Food for the soul?

It is only chocolate pudding.

But tonight, it was food for the soul.

Especially for this mama, knowing this kid doesn't usually eat very much very often.

The only thing I did differently was put it in a fancy glass.  Go figure.  :)

Check out the lip closure on the spoon!  I am totally sharing this picture with our speech therapist.  We have been working on this for months...

I don't even care if he got it on his pajamas...

Man, I love those eyelashes.  :)

We have been struggling here with some people not having a lot of understanding about all that we do to work with him and how long the process of weaning off a feeding tube is going to take.  Why we need to be at home certain times of the day because he needs to plugged into a feeding pump and we just can't make it to every sport game under the sun within 50 miles.  Why we just don't go on vacation that much and our days out of town revolve around doctor appointments and feeding clinic visits.  Why I don't work at least part-time because there isn't a daycare in town that will take a kid with a feeding tube (never mind the fact that I teach piano lessons, sell 31 products, babysit and I want to be a stay-at-home-mom and Jared wants me here, too).  Unfortunately, Jared deals with the brunt of this pressure, along with the normal pressures of being in the ministry.

I understand from the specialists we work with that we will still be begging him at 8, 12, and 18 to keep eating and put just one more bite in his mouth.  I'll always be counting calories and looking for healthy, high-caloric foods so we get more with every bite.  We are in this for the long haul.

In total, he ate a good 6 or 7 spoonfuls tonight.

Tonight was a break through and it gives us a glimpse into the normal of the future.

He is slowly working through the eating/oral/sensitivity issues and he has come such a long way from freaking out if something touches his lips or cheeks like he was at 6 months old.

And for this we are so thankful!

Keep it up, little man!  We love you so much!

Happy Easter!

After church, we did an egg hunt in the yard.  Being 3, Timothy fully grasped the idea this year and did a great job looking for all of the eggs.  An added bonus was the weather; it was beautiful and warm!

Daddy hid a few waaaay under the bush.

He found them all and only opened and at a few along the way.  :)

Haircut

Goodbye curls, hello summer hairdo!

When people comment that he got a haircut, he remarks, "My mommy cut off my messy hair.  I look like daddy now."  :)

March

So somehow, March kinda feel off the face of the earth around here.

Here is what we were up to:

Playing OUTSIDE!  With no coat on!  Yay!

We opened a restaurant right off of our back deck that has been very popular with the locals; sometimes we develop a line on the railing and war breaks out as the patience wears out.  :)  So far we have yellow finches, red finches, sparrows, chickadees, nut hatchers, and woodpeckers (on the left, below).  We actually have a pair that visit often and we can hear them busily working throughout the neighborhood.

Timothy has been a big help with getting the seeds started for our garden!  He checks on the daily and helps water.   We recently picked up a grow light to help them along, so I am hoping to see them progress a little faster.  Granddad, we have your cherry tomatoes growing and a few dill plants to get a head start before we sow a big patch outdoors.  :)  Updates coming...

I pickled a whole batch of asparagus I picked up through a co-op.  It has been a delicious treat and my husband downs a quart at a time.  And then has terrible heartburn.  :)  He also worked a lot through March on the extra Lent and Easter services.  So glad to have him not attached to his laptop!

We also just tried to stay sane.  :)

Oh, you see that other little person in the picture?  That is the little guy I am babysitting.  We started at the end of February and will have him with us every week until the end of the school year, when his momma is done teaching for the summer.  He is 18 months, the same size as Timothy, and is just a happy little guy.  We have been learning how to share and Timmy is really enjoying having someone to play with and wrestle.  I am very happy that the weather is getting nicer and all three of us can be outside.  So is Tigger!  :)  You won't see any other pics of him on here, but just know that life at our house has been a little busier and will continue to be for a little while longer.