Thomas at 18 months

At 18 months Thomas is mischievous and fun, daring and busy.

Every 18 months old's favorite thing:  wearing Mom or Dad's shoes

Thomas loves some good bouncing in Zeke's bouncer

I am quite sure this was supposed to say 18 months.  Mom's mistake or Thomas being crazy?  

• He doesn't have very many words.  Too many people talking for him?  Giving him what he wants based on his motions or grunts?  Who knows?!  But he does say Mama, Dada, Night-night.  He will sign please, thank you, more, and all done.  He will sometimes say duck, quack and dog, but they all sound alike, lol.  I feel like he has attempted other words, but nothing is very clear yet. 
• Mike says one of the best words for him is disheveled.  He is a mess, much of the time.  He has food on his face, dirt or blueberry juice under his fingernails, hair never combed.  He had his first haircut recently, which was necessary!  
• He LOVES to dance.  He will go over to the CD player and point and grunt until we put on the music.  Then, he will put his arms up, wanting to be picked up and dance with me.  
• His incisor teeth are working their way in.  
• He likes to be naked, but be careful...  He also has no concept of pee or poop yet!
• He loves baby Zeke.  He likes to rub Zeke's head and touch his nose.  There are many attempts to put his fingers in Zeke's eyes and nose, but out of curiosity.  There is still the occasional (okay, probably at least daily) wap on the head for poor Zeke. 
• He loves the big bros as well.  Max can make him laugh like nobody's business.  Max can also tease and elicit a good screech from Thomas. 
• He still loves to be outside.  And if there is water in the pool, he will be wet in a heartbeat.  
• Current favorite foods include string cheese, frozen blueberries, grapes.  Sometimes he will eat eggs, sausage, hot dogs, and pasta.  Overall, I would say he eats like the average toddler.  
• He loves to go bye-bye.  Only mention bye-bye if you are leaving right now. 
• He is still not sleeping through every night, woe to Mama.  Most nights, he will wake up, have a drink and go back to sleep.  But teething has been hard on him and he likes to get up in the middle of the night to play when those buggers are coming in.  
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Proverbs: On getting some Wisdom

Proverbs 8:35  For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord.

I want life.  Real and true life.  And favor.  I want that too.  So I guess I better be praying for some wisdom, as that is what Solomon is writing about.  And looking back over my life, I can say I think Solomon is right.  When I have made good decisions, done the right thing, I was blessed, if only inside my own heart, for the knowing that I made a wise decision.  Sometimes, that is seemingly the only benefit of doing the right thing:  the knowledge that you did the right thing.

But so many times there have been more benefits that just the knowledge of the right choice.  I think favor spills over.  When we do wise things, especially as parents, other people (our little people) see us.  They see us and they want to imitate our ways whether or not we are making the right choices. They do what we do, not what we say, yes?

So much of why I want "life" is because I want my kids to have "life."  I want them to love well.  Serve God.  Make good choices.  Help others.  I want them to live out the things that give life.  I want them to feel good about how they have lived in the long term.  And if I am not feeling good about how I am living, how will they know how to do that?  While it is possible to make a new path for oneself, it is always easier to follow along behind someone who has gone before you.  Their lives will, of course, look different from mine.  They will only do some of the same things I do.  My hope is that one of their take-aways will be to do the right thing, the honest thing, the loving thing.  My prayer is that I am teaching them how to do that, that I am guiding them (with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit) in the circumstances that arise in their lives, so that they can learn wisdom.

So, the question is, where do I need wisdom?  My prayer is the the Holy Spirit will be with me every second, interceding in all things so that I am wise and that my kids are watching me be wise.

Ps.  Kids do not get easier as they get older.  Oh, they do in some aspects.  They wipe their own behinds and brush their own teeth and get themselves dressed.  They might even learn how to do some chores and help with their siblings.  But oh boy (pun intended, ha!) their little ears perk up more and listen in to everything we say.  They watch how I act toward and respond to people.  They see what things are important to me by how I am living, who I am loving, how I am loving them.  And then I have to explain myself.  Sometimes I can say I have done well, but other times, I am asking their forgiveness or confessing that I was far from Christ-like.

And I explain that growing into being like Jesus takes our whole lives.  Sometimes we are good at it, and sometimes we are so not.  The greatest thing we can count on is that Jesus loves us either way.  The wise parent in me wants to make sure they know that.

The progression of Zeke. Speaks for itself.

Ezekiel's birth story

Our newest little man made his appearance into the world March 30th at 2158 (9:58 pm).  

Ezekiel Arthur Clemens

We just liked the name Ezekiel, with the idea of calling him Zeke.  Arthur is Mike's middle name and was his paternal grandpa's first name.  All of the boys have family names as middle names, so we wanted to keep with that.  

My pregnancy with Zeke was the longest I have ever been pregnant.  I delivered Max two days earlier than Zeke.  But I think Thomas was the pregnancy that I wanted to get over with the most.  I really felt huge and yucky at the end.  This time, I was feeling pretty good.  However, as I moved past when I had been pregnant with the other guys, I got a little nervous about what size baby might be in there!  

I was looking forward to ANY signs of labor.  So, when I woke at 0130 on the 30th to a fairly strong contraction, I was thinking, "Yes!  Let's get this show on the road."  I was up until 0430 with only one or two contractions and then I was able to go back to sleep.  Bummer.  I was thinking I might get to have Mike stay home from work so we could head to the hospital to have a baby!  

The boys and I skipped school that day because I was just not able to focus on what they needed to do.  I was still not contracting regularly, if I could even have counted any contractions as strong enough to "count."  We putzed around.  Jackson had a piano lesson at 1330.  Then, they had football practice at 1700.  I decided to take Thomas along and walk the track that goes around the football field.  During that hour I probably had 8 or 10 contractions, but I was able to walk through them without stopping.  We went home from practice at 1800 and I decided to cook dinner, which was BLTs.  I had a few contractions, which I did stop to breathe through during that time.  I ate a sandwich, after a gentle reminder from Mike that last time I was in labor I threw up what I had eaten.  Didn't matter.  I was hungry and a BLT sounded good.  

I decided to let Mike clean up the kitchen while I took a shower.  During that shower I had a few more contractions, probably 4 or 5.  When I was done at about 1930, Mike came upstairs and I told him I thought we should head to the hospital.  My contractions were definitely less than 10 minutes apart.  The pamphlet the midwives give out says that if you are not a first time mom and your contractions are 10 minutes apart you should come in, as your labor can progress more quickly than the first time.  I told Mike to get dressed and pack up the last minute things on our list.  I texted a friend to come stay with the boys.  

My friend Elisha arrived at about 2000 and Mike and I headed out.  We made a stop at Subway because I knew I would be super hungry after the birth and Tripler is a bit slow at getting food in the evening time.  I am sure the man behind me in line was thinking I should be getting to the hospital, as I breathed through contractions while I was ordering my sub, lol. 

We arrived at the hospital and I checked in with the nurse at the front desk.  After they got my paperwork started, I went to the waiting room to the bathroom because I thought I might be sick.  I didn't throw up, thankfully.  When I came out Mike was texting his boss that we were at the hospital and he would not be in to work tomorrow.  That was at 2113.  We got into a triage room and waited through a few contractions for the midwife to come check me.  She got in there and said I was 7 cm dilated and 100% effaced.  I think I said, "Oh no!" out loud.  This had her a little confused because apparently she thought I was doing really well with laboring.  

I had thought, before this stage of labor set in, that I wanted an epidural...  and I let the midwife, Susanna know of my wishes.  Bless her heart, she said maybe we could make that happen.  She had to check the baby was head down with an ultrasound before they could move me, so she hurried to do that, only to find a sunny side up baby.  Now I wanted the epidural even more!  I have heard pushing out a baby that way can be pretty uncomfortable.

So, baby was head down.  And we move to the labor room.  There is a nurse there to do my admission paperwork and one to draw my blood and start an IV.  Susanna came in to say that the doc was looking at my chart so that I could get the epidural and then she left again.  Not long later, she returned to say that my contractions were pretty intense (not that I had noticed; please note my sarcasm) and they wanted me to turn on my side and get some oxygen because the contractions were affecting the baby's heart rate.  I was also hyperventilating with the intensity of the contractions and my hands were super tingly/numb.  It was a super weird sensation.

I turned on my side and with the next contraction my water broke to which I very eloquently shouted something like, "Holy Shit!!!!"  At that moment I knew there was no epidural going to happen.  My water never broke with my first three pregnancies, so I knew the baby had to be pretty low and exerting lots of pressure.  Sure enough, on the next contraction, I said, "I think I need to push!"  The nurse looked and said, "I see the head!"  Susanna was still getting dressed, but I know she was pulling her gloves on at that moment.  With the next contraction I could not help myself and I just pushed.  My eyes had mostly been closed up to that point and I just remember thinking, "I sure hope someone is down there to catch this baby because I am not sure I can stop this whole process from happening!"

I felt the baby's head come out and then the rest of him in the next second.  What a relief!  Not to mention relief that the midwife was ready in time, lol  He came out so fast that Mike got some sort of fluid on his shoes.  He would later say that we should have listened to the literature that says to bring an extra change of clothes/shoes for dad, ha!  My eyes were closed for the push and Susanna told me to open my eyes and look at him...  HIM.  Yes, our fourth son.  It was 2158, probably less than 30 minutes since we had arrived in the room.

I finished up the delivery process without much trouble.  Of course, the nurses came in to dig around my belly a few times, make sure I wasn't bleeding too much.  That's always pleasant.  The baby nursed pretty quickly and easily too, so we were off to a good start.  After two hours they transferred us to the postpartum unit and I ate that Subway I insisted on stopping for.  The whole footlong.  I have always been ravenous after childbirth.  Mike went home not long after we got settled in the room.  He brought the boys to visit the next morning.  The big boys fell instantly in love, but Thomas was simply curious.

Welcome to the world Baby Zeke!  You are in for quite a ride with all these big brothers!

Clemens comics and other stories

Recently the boys have been saying some hilarious things:

When playing a game, we often say, "I'm gonna beat your pants off."  However, Max says, "I'm gonna beat you off the pants."  It is beyond funny.  I literally laugh every single time.



Today Thomas was making what I lovingly refer to as "the most obnoxious noise ever," and Daddy said something about him giving one of us an aneurysm.  Of course, the boys don't know what that means, so Jackson says, "Yeah Thomas.  You better quit that noise or you're going to give one of us an ear infection."



I used to have this fear of my kids growing into teenagers.  I think I am growing out of it.  I thought I liked them when they were babies... and I did.  I loved every moment of that time and the warm snuggles and complete need they had for me.  And now that Thomas is a toddler and he is doing all those fun toddler things and learning so much, I realize that I love this stage just as much and I get even more laughs and have more interactive fun with him.  And then there is Max and Jackson, who just get better with time.  Their personalities and all their God-given gifts and talents come out more with each passing year.  I realize more every day how cool God is by watching them.  I see why Jesus said let the children come to Him because He must have enjoyed their antics and stories as much as I do.  I wonder if He rolled His eyes at the kids He knew as much as I roll mine at Max (when Max is not looking of course, and always with a silent giggle.)  And I wonder if He listened to all the sportscaster kids with as much a swell in His heart as I have when Jackson starts announcing his life.
I am thankful my fear is dissolving and my joy is increasing in watching these kids grow up.  Each day they bring something new and cool to my life and as their mama, I am determined to enjoy the ride with them.

On the first day of presents, our family gave to us...

This year for Christmas, we decided to open our presents slowly, over a number of days.  Last year we had the kids open something the three days before Christmas, and it was so fun.  They appreciated each of those gifts and enjoyed them that day.  They were more able to remember who got them each thing.  Then, Christmas morning hit.  Santa visited, and they opened all the other gifts under the tree.  It was chaos and if I recall correctly, they later said they were bored.  I think it was more like overwhelmed.  They didn't know what to do first.  

So this year, we decided to slow it down and have Christmas morning be only for Santa's gifts, starting the opening on the 20th.  They still had things to open after Christmas morning too.  I think next year, we will start as many days early as we have gifts at that time.  We were ready to have enjoyed Christmas and the opening of gifts to be finished once the actual day had come and gone.  Of course, there are often straggler gifts since we live far away and the mailing of presents does not always happen in order for us to get them before Christmas.  That makes it even more fun though, because the boys LOVE getting anything in the mail and being able to open a present when they were not necessarily expecting anything is so fun for them.  

These gifts are from Mike's Aunt Carol and Uncle Dan and his sister Jessica and her family.  I love the pure joy of children and presents.  I am so thankful for these boys and their love of life.  

And on the second day of Christmas our family gave to us (there is more than one video for this day:):  

Thomas turns ONE year old!!

Hard to believe Thomas turned a year old on December 30th, 2014.  The year went by so fast.  Next year will probably be equally as fast, as Thomas becomes a big brother some time end of March or early April.  He is a super fun little guy, always on the move and keeping his Mama, Daddy, and big brothers on their toes. 

At this point: 

• He hams it up for the camera, at least for the first few pictures and as long as he is not already crabby/tired
• He has 6 teeth
• Still takes the paci, mostly at night
• We call him Beiber baby or Hansen sometimes, because his hair is boy band-esq
• He is full on walking, although sometimes he looks a little like a drunken sailor, especially when he gets going too fast. 
• He just walks right into things or steps on them, pushing stuff out of his way with his feet
• Eats a variety of things, but is picky about different things on different days.  He likes to feed himself, now usually only taking a few bites of whatever the offering is from me.
• He can even do apples and carrots
• He will not sit still for a book, maybe only a page or two, even if it sings or rhymes
• He loves to climb just about anything, including whatever person happens to be laying in front of the couch, his favorite place to climb up to
• He LOVES to be outside, but he is not steady enough on his feet yet that Mama loves it.
• He really doesn't have any words and he grunts more than he babbles, but he makes what I lovingly call "the most obnoxious noise ever," which is something of grunt and a scream mixed together
• His favorite toys are his stacking cups and anything he can dump or take apart
• He can steer his little walker/push toy and the firetruck we have

In his handsome clothes for an attempt a Christmas picture

The attempts...

The booster seat:  a great place to "lock him up" to get a photo

Sleepytime Elmo:  the present Santa brought him.  I have not yet caught the smile he gets on his face when Elmo's music comes on

He is also very into Tupperware lide

Birthday boy:  before shots

Birthday boy:  after shots.  He needed the paci for that business

He can eat a piece of banana as a whole now, taking his own bites, rather than me breaking it up for him

He made it so hard for me to get a picture with the blocks saying "One Year."  He kept picking them up to play with them.

Finally

Getting ready for cake

Jackson and Max told me Thomas needed an Elmo cake (the day before his birthday), I assume because Santa brought Elmo.  I figured since he has a mom who "does cake" he should get what the boys were asking for, but I took the easy way, with a plastic Elmo on top.

Attempted some fondant as practice for another cake I am probably making in May

He stuck his fingers right into the cake, but would not dive in again after that.  He is the third child that has not wanted to get cake all over himself

Night night to the birthday boy!