So to those who have loosely been following our comings and goings it may seem like we just moved...yeah, we did. We sold our house in Raleigh, NC in February and moved into this awesome west Nashville farmhouse. In May a tree fell on the awesome west Nashville farmhouse and we had to move, rather suddenly and unexpectedly, into a somewhat less awesome house in Belle Meade. In late July we moved out of the Belle Meade house back into the farmhouse. And now, in less than three weeks, we will be moving again.
Yeah. We just can't get enough of the thrill of packing up boxes and misplacing key components of furniture and electronic equipment that has to be disassembled each time we move. Actually, this time we are moving much farther than our previous moves. We are moving to California over Labor Day weekend. Good times. We are actually pretty excited about living in the Bay Area, but less excited about being so far away from family and uprooting ourselves once again.
We are so sad to be leaving Nashville. It has been such a rich six months. We have completely fallen in love with this city. We have become friends with the most interesting and cool kindred spirits and packed our time here with unique-to-Nashville experiences. We knew that we probably weren't going to be here for very long but we had no idea it would be so short!!
We really have no regrets. We made the most of our time here and lived it up to the fullest. We're leaving "wanting more" which is a good thing I suppose. We are moving with Ryan's job, so a new position with the same company.
We are not going to start Oliver in preschool in September but hopefully we'll be able to find or form a Joy School group. If not I plan to keep the boys busy with swimming lessons (Oliver is a fantastic doggy paddler already), speech therapy for Oliver, and hopefully teaching Ollie to read and ride a bike. Those are my pre-baby goals. We'll see how those go. I realize I don't have any goals for Elliot...potty training seems still really far out on the horizon. He is not even a little bit ready. Hmm...maybe I will just indulge him and let him make the most out of these last few months of being the baby in the family.
Speaking of babies...the other news is that we are having another BOY!! We are really excited. No firm ideas about names so we welcome any suggestions. I found a doctor out in Walnut Creek who is actually also a certified nurse/midwife. Although she has an MD she practices a midwifery-centered model of birthing. Which means that she is very pro-natural birth which is something I'd like to try this time. She also was finishing her medical training at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1976, when I made my grand appearance at the hospital there. There's a chance she even observed my delivery since my mom said there were A LOT of students and residents at my birth. In any case, I thought that was an auspicious coincidence.
So that's what's going on around here. A lot of change. Hopefully relatively painless transitions. Elliot is screaming his blessed little head off so I better go give him some "nuggles". Why won't that kid go to bed?!?! Why is there always such bedtime drama?!?!
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5/9/11
At Home with the Halversons
Cackalacky Kitchen
DC & College friends
Nashville friends
Friends & Family
Momma Blogs I Love
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They Will Forget Most of Today15 hours ago
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silver linings and quilt tops6 years ago
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Let the Babies Play9 years ago
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Hello, from Maine!10 years ago
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Running Commentary
4/8/12
Oliver and Elliot playing Star Wars
Oliver: I'm Yoda
Elliot: I'm General (pause) Conference. Who is General Conference again?
O: You mean General Grevious?
E; Oh, yeah...
Elliot to Andrew: Andrew, do you want to ride the tire swing with me? Do you? What? Andrew I can't understand you. I don't remember baby talk.
1/20/11
Oliver: I know something that is true. Before there were cars, people rode donkeys and camels.
Me: Yes, that's true. And also horses.
O: But not chickens.
Andrew was crying in the car. Oliver tried to soothe him by saying, "Don't cry baby. I'm not going to jail...I'm just going to preschool."
"Our chudders" = each other, as in "we love our chudders"
9/1/10
Oliver: Elliot, you are a baby.
Elliot: No! I NOT a baby.
O: Yes you are.
E: No! I Mister Elliot!
Me: Guys, you are getting too close to the edge of that wall, please come down.
O: Why? Because we are precious to you?
6/29/10
Elliot had a really tough time going to bed last night. He was just WIRED. He talks to himself a lot and this is what we heard from his crib.
"Mommy, Daddy, come back here RIGHT NOW. Nuggle [snuggle] me!! Nuggle me!! Itsy bitsy pidah down the water spout. Nuggle me!! No SUH. No WAY buddy. I want to nuggle. Dump onna bed, dump onna bed [jump on the bed]."
The other day Oliver asked what would happen if he drank molten lava. I said, "well, I think you'd be in pretty bad shape." He thought about that for a minute and then said, "you mean like a triangle?"
2/ 23/10
Up until now this has mostly been about Oliver's funny little sayings but Elliot is getting to be quite the little chatterbox. Here's a glossary of some of his favorite words
ay-yit = Elliot
niiilk = milk ahl fa ver = Oliver
backit ball = basketball (he is obsessed!!)
don don = Skippy John Jones (his favorite book)
boo bebbies = blueberries
hot dog = hot dog; synonym for nose; anything good or desirable
tank oo, tank oo, tank oo!! = thanks; or "give me that now!!"
down, down!! = please pick me up
2/16/10
Oliver: Mom, my nose really hurts."
Me: "Um, well does it only hurt when you pick it???"
Oliver: "Yes, but it really, really, really hurts."
Me: silence, clearly unaffected by the plight of my young son.
Oliver: "Mom, dis is a MOORGENCY. I sink I am BEEDING. I sink I'm going to DIE!!"
Oh, the drama of crusty boogers. We called Abby to get her medical opinion.
12/13/09
Oliver: "Mom, I'm a booger monster, 'cause I LOVE to eat boogers!"
10/15/09
The following is a conversation that Oliver and I have multiple times a day. The forbidden is clearly tantalizing.
"Mom?"
"Yes Ollie."
"We don't say dumb. Or stupid. Or damn it. Or idiot."
"No, Ollie we don't don't say those things."
"Only bad guys say dumb? And stupid? And damn it? And idiot?"
"Well even bad guys shouldn't say those words, they hurt feelings and make people feel bad."
"So we should never ever say dumb? Or stupid? Or damn it? Or idiot?"
"Yep."
A very few minutes later..."Mom? We don't say dumb? Or stupid? Or damn it? Or idiot?
For words that we supposedly don't use they sure get thrown around a lot around here!
9/6/09
Yesterday evening we had dinner with our friends the Becks at their pool. As we were leaving Lucy (4) said most beguilingly, "Good night, Oliver. I am going to dream about YOU tonight!" Oliver looked at her and replied frankly. "Good night, Lucy. I am going to dream about trains and race cars."
9/6/09
Current Ollie-isms:
"Comforful" comfortable.
"HOODY GOSH!!" This is a cross between oh my gosh! and holy cow!
"Fus-sings-foossy" First things first. As in "I sure will put my toys away, but fus-sings-foosy I need to find Lising (Lightning McQueen from the movie CARS).
9/1/09
Every night after the boys get into their pajamas they play "tickle tackle" before bed. You would think that wrestling and getting all riled up would make it harder for them to wind down, but Elliot actually seems to need it. He has a much easier time going to sleep if he can roughhouse a little just before bed. Last night, Ryan had just put Elliot down in his crib and was sitting on the couch reading a book to Oliver. Oliver turned to him and said, "Dad, I LOVE Elliot! He tackle us. He hit us. He push us down. He roll over our backs. I LOVE him!" I guess the nightly "tickle tackle" routine works for both of them.
8/24/09
" T'woo INFINIBY...and beyond!!" Thanks, Toy Story. Oliver has been shouting this phrase as he spreads his "wings" and jumps off the couch, coffee table, last few stairs. I have to agree with Woody, that what Oliver does is "not flying, it's falling with style." Luckily no harm done, yet.
8/8/09
"Yi-da-phone" This is what Oliver calls his most treasured musical instrument (his xylophone). He can hear the 'z' shound, he just can't say it. When I pointed out that it was actually pronounced ZYLOPHONE, his eyes lit up and he said "oh, you mean like YE-BRA?!
8/1/09
As I was tucking Oliver into bed tonight I pulled the covers up around his dear little shoulders and whispered, "I have a secret...want to hear? I love YOU!" Ollie smiled sleepily and said, "I have a secrick, too." I put my head close to his and he whispered in my ear, "I want to play with Jayla after we go to Target and buy me a race car birthday cake." I had to laugh. That was not exactly what I was expecting to hear!
7/31/09
"Ledonlame" For the life of him, Oliver cannot say "lemonade." He tries and tries but what comes out is always "ledonlame." I think it's pretty cute and by now I know what he's talking about.
7/21/09
We are out here in Kansas City staying with Ryan's brother Brad before the official Halverson reunion starts. Brad's kids are pet-sitting a ferret. Oliver is terrified of the ferret. When I asked him why he was so scared he told me, "He going to bite me. He going to goggle me up!"
7/17/09
"Mommy, you have pirate teeth." This was after we went blueberry picking--my teeth were blue stained and quite scary! He was right!
7/16/09
My mom sent Oliver some CARS Teddy Grahams. He was thrilled. "Mommy, I LOVE dese crackers!" "That's awesome buddy," I said absent mindedly without looking up. "We'll have to tell Nana how much fun they are to eat." "YEAH!! And to smoosh with your feet!" That got my attention. I looked over and saw that he was not in fact eating the crackers but had dumped out the entire box and was methodically stomping on them. So much for a new snack.
7/10/09
Ollie was admiring his temporary fire truck tattoos and he asked me if I liked them too. I said I loved 'em. Oliver looked at me thoughtfully and said, "Let's see here...I love race cars, Elli-lit love playing, Daddy love eating, and Mom love tattoos!" Yeah, buddy, you got us pegged.
7/2/09
This morning Oliver and I were reading an Easter book his Grandma Halverson sent us this past spring. It said something to the effect of "Jesus taught the people many new things." Ollie's eyes lit up and he said, "Like running somersaults!?!"
5/19/09
Ryan is out of town so I was putting the kids to bed by myself tonight. Oliver was being really difficult. I told him to pick up his toys or he wouldn't get to read a book. He said, "You make me so ANGY!" I was about to lose it so I said, harshly "Actually, Ollie, YOU are making me angry." He replied. "You not making good choices, Mommy. You being naughty."
5/14/09
Oliver was playing outside when he noticed an ant crawling on the ground. He started hitting it repeatedly with a toy. Soon there was not much left of the ant. Surveying his work he said somewhat dolefully "Mommy, dis ant feeling SAD."
4/17/09
What I hear at least once an hour:
"Wha ha DEWding, Mommy?"
"What say?" (Oliver's persistent fluid in his ears are taking a toll on his hearing. We are looking into our options).
EVERY time we go into our garage we have the same conversation: "[S]pidah webs not scavy. Pidahs not eat boys. Pidahs eat bugs. What bugs eat? Bugs eat leaves. We see lot bugs eat leaves at science museum." Evidently there are plenty of bugs in our garage to prompt his sudden interest in entomology.
Oliver:"Jesus is a good friend."
Me: "Yes, He is."
Oliver: "He not hit me. He not push me over."
"Tickle my 'squito bites": scratch my back
"Dat MADING": that's amazing!
"No scawy disisaurs": no scary dinosaurs. Oliver is really afraid of dinosaurs, especially that they will be hiding in our house.
Oliver:"I love Daddy."
Me: "I love Daddy, too."
Oliver: "No, you love Ellie. I love Daddy."
Oliver from the backseat: "Go fast Mommy. VROOOMM! I love dat sound!!"
Oliver likes to leave his pants down around his ankles after he uses the bathroom and hop back into the kitchen or his bedroom. He thinks this is hilarious. I don't. I tell him to pull up his pants. He does but sullenly reminds me that "Addie piddie dat funny." (Adam thinks that's funny.) Adam did laugh at that once, but for Oliver apparently this joke never gets old.
Oliver: I know something that is true. Before there were cars, people rode donkeys and camels.
Me: Yes, that's true. And also horses.
O: But not chickens.
Andrew was crying in the car. Oliver tried to soothe him by saying, "Don't cry baby. I'm not going to jail...I'm just going to preschool."
"Our chudders" = each other, as in "we love our chudders"
9/1/10
Oliver: Elliot, you are a baby.
Elliot: No! I NOT a baby.
O: Yes you are.
E: No! I Mister Elliot!
Me: Guys, you are getting too close to the edge of that wall, please come down.
O: Why? Because we are precious to you?
6/29/10
Elliot had a really tough time going to bed last night. He was just WIRED. He talks to himself a lot and this is what we heard from his crib.
"Mommy, Daddy, come back here RIGHT NOW. Nuggle [snuggle] me!! Nuggle me!! Itsy bitsy pidah down the water spout. Nuggle me!! No SUH. No WAY buddy. I want to nuggle. Dump onna bed, dump onna bed [jump on the bed]."
The other day Oliver asked what would happen if he drank molten lava. I said, "well, I think you'd be in pretty bad shape." He thought about that for a minute and then said, "you mean like a triangle?"
2/ 23/10
Up until now this has mostly been about Oliver's funny little sayings but Elliot is getting to be quite the little chatterbox. Here's a glossary of some of his favorite words
ay-yit = Elliot
niiilk = milk ahl fa ver = Oliver
backit ball = basketball (he is obsessed!!)
don don = Skippy John Jones (his favorite book)
boo bebbies = blueberries
hot dog = hot dog; synonym for nose; anything good or desirable
tank oo, tank oo, tank oo!! = thanks; or "give me that now!!"
down, down!! = please pick me up
2/16/10
Oliver: Mom, my nose really hurts."
Me: "Um, well does it only hurt when you pick it???"
Oliver: "Yes, but it really, really, really hurts."
Me: silence, clearly unaffected by the plight of my young son.
Oliver: "Mom, dis is a MOORGENCY. I sink I am BEEDING. I sink I'm going to DIE!!"
Oh, the drama of crusty boogers. We called Abby to get her medical opinion.
12/13/09
Oliver: "Mom, I'm a booger monster, 'cause I LOVE to eat boogers!"
10/15/09
The following is a conversation that Oliver and I have multiple times a day. The forbidden is clearly tantalizing.
"Mom?"
"Yes Ollie."
"We don't say dumb. Or stupid. Or damn it. Or idiot."
"No, Ollie we don't don't say those things."
"Only bad guys say dumb? And stupid? And damn it? And idiot?"
"Well even bad guys shouldn't say those words, they hurt feelings and make people feel bad."
"So we should never ever say dumb? Or stupid? Or damn it? Or idiot?"
"Yep."
A very few minutes later..."Mom? We don't say dumb? Or stupid? Or damn it? Or idiot?
For words that we supposedly don't use they sure get thrown around a lot around here!
9/6/09
Yesterday evening we had dinner with our friends the Becks at their pool. As we were leaving Lucy (4) said most beguilingly, "Good night, Oliver. I am going to dream about YOU tonight!" Oliver looked at her and replied frankly. "Good night, Lucy. I am going to dream about trains and race cars."
9/6/09
Current Ollie-isms:
"Comforful" comfortable.
"HOODY GOSH!!" This is a cross between oh my gosh! and holy cow!
"Fus-sings-foossy" First things first. As in "I sure will put my toys away, but fus-sings-foosy I need to find Lising (Lightning McQueen from the movie CARS).
9/1/09
Every night after the boys get into their pajamas they play "tickle tackle" before bed. You would think that wrestling and getting all riled up would make it harder for them to wind down, but Elliot actually seems to need it. He has a much easier time going to sleep if he can roughhouse a little just before bed. Last night, Ryan had just put Elliot down in his crib and was sitting on the couch reading a book to Oliver. Oliver turned to him and said, "Dad, I LOVE Elliot! He tackle us. He hit us. He push us down. He roll over our backs. I LOVE him!" I guess the nightly "tickle tackle" routine works for both of them.
8/24/09
" T'woo INFINIBY...and beyond!!" Thanks, Toy Story. Oliver has been shouting this phrase as he spreads his "wings" and jumps off the couch, coffee table, last few stairs. I have to agree with Woody, that what Oliver does is "not flying, it's falling with style." Luckily no harm done, yet.
8/8/09
"Yi-da-phone" This is what Oliver calls his most treasured musical instrument (his xylophone). He can hear the 'z' shound, he just can't say it. When I pointed out that it was actually pronounced ZYLOPHONE, his eyes lit up and he said "oh, you mean like YE-BRA?!
8/1/09
As I was tucking Oliver into bed tonight I pulled the covers up around his dear little shoulders and whispered, "I have a secret...want to hear? I love YOU!" Ollie smiled sleepily and said, "I have a secrick, too." I put my head close to his and he whispered in my ear, "I want to play with Jayla after we go to Target and buy me a race car birthday cake." I had to laugh. That was not exactly what I was expecting to hear!
7/31/09
"Ledonlame" For the life of him, Oliver cannot say "lemonade." He tries and tries but what comes out is always "ledonlame." I think it's pretty cute and by now I know what he's talking about.
7/21/09
We are out here in Kansas City staying with Ryan's brother Brad before the official Halverson reunion starts. Brad's kids are pet-sitting a ferret. Oliver is terrified of the ferret. When I asked him why he was so scared he told me, "He going to bite me. He going to goggle me up!"
7/17/09
"Mommy, you have pirate teeth." This was after we went blueberry picking--my teeth were blue stained and quite scary! He was right!
7/16/09
My mom sent Oliver some CARS Teddy Grahams. He was thrilled. "Mommy, I LOVE dese crackers!" "That's awesome buddy," I said absent mindedly without looking up. "We'll have to tell Nana how much fun they are to eat." "YEAH!! And to smoosh with your feet!" That got my attention. I looked over and saw that he was not in fact eating the crackers but had dumped out the entire box and was methodically stomping on them. So much for a new snack.
7/10/09
Ollie was admiring his temporary fire truck tattoos and he asked me if I liked them too. I said I loved 'em. Oliver looked at me thoughtfully and said, "Let's see here...I love race cars, Elli-lit love playing, Daddy love eating, and Mom love tattoos!" Yeah, buddy, you got us pegged.
7/2/09
This morning Oliver and I were reading an Easter book his Grandma Halverson sent us this past spring. It said something to the effect of "Jesus taught the people many new things." Ollie's eyes lit up and he said, "Like running somersaults!?!"
5/19/09
Ryan is out of town so I was putting the kids to bed by myself tonight. Oliver was being really difficult. I told him to pick up his toys or he wouldn't get to read a book. He said, "You make me so ANGY!" I was about to lose it so I said, harshly "Actually, Ollie, YOU are making me angry." He replied. "You not making good choices, Mommy. You being naughty."
5/14/09
Oliver was playing outside when he noticed an ant crawling on the ground. He started hitting it repeatedly with a toy. Soon there was not much left of the ant. Surveying his work he said somewhat dolefully "Mommy, dis ant feeling SAD."
4/17/09
What I hear at least once an hour:
"Wha ha DEWding, Mommy?"
"What say?" (Oliver's persistent fluid in his ears are taking a toll on his hearing. We are looking into our options).
EVERY time we go into our garage we have the same conversation: "[S]pidah webs not scavy. Pidahs not eat boys. Pidahs eat bugs. What bugs eat? Bugs eat leaves. We see lot bugs eat leaves at science museum." Evidently there are plenty of bugs in our garage to prompt his sudden interest in entomology.
Oliver:"Jesus is a good friend."
Me: "Yes, He is."
Oliver: "He not hit me. He not push me over."
"Tickle my 'squito bites": scratch my back
"Dat MADING": that's amazing!
"No scawy disisaurs": no scary dinosaurs. Oliver is really afraid of dinosaurs, especially that they will be hiding in our house.
Oliver:"I love Daddy."
Me: "I love Daddy, too."
Oliver: "No, you love Ellie. I love Daddy."
Oliver from the backseat: "Go fast Mommy. VROOOMM! I love dat sound!!"
Oliver likes to leave his pants down around his ankles after he uses the bathroom and hop back into the kitchen or his bedroom. He thinks this is hilarious. I don't. I tell him to pull up his pants. He does but sullenly reminds me that "Addie piddie dat funny." (Adam thinks that's funny.) Adam did laugh at that once, but for Oliver apparently this joke never gets old.
17 comments:
California's lucky to be getting you, although we're sad you're going to be even further away. We can meet up in New York, right?
Congrats on all the new news! At least we will have boys just one month apart...maybe they can be little buddies since now that you'll be in CA, we're hoping to get to spend more time with the Halversons. good luck with all of the changes! you guys are brave!
you will LOVE the Bay Area... and especially Walnut Creek... might be my favorite place i have ever lived. email or call me if/when you have any questions about the area. hopefully you connected with Ashley too. Good luck and congrats!!!
Good luck w/the move and congrats on baby #3. So sad we missed you guys at the branch reunion...we were in the middle of a house project gone nightmare. 3 boys and lots of moves...we have a lot in common!
I think I missed a few crucial posts about you being pregnant but congratulations on expecting another JOY. You're already a pro. Congratulations on the job too. Moving on up. We're in the middle of our one move and it is quite the ordeal- good luck!
congrats. I think you are the only people in the world that I know that have moved more than us. The thought makes me want to throw up! Congrats on another boy!
Anna-
Whaoo! Now we'll be close enough to visit. I live in Half Moon Bay, right on the coast (are you sure don't want to live on the California coast?) We need your expertise on Joy School, we're starting one in the fall. I'm looking forward to seeing you and hope you'll conside me a neighbor, of sorts, we are only a 40 minute drive away!
Kirstin Ballentine Fellars
Good luck on the move! A lot of my dad's family is located in Walnut Creek...it is a beautiful area!
New house, new baby, oh my! Good luck!
Congratulations on the new move and having another boy!!! Really exciting with all the changes. Good luck with everything. :)
Jill
like kimberly said - california is so lucky to be getting you!!! :)
ok, i love baby name talk. maybe aiden? i noticed the vowel starter that oliver and elliot have followed, and that's the first one that comes to mind. haha!
crazy side note - when we were deciding on a name for baby #3, i did this crazy thing - i insisted that the "ending" of the name not be the same as the other guys (so that one of them didn't end up feeling left out of the trend - bahahah!) - so there was the "un" name in jackson, the "y" name in brady, and naturally the other good boy-sounding option was "er." haha! so, parker and carter were my favorites - AND, rodney had been trying to get a carter since the very beginning of time, so alas, carter it was.
good luck on your new adventure(s). :) miss you!!!
Wow. That is a lot of big news. I'm so sad you are leaving Nashville, because we are hoping to get up to Ft. Campbell. Oh well, who knows where we'll end up?! Congrats on another boy. Awesome! I miss you guys!
Wow, big news!! sad that you are leaving the east coast-ish but it's not like we got to see each other much anyway, huh?? Hope the move goes smoothly!
Anna-
None of my children even started potty training until three if that's any solace. Good luck with your move. We'll definitely come and visit.
I'm so excited for your next big adventure! And excited you get to have another boy!!
I'd love to live in California some day.
We are so excited for you, and jealous too of course. I'm so excited you'll have another boy, you are so good at boys! As for names, how about William, Eric, Aaron, Isaac, Liam, Hyrum, or Ammon? I took those from my old "favorites" list because I like traditional strong names. Well, the last two are kind of "mormony" but in CA they would still go OK. Good luck!
Congrats on the pregnancy!!!! That's great. 3 boys sounds awesome. I love boys. COngrats to Ryan on the new promotion and I hope your move went great! Tell him Hi for me!
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