In lieu of writing a Christmas letter, I am writing this little post with a hopefully accurate picture of what we've been up to for the last 12 months.
January: We had been living in our new place for about a month, Sam had just gotten his casts removed after his final surgeries, and we were still awash in unpacking. Sam and I started taking ECFE classes on Tuesday nights and began the process of being evaluated for early intervention services for his arm. I turned 31. We ate sushi.
February: We had colds. Practically nothing interesting happened to us.
March: Sam outgrew his entire wardrobe. We started walking the local trails to the playgrounds (3 in a 1/2 mile radius, woot!) Somewhere in here Sam started pool therapy at Gillette, and didn't qualify for OT from the school district, but did qualify for services for a communication delay.
April: I started looking for a family to do daycare for. I made my first ever hand-assembled lasagna. Sam and I went on various adventures to the zoo and the mall.
May: Sam turned two and had his baptism birthday. By the end of the month, I finally found someone who wanted to pay me to watch her kiddo. We had colds again, Sam with bronchitis.
June: We had Sam's 2nd birthday party at the townhouse, and lots of people came! It rocked. I started watching Maggie 41 hours per week. Dan lost his job to a mass layoff mid-month, and he also turned 31.
July: Dan found a new job mid-month, just in time for his severance from the old one to end. He applied for, but ended up never needing, unemployment. We decided to switch Sam from in-home speech therapy to in-class therapy at ECFE.
August: Sam outgrew every item of clothing he owned AGAIN. Seriously, kid. I got the nastiest summer cold yet.
September: We officially started ECFE again. It was just what we were needing. It was just very early in the morning for Sam. He got used to it over time, though. We found out that we'd been doing our state taxes wrong for like 7 years and had to file ND and MN amended returns. Stephanie moved in with us temporarily.
October: Zelda joined Stephanie in the basement; the kids had a good time trick-or-treating together but also fought like brother and sister half the time. Sam learned the word "MINE." I got increasingly political on the Facebooks. I started crocheting like crazy for xmas gifts.
November: The MN constitutional amendments got defeated, which was a happy day for me. I decided to dial down my Facebook activity and dial up my blogging. Stephanie and Zelda moved out. We had a small Thanksgiving at home since our monster colds ruined our plans. We also had to cancel a mini-vacation we had planned.
December: We bought a used minivan. I finished my holiday projects in time and even got them wrapped. Christmas Day at my parents' with all of our siblings and nieces was amazing as always. Both our other cars died. We paid to repair the one and prepared to donate the other. I managed to write one blog entry for every weekday (two on Thanksgiving) from the time that I started writing in November up till now.
That's about it! It felt like we had head colds about every 3rd week, but we made it through the year. Sam grew and grew, and has been learning new words constantly. We've all been busily working hard, but managed to spend a little time with family and friends here and there. We're looking forward to what 2013 will bring! Hopefully, some sleep. :)
Monday, December 31, 2012
Friday, December 28, 2012
Video Friday: "Where Is My Goat", Taryn Southern
Time for another video Friday!
This one is kind of ridiculous, but I get it stuck in my head. Taryn Southern is hilarious, and if you don't mind more risque content and/or cussing, you should check out her other work, especially "Single Girls" and "Google That S***".
(Also if you didn't at least giggle at that first "baa-aa-aa-aa, aa-aa-aa-aa-ack", I really don't know why we're friends. I mean, come on.)
This one is kind of ridiculous, but I get it stuck in my head. Taryn Southern is hilarious, and if you don't mind more risque content and/or cussing, you should check out her other work, especially "Single Girls" and "Google That S***".
(Also if you didn't at least giggle at that first "baa-aa-aa-aa, aa-aa-aa-aa-ack", I really don't know why we're friends. I mean, come on.)
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Sam and Rudolph
I finally got around to trying to get a decent picture to put on our holiday cards this year. (I tend to send New Year's cards, because who has time to get that stuff organized before Christmas? Not I.)
For our first attempt, I still had Sam in his brand new Cars PJs from Grandma and Grandpa.
"Hey, Sam, can you give Rudolph some hugs?" Placed Rudolph by his cheek. Ironically, this awkward shot was the best of this attempt.
"OK, how about a smile? No?"
"OK, we've got the smile, now can you just hold Rudolph still?"
" No?"
"Well, making him smell your feet is probably not what we're going for, here."
...and the escape.
At that point I kind of gave up on having conscious Sam in any picture this year. Since it was handy, I ended up putting him in the same shirt he wore last year. It was hugely oversized on him then, to fit over his casts. Now it just fits and he will probably outgrow it by spring. He went down for a nap on our cute snowflake flannel sheets shortly after Maggie left for the day. I removed the pacifier (don't judge me; I know how old he is) and tried to get as many dried on boogers off his face as I could. Unfortunately Mr. Stuffy Nose is a mouth breather today.
Here I had more technical difficulty with my camera, shooting as quickly and quietly as possible in low light.
OK, flash just made it look creepy.
OK, so we're going to be blurry with no flash. How about trying another setting?
Damn flash! Turn off, you.
Still a bit blurry and dim, but I like the composition better and it's not too awful.
Holy blurry picture, Batman.
Now it looks like Rudolph is attempting to eat something out of Sam's open hand. And I'm too low.
Ugh, so blurry.
This one's not awful either. I just don't see the cuteness in the shot anymore like there was his first Christmas. This one seems bright enough and clear enough to pay to have printed.
Thoughts? Suggestions? I really don't want to skip it this year since we've been doing it every year and it's becoming our one tradition. I think it will be so cute to watch Sam get bigger and bigger and Rudolph get smaller and smaller.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Christmas Day
We had a blast. Sam wasn't much more interested in opening gifts, but he did seem excited about his presents, especially once we got them home. He really wanted to open the boxes of all the toys, but we decided to hold off on a few of them until the next day, because Maggie would be here in the morning and we didn't have storage for everything set up yet.
On a related note, I wish we had Boxing Day in the United States. It would be nice to have a day to relax after the big to-do. It was busy but so much fun. Mom, Dad, Eddie, Terrie, Me, Dan, Sam, Kevin, Mandy, Ella, Ella's new dog Stewie, Jena, Jordan, Ryan, Reese, Steve and his new girlfriend whose name escapes me at the moment. It was a little crowded but the grownups played de-facto musical chairs depending on who was chasing a kid or a dog at the moment. Of course I forgot to take pictures. Hopefully some generous soul will post some on Facebook and I'll share later on.
My crocheted creations were a big hit. I think people were surprised, which is weird, because at one point it became obvious that nearly all the grownups in the room read this blog. Once I finish giving the rest away (a few friends and relatives that didn't make it to the Malecek celebration still have things coming) I'll start posting the results. Of course I forgot to take pictures of people with their gifts, so I did plan ahead and take some before they were wrapped.
As I suspected, Sam is going to be good for toys probably at least until his next birthday. I'm glad we were a little conservative again with what we gave him this year. He's got all kinds of trains and duplos and cars, and a bunch of new clothes and pajamas. I got the book I asked for as well as a bunch of other lovely things, including 3 new t-shirts, one of which says that I am silently correcting your grammar. I am.
Love to my people! Writing this post off the top of my head 20 minutes before I post it was probably not a great idea, but I'll revise later with pictures and post an updated link.
On a related note, I wish we had Boxing Day in the United States. It would be nice to have a day to relax after the big to-do. It was busy but so much fun. Mom, Dad, Eddie, Terrie, Me, Dan, Sam, Kevin, Mandy, Ella, Ella's new dog Stewie, Jena, Jordan, Ryan, Reese, Steve and his new girlfriend whose name escapes me at the moment. It was a little crowded but the grownups played de-facto musical chairs depending on who was chasing a kid or a dog at the moment. Of course I forgot to take pictures. Hopefully some generous soul will post some on Facebook and I'll share later on.
My crocheted creations were a big hit. I think people were surprised, which is weird, because at one point it became obvious that nearly all the grownups in the room read this blog. Once I finish giving the rest away (a few friends and relatives that didn't make it to the Malecek celebration still have things coming) I'll start posting the results. Of course I forgot to take pictures of people with their gifts, so I did plan ahead and take some before they were wrapped.
As I suspected, Sam is going to be good for toys probably at least until his next birthday. I'm glad we were a little conservative again with what we gave him this year. He's got all kinds of trains and duplos and cars, and a bunch of new clothes and pajamas. I got the book I asked for as well as a bunch of other lovely things, including 3 new t-shirts, one of which says that I am silently correcting your grammar. I am.
Love to my people! Writing this post off the top of my head 20 minutes before I post it was probably not a great idea, but I'll revise later with pictures and post an updated link.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Christmas Eve
Sam is 2 and a half now. Last year he was somewhat interested in Christmas, but we were struggling with his casts and his surgical wound sites and skin grafts and everything. He was also extremely nonverbal, including very limited comprehension. This year he is speaking a bit more, and more importantly, he is understanding way more of what we say to him and is following directions, etc. So Christmas Eve was meant to be a big trial run of festivities and present opening to prepare him for the big family get-together today.
First thing, I realized that Sam's runny nose has now morphed into a slight cough, and therefore church is probably not a great idea. Aside from the obvious germ-sharing, he probably wouldn't be able to go to the nursery (if it's even open) and therefore it would just be a miserable experience for all of us. He really doesn't sit still or be quiet very well. But he's a 2 1/2 year old boy. You can only expect so much. Plus, Dan wasn't going to be home from work in time for us to attend the "family" version of Christmas Eve at Augustana. So it would just "just us" for Christmas Eve.
I had decorated our tree the night before, which consisted of newer, less breakable ornaments. Tada! But I forgot the candy canes.
Most of the presents were still in my office aka the gift wrapping room. I also hung up our stockings on the railing with yarn.
Good enough. I'm calling that "decorated". The presents were all wrapped by Christmas Eve morning, aside from the bows which I always put on at the last minute. Now I just needed to do a little cleaning and get ready to make a lasagna for dinner.
We opened our presents to each other while the lasagna was baking, and Sam wore his new spiderman PJs to bed. He still wasn't too interested in opening the presents, but once he could see what was inside, he was super-excited. He made me read both of his new Little Blue Truck books on the spot. It was a fun, quiet, laid-back kind of Christmas Eve.
First thing, I realized that Sam's runny nose has now morphed into a slight cough, and therefore church is probably not a great idea. Aside from the obvious germ-sharing, he probably wouldn't be able to go to the nursery (if it's even open) and therefore it would just be a miserable experience for all of us. He really doesn't sit still or be quiet very well. But he's a 2 1/2 year old boy. You can only expect so much. Plus, Dan wasn't going to be home from work in time for us to attend the "family" version of Christmas Eve at Augustana. So it would just "just us" for Christmas Eve.
I had decorated our tree the night before, which consisted of newer, less breakable ornaments. Tada! But I forgot the candy canes.
Most of the presents were still in my office aka the gift wrapping room. I also hung up our stockings on the railing with yarn.
Good enough. I'm calling that "decorated". The presents were all wrapped by Christmas Eve morning, aside from the bows which I always put on at the last minute. Now I just needed to do a little cleaning and get ready to make a lasagna for dinner.
We opened our presents to each other while the lasagna was baking, and Sam wore his new spiderman PJs to bed. He still wasn't too interested in opening the presents, but once he could see what was inside, he was super-excited. He made me read both of his new Little Blue Truck books on the spot. It was a fun, quiet, laid-back kind of Christmas Eve.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Advent and Pregnancy, Mary and Breastfeeding
So I had this half-baked idea in my brain about how advent could be considered a celebration of pregnancy. It begins with Mary and Joseph, and Zachary and Elizabeth, being visited by an angel who tells them they are going to have babies. (Jesus and John the Baptist, respectively.) That pregnancy, not birth, is the beginning of the story in two of the gospels seems significant to me. I also remember being pregnant during advent. I think most Christian women who have experienced pregnancy, during advent or not, have pondered what Mary's actual experience might have been like. Both advent and pregnancy are times of waiting, planning, preparing, excitement, and anxiety.
In my planning and preparing this year, however, I've run out of time to fully flesh out these ideas. Instead, I'll share a few links which had gotten the idea rolling around in my brain.
I also had wanted to write about how Christians used to view Mary breastfeeding Jesus as a powerful image of both physical and spiritual nourishment and sacrifice, but that sadly, sexual repression and the sexualization of the breast in the 19th century quashed that and now women get harassed for breastfeeding in church (in some places.) So there's some of that here, as well.
Mary, the Mother of God by Rachel Held Evans
Why I’m Glad Matthew’s Infancy Narrative Isn’t Literally True and Jesus was NOT Born in a Manger by James F. McGrath
Where was Jesus born? posted by Mike at The Aleph and The Omega
In my planning and preparing this year, however, I've run out of time to fully flesh out these ideas. Instead, I'll share a few links which had gotten the idea rolling around in my brain.
I also had wanted to write about how Christians used to view Mary breastfeeding Jesus as a powerful image of both physical and spiritual nourishment and sacrifice, but that sadly, sexual repression and the sexualization of the breast in the 19th century quashed that and now women get harassed for breastfeeding in church (in some places.) So there's some of that here, as well.
Mary, the Mother of God by Rachel Held Evans
Why I’m Glad Matthew’s Infancy Narrative Isn’t Literally True and Jesus was NOT Born in a Manger by James F. McGrath
Where was Jesus born? posted by Mike at The Aleph and The Omega
Did Paul Invent the Virgin Birth? by James D. Tabor
The Birth of Jesus, Part IV. The Two Versions of the Birth Story by John Shelby Spong
Mary Breastfeeding Jesus: Christmas's Missing Icon via Religion News Service by David Gibson
Breastfeeding in Church: A Picture of Christ's Sacrificial Love, by Ruth Engelthaler, and Breastfeeding in Public: A Christian Father Speaks Up, anonymous, both posted at Peaceful Parenting
Friday, December 21, 2012
Video Friday: Holiday Edition
Some of my favorite holiday music, for video Friday.
"Elf's Lament", by Barenaked Ladies is one of my favorite modern Christmas songs. The album version has Michael Bublé taking turns on lead and harmonies starting in verse two, but I thought this live version was more interesting than staring at the album art, as there doesn't seem to be an official video. The whole album is amazing, though, so if you don't already own it, go buy it. You won't regret it. I can listen to this thing on loop throughout the month of December, and it also includes some lovely Hanukkah songs.
And this is just cute as heck.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)