Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!

This year Rob picked out costumes for the family. I agreed with him that we really did need to take advantage of our children's complacence, since I believe this is the last year we can choose TJ's costume for him.

My little Chewbaca enjoying hotdogs@ our church's Halloween party.
Andy really was the cutest Yoda I've ever seen. He got a little hot in his robes, which is too bad since they were SO CUTE. I feel a little bad I didn't get a picture of me holding him all dolled out.

Our friends, the Fifes, also dressed up as Star Wars. I think we have almost every character represented.


And since I just can't resist that smile, here's one more:

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

He Crawls!!!! and other news

Somehow I'm WAY behind on posting again. This keeps happening to me! And Rob has the camera at work with him, so I'm limited in what I can post pics of right now.
September/early October kept us busy, mostly in good ways.
-TJ turned 3 (pics later)
-Andy started to crawl--well, army-crawl really, and it's not too pretty, but who's going to criticize the little guy? After all, he's only 5 months old(!!!), which is way too young to be crawling around at all. But he can get where he wants to go, and he can really cover some ground. The week he turned 5 months is the week he started crawling, too. And I thought TJ was an early crawler. This video is about 10 days old already, so he's already drastically improved. It's amazing how every day he's better and faster than the day prior. I love this age.


-a foot surgery for me
-a visit from my mom (and since the camera was in Guatemala with Rob, this largely went unphotographed; which is maybe just as well, since I couldn't really walk, so it was more of a work-trip for her than a fun trip).
-Rob went to Guatemala to operate with Iaomai Medical Ministries. Check out the trip blog here and a photo blog here (shots taken by the fabulous Josh Newton, whose work is likely all over your iPod, as he does lots of cover work for musicians).
-a new haircut for me (I'm loving it). Sorry for the lousy self-photos



And here are a few fun shots from Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch and farm this week:


Friday, September 2, 2011

4 Months Old

Dear Andy,
Happy Four-Months-Old Day! I'm happy you are growing, and I think you are, too; you seem to think this whole helpless baby business is for the birds. I can tell that you are ready to get living.
You've been a finger-sucker for weeks now, but in the past month you have developed a clear preference for your right thumb. You are also ridiculously strong. You've been rolling front-to-back for a little over a month now, and this week you've learned how to roll back-to-front. You do not enjoy being on your back, and now that you can roll off of it, I doubt you'll ever lay and play with a mobile again.

You are enjoying (and demanding!) much more interaction. You smile, laugh, coo and giggle, and love having everyone pay attention to you.

The Bumbo has been a good thing for you, and you like to command the troops from your seat on high.

You are also sleeping through the night, albeit not always willingly, *wink, wink*.

TJ enjoys you more and more as you become more interactive, too. Here he is arranging stickers on your head:


We've been working really hard to get you taking bottles well again, as mommy is having a little foot surgery at the end of September. Boo. No Fall marathons for me. Alas, there's always Spring.

Yeah, actually, that's how I feel about it, too:

You still think you have to be held ALL THE TIME, but I know it's just because it's so much easier to be involved that way.

Generally speaking, the day a baby starts to crawl is to be dreaded; however, with you I think it will be a good thing.

Maybe you're just channelling all the frustration around you, though. This has seriously been the longest, hottest summer ever. We've barely been able to set foot outside (except to go to the pool in the evenings when it's cooler) since May. Blech. Bring on September!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

All Dogs Go To Heaven

This weekend
I could have expected lots of things.
Like maybe a post about my sweet baby AndrewAnd how he is growing and changing.
Or maybe a post about our trip to Great Wolf Lodge,
an indoor/outdoor waterpark in Dallas

and how darling Andy was in his frog suit
and how I couldn't get a decent picture of TJ
because he wouldn't get out of the pool and stop moving
for long enough for the flash to go off

But life gets pretty unexpected
I never expected to be posting about a dog.

Chasqui
July 5, 2004- August 27, 2011
We adopted Chasqui from MSGAO in August of 2007
and he's just BEEN there ever since
I'm so used to him, I don't even think about it.
A hip-height shadow
that follows me through my day
room to room:
Lays by me while I fold the laundry
Joins us on the floor of TJ's room every night for prayer

The house is strange to me without the sound of dog tags

TJ has loved him from day one
I think he liked having another creature at his eye level
they've spent thousands of hours this close together
foreground or background
he's just been there
the family dog
I Google'd "dog poems"
they were all cheesy and terrible
and Chasqui may have been a doofus,
but never cheesy or stupid.
Nothing really expressed how I felt.
So I gave it up.

Robert Frost's "Fire and Ice" kept coming to mind:

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Not that it has anything to do with dogs.
It doesn't.
But it does have to do with passion.
So maybe that's why.

I think we always knew we'd lose Chasqui in some bizarre accident
I just always thought it would involve food
after all the near misses:
the stolen turkey
the two batches of chocolate cookies
and the ever famous Christmas rolls
(yes, you may laugh)

The bizarre accident was all heat and running.
So I guess what killed him was doing what he loved,
even if it's not how he died.
I'm not sure what to tell TJ when he says,
"Chasqui, again?"

or, "Mommy, get a NEW Chasqui?"

"Chasqui" was what the King's messengers were called
on the Inca Trail.
They were elite sprinters.
We always thought it fitting.

If I have a regret it's that we didn't get to tell him "goodbye"
Kristen, I'm so grateful you sat with him.
No dog should leave alone.

Run swift, buddy
You were a good dog
and will be missed

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Laundry Days

TJ has been so fun lately. He's really growing up right now. I love the phase he's in. Some days I want to tear my hair out because he is SUCH a two-year-old, but he can also be wonderfully charming and sweet and clever. Lately he has learned to say his own prayers. It's so darling, my heart melts; and his "prayer voice" is hysterical.
Last Fall we worked with him on getting potty trained. He did really well for a while, and then it just petered off and he decided he wasn't all that interested in it. He's so strong-willed, I decided not to fight him. This summer, he has decided for himself that he wants to wear underwear. It's the funniest thing. He has a collection of red briefs, and he is really motivated to keep them clean and dry. He still asks to wear diapers sometimes, but not very often. This is one time when his stubborn independence has worked FOR me. Not so much so when he decides to pour his own cup of milk. Yikes.
The red obsession has not abated. If anything it has intensified (the red briefs and his desire to keep them clean is another example of how his stubborn idiosyncrasies can work for me). I do entire loads of red laundry. When sorting dirty clothes, my piles are: whites, darks, mediums, and reds. It thrills TJ to no end when other people wear red as well, so Rob, Andy and I all have more red shirts than we used to.
I took a picture of TJ's closet after I did laundry this weekend:

He also really likes pink and salmon. He calls it "light red". In fact, the second shirt from the left is one of his favorites. It has a picture of a lobster on it, and the caption "Snappy". I like to put it one him on his grumpy days. For some reason I get a kick out of seeing him throw major temper tantrums while wearing it.
Andy turned 3 months old 2 weeks ago. I did take lots of pictures that day, but could never get one without his hands crammed in his mouth. The kid is a little turkey. The pediatrician told me he is definitely a high-needs baby. The vindication has made me feel a whole lot better about life. It hasn't changed anything, but knowing that it's not all in my head makes me feel like less of a failure. Just the same, I can't wait for him to get a little older.





Friday, July 15, 2011

Long HOT Summer Days







We've been really busy, but not with blog-worthy things. Mostly we're just trying to keep cool. We've had 23 days in a row of 100plus degree days; it actually rained this week and broke the streak--one day stayed in the 90s--but now we're right back up in the over 100 degree days again. Last Saturday Rob's work had an outdoor party to welcome the new residents; it was 111 degrees (with humidity!) that day; some welcome, huh? It's been really hard on TJ to not be able to play outside much. We've been going to the pool tons, but he really misses just being able to run in the yard. Some days he still tries. I love this picture, because it's so easy to see just how HOT he is.
I took a photography class some time ago, and have been tinkering around with cameras and lenses and reading photography books while I nurse. Not to mention I have such cute little subjects to photograph... I've been reading alot about the technical aspect of making photos, and playing around with it. I'm rather pleased with some of the effects that can be achieved through aperture adjustments.
And I've been busy stalking Andy in an attempt to capture one of his elusive, darling smiles. He's been smiling for more than a month now, and this is the best I've managed yet:
It's hard to get a picture of a smile, because he only smiles at people, not at mechanical objects like cameras. And I have to say, that when we're sitting and having a smiles session, I'm loath to interrupt it with a camera. I love this shot of his pretty eyes:



And aren't my men handsome? I'm so happy Rob has some sons in his life. He's such a good daddy.

Andy keeps getting cuter and cuter. He's relapsed in a horrible way this week: he had been sleeping through night, and this week he stopped. It's actually been pretty rough, he's been up way too much wanting to eat and party and socialize. His smiles are so darling, but not between the hours of 1 and 5AM. Unfortunately, I've been seeing way too many of them, though.



Gotta love those eyes. A set of chocolate ones, and it looks like a set of blue ones, wouldn't you say?


Yes, he's still here.

Today I mopped the floors. TJ figured if I was doing it, it MUST be fun. He kept asking for the mop, and saying "TJ have a turn, TJ turn?". I gave him the mop when I was finished, and he "mopped" for the next hour!!! Now, can I teach him to effectively clean toilets? When does it stop being fun? How can I harness this wonderful energy?

Please note the outfit. He dressed himself today. Okay, he dresses himself most days. All-red days are particularly funny to me; he tends to insist on a red shirt most days, and he loves these silly red socks. But he'll usually allow me to temper the look with, say, denim or khaki shorts. Not today. Pick your battles, eh?