Tuesday, September 26, 2006

A Souvenir

Yes, he's been to San Diego before. I can't believe he can already wear this shirt ...

I've been doing some work for Perfection Learning again, so that has really been keeping me busy whenever I can snatch some time during a nap or before I go to bed at night.

I went to a dessert event that a friend invited me to this evening. I took Stephen and he was SO GOOD!!!! As far as food I could eat there ... pineapples and strawberries. Oh, to eat chocolate and dairy again :).

Ryan is putting him to sleep right now. We've found that singing to him really helps him calm down. Yet there are times we'd like to have a conversation. So we sing things to each other such as, "Do you have a rehearsal tomorrow?" and then the reply is also sung. I know this trick won't work forever, but Stephen won't need to be sung to sleep forever either ...

Saturday, September 23, 2006

From our days in Peoria

One of the fun things about living in Champaign is becoming reacquainted with Andy Forbes and his wife, Maria. Their 4-month-old son, Will, is destined to be one of Stephen's first friends. Last night I was hanging out with both boys. They seemed to get along fine and they even got hungry at the same time! good thing Emily was here to help!

Dave showed up last night and now he, Ryan, Heidi, and Emily are at the Iowa-Illinois game. Last time I checked the score was 0-0.

The weather is rainy but hopefully we will still grill out tonight. We are looking forward to hearing that Heather, mom, and dad are back safe from Europe!

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

It's a done deal!

A done deal, just like grandpa Larry would say ... Stephen Larry Leatherman has a passport.

The Larynx Dropping

Linguist sister Heidi said that it's about time for Stephen's larynx to drop. That means that his vocabulary will be increased as he'll be able to make more vowel sounds. But in return for that he will no longer be able to eat and breathe at the same time. Bummer for him ...

This seat is one that Heather gave us. Doesn't it look neat? He isn't strong enough to sit in it for a long time but he can hold his head up long enough for a picture!

I've had fun taking Stephen to campus with me. We took dinner over and ate with Ryan yesterday. Then we went to hear a presentation about the genocide in Sudan. The students were oohing and aahng over him, saying that they had never seen a baby as cute as him. I remember being a student and not seeing anyone but other students and professors for weeks on end. I'm really thankful that they are all so open. The students at the prayer meeting are understanding when he starts to fuss or just starts singing while we are praying. Even the babes praise Him!

Saturday, September 16, 2006

A weekend at home ...

We are all three here this weekend for the first time in September! It's nice to relax ... and nice to have Ryan here most of the time! Stephen is doing well. He scared me a little bit with a little blood in his stool earlier this week but nurse grandma and then a dr. said it was pretty normal so not to worry.

Yesterday I went to a garage sale that 70 families contributed to! There were so many toys and clothes there. I bought a shopping cart cover that Stephen can sit in that has little toys on it. Ryan thinks it's silly (it is) so I assured him he doesn't have to use it. After the sale, I stayed and chatted with Maria, who has 4-month-old William Andrew Forbes. They are within walking distance of us, so we got to use the stroller instead of the car seat.

Last night we watched The Rainmaker (checked out free from the Champaign Public Library - it's great!). Then this morning we took advantage of a gift certificate our neighbors got us for a pancake restaurant. I had to have eggs since the pancake batter has milk in it :(.

Ryan watched the Iowa-Iowa State football game and was excited about the outcome. Then later this afternoon we went to Curtis Orchard, just south of town. As soon as we pulled into a parking spot, Ryan realized he needed to back up so as to not hit the minivan next to us. When he put the car in reverse to do just that, the car didn't go in reverse - it went forward and hit their bumper!!!! So much for a free trip to the orchard ... now we figured it would cost us $500 or so. We left a note and then walked around the orchard grounds. Stephen is too young to really enjoy all the carnival-type games and petting zoo, not to mention the apple-picking, but I imagine in a few years he will really get excited about going there. We picked some apples so I can bake an apple pie and also got some cider and fudge.

Now we are just hanging out at home. Ryan is watching clips of various football games. He tells me it's a big day for college football.

Then just a few minutes ago we got a call from the guy whose van we hit. He said it was already dented and not to worry about it!!!! Hooray!!!!

We talked briefly with Heather. She and mom and dad are at Marc-Andre's parents house in Germany. We have this nifty phone line deal in which we can talk for 100 minutes a month to Europe for free. That'll be nice especially when she lives over there in November . . .

I imagine we'll retire early this evening (which for us is 10 or 11) and it's another night of "sleeping-with-the-windows-open" weather.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Monday, September 11, 2006

Singing to Stephen


That's how we kept him happy much of the time in the car. It was a lot of travel time to get to Des Moines, then Minneapolis, then Prairie du Chien, and then back to Champaign, all this past weekend!

We had a wonderful time catching up back in Des Moines, even though we had a limited amount of time to do so. We saw Ryan's family for lunch, then stopped in at Perfection Learning. Then we spent the afternoon and evening at the Hagenbergs, visiting with others who dropped by. I think Ian is really going to enjoy a little brother or sister. He sure wanted to play with Stephen!

Stephen slept through the night on Friday night. It's the only time he has done so, and it hasn't happened again since. I'm really not in a hurry for him to do so. I just thought it was worth mentioning.

Then we went to Minneapolis and stayed with Sarah Louden in her Maple Grove townhome. We went to Hadley's wedding (it was outside in 60˚ weather!) and enjoyed it very much. You can see the happy bride and groom here.

We had a nice breakfast with Grandpa Dave, Grandma Susan, Great-Aunt Joanna, and Pete and Veloise. Then on to Prairie du Chien to see Kiata. It was a long but beautiful trip by the Mississippi River. It was great to see Kiata - we stayed for about an hour. Then Grandpa Larry and Grandma Kathy drove us to Blooomington, where Aunt Heidi picked us up to bring us here. It was so good to see Ryan (daddy)! I know it was just a weekend but I really missed him.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Squid Ink Fettucine

That's what we are having for dinner tonight ... I found it at the European grocery store in town. Ryan and I had it on our honeymoon so I bought it just because I thought that was neat. Heidi is joining us for dinner. It's so nice to have her in town! (And I'm not just saying that because she does the dishes every time she comes over to eat ...)

The photo is of dad and Stephen taken at the church building where Chelsea got married. Dad retired that same day from Caterpillar. Now he can be a full-time grandpa.

Stephen and I hope to take off early tomorrow morning for Des Moines, then Minneapolis for Hadley Quam's wedding. My parents are taking us, and then Ryan's will take us to the Twin Cities. On Sunday we really hope to see Kiata in Prairie du Chien, WI.

Last night Stephen seemed to finally stop having the voracious appetite he had for about a week. That means I haven't been having to feed him quite as often and for as long. That's a nice thing, but it really threw me at first!

Ryan has been really busy already with classes, practicing, and rehearsals. I can't imagine how he will fit working into the schedule, but he'll have to. He also found out about someone who needs a babysitter for a 2-year-old. I don't want to spend a lot of time babysitting, but a few hours here and there couldn't hurt. At least the 2-year-old could tell me what they need when they cry ... :)

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Chelsea got married and we went to Lake Geneva

On Sunday night we returned from a whirlwind trip to my parents' house for Chelsea's wedding (picture taken there) and then a night in Wisconsin for a family reunion.

Lots of excitement surrounded the beautiful ceremony in St. Charles, IL. The wedding took place at Baker Memorial Church and the reception was in nearby Geneva, both along the Fox river.

The time in Wisconsin was fun - many of the relatives had not met Ryan, either. He really enjoyed the Family Fun Run, as well as volleyball and basketball. And finally I had an excuse to not have to participate in sports involving coordination :). Ryan and Stephen were the first and last males to cross the finish line in the 1-mile run/walk. I'm so proud of them. They both do what they do very well.

Yesterday we enjoyed dinner with the Forbes family. Andy, Maria, and William, as well as Andy's parents, Dave and Karen were there. They live so close to us that we walked over!

Today Stephen and I are taking it easy, as yesterday was a pretty fussy one for him! We think the stress of traveling is still pretty hard. And next weekend is another trip!