Ducky, Dirty, Rockets, Wrenches... and Jesus

I realized in the last few days that one of the most common questions I get about P from family and friends is about his language development. Wait, that sounds way too technical--really, most people are just asking, "So what's P saying these days?" You can see a few of his latest words above (he articulates the first two with excellent diction--the way he practically spits out the name "Doc" from the Cars flick so clearly--a movie and an obsession fit for another post. The last two are understandable but also toddler-garbled, making for adorable moments. He's so proud of himself!).

P "babbles" a lot, too, which basically means he's practicing speaking in sentences. Sometimes we actually understand him, like tonight at dinner when he identified some cake for dessert and said quite distinctly, "I do [eat] cake." "I do" seems to be a preface to pretty much everything he says. It's been incredible to see and hear his comprehension and articulation in the last two months--some weeks we've noticed a new word or words every day! He obviously understands far more than he can say, which means he can follow directions excellently AND throw frustration fits when he can't say what he means.

Along with the language explosion, P made big strides today when he took his first nap on his "big boy" bed! We received his twin mattress set yesterday and made it up with his cute-as-pie sports-themed Crayola bed-in-a-bag. He loved it immediately! What he didn't love today was learning--after about twenty confrontations with Daddy and Mommy (I'll let you imagine what those entailed)--that nap time still means staying in bed (you know, the way he had to when he had bars around the mattress). He kept getting up and trying to play (with toys that were put away) and reading books. Finally he gave up and slept for about an hour and a half! AND he didn't fall off the bed! We anticipate a few more days of adjustment to nap time and then we'll go for nights. Wish us luck!

I won't posts in the next few days as we head into the end of Holy Week. What a great time of the church year--our favorite by far! J and I and P hope you enjoy a blessed Easter as we celebrate our redemption through the death and resurrection of Jesus (or, as P says, "Tsussus." Kind of like "Cheez-Its.") Who knew Matthias Grunewald's gory painting of Christ's crucifixion and processed cheese could be connected -- kind of like us sinners and God.

On Birth and Miracles

Okay, I'm realizing that this blogging thing is becoming more of a cathartic experience for me and less of a post-about-family thing that I originally intended. Therefore, I'm seriously considering starting another blog for my mind-rambling in order to keep this one focused on our lovely family. But before I get overly ambitious and allow this one to peter out, I'll just combine my two loves (random commentary and my wonderful fam) here. So, for those interested parties, please consider reading several terrific blogs by (mostly) Lutheran women that I enjoy. I read this one fairly regularly, and Rebekah, especially, alternately tickles me and inspires me. Her latest longer post dealing with induced labor and links to another awesome blog have reminded me how incredibly, incredibly blessed we were that P was born naturally. I think I've been incredibly naive about the fact that he was induced but somehow I (and he) avoided the knife and all the complications it can carry. I understand c-sections can be necessary, but all too often they're overused for, frankly, selfish and/or practitioner-protection reasons (NOT with the mother and child's best interests in mind). Anyway, P is a wonder, and so is S (bless his little yet-en-wombed heart). As Anne Shirley (or some screenwriter put it), "Babies are never common. Every one is a miracle."

Irresistible Sicky

The sun shone today in SWMn, and though P and I didn't venture outside (it was very windy--Plains kind of windy, like I almost got knocked over grabbing the paper off the porch this morning--and cold), the warm rays streaming through the windows are such a pick-me-up after this long, long winter. AND after the last few days in which P has progressed from uncomfortable coughing numerous times in the PM (partially a cause for my wacky sleep patterns) to fever, doctor, antibiotics, runny, RUNNY nose and general discomfort. P puts me to shame. He plays and talks to himself (when he doesn't have a semi-regular bout of coughing and discomfort crying) as though his life couldn't be any better. While I mope and complain about, well, anything (especially in these last weeks of prego-ness... yikes, it's a good thing God is so forgiving), P lines up his cars on the couch with his characteristic chirping, smiling at us, excitedly dashing down the hall for Seals on the Bus, eyes puffy, nose running, voice sicky-thick with head-cold fuzz. So incredibly pathetic-irresistible. How can we NOT love a kid who's so happy when his body feels rotten?

On a side note, I moved his bookshelf and books and toys into his "new" room today. It was quite fun, and he enjoyed it (the sunshine is GREAT in that room, especially in the morning)-- my next goal is to actually post pictures of this and other fairly recent occasions on this blog. I can't just write about this stuff forever; I know I love pics, and so do you, so please bear with me, gentle readers. And have fun imagining what a sunshiny room looks like. :)

Forming Habits

Well, it only took me half an hour to edit a picture from our computer, upload it to Blogger, and figure out where to put it on this blog so it doesn't take up the whole page. Yes, I am certifiably NOT knowledgeable about computers (a fact I really, truly, need to rectify, for many reasons). But enough on that.

Today J awesomely let me sleep until 9ish. My sleep patterns have been awful for the last two days, so I dutifully took my half a midwife-sanctioned sleep aid last night and promptly disappeared for almost twelve hours. I can only just now tell that it's completely worn off. Despite my sluggishness, P and I managed to: get clean, take an afternoon nap, sing songs (both of us);
read multiple stories (Machines Go to Work and To Grandmother's House We Go and Seals on the Bus are current--that is, today's--favs), clean out the pots and pans from the cupboard, build Duplo structures, organize Matchbox cars on the couch, open up the forbidden multimedia/TV stand several times, play with tennis balls in the empty back bedroom (more on that later), color, eat two afternoon snacks, go to church, clean up toys and take another shower with Daddy (trying to ward off a chest cold)--(P, not me);
read the newspaper, play with and read to P, write cards, clean the kitchen, make homemade beef vegetable soup for supper and for leftovers, do laundry, go to church and eat cupcakes (post-church, not IN church), finish up class prep and emails for tomorrow, and of course, blog (me, not P).

This blogging thing is therapeutic already -- most days I feel like a complete failure because I think I accomplish so little. Today was one of those typical days... and I see I got SOME stuff done, despite sleeping so late.* If I list all of J's accomplishments, though, he put me to shame (just a few of his feats--and I am not exaggerating: teaching his last confirmation class for the year and giving each of his confirmands individual absolution--one of his favorite times as a pastor; feeding, dressing, and changing P; preaching a sermon at our last Lenten service; prepping for Holy Week; calling scores of people to schedule visits; AND spending a few afternoon hours framing a bedroom in the basement and staining trim. Pregnancy is easy-peasy, man.

Speaking of, I'm trying to enjoy these last weeks prior to S's arrival for many reasons, one of which is knowing that I'll struggle to, say, chop an onion with any degree of planning in about a month. I remembered today making some kind of meat lover's pasta dish after P was born and distinctly thinking I felt like I was "back" to a routine (it was September; he was born in June). Maybe we'll get back to "normal" habits more easily this time. In the meantime, P is getting habituated (gotta stick to rhetorical consistency here!) to his new room, though he doesn't know it. Tomorrow we move his books and his toys in there. Next week his mattress arrives. And J and I try to keep up with the house and our lives and prep for another life-changing time. And as we've already learned, kids are anything BUT habits, anything but routine and predictable.

*And yes, I know "carrying a child at 35 weeks gestation" is an accomplishment, too. And I don't want to short S -- he's terrific already. But I often forget, despite the basketball projecting from my body and the extra weight, that he's sharing my energy, too. I have a lot of respect for moms who've done this (thank, thank, thank you for proving, billions of times over, that God built us for this special work).

A Start, At Least

After several hours of reading, writing, occasional but irking Facebooking (a topic fit for another post), I've realized I've just got to knuckle down and start a blog for our loved ones who 1) don't get the fuzzy familial updates you deserve, and 2) seriously lack the pictures of Olson youngsters you most certainly deserve. So here goes nothing: my attempt to finally be a more consistently loving daughter/sister/niece/family member/friend by placing our lives in an accessible place for you.

Just one more note: I still love phone calls, and don't plan on using this as an excuse to not jabber away at you whenever I can. I know, I know -- you're all so relieved to know I won't stop talking anytime soon.