Happy Halloween

Two Under One: Cribs

Because our house only has two bedrooms on the main level, Gideon and Stella share a room. In that little room, there is a dresser, a changing table, a rocking chair and ottoman, a bookshelf, and two cribs. Oh, and toys scattered everywhere that's not covered by furniture. It's rather crowded. But it feels most crowded during the night. Now that Stella is on a schedule, it's time to start letting her cry it out--at least, it's time to not rush in there the second I hear her crying. But if I don't go grab her, she wakes up Gideon. I'm not really sure how to teach her to stay sleeping because I'm too busy trying to keep Gideon sleeping. And I don't think she has ever napped in her crib during the day...hmmm.

Does anyone have any insight on my dilemma?

Day 14: Nonfiction book

Genesis.

Non. Fiction.
Nonfiction.

Day 13: fiction book

This is the kind of fiction I read these days.

adoption education

Read this.

Picture post

photo shoot

Gap is having a 'casting call' contest, and I'm convinced that Gideon will win the whole thing. Because, duh, he's the cutest kid ever [tied with Stella of course]. So I tried to take a few pictures of him to enter. Which do you like?

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

picture-palooza!

picture-palooza: baptism

picture-palooza: a star is born

I haven't uploaded pictures from my real camera in over two months. But today I finally got around to it, so here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Day 12: Something I am OCD about

Me?

OCD?

I think not.

Actually, I just can't think of anything. Suggestions?

Don't read this post unless you're one of my children's grandparents. Or really bored.

Stella had her two month checkup and Gideon had his nine month checkup today.

Here are there stats:

Gideon:
28 inches long--56 percentile
18.65 pounds [really? that's all? he's soooo heavy!]--22 percentile

Stella:
23 inches--74 percentile
11.11 lbs--53 percentile





Also Stella does not like getting shots.

Day 11: A Photo of me recently

No, thank you.

Day 10: a photo of me taken over 10 years ago

I'll admit it: I chose this one for my siblings' faces.

Day 9: A photo that I took

I was searching through some old photos for this post and I came across all of my pictures from this trip. I love this photo, mostly because that was such a fantastic trip. Can we do that again?

Gideon just tried to eat a bug. And I pulled it out of his mouth. Gross gross gross.

Day 8: A photo that makes me angry/sad

I am sad that I am NOT there right now.

Day 7: A photo that makes me happy

 Hahahahahahahaha.......

Day 6: 20 of my favorite things

Since the title of this is '20 of my favorite things,' I'm going to roll with that and skip all the serious stuff. Okay go.

[in random order]


1. Coffee

2. Coconut

3. Shopping
3a. Sephora
3b. Anthropologie.com
3c. Banana Republic
3d. Target
3e. TJ Maxx


4. Ocean

5. My iPhone

6. Lazy tropical vacations

7. Summer
 7a. Not being pregnant in the Summer

8. Baking


9. Date night

10. My Swagger Wagon [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4]


11. Food

12. Ocean

13. Camping

14. Staying warm in the winter
14a. Hats, scarves, and mittens
14b. Our fake fireplace
15c. ho-cho [and saying 'ho-cho']


15. The tiny old lady who walks her dog in our neigborhood [seriously, her dog is bigger than she is]

16. Flowers
16a. but not gardening
16b. Plumeria
16c. Hydrangea


17. 73

18. Ocean

19.  Pretending to be crafty [like, good at crafts. not sneaky.]

20. Ocean

Day 5: Favorite Quote

I just want to say...I'm not a fan of having to choose all of my 'favorites.' It seems so absolute and I'm just not very good at it.

So my favorite quote?

Well, Facebook says that my favorite quote is, "They have koala's here?!?" This is what Krista squealed very excitedly when she saw a sign for a cemetery in Koloa [a town in Kauai]. It said 'Koloa Cemetery,' but she read 'Koala Sanctuary.' I will always laugh at that.

I really like a lot of stuff that C.S. Lewis says, like:


-I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.

-A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.

My favorite favorite quote, the one that I would tattoo to my foot [if I ever gather enough courage to get a tattoo] is Psalm 73:25-26:

-Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

So that's my duty for today. Hope you enjoyed.

PS. They don't have koalas in Hawaii.  

 

Day 4: Favorite Book

I'm an English major, so first of all, let me say: yay books!

And then let me admit: I can't remember the last time I read an entire book. I've been busy.

But, my favorite book--that's easy: Les Miserables. I would love to read it again someday soon [and again and again]. It's so beautiful. I laughed, I cried...I cried some more. I even considered naming my daughter Cosette. If you haven't read it, you should. The movie soooo does not count.

Day 3: Favorite Television Program

This is not an easy one for me....


I tend to watch ridiculous reality TV...anything where people get voted off or kicked off or eliminated. But I don't like to admit how much I like it. So moving on.

I like shows where people make cakes or decorate houses or try on wedding dresses, but we don't have cable so I never watch these.

Oh! And I love Wipeout. I cannot help but laugh when people fall down. Also embarrassing to admit.

I think maybe, if I could only pick one TV show to watch for the rest of forever...it might be...Alias?

Sure, we'll go with that.

Two Under One: School

Did you know that, according to Minnesota Public School policy, my two kiddos will be in the same grade?

This boggles my mind!

I wonder how they'll grow...will I want them in the same grade? Will I hold one of them back?

Day 2: Favorite Movie

Josie and the Pussycats.






Don't judge.

Love this girl's smiles!

Day One Again

PS...
I really like "Blessed Be" by Tree63.
I forgot about it, but we had it at our wedding and I want it at my funeral, too.

Day 1: Favorite Song

My favorite song [if I had to choose...which I do] is Somewhere Over The Rainbow/It’s a Wonderful World by Isreal Kamakawiwo’ole.

[wow, possibly the longest title/artist combo ever]

When I hear ‘Kay, this song’s for Gabby’ and the opening strums of the ukulele, I’m  instantly taken back to one of my favorite memories: Kauai.  Specifically, I’m on a sunset cruise up the Na Pali coast. I can feel the warmth of the sun mix with the cool spray of the ocean as I take in the view [breathtaking—seriously, google it.]. 

And it’s not that I’ve forgotten how seasick I was, it’s just that it was such an amazing experience that I don’t care.  

Two Under One: “Wow, you must be busy”

When strangers have a reaction to my family, it’s usually quite predictable [And quite tiresome]. It’s usually an older woman, grandmotherly.  It starts by her getting lured in by Gideon’s stellar smile, adorable eyes and babbling nonsense. She notices Stella…she says something like, “Wow, you must be busy.”  Then she wants to know their ages. 

I imagine that my gaze gets a little harder as I answer her and hope she avoids commenting further. 

She usually doesn’t. “How is that even possible?!” 

And then I usually point to Gideon and say, “He’s adopted.”

It’s not that I don’t want people to know he’s adopted. I love that he’s adopted, I love adoption, and I love making people more aware of adoption.  The problem is this: one day, he’s going to be old enough to understand. And of course by then he’ll know he’s adopted, because we try to tell him all the time about the miracle that he is and the blessing his birthfamily has been to us. But this conversation with complete strangers…ugh. When I have to explain it over and over, it’s like I’m explaining away some sort of societal abnormality. I don’t want him to think that he is abnormal because he’s adopted. 

So, I’m trying to come up with a way to handle questions from strangers. There’s lots of advice for adoptive families out there.  I just want one foolproof answer that my son will hear come out of my mouth and his mind will translate it into, “I am loved, I am safe, and I am blessed!” 

Does that exist?

30 Posts

I realized the other day that the ONLY thing I write about on this blog is my two kiddos. [I also realize that 90% of my readers are their grandparents and that's all they want to read about...but oh well :)] On the same day, I read a friend's blog and she had just started this '30 posts in 30 days'* thing. So I'm gonna do it, too. Here are the topics:

Day 1 – your favorite song
Day 2 – your favorite movie
Day 3 – your favorite television program
Day 4 – your favorite book
Day 5 – your favorite quote
Day 6 – 20 of my favorite things
Day 7 – a photo that makes you happy
Day 8 – a photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 9 – a photo you took
Day 10 – a photo taken over 10 years ago of you
Day 11 – a photo of you recently
Day 12 – something you are OCD about
Day 13 – a fictional book
Day 14 – a non-fictional book
Day 15 – your dream house
Day 16 – a song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 – an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)
Day 18 – your wedding/future wedding/past wedding
Day 19 – a talent of yours
Day 20 – a hobby of yours
Day 21 – a recipe
Day 22 – a website
Day 23 – a youtube video
Day 24 – where I live
Day 25 – your day, in great detail
Day 26 – your week, in great detail
Day 27 – my worst habit
Day 28 – what’s in my handbag/purse
Day 29 – hopes,dreams, plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 – a dream for the future beyond the next year

Blogging friends: you should do this, too. Fun for all.
I'll be back in a day [or two] with Day One.

*Please note: In my particular case, doing 30 posts in 30 days does not actually mean 30 consecutive days. Thank you.

It's good to be home. I missed these guys!

Two Under One: October 1

Yesterday I got this fantastic idea to record pretty much everything I did with my babes.

[After I was about halfway done, I realized that this idea was less than fantastic after all. It was a lot of work and it's really not even that interesting. But, it's my life, and it's my blog, so I'm going to post it anyway.]

Here, for your reading pleasure, is my first Friday in October.

12:09 am: wake up to the sound of Stella crying. Comfort her back to sleep.

3:50 am: wake up to the sound of Stella crying. Feed her.

6:00 am: wake up to the sound of Stella crying. Bring her to bed with me.

7:07 am: wake up to the sound of Gideon crying.  Change his diaper, feed him, cuddle.

7:29 am: change his diaper again, put clothes on him.

7:34 am: eat breakfast! DRINK COFFEE.

8:12 am: contemplate taking a shower.

8:13 am: hear Stella crying. Hear Gideon whining. Postpone shower.

8:14 am: watch Gideon suck on a giant yellow leggo while I feed Stella. Change her diaper.

8:45 am: play with Gideon while cuddling Stella. Be amazed by his ‘almosts’ [he almost crawls and he almost pulls himself up on whatever’s handy]

9:04 am: put Gideon down for a nap. Hand Stella to the babysitter [AKA swing], and shower!

9:14 am: hear Gideon babbling and wonder just how much he sleeps during his naps.

9:27 am: check on my unusually noisy napper. Find him reaching through his crib for a toy that’s juuuust out of reach. Also, he stinks. Change his diaper, put him back down.

9:29 am: listen to Gideon talk/scream some more. Maybe he’s ready to skip a morning nap?

9:45 am: listen to Gideon not sleep  as I put my hair in a teeny little side ponytail. ‘take that, husband who thinks I’m not hip,’ I think. Then I think, ‘yes, this side ponytail goes really well with my spitup-laden jeans and nine-year-old t-shirt. Soooo hip’

9:50 am: Gideon sleeps! Cuddle with sleepy Stella as I enjoy some online window shopping.  Fill my Jcrew.com shopping cart. After a lengthy consultation with my stylist [sister], I decide to be responsible and not complete my purchase. Sad face.

10:43 am: Wonder when Gideon is going to wake up. Seriously. This is not his [my] normal schedule. I’m thrown for a loop.

11:00 am: Gideon finally wakes up. Unsure of whether to give him breakfast or lunch foods, he gets: pears & cinnamon with oatmeal [baby food], more oatmeal, and chunks of cheese. Then I teach Gideon to share his cheese.

11:30 am: I finally change Stella out of her PJs. She’s wearing 0/3 month stuff today. It’s big on her, but adorable. Duh.  Oh yeah and I change her diaper.

11:47 am: change Gideon’s diaper. Gross. [have I  kept track of all of the diapers?]

11:53: Play with Gideon.

12:01 pm: Gideon scoots forward! This is an exciting first. I spend the next half hour trying to coax him forward with various bribes.  He quickly gets sick of this game.

12:30: put Gideon in his command center, have a nice wholesome lunch of Triscuts, change and feed Stella.

1:20 pm: Nap #2 for Gideon, Hulu/snuggle time for Stella and I.

2:30 pm: Feed Gideon a snack: beef & veggies (baby food) plus one piece of wheat bread. Yum.

2:58 pm: Change diapers and attempt to get out of the house. We head to the mall to walk around. Stella protests.

3:52 pm:  In the van, Stella cries while Gideon tries to talk over her. [Quite a chorus.]

4:02 pm:  Hang out in the basement. I contemplate not giving Gideon an evening nap.

4:55 pm: Gideon decides to have an evening nap.  I catch up on this list because I haven’t written anything since 12:30. Seriously, someone better read this whole thing.

5:59 pm: Skype with my parents as I feed Gideon and Stella. Try to get him to crawl for his grandparents. Change Stella’s diaper.

7:01 pm: Give Stella back to the babysitter so that I can give Gideon a bath and a bottle.

7:45 pm: Put Gideon in his crib. Put a Lean Cuisine in the microwave.

8:10 pm: Wash bottles & make formula. [ugh]

8:35 pm: More Hulu/snuggle time. Try to keep Stella awake. Fail.

10:03 pm: feed Stella. Wait and wait and wait for her to fall asleep while she is only interested in giving big smiles.

11:21 pm: give in and put her in the swing to get her to fall asleep.

11:59 pm: I’m still awake, and so is Stella, but this is the end of the day, so it’s the end of my list!

Two Under One: Meeting Demands

Nothing causes me greater anxiety than two babies crying. Two babies needing me at exactly the same time. We’ve kind of been able to schedule things so that they don’t need to be fed at the same time.  Most of the time. I have had Stella on the table in a Boppy so that I could feed her a bottle while I fed Gideon baby food. Or I’ve put BOTH of them in Boppys (Boppies?) and fed them bottles at the same time.  Please don’t judge me.  I know it’s not ideal. I certainly don’t enjoy it.  And I kind of hope it won’t happen again due to my great scheduling skills. And due to Gideon enjoying Cheerios. Those things can occupy him for…minutes. Which is good.