Be Ambitious

We have had quite the interesting experience this week, one that we do not want to experience again. Nate has this little game he likes to play where he will take something that he knows we use frequently and he will run and hide with it....charming. One of his favorites is our cell phones. Well, on Wednesday, Robert was working at the computer in our bedroom and Nate grabbed his cell phone and quickly ran to his favorite spot to hide in our bedroom, the giant, pillowy comforter folded in the corner. He loves to run, jump, and get lost in the sea of soft, billowy cushion (This is his favorite thing to do when it time for his bath). So, when he grabbed the cell phone and went and dove head first into the blanket, I think you know where this is going, he ended up smacking himself in the face with the phone. Given the phone is a blunt object, you would think it would not do much damage, but when Robert looked over to see why Nate was crying, he had a large amount of blood running down his face and a gash in between his eyes. I ran into the room at Robert's very vocal request, to see my poor son on the floor with his dad holding a giant roll of toilet paper up to his face.

As we looked at the cut, it was not that big, but the edge of the cell phone went pretty deep. So, we decided to take him to the ER hoping he would not have to get stitches. As I was taking him down to the car in his stroller, he had blood running down his face and all the people that saw us initially smiled, then when they saw Nate, were like "OH MY GOSH! THAT BOY NEEDS TO SEE A DOCTOR!" Thank you Captain Obvious.

When we got to the ER, we were hoping that a head injury and a toddler with blood running down his face would merit immediate attention. Alas, we had to fill out paper work and after almost 3 hours of waiting, we finally got admitted and Nate got his "awesome" hospital bracelet (it was over a day before he would let us take it off. He really liked it).

After we were finally admitted, it took another 2 hours before we were able to go home. Yep, you read it right, 5 hours in the ER for a head wound. We almost made it through 2 Disney movies before we were released (luckily the TV's in the room worked). When we finally saw the doctor, she gave us three options: 1) staple the wound together...sounds delightful! 2) stitch it....given Nate couldn't stop playing with his band-aid, really...stitches? and 3) glue it shut...one step shy of Duct Tape. I am sure you guessed which option we took. Nate was a little trooper through the ordeal as he had to be pinned down while they cleaned the wound and strapped to a child body board while they glued his head shut.

All and all, the wound is now healing nicely and we are glad that he is all right. He has yet to try and take one of our phones.

One of the things that I will always remember and be grateful for while living here in Chicago is the singing group that our ward had for the kids. Every week we would meet for about an hour and sing songs with our kids. I have to say I learned a ton because I don't know very many kid's songs. It's been a huge highlight to our weeks here. I have to say that Maren McBeth did such a good job leading it and teaching us new songs every season. It was incredible for her to open her home every week to all of us and put in all the preparation and work that she did. Today was one of the last times that we'll be meeting for the year because over the summer everyone moves on either permanently or for internships to then return again in the fall. I brought my camera to get a few snapshots to remember friends and their kids.

Here are a few of my friends with their kids. Left to right is Natalie with her daughter Cali, Caroline with her son Jackson (we babysat Jack a few times and he is such a fun kid), and Eva with her daughter Sarah.

During our year here Nate has had so many opportunities to play with other kids and make friends. I have to say, though, that I think he's a bit of a ladies man. His best friends were two little girls. Madeleine is on the left, and Catherine on the right. These two girls could make Nate light up under any circumstance. They would run around the apartments and chase each other. What was even better was that their mothers were my visiting teachers so they came over monthly and played. There was also play groups every Thursday and they were usually there for Nate to chase. I love these girls and their mothers and I will miss them terribly. Madeleine and her parents are leaving tomorrow for Dallas for an internship and Catherine and her family will be moving to Utah at the end of July and we wish them the best of luck in everything and we will always be thankful for the things that we learned from you. I think this will be hardest on Nate. He doesn't understand that they will be gone soon and it's going to be difficult to explain to him and he can't go play with "Adeline" and "Popine". I just hope that he'll only cry for a little while.
So I know that I always post pictures of Nate really similar to this but I just think he's the cutest. He had been running and chasing Catherine and Madeleine for a while before this picture was taken. He'd worked himself into a sweat.
Music group is singing for only about 20 minutes because keeping all these baby's and toddler's attention past that is nearly impossible. We always let the kids run and play while we moms visit. It's so nice to have women in similar situations to talk to. I can't believe how attached I've become to all of them in the short year that we've been here.
Here's a picture a Madeleine, one of Nate's first crushes. :) He's always got a crush no matter where we've lived. In Provo it was Arleigh, in Arizona is was Avery and Miriam and here it's been Madeleine and Catherine. I told you he was a ladies man!
Can you see how much fun he has with these girls? He's just laughing his head off here.
Nate had just caught Catherine and given her a hug. The camera didn't snap fast enough, dang it. Just pretend it's an adorable little hug between friends.
After we get home Nate usually still wants to sing. We were singing, "Itsy, Bitsy, Spider" in his room and he was just cracking up. He's learned so much and I know I've said it already but we really loved it. Thank you to all who helped us create these memories and enriched our lives just a little bit more.

One word. That's all you can write as your answer. Can you do it?

Not as easy as you might think. Change the answers to fit you and post! It's hard to only use one word answers!

1. Where is your cell phone? .................... charging
2. Your significant other?....................... Robert
3. Your hair?.................................... straight
4. Your mother? ................................. overworked
5. Your father?..................................exhausted
6. Your favorite thing?.......................... food
7. Your dream last night?........................ none
8. Your favorite drink........................... Jambas
9. Your dream/goal?.............................. security
10. The room you're in?.......................... bedroom
11. Your ex?..................................... dunno
12. Your fear?................................... lonliness
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years........... stationary
14. Where were you last night?................... home
15. What you're not?.............................rested
16. Muffins...................................... mmmm...
17. One of your wish list items?................. house
18. Where you grew up?........................... Nampa
20. What are you wearing?........................ clothes
21. Your TV?..................................... Cars
22. Your pets?................................... sorry
23. Your computer? .............................. iMac
24. Your life?................................... busy
25. Your mood?................................... even
26. Missing someone?............................. nope
27. Your car?.................................... dependable
28. Something you're not wearing?................ make-up
29. Favorite Store?.............................. J. Crew
30. Your summer?................................. when?
31. Like someone?................................ definitely
32. Your favorite color?......................... green
33. Last time you laughed........................ yesterday
34. Last time you cried?......................... unsure

“We’re the mothers you like to carpool with. Not only are we on time, we organize the driving schedule for everyone.”

• Organized and comfortable being in charge, the ESTJ mother knows “how to” get things done, make things happen, and accomplish much on behalf of her children. Whether she is encouraging them to get involved in organized activities or talking with them about their personal concerns, children of the ESTJ mother learn “how to” succeed in life.
• Upbeat and matter-of-fact, the ESTJ mother is intent on her children having the best. She puts her skills and talents to work to this end, from planning trips that supplement their studies to raising funds for new playground equipment. She is happiest when her efforts produce concrete results — children who try out for teams, participate in academic competitions, or are leaders among their peers.
• The ESTJ mother runs a tight household. She is apt to have predictable expectations, consistent routines, standard procedures, and well-defined boundaries, all of which help her children feel protected and secure.

http://www.motherstyles.com/quiz.asp

Okay, I guess I can see this. I don't know if I'd organize the carpool schedule but I'd definitely be on time. I think after having done this I realize I might need to relax just a little bit about some things. Much easier said than done, though.

According to those that have been living here in Chicago longer than I, it has been a difficult winter. I have nothing to compare it to other than the winters I've experienced elsewhere. Despite my lack of knowledge concerning winters here I have to say it's been one of the toughest I've ever survived. Yes, survived, there's no other way to describe it. Up until a couple of weeks ago it's been frigid since October so it's been a sigh of relief to see the sun up and the temperature climbing. Yesterday was amazing. It got up to 77 degrees and the sun was out thawing us all out. A bunch of girlfriends with kids called me up in the morning and invited me to go downtown with them and let our kids play in the giant fountains in Millennium Park. I was so excited and Nate wouldn't stop yelling for "Water, water!"

We got there at about 10 and let the kids loose. Nate has always felt the magnetic pull of the water so it was a dream for him to be pulled out of the stroller and have mommy say, "Go, play, get wet!"
You can see he didn't even bother to have his sandals taken off. I'd say that the area of the fountain was about 50 yards with two towers on either side that spewed water at unexpected moments. It's a giant playground for kids of all ages.
The water was a bit cold on our feet but because it was so warm outside it felt really good. This is Nate trying to absorb it all. I dare say this is the largest amount of water he's ever been able to play in. Drink it in, bud, drink it in.
Not really a picture of him playing or the water or the park or downtown, but it's not very often Nate will let me get a picture like this one, he's usually going a hundred miles a minute. I love it, though.
So the towers project faces of different Chicagoans on them and where the mouth is there is an opening for the water to shoot out. Unfortunately, you can't really see the face and I didn't get a very good picture (but just imagine). Of course that amount of noise and water attracted my son. The giggles and smiles where totally worth the trip.
Awww, isn't he cute? I took this picture of us and you can see by the look on his face that Nate was completely confused. I needed something with both of us in it and everyone was having so much fun with their kids that I didn't want to interrupt.

We had so much fun and I plan on taking him back and bringing Robert with us next time. It was the perfect way to ring in the new season. I'm so excited for Spring that I'm going to ignore the fact that the temperature dropped again and it's raining outside. I just don't see it. :)