Aunt Joy! (again)

James & Stacie left for England yesterday. They'll be gone for a year while James studies at the University of Bath. They also just found out that they are expecting their first baby! Yippee! I'm going to be an Aunt (again!). So, while they're gone I will try to keep them updated on our family by blogging. They will probably feel more connected & know what's going on (thanks to the internet) than when they were living right here in Walhalla.

Tonight was Nate & Henry's first soccer game. Here is Luke cheering them on. We had to rush home to watch the Tigers play. Luke has had terrible nights this week. For some reason, he wakes up at 3am ready to get up for the day. He stands up in our bed & climbs all over Bryan. I try to cuddle him and get him to be quiet & go back to sleep, but he is wide awake. I finally put him in his crib at 4am this morning only to watch Bryan get up to bring him back to our bed when he started crying. I had him back to sleep by 5:30, but Henry was up by then. I will remember what I tell everyone else - everything, the good & the bad will pass in time. Hope this phase passes sooner than later. It's almost 9pm here, guess it's around 2am in London. Goodnight James & Stacie. Hope you are already fast asleep!

Luke laughing at Henry

Happy Labor Day!

Well, we had a good labor day considering Henry is STILL running a fever! AAAHHHH! We thought he was better, it sort of comes & goes. But this evening, he was hot again. We did take a quick trip up to Stumphouse to see Isaqueena Falls, caught a very large insect and had a late lunch at Mexican. It's not even 8pm and all 3 boys are asleep! I hope to follow them and get to bed very soon. I'm used to interrupted sleep, Luke still wakes to come to our bed around midnight and Nate & Henry wake me up often, but the last 5 nights have been really rough.

Just wanted to share a couple of pics from the weekend. The batteries have been charging on the 4 wheelers for about 3 months, so we just discovered that Luke loves to ride with the big boys!

And this picture of Nate is such a common sight, he is so patient and just loves to burn things using the magnifing glass.

Enjoy the short week!

Henry

Today is day 5 that Henry has been sick. Fever, no appetite, no energy. Poor Henry. Silas wanted a video of Henry because he'd watched one of Nate & Luke but hadn't seen Henry. Henry was so excited to send one. Please pray that he will feel better soon and that the rest of us won't catch this icky flu-like virus.

Luke is a mess!

Luke is needing a bath after every meal lately. Unfortunately, he only gets one bath a day, so he's dirty quite a bit. I scooped mashed potatoes and mac & cheese on his tray today to buy me enough time to care for Henry (who is still not feeling well) and returned to find a huge mess.

The Saxophone

Nate and Henry found the saxophone that I attempted to learn how to play in the 7th grade. They are eager to start a band. Nate wrote a song last night, while Henry lay in bed with a 103 degree fever. (he's feeling much better today) Thought I'd share it with you. By the way, they're already much better musicians with no training at all than I have ever been.

Lynx

We are proud to announce that we have a new addition to our family.....
Lynx!
What a beautiful cat (she takes after her mom)!

James and Stacie are leaving on September 9 for the University of Bath in England (just left of London). James will be getting his masters degree and they will return next summer. In the meantime, we are thrilled to be the caretakers of their beautiful cat. We are "cat" people. At one point, before Nate was born, Bryan and I had 5 cats!!

James & Stacie are sure that Luke said "kitty kitty" this evening when he saw Lynx. Nate & Henry are so excited. They've been looking forward to Lynx moving in for weeks now. Hope Lynx enjoys living here. It's sure to be a little louder than she's used to!

School Daze

Whew! What a day! Back to school time is so busy. Nate had a fantastic first day of first grade. He woke up excited and ready to get to school. I am so thankful that he loves it. He's never said "I don't want to go to school today." I think that says lots for his great school.

Henry also started school today. He is going to another Elementary School every afternoon for 2 1/2 hours for a unique program that puts 9 special needs children in a class with 4 non-special needs children. It's designed to help the special needs children learn to play & socialize with other kids. Henry is sort of a role model. Scary, huh! He will start kindergarten next year (finally!) I sometimes forget that Henry is only 4 years old.

Luke had a great 1 year well visit at the doctor while everyone was enjoying school. So far, he's been measuring and weighing a little more than Nate did at that age and a little less than Henry did. Well, today, he topped them both. He weighed 24 lbs. 4 oz. Nate didn't weigh 24 lbs until he was 2 years old, and Henry weighed 24 lbs at 18 months. He measured almost 33" tall which is taller than Nate & Henry at 12 months. I guess he's my big boy. I love it!!!

Happy Birthday to Luke!!

Last night Henry told Luke, "Today you're zero, but tomorrow, when you wake up, your gonna be one year old!" Henry was up at 6 eagerly awaiting any signs of waking from Luke. By 7am, Nate & Henry were singing "Happy Birthday to Luke." They were sure that Luke would walk by himself on this day. (he didn't) Turning one was a big deal in this house. The party was great with lots of family and friends. Luke wasn't interested in his cake, but Nate showed him just how it was done.

Luke was in bed by 6:30 and happy as could be on this very happy first birthday.

What blessed

parents we are to have these 3 precious children.

Driving to Greenville

The last week before school!

What a fun week we've had! Big birthday weekend, Bryan's and Mama's on the 8th, Martha's on the 9th. We had lots to celebrate. Then a last minute trip to Gatlinburg with Granny, Nana and Uncle Brent. Now we're gearing up for the first day of school on Monday! So with all these exciting stories to tell, I really just want to share a few cute parenting tips I recently found:

1. Put Band-Aids on everything your kids want you to. Why not?

2. Just throw away the poopy underwear!

3. Answer this question: What's the worst thing that can happen if your kids sleep in their clothes?

4. Teach them to like cool music, Why suffer through The Wiggles when you could be enjoying Wilco or Barenaked Ladies!

5. Use duvet covers and forget about the top sheets. Your kids will thank you when they're learning to make the bed.

6. Teach them to pump on the swings ASAP.

7. If your child falls asleep occasionally without brushing her teeth, don't wake her; baby teeth do eventually fall out.

Thought these were great and I'm gonna remember them, especially #7.

Good luck going back to school!

Thanks Silas!

Portacrib in the bathroom

I had to move the portacrib to the bathroom so I could get a shower. Wild man isn't interested in toys, just escaping.

Getting ready for the big day...

Luke's 1st birthday is August 16 and Nate & Henry couldn't be more excited. When someone asks how old is Luke? Nate & Henry are quick to say "zero!" Turning one is a big big deal! They've decided to start practicing singing "Happy Birthday" so Luke will know the song.

This one's for you Silas!

Luke

VBS & Soccer Camp

Last week was Vacation Bible School. 5 fun filled evenings where the children took a trip to Rome every night from 6:30 - 8:30 to visit Paul and his underground church. Nate & Henry had so much fun. Luke was a VBS dropout.

This week is soccer camp! Nate is excited and Henry just informed me that he isn't going. Hmmm, may be time for a little bribing.

A busy week!

It's been a busy and exciting week for the Duncan boys! Yesterday we returned from a final Myrtle Beach trip, this time with MeMaw & Papa. Papa is the Six Mile Fire Chief and this weekend was the South Carolina Firemen's Convention. The boys had a blast (of course). They only spent about :15 on the beach because the pools at our hotel were awesome! They enjoyed hanging out with their Grandparents and showing off in the pool. The boys insisted we eat at Margaritaville the first night we were there. Here is Luke having a boat ride at Family Kingdom.

We had to say goodbye to Silas before we left. We had a great time hanging out with him for the last couple of weeks. We miss you Silas! Hopefully we can go visit him soon.

Luke is a wild man, crawling everywhere and destroying anything in his path. Forget toys, he only wants to empty cabinets, put his fingers in uncovered outlets (I gotta get on that babyproofing), throw his passy out of the crib then cry for it and tear down anything Nate & Henry have built. They think Luke is funny which encourages bad behavior. As Luke is sinking his teeth into your shoulder, he will nod "no no." He knows he shouldn't do it, but he does it anyway. He going to be the rebel.

And the big news....

Nate pulled his first tooth last night! He has really worked on wiggling it all week and it paid off. So, the following picture needs a warning: parental discretion is adviced, if a little blood makes you queasy, don't look....

The tooth fairy brought a $2 bill. They're hard to find these days. Nate was impressed.

Happy 4th of July

Family Fun on the Fourth!

James swinging with the boys at the riverhouse.

Luke enjoying fireworks at church. He loved them!

Palm Coast, FL

Cliff & James in St. Augustine

A few of my favorite pictures from Palm Coast.

It was a great week because I was able to spend time with my my boys & Bryan, plus my all 3 of my brothers & their families & my parents. I'm so blessed that my whole family can get together and have fun and get along so well. They're the funnest people to be around!

John Daddy w/Silas & Luke

Robin's visit & Palm Coast

Oh how I've wanted to update my blog, but our days have been so busy. We had a great visit with Robin & her 3 children. I haven't gotten the pictures off my camera yet, but we had fun swimming at the pool, visiting Stumphouse Tunnel & hanging out in the yard. 6 children with Nate being the oldest. It was crazy fun!! Robin & I didn't even stay up to visit after the kids went to bed. We were so wiped out that we just went to sleep when they did.

Here are a few pictures I stole from Denise (thanks!) of fun here in Palm Coast, FL. We're eagerly awaiting the arrival of John Daddy, Uncle Cliff, Uncle James & Aunt Stacie. The beach is so different than Myrtle Beach. There lots of creatures that make me go "eww" and thrill the boys. Just today they caught several fish, sand clams and something Bryan called sea fleas. They looked like roach bugs to me though. Why do little boys love things like that? The boys love seeing Silas. Henry wants to carry him around which makes us all a little nervous. Luke has been a trooper. We left at 5:30 am Saturday morning to drive 8 hours. Luke took about a 10-15 minute cat nap the entire day. He never sleeps in the car & then he was having too much fun once we got here to take a nap. He's recovered now, but Saturday was a rough day for him.

Looking forward to posting some pictures of the sea fleas! I know I'll have bad dreams about them tonight....yuck!

Beach Trip

We just returned from a great week at Myrtle Beach. The boys are exhausted. Highlights of the week include riding rides at Family Kingdom, Myrtle Waves Water Park, lots of fun in the ocean & playing in the sand and of course, Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. The cast didn't slow Nate down one bit, but I can't wait until tomorrow when we get it off! The doctor warned us to not get in the ocean because sand would get trapped in it, but he did anyway. Bryan said if we had to go get it sawed off while we were there & get a new cast it would be fine, but he wasn't going to make Nate stay out of the ocean.

Luke enjoyed trying lots of new foods. Unfortunately most of them were junk foods! Here he is chewing on a pickle (yuck!) and enjoying his first Oreo.

Today we're recovering from our trip & getting excited about my friend Robin and her 3 children coming to visit tomorrow. She's driving 10 1/2 hours with 3 kids under the age of 5 to see us, I hope we're worth it!

Family Kingdom, Myrtle Beach

Mashed Potatoes

A new fiberglass cast

Yesterday Nate's kindergarten class entertained the entire Elementary School & their families with a puppet show. It was very special. The children made and decorated all the puppets themselves and then performed adorable songs & rhymes on the stage in the cafeteria.

It was so much fun and Nate was so happy. The class had put in many hours of practice & hard work and it showed.

Today was the big day for the broke arm. X-rays showed that the break was healing pretty good. It was still bent, so we can't do a splint yet. But, we did get one of the waterproof fiberglass casts. This one comes below his elbow so he can move his arm more. He's so happy. He came home & jumped straight in the pool! We go back in 2 1/2 weeks.

Finally our garden is doing great! You can see our first tomato here in this picture. No giant pumpkins yet.

So many things are going on now that the end of school is near! Henry and Luke are having to have all their fun with water while Nate is at school. Nate gets terribly frustrated when he hears of Henry getting in the pool and he's not interested in trying to wrap his arm with a bag and get wet too.

Luke is getting in lots of trouble. Last weekend, he pulled this table over on himself, breaking the lamp with his head. This table was also where our dwarf frog lived in an aquarium filled with water. Of course it broke too, froggy was hopping around in the floor with all the rocks and 2 years worth of frog poop. We rescued froggy and he now lives in a 3 gallon aquarium with 3 neon fish and a snail. I was lucky to get out of Petsmart with just fish & snails. Nate was begging for a hamster and Henry wanted a snake.

Friday morning we go for an x-ray to see if Nate's arm is healing straight. I am praying that he will be able to get a waterproof cast then. Happy Memorial Day!

Nate reading to Luke

Luke went for a 9 month well visit yesterday only to discover he had an ear infection. Here is Nate reading to him before bed.

The Broke Arm

With 3 boys, I'm bound to see my share of injuries....

Wednesday after school, while playing with me and his brothers at a playground, Nate fell off a see-saw and broke his arm. He has been such a trooper. We didn't even know it was broken, despite the pain he was able to move his hand and because he already had a really bad ant bite, we weren't sure what was causing the swelling. When I looked at it Thursday morning, I knew we'd better get it checked out. Because the bone is bent at the break, he's wearing one of those plaster casts that you can't get wet. The doctor formed the cast to put pressure on the bent bone in hopes that it will heal straight. We go back in 2 weeks for another x-ray to see if it's working. We're praying that they'll give us a waterproof cast at that point.

Kids + summertime = Fun in the Water and this cast is really gonna slow us down, but I'm thankful that he's taking it well. He even insisted on going to school today. Henry has been just a little bit jealous of all the attention. He's wrapped his arm & leg with ACE bandages and has been extra mischievous!

Well, just because I haven't blogged in a while doesn't mean I haven't had anything to say! Mark, Denise & Silas came to visit last week to celebrate Silas' first birthday! Happy Bithday Silas! They stayed all week which gave us all a little time to visit. We had so much fun playing with him. He crawls everywhere & just learned to walk

Despite the faces in the picture, we had a great time at the Grand Opening of the new patient tower in Oconee Mem Hospital. They had a parade with all the high school bands, fun activities & events for children. Oh, by the way, Henry has been wearing a tie most every day.

I had a busy Mother's Day. Bryan had to work all day, which left me to get everyone to church, and then visit all the Grandparents. But, the big news came last night when Nate discovered he had a loose tooth! I've never seen anyone so excited over teeth. Last night his bedtime prayer went like this, "Thank you Jesus, I love you so much, please help my tooth to get looser so it can come out and the tooth fairy can come and then I can look like everybody else."

Then, tonight's prayer went, "Thank you Jesus for this loose tooth, please help me to pull it so I can get one of those little pillows to put it in so the tooth fairy can come."

What's the going rate for a tooth these days? I guess I'd better ask around.

The Garden

Bryan, Nate Henry and Luke have planted a garden in our backyard. Well, Nate, Henry & Bryan did most of the work, Luke just sat on the grass and watched. They are so very excited about it. Nate told me, "Mom, You're gonna be so happy. You're not gonna have to go back to the grocery store anymore." (I wish!) And for several nights now, his bedtime prayers have included the garden. One night he prayed that the giant pumpkins would grow giant in a tall way, not a fat way so they wouldn't smush all the other vegetables. And every morning before school he wants to go see if anything has sprouted. They planted mostly seeds, and a few tomato & pepper plants. If only we had a cow, maybe I could avoid the grocery store this summer.