Well, that's depressing...

Everyone knows the tune, but have you ever read the lyrics?

Drove she ducklings to the water
Ev'ry morning just at nine,
Hit her foot against a splinter,
Fell into the foaming brine.

Ruby lips above the water,
Blowing bubbles, soft and fine,
But, alas, I was no swimmer,
So I lost my Clementine.

Oh my darling, oh my darling,
Oh my darling, Clementine!
Thou art lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine

Well, that's depressing. But I'm still going to use that name some day. MommaLlama laughed the first time I mentioned it, several years ago when we were thinking of baby names. But she's coming around...

And for what it's worth, I was not inspired by the song. The idea came to me from the Hail, Holy Queen prayer (O clement, O loving, O sweet Vrgin Mary...) I looked up the definition of clement - it means merciful - and decided that would be a good name some day. That was many years ago.

By the way, this post is not dropping hints about anything. I just happened to come across that song recently. Trust us, we'll let you know if any new little people show up around here. Right now, we are getting our baby fix vicariously through our friends' pregnancy. Look how big he's getting (in the sidebar)!

Okay, back to work.

Reflections on Snookie's 6th Birthday

I have been planning to post a few thoughts on Snookie, but I haven't had much time to think and write lately. So, a couple weeks late, but here goes...

What can I say about Snookie? I think this series of photos sums it up pretty well:

Yes, he is "that kid". Every family has one, I think. He is such a happy person. Sure, he has his moments - he follows the pattern set by his brothers. Some rough days in school, some rough nights in bed (immediate fun definitely, always, outweighs possible future consequences). He is a little sensitive. He doesn't like to lose at games. Even when he's in trouble, he's smiling. Not to be defiant, but just because he's thought of something funny and he can't help himself. He rebounds quickly from his sometimes frequent time-outs.

It's easy to think of him as the baby of the family. But more and more lately, he really surprises me. He can be very insightful and generous. He will often put others' needs or wants first. He'll volunteer to go last. He is a smart little so-and-so! He is picking up math and reading much quicker than his brothers did. He just gets it more quickly, and don't assume that he isn't listening just because he happens to be looking the other way and singing...

And he is growing fast! He's already passed Bobcat in height, and I suspect he'll overtake Bubba within six months.

Overall, he is just such a joy in our lives. We were not sure we were ready for three children at once. But life without number three would just be incomplete.

A few more photos

A few things that you might not expect to find growing on top of a huge granite balolith.

Time goes by so slowly...

Way back on August 8th we took Bobcat in for a follow-up appointment at his endo's office. That day the visit was with an LPN, and not the dr. for some reason (we weren't told when they made the appointment for us a few month previous to it)... and that was when they had Bobcat's blood tested for anti-bodies associated with Celiac Disease. Now we were quite skeptical, the only thing they were going on for ordering this test was the fact the HGH stimulus testing all came back normal and they have no real reason they could find for him being so small.

The only reason I even agreed to have the test run that day was because it was in the same building and we just had to go downstairs (I didn't have to make a whole new appointment or anything). So we did it and then waited for 2 weeks for the results.

The few places we looked online did mention stunted growth, but also listed a slew of other symptoms he's never had and we convinced ourselves that they (the endo's office) were grasping at straws for some sort of diagnosis... God forbid he be a little short in his life.

At the two week mark we got his results... the antibodies were there (in a high volume) which meant that there was a strong chance he has celiac disease. Next step was setting up an appointment to see a pediatric GI... and that's where we spent our morning today. As of right now we still don't have a firm diagnosis, that will come after Thursday when he has to have an intestinal biopsy done! This scared the bu-jeezes out of me, the information I read online indicated that the child has to be semi-awake and be able to follow simple instructions for this procedure... THANKFULLY THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH THIS GI!!! Praise God! So they will sedate him, perform the outpatient procedure and we wait a week for those results.

Wait, wait, wait...

I've braced myself that this is Celiac, and that our lives are about to change. I figure if I get my head wrapped around this, come full diagnosis I will have a better handle on it... and if it comes back negative... well great, we just return to normal, no harm no foul. Plus if it is positive then we need to have the other two tested, it's a genetic disorder and most likely one or both of them will also have it (no matter what their results come back as, the house will be gluten-free, but they will need a LABEL on their records for a bunch of other reasons instead of just assuming that they are).

Thinking positively... we've caught it fairly early, and if this is what it is, and we change our diet now... he should see improvement in height/weight within 6 months!!! That's incredible. Not to mention by being pro-active about this we lessen the chances for colon cancer among many other illnesses associated with going untreated! And supposedly this will also help with allergy irritations, and maybe even Bubba's asthma (wouldn't that be something).

So little Bobcat could go from being labeled idiopathic short stature to celiac disease... at least he doesn't need shots?!

Stop, Thief!

This little guy stole one of our chocolate bars. I took them out of the rubbermaid tub that serves as our camping "pantry" because the felt very soft. I left them on top of the picnic table and we went off for a hike. When we came back, he had grabbed it, taken it down to the ground, ripped it open and eaten half of it. Of course I had to throw away the rest of it, and the remaining bar went into the ice chest. I never would have expected that. Seems like more of a raccoon thing to do. Oh well. He lingered nearby almost the whole weekend and I was able to get a few photos of him.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

would you be mine, won't you be mine...

It's 9:15 am and the temperature is 73 degrees!!!! Oh and the wind is blowing!!! Needless to say my windows are open, and I'm enjoying the remnants of Gustav that reached our area.

With this kind of weather, I might just break out all my fall stuff... oh, but if you check the forecast the rest of the week we are back in the 90's... so the apples and pumpkins will just have to wait another few weeks!

Enchanted Rock

I'll post more details and observations when time allows (got a plane to catch, back on Friday). But here are a few of my favorite photos. This place is just beautiful, we'll definitely be back.

It looks rather intimidating from a distance.

See the tiny people?

It feels every bit as steep as it looks

We made it!