Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Trains
Did I mention Saben is a fanatic about trains? He is completely obsessed. We read his three train books twice each day and every morning the first thing he does is drag out his wooden train set and start putting the tracks back together. And he talks about them constantly. We went and saw a bunch of airplanes yesterday (heritage flight museum), including ones that were taking off, starting up, making all sorts of exciting noises & flying by low overead and he was only mildly impressed. When we left, he suggested "Go downtown and look for trains".
Friday, May 18, 2007
Saben - 25 1/2 months
Things Saben will eat:
Raw Garlic
Chili Pepper Flakes (the kind you put on pizza)
Black pepper (straight out of the shaker)
Mustard
Plain Yogurt w/ Granola
Soy Sauce w/ Wasabi (he dipped a spoon in the spicy stuff I'd mixed for my sushi and said "mmmm!". Then he did it several more times so its no fluke)
Things Saben will NOT even try:
Macaroni & cheese
Rice
Chicken that's not breaded
Eggs
Oatmeal
You get the idea I think.....
Saben Loves
Trains, train tracks, railroad crossings. He has this whole spiel "I hear a train! Train coming! Down the tracks, clickety clack." and he'll repeat it several times if he actually hears a train whistle but will also start saying it at very random times. Tonite he was saying it loudly and quickly as if trying to impress a couple girls we were visiting.
Balls, especially basket balls. We went to the park the other day and instead of playing on the swings & slides he spent the entire time on the basketball court. He would squat down with his little foam soccer ball and then spring up towards the hoops and use the (imaginary) momentum to get the ball about 2 feet up in the air above his head. It was so cute and he ran all over the court chasing the ball. Saben also just got a used basket ball hoop from our neighbors and he loves it.
Keys - he seemed to outgrow this last fall, but it is back and worse than ever because now he can say things like "Saben Drive". And he gets really freaky about having to have them whenever he wants them so its really a pain.
Playdough
Sleeping with balls in his bed
Making granola and cookies with mommy
Puzzles
Children's Museum
Grandparents, relatives & adult friends
Saben Doesn't Like:
Wearing shoes - he'd rather go barefoot, even out in the yard and at parks
His big boy bed - we put it in his room to see what he thought. He thought "no way" so now we are getting ready (i.e. procastinating) to do whatever it takes to get him sleeping in it before baby sister comes along.
Putting toys away - mostly just his favorite ones, like the train tracks, he FREAKS out when we put them away as if somehow they are going to be gone forever. He actually does fine putting some stuff away, but playdough, train tracks - watch out.
The last couple weeks Saben has definitely been pushing us as far as discipline goes. He's taken temper tantrums to new volumes and is constantly testing his boundaries. Sometimes it seems like I say no 10 times in just a few minutes and do time outs constantly. Miraculously this last Tuesday was one of our worst days ever, but slowly he's gotten a lot better every day since then. I'd like to think the discipline thing is finally working, but maybe he's just been in a better mood.
I think the hardest part for me is making the rules and deciding which ones you really want to try and enforce. Because sometimes you say no out of laziness and realize your mistake once he's sobbing and then other times you say yes and realize your mistake when he then expects to be able to use at least 6 spoons at every meal.
Finally, a fun story - the other day Saben was watching his friend Audrey getting her diaper changed and observed that she has a tunnel instead of a pee pee. Why teach your kids real anatomy when its so entertaining to see what they come up with themselves??
Raw Garlic
Chili Pepper Flakes (the kind you put on pizza)
Black pepper (straight out of the shaker)
Mustard
Plain Yogurt w/ Granola
Soy Sauce w/ Wasabi (he dipped a spoon in the spicy stuff I'd mixed for my sushi and said "mmmm!". Then he did it several more times so its no fluke)
Things Saben will NOT even try:
Macaroni & cheese
Rice
Chicken that's not breaded
Eggs
Oatmeal
You get the idea I think.....
Saben Loves
Trains, train tracks, railroad crossings. He has this whole spiel "I hear a train! Train coming! Down the tracks, clickety clack." and he'll repeat it several times if he actually hears a train whistle but will also start saying it at very random times. Tonite he was saying it loudly and quickly as if trying to impress a couple girls we were visiting.
Balls, especially basket balls. We went to the park the other day and instead of playing on the swings & slides he spent the entire time on the basketball court. He would squat down with his little foam soccer ball and then spring up towards the hoops and use the (imaginary) momentum to get the ball about 2 feet up in the air above his head. It was so cute and he ran all over the court chasing the ball. Saben also just got a used basket ball hoop from our neighbors and he loves it.
Keys - he seemed to outgrow this last fall, but it is back and worse than ever because now he can say things like "Saben Drive". And he gets really freaky about having to have them whenever he wants them so its really a pain.
Playdough
Sleeping with balls in his bed
Making granola and cookies with mommy
Puzzles
Children's Museum
Grandparents, relatives & adult friends
Saben Doesn't Like:
Wearing shoes - he'd rather go barefoot, even out in the yard and at parks
His big boy bed - we put it in his room to see what he thought. He thought "no way" so now we are getting ready (i.e. procastinating) to do whatever it takes to get him sleeping in it before baby sister comes along.
Putting toys away - mostly just his favorite ones, like the train tracks, he FREAKS out when we put them away as if somehow they are going to be gone forever. He actually does fine putting some stuff away, but playdough, train tracks - watch out.
The last couple weeks Saben has definitely been pushing us as far as discipline goes. He's taken temper tantrums to new volumes and is constantly testing his boundaries. Sometimes it seems like I say no 10 times in just a few minutes and do time outs constantly. Miraculously this last Tuesday was one of our worst days ever, but slowly he's gotten a lot better every day since then. I'd like to think the discipline thing is finally working, but maybe he's just been in a better mood.
I think the hardest part for me is making the rules and deciding which ones you really want to try and enforce. Because sometimes you say no out of laziness and realize your mistake once he's sobbing and then other times you say yes and realize your mistake when he then expects to be able to use at least 6 spoons at every meal.
Finally, a fun story - the other day Saben was watching his friend Audrey getting her diaper changed and observed that she has a tunnel instead of a pee pee. Why teach your kids real anatomy when its so entertaining to see what they come up with themselves??
Pregnancy
Just 9 more weeks to go and I am definitely starting to feel the 3rd trimester tiredness. I was ridiculously energetic during the 2nd trimester and often over exerted myself doing things like spreading compost & planting shrubs in the yard. By evening I'd be a puddle of pudding. But I'm starting to wind down now and feel like napping rather than weeding most afternoons. Unfortunately I still have about 2 yards of compost to spread, I want to install a drip irrigation system AND Kyle broke his hand a couple weeks ago so he's no good to me anymore. : )
The good news with this pregnancy is that I have had hardly any signs of pre-eclampsia. I don't quite remember when they hit with Saben, but it seems to me that I started having some warning signs at least a few months in advance. I am finally getting hopeful that I won't have the problems I had last time but the doctor did still send a blood pressure cuff home with me so that I can keep an eye on things as the due date nears. (last time my blood pressure sky rocketed from normal to dangerous levels in about 4 days and complications kept us in the hospital for 5 days after Saben was born)
The scary part about all this for me is that now I actually have to make a real decision about whether or not to have another c-section or to try for a VBAC. Part of me almost hoped that I would have pre-eclampsia again because it would make the decision a lot easier - cesarian for sure. Now I just don't know, it is all so confusing and there are pros & cons either way. Even though a c-section sometimes sounds nice because its all planned out & predictable, I HATE getting cut open while concious. I actually asked the doctor if they could put me under when I found out I had to have one with Saben because mentally it was my worst nightmare. I can't even watch other people chop things with knives or shave with razor blades and I used to pass out when I had shots. But labor is no picnic either and Saben was big - 9lbs 4oz - and that was being born a week early. AND the doctor keeps telling me your 2nd child is usually bigger.
Right now I think I may just keep the c-section scheduled a few days before my due date but go ahead with a VBAC if I go into spontaneous labor before that.
I think I've been so obsessed with putting in the new garden in our backyard that the time has just flown by. And everytime I get a cute little girl outfit I still feel shocked that its really happening. My official prediction is that she's going to arrive with dark hair - like the women on Kyle's side of the family. I'm not sure why I think that, maybe just trying to not get my hopes up for a redhead. My redhaired uncle had 3 non-redheads and neither of my parents have red hair, so its a weird thing.
The other day I was carrying saben on my shoulders (at a plant nursery of course) and realized that between my pregnancy weight and him, my legs had an added 60 pounds to support. Crazy, but I guess women do that sort of thing all the time.
And lastly, for the record, we still have no idea what we are going to name her. Ok, well maybe a few ideas, but nothing's decided. Its been so much harder this time, for some reason we just knew & agreed on Saben before he was even conceived, but we never really had a girl name we both loved. We like a few of them, but none have just seemed to be perfect. Maybe that's just the way it goes in real life.
The good news with this pregnancy is that I have had hardly any signs of pre-eclampsia. I don't quite remember when they hit with Saben, but it seems to me that I started having some warning signs at least a few months in advance. I am finally getting hopeful that I won't have the problems I had last time but the doctor did still send a blood pressure cuff home with me so that I can keep an eye on things as the due date nears. (last time my blood pressure sky rocketed from normal to dangerous levels in about 4 days and complications kept us in the hospital for 5 days after Saben was born)
The scary part about all this for me is that now I actually have to make a real decision about whether or not to have another c-section or to try for a VBAC. Part of me almost hoped that I would have pre-eclampsia again because it would make the decision a lot easier - cesarian for sure. Now I just don't know, it is all so confusing and there are pros & cons either way. Even though a c-section sometimes sounds nice because its all planned out & predictable, I HATE getting cut open while concious. I actually asked the doctor if they could put me under when I found out I had to have one with Saben because mentally it was my worst nightmare. I can't even watch other people chop things with knives or shave with razor blades and I used to pass out when I had shots. But labor is no picnic either and Saben was big - 9lbs 4oz - and that was being born a week early. AND the doctor keeps telling me your 2nd child is usually bigger.
Right now I think I may just keep the c-section scheduled a few days before my due date but go ahead with a VBAC if I go into spontaneous labor before that.
I think I've been so obsessed with putting in the new garden in our backyard that the time has just flown by. And everytime I get a cute little girl outfit I still feel shocked that its really happening. My official prediction is that she's going to arrive with dark hair - like the women on Kyle's side of the family. I'm not sure why I think that, maybe just trying to not get my hopes up for a redhead. My redhaired uncle had 3 non-redheads and neither of my parents have red hair, so its a weird thing.
The other day I was carrying saben on my shoulders (at a plant nursery of course) and realized that between my pregnancy weight and him, my legs had an added 60 pounds to support. Crazy, but I guess women do that sort of thing all the time.
And lastly, for the record, we still have no idea what we are going to name her. Ok, well maybe a few ideas, but nothing's decided. Its been so much harder this time, for some reason we just knew & agreed on Saben before he was even conceived, but we never really had a girl name we both loved. We like a few of them, but none have just seemed to be perfect. Maybe that's just the way it goes in real life.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
Spring Cleaning
"There are few rites of spring more satisfying than the annual clean."
~Martha Stewart
Oh Martha. And seriously? Pink rooms? The May 2007 cover, in case you missed it features a room with pink walls, pink trim, pink fireplace mantle, pink mirror and a pink chair all in the exact same shade. I just don't think painting and entire room pink is going to do it for me. Maybe I am getting old and behind in the trends, but ugh.
Between my new garden and 2nd trimester nesting instincts, I've been keeping very busy and even flirted with spring cleaning. However, the glowing colors of the spring garden have been more satisfying than the cleaning, probably because I didn't quite complete the 200 things to clean on Martha's list. The tops of my doors are indeed still dusty. But I did take a trip to the dump, scrubbed the stove, mopped the whole house and even cleaned/rebuilt our BBQ. I feel like I am exhausted every night, but its nice to be busy/energetic and I can't wait for my plant shopping trip this weekend in Seattle with Kelley.
Saben has been busy too, did I mention he took his temper tantrums to a whole new level exactly a week after he turned two? He threw a big one at a plant nursery and he was kicking and screaming as I held him and it actually made me laugh because it was so new and funny. The sales lady who was helping us didn't think it was quite as funny. He also loves to...
~Martha Stewart
Oh Martha. And seriously? Pink rooms? The May 2007 cover, in case you missed it features a room with pink walls, pink trim, pink fireplace mantle, pink mirror and a pink chair all in the exact same shade. I just don't think painting and entire room pink is going to do it for me. Maybe I am getting old and behind in the trends, but ugh.
Between my new garden and 2nd trimester nesting instincts, I've been keeping very busy and even flirted with spring cleaning. However, the glowing colors of the spring garden have been more satisfying than the cleaning, probably because I didn't quite complete the 200 things to clean on Martha's list. The tops of my doors are indeed still dusty. But I did take a trip to the dump, scrubbed the stove, mopped the whole house and even cleaned/rebuilt our BBQ. I feel like I am exhausted every night, but its nice to be busy/energetic and I can't wait for my plant shopping trip this weekend in Seattle with Kelley.
Saben has been busy too, did I mention he took his temper tantrums to a whole new level exactly a week after he turned two? He threw a big one at a plant nursery and he was kicking and screaming as I held him and it actually made me laugh because it was so new and funny. The sales lady who was helping us didn't think it was quite as funny. He also loves to...
- Shout no and run away when he doesn't want to do something
- Carry keys, pennies, or something he's attached to that day everywhere with him.
- Say "Train coming down the track, clickety clack" every time he hears a train whistle (its from a book)
- Sing "ring around the rosie" and other songs. "ALL FALL DOWN!"
- Talk in his growly voice when he wants something (aka demon voice)
- Cry whenever anything is put away, even if he is done with it. Especially meal items he hasn't finished and has no intention of finishing.
- Sit at his new little table or in big chairs. We don't even bother trying to get him into highchairs anymore.
- Seeing his grownup friends, relatives and grandparents. If we tell him we're seeing someone in the evening, he talks about it all day and is in a great mood.
- His Daddy. Lately he's been very attached to Daddy time and had the best time ever spending the day with just daddy this last Saturday. When I finally got home & kyle wanted to leave, Saben cried and cried and cried till kyle gave up and stayed with us.
- His new haircut! Yes, we finally cut his hair for the first time ever last Tuesday night. It looked so different, it definitely took some getting used to, but I love it. He cried the whole time & I held his head still while Daddy cut it, but since he got a treat at the end he has started asking for haircuts all the time now.
I could go on and on, but its time to watch some Seinfeld and go to bed.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Rheum palmatum v. tanguticum
Phlox Stolonifera 'pink ridge'
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Easter
We spent Easter weekend in Seattle visiting a few friends we hadn't seen in a long time. Saturday afternoon, we drove down and Kyle and I both got to do what we miss most about Seattle - Kyle went dirt jumping at Greenlake and I got to visit Swansons Nursery for inspiration and to find exciting unusual plants.
Saben got to watch his Daddy jump on his bike for one of the first times ever. He really preferred riding like this to watching, while mommy closed her eyes and daddy rode gently over all the jumps. We went to dinner and spent the night with our old neighbors then headed to our old church and got to see more friends and all their cute new babies. Finally it was off to my brother & sister in laws new house where they were hosting the family for Easter dinner.
Saben loved the easter egg hunt, especially since he was the only participant.
Prego at Easter
Saben got to watch his Daddy jump on his bike for one of the first times ever. He really preferred riding like this to watching, while mommy closed her eyes and daddy rode gently over all the jumps. We went to dinner and spent the night with our old neighbors then headed to our old church and got to see more friends and all their cute new babies. Finally it was off to my brother & sister in laws new house where they were hosting the family for Easter dinner.
Saben loved the easter egg hunt, especially since he was the only participant.
Prego at Easter
Then it was candy time....
...and sugar high time. This is the part where Saben spun around on his bum on the floor for a while, right before he shouted "come out" for about 30 minutes from his crib where he was supposed to be napping.
Todd & Betsy made a wonderful meal and we headed home stuffed with saben finally napping in the car.
An afternoon when Mommy was raging with creativity and managed to create these things that sort of resemble turtles. 
"Pretty please? I'll give you this fabulous chalk if you'll just come over here and open these presents....It's so much fun!"
Finally lured him over and the kids pounced on the toys while mom keeps opening gifts.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Saben's 2nd Bday
Behind yet again...
Saben's birthday was a success, his favorite part was having everyone he knows all together. Its funny because I was worried about having such a big party with so many grownups, but I think he loved the attention and seeing all his grandparents, great grandparents, Aunts & Uncles, etc. Each time someone arrived he would give a delighted squeal and run to the door to open it for them. Very cute.
For games, I bought an $8 bubble machine at target, which we ran inside since it was pouring rain that day. Saben, Audrey & Linus loved it and the adults were amused as well. (After all, it does shoot "up to 10,000 bubbles in minutes!" and features "Turbo Bubble Technology")
Then we played a game my mom said we played at my 3rd birthday - find the peanuts. It was perfect for this age, we just laid peanuts (in the shell) all over the house and gave the kids bags to go find them. Sort of like easter egg hunt practice. I was so worried they weren't going to want to do it, but they all got to "work", looking more determined than playful, but seemed to enjoy the task. Saben did figure out how salty the shells were and managed to chew one whole before we caught it. And he loved trying to shell the peanuts.
Presents were completely overwhelming for him yet again, I ended up opening most of them, but he loved playing with everything like the tunnels/tent set from my parents, the wheelbarrow gardening set from Menards, the hardhat & beads from Audrey....I could list every gift but that might get a bit dull right? And of course Mommy loved all the cute new clothes.
My Dads mom came to visit from Texas for a few days before & after the party and we had a lot of fun catching up with her. Saben is still talking about "Great Grandma" all the time, especially since my mom's parents were also at the birthday party. Great Grandma Voelker also gave him a little book she wrote for Christmas about Bobo the penguin and its been one of his favorites lately. (Along with the Carrot Seed from Todd and Betsy. Actally I don't know the title, but that's what he calls it. And don't worry Shauna, the "Ant on Tracks" book was his favorite till he got all the new Bday books. Kyle's favorite is Gossie.)
Pictures coming soon!
Saben's birthday was a success, his favorite part was having everyone he knows all together. Its funny because I was worried about having such a big party with so many grownups, but I think he loved the attention and seeing all his grandparents, great grandparents, Aunts & Uncles, etc. Each time someone arrived he would give a delighted squeal and run to the door to open it for them. Very cute.
For games, I bought an $8 bubble machine at target, which we ran inside since it was pouring rain that day. Saben, Audrey & Linus loved it and the adults were amused as well. (After all, it does shoot "up to 10,000 bubbles in minutes!" and features "Turbo Bubble Technology")
Then we played a game my mom said we played at my 3rd birthday - find the peanuts. It was perfect for this age, we just laid peanuts (in the shell) all over the house and gave the kids bags to go find them. Sort of like easter egg hunt practice. I was so worried they weren't going to want to do it, but they all got to "work", looking more determined than playful, but seemed to enjoy the task. Saben did figure out how salty the shells were and managed to chew one whole before we caught it. And he loved trying to shell the peanuts.
Presents were completely overwhelming for him yet again, I ended up opening most of them, but he loved playing with everything like the tunnels/tent set from my parents, the wheelbarrow gardening set from Menards, the hardhat & beads from Audrey....I could list every gift but that might get a bit dull right? And of course Mommy loved all the cute new clothes.
My Dads mom came to visit from Texas for a few days before & after the party and we had a lot of fun catching up with her. Saben is still talking about "Great Grandma" all the time, especially since my mom's parents were also at the birthday party. Great Grandma Voelker also gave him a little book she wrote for Christmas about Bobo the penguin and its been one of his favorites lately. (Along with the Carrot Seed from Todd and Betsy. Actally I don't know the title, but that's what he calls it. And don't worry Shauna, the "Ant on Tracks" book was his favorite till he got all the new Bday books. Kyle's favorite is Gossie.)
Pictures coming soon!
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Mommy Keziah
We have two friends who are siblings named Luke and Keziah.
Luke is also Saben's middle name and I tend to use it when I am being stern or he is doing something naughty.
So this morning I go "Saben Luke.....!"
and he looks at me and goes "Mommy Keziah!"
Luke is also Saben's middle name and I tend to use it when I am being stern or he is doing something naughty.
So this morning I go "Saben Luke.....!"
and he looks at me and goes "Mommy Keziah!"
Friday, March 23, 2007
cupcakes
1. Cherry Chip cupcakes are just as wonderful as they were 20+ years ago when I requested them for every birthday.
2. When the box says to fill 24 cupcakes 2/3 full, this isn't just a suggestion by someone who likes lots of small cupcakes. Going for 16 cupcakes filled fully full is folly.
2. When the box says to fill 24 cupcakes 2/3 full, this isn't just a suggestion by someone who likes lots of small cupcakes. Going for 16 cupcakes filled fully full is folly.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Seasonal Mood Disorder
I think that's what its called, you know, where you get depressed in the winter because of a lack of sunlight and supposedly most of Seattle has it? (and the NW)
Back in the days when I was a student or worked in an office building downtown, I would pat myself on the back for being a NW native and not suffering from SMD. All my whiny california transplant friends would moan and groan about the lack of sun and how awful it was. Thank goodness I was used to it and it didn't bother me, in fact I barely noticed the rain. Quite a trooper eh?
I think the reason I was previously immune is because I was always stuck at work or studying or scurrying around and was not COOPED UP IN THE HOUSE WITH A BORED TWO YEAR OLD.
Oh, how things change when you are a stay at home mom. Rain is no longer a minor inconvenience. It still has its charms, don't get me wrong, but the minuses increase substantially. All my coats are filthy from picking saben up when he has muddy feet. Extra clothes to change, more time standing in the rain trying to get a squirming kid into a car seat, set up strollers, etc. Not to mention the lack of indoor "Rock in Water!" opportunities. (Saben's favorite thing in the world is throwing rocks into water, especially on the beach)
All this to say, it was gorgeous today and my mood was fabulous. I got a ton done. Yesterday it rained ALL DAY, I was in a crummy crummy mood and was unmotivated to anything but sit on the couch. This has become a common pattern despite my Native NW ancestory.
So be careful when you think you love the rain & don't mind our weather. Try being at home with kids in it for a few years first. At the very least it will temper your judgement upon us whiny folks who long for the sunshine.
Here's to lovin the sun!
Back in the days when I was a student or worked in an office building downtown, I would pat myself on the back for being a NW native and not suffering from SMD. All my whiny california transplant friends would moan and groan about the lack of sun and how awful it was. Thank goodness I was used to it and it didn't bother me, in fact I barely noticed the rain. Quite a trooper eh?
I think the reason I was previously immune is because I was always stuck at work or studying or scurrying around and was not COOPED UP IN THE HOUSE WITH A BORED TWO YEAR OLD.
Oh, how things change when you are a stay at home mom. Rain is no longer a minor inconvenience. It still has its charms, don't get me wrong, but the minuses increase substantially. All my coats are filthy from picking saben up when he has muddy feet. Extra clothes to change, more time standing in the rain trying to get a squirming kid into a car seat, set up strollers, etc. Not to mention the lack of indoor "Rock in Water!" opportunities. (Saben's favorite thing in the world is throwing rocks into water, especially on the beach)
All this to say, it was gorgeous today and my mood was fabulous. I got a ton done. Yesterday it rained ALL DAY, I was in a crummy crummy mood and was unmotivated to anything but sit on the couch. This has become a common pattern despite my Native NW ancestory.
So be careful when you think you love the rain & don't mind our weather. Try being at home with kids in it for a few years first. At the very least it will temper your judgement upon us whiny folks who long for the sunshine.
Here's to lovin the sun!
Today's News in Review
I decided I'm going to start posting a little news reviews so you can come to my blog each day to find out what is going on in the world. Here's the summary from Komo News for today:
- Local: Lots of people died in awful ways that will all flash through your mind everytime you contemplate letting your child do anything besides sit in a chair. (maybe the floor would be safer. In a locked safe. Why can't we deposit our children at the bank? What a great idea...!)
- Sports: Seattle sports teams aren't doing very well
- Weather: Its raining and stormy with some sunbreaks (actually that was probably the top news story)
- Nation: Everyone's mad at politicians
Who am I kidding, just read this every day for your news fix, I'm not posting it again.
Birthday Madness
March 12 (me), March 26 (Saben), & April 3rd (Kyle). For 4 weeks, it is birthday bonanza around here...thank goodness our next one is in July.
Last week some sweet sweet friends threw me a suprise party. It was three days after my actual birthday and on a Thursday evening so I didn't expect a thing. Until Kyle told me maybe I should change my ratty shirt before we went to dinner at a friend's house. But even then I brushed the thought aside and had completely forgotten about it by the time we reached our destination.
It was such a treat to be surrounded with so many friends, both old & new and wonderful to see everyone for a few hours. Thanks to Andi for cramming everyone into her house, to Vale for organizing everything and for everyone else who showed up to help us celebrate. And to my husband who somehow thinks he gets LOTS of credit when all he did was invite people. (ok, fine he does get some credit because he did a great job & so many wonderful people were there)
Saben's party is on Saturday and I love having it that day since he was born on Sunday just after midnight. It seems so strange to celebrate his birth on a Monday when all my memories are of going to the hospital on a Friday & laboring on a Saturday. So tons to do to get ready and lots of relatives in town this weekend. My grandmother from Texas is even flying in for a visit, so we'll be pretty busy making sure everyone gets their Saben time.
At some point though, I hope to write a little Saben List so I can remember what he was like at 2 years old.
Last week some sweet sweet friends threw me a suprise party. It was three days after my actual birthday and on a Thursday evening so I didn't expect a thing. Until Kyle told me maybe I should change my ratty shirt before we went to dinner at a friend's house. But even then I brushed the thought aside and had completely forgotten about it by the time we reached our destination.
It was such a treat to be surrounded with so many friends, both old & new and wonderful to see everyone for a few hours. Thanks to Andi for cramming everyone into her house, to Vale for organizing everything and for everyone else who showed up to help us celebrate. And to my husband who somehow thinks he gets LOTS of credit when all he did was invite people. (ok, fine he does get some credit because he did a great job & so many wonderful people were there)
Saben's party is on Saturday and I love having it that day since he was born on Sunday just after midnight. It seems so strange to celebrate his birth on a Monday when all my memories are of going to the hospital on a Friday & laboring on a Saturday. So tons to do to get ready and lots of relatives in town this weekend. My grandmother from Texas is even flying in for a visit, so we'll be pretty busy making sure everyone gets their Saben time.
At some point though, I hope to write a little Saben List so I can remember what he was like at 2 years old.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
San Francisco
Thursday: Travel day
After a rough morning of packing (me) and whining (saben) and an equally rough car ride with more whining from you know who, we finally arrived at our destination - the "TRAIN IN TUNNEL". Also known as the airport which just happens to have an underground subway thingy that is heaven for everyone under the age of 5. (or 12?)
After 3 loops around the train in tunnel, we boarded our plane. Unprepared parents that we are, I waited until Saben actually started screaming to start trying to get him to eat/suck/swallow. Whoops. After 20 minutes of crying, a stinky poop filled diaper and finally a grand finale vomit in his seat, we swore to never fly with our son again. Luckily entertaining his parents with these antics wore saben out so he slept on landing. Phew.
Connor (who is 9 months older than saben) had been talking about Saben coming to visit all day long and meticulously listing off every item he planned to share with his new friend to his parents, caregivers & anyone who would listen. After the most delicious carne asada tacos & fresh mango drink EVER, we went home and stuck the boys in the bath together to help get them acquainted. After the new buddies were in bed, we had a blast getting caught up with Andy & Julie (he's a childhood friend of Kyles, both lived in Seattle when we were there) and then stole their bed - they slept on a futon in Connor's room.
Friday:
The day was cloudy-ish, but at 65 degrees, who can complain? We all drove over to Marin park, oogled the golden gate bridge & smelled the green things growing. A little farther on we hiked/slid down a trail to our own secluded rocky beach where all four boys played "Rocks in Water" while mommies basked on the sunny rocks.
After a rough morning of packing (me) and whining (saben) and an equally rough car ride with more whining from you know who, we finally arrived at our destination - the "TRAIN IN TUNNEL". Also known as the airport which just happens to have an underground subway thingy that is heaven for everyone under the age of 5. (or 12?)
After 3 loops around the train in tunnel, we boarded our plane. Unprepared parents that we are, I waited until Saben actually started screaming to start trying to get him to eat/suck/swallow. Whoops. After 20 minutes of crying, a stinky poop filled diaper and finally a grand finale vomit in his seat, we swore to never fly with our son again. Luckily entertaining his parents with these antics wore saben out so he slept on landing. Phew.
Connor (who is 9 months older than saben) had been talking about Saben coming to visit all day long and meticulously listing off every item he planned to share with his new friend to his parents, caregivers & anyone who would listen. After the most delicious carne asada tacos & fresh mango drink EVER, we went home and stuck the boys in the bath together to help get them acquainted. After the new buddies were in bed, we had a blast getting caught up with Andy & Julie (he's a childhood friend of Kyles, both lived in Seattle when we were there) and then stole their bed - they slept on a futon in Connor's room.
Friday:
The day was cloudy-ish, but at 65 degrees, who can complain? We all drove over to Marin park, oogled the golden gate bridge & smelled the green things growing. A little farther on we hiked/slid down a trail to our own secluded rocky beach where all four boys played "Rocks in Water" while mommies basked on the sunny rocks.
After lunch in cute cute Sausalito, the guys towed the grumpy tired boys home for a nap while Julie & I went shopping in a fun, but expensive little district. On the way home we stopped by the hispanic markets & got 8 limes for a buck, huge avocados, warm corn tortillas and some recommended "quesadilla" cheese for an evening snack.
In the evening, the guys went out for drinks with some friends they both knew from high school, while the rest of us stayed home & watched "Potty Elmo". After watching grown men singing in falsetto about pooping and peeing and hearing one full hour of poop and pee talk Saben decided he wanted to sit on Connor's potty chair and Mommy decided she was never ever watching another Elmo video. Saben didn't actually go potty, but he kept peeking down to see if anything was happening as he sat there. It was adorable and Julie caught most of it on video so you can watch it next time you come over!
Saturday:
We headed down to the most fabulous farmers market I have ever seen and had breakfast in the sun on a dock. (scrambled eggs with arugula & herbs and roasted potatoes with onions) We gathered food for a picnic & couldn't resist getting some fresh greens, asparagus, pea shoots & green garlic for dinner as well.
We arrived at the zoo by 11am and spent a couple hours wandering around. Saben's favorite part was throwing food at the ducks (too bad we could have done this for free at a lake) and Connors favorite was feeding the goats (which Saben finally nervously tried).
We put the boys down for naps back at home, napped a bit ourselves & then started working on dinner. The fresh ravioli/Italian import store that I was excited to visit closed early because they had "sold everything" so we headed to Costco instead.
That night we dined with the friends Kyle & Andy had met up with the night before & they all reminisced about life at Liberty high school in Issaquah. Our little dinner party consisted of: a fertility doctor, a lawyer, a genetic counselor/scientist specializing in childhood abnormalities, a quantum physicist, a bike company owner and a stay at home mom. (those last two were us in case you couldn't tell). It was a pretty interesting evening.
Sunday: 75 degrees & Sunny
We slept in a bit and then headed out to the ocean to play on the beach. It was insanely gorgeous.
The boys played in the sand & flew a kite while Julie & I layed in the sun & watched the surfers. Then we walked down to the water & disaster struck!
A wave came in and instead of enjoying the cold water swirling around their feet, both boys panicked. Saben ran crying while Connor... well I think you can see for yourself, he's the one with the 14 on his shirt. Luckily I got this picture, which had me in hysterics the first 10 times I looked at it.
In the afternoon Kyle & I went down to Fishermans wharf while the boys napped and had a great time just wandering by ourselves. We shared a whole crab for lunch/snack and even got to hold hands which were miraculously empty of sippy cups & children. We met back up at a park & enjoyed swings & the sunset over the city.
Andy & Julie were such awesome hosts, it was awesome to see them again and we had SO MUCH FUN hanging out with them all weekend. It was so cute to watch Saben and Connor play together & interact, they only had 2 or 3 little fights the entire time and both of them woke up each morning asking to go play with the other one.
Monday:
My 30th birthday began with Saben waking up midnight as we went to bed and then spending the next four hours in and out of sleep, standing in his crib and asking to get out and play with Connor. (He was sleeping in our room and it is extremely unusual for him to have trouble sleeping) He finally zonked out at 4am and at 6:30 am we got up to go to the airport.
8:30 am at the airport, we gave him some Benadryl to help him on the plane ride. 8:45 we found out our flight was cancelled due to engine trouble. We somehow got the ticketing agent to get us one of the last few seats on a noon flight out of San Jose after he initially told us we wouldn't be able to fly till 3pm. When he said 3pm I was nearly in tears, exhausted and ready to spend most of my birthday waiting in airports with a cranky 2 yr old. Plus that would have gotten us to Seattle just in time for rush hour traffic.
Luckily we did get on the noon flight and things turned to the better as Saben slept on the shuttle to San Jose (after drunkenly staggering around under the influence of the Benadryl), he was perfect on the flight to Seattle despite being awake the whole time and we just barely slipped north before the worst of the rush hour traffic began.
Friends watched Saben that night and we got to enjoy a romantic dinner at Flats Tapas bar before coming home and passing out early into bed.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
And the winner is...
It's a GIRL!!!!
We had our ultrasound this morning and the doctor got a good look. I was so relieved because it has felt like a girl and been a girl in my mind this entire time. It would have been so exciting to give Saben a brother too - just more shocking for me. I think I would have been blissfully happy and a tiny bit regretful either way. Kyle is estatic because now he thinks he wins the argument about 2 kids or 3. We'll just wait and see about that I guess. (I am not committed to 3, but I don't want to decide right now)
Hooray for dresses and tights!
We had our ultrasound this morning and the doctor got a good look. I was so relieved because it has felt like a girl and been a girl in my mind this entire time. It would have been so exciting to give Saben a brother too - just more shocking for me. I think I would have been blissfully happy and a tiny bit regretful either way. Kyle is estatic because now he thinks he wins the argument about 2 kids or 3. We'll just wait and see about that I guess. (I am not committed to 3, but I don't want to decide right now)
Hooray for dresses and tights!
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Ultrasound
Well its probably way too late now, but if you manage to see this before we announce our ultrasound results tomorrow, let me know whether you think its a girl or a boy. Maybe I'll even do a drawing if enough people answer.
Hurray!
Hurray!
Pregnancy update - 20 wks
I just felt like making note of how the pregnancy is going and particularly all the details I can't seem to remember from being pregnant with saben. Here goes.
I started feeling "baby" kick right at 17 weeks and its slowly been getting stronger. I felt it before that actually, but I wasn't positive it wasn't gas until 17 weeks. I can sometimes feel the bumps with my hand, but I think Saben was a lot more active. I remember thinking that it was really early for people to feel him and even maybe being able to see him move during my ultrasound. But I'm not positive... Now I am thinking my parents didn't feel him till thanksgiving which would have been about 22 weeks. Beats me.
About 2 weeks ago, I started noticing a change in my circulation (more tingling) and slight swelling in my ankles. Ugh! That started me worrying about pre-eclampsia (aka Toxemia, hypertension) since I had a bad case of it with Saben. I've started doing a prenatal yoga video which seems to help the circulation issue a lot. I hope the exercise will help prevent preeclampsia as well, but no one really seems to know how to prevent it, except for the guy who swears by eating 12 eggs in 12 hours. GROSS.
That's about it. I crave different things all the time, but salt is a big one. I had sushi, edamame and miso tonite and feel so great. For some reason gorging on sushi always feels wonderful afterwards. Like I'm full, but not sick & I'm full of energy. Maybe it was the oolong tea actually. I'm in love with the oolong kyle brought back from taiwan. mmmm....
Oh, and citrus - I've been making fresh lemonade & limeade constantly. Its good though, I'd rather have a glass of lemonade (lots of lemon, lots of sugar) than a bowl of ice cream....
I started feeling "baby" kick right at 17 weeks and its slowly been getting stronger. I felt it before that actually, but I wasn't positive it wasn't gas until 17 weeks. I can sometimes feel the bumps with my hand, but I think Saben was a lot more active. I remember thinking that it was really early for people to feel him and even maybe being able to see him move during my ultrasound. But I'm not positive... Now I am thinking my parents didn't feel him till thanksgiving which would have been about 22 weeks. Beats me.
About 2 weeks ago, I started noticing a change in my circulation (more tingling) and slight swelling in my ankles. Ugh! That started me worrying about pre-eclampsia (aka Toxemia, hypertension) since I had a bad case of it with Saben. I've started doing a prenatal yoga video which seems to help the circulation issue a lot. I hope the exercise will help prevent preeclampsia as well, but no one really seems to know how to prevent it, except for the guy who swears by eating 12 eggs in 12 hours. GROSS.
That's about it. I crave different things all the time, but salt is a big one. I had sushi, edamame and miso tonite and feel so great. For some reason gorging on sushi always feels wonderful afterwards. Like I'm full, but not sick & I'm full of energy. Maybe it was the oolong tea actually. I'm in love with the oolong kyle brought back from taiwan. mmmm....
Oh, and citrus - I've been making fresh lemonade & limeade constantly. Its good though, I'd rather have a glass of lemonade (lots of lemon, lots of sugar) than a bowl of ice cream....
crazy
Wow, what a crazy couple of weeks. First of all, if anyone had told me last night I'd be wearing a tanktop and applying sunscreen today, I would have told them to shut their trap. But what a wonderful morning (the sun left around 1pm) and it is still 60 outside! It is actually warmer here than it is in San Francisco which is where we're heading in a couple days to visit some friends.
Last week we had house guests for five days - our friend Nancy & her two kids. For some reason I was filled with a ton of energy for the first few days and flew around making dinners, muffins, cheesecake.... I really don't know what got into me. But Thursday rolled around and both her kids got sick & were just miserable/crying for much of the day. I felt worst for her having to handle it all, but it definitely drained me too. (what is it about crying kids that just sucks the energy right out of you?) By Friday Saben was getting clingy too and when we all climbed into the car to ride to the airport the silence was such a relief. But overall we really had fun spending the last few days with them before their move to Arizona and Saben loved having kids around to play with all the time. Every morning he is still asking "Abbey and Ethan upstairs?" Poor guy. Oh, and don't worry Andi, I bawled my head off once we pulled away from the airport.
Saturday we attended the lovely wedding of our friends Jeff & Jenny after spending the night with Kyle's parents and attending his cousins bridal shower. The wedding & reception were so beautiful and it was so wonderful to see all our "old" friends again. Unfortunately I felt like a complete potato, I was so tired and drained from non-stop people time that I could barely carry on a conversation. Kyle more than made up for me though, what a chatterbox. : )
Sunday my family came to visit to celebrate Kyle & my birthdays just a bit early (I'm 30 on Monday!!) and we had a nice lunch & got an awsome gas patio heater to keep our BBQs and late night partying toasty this summer. Saben loved seeing Todd & Betsy again and first thing the next morning he says "Bye bye Todd and Betsy".
Tomorrow is our ultrasound and then we leave for a short vacation to San Francisco. Phew!!!
After all the excitement, I'm going to be bored out of my gourd when we get back. Except then there's Saben's bday to plan. Save the date.... party time 10am, March 24th!
Last week we had house guests for five days - our friend Nancy & her two kids. For some reason I was filled with a ton of energy for the first few days and flew around making dinners, muffins, cheesecake.... I really don't know what got into me. But Thursday rolled around and both her kids got sick & were just miserable/crying for much of the day. I felt worst for her having to handle it all, but it definitely drained me too. (what is it about crying kids that just sucks the energy right out of you?) By Friday Saben was getting clingy too and when we all climbed into the car to ride to the airport the silence was such a relief. But overall we really had fun spending the last few days with them before their move to Arizona and Saben loved having kids around to play with all the time. Every morning he is still asking "Abbey and Ethan upstairs?" Poor guy. Oh, and don't worry Andi, I bawled my head off once we pulled away from the airport.
Saturday we attended the lovely wedding of our friends Jeff & Jenny after spending the night with Kyle's parents and attending his cousins bridal shower. The wedding & reception were so beautiful and it was so wonderful to see all our "old" friends again. Unfortunately I felt like a complete potato, I was so tired and drained from non-stop people time that I could barely carry on a conversation. Kyle more than made up for me though, what a chatterbox. : )
Sunday my family came to visit to celebrate Kyle & my birthdays just a bit early (I'm 30 on Monday!!) and we had a nice lunch & got an awsome gas patio heater to keep our BBQs and late night partying toasty this summer. Saben loved seeing Todd & Betsy again and first thing the next morning he says "Bye bye Todd and Betsy".
Tomorrow is our ultrasound and then we leave for a short vacation to San Francisco. Phew!!!
After all the excitement, I'm going to be bored out of my gourd when we get back. Except then there's Saben's bday to plan. Save the date.... party time 10am, March 24th!
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