Winding Down

The school year is winding down. I always look forward to the last few weeks of school, mostly for the same reason kids do -- summer break is on its way! Here are some things we've been up to, using bullets out of necessity for my brain.

• Girls Only Trip to Cleveland. My brother Nate had surgery on May 1st at The Cleveland Clinic. Katy and I left the boys at home and took off to give Mamaw and Poppy and Nate some support. The day of surgery was the longest, so Katy took some pictures to document the day. You'll see a pic of her rolling her new "fun bag," a present from Mamaw and Poppy to help pass the time. There's also a pic of her riding the shuttle bus with Poppy and loving every minute.

• LCS Carnival. Our school had a carnival on Friday night, which is usually Cole Family Dinner night, but they were gracious and let us skip. :) We came home with full tummies, two balloons, five bracelets, two plastic snakes, and one not-so-plastic goldfish. Bummer on that last one, by the way. It's nice to have such a great place to work AND send my kids to school. Great job, PTO.
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• Caleb's noggin is doing just fine. He had a follow-up scan the week after his fall, and things look great. I would swear that he is constantly on a quest to see how many times he can end up in the ER before he is off our insurance, but so far his post-fractured-skull efforts have been in vain. THANK YOU, JESUS!

• Katy has been very keen on being all done up, so tonight after her bath we had pedi time. Here are the lover-ly results. The second pic is what I got when I asked her not to have "scrunchy eyes" when I take a picture. Hmmm... On second thought, maybe scrunchy is better...
  

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Where We've Been...

My gracious, it's been a while since I could sit down and write, what with the meteor crashing through our roof and all.

Nope. Lemme try again.

My goodness, it's been a while since I could sit down and write, what with solving the global economic crisis and all.

That's not it either.

Shoot! I'm spending WAY too much time on facebook. Ah. That smacks of the truth.

Here are some update snippets from the last 6 weeks.
Caleb had another dr check up. Things look great. One more appt in June to check and make sure his leg is actually growing. In other news, he had his speech evaluated because he seems to be behind in that area. He's almost two and is still using monosyllabic speech. It was so neat to see the ladies who were evaluating him play all sorts of purposeful games to check him. They agreed that he is behind and gave us some tips to help him out. He was at-level or advanced in every other area of development. I'll let you know an update after a meeting we have about him on Thursday.

Stephen is doing well. He's getting excited about planning our trip to Ireland in June. It's vastly different than the Mediterranean trip we had in mind, but it will still be great.

Deven is figuring things out. With the change in job hours, I'm not feeling much like a teacher any more. I've been dragging my feet on getting the coffee shop in order because I feel like I'm giving up on teaching by doing something else. I really think I was experiencing a mild depression over it, but it's been better since I talked about it with Stephen. So, as I tell my students, onward and forward.

Katy is enjoying school, as always. She's learning how to write her name and several numbers. She's absolutely adorable with her best friend, Elise, and she brings home lots of papers for us to put on the fridge.

Family News - We have had a couple of interesting family experiences. We were so glad to be able to visit with our friends, the Fannins, in Ohio. Bekah is a year older than Katy, and Sarah is the same age as Caleb. They have another girl, Leah, on the way, but we don't have one to match yet. :) We were passing on some baby items and took in the Armstrong Air and Space museum while we were there. During lunch, Katy went to the bathroom about 47 times. At the museum, she only went once, but she chose the moment when we were at the farthest point from the bathroom to announce her need. UGH. :) It was great to see them for a bit, and hopefully we'll get to meet Leah soon.

In other family news, I single-handedly thwarted any bit of happiness for my parent's 30th anniversary dinner. Oh yeah, I'm THAT good.

It all started when Dad invited us to join them for dinner on Monday night to celebrate, possibly forgetting that I lead a Bible study on Monday nights. As he was explaining the details to me, I let him know that there was a lot of background noise and that I couldn't hear him all that well, but I got that dinner was at Texas Roadhouse at 6:15. I spent Monday afternoon calling around to the church ladies canceling Bible study, hoping that I got in touch with everyone who had planned on attending. We left just on time to head for Muncie and Roadhouse. About halfway there, I realized that we had forgotten Caleb's diaper bag. UGH! But no worries. There were stores in Muncie if we needed them. We got into the parking lot, woke up the kiddos, and were delighted to discover that not only were we there on KIDS' NIGHT, but that we were on time, having beaten Mom and Dad. HA.

Once in the waiting area, Katy was a little grouchy about having anything cool done to her, like having her face painted. My dad called just as she needed to go to the bathroom (shocking, I know), so Stephen took her, leaving me with a crying Caleb ("Daaaaaaaaaaaddy!"). Dad just wanted to check where we were and, I thought, probably have us put our names in since we arrived first. I told him we were there, and he told me that they were in the waiting area. "WHAT!?! We're in the waiting area, and I don't see you." As it would turn out, part of the conversation I missed was that instead of our usual eating in Muncie, we were going to eat in Kokomo, which is more of a halfway between our two cities. This was one of those moments where I had a combination feeling of "Earth, please open and swallow me" with a healthy side of "sinking heart." Seeing as how it was already 6:15 and the two locations are 1 hr and 19 min apart according to Google, we decided to eat where we were and meet for dessert. Oh my.

For a month's investment in pictures, see below!

Recent Pics

Sometimes I don't get around to sharing our family pics because they sit on the camera for a while. Here are some of the recent happenings.


Barb in Peds @ MGH, one of Caleb's nurses


The kids and I just hanging out. I think it was one of those super-cold days, so we were in hibernation mode.


Nate finally got to come stay with us. He was supposed to on the night that Caleb went in for emergency surgery, so this had been in the works for a while. Nate was taking a catnap on the couch, and Caleb saw fit to share his naptime essentials.


Her royal highness, the Princess Cinderella-Katy, dressing up for LCS Homecoming Week on Disney Character Day.

Summer!

I am so excited to be on summer break. School has been out for a whole week now, and we've tried to make the most of it. Stephen was also off last week (just felt like a little at-home vacationing), so the first few days were spent together. He has been tackling a garage makeover that includes new siding, a new side entry door, and a new garage door. Of course, starting a project like this doesn't mean that we're only doing those three things. As a matter of fact, it has blossomed far beyond its original scope. Oh well. It will be nice to be able to pull into the garage myself, instead of having Stephen doing it for me because I couldn't open the door. :)

Upcoming events for us include:

Spending time with Grandma while she's up from Texas. This is a picture of Grandma with Katy when she was brand-spankin' new.



Taking my last two master's classes (two week-long classes), leading one step closer to graduation!


Stephen and the kids are going with Ken and Sarah to visit Scott and Jodi while I'm in the second week of class. I'm sorry to miss out on the trip, but it will probably be easier to get work done while they're not there. Here's a picture of lots of Stephen's family from Caleb's dedication. Scott and Jodi are in the upper right-hand corner. Their seven kids are scattered around the group.


We also have VBS and Campmeeting coming up. Think the summer is full? This is all just JUNE!

Updating Reject

It has been over a month since I have updated. Sad -- I know. So I'll have to at least give you some zippy tidbits of information.

#1 - We had a great time on spring break in Florida. The hot water heater broke in the trailer while we were there (a little bit of serendipity, my mother-in-law would say), so we operated by heating water on the stove for baths, filling a bucket for the toilet, etc. Katy experienced debilitating fear when we took her to Animal Kingdom and saw a 3D film that will make her afraid of bugs for the rest of her life. The kids played in the Gulf, and we spent a total of five days traveling in the car with a potty-training daughter.

#2 - I'm still working out. I think I'm up to 13 pounds lost so far. Things are zipping that did not before, so that's a good sign.

#3 - There was an earthquake in Illinois that I felt shake my bed at 5:30 this morning. Weird.

#4 - Katy is doing pretty well with potty training. She goes most days without incident. I just don't know how to make the jump to night training when she's ready. We'll figure it out as we go, I suppose.

#5 - Caleb was discovered playing in the toilet this morning. Great.

#6 - Two more classes and I'm done with my masters. WOO HOO for being done. However, I'm finding trouble motivating myself to actually sign up for those last two. How can I plunge myself back into the world of homework now that I've had a taste of freedom??

#7 - Stephen competed in a taekwondo tournament this past weekend. He received medals for his forms and sparring. We're so proud! :)

And that's all the news I can type in five minutes. Time to get the kids breakfast.

Ch-ch-ch-CHANGES

I've been writing this since Feb. 17th. Sad, isn't it, how I can't even finish posting before I have to move on to something else? Anyway, you need to read a few things as they were written a couple of weeks ago...

It's been a big week here en la Casa Swan.

#1 - Last Saturday, I took Katy and Caleb to Muncie. While we were away, Stephen moved Caleb's crib into Katy's room, making the New and Improved KID ROOM! We were very excited not to have to roll Caleb out into the den/office every night, but our excitement may not have spread to the entire family. When we got home, I showed Katy the new setup, and she said nothing. She played around for a while, both in the room and out. Later, as I was working in the living room, I heard some thuds and thumps coming from Katy's room -- whoops! I should say, "the KIDS' room." Anyway, the thuds were the sounds of the crib hitting the door posts as Katy said, "Caleb, look what I've got for you!" I told her that Caleb was going to sleep in her room now. She wasn't fond of the idea at first, but she loves it now.

#2 - I attempted my first haircut on Caleb. I am pleased at how it looks, even though I would like to trim some more, and I am pleased that he didn't lose an ear or finger in the process. He tried to turn and grab the scissors a couple of time, but he didn't get them.

.........................................................................
Ok. Back to real time.
The sleep thing is still going well, and Caleb's hair looks fab. :)

#3 - I have finally hit the "10 Pounds Lost" mark, and I would not like to find those pounds again. :) I definitely am feeling healthier, but I hope to be able to do a little more walking etc. when the weather turns nicer. I have also lost about 4 inches according to the measurements that Curves takes. Unfortunately,

#4 - This is a big one. I am about 10 days away from being finished with the required courses for my master's degree. Originally, I had planned to be completely done at this point, electives included, but originally I didn't plan on having Caleb, so those electives will wait till this summer. I should be graduating in August. Hooray! On the downside, I'm having trouble justifying the expense of getting my degree while only working part-time. It's something I'll have to be thinking about as I consider job opportunities for the fall.

#5 - We have officially entered the cool group known as PTPs, or "Potty Training Parents." If you've been through it, please pray for us. If you haven't, count yourself lucky. :) Actually, Katy's doing pretty well. After changing two years of diapers, having her go in the toilet is a grand and glorious thing.

Well, it's time to pay some bills, so off I go.

Stuff and Things

I was down in Indy (like every Sunday lately) to visit with my family, and we got the chance to disconnect Nate from all his monitors and wheel him around. I thought I'd give you a look at him. He was really grumpy because he wanted to go home and his mean family wouldn't let him. :) They are talking about moving him to a rehab hospital as soon as Wednesday, so I'll keep you posted.




And outside of the hospital, life goes on. It's Thanksgiving week, so that means a few family gatherings, lots of food, and lots of time in the car. I really enjoy car travel, so I look forward to weeks like this. True, the kiddos do change things a bit, but they're getting better at car travel now.

Enjoy the movie!

A Visit with Mamaw

School starts very soon. My mother, wise woman that she is, wanted to take Katy on a special outing since getting out will be much more difficult this year with Katy AND Caleb. She graciously allowed me to accompany them with Caleb on a trip to the Children's Museum in Indianapolis. After some delays (including a hungry baby), we made it to the museum at about 12. Mom decided to get a Grandparent + 2 membership for the year, so we could come back as often as we wanted without having to feel like we "got our money's worth" out of each visit. We started in the lower level with the Chihuly art glass exhibit. They have a reclining, revolving seat for viewing the glass in the ceiling. Katy didn't seem too fond of that idea. :)

We also saw the train exhibit, an aquarium display, and a dinosaur area. Katy was a bit confused, thinking that if we left the lower level, we were leaving the museum. Additionally, we were running into naptime, so resistance was high. We took her up to Level 2 for the Passport to the World section. She hugged an elephant and saw what she would look like if she was dressed in traditional Norwegian clothes. I think she makes a cute little Norwegian.

After Level 2, we hit the Playscape, an area designed for kids 5 and under. Katy loved the kid-sized world, spending time in the water area, the sand pit, the playhouse, and mowing the fake grass.

Last highlight of the day was the carousel ride. We had to stand in line through two cycles till it was our turn. To keep Katy occupied, I put her up on my shoulders and danced as the music played. She pulled my hair out of the ponytail and swirled her hands in it. I looked awful, but it kept her entertained. I am ashamed to admit that I purposefully ignored the rules and tried to get Katy on a jumping horse instead of the stationary animals. She is supposed to be 3 to ride the jumpers. So we got busted by the carousel 5-0 and got stuck on a giraffe. When the ride started, Katy noticed that the horse in front of her was starting to move up and down. Her eyes slowly looked to her own animal's pole and traveled upward......not moving. She looked at me with slightly sad eyes but didn't say anything. She really enjoyed the rest of the ride and wanted to ride again. Here she is on her giraffe, a lesser mount.
Caleb spent the day alternating between crying and sleeping in the stroller, never for very long. Here he is enjoying some time with Mamaw while Katy plays in the sand.



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Now playing: Walt Whitman & the Soul Children Of Chicago - Allelujah, Praise Jehovah
via FoxyTunes

Dedication

The transcript from a phone conversation this past Friday between my pastor and me:

Me: Pastor, I've got an idea that will test your flexibility.

Pastor Dan: Wow. That was a great set up. What's going on?

Me: Well, I was sitting here watching pictures go by on my screensaver. One from Katy's dedication came up, and I had an idea. Why don't we have Caleb dedicated while Stephen's whole family is out here? I realize that Sunday is only two days away, but I really would like it if we could make this happen.

Pastor Dan: Sure! There's always room for a baby dedication.

WOO HOO! So today during the morning service, we dedicated Caleb to the Lord. He wore the same christening gown that Stephen's mom made for Katy. The only slight "masculinizing" that I did was removing some ribbon detail from the front. This "dress" caused some of the cousins to question Caleb's gender, but he's a little young to be scarred. I am so glad we made it happen. The only sad tinge to the day was that my brother was out of town on vacation and couldn't make it back. :( But he was very understanding with the proviso that we videotape the event. Thanks, Nate! Anyway, here's a shot or two of the day.

Pastor Dan, Caleb, me, and Stephen



A close-up of the star



All the Swans who were here for the day, except Great-Grandpa, who had already gone to the car. :)

Nate and his gal

Nate and his gal
Originally uploaded by jaxnoth.

My family at camp meeting

My brother-in-law

Mom and Dad 

Katelyn Grace

Well, we finally have had the ultrasound. We introduce to you Katelyn Grace. Hopefully, I can get a short video uploaded as well.

Baby's Heartbeat

We had another doctor's appt for Deven. We have been able to see the heartbeat before, but this is the first time we could hear it as well!! For your listening pleasure, I present: Baby Swan's heartbeat

Baby Room

It is amazing what guests can do to a person's house. About a month ago or so we had a house with a ugly guest room and a couple of very small closets. Now we have the beginnings of a beautiful baby room that is slightly smaller with a wood floor and a walk-in closet for our bedroom. We haven't quite started all the decorating but I'll post pictures when I'm all done.

Jaxnoth

Grandpa Cole

My thoughts are with my wife's family this week.  Her grandpa passed away and we held the funeral yesterday.  Please keep all of them in your prayers.  I hope to post some information about him shortly.

 

Jaxnoth

The arrow points to the head of our blob 

Baby Swan's first picture 

I thought my wife would like to see this picture on the web site. It is her Great Great Grandparents. They must have been pretty great way back then :)