Category Archives: Children

Children

Surviving the First Week

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Abby went back to work on Monday and we’ve now survived our first week back to “normal.”

In some ways it was great. I actually managed to accomplish some things. I kept up with the minimal amount of work I have right now (and actually had a few leads come in for more work). I even managed to do a little cleaning and reorganizing (with two kids I think we’re always going to be reorganizing something).

In some ways it was not so great. Like when Lexi peed on the bathroom rug while I was giving Milo a bath (if that wasn’t enough, the washing machine then ate the rug—I think it’s time to put the rug out of its misery). Or when Abby was late getting home from school and Milo had been screaming on and off for an hour and wouldn’t take a nap and Lexi started screaming and then Speak had a seizure (Speak’s OK, he’s had them before and there’s not much we can do about it—consequences of a small, pet store dog). Those moments were less than fun.

I keep trying to tell myself that I don’t have to actually accomplish anything during the day (keeping the kids alive and fed is an accomplishment in and of itself), but that doesn’t jive with my responsibility-driven nature. I also keep trying to summon patience I don’t naturally have. With a wailing 6-month-old and a 3-year-old who refuses to listen, I need a deep well of patience.

But overall we did manage to survive. So that’s good.

Adoption, Children, Health

Taking Milo to the Doctor

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Today we dropped Lexi off at a friend’s house and took Milo to the University of Minnesota’s Pediatric Clinic to see a Specialist in International Adoption. That means we took him to his first doctor in the U.S.

We left the parking garage and walked through the long underground tunnel (which inexplicably comes out on the second floor), eventually arriving at the Pediatric Clinic. We avoided getting lost in the campus’ labyrinth, which reminded me why I went to a small school (though ironically, I don’t think I ever consciously decided I wanted to attend a small school).

The high point was perhaps handing over a yogurt container to the receptionist that contained a sample of Milo’s poop. I believe it was blueberry (the yogurt container, that is). We had to collect a stool sample at home and bring it in. It’s kind of like show and tell, but not really. It wasn’t just plopped into the old yogurt container either, it was inside a Ziplock bag. But let’s just say those things aren’t exactly as air-tight as advertised. That yogurt container gave off a distinct odor when I pulled it out of the bag and set it on the counter. And it wasn’t residual blueberry.

Anyway, we eventually had our appointment and several doctors and specialists told us how beautiful Milo is. Not just handsome—beautiful. Despite my lack of any sports-related skills, Milo will at least be raised confident enough in his manhood to be called beautiful.

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Children

The ‘W’ Birthday Cake

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The 'W' Birthday CakeWe had Lexi’s birthday party on Saturday. There’s nothing like a bunch of three-year-olds running around the house. The highlight for me had to be Lexi’s ‘W’ birthday cake.

‘W’ has always been Lexi’s favorite letter. It’s one of the first letters she recognized. When we asked her what kind of cake she wanted, she wanted a ‘W’ cake. So there it is, in all it’s alphabetical glory.

As a bonus, a w-shaped cake has an excellent cake to frosting ratio.

Children

I Survived Sesame Street Live

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We planned to take Lexi to Sesame Street Live on Saturday night for her birthday, but a week of illness meant my wife couldn’t go. So Saturday comes along and I find myself taking Lexi and one of her friends to Sesame Street Live by myself. Either I’m super dad or an idiot. Maybe both.

In the end I survived. But I was ready for bed at 9:00 p.m.

The girls were good, for the most part. We had a minor run-in with the spring-loaded chairs and then I think Lexi was getting restless near the end. Both the girls enjoyed it, but I don’t think they were quite old enough to really enjoy it. Then again it was just Sesame Street dancers singing songs for an hour and a half. I think they’ve perfected the art of maximizing profit with as minimal production as possible.

Their favorite part of the evening was probably running down the long, empty corridor between the parking lot and the Target Center, which confirms my suspicion that a fun afternoon would be wandering the skyways.

Children, TV

Watching Sesame Street Again

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This week Abby showed Lexi some old school Sesame Street clips on YouTube. Lexi loved them—especially the YipYipYipYipYip monsters. So I decided we’d try watching some Sesame Street when it was on PBS. I’m usually not big on watching TV with Lexi, but an hour of very educational TV has been better than I thought it’d be.

Though Sesame Street has changed a lot from when I was a kid (duh). Yesterday’s show was brought to you by the letter M and the number 20. And McDonalds, Beaches Resort, EverydayKidz.com (AstraZeneca), New Balance and Earth’s Best. Each sponsor (except for M and 20) had a 15 or 20 second commercial plug at the beginning and end of the show. I remember underwriters getting a logo and a mention, and that was it.

And while it has changed (and Elmo’s World is enough to drive anyone crazy), Sesame Street does still have classic moments:

Elmo: “What’s it like being a yo-yo?” Yo-yo: “Well, it has its ups and downs.” Yuck, yuck, yuck. Then as the yo-yo left: “I’ve got to go walk the dog.”

Then there was the sketch about Jack be nimble who couldn’t jump over the candlestick because he didn’t eat breakfast. So he calls out: “Mom be nimble, mom be quick, please give me breakfast on the quick!” I love breakfast time.

The Count watching his favorite TV show: 24. Each show is only 24 seconds long and consists of counting to 24. And yes, it did feature a puppet Jack Bauer.

It also kind of weirds me out that Muppet characters sound like Sesame Street characters. Kermit sounds just like Ernie, Miss Piggy sounds like Grover and Fozzie sounds like Bert. And yes, Jim Henson (and now Steve Whitmire) voices both Kermit and Ernie, and Frank Oz voices Miss Piggy, Grover, Fozzie and Bert. It’s strange that the kids never catch on—though you never see those characters together.

Children, God, Church & Stuff

Teaching Kids About God

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Last week at church we sat around with some other parents and talked about spiritual formation in our children. Basically how we’re teaching them about God. I felt kind of dumb because I didn’t think we were doing much. But then the next day in the bath tub Lexi wanted to pray for her friends and we had quite the extended prayer session that turned into a round of “Praise Ye the Lord (Alleluia).”

First Lexi kept asking me to pray for people. We prayed for all kinds of people. And we started repeating people (they got a double blessing I guess). Then I asked Lexi if she wanted to pray. She put her head down and folded her hands (which she must be learning in Sunday School) and prayed:

“Pray adopted baby amen.”

“Pray momma amen.”

“Dear God amen.”

Then we were singing “Praise Ye the Lord (Alleluia)” and I tried to tell Lexi what ‘alleluia’ means. First I said it was worship (I think it literally means ‘highest praise’ or ‘let us worship God’), but then I realized that probably means nothing to her. So I told her worship is kind of like giving God a hug. I’m no theologian, but the definition kind of works for me.

Then Lexi wanted to pray that God would give the adopted baby a hug. We’re starting to mix metaphors now, but I think that’s a good definition of prayer, too.

Children, Technology

Lexi is a Photographer

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Daddy & DogsLexi’s grandparents gave her a digital camera for her birthday, so we set her up with a Flickr account. She’s now a photographer. She loves to “take-ah pictures.”

While some pictures are complete blurs, others seem oddly artistic. She’s also got lots of shots of the floor. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I’m also trying not to think too deeply about what it means for a two-year-old to be taking pictures. It’s kind of wild. I was probably 7 or 8 when I started taking pictures using a camera with 110 film. But with the disposability of digital, why not let Lexi take a dozen pictures of the floor?

Children

Sick for Christmas

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Lexi got sick for the second major holiday in a row and spent Christmas Eve throwing up. Not exactly the best treat to leave for Santa. She seemed better on the ride home, but proved us wrong outside of Chippewa Falls when she threw up in the car. Again. After we stopped at a truck stop to clean her up she managed to do it a couple more times before we made it home. I’m beginning to associate holiday travel with the smell of vomit.

Highlight of Lexi’s sickness: Feeling like a negligent parent while cleaning up Lexi on the floor of the men’s room.

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Children

Cute Things Lexi Does

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  • Along with sucking her thumb, putting her hand on her stomach is one of her new comfort measures. It’s come to the point that she doesn’t like wearing clothes that restrict access to her tummy. This has led to wearing footie pajamas to bed that are zipped up only halfway–to retain tummy access. The other night Abby struck a compromise and put Lexi in a T-shirt and half-zipped footie pajamas–allowing unfettered tummy access but also keeping her warm.
  • She recognizes the way to church and starts saying the names of her teacher and all her friends in Sunday School–whether we’re actually going to church or just happen to be going in the same general direction.
  • In Sunday School she’s apparently the official greeter, welcoming each kid into the class by name. The teacher has commented that this has proved helpful with some of the more shy kids.
  • One week at church her friend Zack showed up and both Lexi and Zach ran to each other with open arms. Then Zach and his older sister Hope held Lexi’s hands while the three walked down the stairs to Sunday School.
  • After receiving a blessing during communion Lexi always gives an enthusiastic, “Yeah!”
  • Says ‘Ethiopia’ at random. A few weeks ago I came down stairs to get her up from a nap and she was jumping up and down in her crib saying “Ethiopia!”
  • She anticipates when she’s in trouble and says what you’re going to tell her to do before you do it. Like when she’s supposed to be napping and is instead jumping up and down, as soon as you open the door she says, “Lay down?” When she starts twisting in her high chair and trying to stand up she says, “Turn around sit down.”

Wait, that last one isn’t very cute.

And just so you don’t think she’s an angel, she’s also perfected a nice, high-pitched scream for when she doesn’t get her way. Like the other night at Noodles when I took her leftover macaroni & cheese (“mac-cheese”( away so we could go and she just screamed. Until we were safely out of the restaurant and into the car when she promptly stopped.