Thought for Food

I wouldn't want to live in a world with no cheese.

Blue lips, barstools, and naked houses

Hope everyone had a happy and healthy Tuesday.


Alex had a quick checkup at the doctor's office today. We are going to see my (Andy's) family in Colorado this weekend, and thought it wise to have the wee one's ears checked before heading into the altitude. One of his ears looked good, but he has some pinkness in the other. Linda, the PA who saw him today, said if we weren't travelling, they would let it go, but since we are heading to higher altitudes and potentially painful ear scenarios, she prescribed some antibiotics. Afterwards, she gave Alex a sucker for being such a good boy. The after effects can be seen in the next few pictures.

Tonight, as I was sitting on the loveseat, Christine, who was sitting on the couch, just started laughing. As I walked over to see what she was seeing, I found this.

In case you are wondering (which you shouldn't be because they do say a picture is worth a thousand birds), Alex had pulled out a barstool and attempted to crawl through it. After much heartache, whiney-ness, grunting, and encouragement to "solve the problem", he popped out of the other side with a look of relief on his face. Rest assured, I will never attempt such a tenuous and difficult activity, because it would quite embarrassing to call the fire department to remove my fat butt from the inner sanctum of a bar stool.

Finally, as we have said, our new least favorite (kidding of course) neighbor tore down her beautiful pine tree. Below you will see some stunning before and after photos.

That's my time for night. Thank you for coming, and have a wild and wacky Wednesday.

Daddy Kisses and Somersaults

Hello all - - again we need to apologize for not posting sooner - life just gets the better of us sometimes and we run out of time.

Lately, Alex has been trying to do somersaults. He must be seeing kids at childcare do this - he will put his head on the ground and try to lift his feet up over his head. He hasn't been successful at this on his own yet, but he is very close. Here are a couple of shots, silly boy!

Alex has yet another new favorite book. It was a gift to Daddy last Father's Day, and ONLY Daddy gets to read it. (Mommy will read it if Daddy isn't around.) It has all sorts of fathers giving their children kisses on different body parts. Alex has learned all of the parts - head, neck, ears, eyes, paw (hand), nose - and then comes the end - - just watch! Alex LOVES the end, and anticipates it every time! Many times, he is reacting before the 2nd to last page!

Such a funny little man!! :)

We're OK!

Hello all!

Sorry, this post may disappoint because we don't have any pictures of the little guy, but we did want to let you all know that we are still alive - just tired!! We have had a few major events happen - not to us - but very close to us in the past few days.

First of all, a couple of days ago, as I turned the corner onto our street, they had the road blocked off in front of our house. I saw a bunch of branches laying in the street - and thought that one of our neighbors must have taken a tree down. Then I got out of the car - and was MORTIFIED!!! The lady who just moved in across the street, Connie, had cut down the most beautiful tree in the state!!!! Not only did she take the tree down, but the rest of the bushes as well - - I couldn't believe it! I am showing a picture of the latest snowstorm, where there is a good shot of the neighbor's yard.

It is just so bare now - all this dirt in her front yard, and no beautiful tree! The birds that had already made nests in the tree were just walking along the sidewalks, looking lost. Maybe it's my hormonal heart, but I was a little upset!! I mean, how dare she?? (Like she should have consulted me before she did that - right?!!!??) :)

The second bit of news - that's not so happy - but very serious, is that the lady who lived behind us passed away this morning. At about 6:30 this morning, the whistle went off (in small towns, whenever there's a fire or medical emergency, the whistle goes off to alert the volunteer responders), and we didn't think anything of it. I was getting Alexander dressed as it happened, and he looked at me funny. I said to him, "Uh oh, something bad has happened - let's hope everyone is ok." About 5 minutes later I noticed the lights reflecting on the blinds on the back side of the house. When I opened them up, I saw the men all rushing in. Andy's aide, Julie, said at work today that one of her closest friends had passed away this morning - and he put two and two together. While we didn't know her well, she had two sons that are college age, and she and her husband seemed very close. Their home was busy tonight - I am sure with friends and family, but please keep them in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

On a MUCH happier note, one of my elementary/high school friends was scheduled to have her little girl today (she had to be enduced - her little one showed no plans of making an entrance anytime soon!). I haven't heard officially yet, but pray that Mom, Dad, Steven (the older brother) and Natalie (the new little one's name) are all doing well. If you look at the link to the right, they are "The Smith's." Yay for the happy family!!! :) We'll be joining you in 6 months with a little bundle of our own!! :)

That's all for tonight! Take care, and hug the ones you love! We love you all!!!!!! :)

Dr. Appt's and Pictures

Hello all - I'm back for tonight anyways. :)

Here are the pictures Andy was talking about when he said that Alex was helping him out with the spreader. It didn't last long, as you can see. Alex loves the rocks that line our home, and every time he was near them, he had to stop and look at them! (And bring one or two over to me!)

We both had our doctor visits today - my 12 week (end of the first trimester - yay!) and Alex's 18-month checkup (and shots - boo!). Dr. Julie decided to try to listen and find baby's heartbeat first. At my 8-week checkup, we weren't able to find it - which is pretty normal - but today Acta was right by my hip and was beating loudly for all to hear! Andy wasn't off of work yet, and Alex was a little stressed out being in the Dr.'s office, so he sat on my upper belly and watched Dr. Julie as she found Acta. He was very well-behaved, what else should I expect?!!?? Then it was on to Alex's appointment. I told her that I was a little concerned, because he has a persistent cough (especially if he gets upset - he almost can't catch his breath he's coughing so hard), and his nose is CONSTANTLY running. It's always clear, so I haven't been concerned, but this is beginning to be an ongoing thing. I don't know if kids this age have seasonal allergies or not, so I asked her about it. She began to check him out, and listened to his lungs, took his pulse, listened to his heart, all of the good stuff. Then on to the ears.......that's where it didn't come out so good. She looked in the first one and said, "Eeeewwwww." Then she looked in the other one and said, "Double Eeeeewwww." Rats - MORE issues with the ears! He hasn't been running a temp, and hasn't been overly cranky, so she wants to wait this one out. However, if he begins running a temp, we are to call her and she will prescribe something. We talked quite a bit about how ear infections are becoming a recurring issue, and what she thought needed to be done about it. She wants to wait until May/June, because at about 20 months, the ear canal begins to slant quite a bit, therefore alleviating most ear infection issues. If they are still continuing this summer, then tubes may be a very valid option. She isn't concerned about his hearing, or his language, which relieved me quite a bit. I guess I have just seen to many kids in school that are so far behind because of hearing issues - I wanted to take care of the problem before it got "that bad". His vocabulary is around 25 words, which is a little above for his age, and he understands language very well. She did a few activities with him, and he did exactly what she asked. SO, my worries are gone - for now. :)

When Daddy came to the clinic, Dr. Julie wanted him to hear Acta. We were worried that he/she had moved, but they were still in the same place - so Andy was able to hear. There was only ONE heartbeat, so now hopefully that nighttime dream will disappear. (I can't imagine having two at the same time!!)

Then, tonight, as we were getting Alex ready for bed, and had just put his diaper on, he began to play with his humidifier. He is just fascinated by this - we can't understand why. We'll walk into his room midday and it will be on - - silly guy! He decided that he wanted to dance, which is just too cute!

So, for your viewing pleasure - "somewhat naked" Alex, dancing......(by the humidifier)

And that is the reason why I am not too concerned about his ears - for now anyway. After all, it's my job to worry. :)

Flat head, fertilizer, and sock fuzz

Andy here again!

I am continuously amazed my son doesn't have a flat spot on his head. Twice tonight, he fell and bonked his head, adding to the multitude of times he slipped and bonked his head on the Home Depot concrete on Saturday. First, he decided to show off his climbing skills by climbing on top of the arm rest of the couch. Unfortunately, he forgot to bring his balance with him, because he fell of the end of the couch and tried to dent my floor. Later, he climbed on top of his zebra bouncy toy. He was standing on the seat, but still holding the handle bars and giggling. Then he let go of the handle bars and stood up tall...for a second. Then he proceeded to flip over the handle bars and hit the floor again. The boy is a concussion waiting to happen.

We decided to fertilize the lawn tonight, and of course, Alex had to help. For me, wanting to an efficient person, it was quite frustrating to move at the pace of an unsteady toddler, but he helped me push for a little while (we will have pictures another time). After a while, he got bored and ran off to play. As I was going, I would pick up the occasional piece of trash and toss it in the spreader to carry with me until I got close to the trash can. Well, Alex picked up on this and started chasing me around the yard, looking for stuff to toss in the spreader.

Finally, tonight I was sitting on the couch with Alex right before bed time. I pulled off his socks so his little piggies could breathe. I looked over a few seconds later, and he was very carefully picking the sock fuzz from between his toes, and then putting it in his mouth. I tried telling him to stop, but I was laughing so hard that I started coughing uncontrollably and Christine had to run in to stop him. The funniest thing was, he would put a piece of fuzz in his mouth, make the ewwww face, spit it out, and then repeat with the next piece of fuzzy.

Funny little boy.

Hope my stories brighten your day, or at least make your baloney sandwich taste a little better in comparison to sock fuzz.

Whew! What a Weekend!

This weekend has FLOWN by! I don't know where the time has gone, but when I look back, we got A LOT done, and that's always a good feeling.

Yesterday we borrowed a friend's pickup and headed down to Grand Island. We had received a coupon for the Home Depot, and we were already planning on remodeling our bathroom this summer, so this was the perfect time to go and get everything. We are also going to replace the flooring in our kitchen/dining room/laundry room, so we went ahead and got that also. After a few dozen calls to my dad and the "Eckhoff Construction Helpline" (my brother-in-law, Neil, has his own construction business and deals with all of this stuff day in and day out), we ended up getting a new toilet, a vanity with a sink/countertop, faucets for both the tub and sink, mirror for above the sink, porcelin tile, and laminate hardwood floors for the kitchen. We'll get a new tub later - my dad is going to come out and help with the installation, so we will wait a bit for that. Throughout the whole thing, Alex was a champ! I was a little worried about how he'd handle being in the same place for that long (4 hours total), but he was awesome! We went to get him some ice cream afterwards for being such a good boy. Before we went to the Home Depot, the boys both needed haircuts. Andy went in first (Alex was sleeping in the pickup, so he and I waited as Andy got his trim), and then it was Alex's turn. There really isn't too much of a difference, but his neck needed a trim badly, as well as around his ears. She took a little off of the top, but it's not terribly noticeable. She was great, she had a lot of toys, and Alex sat on my lap. There were a little tears towards the end, but he survived.

Today Alex came in and woke us up. I was asleep, and had a feeling like I was being watched (anyone else have that feeling??). I opened my eyes, and there was my little man! I'm glad we keep the baby gate up all the time now, as he's figured out how to get himself out of bed.

We then began on some "house things" that needed done. It had been a while since we had washed the windows and cleaned out the ledges, so we got that done. My goal was to hang laundry out on the line, but the wind thought otherwise. So much for "going green" today! We did get all of the laundry done, then it was to the outdoors! We had to trim a few bushes out front, remove a tree that didn't make it though the last snowstrom, fertilize the lawn, and begin with the grass seed in the backyard over the parts that weeds tend to try to overtake. I have to exhale just thinking about all of it! Andy also had baseball practice with a bunch of TIRED guys - they had prom last night - but practice wasn't until 3, so they should have been able to catch up! Oh, well. Games start next month, and then the summer flies by!

Well, enough of my rambling, here are the pictures and a couple of videos of the little guy.

His "fort" in the corner of the living room - he seemed to be very fascinated by the nail holes in the baseboard......(notice the NASCAR shirt - I know there's no race today - except Nationwide - but it was a good day for it anyway!)

This was last night - we had bought a few boxes of diapers and wipes at Sam's Club, and Alex LOVED playing on them - there is also a video of this....

This was today at lunch. We had sandwiches with the works - VERY yummy! Alex loved the veggies, including a few new ones! He had green peppers, tomatoes, avacados, fresh spinach, cheese, summer sausage, Sun Chips, and BLACK OLIVES! I have been trying to teach him the "fun way" to eat his olives, and he got it this time!! :) It's still a little hard to get just that one finger through, so he still pinches a few to get them up, but he was doing it quite a bit!! :)

Have a GREAT week everyone! :)

Pictures!

Hello all - it's the "less funny" of the Bowin pair out here in Central Nebraska. Don't worry - no need for seat belts, as you won't be rolling out of your chairs laughing. :)

I have a few pictures that we have taken the past couple of days - and thought that most of you would like to see them. Here's Alex as I found him a few days ago when I went in to get his clothes ready for the day. This is his Daddy's favorite sleeping position, too. (Hmmm....psychology buffs out there - are sleeping positions inherited?!?!!!)

And here are a few pictures to go along with Andy's post from last night. 5 seconds before this shot was taken (because that's how long my camera phone actually takes to shoot the picture), Alex was turned around and pointing to the moose saying the "Mmmmmm......." It really is quite big - it's nostrils are HUGE - and they still look wet! It's a little disturbing as you are trying to eat - so I sat with my back to the moose. Anyway, here's Alex who is trying to get the phone......(good thing it took that long to take the picture - any more time and you would have had a shot of ALEX'S nostrils!!)

And a "close-up" of the moose. Enjoy.

















So that's our lives for the past week - not much, because not a whole lot has happened. Next week I have my 3-month checkup (yay for the end of the first trimester!) and Alex has his 18-month checkup. Blood draw for me, shots for him - we will be so very chipper for Andy the rest of the evening! :)

Have a great Friday everyone!! :)

200!

According to the "Acta Ticker", we have 200 days left!


Tonight's post is a true rarity. We have blogged, posted, and entertained you for 170+ posts by now, and this is Andy's very first time blogging. Hope you all enjoy.


We know its been a while since we posted, so we thought we'd drop you a quick update.


Everyone is healthy. Christine got over her pneumonia, Alex is doing well, and I'm doing alright as well. I can tell the plants are starting to grow now, because my eyes are itchy, my throat is scratchy, and my sinuses are filling up. Plus, the plants turn green when they are growing. Its a dead giveaway. But enough about seasonal allergies...and photosynthesis.


Tonight, we went to Burwell for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I needed to stop by the baseball field to get some equipment from the shed for practice on Sunday. As a bonus, we decided to stop at the Pizza Palace in Burwell for supper while we were there. (If you ever find yourself hungry in Burwell Nebraska, you can't miss with the Pizza Palace). Anyway...


At the Pizza Palace, they have a giant mounted moose head on the wall. Alex was a little wound up when we got there, and they weren't busy so we let him run around a little bit. He would run in circles, making his usual cute toddler noises, and abruptly stop, point at the aforementioned mounted moose and go "mmmm mmmmmmmmm mmmmmmm mmmmmmmmm". I guess that means moose. Or moo. Or "Dang, that's a large animal nailed to the wall". Its wide open to interpretation.


Midway through dinner, I realized I had left my keys (the ones to get into the baseball shed) in Ord. Fortunately, one phone call (and a couple of dirty/annoyed looks from Christine) later, I was able to secure a set of keys (thank you Mr. Alexander) and get the stuff I needed.


Well, my time is about up here. Christine and the little boy have been in bed for 2 hours, and I have made the time to blog, watch part of the Nuggets game, and one and a half episodes of Forensic Files on TruTV (formerly CourtTV). In case anyone is curious, the Nuggets won, and the crimes were solved using forensic science to determine it was in fact the most likely suspect in both cases (the loner with a penchant for explosives and the unfaithful husband).


I ramble to much. Peace and love to all, and everyone have a great day!

Andy Rocks!

Baked Alex, anyone?

Sunday, already! Where do the weekends go?

Tonight Andy decided he wanted to make tuna noodle casserole for supper. I didn't complain - I am always thankful when he chooses to cook (which he does quite a bit - he's so wonderful!) Anyway, Little Andy (or "Alexander" to the rest of the world) decided he wanted to help out. Andy was planning on using the 9" by 13" baking stone, but Alex had a different idea for it.....


I wish my butt would fit in that pan!! :)

Later, Alex decided he wanted to try to fix some supper of his own - he has figured out how to pull the pots out from under the stove, and knows where the kitchen utensils are kept (of course, none of the sharp ones). So here he is, (in the middle of the kitchen floor!!) cooking!

Have a great week, everyone! :)

Getting Taller!

Alex is getting taller - and he has noticed that he can reach many more things now - and so now we are learning to place things further back on the counters, etc. What will be next?!??!!

Here's a shot of the "outside" today - can you imagine that yesterday I had a snow day because of the 6 inches of snow?!??!! What a difference a day makes - it was still only very low 40's, so we stayed inside most of the day. Andy had to work this morning down in Broken Bow, so I was thankful that the roads were dry and clear. And here it is, already at the end of Saturday - where has my weekend gone? I am SO ready for summer - 24 days of school left!!! :)

Hilarious video!!

Tonight, right before bedtime, Alex was WIRED!! I had crawled around on my hands and knees, and chased after him a bit, and he thought that it was so funny! Andy grabbed the camera and began shooting, and there are a TON of "belly laughs" out of Alex. You can tell that he's getting tired, because I am not even touching him and he is falling down laughing!!!

When you are having a "down" day - keep this one close by!!!

SNOW DAY!!!

Yay for snow days - in APRIL!???!!!

Yesterday we got out of school at 11, which was a surprise! It had been raining since Wednesday night, and the temp finally got cold enough that the rain turned to ice pellets, then snow. So there was a nice sloppy slushy layer of crud on the roads for all of us to drive in. Fortunately, I got home before it got really bad, but Andy wasn't so lucky. He had to be down in Broken Bow and then up to the Nursing Home in Sargent, so he was in the car for half of his workday - going less than half of the speed he's normally going. He saw quite a few cars spin out in front of and behind him, so we are thankful that he was safe through all of it.

So last night I got the call that school was cancelled for today - HOORAY!! I always love the extra time I get to spend at home with Alex. I think that he missed going to see his friends today, but it's just too cold and windy to go out today. He did manage to find one of Daddy's magazines, and instead of ripping it to shreds (as usual), he actually turned the pages!

It's up to 40 now, and supposed to be 60 tomorrow - CRAZY weather! 6 inches of snow on Thursday-Friday, then 60's on Saturday. At least the lawns will green up really quickly!! Here's a shot of the yard and street. Anything that was scooped has dried out - but the lawns are still quite packed. It was a HEAVY snow - with all of that rain and slush underneath, it was a chore to scoop!

Soccer? and Squiggles

Alexander didn't get his afternoon nap today, so we towed a very fine line between happy and grumpy (I know, some of you out there believe that he's NEVER grumpy - believe us, he can be!! It's not often, but it can happen.....)

With the "Sports" themed video we posted the other night, we thought that this one would be very appropriate. Andy has always said that his children will never play soccer - and I think that Alex may have solidified that thought tonight with his "skills" (note that the word "skills" is used in quotes - it seems to be anything but) - -

Towards the middle and end of the video - Alex goes over into the corner and looks behind the chair. Squiggles is back there, and she has figuered out a way to stay just out of his arm's reach. However, that doesn't stop him from trying. You may be able to hear the hissing in the background - she's not too thrilled about him finding her. We think that it's a game they play - she struts around, gets him to notice her, and then hides where he can't get to her.

A little note on the weather - yeah, they are predicting 4"-6" by Friday morning. Rain is to start tonight, and the precipitation is to continue until midday Friday....I don't think anyone has clued Mother Nature into the fact that IT'S APRIL!!!! Right now, I am having a hard time beliving all of this "global warming" stuff - I will wait to see a slight hint of "warm." Plus side - I may get another snow day this school year :) (Teaching ROCKS!) I did get contacted by a school in Delray Beach, Florida, to see if I would be interested in teaching there......with snow coming, it seems to be worth some careful consideration....

Enjoy - and Happy Thursday! :)

Pitcher!

Well, Andy will sleep better tonight knowing that his son may, indeed, be a pitcher. Oh, boys!!

What a funny pair! Won't Andy's baseball team give him a hard time if they see that he can't even hit off of his own son?!?!!? I know, Andy was hitting light so that the ball was sure not to hit Alex. I just have to give him a hard time. :) There may have been a balk in before that second pitch, I'm not sure....... :)

A note on the "new" bed - Alex got up twice through the night, either crawling out or rolling out. Once at 11 - we found him and he was on the floor by his night light (if you look at the picture in yesterday's update - it's up behind the plant), the second time he was in the middle of his room, standing, crying. I put a body pillow on the floor next to his bed, just in case something would happen. Both times he went right back into bed - so we'll see what happens tonight! (If you read this before the school day on Tuesday - PRAY for snow here! It's raining right now - 6:30 pm - and we are to get 3"-5" tonight, with a nice sheet of ice underneath. So, I am hoping for a snow day - - yes, in April!!!) :)

The weekend is over already?!?!

Wow - where has this weekend gone? For that matter, where has all of the time gone? It seems like last week was February, and here we are well into April already!! As I was talking to my Dad tonight, I realized that summer will be here before too much longer, and then SUMMER!!! I can hardly wait!! :)

Yesterday (Saturday) we didn't do too much. I realized that I had some Kohl's cash that I needed to use, so we ran down there for a quick supper and a little shopping. It was a short trip, I didn't feel up to a lot of excitement.

Today we just bummed around the house. Andy had baseball practice, and was encouraged by the number of guys that showed up. They're still trying to recruit a few more, but they had a good time. Alex and I stayed home and watched the NASCAR race - yay Carl!! :)

We've been talking for a while how we need to start Alex's transition to a bigger bed, well before the baby gets here. His crib is one of those convertible ones - to a toddler/day bed first, and then can be used as a full-size headboard. We took the first step tonight and tried out the toddler bed. Alex was a HUGE help as we did this, we felt it was important for him to see his bed changing. When I put him down tonight, he pointed to the side that was now missing - what a kid! Here's a shot of the new bed:

We'll see how tonight goes - he may not be ready for it, and that's fine, we can change it back. But we do want to start getting him ready, and don't want to feel too rushed about it - because when the baby comes it will be change enough!!

I am beginning to feel better - still coughing every now and then, but am not winded anymore. I am hoping to get a good sleep tonight, to be ready for the kiddos tomorrow!! Goodnight all!

Colds STINK!

Hello all - yes, we are still alive. Although I was sure that 2 days ago I wasn't going to make it.....

I have some kind of crud - the Dr. thinks that it's either beginning pneumonia or a severe bronchitis. She didn't want to do an x-ray, because of the baby and all, so they gave me a pretty strong shot of antibiotics (my hip still hurts, and that was 48 hours ago!), and I have 10 days of pills to take. I am feeling better, but still not quite back to "normal". Luckily, Andy and Alex have been virtually unaffected - thank goodness.

We'll try to snap some pictures this weekend, we will be home all weekend. Andy has baseball practice on Sunday, but I think that Alex and I will stay here (unless the miraculous healing comes). Have a great weekend, and we'll try to post more later!

Happy April!

It's hard to believe that it's April already - the weather still tells me it's January - - enough of the cold already!

We made it home safe and sound - although I think that Alex would be just fine if he didn't see the inside of a car for at least another week! It was a long road trip, but it was good to spend time with family, celebrating such an important milestone for our nephew. :)

I don't have any pictures of the boys together, well, because: 1. They are boys - they don't sit still. 2. One is just a year, and the other is 17 months. Pictures aren't exactly their "thing". 3. I haven't found the magic words to make them both look at the camera, smile, and wait until the flash goes off. It's just impossible. So this picture of them playing with Aunt Sarah will have to do.

Yes, they are practically the same size - Noah is bigger than Alex in both height and weight. It's just in the genes....but they do love playing alongside each other (they aren't at the play "with" each other stage yet....)

Monday, on the way home, we were able to stop and see Amy Royuk, and her new little guy, Micah. Kyle (Amy's hubby) was Andy's roommate for 2 years, and we have been close ever since. Kyle was still at school and track practice, so we weren't able to see him, but they sure have a cute little guy! It's so hard to imagine that Alex was once that tiny - and in less than 7 months, we'll have another little one that's just as tiny!!! Wow - babies are awesome!

After Lincoln, we packed back up for the home stretch. Alex was exhausted, as you can see in the picture below. For some reason, he needed every blanket in the car next to him. There's also a pillow off to his right, that wouldn't fit in the seat with him. If it would have fit, it would be there too. Silly guy! You can see just how tired his eyes are, though!!

Now it's back to work for all of us. Andy's baseball practices are starting up this weekend, so summer can't be far off! I just wish the weather would show up! I want spring!!!!