Something's Wrong With My Ears

Woodine helped the kids make some Easter Bunny Ears and even helped attach a tail on MaryP.

Woodine: MaryP, would you like to make some Easter Bunny Ears?

MaryP: Can we take off these ones? (pointing to her real ears)

I ♥ Washington

Yesterday Woodine and I picked up a second child carrier backpack. On our way home we saw The Rainbow. I'm not saying we saw a rainbow. It was "The Rainbow". Probably straight from Genesis, or the Muppets, or Ireland. It was so bright. And unlike any other rainbow I have ever seen, it was in front of trees about 100 yards away. I have never seen a rainbow that shone in the foreground of the landscape view, but this one did and it was spectacular.

I have the day off, so this morning we went on a nearby hike. It's about 10-15 minutes away from our house and has a trail with 4 different loops and some elevation change as well as great views across the Hood Canal (the nearest fjord in our area). As it seems like always happens, our camera was out of juice. But we managed to take 3 pictures. It was low tide and we were able to go down to the shore and toss rocks into the water, look at oysters and barnacles find little sand crabs and enjoy the view. This was Atom's first hike and he enjoyed it in his own abnormally quiet way. He fell asleep on the way back to the car.

It was so muddy! MaryP ran around and got some mud on her shoes, but Woodine's and my shoe were caked. At first we tried to avoid the mud, but by the end we just tromped through it. MaryP got to feel how soft the moss ubiquitous in this area is with her little hands, I held a little crab in my hand for her.

Woodine and I are REALLY going to miss this area. We keep on saying that to each other. WE will miss the many wonderful people we have been lucky enough to rub shoulders with and to call friends. That is always the hardest part about moving. The people. We will also miss the views. I cannot think of a place that combines the beauties of nature better. Green forests, blue water, misty snow-capped mountains and bald eagles soaring overhead; this is a description of . . . my drive to work. I will sorely miss the scenery here. Now Amphibians and other creatures of the Arizona desert, do not mistake us, we are very excited to be close to ya'll, but probably not for the scenery.

And for some general humor, MaryP is a big fan of Disney's Sleeping Beauty. She often insists we call her Princess Aurora. During breakfast she dubbed me Malificent, and Mom was the Handsome Prince. Then she came and sat on my lap and gave me a big hug and said, "I love you so much, Malificent!" She then explained that handsome princes were good at killing dragons and Princess Aurora is really good at falling asleep. She pricks her finger everyday. What a role model! Every parent's dream at bedtime.

Here are some recent pictures of the family.

Picky Eater

Any suggestions for a picky eater? She used to be so much better but gradually is refusing more and more foods - even foods we know she likes. We have tried different methods but are hitting a wall right now. I don't want this to become a worse habit than it already is. Suggestions? Please?

Visions of Christmas (Cards) Future

Well, this is not really what our card will look like, but more of what it could have been. Mainly bloopers. I hope you enjoy.

Oooh Baby A, hold that pose!

A couple of Christmas Elves.

MaryP: grr. . . Look . . . at the. . . camera. . . Baby A!

Why are you looking at me that way?

Baby A sure likes to talk to anyone willing to respond. And apparently I do too. :)

Arizona.

A one word sentence. That's what Woodine and I have been saying to each other for the last couple of days.

I will finish up my tour here in Washington in the Spring and we will be headed to Arizona for two years.

Woodine and I were surprised at first. We thought we might be going somewhere else, but as we have thought about it more and more, we are very happy to be headed south. I look forward to living close to so many sisters and friends.

I can look back in my life and see several times where the Lord has had something waiting for me while I had slightly different plans. So far His plans have turned out to be much better than how I would have done it. I expect this move may be that way as well.

I will miss our many friends in this area, as well as the stunning scenery. I am glad I could have the time up here to visit with my Aunt Betty before she passed away, as well as the time we have had to get to know my Uncle Leo and both sets of Woodine's Grandparents. We love this area enough that we have considered settling here, but we both feel that for now it is time to move somewhere else.

Wish us luck!

Taken care of

I've been sick the last few days and as you moms all know, you can't take sick leave*. But I had a sweet moment this morning where I was the one being taken care of.

After getting MaryP her breakfast I sat down with my own bowl.

MP: Where's your cup Mommy?
Me: I don't have one yet, I'll get one in a minute.
MP: I will get a cup for you Mommy, I will get you one. (Climbs down and goes over to the dishwasher)
MP: Would you like a regular cup?
Me: Sure
MP: I will get you a regular cup. (Pulls out one) How about this one?
Me: That's great.
MP: Would you like some water?
Me: I'll get some in a minute.
MP: I'll get you some. I will scoot my chair. It's so loud! (We recently had some people move in below us so we've been discussing how scooting the chair over the linoleum would be really loud downstairs.)
MP: (Getting some water) Here's some water for you Mommy.
Me: Thank you MP
MP: You're welcome Mommy, you're welcome.

I just thought that was so sweet. And yes, the conversation really went like that. MaryP has become very articulate and deliberate in how she speaks. It's really cute.

*For the record, Wood is good at taking care of me when he's around. He just hasn't been around much recently.

Catching Up

We've been delinquent in posting and so much has happened. Since time is of the essence right now I'm sticking primarily with pictures!

Grandmas are great! Thanks so much to my mother and MIL for the much appreciated help! It allowed me to get back on my feet much more quickly than I would have otherwise. It also preserved my sanity.

We've seen both sets of my grandparents but I only got pictures of one. I know I am grateful to have met and have memories of my great grandparents - I hope my children can say the same thing.
BabyA is one month old now. Yikes! He is so much more alert and smiling at us from time to time. I have yet to capture his smile on camera but I LOVE it. We all do!

She is such a good little mommy to her baby dolls.

Impromptu cat costume - just for fun.

Cinderella and Spiderman (UncleN) getting ready to go trick-or-treating.

I always loathed putting a coat over my own costume. But of course I made my daughter do the same - it was chilly!

Blessing day.

Brother and sister. (BabyA is actually very calm when MaryP is holding him and she sure loves her brother - it's a nice set-up).

Finished Product . . . I think

So I have talked to someone from each family and I think everything is right now. I put some green question marks on expected children. Please let me know of any mistakes, suggestions, or catchy phrases to add to the basic design.

Thanks.

Maybe at reunion we could have an activity where groups would have to fill in the tree with different things: eye color, blood type, hair color, favorite food, names, anything else that comes to mind.

Progress

I was talking with my wife (who is Biochemist by education) and we concluded that:

1. the person in charge of Family Reunion
2. the person in charge of Reunion Shirts
3. the wife of person #2

all like the DNA shirt the best. Therefore we will do idea number 3.





OK OK OK. . . fine.





We'll do the family tree. I think that would be the best one anyway. I just love #3 so much. I'll miss it. Here is what I got done today.I still need to hammer out Uncle Squash Eater's posterity - I'll call him tomorrow. Also, I will have to see if I can get a better spacing for the families. Please, Please, if you have any witty slogans or things to say and do, let me know. Also, if you catch an error, let me know.

I will include changes at a later date (ie. jr mint and boss's bun) when it is closer to reunion.

Question for Invisiblerabbits

You sunk my reunion shirt!




I know that the shirts are kind of a surprise each reunion. So would it be bad if I posted a few ideas to see what you thought of them? Please chime in so I don't ruin anybody's reunion experience months before it even happens. If no one lets me know, I will be posting a possible design for feedback in about 1 week.

Note: I promise to not make the Reunion Shirts sexist like the above picture.

What do you think?

I know that some people won't know what this is about, but for those who do: I would love some feedback. I give no promises that one of these will or will not be the design. But I do promise to read any feedback that I get. Especially awesome ideas. Obviously these are works in progress. If you don't understand what these are about, just ask, I'll explain more in comments.

----One Idea----

----Another Idea----

----A Third Idea----

Following a Trend

So I have a few siblings that their children exhibited a certain trend (Woodine's older brother's kids also fit the trend) --

First baby: Petite

Second baby: Less Petite

In some cases the second child is taller or is on track to pass the first on the growth chart. MaryP has done her part to fit the first baby profile, and I think Baby Atom is going to follow the second baby profile as well.


Observe this short timeline
Tues 29 Sept: 8 lbs 2 oz (Baby Atom Born)
Thurs 1 Oct: 7 lbs 14 oz (Discharged from Hospital)
Mon 5 Oct: 8 lbs 13 oz! (First Checkup)

It may be a little early but I know MaryP didn't gain weight nearly that fast. We'll see.

Home

It sure is nice to be home from the hospital and together as a family.


MaryP loves her baby brother and will often comment "he's so pretty". We can tell that she feels a difference - last night she was just having a bit of a hard time - but I don't think she quite pinpoints what the difference comes from. I know some days will be better then others depending on needs, situations, etc, but I hope I can learn to balance time spent with my children. She has been so sweet to her brother though - she's already a great big sister. Now we have 2 great kids!