End of February

Rowan got to borrow some special stamp markers from her speech therapist the other day. We had lots of fun stamping on the easel paper. We had even more fun stamping on Rowan's legs. Good thing most Crayola stuff is washable these days!

Harvey fell asleep after supper at Grandma's house. We knew it would happen since he fought a nap earlier in the day. We made him a little makeshift bed on the living room floor since we would be driving home soon after. What you don't see is that Harvey actually fell asleep in the high chair and snoozed there for about 10 minutes before we transferred him. I just love how he sleeps with his little rump up in the air.

Rowan really enjoyed our most recent snowfall. We had some nice days where nearly all of our snow melted. Then we got about 4 inches on Saturday the 21st. We all stayed home and just enjoyed some family time.

Harvey is much better at staying upright when walking in the snow.

Rowan is making a snow angel out on our deck. If you were to look at our deck now, you'd see that most of the snow is melting again. At around noon it was 42 degrees out.

I attempt to take a belly shot with our dining room mirror (approx. 36 weeks). I had some professional photos taken on Friday the 20th. I think that they turned out great and I can't wait to get them sent to me. We never had professional maternity photos taken with the other kids and I always wanted to have it done. I decided to do it this time around....this could be my last opportunity since we are unsure about having more than 3 kids. No decisions made on that though.
Next time I get to post, it will probably be March and we will start to count down the days till the new baby arrives. Hey, take a guess at the sex of the baby - there's a poll on the side of the blog!

The kiddos

The kids love to play with the Tonka truck.

Harvey is now thinking that you have to lift the back to sit on the "seat".

Rowan being cute.

Harvey and mom reading a Wonder Pets book. He loves to read books.

Harvey playing peek-a-boo with Andy's knee.

If you bring out the camera, he will bring out his biggest smile.

Harvey wanted to sit next to Rowan. Rowan didn't want Harvey next to her. She started crying, but it didn't phase Harvey.

Splenda

During the past two years, my husband and I have become aware of negative attributes of artificial sweeteners. We used to be the kind of people that drank soda quite often. We used to think that "diet" sodas were healthier than regular sodas. In truth, no soda is healthy at all, but this was our thinking at the time. When we came across information on aspartame, Nutrisweet and other sweeteners (such as Splenda) we felt we had more than enough data to support avoiding all of these sweeteners whenever possible. Since we still liked to drink soda on occasion, we decided to switch to regular soda - you know, the kind with high fructose corn syrup. Now the problems with hfcs are a whole other story to be told....I'll save that for another blog.
On rare occasion, we were able to get soda from Whole Foods. These sodas were sweetened with cane sugars and other natural sugars....not the processed hfcs. Their were still a few problems with this. One - we didn't get to Whole Foods type store very often, and two - these sodas are still the lesser of two evils. Sodas still have carbonation and phosphoric acid in them.
One day, Andy decided to see if he could quit soda all together for a year straight. He was very good about it, and did not have a single sip of soda for at least 365 days. What was his reward for being so diligent? A cold bottle of Mountain Dew!
These days, we still drink soda every now and then. But you won't find us drinking diet sodas. We've taken a step backward from our year without soda...but I think we will get back to that point. It will just take a little more effort and determination....and more green tea!

Here is some information on Splenda that I recently received...


http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/10/New-Study-of-Splenda-Reveals-Shocking-Information-About-Potential-Harmful-Effects.aspx

Rowan's expert opinion.

So, this last weekend my mother was asking Rowan some important questions about the new baby. Here is her prediction about the baby:

Q: How old is mommy?
A: 19 years.

Q: How many lbs will the baby be at birth?
A: 38 lbs.

Q: How many inches long will the baby be at birth?
A: 3 inches.

For the sake of all of us, I hope she is not the next Nostradamus....although I would like to be 19 again. :)

Staying indoors.

This January has been quite cold for us here in Wisconsin, so we haven't been out of the house much. We are trying to keep our spirits up. Here's a couple recent photos.


Now that Rowan has her own guitar, she can enjoy Guitar Hero with her dad.
Maverick is not so enthralled with the music. He's finishing up a yawn.


After a few minutes I figured out the "hands free" shot on our camera. Rowan was a little late in posing with mom. Somehow I made some kind of goofy smile (sheesh).

Happy New 2009!

The kids are enjoying a mid-morning snack. Please ignore the awful carpet in our living room.

Harvey just loves to close doors these days. Here he is playing with his cousin Maylie. They were taking turns going into and out of the coat closet.

Harvey got a big Tonka dump truck from Grandma and Grandpa Allord. He just loves it. He puts toys in it and sometimes sits in it himself. Rowan also loves to play with all of Harvey's new things.

Rowan is helping set the table for the family meal.

By early evening, New Year's Day, our family was starting to feel wiped out. Rowan is just starting to doze off, Andy is completely out and Harvey (who just got up from a nap) is quietly watching TV with his dad.

These were all the photos that I was able to get with my camera for this occasion. Hope the new year will bring more fun and excitement for everyone!

Christmas 2008

(Katie, Rowan, Harvey, Darlene, Dennis, Addie)

This year we had the good fortune to spend Christmas with nearly all of our family members. We haven't seen Andy's sister's family for a long time. They got to meet Harvey and we got to meet Addie. It was great fun and the kids enjoyed playing with one another.

(Addie and Grandma Weisensel)

(Katie and Rowan)
On Sunday the 28th, we traveled to Nathan Cummings' home town of Black River Falls, WI. That morning we participated as Godparents for the baptism of Jacqueline Adela (Addie) Cummings. Afterward, we had a yummy brunch at Nathan's Mom's house.

(Addie, Rowan, Harvey and Katie)

(Rowan, Katie, Marissa, Harvey, Violet and Hannah)
On Saturday the 27th, we traveled to Steven's Point, WI to meet with Andy's extended family on his mom's side. There were many little kids there and they all played very nicely together. Not pictured: Grant Brazzale -elsewhere in the house, Ella and Josh Hardy in Illinois, and Lola Olivieri in Florida. The children that were there got to visit Santa and each received a gift of books and/or a stuffed sheep.

Our Family

Aunt Donna got this great photo of Harvey.

She also got this great shot of Rowan.

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Christmas Day

Grandma and Grandpa Allord were enjoying our kids antics.

Rowan is showing off her "camera smile". As she matures, she has learned how to smile even if the enthusiasm is lacking.

Harvey is having a good time communicating with Grandma.

Rowan was very good at helping open presents.

Santa brought Rowan a guitar.
She became quite interested in the guitar when she watched Daddy play guitar hero. We tried to let her play the game on the easiest setting, but it was still a little hard for her. So now she can play her own guitar at the same time as dad.

Harvey got a fire engine from Santa. He really likes it.

In the stocking were some cars.....

and a Nerf type ball.


We were all blessed to receive so many great gifts and visit with our family members from near and far. It's not over yet, we still have a Christmas/New Year's gathering with Janea's family. Look for more photos soon!

Random Winter Photos

Rowan helped decorate cut-out cookies today. She did a good job.

Harvey just came down from a bath with Andy. He was in a very good mood.

Poor thing still has a terrible time walking in the snow. He falls on his face a lot.

One of our goofy pictures that I took at our "Christmas card photo session" - see previous post.

Rare moment

This year, I tried so hard to get a good photo of my children for Christmas cards. We aren't able to take them into a professional photographer, so I tried my best to get them cooperate for me. It was not a good experience (for me).
I should have known better than to plop my kids in front of my parents moose themed Christmas tree....in a room that all kinds of breakable holiday decorations sitting out on tables.
Rowan was extremely well behaved and did a great job listening to my instructions. Harvey was not so content to listen to mom. This little boy is constantly "on the go." He sat for 1 photo by the tree. All of the rest of the tree shots, he was wiggling, pulling on his ear, or sliding out of Rowan's lap. I almost got a nice shot of Rowan kissing his head, but she pulled back to fast for my camera to catch it. We then tried all kinds of other poses. We put Rowan and Harvey on the steps....they climbed up and down and either did not look at me or they moved too fast.
I discovered that my son really puts on his "earmuffs" when he knows you want his attention. You can clap, stomp, or even scream and he will not look at you...especially when he's focused on a toy. I know he can hear. I've whispered things across the kitchen and he's heard it.
I was so frustrated when we were done shooting. I only needed one good photo and I feared that I had 30 terrible photos.
The next day, when we were back at home, I came up with a new approach. I'd try to take a photo in the morning when they are usually on their best behavior. And I would also turn on a cartoon. That usually seems to keep their attention for a few minutes. I could hopefully keep them still during that time. I was half right. Harvey only wanted to sit where he wanted to sit, not where I propped him. I ended up telling Rowan to just go to Harvey since he was not going to listen to me. She did great and I ended up getting this shot....


I did actually get a decent shot in front of the Christmas tree (after some tweaking on the computer). You'll get to see that shot in our Christmas cards this year.

Hep B Vaccine and Newborns

I just read a blog post from one of my dearest friends and I feel compelled to share it.

~ Janea

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Hep B & Newborns

"Ok, I don't always agree with some of the stuff on his site, but he does have some good things to say, especially about the Hepatitis B vaccine. The numbers seem consistent with others I've seen, & I like the way the article reads. Check it out:

http://v.mercola.com/qa/every-pregnant-woman-needs-to-know-this-2407.aspx

(You may need to highlight, copy & paste.)

Some interesting points from the article:

"Hepatitis B is a rare, mainly blood-transmitted disease. infection that primarily affects the liver and can progress into a chronic infection that can result in cirrhosis that may lead to liver cancer.

Hepatitis B is largely transmitted through exposure to bodily fluids containing the virus. There are only a few ways that you can get this infection:

-Unprotected sexual contact
-Blood transfusions
-Reuse of contaminated needles and syringes
-Vertical transmission from mother to child

Every single one of these risk factors is easily preventable without the use of vaccines. However five years ago the US government made the outrageous and inexcusable recommendation to have all infants immunized with hepatitis B vaccine."

Easily prevented. Note that it's a RECOMMENDATION, not a law. Even with the vaccines that are mandated, THERE ARE EXEMPTIONS.

"In over half the kids the immune protection lasts less than seven years which is well before these kids will need any possible benefits of the vaccine. "

Oh great. Another vaccine that will need booster shots to make protection likely. . . think about THAT. How many adults do you know who keep up on their booster shots to vaccines? Those who live the kind of at-risk lifestyle for Hep B are certainly one of the least likely groups to be up on their booster shots anyways, right? So when they are at most need of protection from the disease, they won't have it. Sounds kind of like the chicken pox vaccine to me.

Besides, if a young child is at risk for exposure to Hep B where a vaccine that's only effective for the first few years of life would be beneficial, it sounds like there are some other problems to be looking at in that situation, eh?

"Some Hepatitis B Vaccines Still Have Mercury"

Yup. This & many other vaccines are still manufactured with mercury, then the mercury is 'removed' but still leaves trace amounts. Even for the vaccines without mercury, there is still the issue of aluminum, formeldahyde, antifreeze, & other human & animal matter.

"Since there are about 4 million children born in the US every year this works out to about one child in every 200 births that develop hepatitis B. As you will see below this number is actually far lower as only 1% of these children develop serious complications or about 4 or 5 kids.

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reported over 2,000 total reports of adverse reactions from hepatitis B vaccine in the 0-1 age group, with over 50 deaths reported. Here is the kicker, it is well recognized that this is only about 10% of the actual cases. So if you multiply this by 10 you have 20,000 injured infants from the vaccine.

So as a result of all these immunizations physicians are harming 20,000 infants to protect 5 from serious problems."

I don't even need to say anything about that. The numbers speak for themselves.

Did you know that when a baby is born in the hospital, the typical routine includes your baby receiving this Hep. B vaccine, an injection of Vitamin K (for blood clotting, which of course comes with risks & is very rarely warranted), and ointment in their eyes (which is to protect baby against moms who have gonnorhea. Do you have an STD? Then why are they putting this stuff in your baby's eyes? It has risks too.). Often these things are done to your baby out of routine without asking your permission first.

Things you can do to protect your baby:

-Educate yourself on your options regarding vaccines along with the associated benefits & risks of your options BEFORE birth.

-If you decide to not do the Hep B vaccine or other things like the eye drops or vitamin K, let your care provider know BEFORE birth. Also bring documentation of your informed consent or refusal of these things with you to the hospital & give it to your care providers & nurses before birth.

-If you give birth in a hospital, keep your baby with you at all times. If you are unable to care for your baby immediately due to medications, anesthesia, or surgery, have your partner or other support person accompany your baby at all times to make sure that your baby does not receive these things if you choose. Otherwise, they often get so caught up in their usual routine that it's possible they'll forget you don't want those things.

-If you do decide to vaccinate your child against Hep B or anything else that vaccines are available for, consider a delayed vaccine schedule, particularly one that does not start immediately at birth & only gives one vaccine at a time. A baby's body has enough that it'll be working hard on to adjust to at that time. Spacing out vaccines & only giving one at a time also helps identify specific causes if there are any adverse reactions.

Not all care providers will support your decision to not vaccinate or delay vaccines. If your care provider does not respect your questions, you need to decide between staying with your care provider & being pressured into doing something you don't feel is in your child's best interests, or switching care providers in order to do what you feel is safest for your child. Even if you do decide to vaccinate, this is an important discussion to have. A care provider who insists that you vaccinate or threatens you with 'the law' & doesn't discuss exemptions & options with you may be likely to not support other choices you make in the future. It's part of a healthy parent-child-care provider relationship & keeping lines of communication open.

Remember that persuasion is not communication. If you feel that your care provider is trying to persuade you to vaccinate (or not even acknowledge other options or exemptions), or if you feel you have to work hard to persuade your care provider to discuss your options or research with you, then obviously the lines of communication are not open. Communicating involves asking questions & the willingness to share resources & research.

Ok. Back to your regularly scheduled programming!

Trip to see Santa

Rowan had a blast in the calendar store. They happened to have an animal set-up in the front window.

She felt the baby giraffe needed to be closer to the mommy giraffe.

The grand finale.
Seriously, the kids were fine until they came within 10 feet of Santa. I spent the whole day prepping Rowan for this occasion. She seemed excited to meet him. It's the same Santa as last year. However, she was not happy to be by Santa. We only get her to stand this close to him after promising her a sucker when she was done. Harvey was already crying, so I just plopped him on Santa's lap and took out his pacifier. Santa (bless his heart) tried so hard to coax Rowan out of her shell. He let mommy sit in his big red chair with Rowan to get used to the idea. He let Rowan see his stuffed animals, but to no avail.
This was the best of 3 shots that were taken.
Luckily, there was no one else waiting in line.
When I got to see the final shot, I laughed but I also felt so sad at the same time.

Re-tooning the Nativity

http://www.ignitermedia.com/products/sea/singles/1063/Retooning-the-Nativity

Very cute nativity story! Check it out sometime!

Good Timing

Our deck yesterday.

Our deck today.


It was a good thing we did some final yard clean up and took down the gazebo fabric.

Fall Clean-up and Fun

Today we tried to do another leaf removal. This will make the third day (not in a row). Andy created quite a large pile and played with Rowan. She had a good time, but did not like it when he buried himself completely. She cried because she couldn't see Daddy.

Enjoying the moment.

We got a lot more weeds and debris picked up too. Finally, our deck is cleaned off. No more toys, potted plants....even the fabric on the gazebo was taken off and stored. While taking down the canvas, Andy discovered about 100 hornets in the folds of the fabric. Some were really big but they were all very slow. I think they all got stomped. I'm glad I didn't have the job of taking down the canvas!

Harvey still loves to sit with Daddy and watch some shows on TV.

This happened to be a night where we all watched a "Rock Band" competition. Rowan danced along to the pretend bands.