Football Fun

today we had a fun family day.  pete's dad, a.k.a. grandaddy, got 5 tickets to the falcons game so we packed up the boys and headed downtown with grammy and grandaddy to watch the game.  i'll be honest, i was a little hesitant at first to take peanut b/c i thought for sure he would not sit still and i would be chasing him all over the georgia dome.  boy, was i ever wrong.  

of course, we started our adventure out at the varsity.  i mean, really, how could we make a trip all the way downtown and not eat at the greasy V?!  when we finally got to the game, peanut was absolutely enthralled with all the lights and people and action going on all over the place.  then about halfway through the second quarter, he was sound asleep.  i kid you not...he was sacked out on my shoulder.  we couldn't believe he could actually sleep through all the noise around us...particularly this loud-mouth behind us.  don't get me wrong, he was not obnoxious or anything, he just had a very loud voice and it seemed like he was always yelling right in my ear!

after about an hour or so, pete was going to take over as peanut's pillow b/c my arm and butt were going to sleep and of course when we moved him, he woke up.  he was so sweet and so good at the game.  he really was a trooper.  he even kept up on the long walk to and from the dome in the chilly weather!

now, doodlebug had a ball.  he, too, was enthralled with everything going on around him. grandaddy brought some binoculars so he thought it was very cool to watch the game through those.  he would cheer when everyone else cheered (particularly grandaddy) and just really seemed to have fun.   both of the boys were really good and i was so proud of them.  you just never know how they're going to be when we have a long day like that b/c they get antsy and tired.  but they were so great and made the day really fun.

so thanks go to grandaddy for hooking us up with the tickets.  it made for a really fun family day!

Finally, An Update

so i didn't get my post up last weekend like i hoped i would.  sorry!   life has been busy at the duke household here lately.  obviously, the pictures i've posted are from halloween.  doodlebug was a racecar driver (although he tells people he was a racecar!) and peanut was a lion.  i tried the lion costume on peanut twice before halloween and he would not wear the head, but for some reason, might've been the cool weather, he wore it the entire night for trick-or-treating.  i was shocked!  they both looked so cute and did a great job trick-or-treating.  they weren't scared and doodlebug was polite with his thank-you's at every door...sometimes with a little reminding!

i know some people don't "do" halloween, but i think it's a fun occasion for the kids, particularly when they're young like my boys.  they look so cute and get so excited about something as simple as getting candy.  i think it's just part of being a kid.  

aside from halloween, we've all had the "head rot" (as my good friend in nashville always used to say) around here.  just when i think we're all getting better, one of the boys will start running a fever (usually it's peanut b/c he's always putting his hands in his mouth and ingesting all those yummy germs!).  that's definitely one of the downsides to the fall/winter months...it seems you never feel 100% and it's a constant battle against germs, especially with little ones in school.

i don't think i've given an update on peanut lately and his progress with talking and his hearing tests.  he's still only saying "mama" consistently, although he is babbling a lot more than he was before.  i believe he's truly trying to say some words, but they're just not quite coming out right. he had another hearing test and the audiologist again detected some mild hearing loss so she referred us back to his ENT to see what steps we should take.  the ENT had us take yet another hearing test which again detected mild hearing loss.  the issue is that there are some inconsistencies as to whether it's one ear or both ears and to what extent b/c it's hard to get a 20-month-old to be still through the entire test.  

so the next recommendation from the ENT is to have what's called an ABR performed.  an ABR is a procedure where they will sedate peanut and test his hearing while he's asleep.  don't ask me how they that, but somehow they do.  it's a very safe procedure...no actual surgery involved.  in fact, it's not done by the ENT...it's actually done by a pediatric audiologist.  the scariest part is having him put to sleep and for up to an hour.  but the anesthesiologist will be in there the entire time so he should be fine.  the test will be able to give a good reading on his hearing and what type of loss it is and what the next steps should be.  since it's a mild loss, we're hoping it will be easy to correct.  we know he can hear us, it's the low sounds and whispers that we think he cannot hear.

of course i'm worried about our little peanut b/c i want him to be okay and to not have to struggle with his hearing, but i'm really at peace with everything.  i know it's in God's hands and he will guide us through this process no matter what.  he gives me peace and that's all i need.  i'm glad we have an opportunity to catch all this early and hopefully be ahead of the game.  starting next week peanut will be doing some speech therapy that will hopefully help him to start talking more.  we'll see how it goes.  it certainly can't hurt.

on a positive note, doodlebug seems to have finally caught on to the potty-training.  he's going on his own now, needs much less reminding and really isn't having accidents anymore.  it's like all of a sudden it clicked with him.  thank goodness!  i wondered if it would ever happen.  

now we're gearing up for the thanksgiving holidays.  this year we're spending the long weekend in the mountains of blue ridge with my in-laws.  we're all looking forward to a nice, long, quiet family weekend.  and although i haven't even thought about decorating yet, and won't until after thanksgiving, i have started buying some Christmas gifts.  i love finding that perfect gift for each member of our family and especially for the boys.  again this year we're doing the angel tree at pete's work and have a little boy we'll be buying gifts for.  we always enjoy doing this and hope as the boys get older they can be active participants in this holiday tradition.

the rest of november will be busy with thanksgiving feasts and canned food drives at school, some cooking and baking and of course lots of family time.  i love the holidays!

Crazy Week

this is just a quick post to say that i will be posting some pictures from halloween and an update on justin's hearing test, etc. hopefully this weekend.  this week has been a crazy one so i haven't had much time to post.  i've been working on a long transcript and had two sick little monkeys all week. they managed to pick up some kind of crud and have not felt even close to 100%. and on top of that, i've had a cold for the last two weeks and neither pete nor myself have slept a whole night the last few nights b/c we've been having a sick little visitor in our room in the middle of the night climbing into bed with us.  we're on the mend, though, and hope to be back among the land of the living soon.  

for now, i must get back to typing.  i have to wrap up this current transcript and get ready for three more coming my way in the next week.  i'm working for some Christmas money!!  

Election Day

so today was the much anticipated presidential election.  i cast my vote around lunch time today.  i had every intention of voting early last week, but the lines were so long every day that i just decided i would take my chances and vote today.  good choice!  i was in and out in 10 minutes.  even though the odds of my chosen candidate winning are not looking good (now i'm sure y'all have figured out who i voted for) i'm not worried b/c i know that God is in control and this is all part of his plan for our lives.  even though that may be a tough pill to swallow for those who do not choose the candidate who wins, it is reality and we must learn to accept it and move forward.  

outside of all this election hullabaloo, i feel very privileged and blessed to live in a country where i am given the right to cast my vote for the candidate of my choice freely and peacefully.  even if i'm not a fan of the next president, i still love my country and love what it stands for and am proud to be American.  i'm sure the next four years will be very interesting for us all and things may get worse before they get better, but i'm not afraid b/c i put all my faith in the ultimate authority above.  and even though i may not ever understand His reasons for things that happen, i know He's got this!

Fall Festival Fun

first let me start off by noting that i did not intentionally take fewer pictures of peanut at this particular event.  i have a bunch of him but they're just not very exciting.  it's extremely difficult to get a 19-month-old to even look remotely close to the direction of the camera.  he was way more interested in the inflatable slide than in mommy taking his picture on this day!

last week was the annual fall festival at the boys' preschool.  it's always the week before halloween and the kids get to play games, earn prizes and play in the inflatable caterpillar slide.  i think they do this instead of dressing up and having candy and all the halloween stuff.  maybe it's b/c it's a baptist preschool and they don't get into all that.  whatever the reason, the kids love it! and trust me, we don't miss the candy at our house.  we get enough of it to put us all into a serious sugar coma!

this was doodlebug's second year at the festival and he had a ball.  it's a little more fun with him b/c he actually tries to play the games.  peanut, not so much.  as soon as he spotted the inflatable slide, he had a one-track mind.  plus, children his age totally do not get the concept of playing a game.  but it's cute, nonetheless, to watch them wander in awe of all the fun things they can participate in and most importantly filling their goody bags with all the little prizes!

just like last year, i volunteered to work at the festival again this year.  you just help the kids with the games and give them their prizes once they've played.  of course, i get the most joy out of seeing my own children come through and enjoy themselves, but it really is fun to watch all of them.  they just get so excited about the simplest things!  and this year was extra-special b/c daddy got to join in the fun.  pete is usually working during all of their little school events, but this year he decided to telecommute and participate with us.  all the parents are invited to walk through the festival with their children during their class's designated time.  it's nice that we get to be involved!  doodlebug was thrilled when he saw daddy was there this year.

i have to explain the one picture of peanut strapped in the little red buggy.  those buggies are the ones they use to transport the younger age classes like his around the school.  i mean, really, can you imagine trying to keep twelve 15-23-month-olds traveling in a straight line down the hall? it would be mass chaos!  there would be little ones running amuck all over the place!  i just think those buggies are the cutest things.  when you see them sitting in there, they all just have these looks of anxious excitement like they can't wait to see where their destination is.  and as you can tell, peanut enjoys the ride! 

being able to volunteer for such events is one of the many reasons i'm so thankful i can stay home with my kids and not work full-time.  it may not seem like a big deal to some people, but i get such joy when i get to be a part of the things they do at school.  i guess part of it is b/c i'm not usually there with them and i'm always dying to know what they are doing while they're there.  i mean, before they went off to preschool, they were with me 24/7 and i always knew what they did all day.  it's so different when they're gone for those 3 short hours, especially b/c you don't always get much response when you ask, so what did you do at school today?  i think the other reason i enjoy it so much is i really feel like God's purpose for my life is to be an active participant in the live's of my children and to savor and enjoy every moment of their childhood.  my boys are my passion and my ministry in life and just being there for these little moments in their lives is what i was meant to do.  it took me a long time to figure that out, but now there is no doubt in my mind that's what God planned for me.