This year sure has gone by quickly. Certainly better than 2009. I think partly that is why it went by so fast. As of May we found out we would be adding to our little family. The baby is due in 2 weeks, but I have a feeling she may show up any day now. Tom started teaching as a grad student in Linguistics and I've done some moving around at work too.
Let's see... other big things for our family this year: In April I got to help with a fundraiser for the Wildland Firefighters Foundation. We were able to raise about $11,000 to give to the Foundation. My brother won a big bronc riding this fall and I believe managed to stay out of the hospital this year. Like I said Tom is back in school and is now a seasonal worker for the airline he works for. As of when I started my maternity leave I'm now working on building the technical publications department for the company I work for. A lot of tedious, page-by-page reading of technical manuals etc but I really like doing that. It is amazing the information you can come across.
Bear has had all sorts of things change this last year. He's gone from just starting to talk to being a non-stop chatter-box. As a baby he was only a little cuddly. He is still super independent with his demands of, "Bear turn" but he is a bit more snuggly. I love the spontaneous hugs and I love you's I get now. He loves to play trains, give his dog hugs, and scratch animals. He has a thing for cows. ???? Always has. Any time we are at a fair he wants to be either at the petting zoo if there is a calf or in the steer barn. At least 4-H and FFA kids are usually pretty good about letting a little kid come scratch their prize steer and the steers are usually tame enough to let a little kid safely do so.
On Bear's independence: I love it. He cracks me up. Even as just a little guy working on learning to pull up to a stand he would push help away. I don't mean to sound like I really want my kid to be off on his own yet. It is just that it seems as a parent a kid's independence is what you strive for. Sure it is nice to be needed/wanted, but ultimately the kid has do be able to do for themselves. I've known too many kids that never gained those skills and at 30 plus years old are still relying on Mom and Dad for a lot.
It is just nice to see that Bear doesn't have the personality to do that. I can see him being a good leader somewhere down the road. I hope we can instill the integrity into him so that he uses those skills to better people and not tear them down. My biggest worry for now is that he lets being a clown cloud everything else. Anything for a laugh. If there is something I don't want him doing I'd better not even crack a smile. If he gets even a hint that it might be funny he will push that button more.
Hmmmm... Somehow I ended up a bit side-tracked. I was going over our year. I think it went by so quickly that it is pretty blurred to me. We have been truly blessed. We have great family and friends, a cozy home, a nice town, and stable jobs. And above all we have each other. Other than a couple of minor changes (like how much of a particular vegetable to plant or if I should expand the garden) I think we'll just keep working on maintaining our current lifestyle.
Here's to a good year. Let's hope 2011 is just as good if not better.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Christmas Day
Whew, we made it through the big day. We had a very nice quiet Christmas at home this year. Somehow travelling this year just didn't seem like a good idea. All the further we went was 60 miles to a good friend's house for Christmas dinner and some good play time for the kids.
Bear didn't want to leave last night. When we went to leave about 9 p.m. (with an hour drive ahead of us) Bear saw his coat and immediately buried himself into the couch saying no. We asked him all sorts of questions but what it boiled down to is that he wanted to spend the night with his friends and he didn't care if Mom and Dad were there. I didn't really foresee that coming at 2 and 1/2.
We all got spoiled rotten by our lovely family and friends. I think everyone managed to get new toys and gadgets to occupy ourselves for quite sometime. Along with some clothing to get us at least until spring.
Now I'm off to play catch up on the rest of life.
Bear didn't want to leave last night. When we went to leave about 9 p.m. (with an hour drive ahead of us) Bear saw his coat and immediately buried himself into the couch saying no. We asked him all sorts of questions but what it boiled down to is that he wanted to spend the night with his friends and he didn't care if Mom and Dad were there. I didn't really foresee that coming at 2 and 1/2.
We all got spoiled rotten by our lovely family and friends. I think everyone managed to get new toys and gadgets to occupy ourselves for quite sometime. Along with some clothing to get us at least until spring.
Now I'm off to play catch up on the rest of life.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Bear updates
I'm realizing I've mostly been updating about the baby and not Bear. Well, not any specifics anyway. His vocabulary gets bigger every day. Seems like every time we turn around we are asking when he learned that word. He sure is a parrot.
He has a couple of pretty funny sayings that are his. He seems to like to announce when things are "heavy" or "too big" and of course there is no way I can type the way he says them. The other day he was trying to get me up at some ungodly hour and was lifting up my belly trying to get me to move. He said, "Heavy. Mom too big." Thanks kid. Just what a very pregnant mom wants to hear at about 5:30 a.m. Of course those moments are made up for when I get a big hug with an, "I wuv you too Mom." Just can't beat those.
Let's see... On the milestones: Bear can count to 10. Although he does it correctly sometimes most of the time he likes to skip up to 7,8,9,10. He knows all of his basic colors and seems kinda tired of us asking him what color things are. He also knows the difference between dark and light colors. Mostly because we have almost all blue towels and he gets asked if he want a dark blue or light blue towel. As far as shapes go, he has circle pretty down pat. This is because we build circles with his train tracks. He's working on the rest of his shapes too. He would be a lot better at them if we remembered to work on them. One of the most recent developments is that he changes his voice for what a puppy or a dog says, what a baby bear, mama bear, and big bear say, and what big and little dinosaurs say.
Overall he seems to be developing like a normal kid. I feel for his teachers down the road. He'll be the kid that some teachers love and some hate. He will do just about anything for a laugh, even if it gets him in trouble. He is good, but if he thinks it will pull a laugh out of someone look out. The worst is trying to keep a straight face. He really is pretty funny.
I think I have caught up on the majority of the milestones etc. He is constantly picking up something new. He can pretty well put his own coat and boots on. Pants can be a chore depending upon the pair. He loves to help though so anything he can do by himself after saying, "Bear turn," he'll do. We are making good progress with potty training. Well, Bear is making good progress. Mom and Dad haven't had to do much. We've been letting him take the lead on that one. So far it seems to be working. We seldom have accidents in the pants during the day when there isn't a diaper on, and he made his first night without going in his pants last night. He got up this morning and when Tom went to change his diaper it was dry. Then Bear asked to use the toilet. Yippee!!
It will be interesting to see if all this continues once a baby comes along. Everything you read says the older kid may revert. Who knows with Bear? I guess we'll find out.
I think I'll nap while he does. There is lots to do around the house, but a nap sounds too good to pass up.
He has a couple of pretty funny sayings that are his. He seems to like to announce when things are "heavy" or "too big" and of course there is no way I can type the way he says them. The other day he was trying to get me up at some ungodly hour and was lifting up my belly trying to get me to move. He said, "Heavy. Mom too big." Thanks kid. Just what a very pregnant mom wants to hear at about 5:30 a.m. Of course those moments are made up for when I get a big hug with an, "I wuv you too Mom." Just can't beat those.
Let's see... On the milestones: Bear can count to 10. Although he does it correctly sometimes most of the time he likes to skip up to 7,8,9,10. He knows all of his basic colors and seems kinda tired of us asking him what color things are. He also knows the difference between dark and light colors. Mostly because we have almost all blue towels and he gets asked if he want a dark blue or light blue towel. As far as shapes go, he has circle pretty down pat. This is because we build circles with his train tracks. He's working on the rest of his shapes too. He would be a lot better at them if we remembered to work on them. One of the most recent developments is that he changes his voice for what a puppy or a dog says, what a baby bear, mama bear, and big bear say, and what big and little dinosaurs say.
Overall he seems to be developing like a normal kid. I feel for his teachers down the road. He'll be the kid that some teachers love and some hate. He will do just about anything for a laugh, even if it gets him in trouble. He is good, but if he thinks it will pull a laugh out of someone look out. The worst is trying to keep a straight face. He really is pretty funny.
I think I have caught up on the majority of the milestones etc. He is constantly picking up something new. He can pretty well put his own coat and boots on. Pants can be a chore depending upon the pair. He loves to help though so anything he can do by himself after saying, "Bear turn," he'll do. We are making good progress with potty training. Well, Bear is making good progress. Mom and Dad haven't had to do much. We've been letting him take the lead on that one. So far it seems to be working. We seldom have accidents in the pants during the day when there isn't a diaper on, and he made his first night without going in his pants last night. He got up this morning and when Tom went to change his diaper it was dry. Then Bear asked to use the toilet. Yippee!!
It will be interesting to see if all this continues once a baby comes along. Everything you read says the older kid may revert. Who knows with Bear? I guess we'll find out.
I think I'll nap while he does. There is lots to do around the house, but a nap sounds too good to pass up.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Christmas is on its way...
Christmas is around the corner which means baby is too. Not sure we are ready. Oh sure we have things, and we've done this before, but I'm still not sure we are ready to be the parents of two. Seems like a bit of a frightening prospect. I'm sure it will work out, but the anticipation is always what gets a person.
I'm ready to not be pregnant that's for sure. It really is nice to be able to set a kid down once in awhile. I love my kid, but I also like to have my own body to myself. Oh well, soon enough.
We are basically ready for Christmas too. Cards have been sent (for the most part). I've gotten presents shipped (once again mostly). Our tree is up, the stockings are up, Bear seems to be getting excited for Christmas, and all of our snow melted. Now, if we can just get some snow this next week, maybe bake some cookies, and get the last of our errands run we'll be in good shape.
Oh, official baby update: Big kid. The doc says that at this point there is no trying for normal birth now. C-section it is. She was going to let me try if this was a little kid, but by our last ultra-sound this last week doc was estimating the baby to be about 8 pounds already with almost 4 weeks to go. No wonder my body hurts from packing it around. So, with my history and the size of the kid she says no go on the normal birth. Such as life. I kinda figured. At this point I'm just ready to meet our little one.
I'm ready to not be pregnant that's for sure. It really is nice to be able to set a kid down once in awhile. I love my kid, but I also like to have my own body to myself. Oh well, soon enough.
We are basically ready for Christmas too. Cards have been sent (for the most part). I've gotten presents shipped (once again mostly). Our tree is up, the stockings are up, Bear seems to be getting excited for Christmas, and all of our snow melted. Now, if we can just get some snow this next week, maybe bake some cookies, and get the last of our errands run we'll be in good shape.
Oh, official baby update: Big kid. The doc says that at this point there is no trying for normal birth now. C-section it is. She was going to let me try if this was a little kid, but by our last ultra-sound this last week doc was estimating the baby to be about 8 pounds already with almost 4 weeks to go. No wonder my body hurts from packing it around. So, with my history and the size of the kid she says no go on the normal birth. Such as life. I kinda figured. At this point I'm just ready to meet our little one.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Latest snowy weather photos
Bear and Auntie Kate eating icicles
Bear, Dad, and Kate decorating the tree
Our crazy icicles and a very pregnant me.
We've been having fun with our snow. Bear loves playing in the snow.
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