A Fall Update in Pictures

I have been meaning to update our blog for weeks, but I haven't felt like there has been anything blogworthy to write about. I do, however, have some cute pictures. So, I will let these serve as an update!!


Raking the leaves (or shoveling them...whatever works!)

Running through the leaves

Daddy's helper


Cutest pumpkin in the patch

Ella-3 months

God has blessed us with these two children. It is so easy to let the days go by, to let little frustrations get the best of us, and just to take it all for granted...but we are truly blessed. I love these little munchkins so much and I am so thankful for the joy that they bring to our lives. James is alright, too ;)!

Birthday Weekend

We had a fun weekend celebrating James' and Ryan's birthdays. Ryan turned 3 on the 14th...and I will let you guess James' age. Let's just say there were a lot of 3s celebrated!! We had a family party on Saturday and enjoyed having James' Mom and Dad, his sister and her kids, and his brother and his family for a visit. Ryan enjoyed having his cousins to play with and, of course, he enjoyed opening his presents. I just can't believe he is 3 years old. Seriously--where does the time go?


This year he could actually blow out his own candles!


Ryan loves Handy Manny and his tools!


Oooh...a Mini Cooper!


Gordon...a new addition to his "Thomas" collection


Birthday Exhaustion!

This picture just shows how tired Ryan was (and that he's REALLY not ready to give up that afternoon nap!). I was in the kitchen and James left the living room to talk to me for a minute...when we went back into the living room (at 6:30 pm) this is how we found Ryan. Asleep...sitting up! We put him to bed and he slept until 6:30 this morning.

In addition to celebrating James' and Ryan's birthdays...we gave a little shout out to Ella as well. She turned 2 months on James' birthday...the 12th. We went to her 2 month appointment last week. She weighed 10 lbs, 6 oz (50%), and was 23 1/4 inches (80%). Long and lean and doing well!

Grampie Bean: 11/9/1919 - 9/3/2008

My grandfather went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, September 3rd. He was a very strong and brave man, who taught me the value of faith, family and friends (in that order). Grampie would have been 89 in November. He lived a very full life, but not without it's share of ups and downs. It's through the ups and downs that I have seen him live out his faith, keep his chin up, and keep on moving...a testament to the man that he was.

One thing that always amazed me about my grandfather was his incredible memory. His body began to fail him several years ago, but his mind was still sharp. He loved to recite poetry and could often be found doing so with a smile on his face and a sparkle in his eye. This was his favorite:

A Psalm of Life

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,

Life is but an empty dream!

For the soul is dead that slumbers,

And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!

And the grave is not its goal;

Dust thou art, to dust returnest,

Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

Is our destined end or way;

But to act, that each tomorrow

Find us farther than today.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

And our hearts, though stout and brave,

Still, like muffled drums, are beating

Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,

In the bivouac of Life,

Be not like dumb, driven cattle!

Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!

Let the dead Past bury its dead!

Act, act in the living Present!

Heart within, and God o'erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,

Sailing o'er life's solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labor and to wait.

My grandfather left footprints in the sands of time...and on the hearts of many. He will surely be missed.

First Smiles

Ella has started smiling in the past week. I finally managed to capture a couple on camera...Enjoy!






In other Ella news, we went back to the GI Specialist a week ago. Ella still had blood in her stool. The doctor recommended that I cut wheat out of my diet, in addition to the dairy, soy and nuts. I just didn't think I could do that, and maintain a healthy lifestyle...or the energy I need to chase after Ryan! S0--he sent us home with some samples of formula (Enfamil's Nutramigen). I struggled a bit that night with whether or not to make the transition to formula. I wondered if I should just give it a go with the dietary restrictions. But, after another LONG bout of Ella's crying that night (mind you, she is crying in pain because it hurts her to poop), I decided to make the switch. I felt my reasons for wanting to continue with breastfeeding were selfish and that I needed to do what was best for Ella...in this case, the formula. The results have been promising, so far! She is a completely different baby this week (in a good way!). Her crying has SIGNIFICANTLY decreased and she doesn't appear to be in pain anymore when she has a bowel movement. I have seen minimal blood in her stool this past week (it has lessened throughout the week) and she just seems much more content. We take her back to the specialist tomorrow and are praying for good news!

I can't believe she will be 7 weeks on Saturday!!

Enjoying an End of Summer Treat

Yum Yum!

How quickly they grow...

I was taking some pictures of Ryan playing football the other day, and I remembered a picture we had taken of Ryan at 2 months of age. We had put James' football beside him to show his size in relation to an object (for family members that were far away at the time and didn't get to see how he was growing). I just can't believe Ryan is going to be 3 years old in less than a month. In some ways it seems like just yesterday that he was as big as the football, and in others it seems like forever ago. It's fun to see him now, actually playing with the football, and I realize how blessed we are to have two healthy children.


Ryan at 2 months old



Ryan--one month shy of 3 years old (not the size of a football anymore!)


Speaking of growing...Ella is just over a month old now. If I am being honest, I have to say it has been an exhausting month! While I said in an earlier post that I am trying not to wish away these newborn days just for an extra wink of sleep...perhaps wishing away one day...for just one extra wink...would be ok!? Whew!


A couple of weeks ago I noticed some blood in Ella's stool. In addition, her fussiness took on a whole new level...crying for hours at a time. I took her to the pediatrician and he thought that perhaps she had a food allergy (after ruling out that it was a possible bacterial infection). So...he set us up with a Gastroenterologist. At our visit with him last Monday, he evaluated her stool and confirmed that it was testing positive for blood (thank goodness for people that WANT that job...but who in their right mind would think of that as their ideal profession?). He told us that it appears that Ella is allergic to something in my diet. As a result, he told me to give up dairy (including beef), soy and nuts for a week and then bring her back to re-evaluate and to be sure the blood has left her stool. We go back to him on Wednesday of this week. The dairy hasn't been as much of an issue for me (as they make a dairy free substitute for just about everything that I would normally eat/drink) but the soy has been the biggest issue. Soy is in just about EVERYTHING!! If it wasn't for Wegman's and their natural/organic food aisle...I'm not really sure what I would eat! I've become quite the label reader in the past week! Ella seems to be doing a little bit better, so hopefully we will go back to the doctor on Wednesday and get a good report. It has been stressful, to say the least.


The good news about Ella is that she has gained well in the past month. When they weighed her at the specialist's office the other day, she was up to 8lbs, 7 oz, and she measured at 22 inches. I am hoping we can get past this food allergy stuff and that we can begin enjoying life with 2. Ryan has been a trooper and has been hanging in there with us...he unfortunately has to take a back seat to Ella's fussiness sometimes.



Ella posing in her pretty dress



Ella-one month old


She's lucky she's cute and that she has paused from a few crying spells in the last couple of days to give me a smile or two (real ones, I believe!).

A Conversation with Ryan...

First, let me set up the scenario for you. It was bedtime for the kiddos at the Carlson house. James was working nights (his first weekend back to work since we brought Ella home) and had already gone off to work. I was trying to figure out exactly how I was going to get both kids ready for bed without him. I fed Ella and put her down in her crib. Feeling somewhat successful, I went into Ryan's room to get his jammies on and get him ready for bed. Ella started to cry (as a side note, she seems to be suffering from a bit of colic...although on this particular day/night it sure seemed like more than just a "bit"). Thinking to myself that she had already been changed and fed, I decided to let her cry for a bit while I took care of Ryan's needs and got him somewhat settled for the night. With Ella screaming in the background, here is how the conversation in Ryan's room played out:

Ryan: "Mommy, why is the baby here?"

Mommy: "Well, Ryan, she is part of our family, so she belongs here with us."

Ryan: "Well, why did we bring her home?" (did I mention we have hit the "why" stage?)

Mommy: "We brought her home because she is your baby sister and we love her."

Ryan: "My ears hurt."

Mommy: "You know what, Ryan? Mommy's ears hurt too!"

Ryan: "Do Daddy's ears hurt?"

Mommy: "No, Daddy's ears don't hurt because he is at work."

Ryan: "Oh."

You have to love toddlers...they are so honest! At least I could empathize with him...my ears had had enough, too!