What chu talkin' 'bout?

A few months ago we noticed Luke wasn't really on track verbally with his age. He wasn't saying any words. He wasn't referring to us as "mama" or "dada." It basically was all about pointing and "eh eh" noises. Anytime I tried to get him to repeat a sound he would just stare at me like "what chu talkin' 'bout crazy woman?"

Once when we were at the doctor's office when he was about 17 months old his pediatrician said that he should be saying several words by now and that it was up to us if we wanted to look into speech therapy.

Thinking that he most likely will get caught up on his own we decided to wait a little bit. We knew that most likely this small delay was due to the very large amount of ear infections that he had before his ear tubes (and even recently at the beginning of the year he started getting them about other week with the tubes in place still)

Once we started to realize that soon we'll be having another baby and therefore less time to work with Luke we thought it would be best to go ahead and have him evaluated with First Steps. Plus one of my patients at work used First Steps for her son at this same age and gave me a boost to do it.

If you aren't familiar with First Steps- let me just say it's a pretty amazing program. Luke had physical therapy through them when he was around 7-9 months old because he wouldn't turn his head to the right at all and rarely used his right side. This program provides several types of therapy for children up til age 3 either for free or a very discounted rate based on income.

Luke's evaluation went well and cognitively his scores were high but he was lacking in speech and social skill.

Right before we started speech therapy it was like a light bulb went off for Luke and for the first time he started repeating some sounds and saying a few words (ough oh, shoes)

After 2 months of speech therapy with his therapist, Ms. Sarah, Luke has come a LONG way. He can sign several words and often says them along with the sign. He signs more, please, all done, and help (plu s few others we rarely use so I can't remember). He can say "mama", "dada", "shoe", "bubble", "thank you", "food", "water", "papa", "baba" (for Kiba) and pretty much can repeat or attempts to repeat any word you ask him to. He does several animals signs and knows most of his body parts.

Listen to him making different sounds with Sarah. Just a few weeks ago he couldn't do any of these!

Once he figured out that saying "mama mama mama" will get my attention he pretty much sounds like this on a regular basis....

If we pass cows while we are driving...

Luke: "Mama mama mama mama"
Me: "Yes Luke?"
Luke: "Moo!"
Me: "Did you see a cow?"
Luke: "Mama mama mama mama mama"
Me: "Yes Luke?"
Luke: "Moo!"
...and repeat several times.

I love it.

Name Your Derby Horse

Living pretty close to Louisville, KY the Derby is a big deal around here. Like many who live in this area though, I haven't actually been to Churchill Downs (and don't have a big desire to go)

However, I usually partake in Derby Party festivities with close family. Basically it's an excuse to get together, hang out, eat good for you food and watch the races (unless we're sick like we were last year)

And like many people we choose our horse to root for based on the horse's name (hey, who needs statistics when the horse has a cool name?) Remember the year Silver Charm won? 1997. Yep- he was my pick because his name is pretty.

Yesterday I ran across a list of the Derby horses for this year's race and read them to Marcus.

Black Onyx
Charming Kitten
Falling Sky
Fear The Kitten
Frac Daddy
Giant Finish
Golden Soul
Goldencents
Itsmyluckyday
Java's War
Lines of Battle
Mylute
Normandy Invasion
Orb
Overanalyze
Oxbow
Palace Malice
Revolutionary
Verrazano
Vyjack
Will Take Charge

We started wondering the story behind some of these names and began coming up with names of our own. Of course many of them stemmed from old inside jokes between us. Yanno- the ones so old that the joke origin is fuzzy now and all you know is they make you giggle?

Here's our Derby horses:

Random Concrete
Knitster
Mama Moo
Functional Dysfunction
The Situation

And my favorite....

Zombie Jellyfish

And of course- who can forget the horse lovingly named "Hoof Hearted"? Because...well...watch....

What would you name your Derby horse???

Weeds

We've been learning a lot about landscaping around here but that's not exactly what this post is about. Well, kinda. Hmm...Not really.

Just read :)



Last August we spent a lot (A LOT) of time planting (and unfortunately- replanting) our landscaping and forming a mulch barrier around our house.

I don't have a green thumb.

I don't particularly like being outdoors for any amount of time if it's hot (I blame it on the heat strokes I had as a kid. I hardly sweat = I overheat easily) or cold.

If I touch grass or anything green with my skin you might as well call me Itchy McScratcherson.

I can't name more than maybe 5-10 flowers. Petunia? Marigold? Yeah I have no idea what those look like.

However. Working that hard? Putting so much time and effort and money into something that we designed and created? Made me so proud of our little landscaping and excited to tend to it this spring.

Not sure if our plants (especially the barberries- SEE?! I've learned the name of my plants! :::grin:::) survived the winter I may have done a little jig when I saw the signs of life in those little new leaves forming on scraggly branches.

Tonight, after the boys were in bed and Marcus was home, I finally got the opportunity to run outside (yes in PJ's) to pull those pesky weeds that have been growing like...well...weeds.

I pulled and pulled at them. Some came out so easy and barely had their roots dug in. Others gave me a pretty good fight (sorry to my neighbors who may have witnessed my pregnant booty sticking up in the air as I wrestled these things) and still others I know I did not completely remove. I was left feeling drained with a few thorn pricks and blood spots on my hands despite wearing gloves.

Ok and now on to the point of my rambling...

During the experience of planting last summer God taught me some very valuable lessons in the process. It shouldn't be new to me that He often uses His own creations in nature to teach His children things- but it does. I guess I never see these lessons coming.

Spiritual lessons tied into yard work and landscaping are definitely nothing new to many people. It's not original. And I'm sure if you searched there may be many many posts and articles out there about the same sort of thing. All, I'm sure, more well written than this one.

Yet, as I was tugging on some of those weeds that were strangling the life out of my dear precious plants, He stirred my heart. I started reminiscing about the many times he's pulled weeds out of my life- the weeds symbolizing sin.

If plants could think- my plants probably would have thought I was hurting them. I was digging around their roots to locate the invading weed roots. Weeds are smart. The little ones popped up randomly all alone. But the biggest strongest ones were cozied up to the plant. Stealing it's nutrients and water. Intertwining it's vines with the plant's leaves. Snaking around and around and around. Slowly choking.

There have been many times in my life that it hurt while God was deweeding me. Sometimes he had to pull for a long time and I wasn't sure what was happening or why things we're going my way. Sometimes it was a quick sting. And many times he used those around me to tug too. And with some weeds, I'm sure, He's still tugging at and will never stop until the day I die.

It always hurts. But it's always for my own good although it can be hard to see at the time.

Some of my plants that had smaller shallow weeds didn't seem so affected by them. Others now have areas of bare branches where leaves couldn't grow. The ground is torn up around those plants that had the deepest penetrating weeds. They're wounded in a way. But with a little tender, love, and care from me they will be okay. And we will too. Because the One who deweeds us does it out of love.

Even when it leaves His hands bleeding.

A Scary Moment in Parenting

I thought.

He thought.

We both thought wrong.

As a result our child could have been severely or fatality hurt.

You know that moment when your heart stops beating when you realize not all of your kids are safe? A billion things flash through your mind at once.

Today was a normal day at church. Went to the 1st service. Served in the nursery during the 2nd service. Afterwards we were ready to grab some lunch and head home for the day.

Before leaving I noticed Luke was stinky and took him back into the nursery to change his diaper. Marcus and Nathan followed me in there and I handed Marcus the poopy diaper and asked for him to throw it away.

He left the room and I assumed he would put it with the other nursery trash right outside the door. I sat Luke down, and hearing Marcus and Nathan's voices I thought they were right outside the nursery door. I said "go get Daddy!" and he ran out of the room.

(The nursery area is composed of separate rooms that all contact to one exit into the hallway. I thought Marcus was outside of the specific room I was in, yet still in the nursery area before you reach the hallway.)

I grabbed the diaper bag, grabbed my purse, and walked out of the nursery and out into the hallway.

I started walking down the long hall and saw Marcus and Nathan walking away from me about 30 feet away. "Where is Luke", I thought. "WHERE IS LUKE?!", I yelled.

Marcus turned around and said "He was with you!"

I immediately turned around and was going to head back into the nursery area. Thinking surely he was in one of the nursery rooms playing with a toy. But before I took a single step towards the nursery my parental instincts screamed at me saying "OUTSIDE!!!"

Although he had only been missing for seconds, and although there are a double set of doors he would have had to go through, I spun my face towards the nearest set of doors and saw a little bit of navy jacket and red hair flash at me from the other side. Not too far away cars were driving under the car port leaving to go home.

I don't even remember running out there but in a nanosecond I was there and my one year old was smiling up at me. He was oblivious of my fear and proud of himself for trekking outside alone (he must have found the little button that opens the doors automatically for people in wheelchairs). I wrapped him safely within my arms.

Breathe. Breathe. I kept telling myself.

I carried him inside and saw Marcus and Nathan standing there and still not quite sure what happened. "He was outside!" I said bewildered and I saw relaxation, fear, relief, and an understanding of what could have been flash in Marcus' face.

When we arrived at the restaurant for lunch I asked to sit in the car for a minute. I had to focus on breathing and relaxing. I prayed thanking God for his safety and for help in taking away this anxiety that was washing over me. I finally felt peace.

It was a wake up call in a way. It made me realize that it can literally only can take a second. It can only be an innocent misunderstanding. It can be one small assumption that is wrong. Those are things I already knew but now I felt them.

It's scary to think there will be other close calls. With three boys there may be trips to the emergency room (we've already had two with Nathan). There may be broken bones and casts. There may be cuts, and bruises, and bites. But I trust that they are not only under our protection but also under God's. That doesn't mean we'll never make a mistake. And it doesn't mean nothing bad will ever happen. But it means we can go about our lives, being smart and watchful, but not full of fear.

Meanwhile...I believe I will be hugging my boys a little tighter tonight. Thankful they are safe and here and full of life.

What's In A Name? The Story of Naming Our Boys

There's a lot to consider when naming your kid. Everyone you have ever met in your life was named before you met them. They already were that name to you. But your own kids? You are responsible for giving them a name they will hear everyday of their lives. A name that will shape their identity to an extent. And a name that you will yell say billions of times yourself.

I'd be easy if you could just pick your favorite name of all time and badda bing! Kiddo has a name! But it's just not that simple.

Does the name flow with your last name? Will the kid have to spell it often? Do the initials spell out something obscene? (Poor little Ashley Samantha Smith) Did a friend recently use that name for their kid? Are you ok with the short version or possible nicknames? Does the name remind you or your spouse of a person you dislike? Does it easily roll off the tongue? Can you see yourself shouting the full name when the kid is in trouble? (Hey- it's something to consider!) What is the meaning of the name?

So much to consider and yes- it's fun but also a lot of pressure to name a human being (or even a pet for that matter)

Nathan Lee Crumbacher ("Nathan" means "God has given")

When I was about 7 months pregnant with Nathan we had no names picked out. I think I was sort of in denial we were having a baby and I never felt any urgency to prepare things for him (although that could have been due to the bp meds)

We went to the movies one night and saw Enchanted. Yanno that movie right? It has one of the Mc's from Grey's Anatomy. McSteamy? McThinky? McStinky? McDonalds? McBuff? MacBeth (er wait)- oh yeah! I think it's McDreamy! Yes! He's in it.

And so is another character- Nathaniel. He's actually one of the worst sources for a name idea. Very unattractive. And he's the bad guy! (Who at least turns good in the end) But after the movie I sat there and said "Hmm...Nathaniel is too long but I like Nathan" and it became our only name on our "list" but I didn't want to commit to anything.

We kept the name secret because 1) it's fun to torture some people that way and 2) I didn't want to hear any of those "oh yeeeeeah- I used to date a Nathan- he was awful" comments.

In the hospital I told the nurses beforehand we were thinking about "Nathan" but I wanted to see him first before we decided. When he was born one nurse said "Well? does he look like a Nathan?" I thought "What in the world does a Nathan baby look like? They all look the same at first" but replied with "I guess so" and our first son was named.

His name fits him perfectly. It means "God Has Given" and I truly felt like he was this precious gift from God. After a few years of strange cycles and hormone levels (sometimes going 5 months with no cycle for no reason) I was told by a OBGYN that it might be difficult to conceive someday. I have had several friends who have felt the piercing pain of infertility and my heart aches for them. Growing up, wanting nothing more than to be a mom, I thought in the back corner of my heart that the pain of infertility might be something I would experience. So when we found out Nathan was on the way right before our 2nd wedding anniversary I was shocked, grateful, and so excited.

His middle name is Lee which is also my husband's middle name (it's also was his grandpa's middle name and my grandpa's middle name)

Lucas Wayne Crumbacher ("Luke" means "light")

Luke was fairly easy to name. I was trying to talk Marcus into naming him Isaac but he vetoed that and many of my suggestions. Luke was always a name I have liked and we were considering Wayne for a middle name to honor my father (his middle name is Wayne). So when Marcus suggested "Lucas Wayne" I was sold.

However "Marcus" and "Lucas" are too similar for me to yell in the same household so I immediately decided we would call the baby Luke.

It did take about 9 months for me to feel comfortable calling Luke by his name. Honestly he didn't quite feel like a Luke to me. I think it's the red hair. When I pictured Luke before he was born I was picturing a younger version of dark haired Nathan- and then this red head came out of me and threw off my vision. But now he's definitely a Luke to me (I often call him Lukey)

Kevin Marcus Crumbacher ("Kevin" means "gentle" and "attractive")

After keeping with the tradition of a "new" first name and a family middle name with the first two boys we decided to do the same for baby boy #3. We also decided to tell people the name before the baby was born this time. Mainly so we can use the name with the boys and get them used to baby Kevin coming.

Kevin was a name we joked about when I was pregnant with Nathan. Marcus was suggesting "Kevin Bacon Crumbacher" since his parents are pig farmers. I said "haha...no...but I do like Kevin!" and that name always sort of stuck with me.

We considered a few other names but it seems I kept going back to Kevin. Marcus would not give me his opinion on other names. He would just look at me and then recommend something like Optimus Prime or Marcus Arreileus.

Finally after he wouldn't give his opinion on a name one night I said "You still like Kevin right?" And he said "That's the name I suggested all along" and so Kevin was named! A friend on Facebook suggested Marcus as a middle name and we thought it worked.

I looked at Kevin's ultrasound pictures and the name felt even more confirmed. He just feels like a Kevin to me. And we greatly look forward to his arrival in a few months.

Now...if Marcus had it his way he'd named him Kevin Franklin Crumbacher...figure that one out...

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sooooooo.....I know this isn't widely read other than a few friends or family but of you feel up to it I'd like to know how the name choice for your kids came about or if you don't have any kids if you already have names picked out. Please share!

Second Trimester Randomness

::::deep breath:::: Is it over? Did I survive? I'm scared to ask, but....did my family survive? The first trimester, that is.

Whew. Glad that's over. Went into survival mode there for awhile and now I'm digging out of the mess that sheer exhaustion and nausea left in my house. Yanno- since no laundry got done during those first few months. Clean clothes aren't really necessary for survival.

Anyways. Enough of that. Wanting to get back into the blogging world. Dump some stuff out of my brain so more necessary things like crazy pregnancy dreams (aliens who can't cough?) and daydreams of newborn squishiness can take up more room. So here's some randomness.

1) Most fb friends/family know this but baby #3 is indeed another boy and I've actually been quite excited about the idea of 3 boys. I'll never have to mow my own lawn hehehe.

 

There will probably always be a moment of small sadness when I see a mom fixing her 3 yr old daughter's hair across from me in the doctor's waiting room but it's over quickly. The odds of three kids of the same gender are pretty low. God definitely has me pegged as a "boy mom". Hey- He even gave me a weak sense of smell in preparation of a house full of stinky boys! Thanks God.

B) My toddler has become the bully at daycare. I don't know if there is any truth to this red head myth but oh man- this kid has a temper. And it's not only about him getting mad- it's about him wanting something to throw. It seems he needs something to throw. So yeah---teaching a 19 month old acceptable behavior is not the easiest task. Especially when rough housing with his 5 yr old brother is a way of life.

He picked up a chair twice as big as he is and hurled it at his daycare teacher yesterday. He's like Hercules and The Hulk combined. I think he's already catching onto the fact that bad behavior has negative consequences but it will be that quick flame of a fast on/fast off temper that will be the most difficult to tame.

III) Nathan has been taking swim classes and is doing pretty well. In another month or so he should be able to swim the width of the pool in deep water unassisted! I'll just focus on being proud of him and ignore the fact that my skinny 5 yr old is wearing 12 month swim trunks. I feed my kids, I promise.

K) Every mom has that part of the day that tends to be more overwhelming than the rest of the day. For me it's the hours from 6-8pm.

I know I cram too much into these hours yet haven't found many solutions. I know I'll crash around 8:40 and my butt is magnetically drawn to the couch against my will (ok maybe NOT against my will) and I sit there halfway responsive watching tv or reading until I drag my waddling pregnant butt to bed (where the noises I make due to my insane dreams sometimes force my poor husband to sleep on the couch- sorry babe)

So basically whatever doesn't get done in those 6-8 hours- just won't. It's a mad rush of dinner, rinsing off poopy cloth diapers from daycare (yay), washing cloth diapers or doing other laundry, preparing Luke a separate meal for dinner sometimes and preparing food for him to take to daycare (food alllegies), oh yeah the dog has to go out to poop, Nathan needs me to wipe his butt (by now I'm just over poop), Luke just pooped his diaper, setting clothes out for the next day, dishes, clean up after dinner and wipe the quinoa off the wall that Luke threw there, homework, baths for the boys (Luke needs one daily to help with his eczema- supposed to let him bathe for 30 mins but haha), and the dog just pooped in the living room although he just went outside 5 minutes ago and NO! LUKE! Don't eat that!!!

:)

Anyways- it makes my head spin. And I didn't list that as a "whoa is me" thing (because I know every other parent's days are just as crazy if not crazier than mine) but as a way to say- how in the world is a newborn going to fit in all this?

I'm sure the baby will want to nurse as soon as we get home and by then my chest will be more than willing to oblige. So how to take care of two other exhausted, starving kids when my bottom has to be planted in a chair to feed my newborn?

The only solution I can think of is 1) Fix all dinners on the weekend for the week 2) Say "Do what you can and don't worry about the rest" 3) Somehow master the Michelle Duggar "nurse baby while walking around" talent and most importantly 4) God will help me get through the crazy years of raising young kids. He gave me these blessings. He'll help me care for them. But meanwhile, any advice from other moms will 3 kids who get home around 6:20 - I'd appreciate it.

Yadda yadda yadda. I had more but you know me. I tend to be long winded so I better wrap this up. So yep- point is- I'm alive and I'll try to drop in here more often. When I'm not dealing with poop, that is.
Random Photos...

Goodbye Helmet!!!!!

Here are links to the previous posts regarding the cranial molding helmet.

1st post, 2nd post

Luke had his very last helmet appointment recently which consisted of the final scan.

They placed the sock like thing on his head and a few minutes later- voila- a 3D image of my baby's noggin.

(the red cheek is from eczema- that's a whole 'notha post)

They went over the numbers with me and I actually wasn't too impressed. The main number that I wanted to see decrease is the one that compares the length of two diagonal lines that form an "X" with the baby's head. (View the 2nd post for a diagram) A perfectly symmetrical head would have a zero difference in the length of the imaginary lines (of course no one is perfectly symmetrical)

At his very first appt there was a 13mm difference. You have to have over a 6 for insurance to cover a helmet so we were way above that.

At the next scan it was an 8. Much better!! But the orthotist and I decided to make another helmet hoping to get him closer to 6.

Yesterday it was an 11?! I have no idea why it's still that much of a difference but it is still better than 13.

The issue with Luke's head is the part that needs reshaping protrudes. You can't really fix that because you can't force his head in on that side. All you can really do is guide the areas that don't stick out enough trying to get the skull to even out.

Here is his before and after.

The left scan he is 7 months- the right side he is a little over 16 months.

You can see how his head still sticks out a lot on the right but the back left did round out a bit. The really good thing that happened is the width to length radio is much better. He was 3+ the standard deviation before the helmet and now he is +1. Basically my baby's head is longer from front to back than it was so that's good, but the right side sticks out a lot so that's bad.

You can also see in the picture on the right side image that his left cheek protrudes still because the left side of his head had shifted forward. Most people don't notice it but his left cheek is more "poofy" if you will.

I'm glad we did the helmet because although it wasn't quite the result I was hoping for- I do believe that it kept it from getting worse. If we had not done the helmet the left side of his skull would probably kept migrating forward.

His ears are lined up more than they were but the left ear is stills more towards his face.

We're glad the helmet is no more! Luke especially- I think he secretly is trying to destroy it- it gets it and starts throwing it all over the house. He'll bring it to me and I'll say "what? Do you want me to put it on?" and he shakes his head and runs away giggling.

Now begin the bumps and bruises as he learns his head is no longer as protected! He's already developed some pretty ugly bruises on his forehead. Live and learn I guess! :o)