Grandpa's Little Pal

It wasn't enough to raise four daughters to wear Caterpillar gear: Grandpa Lorimor is now donning his grandson in yellow and black. This was taken when my mom and dad were in town on Friday for lunch.

For my dad's birthday, I bought him the most wonderful book from Sand Dune Books. It's called Between Me and You GRANDPA. Dad's birthday was January 10, and he has already filled it out completely and given it back to us. It's such a treasure of stories and wisdom that he wants to pass on to Stephen. I don't think I'll really let Stephen have it until he is much older.

Speaking of books, I've been on quite a roll with reading recently. I saw a book—Mommy Wars—when at Barnes & Noble, so I checked it out from the library. It's a collection of essays written by mothers, some of whom have tried to combine career with mothering, and others who made mothering a full-time job. I did find it interesting, but felt it was heavy on East Coast, wealthy ideals. I know plenty of women in the midwest whose perspectives were not described.

I'm about halfway through The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, which is La Leche League's famous book. I also picked up Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay, which was quite an interesting read. If you're easily offended, don't read it ... she blasts pretty much every popular parenting philosophy. But if you've heard enough from highly opinionated parents in the checkout line, it's a breath of fresh air.

Next I have David Kuo's Tempting Faith, which I also saw at Barnes & Noble over the holiday break. I really know nothing about him but think there will be some insights there regardless of where he's coming from. He worked in the White House as a special assistant to George W. Bush.

Ryan is watching a silent film for his 20th century history class. Stephen is asleep. I think I'm going to crawl into bed pretty soon here!

The Prince and the Peas

You can see all four teeth - the middle two on the bottom and then the top ones are the second ones out ...

Some new apparel from Uncle Anthony and Aunt Heidi's new stomping ground

Saved the best for last. Stephen didn't know what to think of the peas we fed him tonight at dinner.

The Smoke Detector Works

So there we were-Ryan and I were both fanning the smoke detector to keep it from beeping, turning the stove burner off, switching on the fan, carefully handling the very hot pot which held the steaks.

And Stephen laid on the living room floor, thrilled to be giggling and shouting out "ging! ging! ging!!!" It was nice he was so oblivious. We laughed once we got the situation under control. And the steaks still tasted great. Just a little charred on one side.

Ryan is at school for jazz band rehearsal. Stephen is napping. I am forcing myself to take it easy for a few hours since I just completed another math book. Of course there are dishes, and laundry, and cleaning, and emails to catch up on. I'll get to it eventually :).

Caught!

The question was timely. Ryan asked me, "What do you do with him all day?" It made complete sense to me, as Stephen is at a crossroads. No longer does a mobile satisfy his entertainment needs, and yet he doesn't understand stacking rings or wooden blocks. When he's given a toy, one of two things happen. 1. He puts it in his mouth. 2. He gets angry because he cannot put it in his mouth.

And since I was playing with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony this weekend, Ryan was responsible for Stephen for more hours than he typically is.

So in response to this question, I said, "We read books. He bounces. He watches me do things in the kitchen. He bangs on his piano. I put music on for him."

Ryan nodded as I continued.

"I've been introducing him to all kinds of music!" I added excitedly. "Classical orchestral, cello, kids' choruses, praise and worship ..."

"Jazz?" he asked.

"Um, no. I guess we haven't listened to jazz ..."

Some pictures from the week ...

I was informed that my mother has been checking to see if I've updated this. Here goes.

Ryan got a job. It's just 12 hours a week (which is great!) and he'll be grading short answer standardized tests.

Stephen has 4 teeth now! Only they aren't coming in a normal order. He has the middle two on the bottom. But on the top, he is getting the ones right next to the middle. It'll look a little like fangs, but I think the middle ones will come in before it would really matter. He does have some pain from them - we've been applying gel on his gums to try to help with that.

We miss Heidi already. She's getting settled in Princeton, though. I'm happy that they are finally together, after all these months of being long distance.

I'm playing with the CU Symphony for the first time this weekend. It's a family concert, and I think that's a good one to start with. I'm glad Ryan has the free time to be able to take care of Stephen while I am there.

Still grandpa's big boy

We saw an MD today for Stephen's 6-month checkup. 23 pounds, 1 ounce and 29 inches tall. I'm so thankful he is doing well! We were kindly dismissed from the doctor's practice today; now on to doctor shopping all over again. I have some good suggestion from friends, but lack the type of insurance that covers those doctors. Ahh, the medical field today.

I wanted to show this photo because I think it is so cute of both little boys. The other guy is my cousin, Jonathan.

I put some videos up on YouTube and apparently the one of Heidi's "Egghead" song is generating quite a few hits. Stephen's piano practice session is also on there.

We enjoyed seeing my parents for dinner tonight. We are excited to see Heidi and Anthony this weekend!

Putting one arm in front of the other

Here I am 6 and a half months later finally getting back to swimming. I swam a half mile the day before Stephen was born. And today I did just under a quarter. But it was something. I'm really impressed with the Y here. I guess my impression is mostly in comparison to the Bell Center at Drake, which I used during pregnancy - and I loved it. But then today I actually got to set my own temperature in the shower! There's a whirlpool tub right in the locker room. And they don't charge extra for towels.

Stephen's doing well still. His tooth is really showing. He's rolled over four times now (pretty soon we'll stop counting). He enjoys his new piano, too.

Ryan is in the midst of job searching. My vote is for the "linen associate" at a local hospital.

A Milestone

I won't write much, but I would be foolish not to fill our loved ones in on Stephen's milestone from today: He rolled over all by himself! He only did it once, but we were pretty proud of him. Ryan and I both saw it, and grandma and grandpa Leatherman were here and came in to congratulate him!

He liked to grab at the bouquet

A picture of us from right before the wedding.

All wet......

Well, Heidi and Anthony got married today, but the real story is that Stephen went swimming for the first time. :) The wedding was great; Lisa was a bridesmaid and Ryan sang and played the saxophone. It's exciting to see two people commit their lives to each other, and its even more special when it's two who are so close to us.

In the photo are Grandpa Leatherman and our friends from Des Moines, Geoff and Laurie (mentioned in the post on December 17). We went to the hotel where Grandma and Grandpa Lorimor are staying and made use of the pool. Stephen loved it!

Everyone heads home tomorrow (except the newlyweds, who are off to Florida), and we will have about a week at home before Ryan starts classes again.

First picture: Stephen with the bride, Aunt Heidi
Second picture: Snack time!
Third picture: Two happy grandmas

Story time!

Today I was putting Stephen down for a nap. He was pretty unhappy about that, so I stuck my finger in his mouth to calm him down. Boy was I in for a surprise: a sharp nub sticking up from his bottom gum. His first tooth broke through! I suppose now he becomes a little more dangerous. :)

Lisa's family is here for Heidi's wedding, so we'll be busy with that for the next few days. It should be a lot of fun!