Busy weekend

The Lowry family has been busy these last few days! Mike flew in from Maine; we celebrated Nathanael's 5th birthday; we played outside enjoying the beautiful weather; Mike and Margo enjoyed a night at a kind-of-creepy Bed and Breakfast; we closed on our house; and Mike flew back to Maine. It's been crazy! The moving truck arrives at our house on Friday! Yippee! We took lots of pictures and I'll post some eventually!! Right now, I am going to bed to get my first 2 hours of sleep before Caden wakes up.

Kyle's sensory breakfast

Kyle: You know why I wanted to try the plain one? (instead of his usual blueberry waffle)
me: why?
Kyle: I wanted to taste it and feel what it looks like.
me: oh (smiling...thinking "huh?")

school time

Since Nathanael and Kyle are home all day and not going to pre-school right now, it kind of makes for long days! So I went to the good ol' Dollar General store and bought lots of learning books for them to work on...like Winnie the Pooh letters and numbers and Wiggles coloring/activity books. Even Ian has joined in this "school time". I have some smart kids, well, at least I think so!! Heck, Caden can almost say the alphabet...just kidding! He does "talk" a lot though!

Nathanael is working on writing his numbers!

Kyle is learning all about the color blue!

Ian is scribbling all over the Wiggles' faces!

Caden is just as cute as ever!!!!!

tub time

My parents live in a pretty old house that really doesn't have many updates. It makes for fun bath times for the kids! Since it has been in the 70s this week, the kids are taking lots of tubs (as a good friend in Maine would say)!

a little about Kyle

On the way home from Pizza Hut (where Nathanael calls the pizza "splendid"), we were talking about Nathanael's upcoming birthday (on Sunday he will turn 5...I feel so old). Anyway, he was telling us how he isn't going to share any of his new toys. Well, Kyle says to him, "You better share your toys or I will freak out." My dad and I just started laughing. Thanks for the warning, Kyle!

Kyle is obsessed with 3 things right now...his Superman shirt, the dryer, and putting his Superman shirt in the dryer if it gets wet. He wants to wear this shirt all the time...to bed, to church, to play, to nap...all day long! If he gets a drop of water on his shirt (like tonight he bit his shirt and it was wet), he has to put it in the dryer. What a goof! He will remain shirtless until it is "dry."

Ian SPEAKS!

Ian turned 2 in January and really doesn't say much except for mommy, hi, and uhhh. It really has been frustrating. So, I decided to start working with him on sounds, not words... like ssss for yes and mmmm for moo, hoping that he will at least start making some consonant sounds. He has started saying mmmm when he sees a cow. Well, tonight, we were walking in from the van and I pointed to the moon and said, "Can you say moon?" And he said, "MOON." HOW WONDERFUL IS THAT? I know it's just "moon", but after months and months of him just screeching at me, he says something that I asked him to say and that I really understood! Yippee!!

the mercury never lies

That's right. It says 60 degrees. The kids got to play outside today without coats/jackets! Oh how we love it!! My dad put the swings and slide on the swing set and the kids played for a long time!

Mission: calm a fussy Caden

Yesterday, Caden was starting to get fussy. Nathanael decided that his mission would be to get him to stop fussing. This is the "pep talk" that Nathanael gave Caden.

Okay, okay, okay. Number 1...don't cry. Number 2...relax. (not working, Caden still almost crying) Number 3...deep breaths. Number 4...be still (still not working) Okay, okay, okay. SHHHHHHHHHHHH. (Then, Nathanael starts making up a song and singing to Caden.) (INSERT MUSIC NOTES) I'm your big brother. I'm your big brother. I'm your big brother because you are my little brother. You are my little brother. You are my little brother. (Caden begins to smile and "talk" back to Nathanael) Mission accomplished!!!

Seriously, this has to be the cutest thing that I have ever seen/heard. I was sitting across the room from them quickly scribbling notes just so I could get it right. I'm not sure where Nathanael came up with this whole 4-step process, but it was too funny!

Snow & a pig show

Yes, that's right. I said a pig show. I took my boys to a Lion's Club-sponsored FFA/4H pig show. I must tell you, I have never seen pigs such as these!

Nathanael is standing in front of just a few of the 400 pigs that were at this beauty pageant for pigs...seriously, because I had no idea what was going on, I asked the lady in front of me how the pigs are judged. She basically said poise and posture and fat/muscle ratio. TOO FUNNY!

There were pink ones with black spots and black ones with pink spots...the 2 showings that we watched were pigs that weighed between 200 and 225 pounds. Do they have shows like these in Maine? Just wonderin'!

Kyle was content just chewing his gum!! Tomorrow we are going to the sheep and goat show. I can't wait!!

We also had snow today! How exciting!

my morning

If you read my myspace blog, this first part will be familiar to you. I just wanted to post it on both!

This morning I woke up very early with Caden, 5ish, after a night where I was up frequently with the boys (all of them but Ian). I was not very happy with God. I asked Him, "How do you expect me to be a good mom when I'm not getting any sleep?" Well, praise God that He knows what He is doing!! I was able to have my quiet time while eating breakfast (eggs, bacon, and yogurt) and drinking a cup of coffee. It was a great time with God! I am so challenged in my study of 1 John! Then, I was able to take a bath (there isn't a shower in my parents' old house) and almost completely dry my hair before the boys were awake. How much better my morning has been!!
Praise God that His plans are better than ours!

Kyle had a rough night. He woke up around 10pm (right when I was getting into bed) crying. He said, "I just want to go home" and "I miss daddy". I told him that we could call daddy in the morning, and he said, "no, right now". So, I called Michael and Kyle was reassured that he will be here soon! He ended up sleeping with me and is NOT a still sleeper! I'm just praying for him to understand all this better.

Nathanael never ceases to amaze me. My dad went to the store and bought paper plates, bowls, and plasticware to cut back on our dishes (old house doesn't have a dishwasher either). Anyway, I got a cup for Nathanael and wrote his name on it. I told him that this would be his cup all day. He says to me, "This is the same as when we were with Josiah at camp." Okay, that was LAST SUMMER in Colorado at Mike's family reunion. Too funny. I can't even remember what I did yesterday half the time!

first cereal and more laughs

Tonight Caden got the taste of his first cereal! He did great with it and was opening his mouth wide to get more! He is such a sweet baby...let's just hope that this helps him sleep a little better at night!! (please forgive the red eye)

Also, Nathanael, again, is such a hoot! Tonight at dinner Kyle, Ian, and Nathanael were saying "ice cream" and then cracking up laughing (Ian was just laughing, since he still hasn't really made a speaking debut). I have no idea why since they were eating chicken nuggets and applesauce, go figure! Anyway, it was getting louder and louder and they were laughing harder and harder, so I tried to distract them. I asked them to name other things that start with the letter "I". Of course, they yell "ice cream" and then I say "what about Ian." Then, Nathanael (who knows his letters and knows that Kyle starts with a "K") says, "KYLE" and then seriously starts cracking up/ gut rolling as my husband would say. He turns beet red and his little nose gets all crinkled up and he just laughs even harder. He sure does know how to laugh!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

We wish you all a wonderful Valentine's Day! I tried to get a picture with all the boys with their new Valentine puppies, and this is what I ended up with...

At least I got a good picture of Kyle! I am going to upload more pictures tonight!!

dial-up & the number 12

I haven't been able to post any pictures because I am at my parents' and they don't have their really nice digital camera linked to their computer. So, I go to the Kodak website to download Easyshare. This shouldn't be too big of a task, except that a dial-up connection (which may be the only option in Middle-of-nowhere, Oklahoma :)) takes 142 minutes! That is insanity. Anyway, I decide to do it anyway. Well, if you haven't figured it out yet by the lack of pictures, I ran into a problem. The first hour or so went fine; I even went around taking pictures of the boys just to post tonight. Well, I came back in to check on it about an hour later, and there is an error message. Assuming that Ian or Kyle, who are just inches from the computer, messed something up, I kind of yelled something like, "WHAT DID YOU DO?" Well, I then realize that one of my sweet, precious boys accidently stood on the phone line adapter thingie which in turn disconnected my internet connection...urrggghh! As soon as I am finished typing this, I am going to start the 142 minute process and then go to bed. Hopefully, Kodak Easyshare should be downloaded by morning!

On a completely different note, Kyle has a new favorite number, 12. He is too funny, anytime I say anything like "It will be Nathanael's turn in 10 minutes" or "You can play that game for 10 more minutes", Kyle says, "Mom, how 'bout 12 minutes." He is such a riot. The completely serious look that he gives me makes it impossible for me not to say, "Okay, 12 minutes."

thunder

Today we got to hear thunder...the power even blinked once...so nice to be back in good ol' Oklahoma!

more Nate quotes

While reading a book that mentions underwear, Nate says, "Underwear is funny. If you hear the sound underwear, it's funny." (he he)

This morning, I was talking to Nathanael about how Jesus wants us to be sweet and kind to others. He says, "Mom, I still love you, but I don't understand you."

He woke me up this morning and said, "Mom, I want to go to my new best friend's church (this is the little boy that he has met twice that goes to my mom's church). What's his name again?"

All of the boys are keeping me very busy. Kyle, as always, is a little stinker. Last night, after putting Kyle and Ian down for bed (they are in the same room), Ian starts yelling. Ian isn't talking yet; he really is just making a lot of sounds, most of them are very annoying. Well, sweet Kyle started copying every sound Ian made, but in a volume 3xs louder than Ian's. It was hard not to laugh!

Today is my dad's birthday! Happy Birthday to him! I am excited that we are here to celebrate with him!

We went to dinner last night at a BBQ place, dad's choice. It was a small place and my dad knew everyone that walked in the door (like one man that walked in was my 3rd cousin, never had seen him before!). Almost everyone made comments about the 4 boys. Nathanael and Kyle were playing at the table right behind us. They were stacking the jam packets from the middle of the table. Something happened and Kyle said, "I hate you, brother". Pretty much everyone in the restaurant started laughing. It was funny, but when we got home, I once again had to have the talk with Kyle about how that isn't a nice thing to say and it's very hurtful. He's three, so I'm not sure if he gets it.

Nathanael today...quotable quotes

Today we saw both of my grandmas, the boys great-grandmas! What a treat to live so close that we can do this. Anyway, Nathanael was a riot today. He says the cutest things!

me: We're going to see grandma today.
Nate: I don't want to see her. I already saw her. (wasn't being mean, just practical in his mind)
me: First we are going to see the one where we played in the volcano sprinkler last summer.
Nate: Oh (pause for obvious thinking), we can't go see her, I don't have my swimsuit. (It's 30 degrees outside)

Later...at a gas station, I noticed that his car seat was wet.
me: Did you spill water on your seat?
Nate: No, it was mema. It was just an accident. (picture lots of expression using his hands) Don't be mad at her. She said she was sorry.

Later...after seeing our new house
Nate: Kyle, do you miss Bethany? (didn't wait for an answer) I sure miss my friends. (SO sweet, breaks my heart)

Later...on the way to my other grandma's, the one he didn't want to go see.
Kyle: I don't want to get out.
Nate: But she has cookies. I've been there before.
Kyle: Oh, okay then.

And finally, in my grandma's house (she's 89)
Grandma: It takes me a while to get around. I'm an old lady.
Nate: (with his beautiful eyes looking right up at her) You're not an old lady!
He totally made her day, probably her year!!


I took the boys to see our new house. They really liked it! They picked out their rooms and were just really cute... Then we drove around the town a little bit. There is the most awesome playground I have ever seen! The boys were SO EXCITED! It is HUGE! We definitely can add this to the list of things to look forward to about our move! We also drove by the elementary school Nathanael will be going to in the fall (he said that playground wasn't as cool as the last one) and the First Baptist Church where there are 3 playgrounds. The kids were just really, really pumped about moving at this point. And this is all after we went to Chick-fil-A for lunch and the kids played in the indoor play area. I think at this point they may think that we are just moving to a gigantic playground!

eight...

is the number of trips between my van and my parents' house that it just took to unload me, the kids, all our stuff, and Wal-mart sacks (yes, they are called sacks, not bags, in Oklahoma :)) and people wonder how I stay thin.

new thing I'm trying

My friend Starr started a blog to keep her family and friends up-to-date with the happenings of her family. I thought this sounded like a great idea, so I'm going to give it a try! Nate, Kyle, Ian, and Caden are always doing something that is blog-worthy! I'm still figuring out how to use this website, so hopefully I'll figure out how to add more pictures!