25 Random Things

I recently did one of those 25 Random Things About Me lists on Facebook. Then I got thinking that I bet I could come up with similar lists for Jack and Ryker. So here goes:

Jackson:
1. His middle name is Manning, which is Chuck's middle name and the first name of Jack's grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather.
2. His first name is supposed to be a J for Jamie, A for And, C for Chuck, then son - like he's Jamie And Chuck's Son. We added the K for ease of spelling and so he didn't get beat up on the playground.
3. Jackson was also part of the name of the school my mom taught in for forever (Jackson Park). His maternal great-grandfather is also named Jack.
4. EVERYONE thought he was going to be a boy, even though we didn't find out the sex while I was pregnant.
5. The nurse practitioner at our OB's office swore he'd be a boy and also promised that I wouldn't have a c-section. One for two.
6. When he was not talking yet he made up a sign for "waffle" which was him waving his hand back and forth in the air - the motion we made as we waved his waffle in the air to cool it off before giving it to him.
7. He's gone to Chrysalis since he was 3 months old.
8. He never really got the hang of rolling over.
9. He used to HATE to have things on his hands or face and insisted we wipe them off several times each meal.
10. The only time I ever attempted to give him tofu, I put it on his tray and turned around for a few seconds, then turned back to find that he had smeared it all over his head.
11. He's obsessed with safety.
12. A new one I learned this week - he goes under the stairs of the loft at daycare when he needs to collect himself.
13. He has a tiny bald spot on the crown of his head from where they put a monitor on him in utero. And Momma and Dadda are still mad at the nurse for that.
14. He has been to a caucus, to vote in a primary, and to a rally with Al Franken and Bill Clinton.
15. He thinks apricots are "special treats."
16. For several months he wouldn't drink out of anything but a Pooh Bear sippy cup.
17. He's had Twinkle Turtle in his room every night since he was born. Or maybe we got it a few months after he was born - but regardless he's had it a long time.
18. I breastfed him at least once a day for 15 months. Then one day in StL at Gaga and Papa's house I was nursing him and he sat up after about 1 minute - signed for milk and pointed at the kitchen. That was the end.
19. He hates to eat cheese unless it's in something.
20. He wants to drive construction trucks or be a policeman when he grows up. He also wants to be a daddy.
21. He's STILL obsessed with the Muffin Man.
22. He used to sleep 12-13 hours a night and have two 2 hour naps.
23. He now hates to sleep. Especially without us.
24. He's been to two Cardinal baseball games, countless Carleton football and basketball games, lots of Mommy's basketball games, and one rodeo.
25. He tells Chuck that he will "love him forever" every night. Occasionally he'll say it to other people too, but mostly Chuck.

Ryker:
1. He was a scheduled c-section, but we didn't get to pick the date. Instead, we got a call telling us when he would be born.
2. We also got a reminder call the night before the surgery - "This is a message for Jamie. Jamie, this is Southdale Hospital calling to remind you that you're scheduled for a Cesarean section tomorrow morning at 9am. Please arrive at 7:30am and don't eat or drink anything after midnight."
3. He was at the rally with Al Franken and Bill Clinton too.
4. He still has his stork bites on the back of his neck.
5. He's named after his uncle - "Ry" for the beginning of Ryan, "k" for the middle of Michael and "er" for the end of Mueller.
6. His middle name is Kelly, after Grandmommy.
7. He has recently gained the nickname "Wookiee" after the sound he makes that sounds exactly like Chewbacca, or this weird guy I found on YouTube.
8. He loves beer bottles.
9. He gets an overbite when he's tired.
10. He cries when people yell "Wow!" or "Oooohh!" loudly. Parades and opening presents are a nightmare.
11. They made us bring him in multiple times to measure his head because it was so big.
12. He used to love to stare at our vertical blinds.
13. He is ticklish in his armpits, on his collarbones, and on his inner thighs.
14. He has super long hair in the front and a bald patch in the back.
15. Jack really wanted to name him Isaac (Jack was given a baby doll at the hospital and named HIM Isaac instead.)
16. I was obsessed with jalapeno poppers while I was pregnant with him.
17. He was one of 4 babies born in my department at work within 8 months of each other - and we all had the same supervisor.
18. He hates to be confined - quickly learned to hate his car seat, swing, exersaucer, socks, etc.
19. He's only eaten 3 foods in his life so far (aside from milk) - rice cereal, bananas and peas.
20. He cracks up every time Jack throws a tantrum.
21. If he had been a girl he would have been named either Keely or Kate.
22. He has a mural of "Oh the Places You'll Go" in his room, painted by an old family friend.
23. He's the epitome of a recycled-paraphernalia-kid, wearing clothes and playing with toys that were first Siena's, then Jack's, then Elliot's and now his. He even has carpet made from recycled soda bottles.
24. He's bigger than Jack was at the same age. I've had to learn to bathe a chubby baby - making sure to clean in all of his little folds.
25. There has been a lot of debate about who he will look like. Right after he was born we all thought he was exactly like Jack, then about a day or two later we weren't so sure. He had red hair for awhile, now it's brown again. My mom has pictures of both of them as babies up in her hallway and I have a hard time figuring out which is which.

Happy Birthday Ry Ry

Tomorrow is Uncle Ry Ry's Birthday. Here is a celebratory video...

We love you Uncle Ry Ry!

Love,

Jam, Chuck, Jack and Ryker

Van Nostrand Family Singers

We're working on our act. Not sure if "Bee-Bye-Binge-Gee-Ho" will be good enough for America's Got Talent.

Saturday Night

Saturday nights pre-children, on more than one occasion, included dinner, beer, and weak stomachs.

And those things happened again last night, in a slightly different and much lamer way.

Food = Grocery shopping, during which I exclaimed "now THIS is the time to shop!" and was legitimately excited.

Beer = Taking two small kids into the "drink store" as Jack refers to it, and where he's always thrilled to go because he gets a lollipop.

Weak stomachs = Jack throwing up his Swedish meatballs at Ikea - all over his shirt. That was right after he threw a gigantic tantrum in the Ikea cafeteria because there was sauce on his meatballs and was given a timeout right there in the cafeteria and then forced to apologize to all the people for disturbing their evening, and right before we continued to shop even though he looked a mess and smelled even worse.

Ahh, Saturday nights...

No More Pity Party

I've been having a decent little pity party over here. On my list - illnesses for Chuck, Jack, and Ryker; lots to do at work; missing friends; and not getting to have a day alone with Chuck yesterday because we had to keep Ryker home with a fever.

But there's nothing like a good ol' fashioned inauguration to pull me out of it.

Illness at our house means fevers for which we can take Tylenol, strep for which we can get antibiotics. Lots to do at work means that I HAVE A JOB. And it's at a museum, for crying out loud. Missing friends means that I'm surrounded by love, and the friends aren't lost, just not going to be around me all day every day. Not getting to have a day alone with Chuck means that I have a person with whom I WANT to be alone, jobs that we GET to have a day off from.

I've led a priveleged life so far, and it's getting better each day. And now it's not just Chuck and me that will work hard for a better life for our boys - we have a President and administrative team that will do the same. Not only that, they'll hold them to a higher standard. They will lead by example.

I'm so proud and so humbled and so grateful to be reminded that my version of a pity party is so small in scale.

Smited

I don't know if that is a word. What's the past tense of what happens to you when you haven't gone to church in like, umm...well...ever?

Smited. Smoted. Whatever it was, it just happened to me.

So here's the skinny. I got up this morning and Jack still had a fever, although it had gone down a bit. Chuck was wandering around getting ready, then finally stopped and declared "I think I have what he has" - pointing at Jack. I rolled my eyes and chuckled a bit, then asked if he had a temperature. He said "probably" and I again rolled my eyes and mentally declared him "man-sick". I told him to go on and take his temperature, which he did, and it was 101.7. Oops. Then I felt guilty and then I felt really really sad because he was going to miss Mancation too. Crap, he must really be sick. Then I rolled my eyes again as I watched him fall onto the bed moaning from the aches and pains.

He got under the covers and I put a movie on for Jack while I took Ryker to school. When I returned, Jack was playing quietly in the living (another way you can tell he's sick). His movie had finished and he just decided all on his own to play quietly instead of going and bothering Daddy. Wow. Sickness looks good on him.

We played around in the morning, then I called the clinic on behalf of the whole family. They could get both of them in RIGHT THEN! Chuck left first, then I went to the bathroom quickly before I left with Jack. It overflowed. It wasn't anything worthy of getting stopped up, I promise! I didn't have time to clean it up, so I put towels down and left with Jack.

A few doctors' visits later (and two visits for Jack to the clinic potty in which I prayed that the stopped-up-toilet-syndrome was not following me around town) and we took home two brand-spanking new diagnoses - guesses? I'll give you a hint - it's two words and rhymes with pep boat.

Well done. Chuck got his prescription and then Jack and I went to get his. It wasn't ready, of course, and being that it was six BELOW zero, I made us drive through somewhere and eat lunch in the car. Jack called it a picnic. Medicine finally in hand, we headed home - took the first dose, then got him in bed. Both men sleeping, I put a load of icky-laundry in and tackled the bathroom floor with a bottle of Clorox. Literally on my hands and knees - scrubbing the ground - I made my way across the bathroom. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself at this point.

Then I stood up, having completed my task, and ran my head straight into the corner of an open cabinet door. I whisper-cursed and when it didn't feel better I looked in the mirror to find that I was bleeding from my head.

I have had six concussions, mind you, and never ONCE did I bleed from my head. And as if this post wasn't the epitome of too-much-info - here's another thing - I hadn't had a chance to pump all day (those of you that don't know what that means, don't worry about it), so I was feeling VERY uncomfortable.

Okay, I'll stop the pity party now. But I'll start it up again as I walk up the street to church on Sunday morning.

Signs You Know Jack is Sick

Jack doesn't get sick often, so I've compiled my own little diagnostic check-list.

1. He doesn't want to eat - even Popsicles.
2. He doesn't want to talk.
3. He falls asleep during a movie, after surpassing his all-time best sitting time of 30 minutes.
4. He cries - a lot. Mostly about us not having a movie about Fire Dogs. Then he asks "why I was cry-in?"
5. He says "I have a feber."
6. He lets Chuck go snow blow without wanting to help.
7. He throws his socks at Ryker and then immediately runs over and apologizes very sadly.

17 Years Younger

Our family got a Wii Fit this weekend (a late-arriving Christmas present). We hooked it up yesterday and I started my journey back to my 125 pound high school sports playing weight. (Okay, probably not a realistic goal, but a girl can dream.)

Anyway, the first thing the Fit makes you do is a body test. You put in your age and your height and then it weighs you and tests your balance. I was having a grand ol' time until it announced that my "Fit Age" is 48 and my Mii stooped over, winced and grabbed her back like a geezer.

48?!

I mean, I know that I'm no Twiggy (or whoever the modern-day equivalent is), but 48?!

Here's where my competitiveness comes in handy. I have managed, in less than 24 hours, to reduce my age by 17 years! I am officially 31 Fit Years Old today. At this rate I'll arrive at work tomorrow a tween. What will I wear? And who will I eat lunch with?

MPR

A figure sits by himself at the kitchen island this morning. He's eating breakfast. There's not much light yet. The only sound is the radio tuned to MPR.

"I'm listening to the news."

Sounds like a typical morning in the Banjostrand house.

Except that was Jackson.

Things I Don't Want to Forget

A few things I don't want to forget about each kid right now.

Jack:
1. How he pronounces museum - "woo zee um"
2. How he tells me that it's okay for people to need help sometimes.
3. How he thinks that Daddy knows everything.
4. How he practices singing and learns the words to songs he hears.
5. How he wants to "sit and talk about his day" (his words) in the lobby of daycare before we can get in the car.
6. How he takes a break out of every meal to give each of us hugs and kisses.

Ryker:
1. How much he loves "horsey horsey on your way."
2. How he loves to play with his pacifier more than he likes to suck on it.
3. How his hat falls over his eyes on the way home every night and he falls asleep.
4. How he scratches his head when he's tired or shy.
5. How he loves to practice blowing bubbles.
6. How he flings his arms up and down and cracks up every time you make eye contact with him.

Associations

Report from proud liberal parents:

This morning Jack was about to watch the Bob the Builder movie. As Chuck was getting it ready, Jack sang "Bob the Builder, Yes We Can!" over and over again. (The parents of toddlers who read this blog are singing it along with him right now and cursing me for getting it stuck in their heads AGAIN.)

After a few rounds he changed it up.

"Barack Obama, Yes We Can!"

Good boy.

Criminal Justice According to Jack

If you've been reading our blog for awhile you know that Jack is slightly obsessed with people making good choices and bad choices and has, on more than one occasion, begged me to go find the cars of people who made a bad choice and cut us off. He told us on the way to StL that he wanted to be a policeman when he grows up.

He also seems to have developed a little alter ego that whisper-repeats things that really strike him as important (or words he doesn't know).

Both of the afore-mentioned traits exhibited in one concise conversation:

Momma: "When people make good choices, good things happen. Like you made good choices with Daddy and then I took you sledding. And you made good choices while we were sledding, so we had hot chocolate when we got home."
Jack: "Yeah, dat was fun!"
M: "But if people make bad choices, then bad things happen - like that man who got pulled over by the policeman."
J: "It's okay if he needs help from the policeman, Momma."
M: "Oh, definitely, but I think that man actually broke some rules, so the policeman is writing him a ticket."
J: "WHY????"
M: "Well, when you are an adult and you break rules, you have to pay money."
J: (not-so-stage whisper) "Paaay moneeeeey..."
M: "See, adults have to follow rules too. And if you don't follow the rules a bunch of times, they take you to jail." (I'm not sure I can explain why I decided to share all of this with him, except that I was bored in the car and it seemed like a good transition into a talk about him behaving more.)
J: "And sometimes, if you are really bad, they put your face on a building... (not-so-stage whisper)...buuuiiilding."

2008 - A Year in Review

That title seemed like a really good idea. I'll write a post reviewing the whole year. Then two thoughts occurred to me. 1) I can't seem to remember anything earlier than June and 2) Even if I could, I doubt our readers would really be THAT interested.

So I'll just say that 2008 was a great year (at least the half I remember). It was the year that we welcomed Ryker to our family...

...the year that Jack turned 3...

...the year I decided I liked cooking again (when I have time)...

...the start of Jacknastics... ...the year that we learned about bull riding......the year that Jackson learned about Africa and developed his first crush...

And to ring in the New Year with a bang, Ryker decided to finally find his balance and sit up unaided....

I can't wait to see what the new year brings.

Peace and love to all of our readers,

the Banjostrands