Posts filed under 'Family'
Yep, Leo is officially a daddy’s boy. He use to say more than daddy, but because our mind age is very close, we’re able to communicate through just one word, daddy. Daddy? That means he picked something up for me. Daddy! That means he wants me to pick him up. Daddy! Means he wants to go out to the shop and play with the tools (never too young right?). Daddy? Means he wants to eat some of my food. The differences are subtle, but they’re there. Leo actually cried this morning when Angie took him away from me which is an ominous sign (in reality he recognized he and I had our jackets on and I think he thought I was going to go outside without him).
William has been growing like a weed. Although William eats about as much as Leo does, he has sprung up a few inches and his feet continue to out grow shoes about every other month. He got his name on the board 3 times last week for goofing off in school, so he is no longer the sweet and innocent kid a few years ago. On the flip side, he doesn’t wet the bed, sleeps very well, can dress himself, can help cook, and let’s Hank in and out of the house, so he is pretty darn useful anymore.
Angie has been on nights for the last week and a half and by my count has 17 nights left. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it still takes a long time to chug through 5 weeks of it. I think this round is going much more smoothly than the last go round, mainly because Leo is older and no longer needing to eat in the middle of the night. I think it is also going pretty well for Angie too, at least she is getting home at a reasonable time in the morning.
Other than that, it seems like spring is finally coming. We might be getting a dusting of snow, but April is a week away so the cold won’t last much longer. I went for my first and only outdoor ride a few weeks ago in Columbus. There are some great hills down there and the traffic is much lighter than Indy, but I realized my helmet has seen better days. Many, many moons ago a certain puppy (Hank) tore all the padding out of my helmet. I rode with it like that for basically 8 years. I am not even sure the helmets are meant to be used for 8 years. I can certainly see there is fading all over it and wouldn’t be surprised if some of the foam has been compromised, so I bought myself a new helmet and some socks. It looks uber cool (does any helmet look cool?) and matches the bike, so hopefully I look a little less dorky in my spandex shorts.
Out in the shop, I finally got my 12″ Fay and Egan Jointer up and running. It took some more precise measurements to setup than what I expected so the process was a little longer. In the end, it is a smooth running machine. Along with the jointer, I have been working on building a TV stand for out living room. I finally to a point of adding the finish, so hopefully it will be ready for prime time shortly. It is replacing a TV stand Angie bought her freshman year at IU. I can’t remember what happened to it our 2nd through 4th years of college, but it reappeared when we moved to MN and we’ve been using it ever since. It looks rather funny with the large tube tv sitting on it now in this big living room. It does nothing to hide the wires (now with all the networking crap by the tv the wires have doubled) and it seems to be a kid magnet. The stand I am building will be substantial to say the least. It sucks up all the free room in the shop and with the top on, I am guessing it weights well over 100 lbs. It will be stained the same dark chocolate color that I used on the Arts and Crafts bookshelf, so it will definitely have some visual weight to it.
March 24th, 2010
No, it is not the last post of niblet.us, but given how often I’ve been posting, I could see how someone would think of that. We knew that 2009 was going to be a busy year and I think it lived up to the hype. Angie and I have been recounting the year all day and I am still amazed it was just 2009 Leo was born, Match day finally came, sold the house, moved, started residency and a new business, and generally settled back into Indiana.
I have been busy out in the shop making furniture and generally enjoying not walking through a half finished basement. Angie has kept busy with residency, but has been enjoying having the last week of the year off. Will made it through one Christmas and is gearing up for the next one in a few days and poor Leo is recovering from having tubes put in his ears early this morning.
I am not even going to attempt to recount the prior months here, but I am going to list out my resolutions for ’10:
1) Get back in shape. I know I say this along with about 1 billion other people, but I have given up all soda (for months now), which was phase one, now it is time to kick in the exercise again. I am not sure I will reach my wedding weight when I was riding 150 miles a week, but I’d like to get half way there.
2) Go camping. This was a summer goal, but poor planning on our part never made it happen. Leo will be a bit older, so it might be more fun for the whole family.
3) Post to niblet at least once a month (we actually do rely on it heavily when we’re trying to figure out what we did with Will at certain ages).
4) From Angie: Try more ethnic foods (count this one as a failure from the start).
So there we go, some easy goals. I’d also like to add, complete all the tool projects in the shop, build all the furniture I have planned and make a billion dollars, but I am trying to be realistic.
December 31st, 2009
Back in the day, I think I posted about Will’s every cough and sneeze. He was the first grandchild on my side and the first on Angie’s side in a few years. We lived about 500 miles from any relative, so the constant posting of photos, blogs, and videos let everyone keep in touch. Leo, however, gets the short end of the stick. Even with the website move, the older videos of Will don’t work anymore. So other than YouTube, does anyone have a suggestion for a decent video hosting service? It will probably take me weeks to upload all the little videos of him and Leo.
Now back to Leo… If you ever watch Will when he was younger and experienced some of his… difficulties, and you can imagine a baby that is the exact opposite of that, then you have Leo. Everything from their eyes to their affinity (or lack thereof) for the bottle are on opposite sides of the scale. We have videos of Will crying because he couldn’t crawl when he wanted to. Leo would quietly resign himself to trying again. Will would scream bloody murder if he was laid down for a nap, Leo simply turns his head and goes to sleep (although neither have slept alone all that well until after age 1). Leo laughs and smiles, a lot, he is quite simply a happy baby.
I am not sure how I would have held up had they come in reverse order. In some ways, we thought if we survived Will, we can handle anything. Even to this day William is stubborn as a mule and generally goes to the beat of his own drum (he went to school today for a bike race and wore his helmet, even when all the kids stared at him, he was content to wear it). I am very excited to see Leo’s personality come out more and more as he gets ever so close to speaking. He flaps his arms and makes all kinds of noises, but no real words (in moments of duress and despair, he will say mum mum, but I think that just comes out).
There is some speculation as to the final color of Leo’s hair too. On some days it is definitely orange/red color and others I swear it will darken up and look more like mine (which has all kinds of colors, seriously ask people that cut my hair). He is crawling too. He went from a belly scoot to a full fledged crawl in a number of days. He can roll from front to back, but gets suck on his back and he can sit up without assistance too. He still seems to struggle with eating solid foods. He either really hates the taste of everything (must be a Beale!) or he just doesn’t get the whole spoon thing. In short, he is growing up rather quickly.
I can only imagine what its going to be like when Leo is old enough to run around with Will and come out to the shop with me. Switching back to Will, he has finally gotten the hang of potty training, although the accidents still happen. Nine times out of ten, accidents happen because he is stubborn and doesn’t listen to me when I tell him to go try. But what do I know, right? I am just his dad.
A note to facebook readers: Facebook changed the way they post things and when I linked www.niblet.us to my facebook page it never posted a news feed, but apparently it does now***. Just be aware that for whatever reason, the photos in the posting don’t come through the news feed, so to get the full effect, you have to go to www.niblet.us, should you care to.
***I’d prefer to post discreetly and not spam the hell out of everyone (which is basically what the facebook news feed is), but the link is convenient for a few people. It does worry me that my high school English teacher has the possibility of reading my horrific grammar and punctuation, but rest assured Mrs. B, I am much better at giving speeches.
August 26th, 2009
Well here we are, less than two weeks away from the big move down to Indiana. So much has happened in the last few weeks, I’ve let all the possible blog topics just pile up. Much like my bills, I’ve ignored it until its past due. Nevertheless, there are no late fees with blogs. So let’s jump right into the recap.
Will turned 3. We hit the local Chucky Cheese (which I consistently referred to as Noble Roman’s and Showbiz Pizza) and Will got his much talked about “Shark Cake” (the sharks on the cake are “eating” Nemo gummy snacks). He seemed to enjoy the cake, but I think he was more excited to get the Lego Sharks off the cake.
Somewhere along the way we sold the house. I think we signed the papers in late April, and the house was off the market after about 2.5 months. Since we’re closing the day we’re moving back to Indiana, the timing couldn’t be better. As the closing date gets closer, I am realizing how much I am going to miss the house. Although, reality would have dictated a move (or a really large project) in a few years anyway. On the bright side, I am getting out before any major repairs are needed.
Angie is now an official med school graduate. It seems like ages ago when we first discussed her going to med school and she has accomplished her goal and then some. On the route of becoming a Dr, she became a catholic (not an easy task), married me (not an easy task), and had two boys (really not an easy task). She marvels me with all that she accomplishes and sometimes I wonder why she settled for a guy who procrastinates blog posts.
Speaking of me, I stood and watched Will put his hand down on the oven’s burner. We were making scrambled eggs and I pulled the pan to dump the eggs. He leaned in to see and minutes later his hand was a blistered mess. The Dr (not Angie) said he had 2nd degree burns all over his hand. The major spots were his finger tips, all down his ring finger, the heal of his hand, and his thumb. 
At this point the blisters are starting to come off which is causing him to slightly freak out. I will take that little bit of freaking out over listening to him in the back of the car clutching his hand saying “owie, owie, it hurts!” That was after the Dr visit when they wrapped his hand and he couldn’t ice it down anymore. The Motrin kicked in not long after that and he did pretty well the rest of the day.
Then we had Mother’s Day last weekend. Angie painted some pottery to commemorate our time in Minnesota. Since it was rather pricey stuff, Will painted a leaf and I watched Leo. The pottery has finished firing, so I will have to get some photos up of the finished plate and leaf.
That took me weeks to get out. Maybe things will change when I am unemployed in the coming weeks.*
*okay, I am not really unemployed, but I won’t be going into an office anymore.
May 18th, 2009
Well we made yet another trip to Indiana. Since about July of last year, we’ve been back 5 times and that is a lot when you consider I use to hate making the trip twice a year. It is going to be weird living there again and not having to show up two days early for family events and taking time off work to make the trip. I can’t imagine what I will do with those extra 4-10 days per year.
Well the trip home served a number of purposes. We had Leo baptised (photos pending). Angie and I looked for houses and, of course, we got together with the rest of the family for Easter.
The baptism went well. Poor Leo just couldn’t make it throught the whole thing though and fell asleep in Angie’s arms.
On the housing front, we saw a number of houses for sale and almost all of them were written off within ten seconds of walking in. It really bewilders me how my house hasn’t sold when I was looking at some real junkers for just slighlty cheaper than mine. Ultimately, and with no less than 2-3 days of debate, we decided to just rent a house. With our current house still on the market, it just didn’t seem like the right time to buy for us. Maybe in a year or two things will settle down and we can shop for more than an afternoon. Honestly, I am just looking forward to not having to work on a house and being to spend some time working on my various hobbies.
William spent the weekend playing with his cousins, eating candy, and generally crying about not being in his own bed. I slept with him the whole weekend mainly due to lack of beds and after the first night, he seemed to control his obsessive need to put his feet on my back. After that it wasn’t too bad. He did a couple of Easter egg hunts and with help from his older cousins managed to find a few.
Now perhaps I am just a tiny bit hungry, perhaps it is the spring weather, or perhaps I have just not been able to get back in the kitchen due to the need to keep it clean for showings, but I have a major hankering to do some cooking. Although I visit and poke around on various woodworking blogs and forums, its never really occurred to me to do the same for cooking. I found Pinch My Salt while googling around for biscuit flour and just her photos alone make me want to run to the kitchen and get started. Adding to that the labyrinth of information at the Good Eats Fan Page and I really just beginning to see the iceberg of information.
The issue I have always had with recipes on line, esp from places like Allrecipes.com, is who do you trust? I’d say about 50% of what I make only gets made once and I won’t go back to try it again (aside from biscuits and gravy). So if I am going to take the time to find and try a recipe, I don’t want it to suck. My sister Liz is usually a good barometer. She either has good sources or a better understanding of cooking basics (likely both) and when she makes something, its usually very good. Much like woodworking, I’d like to work with someone to learn some of the basic ins and outs. The cooking classes I have taken were always helpful, but since its been well over a year since I took one, retaining all the information that was packed in an hour class is difficult.
Now with the pending move, job change, extra kid, residency, and daily life, I am worried cooking is going to take a serious backseat. Already, I can say my consumption of McD-like food grossly outweights home cooked food. But I have fired up the grill a few times and added an excellent butter to my steaks, so I have to be happy with that. I’d just like to expand on that and get away for just eating mashed potatoes and bread with that meal (although my potatoes rock the block).
I think that is enough thinking aloud for now. Time to hit the grocery.
April 16th, 2009
We are officially within one week of Angie’s residency announcement. The anticipation is palpable. I should rename the title to Angie’s Countdown though, as the location has a bigger impact on her than me. I will just have to move, she will have to move and work at this new location. I have to admit, its kind of a crappy way to pick a job.
Nonetheless, the countdown is on. After the envelope is opened, we will finally have some clarity on what will happen for the remainder of 2009, and really the next four years for that matter. So all that is left is to sit back and enjoy easy/off time Angie has with us boys (Me, Will, Leo, and Hank).
Pandora
If you are like me and like to drown out the sound of work, I highly recommend using Pandora.com. From a song, artist, genre, etc, you can build a “station” and enjoy new and different music all day long. I find it a nice change of pace from itunes which I swear picks the same songs all the time when it is on random.
Kart It Up
At some point I picked up a copy of Mario Kart for the Wii, thus justify owning a Wii (at least to me). The Wii Ski and Fit are nice, but Karting is where’s at, like two turntables and a microphone. I love looking forward to the CPU completely screwing me on the last lap of any 150CC race. I played online once for about 5 minutes and I doubt I will ever have the time to master the game like some of those guys. They can probably play Guitar Hero on expert too, who has time for this stuff?
Leo, the Lionheart
Leo has taken to watching the bird that hangs above his bouncy seat. He usually hangs out with me while I take my morning shower and I frequently check on him. For the most part, he kicks his legs and watches the bird sway back and forth. I know, not exciting at all, but it keeps his attention. I just got the report from Angie that Leo’s head size is in the 95th percentile. Imagine that, a kid of mine having a big head…
It occured to me, just this week, that when Angie starts residency I will have to get ready in the morning with both boys and likely have to start dinner with both boys, then there are the weekends… Yes, I kind of freaked a little bit. Sure Leo will be older, but I have fed him like two bottles. Even when I did that I almost forgot to burp him. Hopefully, it is like riding a bike. Hopefully…
Visitors from the South
Two of my sisters came up last weekend with my brother-in-law. It was a little hectic with two open houses, a showing, and 3 different nap schedules, but I think we managed to squeeze 5-10 minutes of fun in there. We fired up the grill, for the first time in who knows how long, and went to the Children’s Museum on Sunday so the boys could wear themselves out. I got exactly zero photos from the weekend. I know, I am really on top of things. It was fun to see Will interact with a younger cousin. I think he enjoys following his older cousins around (a lot) but this was the first time he got to really play with Evan. They took baths together and Will helped Evan pick up his water cup a few times. I am wondering if Will has put two and two together to realize Leo will be that big soon enough.
The Housing Market
Yes, it is still for sale. Lots of showings, some good feedback, 4 open houses, 0 offers. *fingers drumming*
That’s about all there is to say.
March 12th, 2009
In honor of Scrubs, I am seriously considering titling all future posts “My something or other”. I actually spent probably 20 minutes thinking of the above. How do you convey all that has happened in the last month in a succinct, interesting title. My Month, was about as good as I could come up with. Unfortunately, I slightly predicting that I will probably only post once a month for the remainder of the year, which is sad given what type of year this will be. Obviously Leo was born, now our house is on the market, Angie will match for residency and likely move us out of state, I will change jobs at that point, and then of course, we’ll hope to get another house. Lots to do, the first two of which have kept me busy for the last month…
My Leo
This really should be written by Angie as I have been a rather negligent parent. Angie will have had about 9 weeks off, when it is all said and done, to spend with Leo and I can honestly count the diaper changes I have done on two hands. I don’t even need to count the baths I’ve given because there haven’t been any. Sad, I know. Nevertheless, Leo has been packing on the pounds, crying when needed and generally just getting use to the “activity” level. Will has taken Leo in such stride, I think he is only disappointed in Leo’s inability to play like Will expects. However, Will is always sharing his lesser toys with Leo and asking to hold him, usually for about five minutes or so, and he is always excited when Leo is awake.
My Headache
The house… I can sum it up best by saying the relief I felt yesterday after the open house was nothing short of therapeutic. In the last month we’ve touched up paint everywhere, installed carpet in the bedroom, moved several things out of the house, cleaned *everything*, finished the trim in the basement, finished the plumbing in the basement bathroom, etc etc. I am sure there are some minor things I forgot, but needless to say it is done. Is it perfect? No. Is it sellable? Hopefully, yes, but time will tell.
It is weird to say, but I have some regret leaving the house now. Now that everything is cleaned up and all kinds of loose ends have been tied up, I actually feel like I could finish some things, but I will never get to them. I guess I feel like I am leaving money on the table or walking away from unfinished business. I wanted a nice fence built, a patio for enjoying eating outside, a finished basement (completely), and some real crown moulding throughout the house. So on one hand, I am so happy to not have to think about what “has to be done” every time a weekend rolls around and I am looking forward to the next house and its possibilities, on the other hand, I am disappointed I didn’t get more done.
With the house officially on the market last Friday, the 13th, it is all about just sitting and waiting to see what happens (and keeping the place spotless). I think Angie and I are both excited for the next house (assuming we can get one) although our preferences differ like Republicans and Democrats these days.
February 16th, 2009
This is Angela actually making a post – I just want to document the way Leo arrived in the world. In short, it was more perfect than I could have anticipated. In long, here it goes…I started off my uneventful Wednesday by carpet shopping and going to Target. I was really hoping to go into labor soon, so I was trying to stay active and jiggle him out little by little. At the carpet store, the salesman said “try not to deliver here, okay?” I’ve learned that these little comments are God’s clues that you’re getting close. On the day I went into labor with Will, a lady at the mall told me I looked like I was going to pop. I was a little annoyed, but there really is something to it when people take one look at you and worry you are going to explode right then and there. Anyway, I went on to Target and there I thought that maybe, possibly I had felt one little contraction so I raced home smiling. I got home and bounced (literally) around the house saying “come on OUT Leo!” and saying a little prayer for Motherhood that my sister Aimee bought me when I miscarried back in February. But nothing happened and so I picked up Will from daycare and we went about our evening. Ate some spicy chili, asked Jon to massage my feet, and popped in a movie and…contraction. 10 minutes later, another. This went on for about 2 hours so again, I got excited and gotup to call my sister Lisa so she could get to MN for the delivery. And like magic, no more contractions. So Leo is a little prankster. Hrrmph. We headed to sleep.
12:45am – drowsy, but did pain wake me up?
2am – yep, that’s pain, but no way am I getting excited again…
3am – ok,this isn’t going away, but Jon is sleeping so peacefully. I’ll just lay here…
4am – wake up Jon. Just like last time, he doesn’t really believe me but tries to stay awake and time the contractions…every 8 minutes. Call Lisa again and tell her to come – SOMEthing is happening today…
10am – still contracting every 6-10minutes, so we’ve taken our time and dropped Will off at daycare, ate breakfast and are finally going to St.Joseph hospital!
10:15 – nurse Chrissy hooks me up, later admits she thought “yeah right, this girl isn’t in labor”
10:30am – midwife Linda Gellerman checks me and says “umm, let’s get the warmer out. She’s 6-7cm with a bulging bag of water!” I give her a thumbs up and tell myself “you can do this.” Lisa arrives, camera in hand. Aimee still hasn’t caught a flight…
noon-ish – I ask to be checked again…these suckers are getting strong and coming on fast! But in between, I’m enjoying an aptly named Push Pop to stave off nausea. Linda says I’m a good 9cm – yikes, there is no turning back now.
12:45pm - though I’m in too much pain to reaize it, Linda tells me it is time to push! I start to sweat, Jon swiftly recalls his duty and busts out the cold cloth and takes his stance. I push, let out blood-curdling screams,apologize for the screams, start bossing Linda around,apologize for not doing what she tells me, start asking for HELP and everyone looks helpless.
1:09 pm - But then a push and a scream and a “honey, his head is out” and…tears of joy. The rest of Leo’s perfect little body made its debut, I grabbed him and immediately professed my love of him and thanked Him. Leo latched on to breastfeed right away and I got to sit and study his face…a little of Will, a little of me and Jon…do I see a little of Sarah Martin in those eyes?? Genetics are a wild thing…
Over the next 24 hours we had the most amazing nurses who got me back to feeling normal in record time. Will met his “buddy!” and told me “good job,mom!!” and poked at my empty belly. Aimee arrived about 2 hours after Leo’s birth and told me she had looked at her watch at exactly 1:09 and got the feeling he had arrived. Amazing. Family ties are so strong…and now, another little soul to share in it. Welcome home, Leo Max. Prepare yourself for overwhelming amounts of love!!
January 17th, 2009
Born at 1:09 pm 1/15/2009, stats below.
Weight 8.15
Length 20.5″
Head 14.5″
January 15th, 2009
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