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!

Thad enjoying time with his Great-Great-Aunt Rachel, who turns 90 this year!
Thaddeus enjoys some bath time in the kitchen sink--and learns how to splash!
Thad REALLY enjoyed his Uncle Christian and watching country music videos together!
Thad discovered the joy of swimming--he's a BEAUTIFUL swimmer!
Thad met more of his third cousins Zoey and Caitlin!

Thad & Dad Off for Bonding Time

Pete has a saying, "Honey, this is the good stuff!" He usually says it when we have a really good conversation in which our hearts have connected, or Thad catches our hearts, or we accomplish something that takes us further toward our dreams. As I watched my two guys head off for their adventure, I thought to myself, "God, this is the good stuff--thank You!!"

Drowning

I am drowning right now . . . in love for my husband and son, in despair that I will ever get the house organized, in apathy toward doing anything that takes me away from my son and in self-loathing at my post-baby body. My life is wonderful, lonely, sinful, growing, uneven and glorious.

I am trying to be a good mom: I want to read to Thad, play with thad, return his gaze.

I am trying to be a good wife: I want to grow in intimacy with Pete, I want to make his life better, I want to call good things out of him, I want to delight him.

I am trying to be a good student: I want to not just learn what I am being taught--I want to absorb it, I want to live it, I want to inhabit it, I want to synthesize it with my theology.

I am trying to be the homemaker my hearts wants to be: to be organized so that there is peace in our home, to be clean so there is order in our home, to be uncluttered so our home is a refuge.

I am trying to be more honest: to not take on what I cannot do (as Pete says, overpromise and underproduce), to finish what I do take on, to take responsibility when I fail, to confess when I do not love well.

I am not doing any of it very well--Well, I think I do well with Thad right now. And I have moments of rightness with Pete. But the last three are overwhelming me right now. School is a chore, which it has never been before. Our home is awash in clutter and paper and THINGS. I definitely overpromise.

I am trying to be still before God so that I can hear where to start. To do the next thing and not get overwhelmed.

And to enjoy my boys!

I want to be done with school RIGHT NOW. But I don't want sacrifice the last classes or the internship experience.

My Life is Thaddalicious!

today i spent the whole day with Thad. now there is nothing unique about that in and of itself. i spend every day with Thad, pretty much the whole day, unless Calen the Wonder Nanny is here and i take a nap. but today i felt really present with Thad, able to enjoy him, and enjoy myself as a mom. that may not seem like a lot, but presence is something that i struggle with in my life. it is very easy for me to check out. there are lots of reasons that i know of and there are surely more that i don't know.

Thad, though, makes it quite a bit easier. he is just so amazing. i walk into the room and he lights up and i think "he is seeing me!" i don't mean it in a narcissistic way; i really mean this in the way that i allow myself to be enjoyed and to enjoy him. pete is really the only other person that i experience this with--or have in my whole life. but of course it is much harder with pete because he sees my flaws. Thad doesn't yet. i am most of his world and i meet most of his needs.

i would die if anything happened to him. if i ever had to go back to life without Thad, i would die. it makes me sick to think about ever not having him.

so please, please GOD.

1:15a.m. and i am alone

I need sleep. But I also need solitude (when I am aware that I am having it, so I need to be awake for it). So I find that I stay up a little later than I would really like because it is the only time I get that is just mine right now. This isn't a complaint, really. I wouldn't trade Pete or Thad for anything. The reality is that I desire time with Pete, time with Thad, and time with me. Not to mention those people in my life that I would love to sit and chat with for a block of time. Or the books out there that need to be read by me [NOTE: Nancy Pearl has just published her second installment of Book Lust and I was disheartened by the sheer number of books that are good!

Anyway, tonight I have taken "my time" and made a webpage of photos for Thad and his friends and family. He is such a delight that I want to share him with everyone.

Oh, he is crying out for me now! Gotta go!