A Day with Abby

Stephen is at grandma and grandpa's, and having a great time there. I am so glad. I thought that today Abby and I'd do some things that we can't do when he's around. So we went to baby story time at the library. Now that he's discovered the train table, he doesn't really want to go listen to stories and sing songs at the library--he can do that at home! She napping now, but soon we'll go to TJMax and then take lunch to Ryan at school. I'm planning on making some baby leg warmers out of women's tube socks and am hoping to find some on sale.

It is raining, so that limits our options a little bit.

A Visit from Auntie Em

We were privileged to have Emily staying with us last night, and then this evening she took Stephen with her up to my parents' house. I'm looking forward to a day and a half with just Abby - should be pretty relaxing! Stephen has been excited to go to grandma and grandpa's, and was only sad for a minute when he realized mommy wasn't going with him!

Thankful

I am thankful today. Thankful that the car started when I tried it "just one more time" after calling Ryan this morning and telling him I was going to have to walk home.

I'm thankful because my purse was still outside when I went out to get it after being in the house for 2 hours already.

I'm thankful because the reason I realized it was missing was because Stephen was playing with his toy credit card and asked me if he could put it in my purse.

Overheard in the office

"Stephen, daddy's trying to get some work done, so it's not a good day to try to drive a car on the piano keyboard."
--Ryan Leatherman

Videos

As promised, here is footage of Abby's first "meal."

Family Photo

Here is a photo someone took of us last night at the Great Pumpkin Patch in Arthur. I'll upload to snapfish as well.

Faces of Abby

This is what I get to stare at all day!

I took the photos while standing with Abby on the other side of the glass at the gym class Stephen attended yesterday.

I'm Glad We Could Illustrate Your Point for You

For some reason in the past week, the kids and I just seem to be in the right place at the right time.

We were at the Urbana Library one morning and Stephen was playing with the train set. A crowd of international folks (older than traditional undergrads) descended on the children's department, led by a tour guide who I assume was a librarian. I don't know all the nationalities involved, but right after the guide showed them all the toy area, the cameras started coming out, snapping photos of Stephen! I can imagine them emailing the pictures home to show how kids play in libraries in the U.S. Of course you'd think kids would read books. And Stephen does read books, but not at the library.

This morning we were heading to the Infant Cognition Lab for Abby to do her work and as we entered through the handicapped door, a crowd of about 20 students (undergrads this time) stepped aside so we could get through. I heard their professor say, "And this is why we need our building to be accessible. As you can see, it's not just handicapped people who use the ramps and elevators." I don't know what sort of class she was teaching, but I'd say the students lucked out today - it was beautiful outside!

Some quick recounts of what we've been up to:
I'm watching a sweet little girl twice a week. Here she is playing with Abby.

Bethany flew to Germany yesterday and should now be getting settled in the guest house in Oldenberg. We dropped her off at the bus station yesterday so she could take the bus to O'Hare. Stephen now thinks she is permanently on a bus, just like he thinks Eric is forever on an airplane.

Some of Stephen's new words: knuckle, quesadilla, crunchy

Abby's first food, eaten a couple nights ago for dinner: avocado. We'll try to post the movie when we get Ryan's computer back.

We enjoyed visiting Evelyn in Peoria last Friday. I was amazed that we were able to occupy Stephen for an hour and a half at a nursing home!


Yes, Abby is clearly teething. Nothing showing yet.

Burnt Beans. Bummer.

We have a lot of black beans soaking in the fridge, and so I'm going to make Brazilian Black Bean Soup for dinner and then hopefully some Black Bean Brownies. I would be skeptical of the brownies, except my friend Sue made some brownies for us with lentils and they were really yummy.

So before Stephen went down for his nap, I put the beans on the stove, just like I'm supposed to, with an inch of water covering them. About halfway through the cooking process, I noticed there wasn't much extra water so I boiled some more and added it. Then just when it was about done, Abby wanted to nurse. So I stirred and then came to the living room to feed her. Only 5 minutes had passed, but they were crucial. I now have a charred blob of black beans sitting on my stove, and now another pot of them cooking. It's alright; I think I can still have dinner ready by about 6.

Yesterday we were treated to free picking in a friend's garden. I got tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, okra, and more. Then last night for dinner I made what I called "Joni's Garden Pizza." It was my homemade crust (easy in the breadmaker), spaghetti sauce, cheese, and then everything I thought would taste good on there! Even okra!

We've been listening to the Sound of Music quite a bit--it started because of the song "Maria" though "Do Re Mi" is now Stephen's favorite--and just this morning we heard him speaking to himself: "Do Sol Mi ..." It's not in tune, but it's a start at least ...

Tales from Pottery Lane

It's always such a treat to visit Don and Laurel in Port Orchard, Washington. Their land and house is so different from what we're used to, living in town. Their driveway is lined with beautiful blackberry bushes. The blackberries we picked are begging us to eat them atop ice cream after the wedding this afternoon. I wished Stephen were with us as we fed the goats and went to collect eggs from the chickens.

After we had a quick visit with them at their house this morning, we walked from the hotel to the farmers' market. Sorry, Urbana, but this one is right on the water! We shopped a few thrift stores since I still didn't have a top to wear for the wedding ... and it's in 2 hours ... is that some sort of record?

Dinner with the bride and groom

Abby and I are in Seattle. It's weird. I have been away from Stephen for 2 nights in a row before, but I've always been in the same state. I know he'll be fine; he's in good hands with Ryan and Susan (Ryan's mom). And Bethany is around, too, since she doesn't go to Germany till next week. I even got to sing Amazing Grace to him tonight (our nightly ritual) over the phone. I just can't help but wonder what's going on in his mind regarding my whereabouts.

But we're having a good time here. The flights were smooth, and several people commented that they didn't even know a baby had been on board. (Thank you, Abby!) We enjoyed Don and Laurel's dinner and time meeting Lynette's family. (Lynette is the one pictured with Abby.)

Tomorrow is the wedding and I don't know what else we'll end up doing. Our hotel, though nothing fancy, is right on Puget Sound and the view is wonderful. I think I'll open up the curtains and read some John Grisham while Abby sleeps.

A Milestone of the Sleeping Variety

I am happy to say, but in no way expect to happen again soon, that both children slept through the night for the first time ever!

(Stephen had been doing so before Abby was born but has lately been back to waking up a couple times just to make sure we're still here.)

What are the odds?

Two years ago our friends the Beards had a baby, Naomi Shalom, on Labor Day.

Today (on Labor Day) they had their second baby, Talitha Charis Helle Beard; this time it was a home birth in Costa Rica. Good job, Mare!

Labor Day Parade

Since we couldn't be in Wisconsin with the family, we were here to enjoy the Urbana parade. Here are some photos from the morning.

Missing Lake Geneva

Though I haven't made it every year since going away to college in 95, I have many fond memories of our annual family reunion in Wisconsin. We were all set to go until yesterday when Stephen was still running a fever in the morning. I admit that I don't mind sparing Abby two long car trips, but I do wish we could be there. Many of the relatives haven't met Abby and now that Stephen knows some of them better I know he would have enjoyed himself, too.

Stephen woke up this morning without a fever and with a good night's rest. Yeah! We're still taking it easy. He hasn't had much food to eat in the past couple days so I'm sure he needs time to get his stamina back.

Bethany and I have watched Charlottes's Web, The Sound of Music, and King Corn in the past couple days. She's also been skyping with Eric quite a bit since he got to Germany a couple days ago.

It's Pneumonia

Aunt Heidiann has already called to offer her sympathies; she has been the recipient of many a pneumonia diagnosis.

After 48 hours of fever, I took Stephen in to convenient care this morning. They took a chest x-ray and immediately sent him to the ER. There was a chance the dr there was going to want to admit him. I'm thankful that they did not deem it that serious.

So now we're home again, and Stephen is more drugged than he has even been before.

It's a no-go for our Lake Geneva trip this weekend, but I'm sure we can find plenty to do around the house instead, and we can catch up on some much-needed rest!

Not a Master of English Literature

My friend Loretta did this inventory of books read, and while she has read quite a few more than me, I thought it would be fun to do while I have a sick 2-year-old watching Sound of Music and a sleeping baby on my lap. Oh, and Bethany is home sick today, too.

I've missed some of the classics, due mostly to moving in the middle of high school. I read a couple books twice, and others I missed completely. Time to catch up? Maybe on a few.

---------

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you started but did not finish.
3) Reprint this list in your own blog so we can try and track down these people who’ve read 6 or less and force books upon them.

"THE" List
1. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
2. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
3. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
4. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
5. Life of Pi - Yann Martel—in my “to read” pile
6. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
7. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
8. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
9. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
10. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
11. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
12. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
13. His Dark Materials (trilogy) - Philip Pullman
14. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
15. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
16. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
17. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
18. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
19. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
20. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
21. Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
22. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis
23. Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne
24. Animal Farm - George Orwell
25. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
26. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
27. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
28. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
29. Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White
30. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
31. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
32. Complete Works of Shakespeare
33. Ulysses - James Joyce
34. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
35. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
36. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
37. The Bible
38. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
39. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
40. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
41. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
42. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
45. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
46. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
47. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
48. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
49. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
50. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
51. Little Women - Louisa M. Alcott
52. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
53. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
54. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
55. Middlemarch - George Eliot—
56. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
57. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
58. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
59. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
60. Emma - Jane Austen
61. Persuasion - Jane Austen
62. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
63. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
64. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
65. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
66. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
67. Anne of Green Gables – L.M. Montgomery
68. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
69. Atonement - Ian McEwan
70. Dune - Frank Herbert
71. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
72. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
73. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
74. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
75. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
76. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
77. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
78. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
79. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
80. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
81. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
82. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
83. Dracula - Bram Stoker
84. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
85. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
86. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
87. Germinal - Emile Zola
88. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
89. Possession - A.S. Byatt
90. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
91. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
92. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
93. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
94. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
95. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
96. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
97. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
98. Watership Down – Richard Adams
99. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
100. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

Back to school, already?!?

I'm glad Ryan really likes what he does at school, because otherwise I'd really feel sorry for him - it seems there really never was a break this summer. He had his recital, then a paper to work on, which still isn't 100% finished, partly due to some computer issues he's been having on the laptop. Which is also the reason it's been hard to keep up with the blog. The laptop has to be hooked up to the other monitor. Which is certainly possible, but the monitor is in the room where Eric and Bethany are staying.

That's alright, though. I have plenty to do just keeping up with my two kids! I actually have a pretty calm day right now, as Stephen woke up with a fever and doesn't want to do much. He has been watching PBS a lot, and has at least moved off the couch and onto the floor, where he is driving his trucks and tractors around. So he can't be that sick.

Eric is leaving for Germany today, and then Bethany will be staying with us for a couple weeks while she finishes up her job at the Chemistry Learning Center on campus. It's been a lot of fun having them here. We've shared lots of meal prep as well as doing dishes. But that stubborn Abby; mommy is still the only one who can feed her!

A post by the youngest member of the family

Hi. I'm Abby. Yesterday my mommy and daddy celebrated their 3rd anniversary, so grandma came down from Plainfield to spend time with me and my brother, Stephen (pronounced "Deen"). They never asked me about it, but they thought I'd be fine with grandma all night so mommy got lots of milk ready for me in the fridge.

I like having grandma here. She smiles at me a lot and I say "goo" back and giggle. I put a picture here so you can see how happy I am sometimes. I even laid in the stroller for a little bit while grandma and Stephen and I walked around the block.

But then I got hungry, and I don't like that funny-looking gadget they try to stick in my mouth with milk in it. I like having my mom right there with me to feed me. So I screamed. I screamed really loud hoping that my mommy could hear me wherever she and daddy were. Grandma helped me by calling daddy's phone and letting him hear how sad I was that I couldn't find mommy. So they came home to get me.

Then they just took me to the movie with them. OH BOY! That was the biggest TV I've ever seen! We saw The Dark Knight at the art theatre in downtown Champaign. I started talking a couple times during the movie but I never cried. I was with mommy :).

After we got home -- all 3 of us -- we watched some of the Olympics and cleaned up the house. I finally went to sleep around 11:30. I was so tired from my crazy day yesterday that I slept straight until 9 o'clock this morning!

I also wanted to show a picture of my mommy and daddy. They're really glad that they got married 3 years ago yesterday.

This House Is Great

This was parked outside our house today.

(It also woke Stephen up early. I heard him saying "tractor" and I knew I needed to get him up so he could look out the window and see it.)

Update on Stephen

The doctor and nurses last night said that if Stephen was going to have any trouble with the item up his nose, it would start within 24 hours. So far so good; he isn't having any issues and seems to be unharmed by the traumatic ER experience.

We had a busy day clearing out of the old place. Now we are fully out and are setting up house. Ryan's parents are here and so are Bethany and Eric, who plan to stay here off and on while Eric finishes up grad school.

Ryan has been driving the limo and DJing tonight. I'm glad we pulled those clothes aside before we moved as we are nowhere NEAR unpacked yet.

Dwelling amidst the boxes

We moved today. I can't really think to post something clever or well thought-out, nor do I have the time, but I know some family and friends are curious how it's all going. Especially those overseas who wish they could be here to help! (We miss you, Heather and Marc-André!)

We had a scare that the truck we'd reserved wouldn't actually be available, but Ryan showed up this morning at the Budget rental store and since there was one there they let him take it. We loaded and finished packing and taping all day; Ryan and I both forgot about the attic, so there was another load later in the evening that had to be done.

It was all going smooth (though taking some time) when Stephen put a little toy coin up his nose. I couldn't fish it out with my little finger. Grandma Susan looked in it and said it's too far up; he needs to go in to the ER. So there we went, and the first two methods of getting-objects-out-of-tiny-noses didn't work. They ended up putting a tube in his nose and hoping that he'd swallow the coin and send it through his body that way. We hope it isn't just lodged in further, in which case he'll start having some respiratory problems. And then it's to an ENT we go.

It was really hard on him. Even though all the nurses and the doctor were so kind and patient with him, he was crying during a lot of the attempts. He was also tired. He calms down when I sing to him so I was going through some of the hymns that I know. This one in particular struck me, from Great Is Thy Faithfulness: Pardon for sin, and a peace that endureth; Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside.

He and Abby are now both sleeping upstairs in our new house, so peacefully. Thank you, Jesus!

Abby's First Day of Work

(The photo is not from her job. It's from our trip to Des Moines, where she napped while John was watching TV.)

Abby has a job. Ryan likes to say she makes $20 an hour, but only works for 15 minutes. She participates in a test at the Infant Cognition Lab at the University of Illinois. She seemed to do just fine watching a turtle and elephant in a little show they did for her this morning.

We're back from vacation. The drive back to Champaign yesterday was a little rocky from Galesburg to Champaign, but we were glad to see Heidi here when we got to our house.

It was so fun to see some of our friends and family in Des Moines! There is never enough time to see everyone we want. This time we made sure to see Adelaide Tims, Kindle Drost, and Nick and Xander Snodgrass.

A New Home in Urbana

In other news, we found a place to live next year! We signed a lease before we left Champaign last Thursday. It's a 2-story house with 3 bedrooms and washer/dryer hookups. It's just 2 blocks south of Lincoln Square Mall. We're excited to be done with the search. And now we pack. Move out is August 1 and we have to be completely out and cleaned up by the 2nd!

Discovery

This whole summer has really been packed full of new experiences. And, like most parents, I'm enjoying discovering the world through Stephen's eyes. The most simple activities delight him. In the above photo, he was picking up dirt, watching it fall through his fingers and letting the wind take it. He did this for over half an hour on Grandpa Fay's farm, stopping only to watch the large cement trucks that drove by periodically.

This evening, he sat in the backyard at Dave and Sue's house and played with tractors in the mud. I think we're in for a lot of baths in the coming days.

We went to my cousin's wedding in Omaha this weekend. While he didn't attend the actual ceremony, he loved being with many of his relatives. My dad and his twin brother enjoying hearing him calling both of them "grandpa."

Ryan and I enjoyed taking Abby in the pool for her first swim. Had the water been a little warmer, I think she would have actually liked it.

The "So Much" Song

There's a song I sang either in high school or college--I can't remember which--that I have started singing with Stephen. He loves it, asking for it as often as Old McDonald, Amazing Grace, and Itsy-Bitsy Spider. The lyrics go like this:

We've got so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much to be thankful for.
We've got [insert name here] to be thankful for. We've got [insert name here] to be thankful for.

So we were on the bus today and Stephen asked for this song. I sang it quietly, as I know bus riders are paying to get from Point A to Point B, not to listen to a mediocre concert. First he asked for Will (he always wants to sing about Will first).

We've got Will to be thankful for. We've got Will to be thankful for.

Then it was Bill (Spencer's dog).

Jenn.

Hockey.

Helicopters.

Airplane.

Onions.

Then I was thankful that it was time to get off.

The Birthday Cake

Because Stephen loves trucks and tractors so much, I went looking for a cake idea in that vein for his birthday. I found this in Family Fun, and, with Susan's help, put it together for him. I don't know if he thought it looked like a tractor but he was excited about it anyway! I think the M&M's on the wheels won him over.

The photos show the junk I had to buy to make it (anyone love Twinkies? There are 10 left.), the process (Ryan made the dirt), and then the end result. Stephen RAN to it when he saw it. We celebrated with him at the hotel where my parents and Ryan's parents were both staying. (Ryan's recital had been the night before.)

The Big 2!

Stephen celebrated his 2nd birthday today. We filled it with all sorts of fun: going to the farmer's market and getting a yummy bread, riding on the carousel at the mall, buying some new sandals, (don't forget naptime), a new airplane, and sloppy joes for dinner. For a special treat to top it off, we had ice cream from Coldstone. He's exhausted, and so are we. And so is Bethany who we drug around with us all morning.

Abby is 2 months old (a family update post)

Yesterday my little girl turned 2 months, and on Saturday my big boy will turn 2! And he'll even tell you that when you ask him. Unless he's in a bad mood, in which case he will say "no no."

First of all, I went ahead and measured and weighed her this morning, not because I was worried but because I was curious. She is 15 lb and 25.5 inches long, taking after her brother and not fitting in the confines of the CDC growth charts. Gone are the days of 0-3 month clothing. That's alright though; we've managed to fill her drawer full of pink, red, and lavender clothes ranging in sizes from 3 - 9 months. She is sleeping great at night -- nursing once or twice, and going back to sleep just wonderfully. I credit the full schedule we keep trying to busy her brother during the day. She has to sleep when she has the chance! She is smiling and giggling and "talking" to us. She also has an awesome poker face when she poops. We hear the sound but her facial expression changes not one bit! She seems like a much easier baby than Stephen was. I think it's a combination of her being easier going and me not being quite as nervous!

Stephen is continuing to amaze us with his understanding and awareness of the world around him. I'm sure every parent of a toddler thinks that, but it's so real when it's my own kid! He hears an airplane and finds it in the sky. He remembers that we saw a train at the bus station and looks for it the next time we go. He has finally figured out that Z is actually a letter, and not just an N that we turned on its side! He also seems to love having his sister around and is actually disappointed when I get him up in the morning and I'm not holding her. I have to make sure I don't create too many routines in his day or he begins to expect the same thing to happen every time. Today when we were at the grocery store I purposefully avoided walking by the bakery because the workers always want to give him a cookie and I don't want him to start thinking grocery store = cookie.

He is learning to "obey" and is sometimes better at it than other times. He picked up the word himself while listening to his Bible verse CD and loves saying it much more than he loves doing it. The main instructions we expect him to follow are to come in the house when we ask and to sit on the floor for a diaper change. He seems to get suggestions confused with commands. For instance, I said "let's go play with your alphabet ball." To which he replied, "obey obey obey" as he happily walked over to it.

Ryan has been working long hours with the music camp and getting ready for his recital. We will both breathe a sigh of relief when it is over ... and then have to figure out where we're going to live and pack to move out of here by July 31! We're 99% certain we're staying in the Champaign-Urbana area, but won't be staying in the same duplex.

Celebrity Family Feud

Tonight on NBC at 7. I like Family Feud AND The Office ... cast members from The Office are supposedly going to be competing against those from American Gladiators. Fun fun. Too bad this just happens to be a night we already have plans. I set the vcr.

America's Funniest Olympic Diving Trials

I love watching AFV with Stephen. Everytime someone falls down, gets pushed into a swimming pool, or endures some other misfortune, he screams "OH, NO!" and then giggles.

Before his nap today, we turned on the TV (which he calls the tay-yay-yay) and the olympic diving trials were on. Every time a diver hit the water, "OH, NO!"

Sibling Revelry

I've been pleasantly surprised at how welcoming Stephen has been to his sister, Abby! Our "problems" these days usually stem from him not getting food that he wants, the weather, and gravity. Only one of those things can I control, and I think it's in his best interest not to eat pizza, cookies, and chips all day every day.

Our day began with some thunderstorms that prevented us from having a morning walk or park time before the Tupperware party started at 11. This did not make Stephen happy. He stood by the door and said "go" continually until Ryan finally took him for a walk around 6.

We enjoyed having some friends here for a casual Tupperware get-together. I am not good at selling it, but I gave it a shot! For instance, one friend was going to buy the rectangular cake taker and the pie taker, and I said that she didn't need to get both, that the rectangular one is big enough for pies. So there went a sale, but that's ok with me. She didn't need the extra item. I'll be closing the sale later this week, probably on the 27th, so let me know if you do want something. They do sell more than plastic these days - it's all online!

Ryan finished his 1st week of ISYM and is now driving a family from Bloomington to their home in a limo. Tomorrow he starts his 2nd week bright and early.

His jazz recital is just a week and a half away and he's been very busy completing transcriptions for it and practicing. Info regarding it is to the right.

The Moby Wrap

I use this daily - if not thrice daily - and Abby loves it! Here she is with my mom ...

I'm really thankful to have my Stephen back. He spent 2 days up in the Chicago area with my parents, and had a great time playing with tractors and trucks. I enjoyed having some alone time with Abby but I missed my big boy.

Texas

Everything is big in Texas, including Abby and Stephen and this post.

We spent a week in Salado, Texas, with my sister Emily and her husband, Spencer. They've been married less than a year and live on a farm, where Spencer had been living for awhile. Little did we know when we planned to go down there that the day-to-day adventures of the Vogts would be such a hit with our almost-2-year-old. Here are some examples ... the chicken and peacock coop that sits right next to the house ... the lineup of tractors ... the classic Fords parked in the sheds ... Bill the dog ... the cows that walk right past the house as they graze ... the riding mower ... the multitude of tractors along the interstate where there seems to be endless construction ... the fish tank ... the life size Brett Favre cutout that sits in the room where Stephen slept ...

On Thursday, Ryan, Emily, and I headed into Austin with the kids and toured the state capitol and visitors' center. Abby slept in the wrap most of the time, as Stephen had done when we were at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

My parents recently decided to purchase a home near Emily and Spencer where they can spend time in the winters. They can rent it out during the summer. That is where the photo of Abby on the shelf was taken. The realtor let us in to look around.

Another highlight for Stephen was being able to sit in the front seat of the car. The design of the Taurus we had rented allowed for the passenger side air bag to be turned off so he sat up with daddy. Although it's not the safest place for him, it made for room in the back for me and Emily to sit with Abby. When I put him in the back seat of Emily's car, he was not happy at all. I think he's gotten used to the back seat again, though.

On Wednesday night, we had dinner at Johnny's BBQ in Salado. This is the restaurant that catered a lunch for the Bush wedding a month ago. The food was good, but I think next time I'd recommend to the Bushes that they go with Big Daddy's in Des Moines.

We also attended (and Ryan was in) Nathan Harnden's wedding in Waco on Saturday. For us it was somewhat sentimental since we spent a weekend in Waco shortly after we started dating. We drove past the area of Baylor where we were walking when I told Ryan that I didn't expect him to do anything for Valentine's Day ... I think I still got some cookies, though.

The trip home was an adventure, as seen in the previous post. We're thankful that we were able to get to a store to get some coolant, and since then we have replaced the radiator cap, which seemed to be the problem.

It's So Nice to Be Home!

In the past 24 hours we have ...

• attended a beautiful wedding in Texas (Congratulations Nathaniel and Brittani!), but where the AC had just broken
• enjoyed a tasty dinner in an equally as hot reception facility
• said goodbye to Aunt Emmy (Emily) - quite traumatic for Stephen
• sat on a real horse (Stephen did this)
  
• driven 2.5 hours from the reception to Dallas, getting in to a hotel at 1 a.m.
• shuttled ourselves, our luggage and our 2 kids to the airport for a booked solid 7:45 a.m. flight (both kids were "lap" children)
• arrived in St. Louis where Aimee picked us up from the airport
• stopped more times than I want to count to 1. feed Abby 2. change Abby's diaper
• been to McDonalds twice
• scoured Neoga, IL, for an open auto parts store for the special type of coolant needed for our car when our car started to overheat
• driven 15 miles to Mattoon at 40 mph with the heat on full blast so the car doesn't overheat; we found some DexCool there
• sang about Old McDonald having a farm with a CHICKEN a dozen times

More about our trip sometime later. Right now I need to feed Abby.

Where Abby Sleeps When We're on Vacation

Memorial Day Picnic

Here is Carolyn holding Abby for the first time. Abby sunk right in and took a nap ...

Abby got to try her first bottle the other day. She drank less than an ounce and wasn't very fond of it. She's been a must better nurser than Stephen, but she didn't take her first bottle as well as he did. We're not in any hurry to get her to take it, but I think the car trip to St. Louis on Saturday will go better if she's willing to take milk that way. We shall see ...


We went on a picnic together today, despite the rain. We just sat in a pavilion at picnic tables and enjoyed our sandwiches, chips, jello salad, and crackers. Then the rain was light enough that Stephen got to tool around the playground for a little while with Ryan.


The Snodgrasses had their twins today! Alexander and Nicholas are doing well and I was able to talk to Erica for a few minutes this afternoon.

I found this tractor video for Stephen and he asks to see it every time he sees Ryan's computer out!! The music on it is quite funny to listen to.

Touch a Truck

The Champaign Park District puts on an event every spring called Touch a Truck. A bunch of trucks — a fire truck, a tow truck, the library bookmobile, the bomb squad truck, and on and on — gather in a park and HUNDREDS of preschoolers get to look inside them and even honk the horns. It's quite noisy. I knew Stephen wouldn't care if he got to actually go in the trucks, but he sure did enjoy walking around the park and looking at the variety of vehicles. This one that he is sitting in is the Pepsi truck. There was no line for this one, and all we did was take the photo. He didn't actually want to play around in there.

My parents managed to find a bike trailer that we can use, and after we coaxed Stephen into it (by letting him play with a truck in it), he LOVED it! My dad had to go on many short bike rides because he kept saying "again." The weather was beautiful, too.

We're looking forward to seeing Aunt Carolyn (Care), Grandma Susan (Pike), Grandpa Dave, and Great Grandma Leatherman this weekend!

Family photos

Stephen likes the tent Heidi got for us.
Sitting on the couch with my daughter.
Stephen got a haircut today!
See the post of Stephen in July 2006.

May 10

May 10 was no ordinary day for Ryan and Lisa Leatherman. We celebrated being married for 1000 days! You may not believe this, but I (Lisa) was not one the to realize it. On Friday, Ryan had put the numbers "999" on Stephen's magnetic board. Having no idea what it meant, I just put the numbers back when I was tidying up the living room. On Saturday he got back from his limo job after Stephen was in bed and we spent some time together talking about events that have happened since we got married almost 3 years ago.

We continue to adjust to life with 2 kids and Stephen's doing great being a big brother. A wise woman (thanks, Maria's mom!) told me shortly after I knew I was pregnant with Abby that in her experience 2 kids was easier than 1. Bear with me on this one. I know that practically speaking that just cannot be true. But I am finding out what she meant by that. I think I had such high expectations of what I should be able to get done when I just had Stephen to care for. Now I just don't expect very much else to get done! It's also nice for me to have 2 different stages to think about. There have been times when it seems all I do is think about the 1 issue we're having with Stephen (such as getting his iron level up or getting rid of a nasty diaper rash) and there's only so much brain that I want to expend on a single kid issue. Now I don't have to. I can think about several issues that require attention. So while we've already had moments where both kids are crying, overall this is far from being a season in life that I can't wait to get through ... we're having a great time!

I should really get to bed. I need to get up early - before Ryan gets up to sub at an elementary school. It's my only chance to take a shower.

Stephen Meets Abby

Many people have asked how Stephen is responding to Abby. He's doing very well and has even held her a few times now.

Here is a video my parents took of when he met her for the first time:

Dressing up

May 2008
December 1977

Free Shipping at Snapfish

I wanted to alert everyone to a special that Snapfish is having until May 11. They have a "no shipping on photo gifts" special and it doesn't require a minimum order. Just type in NOSHIP08 in the coupon field at the checkout screen. (Our family photos are at stephenleatherman.snapfish.com, password 062806.)