Swing Built for Two

Been very busy lately. Not much time for anything. I cannot remember the last day I had off.
This is a park a few miles from our house. The girls fit nicely into the swing. Emily put them in there when they were smaller, but now they barely fit together. They are at a cute age now.

Happy Birthday Dear Isaac! What a fun Dog Birthday Party!! We had dog and bone cookies, hot dogs, cake and ice cream. The kids had a wonderful time jumping in the bouncer, playing pin the tail on the dog, I have a little doggie and he won't bite you, Bean bag toss, and the dog pinata. There were 12 kids running crazy for two hours in the backyard. Savannah absolutely loved the chaos, she was in her glory with all of the kids to play with and the bouncer to jump in. I'm positive she had more fun than Isaac. Sophia had fun, but she really had her eye on the cake, she couldn't wait patiently any longer, and decided to dig into the chocolate frosting and try it. By the end of the party Isaac was in the basement all by himself, I guess he needed some down time. We couldn't have asked for a nicer evening, the weather was perfect, and the kids were pretty well behaved. I had put a lot of effort into the party, so I was glad the kids had a good time. I asked Isaac what his very favorite present was, he said it was his new SpongeBob movie from Daddy. (Nick took Isaac to Sam's Club, and let him pick a DVD, then Isaac came home and wrapped it himself, at least Nick knew it was something Isaac would like!)

Bike trailer

We've been enjoying some fun family outings with our bikes and trailers. Nick bought a nice new bike, and I received his hand-me-down. It's a good thing I don't know any better, as long as it works, I'm fine with it. Nick will take the heavy load consisting of Isaac, who weighs 63 pounds and barely fits, and Sophia, while I just pull Savannah in my trailer. Even with my lighter load, I still have a hard time keeping up with him. We ride around for a few miles, and then take the kids to the park and let them play. It's a good way to entertain the kids and get exercise too.

Floor to couch

Isaac is now sleeping on the couch. He will never tell us why he does these things, but every night he wants to sleep on the couch in our front room. He might be afraid of his room, or his bed, but he never tells us.

Back to school

Isaac is back in school. He actually likes where he is going. Emily is happy because now she only has two to watch during the day. I haven't really noticed a difference because I'm gone most of the time.
From Emily:
Isaac has made the adjustment of all day school, he was exhausted the first week. He also attends speech therapy 3 days a week after school, so we keep his pretty busy. He is doing so well and is so smart. His teacher was impressed that he is reading so well, she said most kids starting kindergarten aren't reading yet, she tested him and he flew through all of her 1st grade material with no problem. There are 7 boys in his class(no girls), it is staffed with a great teacher and 2 assistants. Wichita has incredible public schools, especially for special ed. I'm sure he's going to make substantial progress this school year.
The girls are absolutely adorable, they are becoming quite the mischief makers. They follow each other around the house emptying out cupboards and drawers. Isaac has restricted them from his room, because they ruined too many of his books. They are going through the playing in the toilet stage, and it's really disgusting. They put toys, balls, fingernail clippers, toothbrushes, and whatever they might find in the toilet. I just get a pair of Nick's surgical gloves and remove the objects and throw it and the gloves away. I hope they lose interest soon. They are starting to chat a little, their favorite words right now are Dad, Duck, Dog, Mama, and hat. They like to get out of the house(or maybe that's just me) we go shopping, to the zoo, for walks, or out to lunch. One of our new outings that Isaac and the girls love is going to the pet stores and seeing all of the animals, this is great fun for the kids to see all of the animals and I don't have to smell them or clean up after them(the animals, not the kids). Nick doesn't mind that we do this, because it's free entertainment. It has been so hot here the last few weeks so we've missed out on our family bike rides. We have gone to the park to shoot off rockets. Isaac holds the controller, we give the 5-4-3-2-1-blastoff countdown, he'll push the red button, and we watch it soar. Savannah gets scared every time, you'd think she would start expecting it, but she freaks out over the vacuum too. Our kids are a lot of work, but they are so sweet and special, we feel very blessed.

From Tent to Floor

Isaac has been sleeping on the floor for the last month. Last year as you may remember he was sleeping downstairs in the tent. He acquired a fear of the dark lately and only wants to sleep in the hallway by his room with the light on. He seems to like it just fine.

Isaac gets to start school soon. Emily is looking forward to that. It will be nice when the girls go to school as well. They are so cute, walking all over the place.
I am so happy this is my last summer in Kansas. The heat is killing me. Sophia, Isaac and I cannot stand the hot weather. Emily and Savannah seem to tolerate it.

No lose tooth!

The other night Isaac lost his first tooth. He didn't tell us that his tooth was loose, but I noticed it because he was real quiet and kept sticking his tongue out. I looked and it was almost out. I told him that he was going to lose his tooth and he got really upset. He kept saying, "No lose tooth, no lose tooth!" Finally we read him a book about clifford the big red dog who loses his tooth and his friends tie a rope to his tooth to get it to come out. Naturally Isaac wanted a rope at that point, but finally settled for some dental floss. I jerked the tooth out and he did't even cry. Of course having Emily as your mother means the tooth fairy has deep pockets. I expected two bits under his pillow. The next morning Isaac got a quarter and a five dollar bill. Maybe that is an advance on all the teeth to follow.

Still Like Sophia

Sophia is such a sweetie. She is still my favorite twin, but Savannah is a lot of fun as well. They just opened a new Sportsman's warehouse in Wichita. I took just Sophia with me and she loved it. She kept pointing to all the deer and elk mounted on the walls. She had a great time. The only problem with her she is too sensitive. If I even raise my voice at her, even to warn her of danger, she starts crying and there is quickly lots of tears. It won't work with me. I won't fall for the waterworks.

Isaac

Happy Birthday to Nick!

We just celebrated Nick's 34th Birthday. Isaac requested that we make Daddy a lion cake. Nick was a good sport to settle for a boxed cake mix and store bought frosting(not to mention the amateur decorating job) instead of a delicious Texas Cake or Double layer homemade chocolate cake like his Mom would have done. Isaac was pretty proud of it though! When Nick started Medical school 7 years ago, he said I'll be 35 years old when I'm finished. I thought that sounded forever away, but now just one more year to go! Nick's next birthday will be a huge celebration for our family.

Savannah likes Chinese

It's a long story but somehow three chinese people ended up at our house in Kansas to watch Isaac during one of his therapy sessions. Emily invited them over to dinner before the session, so we fed the chinese BBQ shredded pork sandwiches. They didn't like the lemonade.

The Chinese have started a program in Beijing China, called Stars and Rain Education Institute for Autism, and were here in Wichita learning some of our programs. Isaac has been receiving therapy for 2 years now. He has made great progress. He will be going to a communications disorder kindergarten class next year and will also do some speech therapy which will be one-on-one. He can read at a second grade level, but still struggles with speech at times and socical skills. He is now potty-trained, which has taken place the last couple of months.
Back to the Chinese, Savannah latched on to Scott(the Chinese guy), but wouldn't go to the girls. Sophia, as usual, won't go to anybody and would scream if they got too close.

Squirt and Monkey

That's the nicknames that I have given to the girls. I don't know why I came up with those, but probably had something to do with the way they act. Savannah is Monkey and Sophia is Squirt. They are saying some words. At least it seems like they are saying moma and dada. I don't know when that started. They are almost a year old. I wish they would hurry and grow up so they can help out around here.
Isaac makes the biggest messes. He uses so much paper between his coloring and printing stuff on the computer. We had an idea to give him folders with only 10 pieces of paper each day, but that isn't working because he has a big stash of papers somewhere in the house. So our house is usually filled with papers that he colors.
Isaac and I went on a father and son's outing that involved the entire stake. We went to some lake north of Wichita. It felt more like a city park. The weather was great. I did notice that around 10:00 at night everything felt wet. It was so humid that our tent was already wet, inside and out. It only got to around 55 degrees at night. I would have slept okay but too many screaming kids running around and also the people camped next to us had there big telescope out and kept scanning around the sky which made mechanical noises each time. We left early the next morning. I rarely have time off and my back lawn is 10 inches high, so I couldn't wait around. I got home and mowed the lawn.
Camping in Kansas is so fun, especially when there are a million people all around you.

Bean Town

"The magical fruit, the more you eat....."
I just got back from Boston. I was there for a conference. The residency paid for the trip. The conference was disappointing as well as the hotel. We were not even in downtown. The hotel was in a town outside of Boston called Revere. I was there with two other residents in my class. We did spend some time walking around Boston and saw some of the historical sites. It has been hot here in Wichita(currently 90 degrees) and I forgot to bring a coat. I ended up buying jacket because Boston is barely into spring right now. On Monday they had the Boston marathon. We didn't see the race, but did see a lot of people that had run and were heading home on the streets or subways.
We walked around Harvard campus one afternoon. I thought somehow I would become more intelligent by the very act. Didn't happen.
Emily's mom fly into town for the week, so she had a great time while I was gone.
Isaac is making progress towards potty training. He has gone on his own, but gets to open a brand new toy each time. This could get expensive fast. His pullups are expensive as well. I hope he continues to make progress.

Emily Speaks!

Nick said it was my turn to write something for the blog. I’m happy to give a brief update on our family. The girls are busy little bodies since they’ve recently learned to crawl. Savannah is standing up with the help of any furniture or person she can grab on to. Savannah is the more aggressive twin, she wants whatever Sophia is playing with, and will plow her over to get it. Sophia will cry for an instant, then calmly get another toy and mind her own business. It’s funny just how different they are, two very distinct personalities. They are so adorable, they do something cute every single day, I love watching them grow up. Sophia is Daddy’s little princess, she just loves him so much. Good thing Savannah is still my little girl. They are too cute together, they crawl around together and make mischief. I can’t imagine how it’s going to be when they’re two years old-they’ll really work together to cause trouble. Isaac is a great big brother, he is so helpful. He’s still not too sure about sharing Nick and I. The other day he wanted my help on the computer, I told him I couldn’t help him right now because Sophia needed me. Isaac said “Take babies to hospital”. He knows that’s where we got the babies, so he probably thinks we can just take them back. He loves to hold them and play with them, at times he’s a little rough, but he’s getting much better. He sure can make Sophia laugh when he wants to. Isaac is doing very well at school, his teachers all love him and are amazed at the progress he’s making. He is so smart in reading and writing. He knows all the months in order and can write them too, he knows what month all of our birthdays are in. He is into calendars and maps right now. Yesterday I gave him some construction paper and he said “Today we’re going to learn about Kansas and Utah.” He drew and colored the states, then cut them out and taped them on the wall. He told us that the Buffalo was the State animal, the meadowlark is the state bird, and the state flower is the sunflower. Today out of the blue he said “George Washington”. He is actually retaining the knowledge he’s learning. He’s been such a good boy at church lately too. I found that bribing him works wonders. If he’s good at church we get to come home and bake an item of his choice, usually it’s chocolate cake or gingerbread men. Nick has been working most weekends lately, so I rely on Isaac to be good, because my hands are full with the babies. Nick is on a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit rotation this month, and I’ll be so happy when it’s over, he has 2 days off all month, he will have worked 26 of the 28 days of February. Nick is a trooper working long hours and then coming home to help with the kids. Just less than a year and a half to go in his residency!!!!!!!!!!!!! We’ve had some great years moving around and making new friends, but we’ll be so happy to be done.

Christmas in Kansas

This year we opened up presents on Christmas eve. I was moonlighting on Christmas day for 12 hours and really Isaac had no clue which day was Christmas or which day we should open up the presents anyway. I heard no protest from the twins either.
Isaac had a great time. He doesn't really know anything about Santa Claus, but loves wrapping and opening presents. He did open up some presents that he wrapped himself(microwave popcorn, macaroni and cheese, etc.)

The girls can now sit up, so we let them sit on the floor by themselves and Isaac handed out presents to everyone. He did a great job and I think we'll let him do it each year. He did open up the presents for the girls because they would just try to eat them.

I had to do my shopping on Christmas eve a few hours before we opened presents. I took Isaac with me to help find something for Emily. I found out later that Emily tried to get Isaac to tell her what we bought for her. Isaac told her we got a dress. She was worried, but we actually got her a jogging suit. She was very happy with her present.

Great Thanksgiving

It was great to be with family for Thanksgiving. It was the first Thanksgiving for me back home in six years. Isaac loved seeing his cousins. The twins already miss everyone and especially all the attention they received. Thanks to everyone for helping us enjoy a great visit. Adam thanks for the headlamp, I use it everyday.

Deer hunt

One of his antlers had been broken off, most likely from fighting with other bucks.

I took a picture of the wheat field after I shot the buck.

Deer Hunt

I only had one evening to deer hunt this year. I got permission to hunt on the farm that I hunted last year. I took my neighbor Mike, a dentist in my ward, hunting with me. He wasn't going to hunt, but wanted to come and watch. We drove down to Ark City and met up with the land owner. He directed us to one of his wheat fields. The weather was very cold yesterday with 25 degrees and 30 mph winds. We put on about 7 layers of clothing and felt pretty good. We only had to sit for 1/2 hour before 2 bucks came out of the trees and began feeding. I commented to Mike that hunting is usually more work than this. The bucks were smaller than I wanted, but his was my only chance. After watching them for over 1/2 hour I decided to take one of them. The deer were almost 200 yards away and with my marlin 30-30 the first shot hit dirt in front of the buck, two more shots and I finally hit him. It was fun and took less than two hours. I was very happy to have Mike help me gut the deer and haul it back to the truck.

Head above water

I finally finished my month of obstetrics. I saw a lot of babies born last month. I did over 60 epidurals. I am exhausted, and so is Emily. I started moonlighting on weekends, which meant my hours worked over the last three weeks averaged 113 hours a week. Now this is tough for me and Emily as well because she is stuck with Isaac and the twins. No help in sight. We felt like we're just keeping our heads above water....but progressively running out of energy. This month will be better. Her mom is coming on the 9th and then they are all flying to Utah.
We are looking forward to Thanksgiving in Utah.
Isaac is back in the tent. I wish he could communicate his reasons for why he does certain things. He is making progress, still only half potty trained.
Savannah is still mean half the time. Emily is excited because she is eating rice cereal. She is truly momma's girl.
Sophia is the nicest little baby ever. We continue the stretches on her neck to try and improve her torticollis.
Emily continues to take care of the kids with kindness and patience and is the best wife ever.

Finally

I felt a strange sensation the other day. It was hard at first to realize what was happening, but then it came to me I wasn't sweating. A wave of relief came over when I realized I was feeling cool crisp air. Yes, it finally cooled down in Wichita. And this morning I actually turned my heater on in my jeep!! I saw a few people with coats on, truly sad.