Updates!

The boys had their 18 month checkup last week. Tyler gained a little (less than a pound) but is still about 80% for weight, 95% for height. Sam lost weight and is now 20% for weight, 90% for height. Some of that is due to the fact that he just plum doesn't like to eat (or at least not what he is allowed to eat), some of that is due to the nasty cold that has hit the entire VPloeg household. We also were referred to an allergist since their skin hasn't exactly been great, even with the food diet. Amazingly though, this week they both look pretty good so I haven't exactly been jumping to set up the appointment (I know I'll regret that later).

Aside from the boys' health, we have been doing pretty well. Nothing new really but they are growing and learning and playing just like normal kids. Here are some pics from the Raredon's beach. They just love it -- no tears, no whining, just lots of fun in the sand!

8 Years + 1 1/2 Years = Crazy

Jack and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on Monday with a romantic dinner accompanied by our boys who turned 1 1/2 years old the day before. And by "romantic", I mean boys climbing on the table, pulling on shirts, throwing sippy cups, and crying for cookies. Such is our life, huh? Our wedding day seems like ages ago but nevertheless, a fun day to remember and celebrate, even if only with a crazy dinner and the flowers Jack brought home for me.

My toddlers (totally not babies anymore as they are fast approaching 2!) are doing well. They love to play outside, even in the 90 degree weather. They love to scoot on their trucks. They love fruit snacks and orange juice. They love their mamma. They love their Praise Baby DVD before naps or bedtime (but tragically, all our DVR's of Lawrence Welk were deleted when our AT&T malfunctioned). Tyler has 8? teeth, including 1 molar and the other 3 poking through. Sam has 8; no molars yet but they are trying to come in too. Skin and food are a constant battle but the giggles and hugs help me move past it. We are finally in "coast" mode for naps (partially due to our routine of Praise Baby and singing songs), at least most of the time. What was once an awful cry-fest, is now fairly painless. They nap between 1ish and 3ish and sleep from 8:30 til 7 something (or 8:30am like Wednesday this week!). One of the two generally wakes up sometime in the middle of the night at least 2 out of 10 nights but still, I count that as pretty good. One day this week, Sam literally ran giggling to his crib for his nap and went right down. That was a first.

Jack and I are knee-deep in big decisions involving a new minivan and maybe a new house. We've only made baby steps so far, but both are likely inevitable. It would be one thing if either one was like "should I buy this $30 blender or the $75 one?" ... but no, these both have decidedly higher price tags with decidedly higher stress. Beyond that, I'd say we are doing well. Excited for more nice days, wagon rides, and baseball with the boys.

More Silly Tyler

While they don't really know how to use these cars yet, they love to sit in them and play with the wheel and sirens. Love it!

Dancing Tyler

Tyler loves to dance.

Inspiration

I have a lot to be thankful for. I have two beautiful children. I have a loving husband. We have an amazing extended family. We have a house we can afford. We have jobs and great childcare. But yet, I am so frustrated with the boys' food allergies. I am struggling. I do not like feeding them. I don't know what to feed them. I don't know how to get them to eat new things. Meals are my least favorite part of the day.

I have been trying to put this all in perspective lately and have had some pretty good examples to look to. A friend Jack went to high school with, Matt, and his wife left last October with their two kids for Africa to be missionaries. They sold everything they owned and moved, not intending to come back for years. Five months later, they had to fly back to find out their oldest daughter has leukemia. Not that anyone "should" have a kid with cancer, but really? Missionaries? Lindsey, Matt's wife, also keeps up on a blog and she had an amazingly insightful post not too far back. In essence, she said that for a kid to get through cancer, she needs two loving parents. She needs faith, family and love. For any other child, it would be just too much to go through without all that. I'm not sure I could have been that insightful in her position.

Another friend I used to work with, Rob, had just moved to Arkansas for a new job with his family when his second child, Johnny, (of five) was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. He died a few weeks ago after a year long battle. Through it all, they were an amazing witness to God's faithfulness. In every news story (and there were a lot -- from Dick Vitale wearing Johnny's arm band to Cornerstone's basketball team winning their division championship and giving the MVP trophy to Johnny), the focus was on God and the family's faith. One comment from Rob in an article said something about how he would have gladly switched his healthy brain without anesthesia for his son's cancerous one. And how, when he thought about that, he was struck by how willingly God gave his only son for us and how he wasn't sure he would do the same.

I realize that these allergies, while a total pain in my side, are not life threatening. These two amazing families have been inspirational to me, not just because of these stupid allergies, but just in general as they have gone through so much and can still praise God. How can I even blink about something so relatively easy?

I started writing this post last week Sunday when I was quite depressed about how things were going with the boys. I am happy to say, however, that I think we finally may have made some progress as Sam is finally improving (not perfect, but improving).

Rob / Johnny: http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2011/05/family_friends_of_johnny_teis.html

Lindsey / Lola: http://followingthecall.org/2011/03/who-should-it-be/

May Fun

Oh the boys. What's new over here ... well, we had to get more blood drawn from the boys today because last time they ran out of blood to complete the allergy testing. Since Sam has been a total mess for the last month or two, we decided to figure out the milk thing ... and chances are pretty good that food group will be out. For those counting, we would then be left with meats, most veggies and fruits (which they aren't overly fond of), corn and rice. The doc recommended we see a nutritionist to make sure the kids get what they need ... which I think may be a little tough. Meal times are among my least favorite part of the day anyway so I can't wait to throw another monkey wrench into the mix.

Beyond that, they are getting lots of new teeth, including some molars. They love playing outside. In fact, this morning, they were banging on the door trying to get out to play. Tyler is a total goofball. Sam is a riot too but seriously mischevious. Anything he can possibly find to get in trouble with, he does. They are starting to become just a teensy bit independent... by that I mean, I can sort of let them go play on their own and not worry too much about major catastrophies. For example, yesterday, I was raking up the ridiculous amount of grass clippings from our first lawn mow while the boys were in our little gated area behind the garage playing baseball ... for like 20 minutes! I wasn't even in their eye sight and they were just having a ball. I kept checking on them ... but they were just doing their thing. It was awesome. They still love Lawrence Welk and get very excited any time the theme music starts to play (it's quite funny). They love their morning OJ (the only time they drink something other than water all day) -- Sam helps us get the juice out of the fridge every morning and sucks it down in less than 2 minutes.

Oh and they love to tickle daddy's feet (see last post). And it's not acting from Jack. He cannot STAND when anyone touches his feet ... thus my egging on the boys!

Tickle Daddy!