ian – Page 35 – Out Of Their Minds Design

September, Part V

(Scroll down, you may have missed “Part IV” which hit pretty close to Part V!)

September 13th, Ian uses a book like a mask to become Robo-Ian! See this image larger.

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BONUS VIDEO! On September 13th, I love how Ian is actually trying to figure out what he did wrong, at first, due to my poor wording. Click here to see the video!
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BONUS VIDEO! On September 13th, I order fast food from Ian, hoping he’ll take the hint that this would not be the best long-term occupation. Click here to see the video!
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BONUS VIDEO! Moments later, Ian and I play a game where I scare him and he throws woodchips at me. (This is a recreation of the first time it happened. It was originally amusing because he was throwing them out of genuine fright… it got less funny the harder he threw them.) Click here to see the video!
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A bit from that park not covered in the videos: Ian and I used these digging toys that are set up like steam-shovels, to excavate dirt. I’d ask if mommy had arrived, he’d spin around, I’d throw a quarter into the newly excavated hole, and he’d turn back around and squeal with glee at the supposedly unearthed treasure.

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BONUS VIDEO! September 14th, Ian waters plants for Mommy and considers squirting us both. I got to play the “pinch the hose closed” game with him, and surprisingly he didn’t actually look directly down the end of the hose. Smarter than I thought! This is also the day we found a genuine stick bug in a plant in the backyard. If you don’t know what that is, it is a bug that looks exactly like a stick. Hence the name. Click here to see the video!
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BONUS VIDEO! September 14th, Nina shows off her reading prowess. Click here to see the video!
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BONUS VIDEO! September 14th, Ian explains all about the safety net… I still don’t get it, but am always game to hear more from his gigantic imagination! Click here to see the video!
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September, Part IV

THIS IS POST #500!!!!

On September 11th, Nina tried applesauce

Notes for September 12th:

Nina got done feeding off of mommy today and said “I’m aww dun.” Normally I’d call that pretty impossible, but I heard it and looked over at Melissa with my eyebrows up, and Melissa said did she just say… And then together Melissa and I said at the same time “I’m all done?”

Nina also waved hello a few times.

Nina may or may not have said dada.

Two days ago she may have done the sign language for more.

September 12th – Ladies and gentlemen, some of the best pictures that exist of my lovely wife and two beautiful children. I declare this one pretty awesome. See this image larger.

Although Nina looks cute as a button in this one, peeking through Mommy’s feeding cover! See this image larger.

Taken on the front porch of the new abode, of course! See this image larger.

Later that same day, Ian gives Colonial Sanders a run for his money. See this image larger.

Our ice cream parlor in town has taken the magic of blue moon and added different colored chunks of cookie dough. Take sugar, add sugar, swirl. Delicious! See this image larger.

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BONUS VIDEO! On September 12th, this video shows Nina somewhat crawling toward Mickey Mouse. Click here to see the video!
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September, Part III

September 8th, Nina ate squash.

Melissa and I married for nine years! Love you, Sweetie!

Also September 8th, Ian seems to know his letters pretty good, so I asked him to write his name. A couple different pictures are included here… I think he did pretty awesome, can you kinda see it? See this image larger.

He tried it a number of times and it was really neat to see. See this image larger.

I made the following notes on September 9th…

Ian fell against a gate, scratching his bum… He burst into tears and between sobs reassured me “I’m ok daddy I’m ok” and only cried harder. Later he claimed that Nina kicked the gate into the way, but that she had “said sorry already.”

Ian – “Daddy looked up the storm on his iPad and thunder is going to hit our house!”

Me – “Ian do you hear the kitty right now, he sounds a lot Iike you because you are being whiny.”
Ian – “That’s because the kitty didn’t say ‘please.'”

Ian – “That’s something you put under your arm and it counts to five. It tells you if you are sick and it is called a therbometer.” (While pointing at a thermometer.)

I made this, and I’m posting it here for you to enjoy. Ian called it “Mommy’s car” because it apparently looks like a Prius. See this image larger.

September, Part II

Nina did extremely well with the anesthesia, and we were relieved. The MRI technician would just need to look through the images and find out what the anomaly was! The waiting game begins anew! (This picture taken at breakfast after the procedure, still on September 3rd… we appreciate the break that our help let us have!) See this image larger.

At home and on 5 different drugs. Nobody’s happy about the latter part, everybody’s happy she’s home. See this image larger.

Grampa Dave plays with Nina a bit before dinner. See this image larger.

My exhausted family does what exhausted people do. See this image larger.

The bravest little girl I’ve ever met. See this image larger.

Thanks for taking this one Grampa Dave, a picture of me and the two kids is a rare one! Plus I love that we’re all playing with my iPad. See this image larger.

(September 5th, Nina had her first peas, I’m pretty sure.)

On September 7th Melissa called me at home to tell me she had the results, (and eventually the report) on the MRI… there was no anomaly to be found in her brain. They looked specifically at that area to try to find it, and there was nothing. I couldn’t believe my ears. I prayed hard for this one — and most of you know I don’t wear my faith on the outside — but thank you, God… we needed that one pretty bad.

September, Part I

Updates will be a little slower than the “every day” thing that’s been going on for the last couple weeks, but I will do my best to be timely and catch us up! We’re still a month or so off!

So keep in mind… we’d been waiting around for Nina’s MRI since the anomaly was conveyed to us on August 19th — sick in the knowledge that really it had been discovered back on July 28th, but not conveyed. When September 3rd rolled around, some action was finally ready to take place.

My heart breaks when I look at these pictures. They shouldn’t have to make hospital gowns this small. I’m trying to hold the camera and take the picture, so I look a little angry but I’m just trying to focus… the exhaustion you’re seeing there is legit. See this image larger.

Melissa and I were at our wits end. Not just because we didn’t know what the test would reveal, but Nina would have to undergo anesthesia with her heart condition. See this image larger.

I’m often amazed by Melissa’s toughness. She and I put on a pretty good front most of the time. We’ve relied heavily on family to help us through this, though, and again I thank you all. See this image larger.

Speaking of which, meanwhile, back at our house, Grampa Dave and Grandma Marcia (having arrived the night before) took care of Ian and stayed around as reserve help in case anything went wrong! See this image larger.

Grandma Marcia smiles on while Ian plays with the new toy they got him that morning… an erector set! Here’s a rocket! See this image larger.

Ian blasts off to outer space! See this image larger.

Yeah you’re cute, I guess we’ll keep ya. See this image larger.

August, Part X

On August 28th, Nina said “Mama!” and had her first banana!

August 30th, Nina wears Ian’s hat at the “red dinosaur” park. This is the day Ian told me to never go out into outer space without him again. See this image larger.

Same day, at lunch Ian’s long sweaty hair looks like it needs a cut. See this image larger.

So we got his hair cut! See this image larger.

And he was a good boy, so he got a treat! Think that made him happy? (This is the blue moon ice cream from the quotable Ian post.) See this image larger.

August 31st, Kasey down the street stopped by to see if Ian could play for a little while at his house. See this image larger.

So proud to watch Ian walk on his own over to Kasey’s house, but still a little sad to watch him go. See this image larger.

I was no less proud when Ian ran back home moments later so we could walk to Kasey’s together. See this image larger.

Kasey’s mom took this picture of the two of them playing “rescue guys.” See this image larger.

And that’s August in 10 parts! Next comes September!

August, Part IX

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VIDEO BREAK! – This one is great… August 23rd, Ian quietly assembled two larger pickles, a button-sized pickle and a pickle he had bit into and surprised me with the final results. Click here to see the video.
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Also August 23rd, Daddy entertains Nina with some light reading. See this image larger.

Also August 24th, my beautiful family cuddles for a great pic! See this image larger.

Ian’s smile in this one is great… See this image larger.

August 25th, a nice bath for two, possibly three depending on the splash factor. See this image larger.

On August 28th Melissa took Ian to the Rockford Tomato festival. See this image larger.

Considering how much we all love tomatoes (we don’t) Ian had a great time. Here he is showing off his decorated tomato. See this image larger.

Ian added this small green puffball to the back of the tomato proclaiming it the tomato’s bum. See this image larger.

Nice job, kiddo! See this image larger.

August, Part VIII

Still August 22nd, must have been a great day for pictures! And Nina shines for the camera! See this image larger.

Ian and Nina do a dry run for their synchronized swimming routine… lookout 2024 Olympics! See this image larger.

If there’s one person who can crack Nina up, it is Ian. She gets such a kick out of him! See this image larger.

Have you met our awesome, beautiful children? See this image larger.

She keeps gnawing that zooey between her back gums, but we had yet to feel anything resembling teeth. (However we did see a “wittew toofy” shortly after this was written.) See this image larger.

Peekaboo! See this image larger.

August, Part VII

Ian the photographer strikes again!!! These are all from August 22nd, and from the talented eye of Ian Chapman!

Click! See this image larger.

August, Part VI

August 17th, on our front porch, Ian was just sitting in his rocker with a muscle shirt on and I thought he looked cute enough to take a picture. See this image larger.

Or two. See this image larger.

I’ve lost count. See this image larger.

August 19th, Nina had a great day in physical therapy for her neck… Melissa was so happy… then we went to the Ear/Nose/Throat doctor for what we thought was (“only”) going to be the full reveal on her Choanal Atresia. And while yes, that was evident in the CT scan (as seen in this picture) it quickly became the least of our worries. A scout scan (not pictured) showed something the radiologist noted might be a lytic lesion. We were terrified, and wouldn’t find out more about it for weeks! (Don’t let this scare you if this sounds like new information… it turned out we had nothing to worry about!) See this image larger.

Hi little cutie! See this image larger.

More from this photoshoot in a couple entries… she’s so happy! See this image larger.

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VIDEO BREAK! – Right around this time Nina displayed incredible spelling prowess. Click here to see the video!
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