Welcome to toddlerville!

Gosh, it seems like it's been forever again since I've taken the time to blog. Between being a mom, wife, housekeeper and teacher, I sure find very little time for all of the extras that life has to offer. I decided that it was time I come on here and blog, as there are so many new things to share!

First of all, E has turned 1! I surely can't believe that my little baby is now a toddler! We celebrated his birthday in a very fun way! We had a party at our house on Saturday, January 5th at 4. Go figure that E had fallen asleep right before everyone showed up. Thankfully it wasn't a very long nap so that he was able to enjoy his own party. We decided on Thomas as our theme as E (and daddy) love trains. We had lasagna, salad, and bread for dinner and then cake for dessert. Godmother Laurie made a special cake for E which he devoured with every little finger. He enjoyed sharing his cake with Grandpa as it was his birthday that day. In attendance at the party was Great grandma and grandpa Arntson, Grammy and Grandpa Arntson, Uncle Rob and girlfriend Kerri, Godmother Laurie, Grams, Aunt Summer and Uncle Adam, and of course Mom and Dad. It was lots of fun and by the night's end, E had several new outfits and toys to wear and play with. On E's actual birthday, I had scheduled a doctor's appointment for myself on his big day so that I was able to stay home to celebrate and enjoy his special day with him. Grams (Chad's mom) was still with us so she was able to celebrate too. We first went to my doctor's appointment and then off to E's daycare for a little party there. They had a banner hanging and a balloon for him to take home. All of the little kids sat with their party hats on and "sang" to E. We brought cupcakes and cookies to share with everyone. E, of course, stuffed the whole thing in his mouth and began trying to take others. Then, after naptime we met Chad at the MOA. We took E on four rides: carousel, train ride, balloon ride, and the truck ride. Even though he wasn't smiling from ear to ear, we knew he was enjoying himself. He was just taking it all in. We ended up having dinner there too. E ate a grilled cheese from Johnny Rockets that he shared with Grams. All in all, it was a great day!

So what's new?

E now has 8 teeth (four on top and four on bottom). He has been sleeping through the night again but we know it won't be long before he begins waking up again. Teething SUCKS! That's all I have to say about that!

E has been eating real people food...no more buying jars of Gerber baby food. He really enjoys cheese, fruits, carrots, canned green beans, crackers, yogurt, and bread. We've been trying to get him to eat meat, but it's been very difficult. Even pizza he's hesitant to try! Let's hope with time he becomes not so picky! His favorite has been homemade quesadillas with cheese and black beans.

E doesn't drink any more formula! YAY! Our pocketbooks appreciate it most definitely! We give him a bottle before naptime and bedtime but with whole milk instead of formula. Throughout the day we offer him milk and water from a cup. He's a master at that. We're hoping to nix the bottle eventually...but we're making progress.

E takes his naps now in his crib at home. NO MORE swing! We ended up sending his swing and lots of other things home with Rita this last time she was here. E has been doing perfect sleeping in his crib at home during naptime. The daycare is now beginning to transition E from the swing to his crib at daycare as well. It hasn't been easy, but they're working on it.

E blabbers all the time to himself! He loves hearing his voice and is found "talking on the phone" constantly. His only word he truly says is "mama" but I'm sure there are other words but we just don't identify it. I have been testing him lately and he knows what a bottle, snack, book, bath, upstairs, train, choo choo, and ball are. :)

Lastly, I know everyone is wondering, is E walking? YES! We had brought him to Penny's to get his pictures taken the same day as his birthday party. My mom and dad and Chad's mom came with us and as we were looking at the pictures, my mom yelled, "Amy! Look!" Sure enough, I look over and there's my little guy walking to my mom. We were all so excited that we were all able to see it for the first time together! Great job planning that one, E! After that, E would take a few steps here and there but would immediately drop to his knees to crawl when he'd get nervous. However, within the last couple of days, he's shown us that he is definitely now walking and knows it! If he falls, he stands up and gets right back to it again. It's soooooo sweet to see him upright!

E is definitely a very curious little guy who loves to get his hands on any new objects he can. He keeps up busy as he's always on the go, but man, what a blessing! Seeing him smile, wave, or even open up his mouth to try to kiss me, is the greatest. I love him!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas! We hope this letter finds your family happy, healthy, and full of the Christmas spirit. As we reflect on this past year, one letter comes to mind: E! We sure can’t believe our little boy, who arrived on January 9th, is almost a year old already! It doesn’t quite seem possible. Our lives have changed, but we sure can’t imagine our lives without him! Every day is a new experience with new foods, skills to practice, and places to see. He is a very smart little boy who never ceases to amaze us. He now has 6 teeth, crawls faster than we can walk, and is beginning to stand up on his own. We’re happy to report he is a little smiling chatterbox just like his mommy and a sweet, little innocent boy like his daddy. He is just precious. During this holiday season, he and Chad have enjoyed playing with our Christmas train. He can’t say “choo-choo” yet, but he definitely knows what a “choo-choo” is. Chad just beams, as he’s able to live his love of trains like a little kid through E.

Chad and E putting the track together

Chad and E running the train. Chad does allow E to take the controls now and then. E knows how to blow the whistle too!

E watching the train from behind the "tree fence"

Chad is still working in the Career Development Center at the University of St. Thomas and has been busy hosting a radio show on the university’s station. This is the highlight of his career right now. He also continues taking courses for his master’s program and decided he probably won’t finish until May 2011 as being a worker, husband, and now a dad makes life very busy.

Amy continues to teach fifth grade. This is her seventh year and though being a mom has taken priority, she still enjoys teaching. In fact, her cousin Laurie moved back from Florida this past summer and got a job teaching second grade at her school as well. The two of them spend a lot of time together and are very thankful to be able to see each other every day. This past May Amy finished her master’s degree in Teaching and Learning through St. Mary’s University. She still keeps in touch with several of her friends from the program but is definitely glad to have all of those homework tasks checked off the list.

For four weeks this summer, Amy joined Chad on campus teaching Web design at a girl’s science camp. It was fun being able to put Chad’s computer skills and Amy’s teaching talents together. We were a very powerful duo!

We hope you have enjoyed our brief summary of the year. Our family wishes your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We hope to hear from you this holiday season.

Love,
The Kluck Family

Halloween

Halloween night would be past his bedtime, so we took him out to Great Grandparents Larsen and Arntson and Grandpa and Grandpa Arntson last weekend. We dressed him up as the Pillsbury Dough boy and he had so much fun! Amy's Aunt Nancy made the costume.

Holding down the fort

My mom is currently in town while Amy is away with her class on an overnight environmental field trip. They left early Monday morning. Amy called a few times. She is doing fine. E and my mom are picking her up around 4. Her cell only works outside and it was raining on Monday. I spoke to her only a handful of times. It was hard for her to leave, but she's called my mom and me a few times for updates. Our house is fine, my mom has made huge progress on laundry. We got behind on laundry since before Labor day and never really caught up. I think all hampers are empty now. It's been great to have her up here. My mom has been a blessing while Amy is away.

I've been able to do many things that I normally can't do when it is just Amy and me. I replanted the Iris bulbs on Sunday and had two long days at work. Normally I don't get to work before 9:30am because I am responsible to get E ready and off to day care in the morning. I also slept in a little today didn't have to worry about E at night if he didn't want to go back to sleep as my mom took care of him.

Last night's sleep was important because starting yesterday morning I began fighting off the onset of a cold. I got 8 hours of sleep last night, am taking Sudafed and drinking juice with Vitamin C. I'm doing great. I probably got the cold because I replanted the Iris bulbs in the freezing drizzle Sunday. On Monday I went straight to UST after dropping Amy off at 6:30am and I had class after work until 9pm. That was a 14 hour day. I then started Tuesday with only 5 hours of sleep. I needed to get up early on Tuesday to head over to Mpls for a Sun Java conference all day yesterday and got home at 5pm. E went to bed at 9pm last night so I spent a good 4 hours with him.

This morning I slept in until 6:40 and then got my tire fixed before arriving at work at 9:30. I found a screw in the tire the other day while dropping E off at daycare and changed the tire in the parking lot.

We are currently trying to schedule E's 9 month pictures. He has a doctor's appointment on Thursday. I told him not to worry last night because he won't be receiving any shots. He smiled. I then clarified and said "well, you're not scheduled for any" meaning we didn't know if they would give him a flu shot. His smile quickly went away and he gave me a blank stare. Do you really think he understood?

Almost 9 months

Well, our boy is almost 9 months old. He now crawls almost effortlessly (and very quick!) and says Mama, sometimes to Amy, sometimes to Me, sometimes to a toy, but when he is upset he cries the word Mama out quite a bit. There must be something to it.

E can also stand up and lean against the couch and other objects. He loves playing with his plastic hangers, and, of course, animal train.

He attended a train show with us a few weekends ago and enjoyed watching the layouts they had set up. Many of the exhibitors tried selling us some large scale trains saying that our boy "needed them." I let them know I was already conditioning him and hope he can help me work on my layout once I get started again.

We've, well, I, have been buying Thomas stuff as it goes on sale or clearance, and I, I mean, he, has quite the collection. I kind of went overboard on the engines, and need more train cars and buildings for him to play with, so I'll work on that over the next 2 years. The Thomas set is meant for 3 year olds (and dads of any age!) We are purchasing the Thomas Take Along sets. They are sold at Target, Wal-Mart, and other retail outlets and so far have not had any lead recalls.

Today E left a cryptic message for his grandma. He found the phone and was playing with it intently, as he always does. I dialed up my mom for him and put E on the phone to either talk to her or leave a message, in his own little way of course. Well, when he got the recording he played a few notes on his musical toy and then let out a cough. Thinking his message was over I hung up the phone wondering when I would be receiving a call back from her. It took only 20 minutes until she called back, and was disappointed that the connection was bad so she missed his musical talent and only heard a faint, crackling, cough of a child. She figured it was him though.

He's a moving!

Labor Day weekend up at the lake was more work than rest. E is scooting all over the place, and man is he quick! He is so determined that when he gets a destination in his mind there is no stopping him and he will try and try again to get there no matter how many times you pull him back and put him in the center of his play area.

The day care sent home a note saying he and his friends eagerly try to escape the play area. I don't know if he is a bad influence on them, or vice versa.

Today when I came home he was playing by Amy and as soon as he saw me walk in the door he started scooting towards me with a big grin. We met each other half way.

Now comes the task to childproofing our house. I already had the door knobs childproofed before he was born, just so that we could get used to it. It is already second nature. (Great for an emergency) I went to the cabinet to get the other childproofing items, specifically the electrical outlet covers, but found none. We'll have to make a trip out. We have cabinet lockers and door lockers. We kind of went at this backwards.

Misc. writing

I attended a writer's workshop training last week and had the opportunity to take some time to write! I have always really liked to write, it's just hard for me to take the time to do it. So, I thought I'd share with you what I wrote. I hope you enjoy it.

From Boy to Fish
Splash! My little boy, E, has turned into a fish! We stayed at a resort hotel in Norfolk, Nebraska while visiting family, so the opportunity couldn't be missed! E is 7 months old and finally was able to experience swimming!

We got his little swimmer diaper on and his swim trunks pulled up, all the while I was saying, "This is going to be so fun little guy!" Off we went to the pool. The glistening water was so warm as I put my feet in. E was going to love it! As I held him, I slowly walked into the pool, holding onto him tight. As I look at E's face, I saw he had an enormous grin. Pretty soon he began shaking his arms and legs with excitement. I said, "Here we go!"

Together, we pounced around, twirling in the water. E looked like the luckiest boy on earth as his bathtub size increased! In no time, he began splashing and kicking, not realizing this was causing his face to get wet. "Yay!" E said without really realizing what he said. All the while, he was smiling away, loving every minute of his first swimming experience. We were both grinning. Even those around us were grinning as they witnessed a baby getting his first taste of swimming.

After about an hour, we decided it was time for the fun to end and bedtime to begin. "All done," I said to E. We left the pool, but I rest, knowing the memories were captured through pictures and my mind. I wonder what E will think of his next bath...

Worries, Worries, Worries
Today is a very nerve-racking day! My little munchkin is going to daycare for the first time. Daddy is going to drop him off at noon, and I'll pick him up at 4 pm. It's not going to be a very long day in reality, but in my mind, it seems like an eternity. Wil he be okay? Will he sleep? Will he eat? Will he cry? Will he get hurt? Will they like him? All of these ideas are running through my head. I need to stop writing and pray. God will take care of me and E. Amen.

Always My Little Boy
E is so important to me, because he is my little boy. He's my first child and I now can't imagine my life without him. One of the things I like most about him is his sweet smile. One day, when he was about 2 months old, I was smiling at him and talking up a storm. All of a sudden, he smiled back! I was so excited! I immediately called Daddy at work and said, "Chad! E can smile back now!" He was esctatic and of course couldn't wait to try it out for himself.

Another thing I love about E is his adorable belly laugh. I laugh myself as I can hear it in my head. I remember a time when Daddy thought it would be funny to scare E, to ensure he'd handle Grandpa's enjoyment of scaring him someday. So, as E was playing, Daddy jumped and said, "Boo!" E jumped, put both arms out at his sides like an airplane, and started laughing hysterically! Chad continued to do this time after time, day after day, and each time E would laugh his belly laugh. Eventually, E had become to used to begin scared with "Boo!" that E now doesn't even jump!

I also love E's closeness. Hugging him, kissing him, snuggling with him, nursing him, are all treasured moments. When he was first born, he would wake up in the early morning hours. I would first feed him and then I'd lay down, placing E next to me in bed. We'd hug, snuggle, and eventually fall asleep together. Those were the days.

All of this is important to me because E offers me a sense of purpose in my life. My job is to nurture and love and support him all the days of my life. He'll always be my little guy, and I'll always be his ma-ma. I used to think that life was so free and fun...just me and my husband...but now I truly realize that children are what really makes life fun and meaningful. Sure, we don't have as much freedom physically and financially, but that's okay. E will always be my little guy, and I'll always be his ma-ma.

My Happy Place
On the way to the cabin,
I feel my stress release.
Quiet, peaceful, still,
my brain doesn't have to think.

Sitting by the campfire,
roasting smores or pies,
watching the stars flutter,
I wish time could stand still.

The cabins the place to be,
to relax, unwind, and rest.
For when I leave the cabin,
life gets stressful again.