...just didn't realize how long. =)

I know some of you just got really excited when you saw that my name was highlighted, meaning I had updated, but don't get too excited. I just thought maybe some of you would like to know why I haven't posted in over a year. =)

*We started seeing a new therapist just outside of Boston, MA. I'm still not able to get all of it done every day, but the boys have been improving tremendously.

*On that same note, each boy needs some special attention from their mom every minute I can spare.

*Cooper, who has always loved to climb, has decided that climbing up on the dining room table is just so irresistible.

*I have entered 6 quilt in the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show(for anyone who isn't familiar with it, check out their website: www.sistersoutdoorquiltshow.org). The pictures of the ones I'm selling will be on their website June 1st.

*Jeremy and I are team leaders at the Indiana FC Summer Camp in just over a week. I'm teaching a bookmaking class and ceramic planter class where the campers will be learning to arrange plants in planters I've made. Thankfully there are only 12 campers in the planter class.

*My lovely mother-in-law and sister-in-law have been a huge help by agreeing to help out with freezer meals about every other month since last November. With all the therapy that we do, it's nice not to have to meal plan every week.

*Speaking of therapy, in addition to what we do with the therapist in MA, Whit has 5 visits a week between his physical therapist, occupational therapist, and speech. Plus Cooper is starting with an occupational therapist and speech for two additional appointment that all last at least an hour.

In order to accommodate all that must fit into my week, I've had to eliminate a few things. Sadly, Pleo is one of them. If you want to keep up with me on a somewhat regular basis, I have a Twitter account, and you're welcome to look me up. My user name is "annbanan". If not, I look forward to seeing all of you in person whenever the Lord provide the opportunity. =)

Love,
Anna

So while I was working on my dress for a recent wedding, I realized it might look a little better if I actually had a waist to go under the dress since giving birth to three beautiful boys does tend to stretch muscles in ways they didn't start out in. The first change was to form an exercise plan, which I did from a great book that only takes 8 minutes in the morning and was just enough to remind me that I did in face have tummy muscles and a strait spine. Jeremy enjoys the new plan too since it meant I could have oatmeal cooking while I did my exercises so he and Cooper could have a hot breakfast(Cianan and I aren't big fans of the mushy stuff).

The next change to take place was when we moved our TV out of the livingroom. We explained to Cianan that we had been watching too much TV and would not be watching any for 30 days. Something got lost in translation because when he started talking to Grandma Linda about the new plan, he exclaimed that we would not be watching TV for 30 years! It probably feels like that to him, but we've seen enough benefits that we will be extending the 30 days by an extra week since we did watch some while on vacation last week since some of us were sick.

This week we've made the decision to change the way we eat. At first I was a little worried because I love my white flour and sugar, but it's actually been very liberating. Because of the pickiness of some eaters in the house, our consumption of veggies was very limited, but now we're trying to make fresh green stuff the majority of what is on our plates. I was ready to try a stir-fry the first night, but we decided to "start them off easy" with a spinach soup. I think it actually worked out for the best because Cianan seemed thoroughly grateful to have a plate full of steamed carrots and broccoli, corn on the cob, and a small pork chop the next night. That one is definitely going to be a work in progress! =)

We have been so blessed in the last month and a half that Cooper has started working on talking! We've been praying for this for so long and are so excited to see how God is working on Cooper's development! He's saying "Ma-ma", "more" when he means it, "yes" when we ask him questions even when we're not expecting an answer, and he gives us so many other signs that he understands what we're talking about. We can hardly wait to see what God has in store for him in the next year!

This week Whit has start trying to hold his head up! It is so exciting to see him look you strait in the eye while you hold up him body in your lap and he works at keeping his head level. This is such an important step to so many other things, like eating, playing, talking, crawling, and walking! God has blessed us so richly with our boys!

Cianan is still such a big help! He saves me so many step in a day that sometimes I forget to do certain things when he's not around. He helps with the dishes, he helps by throwing away dirty diapers, he helps keep an eye on Cooper when I'm out of the room, and he loves to give Whit kisses and toys to look at. He started tickling/wrestling with Cooper, and it's the cutes thing to hear the two of them laughing and playing together! I love that he and Cooper have found a way to interact like brothers should!

I pray that God blesses each one of you as richly as He has me!

But with roughly half of our Christmas gifts being made-from-scratch, one-of-a-kind Anna-originals, I think I'm allowed a small hiatus from blogging. =)

So about a week and a half before Christmas, we were hit with a pretty incredible snow storm. It didn't turn out to be the blizzard that it was hyped up to be, but there was about 6 inches of snow. The morning after it came, Cianan woke up and ran into our room yelling "Merry Christmas, Mama! Merry Christmas, Daddy! Merry Christmas, Whitaker!" When we had to explain to him that it really wasn't Christmas day just because it had snowed, he spent the rest of the week praying that the snow would last until Christmas Day. It ended up warming up too much for the snow to last, but we did have some snow flurries the week of.

Cooper started vocalizing during therapy at the beginning of my parents' week long visit and hasn't stopped since then. He's been exploring the range of sounds he can create. He's gone back to saying "Mama" and sometimes "up". While we were at Bruce and Linda's for the holidays, he started doing the cutest thing. Whenever he would make eye-contact with someone on his level(i.e. the floor or the couch), he would squeal as loud as he could, run for them, and throw his arms around their neck. Sometimes he would do it before his victim could fully compute what was going on and he would attach before they were completely prepared.

They started adjusting Whit's neck at the beginning of last month, and, boy, was he ready for it! His "core" muscles continue to strengthen at a rate they hadn't in the past. That means his little tummy is working better on it's own, but his neck muscles at still taking their time catching up. He laughs almost every time. He loves the little Elmo and Grover figures that Cooper "gave" him for Christmas. He's becoming more curious about what's around him, but it seems to be overly stimulating to have something to play with while sitting in someone's lap. He's becoming more interested in faces and loves when you play with his hands.

My latest project was kind of thrust on me recently. Sometime before Christmas, I noticed that my Star Jasmine plant that had formerly produced endless blooms was now no longer producing new growth and the blooms that were on it were wilting before their time. It wasn't until after the New Year that I noticed while letting the dog out one time that there was this moldy stuff growing on it. I trimmed it back some in preparation for washing the "mold" off, and then promptly put the job off for another time. "Another time" came on Friday morning when I happened to look more closely at the "mold" and saw a living creature in it. I quickly proceeded to trim the plant back until it was just the healthiest new growth and sprayed it down with soapy water. I then spent about 30 minutes making sure every single one of the little guys was wiped off the face of the earth...or at least my plant. I later found out that I had been infested with "mealybugs". They are a kind of parasite that attaches it self to the more exotic plants or fruit plants. How they happened it come to be in my house in the middle of a winter freeze, I can only guess. Now the only thing left to do is keep an eye on the Jasmine and make sure they don't come back.

I continue to stay sane with the occasional sewing project, and Jeremy has indulged his taste for fiction by exploring some new books.

That's it for now. Until next time,
Anna

...but for now, here are the cliffnotes:

Jeremy is really enjoying his counseling classes even though they keep him away from us from early Monday morning until late at night. He and I have almost finished the tiling job in our master bathroom. A whirlpool bath is just around the corner!

Cianan is loving helping with his brothers' therapy, learning about God in Bible class, and playing with his many friends. He also can't wait to have all his uncles, aunt, and grandparents cycling through the house in the next couple of weeks.

Cooper just finished up 10 strait days of fussing. We are all thankful for that. He's growing up so big and is a joy to everyone he encounters(especially now that he's not fussy all the time =).

Whit continues to improve. He's holding his head a little more each day and learns something new with each achievement God allows him to make.

And me? Well, I'm just trying to keep up! =)

Love you all!
Anna

If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?
- Scott Adams

Whit seems to have benifited greatly from a week with mommy's undivided attention, supplimental fluids, and some of the new therapy. We got to sit through more than half of Bible class on Wednesday(about 25 minutes longer than we have since he was born), and today he started laughing at a squeeky toy I was showing him for the first time ever(the reaction not the toy, he'd seen the toy before). Laughs and smile are beginning to outnumber the cries, and one of the most frustrating things about his delays is being remedied: talking to him is finally starting to calm down his crying!

Cooper continues to be a blessing, and Cianan is getting to the point where he will really flourish with a little one-on-one time with an activity to challenge his brain, i.e. school-type activities. He's been at that stage for a while, I'm just finally to the point where I have enough time and energy to start thinking about it and doing something about it. =)

Life for us is good and busy. God continues to stretch us spiritually and find ways for us to keep busy physically. Keep us in your prayers and know that you're continually in ours.