Praise God, there's nothing wrong with Caspian's plumbing. Thank you all for praying for his VCUG. The catheter was not popular, but Caspian was so brave! He was over it pretty quickly once they took it out. All together, we were at the hospital complex for almost 5 hours. Ugh.

This Friday night will be Caspian's and my first overnight apart, ever! I'll be at a Mary Kay conference in Louisville from Friday afternoon through Saturday evening. Hopefully going a day without breastfeeding won't dry me up the rest of the way. We really want Caspian to decide when he weans...

Caspian's current favorites:
* "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" ~ For motions, he usually jumps straight from "head" to "toes", then throws in "eyes" and "ears" when we get to that part.
* elephants ~ Caspian sees them in everything — dinosaur posters, trees, looking out the car window... Old MacDonald always has at least three on his farm.
* Teletubbies ~ He asks for them constantly ("duh-beh-deh-beh"), and they're not on until 12:30. (In fact, just now, he sat straight up in bed, called out "Teletubbies!" and went back to sleep.)
* balls ~ Whenever he throws a ball, he gives a mighty shout! He is so tough.
* climbing ~ Doesn't matter where or when or what, he will climb it.
* asking for Grandpa Kirk ~ It sounds like "PUH-pah," and always breathy. Right now Grandma Bonnie is "arf arf" (for Maisie).
* Music Machine CD ~ And it has to be forwarded right to the point where the actual Music Machine kicks in (track 2, 0:35). He asks for it by giving a little rumble to mimic the machine (sounds like a harumphing old man). Having Mommy sing the entire "Patience" song is also popular.
* baths ~ He asks for baths at random times throughout the day.
* "No" ~ He says it for both affirmative and negative, even though he can shake his head both ways. He sounds SO funny when he says it, too.
* applesauce, chicken, spinach, (any) beans, broccoli ~ Could be offered any time of the day, and he will eat them.

One of my clients is having me do her wedding makeup, and our first consultation was yesterday. It hit me about four-fifths of the way through what an awesome responsibility it is! Talk about pressure! It's really exciting and fun, though, because I actually get to do it on her myself.

In case you forgot, in December, the automatic sliding door on our minivan malfunctioned and closed on my left forearm. I've been in a brace ever since, and finally saw an orthopaedist this month. He had me start twice-weekly physical therapy, but my insurance company just sent a letter saying I couldn't do more than 5 visits because they didn't see the medical necessity (which means no more after tomorrow). I have to appeal, because I can't function like this — especially with a toddler! Please pray for them to see the light.

Our new laptops came today! ((wiggle, wiggle)) I'm waiting for Charlie to come home before I open the box. Thank you, Mary Kay tax refund! Today my "w" key started sticking on my old laptop (like the 1 and 2), so the timing is good.

Easter 2008 (Thank you, Aunt Steph & Uncle Stu, for Caspian's Easter outfit!)

Last night was one of my favorite moments as a parent. After Caspian's bath, when Charlie and I had him on the bed for lotion and PJs, Caspian reached up, placed his hands on either side of my face, and pulled my head down for a kiss!!!! My precious, darling boy. He even held onto my face for a little while, staring into my eyes. Talk about making everything worth it...

On the Mary Kay front, I have two big pieces of news. The old piece of news is that I keep a (semi-regular) beauty blog: http://beautyblog.kyredhead.com. Feel free to post questions on it! The newish piece of news is that I have gained three team members since February! Each of them really excites me as a leader, and I can't wait to see how they grow in their businesses.

If you like cool stuff, be sure to check out our new magnetic compact system!

Caspian got to play in snow for the first time last Saturday when we got six inches! He would have been content for us to leave him out there forever. He carried around the same snowball almost the entire time (and ate a good chunk of it). Of course, then it was 70 degrees on Wednesday of this week, and we played in the park next door for an hour and a half. Caspian threw quite the tantrum when we took him inside.


He was pretty traumatized this morning when he tried to climb out of bed facing outward (instead of lying on his tummy) and fell flat on his back. He cried and cried, but I didn't realize how badly he got scared until naptime. He was reclining on the Boppy, so when I eased it away to use it, his head and shoulders lay flat on the bed. When he realized he was laying flat on his back, he started wailing!? He just associated laying flat on his back with pain and fear, poor thing. He fell asleep nursing almost immediately and napped for four hours straight!

The orthopaedic surgeon I saw for my arm last week wanted to prescribe some pain meds, but I told him I was still breastfeeding. Caspian was with me, and the doctor asked how old he was. When I told him "19 months," do you know what his response was? He said, "Oh — well he could still be nursing for a while, then." I totally did not expect him to be so cool!

My little brother (an Air Force captain) flew into Lexington Thursday, so we got to go see him at the air strip. My mom is always calling Caspian, "Stuart", but Stuart usually isn't there to complain. Well, when we were standing in front of Stu's plane taking pictures, mom said to Caspian, "Where's the plane, Stuart?" The real Stuart was like, "Ummm...I know this one — it's right there! Yesss!" We all burst out laughing, so Caspian thought it was a hoot.


Hey, if anybody likes tea, I'm having a tea party in April. There's this Christian company called Let's Do Tea that focuses on making others feel good through tea. We'll have fresh scones and get to sample at least three different varieties of tea while learning about hospitality, properties of tea, and how to make the perfect cup of tea. But this isn't your grandma's tea! They have over 100 free trade flavors made with natural ingredients, like Caramel Rooibos, Strawberry Cream, Chocolate Mint, and Piña Colada. The chocolate mint one tastes like a Thin Mint, but the only fat/calories come from the milk you add. The caramel one smelled and tasted like caramel, too. Mmmm...yummy! If you just want to sample some of their delicious wares, they have loose tea, make-your-own-tea-bag sacklets, tea cup and pot sets, and all sorts of tea-related goodies. You can ask questions or place orders through Carrie Peterson at Let's Do Tea dot com, and I'll even get credit if you order through April 11 (and mention my name)!

Everyone please pray for us, if you will. Caspian goes in for a VCUG at 1 on Tuesday, 3/25. Pray that he is free from complications and isn't traumatized too much by the procedure. Pray for Charlie and me, that we'll be strong (emotionally) and alert to his needs. Pray for the techs, that they'll get the catheter inserted correctly the first time, and with proper treatment of Caspian's intactness. Pray that Caspian doesn't have a reaction to the dye (he's got pretty bad eczema).