Thankful

If Ryker could talk, he'd say he was thankful for people making eye contact with him, for his swaddle blanket (still), for his pacifier, for windows and mirrors, and most of all for his big brother.

Jack, who CAN talk but clearly is still missing the concept of Thanksgiving, told me he's thankful for his tools and for blueberry muffins. Once he was sleepy and cuddly he told me he was thankful for "all deez people."

Chuck and I have a slightly larger, deeper* list. We're thankful that we have two healthy, happy kids. (In particular I'm thankful that the scoop chose to miss Jackson's eyeball.) We're thankful for our families and for the memories of those who are no longer with us. We're thankful for our home, our jobs, our friends, and each other.

(*Chuck's shallower list includes our new TV, his iPod, and his tools - including his new flexible bit extension. My shallower list includes our new TV, chocolate, our fireplace, Bob Shieffer, my gift card to DSW that I still haven't spent, and coffee. Said TV, family, children, iPod, and fireplace can be seen below.)

We're very lucky people. Happy Thanksgiving.

How We Roll

This is what Ryker did while his big brother was at the hospital:

These are the stitches:

And this is how he talks to Uncle Ry Ry on the phone:

Captain's Log - 11/25/08

12:00am - I'm up and feeding Ryker.

2:15am - Ditto.

4:30am - Ditto.

6:30am - Ditto.

7:30am - Jackson is cranky. Keeps telling us that maybe he's cranky because he's tired. Yeah, us too buddy.

8:00am - Chuck transporting kids to daycare. I'm buying bagels for a colleague's birthday.

9:00am - Eating bagels and drinking coffee at work. Feeling good.

10:50am - Jackson is at park with daycare, sits on scoop equipment, pulls handle up and handle hits Jackson in the left eyebrow. Jack screams, tells Miss Kay he's tired. Miss Kay thinks "head injury + blood + tired = carry 45 pound Jackson 5 blocks back to daycare." [Miss Kay earns big brownie points from Banjostrands for taking such good care of our big dude.]

11:00am - Call from Chuck saying "someone" needs to go pick Jackson up from daycare. "Someone" = me.

11:15am - I arrive at daycare to see Jack's eyebrow caked with blood - want to yell "Dear God!" and run the other direction. [Full disclosure - my first of six concussions was result of sight of lots of blood.]

11:15.5am - Realize I'm the Mommy and can't run. Ever. Give Jack a hug so as to avert my eyes.

11:20-11:45am - Sit in van in daycare parking lot on hold with doctor's office. Leave a message with triage nurse, who promises they'll call me back. Drive slowly home.

12:00-2:00pm - Keep Jack awake and playing, talking, eating, running around while watching for signs of concussion. None noted, but eyebrow is still nasty.

2:00pm - Finally let Jack take a nap. I work from home.

4:00pm - Doc office calls - talk to nurse who promises to talk to doc and call me back.

5:45pm - Nurse calls back and says to take him to Children's Hospital if we want. We've been trying to think of excuses to head over there, so this is perfect!

6:00pm - Ryker defies laws of gravity and vomits UP my sleeve.

6:03pm - Tugboat throws up right behind the couch that I'm sitting on trying to clean up my arm.

6:30pm - Chuck leaves with Jack to go to ER.

7:30-10:30pm - I call and harrass my men to get updates. Update usually is "we're in the waiting room" and once is "his head is wrapped in gauze and he looks like he's from the Civil War." Grandmommy is nervous, I'm not.

10:30-11:30pm - I'm finally nervous and take my anxiety out on the kitchen, which now sparkles.

11:30pm - Chuck driving home with Jackson and his 5 new stitches. Jackson talking to me on the phone. Semi edges Chuck off the highway and into a big cone barrell thing - mirror casing retracts like it's supposed to, but actual mirror pops off and drops onto the highway like it's NOT supposed to.

11:45pm - Getting Jackson in bed, getting Chuck ice cream as his prize. We all go to bed and hope tomorrow the world doesn't poop on us again.

Friends in High Places

Jack was just yelling as he went potty. That's not normally a good sign, so I went in there to see what he was doing. He informed me that he was yelling for his friend Trace.

I thought for sure he was talking about Trace Palin and wondered how he knew that name, and moreover, why in the world he would want to be friends with him.

Chuck told me that he also calls for his friend Johnny Pucker. He sounds nicer. I support that friendship.

Rainbow Bubbles...We Hardly Knew You

Rainbow Bubbles was the beloved (for the last few weeks, anyway) fish at Chrysalis.

According to Jack last night:

"They cleaned his fish tank and he didn't make it. Rainbow Bubbles, he diedid. But, we might get another one."

Then just now he said it this way:

"Miss Andrea was cleaning the fish tank and he didn't make it. And den we flushed him away."

We're all so sorry for their loss.

New pictures

Take a look at Flickr for some new pictures...

Mavens

Jackson is officially his father's son. Okay, it WAS official before but the conversation that took place just now really, really confirms it.

Setting: Chuck is sitting at our kitchen island looking at every single ad/coupon/circular that is published in the Sunday paper page by page - as he has done every single weekend since I've known him.

Jackson: "Daddy, can we buy me a phone?"
Daddy: "A real phone?"
J: "Yes."
D: "Why do you need a phone?"
J: "Because I don't have one."
D: "Who would you call?"
J: "Someone to help me fix my crane." (his toy crane broke a week or so ago)
D: "You need a phone to call someone to help you fix your crane?"
J: "Yes. We can buy it when it's on sale."

Comic Beginnings

Jackson, last night:

"Momma, what did the book say to the light?...

...Boo!...

...HA HA HA!...

...That cracks me up!"

And the Other Side

Here are the opposite lists from my last post...

Things that Make Jackson Laugh
1. Ryker grabbing his face or hair
2. Being chased
3. Having you say "Where's Jackson?" and then trying to look for him
4. Silly Talk - like "I'm a door" or "Muffin Head"
5. When I make fun of and imitate Ryker when he's crying - I've told him we'll have to stop that when Ryker is old enough to know that we're laughing at him
6. Trying Ryker's clothes on
7. Being tickled on his collarbones
8. Being scared or startled - although he's announced to me that he doesn't want our house to be "pooky" for Christmas

Things that Make Ryker Throw a Tantrum
1. The word "wow" - or at least that was the case at Jack's birthday as he burst into tears every time we said it
2. Being woken up
3. His carseat
4. Hats that slip down over his eyes
5. Not being fed RIGHT NOW
6. Trying to fall asleep without a pacifier or nursing (God help me now)
7. His crib
8. Jack moving him across the room in his exersaucer while he's (Jack's) having a crying fit and while he (Ryker) just finished pooping out of his diaper and up his back and into the sleeves of his shirt - discovered tonight

Things That...

...Make Ryker Laugh
1. Eye contact
2. Jackson's tantrums
3. Tugboat
4. Being tickled on the collar bone (that still is one of Jack's)
5. Saying a string of words really fast ("youaresocute!")
6. Pretend sneezing
7. The pediatrician checking to make sure things were fine in his nether regions
8. Being startled (after the initial shock)

...Make Jackson Throw a Tantrum (recently)
1. Going potty (when it's our suggestion)
2. Naptime
3. Bedtime
4. Washing his hands (when it's our suggestion)
5. Not being able to play outside
6. Getting dressed (when it's our suggestion)
7. Eating a meal (when it's our suggestion)
8. Brushing his teeth (when it's our suggestion)

Noticing a pattern with Jack? Us too. Something else we've noticed? Jack has learned how to suck up to people (namely us)...

Jack: "Momma, do you want the lights on or off?"
Momma: "Off please."
Jack: "Ummm, okay. I will turn dem off for you. Dat bery nice from me to turn off the lights for you."
Momma: "Yes it is very nice of you."
Jack: "May I have a bery special tweat now pwease?"

Through the Eyes of a 3 Year Old

In trying to explain the importance of this moment to Jackson, I came across a dilemma. Do I mention the racial history of our country? Do I even go there, when he doesn't?

I decided that yes, I should go there. While I love the fact that his world-lens doesn't involve pre-judging people based on their skin color, I also want him to understand the history of our country, good and bad.

So this is what I said.

"In our country we have lots of people with different colors of skin. You and Daddy and Ryker and I have white skin. Barack Obama has black skin. And people with white skin haven't always been very nice to people with black skin or other colors of skin. This election is SO IMPORTANT because we have never let anyone WITHOUT white skin be President."

He looked at me like I was crazy. "Why?"

Good question.

[This touching moment quickly derailed into him naming every color he could think of, followed by "skin" - as in "gray gris skin oooorrrr purple skin oooorrrr red rojo skin." He also determined that our cat has black skin and is African American.]

History

Jack gave me a stump speech this morning. Completely unprovoked, he said "Momma, Awock is a berry important man. Him a berry right man. Al Fwanken is a berry smart man and a berry good man." Here he is with a sign he made at daycare. The kids could choose which name they put at the top (their name even). Jack picked Obama.

We had everyone dressed in Barack shirts. Unfortunately, Ryker (or Rykie Bikie as Jack calls him) blew out of his outfit so I only have pictures with the washed version laying on him. It says "baa" and then a plus sign and then a rock.

We're a little election-crazy over here. This picture says it all.

Superman & Pea Pod

This Halloween came in 3 iterations: a party at Harry and Jack Henry's house last weekend, Trick-or-Treating at daycare, and Trick-or-Treating with our friends Siena, Elliot and Avery. Pictures are uploaded on Flickr (link to the right).

We went with non-creative costumes. But really, Jack is just SUCH a Superman, isn't he?! And we have loved when other kids are in Pea Pod costumes, so Ryker didn't get a vote.

The festivities last night were especially fun, at least for the grown-ups. We took the kids out in our friend's neighborhood and then had pizza and beer while the kids all played together. The one time I peeked downstairs to check on them I saw Jack and Siena in some sort of wheelbarrow position (Jack was on the ground face-down and Siena was picking his legs up) - then she tipped him over so he did a somersault. It looked scary - in the "that might end up in a spinal cord injury" kind of way, but Jack was giggling so I guess it was okay.

Later in the night Jack looked dreamily up at Siena, who was on the couch with Ryker and me, and said quietly "Can I marry you?" So it must have been fun for him too.