New Photos

Play time!

Lovin' my new jammies!

Such the young man!

Hudson and Simeon!

Ready to Eat (or sleep).

Holiday Decorations by Emmett

Paper Snowflakes! Thanks to Rachel and Hannah for the terrific idea!!!

With my hands tied up with Simeon, Emmett is doing all the decorating himself this year! Way to go Emmett!

As you can see, the gingerbread house looks as tasty as it always does, even without my assistance. :)

IPT! It Works!

Since Simeon was just a week or so old, we have been taking him potty. At first, it was a struggle, because we hadn't figured out how to hold him properly and he was uncomfortable. But now that we have found the proper holding technique and Simeon is used to being taken potty, he is calm and it works! Often times, he is the initiator. When he is calm and suddenly gets fussy, we know he is ready to be taken to the potty. If we follow his cues, we are almost always successful. Simeon has gone almost entire days and nights keeping dry.

The benefits for us are so many:

1. We are starting to save diapers! In the long run, this will be an enormous savings.


2. We can fit the potty time and diaper changing into our schedule for convenience. When it has been a couple of hours and he is dry but we know that changing his diaper later will be inconvenient, we just take him to the potty and relieve him on our time table. This helps us with our routines.


3. We avoid the unexpected "fountains" that soak his outfit, the changing table, and us. If we have to change his diaper because of poo or an earlier pee, we can put him on the potty to make sure he isn't going to surprise us with anything more.


4. Poo that ends up in the potty saves us from some major messy blow-outs.


5. He already knows that the potty is where he should go to relieve himself. He fusses when he needs to be taken. It is my hope that this will translate into full potty training success very early on so that we don't struggle with regular potty training.

I have read a couple of books on infant potty training and the one I most recommend is "Diaper Free: The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene" by Ingrid Bauer

Simeon's Baby Shower

Simeon's Baby Shower was November 7th. We ate snacks, had a devotional based on 1 Thessalonians 2: 6b-12, played games (unscramble the baby words, how many words can you make from "Simeon Lael Van Eaton", and guess how many m-n-m's), ate dessert, and opened gifts. What a fun and refreshing afternoon fellowshipping with friends!!!

Simeon is 1 Month Old! Here are some recent pictures.

Way to Go, Emmett!

Emmett has completed his 2nd grade math workbook and is moving on to 3rd grade math. He has worked very hard over the last several months (as you can see by the well-worn and tattered book) and has made vast improvements. We are very proud of the work he has done.

Simeon's First Days

Prayer Request -- Update

Thank you for your prayers. The latest blood test came back looking good. They are no longer worried about post-partum pre-eclampsia.

Simeon Lael Van Eaton

Simeon Lael Van Eaton

Born September 26, 2009 at 7:58 PM

Weight: 6 pounds, 11 ounces

Length: 19.7 inches

The meaning of Simeon is "to hear and obey, to hear with acceptance" and the meaning of Lael is "devoted to God". These names were chosen because of our personal testimony, which I hope to post soon.

Simeon was born a few weeks early. I (Marsha) was at Maternal-Fetal Medicine having a non-stress test on Friday, the 25th. My blood pressure, which has been been fairly stable due to medication throughout this pregnancy, was rising and there were other signs of pre-eclampsia starting. It was decided that it was safer to deliver baby than to continue to carry him.

After a night of very little sleep in the hospital, labor was induced at 5:40 AM. At 5 PM, I was making no progress, although I had endured a full day of contractions and constant monitoring. The membranes were then striped, which upped the pain considerably, but did nothing to progress labor. At 7:08, the bag of waters was artificially ruptured. 50 minutes later, Simeon was born.

After introducing Simeon to his big brother and grandparents, Jason and I spent the long sleepless night in awe and amazement at this incredible blessing God placed in our care at the end of such a long journey.

More photos coming soon.

Moving Quickly!

Today's doctor appointment for baby was informative. It is being recommended that we not be allowed to go past 39 weeks (October 9) due to the deterioration taking place on the placenta from the blood pressure medication. In fact, if anything happens at this point, such as a blood pressure spike or other pre-eclampsia indicators, they are ready to deliver the baby immediately -- no extra stay in the hospital waiting for the right time. Of course, they would like to see this baby come naturally, without having to be induced, before we hit that date. I am in total agreement.

The ultrasound today didn't provide any photos because baby is head-down (yippee) and he is facing towards my back. But, they estimate his current weight to be 6 lbs and 4 oz.!

My next ultrasound is next Monday to check on the placenta / blood flow status. I would appreciate prayer that the placenta stays healthy and doesn't put baby at risk, as well as for labor to begin without doctor intervention.

Today's Ultrasound News

What a successful appointment we had today! Baby looks great. He weighs in at 4.5 lbs and is looking very healthy. Unfortunately, after being head-down for the last two months, he has decided to rotate and go breech! I believe this happened just this morning before the appointment because he was still kicking near my ribs just last night.

We must be getting close, because September already has 11 doctor appointments scheduled. So I guess if you need to get ahold of me next month, just call the hospital. :)

A [Relaxing?] Saturday Baking Cookies

Jason was in the mood for a sweet treat. Little did he know what he was getting himself into. Cooking is homeschooling too!

So, this first picture says it all. Jason thought he was going to get away with whipping out a quick batch of cookies without any help. Juggling this foreign task (baking) WHILE including Emmett was just about more than he could handle. LOL.

So far, so good.

Sneaking a taste of brown sugar.

Learning some important skills.

Almost there!

Great teamwork!

The homestretch of this nearly 1-hour project!

Ta-Da! They did it! So proud!

Yum!

It was all worth it!

History Projects

For this year's history program, we are working our way through "The Story of the World, volume 1: Ancient Times". So far, it has been very enjoyable and interesting. Here are a couple of the extra activities we've done to go along with the lessons:

Building a pyramid stone-by-stone, or sugar cube-by-sugar cube.

The completed pyramid -- ready to last a few thousand years.

A cuneiform clay tablet. Can you guess or figure out what Emmett wrote?

Latest Baby News

We went in for another ultrasound on Monday to check on baby's growth. This particular technician only gave us a couple pictures, which was disappointing. But, overall, the news was very good. Baby is looking very healthy, weighing in at an estimated 2 lbs, 12 oz. and with a heart rate just over 150 bpm.

My own health is also looking promising for getting this baby full term. My blood pressure medication has been reduced again and they are hopeful that I can stop taking it altogether. My glucose screen and thyroid test also came back normal. They did say that I needed more iron though...a problem I've had since Emmett was born. Jason did his part to help me get more iron by grilling up some beautiful steaks last night. :)

Baby's next growth check is at the end of August.

Surviving the Heat Wave!

It may feel like an oven outside; but this morning, we were able to purchase the last kiddie wading pool in the state! Emmett has been out on our back deck playing for hours, turning into a prune, and having a blast.

Family Get-Away, July 2009

It was a grueling trip...mostly driving, but there were a few highlights.

A couple of lions.

Portland Zoo.

Petting a cockroach. EW!

Portland Zoo.

Escaping a bamboo jungle.

Portland Zoo.

Cooling off with a snow-cone.

Portland Zoo.

Stunt Show-off.

Arnett Homestead.

Water fun.

Arnett Homestead.

4-wheeling.

Arnett Homestead.

Our favorite Malt Shop.

Vancouver, WA

Lily-Pad Challenge.

Great Wolf Lodge.

Father-Son Fun.

Great Wolf Lodge.