Super-Bunny!

Quin likes to wear a cape and run around the house shouting “Super-Bunny!”. This comes from a toddler cartoon called Max and Ruby (who are rabbits). In a few episodes, Max listens to a Super-Bunny radio show and also pretends while wearing a cape. Quin has a cape also and plays along.

If you look closely, you’ll see that the cape is just a hand towel that has had two small pieces of velcro sewn into the corners so that it can be worn around the neck. And then you might think, “hey, neat idea Rick or Vivian had there!” But you’d be wrong. The idea was my mother’s.

But that’s still not the whole story. Mom didn’t make that cape for Quin. She made it for me when I was Quin’s age (or close)! I’ve always been a bit sentimental and I like to keep stuff like this in memory boxes. We were cleaning out our storage crawl-space and found my old cape. So now Quin is playing in much the same way I did — although, I’m pretty sure I was playing Superman, not Super-Bunny.

Wow, I see I haven’t updated the site in close to a month now. Sorry about that to anyone who wanted an update on how we’re doing with the newborn.

Things are slowly heading into something of a livable pattern now. I’ll comment on each of the aspects that I mentioned in my last post:

• We aren’t getting regular sleep, but it’s definitely more manageable now. Vivian and I sleep around 5-6 hours per night I would guess. It’s still interrupted sleep, but at least there’s enough to be functional.
• Quin’s ear infections have cleared up nicely and he’s acting like his normal, playful self.
• Quin really seems to have adjusted to having Camren in the house. He seems interested in what Camren is doing, wants to comfort Camren when he cries, etc.
• Vivian is recovering from the surgery well. She hasn’t really been complaining of pain, and she isn’t taking any pain management drugs. She mentioned yesterday that she really can’t be picking Quin up many times a day yet, but she’s definitely more active now.
• Vivian and Camren seem to have taken to the breast-feeding pretty well. Camren is feeding a lot better than Quin ever did.
• My cold passed through my system in a few days and I’m back to normal now as well.
• I’m still looking for work, but have had some promising interviews of late.

On to what the family checks the blog for: some pictures.

I think we’re nearing the end. Not of this craziness we’ve been living, but of my sanity!

Several things have piled up on us here at the Reynolds home in a “perfect storm” of a trial:

• We have a newborn in the house, so Vivian and I aren’t really getting more than 2 or 3 hours of sleep at night. Vivian will readily admit that she doesn’t do well on little sleep. I don’t particularly enjoy it either.
• Quin is sick with what started out as a viral infection that has since morphed into 2 ear infections. So he’s miserable due to the illness.
• Quin is having to adjust to having Camren in the house. That can be hard on any firstborn (as I’ve heard) even when they’re healthy.
• Vivian had a c-section delivery. So she’s dealing with the pain and recovery.
• Vivian and I agree that we really want Camren to be breast-fed as much as possible. So Vivian is having to deal with that stress (ask any mother who chose this path – breast-feeding is a lot of work).
• I either caught Quin’s viral infection or I got a head-cold of my own. So I’m pretty miserable during the few hours that I get to sleep at night (or nap) due to post nasal drip and the head congestion.
• This is all occurring in a season of life where I’m out of work and looking for a job.

It all reminded me of this goofy line from Christmas Vacation.

I don’t know if we’re on the threshold of hell or not. I know I didn’t read about this kind of thing in Revelation, so I don’t think this is one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Maybe it was in Dante’s Inferno and we’re in one of the seven circles of hell (?)

But God is still good and meeting us in this time of trial. In all seriousness, we’ve been blessed with a wonderful second boy. A boy whose inner clock is still backwards, but wonderful nonetheless. And Quin has really been a healthy kid. I believe this is only his second ear infection. He just doesn’t get sick very often.

We’re dealing with the trial and looking to God for our strength. There’s just something about the double whammy of sickness and exhaustion that can really push you to the end of your endurance. Folks from our church have been very kind and have been delivering meals to us so Vivian isn’t having to cook (or deal with my cooking) nor are we having to order take out over and over again.

I’m also aware that a 2-year old and a newborn in the same house is nothing unique. It’s actually a pretty common age split so we aren’t the first to walk this road. It’s a bumpy road, that’s for sure.

It’s 2 in the morning, and I’m just home from the hospital, where we had our second boy: Camren Richard Reynolds. He is 7 pounds 2 ounces and 20 inches long. No complications were had during the labor or birth. In fact, the whole thing took just under 3 hours!

I’m cheating the facts just a bit. Vivian was scheduled to have a cesarean-section delivery on Thursday the 12th. But Camren apparently had other ideas! So we just ended up having the surgery as an emergency C-section instead.

Vivian and Camren are both doing fine. I’m going to try and get a few hours sleep before Quin wakes me in the morning.

Oh, and his birthday is February 9th, for any relatives wondering if he made it before midnight or not (he did).

We’ve been sort of busy around the house lately trying to prepare for the new baby’s arrival. I think I’ve been making Rick a little crazy with all of my nesting projects. There have been plenty of closets cleaned out, furniture rearranged, and laundering of baby clothing and bedding. In the midst of all of this effort, Quin has been a source of amusement. (Although he is still in denial about getting a baby brother.) I won’t bore you with too much, but there are a few little stories that we found entertaining.

Crinkle
Quin’s singing abilities have kind of developed lately. He will begin singing at various points throughout the day or night. The funniest thing is listening to him try to sing “Twinkle, twinkle little star.” He seems to think that the lyrics are Crinkle, crinkle little star. Then he intertwines the ABC’s along with it. You just never know what version will come out. He will also point to people and request that they sing with him or perhaps go solo.

Crunchy
The crunchy story is probably my favorite right now. Since Rick has been home with us, he has decided to grow a goatee. He will shave and trim a little on certain days, but many days he chooses not to shave. One day Quin was sitting up close to his dad, pointing out his facial features, ie: chin, cheek, nose, mouth. He touched Rick’s goatee, and simply said, “crunchy.” Doesn’t that just sum it up?

Screatures
Rick had the bright idea of streaming a freebie Netflix movie via the internet using a new little device. (Perhaps he can provide more detail on that in another post.) He chose an old family film titled ‘First Men in the Moon.’ At one point during the film, there were some very cheesy (dare I say Dr. Who-like special effects) monsters or creatures that came out on the moon. Quin kept asking, what are those, what are those? We kept saying those are the creatures. So then when they disappeared from the screen, he would ask, where’d the screatures go?

It’s quite interesting to see just how the language skills develop in a two-year old boy. Frankly, I’m glad he doesn’t get everything exactly right. Imagine the entertainment we’d miss out on.

Here are the games we played this month:

• Battlezone
• Galaga
• Rally-X
• Wizard of Wor

And here are the scores:

Highest score: Boyd! He got a Steeler winter cap.

Lowest score: Lauren. She got a pack of Steelers branded markers.

And I think with these prizes, I’ve basically dropped my goofy/punny reasoning for the different prizes. If something comes to me I’ll do it, but otherwise I’ll just buy cheap prizes for each month.

I left the other morning for a doctor’s appointment. Apparently, this is what I missed.

It seems that the regular blocks Quin has to build with are just not enough. He grabbed a bunch of stuff from the pantry and decided to build. We thought it was pretty funny yet creative. If Quin visits at anyone’s home, I’ll try and keep him out of the pantry and focus him on toys.

I suppose we’ve been a little lax in our postings as of late. There are no good excuses, just apologies, although I don’t think anyone has been asking us for a new post. I thought it might be nice to post just a few pictures and updates about the holidays.

Christmas Eve was spent at a couple of parties to which we were fortunate enough to be invited. It was kind of a long night of visiting, but Quin held up fairly well. Our neighborhood was doing luminaries that evening, so when we got home after a gathering at the Baker’s home, Rick was working outside setting up the bags. It really was a lovely display even though several of them flamed up in the wind and rain that evening.

Christmas morning was low-key since Quin doesn’t really know much about what day of the week any day is. We let him sleep as usual, and came down and enjoyed some cinnamon rolls, milk and juice before heading into the living room for presents. Quin received three presents from us. He was too funny with the first one he opened. It turned out to be his favorite item, so he had no reason to open any more gifts. We told him he had two more gifts to open and asked if he wanted to open the next one or play with Mack. He looked up, and replied, “play with Mack.” That was fun. Later in the morning, Quin’s cousins Grant and Marah came to visit along with Aunt Rachel and Uncle Dude. We had some snacks and enjoyed some birthday cake and ice cream. (Let’s not mention whose birthday or how old a certain pregnant person is…)

The following day (Rick’s favorite, boxing day) was spent with my side of the family. We had a large meal for lunch including a wonderful honeybaked spiral ham. This day was lots of fun since my mom always goes overboard with too many gifts. Quin definitely figured out what the word presents really meant since he had a giant pile of them to open. This time, he just kept opening. His grandmother was definitely spoiling him with all the Leap Frog toys she could find. His aunts and uncles gave him lots of new things to play with as well. One of the photos above shows the aftermath of all the toys. It took more than an hour to figure out where to put it all.

Overall, we enjoyed time with family and being together. Excuse our lateness in wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Today marks the end of the Fall into Reading Challenge that I attempted to participate in for the first time. I’m going to follow Katrina’s list of questions to wrap up for those who might be interested in learning how I did.

Did you finish reading all the books on your fall reading list? If not, why not?

I only had 7 titles on my list, all non-fiction. I am happy to report that I finished all of the books except for one. The one I stumbled with was the study book, Train up a mom. Things were going along pretty well until we transitioned our 2-year old into a toddler bed, and then into a regular twin bed. I was quite disciplined when I didn’t have to discipline him for getting out of his bed during nap time. Nap times were my best reading times of the day, and they suffered a bit when Quin went to a different bed. (Ok, this is not the best of excuses, but it is where I am…)

Did you stick to your original goals or did you change your list as you went along?

My goals remained the same. I am a list maker and one that tries to stick to the list.

What was your favorite book that you read this fall? Least favorite? Why?

I’d say the favorite from my list was Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. It was the most challenging and certainly has given me much to think and pray about. It is one of those books that you can read one chapter per year and work on nothing but that and still have room for growth. Perhaps my least favorite book was Train up a Mom – I only say this because for some reason, I didn’t have the motivation to finish it, but I do plan on working through it.

Did you discover a new author or genre this fall? Did you love them? Not love them?

Jerry Bridges is definitely a favorite author, but not new to me, since I’ve read through Trusting God before. I think I’d like to read some other of his titles. As for the genre, if I participate again, I need to include some fiction to break things up a bit.

Did you learn something new because of the Fall Into Reading challenge — something about reading, or yourself, or a topic you read about?

I would say what I’ve learned the most is how very much I need God. Parenting, motherhood, marriage, and spiritual disciplines must be rooted in dependence on God. I am so glad that God is opening my eyes to how much I need Him, and how much I need the help of others to journey through the Christian life.

What was your favorite thing about the Fall Into Reading challenge?

My favorite thing about this challenge was not being constantly bugged about whether I was doing my part or not. I liked putting a realistic list together and then working on it as time allowed. The no guilt, no harassment thing really helped me.

Would you like to participate in another challenge here this spring?

Of course I would like to do another challenge in the spring, but with a baby due in February, I think my springtime will be spent feeding, diapering, and sleeping (as if that is possible). Hopefully I can participate again next Fall. Thanks Katrina for giving me the motivation and encouragement to join in the challenge.

My List

Shepherding a child’s heart (Tedd Tripp)
Grace based parenting (Dr. Tim Kimmel)
Train up a mom (Vollie Sanders)
Bringing up boys (Dr. James Dobson)
Spiritual disciplines for the christian life (Donald S. Whitney)
Each for the other (Bryan Chapell)
Trusting God (Jerry Bridges)

No, I’m not going to hijack this family-news oriented blog (well mostly) and turn it into a political blog. But this posting on Pyromaniacs really gets me going (in sympathetic ways). I’m going to post a quick excerpt here:

Continue reading “Secular interpretations of scripture”