Category Archives: Gabriel

Little Rebels

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“Everybody knows how to raise children, except the people who have them.” — P.J. O’Rourke

“Raising children is like chewing on a stone.” — Arab proverb

These sentiments pretty sum up the last couple of weeks for yours truly. It’s no surprise that the 3 Amigos are little rebels. After all, they are part Scottish/Viking, part Arab, and all headstrong Southern boys. Who would’ve thunk Houston, Gabriel and Zeke would each be so cantankerous and contrary in their own right?

I mean, if one pits against Mommy, she has a standing chance. But should the entire posse turn on the woman who painstakingly brought them into this world, she is chopped liver … and they know it! I suppose there’s a reason the most rewarding job on earth is also the most difficult.

Void of a sandbox, Zeke makes do by getting grungy in our “fancy” red-clay dirt patch.

Seriously, things around zoo are going well. Everyone is healthy and happy (except during time-outs, of course). Plus, Mama Zookeeper has some much-needed help headed her way. It’s finally the weekend, so Daddy will share in the upkeep, daily feedings and disciplining and/or taming of the wild animals; Auntie Merdy and Uncle Greg will celebrate Memorial Day with us; Gramsey and Papa hope to come for an overnight visit one day next week; and then Granny and Grumps will be here next weekend. Thank God for Daddy, great friends and loving parents/in-laws!

I’ve gotten a lot more adept at taking the kids out for excursions. So, now that we have our afternoons free due to the tweaked napped schedules, we’ve been hitting the road more. Sometimes, it’ll just be a trek to the grocery store for just a few staple items — since a few is all that will fit underneath our 3-child stroller — but other times, it’s just for grins and giggles.

Gabriel gets ecstatic over the freedom of feeding himself kidney beans.

Like today, we piled in the mini-van and went to a nearby lakeside nature trail, where the boys got to pet friendly dogs, see three snakes slithering in the kudzu and chat with friendly people enjoying the sunny day.

And last week, we went downtown to donate some kid stuff to one of my favorite charities and then walked to a park, where I used to frequent on exercise outings from work when I was pregnant with Houston. The boys were thrilled with the urban sights and sounds, but even more excited with the playground and the friends they made while there, tossing a football, doing the slides, getting dirty in the sandbox and playing peek-a-boo in a tunnel. It was a near-perfect trip to the big city … not to mention the first time I manned the 3 Amigos all by myself at a park.

Houston is a kid who really, really, really loves lawn mowers.

Other notables:

  • The twins are getting so big that people sometimes ask me if all the boys are triplets.
  • Last Saturday, Gabe went with me to take Stanley to his annual vet appointment. He enjoyed the time away from bros, as well as his first ride in the Pathfinder.
  • Last weekend was the first Sunday in ages that we were not extremely late to church. See, I told you that we’ve gotten more adept at getting out and about … finally!
  • I discovered that all the boys love raw tomatoes. I think that is a weird thing for kids to like, especially considering the twins’ oft-times finicky aversion to soft-textured foods.
  • Houston turns 3 in less than a month. Can you believe it?!
  • There’s a lot of wrestling going on these days. Gabriel and Zeke really hold their own against big bro. It’s a hoot!
  • Veggie Tales is back in the DVD-viewing rotation and “Teen Titans” is the fave movie of the moment.

Click the top photo of Zeke to view all the May – Part 1 pics and the above shot of HL to check out the Part 2 stuff. And last but not least, thanks to all who have served and who have died to preserve my freedom and that of my children and fellow countrymen. Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

The Last Month

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It has been an entire month since I last blogged. We’ve been busy with the daily grind, fun, doc appointments, discipline, errands, chores, play dates, yard work, travel and the craziness that is life in Clan Dillingham. I’ve also been taking lots of photos and have gotten way behind on downloading and editing, but I do have some good shots to share.

No, Houston’s not peeing … he’s playing w/ his pal, Matthew!

Here’s an overview of our activities since the last blog:

  • 4/16 > Two-year-old Matthew, baby Jonathan and Mama Beth visit the zoo on an unseasonably hot day for seemingly endless fun with the garden hose and a feast of pizza and cheesy bread.
  • 4/17 > The clan heads to our oft-patronized local lawn-and-garden store for their 11th anniversary celebration, featuring tractors, other big and booming farm equipment, live bluegrass music and hot dogs.
  • 4/21 > The twins have their 18-month pediatric check-up. Zeke was 26 pounds, 4 1/2 ounces; 30 3/4″ long and his head was 19 1/2″ around; and Gabriel was 25 pounds, 15 ounces; 30 1/4″ long and his head was 18 1/2″ around — momentous since it was the first measurements since the day they were born that Zeke came in bigger than Gabe.
  • 5/1 > Houston and Daddy hit “free comic book day” at Daddy’s favorite local comic specialty shop. At the crowded event, they see Super Man, who Houston was afraid of for some odd reason; a “smoking-hot” Wonder Woman, as described by Daddy; Falcon; Green Lantern; and Storm Troopers … also known as “Star Wars guys,” according to Houston.
  • That evening, we attend a neighborhood party with our old buddy, Bill. Mommy and the twins head home after the kids follow a ball into a patch of poison ivy. Houston stays behind with Daddy and Bill, and has fun rough-housing with a boy, also named Matthew.

Gabriel loves tractors, big tires & anything that goes vroom-vroom.

  • 5/4 > The boys accompany Mommy and Daddy to our local polling place to vote in the NC primaries. In the 3 Amigos’ opinions, the voting machines were okay, but the “I voted” stickers were way cool.
  • 5/5 > Auntie Merdy hosts Mommy and the kids for a play date at her neighborhood park. The sandbox is a huge hit with the twins and Houston has a blast on the slides.
  • 5/8 > Mommy participates in a multi-family yard sale with our neighbors, Heather and Trey. We don’t make much money selling mostly outgrown baby stuff, but Mommy enjoys the kid-free morning and also scores some free toys for the kids.
  • 5/12 > We get to spend some time with our beloved Miss Heather. Although she was at the house for monthly cleaning, Heather was able to play a little, as well as give lots of hugs and kisses to the boys.
  • 5/14-5/16 > The family road trips to Virginia to celebrate Aunt Lisa and cousin Casey’s graduation from college. Congrats! It was a lot of work getting there and tending to the kids in Gramsey and Papa’s 3-level house (yeah, stairs stink!), but a blast was had by all, especially Houston, Gabriel and Zeke, who were smothered with love and attention and fed many sweet treats.
  • 5/18 > Zeke has a check-up with his gastro-intestinal doc. Considering that he has puked just one time in the last 13 days (THANK YOU, LORD!), his meds will remain as is for now and will be re-evaluated at his next appointment in August. Zeke was also an even 27 pounds, which is the 50-percentile range for his age and a whopping 7 1/2 ounces more than he weighed at the pediatrician not even one month ago. Amazing!

“Hey, let’s use this bin for lounging & climbing — anything but storing toys,” think Zeke (in bin) & Gabriel.

  • Today > Mommy and the boys visit Daddy at work. We walk to a nearby establishment, where Houston and Zeke eat gelato (strangely enough, Gabe was uninterested), and Mommy and Daddy chug sweet coffee drinks; we see adorable Canadian geese ducklings waddling through the parking lot; and then have fun riding the elevator and bugging Daddy’s co-workers.

Other notable happenings:

  • Gabriel is saying lots of words in his own quirky way and even made up a sign for one of his favorite things: “mower.”
  • Zeke is still signing up a storm and doing funny things, like saying “shhhh” while sticking his finger up his nose.
  • Gabriel is a master at climbing stairs (or climbing most anything) and made it down the front steps solo for the first time today. He’s fearless!
  • Zeke has one hell of an arm, successfully making baskets with tennis balls (or most anything small enough to fit through the hoop). He has power and precision!
  • If you ask Houston what his name is, his answer is “Sus-tuhn Can Dih-yin-ham” (read: Houston Clan Dillingham). Too funny!
  • The twins are now taking one nap a day (around 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.) It was a painful transition, but it has worked out nicely.

 

Houston & Zeke collect “nature” in milk cartons, while getting wild down our backyard path.

  • Houston skipped his 2 p.m. nap for the past couple of days, going to bed early instead, yet still waking up around the same time in the morning. If this becomes habit, Mommy might actually be able to start swimming at the Y in the afternoons, while the dudes play and make friends in the childcare facility. Keep your fingers crossed!
  • And last but certainly not least, we made our final payment to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital a few weeks ago. Considering I underwent laser surgery for TTTS in July 2008, it is certainly a wonderful thing to be free and clear of one of our major medical bills. Yee haw!

Click the top photo of Houston and Matthew to check out “Hangin’ w/ the Hydes;” click the next photo of Gabriel to see the shots of “Tractors Rock;” click the pic of the twins being nutty in the nursery to view all the April – Part 2 shots; and the above image of Houston and Zeke to see the Part 3 photos. May pics coming soon.

Growing Independence

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Although the boys are growing up way too fast on one hand — you know how sentimental mommies get about that kind of stuff — their growing independence is definitely a welcome change on the other hand.

Houston & Gabriel strut w/ their cool shades.

Houston, who will be 3 in June, is our enthusiastic little helper, assisting Mommy with chores and Daddy with yard work. He also saves Mommy grief during double-doody diaper changes, the morning-milk-and-meds routine and other stressful times by being a willing and able extra set of hands on the scene. (Now if I could just get him potty trained and to sit still in his chair during mealtime, life would be dandy!)

And Gabriel and Zeke, who will be 18 months old this Friday, are rapidly leaving their baby days behind and tackling toddlerhood and all of its big-boy developments with gusto. (Now if I could just get them to stop throwing their sippy cups and utensils during meals, life would be swell!)

All of this, of course, means a tad more time for Mommy, giving me a greater sense of control and helping to restore a smidgen of order here around the zoo. Sure, raising three wild boys will never be easy, but I am grateful for the kids’ small steps toward self-sufficiency and appreciation of teamwork.

The 3 Amigos celebrate Daddy’s 32nd birthday.

Speaking of teamwork, Stephen and I have had two consecutive Saturdays of yard work productivity. Stephen’s raised-bed veggie garden — a long-term goal of ours — is finally a reality, our compost pile is officially more user-friendly, our foundation beds have been pruned and weeded, and we’ve tended to some of the many other little outdoor improvements on our to-do list.

But the accomplishments took some major give and take on both of our parts. For instance, Stephen tended to our lawn with the riding mower, while I fed the kids, and then I got the harder-to-reach spots of the yard with the push mower, while he played with the boys. It was that first Saturday in April that I realized these seemingly small feats could never have been accomplished a year ago. Man, how times have changed.

The last weekend in March, Uncle Adam came to town to catch an Unknown Hinson show. This was about the third or fourth time I’ve attempted to see “The King of Country Western Troubadours” live, but there had always been a snag. This time around, however, Granny and Grumps were on kid duty here at the house, and come hell or high water, Mama was gonna see some music!

In fact, the last live show I had attended was when Daddy and I saw Scott Miller & the Commonwealth about a week before Houston was born. Needless to say, all of us geezers had a great time getting raucous with the downtown club dwellers, and it took me about three days to recover from all the fun.

“We should eat chocolate bunnies every day,” screams Zeke.

Our Easter was wonderful. We started our day with a yummy waffle breakfast and celebrated the resurrection of Jesus with our church family. Then the boys feasted upon chocolate bunnies at lunch, and we rounded out the joyous occasion with grilling by Daddy and an acoustic show of super hero-inspired songs by Mommy.

That afternoon was also notable for Gabriel, who got to go on a one-on-one trip to the grocery store with Mommy. Unlike Zeke, who has been on many solo medical visits, and Houston, who obviously has spent much time away from his younger brothers, Gabriel has just always been part of the posse. It was seriously the poor child’s first time in a grocery cart! The G-man had a ball and (other than the freak who approached me about my “Socialism Isn’t Cool” bumper sticker and got an earful of education from yours truly) the trip was a smashing success.

That reminds me … I ended up removing the stitches from my index finger myself. I figured with a good pair of tweezers, a magnifying glass and some grit and determination, why wait four years to try and get a leg (or finger) up on Obama-care.

“Bunny cakes & jelly beans are the absolute best,” Houston tells Granny w/ a giggle.

Other stuff:

  • April 5 was Daddy’s 32nd birthday. He took the day off from work. The boys enjoyed his time at home and Mommy made him birthday muffins, since her cake-making skills leave something to be desired.
  • That same day I broke out the sprinkler for the first time this spring. The twins hated it and screamed in horror, and Houston ignored it, choosing the simple hose as a preferable activity.
  • Everyone has since fallen in love with outdoor water activities, thank goodness. I take these opportunities to have Houston go commando (sans pull-up) and get all the boys involved in making sure Daddy’s garden and Mommy’s flowers are good and drenched.
  • Sadly, April 7 was Miss Heather’s last day for weekly childcare. She has been such a blessing to our family, and Mommy wonders if she could have survived the first year and a half of raising three kids without her … seriously. “Thank you, Miss Heather. We love you!”
  • Zeke is now adamantly shaking his head “no” and meaning it. His affirmative utterance has morphed into a full-fledge “uh huh,” and some of his signs include “flower,” “apple” and “bird.” He also enjoys doing a “bear” sound.
  • Gabriel is now articulating his boisterous versions of “hat,” “Daddy,” “kitty cat,” “hi” and “bye.”

Zeke (left) & Gabriel love trucks & Miss Heather.

  • The twins laugh hysterically whenever Houston tries to create an “echo” while everyone’s eating outside on the deck. For some reason, that makes for good toddler comedy.
  • Gabe and Zeke have been getting their legs stuck in their cribs a lot lately. With such flip-flopping sleeping styles, I’m surprised I haven’t yet had to saw their cribs to free their chubby little knees. A hardy “thanks” goes out to Miss Shawn for her speedy help on one of these occasions, and Daddy’s strong hands on all the rest.
  • Houston can handily count to 30, with a number or two missing here and there. He is also mastering the “ABC Song” (both the traditional and “Super Why” versions) and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”
  • Houston is attending children’s church again. Even though he’s not yet potty trained or age 3 (supposed requirements), the setting is a much better fit for him than is the church nursery. He absolutely thrived being in there with all the big kids this past Sunday.

Photo wise, there are quite a few new additions at the end of the March – Part 2 gallery. Click the top sunglasses pic see all the March – Part 3 shots; the wide-mouth shot of Zeke to view all the April – Part 1 photos; and Daddy’s birthday pic to check out all the April – Part 2 fun.