Birthday Candids of Young Master Thaddeus

Thad actually had TWO birthdays: one in Iowa (piggybacked on Aunt Rae's celebration) and then the one at home in Seattle. Here are a few candids of our SmoochieFace!

Nana gave him his own "smash cake." The waitresses were soooo happy . . . !

Notice the hair frosting.

Thad & Tyler plotting which toy to play with next!

SuperBaby! A Belated Halloween Posting

When Pete was 6, he met Batman. Not THE Batman, or even the Adam West Batman, but to his way of thinking--Batman!! It made an impact on him. In his adult life he has been Batman every year for Halloween. As a matter fact one of the first things we did together as friends was chase all over town for items to fill his utility belt. (As a side note, he didn't invite me to the party to which he was going! He dropped me off after we had dinner and he went on to the party! Pete, Pete . . . )

Anyway, we have talked about what Thad would be for his first Halloween since before we even had him. The thought was Robin. Then we talked about Thad being Batman and Pete being Robin. However, as time got closer we decided Thad should have his own thing, but stay in the SuperHero category. So Thad was Superman this year.

(My mom bought him an adorable Batman outfit, complete with cape, which he loves to wear! It was short-sleeved, so we decided to make that an indoor outfirt.)

Pete and Thad went around the neighborhood with our nextdoor neighbors the Shettlers and the Colinos. They had so much fun! Thad came back with candy (I LOVE having children!!) and very, very heavy eyelids.

Pete then put on his costume in order to hand out candy to others. We had some interesting others:

Schwartzenegger and a nun? Okay.

That same weekend, we went to our local nursery, Swanson's (wonderful!) for fall activities. Here are a few snaps from that little trip. Our extra "son" is our neighbors' son, Stephen Shettler, who came with us to "help us with Thad"!!

Getting ready to go!

Dad & Thad Riding the Great Pumpkin!

Thad muscling another pumpkin around!

HOW CAN THIS BE?!?? THAD TURNS ONE!!

Dearest Sweet Thad:

You turned one a few weeks back . . . I have written this letter a million times in my head, but I am just getting around to posting it.

How can I begin to tell you all that you mean to your daddy and me? Our lives are richer, more complicated, less rested, more fun, less stable, more exciting, less predictable, more exciting, less hopeless, more joyful than they were one year ago. There may be parents that are as grateful as we are for you, but not more grateful. We are humbled that God gave you to us.

People describe you as the happiest, easiest baby they have been around. Other words used are delightful, charming, funny, a character, amazing, too cute, handsome, huge eyes, delicious, etc., etc., etc.

You are starting to get to know yourself which means you are figuring out what you do and don't like, what you do and don't want to do, and how to assert your new-found self. This particular developmental milestone is thrilling and terrifying for us. The question we ask ourselves constantly is How do we shape and direct his spirit without crushing it? The battles are small right now--skirmishes, really. But how we answer the question will determine how future battles go. What are the skirmishes? "No touch (Daddy's/Mommy's) glasses." "No put your finger in (Daddy's/Mommy's) nose." "No touch the (fill in the blank)."

Mostly, though, you are very little trouble. You really are a very easy baby! Daddy and I love to watch you play. You are a person who focuses on the task at hand and always is doing something. You like to figure things out and will persevere until you have done your best to achieve your goal. Some of your favorite things to do: put on hats

read books

dance to any music that comes on--from cd's we play to plinky little tunes on your toys--it all moves you. You follow your dad around and work on projects (always putting a hat on first!). . .

You are very smart and you learn very quickly. You emulate your dad in every way you can. If he is eating it, that food immediately is your favorite. Whatever he does, you want to do it!

But what everyone comments on, what melts the coldest heart, what heals the achiest hurt, what soothes the savage beast, is your huge-eyed smiles!

You are incredibly generous with those smiles, Thaddeus. They involve your whole face, from your eyes to the bottom of your chin. They light up a room!

You are the joy of our lives, Thaddeus.

So happy birthday, Buddy. You are a gift we could never thank God enough for if we took our whole lives. You are the apple of our eyes and the joy of our hearts.

Happy Birthday, Son!

BEHOLD I AM MAKING ALL THINGS NEW!

About a month after I found out I was pregnant, I turned 40. Have you ever seen those coffee mugs that say, "Would you rather be 40? Or pregnant??!"? Well, I was pretty grateful to be both.

I love that I am a little older, a little wiser as I am entering motherhood. I have a lot more patience than I did at 25. I am better able to discern small stuff from big things. I know how to enjoy life a bit better. And I have suffered a little in my life, so I am much more grateful than I was in my 20s, or even early 30s. So emotionally, psychologically and spiritually, I am glad that Thad has come now rather than earlier.

My body, however, has also traveled the years and it has not weathered the journey quite as well. Some of that is due to my own abuse of it: hating exercise, loving chocolate and lobster and wanting to deny that I even have a body. The rest of it is due to wear and tear of living a full life: roller-blading and dancing knee injuries, car accidents (at least the '72 pinto didn't blow up!), traveling all over the world in old, bouncy Ford vans, etc., etc., etc.

Some days I flog myself for letting my body get into such a condition that I can't roll around on the floor with Thaddeus. But I realize that if I want to enjoy Thad, and I want to be enjoyed by him, flogging won't help. What will help is a good balanced diet and a renewed desire to get into shape.

I want my body to match my heart, mind and soul. I want to be made new in all things. Paul said that "I can do ALL THINGS through Jesus Christ, Who gives me strength."

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." I don't want to settle for just the mind or just the body. I want ALL God has for me: total renewal, nothing less.

So here's the scoop: Through Jesus' strength, I am going to surrender to renewal. Not to lose weight, although that is necessary. And not to look great, although I don't mind looking great (well, maybe I do, but that is another post for another blog!). But to enjoy and be enjoyed by my husband and son.

I am going to aquacize several times a week. I am going to walk with Thad several times a week (at a brisk pace, though!). I am going to give up some of my late-night ice cream treats.

And I am going to roll around on the floor with my son.

And I am going to walk with my husband.

And I am going to live to not only see my grandchildren, but to enjoy them.

And I am going to enjoy my self: my 41-year-old, wiser, calmer, less fearful, more joyful self.

My reasonable sacrifice to God and for the future generations.

Enjoying Each Other! 

The New Dog's New Tricks!

Dear Thad:

I forgot to mention a couple of other wonderful things you started doing this last month or so! How could I forget!!!?!!

First, you do this really cute thing when we are reading books, which you LOVE (praise God!!)!! Because your daddy wants you to learn words, he runs his index finger under the words as he reads the book to you (and I do, too, now). Well, now you do it, too. You don't run your index finger under the words . . . it sort of goes all over the page, but usually in a straight left-to-right line! It is so funny. You hold the book with your left hand right next to mine and you take your right index finger and run it along every page. We can't turn the page until you are done.

And then!!! You TURN THE PAGE with your thumb and index finger! Whether it's a board book or paper pages, you get one page and you turn it. Sometimes you know when to do it, like when the reader pauses. Other times, I simply say, "Do you want to turn the page, Thaddy?" (I call you Thaddy sometimes, but I am programming my brain already not to call you that out in public or around your friends because c'mon: THADDY??? No little boy needs that kind of headache.) When I ask, you snap-to, kind of like "Oh yeah! I need to turn the page!" Then you turn it! It is TOO CUTE.

Second, you have started clapping your hands in your sleep! You learned this trick last month and you love to do it. Now I've caught you a couple times rolling over and clapping your hands. They don't always meet each other (YOU try and clap your hands in your sleep, Dear Reader!), but in your heart you are keeping the beat, Baby!

Finally, you wave bye-bye! You smile really big and wave your hand to let people know that you are happy they stopped by and you are wishing them well on their journey onward. Plus, you love that I am praising you like a crazy woman while you are doing it. You'd think you had cured cancer (which I know you are not far from doing) or something.

Still--you are communicating!

I didn't want any new schtick to go unnoticed.

Because I am your biggest fan, Son. Always.

Like Father, Like Son . . . Especially the Bum!

There are pictures of Pete in just this position! Cuuuuuuuuuuutttttttteeeeee!


My SLEEPING angel. SLEEPING! At night! Yea!

ELEVEN MONTHS of Thaddilicious Life!

Thaddeus turned 11 months on Sunday! We celebrated by oohing and aahing over him, marveling over all his developmental milestones and crawling on the floor with him.

Thad, you have electrified my world! You change every single day. Your smile is indescribable--it radiates from your eyes and lets the recipient know that you delight in them. Your sense of humor is a key part of your personality already! Your dad says, "Peeka!" and then "Boooooooooo!" and you just roar with laughter.

You still have that great crab-crawl going, and I finally figured out that it is your way of at least semi-walking since you can't figure out how to do it all the way yet. It's not for lack of trying, though. You are taking a couple steps in between pieces of furniture. You regularly try to stand. The interesting thing is that you can squat without holding onto anything . . . how do you do that?

You are strangely fascinated by paper towels. Actually, it's not so strange--your father, grandfather and great-aunt Ann save and re-use paper towels, so there are always three or 50(!) drying on various surfaces. You like to wipe things with them and you like to tear them.

Which leads me to your other fascination: toilet paper and--yech!--TOILETS! The latter love I can again lay at your father's feet. From your early infancy, you and your dad have played in the sink with the water. You both love to splash around in it. You were frustrated that you couldn't get to it on your own, though. Until now.

Your daddy was on the phone and I was in the kitchen. You were in neither one of our presence and that was unfortunate. Suddenly, I heard waves. While we are somewhat close to the ocean here in Seattle, I have yet to hear waves at our house. So I started walking toward the sound.

You were UP TO YOUR ELBOWS in toilet water . . . and happier than the happiest person in the world!

Your expression seemed to say, "Has this been here the whole time? Why didn't someone tell me that there was water on my level??? I've wasted MONTHS waiting for Daddy to come home and hold me over the sink. THIS IS GREAT, Mom!"

You are babbling away now. In addition to YEA!, you have been known to say Dada, No (sigh), BwebBwebBweb. You are also loving music more and more. If I start singing Doe A Dear, you look over to the stereo and wait for me to put the CD on so you can hear JULIE sing it! You really enjoy Daddy's drumsticks and the new drum you have.

You definitely came with a Will! You are able to let me know when I am not pleasing you. You are really exploring where the boundaries are and what my limits are with you. The CDs on the shelf, folded laundry, Mommy and Daddy's laptops, the toilet paper . . . all are calling out your name quite loudly. Equally as loud is Mommy's voice telling you "No touch the (fill in the blank), Thaddeus. Thank you!" Which voice to hear, which voice to hear? I can see the struggle all over your face. So far, though, you are easily redirected and if you do throw a fit, they never last more than 30 seconds or so. You are a good baby.

The Sleep Issue still is with us. Daddy and I say we want you in your crib, but we miss you when you aren't with us. Plus, you are none too happy to be in your jail, as you seem to regard your crib. You are just now starting to sleep through the night with only one or two wake-ups. Mommy is very, very grateful. MOMMY IS VERY, VERY, VERY GRATEFUL, HONEY!!!

Daddy and I still turn to each other and say, "How did we get so blessed? Isn't he the best?"

You are. Just. The. Best.

Enjoy your last month of babyhood . . . Next month you are a TODDLER!

xoxo Mommy

HE IS JUST. SO. VERY. YUMMY. YUMMYYUMMYYUMMY!!!

-

BABY FETISHES or I CAN'T WAIT TO BE A PAPER BOY!!!

I only turned my back for FIVE SECONDS. HONEST. JUST FIVE LITTLE SECONDS. When I turned, the Thaddinator was gone. I called him. "Thaddy! Where are you baby!!?" I heard a scuffle, the slide-clump of the crab-crawl, coming from the bathroom. I turned the corner and saw this:

Unbelievable, I had the camera in my hand. And people say there isn't a God!!

His paper fetish is expressed in many ways. Apparently, not only do I not dust enough, but I have not been cleaning the kitchen floor to the ThadPole's standards . . .

He's giving me a Thaddipus Complex!

Still, with a smile this . . . He can clean my house anytime!!

I LIKE ME SOME PRETTY GIRLS!

Meet Tara, the new nanny! Thad took to her from the moment she walked in the door! They enjoy a few hours together three times a week so mommy can get some things done (or take a nap, whichever seems more NECESSARY at the time!). Tara is wonderful and we feel fortunate to have her through the end of the year!

Those are TOTALLY the Shepherd-Christianson Genes--With MAYBE a HINT! of ANDERSON!!

His first pasta dinner . . . which ended up all over his face, in his ears, throughout his hair and in the near and far environs!

Methinks you are having too much fun, my son!

Yes, yes . . . the Christianson genes. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

BINKADELIC, BABY!

Thaddeus guarding his stash. This is the baby who REFUSED to take a pacifier until he was, like, FIVE MONTHS OLD. And then, ONLY FOR HIS NANA. Now he stockpiles them, hiding them in strategic places so that he is never more than 10 steps away from one should crying be required.

He deals binkies, truth be known. He will let you have one. For a price. Namely, time at Mommy's Milk Bar.

Sometimes a pickle will entice him (thanks to Aunt Julie!). For a while. Because the sourness is just so . . . intense. But before long, he has to have his fix again.

So he crab-crawls off to find his stash and work one over with his one snaggletooth.

Still, the pickle is pretty worn by the time he's done with it. And watching him pucker is Just. So. Delicious!

But the best thing about thing about the bink is that IT IS PORTABLE, unlike the pickle, which the 'rents make him sit in once place to eat, with a cloth under his chin. Sigh.

So he just pops the bink in the mouth, case the joint for new places to explore and then sets off!

And if he is really lucky, he might encounter Daddy and be able to crawl ALL OVER HIM AND WRESTLE HIM AND SUCK ON HIS NOSE AND ON HIS KNEE AND ON HIS KNUCKLE AND ON HIS HEAD AND MAYBE I CAN GET HIS GLASSES BEFORE HE TELLS ME NO OR TAKES THEM OFF, IF I AM SNEAKY AND ACT NONCHALANT LIKE THE LAST THING I WANT IN THE WORLD I WANT IS DADDY'S GLASSES.

Cause I'm BINKADELIC, BABY!

SWEET BABY!

When Thad smiles at you, it is like everything else fades to the background. It doesn't matter how tired I am, how frazzled or defeated I feel. Thad has smiled at me, with real eye contact. Nothing else matters. Those cheerios (affectionately called donut seeds in our home)? They will still be there for the vacuum tomorrow! The toys in all four corners of the room and all points in between? They say that THAD LIVES HERE! YEA! He is a sweet baby. And lest you think that I am biased (which I am, but I also have other objective feedback), all of his caretakers, his special aunts, his extra-special aunts, several uncles and the landlady AGREE WITH ME. Don't get me wrong: he is all boy! But he is first and foremost a

SWEET BABY!

BOYS GONE WILD! Part II

I am so very in trouble . . .

Pete had a conference call the other day for work. His participation was required.

Pete had a son who wanted to be with his dad. His cooperation was required.

So Pete, always on the lookout for any reason to put on his headset, multitasked! Women: Did you catch this??? My husband MULTITASKED during which one of the items he had to multitask with was a baby--HIS baby!

So along with the accolades and rejoicing there had to be picture-taking as well! Because my husband????? HE MULTITASKED!

AND THAD WAS COMPLETELY QUIET AND RESTED IN HIS DADDY'S ARMS FOR THE ONE-HOUR-PLUS CONFERENCE CALL.

Do I live with great men or what!

Downside? Thad wants his own headset.

Not going to happen, my little friend. Not going to happen.

WILD BOYS IN SEATTLE!! And an Addendum to the Thaddilicious List!

When I came around the corner, they knew they had been caught! They told me they were going to have some soup together, but I assumed (I know, I know; silly Mommy! SILLY MOMMY!) the dining a deux would involve a bib, a booster seat and a . . . SPOON! (Silly Mommy, SILLY MOMMY!)

They were so excited . . . Thad was eating non-jarred, non-boiled-and-mashed-to-within-an-inch-of-its-life, prepared-with-spices, big-people food! AND HE COULD PUT WHOLE FISTSFUL IN HIS MOUTH! IN RAPID SUCCESSION! WITHOUT SWALLOWING INBETWEEN!! His dad is so proud. So we had to photograph it. And photograph it. And photograph it some more.

I am SOOOOO grateful that there is digital media now! That alone is almost worth my not having a baby until I was 40! Otherwise, we would be broke: the film, developing, reprints, sending to family would bankrupt us LONG before the food bill! Now I can click to my heart's content. (Although Thad's future bride may not be so thrilled when I sit her down to show her "just a few pictures of Thad as he was growing up . . . he was so cute! It won't take too long. Let me rev up the 100-gigabyte hard drive . . ." )

Of course, all good things must come to an end and shoveling all those fistsful of food into a mouth takes a lot of CONCENTRATION and ENERGY and EFFORT! So all that's left to do is clean up.

What's that you say? You need help cleaning him up? I thought this was a Wild Boys activity! I am just here to record the event . . .

But who can resist that pouty plea? And Thad was pretty cute, too!

THADDILICIOUS ADDENDUM: He also WAVES BYE-BYE! He is proud, but I think I am even prouder! I crow loudly and point it out to everyone: "Look! He's waving goodbye! Isn't he the cutest!? I mean, really . . . isn't he just so adorable?!" Pete and I are so over-the-top.

Still. What's not to be over-the-top about? Look at our Thaddypus!

Oh. Are We Already at This Developmental Milestone? Really? Do You Really Want to Do This So SOON?!

This is what happens when you finally change your son's stinky diaper . . . it empowers him to CLIMB. And very fast! I turned to gather up the aforementioned dirty diaper and attendant cleaning tools and when I turned back, Thad was half in the activity table (I didn't read that this is one of the activities for which it is designed. I need to check that little pamphlet-thingy again, clearly.). I just sat there thinking, "Well, this will be good exercise for him to try and try and try to get all the way up." As this naive, silly-mommy thought was going through my mind, Thad was up and in and on his way to the coffee table . . .

Since the coffee table is also my work table, he first had to survey the topography to determine how to get hand- and footholds amidst mommy's work.

He also starting dancing a jig because Julie Andrews started singing A Few of My Favorite Things which happens to be one of his favorite things. What can I say? My son has priorities!

Anyway, he was pretty determined to get onto the coffee table but you could tell he was a little more cautious about how to do it and what he would do after he made the climb.

So he kept rockin' out, stopping every once and a while to flash his poor old distraught-yet-fascinated mother a grin that communicated volumes: "You poor woman. I have seduced you with my cuddliness, my wit, my laughter at your lame animal noises . . . Now you belong to me, heart and soul . . . Now my real fun begins: I am going to climb, Climb, CLIMB! Your heart will never be the same. This is only the beginning, Mother Dear!!"

My little cherub . . . I applaud your sense of adventure, your physical prowess (also evident in your artful gymnastics to avoid diapering, dressing, undressing and a thousand other things), your strategic thinking, your fearlessness (written now with much fear and trepidation), your energy and your tenacity! These are qualities that your daddy and I very much want to form in you--in addition to caution, care and safety!

As I helped you DOWN DOWN DOWN, I was thrilled and I mourned. My little baby is really gone. He is desparate to walk and climb and GO, MOM! But I am thrilled, too! You have such a wonderful personality, Thaddypus. When Julie Andrews sings Getting to Know You she puts to words the adventure that is mine: learning to read my son--to delight in his accomplishments, to mourn his misses, to laugh when he laughs, to comfort when he cries and most importantly, to teach him to live a grace-filled life.

And of course, to take great care with his poor old mom's heart. Please God. Amen.

TEN MONTHS OF THADDILICIOUS FUN!!!

Thaddeus turned 10 months last week. I wanted to write on the day, but given his age it is not hard to understand why that didn't happen. I hope.

So here are the Ten Things That Make Thad Thaddilicious:

10. He is SO EASY! He doesn't cry very much. He eats well. He plays well. He is smart. He enjoys life and loves to be enjoyed.
9. He is SO FUN! He loooovvvveeessssss to laugh. He laughs at our laughter. He laughs at his rocking chair. He laughs at himself in the mirror. He will even laugh in the midst of crying!
8. He LOVES MY MUSIC!! Thad will fall asleep to me singing hymns. He has a special thing for Julie Andrews (sorry, Pete). He enjoys a good country song. But best of all, he gets the biggest kick out of "I'm a Little Pile of Tin," the best song in the world.
7. He is GORGEOUS. While shopping the other day in a few different stores, I was stopped no fewer than five times and told how beautiful my baby is and how huge his eyes are and what a great flirty-bird he is!
6. He CRAWLS LIKE A LAND CRAB! My son has invented a new, more fun way of crawling: instead of two hands and two knees, he prefers two hands, a left foot and a right knee. He is quite fast and I think it bodes well for a love of seafood!
5. He has a NEW SNAGGLETOOTH! He went to bed toothless as a little old mountain man and woke up with a razor-sharp, pearly-white, oh-so-useful TOOTH. We think more may come, but so far . . .
4. He LOVES HIS DAD AND MOURNS WHEN HE LEAVES FOR WORK. Thad clutches onto his daddy's button-down shirt, lays his head on his chest and looks away from me as if to say, "If I don't see you, you don't exist and my dad will stay home and wrestle with me!" (He graciously only cries a few minutes when Daddy leaves so my heart isn't completely ripped out of my chest.)
3. HE IS A CLEAN-FREAK! He loves to take a cloth (his favorite is the red and white one knitted by his Great Grandma Johnnie) and wipe off his little rocking chair, the coffee table, his little rocking chair, his little rocking chair some more . . . I told him that I get the message and I will start dusting once a week even though those EVIL MEN WHO ARE BUILDING A BOX HOUSE ON A POSTAGE-STAMP-SIZE OF LAND ARE KICKING UP ALL KINDS OF DIRT, VIA NOISE THAT INTERRUPTS YOUR NAP, EVERY SINGLE DAY. Um, but he is clean and I like that in a person.
2. He UNDERSTANDS ME! zabjzzzzzzzzzbJ (the previous communication brought to you by Thaddilicious Thaddeus). I ask him to take off his bib--he does it. I ask him to find his binky--he does it. I tell him no--HE DOES IT!
1. HIS FIRST WORD WAS "YEA!" How great is that?! Yea!

That's exactly my sentiment, Thad. We have you in our lives . . . Daddy and I continually say, "YEA!"

We know the excitement of getting a present- we love to unwrap it to see what is inside. So it is with our children – they are gifts we unwrap for years as we discover the unique characters God has made them.
--Cornelius Plantinga

New Theme & Format

Welcome to my retooled page, ThadWatch! I am looking forward to recording the joys, concerns and developmental milestones of Thaddosaurus Rex. Since I am starting this when he is nine months old, I will have to catch it up, which I will do in the next post.

In the meantime: Thaddeus, HERE'S TO YOU, BUDDY!