Monday, March 8, 2010
Killing Two Birds With One Stone
Did you know that playing Hot Lava can have multiple purposes? On the one hand it is a fun game to play with your toddler, on the other, it fluffs your couch pillows and gets them back in the right shape. It also is a great way to figure out that my toddler has much more endurance for running around in circles, stepping on pillows, than I do.
Nap Time
Nap time has a way of sneaking up on me sometimes. I will be busy doing something, and then I realize that things are a little too quiet. This is what I find.
The Era of Buzz and Thomas
I never wanted my kids to be commercialized. There are a few isles in the toy store that I just can't stand to go down. But, through watching Toy Story II (the first one is scary with Sid and his dog, and those freaky toys) and PBS, James has fallen in love with all things Buzz and Thomas. What can you do when he LOVES it?
About six months ago James discovered a buzz figurine that he liked to play with. Most new toys are only really interesting for a few days, and then he only returns periodically to play with them. Not so with Buzz. Buzz has become much more permanent. James rarely goes anywhere without Buzz, and only sets him down for brief periods of time. He even has a special way of holding him, which has turned parts of Buzz yellow from the oils of his skin. Sometimes it is a problem because Buzz has limited James to one hand. Climbing at the park is much harder with Buzz. However he is handy for testing out slides. I always know when James is about to come down, because I can hear Buzz bumping down first. There was a while when James started carrying two Buzzes around; he even could fit them in one hand. But one of them disappeared mysteriously while he was sleeping one day (yes he takes Buzz to bed). He can even say something like "to infinity, and beyond" where he shoots Buzz up in the air as he says "and beyond." Every once in a while Marshall will show an interest in Buzz, sometimes he will get to hold him for a minute, and sometimes James gently takes Marshall's hand away. Marshall is the only one who gets such patient treatment. If you are interested you can play I spy and find all of the different pictures that Buzz appears in on this page.
Second only to Buzz is Thomas the Train. Though the show is rather simple, James loves it. And because he often wakes up at 5:30 in the morning, he gets to watch it often (while I lay on the couch until a decent hour). He even knows a few of the lines, and quotes them along with the movie. A few weeks ago we bought a small Thomas that makes a loop on a little track. He has had so much fun with this, even figuring out how to put the track together by himself. He loves to get close to the wheels and watch them turn as Thomas goes by. Just the other day I found a little train set for cheep at a second hand toy store. I was amazed how quick he figured out how to work things. He loves watching the trains go around and around. As with most things that he really loves, he gets really upset when things don't go as he wants, but as he learns to work it he gets less and less upset. I just need to stock up on batteries now.
About six months ago James discovered a buzz figurine that he liked to play with. Most new toys are only really interesting for a few days, and then he only returns periodically to play with them. Not so with Buzz. Buzz has become much more permanent. James rarely goes anywhere without Buzz, and only sets him down for brief periods of time. He even has a special way of holding him, which has turned parts of Buzz yellow from the oils of his skin. Sometimes it is a problem because Buzz has limited James to one hand. Climbing at the park is much harder with Buzz. However he is handy for testing out slides. I always know when James is about to come down, because I can hear Buzz bumping down first. There was a while when James started carrying two Buzzes around; he even could fit them in one hand. But one of them disappeared mysteriously while he was sleeping one day (yes he takes Buzz to bed). He can even say something like "to infinity, and beyond" where he shoots Buzz up in the air as he says "and beyond." Every once in a while Marshall will show an interest in Buzz, sometimes he will get to hold him for a minute, and sometimes James gently takes Marshall's hand away. Marshall is the only one who gets such patient treatment. If you are interested you can play I spy and find all of the different pictures that Buzz appears in on this page.
Second only to Buzz is Thomas the Train. Though the show is rather simple, James loves it. And because he often wakes up at 5:30 in the morning, he gets to watch it often (while I lay on the couch until a decent hour). He even knows a few of the lines, and quotes them along with the movie. A few weeks ago we bought a small Thomas that makes a loop on a little track. He has had so much fun with this, even figuring out how to put the track together by himself. He loves to get close to the wheels and watch them turn as Thomas goes by. Just the other day I found a little train set for cheep at a second hand toy store. I was amazed how quick he figured out how to work things. He loves watching the trains go around and around. As with most things that he really loves, he gets really upset when things don't go as he wants, but as he learns to work it he gets less and less upset. I just need to stock up on batteries now.
Christmas 2009
This was our very first Christmas that we spent in our own house. I loved decorating, setting up our tree, and thinking of fun things to get everyone I love. I stretched the Christmas season out a bit because I wasn't ready to take down all of the colorful decorations and make it painfully obvious that I haven't finished decorating yet. I also learned that I am going to have to get started much earlier next year because inevitably there is just too much to do. I was called as the primary secretary in our new ward (which was my calling in my old ward, it just seems to be where I fit right now), and the end of the year was filled with church planning as well. My goal is to get Christmas cards out next year. I am thinking positively and I think I can do it. I have such cute kids, their pictures just scream "put me on a Christmas Card."
Anyway, we woke up Christmas morning and opened presents. We ended up taking back most of the kids presents. Why should I buy toys? That's what grandma's are for. James would love one toy so much he had a hard time moving on to unwrap the next. By the end of the morning he was loaded with tons of new toys, and Marshall had discovered his love for wrapping paper. We also started a new tradition of making cinnamon rolls Christmas morning. This year was such a hit I don't think we will ever be able to go without them again.
Later, my parents and sister came over and we got to open presents again. Then, that night we went over to my grandpa's house and got to exchange presents again. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without lots and lots of family.
Can I just say that it is ridiculously hard to get toys out of their boxes. There were wires and tape everywhere! I even had screws in one package. Screws! What the heck do they think is going to happen to these toys?
Also part of Christmas: huge messes. I took me days to clean up this year because I had to find places for all of those toys.
Marshall has longer hair on top of his head right now, and it makes for the best Mohawk.
Anyway, we woke up Christmas morning and opened presents. We ended up taking back most of the kids presents. Why should I buy toys? That's what grandma's are for. James would love one toy so much he had a hard time moving on to unwrap the next. By the end of the morning he was loaded with tons of new toys, and Marshall had discovered his love for wrapping paper. We also started a new tradition of making cinnamon rolls Christmas morning. This year was such a hit I don't think we will ever be able to go without them again.
Later, my parents and sister came over and we got to open presents again. Then, that night we went over to my grandpa's house and got to exchange presents again. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without lots and lots of family.
Can I just say that it is ridiculously hard to get toys out of their boxes. There were wires and tape everywhere! I even had screws in one package. Screws! What the heck do they think is going to happen to these toys?
Also part of Christmas: huge messes. I took me days to clean up this year because I had to find places for all of those toys.
Marshall has longer hair on top of his head right now, and it makes for the best Mohawk.
Yeah, I think I am chewing gum so if anyone else actually watches this, I am sorry.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Stay Puft Attacks Again
This year my mom and I had a lot of fun making costumes for the boys. One on James' favorite books is Where the Wild Things Are, so I decided it would be fun to make him a wolf suit.I got some white fleece and a pattern, and mom expertly started sewing. I spent way too much time designing the claws and tail, but it finally came together. James was the unforeseen problem. He loved the soft costume so much that he melted down every time we had to take it off after a fitting. The worst, though, was when we added the tail. I had gotten some black fake fur so it would be bushy like the book. But, James thought it was alive and got so scared we had to take it off. With a new white fleece tail he was totally happy and wore the costume constantly for a few days. I had to hide it so I could wash it or he would probably have it on right now.
I was planning on making Marshall one of the “wild things,” but I ran out of money and time, so I had a change of plans. I got some felt and leftover fleece and made him a collar and beret. Add some white tights and a white onsie and you have the Stay Puft Marshmallow Baby. His rolls were just so perfect, they totally made the costume. He even won “Best Baby Costume” at my parents’ ward Halloween party.
We tried some trick or treating on Halloween, but everyone seemed to have dogs and scary decorations so I ended up carrying James at all the doors, and I didn’t last too long. But, we had yummy quesadillas to eat, and fun carving pumpkins and playing games with my sister, Kellie, who just got back from a mission. As an added bonus, we got to work off some candy calories going up the stairs every time the doorbell rang.
King of the wild things.
Doing the cake walk.
Scary, I know.
Check out those rolls! He spent most of the night with the bow in his mouth.
My fish Jack o Lanturn.
Kellie's mummy Jack o Lanturn
I was planning on making Marshall one of the “wild things,” but I ran out of money and time, so I had a change of plans. I got some felt and leftover fleece and made him a collar and beret. Add some white tights and a white onsie and you have the Stay Puft Marshmallow Baby. His rolls were just so perfect, they totally made the costume. He even won “Best Baby Costume” at my parents’ ward Halloween party.
We tried some trick or treating on Halloween, but everyone seemed to have dogs and scary decorations so I ended up carrying James at all the doors, and I didn’t last too long. But, we had yummy quesadillas to eat, and fun carving pumpkins and playing games with my sister, Kellie, who just got back from a mission. As an added bonus, we got to work off some candy calories going up the stairs every time the doorbell rang.
King of the wild things.
Doing the cake walk.
Scary, I know.
Check out those rolls! He spent most of the night with the bow in his mouth.
My fish Jack o Lanturn.
Kellie's mummy Jack o Lanturn
James was so tired he curled up and fell asleep right in the middle of the action.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
James Turns Three
On the 19th James had his third birthday. It was our first excuse to have a shindig at our house, so I made the traditional cookies n' cream cupcakes and invited all the Colorado crew over. James is a pro at unwrapping presents and blowing out candles, so much so that we had to light the candles a few times to experience it all over and over again. I racked my brain trying to find presents that could function as "adult lead activities" so James could work on his turn and direction taking skills. He got puzzles, finger paint, the memory game, and some fun pictures to color. I think the biggest hits have been the book Waddle from Grandma Nielsen, and the plastic piggy bank from Grandma Thacker. The book didn't leave his hands for the first few days, and even now I can't put it away just in case he wants to take a peek. One of James's favorite things to do is sorting--especially animals. Elephants and pigs are favorite, elephants are a little more favorite, but if there aren't any elephants, pigs are just fine because they're favorite too. Anyway, he has a special spot where he has collected his piggy bank, one of Marshall's pig rattles, a pig puzzle piece, a pig puppet, my laminated pig that goes with the "Old Macdonald" flannel board, and a book with a pig drawing in it. What can I say, he is a pig connoisseur.
This little boy has won my heart completely. Right now, he is sitting on the back of my chair (I am sitting on the edge). He has put on his crocks… on the wrong feet. He has taken off all of his clothes except his diaper… which needs to be changed, so his cute buns are hanging out. He has the headphones on listening to Pandora. I don’t think I could help being so attached even if he wasn’t so often physically attached to me. Life would be just plain empty without his hugs, hum kisses, excited squeals, and mischievous grin. We love our little Huckleberry.
This little boy has won my heart completely. Right now, he is sitting on the back of my chair (I am sitting on the edge). He has put on his crocks… on the wrong feet. He has taken off all of his clothes except his diaper… which needs to be changed, so his cute buns are hanging out. He has the headphones on listening to Pandora. I don’t think I could help being so attached even if he wasn’t so often physically attached to me. Life would be just plain empty without his hugs, hum kisses, excited squeals, and mischievous grin. We love our little Huckleberry.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Mega Post:: A Summer of Waiting
These last six months have been an exercise in patience. It started with a rather uncomfortable stint waiting for Marshall to show his face. The last few weeks of pregnancy I spent telling everyone how big he was. I even had a few moments of claustrophobic panic that I wouldn’t be able to get him out. I tried to warn them, but I don’t think anyone was prepared for his incredible growing abilities. On May 27th, 2009 Marshall joined us at a whopping 9 lbs. 4 oz. Now, four months later, he is ounces from 20 L B’s baby, just barely staying on the charts in the 97th percentile. He has made me an accomplice in his quest to become the Stay Puft Marshmallow man. All he needs now is the beret.
I like to call Marshall my angel baby because he is just so dang good. He eats well (obviously), he sleeps well, and he is generally a happy baby. He rarely gets upset, and when he does he is easily consoled. Mostly he is content to smile, suck on his fingers, and drool. He is already starting to roll over which has me looking around the house fretting about having a mobile baby who doesn’t know the off limits rules again. My favorite past time, these days, is wrapping up in a blanket and cuddling with him, cheek to cheek. He has the best cheeks I have ever met. There is still an on-going debate over whether he is a red head or not. If the light is just right I think it is obvious, but Kendal hasn’t started calling him Chet yet, so we will see. I am also closely watching his eyes, hoping they will stay blue, but I love a lot of brown eyes too, so I won’t be too disappointed if they do change. He has only been around a few months, but I have a hard time remembering what life was like before he was ours, and I definitely can’t imagine life without him.
Secondly, after 9 long months, at the end of September we became the official owners of a little plot of land with a beautiful house right in the middle. It happened after five different offers on five different houses, hundreds of hours of perusing the internet, stacks of MLS printouts, tons of hopeful drive-by’s, lots of great advice.. and bundles of opinions, a few discussions on how big of a mortgage we could really afford, days of mourning over houses I had moved into in my head, and way too many walkthroughs where I had to carry James because he would either break something or the house was so gross I didn’t want him to touch any part of it. Then we came across a beautiful house, in a beautiful neighborhood, with a beautiful price and finally, everything worked out. We had to delay the closing twice so loose ends could be sorted out. But we finally signed the papers… and then we had to wait a day to get the keys. We rented a Uhaul and cleaned the carpets, but my allergies were too bad, so we took the Uhaul back, tore up carpet and waited another two weeks until we moved in. But now we have our very own spot on the earth, and now that I have organized the pantry, rearranged the furniture, put up a few paintings, and James has thrown up on the carpet—it is home. We had our first shindig here on Monday for James’ birthday. I took pictures, and acted as hostess. I already have a spot picked out for the Christmas tree, and I can’t wait to make memories and traditions in the new Nielsen residence.
I have to say that my favorite part about our new house is space. Space for James to run races across the kitchen. Space for me to bring out wedding presents that haven’t seen the light of day since I first opened them. Space for two cars in the garage. Space for my very own sparkling white fully functional dish washer. Space for three separate bedrooms. Space for a deep luxurious bathtub that James uses like a swimming pool and is calling to me today after a day of cold snowy weather. Space for a pantry that is so big it echoes in there. Space in the backyard for a playset and a garden… someday. Space on the kitchen counter for a pile of dishes, a pile of bills to be sorted, and still has room to make dinner. And, lots of empty space yet to be filled.
Our last wait has been for James. After I had Marshall and regained the use of my brain I noticed that James wasn’t speaking as much as children his same age and quite a bit younger. At first I just thought that he was taking things at his own pace, but his speech just seemed to have stalled and he was becoming more secluded. I started asking what my friends thought, and they said I should get him tested. So, I made an appointment with the local school district, which has a program to help developmentally delayed children. We waited a month for James to take a hearing test. He failed in his left ear. A few weeks later a team of therapists observed and interacted with him, then declared him “delayed.” A few weeks later we went to an audiologist who said he wasn’t hearing out of one ear. She said to go to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. A few weeks later, after looking in his ear for no more than a second the doctor told us he had fluid in his ears. And I wondered, what training does one need to be able to know that, and why the heck didn’t my pediatrician (who had seen him several times over the months) didn’t know how to tell? Another few weeks later James got tubes put in both ears. The surgery went perfectly. James did so well, and was feeling his same old self hours later. Kendal and I were both emotional about it. There is something so horrible about seeing your child in a hospital gown and so helpless. Over the next few weeks we could definitely tell James was hearing better. He suddenly became afraid of sounds. Drills, especially, seemed to plague him. But, he has also begun to mimic more sounds and learn more words. His personality has also resurfaced, and he interacts with outsiders more. Meanwhile, a therapist has been visiting our house. She came to work with James, but mostly she has been tutoring me on how to help him. Now that he has turned three he is going to start at a local preschool with a program to help kids with speech delay.
Mostly, I felt at peace about all of this. We were making progress, and I really believed that this all could be fixed. But I am a Mom, and I had a few moments where I feared the worst, and had some plain awful nightmares. What bothered Kendal and I the most was the waiting. Once we knew there was a problem I wanted to act immediately and get it fixed. Instead we had to go from person to person to find a new piece of the puzzle. James has come out of this fine. He has a perpetual source of energy. He is incredibly loving, giving us hugs, kisses and smiles on demand and at random. He dotes on Marshall and is never jealous. It is a good thing Marshall is so big because James loves giving him full body hugs. He has not suddenly popped out a sentence, but he is making good steps. His therapist says he should be hitting his stride in 6-7 months. Seeing my child struggle has been heartrending, but watching him learn and grow is exhilarating.
The last six months has been full of stops and starts, long days of stagnancy, followed by rushes of activity. It has kept us on our toes for sure. Knock on wood, I think things are going to settle down now into a rhythm. I can say for sure that the Lord knows the paths we walk, and everything has been worth the wait.
I like to call Marshall my angel baby because he is just so dang good. He eats well (obviously), he sleeps well, and he is generally a happy baby. He rarely gets upset, and when he does he is easily consoled. Mostly he is content to smile, suck on his fingers, and drool. He is already starting to roll over which has me looking around the house fretting about having a mobile baby who doesn’t know the off limits rules again. My favorite past time, these days, is wrapping up in a blanket and cuddling with him, cheek to cheek. He has the best cheeks I have ever met. There is still an on-going debate over whether he is a red head or not. If the light is just right I think it is obvious, but Kendal hasn’t started calling him Chet yet, so we will see. I am also closely watching his eyes, hoping they will stay blue, but I love a lot of brown eyes too, so I won’t be too disappointed if they do change. He has only been around a few months, but I have a hard time remembering what life was like before he was ours, and I definitely can’t imagine life without him.
Secondly, after 9 long months, at the end of September we became the official owners of a little plot of land with a beautiful house right in the middle. It happened after five different offers on five different houses, hundreds of hours of perusing the internet, stacks of MLS printouts, tons of hopeful drive-by’s, lots of great advice.. and bundles of opinions, a few discussions on how big of a mortgage we could really afford, days of mourning over houses I had moved into in my head, and way too many walkthroughs where I had to carry James because he would either break something or the house was so gross I didn’t want him to touch any part of it. Then we came across a beautiful house, in a beautiful neighborhood, with a beautiful price and finally, everything worked out. We had to delay the closing twice so loose ends could be sorted out. But we finally signed the papers… and then we had to wait a day to get the keys. We rented a Uhaul and cleaned the carpets, but my allergies were too bad, so we took the Uhaul back, tore up carpet and waited another two weeks until we moved in. But now we have our very own spot on the earth, and now that I have organized the pantry, rearranged the furniture, put up a few paintings, and James has thrown up on the carpet—it is home. We had our first shindig here on Monday for James’ birthday. I took pictures, and acted as hostess. I already have a spot picked out for the Christmas tree, and I can’t wait to make memories and traditions in the new Nielsen residence.
I have to say that my favorite part about our new house is space. Space for James to run races across the kitchen. Space for me to bring out wedding presents that haven’t seen the light of day since I first opened them. Space for two cars in the garage. Space for my very own sparkling white fully functional dish washer. Space for three separate bedrooms. Space for a deep luxurious bathtub that James uses like a swimming pool and is calling to me today after a day of cold snowy weather. Space for a pantry that is so big it echoes in there. Space in the backyard for a playset and a garden… someday. Space on the kitchen counter for a pile of dishes, a pile of bills to be sorted, and still has room to make dinner. And, lots of empty space yet to be filled.
Our last wait has been for James. After I had Marshall and regained the use of my brain I noticed that James wasn’t speaking as much as children his same age and quite a bit younger. At first I just thought that he was taking things at his own pace, but his speech just seemed to have stalled and he was becoming more secluded. I started asking what my friends thought, and they said I should get him tested. So, I made an appointment with the local school district, which has a program to help developmentally delayed children. We waited a month for James to take a hearing test. He failed in his left ear. A few weeks later a team of therapists observed and interacted with him, then declared him “delayed.” A few weeks later we went to an audiologist who said he wasn’t hearing out of one ear. She said to go to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. A few weeks later, after looking in his ear for no more than a second the doctor told us he had fluid in his ears. And I wondered, what training does one need to be able to know that, and why the heck didn’t my pediatrician (who had seen him several times over the months) didn’t know how to tell? Another few weeks later James got tubes put in both ears. The surgery went perfectly. James did so well, and was feeling his same old self hours later. Kendal and I were both emotional about it. There is something so horrible about seeing your child in a hospital gown and so helpless. Over the next few weeks we could definitely tell James was hearing better. He suddenly became afraid of sounds. Drills, especially, seemed to plague him. But, he has also begun to mimic more sounds and learn more words. His personality has also resurfaced, and he interacts with outsiders more. Meanwhile, a therapist has been visiting our house. She came to work with James, but mostly she has been tutoring me on how to help him. Now that he has turned three he is going to start at a local preschool with a program to help kids with speech delay.
Mostly, I felt at peace about all of this. We were making progress, and I really believed that this all could be fixed. But I am a Mom, and I had a few moments where I feared the worst, and had some plain awful nightmares. What bothered Kendal and I the most was the waiting. Once we knew there was a problem I wanted to act immediately and get it fixed. Instead we had to go from person to person to find a new piece of the puzzle. James has come out of this fine. He has a perpetual source of energy. He is incredibly loving, giving us hugs, kisses and smiles on demand and at random. He dotes on Marshall and is never jealous. It is a good thing Marshall is so big because James loves giving him full body hugs. He has not suddenly popped out a sentence, but he is making good steps. His therapist says he should be hitting his stride in 6-7 months. Seeing my child struggle has been heartrending, but watching him learn and grow is exhilarating.
The last six months has been full of stops and starts, long days of stagnancy, followed by rushes of activity. It has kept us on our toes for sure. Knock on wood, I think things are going to settle down now into a rhythm. I can say for sure that the Lord knows the paths we walk, and everything has been worth the wait.
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