tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81451509389225093382024-03-14T05:26:09.052-07:00Karen's Poetry SpotPoetry and life intermingledKaren Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.comBlogger265125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-20187402645656556282018-08-02T12:47:00.001-07:002018-08-02T14:41:23.316-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97J0PI0UBpFZHphatahcvEArelR8uYpixyQ1VdN4qtQsHmZPAZvcOkac95dzDQc_UpY4D-8vxFGAqYy0nAt7bX2x-rOflU-HgXl21npVhsLQE-8hf6GS-SgMKdcncQd1DhPk78DK0jAs/s1600/IMG_5631b.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97J0PI0UBpFZHphatahcvEArelR8uYpixyQ1VdN4qtQsHmZPAZvcOkac95dzDQc_UpY4D-8vxFGAqYy0nAt7bX2x-rOflU-HgXl21npVhsLQE-8hf6GS-SgMKdcncQd1DhPk78DK0jAs/s320/IMG_5631b.jpg" width="320" height="256" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1280" /></a>Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-12390313626261412682016-12-04T19:50:00.000-08:002019-05-16T11:24:02.100-07:00<html>
<dl><dt><b>Smiles</b></dt>
<dd>
If you chance to meet a frown,<br>
Do not let it stay.<br>
Quickly turn it upside down<br>
And smile that frown away.<br>
<br>
No one likes a frowning face.<br>
Change it for a smile.<br>
Make the world a better place<br>
By smiling all the while.<br>
<br>
-Daniel Taylor<br>
</dl>
I have been serving as Nursery Music Leader in our ward for some time now. We have a REALLY successful music time, and several people have asked me to give them details. I've finally gotten it all typed up, and thought I'd post it here. I learned this method while serving as Primary Music leader in the Wilshire Ward in LA. They had a small basket, and I have expanded to offer lots more songs.<p><p>
There are two keys to this program. The first is that there is something to hold, touch, do, or look at for every song. The second is that the children MUST be seated IN THEIR CHAIRS to get to hold or touch the thing. They learn very quickly to follow this rule, and it is really good practice for them to learn to sit in a chair before they get into sunbeams.<p><p>
Music time works best with no more than 6-8 kids. Any more than that, and it's hard to give everyone a turn to choose a song. If there are more than that in your nursery, consider splitting the group so that half is singing while the other half is having the lesson. <p><p>
I generally like to offer only some of the songs in a given week in order to speed up the choosing, and to offer songs that relate to the lesson. The lesson will have at least one song suggestion, but it's easy to find several songs on the topics of "Family" "Thankful" "My Body" "Scriptures" and "Jesus" for instance. I do leave some just-for-fun songs in each week too.<p><p>
During Music Time, the kids sit in a semicircle, close enough to me that I can lean over and touch them if I want. Other leaders sit in the circle or behind it to help the children (There's usually somebody who wants to be held). We start at one end and give each child a chance to reach into the box and choose a song. The box has all the manipulatives, in envelopes or ziplock bags, so they pick the thing they want to touch or hold. I open the bag and hand one of the things to each child, or let them each touch the item (See below for more details on that). Then we sing the song, doing whatever actions there are, or just waving our thing in the air. At the end, the children bring back the things, I put them away, and the next child gets to choose.<p><p>
Even though there are pretty strict rules, the kids get so excited when I come into the room for singing time. It is so fun to hear kids that are barely able to make themselves understood humming along happily and occasionally getting out a rhyming sound at the end of a line. I love it when they are happy and they know it and they REALLY want to show it. I am humbled when they carefully choose their favorite picture of Jesus to hold while we sing songs about Him.<p><p>
I hope this will be useful to you, and if you have other song ideas, post them in the comments.
<p><p>
<table border=2>
<tr><td>Title</td><TD>Page in Children's Songbook</td><TD>Action</td><TD>Thing</td><TD>Comment</TD></TR>
<tr><td>3 Green and Speckled Frogs</td><TD></td><TD>Hold</td><TD>Little plastic frogs</td><TD>It's easy to find little plastic frogs -- hard plastic, squishy plastic, or the ones that jump when you push on the tails. I like to give each child one, and have three in my lap. I toss one onto the floor when it "Jumps into the pool" at the end of each verse.</TD></TR>
<tr><td>3 Little Ducks</td><TD></td><TD>Hold</td><TD>Paper ducks</td><TD>Any paper cutouts of ducks will do</TD></TR>
<tr><td>3 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed</td><TD></td><TD>Hold and actions</td><TD>Plastic Monkeys</td><TD>These are posable plastic monkeys with wires in their arms and legs. We do the traditional actions while holding the monkey</TD></TR>
<tr><td>3 Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree</td><TD></td><TD>Hold and actions</td><TD>Plastic Monkeys</td><TD>These are posable plastic monkeys with wires in their arms and legs. We do the traditional actions while holding the monkey</TD></TR>
<tr><td>A Happy Family</td><TD>198</td><TD>Hold</td><TD>Family member pictures on a stick</td><TD>These can be heads or whole bodies of Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, Grandma, Grandpa, Baby, etc. The Nursery manual has some good line drawings of family members.</TD></TR>
<tr><td>Book of Mormon Stories or The Golden Plates</td><TD>118/86</td><TD>See and actions</td><TD>Gold plates</td><TD>I took a few squares of gold colored vinyl fabric and hooked it together with some large jump-rings. After showing the kids the plates, do actions to the song. Make a book with your hands, Clap to the beat, Make ocean waves, Put hands out and then fold arms.</TD></TR>
<tr><td>Follow the Prophet</td><TD>110</td><TD>Hold and march</td><TD>Prophet puppets on stick</td><TD>Line drawing pictures of each prophet in the song, laminated and taped to a popsicle stick. I suggest printing the lyrics to the verse on the back of each prophet so you can remember the words. When singing march around the room Follow the Leader style. The Church has these "Follow the Prophet Puppets" on their website: https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/gospel-library/magazine/li2006lp.nfo:o:a1.jpg</TD></TR>
<tr><td>Fun to Do / Do as I'm Doing</td><TD>253/276</td><TD>Actions</td><TD>Idea card for each verse</td><TD>Kids this little can't think of their own actions, so I have cards that say "Singing a Song" with a picture of a kid singing. Look in the extra verses section of this song in the Children's Songbook for more ideas to put on cards. Sing two or three.</TD></TR>
<tr><td>Give, Said the Little Stream</td><TD>236</td><TD>Hold</td><TD>Ribbons</td><TD>I have blue ribbons, about an inch wide and 8-12 inches long. The kids wave them back and forth to represent the flowing water of the stream.</TD></TR>
<tr><td>Hinges</td><TD>277</td><TD>Touch</td><TD>Jumping Jack / Do actions</td><TD>This is an old style wooden toy that has hinged arms and legs that flip up when you pull the string on the bottom. Each kid gets to pull the string and make it jump. Do an image search for "Jumping Jack Toy" if you don't know what I'm talking about.</TD></TR>
<tr><td>I am a Child of God</td><TD>2</td><TD>Hold</td><TD>Paper child face</td><TD>I got pictures multicultural children's faces from the Super Little Singers book.</TD></TR>
<tr><td>I am Like a Star / Shine On / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star</td><TD>163/144</td><TD>Hold</td><TD>Paper star</td><TD>Paper stars are the pictures that get the most damage, because the two bottom legs get pulled on and tear. I'd suggest making a star on a circular piece of paper instead. We usually sing Twinkle Twinkle plus one of the other two songs</TD></TR>
<tr><td>I Have Two Little Hands</td><TD>272</td><TD>Actions</td><TD>Hand</td><TD>I have a foam shape of a hand in the box for the kids to choose the song, but we do actions while we sing.</TD></TR>
<tr><td>If You're Happy and You Know It</td><TD>266</td><TD>Touch and actions</td><TD>Clapping hands dog</td><TD>This is a small stuffed animal with magnets in its paws that make it clap when you put the paws together. You can buy such a thing, or make one by cutting the paws open and putting strong magnets in. Each kid gets to clap the hands a few times. While we sing we do the traditional actions. During the stomp your feet verse I sing kick your feet because many of them are too little reach the ground.</TD></TR>
<tr><td>In the Leafy Treetops</td><TD>240</td><TD>Hold</td><TD>Paper bird and silk flower</td><TD>The kids each get a picture of a bird and a little flower. Cheap small ones from the dollar store are the best.</TD></TR>
<tr><td>Itsy Bitsy Spider</td><TD></td><TD>Hold and actions</td><TD>Plastic spider</td><TD>I use little hard plastic spiders in many different shapes and colors because I had a lot of bug toys at my house when I was putting the box together. The kids like to choose. If you can't find those, Halloween spider rings work fine. We do the traditional actions while holding the spider. The kids usually can't do the finger spider part so they just move the plastic spider</TD></TR>
"<tr><td>Jesus Loves the Little Children/Jesus Loves Me</td><TD>Hymns 307</td><TD>Hold</td><TD>Picture of Jesus</td><TD>A pass-along card on taped to a popsicle stick is great. We use the following words to the tune of ""In Our Lovely Deseret""
Jesus loves the little children
All the little children of the world
Red and yellow black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world
Or the old Christian song
Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
We are weak but He is strong
Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
The Bible tells me so</TD></TR>"
<tr><td>Jesus said Love Everyone / Love One Another</td><TD>61/136</td><TD>Hold</td><TD>Paper heart</td><TD>A simple paper heart</TD></TR>
<tr><td>Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam</td><TD>60</td><TD>Hold</td><TD>Paper sun</td><TD>A simple paper sun. We lift the sun into the air every time we sing "beam"</TD></TR>
<tr><td>My Heavenly Father Loves Me</td><TD>228</td><TD>Touch and see</td><TD>Bird with feathers</td><TD>I got this little bird at the craft store or dollar store. They often go in flower arrangements. Each kid gets to gently pet the bird. They are very careful and in awe of it. I also have pictures for each line of the song (From the book "Super Little Singers" by Ross and Guymon-King -- that book also has a lot of the other paper cutouts I use, though most of them are easy enough to make up)</TD></TR>
<tr><td>Old Macdonald</td><TD></td><TD>Hold</td><TD>Paper farm animals</td><TD>My current box has paper cutouts of different farm animals. I have also used finger puppets or little toys. We usually sing three verses</TD></TR>
<tr><td>Once There Was a Snowman</td><TD>249</td><TD>See</td><TD>Snowman eraser</td><TD>I have a snowman eraser for the kids to choose the song. After that, we do the traditional actions. We also do the opposite song, especially appropriate for Nursery "Once I was a baby, baby, baby. Once I was a baby, small, small, small. Now I'm getting bigger, bigger, bigger. Now I'm getting bigger, tall, tall, tall."</TD></TR>
<tr><td>Smiles</td><TD>267</td><TD>Hold</td><TD>Smile/ Frown faces</td><TD>Look in the manual for what these should look like. Encourage the kids to turn them upside down during the song. Do an image search for "If You Chance to Meet a Frown" to see what I mean. The simpler the better.</TD></TR>
<tr><td>The Wise man and Foolish man</td><TD>281</td><TD>See and Actions</td><TD>Block house, rock, sandpaper</td><TD>While doing the traditional actions, I build a little house out of a square and a triangle wooden block, on top of a flat rock balanced on my knee. For the foolish man, I build the house on sandpaper and when we do the chorus, I bounce my leg enough that the house falls down off my knee. Interestingly enough, the children are incapable of leaving the house on the floor while we sing the rest of the chorus. Someone always helpfully comes to pick it up.</TD></TR>
<tr><td>We Bow our Heads</td><TD>25</td><TD>See and Actions</td><TD>Sheep folds arms and bows head</td><TD>This is a small beanie baby sheep. The front legs are long enough and floppy enough to fold across each other. You can also push the head downward to look like it's bowing. We change the word graciously to reverently</TD></TR>
</table>
</body>
</html>Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-88398214426133885042013-12-12T04:14:00.000-08:002013-12-12T04:20:07.349-08:00Sowbug by mngamojemo<dl><dt><b>Sowbug</b></dt>
<dd>
Sowbug!<br>
I have crunched your body raw and found it foul.<br>
Noble mulcher, wood-louse. <br>
I have caught you in glass bottles<br>
and seen you crawl free, your orange-pulp feet<br>
on glass which has no friction.<br>
Sowbug! You have filled my trailer with grey life,<br>
and sought escape.<br>
Non-invasive force, you do not even deign<br>
to touch my scraps!<br>
Funneler<br>
of water through your tail,<br>
crustacean needing all that you have left.<br>
Pillbug! You who rolls but cannot funnel. You who snaps <br>
into a pellet, whose shell is gunship grey. <br>
You who are mistaken for the sowbug,<br>
who must live in damper places. <br>
You who I have seen alone and flicked<br>
and made a marble of.<br>
Sowbug! Who swims the air when logs are lifted.<br>
Born of shrimp and crab, land-creature.<br>
Science does not care to know you.<br>
Sowbug, Pillbug, grey and humble, <br>
I have felt your soft feet creep<br>
across my childish hands.<br>
I know that you have rythm,<br>
native swimmer, living in the dark<br>
but out of water.<br>
I have jarred you with a scorpion for days and seen it starve.<br>
<a href=http://mngamojemo.deviantart.com/art/Sowbug-28064539>
--mngamojemo</a>
</dl>
<p>
I took this hippo<p>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H3wFUmDL0zk/UqmjWS4OZJI/AAAAAAAAIw4/cI27pgSH9SE/s1600/13+-+1" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H3wFUmDL0zk/UqmjWS4OZJI/AAAAAAAAIw4/cI27pgSH9SE/s320/13+-+1" /></a>
<p>
And turned it <p>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vB6zgtaGzEg/UqmjWW7jV5I/AAAAAAAAIxY/z_HURNxtvWY/s1600/13+-+6" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vB6zgtaGzEg/UqmjWW7jV5I/AAAAAAAAIxY/z_HURNxtvWY/s320/13+-+6" /></a>
<p>
into this Giant Isopod<p>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JuANp_7lFV0/UqmjWWW-rVI/AAAAAAAAIxQ/dfXGZWEHGB8/s1600/13+-+3" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JuANp_7lFV0/UqmjWWW-rVI/AAAAAAAAIxQ/dfXGZWEHGB8/s320/13+-+3" /></a>
<p>
It's a relative of the roly-poly sow bugs, so of course, it has to roll up too.<p>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JM29fQqNy3M/UqmjWeNZJHI/AAAAAAAAIxA/MH9dGtZOuC4/s1600/13+-+2" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JM29fQqNy3M/UqmjWeNZJHI/AAAAAAAAIxA/MH9dGtZOuC4/s320/13+-+2" /></a>
<p>
It is a Christmas present for Lizbeth who has been begging me to make one for months since she saw these <a href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/yahooeditorspicks/galleries/72157623618461809/> pictures</a> and <a href=http://kotaku.com/this-giant-crustacean-cuddly-toy-is-a-hot-seller-in-jap-529562614>these</a>
<p>
Here's a few more pictures for good measure<p>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-10vGaEtGTP0/UqmjWcEr1QI/AAAAAAAAIww/XXN_1yR8kLc/s1600/13+-+5" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-10vGaEtGTP0/UqmjWcEr1QI/AAAAAAAAIww/XXN_1yR8kLc/s320/13+-+5" /></a>
<p>
Awwwww, isn't he cute?<p>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dotaMUi0AMo/UqmjWTifc9I/AAAAAAAAIxI/YBA43FFRfk0/s1600/13+-+4" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dotaMUi0AMo/UqmjWTifc9I/AAAAAAAAIxI/YBA43FFRfk0/s320/13+-+4" /></a>
<p>
One of the things I like best about doing projects like this is that I start cutting and sewing with hardly any plan at all, and at the end, it looks better than I imagined it. The shape of the final project is heavily influenced by the shapes of the pieces I have when I cut the original apart at the seams. About halfway through this bug, for instance, I was still thinking of the part that became his head as his bottom, and I was considering making his legs out of fringe or cording. I started out with just ten legs, but decided that he really did need all fourteen after I saw how sparse ten looked. It was about 3/4 of the way through that I made the final decision to give him a marine isopod tail because the hippo's nose was just about the right shape.
Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-45992844760292159942013-02-25T15:51:00.002-08:002013-02-25T15:51:34.796-08:00Note: This is another post that never went live. It's some facebook posts from 2011.
<dl><dt><b></b></dt><dd></dl>
<br />
<br />
<br />#
<br />Karen Stay Ahlstrom
<br />When I woke up this morning, I thought it was a shame that I couldn't leave part of my consciousness in bed and pick it up later after at least some of me was rested.
<br />
<br />I hate it when I can't get back to sleep.
<br />
<br />I told Lizbeth last night that Princess Elizabeth had a problem. She didn't like using the toilet, and Queen Karen didn't like changing diapers. "What could help Princess Elizabeth use the bathroom?" I asked. Her answer, "Elephants." plain and simple.
<br />
<br />Karen Stay Ahlstrom Is drinking chocolate syrup straight from the bottle. It's been that kind of day.
<br />
<br />
<br />The beans we planted in preschool are really trying hard to grow. I feel bad that I have no intention of potting them properly.
<br />
<br />I just skimmed a bunch of beekeeping magazines looking for pictures for my preschool lesson next month. It's amazing how much I don't know about beekeeping. The amount of information, biology, history, mythology, etc is amazing -- not that there's stuff I don't know. :)
<br />
<br />in the spirit of Mike's recent doodle video, this is what we're doing to instill a love of math in our child.
<br />Elizabeth makes a dodecahedron
<br />*************************************************
<br />
<br />Here's the butterfly we saw pump up its wings yesterday. Sorry the video is so terrible. Click through to my account to see more videos from the last few months.
<br />Newly Emerged Butterfly
<br />
<br />This butterfly came out of its chrysalis moments earlier. Its wings are still crumpled. The video is terrible because of the plastic and mesh, but I thought Grandma Kathey might like to see.
<br />
<br />Last night after clipping her toenails, I played This Little Piggy with Lizbeth for the first time in a while. At the end, after giggling at my tickles, she said, "That was funny!" Then, to clarify, just in case I wasn't sure, she said, "The wee wee wee one was funny."
<br />
<br />Lizbeth has found that if she stands over the heater vent, the air flow is just strong enough to lift her balloon to about chest height.
<br />
<br />The other butterfly also chose that moment for its virgin flight. It sat there with trembling wings and got itself ready, then launched and flapped and fell to the bottom of the habitat and fluttered pretty uselessly for a while. Now it's sitting still again, probably getting its strength back for the next attempt.
<br />
<br />As I carried Bridget into the front room this morning, I glanced at the butterfly habitat and saw a brand new butterfly with crumpled wings climbing up the wall. It must have emerged moments earlier. We all watched as it pumped its wings full of blood and tested its tongue and legs.
<br />
<br />The first butterfly emerged!
<br />
<br />Lizbeth was being a bit too quiet playing by herself in the basement, so I went to check on her. It turns out, appropriately, that she was looking at her quiet books.
<br />
<br />
<br />Bridget laughing as she plays with Lizbeth's birthday balloon.
<br />**************************************************************
<br />
<br />Bridget now rolls from back to front when trying to get something out of reach. Crawling is not far away.
<br />
<br />I really don't like it when Peter works Saturdays. It means I don't get a day off either.
<br />
<br />Lizbeth opened all her presents and left them strewn around the living room. With the balloon on the ceiling, that meant that everywhere Bridget looked, there were fun and enticing things that she wasn't allowed to grab and eat. Under the circumstances, I think that her frustrated tantrum was pretty justified.
<br />
<br />Oh yes! It's a Totodo movie! Oh oh yes! Yes! A Totodo movie! Hooray! With Satsuke and a cat bus! Oh yes oh yes! (that was pretty much Lizbeth's reaction when she saw the DVD we got for her birthday.)
<br />
<br />I also tidied up the front room, kitchen, bedroom and office. Then I wrapped Lizbeth's appalling stash of birthday presents. I think I'm just about ready for her party tomorrow. I need to decorate after she goes to bed tonight. We'll bake the cake together in the morning.
<br />
<br />Just started the sixth (and last) load of laundry for the day. And since I started out with three loads to fold and put away, I feel like I've accomplished a lot.
<br />
<br />The Very Hungry Caterpillar card game Lizbeth got for Christmas doesn't have a cocoon card. This was a problem till we realized that we have envelopes just the right size to slip a caterpillar card into. And if you hide a beautiful butterfly card behind it as you do, you can make it magically appear!
<br />
<br />Had just gotten Bridget to sleep when the phone rang. Now she's wide awake.
<br />
<br />The serpentine belt fell off Peter's car again. This changes our plan for the evening. Sigh.
<br />
<br />We had a great playgroup today at the McDonalds playplace. Thanks for suggesting it Laura.
<br />
<br />Magnetic toys unite!
<br />
<br />Lizbeth made these octahedra all by herself. She was so pleased, she brought them to show me with a big Ta-da!!
<br />****************************************************************************************************
<br />
<br />Our house is tooooooooo cold!!!!!
<br />
<br />(the furnace man came and jury-rigged a fix. He'll be back tomorrow with the right part. We're warming up now.)
<br />
<br />I took page 72 from the January Ensign and posted it on the refrigerator next to the kitchen table. Now at every meal, we sing the Latter Day Prophets song and point to the pictures as we go. My 3 year old daughter Elizabeth loves this game and after 3 days can name several without help and repeat the others with prompting.
<br />http://lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/magazines/ensign/2011/01/EN_2011_01_22___09601_
<br />
<br />The furnace fan seems to be broken on a very cold night -- 9 degrees and falling
<br />
<br />After a few days of experimental babbling Peter and I agreed that when Bridget said, "ma ma ma ma ma" when I got home tonight, she really meant it.
<br />
<br />Trying to give Lizbeth more autonomy in the toilet training saga, I told her to go all by herself while I did mom's bills. She ended up diaperless playing with refrigerator magnets 10 minutes later when the poo arrived. To her credit she was *trying* to clean it up when I found her... Sigh.
<br />
<br />Told Lizbeth the story of Abraham's servant finding a wife for Isaac. At the end she asked what the girl's name was. When I told her it was Rebecca, she was impressed that it's like Grandma Becky. I told her that Grandma tries to be kind and helpful like Rebecca. Lizbeth excitedly added, "and she gets me water!"
<br />
<br />Lizbeth is sure that Joseph Smith got the brass plates from the wicked Laban
<br />
<br />In discussing the trials of having a child in Lizbeth's particular phase, Grandma Kathey said, "It will get better." which I then revised to, "it will get different."
<br />
<br />We got Lizbeth so excited about going to Sunbeams today that when we took her to the Primary room for Opening Exercises she threw a screaming fit that took a half hour to calm down from. And half the ward heard it since she screamed all the way down the hall to the Sunday School class I have to teach, and where Peter was waiting with Bridget. Then she screamed all the way back to Primary. Sigh. Then I had to give a lesson about how happy people in th New Testament were when they learned that they were going to be parents.
<br />
<br />My anxiety level has been especially high the last few weeks. All my doctor has to offer are stronger meds that would require weaning Bridget -- and the fight that would result from that decision would give me more anxiety and guilt than the meds would fix. Any ideas? it's generalized anxiety that doesn't have a focus? it's just like a loud noise yelling in my brain -- very distracting. I'm not worried about anything in particular, just generally on edge. It makes it hard to be patient wi...th Lizbeth, attentive to Bridget, and productive around the house. With effort, any given moment, I can use breathing exercises and positive thinking to squash it back down, but it's work, and by the end of the day I'm mentally very tired. I'm even open to the idea of weaning Bridget, but she has never in her life been willing to drink from a bottle or cup, and I don't know how to make her give it enough of a try to start making the switch.
<br />
<br />Lizbeth: Oh! You're getting a cup for me? And now you're getting a cup for you...rself
<br />Me: Yes I am, and that was even grammatically correct.
<br />Lizbeth: and now you're getting a cup for Daddy's self.
<br />
<br />Due to the series of partial thaws followed by hard freezes in the week or so since the last snowstorm, most of the driveways in our neighborhood are sheets of ice. Peter worked hard to clear ours before driving over the snow, so it's been clean and dry for days. Our next door neighbors on the other hand have been chipping at it with a long chisel every waking hour for two days straight now.
<br />
<br />Post office says they have no record that they were supposed to hold mom's mail even though I have a copy of the email receipt they sent mom when they placed the hold.
<br />
<br />Karen Stay Ahlstrom Wishes there was a law requiring every piece of plastic packaging, including bags, to be marked with recycling information. If it's not recyclable, it should should be required to put that info on the package too.
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<br />Bridget has a stuffed toy piggie that is essentially a pink ball with a darker pink nose stocking out of one side. She loves this toy, especially chewing on the nose. I do not believe that she likes it because it looks like a *pig*
<br />
<br />Sometimes when Bridget is tired, she's too agitated to nurse. She will whine and cry and arch her back and rub her eyes, but she won't settle down and nurse. I've found that if I Rub her cheek with one of her minkie blankets, she will immediately calm down, relax her body, turn her head and open her mouth. It's like magic.
<br />
<br />just found out why I couldn't find any Discovery Toys sets at the toy stores I was shopping in. They're sold at parties like Mary Kay and Tupperware. Are any of my friends consultants? Does anybody want to invite me to one of these parties?
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<br />Peter got time lapse video of the caterpillars pupating last night
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<br />
<br />Shut my bedroom door to have some privacy while I changed my clothes. Lizbeth then had a fit just outside, pounding and kicking and screaming for "mommy car" to come out. When that didn't work she started yelling that "Bridget car wants you!"
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<br />Caterpillars. Notice three chrysalises hanging, one fuzzy hanging, and one that fell down and is sitting upside down with his head in poo.
<br />************************************************************************************************************
<br />
<br />Somehow, one of the caterpillars got knocked loose, and fell down into the webbing and poo at the bottom of the cup. He's still in the J shape though, with his tail sticking up in the air--poor guy. I'm pretty sure he's the one that was annoying the third caterpillar last night so I guess he deserves it, but still...
<br />
<br />The last two caterpillars hung themselves up last night. They spend about 24 hours hanging upside down with their head curled upwards in a kind of J shape before shedding their skin.
<br />
<br />Something like three jars of strained peas just emerged from Bridget's digestive tract looking virtually unchanged from when I spooned them in--though it smelled much worse.
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<br />The third caterpillar is hanging upside down ready to pupate. One of the other caterpillars has been annoying him for more than an hour now, poking his spines to make him wiggle.
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<br />Lizbeth woke up this morning, came upstairs and said, "I think I need to sit on the toilet." Then she went and did it all by herself!
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<br />Lizbeth's Sunbeams teacher said she did well in class today (her first time in the 3 year old class at church rather than nursery) but that she had a lot of energy. Another source told Peter that every time they sang songs Lizbeth wanted to get up and dance.
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<br />Trying to get a sluggish Lizbeth to go downstairs, I told her to keep moving. As she slowly crawled along, she said, "I'm keep movinging"
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<br />One of the caterpillars pupated overnight. Since he hung himself up overnight 24 hours earlier, I have high hopes that we'll see the one that hung himself up yesterday morning shed his skin today. I just hope it doesn't all happen while we're at church. He did shed his skin this morning, but he did it quickly during one of Lizbeth's 20 minute potty trips.
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<br />New Year's Day party at Brandon's went well. Lizbeth and Joel had a water fight (thank you autocorrect bubble on top of the post button) in the unfinished part of the basement. And later decided that what she really wanted was to lock herself in Peter's office and watch the Cars movie ALL BY HERSELF.
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<br />Looking back on the last year, it was definitely a good one. Highlights included welcoming Bridget into our lovely new home, spending lots of time with family on both sides, and having Peter feel secure and happy in his job.
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<br />At game night, they were pleased with my gift of Set (thank you Peter for going back for it). We survived Castle Raveloft. I sat out of the round of Poo taking care of Bridget. But their Hollywood Blockbuster game hates me and I lost in an increasingly improbable string of bad luck.
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<br />Lizbeth must be allergic to their house since each time we've gone she gets mysterious hives--this time on both wrists.
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<br />Bridget, who gets scared and cries when Mama growls or Daddy has a barking cough was just plain terrified of the monster three times her size that could not get enough of her smell. Luckily, she fell asleep fairly early in the night.
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<br />We had a great new year party at Dan's house. Lizbeth was gleefully terrified of his English Bulldog, and kept exhibiting prey behaviors like running away screaming then falling on the floor and lying on her back with arms and legs curled up to protect her vitals.
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<br />The caterpillars are not tiny caterpillars any more. They're big fat caterpillars. And one of them is hanging from the roof ready to shed his skin and turn into a chrysalis. Hooray!
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<br />Lizbeth is watching Peter play gemcraft and asking about the monsters. "Are those squorpions?" she asks.
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<br />Thinking about new years plans. Wondering ig it'd be ok to take Lizbeth to a friend's party with the intention of plopping her down in front of a tv to watch movies till midnight or so instead of getting a babysitter so she can go to sleep. Then I remembered that we do that every Friday night.
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<br />Lizbeth says: I'm a very friendly Lightning McQueen caterpillar. Brandon doesn't think he's a bug. But Mater came and the bug jumped on top of him and the bug flew away and the cars were so happy! Yeeeesss! Lightning McQueen has jumper legs so I think he's a grasshopper bug! That's so funny! He he! That's really good choice.
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<br />When I said good morning to Lizbeth today she said, "It's a great morning!"
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<br />Lizbeth yelling from time out: Mama! I need to be good to you! Daddy! I need to be good to Mama.
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<br />I exchanged some luxury socks at Nordstrom's for a Hello Kitty necklace and lip balm. Driving to the next store Lizbeth started crying, "I don't want this in my hair!" I turned around to see that she had managed to smear all the lip balm all over her face, hands, hair, and the window. If I hadn't been driving while handing her wipes to clean it up, I would have gotten a funny picture.
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<br />Last night I got out my New Testament picture file to show Lizbeth pictures of the Holy Land to explain where Grandma was going on her trip. After those pictures were portraits of the Savior. Lizbeth looked at a few and said "That's Jesus! He's nice."
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<br />Lizbeth says race frogs
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<br />Christmas turned out well. Lizbeth LOVED all her presents, and said so many cute happy things about all of them that I can't remember what they were to write them down, but my heart is full to bursting.
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<br />Grandma Becky gave Lizbeth Gramdma Fawnie's milk glass cat candy dish for a keepsake. Lizbeth said "I never seen a cat so best!"
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<br />Merry Christmas!
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<br />Had a great Christmas Eve dinner with the Holts. Not all the presents went to the intended recipients, but they got to the right people anyway.
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<br />Done wrapping presents. Peter seems to have a way to go yet.
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<br />Ran out of tape. Using Christmas seals from Grandma Helen's copious stash to hold the wrapping paper on.
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<br />Stopped in at Savers to see what they had left on day-before-Christmas-Eve, and to my amazement and great, what they had were the kind of toys and games I'd been searching for at toystores for months, and at thrift store prices! Somebody loves me!
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<br />Lizbeth saw me reading the Ensign magazine and said, "Where's Jesus? Where's Jesus?" Each time I showed her a picture of Jesus, she giggled in delight.
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<br />Lizbeth picked up a random Christmas card and "read" it aloud to me in the sweetest little voice. "For Baby Jesus. Happy Birthday to Baby Jesus!"
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<br />asked what Lizbeth talked about in Primary today. She said, "I was sad." When I asked why, she said,"I wanted you." I reminded her that she knew I would always come back for her when church was over, and she said, "Thanks Mom."
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<br />The Fed Ex man brought us a box this morning that said, "Live insects Open immediately." Lizbeth is now the proud owner of five tiny and very hungry caterpillars. She has been reciting Eric Carle, requesting caterpillar stories, wrapping herself up in Chrysalis blankets, and dancing as a beautiful butterfly all day. I hope the little guys survive all the love she has for them. Thank you Grandma Kathey
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<br />Peter sang, "Mary had a little lamb, she also had a bear..." and Lizbeth responded, "Her little lamb said baa baa, her bear said GRRRR!"
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<br />While we were chatting with Santa, Peter arrived, coming to my rescue with an extra stroller. We went back to the craft station to get our purchases gift wrapped, feed Bridget and retrieve the kitty before finally getting home.
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<br />I finally got her to move by telling her she was being disobedient and that time out was just outside the door. Then, we spotted Santa holding court in the direction I was hoping to head, so Lizbeth ran over and sat on his lap.
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<br />Lizbeth followed me through a toystore pretty easily, but once we got to gymboree she planted herself in front of the TV and refused to move. Meanwhile, Bridget is hungry and tired but won't eat in gymboree, and my arms are so tired from hauling her around without a stroller that dragging Lizbeth out is not an option.
<br />
<br />Then we went to do crafts, where Lizbeth burned her mouth on spiced cider, and left her stuffed cat behind.
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<br />A mall employee took us in his golf cart back to our car, but Lizbeth didn't realize that the zip up vinyl walls wouldn't support her weight and she fell out of the golf cart head first while I was trying to load the stroller.
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<br />The carseat hit upside down and flipped over before coming to rest with a very startled but unharmed Bridget still strapped securely inside.
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<br />Went to the Riverwoods mall to find another toy store and do Christmas crafts. Half way to the North Pole store, both front wheels fell off my stroller pitching Bridget and her carseat out onto the cement.
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<br />Currently kitty obsessed Lizbeth asked to sing some Christmas songs today and then asked me to sing like a kitty. Inspired, I pulled up YouTube and now have a daughter obsessed with jingle cats
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<br />got up to feed the baby and fell back int bed. Worried that today might be a vertigo day
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<br />The other day, I was helping Lizbeth sew a felt gingerbread man, but we got interrupted before adding beads and buttons for face and trim. Later that evening I found her making off with said beads and buttons and was about to get mad when I found that she had been stitching them on by herself and doing a pretty good job too.
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<br />Two days of comfort nursing, a day of sleeping 19 of 24 hours , and a day of nursing strike make for a very uncomfortable Mama. I finally gave in and pumped out more than 20 oz this evening.
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<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB3RZ-7iVLc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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<br /> Enjoyed Utah Lyric Opera at the Orem library Messiah singalong last night. The tenor was fabulous, but the surprise joy of the night was the trumpet player in this number. His tone was amazing.
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<br />Tonight in her story, Princess Elizabeth Kitty told Santa kitty that she wanted a kitty for Christmas, and that it should be big, and sparkly, and say MEOW. Mama kitty remembered that we had just such a kitty in the playroom bucket o' stuffed cats. Elizabeth kitty thinks Mama kitty is magic
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<br />Is blessed to have the kind of husband who says: I rearranged my home teaching so you could go to the Relief Society Christmas dinner without hauling both girls along. No... Leave the crying baby here... I'll take care of her. I love you Peter!
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<br />Lizbeth sat on Santa's lap at the mall today. She asked for a snake and a candy cane. Confused, Santa asked her if she wanted a babydoll and a tea set. "Yeah" Lizbeth said noncommittally.
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<br />Bridget seems to be sleeping it off -- whatever "it"was. slept from 1:30 to 5, ate, fell asleep at the babysitter at about 8, and I had to wake her to eat again at 3 am to rellieve the pressure. She's been nursing steadily for about 30 min, but still hasn't woken up per se.
<br />
<br />thinks last night's grilled cheese sandwiches were the best she's ever made.
<br />
<br />wishes she knew why Bridget has been crying and moaning in her sleep lately
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<br />Bridget has finally figured out rolling from front to back and does it by herself on purpose!
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<br />At almost three years old, our daughter has invented the game of jumping rope
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<br />I found that if I blow a puff of air in Bridget's face, she'll gasp in surprise, allowing me to slip the spoon into her momentarily open mouth
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<br />Bridget likes to eat so much that she giggles in anticipation before every bite, and in delight after every bite. Of course with all that giggling she forgets to open her mouth.
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<br />Lizbeth: Aaaaaaaachoo... OH! That was a good sneeze!
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<br />Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-88387798102748209902013-02-25T15:50:00.001-08:002013-02-25T15:50:47.813-08:00Note: This post never went live back in 2009. I'm posting it now to clean up my drafts folder
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<br />Well, you can guess from my lack of posts that I've had a terrible month.
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<br />The last time I posted was around Christmas. I've been in therapy since the economic and family crisis craziness started last June, but even that wasn't enough to keep my spirits up under six months of constant stress and uncertainty. Seeing myself get more and more depressed and anxious, my doctors and I decided it was time to go back on medication. We picked a drug I haven't been on before because it's supposedly the best for breastfeeding. One real problem with it though is that not only does it take several weeks to kick in, but you actually feel worse before you feel better. It's one of the ones that increases suicides in some patients, and I got the full brunt of it. I had no energy, I felt like crying all the time, and some days it was impossible to make myself do even the simplest of tasks. I felt like I was swimming through molasses -- it was so frustrating!
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<br />One of the worst parts was that I knew there was no rational reason to be upset most of the time. I honestly couldn't trust, or often even interpret, what I was feeling or why.
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<br />Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-86074332014451534982013-02-25T15:26:00.000-08:002013-02-25T15:44:22.586-08:00The Ball Poem by John Berryman<dl><dt><b>The Ball Poem</b></dt>
<dd>What is the boy now, who has lost his ball, <br>
What, what is he to do? I saw it go <br>
Merrily bouncing, down the street, and then <br>
Merrily over--there it is in the water! <br>
No use to say 'O there are other balls': <br>
An ultimate shaking grief fixes the boy <br>
As he stands rigid, trembling, staring down <br>
All his young days into the harbour where <br>
His ball went. I would not intrude on him, <br>
A dime, another ball, is worthless. Now <br>
He senses first responsibility <br>
In a world of possessions. People will take balls, <br>
Balls will be lost always, little boy, <br>
And no one buys a ball back. Money is external. <br>
He is learning, well behind his desperate eyes, <br>
The epistemology of loss, how to stand up <br>
Knowing what every man must one day know <br>
And most know many days, how to stand up <br>
And gradually light returns to the street <br>
A whistle blows, the ball is out of sight, <br>
Soon part of me will explore the deep and dark <br>
Floor of the harbour . . I am everywhere, <br>
I suffer and move, my mind and my heart move <br>
With all that move me, under the water <br>
Or whistling, I am not a little boy. <br>
--John Berryman
</dl>
Lizbeth's class is doing a unit on balls. Her teacher asked us all to send some balls to school for them to sort, experiment with, compare, etc. I thought that the teacher might want to see or use some of our other ball toys, but might not want me to send them ALL to school. So here is a sampling of our ball toys
<ol><li>Ball and stick magnet building sets with marble sized ball bearings
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qVUVTf2X_lE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</li><Li>Mega Bloks Ball and stick magnet building set with tennis ball sized balls
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dX_pOQ1GWco?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
We also have a roller coaster for the big magnetic balls.
</li><Li>Discovery Toys Marbleworks Marble Race Game
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Y7YfBWLtm8k?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</li><Li>Marble Mania Galaxy - Electric ball roller coaster for balls slightly bigger than marbles. This is glow in the dark and shoots the balls up a rocket to get to the top. Not my video, but it is the same set we have
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/10rfSfc50IA?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</li><Li>Chaos Toy - Electric ball roller coaster for balls slightly smaller than ping pong balls. This is about 6 feet tall and is fully customizable with all kinds of different ways to put it together. It's good for experimenting with to find just the right angle for bouncing balls, etc. The video is not mine, but is the same set that we have.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/67EDe1BSa8E?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</li><Li>Indoor golf holes and clubs
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MgJJkysvawU?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</li><Li>Marble race type games for golf ball sized balls. One is wooden and the balls go around on static ramps before ringing a bell at the bottom.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-D4cIOJ2sPA?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The other can switch which order the plastic ramps go on.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1ClM0GY-ntI?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</li><Li>Lots of Bakugan - Balls that transform into robots
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IzFdYhHcQ7o?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
and Zoobles - Balls that transform into cute animals
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ijf-8xRNQQg?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
and a fun treehouse that the Zoobles can roll and play in
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8-ROOT_D96A?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</li><li>Fisher Price Stacking and Nesting ball toy. It has ten half spheres that connect in several different ways
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fUa2KsnyBeQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</li><li>Tumble Tower - This is another old Fisher Price toy with a bunch of marbles going through an obsticle course to get from the top to the bottom.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/q4UtMzpFu_o?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</li><li>A large collection of Fisher Price Roll Arounds balls (each one has a different moving toy inside the clear ball) and accessories
Gumball Machine
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zyWlZPbUOG0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Here's Bridget playing with the gumball machine when it had batteries
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/n2eeC71Yhfw?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Caterpillar pull toy
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cYVIM9DYktw?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Ball Monster
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5N9OPy7KNT4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Tree House
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/s9efI0Hgmf0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</li><li>Ball and hammer toy
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YpRnJk4sNqM?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</li><li>Ball Ski Jump Chair
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/--kkO1lagFc?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</li></ol>
While I was looking for some of the older videos, I found these that show why we have so many ball toys
Lizbeth gets a strike while bowling her first time
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/em_kbmzefkU?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Lizbeth says, "Roll Ball"
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LpeZW5timvI?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Lizbeth plays ball ski jump on Mama's legs
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DEFG8JTRw1Q?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Lizbeth plays with Afterdark
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ofi3sGruneM?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Lizbeth makes noises with a ball
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LitIXpEGIyU?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Lizbeth plays a first game
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Lpz-VbUpT7g?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
And Bridget likes balls too
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dCZAN2QFKxQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-87455184905494136882012-05-18T21:57:00.001-07:002012-05-18T21:57:33.979-07:00A, You're Adorable by Buddy Kaye and Fred Wise<dl><dt><b>A, You're Adorable </b></dt>
<dd>
A, you're adorable<br>
B, you're so beautiful<br>
C, you're a cutie full of charms<br>
D, you're a darling And <br>
E, you're exciting And <br>
F, you're a feather in my arms<br>
G, you look good to me<br>
H, you're so heavenly<br>
I, you're the one I idolize<br>
J, we're like Jack and Jill<br>
K, you're so kissable<br>
L is the love light in your eyes<br>
M, N, O, P, I could go on all day<br>
Q, R, S, T, alphabetically speaking, you're okay<br>
U made my life complete<br>
V means you're very sweet<br>
W, X, Y, Z<br>
It's fun to wander through the alphabet with you<br>
To tell you what you mean to me<br>
--Buddy Kaye and Fred Wise
</dl>
One of my favorite board books is <a href=http://www.amazon.com/Babys-Alphabet-Jean-Marzollo/dp/0761316434/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2>Baby's Alphabet by Jean Marzollo</a>. It has photos of babies doing baby things for each letter of the alphabet. After reading it to Lizbeth, I thought that the only thing that would make it better would be if they were photos of her. For Mother's Day, a few years ago, I made Elizabeth's Alphabet book, and I repeated it this year with photos of Bridget. I ended up with four extra pages in one of the photo albums, so I decided to write a few sentences about each photo. In an ideal world, I would interweave the photos with the text, but it's past my bedtime already, so I'll just post the text here, with a <a href=https://plus.google.com/photos/105821956607624231900/albums/5744100371742362257?authkey=CPXMmp-3r6SOBQ>link to the album.</a>
<p>
Bridget’s Alphabet -- Mother’s Day 2012
<p>
Apple: We went to Roy, Utah for your Cousin Hazel’s birthday party. After the party, you, Lizbeth and Hazel went out in the backyard to play. You found some apples, and were excited to cut them open and see if there were any worms inside.
<p>
Blue : This was taken on a scorching hot day at the Salem Days fair in August. You were just a few months old. To keep you cool, I fed you tiny chunks of blue sno-cone. You really enjoyed it, but got upset when the ice melted and I didn’t put another piece in quickly enough.
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Chick: We got chicks in the spring of 2012 and kept them till they were big enough to go live in Aunt Judi Moore’s chicken coop. You and Lizbeth really loved chasing and holding the chicks, especially the little black one. You also loved dressing up and pretending to be chicks.
<p>
Cousins: Here is a photo of all the cousins at the family reunion we had in Salem, Ut just a month after you were born (or all the cousins at Grandma Kathey's house in Fairborn, Oh). It’s hard to get that many little ones happy and looking at the camera.
<p>
Dresses: These matching dresses were a gift from Grandma Becky. You love to be able to dress and act just like your sister, and I love to see how you and Lizbeth like to do things together.
<p>
Dog: This is Aunt Betsey’s puppy Maddie. You have your tongue out in the panting baby sign for Dog. Both you and Maddie were too young and excitable to be allowed to play together, but you liked to make faces at each other during dinners at Grandma Kathey’s house.
<p>
Easter: This was our Easter Egg hunt 2012. You and Lizbeth got new Easter bonnets, but you wanted to wear both hats at the same time. We compromised by letting you wear Lizbeth’s old hat along with your new one.
<p>
Eat: I love taking pictures of you while eating. With the light from the window making your hair and skin shine. I was disappointed that the print came out darker than it looked on the computer.
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Friends: These are our friends Joel and Dallin Sanderson. We go to play with them once or twice a week. Daddy works at the Sandersons’ house.
<p>
Frog: Another eating picture that printed dark. You really enjoyed looking at your bibs and cups and finding the animals on them.
<p>
Goat: This is one of several photos in this book from our trips to Young’s Jersey Dairy. It’s a farm near Grandma Kathey’s house in Ohio. We go there to eat ice cream, feed the goats, look at the animals, and play.
<p>
Happy: This photo was taken by Aunt Lesli when she came out for Grandpa Roly’s funeral. Aunt Lesli takes beautiful photos, always managing to find good light and get candid expressions.
<p>
Insects: We all dressed up as insects for Halloween. Daddy is a green beetle, Mama is a purple butterfly, Lizbeth
is the Very Hungry Caterpillar (that can go through complete metamorphosis), and Bridget is a bee.
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July 4: We were out visiting Ohio, and went to the fireworks at Wright Patterson Air Force Base (where Grandpa Jim works) in the week before July 4th. This American Flag dress was on of my favorite outfits for you.
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Karen: This photo was taken on the day Daddy gave you a name and a blessing at church.
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Ladybug boots: You’ve always liked to wear shoes, no matter what size they are. In this photo, you were just barely learning to walk, and decided to put on Lizbeth’s ladybug boots. They were heavy, and up past your knees, and you either fell over, or slipped out of the boots at almost every step. You were thrilled to wear them anyway.
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Monkey: For your first Christmas, I bought you monkey pajamas from Gymboree. That same week, Joel got a hooded monkey blanket, and I got a brown jacket. Lizbeth started calling it my ‘monkey jacket’ and convinced me to sew a face on the hood, I also made one for her, and another for you when you outgrew the pajamas.
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Naked: After a trip to the zoo with some cousins, we made an unexpected trip to Salt Lake’s Liberty Park to play in the Seven Canyons fountain that represents the mountain streams that flow into the Great Salt Lake. I didn’t have a swim diaper so we just decided to let you play naked.
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Oh! I was taking my annual Mother’s Day photos of you and Lizbeth in Grandma Becky’s yard, when you gave me this adorable surprised look.
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Pooh: One of my favorite baby outfits is this little Winnie the Pooh sleeper and hat.
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Princess: I got this crown from the Goodwill outlet in Ohio, and you immediately claimed it for your own. You are also far more interested in princesses and dressing up than Lizbeth ever was, and this photo is a celebration of that.
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Princess piggy: You really like to wear hats. It’s often not enough for you to wear just one hat, so we stack them on top of each other.
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Quiet: I sometimes miss the times when you slept so deeply as a little baby, all swaddled in your blanket...
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Rabbit: Here you are in a cute bunny costume.
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Sunshine on my Shoulder: I love the way you’re backlit here on the yellow playground equipment.
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Swimsuit: This photo was taken at the Splashpad in Spanish Fork, Ut. You didn’t really like the spraying water, but you did like being there with Lizbeth and your cousins.
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Slide: I think this is the slide at the Salem Pond playground. You really like going down the slide (though climbing up is sometimes traumatic).
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Tractor: Another Young’s Jersey Dairy photo. Daddy likes to point out that T is also for his Theoryland t-shirt (from the Wheel of Time website).
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Train: And another photo from Young’s. I tend to take more photos when we’re on vacation, I guess. You were a little scared, but you really enjoyed ringing the cowbell as the tractor pulled the train around.
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Up: This is the airplane ride at Trafalga Lehi. We had passes that let us go as often as we liked for a few years.
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Vroom: Both of these photos were taken on the same day as the Apple photo when we went to Cousin Hazel Mills’s birthday party.
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Web: This spider web is at the same Ohio playground as the Sunshine and Dog photos. I also I sprained my ankle walking down the stairs at this playground.
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White animals: At your first birthday party, I think these were the presents that you loved most. They certainly were some of your favorite toys for sleeping with.
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Xmas: This is the Santa at the Provo Riverwoods shopping destination. He gave you the Snowman bath duck.
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Xmas: We went all out dressing up for our Ward’s Christmas in Nauvoo program. Nobody else dressed up at all,
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Young’s: The last of the Young’s Jersey Dairy shots. You and Lizbeth thought this giant pumpkin was really neat.
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Zzzz: Here you are asleep again. It really is a wonderful thing for a mother to watch a baby sleep. You’re so relaxed here, and looking cute in an outfit from Aunt Miriam Stay. You’ve always been more willing than most children to go to bed when you’re tired. It’s a good habit, and I hope you’ll be able to keep it up.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-92155683794135747802011-09-28T15:44:00.000-07:002011-09-28T16:09:49.696-07:00Ready Set SilhouetteSo I thought about how I'm not blogging much lately, and what I could have to write about these days, and I thought I'd switch off between reviews of the games I play with the girls, and the crafts we make.<br /><br />Today I thought I'd start with a little game called <a href=http://store.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay_I+Spy+Ready,+Set,+Silhouette+Game_35131_-1_10052_10051>Ready Set Silhouette</a>. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglnR0vfCciR87GiZ2-P3oP-PmKce9ip5miRpES7h6TieWwNF4zC7ABeeqnjuRdiEqHgbj21T-8YzbwvbqzGXJGwYOPeLWHEeg6o2r_Sn-8J02Fc4ScKB1iBXAQQnh4JKmSTBGjF4js52A/s1600/readysetsilhouette.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglnR0vfCciR87GiZ2-P3oP-PmKce9ip5miRpES7h6TieWwNF4zC7ABeeqnjuRdiEqHgbj21T-8YzbwvbqzGXJGwYOPeLWHEeg6o2r_Sn-8J02Fc4ScKB1iBXAQQnh4JKmSTBGjF4js52A/s320/readysetsilhouette.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657546321155930370" /></a><br /><br />It's based on the I Spy books from Scholastic, and has all the charming little miniatures that I love to look at. Each picture card has 8 or 9 little things on a white background. The object of the game is to find the matching silhouette card - clear cards with black silhouettes of the same objects.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGochwWStWVuCDNYgLH98c1ZvzP-c-EyWO_PTNtxhwceJ4-z-35JLMh5dV5HMTOGqS9MeD7zaaq9bMqC5SdwydGrqhjxRTcBP_orVjOelrRqeHhU9B3d4mf1fgpwj5OENU4HlGTR3qog/s1600/readysetsilhouette+b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGochwWStWVuCDNYgLH98c1ZvzP-c-EyWO_PTNtxhwceJ4-z-35JLMh5dV5HMTOGqS9MeD7zaaq9bMqC5SdwydGrqhjxRTcBP_orVjOelrRqeHhU9B3d4mf1fgpwj5OENU4HlGTR3qog/s320/readysetsilhouette+b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657550235602627330" /></a><br /><br />We have a mini set that came from a Wendy's Kids meal. It has a little plastic box on a keychain to hold the cards, and only 12 pairs of cards. This size is perfect for playing with Lizbeth (who is three). If there were any more cards, they'd get mixed up and lost, and/or she'd have a hard time looking through them for the matches. As it is, we can spend about 20 minutes playing the game, and I can be sure that all the cards have their matches and get back into the box.<br /><br />How do we like the game? It's simple enough for a three year old, but interesting enough that I don't get bored (it helps that it's essentially a sorting exercise, which my obsessive nature finds satisfying). The thing I like best is the moment when you've been twisting and flipping the card around, and everything finally lines up. There's a tiny outline of color, and then it's all black and white, neat and tidy. <br /><br />The game teaches things like observation skills of course -- deciding what are the important features to look for, and then actually finding them. It also has a good spatial reasoning component because you have to twist and flip the clear cards to get everything to match.<br /><br />All in all, I'd definitely reccomend this game -- though if I had a larger set, I'd probably only get out a few cards at a time.Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-17040290081628983572011-09-11T07:17:00.000-07:002011-09-11T07:29:33.251-07:00Who needs math at a time like this?<dl><dt><b></b></dt><dd></dl>
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<br />This isn't a poem, but an essay I wrote ten years ago today. I was teaching Math -- as a substitute for Remedial Algebra actually -- at Southview High School in Lorain, Ohio on September 11, 2001. At one period change, a group of students came in and said something about a plane crash and asked if we could watch TV instead of holding class. Of course I didn't do anything of the kind, and it wasn't till I went to the teachers' lunchroom at the end of that period that I got the news. For the rest of the day, I insisted on holding class before turning the TV back on, and I was very disturbed by the attitudes of the students. I wrote this essay that night, in order to have something to motivate them the next day. I also posted it to some Math Teacher websites.
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<br />As a side note to this, I was going through some old papers in the attic a while later, and found a copy of the Detroit Free Press from January 29, 1986. The Headline of the article said, "STUDENTS EXPRESS SHOCK, DISMAY AT SHUTTLE EXPLOSION" the subtitle was a quote from me, "I felt like there was nothing inside me." I was in third or fourth grade (I had the same classroom, teacher, and most of the same students for both years, so I can never tell them apart) and our teacher, Mrs. Patterson was one of those in the running for the "Teacher in Space" program. We spent weeks leading up to the liftoff, studying the shuttle, and we knew just what would happen when we watched the liftoff in class. Except it didn't. I can still close my eyes and see the trails of smoking debris arching away from the explosion. We watched the same horrible moments over and over. Mrs. Patterson had us each write a paragraph about our feelings, and some of those were printed in the paper. It was like having a flashback to that day when I turned on the TV at Southview -- except that the kids were all turning to ME for reassurance.When I went home that day, I ate a lot of ice cream and cried.
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<br /><b><center>Who needs math at a time like this?</b></center>
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<br />As the terrible events of Tuesday unfolded, I heard some disturbing sentiments: "I just wanna leave" "So does this mean we don’t have to do our homework?" "Can we just skip class today and watch the news?" It seems to me that students are saying, "Who needs math at a time like this?" If we are to continue to teach, this question must be answered. So who needs math at a time like this?
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<br />Rescue workers digging people out of the rubble of collapsed buildings must be able to calculate how much force they can apply at what angle in order to lift blocks safely. They must be able to predict what buildings are about to fall, and where. They do not have time to find a calculator and look up the formula for volume on a cheat sheet, and yet they know that they have to dig through the equivalent of a city’s worth of buildings piled on top of each other.
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<br />Doctors and nurses must be able to calculate how much medicine to give each person based on body weight and other factors. They must be able to figure out how many liters of blood they need, and how much of the supply has already been used. They need to order supplies, and be aware of how much time goes by between repeated treatments.
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<br />Reporters are deluging us with facts, figures, and speculations about the times, places, and the number of dead, wounded, and survivors.
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<br />FAA workers had to calculate new flight plans to get all of the planes out of the air safely. If flight 496 left Salt Lake City at 5:15 am at 2000 miles per hour, and flight 901 is heading southwest out of Detroit at 8:30 at 1500 miles per hour, and they both have to land at the same airport in Illinois, will they crash?
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<br />The passengers on the Pennsylvania plane made a horrible calculation and decided to crash in a field now and die, rather than take the chance of hitting something bigger, and killing thousands of people when the hijackers reached their target.
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<br />As the nation rebuilds, architects and engineers will draw plans for new buildings that will be stronger than before: buildings that will take such punishment, and stay standing a few minutes longer, so a few more people can escape should another disaster occur. They will marvel at the ones who built so well that the towers would fall straight down, and not sideways, knocking down half the city in a domino effect.
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<br />On the back wall of my classroom, I have a poster that reads: ONLY THE EDUCATED ARE FREE. The United States can only maintain its freedom, prosperity, and stability with an educated populace. Our economy depends on skilled and technical labor. Our government depends on citizens who are well informed about the history and current events that lead to events like this. Those that are educated can lend a hand, or a mind, to build up any community, from organizing relief efforts to preserving peace in our ethnically diverse neighborhoods. Those who are ignorant can only riot, retaliate blindly, or watch in horror as the world crumbles around them.
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<br />In answer to the question, who needs math at a time like this, all I can say is, at a time like this, who can do without it?
<br />Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-50065081767025258252010-12-07T14:23:00.000-08:002010-12-07T14:37:23.406-08:00Were You There On That Christmas Night? by Natalie Sleeth<dl><dt><b>Were You There On That Christmas Night?<br /></b></dt><dd>Where you there? Where you there<br />On that Christmas night?<br />When the world was filled with a holy light?<br />Where you there to behold as the wonder foretold<br />Came to Earth?<br /><br />Did you see? Did you see?<br />How they hailed him king?<br />With their gifts so rare that they chose to bring?<br />Did you see how they bowed as they praised him aloud<br />At his birth?<br /><br />Did you hear how the choirs of angels sang<br />At the glory of the sight?<br />Did you hear how the bells of Heaven rang<br />All through the night?<br /><br />Did you know, did you know<br />It was God's own son?<br />The salvation of the world begun?<br />Did you know it was love that was sent from above<br />To the Earth?<br /><br />Did you know it was love that was sent from above<br />To the Earth?<br /><br />--Natalie Sleeth<br /></dl><br /><br />I sang this song in choir in I think 6th grade, and it's still one of my favorites.<br /><br />I thought I'd post a few of the christmas crafts I've been doing, so without further ado, here's what we did today in preschool:<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/srWdjhnpkM6-3DnnXeqEqg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/TP6xiVAtI4I/AAAAAAAAC-E/VTaibFPx6dk/s640/026.JPG" height="386" width="640" /></a><br /><br />These sheep are made on empty thread spools. I hot glued pipe cleaner legs (each pair of legs is a V shaped pipe cleaner) and felt heads on, then let the kids wind the fuzzy yarn wool on. Winding wool between the pipe cleaner legs holds them in place.<br /><br /><hr><br /><br />Here's a project I made for my Sister in Law Marcelle to share with her kids. I also made a set for our family. Each night we put a piece on and sing a song that relates to the piece.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/vtoKRDKbKGIyekymTbHJIQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/TPNcHzKg4gI/AAAAAAAAC3Y/RhOR_29m1jI/s800/052.JPG" height="800" width="600" /></a><br /><br />This image has both sets together to show how the pieces look in the pockets, and also in the stable above.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2jMI3YogBm0_ZVW264cByA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/TP6yF2g3DtI/AAAAAAAAC-M/YsqlBqHJuJ0/s640/adventnativitytemplate.JPG" height="640" width="495" /></a><br /><br />Here are the templates if you want to make one yourself. Look at my colors, or choose your own.<br /><hr><br /><br />This is a page I altered from one I found online. It's another fun project to do with kids at Christmas. The rest of the project can be found <a href=http://www.scrapbookscrapbook.com/free-printable-christmas-nativity.html>here</a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LPNZR4Pj3pBK9ki2IcMixg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/TP62TWmlivI/AAAAAAAAC-4/Xvq7a3dr9pY/s144/free-printable-Nativity%20Mary%20and%20Jesus.jpg" height="81" width="144" /></a>Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-10666365359517370982010-10-25T07:55:00.000-07:002010-10-25T17:51:28.120-07:00Grandpa Roly<dl><dt><b>The Battle Cry of Freedom</b></dt><br /><dd><br />Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow,<br />Shouting out the battle cry of freedom!<br />And every where that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.<br />Shouting out the battle cry of freedom<br /><br />(chorus)<br />Hurrah for the Mary, Hurrah for the Lamb<br />Hurrah for the teacher, who didn't give a particle<br />If all the lambs in Mary's town went marching off to school<br />They'd be shouting out the battle cry of freedom!<br /><br />Mary had a little lamb she tied it to a well<br />Shouting out the battle cry of freedom!<br />She took a stick of dynamite and blew it all to -- pieces <br />Shouting out the battle cry of freedom!<br /><br />(chorus)<br /><br />Mary had a little lamb she also had a bear<br />Shouting out the battle cry of freedom!<br />I've often seen her little lamb. I've never seen her bare.<br />Shouting out the battle cry of freedom!<br /><br />(chorus)<br /><br />Mary had a little lamb, a little beef, a little ham<br />Shouting out the battle cry of freedom!<br />Mary had a little cake, and Mary had a stomach ache.<br />Shouting out the battle cry of freedom!<br /><br />(chorus)<br /><br />The elephant's a funny bird it leaps from bough to bough<br />Shouting out the battle cry of freedom!<br />It makes its nest in the rhubarb tree and barks just like a cow.<br />Shouting out the battle cry of freedom!<br /><br />(chorus)<br /><br />I eat my peas with honey, I have done it all my life, <br />Shouting out the battle cry of freedom!<br />It makes the peas taste funny, but it keeps them on my knife. <br />Shouting out the battle cry of freedom!<br /><br />(chorus)<br /> <br />-Anonymous Scout song based on songs by George F Root and Sarah Hale<br /></dl><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8JVhkyCoo6mIaDmehucapNmqJxIJbdbJhBa_iC_syMXblIl7HMNjwn5M6Nc7gjjpTfxon4fY58TmHvOSaXhrsmQF-TF_ovitArSzv4RpYLA_huKa8Pu8cRzeTIdJpBay4ElVi4PIQ0o/s1600/roly___dean_laugh.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8JVhkyCoo6mIaDmehucapNmqJxIJbdbJhBa_iC_syMXblIl7HMNjwn5M6Nc7gjjpTfxon4fY58TmHvOSaXhrsmQF-TF_ovitArSzv4RpYLA_huKa8Pu8cRzeTIdJpBay4ElVi4PIQ0o/s320/roly___dean_laugh.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532145461552551826" /></a><br />This song was a Scout song that I learned from mom, who learned it from Grandpa Roly. I didn't hear him sing much, but when he did, it was generally songs like this one. Another of hi favorites was "More Work for the Undertaker" which I ought to post here someday, but I think it's a bit morbid for my post today.<br /><br />Grandpa Roly Holt died this morning. He had gotten sick while on vacation with my parents, and he spent the last month or so in the hospital getting progressively worse each time the doctors thought they had fixed or at least stabilized the problems. Mom says that at the end, he was peaceful, and the doctors had made him comfortable, and he slipped away at about four this morning with Mom beside him telling him how much we all loved him.<br /><br />And Grandpa Roly was loved. It always surprised and pleased him when people did nice things for him, so it was fun for me to do things like plan his birthday party last year. Mom was in Ohio, so I put together a simple family party with cake and candles, and balloons and streamers, and a few presents I had picked up at the DI. He was as pleased a punch, and immediately went into his room to show me which suit he intended to wear the tie with. He even wanted to open up and share the Snickers bar I got him.<br /><br />Grandpa Roly loved to talk, and could find a connection with any person he ever met. He remembered even the most obscure acquaintances, and could tell you the personal and family histories of the people who worked in the store where he bought the suit that went with that birthday tie (and WOULD, at great length, every chance he got). <br /><br />He was a bit obsessive, and repetition comforted him, so it was often very easy to predict what he'd say in any given situation. <ul><Li>Even when we were young, we knew that when he had his extended family around, he'd sing "Boys and Girls Together" and say, "A real slice of life!" as if having us around was like eating a piece of pie or cake. <br /><li>He loved to eat pie and cake, and anything with gravy on it. In fact, every time there was gravy at dinner, he'd tell the story of when he was young, and they were eating Meat and potatoes, and he'd asked for some gravy to go with it. "Whaddaya want gravy for with meat 'n potatoes?" his dad Harry Holt asked him. Then shaking his head, he'd said, "Boy, you'd eat gravy on ice cream." <br /><li>When we'd finish our vacation, and get in the van to drive home, his last goodbye would be to give the car's hood a couple of good whacks, as if to tell the car, "take good care of them." In later years, the kids would be whispering, "Hit the car! Hit the car!" as Dad was getting ready to pull out, almost worried that he'd forget, but also, sure that he wouldn't.<br /><li>I think that One of the reasons Mom was happy to leave the cat behind when they moved, was that every time he saw her, he's say, "Miss Kitty Cat. Your name is Kitty, and you're a cat, so your name is Miss Kitty Cat!" Every time he said it, it was as if he'd discovered a clever idea for the first time, and it honestly drove Mom up the wall.<br /><li>The newspaper also had a nickname. The Deseret News, which he wasn't fond of, but had to subscribe to in order to get the Church News was the "Deserted News" and the funny pages were always the "Educational Section"<br /></ul><br /><br />Most of us grinned and rolled our eyes when he'd say these things for the gazillionth time, but Lizbeth hadn't learned these habits yet. Every time he'd call her "Daughter of Zion" or "Miss Liz" or "Mis Ahlstrom" or "Darlin'" or any of his other nicknames, she'd say, "No. I'm not Miss Ahlstrom. I'm Lizbeth." After a while, I think she decided it was a game he liked to play, so no matter what he said, she'd contradict him. "No. Not good morning." I think it's interesting that after he had been gone for a week or so, on this vacation, she spent a day insisting that we call her Liz because, "That what Grandpa Roly says."<br /><br />Elizabeth was a little wary of him at first, when we moved into the Salem House, and wouldn't go up to him, or submit to be hugged whenever he decided to grab her (his timing on hugs wasn't always convenient for any of us). As time went on though, he realized that if he let her come to him, he'd get plenty of hugs on HER terms. Just like most good things, he was surprised and pleased whenever she would come up and give him a hug and kiss and say, "I love you Grandpa Roly." She would sit on the couch next to him, or in his lap when watching movies, and even got him to read to her sometimes. I always though it was cute to watch him read to her because even with books that we'd read so many times we had them memorized, he was discovering the book for the first time as he read it to her, and would look at a picture and say, "Oh! Look. There's the monkey!" or something like that.<br /><br />He also adored Bridget. I let him hold her in the hospital when she was only about a day old, and he discovered that he was good at holding a baby. From then on, every time we'd walk into the house, his fingers would start to itch, and he would happily hold Bridget for hours on end while she cooed and gurgled at him. He'd stick his finger into her hand and say, "Grabba Holt!" and laugh at his little pun. He loved looking at baby fingers, and would say, "Look at those little fingernails!" in a hushed, awed voice every time he saw tiny fingers.<br /><br />Other people know more about his years of dedicated service in scouting, as bishop of an enormous ward, and as the best clerk and executive secretary that any ward leaders could wish for. I'll let them share those stories. What I know best is the way he treated me.<br /><br />He was a kind, gentle man, and he loved me unconditionally. In college, I was often depressed, and went to visit Grandma and Grandpa when I was having trouble coping. Grandma would cook for me, and we'd watch old movies together, and do crafts, but Grandpa would just get a sweet sad look on his face and give me a long hug. I never saw him angry except when he felt like somebody he loved was being hurt. He'd defend Grandma from her sisters when he felt like she needed it, and the two times I was badly hurt by people close to me, I could tell that he really wished he could give those people a piece of his mind.<br /><br />Grandpa Roly will be greatly missed in this world, but I know that he will be greeted with joy in the world to come. He missed Grandma Fawnie terribly, and now they can be together forever. Goodbye Grandpa Roly. We love you.Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-75321161314258435642010-06-03T08:43:00.000-07:002010-06-07T07:32:26.304-07:00The Baby by George Macdonald<dl><dt><b>The Baby</b></dt><dd><br />Where did you come from baby dear? <br />Out of the everywhere into here. <br /><br />Where did you get those eyes so blue? <br />Out of the sky as I came through. <br /><br />What makes the light in them sparkle and spin? <br />Some of the starry spikes left in. <br /><br />Where did you get that little tear? <br />I found it waiting when I got here. <br /><br />What makes your forehead so smooth and high? <br />A soft hand stroked it as I went by. <br /><br />What makes your cheek like a warm white rose? <br />I saw something better than any one knows. <br /><br />Whence that three-cornered smile of bliss? <br />Three angels gave me at once a kiss. <br /><br />Where did you get this pearly ear? <br />God spoke, and it came out to hear. <br /><br />Where did you get those arms and hands? <br />Love made itself into bonds and bands. <br /><br />Feet, whence did you come, you darling things? <br />From the same box as the cherub's wings. <br /><br />How did they all just come to be you? <br />God thought about me, and so I grew. <br /><br />But how did you come to us, you dear? <br />God thought about you, and so I am here. <br />--George Macdonald<br /></dl><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/87BnZ-vVEz_ND92zavs3-A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/TA0BZ9kCfmI/AAAAAAAACKg/hOkz1tiVX7g/s400/may%20e%20042.JPG" /></a><br />Bridget Ellen Ahlstrom was born at 10:15 Sunday morning. She was 7 lbs 9.6 oz (one pound less than Elizabeth) and 19 1/2 in long (just the same as Elizabeth). <br /><br />I woke up at about 5:30 that morning and while I was using the bathroom, my water broke (which was VERY convenient for me mess-wise). We called Mom to come stay with Lizbeth, and since I wasn't having strong or regular contractions, waited till she arrived before heading to the hospital in Provo. We got there at about 7:00, and checked in without much hassle. Contractions were still light and irregular, so they started me on pitocin. I wasn't thrilled about that because it makes the contractions more intense and I wanted to try to avoid both the epidural -- which made me feel useless during Elizabeth's delivery -- and the narcotics -- which tend to make me feel out of control. <br /><br />About three hours later, things were really going strong. The contractions were coming hard and fast, and I would have taken the narcotics, but the nurse said it was too late. Thankfully, it was not too long after that that I felt something change, and knew that Bridget was coming. I remembered from the lamaze class we took before Lizbeth was born that you can't push while you're huffing, so I switched my breathing to that while the nurses rushed around getting the bed ready and the doctor in the room. Once they told me to push, I was doing OK until the bed got pushed up so far that I was being squished between the backrest and the stirrups/ "It's too much!" I yelled desperately. "No, no." The nurses said, thinking I meant the pain and contractions, "You're doing fine!" "The bed!" I insisted -- not finding the words I wanted. When they finally understood what the problem was, we discovered that I had been the one pushing the button with my own elbow. I thought it was pretty funny, even in the moment.<br /><br />It only took about three contractions of pushing, and Bridget was out and into the world. She was there on my chest, all covered in gook, but beautiful nonetheless. It all happened so fast at the end, that I didn't notice most of what was going on around me. Soon after she was toweled off, they took her away to clear her airways because she wasn't crying like she should. I was kind of in shock -- shaking like crazy, and kind of confused and sort of noticed as Peter called the grandparents, and posted to Twitter and facebook. They brought the baby back to nurse and bond, but she didn't seem very interested in sucking when breathing was such a challenge. Helena called Peter, and asked if he could post a picture, which he did with his spiffy iphone. After about an hour, they took Bridget away to give her eyedrops and have someone evaluate her breathing.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1wtiRZJKZaagwWwfuTY3wA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/TA0BWK6dqrI/AAAAAAAACKM/KLHaofkIq5w/s400/may%20e%20013.JPG" /></a><br />They moved me to a long-term room, and made sure I was able to walk, etc. Then I settled down to wait for Peter to bring Bridget back. Several hours later, I found out that they had taken her to the NICU, put surfactant in her lungs, and had her on oxygen. They had here there all day Sunday, and most of Monday too. It was hard to have to ask whether it would be all right to hold my own baby, and even harder when they said no. At the same time, everybody was cheerful and treated her case as something temporary and routine. Her O2 saturation was good even when she was off the CPAP breathing tube, she just wheased a lot and it seemed like it was hard for her to breathe, so they decided to give her a little help. <br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/CnAJtoDRGxJyAAb8XiNCWw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/TA0BW-4WzuI/AAAAAAAACKQ/kaeiBK84Buk/s400/may%20e%20017.JPG" /></a><br />Monday morning, when she was still there, and not likely to come down soon, I tried pumping -- since they said, "Oh! if you don't do it in the first 12 hours, you could have trouble having enough milk supply." Well Shortage of milk was never my problem with Lizbeth, and it didn't look like it's be a problem this time either. I took two whole ounces (60 ml) of colostrum up with me to the NICU for my first visit of the day. When the Doctor saw it she burst out laughing, and told the nurse, "I wrote on her chart to give Colostrum as available, but you'd better not try to force all that down her throat at once. Just give her about five ml at a time." <br /><br />Mom brought Grandpa Roly and Lizbeth to visit, and so the two sisters got to meet for the first time. Lizbeth was impressed for about 30 seconds, and then was done with the baby and wanted attention from Mama. Grandpa Roly admired her fingers and tiny fingernails, and said, "Grabba Holt" as she held his finger, much to his delight. Monday evening, They let her leave the NICU and come to my room.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bJLlGjnwlddCHWin4cNqlA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/TA0BYV1BvyI/AAAAAAAACKY/fV3FboofvpM/s400/may%20e%20033.JPG" /></a> <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Mt6TjHleyfLK4eUctrX6rA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/TA0BZFionaI/AAAAAAAACKc/5m2-nxSLI0g/s400/may%20e%20037.JPG" /></a> <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cvug32-oN6RupbCNwKNDxg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/TA0BXjRFZwI/AAAAAAAACKU/20WEddZNiBM/s400/may%20e%20019.JPG" /></a> <br />We had annother visit from Mom and Lizbeth on Tuesday, and then early that afternoon, they suddenly said we could all go home. It was great to have our whole family together in our new house. We love Baby Bridget, and are thrilled to have her here with us at last.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7zhv5ekbkFoHWbjJ0S-4tw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/TA0Bar8oJDI/AAAAAAAACKk/souDtLdcUUs/s400/may%20e%20058.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wquu9DeQwHW6fmH3gbdi6A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/TA0BbjB6KMI/AAAAAAAACKo/lcgpadTzY30/s400/may%20e%20060.JPG" /></a><br />We got a lot of good wishes from people, and I wanted to document them here.<br /><br /><hr><br />Karen Stay Ahlstrom water just broke -- waiting for Mom to come and watch Elizabeth, then we'll head to the hospital. May 30 at 5:32am <br /><ul><br /><li>Kirsa Van Dusen I hope everything goes smoothly! May 30 at 6:07am · .<br /><br /><li>Patti Harvey good luck! keep us posted!! May 30 at 6:28am · .<br /><br /><li>Tina Moore Ingles Yay! You'll do great I'm sure! May 30 at 9:09am · <br /></ul><br /><hr><br /><br />[TPMOTD] water just broke -- waiting for Mom to come and watch Elizabeth, then we'll head to the hospital. prayers for a safe and easy delivery would be nice<br /> <br />-Karen May 30 at 5:30am <br /><br /><ul><li>How nice! Just 20 minutes ago I woke up and prayed that you'd have a safe delivery soon.<br />When I told Rachel, she said "Yaaay!" and Elliott started clapping. We're all excited for him to have another Ahlstrom cousin!<br />Love,<br />Steve and Rachel and Elliott May 30 at 5:40am <br /><br /><li>Good luck. We will keep you in our prayers.<br /><br />Doug lesli daniel May 30 at 5:58am <br /><br /><li>Ooh, exciting! Good luck!<br /><br />--Helena May 30 at 8:36am <br /><br /></ul><br /><br /><hr><br />Peter Ahlstrom We're heading to the hospital in about 25 minutes. Would appreciate prayers for a safe and easy delivery. May 30 at 5:45am via Twitter <br /><br /><ul><li>Megan Kauffman Well, you got out of California, that's a point on your side. Prayers for all of you, and remember women have been having babies for thousands of years - don't let the doctors make you forget that. May 30 at 6:19am.<br /><br /><li>Stefan Rauch Good luck May 30 at 7:39am.<br /><br /><li>Peter Ahlstrom Karen says: "Half of those women died in childbirth. Well, maybe not half, but a lot of them." May 30 at 7:57am.<br /><br /><li>Megan Kauffman *cringe* I won't argue with a woman in labor but that's not the best attitude to have going into it. May 30 at 8:03am.<br /><br /><li>Tina Moore Ingles Good luck! Take good care of her! May 30 at 9:08am.<br /><br /><li>Suzie Irby Great! Prayed for a safe and easy delivery and you've got a great attitude! I can tell you've done this before :) May 30 at 9:42am.<br /><br /><li>Peter Ahlstrom Megan: the idea is that she's glad there's a doctor there. :) May 30 at 11:02am.<br /><br /><li>Kathi Russell-Rader Prayers and well wishes for a safe delivery on the way, Peter. Keep me posted. May 30 at 11:09am.<br /><br /><li>Suzie Irby Peter, you are very correct. Not only did lots of women die in childbirth but lots of babies too! For the life of me, I cannot imagine why people want to get back to all that mess. May 30 at 12:04pm.<br /><br /><li>Peter Ahlstrom Bridget Ellen Ahlstrom has arrived! She's holding my finger right now. Karen is (I hope) getting some rest. May 30 at 12:11pm.<br /><br /><li>Megan Kauffman Congratulations! Snuggle that baby for me. May 30 at 12:37pm <br /></uL><br /><hr><br /><br />It's a girl!<br /><br />10:15, 7 lbs 9.6 oz, 19 1/2"<br /><br />Karen's doing fine. They're making sure baby's lungs and passages are <br />clear.<br /><br />Peter May 30 at 10:31am.<br /><br /><ul><li>Hooray! Happy birthday! <br /><br />--Helena May 30 at 10:35am.<br /><br /><li>Congratulations!<br /><br />May 30th is a good birthday. May is a good month for birthdays, right, those of you with may birthdays? <br />Lesli May 30 at 10:56am.<br /><br /><br /></ul><br /><hr><br /><br />[TPMOTD] Bridget Ellen Ahlstrom <br />Welcome to the world. (Picture)<br />May 30 at 10:58am.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMunY1kQ55dVb8mPUwjeRHRe9Ndx1t1UtP6ZySLi485a4Ff8dWrSvZvbv6ON-XwGs_j-TRn-WScri0jiySWlykv2Aayl6_GwjNaC79VGKthGeZ6sbRSn7z1Gy3yGVNA6ASoquNh5jO_pg/s1600/photo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMunY1kQ55dVb8mPUwjeRHRe9Ndx1t1UtP6ZySLi485a4Ff8dWrSvZvbv6ON-XwGs_j-TRn-WScri0jiySWlykv2Aayl6_GwjNaC79VGKthGeZ6sbRSn7z1Gy3yGVNA6ASoquNh5jO_pg/s320/photo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480026116717201234" /></a><br /><br /><ul><li>She is so cute. Her nose looks like Elizabeth's when she was new. That was super fast for a picture! Ellen Lynn Summerstay is what we were going to name daniel if he was a girl.<br />Lesli May 30 at 11:01am.<br /><br /><li>Congratulations! What a great name, too! She's beautiful.<br /><br /><li>She does look like Lizbeth!<br /><br />Congratulations! :)<br /><br />--Helena May 30 at 11:02am.<br /><br /><li>Yay! Congratulations!<br /><br />We were trying to park at Niagara Falls when you called; it took like an hour. Then when I listened to your message I could only understand a few words here and there, but I got the idea when I heard the weight. Yay.<br />-Betsey May 30 at 9:38pm.<br /><br /><li>Yeah! So glad to hear that she made it safely. -David June 1 at 10:29am.<br /></ul><br /><br /><hr><br /><br />Peter Ahlstrom It's a girl! 7 lbs 9.6 oz, 19 1/2". Mom and baby are doing fine.<br />May 30 at 11:00am via Twitter <br /> <br /><ul><li>Eric Neve Congratulations May 30 at 11:01am.<br /><br /><li>Brandis Pennington Congrats!!! May 30 at 11:01am.<br /><br /><li>Vanessa Kennington Christenson congrats! May 30 at 11:02am.<br /><br /><li>Christopher Wheat Wonderful Peter! All the best to your family! May 30 at 11:17am.<br /><br /><li>Eric Lake Congratulations! That's awesome. May 30 at 11:18am.<br /><br /><li>Kathi Russell-Rader Congratulations, Peter. How wonderful. May 30 at 11:21am.<br /><br /><li>Sabrina Pratte Congrats!!! May 30 at 11:23am.<br /><br /><li>Josh Walker Congrats, Peter! May 30 at 11:36am.<br /><br /><li>Eric Lake What's her name? May 30 at 12:13pm.<br /><br /><li>Peter Ahlstrom Bridget Ellen. May 30 at 12:15pm.<br /><br /><li>Valerie Hill Congrats!!!!!!! Enjoy the newborn stage and treasure every moment.... It wont last long enough! May 30 at 12:18pm.<br /><br /><li>Abby Grimshaw Dawe Congrats! Glad mom and baby are doing well. May 30 at 12:57pm.<br /><br /><li>Suzie Irby Congratulations!!! May 30 at 1:15pm.<br /><br /><li>Devin M. Taylor congratulations!! May 30 at 1:27pm.<br /><br /><li>Fen Eatough Woohoo!! Congrats! May 30 at 2:18pm.<br /><br /><li>Christina Feinauer Jones Congratulations! Fun to have two girls! May 30 at 2:54pm.<br /><br /><li>Patrick Sullivan congraturation May 30 at 4:21pm.<br /><br /><li>Lincy Chan Congratulation! She looks really cute! May 30 at 5:36pm.<br /><br /><li>Matthew Bushman Congratulations! May 30 at 9:41pm.<br /><br /><li>Diann T. Read Congratulations! May 31 at 7:03am.<br /><br /><li>Ta Nessa Carter Congratulations! May 31 at 8:03pm<br /></ul><br /><hr><br /><br />Peter Ahlstrom . It's a girl! (Picture) May 30 at 12:03pm via Facebook Mobile <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMunY1kQ55dVb8mPUwjeRHRe9Ndx1t1UtP6ZySLi485a4Ff8dWrSvZvbv6ON-XwGs_j-TRn-WScri0jiySWlykv2Aayl6_GwjNaC79VGKthGeZ6sbRSn7z1Gy3yGVNA6ASoquNh5jO_pg/s1600/photo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMunY1kQ55dVb8mPUwjeRHRe9Ndx1t1UtP6ZySLi485a4Ff8dWrSvZvbv6ON-XwGs_j-TRn-WScri0jiySWlykv2Aayl6_GwjNaC79VGKthGeZ6sbRSn7z1Gy3yGVNA6ASoquNh5jO_pg/s320/photo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480026116717201234" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikgDt6nnX2YjxQoTy1qliqV__KtVoLgsedteWYu-eCFademavRcMYEfggk8aTIFUc_bcJXjk_n92XeJaVYs1nJlTKyHbBTpRD2-Dhiemlgb67uDzImUiL_wuLNc5dhCSpsjrkuLVytFoo/s1600/baby.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikgDt6nnX2YjxQoTy1qliqV__KtVoLgsedteWYu-eCFademavRcMYEfggk8aTIFUc_bcJXjk_n92XeJaVYs1nJlTKyHbBTpRD2-Dhiemlgb67uDzImUiL_wuLNc5dhCSpsjrkuLVytFoo/s320/baby.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480032898769357490" /></a><br /><br /><ul><li>Michael Johnson Congratulations! May 30 at 12:15pm.<br /><br /><li>Valerie Hill Shes a beauty!!!! Better go ahead and by the shotgun so you can go target practicing! May 30 at 12:21pm.<br /><br /><li>Kristina Kugler Congratulations! May 30 at 12:24pm.<br /><br /><li>Karen Gonzalez Congrats! She looks a little like Elizabeth. May 30 at 1:03pm.<br /><br /><li>Suzie Irby That was fast! May 30 at 1:17pm.<br /><br /><li>Mi'chelle Trammel AWWW!!!! Peter, she so cute! Uber congratulations! May 30 at 1:25pm.<br /><br /><li>Joseph Zuehl Geesh, weren't you just on your way to the hospital? Man, in any case congratulations!! May 30 at 4:12pm.<br /><br /><li>Peter Ahlstrom We got up at 5:30 (water broke) and then she was born at 10:15. Karen was not in active labor when we got to the hospital (mild contractions every 20-40 minutes) but since her water had already broken they felt pitocin was a good idea. So once labor started it was less than 3 hours. And the final push came on rather suddenly--and the doctor we were expecting to use was in a c-section, so we had a surprise doctor. May 30 at 4:23pm.<br /><br /><li>Vanessa Kennington Christenson Whoa! Carl Earnstrom (you remember him, Peter? He was the editor at TLE before me) his wife had a baby today, too! How's that for coincidence?<br /><br />Oh, and she's a cutie! Congrats! May 30 at 4:27pm.<br /><br /><li>Deanna Hoak Congratulations!! May 30 at 5:19pm.<br /><br /><li>Jeffrey Creer Congrats to you and Karen. May 30 at 5:39pm.<br /><br /><li>Laura Duffin Congrats, Papa (& Mama)!!! :-D :-D May 30 at 6:55pm.<br /><br /><li>Charisa Player Congratulations! May 30 at 7:51pm.<br /><br /><li>Kalyani Poluri thats an angel of a baby.. Congratulations.. :) May 30 at 11:20pm.<br /><br /><li>Melanie Benabides Congratulations! :D June 1 at 1:58pm<br /></ul><br /><hr><br />Update from Peter. The baby was born this morning at 10:15 and is named Bridget Ellen. 7 lbs 9.6 oz, 19.5". Right now they've got her in the NICU due to her working slightly harder to breathe than they'd prefer. She may go to Karen's room anytime but it's hard to say.<br /><br />Karen has recovered quite a lot. She sent me home where I can actually get some sleep. We will keep you posted. May 30 at 6:06pm <br /><br /><ul><li>Janice West Warren Congratulations!!!!! May 30 at 6:14pm · .<br /><br /><li>Tina Moore Ingles Congrats and I'll be praying for the baby! May 30 at 6:52pm · .<br /><br /><li>Phyllis Kimmel So glad to hear about Karen and Bridget Ellen. My prayers for all of you... May 30 at 7:04pm · .<br /><br /><li>Kirsa Van Dusen Congratulations! What a beautiful name! I hope she gets to go stay with Karen soon! May 30 at 7:59pm · .<br /><br /><li>Martha Holt Henderson Congrats! Wow, early and everything! Keep us updated, you'll all be in our prayers. May 30 at 8:39pm · .<br /><br /><li>Jill Pavic Whoo hoo! Congratulations! May 30 at 8:39pm · .<br /><br /><li>Linda Stay Danielson Congratulations! Hope all continues to go well with the baby and Momma. May 30 at 9:20pm · .<br /><br /><li>Dorothy Brown Larson Wonderful news! Congratulations. May 30 at 10:26pm · .<br /><br /><li>Vanessa Kennington Christenson I love the name! Congrats May 30 at 11:09pm · .<br /><br /><li>Judi Moore Blessings to Bridget and Karen, and joy for Peter and Elizabeth!!! May 31 at 12:31am · .<br /><br /><li>Jaime Predmore Congratulations Karen and Peter :) May 31 at 6:32am · .<br /><br /><li>Ethel Pastron Congrats!!! I hope all continues to go well. May 31 at 7:55am · .<br /><br /><li>Marci Stay Stringham I am so happy to hear the good news. Give Karen all my best and congratulations to the both of you. May 31 at 8:21am · .<br /><br /><li>Kathy Bradley congratulations. Hope Karen and Bridget are home soon. May 31 at 9:34am · .<br /><br /><li>Peter Ahlstrom She's out of the NICU now and will be here in Karen's room in a couple of minutes. May 31 at 4:52pm · .<br /><br /><li>Peter Ahlstrom And she's here! May 31 at 5:12pm · .<br /><br /><li>Julie Anna Wagner Covey Congratulations to your family!! May 31 at 5:57pm <br /></ul><br /><hr><br /><br />Peter Ahlstrom My parents, my sisters, their husbands & kids all have odd-numbered birthdays. My wife & I, toddler, & new baby buck that. Consistency yay! May 31 at 2:32pm via Twitter<br /><br /><ul><li>Helena Ahlstrom Jole Whoa, I had never noticed that. May 31 at 3:03pm.<br /><br /><li>Peter Ahlstrom Barb reminded me of it last night. I think she has paid the most attention to this curious statistic. May 31 at 5:19pm<br /></ul><br /><hr><br /><br />Peter Ahlstrom Baby's out of the NICU. Hooray! May 31 at 4:42pm via Twitter<br /><br /><ul><li>Karen Gonzalez What's her name? And yay 4 getting out early. How's Karen doing? May 31 at 5:39pm.<br /><br /><li>Peter Ahlstrom Bridget Ellen. And Karen is doing well. May 31 at 5:58pm.<br /><br /><li>Kathi Russell-Rader Congratulations Peter. What a lovely name. My youngest niece is a Bridget. May 31 at 8:07pm.<br /><br /><li>Mark Ahlstrom I hope all of you were able to get some sleep. June 1 at 5:51am<br /></ul><br /><hr><br /><br />[TPMOTD] Bridget is here<br /><br />She's had a really good day so they've brought her down to the room with Karen. They have her on antibiotics that they need to give her until tomorrow, after which they'll do some blood work. If it looks at that point like she's not trying to fight anything off, she'll be going home with us.<br /><br />Peter May 31 at 5:11pm.<br /><br /><ul><li>That's great!<br /><br />Why is she on antibiotics? Was she in icu?<br />LesliMay 31 at 5:12pm.<br /><br /><li>She was in the NICU until about 4:30 today: she was having a bit of trouble breathing. Over 95% oxygen levels, but huffing so they had her on O for a while, then just on air with positive pressure. They took that off this morning and she's done fine. They may be doing an antibiotic just becasue of all the lines they put in?<br />Rebecca May 31 at 5:57pm.<br /><br /><li>That sounds like Daniel. They said with him that whenever newborns have trouble breathing they start them on antibiotics immediately and do tests to see what's causing it later, because if it's pneumonia or suchlike, if they do the tests first, they could get into a very serious condition by the time they get them on antibiotics. So they put daniel on them immediately, and then found he didn't need them, but they have to taper them off slowly, so he was on them for 3 days, and in nicu for three days, even though he was only on oxygen for the first day. They said the trouble breathing was because he had trouble transitioning. He was grunting too.<br /><br />I never found out his oxygen levels, but i think they were pretty low at first.<br />I'm glad she's doing fine. THanks for the pictures. She's cute.<br />Lesli May 31 at 6:46pm.<br /><br /><li>Elliott didn't go to the nicu, but he also had to get oxygen right after he was born. He was just grunting and not crying when the pediatrician did his routine checks on him. <br /><br />I'm glad Bridget doing fine. She's adorable. <br />Rachel June 1 at 5:26am.<br /></ul><br /><hr><br /><br />You are invited to view Rebecca's photo album: Bridget May 31 at 6:04pm.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJbL4r_A8uqjeiwwWL8QQiIsVISvoWNeadIcwBGg_ib3LV4VarlkKDDTIogMupJMpOr7ivo_GuujDC7CH-6wcxTwW01zFeA70CelAlbko2arRHs_8DhhM7vAECG7tPNWoZw8JmBAa6TWg/s1600/IMG_5614.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJbL4r_A8uqjeiwwWL8QQiIsVISvoWNeadIcwBGg_ib3LV4VarlkKDDTIogMupJMpOr7ivo_GuujDC7CH-6wcxTwW01zFeA70CelAlbko2arRHs_8DhhM7vAECG7tPNWoZw8JmBAa6TWg/s320/IMG_5614.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480028591161955122" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnuKtiSVQXyFG9TRV3kp9SVnvJ9eTNADI5GpOtN-3ub7piN-XM_KZOUQZhJLQAfBxt1a98AVZ2wU8tYbLagowrZPYsG-Z7vzer6AzyR1Jjz6BWiT-GoX68NokZYvvQcG59E4na6adMDu0/s1600/IMG_5601.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnuKtiSVQXyFG9TRV3kp9SVnvJ9eTNADI5GpOtN-3ub7piN-XM_KZOUQZhJLQAfBxt1a98AVZ2wU8tYbLagowrZPYsG-Z7vzer6AzyR1Jjz6BWiT-GoX68NokZYvvQcG59E4na6adMDu0/s320/IMG_5601.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480028582736669938" /></a><br /><br /><ul><LI>She's adorable. What's the pink stuff on her foot? -Steve May 31 at 8:15pm.<br /><br /><li>Probably tape: she has an IV in one foot and they put a sensor on the other and also take blood out for tests. -Rebecca May 31 at 11:57pm.<br /><br /><li>the pink is red light shining through from one of the sensors -- the one that reads pulse rate and oxygen saturation. in an adult it would be clamped like a clothespin on your finger. She also had a temperature sensor, blood pressure cuff, an IV, and EKG electrodes to get heart beat and respiratory rate. The thing I was most impressed with was the velcro headgear for keeping the CPAP breathing tube in place on her nose. With so many things just taped on willy nilly, Bridget's feet and ankles are in sad shape with her sensitive skin dry and cracked where it hasn't been poked or rubbed away entirely. This headgear though was obviously well designed for function and comfort.<br /> <br />Lesli's explanation about them givinng antibiotics first and looking for infections later was exactly what they told me for Bridget. <br /> <br />It was hard not being able to hold her much that first day, but the NICU staff all seemed so calm about everything the were doing with her that at no point did I feel really worried about her long term health.<br /> <br />-Karen June 1 at 4:41pm.<br /><br /><li>Yeah-- it is really hard not to be able to hold them that first day. I hate to say it, but it was a little easier with Levi than with Anna. I guess I wasn't expecting to be able to hold or cuddle him much the first few days since that's how it was with Anna. In fact, I think his birth was a little less joyful for me than Anna's since the whole time I just knew I wouldn't get to touch him for 12 hours. But without such high highs, there weren't such low lows so there was a lot less crying in the NICU with Levi :)<br />-Heather June 1 at 6:03pm.<br /><br /></ul><br /><hr><br /><br />Peter Ahlstrom Doctor says we can all go home in a few minutes. June 1 at 1:56pm via Twitter<br /><br /><ul><li>Helena Ahlstrom Jole Yay! June 1 at 2:42pm.<br /><br /><li>Peter Ahlstrom And we are home. June 1 at 3:16pm.<br /><br /><li>Mark Ahlstrom w00t! June 1 at 3:24pm.<br /><br /><li>Suzie Irby Nice! June 1 at 3:25pm.<br /><br /><li>Stacy Whitman I didn't realize you were still at the hospital when I emailed yesterday! You're just as busy as anybody right now. June 2 at 9:30am.<br /><br /><li>Peter Ahlstrom Well, there is a lot of time just sitting around at the hospital. Thank goodness for wireless Internet. June 2 at 10:48am<br /></ul><br /><hr><br /><br />Karen Stay Ahlstrom Home from the hospital with baby Bridget June 1 at 3:14pm<br /><br /><ul><li>Kirsa Van Dusen Hooray! June 1 at 3:58pm · .<br /><br /><li>Tina Moore Ingles I'm so glad she's here and safe :) June 1 at 5:23pm · .<br /><br /><li>Howard Tayler Congratulations! June 1 at 5:23pm · .<br /><br /><li>Martha Holt Henderson Glad she's here safely! Let me know what I can do to help! June 1 at 5:32pm · .<br /><br /><li>Phyllis Kimmel Best wishes, Karen. Bridget Ellen is getting a great family. June 1 at 9:53pm · .<br /><br /><li>Rachel G Hunsaker Congrats!! June 1 at 10:50pm · .<br /><br /><li>Michele Beachler Congratulations to all! And I think it's cool she was born so close to her mom's birthday :) June 2 at 6:05am · .<br /><br /><li>Jen De Sart Harris love the name! Feel better! and enjoy! June 2 at 2:25pm <br /></ul><br /><hr><br />[TPMOTD] We are home<br />Forgot to mention it earlier, but we are all home. Bridget is doing <br />well. And do is Karen.<br /><br />Peter June 1 at 6:01pm <br /><br /><ul><li>Hooray! -Heather June 1 at 6:04pm <br /><br /><li>Great! I'm glad everyone is doing well.<br /><br />Peter, how long will you be able to take off work?<br /><br />--M (Kathey) June 1 at 8:17pm <br /></ul>Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-82753388312808143312010-04-22T20:20:00.000-07:002010-04-22T20:25:25.545-07:00The Spirit of God by William W. Phelps<strong>The Spirit of God</strong><br />
<br />
<blockquote>The Spirit of God like a fire is burning! <br />
The latter-day glory begins to come forth; <br />
The visions and blessings of old are returning, <br />
And angels are coming to visit the earth. <br />
<br />
We'll sing and we'll shout with the armies of heaven, <br />
Hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb! <br />
Let glory to them in the highest be given, <br />
Henceforth and forever, Amen and amen! <br />
<br />
The Lord is extending the Saints' understanding, <br />
Restoring their judges and all as at first. <br />
The knowledge and power of God are expanding; <br />
The veil o'er the earth is beginning to burst. <br />
<br />
We'll call in our solemn assemblies in spirit, <br />
To spread forth the kingdom of heaven abroad, <br />
That we through our faith may begin to inherit <br />
The visions and blessings and glories of God. <br />
<br />
How blessed the day when the lamb and the lion <br />
Shall lie down together without any ire, <br />
And Ephraim be crowned with his blessing in Zion, <br />
As Jesus descends with his chariot of fire! <br />
<br />
We'll sing and we'll shout with the armies of heaven, <br />
Hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb! <br />
Let glory to them in the highest be given, <br />
Henceforth and forever, Amen and amen! <br />
<br />
--William W. Phelps</blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMb6TQ3ZMpADfMFG4S9Y6ftPOlrOmMMjMVeM8gQxfHmxkUWdffLoCEXd_SVqb5f9F9qA1AsBt8fa6O4EfDNNFz8i6PO7_zx8ieLHeV1K6-cwbxz5hxqySjtQ4o-op3kemvfT-CffoejoY/s1600/lion-lamb-big3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMb6TQ3ZMpADfMFG4S9Y6ftPOlrOmMMjMVeM8gQxfHmxkUWdffLoCEXd_SVqb5f9F9qA1AsBt8fa6O4EfDNNFz8i6PO7_zx8ieLHeV1K6-cwbxz5hxqySjtQ4o-op3kemvfT-CffoejoY/s320/lion-lamb-big3.jpg" tt="true" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am one of the leaders for our Ward's <a href="http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&sourceId=6459991a83d20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=0ef9f4b13819d110VgnVCM1000003a94610aRCRD">Activity Days program</a> (girls 8-12). Every so often we have a Show and Share night so the parents can see what the girls have been doing. When we planned the activity we had tonight, it was supposed to be in March, so I suggested that for our theme we could do Lions and Lambs. On one hand, there's the little saying about March, the it comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, and on the other hand, there's plenty of Christian symbolism to lions and lambs, especially if we were going to do it just before Easter. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well, with several Wards meeting in our building, there are serious scheduling issues, and we couldn't get the gym until tonight. That meant that the March part of the theme was toast, but since nobody felt like coming up with a new theme we just went with "And the Lion shall lie down with the lamb." </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I had two assignments. The first was to do centerpieces for the tables. I thought it would be really cute to just gather up all of the lion and lamb toys we have around the house, and arrange them artfully. I knew that Lizbeth had a lot of little lambs, because she likes them almost as much as kitties. I got a couple of big lions for 50 cents each at the DI, and then went through the toy boxes to pull out the other random ones we had. I put them all in one of the big boxes that bulk diapers come in, and it was full to overflowing by the time I was done, and I know of several that never made it into the box. With the Easter grass and plastic eggs that we also decided to use even though Easter was weeks ago, it really looked good.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My other assignment was to give a short lesson talking about the theme and why we had chosen it. Since I actually typed up what I was going to say beforehand, I thought I'd post it here for you to read. I wanted to fit in something about Aslan in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, but I couldn't gind the right place for it. I could also have mentioned <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRtKAQJUc3g">Lambert the Sheepish Lion</a>, but that just would have been silly. I only mentioned in passing the stories in <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_kgs/13">1 Kings 13</a> and <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_kgs/20/35-36#35">1 Kings 20</a> where people are eaten by lions, but if, like certain of my brothers, you enjoy reading really odd Old Testament stories, they're worth looking at. Anyway, here it is:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've been asked to talk a little bit today about our theme: The lamb shall lie down with the lion.</div><br />
We sing about it in the hymn <a href="http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=1&searchseqstart=2&searchsubseqstart= &searchseqend=2&searchsubseqend=ZZZ">The Spirit of God</a>: How blessed the day when the lamb and the lion shall lie down together without any ire. <br />
<br />
Scripturally, it comes from a passage in <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/isa/11/6#6">Isaiah chapter 11 verse 6</a> where he's talking about the peace that will come after the wars and Judgement Day at the end of the world: The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. <br />
<br />
When I looked that up, I was surprised -- there are a lot of animals mentioned in that verse, and though the lion and lamb are both there, they aren't particularly close together, and yet in the song, and all kinds of Christian art, they're the two animals shown lying down together in peace in the millenium. <br />
<br />
After doing a bit more searching, I found that the connection came from another prophecy about the end of the world, this one in <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/rev/5/5-7">Revelation chapter 5</a>. Sitting there by God's throne, John sees a book that's sealed with seven seals. It's called the Book of Life, and everything everybody has done is written inside so they can be judged. But John is sad because there's nobody worthy to open the book and read what's inside. Then in vs 5 it says, And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain... 7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. <br />
<br />
So here in John's vision, in one verse, Jesus is called the Lion of The Tribe of Judah, and in the next, He's suddenly called the Lamb. <br />
<br />
We're used to thinking of Jesus as the Lamb of God. At Easter we remember how as part of His great atoning sacrifice, He fulfilled the Law of Moses by allowing Himself to be sacrificed as the Passover Lamb to meet the demands of Justice and forgive all our sins if we would repent. John the Baptist said, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/john/1/29#29">John 1:29</a>). When the Angel is explaining Nephi's vision of the Tree of Life in <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/13">1 Ne 13</a>, he constantly refers to Jesus as The Lamb or The Lamb of God. <br />
<br />
And it's easy to see how he's like a lamb: Meek, Pure, Innocent, in <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/isa/53/5-7#5">Isaiah 53</a>, it says, 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. <br />
<br />
The lion is a bit harder at first, but becomes easier to see as you look more closely. A lion is known as the ‘king of beasts’ He is majestic and strong. These two characteristics in themselves can be applied to the Lord. In ancient days, the King was the one who made the laws, and often acted as the top judge in the land as well (think of <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_kgs/3/16-28#16">King Solomon</a> and his famous wisdom in judgement). <br />
<br />
In the Old Testament, Lions are often a symbol of God's Justice. Some people are <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_kgs/13">killed</a> by <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_kgs/20/35-36#35">Lions</a> after disobeying the prophets, and other prophets talked about Babylon and <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/jer/50/17#17">Assyria</a> coming to take the Children of Israel into captivity as ravening lions. The most famous Lion story is about <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dan/6">Daniel.</a> Because he obeyed God's law, and even the king knew that the law of the land was unjust, the lions that were the instrument of justice had no power to devour Daniel. <br />
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Christ is the King of Kings, and therefore, the only one qualified to open the book and sit down and Judge everybody on Judgement Day. It's interesting though, that when he does it in Revelation, He's called the Lamb. One of the great problems with God's plan was that everybody who came to Earth would sin, and <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/10/21#21">no unclean thing</a> can dwell in the presence of God. <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/alma/42/25#25">Alma says, in chapter 42 vs 25</a> What, do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto you, Nay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to be God. But because Christ, the only perfect, unblemished, innocent Child of God was willing to suffer and die for our sins, the demands of Justice were satisfied, and He could be merciful at Judgement Day. <br />
<br />
And if you go back to Isaiah 11, where this whole journey started, you'll see that that's really what that chapter is all about. It talks about how he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.<br />
<br />
He's the perfect Judge. On one hand he's merciful to those that try to be righteous, and on the other hand, those that are truly wicked and oppress others will be destroyed. At that point, Justice and Mercy don't have to be at odds any more. <br />
<br />
The question we should ask ourselves now that we know all this, is which side of Jesus do I want ot see at Judgement Day? Do I want to meet to Lion, who will judge me guilty for every thoughtless thing I've done, or do I want to meet the Lamb of God, who has already paid the price for my sins and will forgive me if I repent and do as He commands?<br />
<dl></dl>Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-36078372443612093402010-04-03T19:16:00.000-07:002010-04-03T19:32:01.952-07:00A-tisket. A-tasket as sung by Ella Fitzgerald<dl><dt><b>A-tisket. a-tasket</b></dt>
<dd>A-tisket, a-tasket, </dd><dd>A green and yellow basket </dd><dd>I bought a basket for my mom </dd><dd>And on the way I dropped it
</dd><dd>I dropped it, I dropped it </dd><dd>Yes, On the way I dropped it </dd><dd>A little girlie picked it up </dd><dd>And took it to the market </dd><dd>
She was truckin' on down the avenue, </dd><dd>Without a single thing to do </dd><dd>She was peck-peck-peckin all around </dd><dd>When she spied it on the ground </dd><dd>
A tisket. A-tasket </dd><dd>She took my yellow basket </dd><dd>And if she doesn't bring it back </dd><dd>I think that I shall die </dd><dd>
(Was it red?) no,no,no,no, </dd><dd>(Was it brown?) no,no,no,no, </dd><dd>(Was it blue?) no,no,no,no, </dd><dd>Just a little yellow basket </dd><dd>
--Anonymous nursery rhyme (as sung by Ella Fitzgerald) </dd></dl>Here's another long post full of facebook updates with some photos and videos thrown in. Feel free to skim.<br />
<ul><li>Feb 22 Elizabeth has figured out that singing a song means having sustained notes, and not just reciting the lyrics. She has not figured out how to carry anything like a tune yet though. That means that Mama gets to listen to Aaaa-Beeee-Ceee-Deee-Eeee-Fff-Geeee! and Puuuut Heeeerrrr iiinn aaaaa pumkiiiin sheeeelllll annnnd ...theeeeereee heee keeept herrrr veee-ryyyy weeeelllll in a very loud monotone for hours on end today.<br />
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</li>
<li>Feb 22 By dinner time Elizabeth's stream of consciousness had degraded to "Diddle diddle diddile blablablablablablabla Blah!!!! lalalalalalalal bl-ey-bl-ey-bl-ey!" Will I never hear silence again?</li>
<li>Feb 24 Lizbeth quote of the day: "I want a credit card too!"</li>
<li>Feb 25 Lizbeth was playing with my jewelry while I got dressed and brushed my hair after a shower. When I finished and put the brush away, Lizbeth looked at me in the big mirror and said, "Mama -- how pretty she is!" Some days I don't mind when she talks.</li>
<li>Feb 26 Elizabeth keeps saying, "Patient song! Patient song 'gin Mama! I want the patient song!" Can you say ironic? (click the <a href="http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=2&searchseqstart=59&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=59&searchsubseqend=ZZZ">link</a> to hear the song she means) looking at the words now, I realize I've been singing it wrong -- I sing the last line as "Love and help each other be patient kind and true." So that''s where the "patient" comes from.</li>
<li>Feb 28 Lizbeth's latest non-sequiter: "Hooray! I'm happy. Hooray for Lizbeth." <br />
ok, so she then went on to quote one of her favorite passages from the book All My Little Ducklings -- "Pitter patter scatter" -- four or five times, then suddenly shouted, "Oh! Oh my!...said Lizbeth" and when that got laughs, she said it a few more times, complete with dialogue tags.<br />
</li>
<li>Mar 4 Elizabeth has been deciding more and more often recently that she just doesn't want to wear clothes. She'd rather go around naked and snuggle with super-soft micro fiber blankets. How do you explain modesty to a two year old?</li>
<li>Mar 4 Showed Elizabeth some of Mary Poppins tonight for the first time. Bored by Mr. Banks' song, entranced by the chalk drawing sequence, and rubbing her eyes and yawning during Stay Awake. I think we've got a winner.</li>
<li>Mar 6 I think Elizabeth ate three bites of her dinner tonight, and no amount of cajoling would convince her to eat any more. The rest got spat out, played with and thrown on the floor. Needless to say we're a bit grumpy this evening.</li>
<li>Mar 9 When Lizbeth stripped naked and started rolling in blankets today, Grandma offered to make pants and shirt from a blanket so she could stay dressed and still feel the super soft stuff on her skin. Lizbeth danced with glee at the idea. And though she pulled the pants and shirt up and down to get the feeling of it over... and over, she did stay dressed for the rest of the day! :) <br />
In this video, taken Apr 3rd, she is wearing the blanket pajamas and playing with her blue blanket. This is a game Elizabeth made up today. She put the blanket on her head and said she looked like a baby (since that's how I swaddle dolls). Then she said, "and I have two wings like a bee!" and was so impressed by the idea that she played baby bumblebee for about an hour, buzzing, dancing, and repositioning her blanket wings and hood. <br />
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Another cute photo of the baby bumblebee in blanket pajamas<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/4gaFvyl4s7TMYPnj3EmiRQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S7fyko-j4aI/AAAAAAAAB5Y/H_c4GmlKCYE/s400/090.JPG" /></a><br />
</li>
<li>Mar 14 Lizbeth woke up crying hysterically. When I went in to comfort her it took a couple of minutes just to stop and breathe. I asked her what she was dreaming about and for the first time, she was able to give me an answer: "It was a frog." what was the frog doing? "It was hopping out of an egg." she tells me it wasn't scary, but it wasn't happy and it wasn't fun either.</li>
<li>Mar 17 had a long busy exhausting day. Kept Elizabeth happy and energized with gummi bears. The zoo was great, and Elizabeth is finally going down slides again. Wore my leprochaun socks, but ate Indian for dinner (sorry St. Pat!). <br />
Our trip to the zoo was a lot of fun. It was the first really warm springy day we'd had that we actually got to go outside for a long time. Elizabeth had a lot of energy and spent a lot of time running around on the playground, doing things she had been timid about all winter.<br />
This is about her third time up this rope ladder. The first time she needed a lot of help, but she quickly gained confidence and skill.<br />
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<br />
At the bottom of the rope ladder<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/q8pP5DBl1pJ9w-acIq_vww?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S7fycO4FkXI/AAAAAAAAB4s/WuyxbymLoYw/s400/016.JPG" /></a><br />
<br />
At the top of the rope ladder<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/G61LrrSJjJegOeTA62WqOg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S7fymDgm9PI/AAAAAAAAB5g/7PPM29tdbpQ/s400/010.JPG" /></a><br />
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At the top of the twirly slide. Notice what the static does to her hair.<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Tdw4F8r9g1gwiT8lZ2kpng?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S7fyal8IqsI/AAAAAAAAB4o/Ilem3KxuTA4/s400/012.JPG" /></a><br />
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Trying to get a cute Easter greetings photo. This is the best one we got. I have about 20 of the top of her head or with her climbing in or out or looking away from me.<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9osKeyf6hknAB6GEzIIHwA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S7fyc9D3LSI/AAAAAAAAB4w/8tixr_avnBo/s400/026.JPG" /></a><br />
<br />
Enjoying the snake slide. You have to go up a couple of flights of stairs to get to the top of this slide, and Lizbeth enjoyed it so much she went five or more times in a row. <br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cxtQ2ZKI9THcS8-JjMm_Yg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S7fyd5nFm6I/AAAAAAAAB44/Kd9wckXU4eQ/s400/043.JPG" /></a><br />
<br />
In the turtle shell<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pxIkwqOrDHSoUhN815T8Mg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S7fyfEuoojI/AAAAAAAAB48/sRxyK_tLM-s/s400/050.JPG" /></a></li>
<li>Mar 18 Grandpa Roly was watching the BYU game while Elizabeth ate lunch. She paid particular attention to how he sat on the edge of his chair and yelled at the screen. When he went to change the laundry, she climbed up in his chair and started shouting, "Yes! No! Yes! No! Okay! Whoops! Nuts!"</li>
<li>Mar 18 I clipped Elizabeth's fingernails this morning. As we were heading downstairs for naptime after lunch, she looked at her stuffed kitty and said, "Clip kitty's ears. Clip kitty's nose nails." I said, we have fingernails and toenails, but no nose nails!" She looked at me smiling at her, tapped my teeth with her finger... and said, "Mama has mouth nails!"</li>
<li>Mar 24 We were talking with Lizbeth about the new baby sister that's coming this summer, and I asked her, "do you know where Baby Sister is right now?" Lizbeth thought for a moment and answered, "At the DI?"</li>
<li>Mar 26 RemoveKaren Stay Ahlstrom Said, "Do you want to pick out a shirt?" Lizbeth said, Kitty wants to pick out a shirt. She has hands for picking out." Then using the kitty's paws as pincers, she grabbed a shirt out of her drawer. "Oooohhh! Kitty picked out a lovely shirt!" she said as I put it on her. After breakfast, when she picked up the kitty ...again, she said, "Oh Kitty, Look at this beautiful shirt."</li>
<li>Mar 26 Driving home from a long day of shopping, Elizabeth kicked off her boots and socks and was making wired singing noises in the back seat. When she giggled at something she had said, I thought I ought to pay attention. This is what I heard: "This little kitty had roast beef, this little kitty had none. This little kitt...y went wee wee wee all the way home. I said the piggies were kitties. That's funny! Ha ha ha!"</li>
<li>Mar 27 I asked Peter, who is working on a tight deadline, "Are you playing catchup or getting ahead on work right now?" Peter answered, "I'm not getting ahead." Lizbeth said, "Daddy is getting ahead. Daddy has Daddy's head." as if this should be obvious to anyone with eyes.</li>
<li>Mar 28 Today in nursery they gave Elizabeth cutouts of Jesus, the tomb, and a stone to block the door. Much of Sacrament meeting was spent rolling away the stone and letting Jesus come out. Good Job <a href="http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=637e1b08f338c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=b634e8eb9c97b110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1&contentLocale=0">Church Curriculum Department!</a> :)</li>
<li>Mar 28 Just before we went upstairs for lunch today, somebody started a music box that played, "I'd like to teach the world to sing." It reminded Elizabeth of the Happy Birthday song which she insisted we sing to her. When we got upstairs and put her in her chair, she said, in an injured tone of voice, "We have no cake!"</li>
<li>Mar 30 Peter posted this video of Lizbeth on Brandon's facebook pages and got tons of funny comments from his fans <br />
<br />
My two-year-old finds some of the manuscript of THE WAY OF KINGS by Brandon Sanderson (turn up volume). <object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_M3DRK2GcNw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_M3DRK2GcNw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></li>
<li>Mar 31 Tonight, Elizabeth fell into the too-hungry-to-be-rational-enough-to-put-on-a-bib-sit-in-her-chair-and-eat-something trap. I managed to get a little beef and barley stew and applesauce into her after much weaping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then I tried to see what else she might be interested in. I began with some old standby favorites. <br />
"Do you want some frozen peas?" I asked. <br />
"No" she answered. <br />
"Do you want some turkey?" I asked. <br />
"Nooo" She answered. <br />
"Do you want some ham?" she asked. <br />
"Do you want some ham?" I asked, playing along, hoping that she really did. <br />
"Noooooo" she answered. <br />
"Do you want some roast beef?" she asked. <br />
"Noo-oo-ooo" she answered herself. <br />
"Do you want some barley and potatoes? Noooooo" <br />
"Do you want some Applesauce? Nooooo" <br />
"Do you want some milk? Nooo" <br />
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By this time, all I could do was sit and giggle at her. Peter got out his phone to take video, but toddlers are quantum creatures, and recording them changes their behavior, and she started hamming it up for the camera:<br />
<br />
"Do you want some ham? Nooo" <br />
"Do you want some ham Daddy? No" <br />
"Do you want some ham Daddy? No" <br />
"Do you want some ham Daddy? No" <br />
"Do you want some ham Daddy? No" <br />
<br />
And that was all we could get out of her until she asked if Daddy wanted some frozen peas, which he did, so then she decided she did too, and eating resumed.<br />
</li>
<li>Apr 1 Tonight Lizbeth demanded a new song entitled "Jesus has a Blue Blanket" After she rejected the slightly modified "Jesus Jesus Rest your head, you have got a blue blanket" I sang the following: Jesus has a Blue Blanket, Blue Blanket, Blue blanket. Jesus has a Blue Blanket, and He shares it with Lizbeth. When I finished, Lizbeth sighed contentedly and said, "Yes. He shares it with Lizbeth." I justified it doctrinally by saying that everything we have comes from Heavenly Father and Jesus, and we're thankful that they made such a wonderful world with good things like Mamas, Daddies and Blue Blankets in it.</li>
</ul>These were taken on Palm Sunday. Mom is out of town helping Heather with her new baby, and was disappointed not to see the Amaryllis bloom. So these shots are for her. <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/21uHKec54AWqTRglcCZ_HQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S7fyfpflrNI/AAAAAAAAB5A/8Avf5c1BndU/s400/060.JPG" /></a> <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jEs9n1y3lLzXHsvZUArU9Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S7fyhbdiTuI/AAAAAAAAB5E/37eoiSr5NDU/s400/063.JPG" /></a> <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/JB4OQ7B3NsK88KTyx1G0MQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S7fyiKBh8XI/AAAAAAAAB5I/6ecqS9WHDvQ/s400/066.JPG" /></a> <br />
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Here's our Easter Secular Saturday celebration photos: <br />
Dying eggs<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/y1gt3nJM8gHOii5FoGDwhA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S7fyio5qBxI/AAAAAAAAB5M/kGuhZ3SVdUY/s400/082.JPG" /></a> <br />
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Drawing on eggs<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PwWJjWxZE84jZl_FnAOwXQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S7fyjLiD_wI/AAAAAAAAB5Q/n3GzWwdaO8A/s400/084.JPG" /></a> <br />
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Smile for the camera!<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/10DoUJLmrceeb-6WdRge6Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S7fyj-V9UBI/AAAAAAAAB5U/c9yaycOEZ48/s400/085.JPG" /></a> <br />
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Here is a long video of Elizabeth's Easter Egg hunt. We all had a lot of fun dying eggs, then hiding and searching for them with Elizabeth. It was especially cute when whoever was searching wasn't fast enough to find the eggs she had hidden, so she picked them up and put them in their basket herself. <object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WFQmltb0zaU&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WFQmltb0zaU&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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If you're wondering how my life is going, I'm feeling more and more pregnant (30 weeks now) and getting more and more annoyed at people who tell me I'm so tiny. It's hard to sleep, and hard to walk, and hard to sit, and I'm pretty sure my hip got dislocated for about a day. I am in pretty good spirits most of the time, though with Mom gone and Peter working long hours, I'm feeling rather isolated and anxious and getting frustrated with Elizabeth more easily. I'm really enjoying our ward's quilting group, and we've been having more friends come over to play with Lizbeth lately, so that helps some too. I've been looking at apartments and rental units so we can move closer to Peter's work, and out of Mom and Dad's basement, but I only found one that really looked like someplace that I'd want to move to on purpose, and it got rented to somebody else, so that's on hold again for a while.<br />
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Well, that's all for now. See you in about a month, unless I get around to writing about Elizabeth's favorite games (as I've been meaning to do for about a week now).Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-15628326870169592352010-02-21T17:09:00.000-08:002010-02-21T17:16:56.573-08:00Baa, Baa, Black Sheep by Mother Goose<dl><dt><b>Baa, Baa, Black Sheep</b></dt><br /><dd>Baa, baa, black sheep,<br />Have you any wool?<br />Yes sir, yes sir,<br />Three bags full;<br />One for the master,<br />And one for the dame,<br />And one for the little boy<br />Who lives down the lane.<br />--Mother Goose</dl><br /><br />Elizabeth loves sheep right now. For some reason they make her happy. They're even giving the kitties a run for their money for favorite toys. She doesn't have any black sheep though. All of her toy and stuffed sheep are white (except for the new pink valentine sheep that Grandma gave her). So even though she loves this song (and Mary Had a Little Lamb), I usually have to sing Baa Baa White Sheep instead. And when we put some glow in the dark sheep on the wall of her room for her to count and help her sleep, I had to sing Baa Baa Glowing Sheeps for a few nights. She's such a funny girl. We love her a lot.<br /><br /><br />I know that not all of my blog readers are also facebook friends, so I thought I'd post some of the cute things Elizabeth has been saying here as well as there. If you are one of my facebook friends, then sorry, there's not anything new here in this post until the photos.<br /><br /> <br />Feb 20: Somewhere upstairs, my mom just blew her nose. Downstairs in the basement, Elizabeth perked up and said excitedly, "That's Grandma!"<br /> <br />Feb 19: Overheard Lizbeth singing to herself: As Grandpa loves you love one another...'notherone likes you...Grandpa becca loves you <br /><br />Feb 18: Putting Lizbeth down for a late nap, I said, "I need to go make dinner so you'll have something nice to eat tonight. She said, "Oh! That was nice of you."<br /><br />Feb 17: Grandma tells me that Lizbeth waited in the bathtub, laying in the water, till it had all run out. Grandma asked if she was ready to get out since all the water was gone, and Lizbeth said, "No. I sleep here in empty tub."<br /><br />Feb 14: On the way home after another long Sacrament meeting. Lizbeth: I love the church. Peter: I'm glad you love the church. I love the church too. Mommy, do you love the church? Karen (wearily): Oh yes, I love the church too. Lizbeth: No, Mama does not.<br /><br />Feb 14: Grandma put some Valentines in Elizabeth's room, including a pink stuffed sheep, for her to find when she woke up. Elizabeth was suitably excited, and showed me the cards with Pooh Bear, Princess Aurora, Joel's red car (Lightning McQueen), and Woody and Buzz. When I asked "Where did the sheep come from? Who gave it to... you?" she said, "From the DI?" I guess she knows where I get all her animals!When I told her that the sheep was from Grandma, and that it meant that Grandma was saying "I love you" she pulled the sheep's arms out and made it give her a hug. So she did really understand after all<br /><br />Feb 10: while addressing Valentine cards just now, I heard some suspicious noises coming from the playroom. Lizbeth had taken the giant box of Goldfish crackers and poured them ALL out on her little table and chairs and floor. Mama: "Don't pour them all out!" Lizbeth: "I'm putting dems on the table." Mama: "OK, but that's too many!" Lizbeth: "But I want to eat too many."<br /><br />Feb 8: Last night, after Lizbeth's bedtime, Grandma went downstairs and heard her crying hystreically in her room. While being carried upstairs, Lizbeth said, "I'm cleaning my nose with the blue blinket." and demonstrated by wiping off some snot. I came to hold and comfort her, and asked what she needed. Lizbeth choked back a sob and said, "Kleenex."<br /><br />Feb 7: in my last week as nursery leader, half the kids didn't show up. of the three that did, one crawled under a table and slept through the entire class, another slipped on a napkin and split his lip open (blood everywhere), and the last was Elizabeth, who had a complete breakdown in sacrament after nursery. sigh.<br /><br />Feb 5: Peter: "Lizbeth, say 'I love you Daddy'" Lizbeth: "I love you...Me!"<br />The night before it was Peter: "Lizbeth, say 'I love you Daddy'" Lizbeth: "I love you...Grandpa!" <br />This morning it was Peter: "Lizbeth, say 'I love you Daddy'" Lizbeth: "I love you...Song!"<br />(She did say "I love you Daddy" a couple times later that week, so perhaps she's done with that game now.)<br /><br />Feb 4: told Lizbeth to come put her shoes and coat on for a walk with Grandpa, then got her boots out of the closet. She looked confused for a moment, then said, "Boots are kinda like a shoe." then she nodded her head and let me continue.<br /><br />Feb 4: Right now, she's especially interested in books based on disney movies like Winnie the Pooh, and Sleeping Beauty and Pixar movies like Finding Nemo and Toy Story. We got a picture book of Toy Story 2, which she hasn't seen, and she will often tell me out of the blue that Woody and Buzz were riding on the horsey, or that Woody's doggie came to help him.<br /><br />Feb 4: woke up late to find Lizbeth up and waiting for me. The first thing she said was, "Oh, I need a piggie." that accomplished, she said, "I need a little bag to put the piggie in. Just the right size for the piggie." I found one of those too, and she put the pig in, and was satisfied. She abandoned the piggie and started playing with balls. I have no idea what was going through her mind, but it was important to her.<br /><br />Feb 3: This morning Elizabeth told me, "I need to take off da clothes and be warm in da blue blinket." She managed to get her pants off, but no amount of tugging at the front of her jumper would remove it, thank goodness.<br /><br />Jan 31: Today at church I was entertaining Elizabeth with a Bible ABCs sticker book. Angels, Bethlehem, Christ Deciples, Eve Fruit, Gethsemanie, Hands, Israelites, Joshua, etc. We were putting stickers on the Water and Wine page when Elizabeth said, "Go back to Gethsemanie. I realized after some confusion that the speaker was telling the story of somebody's dream of seeing the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemanie. It made me happy that she had been paying enough attention to the book to learn the new word, and enough attention to the talks to hear the word she had just learned. Kids pay a lot more attention to stuff than we think.<br /><br />There's a lot more of this kind of thing on my facebook wall, if you want to friend me and go back and read older posts. <br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/z9xmKSPTwhf06z8Iqk2S_A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S4HRFIdnCTI/AAAAAAAABt4/kpqewLYVa5o/s400/01%20Jan.jpg" /></a><br />This is from New Years day. Lizbeth's friend Joel decided to throw a snowball at her head, and she decided to laugh at it. I'm so glad she has a sense of humor around him because otherwise his boyish energy could get intimidating at times. As it is, she loves going to Joel's House and while she's there they chase each other around and laugh and laugh and laugh.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/E05oXFF48smkpSOFimI9rQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S4HSzc8rmeI/AAAAAAAABvM/Iqfi1jKLV30/s400/January%202010%20%2824%29.JPG" /></a><br />Here's another one of them together. Elizabeth loves to pretend like she's sleeping, and wrap herself and anything else that's handy up in blankets to keep warm. Just as I was taking this photo she said, "I am sleeping with Joel." I just had to laugh.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/JrSkLCCima63vufoJnLWlA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S4HSozViT-I/AAAAAAAABuY/3DKehWJT3NE/s400/A%20010.JPG" /></a><br />More of the sleeping game. She will seriously spend hours doing this. She wraps herself, her stuffed kitties and sheep, her golf balls balls, Mama's head, Grandma's big Snoopy dog, or anything else within reach then snuggles for about five seconds before getting up and rearranging everything.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FRXf4tgtH-xUD_rOGjr8fw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S4HS0YPj7oI/AAAAAAAABvQ/qnC4r-RqDBg/s400/January%202010%20%2827%29.JPG" /></a><br />Here the poor girl is in the hospital with croup on her birthday. She totally lost her voice, and none of us got much sleep for several days, but she came through like a trooper.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/_plrUGVW8atLIOCcOhicVg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S4HS1eeTUUI/AAAAAAAABvU/CTeSsv9Fg9M/s400/January%202010%20%2838%29.JPG" /></a><br />Later that day opening a birthday present from Aunt Shirley. It's a baby that swims in the bathtub and blows bubbles. Of course if you turn it over so the air intake hole in the back of her head is under water, then she spits a magnificent stream of water all over the bathroom and makes your tired sick girl gleeful for the first time in days. Thanks Shirley!<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lx-ivtteru8UskkiqShoYA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S4HSqUM329I/AAAAAAAABuk/FJHL1dyIuP0/s400/A%20018.JPG" /></a><br />I wanted to make cards with handprints on them for Valentine's Day, so here we are fingerpainting. <br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9AvNeIXM597M65wC9-Qm3w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S4HSpbuRHZI/AAAAAAAABug/a6AhxeZRhZ0/s288/A%20014.JPG" /></a><br />When Elizabeth made this smudge, she got excited and said, "An A'gator!" As she can talk more, it's easier to see that she has quite an active imagination.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cSaY-8PhyKb7OwRDXUM39Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S4HSrRweOYI/AAAAAAAABuo/inOq2O-2gzI/s400/A%20024.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/336vhexIf1Iir81D2KSwNg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S4HSsU0R9RI/AAAAAAAABus/G_VqVurZRcE/s400/A%20054.JPG" /></a><br />Here she is at the park by the pond. She's so cute.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0ntrHZoPwcoN8EL4UXRHNw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S4HSs6idC8I/AAAAAAAABuw/tNO9WF58Ezc/s400/A%20080.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/roU0YGFqrNcTc69X07a2Bw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S4HSuPsZWMI/AAAAAAAABu0/s-gXWuO_voM/s400/A%20087.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3upof0JtNcWPP2MVM8FGVw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S4HSu1_sxRI/AAAAAAAABu4/vDxIBrJ5rDU/s400/A%20124.JPG" /></a><br />At the zoo with her cousin Anna. Heather's plane was late, and we stopped at Wendy's before getting to the zoo, so we ended up arriving something like two minutes before they closed the gate for the day. Luckily, they'll let you wander around for about an hour after that without bugging you to leave, so a serious crisis was averted.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/JmOglHsRS_44JNhAkBStCg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S4HSwJK3WPI/AAAAAAAABu8/6IZsS0e3KjU/s400/b%20065.JPG" /></a><br />Grandpa Randy went and bought more than a ton of coal to add to his emergency supplies and eventually run his steam engine with. He was very pleased when it snowed a few days later and he could make a snowman with two eyes made out of coal :)<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/OA-VAnOHv5v45sBwTKRAZA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S4HSxDbhscI/AAAAAAAABvE/J_FhaA3d-yw/s400/b%20026.JPG" /></a><br />Here are Lizbeth and Anna feeding the ducks with Grandma Becca at the pond. The girls ate almost as much of the bread as the ducks did.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tcxg7xc0Cr8jq3XDHZPErw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/S4HSycp9W8I/AAAAAAAABvI/LzW5Ti1R_5M/s400/b%20053.JPG" /></a><br />Another cute photo of Elizabeth wearing a hat Marcelle made for her. Isn't she pretty?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-7613991259081218782010-02-21T10:41:00.000-08:002010-02-21T15:19:41.688-08:00Chapter 11 by Isaiah<dl><dt><b>Chapter 11</b></dt>
<dd> 1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
<br> 2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
<br> 3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
<br> 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
<br> 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
<br> <b>6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
<br> </b>7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
<br> 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
<br> 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
<br> 10 ¶ And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
<br> 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
<br> 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
<br> 13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
<br> 14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
<br> 15 And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. 16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
</dd>by Isaiah</dl><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIt3dQjYKnkjGwseiE_Hdiy9c5MhxVXqU1XU13m0uDBZbT3Ghflq3-p8lHx87zgW91LYhjsKx8lb98vihWdc9ZRZgazNdQamfKKhJoO7L2E43Phbvjl9ssqCCEKo-gBOxppBFZA0HDdyw/s1600-h/Lion+and+lamb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIt3dQjYKnkjGwseiE_Hdiy9c5MhxVXqU1XU13m0uDBZbT3Ghflq3-p8lHx87zgW91LYhjsKx8lb98vihWdc9ZRZgazNdQamfKKhJoO7L2E43Phbvjl9ssqCCEKo-gBOxppBFZA0HDdyw/s320/Lion+and+lamb.jpg" /></a></div>Today while playing with blocks, Elizabeth decided that the arches looked like beds, and that it would be just the right size for her Little People lamb (one of her favorite toys). She put the lamb in, and put another arch on top for a "quilt" and was very pleased with the result. Then, out of nowhere, she said, "A lion! A lion! I need a little lion!" I got the Little People lion and handed it to her, but she didn't like him, and kept asking for a "little lion." I saw this tiny stuffed lion on the floor and handed it to her, and she put him into another arch bed right next to the lamb. I thought it was just to cute to pass up getting a photo of, so here it is.<br />
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I thought you might also like to see how she has been playing lately, so I took two long videos. She can go on like this for quite a long time, playing, talking to herself, singing snips of songs, narrating what she's doing, and giving praise like "Good job!" and "That's pretty neat!" Most of what she says is in complete sentences now (or at least as complete as the rest of us use in conversation), and it's really fun to see what phrases she has picked up.<br />
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<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lV8OPmJc9PU&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lV8OPmJc9PU&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
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<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qvewDQRXIBU&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qvewDQRXIBU&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-51078654538909341082009-10-08T13:48:00.000-07:002009-10-08T13:50:11.305-07:00The Answer is a Waffle -- a breakfast poem by Gregory K. Pincus<dl><dt><b>The Answer is a Waffle</b></dt>
<dd>What’s my favorite breakfast food?<br>
That’s easy to decide.<br>
It’s eggs cooked over easy with some bacon on the side.<br>
<p>Although, it might be cereal.<br>
Or maybe jam and toast.<br>
Actually, it’s cream of wheat that I enjoy most.<br>
<p>Or maybe, come to think of it, <br>
It’s bagels with some lox.<br>
Or maybe pancakes. No, it’s fruit, cut up in bite size blocks.<br>
<p>Or wait a second. Let me think:<br>
A restaurant buffet!<br>
Or maybe it’s, well, I don’t know...<br>
I guess I just can’t say.<br>
--Gregory K. Pincus </dl>I went looking for a breakfast poem with little hope of finding something good. I mean, I'm sure that there are good poems out there, by famous poets even, but a Google search for "Breakfast Poem" isn't always the most effective way to go about finding them. I do tend to get some interesting hits by lesser known poets this way though, so I generally give it a try before resoritng to more complicated searches. This time it paid off with this fun little poem from <a href=http://gottabook.blogspot.com/2008/04/answer-is-waffle-breakfast-poem.html>Gregory K. Pincus</a>. On first skim, I thought it was merely adequate -- decent rhyme and meter, but not much to say...until I read the title again, and saw that the whole poem was a clever little pun. <br />
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The day after Heather posted some <a href=http://livingeden.blogspot.com/2009/10/breakfast-conversation.html>deeply cute breakfast conversations</a> with her daughter Anna, Elizabeth decided to deliver up some breakfast cuteness of her own. I ran to get my camera, and this is the result.<br />
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I don't have much more to say. I've been pretty exhausted lately, since my thyroid seems to have quit doing its job, but I hope to do lots of small blog posts in the future rather than a couple big long ones.Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-25798553805458879332009-09-29T15:26:00.000-07:002009-09-29T15:26:47.971-07:00Eencey Weencey Spider by Anonymous<dl><dt><b>Eencey Weencey Spider</b></dt>
<dd>Eencey Weencey spider Climbed up the waterspout; <br>
Down came the rain And washed the spider out; <br>
Up came the sun And dried up all the rain; <br>
And the Eencey Weencey spider <br>
Climbed up the spout again.
<br>--Anonymous
</dd></dl><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/McppgbeCi04ZfoW3sHr8hg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/SsKJAsZqPdI/AAAAAAAABF0/9LsR45WgKzU/s400/Fullscreen%20capture%209292009%2042324%20PM.bmp.jpg" /></a><br />
I had never thought about the authorship of this song before today, so I went and looked it up. According to Wikipedia, this song appeared in the early part of the 20th century in books of camp and folk songs, already having lost all attribution. I generally sing Itsy Bitsy spider rather than Eency Weency unless I'm doing Robert Fulghrum's idea and singing it to the tune of Ode to Joy.<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/4YgYFU4ypyDq5oXGe-UNBA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/SsKFm2pnp0I/AAAAAAAABFg/V3ANqHnm5Gc/s400/040.JPG" /></a><br />
Yesterday in church, all four of the little girls in nursery were really participating well in the singing. Even Elizabeth who is about a year and a half younger than the other three was trying to do all the actions -- even when she'd never seen them before. This is representative of everything she's been doing lately -- she's mimicing everything people around her do and say.<br />
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I'm sorry that I haven't been posting frequently in the last few months (OK, I think there have been 11 posts total this year) so that you could have vicariously have watched her progress, but it's been amazing. Sometime in May, she decided that she was going to get ready for Kindergarten. Having mastered the shapes by reading her sparkly shapes book, she up and decided to learn the letters. She started with the obvious round O and the very useful B (for ball and blanket) then spent hours demanding that we tell her which magnet she was pointing to. A lucky find at a garage sale got her foam numbers for the bath, and she learned them too. She's currently working on colors and grammar.<br />
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Meanwhile, she was picking up two, three, five, then up to ten new words a day. Eventually, she just started repeating any word that was unfamiliar, and we stopped counting. Sometimes this gave very cute results. The other day, we were coming home late, and as we came in the door, Grandpa Roly noticed that he hadn't turned on the front porch light for us. "Nuts!" he said, as he helped us inside. Elizabeth, who had finally falllen asleep a block from home, perked up and said "Nuts. Eat it." and wouldn't settle down again until I gave her some cashews.<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/s4zzJg1u0_ncHI81Tui50w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/SsKF7aFTR5I/AAAAAAAABFo/aAYAS-h_xOg/s400/005.JPG" /></a><br />
It sometimes amazes me how much she listens. I can be listening to an NPR story about Blue Dog Democrats, and she'll say, "Rowf rowf" which is what dogs are currently saying in her world. Because of that, I've cut way back on listening to news, and started playing a lot more songs in the car. When she hears one she likes, she'll say, "'Gin!" and I'll play it a few more times. Her current favorites (which she'll sing along with sometimes) are the "Dig Dig Dig" song from Snow White, and several from Sesame Street: One Fine Face, Elmo's Song, C is for Cookie, and I Love Trash.<br />
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She also picks up phrases. She says, "I see you!" when she wants to play peekaboo. She also likes "Oh, I see!" and "Happy to YOU!" (leaving out the word Birthday for some reason). <br />
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She's participating in reading books more and more. Last night we got a video of her reading <u>Worms Wiggle</u> with me and she could read every other word. It's also fun to hear her read <u>Moo, Baa, La la la</u><br />
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On the grammar front, she's been putting words together into phrases like "Daddy's Shoes" for quite some time now. Nouns get some kind of adjective applied to them on the second or third repetition of a sentence (She's serious about practicing). Favorite adjectives include Big, Little, Mommy's, Daddy's, Roly's, Nice, Happy, Sad, Same, or a guess at what color it is. Whenever we hear a baby cry, she will comment that the baby or boy or girl is sad, and she loves to find happy faces on all the pumpkins around this time of year. (She also loves to find happy faces in her collection of balls, and one day, when there weren't enough, she had us draw happy faces on most of the plain golf balls).<br />
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She's making complete sentences now, when she has something to communicate other than "Look, there's a _______!" Usually, the object of the verb is "it" as in "Get it" or "Mama do it" but more and more often, she has a real subject verb and object in the sentence. The order isn't always the way I would say it -- Last night she said, "Kitty bag in" -- but it still got the point across.<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/sS3SeNgF6OCwbWqGDTEo8g?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/SsKGFwAg89I/AAAAAAAABFs/OMJEStqzC8o/s400/009.JPG" /></a><br />
She's also trying to conjugate and decline words. She noticed that Dog was sometimes Doggy, so for a while she tried putting a Y on the end of many words to see which ones we responded to. Recently, she's been doing the same thing with -ing. It works fine when she puts it on verbs, but it's terribly cute when she puts it on nouns and we hear about kittying.<br />
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Most of the time she pronounces things very carefully, and gets them just right. She has no problem with tricky sounds like the ir in Girl and Bird. She doesn't leave off the ending sounds -- on the contrary, she says them very deliberately, and sometimes with too much stress, but that's cute too. She does get R and L sounds mixed up occasionally, and she'll throw an extra sound in to some words (for instance, Fish is Firsh). She rarely will leave off the initial sound of a word like sanke, but I think that that shows a problem with the way she was taught the word. "Snake goes sssssss ssssssnake" she very understandably thought that nake was the animal, and sssss was the sound.<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/IOL9ZiQaGxUDN2g8TfLj0g?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/SsKGI3i0MoI/AAAAAAAABFw/TYQk0kgzsno/s400/014.JPG" /></a><br />
Generally, I try to do as my Language Development teacher in college suggested: When the child makes a "mistake" (usually by overextending a rule that they're learning, or mispronouncing a word) you shouldn't correct them as if they're wrong, or they'll be hesitant to try again. on the other hand, you should model the correct way to say it. To take one of the examples above, in response to "Kitty bag in" I said, "OK, we'll put the kitty in the bag." Or, if I point to an animal and say, "What's that?" and she answers "Meow mow" instead of saying, "No, it's called a kitty" I'll say, "That's right, a kitty says meow meow." <br />
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I like the geneal idea of this, but sometimes I think it works too well. The adorable mispronounciations and baby talk are fleeing far too fast. I treasure the few that I do get. One of my favorites is "Cakoo" (which sounds like cukoo with an ah sound) meaning crocodile. She has a little pop up book with a crocodile eating everything in sight, which she can recite about half the words to while reading it to herself:<br />
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Crocodile wakes, his jaws go crunch. -- Cakoo crunch<br />
Down goes breakfast -- Bekfast<br />
Later lunch -- La'er lurch<br />
Later still and feeling thinner he eats his grandmmother for dinner -- Gamma<br />
He sighs, Now what am I to do?" -- Doooo<br />
And grinning wide he looks at you -- at yooooooou!<br />
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One final thing I want to mention is names. She discovered recently that other people have names. She figured out without any prompting that Daddy was also known as Peter and Mama was Karen. She can identify several people in pictures, especially Grandma (Gamma) and Grandpa (Gmpa). She loves to come and tell me about the picture of herself with her friend Joel that's currently my desktop wallpaper, and that's how I discovered one other mispronounciation that I had been missing. She came up to me, climbed up on my lap and pointed to the computer screen. "Joel!" she said. "Weee!" (the picture is of the two of them on a double glider swing) "Leefun!" (What?) "Leefun." (There's no elephant in this picture. There's a slide, but she can say slide.) "Leefun Joel wheeee!" At that point, I realized that Leefun was her way of saying "Lizbeth" I think it's odd that a girl who can say Trampoline without trouble can't say the word she hears most often -- her own name! And yet, in the week that has elapsed since then, it's already evolved to Leesun which is not too far from Lisa which is not to far from Lisabeth.<br />
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Well, to end, I'll give you an idea of how much she's talking with this video of a typical ten minutes of her playing in the basement.<br />
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/np_ppBJB0lA&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/np_ppBJB0lA&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-70183479913069201082009-09-27T22:00:00.000-07:002009-09-27T22:05:56.340-07:00Home by Edgar Guest<dl><dt><b>Home</b></dt>
<dd>It takes a heap o' livin' in a house t' make it home,<br>
A heap o' sun an' shadder, an' ye sometimes have t' roam<br>
Afore ye really 'preciate the things ye lef' behind,<br>
An' hunger fer 'em somehow, with 'em allus on yer mind.<br>
It don't make any differunce how rich ye get t' be,<br>
How much yer chairs an' tables cost, how great yer luxury;<br>
I ain't home t' ye, though it be the palace of a king,<br>
Until somehow yer soul is sort o' wrapped round everything.<br>
<p>Home ain't a place that gold can buy or get up in a minute;<br>
Afore it's home there's got t' be a heap o' livin' in it;<br>
Within the walls there's got t' be some babies born, and then<br>
Right there ye've got t' bring 'em up t' women good, an' men;<br>
And gradjerly, as time goes on, ye find ye wouldn't part<br>
With anything they ever used -- they've grown into yer heart:<br>
The old high chairs, the playthings, too, the little shoes they wore<br>
Ye hoard; an' if ye could ye'd keep the thumb marks on the door.<br>
<p>Ye've got t' weep t' make it home, ye've got t' sit an' sigh<br>
An' watch beside a loved one's bed, an' know that Death is nigh;<br>
An' in the stillness o' the night t' see Death's angel come,<br>
An' close the eyes o' her that smiled, <br>
an' leave her sweet voice dumb.<br>
Fer these are scenes that grip the heart, <br>
an' when yer tears are dried,<br>
Ye find the home is dearer than it was, an' sanctified;<br>
An' tuggin' at ye always are the pleasant memories <br>
O' her that was an' is no more -- ye can't escape from these.<br>
<p>Ye've got t' sing an' dance fer years, ye've got t' romp an' play,<br>
An' learn t' love the things ye have by usin' 'em each day;<br>
Even the roses 'round the porch must blossom year by year<br>
Afore they 'come a part o' ye, suggestin' someone dear<br>
Who used t' love 'em long ago, an' trained 'em jes' t' run<br>
The way they do, so's they would get the early mornin' sun;<br>
Ye've got t' love each brick an' stone from cellar up t' dome:<br>
It takes a heap o' livin' in a house t' make it home.<br>
--Edgar Guest</dd></dl><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HS8QmvOFpdoHqb0HBgYILQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9qBK6-tfs_o/SsBCud5RvRI/AAAAAAAABFE/6a-7ZTZJh4Q/s400/016.JPG" /></a><br />
I hesitate to post this poem by Edgar Guest, mostly because he is one of the few authors Lemony Snicket seems to dislike in the Series of Unfortunate Events. In the Grim Grotto, the narrator says, “every noble reader in the world agrees that the poet represented on Fiona’s uniform was a writer of limited skill, who wrote awkward, tedious poetry on hopelessly sentimental topics.” A few people seem to have trouble with this judgement. While looking for the quote above, I found an <a href=http://cba.unomaha.edu/faculty/adiamond/WEB/DiamondPDFs/EdgarGuestLemonySnicketRevised7-6-05.pdf>An Open Letter to Lemony Snicket (and Robert Bork) in Modest Defense of Edgar Guest</a> In one of the footnotes, he cites somebody else who says, "Yes, most of his poetry is undistinguished, but some is charming and enjoyable. What did he do to be held up (as it seems in this book) as a symbol of evil mediocrity?" <br />
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I personally don't think he deserves quite the treatment he got from Snicket (who, after the introduction quoted above, hammered his point home every chance he got through the rest of the book), but on the other hand, I don't think that just saying that your father's favorite poem was <a href=http://www.sofinesjoyfulmoments.com/quotes/couldnt.htm>"It Couldn't Be Done"</a> is a cogent argument proving that Guest was a great poet worthy of the world's respect and honor (that seems more like a reflection on said Grandpa's taste in poetry than on Guest's merits as a poet). <br />
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All in all, I'd put Guest's poems above the level of moralizing tripe, but I definitely agree that the words tedious, sentimental, and mediocre apply to much of what he's written. That's not to say that his poems don't have their place. We were talking the other night at the monthly meeting of the Utah Valley Nerds Group, and all agreed that the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys (and Three Investigators and Trixie Belden, and Animorphs, et cetera) books have an important place in the development of reading skills. Because they're easy to read, and have predictable plots, and most importantly, they're comfortable for kids, reading a whole bunch of them in a row increases fluency and encourages a love of reading in general. I know I certainly went through a Nancy Drew and Babysitter's club phase myself. If Guest's poetry, with its comforting sentiments and dtrong rhyme and meter can draw a certain group of people into reading poetry at all, that's a success (though as with Eragon -- which I've heard the same argument used to defend -- being successfull doesn't mean it's not also mediocre).<br />
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Well enough with the introduction, on to the news. I would like to announce that although it takes a heap of unpacking to make a house a home, I have finally finished moving us in to the Salem house! There are no more things sitting in boxes waiting to be unpacked. There are pictures on the walls. There is a place for everything, and at least for the time it took me to take these pictures, everything was in its place!!!!!<br />
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Because this post is so long already, I won't embed every photo. I'll just give you a <a href=http://picasaweb.google.com/origamikaren/FinallyMovedIn#>link to the album in Picasa</a> and let you go from there. Each photo has a description on it, so I figure if you put them all together, it's kind of like a blog post. I only have pictures of the finished basement area since the upstairs is still kind of a work in (interrupted) progress with Mom and Dad back in Ohio. Just to refresh your memory and give you a sense of perspective, <a href=http://picasaweb.google.com/origamikaren/Salem#5352051468884845058>here is a floorplan</a> of the house (the album that's from has shots of the house from before we moved in, if you never saw those). <br />
<br />
Of course, just because we've moved in, doesn't mean there's nothing left to do. It just means that I can feel good about just keeping house for a while before starting in on the repairing, repainting, and remodeling that still really needs to be done.Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-69531108110640074792009-09-02T21:05:00.000-07:002009-09-02T22:26:35.276-07:00Bless This House by Helen Taylor<dl><dt><b>Bless This House</b></dt><br /><dd>Bless this house, Oh Lord we pray<br />Make it safe by night and day.<br />Bless these walls so firm and stout<br />Keeping want and trouble out.<br /><br />Bless the roof and chimneys tall.<br />Let thy peace lie over all.<br />Bless this door that it may prove<br />Ever open to joy and love.<br /><br />Bless these windows shining bright<br />Letting in God’s heavenly light.<br />Bless the hearth, a-blazing there<br />With smoke ascending like a prayer.<br /><br />Bless the people here within.<br />Keep them pure and free from sin.<br />Bless us all that we may be<br />Fit Oh Lord to dwell with thee.<br /><br />Bless us all that one day we <br />May dwell O Lord with thee. <br />--Helen Taylor</dl><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimAUD21_OchrQPW9AYj_j6irNhrJIMBGzFcFW7QLBTP1eb3vtD-5nwFXeXLP1HHpQTqwFbWiXzKwZjCJXQ2NV5oCkhzzN6j3ERJNnL8T5Qahv-K-G8UdGcb_ilf0ItLXJmHLsBJzC_IhA/s1600-h/bless+this+house.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 203px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimAUD21_OchrQPW9AYj_j6irNhrJIMBGzFcFW7QLBTP1eb3vtD-5nwFXeXLP1HHpQTqwFbWiXzKwZjCJXQ2NV5oCkhzzN6j3ERJNnL8T5Qahv-K-G8UdGcb_ilf0ItLXJmHLsBJzC_IhA/s320/bless+this+house.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377107834421479266" /></a><br />Daddy asked me to find a copy of this song to play at our housewarming/ home dedication on August 23rd. I had an instrumental version in my collection, but Daddy said he'd get too emotional if he tried to actually sing it, so Peter found a youtube video, transferred it to his iPhone, plugged that into the auxiliary port on the Bose radio upstairs, and played it that way. Isn't technology wonderful?<br /><br />At the housewarming, we had a huge crowd of relatives. Uncle Doug was in town, as were Maryanne, James, and their son. Martha was there with Isabella and Sam (Aaron was in the hospital after a followup procedure on his heart). Uncle Steve, Aunt Sue, TJ and Carter all came. Ryan and Trudy, brought their boys Ethan and Caleb. Adam was there with his wife and daughter. Aunt Shirley even came, and of course, Mom, Dad, Grandpa Roly, Elizabeth, Peter and I were all here to begin with. In all, we counted 26 people! Grandpa Roly said it had been a long time since nearly his whole family was together and happy, and was very touched. <br /><br />Of course, before the party, there was a LOT of work to get the house ready. The first POD arrived on Tuesday, August 11th. That day we worked ourselves to the point of exhaustion hauling the literal TONS of stuff, furniture and boxes inside, and then when the POD was empty, beginning to unpack so that we'd have room for more boxes the next day. We fell into bed, and woke up the next morning to do it again on Wednesday, and yet again on Thursday. On Friday, we had a break of sorts (they didn't deliver another POD) so we cleaned and emptied the Provo apartment, then went to Grandpa's house in West Jordan and hauled all my stuff up from the basement and boxed up the things Grandpa decided to bring. Saturday, we loaded it all into a Uhaul truck (Which was a huge hassle to get -- I'll have to devote an entire post to that ordeal), drove back down to Salem, and unloaded it all. Sunday, we got a true Day of Rest, and were thankful for it, but then we had to start all over again with three more PODS on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.<br /><br />Each of the PODS was stuffed to capacity -- not always space wise, but certainly always weight wise. The official limit of what the machine can lift is 6000 lbs (three TONS!!), and Mom and Dad were always at or over the limit. With six pods and a truck, we figure we had about twenty tons of stuff to haul into the house and put away. <br /><br />We did have some things to help us though. Daddy rigged up a ramp going up the front steps, and with the dollies that Tim and a neighbor loaned us, we could haul heavy furniture, stacks of boxes, or even (heaven forbid) refrigerators and full filing cabinets up the stairs without having to lift them straight up. We also had lots of help. The neighbors/ward members pitched in day after day with Elder's Quorum, High Priest's Group, and Young Men all cycling through to do some of the worst lifting (we even had one of the Young Women come and play with Elizabeth and keep her entertained while I couldn't give her the attention and comfort she wanted). <br /><br />The lifting help was most important because Mom couldn't lift anything with her back in such bad shape (it went out again a few weeks ago), and Grandpa shouldn't lift anything (because of his heart -- and his balance isn't too good either these days). I could carry in a lot of light loads, but I quickly found that if I wanted to keep being able to work at all, I had to know my limit and stick to it. That left Daddy as the only one who could physically do most of the work, and he had spent the last several weeks loading it all IN to the PODS! <br /><br />Along with the Ward members mentioned before, we also had help from the Utah Valley Nerds group. They were supposed to come help us load Saturday morning, but they all decided they were too lazy to get up that early on a weekend (these are Nerds we're talking about, you know) so they decided to hire us some help in the morning, then come down and unload in the afternoon instead. We got pizza (and it took the delivery guy about an hour to find the house which was less than a mile from the pizza place, and even in the same town (which, after all only has 5000 people, so how hard can it be???)) and everybody sat around and talked in the shady room under the willow tree for a couple of hours after we finished. Heidi (Lesli's sister) is a part of that group, but couldn't make it that day, so she came another day and helped to unpack and break down boxes (we have really felt the love from Lesli's siblings in our moving -- Mark, if you'll remember, went far above and beyond helping us unload the POD from California in April). Ryan and Steve also worked hard on Saturday, bringing first one, then the other refrigerator from West Jordan (the first one's door was so wide it hit the kitchen counter and wouldn't open all the way).<br /><br />After all the unloading, we still had to work 12-14 hour days unpacking and finding homes for everything. There were, you'll remember, TONS of books, that Dad and I assembled shelves for, and Mom sorted and shelved. I can easily believe there was another thousand pounds of games and toys to find shelves for and put away in the basement playroom. Then there was the food storage, and suitcases, boxes and bins of baby clothes, Christmas decorations, and various gifts and such to build shelves for and arrange in the storage room, and then there was all the fabric and American Girl stuff that went into the fabric room, not to mention the clothes, beds, dressers, and dishes that had to find homes in other parts of the house.<br /><br />By the time Saturday the 22nd rolled around, we had made incredible progress, but when Mom announced the size of the party we were having, we realized that we had a lot of work left to do. There were boxes that still needed to be emptied, more boxes to break down and dispose of (thank you Craigslist and Freecycle), and even more boxes to hide in the fabric room, storage room, and office (which were designated as official uncompleted projects). Then we had to decorate by finding, and then arranging art and other knickknacks. Then, of course, there was the cleaning and vacuuming (moving in is VERY messy work), and the cooking of enough food to feed 26 people. We got the place looking presentable, and had a lovely evening with the family. All the kids were thrilled with the big playroom, and aside from a few arguments over what constitutes a turn on the rope swing (your feet can touch the floor three times, unless the other person isn't watching, and then you take as many swings as you can manage, but if you walk away for any purpose other than getting a running start, then you forfeit the rest of you turn, etc) and a frantic few minutes when they thought there was only one foam sword in the house (little did those children know who they were dealing with), they mostly got along.<br /><br />After the party, there was several hours' worth of cleanup, and then even more unpacking to do the next week. Daddy also spent a lot of time fixing all those little things that have to be done when moving into a home. For instance, he changed six light fixtures for me, and took apart my toilet so that I could give it a really good cleaning in places where the sun doesn't figuratively shine. Mom did a lot of cleaning in her bathroom as well, and painted some of the places in most dire need of it (including my kitchenette downstairs).<br /><br />Well, it's after 11:00, and I have to go to sleep, so I'll leave more for another day. I know that you want photos, and a full tour of the house, and an update on how Elizabeth is progressing (two words: leaps and bounds!), and how we like the ward and the neighborhood etc, but there simply isn't room in one post. So because I'm lazy and tired, I'll just give you the one shot that Peter took with his iPhone and sent out to the family lists already.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0gX96UPBQOVwknRTMEuRW-H_NjJ2iAIVOtAALbz8hvkYGFt_SYBUEBkGwo3WINf9anSaY0mMYCljP5cKcRFuWvjJhCte03zATJ3BQQMeZ1Qpp6GdED-_2oSRW9KCyhPQhR_be6wcxXeI/s1600-h/So+much+to+play+with.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0gX96UPBQOVwknRTMEuRW-H_NjJ2iAIVOtAALbz8hvkYGFt_SYBUEBkGwo3WINf9anSaY0mMYCljP5cKcRFuWvjJhCte03zATJ3BQQMeZ1Qpp6GdED-_2oSRW9KCyhPQhR_be6wcxXeI/s320/So+much+to+play+with.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377108240870437730" /></a>Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-63747254657516666142009-07-27T19:57:00.000-07:002009-07-27T21:46:44.809-07:00The Day Before Moving by Tom Atkins<dl><dt><b>The Day Before Moving</b></dt><br /><dd>One by one the boxes fill,<br />books, lamps, pictures,<br />the arcana of your every day life<br /><br />carefully put away, packed<br />with care, packed and marked,<br />then piled one on the other<br /><br />in a great mass of cardboard<br />in the room you used to call the library.<br /><br />Each day less and less<br />of a lifetime of accumulation<br />is still accessible, and yet<br /><br />you miss far less of it than you imagined.<br />You are comfortable with a few pans,<br />a few books, your desk<br /><br />and your thoughts,<br />thoughts not of leaving this place<br />you have lived all your life,<br /><br />but rather, of where you go,<br />for your past is always with you,<br /><br />a warm blanket of memories,<br />of people you love and who love you<br />beyond distance, beyond time,<br /><br />never really left behind.<br />But what lies ahead! Adventure,<br />a new place to live,<br /><br />not just a house, but a heart<br />whose nooks and crannies await<br />exploration of the tenderest love.<br />--<a href=http://summitmanor2.blogspot.com/2009/04/poem-day-before-moving-day.html>Tom Atkins</a> </dl><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwHpv6IVg6zb__Ml87IKp0JX2YIkEOR3yuB2tMbnKHq0lS52O8hw9jUW8c-2EDC-6obeKcpT8rPAyjta1fQXkD2cSBrmPagAhDzraW20rA9akXegXJSia2piC8r0CV_006rdgejjiApw/s1600-h/2009-06-25+three+houses.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwHpv6IVg6zb__Ml87IKp0JX2YIkEOR3yuB2tMbnKHq0lS52O8hw9jUW8c-2EDC-6obeKcpT8rPAyjta1fQXkD2cSBrmPagAhDzraW20rA9akXegXJSia2piC8r0CV_006rdgejjiApw/s320/2009-06-25+three+houses.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363367677649701314" /></a><br />This picture is of the play structure in the basement living room of the house we'll be moving into next week.<br />Here's an email I sent out to various people today.:<br /><dl><dd>OK, we have more details about moving in August. For anyone who hasn't heard, we (Karen, Peter and Elizabeth Ahlstrom) will be moving in with my parents (Randy and Rebecca Stay) and my Grandpa (Roland Holt) in a house they're buying in Salem, UT. We'll be able to move in (I think) starting August 7th.<br /> <br />My parents are shipping their containers from Ohio to Salem, UT and they will arrive probably on the 10th of August. There's a LOT of stuff coming, and we'll need help unloading. If anyone is available to help at any time of day or night between the 10th and 15th (or help arranging and unpacking boxes later) in Salem, we'd love to see you.<br /> <br />We need to move several carloads of stuff (and a few larger items that'll need a pickup truck) from our apartment in Provo down to Salem sometime before the 21st, and clean the Provo apartment to check out.<br /> <br />On the 15th, we'll have a moving truck at my Grandpa Roly's house in West Jordan at about 8:30 am and will be filling it until about noon with stuff that Peter and I have stored there for the last few months, and stuff my Grandpa wants to bring down to Salem. That afternoon, we'll be unloading that truck in Salem -- we have to return the truck that night, so we'll need help to get it finished in time. If you can help in either location that day, we'd really appreciate it.<br /> <br />If you can provide babysitting or on site entertainment for my daughter Elizabeth (18 months old) and/or other helpers' children, either on the 15th or for a couple of hours on any of the other days we'll be working, that would allow me to work and direct where my things ought to go without worying about safety for little ones.<br /> <br />If you can help any of these days for any amount of time, please either email or call me so that I can get a count.<br /> <br />Thanks SOOOOOO much!<br /> <br />-Karen Ahlstrom<br />and Peter, Elizabeth Randy, Becky, and Roland too!</dl><br /><br />It's been kind of crazy the last few months trying to figure out what the living situation is going to be when we have to leave our apartment in August. When we rented this place in April, we were pretty sure we'd be moving into Grandpa Roly's basement when he returned home after resolving all the details of nursing home bills and such in Ohio. That would give my cousins (who are currently living at Grandpa's house) time to find somewhere new, and give Grandpa time to make sure he really wanted to have us living with him, and give Dad time to finish the basement so it's more than bare concrete with insulation falling from the ceiling.<br /><br />Then Daddy found a house online and it looked like we'd all be moving to a ginormous duplex style home up on the hill in North Provo. Then he realized that there might be foundation issues that could cause the house to fall down the mountain, so he went looking for other houses. After rejecting an old 1800's chateau and an unfinshed cookie cutter house out in Saratoga Springs, he settled on the Salem house. So after saying they'd move west eventually for 20 years or so, they finally are!<br /><br />So that meant that we would only be living at Grandpa's house with him until he deciided to sell it (perhaps in the spring). And if we're not going to be living there long, we might just finish one or two rooms instead of the whole basement. And then, maybe we don't have to finish the basement at all -- for a couple of months we could all live upstairs. And finally, let's let the cousins stay at Grandpa's house, and we'll all move in together in Salem! <br /><br />I'll admit, it's a little scary how fast everything has moved, but I'm glad to know what the plan is for now at least. I've also been frustrated hearing about all the packing and sorting they're doing in Ohio (and how much work there is left to do), while I'm twiddling my thumbs out here trying to fill my days by going to DI and garage sales to find stuff to repair and/or sell on ebay so that I can keep buying more junk. Ah well, there'll be plenty for me to sort and help with next week. If you want to come help too, give me a call!Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-18037439885846666202009-07-13T15:24:00.000-07:002009-07-13T20:27:34.408-07:00My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson<dl><dt><b>My Shadow</b></dt><br /><dd>I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,<br />And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.<br />He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;<br />And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.<br /><br />The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow--<br />Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;<br />For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,<br />And he sometimes goes so little that there's none of him at all.<br /><br />He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,<br />And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.<br />He stays so close behind me, he's a coward you can see;<br />I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!<br /><br />One morning, very early, before the sun was up,<br />I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;<br />But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,<br />Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.<br />--Robert Louis Stevenson</dl><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0elnsG0nO8Xqojqsa6bW9BwshPOsHuDFJtxYdXZlejFSBf5-CXWrMTzZwCxtDJ85EJk9iqeP43w7rTo5NoSgn3vmqvdAF_AK12j_8gGJVuezaJ7VoGTlrkXOXcXGmEOxRNTMDwcam2E/s1600-h/Me_and_My_Shadow.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0elnsG0nO8Xqojqsa6bW9BwshPOsHuDFJtxYdXZlejFSBf5-CXWrMTzZwCxtDJ85EJk9iqeP43w7rTo5NoSgn3vmqvdAF_AK12j_8gGJVuezaJ7VoGTlrkXOXcXGmEOxRNTMDwcam2E/s320/Me_and_My_Shadow.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358152197531005922" /></a><br />I didn't have much success finding a ball poem in the amount of time Elizabeth was willing to let me look, so I went to my backup list, and found this poem that at least mentions balls. <br /><br />Since I have a wide computer screen, I've been showing Elizabeth <a href=http://www.youtube.com/>Youtube</a> videos on one half to keep her happy while I check email on the other half. I have <a href=http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=search_playlists&search_query=origamikaren1>several playlists</a> full of old Sesame Street clips, and songs from Disney movies, but what she's especially fascinated by are random videos of Doggies, Kitties and Balls. Dogs and cats are pretty safe to search for on youtube, but balls are more problematic, if you catch my drift.<br /><br />Thinking about a solution made me remember that my old computer had AfterDark installed, so I hooked it up on the spare desk, and turned on the Marbles! module where marbles drop from the sky and bounce off pegs before settling. When I showed Elizabeth, this was her reaction:<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ofi3sGruneM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ofi3sGruneM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />While I'm on the subject, here are a few other fun videos of Elizabeth's ball obsession. <br /><br />Roll the Ball:<br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LpeZW5timvI&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LpeZW5timvI&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />Elizabeth's first strike:<br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/em_kbmzefkU&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/em_kbmzefkU&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />Elizabeth and I played a fun game where she'd roll balls from my knee to my toes where they'd ski jump. In this video, she only does it once before deciding she'd rather kick her legs like the kids doing karate on Sesame Street<br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DEFG8JTRw1Q&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DEFG8JTRw1Q&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />Later that day, we found that the chair made an even better ski jump for the balls than my legs do.<br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/--kkO1lagFc&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/--kkO1lagFc&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />So if you'd like to support her addiction, send me links to your favorite youtube videos of Balls, Kitties, Dogs, Nursery rhymes, Finger plays, Vintage Children's Television, and whatever else you think Elizabeth would like to see. Also, if you know of any baby appropriate games (see <a href=http://www.babygamer.com/online_games/free/infant/infant_games.htm>babygamer.com</a> has some examples of what I'm talking about here) that can be played offline, you can send me those links too!Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-37437142733676972892009-06-19T19:20:00.000-07:002009-06-19T23:00:03.930-07:00Handprints by T. Lambert, Jr.<dl><dt><b>Handprints</b></dt><br /><dd>Sometimes you get discouraged<br />Because I am so small<br />And always leave my handprint<br />On furniture and wall<br /><br />But everyday I'm growing<br />(I'll be all grown someday)<br />And all those tiny hand prints<br />Will surely fade away.<br /><br />So here's a final handprint<br />Just so you can recall<br />Exactly how my fingers looked<br />When they were very small.<br />--T. Lambert, Jr.</dl><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4aR6fWuRckhZGlc4h5rriFEdOpnj9EUZLLTRB7JgzVh5yH0jz24Il-SsCyTxgj39BKqbnMUH3-LpgNst_UZvKCkBbEoTq4uDf0uVIzjWO3uxpjw11HEg0te7cewpuJivrSTXfJ4r9TWwH/s1600-h/blue_heart_handprint.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4aR6fWuRckhZGlc4h5rriFEdOpnj9EUZLLTRB7JgzVh5yH0jz24Il-SsCyTxgj39BKqbnMUH3-LpgNst_UZvKCkBbEoTq4uDf0uVIzjWO3uxpjw11HEg0te7cewpuJivrSTXfJ4r9TWwH/s320/blue_heart_handprint.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349282326167681282" /></a><br />I remember the first time I heard this poem. My brother David (or maybe it was Steve) made a little handprint art in nursery school to give to Mom for Mother's Day. I thought it was really cute then, and I still like it a lot. I intend to do something like that with each of my kids.<br /><br />Elizabeth has been making such great strides with talking lately, I thought I'd do one more "First Words" list before there are too many for me to remember. I did another one back in March as an email to my sister-in-law Marcelle, and I was surprised today to find out that I hadn't posted it to my blog. When typing it up, I've put the actual word first, and then if necessary, I've included her pronunciation of it. Finally, I give a short explanation of how the word is used. Since I didn't put her pronunciations is a consistent place, I've bolded the word as she says it the first time it appears in the entry.<br /><br />When writing out the baby talk, I ran into some typographical issues. How, for instance, should I represent the way she says the word dog? She pretty much leaves off the g sound at the end, so "dog" sounds more like "do'" (though with the correct short o sound from "dog" rather than the oo/u sound in "do"). I decided to put in apostrophes for missing letters so that you can tell that I'm not just writing a shorter word that already exists with a different pronunciation.<br /><br />With animals, sometimes she knows the name of the animal, and sometimes the sound it makes. She uses either one interchangeably at this point to label what she sees.<br /><br /><b>Toys and other nouns</b><br /><ul><li>Ball - <b>"BaaAAllll"</b> (at least three syllables). She LOVES balls right now, and so whenever she sees anything even vaguely round (logos on TV, pictures in books, blueberries, peas, some beads, etc), she says this word. When we went bowling in Ohio, she said it about every three seconds the whole time we were there. She also uses it generically for anything that catches her interest.<br /><li>Balloon - <b>"B'loon"</b> Elizabeth often asks for balloons when we're at the grocery or dollar stores that sell them. She also likes to look for the red balloon in the Goodnight Moon book.<br /><li>Bath - <b>"Baaaa'"</b> This generally means that she wants to take a bath, though last week, she said it while looking longingly at the spot where the wading pool had been in the front yard at Grandma Kathey's house.<br /><li><b>Bead</b> - This refers to the large scale beads for stringing, smaller ones on bead maze toys, and tiny ones on necklaces.<br /><li><b>Beep beep</b> - I put this one in toys because she says it with her toy car (When you push the horn, it has a human voice saying "beep beep" rather than just a beeping noise.)<br /><li>Book - <b>"Boo'"</b> Again, she leaves off the last sound, but gets the vowel right. She never did quite figure out how to do the sign for book without my hands pushing hers together, so it didn't surprise me when she learned the word instead.<br /><li>Bubbles - <b>"Buh Buh"</b> This word is used to refer to pictures of bubbles in bathtubs in books. She'll sometimes say it if I blow bubbles for her when she's in the tub, but never when she's outside. More often, she just makes a blowing noise to indicate that she wants me to blow some more.<br /><li>Car - <b>"Caaaarrr"</b> She likes going for a ride in the car, and if I suggest it, she'll go wait impatiently by the door until I get my shoes and bag ready. She also has a Fisher Price ride-on car that talks and sings to her, and several car/bus shaped toys.<br /><li>Cart - <b>"Car'"</b> I can only tell the difference between this and "car" by context. This word generally refers to shopping carts that she wants to ride in, including the one that lives at our apartment complex. It can also refer to laundry carts, and her little toy shopping cart (which she has found is just the right size for giving her little people toys a ride in).<br /><li>Shoes - <b>"Sshhooz"</b> Like the "ch" sound in "Cheese", the "sh" sound in "Shoes" gets said very carefully.<br /><li>Slide - <b>"Sliii'"</b> She generally just says "wheee", but lately, the actual word "slide" has been creeping in to her vocabulary.<br /><li>Train - <b>"Too too"</b> is her version of Choo-choo. She uses it to talk about her Thomas the Tank Engine books, which she loves, and insists on reading even though I think they're boring or dumb. Peter thinks it's Thomas's round face that interests her.<br /><li><b>Vroom</b> - Grandpa Randy taught her the word Vroom when giving her rides on Great Grandpa Jesse's red walker/seat. Now, it refers to anything with wheels that goes including: bikes, motorcycles, scooters, cars, ride-on toys, tricycles, etc.<br /><li><b>Wheee</b> - This could be the noise you make as you go on a swing or slide, or it could mean, "I see a swing or slide and I want to go play on it."</ul><br /><b>Social</b><br /><ul><li>ABC's - <b>"bee dee tee bee"</b> She can't really say her ABC's, but she does recognize the song when her car sings it, and she'll sing along with syllables ending in the long ee sound <br /><li>Baby - <b>"Bay-bee" or "Bee-bee"</b> This can refer to her dolls, a real baby (like her cousins Andy and Hazel last week), pictures of babies in books or on packaging (like cereal or diaper boxes), or to herself when she's feeling like she needs extra loving attention.<br /><li><b>Bye</b> - Repeats it when somebody says bye bye. Also when Daddy leaves for work, whether he actually says bye or not.<br /><li>Daddy - <b>"Da-da"</b> is Peter.<br /><li>Fix it - She doesn't say anything like these words, but she has a very distinctive squeal that means, "I'm very distresses or frustrated with this thing, come fix it for me!" She will stop squealing when I offer to fix it, and will often even bring whatever it is over to me. Common things that need to be fixed are her toy stroller, which collapses far too easily; her stool, which is too top heavy for her to right it after she pushes it over (it doesn't fall when she's standing on it, only when she deliberately tips it while standing on the floor); and when things are stuck going into or out of other things (one of her favorite games at the moment is putting-things-into-other-things)<br /><li><b>Hi</b> - generally used when pretending to talk on a cell phone (or anything vaguely cellphone shaped).<br /><li>I Love You - <b>"Ayeee la"</b> After we say family prayers, Peter says, "Give Daddy hugs!" and holds his arms out wide. Elizabeth approaches warily, and is enveloped in a big bear hug, while Peter says, "Oh! I love you! I love you! I love you!" Once she's released, Elizabeth tries to say "I love you!" back, but she's only got the first part down so far.<br /><li>It's a - <b>"'tsa"</b> this syllable often precedes her labeling of something else--especially when I ask, "What is it?" or "What do you see?" for example: "'tsa Baaaalllll"<br /><li><b>La la la</b> - Sometimes when we're singing to her, or a group of people is singing in church, she'll join in with "la la la." (She also likes to wave her arm like the music director)<br /><li><b>Mama</b> - That's me.<br /><li>Round and Round - <b>"Roun' roun'"</b> Elizabeth uses this phrase when her car sings its "wheels on the bus" song, and also when doing the "round and round the garden" finger play. She also likes me to say it when talking about her dizzy dance, and what fans do.<br /><li>No - <b>"Noonoononono"</b> The first couple of sounds in this word are more like "new" than "no." I almost hesitate to put this word on the list since she uses it so infrequently. I try very hard not to forbid things unless they're dangerous, and even then, I say things like, "Not right now" or "That's not for you" or "That's not a good game" or "That will hurt you" rather than simply "No." I don't want that to be one of the most important words in her life. I also try to notice what she's doing, and frequently say, "Oh! That's a good game!" or "That looks like fun" or "What a good job you did stacking those up" so that she hears at least as many positives as negatives.<br /><li>Tickle - <b>"Deedle deedle"</b>. almost any word with "le" at the end becomes a variation of deedle or doodle. See also: turtle, noodle, and cock-a-doodle-doo.<br /><li><b>Uh-oh</b> - This is what we say when something falls on the floor - generally at mealtimes or when she's throwing things from the shopping cart or stroller.<br /><li>Yes - She doesn't really say "yes" but when we're trying to figure out what she wants and we list several things, she has a particular nervous/relieved laugh that says, <b>"Heh heh heh</b> you guessed it! That's right! Now give it to me quick!"</ul><br /><b>Food</b><br /><ul><li><b>Aaaah</b> - As in, "Say Aaaah!" to get her to open her mouth to put food in. She often will say it to me to indicate that I should open my mouth and let her put food in (which I may or may not consent to do depending on how gross the bit of food or her fingers have gotten in the course of the meal).<br /><li><b>Bean</b> - An early favorite food and easy word to say.<br /><li><b>Beef</b> - When I prompt her with a list of options, she'll repeat this word to tell us what she's wanting at dinner.<br /><li>Bottle - <b>"Baa'll"</b> (often hard to differentiate from Ball, we get this one mostly by context, and the fact that it's generally shorter in duration with a bit of a glottal stop)<br /><li>Cheese - <b>"Cchheeez"</b> It takes a lot of effort for her to say the "Ch" sound, so she puts a lot of emphasis on that part of the word. This generally refers to string cheese, which is one of the things she looks for when I open the fridge, but can also refer to her other favorites: cheddar, American, or parmesan.<br /><li>Cup - <b>"Cu'"</b> This can refer to her sippy cup at the table, but she uses her sign for drink more often. She uses "cup" to refer to stacking cups, and the cups she sees in the bathroom for storing toothbrushes, pouring water in the bath, and the paper ones I use to get water to help me swallow my pills. <br /><li>Orange - <b>"Rrrrr"</b> It doesn't sound much like "orange" to me either, but it's the sound she makes while pointing impatiently at oranges, either fresh or mandarin in a can.<br /><li>Pea - <b>"Peez"</b> Because they're shaped like little balls, frozen peas are the perfect snack for Elizabeth.<br /><li>Noodle - <b>"Noodle doodle"</b> this is for any kind of pasta, which she really enjoys eating (especially rotini, spaghetti, and ramen).</ul><br />Animals<br /><ul><li><b>Baa</b> - This is what sheep say. She also uses this word when she puts on her lamb-ears headband.<br /><li><b>Bee</b> - she started noticing these in several of her books about other animals. She likes to play a game where she points to one of the bees on the page, then I go "Bzzzzz" and poke/tickle her with one finger.<br /><li>Dog - <b>"Do'"</b> She still uses signs a lot for this one, but the word is starting to creep into her spoken vocabulary. Of course, she's also just as likely to make an excited kind of yelping sound, which may be her attempt at a bark, or may just mean, "Look Mama! I see a real live dog (or cat)! Isn't that exciting?! I wanna touch it!" <br /><li>Cock-a-doodle-doo - <b>"Doodle Doo"</b> is what roosters say.<br /><li>Duck - She sees lots of ducks: at the pond, in her books, and especially in the bath. She generally says the word in groups of three <b>"Duk duk duk"</b><br /><li>Kitty - This was one of her earliest words. It's generally said with a VERY high pitch, and more of a glottal stop than actual "tt" sounds. She's pretty excited, so it's about all she can do to squeak out <b>"Key!" </b>She also uses the excited yelp from "dog" to tell me about kitties. <br /><li>Ook ook - <b>"Oo oo ee ee"</b> is what monkeys say<br /><li><b>Moo</b> - This is what cows say. <br /><li>Roar - <b>"Raar"</b> is what lions say.<br /><li>Turtle - <b>"Deedle"</b> See the explanation on tickle.</ul><br />Elizabeth still uses a lot of signs as well.<br /><br />Things <br /><ul><li>Ball (make hand into ball shape and twist back and forth) - This is only used for emphasis these days since she can say the actual word now.<br /><li>Fan or pinwheel (fwoosh noise like blowing on something) - She also sometimes traces a circle in the air with her finger to be sure we understand.<br /><li>Flower (breathe heavily or sniff) - it's supposed to be sniffing, but she was chronically congested for a while, and is only now trying to say flower with her nose. She notices these when we're out for walks, and often when they're in the background of pictures in books.<br /><li>Hat (pat head) - Elizabeth has a box of hats and a mirror in her room. She likes to put them on and look at herself in the mirror.<br /><li>Light (Flick fingers like popcorn song) - This used to be one of her favorite words, but she hardly ever says it anymore.<br /><li>Rain (hands downward like rain falling) - I've been impressed at how well she has transferred this from the Itsy Bitsy Spider song to real life rain, especially since we had so little of it in California.<br /><li>Toothbrush (finger across teeth) - Elizabeth loves brushing her teeth, and often when I'm having trouble getting her to stop playing and get ready for bed, I'll suggest brushing her teeth, and she'll drop whatever she's doing for this special treat. She likes to run the toothbrush under the water to rinse it, then tap tap tap it on the sink before putting it away in the cup. She hasn't quite figured out how to spit, but she's trying.</ul><br />Social<br /><ul><li>Amen (two hands together like praying, then move them up and down) - She has also learned how to fold her hands at the beginning of a prayer. Sometimes she even interlocks her fingers. She doesn't always keep them folded through the whole prayer, but we're making progress.<br /><li>Bounce with me (bounces body) - We were at Young's Jersey Dairy, and they had a moon bounce set up. Elizabeth saw it, and told me quite excitedly several times that she thought that bouncing in it would be fun. I didn't let her go in because I couldn't go in with her to pick her up when she fell over which I'm certain would happen every time somebody else jumped (which is what happens on a trampoline).<br /><li>Bye Bye (wave) - She waves when prompted, but usually says the word "Bye." It takes her a while though, and the person is often already gone before she gets it out.<br /><li>Clap your hands (Clap very carefully) - She took a long time to learn how to clap, and I think that she thinks it mostly means "Happy" since we finally got her to do it by singing the "Happy and You Know It" song. She can also stomp her feet and shout hooray.<br /><li>Dance (turn around in a circle) - I'm not sure why she started dancing this way, but she does it often, and likes to move to music.<br /><li>Hooray or Reaching high (two arms up high) - This action came from the "All About Me" book from Heather, and got transferred to the "Happy and You Know It" song. Elizabeth does indeed do this spontaneously when she's happy, and when I understand what she's saying, she claps her hands.<br /><li>Peekaboo (hide behind hat or blanket and then peek out) - There's not much cuter than a game of peekaboo initiated by your toddler.<br /><li>Please (rub chest) - She mostly says this only when prompted. Last week, her four year old cousin Kate kept asking her to do things and saying "please please please!" to convince her. Elizabeth usually didn't understand the requests, but obligingly said "Please" whenever Kate asked.<br /><li>Thank You (Hand to mouth, then down) - This is another one the often takes prompting, but sometimes she'll surprise me by doing it spontaneously. Her version looks more like a salute since she often misses her mouth, and just moves her hand away from whatever part of her face it happened to hit.<br /><li>Sleepy (Rub eyes) - This isn't something she chooses to say specifically, but I treat it like a sign in my interaction with her so that she might start using it as a sign, and so she'll associate that feeling with wanting to go to bed.</ul><br />Food <br /><ul><li>All done (Wave hand from elbow in a dismissive gesture) - This was meant to have two hands, almost like an umpire saying "safe!" but Elizabeth chooses to use just one.<br /><li>Applesauce (twist knuckle on cheek) - She just started using this one in the last week or two, though I've been signing it to her for months now. She also surprised me by using it to label the Apple inside on of her Fisher Price blocks.<br /><li>Drink (finger in mouth with hand upside down like it's lifting a cup or bottle) -I use my thumb at my lips with a fist, but Elizabeth uses her pointer finger, and turns her whole hand upside down so we don't get confused and think she means "eat" She asks for drinks throughout the day as well as at meals, so I got her a water bottle that she can drink from whenever she's thirsty. <br /><li>Eat (fingers to mouth) - When she starts eating dirt or books or toys, I know she's probably hungry as well. She doesn't often ask for food unless she sees something specific that she wants. Trying to climb into her high chair is another good sign that it's mealtime.<br /><li>Goldfish (Make fish lips with a bit of a "pop pop" sound) - This is the same as the sign for fish in an aquarium or a tilapia fillet.<br /><li>More (pointing to open palm) - I've finally got her using this one. At most meals, when she starts getting antsy, spitting out food, or throwing it on the floor, I ask, "Are you all done? or do you want more?" I used to have to assume the second, if she didn't sign "all done," but now I'm more confident that I'm giving her what she wants.<br /><li>My cup or bottle is empty (Shake offending cup or bottle so that Mama can see that there's nothing left) - This one implies that she also wants a refill.<br /><li>No, I don't want to eat that (shake head like no while avoiding the spoon) - This is where she says "No" most often. Since I generally keep giving her food until she makes it clear that she's done, this is an important thing to be able to indicate.</ul><br />Animals<br /><ul><li>Bear (scratch chest) - We've been working on this one for a while, and she'll do it if I ask her, but she's not really interested in the bears in her animal books.<br /><li>Bird (two fingers open and close like bird beak) - She doesn't do this one often anymore.<br /><li>Bunny (make hand bounce up and down) - it's supposed to have two fingers up as ears like little bunny foo-foo. She has lots of stuffed bunnies, and makes them jump up and down too.<br /><li>Doggie (pat leg, or anything else handy while panting) - This one looks like it won't last much longer because she's starting to say the actual word.<br /><li>Fish (smack lips together like fish kisses) - This works for fish in an aquarium at the doctor's office, goldfish crackers, and also tuna or tilapia at dinner.<br /><li>Frog (stick out tongue) - This is one of my favorites.<br /><li>Giraffe (Trace your finger down your neck) - I've been signing this one to her for a while, but it wasn't until she got a Fisher Price Roll Arounds ball with a giraffe inside that she started using it herself.<br /><li>Horse (bounce body like Mama is bouncing you on her knee) - This one isn't very frequent. It's another one where she thinks that I have to be involved.<br /><li>Pig (push up on nose to make a piggy snout) - she aims for her nose with an index finger, but usually hits her mouth or cheek. <br /><li>Spider (grab finger of one hand with other hand and twist like itsy bitsy spider) - I'm not sure she actually knows quite what a spider is other than the thing in the song.</ul><br />Other communicative gestures<br /><ul><li>Get up! (yank on various body parts impatiently until Mama gets out of bed or off the couch) - This one generally happens on days when I haven't gotten much sleep the night before.<br /><li>I want that (point with a whine or grunt) <br /><li>I want to climb up (lifts foot) - Often onto chairs or beds<br /><li>I want to nurse (Yank on Mama's shirt) - I deliberately misunderstood this when I was trying to wean her, and we sort of accidentally developed a game where she puts balls or other toys down my shirt and gets excited when they reappear at the bottom.<br /><li>I want to sit in your lap and be cuddled (insinuate self into lap, often walking backwards) - This one is something she often does when she's uncomfortable, so it might also mean I need you to change my diaper.<br /><li>Keep me safe/I'm scared (Cling to/hide behind Mama's leg) - She's pretty adventurous in general, but for a while she was afraid of the vacuum cleaner, and lately she's been frightened of strange men.<br /><li>Pick me up (arms up or out with a whine or grunt) <br /><li>Put some of that on my hand (Hold out hand expectantly with palm flat) - She usually says this when she sees the bottle of foaming soap in the bathtub or the spray on sunscreen. Sometimes she asks to wash and/or dry her hands when she sees me doing it.<br /><li>Put this on (put piece of clothing near the appropriate body part) - especially shoes, hair clippies and hats.<br /><li>Take this off (yank on clothing and whine) - I've been trying to introduce a new larger set of pajamas, but there's something about the feet that she doesn't like, and every time I put them on, she asks me to take them back off.<br /><li>Take me there (point while being held)</ul><br />Body Parts - Elizabeth can point to the following body parts on herself, someone else, a doll or a picture when asked. She doesn't have very good proprioception (knowing where a body part is when she can't see it) so she often misses when trying to point to things on her own face.<br /><ul><li>Head<br /><li>Eyes<br /><li>Nose <br /><li>Mouth<br /><li>Ears<br /><li>Cheeks<br /><li>Belly Button<br /><li>Arms<br /><li>Hands <br /><li>Fingers<br /><li>Legs <br /><li>Feet<br /><li>Toes</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-70315574545837121722009-06-17T21:15:00.000-07:002009-06-17T22:22:38.881-07:00Round and Round the Garden by Unknown Author<dl><dt><b>Round and Round the Garden</b></dt><br /><dd>Round and round the garden goes the teddy bear (trace a circle on baby's palm with your pointer finger)<br />One step two steps (walk your fingers up baby's arm)<br />Tickly under there (tickle baby under chin)<br /><br />(use same actions on other hand for verse two)<br /><br />Round and round the garden goes the little mouse<br />One step two steps<br />In his little house.<br />--Anonymous</dl><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_T0JrqoZ33qY/SjnOnDAZghI/AAAAAAAAFUU/nteSXB0vf6U/s1600-h/3123882f.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_T0JrqoZ33qY/SjnOnDAZghI/AAAAAAAAFUU/nteSXB0vf6U/s320/3123882f.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348533202696372754" /></a><br />I found this little rhyme in a book of finger plays that I often read to Elizabeth. There are several minor variations out there, and you can find some good videos of it on youtube if you've never seen it done (Actually, as I was preparing this post, I found some great resources for finger plays and other interactive youtube videos that will be fun to do when Elizabeth decides she wants some computer time) <br /><br />Anyway, we had Elizabeth's cousin Hazel visiting with us today since Barb had a conference at BYU, and needed a babysitter. At one point this afternoon, I did some fingerplays to entertain Hazel, and Elizabeth decided she wanted to join in. At bedtime tonight, she finished nursing before she fell asleep, so I thought I'd give her a little extra loving attention because she was so generous in sharing her Mama and her toys with Hazel today. <br /><br />Using gestures, she asked me to spread out her Blue Blanket to cover her legs, then she pulled it up so her toes peeked out. I interpreted this as a request for "This Little Piggy," which we did on each foot. Then we did "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and one or two others that we'd also done this afternoon with Hazel. The last one I did was "Round and Round the Garden."<br /><br />Elizabeth was in her sleepy, snuggly ticklish mood, so she enjoyed it a lot. Then she reached out and grabbed my arm, turned my hand over and started drawing a circle in my palm. She even said "Roun' roun'" which is what she says when her car sings "The wheels on the car go round and round." She was so sweet and cute as she did it! I said the rhyme for her, and showed her how to walk her fingers up my arm, but she didn't need any coaching to do the tickly bits under my chin. She did the whole thing several times, grinning and giggling. It was about the sweetest thing I've seen in my life.<br /><br />We've been saying family prayers before bedtime. Elizabeth has learned how to fold her hands at the start (though they seldom stay folded for the whole prayer), and sign "amen" at the end. After prayers, we give hugs and kisses all around and say "I love you! I love you! I love you!" Elizabeth has begun to say "Ayeeeee" during hugs, which I think is the start of her own "I love you!"<br /><br />It's so fun to get a peek into her mind. I taught her "If You're Happy and you Know It" a few weeks ago, and she will now clap her hands, stomp her feet, and shout hooray when I sing. Her face surely shows that she's happy when she does it too. What I really love though is that lately, at unexpected times, she'll put her hands up in the air and make her hooray noise. When I ask if she's happy, she'll grin and very carefully clap her hands. <br /><br />What more can a mom ask for than a little girl who wants to play fun games, show me the same affection I show her, and spontaneously tell me how happy she is?Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145150938922509338.post-58651615917651133432009-05-15T18:40:00.000-07:002009-05-15T21:51:45.561-07:00A Narrow Fellow in the Grass by Emily Dickenson<dl><dt><b>A Narrow Fellow in the Grass</b></dt><br /><dd>A narrow fellow in the grass<br />Occasionally rides;<br />You may have met him,—did you not?<br />His notice sudden is.<br /><br />The grass divides as with a comb,<br />A spotted shaft is seen;<br />And then it closes at your feet<br />And opens further on.<br /><br />He likes a boggy acre,<br />A floor too cool for corn.<br />Yet when a child, and barefoot,<br />I more than once, at morn,<br /><br />Have passed, I thought, a whip-lash<br />Unbraiding in the sun,—<br />When, stooping to secure it,<br />It wrinkled, and was gone.<br /><br />Several of nature’s people<br />I know, and they know me;<br />I feel for them a transport<br />Of cordiality;<br /><br />But never met this fellow,<br />Attended or alone,<br />Without a tighter breathing,<br />And zero at the bone.<br />--Emily Dickenson</dl><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieiJ470x-q9fdnkt9F1iMUPrbvNQxUhWRk38u7sCumsAw2i5mlLSWkW8pvtDKmAmmvFSCO4jbRO2q0vsrvwtmkHLZ3vylDe4FEAB0SM7e_y2-jYXhGxqMv-y_0x-LmKYF6ENVXN0qv8Lo/s1600-h/May+2009+(62).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieiJ470x-q9fdnkt9F1iMUPrbvNQxUhWRk38u7sCumsAw2i5mlLSWkW8pvtDKmAmmvFSCO4jbRO2q0vsrvwtmkHLZ3vylDe4FEAB0SM7e_y2-jYXhGxqMv-y_0x-LmKYF6ENVXN0qv8Lo/s320/May+2009+(62).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336276320575572866" /></a><br />I think this was the first Emily Dickenson poem I ever read. I'm posting it today because I feel like I've been spending a lot more time in nature since we moved. I've been working on the landscaping at our new apartment, which needs serious help (though I'm told that they only recently cut down all the giant thorn bushes that were infesting the property, and haven't put anything new in). I've pretty much convinced my landlord to give me a budget for plants and gardening supplies, and he says that now that I've pulled all the rocks out of the dirt they dug up to fix the water main, he can probably get sod in during the next week or two. I haven't seen any snakes, but I have seen a bunch of centipedes, earthworms (which I now realize were missing in California), potato bugs, ants, robins, and quail in our yard.<br /><br />I finally got a new computer yesterday. My last one was from 2002, and even with upgraded RAM, it simply couldn't keep up with the demands of the Internet and updated software. I've barely been able to check my email for the last couple of months. Our new apartment (along with the rest of Provo) has amazingly fast Internet service (it's a public utility here), so I was able to upload a whole bunch of videos that I've been waiting to share. I'll space them out in this blog post which will catch up on the last 6 months of very erratic posting and general life craziness. Hopefully, I can get back into a regular schedule of posting now that I have a computer worth using.<br /><br />Let's see, the last time I posted something that wasn't a eulogy for a grandmother, or an email that I dropped into my blog for posterity, was before Christmas. We had a good Christmas, with plenty of presents for everybody. <br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WTM-7UBOnns&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WTM-7UBOnns&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />Elizabeth was not interested in unwrapping packages, but she did enjoy the gifts them selves. She got a bunch of Fisher Price Little People and a sweater set that matches her baby doll's, but her very favorite things were the Busy Bug (a pull toy snail with a drum full of sorting shapes as his shell, and orange drumstick antennas) and her Christmas Orange:<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vLi5NOqsRFc&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vLi5NOqsRFc&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />I had never given her oranges before, but she so obviously loved it, that I've given her a lot more since, and they've become her favorite food.<br /><br />In January, we went to Utah for Grandma Helen's funeral. The defining part of that trip was the enormous blizzard that blew in that weekend. We will miss Grandma Helen, though it was time for her to go home.<br /><br />After the funeral, Mom and Dad came out to California to do their share of cleaning and emptying Grandma's house. That was a fun job, from an organizational perspective, but also very sad because we had to say goodbye to the house and Huntington Beach as well. I don't know if we'll ever go back there -- though I hope we will. Here's a video of Elizabeth enjoying the wonderful sand they have there on Huntington Beach. She really enjoyed knocking down sand castles, and interacting with the wildlife (sea gulls mostly, but also a hermit crab that Daddy caught).<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/a95h-mCz-EI&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/a95h-mCz-EI&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />While my parents were at our house, we celebrated Elizabeth's birthday, and she learned how to blow out candles (though we didn't get that part on video).<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3IEjLRTYON8&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3IEjLRTYON8&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />Happy Birthday Elizabeth! One whole year! It's pretty amazing to think about. I love you lots, and you're such a good clever little girl, you're a joy to be around :) <br /><br />I had been looking forward to a couple weeks with my parents at the end of their trip west, but because Grandma died before they came, the whole trip got turned backwards and they only had a few days with me before they had to drive off to Mike's house to watch the boys, then visit David and his family.<br /><br />While they were gone, I tried to stay cheerful by meeting my friends at the park each week. They were a HUGE support to me, and I hope I was to them as well. I will certainly miss Lisa, Susanna, Jen, Julie, Rachel, Christy, Lynne, and all their kids. Elizabeth will miss playing with them too. In this video, she and her friend Ari are having a yelling contest, and enjoying themselves thoroughly.<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zaINdUVMOwE&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zaINdUVMOwE&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />In this one, she's having a great time on the slide.<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7SZSS5-vn2c&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7SZSS5-vn2c&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />I think this is a good spot to put in the partial blog post that I began writing in February, but never finished.<br /><dl><dd>Well, you can guess from my lack of posts that I've had a terrible month. <br /><br />The last time I posted was around Christmas. I've been in therapy since the economic and family crisis craziness started last June, but even that wasn't enough to keep my spirits up under six months of constant stress and uncertainty. Seeing myself get more and more depressed and anxious, my doctors and I decided it was time to go back on medication. We picked a drug I haven't been on before because it's supposedly the best for breastfeeding. One real problem with it though is that not only does it take several weeks to kick in, but you actually feel worse before you feel better. It's one of the ones that increases suicides in some patients, and I got the full brunt of it. I had no energy, I felt like crying all the time, and some days it was impossible to make myself do even the simplest of tasks. I felt like I was swimming through molasses -- it was so frustrating!<br /><br />One of the worst parts was that I knew there was no rational reason to be upset most of the time. I honestly couldn't trust, or often even interpret, what I was feeling or why...</dl><br />...So yeah, I was feeling pretty lousy, and I was very sad that Mom and Dad left so soon. When I get depressed, I stop wanting to eat. I did make myself eat three meals a day, but with breastfeeding Elizabeth, I still wasn't getting enough calories in, and I began to lose a LOT of weight. Then, when my body's defenses were down, I caught some kind of viral tonsilitis, and couldn't swallow even if I wanted to. There's nothing they can do to treat the virus, so I just had to suffer for a week and a half, and boy did I suffer! I was really sure that without some kind of help, I was literally going to die.<br /><br />With all my complaining, Mom and Dad drove back down the coast from Oregon, and nursed me back to health. Then, a week or two later, I flew out to Ohio for a three week visit. The stated purpose of the visit was to come up with a long term plan for deciding on and cooking meals, and to gain 15 pounds. Mom did her best to stuff me, but I only put on a couple of pounds while I was there. We did get a card file system worked out for choosing dinners, so that part of the trip was a success.<br /><br />Elizabeth had a hard time learning to sleep in a new place, but when she was awake, she had no shortage of people to dote on her. Grandpa Randy was especially fun. Here, he's pushing her around on a tricycle (her feet can't reach the pedals), which he was willing to do over and over and over again.<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q5wKprvRUTQ&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q5wKprvRUTQ&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />It was bitterly cold and/or raining outside for a lot of our trip, so Daddy made a swing for her by tying a laundry basket to a rope hung from the balcony above. I love the noises Grandpa Roly made as he pushed her. She doesn't always look like she's really enjoying the swing, but she certainly objected when we'd try to take her out!<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qbHgKxxNLB0&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qbHgKxxNLB0&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />Heather was also feeling the need for some family support, and since I made her cancel her trip to my house that month (I didn't want her or Anna to catch the horrible virus I had), she decided to visit Mom's house while we were there instead. This video shows what the interaction between the two little ones was like most of the time they were together (except, interestingly enough, in the bathtub). Anna has a toy. Elizabeth takes it. Somebody gives Anna another toy before she gets upset. Elizabeth drops the toy she just stole, and takes the new toy. This sort of juggling could go on for 20 minutes at times.<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IDTd994RV7Y&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IDTd994RV7Y&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />Mom made the dresses, and knitted the sweaters (and even made a matching dress for 'Lizbeth's doll), and we just happened to be at her house together when they were just the right size for the girls. Mom had gotten out the bassinet for Steve and Rachel's baby shower, and we found that when just one of the girls was in it, they both felt a lot more secure.<br /><br />Elizabeth decided that she liked climbing into things and sitting in confined spaces because it defined her territory, and Anna couldn't get there. Here's one of her favorite places to sit:<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/maoItDz85Zg&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/maoItDz85Zg&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />That trip was really good for me, and a momentous three weeks for Elizabeth. Soon after her birthday, she figured out how to go from taking a couple of large shaky steps before falling down, to taking several small steps in a row. Pretty soon she could really walk. When we arrived in Ohio, she was still a baby, but while we were there, I watched her turn into a toddler before my eyes. She could suddenly do so many more things, and even her posture changed when her main form of locomotion changed from crawling to walking. <br /><br />Also on that trip, she got sick with an ear infection that took several courses of antibiotics to clear up. About that time, she also began throwing up on a regular basis, and did it for about five or six weeks. There was at least one night in Ohio that I spent sitting up in bed, holding her so she could sleep upright. I was very happy when dawn came and Daddy offered to do his patented soft talk and bounce walk around the house. He was able to get her to sleep, but he couldn't lay her down either. <br /><br />One other major reason for the visit to Ohio was to see Grandma Fawnie. She had deteriorated a lot since I saw her in September, and each trip to the nursing home got harder than the last because her condition was frightening to the little girls. I knew, when I left, that I was saying goodbye to her forever, and the day after I got home, she died. I did manage to post a eulogy for her that week, so I'll leave it at that.<br /><br />Of course, that meant we had to unpack from one trip, and pack and leave on another within less than a week. Elizabeth wasn't recovered from her ear infection yet, and this second trip was quite hard on her. The antibiotics she was taking gave her a horrible yeast infection that was red and sore all the time, and sometimes got so bad it was bleeding. She had to adjust to yet another place to sleep, in a house overcrowded with family, kids, and repressed emotions. <br /><br />Here's a video of a quiet time we spent one night reading one of her favorite books before giving it to her cousin Anna to enjoy:<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Doz2Qzs870Y&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Doz2Qzs870Y&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />It was fun to have the whole family (minus Steve) together, but it was also a very rough time for everybody emotionally. We spent a lot of time remembering Grandma, but I don't think that anybody had the energy to really grieve for her while we were there. There were simply too many things that had to be done, too many schedules that had to be accomodated, just plain too many people for the house, and too many expectations that had to be met to stop and really feel any of it. I know it was especially hard on Mom, who had to organize and coordinate everything.<br /><br />Back to the fun bits, here are Elizabeth and Jonas jumping on the trampoline at Uncle Steve's house after the funeral. <br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BBXsci6EdKk&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BBXsci6EdKk&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />It was really good for Elizabeth to be in the house with Jonas, because he's big enough that he doesn't have to let her steal his toys. It took just one day to convince him to come tell an adult instead of pushing her down when she took something, but we all spent a lot of time trying to teach little ones to share the toy tools that Ryan's boys had left in the house.<br /><br />Speaking of Jonas, he was a fun kid to be around because though he's old enough to talk, he still has his pronouns mixed up (a totally normal stage of language development). He thinks that "You" means "Jonas" since that's what people say to him, and "I" means "Other Person" because that's what other people say about themselves. It was a little hard to figure out what he was saying, until I realized that if you imagine he's prompting you with what he wants you to say, then it all makes sense. Nearly every time he'd see me, he'd say, "Hi Jonas!" and I'd reply, "Hi Jonas!" Then he'd say, "I have a flower in my hair!" and I'd reply, "I do, I have a flower in my hair!" and then I'd turn around and show him. There were also variations like, "Where's my flower?" until I realized that he wanted me to wear it all the time since to him, it was my defining feature.<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_yNScUrBdpM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_yNScUrBdpM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />Peter had a specific mission on that trip: find a job -- any job with benefits. He'd wanted to move to Utah so he could have friends to hang out with in person rather than just online, and with finances getting dire after he was laid off from his temp job, we were ready to try anything. He worked really hard, interviewing, and networking with everybody he could think of, and then his friend Brandon offered him a job as his personal assistant! It was the answer to our prayers, and we hurried back home to start packing --but not before visiting his sister Barbie and her daughter Hazel:<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1P64F2O39cs&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1P64F2O39cs&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />Back in California, we celebrated Easter by coloring eggs. I didn't want to chance the mess Elizabeth would make with a cup of dye, so I put her in a bib-shirt, and gave her a marker to draw on the egg with. It's one of the first times she's really figured out what a marker, pen, or even crayon is for, so that was exciting.<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SY0iNKgn504&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SY0iNKgn504&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />Then we started to pack. Generally, I would fill boxes while Peter entertained Elizabeth. When the PODS container arrived (like a U-Haul that they haul for you), we packed and packed amd packed stuff in. Elizabeth was kind of weirded out as everything she had ever known disappeared one box at a time , and she was left with a few things in the middle of empty rooms and white walls.<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MLBOMB0rt9Y&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MLBOMB0rt9Y&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />It was hard to leave the house that we had put so much time and energy and money into. We had to forclose because since the bottom dropped out of the housing market, the house was worth less than half what we owed. With the space rent so high in the mobile home park where we lived, 1/4 to 1/3 of the people couldn't afford to live there anymore, and every week brought more "For Sale" signs, more "Price Reduced!" fliers, and eventually, more abandoned mobile homes. We'd had it on the market for 10 months, and in the last few, nobody even came to look at it. We weren't allowed to move it, we weren't allowed to sublet, so when Peter found a job elsewhere, we decided we just had to walk away and start over. I felt, for a while, like the universe was telling me that everything I had done there was worthless. Still, before I left, I pulled all the weeds, got plastic put down under the last of the gravel and paving stones, and cleaned the house till it shined. It was silly, but I needed to do it for my own self respect, just like the pioneer women leaving their homes in Nauvoo had to sweep the floor one last time.<br /><br />We sent the container off on a Thursday, my friends threw me a farewell party, and then we left on Sunday evening. I gave Elizabeth some Benedryl to help her sleep, and we drove all night. We arrived in Provo exhausted, but safe. We unpacked our cars into the new apartment while waiting for the POD to arrive, but after just one or two days, the maintenance problems, and the smell drove us to request a different unit. They let us move next door where we're much happier. Here is Elizabeth doing a Happy Dance she made up. She often just twirls around and around like this till she's dizzy.<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bOJYJ9TUV3Y&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bOJYJ9TUV3Y&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />When the POD finally arrived on Friday of that week, we went up to Grandpa Roly's house to unpack it. We had asked all sorts of relatives to help, but it wasn't a convenient day or time, so only Lesli's brother Mark was able to be there. We planned to get just the essentials out, then wait until Saturday morning when others might come, but Peter, Mark, and later Ryan, just kept right on hauling stuff to the basement till the POD was empty. Mark really went above and beyond the call of duty. Not only was he not really related to us, but he had also had a medical procedure done under general anesthetic that morning. He was still woozy and queasy from the drugs when he arrived. He was also nearly faint from hunger since he'd had to fast the day before the procedure, and hadn't been able to keep any food down since he'd woken up. We kept asking if he was all right, and telling him he could stop anytime, but he just kept right on going. It was amazing, and terribly kind of him.<br /><br />We filled our cars with stuff to take to Provo, then on Saturday, I borrowed my cousin Jesse's truck to haul some of the larger pieces like the rocking chair. A week later, I went back to put the basement in order (the guys had just dumped stuff), and get a few necessary odds and ends I'd missed.<br /><br />So now we're settled in Provo (for a few months anyway), and Elizabeth is enjoying the parks and the apartment building's yard. Once all her favorite things started appearing again, she took to the new house like she'd never lived anywhere else. Here's a video of our FHE activity the other night that shows how cheerful she is.<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/n3gISIA06Go&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/n3gISIA06Go&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />Well, this post has gone on much too long, but then again, I was trying to catch up on about six months of eventfulness. This summer I plan to: work in the yard, gain some weight, wean Elizabeth, go to Library Story Time a couple of blocks away, hang out at the water park a couple of blocks the other direction, and invite all my cousins over for dinner at least once.Karen Ahlstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08494601453714239376noreply@blogger.com7