OH HOW I USED TO HATE IT

When I was a little girl I remember when my mom would come into the family room where I was playing with my toys and say "alright dayna, time for your bath"

I would immediately jump up and run to the bath tub. I loved bath time! I remember splashing and singing and playing with the bubbles (I always had to have bubbles in my tub!) and not wanting to get out.I dreaded getting out.

I HATED getting out.

But truthfully, not totally because I loved the bath tub that much, it was just because I knew what was next.

I hated what was next!

My mom would wash me off in a towel, get me dressed, and thenshe would try to comb my hair!

I hated it!

She would try to distract me by saying "when it hurts, just say 'hippopotamus' and I will stop" well, at that age

WHO CAN SAY HIPPOPOTAMUS!

So I would try and try and couldn't say it and I would just cry and throw a big tantrum.Well, finally as I grew up my mom just learned to not comb my hair at all and so I would walk around with nappy snarls but I wouldn't care.

I had won.

So tonight I was giving Gabe his bath. I toweled him off and got him dressed just like my mom used to do to me and then I realized his hair was getting longer. It is getting so long in fact that I might need to brush it!

So I went to grab the brush...but then I stopped

because I saw this

I just couldn't bring myself to brush through it!

I LOVE THE CURLS!

So, Gabe, I know it wouldn't be as bad for you as it was for me, but

YOU WERE SAVED BY THE CURLS!

FAMILY HAPPENINGS...

So, I know I have been a blog slacker lately.

I truthfully just couldn't bring myself to blog lately

because every time Gabe nap's lately

I am either doing homework

or working on a FUN NEW PROJECT in our backyard!

(pictures to come!)

So, here is some fun things that Nate, Gabe and I have been doing as of late.

We bought gabe a new toy and he LOVES it!

(despite the way he looks on it right now)

We were trying to hard to keep gabe entertained one night so he wouldn't go to sleep early and so Nate built him this cool fort!

You can't really tell, but he was giggling he loved it so much!

Isn't our little Buster Brown growing up so fast!

This is Gabe by his favorite tree...And my LEAST favorite tree now!

As many of you know or have experienced, he just B-Lines it right to the tree and he starts eating the moss inside of it! So we caught him in the act and you can see that little face of his ready to pounce!

So, he found nate's office and he loves to go inside and then make these crazy faces at us. He thinks it is so funny! (and you can see all of his little finger prints on the glass as well!)

For some reason the song from Oliver comes to mind when I see this picture

"Boy, Boy for sale, he's going cheap....!"

AND FINALLY OUR TRIP TO WASHINGTON DC

Nate's friend got married in the DC temple and so Gabe and I walked around the town!

The white house was close to our hotel so we just took a fun stroll...It wasn't as big as I thought it was going to be, but still fun!

Arlington Cemetery

This is the grave sight of JFK, Jackie, and their son Patrick.

Here is a fun family picture of us in front of the washington monument.

We are in line to see the declaration of independance!

This is us in front of the National Archives

(where the declaration is held)

We were able to go with nate's sister and brother in law and here is a fun picture of the capitol as we were crossing the street! luckily no cars were coming!

Here is gabe and I in front of Ford's theater where President Lincoln was shot.

Here is the gang taking a break! (with 3 kids....we needed one!)

As we were sitting and taking a break, there were 3 helicopters flying above us and one landed at the white house!

Hello president Obama!

This is us in front of the reflection pond.

It was so hot that it was great to just stick our feet in the pond for a while.

Then finally, the lincoln memorial.

It was such a great trip, even though it resulted in gabe's ruptured ear drum...but it was fun to spend some family time together!

My Buster Brown's laugh

NOTE: Unlike my wife who is not only economic with her finances but also her words, I tend to be a bit long winded in my writing, so if you’re bored already just click play on the videos and you’ll get the basic idea.

Hi all, this is Nate. Yes I do of course realize that I have never posted in the past; nor do I have any intention of making a consistent contribution to the prestigious blog known as Checketts in the Fast Lane; but I am long overdue-almost 9 months-to give the one and only post I intend to make.

I have gone through the lengthy process of approving this message with the blog’s editor and with her generosity and permission here I go:

Mr. Gabriel... It's difficult to know where to begin. Perhaps to start I will tell you there has never been a father so in love as I am with my little boy. He is a dream come true a thousand times over and has been even before his birth.

I certainly cannot speak for all husbands / dads but from the moment I saw that pregnancy indicative plus sign to the first ultrasound, I wanted a baby boy more than I had ever wanted anything else. I was no switzerland to the oft-asked question of "Do you want a boy or a girl?” The answer was always “I want a boy,” and that was it. I soon learned of course why everyone gives a neutral answer to that question when I heard “Oh you’ve jinxed yourself--you're going to have 4 girls.”

As Dayna and I went in for the ultrasound I was so nervous I could barely speak or hold any decent conversation. I shyly handed the nurse my dvd to record the session--I had stuck it in my briefcase the day before so I wouldn’t forget it. Then I promptly and obediently went to my designated sitting area. I sat there intently watching the screen, repeating my nervous habit routine of finger fidget, cell phone check, and leg bouncing, etc. I couldn’t stand the anticipation--I wanted to tell the nurse "Throw that gel on and let's get an image already!" But I sat and waited until there it was--that white and black bouncing image--the next stage of our family. The nurse expertly maneuvered around until the image was in the “perfect spot,” (I could still only see a mess of white that wouldn’t sit still). But then as if on cue, she asked “did you want to find out baby’s gender today?” “Of course” I practically cried pre-empting Dayna. She looked up smiled, paused, and then gently said “You've got a baby boy.” I jumped from my chair, fist pump in motion, and screamed “YES!” “I knew it! I knew it!” Looking up in my excitement through the cracked door I could see a nurse and several passers by look in to see who had missed the insanity wing of the hospital. But I didn’t care, I was on cloud nine looking at my baby boy, or as I have called him since “my buster brown.”

The 9 months passed much quicker for me then they did for Dayna--in fact I almost feel like its insult to devote so little blog space to trimesters of morning sickness, discomfort, and more sugar candy's than previously thought possible. But it did pass and then came a long and intense labor and again Dayna moved higher on a pedestal I could never dream of touching. And then came the beautiful, ever moving, buster brown. He had a head full of dark curly hair on his coned head and slitted blue eyes that opened almost immediately. He quickly showed the hospital just how good his lungs were when I started to play “claire de lune” on my ipod speaker for him. It was the song we had played almost nightly to him in the womb. Almost instantly he turned towards the music, calmed right down, and looked up at me as if to say “here I am dad--I made it.”

It’s hard to explain, in fact I have tried on a number of occasions and failed, but before Gabe came I almost felt like his birth would be a reunion of sorts. Certainly in our mortal existence we had never been together, but it didn’t feel like an introduction to me--rather it was that coming together after a period of separation, a reuniting of souls that had been apart for some time. Me and my buster brown together at last.

And then from birth to almost every doctor’s appointment thereafter we always heard the same refrain “Wow, he sure is a mover.” In fact his first pediatrician even said “I’ve never seen a baby move so much.” That was a pediatrician for pete sake, and not one fresh out of med school either.

Now 8 months have come and past so quickly. As you’ve seen from the blog posts, he is growing quickly, learning new “tricks” as we call them, and making us laugh daily. The one constant is still of course “Wow, this kid never stops moving.” My mother of 6 told me while feeding him a bottle and watching his leg bounce up and down non-stop “Nathaniel, I’ve never seen a baby still kick so much while eating.” He even moves when he sleeps, sometimes even violently. My sister Katie, who should have a PhD in swaddling children couldn’t even keep him contained in her “kung fu swaddle.” He just loves to move.

His other favorite activity is laughing. I am certainly biased but when this boy smiles he has a face that could launch a thousand ships (as was said of Helen of Troy). And in fact my assignment for this post from the esteemed editor is in fact showing a few videos of this little giggle. Here are a few I captured with my phone which is the reason for the poor quality.


These first two videos ar e from our recent trip to Washington D.C. Gabe was obviously a bit crazy from the long flights and little sleep. As you can see he especially loved the baggage claim.

Dayna found this little St. Louis blues remote control Zamboni (machine that smoothes the ice between hockey periods--for you non ice skating / hockey fans). Gabezilla loved trying to catch it. Oh, and for the record that's Dayna driving.

And finally this kid loves dogs. This was an area where they were selling puppies. Gabe got so excited he stuck his pudgy ankles through the bars and got them stuck. He was still laughing as the puppies came to lick and chew on his toes. NOTE: he does not have the same reaction with cats (my shameless positioning to avoid felines and get a good american dog)

That’s really it. I love this kid.

There are more videos but those will have to wait for another late night post or a more likely one from Dayna.

-Nate

AMIST ALL OF THE PAIN....

With all the recent events that have happened in the Checketts household

I forgot to mention one little thing that has made a

HUGE

impact on our lives as of late...

Enjoy!

Time to start baby proofing!

CAUTION: I WILL BE RANTING!

breathe dayna, just breathe.....

ok, now, calm down and just write.

I am going to tell you a story. A story that doesn't have a happy ending. A story that makes me so darn frustrated...I can't think straight!

It all started a month ago, almost exactly. 2:54 am I awoke to a terrifying scream coming from gabe's nursery. So I quickly jumped out of bed and ran to his crib not sure what to expect. He was hysterical and burning up. So, I cuddled him, checked his temperature and it came out at 103.2. Nervous, we called the doctor and they said to take him into the doctor first thing in the morning.

So, we did.

But before I took him to the doctor I called my mother in law who is amazing at diagnosing things before they happen and she said "make sure they check his ears."

So, I did.

The sad thing is, my doctor was 'busy' so we went to another doctor in the same clinic. He checked gabe and said that everything was alright, he just has a high fever and his ears are perfect. (exact words)

So, we trusted him and went on our way.

Then, about a week later (and still with a fussy baby this whole time might I add) Gabe started grabbing his ears. I didn't think anything of it because the doctor just said they were fine, so another 3 days went by. Then around 4:15 am we heard another full on cry. So, yet again I rushed into the nursery, cuddled my son, checked his temperature and it was 101.3 and his ears were really red. So, yet again I call the doctor and they said to take him in to get him checked.

And yet again my pediatrician was 'busy' so we went to yet another doctor and he said the exact same thing "his ears are just fine, but maybe rub some cream on them for the next couple days to see if it gets better."

So, we did.

Well, don't worry, I am almost finished. So, since everything seemed to be ok, besides a little fussy baby, we headed off to NYC and Washington DC this past week for a fun little "get away" with nate's sister and brother in law. As we were in DC I look down at my son and saw this:

CAUTION - NOT PRETTY!

and to top it off, it got worse!

(this will be graphic so you don't have to read)

there was blood crusted in his ear as well!

so, all I can say at this point is:

STUPID DOCTORS!!!!!!!

This is where I rant. I knew something was up, but they didn't see anything. We went back again yesterday and still my doctor was 'busy' so we went in to yet ANOTHER doctor and finally he said that gabe's ear drum burst.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

So, before I really get in to my ranting about stupid doctors and how frustrated I am with all of them, can anyone recommend a GOOD DOCTOR that is not BUSY all the time! I am in search of one ASAP and could really use someone reliable. I mean, I have no Phd but I knew more then they did....goodness!

A BOY AND HIS DOG

A Boy and His Dog 

Edgar Guest  

 A boy and his dog make a glorious pair:

 No better friendship is found anywhere, 

For they talk and they walk and they run and they play, 

And they have their deep secrets for many a day;

 And that boy has a comrade who thinks and who feels, 

Who walks down the road with a dog at his heels. 

 He may go where he will and his dog will be there,

 May revel in mud and his dog will not care;

 Faithful he'll stay for the slightest command 

And bark with delight at the touch of his hand; 

Oh, he owns a treasure which nobody steals, 

Who walks down the road with a dog at his heels.  

No other can lure him away from his side; 

He's proof against riches and station and pride; 

Fine dress does not charm him, 

and flattery's breath Is lost on the dog,

 for he's faithful to death; 

He sees the great soul which the body conceals-- 

Oh, it's great to be young with a dog at your heels!