Puckers December 4, 2009

Good thing that Evan isn’t so good at pronouncing his “F”’s.  It’s not that the word doesn’t exist in Pete & my vocabulary’s, but really, we are pretty sure we haven’t uttered it around Evan.  Or if we have, it’s gone seemingly unnoticed and we never heard it parroted back until tonight. 

It started something like this:  Come over here, you puckers! 

(Shock).  Um, what did you say?  Come HERE, you puckers! 

What did you call Daddy?  Did you say suckers?  No, PUCKERS.  Pucker?  NO, PUH-ker.  Puh, puh.  

That doesn’t sound like a word we know.  How about using crazy-head instead?  No.  Oh, look.  I dropped the little puckers. (Referring to his crayons).  I broke the puckers.  I’ll put the puckers over here…

This continued for a while.  As we tried desperately to hide our hysterics.  

And the evening will end on this note:

I’m Buck, and you’re Buck.  Oh!  You mean BUCK from Ice Age!  Yeah, you’re a buck!  You’re a mommy buck!  You’re a WILD buck!  Excellent – I can work with this…sort of.  I’m Buck, let’s go look for dinosaurs!  Mommy, you’re such a silly buck!

Sigh.

And here’s a cute picture of Hazel.

And The Verdict Is In… December 2, 2009

With no surprises – we have a very large son and a tiny daughter, but both are perfect!  Our new pediatrician ROCKS.  They are so much better for us than our last, that I don’t even mind driving twice as far to get to them.  You know your doc really practices integrative medicine rather than just proclaiming they do when the book they give you on your first visit, and the one they refer to as their “handbook”  is Naturally Healthy Kids.  This has been our health bible since Evan was born -  if you’re a parent and don’t have this book, you really should get a copy! 

Evan impressed the doc with his onslaught of chattering about anything and everything, and Hazel in her usual adorable form drew attention from everyone in the office.  He is 75th %tile for height and 90th for weight (38-1/4″ and 35lb.), and she is 50th %tile for height and 10th for weight (25-1/2″ and 13lb. 15oz.).  If you can believe it, Evan was Hazel’s size when we was only  8 WEEKS old.  Seriously.

Hey, at least they’re not the opposite – a giant girl and a shrimpy boy!

6 Months With Hazel December 1, 2009

I’ll just go ahead and say what every parent says, I can’t believe it’s been 6 months already!!  I’ve been lucky enough to have many wonderful days in my life, including our wedding day and Evan’s birthday – but 6 months ago today when Hazel was born would have to top my list.  Her birth was the most beautiful, mind-blowing, empowering moment of my life.  Having an intervention-free birth really transcended any doubts I had about the miracle of what my body is capable of.  I think this recent clip on the birth center came at a perfect time, it just reminded me so much of our own experience.  If you care to take the 9 min. to watch it, you’ll see Tracy who was present for Hazel’s birth, and the very same room and pool that she was born in  

Hazel had her first food a couple of days ago, is close to sitting unassisted, and continues to charm everyone with infectious smiles and her cheerful personality.  She adores Evan, and the feeling is mutual – this morning he said, “Mommy, Hazel and I are best friends!”.   Her favorite toy to play with (aka: chew on/molest) is Sophie the Giraffe, and she’s also been getting a kick out of the jumper & exersaucer.  She really is an angel baby, and we are so thankful that she has joined our lives! 

Happy 3rd, Evan! November 30, 2009

It was an action-packed, dinosaur-crazed day for Evan’s celebration!  We took a group of families to the Dino Museum for a private tour - the kids were really great about listening and following the guide.  Evan was having fun answering all of the questions very enthusiastically, which went a little like this:  Can anyone tell me who this is?  T-Rex!!  And how do we know he was a meat-eater?  His sharp teeth!!  Very good!  And who can tell me who this is?  It’s a DINOSAUR!!  Yes…and do you know why he would be running on his hind feet?  He has a long tail!!  Enthusiasm counts for a lot when dealing with 3 year olds. 

There was sand pit digging, bull snake petting, turtle terrorizing and fossil drilling – and only 1 model breaking.  Pretty impressive for so many kids!

We continued the party at our house with pizza and cupcakes, opened and played with presents in the afternoon, and ended with Evan’s requested dinner of pasta carbonara.  And the best part, Evan’s exclamation, “This is the best birthday EVER!”. 

Balloon jumping

New ride

Hazel, wanna pet my pet dino?

How many toddlers can fit in a T-Rex mouth?

Those are some big teeth

Sharing the dino love

Ending the day with a cuddle, sort of

Notes From Turkey Day November 30, 2009

We’ve enjoyed so many really great Thanksgiving Day’s, and this year was no exception.  We started it at Denver’s Turkey Trot, the country’s largest 4 mile run.  My friend, Gaye, and I had a fun time jogging in the gorgeous warm sunshine while Pete & the kids played and people watched.  Then we headed down to Castle Rock for a delicious dinner with Nana & Papa, and more play time.  And finally, back to Morrison for some nice wine and to sample my first apple pie, and more play time.  Perfection!

Week Of Thanks November 25, 2009

Picking up Evan at school today and seeing their art project reminded me that I wanted to take a moment to post about how thankful I am for all that we have.  First, a bit about his project:  They gave the kids all sorts of magazine clippings that they could pick out and stick on their “I’m Most Thankful For…” sheet.  Evan’s is about how you’d imagine a 3 yr. old’s to be – but I still found it funny.  It includes some obvious ones, like a house, car, shoes, candy…but also includes a shower, raisins, flowers, and a baby boy.  If we hadn’t just had a discussion about how he wants a baby brother, I may have just glossed over this and thought, How cute, he’s thankful for Hazel!  So I inquired a bit, and yes – he’s thankful for Hazel.  But, he also still wants a baby brother.  After we explained to him the other day that babies take a long time to grow (Remember how long it took mommy to grow Hazel?), and that mommy needs a break from growing babies, he informed us that HE would be willing to grow his baby brother.  Now, that’s a whole other discussion.

So, I am incredibly thankful for 2 healthy, beautiful children.  For Evan’s wit, imagination & and sense of humor, for Hazel’s sweet personality, smiles & joyous nature.  I am thankful for a husband who loves me, even when I act like a crazy-can’t-handle-it-all mom, and works hard so that I am able to stay home for our family and find out if I really can handle it.  I’m thankful for our family – we’ve really lucked out having 2 families that are short on the craziness and big on the fun & love!   I’m thankful for our house and where we live, it’s just an idyllic neighborhood and state.  I’m thankful for our friends – old,  new, close & distant – they keep us sane & laughing!  My list could go on, but I wanted to at least throw out the beginning of it to encourage everyone to spend a minute to reflect this week.  We all have SO MUCH to be thankful for – have a wonderful holiday!

And may you all have kitchen helpers that are this cute:

No Hazel, this one is too sharp for you

See? It’s very sharp right here

Take this spoon, this one is better for you

I’ll put it on my head, cooking is fun!

Look, Hazel is Bob the Builder! (He doesn’t even watch that show…)

LOVE November 18, 2009

Our Mornings November 18, 2009

Just as Hazel stops itching herself to death and is actually sleeping well at night, Evan begins an unexplained, many-times-a-night waking…so annoying.  So by morning, we have Evan crashed out in our bed because by the 2nd or 3rd time, we’re so deliriously tired we don’t even care if a 3 year old somehow manages to take up half of the king-sized bed.  We also have darling Hazel, all smiles and joy, squirming around on the other half.  Surprisingly, this is total bliss.

Dinosaurs November 13, 2009

I guess this is a common phenomenon for 3 year old boys, and Evan is fully on board with this little obsession.  His favorite show these days is Dinosaur Train, a pretty brilliant show combining 2 of toddler boys favorite things – dinosaurs & trains!  We like it because there’s no annoying music, the animation is beautiful and it’s educational.  His imagination has really taken off, and sometimes we have to entertain his imaginary friends – lately “Annie”, a little t-rex from the show.  The other day, I had to set the table (complete with dishes & food) for her, make room for her on the couch, and tuck her in for a nap beside him.  The problem with invisible friends is that we’re not quite sure when she’s actually “there”, or she’s suddenly decided to leave.  The other night Pete was putting Evan & Annie to bed - Evan had been talking about how she was lying on the pillow next to him and needed to sleep there.  But when Pete said “good night” to Annie, Evan says, “Dad, what are you doing?  That’s a pillow!  Annie left with her mommy & daddy.”   Silly parents!  Much of the day includes stomping around like t-rex, clawing on the ground like a triceratops, and roaring.  It’s amazing how many technical dinosaur names he knows – ankylosaurus, pteranadon, corythosaurus, impressive!

We’ve been having a lovely week of fall weather.  Not that we’re short on these, but lots of those days when we’re incredibly thankful to live in such a beautiful place, where the sun shines nearly all the time and we can be outside and active!

Eczema – The Latest November 13, 2009

We’ve pretty much come full circle with Hazel in the last month.  For the past 2 weeks, we’ve been seeing Dr. Jeff, who has been doing a very gently spinal adjustment to help with her digestive flow.  Six appointments in 2 weeks down in Cherry Creek has meant a lot of driving for me!  She and I are both on probiotics, and we’ve been continuing with the slathering of moisture, bathing in oatmeal + a capful of bleach to keep her from getting infected, homeopathics, etc.  Yesterday, we went to a new pediatrician, and they were WONDERFUL!!  Finally, someone who is willing to really listen, be concerned, and work with us on an ongoing basis.  We love their philosophy – they have an integrative approach, which we love.  I know that term is overused nowadays, but I think that they really practice it.  So, we’re doing a 2 week Western medicine approach to finally get her cleared up, and then we’ll back off and try to maintain a healthy state for her skin using homeopathics and a regimine of skin care.  We understand that there is no “cure” for eczema, but at least we’ve found a practice that is willing to spend the time with us to keep it under control, and is a much better fit for us.  It was so nice not to be rushed out feeling confused and with a prescription that didn’t even work!  She looks a million times better after just 1 day   We’d almost forgotten what a stunning little baby she is when her skin is clear, hooray!