Jonah's terminology

Kids say the darndest things....

Jonah went through a week long feeding clinic last winter at Childrens. He needed to learn to eat enough calories per meal without gagging, etc. Randy and I were trained to sit with him and keep him going for 30-45 minutes. We say things like "take a bite" and "good chewing". Jonah has taken to calling the person "feeding" him, the EATER CALLER. Get it? He cracks me up! When it is time for a meal, for him, sometimes we will tell one of our older kids to keep him eating. Then I will hear him yell, "Seth, You're not the eater caller!"

Yesterday, Jonah created a new term. THE FIXER.... here's what happened:
Jonah has a feeding tube port, called a Mickey button. We haven't used it in 8 months, but the doc does not want to take it out until he proves he can gain weight on table food and he gets through the winter illness free. SO he has this button sticking out. We were told it happens at least once for a child to lose their buttons. It has been almost 2 years and we had been fortunate until yesterday.
I got a call from Randy telling me Jonah, who was at our trusted sitter, had lost his button. Randy was at work, as was I, but we both raced to Jana's at the same time. See we were told that after about an hour the hole could seal itself shut and would require surgery to replace. Randy had been trained to put in a new button but had never had to do so, until this day.
When we hurried into Jana's, Jonah was sitting there with a big old band-aid, and he said, "My belly button broke!" We scooped him up and raced for home. Randy got the new kit and called our GI doc from Childrens. She began giving him instructions, step by step. I held Jonah down. You just imagine how he liked that!
Randy was having lots of trouble. It could have been his shaking hands, or just the fact that the hole had already started sealing. He could only get the new port in about 1/4 inch and then it would stop. The doc on the phone kept telling him he had to "dialte" the hole by twisting the tube back and forth.
After 4 tries with no luck, I let go of Jonah and called our pediatrician's office. The doc had already told us we were too far from Childrens to get there before the hole sealed. I was talking to a nurse at Dr. Maur's office, who was telling me that there was nothing they could do and we should go to the er (for $100!). Just I was hanging up the phone, Randy got it to pop in! Hurray! Once Jonah calmed down and quit crying, he looked at Randy and said, "Daddy you are THE FIXER!"

Jonah says the cutest things

Let me preface this by telling you that when Jonah feels hunger, which is not very often, he says that his tummy is rumbly.
Ok, so we are in the Expedition, on St. Rt. 23, heading to Newmans-Cardington Rd. and home. I have my turn signal on in plenty of time but the very kind and thoughtful drivers coming up behind me refuse to get over in the right hand lane. It happens, right? So I am forced onto the rumble strips on the berm before I make my turn. If you have ever driven on rumble strips, you know they got there name for a good reason~ they rumble! After turning safely, Jonah calls out, from the back seat, "What was that!??" I explain that the noise came from rumble strips on the road. There is a lengthy pause (and I have almost forgotten his question) when Jonah asks, "Why is your car hungry?"

Jonah is sooooo cute! I could eat him!

I have a rockstar on my hands. Jonah has been carrying around Mallory's Barbie guitar fpr a few days now. he even writes his own lyrics. The latest, which I think is a knock off from a new show called Yo Gabba Gabba (where do they get these names?), has one line repeated over and over. It goes like this~

I'm so happyyyyyyyyy when i play with my friends.
repeat and strum as you sing..........

Jonah has also gotten very bossy lately. When I learned the words and tried to join in, this upset him a lot. Evidently this song is only meant to be a solo. I was told to stop singing now! sigh, there was a time when a duet would have been preferred.......
they grow up so fast.

Jonah says....

Jonah is 3 and says some cute things. Here are some of them:

alligator= elevator
my nastics= gymnastics
binkie and blankie= pacifier and blanket
music= his stuffed bear that prays and plays a song
cho-lock-et= chocolate
I love you big much!
I need a nappers!
red=any juice that we give him to drink
I'm making a friend= what he says when he wants to cuddle
Dredboom= bedroom
Mowly= Mallory

More later.....

My little peanut

Jonah is so small! At almost 3 1/2 years old, he weighs somewhere between 25 and 27 pounds. It varies by scale. I wanted to write about this because I believe that someday he will be gianormous and we may forget his humble beginnings.

Getting Jonah to eat is still a full time job, but since there has been some weight gain, the GI doc says we do not have to go back to the tube feeds (yet)! Hurray! I excitedly asked if that meant that we could remove the tube. She said not until August, if all is well. Poor lil bugger. That tube is a pain because it sticks right out there. We usually put onesies on him to keep it protected, but he is almost too tall for any onesies and it gets too hot under his t-shirts. The GI nurse suggested we put velcro on his t-shirts. Is it too much to ask that my kid be able to wear normal clothes like everyone else? Last Sunday in church Tony had to tie his pants on him with a lanyard.

Aw well, the end may be in sight if God says so. And we'll move on to bigger and different worries with a bigger (hopefully) Jonah.

Wilbur comes to life

My kids have had the same great babysitter since Seth was 6 months old. Jana lives on a farm and is a saint in my eyes. She is very patient with the kids and helps them learn as they grow. It is evident that she really loves her kids and is proud of their accomplishments.

Right now, running loose on her farm, is a herd? troop? bevy? of piglets. They swarm enmasse and are so cute! Mallory wonders if one of them could be a runt like Wilur from Charlotte's Web. The first time I saw them come running, I went to get Jana. You see there have been other incidences over the years, when animals have gotten loose. I thought this was another of those times, but Jana said no. These are "free roaming"piglets. 33 free roaming piglets to be exact. And when I saw them they were swarming around Jonah. It was very cute and funny! Jonah wasn't laughing, but I sure was. After I rescued him, the piglets found a new playmate. They found a Big Wheel toy and began pushing it around. For awhile it looked like they might manage to get the toy into the barn. It was so cute that I wish I had had my video camera.

Why is it that baby anythings look so cute?

Last child syndrome

Why is it so hard for me to let Jonah, my 3rd and last (God wiliing) child grow up? He does 3 year old things for the most part, but gets away with some stuff that Seth and Mallory had to give up by this age.

Here are some examples:
1. He still sleeps with a binky. I know I know..........but he is a baby.

2. He is still in diapers. Size 4 to be exact. I hope to work on this intensely this summer.

3. Often I find myself feeding him. This is partly due to his eating issues and my impatience with him at mealtimes. But I know he needs to do this for himself. Just last night, as I was spooning in some more "puddy" with duocal for extra calories, and scrapping the excess off his sweet little face, I flashed back to baby food days!

4. He wants to be carried a lot still. I love this one! Of course he only weighs 25 lbs. It is a great feeling when he wraps his little arms around my neck.

5. He sometimes still makes noises to get what he wants instead of using his words. I hate this one! "Use your words" has become the phrase of choice at our house.

So that seems to be the list of immature (lol) behavior for my last baby. I'll keep you updated as they begin to fall away.