family news – Page 45 – Out Of Their Minds Design

News Bulletin: Entire Room Swivels Around Baby

ROCKFORD, MI – Rockford area resident Nina Chapman received a surprise today while belly-down on her parent’s bedroom floor.

“It was very strange… ” Nina observed. “I sort of moved to my right in a rolling fashion, and suddenly my back was stuck to the floor, and the ceiling was underneath me.”

She claims the entire room spun, apparently hard enough to push her against the floor while the ceiling was below her, some 10-12 feet distant. When her mother put her back on her belly, everything returned to normal. But then it happened again.

Witnesses claim the incidents have been blown out of proportion – “She just rolled over,” said Seth Chapman, the family cat. Two excited witnesses, claiming to be Nina’s parents, seemed to think this news was particularly awesome. “Hooray!”

However, the fact that this disturbance could happen again at any time haunted Nina’s thoughts. “It is the kind of thing that sticks with you. One day everything below you is carpet, and then boom. Change. Have you seen that ceiling fan? I’m not Indiana Jones, you know… still, it was kind of fun. I might do it again.”

A Few Stories

Ian – “I see a spider!”
Mommy – “We should get it and take it outside. Where is it, I don’t see it.”
Ian – “Right there.”
Mommy – “I just see some dirt.”
Ian – “That dirt’s movin’.”

I went into daycare to pick Ian up just a few days ago, and Ian had built something out of lego-like blocks. He and I always make complex things together when we play with this kind of thing at home, so seeing what he built I sort of shrugged it off…
Caregiver – “You know he’s always doing that.”
Daddy – “Doing what?”
Ian asks me to help him put another wheel on something that isn’t quite fitting.
Caregiver – “The other kids build towers. Ian builds things that actually look like things: He builds cars that look like cars. Planes that look like planes. No other kid in class does that.”

Same day:
Daddy – (looking at sheet of information for his day at daycare) “Oh kiddo, did you use the potty today!?!”
Ian – “I went pee for Ms. Sarah!”
(I’m not sure why I found this hilarious… that it was almost like a limited-engagement performance. But yeah I really gave him some praise for that.)

EDIT – April 1st phone call – “Hello Daddy? Are there two blue blankets at home? They aren’t here.”

More pics soon. Sorry about the lack of entries lately. Work is killing me.

Happy Easter 2010!

Bunnies everywhere! See this image larger.

A co-worker of not too long ago that became a great friend of mine sent us this lovely outfit, and it is very Easter appropriate! (Thanks Jackie!) See this image larger.

Here’s another blurry one… See this image larger.

Ah the one that got away… this one upsets me so much I might just have to stop taking pictures with my phone. Perfect smile, completely out of focus. Thanks, Apple! See this image larger.

All of the above shots were taken on April first… this shot was taken on March 29th. Little Miss Pinch-able Cheeks. See this image larger.

I can’t blame Apple for this one, the light was so low here that I don’t think any camera without a tripod could have pulled this off… just had to make do the best I could — she looked so angelic. See this image larger.

Hipstamatic iPhone App, Part II

So yeah, those of you thinking these look like junk, don’t worry, this isn’t going to become my go-to camera, I’m just screwing around. I might take a picture or two with it again, but I notice it looks best with non-portraiture.

Melissa, Nina and Ian are in Ohio for Easter. I’m by my lonesome, but am making good progress with the time I’ve got. Looks like I also get to “show the house” on Saturday. Hurray?

I spent last evening loading up my computer with iPad apps so that when my iPad arrives tomorrow it will be ready to go. I can’t believe the cool stuff that’s out there for this thing already!

He doesn’t look like me in this shot, but what’s funny is how much it still feels like a picture from my youth, just because of the effects. See this image larger.

If I haven’t said it before, I love the shape of Ian’s noggin… the angles and the swoops. See this image larger.

Alright Ian, now you’re just hogging the blog entry… See this image larger.

Yay, Nina! See this image larger.

*… and some say, you can still hear the coyotes late at night* (aroooooo!) *what was that?!?* See this image larger.

We spent about 15 minutes throwing that towel back and forth. I’d throw it up to the chair over my shoulder, he’d throw it back down on my shoulder, without much of a word. See this image larger.

Hipstamatic iPhone App, Part I

So I bought this new little application for my iPhone that attempts to give the photos the iPhone can take, a more warm and authentic feeling by adding effects to them. It is a clever little application too, looks like a camera — you trade out lenses and film. The results? Well, you tell me!

First pic I took. Just a plastic cup of water and it looks very cool. See this image larger.

See? Looks like a 1970’s picture, doesn’t it? See this image larger.

Surprise, this quickly turns into pictures of the kids… See this image larger.

This is a bowl of water for our cat. Still looks cool though, doesn’t it? See this image larger.

Hi Nina! See this image larger.

Me! See this image larger.

Me again. Are you sick of seeing me? This is why I don’t usually take pictures of me. See this image larger.

Melissa, so pretty! See this image larger.

More of these next entry.

Eye Ok!

Optometrist appointment went off without a hitch, Nina’s eyes are just fine! Hurray!!!

When we were leaving I took a couple pictures of Ian in his car seat with the goofy glasses that they give you at the Optometrist’s office… and was distracted because I showed Melissa the hilarious results. We pulled out of the parking lot and Ian suddenly piped up, “NO! I’M NOT STRAPPED IN!! NOT SAFETY FIRST!!!” (Melissa often says something about “safety first” in regards to strapping him in, as in “you can have that toy after I strap you in… safety first.”) I am still feeling a bit of shame about forgetting to fully strap him in, but feel intense pride that Ian called that out so we could rectify the situation. Atta boy, kiddo.

If there was ever going to be a time when I said Ian resembled his late Great Grandma Mitchell, now would be that time. See this image larger.

Bye everybody! More pics soon! See this image larger.

Nina and the Balloon

This video deserves an entry all to itself. This is Nina playing with a balloon. Yes that’s her little hand gripping the string/ribbon and pulling it. If you look carefully you should be able to see her smiling, and hear her cooing. At one point I could swear she would have laughed if she had developed one.

The video is a bit larger than the others, but it is hard to make out her expression if I made the video a smaller download.

Click here to watch Nina and the balloon.

Spring is in the Air

Alright so this is pretty much a bunch of random stuff.

Funny Ian story — I was being a little on the lazy side, but also trying to teach Ian the importance of washing one’s hands before one excuses himself from the table… (We even ask him to say “Can I be excused?” much of the time.) so I asked him to get me a wipe after he stood up. The canister was on a nearby table, and he approached it with his food-caked hands and some trepidation. I’m not sure exactly where he saw this, probably me, I’d imagine… but he looked down at his messy hands, and you could see the wheels turning in his mind. How to get to Daddy with the wipes canister to get clean hands, without making the wipes canister dirty too? He reached forward and pinched the canister between his wrists, splaying his hands outward so as not to touch it!

We’ve also had some fun daycare drop-offs and some significantly less fun.

I understand potty-training is the last thing Ian needs to do before moving on to the next class, so we’re anxious to keep that training up. It is difficult, however, when the diaper-changing experience reminds him of being a baby, and he gets our complete attention all that time. We’re trying though, Lord are we trying.

No news on the house yet, but we have an open-house tomorrow, so hopefully something then.

Nina is inching forward in the sleep category, although not quickly enough to keep Melissa and I from being a little “intense” at times.

Work has been tough lately. Programming is hitting a hard stretch, and it is very hard to concentrate sometimes. I literally have to tether myself to the computer by wearing headphones, sometimes. The right soundtrack does wonders. I’m “behind” enough that I’ve been skipping out on the kind of things I usually don’t miss. For example I’ve had to have Melissa pick Ian up a couple times from daycare this week, or trips to stores… I’m even going to skip out on the Easter trip to Ohio. I’ll miss playing with my niece and nephew, but will hopefully gain all kinds of ground on my work. I did manage to go with Melissa to Nina’s cardiologist appointment… the entry below this details that out, but mostly she’s doing awesome and gaining weight like a champ!

It is funny watching Ian try to sell us into “one more episode” of a show or one more book before bedtime. We’ve got Ian up off the floor a bit now at bedtime… there’s a boxspring under his mattress now. At first he liked it, then before his first sleep on it asked us to remove it. We didn’t. He hasn’t looked back since, and is doing great on a double-decker.

Nina’s been doing a lot more smiling and cooing lately. It’s great to see and hear these positive forms of expression from her!

Here’s a few great movies for you to chew on, click on the links to see each video, they’re relatively small:
Ian pedaling very well!

Nina thinks her Dad is a goofball! (Look at that smile!!!)

Ian dance! (Might be hard to see, but wow is he wiggling and moving right after I say “Ian, dance!”)

Update on Nina’s Heart

The following is from Nina’s Care Page at the Children’s Hospital, written by Melissa — it sums up today’s Cardiology appointment very well…

March 24, 2010–Good Cardiology Visit

Nina went back to the cardiologist today and we had a very good appointment. She continues to gain weight at a normal (if not rapid) pace, which is the best indication that her heart is not complicating her development. Nina weighed in at 10 pounds 12 ounces today… up almost a full pound from her weight check 12 days ago! She’s also growing longer/taller… today measuring at 23 inches. Blood pressures were taken on all extremities and were in a good range. The first one taken (right leg) was a little higher than the rest, but she calmed down after that (see nursing story below). The EKG looked good… consistent with how her heart should be, considering all the holes.

Prognosis remains the same. No heart medications are needed at this point and surgery will most likely wait until she is 1 to 1.5 years old (probably occurring some time next spring). Our next follow-up appointment is in two months, at the end of May. Another echocardiogram will be done at that appointment.

A quick nursing story. Nina fell asleep on the way to the appointment and was not happy about being woken up and taken out of the car seat for all the tests. She was crying so much that the nurse suggested we try to calm her down, which for Nina means breastfeeding, as she refuses to take a pacifier and once she gets worked up nothing else seems to help calm her down. So I nursed Nina through all four blood pressure checks and during the EKG. Definitely the easiest time we’ve had so far with getting all these tests done quickly! I’m so glad the nurse was open to this approach, and I’m so thankful to be able to nurse our daughter so easily. I’ve always been a huge breastfeeding supporter, but today just reinforced how wonderful it is to always have food and comfort ready/available. Just another reason for me to marvel at how God created us… allowing women to provide the perfect food for our babies while comforting them at the same time. God is good!

Next Wednesday we head to the eye doctor to check on the potential of Nina having a “lazy” eye. I’ll post again after that visit.

Prayer request:
More sleep for everyone. Nina is still nursing multiple times overnight so we only getting 2-3 hours of sleep at a time, and she often has trouble going back to sleep in the middle of the night. When I put her down in the co-sleeper after nursing, she almost always cries to be picked up again. We have to do this up and down game several times before she’ll actually fall asleep. It’s not too bad at midnight and 2 a.m. (Daran and I are night people after all), but the 4 or 5 a.m. feedings are torture. Please pray that this phase passes quickly and that she starts sleeping for longer stretches overnight.

Our Little Leprechaun

St. Patty’s Day, 2010, and who needs captions with smiles like these?

Cute. See this image larger.