- He gives the most amazing kisses and hugs. This is probably Brad and my favorite new game. We all hug and kiss away. He even says, “mmmmmmaaaauuhhh!” while he gives you a big wet kiss right on the lips.
- He has his own little desk area set up. It is so adorable!
- His favorite activity at his desk is to draw with crayons. He loves it. He also brings his artwork directly to the fridge because he knows that is where it goes.
- He is also really into puzzles! I recently got him some more puzzles and these are probably his favorite toy right now.
- He has used the potty a couple times! I’m trying not to get too excited about this . . .
- Probably one of cutest and clearest things he says is baseball. In fact, he sometimes starts chanting, “baseball, baseball, baseball.” He has a t-ball set and baseball books that he adores.
- He pretty much will repeat anything you say, though who knows how much he actually understands. It is also still quite hard to understand and I tend to have to translate for people. His first phrase was, “up in the air” which he learned from Grandfather Bob (in September—this is a bit tardy).
- He still is a super dancer. A couple friends have watched him for me recently when daycare was closed and everyone comments on his dancing abilities! Just like Mommy J.
- Also, like mommy, he loves his books. I have been meaning to write a whole post about how much he loves “reading.” This makes me very, very happy.
- He has very definite opinions and ideas about things. And he lets you know. Sometimes instead of just screaming he actually screams no. The other day in the car he yelled, “no, no, no” over and over again and when he wakes in the crib this is what we hear on the monitor. When he wants to go outside he goes and gets his shoes and jacket. He knows exactly where the snack cabinet is.
- Speaking of which, he still loves to eat. He does tend to spit out the green veggies though and he likes it best when dad cooks, because it is either pizza or spaghetti.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Signs that Joseph is getting to be a “big boy:”
Monday, October 20, 2008
New Goats!
You might notice in these pictures that they are actually all out of their pasture. The pygmies are very good at escaping and sometimes when we take George out to play they have to join in. However, as soon as we put George back in the barn they follow right along!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Minnesota Visit!! Yay!
I am such a slacker; I never posted pictures from my wonderful amazing fantastic Minnesota visit with Jenn, Sophia, Travis, and lots of Travis' family. It was such a treat and privilege to meet my best friend's daughter Sophia at just one month old. And even though Joseph can't yet appreciate the gravity of the situation, he also had a wonderful time (well, as usual except for sleeping: that didn't work out too well for either of us.) I so appreciate all that Jenn and her new family did for us and seeing her as a mom was AMAZING! I remember her dreaming up plans for our visit while she was pregnant and I figured she was crazy and with a newborn we would just hang out on the couch all day (which would have been fine). But, no, somehow she has more energy and calmness (it takes lots of both even though that sounds strange) then any new mom I could imagine. Were able to do all sorts of great stuff. Sophia is one lucky gal! So here they are, a bit dated, but still a great reminder of the wonderful time we had.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Playtime with George
I finally found my camera charger and we celebrated last night with a photo shoot. Now everyone can finally meet George!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Dance parties!
Joseph LOVES TO DANCE which makes me very happy! It is the cutest thing in the world. Often I turn on music and we have little dance parties. Joseph and I run around the room being super silly. His favorite move is turning in circles. He gets pretty crazy about this sometimes and goes around so much he gets dizzy and falls down. But then he is right back up and doing it again. It is hard to get him to stop. His other moves include waving his arms in the air and stepping from foot to foot (kind of stomping his feet; from seeing my version of dancing to bluegrass music). Sometimes he combines his entire repertoire and he goes in circles waving his arms in the air while stepping from foot to foot. I have also seen him combine dancing and his other favorite activity, reading, by dancing around holding a book in front of his face! At my Grandmother Nora’s birthday party Nora (the best dancer I know), my cousin Heather, and I got him going which was a very special moment. He also has certain toys that make music and he will turn them on himself so he has some music to dance to (his daycare provider reports he does this there as well). Lately he has been charming everyone by dancing to his LeapFrog book. He definitely knows the word too and often will start dancing at my request. I think he also knows what an effect he has on people with his cuteness because he will kind of stop and look at you and make sure you are watching. Brad isn’t too big on dancing himself; Joseph already has more moves than his daddy. Everyonce in awhile he joins in, but more often he likes to watch, lauph, and encourage Joseph by clapping (which winds him up even more). Just start clapping and Joseph often starts dancing. So much fun!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
More around the house . . .
As usual, Brad has been busy with many projects.
This is the new barn. Very cute. And as of last night it houses the newest addition to our family: a young goat! However, my camera is dead so you will have to check back for more pictures. It is also home for Brad's other new toy (tractor).
This is the new barn. Very cute. And as of last night it houses the newest addition to our family: a young goat! However, my camera is dead so you will have to check back for more pictures. It is also home for Brad's other new toy (tractor).
The big project of the summer was clearing more land behind the house. Brad cleared all the way to the old stone wall. This was a TON of work given all the brush and stones. Brad then decided to fix up the wall, which was so much fun he ended up adding a whole new section. He really enjoyed working on it and I love the new yard!
Teaching is also going quite well for me. I felt much better once I was able to get started and am happy with my decision. The first weeks went much better then I ever expected! Right now Joseph is sick and has been for a number of days and this is the biggest issue to come up so far. Oh well! I will write more another time.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
How getting ready to teach is like being pregnant
As most of you know I am getting ready for my next big adventure. The day after tomorrow I go from “stay at home mom” to working mom and start teaching! This is something which I find both very exciting and completely terrifying. Which reminds me of being pregnant. In fact getting ready to teach reminds me of getting ready for Joseph’s arrival in many ways:
1) I am completely freaking out. I can’t really think about it too much or I start to feel sick.
2) But, despite all the stress, I actually also feel confident that I will do a good job and it will be a great experience.
3) An experience which I am sure will be life changing.
4) I have tried to take care of everything I possibly could before the big day. A count down has been ticking in my head since I took the job and I have made appointments, gone shopping, planned, had my oil changed, ordered contacts, froze some food and stocked up on easy meals, tried to get out of some other responsibilities . . .
5) And I had to buy some new clothes AGAIN. Only this time they are super-dorky-old-lady clothes.
6) I am trying to prepare, prepare, prepare. Study, read, talk to people, ask questions, make lists, organize, but again this is something for which I know you cannot really prepare. Despite all this “preparation,” I still really have no idea what to expect.
7) So I have come to the realization that I just have to jump in and give it my best. Despite my attempts at preparation I really have to wing it. In fact, I actually wrote this list in my journal a week or so ago and since then I have pretty much given up on obsessive preparation and haven’t been letting myself freak out so much. I have even given myself a break and had some fun (pictures coming!). I am trying to just accept that it’s going to be hard, I won’t be perfect, but it will be what it will be. Hopefully I can both be of service to the students and build a good life for myself and therefore my family. I survived Joseph's arrival, so I figure I can probably handle this too.
1) I am completely freaking out. I can’t really think about it too much or I start to feel sick.
2) But, despite all the stress, I actually also feel confident that I will do a good job and it will be a great experience.
3) An experience which I am sure will be life changing.
4) I have tried to take care of everything I possibly could before the big day. A count down has been ticking in my head since I took the job and I have made appointments, gone shopping, planned, had my oil changed, ordered contacts, froze some food and stocked up on easy meals, tried to get out of some other responsibilities . . .
5) And I had to buy some new clothes AGAIN. Only this time they are super-dorky-old-lady clothes.
6) I am trying to prepare, prepare, prepare. Study, read, talk to people, ask questions, make lists, organize, but again this is something for which I know you cannot really prepare. Despite all this “preparation,” I still really have no idea what to expect.
7) So I have come to the realization that I just have to jump in and give it my best. Despite my attempts at preparation I really have to wing it. In fact, I actually wrote this list in my journal a week or so ago and since then I have pretty much given up on obsessive preparation and haven’t been letting myself freak out so much. I have even given myself a break and had some fun (pictures coming!). I am trying to just accept that it’s going to be hard, I won’t be perfect, but it will be what it will be. Hopefully I can both be of service to the students and build a good life for myself and therefore my family. I survived Joseph's arrival, so I figure I can probably handle this too.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Attempt at a birth story
This is something I have been meaning to write for a long time. I started awhile ago but it got so long and confusing I gave up. Then, when Joseph turned a year I decided it was time. So, 15 months after the actual events, I am putting it on here. As most of you know I am still emotional about the way things worked out with Joseph’s birth. All in all, accepting that things became so “unnatural” and feeling that I did not do my part has been the hardest part for me. But, I of course have to accept how things happened and be happy with the amazing little guy I got out of it all!
My water broke at 11:30 PM Friday 5/4/07 (11 days after my due date) just as I turned of my bedside lamp to go to sleep. When I woke Brad up he was so tired from roofing all day that he kept denying the very obvious fact. I called the doctor and they told us to head right to the hospital. We made our way and arrived at about 2 AM. It felt to me like lots of waiting around and confusion. My contractions only very slowly built up. I made very little progress dilating and that was the hardest thing for me. Well, I mean lack of progress plus pain. It became really painful in the early morning 5/5 when they gave me 2 doses of Prostaglandin to help my labor along. Throwing up and nausea began. Pain building and building . . . Time passing . . . Pain . . . (basically it was like a horrible Charlie-horse in my back. I kept thinking, “if only they could just get rid of my spine I would be fine.") Then they said I needed Pitocin because I was not making enough progress. It was sooo discouraging to be in such pain for so long but not have anything happening! I was really scared of the Pitocin and tried to put it off for as long as I could. They finally gave it to me around 4 or 5 PM Sat. By then I was obsessing about whether to get the pain medicine (epidural). When I was checked at about 6 PM and had only progress 2 cm (you have to go ten) in 15 hours (and the Dr. said she guessed I had at least 8 more hours to go—which turned out to be right on) and the same night shift people as I had seen the previous evening returned and they said this was my last chance, I gave up!! I got the epidural and that was completely freaky. My blood pressure kept getting too low and they began giving me injections for that (I already had IV antibiotics to fight infection and saline because they said I was dehydrated from throwing up, plus Pitocin, and epidural). We tried to rest. My epidural broke at one point. When it was fixed I had it put on a lower dose so I could still feel what was going on. At about 11:30 PM I felt like pushing. The Dr. checked and said I was ready to push, however they then realized I also had a fever. For some reason we wait around another hour. My fever is worse. The Dr. comes back and tells me that “my situation is serious.” She says she is going to “let” me push a couple times. I push through three contractions and each time the baby’s (Joseph!) heart rate plummets. To me it sounds like it stops and then slowly comes back. We stare at the tracer. The Dr. and nurse scurry to the side of the room and chat quickly. The Dr. comes back and tells me I need a c-section. I am actually relieved because I thought she was going to tell me that my baby was not going to make it (Brad still says that he thinks the nurse and Dr. acted unprofessionally because they seemed so freaked out). I ask once something like “are you sure this is necessary” and she says, in her opinion, it is. We fill out the paper work, Brad puts on scrubs, we wait for the room to be empty (someone else having a c section) and stare at Joseph’s heart rate monitor. I am certainly in shock. I don’t say an unnecessary word because I want the baby out as quickly as possible. They give me more drugs and 15 minutes after the decision is made we are in the operating room. The super friendly anesthesiologist chats as they cut Joseph out. They tell me at some point that he will have to go to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. They take him out (1:23 AM 5/6/07), unwrap the umbilical cord from around his neck, Brad gets a look at my insides he didn’t want, and they clean Joseph up. When they take him out he is sideways and still very high up. (Later they also found out the my placenta was infected because of such a long labor--26 hours--and say that it was very necessary to have the c-section.) Joseph screams quickly and everyone is saying right away how big and healthy he is. I am not surprise that he weights 9 lbs 3 ozs and is 22 1/2 inches long. Brad always says that he was batting the suction cup away. Brad holds Joseph by my head for a few minutes (as they stitch me back together) and then they take Joseph away. .. The worst part was not being able to see him!!!! I almost had to fight to get them to finally bring me to the NICU 8 hours later when I finally was able to get out of bed (WORST PAIN OF ALL). But he did look so amazingly healthy. And he was! And still is! Despite how complainy this sounds, I really am mostly just thankful that I got my Joseph out of it all. But it did suck.
My water broke at 11:30 PM Friday 5/4/07 (11 days after my due date) just as I turned of my bedside lamp to go to sleep. When I woke Brad up he was so tired from roofing all day that he kept denying the very obvious fact. I called the doctor and they told us to head right to the hospital. We made our way and arrived at about 2 AM. It felt to me like lots of waiting around and confusion. My contractions only very slowly built up. I made very little progress dilating and that was the hardest thing for me. Well, I mean lack of progress plus pain. It became really painful in the early morning 5/5 when they gave me 2 doses of Prostaglandin to help my labor along. Throwing up and nausea began. Pain building and building . . . Time passing . . . Pain . . . (basically it was like a horrible Charlie-horse in my back. I kept thinking, “if only they could just get rid of my spine I would be fine.") Then they said I needed Pitocin because I was not making enough progress. It was sooo discouraging to be in such pain for so long but not have anything happening! I was really scared of the Pitocin and tried to put it off for as long as I could. They finally gave it to me around 4 or 5 PM Sat. By then I was obsessing about whether to get the pain medicine (epidural). When I was checked at about 6 PM and had only progress 2 cm (you have to go ten) in 15 hours (and the Dr. said she guessed I had at least 8 more hours to go—which turned out to be right on) and the same night shift people as I had seen the previous evening returned and they said this was my last chance, I gave up!! I got the epidural and that was completely freaky. My blood pressure kept getting too low and they began giving me injections for that (I already had IV antibiotics to fight infection and saline because they said I was dehydrated from throwing up, plus Pitocin, and epidural). We tried to rest. My epidural broke at one point. When it was fixed I had it put on a lower dose so I could still feel what was going on. At about 11:30 PM I felt like pushing. The Dr. checked and said I was ready to push, however they then realized I also had a fever. For some reason we wait around another hour. My fever is worse. The Dr. comes back and tells me that “my situation is serious.” She says she is going to “let” me push a couple times. I push through three contractions and each time the baby’s (Joseph!) heart rate plummets. To me it sounds like it stops and then slowly comes back. We stare at the tracer. The Dr. and nurse scurry to the side of the room and chat quickly. The Dr. comes back and tells me I need a c-section. I am actually relieved because I thought she was going to tell me that my baby was not going to make it (Brad still says that he thinks the nurse and Dr. acted unprofessionally because they seemed so freaked out). I ask once something like “are you sure this is necessary” and she says, in her opinion, it is. We fill out the paper work, Brad puts on scrubs, we wait for the room to be empty (someone else having a c section) and stare at Joseph’s heart rate monitor. I am certainly in shock. I don’t say an unnecessary word because I want the baby out as quickly as possible. They give me more drugs and 15 minutes after the decision is made we are in the operating room. The super friendly anesthesiologist chats as they cut Joseph out. They tell me at some point that he will have to go to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. They take him out (1:23 AM 5/6/07), unwrap the umbilical cord from around his neck, Brad gets a look at my insides he didn’t want, and they clean Joseph up. When they take him out he is sideways and still very high up. (Later they also found out the my placenta was infected because of such a long labor--26 hours--and say that it was very necessary to have the c-section.) Joseph screams quickly and everyone is saying right away how big and healthy he is. I am not surprise that he weights 9 lbs 3 ozs and is 22 1/2 inches long. Brad always says that he was batting the suction cup away. Brad holds Joseph by my head for a few minutes (as they stitch me back together) and then they take Joseph away. .. The worst part was not being able to see him!!!! I almost had to fight to get them to finally bring me to the NICU 8 hours later when I finally was able to get out of bed (WORST PAIN OF ALL). But he did look so amazingly healthy. And he was! And still is! Despite how complainy this sounds, I really am mostly just thankful that I got my Joseph out of it all. But it did suck.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Summer fun
Happy guy!
Fourth of July and Jacob's Bday weekend:
Finding treasures in the woods!
Parade!
Lists
Joseph's "words": (in the order he started using them)
- Hi
- Uhoh
- Dada
- Beep
- Out
- Up
- Ball
- Bye
- No
- Boom
- Yeah
- Weee
- Book?
- Mama?
- Apple (Yay. First real two syllable word!)
Doesn't look to impressive; but it's a start!
Animals seen around the house:- Rabbits
- Fox
- Bobcat (and/or lynx--not quite sure)
- Cat
- Chickens
- Dogs
- Goat (escapee who walked a long way over the hill behind our house. We came home and she was just standing in our yard. She was great fun for the few hours she was hear. She would follow Brad everywhere.)
- Deer
- Emmus! Yes, earlier this week I looked out the window to see to HUGE (over 6 feet I would say) scary looking birds walking across the long. I was kind of tired so the first thing I thought was that some Alice in Wonderland type magic had enlarged the chickens. Now I believe they were emmus escaped from a local farm.
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