My Views on Internet Safety

Daniel and I have this on going dialog about Internet safety. Not a week goes by that I don't ask him something along the lines of "Do you think that's safe enough?" or "Do you really think it matters if . . . ?". To help educate me a little on the topic he has had me read several articles about Internet safety. In many ways this has been very helpful and I am grateful that he is who he is.

When we first got married I took no precautions what so ever to protect our information. Daniel was quite the opposite. He was very cautious. Over the years we have both moderated our views and now we come closer to agreeing. (Truth be told he has infected me with a small amount of unhealthy paranoia. But for me, convenience trumps paranoia most of the time.) Daniel still takes more steps at protecting our personal information then I do (you might have noticed when he first started this blog he didn't even list any of our names) . However, I agree that some safety measures are wise. This is why I didn't use any part of our name in our title (thanks for the suggestions anyways, Denise). We feel it would be best if we don't include last names on any of our posts. This is a small precaution, I admit, but I figure since we talk about where we live and about the kids in detail it would be best if that bit of information be withheld. Thus making it a little harder for just anyone to find out more about us then is healthy.

Sunday Journal Writing

"So what can I do on Sunday?" This is a common question at our house. It's not just the kids that ask it either. It seems like Daniel and I are continually trying to figure out what "Keep the Sabbath day holy" really means. Every few months we revisit the issue and I find myself reading articles on LDS.org. Today I came across this one. Another resource I use for ideas on things to do on Sunday is here. I have always liked the idea of writing in our journals on Sunday. In the past I printed out whole list of questions to help the kids come up with things to write about. Then we cut these questions into strips and placed them in a jar: a "journal jar". We haven't been too successful with the actual writing. So, a couple times a month, we'll post one of those questions here on our blog and then have each of us answer it.

On to the first question!

Journal Jar Question: What do you think about when you can't fall asleep?

Robin: Mostly about all the things I need to get done. (This is usually what keeps me from falling to sleep in the first place.)

Chris: I think about what is going to happen tomorrow, such as will I be able to play the Wii, or will I find a heirloom of my mom's or dad's? Anything like that.

Kira:I don't know. I don't usually have problems falling asleep. I think I think about nothing.

Briona: I think about stuff. (Actually she doesn't ever have a problem going to sleep. Once she is in bed she falls right to sleep. If we have let the kids stay up late she falls asleep where ever she happens to lay her head. Staying asleep is another matter.)

Daniel: Aargh. That's a tough one. I never fall asleep right away, and the things I think about have changed a lot over the years. It's one of the few times when I completely ignore constraints and obstacles and think solely about possibilities and potentials. Occasionally, I even remember that stuff in the morning.

6 Month Check Up

Michael had his 6 month check up today. Doctor says he's doing great! He now weighs 18 pounds and is 27 inches tall. He can sit up by himself (for a few minutes at least) and he is grabbing for everything. He's not really rolling yet. He does roll from his back to his tummy but he hasn't figured out how to roll back. He hates being on his stomach for any amount of time so it shouldn't be to long now before he gets it. Actually I'm glad he's not rolling yet because after he figures that out it's only a matter of time before he will really start to move.

I can't believe that 6 months have already past since he took his first breathe of air. He has brought so much happiness into our lives. Babies are such blessings!

Christmas Morning

Daniel and I woke up this morning when Kira climbed into bed with us at 8:30. She snuggled with us for a little bit and then we decided to get up and see who else was awake. Briona and Grandma we making hot cocoa in the kitchen and Christopher was still snoozing. Since Chris was still asleep we decided to have breakfast before we opened presents (this was Kira's idea).

It is our tradition to have green waffles with red strawberries and white whipped cream for Christmas breakfast. We have done this every year for the past 7 years I think.

After breakfast it was time to open presents. We always start with our stockings (that way we can start on the sugar high 1st thing). Briona was adorable. She emptied her stocking one item at a time. She would pull out each little toy and piece of candy one by one, with a gasp of delight in between. She gets so much enjoyment out of the little things.

Gift unwrapping at our house is a slow and relaxed process. After all, we have to play with each new gift before we can move onto the next. Everyone watches with

anticipation as we take turns opening and exploring our new things. I am not trying to brag but I have to say that my children amaze me. Each year I wait for pushiness, greed and impatience to creep their way into our home on Christmas morning, but my kids keep them away.

Some of the favorite gifts this year are:

Footie Jammies
New Coats
New Bike
Mini MP3 Players
and of Course
the Wii

And the icing on the cake, it started snowing!

The Nativity Story

The Complete Cast

We got together with some friends and did the Nativity Story. I loved it!!! This is something I have always wanted to do but since we don't have either a huge family or extended family close by, it just hasn't worked out before. This was Great!!! Exactly how I always pictured it!

Mary (played by Kira) and Joseph (played by Rocky) (Michael was suppose to play baby Jesus but he wasn't in the mood)



The Angel (played by Briona) and the Shepherd (played by Brittani) and the sheep (not pictured, played by Phoebe the black standard Poodle)

3 Kings (played by Chris, Reagan, and Bailee)

The Narrator (George)

The Nutcracker Tea

On Saturday night the whole family went to see "The Nutcracker Tea". This is a production that is put on by the Northwest Dance Theatre. It is a shorter version of the original ballet thus making it more "child friendly". The choreography is also geared towards children. We had a wonderful time. We ended up sitting on the very front row because we had some troubles getting to the theatre but the kids thought that was perfect.

I had to leave during the second act because Michael was getting a little talkative. Luckily there was an exit door right by my seat. I snuck through it. The door opened into what looked like a stairwell and hall. It was fairly dark inside. As I pasted through I was surprised to see some clothes on the floor but didn't think too much about it. Their were two people with head sets on at the side door (I figured they must be security). They gave me directions to the back auditorium and so Michael and I continued to enjoy the performance from there.

After several numbers, Daniel joined me at the back so that he could give me a break. I noticed a really mortified expression on his face. Then everything clicked! I asked him if he had used the same door I did to get here. Then I asked him if by chance the ballerinas were using that stairwell as a dressing room. I couldn't help but laugh. You can only imagine how he felt about the whole experience (Thank heavens it was dark!).

I asked the kids "What things did you enjoy most about the ballet The Nutcracker Tea?"

Chris Said:
These are things that I liked about the Nutcracker Tea:
I liked the Russian Faberge Eggs dance. The reason I liked that is because the dance is so energetic. I also liked the part at the beginning of the dream where the rats are trying to take the Nutcracker. The reason I liked that is because the rats are running around like crazy maniacs! There are more reasons, I just can't put them to words.

Kira Said:
My favorite part was when they were in the land of sweets. My favorite sweets were either the gingerbread men, the French Marzipans, and the dance of the Turkish Delight. I liked their outfits the most. The gingerbread men were girls about 6 years old and they had brown suits on that were like footie jammies with hoods and red buttons. At the end of the dance they popped out of the oven. The French Marzipans were teenagers and they were wearing short blue dresses and fancy blue hats with a blue feather in them. In the Turkish Delight the main dancer was immodest. She had on a top that looked like a sparkly gold bikini top. Her pants were a bit see through but she had on a bikini bottom under the pants. All of the other dancers had those same pants except they were wearing gold sparkly leotards. The main dancer had dangly things that sounded like bells. My favorite dance was the Turkish Delight because that dance was the best. My least favorite dance was the Chef and Chefettes because the chef, which was actually a girl, had a big bottom (that was actually a pillow) and she shook it a ton. It was really really really really (etc.) weird.
I really loved it. Next year I want to see the complete ballet with just me and my mom.

Briona Said:
The little angels.
The fairies. I liked their dresses.
The dragon.

New Title

Okay the first thing to go is the title. I asked Daniel why he chose Little Kidlets and he said he didn't know exactly. He mainly was thinking about this being a blog about them so he wanted a title that felt like them. I quickly pointed out that they were not going to stay little for long (in fact have you noticed how tall Christopher is now?).

Ever since Dory made a posting on her blog about how she felt about titles, my mind has been chewing on possible titles for this blog. So this is what I have come up with for now. Sunrise, Sunset. If any of you are familiar with the movie Fiddler on the Roof you'll probably already see some of my reasoning. The chorus goes:

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze

Time flies so fast. So fast that we miss it a lot of the times. The first lines of the song goes:

Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?

I don't remember growing older
When did they?

When did she get to be a beauty?
When did he get to be so tall?

Wasn't it yesterday
When they were small?

I want to remember! Writing here is one way that I see that happening. It's through the things we record that our memories are strengthen.

I can't change how swiftly the days fly, but I can make an effort to capture a little of the beauty of the sunrise before it is gone. No doubt the sunset will be magnificent in it's own right, thus worthy of capture as well. Then how grand it will be in those times between when I will be able to pull out those memories and "remember".

New Direction

Warning!!!!

This Blog has been Hijacked! Well maybe not exactly hijacked by the dictionary's definition (to seize control of (a moving vehicle, usually) by use of force, especially in order to reach an alternate destination), but you get the idea. Now that I'm the one behind the driver's seat I have a new destination in mind. I think I'll let the original driver come along for the ride (because after all, he is kind of cute), but he's riding shotgun now. I won't be too controlling with the steering wheel. He can drive sometimes, too, if he wants. Then there are those backseat drivers as well. I'll give them a turn behind the wheel too, we'll call it "driving lessons". I figure with this much driving power this blog will definitely go places. Get ready for some big changes (like posts on a regular basis)!!!

Three hours in the car, one hour at the beach

Robin took Beth and the kidlets out to the coast earlier today. Weather here in Portland hovered in the high 90's. Temperature at the beach: Brrrr! Everyone had a good time, though, even if was nasty, brutish and short.

The pictures do a better job than I do, so I'll let them tell the rest!

The week in review

We've been home from the hospital for a week and two days, and there's been lots of changes. We've been enjoying our time together, and we've gotten a little less sleep than we're accustomed to, so this is my first post since we've been back. (Of course, it also helped that I magically turned our computer into a paperweight for a week. It's all fixed now, but it wasn't pretty. I was less than popular until the right part came in the mail. :-P )
M. has gained back all of his original weight! He's not as chubby as C. was at this age, but he's packing it on pretty well. It sure is fun to watch him grow. The other kidlets love to hold him (especially K.), and they all tell him how cute he is.
Yesterday, M. was lying on the bed, waving his little fists, and blinking at the ceiling. B. ran into the room, saw him there, and came over to the side of the bed. She kissed him on the cheek, and said, "I love you, M!" It's little moments like that that make the whole parenting experience so incredible.We've had lots of people over the last week or so say something like, "Wow! Four kids! You guys must be experts by now!" Err . . . no. We're certainly a lot more relaxed, but there's always surprises and imperfect memories to contend with. You'd think, for example, that I would remember the little techniques that make it harder to get squirted during a diaper change. You'd be wrong. Some things come back faster than others. :-)
The 4th of July was a busy day for all of us. We started with an 8:30 pancake breakfast at the church, where M. was passed around and around and around. Later, everybody but B. went to see Ratatouille, and the whole family went to see the fireworks in the evening. All of these things were loud, bright and crowded, and we were anxious that M. might get a bit overwhelmed. He did great, though, even through the crash/flash of the fireworks. (Better, in fact, than B. did. She collapsed into a little ball and made me cover her head with a blanket and hold her until she fell asleep, about five minutes later.)

In Which Children Get Hold of the Camera and the Baby

We had lots of visitors yesterday, effectively tripling the number of people M. has met.

Probably like lots of parents, I tend to think in terms of "firsts" a lot for the ... um ... first little while. As in first meal, first cry, first morning, and others, both mundane and significant: first lift of the head, first startle reaction, first real pain I've been unable to do anything about, first time hearing a laugh.

All these things happened yesterday, and M. weathers them with calm acceptance. His cries are intense, short-lived; he quickly returns to gazing and blinking.

He is learning, though, that crying gets more results than simple gasps. I predict, with all my parently insight, that this trend will continue.

Sleeping has not been a problem so far, either. He's twice as old as he was yesterday, and still sleeping soundly at night! He was up until 2 a.m. (my shift), and again for a little while at 5:30, but slept very well until 8:00 or so (!) when a procession of variously-robed strangers came to poke and prod.

He's very strong, holding up his head, grabbing the edge of the bassinet and escaping, Houdini-like, from any swaddle we care to try. Those hands like to be waving around!

So, what do you think? Are early traits a sign of things to come? And, which way? Does a calm baby mean a Terrible Two-ster? Or will he always be a little meditative?

It's easy to remember these foreshadowed traits in the other kidlets. C. has always been interested in doing things on his own: a good sleeper, teaching himself to play piano, lots of time reading. K. loves to be held and loves to tease (she would always feign sleep until you sat down, and then squeak to be picked up). B. has always been a talker, and just slightly on the adventurous side.

It's tougher to remember the things they don't do anymore, though a few stand out. C. used to whack his head on the wall. K. no longer wakes up screaming about lobsters in the middle of the night. B. used to switch random words around in sentences. These all seem to be developmental traits, though, not characteristics.

We'll just have to wait and see, I suppose!

We're checking out this morning, and expect to be home by lunch-time. More to come...

First morning

Last night wasn't too bad, actually. M. was up until 2 a.m., and we took hour-long turns staying up with him. Here at St. V., they're pretty specific about how the baby sleeps, which is a good trait for a hospital, I suppose. In particular, they don't want the baby to sleep in the bed with mom, because they don't want anybody falling out onto the floor.

M. has having none of this, though. He squawked and squeaked and rustled and rumbled until mom curled him up in the crook of an elbow. Then he fell fast asleep, and didn't wake up until 7:30 this morning. Woohoo! We got only a mild reprimand from our pediatrician for not waking the little guy up in the middle of the night to eat. We kept our response private, and everybody felt that duty had been done.

We're taking it easy today. Robin had the option of going home today sometime, but after .3 microseconds of consideration, she decided to stay until tomorrow morning.

Welcome note and pictures

Here's the welcome note we sent out to everyone (with some personal data omitted, for public consumption). If you didn't get a copy directly, please forgive us! We tried to get everyone, but we're also relying on our great network of friends and family to get the word out.

Dear friends and family,

Please join us in welcoming M. born Wednesday, June 27th, 2007 at 2:44 p.m. He weighs 8 lbs, 1 oz, measures 20" long, and 14" around the head.

Mother and baby are doing very well. The delivery was exceptionally smooth, and went fairly quickly. We'll be here in the hospital until Friday morning, if all continues to go as well as it has.

For those of you who may be interested in all the details (both past and future) you are welcome to follow Robin's delivery blog at:

http://little-kidlets.blogspot.com/

We've attached some pictures, and more can be found on the blog.

Thanks so much for all your support and love. Please forward this on to anyone who may want to know!

Love,

Robin, Daniel, C., K., B. and (finally!) M.

Official details

Here's the skinny on our little guy: He weighs in at 8 lbs., 1 oz., is 20 inches long, and measures 14" around the head. He's had his first bath, his first three (or four!) meals. He's still very calm, crying only when he got his shots and his bath (just like his dad!), and seems to be very content just to gaze at anything that comes along.

Mom's also doing great! She's wolfed down her first post-partum meal, and is busy making phone calls. Did I already say that I won't be able to do pictures until later? A little later this evening probably.

He's here!

He's here (2:44 p.m.)! Just as Robin thought, once things got moving, they sure went fast! He looks great, and has a good set of lungs. His color is We don't have stats yet, as he's having a little snack. They'll do measurements in a bit.

All is well, and our family's just a little bit bigger. More to come soon!

Just a bit of down-time

The nurse just came to check up on us. She had Robin do a "test push", and suggested that maybe we take another half-hour to wait for the epidural to fade just a little bit. They really gave her a big dose last time, and now she can hardly move her legs! M. is in the right spot, she says, but it's not quite time to call the doc. Robin's just resting for a bit, getting ready.

We're in the middle of it now. Robin's between contractions, which, after a third dose, are finally becoming manageable. Probably last post for a while.

Epidural time

Epidural is in, just as the contractions are ramping up. There's still a little bit of pain (the nurse calls it a "hotspot") where the epidural doesn't seem to be taking effect. They're giving her a second dose to hopefully pick that up as well.

Robin's not one of those pregnant ladies they show on movies, who need their back or their feet rubbed all the time. Quite the opposite, actually. She'd rather be stoically stood near, a task for which I am very well suited.

Dr. B. will probably be back in a few more minutes to check on progress. Contractions very regular at 2.5 minutes.

Here we go...

Well, Dr. B. just broke Robin's water. She's at zero-station, 95% effaced, dilated to a 3+. Dr. says baby's heartbeat is great, and Robin's patterns look good. He recommends that if Robin wants an epidural, that she get it as soon as she feels the contractions kick up, which should be about 15 minutes.

Meh

Still nothing. Dr. B. will probably come back around noon to check again, but so far we're still holding at 3 minutes between contractions. Robin's not in much pain, which is the only thing that would bring Dr. B. back any quicker. I'm going to step out for lunch, and hope that nothing happens while I'm gone.

Moving along

M. is quite a little acrobat. The monitor keeps losing his heartbeat, but he seems to be doing great. The Oxytocin is really kicking in; Robin's contractions are about 2.5 to 3.5 minutes apart, and she's really starting to feel them. No real pain so far, she says, just some noticeable discomfort. We're just passing time.

Delayed action

Dr. B. says we're not ready to get moving yet. Robin's cervix is not faced quite the right direction (around zero station), and she needs a few more contractions before breaking her water is a good idea. She's dilated to a three, though, so that's good news. We'll wait a bit longer, I suppose.

The phlebotamist was taking bets from us on when Robin will deliver. I told her 9:00, but that was in 5 minutes, so nobody believed me. Robin says by 2:00 p.m., which she also didn't believe. 2:30 maybe? We'll see.

We're all checked in

So, we're here and checked in. The hospital staff has been great so far; very friendly and helpful. The room is very nice and big, and most importantly, has free wireless internet access! :-)

I forgot my USB cable, though, so I can't upload the cute picture of Robin smiling and happy in her very nice looking hospital gown. Or the adorable little pink and blue velcro straps that hold the monitors on her tummy.

Dr. B. has already been by, just to let us know that we'll get things started in 30 minutes or so. The nurse just came in and started Robin on the Pitosin, and Dr. B. will be here to "rupture membranes" soon.

Everybody's pretty excited!

We're leaving for the hospital around 7:00 tomorrow morning. It's nearly midnight now, and I'm about ready to try getting a few hours' sleep.

The (other) kidlets are sleeping in strange places, in their usual mode of celebration. Neat things are happening, so let's get wild and sleep on the couch!

I'm off to bed. Morning (and a fresh take on parent-hood) comes pretty early!