Baby Ben on his Birthday

Happy 0th Birthday!!!

It was Love at First Sight

He's Here!!!

Benjamin Nash

Born: October 8, 2008 4:08 pm
Weight: 8 pounds 7.8 ounces
Length: 21 inches

Benjamin:

Origin: English, Hebrew

Original Meaning: Son of my right hand

Market Basket:
Loaf of Bread: $2.49
Gallon of Milk: $3.85
First Class Stamp: $0.42
Gallon of gasoline: $3.88
New Car: $21750.00
Average New Home: $265000.00

Populations:
Redding: 78490
U.S. Population: 305004819

Today's Weather:
Sunrise: 7:13 am
Sunset: 6:40 pm
Local high: 81 degrees F
Local low: 61 degrees F
The nation's weather extremes were 103 degrees recorded at Riverside, CA

and -16 at Arctic Village, Alaska

Dow Jones:
Dow Jones: 9447.11

Other Interesting People Born on this Date:
1846 - Elbert Henry Gary - American lawyer and first chairman and CEO of U.S. Steel who introduced employee stock ownership, profit sharing and safe working conditions.
1869 - J. Frank Duryea- Inventor who, with brother Charles, of one of the first automobiles and the first to be built and operated in the United States - in September, 1893.
1890 - Eddie Rickenbacker - Fighter pilot, industrialist, and the most celebrated American air ace of World War I having won 26 air victories in Europe.
1922 - Dr. Christiaan Barnard - South African surgical pioneer who performed the first successful heart transplant in 1967.

Other Notable Events on this Day in History:
1890 - In one of history's most incredible solo military actions, U.S. Army foot-soldier Alvin York single-handedly took out a German machine gun emplacement, killed 25 enemy soldiers and captured 132.
1956 - New York Yankee pitcher Donald Larsen, recorded the first ever perfect world series game, no hits, no runs and no walks in a 2 - 1 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers.

http://redding.mercy.org/Patients_And_Visitors/Online_Nursery/index.htm?&vnMode=details&bId=14785&sDate=2008-10-1&eDate=2008-10-31

It's that time again!

Please take a guess at when our little Pumpkin is due for harvest.

Got Milk?

 

Henry poured his first bowl of cereal.

Yello? Anybody there?

 

Henry's Favorite Commercial

Hot Mama, Cold Lake

A few weeks ago Dave's company had their annual trip to Whiskeytown Lake. They usually get off early and spend an afternoon hanging out. It happened to be a day that I worked, so I figured that Dave and Henry could just go and enjoy themselves. Unexpectedly, I got off at noon due to a light day and showed up in my maternity work clothes. With nothing else to change into, I just sat in a chair in the shade and didn't do my usual running around with my camera to catch some blackmail shots of the staff (Dave is great with photoshop). Someone got these shots of Henry enjoying himself and I thought I'd share. He looks like a big boy now...huh?

Your Song

Do you know the #1 song the day you were born?
Go here:
http://www.joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInHistory/SelectMonth.htm

Num, Num Good!

New Family Phrase

A couple of months ago Dave and Henry were standing by the microwave and Dave began the countdown to the completion of warming "precious", Henry's bottle.
I heard Dave, "10, 9, 8, 7..." and I heard Henry counting with his Daddy, "blah, jabber, OAT!, jabber..."
Dave looks up and says, "I didn't realize "OAT" was a number but he said it with such oomph I have to give him credit for that one."
Since this time "OAT!" has become part of our family lingo. We have adjusted the meaning and use it sort of like Homer Simpson uses the word, "D'OH" or when I am trying to roll my pregnant belly over in bed to get comfortable "OAT!" often rolls off my tongue.

OAT!, got to go...the phone is ringing. :)

These Boots Were Made For Splashing

 

We had to rotate Henry's shoes because his feet just went through a growth spurt. I pulled out these boots and thought, "great, now we can just rinse off the dirt". I wanted Henry to like them so I told them that they were his "SpongeBob boots". He got this huge smile and said, "Ooh, wow...BumBob" and couldn't wait to get them on. Now we can't keep them off of him. And, what's great is that he can put them on without our help. Granted, they are usually backwards, but he is motived and trying. He knows how to take them off before coming inside too. Our kid is growing up by leaps and bounds!

110% Boy

 

Dave found a dirt bike that he wants to fix up for Henry. Little by little Dave has been cleaning it and fixing this and that. It's not a huge priority because the bike is meant for an older child-maybe aged 7-8 on up. Dave was outside and he looked over and Henry had climbed up on it. There he was making all of his: car, truck, motorcycle, airplane, and boat noises that he makes, "Varoom!, Varoom", "errrrr", "eeeee", "squeal", "blam, bam, crunch" . And, as usual, his voice was in proportion to the size of the toy. I swear I think I heard him all of the way in the kitchen. :) One of my friends said, "Henry isn't just 100% boy...I think he's 110% boy". I think she's right. Maybe I ought to get him in the kitchen more often?

Henry at Powell's

A few weeks ago we were in Chico and took Henry to Powell's Sweet Shop. What a neat place. Just like an old fashioned candy store. We enjoyed some gelato and watched Henry get a "sugar high" right before his naptime.

Henry's Favorite Commercial

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

We sure do love you.

Pumpkin's First Photoshoot-20 weeks 6 days

 

Last Friday we went to have the big 20 week ultrasound done. We really loved seeing Pumpkin. Sally, the technician said everything looked great. He looks a lot like Henry at this stage. Only 19 more weeks to go!!!

Have You Ridden Your Daddy Today?

I just walked outside to find Henry perched up on his Daddy's back. Smart kid, there's no better seat in the yard.

Announcing a New Little Sprout

Dave and I are excited to announce that we are expecting a little boy due to arrive this autumn. He's due 10-12-08. We're looking forward to the harvest of our "Little Pumpkin".

Happy Mother's Day!

I got an early Mother's Day surprise. On Tuesday, I went to my front porch and found a box. It was these beautiful flowers from Dad and Lizzie. I love them!!! The flower's, a patient who brought me fudge and a thank you, and Henry's great news made my week!

Looks Like a Big, Scary Rat to Me!

When were at Chuck-E-Cheese, Henry was a bit frightened by Chuck. Henry's first encounter with him was a character in a costume (approx. 6' tall). Henry cluched onto Dave's leg until the big rat left. Then there was a car ride (seen above) with Chuck (or maybe Chuck's kid). We thought Henry would love it, as he is very fond of cars and trucks right now. As you can tell he wanted no part of that. I don't blame him. Dave told me Laurie said something like, "Chuck-E-Cheese is a Mouse." Dave's response was, "Looks Like a Big, Scary Rat to Me!"

Whaddaya think?

Two Cute

Henry recently turned two. Grammy came up to celebrate the week before and on his Big Day we took him on a little adventure through town. We went to Chuck-E-Cheese and he was a little timid at first, but then warmed up to the whole idea. He had fun pointing to the games and then watching Mommy and Daddy play. He would cheer us on. Towards the end of the day we took a piece of cake and some gifts to a park called Kids Kingdom. Henry had a great time, but he wanted to wander and play with some big kids who were playing rough. We decided we wanted him around at least until three :), so we called it a day and lavished him with attention at home. Actually, it was pretty much a typical day for this family :).

All Heart

When Henry was born he had a small heart defect. It is very common, called a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Along with all of the emotions of having a new baby, a first born, came the stress of being told, "we need to follow up of this quickly...your child may be in congestive heart failure". This took us by surprise and scared both of us. So, we left the hospital pretty much AMA in order to follow up on this as soon as possible.
Where we live there is no pediatric cardiologist. We had an ECHO (ultrasound of the heart) done and is was sent to Sacramento to be read. After a couple of weeks we saw Dr. Monohar (see picture) who works for Sutter and travels around to evaluate children in outlying areas. He is the nicest man and has the best bedside manner. I would recommend anyone to him and plan to refer patients to him if the need ever arises.
He told us it was benign and that most of these will close by age two. We agreed to follow up when Henry was 2 years old to see what the status was. If the defect was still present then he would need a dose of antibiotics prior to dental care or any surgical procedure due to the risk of getting an endocarditis.
On Friday we saw Dr. Monohar and he gave Henry a glowing report. No defect was present and there wasn't even the typical innocent murmur common in childhood. I thought to myself that this is the best Mother's Day present I could ask for.

New Do

Henry had his first professional hair cut a couple of weeks ago. He did very well. This place was so cool. Henry sat in a little car and made car sounds the whole time. He kept the hairstylist laughing. It came out cute. These pics don't do it justice, as I had to pry a hat off his head right before these were taken. Maybe Henry thinks otherwise :).

Short Stack

 

In April there is a week called "Week of the Young Child". In celebration, there are several local events. On this day we went to breakfast, to story time at the library, and then to the Planetarium. I had ordered coffee and after being distracted for a minute I looked over and there was Henry creating his masterpiece. Since block stacking (or cream stacking shown here) is a quintessential milestone a child must reach, I felt it was worth a blog entry. Watch out world, now it's cream, tomorrow it's designing roads and bridges. (His daddy will like this one)

Henry's Friend Jeffrey

 

Henry and I had some friends over last month. Henry really loved seeing his two little playmates, but he also realized how hard it is to share when your so close to two. All in all they did pretty well

Oh, Brother!

 

I was just uploading my pictures when I came across this shot. I thought this was a classic two year old kid picture.

Henry's Favorite Music Video

Something you don't see everyday

 

My Jetta just registered 200,000 miles. The big moment took place about 6 miles from home down Hwy 44. I remember I was on Pacheco Pass when she turned 100K. This has been the best car and she has been with me since high school. A little lackluster, but still running strong. A great piece of bare bones machinery. Sometimes those are the best kind.
Keep it up girl, we have at least 200K more to go :).

 

Henry's Friend Grant

 

This is Henry's youngest friend, Grant. He has the biggest smile and it's been fun watching him grow. He lives about a mile from us, which means that he lives about 3 houses down the road. He's not walking quite yet, but Henry is eager for him to start. I can see in his eyes...he can't wait.

Easter

 

Henry really enjoyed hunting for eggs this year. And, we all felt so much safer with our fireman/ hunter.

Snoring the Miles Away

 

Henry slept the whole way home from Roseville. Dave and I would laugh when we'd hear an occasional snore. Then Dave would say, "just like his Mommy". It was nice to have some "adult" time and they are just so dang cute when they sleep.

A Waiter's Worst Nightmare

 

We took Henry out to dinner when we were in Roseville. I kept wondering, "why is it taking so long?" People who came after us were being seated and we were still waiting for our "special" table. Finally, it was our turn. The hostess called us and we began our long journey which never seemed to end. We reached our table at the very back of the restaurant along with a couple other families. It felt like we had been transported to France. But, at least there they pay less when seated in the boonies. Then the waiter showed up and gave us that look. I had come prepared with several distractions, so we just took it in stride. At the end of the meal the waiter said he was impressed. Henry did great. We skipped dessert because we didn't want to push our luck. Of course, Henry didn't miss a beat...chocolate was his second course.

The Usefulness of Celery

A guy goes to the supermarket and notices an attractive woman waving at him. She says hello. He's rather taken back because he can't place where he knows her from. So he says, "Do you know me?"
To which she replies, "I think you're the father of one of my kids."
Now his mind travels back to the only time he has ever been unfaithful to his wife and says, "My God, are you the stripper from my bachelor party that I made love to on the pool table with all my buddies watching while your partner whipped my butt with wet celery?
She looks into his eyes and says calmly, "No, I'm your son's teacher."

 

I Want That Hat

 

Big Foot

Welcome March!

 

I would walk 500 miles

 

Henry loves to put our shoes on and walk around the house. Although it usually ends up with him falling and some tears, it sure is funny to watch him shuffle around.

Frosty Gnome-Ice Fishing

I have always loved Gnomes. I'm not sure if it was a good family friend who hand crafted a whole village of Gnomes with clay or it was Martha Stewart's husband's book that inspired me. Whatever it was, I was hooked. One Christmas I was trying to make it a bit challenging for Dave. I asked for a "fishing Gnome". Low and behold, we found him. He loves his new home, but doesn't like the cold weather. I can see it in his eyes :).