Christensens in London

Monday, 20 April 2009

By Popular Demand

More pictures of Alex, who is one month old today.* Hopefully I'll get some newer ones soon.

I hold this baby most of the day. Meanwhile, James has become basically feral. I'm really glad he goes back to school tomorrow morning! Two weeks off has nearly done us in.

*Why is the time going by so quickly? Someone please make it stand still - while I hold my baby.

Friday, 17 April 2009

Grandma Knows Best

I have a near-perfect mother. It is therefore unsurprising that my boys have an unbelievably awesome grandma. A grandma who was prescient enough to arrive in London from Florida on the very day her grandson, Alex, was born. She arrived bearing gifts, including a quiet book for James and two baby blankets for Alex of her own making (one of which is in the above photo of Grandma and Alex).

In the ten short days of her visit, she was able to do no less than the following:

wash, dry, fold, and put away approximately 17, 259 loads of laundry
cook several yummy dinners
hold baby Alex for hours (while pacifying him more quickly and effectively than I could)
watch James while Micah and I were at the hospital
take James to the movies
take James to the dinosaur museum (a.k.a. the Museum of Natural History)
win James' heart and capture his imagination by tirelessly playing make-believe with him
teach me my first knitting lesson
visit a few tourist sites, like the British Museum, the National Gallery, and the London Eye

I talk to my mom a lot on the phone, but it took a visit to remind me just how lucky I am to have her and how much I still have to learn about being a mother. A day or two after she flew home, James asked Micah wistfully, "Did Grandma Cindy come back?" We all wish she would.

Thursday, 9 April 2009

No One Is Going to Believe Me

On Tuesday, when Alex was 18 days old, I left him sleeping on his back on my bed for a few minutes. When I came back into the room, he was on his stomach.

!!?!

Is it even possible for a two-and-a-half-week old baby to roll over? Anybody have a precedent for this? Not in our family - James was three-and-a-half MONTHS old when he rolled over for the first time. I looked it up.

James was in the room with him at the time, and I asked him (James) if he had touched him (Alex). He said no. I will concede that it is possible that James did it, but I think that would have been strange behavior, even for James. He usually just likes to kiss and hug Alex and bring him toys.

Wednesday, 25 March 2009

Alexander Anthony

We welcomed our family's newest member into the world on Friday, March 20, 2009 at 9:09 p.m. GMT. We arrived at the hospital at about 8:10 p.m., and less than an hour later, we had a 9-pound, 6-ounce baby measuring a little over 21 inches.

On the way out the door to the hospital

Mommy and Alex (looking a little splotchy, bless him)

Many thanks to all who offered prayers on our behalf. As his parents, we feel his birth was miraculous.

I'm sure there will be more photos coming soon...

Friday, 13 March 2009

Some People Came to Visit

Our dear friends, Boad and Kevin, came to visit last week. We had a fabulous time, despite decreased mobility in half our party - due to my advanced stage of pregnancy and Boad's gnarly mountain-bike mishap the morning of his departure from SoCal. The question was not "What did they do and see?" but "What did they not do and see?" Micah was (per usual) an impeccable host and tour guide, and I enjoyed stepping out with my boyz. It was a very welcome distraction from my pregnancy-induced ennui. They went back home (to their respective wives and kids) on Sunday, and James is still asking for them. (This morning it was the declaration as he came downstairs, "I want Boad and Kevin.")

If you want the full story, Micah posted all 317 photos he took of their visit on flickr.

Wednesday, 25 February 2009

She Fancies Him

James has a little friend at preschool. I met her (we'll call her M) and her mother as I picked up James Monday morning. M's mother tells me that M tells her that James is very funny. And that he tells her jokes at school. Micah says that he has seen M follow James around in the classroom, obviously smitten. Well. Aren't we all?

Wednesday, 11 February 2009

On the Tube Last Week

I was flipping through the January Ensign, the LDS Church magazine, showing James pictures and talking about them with him to pass the time. Here's our conversation about the cover:

Tat: "This is Joseph Smith, the prophet. What do you think he's doing?
James: "He's talking to the letter S."

Out of the Mouth of James

31-10-09: On the tube, we see a man in a Halloween costume. He is dressed as Vincent Van Gogh, and is wearing sea-green makeup on his face and arms. James says, "Hey, guys, someone is the wrong color on this train!"

26-09-09: As he came out of his room for the umpteenth time at 10:27 p.m., after being threatened with everything we could possibly think of as punishment if he didn't go to sleep, "Daddy, I'm obeying sleeping."

25-09-09: Tat: I don't think your clothes are dirty. James: Yes, they are dirty. Tat: What do they have on them? James: Ants and butterflies and bees and flies.

24-09-09: Micah and James were discussing math story problems. James came up with "If I have 10 babies, and I cuddle one baby, I have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, NINE babies left!"

"When I get bigger, I'm going to have curly hair."

21-09-09: Tat: Thank you for holding the door for me. You're such a gentleman. James: I'm not a gentleman; my name is James.

"These magazines are for big kids. Wait - I'M a big kid!"

03-09-09: We hired a car with a manual transmission while holidaying in Cornwall. Micah was having a little trouble keeping the car from stalling out (we later realised this was because he was trying to start the car in third gear). When Micah got out of the car to go into a store, James said, "I think we need to get some new tyres so the car will work." A bit later, he said to Micah, "I think you need to learn to drive the car."

27-08-09: Tat: James, I need you to put your clothes away now. James (as he continues leaping off the bed): My responsibility is flying.

26-08-09: Tat: Do you want to be a daddy when you grow up? James: No. And I'm not going to get bigger. I'm going to stay small, like this.

20-08-09: "I'm British." Okay...your passport says otherwise...

01-08-09: Micah shaved off his beard, then asked James if he noticed anything different about him. "You look happy," James replied.

28-07-09: Alexander was gnawing on his fist, to which James observed, "Alex is pretending to have teeth!"

07-07-09: "I want to make it snow so that Santa can come and give me presents."

30-06-09: "My skeleton is coming out!"

26-06-09: Tat: I love you, James. You're my boy. James: Yeah. And Daddy is, too.

21-06-09: Every day, sometimes several times a day, since his birthday: "Am I still four?"

08-06-09: "My favorite vegetable is sandwich."

03-06-09: Aunt Kathy: Are you dipping your fries in that sauce? James: No, it's not sauce. We call this "ketchup." Can you say "ketchup"? Kathy: Ketchup. James: Good!

Various dates lately, while snuggling up to Alex: "Mommy, look! These are your boys."

29-05-09: (After learning about bones): "I have a skeleton in my tummy."

28-05-09: (Upon boarding a plane) James: Mom, where are the piglets? Tat: What piglets? James: The piglets that fly the plane. Tat: Do you mean the pilots? James: Yeah, the pilots.

05-09: Holly: Look at the octopus. It has eight arms. James: No. It has eight tentacles.

19-05-09: Tat: What would you like for breakfast? James: Guinea pigs. (pause) Tat: Do you mean this pig-shaped gummy candy? James: Yeah.

07-05-09: Tat: It's not a big deal. James: Is it a little deal?

01-05-09: While passing the Tower of London: "Look! It's the temple!"

23-04-09: Tat: Don't crawl on me while I'm holding Alex.
James: I'm not crawling on you. I'm climbing on you.

03-09: "Mommy, you're driving me NUTS!" And a few minutes later, "You're driving me nuts AGAIN!"

11-03-09: Tat flushes the toilet for James.
James: Mommy, did you say goodbye to the pee and poo?
Tat: (obligingly) Goodbye, pee and poo!
James: Goodbye, pee and poo! See you tonight! (To Tat): I gave the pee and poo a nap.
Tat: (?)

07-03-09: James, to Daddy: "You have two choices. Play with me, or play with me. No, you have ONE choice: play with me!"

02-09: While babysitting a six-month old girl for some friends, James came in to find me sitting on the living room floor, holding her. He said, "Look, Mommy! The baby came out of your tummy!"

02-09: Tat: Look, James, it's snowing outside.
James: Daddy brought the snow!

01-09: James is playing with Play-Doh.
James: Mommy! I need pickles!
Tat: (Pause.) Do you mean toothpicks?
James: Yes. I need picks.

01-09: James knocks on his bedroom door from within.
Tat: What is it?
James: It's me, James Christensen!

30-12-08: James: You're my mommy.
Tat: And you're my son.
James: And you're my moon!

18-12-08: Looking out the bus window: "That house looks like a rocket." Tat: "That building is called the Gherkin." James: "That's the Gherkin House Rocket."

12-12-08: We were out to dinner when James heard me say I was going to have Fanta to drink. James says, "You're going to DRINK SANTA?"

11-12-08: "Daddy, you're my favorite drum." Then James starts pounding on Micah's back.

1-12-08: "Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for not to go to bed, for giving James back his Play-Doh, for giving it back to me, Amen."

1-12-08: "Stop eating, Mommy! You need to stop eating and drinking SO MUCH!"

13-11-08: James commented that a picture he was coloring with markers was beautiful. Micah asked, "Is Mommy beautiful?" James replied, "No, Mommy's not beautiful. Mommy's a girl."

7-11-08: "James, what are you thankful for?" "I'm thankful for monsters."

2-11-08: Addressing Tat, as she leaves the kitchen: "Come back here, little fella!"

20-10-08: (Pointing to a construction worker): "Look, Daddy! It's Bob the Builder!" Construction worker replies, in a cockney accent: "I'm not Bob the Builder - I'm Bill the Builder."

17-10-08: "I can't wear these shoes - they're too dirty." Actually, they're brand new. I think he thought if he used the same excuse that I use when he can't wear clothes he wants to wear, his opinion would have more clout.

10-08: While eating french fries: "Mmm, delicious. Yummy in my tummy. Tastes like blueberry muffins." ???? - um, no idea where that comment came from. I'm not even sure whether James has ever tried a blueberry muffin.

10-08: "I have a baby in my tummy." Hmmm.

23-9-08: Micah picked James up, and James protested, "NO! I'm not a toy!"

15-9-08: James was upset, I think because I told him he couldn't have a cookie before breakfast. Micah: "Mommy loves you and she just wants you to be happy." James: (through tears) "She doesn't love me!"

04-9-08: James: "Look, Mommy, a peach!"
Tat: "That's an orange."
James: "It sounds like a peach to me."

30-6-08: After I counted something at James's request, he said, enthusiastically, "Good counting, everybody!"

24-6-08: I'm reading to James, and I ask him where a character's caps have all gone. James' reply: "They went to church."

19-6-08: I'm changing his diaper, and James is touching his penis. "Is that your penis?" I ask. "No, it's my belly button."

19-6-08: James is wearing his dinosaur pajamas. Suddenly he says, "Ow!" I ask him what happened. "I hurt my... my dinosaur," he replies.

18-6-08: James is taking a bath. Our wolf puppet, Lobo, is "talking" with James. James asks Lobo, "How old are you, Lobo?" Lobo replies, "I'm about three months old. How old are you, James?" James, with excitement in his voice: "I'm three!"

31-5-08: I'm putting James down for his nap, and he puts his arms around my neck and says, "You're my best friend."

15-5-08: Several minutes after an incident in which James got a slap to the face, he was overheard reciting to himself "No, [name of child who slapped him], don't hit James . . ."

12-5-08: James points out the window and says, "It's hot outside!" and then proceeds to blow in the general direction of the outside, as if he's cooling off food he's about to eat.

10-5-08: Micah asks me, from downstairs, if I need anything. I say no, so he replies, "Okay, just stay in bed and stay hot." James echoes, also from downstairs, "Stay hot, Mommy!"

28-4-08: As we were both waking up from our naps, I asked James to get some books for us to read. I watched him go into his room, pick up one of his Thomas-the-Tank-Engine books, and shove it out of sight to the back of his bookshelf. He then returned to my room and declared, "Thomas the Tank Engine book all gone!"

21-4-08: While eating breakfast in his high chair, for no apparent reason, James starts clapping and says, "Good job, James!"

18-4-08: James is hiding under a sheet in the kitchen while I do the dishes. Apparently, I'm not paying him enough attention, because I hear, from under the sheet, "Where's James?"

18-3-08: "I hurt my mustache."

24-2-08: We're in Sacrament Meeting, starting to sing the opening hymn. We sing "I am a child of . . ." and James YELLS to the entire congregation, "Stop singing!"

23-2-08: James is in his high chair eating some Cheerios before bed. He has his dinosaur pajamas on. He puts a Cheerio in the dinosaur's mouth on his jammies and says, "Dinosaur eat Cheerios."

2-08: James is learning to count. So far, he can count thusly: "One, two, one." (As he points haphazardly at whatever he's supposed to be counting.)

12-2-08: Micah walks into the kitchen, where James is in his high chair eating dinner. As he walks in, he sees James whip something in his hand behind his back. Micah gives James the stare-down; James slowly pulls the hand with the contraband measuring cup in it out from behind his back and says, "Not a toy."

9-2-08: James is telling me he wants cookies for breakfast. I keep telling him he has to eat real food first. This goes back and forth for a while. One of my get-his-attention tactics is to whisper to him, so finally I whisper, "Would you like cereal or eggs?" Looking straight in my eyes, he whispers back, "Cookie!"

29-1-08: I'm about to read to James a Curious George book. I read to him the title of the book, "Are You Curious?" And he replies, "I'm not curious, I'm James!"

12-07: James is sitting in the shopping cart as I'm running errands. We pass a cart with a little girl, and he shouts out to her, in passing, "Hi! I'm James!" Yeah. He's an uncontrollable flirt.