The Work We Do

Wow, it has been quite a challenge to blog today. The internet connection wasn't working and finally I got Harv and Helene's computer to connect, but not mine. So then I had to put the pictures on a flash drive, and believe it or not it took me a full five minutes to figure out where the USB connection was on their computer...so here we are...finally. And Luke is screaming. So even though I had a great topic for today it's going to have to wait until tomorrow when hopefully this will be a smoother process.
Luke dressed up today for passport pictures and hopefully this evening we'll get a family photo since we're both looking so cute. Hope you enjoy!

And the Winner is...

Several people filled out a questionaire before Luke was born, sharing their guesses as to what kind of person Luke would be. Some of the questions have already been answered, although some we will still have to wait on.
The questions were:
1. Will the baby be a boy or a girl?
2. When will the baby be born?
3. What will this bundle of joy weigh at birth?
4. What eye color will the newest addition have?
5. Will the baby be right-handed or left?
6. What are your favorite girl names?
7. Favorite boy names?
8. Least favorite girl names
9. Least favorite boy names (you still have to love the baby even if your names aren’t chosen)
10. What will the baby “Be” when it grows up?
11. What will Laura’s biggest craving be while pregnant?

Pretty much everyone who participate already knew that the baby was a boy. So if you filled out the questionaire, you are most likely a winner!

#2 Luke was born June 26, 2006.
Pam Penner came very close with June 28th. Hannah Bergen was correct with, “In June like every other Bergen”. I would like to correct you though, I was born in July. So there are still some Bergens who are kicking the trends. My sister Sarah and Jenna Stoeppler were also pretty close with June 29th. My cousins were really on a roll with the vague answers, Maria said, “sometime in the summer” and she was right on the money!

#3 Luke was born 8lb 8.5 oz.
Nate Patterson guessed the highest weight. He guessed 9 ½ lbs. Thanks a lot Nate. I can see who you’re rooting for here. David Howlett guessed 3 kilograms, and since I don’t know how many pounds that is, he’s probably right. Aunt Carol guessed very close with 8lb 3 oz. Amanda was even closer with 8lb 4 oz., and she tied with Violet Bartel!

#4 Luke still has blue eyes, and they seem to only be getting lighter.
Melissa, Aunt Carol, Sarah, Jenna, Nate, Cara & Cheri, Aunt Laurie, Violet, and Pam Penner all got this one correct. I was surprised at how many people guessed hazel and only three people said brown!

#5 Luke is ambidextrous.
This one I guess we’ll have to wait and see about, but just the other day he truly seemed to be leaning toward left-handedness…Nate Patterson guessed ambidextrous and so far he’s correct! Aunt Laurie also guessed he’d be ambidextrous…at least until he’s two.

#6 Luke was not a girl, and even though we are open-minded people we decided to go with a more masculine name. The most masculine girl names you guys came up with were:
Kylie (aunt laurie), Rowen (sorry Hannah, it could go either way), Jaden (Janis Coats), Georgia (awfully close to George, eh Kathy?).

#7 Luke Stanley Thiessen.
Nobody suggested Luke or Stanley, although Melissa suggested Bergen which is the side of the family that we got the name Stanley from, and Kathy suggested Lukas…close, but no cigar. Uncle Dave was awfully close with his answer, “Any father, grandfather or uncle names, recognizing the biblical and meaningful name David (beloved) carries great significance”.
I was not disappointed that nobody suggested either name we picked because it meant that it was really a surprise for everyone. In case you don’t know, we chose Luke because during the nine months I was pregnant Derek was writing his master’s thesis on Luke 2:1-20, the narrative of Jesus’ birth. And the name Stanley was my choice to somehow keep my father’s name in the family since he had no sons of his own to carry the name Bergen. Your most intriguing suggestions were: James (Laura Neufeld), one of my favorite names is Seamus, from which James is derived. Several people suggested Josiah. Several people also suggested Andrew, Judah and Elijah. Jonathan came up a number of times too, and I must admit it is one of my least favorite names!

#8 Your least favorite names were a hoot. Thankfully neither Luke, nor Stanley came up in your lists, so I know none of you hate the name we chose. I would have to agree that this is a fabulous list of horrendous names:
Hortence, Prunella, Dorphas, Caprise, Hunter ("that’s someone who shoots living creatures with a gun, not what you name your daughter" –Janis), Tawny, Bertha, Sissy, Georgette, "anything overly creative" –aunt carol, and anything ending in –y.

#9 Least favorite names for boys. Percival, Earl, Joy (this was my aunt carol’s grandfather’s name and I must agree…not a boy’s name), junior, bubba, Ashley, Lazlo, Thor, Doyle, Herbert, Belteshazzar, Jehoaikim, Bill, Chester, Nelson, Beau.

#10 We will have to see what Luke will “Be”, but Pam Penner was right on with, “A lover of the Lord”, and Aunt Laurie was also correct in saying, “The best grandkid in the world”. There were several thoughtful answers like, “Special”(Cara & Cheri), “He will be cool because he’s related to me” (Hannah), “I’m going to go with a young adult” (Nate), “healthy, strong, loving, in pursuit of God” (thank-you Sarah), and Gramma Judy gave her opinion saying, “Musician – who sings too. Boys should have piano lessons”.

#11 My biggest craving was Pepsi, although I must admit I didn’t crave much. It was mostly normal things. However, Pepsi was definitely at the top of my grocery list every time. The weirdest things you came up with were: pickles and ice cream (Laura Neufeld)…hold the pickles please! Aunt Carol said kidney pie…bleh. Nate had to be creative and say crawfish pancakes smothered in lard…double bleh. Jenna was kind and said chocolate. Uncle Dave said peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. Kathy Heppner knows me too well and guessed peanut M&Ms…I did eat an awful lot of those didn’t I? Lots of people suggested pickles…what’s with that? If I didn’t like it before would I like it while I’m pregnant? Well, I guess it happens to some people. I just found my list of desirable foods shrank. I didn’t really branch out, no, I pruned the branches drastically. That’s what happens when you start puking things up. They become less appealing when you see them for the second time, in the toilet bowl…if you make it there.

I think everyone who participated was very creative and your personalities shone through your answers. I loved it, and Luke will too when he’s old enough to appreciate knowing how much you all loved him before he was even born. Thank-you so much! We are looking forward to having some more winners in a few more years!

The photos: Thank-you Aunt Laurie for the Occidental College sweat suit! Can you believe it fits me already? I just love hanging out in sweats. Mom made a joke when she changed my diaper earlier. When she saw the poop she said, “That was no Oc-cident!” She gets such a kick out of herself sometimes.

Saucer of Secrets

Last Thursday night while we were over at James and Jaime’s house we stuck Luke in the exersaucer for the second time. The first time we tried it he was still too floppy and couldn’t hold himself up. Last week he was strong enough to sit in it for a few minutes, so I dragged the exersaucer that Carl and Kathy loaned us up from the basement. Each day since then, Luke has been sitting in it for a few minutes at a time, building up his back strength, and figuring out how to bounce in the seat.

On Friday when Derek came home from work he looked in the living room, saw Luke in the exersaucer and said, “Hey, it’s the…saucer…something…saucer of secrets!” I laughed because he’s been reading Harry Potter lately and I thought it was a reference to “Chamber of Secrets”, but I was wrong. He was referring to the Pink Floyd album, actually titled, “Saucer of Secrets”. Luke will have an interesting childhood with a father who listens to Pink Floyd and a mother who listens to Doris Day. Speaking of music…

Saturday night Derek and I had 8 Luke-free hours together. We went to see Sheryl Crow perform in Winnipeg. I had been pumping milk all week getting ready for Saturday, doing laundry, stuffing diapers. I was so worried I would forget something. Well, I forgot to remember that Luke wasn’t coming. We got in the car and I suddenly felt bereft. I had been preparing Luke all week for a baby-sitter, but I hadn’t prepared myself!

It was amazing and wonderful to be alone with Derek for the first time since the night my parents drove Luke home in a separate car and gave Derek and me five minutes of privacy…in July. So what was wrong with me? I just felt like crying. At one point I told Derek I felt like I should be wearing a sign to let people know that I’m a mother, my baby is just staying with someone else for the evening. It felt kind of like when you forget to wear your wedding ring and you just feel naked all day. Except this was emotional. I was so happy, and relieved even, to be away from the baby for a bit, and at the same time hugely anxious and empty-feeling.

On the way home I was disappointed to realize that I had not fully taken advantage of being away since I spent most of my time trying not to be anxious. It was not that I had any specific fears for Luke, I just felt like I should be carrying someone, or remembering to grab a diaper bag, or wiping drool off his little face. All night long I felt like I was forgetting something very important.

We visited an old neighbor for a minute before dinner and she said we should challenge ourselves to not talk about Luke for thirty minutes. Without agreeing to it verbally, I think we both accepted the challenge. Strange - sometimes when Luke is with us and falls asleep I forget he’s even there. Or at least I thought I was forgetting. Maybe I was just becoming so accustomed to his presence that I stopped thinking about it as unique. When he really wasn’t there, I felt his absence like a lost limb.

Making Cents

Luke had a doctor's appointment this morning. He was 16lb, 15.5 oz. Man, he grows so fast! The doctor showed me the graph and Luke is soaring above the 98th percentile. The doctor was surprised that he was so big and we're not feeding him rice cereal or formula. He said to Luke, "Mommy is nutritious, eh?" I shined my nails on my shirt, rocked forward on my toes, shrugged and said, "Oooh, it was nothing." haha

Today is Friday. I love Fridays even though they don't quite mean what they used to. Fridays used to mean two days off from school, birthday parties, football games, movies and pizza. Those were the olden days. Now Fridays mean two days with Derek home, yard sales and a little break from blogging.

After our doctor's appointment, Luke and I met Helene, Jaime and Cameryn for lunch. We all had sommer borscht. It was delicious. After lunch we wandered over to MCC and looked through baby clothes and toys. I got a teeny tiny aloe plant for 10cents, and an Old Navy t-shirt for Luke for 75cents. I just noticed that there's no symbol for cents on my keyboard. Didn't there used to be? Where did it go? Did cents become obsolete while I wasn't looking? I still keep pennies in my wallet...what is everyone else doing with their change?

Observe the adorable boy in the photographs. Is he going to grow up without cents? What kind of a world am I raising my son in where there's no symbol for change on the keyboard? I am appalled.

Okay, I know all Mom's say this, but my kid is the cutest. I will try my best to be the type of mother who sees things objectively and never says, "Luke would never do that" or "I'm certain it wasn't Luke's fault". But I must say it, because it's true, Luke is the cutest kid.

Yesterday he spent all afternoon in his diaper because we were out and about and he got poop on his shirt. That's not the cutest. But a pudgy little rolly poley (how do you spell that?) is absolutely adorable. Last week I crocheted Luke a toque to wear to bed at night because Derek and I decided to begin turning the heat down at night and were worried about him getting cold. I read somewhere that 70% of all lost heat in babies is lost from their head. So I found some yarn, it just happens to be the yarn I used to make Cameryn's baby blanket, and popped this sucker out in an evening. I think it's pretty darling. But mostly I think Luke is darling in it.

I looked through his baby memory basket this afternoon and just about cried when I saw the toque he came home from the hospital in. Did his head ever really fit in that tiny hat? It's amazing. When I look at all the clothes he's already outgrown and see the tiny newborn babies in church I realize how incredibly fast he's growing up. All mothers say that too, "Enjoy every moment because they grow up so fast". I always said, "well of course I'm going to try to enjoy every moment. But please, time goes by so slowly, I do not need to be reminded to take advantage of it."

I am now learning to be less critical of this age-old advice. Somehow, in the rush and hurry of getting through each day, it's easy to forget to LIVE, and time flashes past, and babies grow up, and before you know it your newborn Luke is 17 pounds and outgrown most of his clothes! And I still haven't got a proper family picture. At least nobody can say I don't have enough baby pictures of Luke.

This weekend Derek, Luke and I are going to drive out to Pembina Valley and take a family picture with the beautiful Fall color. I don't have a tripod, but I figure I can prop the camera on the car or a rock or something. I am getting really excited. I just hope the weather is nice on Sunday. We can't go on Saturday because we're going to Winnipeg for a Sheryl Crow concert (Derek's birthday gift). Luke is not going to the concert. He is going to have his first real baby-sitting experience with his gramma Helene. He slept through what I thought would be his first baby-sitting experience, so it doesn't count.

Another interesting bit of news: our siding arrived yesterday! It's Prairie Gold. I am really looking forward to seeing it on the house. No one in our neighborhood has used this color siding, but I think it will really make it feel like home since I grew up in a yellow house. It looks beautiful in the box. It's sort of sandy yellow, but I'm sure it will look even more yellow in a big section on the house.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T the baby

Mom decided to take a day off today. At four a.m. she said to me, “I’m just so tired. It’s not anything I actually did; I think some days life just catches up with you. You wouldn’t understand. When will you learn English?” What she doesn’t know is that I have quite an extensive vocabulary, and have since before birth thanks to my dad, who read to me while I was still in the womb. I haven’t learned how to speak yet, because muscle coordination is coming slowly for me. It’s frustrating, but when it gets hard I remember all the other babies out there whose parents didn’t read to them, whose mothers did jumping jacks while they were pregnant and who consequently are miles behind me developmentally. It comforts me to know there are others out there starting from square one.

Well, I knew that there would be quite a few people who would be incredibly unhappy if today’s blog was blank with Mom’s suggested, “Do Not Disturb” sign. So I got up early this morning, came out to the dining room, booted up the computer and opened my own word document. Today you will hear my side of the story.

So I’ve been thinking a lot about diapers. It’s hard not to when you’ve got this big rounding swath of material sticking off your bum, making it look two times as big as it really is, and making it feel four times as big. Ah-Goo, I am certain everybody notices, they’re just too polite to say anything, but this diaper makes my butt look huge! However, the whole diaper thing is very useful for training your parents to cater to your every whim. I definitely recommend it for anyone with uncooperative parents. It can be a little humiliating at first, for the adults, until you teach them to really respect you. Pooping when they least expect it is one of the best lessons. Wait until they take you to a nice dinner party and then grunt and go red in the face until your diaper becomes volcanic. That’ll teach them some respect. R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me.

And although it’s difficult to let everyone talk to you in tiny baby voices (the same they use with the dog…ironic?), it’s best to let them think you don’t understand. If they only knew how incredibly developed my mind was they would start expecting me to do things like talk, walk, and do the dishes! Thankfully it’s the best-kept secret I’ve got. Speaking of secrets, I’ve got lots more of those than you would think. People talk around me as if I’m not even there. It’s amazing that nobody ever considers my ears, tiny though they are. I hear all the grown-up conversations! It’s awesome. Don’t tell Dad, but Mom said he’s hot. I think that means he’s in big trouble. I’m not sure, though. I still have some idioms to learn.

And on to the hot topic: the price of gas. What is with the price of gas?! It just keeps going up, and I just know somebody out there is raking in the dough while we scrape the coffers for our last cents, just to get across town! I’m going to start biking. I say we all go on strike, walk and bike everywhere, just to make those rich guys squirm. It’s amazing that we’ve allowed ourselves to become so dependent on vehicles, and subsequently on gasoline, even though on the whole we have moved closer and closer together in the cities. I think it’s all to blame on this mindset that we have to do everything faster. If we all just took a chill pill and lived where we are, instead of careening all over the city, state and country, coming home just to sleep, we could be at home long enough to grow our own vegetables – which would save us the gas from the extra trip to the grocery store.

Well, have you heard enough? I know discussing issues with a baby isn’t necessarily all that interesting to most adults, but I thought I’d give it a go. Maybe after Mom sees what I’ve written she’ll let me be a regular on this thing. It sure was fun…although Mom’s camera is super-heavy! I won’t be attempting that again any time soon. My arms are so sore!

from the Mom: The other day when Derek came home I told him how Luke had said, "Mama" and I thought maybe it was just coincidence. Derek said, "Don't be humble. Our kid's a genius." I laughed then, but after finding this post on my desktop, I'm beginning to believe it....

Teething?

Sorry we are so late today. Luke was having a wonderful nap and I hated to wake him. So here we are just posting at 3:30. I started typing this nine hours ago!

Pictures: Cameryn helps give Luke a bath (we baby-sat cameryn on Sunday night), Luke dresses up for church (sorry Mom, yes, it’s orange), Luke makes a funny face and takes the frozen key teether, and Luke sits in his car seat surrounded by his toys (this morning).

It is a dark and stormy morning here in Winkler. Derek and I both sat upright in bed at 2:45 this morning to a booming smack of thunder. The rest of the night we could hear the rain pounding on the roof, watch flashes of lightning sneak between our blinds, and the power went out at some point because this morning all the clocks were flashing. Luke happily slept through it all and woke up at four because he had wiggled up to the side of his bed and hit his head on the rails when he turned it (I’m not totally unconvinced that he doesn’t do this on purpose to wake me up and get my attention quickly).

Since it is Manitoba it would not be surprising if this rain disappeared and we had the most gorgeous day we’ve had all summer. And since it’s Manitoba it would not be surprising if it rained all day. Who knows? What I do know is that if this keeps up, I will not want to leave the house. Rainy days are perfect for staying in your jammies and curling up under blankets - not for running around town doing errands. But today is Growing with Mom at the church, and just before that there is a Ladies’ Prayer Time that I thought I’d like to attend. I always thought it was weird that someone would schedule something for right in the middle of the work day…but now I can go, and appreciate having a reason to get out during the day.

Later: We went out after all. We slept through Ladies’ Prayer, but we made it to Growing with Mom and it was very nice (we made delicious soup and biscuits for lunch). The public health nurse was there today and weighed the babies. Luke weighs a whopping 16lb, 11oz.! And guess what? The sun is out and it is a gorgeous afternoon.

Is Luke teething? – the big question. Luke has been a “little drool factory”, as Derek says, for a few weeks now. He’s not just bubbling anymore. He actually spits out a mouthful of drool every few minutes. I had to change the orange striped shirt that he wore on Sunday (in the photo) because it was sopping wet by lunch time. The overall bib is quite convenient for catching his spittle.

At first I was not convinced that all this drooling meant teeth. He’s pretty young, and babies drool, what’s new? But I’m beginning to doubt myself as he continues to reach for things and put them in his mouth. He shoves everything in his mouth, which is also pretty common in babies. The difference with Luke is that he actually looks like he’s in pain when he’s looking for things to shove in his mouth. And last night he took the frozen key teethers that we gave him. Am I imagining it, or did it actually seem to give him some relief?