I don't want to

I don't want to play on the sidewalk.

I don't want to sit on the stoop.

I don't want to lick any ice cream.

I don't want to slurp any soup.

I don't want to listen to music.

I don't want to look at cartoons.

I don't want to read any stories.

I don't want to blow up balloons.

I don't want to dig int eh garden.

I don't want to roll on the rug.

I don't want to wrestle the puppy.

I don't want to give you a hug.

I don't want to shoot any baskets.

I don't want to bang on my drum.

I don't want to line up my soldiers.

I don't want to whistle or hum.

I don't want to program my robot.

I don't want to strum my guitar.

I don't want to use my computer.

I don't want to wind up my car.

I don't want to color with crayons.

I don't want to model with clay.

I don't want to stop my not wanting ...

I'm having that kind of a day.

by Jack Prelutsky

growing up!!

After many, many, ... many moons, I'm back to say, "Yes, we're still here" AND growing up. Ivy's hair is long enough to hold a little clip in it (not that she leaves it there). She started being able to crawl about a month ago and is now very confident and quick, quite the mobile little peanut. She love ice-cream, and her preferred method of consumption is from a cone.

 She is also, as of the 19th (Monday?), a professional at going up stairs. I mean, instant professional. She just decided to go up, and up she went. 

Tonight, she started learning, with Booboo's help, to go downstairs. Also a first, tonight she waved goodbye to Booboo as we were walking back to our house. I didn't even know she was doing it until I heard Mom calling to me to tell me to look at my rather amazing (and sweet) daughter.

Other notes: she stomps and claps when she's excited or sees someone she loves. She is a very good dancer and her favorite songs are "Bushel and a Peck" and "Mairzy Doats".  She scrunches her nose and/or grunts and/or yells when she wants something really bad.

Levi is also growing like a weed. He seems taller every day and is officially in 3T clothing (i.e. I finally put away everything else). He is learning to go potty in the potty rather than a diaper. He never has an accident when he's naked, and he's getting better when he wears underwear. He even remembers to go to the potty when he's wearing Pull-Ups. He loves Elmo (especially Elmo's Potty Time), Signing Time, Curious George, Little Bear, Star Wars, Cars (esp. Lighting McQueen and Mater), Buzz Lightyear, and most especially, Ivy. He likes to hug her, kiss her, giver her nose kisses (Eskimo kisses), carry her places, sit on her, stand over her, and other such things. We try to limit any potentially harmful activities.

One of their favorite things to do is take a bath together, and the favorite place to do that is in Booboo's kitchen sink. (Levi has outgrown our sink, but Mom's is deeper and slightly bigger.) 

They also will occasionally deign to bathe in our upstairs tub. They love to make themselves into ice-cream sundaes. Levi received this foam soap from Mom's friend Kathy Pitt, who's grandkids love it, so she wanted to share the love.

And here are some more that are just cute:

Cold swimmer

On the stars 2.July.2011

Self explanatory.

This one is almost a year old. Levi is modeling a shirt Mom made for Ivy. Cute, nicht?

This was in March.

Ivy was blessed March 13th: Ivy Fiona. Being held here by my aunt Becca Hogan.

Star Wars fans!!!!

Storm troopers at the Safe Kids fair. Notice the "pale green pants" and the very nice giraffe boots, too.

80's girl. She got this out fit from Auntie Zan and the headband from among the stuff I wore when I was a baby. 

Ivy and her friend Alivia.

Master Levi

Knight in shining froggy boots

Nose kiss!

Ahh!! Darth Vader's in my bathtub!! (Explanation: Levi is Darth Vader whenever he has something covering his face.)

Levi's birthday party. That's his friend Cade.

The hungry Caterpillar. Notice the super-cute socks Ivy is wearing that came from my Auntie Kris.

A boy and his grandma.

Ivy and Boo-boo

Ivy plays and laughs with Booboo, tee-hee!

Daybreak Hansens are headed to Boston

Yup! we're going to Boston. The kids and I are flying out on the 17th, Nathan's coming on the 21st. We are going out to visit my two beautiful sisters and my darling brother-in-law, and attend Suzie's graduation. I feel a bit nervous about flying alone with two small children, however I am also excited and looking forward to the adventure and the challenge. This is the first of many times we'll do this as is is VERY unlikely that either sister will live nearby anytime in the foreseeable future. I've got myself a sit and stand stroller and some good advice from aunts who have travelled alone with children. Your prayers will be appreciated and I'll be sure to blog about it.

Levi is growing up. He asked "why" today for the first time that I recall. We're in for it now. Crank up the creativity, right? He is tall enough to turn lights on and off, to peel into the pram when Ivy's still in it in the morning, to climb up on my very high bed, and so forth. He loves to "take care of" Ivy (giver her a hug, hold her, or carry her somewhere (careful there), alternately). His hugs often tun into wrestling matches, which Ivy is totally chill about, until it gets too rough. (Don't worry, I'm always there monitoring and intervening as required.) His hair is getting very long: probably the longest it has ever been, not that that's saying much, but it's combable (not that we ever comb it) and sticks out in funny places when he wakes up. He almost always sleeps with at least one sword from his growing collection of them. Today, he took his nap with a little plush bug, an elephant and his newest ... sword! He is very slowly learning to share and that, even though Sammy or Cade is taking a turn with ______, it still belongs to him and will be left here when they leave. Whew!

Levi still loves to read and a favorite lately is "Teach Us, Amelia Bedilia". Watching "a little bit a Avatar (or Panda, or ...)" is now part of the bed time routine with Dad and Levi runs through quotes from his favorite bits many times a day, often bewildering anyone who might hear him. Some favorites are: "So, Ugway was just a crazy old turtle after all". "Smart, fighting from the high ground" and "Not the Dragon Warrior yet!" He says that last one at every meal.

Ivy is getting more and more secure in her balance and will be able to sit up soon. Her favorite position is standing and sitting upright is a close second. She is super interested in food and I think I'm gonna break down and start her on solids tomorrow, if I manage to remember to go out and buy some rice cereal. Well, never mind! I could just cook some rice, put it through the baby food grinder or the blender and water it down! Much easier! Oh, I'm so glad I could talk to you about this! Thanks for the wonderful idea! Her pediatrician advised me to start with very thin rice cereal and go from there. Truth be told, she's tasted ice cream and applesauce, but I think they were a little too cold and thick, but she's definitely still interested. Look out! Here come the stinky diapers.

Speaking of diapers, I've been dragging my feet about moving on to the next size diaper, but I finally made the jump this week. My little girl has grown out of my smallest diapers!! Waah! She's growing up so fast! Oh well. At least with these diapers, I've attached velcro, so we won't be trying to keep track of Snappis for a while. I think I'm going to add velcro to those littlest diapers before I pack them away. That should make Nathan happy. He is so good to support me in my cloth diapering efforts and adventures. And he only complains a little bit, yet it is because of those complaints that I've come up with all of my little innovations. What an adventure. Still, I so hope that a certain little boy will get sick of diapers sometime really soon.

Nate's doing well. I don't think work is stressing him out too badly. He's working on a Star Wars campaign to run for his friends. He's promised that it won't be as long or committed as last time he ran a campaign for them. That one was Legend of the Five Rings and lasted no less than 2 years! Ack! He and a couple others are going to take turns running things on Wednesdays in a round robbin sort of fashion so each one runs his thing for a couple of months and then pauses for a few months and then picks back up again. Sounds like a good plan to me.

I, well, let's see ... I'm going visiting teaching tomorrow. I forgot to call one of my sisters today. Oh well. Oh, Ivy's waking up. Better go.

This week:

27.Feb.2011 (I just found this and realized I never published it.)
Our family is doing really well. Levi talks a ton and is a socialite. He is very gracious and generous. He loves Ivy and is very helpful in taking care of her and seeing that she has everything she needs. We visited Stampin' Up this week. Kathy was holding Ivy and after a while, Ivy began to cry. Levi very acutely observed, "Ivy needs Mommy." My heart almost burst. I am the luckiest mom in the world!

Levi is also growing up. He is physically more and more a little boy and less and less a toddler. He gets taller every day and can reach new ... heights. He can also be very creative in getting to things he not yet tall enough to reach. On of his favorite things to do is pull the little potty in the half bathroom over to the sink and wash and dry his hands. He uses lots of soap and lots of water and generally leaves the towel on the floor (he's probably just not tall enough to hang it up, and we haven't been very good at teaching him to clean up after himself). Another favorite is to get buck naked and go piddle and poop in the big toilet upstairs. To piddle, he lifts the lid and the seat and sits backward on the rim, piddles a bit, uses some TP, flushes the toilet and generally goes back for more. When "poop"ing, he lowers the seat, sits forward on it, thinks for a second, uses some TP and flushes the toilet, "I pooped!" Yeah, Levi, some day (soon, I hope) you will learn that "poop"ing is when you actually leave something in the toilet rather than saving it for a diaper. Oh, and speaking of diapers, he really like to "dump the poop" when he has a poopy diaper. He'll lift the lid and the seat for me and then flush the toilet and close the lid when I'm done. Funny boy.

Ivy is an expert smiler and makes very good sounds. Hearing her coo or laugh makes my heart warm. She also has the saddest faces when she needs something. I can totally see the super-sad faces she's making when we're traveling in the car and I can't look at her, and she's gearing up, gearing down, or in full swing.

Ivy is also growing like a weed. Today is her 3-month birthday and we'll celebrate by having dinner with Mom and the Randalls, who will be arriving at her house some time today. I need to put away all her 0-3 clothing and pull out the 3-6, which means I need to organize and put away and get out, not exactly my forte. I'm getting a little better, though. Maybe by the time Ivy goes to highschool, I'll have it figured out.

I am doing well. I don't think I'm growing, but you never know. I just got a serger from Mom and am absolutely LOVING it. I have also finally found and figured out a diaper patter than I really like. I made a froggy on for Levi this week and have a bunch cut out to sew together as soon as possible because he is growing (already grown) out of the ones he has. I talked with Kris the other day about cloth daipers and cloth feminine products and had a such an enjoyable conversation, after which I totally laugh at my self. Who gets a high out of talking about cloth diapers? My, my, I'm really ... well really ... something.

I'm still learning to cook meals. I go through short spurts of having a fresh cooked dinner for a few days in a row every once in a while. I'm learning what to have on hand and getting closer to thinking ahead enough to have a plan. I'm finally learning to do coupons, thanks to Mom, who was inspired by Becca while she was visiting in Georgia this January. It's actually exciting and rewarding.

Nathan worked about 55 hours this week. His company is providing a lot of support for one of their contracts. He also traveled out to California alone recently to help a contractee install the program, show them how it works, and answer questions. It went quite well, from what I can tell. At home, Nathan enjoys having time with Levi and Ivy.

This week:

Ivy's hair looks redder. She's trying to sit up. She can raise one eyebrow at me. She is grown out of almost all of her 0-3 month stuff. She likes to be sitting up or held out so she can see what's going on. She can't sit up, yet, but she likes sitting up in the bouncer. She's been to church for the first time (last Sunday) and today will be her first time in Primary with our class of 7-year-old boys. Wish us luck! And she will be blessed on the first Sunday in March.

We went to the Living Planet Aquarium with Levi and Nathan and met Ray and Suzanne there yesterday morning. There were a lot of people there. Levi had an absolute ball showing Grandma and Grandpa around - taking them to see the shark, the frogs, the penguins, the big snakes, etc. Ivy was awake for most of it and looked like she was enjoying herself. Sadly, we lost her cute little hat that Cayenne DaBell made for her. It got set on someone else's stroller and they walked off with it. I still really hope that they'll realize and take it back to the Aquarium. I plan to call them this week and see if it's been turned in and go back on Saturday and see if anyone brings it back.

Levi went to the Mayan for the first time on Wednesday. He really enjoyed watching the divers and eating the chips and salsa. He made cookies with Grandma Suzanne last night and got to stay until they were done. His new saying is, "don't have the foggiest" when asked about the whereabouts of something he can't find. He is very good at welcoming people, "Oh! Come in!" He calls Ivy "Baby Girl", just like Nathan does.

We found out this week that my aunt Becca and her family are moving to Montana this month from Georgia. They will be about an 8 hour drive away, instead of on the other side of the country. We also learned that my uncle David and his family will be moving to Portland. Will miss them terribly.

I'll post pictures this afternoon.

50%

This is an interesting tid bit I saw on a breastfeeding blog: http://breastfeeding.blog.motherwear.com/2009/04/dr-jen-on-you-and-your-doctor.html

"I think we’ve given away a lot of what “mothering” is to experts and books.  My wish is for mothers to take that incredible power back.  It is not the responsibility of that mother to make herself heard.  As doctors, it is our responsibility to listen. 
"Here’s the thing: we are the hired help.  We are the people that family has chosen to help them through their journey. We are not the arbiters of right or wrong, good or bad. We are the people who are supposed to give the information they need to make an informed decision, to help aid in the encouragement of and confidence in parenting instinct.  So much of what we do as providers, so much of the advice we give, is counter to maternal instinct which makes me sad to my soul.  If there was a right or wrong way to parent, like six of us would make it to adulthood and that’s not good for a species that wishes to continue to exist. 
My first day of medical school, one of my deans told my class 'fifty percent of what we are teaching you is wrong - we just don’t know which fifty percent,' a phrase that has stuck with me when I begin to feel like I have it 'right' or I know what is 'best' for a child in my practice.  It keeps me humble and open to change.  All we can do as providers is give the information or make a recommendation (not make a command) based on our current knowledge base and be willing to learn and adapt when the fifty percent starts to change.  I hope the parents are then enabled  to integrate that advice into what works for them as a family.
"I am a big fan of giving messages that make sense to a family, of encouraging the course of action they have chosen (as long as it doesn’t involve juggling chain saws near the kids or parenting while on heroin or something else we can be pretty sure is going to stay a non-recommended parenting practice!).  I can’t and shouldn’t dictate a course of action or stifle a dialogue on topics where we might have differing opinions.  In the end, as long as the debated parenting practice is not illegal, I am the paid employee.  If that kind of dialogue is not encouraged, if that freedom to parent is somehow curbed by a provider who is sure they have it right, if that mother feels as if she somehow has to modify what she says or outright lie about how she parents for fear of backlash from a physician, that family should fire that provider and hire a new, more-compatible employee.
And if she is stuck with only one doctor on the planet, then well, she should speak up.  Take the power of motherhood back.  If that isn’t going to work, I would suggest using another doctor to help.  For example, my families will ask me to intervene if they have been asked to discard milk after surgery or if they have been given other advice with which they don’t agree.  I can advocate for those families by engaging their provider."

Interesting, nicht?

My beautiful children

Levi is growing: growing up, growing tall, growing heavier. He is amazing! 

He is becoming less and less contrary. He gets over his whining bouts more quickly and easily, it's a lovely thing. He is very kind and tender and loving. He hugs Ivy at least three times a day: good morning, naptime, and good night. He always wants a mommy-hug at bed time. The other evening, I peeked in for a Levi-hug before he'd gotten around to requesting a mommy-hug and he popped off Nate's lap and ran to me with arms open and gave me a super-sweet hug and kiss and nose kiss. He is learning that markers are only to be used when Mom or Dad are right there, he needs to put the lids on in between uses so that they don't dry up, and they need to be put away when we're done using them. He's learning to brush his teeth morning and night and he's learning to use the potty. He also is becoming more and more helpful, e.g. helps to clear the table after meals. Our whole family is starting to learn to clean up after ourselves and to put things away before we move to something else.

Levi is able to reach more and more and he is able to get up and down from more and more things. He displays great creativity in getting what he wants. He is adept at moving the kitchen chairs around to get whatever he wants out of drawers or off of the counter. And he is increasingly difficult to lift.

Ivy is also growing. She weighs just  over 13 lbs. She started smiling about 2 weeks ago and gets better at it every day, they cover her whole face. She's even cooing with her smiles. She recognizes faces and interacts more and more. Many say she looks a lot like me, tee-hee. 

Star Wars Ivy

Silly Levi

Levi and Nate read a book.

Levi and Daddy being silly.

 

Nate teaches Levi to pop.

Ivy smiles

Ivy has learned to smile this week and she's learning to laugh.

 

Ivy gives me happy moments like, when she smiles(which she is doing more and more), when she laughs, when she is calmed by holding my finger, when she falls asleep entirely on her own, when she stretches (she's a very good stretcher), when she graciously recieves hugs and kisses from her sweet brother, when she calms down when Nate picks her up, ... I feel very blessed. I'm sure I'm the luckiest woman, and I wish that feeling for every woman. I really do love being a mother and I am very much enjoying having a baby. She is already two months old and she'll be three months on my little sister's birthday next month.

Levi is growing and learning and continuing to talk up a storm and repeat almost everything he hears. His latest surprise for us are his requests to use the potty. He puts the lid up, puts the seat up and sits backward on the rim. Interesting, I must say. He does love his sister, Ivy, and gives her hugs and nose kisses (rubbing noses) and kisses. He likes to have mommy hugs and Ivy hugs before going to bed or taking a nap. He does sometimes try to talk me out of feeding or holding her or changing her diaper, but doesn't get or stay too adamant about it. 

Levi is a socialite. He loves to go to Nursery, or Boo-boo's, or Grandma and Grandpa's, or Carissa's, or Cade's, or Sam and Shay's (all of which he makes specific request for) and he doesn't want to leave when it comes time to go. He has started saying "Want to stay?" or "Don't want to go home!" at such times. That makes me happy that he enjoys visiting, yet it makes me think that I aught to make our home a place where he looks forward to going, too. Maybe it's just his age. Either way, I probably aught to be more active with him and more intentionally interactive. Any ideas?

Rewind!! Anticipation and preparation...

So, in order to give birth at home, Nathan and I did a lot of praying, research and preparing...

After my first birth which and ended up being a Cesearean delivery, I did a lot of reading about C-sections because I heard that after a C-section, you are not allowed to give birth any other way in the future and I also heard that you can only have so many C-sections. AAAH! What if I want more children than that?! Anyway, in reading and talking to people, I learned that those two things are only true with certain doctors and for certain people. I discovered that I am not one of those who ought to have C-sections for the rest of my births and so we set about finding a caregiver who would support me in attempting a natural birth.

It seems to us that the surest and safest way to ensure a natural birth would be to birth anywhere but a hospital, e.g. at home. We then set about interviewing midwives and I also interviewed some my aunts. We live near Salt Lake City and are very lucky to have the choice between A LOT of midwives. After meeting with about 15 midwives, we chose Molly and she began the schedule of prenatal care.

Aunt Becca recommended the book Hypnobirthing, saying that it helped her a lot and made a significant difference for her during labor. I was blessed to find the book in brand new cobdition at a garage sale for the exorbitant price of ... $1! Wahoo! I loved what I read, and then it turned out that our Molly taught a hypnobirth class! What luck! So Nathan and I took the class. There is a list of "Affirmations for Easy, Comfortable Birthing" and Auntie Becca had typed them up for herself and was kind enough to send them to me. I made a couple small changes, to suit them to myself. Then I printed each one on a separate sheet of paper, mounted them on pastel cardstock, decorated them and posted them around the house. I will include the list at the end of this post.

The morning of Nov. 27th, Ivy's due date, I went out with mom to do some after Thanksgiving shopping. I started having contractions at Hobby Lobby. They continued through getting some bread samples at Great Harvest, shopping at Jo-Ann's, and were still going at 11, so Molly came over at about 11:30. I wasn't really acting like anything was very serious, but Molly checked how dilated I was just in case. She found that I was already at 6 1/2 centimeters! So, she stayed and called Sheri, the other midwife who would attend my birth, and started getting things ready for an arrival. I don't remember feeling much until I needed to push, at which point, I remember it being rather painful. I pushed for not quite an hour and Ivy was born with one final push at 8:30 that evening. She came out so quickly and all-at-once that I was torn up pretty badly. The stitching was by far the most painful part of the whole day and absolutely the most painful experience of my life.

I am so, so glad that I could give birth at home and that I was able to give birth yo my baby with no drugs and no monitors and no interventions. I hope to be so blessed for the next one and every birth thereafter.

The Affirmations:

I put all fear aside as I prepare for the birth of my baby.

I am relaxed and happy that my baby is coming to me.

I am focused on a smooth, easy birth.

I trust my body to know what to do and I follow its lead.

My body and my baby know how to work together in perfect harmony.

My mind is relaxed: my body is relaxed.

I feel confident; I feel safe; I feel secure.

My muscles work in complete harmony to make birthing easier.

I feel a natural tranquility flowing through my body.

I relax as we move smoothly and easily through labor and birth.

My baby's birth will be easy because I am so relaxed and confident.

My baby is correctly positioned for an easy birth.

I turn my birthing over to my Heavenly Father and my body.

I am prepared to calmly meet whatever turn my birthing takes.

Each surge of my body brings my baby closer to me.

I am totally relaxed and at ease.

My body remains still and limp.

I meet each surge only with my breath; my body is at ease.

I release my birth over to my body and my baby.

I eat right and take care of my body and my baby.

My baby's size is perfect for my body; we birth easily.

I'm teaching myself to go into instant relaxation when I choose to.

I look forward to birthing with joy and anticipation.

Some of them posted in my house: