May the Force Be With You

A few weeks ago we were enjoying dinner at Auntie Candice and Uncle Steve-O’s home. At the end of the meal Candice pulls out a box of Star Wars DVDs and asks if they are ours. I had completely forgotten about them (Tara gave them to me 3 Christmases ago) and was quite pleased to have them back. Since we just purchased a home entertainment system and with Alden reaching that most impressionable age of 2 ½, I decided it was time to indoctrinate my first born in the ways of Star Wars! We watched all three original episodes (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi) in one week and Alden was hooked. He was the ultimate X-wing pilot – enlisting everything from toy trains to stuffed monkeys to help fight off the evil Empire and Darth Vader, “He’s the Bad Guy!” Alas, Mom relented one Saturday and let me take the family to Target to find some Star Wars toys. Alden, Dad and brother-Emmett love playing Obi-Wan Kenobe and Darth Vader with realistic cape and light sabers. Ah, the joys of parenthood. This is truly why dads love our sons – it gives us an opportunity (and justification) to buy and play with all those cool toys we had to give up with puberty.

Our First Emergency

We were at Candlelight Park last night for FHE and Alden somehow got hurt and ended up bleeding. To give you the background, 3 months ago he split his chin open in Lakeside at Aaron's parents. It possibly needed stitches, but we were trying to head home and just tried to tape it up the best we could. The problem with tape/butterfly bandages is that they have to remain relatively dry to adhere to your skin. And anyone who knows my darling first born son knows that he's the Grand Champion Drooler! So, the scar has been fairly large, (maybe we should have gotten the stitches) but we figured he's a boy and it doesn't show much anyway. But he knocked it last night and opened it all right back up. After much debate, I ended up taking him to urgent care, which thankfully was empty and we didn't wait too horribly long. In the end, we had to strap him completely down so that the Dr. could use the medical equivalent of super glue to close the wound, and hopefully seal it from moisture (the prolific drool). Then they wrapped bright blue corban around his head several times to keep a piece of gauze in place over the glue, more measures to keep it dry. That lasted until we got home, and now we are just taping the gauze. Other than being up so late, Alden is taking it all in stride and has continued with his regular fun schedule. All in all, a very calm first visit to urgent care - let's hope our first ER visit will go as well some day.

Video At Last!

I've been wondering how to post video to our blog for quite a while now. Finally, thanks to a few inspiring words from my friend, Shannon, and loads of computer saavy (thank goodness it was so easy), I'm finally adding our first video.

Keep in mind the following:
We don't have a video camera - these were shot with our webcam. Not too bad, I think.
This clip is 1:43 long and consists entirely our children. If you're not interested - don't watch.
Emmett's video was taken a couple months ago - he's totally more advanced now!

Alden & Friends

We had a great time last Saturday at a birthday party for some of Alden's oldest friends, Katelyn & Kaleb Rasmussen. Or as Alden calls them, Kate-'n & Ka-bub. They had a pony party and Alden once again played the cowboy. Even Mom and Emmett jumped in on the fun.

Later we had the Rasmussens over for dinner and the kids spent a little time watching the movie, Cars. I'm not sure if they were posing or if they really hang out like this.

The boys wore their new polo shirts to church on Sunday.

Aaron's Bereavement Leave

Not to be irreverent about it, we love Aaron's grandma and will miss her dearly, but when Aaron's company gave him a bunch of bereavement leave and told him to go be with his family - we couldn't help but take them up on it. We spent Friday morning at the Phoenix zoo, enjoying all the animals, including our two sweet boys. The highlight of the day was the squirrel that ate out of Brooklyn's hand. Alden also enjoyed seeing Pumba (the warthogs) and riding the train. And after a nice naptime, we spent the evening with our friends the Rasmussens, BBQing and having fun. A special thanks to my sister, Tami, for taking us to the zoo, as well as all the others that have taken us to the zoo with their passes. We need to get our own one of these days.

The Elephant Baby

Well, after being on amoxycillin for a week for an ear infection, Emmett has broken out. He started out with red cheeks, which moved to red, chapped cheeks, which led to a rash all over his front, which led to a whole body rash, including his scalp under his cute blonde baby hair. The first picture was taken Wednesday, when I was very alarmed about this rash, which seemed to get a little worse through the day. So you can guess how I felt on Thursday morning, when we woke up to this second picture! You'll notice Emmy is smiling and happy - he hasn't been in any pain or discomfort apparently. It's not even itchy for him. So that's one plus. His pediatrician diagnosed it within seconds of walking in the exam room. Erythema Multiforme. It can have various causes, but Emmett's is probably due to either the ear infection itself, or the medication (allergic reaction). The Dr. says it will fade and leave no scars, but will last 7-10 days. The ear infection isn't gone so now Emmett is on a new antibiotic for his ears and some heavy duty antihistamines for the rash. Hopefully it will start fading soon. I know some babies have a face only a mother could love, and I love Emmett no matter what, but it will be nice to have his own sweet baby skin back!

Our Cowboys!

No, not the football team. We were glad to see the Colts win the Superbowl and enjoyed the game very much! And the commercials. But we now have 2 cowboys living in our home. Alden learned to gallop last month and has been showing off around the house. Then we picked up a rocking horse at a garage sale and both boys love it, although Emmett can't get on and off by himself, despite many attempts. And Alden just got his first pair of cowboy boots, along with a vest, which were actually mine when I was little and have been passed down through my 3 younger sisters, and Tami's older 3 kids so far. Both are good quality, real leather items from Pollock's Western store in Pima, AZ. My mom, Sandee, is from Pima and this store is owned by relatives of hers, an aunt I think. Anyway, that's what you get for buying quality - it lasts forever. We are on the look-out for a hat to complete the ensemble. And if all that isn't enough, on a trip to visit my grandparents in Pima last week, Alden had his first horse ride! The neighbors have 3 horses and Alden and I trudged through the muddy field to see them. Alden wasn't scared at all and wanted to climb the rails and jump in with them and he even fed them hay. And when they put a bridle on the gentlest horse, "Mud," Alden was only a little scared to ride him, I think because it was so high up. But he did 3 or 4 circuits around the field and we got some great pictures. Papa was very proud of him. Alden also loves Pima because they have bunny rabbits, dove, quail, cows, and tractors - all seen from Nanny's back porch! The boys and I had a great time and didn't miss much at home since Aaron was working all kinds of hours. But we're glad to be back together as a family and watch these two cowboys in our own home.

A Week in the Snow

The boys & I at our favorite snowy playground.

Emmett & Gram.

Tami & the cousins/snowman builders.

The babies on the swings. Emmy & Rex, with Brooki helping.

Mons spent hours pushing all the kids down the hill on the toboggan.

Thanks to Aaron's parents, we were able to spend last week in our own timeshare in Flagstaff, just 2 doors down from my parents. My parents have had the 3rd week of January there since I was in Jr. High and I have many fond memories of the family, friends, and skiing. No skiing for me this year, as I spent my time with the boys. Aaron was able to come up over the weekend with us, when it was very snowy and cold! Fun, as long as we stayed inside by the fire. On Sunday Aaron went home and my sister, Tami, came up with her 4 kids. Most of them stayed with us, as my parents enjoyed the company of our long-time family friends, Mons & Sally Ellingson. Alden had a wonderful time with his cousins and playing in the "ho" and building a "ho-man" as he admonished everyone, "no eat lellow ho." The things Dads teach their boys! Tami and I really enjoyed our evenings together once the kids went down. We discovered that we like a lot of the same tv shows, and both our husbands hate them. So things were crazy, but fun, as most vacations are. We even had Aaron's sis-in-law, Missy, and her kids, Gabe & Corinne, come stay the last day & night with us. We are glad to be home, but thankful for a great vacation!