Alexander Adventures!

Miss D at 2 months!

2012-02-10T08:30:00.001-08:00

Has it really already been two months? This goes by far too fast, especially when I know she'll be our last baby. :-(

At 2 months:
-Sleeps 5-6 hours a night (last night she did 7 1/2! Not sure if that's a good thing or not, but I sure appreciated it)
-Takes 3-4 naps, is usually still sleeping more than awake
-Baby party time is down to 9pm-11pm, so bedtime is creeping ever so slowly closer to brothers!
-Wears Carters 3 month sized clothes, although they are starting to get tight. 3-6 month sized in other brands
-Wears size 2 diaper
-REALLY talks and coos when she's being changed or standing on dada's lap
-Still seems to love brother the best!
-She'll kick up onto her side, but doesn't take the roll all the way over
-Sleeps in her wedge at night. Tried the bassinet once, woke up an hour later trying to suck on the sides, I guess she was still hungry!
-Loves her playmat, stares at the birds. Doesn't really grasp toys yet unless you put them in her hands, is just starting to bat at the hanging toys
-Music is good! She loves it just like her brother. If you sing to her the coos go nuts!
-Good at being out and about. Prefers her Ergo carrier to the carseat. I use the infant insert with her still, her legs are still too short to sit in the carrier without it. Makes her warm, but as we are usually outside when she's in it, that's a good thing. We are going to Leavenworth with Ryan, Cristy and Mackenzie this weekend, so the warm carrier will be just the thing for window shopping!
-Ollie continues to be great with her. We've been having some issues with attitude and refusing to follow directions, but it's always directed at Shawn and I, never Delilah (although, I did overhear him saying to her as she was in her swing "You're not that cute, you really aren't..." We had a bit of a talk after that one! It was hard not to laugh...)
-Oliver is so HUGE!!! I tried to carry him in from the car after a playdate yesterday; he was completely asleep. I pulled it off, but felt like I was carrying a teenager! His head was slumped over onto my shoulder and his feet were banging me below the knees. I know I'm no Amazon in the height department, but sheesh. This boy is going to be taller than me in 2nd grade!
-Speaking of school, I went to the Kinder info meeting at my school this week! Crazy to think that my "little" man is going to be in school this fall! We will be taking him to Creekside, and I'm really excited to think about all the good things that he will be learning! I ADORE my school, and can't imagine him going to school anywhere else.

I think that's about it for now. Love my kids!

Comparisons

2012-01-27T10:44:00.000-08:00

I know "they" say you shouldn't compare your kids (who IS this mysterious THEY anyway? And why are we supposed to listen to them?!?!), but it's not like I'm going to post "You know, now that we have Delilah and she is just so much more perfect than Oliver, we are giving him away" or "You know, Delilah really doesn't live up to her brother's mold, so away she goes"...This post is more about comparing looks and attributes at different stages in life. It's a way for me to hit memory lane with my son; was he ever as small as Delilah? The pictures say so, but when I had to carry him up the stairs today for "chill out time" in his room, I think the pictures lie...

Also, this is a way for me to participate in a long standing Smith/Fountain family ritual. Come on Smiths/Fountains, you ALL know what I'm talking about. It's "WHO DOES SHE/HE LOOK LIKE?" game. Drives my brother nuts when we all have get togethers and we start with the "He really looks like so and so" or "She has so and so's eyes". David has said on a few occasions "I look like me. Moving on..." Ha! Sorry brother, it's a genetic/behavioral imperative that we compare. Connects us to the past, to the people we are related to. So, I compared, especially with the help of Photoshop allowing me to find and put pictures together so easily. Hopefully, at some point in time I'll find and scan photos of Shawn and I at similar ages and let the games REALLY begin! (This activity is so vital to family wellness that I will be calling my mother after I post this to start hashing it out!)

For the sake of consistency, Oliver's photos will always be on the top or left, Delilah's on the bottom or right.

The official post birth weigh in. Something I noticed that hadn't really popped out at me before I did this was how PURPLE Oliver was. He spent the next 5 days on oxygen for immature/wet lungs, but I don't' think I realized the extent of his breathing issues at the start until I saw this! Also, he was so skinny! Delilah only had a pound on him, but he was longer. She also got about 4 more weeks to cook, so she came out screaming and pink. I remember thinking at her birth that they really didn't resemble each other. Oh how wrong that first impression was...

Daddy with his babies. Crazy how similar they are!

So, I officially make babies with a lot of hair who don't like to breathe...You all are pretty aware of Oliver's 16 day NICU stay, but might have missed our debacle with Delilah. When she was 4 days old, she decided to hold her breath while she was sleeping and turned white as a sheet. We brought her to Children's in Seattle where, after a 5 day stay, she was diagnosed with "apnea of prematurity". While she wasn't premature, apparently it's a breathing thing that can happen to kiddos until 44 weeks gestation. She was on caffeine until her 4 week birthday, and seems to be fine now. So, in some respects after Oliver's NICU stay we were pretty prepared for the Children's experience, but man, it sucks to see your kids hooked up to monitors and IV's, to be worried that they won't be well, that they hurt. All is well now, of course, but both of my babies are now on Premera Blue Cross's "expensive baby" list!

Going home! Delilah seems so much chunkier to me than Ollie was. It's also fun to see the difference between a summer baby and a winter baby!

This is a fun one; Oliver at 4 weeks, Delilah at 2. My dad noticed that she's got more "delicate" features than Oliver, ie somewhat the same nose, just smaller. I've noticed that her face is a lot rounder than his, but their expressions are soooo similar that it takes me down memory lane daily when she smiles just like her brother!

This one is the best! Same arms, same smile, just the same insane level of cute!

I hope you enjoyed this installment of "mama should really be taking Oliver out riding his bike on a sunny day, but instead she's playing with photoshop and the blog...."

Delilah at one month

2012-01-26T11:08:00.001-08:00

This is Delilah's "4 week" picture, I'm taking weekly pictures of her next to her bear (Ollie named him "Squeaky" because baby sister is so squeaky!) and her bumper to watch how she grows this year. Yes, it is pink overload...Mama loves having a girl!!!!

Just like her brother, she is a sweet, content little baby. She loves her swing, and has started really looking at things in the last week or so. Oliver asks me to stop the swing to give her "sweeties", where he goes over and rubs her forehead while he says "oooohhhh, Sweetie!" Melts me every time!

Speaking of her brother...In the last month, I swear Oliver has grown 4 inches and 10 lbs! People always told me when you bring #2 home, #1 will seem so HUGE and they were right, LOL. He has been AMAZING. We worried he'd be jealous, but I think since he's a bit older, he totally understands when mom needs to feed the baby and can't be with him right that instant. He's heard the phrase "you need to wait" quite a bit lately, but he takes it really well. It's also forced us to quit doing so much for him and he's becoming so much more independent! He loves her to pieces, and likes to get down on her mat and talk to her. He LOVES it when she smiles at him (which she does for him more than anyone else!); I'm sure her first giggles will be from something Oliver does, not for mom and dad!

With A LOT of supervision, Oliver has been warming up to carrying sissy and holding her (it took him about 4 days before he'd hold her when she came home).

Delilah has grown so much in only one month! She's already in #1 diapers, 3 month Carter's clothes instead of her cute newborn outfits, is about 10 lbs. She's been smiling "real" smiles from about two weeks on, and just keeps getting cuter! At the one month mark, she's just starting to coo, and already knows how to melt her father with just one look. We. Are. In. Trouble...

Finally, yes, she is my personal little doll to dress up! I had a short moment of mourning for her cute newborn outfits that she's already grown out of...Shawn and I both adore this outfit; our cousin Kolby sent this onsie when Oliver was born and I loved it so much I kept it for baby #2. I added some cute little rainbow "BabyLegs", and now I have my own Rainbow Bright doll! (Yes, that is an 80's toy reference!)

We are so happy to have Delilah in our lives! This time around is so much more relaxed as we don't get anxious about "is she too cold? too hot? hungry? sleepy?" issues. We figured that the fact Oliver has made it to 4 years old bodes well for Delilah, HA! Now, if I can just get her to stop thinking 9pm-1am is baby awake/party time, life would be perfect. Actually, it pretty much is.

Delilah's Birth

2012-01-09T16:54:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to lie, or sugar coat it...natural childbirth HURTS!!! But, it was also one of the most amazing and empowering experiences of my life.

A bit of background first. Oliver arrived a bit early, and his delivery had a bunch of interventions; pictocin, epidural, long bout of pushing, etc. We got the best end gift-Oliver-but it really wasn't the experience I "wanted" to have. I felt out of control the whole time and I was worried the entire time that he wasn't OK. Turns out my worries were justified; his heart rate didn't respond quite the way they wanted it to for the last 30 minutes before his birth and his trip into this world wasn't the smoothest.

Flash forward to preparing for Delilah...I knew this time I wanted to be more aware of what was happening, more in control of my body. The epidural with Oliver, while a GODSEND that day, was also the reason I couldn't push well and ended up with way too many stitches afterwards! I had the goal of NO medications this time, both the pictocin and the epidural. To help out with that, we hired our AMAZING doula, Tiffany (http://www.pugetsounddoula.com/).

By hiring her, we had a wonderful person to help us through our delivery; someone who would help us cope with the pain of labor. While we actually made it to a birth class this time, Tiffany was our "guarantee" that we would remember and use the coping techniques we learned. She is such a calm confident person, just right for our birth. I loved that during our pre-birth meetings she said she could just be Shawn's "wing doula", helping him to help me, which was just right for us!

10:00 pm Thursday the 8th, I was laying in bed reading. I felt a "pop", and as it had happened the same way with Oliver, I totally knew my water broke! Unlike Oliver's birth where I didn't go into labor after my water broke, Delilah had other plans...

10:10-called Tiffany, she said I should lay down and rest as we all thought it would be awhile before things got rolling. Shawn bundled up a sleeping Oliver and took him over to Kori's house (our WONDERFUL daycare provider, the Rileys are Oliver's second family!). He took his time getting back, getting gas and some food for himself. Meanwhile at home, things were getting serious...FAST

10:20-Couldn't rest, my heart was beating a mile a minute I was so jazzed/hyped about finally meeting my girl. Took a shower instead, and the contractions were already every 4-5 minutes.

10:45-Shawn got back, and I took one whiff of his food and demanded that he eat it quickly and go brush his teeth; there was NO WAY my stomach was going to handle taco breath, LOL! By the time he finished his meal, the contractions were 2-3 minutes apart.

11:00-decided that we weren't going to wait any longer, called Tiffany to meet us at the hospital. Extra bonus-she has an apprentice and Kattie was also going to help us out.

Two contractions in the car REALLY sucked-the only position by this time that I was able to cope well in was standing, leaning over a counter, and rocking my hips so the car was TORTURE.

Arrived at Evergreen, I went in to check in and poor Shawn got locked out and couldn't find his way in, HA!

Unlike our l&d nurse with Oliver, ours this time was so sweet and helpful! Emily was cracking jokes the whole time, and really knew when and how to get her tasks done without making it too hard on me. Tiffany arrived, and away we went. I labored quite a bit leaning on the sink counter, Tiffany got cold wet cloths for my neck and kept reminding me to drink. I was somewhat coherent between contractions, but totally out of it during them. My main coping technique was a lot of moaning and rocking.

Shawn, as you can see in these photos, was my ROCK STAR. I couldn't have coped without him. He used his hands and fingers to put pressure on the points of my back where the pain was the worst. Tiffany told me after the birth that she's never seen a mom be able to say "up, left, down, right there, etc" during transition as well as I could. It was all in the name of pain relief, LOL!

Shawn was working so hard that the next day his hands and fingers were totally sore and cramping up on him!

This picture below shows you how hard he was working-seriously having to put some major muscle into squeezing my hips. We figured out later that Delilah was probably coming down into my pelvis face up instead of face down, so it was causing some major back pain.

I remember one moment of lucidity (the contractions from 11:30 on just never left off-sometimes I'd get a minute between, a few crashed down on me in a never ending wave, a few blessed ones let me have 2-3 minutes in between) when I looked up from the bed where I was leaning over pillows and rocking, and there was the nurse, her charge nurse, the two doulas, the doctor and Shawn all staring at me waiting for the next contraction. "Oh, HI! What are you all doing here?" HA!

Since Shawn and I were getting ready for bed when my water broke, we had both taking our sleep aids-the Tylenol PM was making me so woozy and sleepy in between contractions that I felt pretty out of it. Hindsight now though, it let me actually get good rest between them even though that might only be a minute or two. I remember looking up at the clock around 1:30 and thinking "Wow, this is going really fast!"

Tiffany, Kattie, Emily and Shawn were all such amazing cheerleaders. No one was loud or frenzied, just a lot of calm, quiet affirmations. Their "You're doing great" and "You are so strong" comments might sound cheesy to anyone else, but were just what I needed to hear, and I could tell they were so sincere and concerned about me that I felt very safe and cared for. I needed it!

I kept feeling a lot of pressure, like I had to go to the bathroom (sorry, TMI, but that's the way it is!), and said so- I just KNEW it wasn't the baby that I was feeling. Tiffany laughed and said that the baby was coming down and I'd start feeling the need to push soon. Yah right I thought...

Let me tell you. Unmedicated labor is NO joke-when you finally get the urge to push, there is NO stopping it. You absolutely cannot help yourself. It's like my friend Carrie L said-it's like when you are sick to your stomach and your stomach muscles take control. My body totally took control and let us all know it was time to get up on the bed.

I started pushing leaning over the back of the bed on my knees, but the back pain was still pretty brutal. Shawn's arms had had it by this point in time, so Tiffany and Kattie were on either side of the bed pushing on my hips. I got pretty loud by this point ("my back!!!!"), and Emily told me later that my next door neighbor was pretty worried about me, she wanted someone to help me!!!

Tiffany suggested that I lay on my side to push as it was becoming apparent that Delilah was turned wonky and wasn't really progressing much. I totally recall being on my hands and knees, my rational brain was saying "Oh, that makes sense" and my pain brain moaning and saying "no! don't make me!!!". Tiffany won out in the end, thank goodness!

I flipped onto my side, Shawn held up my leg while I pushed. At this point, I was breathing so fast that I was dehydrating myself, so they gave me an IV to get some fluids in me and also put the oxygen mask on me. That actually helped quite a bit, and after 45 minutes of total push time, Delilah arrived at 2:35 am!!!

It was CRAZY how instantly the pain was gone. Like it never happened. Post-birth endorphins are AMAZING!!! I had always read about the "birth high" and man oh man was it great!

Seriously, I love my husband soooo much. I can't even image this experience or really, this life, without him.

7 lbs 12 ounces, 20.25 inches of cute! She cried like a champ, and started nursing within 30 minutes of birth or so. As a testament to how fast she came down into my pelvis after switching to my side, her head wasn't coned at all!

Thank you to everyone who made Delilah's birth such a special and amazing experience for Shawn and I!

Summer is almost here, time to dust off the blog!

2010-06-06T23:34:00.001-07:00

I know I've been a blog slacker lately, but life has been, well, nuts. Between moving to a new building next year (SUPER EXCITED!!!), and all the grief that my class this year has been giving me, I just come home and collapse!

However, I'm branching out into the world of online retailing (see my Etsy.com link on the right!) and would like to build more of a friends and family following on this blog and my craft blog. So...I'm not promising miracles or anything, but you will be hearing from us again! And just to leave you with some Oliver and Mackenzie (Oliver's new little first cousin!) cuteness...

Lil Miss Mac' and her adoring auntie Sharla!

Gone Fishin!

Love me some Ollie kisses!

You can't see me!

Hide and Seek!

2010-02-26T22:03:00.001-08:00

This past Mid-Winter break Oliver and I got to go out and enjoy the AMAZING weather we were having with our friends Mommybrain and her two little ones, NHV and CJV. CJV, being only two months old, snoozed away in her Ergo carrier while Mommybrain and I got to catch up. NHV is Oliver's age, and the two of them had a BLAST! Cougar Mtn Zoo in Issaquah was great; it's small enough the little ones could pretty much go anywhere and never be out of sight. The best part for me, besides catching up with my fellow mommy friend, was watching Oliver and NHV play. There will be another post just for the shots of them holding hands (almost made me cry!), but first, a rousing game of Hide-N-Seek!

Hmmm...I wonder who's dinosaur boots those are...

Yep! I was right! It's Oliver! What a little rascal...

Along comes his friend NHV...I think she knows something is up...She is a smart girl after all!

Oh my goodness! That scoundrel Oliver is trying to SCARE HER! Silly boy! Don't you know girls love that sort of thing?!?!

Ummm...Oliver? I think the gig is up. She has you soooo figured out!

Good times! Thanks, Mommybrain, for getting us out of the house and showing us such a nice time!

Etsy shop!!!

2010-02-26T13:07:00.000-08:00

I have successfully just listed my first items for sale in my Etsy.com shop!!! Please check out my craft blog (link on the right) for pictures and information!

Turtles, Yookidoo, and our happy son

2010-01-15T09:00:00.000-08:00

We have had a music box for Oliver's bedtime that projected a rotating night sky scene on the ceiling since he was about 6 months old. We seriously went though THREE of them, trying to sleep without his "up above" was near impossible (he calls it his "up above" because his preferred song is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). As each device was used an average of 60 minutes EVERY night, the motors in the rotation gizmo inevitably died after about 6 months, making a horrid grinding noise on it's way out. Well, this week he hadn't been getting to sleep very well because it was "too noi-zee", AKA motor about to die. Desperate for a more permanent solution, I went on an Internet search for a nightlight that would project on his ceiling.

Before I get to my sweet, amazing find, a bit of backstory. Mom D, Mom H, Papa, I love you all, but we're going to butt heads here...As a child, I was TERRIFIED of the dark. Like wet the bed so you don't have to get out terrified. I can remember having nightlights, but I also remember having to open curtains to let in more light because I was scared, then being told I had to close them, and I didn't understand why it had to be so cotton picking dark! (As an adult, I totally get the whole "freaks can look in the windows" and "you will sleep in better on a Saturday so the adults can get more sleep if your curtains are shut" thing). On the other hand, seriously?!?! Why did the night light have to either be taken away or shut off after we fell asleep? I know in Middle School I started reading to it instead of sleeping, so I get that one, but in grade school I do remember not always having a night light and being so terrified I couldn't sleep if I woke in the middle of the night.

Shawn had the same fear of the dark, but he hardly ever got a night light. Shawn and I both said that we never want Oliver to have the same level of fear (everyone at some point will be scared of the dark, it's human!), so as soon as he was showing us that he liked a bit of light if he woke up, we were more purposeful in using his "up above". Oliver, if he woke in the night when he was still in his crib, would cry if he woke up, but a quick set of the timer and he was back off to la-la land. After getting into his big boy bed, he would get up himself and hit the buttons to turn it back on. So, back to our problem with the grinding, noi-zee music box...

After searching, I found several hokey star projectors, but nothing that was like what we currently have. Then I stumbled upon the "Twilight Turtle"...Man oh man. It's cute, throws loads of stars up on the ceiling, easy to find (Babies R Us and Go To Your Room in Bellevue all carry it), easy for Oliver to turn on or change colors (he had it figured out in 30 seconds flat) and affordable. We picked it up last night, and our prayers are answered!

Now, on to the most fun we have EVER had in the tub...the YooKidoo "Stack and Stream Tub Fountain". Seriously, this thing is CRAZY fun! The 5 pieces can be stacked on in loads of ways, the two little creatures squirt water out of their heads in ways that makes Oliver giggle, the light blue boat has a yellow paddle wheel that pops up and spins in the fountain, and he just has a BALL with it. It's built very well, and I can see that this will be one we keep for a looooooong time. Yookidoo has another one that suction cups to the tub wall and is a faucet type toy, I'm on the lookout for that one too! I found this at Tree Top Toys in Redmond (next to Ben Franklin, or as I like to call it "craftaholic crack"). Good times, good times!

My HANDS DOWN favs of 2009!

2010-01-01T13:53:00.000-08:00

These are my favorite of the year. I know it's completely subjective, but I welcome comments! (don't forget to scroll down and see the other 2 posts related to my favorite picts of 2009)

Fourth of July. Playing on a beach. You get the feel of the sun, the smoothness of Oliver's skin, and his concentration on the task at hand.

Seriously? Nuff said. LOL! I don't think Shawn and I take enough pictures of each other, so I really love it when one comes out good!

HAAAA-HAHHHHHAAAAA! Crazy eyes! Crazy eyes!

Another Montana shot. Love the light, the colors, the timelessness of little boy jeans.

Talk about getting the right angle!

And for the grand finale...

The shot that made me start crying when I pulled it up on the computer...Oliver and my dad.

Happy New Year everyone! May your 2010 be as bright and as happy as you deserve!

2009 in pictures, Part 2

2010-01-01T13:37:00.000-08:00

Here we go, round 2...

This was taken at my parent's new retirement pad in Montana. There was just something about the light that day. I think three in this set of 25ish "2009 Favs" comes from this day.

Ollie putting himself in the sink.

I like the reflection of me taking the picture in the goggles. Dada wore them to snowmobile in Bozeman when we went in Feb.

Still. Quiet. Rosey cheeks.

First time trick or treating. I love this one-kid looking out the window, mom looking out of the door, and the color! Ok, it's the cowboy that I'm partial to!

Coming home from Spokane after my 1/2 marathon. Oliver was pretty entranced with riding on a vehicle that didn't require a car seat.

Pearrygin Lake State Park, early one morning. This is where I grew up, and seeing Oliver at the beach where I spent enormous amounts of time was pretty cool. The lake was so still the reflections were amazing. The contrast of his red/orange to the brown and green is pretty nice too.

Same camping trip, wearing Daddo's hat.

Future gituar hero. Love the blur in this one, it shows how hard he was jamming out.

At the 3-D movie. I makes me sad to see how grown up this one feels.

2009, review of my favorite pictures from the year PART 1

2010-01-01T13:25:00.003-08:00

I am working on wrapping up my Project 365 for 2009 (note to self, don't do that again! Whew!), I've been going through the 9,000+ photos we took this year and I realized a couple of things...

1. We take too many pictures! Maybe without having to feel like I need to get a "Picture of the Day" for Project 365, we'll be a bit more selective.
2. Oliver is stinkin funny!
3. I think photography is my new addiciton...

In this post and the next two that follow, I'd like to share some shots that either made me laugh, made me want to kiss all over my boys, or were just darn good. Shawn will probably disagree with my choices, but hey, it's my blog!

Haa-haa! Patting the belly for a job well done!

Oh no! We sank the Titanic??!?!

NOOOO!!!! DON'T MAKE ME EAT IT!!!! NOOOOO!!!!

Steph and Maui wiped out after watching Oliver.

I know it's blury, but that's part of why I love it.

Captures Mr. GoofyPants in action. He was playing in his new "fweep-fops"

No WAY Uncle David! NO WAY am I touching that worm!

First you lick, then shoot, then suck? (Just kidding! He got to drink some lemonade before we made our summer coolers!)

Hey Dada! I can touch the sky! I really love this of the two of them. Sigh. My boys!

November 5: Oliver

2009-11-24T15:10:00.000-08:00

Today I will be saying thanks for two of my favorite foods: tock it mook and wah-wee pops. Mom insists on calling these "chocolate milk" and "lollipops", but whatever. Basically, if I had my way, these are the only two foods I would consume. Yes, I will drink regular milk, but man oh man, can I ever make my parents laugh with my high pitched "OK!" and "YEA! TOCK-IT MOOK!"when I know I'm getting chocolate milk. Mom also thinks the way I say wah-wee pop is pretty cute (it's the right way to say it, what's so cute about it? Moms, sheesh). Photographic evidence of my love:

Please note my ingenious use of the car seat buckle as a handy dandy wah-wee pop holder. That way I don't get fuzz and dirt on it while I take a break. Mom also wanted to mention that you can't see it very well in the picture, but my face is all shiny with the layer upon layer of wah-wee pop slobber all around my mouth. Again, what IS it with moms?!?!?!?

November 4: Carrie

2009-11-23T11:26:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for the "blogosphere". I feel linked to fellow moms, fellow teachers, and fellow humans in a way that hasn't been possible before I discovered blogs. I feel like the last 6 months have really been a time of change for me; changing from a "what's going to happen next gotta get to the next thing rush rush rush" life view to one of "live IN the day-enjoy what you've got and make time for life TODAY".

My blogs. My favs. I have a kindred soul in Dana, AKA Mommybrain. From Ali I learn amazing scrapping techniques and soak in her life philosophy. Pioneer Woman continues to amaze me with her photography and her food makes my husband happy. Matt blows me away with the rawness of his grief for his wife and his love for their child. Kolby's Tage just continues to amaze us all with his tenacity for growth. And one of my first blog love's is Nate. Here are his words today that I am going to repeat.

A Life Of Thanksgiving
I'm stealing this idea from a friend because it's something I need in my life right now.

The Thanksgiving holiday is one of my favorites...food, football, family, friends and lots of fun. But, originally, it was meant to be a day to pause and give authentic thanks to God. Unfortunately, for many, including myself, thanksgiving is more of a one-day holiday that a way of life. I don't know about you, but I've been blessed beyond comprehension, and even in the unwelcome moments of life, I have so much to be thankful for.

What would it look like if I ONLY spoke words of gratitude the entire week of Thanksgiving? If I went so far as to look at a pile of laundered clothes that awaits my folding and putting up, a task I normally hate, and instead think and speak out loud, “God, thank you for these clothes, for providing covering.” When my daughter voicing her grumpiness, “God, thank you that she has a voice that works and you are shaping her own unique personality.” If every time next week I see a person, I tell them why I am thankful to God they are in my life.

So, starting this Monday morning and going through this Sunday evening, I'm challenging myself to live an entire week full of thanksgiving.

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. (Ephesians 5:4 ESV)

Anytime I'm tempted to think/say/do something negative (filthy, foolish, crude or otherwise unthankfull), I will instead choose, in that very moment, to give thanks to God for His blessing in my life.If you'd like to join me, please leave a comment saying so AND repost this (in our own words, if you'd like...no need to link me) on your blog, twitter, facebook, etc. and challenge your friends to do the same.

Even if you're not reading this until after Monday morning, it's never too late to take up a good challenge. And, keep in mind that nobody who takes this challenge is going to make it an entire week without missing the mark...so, when that happens to you, just pick yourself back up and start again!

So, to start, I thank God that I have the opportunity to tell our story on the web for all to share!

November 3: Shawn

2009-11-17T22:13:00.000-08:00

My job. I'm so happy that I love my job! I enjoy the people I work with , and my schedule is GREAT!

OK-Carrie is going to interject here. Shawn REALLY loves his job. AND his co-worker Louie. Louie started right after Shawn, his wife was due with their first baby the Aug after Oliver was born. The two guys have totally bonded. Completely. For those of you who enjoyed Oliver's two year party at KidsQuest, you have Louie and his wife to thank, they held E's first birthday party there. I owe Louie a debt of gratitude for sharing with Shawn the journey of parenthood. Here's E and Oliver at Ollie's first birthday. He wouldn't quit running long enough during his 2nd birthday party for a picture...

November 2: Oliver

2009-11-17T11:02:00.000-08:00

(I'm going to speak for Oliver here, and write as well about what he's thankful for this year.)

My Bi. Mom and Dad aren't sure why I call it my "bi", but my blanket is my favorite source of comfort. Mom made it for me from soft fuzzy fabric, and I reaallllly love snuggling under it (preferably nakie!). Even when it was 90 degrees in my room at night this summer, I STILL wouldn't go to bed without laying under my bi. It gets dragged around the house all day, I try to take it to school (Mom won't let me, party pooper!), and it gets pretty dirty. I don't care though, it's my bi, and I'm not going to be over it any time soon.

The 26 Days of Thanksgiving

2009-11-17T10:18:00.001-08:00

Ok, I'm a bit late on the bandwagon here, but there is a Facebook thing going on where you post once a day something you are thankful for. I'm going to take it a bit further, and do something like Ali Edward's "December Daily" album. While I love the idea of recording our holiday season and traditions, I'm not sure the December Daily is the approach I want to take.

Recently, I got our family albums all organized and set up so that I don't feel the need to scrapbook chronologically (Stacy Julian's Photo Freedom system, AMAZING!!!!), and my photos are organized in the same way so that I can feel free to pick and choose what I want to do. This allows me to either create pages for our category albums (The Story of Us, People We Love, Things We Do, Places We Go) or mini-albums like my annual Halloween album (I'll post picts of last years and this years soon). I can now find any photo, any memory, pretty quickly. It will allow me to pull pictures for the following idea...

The idea for my "26 Days of Thanksgiving" is to make a simple mini-album with what Shawn, myself, and Oliver are thankful for every year; what an amazing legacy to give our son as he grows! Since I might not get to it ASAP, I'm going to use this lil ol' blog to post my picts with my "Thankful For" statements, and it allows me to do some blogging for all of you (ok, only like three people actually read this anymore...I've been bad at posting since school started!)

To get the ball rolling, here is my first "page"

November 1: Carrie

My Memory. I am so thankful to have a memory like a steel trap. One that helps me remember exactly what my son's voice sounds like when he's making gestures like this:

Which is pretty funny, since I didn't even go that day with Oliver and Dad to the fair! "No, no, mine tractor!" still rings in my head when I see this picture. Thank You God, for a memory that allows me to keep what is important right in my mind.

All About Meme: I'm scuured!

2009-10-26T09:31:00.001-07:00

Ok, I love this one. Supahmommy and Mommybrain's prompt this week is an ode to the season. What am I most scared by? What is my scariest memory? ect...You get the idea.

Since having Oliver, the idea of anything happening to him can literally make me want to vomit and bring me to tears instantly. I used to read a lot of blogs written by families with sick kiddos, but I can't anymore. Hits to close to home. Oliver has this HUGE lump in his neck (OK, maybe only huge to me, but still...) and every time we go to the doctor I have to be reassured yet again that it is nothing, he's just a lumpy boy. Recently, we had an incident that I won't go into where Oliver could have been serioulsly hurt. I couldn't sleep for two days with the thoughts of what almost happened to him. That is what scares me most, that I can't be there every second to protect him, that accidents do happen, that life is a crapshoot. Okey dokie...On to something lighter...

This guy. Seriously, getting this image off the web is actually raising my blood pressure and adreneline right now. Have you seen the movie "Signs"? I love an alien flick as much as the next person, but the way M. Night Shamalyn put this one together (you never really see the freekin thing until the end...) just about put me into cardiac arrest. I saw it with my brother David, and I think I left fingerprint bruises on his arm where I kept grabbing him.

It's quite a good movie, about a man and his faith more than about aliens if you'd believe that one! But, boy oh boy, the part where it passes in front of the camera on the news, the hand under the pantry door, the basement scene...All of these images AND my crazy insane imagination worked me up to the point where I was SURE one of these bad boys was on the landing to our stairs. I seriously couldn't sleep, was frozen in bed, and was panicking in the middle of the night after I saw this one. Shawn thought I was a complete ninny, but he couldn't SEE the shimmer of it's cloaking device, he couldn't HEAR it's rattling breath, he couldn't FEEL the distubance in the air where it waited to spray poison in my face. COME ON PEOPLE!!! IT'S RIGHT THERE!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

I will not be proofreading this post. I can't bring myself to scroll up and see that damn alien again. Seriously.

On Saturday...

2009-10-21T21:18:00.000-07:00

*I'll post about the 1/2 marathon that I totally kicked butt on...

*I'll post some Oliver goodness...You should see his "sad face"...OK, fine. Teaser shot:

*I'll get this lil ol' blog caught up and STAY caught up!!!

See ya Saturday!

Why I "run"...

2009-10-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

I'm "running" a half marathon in 9 days. In 9 days I will be pushing my body to keep a steady 4 miles an hour despite blisters, burning calves, and low energy levels. Why?

I am doing this because I want my husband to believe that when I say I will do something, I WILL do it.

I am doing this to say I did something BIG that I HATE to do. I HATE running, I HATE pushing myself physically. I did 8 miles last Sunday, and the only way I got through it was because I was starving at mile 5 and powered through my last three miles so I could go get food. Sad.

I am doing this because I hoped it would get easier and I would become a "runner". Yeah, right. I still hate it on the days I'm not feeling it.

I am doing this because I want another baby, but I'll be damned if I get pregnant weighing what I did a month before I delivered Oliver.

I am doing this because, selfishly, I want some recognition. Recognition for sticking with something. Recognition for taking positive steps in my life.

I am doing this because my sister Megan rocks, and her positive outlook on life is one I'd like to emulate.

I am doing this to be a positive example for this lil man...

Joining Along with this MeMe craziness!

2009-09-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

My friend Dana and her pal Supah Mommy have started a fun little blog hop called All about Meme Mondays. This week is.....

What are the 5 items I would die without on a daily basis?

Photo courtesy of PatrickQ on Flickr

1. VENTI AMERICANO WITH ROOM FOR CREAM BABY!

Photo courtesy of slowburn on Flickr
2. iPhone. Yes, I went to the dark side. Scarey thing is I have apps now just to entertain Oliver and he TOTALLY knows how to use my phone!

3. Keys. To the car. My classroom. My house. My mailbox. My cabinet at work where I hide the chocolate from my students (oh, and my purse, but the chocolate is more important...).

4. Ice Water. Not warm, not fizzy, not room temp. ICE water. I might be a "water snob" here, but I've discovered it's really the only way I like it.

5. Rubberband for my hair. While I love my long hair, it ALWAYS ends up off my face in a ponytail of some kind by the end of the day! My current obsession is braids. Yes, I know I am 35. Who cares if I still wear my hair like I did when I was a 24 year old camp counselor?!?!?

Wish to be better

2009-09-12T23:27:00.000-07:00

I wish to be better at:
showing those that I care about how I feel
that I don't take their love for granted
that I see what they do for me

I wish to be better at:
showing my son what it means to live
to live, not to exist, but to LIVE
life is not about what is coming next;
it's about appreciating the moment you are in
and hoping the next will be as good or better

I wish to be better at:
showing my husband what I need
not just expecting him to know
not expecting him to feel the same way I do

I wish to be better at:
managing my money
it's not my childhood
food will come, needs will be met
it doesn't matter what you have

I wish to be better at:
not being so hard on myself
I'm a GOOD teacher! I'm a GREAT mom!
I'm a GOOD person, and striving to be more so

I wish to be better at:
Letting go
Letting God

I wish to be better at:
Me.

Lunch in a Muffin Tin

2009-09-10T21:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Dana and her fab Toddlerbrain blog, I tried something new the other day to maybe entice Oliver to try some veggies. Basically, you take a muffin tin and fill the spots with food choices. Lil man didn't quite know what to think, but he dove right into his favorites once he figured out what was going on. He DID try some veggies, so it was a success in my mind!

Oh, wait!!! IS HE EATING THE BROCCOLI TREES?!?!?!

Darn it! Little bugger just sucked the ranch off the broccoli and rejected the rest! Stinker!

The "before" shot, with all of his choices. Top: banana, hot dog, corn. Middle: goldfish, peas. Bottom: broccoli trees, chunks of cheese, cantaloupe, mixed veg in butter sauce

The "after" shot. Notice that the level of all things veggie is pretty much the same! Oh well, it was still fun to try, and I'm sure we'll be doing it again. Thanks again Dana!

Mouth Pee-pee's

2009-09-10T20:52:00.000-07:00

Long time, no post, sorry! Back to school time is always nuts. I'm back in the groove of things though, so back to posting!

I've got a good one for you tonight. Oliver, as many two year olds are, is really interested in what bodies look like and do. Recently, it's been Dada's mouth that has been the source of interest.

As Oliver examined Shawn's uvula (hangie downie thingie at the back of your throat) the other night, he gasped in surprise. "DADA! MAMA! MOUTH PEE-PEE! DADA MOUTH PEE-PEE!!!" I think Shawn and I were going to die of laughter.

Then came the crowning glory. Having just watched the "Finding Nemo" whale scene, Oliver then grabbed the top and bottom of Shawn's jaws, wrenched them open, and proceeded to yell "NEEEEE-MOOOOO!! NEMO! NEMO!" down Shawn's throat. Smart boy putting that scene set in the whale's mouth together with Dad's anatomy!

Then of course he tried to take Shawn's tonsils out because he's going to be a doctor some day...

Love my boy!

6 Miles and the bigger race

2009-08-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I ran (ahem...I use the phrase "ran" rather freely. I jogged about 1/2 of it, power walked the other half) 6 miles last night in 93 minutes. That translates to 15.5 minutes per mile. Not stellar, but steady for me. Because the Spokane Marathon states in it's rules that you cannot run with headphones on, I ran it without. It was the first time I ran without headphones, so I was stuck with just the noise in my head for an hour and a half. The voices went something like this:

Mile 1: Just walk, your calves need to warm up.

Mile 2: Ok, they're flippin warmed up now, they're @#$% BURNING! What have I committed myself to? Why am I doing this? What was I thinking? Oh, look at that nice house...

Mile 3: Running now, downhill, but still, running! It's nice out tonight, just cool enough.

"All I want is a proper cup of coffee made in a proper copper coffee pot,
I might be off my duck, but I want a proper cup of coffee from a proper copper pot.
Iron coffee pots and tin coffee pots don't do so much for me,
if I can't have a proper cup of coffee from a copper coffee pot then I'll have a cup of tea"

....Song running through my head courtesy of "Trout Fishing in America", Oliver's favorite band right now.

Mile 4: Dude, I'm BADASS! (still downhill at this point)...Then, I had to pay the piper. All that downhill meant I had to go UP at some point. A new route tonight meant a lot of uphill but a very good glute workout.

Mile 5: I only have 2 miles left, I only have 2 miles left, "All I want is a proper cup of ARRRRRGGG GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!"

Mile 6: As the sweet little Punjabi man shuffling along on the sidewalk across the street was gaining on me, I somehow found the energy to beat his 85 year old bones to the crosswalk. I am soooooo coool!

But, I did it. Every long run on a Sunday means I've gone further than I've ever run (or hiked for that matter, my longest backpacking adventure was 5 miles...I am such an outdoors woman!) so it's an accomplishment for me every time. October 11, here I come!

Speaking of marathons...My friend Dana, AKA Mommybrain and Toddlerbrain, (you may remember the sandwich pictures just for her pregnant tummy!) is having some issues with pre-term contractions that are being somewhat persistent. If you have time, please drop by her blog and leave a note of encouragement! She is a WONDERFUL mom, funny lady, and good friend. It breaks my heart that someone who is trying her best to be a great mom and wife still has to suffer through scary times like these. Pulling for ya girl!

Oliver's Dancin Feet

2009-08-14T15:59:00.001-07:00

A few days ago when it was so stinkin hot (not having that problem now, are we?!?!), Shawn and I took the boy down to Crossroad's splash park. Oliver had a GREAT time in the water, but it's what he did OUT of the water that still has us scratching our heads...

At the beginning of the dance, you must grab your arms and hoot like an owl.

Then, you shake your tuckus like you have to hula for your life.

Rotate and gyrate as you bounce back and forth on your heels.

Then, for the grand finale, spin all around...

And around...

Hey baby, I'll see you tonight at the 6:00 show. Hey wait? Where are you going? Wait!

And just because I'm going to h-e-double hockey sticks for where my mind went when I saw these, I'm sharing the fun.

Hey! I even have my pants on and I'm still going! Cool!

Party at 4 am and a naughty word...

2009-08-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

I must not have had Oliver's monitor up loud enough last night, because when I finally heard the seriously sad "Mama, morning? Mama, get up? Mama??!?!" sobs coming from his room he had already:

1. Locked the door (this happens when he's not quite awake enough to turn the handle, but it means he was working at it for a bit)
2. Turned on the light
3. Rocked for a bit, the rocker was still moving
4. Played trains, the evidence was all over the floor
By the time I got there, he had had enough. He was standing on his train table, sobbing, snot and tears everywhere. Mind you this hasn't happened in a looooong time, so maybe my "HURRY CRYING GET UP FAST" neurons are fading.

As we rocked together when his room had been put back to rights, (after several inquires of "Mama? Wach e show? Wach e moo-ee? Yeah, yeah!" and SEVERAL explanations about how 4 am wasn't time to watch Elmo...) we must have woken Shawn up, because Oliver told me all about how he could hear Dada in the bathroom. Walking back to bed, Dada tooted and Oliver heard. He then proceeded to tell me all about toots until I was able to get him to quiet down again. Just as I thought he was going to get sleepy, I hear his little voice, very soft, very tentative....

"Fart"

I busted up like you wouldn't believe. It was a combination of timing, his "I know this might be a naughty word, but I'm going to try it out on you anyway" voice, and then, the GIGGLES. I lost it, so of course he started chanting "Fart Mama, Fart!" and we were both laughing pretty hard.

I'm hoping that the fact he fell asleep pretty quick after our giggle fest at 4:30 am will allow his memory to forget that one. Still, I hope I never forget that soft, sweet little voice saying his first "naughty" word. Fart.

Awards, friends, and SANDWICH PORN

2009-08-11T08:41:00.000-07:00

This whole blogging thing (when I'm not off on Oliver and Shawn related trips!) is great fun. I have been slacking a bit lately, but was planning on a few posts this week. My whole issue with this is, I don't really have all that much traffic. Sure, you, my loyal friends and family (Kolby, lovin Tager's sign language video!!!! Tina, we HAVE to get together again, Thanksgiving two years ago was much too long ago!! LOL).

That might not be an issue this week, so here I am, getting off my tuckus getting a post done. This was orginally going to be titled "For Dana: SANDWICH PORN". I'll explain that in a bit...Dana, the lady in the title, is a great friend and has a very, very, very great blog herself. Two as a matter of fact. And a toddler. And she's pregnant. Whew. Too busy for this girl! Anyway, she presented me this morning with an AWARD and bestowed it with some very sweet words that, truth be told, kinda made me weepy. Thank you, I actually really needed that this week!

So, just in case I get a bit more traffic this week, I'll get those photography posts up (days 12-14 of the Jessica Sprague class were really cool!), put up some posts about our adventures lately (Oliver now has his own "mo-er-cy-kle", and we hit Las Vegas for kids AKA Great Wolf Lodge), a bit more about my own exploits (can we just say that I've had waaaaayyyyy too much wine the last week?!?!? LOL). But, first, let's honor the dear lady known as Mommybrain...

Dana, you had to go and do it, didn't you? You had to extol the virtues of a crack-shop, errr, sandwich shop called...JIMMY JOHNS. It must have been fate that my very first visit to JJ's was punctuated by a huge hug, totally unexpected, from you! For everyone else, let me explain. Dana is expecting her second little one, and has been craving a Jimmy John's sandwich quite frequently. I finally found this place she has been waxing rapasodic about, and who's there? YEP. DANA!!! TOOO FUNNY. Since then, I have taken a JJ's to Shawn for lunch, and now HE'S craving them too...AND HE'S NOT PREGGERS!!! Seriously, since my first visit to JJ's on Thursday the 6th, we have been to JJ's THREE TIMES. Yes, THREE times in 6 days. So, without further ado, the sandwich porn. PS: Dana, there is a JJ's in Redmond too...Right by the new Whole Foods...5 freekin minutes from my house, 1 freekin minute from Shawn's office...

The anticipation...

Oh yeah baby, I love the way you stick that tomato out.

Ohhhh, are you letting your alfalfa sprouts hang out? Let them out!

I love the crinkle of your paper, it sounds so naughty.

Oh, oh, oh, munch, slurp, snarf...

Don't say I didn't warn you, it was titled SANDWICH PORN! LOL

Confession Time...

2009-07-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

I'm going to say it out loud, here on the blog so you all hold me to it...I'm going to run the Spokane 1/2 Marathon in October.

Whew. I said it! I started my "training" today, building milage each week until I'm ready (ha! as if!) for the 13.1 on October 11. Four miles today and next Sunday with smaller runs and cross training during the week.

I must say, when I hit mile 3 today, the calves quit hurting and I hit my stride. Could have done 5 miles today, but I'm going to stick with the schedule so I don't burn myself out.

I'll be blogging about this as I go, not so much to report out to all of you, but to have a journal of sorts for me to look back on.

So, why am I doing this? A couple of reasons:
1. I hate running, and you should do at least one thing you hate and have to really push yourself for at least once in your life. That said, I'm kinda getting hooked on the "runner's high" that I'm starting to get...
2. I need to get in shape, and having a goal to aim for is pretty motivating.
3. My sister Megan is such a great inspiration; she ran the full Spokane last year! I love my sis with all of my heart, and truth be told, I wish I were more like her in several ways. So, I'm giving this running thing a shot. THANK YOU MEGS!
4. I want to say to Oliver that your physical health is important AND walk the talk.
5. Cool t-shirt at the end. (just kidding!)
6. Hey, it's something else to scrap about! HA!
7. It will be nice to have something to also "walk the talk" about when I'm teaching my students their Health units this year.
8. Running is good thinking time. Me time. Alone time. I plan to think deeply about the problems of the world, and I'll get back to you when I've solved world hunger and the problems with the Middle East.

Thanks for your support!

Day 11: Selective coloring

2009-07-16T15:50:00.000-07:00

Day 11 was a refresher of sorts for me, I had taken another Photoshop class where I learned to add a black and white layer then erase the layer where you wanted the color to show. JS had us instead add a hue/saturation adjustment layer, drop the saturation to add a very subtle sepia tone, then use a black paint brush to mask out the areas you didn't want the adjustment layer to show. I like her technique much better as you can go back and use a white paint brush to touch up the areas you got a bit overzealous with. Overall, it's not a technique I use a lot, but there are some photos that just scream for this treatment.

This photo was shot by Shawn at the Pacific Science Center butterfly house. Nice bokeh babe! (bokeh is the term used to refer to the ultra blurred background behind a sharply focused subject. Don't I sound all smart and stuff! LOL!)

Day Ten: A mishmash

2009-07-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, there is no day 9, it's a pretty subtle technique that I won't bore you with. However, today's photo incorporated Day 9: The photo edge burn. Day 10 was taking a photo through the use of: layering to adjust color, layering in texture, clipping to a mask, adding a transparency, adding type, and creating an edge burned effect (darkens the outer edges so that the eye moves inward). This was taken on the Fourth of July overlooking Lake Washington from my good friend Adrienne's condo. Thanks for the invite girl! See, I DID do something with all of those sunset photos! LOL!

SOOC shot:

The same shot, cropped and "funned" up:

I'm still not real happy with the placement of the text, I think I should have moved it down a smidge.

We now interrupt this phtotography/Oliver blog to...

2009-07-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

FREAK OUT!!! You may all know I love Ree Drummond, AKA The Pioneer Woman. I love her cooking, her photography, her humor, and her sweet kids. Man oh man, can she cook. I think I'm trying these the next time we all have a family get together.

THE PIONEER WOMAN HAS JUST LAUNCHED A WEBSITE COMPLETELY DEVOTED TO FFFFFFOOOOOOOODDDDD! Diet, what diet? 1/2 marathon in Oct? What?!?!?! Healthy, low fat meals? NAH!!! I am officially addicted to yet another website. Check it out!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/

Day Eight: Using Type with texture

2009-07-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know. There is no day 7 photo. Day 7 was a quiz to recap the week, and I must say I did pretty well.

Day Eight is using texture+text. I already used text on some photos (Xmas card this year!), so today was somewhat review. But, Jessica Sprague showed a few design tips and pointers with Photoshop Elements that I wasn't aware of. It's not even the "full" version of Photoshop (that's Creative Suite 4 or CS4, it's like $660 even with my educator discount...YIKES) but it is so full of functionality that it would take some serious doing to get me to "upgrade". Like winning a copy at http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/. But I digress.

I'm not including a SOOC pict, as I didn't change it very much. However, I love this picture of Shawn and Oliver (last year before he could walk), and I think it's only fitting that the text refers to one of our favorite Tom Petty songs.

I also used one of those cool old viewfinder frames for this. It put a subtle grunge on the photo, but I especially love the black edges. Draws your eye in.

Day Six: Through the viewfinder...

2009-07-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

There is a photo technique where DSLR users (the newest form of camera) will take photos through the viewfinder of old (and I do mean OLD) cameras, creating a interesting grunged, framed effect. Since most of us don't have old Rawleys hanging around, there are jpgs of these frames around that you can apply to your photos. Again, IN LOVE with the look!

SOOC shot:

Now, with the frame added, the hue/saturation sepia toned, a digital brush and text added (click the photo to really see the texture):

Something is up with my link...

2009-07-10T21:16:00.001-07:00

I've already contacted google about it, but the previously working link for www.thepioneerwoman.com is now directing you to a weird "pipes" website. Sorry about that. If you'd like to view Ree's blog, just click the link in this post. Strange stuff.

Day Five: TEXTURE MADNESS!

2009-07-09T22:14:00.000-07:00

Where oh where has this technique been all my life? Seriously, I'm considering ditching the whole "teach the future of America" thing and going back to school for design and photography. I'm only kidding about 60%, I'm 40% serious here folks...

Without further blathering, here's the SOOC shot of Naranda Falls on Mt. Rainier:

Here it is all "grunged up" with layers of (get this!) images of a brown paper sack, an old daguerreotype, and a piece of leather. Oooooh. It totally has that old National Park bridge built ages ago feel!

Hey Papa, we need to seriously talk about getting you a digital SLR! PRONTO!!! This is SO much fun!!!

Day Four: Clipping Masks

2009-07-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

I already knew how to use these from Jessica Sprague's books, but today's lesson included another free mask. Good times, good times! Basically, a clipping mask "clips" your photo to another shape to give it unique looks. You know when you upload photos to snapfish or Costco and they ask you if you'd like a "torn edge" look? That's what a clipping mask does. Cool thing with doing it yourself is that you can draw shapes in Photoshop and turn them into clipping masks, making your own page templates. Here's an UBER simple one. I literally just drew four "rounded rectangles" on a blank background, went through the clipping steps, and wa-la! A Photomontage of one of our stops this weekend on Mt. Rainier! No, I didn't feed the animal...

Techniques from all three days...

2009-07-08T22:11:00.001-07:00

Day Three: Using layers to create a vintage tinted look

2009-07-08T13:57:00.001-07:00

Ok, I'm crazy in LOVE with this technique. Here's the SOOC (straight out of camera) image:

Now, with some hue/saturation layers and blending modes. Oh boy, oh boy. Melt my heart!

Day Two: Digital Brushes

2009-07-08T13:53:00.001-07:00

Ok, maybe not the best use of a "digital brush" (think of it as a rubber stamp on the photo...freekin phenomenal and crazy easy to use and modify!!!), but you get the idea. Off to browse http://www.designerdigitals.com/ for brushes, or http://www.brusheezy.com/ for FREE ones...I'm hooked. Officially!

Day One, Jessica Sprague Photo Editing Class

2009-07-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

Today we added a digital "transparency" to a photo as a frame (.png file if anyone is interested...) and a piece of word art. The style of the kit we are using is OK, but I know that http://www.designerdigitals.com/ has loads more where this came from that I'm sure I will covet and drool over. If anyone else is taking this class with me, be sure to post a link to your picture in the comments! (Eliza, I'm talking to you girl...)

Faux Hawk IN DA HOOOUSE

2009-06-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

Mamma got her hands on some "got 2b glued" gel...Nuff said...I CAN'T STAND THE CUTE!

Seriously, who let me have gel!?!?!

Who loves ya baby? MMMMMMWAAAA

FREE photo editing class!

2009-06-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

Run, don't walk to this site!

http://www.jessicasprague.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=976:free-photo-editing-class&catid=1:latest&Itemid=148

Jessica Sprague is known as the final name in digital scrapping (which I don't do much of, I like the creative process associated with the "real" thing, but the photo editing and enhancing is something I do A LOT). She is offering a free class in using Photoshop and Photoshop Elements to add frames, masks (really cool way to shape your photos or add a grungy effect, see below...), and layers to change the look of your photos. I have all of her books, and she is really user friendly. If you have Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, it's a great FREE FREE FREE class starting July 6th. You have to register 22-28th of June, but then you can access the class content starting on the 6th at your own pace.

Even if you don't have Photoshop, you can download a 30 day trial and this is a good way to see if it's something you want.

For my local friends, if you like, I'm more than happy to spend an afternoon with you showing you some of the basics and some fun EASY tricks with it. Let me know! Oliver has been taking monster 3 hr afternoon naps, so we could eaisly sit in my little yard with laptops and have some fun!

Here's an example of some of the fun things you can do (be sure to click on the photos to see the effects better):

SOOC shot: (straight out of camera, thanks Pioneer Woman for that little abbrevie!)

Then, just some quick levels and hue/saturation adjustments. Not too much, it was pretty good to begin with.

First clipping mask that I love, a torn edge look.

Probably one of my all time favs right now, this grungy scratched up look. Gives it kind of an "old photo" feel.

Number one thing to remember, this is easy and fast! So, who's in on the class with me?!?!

One more example with the grungy mask; I used three copies of it and layered it all onto digital scrapbook paper (sick sick obession I have here, isn't it?!??!)

MADE IT!

2009-06-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

It is with utter and complete relief that I would like to report that my ninth year of teaching is OVER. YES!!!!!

On a totally funny Oliver note, when I went to pick him up at Kori's tonight he was out in the cul-d-sack wearing a toddler sized backpack and pushing a shop broom. Kinda weird, right? Kori said that once she put the backpack on him, he refused to take it off to the point he was all sweaty and waaay too hot. He was sooo p.o.'d at me that I wanted to take him home that he ran away from me for a block with the broom still in front of him! Maybe I'm not painting a good enough picture here, but it was pretty hilarious chasing my two year old down the block while he pushed a HUGE broom while wearing an empty Curious George backpack.

He spent the next 20 minutes in the car sobbing, snot everywhere, chanting "backpack, broom, backpack, broom..." Wow. Did that really happen to me?

ONE MORE DAY

2009-06-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

until my summer is filled with this lil man!

Taken at Remlinger Farms this weekend. His face smushed into the wall in the bouncy house. Good times, good times!

Two more days...

2009-06-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

until I have all the time in the world for my little man! Swim lessons, camping, playdates. I could SOOO totally be a stay at home mom now! Seriously, I can't wait to spend the summer with him. To be honest, I don't think I was a very good mama for a one year old. I wasn't quite sure how to "play" with him. This year though, GAME ON!!!

A list of our summer fun ideas:
-Beach time at Idlywood Park
-Park time at the water splash area near Crossroads Mall
-Library Story hour
-PLAYDOUGH!!!
-Sandbox time
-Coloring and painting
-Cooking together
-Maybe a real movie in the theater? Any thoughts on that one my dear (but few!) blog readers?
-Camping
-Swim Lessons
-Playdates
-Doing some serious construction with his "back-oos" and "ump-truks"
-Mama is going to try to get him to want to build with his Legos and bristle blocks
-Bustin out the train table fun

Any more ideas? Anyone want to go on some outings? Flight museum? Day hikes? Children's Museum in Seattle? Anyone? Bueler? Bueler?

May pictures

2009-06-10T15:37:00.001-07:00

No, really. Mom and Dad NEVER let me climb on the table. I SWEAR...

Ummm...Uncle David? There is NO WAY I'm touching that worm!

With my Mama on her 35th (yikes!) birthday. Don't I look thrilled?!?!

With Big Pappa on his new tractor. FUN!

He is ALLLL boy and LOVES his power tools! HA

I KNOW this looks bad...There were no Oliver's harmed in the taking of this picture. (It was lemonade in the glass BEFORE we used it to make our beverages!!!)

Blowin bubb-oohs. A favorite pasttime!

His first pony ride. He wasn't so sure, but he seemed to enjoy it!

Having fun flying his plane around Granny and Grandaddo's house.

"OOOH! WHAT'S DAT...NOISE!!! AIRPANE! AIRPANE!"

PS-scroll down to the "Happiest Place On Earth" post for some more funnies...

Oliver at 2!

2009-06-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that I changed the picture at the top of the page. Today was Oliver's birthday two years ago. I thought it fitting that we all had a chance to look back and see how little "squiggle" was. 6lbs, 9 oz. 21 inches long. Today I put him on the scale. 31 lbs, last dr appt he was 34" tall (that was March). Tall and skinny!

At two, our little man:
-runs EVERYWHERE (even when I'm RUNNING with his jogging stroller, he is still chanting "run Mama run!". I AM YOU STINKER!!!)
-Loves to "fits it", loves his "turners" (screwdrivers)
-He's all boy. He adores "hell-coop-oohs" and "airpanes". Scroll down for the post on his broken nose. His love of spotting airplanes in the sky is what did him in!
-Not a fan of eating. Given his choice, he'd just drink milk all day and be done with the whole eating thing
-When he is "hun-ee" he prefers fruit (gapes!), "cheeps", and a new one just last night PIZZA. He actually ASKED for food last night. Since he's not spoiled at all, I totally ordered pizza for dinner on the sp0t....
-Oliver has his own language. Ollieglish. I know all toddlers do, but man, he can talk up a STORM. I have some pretty funny video that I'll try to upload tonight. (Imagine that...Oliver being talkative? Who would have known with two such QUIET, NON TALKING parents)
-Starting to like coloring and art projects. I can't wait until school is out! I bought him a big playdough set for his birthday, so we'll try that out tonight.
-Not sure how this worked out, but he is the easiest kid to get to nap and into bed. YES!
-Unfortunately, knows his favorite movies by name and will chant "CARS CARS CARS" when the song Life is a Highway comes on the radio.
-Knows and uses the word "funny". As in "Mama, when you fell it was sooooo FUN-EE!" or "Chasing Loki and Maui until I am almost puking with laughter is FUN-EE!"
-Speaking of the cats. Loki loves Ollie. Maui...not so much. He runs the second Oliver is in his vicinity.
-Best part for Dada and I right now? Oliver says "I wuv ooooo" and totally means it. He is really great at giving "huuugs" and "keeeses". He'll pucker up for anyone. I'm not kidding. When we were in Bozeman in January one of Shawn's cousin Kolby's friends babysat for us. Within literally 5 minutes of her showing up and sitting next to him on the bed he had laid one on her. We are SOOOO in trouble when he's in school!

Since I'm at school (no kids! camp! report cards done!) and I don't really have access to my photos, I'll be sure and post some recent ones this evening. I really promise. I swear I do!

PICTURES PLEEEEAAASSE!

2009-06-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow partygoers! If you were at Oliver's birthday party Saturday, AKA overstimulating kidfest, and took pictures, would you mind sending some my way? Our camera battery died! ARRRG! In hindsight though, it was probably a good thing. I got to spend a lot of quality time holding his hand, trying to get him out of his shell, trying to get him to leave my side and go play, just good quality mom and son bonding time....NOT!

Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen him soooooo wound up!!!! LOL!! Did anyone get any picture of him that wasn't blurred? :-)

Sad, sad world out there

2009-06-09T08:57:00.001-07:00

Ok, this will be quick. I really love me a good mama blog. Seriously. MckMama and Ree Drummond (AKA The Pioneer Woman) write funny, honest, and thought provoking blogs. I love that both of them try to give back to the blog community to show their appreciation.

That said, there are some sick, sick people out there who prey on people's good hearts and emotions. A blog I had been reading recently, but didn't link to because something just felt "off", did in fact turn out to be a fake. Sad. A person apparently lied about being pregnant with a terminally ill baby and sucked a lot of people (and money if you count the 2 cents per hit her blog got) in with her story.

Why mention this? One word. CAUTION. The internet is NOT all true! (duh). As I think about my little man and the access to technology and the world that he will have compared to when Shawn and I were growing up, I am scared to think of what he could be exposed to.

By the way, I'm real. Shawn is real. Oliver, all 33 pounds of him, is real. Really real. Like, no nap yesterday real. Poor Dada! He got Oliver duty while I was out sweating it up with my girlfriend at step class. Sorry, had to get an Oliver story in there!

The Happiest Place on Earth

2009-05-02T08:54:00.000-07:00

No, not Disneyland. Target. Tar-jhey. The day after payday. God help us all...

Here's the list Mama!

Can we PLEASE leave already! A boy can only handle so much!

I'm so not speaking to you right now...

As promised, although late!

2009-04-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

Has it seriously been a month since posting? Bad blog mama, bad!

On the horizon for me is some time to get projects done as I have a STUDENT TEACHER taking my crazies for 6 weeks. I have a full list, but maybe, just maybe I'll be able to make sense of the nuttienes that is our photo files. Last count? Over 20, 000 picts since Oliver's birth. Yes, I typed that number correctly!!! Crazy what the digital age has brought!

Now, without further blathering on my part, an update about the last month. BUSY Oliver did in fact faceplant onto poor Kori's floor Thursday, resulting in a nice goose egg on his forehead, bruised up lip, and a BROKEN nose!!! ER visit #2 and counting...

This photo was taken when the swelling was the worst.

He recovered crazy quick (hoping he's a quick healer like Dada!), and was ready to party with his cousin Eli at the Marnier's game the very next night.

The West Virgina Alexander's came for a visit, and Oliver got to meet his cousin Eli who is about two months older and probably the world's sweetest, mellowest boy ever. Seriously, his sleep schedule/nap schedule was all messed up and I never, and I do mean NEVER saw him get grumpy about it! We go 10 minutes past when Oliver should be down for a nap and the world is coming to an end at our house. Eli is so good natured, he was a joy to be around.

The boys had a great time until Sunday when Oliver decided that he didn't want to share, he didn't want to play nice, or be even remotely polite. I'm his mom, so I can say this (even though no one else is allowed to...) He was a COMPLETE BRAT Sunday! Check out the pout when Dada had the NERVE to let another boy play with OLIVER'S bubbles!

Seems like he got over it in time to go to the Children's Museum on Monday though!

Hopefully we'll find a playgroup this summer to work on our "learn to play nice with kids your own age" skills. Most of the kids he's around are older and adore him to the point that he's the boss. Must be tough...

I'll post within the next couple of days about some Spring Break fun, and Oliver's latest accomplishment...A BIG BOY BED!!!

I will...

2009-04-22T09:38:00.001-07:00

post an update today. I will post an update today. I will post an update today. Oliver faceplanted on the hardwood floor at his sitter's house and broke his widdle nose. I will post an update today. I will post an update today. I WILL POST TODAY!!!

MckMama

2009-03-23T10:15:00.001-07:00

One of the blogs I love to follow is that of MckMama. Her photography is sublime, her humor is so well appreciated by all the moms who follow her, and her faith in God inspires all who read her blog.

The MckMama family is in need of prayers right now. Their youngest son, Stellan (AKA MckMuffin) was diagnosed with heart problems in utero that were supposed to be fatal. He was born well and whole, thank God, but those heart problems reared their ugly head again last night and this morning. Please be thinking about them and praying for little Stellan that his heartrate returns to normal and that the family can again breath a sigh of relief. Click on their link in the "Blogs I Follow" bar for more information.

No, NOT! and some fun in the sink

2009-03-15T22:40:00.000-07:00

A new Ollisim for you...No, NOT! When asked "Do you want to go to bed?" we are now met with the reply of "No...Not." It's pretty funny, I'll have to catch some video of it for you all.

Fun in the sink. Ok mom, I know you are going to say I let him get away with too much, but in my defense, it was Report Card Friday and I just gave up...Here' s what my darling boy figured out how to do on Friday...

Just playin in the sink ma. Just "wuay-eeshing"

You still watching? You SURE?

Look the other way mama, look the other way...

Come on, I'm WAAAAYYY too cute and smart for you. You know I'll just climb right back in when your back is turned, so why fight it?

Thaaaaat's right mom. You just let me play!

In the end, Oliver won. I stripped him down and let him play. Hey, a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do!

He was having so much fun. Mom was having fun. Dada got home in time to play in the sink too. Now if we could just get the cats to join in...I'm pretty sure they were hiding as far away as possible during this episode!

Shoot milk out your nose funny!

2009-03-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

While we were in Montana a couple of weeks ago, Ollie and I stopped by A&W for lunch (I wish we had one closer...mini corndogs, yum!). They give you this cute kids lunch pack, complete with hot dog, french fries, apples, Teddy Grahams, milk, wet-wipes, and a root beer sucker. Oliver really has only had a sucker 2 or 3 times, so they are still a fun novelty for him. He went around the hotel room, blissfully licking away. He never stuck it in his mouth, he just kept sticking out his tongue and rubbing the sucker on it. Snapping picts, I caught this:

You REALLY should click on it to get the large version to feel the full impact of the "crazy sugar eyes"...

IT DOESN'T EVEN LOOK LIKE HIM!!! I thought I was going to loose my lunch from laughing so hard when it came up on the camera. Really, one eye is bigger than the other, he's got his lips all curved in, and his tongue is about down to his chest. Is it just me, or does it look like he's saying "SUGAR GOOD, huh, huh, SUGAR GOOOOOOOD!" Seriously, he really is much cuter, so when I get gems like this, gotta share. Just for comparision, here is my usual shot of him:

Just for Mavis and Tianna

2009-02-16T00:02:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I was doing some layouts in Jan about the Sorenson "Baby Thiefs". Mavis is the one we ALL know about (Perry, Laura, Kolby, and Justin chime in here...), but I thought it totally funny that the person who showed up in photos "stealing" Oliver at Ryan's wedding wasn't Mavis but...TIANNA! HA! These pages are going in Oliver's book. Love you ladies! Mavis, you make Shawn feel like a bit of Lavonne is here loving on the boy, and Tianna, well...it has to be genetic! Love you both!

Seriously, you have to check this out

2009-02-15T22:57:00.000-08:00

Ok, new guilty addiction going onto my "watched Blogs" bar. The Pioneer Woman ROCKS. She cooks, she remodels, she homeschools her 4 "punks" (which deep in my heart is what I wish I could do with lil man so he never had to face the hurt of kids who don't know what it means to be a good person), she gushes over her cowboy hubby. Sigh. I could seriously live her life. Of course, I'm deathly allergic to horses, so it's not an option, not to mention Shawn's serious case of the "Citys". He could TOTALLY be a small town man, but I can't get him to realize this. I miss my small town, miss knowing the people I see in the store, miss feeling safe leaving my doors unlocked. Oh well. The things you do for love.

Speaking of love, Shawn is so funny. For Valentine's Day, I had some fun with Photoshop. I made Shawn some framed picts of Oliver and of our wedding day to show him our love.

He came in after work, no presents in hand. Oh well, I thought. No biggie. We're trying to watch our pennies for our down payment on a new house, so no big deal. I was completely happy with the "Happy V-day!" emails and texts, I just like to know I'm being thought about...About an hour after he came home, he went out to his truck and brought in CHOCOLATE, ROSES, SPA GIFT CERTIFICATE, and CRAZY SWEET CARD! He was disappointed that I didn't get mad that there was no V-day gift. Silly boy! I've become so much less about "things" since Olllie came that I was just happy that we had the energy to hug and kiss after work.

Speaking of kisses and Oliver... (no, there's not another baby on the way, Momma has a few goals in mind for the next year before we think about that, more to come later...). Oliver is totally hilarious when we are smooching. If one of us is holding him up when we kiss, Ollie will actually take his hands and push our heads together. Too cute! He's gotten so good at showing his love lately. He gives hugs out freely, smooches Momma when she's putting him in the car seat, and says "luv you!" at bedtime. Sigh.

Love my boys!

Blogger photo issues

2009-02-06T20:00:00.001-08:00

I hate blogger's photo issues. The captions don't match, but you are all smart adults. I'm sure you'll figure it out!

New pictures, as promised!

2009-02-06T19:46:00.001-08:00

Eating a pear, down to the very core.

Hiding in a suitcase. All in a day's work if you are
Oliver.

Totally wiped out after playing hard at Kori's house.

Chillin in our new backpack. Hard life, but someone has to do it!

Computer time. Shawn is totally in love with how cute the tootsies are in this one!

Ollieisms

2009-02-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. I should post more pictures. Photos of the park and an adventure with a pear coming tonight... Until then, I will leave you with a list of Ollieisms. He is talking tons (who would have imagined with two such quiet parents?!?!?), but sometimes he needs a translator.

buy-eesh=brush (chanted at bedtime when he wants to zap us with the vibrating sonicare)
doush=juice
on, On, ON, ONNNNNNN!!=Momma, I really don't like that radio station, can you please kindly change the channel?
uck=truck
buk=garbage can (no idea where this one came from!)
aaaa-dun=all done (accompanied by throwing food from his plate if we don't immedatly get him down from the chair!)
WALL-E=ok, no translation needed, but since we watch it probably SEVEN TIMES A WEEK it gets on the list
Kor-gi=Kori, his daycare provider
grag-ge=Grannie
pog-gorn=popcorn, usually eaten while we watch WALL-E, AGAIN
Hi Bay-bee!=said as he greets us in the morning, or when we catch him getting into something he shouldn't be into (he thinks cute solves every problem...he's right)
Mau-mau=Maui the cat. Funny because it's what I call the cat too. Maui is actually letting Oliver touch him now that he isn't trying to drag him around by the tail...
Ni-nite=goodnight. He'll actually say this when we are rocking at bedtime when he wants to go to sleep. So sweet!
Luvb you=Love you!

Love my boy.

The Evil Empire of Thomas the Tank Engine

2009-01-03T22:57:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'll admit it, Shawn and I need to go to a 12 step program for Thomas the Tank Engine. WE love the show, WE love the toys. WE need help.

Notice that Daddy is playing with the trains while Oliver has moved on?

Let me go back to where it all began. Shawn. A little boy. Going to Montana on the Amtrack Empire Builder with his mom and siblings to visit family. Loving all that had to do with trains. Flash forward to December 2007. Shawn, Carrie and Oliver sitting in our "sleeper car" (HA! That's a story for another time!). Oliver was mesmerized by the cars that would whiz past on the other line.

All the other moms were talking about how much fun Thomas was, how versatile the toys, how stimulating the play was. Sucker rookie mom starts letting, gasp, her son WATCH TV, but only Thomas (due to it's supposed "educational value"). BIG PROBLEM!!!! Who can resist their barely walking son (this was during the summer) dancing, swaying, and clapping to the Thomas theme song? Evil, evil Brits!

When we read books after this "Thomas Exposure" that had trains in them, little man always piped in with a "choo-choo!". So what are any good, loving parents to do for Christmas? Feed the addiction of course!

Black Friday rolls around and Shawn found a smokin' deal on the Thomas play table. According to his Microsoft Dads boards, it was the "must have" for any Thomas collection. Thus it began...He got Thomas gifts from family, but then...

Dad and Mom found out about...EASTSIDE TRAINS. I kid you not, Shawn and I hit that store at naptime. Oliver was OUT COLD. Like a limp noodle in my arms almost the entire time (until I had to pass him off to Dad because my arms were dying). WE WENT NUTS. CRAZY. Yes, Eastside Trains has a "Thomas Club" where we get 25% off of everything, but we still did some serious damage. The worst part? (get ready for a predction here...) SHAWN WAS TOTALLY DROOLING OVER THE MODEL TRAINS. I'm pretty sure that model trains will be something that the Alexander men will be having fun with while I'm scrapbooking.

LOVE MY BOYS!!!

Are they EVER going to put this together and put it in my room?!?!?!

SNOWPOCALYPSE 2008!

2008-12-21T21:42:00.000-08:00

Ok, now this is just getting silly. Come on, a FOOT of stinkin' snow in BELLEVUE? It's beautiful outside though, I must say. It has made everyone around here slow down and actually be more cheerful, go figure! I was at the Starbucks drive through yesterday, and the car in front of me paid for my drink, Merry Christmas! I was so flustered that I totally forgot to do the same for the car behind me, I thought of it as I drove away with a big smile on my face.

Oliver isn't so sure about this whole snow thing. He likes to trudge around in it, but HATES to get it on his mittens. He is actually totally in love with going for "wa-waks" in the snow, but he won't even hold a snowball when I make one for him. Funny boy! I'm sure the time will come when I won't be able to get him inside on weeks like this one until he's a little Olliesickle.

Hey, why is it all white outside?

This is fun!

Seriously. Did I mention that this is FUN!

Gotta. Get. Snow. Off. Mittens.

I DON'T WANNA COME IN!!!!

More Oliver!

2008-11-13T20:10:00.000-08:00

Shawn just posted new pictures on his Spaces site. Check it out for new fall adventures with Oliver!

ADDITION!

2008-10-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

Oops! I almost forgot the promised "phone up the nose" photo! (He's gonna kill me for this one someday...)

Oct pictures and COSTUME FUN!!!

2008-10-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

What do you mean I'm not supposed to pour out the entire container of chocolate milk onto my tray?

Computer geek in training helping Daddy build our Media Center

Fun with BUBBLES!!!

Last year, Oliver only wore his dragon costume briefly (20 mins or so) a couple of times. This year we are getting some MILAGE out of them! Yes, I said them...Momma couldn't help herself and bought two costumes! In my defense, the skeleton was $10 at Joanns, and the bat was $11 at Old Navy. Two for Oliver cost WAAAYYY less than the Vikings for mom and dad. Side note-the boy is loosing weight and not eating, so what costume did we get?!?!?! A SKELETON!!! HA!!

Friday, we went to the Fall Harvest Festival at my school so Oliver could meet my class this year. He had a BALL!!! It was chilly, so his fleece bat was the costume of the night. He so totally loves other kids! He gets to play with a lot of older kids at Kori's house (where he goes for daycare) so he thinks he is just one of the gang around school. It was so funny to watch him go up to complete strangers and garble away at them like "Hey! My name is Oliver. Wanna play?"

Saturday, we went to our friend's house for a party. It's fun thinking back to parties at the Wilner's house even just two years ago when only 2 or 3 of our friends had kids to this year-two pregnant ladies (one being the hostess! She was an ADORABLE Raggedy Ann doll!) and almost all of the couples there have kids now! Too funny! Oliver was a perfect gentleman, dragging Uncle Ryan's axe around and feeding the Wilner's beagle Ali. We called it a night at 10:00-Oliver stayed up the whole time, waaayyy past his bedtime. He was melt your heart cute on the way home. I was stroking the side of his head in his car seat but when I stopped he grabbed my hand and pulled it back to his face with this heartstopping sweet smile on his face. I could almost cry right now thinking about it.

Love my batboy...AKA Ollieton...

NORSKA ON THE LOOSE!!!

October has been crazy!

2008-10-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. Between my school commitments and the scrapbook projects I've got going on right now, the blog has taken a hit. I'm getting ready to go to our Fall Harvest Festival with Oliver tonight, but after we get home I'll spend some quality time getting new picts and news updated. Like the one where he's shoving the phone antenna up his nose...PRICELESS!

Punkin' Patch

2008-10-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

The weather out here wasn't so bad on Sunday, so the little fam all trooped out to the pumpkin patch by Theno's Dairy in Redmond. Mr. Oliver REALLY needed a nap, but still, we had a great time. His favorite was feeding the alpacas and running in the puddles. Go figure. The kid who didn't want to see animals at the fair didn't want to play in the pumpkins at the pumkin patch. Sheesh!

Waving at the kids on the hay ride

I am SOOOO NOT happy!

Dad, do I SERIOUSLY have to ride in this?

Did I mention that I'm NOT HAPPY?!?!?

I'm outta here!

Finally! One MY size!

HEY! Who put the big one in?!?!

Walkin with mamma

YES! Alpaca slobber!

She TOTALLY likes me!

So much fun!

2008-10-02T11:29:00.001-07:00

I just checked Ali Edward's blog about her GREAT "A Week in the Life" project. Basically you document every little nuance of your life for one week, photos, notes about what you did, and collecting "stuff" like receipts and notes you wrote to people. Kolby-it would be such a cool project for you! I'm going to do this next week, but I had commented about involving Kori, Oliver's daycare provider.

So cool-Ali Edwards actually answered my question! OK, it's a silly thing, but she's a big one in the world of scrapbooking and it was kind of like my brush with fame. HA!

Wow, this world of blogging really starts to make you feel connected with the world. In a simple click, I can share ideas and comments with people around the world and they ANSWER! Just think about the possiblities...

Oliver pictures, loads of them!

2008-09-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

Shawn just uploaded a massive quantity of photos (45!) to the spaces site. Click the link that's on the right hand side a bit lower on this page for them.

We love our photogenic boy!

New photos!

2008-09-27T20:13:00.001-07:00

I don't have a whole banana shoved in my mouth dad, honest...

1st OREO!!! Haloween version, so the filling is orange

Shove that cookie in!

My boys, just hangin out

What ma? Put the ziplocks away?

The Incredible Shrinking Oliver

2008-09-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Oliver had his 15 month check up and shots this week. Poor baby! He did well with the shots (only cried when she stuck him, then he quit pretty quick), but his vx (vaccine) shot site is a hard lump now and he acts like it's pretty sore. :-(

The other thing we found out is that he's LOOSING weight! Yikes! He was 28 lbs at 1 year, but only 24 this month. 4 pounds lost in 3 months might not sound like a big deal, but when you only weighed 28 to begin with...At the 12 month appt he was 31 inches (97th %) and 28 lbs (80th %), this month he's 33 inches (97th % still) and 24 lbs (50th%). Our doctor isn't too worried, but wants to be sure it's just due to his CONSTANT activity. So, he's on a "high-fat" diet for the month which consists of things like full fat yogurt instead of low-fat, any kinds of cheese, avocados, bananas, etc to get him to gain some weight. Only one problem-he's hit an "I'll only eat fruit and cereal" stage. He absolutely REFUSES to touch half of the things we've been trying to get him to eat (he sticks his little hand out like "talk to the hand", pretty funny!), but we are being stubborn about it. We were really good about setting a schedule of 3 meals a day with 2-3 snacks, but now he's having to snack all day to get any of the foods he doesn't like down. Regular meals are out the window. So much for being consistent!

Still, all in all, he's a very healthy boy...We just need to get some meat on his bones!

New Oliver cuteness:
*You say "Suck in your tummy Oliver" and he starts pulling his tummy in and out like a belly dancer
*He spins on command until he is so dizzy he starts walking crooked
*He'll walk backwards until he gets to Loki and then tries to sit on him. He usually misses (thank goodness! Poor Loki...), but it sure is funny to see him shuffle backwards while looking over his shoulder, PLOP, then listen to his peals of laughter when just misses the cat
*His "best" word, the one he knows cold and will ALWAYS say when he sees them or gets to play with the wand, is BUBBLE

Love my boy!

Going to the Fair!

2008-09-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

We are taking Oliver to his first fair tomorrow, so check back Sunday for picts of this great adventure...He sees cows in books and says "moooo", so we are excited to see if it carries over into real life!!!

UPDATED: No, he didn't moooo at the cows. They were too big to be real, come on! He did love the baby chickens, the fans on the ceiling of the cow barns, the water faucets, the handwashing sink, the paper towel dispenser...You get the idea. Animals, boring. Mechanical and plumbing things-WAAAAAAYYY cool! I'll try to figure out video in the blogger format and give you all some glimpses of his day.

Sick Ollies...

2008-09-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know most parents (understandably!) hate it when their kiddos are sick, and if every little bug our man caught was like the one in March (see our spaces site, scared the life out of me), I would hate it too. But, I have to reluctantly admit, I suck up every minute of Oliver neediness. When he doesn't feel good, like the last two days (pretty minor-just a seriously runny nose), he wants to...CUDDLE!!!! This is a go, go, go boy. NO hugs, absolutely NO kissies, and you better not even think about sitting still during a book. When he's sick though, just like Daddy :-) he wants to be babied. I LOVE IT!!!

Last night, he woke up stuffy and unable to sleep. He pulled up his soft blankie, snuggled in on Mom's side, and rocked for an hour. His little hand was playing with the edge of my robe, just by my heart. Melted every inch of it too. Hummed along with his Twinkle, twinkle, and I kept on rocking even though I knew he was asleep.

Made me think about sitting in the NICU with him falling asleep on my chest. He was so little, just barely fit under my two hands. Now it's all I can do to fit us both into the rocking chair (ok, maybe Mom needs to loose that post nursing weight! HA!). He's so big and independent now, but I love that he still needs his mommy. I hope that never changes, no matter how much taller he gets than his vertically challenged mother.

We love our boy...

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star...

2008-09-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

Ub abbuuuuv, Ub abbuuuuv...This is what Oliver boy is now chanting as I sing along with his ni-night music box. It's always right on time too, just after "How I wonder what you are". Melts my heart that he "sings along" now.

Oliver and music. Wow. I know all babies and toddlers are naturally musical creatures, but he REALLY loves music. Anything comes on the TV, commercial jingle to music video, and he's bouncing and swaying with the music. In the car we listen to XM Kids and the "YEAAH TOAST!!" song busts him up EVERY TIME. He bounces his shoulders in time, claps his hands, yep this boy got the Sorenson genes in the music department! Which is good...mama can't carry a tune in a bucket!

That's not to say I don't love music. I'm almost fanatic about Gaelic Storm. They are a crazy, amazing Celtic band who sing about love, the sea, and whiskey. Hey, they're Irish-what do you expect!?!?! I've got to get my boy jigging soon, or get him a fiddle. :-)

Love my singing boy...

Tagenator and the Lawrensons

2008-09-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note about the blogs I "follow". Tage Daniel is the son of Shawn's cousin Kolby. She and her hubby Justin welcomed Tage into the world in January with a few challenges. With mommy and daddy's caring hearts and hands, and a crew of great doctors at Children's Hospital in Denver, Tage is now growing like mad and breathing better every day. Take a minute to give the Carriers a note of support and see the cute smiles that Oliver's cousin is showing to the world.

While I don't personally know the Lawrensons, their story really inspired me to explore my faith again. Nate and Tricia (who has cystic fibrosis) were working to get Tricia listed on the transplant list last fall for the new lungs she so desperately needed due to her advanced CF. Surprise, surprise, a different prayer was answered for them at the same time-they were expecting their first baby. Rather than terminate and put Tricia on the transplant list, they opted to carry the pregnancy as far as they could. Baby Gwyneth was born at 24 weeks, mommy was on a ventilator, and placed back on the transplant list. Prayers were answered and Tricia received her new lungs on her husband's birthday!! Tricia and Gwyneth are now home, dealing with some issues from the baby's prematurity and post-transplant lymphoma (seriously, could these people have ANYTHING more to get through!) but are doing well.

The part that stuck with me, besides it being an amazing story of love and hope, was their faith. I would be mad at the world, hating the place that I had been put in. Instead, this family uses their situation to show people just how thankful they are to God for every day they get. They are also huge advocates for paying it forward, and their site is worth the read. Take a minute to read about this amazing family. It will not fail to inspire. Nate, if you ever read this, thank you for showing me just what I could have missed in my life without a major change in outlook.

Here's the reason I write, the reason I strive everyday to make myself the best person I can be:

Love my boy...

2008-09-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

It was so hot mid August that I just had to find a way to let Oliver get cooled off without having to fill the car with gear. We set off for Fred Meyer in search of one of those fun kid spaghetti noodle sprinklers, but all they had was school supplies!

We opted for a regular old sprinkler with the dial where you can change the shape of the spray. It worked like a charm! I was able to find a spray that didn't go straight up his nose, the yard got watered, and I have some great picures. Win Win situation!

Hmmm...I can't stop it with my hand....

Maybe with my foot?

MAAAAA! I can't make it stop!

Love my boy...

For all the Oliver fans out there...

2008-09-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

While Shawn really loves his Spaces site, I find it somewhat cumbersome to post a jillion photos once every two months and then try to catch everyone up. I like this blogger format better. I can tell you all the funnies from Mr. Oliver's life a bit more up to date and quickly. Like...

We thought he was getting over the whole dropping food on the floor when he was done thing. Ummm WRONG!!! He had knocked his corn on the cob (I don't know what's wrong with me, but I find the popping noise when he crunches into the corn just about the cutest, funniest thing in the world!) onto the floor. I was on my knees cleaning it up when it started raining turkey sandwich on my head! Little bugger had looked over, seen me down there, and started chucking his unwanted sandwich onto my head. I looked up and just saw this little hand with the next bomb ready to fly. TOO FUNNY!

The worst part? If he thinks it gets a laugh, he'll keep going. So Shawn came over and was cleaning him up with the whole "no Oliver, we don't throw food" admonitions, and I was stuck under his high chair, turkey in my hair, trying to compose myself so Oliver wouldn't see or hear me laughing!

Love my boy...