What I see vs. What you see.

I am learning that the world viewed through the eyes of a 2 year old are definitely different. It is a lesson I am learning over and over again. I am sure I will be enlightened even more as time goes on.

I see a baby swing. Jordan on the other hand sees his own personal indoor swing. It is hard to get upset when he plops himself in it and says "weeeeee".


I see a car seat. Jordan on the other hand sees his own personal rocking chair. He will rock himself back and forth. He hasn't rocked himself to sleep in it yet. I personally don't think it looks very comfortable. That's just me.
I see a walker. Jordan on the other hand sees his own personal vehicle. He will climb in and walk all over the house. He thinks it is pretty cool until he his leg gets stuck and he can't get out. Then he is not so happy.

He hasn't had any luck in climbing into the Johnny Jumper ... yet!

Of course, there is always the big empty diaper box ...

It's a Hat Of Course!

A few weeks ago we had an extremely busy week. A friend of mine wanted to learn how to can. My parent's apple tree was ready and so I invited her to come over and we could do it together. My kids were very patient and by the time we were done we had Apple Pie in a Jar, Apple Butter, Strawberry Freezer Jam, Strawberry Jam, Peach butter, Peach Jam, Sweet Relish, Salsa and Chili Sauce. Of course, I was worn out and ready for a break.

My mom had let me use her strainer. We had cleaned everything up and Jordan manages to find the strainer. He wasn't about to keep all the fun for himself either. Thankfully the camera was close at hand.

A good day for a water fight!

My dad was over the other day doing prep on our house for brick where we did our conversion (garage to bedroom). When I got home from running errands, Constance just had to help Grandpa Sandstrom, of course! She loves to help. After she changed she loaded up all the brick into his truck and did whatever else she could to help.

I asked Constance to change and fill the kiddi pool for our dog. I don't know who started what but the next thing I know I see Constance -- wet. Let the Water fight begin! Grandpa seemed to get the best of Constance and seemed to be coming out fairly dry. So of course, I had to step in and help out a little. By the time all was said and done. The pool had to be refilled ... it had been successfully emptied, Constance was completely soaked and Grandpa left with wet legs. And there were plenty of smiles. Constance was quite pleased with herself, even more after Grandma Sandstrom called to tell her "congrats" on getting Grandpa so good!

Disappointment

The other day I took the kids out to run some errands. Mike was at work at the Fire Department so I figured we could swing by there on the way home so the kids could see their dad and the fire trucks. I called Mike to make sure he was there ...

I forgot to mention they have moved him to another station. He used to be at the one by our house, which was wonderful. Of course, we drove by it all the time and Jordan started crying if we didn't stop, but it was nice to have Mike so close. He was moved out to the one by the airport ... which I figured Jordan would love because he would get to see his firetrucks and airplanes. He is one SMART boy. ...

We were getting ready to turn onto the road going to the firestation when I see the nice big ladder truck with lights and sirens coming down the road. I pointed it out to the kids ... Jordan loves to see the lights. Well, the happiness was very short-lived. It ended as I kept on driving past the street ... Jordan quickly started crying for "dada and firetruck". He wasn't hearing or understanding the explanation that daddy was going on a call and we couldn't stop to see him ... He just kept on screaming. Even when we passed by where the call was on the way home and I pointed out ALL the firetrucks with their lights ...

I just couldn't win!

Our Newest Addition

Dominic Michael Cook joined our family on January 23, 2009. He was 7lbs 9 oz and 20 inches long. We were all surprised by his size, including the Doctor. He had been telling us all along the baby was going to be a small one ... he just knew it. Not Quite! There was nothing small about him ... he was born with cheeks. Now you have to understand that we are comparing him to our Little Constance who was 5 lbs and 15 oz. and our Little Jordan, who was 3 lbs 8oz. To us, Dominic was HUGE.

It was great to watch the other two kids with him. When they came to the hospital, Jordan was just interested in all the buttons and what they did when you pushed them. He didn't even seem to see there was a baby there. Constance, on the other hand was so excited and just held him and loved him.

We should tell you, Constance picked out the name. Neither, Mike nor I could settle on a name and we were going through some and as soon as Constance heard the name, Dominic, she just knew that was his name. She informed us, she didn't get to name Jordan so she should be able to name Dominic. We liked it and were just grateful to finally have a name.

Our little boy is growing by leaps and bounds. There is nothing small about him. At his 6 mo. check he was 18 lbs and 27 in. I looked back at Constance and that is a good 5 lbs bigger then she was at the same age and about 2 in. longer. He is a very happy and content boy. He loves his sister and his brother ... and gets very excited when he sees either of them. We are grateful for his patience ... it helps when we seem to be constantly chasing his older brother.

New Game

Jordan has come up with a new game. He thinks it is funny to take my shoes. The fun part is trying to find them if he manages to get away. I got this picture of him doing it.

July 4th

A day of fun at the farm! Things didn't go as planned. Originally my dad, Mike, Kam (brother), and Thel (brother-in-law) were going to head to Alabama first thing in the morning to help Leif (brother) finish roofing his garage. This was supposed to be a couple hour job and then they were going to come back to the farm. My dad got sick and Kam couldn't go ... but it was still supposed to be a couple hour job.

My mom, my sister and her 5 girls and me, with my 3, headed to the farm to start the fun. Of course, Jordan spent the day in a life-jacket ... he is just too quick not to have one on especially with a pond right there. I spent the day on a raft in the pond ... keeping an eye on the kids that were swimming. Jordan sat right beside me and just relaxed the ENTIRE time ... MIRACLE! My little fish Constance stayed in the water swimming except when it was time to eat. My mom took care of Dominic. My sisters girls were either in the water with me or with Malia.

That evening as we were packing things up ... the guys still hadn't made it ... my mom decided we weren't scheduling 2 things on the same day again. We actually got home about the same time that evening.