day. It does have a certain smell we are trying to get rid of. Our table sits by the back sliding glass door that looks out to the wooded area behind our house. Last night I had to institute a 'no binoculars at the dinner table' rule. We'll see how long that lasts. 

Asher with his camo band-aide.

This is what Noah does when you say "show me your captain Hook",  Arg!

and this is the house. Yes, it has a pink door. I'm thinking of painting it red. Pictures of the inside (for my mother mostly) coming soon. 

My favorite sister!

OK, so she's my only sister but she's still my favorite. I just wanted to share a few things about my sister Melissa because I have been thinking about her a lot lately.  She is always thinking of others. If she knows or even thinks someone is in need she is always helping and working on solutions to problems. She has done countless things for me. Some of them done anonymously but found out through some intense investigative work. She's a little shy sometimes and very humble. She does the best research.  If you need to know what the best kind of anything is call her. She's a good mom. She exercises regularly. She's smart and I love her. I won't post a picture this time because I know she doesn't like it. But watch out lady! The pictures I am posting are random.

Baby Asher

Noah helped Heath wash the car today. Lets just say NOBODY came in dry.

These are Heath's BCG's (birth control glasses). He's HOT!

Utah, moving, hunting classes and gardening

Well, it's been a while. We were gone to Utah for a week and then the move. On the way to the airport we saw an amish baseball game. That was a first for me. In Utah we got to see our family and friends. Before we left I made a mental check list which I think I completed. Salad from Durangos - check, oatscream from Dixie Nutrition - check, Krumpets - check, Tia Pan - check, Roberts -check.  It was a great time. It was pretty hot there, enough for me to get the armpit tacos. Noah had a great time playing with cousins and a hard time at night because of the time difference. When we got home it was packing time. We started moving things into the garage of the new place on Wednesday after the carpets were cleaned.  On Thursday we moved the beds. Noah spilled milk on the freshly cleaned carpets right before he knocked over a bucket of water with paint brushes in it left by the "fix it guys" which hit the kitchen floor and splash up on Asher which scared him to death and made him cry which in turn made Noah cry because he felt bad which was just before I called Heath and told him I was done with the moving which was right before he came back to the house which was right before he told me he thought I wouldn't have a break down until I was almost 30 which was right before I reminded him I was almost 30. Really, just to sum it up, it was one of the best days of my life. :) Noah seems to be talking a little better. He says things like I got it, ball, and he is starting to say mom with some encouragement from dad. He likes to go around shaking hands but the funny thing is that he acts like he's spitting in his hand before he shakes. Today Heath gave him some binoculars so he could look at the wooded area behind our house. It's beginning hunting class (hunting 101). Heath is really excited because he saw a deer back there.

Noah and his cousin Colebin in grandma's chicken coop.

Oh, and we planted a garden that we are really excited about. This is Heath getting ready to plant some seeds. Man he's Hot!

Noah helping out with the planting.

Me reading the back of the seeds to know how to plant them. I've never really had a garden before so go easy on me. 

Another day in paradise.

Well, here we are again, another post. Church was good Sunday. It's Heath's turn to conduct sacrament meeting this month and he seems to always mess something up but recovers nicely with a joke. Only rarely does he look like a real dork. Noah was wild this Sunday, running back and forth, going choo choo with his train across the wood partition in front of the podium. No wonder the relief society president made him a quite book. (hint, hint) On the way home I noticed the sign in front of our place that says "A good place to live at a fair price". I was thinking it should have said "An interesting place to live with poor lighting, paper thin walls, a leaky basement that won't get fixed (even if you call the maintenance man 3 times), dirt and hair waxed into the floors and all for an arm and a leg." I'm still glad we are moving. Today our landlord brought a lady by to look at the town home. He told me he didn't have our # to give us a heads up. That's interesting because I'm pretty sure it's on the lease. Anyway, my house was a mess. I've already started to box things up. I have a ton of laundry that needs to be put up and always toys everywhere. The lady came by later and asked if she could give me her phone # so that if I ever needed dinner or something she could help. Wow, the house must have looked a little worse then I thought. She said she would probably be moving in the place and I told her we were just moving around the corner. I think I'll give her a Book of Mormon. I'll end with this. Heath came out of the bathroom the other day and had a terrible look on his face. He said "I think I've got what's going around...swine poo!". Gross! I'd like to apologize to my Aunt Janna for putting that in my post and for not giving warning if she read this. No picture today. Sorry, mom.

The writing's on the wall...

and the window

and the door

and the ghetto kitchen floor

and the couch cushion.

Here's the culprit! 

The adventure begins. Found Pablo Picasso adding a little color to the house and then a missing sippy cup under the couch. Bad news is that the sippy cup had milk in it. Yep, it turned into a watered down cottage cheesy looking mess that smelled like...well, rotten milk. Sorry, if you just threw up a little in your mouth. Good news is that the crayon is washable. Yesterday, Heath was home for a little while. He's been so busy with school I feel like we haven't seen him in forever.  We went to Wegman's (my FAVORITE grocery store),  and then to Sam's Club (I like Costco better).  On the way home Asher started crying and Heath was a little concerned. So, he suggested that we pull over at a park so I could feed Asher and Noah could play. Wow we, what a fun dad idea. I had to take pictures. 

I sure love this little family!

Erin in real life.

So, I decided to change the name of my blog to "Erin in real life." Yes, I stole this from the movie Dan in real life.  I decided I'm not a very good record keeper so this blog will be my attempt to help improve that.  I'm not a great english person and really spell check can only do so much. I just wanted to make that known. Today I woke up early again for another jog.  This will be the only way I will be able to run on a consistent basis and I'm better in the mornings then I am at night anyway.  Today's jog started out with a check of the mailbox. Yep, bills. (I left them there) As I was running I realized I had forgotten to say my morning prayer so I figured outside in nature might not be a bad place to speak with God. So, I prayed and ran at the same time. While running I found a small bungee cord which I picked up thinking Heath could use it. I chalked it up to another running treasure. My last one was a quarter. When I arrived home I hear "Daddy" from the other room (a word that Noah can actually say pretty clearly). Yes, my 2 and half year old lovingly calls me daddy. He can't say mommy just yet so Heath and I have the same name for now.  It turns out that part of Noah's problem may be fluid in his middle ear. We are getting this tested in a few weeks. If this is the problem I'm not exactly sure what the fix is but when it is fixed, Noah's vocabulary should take off. While getting ready and putting on my makeup this morning I noticed a spot on my forehead. Was it an age spot? I don't know!?! I am going to be 30 in a few months. Man, 30? I read on a friends blog that 30 is the new 20.  I hope so. Noah learned to take off his own pants which eventually lead to taking off his own diaper. As much as I think naked baby bums are cute, I do not enjoy urine on the carpet. (good thing we are moving soon:) Oh, one more thing... I didn't forget to get my mommy haircut after having Asher. That explains my picture for today.