I wrote some for the blog, but it wouldn't post, so I will have to ask the webmaster to fix it for me so you can learn more about the family soon. Have a great day!
The Adoption
13 years ago
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Halloween
I wrote some for the blog, but it wouldn't post, so I will have to ask the webmaster to fix it for me so you can learn more about the family soon. Have a great day!answers to the standard questions
It has been since this summer since I updated this blog. We have had a lot going on, but mostly I have just needed to slow down. The girls are so awesome! I am glad I have made the effort to slow down and spend more conscious time with them.
Potty Training:
Rayna has been using the potty off and on since before Alizah was born. I thought she was potty trained and just being difficult when she would pee her pants 3 minutes after I asked her if she needed to go or choose to wear a diaper because she is a baby. And people would continue to tell me, some kids aren't ready until they are 3. Well, what I noticed in the last 3 weeks (and some days she is still choosing to wear a diaper) is that she can think about going on the potty and make a plan about it without prompting. Even overnight. So there is a cognitive shift that makes it not just mom training. And since I have a determined child I'll just have to continue to ask, are you going to wear a diaper or underwear today.
Sleeping Through the Night & Teething:
I wish we were. But it will be soon enough and my dad reminds me that by the time they are teenagers, I won't be able to get them out of bed. Alizah is getting a few more teeth. She has 2 front teeth and fangs on the top. The next 4 will be arriving soon (I hope because it has already been weeks), she sleeps terribly when she's teething, up about ever 2 hours. We moved her into Rayna's room this week hoping that would help if we weren't so close by, but it hasn't made much difference (except since I am not falling asleep nursing her in our bed and her pushing and turning all over when she is sleeping next to me and waking me, I am actually getting a little more rest). Rayna sleeps through most of the crying and when it is too much, she just crawls in our bed, which she was doing anyway.
What are the girls doing now?
More and more Rayna is reading books to herself. And singing more songs. She loves the Wiggles and sings lots of pertinent lines to the play she is doing. The other week Wiggle Safari was her favorite. 1 day we watched it 4 times, the rest of the week at least 2 times per day until she started to get crazy demanding and uncooperative and then no videos for a week. Lately the videos have been a treat for when she is going on the potty well and being nice to her sister.
Alizah is really on the move. She has been pulling up on the furniture since she started crawling at 4 months. She chases us around the house and loves to cruise the couch. She is very intrigued by what Rayna does and wants to be a part of it. Rayna doesn't want her so close or to share, so she likes to push (we have to go over how to touch and ask mom for help). Alizah loves to chase and she's starting to practice standing independently. Rayna is strong enough to move stools and chairs to get into high cupboards and on top of my dresser. In the last 2 weeks Rayna is really beginning to be more of a 3 year old, she loves to explore and do things herself and she's pretty quiet about it.
Snow:
We finally got some good snow this week, just after I put away all the forgotten yard stuff. Rayna was so excited there was a lot of snow and wanted to get her boots and snow pants on so she could help Levi shovel. Later that day she had me take her outside to pull her in the sled and she even went down a little sled hill 2 times by herself.
Potty Training:
Rayna has been using the potty off and on since before Alizah was born. I thought she was potty trained and just being difficult when she would pee her pants 3 minutes after I asked her if she needed to go or choose to wear a diaper because she is a baby. And people would continue to tell me, some kids aren't ready until they are 3. Well, what I noticed in the last 3 weeks (and some days she is still choosing to wear a diaper) is that she can think about going on the potty and make a plan about it without prompting. Even overnight. So there is a cognitive shift that makes it not just mom training. And since I have a determined child I'll just have to continue to ask, are you going to wear a diaper or underwear today.
Sleeping Through the Night & Teething:
I wish we were. But it will be soon enough and my dad reminds me that by the time they are teenagers, I won't be able to get them out of bed. Alizah is getting a few more teeth. She has 2 front teeth and fangs on the top. The next 4 will be arriving soon (I hope because it has already been weeks), she sleeps terribly when she's teething, up about ever 2 hours. We moved her into Rayna's room this week hoping that would help if we weren't so close by, but it hasn't made much difference (except since I am not falling asleep nursing her in our bed and her pushing and turning all over when she is sleeping next to me and waking me, I am actually getting a little more rest). Rayna sleeps through most of the crying and when it is too much, she just crawls in our bed, which she was doing anyway.
What are the girls doing now?
More and more Rayna is reading books to herself. And singing more songs. She loves the Wiggles and sings lots of pertinent lines to the play she is doing. The other week Wiggle Safari was her favorite. 1 day we watched it 4 times, the rest of the week at least 2 times per day until she started to get crazy demanding and uncooperative and then no videos for a week. Lately the videos have been a treat for when she is going on the potty well and being nice to her sister.
Alizah is really on the move. She has been pulling up on the furniture since she started crawling at 4 months. She chases us around the house and loves to cruise the couch. She is very intrigued by what Rayna does and wants to be a part of it. Rayna doesn't want her so close or to share, so she likes to push (we have to go over how to touch and ask mom for help). Alizah loves to chase and she's starting to practice standing independently. Rayna is strong enough to move stools and chairs to get into high cupboards and on top of my dresser. In the last 2 weeks Rayna is really beginning to be more of a 3 year old, she loves to explore and do things herself and she's pretty quiet about it.
Snow:
We finally got some good snow this week, just after I put away all the forgotten yard stuff. Rayna was so excited there was a lot of snow and wanted to get her boots and snow pants on so she could help Levi shovel. Later that day she had me take her outside to pull her in the sled and she even went down a little sled hill 2 times by herself.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Halloweeen Fun
We went trick-or-treating in downtown Eau Claire yesterday afternoon. That way Rayna could see the costumes in the daylight (she's still pretty afraid of masks and some costumes, even though she loves Halloween books). The Halloween Witch came and traded most of Rayna's candy for a book, The Monster under the Shed (Thomas and Friends).
Cut and paste this link to see Levi and Rayna dressed up, they are the 3rd photo.
http://www.leadertelegram.com/Multimedia/TrickorTreat2008/index.html
Cut and paste this link to see Levi and Rayna dressed up, they are the 3rd photo.
http://www.leadertelegram.com/Multimedia/TrickorTreat2008/index.html
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Hi
We're still here. Hope everyone is well, and wish you a very happy day. It is sunny and warm, and we plan on packing a picnic and taking a ride to the pumpkin patch for some fall afternoon fun.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
July
I just joined the Eastside hill Less Grass group. I put a few pictures of our gardens online.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lessgrass/
Everything is growing now that I've put some time into getting the weeds out and the rabbits must have found something else to eat.
I'm done with Mulberries. And after 1 failed attempt at fruit leather and 1 saved job, I am on round 4 of attempts and only 6 more to go before I give up. I think, like the jam, I will have it figured out by then.
May and June
The months of May and June were extremely busy. My cousin Bobbi got married and so my sisters were home to visit. (see photos http://picasaweb.google.com/levifelling/June2008
Alizah has learned to roll over both ways, although now that she has the back to belly roll over mastered, she forgets to roll to her back when she is tired. She also really gets her heels into the floor and scoots around. I love her laugh! She's a really easy going baby most of the time. I have been practicing Chinese Pediatric Massage on her for her colic and excess drool- it is helping a lot! I am really excited about what I've been learning and so have practiced on a couple other babies (1 with vomiting and 1 with constipation) with a lot of success. So, I bought another book about it to continue learning.
These are a few photos of the girls around home between our busy schedule.
Alizah has learned to roll over both ways, although now that she has the back to belly roll over mastered, she forgets to roll to her back when she is tired. She also really gets her heels into the floor and scoots around. I love her laugh! She's a really easy going baby most of the time. I have been practicing Chinese Pediatric Massage on her for her colic and excess drool- it is helping a lot! I am really excited about what I've been learning and so have practiced on a couple other babies (1 with vomiting and 1 with constipation) with a lot of success. So, I bought another book about it to continue learning.
These are a few photos of the girls around home between our busy schedule.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Father's Day Adventure
This year Sarah took me on an adventure for Father's Day. Actually, it wasn't on Father's Day but it was to get my surprise Father's Day present. This is quite funny in it's own because for forever I've teased Sarah that she cannot not keep a secret. So her putting this together and keeping it from me was a pretty big deal.
So the morning of our adventure we packed a picnic, got the kids together, and set off for adventure. We had a beautiful hour and a half drive through northwestern Wisconsin. As we drove my mind wandered over the possibilities, several times wondering out loud as to our destination, but Sarah was not going to give this one away. She merely laughed and shrugged off my suggestions: hot air balloon ride, wood fired pizza, garden sculpture, new drums, a goat, motorcycle.
Finally, we had arrived. Sarah pulled out her directions and verified the fire number by the mailbox of a rural driveway. We pulled up to a typical country home: well kept gardens, many flowers, birds, a big friendly dog, and I was introduced to Nels Linde. Still no clue what we are doing, Nels lead us to his showroom. It was only then that I saw the room full of drums and percussion instruments that I realized that Nels was the owner of HawkDancing Studios. Nels is renown in the industry for providing top quality, professionally instruments, made in Africa by master drum builders.
I guess now I need to give you the back story. It's probably not new to you that I'm into drums, I have been for a long time. I bought my first drum when I was about 10 yrs old at Global Village in St. Paul, it was a African hand-drum commonly called a talking drum. I had just finished reading Drumming at the Edge of Magic, a wonderful book that explores the rituals, spiritual, emotional, and healing aspects of the drum in different cultures throughout history. I was hooked and had an incessant need to learn more and experience more. I soon bought a drum set, started playing in a 8 piece blues/show band, had several grungy garage bands, sold a drum set, bought a better drum set, met and opened for Asleep at the Wheel, Forrester Sister's, Buddy Guy, Luther Alison, toured Europe, bought a couple more drum sets, released a CD, released another cd, started a band, and another band, and on and on.
Towards the end of high-school, I got word that the local university was going to be putting on a production that was set in Africa, and involved much drumming and dancing. Furthermore, they had a budget and would be bringing in a professional drummer who would be in residence for several months to instruct the musicians in West African music. I jumped on the opportunity, and as a high-school student enrolled in the theater class so that I could play drums in the play. This is where I really learned about West-African drums, and the Djembe - the lead drum in a West-African drum ensemble.
Skip ahead a few years to when Sarah and I got married. When we where planning our ceremony we knew we wanted enough pomp and circumstance to make the event significant, but we didn't have any desire for a traditional wedding. So drawing from our individual experiences and backgrounds we designed a ceremony that honored each other, the earth, our elders, our guests. The music for our ceremony would be provided by four djembe drummers playing traditional West-African rhythms.
Sarah tells me that I've been teaching our girls drums, and that this gift is for me to further share my experience and joy for this music with them. She's right, I sing rhythms to them, give them phrases to repeat, allow them to explore the instruments, and encourage them to express themselves. I never dreamed how much fun this would be, and now to have Sarah sharing this experience with me is wonderful. Thank you Sarah!
So the morning of our adventure we packed a picnic, got the kids together, and set off for adventure. We had a beautiful hour and a half drive through northwestern Wisconsin. As we drove my mind wandered over the possibilities, several times wondering out loud as to our destination, but Sarah was not going to give this one away. She merely laughed and shrugged off my suggestions: hot air balloon ride, wood fired pizza, garden sculpture, new drums, a goat, motorcycle.
Finally, we had arrived. Sarah pulled out her directions and verified the fire number by the mailbox of a rural driveway. We pulled up to a typical country home: well kept gardens, many flowers, birds, a big friendly dog, and I was introduced to Nels Linde. Still no clue what we are doing, Nels lead us to his showroom. It was only then that I saw the room full of drums and percussion instruments that I realized that Nels was the owner of HawkDancing Studios. Nels is renown in the industry for providing top quality, professionally instruments, made in Africa by master drum builders.
I guess now I need to give you the back story. It's probably not new to you that I'm into drums, I have been for a long time. I bought my first drum when I was about 10 yrs old at Global Village in St. Paul, it was a African hand-drum commonly called a talking drum. I had just finished reading Drumming at the Edge of Magic, a wonderful book that explores the rituals, spiritual, emotional, and healing aspects of the drum in different cultures throughout history. I was hooked and had an incessant need to learn more and experience more. I soon bought a drum set, started playing in a 8 piece blues/show band, had several grungy garage bands, sold a drum set, bought a better drum set, met and opened for Asleep at the Wheel, Forrester Sister's, Buddy Guy, Luther Alison, toured Europe, bought a couple more drum sets, released a CD, released another cd, started a band, and another band, and on and on.
Towards the end of high-school, I got word that the local university was going to be putting on a production that was set in Africa, and involved much drumming and dancing. Furthermore, they had a budget and would be bringing in a professional drummer who would be in residence for several months to instruct the musicians in West African music. I jumped on the opportunity, and as a high-school student enrolled in the theater class so that I could play drums in the play. This is where I really learned about West-African drums, and the Djembe - the lead drum in a West-African drum ensemble.
Skip ahead a few years to when Sarah and I got married. When we where planning our ceremony we knew we wanted enough pomp and circumstance to make the event significant, but we didn't have any desire for a traditional wedding. So drawing from our individual experiences and backgrounds we designed a ceremony that honored each other, the earth, our elders, our guests. The music for our ceremony would be provided by four djembe drummers playing traditional West-African rhythms.
Sarah tells me that I've been teaching our girls drums, and that this gift is for me to further share my experience and joy for this music with them. She's right, I sing rhythms to them, give them phrases to repeat, allow them to explore the instruments, and encourage them to express themselves. I never dreamed how much fun this would be, and now to have Sarah sharing this experience with me is wonderful. Thank you Sarah!
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