Our Cuties

Just some great photos of our kids for you to enjoy... They were both helping Daddy rake leaves in our backyard!

Big brother, growing big

Yesterday was a big day for the big brother, Sebastian. This was the day’s events for a growing 21 month old:

1. Woke up asking for kefir… yes, kefir! How many 21 month olds ask for kefir first thing in the morning?

2. Went pee pee in the potty STANDING UP for the first time!

3. Climbed into his highchair all by himself (see video):

4. Finished the day by eating way more Ethiopian food than I did, all the while insisting that he pull off his own pieces of injera and scoop up his food properly.

Happy 1st birthday!

Can you guess what I've been doing to start celebrating my big 1st birthday?!? Boy, do I have stories to tell!

Eating is fun!

This kiddo loves the food his mommy makes for him! I hope he laughs like this forever!

The visit

Today was Sebastian's 9 month well child check... at about 9 1/2 months. He's getting to be such a big boy!

He weighed in at 20 lbs, 2.5oz (40%); height was 29 inches (67%); head circumference was 18.5 inches (87%). That's right... our baby continues to have a big head! I'd like to think it's full of brains, of course! ;)

He got one shot and did great... he only had a few, brief seconds of wimper.

In the past couple of days, he's started clapping at EVERYthing, shaking his head "no" (I'd really like to know how he learned that - sigh...), and cruising holding on to things. He's also started making a very interesting sound by smacking his tongue on the top of his mouth repeatedly.

He got his first taste of spinach today and wasn't the biggest fan. When I disguised it with his curried carrots, he didn't seem to mind, until he figured out that I was mixing the two and started to shake his head "no" anytime I would put his spoon near the bowl that had spinach! I'm sure he'll learn to love it soon enough. Last night I also made a Mediterranean Chicken Vegetable dish from an organic baby cookbook that my MIL gave me for my birthday. Sebastian was a bit uncertain of the first couple of bites, but didn't seem to mind after awhile. This was indeed an adventure and a burst of a few new flavors for him (I know - breaking the rules, adding multiple new things at one time), because it had onions, red peppers, rosemary and potatoes, none of which had been tried before. It also had zucchini, carrots and chicken, which are old standards for Sebbie. Tim and I love bold flavors, so we're hoping to season our son in a similar way!

Oh yeah - that little white line in his bottom gum has become a little more evident, but he's stil trying very hard to hide it well. He's definitely not interested in showing it off much.

Alas, the journey continues... each new day is something fresh and exciting. We're having a blast at this parenting thing. So much to do and so much to learn!

Dancing with my baby

Just remembering happy times when I was dancing with Sebastian in a playground that overlooks the ocean in California.  Sebastian loves loves loves the outdoors… and I’m certain he just can’t wait to get his little toes kissed by blades of grass on his bare feet.  It seems like he’ll soon be doing his own dance, or at least running all over the place.  :)

A good dose of happy!

If you're needing something to brighten your day, take a look at this cutie pie having a grand old time in his bouncer!

9 Months

Our boy is growing like a weed! Yesterday he turned 9 months old! He’s been getting into anything and everything. He’s crawling all over the place, pushing himself up on all fours, and also pulling himself up onto all things, including our glass coffee table in the living room. He must think it is a good teething apparatus, because he climbs up to it and starts gumming away!

We still haven’t seen any teeth, but his grandma M gave him some teething biscuits for Valentine’s Day, which we let him try, and he LOVED! See for yourself: Sebastian seems to be on a stretch of sleeping through the night, about which we’re not really complaining. It’s such a joy to find him wake up in the morning with a smile on his face and talking.

He’s started becoming more interested in books and turning the pages rather than eating them…although, we think he might be learning Hebrew, because he seems to turn the pages in the opposite direction.

Unfortunately, he’s had another cold over the past week, which has kept us on our toes with tissues in hand. The nose has been a leaky faucet, but it seems like, bit by bit, he’s getting better. His little cough lingers on, but he doesn’t seem to mind so much anymore.

Our little guy continues to be super happy, social and friendly. We’re so thankful to have a kiddo with such a wonderful personality. It’s impossible to not fall more and more in love with him (and each other) every day. God has blessed us beyond measure!

Beach fun

The last day of our vacation - before catching the red eye home - we hung out at the beach. Tim & I packed up Sebastian, his two second cousins and some lunches, and we headed to the beach. It was a far cry from bathing suit weather, but we had a blast playing with the kids. And they had a fabulous time, too! Just look at the pictures below – they tell a thousand words… or at least a thousand laughs, giggles and shrieks of joy!

Sebastian LOVED the sand. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he immediately shoveled handfuls of it into his mouth.

The boys became great friends with Sebastian and really seemed to enjoy playing with him. They were so gentle and tender with him – it was endearing. This picture makes me very happy. :)

Here are a few of my favorite pics from our time at the beach (there were lots of great ones; it was hard to choose!).

Air born!

Contemplating the water…

The cold, cold water didn’t go over so well with Sebbie.

We’re making our way to a pose for the camera.

These guys are the sweetest… they call each other “brother” when addressing one another. It’s super cute to hear them talk.

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Everyone was wet, wet, wet! We had the boys strip down to their skibbies before we drove home :).

And these photos just sort of sum up the good times had by all! They make me smile. A lot!

We were so thrilled to be able to hang out with my cousins during the time we were out in California. It was great to get to know the boys better and to just be with the whole gang. Oops! I’m realizing that I didn’t get any photos of the adult cousins! Gulp. Well, I guess we have to make another trip to take some group shots. That’s just fine by me… ;)

Some more photos to come later…

Happy Valentine's Day!

One of my favorites from our recent trip to California...

lots of lovin' from Sebastian!

Hope you're feeling the LOVE today and everyday!

P.S. My hubby rocks. I woke up this morning to yummy pancakes that he and Sebastian made for me... in the shape of a heart! How sweet are my boys?!?

17 minutes...to California

We're learning some lessons about traveling with an infant... we're still not experts after our first airplane trip, but all in all, our trip has been so, so wonderful! Sebastian has been a champ! He essentially slept for our entire first flight from Harrisburg to Atlanta, which was a total blessing. Our flight took off late from Harrisburg, which meant that we only had SEVENTEEN minutes to catch our connecting flight from Atlanta to LA. If you've ever been to Atlanta, or travelled some, you might know that it's the. busiest. airport. in the world. Yes, in the world. And we only had 17 minutes. With an infant, two backpacks, a diaper bag and a stroller. While Seb was still sleeping, I put him in the sling, knowing that we were going to have to bolt through the airport... although I was pretty resigned to spending the night in Atlanta already. Tim told me to run, and that he would catch up to me. So I had a small backpack and a baby in a sling and I went running. Meanwhile, Tim had everything else and trucked on behind me. When I got to the tram, I decided that I'd rather wait for Tim to catch up than to be at the gate two or three terminals away without a husband OR a diaper bag. So I waited. And he caught up. And then we ran again, together. I was in total and utter disbelief when I got to the gate, and there was a gentleman smiling and greeting me. He asked how I was, and I was essentially too out of breath to answer. Then he took our tickets and let us on the plane!

The worst part about it all was that I was dying to go to the bathroom, for what seemed like hours. On the first flight I had Sebastian on my lap asleep (directly on top of bladder). In the airport, I had no business even thinking of going to the bathroom. And on our next flight, we got on too late to consider it before take-off, then we flew right into turbulence, so it seemed like FOREVER til they turned off the fasten seat belt sign. But finally the opportunity came... and I was so thankful!

We had a happy baby on the flight - he was laughing, smiling, and flirting with the woman behind us. He loved to look out the windows at the clouds. We learned to be thankful for puffs. They kept him occupied and quiet. He wasn't bothered by the pressure change. He did great! Didn't cry once. I missed out on the diaper changing experience of the year, because Tim pulled the short straw. Not really... he just loves changing diapers, so changing one on the plane didn't seem out of the ordinary. Til he got back into the tiny bathroom. And had a poopy diaper. Plus a squirmy baby (who loves to get his hands into anything and everything, including that which can be found in the diaper). There was nowhere to lay him down, so he changed him on top of the toilet. Plus he had a baby in need of a change of clothes after spitting up all over the place. He told me later he was hoping I would have gotten the telepathic message he was sending to have me get up out of my seat and go help him out, but I missed it. It went straight to voice mail!

Once we arrived in LA, we weren't surprised at all to find that our luggage wasn't around. We had to go through the process of registering our bags. Tim took care of that, while I fed Sebastian in his stroller. Our bags were expected to arrive in Santa Barbara the next morning. We eventually headed out to get our rental car. Once we got that taken care of, we were on our way into the LA traffic - essentially a stand-still parking lot that took us about an hour to go 15 miles.

We made some stops along the way - a jaunt into Target for toothbrushes, underwear and other essentials that we didn't have packed in our carry-on, because we were too busy worrying about packing for Sebastian - and some dinner. We were thankful and excited to finally pull into the driveway at my cousin's house about 4 or 5 hours after landing. Hooray! Not bad for our first airplane trip. Not bad at all. Sure, there were some bumps and bruises... nevermind the fact that our baby was picking things up off the airplane bathroom floor and putting them in his mouth... but we made it! No luggage, but all in one piece and so, so, so happy to be in Santa Barbara with folks we love to hang out with.

And it's not everyday you get to see a sign like this:

Gosh, I love California. My cousins have about 4 avocado trees in their yard, along with grapefruit, oranges, lemons and limes. Note: this sign was not found in their yard, but rather at a house down the street. Made me laugh, though. Especially because, except for mangos, avocados are probably the only other fruit I would consider ripping off someone else's tree. He he. I have a bit of an avocado addiction...:) And no, I've never ripped an avocado off of someone's tree. Just thought about it, that's all.

I intended to get some pictures of Seb on his first plane ride, but that didn't happen...so maybe on the flight home. I did get a couple of pics from our trip to the playground. Seb had his first ride down the slide with Tim, and I got a cutie shot of his little second cousin. So fun!

8 months!

 

Hard to believe, but true!  Little Seb is 8 months old today!  Incredible!  I’m still trying to figure out where the time has gone. 

For his eight month birthday, we got him passport photos… in preparation for his first international trip!  We’ll be heading to the motherland - Nicaragua - in the Spring.  This is also where we went on our babymoon, and where the inspiration for Sebastian’s name came from, so it will be a special trip.

Today was also the day that Sebastian used his stroller for the first time as a full-blown stroller, instead of just the car seat attached to the stroller base.  Surprise, surprise!  We still love our Quinny, and Sebastian loves it too.  He enjoyed sitting up like a big boy (doesn’t he just look so big?!) and smiling at all the folks around.  He’s already such a flirt! 

We’re working on baby-proofing the house these days – or at least thinking about.  I got one gate from a friend, and I’m going to go shopping for some more for our babysitters.  We’ll need to check out our house from Sebastian’s level VERY soon… I can tell already that there are lots of wonderful goodies staring him in the eyes when he’s on the floor!  He’s not crawling forward yet, but getting up on all fours, rocking back and forth and scooting backwards.  And man, can he go when he’s pushing himself backwards across our hardwood floors!  It’s fun to watch, but also hard to watch him grow up and change so fast! 

The biggest stressor of the day was spending almost 2 hours in a panic, not able to find Sebastian’s birth certificate or social security card… both of which I needed not only for his passport application, but also to get him on the plane to visit my wonderful cousins in California – a trip coming up very, very soon.  But we sorted through piles and piles, took some deep breaths, paused to pray about it, and then rejoiced when they showed up right where they should have – in the folder I had intentionally placed them in (for safe keeping – ha!) many months ago.  Now they’re headed straight for the safe as soon as I’m done with them.  Phew!

So there you have it.  Eight months old and counting.  Counting oh, so fast!

germs

Germs. We have them. And it seems like we have a lot of them. We've been passing around some kind of crazy illness since the second week of December, essentially. And quite frankly, we're tired. Tired of being sick. Forgive me in advance for the dissertation on our germ fest over the past month or so.

It all started with a runny nose on our baby that popped up a couple of days after hanging out with three other children with colds. Not surprising. But it's come and gone and come and gone. Turned into a cough, then throw in some teething action - without producing any teeth - make the runny nose go away, the cough get a little better, then a fever for three days, then the cough get worse, and worse yet, then the runny nose and snot all over the place come back with a vengeance, and on, and on, and on. That's Sebastian's story. And that's where we are with him now. Humidifier. Nasal saline (he LOVES this). Tissues. Burp clothes. Vaseline. Tylenol. Motrin. And more of all of the above. Oh yeah, there were some homeopathic teething drops in there somewhere, too. It seems like it will never end. Last night seemed like the worst. Poor little Seb kept waking up because he couldn't breath. He seemed so helpless, sad and pathetic. It broke my heart. And there I was trying to mother him as best I could, all the while polishing off an entire box of tissues. Geez. It was tough to have a bad night. We were both very tired, and I was feeling total blah. We had had three nights of awesome-ness just before the regression last night. Check this out: our little boy slept from 8pm til 6am three - count it, three - nights in a row! Ahhh... such bliss! And such a blessing. We were thankful for the break, because the three nights prior to that, he had been up every few hours. It almost felt like the first few weeks of his life all over again! And then there was the breakthrough. Ahhh...so good while it lasted.

Timmy - fortunately - seems to be on the mend. We hope. He had been coughing since December 23rd, and it finally started to sound deeper in his chest and more wet. He was coughing all night long. For weeks. He would wake me up, and occasionally wake Seb up, despite multiple attempts at curtailing the cough with a variety of medicinals and home remedies. I asked one of my partners and friends to call in a prescription for a Z-pak on Tuesday. After a month, I guess he finally felt worn down enough to consider it. Nothing else had worked. Tim started taking the antibiotics the next day. He doesn't recall ever taking antibiotics before. Ever. Yowsers! Forty years and no antibiotics? At least that he remembers... He did have his appendix out at one point, so I'm pretty sure he got some in the OR. And maybe when he got his wisdom teeth out? Who knows! Point is, he's almost done with them, and he's been seeming so. much. better. Not 100%. But better. He's not up all night long coughing, which is huge. Huge.

And then there's me. I feel like I take one step forward and two steps back. I've had the hacking and congestion that everyone else has had. It was a dry cough with a sore throat. Then one day it was total body aches, fatigue, a headache, chills, then a fever, which broke in the middle of the night, and I woke up drenched. Then the light at the end of the tunnel. Slowly, but surely, I was starting to feel better. Until four days ago. When it all started again. This time with a leaky faucet, i.e. my nose, that wouldn't stop running, congestion, and a bit of a cough (still lingering). The trash can is overflowing with tissues, and I've put vaseline on my raw little nose. And my options for what I can take are a bit limited because I'm nursing. I'm probably more strict about it than I really need to be. But everything that goes into my body has the potential to be passed on to Sebastian, and I take that really seriously. So I've been sticking with the box of tissues and some Ricola lozenges.

We took Seb to the doctor's yesterday. His first "sick visit." I needed another set of eyes. Objective eyes. And we love Dr. Donna, so it was nice to have a visit anyways. We were given the option of getting a chest X-ray, treating him with antibiotics, or waiting it out a little while longer. We decided to continue watching him to see if he improves or worsens. Of course, last night he came up with a whole new list of symptoms. Perfect timing - wait til after the doctor's appointment to spice up the story a little bit more. But, he hasn't had more fever since two weekends ago. His lungs sound clear, he's eating well, and gaining wait. Yesterday he was a whopping 19lbs, 1oz! He continues to laugh and smile and be the same happy baby he always is. What an excellent reminder he is for us! In the midst of feeling lousy, he's capable of finding and expressing JOY. It would be an amazing world if everyone had the ability to laugh and smile like my precious little baby, even in the midst of illness. Simply amazing.

So, I'm pretty sure this is all probably viral - one virus after another with many faces, shapes and sizes, being passed from one of us to another and back again. But it's getting old. So please, Mr. Germs. Please, please, please go away. We've tolerated you long enough. And we're ready to bid you farewell. Goodbye. Oh, and you can leave the rest of my family alone, too. Every last member of my family - with the exception of my M-I-L and F-I-L - has been sick in some way or another over the past month. So go away. Thanks. PS. We need you to go away before we go away. Seb + sick on his first plane ride = disaster.

Oh, and just so you don't think you're gonna get a post without a picture, here's Seb loving his new car seat. I'll have tell you the new car seat story some day. Good times. :)

Laughs and kisses for mommy

Baby Seb shares laughs and kisses with mommy... at least when not distracted by daddy. We're learning just how easily distracted an almost 8 month old can be during pretty much all things. And, we're having fun with our new Flip video camera - capturing memories!

The final gift

We stretched Sebastian’s Christmas gifts over several weeks, so as to not overwhelm him… and he finally opened one of the most exciting gifts – the final gift.

My cousin’s wife, Crystal, had agreed to make a quilt to match Seb’s nursery, and then she made several pillows to match as well. My plan is that these will be used in a corner in his room where he’ll play and read. Perhaps someday when he’s older, they’ll actually adorn a big-boy bed that he may have!

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE what she came up with! It’s great! And everything matches perfectly! I had chosen a variety of fabrics for her to use, and she went to town.

She used the remnants of the curtains from his room to do some of the accent circles and eventually that same fabric will be the backing on his quilt. We’re having Tim’s best friend’s mother do the actual quilting for us – this will be something very special and sentimental for Tim.

Thank you, Crystal! We love the goods, and know that Sebastian will treasure them for years and years to come. It’s so wonderful to have them made by family, too! That makes it all just that much more special and fantastic!

Stay tuned for a future post when the quilt is 100% done, and the nursery is all put together…. Now go on over to Crystal’s shop and find yourself some goodies! You’ll be pleasantly surprised. :)

Merry Christmas! Love Sebastian

A long, long time ago, before he was born, I wrote a letter to Sebastian. In that letter, I talked about how Tim & I had decided to keep a running tab of all the purchases we made for Sebastian each year, and at the end of the year, make a donation in his honor to an organization that provides care for children around the world. I have to admit that I don’t do a great job of keeping a budget or documenting finances, but this is something that we took seriously, so I tried to keep up with it as best I could. After some research and deliberation, Tim & I decided to contribute a percentage of the purchases we had made for Seb to World Vision. We believe in their ministry and know that the money we shared with them will be put to very good use. We also tried to be intentional about which categories we selected to direct the funds we were contributing. Sebastian played an active role in the selection process, too! We showed him pictures of different children, projects, ministries, etc., and if he laughed or smiled, it seemed like it was a good fit!

Here’s the list of things that Sebastian gave as his Christmas gift to the children of the world in 2009:

• Clothing for Children
• Orphans and Widows Fund
• Clean Water Fund
• $350 Worth of Necessities in the USA (through matching gift donations from corporations in the USA)
• Education for 1 Child
• Bicycle for a Girl
• Provide $490 Worth of Clothing (through matching gift donations from corporations in the USA)
• 2 Soccer Balls
• Art and Music Instruction
• Bed Nets for a Family
• Help for Children with Disabilities
• New Mother and Baby Kit
• Immunizations
• Provide $490 Worth of Medicines (provided by co-sponsoring pharmaceutical companies)

These are all things that we have been or will be able to readily provide for Sebastian, so we wanted to share them with others less fortunate. Our hope is that, over time, Sebastian will develop a deep understanding of the worlds’ needs and grow a passion and love for the children of the world. Our prayer is that we will continue to be able to model this for him. Tim and I have both experienced poverty and the tremendous need that exists around the globe, and we feel compelled to give of our time and resources in order to help to bring equality and basic needs of life to others. We’re already praying about and planning our first family missions trip for later this year.

Sebastian also had the chance to prepare school kits for Mennonite Central Committee with his Grandma. This is something that she does every year with each of her grandchildren at Christmastime. And even though Sebastian is the youngest of them all, he really enjoyed stuffing those bags! (Never mind the slobber-drenched onesie he’s wearing – that’s just part of normal life around here.)

Many thanks, by the way, to Sebastian’s aunt, Tia Lydia, who made the Christmas card with Sebastian at the top of this post. It was such a special surprise to find that in his bag when he got home from her house his last visit before Christmas! It sounded like he really got a kick out of his first painting experience! Sebastian is so fortunate to spend quality time with his aunt and each of his grandmothers. We are incredibly BLESSED and THANKFUL for their presence in his life and the CARE they provide for him.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! LOVE SEBASTIAN

One-oh-one-point-three.

101.3. Sigh. That was Seb's temp before I put him down to bed tonight...and that was an hour after Tylenol. It was a rectal temp, so pretty darn accurate. He started with a fever last night, and was 101.3 in his arm pit, but that was before any medicine. It's so. so. hard. Soooo hard to see your baby sick. He's just not himself. He's had a cough and runny nose for what seems like forever, but now the cough seems worse. And he's had a couple episodes of vomitting. He's more clingy than usual, and his cheeks are so rosy they look like left-over holiday pointsettas. Our dear, dear Sebastian, however, continues to smile and laugh in between his whimpers, moans and groans. We are blessed by his joyful spirit that shines through at all times!
Being the worry-wart that I can tend to be (especially when it comes to my boys) I've listened to his lungs a couple of times today, and they seem fine. The battery for my otoscope is dead, so I can't check his ears. And that message that I'm expecting to light up on his forehead indicating he's teething has yet to work as I wish it would. I'd like to believe this is all from teething, but I think that'd be a bit foolish of me, Doctor Mom.
I sent Tim to the pharmacy to buy a few more supplies tonight - tylenol, ibuprofen, nasal saline and homeopathic teething pellets. So far we haven't had to use any of it, but we're prepared for anything that lies ahead.
So, pray. Pray for our little baby boy. Please. We trust God to restore him to health and give thanks in advance for how that will occur. We also could use your prayers for the healing of our own bodies, that have been beaten down by cough, congestion, sore throat, etc. Pray, too, for healing of the bodies of almost all of Sebastian's cousins and his aunts and uncles and half of his grandparents, who have also experienced the whole gamut of symptoms. Seems like whatever nasty bugs that are floating around out there are really doing a number on all of us!
Thanks for walking on the journey with us, in health and illness. We appreciate you all!

For Aunt Bev...

A video especially for Aunt Bev... Sebastian checking out his new sippy cup!

More fun in the snow!

As promised - here are more photos of Sebastian's first big snow storm... The snow is mostly melted by now, and it's bitter cold outside.  It doesn't seem to bother Seb one bit... He still loves the outdoors, of course.  I'm wondering when we'll get him his first pair of snowshoes or hiking boots! Love, love, love this cutie pie!