A Visit With Santa

Nolan just wouldn't have it. Maybe next year!

Merry Christmas Anyhow!

It's True...

...what they say about the second child. You don't love them any less although there are many less pictures to prove it. Soren is now four months old and so much fun. Our not so little (15 pound, 4 ounce!) "Meatball" is of the sweet and sour variety. Sometimes he is sugar sweet and cuddly and full of smiles and giggles, and other times he's about as sour as they get and screaming like a banshee. We are grateful that he has outgrown his refllux, but now he's dealing with cradle cap and eczema. The eczema must really itch because he claws his face incessantly. I can't keep his fingernails short enough and he throws a hissyfit if I try to cover his hands with mittens or socks. He is fiercely loved by us all but especially so by his big brother. Todd and I can't wait to see their brotherly bond grow in time.

Sweet sleeper

Being read to by our friend Noah Martin, 6 years old

Hates the bath but is happy as can be afterward!

A Rite Of Passage

Last night Nolan and I experienced a rite of passage together that I wish we could have avoided. It was his first trip to the ER...and my first trip to the ER as a mommy. We are visiting my parents in Mission Viejo and he is constantly on the go. Running down the hallway, the poor kid tripped and smacked his head straight into the spot where two walls come together. There were no bullnosed corners to soften the blow. This corner was sharp and vicious and took a gash out of Nolan's head. Of course he screamed that "Help me, I'm dying!" scream and I ran into the next room where he was laying on the floor cradling his head. In the three seconds it took me to reach him his forehead had a goose egg as big as a golf ball and he was bleeding...although not profusely like some head wounds do.

Unfortunately, my parents weren't home when this happened so I called my Dad's cell phone and asked them to come home ASAP because I needed to take Nolan to the ER. Both kids were screaming, Nolan was bleeding and swelling, and I was frantically attempting to keep ice on my 40 pound wrestler's head until my parents arrived. Good times. I am so grateful my Dad accompanied me to the ER...and that Nolan was OK. No stitches, no concussion...just a manly looking gash and a big purple bruise. In my panicky state I forgot to take a picture for posterity's sake, but that's OK. He'll probably have a nice scar to commemorate the event.

A Season Of Change

Our family has undergone a good deal of change in the past few months, but none moreso than our sweet Nolan. Since right around last Christmas, when Nolan was 2 years and 3 months, I noticed that his communication skills weren’t on par with other kids his age. I chalked it up to the fact that 1) he’s not a chatty girl, 2) he wasn’t in preschool, and 3) that he didn’t have an older sibling to “keep up with.” During the spring, when his communication didn’t worsen but also didn’t improve, I began to think I should pay closer attention to what he said and was able to respond to. I noticed that he never used the words “I” or “mine” which are a huge part of “standard” two year old vocabulary. He also was not using more than three words at a time, would not say “yes” to questions I knew “yes” would be his answer to, and would not talk to or socialize with his peers. This summer, to “err on the side of caution,” I completed paperwork for Nolan to have a speech evaluation with the school district. Four days after his third birthday we went to meet with a speech and language pathologist and our family has not been the same since.

The speech therapist was wonderfully sweet but very firm with Nolan as she proceeded with her evaluation. Nolan was belligerent, unable to follow directions and had difficulty completing the tasks she wanted to see him perform. I sat and watched with a heavy heart as Nolan could not respond in the appropriate manner to her requests. About a half hour through our one hour evaluation she stopped and said “Charla, I think there’s more going on here than just speech and language issues. I think it would be best for Nolan to have a thorough evaluation by our school psychologist and special ed team.”

My heart sunk thinking that my precious little boy was something less than “whole.” Todd and I grieved and prayed and grieved some more as we waited to hear what the next steps would be. Since mid October Nolan has had three additional evaluations and we are awaiting our “IEP” meeting on December 2. At the IEP we will not receive a diagnosis per se, but rather an educational plan to help Nolan through his issues. He does meet the educational criteria for autism and will be placed in a special ed preschool. We know he will also receive some occupational therapy and attend the school district’s Center For The Early Intervention Of Autism (CEIA.) From talking with other parents, we know that this program is pretty hard core and difficult on kids, but that it unequivocally works. We should expect to see progress quickly with the ultimate goal being that Nolan would attend Kindergarten in a mainstream class.

We have so many questions and so few answers at this point. Gratefully, our sadness has been replaced with great hope that Nolan will make huge strides and be able to function well…just with more guidance and molding than other kids his age. We feel so blessed that we live in the school district we do. If we lived even one town over the resources wouldn’t be there and we’d have to find other (much more expensive!) ways to help our son. Our journey is just beginning and we know it will be a bumpy ride with many potholes, unexpected detours and break downs, but we have hope that we will reach our final destination—Nolan’s complete wellness.

Better Late Than Never

I have neglected my blog for far too long now, but my time has been occupied with other more pressing things--namely Todd, Nolan and Soren.

We had lots of fun at three different pumpkin patches last month. If it were up to Nolan we would have visited one almost every day. Until next year...

Happy Birthday, Nolan!

Our Nolan turned three on the 25th. In some ways it seems as though he was just born and in other ways it seems like he's been a part of our family forever. He is such a sweet boy and we love him to pieces! We celebrated his special day in phases...

Playing with my new train table!

Mom, you're interrupting my ice cream consumption to take a picture?!?!

Riding the steam train through the Santa Cruz redwoods was awesome!

Cool trees!

I'm a happy birthday boy!

What? You Have Time To Blog?

Not really, considering my last post was about 6 weeks ago. But I can't let everything in my life fall to the wayside indefinitely simply because we have a new baby.

Life has changed dramatically since Soren's arrival. The noise level in our home has increased exponentially while the amount of sleep we get has decreased. The messes are larger and more frequent. The laundry never ends. I manage to shower about three times a week..and I'm grateful. My hair needs a good dye job to cover the grays but at least it's somewhat clean. No one seems to be starving. Enough said.

Little Soren has had a rough transition into life outside the womb. The poor kid has reflux and is on medication to help make feedings easier on him. The screaming has lessened, thankfully, but my heart still breaks for him knowing he's in pain. He is a fantastic sleeper, just like his big brother was. It's definitely in the Liedahl genes! I have no doubt he'll be sleeping through the night in the next few weeks.

Nolan loves Soren so much. I am constantly on "smother alert" because of all the hugs and kisses Soren receives. Although Nolan loves his brother, he's not showing the love so much to mommy and daddy these days. Obedience? What's that? We need to crack open those parenting books again and get all the help we can.

I've had dreams (in the few hours I sleep) that I am an octopus. Oh how I wish those dreams were reality these days! How wonderful it would be to have eight arms and be able to accomplish more than one task at a time. But for now I'll simply be grateful that my family has survived yet another day. This stage will be over in a flash...and then I'll miss it.

Welcome To The World, Soren Christian!

Brothers...best friends!

Under the bili lights for mild jaundice

We are thrilled that Soren has arrived! He made his debut on Thursday, July 30 at 8:03 am. He weighed 9 pounds 7 ounces (thank God for c-sections!) and was 20 inches long. He is a sweet baby and we are truly enjoying him. It seems all he does is sleep and eat (primarily sleep) but when he's alert he's calm and ready to be cuddled and cooed over.

Nolan is SO IN LOVE with his baby brother. It's the cutest thing in the world to us. He loves it when Soren "squeaks" and is very attentive with kisses. When Soren cries Nolan is deeply concerned and tries to console him as best as an almost three year old can. They are bound to be the best of friends!

Transitioning to a family of four has been attainable in large part to my wonderful, helpful parents. They are staying with us for a while longer and we couldn't be more grateful for their presence.

Our house is crazy chaos right now (primarily due to my out of control hormones) but I am certain we will all find our rhythm in due time. Please pray for us as the journey continues!

July Busy-ness

Nolan with Colin, Cameron and Aaron
Nolan and Valerie

This month has been rather crazy since we are in the final throes of preparing for the arrival of our baby on the 30th. We've washed clothes, moved furniture, set up swings, installed car seats and much more. Our weekends have been spent in "baby mode" and even though we already had most everything we need, we've still managed to spend a good deal of money at Babies R Us. The new little one deserves a few new things, right?

We have also had the pleasure of out of town visitors this month, which has been fun. My friend since sixth grade, Shannon Schmitt, and her family stayed with us earlier this month as they toured NorCal on vacation. Nolan had tons of fun with Shannon and Dave's three boys--Colin, Cameron and Aaron. Talk about lots of testosterone and energy! This morning we dropped off my friend Valerie at the airport to head back home to San Diego. She had been with us just shy of a week, and again Nolan had a blast with her. On Sunday my parents are coming to stay with us and help with the transition from one child to two. I am SO grateful they are willing to come. They are a huge help!

If I thought this month was crazy, I know the next month will be even more so as our family grows. We are excited and trust that God will help us get through those even crazier days!

Anniversary Weekend

Todd and I have been married for five years now! June 26, 2004 was such a special day and it's so neat to have it come around again each year and reflect upon all the good things God has done in our lives. To celebrate we spent the weekend in Sausalito, a quaint bayside town at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge just across from San Francisco. Of course, we had Nolan with us so our getaway wasn't romantic per se, but it was fun and full of adventure.

We explored some of the coastline in Marin County and loved the fact that the temperature was a cool 75 degrees as opposed to the 108 degrees that we found when returning to our home on Sunday afternoon. Ick! We took Nolan to the Bay Area Discovery Museum which was fantastic. It truly was an awesome place for the 2-8 year old set to explore. We'll definitely be back! We planned to head up the coast a ways to Muir Woods, where some of the most spectacular redwoods stand. However, there were signs all along the freeway that said the parking lot at Muir Woods was full. We'll try it again another time, maybe on a weekday this fall when the toursists are gone! Yet another diverted plan was to go to Golden Gate Park, but once we found out that it was Gay Pride Weekend in San Francisco we quickly changed our minds!

We stayed at a beautiful resort called Cavallo Point Lodge literally at the bottom of the Golden Gate Bridge. Cavallo Point is on an old army property called Fort Baker. About 18 months ago part of Fort Baker was remodeled to be a luxury hotel. The "house" (room) we stayed in was formerly officer's quarters. I loved the history of this place!

Our greatest adventure, however, belonged to Nolan. He locked himself in the bathroom in our room and there was no way to get him out without the help of two maintenance men who had to come and literally pry the lock off the door. He was in the bathroom for about 15 minutes...and all three of us laughed the entire time. What a crazy kid!

Marin Coastline

The world famous Golden Gate Bridge

Our "house" at Cavallo Point

Fun at the Discovery Museum

My Husband Is So Selfless That...

...he got ME a new car for Father's Day! (Yes, you read that right!)

We weren't really in the market for a new car, but we love to go look at them anyhow. It's one of our mutual pastimes. Even before we were married we went to car shows together and ooh-ed and aah-ed over all the fun that can be had on wheels. And now Nolan loves cars, too, so it truly is a family affair. Anyhow, we had heard all sorts of good things about the new crossover from Toyota, the Venza, and thought we'd just take a peek.

That peek turned into a test drive that turned into an evaluation of our Jeep. Numbers were crunched and we learned that we could save money (about $100 a month) if we bit the bullet. Sayonara, my beloved Jeep! It's been a wonderful three and a half years, dear Jeepy, but you've been replaced by a brand new Venza.

The Venza has all the bells and whistles we are spoiled with... (ahem, "accustomed to!") and more. My favorite two features are the automatic liftgate and the fact that Nolan can get in and out of his car seat all by himself. I no longer have to hoist my big boy up into the car because it's lower and "angled better" for easy access! A pregnant mommy's dream come true! It drives so smoothly and quietly and doesn't feel like a truck even though it has the power my Jeep had. It was fun scooting about town today and exploring the features. Nolan has already taken to calling it "Nolan's black car, " but it's really mine!

33.5 Weeks And Counting!

Here I am in all my "pregnant glory." I am ready for this little guy to just hurry up and come already! This pregnancy has been SO MUCH MORE achy and physically challenging than my pregnancy with Nolan and I'm selfishly ready for it to be over. However, I know that it's best for the baby to cook as long as possible, and of course we want nothing more than a healthy little one. So, unless baby has other plans, he will arrive via c-section on July 30. Only 5.5 weeks more. I CAN do this!

Slightly OCD?

Nolan has my tendencies to be organized and perhaps a bit OCD. This afternoon when I opened his door after rest time this is what I found. He likes taking his diapers out of the diaper drawer and looking at them...but this lining them up just made me laugh! What a goofball!

24

24, although one of my favorite TV shows, is really not blog-worthy. Especially now since the season's over. What else can be said? Of course, Jack won't die of whatever plague he's been contaminated with, and of course he'll be back again defending the country. It's just TV, people.

The 24 I'm referencing here is the wonderful, perfectly sublime 24 hours of true alone time I was treated to this weekend. I've been feeling overwhelmed, both as a wife and a mommy lately, so my dear husband made arrangements for me to stay at one of his hotels last night. There were no dishes to put in the dishwasher, no phone calls to answer, no emails to reply to, no Nolans to feed or bathe, no Todds to tend to. It was all about me...and it was delicious.

I haven't had 24 hours completely to myself since Nolan's been born. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE spending time with my family, but there's definitely a huge need in my life for "prolonged" solitude and rejuvenation. I got it this weekend and I feel like a new person.

Here's a basic rundown of my last couple days. (Um, it's OK to be jealous. Just let your hubby know that you, too, need some alone time! Seriously, 24 hours can make a world of difference!)

Saturday, 9:50 am--Woke up in a daze and frantically ran into Nolan's room to make sure he was OK. He rarely sleeps this late. He was fine and just waking up himself. God bless him!

Made breakfast for the family, showered, packed and hit the road at 11:30 with a raspberry mocha frappucino in hand. Already I feel like queen for a day!

12:30--Arrived at my destination, Santana Row in San Jose. Who knew that this little slice of European inspired shopping / dining sunshine exsited? (Oh yes, my husband. He knows what I like!)

Perused the shops at my leisure, had a wonderful lunch curbside at a darling little French cafe.

3:30--Checked in to the hotel, read to my heart's content while being serenaded by the gurgling courtyard fountain right outside my window.

6pm--Not hungry for dinner due to delectable late lunch but opted for Pinkberry frozen yogurt as a light alternative. Perused more shops, lounged at Borders Books, picked up dessert (chocolate raspberry mousse...mmm!) for a late night snack.

7:30--To the room, pajamas on, book open.

9:30--Lights out.

Sunday, 9:30am--Lights on.

10:15--Breakfast at the hotel in the courtyard. I hadn't had cheese blintzes in forever and they were so good!

10:50--Check out of the hotel, stroll through Farmer's Market and a few more shops, listen to the wonderful jazz musicians while sipping yet another raspberry mocha in the piazza.

11:45--Realize that although I've had a wonderful time alone I miss my guys like crazy-cakes.

12:30--Pull into my garage and greet the ones I love best with hugs and kisses.

Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.

I {Heart} Vacation

We had a great time out in Palm Desert! It's so nice to get away and have time with our little family. My parents kept Nolan for a couple of days so Todd and I could have some alone time (thanks, Mom and Dad!) and then the three of them joined us later in the week. We spent most of our time in the pool...Nolan's favorite place ever. We love our little fearless fish!

Big splashes!

A new favorite snack...Dreyer's "Dibs" ice cream miniatures are the perfect size for little hands!

Out on the boat...after the fight to get the life jacket on!

The last 24 hours of our vacation were spent in San Diego with our wonderful, dearly missed friends. Getting to spend time with the people we love and miss is the best!

Nolan, Tre and Zeke chowing on popcorn

Warning! Delinquent Blogger Alert!

I have been so awful about keeping this blog up to date. It's not as if nothing's been going on in the Liedahl home, it's just that at times I feel too overwhelmed, tired, uninspired, or just plain uninteresting. I guess you'd call it a "slump" regardless of whatever has caused it!

As my waistline (and tush and legs and face) expand I have become so much more sedentary. But even sedentary is uncomfortable at this point! When I was pregnant with Nolan I KNOW I had more energy and stamina, but this time around I just feel like a voraciously hungry bump on a log. At least I'm getting in a lot of good reading before the baby comes...and Nolan doesn't seem to mind just playing out on our patio in the sandbox, painting, or tooling around with his trucks and cars. When we go to the park these days it's to small parks (where he can't run too far away from me!) that have benches in the shade. I hope he doesn't remember this stage of his childhood as being deprived or neglected.

Although he's truly NOT deprived or neglected, something is definitely "setting him off" these days. In the past few weeks he has taken to throwing tantrums like never before which include hitting and kicking me. I'm at my wit's end not knowing how to handle them and I've read all sorts of parenting books, solicited advice from friends and prayed my heart out...but nothing seems to help. Right now it appears that the best thing to do is not to "reason" with him but to leave him alone in a safe place and let him "get it out." I know much of this stems from the fact that he has trouble communicating his wants and needs...and this breaks my heart. In some ways I feel as if his communication skills have not steadily improved in the last few months (as they developmentally should), and may actually be regressing a bit. I just don't know what to do other than to love on him and let him know he's safe. If this behavior and breakdown in communication lasts too much longer I am seriously considering having his speech and language evaluated. I'm not seeing a "red flag" yet, but there's definitely a flag there...and it's slowly turning pink.

In other news, we had a great vacation last week. Right now I'm too exhausted to detail it with pictures and stories...but I promise the time will come. Maybe this weekend, maybe not. Stay tuned!

Night Time Routine

Nolan LOVES his bath and always has. He thinks it's great fun to splash as hard as he can and get everything in sight good and wet. Especially me.

But the highlight of his evening is "flying" wiht Dadddy. Todd swings him in the air and throws him onto a big pile of pillows on our bed. This father / son "bonding time" incites giggles all around. Of course it does rile Nolan up just minutes before bedtime...but it's worth it.

26 Weeks!

We're both getting big!

Happy Dance, Part 2!

I'm shocked, stupified, awed and almost disbelieving that I once again passed the one hour glucose test! I took it last week on the 25 week marker and heard the good news from my doctor's office just a little while ago that I have no sign of gestational diabetes at this point! I have a regularly scheduled appointment next week and I'll have to ask if I need to take the test again, considering my history. I thought for sure I'd be taking the three hour test this week, failing, and seeing the dietician...but NO!!! Thanks to all who have been praying for me. I appreciate it more than words can say!

RIP, Blue

Nolan's very favorite dog, Blue, passed away on Monday. This sweet, playful Australian Shepherd belonged to our neighbor's landscaper and has been an almost daily part of our lives for the past few months. Blue was 13 years old and in relatively good health when we met him but he developed a bad case of pneumonia and his arthritis became terribly fierce in the last month or so. Sadly, he wasn't able to bounce back and is now in a happier place. When Jeff, the landscaper, didn't bring him to work last week we knew things were coming to a close. I had hoped to snap a picture of Nolan and Blue before he passed, but there was no opportunity. Nolan has been asking about Blue incessantly and wonders why Jeff is around and Blue is not. There's not much to say to a two and a half year old to explain death, I'm learning. So I have left it at "Blue went bye-bye and he's happy now."

Jeff is getting an eight week old puppy this wekeend who we'll get to meet next week. I'm excited for Nolan to make a new friend, but sad he's already, at his tender age, lost one.

Stay tuned for pictures of Nolan and his new canine buddy...

A Different Sort Of Easter

Hunting for eggs with Daddy

Forget the family picture...let me at the eggs!

This Easter was unlike any other for the Liedahl family. We weren't with extended family, nor were we working on Easter preparations for days beforehand at church. Yesterday we celebrated Easter with four other families with a picnic in the park. The other six kids had an egg hunt that Nolan refused to participate in because he was much too distracted by the (gymnastics) parachute my friend Joy had brought. So Todd collected eggs for him, sweet Daddy that he is.

This morning we went to the early service at church. We are not typically early service people but we assumed it would be less crowded than the later service. Even the early service was packed to the gills and the pastor gave a great sermon...until the end. We were dumbfounded that there was no opportunity given for people to accept Christ! The sermon was all about the power of the resurrection, but didn't give people a reason to accept this power by asking Jesus into their hearts! I have never been to an Easter service where the focus was not on saving sinners, and I left the service grieving for those who were there who may have wanted to come to Christ but needed someone to guide them in their decision. I know that God works mightily in spite of (and in lack of) human effort, but I feel as though our pastor totally missed the boat today and I'm sad.

After church we came home and Nolan had fun hunting for eggs and enjoying other "a-prizes" (surprises) in his Easter basket. We all rested this afternoon and then enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Macaroni Grill. A good day...just not our "typical Easter."

Baby BOOM!!!

Maybe it's just because I'm pregnant and I "notice" other pregnant gals more now, but I seriously think that my friends and I have all drank the same water. So many of my girlfriends have either already had babies in 2009 or are due to deliver in 2009. Here's the rundown so far...

January
Carrie had baby Jacob
February
Dana had baby Justus
March
Suzanne had twins Sarah and Daniel
Jenny had baby Lukas
April
Kimberly had baby Capo
Sally is going to have a little girl any day now
May
My cousin Megan is due with Taylor Rae
June
Mary is due with a baby boy
July
Our little boy is set to arrive via c-section on July 30
August
Any takers?
September
Karen is due
October
Stephanie is due

Our first family picture...9-25-06

As wonderful and exciting as being a mom can be, it is also heartbreaking for others who are having trouble conceiving. I have two friends right now who are undergoing fertility treatments. I would so love to add them to this list...so be praying!

Deja Vu--And Not The Good Kind

Today was a perfect 78 degrees, so of course Nolan and I headed out to the park. After all, it's supposed to begin raining again tomorrow and last for four days. Since my mid-section is expanding by leaps and bounds and I'm getting more cumbersome as each day passes we've been driving (as opposed to walking) to lots of different parks in town. Today, however, the weather was gorgeous and we haven't been to "our park" in awhile so Nolan climbed in the stroller and we set out on the five minute walk across the street to "our park."

When we came home an hour and 10 miuntes later my fingers looked like sausages. I couldn't believe they swelled up so fast and so fat! I was thrilled when my wedding rings came off with just a little more tugging than usual...and relieved! When I was pregnant with Nolan I had to have my rings cut off my hand by a jeweler. It didn't hurt (physically) but I cried like a baby during the "operation." Absolute trauma for this hormonal mama. Just thinking about it makes me teary to this day.

Praise God Almighty that my fingers look normal now and my rings can again spin on my finger! They're so much prettier when they're dainty.

This World Is A FUNNY Place...

...according to Nolan.

His favorite saying these days is "Dat's sunny!" or "You're sunny!"

Translation: "That's funny!" We hear it at least 100 times a day and it's so stinkin' cute!

The "F" sound isn't quite there yet (although he can identify the letter F easily!)

And yes, I'm a proud mom!

20 weeks!

I am officially half way through my pregnancy--yahoo! We had our "big" ultrasound earlier this morning and were thrilled to see that all is well with our baby BOY! God is good!

Swimmy Swim Swim

I love Google! We've all been jonesing to get in the water and Google enabled us to find the BEST indoor water area we've ever been to! A special kids activity pool, two huge water slides, a lazy river, a "regular" pool and a jacuzzi? We're there! No matter that it was 53 degrees outside. We had a blast at this wonderful indoor water oasis! See ya again soon, Silliman Family Aquatic Center!

Our happy happy water boy!