Xander is playing with his figures in his room. I hear him talking in a robot voice.
I wonder if he will play a car accident. He and I were in one on Sunday. It was rainy, a car in front of us lost control, and we were unable to avoid the crash. Somehow our two cars crashed and then both hit the guardrail. It would take dozens of pages to write about how shocked and scared and weepy I was, so I won't do that. I remember about four seconds after the crash wondering what had happened to Xander before he spoke up. The horror for me was knowing I could not avoid this accident - thus a reminder that I cannot really keep my children and family safe. Luck and seatbelts kept us safe. Maybe even a divine presence. But not me.
We are doing well. Much of my shoulder and neck stiffness is gone. My knee swelling is going down. Xander never really acted any differently than normal. We still have to keep a sharp eye on him in case he experiences nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pain in the next few days, but other than that everything is going well.
Xander asks, "So what does happen when a car crashes?" He asks all kinds of questions about the white car and how it's crashed and where it is. He told me, "Mommy, you can't have owies all over your body!" I think I know exactly what he means.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Expressing Ourselves
Every once in a while Xander mentions one of his favorites by saying that it is his "best." Today he got to go back to school for the first time all week. On the ride home, he told me, "Mommy, everything is my best today...all day long!"
Nick, in the bath, just asked me for "Ma ba-ba," (more bubbles) and did the sign for please. He's talking so much to us now. His yeses and noes can pretty much be depended on. He is much easier to communicate with than Xander was at this age - I attribute it mostly to having an older sibling and being taught baby signs. Not only does he hear Xander speak and see Xander do signs, too, he also hears me speak more than I spoke to Xander as a baby. I remember being kind of quiet around the house with Xander.
Nick looks up at me with this wide-open mouth of delight and I recognize it from Xander. But I also recognize it from a baby picture of me when I was about 14 months old or so. Strange to see that it is my old expression, too.
When Erik got home today, after rest time and naptime, he helped Xander put together a nice little Lincoln Logs western town. It looked so pretty and neat and perfect. From the bathroom, I hear a large crash and a delighted squeal. This is what happens to Erik's hard work when he's playing with Xander.
Nick, in the bath, just asked me for "Ma ba-ba," (more bubbles) and did the sign for please. He's talking so much to us now. His yeses and noes can pretty much be depended on. He is much easier to communicate with than Xander was at this age - I attribute it mostly to having an older sibling and being taught baby signs. Not only does he hear Xander speak and see Xander do signs, too, he also hears me speak more than I spoke to Xander as a baby. I remember being kind of quiet around the house with Xander.
Nick looks up at me with this wide-open mouth of delight and I recognize it from Xander. But I also recognize it from a baby picture of me when I was about 14 months old or so. Strange to see that it is my old expression, too.
When Erik got home today, after rest time and naptime, he helped Xander put together a nice little Lincoln Logs western town. It looked so pretty and neat and perfect. From the bathroom, I hear a large crash and a delighted squeal. This is what happens to Erik's hard work when he's playing with Xander.
Teh!
Nick has an emphatic new word for yes: "Teh!" I think this started yesterday. I'm finding it easier and easier to understand him and he enjoys saying things like "Teh!" and being understood. I really think if you all had been here this morning you would have agreed that he also said, "Mmm, mmm, I yike 'at, mmm, mmm, I yike 'at," when I was pouring his cereal and raisins. I was shocked at the way it sounded exactly like a regular sentence! Then I was shocked again when he said exactly the same sounds again!
We have had a pretty miserable week of sickness and doctors. I'm thankful that Xander's strep throat/scarlet fever doesn't bother him anymore due to the quick-working antibiotic, but our colds are weighing us all down. Xander will be going to school for the first time this week, and it's Friday. Tomorrow we will all go to his soccer game. I hope we make it and don't infect anyone else with cold germs! Yesterday I tried to disinfect everything Xander had touched while he had strep. It took all day! And thinking about how they used to burn everything after scarlet fever, I have my doubts whether I got everything. One thing I did throw away: the "beluga whale" that Xander got attached to. It's the body pillow I used when I was pregnant with Nick and for some reason he adopted it into his bed as a beluga whale. It had to be positioned just right. He was missing it and sad when I told him where it had gone, but the amazing part was he just accepted that it had to go because of the sick germs on it.
We've been transitioning Nick to one nap per day. He was taking two poor ones, or one nice long one in the morning and one short one in the afternoon. But we have to pick up Xander in the middle of a nice long morning nap, so I felt we had to make the transition pretty quickly. He gets up at 7:00 (I wish he would eventually sleep in a little more ;), sits in the car to drop off Xander, sits in the jogging stroller while I run, and then I try to do a little entertaining of him while cleaning a little. We're in the fussy stage (plus he got his 15-month vaccinations a couple days ago, a tooth a couple days before that, and he has a cold and cough), so it's a lot of work to entertain him right now. I've been using signing time videos and Yo, Gabba Gabba! sometimes. He loves to be outside, so that helps. So he's been going to nap at 11:30ish while Xander's been home, but he'll have to make it to 12:15 today since we pick up Xander at 12:00. Then I will try my utmost to keep him in naptime until 3:00, then we have learning activities and outdoor time and more independent playtime. He's been having to go to bed between 5:30 and 6:30 which I dread since there's the chance of him getting up at those times in the morning, but really he's been doing awesome and waking up at about 6:30. Okay, that's not awesome, but it's fine for now and I fully expect him to regularly make it to 7:00 when he's used to the whole thing. He's only 15 months and I kind of wanted the two naps still, but one long one will be better than trying to arrange everything around two short ones.
Erik had a chance to take a week of vacation and he chose this week. Unfortunately it was a rough week around here. He helped me a lot when I was sicker. I'm glad it started out with our birthday celebrations for him, but then there was sickness. He did get to go golfing with Justin one morning but it rained on them almost the whole time. He's been gone two nights at the Hostel in the Forest for some relaxation and reading and shoveling manure on their garden.
We have had a pretty miserable week of sickness and doctors. I'm thankful that Xander's strep throat/scarlet fever doesn't bother him anymore due to the quick-working antibiotic, but our colds are weighing us all down. Xander will be going to school for the first time this week, and it's Friday. Tomorrow we will all go to his soccer game. I hope we make it and don't infect anyone else with cold germs! Yesterday I tried to disinfect everything Xander had touched while he had strep. It took all day! And thinking about how they used to burn everything after scarlet fever, I have my doubts whether I got everything. One thing I did throw away: the "beluga whale" that Xander got attached to. It's the body pillow I used when I was pregnant with Nick and for some reason he adopted it into his bed as a beluga whale. It had to be positioned just right. He was missing it and sad when I told him where it had gone, but the amazing part was he just accepted that it had to go because of the sick germs on it.
We've been transitioning Nick to one nap per day. He was taking two poor ones, or one nice long one in the morning and one short one in the afternoon. But we have to pick up Xander in the middle of a nice long morning nap, so I felt we had to make the transition pretty quickly. He gets up at 7:00 (I wish he would eventually sleep in a little more ;), sits in the car to drop off Xander, sits in the jogging stroller while I run, and then I try to do a little entertaining of him while cleaning a little. We're in the fussy stage (plus he got his 15-month vaccinations a couple days ago, a tooth a couple days before that, and he has a cold and cough), so it's a lot of work to entertain him right now. I've been using signing time videos and Yo, Gabba Gabba! sometimes. He loves to be outside, so that helps. So he's been going to nap at 11:30ish while Xander's been home, but he'll have to make it to 12:15 today since we pick up Xander at 12:00. Then I will try my utmost to keep him in naptime until 3:00, then we have learning activities and outdoor time and more independent playtime. He's been having to go to bed between 5:30 and 6:30 which I dread since there's the chance of him getting up at those times in the morning, but really he's been doing awesome and waking up at about 6:30. Okay, that's not awesome, but it's fine for now and I fully expect him to regularly make it to 7:00 when he's used to the whole thing. He's only 15 months and I kind of wanted the two naps still, but one long one will be better than trying to arrange everything around two short ones.
Erik had a chance to take a week of vacation and he chose this week. Unfortunately it was a rough week around here. He helped me a lot when I was sicker. I'm glad it started out with our birthday celebrations for him, but then there was sickness. He did get to go golfing with Justin one morning but it rained on them almost the whole time. He's been gone two nights at the Hostel in the Forest for some relaxation and reading and shoveling manure on their garden.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Xanderisms
Xander, hanging around the back door: "There was no flash lightning when I shooted my eyes."
Xander, seeing me trying to take a nap: "Great job staying in bed without getting up!"
Xander, seeing me trying to take a nap: "Great job staying in bed without getting up!"
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Sick and Reading
Xander's been sick for the last few days with a fever, sore throat, and cold symptoms, and that rash he gets all over his body with a fever. He has to miss school for at least a couple of days. I had to coach his first soccer practice without him.
When he's not in pain or itching, he's in good spirits, though. Last night after bedtime I caught him reading out loud from Hop On Pop. That book has lots of sight words as well as words that he can sound out. He's been read that book since almost birth and knows what it says. So he was able to sound out words and then adjust them to what he knew the word said, but he did all this slowly using the sound-it-out method first. Finally he noticed I was standing behind him.
"I know how to read this book," he said. It was a moment of wonder.
When he's not in pain or itching, he's in good spirits, though. Last night after bedtime I caught him reading out loud from Hop On Pop. That book has lots of sight words as well as words that he can sound out. He's been read that book since almost birth and knows what it says. So he was able to sound out words and then adjust them to what he knew the word said, but he did all this slowly using the sound-it-out method first. Finally he noticed I was standing behind him.
"I know how to read this book," he said. It was a moment of wonder.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Picking Flowers
Today Xander showed me a flower in our yard. "Look! There's a pink flower, the kind that Bailey likes!"
How sweet that he "knows" what kind of flower his cousin prefers. We shall see if that skill remains with him to an older age.
How sweet that he "knows" what kind of flower his cousin prefers. We shall see if that skill remains with him to an older age.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Happy Birthday Erik!
Happy Birthday to you! When you come home, you will find dinner, a wrapped gift from Xander, a couple of cards, and a few gifts that you must use your wits to locate. Oh, and cake. We love you!
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