Christmas Letter 2010

Dear Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas! We have been so blessed this year and want to share a little of what is going on in our lives with you!

BJ turned two in October and continues to amaze us with everything he does and says. He is growing up quickly and loves to help Mommy and Daddy with cooking and working on the cars. He is loves of everything that is trains, cars, and trucks. His vocabulary grows daily, and he is putting multiple words together in phrases in English (and some Spanish). His health continues to be a prayer of ours, but has dramatically improved this year after moving him into a home daycare Nov. 2009.

Cassi graduated from residency in July and was so relieved to be finished with her training. She was so fortunate to take a job with an amazing clinic in Highlands Ranch, CO and loves the relaxed schedule and time to be a mom (plus no overnights at work!) She also volunteers twice a month at a clinic for those who have no insurance, and uses her Spanish skills there. She continues to love to run (completing many 5K’s and a half marathon this fall), read, work out and spend time with her boys. She loves being a mom!

Brandon has continued to work at C.H. Robinson in logistics (transportation). There have been some changes in the office, and Brandon is now in charge of the flatbed division at work. He absolutely adores his little boy and the two of them look forward to “Daddy night” every Thursday night. They of them hang out and often go out to dinner together while Mommy works late. Although there are times when BJ clearly prefers Mom- Dad is his best bud! Brandon continues to work on multiple projects around the house- building a deck this summer and working on his new project car- a 1967 Nova.

We continue to love living in Colorado, and sometimes wish we had more time to savor all it has to offer! God has blessed us immensely this year, and we are taking time in this crazy season to thank him for all he has done, including blessing us with you, great friends and family. Feel free to come by and visit anytime- we have a great guestroom!

Merry Christmas!

Brandon, Cassi, and BJ Workman

I am officially not fun!

So tonight BJ was in a bit of a funk, that may be an understatement. I came home around 6:20 p.m. to find Brandon and BJ cuddling in the dark in his rocking chair. We're not exactly sure what was wrong with BJ- no fever, but crabby and didn't want to eat, so Brandon decided to cuddle with him. BJ decided after a while to cuddle with mom, so I sat and rocked in the dark. After a little while, he starts whispering to me about what is fun.

BJ: "Fun Kirina"

Me: "Yes Kirina is fun."

BJ: Fun Kirina, fun Papa (Kirina's and thus BJ's name for her dad)

Me: Yes Kirina and Papa are fun, what about Stefanie (our sitter)?

BJ: Fun Kirina, fun Papa, fun Stefanie

. . .

It continues:

We did get to-

Fun Kirina, fun Papa, fun Stefanie, fun Bella, fun Wolfgang, fun Bella, fun Kirina (meaning Katarina his cousin), fun Matt, fun Maria, fun Nicholas, fun Grammy, fun Papa, Grandpa, Grandma, fun church, fun milk, fun water, fun trains

Me: Is Daddy fun?

BJ: no

Me: Is Mommy fun?

BJ: no

And just so you don't think it is a fluke, I asked about other people, who eventually made the list, but even after asking 3 times, Mommy and Daddy are not fun.

I guess it's official, it starts so young, your parents are not fun. :)

P.S. Congrats if you made the list!

What to post. . .

Isn't it funny that sometimes when you have been so busy, you aren't even sure what to post about. . . not that there is too much, but that your mind is a whirlwind and nothing seems post-worthy. Funny. I guess the news. . . we recently had family pictures- which I absolutely love!! We met a photographer friend of mine at a park and went to town and they came out great! (You can see some in the photos in the margin).

BJ has hit the age where he can be hysterical in one breath and oh so exasperating in the next. It is a fun time seeing all he is learning, but can be challenging as a parent since he has strong opinions and wants to do it all himself. Cute things he has done lately:

At Thanksgiving Brandon's sister Jenny came out with her family and her golden retriever Barney. BJ loves dogs and always asks to "touch" the dogs, but doesn't want them to touch him. Sad actually since he was with Pedro for 7 months of his life, but that was a lifetime ago. Anyway, he finally warmed up to Barney but would put his hand out and tell Barney "no" if he got closed to him. So the other day Brandon was talking with BJ about visiting "Bella's house" Brandon's niece's house- which BJ loves. BJ went through everyone in the house- Matt, Maria, Wolfgang, Katarina (whom he calls Kirina), and Bella, and . . . doggie. Brandon tried to tell BJ that the doggie was gone- he went night- night, so BJ said night, night Barney. We hadn't said his name or anything but he remembered clearly.

I'm sure I've mentioned BJ's love for oreos/cookies recently. I am still quite against sugar on a regular basis- I know call me narrow minded- but Brandon has shared his chocolately goodness with BJ on Daddy night. Recently, BJ made cookies for Daddy at his sitter's house and wanted to share them with Daddy. Since they are not BJ friendly, Brandon said he could have an oreo instead. At the end of dinner. So BJ climbed into his chair, ate one bite and asked, "cookie?". To which we replied "No you have to eat your dinner." We spent half the night telling him to eat more after asking after every bite if he could have his cookie. But man, bring the cookie out and tell him he needs to finish his x food- he double fists it into his mouth in order to get the cookie. I'm sure he gets this from me!

Also, BJ has recently learned the word "touchdown" and the moves that go with it, too bad it wasn't enough for his team to win the other night :) But we still have random "Go Big Red" shout outs from the little man- a true fan!

Anyway, that's enough from me for now. Hopefully I'll get on our Christmas letter soon, although I'm sure it won't be news to anyone who faithfully reads our blog- thanks friends!

P.S. Our photographer can be found at www.brynmarae.com- she's amazing!

BJ at 2

Nicknames: Beej, little man, stinker, lovebug, bug, Captain, bud, Stink, Little stink,

Weight & Height: 26 lbs 14oz (25%) and 32" (25%)
Hair: Blonde
Favorite foods: hot dogs, bread, fruit, berries, applesauce, cheerios, cookies (Oreos), "bark" - granola bars, squash/pureed pumpkin, muffins
Favorite toys: trains and cars
Favorite stuffed animal:"Nitro" his giraffe, his "doggie"
Bedtime: 7 p.m.
Wake-up time: 6 a.m.- 7 a.m.
Naps: mostly one nap a day for 2-3 hours
Favorite person: Mommy and Daddy- depends on the day, but also talks about Nicholas and Bella a lot
Latest Accomplishment:walking up and down the stairs, picking up more Spanish words, understanding more too, and giving lots more hugs (Mommy and Daddy love that), cleaning up after dinner
Likes: the Disney "Cars" movie, "The Wheel's on the Bus", dancing, blankets, playing with Mommy and Daddy, "reading", going for walks/playing outside, "cooking", coloring/sidewalk chalk, "driving" the car (with Daddy into the garage), fixing cars with Daddy, playing on Mommy and Daddy's bed, being a big boy all by himself
Dislikes: having to come inside, diaper changes, zucchini, green beans, black beans

What he is saying: tons, lots in English and Spanish- starting to do more phrases : "Big truck" "Where did it go"

What gets said about BJ most often: how cute he is, how well mannered, how much he looks like Mommy (I think it is mostly our coloring)
Best known for: his expressions
Fears: people leaving him, his head under water
Health: doing better much better, a little croup this fall, and the infamous stitches incident
How he's like Daddy: he likes Mommy, has a mischevious grin at times, loves to "drive the car", mostly laid back personality, wants to do EVERYTHING Daddy does
How he's like Mommy: his coloring, his hugs, love of cuddling, short fuse for frustration

Funny things he's done lately: so many, calling the snow "nose", running down his list of people to see or call- usually in about this order: Nicholas, Bella, Wolfgang, Matt, Kirina (not sure if it is Kirina or Katarina- they sound the same), Maria, Papa, Grammy, Grandma, Grandpa, wanting to sit on the grown up toilet after pooping in his diaper, but falling everytime I let go-but still insisting on "mine" and not having mommy hold him there, spending all day pureeing squash the other day with mommy, pointing out everything on the way to the sitters: bus, truck, car, tractor, muffin, berries, water, truck, bus. . .

Hope it shows how much we love our little guy:)

Age 1:

Age 2 (all on game days;))

Halloween

This year BJ dressed up as a dinosaur and made a great one at that! Luckily Mom did not have to run to the hospital complete in costume to catch a baby like last year (that was fun, aw . . . residency) so we got to go trick or treating together. He still doesn't quite get the concept- didn't ever say trick or treat to anyone at the door- but will say it at home- but did say thank you. We hit about 7 houses in the neighborhood and handed out candy at our house. He ran to the door every time, but the masks definitely scared him. Because of his allergies and my mission to keep his sugar intake low, he traded his candy with Daddy for Hot Wheels Cars, which are cooler anyway ;) He did come down the next morning looking in his pumpkin for the candy, but calmed down when we filled it up with cars again. My nephew Anson was also a dinosaur, so I'll have to ask Ran if we can post his pic too. (Thanks Grammy for the awesome costume!)

Grandpa and Grandma got him the dinosaur light in his L hand, I'm trying to get him to show it to me, but he didn't quite get it. It "Roars" when you turn it on!

I need 3 pumpkins right? We need lots of loot!

Checking out the stash- I love that it looks like their negotiating here!

BJ's 2nd Birthday Party

Sorry for the delay in posting, my to-do list keeps growing- instead of shrinking! BJ had his 2nd birthday party the weekend after his birthday, complete with lots and lots of attention from his family. Both sets of grandparents came out for the event, plus his Aunt Maria and Uncle Matt and their 3 kids, plus friends from church. It was only a bit chaotic, but luckily I think it went fairly smoothly. BJ enjoyed presents from all- although there were so many we had to open them over days. Plus, he got into eating his cake much more this year than last!! I didn't take a lot of pictures since I was trying to host and enjoy the time, but here are a few!

The cake- He even blew out the candle himself this year (I'm sure we got that on video)

Cake demolished- not sure what the look on his face is about though.

Definitely got the concept of ripping off wrapping paper this year.

Some of the loot- and playing with Grammy- both have a train going :)

BJ is 2!!

I cannot believe my baby is two! It is amazing. We are blessed daily by this little boy! We celebrated tonight with his favorite foods for dinner, coconut milk ice cream, and presents. He definitely enjoyed it!!

1st ice cream ever- you eat it with your hands right?

Now with a spoon and an "accessory utensil" help

So excited waiting for Daddy to take the cars from Kathy out of the package (thanks so much Kathy!)

Brandon says there is a good chance BJ will have an engineering mind- he parked them in a line immediately!

Lining up the cars on the train track while waiting for the train to get batteries! Thanks Stefanie!

Working on his new tractor and impact driver with Daddy!

Enjoying all his new toys!

Uh-Oh's and Owies

One of BJ's first words was "uh-oh". At the time I thought it was because we were saying it a lot, but it may have been a forshadowing of things to come. He started using the word with every spill, every broken object, or just when things aren't going his way. Recently he has added "happen" to his uh-oh. Likely because he says "Uh-oh"and we respond "what happened?" It is pretty cute though to see him run up to you and say "uh-oh, happen" to let you know something happened. It usually goes this way "uh-oh, happen" "What happened BJ?" "water" "Did you spill water?" "Yeah" "Well go get the towel and clean it up" (and he does generally). Believe me, much cuter in real life. But today we had a "uh-oh, happen" that took a little more than a towel. BJ is becoming more and more a little boy loving to run around, climb, and imitate others. 2 weeks ago he tried to jump off a couch onto a bean bag like his big cousins and slipped, fell and had a black eye for a while. (Come to think of it, I think they showed him how to climb up slides too . . .) So when our sitter, Stefanie texted me at work to say he had fallen and had a gash on his face and a cut by his eye, I figured it couldn't be to terrible. Plus, we love our sitter, she is amazing, and if she's not worried, I'm not worried. A few hours later, she became more worried, when she texted to say it wouldn't stop bleeding (basically it would only not bleed if there was a good bandaid on it). So being Dr. Mom, I ran by on my lunch hour to hopefully dermabond it back together (like special skin superglue- I have some in my car- hey I'm prepared). Unfortunately, I couldn't keep it dry long enough to glue and was pretty sure I wanted the best possible cosmetic result- it is under his right eye afterall- so I took him back to work. I was a bit flustered at this point, knowing he'd need stitches, on his face, by his eye- and knowing he is almost 2- I can't reason with him. He actually did pretty well- moved around a bit more than I liked for having stitches being placed under his eye. One of my bosses sewed him up amazingly- wiggling and all, and BJ screamed through the whole thing- enough to be hoarse and wheezy. But each time he saw the needle go by he gave out an "Uh-Oh" yelp. Poor guy. He got 4 stitches, and was a great trooper. So our first stitches incident come and gone, with only a bucket full of tears from BJ (and few from mom when it was all over). I'll spare you the before pic and just show the end result. Thanks to my amazing staff who helped cover for me in a crazy afternoon, and Dr. Matt for having amazing steady hands.

P.S. Dr. tip for the day, keep scrapes and cuts moist with vaseline/antibiotic ointment and covered to minimize scar. :)

The owie he wants you to see- no owie, just a fun bandaid to keep him from paying attention to the one on his face.

You can kind of see it here- again, he wants you to see his cream instead :)

And the best I could get- Brandon has the camera and is out of town, we'll get a better shot, but you get the idea. At least he isn't still upset!

Spanglish

In my attempt to take advantage of vast amount of knowledge one can acquire during the early years of life, my son has really learned some quality Spanglish. It may be that my Spanish vocabulary has suffered some (or that I never previously knew the word for hyena- which is hiena FYI) but BJ has started saying some good ole fashioned Spanglish phrases. Two of his favorites are: Luz on (for light on) (which is easier for luz encendido) and mas please (again easier than mas por favor). I would say that I'm disappointed, but I'm not. As crazy as it sounds, I worry that my knowledge of the Spanish language is not comprehensive enough for him to truly be fluent- and I have been looking for classes (not just to learn his colors and numbers, but true conversation). However, so far we have been doing pretty well. I can ask him to pick up his toys, tell him that we need to go have a bath, put on close, etc. and he understands me. He also has quite a few words he says himself (some of which he doesn't know the English translation to). On a routine basis we hear luz (light), mas (more), uva (grape), ojo (eye), boca (mouth), agua (water), cereal (with the Spanish pronunciation) etc. Plus there are a dozen or so words that he will repeat if you remind him. It is cool, but I hope that it turns into conversation instead of a sweet party trick of a few Spanglish phrases from a very gringo kid.

But what a sweet gringo. . .and growing, here I was amazed and only a bit miffed that he wouldn't let me hold on to him on the ski lift going up the mountain the other day.

Ready to hit the alpine slide (taken before I jumped on to go down!) He loved it!

Our family (not sure what is going on with my hair) at the top of the mountain on an awesome Day on the Town with some great friends the Clinefelter's!

Mischevious grin-- Go Huskers!!

God's Identity, Changing my Priorities

It is amazing how God speaks to us. . . I love it when things start lining up that are knocking on your heart (even though I wish he was more direct sometimes). As a new doc in my practice, I am still developing who "my" patients are- those patients who would say I'm their doctor, instead of that I was the one they saw last. Because of this and the nature of the practice, I am seeing quite a few physicals- anywhere from 2-8 in a day. And the vast majority of the physicals are women aged 30-55. So many of them come in wanting to know why they can't sleep, can't lose weight, etc. I ask most of them what they do for themselves. Many can't tell me. And most start crying when I start to talk about how as women, moms, wives, etc. we tend to do for everyone else 1st, and leave the leftovers for us. Interestingly enough, I think this is true spiritually also, we do everything on our "to-do" list 1st, leaving time for God rushed, and time for ourselves nonexistent. I am no exception in this. I am good about reading a devotion daily, working out 3-5 times a week, and picking up a book to read, but in general, I am not great at sitting down (as I type this I am standing ha!) and spending time with God refreshing me. The interesting thing is that most of our families could care less if our houses are clean (our standard of clean), or if the meal came from a box or from scratch. And yet, many of us, me included, place high standards on getting this all done, so that we collapse into bed at night exhausted not able to identify what we did to refresh ourselves that day. As a doc, I can give you a whole list of things this can do to you, but I won't. Mainly, I'm just working on it myself. I tend to be a perfectionist on many things, and have even struggled today with making sure I'm accomplishing everything on my "to-do" list today. But I started reading this really great book today, and I feel like God is really trying to work at changing my priorities and my to do list. One quote from the book (Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl) "If Satan can use our everyday experiences, both big and small, to cripple our true identity, [in Christ] then he render's God's people totally ineffective for the kingdom of Christ." I like it. I'm going to try and focus on what really matters, where my identity really lies, taking time for myself, and not beating myself up for not packing socks for a recent camping trip (Thanks Ran), or showing up to the park without shoes for my son (Thanks Jenna), or having my husband have to wait til 9 p.m. to eat dinner some nights (Thanks Babe) but focusing on spending more time with God, in his relaxing presence!

My true priorities- the boys (driving the project car!)

Too cute- he is not potty trained, but is sitting on the potty chair, diaper on, reading "How to Potty Train in a Day" :)

Beginnings. . . (Thanks Julie:))

It's official! I've actually been at my job almost a month- thus the lack of posting! I'm loving work, loving my schedule, and loving having time to be a mom! I'm still trying to figure out how to "schedule" or not schedule my time off, since I'm not used to having much! BJ and I are enjoying an occasional storytime at the library and trying to just relax on his "Mommy days." However, he is also enjoying his "Daddy nights" on Thursdays when Mommy works late and Daddy feeds him fast food and lets him play in the playplaces- so far Chik-fil-A is their favorite :) We've had some very busy weekends Brandon's mom came out for 2 weekends to spend time with BJ, we hosted a large baby shower, I ran a 1/2 marathon, BJ and I flew to Omaha for a weekend to celebrate the great marriages in my family (and their milestone anniversaries), I've worked 2 weekends, and we've had countless parties and dinners to attend. That makes us sound very popular, I'm not sure that is the case :) BJ and Brandon have been working on a deck and almost have the surface finished- next for the railing and stairs. BJ has been hysterical lately, here are a few stories to share:

The other night he was in his crib chatting instead of going to sleep, so I snuck up to see what he was doing and heard him singing "bus, shh, shh, shh, bus" which is his rendition of the "Wheels on the Bus"

We try to be clear in any location what he is and isn't allowed to play with and go around to identify what is "no" and what is "yes" (in terms of touching). He has started running around and passing the "no's" with a hearty "no" each time he runs by, but doesn't touch!

He has decided his cousins, Wolfgang, Katarina, and Isabella, and their parents are very fun, but has started referring to all of them as "Lella" until this morning when he shouted "Matt" when he saw Uncle Matt coaching on the football field. I think it hurts Katarina's feelings, but he'll soon be saying her name too.

He has routinely lifted his shirt to show us his "belly/panza" when asked, but has occasionally lifted up others shirts to help them find theirs too.

The best of all is his hugs, he routinely gives Mommy and Daddy hugs when asked, that are so sweet! We are so blessed by our sweet little BJ!

"Foreman BJ"

"I'm on the phone, Mom"

Chilling on the airplane to Omaha, likely his last flight for a while, since he has to have a ticket after age 2.

More summer fun!

So I think I've officially lost count on days, so I'll just post more from our 2nd and 3rd weeks of summer fun!

More time at the pool. . .

Playing in the waiting room of the pulmonary clinic . . . hey, it's still fun!

Playing in the backyard pool

On the train with Nicholas and BJ at Airplane park

On the train!!!

Biking to the park with Mommy!

Backyard Panera picnic!

Comparing BJ's hand to the gorilla's!

The park in our pj's!

Fun Summer Pics

BJ and I have been having a blast while I'm off on my mini summer! Here are some pics from our adventures!

Day 1: Wash Park

Picnic Lunch

Slides!!
He picked out his own hat!
Feeding the ducks!

Day 2: The zoo with friends Issac and Silas: The Carousel Before the Ride Started

During the ride

With Issac in a covered wagon (sorry for the finger Issac!)

Day 3: Helping uncle Matt and Daddy build a deck in the backyard with the "shobel"

Day 5: At the park with our friend Nicholas

Day 6: At the Pool with Nicholas

Day 7: Model Train show (hard to get pics while holding a 21 month old and trying to make sure he doesn't touch the trains!)

Day 8: Running errands to go to Steamboat!