Safe and Sound

Well we made it to California safe and sound and now we have had four sleeps in my parent's house. The trip felt longer than I remembered, but we had a lot more to keep track of. Two suitcases, a carseat, two backpacks, the camera bag, the stroller, the baby, the blanket, our jackets, the dog and her carrier and assorted loose baby toys. All of these things were necessary and good, but a lot to keep our two pairs of eyes on.

Ally came with us after all. She is going to be a Californian now. Ally has been losing a lot of weight and hasn't wanted to go outside in the cold to go potty (so she's been making messes in the house!) and gets the shivers for an hour after being forced outside. We made the decision to take my Mom up on her offer and bring Ally down to live on "The Ranch" to keep Nellie company (Nellie's my mom's fourteen year-old dachshund).

We were worried about the weather driving from Los Angeles to Shafter, but it turned out to be gorgeous. The storm just missed the Grapevine, so we got to watch the huge thunderheads turn purple and orange and pink as the sun set on them over the mountains to our right. Derek and I rented a car which so far has been really lovely. It's such a luxury! Not that it's a luxurious car - it's not, it's tiny. But when we drive somewhere we get a few moments alone together as a family. And that's really a blessing.

Luke is getting passed around just as much as we expected. We don't see him terribly much. But thankfully I am still breastfeeding him so he has to come back to me every three or four hours for that and we get to snuggle and sit quietly together. I really love passing Luke around. I don't mind at all having everyone taking turns with him. He should know how much he is loved by people all over the globe! It's amazing, it's perfect, and as his mother I think all the fawning over him is totally appropriate! He's a great kid and gets along with everyone very well.

All of our big family gatherings are over now, and I even made it to a murder mystery bridal shower which was themed "Spa Day" (hence the slippers). It has been a whirlwind and we are looking forward to a few days of relaxation and visiting with my parents. We haven't planned out the rest of our week completely, but we are heading to Fresno on New Year's Day and are possibly going to the beach...? if we decide the drive is worth it.

Thanks for all the prayers and emails! I will try to answer them as soon as we get home, but for now I am treating this like a real vacation. After all, I think I've only changed three diapers in the last five days! That's something to celebrate!

Side By Side

Roehn is now ALMOST as big as Luke was when he was born! Looking at them side by side I can hardly believe it. I mean, I knew Luke was getting big, but since I was seeing him grow up close I never SAW him grow! And there he is, so big! And Cameryn is even bigger! Wow.

I had a dream the other night that Luke just hopped out of his high chair, walked to the sink and rinsed his hands! Derek looked at me and was like, "Did you see that?" And I said, "I've gotta get a picture for my blog!" I'm even dreaming about the blog now :)

Merry Christmas Eve! Tomorrow we are off.

Tuesday, Two Days

This is perhaps one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Luke and I went back to his bedroom and I heard Ally get out of her dog bed in the living room. Then tap tap tap, she came down the hall. She turned the corner into Luke's room and not only had I forgotten to take her jacket off, her blanket was stuck to her jacket and it looked like she brought the whole bed with her down the hallway!

It's Tuesday, and only two days left until we leave for California. Things are going to be buzzing around here until we go. There's lots to do to get ready, and there's lots to do to celebrate Christmas HERE. This afternoon we are singing carols at Salem Home (Helene, Luke, Doug and I). Then this evening we are having a (surprise!) birthday party for Helene (hopefully she doesn't read this regularly...?). Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I've got to pack and finish cleaning the house before the evening when we will have Christmas with the immediate Thiessen family. That's their tradition - to have dinner and open gifts on Christmas Eve. I kind of think doing it this way makes Christmas morning sort of a let down, but we are going to California on Christmas Day this year, so it worked out perfectly after all.

I was able to run most of my errands Saturday and yesterday, so I don't have to go out, but I am tackling a huge mound of laundry (I got out our winter clothes and they all smelled funny. Plus I don't want to leave any dirty laundry behind.). I'm also doing dishes and dumping garbages and sweeping the floor. All the little things that will make coming back to Winkler after being in Shafter so much easier.

I will blog tomorrow (Christmas Eve). But Christmas Day we'll be travelling, so even though it's a week day there will be no post. And I'm thinking that since most of you who read this are IN California, I will be seeing you and you won't need all the updates, so if we get a post or two in while we're down in California I might be happy with that. Don't expect to hear from us here too much until January 5th, when we will be back to our regular posting! Merry Eve of Christmas Eve!

Wooden Spoon

The toothbrush is old news. The wooden spoon is the new love of Luke's life. Several nights ago when Luke was having a grumpy moment we got the spoon out and banged it on some ice cream tubs to sing away the blues. Then last night he was sucking on it and I could smell it while he was sitting in my lap, it still smelled a little bit like spaghetti sauce.

Last night he hung onto it even while I undressed him and put him in the bathtub. I love this wooden spoon too. They just don't make spoons like this anymore. I got this wooden spoon at a second hand store and the wood is so hard and smooth that it has long been my favorite cooking utensil. What can I say? My son has good taste.

Baby's Breath

Luke was laughing away this morning and this is the tail end of his happiness. The phone rang and it was his gram! So we had to stop the video, stop laughing, and get down to the serious talking. Haha!


Luke smells different since he started eating rice cereal. Everyone said that his poop would get stinkier when he started eating solids, but I never considered the other things that would change-like his baby breath. Luke used to have snuggly baby breath like a sweet little puppy with a soft tongue and wet nose. His baby breath isn't entirely gone, but after he eats rice cereal his breath smells different, and I miss his milky baby breath. Now that he's starting to smell different it is making me think of all the new smells he's going to have as he gets older. Body odor, cologne, deodorant, adult shampoo, alcohol! My baby is not always going to smell like milk and Johnson's soap.

In a way it makes me sad to imagine him all grown up. But when I told him yesterday, "No more growing up!" I realized that he wouldn't be as exciting to me if he stopped growing up. If he stopped growing up he would stop learning and he would stop being interested in the world around him, and those are traits that are endearing. This blog would be incredibly monotone and dull if Luke stayed exactly six months old forever. And so would our lives be. I guess he can keep growing up. I just wish I could hold onto each phase as clearly in my memory as they are now.

Rice Cereal

Rice cereal for lunch! Yesterday and today were the first real successful rice cereal meals. So far it's not helping him sleep more, but he really seems to enjoy eating it. He loves grabbing the spoon and trying to feed himself. Wow, he's growing up so fast!

Baby's First

Baby's first Christmas, and baby's first...chocolate? No way, no chocolate for Luke yet. But I wasn't going to pass up on such a cute photo op.!

There are lots of "Baby's firsts" happening around here. It really is amazing watching Luke see, hear, touch and taste new things. So far I haven't noticed his reaction to smelling something, but we can literally watch him soak up new sounds, sights, textures and tastes. He learns a lot by putting things in his mouth, but don't worry, none of this chocolate made it to his mouth. He was more interested in looking at how shiny it was than tasting it.

Luke also enjoys new perspectives. When he gets bored in his exersaucer or on the living room floor, sometimes I will put his blanket in a different spot and let him look around there. This morning while I was getting dressed he hung out on the floor inside the closet and was very content! Yesterday he sat on the kitchen counter beside me while I stirred the spaghetti sauce.

Everything is new and interesting...except sometimes ME. Sometimes I bore him and he needs Derek to come home, or a friend to come over. He just loves new faces and voices. So when he sees some of you next week for his First Christmas (and his first trip to California) you'll probably all be getting nice big grins!

Choco-holia

Luke sounds like a little pterodactyl. He has a new screechy sound. It's not quite as airy as the last screechy sound he had. This one sounds almost like he's very frustrated, but he usually smiles while he's doing it. People actually turn their head to see where such an awful sound is coming from. I am trying to get it on video, but Luke is enamoured with my lens and it's hard to get a natural video of him. He stops whatever he's doing and stares and stares at the camera.

Yesterday we did a LOT of baking. Helene came over around 10:30 and we worked until 5:15 with a short break for lunch. We made five beautiful desserts, and we didn't get to the sixth one we had planned (but I think Helene went home and did the toffee corn flake drops on her own). We created: Oh Henry bars, Chocolate covered coconut balls, peanut butter balls (my favorite!), Chocolate Cherry Cookies and Peppernuts. This is just a small sample of our work....







I felt pretty bad about how little attention Luke got yesterday while we were working, so today we have spent lots of time just sitting and snuggling with each other, with some toys in our lap. The good news is Luke seems to be getting into a routine! (knock on wood) He naps from ten to eleven or eleven-thirty, and then from one to three. Yesterday (I am ashamed to say) I forgot to feed him before his afternoon nap and he woke up after only an hour, but after he ate he slept for another hour.

Boy, you must think after reading this blog that I am a horrible mother. I forget to feed my son and leave him alone, letting him roll under the tree and suck on ornaments! Sometimes I feel like a terrible mother when I start to add up all the things I've done wrong. My one defense is that I learn from my mistakes and hope to become a better and better mother as time goes on. And I just can't imagine that anyone loves Luke more than I do...that's got to count for something.

Close Call

Pictures:
We had a blizzard this weekend, this is the neighbor's house through our front window. And the family picture we took this weekend with the newest addition!


This rolling over thing is cute, and it's a wonderful skill, but this morning we had a close call. I was doing dishes and left Luke on the living room floor surrounded by toys. But of course the toys were not nearly as alluring as the Christmas tree. Before I knew it he was under the tree again. But this time instead of the weiner dog ornament (which he seems to prefer) he had my Rudolph ornament in his hand.

Now you've got to understand something. This kid has a grip that you can only truly appreciate when he's got a handful of your forehead in his hand - which you thought was impossible because there's really no extra skin on your forehead, right? All weekend long he pulled my hair and my neck and my cheeks and ears until I felt like I must be black and blue all over. There were hair-pulling moments when I was certain my scalp was separating from my skull, like in pioneer times when "indians" scalped the settlers.

The other thing you should know is that the Rudolph ornament is made out of that thin glass that many Christmas balls are made out of. I could imagine at any moment the Rudolph ornament exploding in Luke's fantastic grip and sending shards of green and brown glass into his eyes, into his tight little fist, into his open mouth and all over the floor beneath him. Just writing it makes me sick to my stomach. But don't worry, it didn't explode like I imagined (you know how Christmas balls pop? that's what I mean when I say explode). I abandoned my dishes, raced over with wet hands and was able to pry his fingers off without evoking an even tighter grip.

Needless to say there are no more ornaments within arms length of the floor.

My son, the genius

Luke my son, my son. You are so brilliant! This morning I showed you how to tap the orange happy face on the exersaucer and you looked at me, raised your hand above your head and brought your open palm down on the happy face and made it squeak! That happy face is difficult to make squeak. It's one of those fussy squeakers that you have to push at just the right speed. Too fast and the air whooshes through without a sound, too slow and it sounds like a balloon losing it's air. But you pushed it just right, and you did it not once, but over and over again.

That squeaker has always gotten your attention. You always liked it when I pushed it. You'd smile up at me with a big slobbery grin. But you've never bent your head over enough to see what was making the sound. It was too flat next to the table of the saucer. Lately you've been taking notice of it more and turning the orange face and grabbing the funny looking monkey ears. And today you conquered it! You are a very short, very chubby, very adorable genius.

This is the Boy

This is the boy who kept me awake for three hours last night crying and not allowing himself to be comforted. This is the boy who wouldn't even eat to help himself relax at 3 in the morning after crying for two hours. This is the boy who woke up at his usual time, but only took a 40 minute nap this morning. This is the boy who, at this very moment is crying for no apparent reason. This is the boy who is now behind bars (okay, it's his crib...if only he would sleep while he's in solitary confinement).

Did you know sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture? I bet even the Nazis experimented with it in some of their horrible death camps. It's a cruel, evil thing to do - keeping somebody awake all night. Why would such a sweet, adorable kid like this one get himself into so much trouble with the authorities (aka: me)? Perhaps we will never know. But we will never forget, this is the boy who kept me awake in the wee hours of the night when NO ONE should be awake. This is the boy.

Papa Bear, Momma Bear, and Baby Bear

These are Papa Bear, Momma Bear and Baby Bear pictures of our jackets and shoes. My shoes weren't included because I couldn't figure out how to put my shoe in there without it looking weird, but I thought the fact that Luke's tiny shoe fit UNDER the arch in Derek's shoe was pretty awesome.

This morning Luke was rolling around on the living room floor while I made my cereal and I wished that I had a hidden camera put up in there to record everywhere he went. It was like one of those Family Circus maps that follow everything that Billy has done. Luke was under the Christmas tree, off the rug in front of the TV, back by the loveseat, into the middle of the floor, pulling laundry out of the laundry basket, playing with his John Deere, playing with his rings, playing with the books, yanking on the exersaucer. He is so incredibly mobile!

Fresh Baby

There was a brand-new, fresh baby at the hospital this morning. We went to visit him. His name is Roehn Joel (Ro-wen). He was born last night at 11:37pm and he weighs 6lb, 14oz. He came fast (when he finally decided to come - two weeks later than expected!) and with no help from pain medication. His Mom is doing real good and is already home.

Tender-Lovin' Toothbrush

As you know, Luke got his vaccinations updated on Friday. He wasn't a terribly happy boy while he had metal tubes rammed through his tender flesh. But while he wasn't being tortured, he was quite the charmer.

He made eyes at all the nurses and laughed and giggled until everyone's eyes were tearing up from laughing back at him. Luke was weighed and weighs 19lb 12oz! He was measured too, but being his forgetful mother that information has already slipped my memory.

At the end of his appointment while I was trying to dry his tears and lure the smiles back out of hiding I jokingly said to the nurse, "Well, where's his sucker?" She laughed and gave him a toothbrush. Internally I wished she'd given him the sucker so that I could eat it on the way home. But the toothbrush was a big hit. It came in a celophane wrapper that crinkled and scrunched when Luke moved his grabby fingers around. He was thrilled and smiled one of those sweet smiles with his eyelashes still wet and a tear down his cheek.

All the way home he held onto that toothbrush and stared at it. When I took Luke out of the carseat he was asleep and...still holding the toothbrush. I layed him down in his crib and tried to take the toothbrush out of his hand, but he just held on tighter.

All afternoon Luke gave all his attention to the toothbrush. Until he wore the wrapper off, and licked the bristles. He made such a disgusted face! That is where the love story ends.

Busy Friday

Wow, we have a busy day ahead! This morning we screwed up our normal naptime by driving out with Derek to drop his truck off at the shop. Luke slept in the car and then didn't take a nap when we got home.

In an hour or so we have to leave for the hospital to get Luke his second round of shots. We will come home afterwards and try to nap again, but then we are going out for lunch at one. Then this evening Derek's cousin Michelle and her kids are coming over to watch Luke while Derek and I go to WBS's Christmas Banquet.

And in between all of these activities I need to wash diapers, clean the floor, and shower. Whew. It's going to be a whirlwind day.

Like Luke's new shoes? They're still a little big on him, but I got them for $3!

Developing Digital...?

Getting film developed was always as exciting for me as Christmas. Christmas has been getting less and less exciting as I get older (it's still a beautiful, pleasant time of year) but getting pictures developed has not stopped giving me a rush. I no longer get film developed (except on rare occasions). In fact, it's hard to find a place that will even take film anymore. I take my digital images in and have pictures made.

Even though I've seen the pictures on the back of my camera, and on my computer, having the matte sheets in my hands is so magical. Last night I went to pick up an order of photos from Celeste. I hadn't had any of Luke's pictures printed, so a few weeks ago I went through them and picked my favorites...240 of my favorites. And I never thought to count! That's the equivalent of ten rolls of film! I will remind you that Luke is only five months old, and I will remind you that I only picked my favorite pictures. It is unreal what you can do with a digital camera. The sheer number of photos.

But let's be honest, I would have taken that many pictures of Luke with film too. I just would have had them developed 24 at a time.
By request: SOME NOISE!

Lying Awake

Photos: A family picture on Derek's lunch break. Whoa, I am having some big hair!

Once again I found myself lying awake at night while my husband snored and baby slept soundly. This time, instead of making an escape plan for when the house catches fire (because it's inevitable when you're lying in the dark at 11 o'clock at night), I am making an escape plan for when I drive the car into a deep body of water (also seems inevitable. How can anyone avoid that?).

I was panicking as I realized how difficult it would be to get the carseat out of the passenger's side door, not just because it's awkward and heavy. But if we were underwater already I would have to swim around the car, open the door, and hoist the carseat out. And I don't know if the carseat is bouyant. Why do I not know if the carseat floats?! This seems like a key selling feature that I didn't look into thoroughly enough.

Okay, swimming around the car is going to lose us precious seconds. Not to mention flooding the interior of the car immediately. So I have to climb over the seat and drag the carseat out the driver's side door. No, too easy to lose the carseat when the water rushes back in over me as I open the door. I'll have to push it out in front of me, which means lifting it over myself in the cramped backseat. Hm. Maybe I will quickly unsnap the buckles and just carry the baby. Even if the carseat floats, it may float upside-down accidentally, or be filled with water when it's right-side up.

So the best technique would be to climb over the seat, unbuckle the baby, kick open the driver's side back door and swim for it. But what if the water is turbulent? How do I make sure I don't lose hold of the baby? I will have to zip the baby into my jacket or put him under my shirt. And as soon as we get above water I will hold him above me and kick my way to shore. Hold a 20lb baby above my head? No. I will float him on his back like they teach lifeguards to do.

And what if it's winter and we go under the ice? Then what? And how long can babies hold their breath? What if we've already sunk so deep that the pressure of the water won't allow me to open the door? Or what if we're too deep to make it to the surface without air?

OH NO. What if I'm unconscious when we hit the water? What if I'm loopy, out of it, incoherent?! The baby is STRAPPED INTO that seat. He can't save himself.

This is the point where I had to slap myself and say, "This kind of thing happens to a very small percentage of people. Your baby is not strapped into a non-bouyant carseat sinking into a turbulent, ridiculously deep and cold body of water with an unconscious mother in the front seat. He is asleep, above sea level, in the next room under a warm, dry blanket. And you should be asleep too!"

Sometimes I wish my brain were wired to the lights and would go off when the room gets dark. Because when my brain is on and the lights are off, we go to strange and scary places.

Making Noise

Luke is making so much noise! He spits now and goes "Bbbbbbbwwwwww". Yesterday he was laying on my bed while I was getting dressed and he said, "Ga ga, goo goo". I was shocked to hear such typical baby nonsense from his intelligent little mouth. He's got his G's down and says goo, coo, and doo. He especially likes saying things like, "OH!" and "Wow" and "Yah". He even makes what Derek calls his "Fishy Noise". He gurgles and it really sounds like he's underwater!

Right now Luke is leaning forward in his exersaucer, resting his chin on the side of the seat and staring at my yellow camera bag quietly. This doesn't happen often. If you call you'll most likely hear him shouting in the background. He doesn't shout out of anger or frustration (well, sometimes he does), he just shouts because he can! His noises are becoming so complex it often sounds like he's speaking a real language.

Lately his tongue has been a great source of interest for him. He will sometimes just sit with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, smiling like a puppy. Sometimes it just seems like he ran out of room in his mouth for it. He'll stick it out for no reason, or to spit. All sounds are prefaced with a wet tongue between his lips, and a little drool. It's very sweet when he smiles a big open-mouthed smile at you and sticks the tip of his tongue out like he is just so excited to see you!

101st Post

Wow, the 101st post. It doesn't feel like we've been blogging that long. It doesn't feel like Luke can be that old! But then sometimes I find myself surprised that he's not talking yet. He is so expressive that it's hard to believe he has no words.

Luke is wearing some awesome yellow socks today, so we had a photo shoot. Overalls are always winners too. We had lunch with Harv and Helene yesterday and Derek buzzed all his hair off on Friday night.

Saturday we ran into Winnipeg so Derek could use CMU's library and I had a wonderful trip to a camera store. It was a fun day, we all got something we were excited about, and we got to be together!

Friday night Derek and I went to a hockey game and Luke stayed with Celeste. He had a wonderful time, and even ate from a bottle! That's unusual for him. The hockey game was fun, but I am continually surprised by the fist-fights. Are they really necessary, and why does everyone else just stand around and watch, or worse - cheer them on?