More May

May 13th – Ian grabs a gummy bear sundae from Coldstone as another reward for potty training perfection! See this image larger.

May 18th – After a long winter Ian asked me to build him a boat, as he was jonsing for a trip up to Fawn Island to see Grandpa Dave and Grandma Marcia… and a real boat ride! See this image larger.

The steering wheel came from a truck toy off the port bow, and an ottoman made up the captain’s chair! See this image larger.

This could never replace the real thing, but judging by that grin, Ian and I had come up with a pretty good temporary solution. Nina can be seen in her dingy, to starboard.See this image larger.

May 25th – This is really only the second time in his life that he has fallen asleep at the table. I got a nice video of this as well as he conked out. See this image larger.

May Continues…

May 8th – Surprise! See this image larger.

I read on the internet that if you simply turn your normal lens around on an SLR style camera, you can get a cheap macro lens. This is Nina’s eye up-close and personal! See this image larger.

And here’s Nina at a decidedly more comfortable distance. See this image larger.

May 9th… here’s what Nina’s mouth looks like without a zooey in it! See this image larger.

And in goes the thumb! See this image larger.

Ian’s first viewing of “Jaws” did not go as planned. (I’m kidding.) See this image larger.

May 10th – A rare-ish picture of Nina and Daddy! See this image larger.

May 12th – Ian is rewarded with candy for good bathroom etiquette… blue M&M’s in this case, which gave him this creepy azure grin! See this image larger.

And then we brushed his teeth! See this image larger.

Nina bids you adieu for now. See this image larger.

Finally, Back to Some Pictures

Time has not been on my side lately. Trying to sell this house, trying to find a new house, deadlines magically syncing up to some of our most involving “normal life” deadlines, baptism stuff… and totally dumb random explosions have set my entire world upside-down. So this is me turning back the clock to when we last left off, picture-wise, and catching us up to present. (Note that I did write another entry, just below this one, talking a little bit about our old house here — not an important read, but it does set us up for what will happen in just a few weeks, if God’s hand continues to play a part and all the stars align. More on that soon.)

Without further ado…

Two months ago, to the day… May 5th, 2010. Those of you who saw the really nice picture of Nina after a bath (the same one that was later to be featured on the big screen at her Baptism…) the following pictures took place the next day.

Chillin’ out in one of those u-shaped pillows that is supposed to help during breast-feeding.See this image larger.

*We’re done with pictures here, Daddy. GET OUT.* See this image larger.

It is like a JCPenny photo-studio shot. See this image larger.

Nina can be such a peaceful sleeper. Can be. See this image larger.

So this was also the day that Nina first started daycare! I snapped this shot while Melissa entered in a pass-code and I wrangled Ian. It was also the day that Ian first asked to be put in big-boy underpants, and pretty much never looked back. See this image larger.

She Can Stand!!!

That’s what I wrote to Melissa in a text message today about Nina… “She can stand!!!” Melissa asked for clarification, and I explained – ” I’m just holding her from tipping. She can stand for about 15 seconds!! Her little legs lock and she’s fairly stable, even! I guess that’s maybe no different than when she’s in the exersaucer?” The exersaucer is like a pair of underpants in the middle of a plastic doughnut full of toys. The child can spin and sort of stand in it…

But when Melissa came home I showed her what I was talking about. I picked Nina up and transferred my grip to her hands. And she stood there, like a human letter “T” – arms stretched wide, and stance locked fairly solid. And Melissa was as surprised, because this was indeed a major step forward, and happened very suddenly.

Earlier today I was changing her diaper, and just as I completed the task, Nina said “Ah-kee!” And it sounded for all the world (particularly in cadence and conversational tone) like “All clean!” I immediately dismissed this as a trick of my ears or something, but wanted to mention it here in case Wednesday morning she says something like “I don’t wanna go to school.”

About three days ago I saw her distinctly pass a pacifier from her right hand, to her left, like it was something she’s done a thousand times before.

House news: Our house is the final stretch… it is “sold” in every sense of the word other than actual ownership, and some signatures. Updates to the blog are going to come slowly and late, because we’re now up against a new enemy – time. We’ve got about 35 days to find a new home and move into it – or else we get to move into some kind of rental. We just can’t find anything that we like at the moment – at least not without getting into a mortgage that we’d hate.

Nina’s Symmetry

As we mentioned elsewhere, there is a three step process to checking out Nina’s neck issues, and one of them involves checking to make sure she doesn’t have any skull issues. We’d noted that she has a flat spot, so this was important to us as well. It is pretty simple the way this happens… weak neck makes it so that her head is comfortable in one position. Despite our best efforts (when we figured out what was up) her skull, like any others in that situation, developed a flat spot.

So. We went to a… uh… skullologist… Melissa will have to help me remember what the real name is, but upon measuring of her skull, they determined that she was one of those “maaaaybe??” situations. To clarify, we have our choice, she can have a helmet now, or we wait a month and see how she does on her own. We decided on the latter, as she has been doing better and better with both her neck (to the point that when we get done with this three step process, I think her neck will no longer be an issue, just her skull) AND her skull, and the opportunities to lay her on her belly or her side, or sit her up have become much more plentiful. So we’ll give her a month and if she gets better on her own, we should be all set. If not? Helmet for 3 months.

(Wow, this is poorly written… I’ll need to fix this up later.)

Quotable Ian

About a month ago:
“I press the popcorn button the buh-mote.” (The remote has a button with a DVD and popcorn on it for “play DVD.” He knows his way around on the remote enough to start a movie, and to start the next episode of Dora.)

Ian’s three, and I realize that’s young, but I guess I’ve still been using this phrase regularly enough with him that he shot it back at me last week: “How many times I hafta tell you?”

I threw something across the room and Ian used a raspy voice to say “Now you’ll NEVER find it!!!” (This is a line from “Swiper the Fox” on Dora the Explorer.)

I’ve also got a fun little quote he said when he woke up this May 25th, but it basically isn’t suitable for a family blog. Well, alright if you’re still reading then you must not care, here’s a clue: Suffice to say some of his plumbing wasn’t being cooperative in the aiming department due to a gravity-defying issue. “It won’t go down!”

Here’s another one that might be considered less family-friendly. File this under “he meant what he said.” Melissa walked around the corner to find Ian holding on to his diaper. “I went poop.” She checked him out, he was fine, and clean. Off to daycare he went. A couple hours later my co-worker and friend Brandon showed up for work at the Rockford office (Melissa and I’s house) and when he went to use our facilities, he found that Ian had in fact left him a present in the potty, without flushing. I’m still incredibly proud of him for being so good about the potty. He’s been brilliant!

Nina had her 5 month cardiologist appointment on the 26th… Melissa beat me to the punch on writing down how it went, so I’m going to take advantage of her handiwork and copy/paste that update here:

Nina had her regularly scheduled cardiology appointment today. This visit included the standard EKG and check-up by the physician, but also a repeat echocardiogram to see if any progress (i.e. improvements) have been made with regards to the holes. I am so proud (and humbly thankful) to report that the two small holes in the wall separating the lower chambers of Nina’s heart have closed! This is such incredibly good news and an answer to many prayers. Praises to God! The large hole between the upper chambers remains, and unless God intervenes with a miracle it is not likely to close on its own. However, because the lower holes have closed, our cardiologist was very encouraged and said that the surgery wouldn’t need to occur until spring or summer of next year. He is also very pleased with how well Nina is gaining weight… he even commented that she’s pudgy. 🙂 Nina’s weight today was 13 pounds 14 ounces, so she is now just over twice her birth weight. Amazing. And the final piece of good news from the cardiologist is that our next appointment isn’t until October. That seems so far away and such a nice change of pace from the frequency we’ve been used to!

Other Updates
Nina is still recovering from her cold that started last week. We are almost through the 10 day antibiotic cycle and she is sleeping much better, however, she is still very congested. Nina also woke up on Tuesday morning at 5 a.m. and vomited repeatedly for two hours. I was worried that she was having an allergic reaction to the antibiotic, but thankfully that doesn’t seem to be the case. I think she must have just swallowed so much mucus overnight that it made her sick. Once she got all the nasty stuff out of her system she seemed fine. She nursed well the rest of the day without any more throwing up and has been fine ever since. Hoping all the cold/sickness is almost out of her system.

Final Nina update is that we still haven’t heard anything regarding scheduling for her neck therapy. I’ve followed up twice, but the office is still working on the paperwork. Hopefully we’ll be able to get things moving here shortly.

Finally, I just want to say thanks again to everyone who has been following Nina’s journey on this CarePage, for all the messages and words of encouragements we have received, and especially for all of the prayers that have been lifted on behalf of our entire family. We are so blessed to have such an incredible and far-reaching support network. Thank You!

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

For I am the Lord, who heals you. Exodus 15:26

Glorify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. Psalm 34:3

May the Fourth Be with You

Sorry about that title. Are you over it? Good.

We kept Nina out of daycare this week, her temperature hit the magic number and we had to pick her up… She seems to be doing much better now, although she’s still up crying enough to cause Mommy some sleepless nights.

Those of you keeping score on Ian’s potty progress will be pleased to note that the accidents he had on Monday and Tuesday of last week were the only two… we’ve been getting those daily sheets from daycare and the potty section has just said “He did GREAT!” three days in a row.

I’ve got a good bike follow-up video to show you someday… in it I just say “we’re pedaling, we’re pedaling… STOP!” and Ian hits the brakes on his bike. As a parent I can say that perhaps this is one of the most important things I’ve taught him so far.

And now more pics from way back on the 4th of May…

*Play it again, Ian.* See this image larger.

Nina dreams about signaling to a truck driver that he should blow his horn. See this image larger.

Yup, that’s Ian. See this image larger.

Cute bathtime pics ahead: *eeep Daddy! Let me cover up first!* See this image larger.

New favorite pic of Nina, right here. I see some Audrey Hepburn in that one. See this image larger.

Deer + headlights. See this image larger.

Did this kid just successfully use the potty again? Probably not the day this was taken… but not long afterwards. See this image larger.

May Flowers

So Ian’s accident-free streak lasted a little over a week. He woke up Monday morning in a big puddle, and Tuesday after I asked him three times if he needed to go (met with a “no!”) he suddenly said “I’m PEEING!” And I discovered I can still move pretty quickly. I won the race against my opponents “gravity” and “wicking.” But anyway, back to the topic at hand… A week of no accidents after only really being at it for a few days, I figure that’s pretty awesome! Even on those days where he has had an accident, it has been ONE accident… that means somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-10 successes for that day. Go kiddo!

Nina now has a cold, and has been taken to the doctor by Melissa. She already seems to be doing a little better, but we’ll see. Nothing too big to worry about yet, we’re keeping a careful eye on her.

And that’s pretty much the news, let’s see some pics!

May 3rd, and Mommy has brought Nina to the dinner table so she can see what’s going on. And what is going on? Well, it turns out we’re a bunch of goofballs, more or less. See this image larger.

Melissa and I have both started noticing Nina’s appreciation for solid food. She hasn’t had any yet, but she keeps looking at it with a great deal of desire. Might be time to start her on it… soon. See this image larger.

Beauty rest! (You’ll want to click on this link to make this image big -> ) See this image larger.

April turns to May…

Here’s a quick run of photos to catch us up.

April 29th, best family in the whole wide world! See this image larger.

May 1st, tummy time! See this image larger.

Remember this old toy? See this image larger.

Nina’s toy now! (niiice shot Mommy, you folks might want to click on the link to see this one bigger.) See this image larger.

Still May 1st, Boppy time! See this image larger.

She’s already practicing her “who me?” face with the batting eyelashes. Aaaaand I’m already falling for it. See this image larger.

May 2nd, pretty much the last sticker to go on the potty chart, if not THE last sticker. See this image larger.

Loooove this picture. Truly a proud and happy boy, with good reason to feel that way. Probably the last picture taken of Ian in diapers, but who knows. Worth a closer look if you feel like clicking this link -> See this image larger.

Grin! See this image larger.

Happy smiles for five minutes… See this image larger.

…followed by “Does he EVER stop talking?” or perhaps “Ever heard of a BREATH MINT?” I dunno, you decide. See this image larger.

More to come shortly…

Did you all know that May 4th is unofficially Star Wars day? Didn’t know that? People say “May the Fourth be with you.” Sadly I’m not kidding.

Show ‘Em Nina!

This video was taken on the 23rd, so technically the day before Ian’s bike video. This video is much shorter and obviously contains a lot less dialog, but it is still packed with 300% of the US RDA for cuteness! So click already and behold as Nina flops from belly-to-back!

Click here to watch the video. This is a tiny 3.5MB file, so everybody should be able to click with no problems.

More pics tomorrow, I promise!

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