The Frederick Family

Caleb Turns Two!

2010-03-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

My little Caleb turns two today! Our little "Yubba" is growing up so fast and in order to remember you at this age here is a little bit about what you are up to these days:

First of all you are the cutest little brother and sweetest big brother. You absolutely love Josh and would follow him around for hours if he would let you. It's no surprise that Josh was one of your first words. To watch the two of you play together is so stinking cute! For the most part you and Josh get along very well, and when you don't for a little guy you can hold your own now.

You are currently really into coloring and being the drummer in whatever band Josh has created for the day. I should probably note here that the majority of what you and your brother do fight about is whether or not you get to play in the band or if Josh has decided it is a day you are not allowed to touch one of the umpteen guitars around our house. You love to sing and on most car rides will sing for the entire duration. While you are starting to talk more and more you regurally refer to me as daddy and your father as mommy. Kind of weird kiddo :0)

You are definately our accident prone child, but you are also our fearless child which significantly contributes to your injury count. Your latest and greatest injury is the leg you broke this week at the playground. You are successfully the first member of the Frederick family to break a bone (including your Mom and Dad.) Your Dad picked out a super cool glow in the dark cast for you to sport for the next four weeks. Dad and I joke that you've bumped your head so many times that perhaps we should have you wear a helmet to cut down on the amount of goose eggs your noggin suffers.

Your current favorite food is yogurt. You would seriously eat the entire large tub of yogurt if we let you. Your prefered drink of choice is hot chocolate or "chockee" (aka chocolate milk.) Much to my dismay you are still in love with your "be be" (blankie.) It's not the fact that you have an attachment to a blanket it's just that out of all the blankets that were hand made or given to us you chose the wierd flimsy fleece blanket that we somehow accumulated from an airline trip... Go figure.

You also sport some of the craziest hair styles. But that is in large part to the lovely cowlicks you were oh so lucky to inherit. Luckily though they can be tamed with a lot of hair gel and mommy styling.

I love watching your personality develop more and more and I look forward to watching you grow and change for this next year. But for today:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BOY!

Ethan Paul Frederick

2009-12-10T09:16:00.000-08:00

Ethan Paul Frederick

Born Thursday December 3, 2009

6lbs 7oz

Well Ethan came to us a little earlier than expected. Last Wednesday I went in for my routine 38 week appoiontment and found out that the fluid levels around Ethan were low again. So therefor due to concerns about growth restriction and fluid levels Dr. Drake scheduled me to be induced the next day. I was a little worried about how it would go since both my other boys came naturally and lets just say it's really weird going to bed knowing that in a few hours you will be having a baby.

Anyhow the Petocin started around 8:30 am. I am a big pain wimp so I of course opted for the epidural. At around noon I sent Paul to go get some lunch as the last time I was checked I was only at 4 cm so I figured we had a long ways to go. Well by 12:15 the nurse said I was 6cm. Then at 12:30 Dr. Drake came in to check the baby because he was facing up instead of down and in fifteen minutes I found myself at 8cm. Luckily Paul returned from his lunch break at this point (I made him eat in the cafeteria because I was starving and didn't want to see or smell food.) At around 12:45 or so Dr. Drake came back in to try and turn the baby which he did easily and then declared "ok you're ready to have this baby" Paul's response was "What happened to being only 8cm?" Upon which Drake responded "With 3rd babies there is no 8cm" So next the room transformation took place and everything was brought in for the baby and around 1:05 I started pushing... Well two whole pushes later I delivered Ethan. And I thought Caleb's delivery was easy :0)

Ethan seems so tiny compared to the other two boys. I love that I get to snuggle and hug him all I want and he doesn't (can't) wiggle away from mommy or tell her that her kisses are "yucky"
The one bummer was that the kids couldn't come visit their new brother in the hospital. This is their first meeting of baby brother Ethan. (Ethan's stoked if you can't tell) Overall Josh and Caleb are adjusting really well. Josh loves to hold him and be mommy's big helper. Caleb also likes the baby but also thinks he is a big toy. Much of our daily routine so far has been protecting Ethan from Caleb who WWF style tries to hug or "attack" the poor kid.

Life around here is definately busy but wonderful!

Harvest Party

2009-10-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

Cornerstone hosted a fantastic Harvest Party that the kids absolutely loved. Thank you to the Strandberg's and all the teens and parents that helped put this together for all the smaller kids! We took our little guys all dressed up... Caleb was a dragon and Josh's costume is technically a dinosaur, but if you ask him he was a lizard.

They were both a little unsure of the mini hayride... Caleb absolutely loved the bean bag toss.. Josh enjoyed it too. But his motivation was more for the candy prize at the end :0)The donut on a string game was pretty darn funny to watch the kids do. Josh luckily got a little help and thoroughly enjoyed his chocolate donut Paul and Caleb

The Last Month and a Half

2009-09-21T22:21:00.000-07:00

Once again updating our blog has once again fallen by the waste side. By the time I get done looking at everyone else's out there I never seem to have time to update my own. Anyhow... here are some pictures from our family beach trip.

Two super cute brothers playing in the water

Caleb absolutely loved playing in the sandJosh and my mom had a lot of fun writing his name in the sandJosh's way of saying cheese while flying his kite

For Josh's birthday his Great Grandma bought us tickets to the circus. We decided to leave Caleb at home, but the three of us had a great time. Watching the circus through Josh was so much fun! Although one of my favorite quotes from Josh was on the drive home when he told us "Mommy I want Caleb back, I need to see him"

Here is our best attempt at a family self portrait

The Three Amigos, The Three Musketeers, The Three Stooges, The Three Wisemen...and the Three Frederick's

2009-07-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

We had our ultra-sound today and we found out we're having another boy! Which means the great name debate/war begins. (For those of you that don't know Paul and I have a hard time agreeing on boy names)

Future Worship Leader

2009-06-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

So anyone that has spent an extended amount of time with my son has probably noticed his obsession with guitars... here he is rocking out a bit. Enjoy!

The Zoo Trip... and my new friend the zoo security guard

2009-05-29T12:13:00.001-07:00

Well Ang, Heather, and I took our kids to the zoo last week. The kids had a great time... that is as soon as we got mine out of the car. Some of you may have stopped on by Ang's blog and wondered about the picture of my lovely boys in the car. We decided to capture the moment of what two children who just arrived at the zoo look like when locked in the car by their super genious of a mother... Needless to say if any of you find yourself at the Oregon zoo and lock your keys or your kids or both in the car (like me) they are experts at breaking in! All together the kids were locked in the car less than 10 minutes.

You see while unloading the stroller and loading up lunches and the baby bag I failed to notice I left my purse in the back of the car... I also have no idea how I locked the car before this point. I attribute it to the lack of functioning brain cells that occurs when one is pregnant. Ang and I tried for a couple of minutes to try and explain to Josh how to undo his carseat although it was clear pretty quickly that this tactic wasn't going to work.
We then flagged down a passing security golf cart and they sent over the professional guard that broke into my car using what looked like a blood pressure cuff and a super long metal stick. He was definately mine and Josh's hero for the day. He also let me know that weekly he is bailing kids out of cars which made me feel a little better about the whole ordeal.

Once out of the car the kids had a blast. Check out Ang's blog for pictures.

Surprise!

2009-04-29T14:01:00.001-07:00

Paul and I got a recent surprise when we found that I am pregnant again! We always planned on having a third but my "plan" was to wait until Josh and Caleb were out of diapers before we added another diaper wearing individual to the family. So now my new "plan" is to have Josh fully potty trained by the first week of December! Because seriously unless you have triplets who wants three kids in diapers? :0)

Disaster relief

2009-03-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

What happens when mom and dad both come down with the flu? Our own personal natural disaster (aka Josh) swarms through every room in the house. If I knew where my camera was I would take a picture... but's lets just say our entire house looks as though hurricane Katrina blew through here.

Child Care

2009-01-21T08:49:00.000-08:00

Paul just found out that he got the position as a full time permanent sub through the rest of this school year. (Yeah!) But now this means that we both will be working full time through mid June. So I was wondering if anyone out there in the blogging universe knows someone that might be interested in providing some child care. We are looking for someone to watch the boys (ages 2.5 and 10 months) two days a week. Ideally it would be probably either Monday and Tuesday or Tuesday and Wednesday from about 9:30/10ish to 4pm, but we are flexible. I do have a back up plan of using a childcare center we took Josh to when he was a baby, but it would be nice if we could find more of a "home" environment. So if you are interested or you know someone that might be please e-mail me at fredericknatalie@hotmail.com. Thanks!

You Think I Would Know Better

2009-01-20T08:08:00.000-08:00

I have lived in Troutdale since the 5th grade, so why on earth did I let Paul and I buy a house in Troutdale? I should have known better. The wind is abnoxious to say the least! Although as a girl who's lived here most her life I cant remember a wind storm worse than this last one. I don't know about anyone else out there but I am definately ready for all of our extreme winter storms to end! This latest blow from mother nature has blown down 2 trees in our yard and removed a good portion of our shingles from our roof. (There goes our tax return and any sort of stimulus check Mr. Obama had planned) My parents lost all but 3 panels of their fence and also had a tree fall. (narrowly missing one of their cars) I know it could have been worse and I'm thankful one of our huge trees didn't fall on either our house or the neighbors but seriously, Mother Nature give it a rest!

I swear my next house will be deep into Gresham and away from the wind... (And hopefully with a large jacuzzi tub!)

December Picture Catch Up

2008-12-17T23:06:00.000-08:00

Once again it has been awhile since our last post. Here are some pictures from our family trip to zoo lights and decorating our Christmas tree. Enjoy!

Halloween

2008-11-04T21:38:00.000-08:00

At first Josh refused to put on his costume. Which figures considering he wore it most days leading up to Halloween. Luckily though as soon as we got to downtown Gresham and he saw all the other kids he quickly suited up.

Josh as a Dragon aka "aya" if you speak Joshese

Caleb as our little penguin aka "awa" in Joshese

And in case you were looking to expand your Joshese animal vocabulary see the below translation chart:

Ah Ah = Monkey

Aya = Dragon, Dinosaur, or Aligator

Owaa = Giraffe

El = Elephant

Awa = Bird

Buba = Bear or Sheep

Dow = Cow or Horse

Amma = Dear

Dee = Any sort of insect or bug

Doggie = Dog

Kitty Cat = Cat or Lion

What cracks me up is that he clearly can say doggie or kitty cat yet everything else has it's own name.

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-25T23:19:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from our trip to the pumpkin patch. We on Wednesday afternoon and it was great. There was barely anyone there. Josh absolutely loved the corn maze. We let him choose which way we would go and he thought that was so cool! For a toddler I must say he had a pretty descent sense of direction.

We forgot... ok I forgot to move the stroller or the bjorn to the other car so we put the pumpkin cart to an alternative use

Someday there might be an end to this!

2008-10-03T00:19:00.000-07:00

There are monumetntous days in ones life which fill your heart with joy: A first date, your wedding day, the birth of your children, and the day your oldest son goes pee in the potty!!!!! That's right folks, Josh went pee in the potty for the first time! Now I must confess that it was most likely by accident. He actually first pooped in the bathtub so I then immediately moved him to sit on the potty just to get him out of the way and keep him from touching the poop. The next thing Paul and I know he's saying "Uh oh stinky mama" (stinky is his universal word for bodily excretions) and low and behold the kid is peeing in the potty. You would have thought we won the lottery based on Paul's and my reaction.

Anyhow I know that we are no where close to actually having a potty trained child but oh my does it give me hope that someday I might only have one child in diapers!

Looking For A Cheap Date

2008-09-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

I'm not one to blog about work much, but it is that once a year time when Regal Cinemas partners with the Oregon Food Bank to bring you the Cans Film Festival.

So if you want to support a good cause and a super cheap date or family night out read on.

This Thursday the 25th bring 3 cans of food (or non-perishable items) and you recieve one free movie ticket and one small popcorn for free, per person! At my theatre that's a $16.00 value. (I know crazy that prices are that high right? But alas I have nothing to do with our pricing scheme) FYI: there are a couple films that are exluded from this deal so check the paper or online for those. There also is no limit to how many films you see. If you want to make a day of it just bring 3 cans for each show.

The Once A Month Blog Post

2008-09-13T21:15:00.000-07:00

Well it has been about a month since my last post. So in case you were wondering here is a look at what we were up to this last month:

We took the kids to the zoo with my sister.

Paul's brothers Patrick and Blake came to stay with us. While they were here Paul took them on a day long trek through the Gorge for some male family bonding and blistering. (Patrick and Blake are Paul's half brothers from different sides of the family tree so it was the first time they had met each other)

Josh began riding his horse. This is now a favorite past time for the kid.

Just for fun can you spot what's wrong with the above picture?

Some fun times were had on multiple outings to the Blue Lake Splash Park.

Caleb continued to grow cuter

And I celebrated my 27th birthday

Well that's our last month in a nut shell

Happy Anniversary!

2008-08-07T07:25:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday Paul and I celebrated our seven year anniversary. We were able to get out of the house kid free that night thanks to my mom for an evening out. So how did we celebrate you ask? Well Paul graciously accompanied me to IKEA to buy some shelves I've been wanting, followed by a yummy dinner at Szechuan. Next, the romance lead us to roam the aisles of Fred Meyer to buy a potty seat and a weeding hoe :-) Now while this might not scream romance to you, we had a great time. We laughed at the fact that we can't remember the last time we were in a store together where we didn't have a kid in tow. When you have errands to run it is usually one parent with the kids, two parents with the kids, or by yourself. So it was nice just to spend some time alone together. Even if it was discussing the pros and cons of a stand alone kid potty vs. a potty seat.

Here's a picture of that wonderful day 7 years and 2 days ago when I married my best friend :0)

A Soiled Mommy

2008-08-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed that the massive blowouts never seem to happen at home. This morning I had to take Caleb to the hospital due to a high fever (he's doing better now) and while the doctor was listening to his heartbeat he had the blowout to end all blowouts! Mind you he was sitting in my lap. I kid you not, I think their was more poop in my lap then in his diaper. It expelled from not only the top but both leg holes. Needless to say I got a commemorative pair of scrubs to take home with me. This was soil #1 of the day.

A little later while being burped Caleb did his usual spit up. So I pulled him in front of me to clean him up a little when round 2 came in the form of projectile spit up down the front of my shirt. Let's call this soil #2

The 3rd bodily fluid to make it on to mommy came from Josh when he decided to wipe his nose in my hair and later on my commemorative scrubs.

And finally after I put Josh to bed tonight I heard "uh oh mamma! uh oh." I paused a second to listen a little more, trying to decide in my mind if this was a uh oh I threw my doggie out of bed or something more. Then came a very forceful "Mama!" So in I went. Here I made the fatal mistake of not turning on the light when I went in so it took me a second to realize the problem. As I approached Josh's crib I noticed that he had pulled his pants and diaper down. My first thought was that his diaper rash was bothering him. That is until I reached the crib and found myself standing in a puddle of wet urine soaked carpet. At this point Josh was beaming saying "Mama, stinky" and pointing to the floor. (Stinky is Josh's universal word for all things excreted.)

So after a full day of my children's bodily fluids finding their way on to my body I decided that blogging about it would be therapeutic. Which will be quickly followed by a shower! I guess the bright side is that maybe Josh is trying to tell me he is ready to start potty training :0)

Brotherly Love

2008-07-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm back to work it has been hard to find time to blog. So since all of my blogging time lately has been spent catching up on other friends blogs, I figured I should finally make a new post. So here is a quick post with some cute pictures of our boys:

Josh pointing out all the fish pictures on the back of the Goldfish package.

This is a good view of Caleb's natural mohawk!

The Last Month Or So...

2008-06-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a brief update of what the Frederick family has been up to lately:

Paul officially graduated with his Master's Degree in teaching. It has been a long road and we are glad that it is now done. Now all he needs is a job next fall!

Josh sitting at the table coloring while Daddy grades papers.

Caleb keeps getting cuter by the day!

Josh discovered how to climb up onto our coffee table and has decided it's a good place to watch TV.
My grandmother came over for lunch and here is a cute picture of her and Caleb

Josh decided his room needed a new look so he decided to tear off his wall paper one day during his nap time.

We went to a friends house who had a trampoline where Josh discovered he can jump. He loved it, but he now always tries to jump on couches, chairs, and beds every chance he can get.

Some other highlights from the last month for us included attending our church family retreat. We had a great time. Josh also had his first trip to Urgent care when he fell and knocked his head on our coffee table. He bit through his bottom lip pretty good, and I learned how much mouth wounds bleed! That was not such a great time.

Tag anyone?

2008-05-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

Wow 2 blogs in one week!

Four jobs I've had:
1) Every position at a movie theatre
2) Copy machine girl (at OSU)
3) Sunday school coordinator
4) UPS (I did that 2 week christmas break stint one year home from college... It was awful)

Four movies I've watched more than once:
1) Gone with the Wind
2) An Affair to Remember
3) The Never Ending Story
4) Knotting Hill (The first time Paul asked me out on a date was to this movie which I had already seen twice, needless to say I fell asleep... oops!)

Four places I've lived:
1) Troutdale, OR
2) Bend, OR
3) Corvallis, OR
4) Woodinville, WA

Four TV shows I watch:
1) Grey's Anatomy
2) Lost
3) Scrubs
4) Gilmore Girls

Four places I've been:
1) Vancouver Canada
2) Mexico
3) Hawaii
4) Union, Oregon

Four people who e-mail me regularly:
1) My bible study girls
2) My book club girls
3) Work
4) All the accounts I have set up for automatic payment

Four of my favorite foods:
1) Chocolate, in it's many wonderful forms!
2) Mashed potatoes and gravy
3) Egg in Toast aka: hole in one's, moon over miami eggs, or eggs in a basket
4) Smoothies

Four Places I would like to visit:
1) Disney World
2) New York City
3) Europe
4) The Carribean islands aboard a Carribean Cruise

Four things I'm looking forward to in the coming year:
1) Watching our boys grow
2) Installing wood floors in the dining room (whatever genius came up with carpeting dining rooms obviously did not have children)
3) Paul getting a teaching job
4) Finally re-doing our bathroom

Four people I'm tagging:
I think that most everyone had been tagged at this point, so I will just "tag" anyone who is left out there.

One month down

2008-05-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

Ok so I know it's been awhile since my last post. We have successfully made it through month one of being a family of four. Here's a short re-cap for all you out there. The first week home from the hospital Josh got the flu bug for the first time so not only did we adjust to having a newborn home we got to experience the fun of a vomiting child. Unfortunately during week 3 Josh was revisited by the stomach bug. On a more happy note Josh does really well with Caleb. Every morning when we go in to get him out of bed he says "Hi! da's dady?" (translated: Hi Where's the baby?) Although a lot of time now a days is spent keeping Josh from accidentally harming Caleb with his love. For instance Josh will try and climb in the bouncer seat with Caleb in it. Push the swing as hard as he can. He loves to try and give the baby his binki whether Caleb wants it or not. The worst was the other day I came into the room to find Josh shoving his tooth brush in Caleb's mouth trying to brush his non-existent teeth! Here are a couple pictures from the last few weeks, Enjoy!

Caleb cuddling

Just hanging out

Caleb's baby dedication at Cornerstone

Josh sitting in Caleb's bassinet

Josh decided he would start spring cleaning and emptied out the drawer in the kitchen that had his bibs and dish rags in it.

This used to be where I kept my pasta so there was some old broken pasta pieces in here which Josh picked out one by one and took to the trash. It was pretty cute.

Welcome Baby Caleb!

2008-03-30T12:28:00.001-07:00

Caleb Ralph Frederick

Born March 26th at 1:37 AM

7lbs 2 oz

(For those of you that are curious about the Ralph...Ralph is my father's name, Josh has Paul's father's name as his middle name)

Frederick Family zoo trip and man's best friend

2008-03-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

Our original plan yesterday was to go to the zoo after Josh's nap. Then I woke up saw the sun and decided we were going to the zoo right then! So I went into super mom mode to get the crew out the door as quickly as possible. (Much to my husbands dismay since I dragged him out of bed. Although don't feel to bad for him he got some Starbucks out of the deal.)

Anyhow the zoo was great. Josh was actually really into the animals this time which made it more fun for mom and dad too! It was also great because he rode in his stroller for about 2/3 of the time. This is a quite an accomplishment because Josh doesn't like stroller confinement very much. Then the other 1/3 of the time he ran. He ran all through the Africa section. Which made my latest purchase well worth the price. Now I once scoffed at the child on a leash concept, until I had Josh. My beloved son is not one to walk next to you and hold your hand when outdoors. On the contrary, he has one speed and one purpose: run as fast as you can in the opposite direction of your parents. Now Paul was appauled (ha ha) at the fact that I even bought the dog backpack/child restraint. He at first refused to use it. Oh but then, that little dog packpack became our new best friend. Now I know there are some of you out there that find this concept absolutely ridiculous, but for us it was great. Josh had the illusion of freedom why slyly being directed by mom and dad. And yes, we got some funny looks but I really didn't care. I had a happy kid vs. one who would have entered meltdown mode had we forced him to be carried or ride in the stroller. All in all it was a great day... until that night when I could barely walk I was so sore. I was completely and utterly exhausted, but then again I am two days from having this baby! (I'm being induced Thursday)

Well here are some pictures from our day at the zoo, enjoy!

A Good Morning

2008-03-06T09:13:00.000-08:00

For the first time in I can't remember how long I woke up before Josh today! Now this may seem silly to some, but as a full time working mom (who works mostly nights) and is 9 months pregnant struggling with some wicked insomnia the concept of rising before I absolutely have to has been quite foriegn to me. Needless to say I actually fell asleep fairly easy last night... (I had Paul talk politics in bed and it did the trick and I found myself nodding off.. ha ha) It was so nice to wake up take a long hot shower and get ready without Josh trying to terrorize my bathroom. It's nice to not feel like a zombie and actually feel as though I have some energy for the day! Here's hoping it lasts :0)

New Computer Armoire

2008-02-19T20:06:00.000-08:00

So in cleaning out our third bedroom in anticipation for baby "no name" we bought a computer armoire on craigslist so we could move our "office" to our family room. When we first moved it into the house Josh thought it was really fun to climb into. Then Paul made a game out of hiding him in different cabinets and areas of the armoire and playing peek a boo. As you can see from the picture he thought it was pretty great!

Finally I'm blogging again

2008-02-11T09:10:00.000-08:00

Ok so it has been quite awhile since I last blogged. Sorry :0( It's been busy times around the Frederick household!

About a week and a half ago I took Josh to the children's museum. He had been sick the week before and we were both going a little stir crazy. While I must say I was exhasted after chasing my son from one end of the museum to the other, we had a lot of fun. I now kind of miss the days when Josh just walked. When out in public it seems Josh has one speed: run as fast as you can away from mom. I look at is as my excersice program to help combat excess baby weight gain. Or at least it helps to counteract the enormous sweet tooth I have with this second pregnancy... at least that's what I keep telling myself :0)

A busy but good Christmas!

2007-12-28T12:50:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas started a day early this year with the arrival of Paul's dad and youngest brother Patrick arriving from San Diego on the 23rd. While they were only here for 24 hours, it was great to see them. In the short time they were here Paul and his dad wall mounted our TV, hung new blinds in the living room and dining room, and of all things bleached our kitchen sink :0)

While over the next two days we bounced around to four different Christmas events we had a great time and Josh did wonderful.

Here are some pictures from our Christmas:

Josh and Daddy

Josh lovin his new guitar

Opening presents with cousin Trevor

Josh was really facinated with bows

Playing the organ with Aunt Kristina

Clackamas Mall

2007-12-17T21:31:00.000-08:00

So I took Josh to brave the mall today and we experienced our first major store meltdown in Macy's. He started to make a huge scene in his stroller and I made the fatal mistake of thinking that if I took him out and held him things would be better. Not so much. Needless to say I made a mad dash for the play area with my screaming child forced back into his stroller thrashing violently about from side to side.

Yet, Josh's tantrum is not the point of my blogging this evening. My thoughts are more centered around the new improved Clackamas Mall. Now mind you it's been awhile since I've been there and I know a lot of these renovations have been done for quite some time now, new restaurants, stores, ect... but still I must commend them for taking out the play place of fruit and granola bars. For all I know this change was made years ago, but today was the first time I noticed it. (Probably because today was the first day I desperately needed a place for my son to burn off some energy)

As a kid I remember the old tugboat that used to be there. When the tug boat was removed and replaced by giant plastic slices of pinneaple to climb on I remember thinking as a teenager that's the dumbest idea for a play place I've ever seen. I mean really to think that someone got paid to design that fruity paradise is quite funny, but even more ridiculous is the fact that then a group of mall directors thought: "That's a great idea! I bet all kids would love to climb on plastic granola bars!"

Well anyhow all this to say, I'm glad they got rid of "health food land" and gave the play area a much needed upgrade.

It's Another Boy!

2007-11-14T15:04:00.000-08:00

So we had our Ultrasound today. As the tech was getting the image ready to check the gender Paul immediately chimes in "Wait, was that a projectile I just saw between the legs" Upon which she informed us that Yes, it was another boy. Seriously, only my husband would substitute a word like projectile for penis.

I'll be honest there was a little part of me that pouted for a short time since it wasn't a girl, but I'm excited that Josh will have a brother so close in age! Besides Paul says it's all part of his master plan to get his 4-5 kids. He knows that his chances for continued procreation are significantly better as long as we still don't have a little girl.

Halloween Scrooge :0)

2007-11-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's not that I am against Halloween or anything. But last night Paul had class so I just planned on having a quiet evening at home with Josh passing out some candy. That was until my mother called yesterday morning. The conversation went something like this:

Mom: "So when can I expect my Grandson to come knocking on my door"
Me: "Well... I was just kind of planning on staying in tonight"

Mom: "What do you mean, you have to come show off Josh in his costume"

Me: "Well I would if I had bought a costume"

Mom: "Gasp! You didn't get a costume! .... (followed by a long winded tongue lashing on how I was being a Halloween Scrooge, and that it's not fair to deny grandparents the opportunity to see their Grandson dressed as something cute)

Mom: "Don't you want cute pictures of your son?"

Me: "Yes, but it's not as though he understands Trick or Treating, or has older siblings to tag along with so then it just becomes an expensive picture"

Mom: "You are absolutely ridiculous!" (followed by another long winded tongue lashing on how I am cost consiencous, or as my mother calls it cheap)

Needless to say I returned home from work and picking up Josh at daycare to find a Halloween costume for the little guy waiting for us. So, Josh got dressed and we went to Grandma's and Grandpa's. (And a few of their neighbors houses so Grandma could show him off)

I must say he did make one cute little penguin waddling around. We ended up with some cute pictures and some good laughs, and Josh really enjoyed handing out candy to the other kids. Thanks Mom!

We are still alive!

2007-10-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have been a horrible blogger lately... with that said here is a small update on the Frederick's: Everything with baby #2 is going good. We find out if it is a boy or girl in two and a half weeks! Paul is busy with school, I'm busy with work, and Josh is busy growing up. He just learned how to ride the below pictured rocker toy and it is his new favorite obsession to climb up and down off it. He also is finally getting another tooth in. That brings the grand total to 4. You can kind of see them all in the picture.

Josh's 1st Birthday Part 1

2007-09-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

So last weekend we made the trek to Union Oregon where Paul is from (which is outside LaGrande about 4.5 hours away) While there we had the first of two party's to celebrate Josh's first Birthday here are some pictures from the trip:

Josh with his Great Grandma Judy

Josh thinking Great Grandma Lucy's necklace was a present for him

Paul's sister Lindzey made Josh his very own birthday cake

Josh discovering that touching the candle hurts, when daddy's not quick enough to stop him

More to come on the second party here in town later!

The little things...

2007-09-10T23:10:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the simple gifts are the best ones. My birthday was yesterday and it was a busy day between church, a bridal shower, and a family dinner to celebrate. But while away at the bridal shower my wonderful husband cleaned the house for me :0) Not to say that he doesn't help normally. But he got so into it, he cleaned out and organized Josh's closet... which really needed to be done.

For a full time working mom this was a great gift!

Thanks honey I love you!

I like many have been Tagged :0)

2007-08-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (If you don’t have a blog, email me)
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

So here it goes...

1. When I was two I had to have my tounge sewn back on. I slipped in the bathtub, hit my chin on the ledge and just bit the sucker off.

2. I love old movies and musicals! Ang if you ever feel the urge I own both Casablanca and Gone with the Wind and I would be more than happy to let you borrow it :0)

3. When I was little I hated that my name couldn't be shortened to a cute nickname. It drove me crazy that the best you could get was Nat. And I didn't not want to be called something that had the same name as those annoying little bugs.

4. Contrary to popular belief I do not "laugh all the time." Since I married my wonderful husband I have heard the phrase "you must just laugh all the time with him," about a zillion times. I mean don't get me wrong I find my husband very funny, yet let's just say jokes have a time and a place and turning a squabble into a comic stand up routine sometimes doesn't turn out to well. (Let's just say he has a 50/50 chance of it backfiring on him) Often he has to work harder to get me rolling with laughter because I've heard most of his one liners numerous times and can tell what joke is about to come next. Yet, I wouldn't have it any other way. I can't imagine being married to someone super serious.

5. I love to sneak up on my husband and scare the begeebers (is that even a word?) out of him. Paul has such a high pitched girly scream, it truly makes me laugh every time!

6. I often make up songs for Josh. His favorite song that calms him down is a silly one I made up one day because I couldn't remember the real words to the song.

7. One of my favorite breakfast foods is what I call "egg in toast." It has other names too but basically you cut a hole in a piece of bread and cook a over easy egg in the middle and add some salt and pepper. Then when you eat it the egg yolk gets all over the bread and it is truly fantastic. Wow, now I really want this. But alas I'm not supposed to have uncooked eggs while pregnant so I guess I'll just have a boring bowl of cereal instead :0(

8. Paul and I usually have some sort of card tournament going on. We usually rotate between rummy and cribbage. Our last one was a rummy 500 tournament of seven games of which I was the grand champion. :0) On a side note if you don't like playing games with those people who make up a dance and whoop and holler and remind you for the next couple of days that they won, you should probably avoid games with my husband. Especially since he hasn't gotten to dance in awhile! Did I mention that I am still reigning champion?

Well that is it.. I would tag eight people like I'm supposed to but all the bloggers I know have already been tagged. So if you're reading this and have not participated in this excercise, please consider yourself tagged.

Josh's First Zoo Trip

2007-08-20T10:13:00.001-07:00

I've been really bad about blogging lately... Over the last month we found out that I am pregnant again! We weren't planning on having baby number 2 so soon, but we are excited all the same.

We took Josh to the zoo for the first time last week. Mind you it was $2 Tuesday and that place was a zoo. (Sorry I had to throw in the pun!)

Anyhow Josh did great and really loved the elephants and the polar bears. I will say I have never seen the polar bears so active. They were swimming back and forth doing flips and launching themselves off the rocks so it was good entertainment.

Enjoy the pics!

Pool Time!

2007-07-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

I havn't been very good about blogging lately. We've been rather busy. Paul has started his MAT program and also Paul's youngest brother Patrick, who lives in San Diego, is staying with us for a couple of weeks.

So Patrick and I took a trip to Wal-Mart where he helped convince me that Josh needed a pool. Well we got the Patrick approved pool home. (The one that I originally picked was a small baby pool. Which Patrick quickly told me was "stupid" even for a baby) So once at home Patrick and I began the assembly process. Which means we took turns using our hand pump to blow up the pool. (Boy, did I wish I had Dan and Ang's handy little electric pump)

45 minutes later, we were done, and about 3 hours later the water was warm enough that Josh wouldn't scream as soon as his toes hit the water.

Needless to say Josh loved the pool, and all the accessories. Thanks, Uncle Patrick!

Patrick decided that Josh needed a pool playmate!

Which then lead to Paul getting in too!

New Discoveries

2007-06-21T13:24:00.001-07:00

So Josh discovered our tupperware drawer yesterday. Wow, I never knew tupperware could be so entertaining! First Josh would have to pick up a piece, test it for quality control (by shoving it in his mouth or licking it) then he would throw it as hard as he could down on the ground. I found it almost as wonderful as he did simply because it seemed to hold his attention for more than approximately two minutes. Then the phone rang so I went to answer it and when I returned to the kitchen this is what I found:

He managed to get in but couldn't quite figure out how he was supposed to get out :0)

The Countdown Begins!

2007-06-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited for Ikea! I want to know what the something special is that they are giving to the customers in line on opening morning. According to the website you can begin camping outside the store on July 23rd... as crazy as this may sound I would totally be up for it if I didn't have a baby at home.

The Month of May Part 2

2007-05-26T23:03:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot... Josh also went in the swimming pool for the first time.

The Month of May

2007-05-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

Wow so we havn't blogged in a long time! Mainly because Paul erased the camera program from the computer again so I couldn't upload pictures for awhile. Well that and life has been pretty busy/chaotic around the Frederick household lately. So here is a re-cap of the last month:

May was a month of many firsts for Josh. He rode on an airplane to meet up with Paul's family for his Dad's birthday in Las Vegas. (He handled the plane great compared to his dad :0)

This was the first time Josh got to see his Grandpa Joe and Uncle Patrick

We went to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay:

I don't know what exactly Paul and Patrick are doing in this pose! The remote looking things they are holding are the self guided tour wands. They act somewhat like a cell phone and tell you about each of the exhibits. They were actually pretty cool.

We also trekked it all the way to the opposite end of the strip to watch the Treasure Island Pirate Ship Battle. Anybody who has ever done this can sympathise... oh did I mention we had the stroller and baby too! That made it all the more exahsting. Anyhow we made it down with 20 minutes to spare and then right before it was suppose to start it was cancelled due to high winds. Paul was pretty bummed. But we did get a picture in front of the ships. Needless to say we took a taxi back to the Monte Carlo.

We had a great time while we were there. Even though it was only a few days away it was a nice trip!

Bad to the Bone

2007-04-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

So every Saturday Josh hangs out with his Grandpa Ralph. Well Grandpa thought it would be funny to give him one of those washable tatoos. Which was funny when Paul found it while putting Josh in his pajamas later that night. In case you were wondering what it said, it is a tri-met tatoo that says "Safety to the Max"

Doing good so far..

2007-04-05T15:58:00.000-07:00

Little one had his six month doctor's appointment this week. (doctor not pictured) He's very healthy. 50th % for height/weight but 75th for head.. Maybe he'll be smart... or maybe he'll just be top heavy, who knows? He also was given a bunch of shots which he was not thrilled about. However, he slept a lot afterwards which we were thrilled about!

Dad and Josh

2007-03-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

This is just a cute picture of Josh and Paul :0) For those of you that haven't heard Paul was accepted into the teaching program at Concordia University. Starting this June he will begin the full time program and be done Summer of 08. Due to the full time demands of school Paul has stepped down from his General Manager position at the theatre. He is now going to work as a part time Assistant Manager at the theatre while he completes the program.

6 Months Old!

2007-03-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

Getting so big!

(And drooling a ton, notice the big wet spot on the bed!)

New Foods!

2007-03-19T00:15:00.000-07:00

So over the last week we have introduced Josh to baby food. So far his horizons have expanded to rice cereal, bananas, and peaches. Don't worry all food was first tasted by dad for quality control...

Insert funny Paul story: So about a year after we were married Paul decided that he wondered what baby food tasted like. His logic was that it must be good for you and it's a cheap snack in a jar. Well I came home one night to find that Paul had bought an assortment of flavors (Including the meat varieties) of said mush and had sadly come to the conclusion that there was a reason adults don't eat baby food.

Back to the baby now... Josh seems to enjoy all of his new foods, and I especially love some of the new faces he makes as he tries to figure out how to eat this new stuff!

New Toys!

2007-03-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

Josh loves his excersaucer! It's really fun to watch him try and put everything in his mouth. The excersaucer will sing music whenever you bounce or move this one toy, which royally confuses and often startles Josh. You can see his little mind saying "where the heck did that come from?" which makes Mom and Dad laugh pretty hard. Paul and I often wonder how his little mind must look at the world.

2007-02-26T00:05:00.000-08:00

Well better than late than never right? I guess we are officially bloggers now.