My big boys

I love these boys!

Well, one boy is getting big as in grown up and the other boy is just BIG.

Anders my grown-up big boy has been surprising me lately with little bursts of maturity. Small things like realizing when he is being unreasonable or last night when Chris was putting him to bed and was trying to explain some toy from his boyhood. Anders didn't understand how it worked and he stopped Chris and said "WAIT, explain to me how it actually works. I want to understand". Oh he is growing up!
 But then there are moments like today after eating a very bright blue birthday cupcake at school and he had an actual tantrum in the middle of the floor. A stomach down, fists hitting the ground tantrum. I just watched with amusement because I realized that when he was two and three and in the tantrum stage he never had a real ground pounding tantrum. I figured that it was a right of passage to have at least one of those kind melt downs before he grows up. I think we've experienced every other kind of melt down now. Throwing things, yelling, hitting, screaming, wall kicking... Fun times.

A few days ago we were driving in the car and Anders informed me that he didn't want any hugs or kisses from me. He said it in a very matter of fact way while looking out the window. I know this because I watch him in my rear view mirror. It's one of the quirks that drives Chris crazy. Me constantly adjusting the mirror so I can see my child while he talks to me. It makes the mirror wiggly. Anyways, Anders looked so moody and teen ager-ish that I knew that I had to handle this with respectful distance. I paused and then let him know that that was fine but that I really loved getting hugs and kisses from him and he could come and get hugs and kisses from me whenever he felt like he needed them. He nodded and I knew that we had an agreement. Tonight he came over and put his arm around my neck and leaned up against me. I kissed him on the side of his head a few times and pulled him close and he hung out like that for a few minutes. I guess that he knew that I was going to respect his need to not be tackled and smooshed with kisses and decided that he needed to come and get a little fill. I love my big boy.

Little Big boy number two is becoming a truly sweet, funny part of our family. He belly laughs at Anders antics and tries so hard to get his attention by kicking his feet and staring intently at big brother until big brother pays attention to him! He blows spit bubbles is super ticklish and doesn't sleep through the night yet at 5 1/2 months. He is a squishy, cuddly, ball of love! I can tell that he is going to be funny. He has a gleam in his eye and is always ready for fun even at this age. I LOVE cuddling and nursing him and kissing his round milky cheeks and could do it all day long!

Anders class has been working on a special book in their writing workshop class. His was pretty funny. The first page said "I imagine.... Mom riding on a toilet skate board". That was fun to show everyone!

The Pre-K class at NVLA

Anders loves to jump and fall. This is one of our favorite parks in Calabasas

We got to celebrate cousin Tommy's Bithday last weekend and all those boys had so much fun playing together!

Here is my BIG baby! 5 1/2 month about 19 pounds.  

Lars is all sweetness, love and cream.....

Here are a few recent pictures of the boys.

Not a status update

Has it really been over three months since I last blogged? Life is busy and it's easy to write short little status updates instead of a time consuming blog post. But a status update doesn't say it all.

Lars has been out of my belly for almost 4 months now. Time is flying and he is getting sweeter and cuter every day. In the beginning he was constantly hungry. I felt like he was never full and breastfeeding was all I was doing. This time around I decided to demand feed and see how it goes. With Anders he had been put on a nice and neat three hour schedule in the NICU. He didn't latch on and nurse at all for quite a while so I was pumping milk and feeding him AND trying to get him to nurse. It was exhausting. With Lars I just nurse him when he seems hungry. At night it has been fantastic because he is sleeping in a co-sleeper right next to me and I can just pull him in to bed, nurse him and put him right back in his bed. I leave a dim light on in the kitchen so that I can see at night and it has worked out smoothly.
Because Lars has been such a voracious little eater I feel like demand feeding him has been a really sweet bonding experience. I haven't been worried about scheduling or if he is getting enough (he clearly is at 15+ pounds at his 3 month appointment). I've enjoyed snuggling him and holding him a lot knowing that he won't be a baby for very long. Now that he is past 3 months we've slipped into a nice schedule and he eats, plays and sleeps. I still get up a couple of times a night to feed him and I'm hoping that he will start skipping that middle of the night feeding soon.

Anders has adjusted so nicely to being a big brother. He really loves his bro and is very protective and caring. One time Lars was wearing a little striped had and Anders said that he looked like a robber. He jokingly said "you're going to be in jail!" Immediately he got a little emotional and said that he didn't ever want Lars to be in jail! I love my sensitive big boy Anders.
Speaking of Anders he has been growing up a lot lately. He has been learning so much in school and he likes to talk about his "light bulbs" coming on while he's learning. We started him out in the Kindergarten program in September but quickly realized that he needed some more time adjusting to the academics of school. Since late September he has been in the preschool class and has been really thriving and growing. He can sound out words write his name as well as lots of words and is becoming much more independent and confident. I'm so glad we took this extra year to encourage his abilities. He loves doing puzzles, playing games and playing outside. His teachers Miss Mimi and Miss Sweetie have been so good at working with him and have really had to reach deep to find ways to keep him engaged and focused. I keep them in my prayers daily! =0)

I'm still adjusting  to mothering two boys and the evenings are an interesting juggling act to try and meet both boys needs as well as make dinner do dishes or whatever else needs doing. I'm beginning to get back on top of house keeping although it is always an uphill battle for me. In my last weeks of pregnancy my blood pressure was really high and I couldn't do much. After I had Lars my bp was still high plus I had a new baby and was healing up from the c-section and I felt so overwhelmed by basic house hold duties. Add to that all of the STUFF that comes with a new baby, a very small space, no storage, no dishwasher and limited laundry access and it was the perfect storm. Slowly but surely things have found a place, laundry is on it's rotation, I have my energy back, Anders is in school most of the day... I'm happy to have some peace around here again.
My evening are quiet with Anders in bad by 7-7:30 and Lars down by 8:30-9:00. I get time to Facebook watch Hulu or Netflix and relax. Chris works late most nights and when he is home it's a rare treat. I miss having him here and it gets a bit lonely. But I am thankful that he has a good job and that we get our weekends to have our much loved and coveted family time.
Here are a few pictures from these last few months to fill in the gaps.

Anders got the cutest t-shirt made by cousin Philips wife Abby. So sweet!

This child is clearly getting plenty of mama milk....

Enjoying cuddle time with Lars.

Anders LOVES his little brother. Lars doesn't know it yet but they are going to be very good friends. 

The boys with Anders teacher Miss Mimi. 

A weekend day trip to the Long Beach Aquarium. We love our weekends!

Anders in his art class. Miss Sisu  is a fantastic and engaged art teacher!

My big boy. He was so proud of climbing this tree.

My little boy. Such a cuddly love bug.

Baby Lars and such

What a ride that last week has been! It all started a few weeks ago when my blood pressure began to creep up.  Because of my experience with Anders we began to monitor it and it got up to worrisome levels. I was checked into the hospital a couple of times both on weekends just for monitoring and the second time my doctor had me stay overnight just to rest and try to get it down. I began taking a blood pressure medication and it sort of helped but then it started going back up again.
So last Saturday while I was getting ready for the day I had a  moment where I saw stars. My blood pressure was 165 over 100. I called my Doc and we agreed that it was time to have this baby! She told me to get child care lined up for Anders and come into the hospital that afternoon for a C-section. I originally had expressed my desire to have a normal birth with no surgery and she was very supportive of that. But in the end it was becoming dangerous to keep carrying the baby with those BP levels.
I called my parents and they started the hour drive to our hospital and I packed whatever was left over to pack and off we headed! Anders was super excited about meeting his little brother AND about having a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house. There was lots of fun things to look forward to.
Once we got to the hospital the wheels started turning fast and the surgery was scheduled for 6:00. It was a surreal feeling knowing that this was the baby's Birthday and that I was facing another C-section. I was feeling pretty shivery inside.
My parents came and visited for a little while and then took Anders with them. Then we just sat around waiting.

One of the fun things about the day was that November 5th is a holiday in England called "Guy Fawkes Day". It's one that we Americans really know nothing about but I had heard about it a day or two before and then a friend from Scotland made mention of it on Facebook that morning. When we got to the hospital my nurse was English and I mentioned it to her and she was so surprised that I would even know about the holiday. I'm sure that our little guy will know about "Guy Fawkes Day" too. =0)

I gave birth to David Lars Jensen at 6:47 pm on Saturday November 5. I got to watch most of the surgery in the reflection in the light over my head. I made up my mind while I watched that I'm pretty much done with this whole 'birthing' thing. It was fun to see the doctor hold Lars up over the sheet to say hello. He was screaming and healthy even at 5 pounds 15 ounces. Chris and I both happily noticed that he had reddish hair since we were hoping for another red head.
Our doctor is an amazing women who is doing what God put her on earth for. She was so supportive and kind and she did a fantastic job with the c-section. She also brought a camera for Chris to take video and pictures just in case he forgot his. Sure enough his iPhone was in his pocket underneath his scrubs so we needed to use hers. He got some great footage of Lars being born and he loves showing it to anyone who wants to see.  Just ask him and he'll whip out his phone to show you!

I stayed in the hospital until Wednesday afternoon. Thursday was his first doctors appointment and when the pediatrician got the labs back that afternoon he called the house to say that we needed to admit Lars into the NICU to get treated for Jaundice. Unfortunately we were gone all afternoon and didn't get the worried messages until 7 in the evening when we got home. What a yucky surprise! Our neighbor Eva came over and got Anders to spend the night with them and off we headed to the hospital. I was already exhausted and had over done it that day so I was in tears at the thought of having to leave our little guy in the hospital.  It was a long night and since then it's been a bit crazy. Lars is doing great. His jaundice is gone and he's eating and pooping like a champ. I've been having to pump my milk to take to the hospital and trying to breast feed him when I am there. We're hoping to bring him home tomorrow.

One more little complication has been that even though I have had Lars my blood pressure hasn't gone down yet. So I've needed to get extra rest which is really hard to do. I've had a bit of a constant headache and my energy is not back to normal. I'm really struggling with discouragement and it's been emotionally taxing to not have our new baby at our side. Anders has been extra whiny and grumpy and he misses his new brother. We've all been little on edge to say the least. Yesterday my friend Rachel came and visited with her three kids. She took all the kids out to the new Chick-Fil-A for some fun playtime. She also tidied up our little house and folded a basket of laundry. Chris and I got to go and visit Lars and have some dinner out. What a blessing that was!

We're looking forward to tomorrow and the possibility of bringing our little guy home again. I'm also looking forward to feeling better and not being afraid that I'm going to have a stroke if I just do normal mom stuff. We have lots to look forward to from here on out.

Our sweet little Lars

Chris all ready for the birth!

Every mama needs a horribly unflattering "after the fact" photo. Lars looks pretty cute though. This picture was taken moments after I was rolled into recovery and I was so shaky and out of it!

Week Two, So Far So Good

We are well into our second week of school and Anders is still happy about it all. There is so much to do during the day and he is soaking up every bit of it. So far his favorites are P.E. (he loves his teacher Mr. D) and music class. Every day he comes home with stories about things he has learned and little interesting tid bits about class mates and friends. Today I told Mr. D how much Anders loves P.E. and he laughed and said that Anders has a great attitude and gets really involved in all the activities. Anders always makes sure to run up and give high fives to various guy teachers when he sees them.
I have seen some major improvement in his behavior and in his interest in learning as well as his attention span. I am really impressed so far!

This Friday is Grandparents day and my parents are going to make the trek out to have breakfast at the school and then visit his classroom. It should be fun to let them get a little glimpse of his school day and for him to show off his Grandparents. =)

10 years ago

10 years ago today I woke up to my alarm clock radio announcing that a plane had crashed into the twin towers. I never set my alarm to radio. It was normally set to beeping and I was surprised to hear the talking when I woke up. Then I ran out to turn on the t.v. and my roommates came and joined me as we watched the horrible moments unfold.
It was a surreal day. I went to work at the salon in Whittier and the roads were so empty. People were walking by looking dazed. I went outside and a man in a wheel chair stopped and we talked about what had happened. Everyone was bonded on that day by this horrible event. I remember that I wanted to be at work to connect with other people but it was such a strange and somber day. Everything changed that day. Our country was changed. Our feelings of safety were gone and we realized that we could be harmed.
We were blessed to see the good in humanity as they rushed to help, search and comfort. The best and the worst was shown on that day.
I along with everyone else that experienced that day won't forget.

First Day of Kindergarten

We're riding high on the first of school energy! We deposited our little Kindergartener to school at 8:45 this morning. School usually starts at 9 but today they had a special assembly and they had a fun surprise for the kids. Tommy the Clown! They gathered everyone around and in came a big truck blasting rap/dance music and out jumped three wild looking hip hop clowns! Anders didn't want anything to do with the clowns and decided to sulk far away from the festivities. After we ignored him for a bit he calmed down and sort of got interested in the "dance off" that was going on. That was after he declared that he "hated school!". =0/

I explained that school wasn't normally like this and that it was just a special show to celebrate the first day. At 9:45 everyone lined up to go to class and he was much happier about that. Apparently he is a kid who likes to know what's expected of him.

I came back to the school around 3:30 to turn in some paper work and spy on the goings on. They were doing P.E. out in the 102 degree weather and Anders was having a blast! Running laps, kicking soccer balls and mastering the hoola hoops.

When I finally got to pick him up at 4:00 he was happy and sweaty and said that he LOVED school! He did make mention that he had some trouble during lunch when he called an older girl "noodle head" and that his teacher was kind of strict with him. He did follow that up with saying that she was the best teacher ever. 

We stopped for an ice cream cone on the way home and now he is sitting on the couch playing on the iPhone. 

So excited to be at school with his friend Giovanni. 

First few minutes of school learning about what to expect in Kindergarten.

All ready to leave in the morning!

Resting after school with 'green bear' on his shoulder watching him play angry birds.

All lined up and ready for the day to start.

Anxious parents hovering around the wee kindergarteners...

I think that he'll have some adjusting to the everyday schedule but overall I have a feeling that it's going to be a good year.

The last of Summer

Yesterday we decided to beat the heat and head down to the Malibu Pier for some cooler temps and a little water play. Anders ended up going in the ocean and playing with some new friends for about two hours. It was a great last summer hurrah.

This morning our neighbors daughter Riley came over and played with Anders. Usually Anders plays with her older brother Mason but he is in school now. Riley and Anders got along really well and played all morning long. So much fun!

When Mason got home from school Anders got to show him his new robot that he got last night at the Robot store in downtown Glendale. It is quite the hit! Anders even wants it to sleep on the chair next to his bed. =0)

Next Wednesday Kindergarten starts and I'm really looking forward to the new schedule!  Not too excited about all the driving but I can't wait to have the days more open for nesting and getting ready for baby #2. On Sunday we attend a BBQ put on by the school and Anders got to visit with his teacher Mrs. Dexter. She is really sweet and engaging and Anders is really going to like being in her class.
Next time I write it will be to report on the first day!