"I Think We Have a Theme, June"

Trouble with a capital T and that rhymes with B and that stands for Baby.

Spring Has Arrived

This is an early post for tomorrow. Tomorrow I will add a new picture of Luke, but I think it's important to post this today. Such exciting news!

Today in the fashion of nearly ALL our recent history, it is gloomy and raining, but I saw my first signs of Spring in our very own yard! Here are my tulips, lilies, buds on my hydrangea, and a little four-leafed weed in Sookie's paw print! I can hardly wait to get some dirt under my fingernails, plant a lawn! When I saw the tiny pink tulip leaves my stomach flip-flopped and I raced inside for the camera with the wild thought, "I have to photograph this before it's gone!"

Winter was so incredibly long this year. I have been going stir-crazy and having mood swings. Even though the snow melted a few weeks ago, it has been grey and the plants are all brown and everything and everyone is tired and dreary.

I can imagine what the end of Winter must have felt like for people surviving on their stored vegetables when Manitoba was first settled. Everyone has lost some weight from depression and malnutrition, the days are getting longer but we don't necessarily have more get-up-and-go, and the land is in the limbo of not being covered in snow and frost, but we are still not able to get out and plant. Everything is gaunt, drab, bleak and tired-looking.

And then with a sigh of relief, and an anti-climatic drizzle, Spring proves (against all odds) that She was not a figment of our imagination and-at long-last-arrives.

Don't Drive Tired

This little guy is an amazing race car driver. The other day he actually pushed his race car over to the knife drawer, and climbed up on it to look inside! That's the amazing balance and skill he has with this car. Yet, accidents can happen to anyone. This little fender-bender is an example of what can happen when you drive tired. Just stay off the road when you're sleepy people. Nothing good can come of it.

First Cheerios

This little boy opened the knife drawer yesterday, then pushed his racecar over, climbed on top of it, and reached in. Thankfully I was there to witness this mischievousness and it didn't go further than that!

Yesterday Luke also had his first cheerios. Up until now I've been worried that they might be too hard and he wouldn't be able to chew them. But he got through them just fine!

Luke has discovered the magnets on the fridge. I have a few really big, really strong magnets that he can't pull off very easily and he just slides them around the bottom half of the fridge. This morning after breakfast I put him on the floor and the first thing he did was go for the magnets.

Derek reminded me last night that parenting really is a high calling. I just wonder who I'll be calling next...911?

On A Roll

Dare-devil!

Raise the roof.

Luke is walking behind his race car lots now. He can pull himself up on it and push it all around the house, which is quite a feat since this thing has wheels and can slip out from under him. Sometimes he gets stuck in a corner, or under the kitchen chairs, but we leave him there and eventually he maneuvers his way out again. At first I thought he wasn't bending his knees when he walked, and he looked so funny because of his stiff gait! Then I realized he was bending his knees - his legs are just incredibly short.

Yesterday Luke figured out how to open the kitchen cupboards. Today my task is to get my hands on some child-proofing equipment. Otherwise my life is going to be very scary, very soon. And can anybody tell me why at ten months my son woke up six times in the night, and was up at 6am!? He was such a good sleeper until three days ago!

Throw Him in the Clank

Our kid behind bars, watching the other children have fun in the sunshine. He thinks to himself, "I am a withering leaf, craving sunlight, and laughter! Why must I be so far removed from my peers?"

After two days of pulling my hair out, we have decided to throw Luke in jail. We set up the play pen and he is becoming a frequent visitor there so that Mommy can get some things done. Also to keep me sane, we are having conversations with Luke about what is and what is not safe for him to play with instead of just saying no and redirecting his attention.

I had a talk with my Mom yesterday morning, and a talk with Kathy in the evening both of which really enforced my feelings that Luke can understand and should be talked to as if he understands. So we are moving on from having a baby, who doesn't understand what we're saying and has no ability to assert his freewill, to having a child, who understands No and can decide to go ahead and do it anyway. I think fear is the appropriate response from the Mother.

Luke's newest screech, which I was trying to catch on the video above, captured a little more accurately, and annoyingly, here.

Here Comes Trouble

This morning the woman at the coffee shop was laughing and playing with Luke and she said, "What a happy baby! Is he always like this?" I wished I could say yes.

Yesterday, for the first time, there was some question as to whether or not we would keep Luke. He was such a pain in the rear that I actually looked for his original receipt to see if we could do an exchange. Where'd my happy, polite baby go? Suddenly I have this crazy thrashing deranged monkey instead of Luke!

Derek came home last night and lay down on the floor, exhausted after going to the gym. "I am tired too", I said in an understanding way. "Why are you tired?" he asked.

This was my entire day: Luke cried and smashed his face into the floor if I took something away from him that he shouldn't have. He went back over and over again to things that I told him not to play with. He stood at the kitchen counter and screamed when I put the TV remote up on the counter out of his reach. He stood at the corner of his crib and shouted for forty-five minutes at nap-time. He swatted a cup of water out of my hand onto Grandma's floor, and later he swatted the sweet potato out of my hand and across the room. He whined and complained and got into the dog's water bowl, and soaked his pants. He tried to grab the oven door when I put the casserole in for dinner, and when I put him in the living room and ran back to the kitchen to finish dinner he shouted and followed right on my heels and again tried to grab the hot oven door! When I tried to soothe him after his crying he arched his back and smashed his head into my sternum. When I tried to change his diaper he cried and arched his back and rolled over on the change table in his own poop. The only thing that seemed to help was when I walked outside into the brisk breeze. He quieted right down and looked around, peaceful for the first time all day. That was until I turned around to go back into the house. Then all hell broke loose...again.

Natural Selection

The reason we leapt out of bed and almost had a heart attack yesterday morning: Luke has decided he likes to play with our clock radio. He listens to country music and the weather at top volume almost every morning!

Just the other day I took Luke to the credit union with me to open a savings account for his post secondary education. He was all over our banker's office. Luke kept crawling under, I'll just call him Bob, Bob's desk and trying to pull out the computer cables. Bob even went to the trouble of dragging a rather large table, the one with those loopy wires and wooden beads, into the office for Luke to play with. But Luke knew which loopy wires he wanted to get his hands on, and stubbornly continued to crawl under the desk.

After a while I asked Bob about the children he had mentioned (mostly to direct attention away from my little trouble maker). Bob talked about his kids for a few minutes and then when Luke lunged under his desk again, Bob said, "You know, they say that children who are really curious and into everything are the most intelligent". "Gee that's too bad," I responded, "That means that the really intelligent ones are the ones that are more likely to die young. No wonder Luke is still trying to stick his fingers into light sockets. We just haven't evolved far enough for him to know better!"

Smart Boy

This is my kid, the smartest boy in the world. He learns things so fast, and is so coordinated and intelligent. I just can't get over how bright he is! Derek showed him three times how to drop the block into the giraffe, and then Luke went at it. He is now a pro at dropping the block into the giraffe, and he sits there for minutes on end dropping the block in again and again. I think it's funny that the block comes out the bottom, front of the giraffe, but I suppose they couldn't very well have made it come out the bottom, back!

First Swim

Luke went for the first swim of his life Friday night, at the Holiday Inn in Winnipeg. We stayed two nights in the hotel for WBS's Annual Meeting. Luke had a wonderful time splashing in the pool and would have loved for us to just let go of him so he could play with the other children. A few times he actually did manage to slip through our fingers and try to crawl away, but the water was just a little too deep for him and he ended up spluttering and blinking. Luke loved the pool as much as he loves his baths, maybe even more since there were lots of other kids to watch, laugh at, and play with!

Clean Floors

I just finished making one shoe! The other is all cut out and just has to be sewn together. I think I've got a really great technique now, so that the bottom only has one thread footprint! And Mom, it's much easier to sew the elastic by hand!

I'm kind of picky about how clean my floors are since my baby is crawling around on them and picking stuff off of them and putting it in his mouth. Since I've been home, I haven't had the nerve to tackle the job of mopping the floors (although I've swept several times). And then Wednesday night I went to this Norwex party and they talked about how using Swiffer has been directly linked to liver failure in dogs...because it contains formaldehyde. I use Swiffer! Well, now I didn't WANT to clean my grungy floors.

But finally yesterday, while Luke was taking a wonderful two-hour nap, I got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed that floor with soap and water. It was beautiful! I moved furniture and washed the baseboards too. My floor hasn't been this clean since before Luke was born. And then, yesterday evening, for the first time in several weeks, Sookie peed in the house. And this wasn't just a puddle. She peed through the kitchen and all the way down the hallway. I think she knew she wasn't supposed to and was coming to look for someone to let her out. But my beautiful, non-poisonous floors! When will I get the nerve up again to scrub my floor by hand with soap and water?

Stepping Naked

I mentioned the dust on my TV yesterday, so I thought I'd include the picture I got yesterday of Luke dusting the TV screen.

Yesterday Luke took two steps! He walked from my knees (on the couch) to Derek's knees (on the love seat), because he saw Derek eating chips and wanted in on the greasy goodness. He's been standing on his own more and more, but up until yesterday his attempts to move his feet without holding onto anything have ended with him on his face on the floor. These days if you offer your hands to Luke, he will pull himself right up and start stepping around. He loves to be up! It's starting to get pesky. Having him stand next to me, holding onto my leg while I try to make dinner is a little nerve-wracking. When I start to get annoyed I try to remember how sweet it is that my son is holding onto my leg with all his strength.

It is pretty much impossible to change a diaper these days. This little man rolls away, arches his back, shouts and screams and swats his hands around. I've moved the changing pad to the floor because I'm scared he's going to fly off the table one of these days. Most of the time I just leave his pants off after a diaper change because he is so worked up by the time I've got the diaper on, the idea of trying to wrangle jeans onto him is truly frightening. I thought that he would cry to the point where he would lie still and rub his eyes, but not so. This kid has stamina. And he has decided diaper changing is not for him. So, Luke goes half-naked.

Manitoba's Sinking

I was Moses yesterday as I drove into Winnipeg with the water lapping at my car tires. The Red River has become the Red Sea, and in some places is 16 miles wide!

While I was growing up, people (my sixth grade teacher) talked about how there was going to be this big earthquake and California would fall into the ocean. His predictions are being proven wrong as we witness first-hand Manitoba, not California, sinking into the sea.

Last night Luke discovered how to turn the TV off and on. The rest of the evening was spent hearing the electronic ping that is our TV powering down and shutting off. See his cute shoes, Mom? Luke has to wear whale shoes now that we live underwater.

I Don't Appreciate Your Cleaning

A few more pictures from California and a story of coming home. Read this story understanding it is from MY perspective, and cut Derek a little slack.

When we pulled into the garage, Derek made a point of telling me that even though I’d been gone a week, “The house is clean. I cleaned it today. I actually did a lot of cleaning.” I wasn’t expecting a mess though, because I had cleaned very thoroughly before I left. I had scrubbed the bathroom top to bottom, mopped and vacuumed all the floors, cleaned windows, washed dishes, cleared the counters and table of books and newspapers, put away movies, watered the plants, dusted windowsills and end tables, put clean sheets on the bed, and washed and folded all the laundry. There was no way one man could ruin all that in one week, all by himself!

The house was totally dark as we walked in. Derek and I have always disagreed on whether or not to leave a light on when we leave the house empty at night. Since it was two in the morning, I hurried the baby to his crib in the darkness, not bothering to turn on lights that might wake him up. I was so tired after a long day of travelling alone with a nine-month-old baby that all I wanted to do was pass out in my own bed.

But at least I could brush my teeth. I shuffled back out to the dark living room to retrieve my toothbrush from my suitcase, and then down the hall to the bathroom. I flicked on the light in the bathroom and stood in an exhausted stupor. Was this the bathroom I scrubbed to shining just one week ago? The toilet looked as though it had been used by a team of lumberjacks in the backwoods, the sink was covered in hair and toothpaste, the mirror was smudged and speckled, the shower curtain hung open to reveal a scummy tub that had lost all its sparkle. The only neat thing in the room was a single towel, folded perfectly in half, hanging in the exact center of the towel bar. I sighed and attempted to brush my teeth without touching the sink, or anything else for that matter.

Next morning I woke up and the morning sun streamed in beautifully and warmly on the dining room floor. The sun was beautiful. The floor was another matter. Dust bunnies roamed the wilds of my once pristine floor. Dog slobber and footprints tracked across the herds of bunnies, and in the corners migrated swirling piles of dust, fur, hair, food particles, and several unrecognizable blobs and speckles. I grabbed the broom before I could even think about breakfast and I asked Derek, “did you sweep at all while I was gone?” “Yes,” he said, “Yesterday!” It must have something to do with his technique.

All of the cleaning and cooking I did before I left was to make Derek feel less lonely. I thought that if I could still make his meals, and be sure the house was clean, that he wouldn’t miss me so much because those are my major contributions to the household. Those, and taking care of Luke. That same night when Derek told me he had missed me, I asked him, “What did you miss? I left you food and a clean house, clean clothes, and peace and quiet to do your reading and play guitar! That should have been heaven!” He said, “I missed YOU. I missed hanging out with you. You know you weren’t doing me any favors by leaving. You keep acting as though I should be thanking you for leaving, but I missed you! I didn’t miss your cleaning!”

Obviously not.

He's One of Us

Look who's helping Mommy unpack!



Last night Derek and I were talking about our prayer life, and how Luke should be involved in that and I said, "He's one of us". It sounded like a line straight out of Star Trek, but in this case it's as true as it gets. This kid is ONE from the two of US, and now he's one of us. Strange.

Well, as you can see we are home. While Luke and I were in California his big words were, "Awbin Dawbin", and this video is to show you his favorite new sound: Bmmmm.

Our plane trip home was excellent. We had two seats to ourselves the entire way (LA to Vancouver, Vancouver to Winnipeg), and thankfully, Luke slept a bit on BOTH flights. He was kind of cranky at the end of the first flight, but by the end of the second flight he was too tired to be cranky and just lay limp in my lap staring at the stewardess call button on the ceiling. We saw some beautiful sights at thirty thousand feet. The sunset was spectacular from above the clouds. The layer of quilt filling we were flying above turned bright pink, and about three rainbows appeared unfinished across this endless expanse of cloud. Amazing.

It was sad to come home to the cold, grey snow. As I walked out of the airport I thought, "This isn't too bad", and then I realized I was standing under the warm air blower above the door and hadn't actually experienced the outdoor temperature yet. But honestly, even that wasn't as bad as I expected. Saturday we went for a walk with the baby and the dog and it was so warm my bare fingers didn't even get chilled, and the dog ran through the water in the ditch and didn't freeze her fur off! It was sunny and encouraging on Saturday. I could actually imagine Spring coming as I watched the water in the ditch sweep over hunks of ice still stuck underwater.

Luke's been having a tough time adjusting to Manitoba time. And he may be teething. We haven't had a lot of good sleep since we got home. He's gone to bed around quarter to ten both nights, and then wakes up between eleven and 2 several times. Then the dog wakes us up around six. Luke sleeps until 8:30 still, but it's hard for me to not get a long uninterrupted stretch of sleep. And speaking of Luke, I hear him waking up now!

California Vacation

This is our post from Shafter. I'm not sure if I'll get around to posting again until after Easter but this is what we've done so far. It's Monday, and the last four days have been hectic, full, warm, wonderful. This morning Luke and I are sitting around trying to recover.

Thursday we travelled, and Luke was a wonderful travel companion. If I had to choose somebody to sit on my lap in a very small space for a very long time, it would, hands down, be Luke. We were both very tired of one another by the end of the day, but somehow we both really needed one another to get through the day too. It was especially helpful to have a baby that isn't shy, because several women on the plane offered to hold him for me and he was happily passed around. Every now and then he would look over one of the women's shoulder and smile at me before going back to reading a book, or playing with a cup, or playing peek-a-boo. I was able to get myself a cup of coffee and sit and drink it in peace! It's amazing what you CAN'T do with a baby in your lap. Especially when the guy in front of you tilts his seat back and shortens your range of motion even more.

Friday we visited. We visited Amanda and Ezekiel, Dad and Brian, Gramma and Grampa (my Dad's parents), and when we could visit no more, we drove to Fresno. On the way to Fresno we had an "Oops" moment because of the time difference. Luke's body was still on Manitoba time, but I was on California time already. I didn't even think that leaving at 4:30 in the afternoon was leaving right at dinner time! Half-way to Fresno we had to stop. We HAD TO stop. So we stopped at Bravo Farms Cheese, and so far I think this was my favorite part of this trip. Luke ate fruit and cheese and macaroni and smiled at the grandmas and the bikers equally shining smiles. He squawked at the children and flapped his arms excitedly. He made friends with the waiters and the chef, and when he was done with his macaroni they brought him a free ice cream cone! His first ice cream cone! Dinner was fantastic, Luke was ecstatic, it was such a relief to stop, and so much fun.

Friday Luke also sat in the grass for the first time. It is an understatement to say that he didn't like it. He shouted and cried and whimpered in frustration. But I think we figured it out. When I first set him down he grabbed the grass and didn't seem too perturbed. It was only when I took his shoes off that he cried. His feet and legs are extremely ticklish, and he doesn't like the feel of the poky grass! I showed Dad how Luke hated the grass, started lowering Luke to the lawn and Luke pulled his arms and legs in like a little turtle and started shouting immediately. Sunday at Aunt Laurie's birthday party, Luke perfected what Melissa calls his "stink bug" walk, and Sarah calls the "spider monkey" crawl. Luke sticks his bum way up in the air and walks on his toes (he was in shoes and shorts) and finger tips to keep his legs out of the grass!

Saturday was the MCC Sale and once again I was reminded that Luke wasn't on California time yet, and our feeding schedule was all screwed up. Mom and I went to do the Run For Relief at 7am, and took Luke in his stroller. Luke got about 3/4 of a mile into the walk before he decided this getting up early business wasn't for him. Thinking he was hungry we dropped out of the race (we were walking, of course) and went to get pancakes. Pancakes were not what Luke wanted, and he let us know almost immediately. So we headed back to Melissa's house and put him down for a nap. He slept good and we headed back to the Sale for lunch. Fritters, Tri-tip sandwiches, oranges, lemonade, homemade ice cream and some sausage was all that this hungry caterpillar got through. It was sunny and hot, but we didn't have a hat, so Uncle Greg volunteered his bandana for Luke's head and the rest of the day our little ragamuffin went around bandana-ed, and wearing his new "rag" shoes. What a little hippie! We left Fresno around 2:45, went home and I mowed the lawn before dinner: taco salad with John-Mark and Melissa.

Sunday was a gorgeous day. Luke had a 2 1/2 hour nap in the morning and I got to work in the yard with Mom. We set up tables, washed chairs, cleaned off the patio, set up umbrellas, picked boquets, re-potted Mom's ficus, fixed up one of Dad's septic access holes, set four toads free, hollered at the dogs, and started BBQing for a big birthday bash with the Howletts. It was a gorgeous day in the shade with the croquet set up and the BBQ smoking. But all the visiting and the travelling and irregular eating was really starting to wear on Luke. Everyone kept saying "What a happy baby!" but I could tell he was getting tired and overstimulated.

So here we are, just the two of us and two dogs, sitting in the sun trying to calm down after four crazy days. We'll probably have lunch with Dad today, but that's our only planned outing. We are taking it easy, getting our two solid naps in, and eating three solid meals. Luke actually couldn't make it to his ten o'clock nap this morning and went down at nine. The rest of this week is still up in the air, but I think I've decided not to let it get as crazy as the last few days, and try to focus on keeping Luke on his schedule.

We're having a great time here in the sun. Saturday people were wearing jackets at the MCC Sale and I almost laughed at them. To me it was more gorgeous than Summer, it was just like heaven. It was a California Vacation.

Beautiful Days

The sun is shining and it's hot, hot, hot! It's shorts weather around here! Since it's Spring Break all the kids are out in their yards, playing on swing sets, swimming in little plastic pools. Everywhere you look there are people out for a stroll in short sleeves and bare heads. It really feels like Summer. There are even some flowers blooming! I will be so sad to leave tomorrow, when the weather is just right for gardening! But what can you do?

How's that for an April Fool? We got around three inches of snow last night, and it's still snowing. That one tree looks like it's about ready to throw a snowball. Even though it's not the season for snow (in my opinion, obviously God disagrees with me), and even though it frustrates me that just when the driveway was clear we have to shovel again, and even though I'd rather be gardening than shoveling, and even though it may interfere with my travel plans tomorrow (let's hope not! this is my chance to escape this never-ending winter), and even though I realized yesterday that Luke has lived in the snow for five out of his nine months of existence, STILL - I can't help but admire this brave white snow, falling almost entirely unwelcome, and sitting precariously several inches thick on the tree branches.

Picture: Luke asleep in his car seat after grocery shopping this morning. Click on the snow pictures to see up close how thick the snow is!