La Famille Armstrong

My growing pains are more like the opposite actually, decreasing size pains :) The treadmill is awesome but is also a very clear indicator of just how out of shape I am! My hip flexor was giving me trouble after just walking under a mile! Sad, but good to see that I'm not too overweight even being that out of shape I guess. I'll be just walking until I get my new shoes - I was really prone to injury my last season at Fox so I want to make sure I don't kill myself on workouts that are harder than what my knees can handle.

Cole is also going through some growing pains... teeth! This morning it was incredibly obvious that he is teething. The last couple weeks his drool really picked up, but this morning his gums were soft, swollen and I think I might even be able to feel a tooth really close to coming out! He's super cranky, chewing on everything and doesn't want to eat much at a time but eating often. I remember Asher being the same way - I'm sure it doesn't feel great sucking on a bottle when your gums are killing you.

I prayed throughout the whole pregnancy that Cole would be a fast teether... Asher was so slow... still is actually! It takes Asher over 2 months to go from teething to feeling the teeth and then usually another month to actually SEE the teeth! I'll keep you posted and hopefully I'll have a photo of at least 1 tooth within a week or so... my sanity may depend on it :)

Patience sure does not come naturally to me, which makes me sometimes wonder why I ever thought I could be a good mom. Hopefully I'm better at some of the other areas and ages of parenting! I love Asher's age now, he's more verbal and very silly and usually really easy to take with my almost anywhere. I know that next Christmas will be a huge turning point with having 2 boys... Cole will be almost 15 months and will be eating mostly "big people" food, walking around easily and I'm sure they'll both be acting incredibly silly together. Should be good times!!! I'm looking forward to it... too bad I can't stall time at that point for a while :) Stay tuned for updates!

Today I took the kids into the Dr for a couple reasons. 1st, Cole needed to get another vaccine that they were out of last week and 2nd, both kids have had croup on and off and it had gotten worse the past couple days. They gave a prescription for Asher if he gets Strider (loud and hoarse wheezing) while being active and were told to bring him to the ER if he has it while resting... also, to take Cole to the ER if he gets wheezy at all.

A little history on Cole for you: When he was born Cole had moderate ridging on the front bones in his skull. This is normal for newborns (usually newborns who actually went through the birth canal) but it is usually in the back bones of their skull, not so much on the front.  Cole has an obvious ridge from all the way between his eyes up to his soft-spot on top. The ridging would be fine if the bones haven't fused but since it's still pretty prominent his Dr is getting a little concerned. She ordered an xray to see if the bones have fused and if they have, Cole will need surgery to separate them. Sad huh?! The xray tech was out to lunch so I'll have to either go tomorrow or early next week... for some reason, I feel more anxious about working out the transportation issues than I do about his head!

We're not completely crazy about the Dr we have now. I waited over an hour after the exams were done today before the nurse brought back the vaccine Cole needed... an hour!!!! That's a long time in a small room with 2 small, hungry boys with only 2 toys. Cole had a bottle, Asher had a whole bag full of crackers with water but we survived. Anyway, we are thinking of getting a 2nd opinion from Asher's old Dr in Tualatin. We liked him so much - he just seemed very attentive to details and more on the same page as far as health concerns go. Any big health issues they refer to OHSU which we would feel more comfortable with anyway. We vaccinate, but we're not totally into the flu vaccines and he's pretty low pressure about all that.

So, please keep us in prayer. Pray for Cole's head (funny as it sounds) that his skull bones will not be fused and that his head growth will continue to push those bones out. Also pray that the boys' croup heads out of this house never to return... as long as neither of them develops Strider within the next day or so, they should be fine. Pray for me, that working out all this transportation stuff will not stress me out of leave me in want of "stuff," namely, a car of my own. Having 2 working cars is more of a luxury than we realized, but I cannot let only having 1 car distract me from God's goodness and His desire to help us. Thanks everyone, I'll keep you posted!

I thought I'd take a minute to post the cute things both kids are doing these days... feels like I haven't had a spare minute to even think about this stuff!!

Asher - well, he is definitely getting more verbal! We're learning to be very careful about what we say and do. The other day I dropped a spatula covered in spaghetti sauce that went all over the kitchen. I said "Ugh!!!" in very loudly and grunt-like (so womanly, I know) and about 30 seconds later Mark and I hear Asher in garage yelling and pounding on something... couldn't very well discipline him for something he learned from me! Anyway, so I've been challenged to change my behavior quite a bit.

This morning was super cute - after baths,  I was checking an email on my phone before I went to put clothes in the hamper and diapers in the garbage. I looked up and the diapers were gone, I hear the garbage can close (it's a metal gonging sound) and see Asher running down the hall saying "away, away." I am so glad my son already can see what needs to be done and does it!! We'll be working on making that skill last :) Asher has also been freely giving kisses more and more saying "tis" as he grabs our necks. Every time he hurts himself he looks at me and says "kay?" like "okay?" I guess I ask him if he is okay a lot!

Cole sure is growing. Just today, he was on his tummy for a while and able to hold his head perfectly upright with very little effort. He was just happy as could be looking at everything, then Asher came over and said "cry?" So funny that Asher can see things and know what usually happens in those situations :) Cole can reach and grab stuff and I think he'll be doing that more than Ash ever did... yesterday I had my head close to him for about 2 seconds and he caught a handful of hair! He really enjoys watching Asher run around. Last night we caught it on tape!! Cole was smiling and chuckling just watching Asher run, jump, spin and make sounds. I can already tell that they are going to be good pals. Cole is getting on a better schedule too, which is incredibly helpful for me. He gets up pretty early but the past 2 days he's had naptime more in line with Asher's so I've actually gotten to pray, read my bible and knit without anything going on in the background!

I'll be busy the next month or so getting ready for the women's retreat. But I am so looking forward to not cooking or planning meals for 3 whole days!!! I'll have a few responsibilities at the retreat but it should be a really fun time - and hopefully I won't catch or spread the NoroVirus this year! Oh, and here's a cute photo of Asher that we took a couple weeks ago... enjoy!

Well, Cole was 4 months in December but he had his 4 months appt today :) It went well. He was really cute and laughing and chuckling... until the Dr touched him! He stopped crying shortly after the shots tho and he's a healthy guy! He weighs 15lbs 10oz, his height is 25.5 inches and his head is just under 17 inches! Pretty much at the 75th percentile for everything.

His Dr is pretty into the whole flu and H1N1 vaccine, which we're not so into. I'm not completely against it, but we're homebound most of the week and my kids are just really healthy. Asher's only had the Norovirus and a few colds since he was born and so far, Cole has only had a cough that lasted 1 week... so, I'm not too concerned, it's just annoying to have to deal with a Dr that pressures you at every appt!

Well, Cole is waking up... better give that kid a bottle before the world errupts!

So, I got an invite on facebook from the woman who is the teacher at a local BSF class in Lake Oswego... she had let me know a while back that BSF will now be offering childcare for children under 2 years old which is a brand new policy!!! I'm so excited b/c I had originally quit going since I could not find weekly childcare for Asher when he was little... plus, our whole car situation has not allowed me to go either.

Anyway, BSF International is an amazing organization that truly teaches God's word in a straightforward and effective manner. I learned so much while attending the years I went. They offer introduction classes the 1st week of each month and the infant childcare program begins January 26th. I would really like to go but I have no car!!! I'm posting this for 2 reasons: 1- in the hopes that I can get someone to come with me and give me a ride while also attending and 2- that more of you look into BSF and begin participating in this amazing ministry. While some may go and think it seems "strict" I've discovered that all their rules are in place to allow God to work without hindering one another by our perceptions and ideas.

It's an intense study, 6 days of homework each week, but seriously, I learned more at that study each week than one month or more of sermons (no offense Steve, it's just a participatory study and not only a sermon). MaryAnne Noack teaches the Tuesday morning class in Lake Oswego at the Lutheran church and she is amazing too!! I love hearing her teach and her honesty always inspires me to truly seek after God. The class starts at 9:15am and ends about 11:30. Please, if you have any interest, contact me and at least come to the introduction class and one real class after that!

The class is pretty straightforward and very structured... meet and sing 2 hymns, hear a small intro, break into small groups to discuss lesson from previous week, meet as a whole group again, sing 1 hymn, lecture, get new lesson, repeat! Let me know if you're interested in attending! The first time you go you'll need to find childcare but every week after that you just drop them off and they'll get to learn a lesson and a bible verse that goes along with our study. Like I said, please let me know if you're interested, I know you'll be blessed by it!!!