white pages

typical Graham

2011-11-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

a real life conversation:

Graham: Mommy, I want a treat.

Me: No, Graham, you can't have a treat after breakfast.

Graham: But, Mama, I want a treat from my pumpkin candy.

Me: Yes, Graham, I know what you want. You cannot have a treat this morning. Maybe after lunch.

Graham (said while throwing himself at my feet): BUT I LOVE YOU!

:)

oh, the things they say!

oh, the things they say...

2011-01-31T17:54:00.000-08:00

harrison has homework each week. it's not mandatory...usually just some coloring sheets, occasionally cutting projects, simple things we can do together at home. when he turns it in at school he gets a sticker on the sticker chart. after 6 weeks of stickers he can choose a prize out of the prize box.

for the most part harrison loves doing his homework. tonight, however, he walked over to me and said...

"i'm all done. i don't have enough allergy to finish my homework".

i can only assume he meant to say "energy" not "allergy". because, in my experience, it's usually too many allergies that impede homework completion...not too few. :)

friends for life

2011-01-22T08:49:00.000-08:00

every month or two i get a girl's night out with my friends amy and chelsea. we met at work in late 2004 and have since gone on to do other things. amy started her own business, chelsea took a year off after the birth of her daughter and has now started working in a new arena, and i am home with the boys full-time. we are all married, have kid(s), love eating great food and chatting about life. my dinners with them are always a pleasure!

harrison isn't all that familiar with amy - i think they've met one time. he knows "miss chels" better because we had occasional play dates during the year she wasn't working. even still, it's been quite a long time since he's seen chelsea in person. he simply knows that mommy leaves him home with daddy and graham so she can go eat dinner with her friends.

one day this week, during harrison's quiet reading time (formerly known as nap time), i went upstairs to check on him. upon entering, i found that he had moved the ottoman over to the armoire so he could climb up and get more books. dangerous? yes. did i scold him? no. why? i didn't want to squash his desire to read. :)

he choose one from my childhood - a dr. seuss book called "my book about me" - that i wrote/drew in back in 1984 when i was seven years old! i sat down next to him and started flipping the pages, explaining to harrison that i wrote this...and colored that...when i was a little girl. we had fun looking through the book together.

when we got to one of the last pages (the picture above) i said...

MOMMY: look at the picture i drew.
HARRISON: are those your friends?
MOMMY: i think so. (not remembering exactly what my drawing was supposed to depict)
HARRISON: are they amy and chels?

could be, sweet boy. could be. :)

the future poet

2011-01-21T17:18:00.000-08:00

a real life conversation...

this morning harrison's class got a visit from Dare the therapy dog. harrison and i were talking about Dare and he mentioned something about needing to talk to Dare's "babysitter" (aka owner) about how to make Dare all better. (Dare only has 3 legs).

MOMMY: maybe you could be a veterinarian when you grow up because you take such good care of animals.

HARRISON: no, i can't be a veterinarian because i'm gonna be a doctor.

MOMMY: oh, okay. what kind of doctor do you want to be? like dr. todd (our friend and neighbor)? or dr. macguire (our pediatrician)?

HARRISON: no, like dr. seuss.

i couldn't make this stuff up if i tried, people!!

our knight in shining armor

2011-01-20T15:05:00.000-08:00

i got a little chuckle today when graham woke up from his nap and came down the stairs all by himself looking like this....

our tender-hearted warrior. :)

i wonder if our armed forces know that a boy's best friend in battle is his woobie?? and surely one cannot be without their binky!

you can see how graham drags his woobie around by a tear in the hem. he calls this his "little handle". he will turn his woobie around from corner to corner, running his fingers along the hem, saying, "where's my little handle?" until he finds it. and when he does, it makes him giggle with delight!

this little munchkin never fails to entertain us!

family photos

2011-01-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

our sweet friend, leslie, took some photos of our family again this year. we are incredibly fortunate that she is willing to share her skills with us! her husband and jer's long time buddy, norg (aka jason norgren), came along to assist. his job was to sing, dance, make silly sounds, and pass out skittles (aka bribes) to the boys. here are just a few of the ones i love...

the colored version of the above was on our Christmas card this year. thank you, norg, for getting harrison & graham to giggle!

this was my very favorite of all of them. harrison's sweet smile was natural. i love that you can tell graham is saying "cheese", which he does every.single.time. we pull out the camera. and i love seeing his little gap teeth in this shot!

a candid moment.

a posed moment. love their shadows.

love the sun coming through the tree. can you see the boys' cowboy boots? they look pretty darn cute in those boots!

graham says "i love you"

2011-01-12T13:56:00.000-08:00

graham has been responding to our "i love you's" for quite some time now, but yesterday was the first time he told me "i love you" randomly, without any prompting.

he and i were cuddling under his woobie (blanket) together, watching a little tv show before nap time. i was resting my head on top of his as he snuggled into my chest. he twisted his head, looked up at me and whispered, "i love you, mommy". melt my heart!! i, of course, said, "i love you, too, buddy" to which he responded with "i love you, too". :)

i could have kept that cycle up all afternoon!

interview with harrison

2011-01-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

i borrowed this idea from amanda at http://babybangs.blogspot.com/. as i was reading her post i was curious how harrison would answer some of those questions. my first attempt to "interview" harrison was during an episode of curious george. you can see he wasn't very happy with me for interrupting his show. God forbid!!

here it is:

1) what is something mommy always says to you?
no.

2) what makes mommy happy?
i don't know. but don't say that because i'm gonna be very mad.

3) what makes mommy sad?
nothin.

4) how does mommy make you laugh?
i don't know.

5) what was mommy like as a little girl?
a house.

6) how old is mommy?
um...i don't know.

7) how tall is mommy?
not as tall as daddy.

8) what is mommy's favorite thing to do?
play hide and go seek.

9) what does mommy do when you're not around?
go to bible study with graham.

10) what is mommy really good at?
eating dinner.

11) what is mommy not very good at?
watching tv.

12) what is mommy's favorite food? (graham yelled out "dessert") !!!
tacos.

13) how do you know mommy loves you?
you give me a kiss.

14) where is mommy's favorite place to go?
wendy's.

can't wait to ask him these same questions a year from now and see how the answers differ!!

the banter of boys

2011-01-06T11:35:00.000-08:00

two sweet real life conversations...

every thursday morning we do the same thing. graham and i quickly drop harrison off at school and proceed to race south of town to bible study. i drop graham off in his class (a task that has recently become MUCH easier) and go to my class. afterward, i load graham up and we race back north to pick harrison up from school. when all three of us are back in the car and headed home we tend to talk about our mornings...what we learned, what we did, what was our favorite thing.

THIS morning, on the way to bible study, i was praying out loud. since graham has difficulty with being dropped off, i always pray that he would have peace, be relaxed, have fun, and learn something. i was praying for each individual activity of graham's morning..."Lord, please teach graham something new in his bible story time. Lord, please help graham to have fun during play time. Lord, open graham's heart during quiet time. "Lord, i pray for..." and then, from the back seat, graham interrupted and finished my sentence..."snack time".

leave it to sweet graham-er to remember snack time! :)

incidentally, it was graham's very best drop-off yet! he had a fabulous morning and when i asked him what he learned at bible study he said, "cookies". ha! love that boy!

soooo, on the way home from harrison's school, with all of us back together again, i prompted our typical conversation. here's how it went...

harrison: tell me all about bible study, graham
graham: (not sure how to answer such a broad question) mmmmm....bible study
harrison: (not satisfied with that answer) what did you have for snack?
graham: cookies....chocolate chip cookies
harrison: you're spoiled rotten, graham

LOVE both these boys!!

graham's words

2010-04-07T08:31:00.000-07:00

graham has been surprising with lots of new words!

"mommy" was the first, which pleases me to no end. then "eat", "daddy", "bye bye", "meme", "hi", "pop" (for bubbles), and "papa". yesterday he added "thank you".

he also makes nearly every animal noise including a very cute "peep, peep, peep" for baby chicks!

it's very fun to enter into this stage with him. i'm looking forward to watching him learn many more exciting new things!

oh, the things they pick up from us!

2010-03-24T13:20:00.001-07:00

this morning, while we were putting together puzzles, harrison said, "very good job, mommy. i'm so proud of you."

clearly, i am raising him well.

a few weeks ago, while frustrated with me, harrison said, "STOP freaking out!"

clearly, daddy could be doing better in the parenting department.

: )

i love you, mommy

2010-03-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

last week the boys and i were outside as much as the weather allowed. we had some gorgeous sunny days in the high 60's. and then the snow came. and then the snow melted. and then the snow came again.

and so it is with march weather in denver.

truthfully, i actually kind of like it. when it's gone as quickly as it comes, you have to enjoy it while it's here.

all that to say we went for lots of walks last week. one, in particular, will forever be etched in my memory. i was pushing graham in the stroller - something he is quickly beginning to resent as he'd much rather be running around like big brother. harrison was riding his bike (aka big wheel). we were strolling along when harrison, out of the blue, said, "i love you, mommy."

i had purposefully never taught him to say that. nor had i ever told him, or forced him, to reply back when i say "i love you". i knew that one day that phrase would have so much more meaning if i just let him come to it naturally. and i was so right.

what a sweet moment! i let the weight of it soak in, even got a bit teary-eyed. and then harrison steered his big wheel right into the street.

and so it is with precious moments.

you have to capture them while they're here because they so easily melt away.

eating for two

2010-03-06T15:15:00.000-08:00

this little piggy went to market...

this little piggy stayed home...

this little piggy ate roast beef (and everything else he could get his hands on)...

this little piggy had none...

and the mommy piggy cried "wee, wee, wee...woe is me, me, me".

"eating for two" has taken on new meaning in the white house.

the interesting thing about having boys so close in age is that their growth patterns are so apparent. wasn't it just yesterday that harrison was frantically signing "more please" and stuffing food into his mouth as if he didn't know when his next meal would come? these days ketchup is his favorite food and he thinks eating a couple teaspoons of it with a fork constitutes a meal. hey, at least he's mannerly enough to use a fork! i should count my blessings.

conversely, graham has turned into a squirrel who packs away the nutrients and stores it for winter. i'm really beginning to notice that he's put on an extra layer of insulation! he eats circles around his brother and frequently asks for more after having been excused from the table. graham is doing exactly what harrison did at that age...eating for two!

it seems that one-year-olds instinctively know that the busy, too-focused-to-stop-and-eat, can't-sit-still-for-a-meal, lean, two-year-old years are ahead. it's "survival of the fittest" at it's very best! or maybe it's just graham who instinctively knows that he must happily eat his food in order to keep his mother from becoming deeply depressed. after all, the thought of two little boys living on the ketchup-only diet is quite disheartening.

who knows, though, i may not be able to avoid the depression...or i may just have to get over it...because i keep having this reoccurring idea that as the growth patterns continue the ketchup-only diet will, sadly, be better know as "eating for four".

just a moment in the life of graham

2010-02-13T17:40:00.000-08:00

a week ago graham was playing with my sunglasses. he fell down and, of course, broke them. since then they have become his new favorite toy. i've tried many times to catch him on camera wearing the glasses and each time he refuses to let me get a picture. and, really, i mean he refuses. refuses! the little stinker.

so, finally, yesterday i got a few and, to me, they capture his precious little stinker of a personality.

first off, please notice graham is sitting in a dining room chair, which he can climb in to and out of all by himself. despite a couple falls, he refuses (and i mean refuses!) to keep out of those chairs. secondly, please notice all the grubby finger prints on my dining room chairs. i swear i clean them three times a day and still the finger prints magically return.

here's my sweet graham-er boy with his fun new sunglasses! it's hard to tell but there is a tiny smirk of a smile creeping onto his face. it's as if he was thinking, "i'll hold still long enough to let her have just this one...but she can't make me look at the camera".

and then he slowly, gently closed his eyes. and sat there. yes, he sat there with his eyes closed. really, he sat there! with his eyes closed!

eventually he opened his eyes but still refused to look at me.

oh, he's looking at the camera! quick, get the shot!

but, alas, he was too quick for me...and he knew it!

then he just became goofy, which is his usual state of being.

as soon as i put down the camera he started laughing! see, i told you he's a little stinker!

but he sure does make my days so much fun!!

taco twos-day

2010-02-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

dinner at the white house is always an experience - one that usually consists of graham giggling and squealing at the sight of food, graham grabbing handfuls of food and stuffing his mouth so full that he has a hard time chewing, graham standing up in his highchair (no matter how tightly i strap him in), mommy running back and forth to serve up more food, and lots of paper towels and wet wipes to clean up the mess.

last week i made tacos (pretty much a weekly staple). flour tortilla, avocado, taco meat, black beans, and shredded cheddar cheese. graham ate not one, but two. and when i went to the kitchen to grab something (anything!) to clean him up, i turned around to find this:

oh yes he did pick up his plate and lick it!!

i have a feeling that before long we'll be calling it "taco threes-day".

i promise you i didn't rub a balloon on his head.

2010-02-13T16:56:00.000-08:00

we've all had bad hair days...

graham's hair days aren't as bad as they are funny. he still has not had his first hair cut. i keep hoping he'll develop some curls like harrison did, but it seems as though his hair is going to be thin and straight. and with those two opposing cowlicks?? well, every day is an adventure!

you can't win 'em all...but you can win some!

2010-02-04T18:15:00.000-08:00

last sunday i made a meal plan and shopped so we could have homemade, healthy dinners for two weeks. we/i have been out of sorts lately at the white house as we've been battling colds, migraines, wisdom teeth removal, blah, blah, blah. the boys went to meme & papa's house last weekend so i finally had an opportunity to get caught up and be proactive for a change!

all this to say that i have been cooking dinner each night this week.

monday night harrison refused to eat his chicken fajitas. i let him be excused from the table to go play while we finished dinner.

tuesday night harrison took one look at his homemade pizza, tried to tell me he doesn't like cheese, and then said, "i don't feel like eating...i'm sorry, mommy" in the most apologetic voice he could muster. i told him he didn't have to eat but he needed to stay at the table until we were done.

wednesday night he ate a few bites of meatloaf (with veggies and ground flax inside!) and a few bites of mashed potatoes (with cauliflower mashed right in!). i figured a few bites was better than none. are you seeing, now, why i am so freakishly crazy about hiding healthy goodness in our food??!!

but tonight, oh sweet tonight, i heard the words every mom longs to hear! it brought tears to my eyes when harrison said, "mmmm...this is delicious!" what was he eating? probably the healthiest meal i've served all week! a bowl of vegetarian chili - with three different kinds of beans, tomatoes, green pepper, and onion...cooked in a broth of tomato puree. basically, it was a bowl full of vitamins and nutrients!

i suppose it could be possible that he was referring to the corn bread muffin, not the chili, when he said those precious words.

little did he know, however, that the sweet muffin he was devouring was full of real, live, off the cob, corn kernel-y goodness!!

muahahahah!

today in a nutshell

2010-01-19T18:17:00.000-08:00

dislikes:

*graham throwing fits because i don't understand what he wants - so sad! i'm trying, buddy!

*the house turning into a disaster zone AGAIN.

*attempting to bake salmon in parchment paper. i overcooked it. also, the salmon had no flavor...the vegetables underneath the salmon had way too much flavor...it was a big bust. that's what i get for trying to make something other than sloppy joes.

*it's too cold to play outside.

likes:

*going to library story time - toddler time for harrison at 10:15 and baby time for graham at 11:00. i love the children's programming that our local library offers! both the boys love it, too.

*finding new ways to get ground golden flax seed into the boys diet. this morning i put it in our pancake batter and this afternoon i substituted six tbsp. flax for two tbsp. butter in my oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. both turned out great!! next time i'm going to try to substitute even more flax and see how they turn out. (by the way, i've made chocolate chip cookies and substituted flax for the eggs and those, also, turned out great!)

*jer giving the boys a bath so i can start cleaning up the disaster zone.

*my new catch phase - "it's not time to play, it's time to obey."

who knew stickers were a beauty aid?

2010-01-11T17:40:00.000-08:00

a real life conversation...

i was lying on the couch while harrison was placing stickers all over the right leg of my sweatpants.

mommy: wow, thanks for the stickers, buddy.

harrison: you're welcome. i turning you into a beautiful princess.

mommy: oh, that's so sweet, harrison. thank you for turning me into a beautiful princess.

harrison (to daddy): daddy, i turn mommy into a beautiful princess!!

i'm sure daddy was thinking it would take a lot more than a few stickers to turn this grey-sweatpant-wearing, no-makeup-wearing, pony-tail-wearing, non-showering mommy into something befitting the title "princess"! or maybe that's what i was thinking!! it's so nice to know that harrison doesn't think about that stuff, though. : )

protesting without words

2010-01-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

graham is right on schedule (at least for my boys). he's nearing 14 months of age and just starting to throw fits. with harrison i found this quite frustrating. with graham it simply cracks me up.

graham has somehow figured out how to go limp and go stiff at the same time. baffling. he throws back his head, arches his back and drops his body to the floor...all in one quick, fluid motion. this happens multiple times throughout the day - anytime i'm attempting to get him to do something he doesn't want to do. if i try to pick him up (under his arms, around his ribcage) he's learned to straighten his arms up over his head so that i almost lose my grip. yesterday i actually did lose my grip and he fell backward onto the floor. he didn't like that so much. and i sure did smile down at him and say, "that's what you get for throwing a fit, buddy."

i'm such a good mom.

it gets me laughing because i daydream about throwing my own little tantrums. can't you just picture me throwing myself on the floor because i had to make dinner AGAIN? or clean up toys AGAIN? or wash clothes AGAIN?

what? you wiped your booger on mommy's pants?

thud. kick, kick, kick. AAAHHHH!

as john lennon put it...

2010-01-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

"so this is christmas...and what have we done? another year over and a new one just begun."

here are pictures of the white family christmas 2009.

our sweet little munchkins.

harrison was trying to hold graham's face and turn it toward the camera. apparently graham thought harrison wanted a hug.

harrison saying "hi" and graham waving "hi".

brotherly love.

christmas eve night at meme & papa's house. we ate dinner with them (chicken and dumplings), went to christmas eve service at their church and came home to open gifts. it was 7:30 or 8:00 pm by this point and graham was long overdue for sleep. all the action kept him wide awake, though, and both boys had SO MUCH FUN with their new toys! the word "spoiled" does not even begin to cover it.

harrison's new dyson vacuum, which he loves.

graham's new books, which he loves.

although harrison received this fire truck from meme & papa the night prior it was still a huge hit the next morning!

graham got a pull along daschund puppy dog toy. he was just a wee bit happy about it.

we got out of bed pretty leisurely on christmas morning. we enjoyed opening gifts as a family and then jer played with the boys while i started cooking christmas dinner. meme, papa & uncle zach spent all day with us, too.

the boys are in their matching pajamas playing with graham's new maracas and harrison's new race car.

harrison concentrating hard on driving his race car.

graham playing his new triangle. again, just a teeny weeny bit excited.

we all went to the denver zoo's annual zoo lights spectacular. it was really cold but we all had a great time.

i bundled graham up so he could barely move. he was forced to stay in the stroller most of the time but sure loved when he got a brief moment to walk around.

uncle zach and harrison rode the choo-choo train. harrison has been rockin' the scrunched-up-nose look quite a bit these days. cracks me up!

meeting santa

2009-12-18T08:16:00.000-08:00

did these make you laugh as hard as i did???

what a precious boy!

2009-12-16T09:18:00.000-08:00

i was sitting on the floor when harrison came over and gave me a huge hug. he said, "i want to give you a hug....i want to cuddle with you". and, then, while he patted my back he said, "i'm going to take care of you".

i love these special moments.

not too quickly, sweet boy...please, not too quickly.

2009-11-29T19:07:00.000-08:00

a real life conversation...

harrison (while taking off his sweater): mommy, can we put this in the dirty wash?

mommy: yes, sweet boy. how did you get to be so sweet?

harrison: i'm growing up.

(mommy is stunned into silence but looks at harrison with tears in her eyes and smiles)

harrison repeats: i'm growing up.

happy birthday, graham!

2009-11-13T19:36:00.000-08:00

(photos by leslie norgren)

one year ago we welcomed graham peregrine white into our family. what a joy it was to go from being a family of three to a family of four! we were thrilled to have two little boys - brothers and, hopefully, best friends!

here's the story of how graham came into the world...

because i had an emergency c-section with harrison i was given the option to schedule a c-section or have a vbac (vaginal birth after cesarean) with graham. after considerable thought i decided to leave it up to God. ha! if i made it to my due date (november 20th) i was going to go ahead with the c-section that was scheduled for that day. if i went into labor early i was going to try to go natural. and by "natural" i mean "vaginal" because, seriously, why would i ever want to deliver a baby the au natural way? give me epidural or give me death!

it was a thursday night when i reminded jeremy that we needed to get some pictures of my pregnant belly. as he was taking the pictures i got mad at him because i didn't think he was shooting from a good angle. oh, the vanity! it's funny how even a gynormous pregnant woman cares about looking as thin as possible. silly me! anyway, i got frustrated with him and he got frustrated with me. he said, "we'll just get some more tomorrow" and i thought to myself, "this is going to be the last opportunity". and i was right.

we had a twin bed set up in the "nursery" area of our bedroom in the event that i would have the c-section. (our bed is too high to climb). that twin bed became my best friend because i was able to kick jer out of our bed (toward the end of my pregnancy) and replace him with five pillows. frankly, he was tired of fighting the pillows all night, so i think he welcomed the twin bed! all that to say, it was a typical night; i was in the queen bed and jer was in the twin. this ended up working in jer's favor. i woke up around midnight with contractions. mind you, i had been having contractions for months and had been placed on restrictions because of them. but these contractions were different. much more pressure. much more back pain. this being my second pregnancy, however, i remained calm and did my best to sleep through them. finally, at 5 am i woke jer up and told him the news. he called meme & papa and got everything squared away.

papa came down to our house to stay with harrison. meme was going to go to the hospital. we left our house around 7:30 am. the contractions were around 5 minutes apart and were getting quite painful. it was the the "stop what you're doing, focus, and breathe through them" kind of pain. we arrived at labor & delivery and got all hooked up to the monitors. everything looked great. they asked me if i wanted a c-section and i told them i wanted to be checked to see how dilated i was. jer & i could make a decision after that.

around 8:30 am they finally got around to checking me. one centimeter. one little teeny tiny centimeter. i had been one centimeter for weeks! eight and a half hours of labor and no progress. was i impatient? maybe. was i willing to endure that terrible back labor any longer? no way! let's get this little munchkin out!!

it took another hour and a half of preparations before i was actually wheeled into the operating room. during this time we met our labor & delivery nurse, wendy, who was my angel. she was amazing at helping me breathe through the contractions and keep my body relaxed. jer was busy putting as much pressure on my back as was humanly possible.

T.M.I. ALERT!!! (if you'd like to avoid reading something that might just be "too much information", please skip the following paragraph).

one funny note about graham's delivery... (well, it's funny now)... as i approached the end of my pregnancy it was CONSTANT on my mind that i needed to get a bikini wax. unfortunately, running after a toddler and being placed on restrictions did not help in my quest to be well groomed "down there". i am dying just thinking about it. as i was being prepped for surgery the doctor examined my previous incision to make sure he could cut in the same spot. i heard him tell the nurse, "she needs a little shave". i'm sure my face must have turn beet red. and i did what all laboring women do. i turned to jer and blamed him for the fact that i hadn't gotten a wax! during the next contraction, while an intern was busily shaving me (i'm still dying!), sweet nurse wendy got down close to my face. she was rubbing my forehead and gently coaching me to relax. and then she said the perfect thing..."well, your eyebrows are sure beautifully waxed!" : ) oh, how i loved nurse wendy! she turned a really embarrassing moment into a really funny one!

finally, they took me to the operating room. i was having such terrible back labor that they wheeled me back. (i guess most elective c-sections walk to the o.r.). i got on the table and spent the next 25 minutes sitting in the most uncomfortable position i've ever been in while the anesthesiologists attempted to put in my spinal block. it was almost like being crunched into the fetal position...while having contractions. truly, it was really grueling. but, thanks to jer and nurse wendy, i remained happy, calm and positive. it really was a matter of remaining focused and relaxed despite all the pain.

thankfully, the spinal block took effect immediately. it was go time! while they were operating the anesthesiologist announced that jer & i had been in that same operating room, on the same day, almost at the same hour, just 19 months ago! harrison and graham were born 19 months apart to the day - harrison at 9:28 am and graham at 10:35 am. he thought that was pretty cool and so do we!

graham came into the world fairly quietly. (he was, indeed, in the posterior position, hence all the back pain. both my boys were sunny side up). he cried initially, of course, but, overall, he just seemed to be taking it all in. he was very peaceful. he was, and is, very beautiful! he nursed immediately, he enjoyed his bath in the recovery room, he even let the nurses do a LENGTHY exam because they were allowing interns to help (it's a teaching hospital). he slept well, ate well, and pooped well. our time in the hospital was uneventful and enjoyable. we took him home without any worry...just happiness to be together as a family at home. graham did not cry at all for two weeks. at one point i even asked the nurse, "he doesn't cry. is that okay?". little did i know he would cry for the next five months! : )

the name peregrine means "traveler". we chose that name for a couple reasons. first, jer is a direct descendant of peregrine white, who was the first baby born in the new world. he was born on the mayflower while the ship was anchored in provincetown harbor. coincidentally, peregrine white was born on november 20th (my due date) in the year 1620. we thought it would be cool to honor one of jer's ancestors, especially since they were to share a birthday. second, the meaning of the name, "traveler", conjured the idea of an adventurous spirit. and graham had been adventurous and mischievous since eight weeks in utero! the name could not be a better fit for this sweet boy of ours!

at one year of age graham smiles more than any child i've ever seen! he has an undeniably outgoing, joyful disposition! he has an unbelievable zest for life! he has no fear! we have found him 1) standing on top of the tray on his high chair, 2) climbing up and, yes, making it over the baby gate, 3) standing on a dining room chair, and 4) climbing over the tray to get into his stroller all by himself. he keeps us on our toes. he keeps us amazed. he keeps us smiling and laughing. he is an absolute delight...our bright sunshine!

mommy, daddy & harrison love you so much, graham! thank you for making our lives so fun! happy birthday, precious boy! i can't wait to see what the next year holds for you!

oh, graham

2009-10-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

hello there, little mister~

you are 17 days away from turning one! i keep asking myself how it is possible that an entire year has gone by since you entered our lives. i cannot believe you are going to be one! ONE!

what can i say about you (aside from the fact that you make our lives SO MUCH FUN!)?

you don't say anything. not one word. but when you are trying to communicate you have no trouble making yourself very clear! you wave "hi" and do a great "so big". you pick up the phone (the toy phone and the real one) and make a noise with the same tonal sound as "hello". you push your cars and trucks around the floor and make "vroom vroom" noises - which is, quite possibly, one of the most precious things i've ever seen! you cry when your food is all gone. you cry even harder when you have to go to sleep before harrison. mama knows your noises but i simply cannot wait until you can actually verbalize what is going on in that precious head of yours!

you try so hard to make us laugh. you are an absolute ham!! you've started bouncing and dancing to music, which cracks me up every time. you make silly faces and you exaggerate everything. (i'm smiling just thinking about it. it's so hard to describe because it's such an "in the moment" kind of thing. basically, you should just know that you are really, really funny.)

you play a little game where you "share" your binky (and sometimes your puffs) with me. it's really sweet how you try to get them in my mouth. you also like to push my hands over my eyes so i can play peek-a-boo with you. you are a very engaging child - so interactive.

you still drink 3 bottles a day. and, sometimes, a small one before bed. you finally, FINALLY, like to hold the bottle all by yourself. i've been much slower in feeding you solids. the reason for this is because you still really don't have any teeth. the two on the bottom have cut through and are getting more noticeable each day. you just cut one on the top and i think the other is close behind because they've been bothering you a lot. so far we do soft fruits (bananas, pears, peaches, oranges) and soft veggies (carrots, peas, potatoes). you love bread and cherrios and puffs. so, really, i think you do pretty darn well for only being able to chew with your gums!! i'm determined to give you a cupcake for your birthday so i guess we'll just have to see how that goes.

you LOVE your freedom. you walk around the house all day, barely stopping to sit. you climb and climb and climb. i turn around and find you up on the couch, or standing on the bench, or on the top step of the step stool, or up two flights of stairs. there are days when i wonder if you have a death wish. but then i remember that you are just a boy. a very, very adventurous boy!

one thing, though, my sweet boy...you are VERY accident prone. essentially, you are a walking injury. i think this is because you are much more brave than you are coordinated. mama is constantly checking your pupils to make sure they are dilating properly. i know i'm paranoid. but, seriously.

you refuse to wear shoes (your brother did that, too) but i keep trying. i really want you to be able to walk outside in the snow this winter! you love going on walks. you love your daddy. you love your blanket and cuddling up in bed for a nap. you love chewing on anything and everything you can get your little hands on (this drives your mama crazy, by the way). you love pulling the toilet paper off the roll. you love eating toilet paper. sigh. you LOVE harrison. you love being up on the furniture. you love splashing in the bathtub. you love books with flaps that you can lift. you love to smile and laugh and be tickled. you love life.

and we love, love, LOVE you!!

carsick

2009-10-28T15:38:00.000-07:00

last weekend jer took the boys up to meme & papa's house to spend the night. on the drive up harrison got sick. he vomited all over himself and his car seat. his tummy settled down some and we were planning to let him stay the night but harrison decided that he wanted to come back home. on the way home he got sick again. lovely.

by the way, if you ever need to hose down a car seat i highly recommend taking them to the car wash. the high powered sprayer and soap work miracles!!

continuing on... today i was reading the book alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day to harrison. it is one of my all time favorites! there is a part where alexander is riding to school in the car pool and he doesn't get a window seat in the car. this, of course, is terrible and horrible so alexander exclaims that he is going to get carsick.

harrison asked, "what's carsick?"

i said, "it's when you puke in the car."

harrison said, "just like me."

: )

sad but true

2009-10-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

a real life conversation...

harrison woke up early from his nap today. in an effort to get him a bit more rest we read books quietly together on my bed. when "quiet time" was over we headed downstairs for a snack.

mommy: (with outstretched arms) will you carry me?

harrison: (with a cute little scrunched up face) i think you're too heavy.

sigh.

out of the mouths of babes...

2009-10-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

a real life conversation...

mommy: hey, mister, please climb down off the baby gate.

harrison: look at me! i'm up high!

mommy: yes, i see that you are up high.

harrison: i climb a ladder.

mommy: well, no, that's not a ladder, and it's not a step stool. it's a baby gate and it's not made for climbing.

harrison: yeah, that be pretty dangerous!

my brother's wedding

2009-10-18T13:27:00.000-07:00

i heart fall

2009-09-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

who wouldn't love a season that allows for cute pictures of little boys wearing their hoods?

like mother, like son

2009-09-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

today, for the very first time, i attempted to take the boys for a walk by carrying graham in the baby bjorn and pushing harrison in the stroller. let me tell you, it was a WORK OUT. i have friends who think this could be an excellent way to get some exercise, drop a few pounds, increase some endorphins, blah, blah, blah. me? i really don't think i'll be doing it again. ever.

i'll keep you posted on that one.

after i set graham (and myself) free from the bjorn, harrison thought it would be fun to give it a whirl...

grahamer rammer

2009-09-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

listen here, you little troublemaker...you are not yet ten months old and...

have already taken your first steps, finally got a tooth, are beginning to get into everything, can turn pages on your books all by yourself, make us laugh all the time, love to eat puffs, love to chase your brother around the house, love to sit in the grass and eat leaves, and have a zest for life that makes your mommy very tired. it's time for you to slow down a bit, mister man!

yesterday i took a few moments to myself and left you unattended. (aka: mama needed to go potty). everything was fine until i heard you crying. i came out of the master bathroom to find this (in the guest bathroom)...

that really didn't explain why you were crying, though. that is, until i looked a bit closer...

apparently, son, you were sad because your fun had, literally, run out.

thanks for always making us smile, sweet boy!! we LOVE you!

viva las vegas

2009-09-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

jer & i were fortunate to spend last weekend away. vegas is an interesting place, to say the least. we got to see some dear friends and spend some time catching up - so good!

although...

my ears still haven't recovered from listening to all the drunk, screaming chicks (a bachelorette party) on the way there. that's right, folks, they were already inebriated at 10 am on a friday morning. as one man in the airplane hanger eloquently put it, "what happens in vegas, starts in denver!"

and my lungs still haven't recovered from all the second-hand smoke i breathed while there.

and my eyes still haven't recovered from all the smut i saw while there.

BUT, amidst all that "fog" (shall we say?) were all the fun things vegas has to offer. we did everything tourist-y and had a great time!!

our friends, blindside, were doing a show. this was taken during sound check.

one of the routes of the gondola ride at the venetian. this photo was taken indoors.

the eiffel tower at paris - half the size of the original. jer & i went up to the top and got to see the bellagio's water show from up there.

on the gondola. we chose to go for a ride on one of the outdoor ones. our gondolier gave us gambling tips and sang to us.

the bellagio's water show was my favorite! (well, along with the frozen hot chocolate from serendipity at ceasar's palace). it's even more glorious at night. we must have watched for an hour...

harrison's first baseball game

2009-09-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

papa, daddy & harrison went to see the colorado rockies a couple weeks ago. the game started at 6:15 pm and the boys didn't get home until 10:30 pm! harrison stayed awake the entire time!

i have a feeling papa & daddy enjoyed it more than harrison (it's that whole "seeing the world through the eyes of your child" thing)!

harrison got to experience his first ball park dog. he ate the whole thing!!

go rockies!

clearly i am raising him well

2009-08-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

a real life conversation:

mommy: well, buddy, should we vacuum?

harrison: no. get some coffee first.

my boys

2009-08-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

the shy and sweet one...

the gregarious and hilarious one...

or at least that's how they were acting today!

have toys, will travel

2009-08-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

this morning i awakened to see two little eyes peeking at me from the side of my bed. i said, "good morning, love. want to come up and cuddle with mommy & daddy?". i guess that is exactly what he wanted because he quickly began handing me all the essentials...

* a mercer mayer book (a gift from meme & papa which harrison recently told me is his "new favorite")

* a tape measure (we don't go anywhere without it these days)

* a stuffed dalmation puppy dog (his bedroom is decorated with vintage fire trucks and the dog had been sitting up high on the shelf until he realized that he is now tall enough to reach it)

* his blue woobie

* his white woobie (the hospital-issued one that we used to swaddle him up tight when he was a newborn)

he climbed up, gave me a hug, and said what have recently become my "new favorite" words..."i love you lots, mommy".

it may have been 6:30 in the morning (a bit too early for my liking), but that was the best start to a day i've had in a long time!

today is wednesday

2009-08-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

that means one thing in our house: it's trash day! and trash trucks are a very cool thing to a two-year old boy! today we saw blue trash trucks and green trash trucks. we also got to see the blue recycling truck. man, oh man, wednesdays are fun!

harrison has taken a great liking to trucks of all kinds. he can tell you the difference between a dump truck, a semi truck, a ups truck, a bulldozer, a bus, a trash truck, a mail truck, a cement mixer, and just a regular old pick up truck (which is every bit as cool!). he loves watching the trash collectors do their job. he loves watching construction workers do their jobs. he loves watching the mail man do his job.

he is just down right fascinated with trucks and the people who drive them!!

the best thing about this is getting to see the reaction of the trash collectors when they notice that harrison is watching. they smile, wave to him, and even honk the truck's horn! which, of course, excites my little man to no end!

what impresses me the most about this is that harrison thinks that being a trash collector is the coolest thing on earth....the best job ever! it makes me wonder when the world will start influencing him to think otherwise. when will he become jaded or judgmental or embarrassed about things like collecting trash? when will he stop wanting to help me take out the trash? when will it become un-cool to love the trash truck?

i don't know the answer. what i do know is that i am going to SOAK UP these moments of being able to see the world through his two-year old eyes. i have loved waving at the trash collectors as much as he has...and thanking them for the great job they do for us! i hope for many more opportunities to experience things through the lens of an innocent child!

dear guido,

2009-08-09T23:21:00.000-07:00

hi. you may not remember me. we've only met two, maybe three, times. i used to work for a couple of guys you know. when you would call them, i would answer the phone and patch you through. i know that in your line of work you meet lots and lots of people. i would not be at all offended to find out that you really don't remember me.

i just wanted to let you know that i will never forget you.

my first "encounter" with you was before i actually became the official "phone-call-patcher-through-er". the girl who was training me answered the phone one day and chatted briefly. the next thing i knew she had her head bowed, her eyes closed and she seemed to be listening intently. i knew that whomever was on the other end of that conversation was praying. and i could tell that he was praying specifically for her. she hung up the phone, dried her teary eyes and explained, "that was guido...he is so awesome". actually, "awesome" might not have been her exact word (she's not really an "awesome"-saying kind of girl). nevertheless, i quickly understood that getting a call from the guy named guido would be, if nothing else, very interesting.

turns out "interesting" doesn't really do you justice.

the first time i actually spoke to you was just a week or two after i officially took over the job. we chit-chatted for a minute and then you gave me a challenge. you strongly encouraged me to figure out why i had been named rachel. you suggested that it could be a very powerful "realization" for me...that i was not named by chance...rather, i am rachel for a reason. you may or may not have prayed for me that day, i don't recall. what i do remember, though, is getting off the phone with you and having a sense of being known, being befriended, being cared for, and, most importantly, being called to figure out something deeper about myself.

five minutes on the phone with you and i had a new goal in life.

i pondered it. i prayed about it. i did word studies. i read scripture. (i must admit that i got a bit hung up on the story of rachel & leah...specifically, that rachel was the beautiful sister...but that was just down right silly of me). the answer did not come easily.

but i never thought it was supposed to.

it wasn't until years later, long after i had left that job and moved to a new city - long after i had seen/spoken to you for the last time - that the "realization" finally surfaced. instantly, the tears flowed. they were tears of sorrow. tears of knowing - deeply and truly knowing - that...

i am a lost little lamb, in need of a Shepherd to rescue me.

socrates said, "the unexamined life is a life not worth living". obviously, i have a whole life to continue examining. but, let me just say, this particular examination was eye-opening. it was life-changing, as you promised it would be. it was recognizing why i do the things i do...who i am. it was surrender. it was understanding - really, finally comprehending - that salvation and reconciliation and redemption are not just words in a concordance. they are VERBS...living, breathing, and active in our every day lives!

it was a deeper level in the life-long journey that is leading me closer to Christ.

guido, there is so much more i could write about you. maybe about the time you asked my boyfriend (who had just met you 30 seconds prior) to pray for you while he was driving down the interstate, rushing to get you to your destination? maybe about how you've been an encourager to my former boss and his wife, upholding their marriage and family? maybe about how you will travel at a moment's notice, sometimes going to the airport without even knowing the destination, just waiting on God to show you the way? maybe about how you've dealt with pain in your own family, all the while lifting up others? maybe about how you intercede for others? maybe about how you speak the Truth? maybe about how you reach out to people in a very difficult, wearing industry and fulfill a calling that others may consider far too radical?

yes, i could say all that. although, i have a feeling you wouldn't want me to mention any of it. my sense is that you would have perfect contentment without ever knowing the affect you've had on me. (that's what makes you far more than "interesting"). i, however, just felt the need to share with you how thankful i am to God for having used you so mightily in my life. and thank YOU for always listening to His voice and following where He leads. blessings to you, my friend!

what a difference a week makes

2009-07-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

a colorado native, that's for sure...graham is already climbing mountains. well, to him they are mountains. to us, they are flights of stairs. he climbs them effortlessly. with a smile that can only mean "i am FREE"!

and now that he has accomplished "mountains", everything else in the house is just a "mole hill". my life is getting much more busy! : )

trying to play catch-up

2009-07-11T06:52:00.000-07:00

these are the images of life over the past few months (in no certain order)...

we have loved playing outside. harrison's "school" teacher gave him these golf clubs for his 2nd birthday. harrison loves to golf (just like his daddy). he even throws the clubs (just like his daddy). heehee
denver's spring weather was absolutely gorgeous. we went for lots and lots of walks. this picture of the boys cracks me up...especially graham in his sunglasses!
jeremy was a groomsman for his buddy norg (aka jason norgren). we were so thrilled that norg finally got hitched to a lovely girl named leslie! also, jer and i just celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary...and we are still very much in love!!
a rare moment...the boys are actually holding hands and smiling at the same time! miracle.

harrison has enjoyed building "forts" and "houses" with the living room furniture, blankets and pillows.

playing outside. love that sweet face. harrison has been in his big boy bed (which he calls his "good boy bed"!) for quite a while now. it's just been over the past month, however, that he has realized that he can get out all by himself. he loves to come climb in bed with mommy & daddy at 6:30 in the morning.
MOST of the time i want to get a picture of the two of them it turns out like this. graham is so happy, and harrison wants nothing to do with it. although it is frustrating for me at the moment, looking at this always makes me laugh.
one day (i think this was in the month of may), harrison decided he wanted to go outside to play. we explained that he couldn't go outside unless he got dressed. apparently, he thought pants were optional. i suppose the mittens and snow boots would keep him warm enough.
graham is now officially one very happy camper. it was a long road, filled with lots of tears, but we have made it to the other side and could not be more in love with our littlest munchkin. graham smiles and laughs so much more than harrison ever did. he is much more social. he began sitting up and crawling at seven months. now, at almost eight months, he would rather pull up to a standing position and "cruise" around. he is desperate to climb the stairs! he still does not have any teeth...but he sure is teething! and drooling! and still spitting up everywhere! i long for the days when he won't need a bib anymore.

harrison is just starting to enjoy playing with graham. he loves to stand on the back of the walker and graham pushes and pulls him around the house. while watching a baby einstein video, harrison will narrate the story for graham. and while he has definitely used the words, "no, mine" quite a bit, he is also very happy to share toys with graham. graham could care less...he's just thrilled when harrison looks his direction! : )

on father's day morning the boys climbed in bed with daddy and gave him their presents. jeremy is an amazing dad and the boys are enthralled with him!
over the fourth of july weekend we took a road trip to iowa to visit with my family. this is a picture of harrison and ty (my cousin, lisa's, son) in the bathtub together. you can't see their faces, but i thought it was cute that they were playing with their cups the exact same way. ty is six months younger than harrison, but referred to harrison as "baby" the entire time we were there. they had SO MUCH FUN together. the road trip was a huge success, with the exception of sickness that we picked up along the way. graham and i are still getting over some kind of yucky bug.
harrison got to do sparklers and see fireworks for the first time while graham slept peacefully inside.
we went to iowa to celebrate my grandma glady's 90th birthday. she may be 90, but she really hasn't slowed down a bit. she raised four children all by herself (my grandpa died when my dad was really little). she has eight grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren (if i counted correctly) and she made a loaf of banana bread for each one. she also made two pecan pies for the event...a really great pie-maker!
one final pic of our sweet graham-er boy, playing in the grass during the picture-taking process at grandma's party. a random little note about graham: he's been "blessed" with rockstar/mohawk hair. in fact, instead of the typical cowlick that most boys/men have , he has a double cowlick, in the shape of a figure eight...one with the hair patterned in a clockwise fashion and the other with the hair patterned in a counter-clockwise fashion. just another of the adorable little things that makes him so cute and so special!!

just a day in the life of this mom...

2009-05-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

giving bathes...

laughing...

more laughing...

rolling with the punches...

smiling...

cleaning up drool and spit-up (and toys and crumbs and hands and clothes and....)

lots of playing...
being a mom is so much fun!

to my almost six-month old boy

2009-05-07T13:47:00.000-07:00

dear baby graham,

you light up our lives like no other. my favorite thing about you is that just a quick glance in your direction makes your face BEAM!

you are SO loud... hilariously loud...pay attention to me loud...give me more of that yummy applesauce loud...i love to be tickled loud...i'm so happy to be alive loud...

you make us laugh out loud.

we are just now beginning to see some semblance of your schedule. mommy has tried hard to force you to get with the program - to no avail. it has been obvious from the beginning of your life (since eight weeks in utero...i mean the very beginning) that your plan has been to keep us guessing. and you have not failed at accomplishing this goal. we have a feeling that you are going to be our outgoing, outspoken, "think outside the box" child. and, truth be told, your daddy & i think that makes you the absolute perfect addition to this family!

you LOVE your big brother. you are enamored with him. and harrison loves you, too. he likes to put you to sleep by putting your binky in your mouth, giving you your woobie (blanket) and saying, "night night baby gwaham". he works magic with you...sometimes better than mommy.

your favorite things, at the moment, are toys that have faces. you like to "talk" to your stuffed dog and lion. you love to be free on the floor - rolling and scooting. no sitting up for you yet. you love to eat fruits and veggies, although green veggies take a bit of coaxing. when you eat you wail with delight in between every single bite. you love to be outside. you still love to be swaddled. you love to be held...and tickled...and read to...and sung to...and played with...you love interaction.

your daddy & i love you so much...with an unconditional love (and, trust me, you have already tested those conditions). we think you are the sweetest, brightest, most light-hearted, and cutest boy. we feel SO extremely blessed to call you "son"!!

happy burbay!

2009-04-28T20:00:00.001-07:00

that's "happy birthday" in harrison-speak.

i could listen to him say "happy burbay" over and over and over again. because i have a feeling that he won't be saying it when we celebrate year number three.

this year we celebrated with a monkey theme. his invitations said "monkey see, monkey do...harrison is turning two. so, swing on over and go bananas with us". the original plan was to meet for a play-date at the park but the weather forced us inside. everyone came over here to play, then we made "monkey" cupcakes and ate them. messy, but fun!

after our friends left, meme & papa stayed to eat lunch, cupcakes, and to open presents.

harrison was SPOILED! he got a sandbox with sand toys, a big wheel, a thomas the train set, a bosch tool/work bench, one of those big balls that you sit and bounce on, a ball pit, and some bubble toys. the child is not hurting for things to do.

the pictures:

i had to take this one of harrison's curls. yes, some might call that a mullet. i call it precious. i live for the days when he takes a shower in the morning with daddy because then his hair stays cute all day. if he takes a bath at night the bed-head is ridiculous. hilarious, but ridiculous. he actually got a haircut yesterday, so it will take quite some time to grow it back out to this stage (if ever).

our friend cadence and harrison had a great time running around outside after they decorated and ate their cupcakes.

too cute for words.

our beloved meme & papa...the best grandparents a boy could ask for.

a monkey cupcake. i made this one. cadence's cupcake turned out pretty great. harrison's little monkey had a "smile" in between his two crooked eyes. it all tasted the same, though!

graham wanted to play with harrison's new train set. i'm sure one day the boys will have a fantastic time playing together!

happy burbay to you, happy burbay to you... harrison didn't want to blow out his candles because they are "hot". daddy and i had to help.

riding his new "motorcycle" off into the sunset. did i mention that he is spoiled??!

truthfully, though, jer & i are the ones who are spoiled! we have the most amazing two-year-old a mommy & daddy could hope for!

a pictorial of winter

2009-04-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

even though we have been watching the flowers bloom and the birds build nests in our trees, it is still winter around here. we woke up to a fresh blanket of snow this morning. i think i've finally figured out that the phrase "april showers bring may flowers" doesn't really apply in denver. unless, of course, you think of the "showers" as snow showers rather than rain showers.

in any event, we've had a lot of fun this winter...

harrison woke up one morning and decided this is what he wanted to wear...

baby graham (4.5 months) in jeans and tennis shoes...

our sweet boy is getting sweeter each day. he loves to smile, laugh, and talk to us...

we got to take the boys to the zoo. harrison had a blast...

he loved all the animals, but the rhino, elephant, and mongoose were his favorites...

harrison got to go sledding with daddy and papa. it goes without saying that he LOVED it! in fact, as we were driving to school this morning (looking at all the snow), harrison said, "swed papa". (translation: i want to sled with papa).

when daddy works from home harrison likes to play with his headphones...

graham is getting bigger, rolling more, scooting around, getting more hair, and crying less. he gets to eat fruits and veggies now and LOVES it.

harrison turned two on april 14th. due to how close his birthday was to easter, we did not celebrate until this past weekend. and, boy, did we have fun celebrating! the birthday pics deserve their own post...

this morning

2009-03-31T11:55:00.001-07:00

could a mom ask for anything more?

well, it sure has been a while...

2009-03-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

so, i haven't been blogging...

there are a few reasons...

1) i got a bit tired of writing about my children and, sort of, wanted to "reclaim" my blog for myself. i decided i needed to write about what i was reflecting on, what i was learning, etc. and, then, i realized that self-analyzation doesn't always make for the best blog posts. at one point i began a post entitled "i don't like me very much right now"; only to erase the entire thing. sometimes you just don't want all your baggage aired online. so, i don't know what i'm going to do about all this, but i'll figure it out.

2) baby graham has been a really difficult baby. i'm not gonna lie, life has been really trying for the past six weeks. well, really, for the past four months. i'm quite sure that the transition from one to two would have been hard...but graham's crying has made it almost unbearable. i haven't wanted to write about it. i don't want to document it. when it's over (and i know it will be over one day), i want to forget it. and, most of all, i want to acknowledge the sweet, happy moments rather than the crabby ones. as my mother always used to tell me, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". that has been my mantra for a while now. and i'm sincerely hoping and praying that i'll get to write LOTS of sweet, happy things soon!

3) we've been busy...and sick...and busy. : ) life continues on. every mom knows what that is like. we've been to the doctor WAY too many times in the past six weeks. i turned 32 and had a fabulous birthday, thanks to my sweet husband. we are preparing to celebrate harrison's 2nd birthday, which seems impossible. we took the boys to the zoo over the weekend and it was awesome. harrison's favorite animal seemed to be the mongoose. : ) graham enjoyed riding in the stroller. the weather has been beautiful and we have played outside nearly every day. these are just a few of the little things that have been "up at the white house".

so, until next time, america...

oh, happy days

2009-02-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

graham is 12 weeks old. supposedly, this is the age when colic is magically cured. and i think it is safe to say that graham is much better. we still have some fussy moments, but they are few and far between. we are enjoying lots of smiles from our sweet boy these days. and we are finally getting to do tummy time...and other activities that were previously too stimulating (or at least they seemed to be).

the first time graham was on his tummy, he pushed him self back over. and he has been rolling ever since. strong boy!

oh, i forgot to tell ya'll...at his 8 week check up, he weighed in at 12.03 pounds. dalene had the closest guess! and, incidentally, harrison actually weighed 12.53 pounds at 8 weeks....BUT, he was 2.5 inches taller than graham. so i guess that's why graham just seemed so much bigger.

here's the little munchkin watching big brother play outside...

and posing for a photo so mama can always remember those precious striped pants...

and smiling... he's a keeper!

a letter to harrison

2009-02-02T19:26:00.001-08:00

sweet boy,

i've been meaning to sit down and write you a letter for a while now. time flies too quickly and life gets in the way too easily. sigh. but i suppose it is better to be spending time with you instead of writing about you? well, in any case, here it goes.

you are just shy of 22 months old and i absolutely cannot believe that your two-year birthday is approaching. you are growing up so fast! the best thing about this stage is that every day i am surprised by you...a new word, some kind of new activity, a realization that you know WAY more than i think you do.

first off, we don't have one single ounce of concern about your speech. son, you have so many words in your vocabulary - it's incredible! right now my favorite word that you say is "garage". i have got to get some video of you talking about the garage. you could not be cuter.

you like to tell me when you have a "poo poo" or "wet" diaper. and you want a "clean" diaper right away. we got you a potty chair, which you like to sit on, but you still haven't really put the two together. mama is going to start researching the details of potty training.

you've had a big boy bed in your room for about six weeks now. you love to sit in it and read books with mama. you love to sit in it and look out the window (especially when you can watch the "mailman" deliver the mail). you love to pretend to sleep in it. but if mama tries to leave you in it for a nap, you start to cry. you still love your crib! lots of boys at your age are climbing out of their cribs. you like to climb in. : )

the other day you wanted me to lift you up onto the kitchen counter so you could watch/help me cook dinner. i obliged, but told you not to touch anything. you were quick to pick up the coffee pot and pretend to pour coffee. being that the coffee pot is made of glass, i was even quicker to take it out of your little hands and place you back on the floor. you looked up at me and said, "obey" (a word you had never spoken before...but one you had heard quite often). at that moment i could not have been more proud of you. and you were rewarded by getting to sit on the counter again. and you did, indeed, obey.

another day last week we were playing on daddy's computer - on crayola's website. you got bored and started playing in daddy's desk drawers. the next thing i knew you were climbing up the stairs and saying what i thought was "play". i wasn't sure what you were referring to, but you reappeared with a "pen" (which was behind a safety-latched cupboard, by the way). you had found daddy's check book in the drawer and wanted a pen to write a check. such a smart boy.

during the day when daddy is gone you always ask where he is. when i tell you he is at work you always say "home". : ) it melts your daddy's heart to know that you miss him when he's gone.

you are a very neat and tidy boy...always putting things where they belong. you love to pretend to "vacuum" (which sounds like ma-moom) and "mop". during one of the really warm days a couple weeks ago we had just come inside and were sitting on the floor, taking off your shoes. you pointed to the bottom of your shoe and said "dirt". i agreed, "yes, that is dirt". to which you replied, "towel". you crack me up!

you are becoming much more accustomed to your brother...and you are the best helper in the whole wide world! during all his bad bouts of crying, you did such a good job. i could tell it bothered you, but, for the most part, you played quietly while i tended to "baby". when graham would start to make noises you were quick to tell me "crying". and, then, you were quick to say "stop". ha! thank God, our sweet little graham has not been crying as much and we are having a lot more fun playing with him now!

you have renamed your grammy. she is now lovingly called "meme"...a word that is much easier for you to say. and i know she loves to hear you say it. you love to go up to meme and papa's house because she makes really good cookies!

you are thriving at school...you love to go to the park...if you see a dog, you are on cloud nine...you love to take showers with daddy...you know that they have free cookies at the store (thanks to your daddy) and you must ride in those germ-infested grocery carts that have a car for you to sit in...you think it's so funny when graham has a "poo poo" diaper...you are sitting in a booster seat now, instead of your high chair...you love to dip things in ketchup and bbq sauce (thank God for organic ketchup)...you would rather be outside...you love to color with markers and you do a very good job of only coloring on paper (so far)...you can turn the most mundane things into an adventure!

your daddy and i think you are the sweetest, smartest, funniest, cutest, most precious human being on this earth! (and, sometimes, the orneriest). your smile brings joy to our hearts.

i know i couldn't

2009-01-15T06:30:00.001-08:00

harrison recently received his first kiss from a little girl on the playground. she was a complete stranger. we found out later that her name was aiya and she was just two months older than harrison.

my goodness what a difference two months makes on the "worldliness" scale!

she ran up to harrison, said, "hi, little boy", and gave him a good peck on the lips. she, then, proceeded to gently touch his eyelashes.

harrison just stood there and took it. i wondered what in the world was going through his sweet head. probably something like, "oh man, this is what i have to look forward to".

or maybe that's what i was thinking.

in any case, tell me, could you resist that precious face?

only in denver

2009-01-11T19:29:00.000-08:00

last week's grey's anatomy coined a new phrase..."i'm going to denver".

if you saw the show, you know what i'm talking about. i thought it was a clever and cute line. i could just picture viewers all across the country turning to their spouse and saying, "hey, baby, let's go to denver".

thanks be to grey's for giving us all kinds of new terminology. any show that can get oprah to say "vi-jay-jay" in reference to her vi-jay-jay is alright with me. well, with the exception of this new denny was dead, but now he's back from the dead, but he's still really dead story line. clearly, they are reaching. but it digress.

so, all this denver talk has got me thinking about how interesting it is to live here.

and i can prove the interestingness with this brief little story:

i had to make a quick run to whole foods market (one very nice perk of living here) this afternoon. upon my drive back home i turned onto my street and found four cowboys on horseback, lined up side-by-side, trotting down the middle of the road.

seriously, you can't tell me that NYC or LA offer such sights. of course, NYC does have the naked cowboy. but, again, i digress.

although these four gentlemen were wearing cowboy hats...and were kind enough to let me pass... i'm not sure that "cowboy" is the proper title for them. first of all, i've never seen a cowboy talk on a cell phone with one hand, while holding the reigns with the other. and, further, not one of them, upon reaching my garage, stopped and offered to help me with my groceries.

but still, cowboys or not, denver sure never fails to intrigue me. don't even get me started on the homeless man who has trained a mouse to sit on top of a cat, who rides on the back of a dog, while they walk around downtown. for real.

all that to say, if you ever want to go to denver (i'm talking literally, people), you're always welcome for dinner at my house!

to my eight-week-old boy

2009-01-11T07:08:00.000-08:00

well, baby graham, your official two-month birthday isn't until the 14th, but we've reached the eight-week mark. mama simply cannot believe how grown-up you are! you are BIG, my son...already fitting into 3-6 month size clothes. i can't wait to find out how tall you are, and how much you weigh.

you haven't made life too easy around here the last 4-6 weeks. you like to cry. a lot. but, slowly, we have figured out what makes you happy. still, you exercise your lungs quite a bit. the vacuum seems to soothe you, as do the bathroom exhaust fans, and the dryer. you get relegated to the laundry room a lot. poor thing.

when you are happy, we LOVE to see your beautiful smile, listen to you "talk" to us, and watch you kick and bat at things. you love it when we sing to you. your very favorite song is "ho-ho-ho-hosanna" and when you hear it your face instantly lights up! when i click my tongue you stop to listen so intently. i can see the wheels turning in that head of yours...you're trying to figure out how in the world mama is making that noise!

you like it when harrison goes to stay with grammy & papa for the weekend because you get to be held, rocked, and talked to all day long. you need that individual attention. and mama & daddy love to give it to you.

we love you more than life itself, sweet boy! you are a blessing from the Lord. and we pray that you continue to grow stronger (and happier) each day!

***just for fun: graham's two-month check up is this coming friday, the 16th. leave a comment and guess how much he's going to weigh.

(this might help: he was born 8 pounds, 7.5 ounces. he dropped down to 8 pounds, 1 ounce. but at his two-week appointment he was already back up to a whopping 8 pounds, 15 ounces!)

a visit from grandma & grandpa

2009-01-11T06:50:00.000-08:00

my parents came home (to iowa) from china for a two-month break this Christmas season. they came out to stay with us for a week, arriving the sunday after Christmas. while they were here the weather was absolutely gorgeous, reaching 63 degrees one day - a welcome break from the blizzards they had been experiencing in iowa. we got to play outside every day!

harrison really loved having two more people around the house to play with him all day long! jeremy and i were concerned that he might not speak to them - or speak at all - because he is normally not as verbal with anyone other than mom & dad. but he surprised us by being instantly accepting of grandma & grandpa...and VERY chatty!

on new year's day we made a big meal and invited jer's side of the family to join us.

we always play games after holiday meals. "clue" is one of the favorites. i'm always "miss scarlet" (not only because of my black hair, but because she gets to go first every time. it's true...read the rules). and jer's mom is always "mrs. white".

harrison helped my dad make his famous apple muffins.

grandma loved getting to hold graham. and, boy, did he love being held!

thanks for visiting. can't wait to see you again this summer!

i wish i was sleeping beauty

2009-01-07T15:13:00.000-08:00

i am one extremely tired girl. tiiiiirrred. painfully tired. literally.

the unfortunate thing is that this kind of tiredness leads to crabbiness and short-temperedness.

and, maybe worse, just a generally BLAH attitude about life. a lack-luster sort of state-of-being.

definitely not a good thing.

definitely not my normal self.

i'm longing for a respite. a massage. a really long hot shower. a dark room and a heavy down comforter that envelopes me. eight hours of uninterrupted sleep.

and the ability to get through just one cup of coffee without having to reheat it.

until then, i just keep telling myself that my prince charming will be home soon to help share the load. in my dreams, though, prince charming's kiss would put me to sleep...instead of waking me up.

it's a happy new year!

2009-01-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

and we're already making a little bit of progress!

we were finally able to get a family photo...

hopefully someday soon we can get harrison and graham to smile, too!

a hunting we will go...

2008-12-27T13:15:00.001-08:00

it's hard to see but harrison is wearing a plaid shirt...and that puffy orange vest. top it off with one of those hats that has the flaps to cover his ears...and i think he looks a bit like elmer fudd.

except exponentially cuter, of course.

now i just need to teach him to say "dat wascally wabbit".

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T12:59:00.001-08:00

i can wrap up the day in one phrase: our boys are spoiled! actually, we are ALL spoiled!

grammy, papa, and uncle zach came over for a big brunch. then we watched harrison open lots of presents.

before they arrived we had our own little celebration. santa brought an xbox for jer. he works so hard all year, santa thought he deserved a special toy. here he is opening his xbox games.

harrison is giving graham a kiss.

graham slept through all the festivities.

santa brought a doodle board for harrison.

and a remote-controlled dog! that doesn't shed...woo hoo!

mommy gave harrison some pajamas. you can see how excited he is - ha!

uncle zach

2008-12-27T12:48:00.001-08:00

harrison LOVES his uncle zach! back when i was working uncle zach would come to our house every friday to watch harrison. they developed quite a bond.

this picture was taken when harrison was almost six months old, while we were in memphis. somehow, uncle zach always gets the biggest smiles out of our boy!

Christmas day was a lot of fun...mostly because uncle zach and papa (two of harrison's favorite people) came over to play!

and, now, uncle zach has TWO nephews that adore him! (and, yes, i did dress my children in matching pajamas. i mean i have to do it while they're young, right?!)

the polar express

2008-12-27T12:08:00.001-08:00

our friends the fitzpatrick's and the moody's came over before Christmas for a special screening of "the polar express". it was a pajama party for the kiddos, complete with hot cocoa and snacks...just like they served in the movie.

fun was had by all...or, at least, fun was had by me. so much fun, in fact, that i had to go to bed early and leave jeremy to see our guests off.

thanks, friends, for coming over to share some holiday fun with us! and thanks for doing my dishes and being gracious about my early bedtime! i hope we can make this an annual tradition. i promise next year will be even better!

graham is five weeks old

2008-12-22T15:48:00.000-08:00

my how he has grown!

he is doing all the things five-week-olds are supposed to do. staying awake more, making eye contact, following objects with his eyes, and just beginning to coo. he is losing his hair little by little. his happiest time, now, is first thing in the morning - a wide awake boy. he loves lying on his back and kicking.

i feel like i am more "in the swing of things" as a mom of two. each day just seems to go a bit more smoothly...mostly because harrison is now used to having his brother around and can be more patient while i'm nursing. and because, as you see above, graham will finally accept a pacifier, which has helped him (well, all of us, actually) tremendously!

we are excited to spend Christmas as a family of four!

the moses basket

2008-12-22T15:12:00.000-08:00

my dear friend andrea made the most beautiful moses basket for graham. i love it. and, more importantly, graham loves it.

and harrison loves it, too!

yes, virginia, there is a Christmas card...

2008-12-19T11:19:00.000-08:00

***updated with the photos i was actually able to take***

...but unless there's a Christmas miracle, it won't be arriving at your home by the 25th!

i believe the white's will be spreading some post-holiday cheer this year. thanks, in part, to a revelation that occurred while attempting to take a family photo.

first, getting a picture of all four of us is impossible. mostly because this would require that i dye my hair. no, it's not vanity. it's just the simple fact that no one wants to open a Christmas card and see 2 inch gray roots.

so jeremy and i tried to get a picture of the boys (insert revelation here), only to find out that harrison only likes to "play with" his brother on his own terms. when i try to set them next to each other in the chair - or, God forbid, actually put graham in his lap! - much wailing and gnashing of teeth ensues.

it's as if harrison is screaming, "mom, he's touching me!" or "but, mom, he's on my side of the chair!"

thank God we do not have any upcoming road trips!

i could title it "silent night", but then i'd be lying

2008-12-18T06:31:00.000-08:00

during a period of time that i will lovingly refer to as "the 12 days of colic" we discovered that graham needs to have a peaceful environment while he is nursing. if he doesn't get to eat his meals quietly, he makes sure that we don't get to have any peace and quiet for the rest of the day.

hey, i guess that's only fair.

one teeny, weeny problem (in the form of a 20-month old boy): imagine trying to get any semblance of peace and quiet with harrison ottley white in the house.

we are working on it. i'm even resorting to bribes.

well, it's been a month (nov. 14-dec. 14)

2008-12-17T06:09:00.000-08:00

love this picture. this is still the face harrison makes when daddy tries to give him kisses. i guess graham is simply following suit.

harrison in the thanksgiving feather hat that he made at school. this was before "the sickness of 2008" struck our home.

this was during "the sickness of 2008" when grammy & papa brought us yummy thanksgiving leftovers to eat. papa kept harrison occupied with stickers. so much fun! incidentally, grammy, papa and jeremy all caught the sickness. i remained healthy...thanks in part to my OCD-like hand-washing behavior.

and graham slept peacefully through it all. you can see how tired i am. at this point jeremy and i had been awake for three days and two nights.

graham has blue eyes like his daddy. (at least they have not changed color yet). harrison's were extremely dark from day one and are now a deep brown like mine. so, if all stays the same, we'll have one blue-eyed boy and one brown-eyed boy.

the first snow. harrison was far too captivated to look at me and smile.

the first bath together.

my big boy. so cute in his fleece sweatshirt. so sad that it's cold enough to need a fleece sweatshirt.

harrison loves saying "hi", giving kisses and touching graham. for the most part he is very gentle. except for the time when he bashed graham in the head with the remote control.

but that was an accident...i think.

breastfeeding questions

2008-12-05T07:42:00.001-08:00

***update: thanks so much to all who commented, emailed, or wrote to me on facebook. i appreciate all the advice!

because i do not have the time to get online and do my own research, i will send my questions out into blog world and wait for the internet to come to me.

hopefully i'll get some answers this way...

1) if i'm going to pump and store milk, when's the best time to do it?

2) how do i know if something i ate doesn't agree with graham? will it be more than just normal burps?

3) how long does it take for something i ate to get into my milk?

4) if i'm "baby wise"ing him...and he finishes his meal, but seems to need more sucking time for soothing in order to fall asleep after "play time", but he WON'T take a pacifier...what in the world do i do?

okay, THANKS!!

and, if you're wondering why i don't already know this stuff (this being my second baby) it's because i wasn't able to nurse harrison for this long.

i am thankful

2008-11-30T12:24:00.000-08:00

well, it's been two weeks and two days since we brought home another little mister. graham has been adjusting well to life at the white house. he eats well, sleeps well, and poops well. what else could i ask for?? i am truly thankful.

our sweet harrison came down with two ear infections and strep throat. the symptoms of which appeared the night before thanksgiving. needless to say, we have been running on VERY little sleep around here. and thanksgiving was not celebrated until friday evening when jer's mom brought leftovers...which jeremy & i ate while standing up in the kitchen. still, i am very thankful.

to make matters worse, harrison refuses to take his antibiotic. we had to go to urgent care yesterday (after spending the previous day at the doctor's office...two days at kaiser permanente with two kids is enough to push new mom over the edge.) and he got a shot in each leg. we picked up a different prescription - chewables instead of liquid - which, so far, harrison still won't eat. i've only tried crushing and hiding it in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. i'm going to give him two more tries - in pudding and in yogurt. if he still won't eat it he's going to have to have shots every day for a week. poor kid. yet, i am so thankful.

we've hardly taken any pictures of graham. my mommy guilt is kicking in big time over that one. and i have not had time to upload the few that we have taken. some day soon, hopefully. i can say that he is such a precious boy and i am deeply in love with him already. my friend kipplyn told me that "love multiples". boy, she is SO right. my heart is so full.

a very hypothetical conversation

2008-11-24T12:49:00.001-08:00

scene: while sitting at the dinner table, during an extremely mediocre (at best) meal, a husband and wife begin chatting. their two children are in the background - two boys. a newborn baby who is peacefully sleeping on the couch...and a toddler who is running around the house with the kind of energy only a toddler can possess.

husband: (spoken while chewing his mediocre meal) how bout if i run to wendy's a pick up a couple of burgers?

wife: will you take "toddler" with you?

husband: only if i can leave him there.

we're home

2008-11-16T19:55:00.000-08:00

although the hospital provides an excellent room service menu, i was ready to get home.

at the moment, harrison is peacefully sleeping upstairs. graham has been fed and is watching t.v. with mama & daddy. this was always his most active time of day during pregnancy and it's proving to be the same outside the womb. i started singing to him and he came alive - so focused - as if he recognized every song. simply amazing.

we are looking forward to a good night - with or without sleep - and a great day tomorrow.

graham peregrine white

2008-11-14T19:15:00.000-08:00

november 14, 2008

10:35 am

a whopping 8.75 pounds

19.5 inches

we are truly blessed...

harrison was more interested in eating my saltine crackers...and playing peek-a-boo with papa...and taking pictures with the camera...and running in the hallways...than meeting little brother. who knew the hospital was such a fun place to be?!

daddy's legs aren't that big

2008-11-11T11:50:00.000-08:00

last night, for the first time, harrison talked to my pregnant belly. he even gave "the baby" kisses. it was such a precious moment between the "four" of us.

previously, when jer would talk to the baby, harrison would get a bit confused and upset, so it was a pleasure to see that he finally understood and joined in on the conversation.

then he started talking to, and kissing, jer's calf muscle.

...so, maybe he still doesn't get it.

seven random things

2008-11-09T12:15:00.000-08:00

christy at the call of the wild tagged me to post 7 random things about myself.

hmmm....

1) i am continually baffled at how expensive it is to eat organically...without added "stuff". did you know that a 3/4 cup serving of "sugar" cereal - like cinnamon toast crunch or captain crunch - contains LESS sugar than a 1-2 tbsp. serving of gerber juice snacks?! the stuff they market for toddlers is terrible! and don't even get me started about high fructose corn syrup...

2) i love my pregnant belly. the last trimester is my favorite part of pregnancy.

3) i firmly believe that any store which provides (and expects you to return) a shopping cart; should allocate the parking spaces right next to the shopping cart "depots" for pregnant women and mothers of toddlers.

4) i have a love/hate relationship with reality t.v.

5) one of my very favorite things in life is waking up to the sound of my sweet boy playing and talking to himself in his crib.

6) i like painted toe nails and unpainted finger nails.

7) i LOVE giving thoughtful gifts - the kind someone will really love/enjoy. and i LOVE the wrapping. it's all about the presentation, people.

i just have to wonder...

2008-11-06T12:12:00.000-08:00

when you see a harley davidson biker dude (is it offensive to call him "dude"?) - dressed in head-to-toe leather - out riding his hog at 5:30 pm on a wednesday night....

do you think he....

a) has some kind of cool biker dude job that requires a dress code of head-to-toe leather?

b) changed out of his work clothes and put on the leather specifically for the ride home?

c) doesn't have a job. rather, he was at home all day and thought a nice ride in the brisk denver air would do him good?

whatever the case, all this wondering provided me five minutes of entertainment during rush hour last night. thanks mr. biker man.

post election day

2008-11-05T10:38:00.000-08:00

pastor pete wilson of nashville, tennessee said it best this morning.

and i couldn't agree with him more!

happy halloween ?????

2008-11-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

given the fact that this is the white house, it was only appropriate that harrison dress up as a republican for halloween. jer's mom made the cutest elephant costume - she is an amazing seamstress! this was the best picture i could get....

all the other photos look something like this....

so, do you think harrison is telling us that he's voting for the left? or is it just that he doesn't want to wear the elephant ears?? (please notice he had thrown his hat on the ground). the poor boy looks tortured, but he DID have fun trick-or-treating.

and coloring his pumpkin....

in the end, i think he forgave me for putting him through so much...

fall 2008

2008-11-02T09:26:00.000-08:00

what's better than a boy dressed in cords and a plaid button-down?

mama's boy

pregnant mommy...and yummy spaghetti

(that was daddy's plate of spaghetti...that harrison decided to enjoy for himself. didn't want anyone to think we give our child "hungry man" portions)

LOVE this picture! in case you can't tell, harrison is saying "enough with the photos, mother!" he has gotten so darn expressive! he keeps us laughing!

thank God for bibs

2008-11-02T09:16:00.000-08:00

this is what happens when you drink the yogurt out of the container instead of using a spoon.

hey, as long as he's happy, right?!

i'm still here!

2008-11-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

my sweet friend, christy, keeps writing to check up on me. thanks friend! i do apologize for being so absent from blogging. somehow life just gets in the way.

BUT...

yes, i'm still doing great. i'm physically ready to get this baby out of me. (i started retaining water this week and i hate swollen hands and feet!) but i'm not yet emotionally ready for the transition from one to two. nor am i organizationally ready...and my house is not clean...and, well, you know all those things that need to be done. or at least the raging hormones keep telling me they need to be done.

and i really don't think jeremy is ready either. he seems to think setting up his new plasma t.v. is more important than vacuuming. i keep reminding him not to mess with the hormones. he continues to ignore me. uh, i mean them.

men, if any of you are reading...don't mess with a pregnant woman when she is in nesting mode. honey, if you are reading...seriously, you need to get down to business.

speaking of hormones...i had another "crazy lady" moment this past week. i ventured to wal-mart. that was my number one mistake. i really should never have entered the parking lot. but, to make a very long and boring story a bit shorter...two wal-marts later and i still didn't have everything i needed. i vowed never to enter their doors again. and, on the way home, i took out my frustration on a VERY slow driver by flashing my brights at her until she picked up the pace. that little gold honda accord got out of my way pretty quickly.

and i'll just leave you on that note. ha!! what a "feel good" post this is!

a much needed update...

2008-10-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

here are the random tidbits of our lives...

the basement is finished. praise Jesus, we made it through! i did experience two meltdowns during the remodel - a serious emotional breakdown because drywall dust got all over our house...and, worse, last friday i committed the pregnant equivalent of drunk-dialing and called our contractor in tears because the carpet guy had simply pushed me over the edge. but now it's done. i will post pics soon.

harrison is done with his binky. it wasn't even an issue for him, for which i am very thankful. last week i went out to dinner with a couple of girlfriends. jer put him to sleep without a binky and he hasn't used one since.

i am still have contractions. had an appointment today and am one centimeter dilated. they really aren't concerned about me given the fact that i've made it this far...and we are close to the "safety mark" of 37 weeks. i, however, am really holding out for 40 weeks. so, we'll see.

we've scheduled a c-section for my due date, which is november 20th. if i go into labor before that date, however, i plan to try a natural delivery. so, again, we'll see.

we hired jennifer to help me out with harrison and the housework three mornings a week - just in an effort to help control some of these contractions. it has been a blessing.

we still do not have a name for this sweet baby boy that is kicking inside of me. i know God will impress upon us what he should be called at some point.

harrison turned 18 months last week. time flies. at his 18-month check up we found out he is 34.5 inches tall and 26 pounds. he is a happy, healthy boy. we have started speech therapy once a week. stacy comes to our house. she is wonderful. other than a language delay, there has not been any concern whatsoever (from any of the professionals we've seen) about any other types of developmental delays or problems. we are truly thankful.

harrison is making the CUTEST face lately...a big cheesy grin...gap teeth and all. it absolutely make my heart melt. and it makes me laugh out loud. every time.

i'm quite sure there is much more to say. but the bigger my belly gets, the smaller my brain gets. so, this is all i can remember for now. : )

i could be out looking for eligible bachelors

2008-10-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

on monday nights, thanks to all things "fantasy", i get the joy of experiencing what it's like to be invisible. as i try to converse with my husband about the important matters of life, i get responses such as:

"you bungholes"

"come on, baby, daddy needs a touchdown"

"give me an I-N-T"

"oh, you dumb-arse!!!" (while throwing the remote control across the room)

"sweet jesus, help me out"

thank God for DVR. because without it, my husband would have no idea that i am actually sitting right next to him.

the funny thing....i just looked over to see that jer is attempting to read dostoevsky's crime and punishment...WHILE CONTINUALLY CHECKING HIS FANTASY SCORE! look, i know i can't compete with dostoevsky...but dostoevsky AND football...at the same time??!!

i might as well be single.

i have a feeling this won't be the last time

2008-10-01T12:49:00.001-07:00

we've recently celebrated a couple of "firsts" here in the white house. well, "celebrated" might be a bit of a strong word. maybe "encountered" or "experienced" would be more appropriate.

in order, they go like this: poison control, "no", and poop.

last week, while jeremy and i had our heads stuck under the sink in the guest bathroom, harrison gave us a little scare. you see, normally, the guest bathroom cabinet houses all of harrison's bath products and medicine...and other household products that need to be behind a safety latch. due to the "leaky faucet debacle of 2008", all those products were strewn throughout our hallway.

as i was trying to balance the roles of mother and plumber, i looked over my shoulder to make sure harrison was okay. he seemed to be having great fun with daddy's (aka plumber extraordinaire) flashlight. the next minute, i looked over to see that he had managed to open a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

imagine seeing your toddler casually walking down the hallway carrying an opened bottle with the words "70% isopropyl". my first thought was, "oh, how sweet, he's going to be a doctor someday". uh huh. i am cool under pressure.

i did not know whether or not harrison had actually imbibed. (Lord, i hope i don't ever repeat those words. especially not during the teenage years.) and the nice lady at poison control told me that it is a rarity because most toddlers don't like the bitter taste. (again, Lord, please let all alcohol taste bitter to him. forever.) so we simply watched for signs of drunkenness.

you know...staggering speech, walking into walls, vomiting. all classic toddler behavior if you ask me.

needless to say, i wouldn't be "celebrating" this "first" if harrison, indeed, had gotten drunk. but, he was just fine.

i highly recommend our friends at poison control, who even called us back an hour later to make sure everything was okay.

the other "firsts":

harrison told me "no" (not verbally, it was by shaking his head back and forth). listen people, the boy has been shaking his head "no" for a very long time, but i purposefully did not ever use the word "no" while "shaking". that is, until the speech pathologist told me i should start associating the two. so, now he can say "no". the first time he used it was while in the bathtub.

mama: harrison, it's time to say "bye bye water"

harrison: defiant head shaking

the other "first" was also during bath time. he pooped. in the water. amidst lots of floating toys.

the only thing i have to say about that is that i (pregnant girl) did an AMAZING job of not freaking out (and not gagging). really, kudos to me.

home from the hospital

2008-09-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

yes, it's true. we just got home. but, thankfully, i am still "pre" instead of "post" partum.

these pesky contractions.

today they decided to start. and they still haven't decided to stop.

you'll be happy to know (as i was) that some of my "contractions" are not contractions at all. rather, they are simply "irritable uterus". hmmm. if they keep on like this, i know someone else who is going to be quite irritable.

also, the nurse was quite complimentary about how well hydrated i am. i told her the 120 oz. story. she was impressed. at least i think that was the expression on her face. however, in hind sight, it might have been more of a "this chick is loco" kind of look.

here's the thing: the rule of thumb has been that if i have four or more contractions per hour...for a two hour time span...i need to go to the hospital. today, we discovered that this rule really doesn't work for me. because, clearly, i have had WAY more than four contractions per hour...for WAY more than two hours.

so, they've given me a new directive. which, of course, requires a follow-up with my OB within the next week. it also requires rest, hydration, and warm bathes. and "today" is supposed to be my new "baseline". so, basically, if i have more frequent, or more painful, contractions than today...that's when i go to the hospital.

two really nice things about this hospital experience...quality time with hubs AND not being charged a co-pay! woo hoo!

i'll get by with a little help from my friends

2008-09-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

i have a really hard time asking for help. actually, i think it's more that i have a really hard time admitting that i need help. in either case, when i do make myself vulnerable enough to acknowledge my need and request a hand...

it makes me feel a whole lot better when i'm not met with a begrudging, resentful attitude.

sigh.

the storybook farm

2008-09-24T19:19:00.001-07:00

during the month of september, denver's children's museum is partnering with the urban farm. they've created a really fun exhibit that changes each and every day. so far, we've gotten to meet sheep, cows, rabbits, goats, horses, turkeys, chickens, and even a llama!

the big wooly sheep have been the most fun...and the most friendly.

harrison has enjoyed working in the garden, riding the tractor, feeding the animals, and listening to some fun stories about the farm.

we feel so blessed to live in a place that offers inexpensive and creative opportunities to play with our child!

things to remember...

2008-09-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

some of the best memories cannot be captured by anything other than my mind. for example....

harrison is a "dancing machine". jer and i LOVE watching him "get down". his moves resemble something similar to bill cosby's (as seen during the opening theme song of the cosby show).

he is now saying a few words: daddy, hi, yeah (as in "yes"), and night (as in "night, night")

he does not like it when mommy & daddy look at, touch, or talk to mommy's belly. harrison is insistent on pulling my shirt over my belly so that it does not show. (a few weeks ago he was quite obsessed with my belly button. specifically, he loved sticking his finger in it. i'm sort of happy that phase has passed.)

he does not like it when mommy has to go potty. i mean, God forbid if i actually closed the bathroom door and got a little privacy. that would just be unheard of. but if i let harrison in the bathroom with me, he still gets a bit whiny, tries to pull up my shorts (while i'm sitting on the potty!), and pulls the toilet paper off the roll so that i can get done quicker.

he has absolutely no issues when daddy has to go potty. the child is an anomaly.

animal noises: dog panting, cow mooing, and (best of all) an elephant "noise", which is (silently) made by waving his right arm up and down like a trunk. he also makes an airplane/car noise - trying to mimic our vroom-vroom's.

last night, jer and i watched as harrison played with his books and his backpack. we talked about how, someday, we will watch him pull big textbooks out of his bag so that he can start his homework. time simply goes by too quickly. just one reason why it's so great to take time to cherish the things that are happening right now.

casa bonita

2008-09-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

we went to casa bonita on friday night. although it is a white family tradition that dates back to grammy's & papa's college days, it was my first time to visit this beloved restaurant. harrison loved it. he ate two bites of dinner and, then, proceeded to clear his tray (yes, he is a very well-mannered boy), pull off his bib, and stand up. there was no doubt that he was ready to EXPLORE.

jer and his parents took turns walking him around while i rested my weary feet. it was a lovely night.

snacktime

2008-09-21T12:50:00.001-07:00

we always have a little snack/tv time after harrison wakes up from his nap. our favorite show is, of course, baby einstein. our favorite snack: goldfish and annie's organic bunnies. i love this time of day because i always get lots of snuggles and cuddles from my boy!

by the way, harrison's green "chair" is called a cooshee. it's a booster seat that has built in suction cups, so it sticks to the chair when he's sitting at the table. currently, he uses it more like a step stool to make getting up onto the couch just a bit easier. smart boy.

finishing the basement

2008-09-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

we've hired an awesome construction company to remodel our basement. crazy the coincidences of life (if you actually believe in coincidence)...

when jared (the general contractor) first showed up at our house, he was wearing big white plastic sunglasses, had punk-rock hair, tattoos all over both arms, piercings in both ears and two in his lip...the way he looked, basically, screamed, "i love rock-n-roll".

hmmm. i'm familiar with guys like you. i'm, actually, comfortable with guys like you.

we headed down to the basement so i could show him the space. he noticed my HUGE framed p.o.d. poster. when i say huge, i'm talking at least 7-feet tall by 3-feet wide. it's hard not to notice. if memory serves, it is one of only two in the united states...brought back from a european tour by p.o.d.'s tour manager, danny. i believe the other one is somewhere in the ottley household.

anyway, jared commented on the poster. he said he loves p.o.d. and, then, proceeded to tell me that he is in a Christian punk band...and, better yet, he LOVES another band that sometimes toured with p.o.d. - blindside!

small world. i love p.o.d. and blindside, too! : )

so, conversation easily turned toward Christian topics. turned out, jared leads worship at his church and his business partner (also named jared) is the youth pastor. construction is what they do to pay the bills.

all this, coupled with the fact that they interacted so well with harrison...

who kept finding random objects to give to them.

an old digital camera? oh, thank you, harrison.

a broom? you shouldn't have.

a crayon? that's so nice!

they also let harrison play with their tape measures. big time fun!

...led me to hire them. and, of course, they are really good at remodels, too.

since the project began, it has been fun getting to know each of them better. i hope that we will continue to be friends long after our basement is done.

making brownies

2008-09-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

for a mom who is pretty darn strict about what my child eats, i'd say allowing harrison to make brownies...and lick the spoon!!...is like throwing caution to the wind.

what freedom!

next i'll be letting him play outside without a coat. or ride the shopping cart without wiping his hands afterward. or drink juice that hasn't been watered down. or allow him to climb, and

jump, and run without gasping in fear.

clearly, i have reached a new level of motherhood.

i have a bladder of steel

2008-09-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

always have. and, hopefully, always will. : )

my mom tells stories of how she used to worry about me because when i was a little girl i would wake up and go to school...without ever having gone potty. i vividly remember times when i would get home from school and go to the bathroom for the first time that day.

and i am a "refuse to stop for potty breaks during road trips" kind of girl. 12 hours in a car? no problem.

i truly believe that having a strong bladder is my special super-hero power.

someone should write a comic book about that.

BUT, yesterday i reached my bladder limit.

due to some pesky contractions, i drank at least 120 ounces of water in a 6 hour time span. not even a bladder of steel can withstand that kind of pressure.

the contractions started around 1:00 pm and were five minutes apart for the better part of two hours. then, they slowed to every 15 minutes...and then to an hour apart. jeremy had our bag packed and we fully expected to spend the night being monitored at the hospital. thankfully, it never came to that.

i'm certain it was all the water (coupled with lying on my left side) that helped calm my uterus. it does seem to be a bit of an oxymoron, however, that doctors tell you to get LOTS of rest while drinking LOTS of water. do they not realize that all the water negates all the rest?

when a pregnant lady has to heave her body off the couch every 5 minutes, and walk to the bathroom...well, i mean, that's the equivalent of EXERCISE!

i feared that i would be "exercising" all night long. but, it wasn't so. i woke up this morning, after a peaceful, uninterrupted night's sleep...and, as i went potty, i held a silent vigil in honor of my bladder.

oh, thank you, bladder of steel. you've never done me wrong.

parent's day out

2008-09-12T17:52:00.000-07:00

last monday, harrison had his first day of "school". we have enrolled him in a parent's day out program one day a week, from 9:00 to 1:00. he was so excited to be there, ran into the room, and immediately started playing with the toys. i kept telling him that "mommy was going to go bye-bye", which did not seem to phase him. that is, until i actually walked toward the door.

he cried. and i drove away wondering if i had done the right thing. but, upon picking him up, it turns out that he did GREAT. another mom even complimented how well (and how quickly) he calmed down after i left. he played well, interacted with the teachers and kids well, and he ate all his lunch. so, it was a good morning.

i picked him up at 12:15...knowing that he would need a nap before 1:00. and, of course, mother knows best. he was asleep before we got home. i got him out of his car seat, wiped his face and hands, changed his diaper, and put him down in his crib...and he never woke up!

the boy loves to play outside

2008-09-11T18:31:00.001-07:00

harrison knows that shoes and a hat are required before going outside. apparently, he thinks clothing is optional.

night, night...sleep tight

2008-09-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

there is nothing better than a freshly bathed boy. the smell of johnson's baby shampoo in still-damp hair is dreamy. i love kissing harrison goodnight and knowing that i will giggle in the morning when i see his wild "bed head" hair.

my dear friend, robin, always says that a good bedtime ritual should consist of the three b's - bath, book, and bed. how right she is. harrison thrives on the "three b plan".

tonight, as i was reading, harrison climbed up onto jer's lap. he wanted to be held and rocked. eventually, as all the books had been read...and all the songs had been sung, harrison was STILL happily rocking with daddy.

it was such a rarity on a couple of levels. first, for the most part, harrison won't sit still long enough to be held. and, second, daddy doesn't get cuddles from harrison very often because, well, he's daddy. generally, when jer tries to give him "lovies", harrison pushes away. which breaks jer's heart.

so i sat in the dimly lit room, watching them rock. jeremy was SO content. harrison was SO content. i was SO content. it seems so simple, yet it was such a special moment. one that i soaked in. i didn't want to do anything that would interrupt their father/son bonding. so i just quietly observed...with a smile on my face.

i thought about how that little room held everything i cherish most in this world. and about how i am so richly blessed. and about how much harrison has grown in such a short period of time. and about how a new baby boy will soon become a part of our bedtime traditions.

and about how the smell of johnson's baby shampoo will always trigger my memory to recall this special moment.

the stay-cation

2008-08-31T19:27:00.000-07:00

you know, the latest trend in travel is not to travel at all. since jeremy and i are such trend-following people, we decided to join the ranks of those who are enjoying a vacation at home.

harrison went to grammy & papa's house yesterday morning and we won't pick him up until tomorrow afternoon. 53 hours of uninterrupted, whatever-we-want-to-do time. now that's a vacation. i must say, however, that it is always incredibly hard to drive away from him. i know he is having the time of his life...and i really love my freedom (and our time alone as a couple)...but i miss him SO much. it's crazy how a mommy's heart doesn't ever stop longing for her babies.

jer and i have just been spending quality time together. it's been wonderful. especially for a girl who speaks that specific love language.

there was one exception, however. the fantasy football draft. the good Lord knows i would be a VERY BAD wife if i dared to think he would choose me over the draft. so, while he was "fantasizing" with the guys this afternoon (for 5.5 hours!), i did some much needed organizing.

this pregnant girl loves clean closets and cupboards!

so, here's my conviction (and my confusion): where in the world does all this stuff come from?

i mean, jer and i are NOT pack rats. we aren't even "keepsake-momento-keeping" people. we are "get rid of it" people. we make donations to the lupus foundation, arc, and goodwill REGULARLY. so, how is it that we keep finding more to donate?

i really don't have an answer. i'm at a loss. all i can say is that my day of going through closets and cupboards has, once again, produced quite a load for the salvation army.

i've got a professional wrestler on my hands

2008-08-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

who would have thunk it?

that a 16-month old's brain is smart enough to know exactly how to twist, turn, arch, bend, scream, and kick...

so that it become humanly IMPOSSIBLE to strap him into his car seat.

i'm never leaving the house again.

correction: harrison is never leaving the house again.

sure, he may grow up to be a sheltered, hermit-like, mama's boy. but that's a small sacrifice for peace.

retail therapy

2008-08-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

today was a very rough day in the white house. no details necessary. first, i'd rather not bore you. second, i'd rather not relive all that's taken place - even if it is just through memory. and, third, in the grand scheme of things, my little old day is not that big of a deal. so, i'll not complain.

what i will do is tell you that all the "roughness" caused me to do something a bit extreme.

i bought a new trash can.

that cost $69.99.

(if you know me well - actually, if you know my husband well - you can hear jer screaming, "70 dollars??!! for a TRASH CAN???!!!")

but, look, i googled my new can, and it appears that i got a great deal! now, if costco was actually selling the can for $99.99, i would have walked away. but, $69.99, for such a stainless steel beauty, i'd be an idiot not to buy one.

at least that's what i told jer when he got home this evening.

i always knew this day would come...

2008-08-18T17:43:00.001-07:00

but i never thought it would be so soon.

my child is now a one-nap-a-day-er.

Lord Jesus, sustain me. i mean, do You not realize that i'm very pregnant? and harrison is very active? and heavy? and, well.....

i need two naps a day!?!?!

maybe You, with all your miraculous ways, could turn harrison into a bear for the next few months...and make him hibernate. that would be really helpful. thanks.

or, maybe, You could just make his ONE nap a REALLY LONG nap. cause, really, You're killin me with this hour-and-a-half-a-day stuff.

or, maybe, You could send mary poppins to my house. or nanny mcphee. and while she is coaxing my child to lay down in peaceful rest, she could also clean my house from top to bottom. with the wiggle of her little nose, of course.

or, maybe, You could just give me strength and mercy to make it through each day. because i could use some sustaining grace right now.

...but You already knew that.

sometimes i speak before thinking

2008-08-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

jer & i dropped harrison off at grammy & papa's house this afternoon because we are going to a concert tonight. and the ability to sleep in tomorrow morning will be quite lovely. on the way home from their house, we stopped at the furniture store. we are finishing our basement so we need some new pieces to fill the space.

something interesting happened while we were there. of course we were approached by numerous sales people. most walked away when we told them we were just looking. one, however, seemed to hang around...waiting for his opportunity.

so, tyler (that was his name), began into his spiel about why we should NOT buy a sleeper sofa. he suggested buying a regular sofa and, then, purchasing an air mattress for when guests come over. never mind that this scenario really doesn't have anything to do with our furniture needs or wants. what i was REALLY turned off by was this line: "when i was in high school, my girlfriend was 90 pounds and i was 180 pounds. when we would sleep on an air mattress it would tilt unevenly".

okay...so...here's me...jaw on the floor...and i blurt out...loudly, "you were sleeping with your girlfriend when you were in high school??!!!"

tyler's face turned beet red. and then he began to tell us about his life. for the next 45 minutes. a part of his story included one of the most crude, disgusting, totally inappropriate jokes i've ever heard in my life.

sidenote: jer had completely tuned out tyler by this point. he totally missed the nasty joke. when i, hesitantly, repeated it to him on the way home, he was absolutely appalled. sometimes i wish i had the manly ability to tune everything out.

it was all pretty horrible, really. i was ready to RUN in the opposite direction. but i did my best to smile and be encouraging toward him.

after prying ourselves out of tyler's super human salesman grip, we left the store. and we were, pretty much, silent the whole way home. the situation just wasn't right, you know? it was weird.

so here's the thing. i'm not dumb. i know that LOTS of people have sex while they are in high school. i was not one of them - for which i very thankful - but don't get me wrong, i have done many, many things that i should not have done. i've made lots of wrong choices. my intention was not to come across as judgmental toward tyler. i don't want to be the girl who is appalled by someone's past. i'm a believer in "all things can be made new" and "everyone deserves a second chance".

after thinking about it, the thing that bothered me about what tyler said...the thing that made my jaw drop...was that he was so very casual about mentioning something that is so foreign to me. for someone to simply "throw out there" (during a sales pitch, no less....and to strangers!) that kind of personal information...without forethought, without hesitation, without shame, without regret...it's just SO FAR from what i would do.

it showed me that my beliefs are not shared by everyone.

it made me sad.

in the end, though, i don't regret my little outburst. i suppose, if nothing else, it's good for tyler to know that there are people in the world who don't think sex in high school is a "normal" thing.

sigh. there's many more thoughts i could spill out...but i'm tired of "digesting" the situation. and i need a nap before the show tonight.

a new use for lysol?

2008-08-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

in my 31 years of life i have cared for A LOT of children. i started baby sitting when i was 11. my first baby sitting jobs paid $1.50 per hour...with the exception of one wealthy family that paid me a whopping $3.00 per hour! as you can imagine, i never turned down a job from them.

when i was 14 i started working at my church's day care center during the summer (limited hours). i kept that job all throughout high school. during my senior year, i went to school half a day and worked the other half.

in college, i began baby sitting for one of my favorite families in the whole world. it's absolutely impossible to think that i started watching their oldest when she was only one. now, BOTH their kids are in middle school! and then, of course, i became a nanny for another amazing family. the things i learned while watching their son are immeasurable.

what has been the benefit of all this life experience?

well, for one, the fact that i've been a tax-paying citizen since the age of 14 means that if i became disabled, or died, tomorrow, jeremy and harrison would get a nice little monthly stipend from the federal government. actually, if i died tomorrow, that's probably the only way they would see money from the feds. because, clearly, if i live to a lovely old age there won't be any social security left to pass around. but, i digress.

two...i have specific likes and dislikes regarding what we can name our children. this is based, of course, on the sweet, precious kids i've met along the way. and on the little rascals i've met along the way. i will NEVER name a child preston. sorry, if you like that name. when i hear it, i get terrible flashbacks of a brown-haired, booger-nosed, whiny little boy...again, i digress.

three...it goes without saying that caring for other's children prepared me to care for my own. while baby sitting and nannying could never impress upon me the deep love and responsibility that comes with having a child, they surely taught me some of the "tricks of the trade".

BUT...one thing all this life experience did not prepare me for...

i have never, in my 20 years of child care, seen a boy so heart broken because he wasn't allowed to play with a can of lysol disinfectant spray.

it would be impossible to describe the tragedy of it all.

i mean, really, i must be the meanest, most un-fun mother in the whole wide world. (another thing that baby sitting does not prepare you for).

can someone please tell me when my baby boy turned into a little man?

2008-08-09T19:27:00.000-07:00