Project: Home

Mother vs. Mother

2011-02-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

"Once a Mom, always a Mom".

I distinctly remember my Grandmother telling me this a long time ago. I'm not sure why it stuck with me all these years, but I have been thinking about it recently.

Whether you have had a baby or have been pregnant and suffered the loss of one: You are a Mother. No one can take that a way from you. It's an elite club.

I'm not typically one to form or join an elitist club, but this one is too good to pass up. And, it's worthwhile. Moms really have to stick together; this is a tough job after all. Raising children, managing a household, loving our husbands, maybe working outside the home...the list goes on and we need to support one another in this club of ours.

So, why then, do we as mothers criticize each other so much? Why do we judge? I know I've done it. I know we've all done it. It's a part of "The Club" I'd like to remove.

Here are just a few topics we argue about in public and behind closed doors (and these are just the ones I've encountered, I'm sure there will be many more!):

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate
To put our kids on a schedule or not to schedule
To allow our kids to sleep in bed with us or not to allow them
To spank or not to spank
To home school or to send them to public school or to Christian school
To let them watch TV or not watch TV (before or after a certain age...)
To work outside the home or not to work
To "x" or not to "x"---you fill in the topic

And the list goes on...and on...

But none of these issues are Salvation issues. Not one. So why do we argue?

Instead, we should focus our energy on helping our friends and fellow Mothers decide if it is a spiritual issue for them. And pray. And then pray some more.

Here's an example:
Friend A feels like God is calling her to "home school" her child for preschool. They don't really have the money to send their child to school and the mom gets her children out to bible study, play groups, classes, etc...regularly. The mom is torn about what to do because she knows her child would love the interaction with other kids.

Friend B has only one child and may not have any more. She has immersed herself in her daughter and her daughter's needs. They do everything together. But she feels like God is calling her to send her child to preschool outside the home so they can both develop other relationships. She feels like her daughter would benefit from the separation--as hard as it may be.

Who is "right"? Who is "wrong"? The answer is simple: neither one is "right" if they do not follow God's calling for them. The one who is "wrong" is the one who ignores God's will for their family. Keeping your child home or sending them to school is not the spiritual issue.

The spiritual issue is what God is calling you to do and being obedient to that calling.

We need to quit bickering and judging. And start getting to the root of the issues: What is God calling you and your family to do? Your answer may be different than mine and we can both be right.

We're all in this together.

"Once a Mom, always a Mom".

And we need to stick together.

This job is already hard enough.

"When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness."

Proverbs 31:26 (NLT)

A Few Thoughts About Sleep

2011-01-31T21:14:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I love to sleep. Any time, any where. 8+ hours at night, minimum. Naps. Snoozes. Whatever you call it, I like to sleep. There is nothing like a good night of sleep and certainly there is nothing as rejuvenating as sleeping in past 9am on any given day. Every day, really.

You might say I'm a bit obssesive about sleep.

Enter the variable of a child, or in my case, children, and my obsession gets a little tricky.

When Anders was born, I knew there would be many sleepless nights ahead. Surprisingly, he turned out to be a pretty good sleeper. There were a few bumps along the way, but overall he was a great sleeper and I was soon able to get back to my obsession, even if it was modified a little. I was feeling pretty good, even when I found out I was pregnant with Jacobson Baby #2.

Fast forward to May 2010.

Anders quit sleeping.

Not only had he dropped his morning nap, all of a sudden he didn't want to take an afternoon nap and 6am seemed to be a perfectly normal time to start the day. We switched him to a "big boy" bed because Baby #2 was coming soon, and he quickly figured out that he could get in/out of his bed much easier than his crib. Going to bed at night became a fight.

And so a struggle of epic proportions began.

20 month old with a new found love of not sleeping

vs.

Pregnant mother who is obssessed with sleep (and a lot of it)

We have tried everything over the last 7 months:

Gates (yes, pluarl) in his doorway to keep him in
Clocks to show what time it is (don't get out of bed until "X" time)
Bribery
Threats
Laying in his room with him
Pack-n-play
Rain machine for background noise
Music
Allowing him to lay on the floor instead of in bed
Crying (me, not necessarily Anders)
Praying...

For months I was angry about his lack of willingness to love sleep as much as I do. I was so exhausted when Cade was born--not due to having a newborn, but because Anders was just wearing me out. It was hard for me to enjoy spending time with Anders because he was so tired all the time and just plain cranky. I kept thinking that if he would just sleep until 7am, I would be such a better mom--he would get more sleep, I would get more sleep and our day would just get off to a better start.

We have had some small successes along the way. He did start taking a longer afternoon nap again and staying in bed has gotten a lot better. There are days where he gets up at 6am, but he will come and lay in our bed with us for a while before starting his day. Anders has adapted to sleeping about 9 hours at night and 1.5-2 during the day.

So what worked? Which items on the list were the "winners"? Aren't you just dying to know?

Probably a combination of a few of them. But I am convinced that the one that has made the most impact is prayer. Simply put, I think this issue comes down to being a spiritual issue for me:

Sleep is my "god" and God didn't like that. And so he helped me adjust my priorities.

I still love to sleep. And my thoughful husband allows me the luxury of sleeping in one day on the weekends while he hangs out with the kids. But I am working on not being so obsessed with needing sleep above all else. This has been a real inner struggle for me over the past 7 months.

Let's just say God and I have had a few "discussions" over the last few months. In the beginning it was mostly me telling him how much I hated this new arrangment and could he please make Anders sleep more. But these conversations slowly turned to him reminding me that I am not in control and he knows what's best, even if I was a bit tired.

It has been a daily surrender to God of my attitude, will, and anger about not getting the amount of sleep I wanted. But when I'm most tired and exhausted, I have to rely on him because I don't have the energy to do it myself. And that is really a wonderful place to be. Relying on God. 100%.

I have had to own my bad attitude and adjust my expectations of Anders and my own needs. And I have learned two very valuable lessons.

1. If we allow God, he will use our children to teach us as much or more than we could ever teach them.

2. God wants to mold and refine us into who he wants us to be. We can take the easy road. Or in my case, climb Mt. Everest. Next time I'll hopefully choose the Walk in the Park route.

What is your "god"?

How is God encouraging you to let it go?

Did you have to climb Mt. Everest to let it go or did you learn a little more easily than I did?

What was the most recent thing your child(ren) taught you?

My hope is that you haven't had to go through the "Valley of the Shadow of No Sleep". In the end I'm glad I visited there for a while because ultimately, it brought me closer to the feet of God. And there is no better place to be.

Except maybe in bed. (I'm still learning...)

Best Buds

2010-12-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

Although they don't know it yet, they will be best friends.

And at times, I'm sure, worst enemies.

But hopefully more of the former and less of the latter.

A Different Perspective

2010-11-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

I'm thankful...

that I don't always get a full night of sleep...
...it means I have a newborn in the house.

that we have ongoing house projects to do...
...it means I have a roof over my head.

that my 2 year old gets frustrated over puzzles...
...it means he's learning.

that I have a few extra pounds to lose...
...it means I have plenty to eat.

that I dread getting up at 5:30 on Tuesday mornings...
...it means I have a job to go to.

that Wednesday mornings are often a scramble to get out of the house...
...it means I can openly study God's word with awesome ladies.

that we're always scraping money together to fly across the country...
...it means we have family & friends we love to visit.

that sometimes we have to say "no" to certain activities or events...
...it means we have lots of great friends we enjoy spending time with.

that every Sunday afternoon, August-January, (and Thanksgiving Day, too) I have to watch football...
...it means I have a husband to love.

that sometimes I have to ask for the dishes to get done...
...it means I have a husband who loves me.

Happy Thanksgiving. Here's hoping you have lots of things to be thankful for, too.

I Love This Kid!

2010-10-28T14:25:00.000-06:00

Anders never ceases to amaze me with his funny faces, crazy antics and the way he can go from 0-60 MPH in 2.2 seconds and then back to 0 as fast you can blink an eye. Recently (OK, since like May) we've had a lot of trouble with Anders sleeping--him not staying in his bed, him not sleeping long enough, waking up in the night, etc... But just the other day he fell asleep while watching a DVD (I was downstairs getting ready). He had never done this before! He slept right there on the couch for at least 1.5 hours. What a cutie.

Then, yesterday at CBS (Community Bible Study), they studied Jacob's love for Joseph and created these "Coats of Many Colors". He only wore it for me today for like 30 seconds or less. But, how cute is this craft? I think Anders colored about a 1"x1" piece of it and glued on a small bible verse. But, it's cute anyway.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-17T13:37:00.000-06:00

Last year, I went with some friends up to a Pumpkin Patch in Boulder. We had so much fun, we went again this year. My friend, Monique & her son, Ryan were able to go with us. This will be an annual tradition!

We checked out the goats...

Measured how tall we are (yes, he's almost 3' tall already!)...

Took some pictures by the pumpkins...

Hung around for a while...

Ate a snack...(Moique & I have learned to bring similar snacks when we go on field trips so the boys don't fight over what the other one has!)...

Pretended we were a girl...(I didn't even notice, Joel did when I showed him the pics)...

Walked, ran, sat, jumped along the path...

Took pictures by the tractors...

And checked out the donkey...

Did I mention it was at least 80 degrees out and we were all sweating by the time we got back to the car?

Why I Keep Haiku

2010-10-17T13:26:00.000-06:00

It's no secret that I have a love/hate relationship with our dog, Haiku. I really do love her, but sometimes her whinning and her shedding really get to me.

But then I watch Anders with Haiku. And this is why I keep her.

Garden Time...

2010-10-02T20:15:00.000-06:00

October seems like a strange time to be planting shrubs and flowers, but I guess it's a good time. Especially when the weather is so nice--like we've been having (90 here last Tuesday...). So, I've been busy this week looking for good deals on plants, purchasing and then planting them! It's a bit challenging with 2 young kids, but I am motivated!

The week after Cade was born, my dad & Joel worked in 95+ degree weather to build this retaining wall. It took them all week, but with the help of our neighbor and some of our friends, they were able to finish it!

This was the work they did this summer...

Joel's job was to build the wall. My job was to plant. So, it was time for me to hold up my end of the bargain!

I am hoping these small plants will grow to cover the utilities and part of the window...

It doesn't look like much now, but hopefully it will grow & grow!

I also planted some tulip bulbs--my first ever.

Talk about a lesson in hope...plant them now and just hope they come up in the spring!

My Two Boys

2010-10-02T15:08:00.000-06:00

I've had a hard time accepting the fact that I now have TWO boys! It makes life a bit more hectic, but a lot more fun. They totally look like brothers--but couldn't have more different personalities if we tried. Anders is very energetic, a bit stubborn and was a bit more sensitive to his surroundings, even as a baby. Cade is low-key, mellow and just all around easy going. I love them both!

Anders has adjusted to being a big brother, although I think he would enjoy having more "Mommy" time during the day. He loves to "hold" Cade on the couch and kisses him all the time. He tells everyone his name when they ask and can be very sweet to Cade. We do have our moments of jealousy, irritation and other "2 year old behavior". But, we have begun to get into our routine and life is moving forward!

I love little baby feet! Cade has long, long toes!

Anders' face looks a little beat up in this picture.

That's because it is.

He has a bruise on his nose from knocking his face into the floor in a fit of rage and

I'm not sure where the mark on his right cheek came from.

We won't even mention his legs and knees!

I love these kids!

Quick Trip

2010-10-02T14:57:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we made a quick trip to Butte, Montana with Joel's mom, Rhonda. Her mother turned 80 and there was a surprise birthday party for her! We loaded up the van and drove 14 hours on Friday...including a number of stops along the way--one in Buffalo, WY to visit Joel's Aunt & Uncle. We know where every McDonald's with a playplace is from here to Butte! (And we weren't happy with a couple that didn't have one!) The boys did great traveling but we were all glad to get there on Friday night.

Joel's family owns a concrete plant in Butte, so Joel's Uncle Rande took Anders up to the plant to climb on and explore the big semis, trucks and bulldozers they use. Anders had such a great time playing and riding in one of the huge semis, he fell asleep!

That night was the surprise party. It was a great time celebrating Great Grandma Shirley's birthday. However, Anders found that running around with the helium balloons was more fun!

Rhonda, Great Grandma Shirley, and Rhonda's two brothers (Rodd on the left and Rande on the right)!

On Sunday we loaded up the car again for the 14+ hour drive home. We stopped in Buffalo again and Joel caught a quarter of the Broncos game. We made it home about 10:30pm and Anders was up at 6am the next morning ready to go. He didn't miss a beat!

Time Flies...

2010-09-23T21:42:00.000-06:00

Time flies by so quickly, especially when you have 2 little ones around the house. It's hard to believe Anders is 2 and Cade is almost 3 months! I can't remember life without Cade and I certainly can't remember what I did with my time before Anders!

Here are a few pics from yesterday...Anders gets a cookie every time he stays in his bed for either his nap or at bedtime. I'd like to say that he was getting fat from cookies, but that is not the case. Cookie treats are few and far between for this busy guy.

He loves his new "Tomato Head" t-shirt...otherwise known as "Mr. Potato Head". :)

We spend quite a bit of time with my friend, Monique. Her son is just 5 weeks older than Anders. They "play" together--at least once a week and are in the same CBS (Community Bible Study) class. They don't have much choice but to like each other! Here they are playing the piano. This lasted about 2 minutes.

And then there is Cade. He is my sweet, content, loves-to-be-held baby. I am so glad my boys have different personalitiies. Since they are so close together, it just wouldn't be as much fun if they were too much alike! Cade (at two months) has been been sleeping 9+ hours at night and is just cool, calm and collected much of the day. What a great baby!

He's going to be a charmer with all his smiling!

Happy Labor Day!

2010-09-06T20:11:00.000-06:00

We had a great Labor Day weekend, how about you? Spent time with our neighbors on Friday, church on Saturday night, a friend & I got a "hall pass" to go out sans kids after church, Sunday was a nice day at home and then we had a BBQ with friends and today I didn't get out of my PJs! Nice!

A few weeks ago Joel & a couple of his friends went to see Inception. My friend & I were "stuck" at home with the kids. So last night, it was our turn. Kid-free we went to grab dinner and to see the movie for ourselves. Wow. That's about all I can say about it right now. A must-see in the movie theaters. Even if you don't think it's your type of movie. Go see it. And then tell me what you thought of it!

Anyway, here are a few pics from our weekend. Cade has started smiling--and it's not just "gas" as everyone says. He really does smile--at least for me. :) Anders is like having a teenage girl in the house--moody as all get out. He does have his very, very sweet moments followed by screaming and 2 year old temper tantrums. I try to focus on those sweet moments. Today Joel was trying to teach him how to arm wrestle. Very cute.

Then Anders got a little out of hand in the bath tub splashing...

It was so nice to have Joel home for an extra day this weekend...and now we just have to make 4 more days until another weekend!

Only a Mother

2010-08-31T20:34:00.000-06:00

I'm not usually a bragger, but when it comes to my kids, watch out! I am one proud Mama!

Tonight I was catching up on some email and had a chance to read an article on babycenter.com, a website I've used a quick-reference tool for the past couple of years. The article was about "Milestones Between 25 and 30 Months".

Here is a chart that was in the article:

Child's Age	Mastered Skills (most kids can do)	Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)	Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
25 and 26 months	• Stacks six blocks • Walks with smooth heel-to-toe motion	• Uses pronouns (e.g., I, me, you) • Washes and dries own hands	• Speaks clearly most of the time • Draws a vertical line
27 and 28 months	• Jumps with both feet • Opens doors	• Understands descriptions (e.g., big, soft) • Draws a vertical line	• Starts to recognize ABCs • Balances on one foot
29 and 30 months	• Brushes teeth with help • Washes and dries own hands • Draws a vertical line	• Draws a circle • Balances on one foot	• Puts on a T-shirt • Names one color • Names one friend

I started reading through the chart to see what Anders can do and what we should be looking for in the next few months.

Here's how we "measure up":
Stacks 6 blocks (try 20+ regularly)
Walks smoothly (he's running at full speed with no trouble)
Uses pronouns (sometimes...mostly it's "Anders do it" or "Mommy do it")
Washes and dries hands (ok, so not so great in this area--it's tough to get him to do it, but he can when we force him--typical boy--would rather be dirty than clean!)
Speaks clearly (yes, it's a little scary what he can repeat, too)
Draws a vertical line (not sure about this one--we don't sit still long enough to color)
Jumps with feet (yes, all the time, off of couches, curbs, chairs, etc...)
Opens doors (yes, sadly, and can undo the lock on the front door...thankfully we have a screen door that is impossible for adults to even open!)
Understands descriptions (yes and yes)
Starts to recognize ABC's (ok, so here's my real bragging--he knows ALL of his letters, what sounds they make, can recognize them all over the house, when we're driving, etc...and he knows the ABC song all by himself)
Balances on one foot (yes)
Brushes teeth with help (yes)
Draws a circle (see "draws a vertical line")
Puts on a t-shirt (for the most part)
Names one color (yes--quite a few with about 75% accuracy)
Names one friend (also a bragging point for me. He knows, recognizes and can name 50+ people in person and/or in pictures. Sometimes at night while he's falling asleep we here him going through his "roladex" of people. He can also put families together--if we name one member of the family, he names the rest)

And these are what he's supposed to be doing by 30 months. He just turned 24 months on Saturday!

Here's my conclusion: either Anders is WAY advanced or this chart's expectations are really low.
We'll go with a combination of both.

A Big Weekend

2010-08-30T21:58:00.000-06:00

This past weekend my sister, Aimee, came for a visit from Virginia. She was able to leave all 3 of her kids behind to come be a blessing to me & my 2 kids! We had a great time! We were able to get out of the house and do some "girl things"--mostly shopping for scapbooking stuff. But, she was also able to help me manage having 2 kids for a couple of days!

Saturday was Anders' 2nd birthday! She was able to be here to celebrate with us. We had a couple of friends over for a short birthday party and some cake. I had never heard the rule of thumb that you should invite one more kid than the year old your child is turning. So, 3 kids since Anders turned 2. I have to say, it's a good rule!

We had a great time, despite how hot it was by 11am! And, Anders got the best gift ever--a baseball tee, bat and ball. We have to drag him inside to get him to take a break from playing! What's really funny is that 4 out of the 5 families represented thought about getting Anders the tee ball set for his birthday, but only 1 actually did. Everyone knows Anders really well! He loved ALL his gifts and has been enjoying his new stuff for the past few days! (including this new wedgits set from Oma & Opa--if you don't know what they are and have young kids at home, ask me. They are fabulous!)

Poor Cade, he doesn't have much choice about things these days. Anders thinks it's hilarious to put this pillow on his head. Soon enough Cade might give Anders a run for his money!

Happy Sunday!

2010-08-15T22:22:00.000-06:00

We enjoyed a nice day at home today. The Rockies were on this afternoon-we won, if you were wondering. And the Broncos were on this evening--go Tim Tebow!

About half way through the afternoon, Anders went and got his "Jesus Loves Me" book and read it to Cade. He knows the first verse & chorus. It was very cute!

Summer's End

2010-08-15T22:15:00.000-06:00

Thursday was the last official day of Summer Vacation for us. Joel headed back to work full time on Friday. We knew this day would come, and we were anxiously awaiting its arrival--both with excitment and a little fear. Excitment because we are ready to get back into our "school" routine and a little fear because it is yet another adjustment for us and for Anders.

We decided to take Anders on his first Alpine Slide adventure at Heritage Square. The slide itself is not the nerve-racking part--the chair lift ride up the hill is (for me at least). But, Anders did great. He did one ride with Joel & then a ride with me! It was a great outing we will repeat next year! And next year, Cade might even get to go (he stayed at the bottom in his car seat--I don't think he had any idea where we were!).

Challenges for Anders

2010-08-08T14:25:00.000-06:00

This summer has been a bit rough for Anders. The birth of Cade notwithstanding, he's faced a number of big changes over the last few months.

During the school year (September to May), we had a great routine. Mondays we spent at home, Tuesdays I worked & he went to a friend's house, Wednesday we had Bible Study and a friend (a 3 year old I watched) came over to play all day, Thursdays were spent with another friend (a 1 year old I watched) and then Fridays were spent at home recovering from our week. Somewhere in there we would spend some time with one of my friends doing something fun.

But then at the beginning of June, all of that went away--work, Bible Study, friends coming over, etc, and we moved him from his crib to a big boy bed...and, all of a sudden dad was home all day, every day.

Don't get me wrong, this is a wonderful thing for us. Joel is so busy during the school year, summer is a great respite for us. But, it does shake things up a bit. Then add to that, I went to work for 40+ hours one week to run camp and that threw a wrench in everything.

Anders, my great little sleeper (12 hours at night and 3 hours in the afternoon), quit sleeping.

He started fighting nap time, bed time and everything in between. His temper tantrums grew and grew and things just seemed out of control. Every time we seemed to make headway on the problem, a new challenege arose.

And then Cade came. Anders loves his little brother, but it was just another new challenge for us.

We have spent the entire summer trying everything from bribery to time out to everything in between. Just when we thought we were going to be stuck at home forever with a child who wouldn't sleep, I think we have made some progress. He's going to sleep easier and has even fallen asleep for a nap at my friend's house and he went to bed last night at our other friend's house.

And today, he even feel asleep in his bean bag chair. I think he's finally catching up on all that sleep he missed in June and July.

Now if only I could, too...

A Month In Review

2010-08-05T11:37:00.001-06:00

It's hard to believe that my last post was on July 5th. I was hot, tired, and ready for baby Cade to come. What a difference 4 weeks make!

Cade arrived at 9:08pm on Thursday, July 8th in a flash!

Start to finish, labor and delivery was 3 hours. We were at the hospital for about 45 minutes before he made his appearance. It was quite a rush for us and such a relief when it was over. He weghed in at 7 lbs, 11oz (just 5 oz. shy of his brother) and 20.5 inches long--just a little shorter than Anders.

We were so glad that Joel's mom, Rhonda, lives so close. She was able to watch Anders for the 48 hours we were in the hospital. They had a great time together while we were busy taking care of our new addition. Anders and Rhonda came to the hospital on Friday morning to meet Cade. Anders immediately fell in love with his brother (and the call button to the nurse's station).

We checked out of the hospital at about 1pm on Saturday and Joel and Anders were off to church at 4:45pm! After church, Joel went to the airport to pick up my parents. When Anders was born, I'm not sure we went anywhere for a week...this time is just a lot different!

We had a great week with my parents and were so grateful for their help--both with Anders and a huge landscaping project (more on that later...). We were very sad to see them go, but we know they will come back soon!

Cade is growing fast and is proving to be a bit more mellow than Anders was...which we are really grateful for! He is a pretty good sleeper (when he doesn't have gas) and the transition has gone fairly smoothly. Anders loves his brother (as much as an almost 2-year-old can). He especially loves "holding" Cade and giving him kisses. I am excited to watch them grow and learn together and develop that brotherly bond!

We are both dreading and looking forward to the next few weeks...Joel returns to work, which is very sad for all of us--mostly me--I'll have to actually get up and get going in the mornings to take care of Anders AND Cade simultaneously. But, we are also looking forward to getting back into the school year routine.

Big Shoes to Fill

2010-08-05T11:09:00.000-06:00

Yes, Anders, you have big shoes to fill. You have already developed dad's love of reading, language and solving puzzles. But you have a long way to go with working on learning his skills of patience, developing relationships, serving God and caring for your family.

But don't worry, he'll help you every step of the way. Another one of his great characteristics: teaching.

What 22 Months Will Do

2010-07-05T13:15:00.000-06:00

Anders was born in August of 2008 and this was what he looked like in his car seat when we left the hospital.

Fast forward 22 months and this is what he looks like now!

Crazy kid thinks the car seat is his own personal lounger! I think he'll be a bit surprised when we bring home a little baby in it.

Anxiously Waiting

2010-07-05T13:09:00.000-06:00

Just like Joel & I are waiting for Baby Cade to come...Anders was waiting for his turn in the bouncy castle yesterday. Our neighbors rent a big castle every year for the 4th but this year was the first year we've been home since 2006! Anders looked longingly out our front window all morning.

I can't tell you how excited he was when it was finally time to play in it! Just like we'll be so excited when Cade finally decides to make his appearance!

June Fun!

2010-06-13T11:39:00.000-06:00

We have been out of school officially for 11 days and it has been a busy week and a half! We have had lots of fun catching up on family time and some rest, while staying very busy with various activities!

Anders continues to grow and grow--he is now sleeping in his big boy bed (a real twin size bed) and he loves it. We have yet to move the crib downstairs, but he hasn't been in it in almost 2 weeks. He also loves to eat--recently Grandma J taught him how to pull the grapes off the stem to eat them. Who knew it would be so much fun?

He loves to wear hats of all kinds--mostly baseball hats, like dad--but sometimes construction hats and he's even been known to go out and about in his cowboy hat.

Anders pretty much loves to do anything that dad is doing, including "helping" with handy-man projects around the house. Anders has his own set of plastic tools and is helping dad with his wrench to fix our leaky shower. He knows the names of most common tools--screwdriver, hammer, wrench, pliers, etc...

This weekend we had a major rainstorm move in. It only lasted about 10 minutes, but it dumped a lot of rain. We really needed it! Anders & Joel were checking it out from the front door. I was just praying that there wouldn't be any hail because we just finalized our insurance claim from LAST summer's hailstorm a week ago! I didn't want to start that all over again...

And finally, and probably the most fun, last Thursday we headed up towards Evergreen to Tiny Town. Grandma J had been watching Anders a lot for us over the last week or two, so we wanted to do something fun with all four of us. Also, it was very hot in Denver last Thursday, so getting up into the mountains where it's about 10 degrees cooler is always a bonus.

Tiny Town is just that--a minature sized town with about 100 or so buildings. Most of them are famous building from around the Denver area. Anders had so much fun looking in all the small buildings. And of course, the minature train ride was also a big hit!

Peeking in at the Harley Davidson store.

We stayed for about an hour and a half and then it was time to head back home for some lunch and a nap! We'll be back!

Shark Attack

2010-05-31T10:35:00.000-06:00

Some co-workers at Joel & Rhonda's school gave Anders this shark hat. He just loves it and looks hilarious in it. What a cute guy! And what a great buy at the dollar store!

A Slide and Some Staples

2010-05-25T21:02:00.000-06:00

It's official: Anders is a climber.

Currently he climbs up and over anything he can. The sofa, chairs, the seats in the van.

And now the rails of his crib and the sides of his pack n play.

I'd say he's an expert.

Normally I'd be proud of his accomplishments. But I'm sure you can think of a few ramifications of said behavior.

I have been scearching Craig's List every day for the last few weeks--like 2 and 3 times a day--to find a slide or outdoor play equipment or something for this child to play on! But every time I emailed the equipment had already sold. Someone out there was a faster emailer than me!

I finally found a good deal on this slide set and I am so excited to finally have something for him to do that's "safe" (we'll see how long it takes him to figure out he can jump off of the top).

Tonight he was outside playing with Joel while I made dinner.

As a side note, those of you who are a bit perceptive may have noticed something odd about our dog.

Yes, she is wearing a cone on her head.

And a few more "yes statements" about this incident:

Yes, she did run around the neighborhood (taking herself for a jog as we call it) last Tuesday night while Joel and Anders were playing in the front yard and I was desperately trying to get some stuff done at work.

Yes, she came back to the driveway with blood spewing out her hind leg.

Yes, she required an emergency visit to the vet (which then met a fair amount of blood all over the backseat of the van).

Yes, I had to leave work early.

Yes, we were terribly stressed.

Yes, Joel had band practice for church that night, which he had to miss.

Yes, it cost a lot of money, although a lot less than what others have said their vet bills for similar injuries cost.

Yes, she has 5 staples in her ankle.

Yes, the cone is WAY more annoying than you can ever imagine. Can you imagine being Anders (or any of the other small children to visit my house in the last week) and being face to face with a dog with that thing on her head?!

And yes, this did make me (and Joel for a little while) want to give her away even more so than before.

Today the vet said we could come back any time between May 29 and June 1 to have the staples removed.

Yes, we will be there as early as possible on Saturday morning. Despite the fact that it's our anniversary.

A Little Boys' Room

2010-05-25T20:30:00.002-06:00

It is officially spring in Colorado and has been since Friday. How do I know? Not by looking at the calendar, but by looking at my little man's legs. Friday was the first day of "shorts weather" here and by Friday night at 7:00pm, they were skinned up, banged up and bruised.

Just like mine when I was his age. I have the scars to prove it. But, he doesn't seem to mind one bit. And I guess as long as his injuries don't involve stitches or broken bones, I'm ok with that.

Over the past couple of weeks I've been working very hard on getting Anders' room painted. It was a very nice color yellow previously, but it just didn't fit for this All-American rough & tumble boy.

I am so grateful for my friend, Monique's, help. In one afternoon (while 2 little boys slept!) we got all of the tan and light blue painted. Then, over the last week I worked on the navy blue stripe and all the touch ups. I love how it turned out!

Here are the curtains that have been a work in progress. My mom & I made the top part back in December and then Monique helped me work on the bottom part (that closes) a few weeks ago.

Below are some things I've found that fit his "sports" theme. And the letters that Monique and I worked on...she made letters with a car theme for her son and I did sports for Anders.

Do you notice a theme here? I really need all the help I can get! And I would MUCH rather work on crafting projects with a friend rather than alone!

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T20:59:00.003-06:00

We had a wonderful Mother's Day here in Colorado--the weather was beautiful! I spent all of this morning at church helping with the Children's Choir--they did such a great job! Then came home to enjoy lunch with Joel, Rhonda (Joel's mom) and Anders.

We had some time to take pictures and Joel got some really good ones of Anders. He discovered this hat--purchased by my mom a while back--in his old room and decided it was his new favorite thing. The only time he hasn't worn it in the past 3 days is to church and bed!

What a cutie--I sure am blessed!

We then went off to Joel's softball games--his team won both games today! Enjoyed some Macaroni Grill before watching the finale of Amazing Race. What a great day.

Hope you had a great day, too!

2010-05-02T20:52:00.000-06:00

Anders LOVES puzzles. Shapes, letters, cars, animals, whatever...he loves to put the pieces together. His new trick, however, is trying to piece things together that don't necessarily go together. The other morning while enjoying waffles, it was putting his fork in his straw. Although his face doesn't show it (his mouth is crammed full of syrup-y waffles), he was quite pleased with himself.

As of today, he hasn't remembered this trick.

I won't be reminding him.

Somewhere in Between

2010-05-02T20:42:00.000-06:00

I've recently become very fond of a saying our pastor quoted in a sermon a while ago...

You're never as good as people say you are.

And you're never as bad as they say either.

You are probably somewhere in between.

This comes in handy when a fellow teacher or co-worker is feeling really down in the dumps about what parents and others are saying about them. Our pastor was also saying it about himself in his role of leading our congregation. (And we all know that parents & church members can be very opinionated) Often we only hear criticism from those who whine the loudest and we only hear praise from those who gush over us unrealistically.

It's more important to keep a level head.

The reality is, you--in your job, volunteering, as a parent, etc...--are most likely doing better than you think but there's always room for improvement.

At least that's what I keep telling myself.

New Look for Anders

2010-04-09T09:26:00.002-06:00

I took Anders to get a hair cut this morning--although it doesn't look like he has much hair, he really does. It's just very fine & very, very blonde.

He wasn't really interested in sitting in the chair this time, so I let him sit on my lap. Then he wasn't interested in having the cape on, so we used a towel. Then he just wasn't interested in sitting still so he got to have his first lollipop! It was a MESS! The amount of drool that came out of his mouth in the 10 minutes we sat there was incredible!

In the end, he is one handsome dude and we have now introduced the "faux-hawk". Kind of like a mohawk, but much more tame.

And, it is the Rockies home opener today at 2:10pm, so there has been much talk of baseball around our house!

Celebrating Easter

2010-04-07T18:57:00.001-06:00

Much like celebrating Christmas, celebrating Easter is so much more fun with little kids! Although we know that these holidays hold a great meaning for us as Christians, I do think it's OK to have a little fun with the "commercialized" parts of the holidays, too!

On Sunday, Anders got to participate in his first ever annual Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma J's house. The "treats" inside were pieces of Cliff Bar, which he loves, so he was a bit motivated to keep "looking" for the eggs...

(I love this super cute, super preppy button down shirt my mom gave him!)

It was great fun--I think next year he'll be the perfect age for it--and he'll have a little brother to show how it works, too!

On Monday, I had to work and Joel stayed home with Anders. It was the all-day opening of baseball season (Sunday night was the official opening, for all of you technical people out there), so Joel and his friend, Jason, spent the day together with Anders and Jason's daughter, Abbey. When the mom's got home from work, we had dinner together and then made these cute hats my mom sent us...Anders wore his around for quite a while, but Abbey was not so thrilled!

And just for the record:
1. Anders took a big spill last week (while I was gone) on the pavement and skinned his nose. It is healing up just nicely.

2. Yes, Anders' shirt really does say "I got my mommy's good looks and my daddy's gas". It is kind of a joke t-shirt from our friends Jason & Krista. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. It's funny now, but I cry for Anders' future wife. I know how it will smell.

Doggone Cute

2010-04-04T21:08:00.002-06:00

I love my dog. I really do. Yes, I have to force myself to say that outloud just to remind me that it's really true.

I do love her. How could you not love this adorable dog?

But there are days where I'd like to give her to another family.

Like when she gets into the dirty diapers when we're gone (only #1--we take all #2's straight outside) or when she eats a bag of chips because she's mad I've gone somwhere without her. Or when she whines and whines and whines and whines and whines in the car when I do take her with us.

She has a habit of getting up in my face every time I sit on the floor.

She licks and licks and licks and licks.

She loves to chew her nails for about 20 minutes, right when I'm falling asleep at night. (Seriously, you laid around for about 8 hours today and this is the only time you could fit it in your schedule to gnaw on those nails?!)

She just seems to get right in the way during diaper changing time, playing with puzzles, reading books, tying my shoes, am playing on the floor with Anders, or when we're trying to take a nice Easter picture.............

But she also loves to curl up in the sun and lay there for hours.

And she is the best ball fetcher I have ever seen.

She loves the water and is so cute playing in it.

And most of all, she tolerates Anders. His "hugs", his tugs, his smacks, his desire to be close to her while she watches out the front glass door, and when he is screaming at the top of his longs.

She runs to the top of the stairs instead of going outside in the morning so she can be the first one into his room to get him up.

And sometimes, just sometimes, she curls up right next to us as we read books on the floor.

So in the end, I will give up my own sanity so my boys can have a dog to love. And I love her, too.

Most of the time.

Are You Surprised?

2010-04-04T20:48:00.003-06:00

Would you be surprised if I told you that Anders is very verbal? With two parents that are teachers and a mother who likes to talk, I am not surprised at all.

Here are a few of the words we hear throughout the day...

Names (Identified by sight or picture)
Momma (of course :))
Dad
Anders
Haiku
Grandma
'ma (for Oma)
'pa (for Opa)
Aimee
Re-re (for Avery)
Faif (for Faith)
Betsy
Doreen
Jason
Abbey
Monique
Ryan
Ali
(funny side note--this morning as we went to Grandma J's church for Easter--which is where I go to Bible Study with the three names above--Anders asked as we were walking in "Monique?" "Ali?" "Ryan?" He knew all of those people should have been there with us, but was confused why they weren't) Cute, cute

And I'm sure I missed a few more...

Animals/Sounds (Identified by sight or in books) followed by the sound he makes with it
Zebra
Giraffe
Bear
Penguin
Monkey (oooohhh-ooohh)
Walrus
Sea Lion
Turtle
Duck (quack)
Oink
Neigh
Moo
Dog (woof)
Snap! (crocodile) This one is more like SSSSNNNNAAAP!
Snake (sssssss)
Cat
Ribbit
Sniff-sniff with his nose (rabbit)
Fish

Food--this one is an important category for him!
Fruit Bar
Yogart
Milk
Drink
Cup
Nana (Banana)
Grapes
Apple
Mess (as in, don't make one)
Plate
Bowl
More
Cookie

Random Words...
Book
Shelf
Toy
Truck (beep-beep)
Up
Work (as in, dad's at work and not here to play right now)
Egg (you would think this would go under the "food" category, but you would be wrong. He doesn't eat them, he just likes the Easter Eggs)
Sock
Pants
Shoes
Boot
Brush
Baby
Pen
Button
Thank You
Please
B-ball (for basketball)
Football
Bye-bye
Hi-ya (as in Hi!)
Happy
Ball
Yellow (everything is yellow these days, but we are working on it)
Eyes
Nose
Mouth
Head
Back
Phone (as in, he talks on anything that resembles a phone--remote controls, glasses cases, long blocks, and an occasional toy cell phone...mostly to Joel's friend Jason or Jason's daughter, Abbey--she is 10 months)
Chair
Fall (as in, don't fall off of that chair, couch, bench, etc...)
Off
On
Church
Jesus
Out! & Safe! (what an umpire says....we are ready for baseball to start today!)

I know I have missed quite a few...he is now working on putting sentences together. His first 2-word sentence a few weeks ago was "more cookie!". Anders also knows probably 22 out of 26 letters (capitals) and is working on numbers...I'm afraid we have opened the floodgates to learning and we can't stop him!

Oh, and how could I forget his favorite word of all? NO!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T17:59:00.000-06:00

Happy Easter from our famiy to yours!

Taking pictures with a 19 month old, a dog and a camera on a timer

is much, much harder than it looks.

The empty chair is to remind me next year

we'll throw in another toddler, just for fun!

All In a Day of Eating

2010-03-21T19:27:00.003-06:00

Anders loves to eat. Most of the time. He does have his days where he is a bit pickier than I would like, but for the most part, he does love food. Some odd flavors he likes are Cool Ranch Doritos, Chili Cheese Fritos, taco meat & onions (in a recipe Joel makes), and random other food that little boys aged 19 months shouldn't particularly enjoy.

I am often amazed by what he likes to eat. But more often than that, I am amazed by how much he can eat in one sitting.

Others have taken note too.

My friend, Monique, watches Anders on Tuesdays while I work. This past week she wrote down everything he ate for lunch (and this was after he had a good breakfast that morning, mind you).

1 cutie (tangerine)
6 cherry tomatoes
1 small sized applesauce
1 fruit bar (adult size)
1 jar of fruit (baby food)
6 grapes
1/2 blueberry Cliff bar (adult size)
8 pieces of popcorn chicken
12 goldfish

And at the "end" of the meal, she wasn't really quite sure he was done, it was just time to move on to something else.

First Haircut

2010-03-21T19:17:00.000-06:00

I'm so far behind it's almost hard to get started, but I want to post some pictures of what Anders has been up to in the last few months. So, here it is. His first haircut. This was actually January 20!

The lady who cuts my hair was willing to do Anders' first cut--and she had so much fun she did it for free! His hair has been growing like crazy since his first birthday--mostly in the back.

He sat very still for the entire process--about 10 minutes--although he hated the cape. Him sitting still was a total miracle--that doesn't happen very often.

Now that I've finally posted these pictures, he's actually ready for another haircut.

Ages 2+

2010-03-15T13:00:00.007-06:00

My new pet peeve is how toys are labeled for certain ages.

"This toy for ages 3-6 months" or "2+ only" or one of my favorites "Choking Hazard, 3+ only" on toys that are as small as a baseball. Really, a choking hazard? Is that like for elephants, or what? I know my kid can shove a heckofalotta food in his mouth, but a baseball sized toy? I'm not too worried.

As I was going through pictures from the last few months (I don't know if you have noticed I'm a bit behind in blogging, scrapbooking, and just "photo management" in general, but I am), I noticed how many toys we have that are not age-appropriate for Anders.

And here there are....

This puzzle we got from Joel's brother's family for Christmas.
It is for ages 2 & up.
Anders mastered it at 16 months.

These Wedgits (which I LOVE) are great.
They are for 2+ or maybe even 3+.
This one does say choking hazard.
The white piece you see by his foot are the smallest pieces.

First of all, yes, Joel is wearing shorts.
Second of all, what Anders is opening is a flashlight
he got from Oma for Valentine's Day.
Age 3+.

This great Bucket-O-Blocks is for 2+.
He got it on his first birthday and
has been playing with the blocks & tub ever since.
Wearing crazy outfits is not required.

I bought him this ball recently.
It has a handle on it so you can sit on it and bounce,
although his legs are no where near long enough.
Yet.
Ages 3+

Now that I look back, 4 out of 5 of these were gifts.......

And the verdict is...

2010-02-19T10:02:00.009-07:00

Joel and I are not big "surprise" people. I know there are many who believe in waiting until the baby is actually born to find out the gender or to announce the name. We just aren't like that. With our first, we just had to know the gender because we were having an awful time coming up with names. And actually, we didn't decide on Anders Eric until minutes after he was born. (Joel asked him if he wanted to be Anders or Eric).
This time was the same. Except there was no fighting over names. We had names for both genders picked out. And there will be no surprises (hopefully!) for us this time.

Anders will be getting a brother on or around July 5 and his name will be Cade Joseph.

And here he is (profile shot)! You can see a blob right in the middle above his nose--that's his hand. Doesn't he look just like Anders? :)

How we picked Cade is a great story.

Caedmon (pronounced CAD-(rhymes with bad)-mun) is the earliest English poet (of Celtic decent) whose name is known. He lived in the 6th century and began his life as a herder outside of a monastery in northern England. He was unable to sing or write and avoided performing any type of music in front of his peers. One night he received a vision from God and was told to sing and then write down his song. In the morning when he woke up, he remembered the song and brought it to the head of the monastery. From there he became a monk and went on to write and sing. Not much else is known about him and only one of his text's still survives--the song he received in his vision from God, called Caedmon's Hymn. He is known as the Father of English poetry because he made religious poetry accessible to ordinary people.

Here are the words to that Hymn (as translated from the original language):

Now [we] must honour

the guardian of heaven,

the might of the architect,

and his purpose,

the work of the father of glory

— as he, the eternal lord,

established

the beginning of wonders.

He, the holy creator,

first created heaven as a roof

for the children of men.

Then the guardian of mankind

the eternal lord,

the lord almighty

afterwards appointed

the middle earth,

the lands, for men.

Cade is a derivative of Caedmon, and is a nod to Joel's love of poetry.

But what really made both of us fall in love with Cade was when Joel came across this poem about Caedmon:

Caedmon

by Denise Levertov

All others talked as if

talk were a dance.

Clodhopper I, with clumsy feet

would break the gliding ring.

Early I learned to

hunch myself

close by the door:

then when the talk began

I’d wipe my

mouth and wend

unnoticed back to the barn

to be with the warm beasts,

dumb among body sounds

of the simple ones.

I’d see by a twist

of lit rush the motes

of gold moving

from shadow to shadow

slow in the wake

of deep untroubled sighs.

The cows

munched or stirred or were still. I

was at home and lonely,

both in good measure. Until

the sudden angel affrighted me—light effacing

my feeble beam,

a forest of torches, feathers of flame, sparks upflying:

but the cows as before

were calm, and nothing was burning,

nothing but I, as that hand of fire

touched my lips and scorched my tongue

and pulled my voice

into the ring of the dance.

Joseph is a special name to me personally--as I love the story of Joseph in Genesis. I also love that there are other wonderful men in the Bible named Joseph--I have a particular fondness for Joseph of Arimathea who donated his own tomb for Jesus.

But Joseph also has a special meaning for us as "Joe" was Joel's dad's middle name. A tribute to a man I never met, but a wonderful dad and husband nonetheless.

So now we will have 2 boys, with what I think are great names (I'm a bit biased), both paying tribute to their grandfathers--Anders for my dad, Andrew and Joseph for Joel's dad, Jimmy Joe.

As for the girl's name--we would have kept in the great Swedish tradition--Linnea and either gone with Marie (a family name on my side) or Elaine (Joel's mom's middle name)...

50% Ain't Bad

2009-12-23T11:40:00.004-07:00

I'm not really one to make New Year's Resolutions. But this year, I did. I made two.

The first one is kind of silly, but it was an easy one to keep. My resolution was to not buy any new soap for myself during 2009. Now don't go getting all upset with me--it's not like I wasn't going to use soap, I just wasn't going to buy any new soap.

I had tons and tons of little bottles, half-used bottles and bottles I wasn't previously interested in using. This was the year to use them up. I am happy to say, I kept this resolution 100%. No new soap for me--I'm still going strong with leftovers and unused bottles. Probably saved some money in the process, too.

The second resolution I made was also a bit silly, and I made it on a whim: No Preg-o in '09. In other words, I really didn't want to be pregnant in '09 because it would mean I would be pregnant in '07, '08, '09 AND '10.

Be careful what your New Year's Resolutions are.

Baby J #2 will be arriving around July 5, 2010.

As for New Year's Resolutions for 2010?

There are none. Not a one.

Christmas is Coming...

2009-12-07T15:07:00.005-07:00

As of right now we're:

9 days away from getting a nephew
9 school (work) days away from a 2 week break
17 days away from Christmas with Grandma J
22 days away from a visit from Opa & Oma
24 days away from 2010!

At the Jacobson house, we've been a little slow in getting ready for Christmas...everything just seems to take more time with a 15 month old!

We did get out the Christmas tree on Saturday, although it is still unlit and undecorated.

One step at a time around here.

Anders sure enjoyed watching/helping/making a mess while we set up the tree. Here are some pictures from his adventures.

Soon after we took this picture we heard the tinkling of the piano.
We turned around only to find Anders STANDING on the keys of the piano.
He had climbed on the lid of the tub, onto the piano bench and was standing on the keys of the piano reaching for pictures, ornaments and flowers on the top of the piano.
Gotta keep your eye on this one.

A New Look

2009-12-01T16:10:00.003-07:00

At the beginning of November, Joel shaved his head, beard, everything for "no-shave November" at school. It was a, well, um, interesting look. But that look didn't last long as his hair started growing in.

And growing.

And growing.

By the middle of November I was really "over it"--especially the mustache. As we went into Thanksgiving week I was just counting the days, the hours, until he would shave again.

And then he started threatening to keep it. But I knew he didn't really mean that because he was started to get "blistering" on his upper lip from his mustache being so long. I think that was God's gift to me to insure he would shave it.

So, here he was last night at the end of the month. Honestly, the pictures don't even come close to showing the true nastiness of it all.

I'm just glad it's gone.

One of our friends wanted Joel to keep his beard and mustache.

So we took a picture before the infamous mustache was removed.

Captain Joel

2009-11-15T12:47:00.003-07:00

This past week, Joel had the honor of being an "Honorary Captain" for the football team at the high school where he works. The team voted him as the teacher they wanted. It was the first game of the playoffs and he was very excited to fulfill his duties. He was able to go into the locker room with the team prior to the game and then he walked out on the field with the captains (four of the five he knew & had as students) and was there for the coin flip. He was even on the local news' "Prep Rally"!

Anders & I hung out with Grandma J--well, mostly Anders--he had fun walking around with her. It was very cold & rainy/snowy, but we had fun. Sadly, we couldn't stay too long as Joel had a prior commitment, but it was fun nonetheless.

He's the tall guy with the green shirt & black hat on the right.

8 Kids and Counting...

2009-11-15T12:41:00.003-07:00

When I first started working at Lincoln Academy in 2001, there was a group of us girls that were single and basically footlose and having fun. We had lots of fun together (including one other friend who happened to be married). Now, 8 years later, we are all married and have kids, but live all over the place. 3 of us live in town--and still work together, one lives in NC (her hubby is in the Air Force) and one lives overseas.

This past Friday, 4 of the 5 of us got together with all of our kids--8 total! (We hope that we can get all 10 kids together in December!)

We met at Pump It Up and the kids played, played, played for almost 2 hours. Then we all came to my house for lunch where we snapped this picture. JJ's two kids are on the far left (boy, 3 and girl, 10 months), BS's two kids (girl, almost 3 and boy, 10 months), then Anders (15 months), then AE's three kids (girl, 4, girl, 3 and boy, 8 months). Crazy times!

We had lots of fun chasing the kids all over and catching up on life. I am so blessed to know so many wonderful people!

Joel, sans beard

2009-11-03T21:05:00.003-07:00

Sideburns since college=13 years
Goatee since starting teaching=7 years
Beard since 2005=4.5 years
Shaving it all off=10 minutes
Priceless.

It's "No-Shave November" at Joel's school and this year he chose to participate. So, the beard is gone and there will be no shaving for him this month.

Don't worry, I'll keep you posted on the hair-growing process.

How do you think he looks?

Giddy Up, Cowboy!

2009-10-31T11:42:00.003-06:00

Last night I took Anders to our church's Fall Festival celebration, "Wild West". Joel already had plans with a former student (now in college at CU), so I went with our good friends, Jason & Krista & their little one, Abbey. Although both Anders & Abbey were really too small to do any of the activities, it was still fun to see friends there and to know we have a great event to go to in future years! They even had open fire pits with S'mores! Yum!

Waiting for our friends to arrive!
Even Haiku had a costume!

Snow in October

2009-10-31T11:34:00.003-06:00

This week we had an early season snow storm here in Denver. At our house, we had between 14 and 16 inches. Our school district was closed on both Wednesday & Thursday and it was awesome to have Joel at home for two days!

Yesterday it warmed back up again and today it's pretty nice out--and the snow is quickly disappearing!

We currently have no gutters on our house because
we are getting new ones to go along with our new roof!
No gutters=HUGE Icicles!

This picture really shows how much snow we got! And this isn't even all of it!

Poetry Reading

2009-10-21T14:18:00.004-06:00

Monday night was a big event for us--Joel's first official poetry reading at Barnes & Noble. The high school where he works had an event at our local store where a percentage of the profits purchased on Monday went to the library. Every year they have students and teachers "perform" in the cafe during the event.

This year Joel volunteered to read some of his poetry. There were about 25 people there--teachers, friends, and family. He did a great job reading some of his work from his master's thesis project and people seemed to really enjoy it.

I hope we have many more events like this--which would mean some of his poetry was published!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-21T13:47:00.004-06:00

Last Friday we went to a Pumpkin Patch up in Boulder with a few friends (all 4 kids were born within 5 weeks of each other!). It ended up being a great day--the weather was awesome. We were there for about an hour and the kids had fun. Anders is just on the brink of being a 100% walker, but isn't quite there yet. So, he crawled around in the dirt. Oh yes, we did get a couple of pumpkins, too.

(He really, honestly thought he could lift this pumpkin.)
The scary thing? He was almost right.

Walking, walking...

Trying to get a picture with 4 toddlers when there is so much to look at is impossible.
This is what we got!

Anders with his buddy, Ryan

Anders with Elijah and Acadia

And a couple of pumpkin pictures.

October

2009-10-08T14:40:00.006-06:00

We've been as busy as ever...and Anders is on the go with us. Here are few pictures from the last few weeks...

My handsome Little Man. He looks good in brown. :)

Where's Anders?
(Our friends gave Anders this great bucket of blocks for his birthday.
It's hard to tell which he likes more--the bucket or the blocks!)

There he is!

Stacking blocks! About 2 or 3 high is about all we can do right now.
This morning I was watching him stack the blocks
and every time he turned to pick up another block,
his other hand would inadvertently knock over his stack.
So, needless to say, 2 high was all he got this morning!

You can see how tall Anders is getting!
(And how dirty the front of my dishwasher is!)

Touchdown!
A co-worker got this outfit for Anders last year.
I remember thinking "He'll never fit this!" and, here it is, a year later.
The sweatshirt is already too small!

Hiding in cabinets...
(and you can see he pulled the drawer above it open, too!)

Anders: Age 13 Months

2009-09-27T18:36:00.002-06:00

Now that Anders 13 months, he is really more of a "toddler" than a "baby". Just today he was playing in the family room while we were enjoying the Broncos game. He must have played for about 30 minutes, basically by himself.

What does he do to keep himself occupied?

Good question.

Stack blocks, for one. This is a new skill and it's pretty cute. Stand up and sit down and try to take steps, for another. Climb on anything that is stationary (the TV stand, the fireplace, bookshelves, chairs...). Press the buttons on the TV/DVD player, which makes mom & dad crazy. Pulls Haiku's tail. And just plays with other toys and looks absolutely cute doing it.

Although he is able to play by himself for periods of time, most of the time he's tearing all over the house and I do my best to keep up with him. Mostly he just leaves a path of destruction in his wake and I have a sore back from trying to keep up with him & his mess.

He's tired by 6:30pm and sleeps until 7am or later. He still takes 2 two hour naps during the day. And despite the fact that everyone tells me their baby gave up the morning nap around Anders' age, I think he'll still need it for a few more months.

I know I do.

Dress in the Dark

2009-09-27T18:23:00.003-06:00

This past week was Homecoming Week at Joel's school. Wednesday was "Dress in the Dark" day, which basically means wear a totally crazy, tacky outfit. I think Joel would have scored a "10" for creativity. The sad part is, his mom had an equally "creative" outfit, and I neglected to get a picture.

On Thursday, they had a "Last Teacher Standing" comedy show again. You might remember that Joel won it 3 years ago. Last year he should have won again, but lost in a "rap off" when the judges couldn't decide who won the comic routine. He was robbed.

This year was his year again. He won, hands down. And Anders even got to appear on stage. It was lots of fun and the kids just love to have him as a teacher. Wouldn't you?

A Yearly Tradition

2009-09-27T17:44:00.003-06:00

Last year, I posted some pictures of Anders & Joel watching Broncos Football. Time for some pictures from this year's season.

Although I don't have it pictured here, Anders does know how to throw his arms up in the air when we say "Touchdown!".

What a difference a year makes.

A Walk in the Woods

2009-09-27T17:23:00.003-06:00

Today was the perfect day for a trip to the mountains. People who live in Denver are notorious for having the beautiful mountains right next door and never going. So, we went against the trend and headed for the mountains.

Except everyone else seemed to have the same exact idea today.

It didn't damper our fun, though. We packed up the old mini-van and headed to one of our favorite spots: Echo Lake at the base of Mount Evans. It's about a 45 minute drive from our house and the perfect spot for a leisurely walk, picnicking, and for Haiku to run amuck.

I was behind the camera today and had lots of fun taking pictures with Joel's camera. Here are a few from today.

We didn't stay very long, but it was a great trip. Haiku had fun swimming in the lake, Anders enjoyed being in the backpack--he's high enough up to see what's going on, and Joel & I enjoyed the slower pace of life, even if it was only for a few hours.

It was such a good time, we might even attempt a repeat next weekend (even if everyone else has the same idea).

Sailing

2009-09-17T21:49:00.003-06:00

My parent's just returned from a 10 day trip on their sailboat on Lake Michigan. My mom takes great pictures and does some fun things with them on her blog. Check it out! And let her know you stopped by!

Sickness

2009-09-16T21:22:00.002-06:00

I'm really sad tonight because Anders is sick. It makes me so sad to see him suffer. He caught some virus from who knows where and has had a fever off and on for the last two days and now a rash that has come and gone throughout the day. The doctor said we should keep him away from people for a few days. Well, except for me.

I get to stay home with him all day. For the next two days. Alone.

Which is fine, because I'm his mom. And the upside is, he's a little more snuggly than normal. (Which is saying a lot). And I'll take a few snuggles here and there when I can get them.

But, it also bums me out because we're missing out on some fun stuff. Like today.

We stayed home from my Bible Study. It was only week #2 of a study in Revelation and I really didn't want to miss. And, we were supposed to watch my friend's daughter, like we do every Wednesday (she watches Anders on Tuesdays & I watch one of her kids on Wednesdays--it works great), but decided we better not risk exposing her to his germs.

Tomorrow I was supposed to watch another friend's baby (like I usually do on Thursdays--this is my way of getting my girl fix--playing with dolls, dressing them in pink...). But no go tomorrow. Too contagious.

Friday I was supposed to go out to lunch and to the mall with a friend and her son. And I'm sure we would have squeezed some Rock Band in during nap time. But again, no go. He'll still most likely be contagious. And better to be safe, than sorry.

I'm not really a sit at home and do nothing kind of person. Can you tell?

So tonight as I was choosing to feel a bit sorry for myself, and mostly sorry for Anders, I had a realization (or maybe a Revelation?): God doesn't like it when we're spiritually sick; we miss out on some good stuff.

He gives us everything we need to make ourselves better, like medicine when we're physically sick. God gives us His Word, other believers, a church body, worship, prayer...and the list goes on. But just like medicine, we must take in His gifts in order to make ourselves better. Much like when we're physically sick and dependent on friends and loved ones, we must be fully dependent upon Him to heal our spiritual illness.

And I've realized tonight, I've got some work to do.

God, did you really have to make my son sick for me to realize this? A sticky note on my Bible would have sufficed.

A Week of Celebrating, Part 3

2009-09-10T20:19:00.010-06:00

As I've uploaded and edited and even deleted pictures from the last couple of weeks, I have decided I could have Part 3, 4, 5 & 6 and maybe even 7 about Anders' week of celebrating. So for now, we'll just stop at 3. I do want you to keep reading my blog, after all.

My little Fish Face.

I call him Little Man.

Joel calls him Little Guy.

Often his name is Bubba.

Strangers call him "cute". And when he screams, "vocal" (like during our trip to Home Depot today).

At the end of the day, he's a true gift from God. And God gave him to me. To us.

I'm so blessed, that's all there is to it.

A Week of Celebrating, Part 2

2009-09-10T19:44:00.004-06:00

Balloons make me feel young again, too. One of our neighbors brought this bouquet of balloons to Anders' party. It was a big hit.

This is another picture my friend Annadee took on his actual birthday. What a cute kid.

A Week of Celebrating, Part 1

2009-09-10T14:41:00.004-06:00

Anders is now officially one. I'm officially old. Or at least I feel that way sometimes. And sometimes I feel young again. Like in a ball pit. Wouldn't you?

Oma & Opa got him this cute puzzle for his birthday. He loves it.

Some People's Kids

2009-09-09T21:12:00.002-06:00

Some people's kids...

Make a mess while eating in public places.

Scream at the top of their lungs in public places, making quite the scene.

Throw temper tantrums in church.

Shriek loudly when they don't get their way.

Have food, dirt and other foreign debris on their clothing while out in public.

Wrestle with their friends over a toy.

All of the above simultaneously.

I am now a proud card-carrying member of the "Some People's Kids" Club.

Joining is easy. Dealing with the nasty glares from the "My Kid Will Never Do That" Club Members is the challenge. But don't worry. Those club members almost always convert to the "SPK" Club at some point.

I did.

Anders' Stats

2009-09-04T08:36:00.003-06:00

Anders had his one year check up yesterday and I had this thought:

Why aren't the pediatrician's examination rooms baby proofed & filled with toys? It boggles my mind that I'm supposed to wrestle my one year old for 20-30 minutes while we wait for the doctor, then wait for the nurse to come back with shots, then wait, wait, wait! I was sweating when I left.

The good news is Anders is a healthy one year old! Here he is by the numbers:

23 lbs (59th%)
30.5 inches tall (71st%)
18 inches head (28th%)

He had 4 shots yesterday & did really well with it. I think it might be harder on me than it is on him. Well, maybe not.

I did learn something new though. "They" (whoever "they" are) are now recommending that babies stay in a rear-facing car seat until they are 2 years of age. So now that Anders is totally used to & loving seeing out the front window I'm supposed to turn him back around? I'm not sure that's a battle I'm ready to fight. Thoughts? Has anyone else heard this news?

On a much lighter note, Anders had a fun (although rather normal day) on his actual birthday. We spent the day with 4 of his friends & even had a chance to take a picture (it's a miracle!). We'll do some real celebrating with friends & family this weekend!

My friend, Annadee, is our official photographer (she's Elijah's mom--on the far left) & she has a website if you ever need a photographer. She's really good!

Time Again

2009-08-31T06:30:00.002-06:00

It feels like it should be about that time again. It's not like I enjoy the work, the mess, the cost, the hassle. It's just in my blood.

The urge to move. To change. To throw everything up in the air and land where it may.

It's the opposite of my personality. But it's there nonetheless.

The problem is: we're not moving. Not anytime soon.

I'm not really sure why that's a "problem". It shouldn't be.

Last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I was thinking through all of the places I've lived. Here's a list. Get some coffee. It's a bit complicated.

-Born: Ft. Hood, Texas, stayed for 18 months
-Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey, 6 months
-Giessen, Germany, 3 years (Preschool)
-Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, 2 years (Kindergarten & 1st grade)
-West Point, New York, 4 years (2nd-5th grade)
-Wurzburg, Germany, 2 years (6th & 7th grade)
-Wiesbaden, Germany, 2 years (8th & 9th grade)
-Aurora, Colorado (10th-12th grade) Graduated from Smoky Hill High School in '97
-Chicago, Illinois (College) Graduated from North Park University in '01
Sidenote: my parents moved to Batavia, IL for the first 2 years of college and then back to Colorado for the last 2 years of college
-Littleton, Colorado (1st year of teaching) Yes, I lived with my parents for 1 year after college. It was great. I'm so glad I did.
Sidenote: my parents moved to Wisconsin after this year and have lived there ever since
-Lakewood, Colorado (2nd-3rd year of teaching) Lived with a great friend in an apartment
Married: May 2004 & moved to an apartment in the city in which we now live.
-Summer 2006: moved into the house we currently live in, in said city.

Can you see now why I just get the urge every few years to mix it up?

I guess I'll just have to settle for rearranging the guest room.

One Year Ago...

2009-08-28T06:25:00.000-06:00

One Year Ago Today...we had no idea what we were getting into. But what an amazing journey we've had. And it's only just beginning.

Anders Eric
08/28/08, 1:42am
7 lbs, 14oz. & 21 inches long

Happy Birthday, Little Man.

We love you more than you will ever know!

August

October &
December

January
& February

April
& May

July

First Birthday Pictures to come...

Summer Wrap-Up

2009-08-27T06:27:00.007-06:00

I've been attempting to write this post for about a month now, but every time I sit down to write it, I am interrupted or I just can't consolidate all of the fun we had this summer into a short enouch blog-length worthy of publishing. So, here it is. I'm determined to hit "publish post" before Anders wakes up this morning.

Drumroll please.

Highlights of this summer (and there were many, many, many!)

*Running a camp at school in June for 30+ elementary age kids and working with some great teachers & counselors. Joel & Anders got to spend a week at home together.

*Joel was able to take a 2 week intensive class in Advanced Poetry writing. It was a crazy time to take it with camp going on and the amount of work he was already doing on his master's capstone project, but it was well worth the time, effort & money.

*In June, I spent a few days in Wisconsin with my family, while Joel spent a few days in Nebraska with his best bud from growing up. They were able to relive their bachelor days by grilling, playing golf and just relaxing. He drove to NE and then up to Wisconsin to spend a few days with my family, too!

*A few of the highlights from the trip are:
-Celebrating mom & dad's 40th wedding anniversary--all of the adults went out to a nice
German restaurant in downtown Milwaukee for dinner while my Aunt Connie stayed home
with the 3 kids.
-Watching Anders try to keep with his 2 cousins, Faith & Avery. He wasn't really sure what to
make of these crazy girls. But it sure was fun watching them all interact. The girls were so
kind and helpful with Anders, it was very sweet to watch.
-Spending an afternoon at a beautiful park picnicking, riding paddle boats & enjoying the
unusual cool weather.
-Taking family pictures...it was an adventure, but lots of fun, too.

*This spring my parents offered to watch Anders for 24 hours while we were there, so we didn't even think twice abotu saying yes. Joel & I left on Sunday afternoon and spent the afternoon in Madison. We had a great time, sans Anders, eating at an outdoor cafe, window shopping and just enjoying a quiet evening together. We stayed in a hotel overlooking the capital building and enjoyed every minute of our quiet morning before meeting up with family the next afternoon.

*We spent the next three days in the Wisconsin Dells (the Las Vegas of water parks as our neighbor likes to call it).

*After leaving the Dells, we drove to Grundy Center, Iowa, where my Aunt & Uncle live (and where my dad spent most of his childhood). It is a great small town and they were in the midst of celebrating their annual "Felix Grundy Days", including a Kiddie Parade themed "You're a Star". Anders won a $5 prize for best "float". How cute is that? He was even featured in their town newspaper! We had a great time visiting with family--including 2 of my 3 cousins from that family! We missed you, Anne!

*Jacobson visit in July--we had a great time spending a few days with the Jacobson family including a picnic lunch and "hike" around Echo Lake. Haiku joined in on the fun.

*Taking a number of trips to the zoo with friends & Grandma J.

*Watching countless movies together...here are a few of our favorites:
The Soloist
August Rush
New in Town
Breach
Stardust
Marley & Me
21
Slumdog Millionaire
Traitor

*Playing lots of Battleship & Yahtzee on our Wii

*Taking walks with Haiku down to the park...Haiku loves playing fetch and Anders enjoys swinging in the swings and sliding down the slides. A bath is always required after a visit to the park.

*Going swimming. Anders loves the pool! We've enrolled him in swim lessons for this fall.

*Spending lots & lots & lots of time with friends.

*Our most exciting event of the summer was probably Joel's graduation the University of Denver with his Master's Degree in Creative Writing! It has been a long 2.5 years as he's worked on this project, but I know he feels a great sense of accomplishment and I am very proud of him for all of his hard work!

Thanks for reading. It was fun writing. (And Anders is just starting to wake up for the day)

The Big Day

2009-08-14T13:57:00.009-06:00

We have been waiting for this day for 2.5 years! It is finally here!

Joel's Graduation Day!

This morning's walk down the aisle signified the end of a long journey for Joel, and our entire family. Joel began working on his Master's of Liberal Studies in Creative Writing through the University of Denver in the Summer of 2007. He has worked very hard over the past couple of years taking classes, writing papers, composing poetry, sharing nonfiction pieces and even creating some fiction. Today's ceremony was the final step and Rhonda & I were there to take it with him. We are so proud of all his hard work!

Here are a few pictures from the outside ceremony--the weather actually cooperated & the commencement speaker kept it short--we were done in 1.5 hours!

Joel is the tall one down in front in the center of the picture--he was in the front row!

A Little Chair For Little Man

2009-08-12T20:29:00.003-06:00

Three years ago when Joel & I purchased this house we inherited some items from his mom. One of these items was a little brown rocking chair (covered in some horrible leather-looking plastic fashionable in the 80's) Joel & his brother had when they were kids. At the time, I told Joel that if he hadn't cleaned it up within a year, I was going to get rid of it. Thankfully I never got around to fulfilling that promise.

This summer I decided it was time to do something with the little rocker or it should be tossed...I've been in a tossing mood lately. So, I called my friend, Briony, to come & help me recover it. I thought this would involve much sewing, fitting of fabric & a few hours worth of work.

Boy was I wrong.

Briony immediately began disassembling the small chair and about 2 hours later it was in pieces. I was amazed. I had no idea. We headed off to the fabric store and found some awesome brown fabric. Very chic. We worked for a little while and then decided to finish the next day.

In the end we worked for about 12 hours, spent about $75, used about 500 staples, sewed just a couple of seams on the bottom flaps and ended up with the cutest chair ever. I am so pleased with it & Anders loves it.
I bet you are wondering why I haven't posted a picture of Anders IN the chair. It's not because he doesn't love the chair, he really does. He just doesn't sit still enough in it to get a picture. He would just be a big blur, unlike the pictures in the next blog post where he is strapped down in his seat!

New Seat

2009-08-12T20:10:00.005-06:00

Just a few days shy of his first birthday, we moved Anders into his new car seat--one that sits him up and faces forward. He had been growing tired of his "old" car eat because his legs were getting too long and he was always wanting to turn around and see what was going on besides the leather on the back of the seat.

So here he is in his new "Cowmooflauge" seat, cute as can be. He was a happy camper in the car today when we drove down to the University of Denver to pick up Joel's gown for graduation for Friday. More about that in another blog later this week.

The Great Storm

2009-07-22T19:18:00.010-06:00

We have been offline for a few days because our Internet was knocked out by the huge storm we had here on Monday night.
It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen or heard.

It started to rain about 10pm... Anders was sound asleep. The rain started to get heavier & heavier and then it started to hail, so I went around the house & closed the curtains in case a window broke. Better to have glass in the curtains than all over the room. The hail continued & I went downstairs to see if Anders was awake--I thought there was no way he would sleep through the storm. It was incredibly loud! As I put my ear to his door the hail was pounding so loudly that I thought to myself "I'm not going to hear him crying, even if he is awake!"

Joel and I stood in our front window & watched. I wanted to go outside, but it was so intense, we couldn't even stand on our porch for fear of being drenched and hit with hail. We couldn't even see across the street! It was the first time I thought we might actually be in a tornado. Then the power went out. Then just as quickly as it started, it ended. And we went to bed. Anders never made a peep! Amazing!

Our neighbor- hood is a MESS. Trees down everywhere, people getting estimates on their roofs (rooves?) for damage. Crazy. We were only without for about 4 hours, while others in our area were without it for 2+ days. Joel cleaned off our roof & our neighbor's with their leaf blower. Our gutters were FULL of debris. Our yard was too. Thankfully, we had no branches down in our yard--some people in our neighborhood lost huge trees. This picture is from 2 houses down...

The only thing that was completely destroyed is my garden (as you can see in the picture above). I'm pretty sad about it. It was really looking nice & full this year.

So, that's the story. Pretty amazing weather. I can only imagine what Noah felt like on the Ark!

This is the same house pictured above from a different angle. They had quite a mess to clean up. It's pretty amazing this branch didn't fall on their house!

These two pictures are from down the street at our local elementary school. This tree looks like it just fell over, roots & all. They chopped the tree off and left the big stump. I don't know what they will do with the stump--it's huge!

Since I'm So Far Behind...

2009-07-16T16:40:00.004-06:00

I'm realizing that there is just too much for me to blog about, and I'm running out of time today!

But I wanted to get a few more pictures posted.

So I will steal from my mother's blog! My mom has posted some of the pictures we had taken of our family when we were all together....

You can check them out here.

A Bit More About Haiku

2009-07-16T16:05:00.002-06:00

Recently I have been asked about how Haiku & Anders get along. I'm always a bit surprised by this question because the truth is, if the answer were anything besides "great", one of them would have to go.

And I don't mean the cute kid.

Actually, it really is the truth--Haiku & Anders are already best buds. And this picture shows about what goes on in our house every minute Anders is awake: Haiku is pretty close by, "supervising".

She watches over him, just like a loving mother, and tries to avoid him grabbing her tags. But when he does grab them and gives them a good yank, she patiently waits (and gives me those puppy dog eyes crying "help"!).

They are perfect for each other.

It's been a while...

2009-07-16T15:37:00.003-06:00

It has been 43 days to be more precise. A lot has transpired since my last post, so I will start at the beginning, which is a very good place to start. (can you name the movie?)

We've long known that we need to do a better job about exercising Haiku. 1) Because she is much, much better behaved when she gets regular exercise. 2) It's good for us to get out more. However, neither of us is able to run (much less walk) enough to meet the demands of a Labrador puppy. Yes, she is 3 years old, but she still has the amount of energy of a young pup.

Joel had been brainstorming on what to do and finally arrived at the decision he needed a skateboard. Not just any skateboard, a long board. This, he decided, was the answer to our problem.

Haiku can run while Joel boards. It's easier on the knees for Joel. And, it looks pretty cool, too.

So, with the help of some birthday money from family, Joel now has a skateboard. Oops. Long board. There's a difference, I'm told. I just know it's longer. You'll have to ask him for more details. The point is, we have a happy dog, a husband who doesn't have any aching knees, and a wife who is enjoying her dog again now that she's mellow again.

Why didn't we think of this sooner?

Cute Feet

2009-06-03T20:56:00.005-06:00

I'm addicted to pictures of Anders' feet. It's true.

I've posted pictures of his cute, adorable feet previously.

I have a few new pictures from May & June.

Playing Piano & Cute PJ's

2009-06-03T20:29:00.007-06:00

In all of Anders' discovering the world around him, he has found the piano. Because he enjoys pulling himself up to the standing position, he has found that doing a pull-up on the piano bench and then reaching his little fingers onto the keys makes fun noises.

On another note, in the past few weeks, Anders' room has gotten warmer so we've been able to dress him in lighter weight pajamas. Through the winter he needed to wear fleece PJ's and a sleep sack and we turned on a heater in his room to keep him warm. But with the warmer weather, we've been able to lessen the amount of clothes he wears to bed. The problem was we didn't have any PJ's for him to wear. I found these at a used store (they are brand new!) and they are about the cutest PJ's I've seen.

Here are a series of pictures Joel took tonight in those aforementioned PJ's.

Famiy Pictures at the Zoo

2009-06-03T20:14:00.004-06:00

We enjoyed another day at the zoo today with some friends. It was a beautiful day today after a weekend of rain and rain and rain. Being outside was a great change of pace for all of us after being a bit stir crazy over the weekend.

While we were there, we took a few family pictures.

A Barrel of Laughs

2009-06-03T19:57:00.004-06:00

Anders is growing up so quickly. Much quicker than I would like. As much as I think I'm in control as a parent, I'm not. Not at all.

Some of his recent "tricks" are:

*Crawling
*Pulling himself up (including in his crib)
*Throwing temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way
*Eating mountains of food
*Sleeping 11+ hours through the night--we sure like this "trick"!

Here are some recent pictures from around the house:

.

Cake Wrecks

2009-05-22T16:15:00.005-06:00

Last year for Joel's birthday, I ordered a 30th Birthday Cupcake Cake. It turned out to be a bit of a disaster, as you can see. The sad part is both my friend & I looked at the cake at the store, brought it home and didn't realize anything was wrong with it for quite a while.

Recently, I posted this picture on my Facebook profile and a friend of mine told me about a website that features "Cake Wrecks". I have been poking around on the site and it has just made me laugh out loud. So, I will share my joy with you.

cakewrecks.blogspot.com

The best place to start is on the sidebar with "Some Fan Favorites".

A few of my favorite laugh-out-loud hilarious ones are:

The Cake that Started It All

Sexual Harassment Cake

Inspiration vs. Perspiration

The totally inappropriate, but terribly hilarious in a sad, sad way:
The First Censored Cake Wreck

Enjoy!

Celebrating 30

2009-05-19T07:54:00.004-06:00

Friday was a big day for me--celebrating the entrance into a new decade! I'm not quite sure how that's possible, but it's true.

The four moms from my "Monday Mommy Group" took me out to lunch. Downtown. With all 5 of our kids. It was a bit of an adventure, to say the least. We showed up at The Cheesecake Factory, all five kids in strollers and I'm not sure they knew what to do with us at first. But, they seated us at a great table, with a patient waiter and the chaos began.

Actually, it probably looked like chaos to others, but it was very controlled chaos and after spending the past 8 months together with our kids, we are experts. We had a great lunch and then promptly left a great tip.

Here we are--from left to right--Leah with the only girl baby--Acadia, Renee with Zach, Monique with Ryan, Annade with Elijah and me with Anders! Zach is 2 but the other 4 babies were born about 5 weeks apart in July & August.

After our adventure downtown a couple of girls came and spent the afternoon at my house. On the way, all of the kids in our car fell asleep!

Joel had arranged for a babysitter on Friday evening. I had no idea what he had planned. we left at about 5:45pm and headed off to...who knew where? We ended up at our friends', the Stockers, house. They had chips & queso ready and we visited for a little bit. Then Joel said it was time to go. I was a bit sad because we love visiting with them.

We were off to another unknown-to-me stop. This time we pulled up to the Smiths' house! We hadn't seen them in quite a while, so it was great to visit with them. Betsy had made a yummy pasta dinner and we chatted with them until about 8. Yet again, we were off to another stop.

This time it was Boondock's--a local fun center (teen hangout) with Go-Karts! I love Go-Karts. This stop took quite a bit longer than anticipated, but was well worth it. We ended up at the Traders' apartment for yummy brownie dessert & a round of Rock Band.

It was the perfect end to a great birthday. Thanks for celebrating with me. I don't need to celebrate another big birthday for at least 10 more years.

Never That Small

2009-05-11T13:36:00.005-06:00

When Anders was born, my friends told me that I would forget how small he was in the beginning. Honestly, I didn't believe them. How could I forget something like that? His tiny fingers and toes and how he fit so nicely in my arms. How sweetly he slept on my lap and how tiny he looked in his great big crib. You just don't forget things like that, do you?

Woops. They were right.

You forget. Totally and completely. Forgotten.

Yesterday we went to the hospital to see our friends' (Jason & Krista) brand new baby girl, Abigail Joy (another perspective future wife for Anders). Dowry payments are under contract.

She was so tiny. So precious. Quiet. Still. Beautiful. All 7lbs, 6oz of her.

Anders was never this small. Ever. Trust me, I remember.

He weighed 7lbs. 14 oz.

Up Close & Personal

2009-05-10T15:54:00.004-06:00

Joel took these pictures of Anders a couple of weeks ago..getting to know Anders up close!

A Trip to the Zoo

2009-05-09T20:59:00.010-06:00

The Las Vegas Jacobsons are in town for a short trip over this Mother's Day weekend. It was a beautiful day in Denver, so we made a trip to the zoo. I learned (or re-learned) 2 things today:

1. It is much more cost-effective to purchase a membership to the zoo. We will be doing that very soon!

2. God has a great sense of humor. See picture #1 for proof.

Here are some pictures of the animals we saw today. Joel took some great photos--I hope to make a "Zoo Scrapbook" for Anders so he can start to learn his animals!

This is the Red River Hog. Check out those ears!
You couldn't make this stuff up if you tried!

Baby Mountain Goat. How cute is that?

I think the penguin is also proof of God's sense of humor.
A bird that doesn't fly but swims like a fish?

Another new arrival--the baby giraffe.
There were two of them just running and jumping and playing around. Too cute.

It was Anders' first time seeing wild beasts other than Haiku. We had a great time. He spent some time in the Baby Bjorn, some time in the stroller and some time sleeping in the stroller. Sadly, his one arm and cheeks got a bit pink from the sun. I went and purchased baby sunscreen immediately following our return from the zoo! Here are some pictures of us having fun at the zoo!

Dad and Son.
Two Peas in a Pod.

Cousin Kenna.
You have to get her picture fast because she is on the move!
She and Anders are definitely related!

Cousins Tobin, Arden & Charis with Uncle Joel

Our newest nephew--Baby Lucan born just 6 weeks ago!

Watching the Wise Old Elephants. They might be my new favorite.

Despite the look on Joel's face, we really had a a great time at the zoo. You can kind of see in this picture--I got my hair cut again yesterday. Every time it's just a wee bit shorter...

Quite a Few...

2009-05-08T12:56:00.004-06:00

I have finally found a few minutes to catch up on blogging. We've had a busy few weeks... I've been working more than I would like to and have had numerous house projects and other activities that have stolen my time. So, as you will see, there are quite a few blogs that I have posted recently. Grab a cup of coffee and start reading!

In the past month, Anders has really changed. His is turning into a fat little handsome boy. He loves playing with dad and Haiku and really enjoys going for walks in the stroller. We even went swimming with some friends yesterday! He seems to be a pretty serious little man--a bit cautious in new situations. But, give him a few minutes and he warms right up!

Some of Anders' new "tricks"!

*Sleeping without his swaddle (see the blog below)
*Eating, eating, eating! I started making baby food for him back in February. That lasted until about mid-April. Now I am just buying food and counting down the days he can just eat more of what we eat! He loves anything we wave in front of his face. The only thing he has slightly snubbed his nose at is pumpkin.
*Pulling himself up to a standing position in his crib (which we have had to lower!)
*Sitting up and interacting with the toys and world around him
*Moving to a crawling position
*Crawling--well, army crawling. He mostly rolls around to get where he wants to go
*Sleeping really, really well through the night--7:30pm to 7:00am. Can't complain. No more 10pm feedings!

I finally feel like I am getting the hang of this whole mom thing. Probably just in time for it all to change again. Thankfully, school is out for both Joel & me in a couple of weeks. We are both really looking forward to spending time together at a slower pace!

And with that, Anders has ended my quiet time for blogging.

Enjoy.

Lewis Ginter

2009-05-08T12:45:00.003-06:00

While I was in Virginia, (before Oma & Opa arrived), we went to the local botanical garden--Lewis Ginter. The flowers were beautiful and it was a great day to be outside! The kids love going to the garden--they have a great kids area and great paths for strollers. It also makes a great place for taking photos!

This picture is proof that Anders was there--he slept most of the time.

Catch Up, Part 2

2009-05-08T12:29:00.010-06:00

From birth, Anders has loved to be swaddled. Tightly. With multiple blankets. And velcro.

The tighter, the better.

I think he just is on the move so much that he couldn't fall asleep without his arms being tied down.

I remember standing over his crib when he was first born and if his arm happened to get out of his blanket, he would immediately smash himself in the face and scream. Later on, he learned to pull his pacifier out of his mouth which immediately jolted him awake. It was quite funny and very sad at the same time. Sad for him that he woke himself up. And sad for me that I was up to help him at 1am.

Joel and I knew back in January that the time was coming for him to lose his swaddle. But, he was actually starting to sleep well, so why would we change anything? Anders began to outgrow his blankets, so we found bigger ones. Anders got stronger and could break free of the swaddle. So we tied them tighter. Just a side note, we never resorted to duct tape!

Well, us new parents finally got the message. Anders wanted to be done with that swaddle. He was a big boy now. It's just that I didn't get the message until I was at my sister's house. And we had to learn to sleep without it when my entire family was together in their house. Trying to sleep.

But, he has now mastered the skill of sleeping with his arms free. And he's quite cute. He loves holding on to "Buddy", a gift from Oma.

Joel got the best part of the deal. He was at home, sleeping soundly in silence while the rest of us missed out on some much-needed sleep in Virginia.

Ketchup. I mean Catch Up.

2009-05-08T12:02:00.013-06:00

It's been way too long since I've blogged. I almost don't know where to start since I have so much to write about!

Here's a re-cap of the last month or so...

April 4-10 Anders and I had a great time visiting with my entire family (minus Joel) in Virginia. The plane rides (2 We had a great week despite the fact that Anders chose not to sleep. I bought him a shirt to commemorate the trip--it says "Make Some Noise" and has a drum set on the front. Despite his fussiness, it was so much fun to have the 3 cousins together!

We played outside, went to a botanical garden, walked around Belle Island (where a Civil War POW camp was), visited a nature center, Anders jumped and jumped in the Johnny Jump Up, Oma and the girls continued their annual tradition of coloring Easter eggs, celebrated Gary's birthday and Aimee and I even got to do some shopping!

Here are some pictures from that trip...

Growing Feet

2009-04-20T10:16:00.001-06:00

April

November

October

August

Sweet Face

2009-04-19T09:39:00.007-06:00

This picture is from about a month ago...One of the moms in my "Monday Mommy Group" brought her camera to group and took some pictures...I just love his face in this one!

On Thursday when I was working, Anders went to my friend Monique's house and our friend Annadee (the one with the camera!) came over to help (2 adults with 3 kids is easier than 1 adult with 2 kids!). I guess all three boys watched some "Baby Einstein"...here they are intently watching! Ryan (the one in stripes) is Monique's son and Elijah (the one with the blue blanket) is Annadee's son. Anders is in the back with his camo sleep sack on. How cute! I am so thankful for awesome friends!

I hope to get some pictures posted soon from our adventures in Virginia with Aunt Aimee, Uncle Gary, Cousins Faith & Avery and Oma & Opa!

Fuzzy Images

2009-03-29T21:31:00.007-06:00

As I mentioned in my previous blog, we've had some pretty crazy weather in Colorado over the past few days. This is a picture out of our front window on Thursday morning--blizzard conditions. We could hardly see our mailbox, let alone our neighbors' house across the street.

That night as I laid in bed, this image from our front window stuck with me.

Blinding conditions

Limited vision

Cold

Seemingly endless

Over the past seven months I have struggled with a sickness no one seems to want to talk about. Everyone knows it exists and that 10 to 20 percent of new mothers experience it. (80-90% of new mothers experience some amount of it for shorter periods of time).

Everyone knows about it, but they don't seem to know how to talk about it. I still don't.

The thing about Post Pardum Depression is that no one would have to know that someone is suffering from it. There aren't necessarily any outward symptoms or signs. For me, at least, I haven't suffered from sudden outbursts of crying or extreme mood swings. I have no trouble taking care of Anders--especially because God gave me a baby with such a great personality. I don't think that I've isolated myself from families or friends. And I haven't quit doing the things I enjoy.

My problems occur inside my brain. And it's so frustrating.

Picking out a card for a friend. Choosing a movie at the rental store. Which box of crackers to purchase. How to begin working on a complicated project. Knowing what paper to choose for my scrapbook page.

All of these routine activities can be absolutely paralyzing for me. Debilitating. The situations seem to create "blinding conditions" for me, with "limited vision", much like the blizzard we experienced last week. Joel describes it as my "glazed over" look because my eyes literally glaze over and I am unable to make a decision. It's a strange feeling for me--one that is difficult to describe. I know when I'm in the moment--because I'm usually so decisive--but it's like the U2 song--I'm stuck in a moment that I can't get out of.

Making lots of decisions right in a row can be even more complicated for me. And exhausting. Complete "white-out conditions". Enough to close down the roads. Or in my case, my brain.

The other situation that causes anxiety for me includes large groups of people--people I may or may not know--small talk, periods of time longer than about an hour, almost any hour of the day--but even worse after about 6pm. I think sometimes it makes me come across as disinterested or rude. Or cold. Like the bitter temperatures that accompanied the snowstorm. I'm not disinterested in people. And I really hope I'm not rude. I literally just can't spit the words out to start up, let alone maintain, a conversation.

The worst part of PPD is that it is seemingly endless. It has been 7 months since Anders was born. I would think that life would have moved forward for me by now. And it has, in many, many ways. I love Anders. He is such a great kid. I love my job. I have great friends. Joel takes great care of me. And we have so many other blessings in our lives.

But parts of my life are just like the picture. Blurry. Fuzzy. Seemingly endless.

As I laid in bed last week, I believe God gave me this image to hold on to as a promise. Even though parts of my life appear to be stormy, He's still in control. Even though the storm seems to go on and on, it will end. Storms always do. Even if the roads are closed now, they will re-open.

And my blurry picture will one day end up clear. It is Springtime, after all.

All Bundled Up

2009-03-29T20:53:00.011-06:00

We've had some c-r-a-z-y weather in Colorado over the last week! Last week- end it was super warm and we enjoyed shorts-type weather. Then, later in the week came the word that snow was on the way for our state. Joel & I started crossing our fingers and toes that we might get a day off from work. This happens so rarely that it was a real stretch to hope for one.

So on Wednesday afternoon, Joel and I decided to take a short walk around the park in case we were snowed in. So, we bundled up Anders and headed out!

On Thursday morning we woke up at 5am to see if enough snow had fallen to get us a day off (it has to be really bad in order for them to cancel school). After a few minutes of looking online and hoping & praying we learned we did indeed have a snow day! We jumped around and hooted and hollered. Joel was so excited he couldn't even go back to sleep! By the end of the storm, we had 12+ inches of snow.

In the end, we got a very early start to our spring break--we got Friday off, too. What a blessing. Joel had been working so much the last few months that he really needed the break. So, now we are enjoying an extra-long spring break and the weather has turned back around. We went out for a nice hour long walk today and it was beautiful.

I love living in Colorado. And I love having a week to spend with my 2 boys.

Total Cuteness

2009-03-22T21:21:00.002-06:00

I know that every mother probably thinks that their baby is the cutest baby ever, and I am no exception.

Anders really is the cutest baby ever.

No, really.

It's just that I don't have the best pictures to prove it. It's like he knows that I've busted out the camera to take his picture and he turns down the cuteness factor by about half.

But here are a couple of pictures from the last few weeks. The top picture is Anders with his new bear, Gregory the Great--made and named by a student specifically for Anders.

The picture below is one of his cute laugh--he loves to laugh, especially for his dad. And, the last picture is dad & son, enjoying some time together.

Books are for...

2009-03-22T21:07:00.002-06:00

putting on your head? Anders certainly doesn't mind...He was too busy playing with his toys in his exersaucer.

Then he finally figured it out...this book is for looking at!

Making Time

2009-03-22T19:38:00.003-06:00

I have abandoned my blog. It has been a while since I've written, old friend. It has been more than 2 weeks and not very often even before that.

My priorities have been out of whack.

I've been overbooked in my schedule and it has forced me to push out some things that I really enjoy doing...like writing on my blog, being relaxed in the evenings, and having downtime with Joel.

It also hasn't helped that my camera hasn't been working properly. The memory card went out on it.

But, things are looking up. I'm re-prioritizing and of course, with the help of Spring Break starting on Friday at 3:00pm, I am hoping to be back "in shape" quickly. I also got a new memory card today.

Just in time to go visit family in Virgina on April 4.

And then it will be a mad dash with work until the end of school in May.

Ahh. Just when you think you have it all together.

March Update

2009-03-07T12:49:00.004-07:00

It has been way too long since my last post. Just seems like we've been way too busy, but at the same time, it doesn't seem like we've been doing much at all. Crazy times.

Soon after our "weekend to forget" my parents came into town--and boy were we glad! We needed some reinforcements, encouragement and some help! It was a great week!

The week that Oma & Opa (Grandma & Grandpa auf Deutsch) were here, it seems like Anders just all of a sudden "grew up". We also enjoy spending lots of time with Gramma J. She comes over for dinner and hangs out with Anders and she has also been an awesome babysitter for us!

Here are some of his recent accomplishments:

*Easily rolls over every which way
*Two teeth coming in on the bottom
*Starting to sit up on his own
*LOVES eating food--pears, applesauce, sweet potatoes, mangoes, plums, and more to come!
*Really enjoys his horse, Hissan (Horse in Arabic)--he can really jump, jump, jump!
*Oma taught him how to sit in the swing at the park. I'm not sure if he likes the swing or watching the big kids play better. Either way, Haiku loves it because it means a trip to the park for fetch for her!
*In the past month or so, he has really started to enjoy bath time. He has always liked it, but now he's able to play and splash and laugh and have fun. I end up more wet than he does, it seems.
*Started interacting with his exersaucer more. He will spin around in it and just play away!
*I'm not sure if I can say he "loves" story time, but he sure seems to enjoy it. We do it as often as we can and he loves having "guest readers"!
*His coordination has gotten better and he is able to interact with toys more. There's a picture below of him with a very cute cowboy set my mom got him.
*And most of all, he just loves being with people. He loves his grandparents and his dad especially.

Last Weekend...A Weekend to Forget.

2009-02-18T08:00:00.001-07:00

I started writing a post about our vacation, but just couldn't put all my thoughts down the way I wanted to. My husband, the writer that he is, has written a much better blog than I ever could about our whole experience. So, instead of trying to re-create the same thing, I'll just leave it to him to tell the story...check it out on his blog.

Chick Drivers

2009-02-10T19:03:00.001-07:00

I'm not usually one for YouTube videos, but this one is hilarious. I'm not as bad as these drivers, but I will say I have done the parking one (in the middle of the video). I just wish some nice guy had helped me out. I think I just didn't park.

Too funny. Enjoy.

Gifts

2009-02-08T20:40:00.003-07:00

This year is a big year for me. Well, to be more exact, May is a big month for me in the year 2009. It is my first Mother's Day (May 10), my 30th Birthday (May 15) and our 5th Anniversary (May 29). Any one of these events can be overwhelming for the most savvy of gift-buyers. But the three combined can be a bit overwhelming when smashed into just 19 short days. And for a non-gift-buyer like Joel, it is downright frightening. So much so, that he asked to "take off Christmas and Valentine's Day" this year.

However, he did reveal to me this evening that he would be getting me something for Valentine's day after all: A "lose/lose" list like his.

He started said "lose/lose" list when we got married, as if no matter what he did to appease me, he would lose (no win/win or win/lose options for him, just lose/lose). This is a self-created and self-kept list. I have no record of his "losses".

But I will say, May is going to be a long month for one of us.

Joel's gonna need some help.

Open Mouth...

2009-02-08T20:32:00.003-07:00

Open mouth...

Insert foot...

Or maybe not...

This isn't usually what I'm thinking about when I have to "open mouth, insert foot", but I sure do wish I could still do this version of the saying...

(No babies were harmed during the filming of this stunt. Mom was watching.)

Proof

2009-02-07T14:17:00.003-07:00

Yesterday I finally had a day at home when I wasn't sick (it's been a long week). I needed to get a lot of stuff done around the house that had been neglected. So naturally, when I woke up I chose to get right to Facebooking. Priorities. Facebook first, clean later.

My sister and I actually started to argue about who had a messier house this week--I guess she had some cleaning to do, too. But, alas, she lives in Virginia, so we can't actually visually compare; we can just brag on the phone. Well, I went one step further. Here's proof of my house's need for cleaning. I finally got around to the floors today...This is just one Swiffer through my living room and hallway. YUCK. Well, there you have it. Now back to Facebooking.

Conversation, anyone?

2009-02-06T09:01:00.002-07:00

Joel and I have been having some great conversations lately...remembering fun experiences, talking about our day, catching up on things we just haven't found time to talk about before. It's been great.

Save for the fact that said conversations occur around 3am after trying to get Anders back to sleep.

My how life has changed.

Bath Time

2009-01-26T20:30:00.005-07:00

Bath time has a whole new meaning around here. For the past 2 years bath time has meant the time when we struggle with Haiku behind locked doors to get her clean in the bath tub. In the end, I think Joel & I end up just as wet as she is.

Now bath time is much more fun because Anders doesn't fight us the way Haiku sometimes does. And for whatever reason, Haiku is much more interested in it when it doesn't involve her getting wet. I have to say her interest is highly annoying. As you can see from the picture, there's no where for me to be involved in the bath time fun.

Fetch

2009-01-26T20:21:00.003-07:00

Haiku has always loved to play fetch. And Joel loves that about her. I guess his childhood dogs never played fetch. Haiku especially loves to play fetch in the snow while Joel shovels the driveway. (Blessings to the mysterious neighbor who always continues with their snowblower up our part of the sidewalk). Anders & I stay inside and watch from the comforts of the warm inside.

Tonight, the scene was no different. Well, except for what happened with the bright orange log Haiku likes to fetch. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story...

Throwing the bright orange log...

Where'd it go?

Woops.

Dad saves the day.

Sunny G's

2009-01-26T11:20:00.011-07:00

On Saturday (while it was still nice out),Joel, Anders, Haiku & I went for a long walk through our neighborhood. We are blessed with awesome bike paths all around our house. It was a cool day--it had been in the 70's earlier in the week--but very bright, which is typical for Colorado. Anders really enjoyed the walk in his umbrella stroller--we just graduated up to this stroller from his car seat stroller. He could actually see where we were going. If it weren't for that bright, bright sun. He finally gave up and fell asleep.

When we got home I remembered that we had these cute sunny g's (as I like to call sun glasses). He actually seemed to like them when I put them on. He's hilarious. We'll have to use them the next time we go for a walk. It could be a while...there's at least 3 inches of snow on the ground right now and more coming down. Ah, Colorado weather.

What Do You Do?

2009-01-24T09:12:00.002-07:00

Recently I had a friend (who doesn't have kids yet) ask me:

"What do you do all day?"

So I tried to explain that most of my day really is spent taking care of Anders. She wasn't so sure I was telling the truth. But really, it does. One example I gave her is that there are times you think a diaper change will take 3 minutes, tops, and then he has a blow out and it requires massive clean up including a bath. 45 minutes later you wonder where your time went.

Then she asked, "doesn't he take naps?" Well, yes, he does--he's a good sleeper. But it's not like you suddenly have 4 extra hours in your day to do whatever you want. You use that time to do the things you can't easily get done while he's awake--shower, clean up the dishes, pick up the house, NAP, etc... It's not necessarily free time to do whatever you want like you used to before kids.

I guess the best way I can explain what I do all day is to give you a list of some of the questions I spend my time thinking about...

Should I change your diaper now or later?
Does this little amount of poop/pee on your outfit require a change of clothes?
Is the water in the bath too hot? too cold?
Do you need to burp or do you have gas?
Was your nap long enough or should I try to get you to go back to sleep?
Are you tired enough to go to bed now or should I keep you up later?
Am I giving you the pacifier too much?
Would you like to lay on your activity mat or play in your exersaucer?
Would you like to read this book or another one?
Am I waiting too long to start solid food or should I start now?
Are you fussing because you have gas or are you getting a tooth?
Your nails are too long, should I try to cut them alone or wait for dad?
Are you too old to be swaddled?
Is your room warm enough for sleeping?
What germs are you picking up in the nursery?
Am I a good mom because I enjoy having a day off from you when I go to work?
When should I start teaching you sign language? Is it too late?
What if I screw it all up?!?!

It's pretty exhausting when you think about it. That's why I've learned the best phrase for parenting:

Fake it 'til you make it.