Layla discovers the fridge

 

 

 

How cute is this!? Layla LOVES it when the fridge door is opened (=

When 90 years seems like nothing

I've been composing this is my mind for sometime, and still don't have it even close to complete but here goes.
There are many ways that caring for a 91 year old Grandpa are similar to caring for a one year old daughter (=
-you have to repeat yourself alot
-hugs work really well
-talking louder usually helps
-they both wear diapers (=
-they do pretty well at doing what they're told when you're nice about it
-they both sleep alot! (Layla still does THREE naps a day!! I've tried moving her to two, but I just don't think it suits her)
-they don't eat very much at all
-they'll always eat ice-cream
-they don't really understand the TV but they'll watch it anyway
-they both like to push the walker

I'll add more as I think of them. My Grandfather needs full-time care these days and we have someone who comes in for a few hours everyday. Otherwise, it is remarkably easy to look after them together (= They enjoy each other and keep each other company. It has been a gift to have the time here with mom and dad and Grandpa.

Anyway - that's all from here.

I takes all kinds......

I drove my dad to the airport in Denver today. The drive from Colrodo Springs to Denver has always been a beautiful one. Today I just couldn't believe it when I saw Buffalo, cows and horses all roaming around a few hundred yards from the highway. This place sure hasn't changed much in some ways.

I have also noticed that back home we only really see "upper middle class" western folks around town. Here there are all sorts of people of every shape and size (= Lots of men with skinny jeans, longish hair, boots, tatoos et. I don't think I really noticed all that so much before! Two long days at the DMV is a real re-introduction to your state (=

I had something else to say about what I've noticed here and I can't remember. grr.

still LOVING the weather. We take Layla out for a walk every day if not two times (=

Let's try this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ItEdEgdOGg


Hey all, I'm trying to see if I can link you to the You Tube videos. I realize this is WAY more than you are probably intersted in, but here you go (=
Also, all our You Tube stuff should be at the bottom of our page here.

Even MORE birthday fun

Well folks, I did this all in the wrong order! There are about four posts here about Lj's birthday. Enjoy!

Grandma and Grandpa gave her a couple of books and she was very interested in them as usual... She loves to open and close them.

Tom picked this out at the Babys R Us here in town. What a shocker it was to go into that store! This one converts to a pushing tricycle and then you can take the handle off and it is a normal tricycle. It is our first really baby toy I think we've purchased (=

More piano fun

Yum yum!

Some birthday fun

Here is the little cake for Layla and Grandpa (= I drew a birdie on the cake because it is still her favorite word to say. She can say Dada and is starting to say Mama.

She had no trouble eating that cake!!

We went to a thrift store to get some toys for her and were THRILLED to find this little "piano"! It is essentially a xylophone in a piano shape. She was totally into it (=

She was interested in unwrapping the paper but more fascinated by the paper. She loved the cards from Tina and Gram - I have videos of her kissing them (=

Layla turns one year old!!

Hello All,
I do apologize to all family who might have wanted a Skype call with Layla during her birthday. We totally didn't think about it. We're still a little out of it and, not having done a kid's birthday party before, we didn't have our ducks in a row!

I am SO out of it in fact, that I actually BOUGHT a cake AND BOUGHT icing. Those of you who know me well, know that I just never buy cakes. I'm totally into making them from scratch and doing fun shapes etc etc. Part of the reason for buying everything was that we are all doing the South Beach Diet and eating yummy cake isn't really on the list of things to eat this week (= So just Grandpa and Layla ate cake today.

something new

Okay folks, i've never done this before, but a friend had it on her blog and I thought it was interesting (=

http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/

FOR TODAY September 15, 2008
Outside My Window... are lovely pine trees and a clean breeze
I am thinking... why am I inside again??
I am thankful for... this lovely house to come back to
From the kitchen... absolutely nothing. I think dinner is the two cans of soup I saw on the counter
I am wearing... nothing exciting
I am creating... a family plan for exercising and losing weight while we are home. I'm VERY excited to be back in a place where I can easily exercise.
I am going... crazy? I don't know.
I am reading... old magazines laying around the house.
I am hoping... hmmm for a fun time re-connecting with friends tomorrow night - Shaunda, Sheri, Stacy and Angie (= Lucky ME!!!
I am hearing...the sound of the TV where Grandpa is napping - the open floor plan means I hear everything on this level!
Around the house... everyone is doing their own thing - Tom has taken Layla on a hike(=
One of my favorite things...Layla. I was gone from her all day today.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: meetings. shopping for food, starting at the new gym!!!!

Lj zooms by!

This is too cute. Watch carefully because it is quick!!

Lj and Grandpa-Great

Lj has REALLY been enjoying Grandpa's walker....so much so that I think Grandpa is now getting used to being without it! I'll post a video later. anyway, it has been fun to watch her zoom around.

This is Lj learning to back-up and reverse the walker - quite an accomplishment!

Grandpa reading to Lj - she sort of puts her butt wherever she wants (=

We went on a short drive to enjoy the day today. The Donut Mill is a landmark place in Woodland Park that my Grandpa actually remembers. We were SHOCKED when he actually wanted to get out of the car and go into the restaurant himself! He really doesn't get around much these days. Mostly from chair to chair and that is it.

This is a picture of the area under the stairs in our house. We took all our personal stuff and packed in here (thanks to mom, Jerehmy, Jesse and Tom!). I can't believe it all fit!! I'm just praying that no wierd bugs or anything burrow inside for the next year.

Enjoying America in style! Tom grilled steaks last night! Dad and mom have a FABulous grill. The deck is really really nice, but you can't see much of it in this photo. We are enjoying this lovely house. It is actually my grandpa's house and we all live here when we are in the US.

Here is Grandpa-Great feeding Lj. She has warmed up to him - it is a little slow since he can't follow her wiggling around! He loves to watch her push his walker around! She just zooms around with that thing now. I though it would help her learn how to walk faster, but now I think she'll prefer the faster speed she gets with that thing to the slow, lumbering she'll do on her own (=

small confession

Well, I have a confession to make. I had been bracing myself for the "culture of fear" that I always feel in the US. If you watch the news, the way they talk about things is so ridiculous.....like there is something to fear around every corner. Especially when it comes to kids....
So I had been preparing myself for coming here where folks don't have a "community mind-set" to raising kids and aren't as helpful as folks from the desert where we have been.
Fortunately, I have been pleasantly surprised! It is true that in general, people pay less attention to babies. Lj's cheeks aren't squeezed as much and other little children don't run up and pat her cheek like they do at home, but I've also found that lots of folks are still really nice and accommodating.
We were at the hospital today doing 50 minutes of PAPERWORK at the reception. I was trying to keep Lj somewhat contained and dreading that the ultrasound procedure for her heart was what I wanted to save her good behaviour for. Anyway, at one point she crawl/dashed from the reception room into the main walkway of the massive hospital. Thankfully this enormous security guy who was very tall and very black just swooped her up and kept her company until I was done (= He was lovely.
Then I got to the procedure place and was told that I lost my slot since I was so late. I told her that I had asked at reception if we needed to call and assure them I was coming. The reception lady said it wasn't important. So I actually had my first sort of "mommy grit" moment with the nurse who was asking me to wait 30 more minutes. I kindly stared the lady down until she offered to see what she could do about re-instating my appointment and avoiding the 30 minute wait. Thankfully it worked out. The nurse turned out to be very lovely. I was completely dismayed though, when I was told that the procedure involved keeping Lj still for 10 minutes!! I actually laughed at the lady. I totally should have brought Tom. Anyway, it was a feat, but after much bribing with chicken, grapes cheese and even the nurse's own blueberries, she passed with flying colors. The nurse said she was remarkably calm and cooperative for most kids her age. Can't imagine what "uncooperative" looks like. I was certainly praying and singing every song that came to mind (those of you at home can picture that well!). By the end we both had ultrasound jelly all over us and Lj had a TOTALLY blue nose. I couldn't have painted it on better!
So. All this to say the visit to the hospital, while tiring, wasn't horrible and people in America really aren't that cold hearted around kids (=

Rain!

It has been raining for almost 12 hours now. I'm LOVING it. I can smell the rain mixed with the pine tree smell all around us. It is wonderful.
I've been too tired and unfocused to write much these days. We left a week ago today which seems impossible.
We've spent two mornings at the DMV getting Tom's driver's license replaced - you all know how much fun that is on a normal day let alone a jet-lagged day with a little one (=
We've already been to the dr for Tom's persistant cough thing and for Lj's many issues. We head to the hospital today for the test for her heart. Everyone says the heart murmur is fine, they just want the test to confirm it. We discussed the immunizations, her funky eye thing (which is less and less of an issue), possible allergy to tomatos, and one other thing I can't remember. I got a reccomendation for a great doctor which is a relief.
Her finger that got slammed in the airplane bathroom door is looking fierce and she will lose the fingernail. Poor thing. She is remarkably unaware of it, even when I squeeze it to see if puss is coming out. Wierd.
Anyway, she should be getting up soon, and I am far far away in this enormous house.
Tom was going to go for a hike today but it is too wet most likey.
Anyway - we're surviving, Lj's sleep is back to normal. I think it only took her three days. Miraculous. Mommy and daddy are taking much longer!

Funny what hits you....

So here are the things that have Tom and I saying: " Wow. we're not in the desert anymore!"

Having to pump our own gas.
Having to shut off the car when you pump the gas!
Paying for the gas - its about 2x as expensive as home.

Colorado is LUSH LUSH LUSH! just looking out the window is like drinking. The trees are all so big and lovely.

Hearing the breeze in the leaves. I haven't heard that since we moved.

Of course the choices in the grocery store - too mind-blowing to go shopping other than trying to find what a generic brand of diapers looks like.

Everything looks so CLEAN - there isn't any layer of dust on everything!

Even the clothespins in America feel more substantial and like they are higher quality!

There are SO MANY ads on the TV and radio!

I'd forgotten how to cook on an electric stove.

We ran out of milk and while we were out picking up a crib we were borrowing, I thought to myself. "I can't handle a grocery store right now. Let's just go to the corner store where we can honk and the guy can bring the milk out..." still haven't found that store here for some reason.

The house feels so PADDED! We have tile floors and cement walls at home and the carpeting, wallpaper and decorations here all make it seem so FULL. My house seems empty in comparison, but I know it wasn't.

There is a sense of something close to freedom or just emotional space or something like that, to be able to wear what I want, hold Tom's hand, and things like that. Not following cultural norms is a yoke that has lifted here. It isn't oppressive over there or anything...... just something you adjust to, but it is nice to have a break from it!

Well, I'm getting tired. It's 330am and I think I'll head back to bed. We have Lj in our room until her sleeping settles down. It is so sweet to hear her breathing (= I'm sure her nose is dry like ours. Can't believe it is drier here than back home.

Back in the US

We've made it! We arrived sometime ago and the rest of the house is sleeping. Dear Layla woke up because she had to try to hard to poop. Bananas were EVERYWHERE on this trip (=
I have no idea how to help her get on our current time zone, so she is just exploring our laundry/computer room while I blog to stay awake. It is SO dry here! You'd think we'd be drier back home, but no no. My nose hurts, my eyes hurt and my skin in general.
Anyway, we're here and enjoying seeing Grandpa and GREAT Grandpa (=

In case if you feel like Christianity is the only religion whose holidays are tainted by commercialism, this is the theme around here: Shop and Win! Ramadan started today on one side of our town and will start tomorrow on the other side of town. The mall took down its summer signs and put these up - they are VERY big into winning things!

Momma and her walnuts

Ever since I was a kid, I have memories of my mom doing just this - squatting on a tile floor cracking walnuts with a hammer (= I just about DIED the other night when I heard the familiar sound, and there was mom squatting on the floor with some walnuts a neighbor had given us. In Hong Kong she would be behind our kitchen door, here she was down by the side door near our freezer and the hardware cabinet. (freezer almost empty, hardward cabinet still on the "honey-do" list).

Tom was waiting for me to get into the car the other day and popped Lj in the front seat to see what she would do. You can tell the weather is getting "down" to about 100 because we are out doing all sorts of unnecessary things. Usually we just run from the air conditioned house to the air conditioned car to the air conditioned mall... etc.