Who me? Anxious?

So I was sitting in the Urgent Care this past Saturday morning, describing my chest pain to the Dr. (Chest, front of neck and jaw = classic heart attack symptoms) and she asked me if I had any stressful things going on in my life. I giggled a little and said "Well, I have been trying to potty train my son this week"... And she sent me home with some information on anxiety and advice to "give the potty training a break". Huh- larious. Seriously, Potty training gave me anxiety? Well that, and a long list of things in my life that no matter how hard I try, I cannot control. You see I have an issue, an issue with control. In that, I want it, all the time. So Samuel, after 3 days of mercilessly putting him on the potty and making him play in his underwear all day was having 1 or 2 "accidents" a day. ( And don't worry he is totally okay with me sharing this) He never got the whole 'tell Mommy when you have to go tinkle' thing. He'd cross his legs and wiggle. We ask if he has to go. He replies: "No all done". Then starts to run around the couch, abruptly stops, a fog comes over him and he pees. Now he knows this is not how it is supposed to go so he states the obvious: "Uh-oh." Saturday, after my "diagnosis" I drastically reduced the focus on potty training and he is in and out of diapers this week. He goes in the toilet sometimes and diaper sometimes. My chest pains are gone. Oh well. My iron (stubborn) will has been broken by my two year old.

Enough toilet talk. In an effort to coax Spring to show its warm sunny face I decided to make a new Paper wreath. Ironically, the day I bought said 'spring paper'- it snowed. But, not to be deterred, I traced, I cut, I glued and in the end, I had two happy little wreaths ready for Spring. Now to sit back and anxiously await the tulip's blooms.

Brennan has become one of those babies, you know, the ones that are incredibly difficult to change because whenever you lay them down on their back, they roll right over to their tummy. He arches his back. He reaches out his arms. He cries. He gets poop on his leg. You wave a toy in his face to distract him. It is a wrestling match every time. We often find ourselves forgetting or just not realizing that he is growing, because we always see him next to Samuel. And in that ratio Brennan is always teeny. When we visited our friends who have a two week old. We realized just how big he is getting! He is also sitting up now. Rolling all around the room, scooting and wriggling. Busy little guy. Side note: Let's discuss Samuel's eyelashes for a moment. Why does God give cute little babies and kids the longest thickest lashes? I mean come on! This is what women pay for. Latisse was invented in envy of these lashes. False lashes, mascara, eyelash extensions... And behold the glory. Yes. I took these pictures specifically to show off the lashes. sorry for the nostril shot.

And who doesn't love a video? Brennan discovered the "baby in the mirror"

Happy Valenti... Oh shoot.

Love

February seems to be speeding past us. Time flies when you are having fun! We have had visits from two favorites, Gramma and Aunt Anna. Samuel, being a two year old boy, decided to wait until after Gramma left to start actually saying "Gramma", which when she heard it over the phone was almost enough to bring her right back. It is a little more like "dramma" but the intention is there. Samuel, always our literary scholar, is currently reading 'The busy world of Richard Scary' and rereading and rereading. His page turning is punctuated with exclamations of "doldbug!" With Aunt Anna here we warned her that he have an 'echo' now, to which Samuel responded "echo!" He repeats strangers when we are out at the store and most things we say. Brennan is still fairly quiet unless he sees some food. Apparently, between each bite of food there is just too long of a pause for him and he squeals until you plummet another spoonful of goodness into his awaiting open mouth. When he hears you shaking a bottle he starts to breathe faster and faster until it comes into view and he begins his oh so pathetic little "uhheh, uhheh, uhheh, uheh, ehyaaaaaaaaaa!" Whence said bottle finally enters his starving mouth he makes a satisfied "nyun nyumm mmunn" sound and chows down. Just a bit over dramatic but aren't we all? Brennan is as we say "grabby." As in, if something comes anywhere near him he reaches out his tiny little hands and grabs on for dear life. This can be our hair, shirt, necklace, maybe the spoon that is all too slowly delivering his food, any toy or puzzle piece and also his own pacifier {Which he yanks out of his mouth, with a "pop!" while falling asleep, only to result in a sad 'I am a victim' cry and the restarting of the whole falling to sleep process} Fun times.

These are a few photos (of the hundreds Anna and I took) at Point Defiance Park. Samuel fed ducks and played in the trees. Poor Aunt Anna was terribly cold.

But the drive through the park brought some beautiful scenery!

We are really enjoying our church, New Life Renton, and weekly comment on how we love the basic Biblical preaching. Like, here is a section of verses from the Bible, here is the story it tells, here is how it applies to you. Easy. I get it. I like where it comes from. Right now we are in a sermon series about Simon Peter. What a real guy! He was so, what's the word?? Well, we'll just say, he didn't always get it. He wasn't super smart, and cool. He made major mistakes and went on to Lead the church. Jesus actually said to him "Get behind me Satan". I find many of Peter's musings quite funny. As our Pastor eloquently put it: "The Bible is really interesting, You should read it."

This week was full of sun glorious sun. Samuel tried something he hasn't done in a while- play outside! Wheee! We picked up a new bike helmet for his monster head and a plastic baseball bat and ball at Target. At first he held onto the wrong end of the bat and swung it at the ball on the ground, golf was his first sport you know. He has learned the correct way, though and I am sure he will soon be hitting Gran Slams. Saturday we decides to venture out since it was such nice weather (54 degrees and sunny whoo hoo!) We packed up everything we would need and an hour later hit the road for Northwest Trek. A very cool place, like a more natural, calm zoo like experience with all native North American animals in native settings. The carnivores - bears, wolves coyotes etc- are behind electric wires and water and various other safety features yet still in very natural looking environments. It is a beautiful place.

Yes this is real.

Otter

Linx

Amazingly these next pictures were taken from a moving tram!

Bison

Mountain goat

Goose

Swans

Elk

Wolves

Wild animals!

Family fun

I think spring is really starting. How do I know you ask? No not the week full of sunshine we have had, or the temps in the 50's. Not the tulips making their debut, or the chorus of frogs croaking us to sleep every night. I know spring is here because my allergies have erupted like Mt. St. Helens! Yikes. This will be an interesting season. ta ta.

Two of Brennan's favorite things- His bottle and his foot.

Brennan giving Aunt Anna some love

He has such a penetrating gaze...

Isn't this boy just barely two years old?? He looks so big!

Samuels sing a long

Brennan- One minute of joy

Brotherly love

Where did all these grey hairs come from??

It's February 2010. Where does time go? It has been almost a year since our blog was up and running, and even then it was only once a month.

Some changes ahead-

I will now write from my point of view; I used to write from Samuel's perspective, but now that he is not the only child around here, we'll adjust to Mom vision.

I'll try (try being the operative word here) to write more often.

I mentioned before about our blog going private, I am holding off for now. 




Sooo, here we go:


Tomorrow Brennan will be 6 months old. Samuel turned 2 January 20th. The past year has brought huge changes to our life. Brennan was born into our family August 11, 2009 (right on his due date!). He came in at 21 1/2 inches, 8lbs 9oz., at 5:29 am. He was a sweet quiet little baby, who barely cried and was a great sleeper. This really helped in us in our transitioning life at the time, but let me tell you, he was just foolin' us. Today he is a feisty little bugger, with a bit of a dramatic streak He is definitely an attention lover especially from the ladies ~ I wonder if we have an actor on our hands? He certainly has a different personality! But he is a cuddly little snuggler, and he wakes up chatting and smiling. God blessed us with a great boy. 


Samuel is at the stage where he is beginning to repeat everything he hears. He talks a lot, narrating our car trips  by pointing out every truck, taxi, car and motorcycle and their color. He is especially fond of small fast looking cars or convertibles which are all deemed "uncle" after his uncle Jared's speedy red convertible. Samuel is a big reader and loves puzzles. He is also my quiet one, very reserved in new places and around new people. I thoroughly enjoy this part of him, that still needs Mommy close by in certain situations. There are a growing number in which I am cast aside and his sprouting independence leads him away. He is also a terribly polite little boy and surprises me often with his cleaning up skills and putting things where they go. I am sure he got that from me. ha. 


Last summer David was offered a new job in the Seattle area. After lots of prayer and advice seeking we packed up our 5 week and 20 month old and left the home we had known since we got married in the city I was born and raised in! Ya think it was a change? Actually we love Washington weather, which is what everyone thought would be so hard to adjust to, its the distance from family that proves difficult. It catches you off guard in the small moments. Missing my grandparents 70th anniversary celebration was only the first of many (and I am sure many to come) moments of wishing we were only a 2 hour car ride away instead of a 2 hour flight. A year ago 2 hours by car would have sounded crazy to me. I never would have thought it was something I would entertain, but my perspective has shifted. And now I am finding myself being molded by the hands of a great potter, and the wheel started spinning when we landed in Washington. Here I am a girl, used to having 30 or so family member within, oh about 6 miles. I had never sought out a babysitter, never had to. And paying one? huh?  Our church home was so comfortable, its where we met and my family has attended for 15 years give or take, that we were sad when they announced plans to renovate the old carpet  and pews (pea green and mustard yellow) along with many other out of date items. So here we are far away from the things that were so comfortable and routine. Here we are being molded and formed in a beautiful place, out on our own, like a baby bird being shoved out of the nest to try out their wings and figure out how to live without relying on the comforts they had always known and the protection of their mother.

Life in Washington has been absolutely enjoyable (despite the obvious bouts of pouting and feeling desperately far away from "home"). The weather we have had has been considerably mild and being a CA girl rain is still an anomaly to me-  We often are hit in the face with  gorgeous views of Mt. Ranier shimmering and snow covered. There are lakes, rivers and islands galore, just waiting to be explored and enjoyed. The air is always crisp and clean smelling, like after it rains, because usually it just did. There is a great support of local foods and healthy living which we do our best to follow. We have great friends who live up here that we have hardly seen in the past few years and now we love getting to spend time with them and be in their lives! We are just staring at blank pages ready to be filled with God's teaching, adventures and possibilities. 




There are too many pictures from the last year to choose from, but here are a few:

We've been renewed for another season!

Well, we are approaching the one year mark in our unintentional hiatus from blogging. I have been thinking lately of refocusing my facebook, twitter, email efforts and concentrating them on our blog. However I also think I will be making it private. Weird things going on out there with peoples pictures and such. So keep an eye out!

Julia

Being 1 is crazy!

Where do I start?

So I'm 1 now and I guess that means you get to do all kinds of fun, exciting things, like going to the zoo where I got to go down a slide, and ride an elephant and a camel...

and using the computer...

...eating real people food...mmm....pasta....

...and showing Great Grandpa and Cousin Scotty how to destroy a tower of blocks!

But being 1 has brought some things that were not so fun too. Like getting sick :(

I had a double ear infection and then got a rash from the medicine the Dr. gave me. My mom and dad thought I was going to turn completely red. Just look at my belly!

Then when I started to feel better I was spinning around our house and I fell and hit my lip. I had to get 4 stitches. It wasn't that bad, luckily I still have all my teeth, and now this cool scar. I think it will impresses the ladies.

So after I got all better, mom and dad decided I deserved a vacation so we went to Crystal Cove beach and stayed in a cottage. It was a lot, lot, lot of fun.

At first I wasn't too sure about this sandy beach stuff...

but after trying it, it was pretty good and fun.

The Davidson's joined us for a day too. I showed them how to destroy sand castles.

I really like the water. Those waves aren't that scary, but for some reason daddy kept scooping me up everytime a big one came.

Once when he wasn't looking I ran into the water...it was so cold but I didn't mind.

Then, a few weeks after we got back it was this thing called Easter that they say is about Jesus. All I know is I got a lot of candy, popped a lot of bubbles, and got a new hat, but sometimes when I go to sleep mommy puts my new hat over my diaper. Silly mommy. It's only half full. I'm pooped...so long for now.

Samuel