Visiting Daddy's Work

This past weekend the Caterpillar Tech Center hosted their 50th Anniversary party. To have the entire facility open to families of employees is a huge deal.The entire facility is fenced in with barbed-wire coils along the top. Employees must swipe their badge to enter and exit turnstiles, and all visitors (usually) must be at least 12 years old, have their picture taken at the admistration building, and wear a name badge. If you try to google map it, it doesn't exist! Needless to say,  Collin was so excited to get to go inside the gates!

They really out-did themselves for this party! For lunch, they had the usually hamburgers, hot dogs and barbeque chicken sandwiches. We ate under one of 5 big white tents and then headed to one of the three inflatable bounce houses. I wonder how many people were there; it was a mad house.

For some BIZARRE reason, Collin was super outgoing and brave and wanted to do EVERYTHING. It was awesome and very unlike him.

After the bounce house, we headed to the big dump truck, which despite the huge sign asking people not to climb on it, the men running the station were letting all the kids climb around. Collin sat in the driver's seat for a few minutes, but the line was so long, I made him get down to let others take a turn. Then we headed to the passenger side where he sat for a while pushing all the buttons and handles too. The rest of the time we were inside the fence, he kept BEGGING to return to sit in the dump truck. So cute!

Every family got to have their picture taken in front of one of the machines. Here's our little group in front of a bulldozer.

Then we headed to Ryan's building. We got to see his desk, which he thought was rather boring (and it was quite honestly), but I really wanted to get to see his little cubicle. The best part was seeing all the pictures and crafts I've made for him sitting prominently in the corner.

Unfortunately, Ryan's engine was part of the restricted portion of the tour, so we didn't get to see what causes all his headaches. This is us outside his building. (We forgot our camera so all the pictures are from our phones, hence the supurb quality.)

This is what we were trying to get in the background.

Next we headed to the ice cream stand and fire engines. The Tech Center has their own fire department (good thing since Ryan has caught two engines on fire in three years). Remember Collin was being super brave? No other kids were on the fire truck, so I told him his wasn't allowed. Then a fire fighter came up to us, and COLLIN asked him if he could get in the seat. He NEVER talks to strangers. And honestly, who could deny this little face? Anyway, they let him climb up, and he pushed more buttons and pretended to drive for a few minutes. Kid heaven.

The last place we stopped by was at a lab where they test paver-quality. They dumped a bunch of blacktop gravel on a piece of plywood, and then ran a miniature paver over the top. The employee explained that his job was to test how long it took the machine to auto-correct for depressions and such. The same room also had a miniature dump truck being loaded with dirt and dumping it to mimic a real load, and even a place where employees mix different types of dirt in order to practice for different regions of the world. I never could have imagined dirt was such a science.

This is how the B-man spent the afternoon. He couldn't have been better behaved. And by the end, we'd each acquired a bag filled with goodies, all pasted with the Cat logo: water bottle, pencil, rubber hat and eraser, poker chip (!), antibacterial hand sanitizer.

What an awesome day, especially for a two-year-old whose favorite activity is driving to seeing the "new houses" being built. He calls everything with Cat's logo on it "Daddy's work mud things."

8 Months!

So now that Brennan is eight months, we are definitely getting a better idea of his personality.

Top Ten Quirks of Brennan

10 - He doesn't like to be an only child (ie awake when Collin is napping). I'd say the only time I ever see him fussy is when Collin is missing.

9 - No matter how much he eats before bed, he'll still be hungry before 6am. Anyone want to join me at 4:30am?

8 - No matter how full he is, he will continue to eat fruit (bananas, strawberries, applesauce, kiwi, pears) until he throws up.

7 - He bites with incredible strength if I try to nurse him less than 5 hours apart. No more convenience-nursings for me, since the painful bites are firmly etched in my mind.

6 - This little one can devour Cheerios, pretzels, Goldfish and puffs endlessly. He never fills up. You'd think only have two teeth would hold him back...

5 - He prefers to be ignored by his Mom, but he is quite offended when Daddy or Collin leave him out of the fun.

4 - "Airplane" is his favorite game. He lays on his tummy, sticks his arms straight out to the sides, and kicks his feet in the air as if swimming. It's far from the best method for movement. He does finally sit well on his bum (10 minutes or so before tipping), but he gets around best by rolling and pivoting. He sometimes chooses to scoot across the floor on his forehead (looks like carpet-burn-central to me). Bottom line: He's quite a long ways for having the strength to lift his heft up to crawl.

3 - No matter how hard you try, he still wants to be swaddled before bed - even though his first goal before falling asleep is to wriggle out of the swaddler. Guess we'll be teaching his wife that trick.

2 - No matter how tired he gets, he doesn't cry, fuss... or fall asleep. He just gets smilier and gigglier. He rolls his ankles and wrists incessantly, and ever more intently the more tired he gets. But sleep? Only swaddled in his crib.

And the most bizarre thing about my 8-month old boy...

1 - Don't even try to feed him homemade baby food.. unless you plan on spooning into a store-bought jar first. Picky, picky.

Chicago Stay-cation

This was our summer of stay-cations - we spent several weekends in and around Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. It's been fun to explore the area we've called home now for more than three years.

Labor Day Weekend was no exception. We headed up to Chicago for a couple of get-away days.

 

Driving on numerous toll roads - $3.20

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One successful trip to IKEA - $60

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Two nights in a hotel by the temple- $165
Exercising in the hotel exercise room - Free
Swimming in the pool and soaking in the hot tub - Free

Collin enjoying our "guest room" - PRICELESS

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Rotating playing with the kiddos and attending the temple - Free

Doing sealings in the temple with my eternal companion - PRICELESS

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Touring Wagner Dairy Farm (Bet you're wondering why we left Peoria to do this...) - Free

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Eating Subway on the temple lawn - $16

Watching the toddlers run and run and run around the circle - Free

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Spending time with treasured, old friends - PRICELESS

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Thanks for a wonderful long weekend, Stock Family! Jenn, thanks for helping with the planning and making sure that it happened. We have to make our Labor Day trips together a tradition. Can't wait for next year.

The Fashion King

Introducing the up-and-coming

Collin

(aka The Fashion King)You know you should be taking some wardrobe advice from our little fashion designer. And look at the casually draped arm, we've got a future model on our hands too!
And his runway walk... Stunning. The grace is impeccable.

(Blogger always HATES my videos. I've NEVER got one to upload correctly. I've tried three times for this one, so I'll have to just tell you what it looks like -

Collin is waddling with both legs in one pant leg. Then he falls over, flat on his face, as he stumbles towards the camera and falls again.)

But even the best sometimes need some guidance from their parents.

The Funeral Trip

So I did attend my grandma's funeral. It took place in southern Missouri about 4 hours from my parents' house outside of St. Louis. I took one day to drive to St. Louis (3-1/2 hours), and one day to drive to the farm (about 4 hours). It was perfect, because I was able to pick up my sister (who came sans kids) and my cousin (who just started at BYU) from the airport, and they rode the rest of the way down with us. Thank goodness for more adult hands on car trips!

While we were there, Collin was able to do a few of the things I used to do when I went to the farm as a kid, like feeding the fish at the pond.He also got to splash in the mud-hole behind the workshop, which was good since the heat indexes were well over 100 the whole time we were there.

While inside in the air conditioning, he spent quite a lot of time playing with my cousins while all the adults talked and reminisced.Yes, these particular cousins of mine are closer in age to him than me, but that just comes with being a Mormon, right?

Brennan was also a super champ - at least during the daytime hours - letting anyone and everyone hold him and napping where ever I dropped him. One evening he even fell asleep in my cousin's arms (this one is actually about my age) amidst the chaos. I was so grateful for all the help. Some of the family there I hadn't seen in more than a decade! I also need to make particular mention of my wonderful older sister. She left her kids at home with their dad, and then proceeded to spend all her time helping me with mine - She rode in our car; she slept (when we were lucky) in our hotel room; she took Collin out once during the funeral; she fed Brennan solids multiple times; she got Collin food at meal times; she even rocked Brennan while he screamed at 3am one night! I certainly couldn't have made it through the week without her.

Collin was a real champ too, especially during the nighttime hours. This picture was taken during our goodbyes the last evening, and as you can see Collin had opted to skip sleeping during nap time that day. Other than the last half of the last day though, he was great. He was very cooperative and easy-going. We took two days to drive home - with another stop at the St. Louis airport - and in all we were gone six days. You wouldn't believe my boys' joy that evening when their daddy got home from work. (The above picture was not posed; they all just piled on the couch together!) Quick additional story (I guess I couldn't keep it to just the two in my previous post) - When a new cow was born on my grandparents' farm, my grandma would name the cow after what she hoped to spend the money on at its sale. The story that is told over and over again is of the cow named Microwave. This past week, as the women cleaned a bit before leaving, they came across a plastic bin (no dead mice there) of stuffed animals. I found this little cow, and he is now part of our family. It should come as no surprise that his name is Microwave.

I think it will be quite some time before I venture too far away from home sans Daddy. I'm still recovering from the exhaustion, and it has been 3 days since we got home. It was a great trip, and I am so glad I went to pay my respects to my wonderful grandmother, but there is a reason children are supposed to have a mother AND a father.

Tribute to Grandma

I just finished writing in the boys' journals, and after more than a week to think about my grandma and my experiences with her, I have narrowed all the stories I wish to share down to just two.1 - When I was about twelve, I went and spent a month with my grandparents on the farm. I thought it would be a great vacation, but boy was I wrong! My grandma knew how to work. I don't think she ever sat down, unless it was to weed in the garden! From dawn until after dusk, she worked, and she expected no less from me. We weeded, watered, picked, washed, snapped, canned, froze, labeled and stored their garden-abundance day after day after day. And if we were ever caught up with those chores, there was always the regular cooking and cleaning to do. She was pushing seventy even back then, and she ran me ragged. What a woman!

2 - About two years ago, I took Collin down to the farm to meet his great-grandparents. While I was there, there was a funny smell coming from their downstairs bathroom, so my parents and I decided to clean it. Suddenly, my dad squealed and jumped on top of a stool. My mom and I asked him what was wrong, and even before he answered, I had jumped up on the toilet lid. He called to my grandma that he'd found a mouse!

Now just imagine an 80-year-old woman using her remote-controlled easy chair to help her stand, then taking the 8-10 steps to the top of the stairs, before sitting down on her electric stair-climbing chair, and riding down to the basement. Now imagine her not-so-complimentary reaction to "us city folk" over the dead and rotting (hence the stink) mouse in the cabinet drawer.

She grabbed an empty grocery sack, picked up its ickiness, and put its stinky self in a garbage can... all without batting an eye. Picturing it still makes me smile at my tough grandma.

(Collin & Grandma, Memorial Weekend 2009)

Both these stories illustrate perfectly my grandmother's personality and love of life. She was a wonderful, hardworking, tough woman. I loved her very much, and I'll miss her.

Where to Start?

There are so many things that I need to blog about, I don't know where to start...

1. Ryan did a triathlon on Saturday - a full-Olympic distance triathlon. I need to work on a "You are Amazing!" post when I actually look up all the distances and start to get my head around it. I also never posted about his 15K Run back in June where he placed 16th in his division.

2 - My grandma died on Saturday night. I need to work on a Tribute post when my brain stops spinning and my eyes stop crying.

3 - We've got a "ringing-and-running" problem going on. Luckily, I mentioned it to Ryan and he unplugged the doorbell. Sounds like a good "I love my Engineer" post.

4 - My first group of kids that I taught graduated from high school last month - exactly 11 years to the day after I graduated. Sounds like a good Decade in Review post.

5 - My boys both have colds. No one is sleeping, and let me tell you that the ringing-and-running hasn't helped! Sounds like a good Rant post about no cold meds for people under six. Of course, we all need to survive until they're six, which may only happen with some cold meds!

6 - My baby named Collin is two and a half. He speaks in complete sentences always, and if he mispronounces a word and we repeat it wrong back to him, he corrects himself. He sounds funny with a plugged nose, and I've yet to tell him I'm going to drag him around the countryside the next week or so for a church meeting (also known as a funeral). Sounds like a good Toddler post.

7 - My baby named Brennan is completely stuffed up and can't nurse or sleep. Miraculously, he still smile sometimes. Of course, we've all gotten a good share of his screaming too. Sounds like a good Baby post.

8 - I lost a few more pounds and only have two more to go, though I'm still holding out hope to lose six more. Sounds like a good Exercise post.

Tune back in next time to see if any of these posts actually come to fruition.

Six Months

Yep, you read that title right. Today is Brennan's half-birthday! To celebrate (ha-ha), we headed to the doctor this morning to find out just how gigantic he really is...
Height: 26.5 inches (55%)
Weight: 17 pounds, 6 ounces (50%)
Come to find out, he isn't gigantic at all, just super normal. He is also still a happy and content baby. Last week was a little rough, but then (on the 4th of July) his first tooth poked through, and the mystery was solved. (UPDATE: There's another tooth! That makes two!) Thank goodness for Tylenol.

Activities
He loves to chew and suck on his fingers and toes. I forgot how much I like watching babies fold in half and latch onto their big toe. Adorable! He loves to be sung to, especially if it involves clapping or other motions. He loves to chew on paper (bring on Mail Time) and play with rattles and other toys. He loves his Jumperoo (Everyone needs one of these!) and to lay on the floor watching his big brother. He especially likes tv, and I'm pretty sure he could watch all day if I'd let him. His favorite outdoor activity is swinging in the infant swing (Thanks Charity!), and he even cries out when he needs another little push. He isn't much of a fan of rolling over, though he is capable of doing it. Most of the time he just arches his back and bends his knees to roll to his side.

He's gotten to do a lot of fun things this summer though. He went camping for the first time in June (and was amazing!), he went canoeing for the first time in May (not so amazing - got the sun in his eyes at the beginning and never really recovered), has seen a bunch of bonfires (what else are we going to do with that pile of wood?), and has even been to the beach (I use this term loosely - We went to Comlara Beach in Bloomington last weekend. Other than the super gravel-ly sand, it was awesome!). We also put water in our little pool in the backyard about once a week. Appearances
Brennan hates getting his picture taken. Therefore, I have very few pictures of him smiling, laughing or being happy in any manner. In his case, the camera really does lie. On the other hand, most of the moms I spend time with have commented on what a serious baby he is. I think rather than saying he has a serious personality, it would be more accurate to say that he has a serious-looking facial expression. I really think overall he has a happy disposition.

Eating
He was eating cereal with squash or applesauce once each day and nursing every 3-1/2 hours, but starting this past Monday, the kid has been starving! I've been nursing him every 3 hours, and give him cereal with add-ins two to three times per day. I think there's a growth spurt on its way, since he's been pretty sleepy too. His favorite foods right now are bananas and applesauce.

Sleeping
Brennan goes to bed between 6-7pm, and usually officially wakes up at 5:30am. And that brings me to the only trouble the Big B Man is causing us - swaddling issues.

In order for him to fall asleep, he must be swaddled. He doesn't particularly like it, but he doesn't like being awake and tired either, of course. I've tried rocking him to sleep and laying him down already out, but he always wakes up and really prefers not to be held at all. He also has never (at least in my remembrance) fallen asleep nursing and stayed asleep. It seems swaddling is our only option to get him to sleep.

The real problem lies in that he wakes himself up when he becomes unswaddled, and since he thinks he hates having his arms restricted so much, he wiggles those hands out and right up to his mouth. And as soon as those hands/arms are out - He cries and cries because he's tired but can't get to sleep. Yeah, it's a pretty vicious cycle.

Luckily (used with a huge roll of my eyes), since we have outgrown our home, we have the guest bed in his bedroom (nice nursery, eh?) so Ryan and I split the night sleeping in there, thus reducing the number of times we stumble down the hall and into walls. My shift starts at 3:30am. On his worst nights, about every 1-1/2 hours B has to be re-swaddled and re-binked. On his best nights, he sleeps all the way until 5-ish (my shift). The majority of the time it is somewhere in between. Ironically, his worst nights always seem to be when Ryan is away - which has been happening about once per week for about a month now.

If you were to ask me if B was sleeping through the night, I'm not really sure what I would answer. Does he think he needs to eat during the night? No. Do his wakenings keep me up for more than 10 minutes? Not usually. But, am I getting a good night's sleep? No. I can't wait until he's old/mature enough to start skipping the swaddling altogether. It should be right around the corner, right?

Conclusion And that's my little summary of Brennan. We really love having him around. It has been so much easier for us to adjust to having two than when we went from zero to one. Brennan is so peaceful, and his giggle is the absolute best. Here's to the next six months! Love you, Brennan!