Some thoughts on fasting

This happened a little while ago and I want to write it down so I don't forget.

Fasting is hard for me.  In fact, I don't usually do a typical, 24 hour, no food, no drink fast.  I have blood sugar issues and headaches and other problems that make it so I physically collapse if I don't eat for several hours.  So, I try to modify my fast to either skip one meal, or forgo something I like, like treats that day, etc.

Over the summer, I was visiting my family in Oregon, and while we were at church, a woman made a comment about how she hadn't been fasting for years because of migraines, but then she felt prompted to pray the night before Fast Sunday and ask Heavenly Father to bless her to be able to fast.  Since that time, every time she did that, she was able to fast the next day with no problem.

I was floored.  It had never occurred to me to pray to be physically able to fast.  But as the next Fast Sunday approached, I decided to test this idea out myself.  I expressed my desire in prayer to be able to have the strength to fast, and I went to bed.  I continued that prayer in my heart the next day, and miraculously, I was able to fast the whole day until dinner, even with wrangling my kids at church and doing everything I needed to do- and no fainting, throwing up, dizzy spells, or headaches.  Wow.  Not to mention the other blessings I was able to receive by fasting.  That tells me that Heavenly Father wants to help us obey and receive all the blessings He has in store for us.  (Not that we can't modify our fasting when medically necessary, but if we have the desire to do it, I think Heavenly Father will help us to make it work.)

Oh, Hi!

Oh yeah, I have this blog.  Sometimes I forget about it.

Anyway, I need to do better about remembering it, because everyday I think to myself, "I should write that down... I'll probably remember it though.  Hmm, what was that funny thing that happened yesterday?"

Nothing extremely funny happened today... just the usual types of stuff, but I had better write that down in case one day I can't remember what was normal when Gabe and Luke were 3 and almost 2.

Luke got very upset with me today as soon as he realized he was hungry, and started "bossing" me around: "Mommy, I want to eat!  I want wunch.  Wight now Mommy!  Stand up now!  Go!  I wanta eat wunch!"

When he needed a diaper change, I asked him if he was poopy, and he said, "No, I don't want a diaper change, I just clean, Mommy.  It's play time."

When I handed Luke a toy he was struggling to reach, he took it and said, with gusto, "Oh, tank you, Mommy!"

Gabe is also very good about saying thank you, and he will often add "Good job pouring the milk, Mommy, you did that so great!"

When I told Gabe it was almost naptime today, he at first said "No, I don't want a nap!"  But then started saying, "Mom, is it night time?"  I told him it wasn't night time, but it was sleep time, to which he responded, "Oh, ok Mom, but I a-better eat a snack first, and then take a nap.  Maybe playtime first."

Gabriel is especially fascinated with my sewing machine and serger, which are off limits, but he gets into anyway.  If (when) I catch him opening little doors and turning little dials, I give him a little reminder by saying "What are the rules?"  and he will say "Don't play with Mommy's 'chines!  But I just want to close this door, Mom.  Can you close it for me?"


We just got back in town from Tayler and Heather's wedding.  We were so glad we could make it.  It was a crazy trip, but we all had a good time.  We didn't actually get to see much of Tayler or Heather, but I guess there will be time enough for that.  Heather is "Hedder" to Gabe and "Heddow" to Luke, and a princess to both of them since they saw her in her wedding dress.

While we were in Washington for the wedding, we were able to stop by and visit BJ's grandparents.  We only had about 2 hours with them (plus 4 hours of driving) but we made the most of it, the kids were pretty good, and I am so glad we were able to have that time with them.

Speaking of that trip, I wrote about the crazy part of the journey and the tender mercies we experienced as a result on my other blog.  Read about it here.

Conversations...

Gabe: "Mom, I just spelled my name!"
    Me: "You did?"
"Yeah, at Grandma C's house.  I did it on Anna's computer. Anna helped me,  Anna is so nice, huh Mom?"
    "Yes, she is."
"Anna loves me.  I love Anna.  Anna loves Mommy."
    "I love Anna too."
"Anna is so, so pretty.  I love Anna.  Anna is a nice... aunt.  I just want to give her a hug, and fives."

Gabe: "Mom, is that picture of you and Daddy?"
    Me: "Yes Gabriel, that is a picture from the day we got married."
"Mommy, are you a princess?"
    "Why yes, I mean, ahem..."

Gabe: "Mommy, I want to do prafts with you.  Can we do a train praft?  And a boat and airplane praft?  Please?" (praft= craft, FYI)



Luke: "Mommy, I all done now.  Want to get down, right now Mommy! I can't do it, it's too hawd (hard).  Help Mommy!  Help!  What doing?  Wheah ah you (Where are you?- even if I'm standing right there!)?

After time out for hitting.... Luke runs out of the room and says "Sorry Mommy.  Sorry hitting.  Sorry mommy.  I kiss it better.  Hug!"

Luke: "Coat on!  Shoes on! Go a walk!  Go a bye-bye car!  I wanna go home (meaning I want to go out- yes, really.)!"

December 2011

Early(ish) December:


Ward Christmas Party Decorations:


Taylor Family Christmas Party


There were hundreds more pictures from the Arave Family Sing-Along and from Christmas morning, but I have shared those elsewhere.  If you are interested in those pix and you didn't get them from the Christensen family blog or email, let me know and I can share them with you.

December Rundown:
We had lots of fun this Christmas!  I was a busy bee making Christmas gifts, which was something that really helped me get into the spirit of Christmas.  Our ward Christmas party was at the beginning of the month, and my friend and I were put in charge of the decorations.  We had a very small budget and very big ideas, and we were able to pull it off pretty well I thought by using things we already had, borrowing where necessary, and in general spending very little.  Another friend and I planned a Christmas playgroup for our neighborhood and we did some fun ornament crafts, which turned out to be a big hit with the kids.  BJ and I went to a free dance at the senior center featuring a live big band.  That was fun.  We had a fun Christmas party at the Taylor's house, complete with nativity and musical program, and of course, the present exchange at the end.  A couple of days before Christmas, we flew to Oregon, and arrived just in time for the Arave Sing-Along, a 20 year tradition!  BJ and I sang a spoof on Baby, It's Cold Outside, which we sang as newlyweds 7 years ago, but this was the "7-year sequel".  It was funny.  Gabe sang "Silent Night" and did an awesome job enunciating and singing with a big voice.  Not shy at all, even in front of dozens of people he didn't know.  It was so cute.  We celebrated Marissa's birthday the next day by eating at Macaroni Grill and seeing "We Bought a Zoo" in the theater.  It was fun, but the kids didn't like the movie much.  On Christmas, we went to church in the morning, then came home and took pictures all dressed up, then we got back in our jammies and opened presents.  We like to drag it out for hours by only letting one person at a time open a present, and rotating who's turn it is by age.  Haha!  Tradition... The rest of Christmas break was spent visiting family, shopping, getting to know the significant others of Tayler and Cara (Heather and Dan), watching movies, doing a few crafts, and being sick.  Bleh.  Also, BJ and I took a vacation from our vacation (thanks Mom and everyone who helped watch the boys while we were gone!)- a one night stay at a bed and breakfast nearby.  It was a restored 100 year old mansion- and it was lovely!  We would definitely recommend it.  We were the only ones there that night, and the lady let us wander around and check out the other rooms.  We had dinner at a place called Dundee Bistro and I had the best pulled pork sandwich of my life.  I usually don't get that excited about food, but it was amazing and journal-worthy.  I need to go back next time we are in Oregon just so I can have that sandwich again.  Haha.  We made delicious fondue on New Year's Eve and stuffed ourselves silly.  We flew back home on New Year's Day, and were surprised with a washed and vacuumed out car (thanks, Mom and Dad T., for that surprise and for picking us up)!  We got in so late and were so hungry, that we ate and then went to bed at their house.  Fortunately the next day was still a holiday so we had some time to unpack and rest etc.  It was also about 55 degrees outside- can you believe it?!, so we had some fun with the kids at the park before going home.

November Pictures

November was a busy but fun month... we celebrated Cara's birthday, planned and/ or attended several really fun playgroups, spent lots of time getting ready for Christmas (making gifts, helping to plan the ward Christmas party which I was in charge of decorations for), and had a wonderful Thanksgiving with BJ's family.

October 2011

I haven't written in months, and I'm not even going to try to recap what has happened right now, but I need to record some things about the kids so we can remember all the funny things they do in the future.

Gabe
3 years & almost 4 months

I asked him what his favorite foods were last week, and here is his answer: "Cupcakes, fruit loops, chocolate, cheese sticks." Funny, we don't give him much of that stuff... at least he listed one semi-healthy thing.  He actually eats pretty much everything we give him, as long as it is room temp and not spicy.

Takes one nap, in the afternoon.  Learned how to pedal his tricycle this summer, and can mostly keep up with us when we go for a walk.  Loves to collect sticks on our walks.  Loves to go on walks and visit his friends Kimberlee and Ethan.  He's very friendly with all kids, although if it came to sharing his Thomas train, that would probably be a no-go. 

Says "okie-dokie-a-chokie".  Has been calling me his "baby mommy" and "little mommy".  Regularly says stuff like "What are you doing, Mommy?"  Oh!  Uhhhh... dat's cool, Mom."  Gabe knows mouth, nose, eyes, head, hair, ears, hands, tummy, and fingers in Spanish (our neighbor came over and did Spanish lessons for a while during the summer).  He also knows a few animals and random other stuff.

Gabe's teachers at daycare (he goes just a couple of hours each week) are always impressed at how smart he is.  He knows all his shapes, colors, counts to 20 sometimes, can accurately count objects (less than about 8), knows his ABCs, can identify all of them and most of their sounds, and knows tons of songs. 

Sings Thomas the Tank Engine songs and always requests them at bedtime.  Actually sings a lot of songs, all day long.  Loves Thomas shows, Dora, Caillou, Blue's Clues, and even "the purple dinosaur".  Yes, I let my children watch shows (on Netflix).
95% potty trained during the day, nighttime and naptime are another story.
One day at naptime I gave him his Thomas the Tank engine train and he said "Thomas is my best friend!"  Another day we had played and I gave him lots of hugs and kisses at naptime and he said "Mommy, you are my best friend!"  Melted my heart.

Naughty stuff: Gabe recently dumped a whole roll of TP in the toilet.  A few days later, he unrolled a whole roll all over the floor.  Not to much later, he pulled out every wet wipe from the wipes box.  He sometimes likes to chew on the wipes. (yuck) He and Luke are partners in crime and they like to shred wipes, TP, napkins, anything they can get their hands on.  They like to drink their drinks and spit them out- sometimes on each other (this is mostly just Gabe).  They like to pull things out of the kitchen drawers and cupboards, sometimes the garbage.  I have locks on the cupboards and the garbage, but they always manage to find something semi-dangerous that isn't locked up, so the kitchen is off limits, and we have a gate that closes it off. 

Luke
18 months

Sings I Am a Child of God and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (somewhat intelligibly) on his own.  Loves music and loves to dance.
Goes to sleep really easily most of the time, as long as he has his binky, blanket, drink, and a stuffed animal.  Starting to take only an afternoon nap and not his morning nap.  Loves all stuffed animals, but especially his zebra, cow, & blue teddy bear.  Cuddly, but he's a screamer- he has an ear-splitting scream that he's not afraid to use at any time if he wants to get his point across.  Started nursery last week- ran right in, played, no screaming at all.  What a relief for all of us, because church has been... not fun... with him for several months (maybe 6).  Hopefully nursery will continue to be a good thing for him.

Blows kisses and waves when daddy leaves every morning for work.  Loves cheese, bread, bananas, apples, applesauce, yogurt, all cereal, all sugary stuff (but usually not ice cream), most fruits, all crackers, pizza.  Sometimes likes broccoli and carrots (in ranch), beans, mexican food.  Currently hates noodles and rice (texture thing), usually peanut butter and most other sandwiches.

Luke loves to give kisses, but this time he was almost eating my cheek!

Says: Peeaboo (peek-a-boo), dit-de (binky), a-wight (alright), ok, ah-done (all done), ah-keen-ow (all clean now), poopoo, bum, eye, nose, mow (mouth), eah (ear), Babe/ Babiel (Gabe/ Gabriel), baby, Guke (Luke), mommy, daddy, Paw (Grandpa), Cah-kin (Collin), Ca-ya (Cara), Sessa (Marissa), Anna, Gook (book, drink, milk), eat, see-yal (cereal), nah-nuh (banana), be-ba (zebra), see ya, hi, hey-o (hello), bye bye, Ay-yuh-you (I love you), safe, don't, mine, want it, nie-ie (night-night), teeeee (teeth- wants to brush teeth), cah (car) goowuck/ cahck (truck), ah-side (outside), no, yes, yeah, uh-huh, uh-uh, no-way, icky, suuuuum (as in- I want some), lion, goggy (doggy), ti-tat (cat/ kitty cat), eh-pane (airplane), tain (Train), wow-ow (flower), messy, one-two-tee (1-2-3), sooooo (show- as in I want to watch a show).

He probably says more but I can't think of anything else right now.

Luke responds to most things we say to him- he understands and follows commands (if he wants to) and replies to questions.

At 16 months he:
Weighed 22.3 pounds (now he weighs about 25 lb.)- the 15th percentile.
Was 30.5 inches tall- 22nd percentile.
Had a head circumference of 19.2- the 86th percentile, down from the 96th when he was 9 months old!

Happy 3rd Birthday Gabriel!

Dear Gabriel,

It has been a long time since I could say you were a baby, and the other day I realized I can't even call you a toddler anymore.  You are a big boy; a bona fide preschooler now.  Have I really been your mother for three years?  It has truly been a privilege.  You have such a sweet temperament; you genuinely care about what the people around you are feeling.  When someone is hurt, it warms my heart to see you put your hand on their shoulder and say "You-a-ok? You have-a-owie? I-a-kiss-it better."

You are helping me learn, Gabe.  Sometimes you get sent to time out after being told that you can come back when you can be happy, or obedient, or nice or whatever the issue.  Sometimes after a minute or two I open the door and ask if you are ready to obey, and through your tears you say no.  After a while we realized that we needed a slightly different approach.  Now when I open the door and I ask if you need a hug, you almost always run to me immediately for some love, and then when we talk about obedience you are very cooperative.  I am glad you could help me learn that love needs to be first and foremost in any discipline.

You are becoming more opinionated and independent.  You love to pedal your tricycle without too much help, and you are quick to let me know you'd rather walk than ride in the stroller.  Sticks, rocks, and bugs are fascinating subjects, and nothing can distract you when you want to go exploring in the dirt.  Most days you don't care too much about what you wear, but some days, like yesterday, you were insistent that you wanted to wear your orange puffer vest, even though it is 90 degrees outside, and only the tie-dyed shirt from your aunt Rhonda was tempting enough to wear instead. 

You are just becoming such a big boy with a big personality.  Sometimes I miss the times when you were so little, but only a little, because watching your grow and develop is so much fun.  I love how well you can communicate and I love all the quirky little phrases that come out of your mouth ("Mom!  I want to sing Old McFarmer had a Farm, ok?").  You run off to your class at nursery and at daycare one morning a week usually with no trouble at all, and you are happy to see all your friends and teachers.  Sometimes it pains me to think of how your parents are already diminishing in your eyes- I mean, when you were a baby, we were all you knew, and now there are lots of people way more fun and exciting than us!  But I know you, you always come back for hugs and kisses and love from your mommy and daddy, and I think (and hope) that is how it will always be.

One thing I love about your three year old self is how keenly you feel things.  You play hard, you are delighted and even ecstatic when you love something, and you cry tears that seem like they are coming from a broken heart over things that make you sad.  You love music, and singing and dancing are great pastimes.  You love your trains, cars, balls, airplanes, playing outside, and water in the bathtub (as long as I'm not trying to wash you).  You are a great eater.  Although there are a few things you don't like too much (spinach), you will eat just about everything else.  I am happy that you love fruits and veggies (including broccoli- cooked or raw).  You love your cousins and your aunts and uncles, and your grandparents- dearly.

I am glad that I get to watch you live life the fullest that you know how.  I treasure the things I am learning from raising you.  I am glad that I could become your mommy three years ago.  You are so precious to me, I will keep trying to be the best mother I can be for you.

Luke: May 2011

Luke is really at one of the funnest ages I have experienced with kids so far.  Each age is fun in its own way, but he is at the point where it is all fun from here on out, and way more hazardous too.  He is learning to get into cupboards and drawers, tries to climb into the bathtub, and he tries to take Gabe's snacks away almost as often as Gabe tries to take his away. 

He is doing things a little earlier than Gabe (though not exactly an early- bird)- just so he can keep up.  There is definitely some sibling rivalry developing here, though the boys clearly adore each other.  Luke can walk short distances, maybe up to 6 steps on average without getting scared and sitting down.  He doesn't fall much yet, but is very cautious, and would rather sit down before taking a tumble.  I'm sure he could walk much longer if he wanted, and I think he will be before long!  He still crawls with one knee and one foot, which is hilarious to watch.

He says a few words on his own (ma-ma, woof (dog, and the sound a dog makes), nana (banana, and any other food), da-du (thank you- yes, really, he says this after every time I bring him food)) and he mimics a lot of things we say (da-da, puh-puh (poopy diaper), ssu-ssu (Jesus), nuh-nuh (no-no).
Luke loves to be sung to.  He doesn't have a favorite song that I can tell, but if cuddling and rocking don't calm him down, just start singing too, and he will relax very quickly.

Nights are finally starting to get better.  He is now sleeping through the night- hallelujah!  I think we just had to get through some hard stuff and I had to stop nursing him when he woke up.  I think as soon as he realized he couldn't eat, and he got over some colds he had for a while, he stopped waking in the middle of the night.  Now he goes to bed anywhere from 6:30pm to 7:30pm or so on a normal night, and he wakes up between 5:30 and 6:30 in the morning to nurse, then he usually goes back to sleep for an hour (IF I let him fall asleep in bed with me, otherwise he will just play or whine).  I try to get him to take a nap at 9:30 or 10 in the morning, and then another nap at 1:30 or 2 in the afternoon.  I think if I am more consistent with getting him down for naps, he sleeps better at night.

Luke has had his 8 teeth (4 on top, 4 on bottom) for several months and a few weeks ago started cutting molars (skipping the canine teeth).  He now has 2 molars that are mostly cut through, 1 that is close, and another one that is just starting to be swollen and painful for him.  It seems like these things always happen at the same time.

Luke can put food away like no other baby I have seen.  We were at a restaurant the other day and Luke ate the entire 2 bottles of baby food I had with me, and then continued to eat a bread stick and two small pieces of pizza, plus drinking his milk.  We joked that he ate more than my brother Tayler, who was visiting.  I guess he was just really hungry that day.  Luke loves fruit, cheese, bread, yogurt, and Hawaiian haystacks (chicken and rice etc.).  He is slightly more picky than I remember Gabe being.  He is very particular about the textures of foods he eats.  Also, just because he has eaten it before and liked it doesn't mean he wont spit a food out and refuse to eat it from that point on.  Usually if we can get the first bite in, he will decide he likes it and will eat the food.  He cracks me up!

Family Pictures

After Tayler got back, we needed an updated family picture, and BJ's dad was kind enough to take pictures of everyone.  We got some really fun pictures!

When Tayler came home

Here are pictures from our trip to Oregon at the end of March, when Tayler came home from his mission.  Mostly these are pictures at the airport when we picked him up, but there are some of Collin playing tennis and a few other random things.

Catch-up time

Well, blogging has really been put on the back burner these days.  I need to do better at that, since this is sort of the record of our family goings-on right now.  This is mainly for documentation purposes since it is all mostly old news, so don't feel like you have to read this!  Let me go back in time a bit...

At the end of March, we put our kids in the car, and left at 4am to drive to Oregon to visit my family and be there when my brother Tayler arrived home from his mission, which he served for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He spent 2 years in Australia teaching people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and although we heard from him in weekly emails and biannual phone calls, we missed him terribly and were excited to see him as soon as he came back!  So we all went to the airport in Portland and nervously awaited his arrival.  We finally spotted him waaaay back behind security, and we were jumping up and down and waving.  He was so exhausted but he was happy to see us too!  We bear hugged him and then went to collect his luggage and take him home.  We got to spend the next couple of days just visiting with him and then we had to come back home.  The drive back was not quite as pleasant as the drive there, but we got through it, with books on tape, Raffi and "Wee Sing", goldfish crackers, "safety chips", and a few hyperactivity-busting stops for the little ones.

Two weeks later, my whole family drove down here to 1. be here for Marissa's graduation (Yay! B.S. in Public Health), 2. Take Tayler to school at BYU-I, 3. Pick up Cara from BYU, and 4. Celebrate my dad's 50th birthday!  Ok, they didn't really come to celebrate my dad's birthday, but we were sure glad that it coincided so closely!  My dad's brother Bob put together memories and stories from pretty much everyone in the extended family to make a really nice book for my dad as has been the tradition for his siblings (he is the last sibling to turn 50).  Marissa and my mom and I made some cakes for my dad's birthday, one a healthy version of chocolate cake (made with teff flour), which was definitely different but still yummy (find the recipe here on SS&GF- a site I really and truly love), and a chocolate pudding cake, which we "frosted" with homemade chocolate almond whipping cream.  Honestly.  It was amazing, and not at all healthy.  I don't think we took pictures, because we were in such a hurry, but it even looked beautiful, with powdered sugar, chocolate shavings, and I can't remember what else on top. 

The next week, my family had to go home, which was sad, but life must go on!  I started a neighborhood playgroup with my friend Sherilee, who did one for the women in our church last year, but they eventually stopped doing it.  So, we started up another one on our own, and as one of our first activities, we took the kids to Jump on it (like Kangaroo Zoo- inflatable playground).  Gabe loved every minute of it- right up until we had to leave, which he detested.  So did I, because I had to march out the door with one child under each arm, one of them kicking and screaming and begging to stay, and other moms throwing me pitying, knowing glances.  (Lesson learned: have a discussion before the activity, about how we can do lots of fun things if we are nice and also obedient when it is time to leave.  And possibly only go with both parents at first, until the kid can handle leaving.)  Since then, we have had several park days, and playtime at different kid's/mom's homes.  I planned a bubbles activity about 2 weeks ago that was outdoors and really fun.  I blogged about the planning and running the activity on my other blog. I didn't think very many people would come, because I didn't get a huge response but I think about 17 moms and their children came at one time or another.  Good thing it was outside!  We had lots of fun.  I have some other fun activities planned, and will blog about those afterward. 

Hmm, what else?  I have been enjoying being a part of two book clubs, one for the women of my church, and one for the women and wives of employees at my husband's work.  I have most recently read The Faith Club, a book about 3 women of different faiths who meet after 9/11 to promote better understanding between those of different religions.  It was very thought provoking and made for great discussion.

This past weekend BJ took me on a little overnight getaway to Midway.  It was for Mother's Day, and he had actually planned to surprise me and take me last weekend, but the kids got sick and so we postponed it a week.  I had a wonderful time!  It was so needed.  We weren't even gone a full 24 hours, but it is amazing what a night away can do for you.  We left the boys in Marissa and Richard's care, and they did great- didn't even miss us (Gabe actually looked concerned when we got home, and wanted to just keep playing with them).  We stayed at a charming bed and breakfast that we have stayed at once before, a few years ago, and had such a relaxing time.  We went out on their big pond in a rowboat and looked at geese, swans, and ducks, and walked around the grounds just enjoying the beautiful weather.  We walked through some galleries and actually met Willie Holdman (a renowned local photographer who does amazing work) in his new gallery that he opened in Heber with his wife (she sells very cute jewelery). We also walked through a book boutique (and scored a few great books) and discovered a great authentic Mexican restaurant called Tarahumara.  We recommend it!  It was a great getaway for me, and I am grateful that BJ went to the effort to plan it for me.  We also owe Marissa and Richard a big thank you for taking care of the kids. 

I have more to say, but this is long enough already.  I will try to do better at posting in a timely manner!

Pictures from Luke's Birthday

February

OOPS: 6/6/11 I just saw this in my posts today.  Looks like I wrote it at the beginning of March, but never published it.  It's old news now, but for the sake of journaling, here it is!

I can't believe February flew by so fast (well, looking back on it.  It seems like during the winter each day drags on so long... is it just me?).

I want to remember some of the things Gabe has said recently (he has really made large developments in his verbalization skills since Christmas):

"Mommy, where's my helicopter?" and "Mommy, look! A yellow helicopter up in the sky!" -But "helicopter" could be pronounced "fly-a-copter", "blue-a-copter" (one of his helicopter toys is in fact blue), or "hey-a-copter"

"This is MY bike" (bike pronounced "bikel" like bicycle shortened.)
"You so hungry, fweet-haht?" (sweetheart)

"This is fun game, Mommy!"

Gabe has quite an imagination and he likes to make his animal toys play and talk to one another.  One day this week, he took apart his train tracks and brought the pieces to me as "popcorn", "ice cream", "cake", "peanut butter sandwich" and "phone".  I frequently hear Gabe singing to himself too, and he makes up new words sometimes; for example he loves to sing "The Wheels on the Bus" and he will add things like "the dogs on the bus go woof woof woof", and sometimes mix the words up a little, so now "the babies on the bus go woof woof woof".  He loves to sing "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee" and a bunch more from his mp3 player that he doesn't really know all the words for but tries to sing along anyway.

For a while it seemed like Gabriel was done with his stuffed monkey, but now he loves it again I guess, maybe because we brought home a big Curious George book which he loves to hear stories out of.  During those stories he has to go find his monkey and hold it while he listens, or he will have a little breakdown.  Same for any story about trains, teddy bears, etc.  If it reminds him of a toy of his, he must go find it. Heh.

From time to time Gabe gets curious about me nursing Luke.  We talk about why I am nursing Luke, and he understands that Luke is drinking milk, and that nursing will help Luke when he is hungry.  He usually comes over and points to Luke and says "Mommy nursing Luke" while I am feeding him.  A couple times Gabe has climbed up on my lap and said "Gabe nurse now?"  I had to laugh and I just said, "No, nursing is for babies to eat; you're a big boy and you drink from a cup and eat with a fork!"  He seemed pretty satisfied with that, and went back to playing. 

Luke is cruising around the furniture as of last week.  For a while he was just standing and playing at the train table, but now he walks all around it, and goes back and forth between the couch and table, sits down, pulls himself back up, etc.  He still will not crawl.  We occasionally try to have crawling practice in the hallway and I have tried all sorts of things as enticement to get him to crawl, with no luck.  He whines and cries until I let him pull himself up to a stand, and he will then walk to get what he wants, while I help him.  Sometimes he will roll until he can get to what he wants.

The tables have turned a little bit at naptime.  Gabe is now my good napper (this was the baby who would never nap for more than 30 minutes or so at a time) sleeping from 1.5- 3 hours almost every afternoon.  Luke was a great napper until the past month or two... now he often wakes up prematurely and is very cranky for the rest of the day, but he refuses to go back to sleep, even if I rock and rock and rock him, which I don't have time to do! (If I try, Gabriel usually takes advantage of the unsupervised time and destroys something in another room or gets into some sort of mischief.)  I am thinking about taking away the morning nap and just having him take one nap per day, but it seems so early to do that!  He is only 10 months old.  I need to figure something out, because the afternoon is no fun for any of us if naps are prematurely ended.

Luke is a smiley, happy kid.  He turned 10 months old last week, and I can't believe how much he has changed.  He is still very small in size, though.  He is in the 19th percentile for height, the 18th percentile for weight, and the 96th percentile for head circumference.  I'm guessing that is why people always tell me Luke is so big.

Rochelle's musings

I think I will try to get BJ to write his own post about what he has been up to, and here is mine.  This is sort of a journal kind of entry for me, so please excuse the ME-ness of it.

Most of my life right now is taken up by caring for Gabe and Luke, and trying keep everything at home running smoothly (which I am sometimes successful at, sometimes not).  I have an intense desire to be Martha Stewart and have a perfectly clean home and fresh baked bread, and sweet-smelling children all dressed and fed playing quietly together.  I want to feel like everything in my world is organized and clutter free.  I find myself wishing that I could have at least 2 more hours in every day (after the children are asleep) that I could use how I please, and that I would be motivated to do laundry and mopping and stuff.  Alas, I am not Martha, and my house is far from perfectly clean and organized, and all too often my kids (and myself) remain pajama- clad all day long, or at least until 3pm.  I haven't figured out a way to get a couple extra hours every day, and I still have a huge pile of clean laundry that I cannot motivate myself to fold.  BUT- I did bake bread today.  :D  I have been working on the most cluttered spots around my home, trying to get rid of unused, unwanted, and unloved items (Fly Lady, anyone?), and generally just cleaning up the same messes umpteen times a day.  I feel good about the fact that I went from being very intimidated by and unmotivated to cook dinner (um, for about 5 years of marriage- ouch) to feeling pretty comfortable and confident in the kitchen (not that I am an awesome cook, just that I am not afraid to try new things and branch out a bit) and putting a hot meal on the table most nights by the time BJ is home from work.  It is something I always wanted to do, but just couldn't get the motivation or courage to do.  Sounds a little silly, right?  I suppose I had a complex about cooking and baking for a long time.  But I made a goal last year, a little after Luke was born, and I have stuck to it, and it feels GREAT!

When I have some free time, I usually choose one of my "go-to" activities.  Two nights a week, after the kids are in bed, I go to Zumba.  I love Zumba.  It is good exercise, and it is fun!  I don't feel like I am exercising, but I usually go home drenched in sweat.  I can't wait until it warms up outside and I can add in some of the other exercise- like things that I like to do.  Being outside is good for me (when it is a reasonable temperature).

Of course, my other go-to is anything crafty.  I have been blogging about my crafty adventures on my other blog, Home Sweet Homebodies.  A few months ago, I was thinking about how I could better meet my goal of being service and giving- oriented all year long (spreading the spirit of Christmas over 12 months) and it hit me that I could connect it somewhat to craftiness and invite others to join me.  I decided that I want to do one project each month that is dedicated to "making the world a little sweeter".

For January's project, I whipped out my crochet hook to make hats for the Caps For Good project- a really worthwhile organization that distributes hats to moms and babies in other countries as a part of their newborn survival program.  Because I had a really hard time reading crochet patterns, I decided to make a tutorial on making a really simple baby beanie.  If you want to see that post and tutorial, click here.  I have also been working on several sewing projects, none of which are finished...

The other thing that takes up my time is the Cub Scouts.  I am the Assistant Cubmaster.  Sounds really fancy and official, right?  Not so much.  Mainly I get to plan and record and do administrative type work.  Right now I am working on the Blue and Gold dinner which is coming up really soon.  We are doing a "Scouting through the years" theme with Wild West decorations.  I am in charge of coming up with thank you cards and decorations, and I have a pretty small budget to work with.  I bought a few materials, but mostly I am going to work with recycled things like cardboard boxes.  I hope it ends up looking cool and not crappy.  Wish me luck. 

Right now my life is all about trying to find balance.  How do I be a good mom, wife, and everything else I need to be and develop myself as a person at the same time?  It seems like in order to be a good mother you must lose yourself to a degree (but perhaps not such a bad thing after all, as "whosoever will be willing to lose his {or her} life for my sake, the same shall save it"-JST, Luke 9:24 -that's a different way of interpreting that, I know.).  I am ok with losing parts of myself, like especially all the less desirable parts, but I don't want to forget who I am, or not know what makes me, well, me.  So, it is back to balance- to spending good, quality time with my kids and husband, and taking a healthy amount of time for myself, to do other kinds of things which I also love.  I am still trying to figure it all out.  It seems like as soon as I start feeling comfortable with the way things are, a change occurs that forces me to re-adjust.  Like the births of my children, or simply when they reach new stages in life.  It causes me to re-examine my life and what I am doing so that I must constantly progress. 

Well, that's all I've got for now.  If you are still reading this, are there any moms out there that have thoughts on finding balance between motherhood, wifehood (is that a word?), and personal development?

Luke: January 2011

I think the stage Luke is at (9 months old this past week) is one of the cutest and funnest stages of babyhood.  My Lukie-pie is just so sweet.  He is getting very curious about what Gabe is doing, and he wants to be in on the fun.  He doesn't want to lay down or sit down, he just wants to stand.  He is starting to try to walk (with help).  He is super wiggly!  This kid has a smile that could melt anyone's heart, and I'm afraid he has got us wrapped around his little fingers!

Favorites:
Foods: Cheerios, any fruit (especially applesauce, apricots, peaches, pears, and fresh bananas), sweet potatoes, and carrots, and rice husk crackers.

Toys: Luke likes toys that make sounds, have wheels, or which can be chewed on, or anything that Gabe is playing with.

He LOVES things with buttons, so any remote, cell phone, or toy with buttons is an Luke- magnet.  Bonus points if something exciting happens after pushing a button.

Activities: Peekaboo and Pattycake are very entertaining, as are tickling and cuddling (sometimes).  We took this video of Luke about one week before he turned 7 months old, where he is playing peekaboo all on his own.  We were so surprised when he started doing it, but he loved all the laughs he got, and he continued doing it for quite a while that night.

Luke loves to watch Gabe run around and play, and he is beginning to want to be part of everything Gabe does. 
We recently got out this jumperoo thingy and Luke has got the hang of bouncing in it and he is happy since he always wants to be standing.

People: Luke loves his Mommy and Daddy and Gabe tons, and he recognizes and is delighted to see Grandparents and aunts and uncles.  Luke seems to pick up on and react to "love vibes"- or in other words he can sense when someone likes him, and he will cuddle right up- even if they are a stranger.  This happened in church last week when a grandmotherly lady held him for a moment while I had to lead some music.  He stared at her for a minute, then began smiling and snuggled right up in her lap.

Luke is happy any time Gabe is nearby, and thrives on attention Gabe gives him.  He puts up with quite a lot of poking and prodding from Gabe too...

Stats:

Luke began consistently sitting up by himself for longer periods of time when he turned 7 months old.

• Luke still has 7 teeth (he had all those by the time he was 7 months old), but I believe that is about to change.
• Luke is NOT interested in crawling.
• After we came back from Oregon for Christmas, Luke started pulling himself up to stand so that he could see what was going on up on Gabe's train table (8 months old).  Maybe he will skip crawling all together and go straight to walking?

I frequently walk into a room and find a picture like this- both boys just chilling together, often in unusual positions, and just content and jabbering to each other. 

Gabriel: January 2011

Gabe is quite a character!  He is becoming very inquisitive and opinionated.  In true toddler fashion, he is exerting his independence and testing limits.  It can be quite frustrating at times, but I keep reminding myself that he is doing what all two year olds do, and that it is a normal developmental stage.  He is a bit of a charmer too, so my occasional frustration is tempered by lots of sweetness and delight.  Here is a little bit about Gabe currently.

Favorites:
Colors: anything vibrant, but especially green at the moment.
Foods: Pizza, lasagna, raisins, Chex, ice cream, broccoli, ham, cheese, any Mexican food, any Chinese food.  He will pretty much eat anything we give him, most of the time!

Toys: His train table set that he got for Christmas, his monkey (still), a little airplane on wheels thingy, magnets on the magnet board, dishes & measuring spoons.

Activities: Singing (Twinkle Twinkle, I am a Child of God, Heavenly Father Loves Me, Eensie Weensie Spider, I'm a Little Pile of Tin, Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree, Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes, The Wheels on the Bus, Saw a Little House in the Middle of the Woods, and MANY others), dancing (to any old music, or Just Dance- a Wii game), throwing balls, unwinding spools of thread or balls of yarn, looking at books, making Luke laugh, and climbing up on things, coloring (for short periods of time), and playing with Play- Doh.

Outfit: Blue Jeans (I love hearing him say that) and his brown or yellow long sleeved shirts.  And his Thomas the Tank Engine Jammies and Slippers.

Movies: Thomas the Tank Engine shows, Curious George, The Jungle Book

Cute/ Funny Stuff

Overheard:
A week or two ago: Kissing sound, and "Luke, I love you!  Be right back!" and little feet running down the hallway.
Last night: " 'Tinky, poopy bum.  Diaper change? No! Mommy do it." (At the suggestion that daddy would change it.)
This week: "Luke, play trains with me! Come on!"
After a loud noise upstairs: Screaming, followed by "Mommy! Scary! You hear boom boom? Scary tiger, Mommy!" (I don't know where the scary tiger thing came from, other than maybe from The Jungle Book movie.  He has been really spooked by loud noises lately.)

Common Phrases:
"Yes, sir, mommy" -over and over, every day. (Occasionally it is "Yes, ma'am, but usually everyone is a "Sir" to him.)
"Lukie- pie" -I guess I call Luke that enough that Gabe picked up on it.  He understands that it is just a nickname.  Last week we were joking together about calling grandparents "Grandma Suzie-Pie and Papa Ronnie- Pie".
Gabe occasionally calls BJ or I "honey", "sweetie- pie", "Sweetheart", or "Love" depending on what he hears us say.  Today I dropped something on the floor, and he picked it right up and handed it to me without being asked, and said "Here you go, sweetheart!" (Picture me melting.)
"Hningermails" =fingernails, as in, "Long hiningermails? Cut them?"
"Mommy, want to see show!"  "What show do you want to watch, Gabriel?" "Um...... Thomas The Tank Engine!" (enunciated perfectly, of course, after so much practice...)

Gabe and I had fun playing with homemade "instruments" this week- see this blog post on my other blog.  So later that night, I just happened to see that my mom had posted a video of Anna playing the guitar and singing at her first ever guitar recital (she just started playing a few months ago), Gabe was mesmerized, and he demanded his toy guitar that we made, and proceeded to accompany himself singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".  It was funny, and adorable, and reminded me why toddlers are so much fun.  I asked him to do it again a little later for the camera, which he did, but not with as much enthusiasm.  Haha. Oh well!

We have reached the point that getting a good picture of Gabe is kind of hard.  He will smile and cooperate for the first picture, but it often goes downhill from there (although still cute, the pictures that follow become increasingly cheesy- but at least they are happy in this series!)

I love that Gabe loves to be with his brother.  He is starting to be really helpful in keeping Luke happy and entertained.  I have to remind him sometimes that Luke is just a baby and he needs to be gentle and use a quiet voice to not scare him, but mostly they just love being around each other. 

Toddlerhood is a challenge, but a fun one (almost all the time)!

Christmas 2011

This year we spent the night of Christmas Eve at BJ's parents' house.  BJ stayed up until 2 AM putting Gabe's train table together.  It was fun for Gabe (and for us) to wake up Christmas morning and get to open presents with Grandma Sue, Grandpa Ron, and Rhonda (or "Panda" as Gabe still calls her).  We enjoyed breakfast and visiting with Danielle and Kirk's family, and also got to see Taylor and Emily for a while.  We headed home pretty late-ish and still had to finish packing so that we could leave the next morning at the crack of dawn to fly to Oregon.  We got to have a 2nd Christmas with my family after Marissa and Richard also arrived, and it was great!  Anyway, here are some pictures from Christmas 2010.

oops

I don't know why I can't seem to get my act together with the blogging lately.  I think it is a case of letting too much time pass so that the prospect of "catching up" on our family's doings is just overwhelming and I am not motivated to do it.  It could also be that the only time I really have to blog and have "personal time" is during naptime or after the kids have gone to bed for the night, and there are just so many things to do and catch up on that blogging drops down on my priority list.  Whatever the case may be, I have been feeling guilty that I am not recording the things my kids are doing and how they are growing.  So, I am repenting!  I have some photos, videos, stories and things that I have been meaning to post forever, and now I will actually do it.  But not in this post.  I will do a post for Christmas, and each kid, and maybe one for BJ and I.   But probably not all at once.  (!)

Do you hear what I hear?

Gabriel will often run to find me and ask me if I heard a sound that he heard- "You hear train?" "You hear dump/ garbage truck/ car" "You hear a boom boom?"  The boom boom is probably the most common sound he mentions to me.  Usually he is delighted by the sounds he hears, but occasionally we hear a really loud sound from outside or the people upstairs, which scares Gabe, and he will scream or cry, and then ask me if I heard the "boom boom".  After reassuring him that I heard it, and talking about what might have made the sound, his curiosity is appeased and he goes back to what he was doing before.

Indoor Fun

Sometimes you don't need toys to have a good time.

But simple, classic toys can hold my attention for a long time, especially at Grandma and Grandpa's house, in a cozy chair.

Building forts in the front room is exciting, especially if that means that Mom will come in too and play for hours...

... and even more when there are snacks involved...

... add in my favorite monkey, my cars...

... a good story...

... and my little brother, and I am a happy (indoor) camper!