July 27, 2008
A scout is born
BB guns. Sling shots. Panning for gold. First aid training. Egg drop. Camp songs. Skits.
BOY STUFF.
I have a very happy cub scout on my hands!
Posted by jana at 10:04 PM | Comments (1)
June 24, 2008
The Norwegian Challenge
Bestemor has been teaching the kids some words and phrases in Norwegian so the kids would be able to talk to their Norwegian relatives. Today the relatives from Norway finally arrived. Karsten practiced all the words he knew in the car ride over to see them.
When we saw the kids and they were speaking in Norwegian that he didn't understand he said to Bestemor, "why didn't you teach me ALL the words?!"
Hopefully Bestemor will get right on that. ha ha.
Posted by jana at 8:00 PM
June 20, 2008
looking out for sis
This morning my son went beyond the basic "please" and "thank yous" with his manners. I witnessed an outright gentleman in him that made me proud.
He was watching a Ben 10 episode on my computer that he must have already seen because I heard him say to Britta, "cover your eyes, Britta!" She complied, and a few seconds later he said, "you can look now." It must have been something he thought was going to be a bit scary for her.
Another incident of chivalry:
A few years back I took both kids to the doctor for their yearly checkups. Karsten went first for his immunizations. He screamed. He hollered. He said he couldn't walk after the shots were injected in his legs. Then he realized it was Britta's turn and he yelled at the nurse, "don't you hurt my sister!"
Britta always seems to be the caretaker in the family, but it is good to know I am also raising quite the little gentleman. I like to see him looking out for his sister.
Posted by jana at 1:14 PM
May 9, 2008
Karsten goes green(er)
I found this company called ECHOage that I am using to coordinate Karsten's birthday party this year. A quote from the evite for Karsten's birthday:
You are invited to help change the world today. It's easier than you think.Instead of bringing a wrapped and packaged present, please RSVP and give a secure online gift. Your payment will go toward the purchase of ONE special gift for Karsten and help support ONE meaningful cause.
Together we will be helping Nourish America - a charity that makes sure that hungry kids get enough food to eat.
ECHOage will arrange everything for you.
No need to drive, shop, wrap or even pick up the phone to make a donation.Can't wait to see you at my ECHOage party!
Karsten picked the Nourish America as his charity he wants to donate towards because it helps feed kids. He has also picked out his one special gift, the Trade Federation Lego set. So far so good. I hope he realizes the extent of what he's getting into when he only gets one present.
Posted by jana at 8:53 AM | Comments (1)
April 2, 2008
Mom Declares Victory
My son ate a spinach calzone tonight. With real spinach. Lots of green spinach.
I declare major mom victory.
How did this all go down (literally)? First of all, I must admit this was an accident on my part. I had made calzones a few weeks ago and then froze them. I didn't think to label the "green and red" (red bell peppers too!) ones from the plain white and brown (cheese and sausage) ones unfortunately. Last night I defrosted them and tonight I popped them in the oven. When I cut into them I realized The Big Mistake.
I scanned the cupboards for a disguise. No jars of marinara sauce could be located. I ran downstairs. Nada, but I did have quite a few cans of tomato paste. Perfect.
I covered the chopped up calzones with warm tomato paste. Britta, the Good Eater said, "ick!" Karsten shoveled the bites in one after another.
Now here's where the full disclosure comes in. He was playing his new Leapster as he/I shoveled the food in. The calzone was 3/4 the way digested before he noticed all the green stuff and then started gagging and spitting it back up.
I will not let the Leapster situation dim my victory. I feel this victory as sneaky as it was can still be counted in full. This is my ray of hope that he will move beyond bread and cheese in various forms for his diet some day.
Tomorrow Andy comes home from Vegas and I'm sure we'll be back to the "no Leapster at dinner" policy and back to careful scrutiny of all potential green food items.
Posted by jana at 8:52 PM | Comments (1)
March 9, 2008
Future Filmmaker of America
Karsten (appearing as Spiderman) stole my digital camera and made his own music video. Britta and her friend Tess are the back up singers. The video would have gone on longer if I hadn't freaked when I saw him walking around with my digital camera.
Posted by jana at 9:53 PM
December 28, 2007
Damage Control
Karsten told me tonight "Henry told me there isn't a Santa. The parents buy the presents now. His parents told him this. Henry doesn't believe in miracles either. "
No! Not at six years old. Too soon! Too soon!
Fortunately Karsten is a creative optimist. "Santa must have died."
I told Karsten I would look it up on the internet to see if maybe Santa got hurt on his sleigh on Christmas. He did eat the cookies we left for him so it must have happened after he left our house. Now I'm searching the internet for some sort of evidence that will bring back the magic of Santa.
I hope everyone who celebrates Christmas enjoyed theirs. We had a lovely time and now I just want to relax -- after I find out what happened to the big guy.
Posted by jana at 10:36 PM | Comments (2)
December 11, 2007
Fall of 6 and 3
I was so flippin' cold today it seems like it's gotta be winter already.
This fall I realized my life had suddenly gotten easier. The kids both started school which means for the first time in six years of motherhood I could have a bit of time for myself. Britta now has friends and even has had two play dates with her preschool friends. So far no one has invited her over yet but I'm waiting for that very special moment. I'm wondering if I would need to stay and wait before I leave before she feels comfortable with me gone. Karsten never even glanced behind him when I'd drop him off at a new house. With Britta it may be a different story but that's okay. As a mom it is nice to feel needed on occasion.
The $15 or so I spent on Karsten's Halloween costume has been worth every penny. Spidey makes an appearance almost daily at our house. I should have bought every super hero costume I could find.
Also Karsten has started drawing his own comics. He has created Spider Cat, theme song and all. Today he told Andy, "I'm going to stay in all of my recesses at school so I can draw comics. I want to be famous!" Andy said, "Wanting to be famous is nice and all but I think it is a good idea for you to run around too." I'll have to upload one of the Spidey Cat comics for oogling.
Posted by jana at 9:25 PM
November 7, 2007
Group hug
As it turns out Karsten really did need a hug yesterday as much as I did.
Here's an email from my mom (she helps in his kindergarten on Tuesdays):
As you know I went up to K's class today. His teacher talked to me a bit about him. It seems he was having a bad day today and told her he didn't like school. She said she talked to him privately and he seemed to cheer up a bit. He came in crying from recess while I was still there and said some friend told him he didn't want to play with him. His teacher handled it well and suggested he ask someone else to play with him. She said she was concerned because K is usually so cheerful, but that he had cried twice today.
It is really hard not knowing if your kid has a good day or a bad at school. Or really what even went on at school besides, "we did some stuff" which is what I usually get when I try and piece his life together. Reading this email from my mom made me sad as I wondered who said what and who could have possibly not wanted to play with my son? (Who wants to go with me to egg their house later?)
Anyway, I wish I could protect my little guys from the hurt. I figure if they know I always love them that might be a little bit of a shield.
Posted by jana at 9:15 PM
November 6, 2007
swoon
Me: Come here Karsten and give your mom a hug.
As he's hugging me I said, "sometimes the best thing about my day is a hug from one of my kids."
Karsten: Mom, do you know what the very best thing in my life is?
Me: What?
K: Having my mommy in it.
------
I'm not making this up. My day now is that much better.
Posted by jana at 7:31 PM
September 27, 2007
Girl trouble
Me: Karsten, who did you play with at recess today?
Karsten: Marcus.
Me: You're not playing with Sammie anymore?
I am friends with Sammie's mom and they were at preschool together.
Karsten: She broke up with me.
What?! Sammie was his girlfriend???
Me: How does this make you feel?
I recently read Raising Cain and am attempting to raise an "emotionally literate" boy but really I was grasping here.
Karsten: I just feel puzzled. It happened so fast.
Me: Well Daddy and I broke up once but then we got back together.
Oh no, what am I saying now?
Karsten: Tell me how you got back together.
Me: It was after college. Your daddy found a job for me and then we got back together.
I was glad Andy wasn't there to tell his less flattering version of our story.
Then Britta interrupted us and I was relieved.
I didn't type about this before but according to Karsten he had 2 different girlfriends this summer. One was a girl he met at my gym. I like to scrapbook with her mom sometimes so that could have been a very convenient romance for me. She kissed Karsten at the gym and told him she loved him. Then she said he should find her Webkinz online.
Then his long-term girlfriend Emmie is still in the picture. He wanted to take her to "his favorite fancy restaurant." And since we don't eat out that much I said, "where?" "I want to take her to the taqueria and order quesedillas." Wow, he's stealing moves right out of his dad's playbook.
Trouble.
Posted by jana at 9:20 PM | Comments (2)
September 5, 2007
The First Day of All-Day Kindergarten
A few days before school:
Karsten and I prepare for the big day by surfing the Star Wars Kids Crafts site for images to personalize his notebook with. Yoda for the front, Obi Wan for the back. I said Padame could only be on the inside.
Karsten and I also discussed any anxeity he had about starting a new school. He said he was worried he wouldn't make any friends. At the orientation we saw two kids he already knew, one from tumbling class and one from Sunday School and as it turns out they were both assigned to sit at his table. I told the Sunday School dad about Karsten's concern for making friends and he said, "like Karsten won't have a roomful of friends the first day." My thought too.
This morning:
We walk to the school bus and wait. And wait. And wait. Bettina, the bus driver was about 15 minutes late.
The school bus finally arrived. I didn't expect it but I had a little tear in the corner of my eye as he boarded the bus.
There was only one other girl on the bus. Her parents were following behind the bus. Her dad was one of the football stars from my high school. Karsten sat across from her. Britta and I hopped in the car and followed the bus. Or tried to follow the bus, it took off before I could figure out where it went. Britta and I made it to the school and waited for the bus. And waited, and waited. The bell rang for school and then finally his bus arrived packed full of kids. Here he is getting off the bus.
See plenty of bus shots!
He was happy to see me for a second and then said, "you can leave now mom." "But wait, you don't even know where your teacher or is or your classroom." He still wanted me to leave but I hung on and found his teacher for him... but not before I found my own 6th grade teacher. Hi Mrs. Newby!
She remembered me too. I admit, it is a little funny to send your child to the same grade school that Andy and I both attended. I recognized quite a few other parents I have known since grade school there too.
Anyway, I followed Karsten to his classroom -- even though he didn't want me to. I took a photo of him writing on his "me" bag and then headed for the PTSA kindergarten meeting. Doughnuts!
Here's Karsten on the bus ride home. He was the only one on the last stop down on our street. He said his favorite thing about kindergarten was the school bus.
Posted by jana at 8:49 PM | Comments (3)
June 25, 2007
First day of summer vacation
Today was the first official day of summer break. By 4pm I wasn't sure we'd be able to make it together as a family until fall. Between the hours of noon and 4pm Karsten sprayed suntan lotion around my bathroom and bedroom and colored his face and arms with a marker. At that point I took him outside and he proceeded to squirt cars with his super soaker squirt gun and then he squirted some people walking by. We were both going bonkers. I suggested a walk. He wanted a snack first.
Over a plate of nachos he said, "Mommy, I love you more than the blue in the sky. Mommy I love you even more than the sunshine." At that point I knew we'll make it through the summer.
Anyone want a six year old kid to come over and play?
Posted by jana at 10:21 PM | Comments (2)
June 1, 2007
Sneaky Six
Guess who is six today? Ok, one hint, it is not me.
Today is Karsten's birthday! And yeah, he's six. Six years ago was the happiest and scariest day of my life. A blood clot the size of a cantalope was scooped out of me and a baby about the same size was too. A whopping 3lbs 10oz little guy. He's much bigger today.
He woke us up at 7am to go to the store to buy a Transformer Lunchable. "Ok", we said, afterall it is his birthday. Andy took him with him just to make sure we got just the right Lunchable. Geez, that is an easy birthday present. When they got back I gave him his Spiderman laptop. Really it is a refurbished laptop I bought from my work in which I downloaded a Spiderman image and set it as the wallpaper. I also installed a video game called Crazy Machines but I can't even figure the darn game out. It is so much harder than Donkey Kong, which is the last video game I played.
Now the Birthday Boy is off to school. I packed along brownies for the whole class. He's in a play tonight too so we got a cake that has a trophy on it (he picked it out) with #6 on it. Nice.
Happy birthday Karsten! I love you.
Posted by jana at 9:31 AM | Comments (2)
November 2, 2006
Hole-y pants!
Karsten owns 5 pairs of pants. 3 pairs have holes in them. 2 out of the 3 pairs have holes in both knees. I didn't understand this at all. I don't think I ever ripped a hole in the knee of any of my pants. Ever. How do the holes get there?
This morning I was folding laundry. I folded up a pair of Andy's jeans. Hole in the knee. Everything starts making sense now. It looks like Karsten is doomed to a life of hole-y pants.
For the record, I haven't seen any holes in the knees of Britta's pants either.
Posted by jana at 9:34 AM
October 30, 2006
Closing the deal
Yesterday I sent Karsten doorbelling for his "Turkey Trot" fundraiser to pay for the playground equipment at his school. Most of the houses in my neighborhood have stairs that you have to climb in order to reach the front door. I had Britta in the stroller so we just waited for our salesman at the bottom. I could hear Karsten, the master salesman making his pitch.
The door would open and Karsten would say, "Would you like to sponsor me in the Turkey Trot? You need to sign here and give me your money." His direct approach really worked and within less than 45 minutes he had met his goal of $200! At first he was upset when he got checks. He wanted cold, hard cash but he eventually figured out that checks are a good thing too.
He also scored chocolate chip cookies, promises of extra halloween candy when he comes back trick-or-treating, and some silly putty. One neighbor said, "he really knows how to close the deal." I told Andy he needs to hire Karsten to work at his company.
Posted by jana at 1:45 PM
July 6, 2006
5: the aftermath
After the biggest neighborhood party of the year I. Can't. Move. But I can still type.
Appropriately today is the 5th of July although has nothing to do with this post.
My big boy is 5 years and 35 days old now. Here are 5 ways it has affected our household:
1. Chia Shrek. Yes, a Chia Shrek is growing in our window sill. It took me about 48 hours and step by step instruction reading to ensure Karsten's Chia Shrek is growing a healthy coat of chia. Creepy results but cool.
2. Tie fighter. Or Tye fighter. Or X Wing fighter. I don't know and don't care really. But just to say I was getting really good at building Star Wars legos. Karsten finally got tired of me taking too long searching for the perfect lego in step 16b to build Darth Vader's pod and now he's building his own free form vessels for all things Star Wars. We're both much happier and I think his fine motor skills are improving. I'm impressed at what he's been creating.
3. Roger that. Walkie talkie talk going on in our house. It was fun to learn that my son was a natural at saying "over and out." Where do they learn these things?
4. Eating better. The pickiest of picky eaters is not as finitely picky. He's been considering adding grape jelly to his peanut butter sandwiches. It hasn't happened yet but when I found a jelly jar with cartoon grapes on the bottle he said he'd eat it. We'll see. He did eat his all time record of 6 smallish pancakes at the neighborhood pancake feed! I believe in miracles.
5. Keeping Britta safe from the Darth Vader mask. Karsten got a Darth Vader mask that will change his voice when he talks into it. Britta hates, hates, hates it. She cowers into my shoulder until Karsten takes if off and hides it in his closet. We can't even leave it laying around the house with it out disturbing her peace.
Ok, I liked. It is 6 things about being 5.
6. Magic School Bus. "Mom, this is your esophagus." I let him know that Daddy had a different word for my chest area, but left it at that. Karsten love, love, loves the Magic School Bus and he's learning about how the weather works and how the inside of his body processes food. I'm a Magic School Bus fan now too.
Next up, Britta turns 2 next week. I'm already seeing lots of changes in her. The other day I choked on some chips and she asked me, "Are you okay Mommy?" Awww, so polite. To counter the sweetness she can also say sentences like, "I need juice now." Emphasis on "need" and "now." The terrible twos are apparently upon us.
Posted by jana at 1:54 PM | Comments (2)
April 17, 2006
Mommy is a goddess
this one is for Grandma
Originally uploaded by B-TownMom.
I realized you don't want to use the term "dying" eggs with an imaginative 4 year old. As I was using the dyed eggs to make egg salad sandwiches Karsten asked, "Mommy, did you die that egg?" Me, "yes." Karsten, "Bring it back to life!"
Posted by jana at 9:15 PM
April 6, 2006
pattern recognition
Karsten and I were looking at the framed photo of our dog. "Lupe has brown eyes, Mommy, just like you and Britta. Lupe must be a girl." Karsten and Andy both have blue eyes. Therefore: boys have blue eyes, girls have brown eyes. And yes, even though our dog is named after the patron saint of Mexico he is blasphemously a boy. A boy with brown eyes. At least he used to be a boy when he was briefly potent.
Also going down in our household: destruction of our basement. Water was discoverd. Plumber called. Drywall torn up. Pergo demolished. Baseboards gone. Paint peeled. Sigh. Just when our house was finally starting to come together and now the basement and our boathouse area are both destroyed. Not sure when I'll even have time to put it all back together.
Andy is back from Vegas though, so that is great news. I've never seen a more pathetic person limp out of Seatac, but who cares, he's breathing and can give me a break from the kids. He finally roused from a 4 hour nap and now I'm meeting Becca at the Tin Room from some drinks. My book club was cancelled for tonight and I was devasted. Book club is the perfect introvert outing but meeting up with Becca will be a treat.
And for the final news, my mom buddy is gone. Brenda is on an adventure cruise to Honduras and Belize. Yay for Brenda for making a cruise an adventure. She's only been gone one day but already I've wanted to call her twice.
Posted by jana at 7:48 PM | Comments (1)
March 29, 2006
Just when I thought Garfield was bad...
My son has morphed into R2D2. I know we all think R2D2 is just too cute and all but let me tell you, he doesn't speak English. Kar...
{break to check on Karsten calling from his bed}
I'm back. Karsten broke out of droid beeping to tell me that the crabs were crawling out of the toilet and pinching his toes in bed. I remembered being freaked out after visiting the Woodland Park Zoo as a child that spiders were crawling up my bed at night to get my toes too so he got lots of sympathy from me. I let him check out the inside of his bed and then sleep on top of his covers.
Next Karsten had a story to tell me. "There were 3 pigs building a rocket ship. They went into their daddy's garage to get the wheels." (mumble, mumble... end of story).
Then Karsten woes me with "Good night my cutie pie, Mommy." I much prefer my English speaking boy over the droid that had temporarily embodied him.
Posted by jana at 8:43 PM | Comments (1)
March 24, 2006
Yoda disclaimer
All I know about Yoda I learned from the Atom Films> Star Wars Gangsta Rap.
Posted by jana at 2:56 PM
March 23, 2006
Star Wars 2006
"Mommy, you be Yoda. I'll be Luke Skywalker."
I suck it up, sighing that I can't be Princess Leia with her funky bun hair. "I'm Yoda, I'm a solider..." I say. Karsten says, "No, no, no, Mommy, you have to say it like this" and he starts talking about The Force in a pretty decent Yoda voice.
Another generation of Star Wars watchers is born.
When we got the DVD in the mail today he knows I don't let him touch the DVDs. "Please Mommy, can I just look at it? I want to see R2D2."
Tomorrow night is Family Movie Night #3 and I'm sure you can guess what we're watching. Andy is a happy dad. I need some Yoda voice coaching.
Posted by jana at 2:41 PM | Comments (1)
February 18, 2006
I'm just the secretary
Karsten's ecard to Daddy:
Dear DaddyI love you. I really love you but I want you back. I want you tomorrow.
I love you.Karsten
------------
Daddy comes home tomorrow. Hurray!
Posted by jana at 9:24 PM | Comments (1)
May 23, 2005
Nightmare of a preschooler
Last night about two hours after Karsten had gone to bed I heard screaming coming from his room. I ran up to see what was going on. I realized he was crying out in his sleep. I imagined he must be dreaming about big scary monsters chasing him. Then I hear what he is yelling, "NO! No,mommy,no!" I'm sure in his nightmare I was the big evil mommy turning off his favorite tv show or making him wash his hair.
Posted by jana at 8:44 AM
April 3, 2005
Zen Baby
Britta likes to grab her foot, stretch it out and then pull it up into her mouth to show off her yoga moves.
Her zen-like personality shows itself in other ways too. Karsten and Britta were taking a bath together. Karsten dumps a bucket of water over her head. No biggie, Britta keeps on playing. She hardly blinks the water away. This we decide is the perfect way to rinse the soap out of Karsten's hair. "Your turn" we tell him. "NO NO NO NO" and he starts moving to get out of the tub, then screams and rants for another 20 minutes. Zen baby versus frantic, emotional preschooler.
Posted by jana at 9:53 AM | TrackBack
Thank goodness for daylight savings
Normally I hate "spring forward day" but this year it means that the rest of the world is catching up to my kid's schedule. My kids made the day light savings adjustment about two months ago. 6am has been the average waking time at our house. Now that it will really be 7am I think I can handle that.
Posted by jana at 9:35 AM | TrackBack
April 2, 2005
Academy Kleitsch
I've figured out creative ways for Karsten to learn his academic basics.
Lesson 1. Colors: Karsten can eat M&Ms if he can correctly identify the color.
Lesson 2. Counting: If Karsten counts the M&Ms correctly he can eat them.
Lesson 3. Numbers: I am teaching Karsten to use the remote control to find channel 41 so he can watch the Disney Channel. Remotel control knowledge is a basic life skill.
Lesson 4. Letters: I bought alphabet stamps for my scrapbooking. I have Karsten pick out the letters that I need. He likes to get them all inked up for me. Funny but we have lost the letter "K."
Lesson 5. Geography: We talk about all the neat places Daddy is going. Lucky daddy got to go to Syrup.
Posted by jana at 5:44 AM | TrackBack
March 28, 2005
Happy Belated Easter
Britta almost made it through church services two weeks in a row without a peep. This week she did a few "Hallelujahs" right during the sermon. I don't think she knows she is a Lutheran and you just don't do that in a Lutheran church.
Times are a changing at the Lutheran church. The pastor used powerpoint slides during his sermon and then played a gospel song on the harmonica. Pastor Seymour was quite fashionable in a pair of white loafers. Sunday school and the nursery have made vast improvements too since my early church going days. There are now snacks at church! And Sunday school consists of "stations" that the kids rotate through. I know this is probably the most blasphemous of all, but now you can clap in church when the kids sing. What is happening here?
Which reminds me.... last week Karsten was slotted to sing a song with the rest of the Sunday School during the Palm Sunday service. The whole family came to watch, including Grandma who has congestive heart failure. All the kids marched to the front of the church. The music started playing. No Karsten. Where was he? I ran out to the back of the church and asked everyone "have you seen Karsten?" No, no one had seen him. I went upstairs and checked for him in the nursery and Sunday School rooms. I checked the bathroom. I ran downstairs again hoping to see him. No Karsten. The Sunday School teacher asked if I checked the (unfenced) parking lot where the slide is... No Karsten. I walked past the only room in the whole church that I hadn't checked. There he was watching a mouse video with two older boys. I almost had congestive heart failure too. It is a pretty scary feeling when you can't find your kid.
Posted by jana at 7:26 AM | TrackBack
March 13, 2005
Let this be the very last Karsten potty training post
Pooping in the potty. Yep, my boy is finally pooping in the potty all by himself. I had to lock up the pullups and buck up to doing a lot of laundry. No more pullups at nap time or during the night. This is the only way I can get Karsten to go doo doo where he's supposed to do it. Every day I have to wash the sheets because his little bladder can't go all night. I'm hoping I can start putting him in pullups again after another week or so of bed wetting. I'm tired of the 5:30am outfit and sheet changing routine but these are drastic times.
We've been celebrating this major milestone. We had a poo poo party with PJ at the Family Fun Center. Spencer and Geneva couldn't make it but they dropped by with a poopy turtle present. Awwww, so nice. We also made some brownies to celebrate. Karsten is so proud of himself and we are too.
Posted by jana at 9:53 PM | TrackBack
March 10, 2005
Karsten code
In our house we have code words for everything. Samples of Karsten Kode:
batcave = the upstairs bathroom
Scooby = our dog Lupe
Velma/Daphne (a perfect hybrid, in my opinion) = Mommy
Shaggy = Karsten
Fred = Daddy
Incredible Baby = Britta
I never know who will be coming to dinner at our house. Usually Mickey Mouse aids in serving Karsten dinner. Spaghettio "Smilers" can help too. Sometimes a giant stuffed snake may join us. Or even better, Karsten sometimes transforms himself into a reindeer or a puppy dog. Amazing.
Quotes: "Daddy, I'm batman, you're robin." or "Daddy, I'm superman, you're the Legion of Doom." He always takes the good ones.
Posted by jana at 8:21 PM | TrackBack
two days shy of the 8 month mark
Tonight we had our first beach bon fire of the year and Britta snoozed right through the burning of our Christmas tree. (The flaming Christmas tree looked like a giant sparkler.) By the time I came down to the beach Andy informed me Karsten was on marshmellow #10. I make the case that if a happy childhood can be measured by the amount of marshmellows you roast over a fire, I think we're providing a pretty happy life for our kids. Let's just hope they maintain normal blood sugar levels.
As Britta rounds the 8 month mark (6 1/2 months gestational) she has added quite a few skills to her collection in the past thirty days. She can sit on her own now and works hard at inching herself towards things she's interested in, like my VPN device for my laptop or my new casino-style cell phone. Are we raising a gearhead?
She's been eating rice cereal once or twice a day and therefore been logging some good hours of sleep at night -- more than her brother! She isn't quite sure what to think of the rice cereal. I calculate I need to feed her the same bite three to four times to get it down. She popped three teeth this month but isn't using them for chewing. A fourth tooth should be here any day.
I'm about to jinx myself here but I'll type it anyway. It is true, there are easy babies. I didn't think it was possible after having Karsten the Town Crier, but Britta doesn't make a peep unless she's hungry, tired or cutting a tooth. The nice thing about having the second baby be the easy one is that you can really appreciate it.
Posted by jana at 7:52 PM | TrackBack
February 19, 2005
Hair fun
Britta's hair is almost an inch and a half long on the top now. I'm starting to dream of ribbons and barrettes in her hair. Maybe I'll even tape a bow on her head. Poor girl.
Posted by jana at 5:06 PM | TrackBack
February 13, 2005
7 months
Britta is 7 months as of yesterday. Frequently heard comments about Britta:
"She looks really long."
"I've never seen fingers so long."
"Britta sure is a smiley baby."
And from Grandpa Pierson after too much Aquavit, "There's never been a cuter, more perfect baby than Britta." A little biased? Naw.
Andy flew to the south of France this week. I think last night was the yacht party in Cannes. I'm holding down the fort solo for another week.
Posted by jana at 7:23 AM | TrackBack
January 26, 2005
Britta: The 6 month report
The stats from Britta's six month checkup:
14lbs 11 oz (25%)
She was in the 75th% for height. Correcting for prematurity she would be in the 50% for weight and the 95% for height. Hey, that sounds like someone else... maybe her Mommy? The bad news? Dr. Dong sentenced her to six more months of the ultra-expensive Neosure, which runs us about $16 every other day.
Milestones: She can roll over now (started last week)
Current favorite toy: diaper wipe package
Disposition: wise beyond her months
Next up: getting ready to start on the rice cereal
Posted by jana at 6:28 PM | TrackBack
January 24, 2005
Britta's First Photo Shoot
Here are the proofs from Britta's first professional photoshoot at Bella Photography. I want to order them all, they are so cute! The long dress is her baptismal gown. Notice the coffee spill can no longer be seen. (Whew.)
Thank you Tammy! It pays to have talented friends.
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January 23, 2005
He did it!
Notice how my blog has been rather silent lately? It's because every time I thought about blogging it has been to brag about how well the potty training has been going. Before I can get to the computer something usually goes afoul: pooping in Britta's room, poop falling out of the pooped in pull up, etc, etc. A drastic dad imposed t.v. ban has been in place for days now.
Tonight we had a milestone! We were at cousin Heidi's house visiting the Norwegian cousins in town. Eva noticed Karsten had run into the bathroom but the light was off. I went in to assist. Karsten asked for a pull up. I acted fast and pulled his pants down and popped his bottom on the toilet. He said, "mommy, I'm falling in." I held on to him and the rest is history. I said, "go tell your daddy, he'll be very proud." He ran into the dining room right as the family was about to eat dessert and yelled, "I WENT POO POO IN THE POTTY!!" The Norwegians probably think this is some strange American custom.
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January 10, 2005
The baptism
Britta was baptized yesterday! It was her first personal rite of passage. She's celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas but this was the first celebration in her honor since her birth. She scored on the jewelry. She now has 1 charm bracelet, 1 pearl bracelet, 1 buna pin, 1 cross necklace and 1 heart necklace. Before her six month birthday her jewelry collection rivals mine.
Behind the scenes...
We almost didn't make the baptism. Was it the snow? No. I don't know why we were late. Todd called Andy and I was sucked into eavesdropping on his conversation with a new daddy. Snippet: "the breast pump? Oh yeah, Jana had the double, machine operated breast pump... Um hum, yeah, Jana would pump and drive.... Yep, she did it for five months.... Tracy's milk didn't come in very much? Oh yeah, we supplemented too." Finally I had to say, "HANG UP!" I didn't realize Andy wasn't even dressed. He ran upstairs and came down five minutes later in an outfit suitable for no where. He finally came down in something presentable. We grabbed our goods and ran for the car.
Andy was driving quickly to the church when The Godfather called looking for us. Andy took a turn too sharp. Coffee. Everywhere. All over the christening gown commissioned in Norway by Britta's great great grandma almost 40 years ago. Crap. Explectives flying. We got out of the car to look for diaper wipes to salvage the dress. Fortunately it was only on the back side.
We made it to the church. The pastor sees us and looks relieved. We wake up Britta to put on her dress. Andy puts it on backwards. The song is queued. The pastor is motioning to us to come up to the front of the church... the bow isn't tied. Whew, it is tied. We're there. Britta doesn't make a peep the whole time. Karsten is up near the font narrating for the congregation, "Britta is getting baptized!"
The deal is done, and I'll bet most people had no idea the ordeal we went through to get to the church on time.
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January 7, 2005
La Mancha
Next time you see me make sure you admire my buldging muscle in my left arm. It is getting quite a work out from carrying around a 13 pound baby 24/7. My right arm is the scrawny and flabby worker bee.
Things I've mastered to do with 1 arm:
1. Make blog posts
Level of difficulty: 6
2. Repair train tracks
LOD: 7
3. Dress Karsten
LOD: 6
4. Prepare a bottle
LOD: 8
5. Create banner ads for the international sites at work
LOD: 9
6. Clean up the kitchen
LOD: 7
7. Give Karsten a bath
LOD: 8
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January 6, 2005
rug madness
It's barely 10am and I'm already blogging about my gross out day. It all started when I brought the kids downstairs this morning and noticed the dog had puked on the rug. With one hand I cleaned up some sort of mystery vomit covered with sand. I was holding Britta in the other hand.
Shortly after breakfast Karsten started coughing, coughing, choking and then puked up his scrambled egg all over the rug -- just one foot away from where the dog had puked. Britta was half way undressed because I had poured her a bath. With one hand I tried to scrape chunks of mucous and scrambled egg out of the rug. Finally I was ready to get Britta in the bath. Surprise! Poopy blow out. Back to the changing table.
Now that I've had this little blog break it is time to scrub cogulated spit up off my clothes from last night. I should really change out of my "dry clean only" sweater before it is too late.
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January 4, 2005
Britta smiling
Here's my little girl.
You'd think I'd have the second baby thing down no problem. I should know better than to let her sleep in my bed. I should know better than to pick her up as soon as she cries. I shouldn't carry her all the time. I should be putting her down to sleep before her eyes are closed.
Well it's not true. I'm making all of the same mistakes twice. My rationale is this is my last baby and I want to snuggle with her as much as possible before she starts copping an attitude. I'm enjoying the moment. I'll be paying for it later (like tomorrow when Andy leaves for Vegas.)
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December 27, 2004
No way
It may look like I have lots of free time with all these blog posts. This is not the case but this is worth posting.
Another conversation with Karsten:
"Mommy, I want to go back in your belly and get born again."
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Merry First Christmas Britta!
Britta's favorite things are to stand up with lots of support and to look at me and smile. I must remember this moment. I know smiling at mom won't be the top of her "what makes me happiest" list for long.
Her hair gets lighter and lighter with each washing. I don't think she'll be an albino like her brother but I can see the second coat of hair looks pretty light.
Buying presents for Britta this Christmas was wonderful. I never thought I cared much for girly things like jewelry and tights but buying her a charm bracelet and little pink tights made me really happy. So much for raising my kids in a gender neutral environment!
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December 26, 2004
Christmas conversations with a 3 year old
Conversation 1.
Scene: I'm tucking Karsten into bed a few days before Christmas. Here's the conversation that ensues.
Me: You've been such a good boy today. Santa will be happy.
Karsten: I'm not in trouble?
Me: (trying to suppress laughter)No, not today.
Conversation 2.
Karsten: Daddy, how will Santa come to our house?
Daddy: Down the chimney.
Karsten: We don't have a chimney.
Daddy: Yes we do, right here (and points to the gas fireplace insert)
Karsten: But, but, we don't have a smoke stack like Thomas the Tank Engine.
Daddy: Yes we do. Next time we're outside I'll show you.
Karsten: But, but our smoke stack is too small. Santa can't get down that.
Daddy: Yes he can. He's magic.
Conversation 3
I decide to prepare Karsten for the fact that he'll be doing poo poo business on the potty soon.
Me: After Santa comes you'll go poo poo on the potty.
Karsten: Santa will be happy if I go poo poo on the potty!
Great. A wasted Santa-ism that I could have MILKED. Just think, Karsten may have gone poo poo for Santa and I blew it. Why can't Santa come on a quarterly basis?
Conversation 4
Here we are playing with the rockets he got for Christmas...
Me: see what it says on the side of the rocket? USA. That is where you live. The United States of America. You are American. This is our flag.
Karsten: I'm not American! I am Karsten Kleitsch.
Me: (Sigh)
My son is his own soveriegn nation.
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December 22, 2004
Baby Blog Bites
With holiday madness in full force I really don't have time to blog, however there have been so many noteworthy things to blog about I figure I'll just post a condensed version.
-Baby Britta has Grandpa Fred's chin. Actually both the kids have a little chin dimple but neither Andy or I do.
-Still can't decide what color eyes Britta will have....
-Britta has two teeth now and seems much happier (for the moment).
-Karsten began his performing arts career last week. First was the preschool program where they sang Jingle Bells Pokey and Rudolph. It was about the cutest thing I've seen.
-Sunday was the Christmas pagenant at church. Karsten played against type as an angel. (ha ha ha) He didn't quite make it through the whole performance though. Once he saw us sitting in a pew he decided to come sit with the family. I'd say he had his two seconds of fame.
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December 16, 2004
The Five Month Report
Are you shocked? Can Britta really be five months old? I've been meaning to post updates about her but all this business with the Democrats has been taking my blogging time (more about this later).
Britta has cold #2. In fact, 3 out of 4 Kleitschs are croup-y, me included. But more exciting, Britta has popped her first tooth last night! It is in the standard middle, bottom location of general first tooth popping. Tooth #2 is not far behind. This is probably a good month before I expected to see a little tooth decorating her mouth.
Ah yes, this sounds exciting you say. I on the other hand have been the victim of Psychotic Stay At Home Daddy. I had plans to get some urgent errands done the other night but Andy said, "I have changed my mind. You need to be home... NOW." The man is desperate. Karsten has been sick too (3 or 4 pukes in his bed over a two day period) so top that with a teething, sick baby and you have a recipe for daddy on the edge of going crackers.
Daddy On The Edge Of Crackers about freaked out on the nurse at the pediatrician's office. The whole family made a trip there but the nurse wanted to hear the kids' symptoms from mom, not dad. Little did she know that Andy has been the one living and breathing sick kiddies.
We may be getting a nanny pretty soon.
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December 11, 2004
Potty Training Part II
What's this you say? Part II? What about those 549 other potty training posts I've made? That is just the half of it. Yes, Karsten has been staying dry on the average of 3 days at a time. "DRY." Did you get that? DRY. Dry does not include POO POO.
We have developed a bit of a ritual now. Karsten wears pull ups for naps and at night. That is when Karsten waits to go poo poo. A few times I've had him hang out in front of the TV watching Scooby Doo sittin' on the potty chair for a good half hour. Homer Simpson would be proud. Nothing happens in the potty chair. Nope. Never. No way. Not even once. Not until the solitude and pull up period of night-night does the poo poo come out.
January 1st we go pull up free. Be prepared for a flurry of poo poo blogging.
And on other potty training fronts, let me tell you all a lesson I learned the hard way. Lesson 1: Never put your semi-potty trained kid in beautifully lined, dry clean only pants... It won't end well.
And another note in diapering in general.. We've been a Huggie diaper house here but Britta was presented with another brand of diapers as a (much appreciated) gift. Pampers, I think? They have a smell. Not a smell of urine or poo poo but a scent of something that my guess is trying to mask the smell of a diaper in the line of duty. I am a believer that if you want to smell you should buy perfume or cologne. Buying scented deodorant or other unnamed female products is a bad idea, especially when you are wearing multiple scented products with a dash of perfume on top. Have you ever noticed that it is difficult to find unscented hygene products? Whenever I find my favorite deodorant in "unscented" I stock up.
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November 30, 2004
freaky cat lady looking 4 lifetime commitment
Britta has found her voice, and her voice sounds like a cat trying to talk. Fortunately for her I am a cat lady.
She has found other ways to woe me too. How to make me fall in love? Spend hours staring into my eyes smiling at me. Occasionally giggle.
About a year ago I placed a personal ad with God.
You: short, fat, folic-ly challenged. Drooling and occasional puking okay. Chipmunk cheeks a plus. Me: diaper-changing pro. Willing to pull all nighters for the right lady.
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November 25, 2004
Happy Thanksgiving
Check one off my list: have a photoshoot with my kids. I'm getting ready to design my Christmas cards so I can check two off my list. Heck, at this rate I'll have 43 things done by end of November.
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November 24, 2004
And now for the respite
Britta is 4 months old now and the pay off has finally arrived. Perhaps this respite appears earlier in non-preemie babies but I wouldn't know about non-preemie babies. By respite I mean the newborn period of eating around the clock is over and the crawling, hazardous baby is still in the future. Now I have a confined, happy and sleeping-through-the-night baby. I have it good.
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November 14, 2004
Getting too cocky
We're living in unsanitary conditions here. Everywhere I turn to sit is wet. We were hopeful for a moment that it was water but that would be too optimistic. Karsten's Bob undies were soaked. So is the furniture...
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Let the Potty Training Begin
Last week I told Karsten, "when Bestemor comes over you're going to get potty trained." Every day I'd mention it, "in just a few days you're going to be potty trained." So when the day Bestemor came over he knew it was time. The tactic of advance warning seems to have worked the best so far. Preschool sent home a certificate reading "Karsten used the potty today!" Then on Friday he used the potty a record three times at preschool.
This is not to say there haven't been accidents. Yesterday I was mixing up my molasses bread and my hands were all sticky. Karsten was playing in the kitchen too. I heard, "uh-oh" and saw some water on the floor. He ran into the bathroom as fast as he could. He took off his pants and his Bob the Builder underwear and finished the minisicule amount of pee pee in the potty. He washed his hands and flushed the toilet then came back into the kitchen naked from the waist down. I asked, "what happened to your underwear?" He answered, "I threw them in the garbage."
Is there a new market for disposable underwear? Hmmm, not a bad idea.
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November 10, 2004
Magical Baby Smile
Suddenly the world seems better when Britta smiles at me. She talks to me too and it sounds like, "ahhhhh-ahhhhh." I like to answer her by repeating over and over again, "mama, mama, mama." She likes to look into my eyes and no way can I turn away. I have surrendered my heart to her.
I took her to Nordstrom last night for her first shopping trip. She did very good and didn't buy anything. Gotta teach self control early these days.
While Lupe was at the vet today Britta was getting her check up with Dr. Dong. She weighs 13lbs now. She's in the 50% percentile for height and weight and that isn't even correcting for prematurity.
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November 2, 2004
Dear God
(no, this isn't a post about the election)
"Dear God,
Thank you for my friends and my daddy. Thank you for Halloween costumes, Sunday school, super heros and Jimmy Neutron.
Amen."
This is Karsten's first prayer.
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October 29, 2004
New toy vs. diapers
Monday night I decided to take Karsten to Fred Meyer, particularily to the toy aisles. We slowly cruised each aisle looking for the coolest toy to pop out. First I see a bat mobile that glows and makes noises. I ask Karsten, "Do you want this toy?" "Oh yes, Mommy, let's buy it." I tell him, "you can have any toy here as long as you get potty trained." He's holding the bat mobile in his hands and looking it over. He's really thinking about it. This might be the deciding moment. He hands it back, "no thanks."
What?! I think, the bat mobile must not be as appealing as I had anticipated. Next aisle. Huge firetruck. Even more bells, lights and sirens. This is it. I let him know it is his for the asking. He just needs to promise me one thing -- to be potty trained. Once again, "um, no thanks."
What kid can't be bribed? Mine. I am impressed with his will power to stay in diapers.
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October 19, 2004
The check please (?)
I'm gearing up for insurance hell. Can I say that on my G rated blog? Britta's Hotel Swedish stay tallied at $54k. So far one insurance company has denied charges. I'm hoping the other insurance company will buck up.
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October 18, 2004
A night of firsts
A few weeks ago one of the panes on the sliding glass door to our deck off our bedroom shattered. I almost forgot it happened until it started to get cold -- but only in our room. We decided that it would be warmer for Britta to sleep in the crib in her room last night. We found the baby monitor and turned it up so every breath was magnified to the tenth. I admitted to Andy, "I'm going to miss Britta sleeping in our room tonight." He said, "me too."
Not long after those words were admitted Britta started crying. Pretty much all night. Andy and I have decided that words exchanged between the two of us at 3am must stay at 3am. It wasn't pretty.
So not only did Britta (sorta) sleep in her crib for the first time, she also came down with her first cold. Karsten has it too. He has a raspy voice, cough and sore throat which I'm assuming is what Britta has too.
Posted by jana at 11:26 AM | TrackBack
October 7, 2004
Cruising past the pullups...
The way I see it Karsten will move straight from diapers and go right into Depends. I don't think they make any bigger diapers than size 6.
Posted by jana at 8:07 PM | TrackBack
October 4, 2004
Churning the gears again
Maternity leave is over. How often in life do you get to concentrate on just one area of your life? The last three months were devoted to my family. It is so amazing that society basically lets you off the hook for a few months while you eat, breathe and hopefully sleep BABY. Of course if I were from some nice, little socialist country perhaps I'd still be on maternity leave while collecting a paycheck.
(Andy is reading over my shoulder and wants to comment that if we were in some nice, little socialist country perhaps neither of our children would have had the amazing medical care they had to survive.)
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September 29, 2004
Jolly pink giant
Holy smokes, I can hardly believe it. Britta hit the 10 pound mark. She weighs 10 pounds, 10 ounces. She almost weighs as much as the cat now. I hardly worry about a three puke day. Andy and I discussed that Britta is the type of baby that we wondered about -- hardly making a peep, except when she needs to eat or has a tummy ache.
Next week I return to work. I am trying to milk the final days of maternity leave. Today Karsten, Britta, Andy and I rowed the boat to a park for lunch. I will miss days like today, but not days like yesterday. Too painful to even type the list of events, but let's just say that even my mom suggested I should hit the bottle.
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September 25, 2004
The Art of the Deal
I am almost potty trained. Seriously.
Potty training as it turns out is just as much of training the parent to constantly ask the toddler, "do you need to go pee pee in the potty?" and most importantly, The Bribe. Everything Karsten wants to do turns into an angle to get his booty in the bathroom. He wants to watch Jimmy Neutron? Not without a trip to the bathroom first. He wants M&Ms? A deposit of urine in the toliet first, please. He wants to play with PJ? PJ goes pee pee in the potty like big boys. See how I try and work in a challenge? Naw, it doesn't work. Karsten doesn't care. He'd much rather go pee pee in his diaper.
Tactic 2. Time to get tough. No more plush, ultra-absorbent, expensive diapers. Let this kid feel some pain. Let him squirm in the soggy, cheap diaper. Did this work? No, I just had to do more laundry.
I'll just wait for the kids in kindergarten to start making fun of him for wearing diapers.
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September 24, 2004
Announcing...
Baby B birth story in slideshow format. Pink, pink, pink.
Posted by jana at 7:01 PM | TrackBack
Britta Averages
Britta started smiling and cooing this week.
Here are some daily averages for my baby girl.
-projectile pukes: 1 (usually around 5pm)
-diaper changes: 10
-diaper malfunctions*: 2
-wardrobe changes: 4
-ounces of formula: 30
-hours between feedings: 3
-bulb syringe booger sucking: 2
-time in the swing: 1 hour
-sleep: too tired to calculate
*incorrect diaper application which can lead to leakage
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September 17, 2004
Embarrassing Mommy Moment #2: Monster with a Mohawk
Location: Sitting in the lobby area of cheapie hair salon.
Karsten says, "Mommy, I'm scared."
"Scared of what?" I asked.
"Scared of the monster."
"What monster?"
"The monster right there, sitting in the chair." He pointed to the poor unfortunate 14-year-old boy with a mohawk sitting in a chair.
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September 15, 2004
First Day of Preschool - The report
The ivy league of preschools paid off. We only encountered one nightmare. Karsten wouldn't leave. My threats of "One... Two... Three... no t.v. today mister" and "don't make me carry you out of here" were unsuccessful. It wasn't until Teacher Linda walked him to the car that I could get Karsten to budge.
On Friday Karsten's stuffed kitty cat is invited to attend.
Posted by jana at 10:32 AM | TrackBack
September 14, 2004
It's stuck
Karsten, Britta and I were at a coffee shop yesterday. When I looked up from feeding Britta Karsten was trying to rub a tattoo off a woman's arm. She was laughing and I was horrified.
Posted by jana at 5:44 AM | TrackBack
September 8, 2004
Mr. Independent
Karsten and I were walking down the street and I told him he needs to hold my hand when we are near cars. He said, "NO! I hold my own hand." He clutched his own hands together and we walked down the street with me laughing and looking out for cars.
Posted by jana at 10:16 AM | TrackBack
September 2, 2004
the kiddies
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August 31, 2004
hello ruffle butt...
...buh-bye preemie clothes. Baby Britta is a whoppin' 8lbs 4oz now. Britta has several pairs of pants with little ruffles across the butt. What girl would want to make her butt look bigger with a bunch of ruffles across it? This is a very small window of time. A baby J.Lo.
Life should vastly improve with Britta's 8lb status. Now she is big enough for the baby carrier which will make me more mobile. Hurray.
Posted by jana at 6:43 PM | TrackBack
August 27, 2004
School!
The end of childhood. Ok, maybe I'm being a tad dramatic. Karsten starts pre-school in just a few weeks. While I'm not worried about him adjusting I am lamenting the end of Karsten just being Karsten. Once he starts "school" he will have to be measured. Measured for knowledge of things like the alphabet, counting (in the correct order), sports and popularity. Once the measuring starts it never stops.
Posted by jana at 6:26 PM | TrackBack
August 22, 2004
Happy Due Date
Today is Britta's due date. Tomorrow she will be exactly six weeks old. Yesterday she glanced at the tv for the first time. Really glanced. You could see her wheels turning, "oh, this is cool. Why is my mom watching stupid CNN when she could be culturing me with some MTV?"
Other than surviving a heat rash due to neglectful parents overzealous with layering and bundling, Britta has done amazingly well. I think she wants to smile. I can sense it. Andy thinks she will have my funny smile. I hope we find out soon.
Big, big news: I am small. Not so small that my gut doesn't hang over the top of my pants when I sit down, but small enough that I fit into my skinniest pre-pregnancy jeans (if you ignore the gut flap). Nice.
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August 16, 2004
More photos
Pregnancy: the final stretch (pun intended)
Posted by jana at 7:14 PM | TrackBack
5 weeks!
Britta is exactly five weeks old. Andy thinks her eyes will be blue and I'm putting my pennies on brown. Who wins if her eyes are green?
Karsten has started to narrate his every action. Sample of daily commentary I hear:
- First thing in the morning, "Mommy, I wake up! I wake up all morning"
- As Karsten is coming up the stairs I hear, "Mommy, I home! I back!"
- Just now as he did not want to go to bed, "Mommy, I crying." As if I don't hear the sobs or see the tears running down his cheeks. Later he told me, "I laugh, I cry, I laugh."
But I can guarantee I have the best conversations with Karsten. Today he said, "I want to tell you about the rocket. A long time ago there was a rocket... a rocket for you...a big rocket and it goes up in the sky, up to the moon. Mommy, I love you." I love this kid.
Posted by jana at 6:55 PM | TrackBack
August 5, 2004
Too tired to blog
I've tried to log on numerous times to blog but something always comes up. Wouldn't you know I'd have to start paying bills (late of course) to fire up the blogging.
But now I'm too tired to blog.
A couple of quickies:
1. Britta is doing well! Her cheeks are plumping up. I bought some fancy film today for a photoshoot with my old fashioned film camera. Andy's been capturing all the moments with his new digital camera.
2. More medical encounters. I went to the dentist for a check up. They decided it was time for me to update my chart. I didn't realize I just wasn't ready for more medical probing, even if my mouth is far less invasive than other areas child birth probing requires. I survived and my teeth look nice and clean.
3. My mom is going on vacation tomorrow. How will we survive without her? I don't think you can truly appreciate your mom until you become a mom yourself.
4. I'mmmmmm fallllling asleeeppp zzzz... Good night.
Posted by jana at 7:32 PM | TrackBack
July 28, 2004
Homecoming Queen
Britta came home from the hospital on Monday. Yay! So far she is so much easier than Karsten was. I keep waiting for her to wake up and start really crying like he did. She looks so healthy with cute, almost-round cheeks.
We're still worried about keeping her warm at night. This "no blankets" rule is tough to follow. I ordered a co-sleeper and a halo sleep sack so hopefully we can rest a little easier knowing she is safe while we attempt to sleep.
Posted by jana at 8:38 AM | TrackBack
July 25, 2004
Coming Home (soon)!
Yesterday Britta's feeding tube was removed and the nurses said she'd be coming home on Sunday or Monday. It turns out that it won't happen until Monday because there aren't any "car beds" to rent over the weekend. She is under five pounds and can't ride in a car seat just yet. What a bummer.
...although... I wonder...how the heck am I going to take care of this little baby? I'm not qualified to take care of a little tiny baby. The only recollection I have of Karsten's homecoming is sleepless nights and fear over even the tiniest of sniffles. We will have to use today to get into the attic to find the bassinet and other baby garb that we have stashed.
I'm feeling better too. I went two days without percocet but I'm about to take a few again. I must have laughed yesterday and now my belly aches. Karsten and I were working on a puzzle and he scratched his check and said "hmmm" then he held out his pointer finger and said, "ahhhh" as if he'd discovered something very important. Laughing is dangerous to c-section patients. My leg still hurts too but I'm thinking eventually the pain will go away.
More Big News
Guess who has decided he'd like to be potty trained? Yep, Karsten has been going pee pee in the potty quite often. What terrible timing.
Posted by jana at 5:20 AM | TrackBack
July 23, 2004
Hospital Bloggin'
Britta had her second bath today. The first one was on the day she was born. Bathing preemies is a different process. Since preemies have a tough time regulating their body temperature they need to stay warm. The nurse and I bathed her in blankets! Bathing a preemie is definitely a two-person job.
I have a feeling they may switch her feedings to "on demand" soon. Right now they will only feed Britta every 3 hours and if she isn't awake the meal goes down the tube. She's been waking up early every meal and gobbling the ba ba down. So good to see.
More hospital ideas
All this time at the hospital gives me ideas for improving The Hospital Experience. Here's my idea: Hire a computer savvy massage therapist to set up a massage chair in the surgery waiting area. Wait, there is more! Have the massage therapist also run a bank of coin-slotted internet terminals so people waiting in the lobby can check their email or surf the web while they wait for their loved ones. Now I haven't figured out what type of revenue could be generated from something like this. Does anyone know how internet cafes make money? On coffee or computer time? Anyway I'm hoping some computer savvy massage therapist will read this post and start this business at Swedish by this weekend. I could really use a massage... and more internet time.
Posted by jana at 4:49 PM | TrackBack
July 22, 2004
My baby girl
Britta wore real baby clothes today! I guess they are preemie clothes but still, it was exciting to see her wearing clothes. She just started wearing clothes a few days ago when she moved into a crib. She's been wearing a huge, white, kimono-style t-shirt the last few days but today she had on a pink, green and purple striped onesie. For me it felt like a mini-preview of her actually wearing the cute girly clothes hanging in her closet.
She drank all of her milk at the feedings I attended. Andy went to her 8pm feeding and she drank all but 10ccs too. She is now up to 40ccs per feeding. The milk is being mixed with preemie formula to increase her caloric intake. It must be working because she finally gained some weight. She was hoovering around 4.3lbs but she is now up to 4.6lbs today. All this good news brings her closer to going home.