New Steps and Disappointments

A lot has happened since my last post, so I'm going to go in reverse chronological order, because it feels more interesting to talk about the "now" than the "then". I'll put up another post later on our Sweden trip. So in reverse order, I have blisters on my hands, feet, and inside my throat because I got hand, foot, and mouth disease from Axel. And it just so happened that Axel showed the first signs of it literally (and I mean literally) the second we stepped out of our truck and onto our camping site at Shaver Lake.

He had seemed so happy and had napped well at my parents' house just hours earlier, so imagine our confusion when we get out of the car to unpack when he started crying. We noticed that he was burning up so we gave him Ibuprofen and the fever went down, so we wrote it off as teething. A couple of hours after going to bed, the wakings began. Axel woke up what seemed like at least every hour. He wasn't hot, and we didn't know what was wrong. So at around 5:45 a.m. we pulled him out of his tent and this time he had a fever. We thought his lethargy throughout the day was from not sleeping, and still thought the fever was from teething. But later that afternoon, we noticed some dark red bumps forming around his mouth. My friend, Natalie, is a doctor, and told me that hand, foot, and mouth disease was all over San Diego. So we called her and pretty much confirmed that's what it was, then packed up and drove 7 hours straight home to San Diego. It was a rough drive home! I made Johan drive because I was in and out of consciousness because I was so tired. We ended up having to play the loudest, most obnoxious music we could find on Spotify to keep us awake. We finally got home at around 2:00 a.m. and fell fast asleep.

Cleaning his high chair

I was pretty sad. I had looked forward to Shaver, as many of you know, all year. I've talked about it to everyone, we prepared Axel for it by taking one night camping trips, Johan made beer to have on tap, and even bought me and Axel floating lounges for the lake. I imagined all of us adults relaxing on the beach with our homemade beers, while the kids played at our feet in the sand, and wakeboarding while the lake was calm, and listening to the Baker girls make fun of each other. It was supposed to be perfect. But then the camping gods decided to plot against us. I accidentally turned off the electricity in the garage to the beer refrigerator before we left for Sweden, so the beer spoiled, Garrett had to work during the 4th so the Kellers canceled camping and decided to stay in Brittney's parents' cabin the days they were there, then the last thing we had going for us (our health) went down the drain as well. Boo hoo. I told Johan and Garrett that after the horrible turn of events this year, next year can only be better, right? We have to hope so.

Cleaning the cabinets

Some fun new things happening around our house is that I'm home full time! Axel took his first steps the exact day he turned 14 months, so on June 26th. He walks around like a drunk zombie, all wobbly with his arms sticking straight out. He runs into everything and pretty much walks wherever his center of mass directs him. But the whole time he's got this huge grin on his face because he's so proud of himself.

Cleaning the grown-up chairs

He also loves seeing if things fit. For example, he likes to see if my keys will fit in the bowl in the tupperware cabinet, or if Johan's glasses will fit in the pyrex dish in the cabinet with our serving platters. Notice a theme of Axel putting things that are pretty valuable to us in places we would never find them. This is the main reason why we keep a close eye on him, not because we're afraid he'll get hurt. He still could care less about his toys or t.v. So we are still sticking with playing with everyday things around the house. My car keys, the remote control, and any kind of lid (thanks for the idea, Ginnie Grupinski!!) are probably his favorite toys. I'm pretty sure it's because he sees us using these things every day and wants to learn as well.

Before: Rust at bottom

Speaking of being like Mom and Dad, he has started demanding that he help me clean. "Well, if you insist, Son!" When I wipe down the table, he wants a rag of his own to wipe things down as well. I have be careful because he'll try and sneak the rag into his mouth when I'm not looking and suck the water out. It's a gross habit that we have no idea how got started. And when I vacuum, he insists that he hold the neck and vacuum himself, even though the vacuum itself is usually upside down or repeatedly cleaning along the same line. I love that he's excited to learn something new.

After: No rust at bottom!

Yesterday I went on an all-out cleaning rampage. I deep cleaned the bathroom. I was pretty proud of myself for saving some money and refinishing our brush holder. I almost bought a new one at Target for $20, but then had to remind myself that I'm now a dependent according to the Tax Bureau so I need to be frugal. This is probably one of the most helpful tips I've ever gotten.....if you ever have anything metal that is rusty, just rub it with aluminum foil, and the rust is gone in seconds. Brilliant! I fixed up my bike this way too. Some other little projects around the house finally got done as well. We finally refinished the kitchen counters and redid the caulking. I think that took us about 6 months. It also took me about 10 months just to hang up my banner that I had made as my All In back in the Fall. Now THAT was tough. To move it from where it hung on the curtain rod in the dining room all the way to the bedroom wall. 10 months.

The meanings of our names: Johan, Axel, and Rosanna

Order your Tina Fransson potholders today! Only $100 each

Again, going in reverse chronological order....at the end of June we had a baby shower for Jessica Anderson. It was so fun to put together. Natalie, Carolyn, Lisa and I put it on. Natalie was the coordinator, and just has an eye for this type of thing. I offered to sew a million potholders as gifts because I thought it would be pretty fast. Which it is....if you're only sewing one potholder. But they turned out really pretty and it felt nice to give away something handmade. I also made Jess some other gifts, like baby clothes, and a blanket. It turned out so beautiful, all the food was totally delicious, and everyone really loved it. Especially Jessica, which is what matters most!

Jessica's mom, Ginnie, made a surprise visit from New York. She wrote about it in her blog and it was so touching that I wanted to share it:

It's been a week since I returned from a trip to San Diego for my daughter's baby shower. I was gone four days, and it was just not long enough. 

Tina Fransson onsie: Only $50 each

It's hard having my youngest child live so far away. It's especially hard now that she's pregnant, and I don't get to share in the day-to-day discoveries of her journey into motherhood. It's hard knowing that this new little one will grow up so far away from us, and that we will only see him or her twice a year. I have to tell you, as hard as I try not to let it, this hurts. The good thing is that I know my daughter was brought to San Diego by the Lord. He has a plan for her life, and at least for now, it's not on the East Coast. She traveled to California for her own reasons, but she found a deep and wonderful relationship with Jesus when she got there.  

California is where she landed in a great church, met some wonderful friends, and eventually, her husband. I love the times I get to sit and watch the interactions between Jessica, Doug, and their friends. It's truly inspirational. They have a sense of community that I have rarely seen. They love and depend on each other. They pray for each other and speak into one another's lives. They get together just to have fun and play games and socialize and eat. It is what I think the Lord intends for the church. They live their faith every day, all week long. Their lives are intertwined in ways I can only guess at. They truly support and carry each other in the toughest of times.

Natalie made that cake

Natalie's beautiful homemade backyard

One of the girls is having some very difficult health issues. The friends are holding her before the Lord, and even at the baby shower, there where those who gathered around her to pray for healing. Some spent time to just speak words of encouragement to her, or to share what God has said during private time spent with Him regarding her situation. Just glorious. 

Planned into every shower is prayer time. This is a time to pray for the one who is being celebrated that day, whether it be a bridal or a baby shower. It's wonderful to hear these women who know the Lord speak blessings over my child. I get to pray too, of course. It's a beautiful tradition that I think should be done at every party, everywhere. The newest addition to our family is due next month, and I get to return for the birth. I'm so excited to see this little shining one. She or he will bring such joy to us all, as babies always do. Very soon now, my baby will be holding her first baby; what a delight! Whenever I talk about becoming a grandmother, I always share how seeing your grandchild for the first time is just as amazing as seeing your own child for the first time. And how you love that child just as much and exactly the same as you loved your own child when you saw it. And when you hold that baby in your arms, oh how sweet and how joyful that moment is! You never want to let go.
I really do love being a grandmother............even long distance.

Jessica, Ginnie, Grandma, and Gail Anderson

Baby shower tradition: Pray for mom and baby

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