A New Quilt

It has been many months in the making, but I have at last finished Susanna’s quilt.  I confess, I am quite happy with the end result (as long as I don’t look too closely at the binding).  I want to thank my quilting neighbor who now lives in Santa Cruz but whose faith in my abilities turned a frivolous thought into an actual possibility, my mother-in-law who gave me the sewing machine and therefore the ability to undertake this project, my mother who kept telling me that imperfections will give it character without which encouragement I would not yet be (and in all likelihood would never be) finished, my husband who supported me in every aspect of every stage, and who is the greatest support all my endeavors, and Susanna who has won my heart, and for whom I, who had hardly hemmed a pair of pants, would make a quilt as a physical representation of my love.  May she always see it as such.

Hale Family Gingerbread House, 2009 Edition

The first batch of frosting was impossible (luckily the second—we made it desperation halfway through the activity-- was quite good), the hand-cut house parts didn’t really fit together, and our friends’ house underwent a total collapse (I wish I had a picture).  Our friends were good sports, though, and I think Susanna may have preferred her house with the one inch gap between the roof and the wall it was supposed to meet: it was the only place the gingerbread men could get in and out of their home.

Another first: Swinging!

The sky was clear yesterday, so I suggested we walk to Laurelhurst park.  A short walk from our place, but it has some steep hills on the way (I think it has both the steepest the second steepest paved hills I have ever seen).  Poor Andrew’s sleeping head was drooping pretty low as we trudged up the hills (my body was basically at a 45 degree angle), but we made it.  Before we left, Susanna said “Andrew and I can swing!” realizing she was right (as opposed to other times when she suggests, say, that I go to the store to get more bananas and leave her home with Andrew “don’t worry mom, I’ll give him Pup (his stuffed dog) if he starts to cry”).  Here are some photos.  

In other news, we got our tree the day after Thanksgiving and it is up and decorated.  I love Christmas trees.  We got a grand fir this year and it smells lovely (I’m a grand girl now; no more nobles for me).  Here’s a picture of the tree Susanna liked best.  And here’s a family-minus-the-photographer shot from the tree farm.

 

 

 

 

Oh, Give Thanks

For the past couple weeks we have been discussing the things we are grateful for at the dinner table every night.  Here are a few of the things we have come up with:

Scott: “my sweetums” (usually refers to Andrew and Susanna, but in this instance he specifically noted that it also included me), bicycles, extended family, health, Jesus Christ

Me: the love of my life (Scott of course), the changing of the seasons, “my sweetums” (yes we used the same cheesey word, but I was just referring to my kids), food, temples

Susanna: my baby brother, “my family” (her small plastic one pictured at right—if you look closely you might notice that the mother is feeding the baby) , pomegranate seeds, blocks, eyes

Have you seen the Mormon Messages made by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?  They’re wonderful, and here’s a Thanksgiving flavored one that I like.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving full of tender turkey, flavorful stuffing, lots of laughter, and, especially, that you are surrounded by people you love.

p.s. Artwork by Susanna.  Okay, I cut out the pieces, but she applied the glue and chose the position (and the number of eyes).

The Zoo with Two

Everything went really well on our first trip to the zoo as a three-some (and Andrew’s first trip ever).  I don’t usually take any cameras because it is easier without, but I wish I’d gotten a stll photograph of the outfit Susanna chose to wear and a video of the singing siamangs.  I hope I get one of the latter before we leave Seattle (Susanna has already changed out of the former).

Here are some stats:

Approximate number of pounds of children I lugged up the long hill to the zoo entrance: 55

Number of dollars I saved by taking that walk instead of parking in the zoo’s lot and walking right in: 5

Number of times the one-year-old gorilla jumped right at Susanna through the viewing window: 3

The number of families I watched come and go at the table next to us while we ate lunch: 3

Number of animals Andrew saw: 0

Number of times I dropped a blanket on Susanna’s imaginary sister: 2

Number of jumping jacks we did before getting back in the car: 10

As you might have guessed, my favorite animal today was the siamang; Susanna’s was the gorilla “especially the baby one.”

Happy Halloween!

Since Andrew was born, Susanna has considered herself to be goldilocks, and the rest of us to be bears.  Of course this has something to do with her hair, but I actually think it has more to do with Scott’s habit of chasing her and growling like a bear (the story goes a little differently at our home).  Whatever the source of the idea, we have been Goldilocks and the Three Bears for a while now, so it was an obvious choice for Susanna for a Halloween costume.  Scott and I went to a Halloween party with some friends (no kids allowed), and we decided not to be Mommy and Daddy bear for that; we came up with the costumes below as an alternative.

Three Months Old

Here’s some details about the three-month old Andrew:

• He mouths everything you put in his hands (and, once or twice so far, picks up on his own).  This has its drawbacks as Susanna likes to hand him stuff (like today she handed him a knife).
• He watches Susanna constantly
• He does not like disco balls
• He can soothe himself to sleep
• He does not sleep through the night
• He likes to stand up (and stomps his feet when he does)
• He has an adorable open mouth smile
• He has won all of our hearts

Aren’t Moms Wonderful?

Scott was out of town last week—he had a conference in Boston—so my mom stayed on after Andrew’s blessing so give me some extra help while he was gone. It was so fun to have her around and she was indeed a lot of help.My brother Ben scheduled a meeting in Seattle in the days following the blessing so he stuck around a couple of days also. The meeting fell through, though, so we took him to Pike Place Market, Agua Verde, Golden Gardens (pictured below and above) and the Ballard Locks. Susanna sure loves her uncle Ben.After Ben left, Mom watched Jane Austen movies with me, forced me to take naps, helped me get out the door on some runs, took Susanna and I to lunch, made lamb stew and lots of other yummy foods, and at least pretended to enjoy her 7:00 am wake-up call from Susanna (singing “there’s a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall…” in an English accent). I’m so glad she could and did come.

A Name and a Blessing

Like many other churches, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a wonderful ordinance in which infants are formally given their name.  Yesterday, as a part of our church meetings, Scott gave Andrew his name and it was a very special event for our whole family.  I am so grateful that Scott worthily holds the priesthood so that he can administer ordinances like this one.  What’s the priesthood you say?  It’s the power by which ceremonies like this one are administered in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Click here for more information.

Some family came from out of town and we all gathered together to celebrate Andrew.  On Saturday, we spent the day watching football, making rice-crispie sushi, visiting a pumpkin patch (and then carving our pumpkins), and making and eating lots of pie.  Here are some photos of our little man.  Note the drool below.

A Day on the Farm

Last Saturday we loaded bags and coats and baby carriers into the car and headed out of town.  First we went to a little farm between Redmond and Woodinville; we wandered through the pumpkin patch, ate kettle corn, and climbed on the haystacks.  Scott, Susanna, and the neighbor friends that came with us fed the alpacas and goats while Andrew and I found a place to sit so he could have some lunch.  We left a few hours later with our pumpkins and some tomatoes and corn.  Realizing that a cider mill was just around the corner we stopped there to taste their fresh pressed apple cider and came away with a half gallon of the granny smith variety.  After an ice cream stop at a creamery down the street, we called it a day and came back home.It was a good day.

Smiling and Cooing

These videos aren't great but I'm sure there's a grandparent out there who'll enjoy them.

Smiling:

And cooing:

General Conference

Another wonderful General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has come and gone, and I know you are all anxiously awaiting the report of our Whatever-number Annual Girls’ Night Out, but it just didn’t happen this year.  That is, we now have a boy in our ranks and what would be do with him but take him with us?  The three of us did have a little outing, however, and short of forgetting my wallet that was to pay for our dinner, all went well.  Thankfully, Susanna happily accompanied Andrew and I back home (we gathered yellow leaves and played red light green light the entire way).  And when we got home she said she still wanted to go so we grabbed wallet and headed back out (this time with a stroller for Susanna) and arrived with plenty of time to eat some Beecher’s World’s Best Mac and Cheese, nurse Andrew, and read books at the bookstore, before Scott came to get us at 7:15.  Then we all got ice cream together and headed back home.

For more information on the annual Girls’ Night Out and General Conference, click here.

Anniversary Celebration (in three parts)

Celebration Part 1: We had our traditional family birthday party on the actual day (although, as you can see from the photograph, we started eating our birthday cake before we remembered to light the candles and sing).Celebration Part 2: Last night was supposed to be our (Scott my)night to celebrate (although we decided not to leave home).  Scott recalls a particularly romantic moment when Andrew was screaming in his face and the Susanna ran out in the buff (having escaped from me while getting dressed for bed) with a trail (or should I said “tail”– that’s what she calls it) of toilet paper streaming behind her. It ended up being a nice evening because they both went to bed with plenty of time to enjoy our take-out from Bengel Tiger. 

Celebration Part 3: This has yet to happen.  My mom is coming to visit for a while soon and we plan on taking advantage of her residence in our apartment to sneak out between feedings for dessert or something.

Here’s to seven years!  May there be many, many more.

Evening Walks

Andrew has been a bit fussy in the evenings the past few weeks but this has produced a delightful habit: after dinner walks.  It began as something almost necessary, something one of us would do to keep us all sane “here goes Andrew, I guess he wants to go for his walk,”  eventually it became my favorite part of the day.  We would strap Susanna into the jogger and Andrew into the baby bjorn and walk to the Union Bay Natural Area down the street, around the Natural Area loop, and back home.  Susanna always got out of the stroller at the same pond to throw rocks, and always ran to the came clump of trees a ways down the trail to get back into the stroller.  It was perfect.  But alas, it is now dark by the time we’re done with dinner (soon it will be dark at 4:00 pm) so I guess we’ll have to wait until spring to resume our after-dinner walks.  I hope we do.

Out and About

I am happy to report that today I took both children to the grocery store, and we all returned home emotionally intact!  I was so excited that I almost took Susanna to the ice cream shop on the way home to celebrate, but I thought I better not press our luck.  Luckily, she didn’t realize going to the grocery store was such a cause for celebration, so she was content to go home and play with her “children.”   I gave Susanna a scoopful of chocolate covered pretzels from the bulk bins that kept her happy until we were just finishing up, and Andrew slept the entire time.

Hurray for the graduate student, stake clerk, husband, and father

who cooks meals, cleans the house, bounces the baby, chases the little girl, gives me massages, writes his dissertation… Hurray for Scott.

Grandma visits!

Scott mom came to visit last weekend and we had a wonderful time!  Susanna was overjoyed to see her grandmother, and we all loved getting to see her meet Andrew for the first time.  She came at an ideal time for us because Andrew was at the height of evening fussiness and she had magic hands that could soothe him into a calm state when Scott and I were at a loss for what to do.  I’m going to try to learn her tricks.

Unfortunately, we basically took no pictures, but imagine her rocking our little Andrew or reading to sweet Susanna and you’ll get a good idea of what things looked like.

Tummy Time

One Month Old!

Andrew’s one month old today!  Thanks for the pictures, Amy, they’re lovely (FYI: this is another Amy, I’m not talking to myself here).

 

Here are some stats from the doctor:

• 12 lbs, 11 oz
• 22 inches long

Here are some things he is doing now:

• smiling (true social smiles! okay, just one so far)
• fussing (wailing) in the evening
• making eye contact and tracking
• reaching a fisted arm in the air as if he were saying “hip hip hurray!” or “charge!”
• stomping on air
• making us all fall in love with him

We are all enjoying this little guy very much.

Three Years Old!

   The many faces of Susanna… And a leg covered in stickers.

Here are some things Susanna is up to lately:

• taking care of her children (her stuffed animals and dolls)
• dancing and singing (her main dance step is the gallop)
• playing with puzzles
• playing at playgrounds
• helping take care of Andrew
• bossing us around
• learning to deal with strong emotions
• pretending (our living room has recently been a dessert, swimming pool, garden, mountain range—almost all of these were entirely her idea); when she’s not playing with her children she particularly likes being a bear

We’ll end with some photographs of the big sisters and baby brothers in our home.

Two’s a Crowd

Hats off to all parents of two or more children.Woah.  How do you guys do anything or go anywhere?  Don’t get me wrong, I’m keeping both of mine, but after such episodes as trying to fish bath toys out of the toilet with one hand while keeping Andrew latched on with the other (or at least not dropping him in the toilet with Susanna’s unlucky orca), all the while defending Andrew against the hard plastic heads and limbs of Susanna’s dolls, I’m a bit taken aback by our drawer with one stamp in it—and the following need to go to the post office. 

It’s not so much needing stamps that gets me (I can make Scott go or something) it’s that even even considering going with both of them makes me dizzy with admiration for those of you who have done it.

More on Andrew and the Rest of Us

Everything started with Andrew at 3:00 am on July 29th when my water broke. We scooped Susanna out of her crib and carried her to our very kind neighbor’s home where she became less and less groggy as the realization of what was happening dawned on her. We left her very excited and wiggly (she supposedly said “I am going to be so gentle” every thirty seconds) until, at last, she could calm down enough to drop off to sleep.

Andrew arrived almost five hours later at 7:48 am, and despite what I told my caregivers and husband in the last thirty minutes of laboring, I had a wonderful experience delivering Andrew. Thanks to those caregivers and especially Scott for all the support (he was an amazing help). And thanks to Andrew for choosing the hottest day in Seattle’s recorded history so we could all enjoy the hospital’s air conditioning.

My wonderful mother arrived at the hospital around 7:00 pm and left to get Susanna from another neighbor’s home around 9:00 pm, only to call us a half hour later asking where a flashlight is—the power had gone out (remember that it was the hottest day ever so they were without refrigeration, AC (not that they would have had that anyway) or even fans. That’s the true test of a mother’s love (that and dealing with a tired toddler) Thanks mom.

The three of us came home the next day and we celebrated Andrew’s arrival with a birthday party (it also happened to be my birthday). We partied at our apartment complex’s community center (it was air conditioned); here’s a picture of Susanna and three community center babies at the party.

The following Monday we made this picture of our family for Family Night. Scott’s nose (as well as mine) sort of take up our entire face, but we love it anyway. Susanna labeled all of the faces with our names, and she refers to it often.

Here are a few photos of the little guy.

Andrew, at this point, has olive skin and brown hair. He is bright eyed and gives sleepy smiles all the time (he even laughs occasionally!). According to yesterday’s doctor’s visit, he already weighs 10 lbs and 1 ounce. He doesn’t look particularly chubby but is a healthy strong boy with exceptionally long fingers, toes, and especially feet. He has so far been a pretty mild tempered boy: he sleeps, is soothed to a calm state well, and has an adorable (albeit very loud) cry. We all love him very much.