Thursday, December 20, 2012

Homeschool Preschool

So, I've started a very relaxed, very low key PRE-preschool with Dominic. The fact is that we were totally not being productive (this we means me :() and we were watching too much SpongeBob (this we means the boys...I was usually reading or something else not actively engaging all the time). So I needed some direction, a little bit of a schedule.

[caption id="attachment_662" align="aligncenter" width="300"]This is our schedule, I write it out each week (week 2 right now) This is our schedule, I write it out each week (week 2 right now)[/caption]

This is not to say that we always follow it, or that it has our time blocked out. We spend about 10-15 minutes doing each task, and we don't do them in the order they're written necessarily. Basically it's a few ideas for us to direct our day.  This was where we started with our first week:

Week 1
Color: blue
Stack all blue toys
Color with blue crayons and chalk
Find blue items
Letters: D and C
Find things that start with D and C
Learn sounds
Draw the letters
Numbers: 1-5
Counting toys, snacks
Shapes: Circle
Find all circle toys
Draw circles
Body Parts: Arms
Go over parts
Color pictures
Religion: Sign of the cross
Practice before all prayers
Go to Church and practice
Animals: Duck
Find all ducks
Noise


I was going to write this up new every week, but basically I am just changing the color, the letters, body parts, animals and religion aspect each week, so I will keep this as sort of our template. Then I spread out these tasks during the day/week.

[caption id="attachment_668" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Our wall in the "school room" (dining area) Our wall in the "school room" (dining area)[/caption]

When the boys do something like coloring, I put it up on our wall, and they've actually enjoyed going over to look at it later. :) Actually Dominic's obsessed with his this week and he wants to hold it a lot.

[caption id="attachment_666" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Can you guess why he loves it? Yes, I drew SpongeBob for him Can you guess why he loves it? Yes, I drew SpongeBob for him[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_664" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Christopher doesn't really do much yet, but he loves coloring Christopher doesn't really do much yet, but he loves coloring[/caption]

Our animal this week is the frog and the color is yellow; our letters this week are S & P. If my choice of letters seems odd and random, well it is. Last week I chose D & C  because that's the boys' initials and we say their names a lot in the day. Obviously Dominic is not going to be reading at the end of our preschool year so I wanted to do something that was pre-phonics that would help him. We're focusing a lot on sounds and what words begin with those sounds. S & P I chose because, as I mentioned before, SpongeBob is a big deal in our house. And Patrick is his best friend. Today we were talking about 's' sounds and trying to find toys that started with those sounds. I was finding the SpongeBob and Patrick toys, really emphasizing the "sssss" and "puhpuhpuh" noises, and Dominic came over and asked for Squidward. It might be they just connect for him, but he doesn't have a Squidward toy anymore and we don't talk about him a lot. So, I think maybe he was making a connection??

[caption id="attachment_667" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Practicing Hail Mary this week Practicing Hail Mary this week[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_663" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Advent calendar Advent calendar[/caption]

Our religion this week is about the Hail Mary. I have the book My Jesus and I for the boys and I read the Hail Mary to Dominic while we looked at the pictures. We read through it twice and then I wrote it out in four parts to practice with. I wrote it on the yellow paper of course. And put up one of the prayer cards we have of Our Lady of Grace. We will continue to practice things like the Sign of the Cross, which he seems to try doing before meal prayers but sort of looks like he's dancing. It's obviously very adorable. :-D

Then in the midst of these tasks I have some chores listed for us to do. "Daily" chores a couple of times a day and one "weekly" chore. Sometimes Dominic helps me, and other times he just plays. He likes helping with the dishes, and both boys really like sweeping. But other things they haven't caught on to yet.

So, this is how we're doing preschool. Do you do anything specific with your kiddos?

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Wordless Wednesday

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Monday, December 10, 2012

Learning About My Own Weaknesses

I could come up with various excuses for why I haven't blogged lately, but the truth is that I've been terribly lazy. This laziness seems to have leeched into every facet of my being and I've allowed myself to get comfortable with being slothful. This is, of course, a bigger problem than just that our house is perpetually messy with crunchy things being stepped on with every step in the living room. It's bigger than the fact that dinner is rarely planned, and the dishes only done when either a) Jason does them or b) I'm fed up with not having a clean knife. It is even bigger than my laziness in child rearing and resorting to SpongeBob because it's easier. Being slothful is damaging to my soul.

There, I've said it. It isn't so much the act of being lazy that is sinful. It is what that affects. The boys, our house, doing things for my husband. Those things are my vocation. Taking time to engage, play with, cuddle or sing to the boys is so important in my role as momma. Well...maybe not the singing because if I'm being really honest, I'm not a good singer. ;-) Granted, the boys are extremely happy and playful. But when Dominic asks for SpongeBob when he wakes up then it's a serious issue. Making our home welcoming and clean is important too, it is where we spend most of our time and we should be comfortable and happy. Definitely not disgusted by crunchy things under our feet. I have become so caught up in various time wasters (videos online, books) that I neglect to give Jason the downtime he needs at night, instead putting everything on his plate. It is unfair and it is time for it to stop.

I'm not perfect, and I've been perfecting this laziness for about 30 years, so I'm sure I'll fall, but I've got a pretty good schedule and routine to get going.

Also, look for this space to get a bit more involved in the coming weeks; I've got some blog posts planned (NFP and TTA-why we don't as well as how our first week of preschool type activities is going!), and I'm pretty excited!

Also, prayers are appreciated as I attempt to correct this part of my behavior.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Wordless Wednesday

[caption id="attachment_652" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Everyday[/caption]

Monday, October 29, 2012

Where I Confess to Being a Hypochondriac

It's true. When I was pregnant with Dominic I had this one small, what looked like a bite, on my arm. It didn't seem to be going away and one day my boss (the ER director and a great nurse) saw it and she said that it looked like impetigo. I called to make an appointment with the doctor immediately. He hadn't even seen me for my first prenatal appointment yet. He had to look up impetigo (it's not like OBs see a lot of it!), and he walked in with a printout comparing what was on my arm to what was on the picture in his hand. He prescribed an antibiotic ointment. But, I knew better...after all, I had the internet!!! After much searching I found that antibiotic ointments can actually be dangerous to the baby! Didn't the doctor know that??? It's a good thing I went to med school a la Google. I found some homeopathic treatments and tossed the prescription. Oh woe to me...that was stupid. But not as stupid as continuing to look things up online. Comparing my one spot to pictures of pregnancy rashes..but my rash was only that one spot. Or was it? I started looking and what do you know, they were all up my arms. On my chest and abdomen as well. The fear quickly came and went of chicken pox or shingles (I didn't have any other symptoms). It was surprising that I didn't start displaying any symptoms, because the more I looked up about my rash the more spots I found. I am certain that I was freaking myself out and causing a stress induced rash. It lasted 6 weeks. Morning (ha!) sickness had nothing on the rash. Itchy constantly, no sleeping, showers were painful. It was bad. It came back at about 36w and lasted until I delivered. Maybe it was pregnancy related, or maybe I'm a nut.

So why am I making this confession now you ask? Because I want so badly to be pregnant and be expecting our next adorable little bundle of joy that I am constantly feeling nauseous (morning sickness for me starts really early and lasts the entire pregnancy), and wondering if it's because I'm pregnant. With both boys I was sick weeks before I tested positive. Also, I found that I am very sensitive to hormonal shifts so I also get sick with any change in hormones. It's so fun.

Oh wait, so my confession, really it's a plea. A plea for prayers if you can spare any. We are not experiencing fertility problems that we know of, but I want more babies. I am struggling to accept God's will in this, in the timing. So my plea for prayers is not for me to suddenly see those two lines, but for me to accept God's will lovingly. And if you have any tips on learning to accept His timing, I'll gladly take them.

Friday, October 26, 2012

7 Quick Takes (Vol 5)


--- 1 ---


I'm almost a regular blogger this week! Woo! Go me! I really love blogging, but sometimes I feel like I don't have anything interesting to say. But, I've realized after reading various of my favorite blogs, that I'm never going to be as awesome and funny as Dwija, Cari, and Grace, but I'm not writing for fans. (ha! Fans!) But I write because I enjoy it. :)

--- 2 ---


I don't do hyperlinks very often, and even though I looked at it like 20 times, I'm still afraid that I put the wrong links with the wrong names.

--- 3 ---


It snowed this morning some time. I am so excited! It's not like snow all over the roads type snow, but it's pretty and nice.

[caption id="attachment_646" align="aligncenter" width="300"] From our front porch. Doesn't it look like let's get cozy kind of weather?![/caption]

--- 4 ---


I'm ready for more babies!!! We are not struggling with infertility (I don't think), we don't practice NFP for avoiding or conceiving, so trying to just "let go" is really hard. We got pregnant with the boys really easily, and quickly, so we expected that would happen again. I know that God's time is perfect...but boy do I have baby fever!

--- 5 ---


Speaking of babies...Dominic has been saying "want baby" and then hugging Christopher or this morning, kissing him! It is so adorable. He even woke in the middle of the night the other night, and was crying so hard, and when I came to him he said "want baby, baby baby" with his arms held out. I guess he was having a nightmare. It was cute. Even the screams and the cries.

--- 6 ---


I am seriously so ready for the election to be over. I get a ridiculous amount of calls and mail. Holy cow, the mail I get. For a party that espouses being more green, I'll say that the Democrats in Colorado sure waste a lot of trees to send out giant postcards.

--- 7 ---


Which leads me to my last quick take. I am so done with people talking about birth control being healthcare and about how women "deserve" to receive it. I even responded to an annoying tweet from Bill Maher last night (no, I didn't get a response) that someone in my feed had retweeted. Seriously, how is it possible that this is what the democratic process in the "greatest country in the world" comes to?! How sad. Just, sad.



For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Thoroughly Thankful Thursdays Link Up (1)

One of my e-friends, Sarah, has this great link up where she reminds us to be thankful so I decided to link up today!

I am thankful for Sarah for doing this link up because I really want to get back into blogging and writing more and this will help me by giving me a theme at least one day a week.

I've been stressing about Dominic's vision lately. So many people have told us about their friends, (or themselves, or their mother's uncle's next door neighbor) who lost their vision in their "lazy" eye.  But, I'm thankful because we have a plan. We caught this early enough, and got him into a specialist early enough that we have a good chance of keeping his vision intact.  Yes, it is hard for him to do the eye patch therapy, but we're doing it and it is something to be thankful for. We have a plan and we know what to do.

Jason has been working like crazy lately. The hospital is going electronic and this week was a go-live week for one aspect of it. It will be a long journey. There will likely be lots of late nights and early mornings. What's to be thankful about there?? Well, I'm thankful he has a job. And, really, not just any job. But a job that has benefits, that pays enough that I can stay home with the boys, and that gives him some flexibility to come home for lunch (on good days ;-)) and be home early so that I can go work out. I'm thankful for this job that he has. **I might have to come back and read this on a late night sometime. :)

So, what are you thankful for? Link up with us and tell us!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

A Picture Heavy Update

So, again, I've really slacked off and not written at all on my blog. I have all these lofty ideas for doing daily posts, and it just doesn't happen. It should. I should make time for it because it makes me happy. Not because all my loyal (ha! yeah right!) readers will miss my voice, but because writing things that are happening in our lives is enjoyable to me. It's like a journal where I can share what is happening and make it easier to go back and remember moments of our lives.

Christopher has been fighting ear infections for a few months. We just ended #5 and 6 a couple weeks ago and it has been hard. I know that there is some research about the cyclical effect of antibiotics and ear infections, but ibuprofen didn't cut it with him and we had to help him get over it. Being a parent is all about taking information that is available and making the best decision for your children. Choosing antibiotics seemed like the best, right decision for Christopher. Because of the frequency of his ear infections, we will be seeing an ENT at the end of November to find out about tubes. :(

[caption id="attachment_638" align="aligncenter" width="169"] Holding his bottle[/caption]

I also weaned Christopher. I was ready to be done for months, but could tell he was not ready so I didn't push it too hard. We were down to before sleeping and in the night. But, I used the frozen milk I had and some whole milk and started giving him milk in the bottle. And he liked it!! This was a shock because a few months ago if I tried to give a bottle to him he would angrily push it away. So, I knew he was more ready. Now he is happily drinking warm whole milk in the bottle. If I put it in his sippy cup (that he uses for anything else!) he will push it away like he can't believe I would try to force him to drink such a concoction. 14 months of nursing is awesome. I was certain once he got teeth (6 months) I would not continue nursing. Then when that wasn't so bad and I kept at it I was sure at 12 months exactly I would be done and forcibly wean. But, I knew that wasn't right either.

Around 21-22 months old I started noticing Dominic crossing his eyes. Sometimes when he was watching the TV, sometimes when he was looking at me, or just zoning out. So I asked at his 2 year checkup and the doc suggested seeing an eye doctor. We saw a local eye doctor but he wasn't able to get anywhere so he sent us to a specialist in Colorado Springs. They found that he does have lazy eye as well as being far sighted. We needed to do eye patch therapy every day to help keep his lazy eye's vision strong. If the brain gets double vision or bad vision from that eye, it will stop reading that information and you basically become blind in the lazy eye. How scary!!! We won't know if this will save us from surgery, but it is a start. Unfortunately he was not able to calm down enough for them to get a measurements for glasses. Hopefully when we go back in December.

[caption id="attachment_636" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Starting to not hate the eye patch.[/caption]

The boys are starting to really enjoy playing together and it is so fun to watch. We hope to grow our family even more soon! :)



[caption id="attachment_639" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Playing together in a fountain in Chicago[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_640" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Being spun in the chair looking out the pretty window in Chicago.[/caption]

 

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

An Unplanned Blogging Hiatus

Things have been nuts in the Spano home lately. We thought that we were expecting our 3rd bundle of joy, but at the first doctor's appointment found out that we are not expecting. :( Sad times for sure. We probably didn't lose a baby, rather I likely got a bad batch of pregnancy tests. I ordered some online, they were really cheap, but apparently they give false positives. So, we are still waiting for the exciting news that will mean that we are growing our family. We'll be sure to keep you posted as well.

So, I think that finding that out was a catalyst to a bit of a depression/sad time for me. I also noticed that I don't have many in real life friends. It's hard to be home alone with the boys all day and not get to see or converse with adults. So, Jason has been making a concerted effort to chat with me during the day. This is especially sweet because he's crazy busy right now at work. And I'm feeling down about my weight. There is only one thing to do about that of course. Put.down.the.ice.cream. Seriously. I have almost no self control and that is the biggest contributor to my chunky monkey-ness. So, I'm working on that.

Pray for me...and don't post pictures of ice cream, cake, or chips. :)

Monday, July 30, 2012

Blocks, Bubbles, and Bob...SpongeBob That Is

Dominic will be turning 2 (?!?!) on Wednesday, so we had his birthday party on Saturday.

[caption id="attachment_622" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Whaaaa?[/caption]

He didn't get that it was his birthday, but he enjoyed the attention.

[caption id="attachment_623" align="aligncenter" width="300"] What do you want me to do with this Momma??[/caption]

He got a few presents, and was kind of luke warm about opening them. He did like his birthday cake though.

[caption id="attachment_624" align="aligncenter" width="300"] It's SpongeBob!!![/caption]

But not the singing so much.

[caption id="attachment_625" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Ahhhh why are you all looking at me??[/caption]

He played with his cousins.

[caption id="attachment_626" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Yay cousins![/caption]

There were bubbles!

[caption id="attachment_627" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Wow a bubble gun![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_628" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Ooooh bubbles![/caption]

It was a lot of fun, Dominic really enjoyed playing with his cousins, so much that he hardly sat down long enough to eat his cake!

Time goes so fast. I cannot believe that he will be 2 already, we need to slow down and enjoy time with these boys who will be young men before we know it.

 

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Excitement

Ahhh there is some excitement in our house. If you don't follow me on Twitter (you should, I'm extremely interesting ;-)) or on G+ (again, why are you not??), then you may have missed our announcement.


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Having trouble reading? How about this one?


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Yep! And Then There Were.....More. Spano baby #3 making his or her entrance I late March or Early April. Yes, you read that right...a Spring baby not a Summer baby. This is going to be my favorite Winter ever!!!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

A Year Ago...Wow

So, a year ago yesterday...wait, wait...let's start a year ago two days ago. It was a Friday and I was babysitting for a coworker of Jason and also had Dominic who was just starting to run around. I was having some braxton hicks contractions, they were kind of intense, but I knew I hadn't been able to drink enough and certainly not resting. After 5PM, when the baby's mom came to pick her up, I tried to rest and put my feet up and get the contractions to die down some. I honestly don't remember much of the evening, I know Jason handled all Dominic stuff and I tried to drink a lot of water.

I was able to sleep through the contractions, but every time I woke up strong contractions would hit. I woke up in the morning still contracting and took a shower. I was still having contractions. I decided to call Labor and Delivery and they suggested I come in to find out if the contractions were real. I was 32 weeks and 3 days pregnant.

They had me do a urine sample of course, and strapped me down. I was in fact having some contractions. Some really strong contractions actually. Once my lab results came back they noticed that I was dropping protein as well as ketones. I had just found out at my doctor's visit on Thursday that I was dropping sugar like crazy and that despite passing the 3 hour glucose test I did, in fact, have gestational diabetes. Boo. So, dropping the ketones made sense, I had dropped to almost no sugar intake in the past two days. My contractions were consistently strong, so they decided to try some medicine (terbutaline) to stop the contractions. They also checked to see if I was dilating, but thankfully I was not. Well, not past a 1.

Several hours in and more than one dose of the terbutaline and contractions continued to be strong. My doctor decided to try Magnesium Sulfate, after several attempts to start an IV, they finally got one started and started the medication. The doctor was feeling a little to concerned at not being able to stop contractions and around 7PM decided that they would ship me out.

One year ago, today, I arrived at Memorial Hospital via helicopter. By the way, not a fun and exciting trip. Jason and Dominic beat me to the hospital, because he left shortly after I told him they called for the helicopter. The magnesium sulfate continued, and I had received my first steroid injection for the baby's lungs. I finally got some sleeping medicine and was able to get a few hours sleep. Jason was not quite so blessed, as sleeping with a baby that crawls in his sleep makes it tough to get any sleep when the bed is a couch in a hospital room.

Thankfully, they were able to keep my contractions under control. But, I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia as well as requiring insulin to control my sugar. I was admitted to the Women's Pavilion for the next 3 1/2 weeks. At 37 weeks I could safely deliver the baby in Lamar, so I had to wait until then. It was so hard to be away from Jason and Dominic. Jason was able to take time off thankfully, and he and Dominic went back and forth between Colorado Springs and home.

Even though it was extremely hard to be away from home, I am so thankful that I was there for that time. Sounds weird right? But, it is a good thing because it means that Christopher baked for a few more weeks. Ah, what a time though. I became adept at giving myself insulin injections, but I am praying that I don't have to go through that again.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Learning With Play

As Dominic gets older and starts to understand a bit more of what is going on, I can see that my vocation is turning into a stricter sort of job. As I'm home with him all day, it falls to me to help him learn and to guide his vocabulary as wee as his spiritual formation. Lofty tasks for sure. So I'm beginning to work on focusing things a bit more, not sitting down "learning" but working on finding more ways to increase learning in play.

I try to talk about colors and letters, sounds and numbers as we play as well as trying to read to him though he's started wanting only to read on his own, and when I attempt to read he grabs the book and says "oh no! All done!" A friend suggested some CDs that integrate our faith as well: Making Music Praying Twice. We will be looking into those as well.

Do you have any suggestions? What do you do with your little ones to teach without structure?

Friday, June 29, 2012

7 Quick Takes (Vol 4)


--- 1 ---


I left Facebook. Completely. It's crazy and liberating all at once. :)

--- 2 ---


Jason's parents screened in our side porch so that we could spend some hopefully cooler, more time outside.




[caption id="attachment_589" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Most of the length of the porch[/caption]

--- 3 ---


Unfortunately, it is extremely hot outside and Dominic doesn't handle the heat very well. :( So, despite having a water table, he gets hot really fast and we have to come inside.

[caption id="attachment_590" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Dominic gets thirsty, what can I say??[/caption]

--- 4 ---


Then we got a little climber with a swing and a slide too. So that it can be put on the porch and Dominic can get some fun sliding and swinging in, despite not being able to go out on the big one.

[caption id="attachment_591" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Look at that happy boy![/caption]

--- 5 ---


But alas, too many hot days and some heat exhaustion for Dominic. :( So....

[caption id="attachment_592" align="aligncenter" width="300"] This was right before Dominic shoved him off.[/caption]

We brought it inside. It makes life exciting. :-/



--- 6 ---



I managed to clean the whole kitchen and the living room including sweeping, dusting and vacuuming. Of course the boys did not enjoy the vacuuming. Christopher followed me around while crying. It was so sad. And funny. Mostly funny.

--- 7 ---


We had an eye appointment on Monday. And my vision is apparently so much better that I don't need glasses. Go me. I don't know what caused it, but hey, I'll take it. :)


For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Time to Simplify

I will not be having a Facebook presence anymore. I have connected with some really awesome people, and I am going to miss that interaction, but as we find and read about so often, sometimes we are too connected. Right now people can check out Google+, Twitter, here, or Facebook to find out what I'm doing, see the most recent pictures of the boys, or just drop a little note. It's awesome, and frightening; engaging, and time sucking. In short, it is a distraction that I need to limit. I have a hard time focusing on things around our house, playing with the kids, and soon I will be teaching them. I need to minimize distractions. So, Facebook is the distraction that I have chosen to lose. It seems like there are many aspects of it that suck you in, and I am apparently quite susceptible.

So, simplification begins today. :)

Monday, June 25, 2012

To Be Organized

I can't quite seem to get organized to do blog posts on any regular basis; or keep my house picked up; or the laundry done. Maybe it's me??

But have no fear, I have some great ideas for posts coming up.

In the meantime though, I'm working on a cleaning schedule/organizer. So far what I'm doing is using my task manager on my phone, and trying to do one major room a day. What do you do?

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

The One in Which I Show Off Dominic's Cuteness

I thought I would use this space today to record some of the funny, adorable, weird things that Dominic says and does. Why? Because it's my blog and I can. :) Also, because I keep meaning to write it into his baby book, but I forget, then I look at it and it doesn't have a space for it so then I would have to put it in the margins and that kind of messes with the tiny little bit of OCD-ness that I have.

Dominic's vocabulary is really expanding, sometimes I think that he doesn't say much until I'm listing some of the things he says. He loves being outside and swinging and sliding. He can say "slide" and most people would know what he was saying. But, we kept hearing him say "ness?" and couldn't figure it out (he also says "mess" very clearly so we thought it was that for a while) until I noticed he mostly says it when getting into or out of the car when he desperately wants to go out back and swing. So apparently "ness" means swing. He will repeat it after you say "swing". And it is definitely one of his favorite things to do!

[caption id="attachment_571" align="aligncenter" width="2048" caption="Although it's getting increasingly hard to get him to smile for a picture."][/caption]

He can say "sandal" but it sounds more like "dannndal" and he thinks anything on someone's feet are sandals. Socks, shoes, doesn't matter, to him they are "dannndal".

He has been saying "thank you" when you give him something for a long time now, probably since he was about 13 months old. But he hasn't figured out "you're welcome", usually that results in him saying "thank you" again. Instead, when he is handing you something he will happily say "thank you" and thrust it into your hands.

He can say "ball", "bath", "buh-bye", and "balloon" but that sounds like "maaaalllooon" for some reason. Interesting enough, he has the weirdest word substitutions. For "phone" he says "mone" and for flower he says "be-ow" and for "spoon" it is "pooooosh".

He hasn't got any colors down except for "yellow" which he can say and even often pick out. It might be because we are a SpongeBob house. :-/ Dominic says "buh-bob" and "ratrick" which also sounds like what he says when he's trying to say "cracker" so you have to just know what he wants at the time. He says "buh-bob" when he sees anything square and yellow, and he says "ratrick" when he sees any star. It's so cute. But also probably means we should expand his viewing.

He still usually just asks for a "bite" when he's hungry, but has started calling everything "pizza". Probably we eat too much pizza, but hey, we're an Italian household. :) He usually says "bite" when he wants a drink so the only way to know if he actually wants a drink is if you offer him food and he pushes it away.

He won't attempt to say his own name or Christopher's, but says "momma" and "daddy". Often he says "daddy" whenever he sees any guy anywhere. Apparently the only man he thinks exists is his daddy. :) Whenever he sees Christopher after he wakes up or has been gone he says "baaaaby awwww bababababy". I think he likes him.

And now, more cute pictures. :)

[caption id="attachment_572" align="aligncenter" width="2048" caption="Comfy spot to lay"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_573" align="aligncenter" width="2048" caption="Lately he's been climbing into the front seat when I set him in the car and don't strap him down right away."][/caption]

Friday, June 1, 2012

7 Quick Takes (Vol 3) The One in Which I Almost Drown the Baby


--- 1 ---


I have been doing a walk (almost!) daily, and I'm already starting to notice a bit more energy and it's been great. I'm not losing tons of weight, but, you know, baby steps or whatever it is they say. I should probably stop eating ice cream. Good thing I've been wanting fruit lately!

--- 2 ---


Speaking of fruit, I am the only person in my house that likes watermelon. How is that possible??? The look on the boys' faces when I gave them bites of it was so bad you would have thought I was putting something really bad in there. Like brussels sprouts or something. ;-)

--- 3 ---


We are having my father in law do a bunch of work around our house, because he is a handy man so we're keeping him busy with jobs, but also because we have decided Jason's time is so limited with the family that we'd really like to be able to focus on fun family times when he's home.

--- 4 ---


Speaking of the stuff we're having done around the house, the first on the list was this musty, moldy smell that was coming from the basement, but we couldn't locate precisely. There was a spot on one of the walls downstairs that had an old wet spot from when our toilet was leaking (around the base, clean water folks) that needed to be fixed, so we had decided that he would knock out that part of the wall. Well, what he found was...not good. The entire wall was rotting out because the people who had put in our shower apparently didn't know that you had to seal the drain and whatnot. It was a mess. A serious, wet, nasty mess that could have eventually caused some mold and really bad stuff. If that toilet hadn't leaked and made it so wet there that the wall was messed up, we might not have looked for it for a L O N G time.

--- 5 ---


Dominic still is not sleeping all the time alone in his bed. Sometimes he wakes up and walks to the couch. Silly boy.

--- 6 ---


**shhhhh, I don't want to jinx myself, but it has been several nights in a row that Christopher has only woke up twice in the night. This is an awesome development that makes my heart happy. And my brain. I'm tired.**

--- 7 ---


The boys love swimming, and going down the big slide at the pool. Jason was having to go up the stairs over and over, so I thought I'd try taking Christopher down. Well, the first time was OK but I really felt like I was going to fast, so Jason told me to spread my legs out and that would slow me down. It did not. I got knocked back onto my back and I'm holding Christopher as high as I can, but when I come off the slide I go under and I know that Christopher has too. Unfortunately I couldn't get my footing so I'm freaking out thinking I'm going to drown the baby. Nobody is coming to help despite me feeling like I've been under water for several minutes. Finally I come up and see that Christopher is soaked, Jason seems so far away, and the lifeguard is just looking down at me. I hand off Christopher and try to get to the edge of the pool and catch my breath, coughing, sputtering, the lifeguard asks if I'm OK. Later I'm told that it was only a few seconds I was under with Christopher. He wasn't even crying. But I won't be going down the slide holding a baby again anytime in the near future.


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Our Walking Journey

OK so we had 11.75km left in this leg, that's the last view of Hobbiton. On Wednesday we walked 2.18km and on Thursday we walked 2.36km. That leaves us with 7.21km. Good thing that Frodo doesn't have to wait for us!

sam_lotr.jpg

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

I've Been a Little Behind

We started this week needing 1.48km to finish our first leg of our journey. Yesterday, we managed .79km leaving .69km to go. This morning we were able to go 2.94km on our walk. So we were able to get 2.25km on our next leg of the journey which is the last view of Hobbiton.

J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hill - Hobbiton-across-the-Water (Colored).jpg

Hopefully we can keep adding to our journey. It would be my luck that just as I set up something as cool as this journey for motivation that I miss more days of walking than I have since I started. Sigh. But, with 11.75km to go in this leg, there will be no more slacking.