Demonstration is key

I'm pretty sure the above is a quote... and if it is, I'm going to give credit to Marie Clay- the founder of Reading Recovery and possibly the smartest person in the area of early literacy to have ever lived. This post, however, is not about literacy... there is no room in my brain anymore for thoughts on that (unfortunately). But this post is about demonstrations.

You see, I happened to glance over at this cute little man...

all dressed up- no where to go (Doc says he has to stay home for the first 8 weeks).

Anyway, it hit me. I have 2 little boys. Two little boys who need to turn into men. Men who love Jesus. Men who love their wives and support them. Men who can support their families. Men who can be "manly" and godly in a world where that's not always popular. Men who can catch a fish, and kill a deer, and throw, hit, kick, and catch a ball. Whew, that's a lot of responsibility.

And then I thought of the Clay quote, "demonstration is key." Her theory is that we talk at kids so much they lose the message when sometimes all they need is a simple demonstration.

See this little guy?

His attention span is about 37.2 seconds. He doesn't need us to tell him how to be a good man... he needs someone to SHOW him.

And that's where this guy comes in-- because daily he models being a good man.

He loves Jesus. He loves his wife. He loves and supports his family-- and goes to work every dayto support his family-- even if a certain newborn has been screaming all night, He is manly, godly, and he can catch fish like nobody's business. He can kill a deer- and gut it- but that's just gross... let's not talk about that. And unlike momma, he can throw, hit, kick, and catch a ball. Here's hoping that our little ones inherited his athleticism.

Oh, and he can read. (That's just a bonus!)

So my boys are lucky to have a good example of a man as they grow up to be men. And what about me? Am I doing my part? Well, I'm trying...

I'm training my boy to be a good husband someday and help with the dishes!!

1.5

We survived 1.5 weeks of new baby time. They say the first two weeks are the hardest. Greg and I have been taking it 12 hours at a time so we don't get overwhelmed. Greg has been awesome with playing with Logan. That kid has some serious energy and Greg keeps up with him.

Do you see this?? These are the eyes of exhaustion.

But Greg still comes home in the evening and entertains this bundle of energy... and makes sure mommy has chocolate at all times!!

Yep, I'm bragging on him!

Brothers

Logan loves playing with his brother.
And on his brother.

He wants to do everything Tyson does. If Tyson sits in his bouncy chair,

Logan wants a "bouncy chair"... I've convinced him the rocking chair is just as good (for now).

If Tyson does tummy time, Logan needs some too.

Logan is a good big brother. He loves to kiss his baby and give him the pacifier (and take it back out). Tyson loves his big brother. He watches Logan when he talks and he nurses the best when he can hear Logan's voice.

AND, Tyson has survived life with a big brother for a whole WEEK!

Can't help...

Lovin' that man of mine!
Isn't he a handsome daddy?
Oh, and I love those "little men" too!

Baby Tyson

Tyson Gregory Higgins was born January 11, 2010! His due date was January 13th but they offered to induce us early. If you've ever been 39 weeks pregnant and had someone offer to get that baby out of you early, you know, I said, "YES!" On Sunday, January 10, we dropped Logan off at Grandma and Grandpa Bradley's and came home to try and sleep before the big day. They called us at 5:50 am and said to come in at 7:40. We got to the hospital and they put us in the exact same room that Logan was born in. That was really special!! Plus, it's a great room because it's tucked away at the end of the hall by itself.
First they took my blood and I almost passed out. Not a great start but once they got me some fluids, I was fine. They started my pitocin and only turned it up 2xs because labor just took off on it's own. I got my epidural around noon. I love epidurals. I don't ever want to have a baby without one! Greg and I were betting on when the baby would arrive. I said 3:00 and he said 5:00, Tyson, the great compromiser, came at 4:04!! I was SO ready for him to arrive because the whole time I was in labor, his heart beat was all over the place. It would go up to 180 and then plummet to 87.
Daddy wanted to deliver the baby but mommy said, "NO!" The nurses were encouraging him. They even went and got gloves for him just in case Dr. Snowden would let him. Dr. Snowden said that I was the boss and since I said no it was a no-go! I told Greg that if he can give me a girl next, he can deliver the baby. (Greg, that's for you. I put it in writing!)
But really, look at this face... Tyson obviously was stressed out by labor... so I didn't want to throw any kinks in it!

Tyson weighed 8lbs. 9 oz. (Logan weighed 8lbs. 10 oz.) and Tyson was 21 1/2 inches long (Logan was 21 1/4). So they were pretty much identically sized babies... but Tyson, you can always say you were taller than your big brother at birth.

We don't really know who he looks like. He kind of looks like an old man. A very cute old man, I think!

Mommy and Daddy were very happy to be done with labor and holding our precious boy!

Proud momma.

Proud Daddy! He has the boy's names on his shirt.

We enjoyed having family and friends come see us in the hospital. Of course, the most important visitor was the big brother, Logan. He wasn't super into seeing the baby. He was more interested in the hospital room and going, "bye-bye" with Grandma and Grandpa. He knew they would take him to McDonald's for Fries and coke!

Grandma and Grandpa Bradley came and brought Logan with them.

Ben came on the night Tyson was born. He brought McDonalds for Greg. It was SO NICE! After being with me in labor for 8 hours, Greg was really needing some food.

Tyson's cousins came to visit!

Pam and Jared came on Monday night. Pam brought me CHOCOLATE!

Nick and Alex came on Tuesday. They came in the room and Grandpa Higgins was holding Tyson. Alex looked right at the baby and then said, "where's Tyson." I don't think he was planning on seeing something that small. Then Nick said, "Can he talk?" Julie said, "No." Nick said, "Well he can at least say, goo-goo, gaa-gaa, right?" I think they are ready for their cousin to grow up and play with them!

Grandma and Grandpa Higgins came by to see us as well.

We got to bring Tyson home on Wednesday morning. We were the first to be released! Tyson wore this elephant outfit home. I picked it out because Logan loves the word "Elephant".

Logan came home Wednesday afternoon (after mommy had a nap.) At first he was unsure of the baby and completely uninterested. He was also extremely overtired and off his schedule. But later that night he crawled up in the chair and offered Tyson a corner of his blanket. Logan only offers his blanket to those he loves so we're off to a good start!

It was so good to have my 2 boys home!

Greg got to take off the whole week and he totally took over caring for Logan so I could focus on Tyson. He was great! He took him on outings so I could sleep while the baby slept. They ran errands for me and Greg took him for walks outside and to powder valley to see the deer!! The boys are so lucky to have such an amazing daddy!

Whew, that was a long post but lots of good memories to get down!

Baby boy #2 has arrived!

Tyson Gregory Higgins was born 1/11/10 at 4:04 pm. He weighed 8 lbs, 9.4 oz. He was 21 1/2 inches long. He is healthy and happy and so far likes to sleep!!! Mommy and Daddy are doing great. Big brother Logan will be up to say hello to all of us later today.

The many faces of Greg

Greg stayed home over break and let himself get a little (lot) scruffy.






He decided to shave before church on Sunday. He tried out a few new looks along the way...

ummm.... no, go try again...

Definitely not!
Now I like this....

Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Higgins

The original plan was to celebrate Christmas in Warrenton at Grandma and Grandpa Higgins' house on New Years Day. Then Jacob got sick and ended up in the hospital. Then Logan got 3 sicknesses at once... and so the plan changed. Instead of exposing sick babies to other sick babies and spreading even MORE germs, those with kids were quarrantined at their own homes and those without kids would travel and visit each family. Good idea! Until Brian's girlfriend, Kari, came into town and got a kidney infection and also ended up in the hospital. Poor girl! So Grandma and Grandpa had to go visit everyone separately, including a trip to the hospital!

They came bearing gifts!

Logan had a lot of fun unwrapping presents.

Grandma Higgins liked her presents of chocolate and "fancy" pickles!!

Grandpa REALLY liked his presents!

I enjoyed my presents of Fiesta Ware and Premier jewelry. Can you tell I'm excited about SHOPPING for Jewelry?

Greg got a concrete bench for our garden out front and a Lowe's gift card.

Logan loved all of his presents. He got a lifejacket from Uncle Brian. At first he had trouble standing up in it.

But he eventually got the hang of it... sort of! He also got a cool John Deere tractor flashlight.

And he got a tent, sleeping bag, flashlight, compass, backpack, and jammies from Grandma and Grandpa! He's ready for the great outdoors. (Or maybe a pretend sleepover in the basement!)

And the best gift of the day was that we made it through the rest of the day with no one else in the hospital!

Preparing the nest

Greg and I both got hit with the "nesting bug" on New Year's Eve. Here's a picture of Greg cleaning...

And (according to Greg) here's a picture of Jackie cleaning the same area over. (I'm clearly cleaning a different part of the same area!)

And here's Logan- walking around for the first time in almost a week. His legs don't quite work yet!