The Wilhelmsen Botanical Blog

A few days ago Aiden put his hands on Lucas’ head and said, “Give the baby Lucas a blessing.”  I am glad that the example of Brandon giving family priesthood blessings is rubbing off on Aiden.

Monday was a pretty good day.  We went to a nearby park for a picnic lunch.  It was a little chilly because of the wind but Aiden really enjoyed running around in the big open space.  We also took advantage of the warm weather to fill Aiden’s sandbox with sand, which he enjoyed playing in later in the day.  In the evening I took the boys for a walk up the street to the elementary and let Aiden play on the playground.  He really liked that there were several different slides to go down and was even brave enough to climb a short height on the climbing structures.

Tuesday there was not much to report except that Aiden and Lucas sort of “played” together a little bit.  I had set Lucas down in his crib and had turned his head away from the wall (trying to encourage him to lay on both sides of his head) and was using his toy elephant to keep him entertained.  Well, Aiden came over and started to pull on it (it pulls down and then vibrates as the string shortens) and Lucas would get excited so Aiden would do it again.  They played that way for 5 or so mins. and it was fun for me to watch them interact with each other.

Wednesday was .31 cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins.  Yippee!  My mom came over after teaching her student and took us to get our ice cream.  The line was long as usual but went quickly.  Because it was chilly Aiden and Lucas waited in the car with my mom for a bit and then joined me in line.  I got cherries jubilee, some fudge something or other and this really yummy peachy raspberry.  It was surprisingly good.  We got Aiden pop rocks sherbet and my mom forfeited her ice cream so that Brandon could have some.  Thanks again mom!

Thursday we planned to go to Walmart to pick up our site to store order because it arrived (finally)!  Instead we had a different adventure.  As I was doing the finishing touches on getting Lucas ready to go for the day Brandon was on his computer doing some work when he heard WHACK/THUNK and then heard Aiden crying.  He looked over to see Aiden laying on the brick hearth around our fireplace.  Thankfully he was quick thinking and acting so he went over picked Aiden up, saw that his head was bleeding and took him in the bathroom to get a wet washcloth so that he could apply pressure to the wound and get it to stop bleeding.  I peeked out to see what had happened (Aiden’s cry was not the normal “I am upset” cry, and I could tell something was very wrong) and at first I thought Aiden had a bloody nose.  Wrong, Aiden instead had a big gash (one inch long) on the back of his head.  I had no idea what to do, we both knew that it would need stitches but I didn’t know if we needed to just show up at the pediatrician’s office or instacare or what.  Brandon suggested I call the pediatrician so I did.  They sent us to Primary Children’s because of Aiden’s age.  They thought he may have to be sedated to get the stitches and that it would be good for Primary Children’s to do it.  As you can see they did not shave his head or do stitches.  When we got there they simply put on a topical numbing ointment and let it numb the area.  Then (after waiting for what seemed like forever with an impatient toddler) they came in, washed the area out really well, and used six staples to close up the wound.  I was not in the room during that part so if you have questions about details you will have to ask Brandon.  The nurse came and got me when they were all finished and Aiden was sitting there with a popsicle in one hand and a brand new plush shark laying next to him on the gurney.  He had thoroughly calmed down by the time I arrived.  We were very lucky this day on several counts.  1. Brandon was home because he is working the swing shift.  2. The car was home.  3.  Aiden was still covered under medicaid and thus our trip to the ER will likely cost us nothing.  (Thanks to paper work screw up his coverage ended April 30.)  4.  Brandon was able to get home and have an hour to spare before he needed to leave for work.  So there’s our Thursday.

Friday was uneventful, except that we finally got to Wal-mart to pick up our site to store stuff.  Brandon broke open his food processor right away and used it to make strawberry syrup.  🙂  My bike waited a little longer before we pulled it out of the box to put it together.  Saturday we spent the morning in and then made a quick field trip to WinCo after lunch.  I felt like a kid in a candy shop.  We had put a few items in our cart that we wanted to buy, until we saw the line which was from the front of the store clear down the aisles to the back of the store.  Yea, we had to be home for nap time so we put the stuff back and planned to return for our regular shopping trip next week.  While the boys napped I worked on some dress up projects for Aiden.  I made the felt crown you see below and I finished up two grey capes (they were white and cream and I tried dying them black) and his blue and maroon cape (also shown below).

Today was stake conference.  We have not attended stake conference very regularly since we got married.  I knew it was going to be difficult with a toddler (and it was) but it wasn’t that much more difficult then a regular Sunday sacrament meeting.  Brandon took Aiden for a walk around the church when he would get antsy and we had our usual bag of tricks.  What I noticed most about conference (because let’s be honest it is hard to hear and comprehend much with kids) are the families that were sitting around us.  They had kids of varying ages doing various activities to keep themselves occupied.  I had to smile when I saw a child two rows up playing hang man, and the boys one row up playing rock, paper, scissors and tracing words on each others backs.  Also on the row in front of us a brother and sister were exchanging  back rubs.  Across the aisle a family had a board book about following the prophet and in another family the daughter was drawing in a notebook.  All things that my sister and I used to do to keep us occupied at church.  🙂  I also had a sense of feeling “I’ll go where you want me to go dear Lord.”  If he would but guide us there already…  :p I also felt like it was important that I share my testimony again because the church is true and it is not right of me not to share that with those that I love.  So, please know that I have a testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I know that it has the most correct and accurate revelations from God of all of the religions on the earth.  It has the fullest amount of truth and the largest collection of revelations of any other religions on earth.  It may be imperfect because it is subject to the interpretation of man,  but I know that it is here on this earth to help us imperfect beings on our paths to perfection so that we can return to live in Heaven with our Heavenly Father and our brother Jesus once again when we die.  It is a marvelous work and a wonder brought forth through the hands of a young 14 year old Joseph as guided and directed by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ themselves.  It will not be squelched out for it is like a rough stone rolling forth “cut without hands” and will roll forth gaining momentum until it fills the whole earth (Daniel 2:44–45).  It will continue to grow, people will continue to be baptized and join the church for eternity.  I am glad to be part of such an amazing religion.  I bare these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Lastly, a friend of mine had this to say on her blog about her relationship with her husband when they were dating…”The relationship is easy.  It just works.  No games.  No worrying or wondering.  It just works and nothing stops it or gets in the way.”  I have this to add, that is how it was with Brandon and I.  Things just fell into place and it never felt like one or the other of us were pushing the relationship along.  That is how it should be.  Speaking of Brandon, my grandma mentioned today how wonderful and blessed I was to have a husband who is so helpful with the kids.  She said that not everyone is so lucky.  I agree, I am lucky.  My husband is a pretty special and wonderful guy and he is incredibly helpful around the house and with our boys and I appreciate it.  There are no words to express how grateful (eternally grateful) I am for the burdens of mine that he eases.  I only hope that I ease some of his as well to make things somewhat even.  I know that I try.  🙂  Have a good week everyone and thanks for reading…

So, Aiden is still sleeping in his crib.  He hadn’t even attempted to climb out of it before Lucas was born and a lot of the things that I have read mention waiting until they are almost three (or climbing out of their crib) before it is necessary to transition to a toddler bed.   Well, Aiden has been climbing into his crib with the side down for about two months now and then last week he got in and out with the side down and back in with the side up.  I just kept wishing and hoping that he wouldn’t attempt climbing out for a bit longer (like maybe not until Lucas is sleeping through the night).  Well, unfortunately I did not get my wish because I put Aiden in his crib with the side up to have him “cool down” a bit and not two mins. later he comes waltzing out of his room looking very smug and proud of himself.  AGH!!!!  The side will likely come off of his crib tomorrow and we will turn it into a toddler bed.  I think I may just get a few gray hairs and go insane with all these changes coming so quickly.

So, I will try and make this quick as there are likely many things that I did in my childhood that Aiden is now doing but I would like to sight two examples at this time.  The first is licking EVERYTHING.  Honestly, I went through a phase where I licked people.  Yes, it is true (and while we are being honest, it was not in my early years but in my high school years and only those closest to me (family and friends) got to be on the receiving end of this little quirk of mine).  Thankfully I have grown out of it.  But I did not lick everything just certain people like I mentioned before.  Anyway, before Aiden was born Brandon mentioned that he would be upset if our son licked him and especially if I taught him to do so.  Imagine our surprise when Aiden started to lick us, unprompted and without any example from us.  It’s hard to be upset about something that simply occurred because of personality.  In fact, all I can do is shake my head and think about how there is no way to fathom the crazy ideas your children will come up with before (and while) you are a parent.

Anyway, the second thing is that this morning Brandon had his flip flops on so his toes were exposed.  Next thing he knows Aiden is laying on the floor on his belly and PULLING on the hairs on Brandon’s toes.  It was all I could do not to laugh right out loud.  As I was telling this story to my mom I mentioned how I had NEVER pulled on anyones toes hairs as a child (we had been talking about how I had gotten the child I deserved) and she said reminded me that one day when she was napping I toddled over (I was probably three) and pulled open her eye by the eyelashes saying, “Hello?  You awake?”  LOL.  I guess we are more alike then I realize.  I can only imagine what things Lucas and Aiden will come up with together.  Oh dear.

This morning when Brandon got Aiden out of his crib, Aiden pointed over to Lucas (who was asleep in his crib) and declared, “That’s my brother, I love my brother.”  Lucas will have no shortage of love coming his way.  🙂  I adore my boys.

Tonight Lucas was upset and I set him on the couch to grab something.  He had spit his binky out so Aiden went over and when I came back he was trying to put it back in Lucas’ mouth.  It made me smile to see that he was watching out for his brother.

Ahh so last week…It was our transition week.  This means that Brandon had training for the change from inbound calls to mostly outbound calls.  It also means that his schedule was noon-8:30 for five days and not what we had been used to nor was it his new schedule.  I was a bit apprehensive at the start of the week but we muddled through.  I am a little nervous about Brandon’s new schedule (3:30 p.m. to midnight) but I am sure that once we get the swing of things it will actually be semi decent.  I keep reminding myself that it means I will only be on my own with the kidlets for 6 waking hours of the day.  This is much less daunting the the 10-11 that I had been doing.  I am sad that Brandon won’t be here to help put the little ones to bed but we have at least sort of transitioned how we do things so that we don’t miss out on things like family prayer.  Learning to juggle two kids is definitely a challenge but I think we are getting the hang of it as a couple and also on our own when the other isn’t home.

On Monday and several other times this week, I have let Aiden have water play time at the sink.  He really likes it.  He prefers that I leave the water running but that wastes a lot of water so I only do that on occasion.

Tuesday our upstairs neighbors were back from their trip so Aiden was able to spend some time outside with the girls upstairs.  He enjoys being outside a lot more when he has some company.

Wednesday we had some fun with a horse costume that we got as a hand me down from a friend.  There will soon be a video of it on our other blog.  We also took Lucas for his two week appt. on Weds.  The doctor said that he looked really good and that he is very healthy.  His stats are height 21.5″ (75th percentile), weight 9 lbs. 12 oz. (90th percentile), head circumference 37 cm. (50th percentile).  For comparison Aiden was 20.5″ long, 8 lbs. 2 oz., and his head was 36.5 cm.  So Lucas is officially a chunk.  🙂  We were also glad to have Brandon home all day with us because it was his day off.

Here is Lucas sleeping on me and Brandon taking videos of Aiden.

On Thursday Aiden decided it was time to try going down the slide on his stomach.  I was not looking forward to the day when he decided going down on his bum was not for him.  But hey, every kid climbs up the slide and/or goes down it the “wrong” way eventually.  Right?  It was just a matter of time.

Friday I took Brandon to work and after nap time Aiden, Lucas, and I went to visit my aunt and uncle, we were glad for the diversion and they were kind and fed us dinner.  Aiden enjoyed playing in the toy room and Lucas pretty much slept the entirety of our visit (until we were eating just before we had to leave) and then he was quiet and alert.

Saturday Brandon had to work so instead of our usual family stuff I found myself trying to keep Aiden entertained.  We spent some time outside during which Aiden picked up some potato bugs and watched them crawl around for a good ten minutes.  He is getting to that stage where creepy, crawly things interest him and boy oh boy I am NOT excited about that.  Later in the evening I put in Mary Poppins, our video wasn’t fully rewound so it was at the part just before they clean up the nursery and when they started to clean Aiden was giggling and giggling.  It was a delight to watch him as he watched the show and giggled.  My dad also visited during Aiden’s nap time and got to hold Lucas a bit.  He was stopping by to drop off a joint birthday gift for Brandon and I.  A Wii!  🙂  Hooray!  Thanks again dad!

Sunday we decided to go to sacrament meeting at church (our first time back since Lucas was born) and things went fairly well.  I could tell that Aiden was a bit out of practice sitting for the entirety of sacrament but he did fairly well.  For dinner we made my cousin in law Emmy’s tasty chili as well as some cheese biscuits.  It was delicious and filling.  Thanks again for the recipe!

Ok, before I go I just have two other things to mention.  First is that in doing further research, I can not make this blog (wordpress) private.  I can password protect each individual entry but have not yet decided (or learned) if I can use the same password for all of the entries.  I also have not figured out if I can (or rather how to) password protect all of the past entires without doing it one by one (which would take awhile since I have 250+ posts).  So until then we will still be a public blog (poo).

Lastly, it seems like many of my friends and acquaintances are on a healthy diet kick lately and everyone wants me to try this thing or that thing as I venture toward eating  better and feeding my family better.  The thing is that in my opinion the way people eat doesn’t need to be taken to the extreme (ie. this fad diet or that fad diet, eliminating milk or other entire food categories all together) and that all things are good and necessary in moderation.  As I have heard people talk to each other and me about their dietary choices and suggestions one thing kept coming back to my mind, over and over, and that is the word of wisdom.  It tells us what our bodies need and how to eat.  I also feel that this is the thing I should follow as I look at my diet and my families diet.  I also feel that as we eat according to the guidelines given in the word of wisdom that we will be healthy.  The only trouble is that aside from the scriptures in Doctrine and Covenants explaining the word of wisdom itself, there is little to no info. on how to actually execute a diet and menus that follow those guidelines.  So, if anyone has any ideas on how to do so I would appreciate it.  In the meantime I am going to study the food pyramid website (because I realized today that it closely resembles the word of wisdom guidelines), try to eat less sweets, and try to get out more/be more active as a family.  🙂  Have a good week and thanks for reading!

Today Brandon sneezed with his head facing towards the floor and Aiden said, “Bless you on the floor.” We always say bless you whenever he sneezes so somehow he must have thought that a sneeze was a “bless you.” I have been giggling about it all day.

Today on Sesame Street Elmo and Telly monster were part of a skit where they were searching for Little Bo Peep’s missing cow.  Sesame street is on right before nap time so as Aiden laid in his crib before falling asleep he was talking about cows.  The most memorable thing he said is, “I don’t know where grandma Juju’s cow is.”   It made me grin and laugh inwardly when I overheard him say it.

So yesterday Aiden, Lucas and I were outside.  I was sitting in a chair holding Lucas when Aiden comes over, pokes Lucas in the tummy, and says, “You are trouble.”  I don’t think we have ever said it to Aiden, so who knows where it came from.  He does in fact seem to love his brother, always wanting to kiss, hold, or hug him.  I was a little shocked and saddened when he said it though.