» April 2007 Journal Entries » AboutMyBaby - online baby scrapbooks, photo albums, videos, birth and pregnancy announcements

Wed, Apr 25, 2007 10:19 AM

Marit is loud! She can scream. Yesterday it sounded like she was screaming in harmony. And most of the time she just screams for the fun of it to hear herself.
Monday afternoons little Nicolas comes to play while his Mommy is in school. Often his Grandpa comes to pick him up. This past Monday we went to the park and played hard all morning and I was so excited with the great anticipation of Haakon taking a long nap so he would be a happy boy. To my dismay Haakon said he was not tired and infatically stated he did not want to take a nap. By 4:30 he was dragging. He said he was sooo tired and wanted to take a nap on the couch. I complied. We did not want him to sleep too long so we went a long with our play as normal. It was almost 6 and Haakon woke up. Not happy either. He wanted more sleep but we had disturbed him. He was crying his heart out. Marit chimed in with her loud cries from hearing Haakon cry. It was at that moment that Nicolas's Grandpa pulls into the drive way. I set Haakon down and carry Marit to the door with me. Nicolas's Grandpa comes in with a slight look of concern. "I could hear the crying when I was pulling into the driveway. Is everything all right?" I assure him all is well, Haakon just woke up on the wrong side of the couch. Nicolas was fine and his happy self playing and trying to ignore the crazy crying Haakon. After they made their quick getaway it took about 2 minutes, some funny faces, and tickles and both kids were all smiles again.
When I was little I remember being asked on a few occassions by friends who lived in a town or a city, why we lived in the country and not in a town or a city. I pondered this for a moment and said the reason was because we were just too loud to live in a city or town and would more the likely disturb our neighbors if they were close. Nothing has changed. I know that people can hear my kids screaming at times. They are just nice and loud and it does not help that we have single pane windows.

Marit is showing great interest in food. She is reaching for everything. She exams it and puts it in her mouth. So out came the rice cereal. We have attempted to feed her now a few times. She keeps spitting it out. She does not like it. Perhaps a veggie would be worth trying? She does however like ice cream. I know, we blew it. How can I even possibly expect her to eat any baby food now that she has tasted ice cream??!!!

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Wed, Apr 18, 2007 2:54 PM

This past weekend Grant had a conference to attend up in The Woodlands (about 60 miles north of us). We all decided to go with Daddy and hang out in the Woodlands for the weekend while Grant attended the conference. It would be especially fun to go because the Gunn family was also attending.
We arrived Thursday evening. Haakon and Marit slept the whole way. We unpacked the car and loaded the kids and bags unto the stroller. When we rolled into the lovely hotel room Haakon demanded to leave. He wanted to go back home.
It took quite the dramatization and convincing him that staying in a hotel room and sleeping on their cozy beds was going to be so much fun.
It was a horrible night!!!! They settled in but it was not for long. Haakon was not happy, Marit would wake up hearing Haakon not happy.
Morning came and Haakon again told me he wanted to leave. We loaded up the stroller with things to entertain, eat, and a change of diapers and clothes (just in case). The sun was out but just barely and it was not long before we were out the door enjoying it.
Haakon loves to give direction, Marit loves to keep moving. So between them both we had lots of places to go and see but did not stop for long in either one. In The Woodlands they have a lovely little Market Street area full of shops and places to eat. As we were strolling along Haakon spotted a Starbucks and said we needed coffee. I quite agreed with him so we popped on in and ordered their new caramel leche frappachino (decaf of course). No sooner had I been handed our delicious beverage when I made the crucial mistake of setting it on Haakon's tray of the stroller. He picked up the chilly slippery plastic cup and down it went, crashing to the floor. By then there was a line in the store. I am sure all eyes were on us and the train I was pushing with two adorable but noisy children. Not paying attention to the on lookers I quickly scooped up the cup and asked for a new cover and apologized for the mess I had caused. They were very nice and quickly made us another one and said not to worry about it. Later on that day I was reminded that it was Friday the 13th. Perhaps that was the reason for the spill? Needless to say, we did not stop back at that Starbucks for the rest of the weekend.

We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon touring inside due to the rain outside. I knew if Haakon was possibly going to take a nap I would need to wear him out completely! Thank goodness for a play area in the mall for him to run around in. We must have spent nearly an hour just looking at toy dinosaurs in the science museum gift shop located in the mall. (Yes, Marit was sleeping) He did end up deciding on a green long neck. (not too good with the names) This dinosaur became his best friend for the weekend. The Pottery Barn Kids was having a sing-a-long that morning. Haakon and Marit seemed to enjoy it quite well. So many moms there with their little kids. Most had 1 to 2 kids. Half way through a mom came in with 4 children under 6. All 4 of them behaved perfectly. When I say perfectly, I mean perfectly. I wanted to ask her what her secret was or if her kids were for real, but Haakon and Marit were ready to leave as soon as the music stopped. So we left. As we walked around the indoor carousel which I made a big mistake even showing Haakon cause there was no way I could possibly take him and Marit on it by myself, I pondered about the mom with the 4 good kids. I decided then and there that her kids were born that way or she drugged them before they got there. It made me feel better anyway. We made it back to the hotel without getting too wet and before we were in our room Haakon and Marit were both asleep. The 3 of us had a wonderful 2 1/2 hour nap.

That evening we met up with the Gunn family for supper. After supper the kids had their hearts set on swimming in the pool. The pools down here all seem to be outdoors. It was a bit chilly outside due to the wind but the Marriot promised a heated pool so we honored the kid's request and got ready for the pool. Unfortunately the heated pool was very cold and the hot tub was anything but hot, still warmer then the pool though. (perhaps another Friday the 13th thing) The kids had fun splashing. Even Marit was splashing like crazy. After our eyes were quite red from the chlorine we made our strategic plan to exit the hot tub grab our towel and make a run for the room with a hot bath to follow. This night the kids slept great!
Saturday morning arrived and 10 degrees cooler then yesterday. So much for long walks outside. We met up with Heather, Emma, & Scarlett Gunn at a most delightful La Madeline's. We had a bit of breakfast and made our way to the mall where we hoped and prayed we would find fun things for the kids to do indoors. Much to our delight the Children's Museum was smack dab in the middle of the Mall. We spent the whole morning there exploring and playing. It was a close call with Haakon though. I almost did not even make it in the door because he would not move from the floor of the gift shop because he was reading a tractor book he had discovered on the shelf. Yes, we did end up buying it. (I greatly dislike gift shops)

Just before leaving to eat lunch Meredith, Heather's dear Mother-in-law joined us. We took a gamble and decided to dine at the Cheesecake Factory. Perhaps the Food Court would have been more ideal for our party of 3 adults, 3 children, and a baby, but oh the Cheesecake Factory sounded oh so good. It started off wonderfully. By the end I am sure they were happy we did not stay long enough to try their cheesecake. All in all it turned out better then we expected.
Perhaps a nap would have been nice for all but how often do we get to be in a place with so many lovely things to see. It was a fun adventurous day of play and window shopping.
We arrived back to the hotel just as Brandon and Grant finished up their conference for the day. Grant had signed us up to attend the activity planned. It was at this huge bowling/arcade place. Quite fancy. A great place if you have older kids. Not so great if you have a toddler and a baby though. With that said. Another horrible night awaited with Haakon waking in one of his mad funks. Poor guy. Morning came with the sun shining so bright with the promise of yet another beautiful day ahead. It was that with the occasional melt downs and such. Our lovely weekend getaway ended with seeing the Aero's hockey team play. I think they lost by a goal. Haakon and I spent the 3rd period getting in and out of the different Toyota vehicles they had on display at the Toyota Center. He loved it. At one time he was quoting the Monkey's on the Bed story that Monica often reads to the kids at Daycare. Haakon changed it up and instead of a bed it was the FJ Cruiser. Too cute! Yesterday Monica also told me about how Haakon had lined up all the crates outside and then on top of the crates he lined up each car and truck in size order. Sounds like something his Daddy might have done when he was little. Such an organized little guy he is.
Marit's latest is chewing on her fingers. She chews her pointer finger to the point of it being chapped and bruised. If her NUK or toy is not around to chew on she sticks that little finger in to chomp on. I wonder when those little toothers will appear.

Comments:

Grandma BARB: I'm sure you know that with your mothering skills, you head off many more meltdowns than Haakon has. He sounds like his interests drive him, which is great in an older child but hard to deal with when logic is minimal. I just love your stories and just remember that 2 year olds don't plan to be the way they are, hard to predict. Oh how nice it is to get a good night sleep though once in awhile. It took a whole suitcase of toys and activities to entertain Grant when he was age 3. But his siblings were much easier to keep happy. Then came Drew. He needed several keepers to watch him. I'm glad to have the memories as we plan graduation parties and events. Thanks for getting the invitation done so quickly. It was absolutely great on the first viewing. You are the best. Thanks again! Hugs and Kisses,

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Thu, Apr 12, 2007 3:36 PM

This morning after rushing around to quick get ready for work, I come back to find Marit laying in the middle of the bed holding on to her wiggly little toes. What a precious site to see her smile and stick her little tongue out and giggle as I asked her if she was ready for a new diaper and to get dressed. It was our darling little Marit that woke us up this morning. She had apparently waked in the middle of the night for a snack, or perhaps it was very early this morning when I went to get her from her cradle. I don't remember. I was way too tired to realize what I was doing. Praise the Lord for auto pilot. In my dreams I could hear the alarm going off and playing the music from the cd Grant had recently changed from lullabies to something a bit perkier to get us up. Unfortunately the music stopped and I let myself fall deeper and deeper into sleep till it was almost too late. Yes, thank you Marit for waking us up at 6:53 this morning. She was ready for breakfast and started talking sweetly to tell me so. I opened my eyes to see her looking at me and cooing. There was not anytime to enjoy that sweet moment any longer when I realized there was just a bit too much light trying to peak through the curtains and the birds sounded like they were already on their second cup of coffee. Thankfully we were out the door in 10 minutes flat. Made it to work in perfect time.

We all seem to be battling a different stage of the same cold that has infected everyone BUT Marit. We hope and pray she can be spared from this bad bug.

She has been so full of energy lately and would much rather play then cuddle. Marit is sitting up so much better now. She can scoot on the floor and take steps when we hold her little hands. She just beams from her accomplishments! Haakon is so good to praise and encourage her strides in being more mobile. I know they both can't wait till they can play together more.

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Tue, Apr 3, 2007 10:23 AM

A few funny moments I must jot down. In no real order...
April Fools Day - Grant and I decided that we would play a trick on Haakon. On the weekend he always comes into our room and walks around the bed to my side and wants to climb in and cuddle. He has chosen my side because he does not always like to wrestle with Daddy so early in the morning. We switch sides, so come morning, Haakon comes strolling in and walks over to my side where Grant was. He almost fell over when Grant turned around and said good morning. The look on his face was priceless!

Daycare last week - we walk in the door in the morning and little Stephen is there and wearing a bright pair of blue shorts with tropical flowers. Haakon's first words were "Cute shorts, Stephen". A 2 year old commenting on friends clothing? Oh my! Apparently he has heard mom say that way too much. I giggled all the way to work after hearing that!

Marit and toys - our little just turned 5 months old daughter loves toys. Especially her big brother's toys. Haakon hesitates to let her play with his toys, even his baby toys that he no longer plays with have all of a sudden peaked his interest again. The other day Haakon was in a very giving mood and let Marit hold one of his Bob the Builder trucks. She was loving it and holding it in her chubby little hands when Haakon decided he needed it back. He snatched it away and she burst out in a scream of disappointment. If I had not realized what had happened I would have guessed that he had hurt her. I asked Haakon to go get her horsey and bring it to her to trade. He went and got it and she threw (dropped) it down and screamed. Haakon was just looking at her in shock. He handed her back the little blue truck and instantly she settled down and gave Haakon her squinty nose smile. Can she really be that particular about toys already and does she already know how to get her way? It is fun to see her little personality developing.

Yesterday - We had a play date to go to a park with Barb and Ryan. As I was loading up the car with the kids, park bag, etc. I some how got bit by something. It felt like a fire ant bite but looked like a mosquito bite on my big toe. I ran inside and grabbed the hydrocortisone cream just in case. On our way to the park it got worse and redness and itching started to creep up my leg and cause a HUGE lump to swell. Upon arriving to the park I slap some cream on it and proceed to unload the car and play. Oh it makes me so proud to have the trouble maker child at the park. No other child is throwing the little rocks up in the air that covers the playground area. Who was crazy enough to put rocks down there anyway? Huge temptation for toddlers who turn into Wild Things when there is a full moon out. I had to physically remove him from the playground and move to the set of slides and climbing devices for the big kids. Suddenly my scalp is burning and itching like mad. I have flash backs to when lice was discovered in my hair and all the beautiful heads of hairs of my sisters and cousins. Our poor mothers so disappointed thinking only little dirty gutter children ever acquired lice and now their clean girls had infested the whole house with it. A few minutes go by and I break down and ask my friend Barb to please look at my head. She tells me it is all red and so are my ears and the back of my neck. Suddenly the inside of my elbows, wrists, and arms are now all inflamed and irritated. You can practically see the redness travel all over my skin. I almost felt like this was a House episode I was living. I decide to give the Dr (daddy) a call. He asks me if I can breathe ok. Sure, I am breathing. He says to get help if I can not breathe. Sounds good enough so we proceed to play. 2 hours later when we get home after an exhausting fun time at the park, I notice my condition is not better but has evolved. I take a couple Advil, avoiding Benadryl because I could not afford to get drowsy. Call back Dr. Daddy. He suggests perhaps going to Urgent Care. Later on I decided that was just too much work to figure out if I bring the kids or ask someone to watch them. I decide not to go. Grant said that would be fine as long as I was not in pain and my tissue was not necroting. (don't want to loose a toe over a bug bite) Besides that, I love to wear flip flops. Scary bugs - another fabulous reason I can't wait to move back to MN.

Comments:

Barbara Seeger: Wow , that is some allergic reaction story. I agree that Texas is just too toxic to live in for long. I am so glad to see all the great photos of MOM and Day with the kids. What beautiful parents in the Blue Bonnets with the youngsters. Mom Barb

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