Norlander Family Reunion (Texas-style)

A few days after Christmas I was able to take the kiddos and join my parents, siblings, and nieces/nephews in Bryan, Texas. (Unfortunately, Seth had to stay home to work on his dissertation, but he got a lot done while we were gone.) The kids especially enjoyed getting acquainted with their cousins Nathaniel and Cleo, whom they had not yet met. Memorable family activities included: playing multi-generational kickball, shooting off fireworks on New Year's Eve (Benjamin LOVED this--talked about it for days...), seeing a huge "Christmas in the Park" lights display, and all 10 of us out-of-towners departing on the same flight for Dallas.

Benj, Talia, and cousin Cleo watching VeggieTales
Cousin Audrey Mae reads to Benj

Talia loves having Cleo's undivided attention
Auntie Coryn gives Talia her first haircut

Benj & Cleo play with their masterpiece train track (notice in the background it goes all the way underneath the table)
Cleo, Talia, Mima, and Benj take a walk in the park
Benj, Cleo, and Talia at the Bryan Children's Museum

Christmas in January

We were privileged to have Seth's parents with us for Christmas this year. We had a wonderful, relaxing time just being together.

Talia's Christmas
Talia was able to understand so much more this year. It was sweet to observe her singing Christmas carols (her favorites were: "Way a Manger" [Away in a Manger], and "A'gels H-Hi" [Angels We Have Heard on High]), telling the Christmas story, and getting excited over her gifts. Talia's vocabulary increased greatly over the Christmas season to include such jewels as: "snow ma'am" (snow man), "kismas tee" (Christmas tree), "cookies!," "Sa'ta" (Santa), and "pehsents" (presents). As mother and daughter we embarked on a new adventure this Christmas season--baking together. She helped me with several batches of Christmas cookies, at various times, and loved every minute of it.

Here are some of Talia's fun Christmas moments:

Talia carefully cuts out a gingerbread girl (the apron used to be mine when I was little)

More necklaces! Santa really knows what little girls want in their stockings :)

Benjamin gave Talia her very own pink princess cell phone

Talia displays her maternal instincts :) She's going to be thrilled to have a real baby to love in a few months!

She loved what we thought was going to be the "boring" Christmas gift--a crib mattress so she can move up into the full-size crib instead of the mini crib she's been sleeping in for the last 2 years. She is thrilled with her "new bed."

Benjamin's Christmas
Benjamin thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas season this year. He loved listening to Christmas music. His favorite CD's were: "VeggieTales Ch'istmas," "Angels Her' on High" (a kids Christmas album my mom sent--named by Benj for it's first song), and "Baby Einstein Ch'istmas one" (a very pleasant collection of well-orchestrated Christmas carols). He also rekindled his fascination with Christmas lights and was constantly reminding me to keep every string throughout the house plugged in. Candy canes were a new discovery for Benjamin this year. Being one of the only Christmas "treats" he could have, he requested them with great frequency (and received them with less frequency). He also helped me make some rice krispie treats with special Christmas sprinkles.

And some sweet Benjamin pics:

Benjamin singing with Mamacita at bedtime on Christmas Eve

The first gift Benjamin opened (because it had candy cane wrapping paper) was this "computer." We had a hard time dragging him away to open the rest of his gifts, which is partially why it took us 2 hours to open everything on Christmas morning. :)

Benjamin and Daddy race Lego animals on a Lego car. What fun!

Benjamin helps Mamacita and Papo open their gift from the kids--a photo collage featuring themselves with Benj & Tali.

Benj is enthralled with a poem from The Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie the Pooh, a gift from "Big Papa" and "GG" (my mom's parents)

It's a GIRL!

*UPDATE* The previous copy of the ultrasound that I posted showed half of the pictures upside-down. I've posted each shot individually below.

We found out this morning that we have a healthy baby girl! All is measuring correctly and everything looks great. :) Here are the pictures they gave us from the ultrasound, for those of you who like to try and decipher such things.
Merry Christmas, Seth, Kiersten, Benjamin, Talia, and Baby Girl :)

In Praise of Wives

A Post by Seth.

Kiersten contributes to a blog at www.InPraiseOfHusbands.blogspot.com. Well, this post is "In Praise of Wives" ... specifically, my wife.

Today was a significant day in the Rodriquez family thanks to the hard work of Kiersten: Today Benjamin was potty trained. It involved over a week of prep work ... gathering enough clothing to deal with accidents, talking up the event with Benj to get him excited and on board, and getting laundry done and the house clean so she could focus on the task. Finally, the big day arrived. After breakfast, Benj took off his last diaper ever and entered the realm of big people.

Benj is to be commended for his great achievement. He did a great job today and I am very proud of him. He received a sticker on a chart posted in the bathroom for every successful trip to the potty, and there are more stickers on there than you can count. The column marked "Tuesday" is overcrowded with stickers, and when they couldn't find a place for more stickers on the chart they started putting them on Benj's shirt. I've never seen as many stickers on that boy as I did when I got home from work.

At the same time, although this was a landmark day for Benjamin, Kiersten is to be commended for the incredible job she did to make it happen. Every 10 minutes she marched Benj to the potty with enthusiasm and excitement. She then sat patiently, read him books, helped him learn this new skill, and rejoiced at his successes. She made it a very enjoyable process for him, even though the stress of having a "ticking time bomb" in the house was taking a toll on her.

On top of all that, Kiersten had to take care of a sick toddler today. Late in the morning, Kiersten noticed that Talia had a temprature of 104! So not only did she teach our son how to use the potty, she also cared for our daughter through the highest temprature we've seen yet in our experience as parents.

Needless to say, Kiersten met the challenges of a very stressful day with grace and excellence. Well done, Kiersten!

I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard...

Benjamin, in case I haven't mentioned it yet, has been extremely rambunctious lately. He just has TONS of energy which *must* be expelled through much running, jumping, and chattering. Yesterday he was running in circles throughout the living room and kitchen when he, without warning, ran straight at me and rammed his head into my protruding belly.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed.

Seth quickly chided, "Benjamin, you need to be careful of Mama's belly!"

Wanting to explain why he needed to be especially careful, I started to elaborate. "Benj, Mama's belly is..." I left it hanging, searching for a term he would understand. Sensitive? Fragile?

Benjamin seized the opportunity to shout (emphasizing with a little hop), "BIG!"

I honestly don't remember the last time I laughed so hard.

Talia's new tricks

I recently discovered that Talia has learned how to count to 10 (actually 11).


Surprise! She also knows how to (mostly) sing the ABC's. Evidently I need to keep up with her development a little more closely. :)


I'll tack this one on, just for fun. I love that laugh!

Ultrasound!

I had a baby check-up this morning. Everything looks great. The kids came with me and so were able to hear the baby's heartbeat. I'm not sure they really understood what they were hearing, but they were excited to get to "hear the baby." I think Benjamin thought the baby was trying to talk to him. All the way to the car he kept saying, "The baby say, 'shwshwsh' to me!"

The best news was that I asked if I could schedule my ultrasound for 18 weeks so we could find out the gender before Christmas (last time she told me we would do it at 20 weeks). She said, "sure!" So we will find out--boy or girl--on December 23rd. I am so excited!

Just in case you don't know or remember how we operate...we'll tell you the gender, but you aren't getting the name out of us until the baby is born! :)

In other baby news.... Here is my 3 month "belly shot." I am starting to get a complex. Everywhere I go people are saying, "There's no way you are due in May"..."You're only 3 months pregnant?"... and "Wow! You're really popping out there, aren't you?" Maybe I've forgotten, but I think I've gotten more weird comments this pregnancy than the other 2 put together!

I've also felt a little bit of movement over the past week or so. Just little "squirms" and wiggles, no robust kicks yet.