Hank the Super Patient

Before I left on my trip Pete got another ear infection.  I got an appointment after school so ended up taking all four kids to the doctor's office.  We did okay in the waiting room but spent just a little too much time in the tiny doctor room.  Hank is usually a very mellow kid.  But every now and then he gets super hyper and there is no stopping it.  I saw it starting and just hoped the doctor would come soon.  My kids were climbing on everything and giving piggy back rides.  When the doctor finally came in I tried to focus on what he was saying.  Then I noticed there were bits of paper being thrown around and realized that Hank was sitting on the exam table and ripping up the white paper that was on it and throwing it around the room.  I tried to act like I was in control of the situation and picked him up but he went completely limp (like they do) and I knew the more I tried to act like I could get him to listen the worse I would look.  So I just set down the limp, giggly ball and went back to focusing on what the doctor was saying.

We were reading a scripture story to the kids that talked about following Jesus.  Jack said, "How can we follow Jesus? I don't even know where he's going?"

Hank is our most physical child.  He is always taking the body slams and the wrestling and the pretend fighting a step to far.  He also loves hugs and is just always on someone.  If Matt or I ever kneel down Hank will immediately climb onto our backs.  He is always crawling onto our laps and leaning against us.  He's awesome.

Hank was playing the iPad in the car.  Every few minutes we would hear, "Pete!  I won!"

Jane said she wanted me to have another baby.  I thought she was wanting a baby sister.  But then she explained that the reason she wanted me to have another baby was because she wanted to stay overnight at Sharon's again like she did when I had Pete.  I told her it would make much more sense to come up with another reason to stay at Sharon's someday.

When Hank was little he would fold his arms when we prayed and say, "mee-ha-ha".  I guess that is how he thought we sounded when we prayed.  Now that he's older and knows how to speak he still insists on saying (and only saying) "Mee-ha-ha."

Jack told me, "Sometimes when I look at the sun, I can't.  And then wet stuff comes out of my eyes.  It's like they're melting."

Every time you ask Hank a "why" question he immediately answers "tuz of..."  (because of).  "Why do you want a red bowl?" "Tuz of, I like red." "Why do you love me?"  "Tuz of, I just love you."

Pete absolutely loves touching his belly button.  It's really funny.  If he can access his belly (isn't in a onesie or sleeper) he will lift up his shirt and touch his belly button with his thumb.  He does it every time we change his diaper and all through out the day.  If he can't reach his belly button he will pinch at the skin on his neck.  One time Matt had just started changing his diaper and Pete started fussing.  Matt moved his thumb to his belly button and he smiled and giggled and was happy.

I bought some gummy worms to stick into the kids "treat box" at home.  I was showing them to Hank to see if he wanted one.  I said, "They're gummy worms."  I opened the bag and pulled one out.  And Hank startled and moved back.  I was like, "Hank!  It's candy!  See?"  So funny.

Pete isn't much a talker yet.  He has just started signing "more" when he wants more food on his high chair tray.  He is getting more into playing with the kids though.  He likes to run around when they are and sit where they are.  And he loves to get everyone's attention by playing peek-a-boo.

Before I left for my trip Jane was worried about me being gone.  She talked about it for a few days before I left.  One night she told me, "But you're the one I always look for to tell things to."  I said, "You know what?  Dad is a really good person to talk to.  I tell him everything."  She said, "But I can't talk to him about my vagina."  I said, "Well, I don't feel like we talk about your vagina too much.  I think you'll make it five days without any vagina problems."  She kind of laughed and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Jack was also very sad when it was the day I was leaving.  He hung his head down really low while he was sitting to eat breakfast and stuck his bottom lip out really far.  I said, "What's wrong, buddy?"  He said, "I'm going to miss you so much when you are gone."  I felt sad for him but it actually felt really, really nice to hear that my kids were going to miss me!  I am always, always, always at home with them.  But this made me think I should really get out more!  It helps me appreciate being with them and helps me to realize that they actually do appreciate having me around!


While I was on my trip Matt sent me a text about how things were going.  He said Jane was having a hard time remembering to shut the gate at the top of the stairs when Pete was upstairs.  The first time she forgot her consequence was shutting the gate 15 times in a row.  She forgot to shut the gate just a few minutes later so Matt had her watch a YouTube video about a man in a wheel chair.  A short while later when she STILL forgot, Matt had her draw a picture of Pete falling down the stairs.  (She is still forgetting).

When I got home from my trip I noticed there was still quite a lot of produce sitting around.  I tried not to let it get to me (that Matt hadn't fed the kids many fruits or vegetables) but when I noticed the (whole wheat pumpkin) muffins that I made and put in the freezer were still in the freezer I said aloud, "You guys didn't even eat the muffins I made?"  Jane said, "Dad's Dad.  He does NOT know how to thaw muffins." But hey, the kids were alive AND the dishes were done when I came home, so I'll take it.

I quickly noticed that Pete was in a better mood than when I had left.  It looks like his ear infection really did clear up on its own.  I am hoping for more of these moments where he actually wanders off and does things on his own.  Here he is thinking a Starburst might be magnetic.  I'm just glad he hasn't figured out they're food yet.

A few days after I got back Hank had his ear tubes surgery.  It is a really simple procedure done through the ear canal where they clean out behind the ear drum and then insert tiny tubes into the ear drum to allow it to drain any fluid that may accumulate behind the ear drum.  The doctor said the left ear was especially full of pus and needed a lot of cleaning.  We are hoping his speech sounds improve now that he can hear us better.  I really enjoyed being able to take him to his procedure. We went to a surgery center and he thought the day was pretty fun.  They said to just bring him in his pj's and he got to play with Lego's in the waiting room.  And then he got to play on my iPad while laying on his bed with wheels.  They told him they were going to take him for a ride on his bed and that they had a Buzz Light Year mask for him to breathe into.  (The anesthesia was administered via the mask).  I wasn't able to go back with him but the doctor came back 15 minutes later and he was already done.  The nurses took me back to him as he was waking up.  I heard his low growls before I got to him.  He really didn't do too bad compared to some hilarious horror stories about kids coming out of anesthesia.  He just moaned and growled and flopped around for about 15 minutes.  Then he drank some apple juice and had a snack and we got to leave.  They gave him a Super Patient shirt and he LOVES it.