Playdate with Bella!

Ian really didn't want to leave the house this morning. I had some things to load into the car, and asked him to come out with me. He said, "No! Bye, bye mommy!" So I walked out to the car and shut the door behind me. When I came back, he was still happily playing in his room. He saw me out of the corner of his eye, and dismissively said, "Bye mommy!" I thought I would see just how much he was really willing to stick with this, so I walked just outside the door and waited.

Three lonnng minutes later...(I think that was 1 minute for playing, and 2 minutes to search all corners of the house for me?)...

I hear fumbling at the door handle, then whining of frustration, and finally, I can tell he presses his face right to the crack of the door because of the volume..."MOOOMMMYYY NOOO, BAACCKK!!! MOOOMMY!" I admit it, I let him cry out a few times! Then, opened the door acting surprised and said, "Oh I heard you, but you said b--" and he completely cut me off running straight for the car!

On the way, he amuses himself by playing with a bag of Little People we brought with us. Only problem is the Little People ended up on the floor of the car. This brought on a full-fledged tantrum that lasted until we FINALLY arrived at Anna's house for a playdate with Bella.

Oh, but it wasn't over...that was only 10 minutes! Once I finally managed to get my screaming child into the door, the tantrum continued as he insisted that no one else touch the toys we brought in with us! Ian, oh my dear little sweet boy that I love so much, you most definitely get this side from your dad! :P

I mention this fit because the play date went so well, he threw a huge tantrum the ENTIRE way home. Screams of, "WANT PLAY! GO BACK! PLAY!" were a wonderful reminder that mommy does indeed know best, and I'm not actually torturing my child by making him play with other kids. (It really wasn't a concern mind you, but the "You were right, mom," in the form of screaming is always nice to hear...well, perhaps better without the screaming?).

Truly it was a wonderful play date! Watching Bella and Ian interact was so amusing, Anna and I both found ourselves laughing at their curious interactions. The way they gradually warmed up to eachother was endearing, and by the end of the play date I think they had actually figured out how to share! I learned a lot about how to help the process too. (And you must know, Ian really is the one who needed more help with sharing, that little stinker!).

One of my favorite moments was when Bella decided that Ian's hair needed brushing. He tolerated it for an instant, and was off playing again. Bella patiently waited for him to be still, and was trying to brush his hair once again! "No, STOP!" Ian would say, and Bella (unphased) would try again a few seconds later. Adorable!

From 02.2009 - MISC

Ian also loved pretending to ride on the not-so-little pink horse. I'll have to be sure to grab a blackmail photo of that one. Daddy will love it!

Watching them play made both of us (we have the same due date, only she is having a little boy!) think that even though it is truly heart-warming to watch our children play with eachother...how much more amazing it will be to watch the siblings interact and grow together.

I'm so glad that God has blessed our lives with a beautiful family to share wonderful memories! :)

But happy are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God. -Ps. 146:5 (NLT)

A classic kids question...

So, we've asked Ian, and he's pretty good...

What does a cow say? "MOOOO!"
What does a pig say? "OINK!"
What does a dog say? "WOOF! WOOF!"

And oh, if only I had a video camera running at this one! Just for fun I ask him a new (and non-rehearsed) question...

What does Ian say? (He stares at me for a few seconds, and I have to repeat the question...)
What does Ian say? "NO!" (With the biggest smile on his face).

I think this qualifies as one of those truly priceless moments! I will treasure this one for a long time! :)

Spork of Doom!

We have had a very nice weekend...at least I think we did...I can't remember any of it right now! Yes, that is what we call pregnancy brain! (Of course, Matt says it really doesn't matter, but anyyyyway...) :D

Thursday night we had a bit of excitement. The idea was to go to the pool, wear him out, treat at Taco Bell, and crash at home! Then, introduce the next character of our drama...the SPORK OF DOOM! (Dun-dun-duhhhhh!)

From 02.2009 - MISC

As you can tell, the spork isn't in one piece...that's because Ian swallowed that part!

(Now, we have eaten at Taco Bell with him many times, and even used the sporks with no problem. Comparing with the extra ones we have at home, this one is indeed manufactured out of a more brittle plastic. Lesson learned: subject all plastic utensils to stress-testing before surrendering to the toddler!)

We were faced with the parental predicament of going to the emergency room or not...and decided since we are blessed with 100% ER coverage, we'd exercise the benefit. Especially since this was not exactly an innocent piece of plastic! (Sharp edges, aaah!)

As much as everyone knows I am irritated by doctors and hospitals, I don't have a single complaint about this visit. We were in and out within 30 minutes. Matt kept him occupied by walking him up and down the hallway in the stroller. When he was checked out the main concern was that it was stuck in his mouth. Matt and I know he would have been screaming if that was the case, but better to check! Indeed Ian managed to swallow the chunk without doing any damage in his mouth (praise God!). Next concern would be doing damage internally, but we were sent home with instructions to watch him carefully for any other symptoms. (Who knows where the spork is?!) "Ninety-nine percent of the time, these things pass."

Of course, we were a little concerned, but God gave us peace when we laid our burden on Him, and we actually finished the rest of our nightly plan! SLEEP!

The following morning, I was on diaper patrol. As Matt joked, I now have the campaign ribbon for diaper investigations... Let me just say, I was fine with not having that one!

At any rate, as you may have assumed, I found the bit of spork, and no harm done!

Well there you have it folks, another parental rite of passage down!

That night brought to mind the experience that my own parents had when I swallowed the turn key off an alarm clock. Unfortunately, they didn't get sent home. I had to stay in the hospital for observation. I'm very thankful everything worked out the way it did for us this time!

All I'm left thinking is thank you God for looking out for us once again! :)

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. - 1 Peter 5:7

Swimming...with wings! :)

So, I could write a long post about how amazing it is to see our little fish getting better and better every time...but I'll let the video speak for itself!

I will add that I didn't have the camera out for the first 5-10 minutes he had them on...with the biggest smile on his face, and squeals of excitement that Matt and I agree are some of the happiest we have seen and heard. And, to reiterate how INDEPENDENT our little swimmer is - he wants to do it ON HIS OWN! (I think you can catch glimpses of that from the video). And lastly, how once we took them off due to his arms getting a little uncomfortably purple, he pitched a fit to put them back on again!!

It is such a blessing to have a little boy growing up before our very eyes. Matt and I are so overcome with joy at moments like these...it really is hard to put into words! :)

From 02.2009 - MISC

Swimming and Sunshine

Last night at the pool, I managed to grab some pictures of our little fish in training. He has so much fun, he literally squeals with delight! He recognizes the drive to the pool...as soon as we make the turn, he starts saying, "Swimmin, funnn!" Every night, it seems he gets braver and braver, throwing himself with reckless abandon into the water (and under it) from his little haven on the steps. Once we acquire some swim wings or something similar, I know he'll be thrilled to be swimming "on his own." A funny little moment NOT caught on film (I was putting the camera away *tear*) was when daddy threw Ian up in the air, and his swim trunks went floating away! Ian wanted desparately to get them and get dressed again! He knew that he was done with the pool though...finally he will surrender to coming out of the pool when he starts shivering (even telling us, "cold" on his own!). I'm so glad Matt found the pool!

From 02.2009 - MISC

We have some rain moving in tonight, but the forecast for next week is still rather mild. I'm looking forward to more park weather! I'm ready for spring! (Because spring is one step closer to summer! lol). Ian and I definitely are enjoying our walks outside in this beautiful weather...and my camera is loving some of the gorgeous views! :)

From 02.2009 - MISC

Struttin' it, Marine Corps Style!

Yesterday, Ian and I had a picnic lunch on base with Matt. We found a table near the parade deck, and several platoons were practicing drill. (Organized movements, coordinated marching, etc). So much was happening for Ian to observe! There were rifles being snapped around, Drill Instructors running around shouting commands, and recruits yelling in response, besides the marching that Ian obviously found fascinating!

From 02.2009 - MISC

I hope the video is clear enough to make out that he's trying to "step it out" like the recruits! He was even shouting babble words that might have been his attempts at, "Aye, Sir!" It was quite hilarious to watch! He's quite the little mimic. :)

33 Week Check-up

Yes, this week is the week of doctor visits! We braved the freezing weather and headed to my appointment (I truly was tempted to reschedule because of the weather, but I guess that's pretty sissy, LOL).

This was my best appointment EVER! I met with the doctor who is also the commander of the OB department - and I think I like him the best of the doctors I've seen. Hard to say, as literally I was in the room for 5 minutes. (Did I mention this was my favorite check-up?) :)

I measured right at 33cm, and weighed 165 (gained my pound per week like I'm supposed to, yay me, yay Zoe). My glucose results were back, and I got an "A" (110) - not that I had too much to do with that, but comforting anyway. Zoe's heart was beating strong too! Blood count normal...I think that's about it.

The only concern I mentioned were some of the hospital policies we weren't so happy about (3 hours of "transitional care" in the nursery after birth topping the list), and he said that was really only an issue for C-section babies. Besides, I'm praying that God-willing, the mother-baby nurse pairing will be in full swing by the time I deliver (in this case they would do everything right in the room with us).

This doctor was very interested in how I would rate my experience in "his" clinic compared to Lejeune, and I can tell he takes pride in running the office smoothly, and desires a more personal care level than occurs in some Naval hospitals. (I know this because he told me so). :P At any rate, overall, I have been as happy as I could be with the doctors, I think...and am glad and thankful that I am having such an uncomplicated pregnancy. It truly is a blessing I'm not taking for granted!

"Do you have any more questions?" Nope! See you in 2 weeks! :)

Doctor Check-Up

We started off February with his long overdue 18 month checkup...complete with developmental screening (actually sounds a lot more impressive than it is).

Ian weighed in at 24 pounds on the dot (25th percentile for those staticians out there), and 33 1/4 inches tall (75th percentile). I foget his head measurement, but it was 50th percentile. I don't care about the percents, I guess they're interesting, but I know the boy is growing - I've had to rotate some of his clothes out again!!

Everything else looked great, the doctor commented he was especially bright...I know all of the cute kids get told this! ;)

I was amazed at how well Ian behaved for the exam. He sat perfectly still while the doctor listened to his heart, looked in his ears and mouth, and overall prodded him! I'm waiting for the visit when he tries swiping at all of the fun doctor things, he definitely looked like he was thinking about it!

The doctor reminded us to keep all the outlets covered, keep chemicals out of reach, and start giving him time-outs if he was being naughty. I guess I can follow that "prescription" LOL.

We'll be back again when he turns two for the next regular checkup/screening (which is just a list of a billion questions regarding what he's doing and not doing). We also have an appointment with the allergist on Thursday to discuss his milk/strawberry allergy and other related items. I'll keep you updated on that! :)