Snow Day Fun

Thomas and I were bored and snowed in today so we decided to make some “PlayDoh” and play. 

With the house on the market I want to keep messy messes to a minimum, so I thought that bathtub would be easy enough.   Thomas and I climbed in and with a few toys and a nice big spoon we dug into the “PlayDoh.”  It was a lot of messy fun!  Stella even got in on the fun.

Go Pack Go

Thomas and I ventured out in the snow to go to Bridget and Shenan’s Super Bowl party.  Thomas didn’t have a Packers Onsie (we told Grandpa Laschen a die hard Packers fan that we were lacking-he said he would fix that) so we did our best and were able to sport the green and gold. 

Thomas had fun hanging out and then after the half time show we headed home.  It was hard for both of us to be out while we knew daddy was in Seattle watching the game. 

So after moving to Seattle, I decided to take over Stacey's blog for a quick update on my bachelor life in the state of Washington. I've rented a 1 bedroom apartment from a family in the Madrona are of Seattle proper, a nice neighborhood but probably wouldn't want to live here permanently. Its a cozy little place that is starting to feel a bit like home and the views are pretty good too.

The bachelor life is a bit tough to get use to again and I feel like I'm on college all over again (except I keep the place much cleaner). Slowly I'm settling into a routine that consists of getting up at 5am to head to the gym to train for this summer's triathlons, head to work after that and then home around 6ish to do homework until I go to bed. That being said, I really hadn't seen the city in the light until yesterday and to my surprise one of the first things I noticed was that my neighbors have a chicken coop in their yard....huh. Luckily it doesn't smell and the chickens don't make any noise.
I got out and checked out homes with our 2 realtor's yesterday and I really liked the area of North Bend, when Stacey gets here on Thursday, we will be checking homes out again and I think right now that may be our best bet. A bit removed from the city and in the mountains, not all that bad.

I went up to Steven's Pass ski area today to get a bit of exercise and a few runs in and despite the wet conditions, it was a fun time. When sunny, I bet the views are amazing as the Cascades seem pretty gnarly. I skinned up the mountain before it opened, which seemed to be a pretty foreign concept to many of the people there but it was fun regardless. I think I have almost as much fun going up as I do going down. The drive up there follows the South Fork of the Skyhomish river, which seems to be bigger than any river in CO, maybe a drift boat is in the cards for the Laschens in the future!!

Looking forward to getting into the outdoors while we're here and if the skiing conditions don't improve (there's been a lot of rain at the ski areas lately) I'm going to bring the fishing equipment up over President's weekend and do a bit of exploring with the rod. I think a trip to the Olympic Peninsula may be in order. Anything to help with boredom is a must.

Stacey and T come up

this week and I couldn't be more excited, its been very difficult being away from them, even if it has only been for little over a week. I feel a bit guilty being here in Seattle not being able to help with getting the home ready for showings so my only option is to give a little moral support. Skype has been a big help and I think T is confused when he sees daddy on the computer. This has by far been the biggest challenge with this whole move and it'll be nice when Stacey and Thomas get here to finally make it a real home.

Well I think that may be all for my first hijacking of Stacey's blog and the format is probably all choppy but that's ok.

A Slice in Time

On Saturday night, after we got home from an eventful day I was exhausted and so was Thomas.  After Thomas fell asleep, I was flipping through the pictures and  I looked over at him sleeping and tears began streaming.  Why?  Well for a lot of reasons honestly.   Tears because his daddy wasn’t home, tears because he is perfect and he was given to us to raise, tears because these past 10 months have gone so fast, tears for it all.    My little guy looks so peaceful and perfect when he is sleeping (when awake too).  I love love love watching him sleep, he sometimes sucks on his tongue, he usually sleeps but up and almost always he puts his arm back palm up.   I have also noticed that he always wants to have his head pushed up against something like a pillow or his bumper of his crib.   He has also started to sleep a 5 or 6  hour chunk of time, usually from 10:30-3:30/4:30.   It doesn’t happen every night but it is getting more frequent.   On one hand, I am excited about the chunk of sleep I get, on the other hand it means our little guy is growing up.   Let’s be honest here it has been a LONG time since we at the Laschen’s have “slept through” the night, Stella JUST stopped her  2:30 am potty break.   

Lilli Turn’s 1

On Saturday Thomas and I went to help celebrate Lillianne’s 1st birthday.  I can’t believe that a year has passed already, what a fun year it has been watching Lilli grow!

The afternoon started off with us heading over to her house to take some pictures with Lilli in her tutu and then we were off to her party.  At the party, there were balloons galore and all the kiddos had fun crawling/walking around and playing.    Saturday was also special because it was Allison’s birthday (Lilli’s is the 4th Allison’s is the 5th) so we got to celebrate with her too!

Zander and Leo come to play

Thomas has identical friends Zander and Leo…once I figure out in person who is who I can usually keep their names straight, but I am not even going to try in the pictures :-) 

Jess, Zander and Leo came over on Friday for a couple hours to hang out and keep Thomas and I company.  The boys are growing so fast and Leo thought that I was hilarious and kept laughing at my “baby jokes.”  Something about a baby giggle that can make your day!

Weekends With Daddy Home

The past two weekends Mike has been able to come home for a quick visit.  His time home goes by way to fast and we are two weeks further to getting our family to Seattle.

We have had to do a lot of little things to the house to get it ready to go on the market.  Finally, we are ready an d the house is on the market.

Last weekend we had a 30th Birthday party on Friday night and then had stuff to do around the house on Saturday.  We snuck away quick on Saturday to meet the Bennet family at the D-note for some fun Children’s Music. 

Before we had a chance to adjust 2 o’clock Sunday came and it was time for Mike to head back to Seattle.   Boo Hooo!

Fast forward to Friday at 7:00 pm  and Mike comes home again.  We had a few friends over Friday night to watch the Sioux game.  Saturday we got stuff done around the house and then had a family dinner at Sabor Latino and Sunday 2 o’clock came much too fast again.  Boo Hooo!

This will be a long stretch.  It is going to be the longest Mike and I have ever been apart BUT when we see each other on February 10th, we will be 4 weeks closer to being done with this whole process…to help me get through this I am choosing to not look at how long we have til we are together, but how much we have accomplished.  The reality of the situation is it SUCKS!  It is terribly hard on all of us.  WE want to be together as a family and can’t wait until we are.  Thomas is doing pretty well but he really misses his “gaga.”  There are thousands of things still on the to do list, but everyday we get a few things crossed off.   I am so excited to look back and say “whew, do you remember the pain in the ass that moving to Seattle was?!”

10 Months Old

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Ganoosh is 10 months old!   He is a handful of movement and sees the adventure in everything.   He is still fearless and will climb up anything with little regard for falling off.   He has also learned that if he pushes a box or his standing toys over to things he can attempt to climb it.  Along with climbing up the stairs, he now can climb down as well.   Thomas started to stand this month and is entertaining the thought of “walking” but then decides that he is going to drop down and crawl instead.   Just this week he started to walk with only one of his hands held, up until this point he has wanted/needed both hands to be held for him to walk.   I thought we might be able to bypass the cupboard opening phase, but alas, we have had to take baby proofing to another level.

He has a few favorite toys.  The kitchen spatula, a nasal aspirator, and a little cat toy.  He carries these around with him to bring them to new play areas.   He is loving books with flip pages and will go sit in his book area and “read.”  Other toy and favorite activities are throwing balls, drawing with sticks, playing with string or his fishing pole (cat toy-like a fishing pole) and the pets.    

Thomas has really gotten into eating this past month.   He has found some new loves, but they change daily.  This month we have found that he likes cottage cheese, guacamole,  mozzarella cheese, yogurt, waffles, raisin toast, oranges, turkey, grilled cheese, rice we eat with different spices (Spanish flavored or with saffron), and mac and cheese.  He also likes veggie straws, snap pea crisps, sweet potato fries, green beans and peas.   We give him a variety of things to eat at each meal, he eats, and then will sign “all done” once he is finished.  He also likes to feed Stella and will help her get her fair share of treats. 

Thomas continues to add sounds and “words”  daily.   After careful examination :-) Thomas has words for Mommy (mama or mom), daddy (gaga occasionally dada), Tucker "(Ka or u’ka), Stella (tssss) and Itzy (Kake).   He will sign for “all done” and “sleep.”   New consonant sounds this month were the B, T, and H.   He likes to wave “hi” and “bye” and “give a high 5.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He will give a hug or kiss if you deserve it and ask for one, however the pets can always get one on request.  With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we are working on blowing kisses.   He is signing “all done,” “eat” and “sleep.” 

A big step this month was warming up to a babysitter.  As his babysitter said he was determined he was going to be mad, for the first couple days that I left.  After 3 weeks a few hours a day (Tues-Thurs), he had a break through…he stopped crying and played!   We are giving the little guy a big break though here as mommy goes and comes back in a few hours, BUT daddy goes and we don’t see him for a few days.  This has been confusing as ever for him.   Thank God baby’s, mommy’s and daddy’s are resilient.          

What Changes

Several times in my adventure into mommy hood I have talked with friends about what changes.  This might be kind of all over the place, but nonetheless, here it goes!

I must admit I AM guilty as charged when I said “things will change but they won’t change that much.”  Mike and I have continued to do many of our pre baby activities.  Do we go out to dinner as much, drink as much, ski or fish as much??? NO…but that is because we would rather be spending time together as a family and it makes the times we get to do those things very special.  We now have a little person who adds to our adventures at dinner and we are excited to take skiing and fishing.  I am proud of how many things we have done in fact with Thomas.

What has changed for me the most is my lack of desire to "be the “old” me.”  Which to some is concerning.  At this point, I have not yet felt the desire to leave Thomas for hours on end with a babysitter, go out to happy hours or the bar at night to drink, or take off for a weekend away.  Will I ever want to do those things again… possibly.  Would it be a lot easier to get away for a happy hour or a date here or there without Thomas if we had family in town…yes!  The brutal truth is that paying $15 dollar an hour for my child to be terrified and home crying with a babysitter doesn’t make anything sound appealing to me…or Mike. 

I really “love” the new me!  I love what Thomas has added to our life.  I love the simple pleasure that Mike and I have found in cooking in on the weekends or watching Thomas try new things.  I am excited to be able to eventually leave him (and hopefully our other children) at home, WHEN the time is right for ALL of us.  Thank God my husband is SO supportive of ME and how I feel about this.  I truthfully could not be the type of mother I want to be without Mike standing by my side. 

Without his unconditional support, I don’t know if I would still be going strong nursing our 10 month old.   Which is a great gift to all three of us.  Breastfeeding is such a natural thing to us.  I am so glad that I have the ability to provide nourishment (among other things) for our child and continue to watch him grow.  I also am grateful for Mike being understanding of the special bond Thomas and I have because of nursing.    A good friend and far better writter than I wrote from her heart and it is what my heart and mind say too…Kylie said after weaning her daughter “So why the tears? Because I am going to miss the emotional and physical ties I have with her, my first born, and after all this dedication, I don’t want to give up. Sounds crazy considering “the girls” will finally belong to me again, I won’t be tethered to a child every 4 or so hours and my chest will (hopefully) shrink down to size, all sagging considered. I will though - I will miss this. I will miss the intimacy shared between my daughter and I in the quiet mornings and moments before bed time. I will miss stroking her hair, staring at her face and knowing all of this hard work hasn’t been for milk… it’s been for her. I’d do it all again, a million times, if I had to because it was the best start I could possibly sacrifice hours of my life for... it was the best way I could build immunity, prevent SIDS, colds and even infectious disease throughout life while creating emotional stability and the ideal mix of nutrients for her growing body. As a mother, it was the best I could do for her.”  You can see the rest of her post here.

Plain and simple JUDGEMENT is always present in our world.  I am again guilty as charged.  I do “judge” others for things that I disagree with, however I try to remember I do not know their situation.   Talking with a friend this weekend, she told me of another friend who put a night bonnet (black hood) on their child and then put the baby in its crib to go to sleep, 45 minutes of crying later the baby was sleeping.  JUDGEMENT-“what in the hell were these parents thinking and how terrifying for the child.” BUT-if they didn’t do that would they have not slept and then been so sleep deprived that they would not have been able to care for him? I don’t know the answer to that.   Sleep deprivation will make you think and do crazy things.   This day and age after you have a baby the first question is “are they sleeping through the night?”  Some people are blessed with babies that sleep from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. without waking up,  some are blessed with babies who go to bed at 8 p.m and sleep until 7 a.m and wake up here or there to eat.  Thomas happens to fall in the later group.  Many many friends have asked me “how do you still wake up with him,” my answer is always the same “I know no different and I choose to wake up with him and let him eat and return to sleeping.”  At some point, HE will decide he is ready to sleep longer and not eat.  I do not feel the need to train his body.   Until then I try to sleep as much as possible and sneak naps in here or there…otherwise I will admit, I am a crazy person too!

Truth be told I think that some of the ideas books put out there are barbaric.  Thousands of years ago there were no books on how to raise kids and people figured it out.  I feel that books make people feel like what they are doing is someone else’s directive or the book said it and therefore it makes it right. There are many books and things out there now giving advice on how to get your baby to sleep, eat, and fit into your lifestyle.   

Parenthood is a series of choices.  We all as parents get the RIGHT to decide how to raise our children.   MOST parents do not make any decision that they think could adversely affect their child or children.  It has been Mike and I’s parenting philosophy to do the research and then stand by our decisions.   We have made many decisions that others have judged, however our child is healthy and thriving.  That is truthfully all that matters and that it works for us.  Which is the most important thing to us.  

One more judgment and then I will be finished for a bit…I wish that every parent loved being a parent.  It is an amazing responsibility that pays you back a thousand fold.  Where my annoyance comes is when I see parents who have children and don’t enjoy it.  Case in point, at the aquarium a few weeks ago, mind you Thomas and Lilli had made a huge mess and were talking up a storm, a mother at an adjacent table was shushing her kid after he was telling her about the fish-excuse me-it is an AQUARIUM no one is mad about a kid talking!   One more…when parents freak out about their child getting messy or messing things up…LET THEM EXPLORE!

Single friends give your Mommy and Daddy friends a break.  Other parents…smile and try to not make other parents feel like what they are doing is wrong.   Everyone needs to do what they feel is right and judgments are meant to be blogged about :-) Parenthood is hard!  Stand strong by your choices and please forgive me if I have offended you in any way with my  JUDGEMENT :-)  

Monday Morning Mamas

Monday mornings Thomas and I have been going to a unstructured play space at Studio Soma.

Thomas and his friends can play and I can enjoy talking to other mothers.  It has been so much fun, and we will keep going on Mondays until we move.