Ian Lately

Ian turned THREE about two months ago and is really quite a treasure.  Here is some Ian Lately.

While eating pizza, Brandon put a new piece on Ian's plate.  When Ian looked at it and saw it wasn't just cheese pizza, he exclaimed (exclaimed!):  "Oh!  I didn't realize this had bell pepper on it!"

Examples of his burgeoning imagination and apparent fascination with Chicago.
"When Ellen and I were little, we flew on a helicopter!"
"When we were babies, we went to Chicago in a helicopter."
"We had my birthday party in Chicago."
"We went fishing in Chicago, and I caught a red fish."
(I have NO IDEA what is up with Chicago.  I don't know if I have ever talked about Chicago for any reason, so I assume he heard something about it at school maybe.  He is currently very interested in all of the states, where people live, where we have traveled, etc.)

He very calmly went up to his 1.5 year old sister, put his hand lightly on her back, showed her a toy and very sweetly said: "Ellen, would you like to fight over this?"

Ian likes to "help" Ellen learn to talk.  Heard in the back seat one day:  "Ellen, say: guitar.  Ellen, say: iguana.  Ellen, say gazebo."

As I pull out a game (Richard Scary's Busy Town game) that he can only play when Ellen is asleep:  "I love to play Busy Town every DAY!"

Ian plays independently often and does quite well for up to an hour and a half at a time.  He sometimes reads books, but often he likes to work on puzzles.  He will also build with Legos or create a Little People village.  I like to spy on him from the hall way and listen to his narration.

Ian is getting more and more adventurous on the playground.  His balance is improving and he is able to climb extensively.  He will occassionally get himself in a tight or tricky spot, but he just pauses and thinks about how to reposition himself, sometimes talking himself through it.

Ian sings... a LOT.  He sometimes sings songs that he knows, but more often than not he makes up his own words.  He also thinks it is funny to replace the words of songs with words that don't belong (usually "Mama").  As in:  "A, B, C, D, E, F, mama (hahahahha)."

This is basically my fault, but Ian can pretty much sing the alphabet backwards.  Our favorite part is at the end:  "Now I know my Z Y X's... Won't you all come live in TEXAS!"

Friday Haiku

My brain is buzzing,

working so efficiently.

Thanks, French Press Coffee.

Dierschkes Lately

After nearly three months (!!) of radio silence, I've had kind of a flurry of bloggy activity.  This is in direct contradiction to one of my yearly goals, which was to blog once per week.  I've got excuses out the wazoo, of course, but instead of waxing poetic about how hard it is to keep up with blogging in this busy busy life of mine, here are just a couple of reasons.

1) The Night Shift (which ended at the end of February or beginning of March).
2) Unexplained loss of access to Blogger on my work computer (I do the majority of my blogging at lunchtime)
3) L-A-Z-Y (self-explanatory)

OK well that's done.  Now to catch you up on what's been happening in our household!

MARCH
Night Shift ends.  REJOICE.
Overtime continues (wah-waaaaah)
Newphew (James Luke Abney) is born!
Parent Teacher Conference for Ian (who is 2.5) - hilarious.  Apparently, Ian is adequately skilled in most areas but needs to work on wisking.  Looks like he needs to help me make muffins and scrambled eggs!
Travel to Rowena to visit.
Ellen sick for almost a week.

APRIL
Easter
Brandon's Heroscape Tournament (NERD)
Brandon on a Men's Retreat with the new church
James and Tara's wedding in Houston - AKA first long weekend alone with NO KIDS.  Glorious.

MAY
My birthday (weee 27)
Brooke and Dustin's wedding (which Ian continues to talk about.  Mostly he remembers M&Ms and Balloons)
ANOTHER Nephew is born!  (Tate Stanford Nokes)
Picnic lunch with Ian at school
Ellen's Birthday (ONE!!)
Mother's Day dinner with family
Brandon out of town for a few days
Ellen's Baptism and Birthday Party
4th Anniversay
Potty Training Ian over Memorial Day Weekend (this truly needs a post all its own...)

JUNE
Another weekend trip for a wedding - to San Antonio!  We also got to do a nice 7.5 mile hike at Pedernales Falls State Park.


Now we are looking forward to a few quiet weeks, filled with house projects (hoping to have a nice lawn by the end of the month) and relaxing.

Hello, Texas Bluebonnets

The ubiquitous Texas Family Photo opportunity in spring - Bluebonnets!  Simple, beautiful, and everywhere (for a limited time).  The last two years, I didn't get any decent photos in the bluebonnets.  In 2010, I waited until May and ended up getting photos of weeds with only a teensy amount of bloom remaining.  Less than spectacular, although cute baby Ian was good compensation.  In 2011, I was too preoccupied with being very pregnant that I didn't even bother making plans to get out in the bluebonnets.  This year, I was determined to get some shots!  Luckily for me, there are some GREAT fields of bluebonnets right by my office, so I could scope them out periodically and see if the time was right to bring out the kids.  Our first attempt this year was at high noon on a clear day, which I REALLY do not recommend for open field shots.  I honestly knew better (open sun tends to produce very harsh shadows and far from ideal conditions for subjects' eyes), but it seemed to be the only time and day that worked with my family's schedule.  I was very disappointed with the quality of photos, although I was able to make some interesting photos with a bit more processing effort.  Although I tend to like my photos processed as little as possible, there are a few newer effects in Picassa that yielded some interesting results.  To get some better straight out of the camera shots, I decided to stop by with the kids after work/school one day.  There was a little bit of cloud cover and the temperature and light were perfect!  Enjoy the flashback to spring!

 {Hello, Bluebonnet. @ 3/24/2012}

 {Little Boy Blue. @ 3/24/2012}

 {W-w-w-w-w-hat are you doing? (going through a bit of a stutter phase) @ 3/24/2012}

 {Eyelashes Galore. @ 3/24/2012}

 {Favorite. @ 3/24/2012}

 {Squint. Or why not to photograph at high noon in an open field. @ 3/24/2012}

 {On the other hand, without sun I wouldn't have gotten this adorable shot. @ 3/24/2012}

 {Happy Girl.  Not the best light here, but I love her expression. @ 3/24/2012}

 {Wisps and Bluebonnets. @ 3/24/2012}

 {Daddy and Ian.  After a timeout, I believe. @ 3/24/2012}

 {Love her laugh. @ 3/24/2012}

 {Rare picture of me with the kids. @ 3/24/2012}

 {Ellen and Flower. @ 3/28/2012}

{Sweet Baby Ellen. @ 3/28/2012}

 

 {Goofy Ian, but beautiful light. @ 3/28/2012}

{Curious. @ 3/28/2012}

{Siblings. @ 3/28/2012}

 {Ian! @ 3/28/2012}

 {Ian, again. @ 3/28/2012}

Ellen, 12 months / ONE YEAR (5/11/2012)

Twelve Months – 5/11/2012

Dear Ellen,

Happiest of Birthdays to my Ellen! One year ago today you surprised us by arriving a week earlier than expected, very early in the morning. It was an easy birth, easy babyhood, and (fairly) easy first year. Here’s to many more celebrations to come! I thought with a second child that I would be more prepared with what to expect, and in many ways I am; in general I am more organized with all things Baby, outings, and taking photographs of you. The developmental milestones are less surprising but just as exciting, and maybe even more so. The 19 month difference between you and Ian magnifies the immense amount of change that occurs in the first couple of years, and I know before too long you will also be a toddler, a run-around buddy with Ian and getting into who-knows-what.

My Favorite Thing: The moment many proud parents are waiting for finally happened… you took your FIRST STEPS on April 24th. After those first steps, you didn’t really start walking full force. You could go from squatting to standing very easily but just wouldn’t venture to walk on your own (although you would do fairly well holding a hand). Then, during a weekend visit to Rowena the first weekend of May, you just started walking a LOT! In the past week, you have gradually transitioned to walking more than crawling, and I think a few more weeks of practice will see you walking very confidently. You are already VERY good at climbing, and we have to make sure we carefully monitor all step stools or stairs to make sure you aren’t scaling them unsupervised. I have a feeling you will be trying to climb out of your crib before too long.

Daily Activities and Playing: It is so fun to watch you play. You like to read to yourself and can generally find just about anything to play with. When you finish a task and we say, “You did it!” or “Good job, Ellen!” you like to clap for yourself. I can tell that you are also starting to understand a lot of what we are saying. You can follow very simple directions (hands down, sit down, turn the page) and are repeating via sign when we say a word you recognize. You are also starting to sign those words independently, trying to communicate a need to us. The most consistent signs are: more, please, thank you, water, milk, and all done. I can tell that you are sometimes frustrated by not being able to perfectly communicate to us as you are beginning to scream at us, especially at the dinner table. Usually we either ignore you, or say, “No thank you,” and show/tell you a sign that you can use. It only works about 50% of the time, though.

Sibling: Now that you are increasingly mobile and independent, play time with Ian is going more smoothly. I can leave the two of you playing alone in the playroom or one of your bedrooms while I take care of something close by in another room, and I can generally expect you to play peacefully. There are occasionally little fits if he takes a toy from you, but he will just as often either leave you alone or find toys to give to you. Some of my favorite moments are in the car, when the two of you are just talking and laughing together. You are also starting to imitate what Ian is saying in addition to what he is doing. So far he thinks it is hilarious… let’s see how that sits with him in five years.

Eating: You continue to eat up a storm, often eating as much as or more than Ian. You can eat more and more of the table food, needing very little modification. Now you are eating the same eggs as us (previously it was egg yolk only), which makes cooking up a batch of scrambled eggs so much easier! I am more adventurous with the foods I give you as compared to Ian, but you are also very willing to try new things. You will open your mouth for just about anything, although sometimes you will spit out the food if you don’t like the taste or texture. Sometimes you spit it out just to look at it before happily chowing down. You are still taking 4 bottles per day, and a few attempts to introduce a sippy cup with cow’s milk have not gone over well. However, when I give it to you in an open cup, you are glad to drink it! I think it will take a little while to transition you away from the bottle.

Sleeping: Sleeping continues to be very low key with no problems, and you typically sleep from 8 pm to 7am. You woke up a few nights around midnight needing to eat a bottle (when for some reason you didn’t drink enough milk during the day), but otherwise slept soundly. You like to have your blanket and pacifier before going to sleep. Our nightly ritual is: dinner, bath time, pajamas, read a book, turn out the hall lights, help close the bedroom door, turn off the lamp, and lay down to sleep with blanket and pacifier. We only allow the pacifier in the car seat and in the crib, and you are fine with that. I also noticed in the past several weeks that you no longer suck your thumb when the pacifier isn’t available, although I am not really sure when you stopped.

Special Events: Brooke and Dustin got married the first weekend of May. We traveled to Rowena on Friday morning, stopping for lunch in Weatherford and in Ballinger at the elementary school to visit Mimi. Everyone thought you were too cute, and you showed off your new walking skills. That weekend we had several chances to play outside and in the splash pool. You also rode the four wheeler for the first time with Daddy and then again with Grandpa! The noise didn’t bother you at all, and your “bravery” helped encourage Ian to try it for the first time as well. The wedding was short but fun; you didn’t make a peep during the ceremony and just crawled around after Ian for most of the reception. Your favorite part was the balloons.

Again, I didn't get any on the dot monthly photos, but I included a bunch from the week before your birthday when we were in Rowena.  I just got some really beautiful pictures out there in the shade.  I will share more when I add a post about your birthday party (post still TBD!!)

 {Beautiful Girl on a Beautiful Day; Ellen @ 5/4/2012}

{Clap your hands; Ellen @ 5/4/2012}

 {Sitting Pretty; Ellen @ 5/4/2012}

{So serious; Ellen @ 5/4/2012}

{Blonde Wisps; Ellen @ 5/4/2012}

 {There She Goes; Ellen @ 5/4/2012}

 

{Hanging on for dear life, apparently; Ellen @ 5/4/2012}

{Proof she likes to swing, Exhibit A; Ellen @ 5/6/2012}

{Proof she likes to swing, Exhibit B; Ellen @ 5/6/2012}

 {Proof she likes to swing, Exhibit C; Ellen @ 5/6/2012}

{Pick it up; Ellen @ 5/6/2012}

 {First ride on the 4-wheeler; Ellen @ 5/6/2012}

*This ride inspired Ian to take his first ride as well!

 {On the Farm (Rowena); Ellen @ 5/6/2012}

Ellen, 11 months (4/11/2012)

Eleven Months – 4/11/2012

Dear Ellen,

It’s beautiful outside, and you are blooming right along with the plants this spring. The months are speeding by, and I can’t believe we are on the back end of your first year! As always, time is flying by. I have already started thinking about your first birthday party and how we are going to celebrate with you.

My Favorite Thing: You are such a joy to have in our family, and I can’t wait to see what the coming months bring as your babyhood transitions into toddlerhood. Your personality is really developing, and you are becoming both more independent and more particular. Your attention span is growing and you can sit and focus on one task for a longer period of time.

Daily Activities and Playing: You are still not walking, but I can tell that your balance is getting better. You cruise along the cabinets and ottoman still, but you are starting to just stand up by yourself and stay standing for up to about a minute. I expect for you to start walking any day now! You have gotten really proficient at “filling and spilling” with assorted containers and objects. I like watching you concentrate on finishing the task before you, and you usually make sure that you have put all available items INTO the container before you start to unload it. You have also started wanting to read more. You either stand at the bookshelf in your room to peruse the selection, or you find some books on the floor and read by yourself for a while. You also have more patience when we are reading a book to us, looking at each page and carefully turning the page when it is time.

Sibling: If you could talk, I am sure you would tell us that Ian hung the moon. You love to watch him and talk to him, and he talks right back to you! You really like it when HE imitates YOU. You two laugh together and have started wrestling… although it is a little one sided as Ian has a definite size and balance advantage.

Eating: Your daily schedule has remained the same with 4 6 oz formula bottle feedings and 4-5 solid food meals per day. You still don’t always finish every bottle, sometimes leaving up to 1 or 2 ounces, but then you typically make up for that with increased water and solid food consumption. I am having trouble keeping track of everything that you eat… I call you my Little Garbage Disposal because I can almost guarantee that you will eat anything I put in front of you. If I give you something new, you will usually take it out of your mouth and look at it, but then you put it right back in and chow down. Some of the many things you eat: yogurt (you like it with banana and cinnamon), egg yolks with shredded Monterrey jack or cottage cheese, salmon, tilapia, chicken (usually dark meat, slow cooked or shredded), ground beef, any kind of legume (black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, etc), rice, carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, green beans, cucumber, zucchini, cooked bell pepper, just about any kind of fruit, bread, cheerios or KIX dry cereal, veggie straws … the list goes on and on. You are so easy to take to restaurants because you will eat just about anything off of my plate.

Sleeping: Night time sleep continues to be very good and consistent. You go to bed close to 8 PM and generally wake between 6 and 7, sometimes requiring a wake up call. At day care, you only take one long nap per day, right after lunch, and then again on both the morning and evening commutes. On the weekends, you still consistently take a mid morning nap and a late evening nap. You still use a pacifier and like to have a few favorite blankets. Usually there are no problems with you going to sleep, but if you resist going down for a nap or bedtime, I can usually put a toy in the crib with you and you will play with than for 5-10 minutes before settling down and falling asleep.

Special Events: Your first Easter was a success. After church, we went to Gram and Pops’ house to eat a delicious meal and then do an egg hunt. Unfortunately, it started to rain right after we snagged a big family photo (The Nokes were there too), so the egg hunt was indoors. You didn’t participate much this year and mostly just crawled after one or two eggs, so I am looking forward to the fun to be had at next Easter!

I didn't get any photos of the kids in their Easter attire because I was singing in the choir this year and Brandon was in charge of getting them ready in the morning, but I did redress them a week later for the 11 month photo shoot.  Ellen is wearing this dress out... I just love it so much!

{"Are you still taking pictures?"; Ellen @ 3/25/2012}

{Messy eater; Ellen @ 3/28/2012}

{Easter Egg Hunt (in backup outfit); Ellen @ 4/8/2012}

{Easter Dress, Front and Back; Ellen @ 4/15/2012}

{Happy Baby; Ellen @ 4/15/2012}

{Even Happier Baby; Ellen @ 4/15/2012}

  

{Window Washing; Ellen and Ian @ 4/15/2012}

{Beautiful Girl; Ellen @ 4/12/2012}

Ellen, 10 months (3/11/2012)

Ten Months – 3/11/2012

Dear Ellen,

Happy happy happy about sums up you at 10 months. You smile all of the time and have fun playing and observing others. You visibly brighten when you see me or Daddy, especially when picking you up from school.

My Favorite Thing: I love how you are starting to communicate. You have started signing “all done” and “more” and even adding more verbal communication. I swear one day you were saying “Mama!” to get my attention, and when I turned around you said, “Ah dah” (aka All done) while raising your hands in the air! I think you are a little confused about “All Done” versus “All Gone,” but we will get there. We still need to work on “More” and “Water” and “Please.” Also, when you try to tell me something in words or in sign, and I repeat it and get it right, you get a huge smile on your face.

Daily Activities and Playing: You are very independent and like to explore all over the house, but you generally stay out of trouble. You will sit and play on the piano or other toys in the play room, or you will sit and look through books by yourself. You are standing more and more but mostly holding onto our legs, the cabinets, or the ottoman. You took one step by yourself, but you aren’t really walking on your own and your balance needs time to develop. You still prefer to crawl everywhere since it gets you where you need to go FAST. I have honestly never seen a baby move so fast – you basically do a bear crawl RUN.

Sibling: You two get crazy together. Ian likes to report what you are doing (“Ellen touched me. Ellen play with that toy”) all of the time. You imitate everything he does, from splashing in the bath tub to banging on a toy, and it is very cute. Sometimes Ian likes to imitate you too! An interesting comparison between you and Ian is that your emotions seem to be more intense than his. Where Ian seemed generally content and easy going about just about anything, you tend to get very happy or very sad. Heaven help the one who takes a toy away from you. Crocodile tears and yelling ensue!

Eating: Nothing has changed in your daily schedule, although the milk source has gradually transitioned to all formula. I enjoyed the simplicity, ease, and time with you during nursing, but I couldn’t keep my milk supply high enough to satisfy you for dinner and didn’t want to spend hours every day pumping and washing bottles and other equipment, so I decided that we would move on after you were 9 months old. You get four 6 oz. bottles per day, spread out every 3-5 hours, but you don’t always finish all of them depending on your activity level and what kind of food you are eating. You usually eat 4 meals of food per day: breakfast, lunch, and snack at school and dinner at home. We haven’t had to serve any “baby” food in a while since you mostly just eat what we eat, with a few modifications. Some of the new things we have introduced: mango (steamed slightly to soften it), blueberries, strawberries, ground beef.

Sleeping: Night time sleep continues to be very good. You start getting sleepy around 7:30 or 7:45 and are usually in bed by 8:15. It is a breeze to put you to sleep; we read one or two books, give you a blanket and pacifier, and turn out the light. Usually you are trying to squirm out of my arms at that point so you can lay down, and you don’t have any patience for being rocked to sleep. At day care, you only take one long nap per day, right after lunch, and then again on both the morning and evening commutes. Every once in a while you are asleep when I come pick you up. On the weekends, you still consistently take a mid morning nap and a late evening nap.

Special Events: Your cousin James Luke Abney was born! We went to go visit him and Brooke in Rowena the very next week. He was very small and had a ton of fluffy hair. You didn’t notice him but Ian gave him a few kisses. Our family is going to be very busy over the next several years. The cousins will be stair stepped through consecutive grades in school with only one gap; Jack (then skip a grade), then Benjamin, Anna, Ian, you, and James! We are hoping you can all go to Texas A&M and maybe all live in a house together.

I didn't get to do a "photoshoot" for your 10 month milestone because we were traveling and quite busy... but I still got several good ones throughout the month.

{First Valentine's Day Cards}

{Crawl, baby, crawl; Ellen @ 2/26/2012}

 {Happy Baby; Ellen @ 2/26/2012}

 {Flying, courtesy of Daddy; Ellen @ 3/3/2012}

{Almost 10 months old; Ellen @ 5/10/2012}

 {Swing, swing, swing; Ellen @ 3/18/2012}