Shhhh...

A peaceful moment brought to you by the Walter boys...

...Aren't they sweet?

Hair Today...Gone Tomorrow

We finally did it. We shaved Deacon's head this weekend. It seemed a cruel thing to do with winter just starting, but we figured if shaving his head was inevitable then it'd be better to do it now so that it can start growing back now. The question remains though, will it grow back blond like Zeke's did, or will it grow back brown like it was before we shaved it. Personally, I'm hoping for brown. However, the fuzz we left is pretty light, so I've got a feeling we're going to have another blond baby over here soon. I guess only time will truly tell. Heehee! Here are the before, during and after shots of the shaving session. I also posted a picture of how Zeke looked before we shaved his head, how he looked right after we shaved his head, and how he looks now. You know, just for fun.

Here's Deacon...

And here's Zeke...

Where I'm From

So, Linda had written a poem on her blog that was from a "formula" of sorts that came from a poem written by George Ella Lyons called "Where I'm From." Well, her poem inspired me to go to the link for the poem (which I've put at the bottom of my poem should any of you decide to give it a go as well), and write one of my own. I'm not so good with writing poetry in any form, but I am pretty pleased with what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it and take the time to write one for yourself. Now, without further adieu, my poem:

`

Where I'm From

`

I am from brown bears and white blankets, from Wonder Bread and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with juice boxes.

`

I am from the one and the other; from this home and that home, that family and this family; the brokenness of division and the mending and healing of addition (then multiplication).

`

I am from the dogwood in the front and the morning glory in the back, the tall maples and the sweet smelling honeysuckles.

`

I am from Thanksgiving dinner in the church basement, then, in later years, at Auntie's. From dark hair, bright eyes, and fair skin. From Caffreys and Wells, and Howells and Morels, and Rudys and Vints.

`

I am from getting together once a month to celebrate birthdays and wrapping paper ball fights at Christmas.

`

I am from "stop picking on your sister" and "if you don't eat your dinner you don't get any ice cream."

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I am from wearing dresses and skirts to church on Sundays, hymns, camp and true worship at the ocean.

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I am from the garden state and the land of eire, hot dogs with macaroni and cheese and applesauce, and big spaghetti dinners.

`

I am from being so sour it'll make you cry to being so sweet it'll make your teeth hurt in two seconds flat. From hearing, "I'm so proud of you" sometimes sober, sometimes not. Most importantly, I'm from a God who loves me unconditionally, and who created me in His own perfect image, exactly as he wanted me to be - flaws and all.

`

I am from the self-confidence, comfort and happiness given to me by a man strong in stature, will and love. I am from the lines forming at the corners of my eyes from the sweet boy who is good -natured like his mommy. I am from a heart that melts every time "the one who is just like his daddy" smiles big just for me. Praise God for such amazing blessings.

`

And there you have it. Here's the link as promised too http://www.swva.net/fred1st/wif.htm.

Rolling and Rocking

So, it's been awhile since I last blogged, and I blame Josh. Hehehe...not too much of the usual things get done while he's home on leave. But we're really not complaing. We are just too thrilled to have him here and we're sure you all understand. But that's not the reason for this blog. No, this post is to let you all know that Deacon is rolling over. That's right, he started yesterday morning as we were getting ready for church, and he's been doing it non-stop since. I took a video, but I can't figure out how to get it to actually load into the blog, so I also took a step by step photo set. That is what you're looking at here. Lying on the back, swinging the legs, and up and over we go! Too cool. We've also started bottle feeding Deacon because I just can't keep up with his insane Walter male metabolism anymore. Ah well.

As for Zeke, he is just too much these days. He's started dancing and enjoys rocking out with Daddy while Daddy plays the guitar. Zeke has also started to say and sign up a storm, which has been very encouraging to me. I'll admit it, I was starting to get a little worried. Just a little though. Zeke is also getting too tall. He can now reach just about anything anywhere and it's made life so much more interesting. Our new favorite phrase is, "Now, Zeke, where did you find that?" Oh yeah. And that's really all the new for now. Until next time, God bless!

Splish! Splash!

We got brave tonight. We put both boys, that's right BOTH boys into the tub at the same time for baths tonight. It was great fun. They both had huge smiles and enjoyed splashing each other (well Zeke splashed Deacon and Deacon just kind of splashed). Here's a picture from the big event. We'll have to work on getting one where they're both looking and maybe even smiling. That might take a few years though. Until then, this will do just fine. Heehee!

Daddy's Home!!

That's right, Josh arrived from Iraq today! We are so thrilled. He landed in Germany around eight this morning, and we were able to get him and bring him home around one thirty this afternoon. Oh it was so sweet. The welcome home ceremony was nice and short. It took Zeke a few minutes to realize it was Daddy holding him, but once he did, he was all smiles. And once we got home, he opened right up and the two of them played together all night (except for when Zeke was napping). Deacon's been all smiles too despite very little nap time all day. He did kind of freak out when everyone at the ceremony started cheering and yelling and clapping - that did not make him happy at all. But once we got home and he got some food, he was as sweet as ever. And that's really all for now. Thank you everyone for your prayers while he was gone. We really do appreciate them. Until next time!

I'm thoroughly enjoying my boys

So I got a package in the mail the other day and it was packed with packing peanuts. What else, right? I was working on getting some dinner together and Zeke was being a little bit of a nudge (not completely unexpected), and wanting to keep him busy for a few minutes while I finished dinner, I pulled out the box of packing peanuts. I didn't fully know what would happen, but boy did we have fun! Styrofoam peanuts were everywhere! (I'm still working on cleaning them all up two days later.) Zeke and I - that's right, I joined in the festivities after we finished eating dinner - ran through them, we rolled in them, we took turns dumping them on each other and throwing them at each other. It was kind of sad when we had to end our fun because Deacon had to get up and eat. Spoil sport.

And speaking of Deacon, Tiny Man had his four month well baby appointment yesterday and it went really well. Among the many compliments the pediatrician poured on him were, "You win the 'Cutie Patootie of the Day Award'", and "Did you have any work done on his belly button? It's absolutely perfect." Which made us both laugh. She goes, "I'm sure that's just the compliment you wanted to hear." But he weighed in at 14 1/2 pounds and 25 1/4 inches. He is right at the 50% for everything - a perfect baby says the doctor. I think so too. And not that I'm comparing kids, but I do find these things interesting. Deacon weights two pounds more than Zeke did at this appointment and is an inch shorter than Zeke was. Well, that's all the news for now. Just wanted to share on this occasionally sunny morning!

Backfire!

So, I've been getting a little frustrated lately with Zeke's lack of vocabulary (at least his lack of willingness to use his vocabulary), so I thought teaching him some sign language would be a good idea. The only problem with this is that he never sits still long enough for me to "teach" him anything, so we were getting no where with signs (except for "all done"...we have definitely mastered that one - we're "all done" eating, we're "all done" playing in his room, we're "all done" with Mommy sitting on the couch knitting, etc). Thus came the brilliant idea to borrow the library's copy of Baby Einstein's "My First Signs" to see how that would go - the idea being that essentially only TV can truly get him to sit still for more than two minutes so maybe he'd absorb something from that show (plus, I only know three signs myself). Well, he's definitely absorbing something because whenever I try and use one of the signs from the show his response is always to run to the TV and start crying until I play the video. Maybe I should have gotten a book instead. To illustrate his intense viewing of this show (and of the Backyardigans), and his new TV watching position, I've posted two pictures as well. He's just too much sometimes!

Yummy!

So I gave Deacon his first taste of rice cereal this morning, and I have to say, it went way better than I thought it would. He actually ate five spoonfuls (obviously with a very small spoon) before he started spitting it back out, and he never really screwed up his face in utter disgust. In fact, the face he's making in the picture is about as "funny" as it got. I must admit, that was a little disappointing, but I guess with something as bland as rice cereal you can't really hope for too much more. Oh, and how talented am I to be able to feed him and take his picture at the same time? Mother of the Year Award, here I come! Okay, maybe not, but I am impressed with my own multi-tasking skills (does a hyphen really go in there?). Okay, Zman needs to get up, so I need to go. Just wanted to post this right quick, and let you all know Deacon's working on his first set of teeth. Isn't four months a little young for that? Zeke was eight months old when he got his first teeth. I have a feeling this little one is going to develop and grow way faster than Zeke did. After all, if he's ever going to be able to hang out with Zeke he has a lot of catching up to do! Great.

"If you like to waltz with potatoes..."

...have I got two sweet vegetables for you! Here are pictures of the boys in their Halloween costumes. Zeke was Bob the Tomato and Deacon was Jean Claude Pea (both are from VeggieTales for those of you who aren't familiar with those characters or that wonderful show). A big thank you goes out to Grandma Walter who made these adorable costumes for the boys. They were a big hit at Harvestfest, which I took the boys to...after all, you can't get all dressed up in such adorable costumes and then just sit at home! It was a fun night, crazy, but fun. We hope everyone else enjoyed their Halloweens and had a fun, safe night. Now we're just counting down the days until Daddy gets home sometime this month!

Just because...

So, it's been about a week since I've blogged anything, so I thought I'd just pop in real quick and say hello. I also wanted to share with everyone the face Zeke makes when Mommy says, "No." (He also makes this face whenever he thinks I'm going to leave him as I walk down the stairs to get something from the car, go upstairs to get something from one of the rooms up there, or anything else along those lines.) Bless his sweet heart. Seeing him make this face breaks mine.

Maybe it's my own fault for putting so much in the bowl

So, Zeke's been doing pretty well using a spoon with some help from me (he doesn't really need my help, but he thinks he does...anyhoo). So tonight I figured, why not give him his own bowl of yogurt and a spoon and see how he does? Well, let's just say it'll be awhile before I try this again (at least with as much yogurt as I put in the bowl anyway). Here are a few pictures from tonight. As you can see, fun was had by all!

This is why there's almost no sand left in the box...

...because nothing, nothing except maybe Deacon, but even he came close, nothing is safe from bum bum buuummmmmmmm....the Sand Man...

...not water bottles... ...not bricks......not balls...
...not Mommy's legs...
...or the table...

...or even blankets baby brothers

are resting on...

...where will the sanding of innocent backyard items end?!? :)

The Third and Final Round

Well, we had our last visitor of the deployment (pending any surprise guests) this past week. Grandma Walter was here from Friday until yesterday and we had a great time having her here. We didn't really do much...just sat around and let her change diapers (all the poopy ones included). Ahhh...grandmas are wonderful. :) Here's a picture of her and the boys at a fest that was going on in town this past weekend. We went for dinner.

Too bad Zeke isn't looking too...but that's him lately, always turning his head at just the right moment so you can't get a good picture of him anymore (unless you're really, really sneaky about it). Now we are looking forward to a quiet rest of the month...as quiet as things can get around here anyways, and to Daddy coming home sometime next month! It's so good to be able to say that.

Heave a happy sigh...

So I was driving home from chapel on Sunday, and it was a beautiful fall day. The sun was out (which meant all the rain had stopped), the leaves are changing colors, I had my two boys in the back, Deacon was sleeping, Zeke was reading his book, and I had some Adrew Peterson playing on the CD player. As I started driving through the fields by my house I realized that I am so incredibly blessed. God has given me a wonderful husband, whom I love more than anyone else; two handsome young boys who are incredibly sweet and so good-natured (most of the time anyways); a great apartment with a yard and ample space for all of us, in a beautiful country that just gets even more beautiful in the fall. And I realized that I am truly happy and content with my life. Here and now is exactly where I want to be and I would not change a single thing about my life (except that Josh would be here sharing it with me and not in Iraq - but that will be soon enough). I can't help but sing:
God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.
He's so good to me.
Sing along if you know it...

Round Two...

So, this past week (from last Friday to this past Wednesday), we had more visitors here in the Walter home. My dad, stepmom, and step-grandmom came out for a nice little visit, and boy did we have a good time. Zeke had a blast playing with everyone and "talking" their ears off. Deacon enjoyed being held all the time and seeing new faces and hearing new voices. We are so thankful for their visit and are now getting ready for and looking forward to round three of visitors - Josh's mom, who will be out here next week for a few days.

So it was an exciting weekend here at the Walter house. Okay, it was a weekend really like any other weekend, however, Zeke was in rare form as you can see by the pictures below.

Here we see that Zeke found a new way to get water all over the bathroom at bathtime.

How great that he's not even in the tub yet.

Sunday, I took the boys to the Scheisshaus for dinner since it was such a nice night. Our friends Sara and Jacob joined us and we had a great time. And, as you can see by the picture below, Zeke was in rock heaven...what you can't tell from this picture, though, is that not only is his lap full of rocks, but his diaper is as well. Oh yeah!

Have no fear though, I did pictures of the rock diaper and when I get some time I will post those to my bebo page, along with more pictures of Zeke playing in the water and of his new table and one of the boys after church this past Sunday. Until then...

(oh, and Deacon slept for nine straight hours the night of his doctor's appointment. i guess not taking two naps and doing all that crying really wore him out.)

So my sweet, sweet baby boy, Deacon, had his two month well-baby appointment today. Have I told you all how much I hate the health clinic here? I really don't like to use the word hate, because I feel that too many people use it too loosely for the intense word that it is, but I HATE that place. Anyhoo...the appointment itself went well. Developmentally he's exactly where he should be, he weighed in at 13 pounds and just over 24 inches - that puts him in the 90% or so for both. Hopefully it'll last. :) Everyone cooed over him and just couldn't get over how cute his is and how much hair he has. Then they stuck him with a bunch of needles and he's been not so cute ever since. Okay, he did sleep for about an hour since then, and we did have a few sweet smiley moments after I fed him, but now he's laying in his bed (only because I can't hold him anymore right now) screaming. Poor baby. I wish there was something I could do to ease his pain, but he's got a bit longer to go before I can give him more Tylenol. Hopefully he'll settle down after I feed him one more time and fall asleep for the night. I guess we'll see...

Company Kick-off

This past week, Josh's sister, Linda, came to visit the boys and me (yay!), kicking off the spree of company we will be having over the next two months. We had such a great time! We went out to eat, went to and hosted Bible studies, ate a bunch of ice cream and tasty meals, watched a lot of House, Season 3, and really just hung out around the house. Aunt Linda even became a master at diaper changing (yes!). We'll definitely miss her, but not for too long as round two is just around the corner...

Saturdays

So, to help distinguish the week from the weekend now that Daddy's gone, I started making chocolate chip pancakes for the Z-man and myself. Yum! Today, to add to this special treat, I decided to set up breakfast at the breakfast bar we have instead of eating at the table. I think Zeke really enjoyed it.

Nakie Man

So, the other day I put Zeke down for a nap in just his diaper because it actually got hot here for a few days. After listening to him play in his bed for an hour I decided to go in and check on him. So I opened the door and there he was...everything from his bed on the floor and he was naked. Yup, he's figured out how to take off his diapers. Yee-ha! When he saw me come in he said, "Yay!" Then proceeded to run circles in his bed - naked. Ah the joys of boys.

First Blog

So here I am joining the blogging world. Don't worry, I'm keeping the bebo webpage (http://graceabides.bebo.com for those of you who don't have it), but this will be for little stories of funny or sweet or whatever things my boys do throughout the days and weeks. So, enjoy!