A Moment That Only A Mother Would Laugh About

Lilli has been showing a fair amount of interest in the potty lately. Everytime I to the bathroom she follows me in and hands me every little peice of toilet paper she manages to rip off. So today when she was obviously preparing to fill her diaper I asked her what she was doing. She wrinkled her little face up and responded ewww. So I thought what the heck I'll pull out the potty no expectations right......After several minutes of sitting on the throne like the princess she thinks she is. She proudly wiped herself ,stood up, looked in the empty potty said ewww and then proceeded to poop on my floor! I think she might be close! (LOL) I mean really who wants to "ewww" on their new toy!

Should You Really Call That A Soccer Game?

Nathan's last soccer game (If you can call it that) was interesting to say the least! He apparently was just not into it as much this week or was maybe he was just tired. I don't know! Either way his whole team was in rare form! Some were fighting with each other over the score, that by the way no one keeps! It's just part of the rules, everyone is a winner! Some were sobbing on the side lines for reasons they weren't really even sure of! While others just randomly sat down in the middle of field and watched their team play around them! And by others I mean NATHAN! I kept waiting for the moment when the toe of someones shoe would meet his face! But every time he somehow manged to make it off the field with his nose, teeth, and glasses still attached! Miracle I know! It was so bad that the coaches talked about calling the game! No one was awarded any stars for performance because the coaches, as patient as they are were spent! It was really bad and that's all I have to say about that!

THE BEARS!

Nathans second soccer game was this past Saturday!

He did a great job this game! He even had a great steal and a really good attempt at a goal. He is starting to get the hang of the game and seems to be catching onto the rules now. But above all he is really having a good time. He enjoys soccer and it shows! His coaches are very good at encouraging the team and put most of their focus on positive reinforcement! His team has 7 players and 4 coaches so it is really easy for all the boys to get what they need. Nathan has been given the nickname "NATE THE GREAT" by his coaches! Which he LOVES! He told me that instead of Nathan Jarrett his new name is Nate The Great! Don't misread that, Nathan's the slowest mover on the team. He just can't seem to get his legs up while running. Which results in him spending a lot of time picking himself up off the ground! (LOL) But he has had his moments where he shines and if he's proud....Were proud!

Every week each player has a opportunity to earn a star during the game. Last weeks game he earned a white star for Christ -likeness.

This week he earned a yellow star for sportsmanship check back next week to see what star he earned and for more pictures of course! If you'd like to see all the action grab a lawn chair and join us!

The Top 5 Things You Should Never Have to Say To Another Mother While Playing With Your Children In The Play land At The local Mall

(Or any other public place parents and children gather to play)
I'm sorry this list is only a top 5 however a top 10 list would have required me to stay at play land longer..... and that was just not happening!

#5. When your child beats on their sibling for no reason you might want to get involved. I promise you, you can sip that Starbucks all day but unless you get up... they ain't stopping honey!

#4. When your 2 year old is running around randomly pushing and smacking other peoples children in the face you might want to do something... other than smile!

#3. When your child is digging through other peoples strollers and taking things you may want to tell them NO before all the strangers who own the strollers have too! Once again smiling is just not enough!

#2.When play land smells like the public bathrooms at the beach on a 100 degree day and all the mothers around you have checked their children's diapers and came up with nothing....IT'S YOUR CHILD!

And the number one thing you should never have to say to another mother while playing with your children in the play land at your local mall is........

#1. I can see that your child enjoyed that chocolate chip cookie he ate earlier. Now could you please clean him up so my daughter will stop crawling through it and licking it off her hands!

Nathan Update!

Nathans appointment in Cleveland went great, we couldn't have asked for a better outcome! He is officially in REMISSION and shows no signs or symptoms of juvenile arthritis. We were encouraged to keep Nathan active in sports to help him maintain his muscle strength and flexibility. Which has been our goal all along. He has now been released from the care of his rheumatologist and will only go back if another flare up occurs.

Nathan is playing soccer and has games every Saturday morning in Sandusky! If you would like to help cheer him on come on out and join us!

As always are afternoon at Chuck E Cheese's was also fun! Lilli was able to participate for the first time and she loved it! Ski ball seemed to be her favorite thing I'm not sure if it was because she could throw the balls and they would come back to her every time. Or if it was that climbing up on the game made her feel like a queen on her throne!

Nathan won more tickets then he has ever won before with a grand total of 433. Which resulted in a ton of Chuck E Cheese loot for mom to pick up all over the house!

We also made a stop at the Great Northern Mall which which could have been fun but it wasn't and that's my next blog..."The Top 5 Things You Should Never Have to Say To Another Mother While Playing In The Play land At The Mall"

Getting things around to head for Cleveland for the day. Nathan has a check up with the rheumatologist. (arthritis doctor) He has been off all his meds for 3 months :) and I'm hoping to keep it that way! Today is also Nathans First day of Preschool too bad he's missing it :( I'm sad ... he's not! He knows when we go to these long and tedious appts. he is rewarded by an afternoon at Chuck E Cheeses! I'll post later to let you know how things went!

A FUN DAY!

These are some of the pictures from our latest trip to the African Safari Wildlife Park!

It's a wildlife park you drive through and feed the animals from you car. We've been taking Nathan there since he was very little so he's not afraid! He loves it!

Unlike his mother....Even a 50lb boa does not bother him! (I asked when he was last fed before I agreed to let Nathan hold him! It had only been 24hrs so we were good! LOL)

Sometimes you'll here him let out a scream from the back seat. Then that's followed by a laugh that that melts your heart!

On this particular visit this albino zebra was expecting! We're hoping when we return we will see her baby! If anyone is interested in joining us on our next trip let me know! It will be Lilli's first visit so I'm anticipating a very fun day with some great pictures!

When I Grow Up.... I Wanna Be Famous!

I THINK SHE'S DESTINE FOR FAME!

Shes growing up and definitely demands your attention! She spends everyday showing the world that shes a girly girl! Pearls and sunglasses are her new favorite thing!
"It's all about me!"

Were Back Up And Running

Yeah are computer is finally fixed and I can blog again! Our computer needed more RAM so blogging was becoming a very long and time consuming process that I did not have the time or patience for. We ordered new ram and now its making a world of difference! Hopefully I can now get back into the swing of blogging at least once a week. We have been so busy lately that I have tons to blog about. So instead of back tracking I'm just going to pick up where we are now! We have trips to the zoo planned, Nathans getting ready to start soccer and Lilli will be walking someday soon! Be sure to get in the habit of checking in again, you don't want to miss a thing!

The Bellevue Hospital

As most of you know Lilli was a pretty sick little girl this past week! Ends up the poor thing had a couple different virus brewing together at the same time. She is doing much better now but that's no thanks to The Bellevue Hospital! (and the rampage begins......)

"Its become almost a cliche, build it and they will come" This is a quote from the video clip on The Bellevue Hospitals web page. What the president/CEO of The Bellevue Hospital doesn't say in this 20 second clip is that if you don't like our policies you can go to Fisher Titus! That however is apparently what he believes because that is just what he told me to do!

Upon entering the ER this past weekend I asked the young man behind the glass divider what doctor was working the emergency room. You see, this is a question we are use to asking in the event that someone in our family ends up in the ER. This is due to our unfortunate history with The Bellevue Hospital and a particular doctor employed by them. After a brief moment the young man behind the desk obviously frustrated at my continuous request to be let in on the "BIG SECRET" spoke to me as if I was beneath him! IT"S SIMPLE MAM...I... CAN... NOT... TELL... YOU... WHO... THE... ER... DOCTOR... IS! The only thing that could have made this moment any more infuriating would have been him signing to me as he slowly and aggressively spoke the words like I was somehow mentally incompetent! Don't get me wrong I was confused given the fact that this was something our family had done at least a dozen times before without question! But mentally incompetent I am not!

Of course first thing this morning I was on the phone with the administration department at The Bellevue Hospital. I briefly explained our past litigation's with the unnamed ER Dr. and The Bellevue Hospital. I then informed the kind and understanding woman about the treatment I received in the ER. She assured me she would look into the matter and get back to me. A short time later is when I received the call from the president/CEO informing me that not disclosing the names of the doctors working the ER was their standard operating policy. I of course again explained to him my reasons for the request and questioned him about our past experiences with this in the ER. He again informed me of this "policy" assured me that Dr. ??? would have no issue treating my family despite past litigation's and then suggested we should just use Fisher Titus.

I was appalled and angry and just hung up the phone. We pay taxes in this town therefor we helped pay for the new hospital he speaks so highly of. I feel we not only have the right to use that hospital we have the right to have our concerns addressed just like any other citizen!

I of course later on got on the hospital website and read their list of "Patients Rights" and found some interesting things. Like the one that reads "You have the right to know the names and roles of people treating you" So that made me wonder when are you considered a patient and when does this right become effective? In triage hospitals are you not considered a patient from the moment you walk in the door? I called the hospital and left a message for the hospital compliance officer and also talked the kind woman in administration again she informed that she was unable to answer my question and would need to call me back. I have yet to here from either one of them!

This policy also states that patients have the right to comfort and dignity. Well the hospital has not treated us with much dignity and as far as comfort goes do they really feel that our family or the Dr involved for that matter would be comfortable in the same room given the past! I'm sure he would be polite as the president/CEO stated and probably very thorough but comfortable I highly doubt!

TO BE CONTINUED......

Update on Lilli

Lilli is doing great and growing like a wild flower! She has the official princess attitude and believes she should never be left alone and should most definitely never touch the ground! She went for her well check this past week and weighed in at a healthy 22lbs and 14oz and she is just shy of 29 inches long. That put hers in the 95th percentile for her weight and the 85th percentile for her height! She has an astonishing 6 teeth with more on the way. Lilli is currently doing everything she can to figure out how to craw but that one leg is never quiet positioned right! She much prefers just standing up holding on to the couch or her toys! She started eating big girl food and loved it until a few days ago when she suddenly decided baby food was more her thing! (Girls they can never make up their minds!) Lilli loves to be on the go so the words "bye bye" get her very excited! Oh and of course I can not fail to tell you that Lilli now says her first word! Every time she sees her daddy she says it OVER and OVER and OVER again! There is absolutely no way I can argue what she is saying even though I want to! I'm sure by now you have guessed what it is..........."DA DA"

PARENTING 101

I was out running some errands this afternoon when I decided that this blog post was a must! You see being an aunt of 11 wonderful nieces and nephews as well as a child care provider and an un-perfect mother you see and here about parents having laps in their judgement all the time. Most of these are funny yet ridiculous things we just do without thinking! A perfect example is the time my older sister was pushing my then 3 year old nephew Gabe in a stroller at a car show. He was not buckled in and she hit a curb needless to say Gabe went flying through the air like a trapeze artist. What makes the story even better is her trying to retrieve him from the center of the drunk crowd that he happened to land in! (Oops wont do that again!) On the opposite end of the spectrum are those parents who have more serious laps in their judgement and either don't see it or I guess just don't care. These are the parents you see while sitting at the traffic light. You know the ones who have their children strapped safely in the back seat of the car while they smoke a cigarette with all the windows rolled up! Way to go keeping your kids safe while you totally disregard their health ...... HERE'S YOUR SIGN!

I actually know parents who will not get their children immunized because of the fear of autism but they smoke while holding their child on their lap! Can someone please explain, I seem to be confused. Maybe I missed somewhere that young children inhaling toxic chemicals enhances brain development?

And just when you think you have seen it all.... Today while stopped at a red light I see a man standing on his front porch holding a young boy probably around a year old. The man is wearing socks, jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. The women he is talking to is wearing shoes, pants, a coat and hat. The child has no coat, no hat, no blanket as a matter of fact he had on NO CLOTHES only a diaper! It was 42 degrees outside What the **** were they thinking? Of course me being me I honk my horn and tug at my shirt then point to the child hoping they get my message. " Hey Dummy you live on Main St.! EVERYONE CAN SEE YOU! We are now all witnesses to your stupidity and lack of parenting skills!" Parenting classes should be mandatory for first time parents who clearly have no clue what they are doing!

Thanks Heather for being my example :)

This helpful guide is from Wry Baby founders, Kelly and David Sopp, to aid new parents who may not understand the subtleties of good parenting.

The Story Of Charlie

Charlie 1999 - 2009

Charlie Brown, A fighter with an unbreakable spirit. The worlds greatest canine companion died March 10th of cancer and old age. At the time of his death his license was current and he had all of his shots. He is survived by two adults, two children, his 5 year companion Maggie, who's spaying he always regretted, as well as a host of fleas who have gone elsewhere, probably to Maggie. He will be missed by all, except the neighborhood cats who try and use the flower bed as a litter box and the mailman who once maced him.

Its the summer of 2000 and the talk at work is all about a Innocent dog who has been forgotten about. The dog has been abandoned and locked on a tiny back porch. He is being kept alive by the kindness of neighbors who continually put food and water over the railing. They have called the authorities but are told that as long as the dog is not beaten or malnourished and has a spot on the porch clear of fecal matter to lay there is nothing they can do! Well we disagree! After a week of waiting we catch word that the man who owns the dog is at the house so I head over. I pull in the driveway and get out of the car, as I approach the house I see the owner. He is sitting on his front porch reading the Bible. I instantly become angry, has he skipped the part in Psalm about taking care of Gods creatures! I gather myself knowing that speaking my mind will not help this poor dog. With every ounce of self control I have I kindly introduce myself and let the man know that I am interested in his dog and would like to know if he wants to get rid of him. The man does not ask me a single question he stands up and walks into the house. A couple minutes later he emerges with a high strung Chocolate Lab and hands me his leash. This was the first time I had ever laid eyes on this dog. I ask about his age and if he has ever had shots. The man responds "I have no clue, we got him at a pet store about a year ago when he was a puppy." I said thank you and was then pulled to the car but this huge 4 legged creature named Charlie!

After a good bath and a vet check to make sure Charlie was healthy we began the search to find him a loving home. We did interview after interview and no one screamed perfect match. After weeks of looking we were about to give up and settle on someone we had already interviewed. And then it happened, we figured out what Charlie had known the whole time. We didn't need to find him a perfect home because he already had one..... with us!

He was by far the worlds worst untrained 1 year old Chocolate Lab in history! But despite all the massive piles of dog poop and stolen food from the counter. All the eaten shoes and chewed up legs on the antique dinning room chairs, our hearts belonged to Charlie and he knew it!

Now here we sit 9 years later saying goodbye to the dog who stole our hearts. With his cold wet nose and big beautiful eyes you couldn't help but love him. We know that we did everything we could for Charlie and that in the end we saved him from unnecessary pain and suffering but that has not made this journey any easier. Everyone keeps telling us that Charlie lived a great life and was blessed to have such a good home. But truth be told Charlie wasn't the one who was blessed.....We were!

A big THANKS to Dr.Clark and his staff at the Animal Hospital for helping Charlie fill our home and hearts with joy for the 9 wonderful years we had him!

The Story Of My Life

Came across this in the Sunday Comics and couldn't help but to chuckle. This is truly the story of my life! Especially between the the hours of 7:00 am and 6:30 pm when our home is over ran with joyful energetic children. I am lucky on the rare occasion that I get to use the restroom in peace. Believe me when I say rare I mean rare. They use to just burst in and demand that I address their needs from the throne. (children have no boundaries!) I have learned to lock the door though because most are unable to pick the lock. Now I think the children have confused the bathroom as a confessional. I swear there must be a sensor on the toilet that triggers a light to turn on the moment my butt hits the seat. This alerts the children and lets them know "I'm in" so they all come running. Its like a stampede of crazed elephants fleeing for their lives. The weak and the young are often left behind or worse trampled just like in the wild! They stand there outside the bathroom door yelling "I pushed Judy because she took my toy!" "Well I took the toy because Elroy wouldn't share!" "And And And Nikki .... George bit the dog again.... and were hungry!" So there I sit shouting back through the bathroom door each ones penance "Judy and Elroy you need to share your toys and we should not hurt our friends so hug, say your sorry and keep your hands to yourself." "Oh yeah, and George, Ill get you some lunch in a minute SO DON'T EAT THE DOG!" I am fortunate though because our bathroom has two doors and sometimes if I'm really quiet I can sneak out the "escape door". This will lead me to our office instead of the kitchen where the angry mob awaits me. Usually when I am able to pull this off it allows me 60 to 90 seconds of peace before they realize that I have tricked them. Then they all come running around the corner to out me! Even the dogs are in on it now! Maggie will join me in the bathroom and just refuse to leave. (probably a fear of being bitten by a child!) While Charlie will sit outside the bathroom with his nose pressed up against the door jam snorting like some kind of wild hog! Again this comic is the story of my life! Oh, and just in case you were wondering I do not really care for children named Judy, Elroy and George. I needed an alias name for them and when I was typing this the Jetsons were on in the other room. How convenient!

Coming Soon To A Computer Near You

Sorry about the pause in blogging I was trying to get a jump start on some spring cleaning. I am so busy during the week that I only really have time to blog on the weekends. But I have another ridiculously funny Nathan story coming soon so watch for it. I'm sorry they have all been about Nathan lately but the boy cracks me up. Lilli will all to soon have her share of the Jarrett Blog fame once she learns to get into everything and start talking nonstop like her older brother! (make no mistake I'm in no hurry) Rest assured though Lilli is doing well and as of today we have not put her up for adoption. Now tomorrow could be an entirely different story so at this point we refuse to make any promises. She is almost 8 months old and the entire planet would suffer a massive volcanic like explosion if for 1 second the universe did not revolve around her. Some would say that she is this way because of the way we have raised her these past 8 months though this is not the case. Lilli like Nathan is unmistakably spoiled that I will not deny! However Ben and I are not able to take full blame for this. You see Lilli and Nathan are blessed to have a great group of people who really have a deep love for them. You know the kind of love that has no limits. The problem with this type of love is that sometimes it causes people to enter a utopia and they believe that our children do no wrong. For example the other day Nathan refused to shut off the television and get ready for school. So the logical discipline for this would be no cartoons for the rest of the day right. WRONG! You see Nathan went to visit one of these people I'm talking about and asked if he could watch cartoons. Ben immediately stepped in and said no you lost TV today! Well it only took him 1 puckered lip and a phone call to get what he wanted. The people who did this know who they are so there is no need to name names. So of course a couple days ago Nathan was once again having a problem following directions and his immediate response to me was "mom, I want to stay the night with Kenny and Charlet." Oh that's right we weren't going to name names were we. Silly me what was I thinking!

Warning Labels Should Be More Clear!

A few weeks ago Nathan began asking about signs and symbols that you see while you're out and about. You know the typical things like Hospital ahead, divided intersection etc. He also began to take notice of warning labels on stuff around the house and wanted to know why all these things are there. Of course Ben and I always tell him that they are there to help keep us safe and we should always try and do what they say. So that said this past week while driving Nathan loudly announces from the back seat that Lilli's car seat can go on airplanes. I tell him he's right and ask how he knows this. He informs me that he just knows because god gave him a really smart brain. Truth be told he seen the little airplane picture on the warning labels stuck to the side of her car seat. I just agreed that he had a super smart brain and quietly laughed to myself as I continued to drive. Well yesterday while once again driving in the car Nathan abruptly hollers from the back seat "mom did you know that fat people can't ride in this car" I pause for a moment to digest the words that were just uttered by the mouth of my 4 year old son. I mean surely we have raised him better then this! I still in a state of disbelief and shock explain to Nathan that comments like that could hurt someones feelings and he should be more thoughtful when saying things. He replies to me still very sure of himself "mom its to keep us safe so the car don't tip over" At that point completely confused, I asked him why he would say such a thing. Then In the rear view mirror I see my son pointing as he tells me that he read it on the car. I look up to see this warning label located on the sun visor.........

Apparently in 4 year old translation this means

WARNING: FAT PEOPLE MAY CAUSE CAR TO TIP

I had to pull the car over not only to explain the true meaning of the warning label but to crack up laughing!

The Way To My "Little" Mans Heart

Everyone always says the way to a mans heart is through his stomach. Well that also seems to be the way to my "little" mans heart.

So there I sit writing my usual shopping list with Nathan by my side helping me. You see he always writes his own list then translates to me his illegible yet beautiful 4 year old penmanship. I'll always listen carefully as he repeats the same things to me week after week. I need grapes, and cheese puffs, cookies, and apples and don't forget my chocolate milk he persuasively reminds me. So off I went on my excursion to the grocery store with his list and my list at hand. I walk through the isles grabbing the repeats and as I reach for Nathans chocolate milk I pause and begin to smile. You see there alone on a shelf in the dairy fridge sits a 1/2 gallon of Nestle Quick chocolate milk. At that moment in my head I have a flash back of wide eyed Nathan telling me enthusiastically how only Wendys has his favorite chocolate milk. And Well Friday My little man did an amazing job as he sat through another grueling eye exam and I figured he deserved something a little special so why not. I grabbed the 1/2 gallon of "liquid gold" tossed it in the cart and finished the dreadful shopping trip. Upon returning home I unload the grocery's from the car (that's even more dreadful then shopping) and called Nathan to the kitchen. He steps out of the bathroom still dripping wet from his shower and wrapped in nothing but a towel. I tell him that mom got him something special and pulled the chocolate milk from the bag. At that very moment my son drops his towel and begins jumping up and down naked in the middle of the kitchen while yelling "that's my favorite chocolate milk I'm so excited!" As if that was not already enough to bring a smile to any mothers face the words that followed surely would have. And those priceless words were ........................................ "NOW I LOVE YOU MORE THEN I LOVE DAD"

We Have Reached A Verdict

Well it was not easy but it has been done! I have tallied all the votes and sent in the most liked photo. I will tell you that photo #2 and photo #5 were tied at 7 votes each the others never even came close! I had to break the tie and this was no easy task given that 2, 4, and 5 were my top picks! So here it is the final photo.....drum roll please............................................................................

AND THE WINNER IS

Photo #5

I went with this one because she is smiling and part of what makes Lilli so precious is that beautiful vibrant smile. Thank you to everyone who voted If I here anything I will be sure to keep you all updated.

Beautiful Baby Search

We have decided to enter Lilli into The Beautiful Baby Search that takes place on Live With Regis And Kelly every year. The rules state that the photo must be recent and that you are not allowed to use a professional photograph. So throughout the day Lilli and I have done mini photo shoots. I was hoping to get a good shot, that one that captures an expression that just screams I'm Lilliann! I ended up with some awesome photos that I love and there is one "favorite" I'm leaning towards. But I would like everyones opinion before I make the final decision on the perfect photo. So gather the family your friends your co-workers and anyone else who's around you (even if they're strangers in a coffee shop) and place your votes! You can either email them to me, leave them in the comments below this post or leave me a message in the message box located in the column to the right. I have to make a decission by Tuesday morning.

HAPPY VOTING!

Im Back.......I was attending bloggers anonymous

Hello everyone! Sorry that I have not posted for a while. I was trying to prove a point to my wonderful husband and I think it may have worked. You see he has been harassing me about the time I spend on the computer blogging. He would most of the time jokingly call me an addict. Well on January 21st (the day of my last post) I decided that I needed to prove to him that I was not a blog addict. So I simply stopped blogging I wanted him to realize that maintaining and running a blog does take time. I also wanted to prove to him that although I do enjoy the blog others receive more joy from it then I do. And with the help of all of you I did just that! Thank you to everyone who questioned my husband about the blog suddenly coming to a stand still I appreciate it.
A TON of things have happened in the last two weeks. Unfortunately, if I tried to blog them all it would take me days and then I may become an actual blog addict! So for your entertainment here are just a few highlights...........

1. When Lilli falls off the couch she does not bounce!
2. A four year old is always right----Even when they're wrong they're right!
3. When an infant has the stomach flu and you feel rumbling while holding them you should put them down IMMEDIATELY!
4. Pre-Schools should not celebrate summer birthdays on 1/2 birthdays it confuses the children and make them believe they're 5. When the parents try to explain it they get no where! (refer back to #2)
5. Feeding dogs rotten meat will give them diarrhea and they will poop all over your house! (isn't that right honey)
6. And last but not least when a child puts a pop-tart in the microwave for 63 minutes it turns into a rock!

FYI while writing this post my loving husband sent me a text that read "The blog still looks the same!" I think he may be afraid of all of you!

Why Is It So Hot?

I love winter weather and do not typically mind the cold. However, any one who lives near us knows just how bitterly cold it has been here. So lately I have not enjoyed the Ohio weather and yesterday I voiced my opinion about just that. While I sat bundled up in layers in my living room I watched Nathan who is always hot, run shirtless and bare foot through the house. I asked several times if he was cold and he would simply respond no and continue on his merry way. After a few minutes he returned to the living room and asked me if I was cold. "Yes" I said, "I'm freezing." "Well then turn the heat up" he replied as he rubbed my hand then quickly picked up the remote control and turned off my show so he could watch his. (typical man) I just chuckled as I pretended not to notice the silly little smirk on his face. You could tell that in his eyes he believed that he had just pulled of something quite amazing. His ingenious distraction and then subtle retrieval of the remote control. This was something daddy would truly be proud of! I went to the kitchen and began dinner then several minutes later I began to peel off layers. It was suddenly very warm in our house and I found myself searching for an explanation. "It must be because I'm cooking...... but our kitchen is never this warm!" "Oh man.....maybe I'm getting sick...... but I have felt fine all day!" By the time I was finishing up dinner I was actually sweating while wearing a t-shirt. I had no idea what was going on with me well at least not until Nathan joined me in the kitchen. He pulled a bar stool over to the counter then climbed up on it and very sweetly asked "are you warm now?" Yes, Mommy is very warm, how about you, I asked. "I'm hot" he replied, "I think I need to put on some deodorant cause that's just what happens when you turn the heat up." I stared at him blankly while he climbed down from the stool and walked towards the bathroom. "Mommy never turned the heat up" I told him. He reached the bathroom door then stopped and turned to look at me. At that moment my four year old with as much attitude as he could muster up said "I know so I had to!" I obviously checked the thermostat to find that our house was a not so cozy 84 degrees and climbing right on up to 87 where he had it set!

Milestone after Milestone

Ben and I have been working with our "little flower" trying to get her to roll over. One day we realized that during all this time the only thing we had accomplished was discovering a new way to tick her of. (Now we can add that to an already endless list right next to wiping her nose.) So of course we gave up and left her on the floor next to her mountain of toys why we continued on with our mountain of chores. After a few minutes of cleaning there I stood scrubbing dishes when Nathan comes flying around the corner jumping up and down yelling "MOM YOU HAVE TO COME AND SEE THIS". "What is it Nathanial?" "YOU HAVE TO COME AND SEE!" he says again. So I dry my hands and reluctantly follow him to the living room. Once there I see that Lilli is no longer where we left her playing on the floor she instead is a good three feet across the room. With much excitement in my voice I ask "did she roll all the way over there?" "HER DID MOM HER DID!" he says, again why jumping up and down. At this point I'm both ecstatic she finally rolled over and disappointed that I missed it. So I ask Nathan to tell me how she did it. I wanted a detailed description. So I sat there anxiously waiting to vicariously relive the moment through the words of my 4 year old son. He pondered...................................................... After several seconds (that seemed like hours) his face lit up to reveal that he had finally found the perfect words to describe this amazing moment. He again began to jump up and down as he shouted "HER JUST ROLLED OVER, LIKE A BOWLING BALL!" UH........not exactly the narrative I was hoping for. I will admit though, that is a pretty good analogy for a 4 year old. However something tells me the image in my head and what he actually seen are quite different! Never the less Lilli has rolled over since then and is now pulling herself to a sitting position. This makes putting her to bed when she doesn't want to go really fun! I should also mention that Lilli now has her first tooth it is on the bottom left side. If I had to guess I would say the bottom right is not that far behind!

Update On Nathan

As many of you know on Wednesday Nathan had an appointment with his rheumatologist. Everything went well after we finally found the place! Turns out that new roads our not always able to be found by Map Quest, Google Maps or even a GPS. When this happens your pretty much screwed! So of course you call the Doctors office to try and get directions but instead you'll most likely receive a message saying "I'm sorry we are currently receiving a high volume of calls. Your call is important to us so please stay on the line and we will be with you momentarily." So there I am sitting in a Silver Mountaineer on my cell phone with two young children taking in the scenery at the local gas station in the middle of god knows where! Now, one would think that the classical music playing softly in my ear while I continue to wait on hold would calm and relax anyone right? Not quite the case when you consider the local scenery consist of cars that should be considered illegal to drive due to the fact that they were held together by bondo and duct tape and had trash bags for windows! Every where you looked there were questionable people! I knew nothing about this place except for the fact that me in a silver mountaineer on a cell phone with two young children did not belong there. This whole time in my head all I can think is how this message I have now heard a dozen times should actually read "your call is important to us so please stay on the line and continue to wait unless your about to be car jacked and mugged then please hang up and dial 911". It was SUPER SCARY!

Now that that's out of the way lets get back to Nathan! As I said earlier before the rampage his appointment went well.

• Good news - we finally have an official diagnosis
• Bad news - as we suspected it is juvenile arthritis
• Good news/Bad news - He has a 50% chance of outgrowing it therefor a 50% chance he will continue to have problems as an adult

The naproxen alone was helping some of the inflammation but he is still very stiff and sore mainly in the morning. So Dr. Spalding has decided that the next step would be to start him on sulfasalazine this is a disease modifying anti rheumatic drug. The purpose of this drug is to slow down or even stop the progression of the disease. Nathan will be going back to hydro therapy once a week and then go back to see the doctor in February. If this treatment does not work there is other drugs they can try but right now we our hopeful so we will only cross that bridge if need to.

One more bit of good news-juvenile arthritis is not hereditary so it is very rare for more then one child in a family to have it.

Update on Lilli

Sorry it has taken so long to share Lillis updated info from her 6 month well check this past Tuesday. But here it is.... Yes you are reading it right she is a healthy 20.6 pounds and in the 98th percentile for weight. And 27 1/2 inches long putting her in the 96th percentile for her height! The Doctor said she is doing an amazing job meeting her milestones and is a happy and healthy little girl. However she may have just been trying to butter her up because right after that she gave her a flu shot. (HA HA) Then on Thursday morning the poor thing had to be poked again when she got her 6 month vaccinations! The Nurses love her because given the size of her thighs they say she has great "targets". It's wonderful to know that two days later she has already forgotten about the whole terrible ordeal! Now aside from the second dose of the flu vaccine she will receive on the 5th of February she will not need any more shots until her first birthday! She does not know to be excited about this but I DO! Don't get me wrong Lilli does a great job with very little crying when she gets her shots. And although I feel that we are doing the right thing by protecting her it is still heartbreaking! I just try to remember what a nurse once told me while having Nathan vaccinated- "a few shots now will keep them from having to have dozens later if they come down with one of these potentially fatal illnesses." As much as it makes me cringe I know she is right!

The Modern Day Family Pet

A few days ago Nathan was watching TV and seen a commercial for the new Marley and Me movie. He has asked several times to go see the movie "about the bad dog" and I just tell him maybe, we'll see, hoping that he will just forget about it. Well the commercials keep reminding him and so he just keeps asking. I would love to go and see the movie myself and would not mind taking Nathan but knowing that poor Marley is not immortal and will die at the end, has made me more then hesitant. After much thought I finally decided that this was not going to go away anytime soon and made the decision to just tell Nathan the truth. After all he is 4 1/2 right and we do have pets one of which is... a little on the older side! Thanks impart to the Catholic school he is also starting to understand that there is a heaven where people and animals go when they die. Granted he has his own version of how this works! All I'll say is that it involves Jesus with a parachute and a jet pack. But never the less he is starting to understand death, heaven and earth. I figured we would just have the conversation then he would be able to make his own decision on rather he wanted to see the "bad dog movie." Lets just say the conversation did not go over as smoothly as one would have hoped. It involved allot of tears and hysterics and some mumbling about how he loved Charlie and Maggie and wanted them to be his pets forever. I took a quick analysis of the situation and became panic stricken upon realizing that it was far to late to turn back. In a desperate attempt to spare my son from any more emotional scarring I assured him that when pets die you get to pick out new ones! This may not have been my best mommy moment however it did give his little overactive brain something to ponder other then the death of his beloved pet. He has not since then said anything more about our conversation, until today that is. Today he brought me a picture and with overflowing enthusiasm informed me that when our dog dies this was the new pet he wanted and that it could be purchased at the pet store for only $9.99................

I of course asked him where we would keep an animal like that and he very proudly answered in a cage with a door. But you have to put a stick in it for the bird to sit on and "seagles" like to eat slippery fish. When I asked him where we find slippery fish he stood tall (as if to convey to me that he had already fully thought this through) and confidently said at Pa Pa's!

Oh yeah, for those of you who are wondering NO I did not tell Nathan that having a Bald Eagle for a pet was not even remotely possible. After all he is 4 1/2 right!