Catching Up...Not Throwing Up

Whew! What a week! Well, we are finally all better. Round two of the stomach flu went through all of us in one way or another. We survived to tell about it and we are taking more precautions to hopefully avoid other viruses this winter! And of course now that we are all over the latest virus, life is back in full swing! Here is what we have been up to:

Still not sure how this.....

Can go to this......

so quickly! He woke up last Sunday morning and he had thrown up and gone back to sleep. I thought it was something he had eaten the night before so I put him in the bath and gave him breakfast as usual. I sent Stephen and Jesstine onto church just in case it was something. Good thing because he was sick through Thursday!!! Poor guy! Tuesday we took him to the doctor because we were worried that he had stopped throwing up for a full day and then started again! That same day, I also got sick! I didn't have the vomiting or fever, but felt SUPER tired and had a LOT of nausea. Stephen stayed home for a couple of days and went back to work Thursday. We thought we were all on the mend. Stephen had some abdominal discomfort, but nothing like me or especially Emmitt. Friday morning Stephen sprung out of bed at about 4 AM and said, "Jesstine just threw up!" Sure enough she had! She spent the day on the couch. Had another upchuck episode a few hours later. After that just fatigue and low fever. She got to watch movies all day, so she was happy!

(I looked over and saw her like this. I thought she looked like she was praying! Aunt Sandra, this was shortly after I returned her princess blanket to her after going through the wash! She was VERY glad to have it back!)

Thursday when Emmitt was feeling better, I was holding him and he was very cuddly! I had to capture how he was holding my hand.

Chipper enough by Friday to play peek-a-boo in his tent. Top: "Where is Emmitt???" Bottom: HERE I AM!!!

So today it was back to routine for us! Jesstine got to go to school for the first time in a week. A good day to go back too! It is Kansas Day here (152 years ago Kansas became a state). To celebrate, her teacher thought it would be neat to show them how to turn wheat into bread. Even better, Moms and/or Dads could join! Afterward, we had an early snack of homemade whole wheat bread with homemade jam and jelly! It was so much fun! I am glad I got to experience it with her. Thank you Sandra for watching Joy Boy Jr.

The sat on benches and faced the little work station where their teacher told them about wheat and using it to make bread. Here they are passing a shock of wheat down the row and looking at it. (Jesstine's teacher had a sign on her workstation that said, "From Wheat to Bread." When she brought the kids in she pointed to it and read them what it said. Jesstine was reading out loud with her as she pointed to the words (she was the only one)!

When she ground the wheat in the coffee grinder, it was a bit loud.

Kneading the dough.

They passed a piece of dough around so they could feel the texture (don't worry, they washed their hands afterward).

I didn't get any pictures of the us eating the bread, but Jesstine was the prayer leader this week, so she got to start the class prayer before snack. We enjoyed the bread. Her teacher made it herself as well as the jams/jellies that she offered us to put on it. Jesstine didn't want any part of the jam until I gave her a little of mine and then she had to have some!

To top a good Monday off, the weather was FANTASTIC today! It was nearly 70 and it is the end of January in KANSAS! So, we took the opportunity to try out a few new toys. First was Jesstine's new bike. She is still getting the hang of it. It wobbles from training wheel to training wheel and she has a little trouble pressing the pedals hard enough. Dumpty sure enjoyed the ride.

During the kids' naps, I put Emmitt's new seat on my bike. When the kids were up, they enjoyed a little snack and then we headed out to the park. Jesstine rode in her chariot (the bike trailer) and Emmitt rode on his throne.

Today I was reminded that God is good all of the time. When we are sick, he is good to us. He provides us with people to care for us and comfort us. When we are well, he gives us the blessing of sunshine and warmth in the middle of winter!

In Him,

The Hutchins Family

Happy and Sad

I was going to post a wonderfully happy post about how much my kids love to swim! I will still do that, but unfortunately I didn't get it posted before we all turned sad again.

We went to the Y yesterday and took the kids swimming. It was the first time in quite a while. They LOVED it! Both kids are like little fish! We couldn't get Jesstine to swim like she was this summer until the very end, but she still had a blast! Perhaps even more fun was Emmitt! He was SO excited. At first he clung to us and just took everything in. I wondered if he was overwhelmed or even scared. Looking back, I think he was just excited! The sounds were exciting. The smell was different. There were a lot of people. Not to mention the giant bathtub that he could play in! He was in HEAVEN! I was telling Stephen that I needed to do a "Mommy and Me" swim class with him because I think he would enjoy it. Didn't need to! Did what I could remember doing with Jesstine at his age and he LOVED every bit of it! His favorite was sitting on the wall and playing "Humpty Dumpty." For those of you who don't know, you sit a child on the edge of the pool and do the first part of the nursery rhyme. When you get to the word "fall" you pull them into the pool (or they fall on their own if they are used to it and older). Depending upon how well they like the water you fully submerge them or just up to their lips. He wanted to go all the way under! When we would finish, he kept saying, "Dunty DUNTY!!!" This meant he wanted to go again! SO much fun! He won't blow bubbles yet, but he will put his face in and come up smiling!

On a sad note, we woke up this morning to a sick little boy! Sometime early this morning he got sick in his bed and then fell back asleep in it! Poor kid! He didn't even wake us up! So he and Mommy stayed home this morning. He is obviously not feeling the best still! I don't know what to do for my poor family! Especially EMMITT! We keep getting sick. This is the second time he has been throw up sick in a month! I am starting to wonder if he is allergic to the antibiotic he was on BOTH times he was sick....In any case, another vacation day tomorrow a) trying to get him better and b) hoping the rest of us don't catch it!

In Him,

The Hutchins Family

ESL

I have posted a lot about Emmitt lately and less about Jesstine. This is because he grows and changes so much sometimes daily and I want to document all of these changes so I don't forget them. I will hopefully have some new things to report on Jesstine very soon!

For now, here is a video of Emmitt. I taught Jesstine sign language as a baby because it helped her to communicate before she could talk. Emmitt didn't seem to catch on to it quite as quickly. We were constantly having an issue of him just yelling when he wanted something and was anyone's guess as to what it was he wanted! I worked with him for a LONG time just to get him to say drink. At about 10 or 11 months old he FINALLY started signing for a drink. I call his form of signing, ESL or Emmitt Sign Language (for those of you who don't know the main form of sign language used is ASL which stands for American Sign Language and is considered a foreign language for schools and qualifies for a foreign language credit in most schools). The reason it is ESL is because he has made his own sign based on the signs I have taught him. It isn't the EXACT sign, but it gets his point across and we can at least get him what he needs/wants! He does sign "more" the proper way! Also, I forgot to have him sign "all done" for which he has his own unique sign for where he brushes the fingers of one hand along the palm of the other!

In Him,

The Hutchins Family

Thank You, Baby Einstein!

The son of a music teacher already singing Beethoven's 5th at the age of 14 months!

In Him,

The Hutchins Family

14 Months!!!!

Emmitt turned 14 months yesterday. It is SO hard to believe he is getting that old! He has been such a joy to our family!

Emmitt is quite the ham! He does some funny stuff and just looks at you and grins his toothy grin and wrinkles his nose at you! He is all boy. He LOVES all things cars, especially Disney's Cars. He even tries to make the sound as he rolls them across the floor. He also likes to bounce. His zebra Santa brought was the perfect gift! He giggles when he toots or burps. Will have to break him of that habit, but it is okay for now! He walks for short distances (2-6 steps) before he decides it will be much easier and faster to just crawl where he wants to go. He is a climber! The barrier (of storage tubs) will not work much longer!

One way he is NOT all boy is that he is unusually talkative! I mentioned a few months ago how he has been using a lot of words! Well, his vocabulary grows each day! He uses these words appropriately too! For instance, how many 14 month olds can tell you when they are "Cucky" (yucky)? Of course he can't say Turkey, but "Cucky" works for that too! He also has recently learned the word, "miiiiiuh!" (mine). No doubt he learned this from Jesstine constantly trying to keep toys away from him while she is playing! These are just a few of the things he says. Today he was holding his owl, Wesley, and cuddling it. He always says, "Awww! Awww!" as he cuddles something soft or someone. He especially does it with Wesley which is one of the things that HAS to be in his bed at nap/bedtime. Today he did his usual, "Aww!" followed by, "Baby! Baby!" He was holding Wesley as his baby! Such a sweet boy!

Emmitt is eating very well! He eats often times more than Jesstine does! His favorites include Applesauce ("Apppuw!") although he is quickly getting tired of it, yogurt melts, grilled cheese and quesadillas. He is still drinking two bottles a day, one for nap and one for bedtime. I think I have mentioned how this will be the hardest thing for me to break for him! Partially because I like holding him while he drinks a bottle and partially because he loves the bottle so much! He has recently showed some sensitivity to bananas. We are keeping an eye on it! Other than that he eats pretty much anything (we have not tried peanut butter or eggs yet).

Emmitt is still wearing size 18 month clothes, but is looking like he may transition out of those to 24 month soon. He has thinned out in the middle, but has been growing taller. He is in size 5 Huggies diapers during the day and size 6 with a disposable liner at night (he is what people call a "super soaker" at night). I have been putting real shoes on him more often. It is hard to say what size he wears. A friend got him some size 5 Converse shoes before he was born. He is too big for those so I recently got him a 6. Those are a little big, but he only has a half of a thumb length (if that) when he is standing. My sister-in-love gave us some foot me down shoes of which he only fits in 1 or two pairs. There is no room in the toe of those shoes which are a 6.5 Wide!! There is no telling how big his feet really are. For now he wears mostly Robeez size 18-24 months and his size 6 Converse shoes.

Here are some fun photos from the last few days.

Santa picture 2012.

Uncle Billie got back from Afghanistan shortly before Christmas. After a week long cruise, he came back for a few days to Kansas. He headed back yesterday to Mountain Home, Idaho. We are going to miss him! Emmitt sure thought he was cool!

I am one of THOSE moms! We have a short time table some days when I go to pick Jesstine up from school because I have to go pick a friend's little girl up and take her to school. This was one of those days so we stopped at McD's across the street for lunch.

Size 6 Converse! SO boyish!

He either had a headache, was practicing yoga or was preparing himself to become the center for the Dallas Cowboys!

This is what happens when he doesn't wear shoes. One socky (ahgie) on, one "ahgie" off! Let's hope that is the ONLY dressing tip he gets from Michael Jackson!

A new favorite snack, baby Goldfish crackers. Still learning to eat them without making too big of a mess (notice the bib).

Taking notes from his sister, he also has an affectation for Elmo! Elmo is another buddy that has to be in his bed!

Oh and many of you know there is a video game series called "Just Dance." Here is Emmitt's version called, "Just Dance...Baby!"

In Him,

The Hutchins Family

Snow Much Fun

We have been able to relax and enjoy the last few days of winter break. It would have been nice to have more days to relax and not be sick, but at least we had the last few days to do so! It was worth it! We are not looking forward to returning to the routine though! Jesstine goes back to school tomorrow and Stephen goes back to work. I go back to work on Thursday.

It snowed a little here on New Year's Eve, but it melted away rather quickly. As it got colder later in the day it started to snow again though. We laid low for New Year's although Stephen and I were FINALLY able to go on a date together! We went to dinner and a movie, "Les Miserables." It was a nice evening! The next day, the kids let us sleep in until 9ish! Here are a few pics of the kids and the snow (it snowed a LOT New Year's Day) and us on our date!

Emmitt watching it snow while he ate breakfast.

Date night dinner at Red Bean's (a local cajun joint).

Emmitt resembling Randy of "A Christmas Story."

My attempt at a sibling snow picture.

Making a snow angel!

Not sure why, but I really like this shot.

Not really digging the snow thing.

Getting a little more adventuresome.

Mommy makes things all better!

Going to try the snow packed slide.

Going for it!

Was trying to capture the snow on his eyelashes!

Taste test.

Helping Daddy pick up lights.

 Snow day picnic in the front room. Yummy grilled cheese, peas, and bananas!

Jesstine and I went back out later to attempt a snowman. Not the right kind of snow unfortunately!

Great for snow angels though!

Her favorite thing was throwing snow up in the air and pretending it was snowing.

 And of course what good is snow if you don't make snow ice cream and top it with sprinkles??

In Him,

The Hutchins Family