Taggisms at 2 years old, Part I

Tag is so funny right now.  He is definitely 2!  He is becoming defiant- he loves to eat, drop things, throw toys, push his cousins, hit Pack, etc when he is told not to.  I'm trying to remember to get back into my Love and Logic mode of thinking and use choices with this little guy as he responds much better.  Mitch was surprised at our family Christmas get together at how Tag just held Mitch's eye and kept walking away with a determined gaze and an iron grip on his littler cousin Kaya as Mitch was telling him to stop.  When we ask him to quit pushing or fussing he'll often reply "Want push Kaya/ I want crying/ or whatever it is he's doing.  He is quite fond of pushing right now, even random little kids.  It does help to know this at mealtime though because he eats much more than normal if I make it a game!  

Tag not eating his "pasta psghetti saucie"

Some other funny Taggisms right now:

~Saying he wants something then refusing it as soon as he is offered it..."Want snacks'- ' Don't want em'/ 'all done now' followed by pushing it away passionately.  He even has done this a few times when the sun is shining in his eyes in the car saying "Sun is bright" and covering his eyes so I close the sunroof shade, then I hear "want more sun bright" and we go through this a couple of times.  I just have to laugh and remind myself that he is 2 and embrace the stage.

~ "Want Mama Wah/ Babba Wah" aka Mom's milk vs a bottle of milk.  He was almost weaned when Pack was born but now wants to nurse with increased zeal.  I figure I'll give him a couple of months and then we'll work on weaning again so he doesn't resent the baby and think it's Pack's fault by cutting him off while he's adjusting to the new little guy.  I have found myself nursing them both on occasion (though only after Pack has finished with a side first) and though it's awkward, Tag is so sweet and happy when he can get a little "wah".  He caresses and pats his little brother lovingly while they are sharing the moment.   He also said "Want Momsie Wah" on Christmas day which made us all laugh...Momsie let him know that well dried up long ago.  "Want Mama Wah under towel"- while the big brothers were here I used a nursing cover and that was how he interpreted it.

~"Want kiss baby".  Tag loves to kiss Pack's head and does at least 5 times a day.   

"Want take bath with baby"

~"Want watch Story Time" aka Toy Story.  These are the only movies he has discovered so far.  He loves Buzz and Woody, and the last couple of days really likes Zurg as well and asks to see "more Zurg"

~"Signum" refers to "Signing Time" - the ASL videos for kids he watches once in awhile.

~"Skiing" refers to skiing videos on YouTube which he discovered back in May and still loves.

~He loves to watch old clips of Sesame Street on Youtube as well-  "Want see JonJon" (who counts a lot and has Tag counting up to 13 now! ) and the Martians who are Daddy's favorite to imitate (remember them? Yup, yup, yup)

~Tag has loved driving around to look at Christmas lights or- "Creamy yites" this season - he usually pauses and says, "Oh wow, awesome/ pretty yites" or something of the sort. He also points out and names the decorations on the lamp posts through Spanish Fork as we pass them with glee- "Creammas tree, Santa!, candle, knowman!"  He is such fun!

~"Need some...' is a frequent phrase followed by...'choclut, baseo- a big one (a big chewable Vitamin C), new gum, mints, treats, candy", etc

~The bedtime routine- read stories, family song/music on- he wants to turn on the cd player himself and  has figured out how to play the first song over by opening cd door, stopping cd from spinning with his hand, re-closing the door and hitting play).  He almost always asks us to fix is "hairtane nite-nite"(the airplane blanket he uses as a pillow) where we refold/smooth it for him and the to "rub da back" 

Turkey Bowl

When I was a little kid, my Dad used to dress up in funny outfits and disappear on Thanksgiving morning to play football with his softball buddies.

L to R: Nate, Darcie, Dad, Mitch 

L to R: Nate, Dad, Mitch

In keeping with family tradition, Tag joined me for a few pictures before I headed out to pull some muscles on the football field with my friends in the neighborhood.

Practicing the 4-point stance

Great game with the VanTassel family and AJ Rich family 

When I got home, Tag was still hanging out in his "Go Woots Hemee-un"  (Go Utes helmet).  I just had to take some photos.

Tag fell asleep with his helmet on. Proud father. 

Pack naps nearby

House Arrest

The first couple of weeks have been an absolute blur. Joann let's me sleep downstairs, which helps me at at least get some solid hours, but it has been a big adjustment for us both.  I hardly worked at all the first week, and luckily we had Jo's Mom (Momsie) staying with us to pick up some of the slack.  This was one of the nicest gifts she has ever given her daughter.

After about a week, Momsie mentioned to Jo that she would be leaving the next day, and Jo completely melted down in tears.  Momsie cancelled her plans and stayed a few more days...

Every once in a while I would try and work, but I was mostly useless.  My biggest accomplishment was taking Tag out of the house on an adventure or two, just to allow us both to clear our heads.

Riding a horse at the Van Tassel farm 

Pack has a tough time burping and pooping, so during his awake hours, he is quite the fidget midget and seems uncomfortable. Tag loves his little brother, but gets quite envious when Pack is nursing and constantly wants back in.  Joann has succumbed a few times and it's funny to watch them both nursing at the same time.

Here's a few pictures of Pack.

Love these cross-eyed shots

Pack Gets Visitors

Starting on the night of his birth, Pack has had many visitors who are excited to see him.  Here's a few photos:

Aunt Liz Kriser 

Proud Grandma, Marina Spence

Pack rounds out the football team (11 grandsons) for Papaw Spence

Grandpa Howard begins voice lessons early

Striking resemblance

Babs holds Pack like a natural

Howard watches in amazement and wonder

Tag checks out Pack's new headquarters

Tag:  "My baby!"

Tag loves to hug his little brother

See what I mean?

November 14th - Pack Spence Brinton Arrives

Well, a month ago, I had a detailed post about the birth experience of our second son, but somehow it got deleted and I just don't have the energy to write it all over again. Baby Pack is now one month old and I really want to get some thoughts down about the experience before my memory gets clouded over with Christmas.

Here are the highlights:

We had the baby at home with the same midwife who delivered Tag.  Her name is Diane Bjornson and she is the bomb.  We had the master bedroom all setup with plastic on the bed and floors and Diane brought all kinds of tools, including oxygen tanks, a birthing stool, lots of blankets, etc.

Joann started to go into labor and the contractions moved to three minutes apart fairly quickly. Diane moved her to the tub, where she attempted to meditate and focus on relaxing as the contractions got closer.  Joann's Mom and sister, Liz were present to assist, as well as Diane's assistant.

Despite all the help, I noticed that giving birth is a lonely business.  Jo spent a lot time with herself during the experience, bouncing on a ball, bathing in the tub, laying on the bed, sitting on the stool, while all of us stood helplessly nearby.

Joann ponders the upcoming ordeal.

Tag could sense his Mommy was in pain, and he often came in to give her hugs (below).

Tag does his best to provide comfort.

Once the contractions got steady, Diane said it was time and we gathered for a prayer. I was positioned on the side of the bed, directly behind Joann who was on the birthing stool.  As she started into labor, I have to admit I found myself thinking about Tag's birth and I was filled with pride and admiration for Joann for doing this again at home with no medication!

Anyway, the contractions starting coming stronger and Joann worked through them.  As the baby neared arrival, I remember Joann begging, "Is the head out yet?!"-- to which Diane responded in her vintage calm tone, "Not yet dear, but we are close."

Joann gave a big push, and just as the baby's head was crowning, Diane commanded Jo to stop pushing for a minute as she had to fix something.  I mean, it was right during the heat of the moment and it was like asking a freight train to stop for a minute.  I couldn't see what Diane was doing, but I could see the concern on the other's faces as Diane grabbed some clamps and scissors.  As she was doing whatever it was she was doing, she calmly told Jo that the umbilical cord needed to be cut, so when she gave Joann the word, she was to push with all her might to get the baby out.

We sat there for a few moments while Diane cut the cord and she said, "Okay, Joann, PUSH!".  Within moments the baby was out and Dianne placed her in Joann's arms and asked me to hold his head.  His head was quite purple and his body looked white...and limp.  Diane worked feverishly (but calmly) to get him breathing.  She had us rock his body back and forth while she used oxygen and some other tools.  The seconds passed and he still wasn't breathing.  Diane said to Charles, "This baby could use a blessing." and grandpa charles was there in an instant and gave the little man a quick priesthood blessing.

Shortly thereafter, the baby (who was very purple now) kind of choked and he let out a little cry, followed by a big one.  I found out later that it took a full minute and a half for the baby to take his first breath, but to Joann and I it felt like 10 minutes! It was extremely scary and because of Diane's calm demeanor, I really could not tell if the baby was all right or not, and I wondered if we had another emergency on our hands.

As soon as Joann was in bed with the baby resting in her arms, I signaled to Diane to follow me into the bathroom, where I closed the door, looked her in the eyes, and demanded to know if my son was going to be all right.  I had heard about times when baby's choke with the cord and spend the rest of their life with serious issues and I was scared to death.

Diane, took my hand, explained that the cord was caught on the baby's broad shoulder and was keeping him from coming out, and that she had to cut the cord, which at the time was his only oxygen supply. She said that this was quite common during birth and that babies are able to handle those moments without air better than you would think.  She then gave me a hug and said that he would be just fine.

I breathed a little easier, but after Tag's birth, I was still in a little shock.

Here are some photos from the day:

First picture taken.

Baby Pack, still a little purple after arrival.

Superstar support team.

Pack Brinton, ready to box.

Tag meets his brother, and instincively gives him "loves" 

Tag hangs with a tired Mom.

Beautiful.

Happy Day.

10:37 AM: Diane the midwife broke Joann's water.

All Hallow's Eve - 2011

The house has been decorated all month with scary decorations and Tag has loved hanging out with his new friends, the "scawy witch", "pumpkin" and "scawy hand" - a fake hand and foot hanging out of the piano.

Tag is almost 23 months old, but we took him out for his first trick-or-treating adventure anyway.  I tried to practice with him at home, standing outside, ringing the doorbell, having Joann answer, saying "trick-or-treat" and then getting the payoff, but he didn't get it.  After a few failed trials, we jumped in the car and headed down the hill to a neighborhood with flatter pathways and lots of little goblins walking around.

We met up with Elsie Van Tassel and her parents and had a blast watching Tag run from house to house watching the other kids in their costumes and getting FREE candy from strangers.  He mostly just loved having the freedom to run.  It was so much fun to see him standing among a crowd of larger kids with his little hand out.  Each time, the crowd of kids would disperse, leaving just Tag and the person at the door.  When they would hand Tag his candy, he would turn with a huge smile and say, "A Treat!" or "I got nandy!" -- followed immediately with the statement, "I wanna eat 'em".  

I would grab his treat and try to explain that there were more at the next house, but he would have been content to simply eat the first one and be happy.  He typically doesn't get much candy, as Joann tries to teach him to eat healthier foods, so he was both confused and joyful to experience such an overabundance of treats.

At one house, the homeowners weren't home, but they left a big pumpkin full of treats at the door for the kids to take.  Tag walked up and peered inside the pumpkin for at least 10 full seconds before exclaiming, "Nandy!"  I was able to catch a shot of him looking inside...

So much "Nandy",  how do I choose?

There were quite a few houses with scary entryways, sounds and frights.  Many of the kids weren't interested in walking up to the door.  Not Tag.  He not only walked up to the doors, but loved to stop and stare at the items.  One lady had the best scary porch and she was sitting outside in a witches costume.  It was a great setup.  Tag stood on the porch for about 5 minutes pointing out the ghosts and glaring eyes and laughing.  For those who know my affinity for scaring little ones on Halloween, I was so proud.

One house had an inflatable headless horseman carriage on their front yard and the recording had a scary scream and a horse sound.  Tag did not want to leave this display.  Each time he would finally decide to leave, the horse would bellow and he would turn back to go check it out.

Most of the residents of our neighborhood attended the Woodland Hills "Trunk-or-Treat", but Tag didn't fall prey to such sellouts.  He ran (and I mean RAN) from door to door, laughing, and had a blast looking at the other kids in masks and such and four-wheelers passing by. 

It was awesome.

Joann and I threw an adult party the other night and it was pretty fun.  Since she is nearly 9 months pregnant, I had to come up with a costume that utilized her current physical state.  While the party-goers didn't appreciate the effort as I would have thought, I posted the pictures on Facebook and emailed them around and got some kudos. Joann is a good sport to put up with my love for Halloween.

Conjugal Visit

Tales from California

It's been a few months since I reported on the adventures of Super Tagman.  That's because it's been summertime and we have been playing playing playing.  Tag just turned 22 months old and I am right in the sweet spot of the most fun age of all.  During my single years (which were many), I always enjoyed little ones when they were between 18-24 months and now that my own son is there, I have been taking full advantage.  And Tag does not disappoint!  I can't even begin to give it justice to describe all the games and laughs we have shared with Tag the last few months, but here's a few:

Airplanes.
No matter where we are, or what is happening around us, Tag always notices every airplane that flies over our heads.  Last week, we took Tag to the airport and flew to Carmel, California to stay with our dear friends, Matt and Kieri Coombs for a week.  Tag was in hog heaven with all the airplanes at the airport.  And the way he yells Airplane is just so awesome. He yells, "Ah-Taaayn!" with kind of a southern drawl.  He loved watching out the window as we took off and he yelled, "Ah-taaayn high!"

Matt, Kieri and Toryn Coombs

While in Carmel he immediately took to the Coombs' teenage kids and he loved going to the beach.

Tire Swing.
The Coombs have a huge tire swing hanging from a large tree in their backyard and every time Tag saw it, he said, "Swinging High, Daddy!".. I must have pushed him fifty times on that swing.  I mean big kid-style pushes!  He is so little, that I had to put a pillow in the middle of the tire so he wouldn't fall through the hole and he couldn't get enough.  One time I pushed him high and put a twist on the tire so he would spin.  After this experiment, Tag would say, "More swinging HIGH!" and then shimmy his shoulders back and forth to communicate that he also wanted more twisting. 

Monterey Aquarium.
One the best aquariums in the USA.  Tag loved it.  Although, for Tag it was only half about the sea creatures.  The other half was all the open space with which to RUN.  Tag has been practicing his running and jumping and he loves to run almost more than anything else right now.  For his little size, he is very skilled, and always garners looks, smiles and attention.  Carmel has many hills and as we walked to many of the quaint restaurants, Tag was wanting to run down the forgotten driveways and cobblestone paths.  He finds so much joy exploring, that I just can't say no to his requests to "Daddy, watch... RUN!"

Kite Fly.
While on the beach in Carmel, a nice Aussie man started flying a kite.  Tag dropped his shovel and pail and was completely drawn to the kite.  I took him over and the man immediately connected with Tag's smile and handed him the string.  I was afraid Tag might let go, but he impressed us all by holding tightly and smiling so big.  The best part was that 5 or 6 other little kids came over and said to the man, "Can I have a turn?" -- to which he kindly replied, "NO" and he went right back to playing with Tagman.  I have to buy Tag a kite.

Tag with his Aussie friend

Diaper Rash.
For about 2 months, Tag had a terrible rash on his bum and crotch areas.  We felt so bad for him.  Each time he would run or jump, he would stop in his tracks, spread his legs gingerly and say softly, "Owie, bum bum".  It was funny, but sad.  There have been a few times when he has fallen or gotten hurt where I realize how fragile his little body is and I just want to protect him.  The other day, he was running upstairs and fell on the tile and chipped little pieces off three of his front teeth.  Surprisingly, he didn't bleed or cry very long.

Games We Play
Tag and I invent many games and we laugh a lot. A few that I like:
Superman.
I lift him in the air like he's Superman and fly him around, then run to the bed and launch him into the pillows while I land right next to him. 
Godfather. 
While in the car driving, Tag will attempt to talk in a guttural, low froggy voice.  When I mimic him, he laughs and we all laugh.
"Mo Get 'Im". 
I chase Tag around the house chanting, "I'm gonna get him...".  Whenever I stop to rest (I'm getting old...), he comes up to me and says, "Mo Get "im!" -- which means, Come on Dad, get him (me) some more.  It makes me laugh.
Ball Kick. 
You just have to see the video of Tag kicking any ball.  He's good at it, don't get me wrong, but before each kick he does this 4-5 stutter step warm up that is my favorite thing he does.  I've gotten it on video, so I'll have to place it on youtube.
Boots.
It snowed here a week ago and Joann pulled out some hand-me-down snow boots and put them on Tag.  About every 30 minutes, he comes to the top of the stairs and yells down to me, "Daddy!"
Yeah, buddy?
"Boots!"
Then I run over the base of the stairs and say, "You have your boots on?"
And he yells with utter joy, "Yeah!"
Butterfly Blow
Before bed, Tag always says, "Sto-wee" -- which means he wants a story.  He's not yet interested in the words to the story, but he loves to go page by page and try and point out the animals or images.  I'm always amazed how much he already knows.  Camel, Tow (cow), eagle, owel (owl), snake, dog, cat, bee, woof (wolf), ah-gater (alligator), fish, boy, and more.  Two of his stories have a page with a big butterfly on them.  I made up this game when we reach the butterfly page where I flap the pages and lift the book into the air and land the corner of the book on the tip of my nose like the butterfly has landed on my nose.  Tag then leans close to my nose and give two hard blows as if to shoo the butterfly off my nose.  Then I do the same thing and land the book corner on his nose and he blows the book.  He loves this game and always asks for "Mo' Nose".  It is so cute and one of our favorite storytelling games.
Scawy Witch
It's nearing Halloween and Joann hung a pretty frightening witch in the entryway.  This witch has a motion sensor that when you walk by, the eyes flash red and she cackles quite scary-like.  Initially, Tag wasn't sure he liked her, but I got him to think scary is funny by acting scared then laughing.  Now he always asks me, "Daddy, mo' scawy witch!" -- and we get her cackling.

Joann is 8 months pregnant and I think we are excited about the new Brinton.  I say "I think" because we are both a bit nervous about the birth after what we went through with Tag.  Joann has decided to have the little guy at home again with the same midwife, Dianne Bjarnson.  While I have complete confidence in Dianne's abilities, we are both nervous about having another crazy experience.  While I know Tag's tumor was very rare, the experience was very real and I'm not sure what a "regular" birth experience is even like.  We've done three ultrasounds, and the growing boy seems to be quite normal, except that he kicks and moves around much more than Tag was.  More energy than Tag?  I need a Red Bull!

Every time Tag and I play or laugh, I am reminded of what a miracle and gift he is to Joann and I and I recommit myself to spending quality time with him.  While my business grows at a slower pace than if I moved to an office, I have decided that it's worth it so I can take advantage of this special time with Tag and Joann.