Mommy, Where do Babies Come From?

School Time

2012-01-16T18:31:00.004-06:00

We are all loving our new school room.

Weather, Days of the week, and Monthly Calendar. We velcro the new date each morning, and I made some special pieces (this month it's a picture of our friend Joan, who's coming to visit this weekend). We learn Sign Language and Spanish counting during this time.

We found a corner desk so I can sit with the boys during table time.

We love our new shelves.

Memory verses. We have a new verse each week. (The two stickers are the stickers the boys get once they've memorized the verses.)

The first storage cabinet (which we outgrew in a matter of weeks) displays our Virtue cards.

I'm still trying to find a proper Christian Flag. Dan just gave me a catalog of Flags, so I should be able to get one up there soon. For now, a printout works for us.

New Developments

2011-12-09T06:57:00.007-06:00

We've been extra busy around here, I wish I could write more, but I have a bunch of laundry to fold before school starts this morning. Here are some pics I've been wanting to post. They're all out of order, but you get the point:

Young Warriors Christian Academy

2011-11-22T19:01:00.003-06:00

The boys are starting at a new school next week; the previous one wasn't working out. They will now be attending Young Warriors Christian Academy. There's only one teacher at the school and she loves the children as if they were her own...because they are. I am so glad all my babies will be home with me full time again. I'm already loving the lesson planning and brainstorming I've been able to do; what an honor to teach my babies! The boys have already been learning pledges at their current school, and we are taking this opportunity to add one more to the list.

"I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag, and to the Savior for whose Kingdom it stands: One Savior, crucified, risen, and coming again with life and liberty to all who believe."

"I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God's Holy Word. I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path, and will hide its words in my heart that I might not sin against God."

"I pledge allegiance to the Ripley Family, and to the Lord above. Where Mom & Dad direct me, I will follow and obey. I promise to honor God and Family, for the Lord ordained it this way."

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

I will post pictures once our classroom is put together...my goal is to have it finished before Thanksgiving, so I can put up the Christmas decorations around our school stuff.

Back & Forth

2011-10-24T14:32:00.002-05:00

Mommy dilemma: so I'm back to teaching a two year old about sticking with his choices. Vince and I were making a PB&J sandwich and I asked Anthony if he wanted one. He said, "No." I said, "are you SURE you don't want a PB&J sandwich?" So he finished his crackers, saw Vince eating his sandwich, and decided he wanted one. The tough guy in me says "NO" but the mushy mommy in me wants to give him one. I think I'll just make him wait a while and give him another chance to have a sandwich later. I welcome suggestions from moms & dads who have been there!

A Tribute to "It's Debby with a Y, Dammit!"

2011-10-15T08:10:00.010-05:00

This was the title of a college paper my mom wrote about her long time best friend. I was a tween (back in the nineteen hundreds we called it "preteen") when mom went back to school, so I made it my business to insert myself in her school work. I remember the paper better than any novel or story I've read. By the time Mom wrote it, we had been living in Illinois for five or six years and it had been that long since we had seen Aunt Debby. They met when we all lived in San Diego; she and her kids, Shanna and David, became our family out there. Even after all this time, Shanna and I were just talking on the phone and marveling at how we all still consider each other family.

In the paper, Mom eloquently told of how she and Aunt Debby met at the bank of mailboxes at our apartment complex. She described the outspoken, decidedly candid woman she met there that day: the woman whose confidence and frankness came to influence my mom's once quiet and reserved disposition. Debby unabashedly corrected people who dared misspell her name, with a boisterous, "It's Debby with a Y, dammit!"

Mom has always said that Debby never knew a stranger; this was one thing they either had in common from the start, or Debby rubbed off on Mom in a significant way, because it's a long-standing family joke that Mom makes friends wherever she goes, even when she's supposed to be doing something else. Just last month Mom helped me travel to Georgia from Illinois with all three of the boys. We stopped for gas and found we had a serious snafu with the canvas luggage bag on the roof. Before I even finished assessing the situation, mom had recruited a seasoned trucker to secure the package for us and save a bunch of money in the process.

For the past month or so, Debby has been bed-ridden, plagued with a fatal brain tumor. She finally let go last week, just after her birthday. Her kids were at her side, she was surrounded with love, and she peacefully breathed her last as her family sent her into the arms of God. My heart aches for Shanna, David, their beautiful families, Debby's mom and sisters, and my own mommy, whose life-long friend left far too soon for our comfort. But I trust that not even a flower withers before God's timing, so I know that He who knitted her together in her mother's womb on His timing and in His will, also drew her into His arms on His own timing and in His own will. Of course this doesn't help us not miss her, or help us not want to hug her, or not wish she was still here to warm us with her incredible laugh (oh, how she could laugh! She had the most beautifully uninhibited laugh I think I've ever heard).

So, today, as her family and friends celebrate her life, I celebrate with them. And I am grateful for the boldness, the outspokenness, the unwillingness she had to simply keep her mouth shut when she saw an injustice of some sort, or when she knew you were about to make a mistake. She didn't hold back. She didn't just sit and "tisk" and watch you do the wrong thing. She was true to herself, and she was true to her family. She was a mentor to my mom, to me, and to countless others, and I will forever be thankful to God for my Aunt Debby.

Chocolate/Front Lean and Rest

2011-09-12T14:00:00.004-05:00

Some of you may have noticed that from the time Vincent started talking, I have been training the boys to say "Yes, Ma'am" "No, Ma'am" "Yes, Sir" "No, Sir." They know to say it if I correct them, but usually they forget to do it the first time. So....I came up with a little "game" for Vince. I told him about it as if it were a new game, all excited and happy. So here's how the game works:
If Vincent says "Yes, Ma'am" or "No Ma'am" on the first response, he gets a piece of chocolate (one M&M or a little square from a Hershey bar...something like that). If he says, "Yeah" or "sure" or "no" or "NO!!!!" he has to do a Front Lean & Rest, which is the push up position. For several years I've been looking forward to the age when I can use Physical Fitness as a motivator, and it has arrived for Vince! I'm starting him out slow: he doesn't have to do the push up, but he has to get into position for 5 seconds. The only problem is, he enjoys doing that just as much as he enjoys the chocolate!!! He thinks it's fun! What a nut. He often catches it before I do, and jumps down into the Front Lean & Rest, and says, "Count, Mommy!" Then he gets back up and gives the answer the right way.
Now that we're in the South, everyone says "Yes, Ma'am" so I'm hoping it will catch on quickly. I told him the game counts even when we're talking to other people. Soon I will extend it to include being polite and not shying away from people when they talk to him. I find it rude for him to ignore adults when they're taking an interest in him, trying to engage him in conversation, and he chooses to "hide behind my skirt." It's one thing for a two year old, but Vince is past the age of this behavior being acceptable.
Anthony is not interested in the "game" at all. Well, I take that back: he wants the chocolate every time Vince earns one, but he refuses the Front Lean & Rest, so he doesn't get to participate.
Silas is still too cute for physical labor. :)

We've Moved!

2011-09-12T13:36:00.003-05:00

We are all together in Columbus, GA! Dan is doing another year at Ft. Benning, so here we are! We now have two houses for sale (that's about 2 too many in my book!), and we are living in a lovely apartment off-Post. One of these days I will take some pictures. We are enjoying the weather, the scenery, our new home, and the peaches. I have eaten anywhere from one to three peaches each day so far. I can't get enough! We had a lizard in the house the first night we were here. That was a bit much. Other than that, we are adjusting well and having fun. While Dan was here the past year, he attended a local church, so we went there yesterday. We all felt very welcome and very blessed to be there! I am looking forward to participating in the book club (we'll be reading Same Kind of Different as Me, which I have started several times and haven't been able to find the time to read it all); there is also a MOPS nearby, as well as an Army Wives group at the church each week. Hopefully with those, plus preschool for the big boys, we will get plugged in quickly.

a little something I'm playing with

2011-09-01T09:50:00.002-05:00

I'm still working on my settings on the little point and shoot camera I have, but I had this really sweet idea for a photo. It's not quite right yet, but it's close:

Home again

2011-07-29T16:55:00.002-05:00

He's home! We are so thankful to be a complete family unit again. Welcome home, Dan.

"That's How He ..."

2011-07-21T21:42:00.003-05:00

Vincent and Aubrey were discussing Silas's toy use yesterday. Aubrey asked why Silas was chewing on it, and Vince was trying to explain it to her, but it went something like this: "He just likes to chew on some things, Aubrey. Because that's just how he..." He seemed to be at a loss for the right explanation, so I interjected, "Vince, I think the term you're looking for is 'rolls. That's just how he rolls.'"

Injuries, illness, and general mischief

2011-07-13T21:59:00.003-05:00

Anthony and Silas had Pink Eye in May. Very sad. Silas just had a very mild case, but Anthony's was pretty pitiful looking. I had to cancel a much anticipated winery tour to stay home with him. They only get sick/needy when I have big plans; they are usually such low maintenance kids!

For some reason Silas's crib became the hottest hiding spot in the house.

They love all shoes...even Nora and Anna's.

At first it just looks like a messy room, but Anthony has begun to throw out all of his goodies from his crib at night...including his pants and diaper, which he is looking at in this photo. I have since reduced the number of stuffed animals and switched him to "Little Keeper Sleepers": PJs that zip up the back and have a non-stretchable neckline.

First scrape of the summer, presented by Vincent

Anthony felt the dry erase board was not enough surface to color on, so he started with his body. Notice the mural in the background from another day...all my walls are colored.

This one is a little embarrassing, because it seems like this would have taken a long time to build up, but I SWEAR I just looked behind the couch a week before this pic was taken. My kids eat A LOT of generic NutraGrain bars, so it didn't take very long for this massive pile of wrappers to accrue.

Silas meets the Hartmans

2011-07-13T21:52:00.003-05:00

Silas finally got to meet the boys' Godparents at the beginning of May.

Jacob and Vincent

Me and Val

Dan and Lacy with our precious Godchildren

Sam & Val with their crazy Godchildren!

Cousins! All present and accounted for...even if they are all over the place.

Big developments

2011-07-13T21:06:00.008-05:00

Silas is growing so fast. I'm so glad I get to be home to see each new development as it comes. At his 6 month check-up the doctor was pleased with his progress and growth. Here are some milestone photos of my littlest man.

This is right after he rolled over for the first time, 5 days before he turned 3 months old.

Silas was my #2 date to Matt & Holly Danler's wedding.

Eating cereal for the first time at a little over 4 months old.

I have a very similar photo of Anthony as a baby, except Anthony fell asleep with a toy in his mouth. This was during Silas's short-lived thumb-sucking stage.

Chillin in the exersaucer, watching his brothers play. This exersaucer has served all three boys and is still in great shape. A wonderful gift from my former MID-CO coworkers!

Sitting up for the first time the day he turned 5 months old

"This little piggy went to market..." Silas grabbed Cori's foot and I could have sworn he was going to put it in his mouth! I love how she's just sitting back, relaxing, like "That's right. Entertain me, dude." They are great buddies!

Singing to mommy

Screeching to mommy :)

The Ripley Boys Visit The Farm

2011-07-13T20:47:00.007-05:00

We visited "The Farm" last month. This was the boys' first trip to see the Lutton family in Ellsinore, MO. My Grandparents lived at "The Farm" as long as I could remember, and now Uncle Mike and Aunt Judie live there. Uncle Wes and Aunt Suzette live "next door" (for you city folk, that's actually about a quarter to a half mile away). The boys had an absolute blast, and they have been going on and on about it ever since. Judie is such fun and the boys loved chasing bubbles in the kitchen. I have such fond memories of playing under my grandma's feet in this kitchen as a little girl, so it was all I could do not to melt down watching them have such fun in the same kitchen, around that same table.

We went over to Wes's house and checked out his animals. There were sheep, goats, cows, chickens, bunnies...the boys were overwhelmed with all the fun! Vince tried on some farmin boots, and Aunt Suzette even had some of her boys' toys around for V & AJ to play with!

You'll see that Uncle Wes is holding a chicken here. He let the kids pet it, but somehow I didn't get a pic of it.

Needless to say, they are chomping at the bit to get back down there!

Forgiveness

2011-05-11T23:21:00.000-05:00

I would be a big fat liar, and not a convincing one, if I said that I didn't occasionally yell at the boys. I don't like it, and I try not to, but it still happens. So Vince and I butted heads a lot this weekend. It was pretty much the worst Mother's Day ever. After one particularly heated disagreement, I was telling Vince that it's not okay to be disrespectful to mommy, and he said, "Mommy, I don't like it when you're angry with me." I said something like, "I know honey, I'm sorry I got frustrated and yelled." He said, "Mommy...we should pray together."

And as I listened to my not-quite-four-year-old pray for Jesus to forgive us and to help us be "kindly" to each other, my heart melted a little ... or a lot.

Tonight he came out of his room to have one last hug and kiss, he looked at me meaningfully and said, "Mommy, you the great mommy ever." I can't help but think he's confused about what that means, but it's heart warming to think that Vincent's love for me is unconditional, just as mine is for him.

The Cup Song

2011-05-04T21:41:00.006-05:00

We have a favorite song to sing at bedtime. I have been singing it to the boys almost every night since they were born. My mom sang it to me and my sister growing up, and it has always been a cherished memory for me. Vincent has memorized it, and wants to sing it on his own...on camera. I am convinced that he's just thinking of more and more bedtime delay tactics, because it started off with me singing it to him, then he wanted to sing it with me, then he wanted me to let him try on his own. Here is his rendition, in two parts. I hope you find it as adorable as I do. Here are the words, because his words are not exactly right. ;)

Like the woman at the well, I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy
And then I heard my Savior speaking,
"Draw from the well that never shall run dry."
Fill my cup, Lord.
I lift it up, Lord.
Come and quench this thirsting in my soul.
Bread of Heaven,
Feed me til I want no more.
Fill my cup.
Fill it up and make me whole.

"Nuffin"

2011-04-20T10:28:00.002-05:00

Anthony made a little Easter basket at MOPS yesterday, and there were a couple eggs with candy inside. He insisted today that I must not "break" (open) the eggs. So he disappeared for a while and came back chewing something that was running down his chin. "Anthony, whatcha got there?" I said.
"Huh?" such a boy response.
"What are you eating, Mijo?"
"Nuffin." he said, convincingly. In fact if I hadn't seen the evidence dribbling down his chin, I might have believed him.
"Are you sure about that? Are you eating something?" I was giving him every opportunity to tell the truth.
"Nuffin."
"Nothin' what?"
"Nuffin."
"Anthony, I think you have something in your mouth, and it's okay, but can you tell me what it is?"
"Um....nuffin." I think he thought I was going to make him share.

He was probably right. I had already dipped into the egg without his knowledge.

The Greatest Show on Earth

2011-04-16T20:53:00.003-05:00

I took the big boys to the Circus today -- well, the other circus, because let's face it, this house tends to get pretty circus-like at times. I am a complete moron and I totally forgot the camera, so the only pics I have are from after the show, with the boys sporting their (astronomically-priced) loot. But they prohibited flash photography during the show anyway, so we wouldn't have gotten many pics at the arena. Vincent had the time of his life. He was captivated pretty much the whole time. This was the first time he had been in an arena and he did pretty well with it. Anthony was more interested in climbing the stairs (no surprise there) and running back and forth down the aisles.
It was such a fun show. There were all kinds of animal tricks: elephants, horses, dogs, & cats. There were acrobats, and daredevils, motorcycle riders (they rode around in a crazy round cage sideways and upside-down), a trapeze guy, of course clowns, and much more. Vince desperately wanted to do a loud whistle like me, but he settled for shouting "woohoo!"

Silas stayed home with the babysitter, but he got a consolation prize ;)

Anthony picked a motorcycle and Vince picked a twirly light-up toy.

These hats came with the cotton candy. Usually I don't give the kids super-sweet stuff, but this seemed like a perfect time for a special treat like cotton candy. Turns out they don't like it! It's nice to know our efforts to teach them to choose healthy foods has been effective.

Silas is 3 months old!

2011-04-14T19:59:00.002-05:00

Silas turned 3 months last week. Today I took the kids out to Mariah & Eric's house for some good outdoor play and to have Silas's 3 month pics done. We all had a blast and once again, Mariah took some awesome pics for us!

The Month of March...in Photos

2011-03-28T13:32:00.005-05:00

Here are some pics of our month. can't wait for the warm weather to be here for good!

Chillin' at home

A "painting" for daddy. He only had help with the E.

My handsome boys

Skyping with Daddy during tummy time

Afternoon crew

Papa Dave came for a visit

Oh so handsome!

Mommy play date

2011-03-17T15:20:00.003-05:00

We got together with some of my girlfriends and all the kids came along to play. It was quite a party!

Vincent, Sidney, Anna, Nora, Anthony (Gabe and Silas were MIA)

Everybody was getting sleepy by the end of the evening.

Sidney looks awfully cozy in Cubbie Blue.

Silas meets Abuelita, Ezzy, and the girls

2011-03-17T15:10:00.003-05:00

Dan's mom and youngest sister came to visit last weekend. They were a huge help and now all the laundry I own is clean! Hooray! The boys had a great time with Bella and Olivia and the girls thought Silas was adorable...Bella said so quite often!

Bella, Ezzy, Anthony, Olivia, Martha, Vincent

Bella, Vincent, Ezzy, Silas

Bella, Silas

Olivia, Silas, Bella

Bella, Martha, Vincent, Olivia

"Go First" Day

2011-03-17T14:51:00.002-05:00

Those of you who are friends on Facebook might remember my post from a few weeks ago about this. Vincent has been going through a "ME FIRST!" phase, which I find incredibly unattractive. We had a bit of a squabble about it one particular day earlier this month. After several do-overs, he was still not getting the point or changing his tune, so I took away his "go first" privileges for a week. All I could do all week was hope and pray for some creative solution, because I knew the issue wasn't just going to go away. At the end of the week we talked about it and he seemed to get the point ... for about 10 minutes.

I can't keep track of who gets to sit in which chair or who went first brushing teeth last time we remembered to do it, or who got in the van first last time we left the house, so I decided it would be much easier on me to have assigned days: I implemented "Go First" Day. When I came up with the idea on Tuesday, the only thing left to fight over that day was who would brush teeth first, and of course, Vince was fighting for the lead. I gave him the option to brush his teeth first or have a whole day of firsts the next day. Let's just say teaching him delayed gratification is going to be a challenge...he chose to brush his teeth first.

So Day 1 was Anthony's "Go First" Day. All day long, when it was time to take medicine or get a drink from the fridge or have a snack opened, I would ask the boys, "Hmm, whose 'Go First' Day is it?" By the end of the day they knew the drill and this morning when it became Vincent's "Go First" Day he was thrilled, and he's been really nice about it, too. He'll say, "it's okay, Antunie, you'll get to go next," or "don't woowy, Antunie, tomowow is your 'Go First' Day!" So far, so good! Now if I could just conquer the meaningless, "YES!" "NO!" fights between the boys, I would be on a roll!

OUCH!

2011-02-11T13:07:00.004-06:00

Well, I hate to point fingers, but imagine my finger pointed straight at the eldest son. The little turd whacked Anthony in the head with a bucket, and Anthony had a huge (okay, it was huge to me) gash on his eyebrow. Karley came to the rescue and stayed with Vince and Silas while I took Anthony to urgent care. He screamed and begged for me to let him up the entire time while he received 3 stitches. He had to be strapped in to a back board thing...I think it was called a papoose. I was there talking and singing to him and trying my hardest to comfort him, but he was terrified.

He won't keep a band-aid on except while he's sleeping. (Both of the big boys hate band-aids.)

Still such a beautiful little mug.

baby comparison

2011-02-04T10:46:00.002-06:00

Vincent - 4 weeks

Anthony - 4 weeks (roughly)

Silas - 4 weeks

Birthday Fun

2011-02-04T09:41:00.003-06:00

I had a little help celebrating my birthday last night. Dinner at the Newell House was wonderful! Thank you to Mariah, Karley and Caitlin for celebrating with me! And of course a huge thanks to Silas, who went on his first date at 4 weeks old, and took 4 older women out for a lovely evening. Already a ladies' man. Must be genetic.

Left to Right:
Karley, Caitlin, Mariah, Lacy

Nana meets Silas

2011-01-23T15:39:00.003-06:00

We all had a great time with my mom during her visit.

Newborn Photos

2011-01-20T21:45:00.004-06:00

Mariah has posted some of the photos from our Newborn session with Silas. She did such an awesome job!

My Funny Boys

2011-01-18T10:25:00.006-06:00

Vincent recently started using a footstool (which he carries from the bathroom) to reach the top drawer of his dresser. This drawer holds random stuff, keepsakes from when he was a baby, security blankets, toys I wanted him not to find, you get the idea. One of the items in the drawer was the little hat he got from the hospital when he was born. He found this about a month or so before Silas was born and I told him all about the day he got it. So now he really likes to play with it; sometimes he wears it, and other times he uses it as a bag to carry his little cars in. As you can imagine, 3 years later it doesn't exactly fit the same.

Anthony had a less-than-excited reaction to meeting Silas for the first time:

He's warmed up to Sy since then, but I think it has more to do with the fact that there is a pacifier in the house again. I found Anthony relaxing with a paci one day, just chillin out like there was nothing out of the ordinary. If you look closely at one of Sy's pacifiers you can see AJ's teeth marks.

This is one of Silas's newborn photos. I will try to find the pic we have of AJ doing the same thing...

Silas Primitivo Ripley is here!

2011-01-06T18:26:00.005-06:00

Not a moment too soon our newest little man burst onto the scene! I was scheduled to be induced Friday January 7, and I won't lie: I was dreading it. But at 9 days past his due date on January 6, Silas finally joined the family. He is gorgeous and healthy.

The birth story

Wednesday night we were getting anxious to have the baby because we wanted to avoid an induction. (I loved my experience birthing Anthony naturally and I wanted to do it as much the same as possible.) So I noticed Wednesday night that I had been having several contractions and they were finally NOT going away like all the other times. We got everything ready for the morning and went to bed. I was a little afraid to go to bed, because that usually made the contractions go away. But...I love my sleep, so off we went. At about 4 am I woke to a really strong contraction. I slept through several more contractions until around 5:30 when they got too strong. I labored in bed for a while trying to stay relaxed to allow the contractions to work. At about 5:45am we decided to start getting our things together because the contractions were growing closer and stronger. While we packed up our things and got them ready, I labored through the contractions, finding places that were comfortable for us and ate some breakfast. Dan was a rock-star, meeting every request for help and just being there with me to encourage me through it. I had been hoping to make it long enough that we could see Vince off to school, but at about 6:45 I thought we better get going. Karley came over to take care of the boys' morning routine and she took Vince to school and then took Anthony to her house for the day so he could hang with her and John.

We left our house around 7:20 and got to the hospital around 7:40 or so. I got checked in pretty quickly and found out on my initial exam that I was dilated to 8 centimeters. I was glad to know the end was in sight and my sweet baby would soon be in my arms, but I was also a little freaked out that I was going to have to start pushing soon!

I found that the only comfortable position was the same familiar position I delivered Anthony from: kneeling on the bed, with my back to the room, leaning over the raised back of the bed. My own doctor had been checking in frequently to see if I had come in yet and he actually left the hospital about 10 minutes before I arrived. When he heard that I was already 8cm he knew he wouldn't make it back in time, so he sent poor Dr. Walker. He was totally unprepared for my labor style but he rolled with it. As a general rule, I pity the OB who has to assist my delivery because I'm pretty headstrong (hard to believe, I know) and I know my body well enough to refuse to comply with something that's too uncomfortable to bear.

Dr. Walker was unable to check me from this position or to break my water, so I delivered with the membranes intact. Apparently it's pretty rare for that to happen in a hospital setting since the water is usually artificially ruptured if it hasn't already released on its own. So when Silas came out he was shrouded in the membrane (this is called en Caul and there are some funny superstitions about this phenomenon). I didn't even realize all this until later, though I knew something was going on at the time because of the whispers behind me. I was afraid at the time that something was wrong with him. Anyway, my friend Mariah was there, photo-documenting the birth for us, so we have some really cool photos of it (which will never be posted here, but I might share with the strong of stomach privately, simply for the "cool" factor).

The whole time Dan was right with me. We had been planning for him to catch the baby, but I needed him with me so I could see and feel him encouraging me. Having his face near mine was what gave me the strength to do it. I am so thankful he was home for the birth; I can't imagine doing it without him.

So as soon as he was out I flipped over and picked him up and brought him to my skin. He was squishy and squirmy and beautifully perfect. He stayed with us, skin to skin and nursing for about 45 minutes before being weighed, measured and examined. He was 7lbs, 1.9oz and 20.5 inches. He has a head full of black hair (shorter than Anthony's was, but longer than Vincent's was at birth). He has a cute little birthmark under his chin that looks like a little teddy bear. He has been sleeping most of the day and is nursing like a pro every 2-3 hours so far.

The boys came to meet their new brother after Vince got out of school. Anthony kissed him and looked at him briefly but was more interested in the cool room mommy was in. Vincent was a proud big brother, and kept saying, "aaawwww!" He loves baby Silas already, and he's so excited to be the biggest and to teach AJ how to be a good big brother. I will post pics of the boys with their brother tomorrow. Right now, enjoy some photos by the incredible Mariah Charles!

My heart is full to bursting right now for all 4 of my guys. I'm more blessed than I deserve. And I am so humbled and grateful that God saw fit (as I should have trusted He would) to allow me to go into labor at the exact right moment. I love that he created me the way He did. I am blessed to have experienced using my body for its intended purpose.

NOPE. No baby yet.

2010-12-30T20:39:00.002-06:00

Looks like this baby wants to follow in Anthony's footsteps and take his time making an appearance. Let's just hope it's not 6 days, like AJ was! Thank you for your prayers and thoughts. I promise I will post when he's born!

December

2010-12-23T08:47:00.003-06:00

December has been quite eventful for us so far. Vince was a shepherd in the Christmas program at school. He even sang along with the other kids during the first song. By the end, though, he got the stage fright and clammed up. I might be biased, but I think he's just about the cutest little shepherd ever!

The boys got new gear for their beds. Too bad Anthony still has to sleep in the crib. He climbs out of the big bed and gets into his toys. I'm hoping he'll be more ready for it in a few months.

The boys LOVED the snow. We didn't last too long out there, because it was just too cold, but they had fun anyway.

Vincent's Christmas party at school. All the kids had a great time and got hopped up on sugar before being released early for the day.

This is the 38 week belly picture (last week). I am feeling great and every day we get closer to Dan coming home is a big sigh of relief. At this point I'm feeling good about the chances that Baby will wait for Daddy (or longer, which is fine with me, too).

Vincent and I had a great time baking my Grandma Lutton's sugar cookie recipe. I'm so thankful for her legacy of love and joy, combined with FOOD! :)

33 weeks

2010-11-12T20:26:00.005-06:00

These are a few of my favorite shots from the session we had with Mariah. She did a fantastic job. I don't know how I managed to narrow it down...there are at least 15 more that also look fantastic and I still don't know if I can name my favorite one yet!

Maternity photos, sneak peak

2010-11-09T10:16:00.002-06:00

Dan came home for a short visit and we were able to get some maternity pictures done. Mariah took some FANTASTIC shots. We had a great time during the photo shoot! She's posted a few on her blog:
http://mariahcharles.blogspot.com/

First School Photo

2010-10-20T15:51:00.002-05:00

Vincent's first school photo. I have no idea where this smile came from. It's not one we usually see around here. Needless to say, I'm not ordering a million copies of it.

24 weeks

2010-09-11T22:08:00.004-05:00

Baby Ripley is growing right on target. I had my 24 week check-up on Friday and my belly measured right at 24 weeks, and the heart rate was 140, which is perfectly consistent with the other boys at this stage! Hopefully Baby Ripley #3 will continue to be an easy pregnancy! I have my glucose test in about 4 weeks to find out whether I have Gestational Diabetes again. I'm hoping to dodge that bullet again this time around. Although, I am still convinced that my restricted diet was the only reason I didn't gain an obscene amount of weight with Vince, so it did have its perks!

First Day update and a little more...

2010-09-06T20:37:00.006-05:00

Well, it took a while, but I'm finally posting the update of Vince's first day of school and his first couple weeks!

He loves school, loves Mrs. Stanton (see below), and loves learning. One of the pictures below is of both boys with their backpacks on. They played together like that for ages after Vince got home on the first day.

Is it me, or do they look more like mother and son than he and I do?

Two big boys, happily chasing each other around.

Mommy and the boys after Day 1.

We decided to do a full day every day (for my sanity). They do all their lessons in the morning and after they have lunch and recess, they take a nap in the afternoon. It seems like it would be a waste to pay for someone else to nap him, but it's been worth every extra penny so far. AJ can nap whenever he wants because we don't have to worry about syncing up with Vincent's nap or having to wake up early to go get him, and I'll be free to take the Bible Study class on the book of Isaiah that I've been looking forward to. I won't get back to town until after noon, so if he was going half days it would be more of a juggling act to find someone to pick him up, etc.

They have already memorized TWO Bible verses: Genesis 1:1 and John 1:3, which Vince recites perfectly. (I think they must use a Children's version of the Bible, because even I would have a hard time with John 1:3 in the NIV.)

They're learning shapes and numbers right now. They will do the letters A & B this month as well. It will be mostly review for him, but he'll have a better grasp of the importance and uses of all that stuff. My non-teacher mentality only got as far as teaching him to recognize all the shapes, numbers and letters. He was starting to tell me what sounds are made by each letter, but it was more guess-work than solid understanding. I happily passed him on to the pros for that stuff. He also knows how to spell his name, which I think he already could, but was never asked to do it until now.

He loves playtime in the preschoolers' playground. The ground is gravel, so he comes home filthy every day and always has rocks in his shoes, but he sleeps well at night, and that's all that matters...right? Every day when we pick him up he runs and hugs AJ, tells him that he missed him, and then the same to me. As we are leaving he begs to show me his playground, which we can see from a window in the cafeteria. It looks the same every day, but he is convinced that I'll be impressed with it. After the first few days of my saying, "Vince, tell me all about your day!" he started saying, as we approached the van, "Mom, let me tell you all about my day!" I found out on Friday that he doesn't talk hardly at all in school. When the teacher or her assistant asks him a question during story time (or whenever), he just stares at them and refuses to speak until they're forced to move on to the next kid.

Last Saturday I took the boys to feed the "ducks" at a park (somewhat) nearby. They're not ducks; they're geese. And I couldn't take any pics during the actual feeding because they're really aggressive and I was paranoid that they would start pecking at Anthony. So instead we have a pic of the boys, with "ducks" in the background. (Vince refuses to acknowledge that they're geese. He will only call them ducks.)

Anthony goes to bed first and Vincent helps me "tuck him in." I tried (unsuccessfully) to capture one of the cutest things I've ever seen. They always give each other a kiss through the bars of the crib. That night, by the time I got the camera, they were playing keep away, and AJ was teasing Vince. Still pretty cute. Don't mind the ghetto fabulous bows and fabric on the crib. AJ gnawed away at the crib rail, so we had to buy plastic covers, which he promptly tore off, until I clamped them down with some loose fabric and ribbon.

Tuesday marks 24 weeks of pregnancy. I'll try to take a belly pic tomorrow, but I might just wait until Mariah, Sidney and Gabe come over on Friday and have her do it after my OB appointment.

First Day of School

2010-08-19T08:35:00.002-05:00

Today is Vincent's first day of school. His teacher is Mrs. Stanton. I dropped him off less than an hour ago and I'm not sure what I'm going to do for the next 2 hours! Here's a photo of him before we left the house. I'll try to get a pic of him with his teacher soon.

Tres Hombres, Indeed!!!

2010-07-31T17:08:00.001-05:00

Baby Ripley is a BOY!!! We are thrilled to welcome another little boy to the ~~team~~ family!

Tres Hombres

2010-06-28T19:54:00.006-05:00

There's a great little Mexican restaurant in Carbondale called Tres Hombres (for the Spanish-challenged, that translates to Three Men). In case you missed the Facebook announcement, we are expecting baby number 3 on December 28 (or later, as I suspect). Anyway, we don't know the gender yet, but we're guessing for several reasons that this one will be a boy as well, so we have been referring to all the kids as Tres Hombres. Watch, this one will be a girl and we won't be able to say it anymore. We haven't decided yet whether we'll find out the gender, but I have seen so many cute baby girl things, that I think I'll have to find out just so I don't go buying a boat-load of "just-in-case" outfits!

In other news, Vince recently celebrated his 3rd birthday and of course we've been potty training. It started out kind of rocky, because none of us knew what we were doing, but Vince is finally getting the hang of it. Today was Day Two with no accidents! He's finally starting to warn me before he goes pee and we can make it to the bathroom without having an accident. It's nice to be able to say that I have only one child in diapers for the next 6 months, anyway. He has to be completely potty trained before school starts in August, and I had my doubts for a while, but now I'm pretty confident he'll be ready. He'll be going to preschool 5 days per week, from 8am - 11am.

Anthony continues to develop well. He is adding new words to his vocabulary every day and saying them quite well. He still has an oral fixation and I'm sure he misses his pacifier: he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. Literally. Clothes, toys, tools, puzzles, Bosley. All of it. He is learning to swim and made a lot of progress today in our dear friends Stephanie and Chip's pool. He's quite a bit younger than Vince was when we started using the little floatie vest suit, so he's having a slower time of it. Vince is an old pro at this point, swimming around all on his own (in the vest and floaties, of course).

Baby Ripley is growing fast. Vince loves examining my belly to see how much it's grown each day. I had a little bit of nausea and a lot of fatigue, but those have both gone away in the last couple weeks. I'm feeling great now (at 14 weeks) and just waiting to be able to feel the baby moving around.

We visited my Aunt Susie a couple weeks ago and the boys adored her. She took us to a beautiful park nearby and we all had a great time.

Hope you enjoy these recent photos:

Visiting Susie in Columbia, MO

Little Blue Eyes making a run for it.

Vince decided it was his turn in the stroller...AJ was up to the task.

At Chip and Steph's pool

Nana and Papa Jim came for Vincent's birthday week

Vince, sporting Papa Jim's hat

May 2010

2010-05-25T15:37:00.007-05:00

The weather is finally warming up again. I dropped the van off today to get the oil changed and walked home with the boys. We stopped at the park and had lunch there; the boys really enjoyed it. Anthony has been sleeping off his time in the sun for almost 3 hours now!

Here are some pics and videos.

Vince is quite the little soccer player. Can't wait to see him play on a team next year.

Someone left me a surprise.

They finally re-mulched the park. The boys watched them all day. Vince wanted to go over and thank the guys who were fixing our park. We settled for a quick drive by on our way to the store, and Vince got to say thank you out the window.

Milk time for the boys = cuddle time for the family

Me and Val on Mother's Day

Vince catching up on his reading.

We had a bunny in our yard...the boys were fascinated.

Vince likes to dance along to the Jolly Joe's song on The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything.

Self-inflicted Raspberries

2010-05-05T16:31:00.003-05:00

Anthony tries to reach his own belly, but can't quite make it. Needless to say, this is a priceless source of entertainment for the Ripley family.

Anthony Strikes Back

2010-05-03T22:17:00.002-05:00

A rare post by Dan Ripley:

Today I got to stay with the boys while Lacy went to a women's function at church. During the boys' playtime, I noticed Anthony, our youngest, has developed a movement-to-contact strategy. The boys were playing with their large train set and Vince built a tower out of blocks and proudly turned to me to show it off. Anthony, who had been lying in wait, began walking over to the tower and was immediately fixated on destroying it. Vince noticed this immediately and became very protective of the tower. It's my opinion that Anthony had already devised this plan in his mind: to distract Vincent, have him chase Anthony and then destroy the tower. It went like this: Anthony approached the tower in an aggressive manner. Vince began yelling, "No, Annunie, no Annunie!" Then Anthony grabbed one of the trains on the table, and the chase began around the train table. Poor Vince fell right into Anthony's trap. By grabbing the train, Anthony lured Vince away from the tower, and as they came full circle back to the tower, which was now unprotected, Anthony leveled the tower with one strike and threw the train in the opposite direction, and Vince fell to the ground, screaming, "Annunie! NOOOOO!!!" I could only sit back and shake my head as I saw these events unraveling before my eyes.

Spring time

2010-04-10T17:18:00.005-05:00

We have all been enjoying the warm weather. The boys love being outside so much that I've had to get creative with ways to get work done. I folded laundry on the front porch a couple days, and I try to get reading done while the boys play with their toys. Hopefully our next house will have a fenced yard so I can let them play on their own! Enjoy some pics of our spring season.

Before we moved the lawn chairs outside

Morning milk and belly button check.

Working up an appetite

Lunch on the porch

Dragon PJs from Nana

Vince was driving his truck with Stephanie and he thought it was hysterical when she started driving it too. We all love it when she comes to hang out with us.

Anthony says no

2010-02-22T12:59:00.003-06:00

AJ's expressing his opinion more and more these days.

videos work

2010-01-30T23:59:00.002-06:00

Somehow the videos from the previous post were not working, but I fixed them. If you were unable to view them before, you should be able to see them now. Update: Anthony has made huge progress since the last post just a few days ago. He is now crossing entire rooms on his own and loves it. He takes off on his own, he can pivot and turn and come down somewhat safely to a sitting position. We can't wait to show Mary his progress in the past week!

Upright and Mobile!!!!

2010-01-26T15:48:00.007-06:00

Anthony is doing great with his physical therapy! He is making great progress and taking lots of steps on his own. He still needs to learn to get up without furniture or a wall for support, but he's great at getting going on his own. The video is of AJ and Mary (the physical therapist). We love Mary. She is so wonderful with both of the boys and is really great about including Vincent in Anthony's learning.

It's been so long since we've posted, it's hard to think of what all is new. Vince is really talkative and is making really long and complex sentences. He's not afraid to voice his desires...we're working on respectful voicing of said desires. It's a lot of hit and miss, but lately I've been asking him to smile while he says what he wants so that I can hear the smile in his voice. I think that's the route we're going to use for a while; it seems to help. He had a great time playing in the snow while it lasted.

The other day Vince came over to me and gave me a big hug and said, "Oh, my sweetie." It made my day. And Anthony is incredibly affectionate. He loves kissing...sometimes he just leans his head in and lets us kiss his forehead.

Following in his brother's footsteps

2009-12-29T10:09:00.003-06:00

Anthony is following in Vince's tracks already. Last night he somehow managed to wriggle out of his pajama bottoms.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T23:08:00.003-06:00

Well, Santa has come and gone from the Ripley house. He forgot to take his cookies though and now we're stuck with about 3 dozen cookies just because mommy wanted to practice using Grandma Lutton's sugar cookie recipe again.

We set up the train table and train for the boys and gated it off so that we don't have anyone going rogue and opening presents before breakfast. They're not going to mind that tradition right now, but I'm looking forward to a few years from now when they wolf down their breakfast in such a hurry to get to their gifts. Muah ha ha ha.

We love checking on Vince after he's gone to bed because sometimes he does the funniest things while fighting sleep. See Exhibit A.

Christmas tree

2009-12-03T10:01:00.002-06:00

Vince loved helping with the Christmas tree this year. Anthony loves helping try to strip it...well, Vince does too, but Anthony is still learning the concept of "no." So, the Christmas tree is in jail this year.

Birthdays and Bedtimes

2009-12-02T17:03:00.003-06:00

Dan and I are loving bedtime these days, and not just because it means the kids are going to sleep. They're so fun at bedtime and they both love to read. Anthony had his first birthday on Nov 12. We celebrated with some local friends and AJ loved his first taste of birthday cake. He did not love his birthday crown though...

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T15:36:00.005-06:00

The boys enjoyed Halloween this year. Vincent didn't want to pose for pictures, but he loved trick-or-treating. He keeps begging for "more tick-a-teet peeze!" meaning he wants more of his candy. Unfortunately for him, he's not getting much of it. I have a feeling we'll have it around for quite a while. Our little cowboy didn't like having his hat on, but he looked cute without it anyway.

Anthony Speaks

2009-10-26T12:37:00.003-05:00

Anthony is starting to talk a little bit, in addition to the few signs he has. The video below shows what happens every time we try to get him to say "Dada." I love it since Vincent said "daddy" first and never said mama until he was about 20 months old.

Pumpkins and Diapers

2009-10-20T23:04:00.003-05:00

We went to the pumpkin patch today with Mariah, Sidney and Gabe. The kids had a great time and so did the mommies! We all played in the corn and in the bouncy house. They don't do hay rides during the week, so we missed out on that, but maybe if the weather's nice this weekend we'll try again. I got pumpkins for everyone and I thought Anthony's was particularly appropriate. His is the one with the "mohawk" stem. Love it!

Tonight Dan went in to check on Vincent and came out laughing. I knew right away Vince must have gotten into something and been sleeping with it. "What does he have?" I asked. "I think he has some diapers in his bed." I shook my head in amusement; this is not the first time he's played with his diaper drawer since we switched him. ... So Dan went back in to pick them up and he came back a second later, laughing even harder. "Well, I know why he has diapers in his bed." At this point I'm preparing myself mentally to go clean up a huge poopy mess or something. Then Dan says, "he has the whole drawer in his bed!" Sigh. How can you do anything but laugh at that? And take pictures, of course.

Big Weekend

2009-10-18T20:35:00.005-05:00

Vince and Mommy got to ride horses tonight for the first time. A couple in our church hosts the Annual Fall Round Up at their farm and they invite everyone out for horse rides, hay rides and dinner. The boys didn't make it to the hay ride, but they got to see their first bon fire! We all had a great time. Vincent loved running around the property, chasing the big kids.

We got a visit from Dan's youngest sister and her family this weekend as they stopped by on their way through town. Bella and Vince had a great time chasing each other around and we loved playing ring around the rosy.

Scrunchy Nose

2009-10-05T12:04:00.003-05:00

Well it's certain that Anthony has more of my features than Vince does. Here's the scrunchy nose to prove it. So CUTE!

Best Friends

2009-09-29T11:08:00.003-05:00

Vince loves to get into Anthony's crib at bedtime or naptime and begs to sleep with him. They are so sweet together...usually

The Apple Festival

2009-09-17T21:57:00.004-05:00

This week is the Apple Festival. We decided to take the boys this afternoon. Last year I was heavily pregnant with Anthony, and Dan was working nights, so Vince and I wandered around a little bit. This year was Vince's first real experience with the rides. He had a great time and was sad to leave. The first ride we put him on was a car ride, which looked like it went really slow, but there were sharp curves and the machine went really fast on the curves. Vince sat there, shocked for the first two turns, then after the second turn, he started wailing...and so did I. The nice gentleman running the ride stopped it for us and let him off, and I was pleased to see that he was willing to get on a slower car ride right away. I was afraid he would be too scared, but he jumped right back in and had a blast. We had a ridiculously expensive "dinner" and listened to an auctioneer sell some apple butter and apple pies, and then it was back to the rides. He spotted the duck on the Wiggle Worm ride (or whatever it was called) and rode it twice; Vincent quacked the whole time! Then mommy got a caramel apple and we took him to a bouncy slide. It took forever, because until today he has always hated those inflatable bouncy houses, but finally he climbed up the steps and with a little help from Daddy, he got down the slide. The whole way home he begged, "Rides? Rides? Rides?"

If you look closely you can see that Vincent was very near whiplash...we are the worst parents EVER!!!

Making a very tough decision...which car to drive. Notice the hand at his chin as he contemplates.

"Quack!"

So high in the air!!

New Blankie

2009-08-27T20:41:00.004-05:00

I finally made something for Anthony. I've already made 2 pillows for Vince, plus some other gifts for friends and family, so I thought I better get something made for little man. He was totally posing with it; he was so cute.

Growing up!!!

2009-08-20T13:06:00.006-05:00

We recently moved Vincent into a big boy bed. I had been hoping to keep him in his crib a little longer (like 3 more years) but his crib mattress springs started poking him a little too much. So rather than go buy another crib mattress I decided to bite the bullet. He has done much better than I expected. He loves his bed, which he calls a "bee bo bay" when he says it fast. I was worried that he would get up and play, but we've left his crib in there for a little while as a little reminder that he better behave or he'll go back in his baby bed. He doesn't seem to realize that the crib mattress is missing. One day I went in there to get him after his nap and it took a while to notice that he had emptied his diaper drawers onto the floor and that there was a book in his bed with him, which had not been there when I left the room. Now I leave a book with him, (which, let's face it: I sometimes fall asleep with a book, too!) and he doesn't have any problems staying in bed. The first night was hard because I didn't have his bedrails up and he tends to move a lot in his sleep. But now that we have the rail on there, he does great.

Before the bedrails...

After the bedrails...

Mommy lost her seat.

Anthony is really growing up fast. He went to the dr yesterday and weighed 21 pounds and was 28.75 inches long. He has started using some signs. He signs "more" and "eat." He also has been saying "mama" but I'm hesitant to believe he's talking about me. I had forgotten how funny it is to watch a baby try to feed himself. We gave him green beens and some chopped up chicken and he had a blast. This morning I gave him bananas and I had forgotten how slippery they are when you cut them up! I rembered Jamie telling me that she coated the bananas in crushed graham crackers, but of course I didn't have any, so I just dipped them in baby cereal and it worked just as well, with a lot less work for me!!!

Big boy food!!

Feasting on an orange S

Checking out Vincent's new bed. Anthony approves.

A few weeks ago Dan went to Ft Benning, GA for two weeks. My dad came to stay with us for a few days and then later my mom came down for a week. The boys loved having their Papa Dave and Nana visit.

Papa couldn't keep his eyes off AJ. Who can blame him?

Papa and Vince

Sharing a love for trains.

Nana and the boys.

Who can resist cuddling with Nana?

A Trip to the Zoo

2009-07-28T20:08:00.005-05:00

We went to the Saint Louis Zoo last week with Mariah, Sidney, and Baby Gabe. The kids had a great time despite being nap-deprived. Vince was particularly fond of the train ride and the carousel.

Anthony says, "I'm hot!!"

Vince and Sidney rode in peace most of the day. They each started taunting the other, putting one leg over to the other one's side. They're just like brother and sister!

Pretty Sidney riding the train through the tunnel.

Vince was only a little scared of the dark tunnel, but mommy was there to comfort him.

So sweet.

Enjoying the sites in the zoo train.

Riding the tiger in the carousel.

Hangin at Home

2009-07-10T21:05:00.003-05:00

"Chomp!!!"

Bedtime reading; my favorite time of the day. Vince loves his Thomas book...and all things Thomas in general.

Vince kept walking to the door and telling me, "Go. Go. Go."

Summer Photos

2009-06-28T22:09:00.004-05:00

We've been enjoying the summer days...some of us more than others. Daddy broke his toes while swimming the other day.

Yummy food!!!

Silly Man!

Daddy's shadow.

Poor Anthony has to watch the big boys mow for now, but before we know it, he'll be out there pushing his own mower right along with them.

"Daddy owie!" Vince informed us of Dan's condition several times today.

Pudding

2009-06-19T13:17:00.003-05:00

Vince says "pudding" so funny.

Giving Piggie a ride

2009-06-18T16:05:00.003-05:00

"Here you go, Piggie! Go for a ride!"

"Uh Oh!!! Crash!!!"

"Are you okay, Piggie?? Aaawww!!"

"Try again, Piggie. You can do it."

Some more photos...

2009-06-18T15:51:00.001-05:00

Sidney and Vince work on shapes and colors.Rolling around.

Vince loves the Super Why costume he got for his birthday.

Vince and Papa were singing, but Papa wasn't moving his head with the song so Vince was helping him out...silly Papa. What was he thinking?

Vincent's birthday gifts

2009-06-18T15:00:00.004-05:00

Since we live on the equator (well, it feels like it anyway), we decided to test out Vincent's birthday gifts today. Here are some pics of the boys enjoying the water.

Happy Birthday, Vincent!!

2009-06-18T10:59:00.004-05:00

It's hard to believe we have a 2 year old. . . . Well, not that hard to believe when you see the way he acts sometimes!

We celebrated his birthday on Saturday with some friends. He received a lot of really cool gifts and wore himself out. He could barely keep his eyes open for cake and ice cream...but somehow he managed. He went to his check up on Tuesday and weighs 27 pounds and is 33 inches tall.

Here are some photos of the birthday boy. ... And we can't leave out AJ. He loves rolling around on the floor these days, and taking things with him, including the blanket he plays on.

Our Stick Figure Family

2009-05-27T08:18:00.001-05:00

Hmm...it cut Bosley off. Poor Bos. That's the story of his life.

Make your Stick Figure Family at FreeFlashToys.com

Crash!! Boom!!!

2009-05-19T22:17:00.002-05:00

Anthony's Dedication

2009-05-17T20:46:00.006-05:00

It's been an interesting couple of weeks for us. There was a horrible storm in Southern Illinois and we were stuck without power for about 4 days. Dan was out of town when the storm came through, so the boys and I headed North where the power was still...powerful. We spent Mother's Day with family and were able to visit some friends during our visit. We finally got to see Baby Kenzie...who's almost not a baby anymore! We made a visit to MID-CO and I even got to call out a fill to one of my favorite former customers.

Today we participated in a baby dedication at church for Anthony. It was originally scheduled for Mother's Day and since Dan was going to be out of town we weren't going to participate; but then church was cancelled on Mother's Day due to the widespread power outage. We found out on Friday that they were having the dedication today, so we decided to go ahead with it. It was sad that our friends and family couldn't be there on such short notice, but we were excited to share our commitment to godly parenting with our new church family.

By the way, as you'll see in some of the photos, Anthony recently decided that he does love using a pacifier!!

Vince and Anthony were having one last drink of milk before bedtime and were just being so sweet.
Vince just hates to say goodbye to Anthony at AJ's bedtime. He wanted one last cuddle with him.

When Vince first woke up in the morning, he begged to have his sandals on. This was the first time he was willing to wear them ... up till this day, he cried when you even suggested putting them on! As soon as they were on, he made himself comfy on the chaise!

And then he made himself comfy on Anthony during morning cartoon time. Notice how Anthony plays with Vince's hair...

Anthony's dedication day at Grand Avenue Christian Church. Our pastor, Brooks Wilson, is on the right and there was one other family on the other side of us.

"Cheese!"

Praying for the task ahead...

Here we go again!

2009-04-23T19:56:00.005-05:00

Anthony got his first tooth this week. It's playing peek-a-boo with his gums right now, but I definitely felt it today. So now we're back to full-time bibs and lots of baby drool. I hope he is like his brother in the Growing Teeth Department. Vince always got two matching teeth at the same time and is even continuing that trend right now...he's getting his 2-year molars in. Of course we're getting two helpings of teething attitude these days as well...the Ripley house is just FULL of pleasant boys!
Anthony is eating his toes a lot these days and the little stinker won't take a pacifier so he sucks on his index finger and his middle finger (one's just not enough) so he has blisters on his knuckles. He kinda looks like he has baby-bulemia ... except he's still really chunky. Here are some recent photos of our boys. I can't believe they are 22 months and 5 months old!

Veggie Tales' newest fan!

Pausing his playtime for a nice big "CHEESE!"
We played outside on the porch today and Vince just wanted to be closer to Anthony. They love each other so much. AJ's face lights up when Vince pays attention to him.

Vince wasn't the only one trying to entertain AJ; Sidney loves him too. The big kids were playing peek-a-boo around the play pen.

Sidney and Vince. I just love how they love each other.

Look at those baby blues...

Watching mommy work...sucking on his fingers!

This one cracked me up. I got the camera out to take the photo above of AJ and Vince ran to the cabinet, opened the door and posed like that!!! He hadn't been playing in that cabinet at all that day! In fact, he rarely opens that one, because he prefers the ones to the right in the photo. Such a little model. He's saying, "Cheeeeese!!!!" by the way.

Again, with the posing... "cheese!"

Big boy hair cut

2009-04-17T09:29:00.001-05:00

Vince looks like a grown up. He and Daddy went to get their hair cut today.

Participation Songs

2009-04-13T18:50:00.002-05:00

Vince is really into participation songs these days...Sidney, not so much.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T16:12:00.004-05:00

Anthony fell asleep with his toy in his mouth.Happy Easter, from Vince and Anthony

Blowing bubbles

2009-03-26T13:17:00.003-05:00

AJ is getting quite good at expressing himself, as shown below.

Old Videos

2009-03-25T21:59:00.004-05:00

I just found some old videos that I kept forgetting to post. They were "filmed" before Anthony was born.

Vince had climbed into the tub while I wasn't looking:

Vince enjoyed helping mommy with dinner:

Lots of random stuff

2009-03-23T12:32:00.004-05:00

Some random pics from the last few weeks:
Valerie and the kids came to visit for a few days. I took Gabe with me to a dentist appointment and Dan and Val took the rest of the kids to the park.
We're trying a new "game" called blanket time. The kids love it and are very good at it.
They love each other. By the end of the day, Vince just wants to hug her.
Sidney fell asleep at lunch one day. I wish Vince could fall asleep like that.

AJ loves cereal, which is a real surprise, I know...considering he is a porker.

Vince recently started saying "Oops." I love the way he pronounces it.

Rolling Over!

2009-02-27T14:52:00.003-06:00

Anthony rolled over yesterday! I was so excited to actually get it on tape and to witness it for myself since I wasn't there for Vince's first roll. It seems pretty easy for him compared to Vince.

Fort Ripley

2009-02-26T10:29:00.003-06:00

We built a fort this morning. I think the kids like it....just a hunch.

Little Mexican Jumping Beans

2009-02-26T10:17:00.002-06:00

Bella taught Vince how to jump. He's still getting the hang of it, but he loves doing it!

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T10:59:00.009-06:00

The boys are getting so big. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. Vince loves being a big brother. He's so affectionate and helpful. I'm glad I'm home with him now because he has so many code words that I don't know if I could understand if I wasn't home with him all day. It's fun learning his toddler language. And Anthony now weighs 16 pounds at 3 months old. It will be interesting to see if he slims down at the same age that Vince did or if he'll hold on to his weight longer.

Here is our little cholo.

Vince is passing down his exersaucer...well, he's letting AJ sit in it, at least.

Gabe and Madi picked out some really cute little Valentine gifts for the boys...how sweet!

I've been babysitting a little girl once a week. She and Vince are about 3 weeks apart in age, so it's kind of like having twins! They have a lot of fun together.

Sidney is Vince's new buddy.

Daddy and his boys

Anthony's hair goes naturally into a mohawk, but Vincent's takes a little more work.

AJ says, "ROCK ON, MURPHYSBORO!!!!"

PORKER!!!!!!!

2009-01-28T14:05:00.003-06:00

I am proud to say that my little chunk weighs 15.2 pounds. I have my hands full so this will have to be a short post. More later.

Cheeks, Joan, and Wild Animals

2009-01-18T21:43:00.005-06:00

AJ had his 2 month check up last week and he weighed 13 lbs, 12 oz. He's in the 91st percentile. I love my chunky, cheeky baby!

My dear friend Joan came to visit us from California. She grew up in LA so it's safe to say she's literally never been so cold in her life. I learned a little more about California living as she learned about midwest living. Did you know that there are no Super Walmarts in Orange County!!? She was shocked that you could get everything at Wally, including electronics, groceries, oil change, prescriptions, craft supplies, etc. I realized that she must have to go to several different stores for a regular shopping trip...then again, as Joan pointed out, they aren't cold there like we are.

Anyway, the boys loved her and I think they grew on her a little too. She wrapped up Vince like a burrito at Veggie Tale time and he watched a whole Veggie Tale video wrapped up like that! It was such a joy to have her stay with us. I can't wait to take the boys to Cali and let her show them the ocean for the first time.

On the way to drop Joan at the airport we stopped in Chester, IL, the home of Popeye. Then we went to visit the Arch in St Louis. Vince loved looking at the animals in the Arch's Museum. We weren't able to get to the top because Vince was struggling through his regular naptime and I didn't want him to have a breakdown on the Tram. Hopefully next time we can get Joan to the top to see the amazing view.

Vince vs Anthony

2009-01-18T21:35:00.002-06:00

I'm glad AJ has hair and blue eyes, because otherwise we could easily mix up their baby photos.

Anthony

Vincent

Playing with trucks and blocks

2009-01-11T22:37:00.004-06:00

Vince and mommy's cousin Bobby Lutton had lots of fun playing with blocks and trucks at Aunt Sandy's house. I'll post the blocks video later.

trucks:

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity, Jig

2009-01-06T22:35:00.005-06:00

The Ripley Brothers went on tour this month. The Central Illinois tour took us to such places as Bloomington/Normal, Sunnyland, East Peoria, Peoria and Washburn. We squeezed as many people into our trip as possible and had a great time visiting. Vince and AJ did wonderful. By the end of the trip, Vince was quite comfortable walking into new places. He got friendly with people quicker and quicker and even jumped on a few laps unexpectedly. It's nice to be back in our own space, but Bloomington still feels like home. Here are some pics from the trip.

Visiting the Curtises

Visiting Great Gramma and Grampa Pamson

Me and Aaron...so squeezable!

Danny, Monica and our boys

Gramma Billie and Anthony

AJ, Vince and Aaron

Vince and his Grampa Lutton playing blocks and cars

AJ meets Grampa Lutton

Vince playing outside at Abuelita's house.

Abuelita meets AJ

Dan's mom decorates the St. Francis Chapel so beautifully. I never realized before how much Vince looks like Abuelita!

Here are some pictures, finally.

2008-12-21T12:59:00.003-06:00

AJ's first bottle of mommy's milk at 5 weeks old. I've been a little lazy with the pumping. ;)

AJ finally got to meet his Aunt Valerie. We had a great visit with the Hartmans.

I walked in to the dining room one day to find Vince loving on AJ. I love each of my boys so much, but my heart positively melts when I see them loving each other.

All the Ripleys, Christmas 2008.

You Gotta Be Kiddin Me!

2008-12-20T22:06:00.002-06:00

Quick post. Dan and I were sitting here watching TV, playing on our laptops, minding our own business while AJ snoozed on his tummy on the couch next to Dan. All of a sudden, Dan saw something move next to him...it was our five and a half week old baby ROLLING OVER!!! What the heck! I think going from tummy to back is easier, but still!!! Thank goodness he rolled toward the back of the couch and not onto the floor! By the way, AJ weighs 12 pounds already. I'll post pictures of Cheeks McGee soon.

Sorry, but I can't post pics

2008-12-09T14:02:00.003-06:00

The boys are doing great. I tried adding some pics but we're having some technical difficulties. Anthony is pushing 10 pounds or more by now and Vince...just woke up from his nap, so this is going to be a very short and uninteresting post. Hope you're all well. Happy Winter!!!!

More photos...per Mandy's request

2008-11-20T19:13:00.005-06:00

Here are some new photos of the boys. Hope you enjoy them. You might notice that we're all wearing pajamas a lot these days. It certainly cuts down on laundry...one day we'll go back to being decent, clothes-wearing folks, but for now we're enjoying being casual (and warm!).

Happy birthday, indeed!

2008-11-13T22:08:00.006-06:00

Well, my birthday gift to Dan this year was a wheel barrow that he's been asking for. Let's just say I have been outdone once and for all. I'm pretty sure I can't top the birthday gift he just got. Anthony Jacob Ripley came flying into this world at 5:36pm on Dan's 38th birthday (the 12th). He weighed 7lbs, 7oz and was 20.5 inches long. He has been an absolute dream baby so far. He latched on right away and has nursed fantastically. I haven't had hardly a moment of pain since the moment he was born (the moments before he was born, however, are an entirely different story).

We had a babysitter for Vince up until right after AJ was born and then Dan's best friend Artie came over and stayed with Vince a while longer. I spent the night at the hospital with just me and AJ and it was perfect. I was able to bond with him just one on one, and I feel like we really needed that because once we throw Vince into the mix, it might be a bit different. Vince met his baby brother this morning and was very ... I can't even think of the word ... curious, maybe?

We left the hospital as soon as we could so that we could get settled. We got home around 9pm tonight and we are so happy to be home. We had terrible reception in the hospital room, so if you were expecting a phone call sooner, I apologize. Thank you to those of you who have tried to call but been cut off due to the terrible reception. You're welcome to call any time and if we're not too busy with the boys, we will be happy to chat with you.

Anthony Jacob Ripley...home at last!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

2008-11-12T08:29:00.002-06:00

Nope, not to AJ, but to Dan. Today Dan is 38 and as he is fond of saying, he just gets better with age, like a fine wine. We are looking forward to hanging out and celebrating as a family today and having lunch together before Dan goes to work this afternoon. I'm still hopeful I can give him a baby for his birthday, but if not, hopefully the full moon tomorrow will help pull this baby out!

Still no baby

2008-11-10T09:28:00.001-06:00

Overdue

2008-11-07T20:36:00.001-06:00

Nope. No baby yet. Try again later.

Baby Ripley Update

2008-11-03T19:04:00.003-06:00

For those of you who may be placing wagers on baby Ripley's arrival:

I went to the dr today and I have not made much progress since a week and a half ago. I have been having a few contractions per day, but I don't think they're anything to get excited about. I'm dilated to 1cm and thinning. The baby has begun to descend, though, which was nice to hear. I was told once this week that I had dropped (I can't tell, myself), so the dr confirmed it!

I am more pregnant now than I've ever been, since Vince was born by this time in my last pregnancy. I am really looking forward to having a completely natural birth, so I am praying that the baby will come on his own...soon. The dr said that they will want to induce me if I go to 41.5 weeks, which means we are praying for AJ to arrive on or before Nov 17. Feel free to join us in praying for this! But we do trust that God has a perfect date all picked out for AJ to makes his appearance and are just trying to enjoy the last few full nights of sleep we all can get.

Vince and Dan and I got our last photos of just the 3 of us today. We had a lot of fun and we're really looking forward to getting the prints at the end of next week. They aren't the quality of Sarah Hedman Photography (www.sarahhedmanphotography.com), but we'll take what we can get.

Hope you're enjoying your first days of November. Don't forget to vote!! (As if I had to remind you.)

Chickens, Worms, Pirates, Superheros and ... a goose?

2008-10-31T22:02:00.003-05:00

We had fun dressing up for Halloween today. Vince loved wearing his Chicken costume. Some friends stopped by to say hi, too.

Vincent the chicken, Finn the pirate, and DJ the superhero

Aundrea the glow-worm, Vince the chicken and DJ the superhero

Vince the chicken. He lays pumpkins, not eggs.

The other day Vince was walking around with a sippy cup not paying attention to the corner of the wall he was heading for. He may have been a chicken for Halloween, but a goose came and laid an egg on his forehead earlier in the week!

38.5 weeks

2008-10-28T14:20:00.003-05:00

Well, as you can see we're at about 38 and a half weeks and still VERY pregnant. I keep knocking people/things over with the belly.

Bandy's Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-26T19:48:00.006-05:00

We made a trip to Bandy's Pumpkin Patch today. I'm sure it will be the first of many in the years to come. We all had a great time. Vince had not had much of a nap, but he was a total champ all afternoon. We started out by just checking out some pumpkins: Vince got one for himself and one for AJ and was carrying them around in his wagon. Then we went on a "hay" ride (it was actually straw, but we much preferred the straw). Then we went to the "Fun Barn" where Vince crawled through a tunnel for about 15 minutes over and over and over, and then he played in a corn bin! We strolled around a bit longer and picked up a couple more pumpkins and had a snack and that was about all we could handle. Vince had such fun and he passed out almost as soon as he got in the car. Hopefully next year we can make it through the corn maze, but this year I was paranoid my water would break halfway through and we would get lost trying to get out! Enjoy some pics and a video below:

Halloween Preview

2008-10-23T16:21:00.005-05:00

Madi Hartman loaned Vince a cute chicken costume, so the latest animal sound we've learned is what a chicken says. See below to find out exactly what a chicken says.