Turning into a Yogurt

Mia:  Mom, why do people turn into a yogurt? (Emphasis on the YOH-gert)
Me: I don't know anyone who has turned into a yogurt.
Mia: I do. She was a girl.  And then she got married because she was a yogurt.
Me: You sure have a good imagination.
Mia:  No, mom.  It's for real. The yogurts got married to themchother (each other)
Me: (Not sure what to say, and also a little distracted as I happened to be feeding Dane pears for the first time).  Well, that's nice.

Later, I remembered that Shelton let Mia watch Shrek for the first time whilst I was running errands.  Mia was right.  People (like Fiona) really do turn into Ogres sometimes.  Just not Yogurts.

.........

Later

Need a Ride?

Five more Fings

I know that I have mentioned Mia's tendency to stall bedtime on several occasions.  Tonight our conversation went something like this (I collaborated with Shelton to make sure I stayed true to her own "voice"):

Me:  Alright baby girl, tell me one more thing and then it's time to go to bed.
Mia:  OK mom.  I have one more of five more fings (things) to tell you.

Me: (sighing) Alright missy, what's thing one?
Mia: I lub you.

Me: I love you too.  What's thing two?
Mia: You picked me some blueberries in the tree because you lub me so much.  (This is untrue.  I bought some blueberries at the grocery store, but we've been talking about how veggies and fruits are grown on farms before they come to the store).

Me:  I do love you lots, that's for sure.  What's thing three?
Mia:  Does Bingo lamby have brothers and sisters?  (and then, without pause) Yes.  He does.  They are in his tummy and he feeds them milk.  One is named Rosie.

Me:  That's a tricky situation.  What's thing four?
Mia: I forgot fing four.  Do you remember it?

Me:  No, I don't remember it.  Do you remember thing five?
Mia:  Yes.  Fing five is that I have five more fings to tell you.

This little girl is WAY too smart for her own good.

Father's Day

I have been blessed to have many wonderful fathers present in my life.  Not the least of which being my own father, who has been nothing but supportive of every endeavor I've ever undertaken, and a father-in-law who has taken me in as one of his own.

Having a newborn baby in my house however, I am especially grateful for the father of my babies on this particular Father's Day.. When I married Shelton, I knew he was a catch.  What I didn't know was that everyday of my life I would be grateful for his work ethic, his shoulder to cry on, and his crazy comments and ideas that never fail to make me laugh (see: sanity retention).

The past few months and weeks he has been working hard to not only finish up his second year of Medical School, but also take, pass, and excel on his first step boards.  All the while "enjoying" the first weeks of our son's life and dealing with a more-crazy-than-not sleep deprived postpartum wife.  I don't know how he stayed awake during the exams, much less excelled.

In summation, my wonderful husband deserves the happiest of Father's Days.  The highest praise I can give him is that I hope the son we have can grow up to be just like his daddy. We love you honey!

Thrice as Nice

My sister in law sent me some pictures of my newest nephew, Bensen Lance Taylor. 

Don't you just want to snuggle this boy? I keep hoping they'll decide to let me keep him at my house.   Bensen and Dane are two of three baby boy grandchildren on the Taylor side born within a two month span.  (Incidentally, when we were all newly pregnant and pontificating genders, my mom predicted three boys.  Turns out she's psychic). 

This is James Daryn Taylor.  Also too cute to handle.  Unfortunately, he was born in Guam... so I haven't gotten my hands on him just yet.  He and his family just arrived back in the states this week though, so I'm hoping to remedy that soon. 

And of course, my very own little ray of sunshine. No, he's not up for adoption.  Don't even ask.

I think we're going to have our hands full at family reunions. 


PS- After Mia's goodnight kiss tonight, I was surprised when she didn't start up a let's-stall-bedtime-as-long-as-possible-conversation.  Instead, she quietly lay her head on her pillow and said, "Mommy, I'm too tired to sleep tonight."

PPS-  Dane will also have another boy cousin soon on the Knudsen side.  Did he get lucky, or what?

Priorities

Yesterday Shelton and I took Mia and Dane to McDonalds to play.  There were some "big" kids of 12 or 13 playing tag in the actual play structure, and I think they kind of made Mia nervous.  For the first few minutes, she was content to watch them play.  A little later though, she came back to the table and asked me for a wipe.  Thinking she needed to blow her nose or something, I happily obliged.

Several minutes later I noticed her scrubbing the tiled floor very vigorously.  When she saw me watching her, she said "Mommy, this floor is filthy.  I need to clean it before I can play."  Really, Mia?  Silly girl.

I'm trying to decide if this is a reflection of the values I have pressed on her.  If so, I think I need to lighten up.  Play a little more in the mud or something.

Marilyn

This morning I realized that I hadn't been out of the house in awhile, so I loaded up the kiddos and headed over to Kohl's.  The $10 coupon gets me every time. Who can say no to free stuff? I digress. 

Anyway... as we made our way through the housewares, a picture of Marilyn Monroe caught Mia's eye.  Since she (she being Marilyn) was actually decently clad, I addressed Mia's questions and told her that the woman's name was Marilyn, and she was kind of a big deal once upon a time.  Mia's response surprised me:

"Mary?  Oh yeah!  I know her.  She is Jesus' mommy."

I think I have some 'splaining to do.

Much to my dismay

I don't mind most kid shows.  They're usually a little cheesy, but hey... cheesy works for me. In fact, I LIKE cheesy.

That said... I have a slight (okay, huge) aversion to Barney.  There is something about him that kind of creeps me out.  Even though I've subjected Mia to more TV now that I have two kids to nurture... I've avoided Barney at all costs.

Much to my dismay, he made a cameo appearance on a show Mia watched this morning.  I tried to ignore it, but after the program was finished, Mia excitedly exclaimed, "Mommy!  A new dinousaur! (She loves Littlefoot and company).  Let's watch him again!"

I'm doomed.

The Little Man in our House

There is a little man in our house.  He rocks my world.  I thought that the magic of a newborn would be a bit less exciting this time around since this is round two.  I was wrong. 

Dane...
...has had a six hour sleep stretch at night for three of the past four nights
...weighs more at eight weeks than Mia did at 4 1/2 months.  (LOVE the lack of eating issues!)
...already has more clothes than Shelton
..."just says no" to tummy time by instantaneously rolling over
...devours his fingers like it's 1999
...loves bath time
...sleeps best tightly swaddled
...waits to potty until his diaper is off
...could melt an icecap with his smile and change the status of global warming with his giggle
 
and... has already altered my universe so much that I can't imagine a world without him in it

Love this boy with my whole heart.

A Long Post about Imaginary Friends

Before Dane was born, Mia was pretty much the center of my universe.  My worries and concerns oriented around her:  Would she feel a lack of love with my divided attention with the new arrival?  Would Dane's crying wake her up at night? How would I fit her school-time, outside-time, and creative-time (our daily routines) in with an infant?  Would our relationship crumble when we couldn't spend one on one time picking out nail polish together? And so on, and so on, and so on.

Then Dane arrived.  All of the sudden, my tunnel vision jumped track.  Without warning, Mia took a back seat to my little male ray of sunshine.  My worries took on a new subject:  Is he eating enough?  Is he eating too much?  How many wet diapers has he had today?  Do his eyes look yellow to you?  Is his belly button supposed to look like that? He isn't sleeping.  He's been asleep too long!  

When I did have the wherewithal to spare a thought for Mia, it was usually along the lines of: I haven't seen her in awhile, where is she?  Has she eaten anything today?  How many days has she been wearing that outfit?  (Sidenote:  my mother and sister were champions after Dane was born... not only did they make sure she was fed and clothed, they also did fun things like taking her to the zoo and the movies.  I will forever be grateful).

It wasn't that I didn't care.  Not even close.  It was that my sleep deprived self could only muster a few tasks a day, and I chose "keeping my newborn alive" over what was once a very carefully selected set of skills and activities to enrich Mia's life.

Now that things have settled into what seems like something resembling normalcy,  I've been able to break out of my newborn shell.  Mia never ceases to amaze me, and my time "away" from focusing so intently on her has intensified how much I love and appreciate her antics.  

There are some things about her that I never want to forget.

She has poured enough pretend tea to fill the English Channel.

 

She loves chocolate.  And incidentally, band-aids as well.  If I recall correctly, this one was for a headache.

 Just before bedtime, she morphs into comedian mode.  

She knows if she can get me laughing, she'll stall bedtime.

 She spends as much time putting on makeup (usually pretend) as I do these days. I love it when she announces she's ready for the ball.

 "Mests"  NOT nests. She has made about a billion of these in our back yard.  The eggs that go in the mests are usually rocks that will hatch into anything from dinosaurs to baby brothers. 

A "people mest."  She went outside one morning and was more quiet than usual.  

I found her curled up asleep in our very dirty picnic blanket.

 Regular shorts and shirts don't do it for this little chickadee.  

Thankfully, she has friends who share her obsession.

She LOVES her daddy.

 Bingo Lamby, who is not actually a lamb at all, but a goat who resides in our local zoo's petting area.  Mia can't get enough of him.  Forget the zebras and lions, she just wants to hang out with her Bingo.  To give you some idea of how much she loves him (or her?) I printed this picture out thinking she'd like to look at it... she now sleeps with it under her pillow.  The last thing she asks me every night is if I think 

Bingo Lamby is sleeping okay.

 Furniture gymnastics.  You'd think with all of the times she's gotten hurt pulling stunts like this she'd rethink the activity... but no.  If you want to make her day, ask her to show you some "tricky moves."

Mia "practicing to be a mommy." 

Sparkle, Mia's imaginary friend deserves a picture, but has proven illusive thusfar.  Sparkle is quite unique.. she is Mia's best friend, cousin, and twin.  She usually comes on car rides with us, but doesn't sleep at our house.  Mia proclaims she sounds like Kailan from Nick Jr.  She also unfortunately gets lost. A LOT.  Mia is always asking me to help find her.  I am not successful at this.

 

I can't believe that this beautiful, crazy, adorable girl actually calls me mom.

Would you like to meet Baby Brother?

I took Dane for his first walk the other day.  I was pleased when Mia invited one of her park friends over to see her baby brother.  It was a very sweet moment until she added... "Here he is.  Baby Brother.  Would you like to pet him?"

Happy Easter

We had a pretty low key Easter this time around.  In future years, I have big aspirations to make Easter an important holiday for our family (focusing more on the religious than cultural significance).  Under the current circumstances however, we gave Mia the Reader's Digest version of what Easter means and the Easter bunny made a surprise visit to the back yard. 

Mia waiting to open the shutters to see what the Easter Bunny left behind.  She's also smiling because she's excited about the strawberry outfit she's wearing.  (Thanks Grambi!)

She's so into silly faces these days, that it's hard to capture a genuine smile on camera.  This is blurry, but genuine.

Writing her name with a chalk egg.

 The hunt (and incidentally, all the gardening that I could muster this year with my third trimester awesomeness)

Daddy and Dane watch on.

 Have I mentioned that I love this boy?

One of my favorite things that my little chickadee does these days is choreograph dances.  She does a silly dance, a happy dance, a sad dance, a potty dance, a prince dance (this one involves daddy), a friend dance, a mad dance... you get the picture. This is her Easter Dance.

Examining the spoils of the day. 

Most of you have seen this already, but I can't resist.

Dane

Dane Anders Knudsen arrived this past Tuesday, April 12th!

Weight: 6 pounds 13 ounces

Length: 19.5 inches.  

Dane because we love it, Anders because it's a family name (on both sides!) and Knudsen for what I hope are obvious reasons.

The delivery had a few hiccups here and there, but we are both happy and healthy now.  My time comes in pretty short snatches these days so I'll have to post the hospital experience later.  While I've got a few minutes, I'll post what everyone cares about anyway: pictures!

Our Doctor let Shelton deliver our son.  I was jealous he got to hold Dane first.

Our first (and only, or I wouldn't post this awesomeness) family picture.  Please keep in mind that I am so swollen I can't even bend my fingers.  Or smile broadly.  Significant blood loss + rapid fluid infusion = lovely.

This little boy has a tendency to melt hearts.

Mia pets him. Like a puppy.  She has been a sweetheart of a big sister.

Mia has been looking forward to changing this boy's diapers since we told her I was pregnant.  I think she was a little disappointed at how anticlimactic it was.

Shelton performs Dane's first osteopathic treatment. He loved it.

I almost started crying today when I realized this boy is going to grow up and leave me someday.

Who's in charge here?

Mia has been potty trained for some time now but still needs a little assistance when a "run" is required in the middle of the night.  Last night, after just such a run, I stumbled back into bed.  Shelton seemed a little restless (he usually sleeps like a rock).  I reached over and slipped my hand into his in what I thought was a very nice gesture.

Imagine my surprise when he very loudly exclaimed, "Who is in charge here?!"

Me:  What?

Shelton:  I want to know who is in charge here.  This is unacceptable!

Me: Ummm...?

Shelton:  That building should NOT be made of wood.  I want to know who is in charge!

He then turned over incommunicado style.  He now denies any such event ever took place. But I know the truth.

Baby Brother is Anxious

I have been having several (3-4) doctors appointments a week for the past month or so.  Nothing too serious, but my OB has wanted to make sure that everything is going okay after the Preeclampsia scare with Mia.  Since I don't feel sick, I've actually honestly kind of liked having more appointments, because it means that I get to see baby via ultrasound much more often than I otherwise would have. 

At today's appointment, the Perinatologist strongly suggested that the earlier this baby comes the better. To the tune of next weekend, or very shortly thereafter.  I am more than excited to see this little sweetheart, but there is (of course) the worry that he won't be full term and as such have some of the associated risks.  I'm very grateful that Shelton has finished his obstetrics courses and is at least somewhat educated on what things to be extra careful about.

I'm not sure that one can ever be truly "ready" for a baby to come and rock said person's world, but I think I'm as close as I can be.  If we could only agree on a name, we'd be set.  Any suggestions are welcome. :)


PS-  Mia's imagination is running rampant these days, much to my amusement.  Today in the waiting room, she drew some chocolate chip cookies on a receipt I found in my purse.  She very sincerely offered the woman sitting next to us a cookie (carefully 'picking' it up and holding it out to her).  The woman obligingly took a bite but was confused when Mia then took a wipe out of my purse and offered it to her.  Upon being questioned, Mia responded that it was to "Wipe your face.  You hab coc-o-late all ober you.  You are a bery messy eater."

Sometimes I Forget

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am.

Then I remember this little girl.

And this little boy.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, he'll make his earth-side debut in exactly THREE weeks. That's only 21 days, ladies and gentlemen. 

I am already hopelessly in love with him.

PS, We are:

We are:
...overwhelmed with excitement
...feeling blessed
...slightly nervous
...considering Mia's name suggestions as seriously as possible ("...Let's name him Lip Gloss!")

and most importantly,

...expecting a bouncing baby boy at the end of April

Please keep your fingers crossed for us.

Neither Funny Nor Witty

 Alas, I have not yet painted the bathroom.  Where does the time go? I still need to retroblog Christmas, Disneyland, and (gasp!) Thanksgiving, but all in due time.

Today Mia, my mom, cousin Jenny, her son Nicolas and I went to the Children's Museum in Phoenix.  I went hoping to enjoy it, and it greatly exceeded my expectations.  Many of the exhibits and activities are geared towards Mia's age and development group, and we loved every minute of it.  She was very uninterested in leaving, and has high hopes to go back "eberyday for foreber." (On an aside, she somehow has associated the museum with a hotel... and has told me several times tonight that she "misses the hotel, Mommy!" ...Not sure how that happened, but it makes me laugh).