I Miss Dana

I had my first real appointment today with the midwife that we're using. She is very nice, and has been highly recommended by several friends. So I truly don't regret that we are going this route. It seems to be the best option, given our location and financial situation.

But I do really miss Dana. The appointments with her were so relaxed and non-clinical. I'm pregnant - not sick! Oh well. At least we were able to use her for our first pregnancy while we were living in Des Moines.

We did get to hear the baby's heartbeat today, which was pretty exciting. 170 beats per minute. Right on target. Praise God!

AND Heather was here to keep Stephen occupied at home, which was great since I was at the office for over 2 hours.

There and Back in Twelve Hours

And this is what Stephen looked like after we got back from a busy day in Chicago . . .

We had a blast with Katie while my parents were sailing with Ryan, Margaret, Nathan, and Jen. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and there was so much to do in a small area of town. We went to Millenium Park (see the fountains and the giant jelly bean mirror); we took a break at Jamba Juice; we let Stephen play in the sand at a beach (he was sure sad to leave!). We also got to enjoy dinner with my parents on Michigan Avenue.

I've included some photos from the day below. There are more on our snapfish page.

Dinner at the Farm

Our friends Eric and Bethany invited us to go to a dinner with them at Triple S Farms, which is about an hour south of here. So we piled in their car (grandma, too) and headed for farm country. We had a blast looking at the animals. Here you can see chickens, which weren't really afraid of the people visiting them. There were also cows, turkeys, dogs, kittens, and ducks. The food was awesome - and Susan even got to eat the chicken since it hadn't aged like most meat we get at the grocery store.

It was so nice to have Susan here. She and Stephen played and played and played ... at the park, so I could go to an open house (gasp!) by myself ... at the mall this morning, so I could get some work done ... and also just here at the house with Stephen's toys. He cried when she left!

I'm wrapping up work for the night, planning a menu for the week, and waiting for Ryan to get home with the jalepeno poppers I want from Arby's.

On the schedule for the week: testing at the Language Aquisition Lab on campus (if they have food, he'll say "more more more more"); another fun-filled day with grandparents on Tuesday; a birthday part for a slightly younger friend ... and a possible trip to Chicago on Sunday for Ryan to go sailing with my parents.

Updates

I am waiting for Grandma Leatherman to get here. She is driving in from Des Moines.

Ryan is in Mt. Vernon playing a gig and will stay there overnight.

Stephen has woken up 3 times in the last half hour. I think he has gas.

My baby is the size of a grape.

I'm anticipating hearing about my friend's baby who should have been born today!

Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa Lorimor!

My parents went to Detroit a couple of weeks ago, and since Ryan is a Tigers fan they wanted to get some clothes for us. We even got a couple onesies for the baby!

Here we are at a friends' house tonight.

Big Announcement: We're Expecting!

Yes, it looks like we'll be bringing Leatherman baby #2 into the world sometime next April. So far I've been doing alright - feeling some nausea and fatigue, but nothing that severe.

This past weekend we drove to Kansas City for a reunion with some college friends. Thanks to Nate and Dana for hosting so many people all at once - including 4 children! Ryan and the guys went camping and the girls and kids stayed in Shawnee, KS.

I also got to spend an evening with Brian and Niki Kihm and met their daughter, Anneke, who is a little younger than Stephen.

We stopped near Kirksville yesterday on our way back to have lunch with Michelle Maki. It was a very social time; it was just too bad we couldn't be there and at Lake Geneva at the same time (for the family reunion).

This photo is of Ryan, Stephen, and Nathan, taken in Ryan and Nathan's office at the music building.

What We're Talking About Around Here

I know it's been a long time since I posted. I was working on a math book, and that took any time I had to sit at the computer - and I am typically pretty tired by the end of the day! But now my book is back in the hands of Perfection Learning, and once again I can update you all on what we are doing.

Stephen has been chatty. Very chatty. And sometime he actually seems to be telling you a story. Other times he just repeats the same syllables over and over. He can say "quack quack" (tho it sounds more like kak kak) so we've been asking him what a duck says.

He also started saying "wee wee wee wee wee" yesterday. I wondered if it was the end of "This Little Piggy" but I doubted it because I've only done that with him about 10 times ever.

Then this morning I was singing "Old McDonald" and I sang "with a quack quack here ..." He looked at me and said "kak kak eer wee wee wee wee wee!"
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We're heading to Kansas City tomorrow and will see some college friends. It will be fun to get away now that we're back into the school schedule again!

2 years down; Many to go!

We celebrated our 2nd anniversary today. It started out with a limo job from 5 - 10 a.m. Then we celebrated with Heidi that she completed her thesis and now holds the title of PhD! Congrats, Heidi.

We enjoyed a nice dinner while Stephen played over at our friends' house. He did great and hardly missed us! They have a cat that he likes to chase around.

My Favorite Limo Driver and His Favorite Passenger

No, we didn't actually let Stephen ride with him but the car was here during a break and we went out to take a look.

Major victory today! Stephen drank from his own sippie cup! I know he has been able to do it since he was about 8 months but he just wouldn't do it. He thought that holding it was my job. I would try to show him how to do it by moving his hands but he would get very upset and push the cup away. The past couple days I've been drinking from it, hoping that he would finally learn by imitation. It worked! Now I just have to show him how far he has to tip his head back to get what's at the bottom of the cup.

An anniversary of sorts

We've now lived in Champaign for a year! Last August 7 was cooler than today was, and that was a very good thing for our moving crew.

Also, please vote on the right-hand side of the page for the best mapping site. We've been trying to figure out what works more accurately. They all seem to have flaws.

Some people like this sort of thing ...

... other people groan. If you are the nongroaning sort, then enjoy. If you like to groan, just make sure my mom doesn't find out about it.

This photo was taken when we were in Des Moines last weekend. The doll is Ryan's Raggedy Andy doll. Now that I look at it, I realize that Stephen and Andy match!

The photo below is from my childhood, taken with my Raggedy Ann doll, whose name was Barbara.

Barbara was very well loved. I even remember having to package Barbara up and send her to the doll hospital because she was so tattered! She came back much better looking but now once again her arms and legs hang by a thread and there are some interesting marker drawings on her.

I looked through the photos of Ryan that we have and I didn't find any of him with Raggedy Andy. (That might explain why Andy is still so intact after all these years!)

Phone

Our phone # is working again.

One car is just fine with a schedule like this!

Most of you know that we are living with just one car here in Champaign. The bus system is great, and we just make sure we communicate about our schedules so that we don't both need the car at the same time. Now that Ryan has started the limo job he does need to use the car quite often since the limo company's office isn't anywhere near a bus route. This can leave me carless for 8 hours sometimes.

Last night he left the house at 1 a.m. and got back at 8 a.m., just as Stephen was waking up. I had no interest in going anywhere (except maybe to the bathroom) the whole time he was gone!

I'm glad he made it back alright. He slept before he went from about 8 till midnight. Then he went to bed after he got home and we'll go get him up around noon.

Stephen and I went to the babies' storytime this morning at the library. We hadn't been there since he started crawling, so I saw a big difference in his reaction to it. He liked the singing, but he mostly wanted to move around and look at all the different people. When we first got there, he took off on the colorful mat that lies in the middle of the chairs. Then I picked him up and put him on my lap. Not willing to just sit there and pay attention, he tried to captivate anyone he could by shaking his head wildly. He's a ham. He also really liked one of the library workers who said hello to him when we got there. She left about halfway through and he kept looking over to where she'd been standing to see if she had come back.

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.