It's been too long!!!

Has it really been son long since I posted last?

What has been going on? Hmm. Let me think...Alex has kept us busy challenging David and I to renew our reliance on the Lord for patience and our reliance on authors (and years of child development studies) for learning to live with a "strong willed child".
Exciting, huh?

Gage, on the other hand, has learned to assist us if we ever decide to take up "duck hunting".
As you can see, we no longer need to train a retriever.




I thought this picture of Alex below was cute. Remember that day in March a few weeks ago when it had been gorgeous outside for weeks, then all of a sudden -- snow?

We had long since given up hope of another snowman this year -- at least I had. Alex had been reading (still just looking at pictures and memorizing entire books, not reading yet) a library book called "LOOK! SNOW!" and had been wondering why we couldn't make a snowman (when it was nearly April). I told him, "Look, our daffodils have already been blossoming for weeks, and they are about to wither and then the other flowers will bloom and snow would not be good for them; that is why it can't snow anymore until next year. It is spring!"

Mother Nature, why do you have to prove me wrong all the time! You and Gary England.

In the end, we had just enough snow on our outdoor furniture to fashion a tiny snowman, and since the sandbox was nearby, he had dinosaur/dragon/shovel appendages. David vowed this was the scariest snowman he'd ever seen. Alex and I thought it was the best ever (of course this is coming from two people who love things to be a little scary and love Halloween more than any other holiday) and a little nontraditional snowman never hurt anybody.

Coming soon...Easter update!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

On Monday morning a whole new era began. An era in which Gage can unexpectedly PULL UP on a box, a couch, etc... and grab Alex's toys. I mean, look at the shock in Alex's eyes! We are so excited. Our little Gage is getting to be a big boy fast!

Well, Alex may not be too sure if he likes this development, but Gage is in heaven.

"Ohm" Getting So Big!

Gage is growing by leaps and bounds. It seems like yesterday he was just starting to crawl. Now, at 8 months old, he is doing yoga, or at least it looks like it if you grab a camera fast enough. Here is a little example of perfect "downward dog" posture. We are so proud.
Now, below you can have a look at his cute little teeth! He has three on the bottom and one of those baby canines on the top.

Both of the boys are now just about back to normal after their surgeries and I think the Hardin family will start getting a little more sleep soon, once Gage is used to falling asleep and staying asleep without his ears hurting. Thanks for all your prayers and to Chandra for making us dinner the night of the surgery!

Note to self: don't complain

Has it really been a month since my last post? It's unbelievable how busy we've been. In line with my recently revisited personal goal to never complain, I will simply try to inform you what's been going on keeping us so busy. First, there has been all kinds of drama with our cat, Millie, who it turns out has intestinal cancer. It's hard to say that without sounding negative, huh?

On the bright side, Gage has learned to crawl! He can make a bee-line across the house with his military-style crawl. Child-proofing the house again has proved more difficult with tiny 3-year-old toys involved. Alex has been lamenting the loss of his choking-hazard suitcase, yes, I said suitcase, full of Legos. The legos, not the suitcase are the choking hazard. Darn those dangling participles - not that I am complaining or anything.

The most time-consuming of our current events has been the series of ear infections. Gage has been keeping Mommy and Daddy up every night, all night for the past week or two (and, yes, I am blogging at 5:00AM after being up for 3 hours with him, not to mention David who has "first shift" as we call it. He gets 9PM-2AM and I get 2AM-7AM. I am so ready for this little stage to be over.

We are having tubes put in both boys' ears on Tuesday. Prayers are appreciated.

P.S. Happy Groundhog's Day! I'll keep an eye out for that shadow. I'm sure we'll still be awake when the sun comes up.

All I want for Christmas is you

I just couldn't fit you in my stocking.

Seriously, all I want for Christmas is for Alex to be potty-trained,

and by New Year, we just may be there! He is growing up so fast.

This may be the very last post of my sweet child wearing a pull-up (we can always hope).

Naughty and Nice

I love those rare moments when children do something so sweet, expecting nothing in return.

I suppose God feels this way when he sees us learning to get over ourselves, stop being selfish, and just love one another for no reason other than because we are brothers and sisters.

In this picture, Gage had just been sitting by himself playing with his new toy. Alex went to sit by him, keep him company, and make sure he didn't fall over (sitting is still a new thing for Gage). I hope they are always such good little friends.

Unfortunately, I think I may need to expand my resume from being just a "mother of two" to being a full-time referree once Gage is able to crawl and carry away one of Alex's toys. I'm afraid my skills as an umpire are not yet honed. Any advice is welcome.

In this picture, Alex is sure Gage is trying to take away his cup. Trust me, Gage would touch anything Alex is holding, just to get Alex's attention. At least they are dressed nice.

The Joys of Christmas

David: disgusted with misbehaving kids/fake smile/hates portraits

Lisa: oblivious to children/better at the fake smile
Gage: impatient/sleepy/hungry
Alex: happy/energetic/non-compliant

Merry Christmas,

The "Real" Hardins