Odds and Ends

So as I take care of things around the house and go around town I keep thinking, "I should blog about that!" and then the topic just never makes it to the computer ... it's rare to have the equipment to write or to not have my hands full of my little Stephen! So while I have the evening to myself while Ryan is off working (more on that later) I'll try to fill everyone in on the little details of life!

We've had a busy week, even without Thomas here! One of the things I realized that I'm thankful for is the flexibility that Stephen and I have to go to stores, to the park, to see friends, etc. With another little one here (and no carseat for him) we were homebound most of the time. We were glad to have Thomas with us for three weeks, but I wouldn't have wanted it to be a permanent situation.

Our friends Susan and Ercan moved from being about 3 minutes away from us to being about 2 minutes away ... tho it's about a 10 minute walk. We have been over there several times already and today Ryan was Mr. Assembly Man as he and Ercan puzzled over a very complicated weight machine. I tried to go to garage sales but they just weren't happening like it seemed they were when I looked at the paper this morning. I might try again tomorrow - I'll see how the night and morning go.

Ryan started his limo job a few weeks ago and he's been pretty busy transporting families to airports in St. Louis and Chicago. The company he works with, Z's Entertainment, has an agreement with the Make-a-Wish Foundation in which they get a break on normal fees and the drivers agree to drive without receiving tips (but they still get their hourly pay). Once he gets his CDL, he'll be able to drive the larger, SUV-type limos and be the chauffeur for weddings and such.

Speaking of transportation, Stephen and I have really enjoyed the bus this summer. He likes riding in the stroller, and I like not having to fill the car with gas as much. The system is set up pretty well to get us anywhere in the central areas of Urbana and Champaign, as long as we have the patience to take the time to get there! Once the summer is over, we won't take it as much. The passes for a semester aren't as good of a bargain and once the weather is colder I won't want Stephen to be sitting out in the cold waiting for a bus to come.

He is doing so well getting up on his feet now! He isn't walking without our help yet (or at least without the furniture - that is his favorite crutch), but I think he's starting to realize that it would be a good way to get around. If he takes his cue from his other little friends, he'll be running in no time :). Thanks Will and Nathaniel.

Teething continues to be a challenge. He did fairly well with his 8 front teeth, just needing teething gel a handful of times to comfortably sleep. But these molars are really getting to him! He is cutting his 4th molar and I'm hoping that is all that will be coming for a little while. We've given him Motrin a few times today and at the time I'm writing this he's been asleep for 2 hours with just a few moans.

Food has become so much less of a challenge with Stephen, and I'm really thankful for that! He still refuses it sometimes, but overall he'll eat just about everything! Beans are among his favorite, which is great as far as I'm concerned since we need to get his iron intake up. I've been enjoying cooking (when I have the time) and we also have dined with guests a few times. On Wednesday, we served Indian Spiced Rice, though I didn't follow the directions to a T. I made the lentils, potatoes, and rice all separately and mixed together at the end. It's been really fun to use the bread machine, too. Though I'm sold on making the dough in the machine and then baking it in my own oven ... this allows for shaping it the way I want ... hamburger buns are awesome this way! I have gotten some good ideas from The Hillbilly Housewife, though I have found her recipes to be a bit bland. Tomorrow I'm planning to make some gazpacho ... I'll be sure to post if it turns out pretty good!

I read a book in the past couple weeks called Natural Causes. I had no idea of some of the things that have gone on in the herbal/natural supplement world! Though I don't agree with the way this author presents everything, or his conclusions (I think he had an agenda), it was good to read. And the premise makes sense ... just because something is herbal doesn't mean it's safe! It just reinforced some of my ideas that we need to be eating healthy - popping a vitamin isn't a good insurance policy for bad food habits.

I'm still in the process of reading Who Is Your Covering? As I told Ryan, if it's not a library book I just don't have the same sense of urgency to read it ... and since I have library books checked out they always take precendence!

Today is my twin sisters' birthday, as well as my parent's anniversary and my aunt's birthday. I did get to talk to Heidi and mom, even though our phone number still isn't working. We'll have to straighten that out next week.

Ryan's birthday update

We are home at 4 a.m. Ryan and Dave found a place in Des Moines that said the tire couldn't be repaired so we just had to get a new one.

Happy birthday, Ryan!

Ryan's birthday surprise

Someone donated a broken glass bottle to the street in front of grandma and grandpa's house, and so when we were pulling out to leave to go back to Champaign, our tire hissed. So out of the car for us, and now Ryan is busy putting the spare on. We're probably going to have to spend another night in Des Moines since we can't get service at this time on a Sunday and we don't want to drive 400 miles on a spare.

The only things we needed to do tomorrow were to go to a food coop bagging and to work on some business card designs. We'll still need to be back by 5 for Ryan to teach a saxophone lesson. So we'll probably just have to put Stephen through the misery of daytime driving.

Hanging out with Maria

We were over at our friends' house today since they hosted a BBQ for Heidi. We took a picture on the same couch where we took one shortly after Maria was born. It was memorable because in this older photo Stephen appeared to be eating Maria's head. Both children were very mature today and let us just go crazy with our cameras. Here are a few snapshots.

We drove there separately from Heidi since she had been on campus, and we were coming from home. When we got there, we walked back to the porch where all Heidi's friends were hanging out, and Stephen just kind of looked around until he saw Heidi. He got so excited that she was there! It's really fun to see him react to people other than me and Ryan, who we are sure he recognizes all the time.

We got some sweet corn at the farmers' market this morning, but we think we're going to have to bring back some corn from Iowa next weekend. There's just nothing like the Grimes Peaches and Cream sweet corn!

A glimpse of the kitchen

I realized while looking through some photos tonight that I hadn't shared a classic baby picture. You see, Stephen thinks it's his job to dump - toys, Tupperware, scrapbooks, coasters - and he does a superb job. This is what my kitchen often looks like.

We survived another week with Thomas. He didn't sleep as much this week as he did last week. So I didn't really have any baby-free time during the days like I did last week. That's alright, though. Both boys have done really well at being fairly content.

Heidi is still here and is currently sitting eating a stuffed pepper, recipe courtesy Larry Lorimor. It's what we had for dinner.

No More "Lorimor" Sisters

Well, she did it. Emily got married. It was so wonderful to see so many family and friends, and to meet Spencer's family and friends. Stephen was pretty clingy overall; but I was proud of him for not crying when he was pulled down the aisle by Johnny.

Now Emily and Spencer are in the Black Hills for a week. Heidi is staying with us in Champaign for a week and doing some work on her dissertation.

Today we learned that our phone service no longer works because the company we used went out of business. All day we'd been frustrated, resetting our modem (it's an internet-based line) and getting weird silences. So for the time being we'll just be reachable on Ryan's cell and via email.

I've read some interesting books recently. I really enjoyed Deborah Rodriguez's nonfiction Kabul Beauty School. She went to Afghanistan as a relief worker, thinking she'd work alongside drs and nurses. But instead she started cutting hair, and made friends with Afghan women. One thing led to another, and she started a school for Afghan women that is still in existence today.

I have sort of read The No Cry Sleep Solution about getting a baby to sleep through the night. My basic conclusion was this: Stephen doesn't have a sleep problem. He is a baby. Babies sometimes get up at night. I mostly wondered if there were things I could be doing to help him sleep better, and the main thing I think I'll start is just having fewer lights on in the evening. That won't hurt the electricity bill, either.

Ryan and I are both reading books by Frank Viola about the church. I'm just getting started on Who Is Your Covering? and he just began Rethinking the Wineskin. Both have some fresh ideas about how the early church looked as well as what the body of Christ should look like now.

We have still been having Thomas here for part of the day while Thomas's mom does research on campus. I am beginning to think that teaching my son to share is futile right now. He doesn't just get upset when he can't have one of his favorite toys because Thomas is playing wtih it; he has major meltdowns! Sometimes I'm just keeping them from hurting each other.

Warning! Rip off!

Now I'm not upset about this, because I did have the wisdom to check out the prices before I just blindly had some printouts made ... and I went somewhere else!

I knew Kinko's had slightly higher rates for making copies, but since they are close to where we live I though I'd print some laser copies there.

I had to get 63 laser copies from pdfs, and it was going to be 49 cents a copy, plus $2.00 per minute to use the computer. So assuming I could get it all done in 5 minutes, that would have cost me $40! I checked with the sales staff to make sure I wasn't misunderstanding, and they confirmed that that was indeed the price.

So tonight I drove up to Office Depot, where I knew they didn't pull tricks like this. Sure enough, I completed the entire job for $5.04.

Now, the thing Kinko's has going for them is that they are open 24 hours. But I would encourage people to stay away from their services when there are local copy shops and Office Depot to do the same thing for less money. Here in Champaign we have found CityBlue on Mattis to be a good source for plain black and white copies. The Copy Cat by Drake did a nice job for me when I used them, too.

I took this quiz tonight. You can too!

You have 82% Iowa in you!

Nice score! Are you embarrassed or proud of being so much Iowa? I would be proud, it's great being so closely tied to the Hawkeye State.

Do you have Iowa in you?

And just how many strollers do we need?

We have a nice collapsible one that can fit in the trunk, but that isn't great for long distances, or travelling over grass. For that, we have a jogging stroller, but that one doesn't fit well in the car.

Just tonight we managed to acquire (temporarily) a double stroller. For the next three weeks I'll be watching a 14-month-old boy for about 6 hours a day, and this would enable us to more easily go to the park.

Today was the first day with Thomas, and it started out rather disastrous, in Stephen's opinion. Someone else was playing with his toys. His mommy was holding another little boy. Between Stephen being upset about toy playage, and Thomas being upset because his mom was gone and he was in a new home, there was whining going on for about an hour.

But then it was naptime. Both boys slept peacefully, and woke up happy, and played together great until Thomas's mom picked him up.

Then this evening I ate dinner with Aimee. Ryan had to be on campus for the music camp he's working for this week. I went to the evening LLL meeting, then headed to campus where Ryan was performing with his sax quartet. We watched their performance through the window at the back of the auditorium. Stephen was clapping during much of it. We'll have to work on performance etiquette :).

Mac and Cheese

I guess he had a little bit of this last week when we were at Hickory River, but tonight he ate mac and cheese with us for dinner. He thought it was great! He also has been introduced to strawberries and kiwi, and both have gone over well. As Ryan remarked, it's fun to feed a baby who actually wants to eat!

We had a lawnmower scare today. We had bought one when we first moved here for $35, used. It broke a few months back. We've been borrowing a friends and being glad that it wasn't raining much, but we had to get another one. So we got a $75 used one earlier this week. Ryan was out mowing the front lawn this afternoon, and when he stopped the mower to come inside briefly, he was then unable to get it started!!! Argh!! 10 minutes later it still didn't start. BUT, thankfully, it did when he got back from his stagecrew job on campus. He said it had something to do with the throttle ...

We are getting excited for Emily's wedding. Stephen will be the ringbearer. It'll be a chore to get him rested and cooperative for the ceremony itself but I think we can pull it off.

He stands up quite a bit on various toys and pieces of furniture. Sometimes he even scoots across the room on them :).

Was the squirrel crazy or was I?

So Stephen and I were at the park this afternoon. When I see squirrels, it's usually them scurrying away from me, or there are two squirrels chasing each other around a tree. But today we were playing with the wood chips (yes, it is fun, according to Stephen) and a squirrel stopped in the tree above us.

Then it started quacking. I gave it a confused look. Then it meowed. Then we got in the stroller and came home.

I wonder how this will play out in "Old McDonald" ...

Procrastidishinating

I need to go wash dishes but but though I'd fill in some details from the weekend. Ryan already posted the photos of Stephen's haircut. That was the big change of the day. Though Stephen is greatly increasing the amount of time he is standing. He hasn't done it yet without holding on to something or someone but he likes the height that he gets from that position.

He had a pretty fussy night last night, but then was fine from about midmorning on. We are pretty sure it was either teeth or tummy bothered by his iron supplement. I'm introducing more foods every day. He loves crackers, but still rejects most all vegetables and meats.

I attended Jaime's baby shower today. She's having twins in September - a boy and a girl. It was nice to have Ryan be with Stephen for a few hours.

Sumin had her baby on Stephen's birthday! I went to the hospital to see her on Friday. And not only do Stephen and [unnamed son of Sumin] share a birthday - they weighed exactly the same at birth! He was sleeping when I visited but I hope to be able to hold him next time I see him.

Dave and Sue are coming for the 4th of July. Yeah - more grandma and grandpa time!

Shave and a haircut.......

Actually just a haircut--he's big, but not that big. It's his first one, though.

Before......
....and after!

From the back.....
No more pictures, please!



Here's the footage on YouTube!

Uncle Marc-Andre's new favorite toy!

Sorry it's a little blurry........

Birthday!

Stephen seems to be enjoying his first birthday. We played at the mall this morning since it was raining and we couldn't be outside. I also know that people read this blog because he now has a fleet of trucks and also quite a few blocks. He's lovin' it. We put a bunch of the infant toys away.

We're looking forward to studying Proverbs tonight with another couple ... hopefully glean some wisdom for raising up our wonderful boys!

We Are Indeed Guilty

You know how parents try to get their kids to hold their arms up in response to the question, "How big is [insert child's name here]?" And then they excitedly recite, "SO BIG!" And in reality "so big" is arbitrary. I mean, would a small kid's parent say "How little is ...?" And why are we so excitedly prompting the smallest person in our family to proudly gesture that his hands raise a mere few inches above his head? But enough philosophizing ... here is our "big boy."

Got Cello?

I performed tonight with 10 other cellists for a benefit concert in Urbana. I think there will be pictures at some point ... I can share them here when I get them. The music was a lot of fun to play ... except Pachelbel's Canon. (See link on the right for why cellists loathe this particular work.) We performed under Maestro Diazmunoz, who I think is about the best conductor I have ever worked with. He really knew what sound he wanted to get from the ensemble, and was kind to all the performers in getting what he wanted to hear. There was quite a range of abilities represented in the group. We performed the Bachianas Brasilieros with a soprano who is a grad student at the University (and also happens to know my aunt's parents in Oregon).

Yesterday Stephen participated in the Infant Cognition Lab's testing at the University. He watched a little puppet show and they analyzed his responses to certain events. The girls working in the lab did a great job communicating with him. After that we went to the Forbes' because I wanted Stephen to watch another kid eat. Stephen is still having trouble with anything that is chunky, even if it is soft. Will is a food pro (he eats a lot of fruit and cheese). I have no idea if it made any difference--just thought it was worth giving it a shot.

The highlight of today was the visit we had from grandma and grandpa. Since Ryan also had a gig tonight (at a theatre in Sullivan, IL) we needed someone else to hang out with Stephen. From what I hear he did just great! It helps that they really like to take him for walks. We had a nice dinner of lasagne and italian bread.

We had an appointment for Stephen this week and he was weighed at 28 pounds and measured 32.5 inches. So he hasn't gained a pound since 9 months, but he has picked up 2.5 inches.

The woman I'm mentoring at the pregnancy center hasn't had her baby yet (that I know of!) but she's due in less than a week.

The Heat Wave

We finally gave in last night and turned the air on. It was downright oppresive in here. And we had deduced that it was really bothering Stephen. There were a few occasions in which he was really crabby here and then instantly happy somewhere else, where the AC was turned on. And Ryan and I certainly don't mind it :).

I got this baby pool for free and tried it out today. The inexperienced parents that we are - we filled it right before he got in. And it was COLD! He SCREAMED! But then he got used to it. I think it's super-fun with all kinds of extra pieces in it. We might give it a shot tomorrow after the sun has warmed it. We also hope to go on a family bike ride after Ryan works in the morning.

Ryan was offered a job today with the limo company and he'll start training soon. It sounds like it'll be a good gig. We just hope he gets to work frequently.

Stephen's birthday is coming up in just two weeks. Wow. I'm a lot skinnier this year than I was last year. I've been getting lost of questions about what Stephen needs. In reality he doesn't really need anything. (Right, dad? "Do you need it? Or do you just want it?") And we aren't doing a party. We'll just celebrate with family and friends who happen to come around! I'm planning to make some sort of jello in lieu of the cake. But back to what Stephen would like. He discovered (and so did his parents) while in Des Moines that he LOVES trucks, cars, and balls. (I know what you're thinking: Don't most boys? May be true, but since we don't have many trucks, cars, and balls, we didn't know this.) We would ask that they be appropriate for his age. He does still put things in his mouth and could choke. As far as clothes go, we're pretty set for the summer. He is wearing 24 month clothing, and head holes need to be really stretchy or have snaps. His head is more of a 3T size.

A Note from the Heartland

We have been having a wonderful visit in Des Moines. Though we'd like to see a lot more people, we have done well to be able to get together with as many as we have. This time of year works much better than Christmastime, when it seemed many of our friends were either out of town or entertaining family for the holidays.

The bummer part of the trip is that it happens to be the week that Dave is out of town. (Ryan hasn't minded driving his Mercedes, though.) We'll get to see him again on Saturday, as we aren't leaving until Sunday.

Yesterday for dinner we celebrated Susan's birthday by eating together - and having blueberry muffins for dessert. Lois brought over some homemade ice cream, which we enjoyed after a wonderful trip to the park. Wonderful for Stephen and Sissy, that is ... We watched Sissy go from being scared to go down the slide to bounding up onto the playground equipment to run down it by herself. (Don't worry - there weren't any kids on the playground when we did this.)

Emily is down in Texas now, and Heidi and Anthony are in their temporary spot in Maryland.

Happy birthday, grandpa Leatherman!