Laraway Family

So, Starks had this 30th follow up Wednesday with the GI office. They told me to add oil, butter, and/or a calorie additive to his food and to feed less veggies and more fruits and proteins. Wow. They are stressing me- as much as I get stressed. It's all good, but we had tacos that night. So, I saved all of the fat I drained off the meat to use in blending with his meat. PLUS, I added oil. He loved it! Then, I mixed sour cream with avocado for him. He loved it! Then, he had spaghetti squash with butter and the calorie additive- sugary stuff. He loved it! The boy started crawling up stairs on Tuesday night, so he just burns off everything he eats since he's so active. He's conducting an orchestra the entire time he breastfeeds. He's moving ALL day long- unless he's asleep. Then, he doesn't nap for very long (except for the moment right now) as he's afraid he'll miss something. Too funny. We'll see. It means a weight check next week and another follow up the week after. God Bless Insurance.

I am overwhelmed at times with joy from the weather. It helps us to enjoy all of God's world, and it helps Mommy stay sane. I feel alive, free and just happier outside. I love watching the boys climb trees, swing, run, and play in this beautiful 60 something degree weather in January. They even played after Chas' nap- at 4:30- in flipflops outside again in the backyard. How lovely.

Then, Anthony goes upstairs to see Starks after he awoke from his nap, and Starks is STANDING in his crib holding onto the rail. What? How can it be? He went from his first crawl on Saturday to pulling himself to stand today?! Put the brakes on, please! He's so stinkin' cute. So, away went his crib bumper. This is just crazy.

Also, how can an L&D nurse, mother of 3 not be able to read her son? Starks has begun pulling at his hair? The boys never did that. Now, he's had a cold off and on for what seems like 2 months, but I know it's less. He is currently snotty. NO fever. Not sleeping very long. His naps are an hour or a little more, and he has been waking more often at night. I think it's probably teeth, but I'm not sure. In fact, I never knew it was teeth with the other two until I saw teeth poking through. It was then that I thought back to all of the cues! Anyway, I just want the booger man to get out of this house for good! I feel so bad for the boys and their snot.

Anyway, life is good here, so come and visit any time.

Well, during Chas' nap time, Anthony played several board games with us and ended up playing tinker toys. Daddy's watching football, and Mommy's feeding Starks. That leaves Anthony with alone time to imagine and play around us. He makes the following "picture." It's a house with trees around it- as you can see. The moon is down- and stars - and the sun is up. The baby is in the house, and the Mommy and Daddy are outside feeding pieces of doughnut to the birds. (Chas only eats the top off the doughnuts Joe brings after church. SO, we tell him to feed the rest to the birds.) I thought it was just too cute to NOT take a picture.

Well, Anthony and Chas had their first basketball practice today with the YMCA. They received t-shirts and their own basketballs. Anthony was actually a leader at some times and daydreaming at most others! :) He enjoyed himself and did very well. Chas reminded us that he's only 3. Because he is so eager to be older much of the time, he reads, and he speaks so well, we forget he's 3 years old. So, he enjoyed himself in the beginning but also wanted to visit Mommy on the sidelines, talk to her, play on his own, etc. However, he did very well, too. They learned dribbling, passing, shooting, and taking turns! The class encourages parental involvement, so you know Russ loved it. I couldn't stop laughing at how cute they all were. It was great! When the coach asked if anyone knew how to do a jumping jack, Anthony answered, "I DO!" So, the coach let him show the others, and it was so funny! Anthony jumping straight up with his legs together but arms clapping above his head and all the children following his direction! Too cute.

THEN, Starks has been toying with the notion of crawling. He rocks on his hands and knees, scoots, and loves to lift one hand while on his hands and knees. Show off! Well, tonight he decided he'd had enough of practicing and just crawled away from Daddy. Good timing in that Mommy went through toy bins today throwing away choking hazards and reorganizing things! Nice job. Since his Birth Day, he's been waiting until I was ready first. Very thoughtful, don't you think? Anyway, it was a great day! (Plus, V got a cinnamon dulce latte- decaf, of course, so you know it was good!)

WOW. Well, Anthony turned 5- WHAT THE?- on Dec. 30th!!! Daddy went in to work late, we took lunch up to eat with him at Google, brought him home early, and then went to the park to fly Anthony's new kite from Pamela! The next day started our vacation to NJ. The flight out was smooth with the boys (prepare for the worst and you're surprised when ANYTHING goes well- though it ALL did!), and by the time we arrived at MomMom and Pop's, it was 10:15. We placed Starks on their doorstep, knocked on the door and ran away. MomMom missed Starks on the first look but saw him on the second! She swiped him up, and that was our cue to pull into the driveway and unload! Pop was all tears, and it was so nice to see them. The boys hung out until the ball dropped at midnight (to our bodies, it was only after 9). New Year's Day was spent at church and MomMom's for dinner with the Italians! Very nice to have everyone around us again, and the boys loved playing with their cousins. Monday was spent traveling to Annapolis area to see GG with Tracy and the kids. Very fun! GG had even made cookies for the kids before they arrived. Were they for the kids or Russ? As soon as the boys walked into Uncle Jim's, Anthony asked, "Does GG have Yoohoo?" She always has it for the kids at her house! It was a nice afternoon of seeing family, eating pizza, a Su Doku introduction for V, and more fun for the kids playing together. V GREATLY enjoyed the ride down with Tracy and the girls, and the ride back with just our family was quiet... all kids alseep and V jamming to the 80's on the Sirius radio in the rental van! Nice... life is so fun with the 80's. Tuesday we snuck down to MD to spend the afternoon with Uncle Randy as a gift to Anthony for reading a book all by himself. We ate at a restaurant Russ frequented often with the boys and Randy in Chesapeake City. It was a nice visit as always. Wednesday Tracy and V shopped while Russ took all big boys (Kevin, Anthony and Chas) to the airport to sit and play inside an airplane Randy's Dad was working on at the time. Nice photos... such little men.Can't you picture them as grownups in these?
Anyway, after playing, it was lunch at Tracy's and a tour of her newly remodeled home. Sweet! This was the only night Aunt Stacy and Uncle Eric could get together between their own traveling. SO, we drove to Ardmoore, PA for dinner at Chili's... no ribs, but fun with the Meyers as usual. Thursday we played at a park in the afternoon,and cousin, Kevin, joined us. V fell in love with Cinnamon Dulce lattes from Starbucks, too. Friday Russ made a trip into the city for GINO'S cheesesteaks, and during naptime, Russ and V went down to DE. Russ shopped tax free in the mall while V visited work. It was surreal to be back in L&D with my nurse and doctor friends. It was like I was just stopping in on a day off and would be back to work in a couple of days. Weird. I loved the hour I spent. Then, it was off to pick up Russ at the mall- he surprised me with a video Ipod. He loves me. We never made it backfor dinner on time, and ReRe was very patient with us! Saturday morning we woke early and got ready for pictures of the grandkids in the mall for MomMom and Pop. From there we went straight to Chuck E. Cheese for Anthony's 5th birthday party. WOW!
It was great to see everyone, and even more than usual, it felt like we just didn't get to see and talk to everyone as much as we'd like. Jackie (V's best friend since 6th grade) drove from West Virginia- 3 hours or more- to see me and party with Anthony. She loves me. It was great to see everyone, and Anthony had so much fun. Thanks to all who joined us, and thanks for the gifts. After that, Chas napped while Anthony opened gifts at MomMom's. On the ride home, however, he asked some pretty interesting questions. One was "What's our biggest problem, Mommy?" Then he followed with "What's the biggest mystery?" I thought the last was very complex a question and talked about death and heaven. He went on further to explain, "No. Like to solve... like Scooby Doo." Too cute! Anyway, Tracy had a party for Big Russ that night, and we stayed until almost 10pm. It was an early wakeup at 6am for the boys. We kind of planned the lack of sleep to help them rest on the plane- 8 hours of being on the same plane returning... and that doesn't take the time change into account. Well, Russ had planned our returning the rental van, checking in, etc. on an 8:45 departure. It departed at 8:15. We made it to the gate- even after Chas peeing/pooping in the airport bathroom- JUST in time for preboard. They were opening lines for general boarding. Needless to say, no breakfast. Southwest feeds you snacks- crackers, fig newton, and more crackers.... ON AN 8 HOUR FLIGHT! The boys were hooked up by Mommy prior, so they were fine. Russ and V were OK, too, but when you have your mind set on a breakfast sandwich, a Fig Newton isn't cutting it! :) It was all good, though. The kids didn't sleep, except for Chas falling asleep 45" prior to landing at home, and they STILL did a great job. I will never forget this picture of Russ near the end of the flight opening a package of chex mix crackers and them spraying EVERYWHERE! I'm cracking up writing about it. It was SO funny. He was at his wit's end trying to keep the boys occupied, happy, not irritating the people in front of them by kicking the seats, etc. And, then he had crackers flying everywhere. You have to laugh at that point. As a matter of fact, we both couldn't STOP laughing for a good 10" straight- not being able to look at each other without losing it- then off and on for another 20". It was great. This is when Russ likes to sing his song, "Oh, I love it... I love it."

NOW WE'RE HOME! Unpacking luggage, food, gifts and things went well. Then, the Christmas tree came down that week, too. It's nice to have the house open and ready for Spring! Life is good. The boys are great. Of course, they didn't arrive unscathed as they are battling the second cold of the season. What do you expect from the petri dish that is Chuck E. Cheese and an airline trip lasting 8 hours! Since our return, we have had lots of fun with neighbors, friends, and ourselves. This weekend we'll be going through toys and clothes to make a collection for donation. Russ has done his part, but it's a little more involved getting the boys to decide on toys, especially. We are abundantly blessed in this household! Speaking of blessings, my friend, Pamela, lent me a bike trailer- which we took out this morning. It's AWESOME! Wow! Chas and Starks rode in the trailer on my bike, and Anthony rode on his own bike. What a great morning for us all. I love Anthony to realize that he just gets better and better each time he rides. By the end of the trip, he was riding down hills without slowing. I'm so proud of him.

Anyway, Russ has spent all week in San Fran. for Google's convention, and we're expecting him home tonight. He'll leave again for a ski trip in Feb., and we just booked our night for a ski trip the end of Feb! I'm so excited to get the kids on skis and in a class. I think they'll love it. If they don't, they'll love the snow. They keep telling me they want to go to see snow and throw a snowball at Daddy. Until then they'll be in basketball at the YMCA on Saturdays starting tomorrow! We'll see how it goes. Anthony has NEVER had any competitive bone in his body until recently. Plus, I think they'll be in the same class/team. Hmmm... It just makes me snuggle with Starks more and more when I see them being big boys. How pitiful am I that I brought Starks into my bed last night (he's been sleeping in his own crib since vacation) because he was stirring. I just kept thinking as I was lying there how snuggly he'd be... and warm... and happier? Anyway, I didn't sleep well, but I got to have his warm body sleeping on my chest again. It's been harder to let go of him than it was with the other boys. Probably because he's still so tiny. He has an appt. on Wed, and I can't wait to see how big he is. He was 7 months on the 14th. Starks is rocking on his hands and knees, moving his knees a couple of times to crawl, talking a lot more, loving food, and is just such a joy. Anthony is loving this being 5 thing, and Chas is just Chas. He'll want me to hold him like a baby yet want to be 5 like his brother.

For those contemplating a third- GO FOR IT! I was surrounded by them the other day and thinking to myself how wonderful a feeling to have them all over me. Life is much too quiet with one missing.

Enjoy the pictures. We can't wait to see Grandmom Anderson in February!!!

We were at dinner with Aunt Stacy & Uncle Eric in January, and Eric asked what Santa brought. Anthony indicated that, among other things, Santa had brought a Batcave.

"Batcave?" says Eric.
"Yeah, for Batman," indicates Anthony, hoping to mitigate Eric's feigned confusion.
Eric, further feigning a lack of understanding replies, "Oh, I thought he lived in the cat cave."
Anthony stops, looks away, thinks, thinks, thinks, and as if to politely say that Eric just isn't getting it, he finally answers,

"Then he would be called catman."